Kevin Winter/Getty Images for CoachellaKendrick Lamar invited a white female audience member to join him on stage Sunday night, but when she rapped the n-word several times in his song m.A.A.d. city, he had to tell her that was a no-no.

The 12-time Grammy Award winner was headlining the Hangout Music Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and stopped the music when he heard the fan named Delaney repeat the word, according to HotNewHipHop.com.

Surprised that the track had stopped, the woman said, Arent I cool enough for you? Whats up, bro?

Lamar replied, You got to bleep one single word, though. Delaney apologized, saying, Oh, Im sorry. Did I do it? Im so sorry Im used to singing it like you wrote it.

As the crowd started booing, the Compton rapper gave Delaney a second chance, and this time she censored herself. However Lamar quickly ended her guest performance.

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There are still many unanswered questions, but the evidence that now is part of the public record removes any doubt that British and US Intelligence services collaborated in a devious and fabricated scheme to portray the Trump campaign as intent on collaborating with Russia. The evidence was planted and cleverly fabricated. It was done through highly classified intelligence channels, which created a paper trail and provided prima facie "evidence" that individuals with tenuous ties to the Trump campaign where seeking meetings with Russian officials. What was not reported, however, was the fact that the original impetus for those reporting on those communications originated with an individual who appears to be an MI-6 intelligence asset. His name is Joseph Mifsud and I believe that evidence ultimately will establish that he was directed to contact and then feed incriminating information to George Papadopoulos. That information became the foundation of creating a counter intelligence investigation of Donald Trump and his campaign.

Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese scholar with an eclectic academic history who Quartz described as an enigma, while legacy press has enthusiastically characterized him as a central personality in the Trump-Russia scandal. The New York Times described Mifsud as an enthusiastic promoter of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, citing his regular involvement in the annual meetings of the Valdai Discussion Club, a Russian-based think-tank, as well as three short articles he wrote in support of Russian policies.

Mifsud strongly denied claims that he was associated with Russian intelligence, telling Italian newspaper Repubblica that he was a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations and the Clinton Foundation, adding that his political outlook was left-leaning. Last month, Slate reported Mifsud had disappeared, as did some of the other figures linking the UK to the Trump-Russia scandal.

Mifsuds alleged links to Russian intelligence are summarily debunked by his close working relationship with Claire Smith, a major figure in the upper echelons of British intelligence. A number of Twitter users recently observed that Joseph Mifsud had been photographed standing next to Claire Smith of the UK Joint Intelligence Committee at Mifsuds LINK campus in Rome. Newsmax and Buzzfeed later reported that the professors name and biography had been removed from the campus website, writing that the mysterious removal took place after Mifsud had served the institution for years.

The FBI got its foot in the door to investigate Trump for Russian ties because of "intelligence" about George Papadopoulos. But that intelligence was fabricated. Let me show you how this happened. Let's go to the Statement of Offense filed against Papadopoulos. It states that Papadopoulos made "material false statements and material omissions to the FBI:"

Papadopoulos claimed that his interactions with Joseph Mifsud occurred before Papadopoulos "became a foreign policy advisor to the Campaign."

Defendant PAPADOPOULOS further told the investigating agents that the professor was "a nothing" and "just a guy talk[ing] up connections or something." In truth and in fact, however, defendant PAPADOPOULOS understood that the professor had substantial connections to Russian government officials (and had met with some of those officials in Moscow immediately prior to telling defendant PAPADOPOULOS about the "thousands of emails") and, over a period of months, defendant PAPADOPOULOS repeatedly sought to use the professor's Russian connections in an effort to arrange a meeting between the Campaign and Russian government officials.

Defendant PAPADOPOULOS claimed he met a certain female Russian national before he joined the Campaign and that their communications consisted of emails such as,'"Hi, how are you?"'In truth and in fact, however, defendant PAPADOPOULOS met the female Russian national on or about March 24, 2016, after he had become an adviser to the Campaign; he believed that she had connections to Russian government officials; and he sought to use her Russian connections over a period of months in an effort to arrange a meeting between the Campaign and Russian government officials.

Pay close attention to the actual facts. Papadopoulos met with Mifsud in Italy on 14 March 2016. Although both shared an affiliation prior to that 14 March meeting with the London Centre of International Law Practice, they were not buddies nor in regular communication. According to the NY Times, Mifsud had little interest in Papadopoulos until the latter was named a Trump foreign policy advisor.

Traveling in Italy that March, Mr. Papadopoulos met Joseph Mifsud, a Maltese professor at a now-defunct London academy who had valuable contacts with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Mifsud showed little interest in Mr. Papadopoulos at first.

But when he found out he was a Trump campaign adviser, he latched onto him, according to court records and emails obtained by The New York Times. Their joint goal was to arrange a meeting between Mr. Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in Moscow, or between their respective aides.

Only one tiny problem--Mifsud met in Italy with Papadopoulos on the 14th of March but George was not announced publicly as an advisor until ONE WEEK later, on the 21st. So how did Joseph Mifsud know about Papadopoulos' new job? Why was Mifsud so eager to meet with Papadopoulos?

Once Papdopolous was announced, Mifsud kicked into overdrive trying to introduce George to Russians. On 24 March Mifsud hosted Papadopolous, who reported the meeting to Stephen Miller on the Trump campaign:

Papadopoulos: just finished a very productive lunch with a good friend of mine, [Mifsud] . . .  who introduced me to both Putins niece and the Russian Ambassador in London  who also acts as the Deputy Foreign Minister.

The topic of the lunch was to arrange a meeting between us and the Russian leadership to discuss U.S.-Russia ties under President Trump. They are keen to host us in a neutral city, or directly in Moscow. They said the leadership, including Putin, is ready to meet with us and Mr. Trump should there be interest. Waiting for everyones thoughts on moving forward with this very important issue.

Here is what you need to understand. When Papadopoulos communicated to persons in the Trump campaign the results of his meetings with Mifsud and Mifsud's Russian contacts, that information was relayed from the UK to America via telephone and email. Those conversations, without one doubt, were intercepted and put into a Top Secret intel reports (known in intel circles as SIGINT) by GCHQ.

It would be damning if Papadopoulos had initiated the contact with Russian sources and was lighting up the web with requests for info about Russians willing to work with or help Trump. But that did not happen. The impetus to talk about Russia originated with Mifsud, who, based on circumstantial evidence, was a British intelligence asset and was directed to target and bait Papadopoulos. It was Mifsud who raised the specter of the Russians targeting Hillary Clinton (see pp 6-7 of the Statement of Offense):

On or about April 26, 2016, defendant PAPADOPOULOS met the Professor for breakfast at a London hotel. During this meeting, the Professor told defendant PAPADOPOULOS that he had just returned from a trip to Moscow where he had met with highlevel Russian government officials. The Professor told defendant PAPADOPOULOS that on that trip he (the Professor) learned that the Russians had obtained "dirt" on then-candidate Clinton. The Professor told defendant PAPADOPOULOS, as defendant PAPADOPOULOS later described to the FBI, that "They [the Russians] have dirt on her; the Russians had emails of Clinton; "they have thousands of emails."

Mifsud provided the Russian information. Not Papadopoulos. Mifsud's mission of feeding Papadopoulos "Russian intelligence," which the later then reported back to the Trump campaign produced the casus belli (of sorts) to justify opening an FBI counter intelligence investigation. The FBI also was ensnared, most likely. It does not appear the FBI was briefed immediately on these matters. Instead, John Brennan and Jim Clapper built up a pretty sizable intel file, filled with SIGINT reports from the UK's GCHQ, which contained American names and reports of efforts to broker a meeting with Vladimir Putin. Of course they (Clapper and Brennan) conveniently failed to mention to the FBI that the information originated with a UK plant. But it did provide legal cover for unmasking the identities of Trump campaign personnel.

This was not the only "information dump" in place. MI-6 also helped ensure that there was an "independent" source of intelligence--human intelligence. Hence the Steele Dossier, with the first reports being produced in June 2016. It is this combination of SIGNALS INTELLIGENCE and HUMAN INTELLIGENCE, which persuaded the FBI that something serious was going on. While it may be possible that Comey and McCabe conspired initially with Brennan and Clapper, I do not think that is what happened. Comey and McCabe were duped by Brennan and Clapper into believing that there was actual malfeasance underway with the Trump campaign. They were naive, even stupid, but not engaged in sedition.

What I have outlined above is the circumstantial case for how the so-called intelligence was generated to create a feasible foundation for opening a counter intelligence investigation of President Trump and his campaign. But if Vegas allowed a bet on this scenario I would bet my house and feel confident of collecting a big payoff.Jaipur (IANS): The Gujjar Aarakshan Andolan Samiti has called off its proposed agitation scheduled on May 23 after prolonged discussions with the Rajasthan government, it was announced on Sunday.

Following the talks on Saturday, the two parties reached a 16-point agreement and soon after, Samiti leader Col Kirori Singh Bainsla (retd) announced the protest had been called off.

State minister Rajendra Rathore said that discussions with Gujjar leaders lasted for 10 hours, in two different segments.

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He said that the pending demands of Gujjars will be resolved within a set time period and to ensure timely redressal, Additional Chief Secretary, Social Justice and Empowerment, J.C. Mohanti has been deputed as nodal offer to monitor the process at regular intervals.

Talking to IANS, Samiti leader Himmat Singh said the government has given its consent for the sub-division of the OBC quota as demanded by the community.

We have been fighting for our rights since the last 13 years and are quite optimistic this time that our demands will be met. However, if they remain unresolved even after the deadline, we will protest against the government during the coming assembly elections, he added.

The agreement, a copy of which is with IANS, mentions that the Justice Rohini Commission, formed by the Central government for classification of OBCs, will invite Rajasthan and four other states  Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh  on June 4 to discuss this issue and will submit its report soon.

The state government will study the recommendations given by the commission and will eventually implement it accordingly, says the agreement.

The government also gave its consent to give one per cent reservation from December 9, 2016 to December 21, 2017 in government recruitments.

It was also decided that all criminal cases filed against Gujjars during agitation will be withdrawn.

The meeting was attended by state Ministers Arun Chaturvedi and Hem Singh Bhadana, Additional Chief Secretary Deepal Upreti and many other senior officials.Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

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Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349Yesterday, Paris hosted a conference marking the 80th anniversary of Koichiro Matsuura, who in 1999-2009 served as the Director-General of UNESCO. He was born in Tokyo, studied law at the University of Tokyo and economics at Haverford College (Pennsylvania, USA), worked in the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and before being appointed Director-General of UNESCO worked as the Chairperson of UNESCOs World Heritage Committee.

First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva arrived in Paris to congratulate Mrs. Matsuura. Speaking at the conference, she noted that the reforms, in particular, the project "Education for All", held by Koichiro Matsuura, allowed strengthening UNESCO's prestige around the world. "Under your leadership, the relations between UNESCO and our country Azerbaijan became even stronger. With a sense of deep appreciation, we remember your visits to Baku and your personal involvement in joint forums and conferences. I recall your participation at the first international festival the World of Mugham. In your presence, we laid down the foundations of the State Museum of Azerbaijani Carpet and of the International Mugham Center. Together with you, we inaugurated the Museum of Modern Art. Today, these cultural centers have turned into the most visited places of interest in our capital."

In 2007, a document was signed on the joint implementation of the project for the development of vocational training in Azerbaijan. In 2009, the Agreement on Cooperation to Ensure Strategic Goals in Protecting Intangible Cultural Heritage. When Koichiro Matsuura was the head of UNESCO, Azerbaijani historical monuments - Icheri Sheher, Shirvanshahs Palace, Maiden Tower in Baku, as well as Gobustan rock paintings were inscribed into the list of UNESCO World Heritage. The pearls of Azerbaijani music - Mugham and Ashig art - have been included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Its also thanks to your efforts that back in 2004 I was honored to receive the distinguished title of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Oral and Musical Tradition. Ever since I have tried to do my best to justify the trust shown to me. Dear Mr. Matsuura, We highly value your personal efforts in strengthening bilateral ties between Azerbaijan and UNESCO, "Mehriban Aliyeva said.

She also noted that Azerbaijan, as a country situated on the crossroads of civilizations, cultures, and religions, Azerbaijan has a lot to offer to the international community in terms of cultural dialogue, tolerance and respect toward others. Multiculturalism is a national policy in Azerbaijan and we cooperate with the international community, including UNESCO in promoting the values of multiculturalism.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Baku process. the initiative of which was put forward by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The process was initiated as a platform for cooperation between member countries of the Council of Europe and members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It was in 2008 that Azerbaijan as a member of both these international organizations initiated a meeting of the Ministers of Culture of OIC and Council of Europe in Baku. And this process continues to date and has already turned into a global platform in promoting intercultural and interreligious dialogue. In partnership with UNESCO, Baku organized four editions of World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue within the Baku Process and we are ready to continue this work in the future.

Development of human potential is another area to which UNESCO and Azerbaijan both attached big importance. "Quality education and culture are key elements for human development and it is proceeding from this importance that Azerbaijan has chosen the theme of Developing Human Capital, Building a Better Future when we put forward the candidacy of Baku as the venue for the World Expo 2025. If successful in our bid, we hope to be able to bring the whole world to Baku and to create a truly universal platform for exchange, dialogue and cooperation. Azerbaijan shows its strong attachment to the values and ideals of UNESCO also through our direct contribution to the protection of World Cultural Heritage and our pro-active humanitarian policy., " Mehrbian Aliyeva said.

Thus, by constructing a new school for girls Azerbaijan contributed to the efforts of international community to deal with the consequences of a terrible earthquake in 2005 in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan. In 2011, through an agreement with UNESCO, the country participated in the restoration of cultural heritage in Haiti that also suffered from an earthquake. Azerbaijans charity activity aimed at preservation or restoration of the World Cultural Heritage covers many countries like Berlin Castle in Germany, ancient monuments in Versailles, church in Lower Normandy and Louvre museum in France, ancient manuscripts and catacombs of Saint Marcellus and Peter and San Sebastian in the Vatican, Philosopher Hall in the Capitoline Museum in Italy, Trapezitsa Museum in Bulgaria, and so on.The creation of the Iran-Azerbaijan joint oil company will be beneficial for both parties and will allow to resolve the issue with the disputed Araz-Alov-Sharg oil field, however, the project implementation is a distant possibility so far, the oil experts told Vestnik Kavkaza, commenting on the statement of general director for Europe, America and Caspian Sea countries at Iran's Oil Ministry, Hossein Esmaeili Shahmirzadi about the ongoing talks with Azerbaijan on this project.

Political scientist Rovshan Ibragimov, noted that Azerbaijan has a number of interests in creating such a joint venture with Iran. "First of all, having the necessary infrastructure, Azerbaijan will be able to use it not only for itself, but also for oil production in the Caspian sectors of other states. It will also give Azerbaijan additional experience for its diversified oil production activities abroad. and will improve relations between the two states," he explained.

Iran, in turn, needs Azerbaijan to develop Caspian deposits. "Iran does not have the ability to independently produce oil in the Caspian Sea. Iran has neither infrastructure nor the experience of intelligence and other works in the Caspian, so it cannot deal with the Caspian fields without Azerbaijan. I think that the improvement of relations between the two countries in different economic spheres in the last few years have given an additional impulse to Iran's desire to turn to Azerbaijan for experience and technology for mutually beneficial financial cooperation," Rovshan Ibrahimov said.

The expert expects that the joint venture will solve the problem of the Araz-Alov-Sharg oil fields, which development is frozen until the status of the Caspian Sea is determined. "One of the solutions can be joint development and production at these fields. In which case a modular approach of separating the Caspian into sectors between the two countries can be applied: if the majority of the field is in the national sector of one of the states, it is fully included in this sector. If it is possible to solve the problem of the Araz-Alov-Sharg fields, then in the future this experience can be applied to solve the problem with the Kapaz field," he predicted.

Head of the 'Caspian Barrel' Center for Oil Research Ilham Shaban, in turn, stressed that the creation of such an enterprise is a distant possibility. "When the Iranian president arrived in Baku on an official visit in March, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Azerbaijani Energy Ministry and the Iranian Ministry of Oil and Gas to cooperate in the development of the Caspian fields, without specifying any names and locations. This memorandum is of unlimited duration and not legally binding, that is, before entering into any agreement on the establishment of a joint venture can take a lot of time," the expert explained.

"For the time being, we can say that the joint venture is unlikely to deal with the Caspian fields. The fact is that Iran does not have the deep drilling technology in the Caspian. Tehran said it has drilled only one well, but the second well has not been drilled since then. It is clear that the statements are made because of the threat of new sanctions in order to show that Iran has very good political-economic relations with its neighbors - and it is absolutely the right thing," the head of the 'Caspian Barrel' Center for Oil Research said.

At the same time, the joint venture could influence the solution of the problem of the Araz-Alov-Sharg oil fields by analogy with the Russian-Kazakhstani experience. "Russia and Kazakhstan have found a way out over disputed deposits equally developing them. This experience could be applied to Iran and Turkmenistan, which does not yet want to split Kapaz, according to the Russian-Kazakh example. Due to this the parties are not able to benefit from the field. But it is still difficult to predict whether our countries will be able to come to an agreement. If this happens, it will be the first experience in settling disputes with Iran after the collapse of the USSR," Ilham Shaban noted.A serviceman of the Azerbaijani army Adil Tatarov was killed during the fulfillment of the combat mission to suppress another provocation of the enemy on the Nakhchivan section of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border on May 20.

The leadership of the Ministry of Defense expresses deep condolences to the family and relatives of Adil Tatarov.

The ministry does not exclude that newly appointed Defense and Foreign Ministers of Armenia, who visited the line of contact of the troops in this direction a few days ago, are responsible for the committing of this provocation.Bulgarian President Rumen Radev expressed hope for direct gas supplies from Russia to this country via the Black Sea.

Speaking at the meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, he called the security of energy supplies very important for Sofia and for the EU as a whole. "Therefore, I hope that our governments will reconsider the possibility of direct gas supplies from Russia via the Black Sea," TASS cited Radev as saying.

Bulgaria's president stressed that Russia has always been a strategic energy partner to Bulgaria as a supplier of natural gas, oil and nuclear fuel and as a participant in the maintenance and upgrading of energy facilities.

Noting that discussions on the Belene nuclear power plant project have been resumed in Bulgaria, Radev said that "the resuscitation of the project implies Russian participation."

On December 1, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was abandoning the South Stream gas pipeline project, which was to be laid along the Black Sea to Bulgaria in order to supply gas to the countries of Southern and Central Europe. This decision was made in connection with the fact that the project faced opposition from the European Commission, which demanded that the project needed to be brought into line with the European antimonopoly legislation.

A senior analyst of 'Uralsib Capital', Alexei Kokin, speaking with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that Russia is interested in supplying gas to Europe via alternative to Ukraine routes, but Bulgaria's proposal is hindered by the already built infrastructure of the Turkish Stream. "The European market is necessary in order to turn the Turkish Stream into a European project, and Gazprom has never rejected the idea of gas supplies to Europe via the southern route. Now this idea looks like a proposal to extend the Turkish Stream to Europe via the hub in Greece, although so far no one has finished the pipeline with a hub that is not bound by contracts with end users. It can be said that plans to extend the Turkish Stream to Europe seemed fantastic before Radev's statement, but now, apparently, they have the first interested side. But Bulgaria should understand that Russia is unlikely to lay another line under the Black Sea and its desire should be inked to the Turkish Stream," he stressed.

"In general, the confidence in European statements is hardly high now - especially after the cancellation of the South Stream, when Bulgaria was a stumbling block. If there is a clear indication from Bulgaria about its readiness to guarantee the plan of turning Bulgaria into a regional gas hub with interception of this role from Turkey, then dialogue is possible. Gazprom needs guarantees that the proposals will not end as badly as last time, and still it will be based on what has already been done within the framework of the Turkish Stream," Alexei Kokin noted.

A leading analyst of the National Energy Security Fund, a lecturer at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Igor Yushkov, recalled that the route from Russia to Bulgaria is economically the most profitable for European consumers, but after the South Stream was abandoned, no one will be talking about any new projects with Sofia. "Radev made an advantageous offer, because the route through Bulgaria to the Balkans without Turkey as a transit country allows to guarantee the supply of Russian gas to Europe - Serbia, Hungary and Austria. But Bulgaria has shown that it is not independent, which means it makes no sense to talk with it - it's better to speak directly to Brussels. Only after that it will possible to discuss the technical issues of laying a pipe to Bulgaria," he stressed.

"In fact, now all contacts with Europe will be focused on Nord Stream-2, all future projects for the supply of Russian gas to European consumers depend on it. When the Nord Stream-2 is put into operation, Sofia will be able to turn to Brussels, since Germany has got its own Russian pipe, which means that it will be acceptable for Bulgaria. In fact, the Bulgarians now want Germany to project their gas pipeline project, but they want to do nothing themselves. For example, they could vote against anti-Russia sanctions at the nearest summit of EU foreign ministers, but Bulgaria will never do that," Igor Yushkov concluded.The Federal Security Service (FSB) has shut down the activity of an extremist group in Crimea that had been created by an aide to Ukraines Verkhovna Rada member of parliament, the FSB Center for Public Relations said.

"The Federal Security Service and the Russian Interior Ministry have revealed the activity of an extremist group created by Erol Veliyev, aide to Ukraines Verkhovna Rada member of parliament [Mustafa] Dzhemilev, as ordered by [Refat] Chubarov, who is the leader of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, which is outlawed in Russia, and is on the wanted list, with support from the Ukrainian Security Service," the FSB Center for Public Relations reported.

Apart from Veliyev, former boxers Steshenko and Tretyakov are also members of the group that was formed in Kharkov, FSB reported. "The extremists planned to commit crimes based on political hatred with a goal to threaten the pro-Russian Crimean Tatars and stoke national tensions on the territory of the Republic of Crimea," TASS cited the Center as saying.

In January 2018, members of the extremist group set Crimean mufti Emirali Ablayevs house on fire with Molotov cocktails.

Investigators from the Federal Security Service Directorate for Crimea and Sevastopol launched criminal cases against Steshenko and Tretyakov.

"Extremist group members Veliyev and Tretyakov were sentenced in absentia under the corresponding Criminal Code articles. Both were put on the federal wanted list," the Center for Public Relations added.Georgian PMs special representative for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze said that the major topic of discussions during the meeting with the Russian deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin, which will be held on May 24 in Prague, will be the implementation of the 2011 Georgia-Russia agreement on neutral monitoring of customs which envisages the setting up of a mechanism of customs administration and the monitoring of regional trade by third parties.

Russia and Georgia have agreed that Swiss company SGS will carry out the monitoring activities, Agenda.ge reported.

According to the agreement, monitoring will cover threetrade corridors between Russia and Georgia. The Swiss company will monitor cargo traffic for both sides and report to the government of Georgia and Russia at the same time.

"Georgia signed the contract with the Swiss company at the end of last year, the Russian government did the same on May 18. We hope that Russia will honestly fulfill its obligations under the 2011 agreement,"Abashidze said, adding that a Georgian-Russian-Swiss joint working group could be set up to monitor the projects practical implementation.Georgia's Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and the ministers of economy, foreign affairs and defence will visit the US from May 21-24.

During his working visit Kvirikashvili will open the plenary meeting of the Georgia-US strategic partnership council with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Kvirikashvili will also take part in the US-Georgia strategic partnership annual conference which is being organised by the Heritage Foundation and the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC, Agenda.ge reported.

On May 23, Kvirikashvili will attend the event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the first democratic Republic of Georgia, which will be held at the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC organised by the Georgian Embassy in the US.

Moreover, several bilateral meetings are planned with representatives of the executive government, as well as with the heads of various congressional committees.Spokesman of Iranian Foreign Ministry Bahram Ghasemi said that there would be no issue other than the JCPOA discussed by the signatory states of the JCPOA without US in the next meeting of the joint commission.

"In the first meeting of the joint commission of the JCPOA without US which would be held in the coming days upon Irans request, solely the issues relevant to the JCPOA will be discussed between the signatory states and Iran," the spokesman said.

Ghasemis remarks came in response to reporters questions on some foreigner news outlets which claimed that unknown diplomatic resources have said that a new package will be offered to Iran in return for accepting a new agreement.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, as the side committed to the JCPOA after illegal, unilateral, and scandalous withdrawal of US from the JCPOA has stayed in the deal because of the requests of other signatories that called the Islamic Republic of Iran, and has explicitly stated that if the other sides of the agreements observe the stipulated rights of Iran, will stay in the agreement," Mehr news cited him as saying.

Ghasemi added that other issues brought up are baseless, deviatory and worthless to be paid attention to.Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that the terrorists received the order to carry out the Saturday attack on an Orthodox church in Russias Chechen Republic from one of the Western countries, citing "intelligence data."

Earlier, ISIS terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which left a worshiper and two police officers dead, RT recalls.

The terrorist group took the credit for the attack, issuing a statement through its online mouthpieces, the SITE Intelligence Group reported Sunday. Four terrorists, armed with blades, incendiary devices and guns, stormed the Church of Michael the Archangel in the Chechen capital, Grozny.

The attack was thwarted by the security forces which killed all the four attackers during a brief shootout. A worshiper and two police officers were killed during the attack. Both officers were deployed to Chechnya from the Saratov region.

Three of the attackers were identified as residents of the Chechen Republic, while the leader of the terrorist group was from the republic of Ingushetia, according to Kadyrov.Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted the candidacy of Alexei Kudrin, the Chief executive of the Center for Strategic Research (CSR), for the position of Russias Accounts Chamber head to the State Duma (lower house of parliament), the parliamentary press service said.

"President Vladimir Putin has submitted Alexei Kudrins candidacy for the Account Chamber head to the State Duma," the statement reads.

According to the press service, "at 15:00 (12:00 GMT) on Monday, the Duma Council will endorse the procedure for considering Kudrins appointment," TASS reported.

In compliance with the Russian legislation, the State Duma Council earlier nominated four candidates representing each of the parliamentary factions. Alexei Kudrin was nominated by the United Russia party.

According to the Law on the Accounts Chamber, candidates are nominated by the Duma Council and then the president chooses a candidate to submit to the parliament. Sources say that Duma members are likely to consider Kudrins candidacy on May 22 or 24.Paraguay officially moved its countrys embassy to Jerusalem today, with President Horacio Cartes in Israel for the ceremony, also attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Paraguay is the third country to move its embassy to Jerusalem, following the United States and Guatemala. The inauguration ceremony took place at noon at the embassys new home in the Malkha technology park, which also houses the Guatemalan embassy.

President Reuven Rivlin met with Cartes before the ceremony and said he was "happy and proud" to host him. "Paraguay is thousands of miles from here, but our hearts are close."

"Many ask me why we decided to move the embassy to Jerusalem and I can say that we decided to put things in their right place. We don't owe you anything and you don't owe us anything. This is just the right thing to do," Haarets cited Cartes as saying.The 2018 St. Petersburg Economic Forum (SPIEF), which is due to open in Russias second largest city later this week, will receive about 15,000 participants, St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko said.

"The interest is still high and official delegations from over 100 countries will come, which accounts for some 15,000 potential participants," Poltavchenko said. "Among high-ranking guests, we are expecting in St. Petersburg French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe."

According to Poltavchenko, representatives of major companies from over 70 countries are also expected at the SPIEF, including from Great Britain.

"Great Britain will be also represented. I am not ready to say who will be heading the delegation, but it will consist of representatives of major British businesses," TASS cited him as saying.

"In other words, despite the recent rhetoric the interest of business as well as among world politicians is still high in regard to the forum," the governor added.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, due on May 24-26, is one of the worlds key economic discussion formats. It is held under the patronage of the Russian president. Traditionally it gathers foreign heads of state and government, key public figures, heads of international organizations and major companies, leading world experts and analysts and media.Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the Kremlin press service reported.

The two presidents discussed the implementation of the agreements reached following the President of Uzbekistans state visit to Russia in April 2017. They reaffirmed mutual interest in strengthening their countries strategic partnership and cooperation in the political, trade and economic, and other spheres.

During the discussions on international affairs, Mirziyoyev shared his impressions of his recent official visit to the United States.

The conversation was held at the initiative of the Uzbek side.Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries defense ministries.

"Our Defense Ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said at a meeting with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Russian president also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS (an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), TASS reported.Bulgaria expects that the possibility of direct gas supplies from Russia to this country via the Black Sea will be reviewed, President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev said at a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

He called the security of energy supplies very important for Sofia and for the EU as a whole. "Therefore, I hope that our governments will reconsider the possibility of direct gas supplies from Russia via the Black Sea," TASS cited Radev as saying.HA NOI The Sai Gon Ha Noi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) has won the Best Bank award in Viet Nam 2018 from the American magazine Global Finance.

The annual award is given based on the growth of financial indicators such as total assets and profit, quality of products and customer services and technological development.

Established in 1993, SHB is one of the five largest private banks in Viet Nam .

In the first quarter of 2018, its total assets exceeded VN286.9 trillion (US$12.6 billion USD), including more than VN12 trillion of charter capital and VN18.8 trillion ($826.2 million).

The bank mobilised VN264 trillion of capital in the January-April period.

SHB posted pre-tax profit of more than VN500 billion in the period, up 63.5 per cent against the same period last year. -VNSHA NOI  Lien Viet Post Commercial Joint Stock Bank signed a co-operation agreement with two Japanese partners Mitsui Knowledge Industry Company Limited (MKI) and Doreming Company in Tokyo on May 18.

Under the agreement, LienVietPostBank will provide human resource management solutions and salary payment through its Vi Viet e-wallets to the two companies employees in Viet Nam.

The agreement was a result of eight months of negotiation after the parties demonstrated their pilot products by connecting Vi Viet with Doremings human resource management system.

They agreed to not only provide the human resource management solutions and salary payment but also build a product package to develop consumption and micro finance for employees in both Viet Nam and the region.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Nguyen inh Thang, the banks chairman of management board, said he believed the cooperation that combines the experience and ability of Japans leading firms  MKI and Doreming  which are among the top 100 fintech in the world, and LienVietPostBanks Vi Viet, the first product in Viet Nam to receive the Asia Pacific ICT Alliance Awards, would be able to meet business demands.

On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Pham Tien Dung, director of the State Bank of Viet Nams Payment Department, and LienVietPostBank chairman Thang met Japanese partners such as Seven Bank, Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank and the Japan Credit Bureau to seek cooperation opportunities in the financial, banking and fintech sector in the future.  VNSA workshop on Special Economic Zones (SEZs)  Institution, Policies and Expectation for Success was organised in Ha Noi on May 18.

The workshop clarified the most prevalent economic law  the Special Economic Administrative Law. BIM Group, which was present at the workshop, shared its opinion and expectations.

The unprecedented law has been formulated for three special administrative-economic zones, including Van on in the northern province of Quang Ninh, Bac Van Phong in the central province of Khanh Hoa and Phu Quoc in the southern province of Kien Giang.

Special and unprecedented mechanisms and policies will be piloted in these zones, which are expected to create a new momentum for national economic development.

Experts and investors attending the workshop discussed the implementation of the special law in these three regions.

Accordingly, when the Law on Special Areas comes into effect, facilitating superior institutions and special preferential policies, it is expected to create the best conditions for businesses in general and BIM Group in particular. It will help promote and attract investment, support enterprises and be a bridge between domestic and foreign enterprises investing in SEZs.

At the seminar, Le Minh Dung, deputy general director of BIM Group, said:In order to help strategic investors secure investment in SEZs to promote the economy as the pressure of competition with other economies increases, investors as well as BIM Group need great support from provincial leaders, open policies and more and more new playgrounds with outstanding incentives, attracting investment from around the world. There needs to be clear and transparent policies for institutions and laws meant for SEZs, in addition to open and free policy orientations, to guide businesses such as BIM Group. As a strategic investor, BIM Group is also partnering with many international investors as well as reputable and experienced partners in the world to co-develop the groups projects to a new height.

BIM Group has invested more than 20 years in Quang Ninh, Kien Giang and Phu Quoc, mainly in aquaculture and real estate. It is rated as a leading aquaculture producer and exporter in Viet Nam, with a cultivated area of 600ha in Kien Giang, Minh Thanh and Tien Yen-Quang Ninh province, with a maximum production capacity of more than 10,000 tonnes per year. BIM Group also owns a rice mill in Kien Giang province, with a capacity of 700,000 tonnes per year.

As one of the most prestigious investors in the real estate sector, BIM Group is focusing on promoting the real estate market in Quang Ninh and Phu Quoc.

In Phu Quoc island, with an estimated capital disbursement of more than US$300 million in future, BIM Group will focus on developing the key project of Phu Quoc Marina Tourist Complex (155ha) located on the west of the island, seven kilometres away from the Phu Quoc International Airport. Coastal properties, such as five-star hotels, resorts, shophouses, high-end condominiums and vacation villas, are being built with a total investment of $180 million. BIM Group plans to collaborate with international names here, including InterContinental Hotels Group, Regent Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt Hotels and Sailing Club.

Meanwhile in Quang Ninh, BIM Group is developing the Halong Marina urban area, with a series of real estate properties to attract investors from Ha Noi and neighbouring provinces, including hundreds of commercial shophouses of Little Vietnam, Lotus Residences with Van Lien villas, Green Bay Village-the first closed community in Quang Ninh, Pearl Villa and Citadines Marina Halong, a luxury serviced apartment project in partnership with The Ascott Limited, one of the worlds largest providers of serviced apartment management and services.HCM CITY  HCM City authorities have asked the National Assembly (NA) to increase investment for the citys first two metro lines that start near Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and end at Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9 and Tham Luong depot in District 12.

The citys Peoples Committee has proposed an adjusted total investment of VN47.3 trillion ($2.076 billion) and nearly VN48 trillion ($2.107 billion) for metro line No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

Metro line No 1 (Ben Thanh in District 1 to Suoi Tien in District 9) was approved by the city in April 2007 with an investment of VN17.4 trillion ($766.4 million). Approval by the NA was not needed at that time.

After investment costs were re-calculated by consulting agencies, costs increased to more than VN47.300 trillion.

The city administration attributed the rising costs to price changes for construction materials, an increase in the minimum wage, and the depreciation of the Vietnamese ong and Japanese yen, among others.

In August 2011, the PM agreed to the citys proposed project adjustments. But with investments reaching more than VN47.3 trillion, the NA then had to approve the amount.

According to the citys Peoples Committee, the city has signed three loan agreements worth VN31.208 trillion, of which VN11.929 trillion has been disbursed, accounting for 38 per cent of the total signed loan agreements.

The project has implemented four bidding packages and has completed around 52 per cent of the work on metro No 1, with most of the work on an elevated section and depot at metro No. 1 completed.

As for the metro line No 2, which connects Ben Thanh market in District 1 with Tham Luong in District 12, the city Peoples Committee in 2010 approved a design by a local consulting firm, with a total investment of $1.37 billion.

Meanwhile, investment capital for the second metro line Ben Thanh-Tham Luong also increased, from VN26 trillion to nearly VN48 trillion, after the completion deadline was extended from 2020 to 2026.

According to the Ministry of Construction and Ministry of Finance, the project needs to be reported to the PM before being submitted to the NA for approval.

The city Peoples Committee said suspension or cancellation of the projects would lower trust among the funding sponsors, and increased commitment fees for unallocated loans. It would also affect the trust of residents affected by the project.  VNSHCM CITY  HCM City is enacting policies to aid businesses in the supporting industry by encouraging investment, networking between firms and banks, and creating special zones.

The citys Peoples Committee has approved 15 investment projects related to the mechanical, plastic and food industries, with total investment of VN938 billion (US$41 million), VN581 billion of which would be supported by the government in the form of paid interest on loans, according to the citys Department of Industry and Trade.

A city multi-disciplinary team has also appraised nine projects, at a total of VN943 billion. Two of them have been approved by the city.

The HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) is working with related authorities to form supporting-industry zones in Hiep Phuoc Industrial Zone and Le Minh Xuan 3 Industrial Zone.

Nguyen Phuong ong, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade, said that to provide space for businesses to operate, HEPZA was also building factories at Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone and Linh Trung 1 Export Processing Zone.

Factories in the former are already being rented, while those in the latter are expected to start construction within this month.

In addition, the Department of Industry and Trade is working with the State Bank of Viet Nam - HCM City Branch to connect banks with businesses and encourage credit unions and financial institutions to offer credit packages to businesses in the supporting industry.

Also, in accordance with Circular 29/2018/TT-BTC issued by the Ministry of Finance to manage funding for supporting industry development, nation-wide cities and provinces including HCMC can use state funds to provide financial aid to companies and organisations so they can organise exhibitions and conferences on attracting investment.

Accordingly, the companies and organisations in the city would be given up to 70 per cent of the total costs for such activities, or up to VN12 million per participant, as well as help in promotion and brand registration, up to VN50 million per brand.

Also, according to the circular, the costs for sending business delegations to events in other countries will also be covered up to VN70 million per participant, depending on the country.

In addition, the costs for appraisal, counselling and certification for businesses in the supporting industry would be fully covered by the State Budget.

All of these efforts are part of HCM Citys plan to develop its supporting industry. The city targets meeting 45 per cent of national demand for manufactured inputs by 2020 and 65 per cent by 2025.

The supporting industry has not grown as quickly as others, affecting the citys economic development as a whole.  VNSHA NOI  Export of squid and octopus to Russia has increased sharply since early this year, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

In the first three months of this year, the export value of squid and octopus from Viet Nam to Russia reached US$1 million, up nearly 9-fold against the same period last year.

The VASEP said Russia is one of the nine largest export markets for Vietnamese squid and octopus, with impressive export growth recently.

Russia has imported a large volume of Vietnamese fresh, frozen and salted octopus, accounting for more than 90 per cent of Viet Nams total octopus export value.

This year, Viet Nam is boosting exports of these products to Russia to regain its market share from competititors from China, Peru, Belarus and Thailand.

In 2016, Viet Nam was the third largest supplier of squid and octopus to Russia. However, in 2017, the exports dropped due to stiff competition from the big rivals.  VNSHai Van

HA NOI  Siemens has identified Asia as an important future market as the rapidly developing region is in need of efficient and cost-effective power generation technologies  an area in which the German engineering giant prides itself as a leading global supplier.

Thomas Hagedorn, head of sales for the Asia and Pacific region of the Siemens power and gas division, said Siemenss latest HL-class turbines would be the right solution for many countries in Asia . Bloombergs 2017 energy outlook forecasts the continent will need to have the worlds highest power by 2040 to meet development demands.

Introduced to the market last September, the HL-class gas turbines combine a series of new but tested technologies to enhance the efficiency of combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) to beyond 63 per cent.

With a mid-term goal to reach CCGT efficiency of 65 per cent, Siemens may surpass its arch rival GE, which announced in March this year its most efficient combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) achieved an efficiency rate of slightly more than 63 per cent at the Chubu Electric Nishi- Nagoya power plant Block-1.

Thanks to cutting-edge digitalization and innovative technologies, it took Siemens just over a year to increase the CCGT efficiency to beyond 63 per cent from 61.5 percent  a world record it achieved in 2016 with Fortuna CCGT plant at utility firm Stadtwerke Dusseldorf.

Previously the company needed 10 years form 2000 to 2010 to increase the efficiency from 58 to 60 per cent and a further six years to reach 61.5 per cent in 2016.

A CCGT power plant with an efficiency level of 61.5 per cent saves approximately 2.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, equivalent to the amount of CO2 emitted by 1.25 million passenger cars, each driving 15,000 km a year.

Hagedorn expressed his confidence that no rivals from Asia could match Siemens in terms of energy efficiency, though a throng of companies are vying for turbine market share.

Japan s Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems and Italy s Ansaldo Energia are among the names currently competing to supply high-efficiency CCGT systems.

Siemenss new HL-class turbine, developed from the previous SGT-8000H technology, boasts evolutionary 3D blading for higher aero-efficiency, an advanced combustion system for higher firing temperatures and more operational flexibility.

According to Kolja Schwarz, head of HL-class portfolio management, the HL-class is equipped with multi-layer coating for better blade robustness and less cooling air consumption and optimized sealings for minimum air leakage and cooling.

The most innovative feature of the HL-class is that it is equipped with the latest instrumental & control (I& C) systems, data connectivity and digital asset description, Schwarz said.

HL-class turbines have proven data connectivity and data analytics integrated with MindSphere, the cloud based operating system for the Internet of Things, he added.

Therefore, real-time data analytics, plant conditions and live performance monitoring are all enabled, he explained.

Siemens is looking to offer this masterwork to Thailand , Singapore and the Philippines , among other potential customers worldwide.

HL-class is not the only solution the company has to offer Asia . Hagedorn said all Siemens turbine product lines remain completely viable and suit diverse needs of different utilities.

For Viet Nam , Hagedorn said large F-class turbines should work best because the electricity price here is cheaper compared to other countries and the technology is also budget-effective.

Following the success of F-class turbines at Nhon Trach 2 power plant, Siemens wants to supply turbines for Viet Nam s Nhon Trach 3 and 4 power plants, which were added in the Viet Nams Power Development Master Plan VII for the period of 2016-20, with a vision to 2030.

The construction of these two gas turbine power plants with a total capacity of 1,500 MW and an estimated investment of VN33.3 trillion (US$1.5 billion) was approved in September 2017 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. They are set to be operational by 2020-21 in ong Nai Province .

More flexible sales strategy

Hagedorn believes that the number of Siemens power and gas projects in Asia will rise further shortly, given the bustling urban development of the region.

This year Siemens has switched to a more diverse sales strategy as there has been demand for both large and smaller turbines, Hagedorn said.

The new move, a further step Siemens has taken following its cost and job cuts in late 2017, is expected to help secure gas and power division revenue of 18 per cent in the companys portfolio, given the impacts of existing coal plants and the rise of renewable energy.

According to Hagedorn, larger turbines work best for utilities that want to produce electricity in the most efficient way financially while minimizing waste and maximizing output. In growing cities throughout Asia where electricity demands for infrastructural, industrial, commercial and residential purposes are high, hi-tech large turbines clearly have advantages over smaller engines.

But power plants with smaller turbines, say 50-70 MW, are often put in combination at industrial parks because these machines produce electricity and also produce steam which is then used for other chemical procedures so its overall efficiency that counts, not just electricity efficiency, he said.

The Siemens report pointed out that customers chose smaller turbines to make up the shortfall in electricity produced by renewable energy sources due to unexpected drops in wind and sunshine.

In 2017 Siemens said it sold nine 66-megawatt gas turbines to US customers while China and countries in Southeast Asia have been purchasing both large and smaller turbines over the past few years.

The growth in power consumption worldwide will continue, so power generation was expected to grow by 70 percent from 25.1thousand TWh in 2017 to 42.5 thousand TWh in 2040, according to the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, New Energy Outlook 2017.  VNSLast month Halcom Viet Nam announced a list of investors who it said are set to buy its shares this year.  Photo halcom.vn

Last month Halcom Viet Nam announced a list of investors who it said are set to buy its shares this year.

The 16 investors will buy a total of 24.5 million shares at a price of VN10,000 each, acquiring between 50,000 and 10 million shares each.

The plan had been approved at an extraordinary shareholders meeting last December.

Of the VN245 billion to be raised, about VN100 billion will be used by the Phong ien Mien Trung Joint Stock Company to build the Phuong Mai Wind Power Plant in Binh inh Province, and VN125 billion will be used to upgrade Provincial Road 123. The remainder will supplement the companys working capital.

Many other companies too have opted to go down the equity path to raise funds rather than borrow from banks.

Intriguingly, many of them including HID, have sold their stakes to strategic partners at several times higher than the market price.

For instance, HIDs shares are trading in the market at around VN3,300 each.

In fact, its two-year high on the stock market is only half the price.

HCD InvestPro Joint Stock Company (HCD) and the Cuu Long Petro Urban Development And Investment Corporation (CCL) also sold at similar prices.

In March CCL said it had sold 12 million shares to four investors at the price of VN10,000, raising VN120 billion, which it plans to use to fund a strategic project to build a urban area 5A, set up a seafood trading company, restructure debt and supplement working capital.

Analysts said selling stakes at a huge premium to market prices has become a trend in recent years.

The buyers are often individuals and called strategic investors.

Why are they prepared to pay such high prices when they can buy much cheaper from the market?

In reality, at the e Tam Joint Stock Companys annual general meeting recently, some shareholders also questioned the board about the issuance of five million shares to strategic investors at a price of VN10,000, or four times the market price of VN2,500.

Besides, many of the companies failed to achieve good results subsequently, triggering speculation whether they are indeed strategic investors or something dubious is going on.

Often, the strategic sale pushes up the sales and the price of the companys shares on the market.

State firms struggle with valuation

The Vietnam Television Cable Corporation (VTVCab) had to cancel its initial public offering (IPO) on April 17 after only one investor registered for the auction by April 10, the deadline.

The State-owned company had announced it would offer more than 42.2 million shares, or 47.84 per cent of its stakes, for sale at a starting price of VN140,900 (US$6.26).

A successful IPO would have fetched the Government around VN6 trillion ($264.2 million) and valued the company at VN12.4 trillion.

Analysts said the IPO failed to attract investors because the price was too high considering the firms performance and business conditions.

In 2014-16 VTVCab posted steady growth in revenues but its net profits declined from VN126.5 billion in 2014 to VN76.5 billion a year later, in 2016 .

The companys valuation in May 2017 raised controversy after the State Audit reported its assets were worth VN4.27 trillion ($187 million), or VN279 billion ($12.2 million) higher than the estimate by CPA Vietnam Auditing Company Ltd.

In its prospectus, VTVCab had said assets stood at VN2 trillion ($88 million) and the state capital at VN450 billion ($19.8 million). Following the valuation , the state capital figure somehow skyrocketed to VN6.35 trillion ($286 million). Receivables were estimated at VN1.55 trillion ($66 million), increasing its assets to VN7.9 trillion ($347.6 million).

In recent times the media has also been talking a lot about a deal in which State-owned Mobifone bought 95 per cent of Audio Visual Global (AVG), which reportedly led to a loss of VN7 trillion to the Government.

Multiple entities carried out valuations of AVG and came up with different results, but all had one thing in common that was, according to those the companys valuators, its market value was very huge, ranging between VN16,565 billion to VN33,299 billion, while the companys book value was only VN1,970 billion.

Book Value literally means the value of the business according to its "books" or financial statements. In this case, book value is calculated from the balance sheet, and it is the difference between a companys total assets and total liabilities.

Market Value is the value of a company according to the stock market. Market value is calculated by multiplying a companys shares outstanding by its current market price.

According to the Government Inspectorate (GI), the AVG deal violated regulations governing investment and management and use of State capital.

The GI also found wrongdoings in choosing entities to carry out the valuation.

Mobifone had chosen Vietcombank Securities and AMAX Investment Consultant Company without inviting bids.

Mobifones use of AMAXs valuation of VN16.565 trillion without accounting for short-term debts of VN1.134 trillion also flouted norms.

The two cases show how the valuation of State-owned firms seeking equitisation with the discrepancies running into billions of ong is eroding investors trust in the equitisation process.

Analysts say it is easy to manipulate the value of companies, especially when assets are in the form of landed properties.

One of the reasons is that the market value of a property is hard to determine.

Another limitation is that enterprise valuation entities lack the professional capabilities required.

Besides, current laws do not require valuation of companies that are fully or partly owned by the State unless they plan to equitise, participate in joint ventures or face bankruptcy.

In the event, analysts said until legal provisions related to assessment are strengthened, transparency in assessment and sale is the only recourse to reduce losses to the Government.

Car imports set to surge as governments issue certificate

Import of cars into Viet Nam could surge as authorities in some Asian countries have issued vehicle type approval (VTA) certificates to Vietnamese importers.

Thoi Bao Kinh Te Sai Gon reported that Thailand and Indonesia have issued VTA certificates to Honda, General Motors, Ford, and Toyota and the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport has accepted them.

Market observers said imports from these two countries would not increase immediately since it could take two to three months for the auto plants in those countries to fulfill Vietnamese orders.

Thailand and Indonesia were the two largest auto exporters to Viet Nam last year, shipping around 47,000 units.

Some importers of vehicles from Germany also said they hoped to soon get VTA certificates acceptable to the ministry to import.

Car imports almost came to a halt earlier this year after the Governments Decree 116 set stringent quality, technical safety and environmental protection requirements for imported cars.

It forced importers to scramble to get the VTA certificates from exporting countries, but authorities in many countries do not issue such certificates.

The Viet Nam Automobile Manufacturers Association reported that over 80,680 cars were sold in the first four months of this year, of which imports accounted for 47 per cent.  VNSHA NOI  The Temple of Literature will host a wide range of cultural activities dedicated to children during the summer holiday, according to Le Xuan Kieu, director of the Temple of Literatures Culture and Science Centre.

From now to the end of August, children will gather at the Temple of Literature on weekends to enjoy activities with different themes each week. Its a kind of summer camp helping them to gain knowledge, practice soft skills, have fun and nurture their love for traditional culture. This is the first time the centre has organised a series of summer events catering to children, Kieu said.

The event will start on May 26 with a watercolour painting activity with the participation of artists from the group Art 60+. Led by painter Pham Kien, the artists will join children in creating artwork. The paintings created at the event will be auctioned to raise funds for poor students.

Children will have the chance to experience the traditional art and crafts with artisans. They will also learn the origins of art with the guidance of the craftsmen. Accordingly, children will learn to make do (poonah) paper, kites, special foods, pottery and brocade souvenirs.

We believe that the event will attract children and foreign tourists because its a chance to learn more about Vietnamese culture directly from the artisans, said Kieu.

Our centre will co-operate with various partners in the field of souvenirs, traditional handicrafts, cooking and art to bring participants the perfect experience, he said.

Literature Lake (part of the Temple of Literature ) will be the venue for displaying colourful kites and calligraphic works on poonah paper.

The Viet Nam Kites Cultural Heritage Conservation Centre will instruct participants to make kites, decorate them and release them. The most beautiful kites will be sent to the international kites exhibition and contest.

Children will also join games, art performances and culinary experiences with spring rolls, summer rolls and grass jelly.

Artisan Nguyen Van Chuc said he is happy to have a chance to perform in front of the public.

For artisans like us, we always nurture a dream of having a space to perform, and exchange with audiences, he said.

We have been trying to preserve the arts and uphold the traditions. However, it is useless if we dont have a chance to introduce the quintessence of the art to the public.  VNSWASHINGTON  Historian Bernard Lewis, whose influential books shaped generations of Middle East scholars but whose views stirred fierce passions, died at an assisted living facility on Saturday, The Washington Post reported. He was 101.

Lewis, who was born in London and was a longtime professor at Princeton University, was a Cold War hawk, a strong pro-Israel Jew, and influential among White House and Pentagon planners of the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq.

His books included The Arabs in History (1950), The Emergence of Modern Turkey (1961), and The Crisis of Islam (2003).

Critics, however, derided what they said was his Eurocentric "clash of civilisations" view of the Middle East.

Among supporters of Lewis is Americas newly-minted top diplomat.

"Bernard Lewis was a true scholar & great man. I owe a great deal of my understanding of the Middle East to his work," Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted on Sunday.

"For some, Im the towering genius," Lewis told the Chronicle of Higher Education in 2012, according to the Post. "For others, Im the devil incarnate."

One critic, the late Columbia University Middle East expert Edward Said, slammed Lewis as "active policy scientist, lobbyist and propagandist" in a 1982 reply to Lewis in the New York Review of Books.

Lewis in turn accused Said -- author of the influential book Orientalism (1978) -- of unleashing an "unsavory mixture of sneer and smear, bluster and innuendo."  AFPNEW YORK  Already accused of sexual harassment and groping, US celebrity chef Mario Batali now faces allegations that he sexually assaulted impaired women at a New York restaurant, CBS televisions 60 Minutes reported on Sunday.

Batali had already stepped away from his eponymous gastronomic empire over previous allegations of sexual misconduct.

One woman who was employed at one of Batalis establishments said he invited her to a party at The Spotted Pig restaurant, in which he had invested, where she drank white wine with him.

"I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up -- in a toilet. And that is all," the unidentified woman told 60 Minutes.

"I woke up by myself on the floor, I dont know where I am, of an empty room, wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, Ive been drugged. That was the first thing I thought is, Ive been -- Ive been assaulted."

After finding what appeared to be semen on her skirt, she called a crisis hotline and went to a hospital for an examination, but declined to file a police report, and her "rape kit" from the hospital was not processed.

Batali said in a statement that he "vehemently" denies assaulting the woman.

Jamie Seet, a former manager at The Spotted Pig, said she witnessed via surveillance footage Batali carrying out another assault at the restaurant, and that she intervened to stop it.

"He crossed a line. A huge, a huge line... assaulting someone thats unconscious," Seet said.

"So we all went out there, and we -- we stopped what was going on. Hey Mario. How are you doing? Lets get you a cab. Just -- you know, we were saying something just to snap him out of this," Seet said, adding that she regrets not contacting police.

One of the most famous figures in American cuisine, the 57-year-old Italian-American is a popular TV personality whose empire includes 26 establishments nationwide, as well as cookbooks, cookware and food products.

Controlled by private shareholders, the group does not publish its accounts, but US media has estimated its worth to be at least US$250 million.

According to CBS, the New York police confirmed that "there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Mario Batali."  AFPTOKYO, Japan  Giang Thi Thao, a 22-year-old girl from Ha Noi, was crowned the winner of the second Miss Vietnam Festival 2018, which was recently held in Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan.

Held within the framework of the Vietnam Festival on May 19-20, the beauty contest was open to candidates aged 15 to 29, regardless of their nationalities.

Among the 38 contestants, five girls from Viet Nam and two from Japan received the highest votes on the internet to enter the finale. Voting was open from April 25 to May 9. They had to compete in three rounds -- self-chosen traditional dress, traditional dress tailored from Japanese material and a Q&A.

The Vietnam Festival was first held in Japan in September 2008, becoming the largest-ever festival of Viet Nam held in the country. Since then, the festival has been organised annually and has become the largest cultural exchange event between the two countries.

The winner of the first Miss Vietnam Festival held last year was a Japanese girl, Rika Takeuchi. This years event aimed to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the two countries as well as the 128th birth anniversary of Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh.

It had 120 pavilions, including 60 food stalls, and 50 others showcasing Vietnamese goods and introducing the image of the Vietnamese land and its people, along with art performances. The festival attracted over 150,000 visitors.  VNSPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at a meeting on dealing with complaints and petitions in Ha Noi on Saturday. VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked leaders of ministries, sectors and localities to pinpoint the weaknesses in dealing with complaints.

He made the request at a meeting on dealing with complaints and petitions in Ha Noi on Saturday.

The PM recognised efforts of localities in settling complaints in the past.

But he pointed out there remains many petitions involving large numbers of people as well as complaints that bypass the usual procedure, which is the reason the Government convened the meeting.

He stress that Government leaders say management agencies must review their performance to see whether they have fulfilled their responsibility towards citizens.

In particularly, Secretaries of Party Committees and heads of provincial Peoples Committees must question themselves as to whether they have spent adequate time and efforts to handle each specific complaint, Phuc said.

Highlighting the significance of meeting and talking to citizens, the PM said keeping close connection with the people should become part of the working culture of leaders and officials.

He asked all localities to report on whether they have held weekly meetings as required to review the settlement of peoples complaints as well as regular meetings with locals.

At the same time, the PM also stressed the need to handle those who incite people who break the law.

Noting that a majority of complaints related to land compensation and ground clearance (95 percent), the PM said that economic development should bring about adequate benefit to the people.

Sustainable development will not be reached if the problem is not solved, according to the PM.

The PM also asked that when residents of a locality bypass local authorities to file complaints to authorities at higher level, the Chairman of the Peoples Committee and Secretary of Party Committee of that locality must hold dialogue with the complainants.  VNSHA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Health Ministry to work with departments and localities to improve workers health by establishing a network of hospitals and medical stations near industrial zones.

Speaking at a meeting in the northern province of Ha Nam with nearly 1,000 workers at industrial zones (IZ) in the Red River Delta, Phuc said businesses must also pay attention to improving working conditions by offering regular health check-ups and lunches to workers.

He also said meetings like the dialogue he attended needed to be made regular to promptly deal with workers concerns, following two similar dialogues in the southeastern and central regions.

The government leader requested building standard kindergartens for workers with the involvement of the private sector and directed Ha Noi City and other localities to earmark land for building accommodation for workers.

Regarding salary, he said that under the Resolution on salary reform adopted by the five-day seventh plenum of the Party Central Committee, held in Ha Noi earlier this month, the State regulated the minimum salary level to protect workers. Beyond that, enterprises will negotiate salaries with workers to ensure that their pay correlates with their work efficiency.

For pension for female workers who retire after January 1, 2018, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was required to submit a plan to the government that ensures they will not be put at a disadvantage.

Early retirement and special pension for workers in hazardous fields needed to be taken into consideration when amending the Law on Social Security, he said.

During the dialogue, workers talked about their difficulties in daily life, work, salary, housing, kindergartens and schools for their children, social activities, work safety, food safety and security and expressed hope to have more support from the Government and local authorities.

President of the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Bui Van Cuong said following the PMs dialogue with workers in southern economic zones in 2016, a number of firms and localities expressed readiness to partner with the government and trade unions to offer welfare to trade unionists and workers.

The VGCL signed agreements with 18 corporations to bring products and services to workers with a 5-25 per cent discount. Its chapters also reached 1,139 deals with firms and partners to benefit 1.7 million trade unionists with products and services at preferential prices of over VN526 billion (US$23.4 million).

In 2016-17, VGCL from grassroots levels held more than 11,700 meetings with local administrations, employers and workers to listen to their feedback and answer questions.

In response to a question about housing and preschools for children of workers in industrial and processing zones, Chairman of the Ha Noi City Peoples Committee Nguyen uc Chung said the city built a kindergarten in Bac Thang Long Industrial Park and assigned the outlying district of ong Anh to build additional two preschools in the park. In August, apartments in the park will be sold at VN200400 million ($8,900-17,800) each. The Ha Noi Transport and Services Corporation was also asked to increase bus services to and from the park.

The PM visited an exhibition of products made by firms in the Red River Delta, presented 65 scholarships to workers, funds to build 18 houses for poor workers, and a computer set to worker Vu Xuan at from the northern province of Hai Duong.  VNSHA NOI  The Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) will focus its efforts on reforms, striving towards a contingency of officials with competence, virtue, and reputation befitting their duties.

This commitment manifested clearly in the Resolution of the 7th plenary meeting of the 12th Central Committee that concluded on May 12, and was signed into effect by the Partys leader Nguyen Phu Trong on Saturday.

The Party aims to integrate the Resolutions contents into the Partys code and Governments regulations by 2020, with Party representatives in the Government and the National Assembly being tasked with directing concerned agencies to study and urgently institutionalise the Resolutions terms and make amendments to the Law on cadres and civil servants, Law on public employees, and other relevant legal codes.

The meetings resolution states the Party would build an exhaustive mechanism towards checks-and-balances of power, exercise utmost efforts in total eradication of obtaining positions in the Government and Party by illicit means such as nepotism and bribery.

Efforts would also be expended to prevent the self-transformation and self-evolution phenomena  terms used to refer a members corrupt ethics and straying from the Communist Partys ideology.

To this end, the Partys efforts will be crystallised into components it called two main priorities, and five breakthroughs.

The two priority areas are (1) to continue implementing robust and synchronous reforms, tightening disciplines and regulations while creating an environment conducive to innovation, creativity and commitments towards public service as well as developing mechanisms to protect officials who dare to think and act outside-of-the-box and dare to take responsibility for the common goods and (2) to focus on developing the contingency of officials holding key leadership positions, especially Party secretaries, with an eye set on decentralisation of power in order to engender autonomy and innovation while preventing abuse of power.

The five breakthroughs are (1) to reform official contingency assessment towards multi-dimensional, continuous, criteria-based and output-based assessment via surveying, making public the results and comparing the results to other officials in similar positions, towards abolishing lifetime State payroll; (2) to maintain a firm balance of power, filtering out and replacing the unsuitable officials in a timely manner; put an end to illicit bribery for positions; (3) to enforce serious implementation of the Partys order that local government-level Party secretaries must not be locals; (4) to implement public servants salary and housing reforms to create strong motivations for officials to be fully committed to their duties, and to craft policies and mechanism to enable a fair and competitive environment to draw in and make use of talents; (5) to complete mechanisms to make sure that officials must maintain close ties with people and to promote the role of the people in building a capable contingency of officials.

Specific goals

The Party aims to have at least 11 scientists cum officials for every 10,000 people, with a contingency of scientists and experts in key sectors comparable to their international and regional colleagues.

More stringent requirements would also be required of contingency of officials in strategic level positions, most notably the requirement where at least 40-50 per cent of the total must be capable of working in international environment, besides conditions such as 15 per cent of the contingency being under 45 years old, or all must be truly exemplary in political ideology, virtuosity, qualifications, and reputation. Similarly, for the contingency of officials holding leader positions of general departments, departments at the central level, 20-25 per cent must be under 40 years and 50-60 per cent capable of working in an international environment. For local governments leaders and officials, 15-20 per cent of provincial leaders must be under 40 years old, 25-35 per cent capable of working in international environment. The contingency of commune-level officials must be 100 per cent university/college graduates and has received standardised training on political thoughts, ideology, as well as their jobs skills and knowledge.

For the contingency of officials holding executive positions in State-owned enterprises, 70-80 per cent of them must be capable of working internationally while upholding Partys ideology and the law-abiding spirit.

The Partys resolution also makes representation a priority objective. It aims to have at least 35 per cent of delegates in the National Assembly and peoples councils of all levels, and 20-25 per cent in the local Party secretary positions, respectively, being women, while specifically states that In areas with considerable presence of ethnic minority population, the ratio of the officials who are from local ethnic minority backgrounds must reflect respective demographic ratio.

Rampant personnel issues

The radical changes to the Partys policies cadre and contingency of officials came from a variety of shortcomings that have beleaguered the Party for some time, which the General Secretary Trong has bemoaned as undermining the public trust in the Party and sworn to correct it.

In the resolution, after listing achievements made in the personnel works, the Party said there remains limitations in its workforce, such as the fact the contingency is large in number, but lacking in capacity, the shortage of capable and leading experts and scientist, officials weak foreign language proficiency and peoples skills, nepotism and bribery to obtain positions in the Government and the Party organisations, or the lack of co-ordination between officials at different levels and in different sectors.

The resolution also didnt mince words in calling out senior officials who fail to lead by example, lack competence and virtue demanded of their positions, be individualistic, out-of-touch with the people and get themselves tainted by corruption, wastefulness, and special interest groups.

The Partys resolution also made notice of several executive officials in State companies who have taken advantage of legal loopholes to illegally make private profits at the expense of the State assets, as evidenced by a string of major economic mismanagement cases brought to light in recent years under the intense, no-forbidden-zone anti-corruption campaign spearheaded by the Party Secretary General.

The low ratio of young, female, or ethnic minority officials compared to the Partys targets was also listed as a serious disappointment.

The personnel work also portrayed many limitations. Cadre planning lacks the big-picture perspective, while stumbles in selecting the right person for the job and vice versa, making for rampant incompetent officials, causing public discontent. Institutionalisation of Partys direction to attract talents was also considered lacklustre with the failed goals of having enough young intellectuals and highly qualified officials.

The resolution wrote the growth and development of the contingency of officials in the last 20 years have played a key role in the outstanding achievements that the country has made, however, the weaknesses and faults in a considerable number of officials are also the main reason why Viet Nam has not achieved a level of growth and development commensurate to its potentials, strengths and peoples expectations.  VNSHA NOI  The 14th National Assembly (NA) which will last for 20 working days opened its fifth session Monday morning in Ha Noi.

Addressing the opening ceremony, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said the fifth session of the 14th NA takes place in the midst of the countrys positive developments. The national growth rate in the first quarter of 2018 was the highest in the last ten years.

However, there are also unexpected regional and international developments, she said.

Ngan said the country should focus on developing its potential, maintaining macroeconomic stability, boosting production and manufacturing, and preparing to minimise the negative impacts of global changes to ensure the national economys sustainable development.

The country should also continue to strengthen national security and defence, enhance diplomatic activities and safeguard national sovereignty, while upholding anti-corruption, thrift practice, and waste-combating efforts, she said.

Ngan highlighted the significance of the 14th NAs fifth session, with a large number of draft laws and resolutions expected to be discussed and adopted.

Legislation continues to be a key task of the meeting, accounting for two-thirds of the assemblys scheduled time, she said.

Ngan said a number of important tasks have been assigned to the 14th NA in its third year, requiring NA deputies to bring into play the spirit of innovation, creativity and action, in the interest of the people and the country.

NA deputies will debate on and adopt eight draft laws, draft resolutions and eight other bills. These draft laws and bills, which aim to institutionalise Party resolutions and the 2013 Constitution, are of significance and concern to constituents, Ngan said.

The gathering will also examine a report assessing the implementation of socio-economic development and State budget plans for 2017 and the first months of 2018, as well as the ratification of the 2016 State budget balance.

The report assessing the results of thrift practice and waste-combating efforts will also be discussed, she said.

NA deputies will listen to feedback and proposals from voters, a report on the settlement of voters feedback and proposals, and have question-and-answer sessions.

The NA will exercise supreme supervision over the implementation of policies and laws on the use and management of State capital and assets in enterprises and the equitisation of State-owned enterprises during the 2011-16 period, and will adopt a resolution on the 2019 supervision programme and on the establishment of the NAs 2019 thematic supervision working groups.

Reports submitted by the Government, NA committees, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Peoples Court, the Prosecutor General of the Supreme Peoples Procuracy, and the State Audit will also be studied during the socio-economic discussion session.  VNSHCM CITY  Authorities in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta have tightened management of breeding areas for tra fish as prices continue to rise.

More farmers are breeding the fish because of the high price, but authorities have told them to not breed the fish in unzoned areas as there are threats of disease outbreaks and reduced productivity.

The price of adult tra fish and fingerling tra fish have been stable since early last year, resulting in many farmers switching to breed the fish.

The price of adult tra fish is VN32,000  33,000 (US$1.4  1.6) a kilogramme, up VN1,000  2,000 a kilogramme against last month.

In Long An Province, the Peoples Committee has ordered local authorities in Tan Hung, Vinh Hung and Thanh Hoa districts and Kien Tuong Town to warn local rice farmers not to breed fish in unzoned areas.

Many farmers in the districts and town began turning their paddy fields into tra fish breeding ponds late last year.

In Long Ans Tan Hung District, the fry fish breeding area has increased from 500ha late last year to nearly 800ha.

Farmer Vo Van Liep in Tan Hung Districts Hung ien B Commune says the profit from breeding tra fries is many times higher than that from rice.

Each hectare of tra fry fish can yield a profit of VN300  400 million ($13,200  17,600) after three months of breeding, while the profit from rice is VN20 million ($880) per hectare for each three-month crop.

The Long An Province Peoples Committee has also instructed its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to review its aquaculture zoning plan and work with localities to determine which aquaculture areas have water and land resources suitable for breeding the fish.

In ong Thap Province, the provinces Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has petitioned the provinces People Committee and the Tan Hong District Peoples Committee to stop the digging of new tra fish ponds in unzoned areas in Tan Hong.

Tan Hong District and Hong Ngu Town have the largest new tra fish breeding areas in ong Thap.

Farmers in ong Thap, the deltas largest tra fish producer, have turned more than 100ha of rice fields into tra fish ponds so far this year, according to the provinces Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In the delta, tra fries are bred mostly in ong Thap, An Giang and Long An provinces.

ong Thap has produced more than 164 million of tra fingerling in the first three months of the year, down 44 million fries against the same period last year because of unfavourable weather.

ong Thap supplies its tra fingerling to local farmers and nearby provinces and Can Tho City.

Ho Thanh Dung, deputy director of the ong Thap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the price of tra fingerling, about 30 fingerling a kilo, was at VN70,000 a kilo, up VN31,000 against the same period last year.

ong Thap has 207,000 tra fish breeders which have produced fries since 2013.

The ong Thap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked tra fry producers to gradually replace old tra fish breeders to improve the quality of fries.

The delta produced about 373,400 tonnes of adult tra fish in the first four months of the year, an increase of 9 per cent year-on-year, according to statistics from the Deltas provinces and Can Tho. - VNSCAN THO  While many universities in Can Tho city have managed to reach 65-100 per cent of their enrolment quotas this year, many vocational schools and colleges there are struggling to find students since admission to universities is easier than ever before.

According to the city Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, there are 10 vocational colleges and 14 vocational high schools in the locality.

According to the Can Tho Job Centre, 21 per cent of job vacancies on average require at least university graduates, 12 per cent require college graduates and 28 per cent require high school graduates.

Earlier this year the Ministry of Education and Training has scrapped minimum entrance scores for universities, colleges and vocational schools, except for teacher training institutions; this is to provide more opportunities for students to attend universities and make it easier for the lesser-known universities to attract students.

This change, however, made it harder for vocational schools to recruit students.

Vocational schools say that more students are applying to universities than colleges after the change.

Many apply to universities to be close to their friends or pick saturated career streams, they say.

Hau Giang Community College only managed to admit 250 students to its college last year  and none at all to its high school  and all of them had been unable to get admission to university.

It is feared that many schools could be forced to close down this year.

Dr Ho Thanh Tam, vice principal of Can Tho College, said to satisfy employers and reduce the number of unemployed graduates, frequent surveys of job demands and proper career/university guidance are important.

The Ministry of Education and Training should adjust universities admission criteria, which should not be based exclusively on school scores since some students may not be able to keep up at university, he said.

Huynh Ngoc Chinh, head of the Can Tho Technical Economic Colleges education department, said the ministry should reintroduce university entrance tests to prevent unqualified students from entering universities and high jobless rates among graduates.  VNSHA NOI  Ha Noi ranked first in the national professional skill test this year with 15 gold medals, two silver medals and 11 bronze medals.

The results were announced on Sunday evening by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), which organised the test in collaboration with five related ministries.

The skill test was organised from May 13-20 with 520 contestants from 56 provinces and cities, who expressed their skills in six different fields.

After the test, the organisers awarded 63 gold medals, 15 silver medals, 71 bronze medals and 154 consolation prizes to the contestants.

HCM City ranked second with eight gold medals, one silver medal, six bronze medals and 13 consolation prizes.

The organisers will choose the most outstanding candidates to form a national team to join the ASEAN professional skill test, which will be held in Thailand from August 26 to September 4 this year. The team will also participate in the world professional skill test, which will be held in Russia from August 22-27.

We should equip our youths with a strong career so that they have a stable foundation to start their lives, said ao Ngoc Dung, minister of MoLISA.

He praised more than 500 candidates for their efforts to improve their professional skills and increase work productivity.

It contributed an important part to the countrys education reforms, he said.

He added that the skill test was a good opportunity for the contestants, including the ones who did not win any prize, to learn from the experience and improve their skills.

According to him, Industrial Revolution 4.0 has created a lot of opportunities and challenges and the ones caught up with opportunities are likely to go faster and farther and be more successful.

One of the most important duties of MoLISA this year is to improve the quality of vocational training. The goal is to get more students to study vocational training and earn better after graduating.

Dung said there were two important points to keep in mind: first, students after graduating from vocational training schools will have to study further. Second, parents should encourage their children to study vocational training and grow in their career.

According to MoLISA, as many as 42 per cent of the youths joined vocational training schools in Australia last year, while more than 60 per cent of the youths in Singapore enrolled in vocational training schools.  VNSLONG AN  Construction work on a new 1,000-bed hospital in uc Hoa District in the southern province of Long An has started.

The Xuyen A General Hospital will have a total area of 110,000sq.m, 10 floors, and different wards such as those for patients undergoing treatment for cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Speaking at the ceremony, former President Truong Tan Sang said the construction of the hospital was important as uc Hoa District currently has only one hospital, with 200 beds. Rapid industrialisation has brought people from different localities to the area, increasing the demand for health care and medical test facilities, Sang said.

Building a new hospital will not only resolve the demand but will also create a medical system that will reduce overcrowding in hospitals in major cities such as Ha Noi and HCM City, he said.

Health care in HCM City has seen significant improvement in recent years, but the citys medical infrastructure still encounters plenty of difficulties. These problems affect the quality of health care and treatment, Sang said.

The Ministry of Health has set a target of 26 sick beds per 10,000 people for 2018. With more than 700,000 residents in the district and neighbouring areas, the local medical sector needs 1,820 sick beds to meet this demand.

Xuyen A General Hospital Director Nguyen Van Chau said the hospital would supply high-quality medical services and modern treatment methods for the same prices as other State hospitals in the province.

This would give local residents access to high-quality medical services and create equality in health care, he said.

The hospital is scheduled to commence operations in 2020.  VNSA NANG  Three Indian naval shipsfrigate Sahyadri, fleet tanker Shakti and anti-submarine stealth corvette Kamortawith 900 crew members began a four-day friendly visit at a Nang Citys Tien Sa Port on May 21.

The ships are under the command of Rear Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, flag officer commanding of the Eastern Fleet.

The Indian Naval ship Sahyadri previously paid a friendship visit to the city in 2014.

The visit, which is part of the ongoing operational deployment of the Indian Navys Eastern Fleet ships to South East Asia and the North West Pacific region, will include professional interaction between personnel of both navies, official calls and interaction with dignitaries of the Vietnamese Government.

The Indian crew members will have sport exchanges with a Nang Citys College and Navy Zone 3, tour destinations in a Nang and Hoi An town and conduct joint maritime exercises during the four-day friendly visit.

Three Indian naval ships Sahyadri, Shakti and Kamorta, with 900 crew members begin a four-day friendly visit at a Nang Citys Tien Sa Port on May 21.  VNS Photo Cong Thanh

Viet Nam and India have boosted defence cooperation as a vital component of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The Indian Navy has had extensive interactions with Viet Nam Peoples Navy, particularly in the field of training, repairs, maintenance and logistics support aimed at capacity building.

In 2017, two naval ships INS Satpura and INS Kadmatt paid a visit to Hai Phong City port.

A farewell ceremony will take place at Tien Sa Port next Tuesday.

In 2013, 1,200 officers and crew from three vessels of the Indian Navys Eastern Fleet also paid a visit to the city ports.WASHINGTON  The United States cares more about getting a good agreement than quickly concluding the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the US Treasury secretary said.

An informal deadline came and went this week for reaching an agreement in time for the Republican-controlled Congress to approve it before the November 6 midterm elections.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Friday there was still "wiggle room" in the legislative calendar, giving negotiators a couple more weeks.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, however, acknowledged that the sides, though working hard to get a deal, are still "far apart."

"The president is more determined to have a good deal than he is worried about any deadline," Mnuchin said on "Fox News Sunday."

"Whether we pass it in this Congress or pass it in a new Congress, the president is determined that we negotiate NAFTA," he added.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the trade agreement if a satisfactory deal cannot be reached.

He blames NAFTA, which has molded trade between the United States, Mexico and Canada since 1994, for the loss of millions of US jobs and dislocations in the auto and other industries.

Despite the lack of a breakthrough, Mnuchin said the administration was focused on getting an agreement.

"I can tell you Ive been in contact with the finance ministers in both Canada and Mexico. President Trump and (Canadian Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau had a very good conversation.

"We are still far apart but we are working every day to renegotiate this agreement and thats what we are focused on," he said.

On Friday, Trudeau said he was "feeling positive" a deal would be reached, saying, "Its right down to the last conversations."

He described trade in automobiles and auto parts as the last major sticking point in the negotiations to revamp the trade agreement. The United States wants to increase the amount of American content in cars eligible to receive duty-free treatment.  AFPCARACAS  President Nicolas Maduro was declared winner of Venezuela s election Sunday in a poll rejected as invalid by his rivals, who immediately called for fresh elections to be held later this year.

Reeling under a devastating economic crisis, only 46 per cent of voters turned out to cast ballots in an election boycotted by the opposition, but one that hands Maduro a second term until 2025.

"We do not recognise this electoral process as valid, as true," his main rival Henri Falcon told a news conference, even before the result was announced.

"For us, there were no elections. We have to have new elections in Venezuela ."

Maduro hailed his victory for another six-year term in a speech to thousands of cheering supporters outside the official Miraflores Palace in Caracas .

"Never before has a presidential candidate taken 68 per cent of the popular vote," he said, to applause.

"We won again! We triumphed again! We are the force of history turned into a permanent popular victory," said Maduro.

The official result gave Maduro 67.7 per cent of the vote, with Falcon a distant second at 21.2 per cent. In the last opinion polls before the vote, the pair were running neck-and-neck.

Third-placed Javier Bertucci, an evangelist preacher who polled around 11 per cent, joined in the call for new elections.

Wearing a bright red shirt that identifies him as a "Chavista," the president arrived early at a Caracas polling station along with his wife, former prosecutor Cilia Flores.

"Your vote decides: ballots or bullets, motherland or colony, peace or violence, independence or subordination," said the 55-year-old former bus driver and union leader.

The comments reflected previous ones by the socialist leader that Venezuela is the victim of an "economic war" waged by the conservative opposition and outside powers such as the United States aimed at toppling him.

As the polls opened, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the "sham" election.

Small queues of voters, mostly Maduro supporters, formed at some polling stations, but others appeared half empty, AFP correspondents reported from several cities.

Falcon, a 56-year-old former army officer who failed to gain the endorsement of the main opposition, accused the government of coercing voters.

In a news conference held before the official result announcement, he pointed particularly to so-called "red points" -- street stalls set up by the ruling Socialists near polling stations -- allegedly to offer handouts in exchange for votes.

The former governor of Venezuela s Lara state also said polling centers had remained open after the scheduled closing time, and that his monitors were expelled from some of them.

Hundreds of Venezuelans took to the streets in several Latin American capitals, including Bogota , Buenos Aires and Lima -- as well as in Madrid  to denounce the vote.

The biggest protest was in Chile s capital Santiago , where more than 1,000 demonstrated against the election. Chile granted 73,000 visas to Venezuelans fleeing the country last year.

The Chilean government rejected a result that "lacks all legitimacy and does not meet any of the minimum and necessary requirements to be a democratic and transparent election, in accordance with international standards."  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- 28 Oct (4) 14 Oct - 21 Oct (5) 7 Oct - 14 Oct (2) 30 Sep - 7 Oct (1) 23 Sep - 30 Sep (1) 9 Sep - 16 Sep (4) 2 Sep - 9 Sep (1) 19 Aug - 26 Aug (1) 12 Aug - 19 Aug (4) 5 Aug - 12 Aug (6) 29 Jul - 5 Aug (2) 22 Jul - 29 Jul (1) 15 Jul - 22 Jul (3) 8 Jul - 15 Jul (4) 1 Jul - 8 Jul (1) 24 Jun - 1 Jul (1) 17 Jun - 24 Jun (3) 10 Jun - 17 Jun (5) 3 Jun - 10 Jun (3) 27 May - 3 Jun (5) 20 May - 27 May (6) 13 May - 20 May (6) 6 May - 13 May (1) 29 Apr - 6 May (5) 22 Apr - 29 Apr (4) 15 Apr - 22 Apr (6) 8 Apr - 15 Apr (4) 1 Apr - 8 Apr (4) 25 Mar - 1 Apr (3) 18 Mar - 25 Mar (3) 11 Mar - 18 Mar (3) 4 Mar - 11 Mar (4) 25 Feb - 4 Mar (3) 18 Feb - 25 Feb (1) 11 Feb - 18 Feb (4) 4 Feb - 11 Feb (5) 28 Jan - 4 Feb (6) 21 Jan - 28 Jan (1) 14 Jan - 21 Jan (4) 7 Jan - 14 Jan (2) 31 Dec - 7 Jan (7) 24 Dec - 31 Dec (2) 17 Dec - 24 Dec (3) 10 Dec - 17 Dec (1) 3 Dec - 10 Dec (4) 26 Nov - 3 Dec (3) 19 Nov - 26 Nov (2) 12 Nov - 19 Nov (1) 5 Nov - 12 Nov (4) 22 Oct - 29 Oct (3) 15 Oct - 22 Oct (4) 8 Oct - 15 Oct (4) 1 Oct - 8 Oct (1) 10 Sep - 17 Sep (2) 3 Sep - 10 Sep (2) 27 Aug - 3 Sep (1) 20 Aug - 27 Aug (6) 6 Aug - 13 Aug (4) 30 Jul - 6 Aug (1) 23 Jul - 30 Jul (5) 16 Jul - 23 Jul (3) 9 Jul - 16 Jul (5) 25 Jun - 2 Jul (5) 18 Jun - 25 Jun (2) 11 Jun - 18 Jun (6) 4 Jun - 11 Jun (1) 28 May - 4 Jun (5) 21 May - 28 May (2) 14 May - 21 May (4) 7 May - 14 May (4) 30 Apr - 7 May (4) 23 Apr - 30 Apr (3) 16 Apr - 23 Apr (3) 9 Apr - 16 Apr (1) 2 Apr - 9 Apr (3) 26 Mar - 2 Apr (2) 19 Mar - 26 Mar (3) 12 Mar - 19 Mar (3) 5 Mar - 12 Mar (2) 26 Feb - 5 Mar (3) 19 Feb - 26 Feb (2) 12 Feb - 19 Feb (2) 5 Feb - 12 Feb (6) 29 Jan - 5 Feb (5) 22 Jan - 29 Jan (1) 15 Jan - 22 Jan (8) 8 Jan - 15 Jan (7) 1 Jan - 8 Jan (4) 25 Dec - 1 Jan (3) 11 Dec - 18 Dec (3) 13 Nov - 20 Nov (4) 6 Nov - 13 Nov (2) 30 Oct - 6 Nov (1) 23 Oct - 30 Oct (1) 16 Oct - 23 Oct (1) 9 Oct - 16 Oct (1) 2 Oct - 9 Oct (2) 25 Sep - 2 Oct (1) 18 Sep - 25 Sep (4) 11 Sep - 18 Sep (2) 4 Sep - 11 Sep (1) 28 Aug - 4 Sep (4) 21 Aug - 28 Aug (1) 14 Aug - 21 Aug (2) 7 Aug - 14 Aug (4) 31 Jul - 7 Aug (6) 24 Jul - 31 Jul (3) 17 Jul - 24 Jul (6) 10 Jul - 17 Jul (3) 3 Jul - 10 Jul (6) 26 Jun - 3 Jul (3) 19 Jun - 26 Jun (4) 5 Jun - 12 Jun (5) 29 May - 5 Jun (1) 22 May - 29 May (1) 15 May - 22 May (1) 8 May - 15 May (5) 1 May - 8 May (5) 24 Apr - 1 May (1) 17 Apr - 24 Apr (2) 10 Apr - 17 Apr (3) 3 Apr - 10 Apr (2) 20 Mar - 27 Mar (2) 13 Mar - 20 Mar (4) 6 Mar - 13 Mar (1) 28 Feb - 6 Mar (2) 21 Feb - 28 Feb (1) 14 Feb - 21 Feb (1) 7 Feb - 14 Feb (3) 24 Jan - 31 Jan (2) 17 Jan - 24 Jan (3) 10 Jan - 17 Jan (2) 3 Jan - 10 Jan (1) 27 Dec - 3 Jan (1) 20 Dec - 27 Dec (1) 13 Dec - 20 Dec (3) 6 Dec - 13 Dec (2) 29 Nov - 6 Dec (2) 22 Nov - 29 Nov (2) 15 Nov - 22 Nov (1) 8 Nov - 15 Nov (5) 1 Nov - 8 Nov (2) 25 Oct - 1 Nov (2) 18 Oct - 25 Oct (1) 11 Oct - 18 Oct (4) 4 Oct - 11 Oct (1) 27 Sep - 4 Oct (3) 20 Sep - 27 Sep (2) 13 Sep - 20 Sep (1) 6 Sep - 13 Sep (3) 30 Aug - 6 Sep (5) 23 Aug - 30 Aug (6) 16 Aug - 23 Aug (1) 9 Aug - 16 Aug (1) 2 Aug - 9 Aug (3) 26 Jul - 2 Aug (2) 19 Jul - 26 Jul (1) 12 Jul - 19 Jul (5) 5 Jul - 12 Jul (6) 28 Jun - 5 Jul (4) 21 Jun - 28 Jun (7) 14 Jun - 21 Jun (5) 7 Jun - 14 Jun (2) 31 May - 7 Jun (5) 24 May - 31 May (3) 17 May - 24 May (5) 10 May - 17 May (3) 3 May - 10 May (1) 26 Apr - 3 May (1) 19 Apr - 26 Apr (5) 12 Apr - 19 Apr (5) 5 Apr - 12 Apr (2) 29 Mar - 5 Apr (1) 22 Mar - 29 Mar (5) 15 Mar - 22 Mar (9) 8 Mar - 15 Mar (6) 1 Mar - 8 Mar (10) 22 Feb - 1 Mar (5) 15 Feb - 22 Feb (5) 1 Feb - 8 Feb (2) 25 Jan - 1 Feb (1) 18 Jan - 25 Jan (4) 11 Jan - 18 Jan (1) 4 Jan - 11 Jan (3) 28 Dec - 4 Jan (3) 21 Dec - 28 Dec (3) 14 Dec - 21 Dec (4) 7 Dec - 14 Dec (2) 30 Nov - 7 Dec (3) 23 Nov - 30 Nov (3) 9 Nov - 16 Nov (3) 2 Nov - 9 Nov (5) 26 Oct - 2 Nov (3) 19 Oct - 26 Oct (8) 12 Oct - 19 Oct (6) 5 Oct - 12 Oct (3) 28 Sep - 5 Oct (5) 21 Sep - 28 Sep (4) 14 Sep - 21 Sep (1) 7 Sep - 14 Sep (4) 31 Aug - 7 Sep (1) 24 Aug - 31 Aug (2) 17 Aug - 24 Aug (2) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (7) 3 Aug - 10 Aug (3) 27 Jul - 3 Aug (3) 20 Jul - 27 Jul (3) 13 Jul - 20 Jul (4) 6 Jul - 13 Jul (1) 29 Jun - 6 Jul (5) 22 Jun - 29 Jun (2) 15 Jun - 22 Jun (4) 8 Jun - 15 Jun (2) 1 Jun - 8 Jun (2) 25 May - 1 Jun (8) 18 May - 25 May (4) 11 May - 18 May (1) 4 May - 11 May (3) 27 Apr - 4 May (4) 20 Apr - 27 Apr (2) 13 Apr - 20 Apr (6) 6 Apr - 13 Apr (2) 23 Mar - 30 Mar (4) 16 Mar - 23 Mar (2) 9 Mar - 16 Mar (2) 2 Mar - 9 Mar (2) 23 Feb - 2 Mar (2) 16 Feb - 23 Feb (1) 9 Feb - 16 Feb (6) 2 Feb - 9 Feb (1) 26 Jan - 2 Feb (2) 19 Jan - 26 Jan (1) 12 Jan - 19 Jan (1) 29 Dec - 5 Jan (1) 22 Dec - 29 Dec (2) 8 Dec - 15 Dec (2) 1 Dec - 8 Dec (1) 24 Nov - 1 Dec (4) 17 Nov - 24 Nov (4) 10 Nov - 17 Nov (1) 3 Nov - 10 Nov (4) 20 Oct - 27 Oct (2) 13 Oct - 20 Oct (4) 29 Sep - 6 Oct (1) 22 Sep - 29 Sep (2) 15 Sep - 22 Sep (3) 8 Sep - 15 Sep (1) 1 Sep - 8 Sep (6) 25 Aug - 1 Sep (7) 18 Aug - 25 Aug (9) 11 Aug - 18 Aug (6) 4 Aug - 11 Aug (4) 28 Jul - 4 Aug (3) 21 Jul - 28 Jul (8) 14 Jul - 21 Jul (4) 7 Jul - 14 Jul (5) 30 Jun - 7 Jul (8) 23 Jun - 30 Jun (8) 16 Jun - 23 Jun (4) 9 Jun - 16 Jun (7) 2 Jun - 9 Jun (7) 26 May - 2 Jun (8) 19 May - 26 May (7) 12 May - 19 May (5) 5 May - 12 May (5) 28 Apr - 5 May (11) 21 Apr - 28 Apr (6) 14 Apr - 21 Apr (5) 7 Apr - 14 Apr (6) 31 Mar - 7 Apr (7) 24 Mar - 31 Mar (4) 17 Mar - 24 Mar (4) 3 Mar - 10 Mar (6) 24 Feb - 3 Mar (3) 17 Feb - 24 Feb (3) 10 Feb - 17 Feb (5) 3 Feb - 10 Feb (3) 27 Jan - 3 Feb (6) 20 Jan - 27 Jan (1) 13 Jan - 20 Jan (6) 6 Jan - 13 Jan (2) 30 Dec - 6 Jan (2) 23 Dec - 30 Dec (1) 16 Dec - 23 Dec (3) 9 Dec - 16 Dec (2) 2 Dec - 9 Dec (1) 25 Nov - 2 Dec (1) 18 Nov - 25 Nov (3) 11 Nov - 18 Nov (5) 4 Nov - 11 Nov (2) 28 Oct - 4 Nov (6) 21 Oct - 28 Oct (9) 14 Oct - 21 Oct (9) 30 Sep - 7 Oct (4) 23 Sep - 30 Sep (2) 16 Sep - 23 Sep (2) 9 Sep - 16 Sep (6) 2 Sep - 9 Sep (3) 26 Aug - 2 Sep (3) 19 Aug - 26 Aug (3) 12 Aug - 19 Aug (7) 5 Aug - 12 Aug (4) 29 Jul - 5 Aug (8) 22 Jul - 29 Jul (7) 15 Jul - 22 Jul (7) 8 Jul - 15 Jul (7) 1 Jul - 8 Jul (7) 24 Jun - 1 Jul (9) 17 Jun - 24 Jun (10) 10 Jun - 17 Jun (7) 3 Jun - 10 Jun (10) 27 May - 3 Jun (6) 20 May - 27 May (8) 13 May - 20 May (8) 6 May - 13 May (11) 29 Apr - 6 May (6) 22 Apr - 29 Apr (8) 15 Apr - 22 Apr (5) 8 Apr - 15 Apr (11) 1 Apr - 8 Apr (5) 25 Mar - 1 Apr (9) 18 Mar - 25 Mar (9) 11 Mar - 18 Mar (8) 4 Mar - 11 Mar (8) 19 Feb - 26 Feb (7) 12 Feb - 19 Feb (7) 5 Feb - 12 Feb (5) 29 Jan - 5 Feb (7) 22 Jan - 29 Jan (4) 15 Jan - 22 Jan (2) 8 Jan - 15 Jan (5) 1 Jan - 8 Jan (5) 25 Dec - 1 Jan (6) 18 Dec - 25 Dec (4) 11 Dec - 18 Dec (5) 4 Dec - 11 Dec (7) 27 Nov - 4 Dec (7) 20 Nov - 27 Nov (7) 13 Nov - 20 Nov (3) 6 Nov - 13 Nov (4) 30 Oct - 6 Nov (5) 23 Oct - 30 Oct (9) 16 Oct - 23 Oct (3) 9 Oct - 16 Oct (8) 2 Oct - 9 Oct (5) 25 Sep - 2 Oct (11) 18 Sep - 25 Sep (4) 11 Sep - 18 Sep (6) 4 Sep - 11 Sep (6) 28 Aug - 4 Sep (7) 21 Aug - 28 Aug (3) 14 Aug - 21 Aug (9) 7 Aug - 14 Aug (4) 31 Jul - 7 Aug (8) 24 Jul - 31 Jul (11) 17 Jul - 24 Jul (8) 10 Jul - 17 Jul (9) 3 Jul - 10 Jul (11) 26 Jun - 3 Jul (9) 19 Jun - 26 Jun (9) 12 Jun - 19 Jun (7) 5 Jun - 12 Jun (9) 29 May - 5 Jun (5) 22 May - 29 May (8) 15 May - 22 May (9) 8 May - 15 May (4) 1 May - 8 May (6) 24 Apr - 1 May (6) 17 Apr - 24 Apr (10) 10 Apr - 17 Apr (8) 3 Apr - 10 Apr (8) 27 Mar - 3 Apr (8) 20 Mar - 27 Mar (8) 13 Mar - 20 Mar (12) 6 Mar - 13 Mar (7) 27 Feb - 6 Mar (7) 20 Feb - 27 Feb (11) 13 Feb - 20 Feb (7) 6 Feb - 13 Feb (5) 30 Jan - 6 Feb (8) 23 Jan - 30 Jan (10) 16 Jan - 23 Jan (10) 9 Jan - 16 Jan (9) 2 Jan - 9 Jan (11) 26 Dec - 2 Jan (6) 19 Dec - 26 Dec (7) 12 Dec - 19 Dec (6) 5 Dec - 12 Dec (7) 28 Nov - 5 Dec (5) 21 Nov - 28 Nov (4) 14 Nov - 21 Nov (7) 7 Nov - 14 Nov (6) 31 Oct - 7 Nov (6) 24 Oct - 31 Oct (5) 17 Oct - 24 Oct (5) 10 Oct - 17 Oct (7) 3 Oct - 10 Oct (2) 26 Sep - 3 Oct (4) 19 Sep - 26 Sep (6) 12 Sep - 19 Sep (7) 5 Sep - 12 Sep (10) 29 Aug - 5 Sep (8) 22 Aug - 29 Aug (5) 15 Aug - 22 Aug (6) 8 Aug - 15 Aug (6) 1 Aug - 8 Aug (4) 25 Jul - 1 Aug (13) 18 Jul - 25 Jul (9) 11 Jul - 18 Jul (9) 4 Jul - 11 Jul (8) 27 Jun - 4 Jul (9) 20 Jun - 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13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1)Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain.

Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred.

For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here.From a secret live music jam sesh to the return of a cult-worthy fried chicken sandwich, this week has you covered with a slew of unique activities.

Monday, May 21: Sustainable Butchering Demo & Tasting

When: 2pm

Where: The Perennial, 59 9th St. (SoMa), theperennialsf.com

Why: Only serious cooks need apply to this sheep butchery workshop with sustainability advocate Adam Danforth and The Perennial's cofounders, Anthony Myint and Karen Leibowitz, who will also discuss different cuts of meat and building menus around whole animal sourcing. Bernal Cutlery will be on-hand selling knives. // Tickets ($150) are available at brownpapertickets.com.





Monday, May 21 and Tuesday, May 22: Coi Turns 12

When: 2pm

Where: Coi, 373 Broadway (North Beach), coirestaurant.com

Why: Three-Michelin-star restaurant Coi is turning 12 and, to celebrate, the restaurant is welcoming back chefs from years past to cook two nights of collaborative dinners. The talent includes Brett Cooper (Aster), Jake Godby (Humphry Slocombe), Evan and Sarah Rich (Rich Table), and James Syhabout (Commis). // Reservations are $495 per person and must be pre-paid at exploretock.com/coi.





Tuesday, May 22: Free Museum Day

When: 11am to 6pm

Where: GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th St. (Castro), glbthistory.org

Why: To commemorate Harvey Milk Day, the GLBT History Museum is offering free admission and docent-led tours every hour. Explore exhibits including Queer Past Becomes Present and Outspoken: Angela Davis. // RSVP at eventbrite.com.





Tuesday, May 22: Yoga + Wine

When: 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Where: 855 Yoga Studio, 855 Brannan St. (SoMa)

Why: Find balance with some physical activity followed by booze. You'll build heat and flexibility in this fast-paced 50-minute yoga class, and then you can zen out at happy hour in the studio afterwards. // Tickets ($25; or $15 with no wine) are available at eventbrite.com.





Tuesday, May 22: Pop-Up Jam

When: 8:30pm to 11pm

Where: Secret location

Why: Music lovers who also like a good surprise won't want to miss this secret live jam including local and international musicians. // Tickets ($15) are available at eventbrite.com.





Tuesday, May 22: A Burger-y Book Party

When: 5pm to 1am

Where: Henry's, 2600 Durant Ave. (Berkeley), graduatehotels.com

Why: Burger maestro Christopher Kronner and writer Paolo Lucchesi will be commemorating the release of A Burger to Believe Ina meaty book celebrating, what else, the burgerwith a special dinner of Kronner classics. Alice Waters will even be in attendancethe event is a fundraiser for her Edible Schoolyard. // Reservations are available at kronnerburger.com.





Wednesday, May 23: Drinkering and Tinkering

When: 6pm to 9pm

Where: Drake's Dealership, 2325 Broadway Auto Row (Oakland), drinkdrakes.com/dealership

Why: What could be more satisfying than sipping a fresh brew while you make something with your hands. Chabot Space and Science Center will provide all the tools and tech needed for crafty projects, from sewing to circuit building. // For more information, go to chabotspace.org





Wednesday, May 23: A Seafarer's Film Night

When: 6pm to 7:15pm

Where: The Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, commonwealthclub.org

Why: Sound is a pivotal element to the wellbeing of the ocean, but man-made noises tend to get in the way of things. Journey under the sea and learn about how to protect life in our waters in the Emmy Awardwinning documentary Sonic Sea. // Tickets ($0-$20) are available at eventbrite.com.





Wednesday, May 23: Lunch at Besharam

When: 11am to 2:30pm

Where: Besharam at Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota St. (Dogpatch), minnesotastreetproject.com/restaurant

Why: Out with Alta, in with Besharam, a new restaurant collab between Heena Patel (a La Cocina alum) and Daniel Patterson serving refined Indian cuisine imagined through a Californian lens. Opening for lunch, there'll be flatbread wraps, sandwichesthink toasted buns filled with vegetable curry and a soft fried eggbroccoli quinoa salad, grilled paneer kabobs, and more. Dinner service, along with wine and cocktails, will launch in a few weeks.





Wednesday, May 23: Karma Cinema

When: 6pm

Where: The New Parkway, 474 24th St. (Oakland), thenewparkway.com

Why: Pay a penny or whatever you like when movie tickets are offered on a sliding scale20 percent of proceeds will benefit a different local nonprofit each month.





Thursday, May 24: HBD, Bob Dylan!



When: 9:30pm

Where: PianoFight, Bar Stage, 144 Taylor St. (Tenderloin), pianofight.com

Why: The Voice of a Generation turns 77 today. Pay tribute at DylanF a Nashville-style acoustic set with violin accompaniment covering Dylan classics such a Don't Think Twice, It's Alright and Shelter From the Storm. // Tickets ($10-$20) are available at eventbrite.com.





Thursday, May 24: Chicken Yum Yum Returns

When: 12pm

Where: Via delivery in the East Bay, 4505burgersandbbq.com

Why: Once upon a time, before Ryan Farr rose to 4505 Meats fame, he made glorious fried chicken sandwiches, with spicy slaw and a slathering of coriander aioli, at a stand at the farmers market. Chicken Yum Yum went to the wayside once 4505 went brick and mortar, but followers of the cult sandwich can rejoicethat is, if they live in the East Bay. Check the website for delivery options.





Friday, May 25: Free Oysters

When: 5:30pm

Where: El Rio, 3158 Mission St. (Bernal Heights), elriosf.com

Why: Head to everyone's favorite local dive/dance bar for free oysters on the half shell. Get to shucking on the patio and get your drink on for happy hour until 8pm. Be prompt thoughthe bivalves go fast.





Saturday, May 26: Block Party!

When: 11am to 4pm

Where: Victory Hall & Parlor, 360 Ritch St. (SoMa), victoryhallsf.com

Why: Tasty eats, sweets, drinks, and DJ jams will all be part of the fun at this block party featuring the local businesses of Ritch Street. You can even get henna-d by Nikita Sankar, your hair styled by Clock & Dagger Salon. // Free; register at eventbrite.com





Saturday, May 27: Carnaval Festival and Parade

When: 10am to 6pm

Where: Harrison Street, between 16th and 24th Streets (Mission)

Why: Indulge in global cuisine, international music and dance, arts and crafts, and a parade (9:30am) at this year's 40th Carnaval. // carnavalsanfrancisco.orgThe name 25 Lusk conjures the dark, lounge-y feels of the eight-year-old subterranean drinking den in SoMa.

But the new Rooftop 25 brings the Lusk brand into the light, and it's just what you'd want from a rooftop bar: sunny, casual, and energetic.

Designed by Cass Calder Smith, the SoMa bar and restaurant is clad in San Francisco's chosen palette these dayssteel, concrete, glass, and wood siding styled in horizontal slats for contemporary effect. And by SF standards, the place is huge, with enough private and communal tables and semi-private cabana-style seating for 100 guests.

The service will be fast-casual, with a menu of shareable plates from executive chef Matthew Dolanthin wood-fired pizzas, avocado and shrimp dip, crab rolls, and oysters.



But most likely you'll be here for the drinks. In addition to the requisite beers and wines by the glass, look for quenching signature drinks, bottled small-batch cocktails, and even boozy frozen things such as a spicy passionfruit margarita, Irish coffee, and a John Daly.

Surprisingly, the project has been eight years in the making: It was part of the ownership team's original plan for the building, but delays and logistics and red tape got in the way. But you know what they say about waiting for good things; when you finally do kick back al fresco herewhether it's for a coworker happy hour, a chill date, or pre-Giants-game pit stopyou'll wonder where you ever day-drank before.



(Photo by Anne-Claire Thieulon) Designed by Cass Calder Smith, Rooftop 25 mixes steel, wood, concrete, and glass to so-San-Franciscan effect. String lights promise extra ambience come dusk.

// Rooftop 25, 25 Lusk St. (SoMa), 25lusk.com/rooftop-25

and CSIRO Investigate Braeside Base Metal Alteration

Perth, May 21, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Rumble Resources Limited ( ASX:RTR ) ("Rumble" "RTR" "the Company") is pleased to announce it has partnered with the Australia's national science agency, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ("CSIRO") to investigate the alteration mineral footprints at the Company's Braeside Project in the Pilbara Region of Western Australia.CSIRO and Rumble will undertake research into the wide pervasive alteration zones associated with base metal alteration at the Braeside Project.CSIRO has expertise in spectral methodology and interpretation for minerals exploration. The CSIRO-Rumble collaboration will involve processing and interpreting spectral data by CSIRO to aid in defining alteration signatures associated with base metal mineralisation. Importantly drill hole spectral studies completed by Rumble have confirmed the widespread alteration.Rumble has received a $50,000 grant through the Australian Government's Innovation Connections programme, to be matched by Rumble's own funds to execute the project. The Innovation Connection programme helps drive innovation-led collaboration in the research and development sector.Brett Keillor, Rumble's Technical Director commented; "Rumble has over 1000km2 of prospective tenure, much of it exposed and suitable for spectral mineral mapping. CSIRO is the premier organisation in Australia with respect to the application of spectral research to exploration. The collaborative study with CSIRO will gain an understanding of the mineral alteration and mineralisation relationship that may lead to significantly expediting generation of high order targets for further geochemistry and possible drill testing".Exploration by Rumble, including detailed surface geochemistry, prospect geological mapping and first pass RC drilling, has highlighted a strong association of base metal mineralisation with wide zones of pervasive silica-sericite-chlorite alteration of dominantly intermediate to mafic volcanics and volcaniclastics. The geological deposition model is considered by Rumble to be high level fracture/feeder/structural zones associated with porphyritic rhyolite. Wide alteration zones, some over 100m in width, have returned consistent low-grade Zn and Pb haloes with high grade sphalerite (Zn) and galena (Pb) zones.The base metal mineralisation extends over a 34km strike within E45/2032 and is completely open. The mineralisation is associated with multiple altered structures which include the historic High Grade Ragged Hills Mine located at the southern end of the prospective zone.Within the E45/2032 tenement there are eleven (11) groups of significant base metal in soil anomalism, of these groups, only four (4) have been partly tested with the latest reconnaissance RC drilling which identified a new high-grade zinc discovery at Devons Cut in the maiden drill program - See image 1 in link below.E45/2032 represents approximately 15% of the total Braeside Project (>1000km2) - See Image 2 in link below.CSIRO will support Rumble Resources in their exploration R&D efforts as part of an Innovation Connections project. The study by CSIRO will include:- Collection and evaluation of public (ASTER) and commercially (WorldView-3) available multispectral spaceborne data which will map:o Background alteration.o Major geological units.o Alteration assemblages potentially associated with base metal mineralisation.o Dominant structures with additional aeromagnetic data.The study objectives are to:- Evaluate multispectral remote sensing imagery for mapping alteration mineral assemblages potentially associated with Pb/Zn occurrences.- Evaluate the potential for extrapolating remotely sensed mineral footprints from outcrop/subcrop areas to in-situ covered areas.- Investigate spatial and/or genetic relationships of sericite-silica and chlorite alteration with Pb/Zn values.The study is expected to be completed in 5 months, running parallel with Rumble's current exploration program at the Braeside Project.The CSIRO research team that will work on this project comprises of:- Dr Vaclav Metelka (project lead) - Remote sensing data for geological mapping, exploration and integration of multiscale geoscience data- Dr Andrew Rodger - Geosoftware and Algorithms- Dr Carsten Laukamp - Mineral Footprints - Hyperspectral geologyTo view images, please visit:About Rumble Resources Ltd

Rumble Resources Limited (ASX:RTR) (FRA:20Z) is an Australian based exploration company, officially admitted to the ASX on the 1st July 2011. Rumble was established with the aim of adding significant value to its current gold and base metal assets and will continue to look at mineral acquisition opportunities both in Australia and abroad.

Master Project Agreement Signing Ceremony Date Change

Melbourne, May 21, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Environmental Clean Technologies Limited ( ASX:ESI ) (ECT or Company) provides the following update in relation to the timing of the signing ceremony for its India Project.The Company announced last Thursday (17 May 2018) that the signing ceremony for its India Project was scheduled for Thursday 24 May 2018 in Canberra.The date has subsequently been rescheduled for Wednesday 30 May 2018.This move is to accommodate a change in availability of key dignitaries from both Australia and India that has recently been communicated to the Company.ECT Chairman Glenn Fozard commented, "As shareholders may appreciate, coordinating the availability of senior dignitaries from India and Australia can be challenging."With recent changes in availability for both groups, we've worked to find the next window of mutual availability."Our partners at NLC and NMDC remain highly motivated and the Australian government continues to be very supportive."We're extremely pleased that the signing ceremony will be in Canberra on Wednesday 30 May 2018 reflecting the importance of this first-of-a-kind deal between Australia and India."BackgroundThe signing ceremony is the culmination of over 4 years of collaborative effort between the parties, representing the largest ever joint R&D agreement between Australia and India, and will see the execution of the Master Project Agreement (MPA) for the development of an integrated Coldry demonstration and Matmor pilot plant.Commencing with an ~AUD35 million R&D phase, the project aims to scale up ECT's Matmor and Coldry technologies to deliver an integrated Coldry demonstration and Matmor pilot plant to validate their technical and economic feasibility at a capacity of ~2 tonnes of metal per hour.Following successful phase one R&D outcomes, the agreement provides the framework to proceed with a commercial-scale integrated steelmaking facility. The parties have previously contemplated the potential scope for the commercial phase via the techno-economic feasibility study completed in July 2016, which includes a notional capacity of 500,000 tonnes per annum steel output and an estimated AUD300 million capital investment. The site for the R&D plant has been chosen to allow room for expansion into a commercial-scale facility.The Company will continue to provide updates.About ColdryWhen applied to lignite and some sub-bituminous coals, the Coldry beneficiation process produces a black coal equivalent (BCE) in the form of pellets. Coldry pellets have equal or superior energy value to many black coals and produce lower CO2 emissions than raw lignite.About MATMORThe MATMOR process has the potential to revolutionise primary iron making.MATMOR is a simple, low cost, low emission production technology, utilising the patented MATMOR retort, which enables the use of cheaper feedstocks to produce primary iron.About the India R&D ProjectThe India project is aimed at advancing the Company's Coldry and Matmor technologies to demonstration and pilot scale, respectively, on the path to commercial deployment.ECT has partnered with NLC India Limited and NMDC Limited to jointly fund and execute the project.NLC India Limited is India's national lignite authority, largest lignite miner and largest lignite-based electricity generator.NMDC Limited is India's national iron ore authority.About Environmental Clean Technologies Ltd

Environmental Clean Technologies Limited (ASX:ECT) is in the business of commercialising leading-edge coal and iron making technologies, which are capable of delivering financial and environmental benefits.

We are focused on advancing a portfolio of technologies, which have significant market potential globally.

ECT's business plan is to pragmatically commercialise these technologies and secure sustainable, profitable income streams through licencing and other commercial mechanisms.ANDERSON, Calif. - The Anderson Police Department arrested a felon from Oregon after he allegedly ran away from authorities and K-9 Aero.

According to APD, officers were patrolling Sunday afternoon on foot near the Anderson Meadows Apartment complex, at 2500 Highway 273, when they recognized Joshua Michael Parker, 28, of Kingsbury, walking around the area.

Parker was identified as a person with a felony warrant out of Oregon for a parole violation as well as a parole for a charge of robbery and assault with a weapon.

When officers tried to take Parker into custody, he fled on foot and jumped a fence twice, but on his second jump he encountered K-9 Aero.

Parker continued to try to escape, but officers and Aero took him into custody.

The suspect was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment and was booked into the Shasta County Jail.

Parker will be charged with resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance.Published today, the judgment follows a two-week hearing in January of the substantive issues in the case  the first anti-avoidance case by TPR to be heard in full by the tribunal. The court found that TPR was right to pursue the use of its Financial Support Direction (FSD) power against ITV to require it to provide support for the Box Clever scheme, which has 2,800 members and a deficit of c.115 million. Mike Birch, TPRs Director of Case Management, said: "We are very pleased with this ruling which sends a clear message to companies linked with defined benefit pension schemes that we will not hesitate to use our anti-avoidance powers where we believe it is reasonable for them to provide financial support. We will pursue these cases for as long as necessary to protect pension savers and the Pension Protection Fund. This has been a long and complex case, where the targets have raised numerous legal challenges causing significant delays in an outcome being reached. We now hope that ITV will accept the Upper Tribunals findings and seek to work with TPR to put in place appropriate financial support for the scheme and deliver a good outcome for members. Box Clever was formed in 2000 as a joint venture between the TV rental businesses of Granada (now ITV) and Thorn (now Carmelite). Respective employees were transferred to the new company and enrolled in the Box Clever pension scheme. TPR opened an anti-avoidance investigation following the collapse of Box Clever. Prior to the collapse, ITV extracted significant value from the joint venture. The Tribunal ruled that it is reasonable for ITV to provide financial support for the scheme in the circumstances of this case. The judges held that: By their choice of structure for the Joint Venture, the Shareholders extracted considerable cash from the business with no risk of recourse to their assets. They retained an ongoing interest in the merged business with the possibility of further value being generated if the business was successful, but without having to bear any responsibility if the business, whose strategy they continued to determine, subsequently failed. ITV has 14 days to seek permission to appeal the Tribunals decision. If there is no appeal, TPRs Determinations Panel will issue Financial Support Directions to ITV. The Tribunals judgment also clarifies a number of points of law regarding how and when TPR can use its FSD powers. In particular, the Tribunal agreed with TPRs position on the following: Retrospective use  The purpose of the FSD regime is to provide a rescue framework for pension schemes in deficit. TPR could not meet its objectives if it could not take into account events which occurred prior to the Pensions Act 2004 coming into force  for example, many scheme and company structures were created prior to 2004. Fault  The regime is not fault based and so does not require criticism or blame to be found against the targets for their conduct in respect of the pension scheme. It is instead a regime based on responsibility  in this case the targets chose the structure of the joint venture and should therefore bear appropriate responsibility for the risks. Reasonableness  This is assessed by balancing all the relevant facts to reach a conclusion, with the relationship between the targets and the pension scheme as the starting point. When making this assessment terms from the legislation such as benefit, relationship with the employer and involvement with the scheme should be given a wide interpretation. An FSD may still be issued against a target even if it has not received any substantial benefit from its relationship with the pension schemes sponsoring employer, although in this case the Tribunal found that ITV had received valuable benefit from the creation of the employer.Get AfricaFocus Bulletin by e-mail! Format for print or mobile Namibia/Africa: Afrobarometer Insights AfricaFocus Bulletin

May 21, 2018 (180521)

(Reposted from sources cited below) Editor's Note In Namibia in 2014, the ruling SWAPO party decided to adopt a 50-50 gender quota for its representatives in the National Assembly. This brought the representation of women in the National Assembly to 41% in the election that year (more than twice the current 19% of women in the U.S. House of Representatives). Recent survey results show that the move has proved highly popular in Namibia, with 71% of women and 68% of men saying that such a quota should be mandated for all political parties. Such detailed insights into public opinion are now available for over 30 African countries, due largely to the work of Afrobarometer, a continent-wide network which conducts professional surveys with local partners and is now reporting its results from its 7th round of surveys since 1999. Analyses of results from the November 2017 survey are now being released by the Institute for Public Policy Research in Windhoek, Namibia. Like Afrobarometer surveys in other countries, they provide a valuable antidote to over-generalization and stereotypes, whether nefarious or simply uninformed, about "Africans" or indeed "all" people in any country in Africa or anywhere in the world. I have often made reference to Afrobarometer surveys in AfricaFocus (see http://tinyurl.com/y9xrnscx for previous Bulletins making use of Afrobarometer). Today's Bulletin focuses on Namibia, both because it is a country that rarely features in international news other than for tourist travel, and because of notable findings such as on the leading role the country is taking on women's rights to political leadership. AfricaFocus readers may laugh at President Trump's invention of a country called "Nambia" last year (see coverage in Washington Post at http://tinyurl.com/yacr7lg6). But all of us non-Namibians can benefit from more nuanced understanding of Namibia. More generally, Afrobarometer deserves much wider attention from scholars, journalists, and anyone interested in substituting nuanced analysis for stereotypes. Increasingly global polling firms also include African countries, with surveys in local languages and sophisticated methodology. But Afrobarometer has pioneered in doing this. And, while commercial firms do not allow access to the public for closer analysis of the data, Afrobarometer provides a flexible and user-friendly on-line tool for doing so, while protecting individual privacy. At the end of this Bulletin I show a few tables and graphs generated with their on-line data analysis tool. In addition to gender, other topics addressed in the excerpts below include the negotiations with Germany for reparations for the early 20th century genocide of the Herero and Nama, and the state of Namibia's economy and democracy. The next presentation, on May 22 in Windhoek, will focus on service delivery in rural and urban areas. For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on Namibia, visit http://www.africafocus.org/country/namibia.php +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ AfricaFocus Resources for Making the Road Travel Seminars An additional reason for the focus on Namibia this week is work AfricaFocus is doing with the Making the Road travel seminars to Southern Africa and Cuba (http://makingtheroad.com), and in particular the group going to South Africa and Namibia this summer. In 2016 and 2017 I began working with my long-time friend and colleague Prexy Nesbitt to help out with some tasks, which have included preparing resource guides for participants, including links to recent articles, videos, and maps, to supplement their dialogues on the ground with social-justice activists and liberation movement veterans. Now we have decided to make these resource guides available to a wider audience on the web. They are designed not as academic resources or for specialists, but as aides in introducing background and issues relating to each country visited, highlighting recent and accessible information. Check them out at http://www.africafocus.org/mtr-resources/intro-resources.php Just published, in coordination with work on today's Bulletin, is a short resource guide on Namibia (https://tinyurl.com/MTR-Namibia). The comparative map to the right, generated through http://thetruesize.com, available in larger size in the resource guide, illustrates the relative size of Namibia and the United States. Another short resource prepared for Making the Road, on Southern Africa: Many Countries, Intersecting Histories, includes several similar maps and short background text explaining how "Southern Africa" is more than "South Africa." ++++++++++++++++++++++end editor's note+++++++++++++++++ Gender quotas, GBV, German reparations, Koevoet, and other topics Findings from Afrobarometer Round 7 survey in Namibia IPPR Presentation, 12 April 2018, Windhoek, Namibia Afrobarometer http://www.afrobarometer.org Institute for Public Policy Research http://ippr.org.na Institute for Justice and Reconciliation https://www.ijr.org.za/ The Afrobarometer team in Namibia, led by the Institute for Public Policy Research and Survey Warehouse, interviewed 1,200 adult Namibians in November 2017. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3% at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys have been conducted in Namibia in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2012, and 2014. [Excerpts only: full presentation available at http://tinyurl.com/y9onqvjv] At a glance Gender equality: Most Namibians say a gender quota system should be adopted for regional council elections. More than half say the National Assembly has been more effective with more women.

Gender-based violence: Namibians see alcohol, unemployment, and poverty as major contributors to the scourge of GBV in their country.

Past and present: Most Namibians believe that government should work with Nama and Herero traditional authorities on genocide reparations.

Land matters: Many Namibians say that the Affirmative Repositioning Movement (AR) has been most effective in getting government to pay attention to land issues.

Taxes and budget: Almost three-quarters of citizens endorse the legitimacy of tax officials, even though more than two-thirds say at least "some" tax officials are corrupt. What is Afrobarometer? A pan-African, non-partisan survey research project that measures citizen attitudes on democracy and governance, the economy, civil society, and other topics.

Started in 12 African countries in 1999, expanded to 36 countries in Round 6 (2014/2015). Round 7 surveys are being conducted in 2017/18.

Goal: To give the public a voice in policymaking by providing high- quality public opinion data to policymakers, policy advocates, civil society organizations, academics, news media, donors and investors, and ordinary Africans.

A national partner in each country conducts the survey. In Namibia, Afrobarometer Round 7 survey was conducted by Survey Warehouse and the Institute for Public Policy Research. Methodology Nationally representative sample of adult citizens

* All respondents are randomly selected.

* Sample is distributed across regions/states/provinces and urban/rural areas in proportion to their share in the national population.

* Every adult citizen has an equal chance of being selected.

* All respondents are randomly selected. * Sample is distributed across regions/states/provinces and urban/rural areas in proportion to their share in the national population. * Every adult citizen has an equal chance of being selected. Face-to-face interviews in language of the respondent's choice.

Standard questionnaire allows comparisons across countries and over time.

Sample size in Namibia of 1,200 adult citizens yields a margin of error of +/-3% at a 95% confidence level.

Fieldwork for Round 7 in Namibia was conducted 5-27 November 2017. Survey demographics - in % * Gender: Men 49 , Women 51

* Residence : Urban 55 , Rural 45

* Education: No formal education 7, Primary 16, Secondary 53, Post-secondary 22

* Religion: Christian 92, Other 8 Findings Gender equality in Namibia - Key findings More than half of Namibians (59%) say that the increased number of women in the National Assembly has made Parliament more effective.

Moreover, seven in 10 Namibians (70%) say that all political parties should be mandated to adopt a gender quota in the National Assembly.

Although men and women differ on whether men make better leaders than women, on the whole, most Namibians (68%) believe that women should have the same chance of being elected to political office as men. Gender-based violence - Key findings A majority of Namibians (84%) say it is never justified for a man to beat his wife.

Most Namibians (71%) say alcohol abuse is the predominant factor that contributes to GBV in the country.

Despite daily reports of GBV in Namibia, most Namibians (71%) believe that the government is handling the fight against GBV well. Unresolved historical issues - Key findings More than half of Namibians (56%) say traditional authorities should join genocide negotiations.

However, only 48% say government is doing well on these negotiations.

Two-thirds (66%) of Namibians say Germany should pay reparations. Should Germany pay reparations? * Agree/Strongly agree that Germany should pay reparations - 66%

* Disagree/Strongly disagree - 10%

* Neither agree nor disagree/Don't know/Refused - 24% Money issues Tax and budget matters - Key findings Almost three-quarters (73%) of Namibians say tax officials always have the right to make people pay taxes, even though more than two-thirds (69%) believe that at least "some" tax officials are corrupt.

About two-thirds (64%) of Namibians say that government should reduce the defense budget.

A slim majority (53%) believe government should raise taxes to fund povertyreduction efforts. Government not effective on land issues unless under pressure - Key findings A little more than half (52%) of Namibians say that government is not effective in providing serviced land/housing in urban areas.

A majority (56%) are of the opinion that the government's land resettlement program is not effective.

AR is perceived as most effective in getting government to pay attention to land issues and also represents the most widely supported approach to land reform. Who gets government to pay attention to land issues? * The Affirmative Repositioning Movement or AR - 41%

* The Landless People's Movement or LPM - 12%

* Government is handling land issues well without external influence - 10%

* Opposition political parties - 8%

* The media - 7% [Editor's note: AR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirmative_Repositioning) is a youth movment focused on access to urban land. LPM was founded by former govenment officials and is planning to become a political party.] Namibians want gender quotas extended to regional councils News release Institute for Public Policy Research Windhoek, Namibia 12 April 2018 [Excerpts. For full set of figures, see original news release at http://tinyurl.com/ydb3p645] More than half of Namibians think that the increased number of women in the National Assembly has made Parliament more effective, according to the most recent Afrobarometer survey. Moreover, more than two-thirds of Namibians support the use of gender quotas to ensure more equal participation of men and women in both National Assembly and regional council elections. In 2015, Namibia leapfrogged many countries to become a global leader in the representation of women in the National Assembly after the ruling SWAPO party implemented a 50/50 party list. However, regional councils and the National Council continue to be dominated by men. With the next set of elections taking place in 2019 and 2020, and given the government's stated commitment to gender equality, gauging public support for quota systems, as well as perceptions of the impact on the National Assembly of the increased number of women, is timely. Key findings A majority (59%) of Namibians say that having more women in the National Assembly has made that body more effective (Figure 1).

More than two-thirds (70%) of Namibians, regardless of gender, say that all political parties should be mandated to adopt a gender quota to ensure 50/50 representation of men and women in the National Assembly (Figure 2).

The same majority (70%) say the gender quota system should be extended to the regional councils (Figure 3). Most Namibians (68%) believe that women should have the same chance as men of being elected to political office (Figure 4). Respondents were asked: Which of the following statements is closest to your view? Statement 1: Men make better political leaders than women, and should be elected rather than women. Statement 2: Women should have the same chance of being elected to political office as men. (% who "agree" or "agree very strongly" with each statement). Majority of Namibians say traditional authorities should join negotiations on genocide reparations Institute for Public Policy Research Windhoek, Namibia News Release 12 April 2018 [Excerpts. For full set of figures, see original news release at http://tinyurl.com/y9ljws7f] Most Namibians say traditional authority representatives should participate in - if not lead - genocide negotiations with the German government, according to a new Afrobarometer survey. Only one in five citizens say the Namibian government should handle the negotiations on its own. Key findings A majority (56%) of Namibians say genocide reparations negotiations should be handled by both government and traditional authorities. An addition 11% say Herero and Nama traditional authorities should conduct the negotiations themselves (Figure 1).

Almost half of Namibians (48%) think government is handling reparations negotiations with the German government "very well" or "fairly well" (Figure 2).

Two-thirds (66%) of Namibians say Germany should pay reparations for the genocide; only one in 10 Namibians (10%) disagree (Figure 3). Respondents were asked: For each of the following statements, please tell me whether you disagree or agree: The German government should pay reparations to Namibia for the crimes of genocide committed against the Namibian people? Views of Namibia's economy darken sharply; youth more likely to consider emigration Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 202, 1 May 2018 Maximilian Weylandt [Excerpts. For full set of figures, see original dispatch at http://tinyurl.com/y8du924y] Summary In the past two years, Namibia's economy has struggled. In 2016, the country saw two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth, officially plunging it into a depression, followed by the first year since 1993 to record a decline in the GDP, by 0.8% in 2017 (Namibia Statistics Agency, 2018). At the same time, unemployment among youth, who make up almost 40% of the population, increased to 43.4% in 2016, up from 39.2% in 2014 (Namibia Statistics Agency, 2015, 2017). Citizens' perceptions tell a similar story: According to the most recent Afrobarometer survey, the share of Namibians who think the economy is doing poorly is at a historic high, triple the proportion in 2014, and almost two-thirds say the government is doing a bad job of managing the economy. Yet more than half describe their personal living conditions as good, and a majority expect things to get better over the coming year. Even though youth tend to rate their own living conditions more favourably than their older counterparts, they are particularly critical of the government's economic management. They are also more likely than their elders to be thinking about moving to another country. Economic considerations feature heavily in these thoughts: By far the most common reason for considering emigration is to find work. Key findings The share of Namibians who rate the country's economic condition as "fairly good" or "very good" has dropped from 74% in 2014 to 41%.

About half (52%) of Namibians describe their personal living conditions as "fairly good" or "very good."



Youth are somewhat more likely than their elders to see their living conditions as good (55% vs. 48%), but they are less likely to approve of the government's performance on the economy (31% vs. 40%).

One in five Namibians (22%) have given at least "a little" thought to emigrating. Youth are more likely than their elders to think about moving to another country (27% vs. 17%). Namibians' reasons for considering emigration are predominantly tied to economic issues. Dramatic downturn in views on Namibia's economic condition Since the second round of the Afrobarometer survey in Namibia in 2003, respondents have been asked how they would describe "the present economic condition of this country." In the preceding five rounds, Namibians who thought the state of the economy was "fairly good" or "very good" always far outnumbered those who considered it "fairly bad" or "very bad." As of November 2017, however, negative assessments of the economy stand at a record high, tied at 41% with positive evaluations (Figure 1). Compared to the 2014 survey, the proportion of citizens who describe the economy as "fairly bad" or "very bad" has almost tripled, while the share who say it is fairly/very good has dropped by 33 percentage points. This pattern holds across key demographic groups, with little difference by gender, age, area of residence, or educational level (Figure 2). A slight majority (52%) of Namibians consider their own living conditions "fairly good" or "very good" - a decrease from 60% in the 2014 survey (Figure 3). The share of Namibians who rate their living conditions as "fairly bad" or "very bad" has increased by 10 percentage points since the previous survey. Respondents were asked: In general, how would you describe the present economic condition of this country? Respondents were asked: In general, how would you describe your own present living conditions? Exploring Afrobarometer On-Line For anyone interested in getting behind the headlines to understand recent developments in African countries in the 21st century, Afrobarometer is an indispensable source. Surveys are only one window into reality, of course, but they provide rich data that both help unpack stereotypes and provoke questions needing indepth exploration through other sources as well. For readers to make their own judgments, Afrobarometer provides full questionnaires and explanations of survey methodology for each country included over the seven rounds of surveys since 1999. The results sampled above from Namibia are from the most recent survey round from 2016/2018. The data from Namibia for that round is not yet available in the Online Data Analysis tool (http://afrobarometer.org/online-data-analysis/), which now has the latest data from 8 of the more 36 countries available from the previous round in 2014/2015. The tool is extremely flexible and not difficult to use, although it includes many option for creating tables and charts and for downloading raw data as well as results in different formats. Here are a few of the charts and tables I created from the Round 6 Namibia data, with one from South Africa for comparison. Note that these are not from the current Round 7 results reported above. This breakdown by race shows that a majority of Namibians of all races were confident of the general direction the country was going, with close to 80% of both black and white Namibians giving positive ratings. The percentage of favorable ratings for the current state of the economy in Namibia were slightly less positive, but still added up to over 70% for those saying either "fairly good" or "very good." [As noted in the IPPR report above, this had dropped sharply by the 2017 survey.] The combined totals for satisfaction with democracy ("fairly satisfied" or "very satisfied" also came to 60% or over in all racial groups in Namibia. This contrasted with public opinion ratings of satisfaction with democracy in neighboring South Africa (chart below), which were both lower and showed significant variation by racial groups. The snippets of data above are, of course, only teasers. But they show the potential richness of data available on-line, for more in-depth analyses by scholars knowledgeable about Namibia or for exploration by teachers, students, journalists, policy makers, or other analysts. AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter. AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org. Please write to this address to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see http://www.africafocus.orgWhats missing, of course, is any mention of the huge and unending debate over mercury-containing vaccines and autism. Nothing was said about where the mercury was supposed to have come from in the first place. For some reason Pittman didnt bother to go into the use of mercury as a preservative in vaccines or the fact that it was never tested or approved by the FDA or that the 12.5/25 mcg in a single vaccine far exceeds EPA standards for mercury exposure.

Pittman quoted Dr. Joyce Mauk, head of the Child Study Center in Fort Worth, Texas, saying There's really no evidence that mercury causes autism or has a place in causing autism, and also we know that chelation can be dangerous as well. Even the underlying theories don't make sense.

This study looked at a small number of children and lead researcher, Tonya Davis, from Baylor University in Waco, Texas concluded that chelation doesnt help autistic kids. We were told that some kids did improve but that might just have been due to kids getting older or some other treatment.

Chelation gained traction as an alternative treatment for autism due to a theory that mercury poisoning might play a role in the developmental disorder. However, evidence hasn't supported that idea and it's been essentially discarded in the scientific community, researchers said.

During chelation therapy, patients are given injections of a chemical that binds to heavy metals, lowering their concentration in the blood and ultimately allowing the metals to be excreted through urine.

Pittman: Removing heavy metals from the body through a process traditionally used to treat mercury and lead poisoning doesn't help relieve autism symptoms, a new analysis suggests.

Chelation is a big topic in the autism community. The process involves the removal of heavy metals from the body, typically lead and mercury, and while mainstream medicine and health official still know nothing about autism---except that their ever-expanding vaccine schedule doesnt cause it---they look upon most biomedical treatments like chelation with suspicion and even alarm.

By Anne Dachel An interesting story by Reuters medical reporter Genevra Pittman came out on Dec 21, 2012. The message was clear from the title: Chelation doesn't help kids with autism : study.

For years, doctors and health officials referred to the mercury-containing preservative, thimerosal, as safe mercury. It was supposed to be far less dangerous than methyl mercury found in fish that were always being warned about. Despite having no original safety studies to back them up, and the fact that beginning in the early 2000s, they started to remove thimerosal from vaccines, health officials have continued to deny any serious side effects from the use of a deadly neurotoxin. To make up for the fact that theyve allowed its use for 70 years based solely on a single study done by the manufacturer, Eli Lilly, back in 1930, U.S. officials have managed to produce a number of easily flawed and manipulated population studies (all tied to the vaccine industry) as proof that thimerosal is safe.

The debate has gone on for years. The government is adamant: mercury-containing vaccines dont hurt children. Kids shots today only have trace amounts (except most of the flu shots which have full levels of mercury). Weve been told removing mercury was done only to reduce over-all mercury exposure and to quell parents fears, not because anything was really wrong.

This link shows the dramatic increase in the number of vaccines our children received between 1983 and 2012. In the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s, many of these vaccines contained mercury and the total amounts kids were getting were truly shocking. Aluminum, another untested neurotoxin, is still commonly found in these same vaccines and theres been no move to remove it. Its stunning to note that theres never been a study done on the cumulative effects of all these vaccines.

Mercury use in vaccines was the reason a private meeting was held at a retreat center in Norcross Georgia in 2000. Attendees included U.S. health officials and vaccine manufacturers.

They met to discuss the dramatic rise in neurological disorders among our kids and the coincidental increase in mercury-containing vaccines in the childhood schedule.

In March 2008, the big autism news was the Hannah Poling story. The U.S. government had conceded the vaccine damage case of a young Georgia girl, Hannah Poling. In the NY Times story, Deal in an Autism Case Fuels Debate on Vaccine, reporter Gardiner Harris wrote, The government has conceded that vaccines may have hurt Hannah, and it has agreed to pay her family for her care. Advocates say the settlement  reached last fall in a federal compensation court for people injured by vaccines, but disclosed only in recent days  is a long overdue government recognition that vaccinations can cause autism.

Harris went on to give us lots of reasons why, despite the fact the government was going to compensate the Polings, vaccines dont cause autism. He cited CDC head, Dr Julie Gerberding, a long time denier of any link between vaccines and autism who has since gone on to head the vaccine division at Merck, saying, Let me be very clear that the government has made absolutely no statement indicating that vaccines are a cause of autism.

Regardless of the expected denials from the people who run the vaccine program and are connected to the vaccine makers, the effects of mercury use in vaccines was a big part of the story.

The Poling case has become a flashpoint in the long-running controversy over thimerosal, a vaccine preservative containing mercury. Some people believe that thimerosal is behind the rising number of autism diagnoses. Among them is Lyn Redwood, director of the Coalition for SafeMinds.

Many of the vaccines Hannah received contained thimerosal, and to Ms. Redwood, she is more proof of thimerosals dangers.

The controversy hasnt subsided. Mercury in vaccines was a big topic at a congressional hearing on autism just held on Nov 29, 2012.

None of this information made it into Genevra Pittmans story about chelation and autism. Somehow were to believe that misguided parents have latched on to the idea that chelating their autistic children will make them better. Without mentioning where the mercury may have come from, were soundly told that its a bogus theory. I might accept that Pittman just took the study at face value and wasnt aware of the whole issue of mercury in vaccines and autism, except that four days earlier another Reuters story by her was published, Keep thimerosal in vaccines: pediatricians.

Pittman is obviously well-acquainted with the subject of mercury in vaccines and autism.

A mercury-containing preservative should not be banned as an ingredient in vaccines, U.S. pediatricians said Monday, in a move that may be controversial.

In its statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) endorsed calls from a World Health Organization (WHO) committee that the preservative, thimerosal, not be considered a hazardous source of mercury that could be banned by the United Nations.

Back in 1999, a concern that kids receiving multiple shots containing thimerosal might get too much mercury - and develop autism or other neurodevelopmental problems as a result - led the AAP to call for its removal, despite the lack of hard evidence at the time.

Pittman quoted Dr. Walter Orenstein who couldnt have been more supportive of the use of mercury in vaccines.

Reducing mercury exposure is a wonderful thing, Orenstein said.

However, We need this exception because thimerosal is so vital for protecting children.

He said keeping thimerosal in vaccines is essential mostly for humanitarian reasons - although preventing childhood diseases in the developing world could also help the U.S. because other countries can serve as reservoirs for illness.

"For American parents, this is more looking at the world and our role and responsibility in protecting the children of the world than it is a direct impact, Orenstein said.

Selective coverage on mercury

On Dec 17, 2012 Pittman wrote about the long standing claim that vaccines with mercury can cause a child to become autism while promoting the idea that injecting a known neurotoxin into kids is good for them. She gave us all the standard denials and she noted its still in some types of flu shots. (Missing here was any mention that this vaccine is also recommended for pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy.)

Then on Dec 21, 2012, Pittman trashed the idea that removing mercury from autistic children could help reduce the symptoms of autism---without once bringing up vaccines.

I can think of no better example of the disingenuous coverage of the vaccineautism controversy than what Pittman has done. One would have expected some mention of the claim by countless thousands of parents that their child was fine until they received certain routine vaccines, many of which contained mercury, in the second chelation story. It didnt happen. Instead, we were given more of the same one-sided-science and cover-up of the real facts. Reporters like Pittman need to realize that parents are extremely well educated on this issue and stories like these two Reuters pieces merely add to increasing distrust of the media. Her selective reporting, omitting the uncomfortable details that contradict the official lies and denials is simply censorship.

Article By Pittman

My comments:



Whats missing from this report is any mention of WHERE THE METALS COME FROM IN THE FIRST PLACE. Thousands of parents report that their children were born healthy and were developing normally until they received certain routine vaccinations. Suddenly they changed, lost learned skills and regressed into autism. Doctors are at a loss to explain this. They only thing theyre sure of is that their ever-increasing vaccination schedule isnt to blame and they have lots of study showing no link---and each of them is tied to the pharmaceutical industry.

Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism

Studies are done on vaccines individually, yet theyre given in combination with other vaccines at doctors visits.

Anne Dachel, Media editor: Age of Autism30,000 Shiites in Iraq Voted for Christian Babylon List

A Christian list backed by Fatih Coalition leader Hadi al-Amiri managed to win two quota seats, as other Christian parties say the Babylon Movement List was systematically propped up the votes of Shiite Arabs. "A huge injustice was done to the Christians this time. The Babylon List, close to Hadi al-Amiri, had received just 4,000 votes in the previous election and did not have even a seat. But this time their votes skyrocketed to 33,000," Nael Odisho, the head of the public relations of the Assyrian Democratic Movement, told Rudaw. He claimed that "thirty thousands of the votes are from Shiites." Amiri's party, which is affiliated with the Iran-backed, Shiite-led Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitias, took 47 seats in Iraq's parliamentary elections held on May 12. The Hashd militias filled a power vacuum left by ISIS, recruiting Christians into brigades promising them security to return to their homelands in Nineveh province. Five seats were dedicated for the Christians as part of the minority quota system -- one each from Baghdad, Erbil, Duhok, Kirkuk and Nineveh. In this election, seven Christian lists fielded 60 candidates. Of the quota seats, the Babylon List won two, and the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council (CSAPC) took one. Additionally, the Rafidain (Mesopotamia) List grabbed one, and the fifth went to the Assyrian Democratic Movement. Odisho denounced the Babylon List's attempts to win the quota seats of the Christians. "There are just 11 families living inside the town of Tel Kayf, but Babylon has received 7,000 votes," he said, revealing his party has filed a lawsuit against this manipulation of votes by the Babylon List. "In the 2014 election, the turnout among the people of Iraq was just 64 percent. The votes for Christians were 105,000. But in this election, in addition to the low turnout, the Christian votes have increased to 110,000. It is clear that 30,000-40,000 votes are not from the Christians, themselves," added Odisho. Odisho's party has close ties with the KDP. In the previous round of the elections, they won two of the minority quota seats, but this time just one. Jamil Zaito, a former CSAPC official, also shared Odisho's view. "We do not have a clue why the Shiites have voted for the Babylon list, but our reservation is how this huge number of votes went to the Babylon List," he said. According to the 1987 Iraqi census, 1.5 million Christians lived in Iraq. Prior to the ISIS conflict, there were about 400,000 Christians. Through the ISIS war, about 200,000 went to the Kurdistan Region with about that many fleeing the country. Exact figures don't exist on the number of Christian IDPs who have returned from the Kurdistan Region to their homes in areas once controlled by ISIS.On Thursday, UF President Kent Fuchs announced that Amy Hass will take over the job of UF vice president and general counsel.

Hass has worked in the Office of the Vice President and General Counsel since 2006. She became the universitys interim vice president in July 2017, following the resignation of Jamie Keith, who was under investigation for mishandling public records.

Hass served as interim vice president for almost a year before officially receiving the position.

Its certainly been valuable to have had the opportunity to serve in this role for the past year and to fill those gaps that I hadnt filled in my deputy position, Hass said.

Hass duties include advising the university in legal matters and mitigating any legal or financial risks it may encounter.

Hass is very excited to continue in this position and has big plans for the university moving forward.

She wants to help UF reach its full potential by doing her best to support its many research efforts.

We need to spend some time focused on forward progress in the types of places where embracing risk is important to be able to achieve some of those really amazing things that this university is poised to do, she said.

She also hopes to expand the legal expertise of the other attorneys working in the general counsel office. She wants to provide her attorneys with the opportunity to broaden their portfolios and become well-versed in more than one area of the law, so they can better assist their clients.

We are poised at the University of Florida to do some really great things, and were capable of getting there sooner rather than later, she said.

Follow Charlie Daffron on Twitter @Charlie_Daffron and contact him at cdaffron@alligator.org.

UF announced Amy Hass as its new vice president and general counsel on Thursday.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe NowTwo UF students plans to go camping in Hawaii as part of the Partners in the Parks program from Monday to Sunday are at risk as the volcano Kilauea continues to erupt.

At 4:15 a.m. EST Thursday, Mount Kilauea in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park ejected a plume of smoke 30,000 feet into the air, said Jessica Ferracane, the parks public affairs specialist.

Although the conditions do create excitement, This isnt life threatening, and this isnt cataclysmic, she said.

The area is now an aviation code red, which prohibits flight over and around the volcano due to ash and the ongoing eruption.

Charlie Carrington, a 20-year-old finance major, and Aaron Gordon, a 19-year-old industrial and systems engineering major, both stressed that the program has taken precautions to ensure attendees safety.

The original destination was the base of Kilauea. Due to the eruption, students will camp in the University of Hawaii at Hilos dorms, which are located about 40 miles northeast of the volcano, Gordon said. He said that despite the change of location and itinerary, the outlook of the trip remains promising.

Two-thirds of the park has been closed to the public, but Ferracane said there is no immediate concern to those who are more than 2 miles away from the volcano.

While, yes, the volcano is spewing lava bombs, it is not lethal, Ferracane said. Much of the area surrounding the base, which is in danger of projectiles, is closed due to increased seismic activity and damaged roads.

Such projectiles can be the size of a pebble and launched up to 2 miles from the volcano. Ferracane said that the greatest threat is breathing in toxic gases emitted by the volcano, but in this situation, it is not a concern to those not within close proximity.

Partners in the Parks is coordinated by the National Collegiate Honors Council and provides an outdoor experiential learning program, a representative said. Participating students engage in activities such as camping, hiking and learning about the historic area in which the seminar occurs.

The program has offered 80 trips to over 800 university students since its founding in 2007. Students in the program have visited 34 national parks.

For a program fee of $850 per person, plus the cost of travel, 12 U.S. students are able to attend. Gordon said the cost of the program was fully subsidized by a scholarship.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now

Carrington recommended that students take advantage of the opportunity due to the subsidization. For $3 a night, he is sleeping on a beach with a better view than a hotel.

Carrington has also been on the organizations Buffalo National River trip. He described the experience as life-changing.

When Im camping, I feel like Im reconnecting with a part of myself, Carrington said. Nature and camping bring out a really good side of people; maybe its because they feel vulnerable and have to trust one another.

Follow Jacob Kovach on Twitter @JacobKovach1 and contact him at jacobkovach@ufl.edu.

Mount Kilauea in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park erupted early Thursday morning.After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, a thin sliver of land on Moldovas eastern border with Ukraine broke apart from its parent country and declared independence from Moldova. A four-month war followed and some 700 casualties later, a ceasefire was signed. Since then, Moldova has stayed out of Transnistrias business but still refuses to recognize it as an independent state. In fact, no other nation does.

Yet, Transnistria acts as an independent country, with its own government, military and police force, postal system, currency, constitution, flag, and coat of arms. Its flag still uses the communist symbol of a hammer and a sicklethe only country to do so.

A statue of Lenin stands in front of Transnistria parliament building in Tiraspol. Photo credit: Marco Fieber/Flickr

At the core of the conflict is the fact that Transnistria has been a primarily a Russian-speaking territory since the Ottoman Empire ceded the region to the Russian Empire in the late 18th century. The people of Transnistria have naturally felt more Russian than Moldovan. Even today, Russian-speaking people make up the largest ethnic group in Transnistria.

As per the ceasefire signed at the end of the Transnistria-Moldova conflict, Russia maintains a peacekeeping force in Transnistria, and provides constant financial, military and political support without which Transnistria could not exist. Russian subsidy, both direct and indirect, accounts for nearly half of Transnistrias budget. Inevitably, there is a huge Russian influence on public life. Transnistrias people watch Russian TV, kids in schools learn from Russian textbooks, and many pensioners receive Russian pension.

The lack of officially recognition does not bode well for Transnistria, especially the future of its younger generation. While the older generation is still hoping for Transnistria to be recognized and to become a part of Russia, the younger Transnistrians are struggling with lack of jobs and the tough economic situation. Most youngsters are eager to emigrate abroad, to Moscow mostly. Since the birth of the country, the Transnistrian population has decreased by more than a third.

When Justin Barton, a British photographer visited Transnistria in 2015 and asked a 23-year old girl to think about her homeland, she reportedly burst into tears. The girl, Anastasia Spatar, had never traveled beyond Transnistria.

German photographer Julia Autz, who travelled to Transnistria to capture portraits of the states youth, found the community closed and hard to penetrate.

They can become kind of paranoid when they see a foreigner from the western world with a camera. Many people dont relate with western values. Instead, they admire Putin and hope that Transnistria will become a part of Russia, said Autz.

Like Justin Barton, Julia Autz too was struck by the permeated sadness in their expressions.

Despite the hopelessness of their situation, Autz found the teenagers and young people very receptive. The young generation was very interested in me and they were curious about what I was doing in the country, she recalled. There are not many foreigners in Transnistria and most people have never been to western Europe, so they were really excited and wanted to spend time with me.

Photo credit: Julia Autz

Photo credit: Julia Autz

Photo credit: Julia Autz

Russias continuing presence in the region and its constant involvement in the affairs has soured relationship with Moldova. The Russian presence in Transnistria, so close to the Ukrainian border, is also perceived as a threat to Ukraine. Recently, a Ukrainian MP, accused Russia of using the conflicted region to influence the pro-European states of the post-Soviet space against joining the European Union.

The Suvorov Monument, a symbol of Tiraspol. Photo credit: Babak Fakhamzadeh/Flickr

Photo credit: Marco Fieber/Flickr

Photo credit: Marco Fieber/Flickr

Photo credit: Marco Fieber/Flickr

Photo credit: Clay Gilliland/FlickrPosted on: May 21, 2018 11:51 AM

The new Primate of Tanzania, Archbishop Maimbo Mndolwa, was enthroned amid colourful scenes of celebration at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Dodoma on Sunday.

Hundreds of people packed into the cathedral to watch the ceremony. Among them was the guest of honour, the Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa. He was joined by other ministers, commissioners and a former Prime Minister, John Samuel Malecela. Tanzanias President, John Magufuli, had been invited as guest of honour but was unable to attend.

Bishops from across Tanzania were also there as were guests from around the world representing a variety of organisations included USPG, CMS, and CMS-Australia. There were messages of congratulation and support from the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion.

Archbishop Maimbo is the seventh primate of the Anglican Church of Tanzania since its foundation in 1970. The 49-year-old is married with four children and was consecrated as a bishop in 2012. He is a church historian and holds a doctorate in Theology, Church and Politics.

In his address, he paid tribute to the work of his predecessors particularly for their work in improving health and education and fighting corruption. He spoke of the growth in the number of dioceses and said he was thankful for the work that had been done.

But now  in a reference to his relative youth as a primate and bringing cheers from some of the congregation  he said that the young people were taking over. He recalled the story of how when King David was first chosen by the Israelites, others tried to get him to wear special robes. And he had refused.

I am Maimbo  dont compare me, he said. Dont give me their shoes to wear, they are not my size. I will do the work that God gives me to do.

He promised to visit his dioceses, meet people and he said he would pray for co-operation among the bishops.

I pray that whatever we do, we dont do because we are influenced by others but we do because it is what God has called us to do.

He also promised to work with the government to promote peace in the country and would meet non-Christians leaders too.

Speaking later to the Anglican Communion News Service, Archbishop Maimbo said he wanted to concentrate on church planting and improving financial investments so that the Church was less reliant on tithes and collections. He also said he wanted to continue to develop theological education to help schools and hospitals have proper qualified competent staff.

On wider issues, he said he hoped the Anglican Communion would continue to work together where there were issues of disagreement  rather than break away. And he confessed that he had been uneasy at the start of the service but had enjoyed it.

The service was full of joy and dancing and we enjoyed the readings, he said. It was great.

In his address, the outgoing Primate Archbishop Jacob Chimeledya said he was thankful for his time in office. He said how important it had been that others had supported his diocese. He noted that Archbishop Maimbos diocese of Tanga would need support now because he would be working away much of the time. He also urged the people of Tanga to pray for him. Archbishop Jacob also thanked the government for the way they had worked with the Church.

In his greeting, the Prime Minister, Mr Majaliwa, congratulated the new primate and said his election was a sign of the love he had for Christians in Tanzania. And he assured Archbishop Maimbo that he was perfectly able to fill the shoes of his predecessors.

The message of congratulation from the Archbishop of Canterbury was delivered on his behalf by the Bishop of Rochester, James Langstaff. He said he prayed that the church of Tanzania would continue to go from strength to strength under the new Primate. He said the support and prayers of bishops in his province and across the Anglican Communion would be with him.

In his message, the General Secretary of the Communion, Dr Josiah Idowu Fearon, described the Anglican Church of Tanzania as a precious part of a special family (the Communion) and said he looked  and the Anglican Communion Office looked  forward to working with the new Primate and serving him in his new ministry.

The service included the presentation of a number of gifts to the incoming Primate. And the Anglican ChurcCathedral of the Holy Spirit in Dodomah presented a gift to the President  a young cow which was tethered outside the cathedral!Posted on: May 21, 2018 9:46 AM

When it was announced last week (Saturday 12 May) that the Presiding Bishop of the US-based Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, had accepted an invitation to preach at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the reaction generally fell into one of two camps. Those who knew of him were generally excited  so much so that number of people accessing the article on the Anglican Communion News Service website crashed our server; but those who didnt know him were asking Bishop Who? Not so today  Michael Currys electrifying sermon trended on social media even as he was delivering it, and it made headlines around the world on Saturday, on Sunday, and even today.

A number of newspapers in Britain splashed their front pages with words from Bishop Currys sermon, including The Sunday Times and The Observer, which both ran with Two people fell in love and we all showed up.

On its inside pages, The Sunday Times carried a cartoon by Newman of a priest in the pulpit waving his arms enthusiastically. The vicars hoping to become a bishop, one congregant tells another.

The cartoon accompanied an article by Tony Allen-Mills, in which he said: No one does royal pageantry like the British, and no one delivers a church sermon quite like a fire-breathing American revivalist preacher. In St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle yesterday, two worlds collided to magnificent effect, and the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle turned genuinely unforgettable.

The Sunday Telegraph also used the headline Two people fell in love and we all showed up  this time on a double-page spread about the sermon.

In the article, Gus Kelly said that Bishop Currys sermon was sure to wake royal wedding guests up. He added: It was quite a gear change. Curry . . . is renowned for his highly entertaining preaching style. His rambling addresses from the pulpit are by turns gloriously melodramatic, sharply political and filled with self-deprecating humour. [Archbishop Justin] Welby and [Dean of St Georges Windsor, David] Conner may wish to up their game; Curry promises to steal the show.

Writing in The Guardian newspapers Comment Is Free website, author Diana Evans described it as a sermon that will go down in history as a moment when the enduring seat of colonialism was brought before the Lord, and questioned in its own house.

She continued: In the mention of slavery was the inherent accusation of white silver-spoon complicity, and that this union should not go forth without acknowledging it.

Love is the way, Curry chanted, in a rolling, conversational repetition borne of the deep south. When love is the way, we actually treat each other, well  he put his hand on his hip and his elbow on the lectern  like we are actually a family. A utopia for our time indeed, delivered with a grand humility apparently wasted on some of its listeners, who were not quite expecting such blackness from a black bride.

Sky News described him as the unexpected star of the wedding, and the passionate bishop who dazzled the wedding congregation.

It just blew the place open!  Passionate preacher Bishop Michael Curry and Archbishop Justin Welby talk about THAT sermon, and about speaking to the newly weds after the #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/ieZtiwoCsJ  Sky News (@SkyNews) May 19, 2018

This was a trans-Atlantic wedding and union, and the sermon also made waves across the pond.

Time Magazine said that the internet is raving over Bishop Michael Currys royal wedding sermon. The magazines Megan McCluskey wrote: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry may have been the stars of the royal wedding, but Bishop Michael Curry of Chicago was definitely a strong runner-up.

And Yahoo described him as the breakout star of the royal wedding

NBCs Saturday Night Live comedy programme carried an interview with a Michael Curry impressionist. Asked about the length of the sermon, the fake Michael Curry replied: they told me I had five minutes, but the good Lord multiplied it into a cool 16!

Bishop Michael Curry came by Weekend Update to talk about today's #RoyalWedding. #SNLFinale pic.twitter.com/gZ7IOgA5fd  Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 20, 2018

In Canada, writing in Torontos The Star, Margaret Lyons Anna Schaverien and Jonah Engel Bromwich wrote: Keep your fascinators, tiaras, regalia and romance. What if the surprise biggest star . . . of this royal wedding was a sermon about love?

The Most Revd Michael Bruce Curry, the presiding bishop of the American Episcopal Church, delivered a searing, soaring 13-minute speech, imploring Christians to put love at the centre of their spiritual and political lives. Until that moment, the ceremony had been quite staid, stuffy even, with only the mention of sexual union to keep us on our toes.

In Australia, The Age newspaper asked the Revd Michael Jensen, rector of St Marks Anglican Church in Darling Point, to write about the sermon the shocked. He wrote: Who would have thought that, of all the many features of the royal wedding, the sermon would have been one of the most talked about? And yet Bishop Michael Curry certainly cut through the pomp and ceremony, to the stunned reaction of some of the congregation.

He concluded his piece: In the midst of all that display of wealth and power and beauty, and in front of celebrities and royalty, we heard from Bishop Curry a message that is simplicity itself: love, the love that comes from God in Christ, is the only way. If people were shocked and stunned by that, perhaps thats not a bad thing.

News organisations around the world have extracted Bishop Michael Currys sermon from the hours of video footage captured on the day, and are making it available to watch on their websites. Many more have printed the sermon in full, including the Anglican Communion News Service.ISTANBUL - Turkish authorities have apprehended over the past week a reported 4,564 migrants and refugees who were trying to cross the borders with the European Union or to enter the country without regular documents. They included 1,069 who were intercepted at sea. The announcement was made by the Turkish interior ministry, which added that 75 suspected human traffickers were arrested over that period.

Ever since the controversial agreement with Brussels in 2016, the number of migrants and refugees reaching the EU, mainly Greece, daily from Turkey has decreased significantly. Over the last few weeks, however, European authorities have reported an increase in arrivals.Migrants: 4,500 apprehended at Turkey border in 7 days Ankara, '1,000 intercepted at sea, 75 traffickers arrested'

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, MAY 21 - Turkish authorities have apprehended over the past week a reported 4,564 migrants and refugees who were trying to cross the borders with the European Union or to enter the country without regular documents. They included 1,069 who were intercepted at sea. The announcement was made by the Turkish interior ministry, which added that 75 suspected human traffickers were arrested over that period.



Ever since the controversial agreement with Brussels in 2016, the number of migrants and refugees reaching the EU, mainly Greece, daily from Turkey has decreased significantly. Over the last few weeks, however, European authorities have reported an increase in arrivals. (ANSAmed).



Syria: Sana,offensive against ISIS resumes south of Damascus After evacuation of civilians

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, MAY 21 - An offensive by Syrian government forces targeting districts in the southern outskirts of Damascus still controlled by ISIS resumed on Monday morning after a ceasefire Sunday to enable the evacuation of civilians, government agency Sana reports.



Shortly before midday (11 am in Italy), Syrian jets reportedly resumed strikes on positions held by Islamic State militants in the district of Hajar al Aswad and the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk.



''The humanitarian ceasefire ended after the evacuation of children, women and the elderly and the army resumed operations against the terrorists'', wrote Sana.



Regime forces started about a month ago an offensive to regain control of these areas and have so far succeeded in retaking about 70 percent. The operation's success should enable the government of Bashar al Assad to affirm its authority on the entire region of the capital for the first time since the start of the civilian conflict in 2011. (ANSAmed).



Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) has signed a landmark unsecured four-year revolving credit facility with an initial commitment of US$480 million and an accordion feature that allows the facility to be increased to up to US$800 million at any time after the initial closing. The facility includes both conventional and Islamic tranches and will support the future financing needs of the business.



Firoz Tarapore, DAEs chief executive said: We are pleased to sign this landmark regional transaction lead by Al Ahli Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Noor Bank. This transaction underlines both the regional liquidity available to top quality names and the strength of the DAE franchise. This facility further diversifies our funding sources and adds to the unsecured component of our liquidity profile increasing our unsecured revolving credit facilities to US$1,125 - US$1,445 million depending on the final committed amount of this facility.

On a pro forma basis as of December 2017, if this facility is fully drawn and if the proceeds are used to pay down secured indebtedness, DAEs percentage of unsecured debt would increase from 26% to a range of 31%-34%.

Michel Accad, Group CEO of ABK said: The financing facility for DAE is one of the largest transactions of its kind involving conventional and Islamic tranches, making it a landmark deal for the region.

ABK (DIFC) is fully compliant with the DIFC and DFSA rules and regulations in all its dealings and operations and only transacts with corporate clients and financial institutions that are Market Counterparts or Professional Clients, as defined by the DFSA, DAE said in a statement.

Last week DAE hinted at an imminent record order for around 400 aircraft. It was reported that it is in talks for buying single-aisle Airbus A320neo-family and Boeing 737 MAX planes. This follows last years acquisition of of Dublin-based lessor AWAS.



Representatives of Al Ahli Bank of Kuwait, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Noor Bank with DAE Chief Executive Officer Firoz TaraporeEtihad Airways inflight magazine, Atlas, published by London based Ink, has received two Communicator Awards in the major categories of Design Features  Photography and Design Features  Overall Design.

The 24th Annual Communicator Awards, which were announced in New York, recognise creative excellence and innovation in global marketing and communications.

A stylish manual for the modern traveller, Atlas provides an authoritative global briefing to readers on the months hot topics covering the fields of food, fashion, culture, travel, business and technology. The style and outlook of the magazine mirror Etihads own design values and focus on attention to detail, which have set the acclaimed UAE national airline apart since it started flying in 2003.



Jamal Al Awadhi, Etihad Airways Head of Guest Experience Commercial, said: We launched Atlas in March 2017, together with our partner Ink, confident in the knowledge that we were striving for and delivering the highest levels of editorial quality and astounding photographic talent, giving our guests a unique lifestyle overview which covers the globe, and the growth of Etihad, with the professionalism, colour and flair which they have come to expect from us, and which tells the stories currently trending in the changing world around us.



We are tremendously proud to receive these two coveted awards only a year after Atlas first went to print. It is a welcome validation of our efforts to create a magazine which is as informative and entertaining as it is visually and emotionally evocative.



The clever use of stunning photography, most obviously displayed in the signature Day in the Life photo-essay, resulted in success in the Design Features - Photography category, while the selection of Atlas in the category of Design Features - Overall Design was recognition of the sophisticated and aspirational feature layouts that have characterised the magazine since its launch, inspiring readers to travel to the airlines Abu Dhabi home, and to far-flung destinations around the world.



The Communicator Awards is the largest and most competitive awards programme honouring creative excellence for communications professionals. Entries are received from all over the United States and the rest of the world and are judged and overseen by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts (AIVA), a 600-plus member organisation of leading professionals from the various disciplines of the visual arts.Gulf Air recently partnered with Dreams Society, a non-profit organisation establish in 2011 with a mission to fulfill the dreams of children affected with terminal illnesses and debilitating diseases.

A number of young children and their parents visited the airlines headquarters, meeting with Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Mr. Kresimir Kucko and Gulf Air Deputy Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AbdulHameed Al Alawi, along with other members of the airlines executive management team and members of Dreams Society's Board of Directors. The guests were then taken on an exclusive guided tour of a Gulf Air aircraft where Senior Captain Mohammed Felaifel introduced them to different flight concepts, while each child took turns to experience the cockpit. Aircraft Maintenance Supervisor Eman Hameed Mandeel discussed various technical aspects of flight and the airlines onboard crew entertained the children, distributing gifts and meals to all.



Gulf Air Chief Executive Officer Kresimir Kucko welcomed the children, their parents and Dreams Society Board members including Chairman of the Board Mrs. Eman Nooruddin saying, As the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and an integral national infrastructure asset Gulf Air prides itself on having a special connection with the Bahraini community. We are honoured to have collaborated with Dreams Society and played a part in making these young childrens dreams come true. At Gulf Air, we take our responsibility towards the greater community very seriously and we were both privileged and humbled to welcome our young guests. We hope that this event helped spread joy and fun in all.



Gulf Air Deputy Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AbdulHameed Al Alawi said: Gulf Air is involved in various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives with a number of local organizations. Such initiatives reinforce our commitment to being a responsible global citizen and reaching out to those in need. At Gulf Air, our goal was to contribute to an atmosphere of fun for both the children and their families and to support the Dreams Society in their worthy cause. In this instance it was a pleasure to meet these highly gifted children and we hope they enjoyed themselves during their visit.

Aysha Fakhro, Vice Chairman of Dreams Society said: It is our pleasure to collaborate with a pioneer organization like Gulf Air and we thank all those who contributed to make this event a memorable experience for Dreams Society's children.Dave Calderwood spotlights the work of the Middle Easts largest helicopter operator.

It is hard to think of another operator in the world that has such a diverse and complete range of services as Abu Dhabi Aviation (ADA).

It is known as being the largest operator of helicopters in the Middle East, but its portfolio is so much more than that.

Just look at its fleet  a mix of AgustaWestland (now Leonardo) AW139 and AW109s, Bell 212 and 412s, and four Bombardier Dash-8 (now the Q400 and Q200) twin turboprop transporters. Thats 57 helicopters and still growing!

Even as recently as last November, a new order for two more AW139s was placed with Leonardo.

The AW139 is a major success story for Leonardo, fitting into the intermediate, twin-engine bracket and perfect for supporting Abu Dhabis oil and gas industry, flying staff and supplies to rigs. The two new helicopters join ADAs existing fleet of 15 AW139s, and are part of a bigger order of AW139, AW169 and AW189 types, with deliveries through to 2019.

All these aircraft need a big staff to keep them flying and to manage operations, so ADA has more than 1,000 employees, including in excess of 150 pilots and 283 engineers/technicians.

As well as oil and gas support flight, ADA also provides VVIP passenger transportation, search and rescue for the UAE military, crop-spraying, with a specially modified Bell 206, aerial construction, seismic support and fire-fighting in Europe  Spain, in particular.

None of these operations are particularly straightforward, so its interesting to note that ADA has held the Helicopter Association International (HAI) platinum award of safety since 2006, clocking up more than one million helicopter flight hours with an enviable safety record.

Given that offshore operations frequently average seven cycles  take-offs and landings  per hour, that gives credibility to ADAs assertion that it demands the highest calibre of flight and maintenance crews, supported by its quality assurance and training regime.

Owning a fleet of ultra-fast aircraft and a state-of-the-art safety system has helped ADA to drive its operations to the highest level of customer service, said company chairman HE Nader Ahmed Al Hammadi. The services provided are driven by customer needs.

Al Hammadi went on to talk about the latest AW139 order. These helicopters are widely used in the UAE, the GCC and the Middle East. ADAs AW139s benefit from the support solutions provided locally by AgustaWestland Aviation Services LLC, an ADA and Leonardo joint venture delivering thorough support and maintenance services in the region.

The company has recently expanded its fleet to cover its contractual obligations inside and outside the UAE and to further its investment in the aviation industry.

The maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) side of ADA not only provides servicing for its own aircraft, but is also a significant regional provider of maintenance to third-party aircraft, both rotary and fixed-wing. Not least among its contracts is the UAE military.

Such as wide range of aircraft means ADA holds maintenance and quality certifications from several regulatory authorities. In addition to its UAE civil aviation authorisations, it is approved by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Presidency of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia (GACA), and the International Standards Organisation ISO 9001:2000.

Last year, ADA became an authorised Bell Helicopter customer service facility (CSF) for Bell 412s and Bell 212s.

This authorisation is considered as an international certification of the efficiency of Abu Dhabi Aviations maintenance services that meet the highest standards, said Al Hammadi. Through quality customer and maintenance services we have been able to achieve 100% operational readiness on our Bell fleet.

Bell Helicopters Glen Isbell, executive vice-president, customer support and services, said: The Middle East is an extremely important market for us. As our operator network grows, it is important we provide our customers with smart and simple service solutions to accommodate the expanding region. Bell Helicopter and ADA share a rich 40-year history, accumulating more than one million flight hours on the Bell helicopter fleet.

A lesser known side of ADAs reach is its humanitarian and support services on a year-round basis. These include aerial application missions, aid relief support in disaster areas, including medical evacuation when required.

ADA has worked with the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) to provide helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) covering Jeddah and Mecca throughout the year, including the Ramadan period and Hajj.

Beyond the Middle East, ADA continues to support on and offshore oil production and mining exploration in Ethiopia, India, Brazil, Indonesia, Madagascar and Papua New Guinea. Negotiations are also under way for expansion into South America and the Far East.

Theres more for this expanding company. It has a 50% stake in Royal Jet, the VVIP private jet operator, which has the worlds largest fleet of Boeing Business Jets. Royal Jet also operates Dassault Falcon, Challenger and Gulfstream private jets.

Global cargo operations are supported by a wholly owned subsidiary, Maximus Air Cargo. In addition to transporting cargo, ADA also uses the heavy jets to position its helicopters wherever they are required.

To keep that 1,000-strong staff up to speed, and to train new entrants, ADA has created its own aviation training centre. As well as pilot training, ADA also has a full set of courses for engineers and cabin crew, including crew resource management (CRM), human factors for engineers, handling dangerous goods, fire-fighting and first aid.

On pilot training, ADA has created a state-of-the-art centre with no fewer than eight bays. It includes two new full-flight simulators (FFS) from CAE. They are the very latest CAE 7000XR Series, equipped with CAE Tropos-6000XR visual systems, and were due to be ready for training in the first half of 2018.

The delivery of the new training equipment complements the existing CAE-built AW139 and B412 FFSs delivered to ADA. CAE also provides instructors and course materials.

We are delighted to further expand our relationship with our training partner CAE, said Al Hammadi. CAE has been training our pilots and providing state-of-the-art equipment for more than a decade and we are looking forward to this extended collaboration for the support of our own and our customers growing training needs long into the future.

Its not just ADAs own pilots being trained. The latest expansion has come from Falcon Aviation  another fast-growing Abu Dhabi-based aviation business. ADA will train pilots from Falcon and other regional operators of the Embraer ERJ145 airliner in its training centre, using CAEs full-flight simulators.

Al Hammadi said: It is an honour to provide Falcon Aviation with best-in-class training, including high-quality courseware, experienced instructors and innovative training equipment.

This particular development has taken a while to come to fruition and the relief can be sensed in the comments of Nick Leontidis, CAE group president, civil aviation training solutions: After months of development, it is gratifying to officially kick-off this new training programme to support our customers, including Falcon Aviations pilot training needs in the Middle East.

So, whats next for ADA? There have been reports that it is to help the Government of Kerala, a state in southern India, establish and operate Kerala Air, a state airline. Thats still in the air but you can be sure ADA wont be standing still for very long.

China stood at the second place with USD 24,803 billion.

India is the sixth wealthiest country in the world with a total wealth of USD 8,230 billion.

New Delhi: India is the sixth wealthiest country in the world with a total wealth of USD 8,230 billion, according to the AfrAsia Bank Global Wealth Migration Review. The report further stated that the United States is the wealthiest country in the world with a total wealth of USD 62,584 billion.

China stood at the second place with USD 24,803 billion, while Japan was at the third place with USD 19,522 billion. Other countries in the top 10 wealthiest list include the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada, France and Italy. The total wealth, in the report, refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in each country.

It includes all their assets less any liabilities. Government funds are excluded from it. Therefore, larger countries have an advantage due to a higher population.

Further, the report stated factors that will help in wealth creation in India. They include a large number of entrepreneurs, good educational system, a robust outlook for IT, business process outsourcing, real estate, healthcare and media. These sectors will result in a 200 percent rise in wealth in the next 10 years.

Globally, the total private wealth held worldwide amounts to around USD 215 trillion.

There are about 5.84 lakh multi-millionaires in the world, each with net assets of 10 million dollars or more and 2,252 billionaires, each with net assets of 1 billion dollars or more.

Global wealth is expected to rise by 50 percent over the next decade, reaching 321 trillion dollars by 2027. The fastest growing wealth markets are expected to be India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China, Mauritius, the report said.Both petroleum products and liquor sales in the state are covered under the VAT regime.

The cost of petrol in Chennai is Rs 79.47 per litre while that of diesel is Rs 71.59.

Chennai: With prices of petrol and diesel touching record highs, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday hinted it may not cut the Value Added Tax (VAT) on these products, saying they form a key part of the state's own tax revenue (SOTR).

Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said the state extends benefits and sops worth Rs 77,000 crore to various segments, with salary of government employees constituting 70 per cent of its expenditure.

"The own source of income for the state is primarily from petroleum products and liquor meant for human consumption ...these are revenue generating sources," he said.

Both petroleum products and liquor sales in the state are covered under the VAT regime.

"We have to give Rs 77,000 crore worth benefits and sops to many sections.. salary (of government employees) constitutes about 70 percent (expenditure)... when we give like this, where will the money come from?," he asked.

Jayakumar was responding to a question on possible VAT revision by the state government with fuel prices soaring to new heights. Fuel rates touched a record high on Sunday as oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international crude prices to consumers. As of today (May 21), the cost of petrol in Chennai is Rs 79.47 per litre while that of diesel is Rs 71.59.

Meanwhile, AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran and MNM founder Kamal Haasan expressed concern over the hike in fuel prices. Dhinakaran sought to know why the prices were not hiked till Karnataka assembly elections got over.

"People are facing setback over the dangerous decision of the Centre allowing oil marketing companies to fix rates on a daily basis. But the BJP government only should explain the magic behind the rates not going up during Karnataka elections," he said in a statement.

He said India imposes high taxes on petroleum products and urged both the BJP-led government at the Centre and the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu to cut taxes on petrol and diesel to benefit the common man.

MNM President Kamal Haasan wondered why global trends were being blamed for the hike while there were domestic solutions to address the issue.

"Experts opine they (Central government) can reduce prices if they want... blaming the world (global trends) is not convincing," he told reporters here.

On May 18, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had declined to say if the government would cut excise duty on auto fuel to ease the burden on consumers.

The government was watching the situation developing from oil prices hitting USD 80 a barrel -- the highest since November 2014, and adequate steps will be taken, he had said without elaborating. Asked if the government would cut excise duty on petrol and diesel, he had stated that he has nothing to say on that front.

No sooner had Karnataka polled to elect a new government, state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) on May 14 ended a hiatus in revising petrol and diesel prices that began on April 25 and reverted to the 11-month old practice of changing rates on a daily basis.Vikas Khanna in a chat about his illustrious career as a chef, and his upcoming project as a filmmaker.

As culinary wizard Vikas Khanna embarks on a new journey as the director of a feature film based on the widows of Varanasi, we catch up with him for a tete-a-tete.

Q: What prompted you to turn into a feature filmmaker and that too with a story with such a hard-hitting theme?

I wrote a very moving story in 2011 while shooting for my book, Utsav. The idea was sparked during a Holi shoot in a temple in Vrindavan, when I saw lots of widows standing outside in white sarees, away from all the colours. The book that I wrote, which was called Colorless, was rejected by publishers in the USA and Europe.

In 2012, when the Internet was flooded with images of widows playing Holi, my story came back to life. The story of Noor presents a compelling combination of womens empowerment and education. I decided had to make a modest movie of it, and so here I am, almost ready with my film  The Last Color.

Q: You have shot documentaries in the past. In fact, you wear many hats, including that of a global activist. What impulses drive you?

I do not plan much in life, I work solely based on instinct. At times, I need to be challenged aggressively in order to do something. I need to be emotionally connected to any new project I take up so that I can do it to the best of my abilities, otherwise, I find it hard to finish what I start.

Q: I find your journey from Punjab to NY hugely fascinating. Wouldnt that make a great film?

I think my life is pretty boring. I work about 18 to 26 hours a day. I think some of the opportunities I have had are very interesting. The late Karan Bellani wrote a book on my journey, Buried Seeds, which was made into a film by an American-Russian filmmaker in 2017.

Q: As a master chef you have brought great glory to our country. Would you say cooking is your first love?

I have not done much. I reached America at a time when Indian cooking was gaining momentum. There were, and will be, several great ambassadors of Indian food in the USA. From Madhur Jaffrey to Suvir Saran, so many people have brought glory to Indian cuisine. Cooking has always been my first love. I think it gave me a voice, a purpose and a reason to bring Indian food to global audiences.

Q: Speaking of love, why do you remain so stubbornly single? With that matinee idol look, how do you resist female attention?

I have been devoted to developing my craft with a single focus. Since I moved to the US in 2000, its been a whole new war that I have been fighting, without focusing on my personal life. I hope that I will feel the need to slow down and settle down.

Q: I have always been fascinated by your journey. How do you look back on your life so far?

I have always looked at myself as a big failure. Often, I look back and think that I should not have done something, or partnered with someone, but I know that all my decisions helped me in some way or the other. I feel extremely fortunate to have worked with some of the most powerful members of my industry, people who encouraged me to move forward. I have learnt one major lesson  whether you face success or failure, just keep working, nurturing and creating.

Q: Do you think Indians, and India, have made a name in popular culture, say, in the way you and Priyanka Chopra have?

Of course! There has always been a lot of pride in the achievements of Indians, be they heads of corporations, innovators, authors, businessmen, or artists. In the last decade, there has been a great amount of global interest in India. I was just fortunate to receive the unique opportunities of cooking for presidents and world leaders. I always tried to serve as authentic Indian food as possible. I think that vision of combining food and culture with confidence helped me. Of course, my cuisine has been modernised, but it hasnt lost its Indian soul. I think that is the greatest challenge in entering mainstream pop culture  maintaining a balance while moving forward.

Q: What are your goals and dreams for the future?

I have created a screenplay for legendary actress Neena Gupta, and the film is almost complete. Its a simple story of breaking taboos, the empowerment of women, education and colours. My dream is to keep the promise I made to Neena ji and everyone who helped create this film  that I would take it to the world. I am trying to do that, to the best of my abilities. I have an upcoming project on the life of spices and unique ways to cook with them, and a childrens book planned. Im also doing a lot of research on the northeast of India.

Q: Everyone loves Vikas Khannas food. But what is Vikas Khannas favourite food, and who is his favourite chef?

I love the cuisines of Bhutan and Assam, and lots of other regional cuisines. Trips to France and Spain always excite me. My list of favourite chefs is very long, it includes people like Pushpesh Pant, Sanjeev Vermmaji, Vir Sanghvi, Rashmi Uday Singh, Manjeet Singh, Florence Fabricant, Arlyn Blake, and Marryam Reshii.He has been booked under Section 509 of IPC, arrested.

It was learnt that the male passenger, an NRI holding Russian passport, was sitting next to the woman in the flight and allegedly unzipped his trousers and started masturbating in front of her. (Photo: Representational/Pixabay)

New Delhi: A 58-year-old NRI, holding a Russian passport, was arrested at the Delhi airport on May 20 after an Indian woman alleged that he had masturbated sitting beside her on board a flight from Istanbul, officials said.

The security control room at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport was informed in the early hours of Sunday that there was an "unruly passenger" on board a Turkish Airlines flight approaching Delhi.

Personnel of the CISF, which guards the airport, reached the flight (TK-716) upon landing and were informed that the Indian woman had, in the meantime, made a distress call to the Delhi Police alleging sexual harassment by a co-passenger.

"It was learnt that the male passenger, an NRI holding Russian passport, was sitting next to the woman in the flight and allegedly unzipped his trousers and started masturbating in front of her," a senior official said. When the woman complained to the cabin crew, the male passenger was shifted to another seat, he said.

The man was later handed over to the Delhi Police, which reached the Terminal-III area of the airport. He has been booked under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the IPC and arrested, police said.Congress MLA from Yellapur, Karnataka, said: 'I condemn whoever has released such audio clippings for political reasons.'

Bengaluru: All eyes are on the politics in Karnataka for over a week now. In a new development which is seen as a major embarrassment for the Congress, one of its own lawmaker from Yellapur, Shivaram Hebbar dismissed the bribery bomb allegation that Congress hurled at the BJP ahead of the floor test in Karnataka Assembly on Saturday.

Hebbar said the video his party allegedly cited to claim that the BJP was indulged in horse trading and had reached out to his wife is fake and fabricated.

Hebbars took to Facebook where he denounced the "people who brought out the fake video".

The post provided fodder to BJP, which had been facing Congress allegations of coercion and abduction ahead of confidence vote on Saturday.

In his Facebook post, Hebbar wrote: "I learnt about the audio clippings of the conversation purportedly between my wife and BJP leaders later when I was in the assembly. This is neither my wife's voice nor has she received any call. I condemn whoever has released such audio clippings for political reasons. This is a fake audio tape..."

The audio tape was released by Congress MLC V S Ugrappa on Saturday. The Congress had claimed that the tape was of a recorded call by BJP leaders offering Rs 15 crore bribe to Hebbars wife for his support.

(Facebook | Screengrab | shivaramhebbar.inc)

The Congress had released six audio recording in the run-up to the floor test on Saturday. One of these videos clips had the voice of BJPs B S Yeddyurappa, the Congress claimed.

The floor test however did not take place as Yeddyurappa announced his decision to resign from the chief ministerial post minutes before the vote.

Enclosing the Facebook post, BJPs national Information and Technology cell head, Amit Malviya, tweeted: "Facebook post of Congress MLA Shivram Hebbar from Yellapur, in which he denies his wife ever getting a call from BJP, calls it a fake audio clip... Shame on Congress for brazenly lying, spreading mis-information and media channels for lapping it up. It is all over regional paper."

Facebook post of Congress MLA Shivram Hebbar from Yellapur, in which he denies his wife ever getting a call from BJP, calls it a fake audio clip... Shame on Congress for brazenly lying, spreading mis-information and media channels for lapping it up. It is all over regional paper. pic.twitter.com/ZoIUqhgXWi  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 20, 2018

Not commenting on Hebbars statement, Congress MLA BC Patil told news agency ANI: They (BJP) offered me Minister post and all, its a fact. I dont know about Hebbar. I can talk about myself. Yeddyurappa, Sriramulu and Muralidhar Rao spoke to me.The woman was apprehended by the NCB sleuths on May 14, upon her arrival from Sao Paulo in Brazil, based on an intelligence input.

A total of 106 capsules, containing 930 grams of pure South American cocaine, were recovered from the woman. (Representational Image/AFP)

New Delhi: A 25-year-old Brazilian woman has been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi for allegedly smuggling cocaine in 106 self-swallowed capsules, officials said on Sunday.

The woman was apprehended by the NCB sleuths on May 14, upon her arrival from Sao Paulo in Brazil, based on an intelligence input.

She was subsequently taken to the Safdarjung hospital, where an x-ray confirmed that there were cocaine-filled capsules in her body, the officials said.

A total of 106 capsules, containing 930 grams of pure South American cocaine, were recovered from the woman, they added.

She was placed under arrest on Saturday under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded to judicial custody by a court. "She got the consignment from the South American drug mafia and was supposed to deliver it to African drug traffickers active in the National Capital Region," a senior NCB official said.The probe agency has filed a case against Sengar on charges of criminal conspiracy for falsely implicating rape victim's father in a case.

The woman was allegedly raped by the BJP MLA at his residence on June 4, 2017, where she had gone to his house seeking a job. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday booked Unnao Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar who is in police custody on charges of rape.

The probe agency has filed a case against Sengar on charges of criminal conspiracy for falsely implicating rape victim's father in a case.

Recently, the CBI had arrested two sub-inspectors of the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the death of the father of a minor girl, who was allegedly raped by Sengar.

Sub Inspector Ashok Singh Bhadauriya, the Station Officer, and Sub Inspector Kamta Prasad Singh, both of Makhi Police Station in Unnao district, were arrested over allegations of criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence. At present both of them are under suspension.

Read: Unnao rape case: CBI arrests 2 Uttar Pradesh police sub-inspectors

The woman was allegedly raped by the BJP MLA at his residence on June 4, 2017, where she had gone to his house seeking a job.

Read: UP woman tries to kill self outside Yogis house, says BJP MLA raped her

The victim's father was booked by the police under the Arms Act on April 3 earlier this year and put in jail on April 5. He later died in a hospital, with the postmortem report mentioning serious injuries on his body.

Read: Postmortem of Unnao rape victim's father reveals 14 severe injuries

Read: UP: Father of woman raped by BJP MLA dies in police custodyIn a series of tweets  in Russian and then in English  on the eve of his visit to Russia, Modi said he looked forward to his meeting with Putin.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday voiced the hope that his talks with President Vladimir Putin would further strengthen the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia.

In a series of tweets  in Russian and then in English  on the eve of his visit to Russia, Mr Modi said he looked forward to his meeting with Putin.

Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him, Modi tweeted.

During their informal summit in the Russian city of Sochi on Monday, the two leaders will primarily focus on global and regional issues, including the impact of the US decision to withdraw from a nuclear deal with Iran.

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia, Mr Modi said in another tweet.

Official sources said the two leaders would meet for 4-6 hours for the agendaless talks where deliberations on bilateral issues were likely to be limited.

They said the issues on the table might include the economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the situation in Afghanistan and Syria, the threat of terrorism and matters relating to the upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and BRICS summits.

The sources said the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering Americas Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation may also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin. India is not going to allow its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources said, adding New Delhi has been lobbying with the Trump administration on the issue.

The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, the sources said.

The two leaders may also deliberate on extending the Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation to third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor project, Indias engagement with the five-nation Eurasian Economic Union and the situation in the Korean peninsula.It is almost certain that G. Parameshwar, a dalit leader and state Congress president, will be appointed as the deputy CM, says Congress leader.

According to a source, the Congress cannot afford to antagonise Lingayats after its gambit of offering separate religion status to the community backfired badly though as many as 17 if its Lingayat candidates won in the elections. (Photo: AP)

Bengaluru: Karnataka Congress legislators and leaders on Sunday deliberated at length the possibility of having two deputy chief ministers in the new government and reserving one of the posts for a Lingayat in a bid to placate the dominant community in the state to which former BJP chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who resigned on Saturday, belongs.

A senior Congress leader said, It is almost certain that G. Parameshwar, a dalit leader and state Congress president, will be appointed as the deputy chief minister and will be sworn-in along with chief minister-designate H. D. Kumaraswamy on May 23. But after dislodging Lingayat strongman Mr Yeddyurappa from the chief ministers post, the Congress is now looking to placate the Lingayat community by offering the second deputy chief ministers post to Lingayats.

According to a source, the Congress cannot afford to antagonise Lingayats after its gambit of offering separate religion status to the community backfired badly though as many as 17 if its Lingayat candidates won in the elections.

All of them are from the north Karnataka region, which sends about 110 MLAs to the Assembly. Our focus on AHINDA (doling out benefits to the backward classes, minorities and dalits) too has backfired. Hence, this is the right time to placate Lingayats by offering the second depuy chief ministers post to them. Therefore, party legislators and leaders deliberated on this issue, the source explained.

Congress sources added that although campaign committee president D.K. Shivakumar had asserted that he too was in the race for the deputy chief ministers post, this is nothing more than posturing as he too is aware that when a Vokkaliga (Kumaraswamy) is the chief minister, another MLA from the same community cannot be appointed as the deputy chief minister.

It looks like Mr Shivakumar is eyeing the post of Karnataka Congress president as Dr Parameshwar may have to vacate the post after serving in the post for a record eight years in a row, the source said.

Meanwhile in a related development, Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayats, has demanded that the Congress high command appoint its national president Shamanur Shivashankarappa as deputy chief minister, to address the dissatisfaction among Veerashaiva-Lingayats.BJP president Amit Shah had on Saturday asserted that the JD(S)-Congress government is an unholy alliance and was unlikely to last long.

New Delhi: Notwithstanding the developments in Karnataka where BJP chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa resigned within 55 hours of taking the oath after his party failed to manage the required number, the party is hopeful that it can make a comeback in the southern state due to the inherent contradictions in the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the state. Karnataka electorate gave a fractured mandate, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 MLAs, but falling short of a majority. The Congress got 78 seats and stitched a post-poll alliance with 37-member JD(S) and together they have 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221.

Despite losing the power in Karnataka, the saffron party poll managers are of the view that the party might have lost the battle, but it will win the 2019 war. The BJP feels that the JD(S)-Congress alliance is bound to be unsuccessful at the ground level because of the competing interests of their support groups.

BJP president Amit Shah had on Saturday asserted that the JD(S)-Congress government is an unholy alliance and was unlikely to last long.

We may have lost the battle, but we will win the war, said a senior BJP leader referring to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP is of the view that the Karnataka mandate was in favour of it and had rejected both the JD(S) and the Congress.

Feedback with the party suggests that Mr Yeddyurappa position among the electorally significant Lingayat community has only strengthened after he resigned from the top post.

Mr Yeddyurappas resignation also gave the party a high moral ground by negating the Oppositions allegation of horse-trading by the BJP to stay in power. Though its hopes of forming a government in Karnataka have been swatted down, the BJP believes an amalgamation of a some factors will help it engineer a comeback in the state.

A BJP leader said the JD(S) and the Congress are the main political rivals of each other, and their alliance is bound to be unsuccessful at the ground level because of the competing interests of their support groups. Most of the JD(S) candidates faced Congress nominees as their main rivals in the elections.

Bonhomie between the top leaders of two parties may not translate into consolidation of their vote bases, especially when they have always worked against each other. There are inherent contradictions in the alliance, another BJP leader said.

Sources said the BJP believes that the Lingayats and a few other groups will further consolidate behind the party in the wake of the JD(S) and the Congress, two arch rivals, joining hands to keep it out of power.It is also learnt Kumaraswamy has decided to take the oath Wednesday at the sprawling Palace Grounds instead of Kanteerava Stadium.

Bengaluru: After successfully ensuring the exit of the fledgling BJP government led by B.S. Yeddyurappa on Saturday, chief minister-designate of the JD(S)-Congress coalition H.D. Kumaraswamy will meet Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday to discuss the modalities of government formation ahead of his swearing-in on Wednesday.

Mr Kumaraswamy had earlier intended to take the oath on Monday (May 21) but deferred it as this happens to be the 27th anniversary of the assassination of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, Rahuls father.

The JD(S) president, taking to reporters in Bengaluru, made it clear no discussion has taken place so far on the allocation of ministerial portfolios, and also said reports on the power-sharing formula of 30 months each between the two parties was bogus

It is also learnt Mr Kumaraswamy has decided to take the oath Wednesday at the sprawling Palace Grounds instead of Kanteerava Stadium, as earlier planned, as it can hold a larger number of people. He has also decided to seek a vote of confidence on Thursday itself in the Assembly though governor Vajubhai Vala has given him 15 days.

Just 24 hours after the oath, Ill prove the majority, Mr Kumaraswamy said.

He denied reports that talks were held with Congress leaders on the byelections in Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Jayanagar Assembly constituencies on fighting the BJP unitedly. Rajarajeshwari Nagar will go to the polls on May 28 and Jayanagar on June 11. It is bogus news... No such discussions have taken place. Wining

Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Jayanagara is a necessity. Till now, no such discussions have happened, he said.

Sources said that Mr Kumaraswamy would invite Sonia and Rahul Gandhi for his swearing-in, in addition to the heads of all major regional parties, including Mamata Banerjee of Trinamul Congress, BSP supremo Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, N. Chandrababu Naidu of TDP and TRS chief K. Chandrashekhar Rao. Most of the leaders are expected to come for the oath-taking ceremony.

There were some reports earlier that the JD(S) and the Congress might head the government for 30 months each on rotation, similar to the 20:20 month power-sharing agreement in 2006 between the JD(S) and BJP. It ended on a disastrous note with the JD(S) reneging on its commitment to share power with the BJP and refusing to hand over the mantle to B.S. Yeddyurappa, leading to the collapse of the government.

Mr Kumaraswamy also said on Sunday that in view of the differing ideologies of the Congress and the JD(S), the two parties would formulate a common minimum programme for smooth governance. A coordination committee for the coalition will also be formed.

There are, meanwhile, reports that JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda is seeking a powerful post for Vokkaliga strongman and Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar in the new ministry. Mr Shivakumar had played a pivotal role in holding the Congress-JD(S) MLAs together to keep them away from alleged poaching attempts by the BJP before the trust vote. He was energy minister in the Siddaramaiah government.

On Sunday, Mr Kumaraswamy started the day with meetings with senior bureaucrats at his residence at J.P. Nagar, where even DGP Neelamani N. Raju and other senior officers called on him. Later, he visited the residence of Mr H.D. Deve Gowda, before holding a meeting with the newly-elected JD(S) members at the Le Meridien Hotel. From there, he went to Srirangam near Trichy along with his brother H.D. Revanna.Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans.

Five more people have died due to high fever and similar symptoms of the virus in Kozhikode and in neighbouring Malappuram district. (Representational Image/Pixabay)

Kozhikode: The Nipah virus has so far claimed 6 lives in Kerala. The toll was confirmed by the Kozhikode district collector.

"Health department has taken all precautions. The virus is spreading through direct contact, through touch or contact of body fluids," Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja Teacher said.

The three deaths that occurred over the past fortnight, were from the same family, including two siblings in their early twenties. The man who is undergoing treatment for 'Nipah' is the father of the two brothers who died.

Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus.

A bat was found in the well of their house which has now been closed, the minister said.

A nursing assistant, Lini, who had treated three infected people, died on Monday morning.

However, it is yet to be confirmed if she had contracted the virus, which spreads through bats.

Five more people have died due to high fever and similar symptoms of the virus in Kozhikode and in neighbouring Malappuram district.

However, it is yet to be confirmed if their deaths were caused by the virus, health department sources said.

Shylaja and Labour minister, T P Ramakrishnan, who hails from Kozhikode, held discussions with officials and assured that the government had taken all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus, which has affected the state for the first time. A high level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has already arrived in Kozhikode district to take stock of the situation.

The state has been put on high alert and two control rooms have also been opened in Kozhikode. The minister said there was no need to panic as the virus spreads only through direct contact with the infected person.

NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia during 1998. Then, pigs were the intermediate hosts. However, in subsequent NiV outbreaks, there were no intermediate hosts.

In Bangladesh in 2004, humans became infected with NiV as a result of consuming date palm sap that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats.The 28-year-old law student from from Aarudesam in Kanyakumari reportedly broke into over 25 houses.

Identified as 27-year-old Edwin Jose, the man would strip himself down completely, drench himself in black paint and just don an underwear on his head to keep his identity hidden, before barging into houses. (Representational Image | Pixabay)

Thiruvananthapuram: In a major breakthrough, the Thiruvananthapuram Police have arrested a man from Tamil Nadu who had come to be known as the "naked thief".

Identified as 28-year-old Edwin Jose, the man from Aarudesam in Kanyakumari, would strip himself down completely, drench himself in black paint and just don an underwear on his head to keep his identity hidden, before barging into houses on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.

According to reports the man is believed to have broken into more than 25 homes in Neyyattinkara, Parassala and neighbouring areas on a motorbike which he had stolen before.

"The bikes keep changing as he steals one vehicle for the night, leaves it there and steals another one to escape getting caught," The News Minute quoted a senior police officer as saying.

The naked-thief armed himself with a wire cutter and break into homes through the rear doors - often stealing cash and jewellery laying around the house, say police.

"Cutting tools were used to take gold chains from sleeping women. In case they woke up and made a noise, he would attack them and flee into the darkness outside. His exploits gave sleepless nights to people residing in villages located close to the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border," a police officer told The New Indian Express.

Panicked residents even formed vigilante groups to take him down. In many instances, innocent people that drew suspicions of locals were beaten up, say police.

The accused was eventually identified by CCTV footage taken from a home he broke into in Kerala's Nedumangad. Soon after this, District Police Chief (Thiruvananthapuram rural) P Asok Kumar formed a probe team.

Reports said that the thief had recently enrolled himself at a law college. He has been remanded to judicial custody. He has previously been accused of theft.

IFrameIFrameHaryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar made the remark during a function organised to mark the Maharana Pratap Jayanti at Safidon in Jind district.

Chandigarh: One former Haryana chief minister was cooling his heels in jail, while another is set to land in prison, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said, in a veiled attack on his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Khattar made the remark during a function organised to mark the Maharana Pratap Jayanti at Safidon in Jind district, according to an official release.

"While one former chief minister (Om Prakash Chautala) is cooling his heels in jail (in the teachers' recruitment scam), another ex-chief minister is set to go to jail," he said, without naming Congress leader Hooda.

On Saturday also, while speaking at a function in Chandigarh, Khattar had trained guns on Hooda over various alleged scams that took place during the Congress tenure and have been unearthed now.

"Some scams committed during the Congress regime are now coming to light through the Supreme Court and the high court," he had claimed.

The Chief Minister on Sunday said that since the inception of Haryana, various governments were formed in the state but none could claim that they stayed away from corruption.

"In sharp contrast, during the three-and-a-half years of the present government, there have been no allegations of any scandals against any minister or MLA... I can say confidently that the present government has uplifted the living standards of the people and made efforts to change the direction of the society for the better," he said.

Later interacting with the villagers of Munak in Karnal district, Khattar said the responsibility for implementing the Swaminathan Commission report rested with former Chief Minister Hooda, who was then chairman of the working group of Chief Ministers on agriculture production, set up on agriculture.

"But he (Hooda) did not do anything during his time and kept pretending to be a leader of the farmers," Khattar said, adding his government has worked for the farmers during the last three-and-a-half years.

"The self-proclaimed farmers leader never thought of doubling the income of farmers. On the other hand, we have implemented Bhwantar Yojana to save the farmers from damage to their crops, and told them 'ghaata sarkar ka, fayda kisan ka' (under the scheme all loss would be borne by the state, and all profit will rest with farmers)," he added.

He said the state government would complete all development works which had been announced. The money provided for the works should be spent appropriately and with caution, he said, warning strict action over misuse of funds.The two leaders will primarily focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday expressed hope that his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin would further strengthen the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia.

In a series of tweets first in Russian and then in English on the eve of his visit to Russia, he said, Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership be-tween India and Russia.

Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him, Mr Modi said in another tweet.

The two leaders will primarily focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, during their informal summit in Russian city of Sochi on Monday.Two of Congress MLAs were missing till almost the noon of Saturday, but returned to the Congress flock.

New Delhi: A day after ousting the BJP government in Karnataka, the Congress on Sunday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi order a probe into efforts made by his party leaders to bribe and induce Congress and JD(S) legislators ahead of Saturdays trust vote.

We hope the Prime Minister will order an investigation into the naked dance of corruption which his party MLAs were indulging in... The Prime Minister should prove his commitment to fighting corruption by launching an investigation into those MLAs who openly called Congress and JD(S) MLAs and offered bribes with an intention to break the rock solid coalition of the Congress and the JD(S), Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill told reporters in a press conference.

Before the all important trust vote in the Karnataka Assembly, the Congress had released alleged audio recordings of BJP leaders trying to poach legislators of the Congress and JD(S). The recordings had both monetary allurements and position allurements.

A charge that has been vehemently denied by the BJP.

Mr Shergill added, The truth is in 2014, a slogan in India was ghar ghar Modi. In 2019, the Congress will ensure it is bye bye Modi. Today, we are making friends and NDA is making enemies. Claiming that the government had looted the country of `10 lakh crore by raising excise duty on diesel and petrol, Shergill said the loot was used to poach MLAs in Karnataka.

Fearing allurements from the BJP, the Congress and JD(S) had shifted their MLAs out of Karnataka before the crucial trust vote which was supposed to be held on Saturday. Two of Congress MLAs were missing till almost the noon of Saturday, but returned to the Congress flock. Interestingly, the trust vote did not take place as senior BJP leader and chief minister of Karnataka B.S. Yeddyurappa announced his resignation in the Assembly rather than going in for a trust vote.

On Saturday after the resignation of Mr. Yeddyurappa, Congress President Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP and Prime Minister saying that all tricks were tried to purchase Congress MLAs. A combative Mr. Gandhi accused the Prime Minister of directly authorising purchasing of MLAs in Karnataka.According to the police, the victim in her written complaint has clearly stated that both the accused assaulted her.

Patna: The Opposition parties in Bihar are planning to step up campaign against the state government over the repeated incident of crime against women. The incidents which triggered a political storm in Bihar were two videos which showed several youths attempting to strip a girl in full public view and an assault on an air-hostess by sons of a top BJP leader.

RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwary said, The state government led by chief minister Nitish Kumar has not been able to take adequate measures to stop rising crime in Bihar. Law and order situation has turned bad to worse and incidents of kidnapping, murder and rapes have gone up.

Two persons were arrested by Gaya police on Monday after video clips showed few youths dragging and trying to strip a girl while she begged to be left alone. The police headquarters has instructed the Gaya police to identify the all those who have been involved in the incident. Gaya police has registered an FIR against 6 persons while two have been arrested. Police is also trying to identify other accused involved in the case. Strict action will be taken against all those who have been involved in the heinous incident, additional director general of police S.K. Singhal said.

This was the second incident within a month. Earlier, in a shocking video which went viral on the social media in April, eight persons were seen molesting a minor girl in Jehanabad district. Another incident which rocked the state was a molestation attempt on an air hostess by sons of top BJP leader.

Nitish Kumar-led NDA government came under sharp attack after an air hostess in her written complaint to the police stated that Sushant and Prashant Ranjan, sons of former legislative council chairman tried to molest her at their fathers official bungalow in Patna.

According to the police, the victim in her written complaint has clearly stated that both the accused assaulted her. She somehow managed to escape from their captivity and later sent a handwritten complaint to the police station. The victim is an air-hostess with a private airline and was in Patna to see her mother.The ATS unit of Juhu had arrested these accused on January 12 this year, after receiving a tip-off.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) has filed a chargesheet against eight arrested naxal operatives for allegedly working for the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist)'s inter-state Golden Corridor Committee to spread their ideology in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and for allegedly taking part in terror activity.

The probe agency claimed that the accused were actively involved in promoting the naxal ideology and were targeting youngsters to join their outfit. The accused were arrested in January.

The statements of more than 200 witnesses and documents seized from the accused are part of the chargesheet, which runs into a few thousand pages. It names Krushna Lingya Ghoshka, alias Ajay Dasri, Satyanarayan Rajayya Karela, Babu Shankar Buchhya Wanguri, alias Babu, Shankarrya Lingya Gunde, Ravi Rajanna Marampelli, Ramesh Gorayya Golala, Narsayya Laxmayya Jumpala and Saidul Narsimha Singapanga as accused.

The probe agency has charged them under sections 13 (1) (a) (whoever takes part in or commits terrorist act), 13 (1) (b) (whoever advocates, abets, advices or incites the commission of any unlawful activities), 16 (punishment for terrorist act), 18 (punishment for conspiracy etc of lawful activities), 18 (A), 18 (B), 19 (harbouring any person knowing that such person is a terrorist), 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation), 38 (offence relating to membership of terrorist organisation), 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) and 40 (offence of raising fund for a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sections 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record).

Dasri told the police that he was working for the CPI (M) and during further probe the ATS nabbed six more persons against whom chargesheet has been filed. The probe agency has handed over a copy of the chargesheet to defence lawyers Arif Siddiqui, Arun Ferreira and Firoz Ansari.

The ATS unit of Juhu had arrested these accused on January 12 this year, after receiving a tip-off from reliable sources. The ATS had laid a trap at Kalyan railway station and on receiving the signal, had nabbed the first accused, who has been identified as Ajay Dasri.Special public prosecutor Vaibhav Bagade said that the court had sentenced the convict to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him.

The victims had been rescued from the Kavdas orphanage and kept in this school where Tare targeted them.

Mumbai: A special POCSO court on Monday sentenced to life imprisonment Rajesh Tare, a peon of a state-run school in Mankhurd, for raping two mute and deaf girls in the school.

Special public prosecutor Vaibhav Bagade said that the court had sentenced the convict to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him.

Special judge Surekha Patil in her order said that of the total fine amount, Rs 20,000 be paid each to both the victims as compensation. However, the judge also noted that since the compensation amount awarded to the victims was not adequate for their rehabilitation, the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) was directed to pay adequate compensation to each victim.

On March 21, 2014, counselors from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) who help inmates of various shelters as part of their Chunauti project, visited the state-run home for the mentally deficient in Mankhurd. They met the children there who had been rescued from the Kavdas orphanage, and found a Rs 50 note in the pocket of one of the girls. The girl did not tell the counselors who had given her the money. After hours of coaxing, the girl confided in them that she had been sexually assaulted in the school.

The counselors wanted to ensure that she was not talking about her experience at the Kavdas orphanage but to their shock, she confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted at the Mankhurd school. Meanwhile, another girl came forward saying that she, too, had been sexually assaulted at the school. Both girls identified Tare as the person who had committed the crime. Following this, a case was registered against Tare and after conducting trial, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment on Monday.

The victims had been rescued from the Kavdas orphanage and kept in this school where Tare targeted them. In the Kavdas orphanage, too, children were sexually assaulted and the owner of the orphanage is already serving his sentence.In a landmark event for Eastern India, doctors of Fortis Hospital, Anandapur, successfully transplant live heart.

The live heart was transported through a 18 kms green corridor from the airport to the hospital in a record 18 minutes time. (Photo: AFP)

In a landmark event, a team of doctors at Fortis Hospital, Anandapur successfully transplanted a live heart here today.

The live heart was transported through a 18 kms green corridor from the airport to the hospital in a record 18 minutes time.

The heart was harvested at a Bengaluru hospital before it was airlifted to Kolkata early morning today.

The team of doctors who performed this surgery included Dr Tapas Raychaudhury, Director, Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Surgery andDr K M Mandana, Director, Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Surgery along withDr SaikatBandopadhyay, Senior Consultant, Cardiac Anesthesiologist & Intensivistfrom Fortis Hospital, Anandpur. The heart transplant was conducted under the expert supervision of Dr K R Balakrishnan, Director, Cardiac Sciences and Dr Suresh Rao, Chief Cardiac Anesthetist from Fortis Malar Hospital in Chennai who to their credit run one of the largest Heart Transplant Programmes in Asia.Duchess of Sussex reveals her plans for life as a royal just hours after wedding, says will carry out duties for the Queen.

The Duchess' official web page comes after it was revealed Meghan and Harry have left Windsor Castle and are heading to London to begin married life together. (Photo: AP)

Newlywed Meghan Markle has revealed her plans for life as a royal after she broke tradition to give a powerful wedding speech.

The Duchess of Sussex has now received her own web page on the official royal.uk website where it confirms she will carry out duties for the Queen.

The webpage also includes Meghans famous quote from a UN conference in New York in 2015 when she had said, I am proud to be a woman and a feminist".

The bio also makes reference to her keen awareness of social issues and actively participated in charitable work from a young age.

And it makes reference to her "keen awareness of social issues and actively participated in charitable work" from a young age.

The Duchess, seen by many as someone who will breathe life into the Royals, broke tradition when she gave a wedding speech. According to reports, Meghan thanked the Royal family for their love and support.

The Duchess' official web page comes after it was revealed Meghan and Harry have left Windsor Castle and are heading to London to begin married life together.

The newlyweds will live in Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of grand royal estate, Kensington Palace.

The pad was previously home to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge before the couple moved into a 20-room apartment inside the palace.

It features two bedrooms, a small living room, kitchen and bathroom.This is the first time that the Modi-Shah duo has been outsmarted by their political rivals.

The arrogant belief of the BJP that it was electorally unassailable and that money power could turn any defeat into a victory has taken a knock in Karnataka. Party president Amit Shahs swagger henceforth is bound to be more pretence than real.

The events of Karnataka have also dented the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a finisher  the star batsman who comes in towards the end of the match and scores quickly in a high-pressure situation to deliver victory to his team. He fell short in Karnataka. The impact of this will not be limited to one state.

The BJP needed to turn the outcome in its favour to send two signals. One, that it can attract the requisite numbers should it face a similar shortfall in the 2019 general election. Two, that it remains unassailable under the leadership of the Modi-Shah duo. Its failure has suddenly made it vulnerable in the public mind.

After the event, people will begin to wonder whether the BJP might fall short of a majority in 2019 and its subsequent options. Its re-election will not be taken for granted.

Within the BJP doubts will also arise about the ability of the Modi-Shah duo to deliver victory. As it is, at an individual level, both are resented as neither possesses a likeable persona. Their intimidating personalities and arrogant body language were tolerated largely as they managed electoral victories. This is likely to change in the run-up to 2019.

Mr Modi is given to making tall, unrealistic and astounding claims about his abilities and attributes. Public incredulity about these claims is not something that he can easily work with. And increasingly, the public has begun to disbelieve the narrative he has spun. He is seen as an uneducated, glib liar who constantly shifts the blame for his governments shortcomings to others, mostly on to the shoulders of tall historical figures long since dead.

This is the first time that the Modi-Shah duo has been outsmarted by their political rivals. Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya had shown that it did not matter who won the election because the BJP could always cobble together the numbers and grab power. That pattern has been broken. This is, therefore, an unprecedented setback for them in the run-up to the general election.

It would be a mistake, however, to conclude from the Karnataka events that money power has lost influence in government formation. The fate of the BJP was only sealed the moment the Supreme Court checked the misuse of discretion by an openly partisan governor, Vajubhai Vala. Instead of allowing a leisurely 15 days to bribe potential defectors from the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), it set a 24-hour deadline for proving its majority. Since the elected rival MLAs were already quarantined and incommunicado, the machinations of Messrs Shah and company were thwarted.

So this was no ideological victory for the Congress and the JD(S). The offer of loaves and fishes did not work because there was no time for negotiations and the fear of attracting disqualification for defection. Defecting MLAs might not have had the appetite for another election quite so soon.

More than the political parties, it is the Supreme Court that has redeemed itself after a series of misadventures. It must be thanked for saving Indian democracy by shielding it from the vagaries of money power. But it remains to be seen in the course of ongoing hearings whether it circumscribes the discretionary powers of governors.

Karnataka also augurs well for Opposition unity. Opposition unity had already been initiated by the coming together of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in the Phulpur and Gorakhpur Lok Sabha byelections in Uttar Pradesh. For all practical purposes, the intent of the Opposition parties to mount a unified challenge to the BJP in 2019 was already there. What Karnataka has proven is that if the Opposition works in unison and is on the ball, it is more than a match for the BJP.

There is a lesson in Karnataka for the Congress  that it should be ready to subordinate itself to regional parties to defeat the BJP. That a depleted Congress with a shrinking geography is not going to be the magnet for Opposition unity has been clear for quite some time. It may now be more willing to work in with other Opposition parties to keep the BJP out in 2019, without laying claim to leadership as a precondition.

The new strategy will be tested a few months from now in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. Although the Congress is the main challenger in these states, it would be a mistake for it to ignore the other anti-BJP Opposition parties, taking into account the consolidation of dalits, Other Backward Castes and Muslims on the ground. However small they may seem to the Congress, which still pretends to be a giant, it would have to take on board whichever political forces represent them before the election.

This is not going to be an easy task for a party convinced that it is on the verge of returning to power in Rajasthan and perhaps even in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. If it makes the same mistake to fight the elections alone, as it did in similar circumstances in Karnataka, it may come to rue that decision. Only if it shows generosity and accommodation towards others in the Opposition will the Congress be able to stand together at the national level with any anti-BJP political formation.

After Karnataka, the BJP will also have appreciated the importance of investing in social coalitions for 2019. Under the Modi-Shah leadership, the BJP does not attract allies very easily. Their leadership lacks the collegiality and communication skills necessary to keep their allies happy. They rely instead on the crumbs falling off the table to keep them satisfied. And yet, having witnessed the Karnataka debacle, the BJP may spring a few surprises.A deliberate policy of confrontation was launched, at stages, almost immediately after Narendra Modi came to power in 2014.

It is not possible to exaggerate the respect that Faiz Ahmed Faiz enjoys in India; his poems inspired and lifted the morale of many of those who were imprisoned during the 1970s Emergency. One of the dailies quoted, with unconscious irony, his famous line: bol ke lab azad hain tere (speak for your lips are free).

It is a shame, then, that his daughter Moneeza Hashmi was denied permission to speak at the 15th Asia Media Summit in Delhi after being invited to do so. This is not the first time that his two daughters faced such uncivilised behaviour. Only recently, both were invited to an event in Lucknow to celebrate Faizs birth anniversary in February. Only Salima Hashmi was given the visa  that, too, only two days before the event, to ensure her absence.

Representatives from nearly 40 countries participated in the recent summit. The organisers claimed ignorance of why Moneeza Hashmi was not allowed to speak. One of the co-hosts was the Indian governments information and broadcasting ministry. Another was the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development, based in Kuala Lumpur, which is an intergovernmental organisation serving countries of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in the field of electronic media. Could the US refuse visas to delegates to the UN General Assembly?

This year, Indian invitees to the prestigious Karachi Literary Festival faced an unprecedented hurdle. Since direct flights to Pakistan were off, they could only fly and return via Dubai. These are not isolated instances. They form part of a pattern in a policy of confrontation.

Confrontations can make sense only under four conditions. First, world opinion must support the policy because it perceives it to be justified. Second, the power equation must be very largely in favour of the state that launches the policy. Third, the demands that it makes must be susceptible to compromise and are not surrender terms. Lastly, that the state under coercion is not isolated. Cuba could survive American coercion for decades because it was backed by the Soviet Union.

A deliberate policy of confrontation was launched, at stages, almost immediately after Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. Cancelling the foreign secretaries talks in 2014, on specious grounds, was intended to convey a message: the BJP is fundamentally different from the Congress. The policy evolved since then to reach its menacing proportions of today. But they were always in view.

Confrontation with Pakistan is part of a two-pronged strategy. Its author, reportedly, is Ajit Doval, former head of the Intelligence Bureau and now Narendra Modis closest adviser. The Doval doctrine is now in full play. Over a year ago, the Indian Army launched Operation All-Out, described by a correspondent as a relentless no-holds barred offensive against militancy in Kashmir. Both prongs are doomed to failure.

Even if armed militancy is crushed, the peoples alienation from India will not subside; it will become deeper, only to fuel the revival of militancy later. There is not the remotest possibility of militancy being crushed either; the entire populace supports it.

Modi wants to settle Kashmir before the elections of 2019. As for confrontation with Pakistan, its military prowess apart, it is not diplomatically isolated, despite Indias prolonged efforts over the last few years. The fate of Saarc provides a graphic illustration. On October 26, 2017, Indian foreign secretary Dr S. Jaishankar said, (T)he Saarc vehicle has sort of jammed because of two big issues  terrorism and connectivity. The 19th Saarc summit, which was due to be held in Islamabad in November 2016, was indefinitely postponed after India, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh pulled out of the event. The last two are unlikely to decline for long. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) cannot replace Saarc  or spell Pakistani isolation.

Last month, India spread word that the time is still not ripe for a Saarc summit. But on the eve of PM Modis visit to Nepal on May 11, Nepalese foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali declared his countrys support for reviving Saarc. We cannot compare Saarc and Bimstec.

Countries merrily join India in denouncing militancy in joint statements, but do not let it affect their relations with Pakistan. What has the policy of confrontation through isolation achieved? Russias relations with Pakistan have improved markedly. Neither Pakistan nor India is isolated in the councils of the world. True, Indias clout has risen. But every great power seeks friendship with Pakistan in its own interest. It cannot be quarantined.

The policy is not based on cool rational calculation but on the worst of emotions  hate. It is a matter of time before the confrontation is ended. Meanwhile, it will be pursued with the gaucheness that has always been its companion; Faiz sahibs daughters had a taste of it.

By arrangement with DawnThe deal has been approved by 8 of the 9 global regulators, with only the Chinese Ministry of Commerce continually stalling the takeover.

Qualcomm's $44 billion deal to buy Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV is looking more optimistic now, as per a report.

Qualcomm's $44 billion deal to buy Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV is looking more optimistic now, the Wall Street Journal quoted a Beijing official as saying.

Shares of NXP were up 5.5 per cent at $112.52 and Qualcomm was up 1.6 per cent at $57.86 in late morning trade.

The deal has been approved by eight of the nine required global regulators, with only the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MofCom) continually stalling the takeover amid US-China trade tensions.

Qualcomm and NXP declined to comment, while MofCom did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that the proposed takeover had yet to see any concrete breakthrough in China.

However, Chinese regulators this week have cleared two big deals  Toshiba Corps (6502.T) $18 billion sale of its chip unit to a consortium led by US private equity firm Bain Capital, and Microchips $8.35 billion deal to buy Microsemi.The Mi Max 3 is expected to feature dual rear cameras and a bigger 5500mAh battery.

If you are a Mi fan, then you must be rubbing your hands in anticipation of the rumoured flagship Mi 8, which is supposed to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the company. While the Mi 8 has been drawing all attention with its FaceID-like 3D facial recognition system and an in-display fingerprint sensor, details about the successor to Xiaomis phablet model have already started creeping up. However, while the details about the handset are sparse presently, Xiaomis CEO Lei Jun has confirmed that the Mi Max 3 will be unveiled in July.

Lei took to Chinese microblogging website Weibo to express Xiaomis intentions of unveiling the Mi Max 3 sometime in July. Xiaomi has usually unveiled new members of the Mi Max series in the month of May. However, it seems that the Mi Max 3 will require some more time at the hands of its maker to be deemed fit for markets across the world. Lei didnt unveil anything else about the handset though.

However, rumours about the Mi Max 3 have been doing rounds on the Internet for a while. Its expected that the Mi Max 3 will essentially be a magnified version of the Redmi Note 5 Pro, as last years Mi Max 2 was essentially a Redmi Note 4 with a giant display. Therefore, expect Xiaomi to stuff in a Snapdragon 636 chipset with 4GB/6GB of RAM. We could also see a familiar dual camera setup borrowed from the Redmi Note 5 Pro. However, the Mi Max 3 is expected to sport an even larger 18:9 display measuring close to 7-inches. Not only a giant display, but the Max 3 is also expected to sport a bigger 5500mAh battery with fast charging enabled. Rumours are also ripe about the exclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this site.

(source)Trumps demand puts further pressure on the Justice Department, which later asked its watchdog to expand an existing probe of FBI actions.

Trumps extraordinary demand of the Justice Department alarmed many observers, who felt it not only violated presidential protocol but could have a chilling effect on federal law enforcement or its use of informants. (Photo: File)

Washington: President Donald Trump said he will demand that the Justice Department open an investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign, an extraordinary order that came hours before his legal team said the special counsel indicated the investigation into the president could be concluded by September.

Trump tweeted Sunday: I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

Trumps demand puts further pressure on the Justice Department, which later on Sunday asked its watchdog to expand an existing probe of FBI actions, as the White House combats the threat posed by special counsel Robert Muellers ongoing investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. The presidents lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Mueller recently shared a timetable that suggested his probe could end by Sept. 1 if Trump were to sit for an interview in July, which is the legal teams new working plan.

We said to them, If were going to be interviewed in July, how much time until the report gets issued? Giuliani told The Associated Press on Sunday, referring to the report Mueller is expected to issue to Congress at the conclusion of his investigation. They said September, which is good for everyone, because no one wants this to drag into the midterms.

Giuliani said he did not want a repeat of what happened in 2016, when FBI Director James Comey announced in the campaigns final days that he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server, a decision Democrats believe cost Clinton the race. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, also said Muellers team indicated that the entire probe could end by September, not just its investigation into potential obstruction of justice.

This would be the culmination of the investigation into the president, Giuliani said.

The special counsels office did not respond to a request for comment.

It is not certain that Trump will sit for an interview with Mueller, though the president has publicly said he would. Giuliani said a decision would not be made until after Trumps summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, which is slated for June 12. Giuliani said Sunday the two sides were getting closer to agreeing on the parameters on a potential interview but would not put the odds of it happening at better than 50/50.

Giulianis apparent attempt to publicly pressure Mueller amid interview negotiations came just hours after Trumps demand for a new inquiry, which moved beyond his usual blustery accusations of institutional wrongdoing and into the realm of applying presidential pressure on the Justice Department, a move few of his predecessors have made.

Trump made the order amid days of public venting about the special counsel investigation, which he has deemed a witch hunt that he says has yielded no evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia. In response, the Justice Department moved Sunday to defuse a growing confrontation with the White House by asking its inspector general to expand an existing investigation into the Russia probe by examining whether there was any improper politically motivated surveillance.

It was not immediately clear if that move would satisfy Trump, or if any further demands could lead to a confrontation with FBI Director Christopher Wray or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller investigation. Rosenstein released a statement Sunday that read, If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.

The Justice Department probe had begun in March at the request of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and congressional Republicans. Sessions and the lawmakers had urged Inspector General Michael Horowitz to review whether FBI and Justice Department officials abused their surveillance powers by using information compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy, and paid for by Democrats to justify monitoring Carter Page, a former campaign adviser to Trump.

Horowitz said his office will look at those claims as well as communications between Steele and DOJ and FBI officials.

Trump did not elaborate on the promised demand, which he included in one of a series of tweets he sent throughout the day Sunday. On Saturday, Trump tweeted, If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal. He said only the release or review of documents the House Intelligence Committee is seeking from the Justice Department can give conclusive answers.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Trumps claim of an embedded spy nonsense.

His demand DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems, Schiff said on Twitter. Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesnt care.

Trumps extraordinary demand of the Justice Department alarmed many observers, who felt it not only violated presidential protocol but could have a chilling effect on federal law enforcement or its use of informants. Giuliani defended the presidents actions.

As the presidents lawyer, I cant be concerned on what effect it may have, he said. To me, theres not much of a difference between an informants ongoing collection of information in a surreptitious way or a spy.

If this guy was an FBI implant into the campaign, Giuliani said, thats as offensive as Watergate.

The New York Times was the first to report that the FBI had an informant who met several times with Trump campaign officials who had suspicious contacts linked to Russia.

Giuliani said the information discovered by the source should eventually be made public and released to Congress, even if his identity is kept confidential.

The GOP-led House Intelligence Committee closed its Russian meddling probe last month, saying it found no evidence of collusion or coordination between Trumps campaign and Russia. Schiff and other committee Democrats were furious and argued that Republicans had not subpoenaed many witnessed they considered essential to the committees work.

Sunday was not the first time that Trump accused his predecessor of politically motivated activity against him.

Without substantiation, Trump tweeted in March 2017 that former President Barack Obama had conducted surveillance the previous October at Trump Tower, the New York skyscraper where Trump ran his campaign and transition and maintains a residence. Comey later testified to Congress that internal reviews found no information to support the presidents tweets. Trump later fired Comey over the bureaus Russia investigation.Following Trumps withdrawal from the deal, United States will ensure Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon  ever, Pompeo said.

These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete, Pompeo said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation, his first major policy speech since taking over as top diplomat. (Photo: AP)

Washington: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a steep list of demands Monday that he said should be included in a nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal, threatening the strongest sanctions in history if Iran doesnt change course.

Following President Donald Trumps withdrawal from the deal, the United States will ensure Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon  ever, Pompeo said. As he called for a better agreement to constrain Irans activities, he said the US would apply unprecedented financial pressure to bring Tehran back to the table.

These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete, Pompeo said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation, his first major policy speech since taking over as top diplomat.

Pompeos list of 12 requirements included many that Iran is highly unlikely to consider.

He said Iran must stop enrichment of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the 2015 deal. Iran must also allow nuclear unqualified access to all sites throughout the country, Pompeo said, alluding to military sites that were off-limits under the 2015 deal except under specific circumstances. To that end, he also said Iran must declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon, reopening an issue that the UNs International Atomic Energy Agency has already deemed a closed matter.

Pompeo also demanded that Iran cease from a range of activities throughout the Middle East that have long drawn the ire of the US and its allies. He said Iran must end support for Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, withdraw all forces from Syria, halt support for its ally Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel.

Iran must also release all US citizens missing in Iran or being held on spurious charges, he said.

At the same time, Pompeo offered Iran a series of dramatic potential US concessions if it agrees to make major changes. Under a new agreement, the US would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore full diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran, and even support the modernization of its economy, Pompeo said.

It is Americas hope that our labours toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran, Pompeo said.

Pompeos speech came after Trump earlier this month infuriated US allies in Europe by withdrawing from the 2015 deal brokered by President Barack Obama, Iran and world powers. Europeans allies had pleaded with Trump not to scuttle that deal and are now scrambling to keep the deal alive even without the US.

But the Trump administration has held out hope that those same allies will put aside that frustration and work with the US to ramp pressure back up on Iran through sanctions in a bid to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table for a stronger deal.

Pompeo said he understood that Trumps decision will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends. But he warned them that the US planned to follow through with threats to punish European companies that continue doing business with Iran that is allowed under the deal but will violate reimposed US sanctions.

I know our allies in Europe may try to keep the old nuclear deal going with Tehran. That is their decision to make, Pompeo said. They know where we stand.'China must continue to be strong & tight on the border of North Korea until a deal is made,' Trump said in a tweet.

The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing! Trump said. (Photo: AP)

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday asked China to be tough with North Korea on its border till Pyongyang signs a deal on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

China must continue to be strong & tight on the border of North Korea until a deal is made, Trump said in a tweet. The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing! Trump said.

Trump's tweet comes amidst uncertainty over his scheduled June 12 meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong un in Singapore. Trump and his senior officials have said that their goal is denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Last week, North Korea threatened to withdraw from the first ever summit meeting with the US, against the ongoing joint US-South Korea military exercise. The US still hopes that the meeting would happen as scheduled. Trump had indicated that North Korea changed its stance after Kim met for the second time with Chinese President Xi Jinping.In opening remarks, PM Modi said India and Russia have been friends for long time and thanked Putin for informal meeting at Sochi.

Modi said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by then Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Putin has now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" between the two countries. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

Sochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the strategic partnership between India and Russia has now been elevated into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" as he met President Vladimir Putin in this Black Sea coastal city for their first informal summit.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Modi said India and Russia have been friends for a long time and they have enjoyed an unbreakable friendship. "I am grateful to President Putin who invited me for an informal meeting and hence, in the long friendship of ours, this is a new aspect that has been attached to our relationship," Modi said.

"You have added a new aspect of informal summit in the bilateral relationship which I think is a great occasion and creates trust," he said. Modi recalled his first visit to Russia with then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001 and said Putin was the first world leader whom he met after becoming the chief minister of Gujarat.

"In my political career also, Russia and you (Putin) are very significant...As the chief minister of Gujarat, it was my first meeting with a foreign leader. Hence, the beginning of my international relations started from you and Russia," Modi said. "Since then it has been 18 years, I have got several opportunities to meet you, to deliberate upon issues, and try to take the relations of India and Russia forward," he added. He said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by then Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Putin have now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" in itself.

Modi thanked Russia for playing a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - an eight nation bloc which aims at military and economic cooperation between the member states. India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation.

"We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS," Modi said. He also congratulated Putin for becoming the President for the fourth time with overwhelming majority. "It's my pleasure that I had got an opportunity to talk to you over phone and soon met you to congratulate you personally," he said. "Starting from the year 2000 when you took office, our relation has been historic...," Modi added.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Bocharev Creek in Sochi ahead of the delegation-level talks, Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties. He said Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries. "Our defense ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said. He also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS (an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the SCO.

Putin also said that last year there was a considerable increase in mutual trade and this year for the first several months it was an increase of more than 17 per cent. Official sources said the aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues. They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks.

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO and BRICS summits.

The sources said possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation may also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin. There have been apprehensions that the US decision on Iran deal may adversely impact New Delhi's oil import from the Persian Gulf nation as well as on the Chabahar port project. Iran is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.The 2 leaders will meet for 'agendaless' talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.

Sochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Russia's Black Sea coastal city Sochi on Monday for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin that will focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, official sources said.

They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.

"Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," Modi had tweeted on Sunday.

Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

"Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia," Modi had tweeted.

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and BRICS summits.by Mathias Hariyadi

Over the past two days, eight homes, four motorcycles and a shop have been destroyed. The attacks were based on similar reasons: hatred and intolerance, said a spokesperson for the Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation. Its not the first and definitely wont be the last attack. Its been years and the Ahmadi community continues to live under threats. Since they do not acknowledge Muhammad as the last prophet, the Ahmadis have been attacked by the most radical Islamic groups.

Jakarta (AsiaNews)  A series of attacks on the island of East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara province, has shaken Indonesias Ahmadi community. Considered heretical by most Muslims, they have often been the victims of persecution.

On Saturday afternoon, a mob tried to expel Ahmadis from the village of Grepek Tanak Eat, near Greneng. Seven families for a total of 24 people were forced to leave their homes as attackers torched at least eight houses, four motorcycles and a shop. The Ahmadis found refuge at the local police station.

Overnight, the home of another Ahmadi family was also set on fire. A third attack took place the following morning, when unknown people attacked another Ahmadi-owned building.

"People have left their farms. Some others [whose houses were not destroyed] fled and are staying with their relatives elsewhere," Ahmadi community spokesman Saleh told the media.

Ahmadiyah Indonesia Congregation (JAI) secretary Yendra Budiana said the incident followed a series of attacks on the Ahmadi community in another residential area last March and on 9 May.

The attacks were based on similar reasons: hatred and intolerance, he explained. Its not the first and definitely wont be the last attack. Its been years and the Ahmadi community continues to live under threats.

The Ahmadiyah movement was founded in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, in the Indian village of Qadian (Punjab, British India).

Since they do not acknowledge Muhammad as the last prophet, Ahmadis have been attacked by the most radical Islamic groups. In some parts of the country, they are not allowed to pray in public places or even in their homes.

According to various independent estimates, the number of Ahmadis in Indonesia ranges from 200,000 to 500,000 members, in 542 communities across the country with 289 mosques and 110 mission centres. Indonesias Ministry of Religious Affairs puts the number at about 80,000 members.The summit between Kim and Trump is in doubt. North Korea has not yet spoken on the presence of South Korean journalists at the destruction of the nuclear site. Todays meeting between Korean civic groups was blocked. Pyongyang wants the return of defectors who were abducted in China in 2016. North Korean official newspaper warns against the madness of depending on the outside for development and against "imperialists".

Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies)  South Korean President Moon Jae-in left this morning for Washington amid suspended intra-Korean talks and ambiguous signals from Pyongyang.

Tomorrow, Moon will meet his US counterpart Donald Trump ahead of the US-North Korea summit with Kim Jong-un, scheduled for 12 June in Singapore, which now seems in doubt.

After threatening to pull out because of joint US-South Korean military exercises and the controversy over the Libyan model, North Korea has sent contradictory messages through its press and by staying silent on some major issues.

In particular, Pyongyang has not yet responded to Seoul's proposed list of journalists to attend the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear site.

On 12 May, North Korea announced that it would destroy the test site and that the ceremony would be open to South Korean, American, Chinese, Russian and British journalists.

"Today's communication channel closed ... The list of our journalists was not delivered (to the North)," a South Korean Unification Ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

At the same time, some experts say it is unlikely that the North will cancel the planned demolition.

According to 38 North, a US website that monitors developments in North Korea, some satellite images show steps being taken to dismantle the nuclear test site, including the installation of an observatory for overseeing the dismantling process

Furthermore, South Korean sources report that North Korea is testing the railway lines leading to the site.

On the other hand, a meeting between civic groups from the two Koreas was cancelled  they were supposed to organise a series of joint events between the two countries. In fact, the group from the South could not travel across the border due to the lack of invitation from North Korean authorities.

Recently, North Korea and the North Korean Red Cross also called on South Korea to return a group of restaurant workers who defected in China and fled en masse to the South in April 2016. According to Pyongyang, they were abducted by the South Koreas former conservative administration.

Also, an article in Rodong Sinmun, North Koreas leading daily and the workers' party mouthpiece, warns against dependence on foreign countries for economic development.

Now that the imperialists are getting more desperate in their moves to dominate other countries and nations and the world, if one tries to get benefit from outsiders while depending on them, instead of depending on his strength, it is as foolish an act as ruining oneself," it said.

Recently, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had said that the US was willing to provide economic aid to North Korea in exchange for the total denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.by Kamran Chaudhry

The archbishop of Karachi will first wear his cardinal biretta during the consistory of 29 June. Pakistan has been without a cardinal since 1994. Mgr Coutts served in half of the country's dioceses. "He is a Ramadan gift for us, says Muslim doctor.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Muslim politicians and activists have joined Pakistans Christian minority to welcome the countrys new cardinal, the archbishop of Karachi, Mgr Joseph Coutts.

In a surprise move in yesterday's Regina Caeli, Pope Francis announced that he was appointing 14 new cardinals, three of whom from Asia, during the consistory of 29 June.

The pontiff stressed that the places from which the new cardinals come from "express the universality of the Church, which continues to proclaim the merciful love of God to all men and women of the earth".

When they heard about the appointment, Pakistani Christians praised the Lord. Pakistan has been without a cardinal since the death in 1994 of its first prince of the Church, Mgr Joseph Cordeiro, who had served as archbishop of Karachi since 1958.

Fr Bonnie Mendes, former executive secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Pakistan, spoke to AsiaNews about the appointment.

"We are very excited, he said. It was long overdue. The Church of Pakistan was depressed after facing years of persecution. We were overlooked when Archbishop Patrick D'Rozario of Dhaka was appointed as a cardinal in 2016 along with three other Asians."

"Mgr Coutts is the right man, he added, and has been a leader for three decades. He talks in a sensible and calculated manner in both national and international forums."

Emmanuel Neno, executive secretary of the Pakistani bishops' Catechetical Commission is happy for the Christians of Pakistan.

We are a religious minority in Pakistan but now our voice will be heard properly in the Universal Church. We thank the Holy Father for caring for the small churches, he said. Mgr Coutts has been bishop in half of the dioceses of the country. He knows his flock and their concerns.

Several Muslim politicians also joined the wave of congratulations. The first one was Khawaja Saad Rafique, Federal Minister of Railways.

The appointment of Mr Joseph Coutts as a Cardinal is a matter of great pleasure for the Christian community of Pakistan. Mr Joseph Coutts is the pride of the Christian community and our beloved Pakistan. Congratulations to the Christian community, he tweeted on Sunday.

For Dr Sadia Umer, coordinator at the women empowerment programme of the Catholic United Religions Initiative (URI) Pakistan, the news provides "a beautiful image" to the country.

Everybody views our country with suspicion, blaming us for terrorism, said the Muslim gynaecologist. However, Pope Francis is different. He is genuinely sincere in inter-religious dialogue and see us all as humans. The new cardinal is a Ramadan gift for us.Free food available with food waste app for charities

Posted by Jack Cain on 21st May 2018





In a serious new development, a phone app called Ywaste which was launched in November 2017 has attracted new interest from numerous fast food chains.

Ywaste provides a digital platform where food outlets post to sell their end of day unsold food instead of throwing it away.

However now it can have acquired for free for those experiencing food insecurity as part of a charitable deal it has struck with certified charities and their users.

Certified charities in each local area nominate participants who qualify as recipients for donated foods from any of the food retailers in the arrangement. Each recipient is issued with a special code which provides access to free food when using the app.

The code allows the recipient to purchase 1 free meal per day.

Participants in the new arrangement include QSR and takeaway chains Sushi Hub, Harries Vegan Restaurant, Soul Origin, Nashi, Mrs. Fields, AboutLife Healthy Supermarkets, Sumo Salad, Caltex Petrol, Brumbys Bakery, Donut King, Muffin Break and more than 200 local restaurants and cafes.

With 3.6 million Australians experiencing food insecurity according to Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017 Ywaste provides help in an anonymous fashion by receiving free food donations for partnered food outlets.Metcash make deal with Chinese retail giant JD.com





Metcashs Fresh Pantry brand will be launched on JDs e-commerce platform under the deal, delivering its range of Australian and New Zealand products to Chinese shoppers.

The move is a step-up in JD.coms investment in Australia after it launched its local office in Melbourne earlier this year, while Metcash while gain a valuable foothold in China that will diversify its business beyond Australias lower growth market.

Metcashs head of China operations Will Zhao said in a statement,

The store on JD Worldwide will look to become the pre-eminent platform for Australian and New Zealand products and deliver an authentic Fresh Pantry shopping experience to consumers in China,

Fresh Pantry sells a range of in-demand Australian food, household, baby & maternal, wine and healthcare products, delivering skincare brands like Vasse Virgin and Australian Diaries to the Chinese market for the first time.

JD.coms president of international Winston Cheng, who visited Australia earlier this year for its office opening, said the deal was in line with its strategy to satisfy Chinese appetite for quality ANZ products.

Chinese online shoppers grow ever more sophisticated and discerning, they are gravitating to high quality Australian food and healthcare brands. I am confident that Fresh Pantry, with its focus on quality and selection, is an excellent fit for our platform, he said.JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.Are you saying your partner created a new 300 app online in immi account, completed the entire form, paid and submitted at the end?



If so, there should have been a notice in that immi account called "Acknowledgment of Application Received" that they should have also received in email. If they log in to their immi account, the application is listed there with the TRN or Transaction Reference Number. On mine it's a few letters and numbers.



Once the above is done. The sponsor can complete the sponsor form online. There is a section early on asking for the applicant's TRN.



If you've done all that and are still having issues, there must be something else as Nick said.Contributing columnist Justin Salters writes weekly on politics and current events; the views expressed are his own. Reach him on Twitter @justinsalters or email him your thoughts: justin@justinsalters.com.Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.BEIJING (AP)  A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves:

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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in the South China Sea, the location of several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region.

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MANILA TAKING "APPROPRIATE DIPLOMATIC ACTION" TO PROTECT CLAIMS

The Philippine government says it is taking "appropriate diplomatic action" to protect its South China Sea claims, but did not elaborate or name China.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday the government is committed to protecting "every single inch" of its territory and areas where it has sovereign rights. But it added that its responses to certain developments might not be publicized.

After becoming president nearly two years ago, President Rodrigo Duterte took steps to thaw the Philippines' frosty ties with China over the sea disputes in an effort to secure Chinese investment, while frequently criticizing the security policies of the United States, his country's treaty ally.

Duterte refused to immediately demand Chinese compliance with a landmark 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated China's claims to virtually all of the South China Sea and upheld the Philippines' sovereign rights to vast stretches of waters.

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CHINA LANDS BOMBERS ON ISLAND CLAIMS

The Chinese air force says it has landed long-range bombers for the first time on an island in the South China Sea, a move that could greatly expand its ability to strike across Southeast Asia and further afield.

A statement from the Defense Ministry on Friday said the exercise was conducted on an island reef, but it did not specify when or where. The ministry said it involved several H-6K bombers taking off from an air base and simulating strikes against sea targets before landing.

The U.S. criticized the move, with a Pentagon spokesman, Marine Lt. Col. Christopher Logan, saying in an email that China's "continued militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea only serves to raise tensions and destabilize the region."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang responded on Monday, saying, "The relevant exercise is just a regular exercise of the Chinese military. There is no need to over interpret it."

Lu said it was the U.S. "whose warships and aircraft traveled thousands of miles to the region to pose threats to other countries."

The Washington-based Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, using Chinese social media posts, identified the location of the exercise as Woody Island, China's largest base in the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

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CHINA'S FIRST HOME-BUILT CARRIER COMPLETES SEA TRIALS

China says its first home-built aircraft carrier has completed five days of sea trials, putting it closer to joining its sister flattop in the country's increasingly powerful fleet.

State media said the still-unnamed ship completed all assigned tasks before returning to its construction yard in the northern port of Dalian last week.

The 50,000-ton carrier is China's second and is due to be commissioned before 2020 following the arrival of its air complement. The first was purchased as a mostly empty hull from Ukraine and heavily refurbished.

Beijing says aircraft carriers are needed to protect its coastline and trade routes, but they are also seen as backing up Beijing's claims to self-governing Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

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CHINESE TOURISTS SPARK ANGER IN VIETNAM

A group of Chinese tourists wearing T-shirts depicting the country's South China Sea claims sparked anger in Vietnam.

The tourists arrived at the Cam Ranh international airport on May 13 and, after going through immigration, took off their coats to reveal T-shirts featuring the so-called "nine-dash line" demarcating Beijing claims, many of which overlap with Vietnam's own.

State-run Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that Vietnamese authorities confiscated the T-shirts.

Some readers commenting on the newspaper's website called for the tourists to be deported and banned from ever returning to Vietnam.

More than 4 million Chinese arrived in Vietnam last year, accounting for about 30 percent of total foreign arrivals in the country.

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GAP APOLOGIZES FOR T-SHIRT MAP

U.S. clothing retailer Gap apologized last week for selling T-shirts with a map of China that didn't include its South China Sea territorial claims or self-ruled Taiwan.

In what was seen as the latest example of corporate kowtowing to Beijing, the clothing retailer said it had pulled the shirts from its shelves and destroyed them after becoming aware that they "mistakenly failed to reflect the correct map of China."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the government had noted Gap's apology and "will follow carefully their actions and remarks later on."

Gap is the latest of several companies that have apologized for perceived slights to China's sovereignty.

The U.S. has started pushing back against Beijing, with the White House condemning China's efforts to control how U.S. airlines refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as "Orwellian nonsense."

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Associated Press writers Jim Gomez in Manila, Philippines, Gillian Wong in Beijing, Tran Van Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam, and Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP)  A South African man has been found guilty of murdering three members of his immediate family on Monday, more than three years after the gruesome attack in an upscale housing estate that shocked the nation.

Henri van Breda, 23, was also found guilty of obstruction of justice and attempting to murder his sister on Jan. 27, 2015. His sister Marli, then 16, suffered severe injuries and is reported to be unable to remember the incident.

"After considering all the evidence, the result is inescapable," Judge Siraj Desai said in the Western Cape High Court, after reading an hours-long judgment that detailed the evidence given in the case. "As a family man, it is difficult for me to say so."

He went on to say that the court unanimously found van Breda guilty on three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of obstructing justice.

Van Breda, wearing a short beard and a blue suit, was expressionless as he stood to hear the verdict. He was denied bail, and will be held in custody until his sentencing.

After handing himself over to police in September 2016, van Breda had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was 20 years old at the time of the attack.

The trial of Henri van Breda began more than two years after his parents and older brother were killed in their home in De Zalze Estate in Stellenbosch, a scenic wine-growing region near Cape Town. Martin van Breda, his wife, Teresa, and their eldest son, Rudi, were killed.

The grisly attack, which gripped a country that has a high rate of violent crime, also has attracted international attention. The family had moved to Australia but returned several years ago.

Van Breda alleged during his trial that his family was attacked by an intruder wearing gloves, dark clothes and a balaclava in the early hours of the morning.

Van Breda's defense had said his family had spent a normal evening at home the night of the murders. Early in the morning, van Breda said he heard banging sounds in the house and opened a door to see someone attacking his brother with an ax. He shouted for help and his father entered and accosted the attacker, who was wearing a ski mask, according to van Breda's account. He said there may have been at least two attackers, and that he suffered minor injuries while wrestling with one of them.

Van Breda called emergency responders more than two hours after the attack, saying he had lost consciousness. In a phone call to emergency services played in court, van Breda told the operator: "My family and me were attacked by a guy with an ax."

Van Breda, who the judge said had tampered with the crime scene in order to mislead police, was found that morning by police sitting outside the house, his clothing stained with the blood of the victims. Investigators found a bloodstained ax and kitchen knife in the house.

The first police officer at the crime scene testified that he smelled alcohol on Van Breda's breath after arriving to the family's home. He said the suspect "appeared emotional, like he was blowing off steam, and was nervous but wasn't crying," the African News Agency reported.

The police officer said the area didn't resemble a normal burglary scene.

Judge Desai said in his judgment on Monday that "there was no security breach the night of the murders" and that nobody in the estate had "complained about strangers or any undue occurrence."

The judge said "in the absence of any intruder, the only reasonable inference" is that van Breda wanted to mislead police and that he staged the scene of the crime.

He said van Breda had "intentionally" inflicted injuries on himself and "in order to mislead the police as to the true identity of the perpetrator."

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Mahr reported from Johannesburg.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.In the aftermath of Friday's Texas school shooting that left 10 people dead, school districts in the Bay area are making security adjustments as the school year nears end.

Bay area school districts beef up security after Texas shooting

More officers at schools as school year ends

Texas Lt. Gov says schools need fewer entances

RELATED: 10 dead, 10 hurt in school shooting

Another school attack just three months after the Parkland school tragedy that left 17 dead in South Florida has parents and students feeling uneasy again.

Bay area school districts are beefing up security with additional uniformed officers are all levels of schools - from elementary to high schools.

In St. Petersburg, uniformed officers will be parked in vehicles outside all elementary schools and will continually check school perimeters.

The Citrus County Sheriff's Office was the first in the state to react following Parkland by placing additional officers at all schools. And in Pasco County, Sheriff Chris Nocco said there will be a heavy law enforcement presence at all schools.

The same goes for Polk County, where Sheriff Grady Judd has laid out a safety plan for the remainder of the year.

He said there will be an armed law enforcement officer on every Polk County public school campus for the rest of the school year. In addition, book bags won't be allowed in schools for the rest of the year.

"I never went to school without a backpack, so it's kind of hard to grasp the idea for my kid to have no backpack," said parent Alexis Wilkins.

At Polk County's public high schools, students often see an officer on campuses. However, they are not used to leaving their backpacks at home.

"Everyone without a book bag, it's kind of eerie almost," said high schooler Matthew Gutierrez.

Some high schoolers forgot to leave their bags at home. Those book bags were taken away for the day.

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said talks are already underway to add additional security cameras at schools, upgrade fencing and reduce the number of entrances and exits.

Also, starting Monday, there will be a uniformed deputy at all Hillsborough County elementary, middle and high schools through the end of the school year.

"I, along with Hillsborough Schools Superintendent Jeff Eakins, believe this plan will provide some peace of mind for parents and caregivers and teachers and staff," Chronister said. "We must always be ready to react and adapt when something horrific confronts us without notice."

Bay area law enforcement agencies and school districts said there are no imminent threats but officials are simply taking security steps in an abundance of caution for parents and students.

Spectrum Bay News 9 reporter Dalia Dangerfield contributed to this report.For Immediate Release, May 21, 2018 Contact: Taylor McKinnon, (801) 300-2414, tmckinnon@biologicaldiversity.org Trump Opens Door to Dangerous Fracking in Northern Arizona Plan to Auction 4,200 Acres Sidesteps Environmental Review, Threatens National Park, Groundwater, River FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. A new Trump administration plan proposes to auction off 4,200 acres of public land for oil and gas development in northern Arizona. The lands straddle the Little Colorado River, are within three miles of Petrified Forest National Park, and are near habitat for a federally threatened fish called the Little Colorado spinedace. Drilling and fracking would threaten to deplete and pollute groundwater in the Little Colorado River Basin. The Bureau of Land Management is planning the September auction  which would convey development rights to fossil-fuel companies  without any site-specific public or environmental review, as required by federal law. Planning documents cite Trump policies that forego National Environmental Policy Act analysis to fast-track fracking on public lands. According to BLM, about 90 percent of new oil and gas wells on public lands are fracked. This dangerous plan puts national parks, precious groundwater and wildlife in the crosshairs. Well do everything we can to stop it, said Taylor McKinnon with the Center for Biological Diversity. Fracking is a dirty, dangerous business that consumes enormous amounts of water and threatens wildlife and public health. Northern Arizonans wont tolerate public lands being sacrificed as gifts from Trump to the fossil fuel industry. The BLM is using a shortcut to bypass the analysis of frackings harm to the land and water that is required under NEPA. The sweeping determinations of NEPA adequacy, or DNAs, presume that oil and gas development complies with the agencys 30-year-old resource management plan, which predates the U.S. fracking boom. The agency is also foregoing tribal consultations, stating that tribal consultation was adequate for the [resource management plan]. By deferring all analysis until the drilling-permit stage  after industry has the right to develop the land  the bureau is unable to deny subsequent drilling plans. Fracking or drilling development could be catastrophic for the regions groundwater, said McKinnon. This is Trumps energy dominance policy at work, where nothing matters except fossil-fuel interests. Trump policies issued in January require the BLM to auction lands nominated by the fracking industry, skip site-specific environmental review and limit public input. BLM records show that since 2014 the fracking industry requested 145 parcels in northern Arizona for oil and gas leasing, most near the Hurricane Cliffs and Big Valley north of Grand Canyon National Park. The Center has sued the BLM for using DNAs to plan oil and gas auctions in Ohio and Colorado. In April the Center sued the Trump administration over its January policy encouraging their use.The Washingon-based thinktank, Freedom House, has strongly condemned Kenya's new cybercrimes law, saying it is a "step backward for media freedom and online expression" in Kenya.

 Vladimir Gjorgiev via 123RF

Said Morris Odhiambo, regional project director for East and Horn of Africa at Freedom House: By criminalizing the publication of false information, the government has overstepped its bounds and become an arbiter of truth on the internet. The laws broadly worded provisions and possible jail terms are ripe for abuse by public officials looking to silence critical reporting online.This move is particularly troubling in light of recent developments in Kenya that include the temporary shutdown of three media groups in January and multiple instances of authorities ignoring court orders, such as the order to immediately reopen the three media outlets, Odhiambo said. President Kenyatta ignored well-founded concerns raised by civil society and media groups, including the Media Council of Kenya, and chose to limit rather than protect free speech.Kenya is rated Partly Free in Freedom in the World 2018, Partly Free in Freedom of the Press 2017, and Free in Freedom on the Net 2017.Cinemark Young Lions: Two different perspectives create broader outlook

Graphic designer, Prince Zwane and copywriter, Kaylee Germann from Publicis have won SA's Cinemark Young Lions competition (Cinemark is the SA representative of Cannes Lions 2018) and are ready to represent SA at the Cannes Lions Festival taking place 18-22 June.

Kaylee Germann and Prince Zwane are both from the Johannesburg-based agency, Publicis.

I caught up with both and asked them about their winning concept, what they're most looking forward to at Cannes Lions this year and where they get their inspiration from.



SA's Young Lions competition winners announced

How does it feel to know you'll be competing against some of the best young creative minds at Cannes Young Lions? How does it feel to know you'll be competing against some of the best young creative minds at Cannes Young Lions? I caught up with both and asked them about their winning concept, what they're most looking forward to at Cannes Lions this year and where they get their inspiration from.

What was the SA competition like and how did you come up with your idea? What was the SA competition like and how did you come up with your idea?

What do you think gives you a unique edge? What do you think gives you a unique edge?

What are you most looking forward to? What are you most looking forward to?

What inspires you and who do you look up to in the industry? What inspires you and who do you look up to in the industry?

Juanita Pienaar's articles About Juanita Pienaar Juanita is the editor of the marketing & media portal on the Bizcommunity website. She is also a contributing writer.

Juanita is the editor of the marketing & media portal on the Bizcommunity website. She is also a contributing writer.

It is intimidating at first, but then to realise that we are a part of those young creative minds at Cannes Young Lions brings an overwhelming feeling of pride and enthusiasm. Were looking forward to meeting these young creative minds and learning as much as we can from the entire experience.Once the brief was out, we immediately got down to it and set aside our limitations. We were aware of how much people take sight for granted and it took us a while to come up with how we were going to execute this in a visual way, within the 48 hours. Our main focus was the simpler, the better, which in the end lead us to our execution.As a team, we come in with two different perspectives and we work in a way that we can bring those two together and create a broader outlook.We are both still very young and new to the industry and therefore we are constantly absorbing and learning whatever we can and are eager to get our message across.Were both looking forward to being a part of the Cannes Lions Festival: getting that much closer to world-class advertising and the people that create it. It is going to be such an exciting time to engage, connect and learn from people that are influencing the world through advertising.Prince is also extremely excited to get a taste of how the advertising world likes to celebrate.Any work that speaks to a human truth and has a way of bringing about change in the world inspires me. I look up to Dave Trott for his honest and refreshing commentary on the industry.A lot of elements that are mainly set at expressing the views of the youth, like how music is translated in visual pieces. Someone who influences me a lot would have to be Donald Glover because of how he tackles social commentary in his visual pieces.This company article has been removed.The Crossing coming exclusively to Showmax. Image: ABC

Image: ABC

Image: ABC

Image: ABC

In August 2015, a Syrian father clutched his son as he stepped off a tiny rubber boat onto the shores of a Greek island. The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of that moment (one of thousands of similar photos of suffering and desperation) became a symbol for the struggle of more than 5.6 million refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war  and the worlds inability to cope with the scale of the refugee crisis that the war had created.For screenwriter and TV producer Dan Dworkin (MTVs), the photo hit him hard: Just the look on the guys face, as a father, killed me. And that was the spark, initially. Thats when I emailed Jay (co-creator and producer Jay Beattie) and said, refugees, Dan reveals That one-word pitch refugee eventually became science fiction series The Crossing (2018) , which launches only on Showmax , with episodes 1-6 now streaming. Episodes 7 to 9 will launch on 1 June, with the final two episodes coming to your screen express from the USA.When local sheriff Jude Ellis (Steve Zahn), his sheriffs deputy Nestor Rosario (Rick Gomez) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent Emma Ren (Sandrine Holt) question some of the 47 refugees who have mysteriously washed up on their small fishing towns beach with their dead and dying, they too claim to be fleeing war  one fought in the United States 180 years in the future.They might be from the same country on the surface, but not only are the refugees culturally and ideologically different from their baffled new hosts, some, like Reece (Natalie Martinez), have been genetically engineered to have superpowers that could pose a threat to the local population.Through the refugees eyes, were told a cautionary tale of genetic tampering, widening class divides and a genocide to come. Its a horror story for modern times, projected onto an uncertain future.And that has always been a feature of the most striking science fiction and horror stories. The 1954 Japanese film Godzilla, about a city-annihilating monster produced by radiation, was as much a product of the 1945 bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as were the Atomic Age science fiction comics coming out of the United States during the early 1960s. These focused on men and women like The Fantastic Four (debuting in 1961) who were given amazing but difficult-to-control powers by nuclear radiation. Theyre two vastly different tales created by experiences with nuclear power from opposing sides.Aside from examining the way that the refugee crisis has seized our imaginations and been abused as a fear-mongering political tool recently,is also about a more primal fear: that of losing a child. Jay says [Dan and I] are both dads, so a lot is informed by being a parent and the notion of being separated from your child, the notion of having your child taken from you; the notion of not knowing what happened to your child.But the future isnt all about fear. Theres a lot with the human drama but theres also a lot on the sci-fi end. We were very excited to kind of explore facets of genetic engineering. It plays a significant part of the show, in terms of where Apex (a species of genetically advanced humans) comes from and the science of that. We get to that in the show. That was really fun! says Dan . We had a consultant on staff, a synthetic biologist who helped us with our science."We were very excited to think about what the future might look like in 100 to 150 years. Thats the best research, the most fun weve ever had talking to researchers. We were talking to futurists about what they think the future might hold. That was awesome!is coming exclusively to Showmax with episodes 1-6 now available for streaming, and the latest episodes from the US coming in June.In March, rating's agency Moody's warned that the water crisis affecting Cape Town would cause the city's borrowing to rise sharply - and the provincial economy to shrink - the longer the situation lasted.

 Rungaroon Taweeapiradeemunkohg via 123RF

Robust connectivity is key

Making the shift

By moving enterprise systems, software, and processes to the cloud  and away from locally hosted environments (on-site servers and exchanges) SMEs, in particular, will automatically be enabling themselves to succeed during and after the water crisis.

From an efficiency and remote working point of view, the cloud-based option is a no-brainer.

Streamlined cost structures

As it stands, Cape Town is the first major metropolitan to face the possibility of running out of water. The citys residents are bracing themselves for day zero in late August, when Cape Towns taps could literally run dry.For Cape Towns business owners and managers, it is now imperative to find ways to alleviate not only operating costs in a stressed local economy, but overall pressure on the citys infrastructure.Arguably, enabling employees to work remotely  either from home or from a different province, is one way to ease both of these burdens.Although remote working has been topical for some time, it has now become critical that businesses in Cape Town start to explore feasible remote working solutions. From a technology/IT perspective, this means putting the right IT infrastructure in place to ensure that employees and managers have the right tools, platforms, and support to make the strategy a success.To begin with, robust connectivity is key. If your companys internet connection is not already both fast and reliable, this must be addressed as a matter of urgency.Secondly, every business should be looking to harness cloud-based tools and platforms to bolster collaboration, productivity and overall communication as the company embraces worker mobility.Indeed, with cloud-based platforms in place, SMEs can achieve a new level of independence, responsiveness and agility  as employees will be able to safely access key data anytime, and from anywhere.Lets take email, for example, which is the lifeblood of todays SMEs. Without properly functioning email connectivity, any small business will be brought to a halt.For SMEs looking to support a host of remote working capabilities, they must immediately consider their email solution. So, do they choose a cloud-based product, or rather to insource email and go with an on-site mail exchange service?By adopting the cloud, SMEs can rest assured that their email will be up and running 99% of the time, and employees will have simple, secure, and easy access from anywhere  as long as they have reliable connectivity.Without a doubt, there is also a huge cost implication for SMEs that wholeheartedly embrace cloud computing and, simultaneously, mobility.With most of todays cloud computing platforms and services, there are no expensive licensing costs to deal with nor long-term contracts  which allows each business to scale up or down according to their current needs. This can free up operating capital to spend more on new mobile devices and mobile connectivity that promotes and supports the shift to remote working.As Cape Towns businesses explore ways to cut costs, drive efficiencies, and reduce pressure on the citys water infrastructure, embracing a more mobile and streamlined working culture can certainly make a major difference.Featuring photography from the National Geographic Photo Ark, the week-long campaign will run in 22 countries around the world to raise awareness of species at risk

Beginning this Endangered Species Day (May 18), powerful images of species at risk from the National Geographic Photo Ark will be featured for a week on billboards in 22 countries and on every continent except Antarctica. This campaign, supported by more than 30 out-of-home operators, including Primedia Outdoor, is an effort to raise awareness about populations of species in decline all over the world and to inspire global audiences to learn how to help protect them.The National Geographic Photo Ark, led by photographer Joel Sartore, is a multiyear endeavour to document every species living in zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, encourage action through education, and help save wildlife by supporting on-the-ground conservation efforts. Sartores breathtaking portraits motivate people to care about these animals and to do something while theres still time to protect them. To date, Sartore has documented 8,000 species, putting him two-thirds of the way toward completing the Photo Ark, which he estimates will include portraits of more than 12,000 species.Primedia Outdoor is supporting this global out-of-home campaign by contributing space on five digital out-of-home displays in South Africa, seen by 1,878,916 people each week (ROAD 2015C). In total, the week-long effort will reach an estimated 100 million globally through donated ad space on digital billboards, mall kiosks, tram cars, rail stations and other digital out-of-home formats.The campaign will feature 10 species, all of which are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. While some regions will showcase endemic species, all of the countries will highlight the Sumatran rhinoceros, one of the most endangered large mammals on the planet. Global audiences will also be invited to visit PhotoArk.org to learn more about the species depicted across the digital out-of-home formats and learn about ways to protect wildlife and their habitats.For more information about the species featured in this campaign and about the National Geographic Photo Ark, visit PhotoArk.orgThe Fairlady Santam Women of the Future Awards has selected a panel of respected judges to preside over the awards.

Santam Women of the Future Awards judges: Jo-Ann Strauss, Annette La Grange, Professor Thuli Madonsela, Dawn Nathan-Jones, Suzy Brokensha.

Suzy Brokensha

Professor Thuli Madonsela

Annette La Grange

Jo-Ann Strauss

Dawn Nathan-Jones

Categories and prizes

The Fairlady Santam Woman of the Future 2018 award goes to an entrepreneur, 30 years of age or older, who has overcome the challenges of the first three (3) years as an entrepreneur and made it beyond 1,000 days in business.

The Fairlady Santam Rising Star 2018 award goes to an entrepreneur between the ages of 16 and 30 whose business is older than six months but still within its first 1,000 days of business.

The Fairlady Santam Social Entrepreneur 2018 award goes to an entrepreneur whose business is making a real difference in her community. She must be 30 years or older, and her business must have survived its first 1,000 days in business.

The competition is looking for female entrepreneurs: three amazing women who have taken the leap to work for themselves and are now creating opportunities for others  and boosting our economy.Fairlady editor Suzy Brokensha has always believed that women should be part of the workforce, particularly in South Africa, where female entrepreneurs can contribute so much to the growth of this economy.'It's not only about personal growth, although that is a huge part of work. It's also about building this country into the energetic, vibrant economy it should be. We believe in women, and we believe in business, and we believe that women have the potential to turn the South African economy around,' she says. 'I'll be looking for someone who has spotted a gap in the market and whose business could become a game changer in our economic environment.'Chief patron of the Thuli Madonsela Foundation and the current chair of Social Justice at Stellenbosch University, Professor Madonsela believes South Africa is a great place for entrepreneurs  that there more opportunities here than in countries that have been operating in a globalised environment for years.She wants women to succeed as entrepreneurs but also wants to see a business that seeks to solve societys problems, with principled leaders who treat their staff well. The winner must see herself as part of a force to build our communities, this nation, our continent and, ultimately, a better world, says Professor Madonsela.As head of HR Business Partners at Santam, Annette will be looking for entrepreneurs who have the ability to take strong action and persist through challenges and failures. The winners should know what they stand for, have clear ideals and a strong sense of purpose. Above all, they must be passionate about pursuing their goals and making a difference, she says.Media entrepreneur and international speaker Jo-Ann Strauss is a hardworking mom. She sees entrepreneurship as a great opportunity for mothers, allowing for creativity and flexibility. Says Strauss: I will be looking for strong, capable women who have not just dreamed their dreams, but have made them come true through sheer determination and resilience. This is what sets the Fairlady Santam Women of the Future apart.Dynamic, entrepreneur, businesswoman and TV personality Dawn Nathan-Joness Woman of the Future will be an entrepreneur who has delivered a sustainable and real impact in areas of people, profit and planet; someone who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and inspired others to strive for success. I am looking for someone who knows all the aspects of their business and displays good financial acumen, says Nathan-Jones.Each winner will receive an invaluable mentorship session with one of the judges, an Issey Miyake fragrance hamper worth R6,990, an IMM Graduate School short course worth R15,000, a Michel Herbelin watch worth R10,500, a Samsonite Karissa Biz Bail Handle and Spinner Suitcase worth R729, a Madrid ladies handbag and purse from Jekyll & Hyde valued at R4,799, a Cross pen worth R2,500 and one media training session, plus R50,000 in cash to the Woman of the Future and R20,000 in cash each to the Rising Star and Social Entrepreneur.Entry forms and terms and conditions are available here . Entries close on 8 June 2018.The general public can now nominate a female entrepreneur for entry into the Woman of the Future, Rising Star or Social Entrepreneur Awards. Nomination forms can be found hereThe digital media industry's latest obsessions are brand safety and viewability - two closely linked topics born out of the controversial practice of programmatic advertising. Programmatic does serve certain purposes but more often than not it's about trying to get inventory at the lowest possible rate, without actually knowing exactly where your ads are going. (Not knowing where your ads are going... bizarre isn't it? Especially when some of the players involved claim to be location experts, but that's the digital world we live in.)

Programmatic media buys will typically target certain categories and buy inventory at the cheapest rate in a blind auction. This results in ad placements that are hidden below the fold at best, or behind other ad units at worst. Some of these ads are never seen by actual people but have achieved decent click through rates. The fact that ads that cant be seen are still being clicked exposed the problem of fake clicks and ad fraud and this has all led to the concept ofYes, its a murky space and many CMOs have rightly called on their agencies to closely look at any programmatic buying.Closely linked to viewability is the topic of. Marketers who are buying ads in blind networks have come to the rude awakening that sometimes these blind networks end up placing their ads exactly where they dont want them to be. Next to terrorist communication or porn for example. While this is often amusing for the objective viewer, the brand damage can be massive.So how do marketers deal with these two critical topics? Vicinity Media has the solution in its highly curated network of premium ad placements.Over the last three years Vicinity has been hard at work fine tuning its well over 200 placements to ensure viewability. All of our premium publishers have either an adhesion banner or an in feed, paragraph breaking MREC. These are the two best performing mobile units because theyre either always visible or visible in article, so on screen for a number of seconds before being scrolled. And with great viewability comes great performance  our curated network consistently achieves over 1% CTR.Of course at Vicinity we dont think you should just take our word for it. We have now successfully integrated with the majority of the viewability tracking software around and have enjoyed excellent initial results. Our first test campaign run with IAS tracking has had a 99% success rate.Brand safety is easier to achieve. Simply buy premium inventory and theres no chance youll end up with your ads in compromising environments.Are these two industry buzzwords further death knells to the programmatic market? Probably not but they will change it for the better. In the meantime, speak to Vicinity Media and gain access to true location targeting within South Africas biggest premium network where performance, brand safety and viewability come standard.The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes the Gambian Supreme Court's decision to declare criminal defamation unconstitutional, but is dismayed that segments of the country's criminal code on sedition and false news were upheld.

 Lukasz Stefanski via 123RF

According to the news website Front Page International and the secretary general of the Gambia Press Union, Saikou Jammeh, the court upheld provisions that punish statements likely to promote hatred among "different classes" and sedition relating to the country's president and judicial processes and decisions.While a provision that criminalises the spreading of false news online was found unconstitutional, the court maintained parts of the criminal code that punish similar offenses with up to two years in prison, according to Jammeh."This decision is one step forward, two steps backwards for Gambia, and sends a message that journalists are still not free to work without the threat of criminal prosecution," said CPJ Africa program coordinator Angela Quintal from New York. "We urge the government of President Adama Barrow, who pledged to champion media freedom, to uphold his word by urgently enacting legislative reform."The Supreme Court's decision contradicts a February 2018 ruling by the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that directed Gambia to immediately repeal laws on libel, sedition, and false news, according to CPJ researchThis job expired on 29 May 2018.This job expired on 31 May 2018.by Kristina Knight

Kristina: In your opinion, are these changes coming at this time because Google is bowing to public pressure/feeling?



Ray Kingman, CEO, Semcasting: Google doesn't want a repeat of the 2016 election chaos.



The near identical response from Google and Facebook, both in structure and tone, on a candidate's "registration requirements," suggests that neither is able to find any leverage on this subject. If no policy changes were to be made by the company, there is the larger risk that public sentiment might have led to regulatory action. Google does not want a scandal similar to Cambridge Analytica, but their minimalist response, suggests they believe that there is little leverage to be gained by offering up a more aggressive policy position.



The EU and other countries already prohibit "paid for" political broadcast ads in the fear of big money buying public opinion. No one is advocating that this same broadcast standard be applied to online ads in the U.S., however, had the Google and Facebook policy on both candidate and issues ads included registration and transparency requirements, it might have been read as a more meaningful, response to bad actors everywhere.



Kristina: What do these changes entail?



Ray: Google's new policy has a relatively simple framework. These registration and transparency requirements for candidates seems like they are leaning toward adopting a broadcast standard as a default holding action while this is all sorted out. Any candidate ad must link to a "paid for" disclaimer within the content, and organizations or individuals advertising in federal elections must be disclosed.

Kristina: What challenges for the political ad space will this bring up? What about for the ad landscape, as a whole?



Ray: The policies for political and issue ads on Google and Facebook that will take place after midterms will be interesting to see. The problem is defining what an issue ad is. Is it based on self-identification by the advertiser or by some new set of monitors at Facebook and Google? Do the monitors risk a perceived bias - like MSNBC or Fox? According to current FEC rules, large donors to PACs do not necessarily have to identify themselves unless the donor directs the money to a specific ad. How does that scenario play through the issue of transparency within the ads that the PAC may run online?



Also, on a more technical side, there hasn't been clarification as to who will be disclosed as paying for an ad. In politics that honor has fallen to the campaign, candidate committee or 501(c)(3)/(c)(4). However, since Google mentions the disclosure being tied to an AdWords account as an example, that would tie Semcasting to the purchase, not the end buyer.



Kristina: How will this change the digital ad landscape?



Ray: I believe that in the current climate and for the custody of ad content, the impact will be minimal. Political agencies already execute similar disclosures for television and radio - and they already report and account for spending by tactics for a candidate. For the legitimate candidate advertising, I don't see any impact whatsoever.



The interesting behaviors will take place around issue advertising and what rules come up around who owns the messaging and the transparency to that ownership.

Tags: advertising, advertising regulation, Google, political advertising, SemcastingThe Most Extensive and Reliable Source of Information Related to the Mexican Drugs Cartels.



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JAIPUR (PTI): Thousands of soldiers with war fighting equipment of South Western Command's Chetak corps are engaged in intensive training in Mahajan field firing ranges of Rajasthan under exercise 'Gandiv Vijay'.



The exercise, which began two months ago, will conclude on May 23, a senior official said.



"The Chetak Corps of the Command are currently carrying out an exercise in the Mahajan field firing ranges close to Suratgarh to validate their operational plans for last two months," defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha said.



The exercise involves multi-mode mobilisation from dispersed locations to the time and place of decision in a terrain orchestrated on the lines of operational responsibility of the formation.



"The participating formations will carry out synergistic employment of long-range vectors along with the infantry and mechanised forces and the air arm to achieve a decisive victory," he said.



An internet imagery.

COIMBATORE (PTI): Several countries have evinced interest in procuring the indigenously developed Akash missile, a top Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) official has said.



There is a growing demand for the Akash, an all-weather medium-range surface-to-air missile, and many nations have shown interest in it, DRDO Chairman S Christopher told reporters here last Saturday.



Developed by the DRDO, the Akash missile system has the capability to neutralise aerial targets such as fighter jets, cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles as well as ballistic missiles.



Talks were underway with the countries and "it (orders for the missile) will come", Christopher said without divulging further details.



To a query on the allocation for research and development, he said this year the organisation has a budgetary allocation of Rs 2,000 crore.



Christopher, who was here to participate in a function, also said there were export inquiries for the BRAHMOS missile.



BrahMos is a joint venture between the DRDO of India and the NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia.



PSU Bharat Dynamics Ltd Chairman and Managing Director, V Udaya Bhaskar said the Akash missile is going to be in good demand for another three to four years as both the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army need them in good numbers.



L&T Board whole-time Director (Defence) Jayant Patil said a new aerospace facility in the district will become operational in another 10 months and it will manufacture rocket motors for ISRO.



The defence arm of the L&T, which has so far invested Rs 500 crore in the unit here, is also supplying air frame to BRAHMOS missile and will expand the product range in the near future.



An internet imagery.

BALASORE, ODISHA (PTI): India on Monday successfully test-fired the Indo-Russian joint venture BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile from a test range along the Odisha coast to validate some new features.



The missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher stationed at Launch pad 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here at 10.40 am, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials said.



The trial was conducted to validate its "life extension" technologies developed for the first time in India by DRDO and team BrahMos, said an official of the ITR.



Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratualated DRDO scientists and team BrahMos for the successful launch of BRAHMOS missile with new technology today.



"Smt @nsitharaman congratulates Team BrahMos & @DRDO_India for successful flight test carried out at 1040 hrs on 21 May 2018 from ITR, Balasore to validate BRAHMOS missile life extension technologies developed for the first time in India," her office said in a twitter post.



The successful test will result in huge savings of replacement cost of missiles held in the inventory of the Indian Armed Forces, it said.



The two-stage missile - first being solid and the second one, a ramjet liquid propellant - has already been introduced in the Army and Navy, while the Air Force version had witnessed successful trial, the DRDO scientists said.



BRAHMOS variants can be launched from land, air, sea and under water. India successfully launched the world's fastest supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi-30 MKI combat jet for the first time against a target in the Bay of Bengal in November, 2017, they said.



The missiles land and naval variants are already in service. At least two Su-30 squadrons with 20 planes each are planned to be equipped with the air-launch variant of BRAHMOS missile, 500 kg lighter than land/naval variants.



India has already extended the range of the three-tonne missile from its earlier 290 km to 400 km and successfully test-fired the variant in March 2017.



Increasing the missile's range from 400 km to further 800 km is now possible after India's induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime in June 2016, they said.



Prior to that, India was bound by restrictions that limited the range of the missile, which is an Indo-Russian joint venture product, to less than 300 km.



Currently the Army is equipped with three regiments of Block 111 version of BRAHMOS missile. Induction of the first version of BRAHMOS missile system in Indian Navy began with INS Rajput in 2005. It is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army, said the scientists.



After two successful test trials of BRAHMOS missile from INS Kolkata in June 2014 and February 2015, the test firing from INS Kochi on September 30, 2015, had validated the newly commissioned ship's systems.



The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress.



So far, the Army has placed orders for the BRAHMOS missile which are to be deployed by three regiments. Two of them are already operational.



The last land-based trial was conducted from the same base on March 11, 2017 successfully.

Professor Sir Malcolm Evans visited Belize last month as Chair of the United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT). The purpose of the visit was to advise the Government on the establishment of a national monitoring body for all places of deprivation of liberty, officially known as the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM).

The SPT has a mandate to visit all States that are parties to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT). State parties must establish an NPM within a year following the ratification of the OPCAT. Although Belize agreed to the OPCAT in September 2015, it has not yet done so. Sir Malcolm, Head of the SPT delegation, explained We are visiting Belize in order to assist the authorities to set this mechanism, as well as to see the conditions of detention in the country.

During its visit the SPT met with the Minister of National Security; the Minister of Foreign Affairs; the Constitution and Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives; the Chief Justice; the Ombudsman; the relevant public actors of the Government and representatives of UN agencies and civil society. The delegation also visited places of deprivation of liberty (the central prison, police stations throughout the country and a juvenile institution), where it was able to interview persons deprived of their liberty and staff.

The outcome of the visit was that Belize should strive to establish a national preventive body as soon as possible, ensuring that it is functionally independent, adequately resourced and mandated to carry out unannounced visits to places where people are or may be deprived of liberty, said Sir Malcolm Evans.

Sir Malcolm explained We have addressed our preliminary observations to the authorities, including certain urgent changes that need to be immediately implemented with regards to conditions of detention. The NPM, when established, will also be able to assist the authorities on improving the conditions of detention and ensure an effective torture and ill-treatment prevention policy in the country.

The SPT will send to the Government of Belize its confidential report containing observations and recommendations, which it encourages to make public.HOLLAND >> For the third time in as many months the Northampton Township Board of Supervisors on Wednesday cancelled a meeting on land development plans for a Super Wawa in Holland. The latest cancellation happened just hours before the meeting was scheduled to be held at the township building. A message posted on the townships website announced the cancellation: At the...UB TCIE assistance adds extra safety layer to Bak USAs cobot operations

We feel we can be at the forefront of this technology and this way of manufacturing. But we also want to ensure proactive safety measures are in place. 

BUFFALO, N.Y. - As a fast-growing computer company, Bak USA of Buffalo endeavors to adopt technology that reduces inefficiencies, but not to the detriment of its workforce.

Collaborative robots are proving to be the right balance for the people-centric social enterprise. Known as cobots for short, these machines inherited the arduous job of inserting tiny screws into devices, working alongside employees who assemble the remainder.

We feel we can be at the forefront of this technology and this way of manufacturing, says Matt Malloy, Bak USAs director of advanced manufacturing. But we also want to ensure proactive safety measures are in place.

Despite a bevy of precautions already engineered into the cobots, Bak USA leaders refuse to gamble in protecting their workforce. Malloy reached out to the University at Buffalo Center for Industrial Effectiveness (TCIE) to assess the safety of its cobots  which now total three  and instill a more robust recognition of safe practices among employees.

Ensuring cobot safety

Bak USA worked closely with Buffalo Manufacturing Works to develop and implement their unique application. Free from the cages that imprison traditional robots, cobots share space with workers and stop moving and operating at the slightest collision with a human. The companys distinct application features cobots residing within five-person workstations.

TCIE, the business outreach arm of the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, was requested to evaluate cobot framework and functionality against Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations as well as a Robotic Industries Association (RIA) technical report. The RIA document specifies safety measures recommended for industrial robots and robot systems, from the enterprise level to the operator, in areas such as robot system design, hazard identification, risk assessment and cobot application requirements. RIA guidelines are expected to mature to industry standards by 2020.

TCIE Project Engineer Akshay Sivadas used International Organization for Standardization (ISO) auditing techniques to complete the assessment. While the findings raised no red flags and had an assuring effect, Malloy said he was surprised by a few of the gaps identified.

Some gaps would not be readily identified as being safety related, but with operational discipline, he said. For example, the RIA encourages clear identification of the movement of parts between different operating areas.

The rectification of most gaps  such as delineating restricted space  is being addressed as part of Bak USAs continuous improvement list.

The assessment gave Malloy and his colleagues a deeper comprehension of RIA guidelines, and with it new perspectives to consider when vetting potential technology systems and cobots.

Protecting employees

When growing up in Nigeria, Ayinde Adepoju believed that tools and machines in America are completely safe to operate and pose no hazards.

He has since learned that his assumptions were incorrect. He began working at Bak USA as a production technician in July 2017, where he and co-workers regularly talk about safety.

Bak USAs production manager begins every day with a manufacturing team meeting, during which employees are encouraged to speak about safety issues. The topic could be an occurrence within the building, in the parking lot or at home. Discussions especially benefit the companys diverse workforce that includes immigrants from 20 countries with unique cultural backgrounds. Some do not speak English as a first language.

Security issues are not something you can joke with. You dont want to get injured, Adepoju said. We are all human beings, and these are only machines that can fail.

TCIEs Sivadas reinforced such sentiments when he presented a safety workshop to Adepoju and 15 other technicians and team leaders. The company trains employees in operating the cobots and related safety measures, but saw opportunity to broaden their view.

The workshop included reminders about simple actions that guard against accidents, such as immediately cleaning up a spill, and demonstrated how small mishaps can lead to injury.

Production technician David Morales Dowins has been a Bak USA employee for nearly two years. He commented on the sessions revelation of reasons for certain protocols, such as the need to wear a lab coat. He also gained greater insight into cobot mechanics and capabilities.

Offering the workshop as frequently as once per quarter  as a refresher for seasoned employees and/or requirement for new hires  is under consideration.

As were growing, Malloy said, we certainly want to keep everyone up to speed.Still considering the pros and cons of buying into the most-valued online marketplace in India, Alphabet Inc, the holding company that owns tech giant Google, has not yet decided on whether to acquire a minority stake in Flipkart, even as Tiger Global and Walmart Inc are making an effort to bring the search engine giant on board.

According to sources, both Tiger Global and Walmart have had at least five rounds of discussions with Alphabet to convince it to make an investment, which would be to the tune of $1 billion to $2 billion. While Walmart and Tiger are trying to convince ...Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital EditorThe outbreak of Nipah virus in the southern state of Kerala has put the Kerala health department on high alert. At least nine people have died in Kerala's Calicut district due to high fever with two out of the nine deceased were affected with the rare Nipah virus.

Kerala Health Secretary Rajiv Sadanandan told IANS that they have now got the confirmation from the National Institute of Virology, Pune. The health department has, however, not confirmed the cause of the death of the other seven patients and sent their samples for tests. "The samples of the other deceased have been sent ...The INSV Tarini, with the first ever Indian female crew out to to navigate the world, was part of a historic circumnavigation exercise. Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will meet the crew when it arrives near Panaji, from where it had embarked on the journey on September 10 last year. "The Defence Minister and Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will be present for the flag-in ceremony of the ship near Panaji on Monday," a Navy spokesperson said to NDTV. "The ...

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.



As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.



Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.



Digital EditorAs the nation on Monday paid tributes to Rajiv Gandhi on his death anniversary, the investigation in the assassination of the former Prime Minister is still on, 27 years after his ghastly killing.

The status of ongoing investigation by the CBI-led Multi Disciplinary Monitoring Agency (MDMA), probing the larger conspiracy aspect behind the assassination, was shared with the Supreme Court, which had in March asked the Centre to place before it the steps that were required to be taken to bring it to an end as "expeditiously as possible". The MDMA had informed a bench ...The urban-rural divide, which is prevalent all over the country, seems to be more evident in the non-descript Dhanauri Kalan village at Gautam Budh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh. Although its not too far from the F1 circuit, which is well connected to expressways, the few kilometers of travel on a narrow road filled with potholes could be an arduous task.

The people residing in the village have to go to town even for basic necessities as there are no facilities available in the village. However, the government aims to bridge the divide, not by building better roads ...The government in August 2015 announced Indradhanush, a seven-pronged plan to reform public sector banks (PSBs). About three years later, much of the action points remain unachieved. What the government has shown, though, is the political will to support the Reserve Bank of India-initiated clean-up drive of the balance sheets of banks.

Some big reforms in the shape of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) have been initiated for this. But the jury is out on whether they would help the domestic banking sector become healthy, say experts. So far, one of ...Senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar on Monday said he had to swallow bitterness that he had with Janata Dal (Secular) in order to give Karnataka a secular government. He said it was party president Rahul Gandhi's decision that there should be a secular government in the state.

He, however, refused to comment on the alliance's chances of completing the full term, saying the party had various issues and options before it. Some media reports have indicated resentment within the Congress over its alliance with the JD(S). The reports, however, have been trashed by ...General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, was quoted by AWD News, as saying, "If Israel tries to invade our land,we will raze the Zionist regime in less than 12 minutes."

General Mahmood Hayat is on record as saying that he was not an anti-Semetic and was candid enough to admit and acknowledge that there is a need fro Pakistan to change from within first, rather than worry about what other countries thought of it.

Speaking in support of the Palestinian cause, he said, "I don't agree that Jews are our (Pakistan's) enemies either. Zionism and Judaism are two very different concepts. To simplify things, all monotheistic beliefs are from the same maker which renders the fight over religion pointless; hate will only brew more hate. This is a fight for human rights who everyone has the right to defend."

He further said, "Pakistan itself has a tainted slate when it comes to human rights. But it wouldn't get any closer to making amends by forming an alliance with Israel either. And, as for improving Pakistan's image externally, well, maybe, we should focus on procuring a change from within first and then worry about what image others have of us, " the muslimcouncil.org.hk web site quoted him as saying during his interview to AWD News.

Historically, he suggested that Israel has always had a trust deficit with Pakistan, and to substantiate this view, he referred to an article appearing in the daily The Jewish Chronicle in 1967 in which Israel's Founder David Ben Gurion was quoted, as saying, "The Zionist movement should not be neglectful of the dangers of Pakistan to it. And Pakistan now should be its first target, for this ideological state is a threat to our existence. And Pakistan, the whole of it, hates the Jews and loves the Arabs. This lover of the Arabs is more dangerous to us than the Arabs themselves. For that matter, it is most essential for the Zionism that it should now take immediate steps against Pakistan."

Ben Gurion was further quoted, as saying, "Whereas the inhabitants of the Indian peninsula are Hindus whose hearts have been full of hatred towards Muslims, therefore, India is the most important base for us to work from against Pakistan. It is essential that we exploit this base and strike and crush Pakistanis, enemies of Jews and Zionism, by all disguised and secret plans."

This famous quote has never been verified and many Israeli academics dispute its authenticity.

However, it is a well-known fact that Israel is not favoured by Pakistan.

He said that over the years, he had heard many arguments regarding the Palestine-Israel conflict, but the point that needs to be noted is that "human rights violations are rife despite Israel portraying itself as the beacon of freedom in the eyes of the international community.

"Israel would have you believe that Palestinians are all terrorists and it's only defending its citizens from suicide bombers and Islamic extremists. The reality however is very different,"he added.

When asked whether it 'would it be in Pakistan's interest to recognise Israel, like countries who already have such as Egypt and Jordan?' General Hayat said, "I would have to say no; not because of the Muslims versus Jews debate, or the ties many people have to the third most holiest site in Islam, Al-Aqsa Mosque, but based more on a human level."

"We cannot let our names represent an apartheid regime and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people. We should push for peace in one of the most complex conflicts of our time, and simultaneously hold Israel accountable for its actions - something which the UN repeatedly fails to do," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)With temperatures rising in the city, Hyderabad has witnessed a surge in diarrhoea cases and hospitals in the city are chock-a-block due to the same.

As summer is also a season of vacation, people tend to go out with their family and have junk food more. As street foods are mostly unhygienic, this leads to people suffering from a variety of symptoms under diarrhoea .

Dr. Shankar, the superintendent of Government Fever Hospital, explained the rise of diarrhoea cases in this summer.

" Diarrhoea cases are becoming more common in this summer as people are taking unfiltered water. For example, people are even fond of taking ice which is mixed in sugarcane juices and this ice is not be prepared with purified water. When they drink this, it leads to vomiting, abdomen pain and loose motions which is known as called as gastroenteritis. This month, we have witnessed 140 diarrhea cases so far. A large number of cases have been registered here (in Government Fever Hospital)," he said.

"Another reason for the rise in diarrhoea case is the unhealthy food habits. Generally, we cook the food in the morning and prefer eating it in the night, which becomes stale. This is not at all preferable and this leads to food poisoning. Many cases have been noticed in this hospital because of their unhealthy food habits. We are admitting the people with diarrhea cases in a separate ward and we are been treating them with supportive symptomatic treatment," Dr. Shankar added.

He also cautioned children, pregnant women, old-aged people and persons who are suffering from diabetes, chronic diseases, and hypertension to take precautions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Vice-Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal S.B. Deo on Monday welcomed inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Defence Sector while saying that the move will add more teeth to the infrastructure of the country's defence forces.

He further said that AI will help in fighting future wars and will enhance the targets more accurately.

Addressing a stakeholders' workshop on 'Artificial Intelligence in Security and Defence', Air Marshal Deo said, "AI helps to identify warships, aircraft, government vehicles and gun positions. I am convinced that AI will help. Our armed forces have a huge amount of data."

Earlier, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said one of the key challenges facing the country's defence forces is how to apply and use Artifical Intelligence (AI), at a time when there is a lack of infrastructure to support it.

Sitharaman said, "The task force should be able to tell us where the defence forces are today, such as bridging with the private sector. The task force should be able to tell us what is it that will encourage yet regulate the use of the AI in defence forces. The challenges identified are the lack of infrastructure to enable the use of AI. I would place cyber, nuclear and space high on this agenda."

Artificial Intelligence, which along with robotics, internet and machine learning has been billed as the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution, is a system of computers or machines that have the ability to mirror human intelligence. This means they can learn, reason and do the self-correction on its own.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa will be embarking on a four-day visit to the State of Israel from May 21 to 24.

Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) would attend a conference themed 'Air Superiority as a Bridge to Regional Stability', as part of 70th-anniversary celebrations of the Israel Air Force.

The conference will enable strategic dialogue between Israel's highest leadership, innovative thinkers, and the invited Air Force Commanders.

Israel has been India's strategic partner in defence.

Both the Air Forces have been undertaking mutually beneficial professional exchange programs over the years.

The CAS is expected to meet and interact with Chiefs and Senior Commanders of Air Forces from over twenty countries attending the event.

In addition to the professional interaction during the conference, CAS Dhona will also be visiting bases of the Israel Air Force, monuments of Israeli military aviation and cultural heritage.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Days after Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa called for peace talk with India, Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously.

"Any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously," Sitharaman told media here when asked about India's stance on General Bajwa's peace initiative.

Earlier this month, the Pakistan Army Chief advocated for the peaceful resolution of India-Pakistan disputes. He also said that the solution of any core issues can be found through comprehensive dialogue.

General Bajwa also pointed out that defence attache at the Indian embassy in Islamabad had been invited to the Pakistan Day military parade in March, for the first ever time. He later added that the Pakistan military wanted peace and dialogue with India.

Further commenting on Home Ministry's decision of not launching operations during the holy month of Ramzan, Sitharaman said, "we should honour the order of the government."

"The policy had very clearly laid out how this is going to pan out and we shall abide by everything that has been announced," Sitharaman added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India's leading fashion accessory brand Baggit is all set to expand its retail wing in Tier II and Tier III cities, with exclusive Baggit outlets and large format stores perspective.

Currently holding 52 exclusive Baggit stores and 1000+ retail doors via large format stores and multi-brand outlets, the online retailer is keen to open a lot more outlets in each city of India.

"We are already present in 100 cities through brick and mortar outlets and to reach out to the last mile audiences, we are also available in the leading online marketplaces of India, in addition to our own e-commerce portal baggit.com. In the coming months we will be targeting Tier II from Exclusive Baggit Outlets and Large Format Stores perspective and Tier III from Trade perspective," said Nina Lekhi, MD & Chief Design Curator, Baggit.

Elaborating on the expansion plans, Nina said that the brand will open a lot more outlets in each city in India, with special focus on Tier II and Tier III cities.

"Internationally, we want to spread our wings in other countries too. We have already entered the Sri Lankan market through a multi brand outlet," added Nina.

To garner more market attention, Baggit recently announced signing up popular Bollywood actor Shraddha Kapoor as its brand ambassador. In her new role, as the brand ambassador Kapoor will be associated with Baggit brand for the years 2018 and 2019.

Focusing on strategies to garner customers, the brand has done a soft launch of CRM, and it is simultaneously preparing for the integration of the same in our existing systems and raising the service quality.

"This will help us in retaining our loyal customers. On the brand perspective, we are now focusing on positioning the brand in a more meaningful way so that we can establish a stronger connect with the younger and newer potential audience," added Nina.

In 2017, Baggit projected growth as per the company expectation. There were challenges of demonetization, but it overcame most of the challenges faced.

"For 2018-19 we want to ride on the retail growth journey in India and hence are looking at building the corporate brand by leveraging a360-degree media approach," Nina added while elaborating on the company growth figure.

She added that Baggit is looking at continuing this double digit growth that will surpass the category growth.

Earlier, Baggit conducted an internal research to understand the evident gap between affordable and premium brand range, after which they launched the NL collection.

While the Baggit range of bags continue to be popular, the Nina Lekhi collection has been made exclusively by me for the customers who want to indulge in the luxury segment from a brand that they trust to uphold its strong vegan philosophy.

"The moniker was a natural choice as it inspires trust and brings with it a heritage of 27+ years that stands for a seamless combination of style, strength and design in the fashion industry. The new range has been well received by our customers," added Nina.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Attending the first ever Passing Out Parade function of the newly raised 'Bastariya Battalion' of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that there has been a significant drop in Maoism and militancy in the country.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, while attending the function at Chhattisgarh's Ambikapur district, said that the country has seen a massive drop in Maoism and militancy to the tune if 55 percent incident-wide and 45 percent area-wise.

The new 241 Battalion of the CRPF is called the 'Bastariya Battalion' as it includes recruits from Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, and Sukma districts.

The Home Minister also praised the CRPF for an improved situation of internal security, which he said was only possible because of the coordination of the CRPF with the state police.

The Home Minister also said that the Government of India conceived the idea of raising the Bastariya Battalion having learned about the courage, and honesty of the tribal brethren of Bastar.

The occasion was attended by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh Home Minister Ram Sewak Paikra, Members of Parliament Ram Bechar Netam and Kamal Nath along with Director General of CRPF Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Director General of Chhattisgarh Police AN Upadhyaya, and other top officials.

Though the sanctioned strength of this battalion is 743, in the first phrase a total of 534 candidates including 189 female candidates underwent specialised training at ATC Bilaspur and ATC Ambikapur over 44 weeks.

The battalion came into existence on April last year and was created to enhance local representation in CRPF's combat layout in the Bastar area.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to Delhi police regarding the arrest of co-accused Rinku Jain, son of accused Manoj Jain in connection with Bawana fire case.

The next hearing in the matter is scheduled on May 29.

On January 17, people were charred to death in a massive blaze at a firecracker storage unit in Delhi's Bawana area.

Earlier on March 21, the Delhi Police Crime Branch charge-sheeted seven accused persons, including firecracker factory owners Manoj Jain and Lalit Goyal in the case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday booked Unnao Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar who is in police custody on charges of rape.

The probe agency has filed a case against Sengar on charges of criminal conspiracy for falsely implicating rape victim's father in a case.

Recently, the CBI had arrested two sub-inspectors of the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the death of the father of a minor girl, who was allegedly raped by Sengar.

Sub Inspector Ashok Singh Bhadauriya, the Station Officer, and Sub Inspector Kamta Prasad Singh, both of Makhi Police Station in Unnao district, were arrested over allegations of criminal conspiracy and destruction of evidence. At present both of them are under suspension.

The woman was allegedly raped by the BJP MLA at his residence on June 4, 2017, where she had gone to his house seeking a job.

The victim's father was booked by the police under the Arms Act on April 3 earlier this year and put in jail on April 5. He later died in a hospital, with the postmortem report mentioning serious injuries on his body.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a charge sheet in the court of Special Judge (Central), Lucknow against a Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) and a Director of a Kanpur-based private company.

As per the charge sheet, the said private company and three bank officials, namely the Assistant General Manager (AGM) / Branch Head; then Senior Manager / Forex Incharge / Joint Manager and then Manager (Scale-II) / Credit Officer of Bank of Baroda's IBB Branch in Kanpur are involved in causing an alleged loss of around Rs.456.63 crore to the Bank.

A case was registered on February 18 this year on a complaint from Bank of Baroda under Sections 120-B, read with 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Sections 13(2) read with 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and substantive offences thereof against the company on allegations that it cheated the Bank, in criminal conspiracy involving the firm's directors and other unknown bank officials.

The investigation revealed that the company represented by its CMD and others had entered into a criminal conspiracy to defraud the Bank to the tune of approximately Rs. 456.63 crore. The loss was allegedly caused due to misutilisation of export packing credit limit and devolvement of foreign letters of credit (FLCs).

During the investigation, the CMD and a Director were arrested on February 22 this year, and are currently in judicial custody.

Further probe is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a charge sheet against Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd and its Chairman cum Managing Director, Vikram Kothari in the bank fraud case involving the company.

In its charge sheet, the CBI also named the Director of the company, Rahul Kothari, and former bank officials.

Both Vikram and his son Rahul were earlier sent to judicial custody in connection with the bank fraud amounting to Rs 456.63 Crore.

The father-son duo was arrested on February 22 by the CBI after the Income Tax (IT) Department filed 12 prosecution cases against the company under various sections of the IT Act, 1961.

Earlier, the CBI registered an FIR against the Kotharis, who allegedly owe Rs 754.77 crore to the Bank of India, Rs 456.63 crore to the Bank of Baroda, Rs 771.07 crore to the Indian Overseas Bank, Rs 458.95 crore to the Union Bank of India, Rs 330.68 crore to the Allahabad Bank, Rs 49.82 crore to the Bank of Maharashtra and Rs 97.47 crore to the Oriental Bank of Commerce.

Both Vikram and his son have been accused of cheating a consortium of seven nationalised banks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Bollywood's leading lady Deepika Padukone has been creating waves not just in India, but internationally as well.

The 32-year-old actress was seen setting the red carpet on fire at MET Gala and Cannes leaving fashion police raving across boundaries.

Recently, 'Padmaavat' grabbed eyeballs with her dazzling appearance at the MET Gala as she dressed in a red gown. Further, the actress made heads turn with her stunning appearances at the Cannes red carpet.

Apart from that, Deepika has been creating a splash with her stunning magazine covers. After mesmerising the audience with her Filmfare Middle East cover, Deepika Padukone graced the TINGS London cover in her raw sexiness.

The actress made everyone proud by emerging as the only actress to feature in TIME's 100 influential list this year. She was also chosen amongst the top 4 people to raise a toast at TIME gala.

The leggy lass pleased the fashion police across the globe with her MET Gala and Cannes appearance has been garnering praises by international institutions like Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, Variety, Paris Match, amongst others.

The Hollywood Reporter praised the actress saying, "Now this is Cannes. Deepika Padukone walks up the steps at the Palais for the premiere of 'Ash is Purest White.' #Cannes2018 ".

Vanity Fair appreciated Deepika's looks at MET Gala and Cannes, "Deepika Padukone set hearts aflutter when she graced the red carpet at the Met Gala and Cannes." They further added, "Infectiously warm and approachable, this is one Indian star the rest of the world needs to keep an eye on".

Variety not only appreciated the actress for her Cannes appearance but also listed the actress in International Women's Impact Report 2018 for contribution to cinema.

Paris Match from France also hailed Deepika saying, "Deepika Padukone, Indian actress, and model, appeared on the red carpet in an incredible creation signed by the Indian brand ASHI studio, graphics and asymmetrical, pink fuchsia, which surprised many on the Croisette. It is little to say, moreover, if the photographers had eyes only for her; the flashes crackled, his name echoed at the entrance to the Grand Theatre Lumiere."

Deepika today shared images from her TINGS London magazine, taking us back to her stunning cover that released recently.

.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)LocationSmart, a website that claimed it could find any phone in the US, is now being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over security vulnerability.

Security researchers have discovered a vulnerability on LocationSmart's website which would have allowed anyone to use the tracking feature without the need of prior consent, Cnet reported.

The researcher at the Carnegie Mellon University, Robert Xiao, said the exploit was elementary. Although the bug has been fixed, the FCC launched an investigation as it put to risk privacy of users.

LocationSmart is one of the many companies the US government has ordered to investigate as these are able to obtain accurate geolocation data on phones from major carriers and sell that data to businesses.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)In the wake of the banking scams unearthed recently, the Finance Ministry on Monday wrote to the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) asking them for new appointments to be made in the top level of Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Allahabad Bank.

Top officials from the Ministry told ANI that as of now, no relaxation of Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework is being discussed.

There are currently 11 banks are under the PCA, which, the Ministry said, need to make individual strategies to come out of it.

The official also noted that in the entire procedure, relief may be provided to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by allowing those facing PCA framework-related issues to shift their accounts to other banks.

Last Thursday, Piyush Goyal, who is temporarily in charge of the Finance Ministry, had attended the meeting convened by the Department of Financial Services with all the 11 banks under the PCA and took stock of the banking system.

In the same meeting, the banks had submitted individual action plans to come out of the PCA.

Along the sidelines of the meeting, Goyal said he would ensure that the central government gives every possible support to strengthen the banking system in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to pay a two-day visit to Russia, commencing on May 24.

The two leaders are set to discuss Iran, Syria and Ukraine during their meeting, the Kremlin said.

According to Russian news agency TASS, "Macron plans to give impetus to bilateral relations during his upcoming visit to Russia, a spokesman for the Elysee Palace told the Journal du Dimanche weekly newspaper."

His visit comes at the invitation of the Russian President.

"The two countries will have to do a lot to build [their ties] but there should be an unbiased approach to this, with open eyes," the report quoted anonymous spokesman, as saying.

The French president will attend an economic forum in St Petersburg.

On Friday, Macron reportedly held a meeting in the Elysee Palace with historian and expert on Russia Antoine Arjakovsky and also had a word with philosopher Michel Eltchaninoff, the author of the book "Inside the Mind of Vladimir Putin," in a bid to prepare for his upcoming Russia visit.

It is pertinent to mention that Macron's visit is scheduled barely days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's May 21 informal meeting with the Russian President in Russia's Sochi city.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)One of the UK's most eligible bachelors, Hollywood star Hugh Grant is finally ready to tie the knot at the age of 57 for the first time.

According to the People, multiple sources have reported that the 'Love Actually' star is finally engaged to longtime partner and mother to his three children, Anna Eberstein, aged 39.

Eberstein, a television producer of Swedish descent, has a five-year-old son John Mungo, a two-year-old daughter, a mere months-old daughter with Grant.

Several newspapers have been carrying a photograph of the wedding banns.

Though, the British actor will marry for the first time, he has been involved in several high-profile relationships, including with English actress and model Elizabeth Jane Hurley who he dated for 13 years before they split in 2000.

Grant, 57, has five children in total, including two - Tabitha and Felix - with former partner Tinglan Hong.

He's also dated socialite Jemima Khan for three years before she reportedly dumped him in 2007.

On work front, Grant stars in BBC mini-series "A Very English Scandal."

He has received numerous awards including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and an Honorary Cesar for his work.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Hollywood actor Hugh Grant is finally ready to tie the knot at 57.

According to the People, multiple sources have reported that the 'Love Actually' star is finally engaged to longtime partner and mother to his three children, Anna Eberstein, aged 39.

Eberstein, a television producer of Swedish descent, has a five-year-old son John Mungo, a two-year-old daughter, a mere months-old daughter with Grant.

Further details are yet to be disclosed about this private wedding.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India's leading healthcare, nonprofit and personal cause donation crowdfunding platform ImpactGuru.com on Monday announced a Series A round of USD 2 million co-led by Apollo Hospitals Group and Venture Catalysts.

Singapore based VC fund, RB Investments, an existing investor, also participated in the round along with Currae Healthtech Fund, India's largest healthtech fund by number of deals. Other key investors include various family offices and Indian diaspora from US, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

The capital raised will enable ImpactGuru.com to scale crowd-funding in India by ramping up sales and marketing as well as technology development including artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, and vernacular language support.

Healthcare crowd-funding is an alternative method of raising funds online for medical expenses, with the patient or his/her friends or family primarily relying on social media networks to mobilise donors to finance the relevant medical bills. Crowdfunding as a next generation financing method to pay for healthcare is particularly relevant for India's 25 crore strong middle class population as 80 percent of India's population doesn't have health insurance (NSSO), access to credit is limited, and the culture of generosity is increasing rapidly in India.

ImpactGuru.com will now be the preferred crowdfunding platform for all Apollo Hospital Group's patients nationwide effective immediately. Apollo Hospitals Group's strategic investment into ImpactGuru.com will help it to increase the level of awareness of crowdfunding as a solution to make healthcare affordable for all - particularly cancer, transplant, and pediatric cases.

Venture Catalysts, India's first integrated incubator, played an instrumental role in syndicating this round through its extensive network of angel investors and family offices in India, Southeast Asia, and Middle East.

Beyond facilitating the investment, Venture Catalysts is also assisting the startup in scaling its donor base and creating a culture of philanthropy within its investor network.

ImpactGuru.com has an exclusive strategic partnership with US and UK based GlobalGiving, the world's first and largest non-profit crowdfunding platform, and is the only crowdfunding platform in India that can offer tax benefits to international donors. Impact Guru and GlobalGiving together have raised Rs 105 crores / USD16mm so far for various social causes in India since their inception.

"The potential to use technology to crowdfund for help is limitless in the face of India's accelerating smartphone, internet, and digital payments penetration," said Piyush Jain, co-founder & CEO of ImpactGuru.com.

"We will also pioneer the matching of CSR funds from within the group as well other organizations from outside along with the generosity of the crowd, as we are determined that no one should be denied access to quality care," said Suneeta Reddy, MD of Apollo Hospitals.

"Crowdfunding to solve India's healthcare and nonprofit crisis is a disruptive innovation led by ImpactGuru.com. ImpactGuru.com has immense potential with banks / NBFCs unable to provide sufficient medical loans due to low credit scores, lack of collateral, high risk of death and default," said co-founder & president, Venture Catalysts, Dr. Apoorv Ranjan Sharma.

Harsh Bothra, RB Investments, said, "Donation crowdfunding is a proven model in US, UK, and China with platforms seeing exponential growth year on year. With this round of funding, ImpactGuru.com is well positioned to become the market leader in India."

"Through the power of crowdfunding, ImpactGuru.com has often mobilized Rs 25 lakhs for cancer or transplant surgeries in 48 hours. As India's healthcare out of pocket expenditure at ~60 percent is among the highest in the world, healthcare crowdfunding is a highly scalable solution given the low insurance penetration in our country," said founder, Currae Healthtech Fund, Apoorva Patni.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Foreign policy expert Phunchuk Stobdan urged India and Russia to stay on the same side, or else China might take both of them on a ride.

While talking to ANI, Stobdan said, "Russia being an old partner of India will have to share its concern with us. India will need to discuss with other shareholders (about the recent global developments)."

He acknowledged the fact the Indo-Russian summit is taking place in the backdrop of the recently-concluded Indo-China summit in May, as he said that internally neither India nor Russia trust China.

"Russia must have played some role in Indo-China summit."

He also talked about the scheduled visit of President Putin to India this year and other international summits, including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit and the BRICS summit to be held later in the year, as he urged both India and Russia to put a joint agenda in the SCO summit.

Stobdan highlighted that India had skipped the One Belt, One Road summit held in Beijing last year.

He further said that it is imperative for India to maintain stable relations with both Russia and China as he said, "Xi Jinping has become leader for eternal, President Putin will going to stay for a very long time and if don't have a communication with them then I think PM Modi is also going to face elections next year and he will undergo a test."

Xi Jinping had become the President for an indefinite period after the abolishment of the Presidential term limits. Further, Putin was recently re-elected to be Russia's President for the fourth time.

He further said that the recent summit will help to give "RIC (Russia, India, China) more teeth. Now both Pakistan and India are members of SCO we better work together or else it will become like SAARC."

India was recently declared to be a permanent member of SCO, a fact mentioned by Prime Minister Modi himself during the recently-concluded one-on-one talks with Putin.

Stobdan also spoke about China's attempt to expand its control over territories around Indo-China border as he said, "China has not yet claimed control over Arunachal Pradesh but has contained itself till Yumai which lies in the Tibet autonomous region."

Prime Minister Modi is currently on a one-day visit to Sochi, as part of which he held one-on-one talks with President Putin and is further scheduled to go for a boat ride.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Hitting out at Pakistan for multiple ceasefire violations this month, Minister of State (MoS) in the Prime Minister's Office Jitendra Singh on Monday said those indulging in firing prove that they have less faith in Ramzan, Islam and Holy Quran.

"Those who are indulging in firing from across the border has proved to the entire world that they have the least of faith in Ramzan, Islam and Holy Quran. This is the country which calls itself Pakistan and is indulging in most 'Napaak' activity during Ramzan," Singh told ANI.

Earlier today, Pakistan violated ceasefire in Arnia sector of Jammu. Pakistan also opened small-arms firing in Ramgarh sector of Samba district last night.

On May 18, Pakistan violated ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) in RS Pura and Arnia sectors of Jammu and Kashmir killing a total of five people including one Border Security Force (BSF) jawan and four civilians.

It is to be noted that the Centre recently ordered to suspend the security operations against terrorist in the state during the holy month of Ramzan.

However, the ministry clarified that the security forces "reserve the right to retaliate if attacked or if essential to protect the lives of innocent people."

Ramzan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to Muhammad according to Islamic belief.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan has agreed to fulfill the demands put forth by the protesting resident doctors, and also appealed to them to call off their strike.

"The incident of two doctors thrashed by a patient's family at JJ hospital day before yesterday is unfortunate. We have agreed to their demands, including increasing security. I appeal to resident doctors to call off their strike," Mahajan told media here.

On May 19, doctors at the JJ Hospital held a strike after two resident doctors were thrashed by relatives of a patient who died there.

The incident took place when the patient, who was being treated for a gall bladder ailment, died on May 19, which, the family alleged, was due to negligence on the doctors' behalf.

Four members of the patient's family were arrested by the police for the alleged assault after CCTV footage of the incident went viral on social media.

Later, doctors of Sion Hospital also joined the protest.

The protestors demanded that immediate action be taken against the attackers and adequate arrangements be made at hospitals to ensure the safety of the staff.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The BJP-led NDA government has taken steps and "will do its best" to render justice to each and every family that has suffered from the grave injustice perpetrated against them during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a senior BJP leader has said.

On Sunday morning the BJP general secretary Ram Madhav visited the Gurunanak Foundation of America Gurudwara, where he addressed and assured the Sikh community. He said the NDA government has decided to go to any extent to punish the guilty in the crimes that were perpetrated against the Sikh community during 1984 riots.

The Justice Dhingra Commission is actively looking into 186 serious cases of crime against the Sikh community in 1984, he added. A number of FIRs have been filed again."In fact, arrest warrants have been issued against the leaders who were in the forefront of this whole crime against the community," he said.

"I stand before you to assure the community that we will do our best to render justice to each and every family that has suffered during those unfortunate years," Madhav said amidst applause from the few hundred Sikh Americans who had gathered in a Maryland suburb of Washington DC on Saturday to celebrate Vaisakhi that was organized by the Sikhs of America Foundation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent in a special message and said that observing the Vaisakhi festival abroad is a sign of the growing traditions and the values that the Sikh community continues to cherish.

"We are proud of the achievements of the Sikh community in North America, which has contributed significantly to the growth and prosperity in its adopted home. It is commendable that the community has also preserved its traditions and ethos, and is a living bridge with India," he said.

Madhav also said that Indian-Americans are playing a pivotal role in building India's strategic ties with the US.

"We are not just political, strategic allies, we are natural allies because we are two people who share a very strong bond between us," he said.

"People of Indian origin who live in this country are an important pivot of this relationship. We value your contribution to strengthen this relationship," he said.

.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Karnataka's chief minister-elect HD Kumaraswamy on Monday hit back at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah after the latter raised a question on the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance and termed his thought process as "unholy".

This came after Shah's first reaction post B.S. Yeddyurappa's resignation ahead of the floor test in Karnataka.

Kumaraswamy said, since no one got the majority of votes in the polls, secular parties came together to protect everyone's interest.

"According to you, Congress-JDS is 'unholy alliance'. Then, which is holy alliance? Was it trying to purchase legislators elected on other party symbols? Since no one got the majority, secular parties came together and there is a common philosophy behind it," Kumaraswamy said.

"This philosophy is to protect everyone's interest and if you think this is unholy alliance, your thought process is unholy," he added.

The chief minister-designate said their party was celebrating the formation of a secular government, rather than a "communal" one, which rules the nation by "dividing the people on the basis of caste and religion".

He further accused the BJP of insulting Yeddyurappa and the entire community represented by him, by making the latter the chief minister of Karnataka in hurry, without having the majority and later asking him to resign from his post.

"It was like tearing depth of water by pushing other's children in too well. Now, you are arguing that you should have formed the government since you were a single largest party," Kumaraswamy said.

Arguing on the formation of the government in the state, he asserted that in a democracy, a government should be formed as per provisions of the constitution and not always the single largest party comes to power.

"Let BJP understand who has a majority. It is sad that this basic has to be taught to the BJP," he added.

Earlier in the day, Shah termed Congress-JD (S) alliance as "'unholy" and added that both the parties joined hands to come to power in Karnataka against the people's mandate.

He said the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the assembly polls, which clearly shows that the people's mandate was anti-Congress.

Further taking a jibe at the Congress-JD(S) alliance the BJP chief said the parties are celebrating losing seats in Karnataka assembly polls.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court has adjourned the hearing of the abduction and assault case of a Malayalam actress in Kochi to May 26.

The court would be considering the petition by the victim, seeking a woman judge for the trial of the case, the petition by accused actor Dileep seeking the copy of the visuals of the attack, and the bail pleas of the accused in the case in the next hearing.

The actress, who has worked in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films, was kidnapped and molested in a moving car while she was on her way from Thrissur to Kochi on the night of February 17 last year.

Dileep has been accused of hatching a plot with prime accused Pulsar Suni and his associates for abducting and assaulting the Malayalam actress in a moving car.

Dileep was arrested on July 10 because of his alleged involvement in the case. Following the arrest, he was also expelled from the primary membership of Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) on July 11.

Dileep claims that the visuals of the attack of the actress have been manipulated.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Attending the Commissioning of the maiden Bastariya Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force, in Chhattisgarh's Ambika, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that currently, 52 battalions of Central Armed Police Force are deployed in Chhattisgarh.

The Home Minister said that 135 Naxalites were killed in 2016 and 77 in 2017 and 40 Naxalites so far in this year. He also said that the numbers have only increased, along with the numbers of surrenders.

"The government will take action to stop their funds and to seize their properties," the Home Minister assured.

"Today we have seen the courage and enthusiasm of the Bastaria battalion. Naxalites are against development, they want poverty in their area of influence. The Chhattisgarh government and other states affected by the problem are also running a fast campaign to eradicate Naxalism," Rajnath Singh added.

"Most of the soldiers have been martyred in IED blasts, a result of the cowardice of the Naxals. The Naxalites are fighting a losing battle."

A new special force called Black Panther is also being established along the lines of Grey Hounds - a force that specialises in anti-insurgency operations against Naxals. The Home Minister said that they are currently undergoing proper training.

He also said that developmental work is going on rapidly in Naxal affected areas and that 115 districts have been identified, out of which 35 are Naxal affected.

The Home Minister also praised the CRPF for an improved situation of internal security, which he said was only possible because of the coordination of the CRPF, with the state police.

He added that the Government of India conceived the idea of raising the Bastariya Battalion having learned about the courage, and honesty of the tribal brethren of Bastar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that Naxalism is a challenge and a menace which is now shrinking.

"Naxalism is a challenge but I want to say that this menace is now shrinking and is losing ground. The casualties in Security Forces have declined," Singh said while addressing the Passing Out Parade of 261 Bastariya Battalion in Ambikapur.

The Home Minister attended the commissioning of the 'Bastariya' battalion of the CRPF, created for the first-time with more than 534 tribal youths from Chhattisgarh.

Singh also awarded the best performers of the new unit after they presented him with a guard of honour and a military parade.

The 'Bastariya' jawans will be deployed in core area to add teeth to the anti-naxal operations of CRPF in the naxal-infested Bastar division of Chhattisgarh.

This new battalion of CRPF carries the moniker 'Bastariya Battalion' for the special reason that it comprises of youths, mostly scouted from the four highly naxal infested Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Sukmadistricts of Chhattisgarh.

Another remarkable feature of the battalion is its adequate female representation which is in sync with the Government's policy of 33 percent reservation for women.

The training included guerilla warfare, camouflage, living off the land and all those tricks of the trade that involve jungle operations. These jawans have been deployed in the core areas of Chhattisgarh to fight the naxals alongside the normal GD Bnsand CoBRABns of CRPF.

The 'Bastariya Battalion' came into existence on April 1, 2017 and has been created to enhance local representation in CRPF's combat lay-out in the Bastar area besides providing the 'Bastriya' youths a full-proof platform for employment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prince Harry, who seemed "absolutely in awe" of actress and now Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, went to the latter's dress designer Clare Waight Keller of French Fashion House Givenchy, to thank her.

"He came straight up to me and said, oh my God, thank you. She looks absolutely stunning," People quoted Keller, as telling reporters on Sunday at Kensington Palace in London.

"I think everybody saw on television he was just absolutely in awe. I think she looked incredible," she added.

The Givenchy designer highlighted that she had the opportunity to talk to the newlyweds at the lunchtime reception.

Markle wore a boat-necked, sculpted white dress for her Royal wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday, designed by Keller for French fashion house Givenchy.

Markle looked beautiful in the pure white silk Givenchy gown, which was 15 feet veil embroidered with flowers and held in place by a diamond tiara lent by the Queen for her wedding.

Markle met Keller earlier this year and the pair worked closely together on a design that Kensington Palace described 'epitomises a timeless minimal elegance', according to the official site of the British Royal Family.

The open bateau neckline frames Markle's shoulders and emphasises the slender sculpted waist of the dress. The shape is achieved using just six seams, and the dress flows towards a train at the back, cushioned by an underskirt of triple silk organza. The sleeves are slim and three-quarter length.

It is made of a pure white double bonded silk cady - a thick fabric - which has a soft matt luster.

The veil was made of silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers in silk threads and organza. It was five meters long and had to be held by two pageboys as Markle arrived.

It depicts the distinctive flora of each country in the Commonwealth, the 53-nation grouping for which Price Harry is an ambassador.

The embroidery took hundreds of hours to complete, with workers washing their hands every 30 minutes to keep the tulle and the threads pristine.

Markle's veil was held in place by Queen Mary's diamond bandeau tiara, which was loaned to her by Queen Elizabeth II.

Made in 1932, it comprises 11 sections, with a detachable centre of ten diamonds that can be worn as a brooch.

Markle also wore earrings and a bracelet by Cartier.

Prince Harry, sixth in line to the British throne, and Markle sealed their wedding vows with a kiss outside Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel on Saturday, cheered on by thousands of delighted crowds.

The couple - now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - exchanged rings in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and 600 celebrity guests. The Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner, conducted the wedding service while the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, officiated it.

Actress and now Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle wore a boat-necked, sculpted white dress for her Royal wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday, designed by Clare Waight Keller for French fashion house Givenchy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Russian President Vladimir Putin accompanied Prime Minister Narendra Modi all the way to the Sochi International Airport as the latter departed for India after completing his one-day visit to Russia on Monday.

Both the leaders also held brief talks at the airport.

Earlier Prime Minister Modi visited the Moya Russia-Ethno centre, along with President Vladimir, where he saw various ancient artifacts crafted by Russian artisans and also held talks with local artists.

He then addressed students at Sirius educational centre situated at Sochi in Russia, where he invited the students to visit India.

Following the event, children took Prime Minister Modi's autographs. One of the children brought along a glass slab, on which Prime Minister Modi wrote a message.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi enjoyed a yacht-ride in the Black sea of the Atlantic Ocean situated in Eastern Russia along with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Earlier Prime Minister Modi held one-one talks with President Putin, in which he reiterated the strong bilateral relations between two countries.

He further termed the Indo-Russian bilateral relations as a special privileged partnership.

He is scheduled to reach India later at night.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on Monday for an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the city of Sochi.

The informal summit between the two leaders, which, has a broad-based agenda on global and regional issues, is expected to see the discussions on global terrorism, situation in Afghanistan-Pakistan, Syria, Islamic State (IS).

Indian envoy to Russia Pankaj Saran on Sunday exclusively told ANI that the two leaders will discuss mutual cooperation to improve each other's economy and influence in the international sphere.

Apart from holding bilateral talks on the entire gamut of bilateral relations, Saran said Prime Minister Modi and President Putin may also discuss the repercussions of Iran nuclear deal post the withdrawal of the United States from the same.

Since India and Russia are both victims of terrorism, the two sides will also discuss ISIS threat and the situation in Afghanistan and Syria.

On reaching, Prime Minister Modi will be received by local dignitaries at the airport. He is then scheduled to visit the residence resort of President Putin.

According to the sources, large part of the informal meeting is one to one and a restricted delegation-level meeting is likely.

During the summit, the Indo-Russian cooperation in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) is likely to come as well.

The two leaders may also discuss the India-Russia civil nuclear cooperation in third countries.

Most part of the five-hour engagement is one to one. Both the leaders will also exchange views on their domestic priorities.

The informal interaction has no specific agenda and is very flexible. No regular protocol will be practiced, the sources said.

President Putin will also host lunch for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister took to Twitter and said that his visit will strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between two countries.

"Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," he tweeted.

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia," he said in another tweet.

This will be an important occasion for the two leaders to exchange views on international matters in a broad and long-term perspective with the objective of further strengthening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), issued on May 14, read.

The statement added this informal summit in Sochi, between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin, in keeping with the tradition of regular consultations between India and Russia at the highest levels.

According to the statement, the summit is taking place at the invitation of Putin.

"There are plans to discuss key issues developing Russian-Indian very privileged strategic partnership and also to exchange views on vital issues of the international and regional agenda," the Russian news agency TASS reported citing, the Kremlin press service, as saying in a statement.

This will be the first meeting between President Putin and Prime Minister Modi this year, however, since the beginning of the year, the two leaders have had several phone conversations.

This comes barely a month after when Prime Minister Modi attended a two-day informal summit along with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan city.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US ecretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday tore into the Iranian regime, saying he threatened to impose the "strongest sanctions in the history" of Iran.

Pompeo asserted that the deal required "major" changes and said Washington D.C. would never allow Tehran to develop a nuclear weapon, saying, "Not now, not ever," CNBC reported.

Vowing to impose tough sanctions on Iran, he added, "Sanctions that had been lifted under the agreement are due to go back into effect, and they are expected to pressure an already shaky economy of Iran. This is just the beginning. The sting of sanctions will be painful. These will be the strongest sanctions in history when complete."

While pressing for the total disbandment of developing ballistic missiles, the US Secretary of State also demanded that its nationals should be released from prisons in Iran.

Pompeo called for Iran's non-support of terrorist groups in the Middle East and beyond and the banning of the heavy-water reactor, the most common way of developing nuclear energy.

"Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East," Pompeo quipped.

However, Pompeo had a soft corner for Iran, saying that if Tehran made "major changes" in the nuclear agreement, then Washington D.C. would also lift all its economic sanctions.

"Unlike the previous administration, we are looking for outcomes that benefit the Iranian people, not just the 'corrupt' regime. If Iran makes 'major changes,' the US willing to lift all sanctions. We are ready to restore full diplomatic and commercial ties," Pompeo further said.

On May 8, President Donald Trump announced the US' withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the Iran nuclear deal which limited the country's uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief.

Calling the accord as an "embarrassment" that was "defective at its core", Trump also warned of severe consequences if Iran resumed its nuclear programme.

The Iran nuclear deal was signed between six countries in 2015 - Iran, US, Britain, Germany, Russia, France and China for lifting economic sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limitations to the country's nuclear programme.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said that they have appealed to the Odisha government to reduce the tax on petrol and diesel for the benefit of people.

Talking to media, Pradhan said, "We will appeal to the Odisha state government to reduce the tax on petrol and diesel for the benefit of people. Now once again we will appeal to the government to reduce tax, for the benefit of citizens."

Yesterday, Pradhan said the hike in the fuel prices is due to the less production of oil in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hike in crude oil price in the international market.

However, the Union Minister also assured the citizens that the Indian government will soon take out a solution to tackle the situation.

The prices of petrol and diesel touched an all-time high on Sunday causing inconvenience to the public.

The petrol and diesel prices have been increased by 17 paise a litre and 21 paise per litre respectively in Delhi.

With this, petrol prices hit a 56-month high of Rs 76.24 per litre while diesel prices touched a record high of Rs 67.57 in the capital.

In April, Pradhan said the Centre and the state governments have been considering bringing the petroleum products under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex!

According to the official web site of the British Royal Family, both Prince Harry's wedding band and Meghan Markle's tiara were set in platinum.

Prince Harry said "I Do" with a platinum wedding band featuring a textured finish, from the Cleave workshop.

Meghan's veil was held in place by Queen Mary's diamond bandeau tiara, set in platinum. It was lent to Meghan by The Queen. The diamond bandeau is English and was made in 1932, with the centre brooch dating from 1893.

The bandeauis formed as a flexible band of eleven sections, pierced with interlaced ovals and pave set with large and small brilliant diamonds. The center is set with a detachable brooch of ten brilliant diamonds.

The diamond bandeau was made for Queen Mary and specifically designed to accommodate the centre brooch. This brooch was given as a present to the then Princess Mary in 1893 by the County of Lincoln on her marriage to Prince George, Duke of York. The bandeau and the brooch were bequeathed by Queen Mary to The Queen in 1953.

Rare and precious, platinum wedding jewelry is popular with Royal families. Queen Elizabeth II's elegant ring from Prince Philip was set in platinum, and Prince Rainier III of Monaco second engagement ring to Grace Kelly was also set in platinum.

Since platinum is naturally white, it truly enhances the brilliance of diamonds, and is also widely known as the most secure setting.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, visited Sirius educational centre situated at Sochi in Russia on Monday where he invited Russian students to visit India.

There he met various Russian children outside the educational centre who welcomed Prime Minister with loud cheers.

"I am thankful to you for giving a good reception. I invite you to visit India as part of an organised tour. I will spend time with you as you would visit India and would arrange conversation of your with Indian children" Prime Minister Modi said.

He further appreciated President Putin and said, "President Putin, if you want to understand him as a human, talk to him personally; his eyes reflect the future of the children which is way different from what the thinks about him."

He extended his good wishes to children as he said, "You are connected to Russia's future, which plays an important role in establishing peace in the entire "

Following the event, children took Prime Minister Modi's autographs. One of the children, brought along a glass slab on which Prime Minister Modi wrote a message.

Prime Minister Modi along with President Vladimir also visited the Moya Russia-Ethno centre where he saw various ancient artefacts crafted by Russian artisans and also held talks with local artists.

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to depart for India after ending his one-day visit to Sochi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Stars paid tribute to Swedish musician Tim Bergling, popularly known as Avicii, at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards.

The superstar DJ-producer-artist was found dead in Muscat, Oman on April 20.

Before presenting the Top 100 Songs award, The Chainsmokers' Alex Pall said, "We'd like to take a moment and talk about our friend, Avicii."

His partner Drew Taggart added, "His passing was a great loss for the music world and for us."

"He was an artist who inspired so many in so many ways, and simply put, he meant so much to us and everyone in the EDM community," Taggart said, as reported by Billboard.

Halsey then concluded the tribute, adding: "Everyone that worked with him would agree that he was such a joy and it makes this tragedy all the more painful - and it's a reminder to all of us to be there and to support and love all of our friends and family members who may be struggling with mental health issues."

.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Senior Congress leader from Karnataka, D.K. Shivakumar on Monday said that the Congress party and the Janata Dal (Secular) - had to sort out their differences for the sake of forming a secular government in Karnataka.

Admitting that the Congress and the JD-S were at loggerheads before the Karnataka state assembly polls, Shivakumar told ANI, "In politics, I have been fighting against the Gowdas since 1985. In the last parliamentary election and assembly election against them, I won against his son, I won against his daughter-in-law. A lot of have been played. Lots of cases were also registered. But in the interests of the nation and party, we need a secular government in Karnataka."

"Rahul Gandhi has taken a decision that there should be a secular government here. That is what the entire country needs and that is why we have taken this stand (alliance with JD-S). I had to swallow all this bitterness since this is my duty," he added.

The Congres, which emerged as the second largest party after recently-held Karnataka state assembly elections, is stitching up an alliance with the JD-S to form a government in the state.

Asked whether he was happy on securing an alliance with the JD-S, Shivakumar said, "Sometimes, individuality doesn't count here. Individuality is not important. Whatever collective or major decisions are taken, one man may like or the other man may not like. I also gave consent for the formation of this government."

On Saturday, Chief Minister-elect H.D. Kumaraswamy was invited by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R. Vala to form the government in Karnataka, after Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) B.S. Yeddyurappa stepped down ahead of the floor test in the state assembly.

Asked about the structuring of the cabinet, the Congress party leader said, "We will not discuss the cabinet formation with Sonia ji (Gandhi) and Rahul ji. We are going to Delhi to pay his father's (Rajiv Gandhi) respects. All decisions regarding the internal sharing of power will be taken up by the AICC (All India Congress Committee)."

Commenting on the need of a grand alliance for defeating the BJP in the next year's general election, Shivakumar added that this was the beginning of the formation of a grand alliance and this was to be achieved by the secular parties coming together.

Asked whether the Congress-JD(S) government would complete five years, he further said, "Time will answer. I don't want to answer it right now. We have various issues, options before us, I can't tell right now."

While Kumaraswamy was earlier expected to swear-in as Karnataka Chief Minister on Monday, the ceremony later got pushed to Wednesday due to the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)After a period of seven years, the Syrian army on Monday said that it has pushed out the last fighters of the dreaded Islamic State (IS) terror group from al-Hajar al-Aswad district in southern Damascus, according to the Syrian state TV.

The Syrian army and its allies have been fighting IS terrorists for the last few weeks to reclaim a tiny enclave in al-Hajar al-Aswad and the adjacent Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, the last area outside government control in or around Damascus, reported Al-Jazeera.

Before launching its anti-IS push in Yarmouk, the Syrian government forces managed to clear out other rebels from the area with military drives and evacuation deals, according to state TV.

Yarmouk, the largest Palestinian camp in Syria, was under "crippling government siege" since 2012, a year after the civil war in the country began.

Earlier today, the Syrian army resumed its offensive attack to reclaim the area in southern Damascus, after it evacuated a group of civilians residing there.

According to state TV broadcast, airstrikes fired by pro-Syrian government forces "were targeting the last terrorist remnants" in the area after reporting earlier that a temporary humanitarian ceasefire had been in place since Sunday night.

Activists claimed that the IS terrorists were leaving a key territory under them in eastern Syria as part of a ceasefire deal. However, the Syrian state media reported that an encounter was underway between the terrorists and the Syrian army.

Under a deal, IS terrorists and their families were evacuated from an area on the Lebanese-Syrian border on one side, and Syrian government and Hezbollah on the other, inviting criticism from all over the

Subsequently, the United States-led coalition started launching airstrikes against the terror group in the war-ravaged country since 2014, killing thousands of civilians and displacing several others.

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011. Protesters have long been demanding the resignation of President Bashar-al Assad over his autocratic rule.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) will launch its annual conclave 'Maha Nadu' in Vijayawada from May 27 to 29 to protest against the Central government's non-assurances of fulfilling key promises such as the special category status.

During the three-day-long event, the TDP will pass more than 30 resolutions, of which the most prominent of them will be about the NDA ( Democratic Alliance) government's non-fulfillment of assurances on SCS and other bifurcation promises.

It is pertinent to mention that the TDP led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has been at loggerheads with the Centre over the special category status (SCS) to the state. Asserting his demand, the TDP had quit the BJP-led NDA alliance in March.

The TDP has been fighting against the central government for the rights of people of Andhra Pradesh, demanding it to fulfill assurances made in Rajya Sabha, including SCS and provisions of Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. Its members have been staging protests against the Centre, accusing it of injustice to Andhra Pradesh.

On April 20, Naidu sacrificed his birthday celebrations and observed a day-long hunger strike in Vijayawada - Dharma Porata Deeksha to protest over the "injustice" done by the Centre.

The SCS is a classification given by the Centre to assist in the development of those states that face geographical and socio-economic disadvantages like hilly terrains, strategic international borders, economic and infrastructural backwardness and non-viable state finances.

Resolutions against central government's economic policies will also be passed during the three-day event. It is interesting to note that the TDP was supporting demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST) with certain riders.

The Maha Nadu Resolutions Committee meeting today met at the office of state Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu to discuss on the resolutions to be passed at the conclave.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Terrorists on Monday attacked a police picket in Shadi Pora area in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The security forces retaliated strongly.

No casualties were reported.

Further details are awaited.

On a related note, the Centre recently ordered to suspend the security operations against terrorist in the state during the holy month of Ramzan.

The Home Ministry said the decision has been taken to help the "peace-loving Muslims observe Ramzan in a peaceful environment".

However, it clarified that the security forces "reserve the right to retaliate if attacked or if essential to protect the lives of innocent people".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday filed a progress report in the Allahabad High Court in connection with the death of the father of a minor girl, who was allegedly raped by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar last year.

The next date of hearing is scheduled for May 30.

Earlier in the day, the CBI booked Sengar, who is in police custody on charges of rape. A case has also been filed against him on charges of criminal conspiracy for falsely implicating the rape victim's father in another case.

Recently, the investigative agency had arrested two sub-inspectors of the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the death of the victim's father.

The woman was allegedly raped by the BJP MLA at his residence on June 4, 2017, when she had gone to his house seeking a job.

The victim's father was booked by the police under the Arms Act on April 3 this year and put behind bars on April 5. However, he was admitted to a hospital later the same day and subsequently died the following morning.

While initial reports claimed that the man died of natural causes, the postmortem report highlighted the presence of serious injuries on his body.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha on Monday wrote to Karnataka Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy requesting him to appoint their president Shamanur Shivashankarappa as the Home Minister of the state.

They also demanded that five other leaders from the community be made ministers in the cabinet.

On a related note, Chief Minister-elect H.D. Kumaraswamy on Saturday was invited by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to form the government in Karnataka, after Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) B.S. Yeddyurappa stepped down ahead of the floor test in the state assembly.

The Congress, which emerged as the second largest party after recently-held Karnataka state assembly elections, is stitching up an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) to form a government in the state.

While Kumaraswamy was earlier expected to swear-in as Karnataka Chief Minister on Monday, the ceremony later got pushed to Wednesday due to the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Police on Monday registered an FIR against six men and arrested two, in connection with the Wazirganj molestation case, after videos showing the minor girl being assaulted by the accused went viral on social networking sites.

In the two horrific videos, the men were seen dragging the girl as she cried for mercy.

Efforts are on to continue the arrest of the remaining accused.

"An FIR has been registered against 6 people and 2 have been arrested in one case and culprits are being identified in the second case. Strict action will be taken against the accused," informed SK Singhal, additional Director General of Police.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi appealed to the public to be aware and help the authorities reduce such incidents.

He said, "The government has taken cognizance of the incident, two people have been arrested till now. A speedy trial will be conducted and we also appeal to the public to help the government in curbing such incidents."

"We have got this information and it has been reported in media too, the video will be verified and necessary action will be taken against the culprits," said Rajiv Mishra, Gaya Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP).

In a similar incident, eight people were arrested on May 1 for their alleged involvement in the molestation of a minor girl in Bihar's Jehanabad.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has downgraded Reliance Infrastructure Limited's (R-Infra) Long-Term Issuer Rating to 'IND BBB+' from 'IND A' and revised the Rating Watch to Negative from Evolving.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Elevated Refinancing Needs in Near-Medium Term: The downgrade reflects the elevated refinancing risk during FY19 for R-Infra, its continued weak financial profile, delays in the conclusion of sale of its power distribution business (likely in 2Q19) and high level of financial assets on the balance sheet including loans and investments in group companies.

Ind-Ra has also revised the Rating Watch to Negative from Evolving to monitor R-Infra's planned deleveraging of the balance sheet post the sale of its power distribution business and would reassess the company's overall credit profile once its transformation into an engineering procurement construction (EPC) entity is complete. The Rating Watch Negative (RWN) indicates the possibility of R-Infra's ratings being downgraded or affirmed.

In October 2017, Ind-Ra had indicated that any delay in asset monetisation resulting in continued high net leverage would be negative for the ratings in the near-medium term. R-Infra has a refinancing obligation of INR44.9 billion (36% of outstanding debt as of FY18) in FY19, of which a substantial portion of debt falls due in the near term. Although management expects the company to generate cash flow from operations of INR2 billion at the end of each month, it will be inadequate to fund the debt obligations. The company thus will have to refinance them.

The company so far has not received arbitration money from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) while INR106.5 billion of the total consideration of INR132.5 billion for the sale of R-Infra's integrated Mumbai power business to Adani Transmission Limited (ATL) is still to be paid out. R-Infra in this context plans to meet these debt obligations through fresh refinancing from existing banks, proceeds from few other arbitration orders and issuance of equity shares to raise INR30 billion by way of rights issue or qualified institutions placements.

Debt Reduction in FY18: R-Infra's debt at end-FY18 reduced to INR124.3 billion (FY17: INR157.1 billion), led by a debt repayment using the advance of INR26.0 billion received towards the proposed sale of Mumbai power business to ATL, proceeds of INR10 billion from the sale of Western Region Strengthening System Scheme transmission assets to ATL and the pending through other sources.

Including corporate guarantees of INR6.3 billion extended to group companies, gross adjusted debt remained elevated at INR130.6 billion in FY18 (FY17: INR163.8 billion). Consequently, leverage (gross debt/ EBITDA), although improved, remained in FY18 high at 4.3x in FY18 (FY17: 5.7x). Including corporate guarantees, adjusted leverage (gross debt+corporate guarantees/EBITDA) stood at 4.5x in FY18 (FY17: 5.9x). Interest coverage (EBITDA/interest cost) in FY18 remained low at 1.0x (FY17: 1.1x).

Exposure to Associates and Group Co; Likely Investment Write-down: Loans/inter-corporate deposits and investments in associates and group companies together accounted for 52.5% of the total assets in FY18 (FY17: 48%). Following the sale of power assets to ATL, the share of financial and strategic assets may exceed 70% of the total assets which would remain a key monitorable.

Financial support to associates and group companies has remained high, which would continue to weigh on the liquidity profile of the company.

Timely recovery of the same remains to be seen.

Refocused on EPC: As of FY18, R-Infra had an EPC order book of INR287.0 billion (32x of FY18 EPC revenue of INR8.9 billion). Pending order book provides revenue visibility to EPC business over FY19-FY20. As the business is asset-light, Ind-Ra expects that the debt should not increase due to an increase in EPC revenue except for the working capital requirement.

Timely Completion of ATL Deal Remains Critical: On 26 December 2017, R-Infra had entered into a definitive agreement with ATL for the sale of its integrated Mumbai power business. The agreement includes R-Infra's integrated assets in power generation, transmission and distribution in Mumbai. The total consideration value was estimated at INR132 billion. In February 2018, Competition Commission of India approved the proposed sale. Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has scheduled the hearing on 14 June 2018.

Delay in Receipt of Arbitration Money from DMRC: According to the Delhi High Court directive, DMRC had an obligation to deposit INR35.0 billion (75% of the arbitral award) directly in the project lenders' escrow account on or before 6 April 2018. On 27 March 2018, DMRC paid INR3.06 billion to the lenders as directed by the High Court to avoid the account turning into a non-performing asset. This reduced the total debt to INR16.1 billion in FY18 (FY17: INR19.2 billion).

Further on 10 April 2018, the High Court directed DMRC to take over the debt servicing of the pending INR16.1 billion. It was agreed upon by the latter following an undertaking by Delhi Airport Metro Express Private Ltd, 100% subsidiary of R-Infra, that it will not enforce an INR51.6 billion arbitration award in its favour till the pendency of DMRC's appeal.

Notch Benefit: The rating of NCDs and term loans linked to regulatory assets has been notched up from R-Infra's Long-Term Issuer Rating as the debt programme is backed by the first and exclusive charge of investors on the proceeds of the regulatory asset collection approved by the regulatory commission to be recovered over 2014-2019 by R-Infra's Mumbai Electricity distribution business from its utility consumers. Also, the essential nature of the underlying business, identified stream of unencumbered cash flow, absence of any refinancing risk on account of matched cash flows, presence of a debt service reserve account of slightly over a quarter's debt service and scheduled amortisation of the debt by close to 67% provide strength to the debt servicing ability of the debt programme.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Negative: Future developments which could, individually or collectively, lead to a negative rating action include:

- inability to timely refinance the upcoming debt maturities

- further delays in the deleveraging of the balance sheet

- increased support to group entities and associates

Positive: Future developments which could, individually or collectively, be positive for the ratings include:

- successful completion of the ATL deal and timely receipt of proceeds from DMRC arbitration

- growth in EPC business while maintaining a sound credit profile

- timely payment of debt obligations resulting in an improvement credit profile

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Key benchmark indices were trading with small losses in morning trade as investors digested the Karnataka government formation. At 10:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 2.60 points or 0.01% at 34,845.70. The Nifty 50 index was down 20.35 points or 0.19% at 10,576.05.

After starting on a weak note, the market bounced back for a brief period in morning trade. Gains were unable to sustain at higher levels and the indices slipped into negative terrain in morning trade. The Sensex rose 125.65 points, or 0.36% at the day's high of 34,973.95 in morning trade. The index fell 89.46 points, or 0.26% at the day's low of 34,758.84 in early trade. The Nifty rose 25.30 points, or 0.24% at the day's high of 10,621.70 in morning trade. The index fell 29.30 points, or 0.28% at the day's low of 10,567.10 in early trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.74%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.82%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 760 shares rose and 1,273 shares fell. A total of 102 shares were unchanged.

Most metal shares rose. National Aluminium Company (up 1.34%), JSW Steel (up 0.91%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.65%), Steel Authority of India (up 0.54%), Vedanta (up 0.41%) and NMDC (up 0.35%), edged higher. Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.04%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.25%) and Hindalco Industries (down 0.71%), edged lower.

Tata Steel was up 0.85%. The company announced that Bamnipal Steel (BNPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel has successfully completed the acquisition of controlling stake of 72.65% in Bhushan Steel (BSL) in accordance with the approved Resolution Plan under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC). The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 18 May 2018.

The admitted CIRP cost and employee dues have been paid, as required under IBC. Further, settlement of the amounts equivalent to Rs 35200 crore towards financial creditors of BSL is being undertaken as per the terms of the resolution plan and corresponding transaction documents Rs 1200 crore will be paid to the operational creditors of BSL over a period of 12 months as per their admitted claims and as per the terms of the approved Resolution Plan.

Most FMCG shares rose. Jyothy Laboratories (up 1.98%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 1.22%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.81%), Britannia Industries (up 0.75%), Tata Global Beverages (up 0.57%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.56%), Dabur India (up 0.31%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.29%) and Nestle India (up 0.18%), edged higher. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.14%), Marico (down 0.46%) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 0.95%), edged lower.

Indiabulls Real Estate lost 4.47% after the company's board of directors approved the proposal of buy-back of up to 2.6 crore fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 2 each of the company, being approx. 5.45% of existing paid-up share capital of the company, at prevailing market price on stock exchanges subject to a price not exceeding Rs 240 per equity share, aggregating up to an amount not exceeding Rs 624 crore, being less than 10% of total paid-up share capital and free reserves of the company from the open market through the stock exchange mechanism. The proposed buy-back will make the balance sheet of the company leaner by reduction in the overall capital employed in its business, which in turn will lead to higher earnings per share and enhanced return on equity, Indiabulls Real Estate said. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 18 May 2018.

On the political front, the much-awaited Karnataka floor test ended in an anti-climax of sorts with BS Yeddyurappa, who took oath as the Chief Minister on Thursday, 17 May 2018, resigned on Saturday, 19 May 2018, after he failed to secure the magic number of 112 required to form the government. Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy will now be sworn in as Chief Minister on Wednesday, 23 May 2018.

HD Kumaraswamy will reportedly be meeting former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi today, 21 May 2018, to discuss the modalities of government formation.

Overseas, most Asian shares were trading higher as weekend developments in the US-China trade relationship were digested by investors.

The US trade war with China is on hold after the world's largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said on Sunday. Mnuchin and US President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the agreement reached by Chinese and American negotiators on Saturday set up a framework for addressing trade imbalances in the future, reports added.

US stocks closed mostly lower on Friday, 18 May 2018, as investors grappled with lingering uncertainty over trade negotiations between the US and China, as well as bond yields that climbed this week to the highest level since 2011.

A focus for global markets this week is Wednesday's release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting. Investors will be watching the minutes for clues about the pace of the current tightening cycle.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A group of militants killed five workers of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) oil pipeline and kidnapped another in Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Monday.

The attack occurred at 10 a.m. in Maiwand district when the TAPI workers, including de-miners and topographers, were at work, Kandahar police spokesperson Zia-ul-Rahman Durrnai told Efe news.

"These workers and employees of TAPI project suffered a terrorist attack by the armed enemy in which the militants killed five of them and kidnapped a sixth one and took him with them," Durrnai said, adding that an operation was underway to rescue the hostage.

According to Durrnai, the workers had earlier declined police protection.

Construction on the TAPI project had began in 2015 in Turkmenistan, which has the world's fifth largest natural gas reserves, with the aim of transporting gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan through Afghanistan into Pakistan and then to India by 2019.

So far, the first phase of the project has been completed, with the laying of 214 km of pipeline out of the total 1,814 km.

The second phase began in February and will involve the construction of 816 km of the pipeline through five troubled Afghan provinces including Kandahar and will take the pipeline upto Quetta in western Pakistan.

According to preliminary forecasts, the project was likely to cost around $7.5 billion and will be able to transport 33 billion of cubic metres of gas per year up to the Indian border.

--IANS

soni/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A quarter century after 25 people died from drinking contaminated water supplied by the civic body, the Taj city continues to face an acute shortage of safe drinking water for its urban population of two million.

On May 21, 1993, over two dozen people in Khatik Para, Ghatiya, Mandi Sayeed Khan areas died and over 200 were hospitalised after they consumed water from a tank in Sanjay Place commercial complex.

Many politicians, including then Uttar Pradesh Governor Moti Lal Vora, visited the city to console the bereaved families and promised a job each to the victims' families.

Residents, who observed a Black Day on Monday, said they have not received any help from the state.

Local leader Tajendra Rajora said people feel cheated. "Many families lost their bread winners and children continued to survive in chill penury."

Over the years, the situation has not improved. People continue to consume piped water from two municipal water works which depend entirely on Yamuna for raw water.

"Unfortunately, the Yamuna river, now virtually a sewage canal, runs dry for most part of the year and what flows down is the sewer, domestic waste and effluents from upstream cities including Delhi," says environmentalist Devashish Bhattacharya.

Residents in the heart of the city can be seen lining up for water twice a day with their pots and tanks. The taps, they say, cough up more air than water.

Dozens of colonies in the Trans Yamuna area are without drinking water facilities and are forced to buy from tanker suppliers.

River Connect Campaign activists held a protest meeting near Yamuna on Monday to raise the issue of polluted water supply.

"We want Yamuna river restored to its original glory. For a long time, we have been demanding a barrage downstream of the Taj Mahal but the state government is dragging its feet on this important issue," said Harendra Gupta, former Indian Medical Association President and a river activist.

The Water Works officials pleaded helplessness, saying there is no water in Yamuna, which is the lifeline of the city.

River activist Shravan Kumar Singh told IANS: "For all practical purposes, Yamuna is dead downstream of Okhla barrage."

A dry Yamuna is a threat both to humans and stone monuments. "It is necessary to keep Yamuna full of water for the safety of historical monuments along its banks," he added.

Taj city's water needs have increased along with its population, but no new arrangements have been made to augment raw water supply.

The city is now waiting for Ganga river water to be brought from Bulandshahr district through a pipeline network costing Rs 3,000 crore. The project should be operational after monsoon.

"It is sad and unfortunate that a quarter century after the water tragedy, nothing has changed -- neither the quality nor the quantity.

"The government agencies have done nothing to provide help to the family members of the tragedy," said Rajiv Gupta, former National Chamber of Industries and Commerce President.

Gupta demanded immediate cleaning of community ponds and desilting of Yamuna.

Youth activists Omkar Bhardwaj and Ajay Tomar said water is the primary need. They said "fancy projects can wait. The Yogi government should address Agra's water woes immediately".

(Brij Khandelwal can be contacted at brij.k@ians.in)

--IANS

bk/him/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Pointing out that trade exchanges between India and Egypt have picked up pace in the last one year, outgoing Indian Ambassador to the Arab nation Sanjay Bhattacharya on Monday said the growth in agro-exports from India to Egypt and its acceptance of India's line of credit facility can further boost bilateral economic ties.

"The trade exchanges between India and Egypt have a scope of improvement. It reached around $5.5 billion in 2012 but has been on the decline since the Egyptian revolution. However, last year there was 15 percent increase in the trade between the two countries," said Bhattacharya, who would shortly be moving to Turkey as Ambassador.

"There has also been a growth of agro-exports. Egypt relies entirely on irrigation for its cultivation. There are some issues about the Nile water resources. India can emerge as a long time reliable agricultural supplier," he noted.

The envoy said India's line of credit of $10 billion to the African countries have also been accepted by the Egyptian government which would lead to much closer collaboration in the economic field.

"Economic pillar is one of the strongest fundaments of the Indo-Egyptian relationship right now. There are about 450 Indian companies registered in Egypt, among which there are 50 large companies that has combined investment of nearly $3 billion," he said.

About the prospects of Indian investors in Africa and in the Middle East, Bhattachaya said the businessmen should cash in on these countries' common appreciation of India as a growing economy.

"It is important to note that across the Middle East there is an appreciation of India in maintaining a pluralistic society. It is highly impressed by India's efforts to create a democratic niche along with massive economic development. The Arab world is also interested about the SNPs, specially in IT space, health and education.

"There are more opportunities for the Indian investors in Middle East and for that matter in Africa as the countries have an India preference. The Middle East has four major power houses at present - Saudi-Arabia, Egypt, Iran and Turkey - and the good thing is India has very good relationship with all four countries. The opportunity to do business or work out a good economic relationship is equally good in all these places," he added.

--IANS

mgr/ssp/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A bank officer was shot dead on Monday by unidentified criminals in Bihar's Jahanabad district, police said.

Alok Chandra, a probationary officer in the Bank of Baroda in Arwal district, was shot dead near Nehalpur village, said a district police officer.

"Chandra was killed when he was on his way to join duty at the bank. He died on the spot," he added. The bank officer was from Nawada district. He was staying on rent in Jahanabad, some 25 km from his bank branch.

The police have lodged a case and started a probe.

--IANS

ik/in/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)After braving eight-foot waves, hurricanes, sub-zero temperatures, broken steering gear and spending 194 days at sea, the six women crew of the Indian Naval sailing vessel 'Tarini' sailed into Goa on Monday as young legends, becoming the first all-women naval crew to have circumnavigated the globe.

But the Navika Sagar Parikrama expedition faced one of its biggest potential setbacks when the INSV Tarini, during the journey home, developed a technical snag with the steering gear just 2,000 miles off Goa, according to Indian Navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba.

"The crew's tenacity was again put to test when the boat developed a defect in the steering gear. They not only carried out temporary repairs in the middle of the ocean, but sailed the boat to the nearest port, Port Louis in Mauritius, 180 miles away.

"The grit and determination displayed by the young women officers will definitely encourage future generations to take on flaunting challenges and strive for success," Lanba said at a function held at the INS Mandovi naval base near Panaji.

Earlier, team leader Lt Commander Vartika Joshi narrated how she and her crew of Lt Commanders Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P. and Lt Aishwarya Boddapati, S. Vijaya Devi and Payal Gupta encountered and surpassed challenges in the arduous journey which began in Goa in September last year.

"Near Falkland Islands in the Pacific Ocean, we encountered hurricane force winds off Cape Horn and eight metre waves and sub zero temperature," she said, adding that during nights the winds picked up to frightening speeds of much as 60 knots.

The team encountered and was pleasantly surprised by tiger sharks, pilot whales as they sailed through the oceans of the world which Joshi described as "an extraordinarily adventurous voyage of our lifetimes".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Karnataka's Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday said that he had got a chance to serve the people again by God's grace and his parents' blessings despite a fractured mandate in the May 12 elections.

"Although the people did not bless me and our party with a clear mandate, I have got an opportunity again to serve them by God's grace and my parent's blessings," Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) state President Kumaraswamy told reporters here.

On a visit to his home town Holenarsipur, about 180 km from Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy prayed at the Ranganatha Swamy and Laskhminarasimha Swamy temples here for the success of the JD-S-Congress coalition government that will come to power when he takes oath on Wednesday.

"A great responsibility is being given to me again to serve the people, especially farmers, women and youths. I am sure I will rise to the occasion with God's blessings, people's wishes and the support of the Congress," said Kumaraswamy.

Clarifying that he was not becoming the Chief Minister for the second time for the sake of power, the JD-S leader said that he accepted the Congress offer to head the coalition government to work for the people's welfare.

"This is big challenge. As I know the problems of the people, I will strive to address them," added Kumaraswamy.

Governor Vajubjai Vala invited the 58-year-old JD-S legislative party leader on Saturday to form the coalition government after the fall of the three-day BJP government led by Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who resigned even before the trust vote was conducted since his party was seven MLAs short of the halfway mark to prove simple majority in a house of 222 members.

According to the Chief Minister's Office, Kumaraswamy will take oath at 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday in front of the state Secretariat (Vidhan Soudha) in Bengaluru in the presence of national leaders and about a lakh people.

This is the second time that Kumaraswamy, the third son of JD-S supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and Chennamma, will be the Chief Minister, and 12 years after the JD-S formed a coalition government with the BJP on February 4, 2006. He occupied the CM office for 20 months till October 9, 2007, during his earlier stint.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)China on Monday dismissed as "groundless" a report that it was mining gold on its side of the disputed border in Arunachal Pradesh.

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the area mentioned in the report by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post was Chinese territory and Beijing was well within its rights to conduct scientific and geological survey.

The report said that China began large-scale mining operations on its side of the disputed border with India in the Himalayas where a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals -- valued at nearly $60 billion by Chinese state geologists -- had been found.

"The area mentioned in the report totally belongs to China's territory. China conducts regular geological and scientific research on its territory," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang.

"China always attaches great importance to protecting ecological We hope the relevant media refrain from hyping up groundless reports," he said.

The report said the move was part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim Arunachal Pradesh which it calls as "South Tibet".

"China's move to lay claim to the region's natural resources while rapidly building up infrastructure could turn it into 'another South China Sea'," the Post quoted people familiar with the development.

Asked about this, Lu said: "China's position on the Sino-India boundary is clear-cut. China never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh... Beijing and New Delhi are engaging in negotiations to solve the boundary issue and seek a fair and justified solution.

"Before resolving the issue, we hope India can abide by the agreements between the two countries, abide by the Line of Actual Control, stop hyping up and jointly work with China to maintain peace and stability in border areas," he said.

Arunachal Pradesh forms a large chunk of the 3,488 km disputed India-China boundary.

The two countries went to war in this hilly region in 1962, an event which sowed the seeds of mutual distrust between them.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Mexican charter company whose plane crashed in Cuba last Friday, killing 110 people on board, had received prior safety complaints, two-ex pilots say.

One of the pilots described how a plane rented from Damojh airlines had dropped off radar completely some eight years ago. Another alleged poor maintenance, BBC reported on Sunday.

Mexican authorities say they will carry out a safety audit of the company.

Three women survived the crash near Havana airport - Cuba's deadliest air disaster in more than 30 years.

Separately, it was revealed that 10 Protestant evangelical priests and their wives were among the crash victims.

Cuban authorities have launched an investigation into the crash, as rescuers continue to comb through the wreckage site some 20 km south of the Cuban capital.

One of two "black boxes" that hold key flight data and information about what happened to the plane has been recovered and is said to be in good condition.

Allegations of previous safety complaints have emerged against the Mexican-based Damojh company, which leased both the Boeing 737 and its crew to Cuba's flagship state Cubana airline.

The head of Guyana's civil aviation body, Cpt Egbert Field, told the Associated Press news agency the same plane - which was nearly 40 years old - had been barred from using Guyanese airspace last year after authorities found its crew were overloading luggage on flights in Cuba.

In one instance, the news agency reports, Guyanese authorities had discovered suitcases stored in the plane's toilets.

Meanwhile, a retired pilot for Cubana wrote on Facebook that another plane rented by his airline from the same company had briefly dropped off radar for unspecified reasons while over the central Cuban city of Santa Clara in 2010 or 2011.

The captain and co-pilot of that flight were later suspended for "problems and serious lack of technical knowledge," said Ovidio Martinez Lopez, who worked for Cubana for more than 40 years.

He said "many flight attendants, flight attendants and flight safety personnel" had refused to fly on certain Cubana planes over the years.

Another pilot who used to work for Damojh told Mexican newspaper Milenio he had complained about a lack of adequate maintenance of planes.

"I experienced several incidents at this company, like engine failure or the electrical system went when we took off from Mexico on one occasion", Marco Aurelio Hernandez was quoted as saying.

The company is yet to comment on the allegations.

Cuba's transport minister said on Saturday that five children were among the victims. Adel Yzquierdo also updated the official death toll to 110

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Karnataka Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy said on Monday that modalities of government formation had been decided with the Congress during his meeting with its President Rahul Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Talking to reporters after his meeting with the Gandhis here, he said Congress General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge K.C. Venugopal was travelling with him to the state "to discuss all matters and finalise everything" before his swearing-in as the Chief Minister on Wednesday.

"Local leaders and he (Venugopal) will sit together tomorrow to finalise things on the matter of appointment of Deputy Chief Minister," the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader said, amid demands from the Congress for two deputy Chief Ministers in the Karnataka cabinet.

He said he had come to meet the Congress President and his mother to show his respect and regards to the Gandhi family.

"I requested them to attend the oath taking ceremony. Both agreed," he said.

JD-S General Secretary Danish Ali, who accompanied Kumaraswamy on his day-long trip to Delhi, said the alliance between the two parties was a long-term decision.

"We (JD-S) have decided to go together with the Congress for the Lok Sabha elections in 2019," eh said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Fearing a poor exam result, a Class X student from Udaipur in Rajasthan choreographed his own "abduction" for ransom, but was outsmarted by police which recovered him and finally reunited with his family on Monday.

The teenager had gone missing for two days from his house, and was found travelling on a train when he was caught.

Interestingly, the boy used an app he had downloaded from the web to make a ransom call to his father, which showed the incoming call to be from an international number via the Internet.

Udaipur Superintendent of Police Rajendra Prasad Goyal said the boy's father Rajesh Kumar Pandey filed an FIR on Sunday at Gowardhanvilas police station that his son was missing since May 19 afternoon.

"We tried to contact the boy on his mobile phone many times but it is switched off. We also spoke to his friends, but they were clueless on his whereabouts," Rajesh said.

He said that on April 20 morning, he received a call from an international number wherein the person at the other end demanded Rs 50 lakh to ensure his son's safe return.

"When I demanded to talk to my son, my son took the call and claimed some unidentified miscreants had driven him off in a car to an unidentified place and were holding him captive in a room.

"After some time, I got another call from the international number wherein I was asked about the ransom money. I told them that I don't have this much money. The person at the other end then asked me to arrange Rs 3 lakh and then call him," said the complainant, adding that the phone was later found switched off.

The SP formed different teams under the supervision of Additional SP Brijesh Soni and senior police officer Om Kumar, which scanned CCTV footage from near the family's residence and public places like railway station and bus stops.

The team came across footage wherein the teenager was seen roaming all alone at the Udaipur railway station and afterwards boarding Delhi-bound Chetak Express.

Special police teams were dispatched to Delhi, from where the boy was recovered and brought back.

When questioned, the teenager claimed he was scared that he would be beaten up by his parents if he fared poorly in his examinations. So, he hatched a plan for his own "abduction" and called up his father with the ransom demand to hoodwink him.

However, police outsmarted him with meticulous investigation and exposed his plan.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Police on Monday arrested four persons for brutally beating to death a Dalit ragpicker near Rajkot city in Gujarat on suspicion of theft.

The state Government promptly announced a financial compensation of Rs 8.25 lakh for the family of the deceased person.

Mukesh Vaniya, 40, was tied and brutally thrashed by factory owner and workers of Radadiya Industries in Shapar-Veraval area of Rajkot district and died on late Sunday evening. He was accused of trying to steal from the factory, police officer Shruti Mehta said.

The entire incident was captured on CCTV and the footage later went viral on social media, with Vadgam MLA and Dalit rights activist Jignesh Mevani tweeting the news with hashtag Gujarat is not safe for Dalits.

The incident took place when Vaniya and his wife Champaben, who are ragpickers, were engaged in their usual work near Radadia Industries.

Factory owner Jaysukh Radadia suspected that Mukesh was trying to steal from his factory. He and his workers soon caught Mukesh and his wife and began beating them with sticks, one after the other.

They allowed Champaben to go after some thrashing but continued hitting Vaniya. He was left in pain at the place. Soon Champaben returned with some men and took Vaniya to the Rajkot Civil Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

She lodged an FIR against the factory owner and workers. Jaysukh Radadia and his associates Chirag Vora, Divyesh Vora and Tejas Zala were arrested, Superintendent of Police Shruti Mehta said.

Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja told reporters on Monday evening: "According to the FIR against the accused, section 302 for murder and 308 for culpable homicide and various sections of the Atrocities Act have been invoked."

He said" "The family had demanded a financial package, a five acre plot, a free house, public shaming of the accused and monthly payment of Rs 10,000 to the family. The state government on its part announced sanction of Rs 8.25 lakh under the Atrocities Act.

"For now, we have provided over half of the Rs 8.25 lakh and the rest would be paid after the chargesheet is filed in the case and Rs 500 for groceries and provisions to each of the four persons in the family for three months," Gujarat Social Justice minister Ishwar Parmar said in an official statement.

Shruti Mehta said the police had also detained a fifth person, a juvenile, and were currently interrogating him but refused to reveal his identity till his involvement was proved.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Four men who smuggled contraband drugs from the country abroad have been arrested, police said on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav said that more than 6.5 lakh tablets of drug misused as psychotropic substance and other drugs totalling three kg and valued at more than Rs 30 crore were seized from them.

"The tablets and the contraband drugs were collected from various parts of the country by this gang and sent abroad, including to the UK, US, UAE and other Middle East countries," the official said.

Parveen Saini, 32, the kingpin operating in Delhi, looked after the entire network of this drug cartel in India. He was arrested along with Asim Ali, 23, and Rajender, 26, who collected contraband meant for sending abroad.

Ashish Sharma, 29, who worked as Customs House agent at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, and cleared Saini's company HC courier's consignment of drugs sent along with clean load for export, has also been arrested.

The leaders of this gang were identified as Baljeet Singh and Gajender Singh Rathore, presently based in Britain. They are controlling this international drug syndicate from London, the police officer claimed.

Efforts are on the identify other members of this drug cartel, he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A team of progressive advocacy groups has asked the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to "make Facebook safe for democracy" by breaking the social media giant's monopoly in the market.

According to technology website Axios, the group "Freedom From Facebook" is launching a six-figure ad campaign on Monday that will run on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter among other platforms.

"Facebook has too much power over our lives and democracy. It's time for us to take that power back," the team wrote on the official "Freedom From Facebook" website.

The group is calling on the FTC to "break up Facebook's monopoly" by forcing it to spin off Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger into separate, competing companies.

They also want the FTC to require inter-operability, so users have the freedom to communicate across social networks, and impose strong privacy rules that empower and protect them.

The website also has an online petition and privacy guide that links to FB Purity and the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Privacy Badger -- browser extensions that help users streamline their Facebook ad preferences and block spying ads and invisible trackers, Tech Crunch reported.

The FTC is currently investigating if Facebook's involvement with Cambridge Analytica violated a previous legal agreement it had with the commission.

According to the report, people are wondering if federal agencies are capable of regulating tech companies, especially after many lawmakers seemed confused about how social media works during Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Congressional hearing last month.

Embroiled in a massive data breach controversy, Facebook still beat Wall Street's estimates by raking in $11.97 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2018.

The social media giant reported $4.98 billion in profit -- up from $4.26 billion in the last quarter.

"Despite facing important challenges, our community continues to grow. More than 2.2 billion people now use Facebook every month and more than 1.4 billion people use it daily," Zuckerberg had said.

Facebook added 70 million monthly active users (MAUs) to reach 2.196 billion globally -- a 3.14 per cent growth rate.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Gina Haspel was sworn in on Monday as the first female director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its 71-year history.

Speaking at a ceremony at the agency's headquarters in Langley, in the US state of Virginia, Haspel said that she is honoured to lead the agency, calling her service of over 30 years at it "more than a career", Xinhua news agency reported.

Haspel said that she intends to send more officers into the field, improve foreign language proficiency among the ranks and strengthen the agency's working relationships with counterparts in partner nations.

US President Donald Trump, who also spoke during the event, praised Haspel's qualifications to take the job.

Vice President Mike Pence and Haspel's predecessor Mike Pompeo, now the secretary of state, attended the ceremony.

Haspel was confirmed in a 54-45 vote in the Senate last week largely along party lines, but six Democrats supported her and two Republicans voted against her.

The nomination came under fire for Haspel's past ties to the CIA's former rendition, detention and interrogation program carried out in the years following the September 11 attacks.

The program used so-called enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding, now widely considered torture.

In 2002, Haspel supervised a secret prison in Thailand where harsh interrogations were conducted and she destroyed CIA interrogation tapes years later. Her specific role in the programme remains classified.

During her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Haspel promised that the program would not be restarted under her leadership, even if pressed to do so by the president.

Trump had said that "torture works" and that he would consider using it again.

In a letter to Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, last week, Haspel wrote that the interrogation program "is not one the CIA should have undertaken," a stance that helped her secure enough votes to be approved by the Senate.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Goa government on Monday said Rashtriya Hindu Sena chief Pramod Muthalik is a rabble-rouser who incites religious violence, as it defended ban on his entry into the state since 2014.

Describing Muthalik as a "religious fanatic", advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai told a vacation bench of Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice Navin Sinha that there are 50 criminal cases pending against him.

The Rashtriya Hindu Sena is a parent body of the Sri Ram Sene, notorious for indulging in moral policing and attacking perceived opponents.

Dehadrai pointed to the ongoing month of Ramadan as Muthalik's lawyer told the bench about the Hindu leader's scheduled visit to the state to address a religious function.

The Goa government's description of Muthalik came in the course of the hearing of a plea by Muthalik, challenging the September 2017 ban on his entry into the coastal state which has since been extended twice in the current year.

"How long you can continue, that is the point he is making," the court asked the Goa counsel.

At the outset of the hearing, the court described it as infructuous, pointing out that the order banning his entry in the state has since lapsed.

As Muthalik's lawyer said the ban has been extended twice since then, the court asked him to place the copies of those two orders on record and challenge them.

Muthalik's lawyer contested the submission by the Goa counsel that 50 criminal cases were pending against him, telling the court that he has already been acquitted.

At this, Dehadrai told the court that remedy against those two orders did not lie before the top court but should approach the high court first.

The court directed the next hearing of the matter in the first week of August.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Jharkhand's child rights body on Monday asked Delhi Police to submit, within a week, a detailed report on the gruesome murder case of a 16-year-old housemaid by her employer here.

The Jharkhand State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (JSCPCR), in its notice to Delhi Police, asked for details on the investigation of the the place, where the incident took place with photographs, and the report made under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

Police have also been asked to submit the post-mortem report of the victim.

The maid was killed, over two weeks back, after she demanded her salary from the person who brought her from Jharkhand to get her employed as a domestic help in Delhi.

Later, her body was chopped into several pieces and dumped into a drain, from where they were found.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Hyundai Motor India on Monday launched the 2018 edition of its SUV Creta.

According to the company, the vehicle comes with a starting price of Rs 9.43 lakh for the petrol variant, while the SUV powered by a "1.4 DSL" diesel engine has an initial cost of Rs 9.99 lakh and Rs 13.19 lakh for the "1.6 CRDi" diesel version (GST ex-showroom price Delhi).

"Since the launch of the first Creta in 2015, Hyundai has become an established brand in the SUV segment...," Y.K. Koo, MD and CEO, Hyundai Motor India was quoted as saying in a company statement.

"We are confident, the New 2018 Creta will create new benchmarks in the SUV segment with its superior performance and new age technology features while creating brilliant ownership experience."

As per the statement, the new 2018 Creta offers improved fuel efficiency by up to three per cent in petrol and up to four per cent in the diesel engine.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)As culinary wizard Vikas Khanna embarks on a new journey as a feature film director with "The Last Colour", a moving film on the widows of Varanasi, he says he doesn't plan things in life and works purely on instincts.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q. What prompted you to turn a feature filmmaker and that too with a theme so hardhitting and far-reaching?

A. I had written a very moving story in 2011 while shooting for my book "Utsav". The idea came from a Holi shoot in Vrindavan temple, where lots of widows in white saris stood outside in isolation of colours. I wrote a book called 'Colorless' which was rejected by publishers in US and Europe. In 2012, when the Internet was flashed with images of widows playing Holi, that was a time my story of Noor came to life.

The story was so compelling combined with girl empowerment and education. I had to make a modest movie. So here I am almost ready with my film "The Last Colour".

Q. You have done documentaries in the past. In fact, you wear many hats including that of a global activist. What sort of impulses prompt you in life?

A. I am not a very planned person in my life. I have worked all my life on instincts. At times I need to be aggressively challenged to do something. Any new project I research or do, I need to be emotionally connected to it. I have to do it to te best to my ability, otherwise I find it hard to finish what I start.

Q. I find your journey from Punjab to New York hugely fascinating. Wouldn't that make a great film?

A. I think my life is pretty boring. I work about 18 to 26 hours a day. I think some of the opportunities I got were very interesting. Late Karan Bellani wrote a book on my journey "Buried Seeds", which was also made into a film by an American-Russian filmmaker in 2017.

Q. As a master chef, you have brought great glory to our country. Would you say cooking is your first love?

A. I did not do much, I think I had reached America at the time when Indian cooking was gaining momentum. There were and will be great ambassadors of Indian food in the US. From Madhur Jaffrey to Suvir Saran, so many (of them) brought glory to Indian cuisine. Cooking has always been my first love. I think it gave me a voice, a purpose and a reason to bring to the global audiences.

Q. Speaking of love, why do you remain so stubbornly single and with those matinee idol looks how do you resist all the female attention?

A. I have been devoted to developing my craft with a single focus mind. I hope that when I will feel I need to slow down, I will settle. Since I moved to the US in 2000, it's been a whole new wars that I had to fight without changing my focus to my personal life.

Q. I have always been fascinated by your journey in life . How do you look back on your life so far?

A. I have always looked at myself as a big failure and a luck success. Many times, I look back and feel that I should have not done this thing or not partnered with that one. But I know that they all helped me in some way or the other. I feel extremely fortunate to have worked with some of the very powerful people of my industry who encouraged me to move forward. I learnt one major lesson. Success or failure, just got keep working, nurturing, creating.

Q. Do you think Indians and India have made a name in popular culture, say in the way you and Priyanka Chopra have?

A. Of course yes. There has always been a lot of pride in Indian achievements. It may be as corporate heads, innovations, authors, business ventures or in the arts. In the last decade, there has been a great interest in India and thus the highlights. I was just fortunate that I had the unique opportunities from cooking for Presidents and world leaders.

I was always trying serve as authentic Indian food as possible. I think that vision of combining culture and food with confidence and faith helped me. Of course there was modernisation in the cuisine, but not by losing the Indian soul. I think that is the challenge in the mainstream pop culture, retaining the balance while moving ahead.

Q. What do you say to those youngsters in India who look up to you as a role model, and who are are the people who have inspired you the most?

A. In any field you choose, just keep reincarnating in it. Your passion and devotion will be your strength. Failure is just awesome, it prepares you for success. But instant success is very dangerous, it does not prepare you for failure.

Even at the top, take risks, find things that excite you and tell stories that are meaningful beyond the pursuit of wealth. I was always inspired by so many chefs, leaders and my family. From Phillips Petite to Richard Bach to Sanjeev Kapoor to Gordon Ramsay to Lata Mangeshkarji. I can go on and on.

Q. What are your target goals and dreams in the future?

A. I wrote a book "The Last Colour" and I created the screenplay for legendary actress Neena Gupta. The film is almost complete. I want to take this movie to the world. It's a simple story of breaking taboos, girl empowerment, education and colours.

My dream is to keep my promise with Neenaji and everyone who helped me create this film and to take the movie to the world. I am trying to the best of my abilities. I have a great project on life of spices and the unique ways to cook with them. A great children's book. And a lot of research being done on northeast.

Q. You share a deep connection with the Hindi film industry. Whom there do you consider your friends ?

I think the Hindi film industry has been very supportive and kind to my work for years. They proudly love Indian cuisine and it helps. Lata Mangeshkarji, Anupam Kherji, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Rajkummar Rao,A Manish Mundra, Vicky Kaushal and Manoj Bajpayee are some people I love andA respect in the Hindi film industry.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India's Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh and US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan discussed the strategic partnership between the two countries at their meeting in Buenos Aires on Monday.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said: "The two leaders affirmed the strong US-India strategic partnership and India's status as a Major Defence Partner of the US."

Meeting on the sidelines of the G20 ministerial meeting in the Argentine capital, they also discussed the agenda for the forthcoming 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, that will bring together India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Defence Secretary James Mattis, she said.

The dialogue of the cabinet officials for foreign affairs and defence from both countries. was to have taken place in Washington last, but was postponed after President Donald Trump forced the resignation of Rex Tillerson as secretary of state in March.

No new dates have been set for the meeting.

Nauert said that Singh and Sullivan also discussed "opportunities to advance stability in Afghanistan and the region" where Trump assigned a role for India in helping deal with Afghanistan.

"We want them to help us more with Afghanistan, especially in the area of economic assistance and development," he said while outlining his policy for Afghanistan.

Singh visited North Korea last week - the first ministerial visit from India in about 20 years - weeks before a scheduled meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12.

Nauert's statement made no mention of North Korea.

Singh met Vice President Kim Yong Dae, Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Culture Minister Pak Chun Nam during the two-day visit.

In Buenos Aires, Singh also met Argentina's President Mauricio Macri and Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie, according to a tweet by an official for the president's G20 office.

Group of Twenty -- or G20 -- brings together 19 developed and developing countries and the European Union to discuss economic issues.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former Samata Party president and textile revivalist Jaya Jaitly was disappointed to see that Indian actor Priyanka Chopra opted to dress up like a "British aristocrat" at the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. She says she could have opted for a "beautiful" sari as independent India has so much to show to the world.

"How sad an Indian actor attending the royal wedding in UK should dress like a British aristocrat at Ascot rather than represent a free and independent India in a beautiful sari," Jaitly tweeted on May 19, the day when actress Meghan Markle wed British Royal Prince Harry.

However, her complaint goes beyond Priyanka's dress.

Jaitly told IANS: "All these actors, they dress up in all these fancy gowns by fancy designers who pay them for wearing their outfits and so they get fat money. Now, I keep feeling as I am loyal to our weavers and our textiles in India and we are working all our lives to revive it... We never attach a human being (the weaver's name) with the brand name unless it has a designer's name.

"We will say Kanjeevaram or Sambalpuri or something else and that's the unfair practice all over the world and particularly in India."

The "Quantico" actress opted for a Vivienne Westwood suit and a fascinator for the royal wedding. For the reception, she "sparkled" in a champagne coloured glittery gown by Dior.

As Founder and President of Dastkari Haat Samiti, an art and craft market to enable rural artisans of traditional Indian crafts to gain confidence in the marketplace through many innovative strategies, Jaitly has been at the forefront of promoting Indian handicrafts and textiles.

She questions why Indian actresses wear western gowns to red carpet events abroad.

"Even in Hollywood (red carpets), where if I see Deepika Padukone wearing long gowns... they never really can compete. It's like Indian fashion designers trying to do western dresses... Why don't they wear most beautiful gorgeous sari, and everyone will go 'wow'."

An Indian activist, Suhani Jalota, who runs Myna Mahila Foundation, attended the royal wedding in an elegant sari designed by Indian brand Raw Mango run by designer Sanjay Garg.

Counter-questioned about the existence of a dress code to attend the royal wedding, Jaitly said: "In the royal wedding, it was all about inclusiveness and welcoming others' society, people, race and colour. The royal family and all these people went all out to emphasise the American-African identity of the bride and everyone was raving about the bride's mother too because they were different.

"I felt sad when I think that why do we copy them and never quite get it right. We have so much to show and show off."

On the dichotomy of a dress code, Jaitly pointed out: "When somebody in a village in India says 'Sar dhako (cover your head)', we don't want that... When somebody says, 'Don't wear jeans in college', we say 'Who are you to tell us a dress code?'. But if Queen in England descends an invitation and say you got to wear a hat, which is not part of your culture, you will start saying there was a dress code.

"I don't understand these various double standards."

She said people may not agree with her, but in her words, "Just like Priyanka has the right to wear whatever she wants, I have the right to express my opinion."

(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)

--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.)JD-S leader and Karnataka Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to discuss ministerial berth sharing between the coalition partners ahead of his swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday.

The details of the meeting were not divulged but the sources said the Congress demanded two posts for Deputy Chief Ministers -- one for a Dalit and the other for a Lingayat, 12 for ministers and one for the Speaker. However, Kumaraswamy said the matter will be finalised when the two sides sit together on Tuesday in Bengaluru.

The Congress has authorised its General Secretary incharge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal to discuss the matter with local Congress leadership, including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He will also discuss the issue with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leadership.

"Rahulji cleared the modalities to be done. He has given permission to Venugopal to discuss all those matters and finalise everything. He will sit together to finalise things," Kumaraswamy told reporters after meeting the Gandhis.

He also invited both the Congress leaders to his oath-taking ceremony in Bengaluru on Wednesday. "Both agreed to come," he said.

Kumaraswamy earlier met Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati here and discussed plans of putting in place a Congress and JD-S coalition government. The JD-S contested the Karnataka election in a pre-poll alliance with the BSP and later had a post-poll tie-up with the Congress.

JD-S General Secretary and Spokesperson Danish Ali said Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders discussed "long term relationship on mutual trust" of the newly-formed coalition and vowed to give a joint contest to the BJP in Karnataka in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Ali told NDTV: "This is what we have decided. We will fight together."

Asked about Congress's demand of two Deputy Chief Ministers, he said: "Who will be their Deputy CM its up to them (Congress)."

Before Kumaraswamy meet the Gandhis, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot met Rahul Gandhi and are learnt to have discussed issues related to government formation in Karnataka.

Besides Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and K. Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana) are expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Meanwhile, BJP President Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on both the parties and described the alliance as "unholy" while defending his party's decision to form the government.

"We were invited to form the government. There was nothing unethical," Shah told reporters here.

"The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Karnataka. The mandate was in favour of the BJP. The Congress and the JD-S formed an alliance against the people's mandate. This is what I call an unholy alliance."

He said if the Congress and the JD-S had not "locked" their MLAs in five-star hotels and allowed them to interact with people, the JD-S would have supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in government formation.

Shah said the BJP was invited to form the governments in Goa and Manipur earlier because the Congress did not stake claim despite emerging as the single-largest party as their leaders were "resting and sleeping".

The BJP chief said as the single-largest party, it was the BJP's right to stake claim. Responding to charges of attempts at horse trading by the BJP, Shah hit back, saying it was the Congress which sold its stable to form the state government.

Hitting out at the Congress for "preaching on democracy", Shah reminded how it formed the government in Goa in 1980 despite failing to win a single seat in the Assembly elections.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Rome, May 21 (IANS/AKI) Italy's nascent populist coalition has picked a little-known Italian university law professor and political novice, Giuseppe Conte, as its Prime Minister, Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio said on Monday.

"We have indicated the name of Giuseppe Conte to Italy's President (Sergio Mattarella), " Di Maio wrote in a post on the Five-Star Movement's website shortly after his meeting with the head of state.

"He (Conte) is a person who an implement our contract of government and I am especially proud of this choice," he added.

During the election campaign ahead of Italy's inconclusive March 4 national polls, Di Maio had touted 54-year-old Conte as a Public Administration Minister in a future Five-Star government due to Conte's enthusiasm for streamlining Italy's creaking bureaucracy.

The choice of Conte, which teaches at civil law at the University of Florence, was also confirmed by Five-Star's coalition partner, the League party's chief Matteo Salvini, who met Mattarella on Monday shortly after the president held talks with Di Maio.

He is seen as a compromise candidate, a technocrat who can balance the demands of the rival parties, according to observers.

An opinion poll on Sunday showed 80 percent of Five-Star and League voters approve their common agenda which has roiled markets by its calls for billions of euros of tax cuts, extra welfare spending and a reversal of pension reforms.

The planned coalition government blueprint also has the support of some 60 percent of Italians, according to the Demos & Pi poll.

--IANS/AKI

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has won the election, claiming a second six-year term, in a vote marred by an opposition boycott and alleged foul play, media reported on Monday.

With more than 90 per cent of the votes counted on Sunday, 55-year-old Maduro had 67.7 per cent, 5.8 million votes, the BBC reported quoting National Electoral Council chief Tibisay Lucena as saying.

The main opposition candidate, Henri Falcon won 21.2 per cent, 1.8 million votes, she said. Falcon rejected the result soon after the polls closed, saying, "We do not recognise this electoral process as valid. We have to have new elections in Venezuela."

The early reports said turnout for the controversial vote was unusually low, about 46 per cent of the electorate.

Falcon had earlier alleged that the vote had been rigged in Maduro's favour, by abuse of the scanning of state-issued benefits card, used for accessing food.

Government officials said the polls were "free and fair" but most of the opposition had joined a boycott.

The elections were supposed to be held in December 2018, but the National Constituent Assembly, made up exclusively of Maduro's supporters, brought them forward.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been re-elected for a six-year term, shrugging off international condemnation and allegations of vote buying as well as electoral fraud.

Venezuela's election board on Sunday put turnout at just 46.1 per cent but the opposition alleged it was even lower. The main opposition candidate, Henri Falcon, rejected the result soon after the polls closed and called for new elections, the BBC reported on Monday.

"We do not recognise this electoral process as valid... we have to have new elections in Venezuela," he said.

With more than 90 per cent of the votes counted, 55-year-old Maduro got 67.7 per cent -- 5.8 million votes -- National Electoral Council (CNE) chief Tibisay Lucena said. Falcon had won 21.2 per cent -- 1.8 million votes.

As polling started, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced the election as a "sham" on Twitter. The US mission to the UN called the process an "insult to democracy" and Chile and Panama said that they would not recognise the result.

"Venezuela's elections do not meet the minimum standards for a true democracy. They are not clean or legitimate elections and they do not represent the free and sovereign will of the Venezuelan people," said Chile President Sebastian Pinera.

The EU and Latin American countries had also warned ahead of the vote that they would take measures against the government if it went ahead with the election.

Maduro, however, dismissed such criticisms in his late-night victory address. He told cheering crowds outside the presidential palace in Caracas that "the revolution is here to stay!".

"The whole of Venezuela has triumphed! Democracy has triumphed! Peace has triumphed! Constitutionality has triumphed (These were) elections that were constitutional, legitimate and legal," he insisted, before claiming: "We have a President of the people! A working President!"

China asked that the decision of the Venezuelan people be respected. "The relevant parties should respect the choice made by the Venezuelan people," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said.

Australia urged all Venezuelan political parties to seek a solution to the country's crisis through dialogue.

"Australia has expressed its deep concern to the government of Venezuela for the ongoing violence, deterioration of human rights and eroding respect for rule of law," a spokesperson of Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

The elections were supposed to be held in December 2018, but the CNE, made up exclusively of Maduro's supporters, brought them forward.

Luis Emilio Rondon, the one CNE member critical of the government, said he did not recognise the results because "Venezuelans' freedom to vote" had not been respected.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Maldives Elections Commission has announced that anyone convicted of a criminal offence cannot legally contest in a political party's presidential primary, warning that such elections will be annulled.

The Elections Commission made the declaration on Sunday in a notice concerning the presidential election slated for September, the Edition reported.

The Commission said only candidates that meet the prerequisites for President as per the Constitution would be allowed to run in primaries and it reminded the parties to abide by the island's Constitution.

Following the announcement, former President Mohamed Nasheed, who formally applied to contest in the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party's presidential primary scheduled on May 30, had his candidacy rejected due to the terrorism charges against him.

Nasheed was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges over the arbitrary detention of a judge during his regime.

According to the Commission, individuals convicted of criminal offences were also banned from contesting in parties' primaries. It warned that such candidacies would be deemed null and void.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Rome, May 21 (AKI/IANS) Italian authorities have deported a 34-year-old suspected Moroccan extremist on national security grounds, police said on Monday.

Ouahbi Ahmed Taib, a resident in the province of Chieti in central Italy's Abruzzo region, was expelled under an order banning him from Europe's Schengen area, police said.

Taib's deportation followed a police investigation spearheaded by the anti-mafia and counter- directorate in Abruzzo's provincial capital, L'Aquila, according to police.

Police gave no further immediate information about the case.

An alleged Albanian supporter of the Islamic State jihadist group was the 44th alleged religious extremist to be expelled from Italy this year, the Interior Ministry said last week.

Over 280 suspected religious extremists have been deported from Italy since January 2015, the Ministry said.

--IANS/AKI

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Central government on Monday assured all support to the Kerala government and sent a Central team to check the outbreak of the Nipah virus (NiV) that has taken three lives while eight patients are under intensive care.

"We are closely monitoring the situation. I have also dispatched a Central team to assist the state government and initiate required steps," Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda said in a statement from Geneva.

In view of the rising number of cases and reported deaths due to the Nipah virus in Kozhikode, Kerala, the Minister assured all support and directed a multi-disciplinary Central team from the National Centre for Disease Control to immediately visit the district.

Nadda said he had a talk with Union Minister of State for Tourism Alphons Kannathanam and Kerala Health Minister K. Shailaja. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan also spoke to the Kerala Principal Health Secretary and reviewed the situation.

In a tweet late on Sunday, Nadda said, "Reviewed the situation of deaths related to Nipah virus in Kerala with Secretary Health. I have directed Director NCDC to visit the district and initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol for the disease in consultation with state government."

Nipah virus (NiV), spread by fruit bats that infects both animals and humans, has claimed the lives of two brothers and their aunt in Perambara in Kozhikode district within a few weeks, and now eight more people are under close observation.

Transmission of NiV takes place through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or from other NiV-infected people.

The Central team that will reach Kerala later on Monday includes Sujeet K. Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); S.K. Jain, Head Epidemiology, NCDC; P. Ravindran, Director, Emergency Medical Relief (EMR); Naveen Gupta, Head Zoonosis, NCDC along with two clinicians and one expert from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A major disaster was averted when an Alliance Air plane, with around 70 passengers, overshot the runway while landing at the Shirdi Airport here on Monday evening but the pilots managed to bring it to a halt, official sources said.

No injuries were reported amongd the passengers on board the ATR aircraft.

The incident happened around 5.30 pm when the Mumbai-Shirdi flight of Alliance Air, the regional carrier of Air India, was scheduled to land at the recently commissioned airport of this world-renowned pilgrim centre.

As the flight approached for landing, it overshot the runway by at least 50 metres before grinding to a halt, even as emergency services were pressed into action.

All the passengers were evacuated safely from the aircraft and arrangements were underway to tow it back to the runway for checks and repairs.

The incident is being probed by both Air India and aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, an official said.

Last year, on October 1, President Ram Nath Kovind had inaugurated the Shirdi Airport as part of the year-long centenary celebrations of the Shri Saibaba Samadhi, in honour of the 20th century saint Saibaba, revered by all communities.

The airport, constructed at a cost of around Rs 350 crore by Maharashtra Airport Development Corporation, has a 2,500-metre-long runway capable of handling only single narrow-bodied aircraft.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)After three lives lost to Nipah virus (NiV) and eight battling the disease in Kerala's Kozhikode district, both the state and the Central governments on Monday took comprehensive measures to contain the outbreak of the rare virus. Doctors say it is just another viral infection and there is nothing to panic.

"All the periphery hospitals of the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital are fully equipped to tackle the fever. All those who have fever need not rush to the medical college. At the moment, eight patients are undergoing treatment. Their samples have been sent to Pune and results are awaited," said Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja.

Shailaja said all arrangements are in place, things are under control and there is no need to panic. The state government has sanctioned an emergency fund of Rs 20 lakh to the Kozhikode Medical College to tackle the present fever outbreak.

Nipah virus, spread by fruit bats that infects both animals and humans, has claimed the lives of two brothers and their aunt in Perambara of Kozhikode district within a few weeks, and now eight more people are under close observation.

State health officials visited the victims' house and sealed the unused well that had lots of bats, said Shailaja and added that people are being educated to ensure that they do not eat any fruits that fall down from trees.

To strengthen Kerala government's fight against the virus, the Central government on Monday assured the state of all support and sent a multi-disciplinary Central team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to the district.

"We are closely monitoring the situation. I have also dispatched a Central team to assist the state government and initiate required steps," Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda said in a statement from Geneva.

Nadda said he had a talk with Union Minister of State for Tourism Alphons Kannathanam and Kerala Health Minister Shailaja. Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan also spoke to the Kerala Principal Health Secretary and reviewed the situation.

In a tweet late on Sunday, Nadda said: "Reviewed the situation of deaths related to Nipah virus in Kerala with Secretary Health. I have directed Director NCDC to visit the district and initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol for the disease in consultation with state government."

The Central team includes Sujeet K. Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC); S.K. Jain, Head Epidemiology, NCDC; P. Ravindran, Director, Emergency Medical Relief (EMR); and Naveen Gupta, Head Zoonosis, NCDC, along with two clinicians and one expert from the Ministry of Animal Husbandry.

Atul Gogia, Senior Consultant, Department of Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said: "Nipah virus is just another viral infection which affects the respiratory and central nervous systems with symptoms like drowsiness. Like most other viral infections, Nipah, too, has no treatment and can only be managed through intensive supportive care."

Gogia said the virus is spread by fruit bats, which are usually found in forests, but due to urbanisation, sometimes it is found even in cities.

While he did not rule out the possibility of an infected person travelling to other parts of the country and spreading the disease, he said there is no threat to other parts of the country including north India and Delhi and there is no need to panic.

The senior doctor, however, said people living in areas inhabited by bats or wildlife animals should be alert as there can be other infections that can afflict them.

Transmission of NiV takes place through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or from other NiV-infected persons.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)After three confirmed deaths due to Nipah virus (NiV) and reports of eight other patients awaited, Kerala Health Minister K.K. Shailaja on Monday said things are under control and there is no need to panic.

Shailaja, who has been camping here since Sunday coordinating various teams from health and other departments, said there was no need to panic as all possible protocols were in place even for the medical professionals and they were also being constantly monitored.

"All the periphery hospitals of the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital are fully equipped to tackle the fever. So, all those who have fever need not necessarily rush to the medical college."

Shailaja mentioned that the visiting central team of health experts, led by National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Director Sujith Kumar Singh, was highly appreciative of the work being carried out by the Kerala Health Department.

"Currently, eight patients are undergoing treatment. Their samples have been sent to Pune and results are awaited," Shailaja told the media and added that the work was being carried out at a fast pace.

Nipah virus (NiV), spread by fruit bats that infects both animals and humans, claimed the lives of two brothers and their aunt in Perambara within a few weeks. Eight more people were under observation.

Transmission of NiV takes place through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or from other NiV-infected people.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said as soon as on 19th of this month health officials found a peculiar virus being responsible for the fever, it was brought to the notice of the Centre and the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In a statement issued on Monday, Vijayan said: "Strict orders have been given to hospitals, including private hospitals, that not a single person who comes for treatment should be denied it. Two state ministers are camping here and coordinating the work with the expert opinion of the central team.

"Even though this (Nipah virus) is now identified to be in this district, a state-wide alert has been issued to be cautious and abide by what the experts say".

State BJP President Kummanem Rajasekheran pointed out that it was strange that whenever there was an outbreak of infections elsewhere, Kerala bore the brunt, and this needed to be looked into very seriously.

Leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the state's Health Department could have risen to the occasion slightly earlier itself.

Shailaja said: "Health officials visited the house of Sabith, who along with his brother, died due to Nipah virus, and found there was a well in their house that was unused but had lots of bats.

"The authorities have sealed the top of the well to ensure that the remaining bats do not come out."

She also said that people were being educated to ensure that they do not eat any fruits that fall down from trees.

"Awareness programmes have already begun and more and more medical teams from the Centre, the Indian Medical Association and private hospitals are being readied.

"The first Central team has already arrived and another is arriving tomorrow (Tuesday)," said Shailaja.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BJP President Amit Shah on Monday said that being the single-largest party in Karnataka Assembly, it was his party's responsibility to stake claim to form the government and there was nothing "undemocratic or unethical" in it.

He said if the Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) had not locked their MLAs in five star hotels and allowed them to interact with people, the JD-S would have supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Karnataka. The mandate was in favour of the BJP. The Congress and the JD-S formed an alliance against the people's mandate. This is what I call an unholy alliance," Shah said while addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here.

He said the BJP's vote share saw a major increase despite Congress crossing all limits of political decency by aligning with anti-national organisations.

"The mandate was clearly anti-Congress. Wherever JD-S won, our organisation was week. The Chief Minister lost his seat and many of his ministers were defeated. This proves that the mandate was anti-Congress," he said.

The BJP chief said that being the single-largest party, it was the right of BJP to stake claim. "So, should we have opted for election again? Had we not staked claim to form the government, it would have been against the mandate. There was nothing unethical or undemocratic in it."

Responding to charges of attempts of horse-trading by the BJP, Shah hit back, saying it was Congress which sold its stable to form government in the state.

"Humpe horse trading ka aarop lagaya hai, lekin Congress ne poora ka poora astabal (stable) bech khaya hai, (We are being alleged only of horse-trading, while the Congress had sold out its entire stable)," he said.

"The Congress undemocratically locked its MLAs in a five star hotel. If they had not locked their MLAs in five star hotels for enjoying swimming pools, then people would had told them whom to vote. If they had known the wishes of people, the BJP might have won the trust vote," he claimed.

Shah also hit out at Congress leaders for celebrating government formation in Karnataka. "What is the Congress celebrating? More than half of their ministers lost. The Chief Minister was defeated from one seat. And, why is JD-S celebrating? For getting 37 seats?"

Responding to opposition charges that the Congress was not allowed to form governments in Manipur and Goa despite emerging as the single-largest party, he said: "In Goa and Manipur, despite being the single-largest party, the Congress did not stake claim. They were resting and sleeping. Thus the Governor invited us. We formed governments and also proved majority."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday refused to accept an honorary doctorate that was to be conferred on him by the horticulture and forestry university at its annual convocation in Nauni near here.

The Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry planned to confer a Doctorate of Science (D.Sc) degree on President Kovind, who gave away degrees and gold medals to meritorious students at the ninth convocation of the varsity.

"The President refused to receive the honorary degree," a university official told IANS.

"I respect your sentiments but I can't accept it," the official quoting the President as saying.

Himachal Governor and University Chancellor Acharya Devvrat and Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur were present on the occasion.

The President awarded eight gold medals at the event. Speaking in Hindi on the occasion, he said that the goal of should not be limited to only getting a job.

Students can start their own enterprises by using their skills and learning, he added.

The President also urged the students to take advantage of various schemes and initiatives of the union and state governments to set up their businesses in the agricultural sector.

"There is immense potential in the field of fruit and vegetable processing. With their knowledge and enterprise, graduates from the university could help consumers in the country and abroad get better food products and help farmers get better value for their produce."

He said that increasing the income of farmers and development of rural India is the country's top priority.

Kovind said that research in horticulture and forestry held a special significance for farmers in mountainous states such as Himachal Pradesh.

Over the past three decades, the university has contributed significantly to the advancement of horticulture and forestry in the state.

The President congratulated the students for choosing to pursue in the agricultural sector.

He said that he considered each student and teacher of this university to be a technically equipped friend and partner of the farmers of Himachal Pradesh, as well as those in other parts of the country.

Kovind is currently in the hill state on a five-day holiday.

The Governor, in his address, said that in order to promote zero-budget natural farming in the state, the university is implementing its farming model on its campus.

He said zero-budget natural farming would not only help in environmental conservation but also produce healthy food.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Actress and global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights Priyanka Chopra is visiting the Rohingya refugee camps on a field visit.

Priyanka on Monday tweeted a photograph of herself from an aircraft looking out of the window.

"Follow my Instagram to share my experiences as I visit the Rohingya refugee camps on this Unicef field visit. Children uprooted, the world needs to care. We need to care," she captioned the image.

Priyanka, 35, has worked with Unicef for a decade and was appointed as the national and global Unicef goodwill ambassador for Child Rights in 2010 and 2016 respectively. She promotes causes such as environment, health and education and women's rights among many others.

Almost 700,000 refugees have fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar and arrived in Cox's Bazar since August 2017, according to the UN.

Last year, Priyanka had met Syrian refugee children in Jordan.

The actress has flown to Dhaka from London, where she attended her friend and actress Meghan Markle's wedding to British Royal Prince Harry.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Actress Priyanka Chopra thanked luxury designer label Dior for her sparkling gown, which she wore at actress Meghan Markle and Britain's Prince Harry's royal wedding reception.

Priyanka on Monday shared a photograph of herself, where she was sporting a champagne coloured glittery gown paired with basic make-up.

"And then she danced the night away... A very special thank you to Dior for making me sparkle. Also thank you to my incredible team for your brilliance and dedicated hustle...

"No one just 'wakes up like this', and I feel so happy to work with you and be the canvas for your creativity... Mimi Cuttrell, Pati Dubroff, Ken O'Rourke you are genius... Love you loads," Priyanka captioned the image.

On Saturday, Prince Harry and Markle became man and wife at St George's Chapel in Windsor, the British royals' long-time home. The two have been conferred with the titles of His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex, respectively.

--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 Rahul Gandhi on Monday said he would attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Congress and JD-S coalition government in Karnataka on Wednesday.

"I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with H.D.Kumaraswamy. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing in as Chief Minister of Karnataka on Wednesday in Bengaluru," Gandhi tweeted.

The Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) formed a post-poll alliance after the May 12 elections in Karnataka threw a Hung assembly with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the single largest party but short of majority to form government on its own. The Congress bagged 78 and the JD-S 37 seats.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three armed men on a two-wheeler on Monday looted Rs 5 lakh from a collection agent here in Kaushambi bordering Delhi, police said.

The three, armed with pistols, intercepted Sanjay Saini near ICICI Bank in the Kaushambi residential locality.

As Saini was walking towards the bank, the three drove up to him. While one man put a pistol on his head, another snatched a bag from him. The three then escaped.

"The victim reached the police station and lodged a complaint. We are trying to nab the robbers," police Inspector Sachin Malik said.

--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 continues testing its missile defence systems and producing missiles which are prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty aimed at limiting strategic weapons, a Russian military official said on Monday.

In an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, Sergei Ryzhkov, the head of the National Nuclear Risk Reduction Centre, said that Washington continued to produce a series of target missiles, Xinhua news agency reported.

The missiles' tactical and technical characteristics, especially the flight range, belonged to the class of short-range and medium-range missiles, Ryzhkov said.

These missiles, according to the officials, were of a general type and can be installed with different warheads as combat ballistic missiles.

The development and testing of such missiles posed a precedent for the circumvention of the INF Treaty since these missiles were capable of delivering weapons at ranges limited by the treaty, added Ryzhkov.

The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 by the former Soviet Union and the US to ban the development, deployment and testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 483 km and 5,472 km.

Moscow and Washington have repeatedly accused each other of violating the treaty.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Moscow and New Delhi will strongly oppose attempts to politicize the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday following talks between President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"There was a discussion about various areas of our specific cooperation at the regional and global level," Lavrov said, adding that Russia and India had confirmed they "will strongly oppose attempts to politicize the work of the OPCW," Lavrov was cited as saying by TASS news agency.

The Russian top diplomat pointed out that "we have seen" such attempts "recently".

Lavrov said the talks between Putin and Modi were "very intense".

"I am confident that the ongoing informal contacts between the leaders of Russia and India will be useful and will help define the further guidelines for our development and strategic partnership."

During his meeting with Modi, Putin said that Russia and India maintained a high strategic level of partnership with close cooperation between the two countries' Defence Ministries.

"Our Defence Ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership."

The Russian leader also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the UN, BRICS (an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Modi's nine-hour tour came after National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visited Moscow earlier in May to discuss a way out of the US sanctions on Russian firms.

Putin is also expected to visit India later this year for the annual bilateral summit.

--IANS

soni/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Should Pakistani judiciary order news channels to telecast Azan, the Islamic call to prayer, five times a day? No, says a leading Pakistani newspaper arguing that it will only cause more harm than good.

Not content with its crusade against corruption and attempts to regulate private school fees, Pakistan's judiciary is now trying to protect the citizenry's piety, the Daily Times said in an editorial on Monday.

On May 8, the Islamabad High Court directed that every Pakistani news channel will be bound to telecast Azan five times a day.

Justice Shaukat Siddiqui, presiding over this hearing, declared: "For Muslims, Azan is the greatest breaking news.

"The good judge seems worried about God-fearing Pakistanis not being able to find out about prayer time. It is an intriguing concern considering that there are thousands of mosques throughout the country, which perform this service, as well as numerous dedicated smartphone applications and TV Channels that exclusively broadcast Islamic content," the daily said.

The editorial pointed out that over the weekend, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued a final warning to 45 television channels, saying they have to abide by the court order or their licenses will be revoked.

"Not only is this whole exercise unnecessary, it is a waste of the court's time, especially considering it already has 16,278 pending cases.

"Furthermore, not all sects and sub-sects of Islam practiced by Pakistanis pray or break their Ramazan fasts at the same time.

"By directing television channels to broadcast a uniform time, the state might end up giving preferential treatment to certain sects and sub-sects, while isolating others.

"TV channels simply cannot air call for prayers for all the sects. The exclusion will only end up sharpening the sectarian divides," it said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)At least 11 people died and more than 800 others were poisoned after eating toxic wild mushrooms in western Iran, Health Ministry officials said on Monday.

Hundreds more were hospitalized, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

A Health Ministry official said that there was no effective treatment against such fungal poisoning. At least two people received liver transplants.

According to authorities, the poisonous mushrooms looked very similar to edible ones due to which even the locals could not distinguish them.

The poisoning incidents were reported across the Iranian provinces of Kermanshah, Kohgiluye and Boyer-Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, West Azerbaijan, Qazvin and Zanjan.

People were urged not to buy loose mushrooms and only purchase packed and sealed ones in shops. The deadly fungi grow wild in mountainous regions of Iran's west after spring showers, according to Tasnim news agency.

--IANS

soni/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two persons in Bihar's Gaya district have been arrested for molesting a minor girl, after two videos of separate incidents of molestation went viral in the social media, police said on Monday.

Additional Director General of Police S.K. Singhal said an FIR has been registered against six people and two persons have been arrested in one case, while the culprits are being identified in the second case.

First video shows the girl being hounded and molested by youths in broad daylight. The incident took place last week, the police officer said.

Gaya Senior Superintendent of Police Rajiv Mishra said all accused in the first incident have been identified and a hunt is on to arrest them.

Singhal said the police will ensure that speedy trial is conducted in the cases.

Last month, eight persons in Bihar's Jehanabad district were arrested for molesting a minor girl, the video of which had gone viral in social sites.

The video, captured by a local, showed the girl being hounded and molested by a group of youths.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The first consignment of 2 million barrels of crude oil from the UAE for India's strategic petroleum reserve at Karnataka's Mangaluru landed on the west coast, an official statement said on Monday.

This first consignment intended to fill one of the two strategic reserve caverns at Mangaluru under an agreement between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and the Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), had been flagged off by Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and UAE Minister of State and ADNOC Group CEO Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi last Monday.

"India received the first cargo of UAE crude oil for filling up one of the two Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns built by ISPRL at Mangalore (Mangaluru)," a Petroleum Ministry statement said here.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE in February, ISPRL and ADNOC signed an agreement under which ADNOC will store about 5.86 million barrels of crude oil in India's SPR facility at Mangaluru at its own cost, it said.

"ADNOC's investment by way of crude oil in the Indian facility is the first time that a private foreign entity, is filling up an Indian SPR cavern with crude oil," it said

"Under phase I of the SPR programme, government has built crude oil storage facilities with total capacity of 5.33 million tonnes (around 39 million barrels) at three locations viz. Vishakhapatnam, Mangalore and Padur.

"Vishakhapatnam storage has a capacity of 1.33 million tonnes (around 9.77 million barrels) of crude oil, Mangalore has a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes (around 11 million barrels) and Padur can stock 2.5 million tonnes (18.37 million barrels)."

According to the ministry, ADNOC will bring additional crude oil and fill up the Mangaluru cavern later this year.

The entire Vishakhapatnam facility and one of the two caverns at the Mangaluru facility have been filled with crude oil under government funding, while the second cavern at Mangaluru is now being filled by ADNOC at its own cost under the agreement with ISPRL.

"The agreement stipulates that during an emergency oil shortage situation the Indian government can use the entire available crude oil stored by ADNOC in the Mangalore SPR facility for its use.

"Further, as an incentive for storing crude oil at its own cost, the agreement allows ADNOC to sell part of the crude oil to Indian refineries during normal times," it said.

UAE is the 6th largest crude oil source for India and supplies around 6 per cent of the country's petroleum needs.

In February, state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp's overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd, and its partners acquired a 10 per cent stake in the Lower Zakum offshore oilfield in Abu Dhabi for $600 million.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday is likely to announce plans to invest millions of pounds to fund an artificial intelligence (AI) research to improve early diagnosis of cancer and chronic disease, the media reported.

It could lead to at least 50,000 people being diagnosed at an early stage of prostate, ovarian, lung or bowel cancer each year, the Guardian reported.

As part of the new strategy, industry and charities were expected to work with the National Health Service (NHS) to develop algorithms that could use patient data and lifestyle information to warn doctors when a patient required to be referred to an oncologist or another specialist.

The proposal would also include allowing commercial firms access to NHS data for profit, raising controversial questions about the ethics of data sharing, privacy, and making money from a public asset.

The plan is a long-term investment, a Downing Street spokesman was quoted as saying. Digital strategies that could speed diagnosis and accuracy would lead to earlier and cheaper intervention. Late intervention is often invasive and expensive and ultimately unsuccessful, the spokesman said.

AI could help prevent 22,000 deaths from cancer each year by 2033, and give patients an additional five years of healthy, independent life by 2035, the report said.

"If this infrastructure enabled us to reduce late diagnosis by half in the next 15 years, then for just four types of cancers -- lung, bowel, prostate and ovary -- 22,000 fewer people each year would die within five years of their diagnosis," Harpal Kumar, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, was quoted as saying to the Guardian.

"Our goal is that three in four people will survive their cancer by 2034 and we support efforts that will help us achieve this ambition," he noted.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Rajiv Gandhi was a very tall leader unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress agenda is to see that Modi is ousted from power since he has butchered the sanctity of democracy, senior Congress leader A.K. Antony said on Monday.

"Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister sacrificed Congress governments in then troubled Punjab, Assam, and Mizoram to ensure that peace returned to these states, while the Bharatiya Janata Party governments (in the states) are used by Modi to unsettle peace," the former Defence Minister said at a party meeting here held to commemorate the death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated on May 21, 1991, by a woman operative of the now-vanquished Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at a rally in Tamil Nadu's Sriperumbudur town in a bomb blast.

"Modi is one who gives the least importance to values, while Rajiv Gandhi was one who stood for these. Had the former Prime Minister been alive, by now India would have reached among the top nations of the world. It was during his times that huge strides was made in the information technology and telecommunication sectors," he added.

"The process to oust Modi from power has already started. We will accomplish the task by joining hands with secular parties. That's what we saw in Karnataka where the Congress and Janata Dal-Secular teamed up (to keep the BJP out of power)," Antony said.

Antony also accused Modi of misusing the Karnataka Governor's office to ensure that even when the Congress-JD-S combine had more seats in the new Assembly than the BJP, it was not invited to form the government.

"Six Union Ministers led by Piyush Goyal stayed put in Bengaluru to see that a minority BJP government got a majority through horse trading," the senior Congress leader said.

--IANS

sg/tsb/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The US Department of Justice will investigate whether FBI agents spied on President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign for "inappropriate purposes", media reports said.

In a tweet, Trump said he wanted to know whether his predecessor Barack Obama's administration ordered such a move.

"I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow (Monday), that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!"

"If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

The call comes after the US media reports suggested the Federal Bureau of Investigation had an informant meeting campaign aides. Rosenstein said action would be taken if any infiltration was found, the BBC said.

There is already an investigation into all aspects relating to Trump's campaign for the 2016 election and whether Russia tried to influence the outcome.

Trump's latest demand came amid a series of tweets on Sunday denouncing a "witch hunt" that, he said, had found no collusion by his campaign with Russia.

This refers to the ongoing investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 US election, whether there was any collusion between the Kremlin and Trump's election campaign and whether the president tried unlawfully to obstruct the inquiry.

Trump has constantly attacked the inquiry. "It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a 'hot' Fake News story," Trump tweeted, adding: "If true - all time biggest political scandal!"

The New York Times followed with an article that suggested there was, indeed, an FBI informant -- whose identity it did not reveal -- who had been sent to speak to campaign aides but only after the FBI had received reports of "suspicious contacts linked to Russia".

The informant -- an American academic working in the UK -- had made contact with George Papadopoulos and Carter Page. The Washington Post reported a similar account.

Law enforcement officials have refused to provide evidence to Congressional leaders over the issue. They have argued that doing so would put the informant's life -- or that of his contacts -- in danger, the BBC said.

Trump could order the US Department of Justice -- which has oversight over the FBI -- to release the documents.

--IANS

in/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The US will aim to "crush" Iran with economic and military pressure by imposing the "strongest sanctions in history" unless it changes its behaviour in the Middle East, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday.

Pompeo, unveiling the Trump administration's new policy on Iran just weeks after President Donald Trump dumped the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, said the US will work to counter Tehran's activities and curb its influence in the Middle East and make sure that it never gains a nuclear weapon, CNN reported.

The top diplomat said that "Iran would be battling to keep its economy alive" after the sanctions take effect. He said he would work closely with the Pentagon and regional allies "to deter any Iranian aggression".

"Sanctions are going back in full effect, and new ones are coming," Pompeo said, adding he will be working with the Defence Department and allies to push back on Iran.

"We will ensure freedom of navigation on the waters in the region. We will work to prevent and counteract any Iranian malign cyber activity. We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world and crush them.

"Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East... The Iranian regime should know this is just the beginning," he said.

However, in exchange for a change in behaviour, the US would be willing to end sanctions, re-establish commercial relationships and allow Iran to have advanced technology, Pompeo said.

He also made it clear that the Trump administration was ready to part ways with allies and even use sanctions against them if necessary.

"We understand our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends," Pompeo said.

"But you should know that we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account."

Pompeo criticized the nuclear deal for its "fatal flaws" and the Obama administration for pursuing it.

"Strategically, the Obama administration made a bet that the deal would spur Iran to stop its rogue-state actions and conform to international norms... That bet was a loser with massive repercussions for all people living in the Middle East.

"We will continue to work with our allies to counter the regime's destabilizing activities in the region, block their financing of terror, and address Iran's proliferation of missiles and other advanced weapons that threaten peace and stability," Pompeo said.

--IANS

soni/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will attend the swearing in ceremony of Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru on Wednesday, it was announced on Monday.

Incidentally, Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal-Secular is an ally of the ruling Left with three legislators, one of whom is a cabinet minister.

A delegation of top Congress leaders from Kerala is also expected to travel to Bengaluru for the swearing-in as several of them had campaigned for party candidates ahead of the May 12 Karnataka assembly elections.

--IANS

sg/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A wanted criminal jumped off the second floor of a building in west Delhi on Monday in a bid to escape arrest, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, but failed and landed in police net -- albeit in his birthday suit.

The incident was caught on camera by amused as well as shocked onlookers. The police did not disclose the name of the accused.

Deputy Chief Commissioner (West) Vijay Kumar said that after a police team reached the Inderpuri house of the accused, wanted in three robbery cases, he jumped off the building wearing only a towel to cover his modesty.

He was caught by onlookers and police team stationed on the ground and escorted to the police vehicle and provided with clothes.

"Police offered him innerwear to wear, but he did't cooperate and rather tried to free himself. He is a desperate criminal with 31 cases registered against him," the officer said.

--IANS

nkh-sp-mg/tsb

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India's digital health initiative would be adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) as its first resolution on digital health, said Health and Family Welfare Minister J.P. Nadda.

"I am happy to note that this assembly will be considering and adopting the first WHO resolution on digital health initiative by India," said Nadda in his address at the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of WHO, here on Monday.

"Digital health technology have a huge potential for supporting Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and improving accessibility, quality and affordability of health services. This is a resolution which should be owned by all of us so as to pave the path for a forward looking global health agenda," he said.

The 71st World Health Assembly is being attended by delegations from all WHO member states.

Nadda said India is planning to host a Global Digital Health Summit in near future with the support of WHO and hopes it would contribute to WHO's efforts to come up with a comprehensive global health strategy on digital health.

Stating that UHC is one of the most powerful social equalisers, he said: "India today is firmly committed to achieving UHC as articulated in its National Health Policy 2017. Our successes in sustaining polio free status and substantially achieving the MDGs have infused renewed enthusiasm to meet the ambitious SDGs and its underlining commitment of 'Leave no one behind'."

India has fast tracked many initiatives aimed at achieving all the four tenets of UHC that is strengthening health systems, improving access to free medicines and diagnostics and reducing catastrophic healthcare spending, he added.

"To translate our vision of UHC, our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched an ambitious programme called 'Ayushman Bharat' that is 'Long Live India'. The programme rests on the twin pillars of health and wellness centres for provision of comprehensive healthcare services and the Prime Ministers' National Health Protection Mission (NHPM)," said the minister.

NHPM is aimed at providing secondary and tertiary healthcare to 100 million families covering 500 million individuals, about 40 per cent of the country's population, who will be provided an insurance cover of Rs 500,000 per year.

Nadda also talked on steps taken to reduce non-communicable diseases and India's commitment to end tuberculosis by 2025, five years ahead of WHO's deadline for member states.

"India is deeply committed to play a pivotal role to ensure access and affordability of medicines," he added.

Following the overwhelming response at the first World Conference on Access to Medical Products in November 2017, India is organising the second World Conference in October 2018 in New Delhi, he added.

--IANS

mgu/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Not leaving any stone unturned, Maharashtra's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will deploy Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to campaign for its candidate in the May 28 Palghar Lok Sabha by-elections, a party leader said here on Monday.

Making the bypoll a prestige issue, the BJP has deployed several star campaigners including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, cabinet ministers, its Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari and other senior leaders from the state and outside to campaign for Rajendra Gavit.

On Wednesday evening, Adityanath will address an election rally at Manvelpada Talav and incidentally, BJP's ally Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray is also scheduled to address rallies at Nala Sopara in the Palghar constituency the same day.

The relations between the two allies hit a new low when Shriniwas Vanga, the son of the late BJP MP, Chintaman Wanga, joined the Shiv Sena with his family on May 4, and was later rewarded with the party ticket for the bypolls.

A bitter BJP cried foul over the "hijack" by the Shiv Sena of its prospective candidate. After fuming over the developments, it was later compelled to give nominate a former Congress legislator Gavit, who joined the party (BJP) last fortnight.

Besides Nala Sopara, Thackeray will address two election rallies in Boisar on Friday as the party attempts to wrest the seat earlier held by the BJP strongman Chintaman Vanga, and fell vacant after his sudden death last January.

Apart from Gavit and Vanga, the Congress has put up Damoda Shingda, the CPI-M has nominated Kiran Gahala and Baliram Jadhav is the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi candidate in Palghar, and three independents.

Palghar will vote along with the Lok Sabha by-elections to Bhandra-Gondiya parliamentary constituency which fell vacant after sitting BJP MP Nana Patole resigned and left the party in December 2017.

--IANS

qn/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Supreme Court did not allow enough time for the party to peel away members of the other two legislative parties, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular). And, in any case, morale in the newly created post-poll coalition seemed high; uncorroborated transcripts of phone calls have been released to the media, and in those newly elected members of the Karnataka legislative assembly appear to refuse massive bribes in order to stay with the party that nominated them ...

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Digital EditorThe drama surrounding the swearing-in and eventual resignation of BJPs B S Yeddyurappa in Karnataka may have been an embarrassment for the BJP, but it was probably a bigger loss of face for the position of the Governor of the state, Vajubhai Vala. The opposition parties sought the intervention of the Supreme Court in the matter, which led to a sharp reduction in the number of days provided to Yeddyurappa and BJP to prove their majority in the house.

The Governor came in for strong criticism from both political parties and political commentators for his partisan role. He was ...Two men drowned in a swimming pool in Burari that was being operated without licence, following which the facility's owner and its caretaker were arrested, the police said today.

The incident happened yesterday around 8.10 PM when Amit (24) and Neeraj (23) had gone to the swimming pool near Joseph & Mary Public School at PS Burari around 8.10PM, they said.

The police said they received the information that the men had consumed liquor and had been taken to a hospital. The two were declared brought dead at the hospital, the police said.

Their bodies were sent to the Subzi Mandi mortuary for post-mortem. Amit used to work as an water purifier mechanic while Neeraj was a student of School of Open Learning.

During inquiry, it was found that no safety measures like life jackets, pool fencing, drain cover, pool alarm etc. were in place at the swimming pool, said Harendra Kumar Singh, additional deputy commissioner of police (North).

A case was registered and further investigation revealed that the swimming pool was in the final stage of construction and no licence had been taken by the owner of the premises for its operation from the authorities concerned, he added.

During investigation, it was found that Vikram Ujjainwal had taken the lease of the premises, including the swimming pool, from Mangesh Tyagi.

Ujjainwal and Ramesh, the caretaker of the pool, were arrested in the case, the officer said, adding they have sent a letter to the Department of Labour for inspection of the site and swimming pool.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two police constables were today placed under suspension after they allegedlymisbehaved with acivilian under the influence of alcohol.

Police constables, A Naveen of CAR Headquarters and Rahul attached to Santosh Nagar Police Station were suspended for their 'misconduct,' after they allegedly misbehaved with one civilian in drunken condition, a release from Hyderabad Police said.

Earlier a case was also registered in Saidabad Police Station in this connection, police said.

"Policy of zero tolerance will be maintained with regard to any misconduct if it comes to notice," the Hyderabad Police chief said.

He also appealed to all officers to discharge their duty with service motive and not to behave with public in rude and arrogant manner.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Twenty five companies of para military forces will be deployed during Kairana Lok Sabha by-election on May 28 to ensure free and fair polling, a senior election official said here.

Shamli District Magistrate/District Election Officer Inder Vikram Singh also said that patrolling and checking in the district areas bordering Haryana has also been started.

He said that district authorities have also decided to use drone cameras for surveillance and have identified at least 20 bordering villages in Kairana where such cameras will be installed.

Meanwhile, the Shamli Suprintendent of Police Devranjan Verma said that 10 companies of para military forces have already reached Shamli.

Kairana bypoll was necessitated following the death of BJP MP Hukam Singh. BJP has fielded Singh's daughter Mriganka Singh from the seat.

While opposition parties' joint candidate is Rashtriya Lok Dal's (RLD) Tbassum Hasan, who has the support of the Samajwadi Party, the BSP and the Congress.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Three brothers were sentenced to life imprisonment by a special SC/ST court in neighbouring Bundi district today for murdering a man after a quarrel over a minor issue in April 2016.

Special judge Koshal Singh convicted Ashok Jinger (34), Arun Jinger (24) and Sonu alias Hempal Jinger (21), who are residents of Talera town, for the murder of Amerjeet Singh, special public prosecutor (SPP) Mahendra Sharma told reporters here.

The court also slapped a fine of Rs one lakh each on them and ordered that Rs 3 lakh be paid as compensation to the victim's wife.

Amerjeet Singh, 33, a resident of Talera town of Bundi district, was on April 24, 2016 murdered by the three brothers following a minor scuffle after his car hit the wooden bench outside the tea stall of their father in Talera town.

A case was lodged in this connection in Talera police station. Statements of 17 witnesses were recorded during the trial and 21 documents were produced before the court, the SPP said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An all-woman crew commanding the INSV Tarini today returned to Goa after successfully circumnavigating the globe in a 55-foot sailboat in more than eight months, the first-ever Indian expedition steered by women sailors.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba welcomed the crew at INS Mandovi boat pool in Panaji.

The 'Navika Sagar Parikrama' expedition was flagged off on September 10.

Terming the expedition historic, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would meet the six crew members in Delhi on Wednesday.

Led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, the crew comprising lt commanders Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P, lieutenants Aishwarya Boddapati, S Vijaya Devi and Payal Gupta covered a total of 21,980 nautical miles in INSV Tarini, inducted into the Indian Navy on February 18 last year.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept a tab on what is going on (with Navika Sagar Parikrama). Occasionally, he also directly spoke to them and kept the nation's motivation and interest on," Sitharaman said after receiving the crew.

She said she felt "honoured" by the achievement of the young women.

"I just don't want to say that it is a pleasure (to receive the crew), I feel honoured and I feel humbled by the great achievement of these six women," the minister said.

She recalled that flagging off the crew on September 10 last year was her first "out-of-Delhi appointment", three days after she became the defence minister.

She praised the women for making history.

"And today, by the grace of God and the grit and courage that the girls have shown, they are back home to join all of us, having made history," she said.

The minister said "the feat is not about girls' achievement, it is (about) youngsters from India achieving and it is a whole motivation for the youth. The women of the country have shown to youngsters that if they want to do something they can do it indeed".

She said she followed the circumnavigation everyday.

"I have not contributed anything except one retweet of the navy spokesperson in the morning to say where they are and what is their location. In fact, that just one retweet in the morning became the first thing...wherever I went in the country, the conversation would start with 'how are the girls'?" she said.

"That became the conversation amongst many people who were closely following ministry of defence," Sitharaman said.

The minister said the girls have made history not only for themselves but also for the Navy.

"In every small way and big way, the Navika Sagar Parikrama is something that we can be proud of for generations to come," she said.

The six women officers were trained for the project under Captain Dilip Donde, the first Indian to solo-circumnavigate the globe between August 19, 2009, and May 19, 2010, onboard the Indian-built vessel INSV Mhadei, a Navy official said.

A Navy spokesperson said the expedition was completed in six legs, with stopovers at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Mauritius.

"The crew covered 21,600 nautical miles in the Indian-built sailing vessel INSV Tarini that visited five countries and crossed the Equator twice. It sailed across four continents and three oceans, and passed south of the three Great Capes - Leeuwin, Horn and Good Hope," the spokesperson said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)As many as 70 passengers on board an Alliance Air flight had a narrow escape after the ATR aircraft carrying them from Mumbai overshot the runway by 50 meters during landing at the Shirdi airport today.

All the passengers are safe and there is no damage to aircraft too, an Air India official said. Alliance Air is the regional arm of the national carrier Air India.

"At round 5.29pm, the Alliance Air flight arriving from Mumbai overshot the runway by 50 meters during landing at the Shirdi airport," the official said.

There were 70 passengers on board the ATR aircraft," he said adding, "airline will probe the causes of the incident."



Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will also investigate the incident of the aircraft overshooting the runway separately, he added.

In May 2010, 152 people were killed when the pilot of the Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the runway during landing at Mangaluru.

Constructed at an investment of around Rs 350 crore, Shirdi airport was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 1 last year.

With a 2,500 meter-long runway, the temple-town airport is capable of handling single narrow-body aircraft, such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Actor-director Jodie Foster says America needs to accept the fact that Hollywood needs "female directors".

The 55-year-old Oscar-winning actor said the film industry has been the "last area" that needs to see a change.

"It's America that's the problem, and it has been for a very long time. We need to bang the head of America to let them know that it needs female directors," Foster told The Hollywood Reporter.

"Europe has always been ahead," she added.

The actor was speaking at the premiere of her film "Hotel Artemis". She was accompanied by her co-stars Sterling K Brown, Sofia Boutella, Charlie Day, Brian Tyree Henry and Dave Bautista.

Foster said she loves performing but she plans to direct "more" films than she would act in.

"I said it and I'll keep saying it - I want to direct. And I will direct more than I acted," she said.

Asked to comment on female directors in Hollywood, Foster smiled and said, "Just look at 'Wonder Woman'.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today announced that 19 cancer care units will be set up in the state in collaboration with the Tata Trust and Ratan Tata, who is the chairman of major Tata group companies will lay the foundation stone.

The foundation stone will be laid centrally here on June 13, he said adding the new units would be set up to provide advanced treatment to the cancer patients of the north east.

It will take about two years to complete the construction of all the 19 cancer units which will be established under the supervision of Assam Cancer Care Foundation and the Tata Trust, Sarma said.

The units would be set up as a joint venture putting in Rs 1000 crore each with the total investment estimated at Rs 2,000 crore.

Tata Trusts had signed an MoU with the Assam government during the 'Advantage Assam - Global Investment Summit, 2018' held in February.

The Assam Cancer Care Foundation will be headed by the state health minister and the hospitals would be based on a three-tier system and will be constructed under the L3 (Level 3), L2 (Level 2), L1 (Level 1) divisions.

The L3 hospitals will maintain the basic standards of a hospital and will be located at Barpeta, Diphu, Dhubri, Jorhat, Silchar, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, Nagaon and Dibrugarh.

The L2 hospitals will maintain surgery standards and will be set up at Goalpara, Haflong, Karimganj, Kokrajhar, Golaghat, Darrang, Nalbari, Sivasagar and Tinsukia districts.

The L1 hospital will have sophisticated standards and will be at Guwahati.

"The L1 or a state-level cancer care institute in Guwahati will have advanced tertiary care facilities, L2 or medical colleges in the state would have facilities for chemotherapy, radiation and surgical oncology and L3 or district hospitals would have day-care, chemotherapy and radiation facilities," he said.

Sarma said the state will have two new dental colleges at Dibrugarh and Silchar with 50 seats each.

"The Dental Council of India has given the clearance for the creation of two new colleges as per the budget proposals of the state government and admissions will begin from this session," he told reporters here.

With this the number of dental colleges in the state will go up to three, including the Regional Dental College here, and have a total 150 seats, he said.

Sarma, who is also the Finance and PWD Minister, also announced that the upper age limit of candidates appearing for state government jobs have been increased to 44 years from 38 years from this year.

Treasury challan waiver have been also implemented for grade three and four job aspirants though grade one and two candidates will have to pay the usual fees of Rs 250 for the general and Rs 150 for SC/ST/OBC candidates, he said.

The state government has also increased the wage of contractual teachers to Rs 20,000 from the earlier Rs 15,000, the minister said.

The government has also announced that in the case of death during service the next of kin of employees working in government societies would be given an ex-gratia payment of Rs five lakh.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)AU Small Finance Bank (SFB) today said it will raise up to Rs 1,000 crore by issuing equity and warrant on preferential basis.

The company said it will issue 43,30,441 equity shares of bank at an issue price of Rs 692.77 per equity share aggregating to an amount of Rs 299,99,99612 to Camas Investments Pte Ltd (investor or allottee) as a non-promoter.

Besides, Rs 700,00,00,249 is to be raised by issuing 1,01,04,364 convertible warrants to investor carrying a right to the convertible warrant holder in one or more tranches at a price of Rs 692.77 per piece.

AU SFB said the bank has witnessed and continues to expect a sustainable demand for credit in the retail banking segment, small and mid-corporate segment and other segments to meet the capital requirement for expanding business, the bank is required to raise capital.

"The growth of the lending business, expansion of business verticals in terms of size, reach and to explore new digital and other initiatives, it is imperative that bank remains well-capitalised, with a strong capital base. Given the current economic environment and regulatory framework, maintaining a higher level of common equity tier I (CET 1) will reflect balance sheet's strength of the bank," it said in a regulatory filing.

The plan to raise capital is in line with the bank's desired capitalisation level for strong recalibrated growth on the banking platform and for potentially attractive growth opportunities, it added.

"Therefore, in order to continue to meet the capital requirement while supporting the growth plans, the bank proposes to raise equity capital of Rs 1,000 crore," it said further.

Camas Investments Pte Ltd is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (Temasek). Temasek is a globally diversified investment company, headquartered in Singapore.

Shares of AU Small Finance Bank closed 2.31 per cent higher at Rs 704.85 apiece on BSE.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Former Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP Pradeep Jaiswal was today arrested for allegedly creating a ruckus at the Kranti Chowk police station while leading a mob demanding the release of some persons arrested for the riots that took place here on May 11.

Jaiswal was Lok Sabha MP from the city between 1996-98 and was also a former mayor of the city's civic corporation.

Police said that, since May 13, several people had been picked up for their alleged role in the riots and some youth from Gandhinagar area, which falls within the jurisdiction of Kranti Chowk police station, were among them.

Jaiswal, along with several others, arrived at the police station around 11 pm yesterday and demanded their release, said an official.

When the police refused, they broke the glass panes and damaged furniture at Kranti Chowk police station, he added.

Jaiswal has been booked under sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) 506 (criminal intimidation) and 427 ( mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the IPC, said the official.

Meanwhile, AIMIM MLA Imtiyaz Jaleel today said that a delegation of MLAs belonging to the minority communities would meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to demand action against Shiv Sena leaders and activists purportedly seen in video clips captured during the riots.

Jaleel, the MLA from Aurangabad Central constituency, said that the delegation would also demand a probe into the role of policemen, who are also reportedly seen in some videos allegedly turning a blind eye to rioters.

On May 11, Aurangabad had witnessed clashes between groups allegedly over illegal water connections.

Two people were killed, scores others, including police personnel, were injured and several vehicles and shops were torched.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Members of the All India Students' Association today



held a demonstration outside St Stephen's College against reported moves by the University Grants Commission to grant the institute an autonomous status and claimed it would lead to fee hikes and scuttling of quotas in admissions.

AISA's Delhi University unit said it campaigned against the initiative during the varsity's Open Day sessions for newcomers to apprise their guardians about the issue.

"Last week, a UGC Committee visited St Stephen's to discuss the grant of an autonomous status. Despite joint protests by teachers and students, the committee has reportedly decided to grant the status to the college. Withdrawal of govt funding, massive fee hikes and scuttling of reservation policies are the part and parcel of the status," DU's AISA secretary Madhurima Kundu said.

An autonomous status did not imply academic autonomy, she said.

"There will be no autonomy given to teachers to design their syllabi or to students to choose their research topics. There will be autonomy only to increase fees," she added.

DU AISA president Kawalpreet Kaur told PTI it would campaign against the move at the Open Day sessions to create an awareness among the parents of would-be DU students.

On May 10, members of the St Stephen's College Staff Association and Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) staged a demonstration outside the college to protest against the UGC team's visit.

"Despite several protests, it seems that the government is moving ahead on its agenda of turning colleges and universities of repute into teaching shops through the scheme of Autonomous Colleges and Graded Autonomy," DUTA president Rajib Ray said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Supreme Court today asked Rashtriya Hindu Sena chief Pramod Muthalik to amend his plea and place before it the latest notification issued by the Goa government allegedly prohibiting his entry into the state.

A bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha was told by Muthalik's counsel that "some mischief" was played by the Goa government and another prohibitory order extending ban on his entry has been issued.

The bench asked him to place before it the latest notification, if any, in this regard after which the lawyer sought time to file it.

The counsel representing Goa opposed the plea and said Muthalik, against whom around 50 criminal cases were pending, should first approach the high court. He claimed there were allegations against Muthalik that he was inciting violence.

Muthalik's counsel countered the submissions and said he has been acquitted in most of these cases and told the bench that he had to go to Goa on June 1.

"He (Muthalik) is entitled to amend it (plea) and place the fresh order. He (Muthalik's counsel) is saying that it is unacceptable that such orders were passed periodically," the bench told Goa's counsel, adding, "He says there is a fresh order. We have to hear him".

The apex court said the matter would be listed for hearing in the first week of August after the petitioner files the amended application.

Several prohibitory orders have been issued by the Goa government extending the ban on Muthalik's entry into the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Delhi court has issued open ended non-bailable warrants against two persons, including a director of a Gujarat pharma firm, in a Rs 5,000 crore money laundering probe case.

Additional Sessions Judge Siddharth Sharma issued the warrant against Sterling Biotech Ltd (SBL) director Dipti Chetan Sandesara in the case.

The court issued another open ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) against her brother Hiteshkumar Narendrabhai Patel, after special public prosecutor Nitesh Rana, appearing for ED, said the two of them had played an active and instrumental role in laundering of money and are likely to have left the country.

Unlike a non-bailable warrant, an open ended NBW does not carry a time limit for execution.

Rana told the court that several summons were issued by ED against both of them but they did not reply to any. They were evading investigation and their absence was delaying the ongoing probe.

"The accused have prima-facie committed the offence of money laundering having international ramifications. Their custodial interrogation is of utmost necessity to ascertain the trail of the proceeds of crime. There is every apprehension that the accused might have crossed the boundaries," the ED said.

According to ED, Deepti allegedly used her firm's credit facilities for personal purposes including purchasing jewellery, clothes and high-end wrist watches, besides making payments to certain individuals.

"It is highly suspected that Dipti Chetan Sandesara, in the capacity of director of several promoter companies of SBL Group, knowingly assisted the main promoters of the said group in the process of misappropriation and bungling of credit facilities obtained by SBL group for several Indian banks," the ED said.

It said the directors of the firm, including Dipti, had acquired properties in foreign countries and it was very likely that those were acquired from the proceeds of crime acquired by them.

The court had in November last year issued open-ended NBWs against Dipti's husband Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara and brother-in-law Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara, both co-directors of the firm.

The ED has so far arrested a former Andhra Bank director Anup Prakash Garg, who is currently in judicial custody, and Delhi-based businessman Gagan Dhawan, who is out on bail.

Besides Dhawan and Garg, the ED had also arrested Rajbhushan Omprakash Dixit, one of the directors of the pharma firm, who is also out on bail.

All three were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED had lodged the money laundering case after taking cognisance of an FIR registered by the CBI.

The CBI had booked Garg, the firm Sterling Biotech, its directors Dipti, Chetan, Nitin, Dixit and Vilas Joshi, chartered accountant Hemant Hathi and some unidentified persons in connection with the case. It had alleged that the company took loans of over Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium led by Andhra Bank, which turned into non-performing assets.

The FIR had also alleged that the total pending dues of the group companies were Rs 5,383 crore as on December 31, 2016. It had alleged that "various cash payments were made to Garg, as reflected in the said entries, on the instructions of the Sandesara brothers, by withdrawing cash from the bank accounts of several benami companies owned by them".

It had alleged that Garg infused several crores of his unaccounted money in various companies through several Kolkata-based bogus shell companies in order to launder the proceeds of crime obtained by him from the Sandesaras.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik's recent comments that Rajiv Gandhi was a "good and honest" person and some other Congress leaders were allegedly involved in the Bofors deal case today prompted a lawyer and BJP leader to asked him to reveal the names of these leaders.

Malik, who was appointed as Bihar governor by the BJP-led NDA government last year, had on May 18 praised Rajiv Gandhi at a function in Patna.

In an apparent reference to the Bofors scandal, he had said Gandhi was a "good and honest" person, but was surrounded by some wrong people and had got into trouble trying to save them. Malik had not named anyone.

Reacting to the comments that had triggered a fresh controversy, BJP leader and advocate Ajay Agrawal said if Malik knew anything about the scam he should give out all information.

"Afterall, this was the biggest scam related to the security of the country. So if he knows, he should not hide and immediately reveal it to the people of the country.

"CBI has already moved before the trial court to re-investigate the entire case and if the Governor reveals the names which he claims that he knows, CBI will find it easy to corroborate with the evidence available with it," Agrawal, who had contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli against then Congress president Sonia Gandhi, said in a statement.

The CBI had in February moved a district court here seeking re-investigation of the scam. However, the matter has not been able to make progress as the original case records are in the custody of the Supreme Court.

The trial court decided to take up the matter after the summer vacation after noting the submission of Agrawal that he would file an application in the apex court for transfer of the original case records to Tis Hazari court.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Actor Billie Lourd is set to return to "American Horror Story" for the upcoming eighth installment of Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series.

In season eight of AHS, Lourd joins fellow AHS alums Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Kathy Bates, and new cast member Joan Collins, who will play Peters' grandmother, reported Deadline.

No details have yet been given on the role Lourd will be stepping into this time round.

"American Horror Story" season eight is expected to premiere later this year.

Following season seven's "American Horror Story: Cult", which dealt with political themes, season eight, set some 18 months in the future, will be "heightened," Murphy revealed last month.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today said that contrary to the perception that political parties forget promises made to the people after coming to power, the BJP cadre worked selflessly to fulfil commitments.

The BJP has progressed so much only by recognising people's supremacy in a democratic set up, he told a gathering of party workers and locals in Karnal.

The chief minister said his government had ensured development of all parts of the state, adding that developmental work worth over Rs 1,000 crore had been carried out in Karnal alone.

He said his government had ensured all round advancement of Karnal and the wheel of development was moving forward rapidly.

Khattar listed the inauguration of the first phase of the Karnal bus stand and the Kalpana Chawla Medical College as some of his government's achievements.

Taking a dig at his political opponents, Khattar said the opposition could learn from the developmental work undertaken by his government during its three-and-a-half year tenure.

He exhorted the party workers to not lie to the people to win votes and only tell them about the actual work.

"We have undertaken so many development projects that not just the people, even the opposition parties will acknowledge our work," Khattar said.

Khattar cautioned people against political parties and leaders who try to divide them on the lines of caste, religion and region.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The BJP came to power at the Centre and in Haryana on the basis of "lies and deception" and it now wants to retain power by "dividing" people, chief Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said.

"The BJP has snatched the power on the basis of lies and deception and they now want to retain power by dividing people," he told a meeting of a caste council here last night.

He asked the people to remain vigilant against such efforts.

Rise in fuel prices, imposition of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and unconstitutional actions of the government have damaged the global perception of India and shaken the confidence of people, he said.

He termed the BJP as "anti-farmer" and said its governments had failed to fulfil its promise of increasing minimum support price for farm produce.

Surjewala, who represents Kaithal in the Haryana assembly, appealed to the people to elect a Congress government in the state and at the Centre, and promised all-round development.

He also attacked the INLD.

"Whoever has tried to snatch away farmers right have had to pay dearly. Former CM Om Prakash Chautala (of the INLD) is the prime example. Today Prime Minister Modi and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar are walking on the same pattern with complete disregard for India's democratic and constitutional laws," he said.

The days of the BJP government in the state are numbered as it has lost the support and confidence of the people, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Scores of BJP activists from Vidisha Lok Sabha constituency, currently represented by party stalwart and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, have joined the Congress in Madhya Pradesh in the election year, the opposition party claimed today.

However, the ruling BJP has dismissed the Congress' claim as a "false rumour and a drama".

"Around 1,000 BJP workers from Vidisha have taken the membership of the Congress party in Madhya Pradesh," stated a release issued by the Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) today.

The high-profile seat had been represented by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan five times in past.

Swaraj first won from the constituency in 2009 when she defeated Ch. Munavver Salim of the Samajwadi Party. She repeated the feat in 2014 when she tamed Lakshman Singh of the Congress.

BJP veteran Atal Bihari Vajpayee had represented the constituency in 1991.

The Congress said the BJP workers led by local party leader Santosh Kushwaha joined the opposition party in presence of newly-appointed MPCC president Kamal Nath.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Sajjansingh Verma, MP media inchagre Manak Agrawal, and media coordinator Narendra Saluja were present on the occasion among others.

"I welcome all these persons in the Congress party. They have come from an area which has been represented by the ruling party for the last 15 years. I called upon them that if they want to see the model of development then they should visit Chhindwara (represented by Kamal Nath). After watching developmental works there, you can easily understand the definition of development," Nath said on the occasion.

He appealed to the new entrants to go to people and tell them about the "misrule of the BJP".

When contacted, state BJP media incharge Lokendra Parashar said, "It is a Congress drama. Not a single BJP office-bearer has joined the Congress. They are spreading false rumours".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Bombay High Court has come to the aid of a 72-year-old city doctor and denied her son permission to enter her house after she alleged he regularly abused her.

A bench presided over by Justice SJ Kathawalla refused to allow a plea filed by the woman's son seeking access to the house.

"Prima facie, the plaintiff (the son) has no right over the house of the mother, and also can't claim any right or entry on the ground of dispossession, when the mother is seriously troubled over the problems created by him in the house," the bench said.

The bench was hearing the plea filed by the Mumbai resident seeking that he, his wife and their child be granted access to his mother's house in South Mumbai.

In the plea, he said he and his family used to stay with his mother, but she changed the locks of the house one day when they were out.

He alleged that his mother, by not letting him enter the flat, was wrongly dispossessing him of a property that he too had a share in.

The mother, however, told the court that the flat belonged to her and her late husband.

She told the bench that her son had been abusing her emotionally and had also been subjecting her to physical assault for several years now.

The doctor alleged her son was doing so at the insistence of his wife.

She also told the court that while the son had been seeking psychiatric treatment for his behaviour, his actions towards her had remained unchanged.

So, one day, when her son, grandson, and daughter-in-law were all out, she had the locks changed to protect herself, she said, adding that she was "scared" of her son.

The woman also urged the court to direct the local police to help protect her from further abuse.

Justice Kathawalla directed the Malabar Hill police station to "render all assistance" to her and to ensure that she could reside in her own home without fear.

He also directed the son and his family to remove their belongings from the mother's flat.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Broadway star Patricia Morison, best known for hit musicals "Kiss Me, Kate" and "The King and I", has died. She was 103.

The actor passed away on Saturday at her home in West Hollywood, California, reported Variety.

Morison was born on March 15, 1915 in New York City, the daughter of playwright and actor William Morison and Selena Fraser, a British Intelligence agent during World War I.

After graduating from high school, Morison took acting classes and made her stage debut at the Provincetown Playhouse in the musical revue "Don't Mind the Rain."



Her Broadway debut followed shortly, in 1933's "Growing Pains," though she never appeared on stage, instead acting as the stand-by for Helen Hayes in the lead role of Victoria Regina.

Morison made her feature film debut in the 1939 film "Persons in Hiding". She starred in eight more films through 1942.

In 1942, when the US was involved in World War II, she joined the USO and entertained the troops. She returned to the cinema as Empress Eugenie in "The Song of Bernadette" (1943) and more. In 1944, she returned to the Broadway stage in "Allah Be Praised!", but the show closed.

During the 1950s and 1960s, Morison made numerous appearances on television, and in 1971 she and Yul Brynner performed "Shall We Dance" from "The King and I" on a broadcast of the Tony Awards. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Morison performed on stage several times.

In December 2012, at age 97, she appeared on stage in an evening entitled Ladies of an Indeterminate Age at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. Her co-stars included Charlotte Rae and Anne Jeffreys. In March 2014, at age 99, she appeared on stage for Broadway Backwards 9, a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center at the Al Hirschfeld Theater. She sang "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" from "Kiss Me, Kate".

In her later years, Morison took up her early passion of painting, with several showings in and around Los Angeles, New York and Japan. Never married, she lived in Los Angeles the remainder of her life, and continued to support theater and organisations such as The Actors Fund, The LGBT Community Center, The Thaiians, and The Hollywood Museum.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The CBI has filed its charge sheet against Rotomac Global Pvt. Ltd. and its promoters in connection with the Rs 456.63-crore alleged loan default towards Bank of Baroda, which is part of a total default of Rs 3,690 crore towards a consortium of seven banks, officials said.

After a three-month probe, the charge sheet was filed in a special court in Lucknow. It deals with Rs 456.63 crore loan of Bank of Baroda as the probe into the remaining amount was still continuing, they said, adding that more charge sheets could be filed in the case.

Besides Kanpur-based Rotomac Global Pvt. Ltd, the CBI has also charged its CMD Vikram Kothari, his son and director Rahul Kothari, then AGM of Bank of Baroda S K Upadhyay, then Senior Manager of the bank Om Prakash Kapoor, and then bank manager Shashi Bishwas, they said.

The agency has charged Vikram Kothari and his son, who are in judicial custody, and others with alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating among others and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The CBI has alleged that the directors of the company diverted loan funds, issued for packing credit, to other purposes.

A consortium of seven nationalised banks has given loans worth Rs 2,919 crore to Rotomac Global Pvt Limited from 2008 onwards, the CBI FIR has alleged.

The amount swelled to Rs 3,695 crore, including the accrued interest, because of repeated defaults on payment, the officials said.

The CBI has initiated the action on the complaint of Bank of Baroda, which was a member of consortium led by Bank of India, they said.

The principal exposure of the banks regarding the loan is Bank of India Rs 754.77 crore, Bank of Baroda Rs 456.63 crore, Overseas Bank of India Rs 771.07 crore, Union Bank of India Rs 458.95 crore, Allahabad Bank Rs 330.68 crore, Bank of Maharashtra Rs 49.82 crore and Oriental Bank of Commerce Rs 97.47 crore, the agency said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)China today defended its large-scale mining operations in a mineral-rich Tibetan county adjacent to the border with Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the area belongs to it and Beijing enjoys full



sovereignty to conduct such geological activities there.

China has begun large-scale mining operations in Lhunze county under its control adjacent to Arunachal Pradesh where a huge trove of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued at about USD 60 billion has been found, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post had reported yesterday.

"I have also noted the report mentioned by you. The area mentioned by the report totally belongs to China," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lu Kang told a media briefing here when asked about the report.

"China conducts regular geological and scientific research on its own territory. It is completely within China's sovereignty. China always attaches importance to protecting ecological We hope relevant media can refrain from hyping up based on groundless report," he said.

Asked to clarify what he meant by the "groundless report", Lu said, "I hope the media can stop hyping up based on groundless report and the area mentioned by the report belongs to China's territory and the geological and scientific activities are conducted on China's territory."



China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet. The India-China border dispute covered 3,488 km along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

About a part of the report which said China is rapidly building infrastructure to turn the area into another South China Sea like scenario, Lu said, I can tell you that China's position on the India-China boundary is consistent and clear cut. China never recognised the so-called Arunachal Pradesh."



He said China and India are engaged in negotiations to resolve the boundary issue and to seek a fair and justified solution to the issue.

"Before we resolve the issue, we hope India can abide by the agreements between the two countries and abide by the Line of Actual Control and stop hyping up and work with China to jointly maintain peace and stability in the border areas," he said.

Projecting the mining operations as part of China's move to take over Arunachal Pradesh, the Post report said "people familiar with the project say the mines are part of an ambitious plan by Beijing to reclaim South Tibet."



"China's moves to lay claim to the region's natural resources while rapidly building up infrastructure could turn it into 'another South China Sea' they said," the report claimed.

The report, with inputs from local officials, Chinese geologists as well as strategic experts, comes less than a month after the first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping that was aimed at cooling tensions to avert incidents like the Dokalam military standoff last year.

The 73-day standoff had marked a new low in bilateral ties.

Lhunze was in the last October, just about two months after Dokalam standoff ended, when Xi in a rare gesture replied to correspondence from a herding family in the county underscoring Beijing's claim to the area.

The family is based in Yumai, China's smallest town in terms of population located close to Arunachal Pradesh.

Xi thanked the father and his two daughters for their loyalty and contributions to China, and also urged the people of Lhunze to "set down roots" to develop the area for the national interest.

The Post report said although mining has been going on in the world's highest mountain range for thousands of years, the challenge of accessing the remote terrain and concerns about environmental damage had until now limited the extent of the activities.

But the unprecedented heavy investment by the Chinese government to build roads and other infrastructure in the area has made travel easy.

Most of the precious minerals which include rare earths used to make hi-tech products are hidden under Lhunze county, the report said.

By the end of last year, the scale of mining activity in Lhunze had surpassed that of all other areas in Tibet, it said.

People have poured into the area so fast that even local government officials could not provide a precise count for the current population, it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Police in the central Chinese province of Hubei deployed drones to bust a gambling gang, which often changed its area of operation, and arrested 12 gang members and 49 suspected gamblers, a police official said today.

According to the Wuhan Public Security Bureau, police had launched an operation to find the gang, which was active in the cities of Wuhan and Xiantao.

But, the gang members often changed their locations, a police official said.

On May 15, police deployed drones to spy on a suspected gambling site from where the gang used to operate.

The drones helped the police in getting a three-dimensional views of the suspected site and planning their raid, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

Police had recovered over 50,000 yuan (USD 7,836) from them and also seized two point of sale (POS) machines and several equipments being used in gambling, during the raid, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Chinese university has apologised and lifted a ban on girls wearing miniskirts and hotpants in the library, revoking a regulation imposed over a student's complaint that such clothes were "harmful to the study atmosphere and are a form of sexual harassment".

The cancelled regulation had banned girl students from wearing pants or skirts shorter than 50 centimetres.

The regulation came into effect after a complaint was filed by a male student, alleging miniskirts were "harmful to the study atmosphere and are a form of sexual harassment".

Miniskirts and hotpants may be worn at the library, the university said in a statement after revoking the regulation that had banned them.

"We apologise for the confusion and inconvenience brought by our recent work," state-run Global Times quoted the Hunan Agricultural University statement as saying.

"We're determined to optimise management and improve service quality, creating a better reading environment. We welcome students to come to the library to study and be readers with good manners," it said.

It is now fine for students to wear fashionable clothes as long as they are not solely wearing briefs, an unnamed staff member at the library of Hunan Agricultural University said.

"The regulation was already revoked," he was quoted as saying.

The university did not specifically offer a reason for the apology.

Calling miniskirts "sexual harassment" sparked immediate online controversy among students at the provincial capital city and on Chinese social media.

Some net users said that it is a person's right to decide what he or she could wear.

"Sexual harassment means that you need to make an unwelcome sexual invitation," a net user posted on Sina Weibo, which is akin to micro-blogging site twitter.

"Simply wearing clothes is not sending out a sexual implication or invitation. The reason does not stand," the Times quoted a Weibo user as saying.

Such a regulation was unnecessary "as long as dress doesn't affect studying and reading," Xie Zhiyong, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, told the Times.

"But it was also not necessary to elevate this to the level of breaking the law or sexual discrimination," Xie said.

People "should not read too much into cases like this" and create hot topics that harm the public opinion ecosystem, Xie added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)"Deadpool 2" writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernicke have revealed "Avengers: Infinity War" star Chris Evans almost appeared in the Ryan Reynolds headlined film.

The scribes, who have penned the script with Reynolds, said they considered including Evans in the movie not as Captain America but as The Human Torch from the "Fantastic Four" in the Marvel franchise.

Before shooting to fame with MCU's "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) as Steve Rodgers, Evans had played the role of Johnny Storm in 2005's poorly-reviewed "Fantastic Four". He reprised his role in its 2007 sequel "Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer".

Reese and Wernick said the initial drafts of the story had plans to include Storm in the X-Force interviews conducted in the film "Deadpool 2".

"We never got that far (to ask Evans). Someone had the idea we actually did and we thought that was better.

"But we definitely had a lot more X-Force interviews with bizarre, random people coming in to interview," the writer duo told Uproxx.

Evans had earlier hinted at his wish to move beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe after part two of "Infinity War" comes out next year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A 15-year-old boy scripted his own kidnapping to squeeze Rs 50 lakh from his parents after



fearing to fail class 10 examination, police said today.

The boy disappeared from his house on Saturday and switched off his mobile phone, Udaipur Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajendra Prasad Goyal said.

He then called his parents through internet to demand ransom of Rs 50 lakh from New Delhi.

Terrified after making ransom calls, he travelled to Nasirabad from New Delhi from where he was traced on a train and taken back to Udaipur today, the said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)HR software maker Cnergyis Infotech India expects to almost double its revenue by the end of this year on the back of its foray into a new product segment and contribution from overseas market, a company official said.

"We are currently almost clocking the revenue rate of about Rs 30 crore. It has been consistent in the last 14-17 months. We are looking at doubling our turnover every year and increasing the base here on. We are looking at crossing a turnover of Rs 60 crore, because ZingHR technology is helping us leapfrog as it is a scalable platform," Cnergyis Infotech co-founder Vivek Tikoo told PTI.

He said that the company has developed an independent product ZingHR which would contribute significantly to its growth. The product can be customised by any organisation and scaled up to manage employee count of around 1.5 lakh, he added.

The company has been making customised software for human resource management segment across all verticals since last 18 years.

"We are also getting huge traction in global geographies, so we have started to execute very large projects in Papua New Guinea. We have also set up operations in Australia and getting huge traction there. We are taking baby steps in picking up the South American market also," Tikoo said.

He said that the company is investing 46-50 per cent of its earning in product development and 20-25 per cent of its spend in reaching out to the customer.

"We are acquiring customer every 3 - 5 days. It's almost becoming like a e-commerce kind of market place though business-to-business can never become an e-commerce. We will more than double our revenues in the Middle East and Australia," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Congress today dubbed the BJP a "habitual offender" of stealing governments and mandate and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should apologise to the nation for allegedly using money power in the Karnataka polls.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma alleged that the BJP spent nearly Rs 6,500 crore during the polls and demanded an independent probe into the alleged misuse of money power and government agencies for trying to "win over" legislators.

He said the Modi government should make atonement as it has failed to fulfil the promises made to the people of the country, instead of celebrating its four years in power.

Prime Minister Modi is set to visit Odisha on May 26 and address a rally in Cuttack, coinciding with the completion of the four years of the NDA government at the Centre.

"Will the BJP give now an account of its sources of money, from whom do they get it? ... We would expect the prime minister to apologise to the country for presiding over a government which trampled the Constitution," Sharma told reporters.

He said the BJP stood exposed for its "brazen use of power, money and other resources" and alleged that the saffron party was trying to "purchase" legislators.

The allegations came as the Karnataka elections threw up a hung assembly with the BJP as the single-largest party. Following the verdict, the Congress joined hands with the JD(S) to form the government in the state. The BJP, however, as the single-largest party formed the government but its chief minister B S Yeddyurappa resigned just before facing the trust vote after being in office for three days.

Demanding an independent probe into the BJP's funding, he said "everyone wanted to know" how they have amassed all this money.

"BJP is one of the richest political parties in the world. At least Rs 6,500 crore was spent by the BJP in the run-up to Karnataka elections," the Congress leader said.

He said the Karnataka verdict was not for the BJP, which has invited and "happily accepted self-ridicule".

"The prime minister lowered the dignity of the political discourse and he also undermined the dignity of his office by campaigning in a manner using words and phrases which are unbecoming of a prime minister. No prime minister in India has ever done this before," he said.

He alleged that Modi spoke "untruths, not even half-truths" and the BJP lost. "They did not win the majority of seats. By abusing the power and authority and agencies of the State and the money power which I referred to, yet they did not get the majority.

"The Congress party got the popular vote. We have 2 per cent more. So, in such a scenario, where the voters had given a verdict for a post-election coalition, that is how I interpret it," he claimed.

"Had they got more votes, had they got more seats, then he can complain and cry that he has been deprived. They have been exposed. They are trying to abduct MLAs, purchase MLAs. They have fine-tuned this art; they have become habitual offenders and repeat offenders of stealing governments, stealing mandates," he alleged.

In response to BJP president Amit Shah's statement that the Congress-JD(S) tie-up is an "unholy" alliance, Sharma said the BJP itself has formed "alliances with those who have criticised them and condemned them."



On the row over the proposed changes in the civil services system, he said the BJP government has compromised the neutrality of India's civil services.

"It is not an aberration, it is a deliberate violation and through you I am warning this government, not to destroy the civil services and the very architecture of administration and governance of India. Let that be governed as per the wishes of the framers of India's Constitution. Let that not be insulted. There is a grave danger in it," he alleged.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Two motorcycle-borne assailants shot dead a Delhi-based industrialist in Rajendra Nagar area of Sahibabad this evening, a police official said.

Anil Kheda, 60, was shot just before he was to enter his car, Deputy Superintendent of Police (CO Border) Rakesh Mishra said. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Mishra said Kheda was visiting Rajendra Nagar industrial area for a meeting in connection with his chemical business.

An investigation is underway, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Dhunseri Petrochem Ltd today said it will buyout Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company's 23 per cent stake in their joint venture company for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition would be done in seven tranches, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company said it had yesterday entered into "a Share Purchase Agreement with Egyptian Petrochemicals Holding Company (ECHEM) for the purchase of its 23 per cent stake of our joint venture company - Egyptian Indian Polyester Company S.A.E (EIPET) in 7 tranches."



Dhunseri will buy 43,700 equity shares of EIPET from ECHEM at par value in the first and second tranche and the payment for the first and second tranche has been made.

"The remaining shares would be purchased by the company, the last tranche being in the year 2023 in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Share Purchase Agreement," it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)As the stage is set for JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy to become the next chief minister of Karnataka, KPCC president G Parameshwara today said difficult times were ahead, but there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power in the southern state.

He said he understood the sentiments of many who were averse to a tie-up between the Congress and JD(S).

However, the need to keep communal forces away from power made the Congress lend support to JD(S), Parameshwara said.

"I do understand the sentiments of many people that we should not have gone with the JD(S). But there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power again in Karnataka. Keeping this in mind, our seniors took a decision to support the JD(S). We all must accept their decision," he said.

"We may see difficult times ahead. We are visualising the challenges ahead, but we need to bear all the hardship to build a strong party," the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief said.

He was speaking at a meeting at the state Congress office to pay tribute to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary.

Parameshwara said his party failed to get a clear majority in the Karnataka Assembly elections for various reasons, and that it has accepted the people's verdict.

However, sensing the "dangerous fallout" of the BJP coming to power, he said the party high command has decided to form a coalition government with the JD(S).

"There are no selfish motives (behind forming the coalition government). No personal gains. There are no motives to see the Congress coming to power somehow. Our only objective is to keep at bay those instigating communal passions and disturbing social harmony," he said.

"We have already seen them from 2008 to 2013...how they ran the administration in the state," he said with an apparent reference to the BJP rule in the state during that time.

The Congress state president said party workers should get ready to face the hardship in the coming days as parliamentary elections are just a year away.

"We should not be disheartened and sit at home after the assembly election results. We have to gear up afresh to face 'those forces' and continue our struggle against them," Parameshwara added.

Kumaraswamy will take oath as the chief minister of Karnataka on May 23 in Bangaluru.

The Congress, which has offered the chief minister's post to H D Kumaraswamy, is likely to have its deputy chief minister and G Parmeshwara is among the frontrunners.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The finance ministry has asked Banks Board Bureau (BBB) to shortlist candidates for the post of CEO and MD at Allahabad Bank after the position fell vacant when Usha Ananthasubramanian was divested of her duties.

"We have written to BBB to shortlist candidates for the vacant post of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Allahabad Bank," a finance ministry official said.

Once BBB shortlists the applicants, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) will finalise the candidate.

On May 15, the board of state-owned Allahabad Bank divested Ananthasubramanian of all powers, following a directive from the finance ministry after she was named in the CBI charge sheet in the PNB fraud case.

Ananthasubramanian was the MD and CEO of Punjab National Bank till May 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The finance ministry is not seeking any relaxation from RBI in its prompt corrective action (PCA) framework and has instead asked banks to adopt differentiated business strategy, exit non-core businesses and focus on core competencies, an official said today.

Finance Minister Piyush Goyal last week met heads of 11 public sector banks (PSBs) which have been identified under the PCA to check their deteriorating financial health and promised all possible help to strengthen them.

Banks facing PCA are reeling under mounting non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans. As of December end Indian banks had NPAs of more than Rs 8 lakh crore of which the major chunk was from PSBs.

Besides, some lenders have been hit by frauds. PNB, for instance, has reported fraud of USD 2 billion or over Rs 13,400 crore carried out allegedly by diamond jeweller Nirav Modi and his associate Mehul Choksi.

Under the PCA, banks face restrictions on distributing dividends and remitting profits, while the owner may be asked to infuse capital into the lender. Besides, the lenders are stopped from expanding their branch networks and need to maintain higher provisions. Management compensation and directors' fees are also capped.

"We recently held a meeting with the 11 public sector banks under PCA but we have not sought any relaxation in the framework from the regulator," a senior finance ministry official said.

The ministry has asked the banks under PCA to assess their capital needs, adopt differentiated banking and focus on core assets while exiting from the non-core ones, the official added.

Asked if these banks will be given more capital to help them, the official said capital infusion is linked to performance.

The 11 banks under PCA are Dena Bank, Allahabad Bank, United Bank of India, Corporation Bank, IDBI Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Bank of Maharashtra.

In October last year the government had announced plans of massive capital infusion of Rs 2.11 lakh crore spread over two financial years -- 2017-18 and 2018-19.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Flood waters have started receding in West Tripura, Gomati, Khowai and Sipahijala districts of the state, officials said today.

The two major rivers of Tripura, Gomati and Haora, are also flowing below the danger level, they said.

However, around 17,480 people are still housed in relief camps in the four districts, State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) officer Sarat Das said.

"There was no report of any fresh flood from any part of the state and river Haora is flowing at 9.48 metre, well below its danger level of 10.50 metre. River Gomati is flowing at 19.80 metre, while its danger level is 21.50 metre," Das said.

Two persons were killed yesterday in landslides triggered by incessant rains, with flash floods inundating several areas in the districts, the officials said.

"Many people have returned to their homes. But, flood waters have not receded entirely from their houses and living conditions are yet to be restored," District Magistrate of West Tripura, Sandeep Namedo Mahatme, told PTI.

Meanwhile, the local meteorological department said rainfall and thunderstorms were likely to occur in all districts of the state during the next 24 hours.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India's Prajnesh Gunnesweran won his encounter while Ramkumar Ramanathan and Sumit Nagal lost their respective men's singles opening round matches at the French Open Qualifiers.

Gunnesweran beat Italian Salvatore Caruso in straight sets 6-4 6-4 to enter the second round in an otherwise disappointing day.

The left-handed Prajnesh (world no 183) recently broke into top-200 after winning Kunming Open Challenger in Anning, China.

However young Sumit Nagal frittered away a one-set advantage against 10th seed Slovakian Martin Klizan to lose his opening round encounter.

Nagal was up against a player, who recently enjoyed a giant-killing spree at the Barcelona Open, defeating Novak Djokovic and Feliciano Lopez. World No 117 Klizan won 4-6 6-4 6-1 in just over two hours.

Ramkumar, who was seeded 12th lost to world No 225 Jay Clarke 3-6 7-5 1-6 in an hour and 51 minutes.

Yuki Bhambri has earned direct entry into the main draw after breaking into top-100.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Girls outshone boys with a pass percentage of 55.34 as against 47.61 in Haryana board of school education, which declared the Class 10 results today.

The overall pass percentage of secondary examination was 51.15 and for open school (private candidates) it was 66.72, an official spokesman said.

Kartik of Nav Durga Senior Secondary School, Jind, has secured the first position.

Selina Yadav of Jeevan Jyoti Senior Secondary School, Rewari, Sonali of Saraswati High School, Sirsa, and Hari Om of Bal Vidya Niketan Senior Secondary School, Palwal, have jointly secured the second place.

Riya of SMB Geeta Senior Secondary School, Ambala, Preeti of Paras Senior Secondary School, Mahendragarh, and Jigyasa of Tagore School, Panipat, have jointly secured the third position.

Earlier today, Haryana Minister Ram Bilas Sharma announced the results in Bhiwani in presence of the board's chairman Jagbir Singh.

Sharma said the Haryana government is committed to improve the quality of and create an environment for students to achieve their best in all competitions.

He praised the board's initiative to launch a digital locker for students to preserve a soft copy of their documents in line with the Union government's Digital India campaign.

The candidates can download their results and certificates from the board's website whenever required, he said.

Also, the board will upload certificates and results on digital locker of all candidates from 2004 until now, he said.

Board chairman Singh said 3,64,800 candidates had appeared for the secondary examination, of which 1,86,586 have passed.

As many as 1,97,873 boys had appeared in the examination, of which 94,202 have passed, and 1,66,927 girls had appeared in the examination, of which 92,384 have passed, he added.

Singh said the passing percentage of government schools in the examination is 44.38 and of private schools was 59.87.

The passing percentage of students from rural areas was 51.72, whereas the passing percentage of students from urban areas was 49.65 per cent, he said.

He said the result of private candidates has been 66.72 per cent.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Gujarat Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has booked a Surat-based builder for allegedly extorting over Rs 155 crore in cash and bitcoins from two persons, a senior official said today.

The builder, Shailesh Bhatt, was the complainant in a bitcoin extortion case.

The CID-Crime lodged a fresh FIR against Bhatt and about nine of his accomplices yesterday at Surat after new details emerged during the ongoing probe into the original case, Director General of Police, CID-Crime, Ashish Bhatia, told reporters in Gandhinagar.

Two persons, including Shailesh Bhatt's nephew Nikunj Bhatt and Dilip Kanani, were also arrested yesterday from Surat on charges of kidnapping and extorting bitcoins and cash at the builder's behest, he said.

After the arrest, the sleuths recovered 152 bitcoins (Rs 8.58 crore), which were in Kanani's wallet, Bhatia said.

Bhatt had earlier alleged that some Amreli policemen extorted "bitcoins worth Rs 9 crore" from him four months back.

While probing his complaint, the CID officials learnt that Bhatt had extorted bitcoins worth crores from others before he was kidnapped by the Amreli police.

"Around two years back, one Satish Kumbhani of Surat floated a company called 'Bit Connect' and lured people like Bhatt to invest in it to get huge returns. Bhatt had invested Rs 2 crore in it. However, its promoters shut shop in January this year and went underground," said Bhatia.

To recover his investment, Bhatt's accomplices first kidnapped Piyush Savalia by posing as Income Tax officials, as Savalia used to work for that company, he said.

Savalia was confined in a farm house at gun-point for three days in January-end, the official said.

"On February 1, Bhatt's men kidnapped Dhaval Mavani at gun-point, as the latter was also attached with the bankrupt firm. Bhatt's accomplices forced Mavani to transfer 2,256 bitcoins worth Rs 131 crore into their account. The builder and his accomplices had also transferred another 166 bitcoins worth Rs 9.64 crore into their account," said Bhatia.

To set Mavani free, Bhatt and his accomplices also extorted Rs 14.50 crore cash, which the builder received through the 'Angadia' service (an unofficial cash courier service), he said.

"Bhatt and his accomplices extorted bitcoins and cash worth a total of Rs 155.21 crore. Later, they distributed the bitcoins among themselves. Bhatt had kept around 700 bitcoins," the CID official said.

Since Bhatt is not tech-ssavvy, he took help of his nephew Nikunj Bhatt to transfer these bitcoins, he said.

The entire conspiracy was unearthed when Savalia was questioned by the CID recently, Bhatia said.

Bhatt had even paid Rs 34.50 lakh to Savalia to keep mum and also to give a false statement that he was never kidnapped by the builder and his men, he said.

While two persons, including Bhatt's nephew, have already been arrested on charges of kidnapping and extortion, a search is on for others, said Bhatia.

The original case pertains to a complaint filed with the CID-Crime three months back by Shailesh Bhatt.

Bhatt had alleged that Amreli policemen had kidnapped him, and his business partner Kirit Paladia, from Gandhinagar on February 9 and extorted bitcoins, which were in the possession of Paladia.

Bhatt had alleged that former BJP MLA Nalian Kotadiya was also involved in this conspiracy of extorting bitcoins worth over Rs 9 crore.

So far, Bhatt's business partner Paladia, Amreli Superintendent of Police Jagdish Patel, Amreli local Crime Branch inspector Anant Patel, two constables and a middleman have been arrested in the case.

Seven constables of Amreli district police, allegedly involved in the case, are still on the run.

Recently, a sessions court here had also issued arrest warrant against Nalin Kotadiya, who has been evading arrest ever since his involvement was surfaced during the probe.

Bitcoin is a type of digital money that is issued and normally controlled by its developers and used and accepted among the members of the virtual community.

The Centre has said it does not recognise bitcoin or any other crypto-currency as legal tender in India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Gunmen today looted Rs 4.95 lakh from a senior official of a private finance company in Bihar's Munger district, police said.

The incident occurred on Avantika road under Jamalpur police station area when Nitish Kumar, a manager of the company, was going to deposit Rs 4,95,165 at a nearby bank, Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Mangla said.

The gunmen, who were four in number, looted the sum at gun point and fled on foot, Mangla said.

Police are conducting raids to nab the culprits, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Haryana's department has sanctioned Rs 1.9 crore for upgrading laboratories in the state's 113 government colleges, an official said today.

The Haryana government has approved a non-recurring expenditure of Rs 1.9 crore for 2018-19 for upgrading and renovating labs in the state-run colleges, a spokesperson said giving the details.

College principals will be able to withdraw this money online through a local treasury he said, adding that the amount will be utilised as per the directions of the director general of higher

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A high-level team of doctors constituted by the Union Health Ministry has been sent to Kerala to probe the death of three persons due to Nipah virus in Kozhikode district.

The ministry has constituted a multi-disciplinary team headed by the Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) , which has reached there today.

"The Health Minister has directed constitution of a high-level team of doctors and the selected team has reached Kerala. It is being suspected that the virus is being spread by bats," a health ministry official said.

"The team comprises officials from the department of Animal Husbandry, National Institute of Immunology and Indian Council of Medical Research, among others. The ministry is in close touch with Kerala health department to monitor the situation," the official added.

Nipah virus (NiV) infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Kozhikode health department is maintaining vigilance in the wake of three deaths. Two more persons, who were allegedly in contact with the deceased, are believed to be in a serious condition.

NiV is also capable of causing disease in pigs and other domestic animals. There is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care, the WHO says on its website.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Japanese car maker Honda is expecting to better industry growth in the current financial year with the launch of three models during the period.

In the last financial year, the company sold more than 1.70 lakh units and registered a growth of eight per cent.

"The industry is expected to grow at a rate of seven to eight per cent this fiscal. We expect to do better than the industry", Sr VP (marketing and sales) and director of Honda Cars India Rajesh Goel said.

Launching the new Amaze sedan here today, Goel said that the company plans to launch new models of Honda CRV and Honda Civic in the country in this fiscal.

He said that Honda was committed to the Indian market, adding that India's contribution to the Asia and Oceania regions was 23 per cent.

"The launch of new models will spur the growth of company in India", he said.

The company exports cars from India in a limited way to Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and few countries in South Africa.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The hotter our body temperature, the more our bodies speed up a key defence system that fights tumours, wounds or infections, according to a study.

In the study published in the journal PNAS, the researchers demonstrated that small rises in temperature, such as during a fever, increase the speed of a cellular 'clock' that controls the response to infections.

This new understanding could lead to more effective and fast-working drugs which target a key protein involved in this process.

Biologists from the Universities of Warwick and Manchester in the UK found that inflammatory signals activate 'Nuclear Factor kappa B' (NF-?B) proteins to start a 'clock' ticking.

In the clock, NF-?B proteins move backwards and forwards into and out of the cell nucleus, where they switch genes on and off, researchers said.

This allows cells to respond to a tumour, wound or infection, they said.

When NF-?B is uncontrolled, it is associated with inflammatory diseases, such as Crohn's disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.

At a body temperature of 34 degrees, the NF-?B clock slows down. At higher temperatures than the normal 37 degree body temperature, such as in fever or 40 degrees, the NF-?B clock speeds up.

The researchers predicted that a protein called A20 - which is essential to avoid inflammatory disease - might be critically involved in this process.

They then removed A20 from cells and found that the NF-kB clock lost its sensitivity to increases in temperature.

David Rand, a professor at the University of Warwick, explained that in normal life the 24 hour body clock controls small (1.5 degree) changes in body temperature.

"The lower body temperature during sleep might provide a fascinating explanation into how shift work, jet lag or sleep disorders cause increased inflammatory disease," Rand said.

"This is a good example of how mathematical modelling of cells can lead to useful new biological understanding," said Dan Woodcock from the University of Warwick.

While the activities of many NF-kB controlled genes were not affected by temperature, a key group of genes showed altered profiles at the different temperatures.

These temperature sensitive genes included key inflammatory regulators and controllers of cell communication that can alter cell responses.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Chief of Air Staff BS Dhanoa began a four-day visit to Israel today with an aim to enhance cooperation between air forces of the two countries.

During the visit, Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa will also attend a conference themed 'air superiority as a bridge to regional stability' which is being organised as part of 70th anniversary celebrations of the Israel Air Force.

"The Chief of Air Staff is expected to meet and interact with Chiefs and senior Commanders of Air Forces from over 20 countries attending the event," the IAF said in a statement.

Defence ties between India and Israel have been on an upswing and air forces of both the countries have been enhancing cooperation over the years.

The IAF said participation of its chief in the conference would provide further impetus towards increasing defence cooperation with Israel.

"In addition to the professional interaction during the conference, the Chief of Air Staff will also be visiting bases of the Israel Air Force, monuments of Israeli military aviation and cultural heritage," the IAF said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A case was registered here today against a Railway Protection Force (RPF) jawan who has been accused of sodomy, in an inebriated condition, by an 18-year-old youth, police said.

The FIR against Samir Kumar Jha, who is absconding, was registered at the RPF outpost at Banmakhi railway station in Purnea, Inspector in-charge of the outpost Sanjay Kumar said.

He said the case was registered after the complaint lodged by the victim was forwarded to them by the railway authorities.

The complainant, who said he worked as a labourer and was 18 years of age, had written to the Station Manager of Purnea Court station alleging that Jha had taken him to his residence on Friday where he got drunk and indulged in unnatural sexual act with him, the RPF Inspector said.

Sale and consumption of liquor is completely banned in Bihar.

The RPF Inspector said the complainant has also alleged that Jha had taken him at gunpoint while performing the immoral act and that he had also shot a video footage of the same, threatening him with uploading the video on the internet if he complained.

The complainant has also alleged that Jha, to whom he had been known for some time, used to put pressure on him for bringing prostitutes to his place and that local women had once complained about his bad character to the Deputy Mayor of Purnea, the RPF Inspector said adding that efforts were on to nab the accused and proceed with investigations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Minister J P Nadda, who is leading the Indian delegation at the World Assembly in Geneva, said today India is committed to achieving universal coverage for its citizens as mentioned in the 2017.

Addressing the plenary meeting of the 71st World Health Assembly, Nadda spoke on the theme: 'Health for All: Commit To Universal Health Coverage'.

He said India has fast-tracked initiatives aimed at achieving the tenets of universal health coverage - strengthening health systems, improving access to free medicines and diagnostics and reducing catastrophic healthcare spending.

He said the government recently launched the Ayushman Bharat programme, which rests on the twin pillars of health and well-ness centres, and the National Health Protection Mission for 100 million families covering 500 million individuals.

"We are reaching out to approximately 40 per cent of the country's population who will be provided an insurance cover of Rs 500,000 per year. This will be the largest government-funded health protection scheme in the world," he said.

Nadda told the participants that in line with India's ambitious plan to end TB by 2025, the government has started the implementation of a national strategic plan and allocated 550 million dollars.

"Apart from rapid scale up of diagnostics and treatment, we have introduced supplementary nutrition for patients for duration of treatment," he said.

He also addressed the Commonwealth Health Ministers Meeting on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly. He spoke about the global fight against non-communicable disease.

He said interventions for prevention and control of are to be prioritised and are to be integrated at all levels of healthcare delivery systems.

"India's 2017 commits to achieving a target of raising public health expenditure to 2.5 per cent of the GDP in a time-bound manner by 2025 and the government is committed to providing the resources for achieving universal health coverage," he said.

Nadda inaugurated a 'Walk the Talk' event and gave the call 'health for all, yoga for all'.External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today warned that the world was reeling under a storm of protectionism and said India did not agree with American President Donald Trump's "Me First" approach on the issue.

India, she stressed, believed in the concept of "We, Us and Ourselves".

"I was sad when President Trump, in the UN General Assembly, said his slogan was Me First," the external affairs minister said.

She was referring to Trump's speech at the United Nations in September last year when he had said, "As President of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries will always, and should always, put your countries first."



"There is a storm of protectionism at the global level which is centred around the concept of Me and Myself but India believes in the concept of We, Us and Ourselves. If everyone views the other as equal then there is no place for protectionism in it," she said.

Swaraj was delivering the first Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Memorial International lecture on 'Soft Power Diplomacy: Strength of India', organised by the ICCR.

After Trump's speech, Swaraj said she had a meeting with ministers of Latin American and Caribbean States.

"A foreign minister of a small country spoke about President Trump's speech of Me First. She said if everyone says (and follows the policy) of Me First then how will my country sustain."



Swaraj said she pointed out that India had a different approach.

"I said India does not have the tradition of (following the policy of) Me First. I said my speech will have (the concept of) Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah," she said, quoting a sloka from the Vedas that translates into "May everyone be happy".

"When everyone is happy then everyone will have the provision of food and security," she said.

The minister said India believed in the policy of assisting other countries, especially those who required a helping hand.

"If we don't do this then developed countries will continue to grow and under-developed countries will remain under-developed. So how will economic disparity reduce," she asked.

Swaraj said Indian culture, yoga, classical dance, movies, cuisine and Information Technology were a "treasure of soft power".

Narrating anecdotes about the craze for Indian films abroad, the external affairs minister said the passion was not restricted to Hindi cinema but extended to regional language films such as 'Bahubali'.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping wanted 'Dangal' to be screened at the BRICS Summit at Xiamen. The Indian ambassador in Mongolia wanted the movie dubbed in Mongolian as wrestling is the national sport of that country. When I met Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh of Mongolia , he said he wanted to be an actor in Bollywood. To this, I quipped we need handsome leaders in too," she said.

Swaraj said during bilateral meetings, foreign delegations proposed that the Bollywood industry shoot in their countries as it boosted tourism.

She also shared an anecdote on how leaders in the recently held India-ASEAN Commemorative Summit came up with a demand for a song from the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' and for 'Bol Radha Bol Sangam' from the 1964 Raj Kapoor- starrer 'Sangam'.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Any comment from Islamabad calling for peace between the two countries will be taken seriously by India, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here today in the backdrop of the Pakistan Army chief favouring talks to resolve lingering disputes.

The minister also said the armed forces will "fully honour" the government's decision not to launch any operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan.

"Any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously," Sitharaman told reporters on the sidelines of an event when asked about Pakistan Army's recent indication of supporting peaceful resolution of disputes between the two countries through talks.

Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had said last month that a peaceful resolution of disputes, including Kashmir, would be possible through talks between the two countries.

His comments came amid the impression, persisting for decades, that the Pakistan Army was not supportive of talks with India.

Asked about the recent incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan and whether India would stick to its decision to not launch any operation in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan, Sitharaman said the armed forces will abide by what was announced by the Centre.

"We shall fully honour the policy which the Home Ministry on behalf of the government of India announced. The policy has clearly laid out how it is going to pan out and we shall abide by everything that was announced," Sitharaman said on the sidelines of a seminar on artificial intelligence.

Speaking at the seminar, she underlined the need for incorporating AI applications in the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

She said AI can also be utilised in checking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons as well as keeping a vigil on outer space.

The Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling along the International Border (IB) in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir last night.

In a major decision, the Home Ministry announced last week Wednesday that security forces will not launch any operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan but reserve the right to retaliate if attacked.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and opposition National Conference leader Omar Abdullah welcomed the Centre's decision.

The first NDA government, headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had taken a similar initiative in 2000 by announcing a unilateral suspension of operations for Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan that year. It continued for five months.

Almost all terrorists groups operating in the Valley in 2000 had rejected the government offer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar today exuded confidence that Indian economy will achieve 9 per cent growth rate on sustained basis by 2022 on the back of reforms like GST, demonetisation and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Indian economy grew by 6.6 per cent in 2017-18 and expected to grow at 7.5 per cent this fiscal.

"Given that we have done GST, demonetisation, IBC, recapitalisatioon of bank, we will grow at 9 per cent growth by 2022. We will also able to sustain it at that level," Kumar said in facebook live organised by NITI Aayog.

He pointed out that Indian economy averaged 8.3 per cent from 2003-11.

Replying to a question on popularising electric vehicles, he said that this is best time for India to encourage, promote electric vehicles as petrol price is now touching USD 80 per barrel.

"So we really should not wait even for a day to get this off the ground," the NITI Aayog vice chairman stressed.

Answering questions on farm sector, he said,"We are doing pilot projects which can demonstrate that farmers income can be doubled."



The government proposed double the income of farmers by 2022.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India said today it has decided to wind up a camp office of its embassy in Nepal as the purpose for which it was set up has been fulfilled.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the Indian embassy's Biratnagar camp office was opened in 2008 to deal with the situation arising out of the devastating Kosi floods and the decision to shut the office was conveyed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli during his visit to Nepal last week.

"The purpose for which this camp office was opened has been fulfilled. Government of India had already decided to wind up the camp office and re-locate the personnel," Kumar said, responding to a query on the issue.

He said Oli thanked Modi for informing him about the decision.

Speaking at the first parliamentary party meeting of the newly-formed Nepal Communist Party in Kathmandu, Oli, also the co-chairman of the party, said the Indian camp office would be closed as it had "outlived its purpose".

India was permitted to set up the temporary field office to issue passes to vehicles for plying on Indian roads in the bordering regions after Koshi floods severely damaged a 17-km stretch of the east-west highway.

Initially set up in the eastern Sunsari district, the office was later shifted to Biratnagar, about 375 km from Kathmandu.

After a repair of the damaged portion of the highway, Nepal had asked India to shut down the camp office but the Indian side did not comply, according to Nepalese officials.

In 2004, India had sought the Nepal government's permission to establish a Consulate General Office in Biratnagar by upgrading the field office, the Kathmandu Post reported.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Indian Textiles and Clothing (T&C) industry has registered 5.37 per cent export growth in 2017 as against 3.94 per cent globally, despite the challenges of demonetisation and GST on the sector, Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) said here today.

"The Indian T&C exports increased from 35.5 billion US Dollars in 2016 to 37.4 billion USD in 2017 and textiles exports (yarns, fabrics and made-ups) were up by 7.82 per cent. Clothing exports (garments) increased by 2.82 per cent in 2017 compared to 2016," SIMA chairman P Nataraj said today.

India remained the world's second largest T&C exporter in 2017, accounting for 4.95 per cent global share, while China, the largest exporter, had 34.2 per cent share in 2017,he said.

Nataraj said countries like Germany, Vietnam, Spain and India are capturing the export space vacated by China, registering increase in exports in 2017.

In 2017,India sustained itself as the largest cotton yarn exporting country with a 25 per cent global market share. Yarn exports increased by 7.21 per cent in the year compared to 2016, Nataraj said in a release.

However, Vietnam with a 11.93 per cent global cotton yarn trade in 2015, increased its share to 18.13 per cent in 2017 and 23.93 per cent growth this year as China shifted its major volume of yarn imports from India to Vietnam, where there is zero duty.

Vietnam is not a cotton producer, but imports it and exports yarn to China, while Indian yarn attracts 3.5 per cent duty in China.

Nataraj said if the Indian spinning sector's demand of extending MEIS benefit for cotton yarn export was considered, it would enable them have a level playing field, use surplus spinning capacity and convert 60 to 70 lakh bales of raw cotton into value added yarn for export, thereby creating jobs for thousands of persons and increase Forex. Recently,the Government extended MEIS (Merchandise Export from Indian Scheme) benefits for all textiles and clothing exports beyond June 30 2018, except cotton yarn, he said.

The stability and advantage in homegrown cotton prices in 2016-17 and 2017-18 cotton seasons had helped the industry mitigate the challenges, Nataraj said.

The delay in releasing export benefits like RoSL (Rebate on State Levies), refund of GST accumulated credits, TUF subsidies and also in announcing enhanced duty drawback rates have caused financial crunch for the whole value chain, especially the garment sector, he said.

The yarn market has gained momentum and unsold yarn stock level was one of the lowest in recent years. With increased fabric demand, yarn prices increased to some extent in mid May 2018 compared to the previous month, he said.

Nataraj said demand for coarse and medium counts, especially open end yarn in the domestic and export markets has increased considerably and several mills have got advance bookings for a few months.

"Early refund and clearing of government dues will strengthen the financial position of exports and all other textile manufacturing units to revive from the financial crisis and capture emerging market opportunities," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the strategic partnership between India and Russia has now been elevated into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" as he met President Vladimir Putin in this Black Sea coastal city for their first informal summit.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Modi said India and Russia have been friends for a long time and they have enjoyed an unbreakable friendship.

"I am grateful to President Putin who invited me for an informal meeting and hence, in the long friendship of ours, this is a new aspect that has been attached to our relationship," Modi said.

"You have added a new aspect of informal summit in the bilateral relationship which I think is a great occasion and creates trust," he said.

Modi recalled his first visit to Russia with then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001 and said Putin was the first world leader whom he met after becoming the chief minister of Gujarat.

"In my political career also, Russia and you (Putin) are very significant...As the chief minister of Gujarat, it was my first meeting with a foreign leader. Hence, the beginning of my international relations started from you and Russia," Modi said.

"Since then it has been 18 years, I have got several opportunities to meet you, to deliberate upon issues, and try to take the relations of India and Russia forward," he added.

He said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by then Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Putin have now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" in itself.

Modi thanked Russia for playing a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - an eight nation bloc which aims at military and economic cooperation between the member states. India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation.

"We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS," Modi said.

He also congratulated Putin for becoming the President for the fourth time with overwhelming majority.

"It's my pleasure that I had got an opportunity to talk to you over phone and soon met you to congratulate you personally," he said.

"Starting from the year 2000 when you took office, our relation has been historic...," Modi added.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Bocharev Creek in Sochi ahead of the delegation-level talks, Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties.

He said Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries.

"Our defense ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said.

He also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS (an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the SCO.

Putin also said that last year there was a considerable increase in mutual trade and this year for the first several months it was an increase of more than 17 per cent.

Official sources said the aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues.

They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks.

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO and BRICS summits.

The sources said possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation may also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.

There have been apprehensions that the US decision on Iran deal may adversely impact New Delhi's oil import from the Persian Gulf nation as well as on the Chabahar port project. Iran is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Pakistani troops targeted border outposts and villages with mortar shells and small arms in Jammu district today, killing an eight-month-old boy and injuring six including a special police officer, officials said.

Firing from across the border took place in several areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB), drawing effective retaliation from the Indian troops, the officials said.

Eight-month-old Nitin Kumar, sleeping with his family outside their home in Pallanwala sector along the LoC, was killed in Pakistani firing, while six people including the special police officer were injured in Pakistani shelling in Arnia sector along the IB.

Today's firing, in violation of a ceasefire agreement, came two days after four civilians and a BSF jawan were killed in firing by Pakistani troops in Jammu district.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who met a few victims of Saturday's attack, described the killings as "highly unfortunate".

She said the attacks came when Ramzan had just begun and the people of the state had heaved a sigh of relief after the central government announced an unilateral halt to security-related operations in the state during the holy month.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that by killing people during the holy month of Ramzan, Pakistan "is guilty of sacrilege".

According to the BSF, "Pakistani troops started mortar shelling in civilian areas in Arnia sector around 0700 hours."



Border Out Posts (BoPs) of Vikram, Chinaz and Jabowal were hit by Pakistani shelling.

BSF troops guarding the border retaliated and the heavy exchange of fire between the two sides stopped around 1400 hours, a BSF officer officer said.

Pakistan Rangers rained mortar shells on Arnia town. A mortar shell landed at a police station, damaging its wall and some parked vehicles. It also killed a special police officer (SPO).

The heavy firing triggered panic among locals. Many of them fled from home and took shelter in camps set up by the government.

According to the officials, the intense Pakistani shelling started a day after it "pleaded" with the BSF to stop firing, after being pounded with heavy artillery that left a Pakistani trooper dead.

In the firing by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Pallanwala sector in Jammu district, eight-month-old Nitin Kumar was killed in Sherpalai hamlet, a police officer said.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, Vivek Gupta said six people including the SPO and 62-year-old woman Darshana Devi were injured in Pakistani shelling and have been hospitalised.

All schools within five kilometres of the border have been closed as a precautionary measure, he said.

The state has witnessed a spurt in Pakistani shelling and firing along the IB and the LoC this year. Over 700 such incidents have been reported this year, which have left 38 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.

The chief minister today visited the house of Tarseem Lal and his wife Manjeet Kour, who were killed in Pakistani shelling in Mangu chak belt of R S Pura sector on Saturday.

She assured all support to the victims of the border firing and consoled the families.

Interacting with the people there, the chief minister described the killings as "highly unfortunate".

She said the people of the state, who had gone through very tough times in the past, wanted to live in an environment free from violence and killings.

She said the Centre's move of halting security operations had generated a hope among the people who expected positive reciprocation to it from all stakeholders.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Crisis-hit Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) today said the company provided certain land parcels of its subsidiary Jaypee Infratech as additional collateral to its lenders and the mortgage transactions could not be termed as "fraudulent".

The Allahabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last week passed an order directing JAL to return nearly 760 acre land to Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), while declaring the transfer of the land as "fraudulent" and "undervalued".

The order came over a petition filed by bankruptcy -hit JIL's resolution professional (RP) Anuj Jain seeking direction over the transactions entered by the firm's promoters, creating mortgage on its 858 acre to secure debt for JAL.

NCLT directed JAL to return only 759 acre out of total 858 acre as it found that the transaction related to 100 acre in Aligarh district was entered before the start period of corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP). Last year, NCLT had admitted an application of IDBI Bank-led consortium to initiate insolvency proceedings against JIL.

In a regulatory filing, JAL said the company has "raised loans against the security of its own assets and the impugned land was mortgaged only as a collateral security as desired by the lenders".

It added: "There is no undervaluation or stripping off of the assets of JIL and no preferential treatment has been given to any creditor of JIL against others."



JAL had said yesterday that the company would go in appeal against the NCLT order.

It further said that the transaction was done in accordance with the legal provisions in vogue much before the coming into force of the provisions of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and the relevant look back period.

Therefore, it said, the transaction could not be termed as "fraudulent and would not amount to carrying on business for a fraudulent purpose".

The company said the mortgage of land of JIL was being provided only as a collateral security at the instance and in favour of the lenders of JAL, since 2009 and in normal course of banking.

"The loans of JAL were fully secured by its own assets. It is vehemently denied that JIL's land was mortgaged to get loans for JAL, as sought to be made out and stated to be fraudulent," the filing said.

The area of land provided as collateral security had come down from 1,043.55 acres as on August 8, 2015 to 893.55 acres as on March 31, 2016 and further down to 858.37 acres as on August 8, 2016 and continues to be the same at 858.37 acres till date.

The mortgages were duly approved by the JIL's board comprising nominee of lenders and no lender ever objected to the creation of mortgages till date.

"10 out of 12 lenders of JIL are common and they represent 80 per cent of borrowings of JIL. They have been member of JLF. Their approval was obvious and the mortgages were created in their favour only. In any case, the land under reference was part of JIL's unencumbered land for which no approval of its lenders was required to be taken.

It was lawful for JIL under the Companies Act, 2013 to provide such collateral security for loans of JAL, the filing said.

"The assumption that the land could have been sold instead of using it for raising loans of JAL and that the same is virtually asset stripping is wrong and denied in as much as, in the commercial wisdom of the management, there was no need to sell the said land at that stage and it was never used to raise loans for JAL, as alleged," it added.

JAL said that the collaterally mortgaged land continues in the possession and use of JIL.

"The company believes that no transaction which is permitted under law and has been done in accordance with the legal provisions, that too, transparently and with full disclosures, would amount to carrying on business for a fraudulent purpose," the filing said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Ahead of his swearing-in as the Karnataka's new chief minister, JD(S) chief H D Kumaraswamy tonight met Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to finalise the modalities of government formation and ministerial berth sharing between the two post-poll allies.

According to sources, Congress has mooted two deputy chief ministers for the numerically strong party in order to strike a balance with the JD(S) but the regional party is believed to be not in favour of this proposal. KPCC chief G Parameshwara is among the frontrunners for the deputy chief minister's post.

Kumaraswamy, who will be sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday for the second time in 12 years, flew into the capital this afternoon and began his engagements with a meeting with pre-poll ally BSP chief Mayawati. BSP bagged 1 seat.

During his 20-minute meeting with Sonia and Rahul, the Congress President, Kumaraswamy is understood to have discussed the nitty-gritty of Cabinet formation on the number of ministerial berths the Congress and the JD(S) would get. The meeting took place at Rahul's Tughlak Lane residence.

"There is no bargain. We will cordially work out things. We must work together. I am here to take their(Congress leaders) advice," said Kumaraswamy when asked by newsmen ahead of the meeting how the Congress and the JD(S) will address the issue of ministry formation.

"We are going to give a stable government. All these issues are not yet discussed. We have not discussed any future course of action".

After the meeting, Kumaraswamy told reporters he had invited both Sonia and Rahul for the swearing-in ceremony in Bengaluru and they have agreed to come. K C Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Karnataka, was also present at the meeting.

Kumaraswamy is expected to take the floor test within 24 hours after being sworn in. Both Congress and JD(S) MLAs will remain confined to their hotels till the floor test, according to reports from Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of power after the three-day BJP government collapsed last Saturday with B S Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepping down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung verdict with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.

Meanwhile, in a development that could leave the Congress red-faced in Karnataka, its MLA Shivaram Hebbar dismissed as "fake" an audio clip released by the party to allege that the BJP offered money and ministerial berth to him for cross-voting during the floor test in the Assembly.

The Congress had released three audio tapes in the run up to the floor test, claiming that the BJP leaders were trying to 'poach' on the party MLAs by offering 'blandishments' so that the Yeddyurappa government is saved.

One of the audio tapes released by the party allegedly had a conversation between Hebbar's wife and BJP leaders, who allegedly offered money and ministerial post to woo him to vote for the BJP.

However, in a Facebook post in Kannada, Hebbar questioned the authenticity of the audio clip, saying his wife did not receive any such call.

"This is not my wife's voice and she has not received any such calls. The audio tape is fake. I condemn it," he wrote.

BJP president Amit Shah said the new government will be a "betrayal" of people's mandate and questioned its fate, saying it is already "destabilised" with the two parties forced to keep their MLAs in hotels "undemocratically".

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, Shah also mocked the Congress for its celebration at the turn of events in Karnataka, saying it has found a new way of discovering win in its defeat and added that he prayed that it sticks to its definition of victory. The BJP then would have no problem in winning the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he said.

Describing the Congress-JD(S) alliance as "unholy", he said the H D Deve Gowda's party fought the election on an anti-Congress plank and benefitted from people's mood against the incumbent party in the state



At an event in Bengaluru, G Parameshwara said difficult times were ahead, but there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power in the southern state.

He said he understood the sentiments of many who were averse to a tie-up between the Congress and JD(S).

However, the need to keep communal forces away from power made the Congress lend support to JD(S), Parameshwara said.

"I do understand the sentiments of many people that we should not have gone with the JD(S). But there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power again in Karnataka. Keeping this in mind, our seniors took a decision to support the JD(S). We all must accept their decision," he said.

"We may see difficult times ahead. We are visualising the challenges ahead, but we need to bear all the hardship to build a strong party," the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief said..

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) today promised a stable government in Karnataka and a "long-term relationship" with the Congress, as he invited top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to his swearing-in in Bengaluru on May 23.

According to highly-placed sources, the Congress-JD(S) combine will have a coordination committee in place to to run their government in Karnataka and the Assembly Speaker will be from the Congress.

The coordination committee will have five-six members who will ensure smooth functioning of the coalition government.

The top leadership of the two parties decided to make a new beginning leaving behind the past, when they had come together and fallen apart, and vowed to have "a long-term relationship".

The sources said the Congress leadership would take a call on who would be its deputy chief minister tomorrow, when the leaders of the two parties would meet in Bangaluru to work out modalities of power sharing in the southern state.

The sources add that only a few ministers were likely to take oath initially on May 23 along with the chief minister and other modalities would be worked out in the coming days. However, the nominations for the Speaker's post would be filed the same day and the Congress has staked its claim to the post, it being the larger party.

Kumaraswamy was in the national capital today to express his gratitude to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for supporting the formation of a JD(S)-led government in Karnataka.

He also invited Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for his swearing-in.

According to the sources, Congress has mooted two deputy chief ministers for the numerically strong party in order to strike a balance with the JD(S) but the regional party is believed to be not in favour of this proposal. KPCC chief G Parameshwara is among the frontrunners for the deputy chief minister's post.

Kumaraswamy, who will be sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday for the second time in 12 years, flew into the capital this afternoon and began his engagements with a meeting with pre-poll ally BSP chief Mayawati. BSP bagged one seat.

During his 20-minute meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Kumaraswamy is understood to have discussed the nitty-gritty of Cabinet formation and the number of ministerial berths the Congress and the JD(S) would get. The meeting took place at Rahul Gandhi's Tughlak Lane residence.

The sources said during the meeting Kumaraswamy promised to provide good governance in Karnataka and said he would seeking Rahul Gandhi's advice on all important issues. The Congress chief also extended his full support to the JD(S) chief for the "long-term relationship".

"There is no bargain. We will cordially work out things. We must work together. I am here to take their (Congress leaders) advice," said Kumaraswamy when asked by newsmen ahead of the meeting how the Congress and the JD(S) will address the issue of ministry formation.

"We are going to give a stable government. All these issues are not yet discussed. We have not discussed any future course of action."



After the meeting, Kumaraswamy told reporters he had invited both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for the swearing-in ceremony in Bengaluru and they have agreed to come. K C Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Karnataka, was also present at the meeting.

Kumaraswamy is expected to take the floor test within 24 hours after being sworn in. Both Congress and JD(S) MLAs will remain confined to their hotels till the floor test, according to reports from Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of power after the three-day BJP government collapsed last Saturday with B S Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung verdict with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.

Meanwhile, in a development that could leave the Congress red-faced in Karnataka, its MLA Shivaram Hebbar dismissed as "fake" an audio clip released by the party to allege that the BJP offered money and ministerial berth to him for cross-voting during the floor test in the Assembly.

The Congress had released three audio tapes in the run-up to the floor test, claiming that the BJP leaders were trying to "poach" the party MLAs by offering 'blandishments' so that the Yeddyurappa government was saved.

"This is not my wife's voice and she has not received any such calls. The audio tape is fake. I condemn it," Hebbar wrote in a Facebook post.

BJP president Amit Shah said the new government would be a "betrayal" of people's mandate and questioned its fate, saying it was already "destabilised" with the two parties forced to keep their MLAs in hotels "undemocratically".

Describing the Congress-JD(S) alliance as "unholy", he said the H D Deve Gowda's party fought the election on an anti-Congress plank and benefitted from people's mood against the incumbent party in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy will take oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka on May 23 at 4.30 pm on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.

Governor Vajubhai Vala will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Kumaraswamy, a government release said.

Kumaraswamy will visit Dharmashala and Sringeri tomorrow to seek the blessings of Lord Manjunath, Sringeri Sharada Devi and the present Shankaracharya Sri Bharati Teertha, the release said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today confirmed his presence at the swearing-in ceremony of Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister.

Chief Ministers of non-BJP states and head of regional parties, including West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party Mayawati, are also expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Kumaraswamy, who is in New Delhi, met Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to finalise the modalities of government formation and ministerial berth sharing between the two post-poll allies.

The JDS leader, who will be sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday for the second time in 12 years, arrived in Delhi this afternoon and began his engagements with a meeting with pre-poll ally BSP chief Mayawati.

Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of power after the three-day BJP government collapsed last Saturday with B S Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepping down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung verdict with BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats.

The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Love took a long flight for a man who



proposed to his girlfriend aboard an Indigo airline flight.

In a video of the incident that has gone viral, the passenger can be seen making the proposal using internal announcement system aboard a Indore-Goa flight on May 20.

The clip showed the woman walking up to him and the latter, in a hat tip to countless romantic celluloid scenes, kneeling and offering his ladylove a rose.

The airline staff, in an apparent show of support for the man, can be seen holding placards on the aerobridge with "will you marry me?" written on them.

The romantic gesture, however, allegedly falls foul of the guidelines issued by the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Indore Airport Director Aryama Sanyal told PTI that the incident took place aboard an IndiGo Airlines Indore-Goa flight.

She said that the man had first proposed to his girlfriend on the aerobridge leading to the plane, and later, after obtaining permission from the airline staff, used the internal announcement system.

Sanyal said that the incident happened before the plane took off and requested that it be seen in a "positive" manner.

"If a person is proposing to someone at the aerobridge, then there is no need to take permission from the airport authorities. However, for using the internal announcement of the plane, the nod of the flight's captain must have been taken," she said.

The Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), issued in 2010, state that "the public address system and interphone system are tools for relaying safety information".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union Minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir today expressed grave concern over low conviction rates in cases of crime against women and said speedy disposal of such cases alone can check the crimes and act as a deterrent.

Addressing the inaugural session of a national conference on 'Gender Justice in Criminal Law', Ahir said the government was sensitive to the issue of women safety and has introduced in law harsher punishments including capital punishment to deal with such offences.

"While laws can be made more harsh, swift disposal by criminal justice system can only check the crimes and also act as a deterrent to prevent its recurrence. The low conviction rates, however, continue to be a matter of grave concern," he said.

The Union Minister of State for Home said the government, responding to public sentiment, recently issued an ordinance regarding amendment to Article 376 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) making provision for stricter punishment to deal with crimes against women.

Ahir said the law was last amended after the horrific December 16 rape in Delhi 2012, but since the society at large was outraged over the recent spate of sexual crimes against minors, the government has introduced harsher punishment including capital punishment to deal with such offences.

The minister said the government has also set stiff time-frame for investigation and swift disposal of cases by fast-track courts.

Ahir said under the police modernisation programme, the government has laid emphasis on improving the forensic laboratories and improve efficiency of prosecution agencies.

The seminar was organised by the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) here.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Venezuela's main opposition, which boycotted presidential election, urged the two candidates who opposed President Nicolas Maduro not to recognize the results, calling the poll a fraud.

"We want the candidates who presented themselves to take a step forward and not recognize a result that is already cooked," said Victor Marquez of Frente Amplio, one of the main opposition parties.

Opposition lawmaker Juan Andres Mejia called on former governor Henri Falcon and evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci, who ran against Maduro in the controversial poll, to join opposition calls "to demand free and democratic elections together."



Voting was still underway in an unknown number of polling stations today, more than two hours after the 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) official close of polls.

The Frente Amplio claimed the government ordered several polling stations to remain open beyond the official closing time because the turnout at the time was "less than 30 per cent".

"The government intends to present figures that do not correspond to reality," Marquez told a press conference.

Earlier, Falcon and Bertucci both denounced what they claimed were irregularities during polling, particularly the use of so-called "red points" -- street stalls set up by the ruling Socialists near pollings stations -- allegedly to offer handouts in exchange for votes.

According to the opposition, the socialists were asking holders of the "Carnet de la Patria" -- a card allowing them to access social food handouts -- to record that they had voted.

The opposition denounced the move as "blackmail." "We will surely have a result, but a result that was coerced, manipulated, forced," Bertucci told a press conference.

"They are twisting voters' arms to vote for a candidate they probably did not want to vote for," he said.

The United States, European Union and several of Venezuela's Latin American neighbors said they would not recognize the results of the election, saying the conditions did not exist for them to be free and fair.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Maharashtra State Contractors Association, an umbrella body of over two lakh small contractors registered with the state government, has called for a meeting on May 30 to chalk out a plan of action over their woes.

The meeting, to be held in Raigad district, will deliberate on the lack of government projects for them as well as hurdles in the clearance of their dues after the implementation of the Goods and Services Act, said its functionaries.

The body has written a four-page letter addressed to the state government alleging a cut in capital expenditure, chaos post GST and purposeful deletion of small contractors from projects.

The letter stated that these issues were harming around 1.5 crore to two crore people who gain employment due to small contractors.

"Works in PWD, irrigation, water conservation have come to a standstill. Be it construction of new roads or maintenance of government buildings, I challenge the government to show any ongoing work. It has all stopped as the capital expenditure has been reduced drastically," said Milind Bhosle, President, MSCA.

He further added that following the implementation of GST, bills were pending with the government with contractors being asked to pay.

Another contractor alleged that the state government was pushing for a centralised contractor system that would result in big players eliminating smaller ones.

He said that an earlier system, of giving small jobs to unemployed engineers, had also been done away with.

Around two lakh contractors are registered with the state government for works like road and canal construction, maintenance of government buildings etc.

The PWD minister's office said it could not comment on the issue as it had not received any letter from the contractors' body.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Maharashtra government today said it has detected and replaced 99 lakh "undeserving" beneficiaries from its public distribution system with the help of Aadhar-enabled Public Distribution System (AePDS) in just one month.

"This is just the beginning of cleaning up the system. In coming months, more bogus and undeserving people will be replaced with the genuine ones," PDS Minister Girish Bapat told reporters.

He said the government detected "hundreds of thousands" of such cases during linking of ration cards with Aadhaar numbers.

"These names were either duplicate or bogus...many of them (beneficiaries) had passed away long before but food grains were drawn in their name. Within one month's period from the implementation of AePDS, we could remove 99 lakh such names from the system. Now, we can replace it with genuine 99 lakh people who deserve to be covered under Food Security Act," the minister said.

Aadhaar enabled Public Distribution System leverages the Aadhaar platform in delivering the food commodities to the eligible beneficiaries.

A PDS official said, "The PDS system costs around Rs 14,000 crore yearly because foodgrains are sold at very low rates. With this correction in the data, the state can save Rs 4,200 crore annually".

He said removing the bogus names did not necessarily mean that they will be replaced by equal number of needy persons.

"The actual number of needy persons could be lesser and thus it will save a lot of funds, which were unduly spent so far," he said.

Meanwhile, Bapat said the state administration currently uses real-time information of every shop in the state, the amount of sale every shop reported, and distribution of foodgrain to keep a check on the system.

"The AePDS helped the state to filter the system as the Centre has fixed state's quota to seven crore people to be covered under the Food Security Act 2013. The coming months will filter the ration card database further," the minister said.

When asked about AePDS implementation and its benefits, Bapat said, "In Pune city alone, of the total allocation, foodgrain distribution was 88% till last couple of months. The AePDS filtered the database and removed all the bogus and duplicate names resulting in foodgrain distribution falling to merely 40%. This is an example of how a system with good-intention was misused by some people."



Citing the example of Nagpur, the official said the number of PDS beneficiaries stood at 2,98,000 so far, which was reduced to 1,98,000 with the AePDS filter.

"When we called for remaining genuine beneficiaries to join PDS, only 40,000 got selected. It means, remaining 60,000 were bogus and there is no one to replace them. It will now reduce Nagpur's foodgrain requirement as per Food Security Act," the official said.

As per the Food Security Act 2013, a person with an annual income of Rs 44,000 in rural areas is eligible as a beneficiary under the system.

"The norm of annual income in urban areas is Rs 59,000. All the beneficiaries have self-declared their financial status and no state official has verified it," according to the minister.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A case was registered today against a man for his alleged post criticising the government's move to suspend anti-terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir, a police spokesman said.

"The police in Kashmir took cognizance of the matter when it observed that the tweet amounts to an offence under law," he said.

"They also contacted the authorities in Twitter India requesting them to provide the details of this particular Twitter user," the spokesman added.

The man, believed to be a Kashmiri Pandit, posted on Twitter "Just heard, 5 CRPF jawans martyred in Pampore. #RamzanCeasefire is working. Question is who is it working for?".

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah reacted to the post.

"Given that NO ONE else has this 'news' I think it's safe to assume this is fake spread with a malicious intent, the subtext being Muslim terrorists have killed Hindu CRPF jawans. These sorts of blatant lies must face legal action," Omar tweeted in response.

The man has since deleted the tweet in question.

Earlier, the police had booked two other Twitter users for posting hate messages on their handles.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A Class X student, who had claimed she was given the 2016 question paper during the CBSE



Mathematics exam this year, withdrew her plea before the Kerala High Court today.

She had sought that her answer sheet be assessed based on the 2016 question paper.

The move came after the Central Board of Secondary (CBSE) refuted Ameeya Saleem's charge and said that it would go ahead with legal action against her for making "false" claims.

The student's lawyer said the petition was withdrawn to ensure that her further studies were not affected.

Ameeya had filed the petition before the Kerala High Court claiming that she was given a wrong question paper in the recent Mathematics board exam.

The CBSE, however, had alleged that the student had "fabricated" a story as she was "weak" in the subject.

In its counter-affidavit submitted to the court in response to the student's plea, the CBSE had said that instead of using the 2018 question paper, Ameeya had used her brother's question paper (of 2016) for her Class X board exams, held recently.

The Board had further submitted that the student was weak in Mathematics, and was attempting to mislead the authorities by submitting false complaints to the Board.

The student had moved the court suppressing the material facts and hence, was not entitled for any discretionary relief, the CBSE had said in its counter.

The court had on April 9 admitted the girl's petition, which claimed that she was given a 2016 question paper during the Maths exam and urged that her answer sheet be assessed based on the same.

The CBSE subsequently had conducted an inquiry which revealed that the petitioner was carrying a re-written question paper and she had copied the same on the answer script.

Principal of Mount Carmel Vidyanikethan Senior Secondary School in Kanjikkuzhy, Kottayam, had complained to the CBSE regarding the mismatch of the mathematics question paper given to the girl student on March 28.

The high court had observed that the pendency of the case would not be a bar for the CBSE to conduct a re-test for the petitioner alone.

In her complaint to CBSE Thiruvananthapuram's regional officer, the principal had stated that their student was given the Summative Assessment (SA)-2 paper of the year 2016 for the mathematics examination.

The principal had appealed to the authorities concerned "to do something" so that the student might not be affected.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Home Ministry has ordered an internal inquiry into the entire process of granting long-term visa to Pakistani immigrants after the arrest of one of its officials, accused of demanding and accepting bribe from applicants, officials said.

The ministry has also ordered officials to clear the pending cases of Pakistani immigrants applying for Indian citizenship or extending long-term visa (LTV).

"We are conducting an internal inquiry into the allegation that a ministry official demanded and accepted bribe from Pakistani immigrants. We are taking action to find out the loopholes and to plug them," a home ministry official said.

PK Mishra, a senior secretariat assistant in the Foreigners Division of the Home Ministry, was arrested along with three others by the Rajasthan Anti-Corruption Bureau last week for allegedly demanding and accepting bribe from Pakistani immigrants applying for Indian citizenship or extending long-term visa.

The home ministry was awaiting a report from the Rajasthan Police on the arrests and the alleged racket of "bribe-for-visa", another official said.

Rajasthan police officials said the alleged racket was operating in the region for several years in connivance with government officials, who used an extensive network of agents, many of whom were Pakistani Hindu immigrants.

Three other people arrested were Ashok, Govind and Bhagwan Ram all Pakistani immigrants.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Militants today attacked a police post guarding the minority community in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir by opening fire, a police official said.

No loss of life or damage was reported in the incident, he said.

The ultras opened fire on a minority guard post at Saidpora in Tahab area of Pulwama district this afternoon. The police personnel retaliated, forcing militants to escape from the spot.

The official said militants might have carried out the attack with an aim of snatching weapons from cops.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he saw a different Vladimir Putin who got emotional while talking about the students of



Sirius Educational Centre - a unique educational centre set up on the initiative of the Russian President.

Modi and Putin visited the educational centre and interacted with more than 700 students.

Talking to students, Modi said he was thankful to his friend President Putin who provided him an opportunity to meet the bright stars of Russia, referring to the students of the centre.

"I was with my friend for the whole day today. When he spoke about the kids (of the centre) he was emotionally involved. I saw dreams in his eyes. I saw a different person. I saw a Putin who was different from the president," Modi said as he held the hand of Putin who was smiling.

He asked the students how many of them were willing to visit India.

In response, all the students raised their hands, bringing a smile on the face of Modi who invited them to visit India and interact with Indian students. He also promised that he will spend time with them in India.

Later, the students took the autographs of the two leaders.

The Sirius Educational Centre is a unique educational centre set up by the Talent and Success Educational Fund in 2015 on the initiative of President Putin and based at the Sochi Olympic facilities.

The main purpose of the project is to identify, develop and provide professional support for children demonstrating gifts in technical creativity, art, the natural sciences and sport.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday declined to stay Tata Steel's acquisition of debt-laden under the corporate insolvency resolution process.

An NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mulhopadhaya also issued notices to Tata Steel, the resolution professional and Committee of Creditors (CoC) of on a petition filed by its promotor Neeraj Singal challenging the sale.

"Let us decide the law but not stall the process," the bench said, adding that the resolution process would be subject to the final outcome of the case.

The bench directed the matter to be listed on May 30 and asked the parties to file their replies in a week.

Meanwhile, engineering and construction major L&T, which is an operational creditor of Bhushan Steel, has also approached the appellate tribunal against NCLT's order approving sale of the debt-ridden firm to

L&T's plea would be heard tomorrow.

In his petition, Neeraj Singal has challenged the eligibility of as resolution applicant under Section 29 A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

He further contended that no notice was given to him when CoC was approving the resolution plan.

Singal also alleged that a copy of the resolution plan was also not given to him.

Singal has sought stay on the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had approved Tata Steel's bid for under corporate insolvency resolution rocess.

Singal, who holds around 22 per cent stake in Bhushan Steel, had requested the appellate tribunal to maintain status quo over the company's shareholding.

On May 15, NCLT had approved the resolution plan submitted by the RP of Bhushan Steel, which has found as the highest bidder.

The Committee of Creditors had approved the Rs 325 billion deal along with 12.27 per cent equity in the company offered by Tata Steel.

(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 NDA government has almost done away with the "blacklist" of overseas Sikhs which denied them an Indian visa, a senior BJP leader told Sikh community members here.

The blacklisted NRI Sikhs are barred from travelling to India due to their alleged ties with Khalistan movement in the 80s and 90s. The list was prepared at different levels by the security agencies.

The names in the list, and denial of India visas to them, of late, has been one of the main reasons of discontent among the Sikh communities in the US.

"We have almost done away with the most inhuman black list, which used to deny the community their right to visit India, the right to visit Harmandir sahib, right to meet with their relatives, near and dear ones," BJP general secretary Ram Madhav told a congregation of Sikhs at one of the oldest Gurdwaras of Maryland in a suburb of Washington DC.

"The (black) list has been almost completely removed. Only a few individuals remain (on the list). Those names will also go," he said.

Early this year, several Sikh Gurdwaras in the US had announced that they would not let any Indian government official to address their congregation. A large number of Gurdwaras had later denied such a move.

Madhav said the the government has approached the Supreme Court to cancel anticipatory bails of those who had led the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, that took the lives of more than 3,000 people, so that they can be put behind the bars, he said.

Madhav also addressed a gathering of Indian Americans where he said the BJP wants to be ruling in all the 29 states of India.

"We narrowly missed the 22nd State. It should rightfully belong to us. People voted for Mukti from Congress," he said and alleged that the Congress-brand has made a "back-door entry" to power in Karnataka, even after it lost the recently concluded Assembly elections.

"They have managed to try and enter from the backdoor. Congress is the party of the past. It is (now) ready to be a second fiddle to a local party. They are happy, as long as they are able to keep BJP out (of power) for at least three months. BJP is the present of India and BJP is going to be the future of India," Madhav said at the New India event organised by Overseas Friends of BJP to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the NDA government.

He said that the government has decided not to have security operations during the month of Ramadan in Jammu and Kashmir.

But this does not mean that the security forces would be siting ducks for anybody to come and attack.

"If any attack happened, it would be retaliated with full force," said the BJP leader who is party's in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today hailed the United States's policy on Iran and urged the rest of the world to follow suit.

"The US policy is correct. Iran is spreading aggressively throughout the Middle East. It aspires to achieve nuclear weapons by various means," Netanyahu said as he met Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes in Jerusalem.

"We call on the entire international community to join this American position," Netanyahu added.

He was speaking after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday warned Iran would be hit with the "strongest sanctions in history".

Pompeo also cautioned European firms against continuing to do business in Tehran, toughening up the US policy line after its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear pact this month despite intense diplomatic efforts by Washington's European allies.

The deal was also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. "Whoever wants to halt Iran's aggression and whoever wants to ensure security, and whoever wants to advance peace must oppose Iran and support the American position. This is what Israel is doing," Netanyahu said.

A staunch opponent of the Iran nuclear deal, Netanyahu again showered US President Donald Trump with praise for pulling out of the deal on May 8.

"President Trump has taken a firm position, which we welcome, against Iran. It was echoed by him and today by the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, very strong position: No enrichment, tough sanctions and Iran should get out of Syria," he said.

"We believe this is the right policy. We believe it's the only policy that could ultimately guarantee the security of the Middle East and peace in our region," Netanyahu added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Pakistan's ousted premier Nawaz Sharif today denied ownership or any link with the purchase of properties in London as he recorded his statement before the accountability court here in a corruption case spiralling from the Panama Papers scandal.

The Avenfield case is one of the three cases filed against Sharif, 68, and his family following the July 28 verdict of the Supreme Court, which had disqualified him and ordered institution of cases.

Sharif, his daughter Maryam, sons Hassan and Hussain and son-in-law Muhammad Safdar are accused in the case that is based on allegation that the properties in London were bought in 1990s with the corruption money when Sharif twice served as premier.

The court last week ordered Sharif, Maryam and Safdar to record final statements in their defense after a 19 prosecution witness testified in the case. Hassan and Hussain were not called as they were already declared as absconders.

Accountability Court Judge Muhammad Bashir had prepared a questionnaire of around 127 questions and handed it over to the counsel representing the Sharif family.

The former prime minister read the written answers while elaborating his positions in the case. He firmly denied that he was direct or indirect owner of properties located in London.

"I was never involved in or associated with the acquisition of the London properties through any real or beneficial title, he said.

Sharif also expressed serious reservations about the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) which was set up by the Supreme Court last year and its report led to Sharif's disqualification and start of corruption cases.

"There are and always have been reservations against the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) members, he said.

He especially mentioned representatives of Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence in the JIT and said their inclusion was "unnecessary".

He also said that other four members of the JIT were not neutral as some of them had political affiliations while others had a track record of anti-Sharif bias.

The court adjourned the hearing until tomorrow.

The three cases include Avenfield properties, Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Flagship Investment. Sharif is accused in all three with his two sons while his daughter and son-in-law are co-accused only in Avenfiled case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The NHRC has sent notices to all states and Union territories seeking details of children languishing in jails with their imprisoned mothers, after the case of 46 such children living in Odisha prisons without proper facilities for their upbringing came to light.

The National Human Rights Commission in a statement today said it has "taken suo motu cognisance of a media report about the plight of 46 boys and girls, aged between one month and six years, who are living in prisons in the state of Odisha with their mothers, including nine convicted and 36 undertrial prisoners".

Accordingly, the Commission has issued notices to the chief secretaries and directors general of prisons of all the states and Union territories seeking reports along with statistics, showing how many children were being kept with their mothers in the jails under their jurisdiction, without ensuring facilities, necessary for psychological and physical growth as well as educational upbringing.

"The response from all the states and Union territories is expected within six weeks," the NHRC said in the statement.

According to the media report carried yesterday, these children include 25 girls and 21 boys.

Out of the 45 mothers, 30 belong to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities.

The Commission has observed that the contents of the media report, if true, "amount to human rights violations of the innocent children".

"Reportedly, the children, lodged in the jails with their mothers, are neither convicts nor under trials and they are entitled to food, shelter, medical care, clothing, education and recreational facilities, but nothing is being provided to them despite the Supreme Court guidelines," the statement said.

"The guidelines set by the Supreme Court are very clear, providing proper protection to such children, but as reported, it appears, the ground reality is different. The instant report is focused on the prisons in the state of Odisha. However, there could be similar cases in the jails of other states too, which have not yet been noticed," it said.

As reported, the apex court has formulated guidelines that the cases of women prisoners with children, should be disposed of expeditiously but the reality is different. There are many inmates who have been granted bail by the competent court but they cannot be freed as they are unable to furnish the sureties, the statement said.

The guidelines set by the apex court also ensure that children aged below three years shall be allowed to kept in creche and those between 2-3 years, should be looked after in a nursery, run by the prisons authorities, outside the prison premises and that small children should not be kept in sub-jails, unless facilities are ensured for their biological, psychological and social growth, the rights panel said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Nipah virus has so far claimed three lives in Kerala while one person is undergoing treatment and 8 others are under observation in Kozhikode district, Health minister K K Shylaja today said.

The three deaths, which occurred over the past fortnight, were from the same family, including two siblings in their early twenties.

The man who is undergoing treatment for 'Nipah' is the father of the two brothers who died.

Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans.

The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus.

A bat was found in the well of their house which has now been closed, the minister said.

A nursing assistant, Lini, who had treated three infected persons, died this morning.

However, it is yet to be confirmed if she had contracted the virus, which spreads through bats.

Five more people have died due to high fever and similar symptoms of the virus here and in neighbouring Malappuram district.

However, it is yet to be confirmed if their deaths was caused by the virus, health department sources said.

Health minister Shylaja and Labour minister, T P Ramakrishnan, who hails from Kozhikode, held discussions with officials and assured that the government had taken all necessary steps to prevent the spread of the virus, which has affected the state for the first time.

A high level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has already arrived in Kozhikode district to take stock of the situation.

The state has been put on high alert and two control rooms have also been opened here.

The minister said there was no need to panic as the virus spreads only through direct contact with the infected person.

"We have listed the persons who have got in touch with the patients. They have been isolated as precautionary measure," she said.

The minister said peripheral hospitals in the vicinity of Medical college have been asked to set up isolation wards and if they have patients with symptoms of the virus, they should be directed to the medical college.

NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah in Malaysia during 1998. Then, pigs were the intermediate hosts.

However, in subsequent NiV outbreaks, there were no intermediate hosts.

In Bangladesh in 2004, humans became infected with NiV as a result of consuming date palm sap that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Nepal's first Leftist majority government has expressed commitment to the principles of democracy and dispelled fears about a totalitarian system after the formation of an all-Communist regime.

The two largest Communist parties - CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre - merged last week to form the Nepal Communist Party, that has a nearly two-third majority in Parliament.

The new government is fully committed to the principles of basic democratic values so there is no fear of introducing a totalitarian system by abolishing democratic system, said President Bidya Devi Bhandari reading out the government's policy document in Parliament.

Presenting the government's policies and programmes for 2018-19 Bhandari said, "Nepal government will adopt a good neighbour policy and will introduce regulations to attract foreign investments in the country".

She said the government will try to integrate the Nepalese economy into the world economy and convert Nepal to a middle income country within the next 10 years, adding the government will work for generating 5,000 MW of hydroelectricity within the next five years and 15,000 MW in 10 years.

Bhandari, addressing a joint meeting of the federal parliament, said the government is working to double economic growth in the next five years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)An online sellers' industry body on Monday moved the (CCI) against Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, a wholesale company, for allegedly abusing its dominant position on Flipkart's

The All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA), which claims to represent over 3,500 sellers on various e-commerce platforms, in a statement alleged that Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, a dominant player, has abused its position.

"Flipkart India, the subsidiary of Flipkart Singapore, is a wholesale dealer which acquired goods from various persons and was immediately selling the goods to retail sellers like WS Retail Services and others at huge discounts, who subsequently would sell those goods at unmatched prices as sellers on internet platform under the name 'Flipkart.com'," AIOVA said in its statement.

Emails sent to Flipkart did not elicit a response.

The representative body claimed that such a "preferential treatment and discriminatory conduct", which is prohibited under the Competition Act, "is killing many independent sellers who depend on its platform for their livelihood".

"The Commission should immediately prevent Flipkart from selling goods at a discounted price to certain sellers which are further sold on Flipkart.com. If not stopped immediately, many independent sellers would be forced to leave the market, resulting in concentration of the market," it asserted.

The association urged that Flipkart India (wholesale arm) should immediately be asked to stop selling goods at discount.

It also sought that Flipkart Internet, which runs the online marketplace, should immediately stop giving preferential treatment and discriminatory advantage to certain set of sellers in order to protect independent sellers.

Earlier this month, Flipkart struck about $16 billion deal with Walmart under which the US retail giant will pick up about 77 per cent stake in the company.

Traders' body CAIT has said it will move to file objections on the proposed Walmart-Flipkart deal, claiming that the agreement would lead to an uneven playing field and massive job losses.Pakistan's election commission today proposed July 25-27 as possible dates for holding general elections in the country, media reports said today.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) forwarded a report to President Mamnoon Hussain requesting him to set one of the proposed dates as the day of the polls, the Dawn reported.

The announcement comes just days before the term of the sitting PML-N government is set to expire on May 31.

Consultations regarding candidates for the post of caretaker prime minister are also ongoing.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi held a meeting with Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah regarding the matter last week. A final meeting is expected to take place tomorrow, the daily said.

Prior to the meeting, Abbasi met PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif yesterday to discuss candidates for the post.

A close aide to Sharif and a senior PML-N leader told the daily that the meeting was of the view that it did not make much difference whether the PML-N proposed a name for the caretaker prime minister as everyone knows who would control him at the end of the day.

In such a situation there is a view in the party that it should not be keen in nominating someone for the slot, he said, adding that if this view prevailed (in the party) either the opposition (PPP) nominee would get the nod of the PML-N or the matter might be referred to the ECP.

Another leader who was privy to the development was quoted as saying that Sharif was not in favour of referring this matter to the ECP and wanted consensus.

He said the huddle also seriously pondered over accepting the nominee of the PPP for the caretaker premier.

It will not come as a surprise if Abbasi says yes to the name proposed by Shah for the caretaker premier, he said, adding that the PML-N would at least be in a position to point a finger at the caretaker set-up if things went against it in the coming general elections.

Shah has already said that he and the prime minister would finalise the name of the caretaker prime minister by tomorrow and announce it the same day.

If the prime minister and the opposition leader fail to reach a consensus on a candidate, they will have to make public three names each.

The list of the six nominees will be referred to a parliamentary committee, which will be formed by the National Assembly speaker.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Union minister Jitendra Singh today said Pakistan was guilty of sacrilege for killing innocent civilians during the holy month of Ramzan.

Speaking to reporters soon after his arrival here to attend the Udhampur District Development Board (DDB) meeting in his capacity as the local MP, Singh said Pakistan was indulging in the worst kind of unholy ("na-pak") activity.

He was replying to questions on Pakistani forces firing at and shelling villages on the Indian side and killing people in the holy month of Ramzan, when India had announced a ceasefire as regards anti-terror operations in Kashmir.

Singh said Pakistan, which was carved out to establish a dispensation based on the principles of the "Quran", had proved unworthy of its avowed objective.

He added that it was for the entire world to see that while, during the observance of "Roza", every practising Muslim was forbidden from causing harm to fellow human beings, there was an Islamic State that found nothing wrong in indulging in violence and killing of civilians.

The Union Minister of State at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said for every single gun-fire from the other side, there were multiple gun-fires in retaliation from the Indian side.

He added that in the last several decades, there was never such a powerful retaliatory action from the Indian side, which had resulted in heavy damage on the other side.

Giving full credit to the Indian Army and the security forces, Singh said under the current BJP-led government, the forces enjoyed the professional freedom to decide on the nature and quantum of retaliation, based on their discretion and on-the-spot assessment.

"We have some of the best forces in the world, for which we are proud and also deeply indebted," he added.

Expressing concern over the civilian casualties and damage as a result of Pakistani firing, Singh said there could be no compensation for the loss of a human life, but nevertheless, the government would try to provide the best possible assistance and relief to the victims and their families.

Later, the Union minister attended the DDB meeting, along with board Chairman and Jammu and Kashmir Forest Minister Rajiv Jasrotia and all the three MLAs from the district -- Pawan Gupta, Dina Nath Bhagat and RS Pathania.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Pakistan has been identified among three main source countries for money laundering in the UK, according to an analysis by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The agency found that Britain was the prime destination for corrupt politically exposed persons (PEPs) to invest their funds and the most common source countries of those funds were Russia, Nigeria and Pakistan.

The UK is a prime destination for foreign corrupt PEPs to launder the proceeds of corruption. Investment in UK property, particularly in London, continues to be an attractive mechanism to launder funds, the NCA notes in its National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime 2018' released last week.

The true scale of PEPs' investment in the UK is not known, however the source countries that are most commonly seen are Russia, Nigeria and Pakistan, it adds.

The NCA, a non-ministerial UK government law enforcement agency, found that a small number of UK-based professional enablers, such as solicitors, accountants, estate agents and trust and company service providers, assist such corrupt individuals in laundering their money in Britain.

The overseas jurisdictions that have the most enduring impact on the UK across the majority of the different money laundering threats are: Russia, China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Some of these jurisdictions have large financial sectors which also make them attractive as destinations or transit points for the proceeds of crime, the NCA report notes.

It also warns of a Brexit-related spike in corrupt activities between the UK and countries outside the European Union (EU).

The report states, As the UK moves towards exiting the EU in March 2019, UK-based businesses may look to increase the amount of trade they have with non-EU countries.

We judge this will increase the likelihood that UK businesses will come into contact with corrupt markets, particularly in the developing world, raising the risk they will be drawn into corrupt practices.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Punjab Governor V P Singh Badnore today expressed concern over the contamination of the Beas river following the release of molasses by a sugar mill, and sought full details from Chief Minister Amarinder Singh about the damage to the

In a written communique to Singh, Badnore said the river water is used for drinking in downstream districts of Punjab and Rajasthan.

He urged the state government to immediately take steps to reverse the situation and address the long-term issue of pollution of rivers in Punjab, which roughly means "the land of five rivers" - Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas.

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal accused the Amarinder Singh government of "patronising an environmental massacre" by not addressing the ecological issue "caused by Chadha Sugar Industries and owners of the distillery."



In a letter to Minister Harsh Vardhan, Badal described the contamination as "a shocking example of the brazen insensitivity of the offending parties with active patronage of the state government."



He demanded the immediate arrest of people responsible for the contamination. He said the Centre should directly address the issue as it has become a "multi-state calamity".

The former deputy chief minister also demanded that an ministry team carry out an on-the-spot study of the situation. "That team should assess the extent of damage...and determine the scale of compensation to be paid to the affected people," he said.

The burden of the compensation should be borne by the industrialist, he said.

A large number of fish were found dead in Beas river on May 17 after molasses from the sugar factory leaked into the river in Punjab's Beas town, about 40 km from Amritsar.

The molasses was leaked from Chadha Sugar Mill of Kirri Afgana in Gurdaspur. The mill reportedly belongs to Jasdeep Kaur Chadha, daughter of former Delhi Gurdwara Sikh Parbandhak Committee chief Harvinder Singh Sarna.

Jasdeep Kaur Chadha's late husband Hardeep Singh Chadha was the brother of liquor baron Ponty Chadha. Both brothers were killed allegedly in a crossfire in 2012.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he had "extremely productive" discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and they reviewed the complete range of India-Russia relations as well as other global subjects during their first ever informal summit in this Black Sea coastal city.

Modi said friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time and their ties will continue to scale newer heights in the coming years.

The Prime Minister said said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Putin have now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" in itself.

"I am grateful to President Putin who invited me for an informal meeting and hence, in the long friendship of ours, this is a new aspect that has been attached to our relationship," Modi said.

"You have added a new aspect of informal summit in the bilateral relationship which I think is a great occasion and creates trust," he said.

"The Monday talks were very intense," Russia's official Tass agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying.

"I am confident that the ongoing informal contacts between the leaders of Russia and India will be useful and will help define the further guidelines for our development and strategic partnership," he said.

"There was a discussion of various areas of our specific cooperation at the regional and global level," Lavrov said.

Russian President Putin and Prime Minister Modi paid special attention to the economic talks, he said.

"We discussed the whole spectrum of our particularly privileged strategic partnership, paid special attention to the economy, noted the steady growth of trade turnover," the minister said.

Ahead of their summit, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin will discuss Russia-India military cooperation with Prime Minister Modi, amidst US sanctions on Russia.

"It can be supposed that the military-technical cooperation issue will be discussed [at the meeting between Putin and Modi,]" Tass agency quoted Peskov as saying.

Earlier, official sources said the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation might also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.

The CAATSA is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. It includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia's defence and intelligence sectors.

India is not going to allow its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources said, adding New Delhi has been lobbying with the Trump administration on the issue.

India could face US sanctions for purchasing high value military defence items, in particular state-of-the-art S-400 Triumf missile defence system, from Russia under the act.

In his opening remarks, Modi also thanked Russia for playing a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation.

"We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS," Modi said.

He also congratulated Putin for becoming the President for the fourth time with overwhelming majority.

"Starting from the year 2000 when you took office, our relation has been historic...," Modi said.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Sochi, Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties.

"We are delighted to see you, Mr Prime Minister, and consider you personally as a big friend of our country. We are very glad to be able to have this meeting," Putin told Modi.

He said Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries.

"Our defense ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said.

He also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS and the SCO.

"There is no need to explain Russian-Indian relations, since we all know that they have deep roots. However, we have been able to create additional momentum recently. Last year, our trade saw a significant increase, adding another 17 percent since the beginning of this year," he said.

The Russian Foreign Minister also said that Moscow and New Delhi will strongly oppose attempts to politicise the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Russia and India had confirmed they "will strongly oppose attempts to politicise the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," Lavrov said.

He pointed out that "we have seen" such attempts "recently."



His comments came following the OPCW last month said it had confirmed Britain's findings on the military-grade nerve agent used in the attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK, which London said came from Russia.

Later, President Putin hosted a lunch in the honour of Prime Minister Modi and the two leaders also took a boat ride from Bocharev Creek to Olympic Park in Russia's Sochi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had "very intense" discussions on bilateral and global issues that would provide the guidelines for the further development of India-Russia special privileged strategic ties, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today.

Prime Minister Modi said the strategic partnership between India and Russia has now been elevated into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" as he met President Putin in this Black Sea coastal city for their first informal summit to discuss a range of bilateral topics, including defence cooperation as well as global issues of common concern.

He said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Putin have now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" in itself.

"I am grateful to President Putin who invited me for an informal meeting and hence, in the long friendship of ours, this is a new aspect that has been attached to our relationship," Modi said.

"You have added a new aspect of informal summit in the bilateral relationship which I think is a great occasion and creates trust," he said.

"The Monday talks were very intense," Russia's official Tass agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

"I am confident that the ongoing informal contacts between the leaders of Russia and India will be useful and will help define the further guidelines for our development and strategic partnership," he said.

"There was a discussion of various areas of our specific cooperation at the regional and global level," Lavrov said.

Russian President Putin and Prime Minister Modi paid special attention to the economic talks, he said.

"We discussed the whole spectrum of our particularly privileged strategic partnership, paid special attention to the economy, noted the steady growth of trade turnover," the minister said.

Ahead of their summit, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Putin will discuss Russia-India military cooperation with Prime Minister Modi, amidst US sanctions on Russia.

"It can be supposed that the military-technical cooperation issue will be discussed [at the meeting between Putin and Modi,]" Tass agency quoted Peskov as saying.

Earlier, official sources said the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation might also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.

The CAATSA is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. It includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia's defence and intelligence sectors.

India is not going to allow its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources said, adding New Delhi has been lobbying with the Trump administration on the issue.

India could face US sanctions for purchasing high value military defence items, in particular state-of-the-art S-400 Triumf missile defence system, from Russia under the act.

In his opening remarks, Modi also thanked Russia for playing a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation.

"We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS," Modi said.

He also congratulated Putin for becoming the President for the fourth time with overwhelming majority.

"Starting from the year 2000 when you took office, our relation has been historic...," Modi said.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Sochi, Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties.

He said Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries.

"Our defense ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said.

He also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS and the SCO.

Putin also said that last year there was a considerable increase in mutual trade and this year for the first several months it was an increase of more than 17 per cent.

The Russian Foreign Minister also said that Moscow and New Delhi will strongly oppose attempts to politicise the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Russia and India had confirmed they "will strongly oppose attempts to politicise the work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," Lavrov said.

He pointed out that "we have seen" such attempts "recently."



His comments came following the OPCW last month said it had confirmed Britain's findings on the military-grade nerve agent used in the attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the UK, which London said came from Russia.

Russia last month convened a meeting of the OPCW and made a bid for a joint investigation into the attempted murder, but the request was rejected.

Britain blames Russia for the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia on March 4, which has sparked an international diplomatic crisis and expulsion of scores of diplomats from London and Moscow.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)After a video emerged of a man, not wearing any clothes, being taken into custody by the Delhi Police at Inderpuri in the western parts of the city, locals have alleged that he was paraded naked in the area.

However, the police have denied the allegation.

According to the police, the man was wearing only a towel when they had gone to arrest him.

"The police team had gone to his house. There was a non-bailable warrant against him. He was wanted in three armed robbery cases," Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vijay Kumar said.

Seeing the police personnel, the man jumped from the second floor of the building and his towel came off, the officer said, adding that he was immediately escorted to the police vehicle and given clothes to wear.

"After he jumped off the building, the police gave him an underwear, but he didn't cooperate and instead, tried to set himself free," Kumar said.

The family members of the man were also involved in selling liquor and it was feared that they might create a scene, the police said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)India and China today discussed security and law enforcement cooperation between them, weeks after an informal summit between Prime Minister Narandra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan.

Deputy National Security Advisor Rajinder Khanna, who took part in the National Security Council Secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), held talks with Chinese Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi.

The two sides discussed security and law enforcement cooperation between the two countries after the Wuhan Summit, an Indian Embassy tweet here said.

The two met on the sidelines of the SCO security officials meeting.

The informal summit between Modi and Xi was held at the central Chinese city of Wuhan last month during which the two leaders had overarching discussion on bilateral issues.

National Security Council Secretaries of the SCO met here ahead of the SCO summit to be held Chinese city of Qingdao next month.

The SCO in which China plays an influential role is comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

The Qingdao summit in which Modi will take part is the first summit of the grouping after India and Pakistan joined it last year.

The SCO security officials meeting will focus on working out security cooperation among the member countries, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media here today.

Over the years, the SCO has developed strong anti-terrorism cooperation structure, Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Prabhat Dairy today reported a profit of Rs 175.9 crore during the March quarter, while also announcing its foray into the dairy beverage segment.

The company had posted a loss of Rs 1.78 crore in the same quarter last year.

The total income of the company grew by 7.54 per cent at Rs 406.17 crore, compared with Rs 377.68 crore, largely driven by increased sale of pouch milk, cheese and curd, Prabhat Dairy joint managing director and chief executive officer Vivek Nirmal told reporters here.

The company, which introduced beverages such as milkshakes, lassi and chaas in Tetra Pak, is planning to expand its beverage market through a franchise based chain of retail outlets named Prabhat Goodness Zone, he said.

This would be a counter sale and local distribution point for the company's milk and milk based products.

In the first phase, the firm will cover Maharashtra, followed by pan-India expansion in the second phase.

"We are planning to open 500 stores in the state (Maharashtra) in the next three years through the franchise model. We will spend Rs 30 crore for marketing and promotions of our beverage brand," Nirmal said.

The new range of beverages will be manufactured in the company's plant in Shrirampur and Turbhe in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, the company is targeting to grow its consumer business to Rs 1,000 crore over the next two year, according to him.

The shares of the company today closed 1.65 per cent down at Rs 172.85 on the BSE, against 0.67 per cent decline in the benchmark.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Lending support to voices of dissent over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, hundreds of student activists staged demonstrations across the northeast region today.

The apex bodies of students' unions in the seven northeast states, under the aegis of North East Students Organisation (NESO), organised sit-ins this morning in their respective state capitals, demanding immediate scrapping of the proposed legislation.

The protesters also submitted memoranda to the governors in their states, seeking their intervention in the matter.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. A key amendment in the bill seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of their residence in India.

The All Assam Students Union (AASU) staged a dharna outside the Raj Bhavan in Guwahati with banners and placards in hands.

The Bill is ''unconstitutional and unacceptable", the identity of the indigenous people would be at stake if it is passed by the Parliament, said Adviser, Northeast Students' Organization (NESO), Samujjal Bhattacharya.

The central government should also initiate dialogue with the Bangladesh government to ensure deportation of the Bangaldeshis living illegally in the region, he said, adding that NESO would submit a memorandum to the prime minister, demanding constitutional safeguards for the states.

In Itanagar, members of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) said they would continue the stir till the time the government concedes to their demands.

AAPSU President Hawa Bagang said the Centre had no regard for the indigenous people of the region.

"The proposed bill is one among the many examples that show the lawmakers in our country have no or very little regard for the indigenous populace of Arunachal Pradesh and the entire northeast region," he said.

The AAPSU would organize more such democratic movements, under the aegis of NESO, in the interest of the indigenous people, Bawang asserted.

The Bangladeshi refugees, who have been residing illegally in our state, would be asked to leave, he said.

"We will soon serve notices to all the Bangladeshis, who have sneaked into our state, after the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft was released in Assam," the AAPSU president said.

The NRC was recently updated in Assam to document the "bonafide Indian citizens" living in the state.

Urging the state government to work for the interest of the state, the AAPSU president also requested the Election Commission to delete all names of Chakma and Hajong refugees from the electoral rolls.

In Kohima, members of the Naga Students' Federation (NSF) raised slogans against the central government for introducing the bill in the Lok Sabha.

The Northeast region should not be made a "dumping ground of illegal immigrants", Imtiyapang Imsong, the vice president of the apex students' body in Nagaland, told reporters.

"The continued and unabated influx of refugees and undocumented migrants from the neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh, has threatened the existence of indigenous people," he said.

Echoing similar sentiments, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) in Kohima today urged the legislators of Mizoram to adopt a resolution to reject the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.

The MZP also organised a rally in the state capital to register their protest over the proposed bill.

If the bill was passed by Parliament, it would mean that the lawmakers do not consider Mizoram an integral part of the country, MZP president L Ramdinliana Rent said while addressing the rally.

In Agartala, the Twipra Students' Federation (TSF) said Tripura was the "worst victim" of illegal migration.

"After the partition of the country thousands of people from East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, had migrated to Tripura. As a result, the aboriginal people of the state were reduced to a minority. The tribals now constitute 31 percent of the state's population," TSF secretary Sunil Debbarma said.

Similar protests were today witnessed in Meghalaya and Manipur, where the activists termed the bill "anti-northeast" and demanded its revocation.

In Shillong, NESO and the Khasi Students' Union (KSU) burnt an effigy as a mark of protest against the legislation.

A 16-member Joint Parliamentary Committee, headed by BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal, had recently conducted public hearings in Guwahati, Silchar in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya to elicit views of the masses on the proposed bill.

Agarwal, during a public hearing in Shillong on May 10, said the views and recommendations would be compiled in a report and submitted to Parliament.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Lending support to the voices of dissent over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, hundreds of student activists staged demonstrations today across three northeast states.

The apex bodies of students' unions in Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland organised sit-ins this morning in their respective state capitals, demanding immediate scrapping of the proposed legislation.

The protesters also submitted memoranda to the governors in their states, seeking their intervention in the matter.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in the Lok Sabha to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955. A key amendment in the bill seeks to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan after six years of their residence in India.

In Itanagar, members of the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU) said they would continue the stir till the time the government concedes to their demands.

AAPSU President Hawa Bagang said the Centre had no regard for the indigenous people of the region.

"The proposed bill is one among the many examples that show the lawmakers in our country have no or very little regard for the indigenous populace of Arunachal Pradesh and the entire northeast region," he said.

The AAPSU would organize more such democratic movements, under the aegis of Northeast Students' Organization (NESO), in the interest of the indigenous people, Bawang asserted.

The Bangladeshi refugees, who have been residing illegally in our state, would be asked to leave, he said.

"We will soon serve notices to all the Bangladeshis, who have sneaked into our state, after the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft was released in Assam," the AAPSU president said.

The NRC was recently updated in Assam to document the "bonafide Indian citizens" living in the state.

Urging the state government to work for the interest of the state, the AAPSU president also requested the Election Commission to delete all names of Chakma and Hajong refugees from the electoral rolls.

In Kohima, members of the Naga Students' Federation (NSF) raised slogans against the central government for introducing the bill in the Lok Sabha.

The Northeast region should not be made a "dumping ground of illegal immigrants", Imtiyapang Imsong, the vice president of the apex students' body in Nagaland, told reporters.

"The continued and unabated influx of refugees and undocumented migrants from the neighbouring countries, especially Bangladesh, has threatened the existence of indigenous people," he said.

Echoing similar sentiments, the Mizo Zirlai Pawl (MZP) in Kohima today urged the legislators of Mizoram to adopt a resolution to reject the Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.

The MZP also organised a rally in the state capital to register their protest over the proposed bill.

If the bill was passed by Parliament, it would mean that the lawmakers do not consider Mizoram an integral part of the country, MZP president L Ramdinliana Rent said while addressing the rally.

A 16-member Joint Parliamentary Committee, headed by BJP MP Rajendra Agarwal, had recently conducted public hearings in Guwahati, Silchar in Assam and Shillong in Meghalaya to gather opinion of the masses on the proposed bill.

Agarwal, during a public hearing in Shillong on May 10, said the views and recommendations would be compiled in a report and submitted to Parliament.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Russian President Vladimir Putin today congratulated his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro on his re-election, after a vote the opposition rejected as a farce.

"The Russian president wished Maduro good health and success in resolving the social and economic issues facing the country," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin also hoped there would be a "national dialogue in the interests of the entire Venezuelan people," the statement said.

Maduro won 68 per cent of the vote in Sunday's election, far ahead of his nearest rival.

The main opposition boycotted the vote and charged it was rigged.

Even before it took place, the United States, Canada, the European Union and a dozen Latin American countries said they would not recognise the results.

Venezuela late last year signed a debt restructuring deal with its major creditor Russia, after it was hit hard by tumbling oil prices and American sanctions.

Russia and China are the two main creditors and allies of Venezuela, which owes them an estimated USD 8 billion and USD 28 billion respectively.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)State-run Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) has received capital markets regulator Sebi's go-ahead to float an initial public offering.

RVNL had filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with Sebi on March 28 and obtained its "observations" on May 17, as per the latest update with the markets watchdog.

Sebi's observations are necessary for any company to launch public issues like initial public offer (IPO), follow-on public offer (FPO) and rights issue.

Going by the draft papers, the IPO of RVNL, which builds infrastructure for high speed rail, will see sale of 2.08 crore equity shares or 10 per cent stake by the government.

The public issue is being managed by Yes Securities, Elara Capital (India) and IDBI Capital Markets & Securities. The equity shares of the company are proposed to be listed on BSE and NSE.

So far this year, state-run companies like Mishra Dhatu Nigam, Bharat Dynamics and Hindustan Aeronautics have already got listed on stock exchanges.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The 17,000 employees of Rajasthan's first power distribution company in Ajmer are on a mission to replace bulbs with the LED lights in tribal areas.

Proactive employees of Ajmer Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (AVVNL) have cumulatively contributed Rs 50,000 from their salaries for replacing conventional bulbs with nine watt (9W) LED light to reduce power losses and its consumption by one-tenth.

From January 26, 2018, AVVNL implemented dress code for 17,000 employees and the cost of the dress was borne by them.

"Motivated employees have collected Rs 50,000 and we aim to collect Rs 1 lakh to replace conventional bulbs with LED lights in 11 districts of Rajasthan, Managing director of AVVNL, B.M Bhamu told PTI.

The employees aimed to replace 5 lakh conventional bulbs without putting any burden on the AVVNL, he said, adding it will be done through CSR (corporate social responsibility) and Bhamashah (donors) funds.

The AVVNL has also undertaken the task to construct 10,000 RCC walls around transformers through CSR and Bhamashahs as a step to avoid any tragic mishap such as Khatolai in Shahpura town of Jaipur district in which 20 people lost their lives in a transformer explosion.

Bhamu said 1,000 RCC walls have been constructed to protect people from any mishap.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)A rift has surfaced in the Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), formed by Yogi Adityanath in 2002, with its former leader Sunil Singh creating a splinter outfit of the same name and declaring himself its national president.

However, the Vahini's state general secretary P K Mall said that HVY has nothing to do with Singh's group, as he along with some others were removed from the outfit by chief patron Adityanath on January 30, 2017, on charges of indiscipline.

Singh claimed that he recently held a meeting with senior HYV leaders and was unanimously elected the national president of the outfit, and he was carrying forward the agenda of his "guru" Adityanath.

Refuting the claim, Mall said, "No member of the Hindu Yuva Vahini attended the so-called meeting in Lucknow last week. Those expelled by chief patron Yogi Adityanathji on the charge of indiscipline are creating confusion."



Singh even claimed that his organisation is the original one, adding that he, as the state president of the organisation since its inception, had been working to strengthen it by touring the entire state.

"We have fought for Hindus and will continue to do so. We will expand campaign for hindutva and development in the entire country. We are the original Hindu Yuva Vahini with the support of all core members and blessing of my guru Yogi Adityanathji," he said.

"It was I who raised a voice to declare Yogi Adityanath, a five time MP then, the chief ministerial candidate, but the BJP did not pay heed to it. In Parivartan Yatra, taken out by the BJP, there was no photograph of Yogiji.

"We had said that if he was not made the chief minister, we will protest against the BJP. We fought for the honour of our guruji," Singh said, adding, "We also demanded that devoted HYV activists should be given tickets to contest elections."



Asked about reports that his organisation was named Hindu Yuva Vahini (Bharat), he said, "It will be Hindu Yuva Vahini, and we will be working for it.""We will strengthen the Hindu Yuva Vahini across the country in the days to come. First, on the list are Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Our sole objective is to spread hindutva and nationalism in the country," Singh told PTI.

Emphasising that his organisation will take up issues of Hindus from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, he said that among other things, the HYV will ensure construction of temple in Ram Janmbhoomi and also take up similar issue for Krishna Janm Bhoomi (Mathura) and Kashi Vishwanath (Varanasi).

"We will also try to curb Jihadi and terrorist activities by countering those involved in this," Singh 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 an ex-gratia of Rs. 25 lakhs each to families of the two jawans from the state who were killed in a Naxal attack in Dantewada.

The chief minister expressed grief over the death of police personnel in the Naxal attack yesterday and said the state government is with them in this hour of crisis, a government spokesman said here.

An ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh has been given to families of Arjun Rajbhar of Ghazipur and Ravinath Singh Patel of Varanasi, the spokesman said.

Besides, the chief minister has promised to provide government job to one family member each of both families, the spokesman added.

Seven police personnel including Rahbhar and Patel were killed when Naxals carried out a landmine blast yesterday when a joint team of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and the District Force (DF) was patrolling the Cholnar-Kirandul road to provide security to trucks carrying construction material for road works between Kirandul and Palnar villages.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Milli Muslim League (MML), the political face of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's JuD, today accused Pakistan's election commission of using delaying tactics to register the group as a political party and committing contempt of court.

Saeed has already started campaigning for the MML with an eye on the general elections in Pakistan expected to be held on July 27.

The US last month designated the MML as a foreign terrorist organisation, saying the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) members make up MML's leadership and the so-called party openly displays Saeed's likeness in its election banners and literature.

The MML has not been yet registered by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).

"We are going to file a contempt of court petition in the Islamabad High Court against the ECP for using delaying tactics regarding enlisting of MML as a political party as per law, MML President Saifullah Khalid said in a statement today.

Khalid said the ECP's "tactics" are in clear violation of the high court verdict that forwarded the MML application to the ECP for enlisting it as a political entity but it is yet to comply with the orders.

The court in March had set aside the ECP order declining registration of the MML. Justice Aamer Farooq of the IHC bench had referred this matter to the ECP directing the electoral body to pass a speaking order in this matter.

The MML had challenged the October 11 order of the ECP declining registration to the MML as a political party allegedly on the behest of the interior ministry.

The interior ministry had opposed enlisting of the MML as a political party, arguing that it is an offshoot of the Jammat-ud-Dawah of Saeed banned under a UN resolution.

Khalid said the basic law of the country gives the people the right to take part in political process and the ECP can not deny them this fundamental right.

"Despite all odds MML candidates will contest from all constituencies in the upcoming general elections," he said.

"We have decided to assemble people, forge unity among them and create an atmosphere of harmony. We have to serve the country and the nation, protect its ideological and geographical borders and reform its political system. For the purpose MML should be allowed to get registered and take part in forthcoming elections," he said.

Security analyst Muhammad Amir Rana says MML is a JuD political wing and it will be a unique case in the country's history if the political wing of a militant organisation is registered with the ECP as a political party.

There is still plenty of literature being produced by the JuD against democracy and the constitution. A brief background of the party's anti-democratic ideology and practices can be found in a book Qafila Dawat-o-Jihad, written by Ameer Hamza, a JuD founder," he said.

Rana further said the JuD has the same worldview and anti-democratic attitude that are espoused by international terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and the militant Islamic State group.

The JuD is believed to be the front organisation for the LeT which is responsible for carrying out the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans.

The US Department of the Treasury has designated Saeed as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, and the US, since 2012, has offered a USD 10 million reward for information that brings Saeed to justice.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)South Korean technology major Samsung today said it is eyeing a 5 per cent rise in overall market share in smartphones in the Indian market this year on the back of new launches.

"Last year we saw a 42 per cent market share by value and 37 per cent by volume in overall smartphones (as per market research firm GfK). With new launches, we are sure that at an overall level, we would be able to gain around 5 per cent share in 2018," Samsung India senior vice-president Mohandeep Singh told PTI here.

The domestic smartphone industry was pegged at Rs 80,000 crore in 2017, as per GfK.

The company today launched new phones in its Galaxy range, J6, J8, A6 and A6+, priced between Rs 13,990 and Rs 25,990.

Galaxy J6, A6 and A6+ will be available from tomorrow, while J8 will be available from June 20 onwards.

The price segment of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 is the largest in the country in terms of value and volume for smartphones and is also the fastest growing category.

This segment grew by 34 per cent last year and within that Samsung grew by 42 per cent, according to GfK.

"With these phones that we are launching, we will further consolidate our share in this most important and fastest growing segment. These phones will give us competitive share against competition in the market," Singh said.

He further said the adoption of smartphones is increasing in smaller towns due to low data costs and good 4G network.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Samsung posted a revenue of Rs 34,300 crore from sales of mobile phones in India for the fiscal ending 2017 and is growing even faster now, a company official said here today.

"It's (Rs 34,300 crore) the mobile revenue for us, in India, for the fiscal year ending 2017... last year, we grew at 27 per cent. We are actually growing faster than that. We expect to exceed this number (Rs 34,300 crore revenue)," Sumit Walia, Director, Samsung India, told reporters, speaking at the launch of four new smartphone models.

The company has a 40 per cent market share now, he said.

"We are at 40 per cent market share... We are leading the smartphone industry in India and we have a 40 per cent value market share ending quarter one. Even volume-wise, we are having a 37 per cent market share," he said.

With the launch of new models, the company is expecting a gain of close to five per cent market share, he said.

Asked about the company's manufacturing, he said: "All our products that are actually sold in India are made in India. We have a plant here in India in Noida. All our products get produced there".

"We are trying to double the capacity of what we have right now," he said.

The company has three R&D centres - one in Bengaluru and two in Noida -- which customise the products, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Supreme Court today asked the Kerala High Court to expeditiously decide a matter relating to a state government notification fixing a minimum monthly basic salary of Rs 20,000 for nurses in private hospitals there.

A bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha was told by the counsel for Kerala private hospitals association that the notification could be kept in abeyance for 2-3 weeks and the division bench of the high court be asked to decide the issue by then.

The lawyer said the association had 960 private hospitals, of which 630 hospitals had less than 25 beds.

"We will request the high court to deal with it," the bench observed after it was told that a division bench of Kerala High Court had on May 4 said it would take up the matter for further hearing after a month.

"We request the high court to dispose it of expeditiously in view of the nature of controversy that has to be decided," the bench said.

Kerala government had last month issued a notification fixing a minimum basic salary of Rs 20,000 for nurses in a private hospital in the state, a day ahead of their proposed indefinite strike.

Over 68,000 private hospital nurses had threatened to go on a statewide strike last month demanding implementation of the promised minimum monthly wage of Rs 20,000.

The notification increased the minimum basic salary of private hospital nurses to Rs 20,000 with retrospective effect from October 1, 2017. It also hiked the salaries of other employees, barring doctors, in private hospitals.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Supreme Court today decided to hear on Wednesday a plea by a suspected Indian Mujahideen (IM) member, who was deported from Saudi Arabia in 2012, challenging a Delhi High Court order denying him bail in a case relating to setting up of an alleged illegal arms factory here.

The plea came up for hearing before a bench comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and Navin Sinha and the court asked the counsel appearing for accused Fasih Mahmood to serve the copy of the petition to the lawyer representing the state.

"You serve the copy (of petition) to the standing counsel for the state. We will have it day after tomorrow (May 23)," the bench told the lawyer.

During the brief hearing, the counsel said that 70 prosecution witnesses were yet to be examined by the trial court in the matter but none of them relates to his case.

On April 17, the high court had dismissed the bail plea observing that there was no valid reason to grant the relief to Mahmood, who is alleged to be an aide of IM co-founder Yasin Bhatkal, considering the gravity of offence and serious allegation against him.

The high court had also noted that accused has already been denied bail earlier by the high court as well as the apex court.

The Special Cell of Delhi Police had alleged that a huge quantity of arms and ammunition were recovered from an illegal arms factory located in Meer Vihar area here. It had also claimed that Bhatkal and others, including Mahmood, were part of the conspiracy to carry out terror strikes in the country.

The accused has denied all the allegations.

Mahmood, a mechanical engineer by profession, was alleged to be one of the key members of the IM's dreaded Darbhanga module which had carried out various terror strikes in the country since 2008.

The police had alleged that he was the "motivator" for driving the youth to join the IM and had chargesheeted him for offences under the Indian Penal Code, the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Mahmood was deported from Saudi Arabia and was arrested at the IGI Airport here on October 22, 2012. He was detained in Saudi Arabia in May 2012.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Markets regulator Sebi today allowed clearing corporations at international financial services centres (IFSCs) to invest their own funds in foreign sovereign securities with the highest credit quality.

However, the investment in such securities would not exceed a limit of 10 per cent of the total investible resources, excluding funds lying in core settlement guarantee fund of the clearing corporation, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular.

The decision has been taken following the review of investment instruments available for clearing corporations in IFSC and based on the feedback received from market participants.

Currently, the clearing corporations are permitted to invest their own funds as well as funds lying in core settlement guarantee Fund in fixed deposits or central government securities and liquid schemes of debt mutual funds.

Now, Sebi has "decided to permit the clearing corporations in IFSC to invest their own funds in AAA rated foreign sovereign securities.

"However, the investment in such AAA rated foreign sovereign securities shall not exceed a limit of 10 per cent of the total investible resources, excluding funds lying in core settlement guarantee fund of the clearing corporations," it added.

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) has been set up by the state government as India's first IFSC that brings together world class infrastructure, connectivity, people and technology on a single platform for businesses across the world.

IFSC at GIFT City is probably the first such centre to be launched after the 2008 global financial crisis.

Sebi, in March 2015, had issued a detailed set of guidelines for establishing IFSCs as part of its efforts for setting up financial hubs in the country.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)BJP president Amit Shah today made light of the proposed alliance of opposition parties, saying they all fought his party in 2014 general elections as well and will do so in 2019, but it will still come back to power with a bigger majority.

At a press conference here, Shah noted that most of these parties have little support outside their home states and will not bring additional votes to each other.

"I want to ask you what Mamata Banerjee can do in Karnataka in the Lok Sabha polls or what Akhilesh Yadav can do in Madhya Pradesh or Rahul Gandhi in West Bengal. These people were against us in 2014 as well. In their states, they had all fought against us," he said.

Banerjee is the West Bengal chief minister and heads the Trinamool Congress while Yadav is the Samajwadi Party chief.

Shah said like 2014 these parties will fight against the BJP in 2019 as well and it will still come to power with a majority bigger than 2014 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Flanked by Union minister Piyush Goyal, his party's general secretaries Bhupender Yadav, Kailash Vijayvargiya and Arun Singh among others, Shah also targeted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for his allegations against the BJP and said he appeared to be unaware of his own party's history.

Flashing a piece of paper which, he said, had the details of various state governments dismissed by the Congress-ruled Centre, Shah said that the Congress had no right to talk about democratic values.

Its governments at the centre had dismissed over 50 state governments and it once formed government in Goa by engineering defection when it did not win a single seat in the assembly poll, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Election Commission (EC) has appointed 227 micro observers for the May 28 Shahkot assembly bypoll in Punjab, an official spokesman said today.

He said that all arrangements for the bypoll have been completed.

The spokesman said 283 presiding officers, 1,133 polling officers, 19 counting micro observers, 17 counting supervisors and 17 assistant counting supervisors have also been deputed in the constituency.

Besides this, 32 class-four employees have also been appointed for the election process, he said here.

Nearly 4,000 officers and employees and a total of 307 teams have been deputed in the constituency for smooth conduct of the election, the spokesman said.

The Shahkot bypoll was necessitated after the death of SAD MLA Ajit Singh Kohar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Six persons, including a woman and a special police officer (SPO), were injured today as Pakistani Rangers rained mortar shells on Arnia sector along the International Border (IB) here, hitting Arnia town and a police station, officials said.

BSF troops guarding the border retaliated and the heavy exchange of fire between the two sides was going on when last reports came in. The heavy firing triggering panic among locals who have started fleeing their homes, they said.

The intense Pakistani shelling started a day after it "pleaded" with the BSF to stop firing, after being pounded with heavy artillery that left a trooper dead across the border.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, Vivek Gupta said so far six persons including a woman and a SPO have been injured in the Pakistani shelling in Arnia sector.

The SPO was injured when one of the mortar shells landed at the local police station, Gupta told PTI.

Another police official said the injured also included a 62-year-old woman Darshana Devi.

All the injured have been admitted to a hospital and their condition was stated to be stable, he said adding dozens of shells hit the Arnia main market causing panic among people.

All schools within five kilometre area from the IB are closed as a precautionary measure, he said.

A senior BSF officer said mortar firing from across the border started around 0700 hours.

"Three border outposts are under fire from Pakistani Rangers and the personnel deployed there are also retaliating to silence the Pakistani guns," the official said.

Last night, Pakistani troops fired small arms and mortars, targeting Narayanpur area of Ramgarh sector in Samba district.

The BSF yesterday released a 19-second thermal-imagery footage, showing the destruction of a Pakistani picket across the border, in retaliation to the unprovoked firing and shelling along the IB.

The BSF has lost two of its jawans in the latest round of unprovoked firing along the IB in Jammu region since May 15.

Four civilians were killed and 11 others injured on Friday in the Jammu area due to the firing.

The state has witnessed a spurt in Pakistani shelling and firing along the IB and the Line of Control (LoC) this year.

Over 700 such incidents have been reported this year, which have left 38 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Soldier Chandu Babulal Chavan who had "inadvertently" strayed across the Line of Control in September 2016 after the surgical strike and spent nearly four months in captivity in Pakistan before released, has sought premature discharge from service.

Chavan (24), who was admitted to the psychiatry ward in Military Hospital at Kirkee here, has written a letter to his seniors requesting them to relieve him from service, saying he is "disturbed".

The 37 Rashtriya Rifles jawan had gone missing on September 29, 2016 after he "inadvertently" crossed the LoC, following which the Pakistan Army had taken him into custody.

He was handed over to the Indian Army after four months.

After returning, Chavan, who hails from Dhule district, faced a sentence for leaving his post without informing his seniors and was later transferred to the Armed Corps Centre in Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.

Chavan, who was discharged from the hospital earlier today, told PTI that he was seeking retirement as he is "disturbed after whatever happened to me in the last two years".

"I have written to my seniors and requested them to prematurely discharge me from my duties and give me pension," he said.

Chavan said the Army provided him all possible help and he had no complaints.

A Southern Command officer, however, said they have not received any letter from Chavan.

"We are yet to know the fact as no letter from him has been received so far," the officer said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The city today witnessed a successful lifesaving heart transplantation surgery conducted on a 39-year-old male from Jharkhand after the organ of a brain dead was harvested and airlifted from Bengaluru to Kolkata early this morning.

The entire process was initiated after a 21-year-old youth was declared brain dead at a Bengaluru hospital this morning following a tragic road accident on May 19, a senior official of the private hospital here, where the heart transplantation was done, said.

The youth's family gave their consent to donate his heart after counselled on organ donation at the Bengaluru-unit of the same hospital following which a cardiac transplant team harvested the donor's heart at around 7 AM today, he said.

After that, the live heart was transported through a green corridor from the hospital to Bengaluru airport and then airlifted to Kolkata.

As soon as it reached the city at around 10:45 AM this morning, the live heart was taken via a green corridor from Netaji Subhas Chandra International Airport to the Fortis Hospital in Anandapur, covering nearly 18 kilometers in around 22 minutes, a senior official of Kolkata Traffic police said.

A team of doctors at the hospital performed about a two-hour-long surgery on the patient, who was suffering from Dilated Cardiomyopathy, and was on the waitlist since January 2017, and the transplantation was "successful", he said.

Speaking on the condition of the patient, a senior doctor, who was part of the team which conducted the surgery, said, The patient is under constant observation for next 24 to 48 hours. His condition is stable.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The US and India today affirmed their strategic partnership as Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan met Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh in Argentina.

The meeting was held on the margins of the G-20 foreign ministers summit.

The two leaders affirmed the strong US-India strategic partnership and India's status as a Major Defense Partner of the United States, the State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said.

During the meeting, Sullivan and Singh also discussed the agenda for the inaugural 2+2 ministerial dialogue to be hosted in the coming months.

They also discussed opportunities to advance stability in Afghanistan and the region, Nauert said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Swedish government today presented an emergency pamphlet to prepare millions of citizens in the event of a war, natural disaster or cyber attack amid soaring tensions between Russia and the Western allies.

Entitled "If Crisis or War Comes", the brochure is published in 13 languages at the request of the government and gives advice on how to take shelter, what foods to store and what information to trust. It will be sent to 4.8 million Swedes between May 28 and June 3.

The 20-page document outlines with simple illustrations the threats which the Nordic nation is facing such as military conflict, natural disasters, cyber and terror attacks.

"Even if Sweden is safer than many other countries...threats do exist," said Dan Eliasson, head of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, which prepared the booklet.

"It's important that everyone has knowledge of what can threaten us so we can prepare in case something serious occurs," he told a conference in Stockholm.

"Sweden will be affected if there is a military conflict close to us. It might affect our import of goods like food and so on...even though the military conflict is not in Sweden itself we can get affected," Christina Andersson, the brochure's project manager, told AFP.

The last time such a brochure was printed was in 1961 during the Cold War. While the latest booklet does not point to any country, its release comes amid fears of an open conflict between NATO and Russia over Moscow's military activities along its borders.

Sweden, which is not a NATO member, does not share a border with Russia, but the two nations are connected across the Baltic Sea, where Moscow has a naval base in Baltiysk, located in the Kaliningrad region east of the Stockholm coastline.

The sight of an unidentified submarine in the Stockholm archipelago in the autumn of 2014 heightened Russian worries and was followed by several violations of Swedish airspace by Russian aircraft.

In December, a defence commission representing all parties in the Swedish parliament published a report entitled "Resilience" which presented military proposals between 2021 and 2025.

"The military situation has deteriorated in Europe in recent years and Russian military capabilities are increasing and will continue to increase," the commission chairman Bjorn von Sydow, a former Social Democrats defence minister, said at the time.

The commission recommended investing 400 million euros per year to modernise the military and civilian defence systems, allowing people to store water and food for a week so the nation could stand a blockade for three months. Sweden is not a member of NATO, but joined its Partnership for Peace launched in 1994 to develop military cooperation between the allies and non-member countries.

The nation has not experienced an armed conflict on its territory for more than two centuries, and to some Swedes, the risk of that happening is unlikely. "I don't think the risk is higher today than it was yesterday," said Svante Rosing, a retired lawyer in his mid-70s who said he remembers the Cold War pamphlet looking "quite threatening".

Sweden slashed military spending at the end of the Cold War, but Moscow's annexation of Crimea changed the situation.

Stockholm announced in March last year that it would reintroduce compulsory military service as early as this summer, seven years after it was abolished. The nation also resumed military activities on Gotland, an island in the Baltic Sea.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Syria's army said today it has "completely" secured the capital Damascus and its outskirts after ousting the Islamic State group, marking a major milestone in the country's seven-year war.

"The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure," a military spokesman said on state media.

The development came after troops had captured a southern portion of Damascus including the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmuk from IS, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Syria's army today was in complete control of the capital and its outskirts for the first time since 2012, after ousting the Islamic State group from a last pocket of resistance.

It marked a major milestone in the protracted war, which began in 2011 and saw parts of Damascus fall to armed rebels the following year.

But in recent months, President Bashar al-Assad has used a blend of military pressure and negotiated withdrawals to steadily flush rebels out of territory around Damascus.

A small IS holdout remained in the capital's south. Troops and allied Palestinian militia launched an offensive last month to recapture the area covering the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk and adjacent districts of Qadam, Tadamun and Hajar al-Aswad.

Today, the army declared it had ousted IS from that zone, sealing its control of the capital.

"The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure," it said in a statement carried on official media.

"The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified." Weeks of fierce combat subsided at the weekend when a ceasefire allowed for group withdrawals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"The evacuations are over, after 32 buses took 1,600 people including IS fighters and their relatives out of southern Damascus on Sunday and Monday," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

They were heading east towards Syria's Badiyah, the vast stretch of desert where IS still holds tiny slivers of territory.

After the final departure around midday today, Syrian troops entered Yarmuk for combing operations, said the Britain-based monitor.

Yarmuk was the largest Palestinian camp in Syria and was put under crippling government siege in 2012 -- making it one of the longest besiegements of Syria's war.

Attacks by Syria's government, as well as rebel and jihadist infighting, have ravaged the district for years.

IS overran it in 2015, and the thriving 160,000-strong population dwindled further to just several hundred.

The evacuations from Yarmuk were shrouded in secrecy and took place under the cover of darkness with no media present.

The government has denied reaching a deal with IS, but did say a brief ceasefire had allowed one convoy of women and children to leave the pocket in southern Damascus overnight.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Tata Steel sees opportunities for synergy with Bhushan Steel, which it acquired under the corporate insolvency resolution process, a top company official said today.

Speaking on the successful acquisition of debt-laden Bhushan Steel, Tata Steel CEO and MD T V Narendran said it was the best asset on block.

The remark by Tata Steel chief came after a meeting with the senior officials at the South Block here.

A senior official of Tata Steel said it was a "routine meeting".

"We see lot of opportunities for synergies because it is a mill and (has) configuration with which we are very familiar. We know the blast furnace. It has rolling mill with excess capacity. It is close to where we are currently operating. It takes years to build a plant, It took 10 years for Kalinganagar," Narendran told reporters.

On a petition filed by Bhushan Steel promoter Neeraj Singal in NCLAT challenging the eligibility of Tata Steel as resolution applicant under Section 29 A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, he said: "Tata Steel has gone through the process. I understand it is difficult to lose an asset which you have created".

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) today declined to stay Tata Steel's acquisition of Bhushan Steel under the corporate insolvency resolution process and issued notices to Tata Steel, the resolution professional and Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel on the petition filed Singal challenging the sale.

Tata Steel has won the bid to acquire Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL) in an insolvency auction. The company has also successfully completed the acquisition of controlling stake of 72.65 per cent in Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL) through its wholly-owner subsidiary Bamnipal Steel Ltd (BNPL).

Bhushan Steel, one of the 12 non-performing accounts referred by the Reserve Bank of India for National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) proceedings, owes Rs 44,478 crore to its lenders.

As per the company's website, it is the third largest secondary steel producer in the country with annual capacity of 5.6 million tonnes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Ten civilians were killed overnight in a flashpoint area in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an attack by suspected Ugandan rebels, an official said today.

The attack was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia, said Jonas Kibwana, administrator of the Beni region in North Kivu province.

"The ADF attacked the town of Mbau... 10 civilians were shot dead and two others were wounded," Kibwana told AFP, giving a toll confirmed separately by sources in the armed forces and civil society.

Eastern DRC has been wracked by violence since the mid-1990s. The ADF -- created by Muslim radicals to oppose the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni -- is one of a number of armed groups fighting over the region's rich mineral resources.

It stands accused of killing hundreds of civilians over the years and of carrying out a deadly attack on UN troops in Beni last December that left 15 peacekeepers dead.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra today visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh and calling the crisis "horrific" the actor urged people to help the children affected by it.

The 35-year-old Bollywood star, who is in on a field visit to Bangladesh, said the world needs to come together to give Rohingya refugee kids a secure future.

"In the second half of 2017, the world saw horrific images of ethnic cleansing from the Rakhine State of Myanmar(Burma). This violence drove nearly 700,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh - 60 per cent are children. Many months later they are still highly vulnerable, living in overcrowded camps with no idea when or where they will ever belong... Even worse, when they will get their next meal.

"And as they finally start to settle and feel a sense of safety, monsoon season looms threatening to destroy all that they've built so far. This is an entire generation of children that have no future in sight. Through their smiles I could see the vacancy in their eyes. hese children are at the forefront of this humanitarian crisis, and they desperately need our help. The world needs to care. We need to care. The kids are our future," Priyanka posted on Instagram alongside series of pictures of her with the kids.

Last year, Priyanka had visited a Syrian refugee camp in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)National Conference president Farooq Abdullah today said militants in Kashmir were "on their own" and advocated that the mainstream parties and separatist groups should join hands to end the sufferings of the people.

In a freewheeling interview with PTI here, Abdullah, a three-time former chief minister, said he did not know if any political groups, including separatists, were relevant in the valley today.

"I do not know who is relevant because boys are on their own. I don't think anybody controls them or anybody is their master," Abdullah said.

He said the situation in the valley demanded that the mainstream parties and separatist political groups join hands to end the sufferings of the people.

"What is necessary today is for all of us -- whether mainstream or separatists -- to come together to end this tragedy which is affecting this valley for so many years," Abdullah said.

The Lok Sabha member from Srinagar said he was hopeful that the youth of Kashmir would realise the futility of violence in all forms including stone pelting.

"This is affecting their education, daily life is thrown into misery and today only thing that we have to save for our future is tourism...Our Prime Minister also mentioned in his speech that tourism would give so much money that not only state would be able to enjoy that but the nation would get benefitted.

"Our lifeline is tourism and this conflict continues to destroy the very existence of Kashmir tourism," he said.

Abdullah said it was not only Kashmiris who were responsible for the tragedy unfolding in the valley as Pakistan was pushing militants into Kashmir.

"If Pakistan stopped infiltrating militants into the valley, probably this situation would have settled long time ago. The tragedy is that they have vested interests in the valley and they have people who support their movement," he said.

The National Conference leader said the Centre will have to take steps similar to those taken by former prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh -- dialogue with Pakistan.

"By having some sort of workable relations, India and Pakistan will settle Kashmir dispute. Without talks, I don't see any forward movement. I have always said that if we wait for the last bullet to be fired that is not going to happen.

"So let us catch the bull by its horn now. I am sure that there are people on both sides who want peace, prosperity and progress of both nations," he said.

On the unilateral halt in security operations during Ramzan announced by the Centre, Abdullah said it was a very welcome step. "We hoped that Pakistan would also reciprocate as it had done in Vajpayee's time. All the parties, separatists and others had welcomed the step at that time. Today, the situation is different."



"Separatists have not accepted it, Pakistan's response is not forthcoming. So we are in a fix whether it will be truly effective and we will have peace like in Vajpayee's tenure when we had peace for many years," he added.

Abdullah sidestepped a question on whether a special bond was developing between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Prime Minister has to think about all nation. He is Prime Minister of everyone. I remember Vajpayee-ji was an RSS man and he had 23 parties that he was able to lead and lead successfully because he realised that this nation is diverse and that diversity has to be strengthened to make this nation prosperous and progressing."



"I hope and pray that Modi-ji will also follow the same path of unity and diversity and strengthen diversity for prosperity of nation," he said.

Invoking Vajpayee's "friends can be changed, neighbours cannot be" quote, Abdullah appealed to India and Pakistan to forget past tragedies and move forward as friendly nations.

"We can either live in harmony with each other and progress or live in animosity and progress of both nations will be hampered. With this, I would say to both nations please forget past tragedies and let us move forward as friendly nations so that we can stand before the world with head held high," he said.

He said his National Conference wants peace in the state and prays that both India and Pakistan will improve relations so that both nations progress.

"We have always appealed to both countries that if you want us to survive as normal human beings, relationship between India and Pakistan has to be good," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President Donald Trump today asked China to be tough with North Korea on its border till Pyongyang signs a deal on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

China must continue to be strong & tight on the border of North Korea until a deal is made, Trump said in a tweet.

The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing! Trump said.

Trump's tweet comes amidst uncertainty over his scheduled June 12 meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong un in Singapore.

Trump and his senior officials have said that their goal is denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Last week, North Korea threatened to withdraw from the first ever summit meeting with the US, against the ongoing joint US-South Korea military exercise.

The US still hopes that the meeting would happen as scheduled.

Trump had indicated that North Korea changed its stance after Kim met for the second time with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)President Donald Trump has asked the US Department of Justice to investigate whether the FBI spied on his 2016 election campaign for "inappropriate purposes" on the orders of people in the Obama administration.

Trump's move came after it was reported that the FBI dispatched a confidential source to speak with some aides to Trump's presidential campaign about its possible ties to Russia, according to US media reports.

"I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!" Trump tweeted.

Trump's latest demand came amid a series of tweets yesterday denouncing a "witch hunt" that, he said, had found no collusion by his campaign with Russia.

US Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein said action would be taken if any infiltration was found.

"If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," Rosenstein said in a statement.

There is already an investigation into all aspects relating to Trump's campaign for the 2016 election and whether Russia tried to influence the outcome.

There is an ongoing investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Russia's efforts to interfere in the 2016 US election, whether there was any collusion between the Kremlin and Trump's election campaign and whether the president tried unlawfully to obstruct the inquiry.

Trump has constantly attacked the inquiry.

Trump first made the accusation that the FBI had sent a spy into his campaign team on Friday.

"It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a 'hot' Fake story," Trump had tweeted, adding: "If true - all time biggest political scandal!"



The New York Times followed with an article that suggested there was, indeed, an FBI informant - whose identity it did not reveal - who had been sent to speak to campaign aides but only after the FBI had received reports of "suspicious contacts linked to Russia".

The informant - an American academic working in the UK - had made contact with George Papadopoulos and Carter Page, the report said.

The Washington Post too reported that in addition to Page and Papadopoulos, the source met with Sam Clovis, the Trump campaign's co-chairman, to talk about relations with China. Clovis' attorney told the Post that Russia never came up in their conversation.

Although Trump has suggested the source was embedded in his campaign, US officials have told CNN that was not the case.

The officials say that the identity of the source had been closely held at the highest levels of the FBI and intelligence community, and the individual has been a source for the FBI and CIA for years, the report said.

Officials from the Justice Department, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence have maintained that turning over that information that congressional Republicans have requested on the source would pose a grave risk to the source's life.

Trump's new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani said that he and the President talked over the weekend and agreed Trump should call for the Justice Department investigation involving the confidential source, adding that he expected the President to send a follow-up letter.

"I mean, he's got to clean house in his agency," Giuliani said. "If there was an informant, we're entitled to know it. We're entitled to know the fact. We're entitled to know what he knows," the former mayor of New York said.

Meanwhile, House Democrats stood by the Justice Department following the President's demand for an inquiry into the department's actions regarding the Trump campaign.

California Democratic Representative Ted Lieu said that Trump's demand could amount to obstruction of justice.

"This is appalling that President Trump would be so uninformed and that his chief of staff, his counselors, the White House counsel, would allow him to spew into the thinking of Americans that he has any right or authority to dictate to what the Department of Justice does," Texas Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)US President Donald Trump today urged China to maintain tight control of its border with North Korea until he signs a denuclearization deal with Kim Jong UN.

Trump is scheduled to hold a landmark summit with the North Korean leader June 12 in Singapore, but Pyongyang recently has threatened to pull out over US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment." "China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made," Trump tweeted, suggesting China may have eased up on enforcing economic sanctions against Pyongyang.

"The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in.", he wrote, adding he wants North Korea to be 'VERY successful,' but only once a deal has been reached on denuclearization," he said.

China is North Korea's biggest trade partner, and Trump has called on it repeatedly to press Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programmes.

Besides protesting US disarmament demands, North Korea also angrily condemned joint US-South Korean military exercises, and last week pulled out of planned inter-Korean talks.

Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton also has drawn Pyongyang's ire by referring to Libya as a denuclearization model. After giving up Libya's nuclear programme in 2003, leader Moamer Kadhafi was killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

North Korea's sudden shift in attitude followed a weeks-long charm offensive that saw Kim Jong Un hold a historic summit in the Demilitarized Zone with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and meet twice with China's President Xi Jinping.

As prospects for the Singapore summit dimmed, Trump offered assurances that if the summit is successful, Kim "will get protections that will be very strong." "He'd be in his country and running his country. His country would be very rich," he told reporters last week.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The Allahabad High Court today sought the CBI's response to an affidavit filed by mother of the Unnao rape victim alleging that the agency is not conducting a fair investigation into her husband's murder.

The high court also stayed the hearing under POCSO Act at Unnao in the rape case in which BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar is an accused along with others as the state counsel informed the court that the UP government has agreed to transfer the matter from Unnao to Lucknow following a CBI plea.

The CBI told the HC that the case is now before the Special CBI Court at Lucknow after it took over the investigation, and the matter under POCSO Act which is before an Unnao court should also be transferred to the CBI court in Lucknow.

After the UP government counsel said that the state was ready to transfer the case, the bench comprising chief justice DB Bhosale and justice Suneet Kumar stayed the hearing in the Unnao court, pending a decision on the CBI's transfer plea.

The court also directed CBI to file its reply on the affidavit by the mother of the victim alleging that the CBI is not conducting a fair investigation in her husband's murder case and the FIR registered by the agency is different from the version in her complaint.

The court fixed May 30 as next date of hearing.

The 17-year-old girl has alleged that she was raped by the MLA at his residence, when she had gone to meet him with a relative, seeking a job on June 4, 2017. In February, her family approached the court, seeking to include the MLA's name in the case , after which her father was booked by police under the Arms act on April 3 and put in jail on April 5.

Frustrated with the alleged inaction, the victim attempted self immolation in front of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's residence on April 8. The next day, her father died in jail, with the postmortem report mentioning serious injuries on his body.

Sengar is accused of conspiring to kill the victim's father. At present, the MLA is lodged in jail.

Earlier on April 13, the court had directed a CBI inquiry in the matter and asked it to file a status report by May 2.

The court had also asked the CBI to expedite the investigation and do the needful in accordance with law.

It had taken cognizance of a letter written by a senior advocate demanding a court monitored investigation of the crime and treated it as PIL.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)President Donald Trump today tightened financial sanctions against Venezuela following what the US described as a "sham" election in the country.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won re-election to another six-year term yesterday, despite widespread anger over the South American country's crushing economic and social crises. The vote was marred by low voter turnout, allegations of vote-rigging and an opposition boycott.

Trump in an executive order announced additional sanctions on Venezuela. These included prohibition on all transactions related to, provision of financing for, and other dealings in the following by a United States person or within the US.

It also prohibited the sale, transfer, assignment, or pledging as collateral by the Government of Venezuela of any equity interest in any entity in which the it has a 50 per cent or greater ownership interest.

"Venezuela's election was a sham neither free nor fair. The illegitimate result of this fake process is a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela," US Vice President Mike Pence said in a strongly worded statement.

Noting that every day, thousands of Venezuelans flee brutal oppression and grinding poverty literally voting with their feet, Pence said the US will not sit idly by as Venezuela crumbles and the misery of their brave people continues.

"America stands against dictatorship and with the people of Venezuela. The Maduro regime must allow humanitarian aid into Venezuela and must allow its people to be heard, he said.

"The United States condemns the fraudulent election that took place in Venezuela on May 20. This so-called election is an attack on constitutional order and an affront to Venezuela's tradition of democracy," US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said.

Until the Maduro regime restores a democratic path in Venezuela through free, fair, and transparent elections, the government faces isolation from the international community, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The State Department unit overseeing the fight against the Islamic State group will stay in business for at least six more months, reversing an administration plan for the unit's imminent downgrade even as President Donald Trump presses ahead with a speedy US exit from Syria.

A plan initiated by Rex Tillerson before he was fired as secretary of state in March would have folded the office of the special envoy to the global coalition into the department's counterterrorism bureau as early as this spring, officials said.

Tillerson's successor, Mike Pompeo, cancelled the plan this month, and the office will stay an independent entity until at least December, when there will be a new review, said the officials, who weren't authorized to discuss the plan publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The office reports directly to the secretary of state and the president, and the planned shift would have undercut its status and the priority of its mission. It could have led to staffing and budget cuts as well as the departure of the special envoy, Brett McGurk.

He is now expected to remain in his job at least through the end of the year. Still, the officials said Trump's intent to reduce the US military and civilian stabilisation presence in Syria has not changed.

The State Department has ended all funding for stabilisation programmes in Syria's northwest. Islamic State militants have been almost entirely eliminated from the region, which is controlled by a hodgepodge of other extremist groups and Syrian President Bashar Assad's government forces.

At least some of the US money for those projects is expected to be redirected to Syria's northeast where IS fighters remain, the officials said.

The conflicting moves of retaining McGurk's office while pulling out of the northwest illustrate how the administration is being pulled in different directions by Trump's two competing interests: extricating the US from messy Mideast conflicts and delivering a permanent defeat to the Islamic State group.

Trump has said the United States will be withdrawing from Syria "like very soon."



In late March, the State Department, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies tried to dissuade him from pulling troops out immediately, warning there was a risk IS would manage to regroup. Trump relented slightly, but told aides they could have only five or six months to finish off IS and get out.

The US announced in September 2014 that it was forming a coalition of nations to defeat the nascent extremist group that had taken over vast swathes of Iraq and Syria. Days later, President Barack Obama named retired Marine Gen. John Allen the first special presidential envoy for the coalition.

McGurk, his deputy, replaced him in 2015.

Almost four years later, IS no longer controls territory in Iraq, though US officials say its ideology remains a threat there. The final vestiges of the self-proclaimed caliphate are in Syria, where civil war has made it far trickier to wrest the militants from the few pockets of territory they still control.

Yet, as Trump's administration eyes an exit as soon as IS is vanquished, the broader situation in Syria is not getting any better as far as American interests are concerned.

Assad's forces are making inroads against the opposition and now control roads between Syria's three main cities for the first time since the war broke out in 2011. Moscow is solidifying its influence, even hosting Assad for a surprise visit Thursday to Russia, where he met with President Vladimir Putin. And an outbreak of direct fighting between Israel and Iranian forces based in Syria has catalyzed concerns about Tehran's involvement in Syria and the potential for a broader regional conflict.

"Hopefully, Syria will start to stabilize," Trump said last week as he met with NATO's secretary-general at the White House. "You see what's been happening. It's been a horror show."



Nevertheless, there are no signs that Trump is backing away from his determination to limit U.S. involvement to the narrow task of defeating IS, leaving to others the longer-term challenges of stabilising the country, restoring basic services and resolving the civil war.

A USD 200-million pledge that Tillerson made in February for stabilisation programmes in Syria remains on hold on Trump's orders and is under review. Tillerson, who had advocated for maintaining the US presence, was fired shortly after he made the pledge at a conference in Kuwait.

Then the administration this month decided to halt funding US military and reconstruction programmes in the Syrian northwest, the officials said. Pending the results of the overall review, the cancelled money is expected to be shifted to programmes in northeast Syria, where US troops are still battling IS, and civilian teams from the State Department and US Agency for International Development are working in newly liberated areas.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The US today threatened Iran with the "strongest sanctions in history" if it does not give up its nuclear weapons programme and destabilising behaviour in the region and sought the support of countries like India to put pressure on Tehran.

In the aftermath of the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in his first major foreign policy speech demanded major changes from Iran and said America will not allow the country to develop a nuclear weapon: "Not now, not ever."



At the same time, the Trump administration promised resumption of diplomatic and economic relations with Iran, along with financial aid, and technology transfers if Tehran agreed to a verifiable regime to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programme.

He threatened even tougher sanctions against Iran. Sanctions that had been lifted under the agreement are due to go back into effect, and they are expected to pressure an already shaky economy.

"This is just the beginning. The sting of sanctions will be painful," Pompeo said before a packed house at the conservative Heritage Foundation, a top American think-tank.

"These will be the strongest sanctions in history when complete."



Pompeo also sought the support of European allies and other global partners and friends, including India.

"In the strategy we are announcing today, we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe. I don't just mean our friends in Europe," he said.

"I mean Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UAE, and many, many others worldwide," Pompeo said.

Iran is India's third-largest oil supplier behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia. It supplied 18.4 million tonne of crude oil during April 2017 and January 2018 (first 10 months of 2017-18 fiscal).

"I know we share the same goals in facing the challenge from the Iranian regime. We welcome any nation which is sick and tired of the nuclear threats, the terrorism, the missile proliferation, and the brutality of a regime at peace with inflicting chaos on innocent people," he said.

Pompeo also called for a new nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal that President Donald Trump withdrew from earlier this month.

But the top US diplomat issued a list of 12 requirements for such a deal, many of which Iran would be unlikely to agree to.

He said the US would apply "unprecedented financial pressure" on Iran and send teams of specialists to allies around the world to explain US policy.

Pompeo said if Iran makes "major changes" the US was willing to lift all sanctions.

Pompeo demanded that Iran must declare to the IAEA a full account of the prior military dimensions of its nuclear programme, and permanently and verifiably abandon such work in perpetuity. Iran, he said, must stop uranium enrichment and never pursue plutonium reprocessing including closing its heavy water reactor.

Demanding that Iran must also provide the IAEA with unqualified access to all sites throughout the country, Pompeo said that Iran must end its proliferation of ballistic missiles and halt further launching or development of nuclear-capable missiles, and it must release all US citizens, as well as citizens of US partners and allies, detained on spurious charges or missing in Iran.

Iran, he said, must end support to Middle East terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Asserting that Iran must respect the sovereignty of the Iraqi government and permit the disarming, demobilisation, and reintegration of Shia militias, Pompeo said that Iran must also end its military support for the Houthi militia and work towards a peaceful political settlement in Yemen.

He also demanded that Iran must withdraw all forces under Iranian command from Syria, end support for the Taliban and other terrorists in Afghanistan and the region, and cease harbouring al-Qaeda, and it must end its Quds Force's support for terrorists and militant partners.

Pompeo said Iran must also cease its threatening behaviour against its neighbours many of whom are US allies. This includes its threats to destroy Israel, and its firing of missiles into Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It also includes its threats to international shipping and destructive cyber-attacks.

"These are 12 basic requirements. This list may seem long to some, but it is simply a reflection of the massive scope of Iranian malign behaviour. America did not create this need for changed behaviour, Iran did," Pompeo said.

"Relief from sanctions will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran's policies," Pompeo said.

While seeking support from friends and allies on the new Iranian policy, Pompeo warned that the new Iranian sanctions would kick in if they continued business as usual with Iran.

The US is not asking anything other than Iranian behaviour that is consistent with global norms and the elimination of Iran's capacity to "threaten" the world with its nuclear activities, he said.

He acknowledged that America's reimposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of US friends. "We want to hear your concerns. But you should know that we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The United States threatened new sanctions against the Venezuelan regimetoday, following an opposition-boycotted election that Washington denounced as a "sham" and "illegitimate."



Secretary of State Mike Pompeo vowed "swift economic and diplomatic actions" following elections that kept Nicolas Maduro in power and which observers described as deeply flawed.

US Vice President Mike Pence said the election was "a sham -- neither free nor fair. The illegitimate result of this fake process is a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela."



The White House is expected to announce sanctions to "support the restoration" of Venezuelan democracy later today.

"The United States will not sit idly by as Venezuela crumbles and the misery of their brave people continues," said Pence.

Election officials said Maduro won 68 per cent of the votes cast in Sunday's presidential poll, far ahead of the 21 per cent won by his nearest rival, ex-army officer Henri Falcon.

But the vote was marred by a 52 per cent abstention rate -- a historic high -- following a boycott called by the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) opposition coalition, which slammed the ballot as a "farce."



Even before it took place, the United States, Canada, the European Union and a dozen Latin American countries said they would not recognize the results.

"Until the Maduro regime restores a democratic path in Venezuela through free, fair, and transparent elections, the government faces isolation from the international community," Pompeo said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The US today threatened to apply "unprecedented" financial pressure on Iran along with other punitive measures if Tehran does not give up its reported goal of developing nuclear weapons and alleged destabilising behaviour in the region, including supporting terrorist groups.

At the same time, the Trump administration promised resumption of diplomatic and economic relations with Iran, along with financial aid, and technology transfers if Tehran agreed to a verifiable regime to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programme.

In his first major foreign policy speech, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought the support of European allies and other global partners and friends, including India.

"In the strategy we are announcing today, we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe. I don't just mean our friends in Europe," he said.

"I mean Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UAE, and many, many others worldwide," Pompeo said in his address at the Heritage Foundation, a top American think-tank.

"I know we share the same goals in facing the challenge from the Iranian regime. We welcome any nation which is sick and tired of the nuclear threats, the terrorism, the missile proliferation, and the brutality of a regime at peace with inflicting chaos on innocent people," he said.

Pompeo demanded that Iran must declare to the IAEA a full account of the prior military dimensions of its nuclear programme, and permanently and verifiably abandon such work in perpetuity. Iran, he said, must stop uranium enrichment and never pursue plutonium reprocessing including closing its heavy water reactor.

Demanding that Iran must also provide the IAEA with unqualified access to all sites throughout the country, Pompeo said that Iran must end its proliferation of ballistic missiles and halt further launching or development of nuclear-capable missiles, and it must release all US citizens, as well as citizens of US partners and allies, detained on spurious charges or missing in Iran.

Iran, he said, must end support to Middle East terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Asserting that Iran must respect the sovereignty of the Iraqi government and permit the disarming, demobilisation, and reintegration of Shia militias, Pompeo said that Iran must also end its military support for the Houthi militia and work towards a peaceful political settlement in Yemen.

He also demanded that Iran must withdraw all forces under Iranian command from Syria, end support for the Taliban and other terrorists in Afghanistan and the region, and cease harbouring al-Qaeda, and it must end its Quds Force's support for terrorists and militant partners.

Pompeo said Iran must also cease its threatening behaviour against its neighbours many of whom are US allies. This includes its threats to destroy Israel, and its firing of missiles into Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It also includes its threats to international shipping and destructive cyber-attacks.

"These are 12 basic requirements. This list may seem long to some, but it is simply a reflection of the massive scope of Iranian malign behaviour. America did not create this need for changed behaviour, Iran did," Pompeo said.

The top American diplomat then said that in exchange for major changes from Iran, the US is prepared to take actions which will benefit the Iranian people.

These areas of action include, all principal components of the US sanctions regime, the reestablishment of full diplomatic and commercial relations, access for Iran to advanced technology, and support for the modernisation and reintegration of the Iranian economy into the international economic system.

"Relief from sanctions will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran's policies. We acknowledge Iran's right to defend its people. But not its actions which jeopardise the world's citizens," Pompeo said.

While seeking support from friends and allies on the new Iranian policy, Pompeo warned that the new Iranian sanctions would kick in if they continued business as usual with Iran.

The US is not asking anything other than Iranian behaviour that is consistent with global norms and the elimination of Iran's capacity to "threaten" the world with its nuclear activities, he said.

He acknowledged that America's reimposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of US friends. "We want to hear your concerns. But you should know that we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account," he said.

Over the coming weeks, the Trump administration will send teams of specialists to countries around the world to further explain the US policy, discuss the implications of sanctions reimposition, and hear their concerns.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)President Ram Nath Kovind today exhorted the farm scientists to use their to create self-employment ventures.

The president was speaking at a convocation ceremony in Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni in Himachal Pradesh.

Kovind accompanied by his wife arrived in Shimla yesterday on a six-day visit to the state.

Addressing the gathering at the ceremony today, he said, Several enthusiastic youths have opted for their own ventures in agri sector after attaining and started organic farming of fruits, vegetables and flowers and have become exporters of these produce.

He presented gold medals and conferred degrees on 462 students and said, "it is encouraging that the girls have surpassed boys and out of nine medal winners, six are girls and one of them got two medals.

Girls are proving their supremacy in education, sports, research, defence sciences, aviation and other areas which is a good sign for the country," he said.

He said there were ample opportunities in fruit and vegetable processing and the farmers can be saved from losses by setting up cold storages.

He appreciated the state for making a niche in agri-products' market, saying Himachal has done well in this area as Kinnauri apples, Sirmaur flowers , Solan mushrooms are famous world wide.

Himachal Governor Acharya Devvrat, who was also present in the ceremony, urged the students to always acknowledge the contribution of teachers in shaping their lives.

He said since this university was the first Horticulture University in the country and the only horticulture university in the state, horticulturists had great expectations from it.

Devvrat said that in order to promote zero budget natural farming in the state, the university was implementing Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) model in its campus.

The zero budget natural farming would not only help in environment conservation, minimal wastage of water and increase the soil fertility, but will also produce healthy food.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur lauded the contribution of the university in producing best scientists and professionals and said that horticulture was playing a major role in strengthening the economy of the farmers of the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu will attend the 11th convocation of Tripura Central University here on Wednesday, its Vice-Chancellor Anjan Kumar Ghosh said today.

Naidu will deliver the convocation speech and give away the degrees, he said.

The last convocation of the university was held in 2013 which was attended by the then president Pranab Mukherjee, Ghosh said.

Established in 1987 Tripura University became a central university in July, 2007.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)The White House has released a commemorative coin to mark the June 12 meeting between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Released by the White House Communications Agency yesterday, the "trip coin" describes the North Korean leader as the "supreme leader" and the occasion as peace talks.

The much-anticipated meeting between the two leaders is scheduled to be held in Singapore on June 12.

Last week, North Korea had threatened to cancel the meeting, blaming the US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment". Pyongyang has also taken strong exceptions to military drills between the US and South Korea.

The White House said it was going ahead with the preparations of the summit.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)Reflecting the new political line adopted by the CPI(M) to unite all "secular-democratic" forces to take on the BJP, its General Secretary Sitaram Yechury would share the stage with leaders of the Congress and other parties at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy.

Yechury, who has been personally invited by Kumaraswamy, would travel to Bengaluru to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

"The chief minister-elect, who had come to Delhi, spoke to me over the phone. I said there is no need for formality. He invited me to attend the swearing-in ceremony. I will attend it in Bengaluru on May 23," he told reporters today.

At the CPI(M) politburo meeting in Delhi today, the party encouraged Yechury to attend the ceremony.

"At our party Congress, we had adopted the political line of uniting all secular forces to defeat the BJP. There is no problem in Yechury sharing the stage with (leaders of) all secular forces, including the Congress," a senior leader said.

Reacting to BJP chief Amit Shah's remark that the Congress-JD(S) alliance in Karnataka was "unholy", Yechury said, "This kind of a coalition is what I would call a maturation of Indian democracy. Our social diversities are getting reflected in our politics," he said.

The Left leader criticised the BJP for "spreading false information" and said the country could see through what it was doing after losing elections.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)By Lawrence White and Kirstin RidleyLONDON (Reuters) - A British court has dismissed charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) against Barclays over its 2008 capital raising, the bank said on Monday, suspending for now the threat of regulatory sanctions on its business operations.The SFO was however not prepared to let the case drop."We are likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to the High Court," an SFO spokesman said. It was not clear when that application would be heard. Barclays denied the SFO's allegation that a $3 billion loan it made to Qatar in November 2008 was ...By Andrew GalbraithSHANGHAI (Reuters) - CEFC Shanghai International Group Ltd, a subsidiary of troubled China CEFC Energy, said on Monday it missed bond payments totalling 2.09 billion yuan ($327.3 million), becoming the latest private Chinese company to default amid a crackdown on financial risk.It is the first time the company has missed bond payments, and follows mounting concern about its ability to service its debts since February, when it was revealed that China CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming was under investigation for suspected economic crimes."There have been significant changes to the ...By Krishna V Kurup(Reuters) - Indian shares slipped for a fifth straight session on Monday as the political situation in Karnataka clouded the outlook for general elections next year and left markets uneasy.The chief minister of the southern state quit on Saturday, after just two days in office, as his Bhartiya Janata Party was unable to drum up the support of a majority of legislators in the state assembly.This allows the main opposition Congress party and a regional ally to form a government in the state and is expected to galvanise opponents of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of ...PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in EuropaCorp, the film and TV studio group chaired by well-known French film director Luc Besson, slumped on Monday following the emergence of a rape allegation against Besson, which Besson denies.EuropaCorp shares were down 13.3 percent in early session trading.Over the weekend, Besson's lawyer Thierry Marembert told Reuters that Besson "categorically denied" the allegation, made by an unnamed actress. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Simon Carraud; Editing by Bate Felix)(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a ...MUMBAI (Reuters) - Three directors of Fortis Healthcare have quit ahead of a shareholder vote on Tuesday to decide their future, the company said, the latest twist in a prolonged takeover battle for the hospitals operator.Fortis Healthcare organised the vote after two major shareholders -- Eastbridge Capital and Jupiter India which together control about 12 percent of the company -- called for the removal of four directors.(https://bit.ly/2IVl6y4)Three of those directors -- Harpal Singh, Tejinder Singh Shergill and Sabina Vaisoha -- resigned on Sunday citing personal reasons, Fortis said in ...The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider reviving a lawsuit by Indian villagers seeking to hold a Washington-based international financial institution responsible for widespread environmental damage they blame on a power plant it financed. The justices will hear an appeal by the villagers of a lower court ruling that the International Finance Corp was immune from such lawsuits under federal law. IFC, part of the World Bank Group, is an international institution with 184 member countries that helps secure financing for projects in developing nations. The case revolves ...Tombel SDO flanked by Military Screenshot

Celebrations marking the 46th edition of National Unity, on May 20 recorded a timid turnout in all march-past grounds in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon. But the atmosphere in Tombel was more of a battle field than a ceremonial ground, as armed men were engaged in gun battles with Security forces for more than Four hours.

The exchange of shots began as early as 8:30 AM when Ambazonia fighters stormed Tombel town shooting in the air to scare locals from going to the ceremonial ground. The Divisional Officer, Leonard Nyam immediately alerted security forces who responded with fire-for-fire holding hostage the town for over 4 hours, during which several persons fled into bushes while others remained indoors. The consequence of these shootouts was a timid turnout during the march past as no civilian, not even the ruling CPDM party took part in the event. The grandstand was empty and only occupied by soldiers and administrative authorities.

According to the Divisional Officer, Leonard Nyam, by disrupting the May 20 event, Ambazonia fighters just signed their death warrants. He said no matter the situation of the country, upsetting the day was in total contradiction to the idea of celebrating unity in diversity.

In Ekona, Muyuka Subdivision in the South West region, Ambazonia fighters stormed the Police Station and killed the Police Commissioner of the locality. They also destroyed properties in the Station before disappearing.

In Batibo Subdivision, Momo Division, North West region, the confrontation was fierce, leading to deaths of three fighters. They met face-to-face with Soldiers around the Bridge linking Batibo and Bali Nyonga. Four civilians were also killed during the shootout but this reporter cannot tell the number of casualties on the part of the Military.

Places like Buea,Bamenda, Kumba,Kumbo,Mamfe,Limbe all witnessed a low key celebration and in most of these areas, Military Parade were the halmarks of the events.| BY Ricki Green |

Ad Stars has announced that Anna Qvennerstedt of Forsman & Bodenfors in Sweden is joining Ad Stars 2018 as an executive judge.

Qvennerstedt wears a few different hats at Forsman & Bodenfors where she is both copywriter and chairman of the board. The agency created the now infamous Epic Split film for Volvo Trucks starring Jean Claude Van Damme, which won Grand Prix of the Year at Ad Stars in 2014. Qvennerstedt joined the agency 14 years ago and has contributed to some of its most acclaimed campaigns.

Says Qvennerstedt: I am truly looking forward to my first visit to Ad Stars, where I am expecting to meet lots of fascinating people and judge ground-breaking work while experiencing a unique festival in a unique part of the world.

We were delighted when our Live Test Series campaign for Volvo picked up many awards in 2014, but winning Grand Prix of the Year at Ad Stars that year was particularly memorable as its not often that advertising professionals are awarded prize money for our ideas.

In 2007, Qvennerstedt became the youngest Swedish person to be awarded the Platinum Egg, which honours individuals who have had an exceptional impact on the advertising industry in Sweden. She was also the second woman to be elected to The Platinum Academy (Swedens Hall of Fame for people in advertising).

Says Hwan Jin Choi, chair of the Ad Stars executive committee: Forsman & Bodenfors continuously ranks among the worlds top creative agencies. I am looking forward to meeting Anna and discovering some of the secrets to the agencys success. We are thrilled she has accepted our invitation to be part of the 11th Ad Stars festival.

Forsman & Bodenfors was the most awarded agency in the world 2014, according to the Gunn Report, and works with leading brands like H&M, Airbnb, Volvo and SK II. Qvennerstedt herself has won an abundance of gold medals in numerous international award shows, as well as a Grand Prix in Cannes for AMF Pension.

Ad Stars has extended this years entry deadline until 31st May 2018. Ad Stars is free to enter, and the only festival with a US$10,000 cash prize for its two Grand Prix of the Year winners. The festival runs from 23rd to 25th August at Bexco (Busan Exhibition and Conference Centre) in Busan, Korea.| BY Ricki Green |

Noisy Beast has continued on its growth and talent investment agenda with the appointment of two senior creative hires.

Murray Bransgrove (left) will be joining the integrated creative and media agency as creative director and will team up with senior creative James Blow (right). The pair will work with Noisy Beasts executive creative director Stewart Byfield.

Bransgrove has over 20 years industry experience with agencies such as M&C Saatchi and DDB, working with clients such as Tourism NZ, Tourism Australia, Volkswagen, AAMI, Apia, ANZ, Save the Children and RSPCA.

Says Bransgrove: How exciting to be joining an agency with the growth ambitions and international reach of Noisy Beast. The agency is at a great size and stage for me to join and Im looking forward to driving the creative agenda.

Blow has spent the past 10 years at agencies Ogilvy, JWT and most recently, whiteGREY in Sydney, where he worked on creating the worlds first bionic tooth and translating the elephant language.

Says Blow: There are definitely some exciting times ahead. Im thrilled to join the Noisy Beast creative department and help it give our clients more roar.

Says Dave Brown, recently appointed managing director at Noisy Beast: Noisy Beast has a great culture and client list to grow on and part of that culture is senior people getting stuck in to client problems. Both Muzza and James bring to the agency a wealth of experience and creative awards. They are creatives that lead from the front and will be a great inspiration for the team not just at Noisy Australia, but through our hubs in Asia and Europe.| BY Ricki Green |

Media agency Bohemia, part of the M&C Saatchi Group, has been appointed as the exclusive media partner of Western Sydney University (WSU).

The appointment follows a four-way pitch with WSU selecting Bohemia over incumbent Blue 449. Bohemias passion for WSU, the agencys understanding of the Western Sydney market, and how technology partners can future-proof the university, helped Bohemia to secure the business.

The partnership will see Bohemia take a lead role in communications strategy development and media buying across all channels leveraging the marketing technology WSU has in place.

Says Brett Dawson, CEO, Bohemia: We have admired the WSU brand evolution and really look forward to partnering with them. The potential is huge.

Says Glenis Carroll, executive director marketing, Western Sydney University: Our competitive pitch process was designed to ensure we have the right partner to help realise our digital transformation and in Bohemia, we are confident we have found that partner.

Carroll thanked Blue 449 for the contribution it has made to the University in recent years, in particular the role the agency played in the 2015 brand relaunch.| BY Lynchy |

Asia has picked up 11 First prize, 17 Second prizes and 22 Third prizes at New York Festivals International Advertising Awards New York Show gala held on May 17th at the renowned Jazz at Lincoln Centers Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.

Hong Kong was awarded 3 First Prizes, 2 Second prizes and 4 Third prizes all for Cheil Worldwide.

Tesco Safety Bags picked up 2 First prizes and JBLs Block out the Chaos: Babies / Dogs / Wife & Daughter scored the other First prize along with 2 Second prizes and and 3 Third prizes. Scrabble Keyboard won the other Third prize award.

India scored 2 First prizes, 4 Second Prizes and 3 Third prizes. McCann Worldgroup scored the 2 First prizes plus 3 Second Prizes and 1 Third prize all for the Ministry of Public Health Afghanistans Immunity Charm.

Japan has 1 First prize, 4 Second prizes and 6 Third prizes. SIX Inc collected the First prize, plus 2 Second prizes and 3 Third prizes all for Double As Obsession for Smoothness.

The Philippines was awarded 1 First prize for McCann Worldgroup for Fully Booked Philippines, Inc.s Lives and 2 Third prizes both for Dentsu Jayme Syfu for Greenpeaces Dead Whale.

Ogilvy Singapore was awarded 2 First prizes and 3 Second prizes all for Alliance Francaise de Singapours Pitching French Film to Hollywood.

South Korea scored 3 Silver prizes and 6 Third prizes. Taiwan has one Second prize and Thailand has 2 First prizes both for Verena Internationals Capture and one Third prize for Dentsu Ones Clean Light Hand Soap for Bangkok Treasures/ Zantiis.

The annual event celebrating the Worlds Best Advertising was hosted by actress and TV personality, Debi Mazar and kicked off with a cocktail reception followed by the awards ceremony and an after-party to honor trophy-winners. The spotlight was on the 2018 award-winners as they celebrated with advertising creatives, executive/grand jury members, press and guests from around the globe.

The 2018 executive jury of global and chief creative officers, in addition to NYFs Film Craft executive jury, comprised of some of the most creative, technically advanced filmmakers in the industry today, selected the Worlds Best Advertising award winners from the shortlist chosen by the NYFs 300+ grand jury members. The combined 2018 executive juries deliberated and awarded Best of Show, 9 prestigious Grand Prize Awards, 76 First Prize Awards, 111 Second Prize Awards, and 216 Third Prize Awards.

The coveted 2018 Best of Show Award was awarded to Fearless Girl McCann New York for client State Street Global Advisors SHE fund: an investment fund for companies with more women in leadership. The statue of a fearless young girl standing up to Wall Streets Charging Bull became a symbol of female empowerment, the icon of International Womens Day, a piece of city art, and a social media phenomenon. People across the world emulated her stance as an expression of personal empowerment. Fearless Girl was in the winners circle taking home 3 Grand Trophies and an impressive 9 First Prize Awards.

Says Devika Bulchandani, president, McCann New York: We are thrilled that Fearless Girl had caught the worlds attention and that gender diversity in the corporate world had a visible champion. To be recognized by your peers for the continued impact she is having with the Best of Show honors is exhilarating and humbling.

Procter & Gamble Corporation, the American multi-national consumer goods corporation was recognized with the New York Festivals 2018 Brand of the Year Award for their commitment to creativity and innovation. Saatchi & Saatchi New Yorks Its a Tide Ad Campaign, for client Procter & Gamble, earned 2 distinguished Grand Awards and 4 First Prize Awards.

McCann Worldgroup was in the spotlight; the network was honored with the title of 2018 Network of the Year. The prestigious award is presented to the agency network that achieves the most awards and produces the finest caliber of work. The network earned, along with the 2018 Best of Show and 3 Grand Awards, a staggering 18 First Prize Awards, 19 Second Prize Awards, 21 Third Prize Awards, and 96 finalist certificates.

Says Rob Reilly, global creative chairman, McCann Worldgroup: We cant thank our clients enough for partnering with us on brave ideas that end up having a huge impact on culture. Winning Network of the Year is a huge honor, especially with so many other agencies and networks doing incredible things. It is a testament to the resiliency of the people of McCann Worldgroup, all around the world.

The Regional Agency of the Year Award is awarded to an advertising agency that earns the highest score for entries in all competitions across all mediums.

The 2018 Regional Agency of the Year Awards honor the following agencies: Europe  Jung von Matt, Germany; North America  McCann New York; South American  AlmapBBDO Publicidade e Comunicacao LTDA, Brazil; Mena  FP7 Egypt and Asia Pacific  Cheil, Hong Kong.

The Independent Agency of the Year, based on total points earned, is given to the non-networked agency that obtains the highest score for entries in all competitions across all mediums, irrespective of whether these have been entered by the agency or another party. Jung von Matt, Germany is the 2018 Independent Agency of the Year.

Says Doerte Spengler-Aherns, chief creative officer, Jung Von Matt /SAGA Germany: It is a big honour for Jung von Matt to win the prize of Independent Agency of the Year of the New York Festivals and we welcome this in particular as it strengthens again the non-networked-agencies. In addition, we are very delighted, that it is a joint achievement of various Jung von Matt agencies in various locations for different clients.

The Film Production Company of the Year Award is based on total points scored, irrespective of whether these have been entered by the production company, advertising agency, or another third party. The 2018 Film Production Company of the Year Award goes to Rattling Stick for their award-winning work for Saatchi & Saatchi New Yorks Its A Tide Ad Campaign.

Says Jeff Shupe, executive producer, Rattling Stick, Santa Monica & London: Its an honor to be recognized by New York Festivals as Production Company of the Year for Its a Tide Ad. On behalf of Rattling Stick and Traktor, a huge thanks to Saatchi NY and P&G for the opportunity and collaborative efforts that created a transcendent campaign. Every day we strive to elevate the ideas that come our way and its truly special when all of the components come together as perfectly as they did for Tide.

New York Festivals honored two of New York Citys iconic theatre organizations, The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing with the New York Festivals Lifetime Achievement Award. Their commitment to fostering awareness of the theatre industry and their co-sponsorship of the Tony Awards, theatres highest honor, make them deserving recipients of this distinguished award. Heather Hitchens, President & CEO of the American Theatre Wing and Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League accepted.

The 2018 executive jury awarded the following prominent agencies with Grand Awards for their exceptional entries:

ACTIVATION & ENGAGEMENT: McCann New York, USA Fearless Girl State Street Global Advisors.

AVANT-GARDE: McCann New York, USA Fearless Girl State Street Global Advisors.

DIRECT & COLLATERAL: FF Paris, France Libe des refugies Liberation.

FILM  CINEMA / ONLINE / TV: Saatchi & Saatchi New York, USA Its a Tide Ad Campaign Procter & Gamble  Tide.

INTEGRATED: Colenso BBDO Auckland, New Zealand, The Child Replacement Programme Mars / Pedigree.

MEDIA: Saatchi & Saatchi New York, USA Its a Tide Ad Campaign Procter & Gamble  Tide.

OUTDOOR / OUT of HOME MARKETING: McCann New York, USA Fearless Girl State Street Global Advisors.

PRINT: Akestam Holst NOA Stockholm, Sweden IKEA Pee Ad IKEA Sweden.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS / COMMUNICATIONS: FF Paris, France Libe des refugies Liberation.

New York Festivals, in partnership with the United Nations Department of Public Information, appoints a UN panel to select public service work that exemplifies the aims and ideals of the United Nations. The 2018 UNDPI Jury honored the following entries: Jung von Matt AG Germany The Gender Pay Gap Experiment for TERRE DES FEMMES earned the UNDPI First Prize Award; Kolle Rebbe GmbH Germany Misereor Micro Meals for Bisch fliches Hilfswerk MISEREOR e. V. was awarded the UNDPI Second Prize Award; and Grey Germany Open your eyes for TERRE DES FEMMES was honored with the UNDPI Third Prize Award.| BY Lynchy |

J. Walter Thompsons North Asia Chief Creative Officer Norman Tan (pictured on left) is leaving the network and an internal restructure sees Lo Sheung Yan (Mayan) assume country-wide creative responsibility.

Based in Shanghai, Lo Sheung Yans focus will shift from pan-regional across APAC to a greater emphasis on the China market. He assumes responsibility for a creative team that, earlier this year, welcomed new digital Executive Creative Directors David Chee in Shanghai and Leo Liu in Beijing. Polo Wu was also named country-wide Head of Digital.

J. Walter Thompson China recently announced a raft of new business wins across MengNiu, Dicos, NetEase, Skechers, Healthy Care and Oriental YuHong Waterproof Technology, covering creative strategy, integrated branding, digital and social media.

Tan is stepping down after almost 4 years in his current role, and over a decade with the network over the years. Based in Shanghai since 2005, including tenure as CCO with Bates and Lowe China, he helped the agencies win iconic accounts and created many popular campaigns including Heineken, Tmall, Alipay and Buick China. In 2015, Gunn Report & Good Report respectively rated Buicks Human Traffic Signs as the Most-Awarded Print and No. 1 Social Responsibility Campaign.

And as Southeast Asia ECD back in the early noughties, Tan was instrumental in bringing J. Walter Thompsons Malaysia, Singapore and Bangkok offices to creative prominence including Cannes, Gunn Report and 4As success.

Since joining Chinas advertising industry with J. Walter Thompson in 1996, Mayan has helped JWT garner many prestigious regional and global advertising awards, including Network Agency of the Year at AdFest and Spikes, plus Adfest and Campaign Asia Pacific Agency of the Year. He has driven many firsts for Chinas advertising industry, including winning the countrys very first Cannes Grand Prix, and as the first Chinese head of Cannes Outdoor Jury. In 2016 Mayan was named a Lotus Legend by Adfest.

Its great to be, once again, focusing on the China market that has been such a huge part of my life in advertising said Mayan (pictured above on right). While Im looking forward to the role, Im sad to be bidding farewell to Norman  a longtime-colleague, sometime rival, but overall my good friend. Im also a bit jealous of his travel plans.Monday, May 21, 2018 at 12:04AM

Samsungs Bixby might not be top of mind when it comes to digital assistants but that isnt stopping the company from bringing it to more products. In fact, Samsung is hoping to bring the assistant t all its Internet of Things products by the year 2020. They arent going to stop with phones, TVs, refrigerators, and washers. They want even their ovens and robot cleaners to support the assistant to make sure you get a seamless experience with all its products. The year 2020 might be an ambitious deadline but Samsung says its partnering with AI research center competitors and looking for mergers to bring this initiative to life.

Source: Android Policeauthor: Anna Vodopyanova

Huami Corp. (NYSE: HMI) reported that increased sales led the company to swing to a profit and a 77 percent revenue jump in the first quarter, sending its stock up 11 percent to $10.17 per American depositary share on Monday, the biggest gainer among the 150 Chinese ADSs tracked by CapitalWatch.

Huami, a Chinese maker of smartwatches and other gadgets, reported its net income jumped to $2.4 million in the first three months of this year in contrast to a loss of $723,000 for the same period last year. Earnings per share attributable to ordinary shareholders totaled 1 cent in the first quarter in contrast to a loss of 4 cents a year ago.

Revenue reached $93.4 million compared with $52.8 million last year.

The results were higher than Huami expected, the Beijing-based company said in a statement.

"We continue to experience an enthusiastic reception to our products in China and as we expand internationally, where our reputation for delivering great products with exceptional value is fueling demand," the chairman, founder, and chief executive officer of Huami, Wang Huang, said.

Despite the improved results, Credit Suisse said it was cutting its target price for Huami to $14.50 per share from $15.80, while rating the company's shares as "outperform."

Huami sells self-branded "Amazfit" products, and it has acted as the sole partner of Xiaomi Inc., which ended the first quarter as the world's fourth-largest smartphone company, according to a report by the International Data Corp. (IDC). Huami said its unit sales rose to 4.8 million in the first quarter compared with 3.2 million units sold a year ago. In a call with analysts today, Huang said sales of Xiaomi products accounted for 87 percent of its shipments.

"Our close relationship with Xiaomi provides us with a partner with established distribution channels and market knowledge that allows international expansion to be a key component of our continued growth strategy," Huang said.

Nevertheless, the chief financial officer of Huami, David Cui, said the company's self-branded products generally yielded a higher average selling price and gross margin, drove the growth in gross profit, and enhanced operating profit.

Increased spending across all operating sectors in the first quarter, including research and development, marketing, and administrative, resulted in a 73 percent jump in the company's operating expenses to $22 million. Huami said that expenses would have been steady if it weren't for share-based compensation for the management and development teams that the company retained while undergoing its initial public offering. The company debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in February, raising $110 million by selling 10 million shares.

For the second quarter, the company said it expected revenue to be in the range of $103.6 million and $107.6 million, representing an increase of between 32 and 37 percent from the same period of 2017.

"Our strong start to the year is representative of our leadership position in the industry, effective product development supported by the growing wearables market and our compelling opportunity for international expansion," Cui said.

Shares of Huami spiked 18 percent in early trading after the company released its quarterly earnings.

Stock closed at $10.17 per share, up 11 percent.

(Source: Thomson Reuters Eikon)Photo: H.O.P.E. Outreach

When Angie Lohr thinks back on some of her worst nights, she goes silent. They aren't memories she likes to remember.

"I don't like to talk about that because there were many nights," she said. "They're all ugly and they all stand out. It is too ugly."

Angie, 58, is the founder of H.O.P.E. Outreach, a nighttime outreach for homeless and exploited women in Kelowna and Vernon, specifically in the downtown areas.

Angie spent 13 years working as a prostitute, addicted to crack and cocaine. She lived the crime-filled "street life" until she woke up one cold January morning in 2002 wanting to change; needing to change.

Through Angies lens, we are able to get a clearer picture of what life is like for street workers.

Angie's story proves that a slip through the cracks can happen to anyone.

At the age of 28, she was thriving.

Angie had two degrees, a well-paying career, a husband and more importantly, she had a life: "An amazing life," she says.

Things spiralled downhill quickly.

She isn't sure when her exact breaking point was, or what caused her to try cocaine for the first time, but what she does remember is after the first time the drug entered her bloodstream she was addicted in an instant.

"I led a pretty normal life kind of tripped on coke," she said. "Everyone was doing it; doctors, lawyers, it took so many people down," she said reflecting on her addiction.

"I knew I had a problem... I hooked up with dealers just to get free coke."

Counselling never crossed Angie's mind, she thought she could leave the drug without any outside support.

But, eventually, her thirst for cocaine outweighed her will to recover.

"The beast had risen again," she said.

"Nobody wants to talk about it, it's like the boogie man is behind you," Angie admits. "No one confronted me, no one intervened, they all ran in the other direction."

She started using, a lot. So much, she started selling her body for cash.

Angie ended up living on the streets and did anything it took to have a roof over her head for a night.

"It was terribly scary but looking back I can see how strong a will to survive is."

Angie's addiction starting costing her about a grand a day.

"I was getting together with big dealers and just doing sexual favours or rich guys with a lot of money, you'd get all the coke you wanted from them if you did what they want."

She was doing everything in her power to feed her addiction.

She started to steal, and was arrested more times then she could count, but she stole because she didn't want to have sex with strangers.

She eventually moved back to Winnipeg, and with the support from her family and friends, she got clean.

It took her about a year to become sober.

In 2006 Angie married her now-husband Bill and they moved to Kelowna.

She wanted to help other women who were struggling with addiction and have lives similar to the hard life she once lived.

Seven nights a week, at dusk, H.O.P.E volunteers walk the streets of downtown while providing the women they encounter with supports.

"They haven't had parents that guided them, they haven't had morals instilled, they haven't had housing and jobs," Angie said. "No situation is the same."

Angie says between 25 to 30 women, on any given night in both Kelowna and Vernon, are selling their bodies for cash, to either feed their addiction or to put food on the table.

"Once you have gone through so much that you are on the street, you actually think that's where you are supposed to be."

It's not easy for Angie to see women going through a similar situation to hers, but she feels she is destined to help, guide and hopefully lead them down a better path.

"There are a couple girls on the street that have been terribly assaulted. Their self-esteem is so low they don't think they deserve any help," she explained.

"They go into the hospital they're judged; they're judged by the whole community."

Beaten and bruised women come back to H.O.P.E. Outreach almost daily, Angie explains, "It's a free for all, the guys [johns] all think that too."

"They can't get it anywhere else," she said. "It's like 'let's just pick this vagina up off the street and do what I want with her."

The women she sees, suffer horrific abuse from men regularly.

Of one woman, Angie said: "Half of her jaw was 90 degrees facing the other way, she can barely eat anything. She just sucks it up and I guess it's just part of her day, punched in the face. It's just, kick the dog to the curb."

No woman should ever have to consider abuse normal, says Angie. But women in the sex trade are almost used to being beaten.

"It's horrific that you would beat on vulnerable people," she said. "It just blows my mind that's the psychotic state people are in."

People forget to think about how some of these people ended up on the streets, Angie explains, everyone has a different story.

"When we talk about addicts and prostitutes, the eyes start rolling," she said. "Unless you are in a field that helps these people, nobody gives a shit."

For one woman Angie deals with, she almost never had a chance.

"She did heroin for the first time when she was 10-years-old," Angie said. "Her older sister gave it to her so she didn't have to babysit."

Others on the streets, they are just trying to make ends meet.

"Not everyone uses, there are some girls just trying to put food on the table, put their kids through school, put themselves through school."

Angie is hoping that by sharing her story and the stories shared by others, people might start to understand that the woman you see on the street corner, didn't want to end up there.

"Most people judge it because they aren't educated, they wonder why people are out there or if it's self-afflicted."

Angie just asks people think twice before passing judgement.

"I can't see it getting any better unless we make a stand in this country," she said. "We are not protecting the women the way we should be."

"If you have an idea someone is using you need to intervene," Angie says. Because, oh my God, maybe I would have stopped, maybe I would have sought help sooner."Photo: Contributed

The latest on Windows 10 Spring update, Gmail, and bike rides.

Windows 10 Spring Update

You might be asking yourself, Where is it?

Its still rolling out despite several issues. If you want it now, visit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10 and run the Update Assistant to make sure your computer is good to go.

Meanwhile, it turns out the update is incompatible with some solid-state drives. The known incompatible drives are from Toshiba and Intel. Ironically, one type is the SSD in the new Surface Pro tablet.

Microsoft is working with Intel and Toshiba to correct the problem and eventually offer the update to those affected machines. To keep up to date, I suggest checking the Known Issues section here.



Feedback on the new Gmail

Last week, I mentioned that I was mildly disappointed that switching between Mail and Contacts wasnt as easy as it used to be.

A reader named John offered three solutions:

If you have set up Shortcuts in Gmail just type G then C (even lower case)

Use Google Apps (upper right Menu block) and locate Contacts and move the Icon up to the top or where ever you want.

Don't like this one it takes 2 steps  Use the web and search "Contacts", works in Chrome and Opera browser, when signed in.

Hope that helps, I'm sure lots of others have more solutions.

That is totally great, and its going to make me learn about Gmail shortcuts, because I could not get that first tip to work for love or money. Im going to study up.

The new Confidential Mode was missing from my Gmail. It showed up for me a few days later. And heres what I learned:

While its tempting to describe this feature as secure email, its not all that secure. And it may or may not be email.

It allows you to set an expiration date on messages you send, and to restrict them from being forwarded, copied, or printed. You can require a passcode for validation, and you can revoke access to the email at any time before it expires.

That sounds more exciting than it is. Whats happening is the messages are stored (securely) on Googles servers. The sender and intended recipients can access them, but hey. Theres still on Googles servers.

The messages look like Gmail if youre both using Gmail, but if your recipient uses something else, that message looks like what it is  a web page with a message on it.

Yes, its a password protected webpage, but it seems that you can copy that link and send it to someone else, granting them access to the message. Also, good grief, your recipient can take a screen shot. Adjust your privacy and security expectations as necessary!

Ride Dont Hide fundraising progress

Hurray! The weather improved so I could do a few bike rides! Im looking forward to riding on June 24 to help raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association. Would you like to help?

More about the ride from the CMHA:

At CMHA Kelowna we want to let anyone struggling in silence to know they are not alone. Thats why we are dedicating our Ride Dont Hide event to the memory of two brothers in our community. The Payton and Dillon Budd Memorial Ride is a rallying point for us all: Anyone can experience poor emotional or mental health. Anyone can be at risk for thoughts of suicide. No one should have to hide or stay silent. On June 24th, join us and ride in plain sight to raise funds for programs and services in our community.

If you would like to sponsor my ride, follow this link to donate securely online: https://goo.gl/WnnSd3. Your help is much appreciated.

Cate Eales will retire the end of June from running Computer Care Kelowna, a mobile service helping home users and businesses get along with their computers. She welcomes your comments and suggestions. Send email to [email protected].Chelsea Powrie

Peachland doubled in population Sunday, for the annual World of Wheels show and shine.

Thousands of people packed Beach Avenue to check out the Central Okanagan's largest car show of the year.

Customs, classics, muscle cars, hotrods and more lined the streets and parks as crowds took in the festival atmosphere.

Live bands played and car fans drooled over the machinery while those who drove them in traded stories about their rides and swapped restoration tips.

Local Jeff Schneider was there with the 1968 Buick Electra his mother had owned since new in California.

It's seen some epic journeys.

The family lived for 20 years in Mexico City, and Schneider and his son drove it all the way from Mexico, up the coast of California and on to the Okanagan in 2014.

Love your car shows? The next big one, the Boyd Auto Father's Day Car Show, comes on June 17 at Kelowna City Park.Photo: Kaisha Knauf Cyr

A group of people were out for a stroll along Gellatly Bay Saturday when they noticed a strong stench coming from the ravine.

The residents inched closer to the smell to find a carcass.

"We noticed a bad smell coming from the ravine at the end of Cindy Road. We saw this young dead female moose," said Kaisha Knauf Cyr.

"We called the conservation office and they said to call the local municipality office. We then found out they are closed for the weekend," Cyr added.

Witnesses say there doesn't appear to be any visible signs that the moose was shot.

The Public Works Yard for the city of Kelowna will remove the animal from a city road or public property.

Public Works operates Monday to Friday, but is closed on statutory holidays.

To report a carcass found, call 250-469-8600.Photo: Contributed

A home went up in flames early Monday morning in Vernon.

The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP are currently on scene at a residential house fire that occurred overnight in the North Westside Road.



At approximately 4:15 a.m. RCMP were called to assist the North Westside Fire Rescue with a fully engulfed home located in the 300 block of Northernview Road.

The fire was extinguished, however the structure was completely destroyed.



"The two known occupants of the home are un-accounted for at this time, however the investigation is in it's early stages" said Cst. Kelly Brett.

"Investigators are on scene and awaiting for the house to be considered safe for entry to begin their investigation"



Area residents can expect police on scene for a number of days.As a prelude to the Memorial Day Commemoration at the Chattanooga National Cemetery, the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter # 203 and the Chief John Ross Chapter, NSDAR joined together to remember and recognize the 34 individuals buried at the CNC who died in combat while serving in the Republic of South Vietnam. The commemorative ceremony was attended by family members, the general public and members of both organizations.

Bill Norton, president of the VVA # 203, spoke for the Vietnam veterans present as he recalled their time in-country and the conflict that divided the nation due to the political nature of the war. Norton, U. S. Marine Corps, noted that those who chose to serve did so to protect the rights of all citizens here and abroad, including the rights of those who protested the war in Vietnam. He spoke eloquently about the character traits that distinguish those willing to stand on the line for freedom and justice and their return to civilian life where they continued to serve their communities, often without recognition of their military service.

Chief John Ross Regent Jessica Dumitru then read the names of each of those killed in Vietnam, buried in the Chattanooga National Cemetery, along with birth date, date of death, age at time of death and branch of service. Of the 34 men, the youngest was 18 and the oldest, a career soldier, was 36. A stillness fell over the crowd as the reality of the price of freedom became apparent. She then distributed flags, one for each of the fallen, along with directions to the appropriate gravesite, that included a large tag with photo and personal information for the individual. Family members and friends joined in placing the flags.

Lt. Col. Ray Adkins, U. S. Army, Retired, and Teresa Webb Rimer, immediate past regent, offered the invocation and benedictions. Civilian Medal of Honor Recipient Molly Hudgens of Ashland City, Tn. led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance. The VVA # 203 Honor Guard, led by Denny Miller, posted and retrieved the colors and David Cox, U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, ended the service with Taps.





Cleveland High School Underclassmen Awards are Tuesday, 8:30 am. Students will be recognized for academic accomplishments. For more information contact Whitney Harden, 423-478-1113, wharden@clevelandschools.org.Cleveland Middle School Award Programs on Tuesday:Sixth Grade - 10:30 amSeventh Grade - 12:45 pmEighth Grade Honor Roll - 2:15 pmEighth Grade Awards Night is Monday, 6:30 pm.Invited students and their families are encouraged to attend. Team awards, Principal's Award, and more will be presented. For more information contact Leneda Laing, 423-479-9641, llaing@clevelandschools.org.Cleveland Middle School Catch the Spirit Day is Thursday. Students will celebrate the end of year at this annual event of games, food, and competitions. For more information contact Leneda Laing, 423-479-9641, llaing@clevelandschools.org.Kindergarten Celebrations:Arnold Memorial - Monday, 1:00 pmStuart Elementary - Thursday, 1:00 pm5th Grade Awards & Celebrations:Arnold Memorial - Tuesday, 6:00 pmBlythe-Bower - Tuesday, 6:30 pmE. L. Ross - Tuesday, 6:00 pmGeorge R. Stuart - Thursday, 6:00 pmMayfield - Thursday, 6:00 pmField Days:Arnold Memorial - TuesdayBlythe-Bower - WednesdayRoss Elementary - WednesdayCleveland City Schools offers Summer Camps for students. Click here to view the full schedule and download registration forms.Friday, May 25, is the last day of school. Classes resume on Monday, August 6, 2018. School offices and the Administrative Office Building will be open Mondays thru Thursdays, closed on Fridays, throughout the summer. We hope you have a safe and happy summer break!Blog

Chelsea's masked XI

Forget about whos behind the masks in the newest reality TV sensation The Masked Singer  its all about which Blues can make it into our Masked XI! Head coach Frank Lampard confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Andreas Christensen had flown to Milan to be fitted with a protective mask after having his nose broken in a challenge with Anthony Martial against Manchester United on Monday night. Should the Danish centre-back feature against Spurs, hell be in contention for a spot among a team of masked Blues, but until then hell have to sit back and admire what we think would make a fantastic Chelsea team!Voice of the People Audio Article Native son Tom Smiths history of East Chesterton (Chesterton Tribune 9-30-21 Commentary) was interesting and a poignant tribute to his five-generations back ancestors, the Morgans, who traveled from West Virginia and Ohio to settle here in 1833  to raise a family, to farm and...

Voice of the People Audio Article This summer the Times of NW Indiana again suggested in an editorial that Dunes Action had been in opposition to the renovation of the State Park Pavilion. We never did. In fact, most of us had been waiting for it for decades. They did not...

Guest Commentary Audio Article This is a short history of the Morgan family farm before the possible development of the remaining 49 acres east of Chesterton. Jesse and Jane Morgan arrived in Northwest Indiana in 1833 after traveling through Ohio, northern Indiana, stopping off in LaPorte County for a...

Echoes of the Past Audio Article 10 Years Ago Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011  Bethlehem Lutheran Church will host a wellness screening event. . . CHS girls soccer team beats LaPorte 5-0 and clinches a share of the DAC title. Scoring goals are Rosie Biehl (2), Hannah Kollar (2), and Sam...Kwasniewski and about 140 other members of Teamsters Local 727 are scheduled to strike at The American Bottling Co. facilities in Northlake and Harvey early Tuesday over alleged unfair labor practices. The drivers, who have been working without a contract since May 1, also say they make significantly less than drivers for Coca-Cola and Pepsi.The court's task was to reconcile federal laws that seemed to point in different directions. On the one hand, New Deal labor laws explicitly give workers the right to band together. On the other, the older Federal Arbitration Act encourages the use of arbitration, instead of the courts."As a government, we have to send the right signal to ZTE and other bad actors that the United States does not flounder or play when it comes to holding countries accountable that violate U.S. sanctions against state sponsors of terrorism," said Edith Bartley, whose brother and father were killed when al-Qaida bombed U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998.While many other retailers are focusing on bulking up their online business, Ulta continues adding roughly 100 stores each year and has ventured into new territory with locations in smaller towns and more visible urban shopping districts. The retailer currently operates 1,074 stores, including 52 in Illinois, according to its most recent securities filing. Eventually, Dillon expects the chain to operate 1,400 to 1,700 locations. Despite its strength in bricks-and-mortar, the company hasnt let its online business slide, Dillon has told investors.The announcement comes about five weeks after a manager at a Philadelphia Starbucks called the police on two young black men who had arrived at the coffee shop early for a business meeting. One or both of the men had asked to use the bathroom but were told they couldn't use it because they had not bought anything."We thought the first one that was fitting to talk about was ramen because there was so much that hadn't been talked about in English," Chang, the force behind New York's Momofuku restaurants, told The Stew. "This is by no means the definitive alpha and omega of ramen, it was a means for us to have some fun and talk about various topic such as ramen itself, what is it? And alkaline noodles. And taking a subject as a vehicle, like a trojan horse almost, so we could deliver other esoteric ideas through something like ramen."A community-driven affair, the Food Bowl is now taking event applications from restaurants, chefs, food-makers, sommeliers and tour operators for their event ideas to get in on the action. Want to share your love of seasonal produce with the community? Lead a farmer meet-and-greet. Want to show off little-known Chinatown spots? Consider leading a tour. The skys the limit, with Food Bowl culminating in a marquee Night Market, which will take over the Lakefront Green at Theater on the Lake for three nights of lakeside dining and imbibing with local chefs and beverage pros.We had taken a number of steps in the last six months to separate Mr. Batali from the business, including immediately removing him from any operations this past December and asking Ms. (Nancy) Silverton and Ms. (Lidia) Bastianich to take on business-wide leadership roles and responsibilities, the statement says. We remain focused on two priorities: ensuring that our employees work with equal opportunity and freedom from discrimination; and continuing to give our guests amazing dining experiences.Our goal was to offer two distinct concepts to the neighborhood, the statement read. While there has been much success over the past eight months, it has not been without its challenges. We are faced with the reality that the businesses are not sustainable.The updated restaurant, renamed Hon Kee BBQ & Seafood, is bigger, brighter and has more amenities than the original Hon Kee Restaurant, which opened in 1981. Tsang and his brother, Terry, have taken over the entire building, including the original space. Half of it has been completed and is open for service. The other half is still under construction; Tsang said he hopes to open it at the end of the year.Victor Goines. Music in Chicago has been all the richer since saxophonist-clarinetist Goines was appointed director of jazz studies at Northwestern Universitys Bienen School of Music in 2007. His local address means that although he still tours globally with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Goines can lead his own ensembles in our clubs and concert halls between touring. Hearing Goines at the Green Mill Jazz Club, where hell be this weekend, heightens the impact of his music, thanks to listeners proximity to the band, the energy of the crowd and the resonance of the room itself. He will be joined on this occasion by bassist John Sims, drummer Clif Wallace and pianist Jo Ann Daugherty, who never plays more intensely or persuasively than in Goines company. 9 p.m. Friday and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Green Mill Jazz Club, 4802 N. Broadway; $15; 773-878-5552 or www.greenmilljazz.com."It gets completely foggy for me. And this is  part of the messy, scary part for me, there is a part where it  it all disappears. I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up  in a toilet. And that is all," the woman said.A: I read two (Robert) Dallek books, a Dallek book on FDR, a Dallek book on Kennedy. (With) the Kennedy book, I actually ended up really, really appreciating him much more, more than the glamour, the Camelot. You realize what this guy accomplishes, and how he grows at every milestone, from World War II, to Congress, to Senate, to president, to the Bay of Pigs, to the Cuban missile crisis. And I have a view that really what you want out of a president is judgment (and) the capacity to grow and learn. This guy was more than the shallow person that Eleanor Roosevelt had real doubts about. I came away a lot more appreciative and respectful of his tenure as president. Obviously, he was cut short, but he was just hitting his stride when he was taken from us.As regular Chicago Tribune readers know, each week in the Sunday Life + Style section, Biblioracle columnist John Warner recommends books for readers who submit lists of the last five titles theyve read. For our special summer reading section, we asked Warner to look into his crystal ball to recommend books for beloved Chicago celebrities. He didnt have the luxury of knowing what theyd read recently, but heres what he divined.Chicago is a literary city. Some of America's great writers grew up or lived here, and they used the city as their muse. The places they lived and worked  and drank  can be found rather easily, if you know where to look. Tour companies once offered literary tours of Chicago, but most have been discontinued. A few offerings remain: Chicago Greeter, a service of the city's official tourism organization, and Choose Chicago which will match you up with a volunteer who incorporates literary quotes and history into a tour of the Loop. And the Chicago History Museum, Chicago Architecture Foundation and tour company Weird Chicago all offer periodic "Devil in the White City" tours, based on Erik Larson's best-selling book about murderer H.H. Holmes and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.Richard Campo, if he had any job at all, was a photographer. Yale had no idea where Richards money came from, but it let him buy a lot of nice cameras and gave him time to roam the city shooting candid photos in addition to the occasional wedding. Not long after Yale moved to Chicago, he was sunbathing on the Belmont Rocks with Charlie and Charlies friends, though this was before Yale and Charlie were an item. It was heaven, even if Yale had forgotten a towel, even if he always burned. Guys making out in broad daylight! A gay space hidden from the city but wide open to the vast expanse of Lake Michigan. One of Charlies friends, a man with wavy, prematurely silver hair and a lime-green Speedo, had sat there clicking away on his Nikon, changing film, clicking again at all of them. Yale asked, Whos the perv? and Charlie said, He might be a genius. That was Richard. Of course Charlie saw genius in everyone, prodded them till he discovered their passions and then encouraged those, but Richard really was talented. Yale and Richard were never closehed never set foot in the guys house till todaybut Yale had grown used to him. Richard was always on the periphery, watching and shooting. And what had started as a strange quirk had become, in the past few months, something essential. Yale would hear the cameras click and think, He got that, at least. Meaning: Whatever happensin three years, in twentythat moment will remain.Luis Alberto Urreas The House of Broken Angels is a multigenerational family epic, compressed into one week and 300 pages. The de La Cruz family lives in San Diego, where it has traversed a shifting border with Mexico since before your grandparents were born. The novel is funny and tragic. Urrea forces his readers to think about how big events affect ordinary lives, and how the American narrative belittles the people who settled this land a century before the English arrived. However, like all good novels, The House of Broken Angels is mostly a story of the lives of people whose fate we come to care about deeply. Its is perfect for the beach or the bedroom or the daily commute.Much of the story takes place in Taipei, where Leigh goes to connect with her maternal grandparents, whom she had not met during her mothers lifetime. Realistic scenes in her grandparents home and out on the streets are infused with magic, especially after Leigh discovers a drawer containing incense that, when lit, carries her into memories, not just her own but those of other members of her family. Both in Taiwan and back home in the United States, her blend of Taiwanese and European-American features sometimes attract thoughtless comments  in Taipei a stranger calls her Hunxie, Mandarin for mixed blood  and make it harder for her to feel she fits in. But in forging a bond with Waipo (Grandmother) and Waigong (Grandfather), she gains not only knowledge of who her mother was, but also a more grounded sense of self that will hopefully, like the feathers the red bird sheds, remain.Was America truly better - richer, more peaceful, more successful on the global stage - when its diplomatic institutions were more robust? Maybe, maybe not: Farrow doesn't tease out cause and effect, and it is worth recalling that old-school diplomats didn't manage to prevent two successive world wars, keep the United States out of Korea or Vietnam, or stop the Cold War from fueling vicious internal conflicts throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America. If the United States had more global influence in past decades, was this because of the skillfulness of its diplomatic corps or the strength of its military and economy? Conversely, if U.S. global influence is now declining and the United States has recently plunged "into military engagements that might have been avoided," is the decline of traditional American diplomacy really the primary cause?These scenarios are of little children getting up and getting around the house and getting into things, he said. People may have several children, where an older child may have ADHD, and they have a preschooler also. They might have the older childs medication out, but the little child sees it and gets into it. To prevent little ones from getting into this medication, Spiller suggests locking it up and keeping it out of reach, among other tactics.Finally, in 2013, Goff landed in an emergency room, nearly suffocating from fluid in her lungs. After doctors drained the fluid and examined her airway and lungs, they discovered a large tumor in her chest and determined she had Hodgkin lymphoma, a blood cancer that starts in the lymph nodes. Caught early, the disease is one of the most curable forms of cancer, according to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. But in Goffs case, without early treatment, she was given just two weeks to live.As much as I loved setting up the big-ticket items, the real fun came in rummaging through all the classy waxed-canvas bags to see what goodies the camping fairy had bequeathed. Smith had typed (like, on a typewriter) labels such as, "Emergency/survivalist pack. If your life is in danger, use beacon as last resort." I found many tools I knew we'd need (chef's knife, titanium sporks, LED headlamps), some I was thankful we wouldn't have to employ (SAS Survival Guide, poison plant wash and water purification germicidal tablets), and others I didn't even know how to use (solar panel and bear-proof food canister, which also turned out to be writer-proof).Police believed the item was possibly a beef tongue, and it was wrapped in several photos of fetuses, said Anthony Guglielmi, chief police spokesman. There was no criminal investigation into the incident, Guglielmi said.Fry first gained attention in January 2016 with the release of video that captured him fatally shooting 17-year-old Cedrick Chatman during a foot chase on a sunny afternoon on a busy South Side street three years earlier. Fry, who is white, contended that the black teen turned and pointed a dark object at officers as he ran, prompting Fry to fire four shots in fear for his life and that of his partner, Officer Lou Toth. Chatman, who was suspected of stealing a Dodge Charger in a violent carjacking, was fatally shot in his side. The object turned out to be a black iPhone box.Earlier, a 20-year-old man was critically wounded when he was shot in the face in the North Austin neighborhood on the West Side about 4:40 p.m., police said. The man was in a vehicle in the 5500 block of West Le Moyne Street when two men came up to him and opened fire, police said. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital.Chicago police named Young in an investigative alert and arrested him Saturday at a home in the Burnside neighborhood on the South Side, according to police. After being read his rights, Young confirmed his Facebook profile and photo and first denied sending the message. He then admitted writing it, saying he intended to post it to his own page, according to Assistant States Attorney Geetu Naik.Chicago police investigating a call for a person shot in the 800 block of North Latrobe Avenue around 8:40 p.m. Friday arrested Chashaun Lee, who officers said fought his arrest. While he was in custody, police found that Lee, 23, of the 3300 block of Foxboro Drive, was the subject of an active investigative alert connected to a March 2 hit-and-run investigation in the same block where he was arrested, prosecutors told a judge at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.Arena had a different take. He said officers at the desk did not tell him the lot was full. He said the free parking a couple blocks from Wrigley Field has been available to him and other City Council members for some time, and nobody had ever told him it was against policy.The report called it shocking that for years no one at CMS identified this issue, brought it to anyones attention, or took any action to fix the problem. While noting that it did not find evidence that Governors Office staff placed individuals into exempt positions knowing they would not be doing exempt work, the watchdog said it did find that the governors office did not prioritize this issue and believed it was someone elses responsibility."I think he's the end result of these absolutely bizarre circumstances: two strong and very visible leaders vetoing each other," Orsina said. "It's like an unprecedented verdict: How will the jury react? Who knows. We don't know one of the most important pieces on the board.""I want him to hear from me directly, word for word," she said. "I feel an obligation to my sister, Kimberly, to communicate with this man. If he is responsible, I owe it to her to do everything in my power to see if I can get him to share where her remains are located."In January 2016, Wilson took a new job as associate dean of students for Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where his duties also included serving as deputy Title IX coordinator. Knox College spokeswoman Megan Scott said the school conducts background and reference checks before hiring and generally would not hire an individual a person accused of sexual harassment to be associated with Title IX. Wilson worked at Knox until the following September.There simply are no longer enough faculty openings for graduate assistants to move up to. Some will survive as the Ivory Towers equivalent of office temps  non-tenure track lecturers who never know how long their low-paying gig will last. Together the temps and graduate assistants comprise 80 percent of college instructors. Fifty years ago, they comprised 20 percent  and therein lies the difference between what it meant to be a graduate student in my day and the experience of those I stood beside on Columbias campus.This research, based on U.S. Census and Labor Department data, confirmed that public sector wages are universally lower in states without fee payer laws and unions are much weaker. In fact, wages in public service occupations already lag behind comparable jobs in the private and nonprofit sectors; Janus would exacerbate that pay penalty. And changes to laws related to public sector jobs disproportionately impact African-Americans, who are more likely to work in state and local government and more likely to be union members.President Donald Trump walks into the East Room of the White House in Washington, May 18, 2018, for a Prison Reform Summit. (Susan Walsh / AP)Last year, a frustrated Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, drafted an ordinance that would require the analyst to weigh in before any vote on legislation that would affect city finances  including spending, revenue and the sale or lease of city assets valued at $5 million or more. A fiscal impact statement, projecting short- and long-term financial consequences, would be due at least 72 hours before a vote. Nobody would have to request it; nobody would have to approve a request.There are critically few SANEs in Illinois, and that means victims who have already been traumatized dont always get the medical care and emotional support they need. It also makes it less likely that their rapists will be charged and convicted.Retired Lt. Col. Oliver North, the incoming president of the National Rifle Association, said on Fox News Sunday: The problem that we've got is we're trying like the dickens to treat the symptom without treating the disease, and the disease in this case isn't the Second Amendment. The disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence. They've been drugged in many cases. Nearly all of these perpetrators are male, and they're young teenagers in most cases. And they've come through a culture where violence is commonplace. All we need to do is turn on the TV, go to a movie. If you look at what has happened to young people, many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten.Millennials are the first generation in American memory who start off their adult lives worse off than their parents and will likely die that way. We graduate from college burdened with debts that in rare cases exceed $100,000. Capitalist policies have shipped American manufacturing overseas in order to bust labor unions, lower costs and increase profits. So unless you get a college education, there aren't any realistic opportunities for a living wage to support a middle-class lifestyle. Even then, if you choose a major such as education in Oklahoma or Kentucky, you'll still barely break the poverty line. Did I mention you also now carry a student loan debt worth as much as a mortgage that, in all likelihood, not even bankruptcy protection can get you out of?After seeing Naked Raygun in Chicago, he tried a seance in his garage to help kickstart his music career. The next decades would include Nirvana, the Foo Fighters and a family of his own.The city will pay all the money for the projects up front, and get the federal reimbursement later. Aldermen this week also will allocate some money from motor fuel tax funds to pay for some of the projects.In a second case, a speaker at a recent City Council meeting said things interpreted by some as negative toward Jewish people. At least one alderman, Carl Franco, 5th Ward, said he saw the language as hateful and asked if the council could, in the future, limit that kind of speech in the council chamber. At the very least, Franco said he would leave his council seat if such language was uttered again.Helping veterans is something we like to do as we want to give something back to the community, Almaraz said. We have a new plant and are expanding and feel there are a lot of opportunities for growth. We know that veterans with their military background are disciplined and punctual and thats why were looking to hire them.Candidates should be familiar with the school boards policies and with the districts mission statement, both of which are available on the district website, according to the district. They must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old and an Illinois resident, district officials said. They must also have lived within the district boundaries for at least one year and be registered to vote.This is potentially a $1 million endeavor, Funkhouser said. My concern is who is on the hook initially? If we just do the demolition (of the garage) and cap (the jail) it will sit there. Every day it sits there the (cost of renovation) gets bigger because of the amount of the deterioration. This is my concern.However, the case was reopened last year by the Cook County states attorneys office and the Evanston police Juvenile Bureau, and authorities were able to secure a warrant for Lewis arrest just after Christmas, Evanston police said. They did not elaborate how authorities were able to bring charges this time.The book details how Sergeant Reckless served as a pack horse for the Recoilless Rifle Platoon in the 5th Marine Regiments Anti-Tank Company. Reckless showed her heroics during the Battle of Outpost Vegas in 1953 when she made 51 trips under enemy fire in one day, carrying more than 9,000 pounds of ammunition to her boys in combat, and transporting wounded men back to safety. When the company was not engaged in combat, she would roam through camp, enter Marines tents to sleep and was known to eat scrambled eggs, beer and even enjoy morning coffee.After a pretty exhaustive study of the site and possible remedies to their concerns, Woodmans decided that the property could not yield the amount of developable property they needed for the size of their store or the outlots they need to make the project work for them, she said in an email response.Pizzo said the restaurant is designed as a fast-causal eatery rather than a traditional sit down establishment because it fits the community aspect of barbecue. People stand in line to place their order, pay for their food and either take it to the table and or out the door for a carry out meal.As the sister of an active duty soldier who served nine foreign tours of duty and the wife of a retired Air Force officer and pilot, Shipman said she is passionate about doing what she can to help people who are serving or have served their country.Meanwhile, that same day, a call came into the non-emergency line at the Skokie/Lincolnwood 911 dispatch center at the Skokie police station around 3:05 p.m. In that call, a woman reported that another woman had been shot by a man inside an apartment in the 4800 block of North St. Louis Avenue in Chicago, authorities said.Joshua had gone into physical distress and passed out in a classroom on May 11, according to the police report obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. He was taken to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, where he died an hour later, according to the report. A counselor was sent to provide support to the students at the time, the report said.The Hinsdale Parks Department had planned to replace two benches on the memorial grounds. The bench from the Urban family will be one of them. It generally takes eight weeks from when a bench is ordered to when it arrives, is assembled and ready to be installed, said Heather Bereckis, superintendent of parks and recreation. She expects the Urban bench will be installed in early July.Father Johnpaul Cafiero, a familiar Mass presider at Nazareth, served as homilist, delivering the baccalaureate address on behalf of the schools faculty and staff, encouraging the class of 2018 to go forth in life keep themselves open to change and growth, making good choices and keeping faith at the center of their lives.Current Events Group: A fast-moving discussion of events that occur during the past week. The moderator is Ralph Bernstein, a seasoned moderator and retired attorney who has reviewed the internet and many periodicals to discuss at the meeting. There is no charge to attend the event with ample free parking. 10 a.m. Friday, 9 a.m. Saturday, Highland Park Police Department, 1677 Old Deerfield Road, Highland Park, free, 847-502-7260.Republicans, I hear old Bone Spur spewing out his lies about the tariffs. He says the Chinese are paying the tariffs. Oh no. Oh so wrong my friends. Ill let you know a little secret. When that stuff comes into our port, it cannot leave the port until that tariff is paid. And do you know who pays that tariff? We do. The American people. You cant get it unloaded until those tariffs are paid. And we pay it. Not the Chinese. Hes lying to the country again.People like the Color Vibe because it creates a fun spinoff of your typical 5K, said Lindsay Struthers, an event coordinator for Color Vibe. We like to bring good vibes to everywhere we go and have fun, all the while getting exercise.She was beautiful inside and out, club organizers noted on Facebook and Twitter. She had a smile that could light up a room. When she laughed, you just had to join in. Her heart was giving and full of love. She gave so much to her family, friends and community.  The world is a better place for having had you in it. You will be so missed.She has two adopted children  now 23 and 26  and wants to volunteer at the adoption agency that helped her become mother to them, she said. She also wants to volunteer more with Misericordia Home, which she has done in the past, she siad.In honor of the centennial of both the parade and the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Elmhurst families and employees are invited to walk with the chamber contingent near the start of the parade. The goal is to have 100 marchers, chamber officials said.Madigan then suggested the book during the librarys committee meeting on selection of this summers book. One Book, One Oak Park, started in 2014, intends to get the community reading and talking about the same title. The library stocks a large number of copies of the chosen book, and organizes book discussions and other related events.The proposed consent decree is meant to address that spill, suggesting actions to bring U.S. Steel into compliance as well as request the payment of a civil penalty, reimbursement of response costs from agencies such as the National Park Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and other costs and damages as a result of the discharge.Investigators determined that two other men had been in Growlers but had left the bar, a release states. When the men returned, the bars security staff told them the business was no longer allowing patrons inside as it was near closing time, according to Banasiak.The indictment said Person A allegedly gave Murchek a $1,000 donation from his business, which was a towing firm that did work for the Sheriffs Department, and a personal check for $500 from one of the business employees. Person A had given an employee $500, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office, and the employee then wrote a check to Murcheks campaign.Among the errors, Chidester said in his letter, were a voter given the wrong ballot in Portage; confusion over a voter purged from the rolls when someone with the same name went to vote; a nursing home resident with advanced Alzheimers disease who was allowed to vote; questions over whether a provisional ballot was counted after a voter brought a renewed drivers license into voter registration; and a lack of Democratic involvement in the election.I run in the mornings, usually about the same time kids are going to school. It's alarming how many near misses I have with drivers not paying attention. I'm a pretty big guy, and if they don't see me, what are the odds they'll see a little kid trying to get to school? I hope if someone gets hit, it's me and not a child. At least I've got a chance, and I'll do a lot of damage to some joker's car. Heck, I might even take them out when I come through their windshield.We decided we would take our second and fifth grade students to visit you guys and to say thank you guys for all your hard work, the care that you give, the compassion that you show, the empathy and really the dedication that you have toward your profession, Linfort told the nurses. We just want to acknowledge you guys and thank you guys.Police allege that Davidson woke the woman and offered her beer and sushi, which she declined. He then demanded sex from her. When she refused, he slammed her head into the ground and dragged her by the hair to a nearby wooded area, where he assaulted her, authorities allege.In Winnetka, the village, the Winnetka Park District and the New Trier Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4831 will sponsor a Memorial Day parade beginning at 10 a.m. Monday, May 28 at the corner of Glendale and Elm streets. The parade ends with a 10:30 a.m. ceremony at the Village Green, 535 Maple St. An indoor ceremony will be held at the Skokie School if it rains, according to the village website.Right now, the district could borrow up to $70 million over three years to help finance improvements. It would need to go to referendum to do so, and could borrow that amount without increasing the districts debt load, according to the district website.Colorado's love for SUVs is stronger than ever, even as climate warmsBy Alexander Chipman Koty

China will simplify business registration procedures for foreign-invested enterprises in a bid to spur foreign investment, Premier Li Keqiang announced following a State Council meeting on May 16.

The measures, which will go into effect on June 30, 2018, include the One Window, One Form policy that is poised to streamline business filing and registration and cut bureaucratic red tape. Under the policy, filing with the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and registration with the Administration for Industry and Commerce (AIC) will be unified into one step.

With the change, foreign investors will have a centralized point to liaise with the government for business registration instead of having to deal with multiple departments and offices.

Further, the government announced that it will set up an online platform that foreign businesses can use for business registration. Through the platform, foreign investors will be able to complete much of the registration process online and free of charge.

Government services are to serve public good, and hence must be universally accessible, Li said. Current technologies have made it possible to have many things done online.

Corporate Establishment Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

The online portal will give foreign investors access to interconnected government services at the national, provincial, and city levels. By the end of 2019, at least 90 percent of service items offered by provincial-level authorities and 70 percent by city- and county-level authorities will be made accessible online, per the announcement.

According to the State Council, foreign investors will only need to make a single in-person appearance for business registration steps that cannot be completed online. These steps will be clearly listed online.

In addition to streamlining the business registration process, the establishment of the online portal will make it easier for government departments to share and coordinate information in real-time.

The moves are part of a wider campaign by the Chinese government to improve ease of doing business at both the national and local level and streamline government administration. They are also part of the Internet Plus for government services campaign, which seeks to digitize various government functions.Famed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou on Sunday was greeted with cheers and applause of an enthusiastic crowd after he received an honorary Doctor of Humanize Letters from the Boston University at its 145th Commencement.



"It's my greatest honor to present Zhang Yimou for the Boston University honorary degree," said Boston University President Robert Brown at the 2018 commencement.

Zhang Yimou's films "offer not only a perspective on the people and culture of China, but also a window into the universal qualities of human nature and yearning," he told about 7,000 graduating students and their parents.

He also praised Zhang Yimou's other work including ballet, opera and especially Olympic ceremonies.

"The opening and closing of the 2008 Beijing games left the world in awe at their unparalleled beauty and magnificence. Earlier this year, you dazzled once again with the Winter Olympics handover ceremony," he continued.

"Boston University is proud to confer upon you (Zhang Yimou) the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa", the university president announced amid students' big and warm hail and applause.

"I'm honored. This is a recognition of my work and creation personally, and moreover, it demonstrates the big influence of films which can be seen as the visiting card of a country," the world famous director told Xinhua on Sunday.

Zhang Yimou is one of China's leading directors in the movie industry. His films, which include Raise the Red Lantern, House of Flying Daggers, and The Great Wall, have won prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival, and six of his films have been nominated for Academy Awards, according to an introduction posted on the Boston University's website.

More recently, Zhang directed the Beijing portion of the handover ceremony at the close of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Other recipients of honorary degrees from the private research university, founded in 1839, include U.S. civil rights icon John Lewis and U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony S. Fauci.Luo Shugang, minister of Culture and Tourism, visited Japan from May 8 to 11 as one of the principal escorts of Premier Li Keqiang's delegation to Japan and investigated Japanese cultural institutions during his time there.



Nearly 2,000 people from China and Japan gathered May 10 in Tokyo to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty. Premier Li Keqiang gave a speech about new measures to improve relations between the two countries.

As an important supporting activity of the visit, the exhibition Give Life to the Cultural Relics ---the Cultural and Creative Exhibition of the Imperial Palace organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism opened May 10 in Tokyo.

The exhibition combines technology-enabled physical exhibits with digital multimedia, and displays 49 digitized exhibits from the Treasure Court of the Palace Museum and more than 60 pieces of cultural creative products.

Luo Shugang inspected the Chinese Cultural Center in Tokyo on May 10, and said: "In the eight years since the establishment of the center, it has experienced a period of cold relations between China and Japan. During that time, cultural exchanges played an important role to improve the conditions. Now, the improvement of Sino-Japanese relations is a new opportunity for cultural exchanges. We must seize the opportunity and push forward the development of relations between the two countries."

Luo Shugang had official talks on May 11 with Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the Liberal Democratic Party and president of the All Nippon Travel Agents Association.

Luo said: "Mr. Nikai has promoted large-scale, high-specification cultural exchanges between China and Japan, and played an indispensable role in the improvement of Sino-Japanese relations."

He hoped that the cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two countries would continue to receive the attention and support of the Japanese government and political circles in the new period, and also put forward the expectation of further development of Chinese and Japanese tourism.

"The Sino-Japanese relationship is one of the most important bilateral relations. The exchanges between China and Japan are more and more active in recent years. Based on this, we hope to carry out a deeper exchange in tourism between the two countries, "Nikai said.

During the visit, Luo had talks with people in the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association, visited Japanese cultural institutions, and inspected the China National Tourism Administration Tokyo Office and the Chinese Cultural Center in Tokyo to have a deep understanding of the cultural exchanges and cooperation between China and Japan.



Yang Chenglan, a thirty-something of the Dong ethnic group, was the first college graduate from her village in remote southwest China to return home to start a business.





Born in a Dong village in Zaima town, Guizhou Province, Yang opened a shop on retail website Taobao to sell handmade ethnic cloth made by fellow villagers. She also set up a workshop to employ villagers to make cloth in the traditional fashion.





While helping passing down the ethnic handicraft, she has helped more than 80 families live a better life.





Opening a shop online was not Yang's first career choice after graduation. She used to be a middle school teacher, but when she returned home for holidays, she said she felt downcast, as only older people and children remained in her hometown, while all the young adults moved to big cities to make a living.





Yang said that in her childhood, she saw villagers weaving cloth day and night at home. She said she began to think about ways to turn the village's weaving tradition into wealth, so that the young people could stay in their hometown to make money.





In March 2016, Yang returned to her village and started a shop online. But her parents were unable to understand her decision, and local people had no interest in it at all. "I tried to persuade them to weave cloth, but they told me that we are in an industrial age, no one needs our cloth," Yang recalled.





After several setbacks, Yang began to wonder why villagers had no interest in joining her business. Later, some villagers told her that they were afraid she couldn't sell the cloth, and that their work would be worthless.





To relieve their concerns, Yang made a promise that whenever a piece of cloth was sold, she would keep 20 percent of the profits while the remaining 80 percent would go to its maker. This fueled the enthusiasm of villagers.





With sufficient supply, Yang's business began to take shape, and her shop gained in popularity quickly. In 2017, Yang's shop earned more than 2 million yuan (US$313,676). She kept her promise and gave 80 percent of the profits to villagers, increasing their average monthly income to nearly 2,000 yuan (US$313.46).





Yang's husband then quit his job and started another online shop to sell local agricultural products. Some young women also returned to their hometown from the city to learn weaving so as to join Yang's business.





Yang's shop is just one of the many successful examples of China's booming e-commerce industry, which has pumped new life into ethnic handicrafts and rural areas.





In 2016, the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development released guidelines which stipulate that poor rural counties should increase their e-commerce sales fourfold by 2020, the year the Chinese government has set as its deadline to eradicate poverty across the country.





By the government's own calculations, "There were still 30.46 million rural people living below the national poverty line at the end of 2017," according to Xinhua News Agency.





Because of the rapid development of the e-commerce industry, many rural youths like Yang have chosen to return home to open their own businesses. According to statistics of Alibaba, China's e-commerce giant and owner of Taobao, in 2017, online shops based in China's poorest counties earned about 37 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion) on Alibaba's retail platforms.





So far, Alibaba has set up local service centers in about 30,000 villages across 700 counties to support its e-commerce business and provide delivery services in rural areas. This has directly created more than 1.3 million jobs.



You are here: China

A business jet veered off the runway at an airport in east China Sunday afternoon, causing flights delay that affected around 700 people, according to the airport.







The plane carrying four people landed nearly 70 meters away from the runway at 3:07 p.m. at Taizhou International Airport in Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province.





No one was hurt in the accident. The cause is being investigated.





Multiple flights in the airport have been cancelled or delayed after the accident, and the operation is expected to be resumed Monday morning, according to the airport.





The Gulfstream G200 jet is operated by Shanghai-based Star Jet Co. Ltd..



Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi resorted to "religious diplomacy" to mend the strained relations with Nepal during his two-day (May 11-12) visit to the Himalayan republic.

The majority of Nepalis and Indians are Hindu and Buddhists, and Modi sought to invoke spiritual sentiments as a check to the toxic geopolitical fallouts that have largely resulted from India's hegemonic attitude towards its small neighbor.

He visited three famous Hindu shrines  Janaki Temple in Janakpur of central Terai, Pashupatinath in Kathmandu and Muktinath located in Mustang, a Himalayan district bordering China. He also held bilateral talks with Nepal's government and political parties to develop Nepal-India relations from a fresh perspective.

The visit marks Modi's proactive course-correction initiative to bring Nepal-India ties back on track after the Indian blockade in 2015 brought their relations to a low ebb. It is the reciprocation of Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's visit to India last month.

Modi has dramatically changed his tone thanks to the assertive foreign policy that new Prime Minister Sharma Oli has adopted after taking the reins of the majority communist government in mid-February this year.

During his one-to-one talks with his Nepali counterpart Oli, Modi committed to respecting Nepal's territorial integrity and sovereignty by refraining from intervening in the internal affairs of Nepal.

"Now we have built an atmosphere to develop Nepal-India relations on an equal footing. We agreed not to interfere in each other's internal matters," said Oli while briefing the parliament about Modi's visit.

Yet Modi's visit fell short of the expectations of Nepalis that he would apologize for the blockade that had turned their lives upside down in the wake of the devastating earthquake three years ago. India had enforced an unofficial economic embargo over the contents of Nepal's new constitution.

If he had given mea culpa for the inhuman blockade, he would have been able to heal the wounds of Nepalis. Ahead of his visit, social media was trending with #BlockadeWasCrimeMrModi.

Nonetheless, Modi tried his best to respect the feelings of Nepalis and cautiously distanced himself from the internal affairs of Nepal, especially the Madhes issue that India has been exploiting as a geopolitical instrument to cower its smaller neighbor for over a decade.

He said India supports an integrated Nepal and is ready to be its vital development partner based on the latter's necessity and priorities.

Modi, who is known for his eloquent speeches, offered lofty words to assuage the bitter feelings generated by the blockade: "The dignity of Nepalis is taller than Mt Everest and their heart is as deep as the ocean." The remark sounds like a veiled act of contrition on part of his administration.

Despite the rhetoric that Nepal has been at the top of India's "Neighbourhood First" policy, it needs to match the words with action to overcome deep-seated distrust. There is a saying  "India only talks but China delivers." Scores of Indian-funded projects have been lying pending for decades, posing a question to its ability to timely execute development.

This time the Nepali side tried to pin the Indian PM down on many bilateral agreements. In the 16-point joint statement, the two prime ministers have directed their respective officials to "address outstanding matters by September 2018, with the objective of advancing cooperation in all areas." They include inundation in Terai, glitches in trade and transit, opening four additional air routes for Nepal and integrated check posts, among others.

India has proposed to complete survey of railways from Raxaul in India to Kathmandu this year and build it in five years with Indian funding. In yet another breakthrough, Oli and Modi had jointly laid the foundation stone of a 900 MW Arun-III hydro-electric project, located in Sankhuwasabha in east Nepal, by using the remote-control technology. If constructed in time, the hydro project can be a milestone not only to meet the domestic energy demand but to also boost the confidence of foreign investors in Nepal.

PM Oli and his nationalistic credentials have become subjects of criticism in social media for allowing two civic receptions in honor of Modi.

Poised to balance ties with both neighbors and reap the economic benefits from them, PM Oli is embarking for China soon. He will probably give a fitting answer to his critics, who are accusing him of tilting towards India, by giving momentum to landmark accords signed with the northern neighbor.

Ritu Raj Subedi is an associate editor of The Rising Nepal.





Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.You are here: World

 Flash

A local policeman checks a damaged ATM machine in Pattani Province, southern Thailand, on May 20, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

More than 10 bombs exploded in Thailand's deep south on Sunday night, causing several injuries; no deaths have been reported so far.

Most of the blasts targeted ATM machines in Yala, Narathiwat, Pattani and Songkla of southern Thailand almost at the same time at about 7 p.m. local time.

Some power poles and security check points were also attacked, according to reports.

According to police, several people were injured and no one was killed.

Thai troops and police have stepped up security measures in the south.

No one have claimed responsibility for the attacks. Flash

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will demand that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "infiltrated" his 2016 campaign.

"I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes -- and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!" Trump tweeted Sunday.

The message, which came amid a flurry of tweets the president unleashed Sunday attacking the Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller, was an apparent reference to a New York Times story.

The story reported Friday that an FBI informant met with a number of Trump campaign associates in the summer of 2016, as part of the agency's investigation into the alleged Russian interference with the presidential election that year.

Representative Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has asked the DOJ to turn over documents disclosing why the FBI launched an investigation into the Trump campaign.

It is "an absolute red line" if the FBI ran a spy ring inside Trump's campaign, Nunes said.

Democrats said that the president's threatened investigation would amount to "an abuse of power."

Representative Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on Nunes' panel, tweeted Sunday that "Trump's claim of an embedded 'spy' is nonsense."

"His 'demand' DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems," Schiff added.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's lawyer, said that the president would be "walking into a trap" if he agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's team without clarification on the role of the informant.

"What we intend to do is premise it on, 'If you want an interview, we need an answer to this,'" Giuliani told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Sunday.

Giuliani also said Sunday that Mueller plans to finish his probe by Sept. 1, a claim that the special counsel's team has not commented.

Hours after Trump's tweet, a DOJ spokeswoman said the department has asked its inspector general to expand a probe launched in March.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement: "If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action."

The informant, identified by numerous news outlets as Cambridge professor Stefan Halper, met with campaign aides Carter Page, Sam Clovis and George Papadopoulos in 2016.

Page and Clovis testified to grand juries, and Papadopolous pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians and is cooperating in the Mueller probe.

The FBI had been monitoring Page since 2013 when they learned Russian agents were trying to recruit him, according to reports.

The Mueller probe reached its one-year mark last week.

Trump, who has repeatedly called the Russia probe a "hoax" or "witch hunt", has ratcheted up pressure on it in the past months, amid a reshuffling of his legal team.

Mueller is mandated to investigate the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, among other matters that may arise from the investigation.

Over the past year, Mueller's team has brought charges against 19 individuals, including several Trump campaign associates, and three Russian entities, notched five guilty pleas and seen one person sentenced.

A number of those charges were related to Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election, but none of them has been extended to collusion allegations.

Russia has denied interference in the election campaign.City ramping up efforts to attract high-level skilled professionals

Editor's Note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up. As a major part of economic reform and opening-up to the world, China established five Special Economic Zones in the 1980s. The rise of Shenzhen, the first such zone, epitomizes China's transition from being economically underdeveloped into the world's second-largest economy. This is the first of a series on Shenzhen.

It was a summer night on May 6, 1979, when a group of more than 200 youngsters from Nanling village made a desperate dash across the Shenzhen River with the hope of beginning a new life in Hong Kong.High-tech expo highlights ZGC group

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2018-05-21

Zhongguancun Development Group (ZGC Group) at the China Beijing International High-Tech Expo (CHITEC) on May 17. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhongguancun Development Group (ZGC Group) presented some 30 state-of-the-art technologies at this year's China Beijing International High-Tech Expo, also known as CHITEC, which got underway on May 17 and lasted until May 20.

By attending the expo, ZGC Group aimed to promote its brand image as an innovation incubator and a market platform by providing a stage for its subsidiaries to showcase technological achievements.

A facial recognition device is on display during the expo on May 17. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

China's leading AR developer Senscape, for instance, brought an advanced visitor identification system equipped with human-simulated vision and stereoscopic image.

Centering on high-tech industries, ZGC Group has been building a highway between laboratories and markets via many innovative methods over the past decades.

In order to pursue technology-driven development, ZGC Group will continue to target world-class institutions, research-oriented universities and innovation-driven enterprises to make the best of latest innovative elements.

Meanwhile, the group has been pulling out all the stops to bring in forward-looking technologies, bridging international talents and domestic enterprises.

According to organizers, over 1,600 overseas companies from 14 countries attended the high-tech fair to exchange market information and seek further cooperation.

The Zhongguancun Development Group is a state-owned enterprise funded by the Beijing municipal government. It was incorporated on April 1, 2010 to guide and boost the development of the Zhongguancun Science Park, Chinas Silicon Valley, with more coordinated support and market-based mechanisms.DOJ Informs Operation Rescue that Neck-Twisting Texas Abortionist Referred to Houston FBI

info.operationrescue@gmail.com Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-683-6790 ext. 111; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 / Christian Newswire / -- The U.S. Department of Justice has informed Operation Rescue in a letter dated May 11, 2018, that abortionist Douglas Karpen has finally been forwarded to the FBI Houston Field Office for "any action deemed necessary" related to crimes that include the murder of living babies after failed abortions.

The case actually began in 2012, when four women who worked at Karpen's Houston area abortion facilities contacted Operation Rescue with information that he was violating the law. Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President of Operation Rescue, received photos of large babies that one Karpen employee had taken at his abortion facility with her cell phone that workers said had been born alive then killed by slashing or twisting their necks.

On May 15, 2013, Operation Rescue released a report along with the photos that supported allegations that Karpen was murdering babies that survived the abortion process. Other alleged crimes included sexual harassment and/or abuse of employees and patients.

That report and ensuing complaints prompted a grand jury "investigation" that declined to indict Karpen. Operation Rescue later learned that grand jury was tainted by improper communications between then District Attorney Devon Anderson and Karpen's criminal defense attorney Chip Lewis, who were close family friends. Lewis later donated $25,000 to Anderson's political campaigns

Operation Rescue then forwarded the information about Karpen's alleged crimes to the U.S. House Select Panel on Infant Lives that was tasked in 2015 with investigating evidence that Planned Parenthood was engaging in the illegal trafficking of aborted baby remains for profit.

On December 7, 2016, the House Select Panel referred Karpen to the Department of Justice under former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for investigation and prosecution. In 2017, the House Select Panel renewed its criminal referral of Karpen to the DOJ under Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Sullenger wrote to Sessions in August 2017, asking for him to open an investigation into Karpen's alleged crimes, especially the allegations that he murdered babies born alive during abortions.

"The letter I received from the Department of Justice is encouraging. The photos depict wounds inflicted on those babies that could not have been done inside the womb. After having personally attended the Pennsylvania trial of Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted of murdering living babies after failed abortions, I knew we could never give up seeking prosecutions for Karpen's similar crimes," said Sullenger. "We are grateful for this new FBI investigation that has renewed our hope that Karpen may finally be brought to justice."We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to formWe attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message.Asociatia Obsteasca DEMOS anunta concurs pentru angajarea unui expert/grup de experti/a unei companii care sa presteze servicii pentru lansarea afacerii socialeQuesto comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Market Overview:

Edible nuts are dry, edible fruit or seed with a high fat content employed in a wide variety of edible roles such as foods and flavoring. The global edible nuts market is anticipated to generate a CAGR growth of 4.5% from 2016 to 2022.

Drivers

Growing awareness about the nutritional values of nuts, traditional popularity and culinary uses and growing snacks and packaging foods industry are the prime drivers of the market. Edible nuts are a rich source of fatty acids such as omega-3, palmitoleic acids, minerals such as manganese, potassium, calcium, iron etc. and a host of phyto-vitamins such as B-complex group of vitamins and carotenes. Developments and innovations in foods such as confectionary, the rich taste and flavor afforded by nuts, growth in cultivation and international trade are other drivers of the market.

Receive a Sample Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/2070

Restraints

Rising stringency of regulatory standards such as labelling, safety and others is the most critical restraint on the market. For example, the European standards are more stringent than the UNECE standards, which is adding to woos of the market. The growing parameters of the standards such as moisture content, preservatives and content, quality class and others are another set of restraints hampering the imports of edible nuts in Europe.

Rising prices is adding to pressures on the end users as the growth in value has outstripped the growth by volume by a factor of greater than 5!

Major Key Players:

Prominent players of the edible nuts market are Archer Daniels Midland (U.S.), Blue Diamond Growers (U.S.), Olam International (Singapore), Select Harvests (Australia), Diamond Foods, Inc. (U.S.), Mariani Nut Company (U.S.), GNC Global Nut Company AG (Switzerland), and WaterFord Nut Company (U.S.) and others.

Segments:

The global edible nuts market is segmented by product type, form, application, and end users so as to generate a detailed understanding of the differential potential of the market.

Product type - almonds, hazelnuts, cashew nuts, pistachios, walnuts, peanuts, macadamia, Brazil nuts and others. The peanuts dominate the global edible nuts market by product type with a comfortable margin followed by cashew nuts and almonds. The growing demand for almonds, macadamia nuts Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, and dried prunes are accounting for a major part of the growth rate for global edible nuts market.

Form - whole, roasted, powder, splits and others. The whole and roasted segment dominate the global edible nuts market by form.

Application - bakery and confectionery, breakfast cereals, snacks, flavored drinks, dairy products, butter and spreads and others. The snacks segment dominate the global edible nuts market by applications followed by breakfast cereals.

End Users  Food and beverages industries, retail sales, healthcare and consumer industries and others. The retail sales followed by the food and beverages industries dominate the global edible nuts market by end users.

Access Report Details @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/edible-nuts-market-2070

Regional Analysis:

Europe is the market leader for the global edible nuts market making for approximately 45 % of total world market. Germany, Netherlands, France and the UK account for the lions share of the market. A healthy growth rate of 8.9 % was evident in European imports of edible nuts in 2016. European countries like Turkey, Italy and Georgia are contributing more in hazel nuts production compared to other regions of the world. The growing confectionary industry of Europe is a leading cause of the growth in this market.

Asia Pacific region is the second largest edible nuts market on account of traditional popularity, absolute geographical advantage, and large population. China followed by India are the dominant regions due to their sheer larger demand. The Asia Pacific region is followed by North America led by U.S. California is the leading producer of almonds in the world. The Middle East and Africa are dominated by the economic Gulf regions of Saudi Arabia, UAE and others.Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili.

Global Microkeratome Market - Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013-2017 and Forecast 2018-2024

Global Microkeratome Market: By Application (Epiretinal Membrane, Diabetic Retinopathy, Retinal Detachment, and Others), By Product (Disposable and Reusable), By End User (Hospitals, Ophthalmology Centers, and Others), and Geography - Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013-2017 and Forecast 2018-2024

Global microkeratome market was valued at US$ XX Mn in 2017 and expected to grow at XX% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2018 to 2024

Market Outline: Microkeratome Market

Microkeratome is a precision surgical instrument which has an oscillating blade designed for creating a corneal flap for refractive related surgeries and also in LASIK and ALK surgery. The microkeratome is generally used to cut the cornea flap where it creates an 83 to 200 mm thick flap. The applanation head, or the plate, flattens the cornea in advance of the cutting blade. The length of the blade extends beyond the applanation plate, the clearance between the blade and the applanation surface determines the thickness of the flap.

Market Dynamics: Microkeratome Market

Increase in the prevalence of eye disorders is majorly driving the growth of the microkeratome market. The growing geriatric population along and rise in the technological advancements in surgeries are also influencing the growth of the microkeratome market. The growing awareness about the advanced treatment options among the patient pool fueling the market growth. However, the higher cost involved in the treatment may hinder the growth of the market. The dearth of skilled professionals and poor support from the government is likely to restrain the growth of the microkeratome market.

Free sample of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/microkeratome-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx

Market Scope: Microkeratome Market

Microkeratome market is segmented based on application, product and end user

Based on the application, the market is segmented into the following:

 Epiretinal Membrane

 Diabetic Retinopathy

 Retinal Detachment

 Others

Based on the product, the market is segmented into the following:

 Disposable

 Reusable

Based on the end user, the market is segmented into the following:

 Hospitals

 Ophthalmic Centers

 Others

Free TOC of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/microkeratome-market/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu

Regional Analysis: Microkeratome Market

Geographically, global microkeratome market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. North America microkeratome market is growth driven by increase in the prevalence of eye disorders. The growing age related eye disorders in the aging patient pool and higher adoptability of the modern advanced technological treatments and the affordability of the surgical procedures are driving the market revenue growth in the region. The European and the Asia pacific regions are expected to grow at significant rate over the forecast period due to developing healthcare infrastructure in this regions.

Ask Analyst for Full Information about this report @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/microkeratome-market/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3

Competition Assessment: Microkeratome Market

Some of the players in the global microkeratome market include:

Alcon, Inc. (U.S)

Johnson & Johnson Vision Care (U.S)

CooperVision (U.S)

Bausch & Lomb Incorporated (U.S)

Essilor International (France)

Hoya Corporation (Japan)

Carl Zeiss AG (Germany)

Notable Market Developments: Microkeratome Market

 In February 2017, Johnson & Johnson completed the acquisition of Abbott Medical Optics.

Get access to full summary @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/microkeratome-market/

About Precision Business Insights

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Website @https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.comContinue Reading Below Advertisement

In every case, she's a sexpot causing civil war in Rome by manipulating the hearts of Julius Caesar and Marc Antony, all while wearing little more than a series of strategically placed napkins. Nearly every depiction of her in Western art shows her as a flirtatious minx who only achieved her goals because she's hot, like a BCE reality star. But all of this comes straight from Roman propaganda perpetuated by Augustus to discredit her and Antony, Augustus' bitter rival.

In reality, Cleopatra was, well ... let's say she had personality. We know that because of coins from her reign that carried her visage. And unless protruding chins and huge hooked noses are what start your engine, you're probably not going to fall so madly in lust that your judgment is clouded. Here, at least, she looked like the lunch lady who'd slap your hand away when you tried to sneak an extra chicken nugget.

via Wikipedia Its the face that launched a thousand ships ... in the other direction.

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That's probably because she was the product of heavy inbreeding among the Ptolemaic dynasty. She only had six great-great-grandparents (you generally have 16 of those). So she wasn't exactly Gisele Bundchen, nor is there any evidence she was some wanton harlot who slept around. She likely boned a total of two men in her life.

She was, however, a brilliant politician whose only goal over her 21-year reign was to maintain Egypt's independence. She controlled the entire eastern Mediterranean coast before the boot of Rome came down on her. She was intelligent and capable -- two traits Augustus didn't want Rome associating with his enemies, especially the female ones. So she was discredited as a manipulative hottie who used her boobs instead of her brains. And thus began a long and storied history of disgruntled men playing the "She only got the job because she's hot!" card.

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Steven Assarian is a librarian. He writes stuff here. John BH wrote a book, and nobody is ever allowed to read it, so definitely don't look it up here.

For more history and facts the world's been missing out on, pick up a copy of the Cracked De-Textbook.

Support Cracked's journalism with a visit to our Contribution Page. Please and thank you.

For more ways everything you've ever known is a lie, check out 5 Historical Figures You're Picturing Almost Exactly Wrong and Historical Figures That Pretty Much Everyone Pictures Wrong.

You honestly should just follow us on Facebook already.The burden of responsibility on Theresa May's shoulders as she attempts to negotiate Britain's exit from the EU is as onerous as any British prime minister has endured since World War II.

But until I spoke to one of her closest advisers a couple of days ago, I hadn't realised the full extent of it.

He pointed out that she is conducting negotiations in the awareness that the alternative government to her administration, if it failed in its task and fell, is led by a man without the slightest regard for any of the institutions of the British state. Jeremy Corbyn would be intolerably, perhaps lethally, irresponsible as a negotiator on behalf of our national interests.

Just weeks after the bombing of the Brighton Grand Hotel during the 1984 Conservative conference Corbyn invited two suspected IRA terrorists to the House of Commons

As if to put this point in the sharpest perspective, this week Mr Corbyn is due to visit Belfast and the border with the Republic of Ireland  currently the most vexed issue in the Brexit negotiations.

As Leader of the Opposition, Corbyn is absolutely entitled to engage in such political excursions. That doesn't alter the fact he is a bitterly controversial figure in Northern Ireland because of his longstanding sympathy for those who committed atrocious murders in the province.

Divided

Just weeks after the bombing of the Brighton Grand Hotel during the 1984 Conservative conference, which murdered five people (though not, as the IRA had intended, Margaret Thatcher), Corbyn invited two suspected IRA terrorists to the House of Commons. And when the Brighton bomber, Patrick Magee, came to face justice at the Old Bailey, Corbyn picketed the court.

His supporters claim 'Jeremy' had only ever been working for harmony and peace.They are either lying or ignorant: what he sought was total victory for the Republicans, not a settlement respecting both sides of the deeply divided community.

That is why Corbyn was one of the few MPs who, in 1985, voted in the Commons against the Anglo-Irish Agreement, the first legislative step towards the creation of such an accord.

In the same sectarian spirit, his closest political friend and now Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell  who at an Irish Republican gathering in 2003 called for the terrorists who used 'bombs and bullets' to be 'honoured'  opposed the original negotiations to set up a power-sharing assembly (the basis for what eventually became known as the Good Friday Agreement).

It's hardly surprising that last week McDonnell had to abandon an address he was to have made to the Prison Officers' Association's annual conference: the Northern Ireland delegation were furious he had been invited, since 29 of their colleagues had been murdered by the terrorists whom McDonnell celebrated.

Corbyn is expected to speak at Queen's University in Belfast this week. It also happens to be where a 29-year-old law lecturer, Edgar Graham, was shot dead by the IRA in 1983.

Corbyn's closest political friend and now Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell at an Irish Republican gathering in 2003 called for the terrorists who used 'bombs and bullets' to be 'honoured'

The Labour leader might have forgotten, but those who daily live with the consequences have not.

The past lies particularly heavy in these parts  and inevitably Brexit is caught up in the historical debate.

The people of the Republic of Ireland had every reason to feel alarmed and even angered by the UK's vote to leave the EU. While this had no implications for the Common Travel Area between the Republic and the UK (this has been in place since 1922, has nothing to do with Brussels, and will continue), there was huge concern, especially among farmers, that Brexit could endanger cross-border trade once the UK was outside the EU's customs union and Single Market.

To reassure the Irish, the British Government guaranteed that, come what may, there would be no new physical infrastructure on the border between North and South: this would be obligatory as part of the final trade deal still to be negotiated between the UK and the EU.

That's all very well, said the EU: but Mrs May's 'red lines' include being outside the customs union and Single Market. So, Brussels asks: without additional physical border checks, how will each side make sure that nothing is coming through which doesn't breach what might become different regulatory systems?

Anyone who read Robert Hardman's report from Felixstowe in Saturday's Mail  which revealed how speedily and effortlessly this vast port processes 80 billion of worldwide imports a year  will understand just how much technology has transformed the customs business.

Sensible

The volume crossing the Irish border is minuscule by comparison: at 3 billion a year, it is equivalent to little more than 0.1 per cent of current total external EU trade. And Irish customs currently makes physical checks on just 1 per cent of that.

But to avoid any need for additional infrastructure at the North-South border post-Brexit, the British have made a number of suggestions, the most sensible being the enhancement of existing technology in the form of electronic customs arrangements, vehicle numberplate-reading cameras and drones.

These are part of the current intelligence-led operations to detect smuggling: there are such cameras in operation today on the main cross-border highway, as smugglers seek to capitalise on differing excise and VAT rates prevailing in the North and the Republic.

Immediately after Brexit, the then Irish taoiseach, Enda Kenny, committed his administration to intensive collaboration with HM Revenue and Customs to develop such a technological way to meet the requirement for an 'invisible' border.

This spurious hawking of the Good Friday Agreement by those trying to force the UK to remain bound by the EU customs union has been debunked by Labour's Barry Gardiner

But last year Kenny was succeeded by Leo Varadkar: he instantly abandoned these discussions  and cut similar lines of communication between Dublin and the office of Arlene Foster, the admirably pragmatic leader of Northern Ireland's largest party, the Democratic Unionists.

Instead, Varadkar has thrown in his country's lot entirely with the European Commission. So he faithfully echoes Brussels's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, who has consistently ridiculed the British idea of a technological solution.

One British Cabinet minister suggested a reason for this to me: unlike Kenny, the precocious Veradkar is more interested in gaining one of the glittering prizes available within the European establishment. He would love to become Ireland's first president of the European Council.

Outrageous

Barnier's motivation is more brutally practical. He is telling Mrs May, in effect, that the only way to honour her commitment to avoid a so-called 'hard border' in Ireland is for the UK to remain subject to the EU customs union and totally compliant with Single Market regulations (certainly as far as they affect agricultural produce).

In other words, the UK would be under the EU's regulatory controls but, having left the EU's political institutions, with no say in their composition.

This outrageous proposition is backed up with an even more disgraceful assertion: that any alternative UK suggestion of extra cameras or drones even some way from the border would be in abrogation of the Good Friday Agreement, and 'risk a return to terrorism'.

This has been the line of the former European Commissioner Lord (Chris) Patten, along with other peers who have voted in the Lords to stymie Mrs May's Brexit legislation.

This spurious hawking of the Good Friday Agreement by those trying to force the UK to remain bound by the EU customs union and Single Market has been comprehensively debunked by, of all people, Labour's Shadow Trade Secretary, Barry Gardiner.

In a private address in Brussels a couple of months ago, Gardiner said: 'It doesn't mean that putting in a normal border relationship when one side is no longer in the EU will bring back paramilitary activity  that is to confuse cause and effect.

'People have played up the issue of the Irish border . . . because it is hugely in the Republic of Ireland's economic interest to make sure that there is no tariff and no external border there.'

Unfortunately for Gardiner  a close colleague of Corbyn  the BBC got hold of a tape of the meeting and he was skewered on BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show yesterday by that superb interviewer Emma Barnett.

'Do you stand by your remarks that people are playing up the Irish border for political reasons?' she asked. Coherent answer came there none.

It's only a pity that Ms Barnett was not able to ask Corbyn how a man with his record could ever hope to gain the trust of all the people of Northern Ireland, were he the prime minister negotiating Brexit.1) The wedding of Kate and William in 2011 was the first at which a royal brides family set up a tasteful stall at the back of the cathedral selling an attractive assortment souvenir brochures, balloons, crackers, replica rings and commemorative china mugs.

Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge following their marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011

2) At the 1893 marriage of King George V to Princess May of Teck, the groom walked up the aisle carrying one of his many stamp albums just in case.

Prone to restlessness, he planned to stave off boredom during the hymns and sermon by discreetly leafing through his collection of first day covers from the Dutch East Indies.

May didnt mind at all, he confided to his diary. She was absorbed in her knitting.

King George V and Queen Mary during their tour of East London on the 34th anniversary of their wedding on the July 7, 1937

3) In 1986, The Duke and Duchess of York were determined to introduce a fun, inclusive novelty theme to their wedding service. After they had exchanged their solemn vows, the organist struck up a hearty rendition of Remember Youre A Womble and the Dukes younger brother, Edward, and three of his showbiz chums processed down the aisle dressed as Wombles. Brill fun! recalled Sarah, Duchess of York in her sixth volume of memoirs, Little Me.

The Duke and Duchess of York waving to the crowds from the balcony at Buckingham Palace on their wedding day on July 23, 1986

4) The 1973 wedding of Princess Anne to Captain Mark Phillips is thought to be the first to have been conducted entirely on horseback.

The bride and groom rode their mounts from Buckingham Palace to St Pauls, to be greeted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, astride an ancient and much respected rocking horse.

Guests also came on horseback. Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe cut a dash on a white thoroughbred called Rabbits, while top British TV stars Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy  whose long-running show George & Mildred was a personal favourite of the groom  lent a touch of glamour to the proceedings by entering on a piebald called Scamp.

At the reception, Pink Floyd played a medley of songs from their new album, Dark Side Of The Moon, while sitting on shetland ponies, to allow easier access to the volume controls and wah-wah pedals on the floor.

Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips leaving the west door of Westminster Abbey in London after their wedding ceremony on November 14, 1973

5) Camilla Parker Bowles wedding to the Prince of Wales in 2005 was the first at which the bride wore not one hat, but two. It later emerged that she had suffered a trauma in childhood when a favourite hat had fallen off in a high wind.

This meant that on the big day, under her broad-brimmed feathery hat, Camilla wore a fascinator just to be on the safe side. As a symbol of his commitment, the Prince of Wales wore a tiny child-size bowler hat beneath his traditional topper.

Prince Charles wedding to Camilla Parker Bowles (now Duchess of Cornwall) after the blessing of their marriage at St George's Chapel, Windsor on April 9, 2005

6) Married in exile in the South of France in 1937, the embittered Duke and Duchess of Windsor chose to cock a snook at royal convention by insisting all their male guests wore brightly coloured cravats and straw boaters, with feather boas for the women.

Sadly, the Duke and Duchess of Argyll adhered too strongly to the instructions on the invitation. The Duke entered the chapel wearing a cravat and a boater, while the Duchess wore a feather boa. Neither wore anything else.

Fortunately, the day was saved by a stroke of luck. Happily, wrote the Duchess of Windsor in her autobiography, the Order of Service was printed on extra-large sheets of paper, so the poor things were able to cover themselves up, as best they could.

Duke of Windsor & Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson on their wedding day in 1937

7) Sadly, few now remember the wedding of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999. Im pretty sure the groom wore a tail-suit, and the bride wore white but Ill have to check, says veteran BBC Royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell.

Wedding of Prince Edward, youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II, to Sophie Rhys-Jones at St George's Chapel Windsor on June 19, 1999

8) There was a strong sporting theme at the marriage of the Princess Royals showjumping daughter Zara Phillips to rugby-player Mike Tindall in 2011.

On their way into the chapel, guests were obliged to leap across a small fence before throwing a tasteful lozenge-shaped ball over a miniature rugby post by the font.

During the service, discreet wide-screen televisions were available in a side chapel, allowing guests access to the Welsh Rugby quarter-finals taking place at the same time. Despite a certain amount of to-ing and fro-ing, the majority of guests managed to catch at least some of the wedding itself.Meghan Markle's best friend 'stole the show' at the royal wedding on Saturday - after having a 'Pippa moment'.

Jessica Mulroney, 38, sparked reaction on social media when she wowed in a stunning navy dress - by Montreal-based designer Di Carlo couture - as she headed into St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

The Canadian fashion stylist was escorting her twin sons - seven-year-old John and Brian - who were page boys for Meghan, and had the honour of carrying the train of her dress down the aisle as she walked towards Prince Harry.

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The so-called 'Pippa moment' happened as Jessica - who wore Christian Louboutin heels - ascended the steps guiding the young bridesmaids who walked beside her

Meghan Markle's best friend 'stole the show' at the royal wedding on Saturday - after having a 'Pippa moment'

Photos of Pippa, who was 27 at the time, went viral after she wore a tight-fitting Alexander McQueen bridesmaid's dress to the big day at Westminster Abbey in 2011

Though she didn't wear a white dress, the mother-of-three's royal blue version looked decidedly similar to Pippa's - at least from behind.

Both frocks featured cap sleeves, button details, and flawless tailoring that highlighted each woman's best assets.

And Jessica - who is Meghan's closest confidante - had her half-up half-down hairstyle, reminiscent of Pippa's on Will and Kate's big day.

However, it was Jessica's shapely derriere that caught the attention of beady-eyed onlookers.

Photos of Pippa, who was 27 at the time, went viral after she wore a tight-fitting Alexander McQueen bridesmaid's dress to the big day at Westminster Abbey in 2011.

Harry and Meghan tied the knot at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on Saturday

Jessica Mulroney is pictured arriving at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Fans took to Twitter to praise Jessica's choice of dress - while the mother-of-two's moment in the spotlight was compared to Pippa Middleton's at her sister Kate's wedding in 2011

Photos of Pippa, who was 27 at the time, went viral after she wore a tight-fitting Alexander McQueen bridesmaid's dress to the big day at Westminster Abbey in 2011

On Saturday, photos of Jessica, a PR consultant and bridal expert, who has been dubbed Torontos Gwyneth Paltrow, sparked a similar reaction - with comparisons to Pippa being made.

The so-called 'Pippa moment' happened as Jessica - who wore Christian Louboutin heels - ascended the steps guiding the young bridesmaids who walked beside her.

Dressed in the cap-sleeve fluted midi dress - a bespoke piece made in the Di Carlo Coutures Montreal atelie - teamed with a matching hat, clutch and nude heels, she certainly turned heads.

Best friends - Meghan Markle and Jessica Mulroney - who had a 'Pippa moment' at the wedding

Meghan's best friend Jessica Mulroney changed into a stunning gold gown before the Frogmore House reception

She raised eyebrows by having her stylist Rachel Renna share pictures of her outfit, a gold embellished cowl-back dress, for the exclusive after-party

And fans took to Twitter to praise Jessica's choice of dress - while the mother-of-two's moment in the spotlight was compared to Pippa Middleton's at her sister Kate's wedding to Prince William in 2011.

'Sorry guys, #JessicaMulroney stole the show,' one tweeted excitedly following the wedding.

'I totally missed Kate was too busy looking at @jessicamulroney ,' said another fan.

And one Twitter user gushed: 'Loving Jessica Mulroney's ultramarine blue dress. Gorgeous!'.

Meanwhile one praised her toned arms, tweeting: 'Love how Kate always looks drop dead gorgeous but I need to take a moment and appreciate Jessica Mulroney'.

Meanwhile Pippa, 34, who is now married to multi-millionaire James Matthews and pregnant with their first child, was also present on Saturday, wearing a 495 Hepburn silk floral dress by The Fold

Mulroney raised eyebrows by having her stylist Rachel Renna share pictures of her outfit, a gold embellished cowl-back dress, for the exclusive after-party

And one guest praised Amal and Jessica as the two best-dressed wedding guests, while another wrote: 'Jessica I hope you are extremely proud of your amazing kids they did a remarkable job.'

However others were less impressed, emphasising the golden rule not to try to outshine the bride.

Speaking about Jessica's appearance, William Hanson, royal and etiquette expert, told Femail: Jessica Mulroney may well have been trying to have her own Pippa Middleton moment.

It is never correct to upstage the bride - whether you are related to them or not. It is every guests duty to look good but not too good.

Over the weekend Instagram addict Miss Mulroney posted just a single photograph on her Instagram account  a picture of her twins holding Meghans train as she walked up the steps of St Georges Chapel on Saturday.

Proud friend. Proud mom, she wrote next to the photograph of the bride entering the church.

Meanwhile Pippa, 34, who is now married to multi-millionaire James Matthews and pregnant with their first child, was also present on Saturday, wearing a 495 Hepburn silk floral dress by The Fold which featured a close-fitting bodice and pleated skirt.A stylist has revealed how Meghan Markle struggled to find designers to dress her when she visited the UK as a little-known actress before meeting Prince Harry.

Juliet Angus, who starred in the reality show Ladies Of London posted a snap of Meghan in her Stella McCartney evening dress on Instagram and commented how things had changed for the former Suits actress.

'I remember five years ago trying to help my friend, who at the time was her stylist and no big designers wanted to loan to Meghan Markle for her London press trip,' the London-based fashionista commented.

Quoting the iconic scene from Pretty Woman where Julia Roberts gets the last laugh with a shop assistant who refused to serve her, she concluded: 'Well done, you wont have that problem anymore. Big mistake, HUGE!'

It's not clear exactly which press tour Chicago-born Juliet was referring to, but Meghan did visit London in November 2013 and was pictured on the red carpet for the premiere of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and the Global Gift Gala.

The actress was mid-way between filming the third and fourth series of US legal drama Suits, but was not a major household name in the UK at the time.

However, she's now one of the most famous women in the world following her wedding to Prince Harry, and will have designers clamouring for her to wear their creations as she begins a new life on the world stage.

London-based stylist Juliet Angus paid tribute to Meghan on Instagram, saying that things had changed from the days when designers refused to lend her their clothes

Meghan in 2013 on the red carpet for the London premiere of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

The Chicago-born Ladies of London star joked that designers had made a huge mistake by turning down Meghan before she became a household name

For her wedding on Saturday, the bride enlisted the service of two of the most sought after designer's in the fashion world - Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy and Stella McCartney to create her bridal and evening gowns.

Her bespoke wedding dress is estimated to have cost 200,000, including 78,000 for custom-made fabric and 4,000 for fittings.

Ms. Waight Keller carried out extensive research at fabric mills throughout Europe, to develop an exclusive double bonded silk cady especially for Meghan.

In a statement, she said: 'It has been an immensely rewarding experience to get to know Meghan on a personal level, one I will forever carry with me. The House of Givenchy joins me in wishing her and Prince Harry every wish of happiness in their future.'

The star attended the Global Gift Gala during her visit to London in 2013, but her stylist struggled to find designer outfits for her to wear

The glowing bride chose an Audrey Hepburn-style gown in a classic style as opposed to the beaded number she was predicted to wear

The bride stunned in a classic pure white Givenchy silk wedding gown as made her way down the aisle at St George's Chapel to marry Prince Harry

Meghan walked halfway through the church before being met Prince Charles at the Quire who took her to Harry

Stella McCartney has also gushed about being given the privilege of designing Meghan's evening gown.

The British designer created a backless, halterneck gown in pure white for Meghan - estimated to have cost 80,000.

'I am so proud and honored to have been chosen by the Duchess of Sussex to make her evening gown and represent British design,' she told WWD.

'It has truly been one of the most humbling moments of my career and I am so proud of all the team on this stunning sunny royal day.'

A tearful Prince Harry grabbed his bride Meghan's hand and told her: 'You look amazing' as he saw her for the first time

The couple, who are now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, organised a wedding that reflected both their backgrounds

Harry looked delighted as he walked his new wife out of St George's Chapel to start their new life togetherIt's an age-old bone of contention for parents the world over.

How much money should you pay your children for pocket money, gifts and expenses?

New research from Roy Morgan has revealed who comes out on top in terms of finances - and the figures might surprise you.

While in Australia girls are paid more for chores and more likely to save, boys receive more as gifts from friends and family.

This means that they have more money physically saved than their female counterparts.

Scroll down for video

New research from Roy Morgan revealed who comes out on top in terms of finances - and the figures might surprise you - girls earn more in chores, but boys get more in gifts (stock image)

The figures showed that while girls are paid $93.92 per year for birthday gifts, boys are paid $104.03

The figures showed that while girls are paid $93.92 per year for birthday gifts, boys are paid $104.03.

Boys also received more at Christmas and from relatives over the course of the year.

On average, girls were paid more for chores ($6.20 a week as opposed to boys' $4.78) - meaning that they are 50 cents better off each week.

But boys have more saved - $11.22 more on average - thanks to being paid more at the key celebrations like birthdays and Christmas.

On average, girls were paid more for chores ($6.20 a week as opposed to boys' $4.78) - meaning that they are 50 cents better off each week (stock image)

Amount girls (aged 6-13) receive Pocket or chores money: $6.20 per week. Money earned for paid work: $1.39 per week. Extra money for school expenses: $3.10 per week. Money received as birthday gifts: $93.92. Money received as Christmas gifts: $66.09. Money received from relatives: $43.66. Source: Roy Morgan Advertisement

Amount boys (aged 6-13) receive Pocket or chores money: $4.78 per week. Money earned for paid work: $1.40 per week. Extra money for school expenses: $2.59. Money received as birthday gifts: $104.03. Money received as Christmas gifts: $74.67. Money received from relatives: $45.55. Source: Roy Morgan Advertisement

Speaking to FEMAIL, leading children's education expert and former school counsellor Pauline Haycraft, from Sydney, discussed pocket money - and how much parents should pay their children.

POCKET MONEY DOS AND DON'TS * DON'T pay your children pocket money in return for performing chores around the house. * DO tell the kids where the money is coming from, and outline your expectations for spending and saving. * DO try to teach them the value of money and go dollar for dollar with them if they can't afford something but want to save up. * DON'T cancel their pocket money if they behave badly: punish them appropriately, for example - with time out. * DO make the pocket money handover a formal event, rather than just a bank transfer, so your child sees the physical money. * DON'T give them an advance one month as you'll just end up in a perpetual cycle of debt. * DO start paying your children pocket money at about seven years old, and do encourage them to get a job when they're a teenager if they want more. * DON'T expect them to be able to afford everything if you're only giving them a small amount: you may need to pay for some additional things. * DO pay them weekly rather than monthly, as they have such a small perspective of the world. Advertisement

'I feel very strongly about paying kids for chores,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'If you pay them for chores, you're only making a giant rod for your own back. Say, for instance, you ask them to make their bed. They might reply: "You pay me first".

'It's important to give them a sense that a family is a community, and one that they live in and must help to contribute to organically.'

Instead of bribing your children to help around the house and paying them in return, Ms Haycraft advised that you tell your kids where the money is coming from, explain that mummy and daddy have earned it and intend to share a small portion with you, and outline your expectations for how the money is spent:

'It's important to tell them that they must save a certain portion of their pocket money each week so they don't just spend it all on lollies,' she said.

'Part of the exercise is teaching them - if you want them to learn independence and the value of money, show them how to save. Go dollar for dollar with them on something they can't afford in order to teach them the value of forward planning.'

Ms Haycraft was similarly adamant that kids must physically see the money they're being given, not just random bank entries.

'I think a formal handover is best, and that you should physically hand over the cash to give them a sense of a transaction,' she said.

'I don't believe in advancing kids' funds, however, as you get stuck in this perpetual cycle of debt.'

Children's education expert Paula Haycraft suggested you pay your child for each year of their life - so $7 when they are seven, $8 when they are eight - and cap it at $25 for 15 (stock image)

She also added that you shouldn't cancel paying your children, even if they misbehave, as it creates a lack of trust:

'That's bringing in an entirely different set of rules,' she said.

'Punish them for bad behaviour with an appropriate punishment. A time out, for example. If they damage something, it might come out of their pocket money, though.'

Lastly, she revealed how much you should pay your children - and outlined a simple strategy for knowing how much is best.

'I reckon pocket money should start around age seven, or when they get their second teeth,' she explained.

'A good tip is to give them $7 when they're seven, up it to $8 when they're eight, etc etc.

'By the time they're 15, $25 is more than ample and they should be saving.'When Rachelle Mainse was born prematurely, her tiny hands were almost the size of her father's wedding ring.

The baby girl was given a 15 per cent chance of survival after she was born weighing just 1200 grams at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

Her Canadian parents were holidaying in Australia at the time when her pregnant mother unexpectedly went into early labour at 30 weeks.

Fast forward, the now-30-year-old woman reunited with obstetrician Dr John Chenoweth who saved her life.

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When Rachelle Mainse was born prematurely at 30 weeks weighing just 1200 grams, the tiny palms of her hands were the size of her father's wedding ring

Fast forward 30 years, Rachelle reunited with Dr John Chenoweth (pictured showing the woman how tiny she was when he delivered her) who saved her life

Three decades ago, her parents' two-week holiday was cut short as their baby daughter was clinging onto life.

For the first four months of her life, she remained in an incubator at the Queensland hospital.

'I was given a 15 per cent chance of living when I was born,' Rachelle, now 30, told 7News.

'From the moment of being born there, I shouldn't have been able to breathe on my own.'

But against all odds, baby Rachelle made a remarkable recovery.

At the time of her birth, her doting parents described their newborn daughter as their 'miracle baby'.

Fast forward 30 years, Rachelle, who lives in Canada, spoke about her remarkable recovery

Thirty years ago, her Canadian parents were holidaying in Australia when her pregnant mother unexpectedly went into early labour at 30 weeks

Over the weekend, she met with hospital staff in an emotional reunion to thank them for saving her life.

'Being able to thank them, give them a big hug, it's just surreal,' she said.

Dr Chenoweth remembered the day he delivered Rachelle in the birthing suite.

'Rachelle didn't require any ventilation, which is really a great start to life. She had a lot of enthusiasm for living, Dr Chenoweth recalled.She's the Sydney-based royal super fan who has garnered a global fan base of her own thanks to her sheer determination to gain Prince Harry's attention.

And on Saturday, Victoria McRae, who has kissed the prince in 2015 and kayaked up to him during his 2013 visit to Australia, travelled from Sydney to Windsor to bid adieu to the prince and attempt to woo him one final time.

The medical receptionist, 24, from North Shore Hospital, waited patiently among the crowds outside Windsor Castle wearing a white bridal dress and tiara while holding a sign reading: 'It's not too late.'

Victoria McRae, 24, (pictured) is the royal super fan who has garnered a global fan base of her own  simply from her pure determination to gain Prince Harry's attention

Her Royal Wedding poster was accompanied by the iconic photo of her kissing the prince off-guard in 2015 (pictured)

The medical receptionist, Victoria (centre) from North Shore Hospital waited patiently among the crowds outside Windsor Castle

The poster was embellished with photos of her first two attempts at winning the prince's heart.

Yet when it was clear the odds were no longer in her favour, Victoria whipped out a second poster.

It read: 'I will always love you.'

Victoria proudly held the sign while claiming a prime position among the crowds outside Windsor castle.

She exchanged a wave with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for the final time as they passed in their carriage along the streets of Windsor.

After the ceremony, Victoria took to social media to gush over her excitement and happiness for the royal newlyweds.

It read: 'A dream come true!! Although I wasn't the one in the carriage I was so happy I got to see them off. You deserve it Harry! #peoplesprince #timetohanguptheboots'

The 24-year-old Harry hunter held a poster that read: 'I will always love you' while she donned a bridal dress and tiara

After the ceremony, Victoria took to social media to gush over her excitement and happiness for the royal newlyweds

While she's sad it's all over, the 24-year-old jokingly admitted 'it's obviously not meant to be'.

Just before the Royal Wedding, Victoria told This Morning presenter Alice Beer,'I'll give him the chance on his wedding day. It's just a quiet reminder that if he gets cold feet I'm all ready to go. I'm in my gown, it's not too late.'

'I'm very happy for him that he's found his princess, which I think he has, but I'm always there if he needs me.'

Her Royal Wedding poster was accompanied by the iconic photo of her kissing the prince off-guard in 2015 outside the Sydney Opera House (pictured)

'A dream come true!! Although I wasn't the one in the carriage I was so happy I got to see them off. You deserve it Harry!' she said on social media

'Although I wasn't the one in the carriage I was so happy I got to see them off. You deserve it Harry!' she said

Victoria's Royal Wedding poster was accompanied by the iconic photo of her kissing the prince off-guard in 2015 outside the Sydney Opera House after she had asked him to marry her.

While Harry politely refused during his Down Under tour saying 'Can I think about it?' Victoria did not give up hope.

She followed by asking if she could at least give him a kiss on the cheek.

But Prince Harry was given a shock surprise.

'I said I'd be happy with just a kiss so he leant forward to let me kiss him on the cheek,' Victoria previously told Woman's Day.

'And then I sort of tried to get more than he bargained for I think,' she said.Paul Burrell has said that Meghan Markle is more than prepared to enter the royal family thanks to her acting career.

Princess Diana's former royal butler appeared on Good Morning Britain on Monday to discuss the wedding and how much Princess Diana would have loved the newly appointed Duchess of Sussex.

The 51-year-old told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on the ITV daytime show that the former Suits actress, who also starred in 14 films, was a 'good person to enter the royal family' and be by Prince Harry's side.

'She served her apprenticeship in Hollywood on that stage and now she entered the world stage and she has joined the cast of the biggest soap opera in the world,' he said.

Burrell had been pictured outside Windsor Castle on the day of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding and had gushed that their nuptials made 'everyone feel like they were invited'.

Princess Diana's former royal butler Paul Burrell appeared on Good Morning Britain to talk about his reaction to the royal wedding

Paul gushed over Prince Harry and Meghan, saying that he believed the former actress is well prepared for royal life

Asked by Piers what Diana would have thought about Harry's new wife, Paul added: 'She would love her, she is all of the things the royal family are frightened of mixed race, she is American, a divorcee. And thats everything we have to embrace to move forward.'

He said: 'There will be ripples in the royal pond and things will happen you know they will. I think she is steady and solid and a good person to enter the royal family.'

Paul added that the wedding was 'refreshing and diverse and everything that the couple wanted and exactly what we need'.

Paul was also joined on GMB by Chief executive of the Diana Award Tessy Ojo, Diana award recipient Ryan Hick.

Tessy said that she was able to enjoy a brief chat with the new bride at the afternoon reception on Saturday.

'At the reception it was such a wonderful.. It was surreal, everyone was mingling they had their moment on stage and they came down to meet with everyone,' she said.

'It was a great opportunity to just say hello.

'I said to her we had ten young people on the grounds, they worship and adore you and I would love to do so much more with you, and she said fantastic thats what Im here for bring it on.'

The reality star was joined by by Chief executive of the Diana Award Tessy Ojo, Diana award recipient Ryan Hick

Tessy said that she was able to enjoy a brief chat with new bride Meghan at the afternoon reception

Reality star Paul Burrell also spoke about Reverend Michael Curry's much-talked about passionate sermon in the chapel on a Australian radio show.

'He was a little bit bonkers but actually what he said was really true and real,' Paul said, causing hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson to burst out laughing.

Paul's interview comes after he was pictured at a private area of Windsor close to where Harry and Meghan would wed hours later.

Dressed in a smart grey wedding suit and pink tie, Burrell chatted to a security official.

'We felt as if we were all invited!' Paul Burrell gushes over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding after being pictured outside Windsor Castle on the big day (above)

Big day! Paul's interview comes after he was pictured at a private area of Windsor close to where Harry and Meghan would wed hours later

Earlier this month, Burrell said that Diana will be at the wedding of her son Prince Harry 'in spirit'.

Burrell, who was a servant for the royal family for several years, added that the Princess of Wales would have 'approved' of Harry's fiancee.

The former butler to Diana has been accused of cashing in on his time spent serving the royal family after he released a book in 2003 and appeared on the Australian version of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

And he has been back in the spotlight ahead of this week, lining up a serious of media appearances to speak about the pending nuptials.While holidays for young people used to be about sun, sex and alcohol, millennials are now choosing to travel depending on how Instagram-friendly a place is.

The rise of the so-called 'ego traveller' has seen travel companies come up with packages sold around getting the perfect snaps.

US-based company Contiki, which offers holiday packages for 18 to 35 year-olds, has launched a new Snap Canada tour - promising travellers 'endless Insta opportunities'.

Meanwhile, other travel companies, including El Camino Travel, Shoot My Travel and Flytographer, offer professional photographers to help you document your holiday.

Many of the companies have their own glossy Instagram feeds to promote their holiday packages, sharing stunning shots of their travellers in a range of exotic destinations.

Travel companies are now offering holiday packages based around getting the perfect snap. Pictured is a traveller in Jaipur, India

Millennials are now increasingly choosing holiday destinations depending on how Instagram-friendly a place is. Pictured is a traveller at Railay Beach, Thailand

It comes after Thomas Cook revealed it was considering calling time on its Club 18-30, which specialises in trips to Malia, Ayia Napa or Magaluf.

The UK-based tour operator found that more than half of 18 to 25 year-olds say social media plays a factor when picking a hotel - a trend they call 'ego travel', and are abandoning the party packages previously favoured by young people.

Explaining the changing holiday trends among young people, travel expert Cathy Thompson, from Hostelworld, told The Times: '[Millenials] want to have done things a little bit for the bragging rights and to share it on social media.'

US-based company Contiki, which offers holiday packages for 18 to 35 year-olds, promises 'endless Insta opportunities' with its Snap Canada tour (above)

Meanwhile, other travel companies - including El Camino Travel - offer professional photographers to help you document your holiday. Pictured is an Instagram star in Colombia

Meanwhile, Anna Vine - who is Contiki's head of marketing, UK and Europe - told the newspaper: 'Millennials are incredibly passionate about travel and have a desire for a social experience defined by spending time with other travellers or locals in an authentic and serendipitous way.'

Contiki organises holidays in far-flung locations around the world, including Thailand, India, Peru and New Zealand.

However, it's not just exotic destinations that are making the most of Instagram travellers.

The trend comes as travellers increasingly look to get the perfect social media snaps. Pictured is an infinity pool in Mexico

Destinations including Peru have become increasingly popular with millennials. Pictured is a traveller at Machu Picchu

Visit Scotland announced last autumn that it was launching a #ScotSpirit Instagram Travel Agency to allow tourists to base their visits to Scotland purely around other people's Instagram pictures.

Charlie Smith, Director of Marketing from VisitScotland commented: 'Were proud of the fact that VisitScotland has the biggest tourism Instagram account in Europe, with over 370,000 followers.

'People love our feed not only for the stunning photographs  often taken by our visitors - but also because they discover the immense and unexpected variety of things they can see and do in Scotland.'Meghan Markle opted for classic elegance when she chose her 200,000 Givenchy gown that's been likened to Audrey Hepburn's classic chic.

But it seems that the new Duchess of Sussex may have looked no further than her fellow European royals for inspiration for her wedding gown, wearing a style very similar to numerous regal brides including Princess Charlene of Monaco.

Her look even echoed the dress Princess Anne wore to marry her first husband Captain Mark Phillips in 1973 designed by Maureen Baker, which was the same pure white shade.

The boat neck on the former actress' dress was reminiscent of the gown Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden wore to marry Daniel Westerling in 2010, with a 16ft train to rival Meghan's 15ft embroidered veil.

Although she opted for a higher neckline, Queen Maxima of The Netherlands also chose a classic look like Meghan's by Valentino couture for her marriage to King Willem Alexander.

Meghan Markle opted for timeless simplicity for her Givenchy wedding dress, and it seems she may have taken inspiration from other European royal brides

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's wedding dress in 2010 had a very similar neckline and a 16ft train to rival Meghan's 15ft veil

Her long-sleeved haute couture gown with a sweeping train was definitely a forerunner for Meghan's bridal look.

Princess Charlene of Monaco also went down the couture route like Meghan, enlisting Armani to design the gown she wore for her religious ceremony with Prince Albert in 2011.

While her off white silk duchess featured more embellishment than Meghan's the neckline and embroidered silk tulle veil were certainly a close match.

Even minor royalty can provide inspiration, as Princess Alexia of Greece opted for a similar silhouette when she married in a heavy white satin dress by Austrian designer Inge Sprawson in London in 1999.

Princess Anne opted for a simple style in pure white when she married Captain Mark Phillips in 1973

Although the neckline was higher the simple lines of Queen Maxima of the Netherlands' Valentino wedding dress in 2002 seemed to be an echo of things to come

Although it was more embellished, Princess Charlene of Monaco's Armani wedding dress in 2011 seemed to be a forerunner of Meghan's look

Even minor royalty such as Princess Alexia of Greece who married in London in 1999 seemed to provide inspiration

Meghan's bespoke creation is estimated to have cost 200,000, including 78,000 for custom-made fabric and 4,000 for fittings.

The pair worked closely together on the design, with Ms. Waight Keller carrying out extensive research at fabric mills throughout Europe, to develop an exclusive double bonded silk cady especially for Meghan.

Together, the pair decided this was perfect for the round sculptural look required while the soft matt lustre, bonding process and pure white colour bring a fresh modernity to the dress.

Meghan was eager to incorporate a nod to all 53 countries of the Commonwealth into her special day, and asked for a veil embellished with the distinctive flora of each Commonwealth country united in a single spectacular floral composition.

Each flower was worked flat, in three dimensions to create a unique and delicate design. Workers spent hundreds of hours meticulously sewing and washing their hands every thirty minutes to keep the tulle and threads pristine.

Meghan's dress features a graphic open bateau neckline and slender sculpted waist, teamed with a silk tulle veil with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers

Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for her wedding to Prince Harry, wearing a dress and veil made by Givenchy

The couple were all smiles as they left the chapel - a stark contrast to how nervous Harry had appeared when he arrived an hour earlierWhile all eyes were on the bride in her 200,000 Givenchy gown on Saturday, VIP guests certainly kept the style stakes high as they flocked to Windsor in an array of designer outfits.

Now it's been revealed that Amal Clooney, 40, was officially the best-dressed in the eyes of royal fans, as her Stella McCartney was the most searched for guest outfit following the royal wedding.

Data from global fashion search platform Lyst has revealed that 17,000 people, from 65 countries, have searched for a yellow Stella McCartney dress since Amal's appearance at the royal wedding on Saturday.

While not everyone has the budget for a designer buy, searches for yellow dresses are up 1,500 per cent week on week since the human rights lawyer who is married to George Clooney attended the big day.

Traffic to Stella McCartney dresses increased 3,000 per cent compared to the previous day, which is no doubt thanks to both Amal and Meghan who chose a white halterneck gown by the British designer for the evening reception.

Amal Clooney, 40, sparked a 1,500 per cent increase in searches for yellow dresses and 17,000 searches for mustard Stella McCartney gowns after attending the royal wedding

Meghan Markle stunned in a white halter neck gown by Stella McCartney after changing out of her 200K Givenchy wedding gown for the evening reception

Yesterday, the British designer, 46, spoke of her pride at being chosen to design the slinky halter neck gown Meghan, 36, wore to the evening reception at Frogmore House.

'I am so proud and honored to have been chosen by the Duchess of Sussex to make her evening gown and represent British design,' she told WWD.

'It has truly been one of the most humbling moments of my career and I am so proud of all the team on this stunning sunny royal day.'

Celebrity stylist Lucas Armitage told Femail that such a gown would probably cost around 80,000 for fabric, design and fittings.

US TV queen Oprah Winfrey also wore Stella McCartney and revealed her team had made this pink dress in 24 hours, after her original outfit fell through

Dapper: Meanwhile, her husband, George, looked dapper in a fitted grey suit with a light blue shirt and yellow striped tie completed with black dress shoes

Yummy mummy: The human rights lawyer styled her brunette locks into a curly blow-dried hairdo, which was elegantly swept to the side; she accessorized with Lorraine Schwartz jewels

Amal Clooney's mustard midi dress with cap-sleeves, cinched-in waist and a pencil skirt silhouette was also custom-made so it's not available for fans to purchase.

The royal wedding was a big moment for Stella McCartney with several high profile commissions including Meghan and Amal.

She also created a pink ensemble for US TV queen Oprah Winfrey who took to Instagram to praise Stella's team for rescuing her at the eleventh hour.

The chat show host superstar revealed her pink tiered dress with lace trim had been made in just 24 hours after she realised the beige dressed she had planned to wear would look too white in pictures.

'Her team did this overnite,' the 64-year-old explained.

Glowing: Making their highly-anticipated debut at Windsor Castle, the actor 57, and his wife, 40, made sure they stayed in the spotlight as they dressed to impress for the special nuptialsIn the joyful moments that immediately followed her wedding, Meghan Markle let her hair downliterallyto take photos with her new husband, Prince Harry.

Meghan, 36, and Harry, 33, posed for pictures at Windsor Castle after the carriage procession that followed their wedding ceremony at St. George's Chapel on Saturday.

Kensington Palace released three of the snaps on Twitter on Monday. Two of them see Harry and Meghan posing next to their relatives, including their bridesmaids and page boys, while one of the photos features solely the smitten couple.

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Wedding look: As she and Harry posed with their relatives, Meghan kept her long veil on and her hair safely tucked into an elegant chignon (left). While posing with Harry (right), the Duchess of Sussex removed her veil and let a few strands of hair escape from her low bun

'Do: The bride also kept her veil on and her hair tucked behind her ears while posing with the bridesmaids and page boys (pictured in a close-up)

The bride adopted a different look for each setting. As she and Harry posed with the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, his wife Camilla, Meghan's mother Doria Ragland, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, she kept her long veil on and her hair safely tucked into an elegant chignon.

Meghan also donned her tiara as she and Harry stood among their relatives, with Princess Charlotte on Kate's lap and the rest of the bridesmaids and page boys sitting on each side of the frame.

She appeared to have gotten camera-ready between the ceremony and the photo session, and wore more visible make-up, especially around her eyes, while her dress appeared impeccably steamed.

Harry and Meghan also posed with just their 10 bridesmaids and page boys, with Meghan once again keeping her cathedral-length veil and neat low bun on for those snaps.

But when time came to pose for Harry, Meghan showed just how versatile her 'do could be, and opted for a slightly more relaxed look.

Family: Meghan and Harry posed with the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, his wife Camilla, Doria Ragland, Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their bridesmaids and page boys after their wedding ceremony on Saturday

Group shot: The duo also posed with only their bridesmaids and page boys. Pictured in the back row are Brian Mulroney, Remi Litt, Rylan Litt, Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Ivy Mulroney, John Mulroney; front row are Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte, and Florence van Cutsem

Duo: One of the three photos released by Kensington Palace on Monday features solely the smitten couple, posing together on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle

The Duchess of Sussex removed her veil and let a few strands of hair come out of her low bun to frame her face, revealing the discreet earrings she wore on the big day.

In the shot posted by the Palace, Meghan can be seen smiling radiantly at her husband, who himself is beaming straight into the camera, with his right hand resting on her arm.

Meghan has worn 'messy buns' during various public events in the past, and the 'do has become closely associated with her personal style, with many praising it as an effortlessly chic look.

She wore her hair in a low bun with a few loose strands of hair during her visit to the radio station Reprezent in London in January this year, and again while touring Cardiff, Wales, with Harry a few days later.

Meghan wore the hairstyle again in March while visiting Belfast in Northern Ireland, and in April during a reception in London.

Signature: Meghan wore her hair in a low bun with a few loose strands of hair in London in January (left), and again while touring Cardiff, Wales, with Harry a few days later (right)

Trademark: The Duchess of Sussex also kept her hair in a low bun during a visit in Belfast, Northern Ireland, back in March this year

Versatile: She also wore a near-identical low bun with a chic black dress during a reception in London in April

All three shots see Meghan clutching her bouquet, which included Forget-Me-Nots in a touching homage to the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

The photos were taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski. Harry, Meghan and their relatives posed in Windsor Castle's Green Drawing Room for the family snaps, while the couple shot was taken outside on the East Terrace.

'The Duke and Duchess would like to thank everyone who took part in the celebrations of their wedding,' the Palace wrote on Twitter on Monday while sharing the images.

'They feel so lucky to have been able to share their day with all those gathered in Windsor and those who watched on television across the UK, Commonwealth, and around the world.'

Shortly after Meghan debuted her wedding 'do, royal fans defended her 'gorgeous' hairstyle, while some others criticized it for coming 'undone' during the ceremony.

Big day: On Saturday, royal fans defended Meghan's 'gorgeous' wedding hair after her hairdo was criticized for coming 'undone' during the ceremony

Wedding look: Meghan wore her hair in what her hairdresser described as a 'messy bun'

The comments came as the new Duchess of Sussex's hairdresser Serge Normant, who is based in New York, revealed it took him just 45 minutes to style her hair on Saturdayusing grips you can pick up in the supermarket for only a few dollars.

Describing how long it took him to style Meghan's hair, the French-born hairstylist, 52, explained: 'You know not that long, believe it or not.

'We had to blow dry it from wet, I would say 45 minutes to an hour. Then they did the make-up and then you fiddle around with it a little bit. But it's not that long.

'I always tend to try and go as fast as I can at these events. Nobody wants to sit around.'

The hairdresser described the look as a 'messy bun', a reference to the style that Meghan has frequently sported in the past.

'It's a messy bun, we call it. Messy in a controlled way,' he said. 'Making sure it doesn't become a whole mess after a few hours! I don't overload the hair with products in general and certainly not on this day.'

However, not everyone was impressed with Meghan's hair at her wedding ceremony, with some describing it as 'unruly'.

One Twitter user wrote: 'Who did Meghan's hair?? Those strands are annoying her. YOU HAD ONE JOB.'

Another added: 'Meghan Markle's hair is coming undone and I want to jump into the TV screen and fix it. I can't focus on anything else'

However, others jumped to the defense of the bride, saying they loved the simplicity of her updo.

Loving it: The bride's updo has been hailed as 'stunning' by some royal fans, who said they liked the simple hairstyle

TWITTER USERS REACT TO MEGHAN'S WEDDING HAIRDO Advertisement

One wrote 'I love how Meghan's hair is a little messy', while another added: 'Meghan was stunning with that swept back wispy hair'.

Meanwhile, one Twitter user added: 'I thought her dress hair makeupeverything was GORGEOUS'.

Serge described Meghan as being a joy to work with and said she and Prince Harry are 'a beautiful couple'.

The celebrity hairdresser was introduced to Meghan last year by mutual friends and said it had always been a dream of his to style her hair.

He said being at Windsor was a 'gorgeous, fairytale', adding 'One of those moments, right?'

Serge also described Meghan as being 'calm and chatty' on the morning of her big day, explaining how she was 'very excited'.

Speaking at Kensington Palace shortly after arriving back from Windsor, he admitted: 'I am still pinching myself this morning. It's just one of those moments you dream of. I am very excited about it.'

Classic: Serge said he wanted to create a timeless look for Meghan when it came to her hair

Serge said that Meghan appeared relaxed as he styled her glossy locks on the morning of her wedding.

'On the day she was calm and chatty. She was very happy, it was a beautiful morning, the perfect morning to get married,' she said.

'We woke up early, had a little coffee and then just went on. It was all smiles, it was just one of those dreamy moments to be honest.'

Asked if there were any signs of nerves, he added: 'No I don't think so, she was just very happy, very happy, very excited.'

The hairstylist explained how he had first met Meghan through friends, but only met her a handful of times before her big day.

He said: 'I met her through friends last year. I knew of her anyway, in America. I just always loved the way she looked and her hair...

'I always thought it would maybe be exciting to get the chance to work with her. She's just so easy on that level. Her kind of style is so easy and not contrived.

'We had met previously but the real work started a few days ago.'

Describing working with Meghan, Serge said: 'She had a pretty good input. We came around with boards and tried to figure out what would be the easiest thing to do.

'I didn't know at first what would be on her head but I knew that it would be a tiara.'

No wedding jitters! The celebrity hairdresser described Meghan as being 'calm and chatty' on the morning of her big day, adding that she was 'very excited'

Serge said he wanted to make sure he kept to Meghan's usual style, while also taking inspiration from Audrey Hepburn and the 1960s.

'I thought something working around the usual angle she has. I wasn't about reinvention,' he said.

'I wanted to go with something on who she, she has a beautiful head of hair and is gorgeous, so it was just easy.

'We worked really closely together but there was nothing contrived about it. We knew what we wanted to do. We wanted something that wasn't effortless and really timeless. As long as it didn't look contrived.'

Serge said he was put at ease by Meghan's relaxed nature, particularly when handling the Diamond Bandeau tiara, which had been loaned to the bride by the Queen.

He said: 'You just have to kind of separate the two things because otherwise I would shake. I didn't want to shake with the history in that tiara.

'The thing is working with Meghan, she makes everything so light and easy that you don't think about these things in that dramatic way.'

He added that he would like to work with Meghan in future, saying: 'They know where to find me'.A company has blasted the New York City public transportation system for rejecting advertisements on the subway that promote women sexuality.

The Unbound Babes - a sexual wellness site that sells items ranging from vibrators to nipple clamps to personal wipes - targeted the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) last week after it deemed the advertisements 'too sexual' for the subway system.

But the company argued previous approved advertisements have teased bare skin from the Museum of Sex, a close-up of a man's crotch for an erectile dysfunction medication, and a number to call if you're 'still a virgin'. It has since started a campaign for equality in advertisements.

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Too sexual? The Unbound Babes, a sexual wellness site selling items for women, campaigned against the New York City public transportation after it rejected the company's ads

Rejected: The ads, created by five artists, were deemed inappropriate for the subways. The company started a hashtag #WTFMTA for people to campaign against the decision

Double standard: The illustrated advertisements were rejected yet the MTA allows the Museum of Sex to advertise featuring images of bare skin and boobs

'If you believe that this art and femme sexuality deserves equal access to public forums, please consider sharing this artwork on your Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter with the hashtag: #WTFMTA,' the company's CEO, Polly Rodriguez, wrote on Instagram last week.

The company commissioned five artists to create the illustrated advertisements - Laura Callaghan, Loveis Wise, Kristen Liu Wong, Robin Eisenberg, and Yoko Honda - who each sought to promote visuals that issue a powerful message of femininity.

In the rejected advertisements, there is no nudity or mention of sex in the wording.

Instead, the advertisements are subtle where one would only notice the scatter of sexual products in the illustrations if they looked closely.

Yet these visual were rejected while propaganda imploring people to attend a museum about sex, lose their virginity or buy erectile dysfunction medication were approved.

In Rodriguez' post, she features a mock-up of a Museum of Sex advertisement that actually never ran in the MTA. However, the subway system has allowed other ads featuring blown-up boobs.

There was also one instance the B train subway had an ad from Wanderu that read: 'Get wet. (On the beach, not from the guy next to you.)'

The MTA said it stands by its allowance of the erectile dysfunction advertisement because it is a 'medical need' for men. But Unbound Babes argues their is a double standard to what they choose to approve.

'It's difficult for me to understand how they don't see the hypocrisy,' Rodriguez said to the Culture Trip.

'Why is a man's ability to be aroused and enjoy sex a medical need, but for a woman or non-binary individual, it's offensive?'

Sexual: The MTA has allowed ads from Wanderu that feature sexual references about women 'getting wet' for men

Sexual: In the past, the MTA has also approved an ad for people who are still virgins. Yet it said an illustration of women was too provocative for the subway system

Approved: The MTA also allows advertisements about erectile dysfunction because it is a 'health condition' that some men suffer from

Unbound Babes is not the only female-focused company to face difficulties in getting advertisements approved.

In 2015, a menstrual underwear company called THINX was rejected when its advertisements featured the word 'period' in them. The MTA deemed the use of the word and the imagery as too provocative for the subway system.

But one could argue that a woman having her period, similar to a man suffering from erectile dysfunction, is an issue related to their overall health.

The 'controversial' advertisements featured one with a grapefruit next to phrasing mentioning a period and another one of a woman wearing underwear and a tank top.

According the the Culture Trip, that same year after THINX was rejected there was advertisements plastered in subway stations for breast augmentation.

Controversial: In the past, the MTA rejected advertisement from THINX, a underwear menstruation company, because it used the word 'period'

Discrimination? Some people could argue a period is also a 'medical need' women have to deal with daily just like men dealing with erectile dysfunction

The MTA has since responded the Unbound Babe's campaign after many people took to social media to air their issues with the advertisements getting rejected.

'The MTA has always and will continue to ensure that our policies are applied evenly and fairly,' Spokesperson Jon Weinstein told The New York Times.

He said the transportation service would work with the women's company to reach a resolution that is 'agreeable to all parties and allows their ads on the system.'

But Rodriguez said there is still more work to be done to ensure discrimination through advertisements does not continue.

She said: 'We'd love to be able to make a lasting impact on the policies that have, and obviously continue to, discriminate against companies that cater to different genders and versions of sexuality.'She spent the morning attending a water charity project amid a busy schedule of engagements.

And Queen Letizia of Spain continued her flawless appearance as she arrived for lunch with the President of the Dominican Republic in Santo Domingo on Monday.

The 45-year-old royal, who never puts a sartorial foot out of place, looked chic in a polka dot dress as she met with Danilo Medina and his wife Candida Montilla de Medina at the Presidential Palace.

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Queen of spots! Letizia of Spain slips into elegant polka dot dress as she joins the president of the Dominican Republic for lunch in Santa Domingo

Letizia slipped into a stylish halterneck dress which cut an elegant silhouette, falling just below the knees.

Cinched in at the waist, it made the most of her enviable midriff and featured a flattering high neckline.

Completing the ensemble, Letizia wore a pair of statement drop earrings as she posed for pictures alongside the president and his wife ahead of lunch.

The 45-year-old royal looked chic in a polka dot dress as she met with president Danilo Medina (to her right) and his wife Candida Montilla de Medina (to her left) at the Presidential Palace

Letizia slipped into a stylish halterneck dress which cut an elegant silhouette, falling just below the knees

Completing the ensemble, Letizia wore a pair of statement drop earrings as she posed for pictures alongside the president and his wife ahead of lunch

And it appeared the queen was in the mood for bold patterns, as she opted for a nautical ensemble in the morning.

Earlier in the day Letizia looked in good spirits as she attended a water distribution project in the Monte Plata Province.

The royal opted for an understated ensemble for her two-day visit to the Caribbean island, during which she will be working to support Spanish cooperation projects.

Letizia was seen greeting the presidential party at the National Palace during her third cooperation trip to DR and Haiti

Cinched in at the waist, the dress made the most of her enviable midriff and featured a flattering high neckline

She had spent the morning attending a water charity project amid a busy schedule of engagements

Letizia, who married King Felipe VI of Spain in 2004, wore a loose-fitting striped blouse for the occasion, teaming it with a pair of white trousers and a pair of stylish brogues.

Completing the ensemble with a black blazer, Letizia accessorised with a small black clutch and minimal jewellery.

Letizia, 45, who is mother to Princesses Leonor, 12, and Sofia, 10, wore her brunette hair in a simple side parting and opted for natural make-up for the outing.

Queen Letizia of Spain looked in good spirits as she attended a water distribution project in the Monte Plata Province, Dominican Republic, earlier on Monday morning

The royal, 45, opted for an understated ensemble for her two day visit to the Spanish-speaking island, during which she is working to support Spanish cooperation projects

Letizia was seen greeting the locals affected by the project, as well as workers from the Spanish cooperation project.

Over the years Letizia, a former journalist, has worked hard to help causes she is passionate about.

These include education, innovation, rare diseases, and particularly in nutrition, working closely with the UNs World Health and Food and Agriculture Organizations.

Letizia, who married King Felipe VI, 49, in 2004, wore a loose-fitting striped blouse for the occasion

At Christmas the royal family recently gave a rare glimpse into their family life with the release a set of photos taken inside their home.

The pictures were in celebration of the king's 50th birthday, offering fans a look at their day-to-day lives.

The images displayed the normal side to the monarch's life with him holding his daughter's hand while clutching her schoolbag in one photograph, as he takes her t school.

Completing the ensemble with a black blazer, Letizia accessorised with a small black clutch and minimal jewellery

Letizia, 45, who is mother to Princesses Leonor, 12, and Sofia, 10, wore her brunette hair in a simple side parting and opted for natural make-up for the outing

In another, his former television presenter wife Queen Letizia sits on an albeit grand settee alongside daughters Princesses Leonor, 12, and Sofia, 10.

The trio turn their heads with beaming smiles towards the camera as a wheeled-in television set in the background shows the King mid-speech.

The casual photographs highlight the King's humorous side with him sharing a joke with youngest daughter Sofia in between filming his annual Christmas message at their residence at the Royal Palace of Madrid.

Letizia, 45, who is mother to Princesses Leonor, 12, and Sofia, 10, wore her brunette hair in a simple side parting and opted for natural make-up for the outingPrince Harry and Meghan's wedding photographs show their 'more relaxed approach' - compared to Kate and William's formal portraits.

Kensington Palace have released three official pictures of the loved-up couple taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski on Saturday.

One black-and-white shot, taken at Windsor Castle, shows Meghan leaning back against Harry as he wraps his arm around her.

In contrast, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge both stood upright in their official couple picture, taken by photographer Hugo Burnand in Buckingham Palace's throne room following their wedding in 2011.

The photographs are also less formal than the portraits of those of Prince Charles and Diana by Patrick Lichfield, also taken in the throne room in 1981.

Expert Grant Harrold, who is known as the Royal Butler, said the new photographs show once again that Harry and Meghan are a 'very modern' couple.

Prince Harry and Meghan's official weddings are more relaxed than those of royal couples, as this black-and-white shot by photographer Alexi Lubomirski shows

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge both stood upright in their official portrait, taken by photographer Hugo Burnand in Buckingham Palace's throne room following their wedding

Speaking to FEMAIL, Mr Harrold said: 'The wedding pictures released today echo my views on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex being very modern royals.

'These images go to show just that and the less formal pictures echo the engagement photos of the happy couple too.'

He explained the contrasting photographs by pointing out that Prince Charles and Prince William are first and second in line to the throne.

'Let's not forget that the official Pictures of the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were fitting for that of future Kings and Queens,' he said.

A group shot featuring the Queen and senior royals is also less formal than previous shots, with Princess Charlotte sitting on her mother's knee

Family member and bridesmaids were positioned more carefully in Kate and William's official group photograph

'As the Duke of Sussex is sixth in line to the throne have he can have a more relaxed approach as we saw in their wedding, and now in their official photographs too, which are wonderful to see and really goes to show what modern royals they are.'

Harry and Meghan's group photograph - featuring the senior members of the royal family, along with Meghan's mother Doria Ragland and the bridesmaids and page boys - is also more relaxed than previous shots.

The picture sees Princess Charlotte, three, sitting on her mother's lap, while Doria is seen standing right by her daughter's side.

The third shot, showing Meghan and Harry with just their bridesmaids and page boys, is perhaps more similar to one of Kate and William's official shots - although Meghan appears to be kneeling on the floor rather than sitting on a chair.

Harry and Meghan asked the same photographer who shot their engagement pictures to take their official wedding pictures on Saturday.

Meghan appears to be sitting on the ground in another relaxed portrait featuring the bridesmaids and flower girls

Kate and William also posed with their flower girls and page boys in this sweet snap, although the Duchess appears to be sitting on a chair

New York-based Lubomirski, was a protege of Mario Testino, is famed for his portraits of leading ladies - adding a touch of Hollywood glamour to his shots.

The fashion photographer is also a prince of the Polish House of Lubomirski, whose royal lineage stretches back 500 years on his fathers side and gives him the title: 'His Serene Highness'.

The engagement photographs had been considered the most initiate of any royal couple, with Meghan wearing a 56,000 Ralph & Russo gown featuring a sheer bodice.

Describing the engagement pictures, Judi James told FEMAIL at the time: 'If there were any protocol about the intimacy levels of royal engagement photos Harry and Meghan have cut right through it with the stunningly sexy poses that show a couple so much in love that the viewer might seem to be intruding.

'While William and Kate opted for some polite snuggling in their photos Harry has raised the bar by wrapping Meghan into his coat.'

Harry and Meghan's wedding photos are also less formal that Prince Charles and Diana's shotsThe second season of 13 Reasons Why has introduced a number of new characters, covered new issues and even sparked new controversies.

But one of the pieces of information uncovered in the flashbacks for the new series has been changing the way fans view two of the main characters - namely, Zach Dempsey and Hannah Baker.

It was revealed during this season that the two characters, played by Katherine Langford and Ross Butler, were in a relationship over the summer before Hannah's suicide.

A bit of news: It was revealed in the second season of 13 Reasons Why that Zach and Hannah were in a relationship before her death

Keeping up: The news was revealed via Zach's testimony and a series of flashbacks

The relationship was revealed during Zach's testimony, with him describing their happy days together poring over books and cuddling by the water.

The teenagers even lost their virginity to each other. But when the school year started up, Zach wanted to keep the relationship a secret, leading to their break-up.

The revelation came as a shock to Dylan Minnette's character Clay Jensen, whose feelings for Hannah were made clear in the first season of the show, a theme which continued throughout the second installment of the popular Netflix series.

But the information also took many viewers by surprise. Not just because Hannah had included Zach in her infamous taped 'reasons', but also in that the pair's relationship appeared to be a wonderful one.

A number of fans took to social media after viewing the show to mourn the loss of the couple they had only just discovered existed.

Growing feelings: The couple were seen in flashbacks enjoying intimate moments together, such as reading

Simply touching: The pair's chemistry was undeniable and swiftly captured the imagination of fans

Changing views: Fans were blindsided by the revelation, but also soon fell in love with the couple

News: Fans just discovering that the two were together mourned the relationship online

'Zach and Hannah had it all wow,' wrote one user. 'Their relationship was so cute and just wow.'

Another cried: 'I totally ship Hannah and Zach together omg. She looked so happy. @13ReasonsWhy why did y'all do this to me?'

Others were horrified by Hannah's decision to include Zach in the tapes after learning of their time together, accusing the character of 'overreacting,' with one adding: 'She literally got mad at him for nothing.'

Starting five months after her death, Season 2 is not narrated by Hannah Baker unlike the first season; although she is central to the story, 13 Reasons Why shifts focus to the testimonies and a new one takes center stage each episode.

After the show sparked controversy when critics accused it of glamorizing suicide in season one, the show attempts to tackle a number of other serious topics in the new season, including the #MeToo movement.

The end: While Clay and Hannah were the fan favorite almost-couple of season one, fans appear to be changing their minds

Blame game: A number of fans thought that the revelation proved that Hannah needlessly named Zach in her tapes

Lashing out: Some took out their frustrations on other characters in the show

Speaking to website Popsugar, the actor playing Zach, Ross Butler, revealed that the reaction to the show helped him realize 'we need to change the way we raise boys.'

Playing a high school student on the hit Netflix show, he said it gave him an insight into the culture of American teenager.

And the Asian American star added that the many messages he received from suffering teens as a result of his role on the show helped him open his eyes to the true scale of the #MeToo movement.

'It showed me how prevalent and widespread it is and how before the #MeToo movement we weren't doing much about it,' he explained.The woman believed to have sparked Harry and Meghan's relationship appeared to be in good company during the royal wedding.

New York-based designer Misha Nonoo, 31, who is rumored to be the matchmaker who initially set the couple on a blind date, appears in new images getting ready for Saturday's ceremony with American oil heir Michael Hess.

Michael, 31, the heir to the multi-million-dollar Hess family fortune, took to Instagram Stories to share images of himself and Misha before and during the momentous occasion, making it clear he appreciated her wedding day look.

Preparations: American oil heir Michael Hess took to Instagram Stories to share images of himself getting ready for the royal wedding with designer Misha Nonoo

A skilled matchmaker: Misha (pictured) is believed to be the friend who set up Harry and Meghan on their first blind date

Event: Michael posted this image of himself and Misha arriving to the ceremony at St. George's Chapel, with actress Priyanka Chopra behind them

He first posted an image of Misha, dressed in a pale dress and matching, pointy stilettos, helping him adjust his black suit, which included a tailcoat worn on top of a white shirt and blue tie.

'Getting morning suit ready,' he wrote on top of the picture, which sees Misha making sure his shirt and jacket are in proper position while Michael puts his tie into place.

Michael, the son of John B. Hess, whose net worth is estimated to reach $1.2 billion, also shared a photo of Misha in her dress, which featured long sleeves and a round collar.

The US-based designer, who was raised in London and was born in Bahrain to an English mother and an Iraqi father, can be seen posing while carrying a clutch matching her dress, with her blond hair pulled into a low bun.

Accessory: Misha added a blue fascinator to her outfit, in keeping with the theme of the day

Guests: Michael posted a photo of himself and Misha sitting next to each other during the ceremony, sitting in front of Amal and George Clooney

Chatting: Misha and Michael were seen exchanging a few words during the ceremony

Having a good time: Michael also shared this photo of himself enjoying the big day

Michael pasted a fire emoji on top of the snap, a clear sign of his appreciation for Misha's look.

He later shared a snap of the two of them arriving to the ceremony at Windsor Castle around the same time as Priyanka Chopra, walking side by side among the glamorous crowd.

By that time, Misha had added a blue fascinator to her outfit, in keeping with the theme of the day.

Michael posted a photo of himself and Misha sitting next to each other during the ceremony, sitting in front of Amal and George Clooney.

'Watching the stunning bride walk down the aisle,' he wrote on top of the image.

Misha was previously married to British-born Alexander Gilkes, a co-founder of the art auction house Paddle8 who attended Eton with Princes William and Harry.

Reports stated in October 2016 that the pair had split after four years of marriage, 13 years after meeting in London.

Harry and Meghan have not named their matchmaker, but Misha, a close friend of Meghan connected to the royal family through her ex-husband, is widely regarded as the most likely candidate.

Old friends: In April this year, Princess Beatrice celebrated her birthday with a crowd of A-listers including Misha. Michael is believed to have tagged along during the trip. Pictured are: (1) Old Etonian and team GB rower Caspar Jopling; (2) his girlfriend, pop star Ellie Goulding; (3) Misha Nonoo, next to Michael; (4) Karlie Kloss; (5) Nora Kirkpatrick; (6) her husband, filmmaker Bryn Mooser; (7) Joshua Kushner, Kloss' boyfriend and Jared Kushner's brother; (8) Princess Beatrice; (9) Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan

Ride: Misha (top right) also appears to have shared an ATV ride with Michael during the trip. They are pictured with Ellie Goulding and Caspar Jopling

Pals: Michael is close with members of the royal family, including Princess Beatrice. In August 2016, the two celebrated Beatrice's 28th birthday together in New York (pictured)

Friends: Misha and Meghan are pictured at an event together in November 2015 in New York

Landed! Misha shared this photo of herself in London a few days before the royal wedding

Michael, meanwhile, is close with members of the royal family, including Princess Beatrice.

In August 2016, the two celebrated Beatrice's 28th birthday together in New York, following her breakup with her former boyfriend of 10 years, Dave Clark.

The oil heir, a friend of the princess' ex, posed for a photo with his hand on Beatrice's shoulder, with a cake topped with blown-out candles in front of them.

Also in August 2016, Michael celebrated his 30th birthday with a lavish party in the Hamptons, attended by Taylor Swift and Nelly.

At one point, he hopped on stage, prompting Taylor to plant a kiss on his cheek during a rendition of Dilemma with Nelly.

Michael is also believed to have joined Beatrice's extravagant birthday celebration in Jordan in April this year, partying with a crew of A-listers including Karlie Kloss, her beau Joshua Kushner (Jared Kushner's brother), and Ellie Goulding.

Misha was in attendance, and appears to have shared an ATV ride with Michael during the desert getaway.

Harry and Meghan were less than a month away from their wedding at the time, and Misha's public profile had already skyrocketed as her friendship with Meghanand her possible role in bringing her together with Harrybecame known.

The holiday included camel rides, quad biking, and even an acoustic performance from Ellie.

Also in attendance during the trip were Old Etonian and team GB rower Caspar Jopling, Ellie's beau; actress Nora Kirkpatrick; her husband, filmmaker Bryn Mooser; and Hussein, the Crown Prince of Jordan.

Michael, an investment professional, is based in New York, just like Misha, who made Forbes' 30 Under 30 list for her work as creative director of her namesake company.It will be business as normal for royal baker Claire Ptak on Monday after creating the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex's spectacular lemon and elderflower wedding cake.

But the Californian, who owns Violet Cakes Bakery in Hackney, east London, couldn't resist sharing one last snap of her magnificent creation with her Instagram followers as a truly memorable royal wedding weekend drew to a close on Sunday night.

Showing the public the previously unseen back of the cake, Ms Ptak, whose cake is reported to have cost up to 50,000 to make, said her 'heart is still full' from the joyful occasion at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on May 19.

Ms Ptak also confirmed for the first time that the non-edible fresh peonies - a favourite flower of Meghan's - that were used to decorate the cake were removed before Prince Harry, Meghan and their 600 guests got to try a slice.

Claire Ptak shared 'one last' photo of the wedding cake on Sunday night, which shows off the 'simpler' back

Californian baker Claire Ptak was tasked with creating Harry and Meghan's 'ethereal' elderflower and lemon wedding cake

On her 'last' photo of the stunning cake, which featured layers of different sizes on gilt gold plinths lent to Ms Ptak by the Royal family for the occasion, she wrote: 'My heart is still full today from all of the incredible loving energy in the air for the couple yesterday. Feeling so uplifted.'

The snap is the first time the public has seen the back of the cake, which features fewer foliage and fresh flowers than the front.

The cake was made using 200 Amalfi lemons, 500 eggs and 10 bottles of elderflower cordial made at the Queen's Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

It was decorated with three kinds of fresh peonies, which are not edible.

Harry and glorious: The new Duke and Duchess of Sussex wave to crowds after becoming husband and wife

Royal baker Claire Ptak revealed this tier was her 'favourite' because of how 'simple' it is

However Ms Ptak revealed in an Instagram post on Sunday that these were removed before the cake was served to the guests at the reception.

She wrote: 'While we always decorate with fresh flowers we always remove them before serving. They are purely for decoration.'

Calling it an 'incredible honour' to display the cake on gilt stands from the Royal family's collection on a photo of one tier of the cake, she added: 'A close-up detail of one tier of the cake. This tall tier was my favourite of the three because it was so simple.'

Claire and a team of five from her bakery made the cake, and were dressed in pastel yellow aprons made by English heritage brand SunSpel Clothing.

On a post of her baking team wearing the aprons, Ms Ptak wrote: 'When youre baking something special, always dress to impress. Thank you @sunspelclothing for capturing our essence.'

Claire Ptak (centre) with her team of six bakers wearing aprons made by SunSpel Clothing in the royal kitchens

The completed royal wedding cake, created by California baker Claire Ptak, was revealed for the first time on Saturday. It is displayed on gilt stands lent to Ms Ptak by the Royal family

Happy day: The new Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen waving to the crowds after exchanging vows at St George's Chapel today

The cake is believed to have cost 80 per slice, with the three-part layered centrepiece rumoured to have cost up to 50,000 to make.

The Palace said in a tweet that the 'light sponge' had been 'uniquely formulated' for the royal couple.

Bridebook founder Hamish Shepherd said the confection reflected modern wedding day trends 'perfectly'.

He also said the relatively low-key bake hinted at a relaxed party ahead for guests.

'The icing is subtle and smooth (much like the material of Meghan's dress), and has only been decorated by fresh flowers, the same that were part of Meghan's bouquet and the Chapel's decoration,' he said.

The cake featured layers displayed on different stands at varying heights in a non-traditional presentation

'This adds a unity and consistency that only the best weddings master, and hint at the more relaxed, loose and natural nature of the less formal celebrations to follow.'

Baker Georgia Green, of Georgia's Cakes, was similarly effusive in her praise for the finished result.

She told FEMAIL: 'The cake has been styled beautifully.

'Separating the cake's tiers is very original and the intricate gold stands add a touch of royalty.

'Far from traditional icing, the rustic buttercream and flowers gives the cakes a modern twist,' she said.

Baker Claire had said ahead of the big reveal that it would be a non-traditional presentation.

The baker, who owns the trendy Violet Bakery in East London, worked with her team of six bakers full time for five days in the large kitchens of Buckingham Palace.

Slices of the cake were served to the 600 guests at the lunchtime reception in St George's Hall.

Her recipe uses 200 Amalfi lemons, 10 bottles of Sandringham Elderflower Cordial made using elderflower from the Queen's Sandringham estate, 20kg (44lb) of butter, 20kg (44lb) of flour, 20kg (44lb) of sugar and 500 organic eggs from Suffolk.

The cake has been made using 200 Amalfi lemons, 500 eggs and 10 bottles of elderflower cordial made from the Queen's Sandringham estate

Claire said in the days before the wedding: 'It's a lemon sponge - a special sponge that I developed just for the couple, and we drizzle the layers with elderflower cordial from the Sandringham estate so it's really lovely and as local as you can get.

'We have a lemon curd made from Amalfi lemons which to me have the most delicious flavour. And then we've got elderflower swiss meringue buttercream.'

She described the flavour of the cake as being a balance of sweet and tart, combined with 'ethereal' elderflower.

'The buttercream is sweet and the lemon curd is very tart so you get a very lovely thing happening when you take a bite, which is to get all of these flavours and sensations perfectly balanced,' she added.

Radiant bride: The new Duchess of Sussex is seen departing St George's Chapel today after getting married to Prince Harry

The royal couple, seen during the post-ceremony carriage ride today, are said to have been closely involved in plans for their wedding cake, which is being served to guests at their reception in St George's Hall

The cake, which is decorated on the outside with a white, elderflower swiss meringue buttercream, is made of layered lemon sponge, drizzled with an elderflower syrup. The layers are sandwiched with buttercream and lemon curd.

Three types of Meghan's favourite peonies - Madame Claude, Bowl of Cream, and the aptly titled Duchess - in shades of white and cream decorate the cakes, along with four different white and cream roses - Patience, Purity, Jeanne Moreau and Princess Miyuki.

Who is Claire Ptak? Claire Ptak is a food writer, food and prop stylist, recipe developer and consultant. Hailing from San Francisco, she founded Violet Bakery in Hackney in 2010. She started her business as a market stall on Broadway Market, originally cooking her bakes from home. All of her cakes are baked with organic flour, sugar, milk and eggs. She has written four cookbooks. Claire also hosts a podcast on which she interviews successful women 'doing everyday things with amazing results' called Violet Sessions. Advertisement

The flowers will be removed before guests tuck in to the cake, but the slices will be served with edible rose petals.

The baker said Harry and Meghan loved the lemon and elderflower cake after trying a number of different samples.

She said: 'The elderflower is so quintessentially British to me as a Californian. It's of this moment. It's May so they're just opening this week.

'It's a kind of an ethereal, floral flavour which I think is very special, especially for a wedding.'

Claire previously admitted she hadn't made a back up cake in case of a disaster, saying: 'It's cake. It can't go that wrong. We have enough cake and we don't want to be wasteful. Anything that is left over, we were going to donate to charity.'

The chef had to call in some of her former workers to have enough staff to work on the cake and keep her bakery open.

The royal couple are said to have been closely involved with plans for the cake, which was finally unveiled on their wedding day todayObese people could have electromagnetic pulses zapped into their brains to make them stop eating, scientists say.

Trials are moving forward for a therapy which stimulates the brains of overweight people using magnetic pulses sent through a cap worn on the head.

The therapy has been trialled on people in Italy and researchers say it can curb their food cravings by reducing the levels of endorphins released after they eat.

Researchers from the University of Milan present their findings at a conference in Barcelona today.

Their study of 40 obese people showed just one half-hour session of the therapy was enough to help people on the journey to shedding the pounds.

They say if the therapy  deep transcranial magnetic stimulation  works, it could be a cheaper and safer alternative to surgery or medication.

Around 25 per cent of adults in the UK are thought to be obese, and treating conditions linked to being dangerously overweight costs the NHS billions of pounds a year

The treatment, known as dTMS, activates neurons in a targeted part of the brain.

It is already used to treat people with post-traumatic stress disorder, autism and Alzheimer's disease.

Patients wear a coil on their head

During the therapy patients wear an electromagnetic coil on their head, which sends controlled electrical impulses to the brain.

Patients may hear clicking and feel a tapping on their scalp during the process, and might have some discomfort, but they are able to continue with normal activities afterwards.

Now, scientists say the therapy could be used to help obese people by controlling the brain's reward mechanism which is triggered when they eat.

dTMS could be 'safer and cheaper' than medicine

Lead researcher Professor Livio Luzi said: 'For the first time, this study is able to suggest an explanation of how dTMS could alter food cravings in obese people.

'Given the distressing effects of obesity in patients, and the socioeconomic burden of the condition, it is increasingly urgent to identify new strategies to counteract the current obesity trends.

'dTMS could present a much safer and cheaper alternative to treat obesity compared to drugs or surgery.'

Approximately a quarter of adults in the UK are obese, and one in five 10-11 year-old children. The NHS spends billions of pounds a year treating conditions linked to being dangerously overweight.

The researchers say obese people's brains reward them with more feel-good endorphins when they eat, when compared with people who are a healthy weight.

dTMS could be used to calm down the body's response to food in obese people, so they do not get such bad cravings.

Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation can target different areas of the brain and is already used to treat people with post-traumatic stress disorder, autism and Alzheimer's disease

It is thought obese people could have an addicting response to eating.

In early trials participants lost four per cent of their body fat during a five week period of receiving dTMS.

OBESITY: ADULTS WITH A BMI OVER 30 ARE SEEN AS OBESE Obesity is defined as an adult having a BMI of 30 or over. A healthy person's BMI - calculated by dividing weight in kg by height in metres, and the answer by the height again - is between 18.5 and 24.9. Among children, obesity is defined as being in the 95th percentile. Percentiles compare youngsters to others their same age. For example, if a three-month-old is in the 40th percentile for weight, that means that 40 per cent of three-month-olds weigh the same or less than that baby. Around 58 per cent of women and 68 per cent of men in the UK are overweight or obese. The condition costs the NHS around 6.1billion, out of its approximate 124.7 billion budget, every year. This is due to obesity increasing a person's risk of a number of life-threatening conditions. Such conditions include type 2 diabetes, which can cause kidney disease, blindness and even limb amputations. Research suggests that at least one in six hospital beds in the UK are taken up by a diabetes patient. Obesity also raises the risk of heart disease, which kills 315,000 people every year in the UK - making it the number one cause of death. Carrying dangerous amounts of weight has also been linked to 12 different cancers. This includes breast, which affects one in eight women at some point in their lives. Among children, research suggests that 70 per cent of obese youngsters have high blood pressure or raised cholesterol, which puts them at risk of heart disease. Obese children are also significantly more likely to become obese adults. And if children are overweight, their obesity in adulthood is often more severe. As many as one in five children start school in the UK being overweight or obese, which rises to one in three by the time they turn 10. Advertisement

Plans to try therapy on more people

Professor Luzi added they have found possible differences in the way men and women react to food, suggesting differences in how vulnerable they are to food cravings and their ability to lose weight.

Recent tests have only measured chemicals in blood samples so the research group now hopes to use brain scans to see how the therapy affects the brain short and long term, and to test dTMS on more obese people.

The same team found last year that using dTMS could also change the levels of bacteria in people's gut.

Scientists believe an underlying cause of obesity may be an impaired gut microbiota composition  an imbalance in the complex mix of 'good' and 'bad' micro-organisms in the digestive tract.

Professor Luzi said an imbalanced gut microbiota can alter the brain's signals for appetite and satiety, or fullness.

He and his co-workers discovered that dTMS could improve the gut microbiota composition in obese people.

In the study three obese men and 11 obese women, aged 22 to 65, with a BMI of over 30, were randomly assigned into two groups. Over five weeks, one was given 15 sessions  three times per week  of dTMS or a sham stimulation as a control.

After treatment, those receiving dTMS lost more than 3 per cent of their body weight and more than 4 per cent of their fat  significantly more than controls did.

Before and at the end of treatment, subjects provided stool samples for microbiota analysis.

dTMS-treated people had increased amounts of beneficial, anti-inflammatory bacteria.A French surgeon is rebuilding windpipes ravaged by cancer using donor hearts.

Professor Emmanuel Martinod, who works at Avicenne Hospital near Paris, uses aortas from deceased donors to replace damaged sections of patients' tracheas, allowing them to live and breathe normally.

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), experts have hailed the 'major advance' as an 'elegant solution' to tricky windpipe surgery.

Once in place, donated aortas, which are the largest arteries in the body, take on the role of windpipes, even developing special cells that keep airways moist and protected.

Out of the 13 patients who have undergone the procedure, 10 are still alive nearly four years later, while eight are breathing normally.

One has even taken up long-distance running and is able to exercise for up to 50 minutes.

Cancer of the windpipe is rare and makes up around one in 1,000 cases of the disease in the UK.

Professor Emmanuel Martinod rebuilds windpipes ravaged by cancer from donors' hearts

WHAT IS TRACHEA CANCER? Trachea, or windpipe, cancer makes up just 0.1 per cent of cases of the disease a year in the UK. It causes 0.8 per cent of cancer cases annually in the US. Symptoms include: Dry cough

Breathlessness

Hoarse voice

Difficulty swallowing

Fever, chills and recurrent chest infections

Coughing up blood

Wheezing or noisy breathing Treatment depends on the size and position of the cancer, as well as the patient's general health. Surgery may be possible if tumours are small. This involves removing the affected part of the trachea. Chemotherapy may help to relieve symptoms. Radiotherapy can reduce the risk of cancer returning after surgery or may be used if operations are not possible. Source: GenesisCare Advertisement

'Major advance in the management of diseases affecting the airways'

Professor Martinod decided to use aortas due to their thick walls being able to withstand pressure when blood is pumped away from the heart, according to Japan Times.

The donated arteries are frozen before being implanted into patients.

As well as preserving the arteries, freezing also reduces the risk of transplants being rejected and patients being required to take life-long immune-system suppressing drugs.

Valerie Rusch, a surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, wrote in JAMA: 'This represents a major advance in the management of diseases affecting the central airways.

'This approach provides an elegant solution to challenges that have long bedeviled the field of tracheal surgery.'

Professor Martinod's technique builds on that of disgraced Italian surgeon Paolo Macchiarini, who performed synthetic trachea transplants on eight patients between 2011 and 2014.

Seven of the patients died, while the eight's whereabouts is unknown.

It was later revealed Macchiarini altered results in published studies.

Patient 'choking to death' now runs long distance

Of Professor Martinod's 13 patients who have undergone the procedure, 12 survived for at least 90 days.

One of which was Eric Volery, 40, who suffered from narrowing of the windpipe and had to have a hole cut into his trachea to allow him to breathe.

Essentially choking to death, Mr Volery struggled to speak until Professor Martinod replaced his trachea with a donated aorta.

Just a few years on, Mr Volery has made a full recovery and runs for up to 40-to-50 minutes at a time.

He uses aortas from deceased donors to replace damaged sections of patients' tracheas, allowing them to live and breathe normally. Experts hailed the surgery as a 'major advance'

Living kidney donor numbers hit eight-year low

This comes after health officials said last March that there has been a 'worrying' decline in living kidney donation.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) said the number of living kidney donors dipped to an eight-year low.

Living donation occurs when someone donates one of their organs, usually a kidney, to someone in need.

While this sort of organ donation is usually to a friend or family, it can also include donating a kidney to a stranger, which is known as an altruistic donation.

There were 990 living kidney donors in 2017; a 10 per cent decline on the highest ever year in 2013 and the lowest figure since 2009, according to NHSBT.

Altruistic kidney donation numbers have reduced from a high of 107 in 2013 to 87 in 2017. NHSBT released the figures to mark World Kidney Day.

The health body responsible for organ transplantation said that last year, 261 people died waiting for a kidney transplant.

It said the decline is concerning due to living donation accounting for a third of all kidney transplants.

NHSBT is appealing to people to consider donation while they are still alive.Keeping babies too clean may trigger a form of leukaemia, new research suggests.

Youngsters who are genetically at risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are significantly more likely to have the disease if they are not exposed to germs, a study found today.

Researchers analysed a range of studies including one where mice who were genetically predisposed to ALL and lived in germ-free environments all developed the condition when exposed to common bacteria and viruses.

Previous research also suggests toddlers who attend nurseries are 30 per cent less likely to develop ALL due to them picking up infections from other children that strengthen their immune systems.

Lead author Professor Mel Greaves, from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: 'The research strongly suggests ALL has a clear biological cause and is triggered by a variety of infections in predisposed children whose immune systems have not been properly primed.

'The most important implication is most cases of childhood leukaemia are likely to be preventable.'

ALL affects around 830 new people a year in the UK and is the most common type of leukaemia in children.

Keeping babies too clean may trigger a form of leukaemia, research suggests (stock)

WHAT IS ACUTE LYMPHOBLASTIC LEUKAEMIA? Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is a type of blood cancer that starts from young white blood cells in the bone marrow. There are around 810 new cases in the UK every year. In the US, ALL affects approximately 1.7 adults per 100,000. Anyone can develop ALL, however, it mainly affects younger people. Many ALL symptoms are vague and flu-like, such as: General weakness

Fatigue

Fever

Frequent infections

Bruising or bleeding easily, including nosebleeds, heavy periods and blood in the urine or faeces

Unexplained weight loss

Bone or joint pain

Breathlessness

Swollen lymph nodes

Feeling full

Paler skin than normal Risks for developing ALL include exposure to radiation, smoking, being overweight and having a weak immune system. Research suggests being breastfed and exposed to childhood infections may reduce a person's risk. The main ALL treatment is chemotherapy. Patients may also have radiotherapy, steroids or bone marrow transplants. Source: Cancer Research UK Advertisement

'This research is a culmination of decades of work'

Professor Greaves said: 'I have spent more than 40 years researching childhood leukaemia, and over that time there has been huge progress in our understanding of its biology and its treatment  so that today around 90 per cent of cases are cured.

'But it has always struck me that something big was missing, a gap in our knowledge  why or how otherwise healthy children develop leukaemia and whether this cancer is preventable.

'This body of research is a culmination of decades of work, and at last provides a credible explanation for how the major type of childhood leukaemia develops.'

Results further suggest one in 20 children are born with a genetic mutation that could lead to ALL, however, less than one per cent become ill, which may be due to environmental factors playing a critical role in disease onset.

Childhood leukaemia is particularly common in affluent societies, which may be due to such people being more conscious of hygiene.

The findings were published in the journal Nature Reviews Cancer.

'Childhood leukaemia could become a preventable disease'

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, said: 'This research has been something of a personal, 30-year quest for Professor Mel Greaves  who is one of the UK's most influential and iconic cancer researchers.

'His work has cut through the myths about childhood leukaemia and for the first time set out a single unified theory for how most cases are caused.'

Such myths include ALL being linked to radiation or pollution.

Professor Workman added: 'It's exciting to think that, in future, childhood leukaemia could become a preventable disease as a result of this work.

'Preventing childhood leukaemia would have a huge impact on the lives of children and their families in the UK and across the globe.'

The researchers hope their findings will help to reduce ALL rates, particularly among children.

They believe exposing infants to harmless 'bugs' may strengthen their immune systems and lower their risk of illness.

Previous research also links a lack of exposure to bacteria in early childhood to the onset of conditions such as arthritis and eczema.

Toddlers who attend nursery are 30 per cent less likely to develop leukaemia (stock)

'We urge parents not to be alarmed'

Speaking of the findings, Dr Alasdair Rankin, director of research at the blood cancer charity Bloodwise, which helped fund the study, said: 'We urge parents not to be alarmed by this study  childhood leukaemia is very rare and only around one in 2,000 children will develop it.

'While developing a strong immune system early in life may slightly further reduce risk, there is nothing that can be currently done to definitively prevent childhood leukaemia.

'As noted by this study, other factors influence its development  including pure chance.'Fifteen students from Chichester High School in West Sussex have been diagnosed with measles, according to Public Health England (PHE).

This comes after figures released earlier this month revealed that between January 1 and May 9, 440 cases of measles were confirmed in England, with London being the worst hit.

PHE claims travel between European countries experiencing measles epidemics is behind England's outbreak, as well as people failing to take up the recommended measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at PHE, previously said: 'The majority of cases we are seeing are in teenagers and young adults who missed out on their MMR vaccine when they were children.'

Romania, Italy, Germany, Greece and France are all experiencing unprecedented cases of the highly infectious, life-threatening condition.

To prevent a measles outbreak, it is recommended that 95 per cent of the population is immunised against the infection.

Only 91.9 per cent of children were vaccinated against measles between 2015 and 2016 compared to 94.2 per cent in 2014-to-2015 and 94.3 per cent in 2013-to-2014, according to NHS immunisation statistics.

Fifteen students from Chichester High School in West Sussex have measles (stock)

MEASLES DECLARED 'ELIMINATED' FROM THE UK JUST FOUR MONTHS AGO The 'elimination' of measles has been achieved in the UK, global health leaders said in September. The elimination of measles or rubella can be verified once a country has sustained 'interruption of endemic transmission' for at least 36 months, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The European Regional Verification Commission said the UK achieved elimination status for measles as of 2016. Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at Public Health England, said: 'We are delighted that the WHO has confirmed that the UK achieved measles elimination in 2016 and that rubella elimination continues to be sustained. 'In addition, national vaccine coverage of the first MMR dose in five year olds has hit the WHO's 95 per cent target. 'This is a huge achievement and a testament to all the hard work by our health professionals in the NHS to ensure that all children and adults are fully protected with two doses of the MMR vaccine. 'We need to ensure that this is sustained going forward by maintaining and improving coverage of the MMR vaccine in children and by catching up older children and young adults who missed out.' Advertisement

WHAT WERE THE MEASLES, MUMPS AND RUBELLA VACCINATION RATES IN TWO-YEAR-OLDS ACROSS ENGLAND IN 2015-TO-2016? Region of England % vaccinated North East

North West

Yorkshire & Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

East of England

London

South East

South West

Source: NHS immunisation statistics 95

92.9

94

94.1

93.1

93.5

86.4

91.9

92.9



'It is never too late to have the vaccine'

Dr Sarah Lock, consultant in health protection with PHE South East, said: 'It is important to be aware that it is never too late to have the vaccine.

'While the cases in Chichester are among children, it is important to remember that measles is not just a childhood illness, as proven by the number of recent cases among adults in other parts of Sussex and Surrey.

'So if you've not received two doses of the vaccine in the past or you're unsure, speak to your GP. There's no harm in receiving an additional dose where there is any uncertainty.'

Vaccination clinics have been set up for Chichester High School's students who have not been vaccinated or missed out on one of the MMR doses.

The first clinic is open for students and their siblings today. The second is by appointment only for the wider area on Wednesday.

Since January, Surrey and Sussex have had 70 confirmed measles cases, compared with 20 in the same time period last year.

Where in England are outbreaks occurring?

London has had the most measles cases, with a confirmed 164 incidences so far this year.

This is followed by the South East where 86 people have suffered since January 1.

The West Midlands has had 78 incidences and the South West 42.

West Yorkshire is also experiencing a local outbreak with 37 confirmed cases in just over five months.

More than 400 people in England have been struck down with measles so far in 2018 (stock)

Officials urge people to get vaccinated

Dr Ramsay said: 'The measles outbreaks we are currently seeing in England are linked to ongoing large outbreaks in Europe.

'The majority of cases we are seeing are in teenagers and young adults who missed out on their MMR vaccine when they were children.

'Anyone who missed out on their MMR vaccine in the past or are unsure if they had two doses should contact their GP practice to catch-up.

'This serves as an important reminder for parents to take up the offer of MMR vaccination for their children at 1 year of age and as a pre-school booster at three years and four months of age.

She added: 'We'd also encourage people to ensure they are up to date with their MMR vaccine before travelling to countries with ongoing measles outbreaks.

'The UK recently achieved World Health Organization (WHO) measles elimination status and so the overall risk of measles to the UK population is low, however, we will continue to see cases in unimmunised individuals and limited onward spread can occur in communities with low MMR coverage and in age groups with very close mixing.'

The WHO claims people's fear of vaccines, along with complacency, means many, particularly young children, are unprotected.

To prevent a measles outbreak, 95 per cent of the population should be vaccinated (stock)

Epidemics in Europe

Earlier this year, the WHO warned measles was spreading across Europe in regions where vaccination rates are low, such as Poland, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Data published in November last year by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in the Communicable Disease Threat Report show that from January 2016 to November 2017, more than 19,000 measles cases were reported in the EU, including 46 deaths.

The highest number of cases in 2017 were reported in Romania, where 7,759 people suffered, followed by Italy with 4,775 cases and Germany with 898 sufferers. Greece also experienced a measles outbreak, with at least 368 cases, and one death, since May 2017.

Dr Ramsay said: 'Due to ongoing measles outbreaks within Europe, we will continue to see imported measles cases in the UK in unimmunised individuals.

'This serves as an important reminder for parents to take up the offer of MMR vaccination for their children when offered at one year of age and as a pre-school booster at three years, four months of age.'

WHAT IS MEASLES, WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS AND HOW CAN YOU CATCH IT? Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads easily from an infected person by coughing, sneezing or even just breathing. Symptoms develop between six and 19 days after infection, and include a runny nose, cough, sore eyes, a fever and a rash. The rash appears as red and blotchy marks on the hairline that travel down over several days, turning brown and eventually fading. Some children complain of disliking bright lights or develop white spots with red backgrounds on their tongue. In one in 15 cases, measles can cause life-threatening complications including pneumonia, convulsions and encephalitis. Dr Ava Easton, chief executive of the Encephalitis Society told MailOnline: 'Measles can be very serious. '[It] can cause encephalitis which is inflammation of the brain. 'Encephalitis can result in death or disability.' Treatment focuses on staying hydrated, resting and taking painkillers, if necessary. Measles can be prevented by receiving two vaccinations, the first at 13 months old and the second at three years and four months to five years old. Source: Great Ormond Street Hospital Advertisement

Fears over discredited claims the jab causes autism may be to blame for outbreaks (stock)

ARE AUTISTIC CHILDREN MISSING OUT ON VACCINATIONS? Autistic children are missing out on life-saving vaccinations, research suggested in March 2018. Only 81.6 per cent of those on the autism spectrum have received all the recommended vaccinations for children aged between four and six years old, a study found. For those without the developmental disability, 94.1 per cent have had the necessary jabs, including diptheria, polio, and measles, mumps and rubella (MMR), the research adds. Lead author Dr Ousseny Zerbo, from Kaiser Permanente, California, said: 'These findings suggest that children with autism and their younger siblings may be at greater risk of vaccine-preventable diseases. 'Vaccine hesitancy or refusal may play a role in children not getting properly vaccinated.' Results further suggest just 89.1 per cent of children with autism have been vaccinated against diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough, compared to 96.6 per cent of youngsters without the disorder. Only 84 per cent of autistic children are protected against MMR versus 95.9 per cent who do not suffer such developmental and behavioural challenges. The younger siblings of autism sufferers are also missing out, with 6.8 per cent receiving fewer vital jabs than their peers. Dr Nicholas Wood, from Sydney University, who was not involved in the study, added: 'Parents of autism spectrum disorder kids may be worried; they may still feel that the MMR vaccine led to autism. 'And that a second dose may cause a regression.' Advertisement

Is Andrew Wakefield's discredited research to blame for low vaccination rates?

In 1995 the gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield published a study in The Lancet showing children who had been vaccinated against MMR were more likely to have bowel disease and autism.

He speculated that being injected with a 'dead' form of the measles virus causes disruption to intestinal tissue, leading to both of the disorders.

After a 1998 paper further confirmed this finding, Wakefield said: 'The risk of this particular syndrome [which he termed autistic enterocolitis] developing is related to the combined vaccine, the MMR, rather than the single vaccines.'

At the time, Wakefield had a patent for single MMR vaccines and was therefore accused of having a conflict of interest.

Nonetheless, MMR vaccination rates in the US and UK plummeted, until, in 2004 the then-editor of The Lancet Dr Richard Horton described Wakefield's research as 'fundamentally flawed', adding he was paid by attorneys seeking lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers.

The Lancet formally retracted Wakefield's research paper in 2010.

Three months later, the General Medical Council banned Wakefield from practicing medicine in Britain, stating his research had shown a 'callous disregard' for children's health.

On January 6 2011, The British Medical Journal published a report showing that of the 12 children included in Wakefield's 1995 study, at most two had autistic symptoms post vaccination, rather than the eight he claimed.

At least two of the children also had developmental delays before they were vaccinated, yet Wakefield's paper claimed they were all 'previously normal'.

Further findings revealed none of the children had autism, non-specific colitis or symptoms within days of receiving the MMR vaccine, yet the study claimed six of the participants suffered all three.After making it through a difficult birth, Jordan Talley was relieved to hear her firstborn, Lucy, was stable and healthy.

Finally, Jordan thought, she could embark on the everyday life of a new mom: breastfeeding, bathing, diaper-changing, and more.

But despite doing everything as her doctors had advised, Jordan saw that Lucy was weakening, and she didn't know why.

At four weeks old, Lucy had sunken eyes and cheeks, her skin was sagging with a yellowish twinge, and she weighed less than she did at birth.

Jordan went to her doctor in Bowling Green, Kentucky, who told her that her breast milk likely didn't have enough calories.

Confused, she went to a lactation specialist - who immediately confirmed the simple reason: Lucy had a tongue tie and a lip tie, affecting her ability to nurse.

Connective membranes had caused the tongue to be tethered to the base of the mouth and the upper lip to the upper gumline, meaning she couldn't suck to consume the milk.

Jordan is now hoping to educate other mothers out there to prevent them from facing the same struggles.

Jordan Talley, from Bowling, Green, Kentucky, is warning new mothers about an invisible breastfeeding danger that led to her infant daughter, Lucy (pictured left, before diagnosis, and right, after) falling dangerously underweight, with her weight falling at one point to five pounds, 12 ounces

Jordan and her husband, Aaron, were surprised when their daughter Lucy was born weighing only six pounds and eight ounces when weeks before she had read seven pounds in a ultrasound

It was a difficult birth right from the start. Jordan was induced on April 9 after her blood pressure started to run dangerously high.

Lucy was born smaller than Jordan, and her husband, Aaron, expected, weighing only six pounds and eight ounces when weeks before she had read seven pounds in an ultrasound.

Jordan had suffered from gestational diabetes both during her pregnancy with her first daughter and during her pregnancy with Lucy and feared the baby's blood sugar levels would be affected.

While her first daughter's blood sugar levels were low and required a NICU stay, doctors said that Lucy's were normal.

Jordan began breastfeeding and assumed that Lucy was feeding well because her mouth was moving.

'We met with the lactation consultant before we were discharged from the hospital because I was having nipple soreness,' Jordan wrote in a post on the blog Love What Matters.

'She told me that it was probably because Lucy had a shallow latch, so she showed me some holds and tips to help her get a deeper latch.'

Lucy went home from the hospital weighing six pounds, one ounce, but Jordan said she didn't think much of it.

Jordan began breastfeeding and assumed that Lucy was feeding well because her mouth was moving (Photo by Billie-Shayle Style Photography)

However, Lucy's weight began to drop. During her one week check-up, Lucy's weight fell to five pounds, 12 ounces. Lucy would also scream 'as if nothing was coming out' while being breastfed (Pictured, Jordan, Aaron and Lucy)

Babies are born with extra fluid and often drop some ounces when that fluid is lost in the first few days of life.

During her one week check-up, Lucy's weight fell to five pounds, 12 ounces. Despite nursing, Jordan said her breasts would hurt ant her daughter was fussy.

'For some reason, she seemed to pull away from her latch and scream as if there wasnt anything coming out,' she wrote.

'I was starting to get nervous that my body wasnt making enough milk for her.'

The following week, Lucy's weight had gone up to six pounds, one ounce, which was an improvement but less than her birth weight.

Jordan asked the doctor to check for a tongue tie or lip tie, which she says she read can affect breast feeding.

Pieces of connective membranes under the tongue and behind the upper lip are called frenula. When they are tight, the frenula tether down the tongue to the base of the mouth or the upper lip close to the upper gumline.

During her one month checkup, Lucy weighed six pounds and seven ounces - less than her birth weight - her eyes and cheeks were sunken and her skin was sagging with a yellowish tinge (Photo by Jordan Talley Photography)

The doctor told Jordan that her breast milk probably didn't have enough calories in it and recommended she use formula for Lucy

Jordan's friend advised her to see a lactation specialist who told her Lucy had a tongue tie and a lip tie. Connective membranes had caused the tongue to be tethered to the base of the mouth and the upper lip to the upper gumline, affecting Lucy's ability to nurse

This makes it difficult to move the tongue in an effective manner or flange the upper lip out and the baby is not able to be properly nurse.

Her doctor looked in Lucy's mouth but saw no issue.

After one month, the infant had only gained six ounces. Her eyes and cheeks were sunken and her skin was sagging with a yellowish tinge.

The doctor told Jordan that her breast milk probably didn't have enough calories in it and recommended she use formula.

'It felt like someone had taken a knife to my chest when he said that. He might as well have said: "Your milk isnt good enough for her",' she said.

The specialist referred Jordan a doctor who performed tongue tie and lip tie revisions. Due to the urgency of Lucys situation, the revisions performed the next day (Pictured, Lucy)

Following the revision, Jordan said her daughter began to pack on weight, and her skin began to clear and have color return to it. During her next check-up, Lucy (left, with her dad, and right, with her mom) weighed seven pounds, eight ounces

Jordan's friend advised her to see a lactation specialist. The next day, the specialist told Jordan that her daughter did indeed have a tongue tie and a lip tie.

The specialist referred Jordan to a doctor who performed tongue tie and lip tie revisions, which involves using a scissor or a laser to snip the tight frenula so that the tongue and lip can move properly.

This is only recommended if the tie is preventing feeding. In some cases, no problems are caused from a tongue tie or lip tie and and the frenula may loosen over time, resolving the issue.

Due to the urgency of Lucys situation, the revisions performed the next day.

'Immediately after the procedure, I got to nurse Lucy. As soon as she latched, I could feel a difference. It didnt hurt anymore,' said Jordan.

Following the revision, Jordan said her daughter began to pack on weight, and her skin began to clear and have color return to it. During her next check-up, Lucy weighed seven pounds, eight ounces.

'The greatest lesson in this is that I was not failing my baby. It wasnt her fault, nor was it my fault that she was not able to eat properly,' Jordan said.

'Had I not reached out, I imagine I would have given up entirely. I would have continued to feel as though I had failed myself and my daughter, leading me down a path of depression and mom guilt.'Teenagers who take their first toke before age 15 at double the risk of developing any addiction later in life than those who start after 17, a new study suggests.

Nearly 20 million Americans are battling an addiction disorder, and for many the path to getting hooked starts early.

Meanwhile, marijuana is now legal for medical use in 29 states as well as Canada, and some US states allow recreational use as well, making it easier and easier for children and teenagers to access.

Regardless of heated debate over whether or not marijuana is addictive, a new study from the University of Montreal found that for every year later someone started using marijuana, their risk of developing an addiction by age 28 dropped 30 percent.

The earlier and more frequently teenagers start smoking marijuana, the more more likely they are to develop an addiction to some substance before age 30, new research reveals

In the US, about 13 percent of men and seven percent of women reported using marijuana in a 2017 Gallup poll.

Those rates are highest among the youngest American adults, with 18 percent of people between 18 and 29 using marijuana with some regularity.

In Canada, University of Montreal researchers looked at use among people before they were of age to buy marijuana.

According to their study, 10 percent of Canadian children have tried marijuana by the time they are in the eighth grade.

Nearly three-times that many students had tried the drug by the time they were seniors in high school, with 29 percent saying they'd at least taken a puff.

In the US, only about 0.7 percent of eight graders had tried marijuana, and about six percent of seniors said that they used the drug.

But most concerning, in the Canadian study, those who started using marijuana before they were 15 were at a 68 percent greater risk of forming any addiction by the time they were 28 than were non-users their age.

Waiting even a few years to take up marijuana seems to have dramatic effects on the risk of addiction, though.

Those who started smoking it between 15 and 17 were at a 44 percent elevated risk of addiction - still high, but 24 percent lower than the younger adopters' risks.

It should be noted that the 'addiction' in question in the study was not necessarily to marijuana, but to any drug or substance.

Addiction to marijuana, according to most research, is quite a different animal from other drugs, most notably opioids.

Marijuana misuse is not widely known to induce the debilitating kinds of withdrawals that come from prescription and illicit painkillers.

As marijuana's non-psychoactive component, cannabidiol acts as a pain analgesic, many have argued that it is a safer substitute for opioid painkillers.

But both kind of drugs interfere with the brain's natural pleasure and reward system, a process that can engender dependence upon either.

Dependence develops alongside tolerance, which builds up as someone uses a drug more frequently, and drives them to use more at a time of the substance.

This pattern was borne out in the Canadian study, which found that people who took frequent tokes were also more likely to develop addictions in adulthood.

Still, early use seemed to be a bigger driver, and those who started sooner may have been more likely to up their intake earlier, too.

Not only are today's teenagers taking up marijuana at younger ages, they may be getting stronger doses of the drug than past generations.

'Notably, considering that the potency of cannabis products increased over the last two decades and that [in this study] adolescent cannabis use was assessed from 1991 to 1995, it is possible that the higher content of -9-tetrahydrocannabinol in the cannabis available today would be associated with higher rates of drug abuse symptoms,' the study authors wrote.

This could pose a problem to younger smokes, whose brains are still developing meaning that weed smoke could disrupt the formation of parts of their minds responsible for memory, attention and learning.

Furthermore, the most at-risk students were also the ones most likely to start using cannabis.

Boys that were violent, delinquent from school or involved in gangs were the most likely to start smoking marijuana early, and to develop addictions.

For this reason 'it may be important to implement these programs by the end of elementary school to prevent early onset of cannabis use,' said study co-author Charlie Rioux.

'Since peer influence and delinquency were identified as early risk factors for earlier cannabis onset and adult drug abuse, targeting these risk factors in prevention programs may be important, especially since prevention strategies working on the motivators of substance use have been shown to be effective,' she added.Empire state of shock: Robert Virag was stunned with sudden dizziness while in NYC

Walking back down from the top of the Empire State Building, Robert Virag, then 21, suddenly started to feel an intense rocking sensation, as if he was on a boat on choppy seas.

Id had motion sickness in the past, but nothing like this; it was really scary, recalls Robert, a personal banker from Welling, Kent, who was on holiday with friends.

Outside, the boat feeling persisted, along with a sensation that he was floating and felt unsteady on his feet.

I paid to see a doctor in New York, who was unable to diagnose me but prescribed Stemetil for the dizziness. It didnt help much.

Back in the UK a few days later, Robert saw his GP, who said it sounded like labyrinthitis  inflammation of the nerves in the inner ear  and that it would heal on its own within a few weeks.

In fact, it took five years to get the right diagnosis. Robert has a condition that was only classified last year, and is still unknown to many medical professionals.

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a chronic syndrome where patients feel as though they are swaying despite being stationary, and feel unbalanced and at risk of falling.

It is caused by a problem in the inner ear, which plays a key role in our sense of balance. PPPD is thought to be triggered by something that previously made the patient dizzy. Usually this is another inner ear disorder, but it can also follow concussion, whiplash, or even a migraine that occurred with dizziness.

While normally a persons sense of balance eventually recovers, for reasons that are unclear, others develop chronic problems.

Essentially, the brain fails to correctly deal with information on motion, explains Professor Peter Rea, an ENT consultant at Leicester Royal Infirmary and lead clinician at the Leicester Balance Clinic. He compares it to when youre sitting in a train at a station and the train next to you pulls away, which makes you feel as if you are moving.

Persistent postural-perceptual dizziness (PPPD) is a chronic syndrome where patients feel as though they are swaying despite being stationary, and feel unbalanced and at risk of falling

This illusion happens because our sense of motion is based on two things  what we see, and also signals to our brain from the vestibular system in the inner ear, which monitors our bodys movement and helps control balance.

In the train example, the visual information  the other train moving away  momentarily overrides the other internal cues.

With persistent postural-perceptual dizziness this is happening all the time.

In PPPD, the brain incorrectly processes sensory information, and, as in the train example, is predicting motion when there isnt any, says Professor Rea.

For some reason the brain becomes visually dominant, taking more guidance from what it is getting from the eyes than from inside the ear. People develop a fear of falling and this can also make them slow down, stiffen up so they get problems such as neck ache and feel anxious.

Despite its recent classification, experts believe it is actually one of the most common vestibular (inner ear) disorders. According to research published in the journal Practical Neurology this year, it accounts for 10 per cent of patients in balance clinics.

PPPD is often misdiagnosed as other common inner ear disorders that cause dizziness, including labyrinthitis, which also causes hearing loss; vestibular neuritis, which is caused by a bacterial infection attacking the nerve in the inner ear; or benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), when the crystals inside the inner ear that help with balance and body motion become displaced.

A key distinguishing feature is that rather than feeling as if things are spinning  as is common with other inner ear conditions  people feel as if they are swaying. Likewise, people with PPPD tend to find their symptoms disappear when they lie down.

Other symptoms include extreme tiredness, blurred vision, a cotton wool feeling in the head and difficulty concentrating. The cause of Roberts PPPD is unknown. While initially he coped with the low-level dizziness which he felt most days  his symptoms began to rule his life.

On top of overwhelming rocking and swaying sensations, he had extreme fatigue, insomnia, leg weakness, burning and numbness throughout his face, neck pain, and felt as if he was floating and disconnected from the world.

Robert was referred to a psychiatrist, who began to treat him with sertraline. He sees his psychiatrist once a month, does vestibular rehabilitation and is now back working full-time

Professor Rea says this disconnected feeling is common, as its a consequence of the failure of the brain to accurately take in sensory information.

I wondered why it was suddenly so bad, says Robert. And I began to feel very depressed; it got to a point where there was a day when I was lying in bed having multiple panic attacks.

He needed the next four months off work and had to stop socialising, as being in busy places would set off his symptoms. Some days, even getting down the stairs was a struggle, he says.

Robert had private health insurance, and saw a number of specialists, including a neurologist who sent him for a brain scan (which came back clear), and an ear, nose and throat specialist who ruled out vestibular disorders. This is typical of PPPD.

Usually the tests will come back normal, says Professor Rea. However, there can be an underlying vestibular condition co-existing alongside it such as vestibular neuritis and this needs to be treated before we can treat the PPPD.

It wasnt until he had a private appointment with Professor Linda Luxon at the London Hearing and Balance centre (she also leads the NHS clinic at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London) in February, that Robert was finally diagnosed.

I had every test you could think of for balance disorders, says Robert. When these tests all came back normal Professor Luxon mentioned PPPD and recommended he see a psychiatrist. This is the other surprising feature of PPPD  it appears to be stress-related and while the cause is not psychological, people with it seem to respond well to psychological therapies.

Many people with PPPD have pre-existing anxiety and depression, adds Professor Rea. But to be clear this condition isnt caused by those.

And while some patients may be helped by psychological support, Professor Rea says most of his patients are successfully treated with a clear diagnosis, physiotherapy, and medication if required.

At first, I was frustrated at being told it was all in my head, says Robert. But reading more, it did describe what I was going through. The month my symptoms got bad, I was having a stressful time at work, and was buying a house.

It appears to be something of a vicious cycle  PPPD can bring on anxiety and depression, and this in turn can exacerbate peoples perception of their physical symptoms such as feeling unsteady. Medication is thought to help  and not just for those with anxiety and depression that may exacerbate symptoms.

Low doses of antidepressants such as citalopram and sertraline are shown to help the majority of those with PPPD, according to Professor Rea. Although more research needs to be done into exactly why this is.

He adds that medication should be prescribed alongside vestibular rehabilitation therapy which involves retraining the brain, and doing activities to make yourself more dizzy on purpose.

Robert was referred to a psychiatrist, who began to treat him with sertraline. He sees his psychiatrist once a month, does vestibular rehabilitation and is now back working full-time.

While I still have dizziness and Im not sure if Ill be 100 per cent back to normal I am very happy with my progress, he says.

And I want to give hope to other people that it will get better with the right treatment.Addicted: Helen White-Knight, from Milton Keynes, got hooked on codeine 15 years ago

Helen White-Knight, a 37-year-old mother-of-one from Milton Keynes, has spent most of the past 15 years dependent on the painkiller codeine.

At times, this has left Helen, who has a four-year-old son, Albie, so desperate that she would trawl all the chemists within a five-mile radius of her home every morning to buy codeine over the counter.

Her problems started when she was 22, with an innocent request to a boyfriends father  who was a GP  for something to alleviate the chronic shoulder pain she suffered from having played the violin since childhood.

He said to look in his bag for a packet of paracetamol and codeine pills, recalls Helen. They really did the trick. But I had no idea at the time about codeines addictive powers.

She started regularly buying codeine in the form of co-codamol  a mixture of codeine and paracetamol  over the counter. Within two years of taking those first codeine pills, Helen had become a habitual pharmacy shopper.

It took over my life. Id get up early each morning to get a packet of 32 co-codamol to get through the day, she says. Id also buy them whenever I passed a chemist.

Worried that pharmacists might recognise her and refuse to sell her the medication, sometimes Helen even wore a ridiculous disguise and put on a fake voice.

Codeine is an opioid drug thats turned into morphine by the liver. Its supposed to be taken for mild to moderate pain, coughs (although there is only weak evidence for this) and, to a lesser extent, diarrhoea.

Like morphine, codeine binds to opioid receptors in the brain that are important for transmitting pain.

But it also mimics natural feel-good brain chemicals, such as endorphins, only more intensely.

The brain quite quickly develops a tolerance to this, meaning that you crave more in order to get the same effect.

The pharmacists journal Chemist + Druggist warns that codeine can only be used for a few days before tolerance to the steady dose occurs.

Extremes: Worried that pharmacists might recognise her and refuse to sell her the medication, sometimes Helen even wore a ridiculous disguise and put on a fake voice

Nevertheless, codeine is freely on sale in chemists, usually combined with other painkillers such as ibuprofen (for instance, in Nurofen Plus) or paracetamol (Solpadeine Plus).

Under UK pharmacy rules, over-the-counter codeine sales are restricted to one pack per customer, with a maximum of 32 tablets containing a maximum of 8mg codeine each (compared to up to 30mg for prescribed doses). The packets themselves carry the warning: Can cause addiction. For three days use only.

Regular use puts people at risk of potentially lethal effects  overdosing on codeine itself, as well as suffering liver or kidney failure from paracetamol overuse, or stomach bleeding from ibuprofen overuse.

The problem is that coming off the drug can cause crippling withdrawal symptoms, including sleeplessness, headaches, fever, cravings, depression, muscle aches, sweating, stomach cramps, nausea and vomiting.

While there are no official statistics on the codeine addiction problem in the UK, it seems that it is spiralling. The rehabilitation organisation UK Addiction Treatment Centres says that the number of people admitted to its six nationwide facilities for help for codeine addiction nearly doubled between 2015 and 2017.

It took over my life. Id get up early each morning to get a packet of 32 co-codamol to get through the day. Id also buy them whenever I passed a chemist. Helen White-Knight

David Grieve, 67, a retired nurse who set up the codeine addiction charity Over-Count, says Helens story is far from unusual  and that it is very difficult for people to get the help they need.

He says hes helped 96,000 people who have contacted him since he launched a helpline in 1993.

David founded the charity after he had become addicted to codeine cough mixtures taken to alleviate his bronchitis.

He says: As a nurse, I thought I knew the risks. But, after my bronchitis got better, I kept taking the medicine because it made me feel nice  and I ended up taking ten litres of it a week.

David went looking for help. GPs did not have specialist knowledge. They offered me methadone, which is what doctors prescribe as a substitute to people addicted to opioids such as heroin, as well as tranquillisers and Valium.

Instead, he asked for a prescription for codeine tablets, which he used to taper himself off slowly and carefully  a solution he knew from his nursing days might work. It took him ten months.

Concern about the dangers of codeine addiction led the government in Australia earlier this year to ban the sale of codeine over the counter. The February 1 deadline caused panic-buying  now, Australians can only get codeine products by visiting their doctor for a prescription.

More than 25 countries, including the U.S., Japan, France and Hong Kong, have similarly made codeine a prescription-only medicine. But it remains perfectly legal to buy the drug over the counter here.

Control: More than 25 countries, including the U.S., Japan, France and Hong Kong, have made codeine a prescription-only medicine in recent years

As Good Health can reveal, even if the UK were to follow suit and make codeine available only on prescription, it is worryingly easy to obtain online instead.

Indeed, according to David Grieve, many people who are addicted to codeine buy the painkillers online  ostensibly with a prescription  from websites based in Mexico and Canada, rather than trawling different High Street chemists.

These sites offer to sell the drugs and pay one of their local doctors to write a six-month personal prescription to be posted along with 250 tablets. Thats enough to get them through UK customs.

But you dont have to look that far afield. A UK-based website, pilldoctor.co.uk, offers to deliver codeine in discreet plain packaging, along with a free prescription once it has been approved by a doctor.

All consultations and prescriptions are performed by EU doctors, says the company website, which has a postal address in Romford, Essex. The website carries the approval logo of the Government watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

When I attempted to order 30mg codeine phosphate pills (a high dose, nearly four times the over-the-counter maximum)  200 of them  the website directed me to an online form that took five minutes to complete.

The form asked my reason for wanting the pills.

I responded (truthfully) that I had suffered reactive arthritis after getting serious food poisoning in 1985  though, mercifully, the symptoms had actually abated within two years.

The online form effectively tutored me to give the right answers. For example, when it asked: If you are already using this medication for your pain, how do you feel now compared with before you began to use it?, I put the same.

But the answer flashed up red  rejected. So I changed my answer to better and was then allowed to proceed.

The system seemed automated, though this is said to be an online consultation by a doctor.

I was then directed to the checkout: 200 pills for 99.99  50p a pop. I did not press buy.

Is this legal? I asked Lynda Scammell, senior policy adviser at the MHRA. She paused, then said: Its not illegal.

This is because pilldoctor.co.uk complies with UK regulations as they stand. Ms Scammell says: You consult online with an EU-registered doctor. But they could be anywhere in the EU, because these prescriptions can be dispensed legally by pharmacies in any other country.

I just know that if Id had the right support and advice at the start of my problems with pain, I could have got to this point much earlier. Helen White-Knight

We normally find that they are in countries registered in Romania and Bulgaria who should be monitoring peoples online questionnaires.

If the answers fit the legal requirements, they will dispense the codeine to the applicant.

This is not, however, an EU-wide practice. We allow this in the UK and a handful of other EU states, but it is banned in countries such as France, Spain and Italy, adds Ms Scammell.

She says doctors involved are not necessarily registered with the UK doctors regulator, the General Medical Council (GMC).

There is concern about this, she adds. The MHRA, the GMC, the General Pharmaceutical Council and the Care Quality Commission have joined in investigating this, in the wake of concern from coroners courts about people who have overdosed on codeine bought legally online.

So, what else is being done to help people dependent on the painkillers? Earlier this year, there was a ray of hope when Public Health England announced a review into

prescription pill dependency. The review will look at benzodiazepines, commonly prescribed for anxiety and depression, antidepressants, benzodiazepine tranquillisers (such as diazepam or Valium), Z-drugs (such as zolpidem and zopiclone, which work similarly to benzodiazepines) and opioid painkillers (such as tramadol and codeine).

But the problem of non-prescribed codeine will not be considered. So over-the-counter addicts will remain unaided by the Government.

It comes as one of the few places that people can turn for support  David Grieves charity Over-Count  may be forced to close within weeks due to lack of funding. Escaping the grip of over-the-counter codeine has proved an insurmountable task for Helen White-Knight.

After two years on the pills and one unsuccessful attempt to come off them  after 24 hours, I was sweaty and restless, almost like I was possessed  she saw her GP. She was referred to a heroin addiction clinic, which put her on another opioid drug, buprenorphine, supposedly to wean her off the codeine.

But it proved to be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, she recalls. I had a full-time job, so to keep me from suffering any withdrawals from the buprenorphine, they kept me on it for a year  with no real plan to wean me off. They would only let you take it in front of a chemist, in case you went out and sold it, so Id be there each morning, along with the people waiting for methadone to keep them off heroin.

In the end, Helen had to withdraw from it with no help from the clinic, but just by going cold turkey through the agonies of withdrawal for a fortnight. She remained drug-free for a year  until her shoulder pains again became unbearable.

This has become something of a pattern. Helen managed to come off the codeine again in order to start her family, but the shoulder pain has persisted, driving her back to codeine.

Two years ago, her GP referred her to a private neurologist, who put her on a pain-management regimen  which included prescription codeine. Yes, I am back on codeine, she sighs. But it is managed under professional supervision now. I have two or three tablets a day.

She has also been given nerve-blocking injections in both shoulders, which have worked like a magical charm.

I only wish that I had been told about this years ago, she says. My goal is ultimately to stop taking the codeine daily and use it only for flare-ups.

I just know that if Id had the right support and advice at the start of my problems with pain, I could have got to this point much earlier.

Good Health approached pilldoctor. co.uk for comment, but has not received a reply.Pamela North died in 2016 after doctors failed five times to detect bladder cancer

A grandmother died after doctors failed five times to detect her cancer, an investigation has found.

Pamela North was referred to hospital by her GP with suspected bladder cancer in February 2015. But it would be a year before she was diagnosed because King George Hospital in Ilford, Essex, failed to carry out a basic MRI scan.

Doctors performed a series of other tests which suggested she had cancer but they were unable to confirm the disease and start treatment.

The tragic case of Mrs North  who died in May 2016  was investigated by the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Rob Behrens, who found the hospital guilty of a series of failings.

Had Mrs Norths cancer been diagnosed nearly a year earlier, she would have had a 70 per cent chance of survival. To make matters worse, Mr Behrens said the hospital had refused to accept responsibility for the mistakes and caused significant distress to her family.

Mrs North, who lived in Dagenham, Essex, died at the age of 73 after receiving palliative care for two months.

She had seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and had worked as a school cleaner before retiring in the late 1980s.

The grandmother from Dagenham in Essex, died after hospital's nine-month diagnosis delay

Mr Behrens investigated the case only after her son James North complained about her care.

Mr North, a painter and decorator who also lives in Dagenham, described the hospital trusts actions and response as disgusting.

She had a 70 per cent chance of survival, which is very high, he said. The family are absolutely gutted. We had an apology from the trust but that doesnt mean anything and doesnt bring anybody back.

I dont know how it was never picked up. We were just told it was down to failings in the system. The only way changes are made is by people complaining.

Mrs North went to the hospital at least five times and had multiple tests in the year before she was diagnosed.

These included blood tests, a CT scan and three cystoscopies  where a tiny camera is inserted into the bladder  and all the results were abnormal.

Doctors had intended to perform an X-ray but this never happened because they were so short-staffed.

The cancer was eventually diagnosed in January 2016 by an MRI scan, which confirmed it was too advanced for treatment. If staff had carried out this scan straight away, her cancer would have been detected and she could have started radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

There are 10,000 new cases of bladder cancer in the UK each year and about 5,400 deaths.

Mrs North's "painful death" from cancer could have been avoided, said the health ombudsman

Around 50 per cent of patients are still alive five years after they were diagnosed.

As with all cancers, survival rates are much higher if it is detected early.

Mr Behrens also found that an investigation by the trust in charge of the hospital  Barking, Havering and Redbridge  was inadequate.

He said: Doctors and nurses do a tremendous job caring for hundreds of thousands of patients day in and day out.

But as this tragic case shows, it is vital that lessons are learnt by the NHS to prevent the same mistakes from happening to someone else. Time and time again, we find NHS investigations into deaths are inadequate, causing further suffering to families who have lost their loved-ones.

The trust has since awarded the family 10,000 in compensation, which they donated to the local hospice that cared for Mrs North in her final days.

Matthew Hopkins, the chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust, said: I would like to take this opportunity to again apologise to Mrs Norths family for the distress they have suffered in this case.

We accept that we fell short of the quality of care we aspire to, and that the complaints process did not provide them with the appropriate reassurance.

We have made significant progress in the last two years since these events occurred.Bonus: Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg

Glencore boss Ivan Glasenberg will receive a $120 million (90 million) payday this week, days after it emerged the mining giant could be at the centre of a fraud probe.

The payout is one of Glasenbergs largest since the Swiss-based companys float on the London Stock Exchange in 2011. It has been dubbed the millionaire factory for turning more than 400 managers into millionaires overnight.

The dividend payment to shareholders, including Glencores chief executive, who has an eight per cent stake, takes his total takings since the float to $990 million (734 million).

Including his $1.5 million salary, it means Glasenberg has now been paid more than $1 billion in dividends in less than seven years.

Glasenberg excludes himself from the sort of bonus schemes which usually reward executives with lucrative payouts, instead taking large dividend windfalls.

He has also profited from topping up his shareholding by 110 million shares in 2015 when the company had to raise 1.6 billion to slash its huge debt pile. Glasenbergs latest windfall, due to be announced on Wednesday, follows reports that the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is poised to launch a formal investigation into allegations of bribery at its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Shares in the FTSE 100 company fell four per cent on Friday after Bloomberg reported that SFO investigators were preparing to seek permission to probe Glencores ties to controversial Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler.

Sign-off from senior SFO figures is required before it can launch a full inquiry.

Gertler, Glencores former business partner in the DRC, has been implicated in previous bribery investigations, including inquiries carried out by the SFO.

The US imposed sanctions on Gertler in December over alleged corruption. It alleged he used his friendship with the DRCs president Joseph Kabila to act as a middleman for mining asset sales.

It said the country had reportedly lost more than $1.36 billion between 2010 and 2012 in underpriced asset sales to offshore firms that were linked to Gertler.

The Israeli owned stakes in two of Glencores key projects in the mineral-rich country before the company bought him out last year. He is suing Glencore, claiming he is owed $2.3 billion in unpaid royalties in a dispute that has been taken to the London courts.

Earlier this month, Glencore was granted a temporary injunction against Gertler, who obtained a freezing order on its two mines.

The SFO said it could not comment on whether it was preparing a full investigation.

Glencore declined to comment.The boss of a major investment company has warned that the trend of foreign predators making takeover bids for UK firms is set to continue.

Sky, pharma firm Shire and financial services group Nex are among those recently targeted by overseas buyers. Simon Borrows, chief executive of Britains largest stockmarket-listed private equity firm 3i, predicts more will follow.

Focus: ITV is on the radar. Inset: Simon Borrows, chief executive of private equity firm 3i

He blamed the low value of the pound, which fell following the Brexit vote in 2016, and the relative underperformance of Londons stock market compared with overseas rivals. I would imagine this will continue to be a very busy year for foreign buyers looking at UK companies, Borrows told The Mail on Sunday.

They may be taking the view that sterling, and more importantly the London market in terms of valuation, is at a relative low compared with Germany, France, the US, wherever you look, and that there is perhaps good value if the business will cope with whatever comes out of Brexit.

Russ Mould, investment director at brokerage AJ Bell, said Brexit had been a catalyst for foreign bids, such as those by Japans SoftBank for tech firm Arm and Takeda for Shire.

He added: The weaker the pound becomes, the more attractive sterling-priced assets become to overseas buyers. If you look at what the pounds done against the yen, that helps to explain why SoftBank looked at Arm and why Takeda has launched a fifth offer for Shire, which looks like it might be accepted.

He named ITV, William Hill and listed estate agents  which he feels are underpriced  as likely takeover targets.A start-up from Italy claims to have stolen a march in the race to commercialise graphene, the wonder material that is one of the crowning achievements of British science.

London stock market-listed Directa Plus, chaired by former civil servant and insurance boss Sir Peter Middleton, has pioneered a process to generate graphene in large quantities, aiming to use it in everything from clothing to tackling oil spills.

Graphene was first isolated at the University of Manchester in 2004. The strongest material ever tested, it is also a super conductor  giving it vast potential for a host of everyday and industrial uses.

Test: Alex Hawkes tries out a graphene running top from Italy

MY TOP TINGLED BUT DIDN'T MAKE ME COOLER At the Directa Plus office on a science park near Lake Como, the companys scientists bombard me with heat-map images and graphs showing how their prototype running top keeps you cooler during exercise, by conducting away heat rapidly. But days later, back in London on a sunny May morning, does it make a marked difference on my three-mile jog into work? Im not sure. There is certainly an odd sensation every time you jog out of the shade into the sunshine, or catch a cool breeze. The temperature change tingles through the lightweight jersey. But at the end of my half-hour run I cant say I feel noticeably cooler than I usually would. The company is experimenting with screen printing graphene on to various fabrics. The prototype feels a little too synthetic for comfort. But even if this item isnt a runaway success, graphene clothing has other attributes that could prove valuable. Graphene can be flame-retardant, and Directa Plus is working with partner Alfredo Grassi to make clothes for firefighters. Its conductivity could be significant in the growing area of wearable gadgets, which monitor your bodys performance for review after exercise. It is bacteriostatic too, meaning your gym kit wont smell as bad after a workout. The jersey I tested certainly needs fewer washes than a normal top. Directa Plus and other companies developing uses for graphene are racing to get all of these applications to market, with the jeans due to go on sale early next year. Other products are imminent. British consumers will not have long to wait to check the bold claims made for this wonder material for themselves.

It is being added to everything from tyres to trainers to make them more durable; could be used in aeroplanes to make them lighter; and even added to asphalt to prevent potholes in roads. But there have been fears since the groundbreaking work was done that the UK has been slow to take commercial advantage.

Maggie Schooley, an analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald, said Directa Pluss techniques give it a key advantage over other UK-listed rivals. It is now able to produce 30 tons of graphene-based material a year with the ability to efficiently scale production to meet future customer demand, she said.She added the groups output was materially ahead of other industrial graphene producers listed in London.

Some of the companys early successes have come from printing graphene on to clothing. Because it conducts heat very quickly, it can keep people cool when exercising more effectively than alternatives, the company says.

Despite its potential, Directa Plus is still in the early stages. Full year results for 2017 showed income from sales of just under 1 million, and losses of almost 4 million.

But the firm last week signed a deal with Indian clothing manufacturer Arvind to put graphene in jeans. Arvind produces six million pairs every year for brands including Levis, Tommy Hilfiger and Wrangler. It has also done a string of deals with family-owned Italian business Alfredo Grassi, which makes uniforms for railway workers, firefighters and the military.

Matteo Renzi, when he was Italian Prime Minister, visited the companys plant near Lake Como. CEO Giulio Cesareo told The Mail on Sunday that he had decided to set up in Italy because it had the least expensive workforce. Despite the very advanced scientific skills in the UK, the aim was to take a proper level of risk at a very low cost. Among the brightest future prospects for Directa Plus over graphene  a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a lattice  is a technique to separate oil from water.

There have been repeated calls for UK business and institutions to make more effort to capitalise on its innovation. In 2013, it emerged that the UK was lagging behind in its registration of graphene patents. US companies had filed 1,100 while in the UK there were only 46.

The University of Manchester has built a national graphene institute to develop knowledge and expertise in the super-material, and a second building is due to open later this year. James Baker, the CEO of Graphene@Manchester, an organisation designed to help the universitys researchers work with industry on the material, said it may be a while before graphene is fully commercialised. Graphene is a teenager, its still only 13 or 14 years old, he said, adding that it took 30 years before many of the ambitions for carbon fibre were fully realised.The chief executive of Vodafone has used one of his final public appearances to fire a warning shot over Brexit, as he revealed plans to quit after a decade at the helm.

Vittorio Colao said that we need to get Brexit right and that Britain was at risk of losing out to other European countries as a base for technological innovation.

Speaking at the end of a press conference last week, he said the UK has a tremendous opportunity from its academic and intellectual power and was on the right track creating technology hubs.

Off-script: Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao is quitting after a decade at the helm

But the Italian boss added: If we get GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] and data treatment wrong, if we get the visas wrong, the immigration part, this country misses an opportunity.

Asked what he thought the next ten years had in store for his industry, Colao warned his corporate advisers he was going completely off-script.

He said Vodafone has no plans to move its headquarters to Germany, but would have to build more innovation centres in Germany as thats where we have our main assets.

Does the UK have the opportunity to compete for that? I think it does. But we need to get this Brexit thing right. Otherwise Lisbon, Berlin, the Finns, Amsterdam will become very appealing places as well, he said.

Colao has previously aired his preference for the UK to remain in the EU, but the fact he spoke out on a personal level before his departure signalled his depth of feeling on the topic.

He hands over the reins in October to Nick Read, who has been chief financial officer at Vodafone for four years.Former President Jimmy Carter has taken a slight jab at President Donald Trump while giving the commencement speech to graduates of Liberty University in Virginia.

Taking the podium Saturday to a standing ovation just one year after Trump spoke to Liberty graduates, Carter took note of the large crowd at the university stadium.

He said Liberty President Jerry Falwell Jr 'told me before we came here that it's even bigger - I hate to say this - than it was last year.'

'I don't know if President Trump would admit that or not,' Carter said, drawing laughter.

The remark referred to controversies over Trump's claim that the massive crowd size at his 2017 inauguration exceeded one million people, despite photographic evidence suggesting otherwise.

Former President Jimmy Carter poked fun at Trump at the 45th Liberty University commencement at Williams Stadium on Saturday May 19

Carter said the crowd was bigger than last year's when President Trump was the keynote speaker at the university

The remarks were a small jab at Trump's controversial inauguration crowd size that the president claimed exceeded one million even though photos proved otherwise

Photographs of the National Mall in Washington DC at President Trumps inauguration were hotly debated.

Trump said there were roughly 'a million-and-a-half people' in the crowd, while his press secretary claimed it was the 'largest audience to ever witness an inauguration'.

Carter is the third US president and first Democrat Liberty has hosted for commencement. George HW Bush gave the keynote in 1990.

The university is a hub for conservative politics, often frequented by candidates courting evangelical voters. Carter is an evangelical as well, but with more progressive views.

The university president has also been a vocal supporter of Trump's.

The bulk of Carter's speech emphasized broad themes of human rights and equality.

He said he now believes the greatest challenge in the world is 'discrimination against women and girls in the world.'

The former president noted the killings of newborn girls around the world where families have preference for boys, as well as global sex trafficking networks.

He called on Christians in general, and Baptists in particular, to emphasize their commonalities as opposed to their differences.

Carter alluded to nuclear tension over North Korea and Iran. The example of Jesus Christ, he said, shows we need to learn 'to get along with our potential enemies, instead of how we can prevail in combat.'

'We don't need enemies to fight, nor do we need inferior peoples whom we can dominate,' Carter said.

Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, former President Jimmy Carter and Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr at the ceremony in VirginiaA wily 14-year-old boy who posed as a New York City police officer while snatching a legally blind man's wallet in a Manhattan subway station on pretense of helping him was arrested on Sunday.

His mother turned the baby-faced youth in to police nearly a week after authorities said he fled the subway station at 34th Street and Eighth Avenue, near Macy's, leaving his victim behind.

On May 14, police said he approached the 64-year-old man, identifying himself as an officer and offering to lead him through the station and past a turnstile to his train.

A 14-year-old teen was arrested Sunday after pretending to be a police officer so he could rob a legally blind man in the New York City subway

Surveillance video shows the man standing quietly as the teenager unzips his backpack and takes the wallet.

The boy then bolts out with the wallet, which police said contained $85 cash and several credit cards.

One card was charged $500 at a nearby store, police determined during an investigation that is ongoing.

Authorities released the video with the victim's face blurred out and several still images that led to Sunday's arrest.

Police released surveillance camera footage and pictures of the teen who robbed the man

The teen can be seen unzipping the unsuspecting man's backpack and taking items out of it

The teen's own mother turned him into police a week after the robbery occurred

The subway robbery occurred at the subway stop in midtown Manhattan near Macy's

In the video, he is wearing a dark blue shirt, black and white pants, boots and has his own backpack strapped on.

The teenager's name was not released because of his age. The victim was not named either.

The boy faces charges of grand larceny and criminal impersonation of a police officer.

It was not immediately clear if the young suspect had an attorney, or whether he has been arraigned, appearing in court to admit or deny the alleged offense.Actress Patricia Morison arrives at Pasadena Playhouse opening night for 'Kiss Me, Kate' at Pasadena Playhouse on September 21, 2014 in Pasadena, California. Morison died Sunday aged 103

Patricia Morison, who originated the role of an overemotional diva in the Broadway musical 'Kiss Me, Kate,' starred on stage opposite Yul Brynner in 'The King and I' and appeared in films alongside Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, died Sunday at age 103.

Morison died of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, publicist Harlan Boll said.

With her long auburn hair and fiery blue-gray eyes, Morison radiated a sophisticated sex appeal.

She had 'the most sensual mouth of any lady in the movies,' Gregory William Mank wrote in his book 'Women in Horror Films, 1940s.'

Broadway actress Merle Dandridge posted a picture of herself with Morison on Sunday and tweeted out a tribute.

'Rest, Beautiful Patricia Morison,' Dandridge said. 'It was an honor to follow in your footsteps.'

Morison's career got off to a rocky start. At 18 she was cast in the 1933 Broadway comedy 'Growing Pains,' which lasted 29 performances.

'I was so bad in it, they fired me in rehearsals,' Morison told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. 'I cried so hard they gave me a walk-on.'

Her second Broadway role five years later was only marginally better  'The Two Bouquets' with Alfred Drake lasted 55 performances  but Hollywood noticed and Paramount signed her. The New York Times praised her 'willowy elegance.'

Actors Alfred Drake and Patricia Morison are seen performing in scene from 'Kiss Me, Kate'

Alfred Drake and Patricia Morison are seen dressed in costume in 'Kiss Me Kate' film

In this Dec. 25, 1949, file photo, Drake, left, and Morison, costarring in the musical 'Kiss Me Kate,' play checkers backstage at the New Century Theatre in New York

Morison at a reception for her play 'Kiss Me Kate', at the London Coliseum, January 26th 1951

Morison made her film debut in 1939s 'Persons in Hiding,' but she often found her options in the studio system frustrating.

She appeared as Empress Eugenie in 1943s 'The Song of Bernadette,' opposite John Garfield in the 1943 thriller 'The Fallen Sparrow' and in the 1945 Tracy-Hepburn romantic comedy 'Without Love.'

She was often cast as the femme fatale or villain, including the mastermind in 1946s 'Dressed to Kill,' sparring with Sherlock Holmes, played by Basil Rathbone. Her other films included 'Danger Woman' and 'Tarzan and the Huntress.'

Born in New York, she was the daughter of playwright and actor William R. Morison and Salina Morison.

She studied acting and movement with Martha Graham. In 1935, she understudied Helen Hayes in 'Victoria Regina' on Broadway.

Morison and Alan Curtis hide in the woods in a scene from the film 'Hitler's Madman', 1943

Screen actresses Virginia O'Brien, Dorothy Lamour, Ruth Hussey, Ann Sothern, Jean Rogers, Patricia Morrison, Lynn Carver, and Claudette Colbert (L to R) draw a name of a World War II hero for their date at a party touring the country

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Pictured: (L-R) Announcer Ed McMahon, unknown, actress/singer Patricia Morison on December 6, 1962

After Paramount replaced her in several films, Morison left the studio and joined Al Jolson on a USO tour of Britain to entertain troops in 1942.

She returned to get a part in one of her most-remembered films  'Hitler's Madman.' She also played opposite Lon Chaney Jr. in 'Calling Dr. Death' in 1943 and Victor Mature in 'Kiss of Death.'

To appear in 'Kiss Me, Kate,' Morison needed to get out of a commitment to appear in what was a new line of work for actors in 1947  a TV series.

She had been cast as a psychiatrist who helps a detective solve cases. The producer shot all of her 13 segments on the show in a quick two-week period.

'Kiss Me, Kate,' in which she was reunited with Drake, turned out to be Cole Porter's biggest musical success and gave Morison the opportunity to play the temperamental Lili Vanessi and sing such songs as 'Wunderbar' and 'So in Love.'

Morison is photographed in her home in Los Angeles on February 13, 2015

She told The Associated Press in 1988 that she went to Porter's home to audition for him but picked a Rodgers and Hammerstein song to sing. 'I thought it was safer,' she explained.

She went on perform the role for almost 1,500 performances on Broadway and in London. The New York Times called her 'an agile and humorous actress who is not afraid of slapstick and who can sing enchantingly.'

In 1954, Morison appeared on Broadway as a replacement Anna Leonowens with Brynner in 'The King and I' and joined him on tour.

She took over the role in 1952 shortly after Gertrude Lawrence died while performing the lead character. 'She was marvelous,' Brynner said. 'I could do anything with her.'

One story she told frequently was knocking on Brynner's stage door and opening it to find Brynner sitting naked, in a Buddha style position, waiting to get his skin stained with a special juice to look like the King of Siam.

In 2000, she was struck by a car and the right side of her body was badly hurt.

Morison, who never married, lived in a Los Angeles apartment with a piano upon which there were signed photographs of Porter and Oscar Hammerstein II.A body has been found by gardai searching for an abducted Filipino student.

The 24-year-old was last seen being bundled into a Nissan Qashqai SUV near her home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday evening.

It comes after a married father-of-two, who is believed to have abducted Jastine Valdez at the weekend, was shot dead around 8pm Sunday after being tracked to an industrial estate in Dublin's south.

The suspect, named locally as 40-year-old Mark Hennessy, was driving the same vehicle as Miss Valdez was seen being bundled into when he was stopped by armed gardai, according to the Irish Independent.

But gardai found no trace of Miss Valdez, 24, on Sunday.

Police have shot and killed a man, named locally as 40-year-old Mark Hennessy (left), in south Dublin while searching for missing Filipino student Jastine Valdez, 24 (right)

Valdez was last seen being forced into a black Nissan Qashqai and while police found the vehicle at the scene of the shooting (pictured) there was no sign of Valdez

A Garda spokesman said the body of a female was found in the Puck's Castle area on Monday.

The spokesman said: 'The body has not been formally identified.

'Gardai wish to appeal for privacy for the Valdez family at this time.'

Puck's Castle Road in Rathmichael, Co Dublin, was cordoned off by gardai on Monday as a large-scale search, involving the Army, took place in the area.

It is believed the building contractor was carrying a knife and threatening to hurt himself and stab gardai before he was killed on Sunday.

Investigators are now trying to piece together Hennessy's movements on Saturday evening in an attempt to trace Miss Valdez.

Hennessy had told his wife that he was going out with friends on the night in question, the Irish Independent says.

He has no obvious link to Miss Valdez and her movements on the day she was abducted were random, suggesting the attack was unplanned.

Miss Valdez, a student at Tallaght IT, had just got off a bus and was walking home on Saturday when she vanished.

Witnesses called gardai around 6.30pm to report that they had seen a young woman being forced into a black Qashqai which drove away at speed.

Hennessy is reported to be a married father-of-two and a building contractor. He was reportedly threatening to hurt himself and gardai before he was shot in the head and arm

Valdez was last seen around 6.30pm on Saturday before the shooting in Dublin around 8pm on Sunday (pictured). Gardai say they are 'extremely worried' for Valdez's safety

When Miss Valdez's family called officers later that evening to report her missing, a massive search operation was launched including an appeal for the vehicle.

On Sunday the vehicle was spotted by members of the public in Killiney and the driver was confronted before mounting the curb and speeding away.

The car was then reported in south Dublin, where the confrontation took place.

Investigators say Jastine regularly contacted her mother via social media and that all contact has stopped, saying they are 'extremely concerned' for her safety.

Jastine is around 5ft, of slight build with long black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a dark coloured jacket, white T-shirt, grey leggings and runners.

A police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman's Commission, is investigating the shooting and the police force referred all queries to the Commission.

Photographer Peter Varga said the scene was under armed guard.

'It is a huge car park between the Dell building and the Luas track, there is a huge space.

'I also saw some people obviously in shock coming out of the scene with one policeman.

'The people were in shock and crying, there were four males and one female.'

The scene is surrounded by apartment blocks and onlookers gathered outside on Sunday evening.A Brisbane landscaper who was fined $250 for giving Malcolm Turnbull the rude finger at a pub has attracted hundreds of dollars in crowd funding.

Nick Gordon, also known as 'Bluey' by his mates, was taken to a police watch house on Thursday night after he did a one-finger salute in protest at the prime minister jumping the queue at Brisbane's Carindale Hotel.

A Go Fund Me page has so far raised $460 to pay his fine, leaving enough cash for Bluey to shout several rounds of beer for his mates.

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A Brisbane landscaper who was fined $250 for giving Malcolm Turnbull the rude finger at a pub has attracted hundreds of dollars in crowd funding to fight his case

Nick Gordon, also known as 'Bluey', was taken to a police watchdog on Thursday night after he did a one-finger salute in protest at the PM jumping the at Brisbane's Carindale Hotel

A Go Fund Me page has so far raised $460 to pay his fine, leaving enough cash for Bluey to shout several rounds of beer for his mates

Former Labor senator Sam Dastyari yesterday set up the Go Fund Me appeal, after asking his 33,600 Twitter followers about the man who made a one-fingered protest at a politics in the pub event.

'Pitch in $5 and buy him a beer,' he said.

'Where are the free speech warriors on this?'.

Mr Dastyari told Daily Mail Australia he tracked Nick Gordon after a school friend of the landscaper contacted him on Facebook.

'I did a call to action,' he said.

The former federal Labor frontbencher, who was last year ambushed by far-right activists in a Melbourne pub, said he hoped to have Bluey appear with him on Sydney's Kyle and Jackie O breakfast radio show on KIIS-FM.

Former Labor senator Sam Dastyari set up the Go Fund Me appeal, after asking his 33,600 Twitter followers about the man who made gave a one-fingered to the prime minister

A Queensland landscaper was detained by police on Thursday night after he 'flipped the bird' at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (pictured)

Mr Dastyari's crowd funding efforts on Twitter and Facebook divided his social media followers

Mr Dastyari's crowd funding efforts on Twitter and Facebook divided his social media followers.

'I say we shout this bloke a beer,' one man said.

However, another man questioned whether this was a good cause to support.

'If you're feeling super generous, then use that money to feed a homeless family instead of some rude, drunken yobbo.'

The Prime Minister was at the Carindale Hotel in Brisbane for a politics at the pub event

One man praised the crowd funding for Bluey and suggested 'we shout this bloke a beer'

However another man on Sam Dastyari's Facebook page suggested there was a better cause

On Thursday night, Malcolm Turnbull had just ordered a Fat Yak craft beer from the bar when Bluey approached him.

A woman who was with the man said he 'had a few to drink' before he walked towards the prime minister, who was with the federal member for Bonner Ross Vasta and Liberal National Party members.

'I just told him Malcolm Turnbull was here and he flipped,' she told News Corp.

'He said something about taxes and just went at him. He's had a few to drink. I guess he's going to the watch-house now.'

Personal security pushed the man away and told him to leave the pub immediately.

He was directed to an exit, he refused to leave and he then detained by the pub's security.

Brisbane police arrived at the scene to detain the landscaper at a park bench.

Nick Gordon expressed his gratitude to Sam Dastyari's crowd funding efforts.

'Thanks mates, most appreciated,' he posted on Facebook on Monday morning.Maddie Kelly has broken her silence about the deaths of her brothers Thomas and Stuart.

Almost six years after Thomas was killed by a coward punch in Sydney's Kings Cross aged just 18, his sister has opened up about the tragedy.

The 22-year-old revealed her first reactions to news her brother had been attacked, and about the suicide of her younger sibling Stuart.

Maddie Kelly (pictured, left) has broken her silence about the deaths of her brothers Thomas (pictured, right) and Stuart

The 22-year-old (pictured, second right, next to father Ralph) spoke out about her first reactions to news her brother had been attacked, and about the suicide of her younger sibling Stuart (pictured, right)

Maddie was at home with Stuart and their parents Ralph and Kathy Kelly when the family received a phone call telling them about the assault, she told New Idea.

She stayed up late waiting for news from her parents who had gone to hospital to be with Thomas, but heard nothing until she was told to join them in the morning.

'I was studying for my HSC, so I packed all my books - thinking I'd revise there - I was a bit annoyed. I didn't know what we were going to be told,' she said.

Maddie said she was traumatised by seeing Thomas on life support, which later was turned off.

Almost six years after Thomas was killed by a coward punch in Sydney's Kings Cross aged just 18, his sister has opened up about the tragedy (pictured from left are Thomas, Kathy, Ralph and Maddie Kelly)

Maddie (pictured, left, with mother Kathy) was at home with Stuart and their parents Ralph and Kathy Kelly when the family received a phone call telling them about the assault

Then came the trial of Kieran Loveridge (pictured, left, after sentencing), who was sentenced to five years and two months in jail for a series of assaults that night, including the attack on Thomas

Then came the trial of Kieran Loveridge, who was sentenced to five years and two months in jail for a series of assaults that night, including the attack on Thomas.

Anger at the leniency of the sentence motivated Maddie to study to become a lawyer, and has since graduated with a law degree.

Thomas' death - which occurred on his first trip to the infamous Sydney suburb - was soon followed by another tragedy.

Stuart Kelly started university happy and excited, but his first night at Sydney University's St Paul's College ended in tears.

Stuart Kelly (pictured, right, Thomas is pictured left) started university happy and excited, but his first night at Sydney University's St Paul's College ended in tears

Stuart (pictured, second left, with Maddie, right, and their parents), 18, was 'bawling his eyes out' when he called his parents, begging for them to come and get him, Maddie said, and believes he was bullied about Thomas

Stuart, 18, was 'bawling his eyes out' when he called his parents, begging for them to come and get him, Maddie said, and believes he was bullied about Thomas.

Months later, almost four years to the day after Thomas was killed, Stuart committed suicide, and the news 'broke' Maddie.

Maddie said she reacted to Stuart's death by locking herself away, racked by guilt and sadness.

'I felt like the worst big sister. I completely blamed myself. Why didn't I make him talk to me?'

Months later, almost four years to the day after Thomas was killed, Stuart committed suicide, and the news 'broke' Maddie (pictured with Thomas and Stuart)

The Kelly family (pictured, left is Ralph Kelly, right is Kathy Kelly) have since established the Kelly Youth Foundation, and are calling for a coronial inquest into what happened to Stuart at college

The Kelly family have since established the Kelly Youth Foundation, and are calling for a coronial inquest into what happened to Stuart at college.

They hope to change Australia's drinking culture, and raise awareness of suicide with a website staykind.org.au.

Maddie is now hoping to start life again and is considering a move to the UK, but said both her and her parents remain haunted by the deaths of Thomas and Stuart.

Public outrage over the initial jail term given to Loveridge, then-19, led to an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The successful 2014 appeal led to a new minimum sentence of 10 years for the manslaughter of Thomas Kelly and assaults on four other people that night.Already accused of sexual harassment and groping, US celebrity chef Mario Batali now faces allegations that he sexually assaulted impaired women at a New York restaurant, CBS television's 60 Minutes reported Sunday.

Batali had already stepped away from his eponymous gastronomic empire over previous allegations of sexual misconduct.

One woman who was employed at one of Batali's establishments said he invited her to a party at The Spotted Pig restaurant, in which he had invested, where she drank white wine with him.

'I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up - in a toilet. And that is all,' the unidentified woman told 60 Minutes about the alleged 2005 incident.

Already accused of sexual harassment and groping, US celebrity chef Mario Batali now faces allegations that he sexually assaulted impaired women at a New York restaurant

'I woke up by myself on the floor, I don't know where I am, of an empty room, wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, "I've been drugged." That was the first thing I thought is, "I've been - I've been assaulted".'

After finding what appeared to be semen on her skirt, she called a crisis hotline and went to a hospital for an examination, but declined to file a police report, and her 'rape kit' from the hospital was not processed.

Batali said in a statement that he 'vehemently' denies assaulting the woman.

Jamie Seet, a former manager at The Spotted Pig, said she witnessed via surveillance footage Batali carrying out another assault at the restaurant, and that she intervened to stop it.

'He crossed a line. A huge, a huge line... assaulting someone that's unconscious,' Seet said.

'So we all went out there, and we - we stopped what was going on. "Hey Mario. How are you doing? Let's get you a cab."

'Just - you know, we were saying something just to snap him out of this,' Seet said, adding that she regrets not contacting police.

A woman told 60 Minutes: 'I woke up by myself on the floor, I don't know where I am, of an empty room, wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, "I've been drugged." That was the first thing I thought is, "I've been - I've been assaulted".'

Jamie Seet, a former manager at The Spotted Pig, said she witnessed via surveillance footage Batali carrying out another assault at the restaurant, and that she intervened to stop it

Batali was often seen at The Spotted Pig, a West Village eatery that was popular with celebrities

Batali said in a statement that he 'vehemently' denies assaulting the woman

Seet also alleged during the interview that Batali 'grabbed my breasts' while she served him on one occasion.

A former waitress at The Spotted Pig, Natalie Saibel, said that Batali 'came to party and have a good time. And make passes at the female wait staff and make inappropriate comments. Grab people.'

Seet says she then complained to Batali's friend, Ken Friedman, who was a co-owner of the restaurant.

'And I said, "Ken, Mario just grabbed my boobs," and he's like, "oh, don't worry about it, it's just Mario". And I'm like ok.'

Another of Batali's accusers, Trish Nelson, has also alleged that Friedman once pulled the back of her head into his crotch.

Nelson was a longtime server at the restaurant.

Batali was good friends with Ken Friedman (above), a co-owner of The Spotted Pig

Friedman is seen left with chef April Bloomfield, with whom he had a business partnership. Friedman has also been accused of sexual harassment and assault

Nelson told 60 Minutes that the third floor of The Spotted Pig was the scene of rampant debauchery.

'You could smoke cigarettes, you could smoke pot, you could do drugs, you could have sex if you wanted to, I mean, there were no boundaries,' Nelson said of the popular celebrity hangout.

Nelson said that Friedman not only assaulted her but also inflicted emotional abuse on the female staff by berating them.

Erin Fein, who worked as a waitress at The Spotted Pig for two years, alleges that Friedman assaulted her in his car outside of the restaurant in September 2014.

'He lunged forward, he grabbed my face, he started kissing me very sort of sloppily,' she said.

'He pulled up my shirt. He put his hands on me. And I felt frozen.'

Friedman then told Fein not to tell anyone about what happened, she alleges.

Fein says that just a few hours after she was assaulted, Friedman sent her an email.

'"Send sexy pix tonight. I'll delete",' the email read.

'And I was just really shocked by that. I worried about what would happen if I didn't respond.'

Friedman told 60 Minutes that he 'vehemently denies any non-consensual activity' with Fein, who 'never issued a complaint' and continued to work for him.

Another of Batali's accusers, Trish Nelson, has also alleged that Friedman once pulled the back of her head into his crotch

Another former employee who has accused Friedman of impropriety is Carla Rza Betts.

Betts, who was in charge of selecting wines for all of Friedman's restaurants, told 60 Minutes that in 2010, he behaved in a demeaning manner.

Betts said: 'Ken came up. And I was leaning down to put something away. And he, I had a low-cut dress on. And he said, "Oh, I understand why you need to wear push-up bras. I see the stretch marks on your breasts."

'And I stood up. It's amazing there's this much emotion connected to it still.

'I stood up and I was furious. And I was like, "Carla, don't punch a boss. Don't punch your boss. Keep your job, 'cause you love this job".'

The women said whenever they complained to April Bloomfield, the head chef who was business partners with Friedman, she was not helpful.

They also said that Friedman made sure to 'blacklist' them by making sure they would not get jobs in other restaurants.

Bloomfield told 60 Minutes: 'I am in the final stages of severing my partnership with Ken Friedman. I deeply regret not doing more to protect my staff, who relied on me.'

Another former employee who has accused Friedman of impropriety is Carla Rza Betts

One of the most famous figures in American cuisine, Batali, the 57-year-old Italian-American, is a popular TV personality whose empire includes 26 establishments nationwide, as well as cookbooks, cookware and food products.

Controlled by private shareholders, the group does not publish its accounts, but US media has estimated its worth to be at least $250 million.

According to CBS, the New York police confirmed that 'there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Mario Batali.'

Batali, a father-of-two, has been accused by over 10 women of sexual misconduct, a behavior that was allegedly an open secret among members of the New York City restaurant scene.

The staff at one of the city's most popular establishments, The Spotted Pig, even referred to him at the time of the reports as 'The Red Menace.'

In response to allegations of assault, Friedman 'vehemently denies any non-consensual activity'

Following the late 2017 news, Batali announced he stepped down from his restaurant empire and would no longer be appearing as a host on his ABC daytime show The Chew in the wake of the allegations against him.

That came soon after Eater published an article in which four women accused the chef of inappropriate groping over the years.

One of the women said that Batali groped her chest after wine spilled on her shirt while another said he grabbed her from behind and held her tightly against his body.

Three of those four women asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution from Batali, who was their boss at that time.

When addressing the allegations last year, Batali admitted that 'much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.'

Multiple women have also come forward to allege that they were sexually harassed and in a few cases even assaulted by famed restaurateur Ken Friedman.

In a New York Times expose, former employees who worked for Friedman at his hugely successful West Village eatery claim that they were groped and even forcefully kissed by their boss while on the job.

Following the late 2017 news, Batali announced he stepped down from his restaurant empire and would no longer be appearing as a host on his ABC daytime show The Chew in the wake of the allegations against him. Batali is seen above on The Chew in April 2017

Batali's wife is Susi Cahn, the daughter of the late Miles Cahn, co-founder of Coach Handbags. The pair have two teenage sons together

Friedman, who is also the man behind Breslin Bar & Dining Room, the John Dory Oyster Bar, Salvation Taco and White Gold Butcher, announced soon after the story was published that he was taking an indefinite leave of absence.

'Some incidents were not as described, but context and content are not todays discussion. I apologize now publicly for my actions,' said Friedman in a statement.

The Times story points out that Friedman had a number of consensual relationships with women over the past 13 years.

His wife was formerly a host at The Spotted Pig.

Nelson claims that she went to Bloomfield with a complaint about Friedman at one point, and said she showed no interest in getting involved with the situation.

'Her response was always the same,' said Nelson.

'"Thats who he is. Get used to it. Or go work for someone else."'

Batali's wife is Susi Cahn, the daughter of the late Miles Cahn, co-founder of Coach Handbags.

The pair have two teenage sons together.On-street fundraisers have been slammed as 'charity muggers' as most donations won't make it to the cause.

The fundraisers also known as 'chuggers' have been criticised for their coercive measures to get cash.

Australian radio presenter and actor, Sam Johnson has accused the chuggers of being 'aggressive, rude and offensive'.

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On-street fundraisers have been slammed as 'charity muggers' as most donations won't make it to the cause

'They're not doing anything illegal but if you're not prudent about how you give, if you don't know about the organisation you're giving to then I would be pretty cynical about how much is going to the cause,' Mr Johnson said.

The Today Show revealed donations for the first year only cover commission for the 'charity' workers and won't make it to the cause.

Most people cancel their subscription after eight months which mean the company receives nothing.

Charities outsource their fundraising to a third party who employ the chuggers.

Chuggers are known to use flirtatious or attention-grabbing methods to stop people in their tracks.

Despite better alternatives to donate, charities are still hiring chuggers to get cash.

'Chuggers are slugs, their dogs I have no time for them to be honest,' the Australian actor said.

Sam Johnson (pictured left) with his sister Connie (right) said has accused the chuggers of being 'aggressive, rude and offensive''And now in the name of our loving, liberating and life-giving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

'From the Song of Solomon, in the Bible: Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm; for love is strong as death, passion fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.

'The late Dr Martin Luther King Jr once said, and I quote: 'We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world a new world, for love is the only way.'

Elegant: Ms Markle looks emotional but happy as she gracefully makes her way down the aisle

'There's power in love. Don't underestimate it. Don't even over-sentimentalise it. There's power, power in love.

'If you don't believe me, think about a time when you first fell in love. The whole world seemed to centre around you and your beloved.

'Oh there's power, power in love. Not just in its romantic forms, but any form, any shape of love. There's a certain sense in which when you are loved, and you know it, when someone cares for you, and you know it, when you love and you show it - it actually feels right.

'There is something right about it. And there's a reason for it. The reason has to do with the source. We were made by a power of love, and our lives were meant - and are meant - to be lived in that love. That's why we are here.

'Ultimately, the source of love is God himself: the source of all of our lives. There's an old medieval poem that says: 'Where true love is found, God himself is there'.

'The New Testament says it this way: 'Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God, and those who love are born of God and know God. Those who do not love do not know God.' Why? 'For God is love.'

'There's power in love. There's power in love to help and heal when nothing else can.

'There's power in love to lift up and liberate when nothing else will.

'There's power in love to show us the way to live.

'Set me as a seal on your heart... a seal on your arm, for love is as strong as death.

Harry told his bride that he had missed her after their night apart and clutched her hand throughout the moving service

'But love is not only about a young couple. Now the power of love is demonstrated by the fact that we're all here. Two young people fell in love, and we all showed up.

'But it's not just for and about a young couple, who we rejoice with. It's more than that.

'Jesus of Nazareth on one occasion was asked by a lawyer to sum up the essence of the teachings of Moses, and he went back and he reached back into the Hebrew scriptures, to Deuteronomy and Leviticus, and Jesus said: 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.'

'And then in Matthew's version, he added, he said: 'On these two, love of God and love of neighbour, hang all the law, all the prophets, everything that Moses wrote, everything in the holy prophets, everything in the scriptures, everything that God has been trying to tell the world... love God, love your neighbours, and while you're at it, love yourself.'

'Someone once said that Jesus began the most revolutionary movement in human history.

'A movement grounded in the unconditional love of God for the world - and a movement mandating people to live that love, and in so doing to change not only their lives but the very life of the world itself.

'I'm talking about power. Real power. Power to change the world.

Meghan and Harry were pronounced man and wife by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby

'If you don't believe me, well, there were some old slaves in America's Antebellum South who explained the dynamic power of love and why it has the power to transform.

'They explained it this way. They sang a spiritual, even in the midst of their captivity. It's one that says 'There is a balm in Gilead...' a healing balm, something that can make things right.

''There is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole, there is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul.'

'And one of the stanzas actually explains why. They said: 'If you cannot preach like Peter, and you cannot pray like Paul, you just tell the love of Jesus, how he died to save us all.''

'Oh, that's the balm in Gilead! This way of love, it is the way of life. They got it. He died to save us all.

'He didn't die for anything he could get out of it. Jesus did not get an honorary doctorate for dying. He didn't... he wasn't getting anything out of it. He gave up his life, he sacrificed his life, for the good of others, for the good of the other, for the wellbeing of the world... for us.

But the tears turned to laughter when the star made him giggle as they exchanged vows in the extraordinarily moving ceremony watched by millions around the world

'That's what love is. Love is not selfish and self-centred. Love can be sacrificial, and in so doing, becomes redemptive. And that way of unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive love changes lives, and it can change this world.

'If you don't believe me, just stop and imagine. Think and imagine a world where love is the way.'

'Imagine our homes and families where love is the way. Imagine neighbourhoods and communities where love is the way.

'Imagine governments and nations where love is the way. Imagine business and commerce where this love is the way.

'Imagine this tired old world where love is the way. When love is the way - unselfish, sacrificial, redemptive.

'When love is the way, then no child will go to bed hungry in this world ever again.

'When love is the way, we will let justice roll down like a mighty stream and righteousness like an ever-flowing brook.

'When love is the way, poverty will become history. When love is the way, the earth will be a sanctuary.

'When love is the way, we will lay down our swords and shields, down by the riverside, to study war no more.

'When love is the way, there's plenty good room - plenty good room - for all of God's children.

'Because when love is the way, we actually treat each other, well... like we are actually family.

'When love is the way, we know that God is the source of us all, and we are brothers and sisters, children of God.

'My brothers and sisters, that's a new heaven, a new earth, a new world, a new human family.

'And let me tell you something, old Solomon was right in the Old Testament: that's fire.

'Pierre Teilhard de Chardin - and with this I will sit down, we gotta get you all married - French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was arguably one of the great minds, great spirits of the 20th century.

'Jesuit, Roman Catholic priest, scientist, a scholar, a mystic.

'In some of his writings, he said, from his scientific background as well as his theological one, in some of his writings he said - as others have - that the discovery, or invention, or harnessing of fire was one of the great scientific and technological discoveries in all of human history.

'Fire to a great extent made human civilisation possible. Fire made it possible to cook food and to provide sanitary ways of eating which reduced the spread of disease in its time.

'Fire made it possible to heat warm environments and thereby made human migration around the world a possibility, even into colder climates.

'Fire made it possible - there was no Bronze Age without fire, no Iron Age without fire, no Industrial Revolution without fire.

'The advances of fire and technology are greatly dependent on the human ability and capacity to take fire and use it for human good.

'Anybody get here in a car today? An automobile? Nod your heads if you did - I know there were some carriages. But those of us who came in cars, fire - the controlled, harnessed fire - made that possible.

'I know that the Bible says, and I believe it, that Jesus walked on the water. But I have to tell you, I did not walk across the Atlantic Ocean to get here.

'Controlled fire in that plane got me here. Fire makes it possible for us to text and tweet and email and Instagram and Facebook and socially be dysfunctional with each other.

'Fire makes all of that possible, and de Chardin said fire was one of the greatest discoveries in all of human history.

'And he then went on to say that if humanity ever harnesses the energy of fire again, if humanity ever captures the energy of love - it will be the second time in history that we have discovered fire.

'Dr King was right: we must discover love - the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will make of this old world, a new world.

'My brother, my sister, God love you, God bless you, and may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.'A senior security officer used his finger to taste suspicious white powder found inside Parliament House to confirm it was not a security risk.

Graeme Anderson, assistant secretary for the security branch of the Department of Parliamentary Services in Canberra, has admitted tasting the unknown substance.

Under questioning by Labor's Kimberley Kitching, Mr Anderson said he only tasted the powder, which turned out to be sugar, after it was determined to non-suspicious.

A senior security officer used his finger to taste suspicious white powder found inside Parliament House to confirm it was not a security risk (stock image)

The incident took place near the building's Queen's Terrace Cafe in November, but vital CCTV footage of the area has been deleted, ABC News reported.

Ms Kitching raised the incident during Senate Estimates in February, and said she would insist on being given the full facts this week.

She asked how Mr Anderson could be sure the powder was not Anthrax, which has no taste or smell.

Mr Anderson said he followed the same procedures as the Australian Federal Police, and 'there was no evidence that this was either a biological or a chemical threat'.

'How could you know, given that anthrax has no smell or taste?' she responded.

'I made the assessment based on logical probabilities and not irrational possibilities,' said Mr Anderson.

Under questioning by Labor's Kimberley Kitching (pictured), Mr Anderson said he only tasted the powder, which turned out to be sugar, after it was determined to non-suspicious

Ms Kitching continued to ask Mr Anderson how he knew the powder was non-suspicious, to which he continued to insist there was no evidence it was suspicious.

'My understanding is that there's a protocol in place that, if there is an out-of-place white powder, one doesn't taste it, in case it is something that can't be identified by taste or smell and could be crystallised,' Ms Kitching said.

'That wasn't actually the process by which one identifies an out-of-place white powder. You might be braver than I.'

'There's nothing brave about it, Senator,' Mr Anderson replied.

'If it was anthrax, we were already exposed to anthrax, and tasting it was immaterial to whether we would have been exposed or not exposed to anthrax.

Graeme Anderson (pictured), assistant secretary for the security branch of the Department of Parliamentary Services in Canberra, has admitted tasting the unknown substance

'I would reassure you that this was not consistent with any biological threat. This was not anything other than what it was, which was sugar out of place.'

Ms Kitching also addressed claims security camera footage of the incident has been deleted, according to whistleblowers.

She demanded the Department explain why that day is the only one during the past 18 months where footage was deleted, contravening normal security procedures.

Federal Parliament's operating procedures for 'white powder' security incidents indicate a HAZMAT team should have been called, if it was a 'Type 2' incident.

A manual obtained by ABC describes a Type 2 incident as a 'suspect item or security incident where white powder is evident but the item is not accompanied by a specific threat'.

The incident took place near the building's Queen's Terrace Cafe (pictured) in November, but vital CCTV footage of the area has been deleted

During the Senate Estimates grilling Mr Anderson classified the incident as a Type 1, to which Ms Kitching asked how he determined it was not a Type 2.

'Someone has to make an assessment,' Mr Anderson replied.

'Right,' said Ms Kitching. 'And you made an assessment by tasting it.'

'Correct,' said Mr Anderson.

A white power incident at the Prime Minister's office on May 11 reportedly saw security officers test the powder wearing plastic suits they bought from Bunnings.

During that incident - the fourth in six months - a HAZMAT team was not called as required by protocol, and the powder was tested using a portable device.A pop-up collection by Di Carlo Couture went live on the morning of the wedding with the Jessica dress  a replica of Miss Mulroneys form-fitting number, available to purchase for 1,100

Her seven-year-old twin boys Brian and John played a key part in the wedding ceremony, carrying the brides train.

But mother Jessica Mulroney appears to be carving out a starring role of her own.

While the 37-year-old Canadian mother-of-three, who is Meghans best friend and closest confidante, was circumspect online, the style guru and her outfits were plastered over social media by her associates.

The PR consultant and bridal expert, who has been dubbed Torontos Gwyneth Paltrow, met Meghan when the actress moved to the city to film US legal drama Suits and the pair bonded over a love of yoga.

Over the weekend Instagram addict Miss Mulroney posted just a single photograph on her Instagram account  a picture of her twins holding Meghans train as she walked up the steps of St Georges Chapel on Saturday.

Proud friend. Proud mom, she wrote next to the photograph of the bride entering the church.

But while she remained relatively quiet, her associates were doing plenty of bragging  almost certainly with her tacit approval.

First there was the royal blue, cap sleeve, number she sported for the wedding itself.

A pop-up collection by Di Carlo Couture went live on the morning of the wedding with the Jessica dress  a replica of Miss Mulroneys form-fitting number, available to purchase for 1,100.

Then there was Maison Birks, the Canadian jeweller responsible for her citrine and diamond drop earrings and yellow gold diamond necklace.

Birks was also responsible for mother-of-the-bride Doria Raglands white gold and diamond earrings and snowflake starry night pendant.

The Maison Birks Instagram posted a picture of Miss Mulroney with Kate Middleton, saying she dazzled in the jewellers earrings  and pointing out that they would be available to purchase from autumn.

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Jessica Mulroney, Ivy Mulroney, Florence van Cutsem, Zoe Warren, Zalie Warren, Benita Litt, Remy Litt and Rylan Litt arrive for the royal wedding

Meghan's best friend Jessica Mulroney changed into a stunning gold gown before the Frogmore House reception

She raised eyebrows by having her stylist Rachel Renna share pictures of her outfit, a gold embellished cowl-back dress, for the exclusive after-party

Next was stylist Rachel Renna, who shot video of Jessica in a gold-embellished Naeem Khan cowl-back dress at the Frogmore House reception and posted it on Instagram.

She also posted a photograph of herself with Miss Mulroney, giving her followers details of the lipstick the brides best friend wore.

Mulroney made the most of her day in the limelight as she showed off her outfit for the reception at Frogmore House.

She helped to guide the other page boys and bridesmaids, including her four-year-old daughter Ivy, into the chapel alongside the Duchess of Cambridge.

And she raised eyebrows by having her stylist share pictures of her outfit, a gold embellished cowl-back dress, for the exclusive after-party.

It was her second outfit of the day after the 38-year-old wore an elegant royal blue dress at the ceremony itself, accessorising the ensemble with classic nude pumps.

Jessica sported Birks Muse Large Citrine and Diamond Drop earrings and a Birks Petale Yellow Gold and Diamond Necklace to finish off her look.

As well as being by her side on her wedding day, Jessica is also known to act as Meghan's stylist and is thought to have played a leading role in the wedding planning.

Meghan grew close to stylist Jessica while filming Suits in Toronto, with the pair enjoying a holiday to Italy together back in 2016.

Jessica's twin sons - seven-year-old John and Brian - had the ultimate honor, joining Meghan in the car for the final leg of her journey to the chapel, and also carrying her veil down the aisle as she made her way to her future husband.

Mulroney raised eyebrows by having her stylist Rachel Renna share pictures of her outfit, a gold embellished cowl-back dress, for the exclusive after-party

Brian threatened steal the bride's thunder when he accidentally photobombed her as she arrived at the door of St George's Chapel on her wedding day.

He flashed a gap-toothed grin as he popped up on screen behind the radiant bride.

Jessica's husband is TV host Ben Mulroney, the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Mulroney and her husbands combined net worth is estimated at about $10 million (7.4 million).

Jessica Mulroney is pictured arriving at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan MarkleThe worst major British airports for flight punctuality have been revealed, with passengers suffering the longest delays at Luton.

Departures from the airport were an average of 20 minutes late in 2017, according to Civil Aviation Authority data. Gatwick recorded the second-worst punctuality.

The rankings took into account every scheduled and charter flight from 25 of Britains major airports. Cancelled flights were not included.

Heathrow was found to have the best performance, with aircraft there typically taking off 11 minutes late. A Luton spokesman said punctuality was influenced by many factors such as air traffic control strikes, late arriving aircraft, bad weather and congested airspace.

Gatwick said it was doing everything within its power to improve the proportion of flights departing on time.An emotional Duchess of Sussex thanked her new father-in-law, during an unprecedented royal wedding speech, for the welcome he has given her to the Royal Family.

The bride, resplendent in a white evening gown by Stella McCartney, took to the microphone after a private evening dinner thrown by Prince Charles at Frogmore House.

One source described how Meghan expressed her gratitude at how welcoming the prince had been to both herself and her mother, Doria Ragland.

The newly named Duke and Duchess of Sussex headed to their reception at Frogmore House

'She has been so touched by how welcoming the Prince of Wales has been. So is her mother,' the source said.

'Honestly, they are touched beyond belief. It was important to her to make a point of thanking him publicly, although, of course, he knows privately how she feels.'

Another source said: 'It is often said that he always wanted a daughter and I think he has been really moved by how well they have got on. There is definitely a special connection there. Meghan's mother means more to her than anything, so it was lovely to see the way he was so welcoming to Doria too.'

The bash at Frogmore House was a star-studded occasion of extraordinary glamour that was hosted by Prince Charles, featured music from Sir Elton John and concluded with an impressive fireworks display outside the historic 17th century venue.

And Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding reception is also said to have featured a 'naughty' speech from best man Prince William, a thanks from Meghan to the Royal Family for welcoming her in and a 'surprise' from compere James Corden.

The dinner party at Frogmore House featured Harry's favourite House tracks 'curated' by DJ Sam Totolee, who also performed at Pippa Middleton's wedding, and a 'drinks of the world' themed bar.

Harry and Meghan waved as they drove to Frogmore House in a converted electric car

Guests dined on posh burgers among other dishes, with candyfloss on offer for those with a sweet tooth - and there was reportedly a cocktail on offer named When Harry Met Meghan.

The sit-down dinner was organic, sourced at the request of Prince Charles, and the light-bite canapes were themed 'spring meets summer'.

Charles had also spent a great deal of time with Harry and Meghan choosing the music to be played at their service, particularly for while guests were waiting for the bride and groom to arrive.

He, the Daily Mail understands, came up with the idea of having a gospel choir perform at the ceremony and put them in touch with a suitable group. The Kingdom Choir brought the house down, particularly with their performance of Ben E King's Stand By Me.

Charles also invited Miss Ragland to have tea with him and Camilla at Clarence House shortly after she arrived in London from Los Angeles on Wednesday. By all accounts, the event went swimmingly and everyone got on 'famously'.

The evening invitation given to selected guests to attend the final part of Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding celebrations. The small A6 piece of card featured a hand-painted image of Frogmore House along with details about the event

Dozens of pizzas were delivered to the castle at about 7pm as Harry and Meghan celebrated their wedding

Meghan is wearing shoes from Aquazurra made in silky satin, with nude mesh, with soles painted in baby blue

'It was very warm and there was a real connection there,' said a source.

And, of course, Charles stepped in at the last minute to escort his son's fiancee to the altar after her father, Thomas, pulled out of attending the ceremony due to apparent heart surgery.

It is understood he was 'terribly touched' to have been asked, in another sign of the growing bond between the prince and Harry's new wife. Harry whispered 'Thanks, Pa,' and smiled as Charles left Meghan at his side.

The Cartier jewellery Meghan wore on Saturday was her something new. It included the 136,000 white gold and diamonds Reflection de Cartier bracelet she wore with her wedding gown and the stunning 60,000 matching earrings she wore with her evening dress.

The bracelet, made from 18-carat white gold, was set with 104 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 4.50 carats, and with 52 baguette-cut diamonds totalling 5.61 carats.

The earrings were also made from 18-carat white gold, each set with 19 brilliant-cut diamonds totalling 0.81 carats, and ten baguette-cut diamonds totalling 1.08 carats.He had a few jokes up his sleeve, of course. As the Royal Family's resident jester, that was to be expected. 'Don't pinch the swords,' the new Duke of Sussex told an audience surrounded by more suits of armour than Agincourt. It was nice of everyone to make such an effort, he added, especially since he and his bride had only wanted 'a low-key wedding'.

But it was when Harry uttered the words 'my wife' that he ground to a halt. Amid the cheering, he took a deep breath, pulled himself together and pressed on.

The same thing happened again as he thanked his duchess, praising her beauty and intelligence. Once more, he faltered.

If the Prince was struggling to get through this in one piece, many of his guests were past trying. 'I've never seen a less stiff- upper-lip royal event in my life,' said one courtier. 'Everywhere I looked, people were dabbing their eyes.'

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The prince heaped praise on the new duchess in a speech after the nuptials

Much has been made about this being the most modern royal wedding in history, a milestone for the monarchy, for multi-racial cohesion, for gospel choirs, for the transatlantic special relationship, for alternative cake-making, for the Windsor tourist industry and much else.

All of which may be true. But over and above all of that, this was a profoundly moving occasion, surely the most emotional royal event since the world watched a 12-year-old boy walk behind his mother's coffin two decades back.

The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales

It explains why this weekend came loaded with such poignancy as this universally beloved  and endearingly nervous  warrior prince embarked on the next chapter of his life with his luminously talented bride.

Set inside William the Conqueror's thousand-year-old fortress, with a healthy sprinkling of Hollywood and British celebrity stardust, was it any wonder so many wanted to be part of it all?

The primeval power of the fairytale really hasn't changed one bit. The former Meghan Markle had brought so many of her own touches to the day, epitomised by her bravura arrival at the West Door  a bride on the arm of no one; a woman ascending those ancient steps toute seule.

Prince Harry had stamped the imprimatur of his late mother everywhere  from her favourite flowers (forget-me-nots) to her favourite hymn (Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer) to the front-row seat for her old flatmate, Carolyn Bartholomew.

Prince William the the Duchess of Cambridge, along with children Prince George and Princess Charlotte

But there were no objections. The monarchy is an institution which remains where it is only by moving with the times.

It wasn't the bride or groom who had the idea of gospel music from the Kingdom Choir but the Prince of Wales (Harry and Meghan then had them round for tea at Kensington Palace, conductor Karen Gibson told me, and chose Stand By Me as their anthem).

And it wasn't Harry or Meghan who thought of asking the effervescent Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Church to compose the sermon (and then rewrite it at considerable length as he went along).

That had actually been the suggestion of the Archbishop of Canterbury, with the full endorsement of the Supreme Governor of the Church of England  and well-known fan of the evangelical preacher Billy Graham  the Queen. Her Majesty appeared thoughtful but contented, all the more so with the Duke of Edinburgh at her side (minus stick) after last month's hip operation.

Four very different wedding parties gathered in Windsor this weekend. There were the tens of thousands squeezed inside the town to catch the procession clattering through the streets, past the pubs (The Three Tuns is now The Prince Harry), the shops and the bunting-flapping terraces.

Many more, armed with picnics and deck chairs, filled the grass either side of the greatest and grandest avenue in all of Britain, the Long Walk.

Inside the castle, 2,000 people from the voluntary sector filled the lawns and ramparts. And a mile away, at the Windsor Farm Shop, 600 guests with invitations to the church dumped their vehicles.

Sadly the television cameras were not there to capture the sight of the Clooneys, Oprah Winfrey and an assortment of dukes, earls and royal cousins queuing for Britain's smartest park-and-ride scheme.

On board each shuttle bus was a royal equerry who took the microphone to deliver a short explanation of the day and a gentle reminder: 'From the moment you step off this bus, you will be on live television in front of 1.2billion people.'

Down on the Long Walk, Joanne Lawrence and her gang from the Co-op in Martham, Norfolk, had set up camp two days earlier.

She even booked a room at a local hotel but had not slept there in case someone pinched her prime spot. 'It's just good cheap fun, Britain at its best, and I love the royals,' she said.

Back inside the castle, the charity representatives had their picnic rugs out on Chapel Hill and were enjoying the same gloriously addictive spectator sport as TV viewers: Watching vaguely familiar people milling around at a wedding. This was a very different royal wedding from the last one, not least because everyone had a genuine connection with the couple. Not being a state occasion, there was no need to invite the entire diplomatic corps or the lord mayor of anywhere.

Harry, for example, had invited all of the staff from his father's home at Highgrove along with all his old protection officers. Sir John Major was not there as an ex-PM or Knight of the Garter but because he was appointed as special guardian for the princes following the death of their mother.

What's more, hundreds of guests had no specific seat. Apart from those in the Quire, most simply had tickets which said 'North Nave' and 'South Nave' and the couple had deliberately mixed everyone up.

American starlets sat with rugby players and Harry's ex-Army chums from Walking With The Wounded, the military charity with which he trekked to the South Pole in 2013.

Doria Ragland, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle

For many, the first lump-in-the-throat moment was the arrival of the two brothers, walking down Castle Hill in their Household Cavalry frock coats. Their closeness has always been unwavering. On this day, it evoked so many memories, happy and sad.

Outside, the band of the Irish Guards was on its second rendition of Get Me To The Church On Time and the bride was clearly taking them at their word.

Oprah Winfrey was at the wedding after becoming friends with Meghan's mum Doria Ragland. The pair are rumoured to be planning a tell-all interview

Having tootled off from Cliveden at funereal speed, the 68-year-old bridal Rolls-Royce Phantom IV  a dowager of the Royal Mews car fleet  had to rocket its way up the Long Walk to hit its midday target.

All eyes (and hearts) were on Doria Ragland as she arrived on her own. Harry and Meghan had wanted her to be chaperoned by friends rather than an official. They asked the ultra-dependable van Straubenzee brothers, Charlie and Thomas, close chums of Harry since childhood, to greet her and see her to her seat.

Her composure as she watched her daughter's arrival was reminiscent of Michael Middleton walking his daughter into Westminster Abbey seven years before. Except this bride was going it alone.

The wedding cake by Claire Ptak of London-based bakery Violet Cakes in Windsor Castle for the wedding

Here was a mixed-race divorcee from California making perhaps the most dramatic solo entrance since the Coronation. What's more, Meghan's Givenchy veil was embroidered with every flower of the Commonwealth, just like the Queen's Hartnell-designed Coronation gown  a detail that will not have been lost on the monarch.

Every viewer will have had their favourite moment, their 'did-you-see' talking point to be chewed over for days to come.

Maybe it was Harry wiping a tear or the lifting of the veil or Prince Charles taking Doria Ragland by the hand.

From my perch inside the ramparts, I would say it was the couple's 'I will' moment. When it was relayed to the crowds beyond via public address system and jumbo screen, half of Berkshire cheered so loudly that the noise came bouncing back over the walls and right up to the altar, making the couple laugh.

Many will recall the Royal Family's lip-biting reaction to Bishop Michael's humdinging liturgical rollercoaster. The Windsors were certainly not laughing at him, as some have suggested.

But they do love it when things go a little off-piste and Bishop Michael was certainly doing that magnificently. Not only did he take nearly three times his allotted five minutes but you would never hear this sort of thing from your average C of E cleric in a month of Windsor Sundays.

Visually, the carriage procession produced some of the greatest scenes of mass celebration since that happy Jubilee-Olympic summer of 2012.

For those inside the reception, the welling up began again as the Prince of Wales welcomed Meghan into the fold and talked proudly about the baby boy  whose nappies he had changed  growing into a fine member of the Armed Forces.

Royal wedding speeches have always been short affairs and Harry's was no exception.

Harry and Meghan were married on May 19 in front of a host of celebrities and members of the royal family

'He was just so proud of Meghan. In that moment when he said 'my wife', he said it all,' says one guest. 'It was almost a relief when Elton John started playing the piano.'

A great day for Britain and the institution by which it marks its epochs, the glitches of the previous week now reduced to parochial footnotes.

Surveying it all from his hillock at the top of the Long Walk was the vast statue of George III astride his horse  and no doubt feeling pretty pleased too.

He might be the king who lost America. But as of this weekend, his great, great, great, great, great, great grandson has just won a very special bit of it back.Roger Glenn Self, 63, was charged with first-degree murder on Sunday in North Carolina

A father has been arrested after police say he intentionally rammed his car into a restaurant where his family was eating brunch - killing his own daughter and daughter-in-law.

Driver Roger Glenn Self, 62, was charged with first-degree murder on Sunday amid the carnage at the Surf and Turf Lounge in Bessemer City, North Carolina, on the outskirts of Charlotte.

Killed was the driver's daughter, 26-year-old Corporal Katelyn Self of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office.

The other fatality was identified as the driver's daughter-in-law Amanda Self, a nurse who was married to a Gaston County police officer.

The family pastor said that Roger Self has been dealing with mental illness, including anxiety, depression and mental breakdowns in recent months, WSOC reported.

Pastor Austin Rammell met with the family just hours before the tragedy, and he insisted that the car rampage was 'not a conscious act'.

However, police believe the incident was intentional and domestic in nature. Cops say there is no evidence of the involvement of drugs or alcohol.

Self's daughter, 26-year-old Corporal Katelyn Self (above) of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, was killed when he rammed his car into the restaurant where they were eating

Katelyn and her father Roger Self are seen together at a Duke football game in 2013

Witnesses said Self rammed his white SUV through the wall of the restaurant (pictured) at high speed. Paramedics rushed to the scene but two people died

Witnesses at the restaurant said that Self brought his family into the restaurant around noon and had them seated, and then returned to his car, the Gaston Gazette reported.

Roger Self then drove his white SUV through the wall of the restaurant at a high rate of speed, smashing through the dining room right where the family was sitting, witnesses said.

'I was about to go check on my tables in the back, next thing I know I saw a white Jeep fly right past my face,' waiter Brandon Wilson told the local paper. 'I saw tables, chairs, cups everything flying. It was really loud.'

Local police responded to the call at 12.05pm, and called in paramedics to rush the wounded for care.

The injured included Amanda Self's husband, Gaston County Police Officer Josh Self, and their 13-year-old daughter. Roger Self's wife Dianne was also injured. All are expected to recover.

It is unclear how many total were injured in the event, but multiple patients were transported by LifeFlight to the Level One trauma center at Carolinas Medical Center, police said.

Roger Self was immediately arrested at the scene. 'He drove his car into the building, killing people, so that's why we took him into custody immediately,' Bessemer City Police Chief Thomas Ellis Jr. said at a televised press conference.

Troubled: Roger Self, left and right with his daughter Katelyn, was said to have been suffering from mental illness

Paramedics are seen evacuating the wounded from the back of the restaurant

The car appeared to smash all the way through the dining room, damaging the back wall

Second victim: Roger Self's daughter in law was also killed in the attack. His wife, son and granddaughter all survived

Photos from the scene show a gaping hole in the wall of the restaurant at the top of a wide walkway ramp leading to the entrance. The car appears to have gone all the way across the dining room and smashed partly through the restaurant's back wall.

Katelyn Self was a four-year veteran of the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, Sheriff Alan Cloninger said at the press conference. She started as a jailer and worked her way up to deputy, he said.

'We're suffering a little bit right now,' he said, choking up as he spoke.

Officials said Roger Self is a private investigator who used to work for Gastonia Police Department years ago.

A 2017 profile in the Gazette said Roger Self, who lives nearby in Dallas, North Carolina, ran a private investigations business called Southeastern Loss Management.

It said the business opened in 1989 and mostly helped companies investigate employees' wrongdoing.

Self is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held without bond in Gaston County Jail. He is due in court on Monday.A man in his thirties has been found dead near a popular kebab shop in Knightsbridge.

Police and medics sealed off Beauchamp Place in West London yesterday afternoon after reports of a body being found at a residential address there.

The man, whose body has been taken for a post-mortem examination, has not yet been formally identified.

Actor Tom Hardy and TV presenter Claudia Winkleman are among the celebrities known to be fans of the restaurant chain, which has eateries across London.

Police and medics sealed off Beauchamp Place in West London yesterday afternoon after reports of a body being found at a residential address there

The man, whose body has been taken away for a post-mortem examination, has not yet been formally identified

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told MailOnline that the death is currently being treated as unexplained.

He said: 'Police were called by the London Ambulance Service at 16:33hrs on Sunday, 20 May to a residential address on Beauchamp Place, SW3 following reports of a man found deceased.

'Next of kin are yet to be informed. Formal identification has not taken place but he is believed to be aged in his 30s.

'A post-mortem examination will be held in due course.

The street is home to Maroush, a hugely popular Lebanese eatery that is patronised by a host of celebrities

'At this early stage, the death is being treated as unexplained.

'Enquiries continue.'

The street is home to Maroush, a hugely popular Lebanese eatery that is patronised by a host of celebrities.A tourist has been viciously attacked in Thailand following an argument with taxi-bike drivers and police.

In a video shared to social media a man attempted to move a bike while a group of men yelled at him.

The tourist then tried to slam the bike wheel on the foot of one man who tried to get his attention.

An altercation began when one man tried to grab the handle of the motorcycle.

The German tourist slapped the mans hand away before he made a fist with his hand and knocked the hand away again.

Police tried to console the man.

The tourist continued down the road before he picked the bike up so it sat on the rear wheel.

The man almost dropped the bike and he leaned over to right the bike.

That is when he is kicked in the head by a taxi-bike driver.

The tourist was wearing a helmet but was also hit with the driver's fist and shoved him.

A tourist has been viciously attacked in Thailand following an argument with taxi-bike drivers

The tourist is pushed out of the way as he gripped his head and yet another man picked the bike up and walked away.

The 48-year-old who kicked the tourist on Beach road in Pattaya was fined 1,000 Baht and made a public apology for the the assault on the tourist, according to Bangkok Post. This roughly equates to $42.

Bangkok News reported that the tourist's bike had been locked by police as he didn't have a licence for the vehicle

However now it has been reported by The Pattaya News that the Thai government will be pursuing further charges against the 48-year-old

The publication reported that the tourist's bike had been locked by police as he didn't have a licence for the vehicle.

When police attempted to remove the bike the man resisted, cursed out police and was 'rude'.

However now it has been reported by The Pattaya News that the Thai government will be pursuing further charges against the 48-year-old.

The Department of Land Transportation also supports the charges against the German tourist, the publication reported.Aboriginal settlement in Australia was no accident but the result of large-scale migration by skilled maritime explorers, according to new research.

Experts have made the finding using wind and ocean current modelling, similar to that deployed in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The process was designed to simulate likely routes between the islands of Timor and Roti and more than 100 now-submerged islands off the Kimberley coast.

'There's always been a lot of speculation about how Aboriginal people made it to Australia and a lot of people have argued that people might have made it here by accident,' said study co-author Professor Sean Ulm from James Cook University.

Aboriginal settlement in Australia was no accident but the result of large-scale migration by skilled maritime explorers, according to new research (stock image)

'What this study has shown is that it's so absolutely improbable that you can explain any of those lines of evidence with accidental voyaging.

'It has to be purposeful, it has to be co-ordinated and it has to be fairly large-scale to explain the patterns we see.'

The Quaternary Science Reviews-published study estimated migration to the bridge of islands off north-west Australia occurred between about 50,000 and 65,000 years ago.

Prof Ulm said the sea was 75 metres lower and the islands visible from the parts of Timor and Roti.

The study was designed to simulate likely routes between the islands of Timor and Roti and more than 100 now-submerged islands (pictured) off the Kimberley coast

The hundreds of routes modelled would have taken between four and seven days and spanned up to 150 kilometres.

'If you had the technology to make it there, it was really easy to make it to Australia,' the professor said.

'We're talking 60,000 years ago here. So that is an incredible time stamp to how complex the first Australians were from the moment they first saw Australia.'

The study - by experts from the CSIRO and various universities - also used genetic information to show hundreds of people, not just a few, likely made the voyage.

'This is very significant because it was very early in modern human dispersals across the globe,' Prof Ulm said.

'We're talking multiple boats, not just one boat blowing off course... reflecting the population in the mainland Southeast Asian area.'Convicted cult leader William 'Little Pebble' Kamm is selling the 'sacred' property on the NSW South Coast where he claims the Virgin Mary told him to repopulate the Earth with two 15-year-old girls.

Kamm, who now calls himself William Costellia, founded the Order of Saint Charbel near Nowra in the 1980s and preached a doomsday Christian message.

His followers handed over wives and daughters to help him rebuild humanity after the apocalypse and he has reportedly fathered more than 20 children.

Convicted cult leader William 'Little Pebble' Kamm is selling 'sacred' property on NSW South Coast where he claims Virgin Mary told him to repopulate Earth with two 15-year-old girls

Kamm, who now calls himself William Costellia, founded the Order of Saint Charbel near Nowra in the 1980s and preached a doomsday Christian message. Pictured: The property he wants to sell

He spent nine years in jail for having sex with two teenage girls before being paroled in November 2014.

On his website, which he actively updates with reams of legal documents and preachings, he announced he would 'let the Holy Sacred Grounds go' after it hosted thousands of miracles, cures and conversions.

'I had to purchase the land to save and protect it, but now we are unable to continue with paying the mortgage, which was very high, due to the lack of support,' he wrote on April 19.

He previously said his followers had chipped in to help make repayments after he was imprisoned in 2002 but that financial aid has since dried up.

'I wish to thank all our dear faithful followers who have been such a strong support over so many years, helping me maintain the mortgage payments and those who have worked so hard looking after the Holy Grounds,' he said.

He spent nine years in jail for having sex with two teenage girls before being paroled in November 2014

'It is God's property first and foremost - even if we should lose it.'

Kamm is suing the NSW Government in the Supreme Court so he can return to Facebook and Twitter, he said on his website in March.

He blamed the 'authorities and media', along with his extended detention orders, for forcing him to sell the property.

The self-proclaimed seer's high-profile lawyer Omar Juweinat told AAP the sale was the 'sad reality of long-term litigation'.

'Unfortunately, given the frequency and complexity of Mr Kamm's matters currently before the court, it has meant that he has been compelled to dispose of an asset,' he said.

The 2.44 hectare bush property, located 10 kilometres from Nowra, is dotted with religious structures including shrines, a holy water spring, Stations of the Cross, a large work shed and a burned-out house.

Kamm wants $800,000 for the property.Sarah Ferguson (pictured at the wedding) has insisted she was not upset at being left off the guest list for Harry and Meghans evening reception

Sarah Ferguson has insisted she was not upset at being left off the guest list for Harry and Meghans evening reception.

Prince Andrews ex-wife was among 600 guests invited to the ceremony in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle and a reception immediately afterwards.

But she was said to be deeply unhappy at not receiving a coveted invitation to the evening reception at Frogmore House, attended by around 200 guests on Saturday night. Her children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, did attend.

At the time it was revealed she had not been invited, a royal insider said: Numbers are limited for the evening party; she is not a member of the Royal Family any more and Prince Charles simply doesnt have time for her.

He cant see why she is still such a big part of his brothers life.

A source close to the Duchess said: She was delighted to be asked to the wedding and to be there for Prince Harry. She did not expect in any way to be asked to the smaller evening reception.

She is divorced from Prince Andrew, though close to him, and as with most families it is not usual to invite ex-aunts and uncles.

She was touched to have been included in the wedding service and reception.

According to sources, the 58-year-old duchess had previously been complaining about the snub to anyone who would listen  even though many in the royal households think she should count herself lucky to be going at all.

Prince Harry personally intervened to make sure she had an invitation to his wedding to Meghan Markle and the first reception after years in the royal wilderness.

It is understood that Sarah has already been introduced to Meghan by Harry, who is close to his cousins Beatrice and Eugenie, but it is thought that Charles, who is paying for the evening reception at Frogmore House, doesnt approve.

It is understood that Sarah has already been introduced to Meghan by Harry, who is close to his cousins Beatrice and Eugenie, but it is thought that Charles, who is paying for the evening reception at Frogmore House, doesnt approve

The duchess wasnt invited to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges 2011 wedding at Westminster Abbey, which was a much larger occasion than Harry and Meghans intimate family ceremony, and took herself off to a spa in Thailand to lick her wounds.

While relations have thawed enough in recent years for Sarah to be invited to a small number of occasions, such as Royal Ascot and the familys summer sojourn at Balmoral, even the Queen has to take care that she doesnt appear when Prince Philip is around.

He is said to hold a deep-seated grudge against the duchess for the embarrassments he feels she has heaped upon his family over the years, once memorably describing her as having no point.

He has never forgiven her for being photographed having her toes sucked by a pool in the South of France by her financial adviser, John Bryan, in 1992, while still married to Andrew.

She has also tried Philips patience with her profligate lifestyle, which has seen her come close to bankruptcy twice over the years, saved only by the generosity of her former husband.

At the time it was revealed she had not been invited, a royal insider said: Numbers are limited for the evening party; she is not a member of the Royal Family any more and Prince Charles simply doesnt have time for her'

Although Philip has not been seen in public for several weeks while he recovers at Windsor from a hip replacement operation, it is hoped he will be well enough to make an appearance on his grandsons big day, leaving many royal insiders speculating whether he will even acknowledge the duchesss presence.

One source said: It will be fascinating to see if the Duke of Edinburgh acknowledges her.

'He has held a grudge against her for a long, long time and normally refuses to even be in the same room as her.

Earlier this year the Daily Mail told how Sarah had been invited to the wedding, contrary to reports that she had been banned, but the situation had caused a massive headache behind the scenes.

Senior royals, led by Charles and Philip, had made no bones about the fact that they didnt want the duchess there, but Harry, who is fond of her, held his ground.

He has kept in touch with his aunt over the years, and has previously holidayed at the Swiss ski chalet she bought for an estimated 13million a few years ago with her former husband.

He absolutely, 100 per cent wants her there and has told palace officials that in no uncertain terms, a source said.

Despite their 1996 divorce, Sarah and Andrew remain extremely close and live at Royal Lodge, his Windsor home, together.More than two-thirds of Americans credit President Donald Trump for the countrys healthy economy, a new poll has revealed.

The CBS News poll, which was released on Sunday, shows a sharp partisan divide, with Republicans more likely to give the president positive reviews while Democrats and Independents are not as complimentary.

According to the survey, 35 per cent of Americans say Trumps policies are a great deal responsible for the economy.

Around the same number - 33 per cent - say the presidents policies are somewhat responsible.

Nearly one-third say that Trump is either not very or not at all responsible for the strong economy.

More than two-thirds of Americans credit President Donald Trump for the countrys healthy economy, a new poll has revealed

According to the survey, 35 per cent of Americans say Trumps policies are a great deal responsible for the economy. Around the same number - 33 per cent - say the presidents policies are somewhat responsible

Despite the credit Trump is getting, an overwhelming majority of those surveyed say the president is chiefly looking out for the uber-wealthy

Despite the credit Trump is getting, an overwhelming majority of those surveyed say the president is chiefly looking out for the uber-wealthy.

Some 88 per cent of respondents say the president is mostly in line with big business, with nearly 49 per cent saying that he is also looking out for the working and the middle class.

Economists expect growth will accelerate in the second quarter as households start to feel the impact of the Trump administrations $1.5trillion income tax package on their paychecks.

Lower corporate and individual tax rates as well as increased government spending will likely lift annual economic growth to the administrations 3 per cent target, despite the weak start to the year.

When asked if they believe the Trump-Kim summit will result in North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons, 47 per cent say it is too soon to tell

Republicans are also more likely to credit Trump with keeping promises. Half say that the president has done what he pledged to do during the campaign, while one-third say he just hasnt gotten around to keeping his other promises.

Trump is widely perceived as better on the economy than he is at international relations.

More than half of those polled say that they either have little confidence or no confidence at all in his handling of Iran and North Korea.

The president trashed his predecessor Barack Obamas signature foreign policy achievement by pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal earlier this month.

As far as North Korea is concerned, Trump is scheduled to meet with Pyongyangs ruler, Kim Jong-un, in a few weeks for a summit that many hope will lead to a new era in peaceful relations between America and its longtime Communist foe.

Kim has threatened to cancel the summit in response to public statements by Trump administration officials demanding that the North commit to full denuclearization.

Trump can take solace in the fact that a slim majority says it agrees with the presidents policies toward China.

The president has taken a hard line against China, particularly on the issue of trade.

Views on Trumps foreign policy effectiveness are also divided along party loyalties.

Two-thirds of Republicans say the presidents negotiations with North Korea and Iran have been successful.

An overwhelming majority of Democrats, however, say Trumps handling of these issues has been unsuccessful.

When asked if they believe the Trump-Kim summit will result in North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons, 47 per cent say it is too soon to tell.

Slightly more than one-third - 35 per cent - say it will not, while 18 per cent say it will.

Not surprisingly, Republicans were more optimistic than Democrats that Kim will take steps toward denuclearization.Australian policeman Joshua Paroci, 31, has died in a rafting incident on the Shotover River near Queenstown.

Police and emergency services were called to Skippers Canyon just after 4pm on Saturday when a raft that was carrying a group of six other Australian tourists and their guide, flipped.

The NSW Detective Senior Constable (pictured) lost his life white water rafting

Paroci, who was the Detective Senior Constable, fell into the 'Toilet' rapid, along with the other occupants on the raft, however while he was being pulled to safety, he lost his grip on the rope and was swept into the oncoming rapid.

According to a joint statement by Challenge Rafting and Queenstown Rafting, the safety kayaker helped him navigate the rapid, but shortly after getting to shore Paroci became unresponsive.

He was unable to be resuscitated, despite CPR attempts, the use of a defibrillator, and treatment from a paramedic.

Police confirmed on Sunday that a post-mortem examination will be undertaken in Invercargill on Monday as police and Maritime NZ continue to investigate what happened.

The surviving Australian rafters were taken to Lakes District Hospital by helicopter, where they were evaluated and offered counselling.

The surviving Aussie tourists were flown to Lake District Hospital (pictured)

Totally Tourism general manager Tim Barke said another man suffered a 'suspected dislocated shoulder' during the incident, and was treated by medical staff.

The two other rafts that were with the one that overturned did not capsize.

For Queenstown Rafting this devastation comes after they lost one of their guides on the same stretch of river two months ago.

A guide also lost his life on the same stretch of river (pictured) two months ago

Tributes have been pouring in for the police officer who up until his death was working at the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad.

Police commissioner Mick Fuller expressed his condolences to the Paroci family on behalf of the NSW Police Force.

'The hardest part of my job is when we lose one of our own and my thoughts are with Det S/C Paroci's wife, who is also a police officer, family, friends and colleagues,' Fuller said.

Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec, called Paroci 'a great man and an excellent detective.'

Paroci who has been described as 'a great man' lost his life white water rafting (pictured)

'Professionally, Josh was a tireless worker; dedicated to investigating some of the most heinous crimes against children,' Det Supt Kerlatec said.

'His passion was justice for victims. Not only was he a police officer, he was completing a law degree, which he intended to use to create better outcomes for young victims' he continued.

Both Challenge rafting and Queenstown rafting have paused operations until further notice.A desperate search is underway for a missing mother and her two-year-old son who vanished from their home nearly 24 hours ago.

Annalise O'Hara, 32, and young Isiah were last seen leaving a unit in Mount Pritchard, south-west Sydney, in grey Toyota Corolla sedan at about 4pm on Sunday.

Ms O'Hara's panicked family reported her missing to police when she could not be contacted.

A desperate search is underway for this missing mother and her two-year-old son, who vanished from their home nearly 24 hours ago

Police said their are grave concerns for the welfare of the mother and her son.

Annalise, who is of Caucasian appearance, has a slim build, short blonde hair and green eyes.

The boy, also of Caucasian appearance, has short brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Annalise is urged to contact Fairfield Police or Crime Stoppers.The cause of death of a 63-year-old man found near two parked vehicles in the car park of a motorcycle repair business has stumped police.

Emergency services were called to a motorcycle repair shop on Malcolm St in West Croydon, north-west of Adelaide, about 12:30pm on Sunday.

Detectives are now hoping a post-mortem will help determine how the man came to be found dead at the rear car park of the building.

Mystery surrounds the death of a man, 63, who was found dead on Sunday

Adelaide detectives are working to establish how the man died and when

Although an exact time of death is still unknown, it is believed the man's body had died possibly days before he was located, The Advertiser reported.

A pathologist arrived on the scene at 4pm but was unable to identify how the man had died.

A number of police resources attended the sense including the Metropolitan Fire Service.

Despite the cause of death being established, it is understood the incident is not being treated as suspicious.

Safework SA are looking into whether his death was work-related.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Australian bank note printers are on strike for the first time in 105 years over a pay dispute.

Note Print Australia workers will go on a 24-hour strike for the first time since the company began over a century ago.

The rumors were confirmed on Monday morning to Melbourne based radio station 3AW.

Note Print Australia workers will go on a 24-hour strike for the first time since the company began over a century ago

Mike Bull from the Australian Manufacturer Worker's Union told the radio station it was a industry crucial to all of us.

'There'll be a 24-hour strike on Friday and we'll take it from there and see what happens,' Mr Bull said.

The workers will begin the action from Wednesday and will strike completely on Friday.

A new range of Australian notes and a influx of international clients have made the work in high demand.

Workers are easing Note Print Australia with the varied strikes from Wednesday before the 24-hour halt on Friday.

'We're very keen to get a deal, but the company aren't cooperating with us,' Mr Bull said.A sober Ohio man called the police to report that a pig was following him home from the train station.

Ohio's North Ridgeville Police Department revealed in a Facebook post early Saturday morning that it had received a bizarre call for help from a man who said that a pig was following him and he didn't know what to do about it.

The night shift's automatic response, according to the Facebook post? 'A pig. Riiiight.'

An Ohio man called police seeking help because he was being followed him by a pig (pictured)

As it was 5.26am when the call came in and the man had claimed he was walking home from a bar, the officers assumed the man was drunk as a skunk.

Still, 'He was at least drunk enough to call the police on himself while hallucinating,' the police department wrote on Facebook.

However, when officers met up with the unnamed man, who was in fact walking home from the Amtrak train station in Elyria, Ohio, not a bar, they discovered that the man was actually stone cold sober.

The North Ridgeville Police Department's Facebook post about the incident has gone viral

But, more importantly, he truly was being followed by a large dark-haired pig.

Patrolman Kuduzovic (left) had the honor of wrangling the pig into his patrol car

'Ptlm. Kuduzovic managed to wrangle (I think this is the correct word to use) said pig into his cruiser and he is currently secured in our pig pens.....er, dog kennels. Whatever,' the Facebook post reads.

'Is this real life?' the police department then wonders.

The Facebook post wrapped up with a statement aimed at preempting any obvious 'pig/cop' jokes.

'Also, we will mention the irony of the pig in a police car now so that anyone that thinks theyre funny is actually unoriginal and trying too hard,' the post stated.

Just three hours after the man's panicked pig pursuit call came in, police were able to return the pig to its owner, according to an update to the Facebook post.

The pig, according to CBS News, is named Zoey.

Since the North Ridgeville Police posted about the incident, the post has gone viral, receiving 9,500 likes and being shared 13,000 times.Construction of a $3million mosque is set to begin despite years of opposition from local residents.

A citizen's group has held regular protests outside the proposed site on the corner of Bridge Road and Research Road in Pooraka, north Adelaide.

The two-storey Shia mosque was approved by Salisbury Council in March 2017, and is now before the Environment, Resources and Development Court.

Scroll down for video

The construction of a $3 million two-storey mosque is expected to pass a court appeal after years of protest and division in an Adelaide community (pictured is a sign defaced by opponents of the mosque)

The Concerned Citizens of South Australia (CCSA), a group which formed in 2015 to protest the approval of another mosque in the area, lodged an appeal in the ERD Court last year (pictured is a protest at the site)

There have been four hearings in the ERD Court so far, concerning development conditions including fencing and stormwater, The Advertiser reported.

'The court intends to approve the development but the determination is not yet finalised as the court has requested submissions from all parties on the conditions to be applied,' a report from Salisbury Council development committee read.

The Concerned Citizens of South Australia (CCSA), a group opposed to the mosque and 1000-plot cemetery project since its inception, lodged an appeal in the ERD Court last year.

The group formed in 2015 to protest the approval of another mosque in the area and argued the new development would create traffic and parking issues in the neighbourhood.

The Shia community (pictured in prayer at another Adelaide mosque) bought the land for $1.4m in 2016 and construction is expected to begin once court proceedings are completed

The controversial development is set to begin on the corner of Bridge Road and Research Road in Pooraka, 15km north-east of Adelaide (Google map view pictured)

A GoFundMe campaign was created to support the appeal and raised $8,000 to cover legal costs to fight the mosque.

A 200-signature petition opposing the development was submitted to the council in February.

The Shia community bought the land for $1.4million in 2016 and construction is expected to begin once court proceedings are completed.

Initial plans included a 500-person capacity building on a 1.38ha block comprised of prayer halls, meeting rooms, a cemetery, a playground and a 150-space car park.Scott Olson/Getty Images(SANTA FE, Texas) -- Prayers were said at churches across Texas and the nation on Sunday for those killed and wounded in the nation's latest school shooting as investigators tried to learn what motivated a teenager to allegedly go on a rampage with his father's guns and homemade bombs.



Texas Gov. Doug Abbott attended a service at Arcadia Baptist Church in Santa Fe, where congregants prayed for the loved ones of the eight students and two teachers gunned down and the 13 people wounded. They even prayed for the family of the suspected killer.



"Our Father, there is no way that I could even imagine what it would be like for my child to go off to school and not come back. There are no words to take away the hurt and pain, but Father, you have something that can give us peace in spite of the pain," the Rev. Jerel Watkins, pastor of the church, prayed.



Following the service at Arcadia Baptist Church, Abbott and his wife, Cecilia, went to Santa Fe High School, where Friday's mass shooting unfolded, and laid flowers at a growing memorial in front of the campus.



Abbott has also called for a statewide moment of silence at 10 a.m. on Monday to honor the victims killed in Santa Fe.



"We're here today for a day of prayer. We come here today with hearts that are aching, knowing there are parents today without children. I know these parents have no idea what the pathway forward is," Abbott told reporters at the school.



The suspected gunman, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a student at the school, allegedly stormed an art classroom Friday morning armed with a shotgun and a pistol authorities say he took from his father's gun cabinet.



Pagourtzis allegedly traded gunshots with police when they arrived at the school, including one who was wounded. The alleged gunman was arrested and charged with capital murder.



Pagourtzis' parents released a statement saying they were "as shocked and confused as anyone else by these events," and that the portrayal of their son in media reports "seems incompatible with the boy we love."



Abbott said the suspect also tried to use several improvised explosives in the attack.



"It's my understanding that he had several different types of explosive devices. He had CO2 devices, I'm told. He had Molotov cocktails ... some that he threw into the classroom, some that were found in his home," said Abbott.



"So it's clear that he wanted to try to use explosive devices, but he did not put them together in a way that they did explode," the governor said. "It shows this killer was intent on trying to inflict horrific damage on these kids. And I hope he gets swift Texas justice."



The students who died in the attack were: Shana Fisher, 16; Angelique Ramirez, 15; Christopher Jake Stone, 17; Jared Black, 17; Christian Riley Garcia, 15; Aaron Kyle McLeod; Sabika Sheikh, 17; and Kimberly Vaughan. Two teachers, Glenda Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale, 64, were also killed.



The first funeral was held Sunday at the Masjid Sabireen mosque in the Houston suburb of Stafford, Texas, for Sabika Sheikh, an exchange student from Pakistan.



While investigators have yet to share a possible motive for the massacre, Shana Fisher's mother told ABC station KTRK-TV in Houston that Pagourtzis romantically pursued her daughter for months despite her repeated refusal to date him. The mother, Sadie Rodriguez, said her daughter finally stood up to Pagourtizis in front of other students less than a week ago and told him to leave her alone.



Abbott said that beginning on Tuesday he'll hold the first of several roundtable discussions with experts and family of the victims killed in Santa Fe and in a mass shooting in November that left 26 people dead at the First Baptist Church in rural Sutherland Springs, Texas, to come up with ideas to protect schools. Abbott, a Republican, said he'll also invite people who support gun rights and those who advocate gun control to participate in the roundtables.



"I've personally spoken to more than 100 people in the Santa Fe area and consistently get the same solution offered up, and that is better security at our schools, better control of ingress and egress to schools, and perhaps metal detectors. I don't know if that's a solution or not but these are all the kinds of things that need to be put on the table," Abbott said.



"Those are just some of the ideas. There are many many more that I've already identified that I'll be putting on the table as we begin the meeting process this next week," he said. "But importantly, it's essential that we hear from the experts before any hard and fast conclusions are arrived at so that we can have all the information placed on the table and find the right solutions."



He also cited a study in Lubbock, Texas, that was effective in identifying students with mental health challenges and those who pose potential threats to their schools.



Abbott said another program in some Texas schools is one that attempts to assess students social media posts for red flags.



"For example, this murderer had T-shirts on his website, Facebook page, [that said] 'Born to Kill' and there were certain markers that were potentially threatening," Abbott said. "Obviously, some of these suspects in other areas that have committed these heinous murders also have demonstrated signs in the past in their postings. So this is a new tool that school districts need to consider using to make sure that they have the ability to identify any potential threat."



He said his goal is to "ensure swift and meaningful action."



"The people here in Santa Fe, as well as schools across the state of Texas, deserve swift action, which is exactly why we're going to begin these roundtable discussions on Tuesday," Abbott said.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.A budget airline is offering Australians the opportunity to escape the winter and enjoy 30-degree heat on an idyllic island for under $200.

Philippine's Cebu Pacific is selling flights from major Australian cities to Manila for as low as $189 one way.

The flights are part of the airlines Happy Hour sale, and are available between 5pm to 7pm from Monday 21 May.

A Filipino airline is offering Australians the opportunity to escape the winter and enjoy 30-degree heat on an idyllic island. A women is pictured enjoying the sandy beaches on Siargao Island in the Philippines.

The airline is marketing an opportunity to escape from the cold winters in Australia to beautiful islands in the Philippines including Siargao, Palawan, and Cebu.

Flights from Melbourne to Manila are available for just $189 one way, while flights from Sydney start from $229.

The travel period for flights from Sydney must be between 16 June and 31 October.

Cebu Pacific is selling flights from major Australian cities to Manila for as low as $189 one way. Kawasan Falls on Cebu island in Philippines is pictured.

Palawan province in the Philippines is pictured. Palawan is known for its aquatic wildlife and home to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River

The airline is marketing an opportunity to escape from the cold winters in Australia to beautiful airlines in the Philippines including Siargao, Palawan, and Cebu. A woman is pictured at Siargao Island, known for its surfing breaks

The time stretch for flights from Melbourne must be between 14 August and 30 March.

Siargao is well-known for having some of the best surfing breaks in the Philippines, while Palawan is known for its aquatic wildlife and home to the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River.

Cebu is known as for its beautiful white-sand beaches, spectacular diving and vibrant bars.

But there is a catch - Siargao is 800 kilometers southeast of Manila, Palawan is 636km from the capital and Cebu is 570km away.

The Cebu Pacific sale ends on 24 May.

The time stretch for flights from Melbourne must be between 14 August and 30 March. A woman is pictured enjoying the waters in Santa Fe, Cebu, PhilippinesThousands of Australians fear they could miss out on the flu vaccine as record numbers flock to protect themselves against the virus.

An increase of 25 to 30 per cent of people trying to get their hands on the vaccine which has 'impacted the availability of supplies'.

The shortage is despite availability increased by ten per cent.

Nationwide flu vaccine shortage as record numbers of people flock out to protect themselves against the virus (stock image)

One company who makes the vaccine has already fufilled their order for the Federal government, according to Seven News.

In a statement on the Department of Health website Australias Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Hobbs said: 'The Department of Health is working closely with states and territories to monitor availability of vaccines.

'The Department of Health is also working closely with companies to ensure additional vaccines are brought into Australia.'

The Australian Government made 5.1 million doses available through the National Immunisation Program (NIP) in 2018.

According to the Department of Health the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) released 9.6 million doses of the vaccine across the NIP, state programs and the private market.

This is a 1.3 million increase on last year.

But according to Seven News , one company who makes the vaccine has already fufilled their order for the Federal government (stock image)

The Chief Medical Officer is ensuring as much of the vaccine is being brought to Australia as possible.

The Department advised that through NIP additional doses of trivalent influenza vaccines and quadrivalent influenza vaccines will be available.

Anyone who hasn't been vaccinated is urged to contact their GP.Meghan Markle's estranged family have uploaded photos of their time in London after being snubbed from the wedding guest list.

The newlywed's former sister-in-law Tracy Dooley and her son, Meghan's nephew Tyler, arrived in the UK ahead of the nuptials last week.

The pair were set to appear on Good Morning Britain as commentators on Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry but were dropped by ITV at the last minute.

Despite the rebuff however, they have been documenting their time in the capital, enjoying British classics including Toad-in-the-hole, posing at landmarks and alongside cardboard cut outs of the royal family.

Meghan's cannabis-growing nephew was caught trying to take a knife into a London club on Sunday claiming he brought the blade because Donald Trump warned the capital was like a 'war zone'.

It is also reported that he handed police a pepper spray when officers arrived, according to Sky News.

Photos uploaded to Tracy Dooley's Facebook page show her in London bars and pubs

Meghan's nephew Tyler Dooley, 25, enjoyed the pub-grub classic Toad-in-the-hole

The pair were joined by their friend Ronnie Tanner, pictured here at Hampton Court Palace

Tyler Dooley, 25, was one of a number of the Duchess of Sussex's family to fly into the UK and try to cash in on her big day despite not being invited to the royal wedding.

But he ran into trouble in the early hours of Sunday morning at Kingston nightclub Bacchus after he surrendered the four-inch lock-blade knife to club bouncers.

He reportedly said he brought the weapon from the US to London because President Trump had warned that the city is 'like a war zone'.

The Met said they were called to Bacchus but he reportedly 'ran off' before they arrived and Scotland Yard has confirmed they would not be taking any further action.

Mr Dooley's attempts to make money off the back of his tenuous link to Meghan includes trying to sell a new strain of cannabis he has called Markle's Sparkle from his Oregon farm.

Despite being snubbed from the guest list, the mother and son have clearly been enjoying their time in the capital

Tyler Dooley (seen far left arriving at Heathrow) said he brought the knife from the US to London because President Trump had warned that the city is 'like a war zone'

Tracy Dooley has uploaded several pictures, including this one from Hampton Court Palace Golf Club

Tyler Dooley and his American girlfriend (above) spend part of the royal wedding festivities rocking out to a cover of Oasis' Don't Look Back In Anger at Druids Head in Kingston

They have been posing at landmarks and alongside cardboard cut outs and masks of the royal family

Dooley clan then headed to nearby Bacchus (above), a pulsating late-night dance club. Bouncers were taken aback when Tyler Dooley announced he had a knife

Tyler Dooley (above) is a legal pot farmer from Oregon. He was not invited to the royal wedding but flew to London and was busted with a knife by club bouncers hours after the ceremony

Tracy has been sharing tourist photographs during her time in London

Tracy shared this image, captioning it: 'The after party is always the best!'

Dooley, 25, was not invited to the royal wedding, but was celebrating in Kingston, southwest of London, early Sunday when he surrendered the four-inch lock-blade knife to club bouncers,The Sun reported.

The incident occurred after midnight at nightclub Bacchus, where Dooley was celebrating with his girlfriend, mother Tracy and older brother TJ.

Dooley, a legal marijuana farmer from Oregon, and his family arrived in London earlier in the week and had planned to appear on Good Morning Britain as commentators on Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry. They were dropped by ITV on Thursday, however.

Cut out of the official post-wedding celebrations at Frogmore House in Windsor, the Dooley clan apparently decided to observe the occasion by barhopping in Kingston.

Video of the evening shows the Dooleys rocking out in the Druids Head, as rock band The Jaxx play a cover of the Oasis hit single Don't Look Back In Anger.

Later, the family would cross Kingston's market square to Bacchus, a pulsating late-night dance club.

'They were all obviously a bit tipsy from celebrating the wedding, but not in bad spirits,' a witness told the Sun.

'As Tyler came up to the bouncer, he said, "I have a knife on me." He pulled it out and handed it to the staff,' the source added.

The Duchess of Sussex's nephew explained to the bouncers that 'hed brought it from America because Donald Trump had said London wasnt safe.'

Earlier this month, Trump claimed that knife crime in London is so bad that one unnamed hospital is 'like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds' with 'blood all over the floors'.

Police figures for London show a 44 per cent increase in homicide for the year ending in April 2018, as well as a 21 per cent increase in knife crime.

TJ (left), Tracy and and Tyler Dooley (right) had been scheduled to appear on Good Morning Britain to comment on the royal wedding, but were dropped by ITV on Thursday

The Dooley clan are seen out on the town on their eventful trip to London for the royal wedding

Bouncers at Bacchus were not impressed by Dooley's explanation, however.

'They acted very calmly and dialed 999 and thats when some local guys told him hed get arrested. At that point he ran off,' the source said.

It is illegal to carry knives in public in the UK, unless they are folding knives with a blade under three inches. Police do not consider lock knives to be folding, since the blade does not always immediately fold.

It's unclear if Dooley would have broken any laws by bringing the blade into the country from the US, as he allegedly told bouncers he did.

London's Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement that they were called to the club at around 1.55am on Sunday.

Cops said they recovered the knife from bouncers but no arrest was made, as the suspect had left the scene.

Tyler Dooley is seen arriving at the family hotel in Waterloo on Wednesday

Dooley's brother TJ is said to have returned to the scene to apologize and attempt to explain the incident to bouncers.

When a reporter from the Sun approached the Dooleys at the DoubleTree hotel in Kingston, the family declined to comment and hid inside a utility closet.

Mother Tracy Dooley was married to Meghan's half-brother Tom Markle Jr, and Meghan used to babysit the elder brother TJ as a child.

Tyler Dooley, through the company he runs with his mother, has introduced a specialty cannabis strain called 'Markle Sparkle'.

The family were bound back for America on Sunday night, according to Tracy Dooley's Facebook posts.

'Had a great time mate!' she wrote. 'We had loads of fun in London.'A man dubbed the 'poo jogger' has been charged after he defecated on a public pathway for over a year.

Brisbane residents complained after the mysterious morning runner would squat and relieve himself on the public pathway which lead to their apartment block.

After a year of torment, the Greenslopes community rallied together to snap a photo of the offender.

A man dubbed the 'poo jogger' has been charged after he defecated on a public pathway for over a year

Photographer Steve Smith waited at dawn to catch the jogger in the middle of his bizarre morning ritual.

He ran past the block three times in one week before he was snapped defecating on the pathway.

'I started sitting out there in the dark and waiting, and I decided I was going to get a photo of this guy. I patiently waited each morning for a few minutes until eventually I got that photo,' Mr Smith told the Courier Mail.

The image was posted on to Facebook after the furious resident snapped the man while he was relieving himself

Mr Smith posted the image on Facebook in the attempt to identify the 'poo jogger'.

The image captured the grey-haired man squatting over the pathway clutching a piece of toilet paper.

A Queensland Police spokesperson said the 64-year-old jogger has been charged with being a public nuisance.

He will face the Holland Park Magistrates Court on June 4.The Northern Territory has hinted it wants to be the first part of Australia where people can legally buy and smoke weed.

Labor Chief Minister Michael Gunner compared decriminalising marijuana to Australia's drawn-out debate on legalising same sex marriage.

'At the moment, we have shown that we're not always as progressive as other parts of the world  you only have to look at the same sex marriage debate,' he told reporters today.

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The Northern Territory has hinted it wants to be the first part of Australia where people can buy and smoke weed

'We're probably behind the conversation in some respects around how you handle drugs in this country.'

The Northern Territory leader's call to legalise cannabis for personal use came after Colorado and California in the United States recently allowed people to grow and carry 28 grams of marijuana.

Mr Gunner said drug law reform in the U.S. was likely to have flow-on effects in Australia, and made the call a day after his government confirmed cabinet was discussing allowing the industrial cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

'No one in Australia has done it yet. Quite a few American states have. I do think it's going to become a more common topic in Australia,' he said.

Labor Chief Minister Michael Gunner compared decriminalising marijuana to Australia's drawn-out debate on legalising same sex marriage

The Northern Territory leader's call to legalise cannabis came after Colorado and California in the United States recently allowed people to grow and carry 28 grams of marijuana

In March a Victorian parliamentary inquiry called for marijuana liberalisation, arguing legalised cannabis could be regulated so it had child-proof packaging and was only available for sale to adults.

Possessing marijuana is illegal in every state and territory, however the Greens and Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm have called for this to change.

In South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, offenders caught with small amounts of cannabis pay a fine and avoid criminal charges.

In other Australian states, repeat offenders are charged after cautions and treatment programs fail.

In March a Victorian parliamentary inquiry called for drug law reform, arguing cannabis could be regulated so it had child-proof packaging and was only available for sale to adults

In South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, offenders caught with small amounts of cannabis pay a fine and avoid criminal charges

In the United States, Colorado allows people aged 21 or older to grow and carry 28 grams of cannabis.

California this year allowed adults to buy a similar quantity of marijuana for personal use.

Federally, both major parties in Australia support medicinal cannabis however they have drawn the line at recreational marijuana use.

In 1995, the Northern Territory became the first jurisdiction in the world to pass a law allowing voluntary euthanasia.

This was two years before assisted suicide for the terminally ill was legalised in the U.S. state of Oregon and six years before it was allowed in The Netherlands and Belgium.

However, the Howard government in 1997 overturned those Northern Territory laws which allowed a doctor to euthanase a terminally-ill person with their consent.A selfie with Uluru, the Sydney Opera House or the Great Barrier Reef in the background is a must for international travellers when they visit Australia.

Not for this Belgian tourist.

Instead of the usual photos of Australia's landmarks or cuddling a koala, he went down a different route by taking a series of selfies with road warning signs featuring our native wildlife.

Among those pictured in the warning signs include a koala, kangaroo, camel, emu, brumby, cow, turtle and tree kangaroo.

This Belgian tourist's montage of selfies with wildlife warning signs in Australia has gone viral on social media

None of the usual Australian tourist landmarks were featured in the montage

It appears North Queensland was on the itinerary with a selfie in front of a warning sign about marine stingers.

The tourist recently posted a nine photo montage of his Australian memories on social media forum Reddit.

'Last year's trip to Australia, love from Belgium,' the tourist posted.

The post has since gone viral and sparked more than 430 comments.

Warning signs for koalas, kangaroos, camels, emus, brumbies (pictured), cows, turtles, tree kangaroos and marine stingers were featured in this tourist's selfies of his Australian holiday

The photo montage has since gone viral and sparked more than 430 comments

'I see you've visited all our major landmarks, well done! I must get out and do the tour one day,' one man commented.

Another added: 'Great pics! We do have a lot of surprising signs when you head into the country or outback. Did you see any cool animals? I would love to see a tree kangaroo but it is so rare, I doubt I ever would. Ive never seen a brumby either.'

Others would have liked to have seen more landmarks in the photos.

'I don't see a giant pineapple in any of those pictures,' one person commented

Another added: 'Do not forget the giant banana outside of Coffs Harbour.'A truck driver has posted shocking footage online showing the various close calls he encounters due to careless drivers on a regular basis.

The New Zealand based driver posted the compilation video to social media in an effort to highlight the risky behaviour putting lives at risk on the highway.

The incidents filmed between 2015 and 2018 shows cars crossing the dividing lines and driving on the wrong side of the highway, some in wet weather, coming within inches of colliding with oncoming traffic.

A truck driver has posted shocking footage online showing the various close calls he encounters due to careless drivers on a regular basis

Some incidences even show cars overtaking on yellow-lined corners where there is no view of oncoming traffic and drivers having to swerve or pull to the shoulder of the road in order to avoid collisions.

Viewers have responded to the post on social media with most appalled at the footage.

'And this is why our road toll is so high. You can get to your destination if your dead people. You only gain 5-10min if your lucky is it worth the risk?,' one user wrote.

Others users praised the truck driver saying his quick thinking saved lives.

'This truckie deserves an award due to his actions at least five idiots and there passengers are still alive!,' said one commenter.

'Glad to see you pulling left rather than pushing the cars into head ons. Thank you on behalf of all these drivers,'said another.

Some incidences show cars overtaking where there is no view of oncoming traffic and drivers having to swerve or pull to the shoulder of the road in order to avoid collisions



Jetstar is selling a limited release of super cheap flights to some of Asia's most popular holiday destinations.

The budget airline has announced its 'savour Asia' sale, which includes one-way flights from Melbourne to Singapore from $179.

A trip from Sydney or Melbourne to the Thai island of Phuket can be snagged from $219, while a flight from the Gold Coast to Tokyo will cost $269.

The budget airline has announced its 'savour Asia' sale, which includes one-way flights from Melbourne to Singapore (pictured) from $179

A flight to Tokyo will cost $269 from the Gold Coast and as little as $199 from Cairns

The timing of the sale will suit those keen to escape the Australian winter and travel to warmer climates, though the fares are limited to selected dates.

Flights to Bali departing Sydney will cost as little as $235 and $135 from Perth, while journeys to Ho Chi Minh City from Sydney and Melbourne are going for $239.

The fares are for one-way trips only - with return flights costing significantly more - and checked baggage is not included.

The sale runs from Monday until 11:59pm AEST on Wednesday, unless sold out prior.

A trip from Sydney or Melbourne to the Thai island of Phuket (pictured) can be snagged from $219

Flights from Melbourne to Bangkok (pictured) are selling from $209 in Jetstar's 'savour Asia' saleWestern Australia Police have ramped up their frantic search for a grandfather with dementia, who has now been missing for 48 hours.

Ian Collett, 65, hasn't been seen by his worried family since he left his Canning Vale home in Perth's south at around 12.15pm on Saturday to go for a walk.

He was spotted several hours later more than 20 kilometres away on Soldiers Road in Byford in Perth's southeast at 3.30pm.

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Western Australia Police hold grave concerns for grandfather Ian Collett, 65, who has not been seen since Saturday afternoon

This dashcam footage of Ian Collett trying to hitch a ride is the last confirmed sighting of him

A motorist gave him a lift to a 7-11 service station on Abernethy Road, where he was captured on CCTV drinking from a McDonalds cup and wearing a jacket not believed to be his, Seven News reports.

Witnesses told police they saw him an hour later walking on Hopkinson Road in Oakford before Thomas Road.

Seven News obtained dashcam footage showing Mr Collett trying to hitch a ride on Thomas Road at around 4.34pm.

It's his last confirmed sighting.

A motorist gave Ian Collett (pictured) a lift to a 7-11 service station on Abernethy Road on Saturday morning, where he was captured on CCTV drinking from a McDonalds cup and wearing a jacket not believed to be his

The temperature plummeted to five degrees in the area on Sunday morning and 6.7 degrees that night.

On Monday, Western Australian Police posted on its Facebook page that it had information to believe Mr Collett may be in Bedfordale, a semi-rural suburb in Perth's southeast.

'Police would like all residents in the area to check their properties for him,' the Facebook post states.

'SES volunteers will join police, including mounted officers, to search for Mr Collett in the Byford/Armadale areas today.'

Ian Collett's distraught family spoke to the media on Sunday

Mr Collett's distraught wife Deborah has been part of the desperate search.

'I assumed he's gone for a walk, got disoriented, I don't know,' she told media on Sunday.

Mrs Collett said he is a fit man who walks two or three times a day but fears his feet will be very sore and said he struggles to express pain.

Mr Collett is described as fair skinned, slim build, 176cm tall with grey hair.

He was last seen wearing a black jacket and black tracksuit pants, and wears a Dementia medical bracelet.

Anyone who sees Mr Collett is urged to call police on 131 444.Roger Stone, the self-described Republican political dirty trickster and supporter of President Donald Trump, says he is prepared in case he is indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

I am prepared should that be the case, Stone told NBCs Meet The Press.

But I think it just demonstrates, again, this was supposed to be about Russian collusion, and it appears to be an effort to silence or punish the presidents supporters and his advocates.

Stone said that since Mueller has found no evidence whatsoever of Russian collusion, he may try to pin him on other unrelated crimes.

It is not inconceivable now that Mr. Mueller and his team may seek to conjure up some extraneous crime pertaining to my business, or maybe not even pertaining to the 2016 election, Stone said.

Roger Stone, the self-described Republican political dirty trickster and supporter of President Donald Trump, says he is prepared in case he is indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller

I would chalk this up to an effort to silence me.

Stone said that neither he nor his lawyer have been contacted by Mueller.

He said he doesnt know if the special counsel considers him an interesting person or a person of interest.

While Stone has yet to be called for an interview, he said that eight of his current and former associates have been terrorized by the investigation.

Stone has denied any role in colluding with Russia or WikiLeaks, which published a trove of emails from Democratic Party officials that were hacked during the 2016 campaign.

He said he had no advance notice of the content, source, or the exact disclosure time of the Wikileaks disclosures.

Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, says Stone is a liar.

Roger Stone is known for a lot of things, candor isnt really one of them, Schiff told Meet the Press.

Either his testimony before our committee was untrue, our his public statements are untrue.

Stone, a longtime adviser to Trump (left), said that since Mueller (right) has found no evidence whatsoever of Russian collusion, he may try to pin him on other unrelated crimes.

Both cannot be fact because theyre inconsistent with each other. We were never allowed to find out which was the case in our committee.

The House Intelligence Committee, which is led by the Republicans, closed its investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Last week, Mueller issued two subpoenas to a social media expert who worked for Stone during the 2016 presidential election campaign.

The subpoenas were delivered to lawyers representing Jason Sullivan, a social media and Twitter specialist Stone hired to work for an independent political action committee he set up to support Trump, Knut Johnson, a lawyer for Sullivan, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The subpoenas suggest that Mueller, who is probing Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, is focusing in part on Stone and whether he might have had advance knowledge of material allegedly hacked by Russian intelligence and sent to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who published it.

Stone appeared before the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee last September and denied allegations of collusion between the president's associates and Russia during the election.

'I am aware of no evidence whatsoever of collusion by the Russian state or anyone in the Trump campaign,' Stone told reporters at the time.

According to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation, Mueller also has been probing whether anyone associated with the Trump campaign may have helped Assange or the Russians time or target the release of hacked emails and other social media promoting Trump or critical of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment. Russia has denied interfering in the election.

President Trump has repeatedly denied his campaign colluded with Russia.

Sullivan told Reuters that he heads Cyphoon.com, a social media firm, and 'worked on the Trump campaign serving as Chief Strategist directly to Roger J. Stone Jr.'

'Welcome To The Age of Weaponized Social Media,' said a strategy document Sullivan prepared for Stone and seen by Reuters. He described a 'system' he devised for creating Twitter 'swarms' as 'an army of sophisticated, hyper-targeted direct tweet automation systems driven by outcomes-based strategies derived from REAL-TIME actionable insights.'

For example, at 6:43 a.m. local time on Election Day in 2016, Trump tweeted, 'TODAY WE MAKE AMERICAN GREAT AGAIN'. Trump's message soon was retweeted more than 343,000 times, and in an interview last year, Sullivan told Reuters that the swarm helped overcome a surge in pro-Clinton social media postings and boost voter turnout for Trump.

Stone on Tuesday repeated his public denials that he had an inside track to WikiLeaks or others who hacked or published Democratic Party and Clinton-related emails and said no one from Mueller's team has tried to contact him.

One of the two subpoenas delivered last week requests that Sullivan appear before a grand jury on May 18 at the Federal Courthouse in Washington, D.C. The other orders Sullivan to bring documents, objects and electronically stored information.Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called off his re-election campaign's plans to raffle off a shotgun, in the aftermath of the school shooting that killed 10 people last week.

On Monday, the Republican governor's campaign announced that it would replace the shotgun raffle with a $250 gift certificate.

The move came after 17-year-old high school student Dimitrios Pagourtzis was charged for gunning down fellow students and teachers at his rural school Friday in the conservative state.

With an image of Abbott looking down the barrel of a shotgun, the governor's campaign website had been raffling off a 'Texas-made shotgun'. That image was also removed.

'As governor, Greg Abbott expanded 2nd Amendment rights, signing into law "campus carry" and "open carry,"' his website touts, referring to controversial policies that allow for the public carrying of firearms, including on state college campuses.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called off his re-election campaign's plans to raffle off a shotgun, in the aftermath of the school shooting that killed 10 people last week

On Monday, the Republican governor's campaign announced that it would replace the shotgun raffle with a $250 gift certificate. A photograph of the governor aiming a shotgun was also removed. The governor visits a small memorial at Santa Fe High School on Sunday

With an image of Abbott looking down the barrel of a shotgun, the governor's campaign website had been raffling off a 'Texas-made shotgun'. That image was also removed. The governor meets young people at the Arcadia First Baptist Church in Santa Fe

Gun ownership is a point of pride in Texas and legal restrictions on firearms are considered politically untenable.

Texas organizers with March For Our Lives - the pro-gun control movement sparked after 17 were killed at a Parkland, Florida high school - criticized Abbott's raffle over the weekend.

'We find this a disgusting display of disregard of the toll gun violence takes,' the group said on Twitter, adding Monday that it was gratified by the change.

Abbott, who has focused on mental health issues and arming school personnel, reacted to the Santa Fe shooting by calling for a series of roundtable discussions on school safety, starting Tuesday in Austin.

The move came after high school student Dimitrios Pagourtzis (pictured), 17, was charged for gunning down fellow students and teachers at his rural school Friday

He said last week that he wants to find ways to keep guns away from those who pose an 'immediate danger to others'.

Texas has more than 1.2 million licensed handgun owners who can openly carry their weapons in public.

The state hosted the National Rifle Association's annual meeting two weeks ago.

Guns are so hard-wired into Texas culture that last week's deadly rampage at Santa Fe High School is considered unlikely to result in any significant restrictions on access to weapons in the Lone Star State.

But the state's 20-year dominance by the Republican Party all but guarantees the meetings will be dominated by calls to boost school security and 'harden' campuses - an idea backed by the NRA - instead of demands for gun restrictions, said Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

That's in sharp contrast to the response to the February 14 shooting rampage at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead.

Three weeks after the bloodbath, Florida politicians defied the NRA and passed a gun control package after a lobbying campaign led by student survivors of the attack.

'The difference in Texas is the Republican Party is in complete control. It is unchallenged at the state level,' Jillson said.

'Even the young people from Santa Fe are not full-throated advocates of gun control to keep the children safe.'

In fact, at a church service Sunday, Santa Fe High student Monica Bracknell, who survived the shooting, told Abbott the attack should not be turned into a battle over gun control.

'People are making this into a political issue,' she said. 'This is not a political issue. It's not a gun-law issue.'

Similarly, Callie Wylie, a 16-year-old Santa Fe High student who dropped off flowers Monday at a memorial for the shooting victims, said the violence is not a 'gun problem.'

Abbott (pictured), who has focused on mental health issues and arming school personnel, reacted to the Santa Fe shooting by calling for a series of roundtable discussions on school safety, starting Tuesday in Austin

Abbott said last week that he wants to find ways to keep guns away from those who pose an 'immediate danger to others'. A makeshift memorial for the victims of the shooting is seen outside Santa Fe High School

Mourners gather at the makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims killed in the shooting

'Obviously things need to change. Something needs to happen. This has happened way too much,' Wylie said.

'But I don't think at this time people need to be pushing politics on us and telling us, 'Oh, this is gun control.''

Sentiments like those could give Abbott political cover if his roundtable discussions don't lead to major changes.

Pagourtzis was jailed on murder charges in Friday's attack. Authorities said the Santa Fe High student opened fire with his father's shotgun and .38-caliber handgun.

Gun control advocates around the country have long pressed for such measures as expanded background checks and a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, but such measures would probably have had no effect on the Santa Fe High shooting.

Abbott has said he wants the roundtable discussions to include lawmakers, educators, students, parents, gun-rights advocates and survivors of the November church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that killed two dozen people.

Tuesday's meeting will include officials from school districts that arm some teachers or contract with local police for security. The governor's office said most of the meeting will be held in private.

Gun control advocates around the country have long pressed for such measures as expanded background checks and a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. A billboard is seen off of I-45 near Santa Fe, Texas

Abbott has said he wants the roundtable discussions to include lawmakers, educators, students, parents, gun-rights advocates and survivors of the November church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that killed two dozen people. Officers at the scene on Friday

Abbott and Texas Republicans have embraced a steady relaxation of guns laws in recent years. Since 2013, Texas has reduced the cost and hours of training needed to be licensed to carry a handgun, allowed 'open carry' for handgun license holders, and allowed concealed handguns in college classrooms and dorms.

In 2015, Abbott tweeted that it was 'embarrassing' that Texas lagged behind California in gun sales. In 2017, he bragged about his accuracy with a pistol at a shooting range.

After the Florida tragedy, President Donald Trump organized discussions on how to prevent school shootings and at least mentioned the idea of limiting gun sales, though little concrete came out of those. Abbott so far has committed to even less.

Texas holds primary runoffs Tuesday, but the Santa Fe shooting is not expected to be a deciding factor in any major race, just as the Sutherland Springs massacre barely registered as a campaign issue before last week.

And it's not just Republicans. Former Dallas County Sherriff Lupe Valdez, who is favored to win Tuesday's Democratic gubernatorial runoff and face Abbott in November, has called for stricter background checks and closing of gun sale loopholes.

But she was quick to add: 'That doesn't mean I'm against guns. I've worn a gun over 40 years. It means I'm against stupidity.'

In a letter to the governor on Monday, Democratic state lawmakers urged Abbott to consider gun control measures that failed to pass in previous sessions.

Still, Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a lawyer who is favored to win a runoff for the Democratic nomination in a potentially flippable, Republican-held congressional district in Houston, not far from where Friday's shooting took place, refrained from criticizing the governor for not doing more than organizing discussions.

'I hope that these discussions move us closer to real reform,' Fletcher said Monday. 'Our lives depend on it.'A husband and wife accused of sending their daughters to Africa to undergo genital mutilation have pleaded not guilty to the charge in a Queensland court.

The trial for the couple, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, began at Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday, with each facing two counts of removing a child from Queensland for genital mutilation.

It's the first instance of a criminal case reaching the state's courts under laws that came into effect 18 years ago banning female genital mutilation.

A husband and wife accused of sending their daughters to Africa to undergo genital mutilation have pleaded not guilty to the charge in a Queensland court

The pair, born in Africa, are accused of sending the two girls to Africa for the procedure in April 2015, when the children were nine and 12.

The trial is expected to last up to five days.President Donald Trump praised new CIA Director Gina Haspel at her swearing-in ceremony Monday, saying there was 'no one in this country better qualified' for the job.

Striking a different tone than in his previous visit to the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Northern Virginia, Trump hailed the agency staffers, calling them the 'most elite intelligence professionals on the planet' and promised them the 'the tools, the resources and the support they need.'

She was confirmed by the Senate in a 54-45 vote, despite the deep reservations of some lawmakers about her past involvement in the torture of terror suspects in the post-9/11 era.

President Donald Trump gives new CIA director Gina Haspel a hug after Vice President Mike Pence swore her into office.

President Trump praised new CIA director Gina Haspel and her agency's staff during his visit to CIA heaquarters.

Trump said she showed courage during the process in the face of 'very negative politics.'

Haspel said she took pride in being the first woman to lead the agency, adding: 'I stand on the shoulders of heroines who never sought public acclaim, but served as inspirations to the generations that came after them.'

Haspel said she wants to send more officers into the field, improve foreign language proficiency among the ranks and strengthen the agency's working relationships with intelligence agencies in partner nations.

The 61-year-old Haspel, a Russia specialist who spent her career in the Central Intelligence Agency's clandestine service, takes over from Mike Pompeo, whom Trump recently made his secretary of state.

When Trump last visited the CIA headquarters in 2017, he spent much of his remarks at the time focused on settling scores with the media. Last year Trump made those comments in front of a wall in the headquarters marked with stars that represented fallen CIA officers. This year, he paid tribute to the lost lives, saying 'their stories of service and sacrifice and daring will live for all time.'

Incoming Central Intelligence Agency director Gina Haspel is sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo holds the bible and President Donald Trump looks on.

Incoming CIA director Gina Haspel faced a tough confirmation process and President Trump said she showed courage throughout it in the face of 'very negative politics.'

Hours before Trump visited CIA headquarters, he struck a different tone, promoting criticism of former CIA Director John Brennan and suggesting Brennan is to blame for the Russia probe.

On Twitter Monday, Trump referenced comments from conservative commentator Dan Bongino on 'Fox and Friends,' which argued that Brennan 'started this entire debacle.' Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, also said Brennan had 'disgraced the intelligence community.'

Brennan became the agency's director in 2013 under President Barack Obama and served until January 2017. He has been a vocal critic of Trump.A dangerous sex offender has admitted repeatedly raping a 13-year-old girl in Western Australia more than 20 years ago following a cold case review.

Patrick Alfred Comeagain, who now uses the surname Merritt, was due to stand trial in the Western Australian District Court on Monday charged with eight offences over the November 1994 crimes.

He pleaded not guilty, but after an adjournment he changed his plea moments before the victim was due to testify.

A dangerous sex offender has admitted repeatedly raping a 13-year-old girl in Western Australia more than 20 years ago following a cold case review

Merritt covered his face, entered the girl's bedroom, grabbed the back of her head and told her: 'Do what I tell you.'

He then dragged the girl out of her Geraldton home and repeatedly raped her in nearby bushes before running away.

The court heard Merritt was jailed for 10 years in 1995 for similar offences committed three days after his attack on the girl.

Merritt has a long history of violent sexual assaults against girls and women, and was declared a dangerous sex offender in 2008.

He was released from prison on a supervision order in 2014, but repeatedly breached the strict terms and was placed back behind bars indefinitely.

Merritt will face a sentencing hearing on Thursday.

Patrick Alfred Comeagain, who now uses the surname Merritt, was due to stand trial in the WA District Court on Monday charged with eight offences over the November 1994 crimes



A millionaire philanthropist and Order of Australia recipient has been accused of indecently assaulting two women who were caring for him at his home.

Aron Kleinlehrer, 96, allegedly kissed the women aged 21 and 32 on the lips and touched their breasts, buttocks and vagina.

The alleged assaults took place at his home in Vaucluse in Sydney's exclusive eastern suburbs.

Court documents state Mr Kleinlehrer is accused of kissing the women while they were employed to care for him between April and December last year.

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Aron Kleinlehrer, 96, allegedly kissed the women aged 21 and 32 on the lips and touched their breasts, buttocks and vagina

The alleged assaults took place at his home in Vaucluse in Sydney's exclusive eastern suburbs

His lawyer Nancy Mikhaiel appeared on Mr Kleinlehrer's behalf at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday.

'We are getting him assessed for fitness. He needs MRIs and brain scans,' she told the Daily Telegraph.

Hearings will be held on September 14 and 21 in relation to the alleged victims.

Mr Kleinlehrer received the Order of Australia medal in this year's Australia Day honours list for his contributions to Emanuel School in Randwick, Sydney as well as supporting Opera Australia, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Ballet.

He helped buy the school's site in 1984 and in 2007 the Aron Kleinhehrer Performing Arts Centre was opened.

Mr Kleinlehrer received the Order of Australia medal in this year's Australia Day honours list for his contributions to Emanuel School in Randwick

He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges. They include three counts of assault with act of indecency, one count of aggravated indecency and four counts of aggravated indecent assault.

Mr Kleinlehrer was born in Poland, and immigrated to Australia from Germany in 1949.

At the time of receiving his honour on Australia Day, he said he was 'overwhelmed'.

Construction is underway on a new building at Emanuel School which is to be named after his wife Helen, who died in 2015.An Australian killed in a rafting accident in New Zealand has been named as a respected child abuse detective, Joshua Paroci

An Australian tourist killed in a horror rafting accident in New Zealand has been identified as a respected child abuse detective from New South Wales.

Joshua Paroci, 31, was killed on Saturday after a raft carrying a group of six Australians flipped on rapids at Skippers Canyon, north of Queenstown.

Challenge Rafting said its staff tried to pull Mr Paroci from the water, but he lost his grip on a rescue rope and was swept down the river.

He was unable to be resuscitated, despite CPR attempts, the use of a defibrillator, and treatment from a paramedic.

Mr Paroci joined the NSW Police force in 2008 and was most recently working at the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad.

Joshua Paroci, 31, was killed on Saturday after a raft carrying a group of six Australians flipped on rapids at Skippers Canyon (pictured)

Commissioner Mick Fuller extended condolences to the Paroci family on behalf of the force.

'The hardest part of my job is when we lose one of our own and my thoughts are with Det S/C Paroci's wife, who is also a police officer, family, friends and colleagues,' he said.

'Det S/C Paroci was well respected by all those who knew him and the police family will rally around his loved ones during this difficult time.'

Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad Commander, Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec, said Mr Paroci was an excellent detective who will be sorely missed.

Mr Paroci joined the NSW Police force in 2008 and was most recently working at the State Crime Command's Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad

'Professionally, Josh was a tireless worker; dedicated to investigating some of the most heinous crimes against children,' Det Supt Kerlatec said.

'His passion was justice for victims. Not only was he a police officer, he was completing a law degree, which he intended to use to create better outcomes for young victims.

'Josh was inspirational, and everywhere he worked, he turned colleagues into mates; today, we mourn the loss of our good mate.'

A post-mortem examination will be undertaken in Invercargill on Monday as police and Maritime NZ continue to investigate what happened.

The surviving Australian rafters were taken to Lakes District Hospital by helicopter, where they were evaluated and offered counselling.A search is underway for a man detectives believe will be able to assist them with their investigation into the alleged abduction of a 12-year-old boy on the Gold Coast hinterland earlier this month.

The boy was allegedly dragged into a dark hatchback car and abducted from Clover Hill Drive in Mudgeeraba on May 11, sparking a frantic 24-hour search.

The boy was located the following day in the northern New South Wales town of Grafton.

A 53-year-old man has already been charged in relation to the matter.

Zhen Jie Zhang was remanded in custody and will reappear in court on June 5.

Queensland detectives want to find and speak to Yu (Sunny) Zhang (pictured) in relation to an alleged abduction on the Gold Coast earlier this month. Members of the public with information are urged not to approach him but to contact police immediately

Detectives said they are now searching for Yu (Sunny) Zhang, 20, who they believe may have information in relation to the matter.

'I won't get into detail on the level of the man's involvement due to the judicial process currently underway,' Detective Inspector Marc Hogan told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'Suffice to say investigators are satisfied to the point where they've sought and have an arrest warrant in place. Our intention will be to charge that person with the abduction of the child, if he's in another state we'll make an extradition application.'

The boy has reportedly since returned to school and is doing 'as well as can be expected', according to the publication.

Mr Zhang is described as Asian and slim build and is believed to frequent the Sydney area.

Members of the public with information about his whereabouts are urged not to approach him but to contact police immediately.

Anyone with information is urged to call Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.On a day when thousands of photos were beamed around the world, one is standing out.

Press Association photographer Yui Mok snapped the photo from directly above Prince Harry and Meghan's carriage following their wedding in St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on Saturday.

'I was positioned on the roof of George IV Gateway of Windsor Castle, and they passed directly beneath me during their carriage procession,' Mok explained to fans on Twitter.

'I had less than a one-second window to take that particular shot - whilst having to focus through a metal grill I was standing over - so was happy to get anything really!' said Mok.

Press Association photographer Yui Mok snapped photos from directly above Prince Harry and Meghan's carriage as it passed under the George IV Gateway of Windsor Castle

This is the photo that some are calling the best from the royal wedding. Twitter users pointed out that the newlyweds formed a heart shape in their carriage

Twitter users gushed over the photo, pointing out that Harry and Meghan's bodies form a heart shape inside the Ascot Landau carriage.

Poll Do you think Yui Mok's photo is the best picture from the royal wedding? Yes No Do you think Yui Mok's photo is the best picture from the royal wedding? Yes 4855 votes

No 8358 votes Now share your opinion





One even dubbed the photo 'Diana's View' of the royal wedding.

'I don't know who took this picture, but it's exquisite,' said one Twitter user.

'Some of the best shots are those that taken a more unusual angle. Excellent photo,' wrote journalist Natalie Marchant.

For the photo, Mok said he used a Canon 1Dx Mk2 camera and a 70-200mm lens.

He was also carrying a Cannon Pro Network 600mm F4 for other shots that day.

'Drones would never have been allowed anywhere near' the wedding, he pointed out.

Because he was shooting from a vantage with limited access, Mok was a pool photographer for the wedding, meaning his photos from the wedding were shared among news outlets and seen around the world.

Another photo by Yui Mok shows the newlyweds approaching the gate in the carriage

Mok captured Prince Harry and Meghan exchanging a tender kiss during the carriage ride

Mok has been a staff photographer for Press Association, a British news agency, since 2000, covering news, royals, politics and more in the UK and around the world.

The veteran snapper made sure to give credit to the PA photo desk, who were working overtime on Saturday.

The photo desk, Mok explained, 'crop and tidy up the raw images that we send to them directly from our cameras on big jobs like this, before they are issued to the wider world.

'They tend to be unsung, whilst photographers end up grabbing all the glory.'Police have launched a desperate search for missing teenager Erin Norman, and are calling for the public to help locate her.

The 16-year-old vanished from Box Hill, in Melbourne's east, on 9 May, and was last seen in the area around 8pm.

Erin stands 168cm tall with a medium build, and has faded red hair down to her shoulders.

An image released by police shows the teenager with brown hair and blonde tips.

The 16-year-old (pictured) vanished from Box Hill on 9 May

She was last seen wearing grey track pants, a grey hoodie, and a pair of black runners.

Erin is known to regularly visit the St Albans, Melbourne CBD, Ringwood and Box Hill areas.

Anyone who sees Erin or knows of her current whereabouts is being urged to contact Box Hill Police Station on 8892 3200.Pope Francis allegedly told a gay man: 'That you are gay does not matter. God made you like that and he loves you like that'

Pope Francis told a gay man that 'God made you like that' and that being homosexual 'does not matter', it has been reported.

Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim of sexual abuse by bishops in Chile, claims the Pope made the remark during a private meeting at the Vatican three weeks ago.

Cruz was invited to the city and to the Pope's private residence at Sancta Marta along with two other victims so the pontiff could apologise for failing to take their allegations seriously in the past.

During the meeting Cruz told Francis about being abused by Father Fernando Karadima and the fact that his sexuality had been used to discredit him.

Cruz told Spanish newspaper El Pais: 'He told me: "Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter.

"God made you like that and he loves you like that and I do not care. The Pope wants you like that, you have to be happy with who you are."'

Francis has been known for his tolerant views of homosexuality, telling a reporter in 2013 'who am I to judge?' when asked about a 'gay lobby' within the Vatican.

But his latest remark, if accurate, would mark an historic shift in attitudes towards homosexuality within the Catholic church.

A long-standing opponent of same-sex marriage and homosexual sex, the church has never even issued an official statement on whether it believes people are born gay or choose to become gay, Newsweek reports.

Following Francis' meeting with Cruz, all 34 of Chile's bishops offered to resign after years of denying abuse at the heart of the church.

The announcement followed four days of discussions in the Vatican, where the pope accused the bishops of 'grave negligence' in investigating allegations that children had been abused and saying evidence of sex crimes had been destroyed.

Juan Carlos Cruz claims the Pope made the statement during a four-day meeting to discuss sexual abuse that he suffered at the hands of priests in Chile

Apologising to the victims, the pope and to Chile for the failings of Chile's churchmen, Ramos said the bishops would all stay in their roles until Francis had decided what to do.

The scandal that has swirled around the Chilean church for more than 20 years erupted four months ago when the pope visited Chile, prompting questions about his response to the serious claims of abuse.

Chilean victims of abuse welcomed news the bishops were ready to stand down but insisted the Vatican should take further, punitive action against the bishops.

Juan Carlos Cruz, one of three Chilean victims invited by the pope to Rome earlier this month, said the 'corrupt' bishops should be replaced by those in the church who had helped abuse victims.

'There are very good people within the Chilean Church who could take over the reigns and repair the damage done by these corrupt bishops,' Cruz said in an interview.

Eneas Espinoza, a Chilean man who claims to have been abused while at a school run by the Marist brothers, called on the pope to pursue a canonical prosecution that could see them stripped of all titles and benefits.

'We want concrete, real action,' he said in an interview. 'I don't want my abuser to end up living in a plush retirement home.'

The scandal revolves around Father Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty in a 2011 Vatican investigation of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s. Now 87 and living in a nursing home in Chile, he has always denied any wrongdoing.

Victims accused Bishop Juan Barros of having witnessed the abuse but doing nothing to stop it. Barros, who was one of those who offered to stand down, has denied the allegations.

Friday's resignations came just four months after the pope had visited Chile in a trip that raised questions over his response to abuse scandals that have rocked the church over the past 17 years and his willingness to deal with the crisis.

During the visit, Pope Francis staunchly defended Barros, denouncing accusations against him as 'slander.'

But days after returning to Rome, the pope, citing new information, sent sexual abuse investigator Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to Chile to speak to victims, witnesses and other church members.A principal at an 'alternative school' is threatening to continue teaching despite the school facing deregistration.

Eagle Arts and Vocational College in Sydney accepts students who suffer from anxiety and depression, as well as those who face being homeless.

One student even attends class with her young child.

The school's principal Gab McIntosh says Year 12 students will be 'tipped on the streets' if a push to close the grade goes forward, told Nine News.

A principal at an 'alternative school' in Sydney is threatening to continue teaching despite the school's registration for year 12 expiring

The Board of NESA recommended the registration for Years 9 to 11 be cancelled and that the school's registration for Year 12 not be renewed.

'Many of our students suffer from anxiety and depression or continuing anger,' Ms McIntosh said.

'One of our year 12's has just had a baby, which she will bring to school. Other students are borderline homeless.'

Ms McIntosh told the network she is prepared to 'risk prosecution' to continuing teaching the students'.

She protested outside Parliament House, claiming the 'wonderful alternative schools' need to be kept open for 100 students across the state.

'Most of them will absolutely refuse to go back to a mainstream school,' she said.

'Mainstream schools do not satisfy their needs, they do not work in a cooperative manner with students with depression or anxiety and we are desperate to keep our school, which is free, open.'

Eagle Arts and Vocational College (pictured) principal Gab McIntosh told Nine News students in Year 12 at the school are being tipped on the streets.

A spokesperson for the Board of NESA told Daily Mail Australia the welfare and education of the students is at risk.

'The NESA Board found that the school is not complying with the requirements for teaching staff, curriculum and providing a safe and supportive environment,' he said in a statement.

'These are critical areas of operation. The school's non-compliance places the welfare and education of students at risk.

'The school lodged a complaint with the Anti-Discrimination Board (ADB). NESA advised the school and the ADB that it rejects the allegations.

'An initial hearing before NCAT was held on 5 April 2018 and those proceedings are continuing.'Fears have been raised today that Irish border checks after Brexit could spark violence - with a poll finding a fifth of Catholics would back protests.

A report found fierce resistance to tougher border restrictions either on the island of Island or between the province and the rest of Britain.

There was a 'strong expectation' that any dispute would 'quickly deteriorate into violence' with people threatening to block traffic and vandalise cameras, according to the UK in a Changing Europe study.

The future of the Irish border has emerged as critical in the Brexit negotiations, with the UK and the EU engaged in bitter wrangling over how to avoid imposing 'hard' customs checks.

Brussels has dismissed the government's options of either a customs partnership or a 'Maximum Facilitation' technological solution.

The future of the Irish border (pictured) has emerged as critical in the Brexit negotiations, with the UK and the EU wrangling over how to avoid imposing 'hard' customs checks

Theresa May (pictured at the Chelsea Flower Show today) has rejected the idea of drawing a border in the Irish sea, warning that breaking up the UK could never be acceptable

Meanwhile, Theresa May has rejected the idea of drawing a border in the Irish sea, warning that breaking up the UK could never be acceptable.

If the UK crashes of the bloc out without any kind of deal there would automatically be a hard border.

Brexit minister Steve Baker appeared to accuse Brussels of 'running a scam' to keep Britain tied to the bloc last night.

He retweeted a series of messages on Twitter pointing out that there are already border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The poll, conducted for the Economic and Social Research Council, found one in five Catholics found the possible use of cameras at the Irish border 'almost impossible to accept' and would support protests such as traffic being blocked.

Some 9 per cent of Catholics suggested they would support cameras being vandalised.

The report said: 'There is substantial and intense opposition to possible north-south border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and to east-west border checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

'There are strong expectations that protests against either north-south or east-west border checks would quickly deteriorate into violence.'

The research found 61 per cent of the population favoured the UK as a whole remaining in the customs union and single market.

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley (centre) visited the province with Brexit Secretary David Davis (on her right) and Business Secretary Greg Clark (on her left) yesterday

Some 69 per cent said they would vote Remain if there was another referendum - up from 56 per cent when the national ballot took place two years ago.

Catholics were much more likely to support a united Ireland if there was a 'hard exit' in which the UK left the customs union and single market.

A united Ireland was supported by 28 per cent of Catholics if the UK was to stay in the EU, while the figure rose to 53 per cent if there was a 'hard' exit with Britain leaving the customs union and single market.

Principal investigator John Garry, Professor of Political Behaviour at Queen's University Belfast, said: 'We find Catholics and Protestants most prefer the option that would avoid the need for any new barriers on borders.

'Either in the Irish Sea or across Ireland. They want the UK as a whole to stay in the customs union and single market.'

He added: 'However, what may surprise people is the extent to which Catholics oppose all borders within these islands.'

Writing on the Times website today, DUP leader Arlene Foster insisted the people of Northern Ireland did not want to see conflict.

DUP leader Arlene Foster has insisted the people of Northern Ireland do not want to see conflict returning

'Unionists want to live in harmony with their nationalist neighbours. They want to grow our economy and share prosperity. They want the next generation to live in better times,' she wrote.

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Business Secretary Greg Clark have been visiting Northern Ireland as part of their work on future customs arrangements with the EU after Brexit.

The trio met cross-border companies as part of their working group focusing on a proposed 'Max Fac' option for tackling one of the thorniest outstanding issues.

The Prime Minister has split her ministers into two teams as they work towards a reconciliation on how to manage arrangements with the EU after the exit.

One group - Brexiteers Liam Fox, Michael Gove and Remain-backing Cabinet Office minister David Lidington are considering a 'customs partnership' - which would see the UK collect tariffs on behalf of the EU.

A statement from the Brexit Department said: 'Both of the customs models currently under consideration are designed to meet the UK's three guiding principles: allowing us to trade goods and services as freely as possible with the EU, enable us to have an independent trade policy, and avoiding any hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland while maintaining the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom.'

What are the options on the table for a customs deal with the EU?

With time ticking away on the Brexit negotiations, the Cabinet is still at daggers drawn on the shape for future trade relations with the EU.

The government has set out two potential options for a customs system after the UK leaves the bloc.

But despite a series of tense showdowns at Theresa May's Brexit 'War Cabinet' ministers continue to be deadlocked over what to do.

Meanwhile, Brussels has dismissed both the ideas - and warned that negotiations could stall altogether unless there is progress by a key summit next month.

They are demanding the UK agrees to a 'backstop' in the Withdrawal Agreement that Mrs May has rejected as unacceptable because it would draw a customs border down the Irish Sea and split the UK.

Despite a series of tense showdowns at Theresa May's 'War Cabinet' (pictured in February) ministers continue to be deadlocked over what to do

OPTION 1 - CUSTOMS PARTNERSHIP

Under the so-called 'hybrid model', the UK would collect EU import tariffs on behalf of Brussels.

Britain would be responsible for tracking the origin and final destination of goods coming into the country from outside the EU. The government would also have to ensure all products meet the bloc's standards.

Firms selling directly into the UK market would pay the tariff levels set by Brussels - but would then get a rebate if Britain's tariffs are lower.

Supporters of the hybrid plan in Cabinet - including Theresa May, Philip Hammond and Greg Clark - say keeping duties aligned up front would avoid the need for physical customs borders between the UK and EU.

As a result it could solve the thorny issue over creating a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Mrs May has been advised by the chief whip that the hybrid option could be the only way of securing a majority in parliament for a Brexit deal.

But Brexiteers regard the proposal as unworkable and cumbersome - and they were joined by Sajid Javid and Gavin Williamson in criticising it at a tense 'War Cabinet' meeting last week.

There are fears the experimental system will either collapse and cause chaos, or prevent the UK from being able to negotiate free trade deals around the world after Brexit.

Mrs May has instructed official to go away and revise the ideas. Eurosceptics are braced for her to bring back the plan with only 'cosmetic' changes, and try to 'peel off' Mr Javid and Mr Williamson from the core group of Brexiteers.

They are also ready for Mrs May to attempt to bypass the 'War Cabinet' altogether and put the issue before the whole Cabinet - where she has more allies.

OPTION 2 - MAXIMUM FACILITATION

The 'Max Fac' option accepts that there will be greater friction at Britain's borders with the EU.

But it would aim to minimise the issues using technology and mutual recognition.

Goods could be electronically tracked and pre-cleared by tax authorities on each side.

Shipping firms could also be given 'trusted trader' status so they can move goods freely, and only pay tariffs when they are delivered to the destination country.

Companies would also be trusted to ensure they were meeting the relevant UK and EU standards on products.

Senior ministers such as Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Liam Fox believe this is the only workable option.

But Remain minded Tories such as Mr Clark insist it will harm trade and cost jobs in the UK.

They also warn that it will require more physical infrastructure on the Irish border - potentially breaching the Good Friday Agreement. It is far from clear whether the government would be able to force anything through parliament that implied a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The EU has dismissed the idea that 'Max Fac' could prevent checks on the Irish border as 'magical thinking'.Meghan Markle's mother will not be filming an interview with Oprah Winfrey, it emerged today.

It had been rumoured that Doria Ragland was considering giving a tell-all interview to Oprah after she was seen at the world-famous talk show host's 70million ($88million) 'Promised Land' mansion in Santa Barbara last month.

The appearance of Oprah at Saturday's royal wedding prompted speculation that the interview could be filmed in the UK while the pair were both here.

But it emerged today that Ms Ragland is not planning to appear on air and Ms Winfrey was simply at the wedding as a friend of the royal couple.

Doria Ragland is not planning to film an interview with Oprah Winfrey, it emerged today

It is said Oprah was invited to the wedding as a friend of the couple, a royal source said

Oprah, 64, is said to have spent six hours with Ms Ragland at her mansion on Saturday, April 28, before Ms Ragland was seen leaving, laden with gifts from the media mogul.

The appearance of Ms Ragland at the star's home prompted fevered speculation she could be about to appear on one of Oprah's shows or magazines.

But a senior royal source told MailOnline no such interview is in the pipeline and Ms Winfrey was at the ceremony as a friend.

Yoga instructor and social worker Ms Ragland flew into Britain on Wednesday, three days before the wedding, and was spotted crying in St George's Chapel, Windsor ahead of her daughter's arrival.

She was later seen catching up on some sleep as she was driven from the chapel to her daughter's reception party.Outraged train passengers have vented their anger as the biggest timetable change for decades comes into action, leaving commuters stranded at stations in rush hour.

More than four million trains across Britain were rescheduled from Sunday in a shake-up designed to increase overall frequencies and reliability.

But the new timetables on Great Northern, Thameslink and Southern have wreaked havoc at stations as delays and cancellations sweep the networks.

Over-crowding on the central core between London Blackfriars and St Pancras International at about 8.30am this morning

Passengers try to squeeze onto a crowded Thameslink train this morning departing from St Albans

'Is this really what we are paying for in first class?' A first class carriage on a Thameslink train early this morning

Drivers on London Underground's Jubilee Line will strike on June 6 and 14 in protest against the new timetables, saying they 'ride roughshod' over rostering agreements.

And with one in four UK rail users affected by the change, angry customers have taken to Twitter to complain that their journeys have been severely disrupted.

One frustrated commuter wrote: '@SouthernRailUK and @TLRailUK have managed to live up to our low expectations! Delays, cancellations and confused train staff. Well done guys!'

Another posted: 'We don't have a hope of getting to work!'

The new timetable extends stop times at busier stations and increases turnaround times at destination stations.

Stations in London, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire have had their train times overhauled.

The major change is that trains across the southeast are being funnelled through a central core between London Blackfriars and St Pancras International.

Between 7am and 8am, 11 trains going north and south from St Pancras were cancelled.

Meanwhile, three trains in a row between East Croydon and London Bridge were axed, with passengers being told it was due to 'an operational incident'.

A Thameslink customer posted this picture in an angry message to the operator, complaining about how busy his train was at the peak of rush hour this morning

This commuter managed to get on at Harpenden station this morning at 7.34am - but it was very crowded and scores of passengers were forced to stand

The number of alterations is seven times larger than normal due to the introduction of new trains and services following billions of pounds of investment.

Many of the timetable changes are a result of the 7billion invested in the Thameslink programme in the South East.

This includes rebuilding London Bridge station, as well as introducing new trains and making track improvements.

Transport Focus chief executive Anthony Smith posted this picture of the central core between London Blackfriars and St Pancras International at about 8.30am this morning

This passenger vented his anger at cancellations across the Thameslink network on the first working day since the changes were implemented

'We don't have a hope of getting to work!': This commuter complained that cancellations on Thameslink had meant later trains were too crowded to board

'Delays, cancellations and confused station staff': This passenger was not impressed by Southern and Thameslink this morning

'Shocking service': This Northern passenger sent a screenshot from his phone showing the cancellations of trains going to Manchester

Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) - which consists of Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express - is the UK's busiest franchise.

Departure times are changing for every train run by the firm, with almost 400 additional trains every day.

It says it will have space for an extra 50,000 passengers travelling to London in the morning peak each day.

In addition, 80 more stations will have direct services to the centre of the capital.

But GTR warned that services could be disrupted as the new timetable was introduced.

Timetable changes came into effect on Sunday - the biggest change to be implemented for decades

The train operators said the disruption this morning on the second day of the new schedule was due to a 'short-term planning amendment'.

When one Twitter user asked what this meant, the Thameslink account replied: 'With the new timetable being introduced we have a lot of staff and stock in the wrong places.

'Some services have been altered/cancelled as a result whilst Control work to get everything in the right place.'

A GTR spokesperson said: 'We are implementing over the coming weeks the biggest timetable change in a generation to boost capacity and improve reliability, introducing 400 extra daily trains and space for 50,000 extra passengers in the peak.

'Due to the scale and complexity of the task, these changes will be made incrementally. This involves redeploying drivers and trains and changing operating practices to achieve a large increase in the number of services, carriages and station stops.

'Despite some cancellations, passengers will benefit from an overall increase in capacity with immediate effect.

'We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.'A heroic father who pulled his son from a burning home tragically died after suffering a heart attack.

The man aged in his 70's rescued his son from the engulfed house in Gilgering, east of Perth, about 11pm Sunday.

He grabbed his son and ran two kilometres to look for help, Nine News reported.

Scroll down to video

A heroic father who pulled his son from a burning home tragically died after suffering a heart attack

The man aged in his 70's rescued his son from the burning house in Gilgering, east of Perth, around 11pm Sunday

A neighbour called emergency services and nine fire crews showed up.

Firefighters performed CPR on the man until paramedics arrived.

He was taken to York Hospital but unfortunately couldn't be saved.

Police said the fire is non-suspicious and caused $300,000 damage.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.Britain enjoyed its own 'Obama moment' when Meghan Markle was welcomed into the royal family, an MP has said.

Labour MP David Lammy said his family's shoulders 'stood a little taller' as Meghan married Prince Harry in the fairytale ceremony which took its place in the history books on Saturday.

Mr Lammy also said the poignant service 'was a global moment' akin to the day Barack Obama became the first black president of the US and 'a great new symbol of all that is still possible and hopeful in modern Britain.'

Labour MP David Lammy said his family's shoulders 'stood a little taller' as Meghan married Prince Harry in the fairytale ceremony which took its place in the history books on Saturday

Mr Lammy said the poignant service 'was a global moment' akin to the day Barack Obama became the first black president of the US

The MP also expressed his delight at the moving sermon on the power of love delivered by Bishop Michael Curry

Meghan's proud mother Doria Ragland was moved to tears as she watched her daughter marry Prince Harry

The Tottenham MP lauded the touching ceremony which included gospel choirs and a performance by young British cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason.

Mr Lammy told The Times: 'Meghan is a mixed heritage woman with a beautiful African-American mother and I think it's wonderful.

'For many, certainly for my mixed-race children, being able to recognise yourself as you are in a member of the royal family is hugely significant.'

During Saturday's service, the MP wrote on Twitter: 'A beautiful service and a beautiful couple.

'Making my beautiful mixed heritage family's shoulders stand a little taller.

'Against the odds a great new symbol of all that is still possible and hopeful in modern Britain.'

The MP said the wedding was, 'a great new symbol of all that is still possible and hopeful in modern Britain'

The MP added: 'Love, Justice, Poverty, MLK, Fire and Slavery in one sermon from Bishop Curry. Amen brothers and sisters, Amen.'

Last month, Harry and Meghan went to St Martin-in-the-Fields church in London for a memorial service to mark the 25th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's death

The couple met Baroness Lawrence (centre) and her son Stuart before a memorial service to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence

Mr Lammy said Meghan had caused 'palpable' delight when she arrived at the memorial

He also expressed his delight at the moving sermon on the power of love delivered by Bishop Michael Curry.

Mr Lammy tweeted: 'Preach Bishop Curry Preach. The Power of Love.....Just imagine..... When love is the way.

'Love, Justice, Poverty, MLK, Fire and Slavery in one sermon from Bishop Curry. Amen brothers and sisters, Amen.'

Last month, Harry and Meghan went to St Martin-in-the-Fields church in London for a memorial service to mark the 25th anniversary of Stephen Lawrence's death.

Mr Lammy told The Times Meghan had caused 'palpable' delight when she arrived at the memorial and 'seems to just get it.'A dominatrix allegedly beat up a 'kink party' organiser after telling her 'I'm a mistress and you're just a slave' in a furious argument about using video cameras.

Morgan Gabrielle Cox, aka Mistress Gabrielle, is accused of assaulting Tracie Latham, aka Dragon Princess, at Kink Adelaide in July 2016.

The 46-year-old grabbed her rival in a headlock and hit her 10 times in a heated a dispute, a court heard.

Mistress Gabrielle (pictured) allegedly beat up a 'kink party' organiser after telling her 'I'm a mistress and you're just a slave' in a furious argument about using video cameras

Morgan Gabrielle Cox, aka Mistress Gabrielle (pictured), is accused of assaulting Tracie Latham, aka Dragon Princess, at Kink Adelaide in July 2016

The argument allegedly started when Ms Latham, who organised the event, told Ms Cox and a member of her entourage known as 'the wolf' that they couldn't film or take pictures inside the venue.

Ms Cox had brought the camera in the hope of recording her group's performance on the closing day of the festival at Queen's Theatre - but Ms Latham said she would call police if it was used.

Ms Latham said Ms Cox told her: 'You have no right to speak to me, I'm a mistress and you're just a slave' before Ms Latham replied: 'Actually you're right, to my husband I'm a slave but I'm not your slave,' Adelaide Magistrates Court heard.

Mistress Gabrielle says: 'Lucky devotees and submissives choose me because I'm outgoing'

Ms Latham told the court: 'She said "you're going to be sorry about this" and I said "I'm really not afraid of you" and that's when she lunged toward me, put me in a headlock and hit me more than 10 times.

'She was hitting and punching me without control or thought.'

Ms Latham said she was left with a black eye and had to get her husband to spank her to cheer her up.

A lawyer for Ms Cox, who denies one count of assault, outlined a different version of events.

He said his client was moving away from Ms Latham, who allegedly tried to assert her authority and became angry that Ms Cox was ignoring her.

He said Ms Latham grabbed Ms Cox's cape and pulled it before the pair started slapping each other.

Ms Latham denied that version of events, saying that would be 'unprofessional,' reported The Advertiser.

She said her and Ms Cox are from opposite ends of the BDSM world, insisting that Ms Cox is professional who enjoys dominating customers but she only enjoys submitting as a 'slave' to her husband.

Ms Cox had brought the camera in the hope of recording her group's performance on the closing day of the festival at Queen's Theatre (pictured)

Mistress Gabrille has been a dominatrix in Adelaide for more than 10 years.

Her website reads: 'Lucky devotees and submissives choose me because I'm outgoing, intense and extremely passionate about BDSM (especially if it involves My strap-on or torture).

'My pet hates include indecisive people who don't know what they want, liars!... Everyone knows what turns them on! I am so not the Dominatrix you choose in order to find your kinks, I am the Domme who totally wants to exploit them!'

Kink Adelaide is an annual weekend devoted to Fetish education with BDSM workshops and Kink Markets. The trial continues.The mayor of New York City is expected to instruct the city's police department to stop arresting people for smoking weed in public.

Instead, Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to order the NYPD to issue summonses to people caught smoking marijuana in public.

The policy change comes as Mr de Blasio plans to overhaul the city's marijuana enforcement policies to prepare the groundwork for full legalization.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton (seen above last November) demonstrate what 25 grams of marijuana looks like. Mayor de Blasio will tell the NYPD to give out summonses rather than arresting people for smoking weed in public

A task force made up of city officials will also be set up to tackle issues such as how police officers would handle public smokers, what kind of zoning would be needed for pot dispensaries and create public health campaigns, aids told the New York Daily News on Sunday.

As a long-time critic of legalizing recreational weed, Mr de Blasio now believes legalization is inevitable and that the city should be ready.

Currently, smoking in public can lead to arrest, while possession of small amounts of marijuana can lead to a summons.

However, statistics highlighted by the New York Times show that there has been a persistent racial disparity in marijuana arrests.

A man rolling cannabis during the annual NYC Cannabis Parade & Rally in support of the legalization of the herb for recreational and medical use at Union Square New York. Mr de Blasio now believes legalization is inevitable and that the city should be ready

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (seen above last November) commissioned a study on legalization earlier this year, saying the availability of legal pot in surrounding states has changed the equation for New York

Black people are eight times more likely to be arrested on low-level marijuana charges than white, non-Hispanic New Yorkers, according to the report.

In Manhattan alone, black people were arrested at 15 times the rate of white people.

At the same time, federal statistics show similar rates of marijuana use among whites, blacks and Hispanics, but about 87 per cent of people arrested for pot in New York City are black or Hispanic.

It is unclear when the new arrest policy will take effect.

On the state level, Governor Andrew Cuomo commissioned a study on legalization earlier this year, saying the availability of legal pot in surrounding states has changed the equation for New York.

Mr Cuomo, like Mr de Blasio, has opposed legalization.

The mayor of New York City is expected to instruct the city's police department to stop arresting people for smoking weed in public. This comes as the mayor aims to overhaul the city's marijuana enforcement policies to prepare the groundwork for full legalization

Mr de Blasio promised last week that the city's police department would overhaul its marijuana enforcement policies in the next 30 days.

Manhattan's district attorney Cy Vance Jr and Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said on Tuesday they will largely stop prosecuting people for possessing or smoking marijuana.

Mr Vance said that his office will stop prosecuting marijuana possession and smoking cases starting August 1 except for a few cases involving 'demonstrated public safety concerns.'

The NYPD is also expected to come up with other initiatives to address the racial disparity.

'We have got to continue to drive down the arrests,' Mr de Blasio said Monday on TV station NY1. 'We've got to look at other policy changes that will help us do that. I don't accept disparity. I really don't.'John Bercow today admitted calling Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom 'stupid' during an extraordinary Commons rant - but refused to apologise.

The Speaker told the House that he had used the word in a 'muttered aside' and regarded Mrs Leadsom as a very 'able' minister.

But he said he was only expressing frustration at the way the government had handled parliamentary business last Wednesday.

Mr Bercow also insisted he would continue to speak out frankly when he felt ministers were behaving badly.

The defiant intervention in the House this afternoon could throw fire on the row threatening to force him out of his job.

Mrs Leadsom appeared at the Despatch Box moments later and while she did not directly respond to the Speaker did use a debate on how Government schedules business to insist she takes her responsibilities 'seriously'.

Earlier, Foreign Office minister Harriet Baldwin appeared to back calls for the Speaker to stand down following a series of controversies over alleged sexism and bullying.

Ms Baldwin also suggested she had been warned against taking on Mr Bercow in public because she would 'come off worse'.

John Bercow faces a pincer movement from female MPs who are demanding he apologise over his alleged 'stupid woman' jibe at a senior Tory Minister

Mr Bercow was accused of branding Commons Leader Mrs Leadsom a 'stupid woman' in an extraordinary spat last week.

The claims provoked fury from Tory MPs, who were already demanding the Speaker resign following a slew of bullying allegations from former staff He denies any wrongdoing.

Mr Bercow has so far been propped up through the furore by solid support from Labour.

But significantly, shadow transport secretary Andy MacDonald admitted yesterday that Mr Bercow was in 'some difficulty'.

Mr Bercow admitted today that he branded Mrs Leadsom's 'stupid' during an off-mic rant while presiding in the Speaker's chair last week.

But he insisted he 'respects all of my colleagues' and stood by his belief ministers had 'very badly handled' making a statement in the Commons last Wednesday.

He admitted he did use the word 'stupid in a muttered aside' and went on: 'That adjective simply summed up how I felt about the way that day's business had been conducted.

'Anyone who knows (Mrs Leadsom) at all well will have not the slightest doubt about her political ability and her personal character.'

The row deepened over the weekend amid reports that he called Mrs Leadsom a liar when she privately challenged him over the insult.

Mr Bercow has so far refused to deny he branded Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom (pictured) a 'stupid woman' and 'useless' last week

Ms Baldwin last night highlighted an article by Adam Boulton in the Sunday Times that was headlined: 'Double fault, Mr Speaker. Go now before you lose game, set and match.'

The minister added: 'It is behaviour that would not be tolerated in any other PLC UK workplace in 2018. And yes, I have already been told I'll 'come off worse'.'

Foreign Office minister Harriet Baldwin appeared to back calls for the Speaker to stand down following a series of controversies over alleged sexism and bullying

As the Commons Speaker, Mr Bercow oversees debates in the Commons and is charged with keeping order. It is a very senior role and requires him to be strictly impartial.

The row comes as the Speaker is battling to hang on to his job amid claims he has bullied several members of staff.

They claim the Speaker, who oversees debates in the Commons and is tasked with maintaining order, would lose his temper and subject them to mockery and fiery tirades.

Angus Sinclair, who left his post as Speaker's Secretary in 2010 after receiving a payment of 86,250, said he was the victim of angry outbursts, foul- mouthed tirades and mimicry.

Former Black Rod David Leakey, who retired last year, has said staff were 'terrified' of the Speaker.

Mr Bercow has denied the allegations, but many MPs want the accusations to be fully investigated.

But MPs earlier this week voted to block an inquiry by the into Mr Bercow's conduct - sparking fury among his critics.

Foreign Office minister Harriet Baldwin last night appeared to back calls for the Speaker to stand down amid a series of controversies over alleged sexism and bullying

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, had asked for permission to investigate whether the Speaker had brought the House into disrepute.

What are the claims of bullying and bad behaviour made against John Bercow? John Bercow has been hit by a number of bullying claims, all of which he denies. Here are the allegations: Andrew Sinclair, the former Speaker's Secretary: Said he left his post in 2010 after he was subjected to angry outbursts, foul- mouthed tirades and mimicry by John Bercow. He said was 'gagged' and stopped from speaking out about his time in the role as part of an 86,000 early retirement payoff. David Leakey, former Black Rod: Mr Leakey, who retired last year, said staff were terrified of the Speaker. Kate Emms, John Bercow's former private secretary: She took a job as Mr Bercow's private secretary in May 2010 but left her role less than a year later in February 2011 amid claims she was bullied by the Speaker. Her colleagues alleged that this was because of the behaviour of Mr Bercow after she told staff that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Colleagues told Newsnight that she was undermined by Mr Bercow in a range of ways  and he seemed to shout at her a lot. Advertisement

The Commons committee on standards voted to reject her plea on the basis that the claims against him are more than seven years old.

Senior Labour MP Kate Hoey and Tory Vicky Ford both called on the Speaker to apologise to Mrs Leadsom yesterday.

Ms Hoey, a former Labour Minister, contrasted Mr Bercow's behaviour with that of Betty Boothroyd, the only woman who has so far been Speaker. She said: 'If the Speaker did say this, it is totally unacceptable and there is no excuse.'

'In order to regain the full confidence of the Commons, a Speaker must adhere to the highest standards of behaviour. I cannot imagine Speaker Boothroyd ever demeaning the office in such a way.'

Ms Ford, who serves on the Commons Women and Equalities Committee, said the language Mr Bercow was accused of was 'a very derogatory and a very sexist phrase'. She said: 'If he made a slip, he needs to say sorry and move on.'

Mr Bercow's alleged remarks came last week after he sternly warned the Tory front bench  including Ms Leadsom  not to abuse Commons procedures.

Challenged over the comments, his office would only say last week that it had been an 'unusual and controversial day and some strong and differing views were expressed'.

Asked whether he had called Ms Leadsom a liar, Mr Bercow's office said: 'There was a brief private conversation at the [Speaker's] Chair, which the Speaker wouldn't dream of disclosing.'This is the incredible story of a North Korean escapee who miraculously survived imprisonment in a labour camp by eating dried vomit off the ground.

Charles, who was born to a Chinese father and North Korean mother in the dictator state, managed to escape five years ago by crossing a river into China in the dead of night.

He was born to a Chinese father and North Korean mother. When he was just 5 years old his father abandoned the family - returning to China.

Six years later, Charles' mother died from starvation and he ended up living with his aunt before eventually escaping to China and reuniting with his father in 2008.

The escapee, named only as Charles, is now living in the US and has been working in California for the last five years

In the video, Charles revealed that his mother died of starvation and his father fled to China

'Life in China was so much better. I was so happy because I was living my life in freedom,' he told SoulPancake.

'But the happiness I felt in China was only temporary.'

Because the Chinese government does not recognise North Korean citizens as refugees - Charles was soon deported back to North Korea.

Upon his return he was brutally interrogated by officials who tried to pressgang him into admitting he had been trying to defect to South Korea.

He denied the charges and after being beaten for weeks - Charles was sent off to the North's notorious labour camps.

'In the labour camp I was only allowed to eat 150 kernels of corn a day,' Charles added.

'One morning we were marching in our rows and I saw dried vomit on the side of the road.

'I was so hungry that I got on my hands and knees and started eating the rice from the vomit. I didn't stop until the beating from the guards was too unbearable.'

Eight months later Charles was released because he could barely stand up or lift his arms.

After months of recovery - he began working in a coal mine where he was paid only in rice.

While working the mines Charles said cave-ins were common and he regularly saw other miners lose their arms and legs from falling rocks.

According to Charles life in the labour camp was so hard he was released after eight months having nearly starved to death

Since his escape, Charles has learned English, graduated from high school and started working as a sushi chef

'I worked in the mine for about a year. And I realised it was my time to try and escape North Korea again,' he said.

'I knew how hard it would be without any money or food. And I knew that if I was caught I would be killed.

'But those risks outweighed working in the dark coal mine every day until it was my turn to lose a limb or die.'

One morning as he was due to start work - Charles simply ran away from the compound he was staying in.

He spent months in hiding - being hunted by the police at every turn.

'I made it by train to a town near the border when a guard put his hand on the back of my neck and dragged me to a holding cell in the train.

'As the train began to slow down for a stop - I saw a window was unlocked so I pushed it open and squeezed out of the small opening.

'I jumped off the moving train and began sprinting. I ran for hours, illegally borded a second train and two days later made it to the border.'

But there was still a river in between him and freedom in China.

Waiting until it was pitch black - Charles made a final effort to cross the border, wading up to his waist in the river as he attempted to cross.

As he began to wade in, however, he slipped on a rock and let out a scream.

President Trump is due to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a landmark summit in Singapore next month

'Immediately a floodlight was on my back, and I heard a guard screaming at me.' he continued.

'He said he would shoot me if I didn't turn back.

'I knew that I was dead either way. He would shoot me or I would return to the shore and be shipped off to a labour camp again. So I decided not to turn back.

'Five minutes later I was dripping wet but finally back in China.'

Charles spent three days walking after crossing the border and was eventually found collapsed in the middle of the road.

The man who found him helped Charles get in touch with US immigration services who granted him a visa to go to America.

'As I stepped off the plane in California, I felt this strange feeling I had never felt before - safety.

'I was finally safe and I didn't need to hide any more.'

In the five years since he has graduated from high school, he has learned near-perfect English and started working as a sushi chef.

Charles says his life in America has not been easy but he is extremely grateful that he was lucky enough to escape.

It remains unclear whether the Singapore summit will go ahead after the North blasted the US and South Korea over military drills in the region

The 'Max Thunder' aerial maneuvers will see hundreds of US and South Korean jets training in Korean airspace

The Korean peninsula is at a turning point in its history as crucial talks between the North, South and US are due to take place in Singapore next month.

The planned talks which will see President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un go toe-to-toe in negotiations - hit a roadblock last week, however, after the North Korean leader called out the President over aerial drills being staged in the region.

Operation 'Max Thunder', an annual collaboration between the US and South Korean air forces, will see nearly 100 warplanes carrying out exercises.

But the North's chief negotiator Ri Son Gwon labelled the South 'incompetent and senseless' over the decision to press ahead with the combat drills.

Relations between the US and North Korea reached their zenith only a few weeks ago as Kim released several American prisoners who had been imprisoned in the country for some time.

President Trump had hoped to persuade Kim to agree to a full programme of denuclearisation in return for a loosening of the stringent sanctions currently strangling North Korean trade.

Figures on both sides of the border are now waiting with baited breath to see whether the negotiations will go ahead and what can be achieved if they do.The father of a Pakistani exchange student killed in the Texas school shooting has said he hopes his daughter's death will help spur improvements in gun control in the US.

Throughout her childhood in Karachi, Pakistan, 18-year-old Sabika Sheikh had dreamed of studying abroad in the US.

That dream finally became a reality last August when she was sent to Santa Fe High School in Texas, the same school that was shot up by a student on Friday morning, leaving 10 people dead and 13 wounded.

Sabika was among those killed.

Speaking from the family home in Karachi, Shabika's heartbroken father Abdul Aziz Sheikh told Reuters that he never imagined his daughter's dream of studying in America would end this way.

Pakistani exchange student Sabika Sheikh, 18, was one of the 10 people killed in the Friday morning shooting at Santa Fe High School shooting in Texas. On Monday her heartbroken father said he hopes his daughter's death will help spur improvements in gun control in the US

Sabika's father Abdul Aziz Sheikh, center, shows a picture of his daughter at the family's home in Karachi, Pakistan, on Saturday as the community gathered to mourn the 18-year-old's death

Eight students and two teachers were gunned down in a classroom on Friday shortly before 8am in what was the fourth-deadliest mass shooting at a US public school in modern history.

Student Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, has been charged with capital murder after he reportedly admitted to carrying out the massacre with a gun owned by his father.

Santa Fe High School joins a long list of campuses where students and faculty have fallen victim to gun violence, right behind the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead just three months ago.

The horrific tragedy has stoked the long-running debate on gun control in the US, which has a substantially higher rate of gun violence than any other country in the developed world.

Eight students and two teachers were gunned down at the Texas high school on Friday shortly before 8am in the fourth-deadliest mass shooting at a US public school in modern history

Sabika's family learned that the 18-year-old, left, was one of the victims gunned down by fellow student Dimitrios Pagourtzis, right, from the exchange program

When Sheikh heard news of the shooting at his daughter's school on Friday he frantically tried to get in touch with Sabika or any of her friends to see if she was safe - but no one was returning his calls.

He eventually learned from the exchange program that his eldest child was one of the victims.

Sabika, described by her father as a hardworking, accomplished student, aspired to work in civil service and hoped to one day join Pakistan's Foreign Office.

Sheikh had been looking forward to her flying home in a few weeks to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

On Saturday morning the heartbroken father fought back tears as he sat surrounded by grieving family and friends, trying to come to terms with the fact that he would never see his daughter again.

'We are still in a state of denial. We can't believe it. It's like a nightmare,' Sheikh told AP.

A funeral was held for the 18-year-old on Sunday, and within one day her father had begun calling for change, so that no other father would have to go through what he has.

'Sabika's case should become an example to change the gun laws,' he told Reuters on Monday.

'I want this to become a base on which the people over there can stand and pass a law to deal with this. I'll do whatever I can.'

Relatives gathered at the family home in Karachi on Saturday morning. Sheikh is shown center

Sabika was part of the YES exchange program funded by the US State Department, which provides scholarships for students from countries with significant Muslim populations to spend an academic year in America.

Sabika loved her time in Texas, Sheikh said.

'She appreciated it so much. She was so excited to be there and to study and meet the people, especially the teachers,' he said.

Despite last weeks tragic events and the many other shootings that have occurred at American schools, Sheikh thinks that no one should feel discouraged from enrolling in programs like YES.

'One should not lose his heart by such kind of incidents,' he told AP.

'One should not stop going for education to the US or UK, or China, or anywhere.

'One must go for education undeterred. But controlling such incidents is the responsibility of the respective governments.'

Sheikh, left, consoles an elderly woman in the community at a vigil for the fallen teenager

Members of Sabika Sheikh's host family gathered with the grieving community for Sabika's funeral service on Sunday at the Brand Lane Islamic Center in Stafford, Texas

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo offered his condolences in a statement on Saturday, saying Sabika was 'helping to build ties between the United States and her native Pakistan'.

Sheikh said Sabika had wanted to work in government in some capacity, to help her country.

'She would say she wanted to join the foreign office or the civil service,' he told Reuters.

'The reason was that she said was there is a lot of talent in Pakistan but the image and perception of the country was really bad, and she wanted to clear that up.'

US ambassador to Pakistan David Hale reportedly visited the family in Karachi to offer condolences.One of Sydney's most notorious serial sex offenders, Graham James Kay, 66, will remain behind bars until August after admitting to breaching his parole conditions by spending time with a prostitute.

The convicted rapist allegedly let people stay at his Parramatta home without prior approval and failed to disclose an intimate relationship with a prostitute, Seven News reported.

Kay served an 18 year sentence for sexually assaulting eight women at knifepoint in the 1990s on Sydney's north shore and had been monitored as a high risk repeat sex offender since his release from jail in 2015.

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One of Sydney's most notorious serial sex offenders Graham James Kay, 66, spent 18 years in jail for six sexual assaults that occurred between 1995 and 1996 but was released in 2015

Graham (pictured) will remain behind bars until August after admitting to breaching his parole conditions by spending time with a prostitute

Last month, Kay angrily denied claims he assaulted a 16-year-old girl at a western Sydney supermarket.

The allegation came just one month after an electronic ankle bracelet he had been ordered to wear since his release had been removed.

Kay allegedly grabbed the 16-year-old girl, of whom he had reportedly met before, by the hips and kissed her on each cheek.

He was charged with common assault, stalking and intimidation assaulting the girl, and an AVO was sought by police to protect her.

Cumberland Police arrested Kay at his Warwick Farm workplace the following day but he was released on bail.

He appeared in Parramatta Local Court on April 24 where two of his victims - Juanita and Angela - faced the man who raped them in the 1990s.

Kay was approached as he was washing his car in the basement of his Parramatta unit block when he said 'I'm pleading not guilty' before slamming his car door and driving off

The convicted rapist was handed strict supervisions and conditions due to his serious risk of further violent sexual offences.

However, Kay was back in custody after he was believed to breach the strict supervision orders and was accused of failing to give a 'truthful answer' to his supervising officers.

Known as the North Shore Rapist, Kay attacked multiple women aged between 16 and 39 in Balgowlah, Artarmon, Epping, Eastwood and Wollstonecraft between December 1995 and December 1996.

He was arrested in 1997 and served 18 years of a 20-year jail sentence.

Kay was back in custody after he was believed to breach the strict supervision orders and was accused of failing to give a 'truthful answer' to his supervising officers

Kay told a NSW Supreme Court hearing last year he should have his tag removed because it was awkward at the beach and he had complied with 42 conditions imposed upon his release from jail.

NSW Corrective Services officers removed his electronic ankle bracelet on March 17.

Kay's victims have feared he will strike again since his release from prison.

'I thought he was going to kill me. You just think it's going on forever, it just feels like forever,' one told A Current Affair in 2017.

'I'm terrified that he's going to get me again... he's a threat to all women.'An elderly woman on a pension, who lost her house to the bank after going guarantor for her daughter's failed business, says she 'would have signed anything' for her.

Westpac tried to evict Carolyn Flanagan from her home after her daughter and partner - whose identities have been suppressed by the commission  had asked her to be their guarantor on a failed business loan in 2010, the royal commission into banking has heard.

She had to appear via a video link from Sydney as she was too unwell to travel to Melbourne and suffers from a long list of health problems, including cancer, glaucoma, osteoporosis and pancreatitis.

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Carolyn Flanagan (pictured) who suffers from several illnesses will loose her home to the bank after she passes away

Ms Flanagan, who struggles to speak as she has had surgery to remove tumours from her throat and tongue and is legally blind due to her deteriorating vision, told the commission she was taken to a bank branch by her daughter in 2010.

She said she only vaguely remembered going into the branch.

'A woman and a man was there in a side office. They had to read it out to me. They pointed to where I had to sign,' she said.

After her daughter and her partner defaulted on their loan repayments, Westpac notified Ms Flanagan that the bank intended to sell her home.

In 2013, she took her case to Legal Aid in NSW and a dispute was lodged with the Finical Ombudsman, which found in the banks favour.

The dispute was then escalated to Westpac's hardship team, who looked into the matter. Eventually the bank agreed to let her live in the house until her death.

Dana Beiglari (pictured) from Legal Aid NSW represented Ms Flanagan at the commission

After Ms Flanagan dies, Westpac will sell the property to recover its $170,000.

Westpac alleged that the initial document was witnessed by Ms Flanagan's solicitor, indicating she had received independent legal advice.

Ms Flanagan refuted that, saying she didn't believe she had received legal advice.

'I can't even remember,' she said.

'Just the woman and the man on the other side of the desk. I would have gone straight to Legal Aid, definitely, if I was told to get legal advice.'

But she admitted that to help her daughter she would have signed the guarantee anyway.

Ms Flanagan thought the loan that she was guarantor on was only for $50,000

Ms Flanagan admitted that to help her daughter she would have signed the guarantee anyway

'I would have signed anything for her, love. In hindsight, I have to be honest about that. If you can't help your children who can you help?' she said.

The commission heard she thought the loan was only for $50,000, and while she understood the bank could take her home, she was told by her daughter that it would be repaid.

Matthew Darke SC, representing Westpac, said to her that: 'Your memory of what you knew at the time you entered into the guarantee is very poor, and you don't really remember as you sit there how much the loan was for'.

'No, love, I don't,' she replied.

Dana Beiglari from Legal Aid NSW, who represented Ms Flanagan, told the commission that is was usual for clients in these cases to 'often have limited recollection of the circumstances of signing up to the guarantee'.

She said she understood the bank could take her home she was told by her daughter that it would be repaid

'Very often because the child has done most of the logistics and sorted out the paperwork with the bank or broker,' she said.

'Nearly all of the cases I have seen, the client did not understand the detail of the financial arrangement they have signed up to.'

Westpac executive Alistair Welsh said that 'technically' their had been no problems with how the bank had handled the loan but that it could have handled the request better by approving the hardship application earlier.

The bank first told Ms Flanagan that she would not be able to stay in her home.

Ms Flanagan's circumstances were heard by the commission as it enters its third round of hearings and turns it's attention to small business lending.

The royal commission has now revived 5540 submissions, 64 relating to the banking industry, 10 per cent to financial advice and 10 per cent to superannuation.Irish students at British universities are being offered bursaries to fly back to the Republic so they can vote Yes to legalising abortion in the referendum this week.

Pro-choice student unions  including those at Cambridge and Oxford University  are offering up to 110 to Irish students to travel home and cast their vote as polls show this Fridays result is far from certain.

An opinion poll yesterday revealed that at 47 per cent, those supporting the legalisation of abortions for pregnant women up to 12 weeks only had a narrow lead.

The Eighth Amendment of the Irish constitution gives equal right to life to both baby and mother  with an abortion allowed at an Irish hospital only if the baby poses a risk to the mothers life.

Even if the pregnancy is the result of rape, pregnant women who are not at risk are forced to travel abroad for an abortion or face a jail sentence of up to 14 years.

Irish students in Britain are being offered bursaries by universities in London, Nottingham, Oxford and Cambridge to fly home and vote in the abortion referendum (pictured, an anti-abortion campaigner hold a sign up in front of pro-abortion campaigners)

Those in favour of changing the law had been confident of victory but polls have narrowed in recent weeks and the result could now hang on undecided voters

As part of its #HomeToV8te campaign, the National Union of Students  which supports the right to choose  is urging student unions to help pay for Irish students to return home to vote on Friday.

It told its university branches that individuals could accept a political donation of up to 126.97 euros, or approximately 110. Any more and the student would have to register as a third party under Irelands electoral law.

The NUS, which is funded by a range of private enterprises and member contributions, has set up a travel bursary to match student union contributions to a maximum of 55 per student.

Of those to take up the idea is Cambridge University student union  but only if the student intends to vote Yes to decriminalising abortion, it has been reported.

The move was criticised by anti-abortion campaigners, who said student unions did not speak for students as a whole.

Dr Anthony McCarthy, from the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: Using their funds to push for the destruction of unborn Irish babies, rather than offering positive support to pregnant students or other pregnant women to have their babies, reveals how little these unions care about genuine equality and genuine healthcare.

A Sky Data poll revealed yesterday that less than half of voters in the Irish Republic  47 per cent - support legalising abortion for all women up to 12 weeks pregnant, while 37 per cent opposed it.

The No campaign is pinning its hopes on a 'silent majority' of voters turning out on election day as happened during the Brexit vote and Trump's election win

The rounded figures also showed that 6 per cent said they preferred not to say, while 11 per cent said they did not know.

According to Cambridge Universitys newspaper Varsity, its student union was offering a grant of up to 110 for nine students funded by WomCam, the NUSs Womens Campaign.

Ireland's abortion referendum: Fast facts What is the vote about? Voters are being asked whether they would like to repeal the eight amendment to the Irish constitution, ratified in 1983, which says that an unborn child has as much right to life as the mother. That effectively bans abortion in all circumstances except where there is direct threat to the mother's life. What are the choices? If Yes win, the amendment will be repealed, allowing the law to change. The government wants to allow unrestricted access to abortions up to 12 weeks, and after 12 weeks for pregnancies where there is a serious risk to the mother's health. Voting No will keep the law as it is. Who is winning? The latest poll shows 47 per cent support for Yes and 37 per cent support for No, with 11 per cent undecided and 6 per cent preferring not to say. Advertisement

Seven of these places were taken by last Friday  but only for those voting yes, Varsity said.

Lola Olufemi, Cambridge University student unions womens officer, said: WomCam has always and will always support the right to free, safe and legal abortion on demand as part of a wider reproductive justice framework.

Oxford University student union also passed a motion unanimously to subsidise students up to 55 who cant afford to travel home, taken from its discretionary fund.

Vice president Katy Haigh said the money was not dependant on how students would vote  but that as a pro-choice organisation it came from the perspective of facilitating pro-choice allies. She told the student newspaper Cherwell the values behind the funding were distinctly pro-choice.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Universitys student union said it was offering the same amount on a first-come, first-served basis to help students exercise their democratic right regardless of your voting intentions.

In a statement, it said: We stand firmly with our sisters fighting for repeal. The bursary is open to all eligible Irish students regardless of their voting intentions and we actively encourage Irish students to exercise their democratic right in the coming weeks.

Other student unions taking part include Goldsmiths University of London, the University of Birmingham, and the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

NUS womens officer Hareem Ghani confirmed yesterday that it was subsidising the cost for students, but added that it had not restricted the money to those voting Yes, and anyone eligible to vote could access the bursary.A majestic eagle was spotted doing a Ministry of Silly Walks-inspired two-step down a pier in Japan.

The bird had touched down in a harbour in Hokkaido, Japan, as a group of fishermen came in with their catch.

The Steller's sea eagle was pacing impatiently down the pier as it waited for the fishermen to dump any discards into the water.

Best claw forward: The Steller's sea eagle was spotted doing a funny walk down a pier

Treat time: The majestic eagle had landed on the pier in Hokkaido, Japan, near some fishermen

Trodding on: A photographer spotted the odd-footed walk of the bird, as it waited for the fishermen to dump any leftovers into the water

The eagle's 'silly walk' was captured by visiting photographer Nicolas Reusens, 42, from Barcelona, Spain.

Mr Reusens said: 'We stopped in front of a pier and waited for the eagles to arrive attracted by the fishermen boats and throwing fish remains into the sea.

'This Steller's sea eagle landed very close to us compared to the rest, I was amazed by its power and impertinence!

'It started walking in a very funny way before taking position near the remains of a fish.

Eyes on the prize: The eagle looks focused on its goal - getting its claws on some fish

Spreading my wings: The large eagle's 'silly walk' was captured by visiting photographer Nicolas Reusens, 42, from Barcelona, Spain

Ready for dinner: The Steller's sea eagle was pacing impatiently down the pier

Riding in style: The sea eagle appears to be sliding down the pier in one photo

'I've seen very funny puffin and little owl walking pics, but for me it was the first time to observe something similar talking about the largest eagle in the world.'

The Steller's sea eagle, also known as Steller's fish eagle, Pacific sea eagle or white-shouldered eagle.

On average, it is heaviest eagle in the world, weighing in between 11 to 20 lbs.

It lives in coastal northeastern Asia and mainly preys on fish and water birds.A large sinkhole has swallowed two cars and a minivan at a flood prevention works in east China.

Nearby CCTV footage captured a construction site collapsed and opened up a 10-foot-deep hole before dragging the vehicles into it.

There were no casualties reported in this incident. The constructions are now put on halt as local government ordered the company to repair the damaged pipes.

Three cars that parked near a construction site are dragged into a sinkhole in east China

The road collapses and opens a 10-foot-deep hole and swallows three vehicles instantly

According to China Central Television, the sinkhole took place at Lin'an district in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province at early hours on May 20.

Three vehicles including a black SUV, a white car and a white minivan, fell into a hole where a massive drainage pipe to be installed in a trench.

Nearby residents told Tianqi. com that there were drainage pipe installation works being carried out at the site.

Some believed the frequent rain around the region has soften the soil around the construction site and caused the road to collapse.

The severely damaged cars were stuck in a trench where a drainage pipe is to be installed

The construction works company is responsible to compensate the car owners for the damages (left). The works are put on halt before they repair the road (right)

Lin'an government said over-digging the trench was the cause of the incident.

The company has to compensate the car owners for the damage and carry out repairing road works.

Luckily there were no injuries reported but it is expected that the company will receive a fine for the incident.Tom Tugendhat (file image), chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, today accused ministers of risking national security by 'turning a blind eye' to the Russian 'dirty money'

Ministers were today accused of risking national security by 'turning a blind eye' to the Russian 'dirty money' flowing through the City of London.

MPs on the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said despite the outcry over the Salisbury nerve agent attack, President Vladimir Putin and his allies were continuing to use the City as a base for their 'corrupt assets'.

In damning conclusions, the MPs said the government needed to show 'stronger political leadership', with further sanctions against 'Kremlin-connected individuals' and action to close loopholes in the existing regime.

Assets stored and laundered in London, the committee said, were being used to support Mr Putin's campaign to subvert the international-rules based order and undermine Western allies and that combating it should be a 'major UK foreign policy priority'.

Despite the attempt assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, using a Novichok nerve agent, blamed by Britain on the Kremlin, the committee said it remained 'business as usual' for wealthy oligarchs.

The Kremlin hit back at the MPs' report today, branding it 'anti-Russian mania'.

The report has been published as it emerged Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has not yet had his UK visa renewed by the Home Office.

The committee, chaired by Tory MP Tom Tughendhat, has tried to press Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on what could be done to halt to flow of corrupt money into the UK.

But following the hearing, the committee concluded Mr Johnson suggested 'there was no real role for Government in this process'.

'Despite the strong rhetoric, President Putin and his allies have been able to continue 'business as usual' by hiding and laundering their corrupt assets in London,' the committee said.

'These assets, on which the Kremlin can call at any time, both directly and indirectly support President Putin's campaign to subvert the international rules-based system, undermine our allies, and erode the mutually-reinforcing international networks that support UK foreign policy.

'This has clear implications for our national security. Turning a blind eye to London's role in hiding the proceeds of Kremlin-connected corruption risks signalling that the UK is not serious about confronting the full spectrum of President Putin's offensive measures.'

The Foreign Affairs Committee (pictured) has been investigating the influence of Russian money in the United Kimgdom

MPs said despite the outcry over the Salisbury nerve agent attack, President Vladimir Putin (file image) and his allies were continuing to use the City as a base for their 'corrupt assets'

The committee called on the Government to work with US and EU allies to identify and sanction individuals and entities used by the Kremlin in carrying out its 'acts aggression' - including disinformation campaigns, the destabilisation of neighbouring states and foreign assassinations.

Downing Street insisted it could not comment on Mr Abramovich or any individual case. There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Mr Abramovich.

But Mrs Mays spokesman confirmed a review into existing tier one investor visa  thought to be the type held by the Chelsea owner  was underway as announced by former Home Secretary Amber Rudd after the Salisbury attack.

He said: Work is underway in terms of reviewing tier one investor visas. In 2014/15 we took action on the tier one investor route, including the introduction of new powers to refuse applications where there are reasonable grounds to believe funds have been obtained unlawfully.

As a result of these reforms, applications reduced by 84 per cent.

We are currently taking another look at how the route operates and making further checks on investors who came to the UK through this route before the reforms were introduced.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: 'We are witnessing Britain's rather unprecedented anti-Russian mania which is manifested in various ways.'

'I have no doubt that such actions won't go unnoticed by investors from other countries,' he added.

'Many countries are working to improve their investment attractiveness and this I believe is a step in the opposite direction.'

Writing yesterday, Mr Tughendhat warned that London's markets are 'enabling' the Kremlin to spread its influence across the West by letting Russians trade and buy luxury property in the capital.

And the Government's 'lethargic response' to tackling the money laundering and organised crime has left some Russians feeling like they 'own Britain', he added.

In The Sunday Times, Mr Tugendhat - tipped as a possible future Tory leader - said the regime of Mr Putin had been emboldened by the UK's inaction.

He said: 'Our lethargic response . . . is taken as proof that we don't dare stop them. This is no longer just a financial problem.

The committee has tried to press Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday in Argentina) on what could be done to halt to flow of corrupt money into the UK

'Over the years Moscow has turned from being a corrupt state to an exporter of instability. London's markets are enabling the Kremlin's efforts.'

He said there is a link between the wealth of Russian oligarchs in London and the power of the Kremlin.

He added: 'Russian corruption and influence has become a matter of national security.'

Lax commercial controls have allowed companies run by Russian oligarchs with close links to Mr Putin to continue to trade in London - despite international sanctions, he warned.

And he called for far tougher regulation to stop this in future.

The MP pointed out that the Russian energy giant Gazprom was able to 'trade bonds in London days after the attempted murders'.Boris Johnson today insisted 'not a day goes by' when the government was not working to get Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe out of jail in Iran.

The Foreign Secretary said everything possible was being done to secure the release of the British mother - as it emerged she is facing fresh charges of spreading propaganda against the regime in Tehran.

The 39-year-old, from London, was arrested while on holiday with her daughter Gabriella in 2016, and is serving a five-year prison sentence after being convicted of spying charges.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a dual British-Iranian citizen, was taken to court on Saturday and accused of spreading propaganda against Tehran's hardline Islamist regime.

If she is convicted, the new charges could add another 16 years on her prison sentence.

Charged: Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 39, who is already serving five years in Iranian jail for 'spying', has been charged with spreading anti-government propaganda

Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said the mother-of-one had again denied committing any crime, and appealed for clemency and freedom so that she might be able to have a second child.

She told the court: 'This year I am turning 40. I might only have a slim chance.'

But Mr Ratcliffe said: 'She was told by Judge Salavati to expect that she will be convicted.'

Speaking on a visit to Buenos Aires, Mr Johnson said:' I can tell you absolutely sincerely that there is not a day that goes by in which we are not working in the Foreign Office on every single one of the incredibly sad consular cases that we have - and particularly the difficult cases we have in Iran.

'But those cases do not benefit from public discussion.'

Asked if Mr Ratcliffe could feel reassured by the attention the Foreign Office was giving to his wife's case, Mr Johnson replied: 'He really can, and to be fair I don't think he would deny that.'

Last week, Mr Ratcliffe said his wife had been forewarned of the new charges, which could add 16 years to her sentence.

He said she had told him she had 'no clue why they have started all this nonsense again' in a 5.30am phone call on May 14.

Imprisoned: Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, pictured with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella, is in prison in Iran on widely-questioned spying charges

Fears: If Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, is convicted, the new charges could add another 16 years on her prison sentence, her husband says

'Please take me out of this, please,' he quoted her as saying.

'My parents have had enough. I want my daughter back. She needs both of us. So tell the world. Enough of this nonsense.'

The couple's daughter Gabriella is seen wearing a pinafore made by Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe from the wool left behind by released prisoners

Mr Ratcliffe says his wife's time in Tehran's Evin prison, which has included a period in solitary confinement, has left her with mental and physical health problems.

The Free Nazanin Campaign said that on Sunday Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been able to telephone the British ambassador to Iran for the first time in more than two years.

It said: 'She updated him on her case and situation, and requested that he try to visit. She also asked him to issue a formal diplomatic note protesting against the new charges and invented case against her.

'Nazanin discussed both with the judge and the ambassador a request for her to be released on furlough (temporary release) for Gabriella's birthday next month.'

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a visit to her home country to introduce her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents.

Mr Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is serving a five-year prison sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

She said in a statement released through the campaign to free her: 'Sometimes when I come back from the visit with Gabriella, after saying goodbye to her, I feel like I cannot live without her, I want to go back and hold her.

Free Nazanin: Supporters hold a photo of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe during a vigil for British-Iranian mother outside the Iranian Embassy last year

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, pictured left on a visit to Argentina yesterday, said 'not a day goes by' when efforts were not made on behalf of Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other prisoners

'She kisses me so hard. It is hard to say goodbye to her. She blows kisses all the way as she goes up the stairs, and everyone stands there watching.

'After the news of a new court case again, yesterday was one of those days. I kept thinking, how did I survive without her for 26 months?'

Mr Ratcliffe said: 'The UK needs to do better by British Iranians  at the moment it is failing to protect them.

'UK policy is not making it safe for British citizens. Iranian policy is not making it safe for Iranian citizens.'

'We hope the Foreign Secretary visits Iran as soon as possible, for the safety of all British citizens. We hope this time a way can be found for him not to return again empty-handed.'

Last week, Prime Minister Theresa May made a fresh appeal for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other dual UK nationals in a phone call with counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

She said the prisoners should be freed 'on humanitarian grounds'.

Downing Street said Mrs May had 'raised the issue of consular cases relating to dual nationals currently held on charges in Iran' during her call with Mr Rouhani.

She called for further progress to be made so individuals could be released on humanitarian grounds'.At a conference today, Arlene Foster slammed the 'very aggressive' stance taken by the Republic's government on Brexit

DUP leader Arlene Foster launched a furious attack on Dublin today for exploiting Brexit in a bid to force Irish unification.

Mrs Foster slammed the 'very aggressive' stance taken by the Republic's government as she condemned 'myths' that leaving the EU customs union would lead to a hard border with Ireland.

She also took aim at former PMs Tony Blair and Sir John Major for scaremongering over the risks to peace.

The salvo came after Michael Gove dismissed fears that Brexit could break up the union.

The Environment Secretary insisted the dire warnings about the impact of the EU referendum had not come to pass.

He also denied that Brexit was about 'identity politics' and said the country could be more open to immigration after cutting ties with Brussels.

The future of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic has emerged as critical in the Brexit negotiations, with the UK and the EU engaged in bitter wrangling over how to avoid imposing 'hard' customs checks.

Brussels has dismissed the government's options of either a customs partnership or a 'Maximum Facilitation' technological solution.

Meanwhile, Theresa May has rejected the idea of drawing a border in the Irish sea, warning that breaking up the UK could never be acceptable.

Research published today found fierce resistance to tougher border restrictions either on the island of Island or between the province and the rest of Britain.

There was a 'strong expectation' that any dispute would 'quickly deteriorate into violence' with people threatening to block traffic and vandalise cameras, according to the UK in a Changing Europe study.

A poll for the report found one in five Catholics regarded the possible use of cameras at the Irish border as 'almost impossible to accept', and would support protests such as traffic being blocked.

The future of the Irish border (pictured) has emerged as critical in the Brexit negotiations, with the UK and the EU wrangling over how to avoid imposing 'hard' customs checks

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (pictured on a visit to Glasgow yesterday) has been threatening to step up her push for Scottish independence

Environment Secretary Michael Gove (pictured today) insisted the dire warnings about the impact of the EU referendum had not come to pass

Some 9 per cent of Catholics suggested they would support cameras being vandalised.

A separate survey carried out by ICM found six out of 10 voters thought Brexit had increased the chances of the UK splitting up.

But an event organised by the Policy Exchange think-tank today focusing on the process of leaving the EU, Mrs Foster said the biggest threat was the attitude of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

She said: 'Our worry as unionists has been... the very, very aggressive nature of the Irish government. That has been a change, it has to be said, from the last government, from Enda Kenny's government.

'It has been quite aggressive. And that leads a lot of unionists in Northern Ireland to think "is this just about the European Union, or is it about something else? Is it about trying to claim the fourth green field in terms of Northern Ireland?".

Fears Irish border dispute could end in violence amid backing for protests Fears have been raised today that Irish border checks after Brexit could spark violence - with a poll finding a fifth of Catholics would back protests. A report found fierce resistance to tougher border restrictions either on the island of Island or between the province and the rest of Britain. There was a 'strong expectation' that any dispute would 'quickly deteriorate into violence' with people threatening to block traffic and vandalise cameras, according to the UK in a Changing Europe study. The poll, conducted for the Economic and Social Research Council, found one in five Catholics found the possible use of cameras at the Irish border 'almost impossible to accept' and would support protests such as traffic being blocked. Some 9 per cent of Catholics suggested they would support cameras being vandalised. The report said: 'There is substantial and intense opposition to possible north-south border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and to east-west border checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. 'There are strong expectations that protests against either north-south or east-west border checks would quickly deteriorate into violence.' Advertisement

'As a unionist I see no logic or rationale for a hard border being created between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The only people stirring up the myths of border checkpoints are those who are committed to unpicking the Union.

'They seek to use such imagery to advance and build support for their long term political objective.'

The DUP leader also said it was 'very wrong' for people like Mr Blair and Sir John to emphasise potential dangers of Brexit and not respect the vote to leave.

Mrs Foster again insisted her party would not accept a Brexit deal that put a regulatory border down the Irish Sea.

Appearing at the conference earlier, Mr Gove said: 'I'm confident that Northern Ireland will be in the UK for as far as the eye can see, as long as the mind can imagine.'

'Brexit has, certainly so far, strengthened unionist currency in our politics, not weakened it.

'Since the vote to leave the European Union in 2016, support for Scotland leaving the United Kingdom has diminished.'

The leading Brexiteer said while the EU was 'a union that doesn't work, the UK is one that does'.

'The referendum campaign was fought against backdrop of people predicting damage to the UK, which hasn't come about,' he said.

'I think it's impossible to imagine the last 200 years of British history without Scots - you couldn't have the BBC.

'We wouldn't have won the Second World War without men like Montgomery and Alanbrooke from Northern Ireland.'

However, he added: 'We need a new unionism, one that bridges not just the nations of the UK but also brings together different generations, old and young, richer areas with those left behind.'

Mr Gove accused the SNP of 'playing with identity politics' by demanding a fresh independence referendum after the Brexit vote.

But he insisted the example of Ukip showed such tactics were failing.

'The decline, indeed eclipse, of Ukip is another blow for identity politics. Once it could command four million votes - now its Chairman compares it to the Black Death,' Mr Gove said.

Denying that the referendum campaign he helped spearhead had focused on identity politics, Mr Gove said: 'Post Brexit we see growing support for immigration. We can be more welcoming to migrants if allowed to be, rather than required to be.'

Mr Gove also tried to soothe Brexiteer anxiety about the Cabinet accepting the UK could stay tied to the customs union for longer as a 'backstop' to avoid a hard Irish border.

'The whole point about the backstop is that it's intended not to be implemented, but it's there just in case,' he said.

The findings of the SNP's growth commission, set up in 2016 to look at economic policy options for an independent Scotland, are to be published this week.

Ms Sturgeon said the report - expected to make recommendations on whether Scotland should try to keep the Pound if it leaves the UK - will restart the debate on Scotland's future.

The First Minister said today: 'I expect it to be a very positive report, not sugar-coated.

'It will, I hope, be frank about the challenges we face as a country, but also very positive about how independence can equip us to meet the challenges and seize the opportunities of the future, and I think that will be quite refreshing in Scotland because the last couple of years have been very much focused on how we limit the damage of Brexit.

'Instead of a debate based on despair, this is an opportunity to turn our minds to a debate that's all about hope, optimism and ambition for Scotland.'

However, Downing Street dismissed the independence campaign. The PM's spokesman said: 'Now is not the time for another divisive independence referendum and there is no appetite for one.'

Mr Gove tried to soothe Brexiteer anxiety after Theresa May (pictured at the Chelsea Flower Show today) suggested the UK could stay tied to the customs union for longer as a 'backstop' to avoid a hard Irish borderAdvertisement

An enraged lioness was spotted brutally slapping her partner across the face in a remarkable lover's tiff in the middle of the African savanna.

Captured on the luscious green plains of Tanzania in the Ndutu area - the fighting pair were also spotted baring their teeth and giving each other dirty looks.

Game reserve manager, Giuseppe D'amico, snapped the domestic dispute while on the prowl for photo opportunities.

Giuseppe, 59, said: 'I was there because of the many photographic opportunities - in this case a pair of very quarrelsome mating lions.

'These photos were taken in Tanzania, in the Ndutu area, at the southern border of the Serengeti.

'The pictures show the frequent quarrels between the two lions in love.'

The duelling pair can be seen exchanging painful blows as they spar in the middle of a dusty clearing in the African savanna

The enraged male lion doesn't seem too happy to have been slapped and can be seen giving a venemous scowl after the hit

Not content with landing a single shot on her male counterpart, the lioness goes back for a second round of slaps after her initial foray

At one point the lion looks to have sustained a cut to its upper lip as it back away from the lioness and bares its enormous teeth

It soon becomes clear who's winning the battle as the female stands her ground while the stunned male trots around her in a circle

The dramatic photos were taken in the Tanzanian area of Ndutu by game reserve manager Giuseppe D'amico, originally from ItalyStaff at a wild animal park are celebrating the birth of a rare western lowland gorilla as the apes face potential extinction.

The baby, which has not been named yet, was born at the Howletts Wild Animal Park near Canterbury, Kent - renowned around the world for its popular breeding sanctuary.

The infant, born last Saturday, is mother Dihis fifth offspring - but for proud dad, Ebeki, this is his first and he is reported to be taking to his new fatherly role very well.

The infant - pictured - has not yet been named and is the 139th to be born at the animal park near Canterbury, Kent

Mother Dihi and the baby, born on May 12, are pictured at the zoo in Canterbury which is part of the conservation charity The Aspinall Foundation

Lorna Wanless, Head of Gorilla Section at Howletts said: 'Were absolutely thrilled! Dihi is a lovely gorilla and an experienced mother. Both Dihi and her baby are doing very well.

'Although silverbacks tend not to get physically involved in raising their young, its great to see Ebeki taking an interest in the little one from a distance and being naturally protective of both mum and baby.'

The popular wild animal park is part of the world leading conservation charity, The Aspinall Foundation which is committed to returning animals born at its Kent based wild animal parks - Howletts and Port Lympne Reserve, to protected areas of their natural habitat as part of their vital conservation efforts.

Mum Dihi and the baby, born on May 12 which has not been named yet

The birth brings the number of births there to a record-breaking 139. Adrian Harland, Animal Director added: 'Western lowland gorillas are one of the species that we are best known for and we are justly proud of our breeding programme.

'As well as caring for gorillas at our parks we also work closely with The Aspinall Foundation to protect them in the wild, and where possible, reintroduce gorillas born at the parks back into their natural environment.'

The conservation charity, headed by dedicated conservationist Damian Aspinall - son of founder John Aspinall - has returned more than 80 western lowland gorillas to their forests of Congo and Gabon.

He is responsible for not only rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned gorillas in Africa but also protecting more than one million acres of wilderness, where they have successfully habituated gorillas born at the wild animal parks in Kent.

Mr Aspinall, Chairman of The Aspinall Foundation said: 'Habituating captive born animals back into the wild is vitally important, and its what we at The Aspinall Foundation are dedicated to achieving.

'Its not just what we are doing with gorillas but because we protect the gorillas, we protect the whole forest and by protecting the whole forest, we protect the whole ecosystem.

'So, doing one incredibly difficult thing - introducing gorillas back into the wild, has a knock-on effect, so its vitally important.'

The proud parents are said to be taking to the role well as the zoo combats the potential extinction of the apes

Western lowland gorillas are critically endangered in the wild. Estimates range from 50,000 to 150,000 individuals remaining; but the true figure is very difficult to gauge.

It is estimated that if the number of western lowland gorilla continues to decline at the present rate the species may be extinct by 2020.Italy was on the verge of ushering in an openly Eurosceptic government last night after a political novice was chosen as Prime Minister.

The countrys leading parties said that legal professor Giuseppe Conte should oversee a radical coalition whose possible catapult to power has raised alarm bells in the EU.

The 54-year-old was picked after 11 weeks of negotiations between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (MS5) and far-right League party.

5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio (left) shakes hands with lawyer Giuseppe Conte. It is believed that 5-Star and League will put forward Conte as Prime Minister on Monday

League party leader Matteo Salvini has pledged to deport 500,000 migrants 'as a priority' while other government plans include tax cuts and spending increases

After toppling the countrys traditional political forces at the general election in March, the parties have been locked in talks over how to combine their policies to shake up the country.

The selection of Mr Conte, 54, who has no political experience and is little-known to the public, comes after Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini ruled themselves out.

Mr Conte was yesterday presented by the parties to Italian president Sergio Mattarella, who is responsible for handing a new government its mandate.

While Mr Conte has been chosen as a so-called compromise candidate who is acceptable to the public at large, the president is not obliged to follow the choice of the two parties.

As a member of MS5 and confidante to Mr Di Maio, Mr Conte has called for an overhaul of Italys outdated bureaucracy, masterminding a party pledge to abolish hundreds of useless laws.

The academic, who teaches at Florence University and Luiss University in Rome, previously undertook postings at Cambridges Girton College and Americas Yale Law School.

Born in the southern region of Puglia, he now lives in Rome with his wife and ten-year-old son.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella is due to meet with Di Maio and Salvini at 3.30pm on Monday to give his say on whether Conte should be approved as Prime Minister

Despite his public obscurity, both MS5 and League said that the academic was an appropriate choice and would not water down their explosive plans.

Giuseppe Conte will be a political prime minister of a political government, chosen by two political forces that include political figures within it, Mr Di Maio said.

Mr Salvini, who has courted controversy for his hard-line rhetoric on immigration, added: We obviously want a country that puts the interests of Italians first.

We are ready to go, no one has anything to fear.

It come after both parties finalised an eye-catching agenda last week calling for an overhaul of Italys relationship with Brussels and plans to speed up the deportation of 500,000 migrants.

To the alarm of leaders across the EU, the blueprint includes a highly-controversial economic package that calls for Italian debt to be written off and the introduction of flat-rate taxes.

Manfred Weber, a close ally of Angela Merkel and one of the most senior MEPs, yesterday warned the incoming coalition that they were playing with fire.

It follows similar warnings from France that Italy would be expected to strictly comply with the EUs fiscal rules.

Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to a live-stream grilling at the European parliament tomorrow, as the Facebook boss faces questions over his company's data sharing policies.

Zuckerberg was summoned to give evidence in front of MEPs in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

But it had been unclear whether Tuesday's meeting with EU officials would take place behind closed doors or in the public eye.

After suggestions that Zuckerberg could be set to avoid a repeat of the public grilling he faced in front of US congress last month - some of the EU's most senior members voiced their discontent at the proposal.

A senior figure within parliament announced on Monday, however, that the hearing will be live streamed to an audience of millions.

Scroll down for video

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly apologised for the massive data breach

The Facebook exec faced a similarly gruesome live hearing in front of an enormous audience at US Congress back in April

'I have personally discussed with Facebook CEO Mr Zuckerberg the possibilty of webstreaming meeting with him,' the parliament's leader Antonio Tajani wrote on Twitter.

'I am glad to announce that he has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens,' he added.

Tajani had invited Zuckerberg, saying the 2.7 million EU citizens affected by the data sharing scandal deserved a full explanation.

The visit comes as the EU is introducing tough new data protection rules later this month, which Facebook has said it will comply with.

Facebook admitted earlier this month that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by British consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which worked for US President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign.

The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into effect on May 25, aims to give users more control over how their personal information is stored and used online, with big fines for firms that break the rules.

Facebook is facing questions over its data sharing policy in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook admitted earlier this month that up to 87 million users may have had their data hacked by the British firm

Zuckerberg, who has repeatedly apologised for the massive data breach, told the US Congress in April that the more stringent EU rules could serve as a rough model globally.

The European Parliament hearing will run from 4:15 pm to 5:30 pm on Tuesday.

Tajani will also hold a private meeting with Zuckerberg the same day, a spokesman for the parliamentary chief told AFP.

The suggested closed-door meeting with the parliament's most senior deputies had angered European lawmakers who will now be able to give Zuckerberg a grilling similar to his 10-hour interrogation in US Congress last month.

'I will not attend the meeting with Mr Zuckerberg if it's held behind closed doors. It must be a public hearing - why not a Facebook Live?' influential Belgian MEP Guy Verhofstadt had written on Twitter.He hit unexpected turbulence mid-flight and his equipment went into a spin

Paul Kilburn decided to go on ahead of his friends on the day of the accident

Paul Kilburn, 54, who crashed into a field while paragliding after unexpected turbulence during a test flight sent him into a spin

A father-of-two plunged to his death while paragliding after hitting some turbulence during a test flight.

Paul Kilburn, 54, an instructor in the sport, was leading a training exercise when his equipment got caught in a spin near a wooded area and he crashed into a field.

Mr Kilburn, from Flixton, Greater Manchester, was rushed to hospital but he died before he arrived after suffering multiple fatal injuries.

An inquest concluded the accident happened because he encountered turbulence mid-flight at 1pm on December 3 last year.

The businessman, who ran his own paragliding training school in Manchester, was about to escort a group of fliers above the village of Pilling in Lancashire.

He had travelled to the popular site with some friends but decided to head out alone at first as some were still getting ready.

Mr Kilburn was using a paramotor - a harness-mounted engine which is worn like a backpack under a paraglider wing and can be launched from an open, flat field. It is refilled with fuel like a petrol tank.

But he didn't take his GPS tracker with him because he only anticipated a short flight, British Paragliding Association expert David Thompson told the inquest in Preston.

Mr Thompson described Mr Kilburn as a very experienced pilot, but said that when something goes wrong mid-flight it is often inevitable that you are going to fall.

'On that day Paul and one other of the group were ready to fly before the rest of the group,' he told the inquest.

'His intention was to go up in the air, fly about and then come back and go with the other group.

'He took off and did about two or three circuits. He was flying with the wind along the line of the road.

Mr Kilburn (left) on one of his paragliding flights. He had been flying over Lancashire when he got caught by turbulence mid-flight

'For part of that flight he was in contact with his brother in law. At some point he would have turned 180 degrees to come back.

'He flew in an area where there were houses and tall trees and that is when he started to spiral.

'My suspicion is that he has entered some kind of turbulence and has entered into a spin or spiral.'

Mr Kilburn shaking the hand of the Air Ambulance mascot. He didn't take his GPS tracker with him on the day he died because he only anticipated a short flight

Coroner Richard Taylor recorded a conclusion of accidental death at Preston Coroners Court.

He said: 'The deceased was an expert paraglider and had gone to a site in Pilling which is used as a launch site which he has used many times.

'Another member who knew him spoke to him and saw him take off.

'Sometime later he was seen by a witness flying low and she saw the paraglider spin and lose height and then landed in the field opposite her house.

'Other members of the public attended and tried to help any way they could.

'The air ambulance arrived but life was pronounced extinct just prior to his arrival at the hospital.

'From what I have heard Paul was an experienced flyer doing something he loved and it seems he was so anxious to get flying that day that he went out on his own before his friends and didn't have any GPS guidance on him.

'As he approached the tree line he must have hit turbulence and he was unable to correct a spin or spiral because of the height he had been at and sustained the injuries which proved fatal.'

Mr Kilburn was a very experienced pilot, an inquest at Preston Coroners Court heard

In 2010 Mr Kilburn was hailed a hero after he helped save a family who were caught in rising tides off the coast of Fleetwood, Lancashire.

He reportedly flew low over the sea a kilometre from the shore and helped guide two adults and five children as they scrambled between sandbars.

The courageous father then flew circles above the family to show the Coastguard where they were.

His fuel tank emptied seconds before he landed back on dry land - showing how he had risked his own life to help them.

Mr Kilburn's son Dale wrote on Facebook after the tragic accident: 'I woke to a knock on the door with news my dad passed away in an accident.

'Nothing can prepare you for this. We're all in pieces. It's almost as if you're going to run through the door and shout 'surprise' like the joker you were.

'I hope you're flying high. Love you dad.'A school has caused outrage by banning children from a playground tractor.

Elsternwick Primary School in Victoria fenced off the tractor because it was deemed 'too dangerous' and posed a health and safety risk to children.

One father Glenn Riseley protested by posting a picture of his son playing on the tractor to Facebook.

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One father protested by posting a picture of his son playing on the tractor to Facebook

He wrote: 'Just asked my son why there's a fence around this old playground tractor?

'Apparently some bureaucrats with cardigans and clipboards and diplomas in clipboard management did a 'safety audit' and deemed it too risky... so it has to be removed.

He added: 'It seems the biggest risks to children these days are lack of physical activity, excessive screen time, poor nutrition and an alarming epidemic of type 2 diabetes, online bullying and mental health issues. None of which are connected to cemented in old red tractors.'

Commenters on his post agreed. One wrote: 'World gone made' while another said: 'Growing up on a farm and riding in dad's rusty Bedford truck was the highlight of my childhood.'

Mr Riseley told Daily Mail Australia: 'The lad on the tractor is Oscar. Hes four years old. He starts at Elsternwick primary school next year. His older brother is already there. Sadly the tractor wont be when he starts.

'It's not the school's fault - Some overpaid public servants with too much time on their hands I suspect.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Elsternwick Primary School for comment.Asia Argento stunned at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival by delivering a withering speech in which she said that disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein raped her at this festival in 1997.

The Italian filmmaker, most famous to American audiences for her role in Vin Diesels 2002 film xXx, has been at the forefront of the #MeToo movement, breaking the Weinstein scandal by doing an interview with Ronan Farrow for the New Yorker back in October.

Argento subsequently left Italy for Germany due to the culture of victim-blaming in her home country.

Following her speech, people quickly praised the director and actress for her bravery, among whom was her partner, the celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.

Asia Argento stunned Cannes by saying Harvey Weinstein raped her at the festival in 1997

He tweeted: 'Brava. An absolutely fearless off script nuclear bomb of a speech to a stunned crowd at Cannes.'

Here is all you need to know about Asia Argento, including who she is, what she said at the Cannes closing ceremony and her movies.

Who is Asia Argento?

Asia Argento was born Aria Maria Vittoria Rossa Argento on September 20, 1975. Her father is the Italian horror film director, Dario Argento and her mother is the actress Daria Nicolodi.

Argento starting acting at a young age and began working with her father as a teenager, going on to become one of the most prolific Italian actresses.

Argento won the David di Donatello, Italys Oscar equivalent, twice for Best Actress in the 1990s films Perdiamoci di vista and Compagna di viaggio.

She broke into English-speaking films with B. Monkey, a 1998 film featuring Jared Harris and Rupert Everett.

Argento told the New Yorker that it was during the distribution of this film that she was first sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein, who served as one of the films co-producers.

People must understand the bravery involved in what she did. Speaking the raw truth of rape is incredibly hard. Being around the complicity machine that helped the lie last for so long is brutal. .@AsiaArgento is a hero & .@RitaPanahi is right. https://t.co/C6WG5hLP3N  rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) May 20, 2018

During the aughts, Argento appeared opposite Vin Diesel in xXx and directed two feature films, Scarlet Diva and The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things. She also wrote extensively and appeared in a Placebo music video.

In 2014, Argento directed her third feature film, Misunderstood (Incompresa in Italian), which competed in the Un Certain Regard channel at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

Asia Argentos Harvey Weinstein accusations

In October 2017, Asia Argento did an interview with the New Yorker in which she alleged that Harvey Weinstein raped her during the 1990s and referenced the sexual assault in her 2000 film Scarlet Diva.

ARGENTO'S SPEECH I have a few words to say. In 1997, I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes. I was 21 years old. This festival was his hunting ground. I want to make a prediction. Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again. He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that once embraced him and covered up for his crimes. And even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women. For behavior that does not belong in this industry, does not belong in any industry or workplace. You know who you are. But, most importantly, we know who you are and we're not going to allow you to get away with it any longer. Advertisement

She said how Weinstein 'terrified' her due to his 'big' size. 'It wouldnt stop. It was a nightmare.' Argento went on to say how she ended up feigning enjoyment because she thought that was the only way Weinstein would stop the assault.

After Argentos interview was published, the filmmaker said she was been slut-shamed, victim-blamed for her part in the #MeToo campaign, especially in her home country of Italy.

What did Asia Argento say about Harvey Weinstein at the Cannes closing ceremony?

Argento gave a speech at the 2018 Cannes Film Festivals closing ceremony in which she said that Harvey Weinstein raped her and warned that many men in the audience still have to be held accountable.

'You know who you are. but most importantly, we know who you are and we're not going to allow you to get away with it any longer.'A man who was volunteering for a university when he was viciously attacked by a shark has claimed he was not offered any trauma support after the incident because he was not a payed worker.

Dr Mat Vickers says James Cook University offered support to the researchers he was with but not to him because he was a volunteer on the field trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

The university has denied this claim and maintains that they offered trauma support to the volunteer researcher, who was on a recreational snorkel, but said he knocked it back.

Dr Mat Vickers (pictured) was bitten by a shark while snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef

He was volunteering on a field trip for James Cook University when it happened

Dr Vickers was on a field trip with other marine science colleagues from the university when they decided to use their spare time snorkelling at the nearby Cod Hole, a popular tourist dive site about 80km offshore.

'During the excitement, one bass took some food, and swam past me, using me as a shelter to evade other fish,' he said.

'It all happened very quickly: out of the corner of my eye a grey flash. A blur, really, and a two meter grey reef shark slammed into me.'

'I pulled back, and the shark pulled back, and then I was surrounded by blood and fatty tissue floating in the water column.'

Dr Vickers was rescued by his colleagues and transferred to Lizard Island Resort where a Royal Flying Doctor Service plane arrived a few hours later to take him to Cairns Hospital.

He is now recovering in Wollongong and is accusing the university where he went to school, worked and volunteered for over 15 years, of dodging it's duty of care.

Dr Vickers says he took this picture of the shark before the attack happened

Dr Vickers claims the university refused to offer trauma support after the attack

The university's insurer has compensated him $555.44 towards physiotherapy, but Dr Vickers claims they refused to pay him any more.

'I asked JCU and their insurer to help cover the medical costs while I recuperate.'

'Unfortunately for me, a sealed, internal, investigation by JCU found that as I was a volunteer with JCU...'

'Long story short, I am ineligible for typical protections afforded to salaried workers.'

Unable to work Dr Vickers, set up a GoFundMe page to raise the money to cover his medical costs. As of Monday, he had raised $35,000.

Dr Vickers was rescued by his colleagues and was transferred to Lizard Island Resort

In a statement to The Cairns Post, a JCU spokesperson said WorkCover had assessed the incident and found Dr Vickers was not an employee of the university, therefore not entitled to WorkCover.

'Workplace Health and Safety Queensland were also notified of the incident, made inquiries, and found no further action was required,' they said.

They went on to say that despite the attack occurring during a non-authorised university activity, JCU had provided support to Dr Vickers, including the option of trauma counselling.

Dr Vickers says they were merely preparing a defence case for the university rather than looking after his best interests.Rameshchandra Fefar, an engineer Gujarat, India, was quizzed over his truancy

An Indian worker has repeatedly refused to go to work as he says he is the 10th incarnation of the deity Vishnu.

Rameshchandra Fefar, an engineer from the Indian state of Gujarat, told his boss he was god incarnate after being questioned over his poor workplace attendance.

Mr Fefar, who has only worked 16 days in the last eight months, said: 'I am Lord Vishnu's 10th incarnation as Kalki.

'I am doing penance at home by entering into the fifth dimension to change the global conscience.

'This work I cannot do in the office. Thus I don't remain physically present in the office.'

Rameshchandra Fefar, an engineer from the Indian state of Gujarat, speaking to reporters at his home

Mr Fefar claims he is the tenth incarnation of the god Vishnu and has been instrumental in ending India's recent droughts

The office worker also claimed that the intense meditation he performed at home had been instrumental in ending India's recent droughts.

'Just because I am Kalki avatar, India got good rains,' he added.

Fefar was appointed superintending engineer with the Sardar Sarovar dam project on the Narmadar river near Navagam in Gujarat in September 2017.

This month his employers at the Sardar Sarovar Punah-Vasvat Agency sent him an official notice warning him he faced disciplinary action.

'You have remained highly erratic ever since you joined duty on September 22, 2017,' the notice read.

'You have remained absent without any authorisation. This kind of conduct is not befitting a government official.

'Your absence from duty has adversely impacted the working of rehabilitation which is in its final stages as you are not available for providing guidance to the subordinates.'

Kali (pictured) is the tenth incarnation of Vishnu and is the harbinger of the end of time according to Hindu tradition

In a press conference given at his own home, engineer Mr Fefar said he would prove he was Kalki 'in the coming days'

Mr Fefar was ordered to provide an explanation within seven days.

'We have received the report and our administrative department is processing it,' a spokesman Sardar Sarovar Punah-Vasvat Agency told the Times of India.

'The file will be put up before the commissioner in a day or two and the matter will be taken up with the officer's parent department  the water resources department.'

Lashing out at the naysayers, Mr Fefar said he would be proving he was the deity within the 'coming days'.

'Even if you don't believe, I am indeed the tenth incarnation of Lord Vishnu and I will prove it in coming days,' he told reporters.

'I realised that I am Kalki avatar when I was in my office in March 2010. Since then, I am having divine powers.

'Just like everybody laughed at me at the time of Mahabharata, you guys are doing the same because you're unable to see God in me'.A father-of-one says a family holiday became a nightmare after he was falsely accused of being a paedophile by an angry passenger and cruise ship security.

John Sun claims he was on a Carnival cruise with his wife and toddler in December 2016 when he was allegedly attacked by a passenger who accused him of exposing himself to his seven-year-old daughter.

Mr Sun said he was in his family's room one day when the man barged through the door and allegedly began beating him.

The young father, who is now suing the cruise line, said he called security for help but was stunned when they arrived and allegedly implied he was responsible, otherwise the man wouldn't have been in his room.

Sydney father John Sun (pictured) was on a Carnival cruise when he was wrongly accused of exposing himself to young girls on the ship

Mr Sun was on a Carnival Cruise ship to New Caledonia with his wife Sherry and daughter Bella (pictured together)

After a conversation, more guards arrived, and four of them escorted Mr Sun to a room on the bottom floor of the cruise liner.

'There, the security person told me they knew I did it,' he alleged.

'[They told me] they had all the evidence they needed, and I should just confess.'

'I requested to see security footage as I was in complete shock . But they said I'd get to see it later and just to confess and write a report down on what I had done.'

After a lengthy discussion with security, Mr Sun was finally shown the security tapes - but it was a 'totally different person', he told A Current Affair on Monday.

Mr Sun alleged security agreed the men were of different builds but didn't believe he was innocent until he pointed out the man responsible did not have any tattoos, while he was covered in them.

'The security guy kept on saying it was because I was Asian and that the person who assaulted the girls was Asian. So it was an easy mistake,' he alleged.

Mr Sun alleges he was told by a security official the mix up was 'an easy mistake to make' because both he and the man actually responsible were Asian

Mr Sun alleges he was told by a security official the mix up was 'an easy mistake to make' because both he and the man actually responsible were Asian

A statement of claim lodged by Mark Smith of Brander Smith McKnight Lawyers with the NSW District Court says Mr Sun was allowed back to his room about 12.45am, but was not given medical attention for the alleged physical assault.

Mr Sun claims he was fearful of further attacks and suffered humiliation and damage to his reputation.

He previously explained to Daily Mail Australia the young girl had been shown black and white passport pictures of men who fit the description of the man who exposed himself to her.

The youngster picked out his picture, which Mr Sun alleges included his details on it, which the father of the girl memorised and used to track him down to his room.

With one day left before the ship docked in Sydney, Mr Sun and his family remained on the cruise, but he said the accusations left him feeling uncomfortable around other guests.

'It was quite a scene, and many people who shared cabins on the floor would have heard the accusations,' he said.

Mr Sun and his family remained on the cruise, but he said the accusations left him feeling uncomfortable around other guests

The next day, Mr Sun said he was contacted by customer service at Carnival and offered a free meal for their inconvenience.

'They said they were sorry for our [negative] experience, but that all actions taken by security were protocol, and they didn't apologise for that,' he said.

Mr Sun is suing the operator for breach of contract, misleading or deceptive conduct, defamation, unjustified or unlawful detention and negligence. He is seeking damages up to $100,000.

A spokesman for Carnival told Daily Mail Australia: 'Out of respect for the court process and those involved, it would be inappropriate to comment on this specific matter'.

'As a general principle, the safety and security of our guests is our number one priority,' he said.

'We take allegations of misconduct seriously, particularly when young people are involved.'

Carnival Cruise issued a statement apologising to Mr Sun for the disruption to his holiday, but said they stand with the handling of the matter.

'The safety and security of our guests is always our number one priority,' they said.

'We stand by our handling of the matter during the cruise, where our security personnel worked discreetly and quickly to respond to an allegation of misconduct involving younger guests.

'We apologised to Mr. Sun for the disruption to his holiday and are disappointed that the father of one of our guests decided to take matters into his own hands. We reject the claims made against our company.'Toys 'R' Us Australia has gone into voluntary administration months after the US and UK retail giant's collapse.

Directors of the company resolved to appoint voluntary administrators McGrathNicol after the withdrawal of the final bidder for the sale of the Australian business, a McGrathNicol spokesman said in a statement on Monday.

All Toys R Us and Babies 'R' Us stores will remain open and continue to trade while the administrators explore options for the sale of the stand-alone Australian business or a recapitalisation through the voluntary administration process.

The company operates 44 retail stores across Australia and employs about 700 permanent staff.

Toys 'R' Us stores across Australia will remain open despite going into voluntary administration

No employee positions are affected by the appointment, the spokesman said.

It follows the announcement in March that Toys 'R' Us in the US was preparing to sell or close all its 885 stores after it was weighed down by billions of dollars in debt accumulated since it was bought by a real estate investor and two private equity firms in 2005.

Administrators closed a quarter of the company's 100 UK stores by mid-March with plans to close the remaining stores by the end of April.

Partners Jason Preston, Keith Crawford and Barry Kogan have been appointed as the Australian retail giant's voluntary administrators.

Toys R Us Australia will no longer offer refunds, and gift cards and vouchers will only be honoured if customers spent an additional equivalent amount.

Online orders and lay-bys will be delivered or honoured where goods had been paid for in full and the stock was available.

'The administrators will continue to pay employees and expect that employee entitlements will be met either through a sale of the business, recoveries from the sale of stock, or through the Commonwealth Government's Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) Scheme,' the statement said.

Toys 'R' Us announced in March it would sell or close all of its U.S and UK stores

The retail chain filed for bankruptcy in the US in September and plunged into liquidation in the UK after failing to pay a AUD$26 million tax bill.

Toys 'R' Us Australia posted a $7.7 million loss in the financial year to January 2017 and a $9 million loss the previous year.

A financial report filed in 2016 warned that the future of the Australian arm of the business relied on the support of the U.S. company.

'Should the support be withdrawn or not continue, there is significant uncertainty whether the company or consolidated entity will be able to continue as going concerns,' the report read.

Earlier this month, Toys 'R' Us announced that it was putting its famous mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe and Babies R Us trademark on the auction block to raise money to repay its creditors.Firefighters were called to retrieve a drone which got stranded at the top of a 30ft tree by a wedding photographer.

The incident has caused a backlash from locals who said it was a waste of resources and are calling for a ban to be imposed on the use of drones in the area.

A Chinese photographer had been filming with the airborne camera outside the abbey on Friday when his remote controlled device became stuck in the tree.

Firefighters were called to retrieve a drone which got stranded at the top of a 30ft tree by a wedding photographer

Witnesses said it took North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue teams around an hour to free the drone from the tree.

The device dropped from the large canopy and fell on top of a lamppost which cracked in two pieces.

Selby resident Deborah Brough, 33, hoped that drones would now be banned from flying at the historic abbey following the incident.

She said: 'At the end of the day this is a church - not a playground.

'That drone could have hit school children walking past and done some real damage.'

Other views ranged from a waste of public resources - to urging the drone owner to give a donation to the fire service.

Witnesses said it took North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue teams around an hour to free the drone from the tree

Ian Vollans said on Facebook: 'Great use of the emergency services I must say.'

Mark Robinson posted: 'Well I hope the owners at least make a donation to the fire brigade. A lot of equipment and staff costs consumed here for a plastic toy....'

Sarah Mahon added: 'What an absolute waste of resources.'

Residents are now calling for drones to be banned, and said the use of firefighters was a waste of resources

Lee Stoyles said: 'Send him a bill, I don't pay my council tax to fund recovery of his equipment.'

Mark Stephens also posted: 'What fool phoned the fire brigade? Not their job to retrieve his drone.

'A tree surgeon could have done it just as easily, but then I suppose that's not free, is it...'

Traffic was stopped in the area in the effort to retrieve the flying machine, being used by a Chinese photographer

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: 'Fire crews were called to Selby Abbey at around 3.30pm on Friday.

'A ladder and a large pole were used to climb a tree and fetch a drone that had got stuck at the top following a wedding at the Abbey.

'Crews stopped traffic to ensure the item was retrieved safely and no one was injured.

Selby Abbey has become a honey trap for Asian tourists following the wedding of Taiwanese popstar and actor Jay Chou in 2015.

The fairy tail nuptials and following party celebrations is said to have cost around $1 million(750,000).

The following years found Selby grow in popularity with Asian tourists who visited the town and had similar ceremony to Mr Chou.

Asian couples will get married in their native countries - but have romantic honeymoon pictures taken outside the venue.All Chinese mosques should raise the national flag to 'promote a spirit of patriotism' among Muslims, the country's top Islamic regulatory body has declared.

Flags should be hung in a 'prominent position' in all mosque courtyards, the China Islamic Association said in a letter published Saturday on its website.

This would 'further strengthen the understanding of national and civic ideals, and promote a spirit of patriotism among Muslims of all ethnic groups', it read.

Mosques in China are now being urged to fly the national flag as a way to promote patriotism. Pictured, Muslims gather for Friday prayers inside a mosque in Shanghai, China

The China Islamic Association, a government-affiliated body, said the national flag of China (pictured at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing) should be hung in a 'prominent position' in mosques

This news comes as China's Communist Party seeks to tighten its grip on religion.

Last week, former detainees of China's Muslim 're-education' camps claimed they had been forced to eat pork and drink alcohol, forbidden in Islam, as punishment.

According to the statement on Saturday, mosques in China should also publicly display information on the party's 'core socialist values', and explain them to devotees via Islamic scripture so that they will be 'deeply rooted in people's hearts'.

The China Islamic Association is a government-affiliated body and has the sole power to accredit imams.

The letter comes on the heels of China's newly revised Regulations on Religious Affairs, which came into effect in February and prompted rights groups to voice concern for religious freedoms.

What are China's Muslim 're-education' camps? The entrance to a jail which locals say is used to hold those undergoing political indoctrination program in Korla in western China's Xinjiang region Chinese authorities in the heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang are believed to have ensnared at least one million Muslim Chinese - and even foreign citizens - in mass internment camps since spring 2017. Such detention campaigns have swept across Xinjiang, a territory half the area of India, leading to what a US commission on China said is 'the largest mass incarceration of a minority population in the world today'. Former detainees claimed that Muslims were forced to eat pork and speak Mandarin in those camps. Chinese officials have largely avoided comment on the camps, but some are quoted in state media as saying that ideological changes are needed to fight separatism and Islamic extremism. Radical Muslim Uighurs have killed hundreds in recent years, and China considers the region a threat to peace in a country where the majority is Han Chinese. The internment programme aims to rewire the political thinking of detainees, erase their Islamic beliefs and reshape their very identities, it is claimed. The camps have expanded rapidly over the past year, with almost no judicial process or legal paperwork. Detainees who most vigorously criticise the people and things they love are rewarded, and those who refuse to do so are punished with solitary confinement, beatings and food deprivation. China has faced global criticism after a cache of leaked documents showed how the nation run a system of re-education centres to indoctrinate its Muslim people. The documents, which include guidelines for operating detention centres and instructions for how to use technology to target people, reveal that the camps in Xinjiang are not for voluntary job training, as Beijing has claimed. After initially denying their existence, China acknowledged that it had opened 'vocational education centres' in Xinjiang aimed at preventing extremism by teaching Mandarin and job skills. Advertisement

The new regulations intensified punishments for unsanctioned religious activities and increased state supervision of religion in a bid to 'block extremism' and tackle what Beijing sees as internal threats.

Mosque staff should organise study of the Chinese constitution and other relevant laws - particularly the new religious regulations, the letter said.

They should also study Chinese classics and set up courses on traditional Chinese culture, while being sure to focus only on Muslim sages of Chinese rather than foreign origin, it added.

A child rests near the entrance to the mosque where a banner in red reads 'Love the party, Love the country' in the old city district of Kashgar in western China's Xinjiang region

The goal, it said, was for mosques to become 'a solid platform for the study of the party and the country's laws and policies' in addition to houses of worship, and thereby develop among Muslims 'an understanding of a common Chinese identity' with the majority Han.

Islam is one of the five religions officially recognised by the atheist Communist party. The country is home to some 23 million Muslims.

But restrictions on them are intensifying, particularly in the province of Xinjiang in north-west China.

Xinjiang is home to the mostly Muslim Uighur minority, where there are bans on beards and public prayers.

China's Xinjiang province is far west and Kashgar is the biggest city west of China

Authorities say the restrictions and heavy police presence in Xinjiang are intended to control the spread of Islamic extremism and separatist movements, but analysts say the region is becoming an open-air prison.

Tens of thousands of Uighurs have been sent to shadowy detention and re-education centres for perceived offences and can be held indefinitely without due process.

Omir Bekali and Kayrat Samarkand, two former inmates of such brainwashing camps, have told of the horror.

Omir Bekali cries as he details the psychological stress endured while in a Chinese internment camp. The program aims to rewire detainees' thinking and reshape their identities

Bekali, a Kazakh Muslim, said he and other detainees had to disavow their Islamic beliefs, criticise themselves and their loved ones and give thanks to the ruling Communist Party.

When Bekali refused to follow orders each day, he was forced to stand at a wall for five hours at a time. A week later, he was sent to solitary confinement, where he was deprived of food for 24 hours. After 20 days in the heavily guarded camp, he wanted to kill himself.

'The psychological pressure is enormous, when you have to criticise yourself, denounce your thinking - your own ethnic group,' said Bekali in a separate interview with AP as he broke down in tears while describing the camp.

'I still think about it every night, until the sun rises. I can't sleep. The thoughts are with me all the time.'A 70-year-old woman who claims that she is six months pregnant with her eighth child will become the oldest woman to give birth if it proves true.

Maria de la Luz has shown reporters ultrasound scans which she says confirm she is six months pregnant with a baby girl.

'They told me it is a girl. Look, you can see her little face,' she said at her home in Mazatlan, a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

Maria de la Luz, 70, who did not reveal any details of the pregnancy including whether she had had IVF treatment or similar, said she first suspected she was pregnant three months ago

Maria de la Luz has shown reporters ultrasound scans which she says confirm she is six months pregnant with a baby girl. She could be the oldest mother in the world to give birth

De la Luz, who did not reveal any details of the pregnancy including whether she had had IVF treatment or other similar procedures, said she first suspected she was pregnant three months ago.

'My legs hurt and I was vomiting and felt dizzy. Now they have done around 10 ultrasounds in a private clinic and in the (public) social security hospital. The doctors could not believe it,' she told reporters.

If the baby girl is born, it will make De la Luz four years older than the current record holder, Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara.

Maria de la Luz in front of her house in Mazatlan, a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa

If the baby girl is born, it will make De la Luz four years older than the current record holder, Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara, who was 66 years old when she gave birth to twin boys

Currently the oldest verified mother in the world, Bousada de Lara was 66 years and 358 days old when she gave birth to twin baby boys, Christian and Pau, in December 2006.

They were delivered prematurely by caesarean section and weighed 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) each.

Omkari Panwar from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, gave birth to twins in 2008 but her claim to have been 70 was not provable.

Likewise, there were also other women that were older when they had children and claimed to be of a similar age but again none of the ages have been verified.

Maria de la Luz claims these ultrasound scans show she is six months pregnant with a baby girl

'They told me it is a girl. Look, you can see her little face,' De la Luz said of the scans

Currently the oldest verified mother in the world, Maria Del Carmen Bousada De Lara (pictured) was 66 years and 358 days old when she gave birth to twin baby boys in 2006

De la Luz said some of her children were not happy with the news that she was pregnant, saying they told her she was too old for 'those things'.

She has an appointment with a gynaecologist on July 18 and she said she is expecting to have a caesarean-delivery because of her age.

Bousada de Lara previously admitted that she had lied to physicians about her age when seeking in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment at a clinic in California.

She then went on to become the world's oldest documented mother, surpassing the record established in 2005 by Romanian mother Adriana Iliescu, who was also 66.Now that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are riding off into the sunset as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, attention turns to the next Royal Wedding, that of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.

Harry and Meghans Royal Wedding wasnt the last one for a longtime, as some people have been saying, as Eugenie set to marry her long-term boyfriend and fiance Jack Brooksbank later this year.

Here is all you need to know about the next royal wedding, including when it is, who Jack Brooksbank is and where will it take place.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's royal wedding will be next after Harry and Meghan's

When is Princess Eugenies wedding?

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbanks royal wedding date is set for October 12, 2018. Like Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Princess Eugenie and Brooksbank will be married at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle.

The date was revealed by Eugenies father, the Duke of York, on Twitter.

'The marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie to Mr Jack Brooksbank will take place on 12th October 2018. As previously announced, the wedding will take place at St. Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle.'

HRH - 'We are overjoyed at the news today that Eugenie and Jack have got engaged. Jack is an absolutely outstanding young man and Eugenie and he have got to know each other over a number of years, and I'm really thrilled for them.'  The Duke of York (@TheDukeOfYork) January 22, 2018

The marriage of Her Royal Highness Princess Eugenie to Mr Jack Brooksbank will take place on 12th October 2018.



As previously announced, the wedding will take place at St. Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle.  The Duke of York (@TheDukeOfYork) February 2, 2018

You wait for centuries for a break in royal wedding traditions and then two come along in one year as Princess Eugenies wedding date falls on a Friday, breaking the royal tradition of holding wedding ceremonies on the weekend.

The original wedding date had to be pushed back in order to accommodate the busy royal schedule, including a potential foreign tour for Prince Harry and Meghan.

Who is Princess Eugenies fiance Jack Brooksbank?

Jack Brooksbank is the son of an Old Etonian, accountant George Brooksbank and attended the 10,000-a-term Stowe school.

It was discovered in early 2018 that Brooksbank and Princess Eugenie are distantly related, with his great-great-grandfather Viscount Thomas Coke is also the great-great-grandfather of Sarah Ferguson, Eugenies mother.

Brooksbank didnt go to university, instead going straight into the hospitality industry.

He started out as a waiter and worked at a gastropub near Sloane Square. While working, he met Piers Adam, a businessman who hired him at The Markham Inn in Chelsea.

It was at The Markham Inn that Brooksbank met Prince Harry and Guy Pelly and began navigating the royal circles.

Later, Brooksbank joined the operations team at Mahiki, a nightclub preferred by Prince Harry, and became a brand ambassador for George Clooneys Casamigos tequila.

How did Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank meet?

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank meet in 2011, having been introduced by friends on a ski holiday in Verbier, Switzerland.

'There was an immediate attraction and since that meeting, they have barely been apart,' a friend later recalled.

In 2013, Princess Eugenie went to New York to work for Paddle8 auction house, while Brooksbank remained in London.

The couple remained together, making the long-distance work and the princess returned to London in 2015 to work in an art gallery on Saville Row.

In January 2018, Brooksbank proposed to Princess Eugenie with a ring of a padparadscha sapphire surrounded by diamonds.

Princess Eugenie's mother was one of the first people to celebrate the news on Twitter, writing: 'Total joy!! #engagement @TheDukeOfYork' and including a picture of the couple with a message of congratulations.

'A total embrace of goodness and joy. We love Jack and I am so excited to have a son, a brother and a best friend. Eugenie is one of the finest people I know and so together it will be pure harmony.'Just four out of fifty-four of this year's finalists in the National Geographic Bee are girls with experts saying schools and parents should do more to deal with the gender imbalance.

Every year millions of fourth to eighth-graders across the United States compete for the chance to participate in the National Geographic Bee finals.

In this weekend's final they will answer difficult questions about the world including its history, inhabitants, lands and seas with the winner landing a $50,000 college scholarship and an all-expenses-paid expedition to the Galapagos Islands.

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Finalist in last year's competition, which was hosted by Mo Rocca

One of the few girls who made it through to the final of last year's competition

Anoushka Buddhikot will represent the state of New Jersey in the 30th annual National Geographic Bee, one of just four girls taking part

Each state is and overseas territory is represented in the final but just four of them are girls.

Some say educators need to actively foster geographic curiosity in girls while others believe National Geographic Society is in violation of Title IX, which prohibits exclusion on the grounds of gender from federally funded education programs.

Penn State University psychology professor Lynn Liben has studied the bee's gender gap, which has persisted since the competition began in 1989.

She found boys and girls entered the competition at similar but the contest the number of girls whittles away.

Liben believes she believes cultural factors push boys into subjects involving spatial learning. Geography which has map reading at its core has special learning at its core.

Parents are more likely to emphasize stories about exploring, war and battles with boys, all of which involve maps and thinking spatially.

Rocca watches at right as, from left, Veda Bhattaram, Thomas Wright and Pranay Varada nervously wait to hear who has made it into the top two of last year's competition

'When girls read military history, they also have increased knowledge of this stuff,' Liben told NBC news.

'It's not that they're not equipped to do it. It's just that boys do a little more of it.

'You shouldn't start out with the assumption that girls are fundamentally, biologically different from boys.'

David Sadker, a retired professor of education at the American University, in Washington D.C, says schools can help close the gender gap by highlighting female leaders in science and environmental

'There are leaders who can become part of the curriculum, so girls can see themselves as having a place in that world,' Sadker said.

'If they don't see themselves as having a place, why should they care?'

Eric Clausen, a geologist and former director of the North Dakota Geographic Alliance, sued the National Geographic Society in 2009 claiming it violated Title IX.

He tried to argue that the society uses public schools for its bees and federally paid teachers as administrators but a judge threw out the case.

Seventh grader Gayatri Kaimal, from Arizona told NBC She said she feels extra pressure to perform.

'I wish there was a little bit more representation for both genders,' she said.

'I don't really want to let them down. I want to show that we are just as capable.'Controversial video shows a Border Patrol agent quizzing two U.S. citizens about their immigration status outside a convenience store in Montana, simply because he overheard them speaking Spanish as they were checking out.

The incident happened in the early hours of Wednesday, after Ana Suda and Mimi Hernandez stepped out to get some eggs and milk for their children at a gas station convenience store in Havre, about 30 miles south of the Canadian border.

As they were checking out, the two women were speaking Spanish when they were overheard by a Border Patrol agent, who stopped them and asked for their ID.

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A Border Patrol officer is under fire for stopping two U.S. citizens and questioning them on their immigration status for speaking Spanish at a convenience store

'He asked where I was born, so I looked at him and I said, "Are you serious?" He's, like, "Yes, I'm serious," but, you know, with a very authoritative voice,' Suda told KVIA.

Suda said she asked the man, who identified himself as Agent O'Neal, if she could pay for her items first.

'He's, like, "No, give me your I.D,"' she recalled. So she said she would give him her ID, but she wanted to get her phone out of her car so she could record their interaction.

The video starts after she has retrieved her phone.

'M'am, the reason I asked you for your I.D. is because I came and saw that you guys were speaking Spanish which is very unheard of up here,' the agent says in the video.

'Its the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store  in a state where its predominantly English-speaking.'

Ana Suda, right, and her friend Mimi Hernandez, who both live in Montana were shocked by the interrogation

Suda said she was shocked that he could stop her just for speaking Spanish.

Both Suda and her friend are U.S. citizens. Suda was born in El Paso, Texas but raised in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Hernandez is from Central California originally, and was a bit more shaken by the encounter. Both now live in Montana.

'She asked 'why is this happening to us? What did we do wrong? Because we said something in Spanish?' and it's embarrassing, people look at you like you did something wrong,' Suda said.

Even after providing their IDs, Suda said the agent held them for about 35 minutes.

After the video went viral last week, the Border Patrol issued this statement:

'Although most Border Patrol work is conducted in the immediate border area, agents have broad law enforcement authorities and are not limited to a specific geography within the United States. They have the authority to question individuals, make arrests, and take and consider evidence.'

They said they will be reviewing the incident.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Suda, whose husband is a former probation officer with the Montana Department of Corrections, said she will be reaching out to the ACLU for legal help filing a lawsuit over the incident.

'I just dont want this to happen anymore,' Suda told the Post. 'I want people to know they have the right to speak whatever language they want. I think thats the most important part, to help somebody else.'

Ana Suda, pictured, one of the two women who were stopped said she will be contacting the ACLE to file a lawsuit over the incident

She added that she was most upset by her seven-year-old daughter's reaction to the video and said she had never encountered anything similar in the state before.

'When she saw the video, she was like, Mom, we cant speak Spanish anymore? Suda told the Post. 'I said "No. You be proud. You are smart. You speak two languages." This is more for her.'

'My family was asking me, because my family is still in Texas, and they were asking me, how is Montana about this? I said I have never had a problem before. I say Montana is perfect. I love the people here, the people are so nice. It is nicer than other states. I can not believe this happened,' Suda told MTN news.Britain is at the 'front of the line' for a trade deal after Brexit and both sides can reap the benefits, the US ambassador to London vowed today.

Woody Johnson said Donald Trump had been 'pretty clear' about his determination to tighten links with the UK as he understands the importance of the Special Relationship.

He also dismissed fears about the president getting a hostile reception when he visits Britain in July - saying Mr Trump had a 'reasonably good' approval rating in this country.

Appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain today, Woody Johnson insisted none of the tensions had dimmed Mr Trump's enthusiasm to stay close to the UK

There have been tensions between the president (right) and Theresa May (left at the Chelsea Flower Show today) over the Iran nuclear deal, the US recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the threat of punitive steel tariffs

The optimistic stance came as the government and the White House thrash out the details for Mr Trump's long-awaited trip.

There have been tensions between the president and Theresa May over the Iran nuclear deal, the US recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and the threat of punitive steel tariffs.

The two leaders also became embroiled in an extraordinary public spat last year after Mr Trump retweeted anti-Muslim posts from a British right-wing group.

But appearing on ITV's Good Morning Britain, Mr Johnson insisted none of the issues had dimmed Mr Trump's enthusiasm to stay close to the UK.

'He's made this pretty clear all the way through that the UK's going to be at the front of the line,' Mr Johnson said.

'That Special Relationship is very important between our two countries  prosperity and security has never been closer, he knows how important it is.'

Asked if the deal would be better for America than Britain, he said: 'My knowledge of the British business community is they're very, very tough negotiators and I would never put them as second place to anybody.

'If there's anybody capable of making a good deal, it's the British; very seasoned, very experienced, very intelligent. I think a mutual good deal is on the cards, it's going to happen.'

He added: 'I think overall the relationship between the two countries is going to be very, very strong.'

Barack Obama warned before the EU referendum that Brexit would put the UK at the 'back of the queue' for a trade deal with the US

Mr Johnson said he thought the US president would get a 'positive reaction' when he comes to Britain on July 13.

There has been speculation that Mr Trump will largely avoid London, where critics have promised huge demonstrations on the streets.

'There's obviously going to be some protestors. Overall, his approval rating here is reasonably good,' he said.

Pushed on how much time Mr Trump would spend in the capital, the ambassador said: 'His agenda is not fully formed yet. He's working out some other things in Singapore and elsewhere. We'll see what it looks like.'Meghan's Markle's estranged sister has today accused the Duchess' own mother of 'cashing in' hours after she reportedly demanded a five-figure sum to be filmed watching the royal wedding.

Samantha Markle, whose father Thomas pulled out of walking Meghan down the aisle after heart problems and a paparazzi deal she organised, has criticised Doria Ragland for speaking to Oprah Winfrey.

Ms Markle, who was called a 'vulture' by Piers Morgan for writing a book calling her sibling a 'pushy princess', made the claim when she was called an attention seeker on Twitter.

She replied: 'Even Doria cashed in talking to Oprah and some of the first photos out there only she could have had'.

In repeated rants to the media, Samantha, 53, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, has portrayed Meghan as narcissistic and selfish and claimed her half-sister had disowned her because of her disability.

Samantha Markle, whose father Thomas pulled out of walking Meghan (pictured together) down the aisle after heart problems and a paparazzi deal she organised, has criticised Doria Ragland for speaking to Oprah Winfrey

Doria was the only member of Meghan's family at the wedding and she was supported by Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall

Ms Markle, who was called a 'vulture' by Piers Morgan for writing a book about her 'pushy princess' sibling, made the claim about Doria while defending her own actions on Twitter

Oprah Winfrey was among the host of stars who attended the VIP-heavy wedding on Saturday and is reportedly set to interview Doria on US TV

Oprah Winfrey was among the host of stars who attended the VIP-heavy wedding on Saturday.

The star, who has been touted as a potential presidential candidate, is said to have spent six hours with Meghans mother in preparation for a forthcoming interview.

Samantha Markle has also been previously accused of racism by her own mother, Roslyn, 72, who told DailyMail.com that her daughter would describe Meghan's mother as 'the maid because she is black'.

Roslyn of Albuquerque, New Mexico, said last year: 'When Tom Sr [Meghan's father] married Meghan's mom, Samantha told all her friends that Doria was the maid because she's black. She is not a nice person.'

She added: 'She trashes Meghan, trashes me, her dad, her brothers  she's just been trashing everybody in her life forever.

'I am very serious when I say she has dogged on Meghan forever. She has never liked Meghan and she's always been jealous of her.'

Samantha Markle, 53, meanwhile, had claimed to TMZ that she would host a party while watching the royal wedding at her Ocala, Florida home, and hire off-duty cops as security.

Laughter: One of the well-wishers in the crowds makes Meghan laugh and Prince Harry smile as they continue with their 25-minute tour of the royal market town

Samantha Markle has appeared on TV repeatedly ahead of her half-sister's wedding despite not seeing her for years

But just after dawn on Saturday, as Meghan Markle became the Duchess of Sussex, there was no sign of celebration - and instead a television outside broadcast truck remained parked outside her single-story home.

Ugly split: Samantha Markle's mother Roslyn Markle claims her own daughter Samantha called Doria Ragland 'the maid' because she is black

Her partner Mark Phillips, 60, told DailyMail.com that she was taking part in a television appearance - and suggested that it was earning her a five-figure sum.

'You can't go in there,' he said. 'She is making big money with an exclusive TV interview.'

Mr Phillips wouldn't say what TV network paid Samantha for her expertise on her estranged sister, who didn't invite her to her big day in London.

Neither did Phillips say how much she was paid, but his eyes lit up when he was asked if it was $25,000.

Asked how many people the 'party' involved, he said there were eight people - he, Samantha, and the six-strong crew.

'I'm taking her next week where nobody knows us,' he said. 'We haven't slept in days. We haven't been in peace.

'There have been more paparazzi at the house than I have neighbours,' he said. 'It's been a constant hassle'.

Samantha Markle told TMZ that she had a 'paparazzi confrontation'. She released a picture from an unnamed hospital and her partner claimed she had a broken ankle and possible fracture knee. But law enforcement can find no evidence of the crash she described

Ready for a broadcast: This satellite truck was the only sign of life outside Samantha Markle's home in Ocala, Florida over the weekend

Markle said she had encouraged her father to do a deal with paparazzi claiming he had been treated 'shabbily' by the media.

Although uninvited to the big day, she has been repeatedly discussing it on TV and celebrity website TMZ, and has even vowed to write a tell-all book about their fractious relationship.Two young boys are facing multiple charges after they went on an alleged crime spree - stealing jewellery, money and electronics from several properties.

The boys, aged 10 and 11-years-old, have been charged with 11 offences combined after they allegedly committed a spate of burglaries across Rockingham.

Police allege the boys broke into several homes and a primary school in the daylight hours.

The WA police force posted this image of the alleged stolen watch being returned

They are accused of stealing money, jewellery and small electronic devices.

One of the alleged items the boys' stole was a watch belonging to the elderly victim's deceased husband.

Western Australian police shared a photo over social media of Constable Sean Larson-Pearse handing back the watch.

The 10-year-old boy from Rochingham faces charges of attempted aggravated home burglary, two counts of aggravated home burglary and three counts of stealing.

They 11-year-old boy from Cooloongup has been charged with Aggravated home Burglary, Stealing and Burglary and Commit.

They are both due to appear Rockingham Children's Court next month.

They young boys are facing 11 charges between them after allegedly stealing cash and jewels, and a deceased mans watch (pictured)

In a separate incident, two teenage boys have been charged over an alleged attack of a 40-year-old man in nearby Cannington over the weekend, PerthNow reported.

The boys allegedly approached the man after he sat down on a bench at the train station and started punching him.

The man fell to the ground and the teenagers continued to beat him up.

The ran off, leaving the man on the ground but were caught my Public Transport Officers shortly after.

The victim was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital for treatment to non-life-threatening injuries.A street shooting in Philadelphia Sunday wounded a pregnant woman and her father on her wedding day, and authorities are seeking the ex-wife of her new husband along with two men.

Lt. John Walker says the woman, 23, who is about five months pregnant with twins, was shot in the leg and hip.

She got married earlier on Sunday and the groom's ex-wife allegedly saw a social media post about the nuptials.

A street shooting in Philadelphia Sunday wounded a pregnant woman and her father on her wedding day, and authorities are seeking the ex-wife of her new husband along with two men

At least two men pulled guns and opened fire at about 10.30 pm on a street in southwest Philadelphia.

When police arrived, both victims had already been rushed to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in a private vehicle.

Walker says the woman's 74-year-old father jumped in front of his daughter and was critically wounded after being shot twice in the back.

Lt. John Walker says the woman, 23, who is about five months pregnant with twins, was shot in the leg and hip

She got married earlier on Sunday and the groom's ex-wife allegedly saw a social media post about the nuptials

The woman was hit twice but is in stable condition. The lieutenant says her pregnancy hasn't been affected.

Authorities said the shooters fired at least 18 shots from two separate semi-automatic weapons before they fled the scene on foot.

Their names and further details on their injuries have not been released, however authorities say the motive for the shooting appears to be 'domestic in nature.'

At least two men pulled guns and opened fire at about 10.30 pm on a street in southwest Philadelphia

'The motive for the shooting right now appears to be domestic in nature, based on witness accounts and other family members,' said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small, ABC reported. 'This may have stemmed from a past relationship.'

Witnesses say two men and a woman jumped into what they believe was a white Mercedes GLS shortly after the shooting and were heading north on 58th Street, NBC reported.

Police located cameras on a nearby business, and are hoping to find footage to track down the suspects.Angenette Marie Welk, 44, has been handed an upgraded charge of DUI manslaughter after she rear-ended a car on a highway in Orlando, Florida, while intoxicated earlier this month, killing 60-year-old Sandy Clarkson. She is pictured in a mugshot after being re-charged on Saturday

A drunk driver whose smiley mugshot went viral has been handed an upgraded charge of DUI manslaughter after she killed a mother and injured her teenage daughter in Florida car crash earlier this month.

Angenette Marie Missett, 44, rear-ended a vehicle with her sedan on a highway in Orlando just before noon on May 10.

She said that she had been distracted because she dropped her phone, but a field sobriety test revealed that her blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit.

The driver of the sedan, 18-year-old Shiyanne Kroll, walked away with minor injuries, but her mother Sandra Clarkson, 60, suffered critical injuries and died in the hospital days later.

Missett's original mugshot sparked outrage because had a big smile on her face.

The new mugshot taken after she was charged with manslaughter is considerably less cheerful.

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The 44-year-old's mugshot taken shortly after the crash sparked widespread outrage because of the big smile on her face, which Clarkson's family claims shows that she has no remorse

Shiyanne Kroll, 18, center, was driving the car that Missett rear-ended. Kroll walked away with minor injuries but her mother, Clarkson, right, who was in the passenger seat, suffered critical injuries and died in the hospital days later

Missett, whose last name was first reported as Welk, was driving her 2011 Chevrolet Avalon on US Highway 27 when she failed to break in time and slammed into Kroll's Hyundai Elantra, sandwiching it between the Avalon and a tractor-trailer in front of them.

Missett was arrested at the scene of the crash after police smelled alcohol on her breath and a breathalyzer indicated her BAC was .172, more than double the legal driving limit.

The mother-of-one was charged with driving under the influence, DUI with property damage and DUI with great bodily harm and posted bond soon after being taken to Marion County Jail.

Clarkson, a mother-of-three, was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center where she underwent several operations but was left paralyzed and brain-dead, family members said.

When they saw the beaming smile on Missett's face in her mugshot, the family was outraged, calling for the 40-year-old to be given the maximum sentence.

'That disgusts me and that means she has no remorse for what she did at all and I hope that judge sees that picture and says the same thing,' Kroll told ClickOrlando days after the accident.

Missett's vehicle rear-ended Kroll's vehicle so hard that it was sandwiched between the tractor-trailer ahead of them, as shown in the screen grab from the crash site above

Clarkson's family was outraged when they saw Missett's smiley mugshot. (pictured) Kroll said: 'That disgusts me and that means she has no remorse for what she did at all'

The 18-year-old's sister Keonna Sciacca said: 'It's destroyed us. Our lives are changed forever.

'It's definitely wrecked our family forever, not just temporarily, this was a permanent thing that [Missett] did.

'[I'm] trying to cope with the fact I won't see her walk again, she won't be home when I get home from work or in the mornings when I get home from work. I won't be able to talk to her, I won't see her laugh, she won't see me laugh. I can't hug her I can't tell her: "Goodnight, I love you."'

On Saturday the family's protests were answered and police arrested Missett on DUI manslaughter charges. Court records indicate that she has posted $30,000 bond.

The penalty for DUI manslaughter in Florida is a minimum of 124.5 months in prison.

Missett, a mother-of-one, was re-charged Saturday. Court records show she has posted bond

After receiving the news Sciacca said she was upset that Missett was released at all.

'I think she should still be sitting in jail,' she told Click Orlando. 'It's like a murder case, like you shot somebody.'

Sciacca added that she hopes others will pay attention to this tragedy and choose to avoid driving while intoxicated.

'If we can get a couple people to stop and think and take a different approach to going out and partying so this doesn't happen to them or someone else's family, that's the good that came out of this,' she said.The son of a millionaire South African property tycoon has been found guilty of hacking his parents and brother to death with an axe and leaving his sister with life-threatening injuries.

Henri van Breda, 23, claimed a masked intruder killed his 21-year-old brother Rudi and parents Martin, 54, and Teresa, 55, and badly wounded sister Marli at their South Africa home in January 2015.

But on Monday, Judge Siraj Desai swept his argument aside, finding him guilty on three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of misleading justice.

Henri Van Breda has been found guilty of the murders of his parents Martin and Teresa, 54 and 55, and his 21-year-old brother Rudi, and the attempted murder of sister Marli

Van Breda was emotionless in court as he was found guilty on two counts of murder, one of attempted murder, and one of misleading justice

The 23-year-old was lead away in handcuffs after the verdict was delivered. He was denied bail, and will be held in custody until his sentencing

Van Breda speaks with defense lawyer Piet Botha after the verdict was handed down

Van Breda was expressionless as the verdict was delivered. He was denied bail and will be held until he is sentenced.

During the trial, he described 'watching helplessly' from a bathroom as a masked man attacked his family with an axe.

When the attacker turned on him, Van Breda claimed, he disarmed the man and fought with him, before the assassin ran away.

Martin, Theresa and Rudi all died from deep wounds to their head and upper body. Marli suffered a severed jugular and is apparently unable to remember the incident, meaning she could not testify against her brother.

In his summary, judge Desai raised multiple questions about the defence case.

'The court is in agreement that it is highly unlikely that the security was breached by an intruder from outside the estate,' Desai said.

'The accused could not say how the security was breached (and) confirmed that he never felt insecure, unsafe or threatened while living on the estate.'

Desai also noted the axe and a knife used in the attack were both kept in the house.

He said it was 'peculiar' that an attacker would butcher an entire family, but leave one person in the corner of the room before going after him.

Another 'odd' detail, Desai said, was why such a hardened killer as Breda described would have fled after being disarmed, despite more weapons being in the house.

The judge questioned why Van Breda did not immediately call for help afterwards, but instead called his girlfriend and slept.

Martin Van Breda (right), wife Teresa, and eldest son Rudi (centre) all died from horror head wounds they suffered during the attack. Marli (front) survived

Supporter: Henri van Breda arrives with his partner Danielle Janse van Rensburg at the Western Cape High Court to hear the verdict in his trial today

Marli Van Breda, who was just 15 at the time of the attack, suffered a severed jugular from a blow to her neck but somehow survived her injuries

When Van Breda did eventually call the emergency services, two hours and 40 minutes after the attack, he 'displayed a peculiar lack of empathy', Desai said.

'If the accused's intention was to be helped as soon as possible, it does not explain why he first called his girlfriend, a minor schoolgirl residing in a hostel, several times from his mobile phone,' Desai said.

During his evidence, van Breda had claimed that he was in the toilet when he saw the masked intruder attacking his family.

He said he had survived the attack with superficial stab wounds inflicted after he wrestled with the attacker who was trying to slit his throat. He said he then fell unconscious.

The state insisted the wounds were self-inflicted.

'The accused testified that he was unaware of anyone with grudges against the family,' Desai said.

'The accused testified that he could not think of a reason... why the intruder did not simply remove valuables from the house.

'The accused denied having any serious arguments with his family and stated that there was nothing out of the ordinary the night before the attack.'

Prosecutors say injuries Van Breda sustained that night (left) are 'textbook' examples of 'self-inflicted' injuries. Marli (right) was unable to give evidence during the trial

Van Breda, who stands to inherit the family millions if he is found innocent, claims a masked attacker killed his family with this axe before he fought him off

Van Breda's family had relocated to Australia many years ago before returning home to South Africa in 2014.

Believing he was about to be arrested, van Breda handed himself in to a local police station 18 months after the killings.

The trial generated fevered interest over a privileged son allegedly unleashing a savage attack on his family, whose fortune, derived from property, has been estimated at $16 million (12million).

Van Breda's claim of an intruder had echoes of Oscar Pistorius's defence that he thought a burglar was hiding in the toilet when he fired four times through the door killing his girlfriend.

In a tape of van Breda's call to emergency services, he said his family members were 'bleeding from the head' before he appeared to giggle briefly.

The judge will continue his summary later Monday.The Department of Justice will hold a potentially explosive probe demanded by Donald Trump into whether the FBI snooped on his campaign.

Following Donald Trump's demand that the DoJ investigate his allegation that the Obama administration's FBI 'infiltrated or surveilled' his 2016 campaign, the agency directed its Office of Inspector General on Sunday to formally probe those claims.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement that '[i]f anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.'

Jeff Sessions, the Trump administration's attorney general, recused himself last year from all matters related to Russian election meddling since he was an adviser to the president's campaign.

The move opens the way for a new and potentially explosive front in the relitigation of the 2016 election: whether President Obama's Justice Department oversaw politically-motivated spying.

President Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon that he planned to 'officially' ask 'that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes.'

The tweet came after multiple reports that the FBI had sent an informant to speak with campaign advisers about matters related to possible Russia ties.

Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said Sunday that the Justice Department's Office of Inspector General will investigate whether there was a partisan effort in the Obama administration to spy on Donald Trump's 2016 campaign

President Donald Trump demanded a DOJ probe on Sunday and Rosenstein was quick to oblige him

President Trump is demanding the Justice Department investigate whether the FBI or the department 'infiltrated' his presidential campaign for 'political purposes.'

Trump has charged that the FBI planted 'at least one' spy in his campaign in order to derail his White House aspirations by ginning up a phony reason to criminally investigate him.

The president has long claimed the Obama administration was spying on his presidential efforts but offered no proof to back up that claim.

His numerous and loud allegations have led to questions about why he hasn't ordered an investigation into the matter.

Former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said Trump crossed a 'massive red line' with Sunday's demand.

'This is crossing a massive red line. Trump is forcing DOJ to conduct a politicized investigation - something he himself conceded he shouldn't do. Someone in the Republican Party needs to stand up to this bullshit right now,' Vietor tweeted on Sunday.

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CBS' Face the Nation that he had not seen any evidence to suggest there was an informant inside the Trump campaign. He added that any effort to reveal the identity of a secret FBI source would be illegal and should be prosecuted.

'The first thing you learn when you get involved with the intelligence community is that you need to protect sources and methods and that if you were to out or to burn such an agent, that person's life could be in jeopardy,' he said. 'And I find it outrageous that the president's allies are in effect playing fast and loose with confidential information.'

Trump was on a twitter bender on Sunday, spending the morning tweeting rants about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian influence in the 2016 election and about a bombshell New York Times article that revealed Russia may not have been the only country interested in influencing the presidential contest.

But his demand for an investigation comes after reports that an American academic who met with Trump's advisers in 2016 could have been an FBI informant for its probe into the campaign's alleged collusion with Russian.

Stefan Halper is a Cambridge Academic and has been named in several reports as an FBI informant on the Trump campaign. He is pictured in an undated image speaking at the Oxford Union debating society

Talk of an alleged informant has angered President Trump, who is pictured speaking at a round table event in Washington on May 16

Following the reports and naming of the professor, Trump tweeted: 'If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal'

Both The New York Times and The Washington Post have reported the FBI made use of a U.S.-born academic working in the UK as an informant, and that he met with Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, two Trump aides suspected of dealing with the Russians.

This came after the Daily Caller reported that both Page and Papadopoulos met in 2016 with an American professor at Cambridge University, which it named as Stefan Halper. He asked several questions about Russia which prompted suspicions.

Following the reports and naming of the professor, Trump tweeted: 'If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal.

'Only the release or review of documents that the House Intelligence Committee (also, Senate Judiciary) is asking for can give the conclusive answers. Drain the Swamp!'

Papadopoulos revealed in a plea agreement to having been told by an apparent Russian agent that the Putin government had access to a raft of hacked Hillary Clinton emails before this was made public. He has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Page, meanwhile, was under surveillance by the FBI at the time he met with Professor Halper, who had links to both the CIA and MI6.

Papadopoulos first met Halper after the academic invited him to England in September 2016 to discuss energy issues, two sources familiar with his account told NBC News.

The Trump aide found Halper's behavior during these meetings suspicious, the sources said, and also noticed that the academic's young assistant appeared to flirt with him both during and after the exchanges.

Papadopoulos said Halper, who is now retired, randomly brought up Russians and Clinton's emails, adding to his suspicions.

Page told the Daily Caller he met with Halper several times, including on the academic's farm in Virginia. However, Page told NBC he did not find these encounters concerning.

Halper also met with a third Trump campaign official, to whom he reportedly expressed interest in helping the president's campaign.

There is no public evidence that Halper was an FBI informant, and official sources have refused to comment on the subject. Halper has not given any comment on the issue.

Trump's attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, admitted on CNN Friday that there's no proof the Obama administration had a mole inside the Trump campaign during the president's 2016 run.

'First of all, I don't know for sure  nor does the president  if there really was one,' Giuliani said. 'For a long time we've been told that there was some kind of infiltration. At one time the president thought it was a wiretap. ... but we've never been notified that he was on a tap or an intercept.'

George Papadopoulos was one of three Trump aides that met with Professor Halper during 2016

Carter Page, a Trump adviser who was under FBI surveillance before the 2016 election. He is pictured on December 12, 2016, in Moscow

The academic has long-established connections to both British and American intelligence services.

He worked closely with former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove at the Cambridge Security Initiative, an intelligence consulting group.

Meanwhile, his father-in-law was Ray Cline, who served as director of the CIA's bureau of intelligence and research. Halper also worked with a team of former CIA officials on George H.W. Bush's failed presidential bid.

Allegations that the FBI planted an informant in the Trump campaign have angered the president.

In a series of late night calls to allies, including Meadows and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity, Trump has used the reports as evidence that the so-called deep state of career government officials has been working against him.

The President thrust the issue into the limelight with a tweet on Friday.

He quoted Fox News anchor David Asman, who said: 'Apparently the DOJ put a Spy in the Trump Campaign. This has never been done before and [is not] by any means necessary, they are out to frame Donald Trump for crimes he didn't commit'.

Trump has frequently fumed about the Russia probe even while in White House meetings this week about other topics, according to a White House official.

Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told CNN on Friday neither he or Trump actually knew for sure if there was an informant or not

Trump tweeted a quote from Fox News anchor David Asman, claiming the DOJ would 'frame him for crimes he didn't commit'

Talk of the reported FBI source has rocketed through the conservative media, with several people putting forward Halper as the likely suspect.

Hannity discussed the issue on his show Wednesday - and was a centerpiece of Giuliani's attacks on the probe Friday.

'I want to know because I believe, if there was an embedded person, that person cleared us because the FBI cleared us.

'I wonder what the heck is the legitimacy of the Mueller investigation in the first place,' Giuliani told CNN.

Trump allies have increasingly pushed for ways to paint Mueller and his investigators as political actors in an effort to discredit his findings or justify his possible dismissal.

They have painted the informant as a 'spy,' although this suggests an agent permanently embedded within the campaign, an impression the FBI would refute.

A number of Trump outside advisers  including former chief strategist Stephen Bannon  have stepped up their attacks on the Department of Justice, calling for it to release more documents to the White House while saying a confidential source has worked against Trump.

Working from his Capitol Hill town house, Bannon has consulted with Trump-friendly congressmen including Nunes and Rep. Mark Meadows, to rally support among Republicans and push Trump to act more aggressively, according to two people familiar with the discussions but not authorized to discuss them publicly.'A convicted child killer and rapist, renowned for playing 'mind games' with law enforcement, has denied knowing where up to seven missing girls are buried - despite his reported boasts behind bars which inspired police to dig for days to find their bodies.

Arthur Nelson Ream has been locked up for slaying 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki in 1986 since her body was discovered in the woods of Warren, in suburban Detroit in 2008.

Earlier this month, police began digging in the same remote property in the search for the remains of 12-year-old Kimberly King - who disappeared around the same area in 1979.

They were also looking for Kellie Brownlee, 17, who went missing from Novi, in 1982; Kim Larrow, who disappeared from Canton in 1981; and Nadine O'Dell, 16, missing from Taylor, since 1982, as well as three other missing women.

Police said they began the search on May 8 after fellow prisoners said Ream boasted about killing four to six other girls. They also reviewed his file and he failed polygraph test. But the search came to an abrupt end just a week later.

Convicted child killer and rapist Arthur Ream (pictured in 2017) has denied knowing where up to seven missing girls are buried - despite his reported boasts behind bars which inspired police to dig for days to find their bodies

However, Ream, 69, insists he has no knowledge of the remains of the missing women - and had no involvement in their deaths.

'I've never had anything to do with any of them,' Ream said. 'There's absolutely no connection between me and them at all.'

But that didn't stop him mocking the efforts of law enforcement to finally reunite the missing women's remains with their families.

'To be honest with ya, on one hand I was laughing my a** off and on the other hand, I was pissed off,' Ream told the Detroit Free Press. 'So, you take it for what it is. There's no bodies there that I know of.'

Earlier this month, police began digging at a remote property in the search for the remains of 12-year-old Kimberly King - and up to six other missing women

The FBI and other agencies stopped digging at the area, 30 miles northeast of downtown Detroit in Macomb Township, a week later

Police said they began the search on May 8 after fellow prisoners said he boasted about killing four to six other girls

Ream, who was transferred from a local prison in Muskegon Heights to the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia in the wake of the media attention, even claims that police should apologize to taxpayers for the money spent on the search and to the families of the missing girls.

Warren police Commissioner Bill Dwyer said 'there is no apology forthcoming' for Ream. 'If anybody owes an apology, it's him and that's why he's in prison for life for murder and rape,' Dwyer said. 'Why would law enforcement ... apologize to him?'

Dwyer said he stands by the investigation, and that investigators have 'worked diligently for decades to get to this point.' He said no more digging is scheduled, but that the effort was worth doing in a 'very, very difficult investigation.'

The investigation has been made all the more difficult by Ream's self-confessed habit of playing 'mind games.'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah, why not? You know, I mean, I don't hurt anybody with it. I don't get carried away,' Ream said.

Investigators were searching for the remains of 12-year-old Kimberly King who was last seen in the area in 1979. Her sister, Konnie Beyma (right) says she is 'disappointed' Kimberly's body was not found

Police have only mentioned the names of three other girls who they believed could have been buried at the site: Kellie Brownlee, 17, from Novi, in 1982; Kim Larrow, from Canton in 1981; and Nadine O'Dell, 16, from Taylor, in 1982

He said when police suspected him of killing the missing women, he debated whether he should draw up some fake maps to lead investigators on a wild goose chase.

'With Cindy, I drew a map, telling them where she was,' Ream said. 'I was so mad at this detective, I drew some maps up and I was going to give them to him. I was just going to have him go dig, willy-nilly, someplace that I knew.'

Ream said he only decided against it after realizing he'd land himself in further trouble.

The inmate claims his predilection for mind games may be the reason he failed the polygraph test investigators issued asking whether he was being truthful about the missing girls.

He explained that while he said 'yes', but he'd been planning to create the fake maps.

The convicted rapist and child killer, who has always claimed that Zarzycki died in an accident and he panicked and buries her body.

The search area was the same area where the body of 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki was found in 2008 after she was murdered by Ream 22 years earlier

When he was arrested in the Zarzycki case, Ream offered to lead investigators to her remains in return for a reduction in his first-degree murder charge to second-degree, which would allow him the possibility of parole after 20 years.

Prosecutors agreed at the time, but Ream then backed out, realizing that he was unlikely to ever make parole because of his two rape convictions. Ream was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole.

However, the suspect did relent and led investigators to the gravesite.

'We know the history and how he's played people,' Dwyer said. 'We understood that. He has that reputation. We knew that going in.'

But Dwyer said he still believes the investigation was 'on the right track'.

'I'm disappointed, obviously, there was not a recovery,' said Konnie Beyma, whose sister, Kimberly King, disappeared in 1979 at age 12. 'Based on information from law enforcement, I was beginning to believe we were close to resolution.'

Beyma said she now plans to write to Ream.

Officials excavated the site amid fears the missing women were victims of convicted child murderer Arthur Nelson Ream

Investigators huddled before they traveled across a huge field to dig for human remains earlier this month

Investigators set up their equipment under tents before beginning their work at the dig site on May 9

'I want him to hear from me directly, word for word,' she said. 'I feel an obligation to my sister, Kimberly, to communicate with this man. If he is responsible, I owe it to her to do everything in my power to see if I can get him to share where her remains are located.'

In the newspaper interview, Ream acknowledges that he raped a teenage hitchhiker in the 1970s, had sex with underage girls and buried Cindy in an unmarked grave.

At the time of his conviction for Zarzycki's killing, he already was serving a 15-year sentence on an unrelated molestation charge involving a 14-year-old girl.

He later was temporarily released from prison to lead police to Zarzycki's body.

He told investigators that Zarzycki's body was buried near a creek.

Ream also drew a map of the site and spent about an hour at the search scene with authorities before leading police to where he buried her body in a shallow grave.

Police said Reams had a sick obsession with young girls.The people of Kennbunkport took to the streets over the weekend to welcome back the town's most famous resident, former president George H. W. Bush.

The 93-year-old politician was all smiles as he waved to the crowds while his envoy took him to the Maine summer home he had shared with his wife of 73 years, Barbara.

It was a bittersweet return as it marked the first time Bush arrived at the oceanfront estate without his wife by his side.

His family will soon be joining him in Maine it seems, with granddaughter Jenna Bush Hager posting a photo of her grandfather's return and writing: 'He made it hometo Maine. Cant wait to get up there to see you, Gamps.'

Bush's son Jeb also posted a photo of his father's arrival, saying: 'My beloved dad is in Maine.'

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Maine man: Former president George H.W. Bush arrived back at his summer home in Kennbunkport on Sunday (above)

Family man: It marks the first time he has returned to the estate since his wife Barbara passed away in April after 73 years of marriage (The Bush family in Maine during his presidency)

Crowd control: Residents lined the streets to welcome Bush back home on Sunday (above)

The crowd that gathered to meet him was alerted to the news of Bush's return when members of the Secret Service began shutting down certain roads in the area, a protocol they all know well after witnessing it every summer for the past 30 years.

It was Bush's great-great grandfather David Davis Walker who purchased the estate in the late 19th century, and it was purchased by Bush in 1977 from his maternal uncle, George Herbert Walker, Jr.

The home has never been willed to or inherited by anyone, and instead been put up for sale following the owner's death.

During his time as president, Bush hosted leaders including Margaret Thatcher and Mikhail Gorbachev at the home, while also spending holidays there with his family.

Locals also took to the streets in the wake of Barbara's death, laying flowers to pay tribute to the woman many came to know so well in the area.

Bush has been having a difficult time these past few weeks according to his spokesperson, and there were questions if he would ever return to Maine when it was revealed he had been hospitalized with a blood infection shortly after his wife's death.

'I imagine he will feel that half of him is missing for the rest of his life,' said Bush's spokesman Jim McGrath.

'But that said, there is no quit in this man. Life goes on, and for George Bush life is to be lived with joy - especially when he is in Maine.'

He then added: 'Family has always been George Bush's highest priority. He gains great strength, and joy, from his large and supportive family. They have each other's back.'

Swank estate: The home(above) has been in Bush's family since the 19th century, and he purchased the property in 1977 from his maternal uncle

Good as gold: Bush also posted a photo over the weekend of his trip to the theater last week to see Hamilton, where he wore a pair of gold Hamilton socks (Bush aboive with friends)

Family: His son Jeb and granddaughter Jenna shared photos of his return, with Jenna writing: 'He made it home to Maine. Cant wait to get up there to see you, Gamps'

Bush also managed to take in some theater ahead of his trip up to Maine, catching a performance of the Tony-winning musical Hamilton in Houston last week.

Bush posted a photo of himself at the performance on Twitter, which showed that he was appropriately attired for the outing.

'Finally had the chance yesterday to catch some new friends in action @HamiltonMusical - properly attired in Hamilton socks, surrounded by family and friends, epic story and performance. Not a big hashtag man, but congratulations #HamFam!!' wrote Bush.A pastor in Palo Alto, California has resigned after he sent a series of foul-mouthed tweets criticizing the city.

Rev. Gregory Stevens, an associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Palo Alto, has called the city 'disgusting' and an 'elitist sh*den of hate' in public tweets.

He has also blasted the city's so-called 'social justice', referring it to a 'f***ing joke', before going on to critique the church's elderly community.

Rev. Gregory Stevens, an associate pastor at First Baptist Church of Palo Alto in California, has called the city 'disgusting' and an 'elitist sh*den of hate' in public tweets

'In our church council meeting the old people always fall asleep. Always. ALWAYS. FALL ASLEEP,' Rev. Stevens wrote, adding, 'old people in a church council meeting = repeat everything times.'

His twitter account has since been removed.

The controversy came to light during a hearing on May 14 in which council approved a conditional use permit that will allow the church to lease space to groups as a community center.

The tweets were compiled and sent to the city by a resident, and were then posted on a public document on the city's website.

The city's vice mayor, Eric Filseth, reportedly called Stevens' tweets vile and that he would think twice before sending children to an event at the church, according to the Palo Alto Daily Post.

When council members questioned Stevens' boss Rev. Rick Mixon about the tweets, he reluctantly said he was 'appalled,' but that he had only been made aware of the tweets the day before.

Rev. Mixon said the church would need to address the issue, and said that it's possible that Stevens' contract wouldn't be renewed after it ends in August.

Rev. Stevens has worked at the church as a full-time associate pastor for faith formation and family life since August 2015, according to the church's website.

Gregory Stevens' tweets were compiled and sent to the city by a resident, and were then posted on a public document on the city's website

Rev. Stevens has also blasted the city's so-called 'social justice', referring it to a 'f***ing joke', before going on to critique the church's elderly community

He has also slammed the church's elderly community in his public tweets

In an email statement, Rev. Stevens wrote that he had resigned from the congregation to 'help minimize the negativity focused on the good community work being done at the First Baptist Church of Palo Alto,' according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Rev. Stevens will be moving to San Francisco once his lease in Palo Alto is over, the report said.

'I tweeted to vent my frustration, and I acknowledge that I did so in an unprofessional and often hurtful way. My Twitter community has always been a small group of progressive ministers and Leftist political activists to whom my rants were geared,' he said.

He also voiced his frustration in what he believed as a lack of action to address the city's wealth inequalities.

'In my experience of trying to work with this community for almost 3 years, I believe Palo Alto is a ghetto of wealth, power, and elitist liberalism by proxy, meaning that many community members claim to want to fight for social justice issues, but that desire doesn't translate into action,' the report said, citing Rev. Stevens.

'If the same energies used to organize neighbors around minor parking issues, a young girls choirs, and 'nasty tweets' were honed to fight actual injustices, Palo Alto would be a very different city. Palo Alto needs more action, less lip service.'

The city, located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, includes portions of Stanford University and is headquarters to a number of high-technology companies such as HP, Tesla and Ford.A Utah high school is under fire after it described a rival school as 'ghetto', 'trash', and 'satanic' in a yearbook spread.

Maple Mountain High School's yearbook featured a word cloud that was shaped as Springville High School's logo - the letter 'S' made to look like a devil, their mascot.

But the word cloud featured a slew of derogatory words to describe the Springville school, including 'greedy', 'snobby', 'basic', 'egotistic', 'obnoxious', and 'repulsive'.

The yearbook was passed out to 500 of the 2,000 students at Maple Mountain, which is in Spanish Fork, and the half-page spread immediately caught attention.

Maple Mountain High School, in Spanish Fork, Utah, is under fire after featuring a word cloud in its yearbook page that described rival Springfield High School as 'ghetto' and 'satanic'

The yearbook was passed out to 500 of the 2,000 students at Maple Mountain High School, and the half-page spread immediately caught their attention

'I think it represents Maple Mountain honestly, very negatively,' Kilee Hullinger, a junior at the school, told Fox 13.

'How did this possibly get passed? We're a great school and, even though it doesn't seem like it right now, a lot of people still love Springville.'

Word of the page quickly spread to Springville High School, just four miles away.

'My first reactions were like, offended, a little mad,' said Hullinger's brother Jesse, who is a senior at the rival school.

'Maple Mountain tried taking this cheap shot right at the end of the year and it just totally backfired on them.'

It didn't take long for officials from both schools to find out about the page and take action.

It didn't take long for officials from both schools to find out about the page and take action. Pictured is Maple Mountain High School

On Friday night the Nebo School District posted on their official Twitter page that they were reviewing the page and would keep students 'posted on the plan of action'

On Friday night the Nebo School District posted on Twitter that they were reviewing the page and would keep students 'posted on the plan of action'.

'Thank you for letting us know of your concern. We never condone negative behavior of any kind', the district added.

The next morning, Maple Mountain had released an apology letter to Springfield's staff, students, and parents.

'We are writing to sincerely apologize for the Springville logo in our yearbook,' the letter, posted to the Nebo School District's Facebook page, read.

'We are truly sorry that we have hurt our dear friends and neighbors that we love and respect.'

Everett Kelepolo, Springville's principal, shared the letter and said he was 'grateful for our relationship' with Maple Mountain High School. Pictured is Springville High School

The letter also stated that the wording did not represent how Maple Mountain 'truly feel' about Springville.

'For many years Springville and Maple Mountain students have grown up together, they have played together and learned together,' the letter read.

'More than anything, we hope these positive relationships will continue far into the future.'

Everett Kelepolo, Springville's principal, shared the letter and said he was 'grateful for our relationship' with Maple Mountain High School.

'We hope that we can all move forward in a positive direction,' he added.

Emma Huntington, a sophomore at Maple Mountain who is part of the yearbook staff, also sent an apology for the logo.

The district plans to cover the words in the remainder of the yearbooks before they get passed out and will also make shirts to unify the two schools

'When I first saw the logo I was stunned, hurt, and angry,' she wrote in a letter shared by the Salt Lake Tribune.

'I know your school and you are the complete opposite of the words on the logo. You are strong, kind, loving, helpful, fun, responsible, and so much more.'

'I know we are all hurt, but the ugly feelings expressed by the few at fault should not be our example.'

The school district said only a couple of people on the staff were involved in the logo and that they will face repercussions.

'Students might think something is funny, this definitely is not funny and is definitely something we take seriously,' said district spokeswoman Lana Hiskey.

'This seemed very hateful, and our fear is that if parents and others on social media continue the hate, we don't want that kind of a thing. We really want there to be unity and for them to come together.'

The district plans to cover the words in the remainder of the yearbooks before they get passed out to students and will also make shirts to unify the two schools.A one-year-old boy was killed and his mother's boyfriend has been charged with felony murder in connection to his death on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

Brian Jamal Wooden, 28, was arrested after police say they received a call about an unconscious child in the DC area at around 7pm.

When authorities arrived to the 4700 block of Benning Road SE, they found little Carter Sanders unconscious.

One-year-old Carter Sanders was found unresponsive at his home. Police say his mother's boyfriend Brian Jamal Wooden, 28, beat the little boy to death

Police spokeswoman Karimah Bilal says little Carter Sanders died from multiple blunt force trauma

But, there was something wrong with the baby six hours earlier, according to a neighbor.

Around 1pm, the neighbor who did not want to be identified, said he saw the mother's boyfriend take the baby out of her SUV.

Wooden told the neighbor, 'The baby ain't breathing, the baby won't wake up.'

The neighbor told NBC4 'He put the baby in his arm and took him upstairs, but I believe the baby was dead.'

Police did not receive a call about the baby for another six hours.

When authorities arrived shortly after 7pm, they found the child unconscious and tried CPR to no avail.

Sanders was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police spokeswoman Karimah Bilal tells The Washington Post that Wooden is the boyfriend of Carter's mother.

Bilal says the baby died at a hospital of 'multiple blunt-force injuries.'

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide.Today Mrs Justice Andrews ruled that DePuy is not liable to the claimants.

Hundreds of patients have lost their High Court battle over allegedly 'defective' hip implants.

In what is believed to be one of the largest 'product liability' group actions in the UK, a group of 312 claimants brought High Court proceedings against manufacturer DePuy over allegations relating to the failure of metal-on-metal implants.

The four-month hearing centred on Pinnacle Ultamet implants, which were taken out of circulation in 2013.

It concerned the issue of 'whether or not the defendant is liable to the claimant, subject to any development risk defence'.

It was reported that these Pinnacle Ultamet implants released metal particles which caused surrounding tissue to die, and made it 40 to 100 times more likely patients would need another replacement

The legal teams representing the 312 claimants said in a statement that they were 'extremely disappointed' by the judgment

Today, Mrs Justice Andrews ruled that DePuy is not liable to the claimants.

The action was brought on behalf of patients who claim to have been injured as a result of the early failure and consequent revision surgery of their metal-on-metal prosthetic hips.

Hundreds more metal-on-metal claims against a number of other manufacturers were put on hold pending the outcome of the trial.

The legal teams representing the claimants said in a statement that they were 'extremely disappointed' by the judgment.

Why was action brought against DePuy? It was reported that it was 40 to 100 times more likely recipients would need a replacement, because the implants released metal particles which caused surrounding tissue to die. The hip implants were brought into use in 2002, and began being sold in the UK in 2004. 12,000 of them were sold in the UK alone, with 260,000 being used worldwide. Claimants argued that in 2008 DePuy became aware that some metal-on-metal parts for Pinnacle Ultamet 'were slightly outside manufacturing specifications'. Following an internal review, they said they would not cause 'safety issues' In March 2013, DePuy announces 'discontinuation' of Pinnacle Ultamet device 'because of low clinician use'. Advertisement

They said: 'This is a complex and lengthy judgment, the implications of which are being carefully considered, however, the impact it will have on consumer safety and the ability of consumers to get redress, cannot be underestimated.

'We are in touch with our clients to discuss what next steps could be taken.'

Samantha Silver, of law firm Kennedys who acted for DePuy, said later: 'The principles established in this judgment apply to all products used by consumers that come within the Consumer Protection Act.

'The decision will have significance for all manufacturers and distributors, not just those in the life sciences industry, as well as their insurers.

'It provides manufacturers with confidence that the courts can take into account the benefits and the inherent risks of certain products, for example, in cases where there is a known side effect or complication and the overall benefits outweigh the risks.

'The decision that the safety of new products should be compared to products existing at the time they are introduced to the market also safeguards the position of those developing new, potentially life-enhancing, technologies in the future.President Donald Trump went after former Obama CIA Director John Brenna, calling him the 'genesis' of the Russia probe and saying he 'disgraced himself.'

The attack came after has spent weeks sharpening his own criticism of Trump  including calling Trump's latest demand for a Justice Department investigation of the FBI over its Russia probe a 'disastrous path' for the president.

'This guy is the genesis of this whole Debacle,' Trump vented Monday morning, after he demanded the Justice Department probe whether the FBI 'infiltrated or surveilled the Trump campaign.'

President Donald Trump went after former Obama CIA Director John Brenna, calling him the 'genesis' of the Russia probe and saying he 'disgraced himself'

Trump fired off three tweets quoting from Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who is now a conservative commentator who appeared on Fox News on Monday morning.

'John Brennan is panicking. He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community,' Trump wrote, quoting Bongino. 'He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of American's faith in the Intelligence Community and in some people at the ...top of the FBI,' Trump continued.

Trump then turned to the golden showers dossier, which contained allegations about his unverified conduct in a Moscow hotel room during the Miss Universe pageant.

Trump went after Brennan after demanding that the Justice Department investigate the FBI's use of an informant and whether it constituted political interference

Trump quoted conservative Dan Bongino as saying Brennan 'is pannicking'

'Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump. We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phony) Dossier...he knows about the Dossier, he denies knowledge of the Dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 on the Hill about the Dossier, which ... they then used to start an investigation about Trump,' Trump wrote.

'It is that simple. This guy is the genesis of this whole Debacle. This was a Political hit job, this was not an Intelligence Investigation. Brennan has disgraced himself, he's worried about staying out of Jail.'

The quotes were taken from Bongino's Fox appearance, although there were several minor changes in the wording.

Trump went after Brennan after a weekend where he tried to keep the focus his FBI investigators and the origins of the Russia probe that has bedeviled his administrtion.

It also comes as Brennan has raised his public profile sharpened his direct criticism of Trump.

Hours before Trump attacked him on Twitter, Brennan retweeted Trump's demand for an investigation of the FBI and told GOP leaders they 'enable Mr. Trump's self-serving actions' if they fail to stop him.

Former CIA Director John Brennan and former NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers arrive for a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing last week

Former Director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) John Brennan testifies before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill, May 23, 2017 in Washington, DC

Brennan has recently emerged as a sharp public critic of Trump

Brennan has recently emerged as a sharp public critic of Trump

'Senator McConnell & Speaker Ryan: If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trump's self-serving actions,' Brennan wrote.

After Trump called former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper a 'lying machine,' Brennan responded: 'Mr. Trump: Your hypocrisy knows no bounds.'

Brennan continued: 'Jim Clapper is a man of integrity, honesty, ethics, & morality. You are not. Jim Clapper served his country for over a half century, including in Vietnam. You did not. By your words & behavior, you diminish the Office of the Presidency.'Theresa May today fought to defuse Brexiteer fury at 'backstop' plans to keep Britain tied to the customs union to avoid a hard Irish border.

The Prime Minister said the proposal was a last resort and would have to be for a 'limited time' as she denied caving into Brussels.

The Irish border has become the critical issue in Brexit negotiations, with the UK and the EU engaged in bitter wrangling over how to avoid imposing 'hard' customs checks.

Brussels has dismissed the government's options of either a customs partnership or a 'Maximum Facilitation' technological solution.

Delivering a speech at Jodrell Bank today, the Prime Minister said the 'backstop' proposal would only be for a 'limited time' as she denied caving into Brussels

A divorce deal struck by Mrs May before Christmas included a backstop that if no other solutions were found to avoid a hard border, the UK would stay aligned to EU rules in key areas.

However, a legal text of the document produced by Brussels since then has been condemned as unacceptable by the PM as it would effectively draw a red line down the Irish sea and split the UK.

Speaking during a visit in Cheshire today, Mrs May said the UK's counter-proposal for a backstop would be a last resort - and would only be permitted for a 'limited time'.

WHEN WILL BRITAIN BE OUT OF THE EU? Britain triggered Article 50 on March 29, 2017, starting a two year process for leaving the EU: March 2018: Outline transition deal agreed, running for about two years June 2018: EU summit that Brussels says should consider broad principles of a future trade deal. October 2018: Political agreement on the future partnership due to be reached Early 2019: Major votes in Westminster and Brussels to ratify the deal March 29, 2019: Article 50 expires, Britain leaves the EU. Transition is expected to keep everything the same for about two years December 31, 2020: Transition expected to come to an end and the new relationship - if it has been agreed - should kick in Advertisement

'The European Commission between December and March outlined their backstop solution,' Mrs May said.

'That was unacceptable to the UK Government, I think it will be unacceptable to any UK government because it effectively put a border down the Irish Sea.

'So what we are proposing is an alternative backstop proposal but nobody wants this to be the solution that is achieved.

'We want to achieve the right solution to our own border relationship with the European Union.

'If it is necessary it will be in a very limited set of circumstances for a limited time but we are working on achieving that commitment to Northern Ireland through our overall relationship with the European Union.'

The PM was backed by Brexiteer Michael Gove, who claimed the backstop was there 'just in case'.

He told a conference on unionism in London: 'The whole point about the backstop is that it's intended not to be implemented, but it's there just in case.'

DUP leader Arlene Foster told the same conference that the backstop plan must be time limited.

Mrs Foster said: 'There has to be a backstop on the backstop. It is vitally important that if that is to happen there is clarity in relation to the timing of it, for businesses in particular.

The PM was backed by Brexiteer Michael Gove (pictured today), who claimed the backstop was there 'just in case'

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, pictured left on a visit to Argentina yesterday, said he believed Brexiteers' fears of a 'betrayal' were unfounded

'We will not support a withdrawal agreement that creates a legal protocol with a new regulatory border down the Irish Sea.'

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who is on a trip to south America, said he believed Brexiteers' fears of a 'betrayal' were unfounded.

But in a warning shot over a 'backstop' plan that could keep Britain tied to the EU's customs union beyond Brexit, Mr Johnson told reporters that ministers should not be planning to fail.

He said the Prime Minister must deliver a final deal that leaves Britain 'unhindered' to strike new trade deals across the world.Putin's mouthpiece in Britain RT is under three new investigations by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom today.

The Kremlin-funded TV station already faced a series of probes into its coverage in the aftermath of the Salisbury nerve agent attack.

Ofcom is now running 11 different inquiries into RT broadcasts. The channel could be stripped of its broadcasting licence for serious breaches of impartiality rules.

An Ofcom spokeswoman said the further investigations are looking into 'the due impartiality of news and current affairs programmes broadcast' on the channel.

RT routinely covers British politics (pictured today discussing Theresa May's policy on Libya) but is accused of doing so with a pro-Russian slant

RT promotes the Government of Vladmir Putin (file image) and the actions of Russia abroad to a UK audience

One of the new investigations is regarding a segment on current affairs programme Crosstalk, and the others will be assessing two news broadcasts, which aired across April and May.

Crosstalk is being assessed over a segment which focused on the dynamics of the ongoing Syrian conflict and the US foreign policy in Syria.

One of the news broadcasts is being assessed over its reporting of the Ukrainian government and its position on Nazism and the treatment of Roma Gypsies, while the other was focused on fracking in the UK and the reported treatment of anti-fracking activists by UK authorities.

The regulator will look into whether each of these three broadcasts, which aired across April and May, offered sufficient balance for viewers on each topic.

In April, Ofcom said that since the Salisbury nerve agent attack of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, it had 'observed a significant increase in the number of programmes' on the channel that should be investigated.

Theresa May (pictured today in London) has hinted at support for action against RT but insists it is up to regulators not the government

'Until recently, TV Novosti's overall compliance record has not been materially out of line with other broadcasters,' Ofcom said of the company that broadcasts RT.

'However, since the events in Salisbury, we have observed a significant increase in the number of programmes on the RT service that warrant investigation as potential breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

'We will announce the outcome of these investigations as soon as possible.'

Other programmes already under investigation include two broadcasts of a show called Sputnik, hosted by George Galloway.

Ofcom also previously announced it would consider whether the TV channel should broadcast in the UK if Russian involvement was proven in the poisoning in Salisbury in March.

The regulator previously said it had written to RT to explain that evidence of unlawful state interference would affect whether it was deemed 'fit and proper' to hold a broadcasting licence.

British politicians have been slammed for appearing on RT. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had a 2011 appearance replayed by the station today (pictured)

MPs today released a hard-hitting report accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies of 'hiding and laundering their corrupt assets in London'.

'We are witnessing Britain's rather unprecedented anti-Russian mania which is manifested in various ways,' Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

'I have no doubt that such actions won't go unnoticed by investors from other countries,' he added.

'Many countries are working to improve their investment attractiveness and this I believe is a step in the opposite direction.'A grinning woman stopped traffic by parading through a New Jersey neighborhood completely naked.

The unidentified woman caught the attention of several neighbors on a street in Trenton as she strolled along the sidewalk in her birthday suit.

Video footage shows her switching between a cheeky smile and red-faced fury as confused spectators question whether she's under the influence of drugs.

A woman was caught on video hanging out completely naked on a neighborhood street in Trenton, New Jersey, drawing the attention of several confused onlookers

The unidentified woman who appears to possibly be on drugs was seen running down the sidewalk letting it all hang out in a clip posted to Liveleak.com on Sunday

A video posted to Liveleak.com on Sunday starts with a clip taken by a group of onlookers sitting on the front steps of a home as the woman stands nearby.

Suddenly she begins to run down the sidewalk, passing the camera with a big smile on her face.

The video then cuts to two girls recording the woman from inside a parked car, who can be heard saying 'Oh my god' over and over, unable to believe what they're seeing.

The naked woman yells 'Get the f*** out of my way' as she points at someone across the street before walking around the girls' car.

She yells belligerently at several different onlookers before pausing to peer inside a parked car

She saunters in front of the vehicle and peers into another car.

The girl behind the camera remarks that the naked woman is 'in the water', which refers to when a person loses control of their body and mind after doing drugs.

As the girls begin to drive away the woman picks something up from the sidewalk and throws it toward the group of people who had gathered to watch the episode.

The video was posted to Liveleak.com with the caption: 'WTF is she on?'

It was viewed nearly 100,000 times in less than 24 hours.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Trenton Police Department but it does not appear that the incident has been reported.A man was out boating with his friends on a lake in Missouri on Saturday night when authorities say he drunkenly crashed the vessel into a rock bluff, killing three people.

Hayden Frazier, 22, of Overland Park, Kansas, was released from jail Sunday morning. He was arrested Saturday on three preliminary charges of boating while intoxicated involving a death of another person and negligent operation of a vessel.

The Missouri Highway Patrol on Sunday identified says the three victims who lost their lives in the accident on the Lake of the Ozarks as 23-year-old Joseph LeMark, of Overland Park; 24-year-old Daniel Lewis, of Overland Park; and 21-year-old Hailey Hochanadel, of Olathe.

Boating fiasco: Highway Patrol investigators and rescue crews are pictured on the scene of a boating crash that killed three friends at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, Saturday

Victims: Hailey Hochanadel (left), 21, was killed and her best friend, 21-year-old Ashley Lamb (right), was seriously injured after the boat they were in crashed into a rock

Hochanadel's best friend Ashley Lamb, 21, of Olathe, was airlifted to Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, to be treated for serious injuries.

Frazier was taken to a local hospital to be treated for moderate injuries.

The crash happened before 2am on Saturday, sending three of the boat's occupants into the water, authorities said. All five people involved were friends who graduated from high school together in Olathe several years ago.

An incident reports say Frazier, Hochanadel and LeMark were ejected into the lake. State Patrol Sgt. Scott White said Frazier climbed back aboard and paddled the 1991 Regal Runabout across the channel to a dock at Simmons Point.

Lewis was pronounced dead in the boat. LeMark was pronounced dead at around 8.30am on Sunday after dragging operations found him, and Hochanadel was pronounced dead shortly after 11am after divers recovered her body from the lake.

High school friends Joseph LeMark (left), 23, and Daniel Lewis (right), 24, also perished in the suspect BWI crash, which landed the driver of the boat in jail

Hochanadel's father tells Kansas City Star his daughter was a rising senior at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where she was majoring in English and Spanish.

Her childhood friend Lamb is a marketing major at Kansas State Unversity.

'They were inseparable,' Rich Hochanadel said of the two young women, who first met in kindergarten and grew up side by side, attending the same middle school and high school.

Hailey is survived by her parents and two siblings.

According to their LinkedIn profiles, Frazier and LeMark were co-workers at a transportation company.

As a teenager, Frazier worked as a lifeguard at a Kansas City pool.Cherry Hill High School East in New Jersey has come under fire for releasing prom tickets with the line 'party like it's 1776'

A New Jersey high school is under fire after it released prom tickets that encouraged students to 'party like it's 1776'.

Cherry Hill High School East designed the prom tickets to commemorate that the dance was being held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

But the 'insensitive' language offended members of the student body, prompting an immediate apology from principal Dennis Perry.

'I am writing to apologize for the hurt feelings this reference caused for members of our school family,' Perry wrote in a letter posted to Twitter on Friday.

'It was insensitive and irresponsible not to appreciate that not all communities can celebrate what life was like in 1776.'

'I especially apologize to our African American students, who I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording.'

Cherry Hill High School East (pictured) designed the prom tickets to commemorate that the dance was being held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia

But the language offended members of the student body, prompting an immediate apology from principal Dennis Perry on Twitter

Perry then promised that the school will 'do better...to produce well thought out, appropriate communications'.

Slavery began in New Jersey in the 17th century. It was abolished in 1804, long after many of the Northern states, and state law still forced children of slaves into long apprenticeships for their parents' masters.

New Jersey was the last of the Northern states to completely free slaves, with the remaining 16 being freed by the 13th Amendment in 1865.

Madison Vogel, the school's student body vice president, said the line was meant to be a play on the famous Prince song 1999 for the prom's American Independence theme.

Vogel said the prom committee had not meant to offend anyone with the ticket, which she said was designed and approved by a diverse group of students.

'We want everyone to be included. It's our senior prom. We don't want anyone to be offended,' she told Fox 29.

Madison Vogel (pictured), the school's student body vice president, said the line was meant to be a play on the famous Prince song 1999

Vogel said the theme of the prom, which is being held at the National Constitution Center (pictured) was American Independence

A new commemorative ticket has since been designed that features the words 'Senior Prom' inside a firework, with the line 'join the class of 2018' written underneath.

'We're just really trying to bring our senior class together one more time before we graduate,' Vogel said.

A new commemorative ticket (pictured) has since been designed and given to the class

Danny Elmore, the vice president of the Cherry Hill African American Civic Association, praised Perry's quick response to the controversy.

But Elmore said that the school needs to work harder to include minorities in making these kinds of decisions.

'We lose out when we do not know who our neighbor is,' he told the Courier Post.

'Talk about it with people before you take an action and we won't have this happen.'

'The intent was a good intent,' Elmore said of the ticket. 'However, for some Americans, 1776 itself was not a good time.'

Cherry Hill High School East is made up of 62.2 percent white students, 22.4 percent Asian students, 6.2 percent black students, and 5.9 percent Hispanic students.

In his letter, Perry promised that the school will make sure a 'diverse group of people view all information before it is distributed from the school'.

The school will not require students to present tickets at the door for the prom and will only require them to provide a name.A doctor who spiked his then-girlfriend's drink with four abortion pills has been sentenced to three years in jail.

Brook Fiske, 37, was almost four months pregnant when she was poisoned by Sikander Imran, 32, last year. She was began suffering contractions and was rushed to hospital where she lost her unborn baby son.

Imran was arrested and earlier this year, pleaded guilty to fetal homicide in Arlington County, Virginia.

On Friday, he received a three-year jail term, and 17-year suspended sentence. He also had his medical license revoked and faces deportation to Pakistan after his release.

Brook Fiske, 37 (left), was almost four months pregnant when she was poisoned by Sikander Imran (right) last year

Despite everything he'd put her through, Fiske asked the judge to grant some leniency to Imran at his sentencing, WJLA reports.

'To me, the length of time that he serves in prison isn't what's important,' Fiske said after the hearing. 'I think that it is really important that people know that if they are dealing with depression before they do something, they should reach out and get help.'

Imran's lawyers had argued he was suffering from panic attacks at the time of the fetal homicide, and had threatened murder.

'What matters is that people hear this story and realize that either they need help themselves and they're going to reach out and get it before something awful happens, or they realize that whatever weight, whatever tragedy, whatever pain they're carrying, there is a way through it,' Fiske said.

The nurse says she is focused on putting the tragedy behind her and finding a way to move forward.

Fiske says Imran tried to persuade her to get an abortion. When she refused, he poisoned her tea with the abortion pill one night, causing her to go into labor and lose their baby boy (ultrasound image above)

Meanwhile Imran told the judge Friday he loved Fiske 'more than anyone in the world'. He added that he prays for their deceased child everyday.

Fiske and Imran had been dating on and off for about three years when he moved from Rochester, New York to Arlington, Virginia for a new job in June 2016.

Shortly after the move, Fiske says she discovered she was pregnant, but when she told Imran the happy news he was less than pleased she told WROC.

Courtesy: WROC

'He didn't want to have a baby so he tried to talk me into having an abortion... which I didn't want to do,' Fiske said.

When she was about 17 weeks along, Fiske traveled down to Arlington to meet with Imran so they could discuss how they wanted to raise the child.

One night during the visit, she says he poisoned her tea.

'When I was drinking my tea in the evening I got to the bottom of the cup. There was a gritty substance in there and when I looked at it, I could tell that it was a pill that had been ground up,' she said.

Sikander Imran (left and right) was sentenced to three years in jail, and a 17 year suspended sentence at the hearing on Friday. He also faces deportation

Fiske says she felt 'betrayed and devastated' by her ex-boyfriend's shocking act

A few hours later, Fiske says she started feeling contractions and was rushed to the hospital.

'He [Imran] immediately started crying and said that he was a horrible person and that he had done what I thought he did,' she said.

After going into labor at Virginia Hospital Center, she lost their baby boy.

Doctors conducted a blood test after the heartbreaking loss and found that she had an excessive amount of the prescription abortion pill Misoprostol in her system.

'According to the nurse at the hospital it's 200 milligrams to induce labor. So he gave me 800,' she said.

'I felt very betrayed and devastated,' she added.

Sikander Imran, 32,was arrested on May 24, 2017, and charged with fetal homicide

That amount shows just how desperate Imran was to get rid of the baby, since the drug is already risky for women as far along as Fiske was.

Misoprostal is typically used for early pregnancy abortions - up to 12 weeks. They are not recommended for women over 12 weeks pregnant, like Fiske was, because there's an increased risk for complications.

Imran was arrested on May 24, 2017, and charged with fetal homicide.

Fiske said that testifying against her ex had helped her come to terms with what he had done.

'It was very empowering for me to face him and say what he had done...and look him in the face while I said that,' Fiske said.

Fiske's LinkedIn shows she works as a critical care nurse at the same Rochester hospital where Imran worked until transferring to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in June 2016.

His LinkedIn says he worked as a fellow in hematology/oncology and was educated in Pakistan.Prince Harry added another poignant touch to his wedding day by inviting an orphan he first bonded with some 14 years ago during a trip to Africa.

Mutsu Potsane met the newly titled Duke of Sussex when he was four years old during the Prince's gap-year stay in the southern African nation.

They quickly struck up a close friendship and stayed in touch over the years - with Harry returning to the kingdom in 2016 to continue his charity work for the nation.

Mutsu, whose proper first name is Relebohile, was among one of ten representatives from Harry's charity Sentebale, which shared a picture of the youngster looking dapper in his suit after the ceremony.

Moving video footage also shows the youngster excitedly waving as the groom walks past him and into Windsor Castle.

And in a particularly touching moment, Harry was captured on camera spotting Mutsu and returning the gesture with an animated wave and a thumbs-up.

Sentebale shared a photo of some of its members enjoying the celebrations, including Mutsu, right, who looked smart in his suit

Heartwarming photos show Prince Harry sharing an emotional reunion with African orphan Mutsu in 2016

Mutsu was apparently one of the first guests to greet the royal newlyweds after Prince Harry flew the 18-year-old over for the royal wedding

Harry co-founded the charity Sentebale  meaning 'forget me not'  with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 to improve prospects for the thousands of children and young people affected by HIV/Aids in the landlocked African country.

Prince Seeiso, 52, who attended the wedding with his wife, Princess Mabereng, said: 'The young Harry who first arrived in Lesotho in 2004 is now a grown man getting married.

'Ive come here with all the wishes of Lesotho, Im not here on my own behalf Im here representing the entire nation who are so happy.'

A total of 200 representatives from different charities were among the 2,460 members of the public with an invitation to celebrate the wedding inside the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Sentebale chairman Johnny Hornby said 18-year-old Mutsu was among the first group to greet the newlyweds after they left St George's Chapel following their nuptials, the Daily Express report.

Mutsu can be seen with other representatives from the charity in the left of this frame, excitedly waving as the groom makes his way into the chapel

Mutsu met the newly titled Duke of Sussex when he was four years old (right). They quickly struck up a close friendship and stayed in touch over the years - with Harry returning to the kingdom in 2016 (left) to continue his charity work for the nation

Mutsu, whose proper first name is Relebohile, was among one of ten representatives from Harry's charity Sentebale

The friends were reunited when Harry returned to Lesotho two years ago for an ITV documentary. The 33-year-old scooped the then 15-year-old off the ground for a giant hug after the pair first noticed each other and the two chatted about their time apart

He added: 'He's a bit shy now, but he's doing really well. He's just finishing school.'

Sentebale shared a photo of some of its members enjoying the celebrations, tweeting: Congratulations to the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex, from everyone at Sentebale.

'We were delighted that some of our Lesotho team were able to join in the very special celebrations in Windsor today!

Mutsu, who was just a toddler when he first met Harry, was introduced to the royal at the Mants'ase Children's Home for orphans near Mohale's Hoek, outside Lesotho's capital Maseru.

The newly married Prince went to the home to help children stricken by the HIV and Aids crisis.

He even gifted Mutsu with a pair of bright blue wellington boots, which apparently he cherished for many years.

The friends were reunited when Harry returned to Lesotho two years ago for an ITV documentary.

The 33-year-old scooped the then 15-year-old off the ground for a giant hug after the pair first noticed each other and the two chatted about their time apart.

Harry co-founded the charity Sentebale  meaning 'forget me not'  with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006

A total of 200 representatives from different charities were among the 2,460 members of the public with an invitation to celebrate the wedding inside the grounds of Windsor Castle

The newly married Prince previously went to Africa to help children stricken by the HIV and Aids crisis

Harry later said: 'It's great to see that he is so happy. Our tree has survived, it's grown up. The fence that we built is still there.

'Obviously, I would prefer it in a weird way for him not to have been there, and for us to not know where he was.

'Because then we know that he's happy with a family member, but sadly for him that's not the case.'

Prince Harry mentioned fatherhood in the documentary and while reflecting on his aid work, he mused: 'For me I have this love of Africa that will never disappear... and I hope that it carries on with my children as well.'

Harry also received praise in the documentary from Sir Elton John, who urged people to go to see the work being done by Sentebale.

He said: 'If his mother was alive, she'd still be doing the work she set out to be doing, and he's carrying it on in the best possible way.'Advertisement

This little jackal realised it had bit off far more than he could ever chew when it squared off against an ostrich.

The brave predator had attempted to intimidate the eight foot-tall bird in the Kgalagadi National Park, in the Kalahari Desert, South Africa.

However, with a male ostrich weighing in at around 250lbs, and the diminutive jackal tipping the scales at just 30lbs, it soon realised that the bird might prove a tricky meal.

And so when the ostrich began puffing out its feathers, the jackal thought better of it and ran off.

The five-minute encounter was captured on camera by Sylvie Failletaz, 46, a tourist visiting the national park from Switzerland.

He's looking standostrich: The jackal appears to square off against a male ostrich, despite the fact that his intended prey is towering above him

David and Goliath: The tiny jackal appears to still think that attacking the 250lbs ostrich is a good idea

Come at me bro: When the jackal is not intimidate by the mere presence of the ostrich, the male bird gets ready to attack

Stomping off: The jackal soon came to his senses when the ostrich began puffing out its feathers and stamping its feetSecretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the United States is prepared to level 'the strongest sanctions in history' on Iran if the Islamic nation's government does not reverse course on its nuclear ambitions.

America's goal is to 'strangle' Iran's 'economic capacity to do harm,' he said, but President Donald Trump is willing to call off the dogs if the rogue nation turns over a new leaf on its own.

'We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness,' Pompeo said. 'The sting of sanctions will be painful if the regime doesn't change.'

'These will indeed end up being the strongest sanctions in history when we are complete,' he warned.

Pompeo outlined the rough contours of an uncompromising agreement that he said would allow Tehran to escape an economic chokehold that began to loosen with the adoption of an Obama-era deal that Trump withdrew from on May 8.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened 'the strongest sanctions in history' on Monday, to 'strangle' Iran's terror-funding capacity, if Tehran doesn't end its nuke program permanently

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presides over a regime that the Trump administration credits with outmaneuvering Barack Obama and John Kerry, getting the best of a 2015 deal that allowed Tehran to press 'pause' on its nuclear weapons program while changing nothing of significance

Pompeo said the administration's preference would be to negotiate a binding treaty that would be submitted to Congress for ratification.

But getting there, he warned, would require Iran's mullahs to walk away from a long list of activities that the U.S. considers deal-breakers.

'We didn't create the list. They did,' Pompeo declared, after rattling off a collection of demands.

He promised that resistance from Iran 'will be met with steely resolve' from Trump.

Central to the U.S. wish-list is the requirement that Iran must disclose everything about its nuclear weapons development program to the International Atomic Energy Agency 'and permanently and verifiably abandon it in perpetuity.'

The IAEA, he said, must have 'unqualified access to all sites throughout the country.'

The 2015 multinational deal allowed Tehran to press 'pause' on its development, resuming it a decade later. It also placed scant restrictions on Iran's ballistic missile program and did little to address its support for terrorism in the region.

Trump called it a 'horrible, one-sided deal' with a built-in sunset date.

Pompeo's demands, by comparison, are permanent.

Included in his prohibitions are enrichment of uranium, 'reprocessing' of plutonium from fuel rods, and produciton of heavy water.

Pompeo's 12-point list of 'basic requirements' also includes the release of U.S. citizens; and end to ballistic missile proliferation; cancelation of all support for Hizbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad; and an end to cooperation with Houthi militias in Yemen.

He also conditioned the avoidance of future sanctions on Iran's willingness to end its support for the Taliban, cease harboring senior al-Qaeda leaders and end its persistent threats to destroy Israel.

Pompeo singled out Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani (left), commander of the Quds Force within Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as a target of sanctions, saying the U.S. aimed to 'strangle' his ability to threaten Israel and cause havoc in the region

Pompeo described previous U.S. and international sanctions relief as a boon to Iranian Quds Forces commander Qasem Soleimani, allowing him to fund 'malign activities' that destabilize the Middle East.

And he said the U.S. is prepared to end all economic sanctions, reestablish diplomatic relations and support the modernization of Iran's economy  but only if the oil- and terror-rich nation changes course dramatically.

France, Germany and the United Kingdom are attempting to keep the Obama nuclear deal alive without the United States' involvement, largely because of the economic advantage of leaving Iran open for investment and commerce.

The secretary of state said that U.S. firms, too, were chomping at the bit for access to the 'huge market.'

'But everyone's going to have to participate in this,' he said, tut-tutting Europe. 'Every country's going to have to understand that we cannot continue to create wealth for Qasem Soleimani.'

'That's what this is  at the end of the day, this money has flowed to him. The economics have permitted them to run roughshod over the Middle East. Our effort is to strangle his economic capacity to do harm to the Middle East and to the world.'Dear Meghan, or should I say Dear Duchess,

First, congratulations on a stunningly successful wedding.

You couldnt have scripted a more perfect day, though of course, thats probably exactly what you did.

And frankly, who can blame you?

Congratulations on a stunningly successful wedding, Duchess. You couldnt have scripted a more perfect day, though of course, thats probably exactly what you did

Whats the point in being a professional actress if you cant turn in an Oscar-winning performance for the biggest role of your life?

I loved it all.

Well, apart from David Beckham chewing gum in the chapel, obviously. Such grotesque and disrespectful impertinence in front of the Queen would have cost him his head during previous monarchies, and Im not entirely sure it shouldnt now.

So its fair to say that Season One of your new life ended in a spectacular triumph, with US TV ratings higher than those for William and Kates wedding. (In Britain, ratings were down 30% but dont take that personally  William and Kate are going to be our King and Queen and you guys arent.)

However, the real challenge starts now.

If you thought being a royal girlfriend was difficult, just wait until you see how hard it is being a royal wife.

This morning, youll have awoken next to your handsome Prince at Kensington Palace, giddy with joy and hope  especially if your butler brought you the newspapers in bed.

The media that alarmed you by going so erratically off-message, and occasionally being downright offensive, as your romance progressed has now come together as one to sing your praises from the rafters.

It would be impossible to see all the ecstatic headlines and not get slightly carried away with ones own sense of self-worth.

It would be impossible to see all the ecstatic headlines about Saturday's wedding and not get slightly carried away with ones own sense of self-worth

Even your dimwit cannabis farmer nephew Tyler being caught with a knife at a London nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning couldnt force your beaming grin off todays front pages.

But there was one banner headline that screamed a rather different message, and one that will have sent a shudder through many a Palace courtiers spine.

MEGHAN MARKLE TO FIGHT FOR FEMINISM, said the Daily Telegraph, Britains most loyal royal paper.

Oh-oh.

I read on:

The newly-wed Duchess of Sussex has been given the blessing of the Palace to use her position to fight for feminism as she plans for her life as the newest member of the Royal family.

The official Royal Family website appears to confirm this, highlighting your belief that you are proud to be a woman and feminist.

It adds: From a young age, The Duchess had a keen awareness of social issues. Aged 11, she successfully campaigned for a company to alter their television advert that had used sexist language to sell washing-up liquid. These early experiences helped to shape her lifelong commitment to causes such as social justice and womens empowerment.

The official Royal Family website now highlights your belief that you are proud to be a woman and feminist in your bio

I remember discussing that very subject with you when we met for a drink in my local Kensington pub during the week you first met Harry.

You told me how you wrote to Hillary Clinton demanding she take action and how thrilled you were when the offending advertising agency, Procter and Gamble, changed the commercials tagline which said Women all over America are fighting greasy pots and pans to now say people not women.

Ive always wanted to make a difference, you said, as you sipped your dirty martini. My parents always told me if I believed something was wrong to try to fix it.

There was no doubting your genuine passion for this mission statement.

I saw it in your eyes that night and I read it in your words when we corresponded with one another.

A few months earlier, Id emailed you after a mass shooting killed eight students at the Umpqua Community College in Oregon.

What is it with your nation and guns? I asked. Why does nobody ever want to do anything?

Shameful, I know, you replied. Its so deeply controversial and brings up so many other issues; race relations, religious intolerances, etc  so since we cant solve each of those in one fell swoop, the logical solution would be to have stricter gun laws. And there is resistance. Even by the sheriff in that same little Oregon town. Im not sure how you sleep at night with that over your head unless you fall into Trumps school of thought that its not the guns but the mental illness. So then why give mentally ill people access to buy guns? Legally? Its just staggering. I wish more people would make a stand about it.

I was impressed by such an articulate and thoughtful response about a cause very close to my heart.

Ironically, the day before your wedding, there was another horrific school shooting in Santa Fey that killed ten more students.

This prompted the New York Daily News to scream: They do royal weddings. We do schoolkids funerals.

Im sure you would have liked to comment on that massacre, as you used to comment on many such news stories on your now deleted Twitter account.

But of course, now youre a royal, you cant.

Or rather, you can  but all hell would break loose.

Meghan whacks Trump over guns is simply not a headline anyone at the Palace can ALLOW you to create.

And therein lies the biggest problem facing you in your new life; every sinew in your newly regal body will be shaking with enthusiasm to tell the world how you feel about vitally important issues like gun control.

Yet you will very quickly discover, if indeed you havent already, that its impossible to go political as a member of the Royal Family.

You have been so outspoken in the past, but you will very quickly discover, if indeed you havent already, that its impossible to go political as a member of the Royal Family

And that brings me back to your intention to fight for feminism.

On the face of it, this seems a perfectly rational objective for an intelligent, independent, successful woman who in many ways personifies the very ideals of feminism.

But I can guarantee you three things if you start poking this bear too loudly:

1) The Palace machine, still heavily under the influence of the senior royals, will get very twitchy very quickly  just as they did with Princess Diana.

2) That twitchy machine will begin to brief the media with anonymous voices expressing concern at your activism.

3) The British public, fuelled by the negative media coverage, will soon start thinking, Oh stick a cork in it, Meghan, for goodness sake.

This may all seem horribly unfair to you, but in truth, its not.

The Royal Family has survived this long precisely because it doesnt do politics.

The Queen has reigned for more than 60 years but nobody has a clue what she thinks about anything.

Remember Meghan, the Queen has reigned for more than 60 years but nobody has a clue what she thinks about anything. Same with her mother. And when Prince Charles does weigh in, he's ridiculed

Her late mother, the Queen Mother, was equally taciturn, once famously articulating this perfect recipe for remaining beloved by the people: Never complain, never explain and rarely be heard speaking in public.

Now, its true that Prince Charles regularly fires off angry letters to politicians about issues, but its also true that he gets roundly ridiculed for it.

And while William and Harry have talked a lot about mental health in recent years, theyve always been very careful to be non-political in their campaigning.

They chose mental health because it affects everyone and is therefore not an issue determined by wealth or privilege.

The Princes cant be called hypocrites for saying we should all take mental health more seriously.

Your chosen causes of feminism and equality are very different matters.

Lets be honest: theres nothing remotely feminist or equal about being a Duchess and living in a gigantic Palace.

You cant preach about everyone getting a fair shake when you yourself are getting the most prestigious, privileged and unequal shake imaginable, simply for getting married, to a man.

Suffragette leader Emmeline Pankhurst didnt fight for your right to wear a tiara to state dinners or have your liveried servants heat your cashmere water bottle at night.

So tread carefully, Meghan.

Tread carefully. You're now riding a tremendous wave of excitement and optimism because you looked fabulous , didnt put a foot wrong, and married a very popular Prince, but that well of goodwill can dry up fast

At the moment, youre riding a tremendous wave of excitement and optimism.

But thats because you looked fabulous on your wedding day, didnt put a foot wrong, and married a very popular Prince.

If you now start lecturing us all on equality, while your servants fluff your gold monogrammed pillows and your chauffeur warms up the fleet of vintage Rolls Royces, that well of goodwill may dry up faster than David Beckhams gum wherever he stuck it in the chapel.

And I can assure you that Season 2 of your new life will be a hundred times harder as a result.

Dont be too disheartened though.

There is no better feminist role model for you than the Queen who has spent a lifetime keeping her opinions to herself yet is the most respected woman alive.

Proof that when it comes to royals and politics, less is more.

Kind regards, Piers.A heroic father who rescued his son from a house fire tragically died after suffering a heart attack.

Steven Bettineschi, 77, rescued his son from the house as it became engulfed in flames in Gilgering, east of Perth, about 11pm on Sunday.

With his car keys and phone trapped inside the burning building, Mr Bettineschi ran two kilometres through bushland to a neighbour's home to raise the alarm, Nine News reported.

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A heroic father who pulled his son from a burning home tragically died after suffering a heart attack

Steven Bettineschi, 77, rescued his son from the burning house in Gilgering, east of Perth, around 11pm Sunday

Mr Bettineschi knocked on Annie Budiselik's door who then called triple zero.

'There was an almighty bang on our back door,' she told Nine News.

Ms Budiselik's husband drove Mr Bettineschi back to his home, but the stress and panic was too much for him and he suffered a heart attack.

Firefighters performed CPR on the man until paramedics arrived.

He was taken to York Hospital but unfortunately couldn't be saved.

Police said the fire is non-suspicious and caused $300,000 damage.

Mr Bettineschi's son Shannon told Nine News that his father was loved by everyone and will be dearly missed.

Shannon said his father saved his life by opening up a hole in the burning house and dragging him outside.

'Everyone that knew him loved him,' he said.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.

Mr Bettineschi's son Shannon told Nine News that his father was loved by everyone and will be dearly missedA small group of white nationalist allegedly stormed the Gosford Anglican church over the weekend while dressed in costumes, brandishing fake weapons and yelling at the small congregation through a microphone.

The Cooks Convicts, which were formed by infamous right-wing leader Neil Erikson, stormed the small church on the NSW Central Coast known across the country for its inclusive messaging and pro-diversity signs, Father Rod Bower said.

The group of five men have since been identified as Erikson, Paul Exley, Rino Grgurovic, Danny Parkinson and Lachlan Spalding.

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White nationalist group The Cooks Convicts, which were formed by Neil Erikson (left), stormed Gosford Anglican church

A video later shared to the group's Facebook page shows members of the congregation were startled by their presence and one woman screamed out in fright as they entered.

Erikson, who was dressed in a Jesus costume, started saying through a megaphone: 'What have you done to my house? You've desecrated my father's house.'

He then stood yelling on the altar until Father Bower lead his congregation in a hymn that drowned out the sound of his microphone.

In the video, the group cited Bower's support for gay marriage, as well as the church's inclusive signs, which have included 'bless the burqa' and 'Jesus had 2 dads and he turned out OK', as the reason they stormed the service.

Four members then posed for a photo in front of the sign, which read: 'Ramadan Mubarak'.

Father Bower said that the attack on his congregation shows just how active right-wing extremism has become in Australia.

The Cooks Convicts were founded by Neil Eriskon (pictured) who made a name for himself in 2017 by terrorising then-Labor senator Sam Dastyari while wearing a toll uniform

'This was an extremely traumatising event. Fortunately many regular parishioners were absent so the devastation was somewhat minimised,' he said in a statement.

'This was in my view a terrorist attack. One cannot imagine that had these men been Muslims they would have been allowed to walk away from this act of violence and intimidation.'

'These people are to Christianity what Isis is to Islam. This attack shows how far we have gone down the road of right wing extremism; such an attack on a church could not have been imagined only a few years ago.'

In 2016 members of the now defunct Party for Freedom disturbed a sermon at the Gosford Anglican Church. Eriskon was among the group who wore Muslim attire

Erikson made a name for himself in 2017 by harassing then-Labor senator Sam Dastyari while wearing a uniform from his former employee, Toll.

The company later took him to court over damages where he was slammed as 'childish' for attending court wearing a high-visibility vest also labelled with the companies branding.

It is not the first time the known neo-nazi has harassed the patrons of Gosford Anglican church.

After the weekend incident the church's sign was changed to 'We're into hail Marys, not heil Hitlers'

Erikson was part of the 2016 attack on the church where members of the now defunct Party for Freedom, which centred on being anti-Islam and anti-immigration, disturbed a sermon wearing mock Muslim attire.

In a separate post after the incident Fr Bower said: 'We will not be silenced.'

'These 'Christianist' terrorists used violence and intimidation to try and silence our message of love and inclusion.'

On Monday, the church's sign had changed to 'We're into hail Marys, not heil Hitlers'.

NSW Police have confirmed they are making inquiries into the incident.Grace van Cutsem was one of the most memorable bridesmaids at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's wedding in 2011.

The scowl she pulled as the pair kissed on the balcony of Buckingham Palace - suggesting she wasn't overjoyed to be centre stage - sent the internet into a frenzy.

And now another member of the van Cutsem clan has made their mark at the Royal Wedding of the now Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Florence van Cutsem (first row on far right) pulls an angelic smile alongside the Duchess of Sussex at the Royal Wedding

She beamed from her seat on the floor in front of Prince George in the photo of the couple with their attendants

Florence (second from left in first row) poses with a bouquet alongside her fellow bridesmaids at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Florence van Cutsem, Prince Harry's three-year-old goddaughter, has won adoration for her angelic smile and adorable poses as she took on a starring role on May 19.

She is the daughter of Alice van Cutsem and her husband Major Nicholas van Cutsem who has been firm friends of the Prince of Wales and his sons for years.

Florence (centre) holding the Duchess of Cambridge's hand at the Royal Wedding as she ferries her and Princess Charlotte (left) up the steps on the way to St George's Chapel in Windsor

Is this really necessary? Florence pulling a slightly displeased expression as she is photographed arriving at Windsor Castle for the wedding

Florence (left) arrives at Windsor Castle with her fellow bridesmaid Princess Charlotte

At the wedding of Harry and Meghan at Windsor Castle, she expertly navigated down the aisle with her fellow bridesmaids.

Moments earlier she was photographed arriving at the chapel with Princess Charlotte wearing an adorable flower headband and a little white dress.

She could be seen grimacing slightly as her car pulled up at Windsor Castle - contorting her cherubic face in a shot reminiscent of her cousin's seven years earlier.

But when three official wedding photographs were released by Kensington Palace, her adorable smile shone through.

Florence (second from left in back row) follows Meghan Markle down the aisle at St George's Chapel in Windsor

The youngster can be seen crouched elegantly beside the now Duchess of Sussex with one hand rested in her lap.

Wide-eyed and angelic, she smiles happily, showing off a pair of cute dimples.

Grace van Cutsem (left), Florence's cousin, covering her ears and pulling a scowl as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2011

Twitter came alight when it was announced on May 16 that a van Cutsem would be taking on a prominent role in the Royal Wedding.

Many people were eager to know how Florence was related to little Grace who made such an impact at Prince William's wedding.

Florence's parents Nicholas and Alice van Cutsem on their wedding day in 2009Advertisement

The 'sexy as hell' royal photographer chosen to capture Harry and Meghan's thoroughly modern wedding day has today spoken of his 'incredible honour and privilege' at being asked to do the job.

Alexi Lubomirski, a New York based Polish prince who was born in Britain, has won praise for his warm and intimate portraits of Meghan, Harry and the royal family.

Today as three of his photographs were published, he thanked the couple for choosing him and called their path to marriage an 'inspiring journey of love, hope and family'.

Alexi, a father-of-two whose wife looks strikingly similar to Meghan, also photographed the couple when they got engaged last year.

He said: 'It has been an incredible honour and privilege to document The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's inspiring journey of love, hope and family; from the engagement photos, all the way through to the official wedding and family portraits on Saturday. This has been a beautiful chapter in my career and life, that I will happily never forget'.

But it is not just his photography that gained him praise because after he was announced as the royal wedding photographer women took to social media in their droves to exclaim he is 'incredibly hot' and 'as sexy as hell'.

Mr Lubomirski, 42, whose own wife Giada looks very much like Meghan, pictured together at Windsor Castle on Saturday, called the star's relationship with Prince Harry a 'wonderful love story'

Alexi is considered an A-list photographer but fans have also taken to social media in their droves to exclaim he is 'incredibly hot' and 'as sexy as hell'.

The father-of-two is a man with a royal pedigree has photographed Beyonce, Julia Roberts and other stars.

The New York based was born in the UK, was a protege of Mario Testino who was beloved by Harry's mother Princess Diana and photographed William and Kate when they got engaged in 2010.

Alexi is also firm favorite with celebrities, and has shot cover stars such as Julianne Moore, Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore, Beyonce, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lopez, Selma Hayek, Katy Perry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Aniston, Emilia Clarke, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson.

A series of romantic images taken by Mr Lubomirski of Harry and his bride-to-be, including an intimate black and white portrait of the couple embracing, were released in December to mark their engagement.

In this extraordinary image with their six bridesmaids and four page boys George, third from the right is grinning cheekily as is Charlotte, second left on the floor. Here the Duke and Duchess were pictured in Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle with (left-to-right): Back row: Brian Mulroney, Remi Litt, Rylan Litt, Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Ivy Mulroney, John Mulroney Front row: Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte and Florence van Cutsem

The Duke and Duchess are pictured in The Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle, with (left-to-right): Back row: Master Jasper Dyer, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, The Prince of Wales, mother of the bride Doria Ragland, The Duke of Cambridge Middle row: Brian Mulroney, The Duke of Edinburgh, Her Majesty The Queen, The Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Rylan Litt and John Mulroney Front row: Ivy Mulroney, Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren and Remi Litt

These are the extraordinary official wedding photographs released by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle show the couple in love and entwined on Windsor Castle's East Terrace shortly after they married

Mr Lubomirski said at the time that the engagement shoot was as 'joyful' as any he could remember.

He said: 'I could not be more thrilled or honoured to photograph this historic occasion. Having taken Prince Harry and Ms Markle's engagement photos, it brings me such joy to be able to witness again, the next chapter in this wonderful love story.'

The photographer has the title His Serene Highness Prince Alexi Lubomirski.

He is descended from an influential Polish family who received the hereditary title of prince of the Holy Roman Empire from Emperor Ferdinand III in the 17th century.

Mr Lubomirski, who was born in England but now lives in New York with his wife, was given his first camera aged 11 by his stepfather.

The star photographer is known for his portraits of stars including Demi Moore and Annie Lennox as well as Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston, Emilia Clarke, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson

Alexi also photographed singer Britney Spears when she was six months pregnant for the cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine in 2006

The prince behind the portraits: Why Polish royal Alexi Lubomirski who's loved by stars and trained with Diana's favourite photographer was the perfect choice for Harry and Meghan

New York based fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski who is famed for his portraits of leading ladies added the requisite touches of both Hollywood glamour and royalty to Harry and Meghan's official wedding photos.

The father-of-two, who was born in the UK, was a protege of Mario Testino who was beloved by Harry's mother Princess Diana and photographed William and Kate when they got engaged in 2010.

The star photographer is also a prince of the Polish House of Lubomirski, whose royal lineage stretches back 500 years on his fathers side and gives him the title: 'His Serene Highness'.

He attended the royal wedding on Saturday with his wife Giada before stepping behind the scenes with Harry and Meghan to capture their official portraits.

Mr Lubomirski, pictured with his wife Giada, is himself a prince who was born in England but now lives in New York with his family

Mr Lubomirski was chosen by the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex to photograph their wedding after taking their official engagement portraits after making their big announcement in December.

Alexi is a firm favorite with celebrities, and has shot cover stars such as Julianne Moore, Angelina Jolie, Demi Moore, Beyonce, Charlize Theron, Gwyneth Paltrow, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Lopez, Selma Hayek, Katy Perry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Aniston, Emilia Clarke, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Scarlett Johansson.

The photographer was born in England to a Peruvian/English mother and a Polish/French father and at the age of eight, he moved to Botswana with his mother and English stepfather.

He was introduced to star photographer Mario Testino and joined him in Paris as his assistant for four years and has worked regularly for Vogue and Harpers Bazaar.

He has also published books including 'Princely advice for a happy life' - a tribute to his two sons - and 'diverse beauty' about models not usually used in fashion magazines and campaigns.

All proceeds from his books are donated to the charity Concern Worldwide - which fights world poverty - of which Alexi is an ambassador.

The photographer had never done an engagement shoot before taking on the prestigious commission from Harry and Meghan.

'It was one of the easiest, most joyful jobs because they were so deliciously in love,' he told E! News.

Some royal watchers said the public may have felt they were intruding on a private moment because the engagement shots were so personal

Mr Lubomirski's bold use of black and white and British winter light won him more plaudits

He added that there was no effort needed to capture the couple in a variety of romantic poses, after telling them to just be themselves while he took their pictures.

'It was nutty. It was a very surreal end to the year because it came out of nowhere,' he recalled.

'I think one of Meghan's friends saw me on Instagram that I was in England during the announcement of the engagement.

'I was told later that this person said to her, "You should meet Alexi. He's great. You'd love him", and that was it.'

In a statement released after the engagement shoot, Alexi said: 'It was an incredible honour to be asked to document this wonderful event, but also a great privilege to be invited to share and be a witness to this young couples love for one another.

'I cannot help but smile when I look at the photos that we took of them, such was their happiness together'.Controversial activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied has inspired a line of Muslim dolls.

The dolls called Salam Sisters were created by Australian Muslim designer Peter Gould, who wanted his daughters to have toys that represented their lives.

There are five different dolls in the range - each with different personalities, interests and fashion tastes.

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Controversial activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied (pictured) has inspired a line of Muslim dolls

All wear a hijab and show no flesh other than on the face.

Designer Subhi Bora explained her concepts to Yassmin Abdel-Magied on her ABC show Hijabistas.

Talking about one of the $70 dolls, she said: 'Yasmina here wants to start her own charity which sounds a little bit like what you did.'

'We actually did draw some inspiration from you to be honest when we were crafting the personality.'

The company behind the dolls, Zileej, run by Peter Gould, explains the inspiration on its website.

'Young girls love dolls and for many, they are an important and compelling medium to create lasting memories.

'With young daughters ourselves, we noticed that none of the dolls they were playing with represented their lives as contemporary young Muslim girls - characters with diverse influences and interests from science to fashion, to singing Islamic songs or nasheeds.

'This resulted in the Salam Sisters, a collection of five culturally diverse characters who are faith grounded, fun, modest fashion-forward and future thinking.'

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, 27, is a Sudanese-Australian mechanical engineer, social media blogger and memoirist.

She caused controversy by tweeting before Anzac Day in 2017: 'Lest. We. Forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine)' in reference to asylum seekers being detained on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.

The dolls called Salam Sisters were created by Australian Muslim designer Peter Gould, who wanted his daughters to have toys that represented their livesThe founder of the blood-testing company whose valuation went from $10 billion to nothing overnight when her devices were discovered to be ineffective lied about more than just her faulty invention.

Elizabeth Holmes, the young entrepreneur who dropped out of Stanford at the age of 19 to start the company Theranos, faked the deep baritone in her voice that became one of her trademarks according to John Carreyrou.

He revealed this on CBS This Morning while promoting the release of his new book about Theranos, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.

Carreyou, who exposed Holmes in a Wall Street Journal article that precipitated the youngest self-made female billionaire in history's fall from grace, also confirmed in a 60 Minutes interview on Sunday that Theranos was in fact secretly dating the former COO and president of her company, Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani.

'She is a pathological liar. She wanted to be a celebrated tech entrepreneur She wanted to be rich and famous,' said Carreyou of the woman whose company was once more valuable than Uber, Spotify and AirBnb.

'And she wouldn't let anything get in the way of that.'

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Tone deaf: Elizabeth Holmes' voice was 'a few octaves higher' than the booming baritone that became her trademark one former employee claims in the book Bad Blood (Holmes and Bill Clinton above in September 2015)

Duped: Employees spoke about their experiences at Theranos on 60 Minutes, claiming most knew the testing method that Holmes 'pioneered' was faulty (Holmes receiving the Glamour Woman of the Year award on left and at the Time 100 right, both in 2015)

'Many people who watched the 60 Minutes piece remarked about her voice, deep baritone voice. Was that fake too?' Norah O'Donnell asked Carreyou on Monday.

'According to my sources, it was,' said Carreyou, who had been interviewed by O'Donnell in the 60 Minutes segment that aired the night prior.

'An employee who joined the company in 2011 had a meeting with her shortly after he joined, and it was late in the day and they were finishing up the meeting and she sort of expressed her excitement that he had recently joined.

'And as she got up, she forgot to put on the baritone and slipped back into a more natural sounding young woman's voice.'

That is one of the lighter stories to emerge from the scandal, for which Theranos and Balwani have both been hit with civil-fraud charges from the Security Exchange Commission.

It was Balwani who helped Holmes raise much of the funding Theranos received, and who served as her enforcer in the workplace according to employees.

The two had met when Holmes was in Beijing on a trip with Stanford prior to her first semester at the university, and he was by her side for seven years at Theranos.

The SEC filing claims that Balwani lied about financial projections and results to investors while creating a hostile workplace where he would berate scientists for not producing results quick enough and fire employees who questioned practices.

Senior partner: She was dating the COO and president of the company Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani (above), who was 20 years her senior

Tyler Shultz told 60 Minutes that he sent an anonymous email to New York State Department of Health regulators outlining what he thought might be problematic practices in the lab.

He had grown close to Holmes at that point, who was not only his boss but also a family friend due to her relationship with his grandfather, former secretary of state George P. Shultz.

At the time, company employees were staging fake demonstrations for investors in which they would use the pin-prick method of drawing blood the company promised but have it tested by scientists in their lab rather than the Einstein device Holmes had invented.

The response he got from the Department of Health was that this was not an acceptable practice, and so he sent an email to Holmes.

Schultz said that the email he received back was not from the founder of the company, but rather Balwani.

He said that Balwani called him 'arrogant, ignorant, patronizing, reckless' and 'lacking the basic understanding of math, science, and statistics.'

Balwani also said Schultz 'would have already been held accountable to the strongest extent' if it were not for his last name.

Those tactics eventually failed, however, after increased pressure on the company when their Einstein devices were put in Walgreen's around the country.

The voice: Writer and reporter John Carreyrou (above on CBS This Morning on Monday) that Holmes accidentally spoke in her normal voice at the end of a meeting in 2011, surprising the staffer

One employee said that even though she was aware of the faulty results being produced by these machines, no one ever notified the patients who had been diagnosed by these potentially tainted samples.

'This is one of the most epic failures in corporate governance in the annals of American capitalism. They did nothing to verify that her scientific claims were true,' said Carreyou.

He later added: 'When she started using this technology on the blood samples taken from consumers in Walgreens stores, that was an unauthorized medical experiment. There's no other way to put it.'

Many who went to Walgreen's on the promise of Theranos' less-invasive process also ended up getting a traditional blood draw upon actually arriving at the pharmacy.

Book club: 'She is a pathological liar,' said Carreyou (his book Bad Blood above)

One NPR reporter claimed earlier this year that when she went to a Walgreen's in 2014 to interview patients being tested using the Theranos method she was surprised to see that venous blood draws were being used by the phlebotomist.

When she started to question this she ran into resistance from press reps from Theranos, saying that she needed to interview people who had been pin-pricked for her story.

The longer she waited the more patients were told they could not have the pin-prick done because of 'bad luck and timing,' and after being approached three times by reps from Theranos, she claims that someone eventually pulled the fire alarm in Walgreen's, forcing her and everyone else to vacate the premise.

Theranos is now down to less than two dozen employees, and Holmes would not comment on the 60 Minutes interview.

Under her SEC settlement, Holmes was forced to relinquish her voting control over Thernaos, return millions of shares to the privately held company and pay a $500,000 penalty.

Holmes agreed to be barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for 10 years as well in her deal with prosecutors.

Balwani, who Carreyou believes may have wiped himself from the Internet given how little information there is about the man, is fighting the complaint he received from the SEC.

Bad Blood was released on Monday.A rural firefighter and father of five is able to walk again after a farming accident damaged his spine, leaving him paralysed.

Michael Gray became a quadraplegic in December after he crashed his buggy into a gully on a property in Yass, in regional southern New South Wales.

The 55-year-old, who had spent 28 years volunteering in the Rural Fire Service, found himself unable to move in a paddock.

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Michael Gray, 55, (pictured) became a quadriplegic in December after he crashed his buggy into a gully in regional NSW and he was told it would be unlikely he would walk again

His wife and daughter discovered him severely sunburned after he spent three hours lying in the summer heat.

'I couldn't move anything I was totally paralysed from the neck down ... I know enough about spinal injury accidents to know that I was in a really bad way,' he told 9News.

'I had to put up with things like meat ants, eating the back of my neck. I had to eat them when they got onto my lips because I didn't want them to eat my eyes and my lips.'

A rescue chopper was called to the property and he was immediately taken to Sydney for surgery.

Mr Gray's family were told it would be unlikely he would walk again.

The 55-year-old has spent 28 years volunteering in the Rural Fire Service but found himself lying helpless and unable to move in a paddock 40km outside Yass

It took over five months of painful and intensive therapy at the spinal injury unit at Prince of Wales Hospital and the recovery of some nerve fibres in his spinal cord for the father to make a full recovery

When Mr Gray was first admitted Dr Bonne Lee, Staff Specialist of the hospital's Spinal Medicine Unit, said he had no active movement at all.

The family made many three-hour trips between Yass and Sydney to visit and help with his rehabilitation.

The father has since made a full recovery after five months of painful and intensive therapy at the spinal injury unit at Prince of Wales Hospital and the recovery of some nerve fibres in his spinal cord.

'Not everyone is as lucky as me ... My family's been amazing, they've never left my side,' he said.

Mr Gray was able to walk out the door as he was discharged from Prince of Wales hospital.

He thanked the physiotherapists and hospital staff, saying: 'Without them, I wouldn't be walking out. There's no ifs or buts.'Germany's public service broadcaster has been accused of racism over their coverage of the royal wedding.

The ZDF channel repeatedly referred to Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and other black guests as 'exotic', and described the gospel choir as singing 'beautifully black' during the church service.

One of the commentators also and made bizarre comments on the Duchess' and her mother Doria Ragland's hair during their broadcast of Saturday's event.

'Racism': Germany's public service broadcaster ZDF repeatedly referred to The Duchess of Sussex, and other black guests, as 'exotic' during their coverage of the royal wedding

Since Germany's last emperor, Wilhelm II, was forced to abdicate in 1918, the country has somewhat adopted Britain's royals as surrogates, and the interest in the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan was through the roof.

Taxpayer funded ZDF, broadcast the whole event live, and had correspondents in Windsor on the day.

But viewers were taken aback by the commentator's supposed 'obsession' with Meghan's African-American heritage, which has seen ZDF accused of racism.

In addition to branding Meghan and non-white attendees as 'exotic', one of the commentators said that, as the Duke and Duchess are very unlikely to ever become King and Queen, the British Royals 'can afford an exotic couple like that'.

Another exchange between two ZDF's commentators involved questionable musings on Afro hair, as reported by Huffington Post.

Odd focus: The commentators also discussed the dreadlocks of the bride's mother, Doria Ragland, pictured leaving St George's Chapel with Prince Charles

Criticized: Many viewers in Germany, which does not have a royal family, were shocked by what they claimed was an obsession with Meghan's heritage

'Are those dreadlocks on Meghan's mother?', one asked, to which the other responded: 'It's curly hair that's been somewhat de-curled, same as Meghan probably does all the time.'

German Comedian and TV presenter Aurel Mertz wrote on Twitter that one of the presenters had said 'Meghan radiates Afro-American spirit'.

Mr Mertz, who himself is mixed race, branded it 'officially the whitest sentence ever said', according to Deutsche Welle.

Several others took to social media to voice their disbelief at the commentator's 'obsession' with race, and condemn the 'racist' coverage.

In a statement to Deutsche Welle, ZDF acknowledged that they had received criticism from viewers, but refused to apologise for their coverage of the royal wedding.

'In addition to the comments on Twitter, ZDF's viewer service received calls and emails from viewers who had questions as well as praise and criticism concerning different aspects of the broadcast. We take the criticism of our viewers seriously,' a ZDF spokesperson said.A Cambridge University professor with CIA contacts who President Trump calls a 'spy' kept tabs on key Trump campaign contacts  and once tried to establish that Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos was linked to the Russia-based hacking of emails belonging to Hillary Clinton.

The academic, Stefan Halper, had contacts with Trump campaign advisers including Papadopoulos, Carter Page and former national campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis.

He dined with Papadopoulos, bringing along his Turkish assistant, Azra Turk.

Halper, 73, cut a colorful figure as he strolled through diplomatic, academic, and espionage circles, having served in the Reagan, Ford, and Nixon administrations.

Owing to his girth, he earned the nickname 'the walrus' from some who know of his exploits.

Cambridge University academic Stefan Halper tried to get three Trump campaign aides to trust him in 2016, including then-foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos

During one of their dinners, Halper asked Papadopoulos whether he was involved in Russian hacking of Democratic emails, The Daily Caller reported.

'George, you know about hacking the emails from Russia, right?' he asked, according to multiple news reports.

After Papadopoulos denied it, Halper grew frustrated.

Papadopoulos sat down in London for dinner with Halper and was asked what he knew about Russians hacking Hillary Clinton's emails  a question that now appears part of a spy plot

The odd question would fit with a scenario suggested over the weekend by conservative pundits, in which Halper  acting on the FBI's behalf  attempted to confirm Papadopoulos' complicity but came up empty-handed.

Papadopoulos also claimed Halper's assistant, Turk, flirted with him during their meetings, according to the Daily Caller.

His contacts with Trump's campaign took place while the FBI was undertaking a probe since revealed to be called 'Crossfire Hurricane' seeking to uncover ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. It later would morph into the Russia probe being overseen by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

The Washington Post and New York Times both reported Halper's existence as an informant but did not publish his identity. Halper's name had been circulating among reporters and others in Washington for weeks  as Republicans in Congress put pressure on the Justice Department to release the name and work product of the the FBI's informant.

Halper, who has longstanding MI6 and CIA ties, married into the family of U.S. intelligence legend Ray Cline  famed for being the chief CIA analyst during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Halper also cultivated a relationship with Carter Page, a Trump aide, and invited him to visit his home in Virginia

Cultivating a rapport with Papadopoulos to gain his confidence was apparently important enough to the FBI that Halper offered him a payment for an academic paper  as a pretext for having in-person meetings.

Agreeing to pay Page $3,000 for a policy paper about erergy issues in Turkey, Israel and Cyprus gave him a reason to spend even more money to fly him to London to discuss the project during meetings and at least one dinner.

They met at the Travellers Club, a gentleman's club there. Later, Turk tried to meet with Papadopoulos in his home town of Chicago.

Halper had asked Papadopoulos about writing the paper on about 'a disputed gas field in the eastern Mediterranean Sea,' according to the New York Times.

Papadopoulos was the first figure to plead guilty in the Mueller probe. He admits he lied to the FBI about his contacts with another professor, Joseph Mifsud, a London-based academic originally from Malta who had Kremlin contacts.

Papadopoulos says it was Mifsud who told him the Russians had dirt on Hillary Clinton.

President Trump smelled blood over the weekend, demanding a Justice Department inquest into whether or not the Obama administration spied on his campaign organization for partisan purposes.

President Donald Trump took the new revelations about an informant to demand a Justice Department investigation of the FBI's conduct

STEFAN HALPER'S TARGETS IN TRUMPWORLD CIA-linked Cambridge professor Stefan Halper tried to get close to at least three Donald Trump advisers in 2016 and 2017, reportedly to learn for the FBI whether they were links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Here's a look at some of the key figures in the latest drama in Trump-world: Stefan Halper Stefan Halper is an an academic who cultivated figures in Donald Trump's campaign Carter Page Carter Page was a Trump advisor that drew immediate interest of investigators due to his longstanding Russia ties. The New York Times reported that a government informant met with him several times during the campaign. He is mentioned repeatedly in the Steele dossier, and was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant that authorized monitoring of his activities. Former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page makes a presentation titled 'Departing from Hypocrisy: Potential Strategies in the Era of Global Economic Stagnation, Security Threats and Fake News' during his December 2016 visit to Moscow George Papadopoulos Papadopoulos was one of just a handful of early foreign policy advisors identified by President Trump at the start of his campaign. His boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe. Halper met with him several times during the campaign. Halper arranged for him to get paid $3,000 for a policy paper on energy issues, and emailed him about the status of the 'collusion' investigation George Papadopoulos, whose boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe Sam Clovis Halper met with Clovis offering to assist the campaign with his foreign policy expertise. Their conversations over coffee in northern Virginia focused on China, according to Clovis' lawyer. He served as co-chair of Trump's campaign and according to court records recruited Papadopoulos, a young aide without a long resume, to join the campaign. Sam Clovis ran for office in Iowa and hosted a conservative radio show, then co-chaired Donald Trump's campaign. He recruited George Papadopoulos to join the effort Advertisement

'If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal,' he tweeted Saturday, demanding the FBI turn over key documents to Republicans in Congress.

Halper could become Exhibit A if the GOP turns political spycraft into a midterm election issue.

An email obtained by the Daily Caller shows Halper reaching out to Page, whose Russia contacts drew the attention of FBI investigators in the early days of the Trump-Russia probe.

'I thought I'd write as the summer wears on to see how you are,' Halper wrote last year.

'It seems attention has shifted a bit from the 'collusion' investigation to the 'contretempts' [sic] within the White House,' he wrote July 28, 2017.

'I must assume this gives you some relief,' he added. 'Be in touch when you have the time. Would be great to catch up.'

Halper invited Page to visit his farm in Virginia, part of what may have been an extended effort to cultivate him as a source of information for the FBI.

'There has been some speculation that he might have tried to reel me in,' Page told the Washington Post. 'At the time, I never had any such impression.'

Page told The Daily Caller that Halper ingratiated himself by claiming to have been a longtime friend of Paul Manafort, who was at the time the Turmp campaign's chairman.

But a person close to Manafort told the publication that the pair hadn't seen one another since the Gerald Ford administration.

And Halper 'rolled his eyes' in faux solidarity with Page in mid-2016 when they discussed a letter from then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid to then-FBI Director James Comey, in which the Democratic senator suggested Page might be a Russian agent.

Halper's effort to nurture a similar relationship with Clovis met with less success. Their sole meeting was a small-talk affair.

Clovis had earlier recruited Page and Papadopoulos into the Trump campaign, making him a logical person of interest to any investigators who believed the pair were Trumpworld's conduits to Moscow.

Halper tried to keep up the relationship after the election, penning a note of congratulations to Clovis.

It's not known whether Halper was on the FBI's payroll. But according to public records, he has received six-figure payouts from a shadowy Department of Defense sub-agency in 2016 and 2017.

The Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment paid him $129,000 last year and $282,000 the year before, while the Trump capaign was in full swing.

Halper is one of three men to have resigned from a seminar at Cambridge, fearing it was being targeted by Russia as a way to gain influence, the Telegraph reported in 2016. They left following concerns that a Russian journal provided support to the seminar, constituting an 'unacceptable Russian influence,' according to Halper.

Among the attendees at the Friday seminar, known as the Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, are Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, Trump's fired national security advisor, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with the Mueller probe.

Halper also figures into a campaign imbroglio from decades ago. As the Intercept reported, he worked on the Ronald Reagan presidential campaign, where his role involved gathering information from within the Carter White House. A New York Times story at the time described it as am operation 'to gather inside data on Carter' overseen by retired Central Intelligence Agency figures.

It was overseen by Bush, who had been director of the CIA.An emergency medical technician (EMT) in Georgia was arrested and charged with battery after police witnessed her beating a 17-year-old boy in the back of an ambulance while he was restrained.

EMT Deannah Williams was arrested on May 12 after Dunwoody police caught part of the incident on their body cameras, in video that was released on Wednesday.

Williams responded to the scene as an employee of American Medical Response (AMR), which is a major ambulance service provider in the state.

Williams is no longer employed with AMR, the company said in a statement provided to NBC's 11Alive news team.

Scroll down for video

Georgia EMT Deannah Williams (pictured) was arrested and charged with battery after police witnessed her beating a 17-year-old boy in the back of an ambulance while he was restrained

Paramedics from AMR were called to take the teenager to the hospital for mental evaluation, according to a police report.

Dunwoody Police were on the scene because they also received the medical call.

According to the incident report, the teen grew agitated after learning he would be taken to a medical facility.

His hands were then cuffed behind his back and his feet were restrained.

The teen involved in the incident is shown here after the alleged beating, with hands cuffed and feet restrained; Williams is seen in the back being escorted out of the ambulance by police

The police body camera footage showed movement inside the ambulance, but it was difficult to make out exactly what was going on behind the closed doors of the vehicle

Police then boarded the ambulance and the footage shows Williams upset, yelling at the teen and being escorted out of the emergency vehicle by police

Williams was attempting to put an anti-spit mask on the teen, but before she could do it, he allegedly spit in her face.

'Once he spit in her face he jerked forward again and she just started swinging on him,' a witness told 11Alive.

The police body camera footage showed movement inside the ambulance, but it was difficult to make out exactly what was going on behind the closed doors of the vehicle.

Police then boarded the ambulance and the footage shows Williams upset, yelling at the teen and being escorted out of the emergency vehicle by police.

Police can be heard repeatedly telling Williams, 'Relax,' after she yells 'Your mama,' at the teen

'What is wrong with you?' an officer asks, to which Williams yes, 'That *** spit on me'

Police can be heard repeatedly telling Williams, 'Relax,' after she yells 'Your mama,' at the teen.

Officers hurry her out of the ambulance, with one saying, 'Cuff her up,' three times as she is walked down the steps.

'What is wrong with you?' an officer asks.

'That *** spit on me,' she yells.

'This is your job,' he says.

'I don't give a f***. Don't put your bodily fluids on me,' she said.

'I'm not spitting on you,' the officer says.

'Not you,' she yells.

'If you don't like people spitting on you, then quit,' an officer tells Williams at the scene

Paramedics from AMR were called to take the teenager to the hospital for mental evaluation

'That is a kid, that is a child, a 17-year-old child. What are you doing?' the officer asks to Williams.

'I don't care,' Williams says. 'He spit on me.'

'This is your job,' he tells her. 'You do this for a living right?'

'I understand, but you not gonna spit on me,' Williams says.

'It doesn't matter,' he says, trying to reason with Williams.

'Yes it does,' she says.

'If you don't like people spitting on you, then quit,' he tells her.

At that point, a woman walks over to Williams and demands her information, telling her, 'I'm sure the parents are gonna want to press charges.'

Then the officer walks away, expressing his disbelief, saying, 'This is not real life right now.'

Another officer can then be heard saying, 'That's a lawsuit waiting to happen, am I wrong?'

The officer who was talking with Williams asks the teen at this point, 'Are you alright, man? Are you OK?'

'I'm gonna tell my parents about that, straight up,' the teen says.

Officers could be heard on body camera audio expressing how shocking the incident was

The officer who was talking with Williams asks the teen, 'Are you alright, man? Are you OK?' before calling for a new AMR team as Williams is placed under arrest

The officer then calls for a different AMR unit to come to the scene to carry out the medical call.

Officers then approach Williams again and inform her she is being placed under arrest for battery.

AMR released the following statement, confirming that Williams was no longer an employee with the company:

'We were notified Saturday evening that an employee was arrested for assault in an incident related to a call for service. We are not able to comment on the ongoing investigation and defer to the police department for specifics related to the incident.

'We take this matter very seriously. The individual is no longer an employee with American Medical Response. The safety of patients in our care is of the utmost importance to us and we have hundreds of employees in the area who care for hundreds of patients in Dekalb County each day. Our paramedics have tremendous pride in what we do, and we are honored to have the responsibility to provide care for residents.'

The parents of the boy, who wished to remain anonymous, told Channel 2 Action News before even seeing the video that reading the police report had their 'blood boiling.'

'He's a child, you know, no human being deserves that,' the teen's father said.

'Im very appalled,' said his mother. 'They both should be held accountable, the company [AMR] and also her for what she did.'

Williams could not immediately be reached for comment.French film producer Luc Besson, who has directed films such as Valerian, The Fifth Element and The Big Blue, is being investigated after an actress accused him of drugging and raping her on the final day of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

The unidentified actress alleged that the incident happened after a meeting with the French screenwriter at the Le Bristol Hotel near the Champs-Elysees in Paris, but Luc Bessons representatives have categorically denied the claims.

The news comes after sexual misconduct was a dominating theme at Cannes, especially with Italian filmmaker Asia Argentos speech in which she described the awards ceremony as Harvey Weinsteins hunting ground. But who is Luc Besson?

Luc Besson seen arriving to attend the opening ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival in 2002

Who is Luc Besson?

Born on March 18, 1959 in Paris to parents who were both Club Med scuba diving instructors, Besson spent most of his childhood travelling and visiting resorts in Italy, Yugoslavia and Greece. When he was 10, his parents divorced and both remarried immediately after.

Despite planning to become a marine biologist, a diving accident at age 17 left him unable to dive and out of boredom, Luc began writing stories, some of which provided background to what became The Fifth Element and Le Grand Bleu (The Big Blue).

Besson picked up odd jobs in the film industry on his return to Paris and worked for renowned directors Claude Faraldo and Patrick Grandperret.

After a few years in the US, Luc set up his own production company in the French capital, at first named Les Films du Loup and later changed it to Les Films du Dauphin.

In 2000, he superseded his own company to co-found EuropaCorp with Pierre-Ange La Pogam, which saw strong growth with several English-language films with international distribution.

However, EuropaCorp has an estimated debt of 202 million, but is in talks with Netflix who may invest.

Cara Delevigne seen here in Luc Besson's Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets

Luc Besson movies

Luc Besson has written and produced a number of action films, including Taxi, The Transporter, Jet Li films Kiss of the Dragon and Unleashed/Danny the Dog as well as the Taken series, starring Liam Neeson. Taken 2 was the largest-grossing export French film at the time.

Besson went on to win Best Director and Best French Director for The Fifth Element and was later nominated for a Cesar Award for Leon: The Professional and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.

Critics have labelled him as a prominent figure in the Cinema du look movement, popular in the 1980s and 1990s, where spectacle was favoured over narrative and themes included doomed love affairs, alienated youth, cynicism towards the police and a mixture of high and pop culture.

Luc has directed Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Arthur and the Invisibles, The Fifth Element, Subway, to name a few. Bessons next film Anna, a thriller starring Helen Mirren, Cillian Murphy and Luke Evans, will be released in the US in October 2018.

Actress Milla Jovovich seen here in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc by Luc Besson

Luc Besson spouse

Luc Besson married Nikita actress Anne Parillaud and the couple had a daughter Juliette in 1987. They divorced in 1991 and in the same year, Besson started dating the director Maiwenn Le Besco, who was 15 at the time.

The pair married a year later after Maiwenn fell pregnant with their daughter Shanna, born in January 1993. Bessons relationship with her is considered to have inspired the film Leon, where an adult man falls in love with a 12 year-old girl.

Maiwenn and Luc ended their relationship when he became involved with the actress Milla Jovovich on the set of The Fifth Element.

They married in December 1997, but divorced two years later. In 2004, Luc married the producer Virginia Silla and had three children together: Thalia, Sateen and Mao.

Besson, President of the Jury, seen here on the opening day of the 53rd Cannes Film Festival

Luc Besson rape allegation

Luc Besson has been accused of drugging and raping a 27-year-old actress, who asked to remain unidentified. She described the incident as a violent sexual assault which is thought to have taken place after a meeting with the French director at the Le Bristol Hotel in Paris after the Cannes Film Festival.

The actress revealed to the police that she and Besson had been together for two years, but had felt pressured into the relationship for professional reasons. She claimed that she drunk a cup of tea, then felt unwell and lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she said she found Besson sexually assaulting her and had left her an undisclosed sum of money before leaving.

According to his lawyer Thierry Marembert: Luc Besson categorically denies these fantasist accusations. [The complainant] is someone he knows, towards whom he has never behaved inappropriately.

Judicial sources stated that a complaint has been made for acts qualifying as rape by the plaintiff which happened Thursday night into Friday in Paris'.Donald Trump's demands for a new 'jumbo' Iran nuclear deal will be 'very, very difficult' to achieve, Boris Johnson warned today.

The Foreign Secretary voiced deep scepticism over the chances of securing the beefed-up US terms - which are intended to rein in Tehran's destabilising influence in the Middle East.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has unveiled a list of 12 requirements Iran must meet to avoid sanctions threatened to be 'the strongest in history'.

They include an end to uranium enrichment, 'unqualified access' for inspectors, a halt to support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, the withdrawal of all forces from Syria, removal of backing for ally Hezbollah and no more threats to Israel.

Boris Johnson (pictured in Buenos Aires yesterday) has warned that Donald Trump's demands for a new 'jumbo' Iran nuclear deal will be 'very, very difficult' to achieve

Iran must also 'release all US citizens' missing in Iran or being held on 'spurious charges', said Mr Pompeo, in his first major speech as Secretary of State.

Speaking shortly before the speech in Washington, Mr Johnson cautioned that the 'jumbo' deal which Mr Trump is now seeking will not be achievable within a reasonable timescale.

Washington appeared to be planning to fold all of its issues of contention with Tehran into 'a giant negotiation, a new jumbo Iran negotiation, a new treaty', said the Foreign Secretary.

And he warned: 'I don't see that being very easy to achieve, in anything like a reasonable timetable.

'The advantage of the JCPOA was that it had a very clear objective. It protected the world from an Iranian nuclear bomb, and in return it gave the Iranians some recognisable economic benefits. That was at the core of it.

'The Americans have walked away from that.'

Mr Johnson said the US approach would be discussed at the meeting of foreign ministers of G20 countries which he was attending in Argentinian capital Buenos Aires on Monday.

'I think we will be discussing, not in the session but we'll certainly be discussing it with friends and colleagues today, how to take it forward,' he told reporters.

'But the prospect of a new jumbo Iran treaty is going to be very, very difficult.'

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (pictured today) unveiled a list of 12 requirements Iran must meet to avoid sanctions threatened to be 'the strongest in history'

There have been tensions between the US president (right) and Theresa May (left at the Chelsea Flower Show today) over the Iran nuclear deal

Mr Trump's decision to pull the US out of the 2015 agreement - which eased economic sanctions in return for Iran stopping efforts to build nuclear weapons - has created one of the biggest political spats between London and Washington since his election as president.

The UK has joined European states including Germany and France in reaffirming their commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Mr Johnson insisted he was 'not totally pessimistic about the situation', saying: 'In the end, there is a deal to be done that gives Iran a greater economic access to the West, but also constrains it.

'That's what we want to work on with the Americans. They have some ideas; we have some ideas. I think in the end, we will get back to the kind of additions to the JCPOA that we initially envisaged - but it may take a long time.'

Mr Johnson said the UK was taking measures to attempt to protect British companies with business interests in Iran from being caught by any new US sanctions.

'We're going to do everything we possibly can,' he said.

'One of the difficulties is that American legislation means that if a UK business in any way touches the electric fence, or touches the wire of the American banking system, they get zapped.

'So it's a question of finding a way of avoiding that.'More people have died in school shootings than while serving in the U.S. Military so far in 2018.

After the most recent incident Friday, which left 10 people dead at a Texas high school, 31 people have been killed in shootings so far this year, according to a Washington Post analysis of Department of Defense data.

By comparison, 29 military service members have died in the same period of time. Of those, nine were killed in a plane crash in Georgia earlier this month, and seven were caused by a helicopter crash in Iraq in March. Three military deaths were not related to combat.

Residents attend a prayer vigil to remember the victims from the Santa Fe high School shooting at Walter Park Hall on May 20 in League City, Texas. Dimitrios Pagourtzis entered the school with a shotgun an a pistol on May 18, opening fire and killing 10.

This doesn't mean that schools are more dangerous that active duty military service: More than 50 million students attend public schools in the U.S., compared to roughly 1.3 million people in the military. Given those figures, a member of the military is 40 times as likely to be killed as a public school student is to be shot to death.

It remains unusual for school shooting deaths to surpass military deaths in the U.S. For example, in 2017, more than six times as many American service members died than victims of school shootings did.

Despite that perspective, 2018 is shaping up to be a deadly year for schools. When comparing data from this point in the year to prior years, more people have been killed in school shootings in 2018 than in any other year since 2000.

When adding up school shootings from 2000-2017, just for the period through May 18 each of those years, there were a total of 36 deaths  just below the total of 31 for the same period in 2018.

To put those numbers in greater context, the U.S. had 38,658 gun deaths in 2016, including suicides, according to the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Fridays shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, about 30 miles southeast of Houston, pushed the school shooting numbers over the edge. The numbers were also significantly bolstered by the Feb. 14 shooting death of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high School in Parkland, Florida, which remains the deadliest mass shooting so far in 2018.

Without those two incidents, the total would be four deaths in 14 school shooting incidents in 2018.

In 2017, the number of U.S. troops who died serving in war zones rose to at least 33, compared to 26 in 2016, according to Buzzfeed. While its far below the more than 1,000 troops who were killed during the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007, it was the first increase in six years.

The number of troops deployed to Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan  the three countries where the U.S. is focusing its efforts in the War on Terror  increased to 26,000 by the end of September 2017, according to WBUR News. Thats up from 18,000 who were deployed to those countries by the end of 2016.

The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high School in Parkland, Florida, remains the deadliest mass shooting of 2018. People were brought out of the school with their hands on each other's shoulders (left) in the immediate aftermath of the Feb. 14 attack, which left 17 people deadA body language expert has given her take on Harry and Meghan's 'sexy and flirty' official wedding photographs.

The couple have today released striking shots captured by Alexi Lubomirski showing them among their family members in Windsor Castle.

Taken shortly after their poignant ceremony, the couple and the Monarch beam for the camera, with Harry flanked by his proud father and his new wife beside her delighted mother.

Body language expert Judi James told MailOnline the pictures demonstrate not only the pair's adoration for one another, but William's status in the family, Meghan's close bond with her beloved mother and the Queen's 'delight'.

These are the extraordinary official wedding photographs released by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle show the couple in love and entwined on Windsor Castle's East Terrace shortly after they married

The most striking image shows Meghan sitting between Harry's legs on the east terrace of Windsor Castle as the prince looks smiling at the camera.

Ms James said: The black and white shot is pure Hollywood romance, and very much like the engagement shot.

It is very sexy and flirty, she is sitting between his legs on the step below him. They clearly adore one another and it looks like a luxury perfume advert.

'It is perfect and the most romantic wedding shot weve ever seen.

It definitely sets the tone for them to be going on the do their work around the world, they are a Hollywood A-list couple and this picture puts them in that league.

Body language expert Robin Kermode also told MailOnline: 'This is the Harry we know and love. Open smile, shoulders with his head tilted to one side and his left arm gently on Meghan's arm.

'This is a picture of complete relaxation and genuine happiness. Once again Meghan looks relaxed calm and deliriously happy.

'Both of them calm relaxed and genuinely happy. The smiles are completely congruence reaching the corners of the eyes.

'Her wrists are relaxed - always a sign of complete calm. Also we should remember how much pressure they have both been under during the day and this is a photograph of genuine relaxation and happiness at the end of a very public day. '

'Once again a very private moment.'

The Duke and Duchess are pictured in The Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle, with (left-to-right): Back row: Master Jasper Dyer, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, The Prince of Wales, mother of the bride Doria Ragland, The Duke of Cambridge Middle row: Brian Mulroney, The Duke of Edinburgh, Her Majesty The Queen, The Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Rylan Litt and John Mulroney Front row: Ivy Mulroney, Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren and Remi Litt

The formal family wedding shot featuring the Queen also features the bride's mother Doria Ragland, 62, standing proudly next to her daughter.

Ms James told MailOnline while the pair represent something of a departure from tradition and a royal revolution, the group shots nonetheless have a distinctly traditional feel.

Ms James said they represented a certain formality that may have been in keeping with the Queen's wishes.

She said: I was actually quite surprised because we have just watched a wedding that was very different - everything about it was informal, producing some change in the formality and the proceedings of the royal family.

But these two group pictures are very traditional, more so than some of the previous more jokey ones weve seen with Kate and William and Charles and Diana, where they had light hearted and spontaneous shots.

Weve got Meghan and Harry almost standing to attention in one shot.

Harry is however throwing a big grin and while everyone else has got beautiful and natural congruent smiles, they remain in the realm of formality.'

But Ms James did note the evident bond between mother and daughter.

She said: Meghans torso is turned towards her mother who is very close to her in the picture. They are a close double act which is so good to see.

A lot of people were very worried her mother was sitting alone and isolated in the service so it is very tangible that her mother is important here.

William is towering above everyone else and is very dominant and though Charles is due to take over, he has an endearing sheepish grin on his face and William seems to have a higher level of status.

It is great to see the Queen and Philip grinning. She didnt smile much during the service, and she doesnt smile in church but you can see the delight on her face.

'Despite his recent operation, Phil has just adopted a dashing, manly pose which is really good to see.'

In this extraordinary image with their six bridesmaids and four page boys George, third from the right is grinning cheekily as is Charlotte, second left on the floor. Here the Duke and Duchess were pictured in Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle with (left-to-right): Back row: Brian Mulroney, Remi Litt, Rylan Litt, Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Ivy Mulroney, John Mulroney Front row: Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte and Florence van Cutsem

The final image shows Prince George and Princess Charlotte grinning cheekily with the other bridesmaids and page boys surrounding the happy couple.

Ms James added: In the other shot with the children, I am surprised that Meghan is at her husbands feet very quickly after she walked in to the church by herself. Shes down at the feet of the man she loves, though it is slightly submissive.

He is looking slightly Victorian and with the groom behind her weve gone back in history a bit.

But he is sporting the naughtiest grin  he looks like one of the page boys, which balances that.

'Here, the children have stolen the scene just as they did at the wedding.

Mr Kermode added: 'Meghan and her mother are looking very much in sync, both calm and serene.

'One can cannot overestimate the grace with which Meghan's mother has been over the last two days. Her body language is calm and confident at all times.

'Harry once again beaming here a genuine smile. The Queen looks genuinely happy and relaxed as do Charles Camilla and Philip.'

Robin Kermode is a body language expert and founder of communication consultancy, Zone2.co.uk, and author of the best selling book, Speak So Your Audience Will Listen.Heather Locklear held on tight to boyfriend Chris Heisser as they walked into an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting on Sunday morning in Thousand Oaks, California.

It was the first time Locklear was pictured since completing a two-month stay at a rehab center after being arrested for attacking police officers responding to a domestic violence call in February.

'They were giggling and acting flirty,' a witness told DailyMail.com. 'You'd never know that just a few months ago they were in a knock down drag out fight where the cops had to be called.'

The hour-long meeting seemed to give the couple peace of mind and they hugged another attendee outside a church before leaving, according to the insider, who said they appeared 'calmer than when they went in'.

Heather Locklear and her boyfriend Chris Heisser were photographed for the first time since the actress finished a two-month stay at a rehab center after being arrested for attacking police officers

The couple laughed and smiled as they walked hand-in-hand into the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at a church in Thousand Oaks, California, on Sunday

Locklear finished a two-month stay at a rehab facility at the end of April. This is the first time she has been pictured since the rehab stay

The couple then went to an early dinner at her parents Bill and Diane Locklear's home in the nearby Westlake Village.

A source tells the DailyMail.com: 'It seems like her world has shrunk quite a bit since her arrest, she sticks pretty close to home. She let her boyfriend drive her around, she's definitely trying to be good as she gears up for her next court hearing.'

Locklear was arrested on Feburary 25 for felony domestic violence against her boyfriend Chris Heisser, 56, at her Westlake Village area home.

The charge that was later reduced to a misdemeanor, and then dropped entirely.

A search warrant prepared by Senior Deputy Sheriff Keith Hall recounted what happened that night.

In the documents, Lockear said the fight began when Chris 'lied to her, and she threw a can of Red Bull at him'.

Documents add: 'She then told an officer that [Chris Heisser] had strangled her and that she was afraid he would kill her. Locklear stated she did not lose consciousness but was strangled for a long time and thought she might pass out.'

Following the meeting, Locklear and Heisser went to an early dinner at her parents Bill and Diane Locklear's home in the nearby Westlake Village

The hour-long meeting seemed to give the couple peace of mind, a witness said, adding that as they left the church, they looked 'calmer than when they went in'

But Heisser countered to the officers, 'I did not touch her'.

The deputies took his side when they saw he was bleeding from the bridge of his nose and had redness on his chest'.

An insider said at the time that Locklear 'practically bit the tip off Heisser's nose' before instructing one of her employees to call the police.

Locklear was arrested on Feburary 25 for felony domestic violence against her boyfriend Chris Heisser, 56, at her Westlake Village area home

She was also charged with four counts of misdemeanor battery against a cop after she allegedly kicked and hit them when they tried to arrest her.

When officers tried to arrest her, she went to her bedroom and attempted to shut the door.

'Get the f**k off my property,' officers claim she said. 'You f***ers deserve your kids to die!'

A source said the actress snapped and 'attacked three of' the four officers - all in front of her 'mortified' adult daughter Ava, age 20.

'She punched the lady cop and called her a "c**t", kicked one of the male cops in the balls and punched the third male cop and called them all "f****** assholes" ranting at them,' the source said.

Police had to subdue her with handcuffs, both on her wrists and a 'hobble' on her ankles to prevent her from further kicking of officers.

Because she had claimed to have been beaten by Heisser, Locklear was first taken to the hospital for evaluation.

She was booked into the Ventura County Jail around 1am on a felony count of domestic violence and three counts of misdemeanor battery on a peace officer.

The same evening as the fight, Heisser was arrested for a DUI when cops saw his Mercedes driving erratically on Highway 101.

Sources told TMZ that he was spotted driving slowly on Highway 101, blew a 0.19 and a 0.20 blood alcohol level after being pulled over. The legal limit in California is 0.08.

Following her arrest, Locklear completed a two-month stint at a rehab center, which ended on April 29. During that time, it Heisser is said to have taken care of her dog 'Mister'

The couple appeared to be in good spirits as they walked into the meeting on Sunday, as they laughed and held hands while chatting

Locklear and Heisser were previously seen having lunch and drinking non-alcoholic drinks on May 6, and witnesses said the couple 'seemed really happy', though no photos were taken

Following her arrest, Locklear completed a two-month stint at a rehab center, which ended on April 29. During that time, it Heisser is said to have taken care of her dog 'Mister'.

While this is the first time Locklear has been photographed post-rehab, she spent Mother's day with her semi-estranged daughter Ava on May 13.

Ava tried to distance herself from her mom after the arrest, and the Loyola Marymount University student, , who is Locklear's daughter with Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, jetted away to Hawaii to be with her father.

A source reported that the This Is 40 actress was 'concerned and sad' about her mom.

But it appears they made amends as they had a mother-daughter spa day at Locklear's house for Mother's Day, and they also watched 20-year-old actress Ava's new film, Mommy Be Mine.

Locklear and Heisser were previously seen having lunch and drinking non-alcoholic drinks on May 6, and witnesses said the couple 'seemed really happy', though no photos were taken.

The Melrose Place actress' attorney entered the plea to four misdemeanor counts of battery on an officer in Ventura County Superior Court back on April 12.

Her sentencing hearing is on June 6, at the Ventura County Superior Courthouse. Neither side had any comment after the arraignment.A man in north China had to go to the hospital two days after inserting more than 30 magnetic beads into his penis.

The 36-year-old man claimed to have put in the 5mm (0.2in) wide balls into his urethra one by one after watching pornography.

He said he was trying to copy one of the scenes from the video.

A man in north China rushed to hospital due to severe pain in the penis and lower abdomen (left). He explained that he had inserted 34 magnetic beads and got it stuck in bladder (right)

The chain of beads, measuring 17 centimetres long (6.7 inches), reportedly separated into two strips.

Doctors said they had to use forceps to remove the balls one by one through the patient's urethra.

The patient from the Xushui district, Baoding prefecture in Hebei Province, told Baoding Radio News that he put a few magnet balls into his penis with the hope that he could used the other beads to 'suck them out'.

Each magnet ball, also known as Buckyball, measured five millimetres wide, said the report.

He then decided to put all of the 34 beads into his penis for more excitement, however, he failed to retrieve them.

The 36-year-old is reported to have suffered pain and difficulties while urinating. He decided to go to Baoding 252 Hospital on May 12.

Dr Han Gang was shocked to see two strips of beads lined up in the patient's bladder after an X-ray scan.

Surgeon Chen Yudong said the doctors decided to use foreign body forceps to remove the beads to minimise the pain and prevent any unnecessary incision.

The man, from Baoding city (pictured), said he copied sex acts from pornography videos

Dr Chen, accompanied by two other doctors, successfully removed the beads. The man was discharged three days after the operation.

Dr Chen explained that patients with similar incident should consult a doctor right away.

A foreign body stuck in a bladder could cause swelling around the area and perforation of the bladder.

It could potentially lead to pyelonephritis, a life-threatening infection of kidneys.

Last August, an 11-year-old boy in Wenzhou of east China, put 26 Buckyballs into his penis out of curiosity.

He suffered pain and swelling and soon seeing blood when urinating. The boy had to undergo a two-hour operation to remove the beads.A passenger on a Frontier Airlines flight from Colorado to South Carolina was arrested after allegedly assaulting two women and peeing on the seat in front of him.

Michael Allen Haag allegedly touched the woman next to him during the flight from Denver to Charleston and asked another woman personal questions about her sex life.

He has been charged with interference with flight crew members, a felony, and indecent exposure on an aircraft.

Haag could face up to 20 years in prison for the charges.

This is the moment Michael Allen Haag, who allegedly assaulted two women on a Frontier flight from Denver to Charleston, then peed on the seat in front of him on Thursday

Haag, who was seated between the two women, began making crude comments about his reason for traveling to Charleston, according to court documents.

He told one of the women he was meeting an old girlfriend and was very 'physically excited'.

Haag allegedly asked one of the women 'what kind of man she liked, what her "deal" was, and about her relationship with her husband.

He also kept 'looking at her chest and legs', before he began to touch a female passenger who was seated on the other side of him, court documents state.

The woman told authorities Haag touched her fingers and repeatedly touched her legs, despite her telling him to stop.

A third female passenger who was seated in the back of the plane said she heard a woman shouting about two hours into the flight.

'I heard a woman scream, "If this man f*****g touches me one more time I'll f***ing kill him'", the passenger told Fox 31.

The passenger, who asked not to be named, said the woman later told her that the man had ordered two double shots of vodka with tonic during the flight.

'He was out of his mind. Like he couldn't speak, he was mumbling,' the passenger recalled. 'This man was extremely intoxicated'.

A passenger who was sitting across from Haag said he got moved there after he allegedly groped one woman and asked another about her sex life

The passenger said the man also verbally assaulted another woman and asked personal questions about her sexual life.

Flight crew members moved the man to the back of the plane, where there was an empty row across from the passenger's seat.

The passenger said the crew warned her about the man and told her 'you might want to get up in case he tries to touch you'.

But when the passenger took out her phone to take a picture of the man to show her friends, she said things escalated.

'While I have my phone out trying to take a discreet photo, he starts to pee and urinate on the seat in front of him,' she said.

The passenger captured the exact moment in a photo, which shows a stream of pee coming from the man's unzipped jeans.

'I scream "He's f*****g peeing, he's peeing, oh my god"', the passenger recalled. 'And the flight attendant doesn't even acknowledge him at first.'

'She acknowledges me and says "You need to calm down and stop cursing'".

The passenger was moved to the front of the plane and the man was arrested at the gate in Charleston around 30 minutes later, according to CBS Denver.

The passenger captured this photo of Haag getting arrested by police at the gate after the plane landed in Charleston

Both the passenger and the two women who were assaulted filled out statement to law enforcement after the flight.

The passenger said she also complained to the airline about how the situation was dealt with.

'I think they handled it extremely poorly,' she told Fox 31. 'Someone should have sat with him.'

Frontier Airlines waived the passenger's bag fee and gave her a $200 voucher.

'The safety and security of our passengers is our top priority at Frontier,' a spokesman for the airline said in a statement.

'We have been made aware of this situation and are working with the appropriate authorities.'University Chief of Staff Sergio Garcia, 43, has been placed on leave following allegations he faked a story about surviving an Afghanistan bombing

A high-ranking New York university official has been placed on leave after his elaborate stories he told during a lecture were challenged.

University Chief of Staff Sergio Garcia, 43, from The State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University said in a videotaped lecture last fall that he survived a deadly bombing in Afghanistan, was offered a job by Secretary of State Colin Powell and was good friends with former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

Witnesses of the bombing and sources close to Powell and Rice shot down Garcia's claims.

Red flags were raised when Garcia, a former US State Department foreign affairs officer, said that he was part of a three-vehicle convoy delivering books to a school in Afghanistan in 2011 when a bomb killed many of his colleagues.

'I was in the third car, the bomb went off on the first car and, you know, a lot of my colleagues, civilian and military, were killed,' Garcia said.

However, according to the Times Union, the bombing he described happened in 2013, months after he had left Afghanistan and the victims were on foot.

In his speech last fall titled 'Courage Under Fire' he made several elaborate claims that have not proven to be true

The paper reported that according to State Department records and interviews with those who survived the bombing, there is no evidence Garcia was there.

The university announced Sunday, just one day after the original report came out, that it has placed the $340,000 staffer on leave while it investigates the claims.

'We are aware of the disturbing and troubling allegations made against Upstate Medical University's chief of staff and are reviewing this matter,' school officials said in a statement.

In his speech titled 'Courage Under Fire', Garcia made claims that he was 'in the White House' during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in September 2001 and that he stayed there for seven days without a shave or shower.

State Department records and Garcia's resume indicate he did not start working for the US government until August 2004

He also inaccurately recounted the death of Anne Smedinghoff, who died in the Afghanistan bombing.

Garcia said he was her mentor and that she died aged 25, when she was in fact 23. He said Afghanistan was her first foreign tour when it was not.

He added that Smedinghoff died instantly from the attack.

Meanwhile Jonathan Addleton, who was on the mission at the time, said he was with Smedinghoff when she died.

'I held her hand on the stretcher and said, ''You're going to make it, you're going to make it,''' Addleton said.

'He's stealing another person's story to advance his own career,' he added.

Another one of the alleged lies came when Garcia said he was personally called by Secretary of State Colin Powell in 2001 for an interview and offered a job 15 minutes later.

A person who worked for Powell at the time confirmed that they had never met.

In Garcia's speech he also said that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally asked him to remain in the foreign service after he told her he was leaving Afghanistan.

'She looked at me like I was nuts, (and she said:) ''Sergio, you can't leave,'' he said during the speech.

'The adjustment was difficult, I'm not going to lie. It took me at least a year, year and a half, maybe it's post-traumatic synd ... ,' he added while his voice trailed off.A Houston police officer was caught on video yelling at a black woman, 'Pretend like we're gonna shoot you,' during a traffic stop on Saturday.

Passing motorist Denee Harris recorded a nearly seven-minute video on her cellphone showing a large number of police vehicles and uniformed officers stopping a blue Nissan SUV and ordering its four occupants to get out of the vehicle at gunpoint.

The traffic stop took place outside a Walgreens pharmacy at the intersection of Tidwell and Homestead roads in Houston.

Hands up: A viral video recorded in Houston shows a woman being detained during a traffic stop. As she is walking backwards with her hands raised, a cop says: 'pretend like we're gonna shoot you'

The video, which as of Monday morning has been viewed more than 158,000 times on Facebook, begins with an officer using a loudspeaker to order the driver out of the car.

The man emerges from the Nissan with his hands raised over his head and walks towards the officers, who keep their service weapons trained on him.

The officer with the bullhorn then orders the passenger in the backseat behind the driver's seat to get out of the SUV.

An African-American woman in a pink T-shirt climbs out of the vehicle and raises her hands slightly while walking backwards, prompting the cop to shout at her: '[raise your hands] over your head! Pretend like we're gonna shoot you!'

The comment infuriated the witness recording the video, causing Harris to exclaim: 'Now why would you say that?!

Police then ordered the other two occupants of the SUV to come out, one of them walking with the aid of a crutch.

The video shows an officer grabbing a crutch from a passengers grasp and throwing it on the ground before detaining him (pictured)

The footage concludes with an officer getting behind the wheel of the now-empty Nissan and driving it down the road

The video shows an officer grabbing the crutch from the passengers grasp and throwing it on the ground before detaining him.

The footage concludes with an officer getting behind the wheel of the now-empty Nissan and driving it down the road. Witnesses can be heard speculating in the background that the cop could have planted evidence in the vehicle.

It was not immediately clear why police pulled over the vehicle and detained it occupants.

The people inside the Nissan have not been named, and it is unknown whether or not they have been charged with anything.

DailyMail.com was told by a Houston Police Department spokesperson on Monday that the agency is aware of the viral video depicting the traffic stop and that supervisors are looking into the incident.Celebrity chef Mario Batali is now being accused of raping a woman in the bathroom of his New York City restaurant Babbo.

The woman has filed a police report in which she claims that Batali forced himself on her back in 2004 according to TMZ.

She was reportedly drinking at the bar on January 29 of that year when she went to the bathroom sometime around 2am.

'The next thing she remembers is Batali on top of her, having sex with her ... and she was physically helpless,' reports the website.

The NYPD has opened an investigation into the chef a spokesperson told DailyMail.com, but would not confirm if it was in response to this latest allegation.

At the same time, Batali has also been dropped by B&B Hospitality Group, with the company that carried his name announcing on Monday that they are severing all ties with the disgraced chef.

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Ne allegation: A new woman is claiming she was raped by Mario Batali in 2004 while out drinking at his New York City restaurant Babbo

Crime scene: She allegedly told police that Batali forced himself on her when she went to use a bathroom at around 2am one night (Babbo above), saying she felt 'helpless' at the time

That announcement came one day after a number of women alleged in interviews with 60 Minutes that they been sexually harassed and groped by the married father-of-two, 57, who they referred to as 'The Red Menace.'

These incidents all occurred at The Spotted Pig according to the women, a restaurant in Manhattan's West Village that Batali has had an ownership stake in since it opened.

The stories these women told had for the most part previously been reported back in December by The New York Times.

In fact, every woman but one who appeared on 60 Minutes had previously spoken to the Times, including former general manager Jamie Seet and former server Trish Nelson.

Seet claimed in that interview 'she intervened when she saw on the security camera feed that Mr. Batali, who was drunk, was groping and kissing a woman who appeared to be unconscious' back in 2008.

'We called him the Red Menace,' Nelson told the Times.

'He tried to touch my breasts and told me that they were beautiful. He wanted to wrestle. As I was serving drinks to his table, he told me I should sit on his friends face.'

The Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group announced on Monday that they were dropping one half of their partnership, stating:'The accounts tonight were chilling and deeply disturbing. This is the first we heard of them.'

Wife: Batali and his wife Susan (above) appear to still be together in spit of the allegations being made by these women, and the couple have two teenage sons

It is unclear how they managed to not hear the 'accounts' prior to last night however, as only one of the woman had not spoken in the press before Sunday.

A rep for B&B had also revealed that an employee reported inappropriate behavior by Batali back in October last year and he was reprimanded and required to attend training.

That was the first formal complaint according to the spokesperson.

'Our partnership with Mr. Batali is ending. We have been actively negotiating with Mr. Batali to buy his interests in the restaurants, and he and Joe Bastianich have signed a letter of intent that sets forth the broad terms to do so,' added the statement.

'We expect to have the final terms set by July 1, and that Nancy Silverton, Lidia Bastianich, Mr. Bastianich, and other current investors will participate in the acquisition.'

One woman who previously worked with Batali and said she too thinks she was sexually assaulted by the chef was speaking out for the first time on 60 Minutes.

That woman believes she may have been drugged as well back in 2005, after waking up around dawn one day after passing out in a private room at The Spotted Pig.

'I woke up by myself on the floor, I don't know where I am, of an empty room, wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, "I've been drugged." That was the first thing I thought is, "I've been-- I've been assaulted,"' said the woman.

'My right leg was very deeply wounded, like, scratched, like, deep scratches.'

She then added: 'I didn't think I had been raped. I didn't feel any kind of trauma ... I didn't feel any trauma internally. But I also did find- I looked on my skirt- There were two areas. It looked like DNA.'

She then tried to talk about the incident with Batali but she claims he refused to even speak.

'I said, "What happened? What- what happened last night," And he just was silent, wouldn't talk to me,' said the woman.

The woman decided to call a crisis hotline and then get an exam she claimed, with four individuals confirming that she had told them about this at the time.

She even went to speak with police, but in the end could not bring herself to file a report out of fear that she would never work in a restaurant again and be left unemployed in the news got around.

'They tried getting me to file a report. They tried, they tried,' she explained of the officers with the special victims unit.

'But I-- you know, a young actress, no resources, no money. I couldn't. I-- I couldn't do it.'

Batali said in a statement: 'I vehemently deny the allegation that I sexually assaulted this woman.'

Menace: The NYPD has opened an investigation into Batali, but a spokesperson would not confirm if it was in response to the 2004 rape allegation (Batali above at The Spotted Pig in 2009 during a birthday celebration for Rihanna)

Reiterating allegations: 'The accounts tonight were chilling and deeply disturbing. This is the first we heard of them.' said B&B of the five-month old allegations (Jamie Seet on left and Trish Nelson on right, who shared accusations they had previously detailed in December)

Speaking out: On Sunday night, a former employee of Batali (above) said on 60 Minutes that she believes the chef may have drugged and sexually assaulted her in 2005

He also released a statement back in December after the allegations first came to light, along with a recipe for cinnamon buns.

Batali stated at the time that he was stepping down from his restaurant empire and would no longer be appearing as a host on his ABC daytime show The Chew.

That came soon after Eater published an article in which four women accused the chef of inappropriate groping following the Times report.

One of the women said that Batali groped her chest after wine spilled on her shirt while another said he grabbed her from behind and held her tightly against his body.

Three of those four women asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution from Batali, who was their boss at that time.

Batali did admit that 'much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.'

A few weeks later, Eater published a second piece in which multiple employees of B&B said it would be impossible for Batali's partner Joe Bastianich to have not witnessed the chef;s incidents or groping and assault over the years.

Bastianich claimed he was in the dark and said that while he had heard Batali make inappropriate comments he never once witnessed an incident of inappropriate contact between his business partner and a woman.

B&B has over two dozen very profitable restaurants including Babbo in New York, Carnevino Italian Steakhouse in Las Vegas and Pizzeria Mozza in Los Angeles.

It is also a partner in Eataly, an Italian food hall and grocer, which has locations in New York, Chicago and Boston.

His career took off after opening Po in New York City in the early 1990s, and he skyrocketed to fame with the airing of Molto Mario, a show that ran on the Food Network for eight years, until 2004.

It was there that his signature look, a fleece vest, shorts, and orange Crocs, became recognizable to most people. He has also won several prestigious James Beard awards.

Batali and his wife Susie appear to still be together in spit of the allegations being made by these women, and the couple have two teenage sons.Bathers were banned from the water along much of the Costa Blanca yesterday after the reappearance of Portuguese Men O'War.

An 11-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after being stung by one of the jellyfish-like creatures on the few beaches that remained open on some of the most popular parts of the coastline with British holidaymakers.

The red flag was also hoisted at La Marina beach near Elche - where the youngster was hurt - after he was stung.

An 11-year-old boy was rushed to hospital after being stung by one of the jellyfish-like creatures on the few beaches that remained open on some of the most popular parts of the coastline with British holidaymakers

Lifeguards removed the animal's tentacles from his arm but he was taken to nearby Elche Hospital after complaining of stomach and neck pain. Pictured: One of the creatures under water

Local reports said nearly 75 miles of Costa Blanca coastline had been declared off limits. Pictured: A Portuguese Man O'War

Lifeguards removed the animal's tentacles from his arm but he was taken to nearby Elche Hospital after complaining of stomach and neck pain.

He was discharged a few hours later after receiving treatment.

Local reports said nearly 75 miles of Costa Blanca coastline had been declared off limits.

Only one beach is understood to have been kept open in Alicante and bathing allowed in part of San Juan beach a few miles further north on the stretch of coastline between El Campello near Alicante and Pilar de la Horadada south of Torrevieja.

Popular tourist resorts north of Alicante including Benidorm and Denia, where Portuguese Men O'War caused problems last month, were unaffected by the latest scare.

But areas like Orihuela Costa further south were affected.

A man stands over a Portuguese Man O'War after the creatures appeared along Costa Blanca beaches

Orihuela Town Hall tweeted yesterday in a direct message to beachgoers: 'We ask you to be careful because of the presence of Portuguese Men O'War on our coastline

'They shouldn't be touched.

'Two of these creatures have so far appeared in the water at La Caleta beach.

'The public should be extremely careful because their sting can be very dangerous.'

Town hall chiefs hoisted the red flag up at beaches in Altea near Benidorm late last month after the arrival of Portuguese Men O'War.

A statement released by Altea Town Hall said at the time: 'The presence of dangerous jellyfish has been detected on beaches throughout the municipality.

'That's why from April 24 and until further notice, we have decided to ban people from going in the sea as a precaution.

'The red flag will be up for public safety.'

A spokeswoman said the decision had been taken on the advice of a coastal ecology institute after the appearance of Portuguese Men O'War along other parts of the Costa Blanca including Benidorm.

The scare came less than a fortnight after a famous Ibiza beach was closed because of the jellyfish-like creatures.

Local authorities closed the crescent-shaped ses Salines beach near the British tourist hotspot of Playa d'en Bossa after several of the creatures appeared on the sand.

The iconic beach, popular with regular Ibiza visitor Kate Moss, is home to the famous Jockey Club restaurant.

Surfers were also forced to leave the water around the same time after spotting Portuguese Men O'War at Es Torrent beach, an unspoiled beach near glam Ibiza hotspot Cala Jondal where Prince William stayed with Kate Middleton before they married.

It is thought to be the first time in five years Portuguese Men O'War, which can deliver a painful and sometimes deadly sting, had been seen in Ibiza.

The red flag was also hoisted at La Marina beach near Elche - where the youngster was hurt - after he was stung

The Portuguese Man O'War is often called a jellyfish but is actually a species of siphonophore, a group of animals that are closely related to jellyfish. Pictured: A flag flies to warn of the creatures

Experts said at the time they expected more to arrive over the coming weeks as they were carried on currents from their natural habitat in the Atlantic.

Their presence in the Mediterranean was blamed on strong westerly winds.

The Portuguese Man O'War is often called a jellyfish but is actually a species of siphonophore, a group of animals that are closely related to jellyfish.

Their tentacles are loaded with coiled, barbed tubes that deliver venom capable of paralysing and killing small fish and crustaceans.

They are rarely deadly to people but can be dangerous to children, elderly people, asthmatics and people with allergies as they can cause fever, shock and respiratory distress.Belarus has fiercely criticised the British Embassy in Minsk for flying a rainbow gay pride flag on the International Day against Homophobia, claiming that LGBT relationships are 'fake'.

The country's interior ministry in a statement on Sunday said it 'regretted' the British Embassy had flown the flag the previous week.

Belarus, ruled with an iron fist since 1994 by President Alexander Lukashenko, accused Britain of 'creating a problem where it doesn't exist' and of challenging Belarusians' 'traditional values'.

Lukashenko, a former collective farm boss, famously remarked in 2012 that it was 'better to be a dictator than gay,' after the European Union slapped sanctions on his country for rights violations.

The country's interior ministry in a statement on Sunday said it 'regretted' the British Embassy had flown the flag (pictured) the previous week

The embassy had earlier posted video of the flag on its Instagram account, flying between the Union Jack and the European Union flag

Homosexuality was decriminalised in Belarus after the breakup of the Soviet Union but, as in neighbouring Russia, it remains taboo.

The lengthy interior ministry statement lectured Britain on gay rights, arguing that these were an artificial concept since relationships between men and women are 'the only natural way to procreate.'

'Say what you will, but single-sex relationships are a fake,' the ministry said.

'The LGBT community and all this fight for 'their rights' and the community's day - it's all just fake!'

'Belarus is based on a foundation of traditional institutions of family and marriage,' the ministry said, adding: 'We support real things, they won't get away with it!'

A spokeswoman for the British embassy told AFP it would not be making an official comment, adding that it regularly flies the rainbow flag on May 17.

The embassy had earlier posted video of the flag on its Instagram account, flying between the Union Jack and the European Union flag.

Ambassador Fionna Gibb in a video on Twitter posted May 17 said that 'here in Belarus we seek opportunities to promote human rights and prevent discrimination.'

Belarus, ruled with an iron fist since 1994 by President Alexander Lukashenko (pictured), accused Britain of 'creating a problem where it doesn't exist' and of challenging Belarusians' 'traditional values'

She complained that a recent gay culture festival in Belarus had faced 'unwelcome pressure' and was barred from two venues after last-minute inspections by officials found safety violations, eventually going ahead at a secret location.

'It's so pleasing to see that the authorities showed such concern for the safety of the festival participants,' the ambassador said sarcastically.

'We must all address the legal, cultural and social change required to make equality a reality for LGBT people all over the world,' she added.A teenager who started a major wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge in Oregon has been ordered to pay restitution for at least the next decade, though it's unlikely the boy will ever cover his nearly $37million bill.

Hood River County Circuit Judge John A. Olson issued the opinion on Monday, awarding the restitution totaling $36,618,330.24 to cover the costs of firefighting, repair and restoration to the gorge and damage to homes, The Oregonian reports.

Victims include the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Transportation.

The 15-year-old from Vancouver, Washington, earlier this year acknowledged wrongdoing and said he threw two fireworks in Eagle Creek Canyon on Sept. 2 when flames spread quickly.

The boy has been described as a 'churchgoing snowboarder', according to The Oregonian. His mother is a stay-at-home mom and his father is a cook.

Authorities kept the boy's identity - and that of his family - a secret because of the harsh public backlash.

'This is a trauma for him,' his mother said in Russian, acknowledging, 'It was his mistake.'

A wildfire is seen from near Stevenson, Washington just across the Columbia River in neighboring Oregon on September 4, 2017

The fire caused evacuations, an extended shutdown of a major interstate highway and devastation to a major outdoor tourist attraction. The fire is seen from the Oregon side of the Columbia River near Cascade Locks, Oregon on September 5, 2017

Courtesy of KOIN

The fire caused evacuations, an extended shutdown of a major interstate highway and devastation to a major outdoor tourist attraction.

The judge's order notes that the boy can set up a payment plan, though payments can be halted after 10 years as long as he complies, completes probation and doesn't commit other crimes.

At a hearing last week, the boy's lawyer urged for a 'reasonable and rational' penalty, calling the $37million sought an 'absurd' amount for the child.

The restitution is solely the responsibility of the teen, and not his parents, who came to the U.S. from Ukraine.

Olson called it 'an extraordinary amount' and then deferred on a separate restitution order because he wanted more time to review the case.

Hood River County Circuit Judge John A. Olson (above) issued the ruling according to state law relating to restitution

The judge said the largest figure he could find for prior juvenile restitution cases in Oregon was $114,000.

The teen in February pleaded guilty to reckless burning of public and private property and other charges.

He was sentenced in February to five years of probation and 1,920 hours of community service with the U.S. Forest Service.

Olson sentenced him to community service and probation, and the boy had to write more than 150 letters of apology to those affected by the fire that burned 75 square miles.

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area attracts more than 3 million tourists a year and holds North America's largest concentration of waterfalls.

The fast-moving blaze ravaged popular hiking trails and marred stunning vistas.

State law allows the Oregon Department of Revenue to garnishee the teen's bank accounts or paychecks.

If he's due refunds on his tax returns, the state could take those.

If he wins the lottery, the state also could collect all of his winnings.

Anger at the boy was so intense that authorities withheld his name to protect his safety.

He's listed in court papers as A.B.An upcoming report from the Justice Department's internal watchdog is expected to criticize senior FBI leaders for not moving quickly enough to review a trove of Hillary Clinton emails discovered late in the 2016 campaign, according to people familiar with findings.

The FBI's timing has been a sore point for Clinton supporters, who say then-director James Comey's announcement of the review less than two weeks before the Nov. 8, 2016, election contributed to her loss.

The agency's findings affirming their decision not to pursue criminal charges against Clinton were disclosed two days before the vote - too late, her supporters say, to undo the damage.

Some FBI officials knew in September 2016 of the emails on former Rep. Anthony Weiner's laptop but the bureau did not obtain a warrant to review them until the following month.

Clinton supporters say the candidate's name could have been cleared much faster if the FBI acted on the emails as soon as they knew about them.

Key moment in campaign: Hillary Clinton has claimed repeatedly that the timing of James Comey's revelation that a new trove of her emails were found on Weiner laptop was what cost her the election

Weiner in the middle again: The trove of Hillary emails was found on his laptop after DailyMail.com revealed he was sexting an underage girl. Now the DoJ inspector general is to criticize how the FBI dealt with the discovery

Set to be criticized: James Comey, who was later fired by Trump as FBI director, is in the firing line for not moving fast enough to get a warrant to have the Clinton emails read

An inspector general report examining a broad range of FBI actions during the Clinton email investigation will criticize officials, including Comey, fo not moving fast enough to examine the email trove and for a weeks-long delay in getting a warrant, according to people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press.

A lawyer for Comey and spokespeople for the inspector general and the FBI all declined to comment Monday.

The report will likely revive scrutiny of the FBI's handling of the Clinton case and the extent to which it helped shape the outcome of the presidential election.

Its conclusions may cut against President Donald Trump's repeated assertions that the FBI was working against him during the campaign and instead revive allegations that the bureau broke from protocol in ways that ultimately harmed Clinton.

The nonpolitical watchdog has been repeatedly pulled into the partisan arena, amid demands to investigate Justice Department actions in the early stages of the FBI's probe of possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign.

On Sunday, the Justice Department asked the inspector general, Michael Horowitz, to expand his existing investigation to look into whether Trump associates were improperly monitored during the campaign for political reasons.

The report dealing with the Clinton emails arises from a wide-ranging investigation launched in January 2017.

It has been examining actions including Comey's decision to announce his recommendation against criminal charges at an FBI headquarters news conference and his decision months later to alert Congress that the probe had been reopened because of the discovery of email messages on Weiner's laptop.

The report is also expected to criticize two FBI officials who exchanged derogatory text messages about Trump while they worked on the Clinton investigation.

A draft of the report has been completed, and officials whose actions are scrutinized in it have been permitted with their lawyers to review it and respond to the findings. The final version is expected out next month.

Twisted: DailyMail.com's revelations that Anthony Weiner was sexting a teenager sent him to federal prison and prompted the discovery that his laptop contained emails from Hillary Clinton sent from her notorious secret server

Sick: Anthony Weiner's depraved sexts to an underage girl were revealed by DailyMail.com, setting off the probe which uncovered that Hillary Clinton emails were on his laptop

A separate inspector general report from last month faulted former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe for misleading investigators about his role in a 2016 news media disclosure about an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.

McCabe, who has denied wrongdoing, was fired because of those findings, and the inspector general has referred the matter to the U.S. Attorney's office in Washington for possible criminal prosecution.

Weiner is the former husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin. His laptop was being analyzed by FBI investigators as part of a separate sexting investigation involving a teenage girl.

Weiner, a former Democratic congressman from New York, is serving a 21-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to sending obscene material to a 15-year-old girl.

In his book released last month, 'A Higher Loyalty,' Comey writes that he learned in early October - probably from McCabe - that Weiner's laptop might hold a connection to the Clinton email investigation.

He said he did not recall the conversation clearly and that it seemed like a 'passing comment and the notion that Anthony Weiner's computer might connect to ... Hillary Clinton made no sense to me.'

Comey said it wasn't until the morning of Oct. 27 when FBI officials asked his permission to seek a warrant for the Clinton emails, having determined that 'hundreds of thousands of emails' from Clinton's personal email domain existed on the computer and that there was no way Weiner would consent to a search of his entire laptop given the legal trouble he was in.

Some of the emails on the laptop had been forwarded by Abedin to Weiner to be printed out while others had been stored there after being backed up from personal electronic devices.

The FBI subsequently obtained a warrant, and though Comey said he was told there was no chance the email review would be done before the election, he announced on Nov. 6 that, 'Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton.'A Canadian geologist has urged against the public resorting to unethical practices to capture photos with wildlife for sharing on social media.

There has been an increase in incidents of disruption of sensitive habitats, blocking of roads, tempting animals with food or chasing them, with the goal of snapping that perfect image in mind, David Legros of Parks Ontario told the Toronto Sun in an interview published on Sunday.

Legros believes the bad behavior can be attributed to the widespread use of social media platforms like Instagram.

'I think a lot of it is driven by increases in the accessibility of digital photography, and social media, because everyone is showing their pictures and everyone else wants to get great pictures too,' he said.

Canadian geologist David Legros has urged against the public resorting to unethical practices like 'baiting' animals with food to capture photos with wildlife for sharing on social media; Parks Ontario shared this image of a fox being coaxed close to a car with food

The most pervasive issue, according to Legros, is 'baiting' animals with food, which is dangerous for both humans and wildlife.

'Baiting causes habituation, "rewarding" an animal for abnormal behaviour,' a blog post by Parks Ontario explained.

'Habituation happens when an animal is exposed to a stimulus so many times, it loses sensitivity or stops viewing the stimulus as a threat.'

Therefore, habituated animals may become aggressive toward humans in the future, or become more inclined to spend time closer to roads, where it's more likely they could be struck by a vehicle and killed.

Specific problematic activities that have been found to have occurred at Parks Ontario include people chasing moose, 'smearing trees with wet cat food and peanut butter to attract pine martens,' and 'luring red foxes into vehicles with chicken meat'

A blog post by Parks Ontario in Canada included this image of litter left behind by humans

Specific problematic activities that have been found to have occurred at Parks Ontario include people chasing moose, 'smearing trees with wet cat food and peanut butter to attract pine martens,' and 'luring red foxes into vehicles with chicken meat,' according to the blog post, published in April.

'Our provincial parks are already scenic wonderlands, but every season, we find photographers who feel the need to "dress the set,"' the post continued, describing a scenario where 'the branches of a pine tree were pruned back by overzealous photographers trying to find just the right angle.'

This is in addition to other commonly occurring problems, like litter being left behind and traffic jams blocking roadways when people fail to pull of to the side of the road as they try to take their photos.

Legros pointed out, however, that while it's important to point out what's not ethical when it comes to photographing wildlife, that most people approach nature with the respect it deserves.

He also noted that those acting inappropriately even include professional wildlife photographers.

Parks Ontario shared an image showing describing where 'the branches of a pine tree were pruned back by overzealous photographers trying to find just the right angle'

Parks Ontario posted photo evidence of animals that have become used to being fed by people

Professional publications like Canadian Geographic have noted they are aware of the problem. That particular magazine has said it does its best to avoid using images from photographers who engaged in baiting, or try to sell images of animals in captivity as photos captured in the wild.

'We do not publish images where it is obvious that such methods were used, and in instances where we have any suspicion this may be the case, we check with the photographer, editor-in-chief Aaron Kylie told the Toronto Sun in an email.

But sometimes, it's impossible to tell unless you were there for the photo session.

About two years ago, amateur photographer and bird watcher Laura Kaya witnessed troubling behavior at a spot near Montreal, where she had driven hoping to see a rare great grey owl.

Upon her arrival, she quickly noticed the bird of prey strangely swooping right down to a pack of photographers, and then she realized why.

'They had a cooler that was full of mice, and they threw a mouse onto the snow, and I realized they were feeding the owl with mice,' she said.

This file photo shows a scuba diver posing for a selfie with a shark in the deep sea

'Rather than going out hunting, its staying in one spot, getting used to humans, and later down the road that could get the owl in danger,' Kaye said.

Kaye was so bothered by this, she has since started using the hashtag '#ethicalowlphotos' to promote images captured by photographers who don't engage in that kind of activity.

With all of that being said, Parks Ontario expressed gratitude for those who capture images of nature in all its glory to share with the world.

'Ethical and responsible photography is a great hobby and an amazing way to get close with nature,' the post read.

'Our provincial parks are yours to cherish, and if you care about wildlife and wild places you will try to impact them as little as possible.'Rosie Stonard, 50, was handed a suspended prison sentence after being successfully convicted of fraud at Guildford Crown Court

A carer has been convicted of an 'Agatha Christie' style plot to con thousands of pounds from a dying pensioner.

Cunning Rosie Stonard, 50, visited grandmother Marjorie Tomlinson on her deathbed in 2014, where she placed a pen in her hand and guided it to a chequebook.

The shameless thief was handed a 20 month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, after she wrote the cheque to herself for 22,000 and encouraged the dying grandmother's to sign it.

The deathbed cheque - dated May 10, 2014 - was made when Mrs Tomlinson was given just days to live after it was discovered that she had cirrhosis of the liver.

But in an incredible twist of fate the former Crest Nicholson building firm director started to make a recovery.

A panicked Stonard gave 7,000 in cash back to the pensioner.

It was only in October that year when a frail Mrs Tomlinson began to deteriorate again that her granddaughter, Victoria Eugene, discovered the cheque when she became concerned about the state of her grandmother's finances.

Mrs Tomlinson died a month later, at the age of 87.

Stonard, originally from the Philippines, stood emotionless in the dock as a jury unanimously convicted her of one count of fraud after almost three hours of deliberations.

Her defence barrister, Shiraz Rustom had urged the jury of five men and seven women to acquit her, saying the case read like an Agatha Christie novel and exclaimed: 'It even has a Filipino maid.'

In his closing speech he said: 'She [Stonard] was the one doing all the caring and she was the one comforting - not the granddaughter. There is only jealously here.'

The trial heard that Mrs Eugene confronted Stonard at her gran's flat but she was unsatisfied with her explanation and she reported her to the police. The carer told officers she had written out the cheque, but Mrs Tomlinson had signed it herself.

However, the jury was told a handwriting expert analysed the cheque and found it had not been signed by the pensioner at all.

Opening the two-day trial at Guildford Crown Court, prosecutor Simon Shannon had said: 'Rosie Stonard's case now in fact is it wasn't Marjorie Tomlinson that signed the cheque, not at least all by herself, and she had to assist by putting the pen in her hand and guiding her hand as she signed it because she acknowledged Mrs Tomlinson was very frail at the time.'

Stonard, originally from the Philippines was convicted of one count of fraud and sentenced at Guildford Crown Court

Stonard was already written into Mrs Tomlinson's will to be left 5,000, a further 10,000 in cash that was in a safe at her flat, and a Royal Crown Derby teaset.

Mr Shannon said Stonard felt she was entitled to the extra 22,000 as she had worked for Mrs Tomlinson for so long.

'Mrs Tomlinson was very very ill indeed and it was feared she may pass away at any moment,' he said.

'The prosecution case is that Rosie Stonard knew how much money was in Mrs Tomlinson's account, a little over 23,000 at the time, and it is no coincidence the cheque was made out for 22,000. She wanted what she could get before Mrs Tomlinson passed away.'

The 50-year-old, who now works in a nursing home earning 16,000 a year, began working as a cleaner for Mrs Tomlinson and her husband in 1998, but quickly became their carer when he suffered a stroke in 2000.

Mrs Tomlinson relied on Stonard a great deal following her husband's death in 2012 and had previously loaned the carer 20,000 to pay for an extension on her home, even agreeing to write-off the debt if it had not been paid back by the time she died.

Sentencing the mother-of-two Judge Peter Moss said: 'You were plainly very much involved with the family and considered trustworthy and I'm sure it came as a shock to the family when inquiries were raised in relation to a 22,000 cheque which had been drawn on Mrs Tomlinson's account while she was in hospital.'

He added: 'You were acting dishonestly and you were creating a fund for yourself for your personal benefit of 22,000. It is apparent you had second thoughts about it and said you felt bad about it and repaid 7,000.'

Stonard, of Spence Avenue, Byfleet, Surrey, will also have to pay back 15,000 in compensation, 3,000 in costs and complete 120 hours of unpaid work.Eloise Aimee Parry, a 21-year-old from Shrewsbury who suffered from bulimia, died after purchasing lethal DNP diet pills from the internet, a court heard

A businessman accused of the manslaughter of a student who died after taking 'highly toxic' slimming pills had earlier warned his business partner not to take them or 'you'll die', a court heard.

Eloise Parry, 21, died after taking eight DNP pills in Shopshire in April 2016.

The Glyndwr University student was bulimic and described as 'vulnerable and deeply troubled', and had become 'psychologically addicted' to the pills.

Bernard Rebelo, 29, and his business partners Albert Huynh, 32, and Mary Roberts, 31, are standing trial at Inner London Crown Court charged with her manslaughter and putting unsafe food products on the market.

Richard Barraclough QC, prosecuting, read to the jury a series of text messages sent between the defendants.

On March 2, 2013, Huynh sent a text to Robelo which read: 'Come gym. Get some DNP playa please. Try and do what I do for for a week and see who's lazier.

'Just get that shit.'

Robelo replied: 'You won't be able to work on DNP, you'll die.'

Bernard Rebelo, Mary Roberts (both pictured left) and Albert Huynh (right) arriving at Inner London Crown Court on Monday to face trial over the alleged sale of fat burning drugs

The defendents were said to have operated an online business out of a flat in Harrow, north west London, selling the pills.

Other texts involved the three discussing how to get reviews of their product online and how much they would get for the pills, the court heard.

Referring to the 'first batch', Robelo wrote to Huynh: 'If we sell wholesale 6,000, if we sell from the website 8,000, if we sell normally 10,000.'

The Glyndwr University student 'binged' on the pills after buying them online in a bid to lose weight and died in 2015

The two also discussed getting online reviews, the court heard.

In early 2013, Robelo wrote to Huynh: 'Find the most active members on the forum and get them to try a sample.'

The court heard Roberts asked Robelo for a 10 per cent cut of the sales.

Roberts text Robelo: 'Did you make any money?

'I want ten per cent commission.'

The chemical DNP was initially used in First World War as a base material in munitions.

It started being used as a 'fat-reducing drug' in the 1930s but was banned in the US because of its side effects.

The manslaughter charges allege the accused acted unlawfully by placing the product on the market, were in gross breach of their duty of care to consumers and encouraged the profits to be consumed as a slimming agent.

Roberts is also charged with money laundering in relation to a 20,000 transfer by Robelo into her Barclays account in February 2016.

Robelo, of Grimsby Grove, Beckton, east London, Huynh, of Southwell Avenue, Northolt, north west London, and Roberts, of West Avenue, Southall, west London, deny all the charges.

The trial continues.The Duchess of Cambridge's uncle was pictured watching the royal wedding at his local pub this weekend.

Gary Goldsmith was spotted at a pub in Marylebone, central London, on Saturday afternoon during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's big day.

He could be seen sat at a table in the bar with the royal wedding being broadcast on the screen in front of him.

The 52-year-old was fined 5,000 last November for punching his wife to the ground after an argument in a taxi.

The Duchess of Cambridge's uncle Gary Goldsmith was spotted watching the royal wedding at his local pub in Marylebone, central London, on Saturday

He could be seen sat at a table in the bar with the royal wedding being broadcast on the screen in front of him. Kate's mother Carole is Mr Goldsmith's older sister

The entrepreneur was also ordered to do a year of rehabilitation by a magistrate who called him a nasty drunk after Julie-Ann was left briefly unconscious by the attack.

The couple began arguing in a taxi on their way home from a charity auction at Home House, a private members' club in central London, on October 13 after Julie Ann accused her husband of taking drugs. He responded by calling her a 'whore' and a 'nothing'.

He later issued a heartfelt apology to the court and said he was 'deeply ashamed' for punching his wife.

Mr Goldsmith grew up in a council house in Southall with Kates mother Carole, his elder sister, before making 17million when he sold his shares in an IT recruitment company.

Mr Goldsmith grew up in a council house in Southall before making 17million when he sold his shares in an IT recruitment companyHundreds of people gathered for a weekend cookout in Oakland, California dubbed 'BBQ-ing While Black.'

The event is the latest response to a white woman's now infamous call to police to report African Americans barbecuing at the same public park.

The festival-like event held on the shores of Lake Merritt on Sunday was organized to rally against racism.

It was three weeks ago at the same site that an unidentified white woman called 911 to report a family using a charcoal barbecue.

A video posted on social media by an onlooker sparked a national conversation about racism and how white people utilize the police.

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Hundreds came out to Lake Merritt in Oakland, California on Sunday in response to a confrontation caught on video on April 29 when someone complained to police about a group of black people barbecuing; Oakland resident Aloysius McMahan is seen here wearing a sweatshirt featuring an image of the white woman with her phone to hear ear, making the call

The unidentified woman in the viral video claims that the family were using a charcoal grill instead of a non-charcoal grill in one of Lake Merritt's designated grilling zones.

A bystander named Michelle Snider noticed the commotion and confronted the woman for 'harassing' the family, camera in hand, to record the 25-minute verbal altercation.

The April 29 video is one of many that have surfaced on the internet recently, showing white people calling the police on black people for doing everyday activities such as sitting in Starbucks, participating in a college tour, and taking a nap in a campus lounge.

The woman who called the police has been parodied on Saturday Night Live and the incident has become a social media meme with the hashtag #BBQBecky.

The unidentified woman (shown here) who called the police has been parodied on Saturday Night Live and the incident has become a social media meme with the hashtag #BBQBecky

Lamont Patton, second from right, from Everett & Jones Barbeque cooks up a free feast at the 'BBQ-ing while Black event at Lake Merritt off Lakeshore Avenue in Oakland on Sunday

Community members used the incident as momentum to dedicate the day to celebrating black culture, as music played and vendors cooked up racks of ribs, sausages and chicken on Sunday.

Oakland resident Aloysius McMahan wore a sweatshirt featuring an image of the white woman with her phone to hear ear, making the call.

Behind him, tables and tents stretched over the lawn and people could be seen enjoying community and good food.

People of all walks of life, including local business owners, showed up to the display of solidarity.

Lamont Patton from Everett & Jones Barbeque cooked up a free feast for people who stopped by his setup on Sunday.

Community members used the incident as momentum to dedicate the day to celebrating black culture, as music played and vendors cooked up racks of ribs, sausages and more on Sunday

Evander Woods (center) plays with his nephew Julian Cruc, 11, as chef Michael Woods (right) dances and barbecues at the same time at the 'BBQ-ing while Black' event at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Californa on Sunday

Oakland Council member Lynette Gibson McElhaney said: 'Police are not a private security for any white person that's offended by the presence of black folks in our public spaces'

Police responded to the initial incident on April 29 after the woman's call but did not issue any citations.

However, authorities questioned the family for one hour, according to Oakland Council member Lynette Gibson McElhaney.

McElhaney told the Huffington Post: 'In a city that needs significant policing services, we can't have those precious expensive resources squandered in a frivolous way.'

She added: 'Police are not a private security for any white person that's offended by the presence of black folks in our public spaces.'The Department of Justice is expanding a probe into alleged FBI misconduct to include President Trump's claims that there may have been a 'mole' within his campaign reporting back to the feds.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a Monday afternoon statement that after a meeting with Trump this afternoon, DOJ officials agreed to ask the department's Inspector General to look into 'irregularities' within the FBI's 'tactics concerning the Trump Campaign.'

'It was also agreed that White House Chief of Staff Kelly will immediately set up a meeting with the FBI, DOJ, and DNI together with Congressional Leaders to review highly classified and other information they have requested,' she said in a statement.

The announcement followed a meeting between Trump, his FBI director, the deputy attorney general and the director of national intelligence this afternoon.

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President Donald Trump is meeting with his FBI Director, the Deputy Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence this afternoon

The previously planned sit-down with Chris Wray, Rod Rosenstein (pictured) and Dan Coats is to discuss a response to congressional requests

Trump is expected to bring up his demand, however, that the Justice Department examine whether his 2016 presidential campaign was 'infiltrated or surveilled' by the FBI under the previous administration.

It had been described as previously as a planned sit-down with Chris Wray, Rod Rosenstein and Dan Coats to discuss congressional requests for information.

Trump was expected to bring up his demand, however, that the Justice Department examine whether his 2016 presidential campaign was 'infiltrated or surveilled' by the FBI under the previous administration.

He said Sunday that he would officially confront DOJ today about reports that an informant contacted the campaign with the intent of entrapping his associates.

Prior to the Monday meeting at the White House, the Department of Justice said it had heeded the president's request, with spokeswoman Sarah Flores telling CNN that DOJ would look into allegations of 'impropriety or political motivation' in the FBI's conduct.

The White House confirmed that Rosenstein, Wray and Coats were all on the property on Monday afternoon. Rosenstein lingered for more than an hour, although not all the time he spent at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue was with Trump.

Wray and Coats arrived separately from Rosenstein. They were seen walking into the meeting at the same time.

Trump said Sunday that he would instruct the Justice Department to determine whether former President Barack Obama's administration was behind the effort after a morning spent tweeting about the Russia probe.

In a Saturday tweet Trump hinted that the meeting about providing documents was related to his repeated, and unverified, claims that there may have been a 'mole' inside his campaign who was put there by law enforcement in a serious abuse of power.

'If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal,' he tweeted. 'Only the release or review of documents that the House Intelligence Committee (also, Senate Judiciary) is asking for can give the conclusive answers. Drain the Swamp!'

FBI Director Christopher Wray (right) arrives at the West Wing of the White House for a meeting on FBI investigations into the 2016 Trump presidential campaign

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats departs after a meeting with President Donald Trump on FBI investigations into Russia and the 2016 Trump presidential campaign

The following day he said that if special counsel Robert Mueller's probe continues into the fall Democrats 'should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party.'

'Dont worry about Dems FISA Abuse, missing Emails or Fraudulent Dossier!' he carped, making references to FBI surveillance on one of his campaign associates, Hillary Clinton and the dirty dossier that her campaign helped to fund on him.

The tweets came after multiple reports the FBI dispatched a confidential source to speak with some of his campaign advisers about the possible ties to Russia.

Trump has been on a Twitter firestorm about the issue, charging the FBI planted 'at least one' spy in his campaign in order to derail his White House aspirations by ginning up a phony reason to criminally investigate him.

The president has long claimed that the Obama administration spied on his presidential efforts but offered no proof to back it up.

His numerous and loud allegations have led to questions about why he hasn't ordered an investigation into the matter.

Trump answered that in his tweet on Sunday, saying he would do just that.

'I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!' he wrote.

His demand, however, raises additional questions about whether he's started a political witch hunt within the government and whether this is the start of a rolling call for additional probes into the 2016 campaign.

Former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said Trump crossed a 'massive red line' with the demand for a probe,

'Trump is forcing DOJ to conduct a politicized investigation - something he himself conceded he shouldn't do. Someone in the Republican Party needs to stand up to this bullshit right now,' Vietor tweeted on Sunday.

President Trump is demanding the Justice Department investigate whether the FBI or the department 'infiltrated' his presidential campaign for 'political purposes.'

Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on CBS' 'Face the Nation' that he had not seen any evidence to suggest there was an informant inside the Trump campaign. He added that any effort to reveal the identity of a secret FBI source would be illegal and should be prosecuted.

'The first thing you learn when you get involved with the intelligence community is that you need to protect sources and methods and that if you were to out or to burn such an agent, that person's life could be in jeopardy,' he said. 'And I find it outrageous that the president's allies are in effect playing fast and loose with confidential information.'

Trump was on a Twitter bender on Sunday, spending the morning tweeting rants about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian influence in the 2016 election and about a bombshell New York Times article that revealed Russia may not have been the only country interested in influencing the presidential contest.

But his demand for an investigation comes after reports that an American academic who met with Trump's advisers in 2016 could have been an FBI informant for its probe into the campaign's alleged collusion with Russian.

Both the New York Times and Washington Post have reported the FBI made use of a U.S.-born academic working in the UK as an informant, and that he met with Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, two Trump aides suspected of dealing with the Russians.

The Daily Caller also reported that both Page and Papadopoulos met in 2016 with an American professor at Cambridge University, which it named as Stefan Halper. He asked several questions about Russia that prompted suspicions.

Following the reports and naming of the professor, Trump called for the release or review of related documents to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

Stefan Halper is a Cambridge Academic and has been named in several reports as an FBI informant on the Trump campaign. He is pictured in an undated image speaking at the Oxford Union debating society

Following the reports and naming of the professor, Trump tweeted: 'If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal'

Papadopoulos revealed in a plea agreement to having been told by an apparent Russian agent that the Putin government had access to a raft of hacked Hillary Clinton emails before this was made public. He has since pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.

Page, meanwhile, was under surveillance by the FBI at the time he met with Professor Halper, who had links to both the CIA and MI6.

Papadopoulos first met Halper after the academic invited him to England in September 2016 to discuss energy issues, two sources familiar with his account told NBC News.

The Trump aide found Halper's behavior during these meetings suspicious, the sources said, and also noticed that the academic's young assistant appeared to flirt with him both during and after the exchanges.

Papadopoulos said Halper, who is now retired, randomly brought up Russians and Clinton's emails, adding to his suspicions.

Page told the Daily Caller he met with Halper several times, including on the academic's farm in Virginia. However, Page told NBC he did not find these encounters concerning.

Halper also met with a third Trump campaign official, to whom he reportedly expressed interest in helping the president's campaign.

There is no public evidence that Halper was an FBI informant, and official sources have refused to comment on the subject. Halper has not provided any comment on the issue.

Trump's attorney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, admitted on CNN on Friday that there's no proof the Obama administration had a mole inside the Trump campaign during the president's 2016 run.

'First of all, I don't know for sure  nor does the president  if there really was one,' Giuliani said. 'For a long time we've been told that there was some kind of infiltration. At one time the president thought it was a wiretap. ... but we've never been notified that he was on a tap or an intercept.'

George Papadopoulos was one of three Trump aides that met with Professor Halper during 2016

Carter Page, a Trump adviser who was under FBI surveillance before the 2016 election. He is pictured on December 12, 2016, in Moscow

The academic has long-established connections to both British and American intelligence services.

He worked closely with former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove at the Cambridge Security Initiative, an intelligence consulting group.

Meanwhile, his father-in-law was Ray Cline, who served as director of the CIA's bureau of intelligence and research. Halper also worked with a team of former CIA officials on George H.W. Bush's failed presidential bid.

Allegations that the FBI planted an informant in the Trump campaign have angered the president.

In a series of late night calls to allies, including Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump has used the reports as evidence that the so-called deep state of career government officials has been working against him.

The president thrust the issue into the limelight with a tweet on Friday.

He quoted Fox News anchor David Asman, who said: 'Apparently the DOJ put a Spy in the Trump Campaign. This has never been done before and [is not] by any means necessary, they are out to frame Donald Trump for crimes he didn't commit'.

Trump has frequently fumed about the Russia probe even while in White House meetings this week about other topics.

Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, told CNN on Friday neither he or Trump actually knew for sure if there was an informant or not

Trump tweeted a quote from Fox News anchor David Asman, claiming the DOJ would 'frame him for crimes he didn't commit'

Talk of the reported FBI source has rocketed through the conservative media, with several people putting forward Halper as the likely suspect.

Hannity discussed the issue on his show Wednesday - and was a centerpiece of Giuliani's attacks on Friday.

'I want to know because I believe, if there was an embedded person, that person cleared us because the FBI cleared us,' Giuliani told CNN. 'I wonder what the heck is the legitimacy of the Mueller investigation in the first place.'

Trump allies have increasingly pushed for ways to paint Mueller and his investigators as political actors in an effort to discredit his findings or justify his possible dismissal.

A number of Trump outside advisers - including former chief strategist Steve Bannon - have stepped up their attacks on the Department of Justice, calling for it to release more documents to the White House while saying a confidential source has worked against Trump.In a dramatic first day of evidence, the Grenfell inquiry heard a recording of a last phone of one of those trapped in the tower.

Mohamed Amied Neda, 57, who lived on the top floor of the block, died from injuries consistent with a fall.

His wife, Flora, and son, Farhad, were in hospital in comas after escaping from the west London high-rise during the blaze on June 14.

In a recording played to the room, Mr Neda, also known as Saber, said in the last phone call he made: 'Goodbye, we are leaving this world now, goodbye. I hope I haven't disappointed you. Goodbye to all.'

The brother of Mohamed Aref Neda said Mohamed was his best friend and his death had been the worst blow he could ever have received

In statements read out on behalf of his brother, son and wife, Saber was described as a role model and hero.

His brother, Mohamed Aref Neda, recalled Saber's son phoning his daughter early in the morning and repeatedly saying: 'Our flat is on fire and I can't find my dad.'

He said: 'Losing Saber was like my world came crashing down. I have faced many blows in life, losing many family members, but this was the worst.

'The way in which the fire happened, his death, and the sudden severity of it all left me with so many questions and a big void in my life that I have still not come to terms with.'

He added: 'It was after Farhad was discharged and days went by that the police asked us for DNA from Farhad.

'This was when the fear kicked in, the uncertainty and the heartbreak that maybe we were not going to see or hear from Saber again. Maybe we had actually lost him.

'Pretty soon after, our worst fears were confirmed and my brother was now a victim of the Grenfell fire.'

Mr Neda's son Farhad Neda and the victim's wife Flora also paid tribute to him

Flora Neda (pictured), who was saved by her son in the Grenfell Tower disaster, arrives for the commemoration hearing today

He said Saber was 'not only my brother but my best friend' and that the pair shared an 'unbreakable' bond.

He added: 'The only thing I know is that my brother was a hero. He gave up his life for his family and for others.

'He sacrificed himself in that fire in order to put others first. That's just the brave and selfless person that he was.

'That's a memory of him that I will hold in my heart for as long as I live.'

Saber fled the Taliban in Afghanistan to find a new home in Britain with his wife and young son, moving into Grenfell Tower with them in 1999.

The family had lived in flat 205 on the 23rd floor of the tower, his son Farhad said in a statement read out on his behalf, adding that he grew up in a home 'full of love and full of laughter'.

The statement recalled his 'unique' father - a popular chauffeur who always dressed smartly and encouraged him in his schooling and sporting life.

His father would drive him all over the country once he started competing at a national level in Taekwondo as a teenager, never complaining about the long distances

He was a man of 'deep integrity and fairness', Farhad said, adding: 'My father and I were a great team together. I felt so close to my dad, he was my best friend and is the man I admire most.'

In a statement read on behalf of Saber's widow, Flora Neda, she said: 'He was my husband, he was my best friend, I miss him so much. He will always be the love of my life.'

She added: 'It is just so sad my beloved husband will not be there with us for Farhad's wedding.'

'He was going to be my superstar': Heartbroken father breaks down as he tells the Grenfell inquiry how he, his pregnant wife and two daughters escaped blaze but his unborn son perished

A Grenfell Tower survivor wept today as he told how he held the tiny body of his stillborn son, who died as the family escaped the tower block blaze.

Logan Gomes was due to be born in August last year but instead died inside his mother, Andreia, as she and her family fled the flames engulfing their 21st floor flat on June 14.

Logan's father, Marcio, today gave emotional evidence at the first day of the inquiry into the disaster, and released a scan of the unborn boy and a photo of him after his stillbirth.

'He was going to be my superstar,' he said, visibly distressed, as a picture of the ultrasound was shown on a screen.

Pausing as emotion overcame him, Mr Gomes said: 'On the night we managed to escape the horrific fire at around four in the morning. That same evening, we found out that we had lost our son, Logan, in the hospital.'

'I held my son in my arms that day, hoping that it was all a bad dream... He looked like he was just sleeping.'

Mr Gomes's statement was the first of a series of heartbreaking tributes paid to victims of the tragedy on the opening day of the official inquiry today.

Grenfell survivor Marcio Gomes broke down today as he spoke about his son, Logan, at the Grenfell Tower inquiry. His wife Andreia Gomes (left) was pregnant when the blaze broke out and their unborn son died after Mrs Gomes fell into a coma following the blaze

Mrs Gomes comforted her husband after he told how he held his tiny son's body in his arms in the hours after the fire

The Gomes family released this heartbreaking picture of Logan following his stillbirth

The family also showed the inquiry an ultrasound baby scan image taken before the fire claimed Logan's life

His pain still raw, Mr Gomes said: 'Our sleeping angel he was. We let him go with the doves so that he can fly with the angels. This has been our hardest battle.

'We are proud of him even though he was with us for only seven months. You only know what you are made of when you are broken.'

The words 'twinkle, twinkle, little star, do you know how loved you are?' were displayed on screen, which, Logan's father said, had been on the wall of the child's room-to-be.

'It was our way of showing how much we loved our son Logan,' he told the hearing.

Paying tribute to his wife Andreia, Mr Gomes added: 'I tell you this, my wife is made of the hardest material. And without her strength, I would not be here.' He then hugged his his wife, who sat next to him as he gave his statement.

Mr Gomes said he had been planning adventures to go on with his son, and saw him as a 'future gaming buddy' and 'superstar' who would support Portuguese football team Benfica and be his partner on the Xbox.

The couple's two young girls were incredibly excited about the arrival of their baby brother and wanted him to sleep with them in their beds rather than the nursery that he had decorated.

The family also planned to go to Disneyland as a family of five in summer 2018.

Mr Gomes said: 'Everyone was so happy that Logan was going to be born. No-one more so than my wife Andreia. As you can see from the photos she was just glowing with happiness.

'The pregnancy suited her and all her friends, family were all very happy that Logan was being born. We cried, during the reveal party that we had, when I found out it was a boy.'

The family released pictures of the boy, who, as he was unborn, was Grenfell's youngest victim

The inquiry was also shown pictures of Logan's mother, Andreia, at a baby shower before the fire claimed the life of her son

She showed some of the gifts she had been given as the family prepared for the boy's arrival

The family also showed the inquiry pictures of flowers at Logan's funeral

The family had already started decorating Logan's room. Today they released an image of a message they had painted on the wall

Mr Gomes, his wife and two daughters managed to escape the fire and have recovered

The family lived in this flat on the 21st floor of the tower block before the horrific blaze

The inquiry into the disaster opened today with 72 seconds of silence - one of each of the victims of the blaze.

Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the retired judge chairing the probe, said this morning: 'In terms of loss of life the fire was the single greatest tragedy to befall this city since the end of the Second World War.

'The sight of the building engulfed in flame is indelibly printed on the memories of those who experienced an event of unimaginable horror.'

He added: 'When we die, we live on in the memories of those who knew and loved us. It is fitting therefore that the opening hearings... should be dedicated to the memory of those who died.

'They will be remembered by the words and pictures chosen by the people who knew them best and loved them most, their families and friends.'

Statements were read out on behalf of the family of 57-year-old Mohamed Amied Neda, who was found outside the tower and died from injuries consistent with a fall.

His brother, Mohamed Aref Neda, said he was 'not only my brother but my best friend'.

He said: 'The bond we had was unbreakable, a bond like no other... I have faced many blows in life, losing many family members, but this was the worst.'

Seventy-one people died in the fire that swept through Grenfell Tower in west London on June 14 last year. Another died seven months later.

The son of 69-year-old Joseph Daniels, introduced only as Sam, spoke with brevity and power, requesting no applause.

Of his father, who had lived in Grenfell Tower since 1982, he said: 'The events of that night took his life and all traces of his existence from this world.

'He stood no chance of getting out and this should never have happened.'

Sir Martin Moore-Bick opens the Grenfell Tower inquiry with 72 seconds of silenceA former police officer had been suffering from a severe mental illness and had asked his family to take away his guns in the weeks before he mowed down his relatives at brunch in North Carolina, killing his daughter and his son's wife.

Roger Self, 62, was charged with first-degree murder on Sunday after he excused himself from the table where his family were eating at the Surf and Turf Lounge in Bessemer City and then purposely crashed his car into the busy restaurant.

Self's 26-year-old daughter Katelyn Self and his daughter-in-law Amanda Self were both killed, while several other relatives were injured amid the carnage.

Police have not yet given a motive but have said the crash was intentional and domestic in nature. Authorities said there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol played a role.

Self faced court on Monday in shackles and an orange jumpsuit but showed little emotion as the judge ordered him to remain in prison without bond.

Roger Self, 63, (above with wife Dianne) is charged with killing his daughter and his son's wife after driving his car into the North Carolina restaurant where the family were eating on Sunday

The family, who had been at church earlier that morning, had sat down in the restaurant for brunch before Self excused himself, got into his sport utility vehicle and then drove at high speed into the restaurant.

Rev. Austin Rammell, the family's pastor and close friend, said Self had been treated for depression and anxiety that seemed to intensify in the two and a half months preceding Sunday's deadly crash.

Self (above in his mugshot) had been suffering from a severe mental illness and had asked his family to take away his guns in the weeks before he mowed down his relatives. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder

The pastor, who saw the entire family at church just hours before, said Self opened up about his problems about 10 weeks ago when he asked his son to take his guns away from him.

'His family and close friends have intensely labored to try and get Roger help. We all feel a level of guilt,' Rammell said.

He added that while he worried his friend might hurt himself, he never imagined that Self would target his family.

Rammell said Self's judgment had become impaired.

'It's very possible that in his mind, he was thinking the best thing for this family was that they all go to heaven together,' he said.

Self was arrested at the restaurant on Sunday and has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder over the deaths of his daughter and daughter-in-law.

Katelyn Self, 26, was a deputy with the Gaston County Sheriff's Office. Amanda Self was a nurse who was married to Self's son, Gaston County Police Officer Josh Self.

Self's wife, Dianne, and their son Josh were both critically injured in the crash.

Josh and Amanda's children were among the other family members at the meal but they were unharmed and are being cared for by relatives.

Self's 26-year-old daughter Katelyn Self (pictured together in 2013) was killed in the crash. She had organized the family brunch on Sunday in a bid to make her father feel better

Police said Self excused himself from the table where his family were eating at the Surf and Turf Lounge in Bessemer City and then purposely crashed his car into the busy restaurant

The other victim was Amanda Self who was married to Self's son Josh (above). The son was also injured in the crash but the couple's children were unharmed

His wife Dianne made no mention of any family trouble in the lead up to the incident and had posted a loving Facebook message dedicated to her husband just one day earlier.

'My Husband has made me laugh. Wiped my tears. Hugged me tight. Watched me succeed. Seen me fail. Kept me strong. My husband is a promise that I will have A FRIEND FOREVER,' the message read.

Katelyn had arranged the brunch, inviting her fiance and his parents as well, thinking it would make her father feel better because he would be surrounded by family.

The family had ordered drinks and appetizers and were talking and laughing after being seated at a table near the window.

The pastor said his family weren't initially concerned when he got up from the table and that they had figured he was suffering from anxiety.

'They began noticing his car out in the parking lot had circled... and the next thing you know he came through the window,' Rammell said.

The pastor said Self had seen a psychiatrist and family doctor but hadn't been hospitalized.

Rammell said Self told him he was taking medicine for depression and anxiety, but he was becoming particularly unstable over the weekend.

Self, who runs a private investigations business, opened up about his mental health problems about 10 weeks ago when he asked his son to take his guns away from him, the family's pastor has revealed

His wife Dianne made no mention of any family trouble in the lead up to the incident and had posted a loving Facebook message dedicated to her husband just one day earlier

'It was a roller coaster, and in the last few days it went from bad to really bad,' he said.

Self, who was a former law enforcement officer, ran a private investigations business called Southeastern Loss Management. He mostly worked for companies to investigate employees' wrongdoing.

Rammell said the business had been going through an unspecified 'transition' that required the help of some friends, but he would not elaborate.

The pastor, whose church is listed in a directory of the Southern Baptist Convention, said Self had been active for decades in a Baptist congregation that grew into Venture Church.

He said Self had served as a volunteer youth minister to 'hundreds and hundreds.'

'They can't even grasp that the man who had that kind of impact in their life did this,' he said.

Photos from the scene show a gaping hole in the wall of the restaurant at the top of a wide walkway ramp leading to the entrance. The car appears to have gone all the way across the dining room and smashed partly through the restaurant's back wall.

Katelyn Self, 26, was a deputy with the Gaston County Sheriff's Office and had been with the department for four years. She is pictured above on the left and right with her father

Photos from the scene show how the car crashed all the way across the dining room and smashed partly through the restaurant's back wall (above)

Paramedics are seen evacuating the wounded from the back of the restaurant. It is unclear exactly how many people were injured in the ordeal

Restaurant busboy Caleb Martin, 14, said he tried to help by clearing debris and tables away.

'I walked over to my station and I heard a loud boom,' Caleb told WSOC-TV. 'The one guy I could help in back, he was pretty hurt.'

Another waiter Brandon Wilson told the Gaston Gazette: 'I was about to go check on my tables in the back, next thing I know I saw a white Jeep fly right past my face.

'I saw tables, chairs, cups everything flying. It was really loud.'

It is unclear exactly how many people were injured in the crash but multiple patients were transported by LifeFlight to the Level One trauma center at Carolinas Medical Center.

Gaston County Sheriff Alan Cloninger gave a press conference soon after the crash confirming that Katelyn had been killed.

Cloninger said the 26-year-old, who was a four year veteran of the sheriff's office, started as a jailer and worked her way up to deputy.

'We're suffering a little bit right now,' Cloninger said tearfully.

Self is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held without bond in Gaston County Jail.

He is due in court later on Monday.A man has been arrested after he was recorded jumping in front of a lorry as it drove down a busy road.

The idiotic stunt forced the driver of an HGV to blast his horn and quickly switch lanes to avoid killing the Saudi prankster.

Police have now arrested the fool and charged him with endangering the lives of other road users.

Footage shows the man dancing to music on the roof of a pulled-over car as traffic speeds by. As a lorry approaches, he slowly moves towards the edge of the roof

As the driver blasts the vehicle's horn and attempts to dodge the man, the prankster sticks up both his hands and appears to make a peace sign gesture

The stunt was recorded last week in the Saudi Arabian city of Medina.

Footage shows the man dancing to music on the roof of a pulled-over car as traffic speeds by.

As a lorry approaches, he slowly moves towards the edge of the roof.

He then jumps into the road and steps into the lorry's path.

The idiotic stunt forced the driver of an HGV to blast his horn and quickly switch lanes to avoid killing the Saudi prankster

As the driver blasts the vehicle's horn and attempts to dodge the man, the prankster sticks up both his hands and appears to make a peace sign gesture.

He appears to miss the lorry by only a few feet.

The video went viral after it was posted and General Directorate of Traffic said it tracked the suspect down.The insulation that burned out of control on Grenfell Tower had never passed the required safety test, a BBC programme has claimed.

It is alleged by Panorama that the product used on the West London tower was a more flammable version of the fire retardant which had previously passed safety tests.

It comes after a survivor described how he held the body of his stillborn son, who died as the family escaped the blaze, on the first day of an inquiry into the tragedy in June last year.

Manufacturer Celotex said it could not comment because it was co-operating with a police investigation and the public inquiry.

The insulation that burned out of control on Grenfell Tower had never passed the required safety test, a BBC programme has claimed

In one clip Robert Bond (pictured), the chief executive of Rydon, was confronted over his firm's link to the Grenfell disaster by a Panorama reporter

A Celotex statement said: 'We fully recognise the seriousness of the Grenfell fire.

'It is for this reason that we believe the public inquiry and the police investigation are the right processes to consider the events leading up to the fire, and the night of the fire itself.

'We do not think it is appropriate to comment any further outside of or in advance of that process.'

Celotex's RS5000 cladding product is no longer on sale. The company has previously acknowledged that there were 'differences between the system which had been tested and the description of that system'.

It was claimed by Panorama that the company had advertised it as suitable for use with other cladding and had been warned about misleading marketing.

The programme also alleged that the cladding panels and insulation used at Grenfell were never tested together before the fire. Celotex allegedly offered their insulation specifically for Grenfell's refurbishment in 2014.

The manufacturers of both products allegedly knew that they would be used together at Grenfell but did not warn of any dangers.

Robert Bond, chief executive of the main contractor Rydon, told the programme that testing of the cladding system wasn't required because 'it was deemed to comply'.

The East Sussex-based firm worked on the 8.6million regeneration project, which saw new cladding and windows installed at Grenfell.

He said the company had put up the cladding that was specified by Kensington and Chelsea Council but had not done testing itself.

When it was suggested it was his job to make Grenfell Tower safe, he said: 'We did because we put the cladding that was specified up by Kensington and Chelsea council.

'It was approved by building control, it was approved by the local authority, it was approved by the architect.'

Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said Panorama's allegations should be investigated.

'If there are breaches of the law then those people need to be held to account,' he said.

One Grenfell resident, Luca Branislav, revealed that he had been forced out of a new flat after yet another fire had started in the neighbouring building.

He was shown the few possessions which had survived the Grenfell fire, including parts of watches.

Describing the second fire he said: 'It was 4 o'clock in the morning when I woke up in a room full of smoke.

'I wasn't sure if it was a dream or if it was reality but then I realised there was a blue light outside,' he said.

'I just really... I don't know. Very confusing, pretty much, to get through all that stuff again, but luckily I am out.

Close-up pictures of the burnt cladding on the exterior of Grenfell Tower after the fireHundreds gathered on Monday for the funeral of the 10-year-old girl who was killed in a New Jersey school bus crash on Thursday morning.

The service for Miranda Faith Vargas was held at Marrocco Memorial Chapel in Clifton, one day after the East Brook Middle School community mourned together at a wake and vigil on Sunday, for both the fifth grader and 51-year-old teacher Jennifer Williamson-Kennedy.

The wake was attended by many residents of the city of Paramus, including students who were involved in the crash, school faculty and staff, parents, neighbors and loved ones of the victims.

Vargas' twin sister, Madison, showed incredible resilience, thanking those that attended her sister's funeral, Jose Hernandez, the little girls' great uncle told NJ.com.

Hundreds gathered on Monday at the funeral for 10-year-old girl Miranda Faith Vargas, the fifth graders who was killed in a New Jersey school bus crash on Thursday morning

Hernandez said there was a 'quiet sadness' at the service as Vargas' mother spoke about her daughter.

'She said she lost her angel with no malice. She was asking, "Why did God take my angel?"' he said. 'It's tough to see a mother grieve like that.'

'They're a spiritual family,' Hernandez added. 'They have a strong belief in a higher power and I'm sure that will get them through this.'

He estimated that close to 200 people filled the room, in celebration of the middle schooler's life.

Jose Hernandez, the great uncle of Vargas, estimated that close to 200 people filled the room, in celebration of the middle schooler's life at Marrocco Memorial Chapel in Clifton on Monday

Family and friends said Vargas was a respectful and sweet child who enjoyed riding her bike

'Everybody seemed like they were happy to be there to pay their final respects,' Hernandez said. 'This was a community event, this wasn't just a singular death.'

Among those in attendance was Shelly Cash, Vargas' camp counselor during her stay last summer at Adventures in Learning in Paramus.

'Miranda was a sweet young child, she was never far from her sister,' Cash said.

'She was a high-spirited young girl who was always eager to learn new things and try new things.'

'Miranda was a sweet young child, she was never far from her sister,' her camp counselor said

A girl leans over bouquets of flowers to blow a kiss at a memorial for Vargas and Williamson-Kennedy in front of East Brook Middle School on Friday in Paramus, New Jersey

Family and friends told News 12 New Jersey that Vargas will be remembered as respectful and sweet child who enjoyed riding her bike.

Services for Williamson-Kennedy, who had been teaching for more than 20 years and grew up just a few blocks from East Brook Middle School, will be held over the coming days.

Viewing hours for Williamson-Kennedy will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, between the hours of 3:00pm and 8:00pm at Vander Plaat Memorial Home in Paramus.

The beloved teacher will be interred following a funeral mass on Thursday, beginning at 10:00am at Our Lady of the Visitation RC Church, also in Paramus.

Services for Jennifer Williamson-Kennedy, who had been teaching for more than 20 years and grew up just a few blocks from East Brook Middle School, will be held over the coming days; Williamson-Kennedy is pictured here with her husband, Kevin Kennedy, on their wedding day

Vargas and Williamson-Kennedy were both on the school bus that collided with a dump truck owned by Mendez Trucking on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive in Thursday

Vargas and Williamson-Kennedy were both on the school bus that collided with a dump truck owned by Mendez Trucking on Interstate 80 in Mount Olive in Thursday.

There were 38 fifth grade students and seven adults on board the bus that was involved in the accident.

Of the 45 people on board, 43 had to be taken to the hospital.

The school bus that crashed was one of three buses taking students on what was supposed to be a day trip to Waterloo Village, a restored 19th-century canal town in Byram Township, located in Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey.

A source told NJ Advance Media that the driver of the school bus attempted an illegal U-turn after missing an exit, west of exit 25 and moments before the dump truck struck the bus from behind.

The driver is among those who were injured in the crash.

The Vargas family's lawyer has pledged that he will look under 'every rock and every stone in an attempt to find out what happened.'

A source told NJ Advance Media that the driver of the bus attempted an illegal U-turn after missing an exit, moments before the dump truck struck the bus from behindRadical changes will be made along the M20 in Kent in order to combat any Brexit border chaos, it has been revealed, including parking lorries along the carriageway.

Fears are growing over ports being plunged into crisis after Britain leaves the European Union, if it takes time to iron out new arrangements.

Security and border rule amendments, including heightened checks could see queues towards ports like Dover dramatically lengthen, but the Government has come up with a plan to keep Kent moving.

Lorries parked on the M20, near Folkestone in Kent, while Operation Stack was in place in Kent

An estimated 10,000 lorries per day go through Dover meaning major scale traffic jams could be caused by any disruption.

However plans are being drawn up to stop queues for cross channel ferries and Europe-bound trains bringing Kent to a standstill.

Ministers are planning to launch Operation Brock, which will divert traffic around queueing lorries at junctions 8 and 9.

Traffic on the M20 near Ashford in Kent. Operation Brock will be an alternative to Operation Stack used when protests in France brought Kent to a halt

The plan is for cars to be able to use the northbound side of the motorway in both directions, while HGVs are lined up on the other side.

In this scenario traffic would not use surrounding roads like rat-runs, ministers said.

The plan is being modelled on Operation Stack which was hurriedly implemented by Kent Police and Highways England when French strikes caused travel chaos in 2008.

Roads Minister Jesse Norman said: 'We've seen the severe disruption that people in Kent had to face in 2015 when there were hold ups across the Channel.

'This interim plan will help to minimise that disruption and mean people will be able to go about their everyday lives, seeing friends and family or going to work, as well as businesses being able to get to their customers.'

Confirming the move, Transport Minister Baroness Liz Sugg said the infrastructure for the project is now being arranged.

She said: 'The Department has now agreed with Highways England that this arrangement should take the form of a contraflow system which would see lorries for the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel held on the coast-bound carriageway between junctions 8-9 of the M20, while other traffic will use a contraflow to continue their journey on the other side of the motorway.

'Highways England are starting the preparatory works for the scheme now and it will be available from early 2019.'

However Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald slammed the plans.

Cars will be able to drive both ways along one carriageway in Kent under Operation Brock, a Government announcement has revealed

He told the Daily Mirror: 'The Government's approach to contingency planning for lorries on the economically vital M20 link to the Port of Dover has been incompetent and disastrous.

'It had to scrap an important 250million lorry park near the M20 last year because it got the plans wrong and has wasted millions on renting space for lorries at Manston Airport which has never been used.

'A no-deal Brexit could grind the South East of England to a halt.'Megan Schug, 24, of Michigan, was sentenced Friday to 25 to 50 years in prison after almost killing her autistic four-year-old son by locking him in a closet

The mother of a four-year-old autistic boy who was left in a closet without access to food, water or the restroom was sentenced Friday to 25 to 50 years in prison.

Megan Schug, 24, of Michigan, pleaded guilty in Calhoun County, Michigan circuit court in February.

She said in court Monday 'I love every one one of my children,' and apologized for her horrendous mistreatment of Maloyd Gaines, who almost died due to the extensive abuse he received.

Judge Sarah Lincoln said she has encountered rapists and murderers in court before, however, 'you stand before me as possibly the most evil person who has ever been in this courtroom.'

'You were attempting to kill him slowly,' Lincoln said. 'Had you wanted to kill this child you could have done it quicker and more painless but you subjected him to months if not years of prolonged suffering.'

On March 22, 2017 Schug took her son to Bronson Battle Creek as he was lethargic, emaciated, and having trouble breathing. Schug told doctors he was not eating.

Chief Assistant Calhoun County Prosecutor Daniel Buscher said when he saw photos of the young boy he thought something was wrong. 'When I first saw the pictures I mentioned to the detective that I thought, "this wasn't a homicide?"' Buscher said.

She said in court Monday 'I love every one one of my children,' and apologized for her horrendous mistreatment of Maloyd Gaines, who almost died due to the extensive abuse he received

'I have never seen anyone abused to such an extent before that hadn't been dead.'

When police inspected Schug's home, they found a closet with an outside lock where they said the boy was kept in his own feces and urine.

Prosecutors said Schug and Isaac Miller tormented Schug's son Gaines by making him fight with his half-siblings, who tore clumps out of his hair.

They say Miller, 36, who is the father to two of Schug's four children, singled him out. Police later arrested Miller and charged him with child abuse. His trial is scheduled for July.

Doctors confirmed Gaines had painful open sores, gangrene toes, and was emaciated from lack of food. Gaines later lost several toes to a gangrene infection.

Doctors said the abuse was clear and he was taken out of their care. 'He was very thin to the point he was very sickly. He had abrasions and cuts and rashes all over his body.'

Schug's, who has three other children, abused Maloyd Gaines so badly he had painful open sores and gangrene toes when doctors inspected him

'His toes were blackened and swollen and his hands also were swollen,' Michael Zaleski, a Child Protection Services case worker who was called to the hospital, said.

When Zaleski visited the home that night, he found there was no furniture except for a small couch, TV and TV stand and human waste littered the floors.

Prosecutors said Schug and Isaac Miller (pictured here) tormented Schug's son Gaines by making him fight with his half-siblings, who tore clumps out of his hair

Once in custody, Maloyd's mother admitted locking him in a closet, sometimes overnight, for punishment.

She told them she carried out the abuse at Miller's request because she was scared he would hurt her if she didn't.

'At nighttime, they would lock him in the closet and sometime in the morning open the closet,' Detective Ray Strunk said.

They deprived him from food for a day or two at a time and beat him with wooden slates when he refused to hold a crate as another form of punishment, the detective claimed.

Schug told police that despite her son's filthy condition, she was not allowed to bathe him unless Miller was present, which she claimed was seldom.

Her only apparent attempt to treat him was to rub petroleum jelly on his wounds, the policeman said.

After her arrest in March, Schug's relatives tearfully told local media outlets that they feared for his well-being and had tried to remove him from the couple's care but were denied.

'I asked my sister, can I take my nephew, she said no. I knew he was being beat up by Mike,' Morgan Schug told WWMT.

She claimed to have seen him beating the boy with a switch. It's not clear whether she reported her concerns to police, Detroit Free Press reported.

Schug's mother Misty wept after her arrest in March 2017 (left) while Schug's sister Morgan said she knew her nephew was being beaten (right)

Foster parents Michelle Woodard and her husband began caring for the boy on May 19, 2017 and plan to adopt him. 'He is a beautiful little boy who connected with us and smiled and jumped into my arms when we first met and called me mom,' she told the judge.

'He had the brightest smile and just wants to be shown love and affection.'

Woodard said the boy's psychological injuries are very apparent. 'He hoarded his food and hid it in the closet and guarded his food when he was eating,' she said.

'He had to have someone with him at all times when he was eating because he was at risk of choking because he ate so fast and swallowed his food without chewing. He would not sleep in his bed or his bedroom. He would put his blanket and pillow in a closet.'

Schug and Miller deprived him from food for a day or two at a time and beat him with wooden slates when he refused to hold a crate as another form of punishment, the detective claimed

Woodard also said his moods were temperamental, 'He would be calm one moment and then into a fit of rage with his eyes glassed over and he would become angry and aggressive. He would rip my hair out and try to bite me in the face and punch and kick us,' she said.

'He would act as though he was pulling off his belt and hit himself and put his hands around his neck and squeeze.'

Maloyd suffers from PTSD, severe trauma and anxiety, she said. 'He fears that Megan and Issac have a key to get out of jail. He locks the doors and checks them and closes the curtains so that Megan and Issac can not see him. He always asks for the closet doors to be closed.'

'I plead with the court to have mercy on Maloyd and sentence Megan to the maximum sentence allowed,' Woodard said.

'Allow him to feel safe and trust and allow him to heal and be a child that is receiving love and who can be excited about life, a life that is filled with smiles and love.'The Trump administration sent a signal Monday that the president has no intention of ending his practice of referring to vicious drug gangsters as 'animals.'

The White House published a primer titled 'What you need to know about the violent animals of MS-13,' both on its website and via an email blast to reporters.

'The violent animals of MS-13 have committed heinous, violent attacks in communities across America,' it reads, describing the Mara Savatrutcha narcotics street gang that has roots in El Salvador.

'Too many innocent Americans have fallen victim to the unthinkable violence of MS-13s animals.'

President Donald Trump drew criticism from congressional Democrats and apocalyptic news headlines last week when he described MS-13 criminals as 'animals' during an event at the White House.

Scroll down for videos

President Donald Trump said last week that news reports were intentionally crafted to indicate he had labeled all illegal immigrants 'animals,' and doubled down Monday with a White House statement driving home that pejorative

MS-13 is a hyper-violent Salvadoran drug gang whose motto is 'kill, steal, rape, control'

Thie White House's website returns a single result to people searching for the word 'animals,' and it's this statement about MS-13

Most of the negative coverage had its genesis in what the White House saw as a misunderstanding of the president's remarks, which some took to be a reference to all illegal immigrants.

Trump tweeted on Friday that those media reports got it wrong intentionally.

'Fake News Media had me calling Immigrants, or Illegal Immigrants, "Animals." Wrong! They were begrudgingly forced to withdraw their stories,' the president wrote.

'I referred to MS 13 Gang Members as "Animals," a big difference  and so true. Fake News got it purposely wrong, as usual!'

What the White House's official fact sheet says about MS-13 'animals' 'Too many innocent Americans have fallen victim to the unthinkable violence of MS-13s animals. ... 'MS-13 is a transnational gang that has brought violence, fear, and suffering to American communities. MS-13, short for Mara Salvatrucha, commits shocking acts of violence to instill fear, including machete attacks, executions, gang rape, human trafficking, and more. 'In their motto, the animals of MS-13 make clear their goal is to kill, rape, control. The gang has more than 10,000 members in the United States spreading violence and suffering. 'Recent investigations have revealed MS-13 gang leaders based in El Salvador have been sending representatives into the United States illegally to connect the leaders with local gang members. These foreign-based gang leaders direct local members to become even more violent in an effort to control more territory. 'President Trumps entire Administration is working tirelessly to bring these violent animals to justice.' Advertisement

When TV outlets broadcast footage Wednesday of Trump making that declaration, some including MSNBC and CNN initially omitted what had come before  a sheriff's statement specifically about the ultra-violent MS-13 Salvadoran gang.

One news agency, the Associated Press, ultimately corrected its reporting on the episode.

'AP has deleted a tweet from late Wednesday on Trumps animals comment about immigrants,' the news agency said on Twitter, 'because it wasnt made clear that he was speaking after a comment about gang members.'

Trump pushed back forcefully on Thursday against Democrats who portrayed his comments in the least favorable light possible.

'I'm referring  and you know I'm referring  to the MS-13 gangs that are coming in,' Trump protested at the White House. 'I was talking about the MS-13.'

'MS-13, these are animals,' he insisted, adding that 'when the MS-13 comes in, when the other gang members come into our country, I refer to them as animals. And guess what? I always will.'

The episode began Wednesday, with Fresno County, California Sheriff Margaret Mims venting about her state's law barring county and local police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

'Now ICE is the only law enforcement agency that cannot use our databases to find the bad guys,' she said, referring to criminal illegal immigrants during a roundtable event on California's 'sanctuary cities' laws.

'There could be an MS-13 member I know about,' Mims added, complaining that if a case doesn't 'reach a certain threshold, I cannot tell ICE about it.'

Trump's original claim that MS-13 gangsters are 'animals' drew howls from Democrats who thought he was applying that label to all illegal immigrants

Trump, who has specifically called MS-13 members 'animals' in the past, leapt in.

'We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in  and we're stopping a lot of them  but we're taking people out of the country,' he said.

'You wouldnt believe how bad these people are. These arent people. These are animals. And we're taking them out of the country at a level and at a rate that's never happened before.'

The episode quickly became a political Rorschach test: Trump's enemies insisted he was dehumanizing everyone living in the U.S. illegally, while his backers pointed to the context of his remarks as proof that he was talking only about the menacing gang.

Trump spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters Thursday afternoon that the president was referring only to 'horrible, horrible, disgusting people' in MS-13.

Sanders left little doubt about what Trump thought he was communicating.

News outlets rushed to air video of Trump Wednesday complaining about 'animals' coming across the U.S.-Mexico border, but omitted the context: Fresno County, California Sheriff Margaret Mims (pictured, center) engaging the presdient specifically about MS-13

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell fired off angry tweets at Trump that claimed he was applying the label 'animals' to 'immigrants' in general

'The president was very clearly referring to MS-13 gang members who enter the country illegally, and whose deportations are hamstrung by our laws,' she said.

'This is one of the most vicious and deadly gangs, that operates by the motto of "Rape, control and kill." If the media and liberals want to defend MS-13, they're more than welcome to.'

She defended the characterization of the gangsters as 'animals,' citing specific examples of gruesome rapes and murders and saying that the word 'doesn't go far enough.'

'It took an "animal" to stab a man 100 times and decapitate him and rip his heart out,' an uncharacteristically sharp-tongued Sanders said. 'It took an "animal" to beat a woman they were sex trafficking, with a bat, 28 times, indenting part of her body. And it took an animal to kidnap, drug and rape a 14-year-old Houston girl.'

MS-13 gang members are pictured being arrested following a pre-dawn raid in Los Angeles County, California as a result of a two-year racketeering investigation

Monday's email blast from the White House was sent out by Kelly Sadler, a communications aide made famous two weeks ago by insulting Sen. John McCain while he fights brain cancer.

She said during a West Wing staff meeting that the administration should ignore McCain's threat to vote against the president's choice to lead the CIA  because 'he's dying anyway.'

McCain did not travel to Washington to cast a vote against Gina Haspel during his convalescence. Haspel was sworn in as the CIA's first female director on Monday.Advertisement

Unbelievable photos have captured the moment Hawaii residents played golf as humongous volcanic clouds loomed in the background.

Mike Walls was spotted playing golf as a huge ash plume rose from the summit of the Kiluaea volcano on Monday.

Hawaii resident, Doug Ralston, was also seen playing golf while another large, toxic cloud hoovered in the background.

The photos were taken just two weeks after Kilauea began erupting in people's backyards in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on May 3.

So far, the volcano has destroyed some 40 structures, including two dozen homes. More than 2,000 people have evacuated their homes, including 300 who were staying in shelters.

Scroll down for video

Unbelievable photos have captured the moment Hawaii residents playing golf with humongous volcanic clouds looming in the background. Mike Walls was spotted playing golf as a huge ash plume rose from the summit of the Kiluaea volcano on Monday

Hawaii resident, Doug Ralston, was also seen playing golf while another large, toxic cloud hoovered in the background

Jack Jones, visiting from Madison, Wisconsin, takes pictures at a country club in Volcano, Hawaii as a huge ash plume rises from the summit of Kilauea volcano on Monday. Tourism on the Big Island has remained relatively unaffected by the eruptions

Kilauea has burned some 40 structures, including two dozen homes, since it began erupting in people's backyards in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on May 3. More than 2,000 people have evacuated their homes, including 300 who were staying in shelters

Lava from the erupting Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island flowed towards a geothermal power plant on Monday as workers scrambled to shut it down to prevent the uncontrollable release of toxic gases.

It is the latest danger from Mount Kilauea's eruption, which geologists say is among the worst events in a century from one of the world's most active volcanoes.

The Puna Geothermal Venture (PGV) plant, which provides about 25 per cent of power on the Big Island, has been closed since shortly after the eruptions began and some 60,000 gallons of flammable pentane used in the plant's turbines have already been relocated.

Workers tried to shut down the plant's three wells, which at 6,000 feet to 8,000 feet underground tap into extremely hot water and steam used to run turbines and produce electricity.

Kilauea's ongoing eruptions have created a new threat as lava flows hit the ocean, creating a cloud of toxic gas known as laze

Laze, a word combination of lava and haze, contains hydrochloric acid steam mixed with tiny volcanic glass particles

Lava from fissure 20 enters the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii, on Sunday. The most recent flows are especially fast-moving

Lava from a Kilauea volcano fissure flows past downed trees towards the Pacific Ocean, on Hawaii's Big Island on Monday

Steam plumes rise as lava enters the Pacific Ocean, after flowing to the water from a Kilauea volcano fissure

'We do want to shut down the wells so that we would eliminate the broader risk of uncontrolled release,' of gases and steam from the plant, Hawaii Governor David Ige said on Sunday.

A berm was holding back lava flowing northwest towards the PGV plant and crews expected to cap two of its three wells, but were having difficulty with a third, the County of Hawaii said.

'The flow is stalled about 250-300 yards from PGV,' county spokeswoman Janet Snyder said in an email. 'We are in the final stages of quenching two of the three PGV wells ... We have had difficulties quenching the third well.'

The state said last week it was pumping cold water into the wells and would cap them with iron plugs. Authorities are looking at alternative measures to kill the third well, Snyder added.

Kilauea's ongoing eruptions also created another threat as lava flows reach shore of Hawaii's Big Island and run into the ocean, creating a cloud of toxic gas known as laze.

Laze - a mash-up of lava and haze - forms when molten, 2,000-degree magma hits the cool Pacific waters.

Kilauea volcano began erupting more than two weeks ago sending lava flows tearing through dozens of structures and homes

The noxious cloud created when the molten lava hits the cool Pacific water is one of the newest concerns for Hawaii residents

Dramatic photographs capture the billowing clouds created as a wall of 2,000-degree material continues to push into the sea

The temperature change causes a chemical reaction resulting in small explosions that send hydrochloric acid and tiny particles of volcanic glass into the air.

Stunning video shows the the noxious gas clouds billowing off of Hawaii's coast as residents are warned of the acid's corrosive abilities that can cause irritation of the eyes, skin and lungs.

Geologists say the laze is about as corrosive as diluted battery acid, and that once formed it can be blown long distances by the wind.

'If you're feeling stinging on your skin, go inside,' advised US Geological Survey scientist Wendy Stovall.

So far the laze has traveled an estimated 15 miles west of where the lava gushed into the ocean on the island's southern coast

Emergency responders on the Big Island have begun to hand out face masks to protect residents from potentially toxic fumes

Joe Kekedi watches as lava enters the ocean, generating white plumes of acid and extremely fine shards of glass on Sunday

The Coast Guard has also warned of the threat the clouds pose to mariners.

'All waterway users should be aware of the hazardous conditions associated with such an event. Getting too close to the lava can result in serious injury or death,' Lt. Cmdr. John Bannon of the US Coast Guard in Honolulu said in a statement.

So far the laze has traveled an estimated 15 miles west of where the lava gushed into the ocean on the Big Island's southern coast.

The newest lava flows have been found to move even faster than previous ones, at a rate of about 300 yards per hour, which allows them to travel even further.

This Saturday aerial photo released by the US Geological Survey shows lava fountains from Fissure 20 in in Pahoa, Hawaii

A man wearing shorts, T-shirt and flip-flops takes a picture of a sea of lava on Sunday that has consumed an entire valley

Lieutenant Colonel Charles Anthony of the Hawaii National Guard measures sulfur dioxide gas levels at a lava flow on Highway 137 southeast of Pahoa on Sunday during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano

Over the weekend, the first major injury occurred when spattering molten rock hit a man in the leg.

The area affected by lava and ash is small compared with the Big Island, which is about 4,000 square miles. The volcano has spared most of the island and the rest of the Hawaiian chain.

Officials reminded tourists that flights have not been affected, even on the Big Island.

There, travelers are free to do most of the usual sightseeing activities that aren't associated with the erupting volcano.

Lava flows have picked up speed in recent days, spattering molten rock that hit a man in the leg, the first major injury to occur

Lava from the eastern channel of the Fissure 20 complex flows into a crack in the ground that opened on Sunday morningThe estranged wife of a party-loving property tycoon lives in a small bedroom within his 20 million Knightsbridge mansion and even cooks her food on camping stoves, a new documentary has revealed.

Heather Bird split from Robert Tchenguiz around ten years ago, but the couple never divorced and they still both live at his palatial four-storey townhouse close to the Royal Albert Hall.

Robert, who was once said to be worth 4.5 billion but admitted losing 85 per cent of his fortune in the Icelandic banking crisis, also lives with his 27-year-old Polish girlfriend.

He lives with Julia Dybowska on the fourth floor, while Heather resides on the first floor.

Heather Bird split from Robert Tchenguiz around ten years ago, but the couple never divorced and they still both live at his palatial four-storey townhouse close to the Royal Albert Hall. Pictured: She shows the BBC her tiny bedroom

The American, who owns a beauty clinic, gives the interviewer a peek at her living space - a tiny, darkened bedroom near a small room designed for her children to play

Robert Tchenguiz lives with both his wife Heather Bird (left) and his girlfriend Julia Dybowska (right) in the same house near London's Hyde Park

Heather (pictured in the room for her children outside her bedroom) explains: 'I guess that's my options right now. It's not my choice, but I don't have a choice about that. I didn't select the room'

Heather adds: 'I usually eat in my room. I cook my food in my room. I have my little fridge and I have my tea kettle and I have my little stove burners'

But a documentary that aired on BBC2 last night, titled Robbie's War: The Rise and Fall of a Playboy Billionaire, shows that she lives in humble circumstances.

The American, who owns a beauty clinic, gives the interviewer a peek at her living space - a tiny, darkened bedroom connected to a small room designed for her children to play.

The interviewer then says: 'You're in this vast house, but you're in a very tiny room.'

Heather replies: 'I guess that's my options right now. It's not my choice, but I don't have a choice about that. I didn't select the room.

'I usually eat in my room. I cook my food in my room. I have my little fridge and I have my tea kettle and I have my little stove burners.

'We're doing our best to have some good energy.'

The beautiful home, which is very close to the Royal Albert Hall in West London, is worth about 20 million

Later in the programme, she explains that she was persuaded by Robert to put off seeking a divorce settlement despite her being promised by lawyers that she would get 10 million. Pictured: One of the rooms in the grand four-storey mansion

Robert (pictured in the documentary), who was once said to be worth 4.5 billion but admitted losing 85 per cent of his fortune in the Icelandic banking crisis, also lives with his 27-year-old Polish girlfriend

The 20 million home, which once featured in ITV drama Mr Selfridge, could soon be handed over to receivers acting for Icelandic bank Kaupthing following a court case in Guernsey

She also explains in the documentary that she often attempts to avoid running into Robert and Julia in the house, and that her bras sometimes get mixed up with hers by staff.

Later in the programme, she explains that she was persuaded by Robert to put off seeking a divorce settlement despite her being promised by lawyers that she would get 10 million.

'Now if I were to divorce him, I would get absolutely zero,' she says.

Earlier this year, Heather told the Mail on Sunday: 'It's a difficult situation to be in, but I don't really have any choice,' she says.

'Robert and his girlfriend are up on the 4th floor and I am downstairs with the kids.

'It's heartbreaking to have to share the family home with his girlfriend  particularly one who is undeniably sexy. She's the model type, the sort who Instagrams a lot.'

Mr Tchenguiz, pictured with Ms Dybowska, a model who has 350,000 Instagram followers

Robert, however, has said he is considering legal action against the BBC because of their focus on his private life. He had wanted to discuss his ongoing legal battles.

He told the Evening Standard: 'This was meant to be an investigation show about how the legal system let me down; what happens when somebody is wrongfully arrested.

'Not about my girlfriend [...] I let the BBC into my house and this is what they do to me.'

But the BBC said it stands by the feature.

The 20 million home, which once featured in ITV drama Mr Selfridge, could soon be handed over to receivers acting for Icelandic bank Kaupthing following a court case in Guernsey.

The Iranian-born, American-educated Tchenguiz brothers, Robert and Vincent, became two of the West End's biggest landlords in the 1980s.

At their peak, they had a portfolio of more than 600 buildings said to have been worth 4.5billion, although much of their capital was borrowed.

Robert - who was once in a relationship with model Caprice - enjoyed lavish parties, once decking out his home as Louis XIV's Versailles, complete with staff in liveried costumes and wigs and a nine-piece musical ensemble.

But his fortune was badly hit by the Icelandic banking crisis, in which he is said to have lost more than 1.5billion.

Ms Bird previously spoke of the difficulties of having Ms Dybowska (pictured) living upstairs

It was suggested this year that Ms Dybowska and Mr Tchenguiz may be planning to marry

The property could now however be seized by Grant Thornton, who are attempting to recoup money lent out by Kaupthing before the crash.

Kaupthing Bank collapsed during the financial crisis of 2008, and had allowed Mr Tchenguiz to borrow 1.4billion from them before it went to the wall.

In 2014, liquidators successfully gained an order from the Royal Court of Guernsey allowing them to take assets from him, including his house.

But the fallout from that ruling was put on hold pending another judgement which was given at the end of last month.

Ms Tchenguiz (pictured with TOWIE star Chloe Sims, left) was once known for his lavish parties

The Tchenguiz brothers Robert (left) and Vincent made millions from property deals in London's West End in the 1980s

Judges in Guernsey ruled in a long-running legal battle and their ruling means Kaupthing could now sell the property.

A spokesman for Grant Thornton said: 'We welcome the Privy Council ruling that allows us to enforce a judgment of in excess of 140m against assets held in the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust.

'This is a welcome outcome for the creditors of the trust, including Kaupthing.'

Mr Tchenguiz told The Times he is planning to appeal the judgement in the European Court of Human Rights.

Investec Trust Guernsey said: 'Investec Trust Guernsey Limited ('ITG') has faced numerous claims over eight years from successor trustees of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust. We have always maintained that the claims are baseless and successive courts have rejected them.

'We wish to make it clear that, in its former role as trustee of the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust between 2007 and 2010, ITG fulfilled its duties professionally and with integrity. We have nevertheless been forced to commit substantial resources over many years to defending ourselves.'

Lauren Ekon, General Counsel for the Investec Group, commented at the time: 'We welcome today's unequivocal judgment by the Privy Council, which has rejected all the claims by the Tchenguiz Discretionary Trust's trustees and has found in ITG's favour on all issues.'Penny Mordaunt last night pledged to review the 100million the UK gives to Burma after MPs said she must do more to ensure it is not falling into the hands of the brutal regime.

The International Development Secretary said money was being redirected to victims of ethnic cleansing.

And she vowed that no money would be given directly to the Burmese government, which has been accused of human rights abuses.

It came after the Commons international development select committee called for a dramatic change in Britains approach to the Burma crisis.

International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt (pictured last month) pledged to review the 100million the UK gives to Burma last night

It also called on the Government to admit that Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is becoming part of the problem.

The committee highlighted the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim population. The MPs said the main Department for International Development aid programmes were drawn up at a time of high optimism after Miss Suu Kyi became the de facto president in 2016. Since then there has been ethnic cleansing, the breaking of ceasefires, a closing of civil society space, including restrictions on media freedoms and the persecution of journalists, and a reduction in religious freedom, the MPs report said.

The situation has now dramatically changed and as a result we need to see dramatic change in our engagement with Burma.

The MPs said some would argue the action against the Rohingya population, hundreds of thousands of whom have been forced to flee to Bangladesh, amounted to genocide. The report added: There also needs to be a recognition by the UK Government that state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi herself is now becoming part of the problem.Val Kilmer turned on the charm and put a smile on his face over the weekend while greeting fans in Detroit at Motor City Comic Con.

It was a rare public appearance for the actor, who last year revealed after much speculation that he had been battling throat cancer for two years and undergone a tracheotomy.

That procedure has since made it difficult for Kilmer to speak at times and often short of breath, which explains why he was so worn out after spending the day with fans on Saturday.

The actor, 58, posted a photo of himself to Facebook midday that showed him with his eyes nearly closed, while in another he also seemed ready to fall asleep while wearing a dog cap.

Batman forever: Val Kilmer appeared at Motor City Comic Con over the weekend in Detroit, and on Saturday posted photos of himself looking tired and worn out

Smiley: He spent the day posing for photos with fans who purchased his custom Funko pop toys, which sell for $80 and come with an autograph for another $80 (above)

Vacation: Kilmer was in New York City earlier in the week, attending a performance of Bruce Springsteen on Broadway (left) and heading out to Peter Brant's estate (right)

Number one: Fans later noted how polite and friendly Kilmer was on social media

Kilmer was on-hand to sell Funko pop toys made in the likeness of some of his film characters, with the actor charging $80 for the figure and another $80 for an autograph.

He teased his appearance on Facebook earlier in the week.

'This Saturday & Sunday, Detroit Comic Con, is getting closer. Decided to bring my personally crafted Doc, Chris Knight and a new limited Jim Morrison Funkos, PLUS my line of Doc, Iceman, The Saint, Mark Twain pins & newest Skull keychain,' wrote Kilmer.

'Of course, all available on my website too, but (spoiler alert) you better hurry cause we are making big changes coming there soon.'

The price-point did not seem to deter fans, who happily purchased the toys and posed for photos with Kilmer.

Many of those fans were quick to note how friendly Kilmer had been when they visited his booth.

'Met Mr. Kilmer today. He appeared in good spirits yet frail. While waiting in line he poked his face through his booth curtain and looked out at crowd in a whimsical manner,' wrote one fan on Facebook.

'Have respect for this living icon. If you get a chance to meet him, do it.'

Another wrote: 'Despite his limited speaking ability, Val Kilmer was so gracious and smiled this huge smile when we walked into the photo booth, and he thanked me several times when I later presented him with a letter I'd written along with some of my Hillsdale Batman goodies, including one of my Batarangs from my personal collection at his Signing booth.'

A panel Q&A had been planned for the afternoon as well, but that was cancelled at the last second due to transportation issues.

Some also complained that Kilmer was behind a curtain and could not be seen from the floor.

Prior to his trip to Detroit, Kilmer stopped off in New York City to catch Bruce Springsteen on Broadway.

He also headed out to Greenwich where he visited the home of art collector Peter Brant and his wife Stephanie Seymour.

O the mend: Kilmer announced that he had 'a healing of cancer' last May after he spent months denying reports that he had throat cancer

Cosplay: A panel Q&A had been planned for the afternoon as well, but that was cancelled at the last second due to transportation issues

Main man: 'Met Mr. Kilmer today. He appeared in good spirits yet frail. While waiting in line he poked his face through his booth curtain and looked out at crowd in a whimsical manner,' wrote one fan on Facebook

Kilmer announced that he had 'a healing of cancer' last May after he spent months denying reports that he had the disease.

The 57-year-old actor made the comment in a question-and-answer session on Reddit when he was asked by a user about Michael Douglas' comment last year that Kilmer was dealing with the same condition that the Oscar winner had.

Douglas successfully battled oral cancer after being diagnosed in 2010. Kilmer responded on Facebook in November that he has 'no cancer whatsoever' and Douglas 'is misinformed.'

Kilmer sresponded by statiung: 'I did have a healing of cancer, but my tongue is still swollen although healing all the time.'

He then addressed the disease more directly in December during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

The actor said that his battle had changed him for the better in that intevriew, which he did alongside his two children.

'I was too serious. I'd get upset when things like Oscars and recognition failed to come my way,' said Kilmer.

When pressed on that he added: 'I would like to have more Oscars than anybody. Meryl Streep must feel pretty good, you know? It must feel nice to know that everyone loves her. It's about being loved.'As my daughter finally sleeps, I no longer can keep the tears from falling. We see / hear about these tragedies through a TV screen once removed. While we grieve with and for the families, we truly have no idea what they are experiencing.

The outpouring of prayers and love from across the country have been very much appreciated by our family. And for those saying that sending prayers means nothing, all I can say is STFU! You have no idea how much it meant to us today knowing we were not alone in praying for our child.

I've talked to some people today and then had to shut my phone off as it became too overwhelming. But, I think it's important for people to hear these stories and truly understand the impact.

Our day started off normal. Isabelle was happy and looking forward to the weekend. I dropped her off about 7 a.m., told her I loved her, to have a good day, and then headed home to get to work.

I got home, walked upstairs and my phone rang. I noticed her name on the screen and figured she forgot something. As I answer the phone, she is whispering and I can barely understand her. Then I hear her whisper....mom, they are shooting up the school, I'm hiding in a closet. I love you mom. In the background, I hear gunfire. I beg her to stay on the phone and she says other kids with her want to call their parents and don't have phones. I beg her not to hang up as the call drops. I was frozen, standing there with no idea what to do next.

As I ran down the stairs, I'm texting my husband next door telling him to come home now while waking Kam up to tell him whats going on - thank goodness he already finished school and is home. We meet in the front yard and I'm trying to tell Kenny what's going on while crying and trying to get in my car. At this point, I don't know what to do. I send a group text to my family telling them shes hiding and to NOT to call Isabelle and give away her hiding place. I want desperately to get to my child; however, being a part of a law enforcement family, I also don't want to hinder the police from doing their jobs to try and save my child. We make our way towards the school and are passed by no less than 30 emergency vehicles along the way. During this time, we are frantic and both of our phones are blowing up. All we can do is stare at them praying she calls us again.

As we near the school, traffic is stopped and parents are running from their cars towards the school. We know they won't let us near the school, so we sit and wait while arguing and basically freaking the hell out. After being there a while, we can't stand it any longer and start making our way on foot to the school. We're almost there when my phone rings and it's Isabelle telling me they've gotten her safely out of the school. She's in a police car waiting to be interviewed as a witness and the police have told her to tell us to not come to the school. All we can do is return to our car and wait and wait and wait.

We are then forced to leave the area. We were given no choice and instructed to go to another school miles away to await our daughter. As we arrive at the school, we are told to go to another location and give them her name. We are then told to go to another location and wait for them to bus the kids over from the high school. We arrive at that location only to be told to return to the last location. At this point, Kenny has had enough and refuses to budge one more step. They are repeatedly telling us we need to leave that area and hes standing there with his chin in the air acting like they are not even speaking. His mind was made up and he wasnt moving one more inch until we had our daughter.

At this point, an FBI officer walks by and Kenny chases him down. Basically, they explain our daughter will be detained for questioning and we should leave a number and theyd call us when she was released -- as if there was a chance in hell that we would leave. As were speaking with him, the first busload of children arrives. We watch these children walk off looking lost while their eyes search the crowds for their loved ones. Our daughter isnt on this bus, or the next one, or the next. She calls and tells us she is still at the high school; but, shes now on a bus and should be there soon. Her friends and boyfriend are calling for reassurance that she is safe.

By this time, weve been waiting hours. The parents are forced to stand outside in the heat. Tempers are rising with the temperature and we watch a few parents force their way through to find their kids. We also see the community rallying around and arriving with cold bottles of water and big hugs for the waiting parents. Im on the phone as another bus passes us, Kenny heads to the back of the building again. The next thing I see is him walking towards me with Isabelle. Finally, I get to hold my baby as we both cry and I try not to notice the blood on her.

As we see the media arriving, we hurry her to the car and head home. We get out of the car and Isabelle turns to me crying and saying...Im so sorry! Im completely confused and she says...Im sorry for calling and upsetting you! I can only close my eyes and think about this child who is still worrying about others after the traumatic experience she just experienced.

I assure her that she did everything right and try to get her to go inside. There are only Kam and my mom waiting inside; but, she is too overwhelmed to even see anyone. She hugs her grandma, decides to change her clothes, and heads upstairs almost immediately. As were sitting upstairs, shes clearly in shock looking around the room blankly until she glances down. She looks at me and says...this is my favorite outfit and now theres blood on it and burst into tears.

We hold her until she calms down and convince her to change clothes. Kam is trying to get near her and shes just too hyper sensitive to have anyone around. Were trying to soothe her as Kam walks back into the room with tears in his eyes. I leave Isabelle with Kenny and go to him as he starts crying and telling me he just found out his best friend was one of the children who died. I now have two children crying and we are helpless and can do nothing but hold them and try to make them feel loved and safe. I glance down and notice my foot is bleeding. I have no idea what Ive done or when it happened, as I dont even feel it.

Kam heads off for time alone and we stay with Isabelle while she begins to calm down. Were thanking God our child is home and then she begins to talk... I can only say that Im so glad we didnt know what was going on while we were waiting...

She arrived at school and headed to her first period, Art. She loves this class and was excited to finish her year end project. As she focused on the project, the first shot barely registers and she isnt sure what she heard. Suddenly, the kids start screaming and running. The gunman enters their room from the classroom next door and fires a shot that grazes one girl and hits a boy in the classroom. She said everything happened so fast and everyone is panicking and running around the room. Theres a door at the back of the room to which the kids are running...only to discover the door is locked and they are trapped. Seeing the kids turning back from the door, she immediately starts running towards items to hide behind.

Shes moving from item to item as the gunman continues to fire into the classroom. She is now covered in dust from the bullets hitting the walls around her. Kids are scrambling trying to hide / escape and she finds an area where he cant see her, but she can see him. She finally runs for the supply closet where she and 6 other kids hide. They are able to lock one door and begin blocking the other door as another girl runs into the closet with them. As they are moving heavy items in front of the door, the gunman screams...Surprise M*****F****** and begins shooting into the closet. The gunman hits 3 of the 8 kids in the closet...killing 2 of them instantly. He leaves to chase other kids who ran out of the room and they hear more gun shots. Then he comes back.

By this time, Isabelle has called the police and is whispering into the phone. They tell her to stay quiet and that help is on the way. Then silence on the phone. They hear the gunman in the classroom next door yelling Woo Hoo! and firing more shots. She hangs up and calls the police back to be told that they are entering the premises and to stay quiet and keep hiding. Then she hears only silence again. The gunman then comes back into their room and they hear him saying....are you dead? Then more shots are fired. By this time, cell phones all over the classroom are ringing and hes taunting the kids in the closet asking them....do you think its for you? do you want to come answer it? Then he proceeds to fire more bullets into the closet and tries to get in. She calls the police again and they tell her they are headed towards their classroom. After another 5-10 minutes, the police arrive outside the classroom. By this time, she has been laying on the floor for over 30 min next to her deceased classmates. They listen to the exchange between the gunman and the police, as they can hear him reloading his weapon. Finally, the gunman surrenders and police take him into custody.

As the door to the closet opens, she is staring at guns pointed at her. They are instructed to put their hands ups and slowly leave the closet. As they are leaving the closet, they are walking past bodies in the classroom and hallways. They are frisked and removed from the building where they are placed in police cars awaiting questioning. She and her friends had been in the same room with the gunman the ENTIRE TIME.

At this point, she makes the call to us that we received while walking towards the school.

Finally, they get her on a bus where the bus driver is asking her if she knows anything about her own daughter, who Isabelle had seen on the floor as she walked through the classroom. This wonderful woman did everything she could to make Isabelle feel safe while not knowing the status of her own child.

As the afternoon progresses, her phone is going crazy with students reaching out to one another. The kids are sharing about what they saw and who had been injured and transported to the hospital. One friend who ran from the gunman tells them there was more than one gunman, although weve not heard this again in the media. Its at this time that I notice she is agitated and I look at her phone. Unbelievably, other students are bullying her on social media. Blaming her for not trying to do more to save her classmates, calling her a liar about what happened, etc. I tell her its time to shut off social media and put the phone away.

She is now glued to the TV and my niece, Savannah, is on her way over to be with her cousins. Every noise makes her jump and sounds are triggering reactions. Shes our shadow.

Isabelle becomes more and more upset over the TV, as they are interviewing people that werent in the area where the gunman was and they are reporting incorrect information. She tells me that she has been contacted by the Washington Post and wants to let them interview her. Now, you have to remember, this is our extremely shy child and my only thought is to protect my child. We talk about it and I explain that while some may feel better sharing their story, others do not. She is insistent that she share her experience so that people know what happened. Within the hour, we have a reporter and cameraman in our home. They were so polite and careful with her. Were finishing up the interview and I look down and notice that I never even wiped the blood off my foot.

We turn our phones back on and are being bombarded with calls and texts. Wendy calls as her friends son was shot and in surgery. Steven calls from out of town to check on everyone and ask if we know anything about a foreign exchange student his friend is hosting. My niece, Savannah, has come over to be with her cousins. Gregory is now at the house. Our family calls asking if we know anything about the kids cousin.

By early evening, the families of missing kids are still waiting for news. Explosives have been found in the school and they have been unable to identify the fatalities while they continue to sweep the building.

As the evening progresses, Gregory and Kenny take the children to the vigil for the community, while I go for food. On my way to get food, my phone rings with confirmation that their cousin has died in the shooting. After 10 hrs of waiting, the parents were called together and asked for pictures of their children. They then matched them and notified the families. Think about that for a minute....over 10 hrs...not knowing whether your child is safe.

We return home and begin to eat. Remembering that we were supposed to take Gregory to dinner for his birthday, I tell him that well take him another time. He looks at me and says...this is just a meal. I couldve been remembering that I lost my sister at my birthday for the rest of my life. As confused as I was feeling, this helped me focus.

As the media announces the names of the confirmed dead, Isabelle falls apart. Shed been watching the TV so intently waiting for this. She had prayed that her friends lying around the school were just injured and the confirmation of their deaths was crushing.

Isabelle tells me that shes afraid to take a shower. I tell her that she might feel better if she washes away the day. She decides to try and took the quickest shower of her lifetime. She said the water hitting the tiles reminded her of sounds she heard while locked in the closet.

Later in the evening, another parent reached out to ask if Isabelle could come over as her daughter wanted to see her. As she also wanted to check on her friends, I drove her over. We werent there 15 minutes and she was ready to leave. One of the other girls was not at school today and the other had run out and was not near the shooting area. As we get in the car, Isabelle tells me that she couldnt breathe and had to leave. They felt like strangers to her, as they didnt have the same experience. We talked about grief and how each childs experience and reaction to it will be different depending on where they were in the school at the time. For now, she feels like she needs to be with those people in the two classrooms that were targeted...and I completely understand.

We get home and she asks her daddy if she can sleep with me. He left to go take care of Kam and Im sitting her watching her sleep. Im so proud of her and her bravery and caring heart. She saved herself, called the policy, shared her phone with others who were afraid, spoke to a reporter to share her story, and stayed strong until she was able to transfer her burden to us. So far, shes sleeping peacefully. No tossing, turning... nothing I anticipated. But as she dreams, she knows that Im sitting her watching over her and I hope thats enough for her to find peace in her slumber.

As for today....

The bus driver who so kindly watched over my daughter...lost her own.

My daughter lost two beloved teachers and friends.

My son lost his best friend.

Our family lost their cousin.

A family in Pakistan lost their daughter who was here as a foreign exchange student.

Other families children didnt come home today.

Our community lost their innocence and feeling of safety.

And I noticed that I still havent washed the blood off my foot.Investigators are awaiting for the results of autopsies on the ten victims of the Santa Fe shooting after admitting that some of the students and teachers hit in the attack could have been caught in the crossfire.

Cops, arrived just four minutes after Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, allegedly burst into a Santa Fe High School art classroom yelling 'Surprise!' and opened fire.

Officers and the teen gunman engaged in a 25-minute shootout before Pagourtzis gave himself up.

Ten were left dead and thirteen others were injured in the mass shooting. At least two of those wounded are still hospitalized, including school police officer John Barnes, who remained in critical condition, said the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset told CNN that it is not yet clear if all the victims were struck by bullets from the shooter.

Cops, arrived just four minutes after Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, allegedly burst into a Santa Fe High School art classroom yelling 'Surprise!' and opened fire

People bring flowers to a makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School, Texas, on Monday

Lori Simmons, of Santa Fe, prays at a makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims

A man writes a message on a cross at a makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims

A chaplin with Billy Graham's ministry carries a cross for Sabika Sheikh who was killed in the attack

Mourners gathered at white wooden crosses planted in front of the school, with a victim's name and a red heart on each cross.

Mourners embrace at a makeshift memorial on Monday as mourners gathered at white wooden crosses planted in front of the school, with a victim's name and a red heart on each cross

Trochesset said the medical examiner's autopsies should be able to determine what bullets and weapons killed the victims.

Investigators are now assessing footage from a 'decent amount of cameras in the school' to put a timeline together.

At least two of those wounded in Friday's mass shooting are still hospitalized, including school police officer John Barnes, who remained in critical condition, said the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Pagourtzis faces charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. He is alleged to have used his father's legally owned shotgun and revolver in the rampage.

His attorneys told reporters Monday that their client was 'in a state.'

'I think that there is definitely something going on in terms of mental health history,' attorney Nicholas Poehl told NBC News.

Law enforcement officers responded to the Santa Fe High School shooting within minutes

Students were seen evacuating the Texas high school after shots rang out during first period on Friday morning

A woman wipes tears while leaving a memorial for the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting at the high school on May 21, 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan SmialowskiBRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

James Otto places a photo at a makeshift memorial left in memory of the victims killed in a shooting at Santa Fe High School

Classmates cry at the scene of a makeshift memorial for their slain friends and teachers

'I still think he's very confused about the incident.'

Recalling the attack on Good Morning America, student Trenton Beazely said the shooter 'was playing music, making jokes, had slogans and rhymes he kept saying.'

How the Santa Fe High School shooting unfolded 7.32am - Law enforcement responded to reports of an active shooter 8.02am - Dimitrios Pagourtzis surrenders to cops 8.05am - President Donald Trump tweets 'School shooting in Texas. Early reports not looking good. God bless all!' 8.13am - Santa Fe Independent School District confirms there was an active shooter and the district has initiated a lockdown 8.30am - Santa Fe High School is evacuated 9am - Assistant Principal confirms the shooter had been arrested 9.15am - Suspected explosive devices are found 10am - Law enforcement confirms eight people are dead 10.45am - Death toll updated to between eight and 10 11.18am - Santa Fe ISD says explosives were found at the high school Advertisement

'Every time he'd kill someone he'd say, 'another one bites the dust.''

A statewide moment of silence was held in the morning to remember the eight students and two teachers killed.

Mourners gathered at white wooden crosses planted in front of the school, with a victim's name and a red heart on each cross.

Already frayed nerves were rattled in neighboring communities where three schools reported gun threats.

One student brought an unloaded gun to campus, while at another school a student brought a gun apparently to harm himself, and a student texted someone else asking them to bring a gun at a third school, according to local media.

All three were arrested.

Schools in Santa Fe were closed through Tuesday and a crisis hotline was set up for traumatized students and parents.

Several Texas school administrators announced new safety measures as nervous parents sent children back to school in neighboring communities.

'We will be increasing police visibility at each school through the remainder of the school year,' Greg Smith, the superintendent of schools at Clear Creek, said in a letter.

Pagourtzis (left and right) gave himself up after a 25-minute shootout with the cops

A photo showing a handgun and a knife appeared on an Instagram account associated with Pagourtzis in late April

Warning signs: On his now-deleted Facebook page, Pagourtzis on April 30 shared a photo of a black T-shirt with the words 'Born to Kill' printed across the front (left). Other photos shared on Pagourtzis's page the same day in April depicted a dark-colored trenchcoat festooned with various insignia, including the Nazi Iron Cross (right)

Another school banned backpacks to prevent hidden weapons from slipping through, while others changed dress codes to forbid heavy clothing such as the trench coat Pagourtzis was said to be wearing to conceal his weapons.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, officially announced a series of town hall meetings to discuss schools safety. They will be held at the state capital starting Tuesday.

Texas, a conservative stronghold, has some of the most permissive firearm laws in the United States, and new gun restrictions are unlikely.

Abbott has focused on mental health issues and arming school personnel.

The Democratic mayor of Houston, while advocating for metal detectors at all schools, also called for tougher gun laws.

'There's nothing wrong with reasonable, pragmatic (gun) restrictions,' Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a news conference.Processing the refugee applications of hundreds of missing Commonwealth Games athletes could cost the taxpayer millions.

The Senate was told on Monday 205 athletes and officials have applied for protection and other visas, while another 50 have vanished.

Refugee visa processing can cost up to $10,000 per application, meaning the bill could run into the millions.

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Processing the refugee applications of hundreds of missing Commonwealth Games athletes could cost the taxpayer millions (pictured are missing athletes)

The Senate was told on Monday 205 athletes and officials have applied for protection and other visas, while another 50 have vanished (pictured is Olivier Matam of Cameroon)

Refugee visa processing can cost up to $10,000 per application, meaning the bill could run into the millions (stock image)

The greatest number of missing athletes come from Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana, with other visa applicants from across Africa and the subcontinent.

They include Simplice Fotsala, one of eight athletes from Cameroon to go missing along with weightlifters Olivier Matam and Petit David Minkoumba.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, whose department is attempting to find and deport those in Australia immediately, slammed the missing athletes.

'[Australia] extended hospitality and welcome to these people in good faith,' Mr Dutton told The Daily Telegraph.

The greatest number of missing athletes come from Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Ghana, with other visa applicants from across Africa and the subcontinent (pictured, left, is Simplice Fotsala of Cameroon)

'Australians hate being taken for a ride by freeloaders ... [but] Australia is now obliged under international law to consider these protection visa applications.'

On Monday Home Affairs deputy secretary Malisa Golightly confirmed the majority of the athletes and officials who are yet to leave have applied for protection visas.

Of those given bridging visas, 190 have applied for refugee status while 10 to 15 others have applied for visas in other categories or business purposes.

A total of 8,103 people arrived on visas issued for the Commonwealth Games last month,and 7,848 have since left the country.

The number marks a large increase from the 2006 Melbourne Games, where only 45 people stayed behind afterwards.Bill and Hillary Clinton have split when it comes to the 2018 midterms election with Hillary looking to use her influence to block the left and Bill having vanished from the political scene.

Hillary is expected to throw her weight into the New York governor's contest this week when she rejects 'Sex and the City' actress Cynthia Nixon's bid for the job and instead endorses Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the contentious Democratic primary, the New York Times reported.

The Clintons, who were once the ultimate Democratic political power couple, appear to have become victims of their own actions and ambitions.

Hillary Clinton faces the wrath of the liberal left, who have not forgotten the post-2016 revelation from former DNC chief Donna Brazile that the party worked to get Clinton the nomination over Bernie Sanders.

Hillary Clinton is throwing her weight into New York's gubernatorial primary favoring incumbent Andrew Cuomo over 'Sex and the City' actress Cynthia Nixon.

Actress Cynthia Nixon endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 but Clinton is not returning the favor, choosing Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the New York gubernatorial primary.

Bill Clinton has vanished from the campaign trail amid new scrutiny of his past transgressions with women and his remaining fury over Hillary's loss in 2016.

Bill Clinton has been sidelined because of new scrutiny of his past transgressions with women, according to the Times reported, and it's unclear if he'll get involved in the governor's race.

Hillary's blessing to Cuomo over Nixon is sure to add to the left's fury and to fears the establishment Democrats are working to stymie what they see as the heart and soul of the party.

Sanders has not endorsed Nixon but the group he founded, Our Revolution, has backed her bid to oust Cuomo from the Democratic nomination.

Ironically, Nixon endorsed Clinton over Sanders in the 2016 contest.

'I will be supportive of Hillary. I was an Obama supporter in 2008. I'm a Hillary person now,' the actress told Bloomberg News in 2015.

The Clinton brand has been damaged with Hillary's loss in 2016 and renewed scrutiny on Bill's relationships with women. They were absent in the high-profile Alabama Senate special election in December and in the special election for a Pennsylvania House seat in March.

The blue-collar 'Reagan Democrats' who put Bill into office were turned off by his wife and many of them voted from Donald Trump in 2016 instead.

Two powerful Democratic women in the Senate, who are running for reelection in states Trump won, have rebuffed Hillary.

Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota have been clear in their rebukes of the former secretary of state.

Heitkamp, asked in a radio interview when Hillary might 'ride off into the sunset,' responded: 'Not soon enough.'

Additionally young voters seemed turned off by Bill's relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and the subsequent fall out there. Lewinsky has remade her image since the controversial days in the 1990s, giving a highly popular TED talk and becoming an advocate against cyber bullying.

Hillary Clinton is endorsing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over Cynthia Nixon in the Democratic primary, a move that will likely infuriate the liberal left.

Bernie Sanders' supporters remain furious over Democratic Party influence in the 2016 primary that aided Hillary Clinton in getting the presidential nomination.

Trump has continued to use the couple as a favorite boogeyman, which has kept negative attention around their name.

But Hillary Clinton still has supporters, particularly in New York, a state she represented as a senator and remains popular. And that could heavily boost Cuomo, who needs Democrats to come out in the September 13 primary to back him over Nixon.

Bill Clinton, however, is said to still be so furious about the 2016 contest, the Times reported, that it's raised 'concerns that he could go wildly off message in campaign settings' and harm any candidate he campaigns for.A couple of years ago, I found myself at the most extraordinary of graduation ceremonies. The Open University, not realising, I suspect, that I had only a Third Class Degree, was awarding me an Honorary Doctorate. (I only confessed to my Third Class Degree afterwards!)

So there I was, dressed up like some academic butterfly in hood and gown, watching graduates coming up to receive their hard-earned degrees.

It was then I realised how different this degree ceremony was from others Ive attended, and just how much this moment meant to those walking past me, their families and their friends out there cheering them on.

It meant the world to them, young and old  and was even more special for me because among them was someone Id last seen 20 years before, when, as a nine-year-old from an inner city school, shed come to stay at Nethercott House, the Devon farm where my wife and I host groups introducing children to rural life and work.

It is the principle of a fair society that those who can help should support those who need that help. Education has helped make us this way, think this way

To witness her joy that day  the joy of all of them  was to have reconfirmed the purpose of lifetime education, and to feel all the more honoured to be a small part of an extraordinary institution.

This was the University of Hope, the place where anyone can get a degree if they work for it, no matter what background, no matter what age. Some were even older than me!

I attended just that single ceremony, but every year, at venues across the country, around 8,000 students take part in these joyous events. Every one of those graduates has a story to tell.

Many will know what it is to have missed out on a good education because of poor schools or home circumstances, and the reality of juggling day jobs and family life with study, working to complete assignments while others sleep or enjoy their weekends.

They have learned the hard way that to reach their goal requires sacrifices that many of us who went to traditional universities would never consider.

So the ceremonies are more than just a celebration of their own achievement, they are a celebration of joint success with others who know what donning that gown and walking onto that stage really means.

I was born into a world where higher education was free. In the Sixties, I had a grant from West Sussex County Council that enabled me to go to university. I was not a great student, but those precious years gave me more understanding of the world about me, and of myself.

All around me at Kings College London were teachers who knew and loved their subject, and many were good at passing it on. I may not have been academically talented but I grew up in the light of their wisdom and understanding. I was lucky, and I know it.

How the world has changed. In a country infinitely richer than it was then, we now charge our students an arm and a leg to go to university. We saddle them with debt.

Yes, I know the arguments. Many more young people now go to university than in the Sixties. Apparently, this country, the sixth richest economy in the world, cannot afford it.

And I know the other argument too. Why should the taxes of the many pay for the higher education of the few? Well, because the benefits of a well educated society should be of benefit to all of us, to society as a whole.

Of all the universities we have, the one I feel we should treasure most is the one that is most available to us all  and that is the Open University (OU). Founded by Harold Wilson in the late Sixties, in the face of opposition across the political divide, it has become the university of the people, and should be numbered, along with the 1944 Education Act, the BBC and the Governments early intervention initiative for children, Sure Start, as one of the greatest educational initiatives this country has made.

These movements between them have unquestionably enriched our nation and the lives of millions of people. They have helped spread wisdom and knowledge and understanding, and most of us have benefited from this. Not all of us, not enough of us, but most of us.

King Alfred, he who burnt the cakes all those years ago, was a brave, wise and good king, who was determined that wisdom must be restored in his kingdom; that without wisdom, nothing is worthwhile. He was right of course. He set out to bring literacy and education to the people. It was a noble ambition. But it is unfinished business.

In our times, the OU has been foremost among those institutions doing all it can to fulfil King Alfreds dreams of a country ever more united by education, where a good education is open to everyone regardless of income. Education is the pathway to wisdom.

If the citizens have wisdom, the country and society flourishes. Alfred knew that. We know that.

Michael Morpurgo (pictured) says the university 'opens hearts and minds, and changes lives'

We know that higher education should be available throughout our lives, yet the Open University is in crisis, obliged  like other universities  to charge ever higher fees to students after a withdrawal of central funding in higher education.

Its fees, once in the high hundreds, have risen to around 5,000 pa, and the number of students has fallen as a result.

In 2012, the OU had 242,079 students. By 2016/17, the number had fallen to 173,927. By some estimates, the OU has lost 600,000 students who might have been expected to start studying in that period.

Even the former universities minister, David Willetts, who oversaw a trebling in traditional university fees from 3,000 to 9,000, has confessed his regret at the impact on the OU, and agreed that the funding of part-time education needs to be reviewed.

I agree. In a world in which wisdom and knowledge and understanding should be ever more valued, successive governments have withdrawn support, and to the very people in our society who need it most. In doing so, I believe we are withdrawing from hope.

Someone very close to me, who had been through great difficulty in her life, recently studied at the Open University. Like me, she may not have come out with a distinguished degree, but the course did so much to lift her self-esteem, to increase her hunger for knowledge, to enrich her life.

The OU opens hearts and minds, and changes lives. If it is to continue doing its great work, cost must not inhibit students from signing up. Government  which, of course, means us as taxpayers  should step in to help.

It is the principle of a fair society that those who can help should support those who need that help. Education has helped make us this way, think this way. We pride ourselves on being a fair society.

So lets do what King Alfred would want us to do  to reach out and enable all of us, young, not so young, and old, to enjoy a fine and life-long education, which we all help to pay for through our taxes.

A truly fair society is a more contented society, and it is only created by education  that great pathway to wisdom, understanding and hope.

Sir Michael Morpurgo, author, playwright, poet, is an Honorary Doctor of the Open University.

www.farmsforcitychildren.orgA man caught with condoms, lollipops and sexual position dice has been arrested while allegedly grooming and trying to meet an underage girl for sex.

The alleged paedophile, 48, was caught in a police sting near a McDonald's restaurant at North Parramatta in Sydney's west just after 12pm on Monday.

Video footage of the man's arrest outside a children's playground shows detectives seizing flavoured 'party mix' condoms, a lollipop, explicit dice and a car seat.

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A man (pictured, left) caught with condoms, lollipops and sexual position dice has been arrested while allegedly trying to meet an underage girl for sex

Pictured are flavoured 'party mix' condoms, a lollipop and a dice displaying sexual positions allegedly seized by police

Pictured is a laptop allegedly seized by police during the arrest of an alleged paedophile, 48

A car seat was removed from a car searched during the arrest of a man on Monday outside a children's playground

The alleged paedophile (pictured, left), 48, was caught in a police sting at North Parramatta in Sydney's west just after 12pm on Monday

The operation began in April when detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad's Child Exploitation Internet Unit started to engage with the man online.

Police allege the man, from Sydney's Upper North Shore, believed he was speaking to a 14-year-old girl.

The man allegedly engaged in sexually-explicit conversations and broadcast explicit live video recordings.

Police will allege in court the man had made arrangements to meet the child for sex, New South Wales Police said.

Video footage of the man's arrest (pictured, left, right) outside a children's playground shows detectives seizing flavoured 'party mix' condoms, lollipops, explicit dice and a car seat

The operation began in April when detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad's Child Exploitation Internet Unit started to engage with the man (pictured, right) online

Following the arrest Strike Force Trawler detectives seized computers and electronic storage devices from a home in Waitara after executing a search warrant.

The 48-year-old man was taken to Parramatta Police Station and charged with use carriage service to procure child under 16 for sexual activity.

He appeared at Parramatta Local Court on Monday and was refused back to face the same court on July 19.

Strike Force Trawler, run by the Child Exploitation Internet Unit, investigates the sexual abuse and exploitation of children facilitated through the internet.The bomb squad have searched a bus in Melbourne's north after a man allegedly called police and refused to leave the vehicle.

Victoria Police said officers conducted a 'safety check' of the coach in Kalkallo, about 30km from the city centre.

The bus was travelling from Sydney to Melbourne when a male passenger in his 40's allegedly made a Triple-0 call at about 4.20am.

The bomb squad searched a bus (pictured) in Melbourne's north for a suspicious device after a man allegedly called police and refused to leave the vehicle

The man had been pacing up and down the isle and acted erratically during the 800km journey, passengers told Nine News.

The vehicle stopped in Mitchell Street where the other passengers were removed, but the man remained on board.

He was arrested after a brief stand-off and is assisting police with their inquiries.

The bomb response unit has now deemed the bus safe and police have taken the man to hospital for assessment.A man who threw a WWII grenade at a house while a baby and mother slept inside in a suspected gang attack has been pictured.

The man threw the M52 from the former Yugoslavia at a Yuonga Court home in Lalor, 18km north of Melbourne's centre, on November 19 last year.

Victoria Police released a computer generated image of the suspect behind the terrifying attack on Tuesday in the hope he would be recognised and handed in to officers.

A man who threw a WWII grenade at a house while a baby and mother slept inside in a suspected gang attack has been pictured

The police also released an image of the man's blue utility truck.

Police said the family narrowly escaped with their lives when the grenade bounced away from the house before exploding, 3AW reported.

Only minor damage was caused to the home and cars on the street.

Police said the attack was the first ever in Victoria which used a grenade and said it was extremely lucky no one was injured.

The police believe the attack was part of an ongoing gangland feud.

The police also released an image of the man's blue utility truck in their attempt to charge the attackerSix times as many students from London study medicine and dentistry as those from the North East, according to new data exposing a huge regional gap in university attendance.

The figures, from admissions body Ucas, reveal a teenagers chance of training as a doctor or another lucrative occupation depends heavily on where they live.

Overall, 81,000 students from London took up higher education places in 2017  compared with just 16,420 from the North East. It means London youngsters got five times as many places as those from the North East, and made up around one in five of all admissions.

A new study has uncovered a huge gap between the number of people taking elite university subjects from London and the North East

In medicine and dentistry, 1,585 places went to Londoners  24 per cent of admissions  while only 245 places (4 per cent) went to those from the North East.

The findings can partly be explained by population difference, as there are three times as many adults living in London as in the North East. Experts said last night the rest of the gap may be down to entrenched disadvantage in some regions.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity, said: These figures paint a worrying picture of a consistent and pervasive regional divide in access to university.

Talent isnt dependent on where you grow up, so its just not right that your chances of studying certain subjects at university are. We have to do more to widen opportunities for talented teenagers in areas like the North East to access our best universities.

Universities are still seeing many more people from affluent areas than poorer communities despite claims higher education is for everyone. Schools facing problems in deprived areas are not as able to produce children ready for higher education, it is claimed

The data shows the largest regional gaps in admissions were in subjects which lead to high-earning careers. In business and administration, 12,645 places went to Londoners, compared with 1,445 to those from the North East. And in mathematical sciences, 1,520 places went to Londoners, compared with 190 to those from the North East.

The figures come amid continued debate about a North-South divide, with concerns raised about opportunities for young people living in parts of the North of England.

A huge 1,585 medicine and dentistry university places went to Londoners or 24 per cent of admissions while only 245 places or 4 per cent were filled by those from the North East

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the figures reflect a familiar and deeply concerning pattern.

He added: Schools in disadvantaged areas frequently face extremely challenging circumstances, struggling to recruit and retain teachers and leaders. These areas and their schools need more targeted support. Their young people need to believe they can succeed.

The Department for Education said: Universities should be open for everyone with the talent and potential, regardless of their background or where they live. More people than ever before are going to university and entry rates for 18-year-olds from the North East increased by 26 per cent between 2010 and 2017.Steve Bannon, the former White House aide who was shoved out of Trumpworld after he disparaged the president's son, went on the attack Monday against Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin over a claim that the trade war with China is 'on hold.'

'For him to say the Trade War is 'on hold?' It misses the central point: Theyre in a trade war with us and it hasnt stopped,' Bannon told Bloomberg.

The former executive of Brietbart News said, 'Mnuchin has completely misread the geopolitical military and historical precedence and what President Trump had done was finally put the Chinese on their back heels.'

Bannon said that Trump's move to save Chinese firm ZTE and slap tariffs on Chinese goods 'has exposed the fundamental weakness of the Chinese economy and how its beholden to the West.'

'President Trump had played this magnificent,' he said. 'Hes changed the dynamic regarding China, but in one weekend Sec. Mnuchin has given it away. It would be stunning if President Trump agreed to all of this.'

Steve Bannon, the former White House aide who was shoved out of Trumpworld after he disparaged the president's son, went on the attack Monday against Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin over a claim that the trade war with China is 'on hold'

Bannon would not tell Bloomberg when the last time he spoke to the president was; the two men had a large-scale falling out after journalist Michael Wolff repeated in his book comments that Bannon made about Trump's son, Don Jr, being unpatriotic.

Mnuchin walked back the claim on Monday that the 'trade war' with China is on hold - but not in the direction that Bannon would have wanted.

The Treasury chief told CNBC that statement on 'Fox News Sunday' was a misspeak. 'It never was a trade war,' he said.

'What I would have really said is this has been a trade dispute all along,' he said of the Trump administration's bid to reduce its trade deficit with China by $200 billion.

After several days of meetings at the White House, Chinese negotiators promised the U.S. to open up trade in the agricultural and energy sectors. China also agreed to address the United States' intellectual property concerns.

'Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time,' the president tweeted on Monday.

Mnuchin walked back the claim on Monday that the 'trade war' with China is on hold. He said the statement on 'Fox News Sunday' was a misspeak, and 'It never was a trade war'

After several days of meetings at the White House, Chinese negotiators promised the U.S. to open up trade in the agricultural sector

The president said in tweets that the 'potential deal' that the U.S hammered out with Beijing would be a bonanza for America farmers.

The president said in tweets that the 'potential deal' that the U.S hammered out with Beijing would be a bonanza for America farmers.

'They will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce,' he said of the China.

Trump asserted that the prospective agreement with China includes 'massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products' and would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!'

The president's trade representatives blitzed the business networks on Monday morning trying to tamp down expectations, however, for a potential deal.

'What we agreed was a framework for going forward that had a number of elements to it. It had some specific thoughts on specific products which we'll be trying to flush out and it covered lots of other things, the intellectual property, forced technology transfers, a whole gamut of things,' Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Fox Business.

He added, 'But it's not a definitive agreement, it's a framework.'

'For the moment, it's kind of at the 40,000-foot level. This is not a definitive agreement,' he told the network. 'This what we hope will be a path forward. If it doesn't work, the tariffs will go into effect. So nothing's been lost at all.'

Ross said that $150 billion in punishments that Trump had been threatening, in addition to worldwide steel and aluminum tariffs, were being halted for the timebeing.

'Well, you can't be tariffing people at the same exact time that you're negotiating a detailed arrangement with them,' he said. 'Secretary Mnuchin said yesterday, there's a hold on tariffs for the moment.'

Appearing on CNBC later, Larry Kudlow, the president's chief economic adviser, said, 'Tariffs are suspended right now, as per Mr. Mnuchin. That's a good thing.'

'But you cannot remove tariffs as a negotiating tool or an enforcement tool from this process. You cannot do that. And therefore, I don't think we're saying tariffs are over. Far from it,' he said.

The president's trade representatives blitzed the business networks on Monday morning trying to tamp down expectations, however, for a potential deal, while Trump was on Twitter talking up one

Mnuchin told reporters at the White House that it is in fact just a framework that Ross will have to have to turn into a formal between businesses.

'This is not a government-to-government purchase order,' Mnuchin admitted.

He said he expects 35 to 40 percent increases in the agricultural sector, though, in the near future.

In his interview on Sunday, Mnuchin said he expects to see a boost of $50 billion to $60 billion in the next three to five years in the energy sector.

A communique after the meetings in Washington concluded did not include specific dollar amounts, and Beijing said it did not commit to Trump's $200 billion figure.

Kudlow said Sunday that both nations were using it 'as a rough ballpark estimate' despite Beijing's rejection of the full figure.

Appearing on another network, Mnuchin said he could not 'publicly disclose' what the target numbers are. But he said that Trump was privy to the conversation and what Beijing agreed to,

'He can always decide to put the tariffs back on if China doesn't go through with their commitments,' he said.

The trade 'dispute' with China began after Trump slapped $50 billion in tariffs on China over alleged intellectual property violations. China then outlined $50 billion in tariffs against the U.S. prompting Trump to threaten another $100 billion in new taxes.

Trade representatives from both sides have since sat down in Beijing and Washington to discuss alternatives.

Trump joined the talks at the White House last week after saying on Twitter that he was considering a lesser penalty for a Chinese telecommunications company that violated U.S. sanctions at the request of Chinese President Xi Jingping.

As he came under assault for mixing personal and government interests - China had just provided a $500 million loan to a development project that will benefit his family business - Trump said that he made the pledge in the context of the possible trade deal with China.

However, Mnuchin directly contradicted Trump on Sunday as he said, 'That was completely independent of our trade negotiations.'

'We didn't agree to any quid pro quo,' he promised.The academic President Trump called a 'spy' who reached out to key members of the Trump campaign with Russia links also had his resume floated for Trump ambassadorship.

Stefan Halper has been revealed to have kept tabs on Trump campaign contacts including George Papadopoulos and Carter Page, who both drew the interest of the FBI during the campaign due to their Russia contacts.

The Cambridge University professor also had his name put forward by Trump economic adviser Peter Navarro during the transition, Axios reported Monday.

Stefan Halper, a Cambridge University professor, had his name put forward for a Trump administration ambassadorship in Asia, Axios reported

Navarro, a China critic and himself an academic who serves as an assistant to Trump, forwarded Halper's resume during the transition, when insiders were being asked to fill senior and mid-level administration jobs.

Halper also visited the White House complex for a meeting about China, according to a White House official.

The White House ended the practice of releasing visitor logs to the public that would allow for a complete search.

It was not immediately clear what country in Asia Halper was recommended for.

Peter Navarro, director of the National Trade Council, pauses during a Bloomberg Television interview outside the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, March 28, 2018

A White House official downplayed the plug for the man Trump is now labeling a 'spy.'

'Recommending outside policy experts for roles within the administration is a pretty typical and routine action for White House officials,' a White House official is quoted as saying in the report.

If he had landed the nomination and been confirmed by the Senate, Halper the Trump administration would have been the fourth for Halper. He previously served in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations.

Trump has tweeted that the Justice Department put a 'spy' in his campaign.

'Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president. It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a hot Fake News story. If true - all time biggest political scandal!' he tweeted on Friday.

Papadopoulos sat down in London for dinner with Halper and was asked what he knew about Russians hacking Hillary Clinton's emails  a question that now appears part of a spy plot

Halper also cultivated a relationship with Carter Page, a Trump aide, and invited him to visit his home in Virginia

Navarro had Trump's ear during the campaign, and helped craft his tough-on-China strategy.

He has also been a force inside the White House, pushing for a tough approach to Chinese trade practices that helped bring a trade war that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin recently said was being put on pause.

Halper, had contacts with Trump campaign advisers including Papadopoulos, Carter Page and former national campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis.

During one of their dinners, Halper asked Papadopoulos whether he was involved in Russian hacking of Democratic emails, The Daily Caller reported.

'George, you know about hacking the emails from Russia, right?' he asked, according to multiple news reports.

The Washington Post and New York Times both reported Halper's existence as an informant but did not publish his identity. Halper's name had been circulating among reporters and others in Washington for weeks  as Republicans in Congress put pressure on the Justice Department to release the name and work product of the the FBI's informant.

STEFAN HALPER'S TARGETS IN TRUMPWORLD CIA-linked Cambridge professor Stefan Halper tried to get close to at least three Donald Trump advisers in 2016 and 2017, reportedly to learn for the FBI whether they were links between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Here's a look at some of the key figures in the latest drama in Trump-world: Stefan Halper Stefan Halper is an an academic who cultivated figures in Donald Trump's campaign Carter Page Carter Page was a Trump advisor that drew immediate interest of investigators due to his longstanding Russia ties. The New York Times reported that a government informant met with him several times during the campaign. He is mentioned repeatedly in the Steele dossier, and was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant that authorized monitoring of his activities. Former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page makes a presentation titled 'Departing from Hypocrisy: Potential Strategies in the Era of Global Economic Stagnation, Security Threats and Fake News' during his December 2016 visit to Moscow George Papadopoulos Papadopoulos was one of just a handful of early foreign policy advisors identified by President Trump at the start of his campaign. His boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe. Halper met with him several times during the campaign. Halper arranged for him to get paid $3,000 for a policy paper on energy issues, and emailed him about the status of the 'collusion' investigation George Papadopoulos, whose boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe Sam Clovis Halper met with Clovis offering to assist the campaign with his foreign policy expertise. Their conversations over coffee in northern Virginia focused on China, according to Clovis' lawyer. He served as co-chair of Trump's campaign and according to court records recruited Papadopoulos, a young aide without a long resume, to join the campaign. Sam Clovis ran for office in Iowa and hosted a conservative radio show, then co-chaired Donald Trump's campaign. He recruited George Papadopoulos to join the effort Advertisement

Halper's 2012 book, 'The Beijing Consensus: Legitimizing Authoritarianism in Our Time,' warns of the dangers of Chinese-style capitalism to the U.S. and its allies.One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has withdrawn her support for Malcolm Turnbull's company tax package.

The move could spell the end of the government's tax cut plan, and was accompanied by a long list of demands by Ms Hanson.

Ms Hanson, whose party controls three seats in the Senate, slammed the Federal Budget, saying it was built on 'eggshells' and could 'crash' any time.

Banks should pay for the royal commission rather than the taxpayer, and the government should implement Donald Trump-style corporate tax cuts, she said.

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Ms Hanson (pictured), whose party controls three seats in the Senate, slammed the Federal Budget, saying it was built on 'eggshells' and could 'crash' any time

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has withdrawn her support for Malcolm Turnbull's (pictured) company tax package

Concerns corporate tax cuts would not create stimulate new jobs were behind Ms Hanson's decision to reverse her March support for the plan, she told The Australian.

'This government is talking about it six or eight years down the track. Well, that's not good enough,' said Ms Hanson.

'The people in general don't want it. It has not been well received. The government has not been able to sell the package to the people and they haven't cut through.'

Ms Hanson raised Donald Trump's ability to quickly implement a corporate tax cut, questioning why the government needs to take until 2026-27.

Banks should pay for the royal commission rather than the taxpayer, and the government should implement Donald Trump-style corporate tax cuts, said Ms Hanson

In order for the government to regain Ms Hanson's support they need to meet a list of demands regarding immigration, pensioners and coal power.

Ms Hanson slammed the government for not 'pulling back' on immigration, saying it is what the people want.

She also called on the government to provide more for pensioners, force banks to pay for the royal commission, and overhaul the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax.

Poll Do you think the government should meet Pauline Hanson's demands? Yes No I don't know Do you think the government should meet Pauline Hanson's demands? Yes 105 votes

No 20 votes

I don't know 5 votes Now share your opinion





The budget should fund a coal-fired power station, and a new gas pipeline linking the west and east coasts should be built, she said.

Cabinet minister Peter Dutton on Tuesday denied Ms Hanson's comments means One Nation has killed off the package, saying negotiations are continuing.

'She is a wiley operator, Pauline. She will put out there she is supporting it, she is not supporting it, she is not supporting it,' he told Nine Network.

'She understands the benefit of tax cuts in an economy like ours.'

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann defended the slow implementation of corporate cuts, saying the government wanted to achieve both a return to surplus as soon as possible and provide certainty to business.

'Pauline Hanson and her team gave us very firm private and public commitments of support for this very important economic reform,' he told reporters in Canberra.

'Obviously, I hope that this is not the last word spoken on this and that we will be able to persuade Pauline Hanson and her team to go back to the position that they adopted earlier this year.'

Cabinet minister Peter Dutton (pictured) on Tuesday denied Ms Hanson's comments means One Nation has killed off the package, saying negotiations are continuing

One factor in Senator Hanson's apparent change of heart is her anger that the government did not provide budget funding for her proposed 1000-person apprenticeship pilot scheme.

Senator Cormann defended this saying it was contingent on the passage of the tax cuts legislation.

The government needs Senator Hanson's votes to secure the package with other crossbenchers and Labor opposed to the plan.

The One Nation leader's withdrawal of support for the government plan comes ahead of looming 'Super Saturday' by-elections crucial to the major parties.

Mathew Longman will seek to win the Queensland seat of Longman for One Nation, currently held by Labor with a margin of less than one per cent.An escaped baboon has been tranquilized at the San Antonio International Airport after it managed to escape its crate while being transported to a sanctuary.

The primate had just been flown in on an American Airlines flight from Chicago O'Hare, according to the San Antonio Express News.

It was being transported to the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Cotulla, Texas, when it broke free.

An escaped baboon (pictured) has been tranquilized at the San Antonio International Airport after it managed to escape its crate while being transported to a sanctuary

The primate (left) had just been flown in on an American Airlines flight from Chicago O'Hare. It was being transported to the Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Cotulla, Texas, when it broke free

Photos on social media showed the monkey wandering around outside the cargo area near a motorized cart.

The animal was able to evade authorities for nearly an hour, moving from the American Airlines facilities towards the United Airlines baggage area.

It was then cornered in the baggage handling area of Terminal B by officers from the San Antonio Police Department and animal care specialists from the San Antonio Zoo & Animal Care Services.

Eventually, wildlife experts were able to tranquilize the rogue money. It will now be transported to its new home.

Before the monkey was captured, American Airlines also released a statement that said officials from the zoo were onsite 'to ensure his safety and wellbeing as he continues his journey to his new home at the primate sanctuary'.

No flights were affected by the animal's escape and officials said passengers were never in any danger and neither was the monkey.

Photos on social media showed the monkey wandering around outside the cargo area near a motorized cart

Before the monkey was captured, American Airlines also released a statement that said officials from the zoo were onsite 'to ensure his safety and wellbeing as he continues his journey to his new home at the primate sanctuary'

This isn't the first incident involving a baboon in San Antonio.

Last month, four baboons escaped from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute after they worked together to use a 55-gallon barrel to break free, according to Express News.

Officials said at the time that the monkeys rolled the barrel so that it was standing upright near a wall in their open-air enclosure and then used it to climb up and over the wall.

The barrel was put in the enclosure as an enrichment tool to help the baboons mimic foraging behavior. But it has since been removed.A defense attorney for the Texas high school shooter claims his client was utterly clueless when asked about a girl he shot and killed who was said to have rejected his repeated advances.

Nicholas Poehl has said there is still no motive for the Friday shooting brought on by 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis that claimed the lives of ten at Santa Fe High School.

The defense attorney denied rumors suggesting Pagourtzis was seeking revenge on one girl he had eyes for, but turned him down.

'I will say that my client did not recognize the name Shana Fisher,' Poehl said in a statement seen on NBC News.

Fisher had just celebrated her 16th birthday days before she was killed in the attack during a first period art class.

Her mother, Sadie Rodriguez, said her daughter had been fending off Pagourtzis' advances for months prior.

Left: A mugshot of Santa Fe High School shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis is shown, who law enforcement officials took into custody Friday, May 18, 2018. A girl he had eyes for, Shana Fisher, is pictured right, who was one of ten victims to die Friday

Shana Fisher, who turned 16 this month, was in art class when the shooting began at Santa Fe High School

The suspect, who relatives have described as a 'quiet and 'sweet' person, became more pushy with Fisher recently, before she publicly rejected him during class one day.

The alleged humiliating incident took place one week prior to the shooting, Rodriguez said.

Poehl has suggested that Pagourtzis is 'still in a state' and unable to think or speak clearly.

The defense attorney blamed his mental health state while suggesting he is still confused about what happened over the weekend.

'I think that there is definitely something going on in terms of mental health history,' Poehl said.

Lawyers for Texas shooting suspect speak out. Nicholas Poehl (right) claimed his client wasn't motivated by the girl who spurned him

Fischer's mother, Sadie Rodriguez, said her daughter had been fending off Pagourtzis' advances for months prior

Rodriguez has claimed her daughter was the first person Pagourtzis shot when he opened fire during art class

Poehel added that he was not aware of the alleged confrontation with Fischer that occurred at school and would not comment further on the matter.

Charging documents stated that Pagourtzis confessed to the shooting. He told investigators he kept the students he liked alive so he could 'have his story told'.

Rodriguez claimed Fischer was the first person Pagourtzis gunned down.

'A week later he opens fire on everyone he didn't like... Shana being the first one,' the distraught mother told the Los Angeles Times.

In this May 18, 2018, file photo, law enforcement officers respond to Santa Fe High School after an active shooter was reported on campus in Santa Fe, Texas

The Santa Fe High junior, who often wore a trench coat to school, hid a shotgun and handgun in the jacket before he opened fire Friday.

Pagourtzis opened fire during a morning art class, according to an affidavit filed by police. Witnesses said they first heard a shotgun blast through the art room door.

The shooting lasted about 30 minutes in a warren of interconnected classrooms, new witness accounts revealed.

It seems Pagourtzis also planned to kill himself, officials said, but collapsed in cowardly fear when confronted by police.

The suspect is now being held without bond for capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant.Households could be banned from burning dirty fuels in a bid to improve air quality.

Town halls will be given powers to prohibit the sale of highly-polluting wet wood and any coal that is not smokeless.

Wood-burning stoves, which are increasingly found in middle-class homes, have been blamed for toxic air.

Wood-burning stoves, which are increasingly found in middle-class homes, have been blamed for toxic air (file picture)

Launching a strategy to crack down on air pollution, Michael Gove will today say it shortens lives and is the fourth-biggest killer behind cancer, obesity and heart disease. The Environment Secretarys blueprint includes:

Long-awaited powers for councils to charge drivers of diesel vehicles in congested areas;

A messaging system to alert the elderly and the vulnerable to the prospect of poor air conditions;

Moves to tackle toxic microplastics left behind by car tyres and brakes;

A warning that air pollution is contributing to a national health crisis.

Around 1.5million British homes have wood-burning stoves and 200,000 more are sold every year.

Many are marketed as green, but wood that has not been dried out burns at a lower temperature, creating more smoke and dangerous particles. A Government survey in 2016 found that 7.5 per cent of households in London burned wood.

Home fires are the single biggest source of particles that contribute to lung and heart disease. They are estimated to cause 29,000 early deaths a year. Around 38 per cent of UK emissions of damaging particles in the air are linked to the burning of wood and coal at home.

Launching a strategy to crack down on air pollution, Michael Gove (pictured yesterday) will say it shortens lives and is the fourth-biggest killer behind cancer, obesity and heart disease

New regulations could lay down the maximum moisture content of logs and stipulate more environmentally-friendly designs for stoves.

Councils will also have powers to ban coal which is not smokeless.

Government officials estimate that the measures will stop 8,000 tons of harmful particulate matter entering the atmosphere every year.

Mr Gove is expected to say today that the plans will cut the cost to society of air pollution by as much as 2.5billion a year from 2030.

He will add: Air quality has improved significantly since 2010 but 60 years on from the historic Clean Air Act a clear truth remains  air pollution is making people ill, shortening lives and damaging our economy and environment.

Mr Gove will say that 60 years on from the historic Clean Air Act air pollution is making people ill, shortening lives and damaging our environment

This is why today we are launching this clean air strategy, backed up with new primary legislation.

It sets out the comprehensive action required across all parts of government to improve air quality.

Government cannot act alone in tackling air pollution. Our strategy sets out how we will work with businesses, farmers, industry and households to develop innovative new solutions to reduce emissions.

It also highlights how we can all take action and play an important role in cleaning up our air.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: Air pollution is contributing to a national health crisis.

If we fail to take decisive action, we risk more of our children suffering from asthma, and patients needlessly ending up in hospital.

The blueprint will set out new standards for tyres and brakes that disintegrate and pollute our air and water with microplastics.

Highly-pollution vehicles in London now pay a daily charge imposed by Mayor Sadiq Khan (pictured) while diesel drivers in an ultra-low emissions zone will face a 12 charge next yaer

London mayor Sadiq Khan has imposed a 10 daily charge on highly-polluting vehicles. From next year diesel drivers who enter an ultra low emissions zone will face a 12 charge.

Up to 33 councils could be given powers to charge drivers of polluting vehicles, but only a handful are expected to use them.

Last night health campaigners welcomed the move but said vehicle emissions were the big issue and called for a diesel scrappage scheme.

Alison Cook of the British Lung Foundation warned ministers not to lose focus on transport as a main culprit for air pollution.

Oliver Hayes of Friends of the Earth said: This is supposed to be a strategy to lower air pollution from a wide range of sources, but measures to reduce road traffic are conspicuous by their absence.

Road vehicles are a key source of deadly particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide pollution; failure to properly address this shows a fundamental lack of ambition.

Council leaders welcomed the move but called for robust national action.

The ban on wet wood will not require an act of parliament and could come into force within months, on a gradual basis. A 1kg log can contain up to a pint of water, Environment Department officials said. The exact level for the ban has not been decided, but it could include all wood that contains more than 20 per cent moisture.CIA-linked Cambridge professor Stefan Halper tried to get close to at least three Donald Trump advisers in 2016 and 2017, reportedly to learn for the FBI whether they were links between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Here's a look at some of the key figures in the latest drama in Trump-world:

Stefan Halper

Stefan Halper is an an academic who cultivated figures in Donald Trump's campaign

Carter Page

Carter Page was a Trump advisor that drew immediate interest of investigators due to his longstanding Russia ties. The New York Times reported that a government informant met with him several times during the campaign.

He is mentioned repeatedly in the Steele dossier, and was the subject of a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant that authorized monitoring of his activities.

Former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page makes a presentation titled 'Departing from Hypocrisy: Potential Strategies in the Era of Global Economic Stagnation, Security Threats and Fake News' during his December 2016 visit to Moscow

George Papadopoulos

Papadopoulos was one of just a handful of early foreign policy advisors identified by President Trump at the start of his campaign. His boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe. Halper met with him several times during the campaign.

Halper arranged for him to get paid $3,000 for a policy paper on energy issues, and emailed him about the status of the 'collusion' investigation

George Papadopoulos, whose boozy chat with the top Australian diplomat in London helped kick off the Russia probe

Sam Clovis

Halper met with Clovis offering to assist the campaign with his foreign policy expertise. Their conversations over coffee in northern Virginia focused on China, according to Clovis' lawyer. He served as co-chair of Trump's campaign and according to court records recruited Papadopoulos, a young aide without a long resume, to join the campaign.The first permanent immigrant to our solar system has been spotted by astronomers.

The space rock is currently trapped in Jupiter's orbit and is the first known asteroid to have been captured from another star system.

While the cigar-shaped 'Oumuamua was an interstellar interloper that passed through our system last year, the new object, dubbed 2015 BZ509, is here to stay.

Researchers said the asteroid hopped to the solar system 4.5 billion years ago while the sun was still part of a tightly packed cluster of stars.

These star systems were so close together that they frequently shared asteroids and other material before later becoming distant neighbours as the universe expanded.

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The first known permanent immigrant to our solar system has been spotted by astronomers. Asteroid 2015 BZ509 (circled in yellow) is currently trapped in Jupiter's orbit and is the first known asteroid to have been captured from another star system

The researchers, from institutions in France and Brazil, said they identified the intertsellar asteroid after they noticed it had an unusual orbit.

All eight planets in the solar system, as well as the vast majority of other space objects, travel around the sun in the same direction.

However 2015 BZ509 is different - it moves in the opposite direction in what is known as a 'retrograde' orbit.

'How the asteroid came to move in this way while sharing Jupiter's orbit has until now been a mystery,' said study lead author Dr Fathi Namouni, a researcher at the Nice Observatory in France.

'If 2015 BZ509 were a native of our system, it should have had the same original direction as all of the other planets and asteroids, inherited from the cloud of gas and dust that formed them.'

The team ran simulations to trace the location of 2015 BZ509 right back to the birth of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago when the era of planet formation ended.

This is an image of stellar nursery NGC 604 (NASA/HST), where star systems are closely packed and asteroid exchange is thought to be possible. Asteroid 2015 BZ 509 emigrated from its parent star and settled around the sun in a similar environment billions of years ago

The computer models showed that 2015 BZ509 has always moved with this orbit, and so could not have formed alongside the planets in the solar system.

This means the rocky object must have been captured from elsewhere.

'Asteroid immigration from other star systems occurs because the sun initially formed in a tightly-packed star cluster, where every star had its own system of planets and asteroids,' said Dr Helena Morais, a researcher at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil and the paper's other author.

The researchers, from institutions in France and Brazil, said they identified the intertsellar asteroid (circled in yellow) after they spotted its unusual orbit

'The close proximity of the stars, aided by the gravitational forces of the planets, help these systems attract, remove and capture asteroids from one another.'

Scientists said they are unsure which star system the interloper came from, and don't know how far it travelled to reach our own system.

Dr Namouni told MailOnline this was the 'next step' for the team as they attempt to decipher the origin of BZ509.

'We will be simulating the tightly-packed star cluster that the solar system formed in and try and capture asteroids from other systems,' she said.

Explained: The difference between an asteroid, meteorite and other space rocks An asteroid is a large chunk of rock left over from collisions or the early solar system. Most are located between Mars and Jupiter in the Main Belt. A comet is a rock covered in ice, methane and other compounds. Their orbits take them much further out of the solar system. A meteor is what astronomers call a flash of light in the atmosphere when debris burns up. This debris itself is known as a meteoroid. Most are so small they are vapourised in the atmosphere. If any of this meteoroid makes it to Earth, it is called a meteorite. Meteors, meteoroids and meteorites normally originate from asteroids and comets. For example, if Earth passes through the tail of a comet, much of the debris burns up in the atmosphere, forming a meteor shower. Advertisement

'If we manage to do that then we will know how long it travelled.'

The discovery of the first permanent asteroid immigrant in the solar system has important implications for the open problems of planet formation, solar system evolution, and possibly the origin of life itself.

Understanding exactly when and how 2015 BZ509 settled in the solar system provides clues about the sun's original star nursery.

It also sheds light on the potential enrichment of our early environment with components necessary for the appearance of life on Earth.Sam Selvon, the Trinidadian writer known for his 1956 novel The Lonely Londoners which told the story of Caribbean immigrants and the Windrush generation, has been celebrated in the Google Doodle for May 21, 2018.

The term Windrush generation refers to the Caribbean people who arrived in the UK between 1948 and 1971 and UK Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to apologise after deportation threats were made against the children of Commonwealth citizens, who had worked in the UK for decades.

Sam Selvons The Lonely Londoners tells the story of this generation who arrived in Britain with hope, but found themselves struggling despite the enactment of the British Nationality Act. But who is Sam Selvon?

Sam Selvon, the Trinidadian writer known for his 1956 novel The Lonely Londoners which told the story of Caribbean immigrants and the Windrush generation, is being celebrated

Who is Sam Selvon?

Born Samuel Dickson Selvon on May 20, 1923 in San Fernando in the south of Trinidad, he left school at the age of 15 to work as a wireless operator for the Royal Naval Reserve during the Second World War.

Following this, Selvon worked as a reporter for the Trinidad Guardian in the Port of Spain and then began writing stories and literary pieces, under pseudonyms like Michael Wentworth, Esses, Ack-Ack and Big Buffer.

In the 1950s, Sam Selvon moved to London and secured a job at the Indian Embassy, while he continued writing poetry and short stories which appeared in a number of publications like the London Magazine, New Statesman and The Nation.

Selvon also produced two scripts for the BBC, Anansi the Spiderman and Home Sweet India, before becoming a creative writing fellow at the University of Dundee for two years from 1975. After a move to Alberta, Canada, he worked as creative writing visiting professor at the University of Victoria.

Being largely ignored by the Canadian literary movement, he was forced to take a job as a janitor at the University of Calgary in Alberta.

After returning to Trinidad, Selvon died of respiratory failure after contracting pneumonia and lung disease on April 16, 1994 at Piarco International Airport in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Google Doodle for May 21, 2018 celebrates Sam Selvon on what would have been his 95th birthday

The Lonely Londoners

Sam Selvon is known for his novels The Lonely Londoners, published in 1956 and Moses Ascending in 1975. Other notable works include A Brighter Sun, Ways of Sunlight, Turn Again Tiger and Those Who Eat the Cascadura.

The Lonely Londoners retells the story of West Indian migration to Britain in the 1950s and 1960s and discusses the multicultural nature of London, in addition to the class and racial divides evident in the city.

In the text, Selvon used the Caribbean creolised English or nation language, which soon became a style he used in later works of fiction.

What is a Google Doodle?

The Google Doodle for May 21, 2018 celebrates Sam Selvon on what would have been his 95th birthday.

Illustrated by guest artist Jayesh Sivan, the Google logo has been transformed to depict the Caribbean migrant community against the backdrop of London.

Illustrated by guest artist Jayesh Sivan , the Google logo has been transformed to depict the Caribbean migrant community against the backdrop of London

Google Doodles were first introduced when the Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin wanted to mark their visit to the 1998 Burning Man Festival in California.

Now, Google Doodles honour internationally recognised people and mark events around the world with illustrations on the Google homepage, that are incorporated into the Google logo.

A team of illustrators, designers, animators or guest artists, like Jayesh Sivan, work on the Google Doodles and the logos are hyperlinked to a page that provides more information about the cultural event celebrated.

Recent Google Doodles include Alfonso Reyes, Tamara Lempicka and Maria Reiche.The historic city of Oxford will be the first in the world to trial pop-up electric vehicle charging points on residential streets.

Oxford City Council says it is 'thrilled' to have secured almost half a million pounds for the retractable charging bollards.

The 470,000 ($630,000) cash injection will help develop the system, which will be app-operated, with the bollards retreating underground when not in use.

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Oxford City Council says it is 'thrilled' to have secured almost half a million pounds for the retractable charging bollards (pictured). They have been developed by electric vehicle charging firm Urban Electric and target the 43 per cent of UK homes with on-street parking

The bollards have been developed by electric vehicle charging firm Urban Electric, with the 43 per cent of UK homes who have only on-street car parking in mind.

And the trial will see Oxford become the first city to use the UEone bollards, with 20 of the charging points installed on residential streets across the city.

Oxford City Council, alongside Urban Electric and product design company Duku, won a bid to receive the funding from Innovate UK, the Government's innovation agency.

Now, the city council is calling for residents who wish to take part in the trial to get in touch.

Tom Hayes, council board member for safer and greener environment, said: 'I'm thrilled that the council has secure funding to support the world's first pop-up electric vehicle charging points trial.

'We have set ourselves the big goal of introducing the world's first zero-emissions zone to clean up our toxic and illegal air.

'But we will only achieve that goal if we support and encourage local drivers to replace their older polluting vehicles with cleaner versions.

'Everything Oxford does to tackle emissions has to be practical if it's going to be effective - and this sits within our practical approach to cleaning up our dirty air.'

The historic city of Oxford will be the first in the world to trial pop-up electric vehicle charging points on residential streets. it is part of the city's council to reduce air pollution and further lower Oxford's toxic emissions (stock)

The project will cost 600,000 ($800,000) in total, with the remaining funding coming from Urban Electric via private investment.

The council's Sustainable Cities team will work with the authority's company Oxford Direct Services and Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) to install them.

The UEone project will support the Go Ultra Low trial, which is being coordinated by the city council and Oxfordshire County Council.

As part of Go Ultra Low, 100 electric vehicle charging points are being installed in residential streets across Oxford - another project thought to be a world first on that scale.

All projects aim to reduce air pollution and further lower Oxford's toxic emissions.

In March, the Government pledged to adopt a 'more formal approach' to support the city council to tackle Oxford's illegal levels of air pollution.

Olivier Freeling-Wilkinson, a co-founder of Urban Electric, said: 'The cheapest, most convenient and grid-friendly way to charge an electric vehicle is at home.

'And yet, up to 85 per cent of households in some urban residential areas cannot do so because they park on-street.'Japan is poised to flood the Pacific Ocean with one million tons of radioactive water contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear plant.

Storage space at the abandoned facility is running dangerously low as officials race to secure the nearly 160 tons of contaminated water produced at the plant per day.

As space for tanks dwindles the Japanese government and the plant's owner Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) may decide to dump treated water into the ocean.

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Japan is poised to flood the Pacific Ocean with one million tons of radioactive water contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear plant. This image shows the transportation of one of the plant's large steel storage tanks

Tepco plans to secure 1.37 million tons of storage capacity by the end of 2020, but it has not yet decided on a plan for after 2021.

At a Fukushima committee meeting on Friday, Akira Ono, chief decommissioning officer of Tepco, said: 'It is impossible to continue to store [treated water] forever.'

At the safety meeting an expert committee set up by the industry ministry discussed dumping the contaminated waste into the Pacific.

Japan News reports that one committee member said: 'While the fishery industry [in Fukushima and other prefectures] is in the process of revival, should we dispose of [the treated water] now?'

Another said: 'In order to advance the decommissioning, the number of tanks should be decreased at an early date.'

The number of storage tanks for contaminated water and other materials has steadily risen at the Fukushima plant on Japan's east coast.

Storage space (pictured) at the abandoned facility is running dangerously low as officials race to secure the nearly 160 tons of contaminated water produced at the plant per day

WHAT WAS JAPAN'S 2011 FUKUSHIMA NUCLEAR DISASTER? In 2011, a 33ft (10m)-high tsunami that killed nearly 19,000 people crashed into Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant. This led to several meltdowns, allowing harmful radioactive fuel rods and debris to escape from contained areas. Approaching a decade after the disaster, researchers are still struggling to clean up fuel in the waters of the wasting reactors. Pictured is an aerial view of the reactors of the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant stand in Okuma, Fukushima It's estimated that plant officials have only located 10 per cent of the waste fuel left behind after the nuclear meltdowns. And the damaged plant is believed to be leaking small amounts of the radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean, which could be travelling as far as the west coast of the United States. Researchers are now pinning their hopes on remote-controlled swimming robots to locate the lost fuel in order to work out the safest way to remove it. The government has lifted evacuation orders for much of the region affected by the meltdown, except for some no-go zones with high radiation levels. Authorities are encouraging evacuees to return, but the population in the Fukushima prefecture has more than halved from some two million in the pre-disaster period. Advertisement

Meltdowns following a 10-metre-high (33ft) tsunami in the region in 2011 released harmful radioactive fuel rods and debris from contained areas.

Groundwater continues to enter the leaking reactor buildings, producing around 160 tons of radioactive water per day that must be collected and safely stored.

While most contaminants can be removed through purification devices, tritium - a radioactive isotope of hydrogen - cannot be removed for technical reasons.

As space for tanks dwindles the Japanese government and the plant's owner Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) may decide to dump treated water into the ocean

As the amount of treated or 'tritium' water continues to rise officials have struggled to come to an agreement on what should be done with the waste.

Storage tanks at Fukushima currently have a capacity of around 1.13 million tons, with about 80 per cent - 1.13 million tons - of space designated for treated water.

Space for tanks has been expanded by clearing forest and debris, leaving around 230,000 square metres (2.4 million sq ft) of space, but there is now almost none left.

Tritium is found in tap water and exists naturally in sea beds and rivers.

The isotope is produced as part of normal operations at nuclear plants and is often diluted and released into the ocean or elsewhere as part of waste management.

Tepco plans to secure 1.37 million tons of storage capacity by the end of 2020, but it has not yet decided on a plan for after 2021

Currently the Tritium water produced at Fukushima is ten times the national standard for ocean dumping of treated waste.

Further dilutions to the stored water could make it suitable for ocean deposits.

Other ideas discussed during Friday's meeting include release by evaporation, release following electrolysis treatment and burial ungerground.

The meeting was the committee's seventh since it was set up 18 months ago, but the group is yet to reach a conclusion on what to do with the treated water.

Members plan to hold public meetings to gather citizens' views on the matter later this year.Magic mushrooms, known by many as 'shrooms', have long been touted as a potential treatment for battling anxiety and depression.

A new study has found that psilocybin-based treatment, the primary substance in the mushrooms, can improve emotional processing in depressed patients.

The drug can transform the way a person experiences the world by producing changes in mood, sensory perception, time perception, and sense of self.

Research has found psilocybin-based treatment, the primary substance in 'magic mushrooms', can improve emotional processing in depressed patients

Previous research has found that people struggling with depression have difficulties accurately reading social cues such as facial expressions, and tend to interpret them in more negative light.

Popular treatments for depression include selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs), and have been proven to reverse the negative bias.

A study of 17 patients with treatment-resistant depression, published in Psychopharmacology, found that psilocybin treatment along with psychological support was associated with better recognition of emotional faces.

Researchers showed patients static color photographs of six male and six female white actors that were morphed to create six dynamic emotional stimuli expressing happiness, neutrality, sadness, anger, disgust, or fear.

Patients who received the treatment were better able to categorizes faces showing the emotions.

The study also gave a placebo treatment to 16 people. They showed no improvement.

'Prior to treatment with psilocybin, depressed patients in this trial were shown to have a global deficit in processing emotional faces as compared with healthy controls, as reflected in longer reaction times to identify all emotion types,' the researchers explained.

'We observed a reaction time improvement post-treatment for all emotion types in depressed patients.'

Popular treatments for depression include selective serotonin and noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and SNRIs), and have been proven to reverse the negative bias. Pictured: Popular antidepressant Prozac

HAVE SCIENTISTS UNRAVELED THE 'RECIPE' FOR 'MAGIC SHROOMS'? Research over the last few decades has suggested that the compound psilocybin may have a number of therapeutic benefits, with potential to help treat anxiety, depression, and even addiction. But until now, the recipe for psilocybin has remained a mystery. In a new study, scientists have characterized the four enzymes mushrooms use to make this compound for the first time, setting the stage for pharmaceutical production of the powerful psychedelic fungal drug. Scientists have characterized the four enzymes mushrooms use to make psilocybin After identifying and characterizing the enzymes behind psilocybin, the team from Friedrich Schiller University Jena was able to develop the first enzymatic synthesis of the compound, reports C&EN, a publication from the American Chemical Society. To get to the correct recipe, the team in the new study sequenced the genomes of two mushroom species. Then, they used engineered bacteria and fungi to confirm gene activity and the order of the synthetic steps, according to C&EN. Their efforts revealed a new enzyme, dubbed PsiD strips carbon dioxide from the tryptophan, while another adds a hydroxyl group  or, oxygen and hydrogen. Another enzyme, known as PsiK acts as a catalyst for phosphotransfer. Then, an enzyme known as PsiM catalyzes the transfer of methyl groups. Based on their discovery, the researchers developed a 'one-pot reaction' to create psilocybin from 4-hydroxy-L-tryptophan, using three of the enzymes: PsiD, PsiK, and PsiM. According to the team, the results could now lay the foundation for the production of pharmaceutical drugs based on psychedelic mushrooms. Advertisement

Some researchers say magic mushrooms are the safest recreational drug to take.

An international study found that just one in 500 people will be taken to hospital on the back of dodgy side-effects of the hallucinogenic.

This is around five times lower than that for the more popular party drugs MDMA, LSD and cocaine, it is believed.

However, the drug is still illegal throughout much of the world, including in the United States, Canada, Australia and most of the European Union.The 'explosion' of complex life on Earth was much slower than previously thought and took around 40 million years, according to new research.

The 'Cambrian explosion' is one of the most significant events in the planet's 4.5-billion-year history and ultimately led to the arrival of complex animals like humans.

New research shows the event - which took place between 500 and 540 million years ago - was a much more gradual process than first thought.

The timing changes how we view and interpret the emergence of euarthropods, the most important group since the dawn of animals, during the explosion.

By working out which groups developed first we can trace the evolution of physical characteristics like limbs.

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Pictured are fossils of the euarthropod Anomalocaris canadensis. The top left fossil is a frontal appendage while bottom right shown a full-body specimen with a pair of frontal appendages (white arrows) and mouthparts consisting of plates with teeth (black arrow) on the head

The euarthropods include the insects, crustaceans, spiders, marine creatures called trilobites and a huge diversity of other species that sprung into existence after the Cambrian explosion.

They comprise more than 80 per cent of all species and are key components of all of Earth's modern ecosystems.

The new fossil study is the most comprehensive of its kind and sheds fresh light on their emergence - showing a gradual radiation.

Professor Allison Daley, of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, said: 'This indicates the Cambrian Explosion - rather than being a sudden event - unfolded gradually over the 40 million years of the lower to middle Cambrian.'

The study analysed early euarthropods from every different possible type of fossil preservation.

It contradicts two major theories of early animal evolution by showing - taken together - the radiation of euarthropods during the early Cambrian was gradual.

The 'explosion' of complex life on Earth took 40 million years - much slower than previously thought. The timing changes how we view and interpret the emergence of euarthropods like Anomalocaris canadensis (artist's impression)

The first hypothesis suggests a similarly slow evolution of euarthropods but starting 650 to 600 million years ago - consistent with earlier fossil dating estimates.

The other claims the euarthropods appeared almost instantaneously 540 million years ago as a result of highly elevated rates of evolution.

The latest findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicate a middle-ground.

WHAT WAS THE 'CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION'? Scientists have long speculated that a large oxygen spike during the 'Cambrian Explosion' was key to the development of many animal species. The Cambrian Explosion, around 541 million years ago, was a period when a wide variety of animals burst onto the evolutionary scene. Before about 580 million years ago, most organisms were simple, composed of individual cells occasionally organised into colonies. Over the following 70 or 80 million years, the rate of evolution accelerated and the diversity of life began to resemble that of today. It ended with the Cambrian-Ordovician extinction event, approximately 488 million years ago. Advertisement

Professor Daley's team - which included colleagues at Lausanne University in Switzerland - dated the origin of euarthropods to no earlier than 550 million years ago.

The subsequent diversification took place over the next 40 million years, they said.

Professor Daley said: 'Each of the major types of fossil evidence has its limitation and they are incomplete in different ways.

'But when taken together they are mutually illuminating and allow a coherent picture to emerge of the origin and radiation of the euarthropods during the lower to middle Cambrian.'

Euarthropods like Peytoia (artist's impression; full body bottom right, mouth appendage top left) are the most important group since the dawn of animals. By working out which groups developed first we can trace the evolution of physical characteristics like limbs

It has been argued that the absence of euarthropods from the Precambrian Period - earlier than around 540 million years ago - is the result of a lack of fossil preservation. The study suggests this isn't the case.

Dr Greg Edgecombe, of the Natural History Museum in London who was not involved in the research, said: 'The idea arthropods are missing from the Precambrian fossil record because of biases in how fossils are preserved can now be rejected.'

'The authors make a very compelling case that the late Precambrian and Cambrian are in fact very similar in terms of how fossils preserve.

'There is really just one plausible explanation - arthropods hadn't yet evolved.'

Co-author Harriet Drage, a PhD student in zoology at Oxford University, said: 'When it comes to understanding the early history of life the best source of evidence we have is the fossil record which is compelling and very complete around the early to middle Cambrian.

'It speaks volumes about the origin of euarthropods during an interval of time when fossil preservation was the best it has ever been.'Google has all but removed a core principle from its employee code of conduct and people are taking notice.

For the last 18 years, the Silicon Valley giant has put the phrase 'Don't be evil' front and center in its code of conduct as a way of demonstrating that it wants Googlers to strive to do the right thing.

That has since changed, however, as Google updated its code of conduct to only briefly mention the phrase, according to Gizmodo, which first spotted the move.

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Google has all but removed a core principle -- 'Don't be evil' -- from its employee code of conduct. It's now referenced in a single sentence at the bottom of the document

In previous iterations of its code of conduct, Google dedicated several paragraphs to the principle.

'Don't be evil' was first added to the company's corporate code of conduct in 2000 and was highly touted by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin over the years.

A version of the phrase even served as the WiFi password for the shuttles that transport Google employees to its Mountain View, California-based headquarters, Gizmodo reported.

Now, it's been relegated to a single sentence at the end of Google's code of conduct -- a move that's surprising many.

'Google aspires to be a different kind of company. It's impossible to spell out every possible ethical scenario we might face,' the company's code of conduct reads.

'Instead, we rely on one another's good judgment to uphold a high standard of integrity for ourselves and our company'

The phrase 'Don't be evil' now appears at the bottom of Google's code of conduct (pictured). It's believed that Google made the change sometime between April 21 and May 4

Google began distancing itself from the phrase in 2015 when it was announced that the firm would be overseen by parent company Alphabet. As part of the move, it also was also announced that Sundar Pichai (pictured) would take over as CEO of Google

'We expect all Googlers to be guided by both the letter and the spirit of this Code'

'Sometimes, identifying the right thing to do isn't an easy call'

'...Don't be evil, and if you see something that you think isn't right -- speak up!', the letter continues.

According to the internet archive Wayback Machine, the change was made sometime between April 21 and May 4.

The code of conduct webpage noted that it was last updated April 5, however.

Google seemed to start distancing itself away from 'Don't be evil' a few years back.

In 2015, it was announced that Google would be reorganized under a new parent company, Alphabet, which now oversees the search giant, as well as other subsidiaries, including self-driving car firm Waymo, artificial intelligence unit DeepMind and the moonshot lab, X, among other segments.

As a result, Google began highlighting the phrase 'Do the right thing' instead of 'Don't be evil'.

Google parent company Alphabet has emphasized the principle 'Do the right thing' instead of 'Don't be evil' in recent years. Google introduced 'Don't be evil' in its code of conduct in 2000

WHERE DID GOOGLE'S 'DON'T BE EVIL' PHRASE ORIGINATE? For the last 18 years, the Silicon Valley giant has put the phrase 'Don't be evil' front and center in its code of conduct as a way of demonstrating that it wants Googlers to strive to do the right thing. 'Don't be evil' was first added to the company's corporate code of conduct in 2000 and was highly touted by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin over the years. The firm dedicated several paragraphs to the phrase in its code of conduct. But that has changed as part of an update to the code, made last month, which downgrades 'Don't be evil' to a single sentence at the bottom of the document. Here are the original paragraphs explaining Google's 'Don't be evil' principle: 'Dont be evil.' Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But 'Dont be evil' is much more than that. Yes, its about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But its also about doing the right thing more generally  following the law, acting honorably, and treating co-workers with courtesy and respect. The Google Code of Conduct is one of the ways we put 'Dont be evil' into practice. Its built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct. We set the bar that high for practical as well as aspirational reasons: Our commitment to the highest standards helps us hire great people, build great products, and attract loyal users. Trust and mutual respect among employees and users are the foundation of our success, and they are something we need to earn every day. So please do read the Code, and follow both its spirit and letter, always bearing in mind that each of us has a personal responsibility to incorporate, and to encourage other Googlers to incorporate, the principles of the Code into our work. And if you have a question or ever think that one of your fellow Googlers or the company as a whole may be falling short of our commitment, dont be silent. We want  and need  to hear from you. Advertisement

The corporate code of conduct instructed employees to 'do the right thing -- follow the law, act honorably and treat each other with respect'.

The phrase 'Don't be evil' wasn't included in Alphabet's code of conduct.

Some criticized Google's decision to remove the phrase from its code of conduct when it was updated in April.

Many pointed to Google's recent controversy surrounding a controversial project developing AI technology for the military.

Last month, over 3,000 Google employees penned an open letter calling upon Google CEO Sundar Pichai to end its controversial 'Project Maven'.

Calling the deal 'business of war,' they said Pichai should 'cancel this project immediately'.

It was revealed in March that Google is allowing the Pentagon to use some of its artificial intelligence technologies to analyze drone footage.

Google employees were reportedly outraged by the project from the beginning, but took their opposition a step further by publishing the open letter.

Project Maven involves using Google's artificial intelligence software to analyze aerial surveillance video to look for patterns that can help military intelligence analysts.

Work on the project, which also includes involvement from academic institutions and tech firms including Nvidia, began last April.

At the time, Google said its TensorFlow software would be used for 'non-offensive uses only,' namely assisting in object recognition on unclassified data.

Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene recently told employees that the technology won't 'operate or fly drones' and 'will not be used to launch weapons'.

But 'Googlers' don't seem to be appeased by the firm's reassurances.

They've urged Pichai to not only step away from the Pentagon partnership, but to also establish and enforce a policy that prevents the company and its contractors from 'ever building warfare technology'.Humans are not the only species that have assistance during birth, scientists have learned.

When our closest living relative, the bonobo, gives birth, other females gather around to help and protect the mother.

Before now, there has only been one scientific account of a wild bonobo giving birth; there, these 'midwives' stayed close to the mother.

But now, researchers have also observed the phenomenon on numerous occasions in captivity.

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Bonobos are humans' closest living relative. Females have been spotted acting as 'midwives' during birth, showing that labor assistance is not a trait unique to humans. File photo

Elisa Demuru from the University of Pisa and her colleagues witnessed three captive bonobos giving birth at primate parks in France and the Netherlands.

Unlike chimpanzees, the mother bonobos do not try and isolate themselves.

he other apes stayed near her, sniffing birth fluid, attempting to grab the baby as it came out, and one even swatted flies away, according to New Scientist.

Demuru told the publication that some of the females had given birth before, suggesting they knew what was going on.

The apes were protective towards the laboring mother, keeping male bonobos and humans away from her.

'We believe they want to show the female that they are there to support and protect her in the phase in which she's most vulnerable,' said Demuru.

In bonobo social groups, the females usually aren't related. However, the bonds they form allow them to be dominant over the males they associate with.

'It makes sense because they're highly social animals. Isolation is not part of their behavioral repertoire,' said Demuru, explaining why the apes may make giving birth a social event.

Previous research had suggest that assistance during birth was unique to humans. The observations of bonobos challenges this idea.

Demuru states that birth assistance happens in bonobos and humans because both live in social groups with strongly bonded females.

Unlike chimpanzees, the mother bonobos do not try and isolate themselves. The other apes stayed near her, sniffing birth fluid, attempting to grab the baby as it came out, and one even swatted flies away. File photo

She also claims that midwifery may have been present in our last common ancestor and lost by chimpanzees, also a close relative of humans.

However, it may have evolved separately in the human and bonobo lineages.

Not a lot is known about birth in other primates because it usually happens at night. However, it has been reported in black snub-nosed monkeys, Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys and white-headed langurs.

Previous studies have shown that bonobos are highly sociable and intelligent animals. The apes have been spotted sharing food with each other, even across communities.

The animals are also able to communicate across species with chimpanzees, a surprising find given that the two ape cousins separated from a common ancestor between one and two million years ago.It is a conundrum that has long perplexed physicists: how can a single particle appear to be in more than one place or state at once?

The phenomenon, known as a superposition, plays a significant role in quantum mechanics, but has proven extremely challenging to decipher.

While experiments may be able to induce a superposition, scientists are yet unable to actually measure it; doing so causes the superposition to collapse.

Now, researchers from Israel and Japan have devised an experiment that they say could finally help get to the bottom of the mystery.

It is a conundrum that has long perplexed physicists: how can a single particle appear to be in more than one place or state at once? The phenomenon, known as a superposition, plays a significant role in quantum mechanics, but has proven extremely challenging to decipher

In a superposition, photons  or, particles of light  appear to be able to interact with themselves to be in two places at once.

By the classic scenario, this means that if a single photon were fired at a barrier containing two parallel slits, it would somehow pass through both at the same time, Scientific American explains.

And, testing this is just as baffling as the phenomenon itself.

We know something fishy is going on in a superposition, physicist Avshalom Elitzur of the Israeli Institute for Advanced Research told Scientific American.

But youre not allowed to measure it. This is what makes quantum mechanics so diabolical.

The new experiment builds upon an approach known as two-state-vector formalism (TSVF) to help explain superposition, by assuming that events are determined by states that occur both in the past and the future.

This would allow the researchers to choose where they look for the particle, and investigate its behaviour by evaluating its history leading up to the measurement, Scientific American explains.

The time evolution of a 'disappearing particle' experiment is illustrated above

The researchers propose splitting the particles path using partial mirrors, allowing it to interact with a shutter photon that is in a superposition within a boxes along the route.

And, the interference would only become apparent if the interactions take place at specific places and times.

The researchers say the new experiment using quantum routers would essentially provide access to a past evolution.

Under the appropriate pre- and post-selections, a delayed measurement should reveal the superposed particles disappearance and re-appearance between distant boxes, the authors write in the paper.

Here too, a probe photon appropriately split to interact with the shutter at the appropriate times and locations can verify this unique dynamics.

The experiment also opens the door for a more complex view of superposition, allowing the photons to exist in states that are even crazier than simply being in two places at once, the researchers told Scientific American.

QUANTUM COMPUTING: OPERATING ON THE BASIS OF A CIRCUIT BEING ON AND OFF AT THE SAME TIME The key to a quantum computer is its ability to operate on the basis of a circuit not only being 'on' or 'off', but occupying a state that is both 'on' and 'off' at the same time. While this may seem strange, it's down to the laws of quantum mechanics, which govern the behaviour of the particles which make up an atom. At this micro scale, matter acts in ways that would be impossible at the macro scale of the universe we live in. Quantum mechanics allows these extremely small particles to exist in multiple states, known as 'superposition', until they are either seen or interfered with. A scanning tunneling microscope shows a quantum bit from a phosphorus atom precisely positioned in silicon. Scientists have discovered how to make the qubits 'talk to one another A good analogy is that of a coin spinning in the air. It cannot be said to be either a 'heads' or 'tails' until it lands. The heart of modern computing is binary code, which has served computers for decades. While a classical computer has 'bits' made up of zeros and ones, a quantum computer has 'qubits' which can take on the value of zero or one, or even both simultaneously. One of the major stumbling blocks for the development of quantum computers has been demonstrating they can beat classical computers. Google, IBM, and Intel are among companies competing to achieve this. Advertisement

Its hoped the system will be ready for tests in the next three to five months  and, the researchers say it could transform our understanding of quantum mechanics.

These phenomena can never be observed in real time, thereby avoiding violations of causality and other basic principles of physics, the authors conclude.

Yet the proof for their existence is as rigorous as the known proofs for quantum superposition and nonlocality  all of which are post-hoc.

Very likely, other interesting forms of superposition are awaiting derivation and experiment, to advance our understanding of quantum reality.SpaceX is still moving full speed ahead in its plans to one day ferry humans to Mars.

Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk recently shared a new photo of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft on his Twitter and Instagram accounts undergoing crucial tests.

The photo shows the Dragon capsule and its 'trunk,' which stores additional cargo and support systems, as they underwent electromagnetic interference tests.

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Billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk recently shared a new photo of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft (pictured) on his Twitter and Instagram accounts undergoing crucial tests

As part of the test, the spacecraft is placed in a sound-absorbing anechoic chamber to make sure that its electrical systems are in good condition.

Anechoic chambers are specially designed rooms that completely absorb reflections of sound or electromagnetic waves and have been described as 'the quietest place on earth', similar to the environment you'd encounter in space.

Following the tests, the Crew Dragon ship will be sent to NASA's Plum Brook Station facility in Cleveland, Ohio, Musk explained in the post.

The Plum Brook facility hosts the world's largest vacuum chamber, where spacecraft undergo tests to see if they can outlast an environment similar to the vacuum of space.

Unlike previous iterations of the Dragon crew capsule, this version is built to carry humans to the red planet.

It's completely autonomous and can ferry up to seven humans to the moon or the International Space Station (ISS).

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (pictured) stands in front of the firm's manned spacecraft, the Dragon V2, in 2014. The aircraft is designed to ferry astronauts into space

With four windows, passengers can take in views of Earth, the Moon, and the Solar System right from their seats, which are made from the highest-grade carbon fibre and Alcantara cloth

Most recently, a cargo-only Dragon capsule delivered a 6,000lb shipment to the ISS in April.

Like its time tested Falcon 9 rockets, SpaceX has also recovered Dragon capsules after various missions.

The crewed Dragon can land itself back on earth for refueling and reuse, which helps SpaceX cut costs and turn around the spacecraft for new missions faster, Inverse noted.

However, the rocket company still has a ways to go before the manned Dragon crew capsules will be ready for takeoff.

Dragon's first manned test flight is expected to take place 'as early as 2018,' according to SpaceX's website.

SpaceX hopes to sent its first cargo mission to Mars by 2022, while a second mission with cargo and crew is slated for 2024.

Crew Dragon's displays will provide real-time information on the state of the spacecraft's capabilities, showing everything from Dragon's position in space, to possible destinations

WHAT IS SPACEX'S DRAGON V2? SpaceX hopes to soon end production of the cargo Dragon spacecraft to focus on a next-generation version of the Dragon being developed for commercial crew missions. Those CRS-2 Dragon missions will use 'propulsive' landings, where the capsule lands on a landing pad using its SuperDraco thrusters rather than splashing down in the ocean. That will allow NASA faster access to the cargo returned by those spacecraft, and also build up experience for propulsive landings of crewed Dragon spacecraft. Advertisement

'The ships from these initial missions will also serve as the beginnings of our first Mars base, from which we can build a thriving city and eventually a self-sustaining civilization on Mars,' the SpaceX website continues.

SpaceX's BFR (or as Elon Musk calls it, the Big F***ing Rocket) is also built for manned missions to Mars.

The spaceship will take off and land vertically, powered by 37 'raptor' engines, to produce a liftoff thrust of 5,400 tons, lifting a total mass of 4,400 tons.

Meanwhile, Musk has an ambitious timeline set aside for the Crew Dragon, as he hopes to conduct a demonstration mission at Cape Canaveral in Florida by August.

The capsule measures about 20 feet tall by 12 feet in diameter, and will carry up to 7 astronauts at a time.

The Crew Dragon features an advanced emergency escape system (which was tested earlier this year) to swiftly carry astronauts to safety if something were to go wrong, experiencing about the same G-forces as a ride at Disneyland.

It also has an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that provides a comfortable and safe environment for crew members.

Crew Dragon's displays will provide real-time information on the state of the spacecraft's capabilities, showing everything from Dragon's position in space, to possible destinations, to the environment on board.Ride-sharing giant Lyft is reportedly considering applying for an electric scooter permit in San Francisco.

Spin, Bird and Lime are three startups that already deployed their scooters in San Francisco, without permission, back in March of this year.

The company is in the early stages of developing prototypes, according to The Information.

Ride-sharing giant Lyft is reportedly considering applying for an electric scooter permit in San Francisco. Pictured: Startup Lime's scooters parked along a sidewalk in San Diego

Earlier this month, San Francisco laid out requirements for companies seeking to obtain electric scooter permits.

The vehicles previously weren't regulated within the city, causing anger with some residents.

Unlike bike-sharing systems, scooters don't need to be deposited within a dock and can instead just be left anywhere.

Many riders also aren't using helmets, causing safety concerns.

The upcoming permits will also come with regulations and conditions. Companies will need to prove they're requiring riders to wear helmets as well as teaching the riders how to park the scooters so sidewalks aren't obstructed.

The city reportedly plans to issue permits to no more than five companies during a 24-month test program.

In the first half, there will be 1,250 scooters total on the streets, with up to 2,500 in the back half.

San Francisco is opening the application process for the permits this week.

Rival company Uber is also looking into developing electric scooters. They acquired the bikesharing start-up JUMP for around $200million in April.

Unlike bike-sharing systems, scooters don't need to be deposited within a dock and can instead just be left anywhere. Many riders also aren't using helmets, causing safety concerns. Lyft has reportedly started developing prototypes of scooters

ARE RIDE-HAILING APPS SPYING ON YOUR PRIVATE DATA? Lyft is the latest ride-sharing app to face intense scrutiny surrounding abuse of customer data A complaint was filed on an anonymous workplace chat app, Blind, that alleged staffers are spying on customer data Both Uber and Lyft have been called into question over whether their staffers spy on customer information like trip data The employees may have been looking at trip information for Mark Zuckerberg, ex-girlfriends, porn stars and high-profile actresses In the post, the anonymous tipster said they've witnessed staffers spying on customer data 'for far too long' 'I can't stand to watch this any longer and this post is made in the hope that this will shame people into taking corrective action,' the post said Lyft said it will investigate the claims as it looks to preserve consumer trust Rival ride-hailing firm Uber has also come under fire for surveilling user data In 2014, it was discovered that Uber used a secretive tool called 'God view' 'God view' would let employees spy on customer data from politicians, ex-girlfriends and celebrities Uber must now comply with privacy audits for the next 19 years Pictured, a screenshot of Uber's 'God view' tool that it used to spy on drivers and riders. A 2014 report alleged that the company used it to look at trip data from politicians, exes and actresses Advertisement

JUMP is a dockless electric bike service that has rolled out in San Francisco, where it has 250 bikes, and Washington.

The company is reportedly considering moving into the scooter industry as well.

The deal furthered Uber's goal of offering 'the fastest or most affordable way to get where you're going, whether that's in an Uber, on a bike, on the subway, or more,' said Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi.

JUMP bikes in January integrated its service with Uber's smartphone app in San Francisco, so that users could find one of JUMP's bright red bicycles by opening the Uber app.Advertisement

The Italian region of Emilia-Romagna is the best place to visit in Europe for 2018, according to a prestigious travel guide.

It saw off competition from destinations across Spain including Cantabria which came second, the UK, France and Greece to top Lonely Planet's Best in Europe list for 2018.

And a surprising entry on the list is Scottish city of Dundee, which was lauded for its growing cultural scene and exciting transformation of its historic waterfront.

An aerial view of the historic centre of Bologna, which is in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna. It has been named as the best place to visit in Europe for 2018 by Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet's Best in Europe is compiled annually by the travel company's European experts to reveal their pick of the most exciting and underrated destinations to visit across the continent.

The experts say that this year's list directly tackles the hot topic of 'overtourism', 'aiming to inspire travellers to discover some of the best lesser-visited regions, alternative city breaks and hidden gems, beyond Europe's busiest tourist hotspots'.

Emilia-Romagna came out on top despite often being overlooked in favour of Italian favourites Tuscany, Campania and The Veneto.

Judges said the area - which includes the city of Bologna, Ferrara and Rimini - is increasingly carving out a reputation as the nation's number one destination for food lovers.

Second on the list is Cantabria, an autonomous region, pictured, on Spain's northern coast that's home to the city of Santander

Friesland in the Netherlands, pictured, is third, with Lonely Planet describing it as 'a region of beguiling landscapes and a lively capital city'

A surprise entry on to the list in fourth place is the newly created state of Kosovo. Experts say it boasts dramatic hiking trails, Ottoman-era history and a growing cultural scene

Rounding off the top five is the Provence region of France, which is best known for its olive groves and lavender fields. Pictured is the Port of Pin in Cassis in France

It is the birthplace of Ragu, prosciutto di Parma, balsamic vinegar and Parmesan cheese.

The experts noted that the area's foodie legacy can be explored at Bologna's newly opened FICO, the world's largest culinary theme park, while new cultural openings in Ferrara and Rimini provide more for visitors to get their teeth into.

Coming in second is Cantabria, an autonomous region on Spain's northern coast that's home to the city of Santander.

The area was praised for its 'land of wild, sandy beaches, mist-shrouded mountains and enchanting villages'.

Friesland in the Netherlands is third, with Lonely Planet describing it as 'a region of beguiling landscapes and a lively capital city that is this year's European Capital of Culture'.

Dundee, pictured, entered the list in sixth with Scotland's fourth largest city being praised for its 'head turning' urban redevelopment

Dundee is set to open the newest branch of the V&A museum, pictured, in September on the banks of the River Tay

Coming in fourth is the tiny state of Kosovo, a young nation that Lonely Planet's experts say boasts dramatic hiking trails, Ottoman-era history and a growing cultural scene.

Rounding off the top five is the Provence region of France, which is best known for its olive groves and lavender fields.

Meanwhile Dundee entered the list in sixth with Scotland's fourth largest city being praised for its 'head turning' urban redevelopment, which is being spearheaded by the opening of the newest branch of the V&A museum in September.

Describing the city, Lonely Planet's writers praised a creative scene in Dundee that 'increasingly attracts some of the UK's most visionary talent', building on its selection by Unesco as the UK's first City of Design in 2014.

The Small Cyclades islands in Greece have also made the list of Lonely Planet's best places to visit in Europe in 2018

The colourful buildings and the narrow cobbled streets of the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, which came eighth on Lonely Planet's list

Lonely Planet's editorial director, Tom Hall, said: 'While visitors have always been assured of a friendly welcome, Dundee has often been overlooked by travellers to Scotland, but that should be set to change.

'The opening of V&A Dundee is a really exciting moment that marks the city out as well worth a visit, but throw in nationally important museums and attractions, and its dynamic, creative spirit, and travellers will find a city boasting plenty to discover.'

Rounding off the top ten is the Small Cyclades islands in Greece, which includes Mykonos and Santorini, Lithuania's capital Vilnius, the Vipava Valley in Slovenia and the capital of Albania, Tirana.

The rural landscape in the win-producing region of the Vipava Valley in Slovenia

Rounding off Lonely Planet's list in 10th spot is Tirana, the capital of Albania known for its colourful Ottoman and Soviet-era architecture

A map showing the top 10 destinations to visit in Europe in 2018 according to prestigious travel guide Lonely Planet

Mr Hall added: 'There is growing concern over the increase in tourism to popular European destinations, particularly over the busy summer months, so with this list we wanted to show that there are a wealth of incredible alternatives to discover across Europe.

'Our expert writers cross the continent and have uncovered some of Europe's most outstanding, underrated and overlooked places that are well worth planning a trip around.

'Whether you're looking for a cultural city break, spectacular scenery or a buzzing foodie destination, there is something for every taste.

'You can find all of these things in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, which flies under the radar compared to some of Italy's bigger hitting destinations, while the other picks showcase some of the places that in-the-know European travellers are excited about right now.'Airbnb-style holiday rentals on Gran Canaria and Tenerife could be banned under new regulations presented by regional governors in the Canary Islands today.

Island councils and town halls will be offered the chance of establishing exceptions under the draft decree, although the larger island authorities will have the final say in case of any disagreement with the smaller municipal authorities.

Canary Islands' tourist chief Isaac Castellano said his government's aim was to update the existing legislative framework in place and protect residents' right to affordable accommodation.

Airbnb-style holiday rentals on Gran Canaria and Tenerife could be banned under new regulations. Pictured is Tenerife

The draft regulations, which will have to be approved at a full council meeting at the end of this year, will now be put out to the public in a month-long consultation period.

The new rules on holiday rentals, from which the western Canary Islands of La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro are excluded, are designed to substitute those approved three years ago.

They banned tourist lets in holiday areas with no exceptions. A subsequent court challenge against them has yet to be resolved.

Regional governments across Spain are taking steps to curb the rise of holiday rentals.

In Valencia most new apartments destined for tourist use are set to be limited to ground and first-floor flats and the new legislation, due to be passed later this year, will ban all new rentals in the crowded historic city centre called the Ciutat Vella.

A beach in Tenerife. The draft regulations, which will have to be approved at a full council meeting at the end of this year, will now be put out to the public in a month-long consultation period

Madrid has announced plans to allow authorise tourist flats in certain areas of the city only if they have their own separate entrance.

Governors in Palma have reacted to problems of mass tourism and soaring rents which have priced out locals by banning tourist apartments altogether.

From July tourists wanting to rent somewhere to stay in the Majorcan capital will only be able to pick certain detached single-family homes.

Government chiefs in the Balearic Islands have also gone to war against illegal holiday home lets this year by hitting the likes of Airbnb and TripAdvisor with six-figure fines.

Barcelona has also fined rental websites for marketing homes without the necessary licences.

The Catalan capital and the Balearic Islands of Ibiza and Majorca are the places where the protests about the effects of mass tourism have been the loudest.

In April nearly 40 organisations were represented at a protest in Ibiza Town centre organised by pressure group Prou.

Prou said in October 2016 soon after it launched that it wanted to fight back against problems like packed beaches, environmental deterioration, robberies, noise and traffic jams that came with Ibiza's 'tourist massification' in summer.

Regional governments across Spain are taking steps to curb the rise of holiday rentals. Pictured is a beach in Gran Canaria

It announced it aimed to become a pressure group that forced politicians to put an end to urban, environmental and landscape abuse.

Around 500 protestors carried cardboard maps of the island with 'For Sale' signs on them at the Prou-organised event.

Others held up banners complaining about party boats and VIP beach clubs with loud music, echoing claims that on the party island people who live there all-year-round are poorer and have seen their quality of life go down.

Days earlier around 100 people went ahead with a threatened mass tourism protest coinciding with the arrival of the world's largest cruise ship in Majorca.

The demonstrators held up banners with messages including 'Stop Cruises Palma' and 'Horror of the Seas' shortly after the Symphony of the Seas, which can carry up to 6,680 passengers and 2,200 crew, docked at Palma Port.Few places can compete with the coastal city of Santa Monica as a holiday destination. Ive found myself returning time and time again: its my favourite place in the world.

It sits just far enough away from the rush and concrete of Los Angeles to provide a sedate escape while maintaining the glamour and excitement of nearby Beverly Hills.

Santa Monicas major draw is, unlike most US cities, you dont need a car to get around.

Santa Monica is home to one of the most famous beaches in the world, with its landmark pier and huge ferris wheel

Everything is within walking distance, and a taxi from the airport costs about $50. A day of shopping comes uninterrupted by parking and reparking the car outside different stores because Santa Monica Place contains everything youd need in one area: Barneys, Diane Von Furstenburg, Bloomingdales, Tory Burch and Nike are among the most popular shops. The best of the worlds high street stores sit on Third Street Promenade: J Crew, Urban Outfitters, Old Navy and Banana Republic.

Two blocks away youll find one of the most famous beaches in the world, with its landmark pier and huge ferris wheel.

The lifeguard huts made famous in Baywatch are exactly as they appeared on the show 30 years ago.

Walking along the seafront boardwalk on the with a fresh coffee is one of the best ways to shrug off jet-lag when you - predictably - wake up at 5am. Or you can hire bikes to do the same journey with the wind in your hair.

Public transport isnt a big part of life for Angelenos, but for tourists its worth looking into (its cheap and youll always get a seat).

Santa Monica is now connected to Downtown Los Angeles by the updated Metro system, which opened last year, the start of transport preparations for the 2028 Olympics.

Bay watch: One of the iconic lifeguard huts on Santa Monica beach made famous in the show Baywatch

For $1.75, you can travel Downtown on the Expo line in 45 minutes. The Downtown area has been transformed from an avoidable no-mans-land to the citys new centre of art and design.

A lot of people visit Los Angeles to spot celebrities, and in Santa Monica your best bet is at an exercise class.

Soul Cycle, on Wilshire Boulevard, is a favourite of Beyonce and Jay Z, while the gyms on Montana Avenue are good places to spot stars such as Jennifer Garner and Reese Witherspoon.

If that doesnt work: the Farmers Market on Arizona Avenue every Wednesday and Saturday is an A-list hotspot. The market is all about vibrant fresh and organic food, something which sets the tone for many of Santa Monicas restaurants.

One of the best is Fig, at the Fairmont Hotel. Its a Mediterranean bistro, with an emphasis on sustainability. Worthiness aside, if you dont order the bread balloon (literally a balloon made of bread), Ill never forgive you. Its a good job there are so many exercise classes in Santa Monica: youre going to need them.Janet Jackson looked fantastic as she arrived for the Billboard Awards on Sunday night in Las Vegas.

Sixteen months after welcoming son Eissa, the 52-year-old was back to her best as she arrived to accept her Icon Award at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The superstar showed her fashionable side in a huge tulle skirt, flouncing out from her waist, which she teamed with a deceptively casual simple white T-shirt.

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Making a statement: Janet Jackson is a true Icon in belted T-shirt and tulle skirt as she arrives to be honored

Belted at the waist, Janet's look was perfect for the Billboards, which is always a more fun night than the big Hollywood awards shows.

The superstar is set to get the Billboard Icon Award at the Las Vegas ceremony, hosted by Kelly Clarkson. She'll also reward fans with a performance on the live telecast, her first televised performance in nine years.

Past award recipients include Prince, Stevie Wonder, Cher, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez.

A princess moment: Belted at the waist, Janet's look was perfect for the Billboards, which is always a more fun night than the big Hollywood awards shows

Jackson has been a dominant force on the Billboard charts for decades, thanks to hits including That's The Way Love Goes, I Get Lonely and All for You.

The multiplatinum superstar will kick off another leg of her State of the World Tour in June.

Also at Sunday night's show, iconic rap trio Salt-N-Pepa - Cheryl James (Salt), Sandra Denton (Pepa) and DJ Spinderella - are joining vocal group En Vogue for a special performance marking the 30th anniversary of becoming the first female rap star to hit the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 'Push It' in 1987.

Long time coming: Jackson has been a dominant force on the Billboard charts for decades, thanks to hits including That's The Way Love Goes, I Get Lonely and All for You

Stylish superstar: The multiplatinum superstar will kick off another leg of her State of the World Tour in June

They commented when the performance was announced: 'Thirty years later, we're still Pushing It all over the world and we're still loved and celebrated by fans we grew up with as well as new fans.

'Looking back at all the barriers we've broken as women in this very male-dominated genre of music, being the first two female rappers to break the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 is right up there as one of the best moments of our amazing career. We are blessed.'

In 1994, they teamed up with En Vogue on Whatta Man, which reached number four.

Other duets include Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato's Fall In Line and Jennifer Lopez is set to perform her collaboration with DJ Khaled and Cardi B, Dinero, though it's not known if the heavily pregnant rapper will join the On The Floor hitmaker.

Kelly Clarkson - who is hosting the event - Camila Cabello, BTS, Ariana Grande, John Legend, Dua Lipa and Shawn Mendes are also on the line-up.Australian TV's biggest stars reportedly began sniping at each other the minute the cameras stopped rolling during their coverage of the Royal Wedding.

Karl Stefanovic was allegedly 'furious' that he had to play 'second fiddle' to his Today co-host Georgie Gardner all weekend, who was said to have been given special privileges during the trip.

Sources also claimed that Sylvia Jeffreys felt 'overlooked' after Allison Langdon was sent to London instead of her, and that Edwina Bartholomew felt lonely and missed her new husband.

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Tensions? Karl Stefanovic was allegedly 'furious' that he had to play 'second fiddle' to his Today co-host Georgie Gardner during their coverage of the Royal Wedding in London

Karl, 43, had an outburst when Georgie, 47, took too long getting ready in the makeup room, Woman's Day reported on Monday.

The magazine claimed the presenters' relationship has been frosty since Karl and his brother Peter reportedly made 'b**chy' comments about Georgie during a leaked phone conversation earlier this year.

Karl had allegedly complained to Peter that Georgie was too 'neutral' and accused her of 'sitting on the fence'.

'He said she didn't have enough opinions and he wanted her to step up,' the Uber driver who apparently overheard the conversation told New Idea in March.

'He actually sounded angry and said he was going to start pushing hard and that she needed to do that if she wanted to stay on the show.'

Rumour has it! Sources also claimed that Sylvia Jeffreys (left) felt 'overlooked' after Allison Langdon (right) was sent to London instead of her

Ever since the so-called Ubergate scandal, Georgie has allegedly been given more say in what happens on the Today show by Channel Nine bosses.

She apparently lobbied for Weekend Today presenter Allison Langdon to be sent to London for the wedding - which meant Peter Stefanovic and his wife Sylvia Jeffreys stayed at home.

Karl was reportedly furious that Peter and Sylvia didn't get to cover the big day alongside him.

'Karl has had to play second fiddle to Georgie all week and he hates that,' an anonymous source told Woman's Day.

Oh dear! Edwina Bartholomew was also allegedly left feeling like the 'spare wheel' because her Sunrise co-host Sam Armytage hung out with newsreader Natalie Barr, 50, for most of the trip

Lonely? Edwina was said to be missing her new husband Neil Varcoe during the trip to London. They tied the knot in an idyllic farmhouse wedding in April

'Peter thinks he's the more senior reporter and should've been sent instead of Allison, and Sylvia was furious to be overlooked, especially after finding out they were sending Natalia [Cooper] over to do the weather,' they added.

Despite the claims, Karl suggested everything was fine between him and Georgie during the trip and even poked fun at their rumoured feud on Instagram.

He shared a photo of himself and Georgie posing near the Tower of London, alongside the caption: 'She's back! Just in time to send me up the Tower!'

Meanwhile, Edwina Bartholomew was allegedly left feeling like the 'spare wheel' because her Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage spent time with newsreader Natalie Barr, 50, for most of the trip.

Awkward? Meanwhile, Karl Stefanovic, 43, reportedly had an outburst when Georgie Gardner, 47, took too long getting ready in the makeup room

Stilted: The presenters' relationship has been frosty since Karl and his brother Peter reportedly made 'b**chy' comments about Georgie during a leaked phone conversation earlier this year

'It doesn't help that Sam keeps having little digs at Eddy on air, and she's really missing her husband  don't forget they only got married a few weeks ago, and she really just wants to be home enjoying being a newlywed,' the source said.

There was reportedly tension from the start when Edwina, Sam and David Koch realised they would be staying at the same London hotel as their Channel Nine rivals Karl and Georgie.

Karl's former Today co-host Lisa Wilkinson - who hosted Royal Wedding coverage for Network Ten - was allegedly put in different accommodation and they didn't cross paths.

A Channel Nine spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'Theres absolutely not a shred of truth to this story so we wont be commenting.'

A representative for Channel 10 has been contacted for comment.In May of last year, he famously had a tearful monologue as she talked about the health struggles and surgeries his son Billy had to endure in the first months of his life.

And Jimmy Kimmel certainly seemed proud to bring his much healthier boy and the rest of his family to a charity event.

The 50-year-old television personality happily carried his one-year-old son Billy as they attended a charity event at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles on Sunday.

His homies: Jimmy Kimmel was joined by one-year-old son Billy along with wife Molly McNearney, 40, and Jane, three, at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles on Sunday. Billy seemed in good health after having surgery for a rare heart defect when he was three days old

The Jimmy Kimmel Live host and bouncing baby boy were joined by the comedian's 40-year-old screenwriter wife Molly McNearney and three-year-old daughter Jane.

The family cuddled up for adorable snaps at the event as they no doubt were more than happy to support a good cause.

Of course Billy's saga has been a very public one thanks to his father, who has been giving updates on his progress since he was born.

Mixing and mingling: Jimmy was joined by host of the event Armie Hammer, 31, holding his daughter Harper, and wife Elizabeth, 35, holding Ford, stopped to chat at the event

Meeting up: Joel McHale chatted to Jimmy and baby Billy at the event which his wife Sarah co-chaired with art entrepreneur Brooke Kanter, who founded K.A.M.P.

Back in May 2017, an emotional Kimmel tearfully revealed his baby son had to have lifesaving open-heart surgery three days after he was born.

The late night TV host opened his show with the news that his wife Molly McNearney, 39, had given birth to their second child, William 'Billy' Kimmel, on April 21 in Los Angeles.

But Kimmel then quickly broke down as he detailed the terrifying health troubles Billy had endured and that he had successfully undergone risky heart surgery after he was born.

'It is a scary story... but it has a happy ending,' he said as he began a teary 15-minute opening monologue.

Out for the count: Armie Hammer toted his sleeping year-old son Ford while wife Elizabeth Chambers carried Harper, four, at the Kids' Art Museum Project at LA's Hammer Museum, found by the actor's great grandfather

'My wife was in bed relaxing, a very attentive nurse at Cedars-Sinai heard a murmur in his heart and noticed he was a bit purple, which is not common.

Billy was rushed to Children's Hospital Los Angeles for emergency heart surgery at the time.

The star family were there in support of actor Armie Hammer and his family for the museum's Kids' Art Museum Project, also known as K.A.M.P.

The hunky 31-year-old actor was also there joined by wife Elizabeth Chambers, 35, and their children, Harper, four, and one-year-old Ford.

Book worms: Bad Moms star Kathryn Hahn, 44, and Parks And Recreation's Adam Scott, 45, hung out before reading stories for children at the event

Founded by Armie's great grandfather, industrialist Armand Hammer who died in 1990 aged 82, the family were there for the institution's

The Call Me By Your Name star was casually dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans as he toted Harper who looked adorable in a floral dress.

Elizabeth, 35, donned a pink silky blouse with a pattern of black fronds, black pants and she carried little Ford who wore a light blue plaid shorts suit.

They were joined by late night host Jimmy Kimmel, 50, his wife Molly McNearney, 40, co-head writer on his show, and their children Jane, who turns four in July, and little Billy, who will be one on Monday.

Wordsmiths: Bill Hader, 39, and Jimmy were also among celebs who read stories for children in sessions that ran from 10am to 2pm on Sunday

The tot appeared to be in blooming good health after undergoing surgery for a rare congenital heart defect when he was just three days old.

The Great Indoors star Joel McHale, 46, was also at the museum with his wife Sarah,

She is co-chair of the event with art entrepreneur Brooke Kanter, who founded K.A.M.P.

It is described on its website as a unique family fundraiser that provides kids of all ages the chance to be creative with Los Angeles-based artists.

She's not ducking out: Quackenstein Hatches A Family was Kristen Bell's choice of reading material. The 37-year-old looked adorable in a mustard yellow dress

Fun day: Celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe, 46, took sons Kaius Berman, four, and Skyler Berman, seven, to the event

They host hands-on art workshops throughout the museum in a variety of disciplines, including visual arts, architecture, design, music and more.

Running from 10am to 2pm, childrens stories were read by special guests Jimmy, Kristen Bell, 37, Bill Hader, 39, Kathryn Hahn, 44, and Adam Scott, 45.

Proceeds from the fundraiser support Hammer Kids programming, which serves more than 60,000 children and families annually.

Scary: Back in May of last year, an emotional Kimmel tearfully revealed his baby son had to have lifesaving open-heart surgery soon after he was born 10 days priorShe has been soaking up the atmosphere in Cannes while her girlfriend took on jury duties at the 71st annual film festival.

And Stella Maxwell and Kristen Stewart have now returned to LA following their two-week stint in the South of France.

The couple cut a casual figure as they touched down in the US with Stella flashing her sculpted abs in a cropped t shirt.

Back home: Stella Maxwell and Kristen Stewart have now returned to LA following their two-week stint in the South of France

The Victoria's Secret model opted for a relaxed look in a pair of figure-hugging skinny jeans which showed off her lithe pins.

She covered her stomach-flashing tee with a stylish black jacket and sported a pair of chunky black trainers with a white platform sole.

Make-up free Stella covered her face with a pair of large cat-eye-style shades which were decorated with tiny studs around the edge.

Keeping it casual: The Victoria's Secret model opted for a relaxed look in a pair of figure-hugging skinny jeans which showed off her lithe pins

The blonde beauty wore her tresses in a natural loose wave as she strolled out of the airport alongside her girlfriend.

Kristen appeared to opt for comfort over style as she was seen wearing a white motif t shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants.

The Twilight actress added a pair of maroon socks and black lace-up shoes to her mismatched ensemble.

Her edgy outfit was accessorised with a padlock which she wore around her neck on a heavy-set chain.

Touched down: Stella covered her stomach-flashing tee with a stylish black jacket and sported a pair of chunky black trainers with a white platform sole

Also choosing to shield her eyes, the star wore a pair of rounded sunglasses as she stepped out of the airport.

The couple were both residing in Cannes for the star-studded festival  with Kristen on jury duties while Stella attends to her modelling duties on the red carpet.

Although they haven't made an official red carpet appearance together this year in Cannes, the lovers had been squeezing cosy lunch dates into their busy schedules.

Stella and Kristen have gone from strength to strength since their romance was made public by pictures of the lovers smooching in the back of a cab in Milan.

Airport attire: Kristen appeared to opt for comfort over style as she was seen wearing a white motif t shirt and a pair of baggy sweatpants

Despite their blossoming romance only being public since early last year, they were first romantically linked to one another back in 2016.

It is no wonder Stella caught the eye of the Twilight star as she is a well established lingerie model for Victoria Secret.

The golden-haired model has been walking the catwalk for the sexy brand since she was first given her wings in 2015.The man with the golden microphone turned the airwaves blue on Monday.

Kyle Sandilands unleashed a shocking off-air tirade about the the amount of dust in his 'filthy' recording studio before demanding an underling tidy the place up.

The 46-year-old's tirade was caught on tape and co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson delighted in playing it to their listeners afterwards.

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'It's f**king unbelievable - get that old bloke downstairs to clean it!' Kyle Sandilands unleashed a shocking rant about his 'filthy' studio that listeners WEREN'T supposed to hear

'Look at all this dust! Look over there! It's absolutely f***king unbelievable!' Kyle screeched in the audio clip.

Kyle then demanded that a cleaner get to the recording studio immediately to hoover it up.

'Get that f**king old b****y bloke downstairs to vacuum clean it,' he raged. 'Dust all over that as well! Get this f**king dust sorted out! F**king unbelievable.'

Oops! The 46-year-old's tirade was caught on tape and co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) delighted in playing it to their listeners on Monday's show

After hearing his tantrum back on the show, Kyle chuckled and sheepishly admitted he had been 'bad' that day.

Jackie teasingly compared his rant to Alan Jones' tantrum about dust years earlier - in which he branded the supposed squalor of his office 'f**king ridiculous'.

'Do you know what I find funny though? It's that Alan Jones also hates dust. He has a famous dust rant. I don't know who's worse,' she laughed.

Livid! 'Get that f**king old b****y bloke downstairs to vacuum clean it,' Kyle raged in the audio clip. 'Dust all over that as well! Get this f**king dust sorted out! F**king unbelievable'

Kyle continued to defend his behaviour, insisting: 'I don't want the dust here, get a wipe out, get a rag!'

An exasperated Jackie tried to reason with him, saying: 'To the naked eye, most of us aren't even noticing it. It's not that bad.'

'It is that bad!' Kyle replied. 'I don't know what sort of a hovel you live in. Look at this, look at the camera. It's a filthy joint.'Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in a spectacular wedding in Windsor Castle, England on Saturday.

And as they settle into married life, it appears babies could be in their near future with a celebrity psychic claiming that twins are on the horizon.

Speaking to Australian TV program Today Extra on Monday, Harry T said: 'I think Prince Harry will have two daughters'.

'Harry and Meghan will have two daughters': The celebrity psychic who accurately predicted the birth of Prince Louis has claimed the Duke and Duchess Of Sussex 'will have twins'

'I see an amazing future... I think Meghan is incredible for Harry and I actually see babies for them,' Harry T said.

'I see girls around Harry more so than Prince William. I always said William would have another boy [Louis] and he just did.'

He continued: 'I think Prince Harry will have two daughters and possibly a boy as well. I wonder if there's a possibility of twins for them even?'

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex hinted at baby plans during a visit to a science park in Northern Ireland back in March.

She and Prince Harry looked at baby equipment made by the company Shnuggle.

'I am sure at one point we will need the whole thing,' the former Suits star, 36, said.

Written in the stars? Speaking to Australian TV program Today Extra on Monday, Harry T said: 'I think Prince Harry will have two daughters'

Meghan and Harry exchanged vows in a star-studded wedding ceremony at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on Saturday.

Celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams and George Clooney were among the more well-known guests.

Last year, Harry told the BBC that he knew Meghan was the woman he would marry 'the very first time we met', a year-and-a-half earlier.

'I think about three, maybe four weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana. We camped out with each other under the stars. She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic,' he said.The music community is still mourning the death of Aviciireal name Tim Berglingwho passed away on April 20.

On Sunday, the Billboard Music Awards paid tribute to the late musician with a few words from Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers and Halsey.

'His passing was a great loss for the music world and for us,' Taggart said. 'He was an artist who inspired so many in so many ways. Simply put, he meant so much to us and everyone in the EDM community.'

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Gone too soon: The music community is still mourning the death of Aviciireal name Tim Berglingwho passed away on April 20

In remembrance: On Sunday, the Billboard Music Awards paid tribute to the late musician with a few words from Andrew Taggart and Alex Pall of The Chainsmokers and Halsey

Halsey added: 'Everyone who worked with him would agree that he was such a joy and it makes this tragedy all the more painful.

'It's a reminder to all of us to be there and to support and to love all of our friends and family members who may be struggling with mental health issues.'

Avicii died of an apparent suicide at the age of 28.

'Everyone who worked with him would agree that he was such a joy and it makes this tragedy all the more painful,' Halsey said. 'It's a reminder to all of us to be there and to support and to love all of our friends and family members who may be struggling with mental health issues'

'His passing was a great loss for the music world and for us,' Taggart added. 'He was an artist who inspired so many in so many ways. Simply put, he meant so much to us and everyone in the EDM community'

Nominee: The EDM phenomenon was up for the Top Dance/Electronic Album on Sunday night

The EDM phenomenon was nominated for the Top Dance/Electronic Album on Sunday night.

But the Billboard Music Award went to The Chainsmokers.

'We want to dedicated this award to Avicii,' Taggart said during The Chainsmokers' acceptance speech. 'I know everyone that was nominated for this award was massively influenced by him.

He made us believe that this was a realistic career, something we could do with our lives, inspired all of us, influenced our music, influenced pop music, music in general, and he will be missed. I hope you're somewhere. I hope you've found peace, and we love you.'

Bittersweet: The Billboard Music Award went to The Chainsmokers

'We want to dedicated this award to Avicii,' Taggart said during The Chainsmokers' acceptance speech. 'I know everyone that was nominated for this award was massively influenced by him. I hope you're somewhere. I hope you've found peace, and we love you.'

Following his death, Avicii's parents addressed his passing in a statement.

'Our beloved Tim was a seeker, a fragile artistic soul searching for answers to existential questions,' they wrote. 'When he stopped touring, he wanted to find a balance in life to be happy and be able to do what he loved most  music. \

'He really struggled with thoughts about meaning, life, happiness. He could not go on any longer. He wanted to find peace...Tim, you will forever be loved and sadly missed.'

Too young: Avicii died of an apparent suicide at the age of 28He failed to find love with Gabrielle Bartlett on Married At First Sight earlier this year.

But Nasser Sultan, 51, revealed that he's still open to appearing on reality dating shows, gushing that he would love to be the next Bachelor.

The pint-sized personal trainer, who continues to dodge speculation over his sexuality since leaving MAFS, insisted he has been 'fielding offers' to appear on the controversial competition.

Could Nasser Sultan be the future Bachelor? Married At First Sight star, 51, insists he's been 'fielding offers' to appear on controversial dating show

'I want to be the next Bachelor!' he declared to Woman's Day on Monday.

Nasser added: 'I've been fielding offers since the show ended and I'm open to finding love on TV again!'

The current Bachelor is sportsman Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins, who has been pictured going on several romantic dates this year as he films the upcoming show.

Nasser's comments come after he went into a meltdown on The Kyle and Jackie O Show after being confronted about his sexuality, staging paparazzi photos and his bitter feud with Ryan Gallagher.

Former flames: He failed to find love with Gabrielle Bartlett on Married At First Sight earlier this year

During a phone interview, Nasser dodged questions about his sexual orientation but nonetheless insisted that Ryan had made 'homophobic' remarks about him during a recent stand-up comedy performance.

When hosts Kyle Sandilands and Jackie 'O' Henderson tried to get Nasser and Ryan to settle their differences on-air, the 51-year-old personal trainer abruptly hung up, prompting Ryan, 30, to call him a 'little, angry dwarf'.

Earlier in the segment, Kyle and Jackie O played a recording of a red carpet interview 'Intern' Pete Deppeler had done with Nasser the previous night at the Priscilla, Queen of the Desert premiere in Sydney.

During the chat, Intern Pete directly confronted Nasser about rumours he is gay.

Love is in the air: The next Bachelor is sportsman Nick 'Honey Badger' Cummins, who has been pictured going on several romantic dates this year as he films the upcoming show

However, the former MAFS star replied ambiguously, saying: 'Nasser is Nasser. You've got to figure it out.'

Pete then asked him if he'd ever 'sucked a penis'. Nasser hesitated for a moment before replying: 'No, but you don't have to suck a penis to be gay'.

Back in the KIIS FM studios, Kyle, Jackie and newsreader Brooklyn Ross were less than impressed.

Nasser immediately launched into a tirade against Ryan, doubling down on his claims that the Maroubra tradesman was 'homophobic'.

Oh dear: Nasser's comments come after he went into a meltdown on The Kyle and Jackie O Show after being confronted about his sexuality, staging paparazzi photos and his bitter feud with Ryan Gallagher

But Brooklyn wasn't buying it, and accused Nasser of selling photos of himself canoodling with 20-year-old male fashion student Eyob Geist to NW magazine.

'You're happy to throw around the "homophobic" tag and yet we're all here seeing your photos that you're selling holding hands with guys,' he said.

Nasser did not deny Brooklyn's accusation, instead replying: 'Listen, it's a free world. It's a free market and you can do whatever you want.

'But I don't go on stage in front of people, call people names and put them down.'Karl Stefanovic and Georgie Gardner looked understandably exhausted when they touched down at Sydney Airport on Monday morning.

The Today show hosts were no doubt feeling fatigued following their long-haul flight from England, after spending the past week reporting on the Royal Wedding.

Strolling through the terminal, the pair showed signs of strain after their coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nuptials was thrashed in the ratings by Channel Seven and criticised by fans on social media.

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Rough flight? Karl Stefanovic looked exhausted arriving in Sydney Airport on Monday, after his long-haul flight from London alongside Today co-host Georgie Gardner

Clutching a suitcase, Karl cut a sombre figure as he strode through the airport.

The 43-year-old may be getting ready to face network bosses, after Nine's coverage of the wedding was unfavourably compared to other media outlets.

Looking smart, he wore a navy blazer and a light blue shirt teamed with faded jeans.

Dreading a meeting with the boss? Nine's coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nuptials was thrashed in the ratings by Channel Seven and criticised by fans on social media

How English! Perhaps having picked up a souvenir in London, Karl also wore a chimney sweep cap in an apparent ode to Dickensian underdog Oliver Twist

He rocked a pair of brown suede shoes and carried a carry-on bag over his shoulder.

Perhaps having picked up a souvenir in London, Karl also wore a chimney sweep cap in an apparent ode to Dickensian underdog Oliver Twist.

Meanwhile, Georgie appeared to go makeup free after the flight, bundling up in a beige coat as she hurried towards to a waiting car.

Touchdown: Georgie appeared to go makeup free after the flight, bundling up in a beige coat as she hurried towards to a waiting car

Heading home: The veteran broadcaster, 47, looked slightly more upbeat than her co-host and was able to raise a smile for the cameras

The veteran broadcaster, 47, looked slightly more upbeat than her co-host and was able to raise a smile for the cameras.

Karl was spotted hopping in to the back of Audi before being whisked away.

Georgie and Karl anchored Nine's coverage of the Royal Wedding on Saturday - but unfortunately their efforts were criticised by viewers at home.

Under fire: Georgie and Karl anchored Nine's coverage of the Royal Wedding on Saturday - but unfortunately their efforts were criticised by viewers at home

On the move! Karl was spotted hopping in to the back of Audi before being whisked away

Ouch! Taking to social media, viewers complained about Karl's 'moronic chatter' and his supposed habit of 'giggling like a child'

Taking to social media, viewers complained about Karl's 'moronic chatter' and his supposed habit of 'giggling like a child'.

Nine's broadcast of Harry and Meghan's wedding was the fourth-most watched program in Australia on Saturday evening, according to TV Tonight.

Channel Seven took out the top three slots with its coverage of the nuptials.

Hosted by Melissa Doyle and Michael Usher, Channel Seven's wedding 'Countdown' scored a whopping 1.41 million viewers across the five capital cities.

Less impressive was Karl and Georgie's 'Pre-Wedding Special', which failed to crack the million mark across the metro markets, with just 974,000 people tuning in.

Tuning out? Nine's broadcast of Harry and Meghan's wedding was the fourth-most watched program in Australia on Saturday evening, according to TV TonightRebel Wilson was not invited to the Royal Wedding over the weekend.

But that didn't stop the actress from cracking a number of risque jokes while presenting at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

None of the British royal family were safe when the Australian-born comedian hit the stage.

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'I may have done a few inappropriate things': Actress Rebel Wilson makes risque jokes about Prince Harry and attending the Royal Wedding at Billboard Music Awards

Presenting the Top New Artist Award at the event, Rebel went all in while entertaining the crowd with the jokes.

'Guys, I've come straight from the Royal Wedding... the reception was outta control,' she started, appearing breathless.

She then joked that the English monarchy would be in better hands if musician Beyonce was to be given the crown.

''Guys, I've come straight from the Royal Wedding...the reception was outta control,' dressed conservatively, Rebel joked she was in attendance at the nuptials

'I may have done a few inappropriate things. Like, I went up to The Queen and I said, "Maybe like when you move on, maybe just give the crown to Beyonce?"'

She then joked Buckingham Palace could be called: 'Bey-kingham Palace.'

The comedian then started on Prince Harry, who wed Hollywood actress Meghan Markle over the weekend.

She told the crowd that she went up to the newly married prince at his wedding and said: 'Harry I know it's your wedding day but can I show you my pink bits', then gestured to her magenta outfit.

'I may have done a few inappropriate things': The Australian-born comedian made the outrageous comments to roars of laughter

For the light-hearted appearance, Rebel opted to wear a pink Haney dress with a matching hat, not dissimilar to the outfits shown at Windsor on Saturday.

On Friday, the 38-year-old took to Twitter to show herself in a bright pink dress and matching hat.

'Final fitting for my wedding outfit. So pumped for this weekend! #royalwedding #harryandmeghan,' she joked.

Maybe like when you move on, maybe just give the crown to Beyonce?': The comedian made a joke about Queen Elizabeth passing on her crown to musician, Beyonce

In the clip, Rebel was seen standing in front of a mirror in a 11 Honore gown teamed with a Tyler Ellis clutch and a fascinator by Karen Morris Millinery.

She described the outfit to her fans, joking: 'My influences are a little bit British royalty & a little bit Wakanda x.'

She then exclaimed: 'It's going to be such a good weekend!'Akane No Mai, the fifth episode of Westworld's second season, gave viewers a glimpse into Shogun World, while showing more of Dolores's bloodthirsty mission.

The show started in the aftermath of the mass host drowning that capped off the second season premiere.

Bernard watched stacks of bodies - including Teddy's (James Marsden) - piled up as Maling (Betty Gabriel) updated Karl Strand (Gustaf Skarsgard) on the ongoing search for Peter Abernathy (Louis Herthum), as well as the excavation of the drowned hosts.

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Crossing boundaries: Maeve (Thandie Newton) led her gang into Shogun World on Sunday's episode, which was titled Akane No Mai

Antoine Costa (Fares Fares) then revealed to the exec Strand that about a third of the hosts recovered from the water mysteriously had blank hard drives, and the backups had been destroyed.

The group consisting of Maeve (Thandie Newton), Hector Escaton (Rodrigo Santoro), Armistice (Ingrid Bols Berdal), Lee Sizemore (Simon Quarterman), Sylvester (Ptolemy Slocum) and Felix (Leonardo Nam) ventured into Shogun World, where they were attacked at sword-point and tied up via lasso as they made their way through the forest.

Maeve's initial attempts to persuade their attackers - led by ronin Musashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) and Hanaryo (Tao Okamoto) - fell on deaf ears, and she was gagged.

Sizemore told Maeve that Shogun World is based on Japan's Edo period, marketed to guests who find Westworld too tame. Watching the narratives unfold, the story writer deduced that the same malfunctions in Westworld have spread to Shogun World.

Massacre: Delos employees helped pull the remains of drowned hosts out of a lake

Problem: It was revealed that a third of the park's intellectual property had mysteriously vanished

Mind blown: Armistice (Ingrid Bols Berdal) was amazed as similarities between the inhabitants of the worlds became glaringly obvious

The scene turned into a robbery of a bordello that was a mirror image of the same one that occurred in Westworld last season, complete with a new rendition of Paint It Black from the show's composer Ramin Djawadi.

Armistice soon saw the parallels, saying 'I'll be damned, it's us,' as she picked up on the resemblances, and was cut free by her Shogun World counterpart, Hanaryo.

Pressed by Maeve on plagiarizing his own work, Sizemore shot back, 'You try writing 300 stories in three weeks!'

Maeve urged a reasonable discussion with the bordello's Madam Akane (Rinko Kikuchi), and were later seen in Shogun garb in the bordello.

An emissary for the Shogun came in and demanded Akane part with a geisha named Sakura (Kiki Sukezane), but Akane said Sakura was not for sale and fatally stabbed the emissary.

Role reversal: Maeve and her gang, including Hector Escaton and Armistice, were captured and tied up in their initial foray into Shogun World, but circumstances soon changes

Deja Vu: The group wound up in a bordello, where similarities to Westworld were obvious

Same story: Maeve crossed paths with Akane, a bordello madam whose storyline paralleled her own

With trouble ensuing, Sizemore suggested that the group head to Snow Lake, where there's an outpost to tunnels to escape to safety.

Maeve joined forces with Akane and they were attacked by a swarm of Samurais in an extended fighting sequence.

As Maeve looked done for as she was being choked out by a ninja, she tapped into new powers in which she was able to command her attacker to kill himself by plunging plunging headfirst into a knife. She later told Sizemore of her exploits: 'I think I'm finding a new voice.'

In the wake of the attack, Sakura was missing from the group as the Shogun World army arrived. Sizemore pointed out that things have wildly deviated from the preset narrative.

In a later scene, Sizemore urged Maeve to ditch Akane and make a run for Snow Lake, to which Maeve protested based on her loyalty to Akane.

Unusual: The dangerous bandit Hector Escator was in a rare moment of vulnerability in the episode

Setting things straight: Maeve confronted Sizemore about the plagiarized storylines. He replied, 'You try writing 300 stories in three weeks!'

'You can't keep doing this to us, giving us someone to love, then getting upset when we do,' she told Sizemore, who replied, 'It's just f***ing code!'

The group made their way to Shogun World as the path was lined with trees - with the bodies of dead rescuers, dispatched in the wake of the park's major malfunction, tied to them. Sizemore used a pee break to smuggle a device off of one of the dead rescuers.

The group approached a Samurai army with hundreds of troops.

Maeve presented the Shogun emperor - who was malfunctioning as he dripped with cortical fluid - with a golden statue but he tossed it down like garbage.

Akane told the emperor that they were willing to pay any price for Sakura, at which point the emperor demanded that she dance for him at that evening's celebration.

'Tonight shall be a celebration to remember!' he said.

Rough life: Always-embattled body ship workers Felix and Sylvester had a difficult time trailing Maeve and her crew

Holding court: The samurai emperor seemed to be in the power position at his celebration

Another starling expose of parallels occurred when after Sakura exposed the massive cherry blossom tree that had been carved into her back. Akane delivered (in Japanese) the same spiel Maeve had used on a customer, Maeve joined in, telling Akane that her existence has been based on a lie, and offering to bring her with them in search of freedom.

The Shogun ceremony took a quick turn for the horrible, as the emperor stabbed Sakura in her waist with a sword, killing her.

Maeve had flashbacks to another prominent stabbing on the show - when her daughter was killed by the Man in Black.

Akane engaged in an elaborate dance ceremony, then beheaded the Shogun emperor. As samurais converged on them and prepared to behead Maeve and Akane, Maeve used her mental powers to manipulate the assassins into turning on each other.

With an oncoming charge of more samurais, a confident Maeve reached for a sword, preparing for battle, wrapping up the action-packed show.

Copycat: Sizemore admitted he had lifted heavy storyline elements from Westworld to play in Shogun World

Intriguing: Sunday's episode marked the debut of Musashi (Hiroyuki Sanada), a skilled ronin

'I told you I found a new voice - now we use it,' she said.

In the Dolores storyline on Sunday's show, the rancher's daughter and Teddy were seem riding through Sweetwater, which was littered with bodies.

'It's the place I return to again and again,' the stoic Teddy said. 'No matter how far I strayed, something always carried me back.'

Dolores and Teddy took swigs of a liquor bottle, telling him, 'They've taken my daddy, so we gotta get him back.'

The duo walked into the Mariposa Saloon, which was littered with dead bodies - except for New Clementine (Lili Simmons), who began her scripted spiel to Teddy, with the original Clementine (Angela Sarafyan) eerily lurking in the background, mimicking her without speaking the words.

Sweethearts: There was plenty of romance between Dolores (Evan Rachel Wood) and Teddy (James Marsden) during their journey on Sunday's show

Don't speak: The romance didn't stop Dolores from having Teddy's programming modified as he was restrained by her minions

Innate: Maeve's steadfast desire to locate her daughter continues to be her core motivator

Dolores and Teddy were seen riding in the Western wilderness, as Teddy talked about the two of them heading to freedom with one another.

'You cant tell me that somewhere out in all that beauty, there isn't a spot for us,' he told Dolores. She countered with a story about how Bluetongue disease had once infested her father's ranch. Teddy said he would have tried to save the weakest of cows, while Dolores said that her father burned all of the weak, infected cows, and the herd eventually lived.

Dolores and Teddy were in Sweetwater with her minions fixing the trains for plans she had in store. Angela kidnapped a cavalry rescuer, who told them that their targets were headed to the Mesa part of the park.

Dolores and Teddy talked about their future, then began to kiss and make love.

But things wouldn't stay romantic for too long, as Dolores had her disciples come in and hold down Teddy while ordering a tech to reprogram his profile.

Westworld airs Sunday at 9/8c on HBO.Richie Strahan's spotlight has dimmed slightly since his starring role on The Bachelor two years ago.

But while Richie has been happy to enjoy the quiet life recently, he guaranteed he was the centre of attention on Monday.

Taking to Instagram, the 32-year-old heartthrob shared a sizzling beach snap that showed off his incredible abs.

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Remember me? The Bachelor's Richie Strahan flaunted his washboard abs in an Instagram snap posted on Monday, as he continues to enjoy the single life after splitting with Alex Nation

In the black and white photo, Richie poses on the shore against the backdrop of the picturesque Indian Ocean.

He glances down while running a hand through his long, beach blond hair.

While showing off his gym-honed physique, the rope access technician also shared a joke about Perth's sunny climate.

'How's this Autumn weather,' he wrote in the caption.

I'm still here! Richie, who was the 2016 Bachelor, has mostly stayed out of the public eye since splitting with Alex Nation last year

Richie's followers went into a meltdown over his shredded physique.

'Are those abs painted on?' one fan commented. Another added: 'Oh my abs!'

Richie, who was the 2016 Bachelor, has mostly stayed out of the public eye since splitting with Alex Nation last year.

Rest and relaxation: After his breakup with Alex - who subsequently embarked on a lesbian fling with chef Maegan Luxa - Richie flew to Vietnam for a holiday

After his breakup with Alex - who subsequently embarked on a lesbian fling with chef Maegan Luxa - Richie flew to Vietnam for a holiday.

Speaking to New Idea about the split in December, Richie said: 'The months leading up to it were the most difficult, crazy and confusing time I've been put through.

'Having something dissolve the way it did was heartbreaking, but at the same time, there was a lot of relief that the emotional roller-coaster was finally over.'They're the Australian pop-rock group making waves right around the world.

But 5 Seconds of Summer have announced they'll be returning home for a new national tour.

The four-man band will perform a series of all-ages shows across the country, kicking off in Sydney on August 9.

It looks so perfect! 5 Seconds of Summer announce new Australian tour, kicking off in Sydney on August 9

5 Seconds of Summer - affectionately called 5S0S - will then head to Brisbane, before playing in Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

With just one show in each of the capital cities, tickets are expected to be hotly contested.

They go on sale this coming Friday at 2PM.

They're popular! 5S0S's last Australian tour back in 2016 sold out in just five minutes, according to The Daily Telegraph

5S0S's last Australian tour back in 2016 sold out in just five minutes, according to The Daily Telegraph.

During their upcoming tour, the band will playing new tracks from their album, Youngblood, which will be released next month.

It's the highly-anticipated third album from the group, who shot to stardom in 2014 when their hit single She Looks So Perfect hit number one right around the world.

Back for more: During their upcoming tour, the band will playing new tracks from their new album, Youngblood, which will be released next month

5S0S's second album, Sounds Good Feels Good, was also a smash-hit, selling more than a million copies worldwide.

The band are now based in Los Angeles, but will be back in Australia for two teaser shows in Sydney and Melbourne over the next two weeks.

This coming Thursday they'll take to the stage at Sydney's Metro Theatre for an intimate show and they will also be performing on The Voice's live show on Sunday.Lionel Richie thought his daughter's relationship was 'just a phase.'

But on Sunday, Sofia Richie and Scott Disick made it clear that their relationship is as strong as ever.

The couple attended the American Idol finale taping in support of Lionel, who is a judge on the music competition show.

Date night: Sofia Richie and boyfriend Scott Disick attended the American Idol finale taping in Los Angeles on Sunday

Family matters: Sofia came to support her dad Lionel Richie, who is a judge on the popular competition series along with Katy Perry and Luke Bryan

Scott and Sofia were joined by Lionel's younger girlfriend Lisa Parigi.

Richie was eclectically dressed for the LIVE taping in an over-sized fuzzy coat, a crop top, and a pair of white cowboy boots.

Disick was just as casually clad in a NASA hoodie, cargo pants, and a pair of Nikes.

Threes company: Scott and Sofia were joined by Lionel's younger girlfriend Lisa Parigi

Longtime friends: Richie and Disick exchanged pleasantries with the show's host Ryan Seacrest before taking their seats

Richie and Disick exchanged pleasantries with the show's host Ryan Seacrest before taking their seats.

Before cameras started rolling, Sofia made sure to give her dad Lionel a giant hug for good luck.

'Support team!' she said on Instagram.

Laid back: Disick was just as casually clad in a NASA hoodie, cargo pants, and a pair of Nikes

Fashionista: Richie was eclectically dressed for the LIVE taping in an over-sized fuzzy coat, a crop top, and a pair of white cowboy boots

Disick and Richie have been dating since May 2017.

'I just think he's the male version of me,' Sofia told E! News in an interview. 'We have very similar humor.'

When talking to PEOPLE in February, Lionel seemed sure that the relationship would run its course.

'She's 19,' Lionel said. 'When you're 19 you know everything. Is it going to be for life? I don't know. But for right now it's just a phase and I'm going to stand real still in the corner, get me a good drink and not make too much noise.'Katie Holmes was snapped with her mother Kathleen Stothers-Holmes in New York City Sunday at an event honoring Ava DuVernay and her program, Queen Sugar.

The 38-year-old actress has her short, shaggy brown locks teased, wearing a ruffled top with a high neck and floral patterns.

The fashionista wore high-waisted white slacks as she made her way around the glitzy Gotham gathering at the Laduree Soho restaurant.

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Glimmering: Katie Holmes, 38, was snapped with her mother Kathleen A. Stothers-Holmes at the Laduree Soho restaurant in NYC Sunday at an event honoring Ava DuVernay and her program, Queen Sugar

Katie's mother Kathleen wore a crisp white button-up top with her short white locks teased like her daughter's, and a pair of dark-rimmed glasses.

Katie took to Instagram to praise DuVernay alongside a shot of the both of them posed together.

'So wonderful to meet and talk to @ava Tonight,' the former Dawson's Creek star wrote, adding, 'I am so inspired by her beautiful work,' with the hashtags, '#femalefilmmaker,' '#artist,' and #kindness.'

The Toledo, Ohio native, who is in the ensemble cast of the upcoming Ocean's 8, looked sleek amid ongoing training for a role in a film called Doorman in which she plays a marine.

Big fan: Katie had kind words for the talented filmmaker Ava DuVernay, who she posed with at the event

Upbeat: Katie also posed with comedian Tiffany Haddish at the swanky Gotham gathering

The 5ft9 actress told Women's Health in March she 'never wanted to' life weights, but did just that to develop her upper body strength for the role.

'I wanted to be authentic to a person who trained in the military,' the brunette beauty. 'Which means someone who wasn't always paying attention to the mirror and who was in shape not for vanity, but because that's what her job called for.'

Holmes, who shares 11-year-old daughter Suri with ex-husband Tom Cruise, has been linked in an ongoing romance with actor Jaime Foxx the past few years.

Top of the mountain: The Selma director looked elegant in a floral dress with tones of white, black, green and sky blueShe shot to fame as the fierce warrior Obara Sand on Game Of Thrones.

But Keisha-Castle Hughes will now flex her acting muscles in a different kind of drama, when she stars as a boxer in a 'sexy, gritty' four-part SBS show The Ropes.

The 28-year-old New Zealander will share the screen with acting legend Jack Thompson and Romper Stomper actor Nicole Chamoun.

She's a long way from Westeros! Game Of Thrones star Keisha-Castle Hughes is set to star in 'sexy, gritty' Australian drama The Ropes

The drama, described as a 'sexy, gritty drama that is fast-paced and full of heart', went into production on Monday in Western Sydney.

Keisha plays hard-nosed fighter Jess O'Connor, who fights in a professional debut match thanks to her Iraqi-Australian trainer Amirah (Chamoun).

Chamoun, who works in the family gym in Sydney's western suburbs, is cut off by her world champion father Sami (Igal Naor) for organising the match.

Jack Thompson will star as play Samis long-time promoter Strick.

SBS director of television Marshall Heald said: 'The Ropes continues SBS's run of acclaimed provocative dramas that reflect Australian stories through a uniquely multicultural lens.

Stealing the limelight: She shot to fame as the fierce warrior Obara Sand on Game Of Thrones, the daughter of Oberyn Martell

The Ropes will premiere on SBS later in the year.

It's a change from Keisha's last role as warrior Obara Sand in the fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons of Game Of Thrones.

Keisha read the A Song of Ice and Fire novels long before the TV adaptation, but became fascinated with it when Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) was introduced in season four.

Gritty role: Keisha plays hard-nosed fighter Jess O'Connor, who fights in a professional debut match thanks to her Iraqi-Australian trainer Amirah, played by Nicole Chamoun (pictured)

She plays the eldest of eight bastard daughters of Oberyn Martell and was trained on how to wield a spear for the role.

'I was really lucky. I'm half Maori and so I've worked a lot in my life with a Taiaha which is a Maori weapon which is very similar to the spear,' she told Variety in 2015.

'So it wasn't completely foreign to me to have that in my hand, which was really nice.'Donald Glover's first toy growing up was a Star Wars action figure, which made for a sentimental moment when he was able to give his one-year-old son Legend the new action figure commissioned in his likeness, as he plays Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

'I grew up on Lando, he was my first toy,' said the 34-year-old entertainer, appearing on Monday's Ellen alongside co-star Alden Ehrenreich.

Glover opened up on the 'weird but beautiful' dynamic of having his own action figure as he promoted the summer blockbuster.

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Blessed: Donald Glover, 34, opened up about giving his son an action figure in his likeness while appearing on Monday's Ellen alongside co-star Alden Ehrenreich

'They sent them to us,' said Glover, who's made music under the moniker Childish Gambino. 'It's super-weird for me.

'His mom is always being like, "Who's that?" and he just playing like, "Oh, this is daddy; daddy's like riding a horse made of Play-Doh."'

The surging star, who welcomed his second son earlier this year with girlfriend Michelle, said seeing his son playing with the action figure hit him with a strange sentiment.

'I didn't feel like that way before, but to see him do it is kinda like a full circle of - it's beautiful, it's weird,' he said.

Boys of summer: Ehrenreich and Glover appeared together to promote their movie

Then and now: Donald's first-ever toy was an original Lando figure (L); he now has his own Lando figure in his likeness (R)

Good chemistry: The actors discussed how they worked with each other on improv in preparing for the film

In the interview, both actors talked about how they met up with the stars who preceded them in their respective roles: Billy Dee Williams for Glover, and Harrison Ford for Ehrenreich.

'It was really great because he was exactly what he should have been for me,' said Glover, who said that Williams heard him out about his ideas, before giving him simple advice: 'Just be charming- that's enough ... don't overthink it, just be cool.'

The film, directed by Ron Howard, is a prequel about Solo (Ehrenreich), and also features Thandie Newton, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson and Joonas Suotamo.

Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters May 25.

Good times: The actors told Ellen how they met with the performers who preceded them in the roles - Billy Dee Williams for Glover, and Harrison Ford for EhrenreichShe is in the midst of filming the final season of HBO drama Game Of Thrones, and is also set to make her debut in the Star Wars franchise.

Yet Emilia Clarke showed no signs of fatigue as she beamed broadly while arriving in New York on Sunday to promote her new film Solo: A Star Wars Story.

The actress, 31, looked in high spirits as she landed at JFK Airport, and ensured all eyes would be on her with her stylish yet muted ensemble.

Making quite the entrance: Emilia Clarke looked effortlessly chic in all-red ensemble as she got ready to promote Solo: A Star Wars Story when she arrived in JFK Airport on Sunday

The Me Before You star flattered her sensational figure by wearing a pair of pink Mom jeans, and she gave her ensemble a glamorous touch with a striped red and white shirt and a long rust coloured overcoat.

Emilia added to her height with a pair of brown heeled loafers, and she kept a low profile by wearing a pair of retro jet black sunglasses.

The actress pulled her dyed blonde locks into a loose bun and parted it down the middle so that it framed her face well, as she brushed on light touches of make-up.

The actress wore a canvas tote bag slung over one shoulder, as she kept her accessories to a minimum.

Stylish: The Me Before You star flattered her sensational figure in a pair of red Mom jeans, and she added a glamorous touch to her ensemble with a striped red and white shirt

Solo: A Star Wars Story is the new standalone film in the space opera franchise and is directed by Ron Howard, who took over after original helmers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller after they departed over 'creative differences'.

The film will show how Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) met his first mate Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo) and his hustler pal Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover).

Emilia is set to play Qi'Ra, while other notable members of the cast include Woody Harrelson as Tobias Beckett and Paul Bettany who will play the villain of the piece, Dryden Vos.

Low-key look: The actress wore a canvas tote bag slung over one shoulder, and she held her phone in her hand as she kept her accessories to a minimum

Accessorise: Emilia added to her height with a pair of brown heeled loafers, and she kept a low profile by wearing a pair of retro jet black sunglasses

It is the latest spin-off/standalone in the lucrative sci-fi franchise which was given a new lease of life in 2012 when Lucas Film was purchased by Disney for a little over $4billion.

Since then two parts of a sequel trilogy  The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi  have been released, as well as the stand-alone prequel Rogue One, with many more unnamed projects in the works.

During Emilia's appearance on Thursday's Graham Norton episode, the actress confessed her co-star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who plays droid L3-37, gyrated on Chewy.

Exciting role: Emilia will play Qi'Ra in Solo: A Star Wars Story which follows a young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich, right) and how he met met Chewbacca and hustler pal Lando Calrissian

She said: 'I did what I could  we had a dance-off under the Millennium Falcon to gangster rap. It turned into a dance-off between Chewwy and Phoebe.'

Emilia also tread the red carpet during the Cannes Film Festival promoting the sci-fi film with her co-stars.

She said: 'We just kept knocking on doors to find out where the party was. We knocked on a few until we found the right one. Wed already gate crashed one of Stella McCartneys!'

Solo: A Star Wars Story hits UK theatres on May 24, and in the US the following day.She's the heavily pregnant soap star who recently described her bikini-clad bod as, 'All belly & boobs!'

And on Monday, Esther Anderson put on another flesh-baring display as she flaunted her blossoming baby bump in a low-cut two-piece swimsuit.

The 38-year-old former Home And Away actress took to Instagram to show off her maternal curves as she soaked up the sun on her 'baby moon' in Palm Springs, California.

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Hot mama! Heavily pregnant former Home And Away star Esther Anderson flaunts her blossoming bump in a bikini as she soaks up the sun on her 'baby moon'

'I think this baby moon thing is agreeing with us,' Esther wrote alongside the snap.

She accompanied the caption with the fitting hashtag: 'growth spurt.'

In the image, the brunette beauty revealed her burgeoning bump in a earthy-red bandeau and a pair of low-rise olive-hued bikini bottoms.

As she elegantly strut past the glistening pool, she gave onlookers a glimpse at her bronzed frame and stunning pins.

She looked every inch the Australian bathing beauty as she tossed an un-buttoned shirt dress over her svelte torso.

Esther completed her poolside-glam look by donning a cream wide brim hat.

'All belly and boobs': Heavily pregnant former Home And Away star Esther Anderson shares stunning snap of her growing baby bump as her due date rapidly approaches

Last week, Esther took to the photo-sharing app again to share another bikini-clad snap from her sun-drenched baby moon in the US.

In the photo, the stunning actress can be seen cradling her baby bump as she relaxes poolside.

It appears Esther hasn't lost her sense of humour during her pregnancy journey, describing the photo as 'All belly & boobs'

In April, Esther announced she was expecting a child with her British beau, Howard Moggs.

Speaking to New Idea, the actress said of the Los Angeles-based couple: 'We're not spring chickens but we're so ready for parenthood!'

Bun in the oven: Esther announced last month that she was expecting her first child with her British advertising executive husband Howard

Esther, who married Howard in February 2017, also revealed to the publication she fell pregnant while she was filming her latest movie.

'We weren't actually trying the month I got pregnant, because I had a movie role. However, baby wanted to come join us!' she said. 'I was five months pregnant by the time we finished the film, so they were shooting around me.'

The Gold Logie nominee said she was in 'absolute shock and disbelief' when her pregnancy test returned a positive result.

Esther is expecting her first child with British advertising executive Howard Moggs in July this year.She's been updating her keen followers with racy bikini-clad snaps from her tropical getaway.

So it's no surprise Gabby Allen paraded her envy-inducing frame in two sultry swimwear pieces during her picturesque holiday in Bali, posted to her Instagram account last week.

In one snap, the Love Island star, 26, turned up the heat in a sizzling white all-in-one, showing off her perky derriere and slender legs.

Wow-factor! Gabby Allen paraded her envy-inducing frame in two sultry swimwear pieces during her picturesque holiday in Bali, posted to her Instagram account last week

The TV personality gave the camera a smoldering gaze as she held up her sunglasses against her face.

Upping the ante in the make-up department, Gabby wore shimmery gold eyeshadow and nude lipgloss.

Clearly relishing in the sun, the professionally-trained dancer captioned the image: 'Fully considering moving my life here.... can I make it work? What do you think?'

The reality star also shared a stunning image in a bright purple bikini, which featured a strapless top and high-waisted bottoms.

All eyes on her: In one snap, the Love Island star, 26, turned heads in a bright purple bikini, which featured a strapless top and high-waisted bottoms

Gabby looked every inch the siren in the sizzling picture as she penned: 'Life is better in a bikini.'

The fitness instructor has treated her fans to a series of sizzling snaps during her idyllic holiday.

Opting for a leopard print one-piece in some shots, she was seen reclining by the pool with her pal Georgia Harrison, laughing and soaking up the sun.

Gabby wore her blonde locks loosely sleek and decorated her look with orange lipstick and a deep swish of mascara.

Her pal Georgia, 23, was seen in a hot pink bathing suit, showcasing her lean pins.

The Liverpool beauty looked as if she has left her troubles - and her ex Marcel Somerville - well and truly behind her in the UK, having confirmed her split from her Love Island beau on Instagram, after he admitted to cheating on her.

Gabby was seen a few days ago taking a turn around Soho with a male pal, clearly trying to sweep her heartache under the rug.

Girls time! Gabby has treated her fans to a series of sizzling snaps with her pal Georgia Harrison during their idyllic holiday

Speaking to MailOnline earlier this month, a spokesperson for Marcel explained that the Blazin' Squad star understood his wrongdoings and hoped that one day Gabby would forgive him.

His rep said: 'Sadly the rumours are true, Gabby and Marcel have split up. Marcel can't really defend his actions as he knows he did wrong and will regret it forever.'

They said: 'Marcel is upset that he broke the heart of someone he loves and someone that he shared so many special moments with, but with all the good times there are difficult times, and sadly Marcel and Gabby had been in a bad place at this stage.

'Gabby was a special part of my Marcel's life, and he hopes one day she can find it in herself to forgive him. He knows what he did was wrong and is extremely sad about how he has hurt Gabby.'

Living it up: The fitness instructor opted for a leopard print one-piece in one shot, which accentuated her sizzling frame

His comments come a day after Gabby confirmed their 'tough' split and revealed she is 'in shock' from the relationship break-up.

In an Instagram post the blonde beauty thanked her friends, family and fans for their support during the difficult time as she deals with the end of her romance.

She wrote: 'Thank you to everyone for your kind messages, love and support. It's been tough couple of days, I think I might still be in a bit of shock! But I'm sure in time I will be OK. I have the best family and friends around me. I'm a lucky girl.'

Gabby and Marcel met on the 2017 series of summer smash Love Island and quickly forged a romance.

Happier times: Gabby and Marcel met on the 2017 series of summer smash Love Island and quickly forged a romance

But their seemingly rock-solid relationship was rocked by claims of infidelity during their Mexican getaway last month.

New allegations by The Sun state that Marcel cheated on Gabby multiple times with different women over the course of a few months.

It is also revealed that the rapper kissed another girl during a night out - but when Gabby's suspicions arose, he managed to convince her that nothing occurred.

The publication claims that Gabby had her doubts when it came to Marcel remaining faithful in their relationship.She has been shooting sensational snaps for her own bikini and clothing range under the Spanish sunshine.

And Demi Rose shone this week in a glittering gold bikini for the latest sequence of modelling shots in collaboration with ISAWITFIRST.COM.

The level of glamour was so high that Demi was forced to navigate the rocks in towering silver stilettos - until a crew member volunteered to carry her.

Shimmer: Demi Rose shone in a gold bikini this week as she was picture shooting in Ibiza for ISAWITFIRST.COM

The curvy brunette wore her gold thong bikini bottoms high on her hips to accentuate her perfect proportions.

The lame two-piece caught the sun as she was later hoisted up and carried up the mountainside with her curvy derriere to the cameras.

Demi paired the bikini bottoms with a halterneck top that tied underneath her glossy mane.

Easy does it: After finding it too hard to tackle the rocks in heels, Demi was given a piggyback by the crew

Careful: Demi was forced to chase the light up the mountainside her towering stilettos

Not ideal: The brunette struggled in her staggering heels, which amped up the glamour of her bikini shoot

Demi was shooting amongst some ancient remains in Ibiza, even though it was hard to tear eyes away from the petite bikini model.

Looking confident in her swimwear, the British beauty posed up a storm with her arms above her head.

She pressed herself up against a stone wall before the shoot moved onto a beach location in the old town.

The new campaign images will feature alongside her new collection, appropriately named Ibiza by Demi Rose.

Strange spot: Demi was posing up a storm in a deserted location in Ibiza

Standing out: She pressed herself up against a giant stone tower, showcasing her modelling skills

Glittering: Her gold lame bikini caught the light as she pulled her best poses

Working it: Demi drew attention to her perfect nude manicure

Model body: The petite brunette was captured while she modelled for ISAWITFIRST.COM

Earlier that day, Demi shared a teaser of what to expect from the shoot when she shared some sultry snaps of her new outfits on Instagram, collaborating with I Saw It First.

Tyga's ex-girlfriend, 23, set pulses racing as she showed off her very ample assets and tiny waist in a plunging black bikini top, which wrapped around her toned torso.

Demi completed her ensemble with a matching pair of bottoms, which had tassels attached to them and went into a skirt-like feature.

The Birmingham beauty added a full face of glamorous make-up as she styled her luscious brunette locks into a sleek curly hairdo.

Into town: The new collection is appropriately named Ibiza by Demi Rose

Showcasing her shape: Demi was shimmering as the shoot moved into the old town

Natural: She wore minimal make-up for a more natural beachy image

Swimwear model: Demi has been shooting campaign images for her new collection

Demi decided to show off her fun side in the post, as in the second photo uploaded, she could be seen laughing as she was caught off-guard.

She captioned it with: 'When your friends try and make you laugh mid shot...'

While in a different photo, she appeared to go completely topless as she strategically placed her arms in front of her body for a sultry selfie, labelling it with: 'Boo.'

The new photos come after she displayed some epic sideboob last week in an array of tiny swimwear and clothing.

Wow: Demi teased her fans to what they can expect as she took to her Instagram to share some sultry snaps of her new outfits in Ibiza over the last few days

Cute: Demi decided to show off her fun side in the post, as in the second photo uploaded, she could be seen laughing as she was caught off-guard

Daring: While in a different photo, she appeared to go completely topless as she strategically placed her arms in front of her body for a sultry selfie, labelling it with: 'Boo'

Lady in red: In another sizzling snap, Demi set pulses racing in a plunging and high-waisted red ruffled swimsuit

In one sultry snap shared on Friday, Demi left nothing to the imagination in a sideless white swimsuit with a black band around her waist.

The Birmingham beauty appeared to be letting her hair down as she seductively swigged from a bottle of tequila in a Boomerang video titled: 'Cheers to the freaken weekend.'

And in another sizzling snap, Demi set pulses racing in a plunging and high-waisted red ruffled swimsuit.

Sultry: Tyga's ex-girlfriend, 23, displayed some epic sideboob as she flaunted her very ample assets in a tiny white swimsuit while she seductively swigged from a bottle of tequila

With her luscious brunette locks styled into a wavy hairdo, the model looked into the distance as she titled it with: 'Caption this.'

And these weren't the only outfits and photos Demi shared to the social media platform to tease her recent photo sessions.

The model showed off her enviable curves once again as she went braless in a plunging white crochet dress.

New clothing range: The model showed off her enviable curves once again as she went braless in a plunging white crochet dress

And in another picture, Demi appeared to bare all in a black sheer jumpsuit, with an embroidered red rose pattern over it.

Kylie Jenner lookalike Demi was first propelled into the spotlight when she was linked to the reality star's ex, rapper Tyga, after they split.

The star has since gained a huge following on Instagram and she is known to display her incredible curves in a number of risque ensembles.

Daring: And in another picture, Demi appeared to bare all in a black sheer jumpsuit, with an embroidered red rose pattern over it

So of course she was more than happy to divulge the secrets to her sensationally curvy figure in an exclusive chat with MailOnline.

In September, Demi told us: 'I try to keep as healthy as I can. With travelling, it's hard to work out, I travel across the world but try to keep my routine.

'Everyone says I'm the healthiest person they know. The fattiest thing I will ever eat is nuts and peanut butter.'Their performance was for many the defining moment of the Royal Wedding.

And the The Kingdom Choirs euphonious rendition of Ben E King's Stand By Me is set to become the biggest hit of the summer, with many slating it for an official single release in the near future.

The soul-stirring gospel performance is already available for fans to stream on Spotify, having been released as part of Decca's The Royal Wedding album, though it seems the choir's track is the highlight for many as it soon made it onto the streaming service's Hot Hits playlist.

Musical success: The Kingdom Choirs euphonious rendition of Ben E King's Stand By Me is set to become the biggest hit of the summer, with many slating it for an official single release in the near future

The album - which currently sits at number three on Amazon's Classical Music Chart - is reportedly on course to reach the top of the UK charts.

It wouldn't be the first time a Royal Wedding album has achieved such musical success as Decca's album production for the 1981 nuptials of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer was number one for two weeks.

Bim Amoako-Gyampah, choir coordinator and member, said of their esteemed response: 'I would love to tell you that Simon Cowell called me [this morning] but he hasn't.

Incredible day: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding ceremony has been praised by the masses for its diversity and challenging of royal protocol

'The recording was available yesterday but I don't know about them releasing it as a single as of yet, but we'll see.'

The Kingdom Choir once again dazzled the masses as they performed on Good Morning Britain on Monday morning, receiving much applause from hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.

Already flying high: The soul-stirring gospel performance is already available for fans to stream on Spotify, having been released as part of Decca's The Royal Wedding album

One viewer enthused: 'Enjoyed listening to the Kingdom Choir singing Stand By Me! The Kingdom Choir are so talented! The Kingdom Choir have cheered Monday morning up! Incredible voices! #RoyalWedding Good luck to Harry and Meghan!'

Note-perfect vocals: The Kingdom Choir once again dazzled the masses as they performed on Good Morning Britain on Monday morning

Another praised: 'What a wonderful choir, absolutely perfect! #gmb.'

But The Kingdom Choir aren't the only group who are flying high as 19-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason is already sitting comfortably at the top of Amazon music chart.

The teenager was called personally by bride Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, and asked to perform at her wedding to Prince Harry.While The Bachelor's Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski welcomed baby Willow in the world seven months ago, they still have plenty of love for Snez's daughter Eve from a previous relationship.

Over the weekend, the engaged duo appeared to be the epitome of proud parents as they threw a luxe party to celebrated Eve's 13th birthday.

Doting stepdad Sam, 38, took to Instagram on Sunday to share two happy snaps from the special occasion alongside a touching tribute to Eve.

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'Love you so much!' Snezana Markoski celebrates daughter Eve's 13th birthday... with the brunette stunner and her Bachelor beau Sam Wood throwing the teen a luxe party complete with decadent decorations

'My beautiful daughters from Eves 13th last night. Happy birthday Monkey, love you so much,' Sam wrote alongside a slideshow of snaps.

In the image, Eve beamed as she held her baby sister in front of a decadent display of decorations.

In the background of the shot fans could see an array of metallic balloons as well as a rose gold namesake sign.

The birthday girl looked as cute as a button thanks to her long, thick braids and a pop of glitter.

Like mother, like daughter: The birthday girl looked as cute as a button thanks to her long, thick braids and a pop of glitter

The 13-year-old seemed to inherit her mother's impeccable sense of fashion as she donned a stylish singlet top and a pair of trendy blush culottes.

Meanwhile, Sam and Snez dressed baby Willow in a gorgeous floral ensemble.



In a lovely coincidence, it appears Sam celebrated his very own birthday over the weekend as well.

The 38-year-old took to his Instagram story to share a snap of his brood huddled around his fresh fruit birthday cake.

'My birthday cake before Willow pulled off the top layer': The 38-year-old took to his Instagram Story to share a snap of his brood huddled around his fresh fruit birthday cake

'My birthday cake before Willow pulled off the top layer,' Sam wrote in the caption.

The three-tier cake featured thick blocks of watermelon, embellished with grapes, rockmelon, strawberries and slices of mandarin.

The cake made entirely out of fresh fruit appeared to be a nod to the fitness fanatic's love of health food.

In late March, Sam and Snezana revealed they are planning to expand their brood.

Bigger family? In a previous interview with OK! magazine, the couple discussed having another baby after welcoming their daughter Willow into the world in October last year

In a previous interview with OK! magazine, the couple discussed having another baby after welcoming their daughter Willow into the world in October last year.

The pair told the publication: 'Willow is only six months old, but we are definitely think we want another baby!'

Sam and Snezana fell in love on The Bachelor in 2015, became engaged later that year and welcomed their baby daughter Willow in October, 2017.

Snezana's daughter Eve, who is from a previous relationship, lives with them in Melbourne.Sydney filmmaker Charles Williams beat off stiff competition from 3,943 entries to bag the top prize at the 71st Cannes Film Festival.

The 36-year-old wrote and directed the 13-minute long flick All These Creatures - which was awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or gong on Saturday.

Charles drew from his own life experiences for the drama and shot the scenes on 16mm film around the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong, with a tiny budget for the film.

Explaining the film's premise in an interview with ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning, Charles said: 'It's a short film about someone looking back at their early adolescence and trying to understand what was going on with their father; whether he was someone who was a sick person or a bad person, and trying to pull apart these memories he has, that led to this tragedy.'

He added: 'It was a way of me seeing if I could put certain events that happened in my life, and obsessions that I've had - things I've always thought about, since I was a teenager - into a film that would make people feel emotionally what I felt.'

With an open mind towards the race and age of his protagonist, Charles let the casting lead the way and settled on 13-year-old Yared Scott to play the lead character Tempest, also 13, after auditioning some 400 hopefuls.

Prestigious prize: Sydney filmmaker Charles Williams won the top Palme d'Or gong for his short flick All These Creatures at the 71st Cannes Film Festival

Then he re-wrote the script to fit in with Yared's upbringing - after the teen was born in Ethiopia and in Melbourne by his adoptive parents.

Meanwhile, Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda scooped the Palme d'Or prize in the feature-length category for his gripping drama Shoplifters.

This year's Cannes Film Festival was the first since the #MeToo movement gained traction, sparked by a number of women speaking out against American producer Harvey Weinstein's sexual harassment and abuse.

On location: The short flick was shot in Melbourne's Dandenong on 16mm film with a tiny budget and stars 13-year-old Yared Scott as the lead Tempest

Cate Blanchett, who is serving as jury president, led a silent protest involving 82 women on the red carpet at the beginning of the festival - to highlight gender inequality in the film industry.

The 49-year-old thespian climbed the steps of the Palais des Festivals alongside 81 other Hollywood stars to support the Time's Up movement.

Protesters included Kristen Stewart, Marion Cotillard, Ava DuVernay, Jane Fonda, Salma Hayek and Lea Seydoux among other film industry professionals.

Winner! Jury president Cate Blanchett awarded Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda the Palme d'Or prize in the feature-length category for his gripping drama Shoplifters

Former Twilight star Kristen, 28, also made a stand against the sexist red carpet footwear policy at the festival, which prevents women from wearing flat shoes, by removing her heels in front of the cameras.

And during the closing ceremony on Saturday, Italian actress Asia Argento, 42, spoke out against the disgraced Miramax co-founder.

She said: 'In 1997, I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes. I was 21 years old. This festival was his hunting ground.'Melbourne-born model Justin Lacko might be on the hunt for reality TV romance, but the Love Island Australia cast member is certainly going to be selective.

In a new interview with NW magazine, the 27-year-old had some harsh words to say about former Married At First Sight star Davina Rankin.

Davina is rumoured to be in talks with show bosses about appearing on the Spanish island, but New York-based Justin is hoping that she won't.

'I'm not going to hit girls, but I'm not going to stand for bulls**t!' Love Island Australia star Justin Lacko said he'll 'throw up' if Married At First Sight's Davina Rankin appears on the show

'If she's there I'm going to throw up and throw a chair in the pool,' he said.

Davina became embroiled in a partner-swapping love affair, by 'cheating' on her 'husband' Ryan Gallagher with co-star Dean Wells.

But Justin made it clear that he wouldn't 'tolerate' Davina's antics.

'If she's there I'm going to throw up!' The Melbourne-born model had some harsh words to say about MAFS' Davina joining Love Island Australia

He said: 'I'd be like: "You need to get the f**k out of my face." I'm not going to hit [girls], but I'm not going to stand for bulls**t talk and drama.'

Love Island Australia, which is being fronted by former Bachelorette Sophie Monk, is being filmed in Majorca and TV viewers will be able to influence with couples get matched up.

On Sunday, the contestants set to hit screens were revealed in a sizzling teaser clip ahead of this Sunday's hotly-anticipated premiere.

Chiselled: Love Island's Justin describes himself as an 'international male model' who takes a lot of pride in his appearance

In the trailer, Justin described himself as an 'international male model' who is 'pretty good with the ladies'.

Gesturing at his gifted looks, he drawled arrogantly: 'Look at this face, look at this smile! '

The hunk said he takes a lot of pride in his appearance and admitted he can scare off some women with his 'beauty and charm'.

Love Island is set to hit screens on 9Now and 9Go this Sunday.Country crooner LeAnn Rimes and her family celebrated Stepmother's Day (which falls on the Sunday after Mother's Day) with a seaside sushi meal at Nobu Malibu.

The 35-year-old Grammy winner looked lovely in a long-sleeved, brown-floral high-low dress fastened with a Gucci belt and she wore matching suede cowboy booties.

The One Way Ticket songstress - sporting a Louis Vuitton mini-backpack - waited at the valet with her second husband Eddie Cibrian and his two sons, one of whom towered over his 6ft2in frame.

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Her turn: Country crooner LeAnn Rimes and her family celebrated Stepmother's Day (which falls on the Sunday after Mother's Day) with a seaside sushi meal at Nobu Malibu

'Surprises from my love!' Rimes - who boasts 1.5M followers - Insta-storied her new triple diamond ring from her hubbie of seven years.

'The BU with my boos! My LovEs! #stepmomday #stepmomsday #brunch #nobu #malibu #family #LovE!'

LeAnn (born Margaret) shared a table snap of her 44-year-old silver fox and his 10-year-old son Jake Austin and 14-year-old son Mason Edward, who inherited his father's dimples.

Cute: The 35-year-old Grammy winner looked lovely in a long-sleeved, brown- floral high-low dress fastened with a Gucci belt and she wore matching suede cowboy booties

Miles is getting so big! The One Way Ticket songstress - sporting a Louis Vuitton mini-backpack - waited at the valet with her second husband Eddie Cibrian and his two sons, one of whom towered over his 6ft2in frame

Rimes Insta-storied her new triple diamond ring from her hubbie of seven years and gushed: 'Surprises from my love!'

Later, the Mississippi-born beauty Insta-storied shirtless Eddie helping little Jake do a handstand in the backyard while silmutaneously flexing his muscular arms and torso.

The decade of drama with Cibrian's ex-wife Brandi Glanville (stemming from his on-set affair with the then-married Rimes in 2009) appears to have come to a peaceful end... for the moment.

Here's hoping trust is fully in place as the Rosewood heartthrob films the seven-episode crime procedural Take Two opposite Rachel Bilson, which premieres June 21 on ABC.

'The BU with my boos!' LeAnn (born Margaret) shared a table snap of her 44-year-old silver fox and his 10-year-old son Jake Austin and 14-year-old son Mason Edward

Yes! Later, the Mississippi-born beauty Insta-storied shirtless Eddie helping little Jake do a handstand in the backyard while silmutaneously flexing his muscular arms and torso

'Peace in #calabasturd hanging for Jakes bday': The decade of drama with Cibrian's ex-wife Brandi Glanville (stemming from his on-set affair with the then-married Rimes in 2009) appears to have come to a peaceful end... for the moment (pictured April 14)

In the Castle clone, Eddie plays a private investigator called Eddie who teams up with a newly-rehabbed TV actress called Sam (Bilson) to solve crimes.

Meanwhile, the Hallmark Channel just gave a sneak peek at the Logan Lucky actress as superintendent Eve Morgan in Tibor Takacs' romantic drama It's Christmas, Eve - premiering in December.

But first, LeAnn will next put her three-octave soprano pipes to use this Thursday at her concert at the Arena Theatre in Houston.

Premieres June 21 on ABC! Here's hoping trust is in place as the Rosewood heartthrob films the seven-episode crime procedural Take Two opposite Rachel Bilson (R, pictured March 30)Karl Stefanovic had a comfortable flight back from London after covering the Royal Wedding, it seems.

The 43-year-old landed at Sydney International Airport Monday with his blue shirt flapping open to reveal a glimpse of what appeared to be complimentary Qantas Business class pyjamas.

The lightweight grey sleepwear features the airline's iconic flying kangaroo logo in navy blue print across the chest area of pyjama top.

Perks: Karl Stefanovic landed at Sydney International Airport Monday with his blue shirt flapping open to reveal a glimpse of complimentary Qantas pyjamas

Nice if you can get it! The lightweight Peter Morrissey designed sleepwear features the airline's iconic kangaroo logo in navy blue print across the chest area of pyjama top

A matching grey bottom comes in the set, which is handed out to Business class passengers as a complimentary perk.

The design of the draw-stringer sleepwear, which is made of a soft cotton fabric, was updated in 2016.

The new look leisure outfits were designed by Australian fashion icon Peter Morrissey.

First class passengers are given a different set, created by Parisian designer Martin Grant.

Sharp: Looking smart despite the sleepwear underneath, Karl wore a navy blazer and a light blue shirt teamed with faded jeans

Those are 100% cotton in a navy tone with black trim and come with matching slippers.

Looking smart despite the sleepwear underneath, Karl wore a navy blazer and a light blue shirt teamed with faded jeans.

Albeit fashionable, Karl and his Today co-host Georgie Gardner looked exhausted when they touched down at Sydney Airport on Monday morning.

Fashion savvy sleepwear: A matching grey bottom comes in the set, which is handed out to Business class passengers as a complimentary perk

The Today show hosts were no doubt feeling fatigued following their long-haul flight from England, after spending the past week reporting on the Royal Wedding.

Strolling through the terminal, the pair showed signs of strain after their coverage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nuptials was thrashed in the ratings by Channel Seven and criticised by fans on social media.He's the fashion 'bad boy' who has been living it up at Cannes Film Festival with the likes of Michelle Rodriguez, Barbara Palvin, Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner.

And over the weekend, model Jordan Barrett swapped the runway for safari as he touched down in Kenya to support animal charity, Save The Elephants.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia on Monday, the 22-year-old revealed: 'Just made it to Kenya with Save the Elephants on a 10-day trip and it's so incredible.'

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He's a long way from the runway! Model Jordan Barrett, 22, arrives in Kenya to support animal charity, Save The Elephants and gushes about the 'incredible' and 'insane' experience

The Gold-Coast born model explained he's the ambassador for the UK-registered charity along with Dutch supermodel Doutzen Kroes.

'I've just become the ambassador for Save The Elephants with Doutzen Kroes & Knot on My Planet (Elephant Crisis Fund),' Jordan revealed.

'I took part in my first fundraising campaign over a year ago. It has gone so well,'

Jordan gushed about spending time with zoologist, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, who founded the animal charity in 1993.

'Being here with the researchers and scientists and Iain the founder of the elephant research is insane,' Jordan told Daily Mail Australia.

The charity's central mission is to help 'secure a future for elephants and to sustain the beauty and ecological integrity of the places they live,' according to the Save The Elephant website.

Jordan took to his Instagram Story to document his African sojourn, complete with elephants, khaki outfits and open-air safari vehicles.

In the first snap, Jordan gave fans a glimpse at his impressive mode of transportation - the 'Save The Elephants' Cessna airplane.

Meanwhile, in another snap, the international model appeared to fist-pump the air as he travelled in an open-air safari truck.

Precious cargo: In the first snap, Jordan gave fans a glimpse at his impressive mode of transportation - the 'Save The Elephants' Cessna airplane

Out of Africa! Meanwhile, in another snap, the international model appeared to fist-pump the air as he travelled in an open-air safari truck

Built for comfort and for speed: Jordan gave his 727,000 Instagram followers a view of his khaki camouflage attire and olive-hued boots

Elsewhere, Jordan gave his 727,000 Instagram followers a view of his khaki camouflage attire and olive-hued boots.

In a video obtained by Daily Mail Australia, Jordan filmed a small herd of elephants walking slowly through the long grass.

Jordan's noble 'Save The Elephant' pursuit comes after he revealed he's just a normal '21-year-old kid' at the end of the day.

Last month, he told The Daily Telegraph: 'I am just working hard and making the most of the opportunities that come my way - but I am still the same kid.

'I am a 21-year-old kid at the end of the day': Jordan Barrett has shrugged off his 'bad boy' reputation, insisting he's just 'making the most of opportunities that come my way'Advertisement

She's been keeping a low profile since it was revealed she is expecting her first child with boyfriend Jeremy Meeks.

Yet Chloe Green proudly displayed her burgeoning baby bump as she enjoyed a holiday with her Hot Felon beau, taking to the high seas on her billionaire father Philip Green's luxury yacht on Sunday.

The Topshop heiress, 27, who is reportedly due in June, looked in good spirits on the babymoon as she flaunted her gorgeous pregnancy curves in an emerald green bandeau bikini that also aided in flattering her tanned complexion.

Bumping along nicely: Chloe Green proudly displayed her burgeoning baby bump as she enjoyed a holiday with her Hot Felon beau, taking to the high seas on her billionaire father Philip Green's luxury yacht on Sunday

Boasting a healthy pregnancy glow, the mother-to-be looked radiant as she went make-up and swept her glossy chestnut locks away from her face in a topknot.

Clutching a pink kaftan, the Topshop heiress looked in good spirits as she chatted with her boyfriend, who she controversially began dating last year whilst he was still married to Melissa Meeks, who he also shares a child with.

Despite reported ongoing drama with his estranged wife, Jeremy - who earned himself the nickname Hot Felon owing to his smouldering viral mugshot - looked in good spirits as he chatted away with his pregnant girlfriend.

Beaming broadly, the model also showed off his musclebound physique on the boat trip as he donned a pair of grey swimming trunks as he sunned himself aboard the luxury cruiser.

Bumping along nicely: The Topshop heiress, 27, who is reportedly due in June, looked in good spirits on the babymoon as she flaunted her gorgeous pregnancy curves in an emerald green bandeau bikini that also flattered her tanned complexion

Brunette beauty: Boasting a healthy pregnancy glow, the mother-to-be looked radiant as she went make-up and swept her glossy chestnut locks away from her face in a topknot

Earlier this year it was claimed that Chloe is not only expecting her first child with Jeremy but is engaged to the former convict as well.

The family are fully on board planning a wedding, and Tina [Chloe's mother] is looking forward to being a grandmother, a source told The Daily Mail. Chloe has been telling everyone that she is having a little boy.

Ahead of the impending arrival of their little one, the couple have been spending time in Monaco, relaxing at their own apartment in the same block where her parents own a 7 million penthouse.

On the move: Clutching a pink kaftan, the Topshop heiress looked in good spirits as she chatted with her boyfriend, who she controversially began dating last year whilst he was still married to Melissa Meeks, who he also shares a child with

Gorgeous in green: Chloe looked a vision of beauty as she strolled past in the skimpy bikini that highlighted her baby bump

Meanwhile jailbird Jeremy, married 34-year-old father-of-two, had earned the dubious accolade of the worlds hottest felon, when his mugshot went viral in 2014.

Once a member of the North Side Crips street gang in California, Meeks was described as one of the most violent criminals in the Stockton area before he was jailed for possessing a firearm.

He was released from prison in 2016 saying that he had found God, before quickly securing a six-figure modelling job  and ditching his wife and family when he met Chloe.

Two's company: Despite reported ongoing drama with his estranged wife, Jeremy - who earned himself the nickname Hot Felon owing to his smouldering viral mugshot - donned a pair of grey swimming trunks as he sunned himself

Fun in the sun: Beaming broadly, the model also showed off his musclebound physique on the boat trip as he donned a pair of grey swimming trunks as he sunned himself aboard the luxury cruiser

Tatt's a good look! Jeremy showed off his extensive collection of inkings as he stripped down to his swimming trunks

Under wraps: Jeremy was seen wearing his towel as a cape as he dried off after a dip in the jacuzzi on board the super yacht

Earlier this month, the former gang member said he 'couldn't be happier' as he prepares to welcome a child with his heiress girlfriend.

Speaking to FV Magazine, model said: 'Ive never been in this place mentally, emotionally, physically, that Im in right now. Ive never been in such an amazing place.'

When asked how he felt about his overnight success in the fashion industry, Meeks replied: 'I heard it a couple of times growing up that I should be a model, but it went in one ear and out the other. I never thought it was possible.'

Fun in the sun: Chloe showed off her burgeoning baby bump in the skimpy bikini as she soaked up the sunshine

Double trouble: The pair were enjoying some quality time together as they topped up their tans aboard the super yacht

Can't take his eyes off her: Jeremy was looking lovingly at Chloe's baby bump as they enjoyed some quality time together

The father-of-two was also asked what he thought could be done to prevent children getting into gang violence.

He told FV's editor-in-chief Sandra Benbaruk: 'I mean they definitely need education and proper father figures, and people to look up to.

'Its a serious issue, especially in my neighborhood with gun violence at a young age, and so thats the situation. Someone I know has been killed and shot... its really rapid.'

Taking it easy: The couple were accompanied by a friend as they chilled out on the sofas together out in the sunshine

Smitten: Jeremy looked besotted as he gazed into Chloe's eyes whilst taking it easy aboard the luxury liner

The model revealed he has been getting involved in youth work and working alongside a charity called WOSMOH (Women of Substance Men of Honor).

And speaking about what he has learned from 'life on the street', he added: 'Your word is your bond... to always stay loyal, solid and grounded, and you know, you do good, you get good back, and you do dirty, you get mud back... Its just very simple.'

Adding his final thoughts on what love means to him, Meeks added: 'Love means everything, everything to me. Its what keeps people alive, its what keeps people going, to love and to be loved.'

Chloe and Jeremy are said to have first set their eyes on each other at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2017, where the Hot Felon was modelling for Phillip Plein.

Chilling out: Jeremy was taking things easy as he reclined in the onboard hot tub whilst chatting away with a friendMarried At First Sight star Sarah Roza led the Australian celebrity arrivals at the Solo: A Star Wars Story premiere in Melbourne on Monday evening.

The 39-year-old flamed-haired reality star shone bright like a lightsaber as she posed on the red carpet in a pink ensemble, alongside co-stars Troy Delmege and Carly Bowyer as well as The Bachelorette's Lee Elliott.

The buxom beauty poured her enviable curves into a figure-hugging ribbed dress as she attended the VIP event.

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Telv must be kicking himself! Married At First Sight's Sarah Roza shines in pink ensemble as she joins co-stars Troy Delmege and Carly Bowyer at Solo: A Star Wars Story premiere in Melbourne

Sarah added a touch of sex appeal to her outfit as she flashed her black bra through the semi-sheer frock.

She teamed her bright ensemble with black accessories, including a shoulder chain bag and a pair of ankle-strap high heels.

The reality TV beauty, who last week confessed to having several units of Botox injected into her forehead, sported a markedly taut visage.

Solo: A Star Wars Story premiere: The 39-year-old flamed-haired reality star shone bright like a lightsaber as she posed on the red carpet alongside two stormtroopers

MAFS Stunner: The reality TV beauty, who confessed to having several units of Botox injected into her forehead last week, sported a markedly taut visage

Nice date! Sarah, who recently enjoyed a number of dates with a 'mystery man' was spotted cosying up to a number of stormtroopers

Fun times! The reality TV star split from father-of-two Telv Williams in March but appeared to be world's away from her dark days as she playfully posed alongside the other high-profile guests

The beauty achieved a flawless complexion by applying a heavy slick of foundation, lashings of mascara and a thick layer of lipstick.

Sarah, who recently enjoyed a number of dates with a 'mystery man', was spotted cosying up to a number of stormtroopers.

The reality TV star split from father-of-two Telv Williams in March but appeared to be world's away from her dark days as she playfully posed alongside the other high-profile guests.

Loved-up display: In light of rumours the pair are 'set to split,' Troy and Carly looked stronger than ever as they packed on the PDA on the red carpet.

Seemingly smitten?! At one stage, Troy put his hand on Carly's belly as the pair gazed adoringly into one another's eyes

Meanwhile, her MAFS co-stars Troy and Carly put on an amorous display for onlookers.

In light of rumours the pair are 'set to split,' Troy and Carly looked stronger than ever as they packed on the PDA on the red carpet.

The duo looked every inch the smitten couple as they were spotted kissing and cuddling.

At one stage, Troy put his hand on Carly's belly as the pair gazed adoringly into one another's eyes.

Han solo: Bachelorette star, Lee Elliott made an appearance at the Melbourne premiere sans his reality TV lover, Georgia Love

Bachelorette star, Lee Elliott made an appearance at the Melbourne premiere sans his reality TV girlfriend, Georgia Love.

Lee cut a stylish figure in a black ensemble consisting of a T-shirt, a jacket and a pair of black-frame glasses.

The tradesman seemingly struck up a bromance with leather-clad Neighbours star, Matt Wilson.

New mate? The tradesman seemingly struck up a bromance with leather-clad Neighbours star, Matt Wilson

Play fight! Decked out in a leather jacket and a grey T-shirt, the soap star jokingly pointed his clenched fist at the reality TV hunk's face

Decked out in a leather jacket and a grey T-shirt, the soap star jokingly pointed his clenched fist at the reality TV hunk's face.

The 2017 Australian Survivor winner, Jericho Malabonga took full advantage of the film premiere's creature comforts, as he was spotted relaxing in a plush chair.

The fan favourite cut a stylish and svelte silhouette in a navy printed button-up shirt and a pair of cream trousers.

Solo: A Star Wars Story premiere in Melbourne: The 2017 Australian Survivor winner, Jericho Malabonga took full advantage of the film premiere's creature comforts, as he was spotted relaxing in a plush chair



She's never been afraid to speak her mind.

So it comes as no surprise that Paris Jackson took to social media to defend her famous family in a series of Instagram stories shared after Janet Jackson's performance at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday night.

The 20-year-old model urged fans to refrain from commenting on how she should 'handle my relationship with the people in my life,' after receiving a bit of backlash for missing her aunt's return to the stage after a nine-year hiatus.

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Talk about it: Paris Jackson took to social media to defend her famous family in a series of Instagram stories shared after Janet Jackson's performance at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday night; seen in May

'Dear social media followers, friends, stalkers, lovers and haters, and fellow moonwalkers: Please do not tell me/demands/try to control how I handle my relationship with the people in my life, specifically my family,' she started. As amazing and as s***ty as things can be, it is no one's business but ours.

'I understand that some of you feel some sort of connection or need to be a part of our lives considering you watched us grow up. However, I am handling my situation exactly how my father did.'

Fans were quick to point out that Paris was a no-show to her aunt's first performance in almost ten years.

'I will always have love and respect for my family. ALWAYS. There is nothing more or less than that, that you need to know,' she wrote. 'Every family has their moments of trauma, heartbreak, separation, love, oneness, tribe, pain, everything. EVERY FAMILY.'

Runaway: The 20-year-old model urged fans to refrain from commenting on how she should 'handle my relationship with the people in my life,' after receiving a bit of backlash for missing her aunt's return to the stage after a nine-year hiatus

PSA: Fans were quick to point out that Paris was a no-show to her aunt's first performance in almost ten years

Janet was also on hand at the awards show to receive the Billboard Icon Award for her stellar career which spans across decades.

'My family, specifically, and a good number of others... well, our drama is broadcasted worldwide through media,' she reminded her followers. 'But that doesn't mean our family issues are any different from yours. Ours are just made public.

'Every level has another devil. Every life has their own s**t to deal with. We ain't inferior or superior to y'all. We're all f****ng human. So let's act like it.

'I appreciate any and every person reading this and I'm grateful for everything in my life, positive and negative.'

Missing in action: Paris wrote a strongly worded series of Instagram stories to her followers and fans

Star power: Janet was also on hand at the awards show to receive the Billboard Icon Award for her stellar career which spans across decades, which Paris was not in attendance to witness

How did we get here? The Instagram stories may have been sparked after Paris shared a screenshot of her cousin Austin Brown praising the performance with the word 'ditto' written above his heartfelt words

Hours after the lengthy message posted to support her family, Paris chimed back in with more insight to her absence at the show.

'Also not to mention, no one from my mgmt reached out to me about attending billboards or about the award, and no one from my family did either,' she confirmed. 'I had absolutely no idea until y'all spammed me with hatred.'

The Instagram stories may have been sparked after Paris shared a screenshot of her cousin Austin Brown praising the performance with the word 'ditto' written above his heartfelt words.

The son of Rebbie Jackson wrote, 'Couldn't be more proud of my aunt for not only delivering a stellar performance but also showing people greatness is ageless. Congrats on your Icon award.'

Paris and her famous family have received praise and backlash through decades in the spotlight. Her father, Michael Jackson, died of cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009.

She's rumored to be dating supermodel Cara Delevingne after the couple was spotted kissing earlier this year.

Reminder: Hours after the lengthy message posted to support her family, Paris chimed back in with more insight to her absence at the showShe endured quite the tumultuous getaway to St Lucia where she feuded with her beau, Joshua Ritchie.

And Charlotte Crosby, 28, was seen arriving back to London's Gatwick Airport on Monday, where she was collected by good pal Scotty T ahead of the launch of series 3 of Just Tattoo Of Us.

This comes as the former Geordie Shore star revealed in an exclusive interview with MailOnline that she plans on treating her boyfriend Joshua to the spa for a couple days - following a furious holiday bust-up which saw her appearing to punch him in the face.

Back home: Charlotte Crosby arrived back to London's Gatwick Airport on Monday, where she was collected by good pal Scotty T ahead of the launch of series 3 of Just Tattoo Of Us

Dishing all: This comes as Charlotte revealed in an exclusive interview with MailOnline that she plans on treating her beau Joshua Ritchie to the spa for a couple days - following a holiday bust-up which saw her appearing to punch him in the face

While Charlotte made amends with her beau Joshua, he was nowhere to be seen as she ran up to Scotty for a warm embrace at the airport.

Clearly heavily bronzed from her sun-drenched holiday abroad, Charlotte relied on only a smidgen of make-up.

Leaving her brunette tresses free, the reality star was clearly in the summery mood as she dressed her curves in a skintight red thigh-skimming dress.

A ripped and frayed denim jacket was draped off one shoulder and she completed the look with a pair of comfortable trainer.

Pals: While Charlotte made amends with her beau Joshua, he was nowhere to be seen as she ran up to Scotty for a warm embrace at the airport

Low-key: Clearly heavily bronzed from her sun-drenched holiday abroad, Charlotte relied on only a smidgen of make-up

Casually cool: Leaving her brunette tresses free, the reality star was clearly in the summery mood as she dressed her curves in a skintight red thigh-skimming dress

Despite the long-haul flight, Charlotte looked incredibly happy to see Scotty, who stood with a named sign to ensure she didn't miss him.

As soon as Charlotte spotted him, she was seen running up to him and the two friends joyfully hugged.

Scotty also made the most of the balmier British climes, cladding his physique in a summery shirt and black shorts.

Charlotte looked delighted to have arrived back in the UK following a questionable holiday with beau Joshua where video footage appeared to show them in a bust-up.

However, the star sang praises of her time abroad, admitting to MailOnline: 'It was so much fun, loads of fun. We just didn't stop laughing. A really good birthday, everything has just been amazing for the last two weeks.

Low-key cool: A ripped and frayed denim jacket was draped off one shoulder and she completed the look with a pair of comfortable trainer

Spot him! Despite the long-haul flight, Charlotte looked incredibly happy to see Scotty, who stood with a named sign to ensure she didn't miss him

Happy days: As soon as Charlotte spotted him, she was seen running up to him and the two friends joyfully hugged

Casual: Scotty also made the most of the balmier British climes, cladding his physique in a summery shirt and black shorts

Speaking of Joshua's birthday, Charlotte admitted that she has some big plans for him.

'We're going to go to the spa for a couple of days and get some nice treatments. It's going to be really relaxing,' she gushed.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and Scotty are gearing up for the season three premiere of Just Tattoo Of Us on Monday night.

The MTV series follows couples, friends and family members who design tattoos for each other.

Speaking of the new series, Charlotte exclusively told MailOnline that it will be 'more fun, better, with more outrageous tattoos.

'We'll have the biggest tattoo we've ever had on the show, it's ridiculous!'

Back with a bang! Charlotte and Scotty are gearing up for the season three premiere of Just Tattoo Of Us on Monday night

Happy: Charlotte looked delighted to have arrived back in the UK following a questionable holiday with beau Joshua where video footage appeared to show them in a bust-up

The star sang praises of her time abroad, admitting: 'It was so much fun, loads of fun. We just didn't stop laughing'

'We're going to the spa': Speaking of Joshua's birthday, Charlotte admitted that she has some big plans for him

Scotty was also asked during the interview if he was nervous about stepping into Stephen Bear's hosting shoes.

He replied: 'I was actually meant to be on it from the start, so technically he just looked after my shoes for a bit. Then I got a new pair and put them back on.'

The new show will boast cameos from the likes of Calum Best, Frankie Cocozza, Love Island's Dom and Jess and Sam from Geordie Shore.

Speaking of their experiences on the show, Charlotte revealed: 'I definitely don't think they're all happy with the results, because one of the tattoos is diabolical!

Ink-redible! The MTV series follows couples, friends and family members who design tattoos for each other

Exciting! Speaking of the new series, Charlotte exclusively told MailOnline that it will be 'more fun, better, with more outrageous tattoos'

'I was meant to host it from the beginning': Scotty was also asked during the interview if he was nervous about stepping into Stephen Bear's hosting shoes

'Some of them were quite happy, as some of them were okay.'

Charlotte also spoke highly of her co-host Scotty: 'It was like two twins being reunited at birth.

'We do get up to mischief, but it's all stuff that is cut out. It's mainly just about the people who come in and get tattoos. We do have a laugh together and I do hope that most of it is shown,' she expressed.

Series 3 of Just Tattoo Of Us premieres on Monday at 10pm on MTV.

'It's like we're twins!' Charlotte also spoke highly of her co-host ScottyShe is the daughter of one of the world's most celebrated - and richly rewarded - actors.

But thanks to her down to earth mother, Tom Cruise's daughter Suri is experiencing a remarkably normal childhood for the daughter of an A-lister.

Suri was seen using public transport in New York on Monday morning, alongside her actress mother Katie Holmes.

School run: Katie Holmes makes sure Suri Cruise has a normal childhood as they hop on the subway in New York on Monday morning

The two stood casually dressed on the platform as they waited for their train, Suri just another child catching the subway to school.

The pair were hand in hand, with 12-year-old Suri wearing her school uniform, complete with a blue bow in her hair, and carrying her own school bag.

The only sign of their celebrity status was the logos on their casual wear - which had obviously been purchased at luxe weekends away from their city home.

Far out: The only sign of their celebrity status was the logos on their casual wear - which had obviously been purchased at luxe weekends away from their city home

Suri's warm pink sweater bore the logo of the Mohonk Mountain House, a high-end resort in upstate New York, while her mother's sweatpants came from Park City Utah, home of the Sundance Film Festival.

The pair had spent the weekend with family, with Suri's Grandma - Katie's mother Kathleen Stothers-Holmes visiting from Toledo, Ohio.

Katie and Kathleen enjoyed some bonding time Sunday night, as the Dawson's Creek star took her mom to an event honoring Ava DuVernay and her program, Queen Sugar.

Mother and daughter: The pair had spent the weekend with family, with Suri's Grandma - Katie's mother Kathleen Stothers-Holmes visiting from Toledo, Ohio

Katie took to Instagram to praise DuVernay alongside a shot of the both of them posed together

'So wonderful to meet and talk to @ava Tonight,' the former Dawson's Creek star wrote, adding, 'I am so inspired by her beautiful work,' with the hashtags, '#femalefilmmaker,' '#artist,' and #kindness.'

The 38-year-old, who is in the ensemble cast of the upcoming Ocean's 8, looked sleek amid ongoing training for a role in a film called Doorman in which she plays a marine.

The 5ft9 actress told Women's Health in March she 'never wanted to' life weights, but did just that to develop her upper body strength for the role.

'I wanted to be authentic to a person who trained in the military,' the brunette beauty. 'Which means someone who wasn't always paying attention to the mirror and who was in shape not for vanity, but because that's what her job called for.'

Katie has been linked in an ongoing romance with actor Jaime Foxx the past few years.Portia de Rossi revealed that she had quit acting on her wife Ellen DeGeneress show but showed her support at the premiere of Season Five of Arrested Development alongside fellow actors Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Bateman and Will Arnett.

The actress who played Lindsay Bluth Funke in the show will appear in the new season of the cult classic, which has been recently revived for Netflix and will hit the streaming service on May 29, 2018.

Portia also revealed on Ellen that she wanted to work on something challenging and different now and decided that she wanted to quit acting to start her own art business called General Public. But what is Portia de Rossis net worth?

Portia de Rossi attended the season five premiere of Arrested Development in Los Angeles

Who is Portia de Rossi?

Born Amanda Lee Rogers on January 31, 1973 in Victoria, Australia, she grew up in Grovedale, a suburb of Geelong and was a model for television adverts as a child.

At the age of 15, she adopted the name Portia de Rossi in an attempt to reinvent herself, taking the name of a character in William Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice and giving herself an Italian surname.

She studied law at the University of Melbourne before landing her first role in the Australian film Sirens and after moving to Los Angeles, she starred in Nick Freno: Licensed Teacher and Scream 2.

Portia garnered interest after appearing on legal comedy series Ally McBeal from 1998, on which she played Nelle Porter and remained on the show until 2002.

Portia de Rossi garnered interest after appearing on comedy series Ally McBeal from 1998

After this, she took on the role of Lindsay Bluth Funke on Arrested Development and made appearances on Cursed, Nip/Tuck and Better Off Ted.

In 2012, Portia starred in the pilot of a new drama series produced by Ellen DeGeneres called The Smart One, but it was not picked up.

After being cancelled by Fox, Arrested Development returned six years later, with each episode focusing on a different character.

Two years later, Portia was confirmed as a regular cast member on Scandal and joined the show from Season Four.

Despite being killed off, Portia revealed that she had made the decision to leave on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Portia, who played Lindsay Bluth Funke, will appear in the Season 5 of Arrested Development

Ellen said: 'You aren't a big fan of doing press and talk shows, so thank you for being here. She really doesn't. That's why she actually quit acting. She decided she didn't want to do anything more with acting and got off of Scandal.'

Portia added: I was approaching 45 and I was just wondering was there something that I could tackle now that I've never done before that would be very challenging and different.

'I kind of knew what acting would look like for me for the next 10, 20 years, so I decided to quit and start a business.

Portia de Rossi art

Her departure from acting resulted in Portia opening her own art curation and publication company called General Public.

Portias aim is to bring good art to more people and after becoming fascinated with the concept of reproducing paintings using 3-D technology, she decided that the artists work should be shared by as many people who wish to own it and not just enjoyed by one collector.

Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres

Prior to her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi was married to filmmaker Mel Metcalfe from 1996 to 1999 and later revealed that this was a ploy to get a green card and feared being exposed as a lesbian.

Portia dated the director Francesca Gregorini, daughter of model Barbara Bach and Ringo Starrs stepdaughter, but did not openly discuss her sexuality at this time. The couple split after Portia met Ellen at a party at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles in 2000.

In a 2005 interview with The Advocate, Portia said: I was thinking, well, the people who need to know Im gay know, and Im somehow living by example by continuing on with my career and having a full, rich life, and I am incidentally gay, but its not a big political platform. I justified it in so many ways.

She later revealed that the last person that she had come out to was her grandmother, who initially thought Portia was dating someone named Alan, not Ellen. Ellen publicly came out in 1997 in an exclusive interview with TIME Magazine.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi pictured arriving at a Ellen DeGeneres Welcome Party

Ellen and Portia met again in 2005 at a photo shoot but by the end of the year, they were sharing a home together and had three cats. At the time, the Evening Standard reported that Portia had moved in with Ellen two weeks after splitting with Francesca and bought a 120-acre ranch.

Ellen, who had been in a relationship with the photographer Alexandra Hedison for four years before getting together with Portia, said: We were just supposed to be together.

It was a tough decision. I was physically getting sick because I was trying not to say anything. So I told Alex and she told Francesca. It was really hard to uproot everything, Ellen said to People Magazine.

On May 15, 2008, after the California Supreme Court struck down a law blocking gay marriage as unconstitutional, Ellen announced on air that she and Portia were planning to get married. They tied the knot on August 16 in the same year at their Beverly Hills estate.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi kiss in the audience during the Teen Choice Awards 2015

Portia de Rossi net worth

Portia de Rossis net worth has accumulated to approximately $20 million (15m), according to Celebrity Net Worth. Ellens net worth of $400 million (298m) results in a combined worth for the couple of $350 million (261m).She is undeniably gorgeous.

But Halle Berry one upped even herself as she shared a sizzling black-and-white lingerie snap taken by The Riker Brothers to her Instagram account bright and early Monday morning.

The actress, 51, looked incredible as she showcased her trim torso in a completely sheer bustier top and see-through skirt.

Also on Monday, the beauty announced she will be co-starring with Keanu Reeves in the next John Wick movie.

A post shared by Halle Berry (@halleberry) on May 21, 2018 at 9:29am PDT

Halle leaned against a wall as gazed seductively towards the camera, with a bit of side fringe sweeping across her forehead.

'I am Sofia #johnwick3,' she captioned the photo, along with lips emoji.

Halle's new role in John Wick 3 had just been announced, and by the looks of her caption, she may be playing a woman named Sofia.

The details of Halle's role are being kept under wraps, but sources told The Hollywood Reporter she will not be playing the villain.

Coming soon: Also on Monday, the beauty announced she will be co-starring with Keanu Reeves in the next John Wick movie

John Wick 3 stars Keanu Reeves, Lauren Fishburne, and Ruby Rose.

The action film is set for release on May 17, 2019, and Halle

Halle reminded fans of the release date as she posted a snap of a handwritten note that read, 'See you in a year, Mr. Wick.'

Stretch! Berry shared a snap of herself doing some yoga as part of Fitness Friday

'It's a date,' Halle captioned the photo.

In the meantime, as Halle prepares for her big role, she'll no doubt continue to flood her Instagram account with sexy workout snaps.

The actress loves posting photos from her grueling workouts every week in honor of 'Fitness Friday.'24 Hours In Police Custody (C4)

Rating:

Neighbourhood Blues (BBC1)

Rating:

The problem with the welter of real-life crime documentaries, with video crews embedded in police squads and footage grabbed from bodycam recorders mounted on stab vests, is that nobody can be sure who or what they are filming.

Maybe were watching the dramatic moment a murderer is arrested. Maybe the bloke isnt a murderer, but an innocent oddball mixed up in a tragic chain of events. Or maybe no blood has been spilled, and weve simply stumbled across the unluckiest dope smoker in Britain.

The opening moments of 24 Hours In Police Custody (C4) seemed to embroil us in a murder hunt. A dog walker near St Albans had found a womans body, her throat slashed with a broken bottle.

Suspect Dean Robinson being checked into police custody on Channel 4's 24 Hours in Police Custody

Detectives identified her as a local alcoholic Sharon, whose weirdo boyfriend had made several emergency calls to report their domestic rows. His name was Dean, and everything about him aroused suspicion, from his lack of emotion at news of Sharons death, to his behaviour on arrest  standing on one leg in the police station and offering to chew his own toenails for a DNA sample.

A senior detective called him one of the strangest people Ive ever come across. The catalogue of his behaviour ran from merely disturbing to downright chilling: he boasted of wearing no underwear, he claimed to be a karate expert who drank a gallon of cider a day, he kept records on a spreadsheet of every text and email sent to Sharon.

The great advantage of this TV format, where cameras record thousands of hours of material for a single episode, is that incidents logged weeks ago as irrelevant suddenly acquire new significance.

After a truly creepy police interview with Dean, we saw bodycam footage of police on his doorstep. He was trying to turn officers away, assuring them that he was a qualified doctor and spouting medical jargon from Casualty.

Every utterance Dean made was bizarre. He chanted, Dead-dead-dead, while playing cards alone, then gloated to the camera: Im sitting in front of you now  I could be guilty but 99 per cent of people I know will tell you: Not a chance! 

In the end, forensic evidence suggested that Sharons death was suicide. Officers summed up the case with brief speeches to camera, but the sense of frustration was palpable. Thats another unavoidable drawback of this genre: police cant always reveal what theyre really thinking.

Following the same format with a much lower budget, the daytime documentary Neighbourhood Blues (BBC1) returned for a ninth series, with the community support officers and beat bobbies in Gateshead and Sunderland.

Presenter Rav Wilding (centre) on Neighbourhood Blues now in its ninth series on BBC1

Presenter Rav Wilding, late of Crimewatch, explained that most cannabis in Britain is now grown in farms hidden inside the roof space of ordinary suburban houses  and tended by slaves trafficked from abroad.

One raid discovered a stash of plants, in a back-to-back terrace house, blooming in the attic. The mains supply had been rewired, to steal the electricity required to feed the arrays of heat lamps, and the roof was insulated to hide the farm from infra-red cameras on police helicopters.

It was all ruthlessly efficient.

Not so the petty criminal whose dump of a bedroom was invaded by police. They confiscated four wilting cannabis sprigs, barely enough to fill a flowerpot.

It was hardly the crime of the century. This man wasnt exactly drugs baron Pablo Escobar. He sat scowling at the camera  rarely has anyone on daytime telly looked so thoroughly browned off.She has gone back to brunette.

But on Monday, Kim Kardashian was clearly feeling reminiscent about the bubblegum pink hairdo she sported not so long ago.

The 37-year-old shared a throwback photo to her 111 million Instagram followers in which she sported her old hair color as she posed sultrily in her underwear.

Legs for days: On Monday, Kim Kardashian was clearly feeling reminiscent about the bubblegum pink hairdo she sported not so long ago

Keeping her feet cozy in a pair of socks, she folded herself into an armchair and drew her legs up toward herself, showing off her derriere.

That morning, she fired up her Insta Story to give her followers a glimpse at some of the sumptuous countryside views she has been enjoying in Wyoming.

Kim has been in the Equality State to visit her third husband Kanye West, who is working on his multiple forthcoming albums there.

Gorgeous: That morning, she fired up her Insta Story to give her followers a glimpse at some of the sumptuous countryside views she has been enjoying in Wyoming

Earlier this month, shortly before another trip to see to Kanye in Wyoming, Kim appeared on Live With Kelly And Ryan and said: 'He's doing really good.

'He's in Wyoming recording, he has a couple of albums coming out so he's just focused on that,' she explained.

'I will say,' she said laughing, 'he gave me my first gray hair this week, and I am blaming that on him. But no, he's doing really good.'

Family reunion: Kim has been in the Equality State to visit her third husband Kanye West, who is working on his multiple forthcoming albums there

Among Kanye's controversial statements in recent weeks was his comment on TMZ, where he theorized that slavery was 'a choice.'

He took to Twitter to declare his support for President Trump and also shared photos of himself wearing the Make America Great Again cap.

Kim and Kanye, who have been married since 2014, have three children: daughters North, four, and Chicago, born January 15; and son Saint, two.Julia Roberts is not seen on social media often.

But there the 50-year-old movie icon - star of such massive hits as Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride and Notting Hill - popped up on Instagram as she rubbed elbows with some of the biggest scenesters on Saturday evening.

The mother-of-three was taking in the Taylor Swift concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California with her daughter Hazel, 13.

New pals: Julia Roberts poses with Taylor Swift at her concert Saturday. Amber Rose shared this photo on Sunday. Also seen was Rebel Wilson, far left

And Julia, who is married to cinematographer Danny Moder, was up for posing in selfies.

The Wonder actress was seen smiling alongside Swift as well as Kanye West's ex-girlfriend Amber Rose and actress Rebel Wilson.

Amber shared the image which read, 'LOL Rebel x Muva x Julia Roberts x Taylor Swift.'

She seemed thrilled to be in such A list company.

New BFFS: The Pelican Brief actress was also seen with Rebel and Amber in another shot shared by Rose. All three were cheek to cheek but Rose would not take off her sunglasses. The caption here read, 'Baes'

Impressed: Amber seemed to be a fan as she said, 'Julia Roberts is hugging me'

The Pelican Brief actress was also seen with Rebel and Amber in another shot shared by Rose.

All three were cheek to cheek but Rose would not take off her sunglasses.

The caption here read, 'Baes.'

Big night with her little girl: Julia poses here with her daughter Hazel, 13, center

Look up! Amber held the camera as British TV personality Carly Steel looked on

Julia does not have an Instagram or Snapchat account. In 2013 she told Marie Claire she thinks of social media like as 'sticky' like cotton candy.

Julia was seen entering the venue with a male friend who had a very scruffy beard.

Julia was with daughter Hazel. She also has sons Phin and Henry.

Next up for the Georgia native is the film Ben Is Back with Kathryn Newton and Lucas Hedges.

On her way in: Julia was seen entering the venue with a male friend who had a very scruffy beardShe's the model daughter of Oasis Rocker Noel Gallagher and ex-wife Meg Matthews.

And Anais Gallagher has landed contributing fashion editor spot in glossy fashion magazine Tatler.

The 18-year-old model will flex her writing talent for the online version of the fashion and lifestyle magazine, headed up by new editor Richard Dennen.

Boss lady: Noel Gallagher's daughter Anais Gallagher, 18, has landed a role as contributing editor at glossy fashion magazine Tatler

The teenager isn't the only socialite to be working on the society bible's website - which has almost 400,000 unique monthly users - as Lady Amelia Windsor has also been appointed to the same position.

With over 200,000 followers on her Twitter and Instagram pages combined, Anais is popular with her audience for her quirky fashion sense.

With her eye for scene-stealing sartorial choices, the team at Tatler will be hoping her writing style and eye for trends will appeal to a younger audience.

Experienced: Anais was recently unveiled as the new face of Reebok, and even rocked the catwalk for Dolce And Gabbana for Milan Fashion Week in 2017 (pictured)

Celeb offspring: The genetically blessed model is the daughter of Oasis Rocker Noel Gallagher and ex-wife Meg Matthews (pictured)

Anais - who previously penned a piece for Teen Vogue magazine about a woman's right to vote - insisted that although people know her name because of the success of her father, she is 'proud' to work hard and 'sustain' her career achievements.

The blonde-haired beauty said: 'I think it's tough for me because in no way am I here by my own right. I'm here with this platform because of my parents.

'People say, "You only did that because of your dad". That's 100 per cent true, but I've only sustained where I am because I'm me. I'm a hard worker and I have my own mind.

Dream team: The teenager isn't the only socialite to be working on the society bible's website as Lady Amelia Windsor (pictured 2017) has also been appointed to the same position

Anais confessed she's even found her school teachers to be cynical about her ability to carve out a career on her own, but it's only spurred her on further.

The teen added: 'When I wrote about not being able to vote in the general election for Teen Vogue, a lot of teachers said I had a pretty face and a lucky last name and that I wasn't intelligent enough to write, or couldn't because I'm dyslexic.

'But that was nothing to do with my name. I wrote it myself and it was published. I was immensely proud of myself.'

Stylish: With her eye for scene-stealing sartorial choices, the team at Tatler will be hoping her writing style and eye for trends will appeal to a younger audience

Anais has previous experience in the fashion and modelling world, having been signed up to a modelling agency at the tender age of 11.

The catwalk queen did her first campaign for Accesorise when she was 14.

Anais was recently unveiled as the new face of Reebok, and even rocked the catwalk for Dolce And Gabbana for Milan Fashion Week in 2017.He helped provide the commentary for the BBC's coverage of Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle on Saturday.

And fresh from his duties at the highly anticipated royal nuptials, Ore Oduba enjoyed a night of musical frivolity at Magic FM's Magic At The Musicals evening at London's Royal Albert Hall on Monday.

The 32-year-old TV presenter looked oh-so dapper in an all-black ensemble, with a sharp blazer over a classic round-neck jumper.

Classic style: Ore Oduba, 32, cut a sharp figure in an all-black ensemble at Magic At The Musicals red carpet at the Royal Albert Hall, London on Monday

Ore also donned a pair of black skinny jeans, and polished off the look with sophisticated black suede loafers.

Accessorising with a silver watch and black bracelets, the television personality flashed a huge smile on the red carpet with some scruff outlining his squared jaw.

It was a reunion of sorts for Ore, who posed at the glamorous event alongside former Newsround host Sonali Shah, who used to co-present the children's news show with Ore in 2010.

Busy weekend! Ore is fresh off the heels of the Royal Wedding coverage for BBC1

Looking sharp: The TV presenter looked oh-so dapper in an all-black ensemble, with a sharp blazer over a classic round-neck jumper

Ore is fresh off the heels of the Royal Wedding coverage for BBC1 , and showcased his joy in hosting the event on his Instagram page.

The London native wrote: 'When you're presenting on the #royalwedding from Windsor Castle but have to check you put your pants on @bbcone from 9am LET'S GET EM MARRIED.'

The Beeb's coverage included high-profile presenters such as Dermott O'Leary, Charlotte Hawkins and Scarlett Moffatt.

Back together: It was a reunion for Ore, who posed at the glamorous event alongside former Newsround host Sonali Shah, who used to co-present the children's news show with Ore

All black everything: Florence Andrews (L) sparkled in her glittering black gown by Tiffany Rose while Cats actress Ruthie Henshall followed suit in her own halterneck gown with a billowing skirt

Yet many were left baffled by the talent show host's addition to the line-up alongside seasoned broadcasters such as Huw Edwards.

The BBC's programme was branded 'boring and embarrassing' yet ITV was deemed 'top class' as viewers decided who presented the royal wedding best.

Fronting the ITV coverage was Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham from a purpose-built studio in the Berkshire town.

The BBC decided to freshen up their look by employing Dermot O'Leary and Alex Jones for their main coverage, alongside Scarlett Moffatt as their Radio One royal correspondent.

Giddy: Ore showcased his joy in the Royal Wedding, as he wrote: 'When you're presenting on the #royalwedding from Windsor Castle but have to check you put your pants on'

Stylish: Magic DJ Nick Snaith looked dapper in his black blazer and grey trousers

Red carpet ready: Theatre actress Josie Walker (L) caught all the attention in her decadent khaki wrap dress, while Sonali turned heads in her glittering black and gold ensemble

This is a far cry from the days when David Dimbleby was on call for any large state occasion.

Many on social media questioned why the veteran BBC presenter was replaced by 'embarrassing hosts'.

One wrote: 'BBC One royal wedding show hosted by Dermot OLeary and Kirsty Young. Two people who never front BBC One shows.

'This seems a very odd choice. Its like watching some other channel.'

Suit up: Welsh musical theatre actor John Owen Jones looked very handsome in his tailored black suit and patent dress shoes

All eyes on her: Magic FM host Harriet Scott donned a sleek floral gown and chic gold heels for the glamorous event

Sensational: Kelly Mathieson wore a glamorous red princess inspired ballgown

Looking good, ladies! Rosalie Craig (L) and Laura Tebbutt (R) were dressed to the nines for the glamorous affair

Dazzling: Louise Dearman slipped her figure into a slinky black dress

Another added: 'I want to enjoy the royal wedding but the BBC is foisting Dermot O'Leary on us today. Don't make me watch Sky.'

Elsewhere, Ore - who became a dad for the first time in January - got emotional as he spoke about fatherhood on Lorraine earlier this month, admitting that he initially struggled to bond with his child.

The TV star got teary-eyed as he talked about his first feed with son Roman, before praising his wife for being an 'incredible mother'.

Regal: Georgina Castle stunned in a semi-sheer lace floral gown

Together: Lauren Chia and Matthew Croke cosied up for the red carpet affair

Gorgeous gals: Marisha Wallace, Brennyn Lark, Asmeret Ghebremichael and Kimmy Edwards from Dreamgirls also turned heads

Starry eyed: The School Of Rock actress curled her blonde tresses and opted for a rosy lip

Fabulous: Nick Ofoa, Brown Lindeiwie Mkhize and Shawn Escoffery

Stepping out: Alice Arnold and Clare Balding opted for black trousers for the event

'I'm so lucky to have Portia because she is the most incredible mother, almost immediately that [maternal] instinct kicked in. As a dad you're there as a support.

He added: 'We tried for weeks to get him to take the bottle [after breastfeeding]. The first time he took the bottle and looked at me, it was like he looked at me for the first time. I was torn up. I'm going to be tearing up at everything he does.'

Ore and his wife declared it 'the best day in our tiny family's lives' when Roman arrived in January following their jubilant pregnancy announcement in August last year.

Of his excitement over the royal wedding, Ore told the host: 'There's a good chance that might happen too [more crying]. There's a moat around Windsor Castle that might need filling!'

She now has a seven-month-old son called Albee.

But Katie Lowes of Scandal fame has revealed she went through an earlier pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage when she was three months along.

On a new episode of her podcast Katie's Crib, the 36-year-old shared the experience, talking bluntly of 'knowing that there is, like, a dead child inside of me.'

Heartbreak: Prior to having her infant son, Katie Lowes of Scandal fame went through an earlier pregnancy that ended in a miscarriage; she is pictured with husband Adam Shapiro

Katie, who married her actor husband Adam Shapiro in 2012, recalled that at the time she miscarried she was 11 and a half weeks pregnant.

She said: 'I was a couple of days away from telling everybody that I was pregnant - which, by the way, when I got pregnant with Albee, I waited way longer than 12 weeks to tell anyone, because I kind of had PTSD about the miscarriage, for sure.'

Katie remembered that 'I went to a routine doctors visit to hear the heartbeat, and she was like: "Oh, my God, Im so sorry, but there is none." And in came the tissues.'

The Queens-born actress wanted to immediately undergo a procedure to remove the fetus, but was told she would have to wait, until after a holiday weekend.

'Is it a selfie is there's two of us?': She is now the proud mother to a seven-month-old son called Albee, having announced her pregnancy last May

She explained: 'I just had this real, "Oh, no, no. I need to get in there, like, tomorrow." That was my response. I was like: "Get it out. Like, I dont want to walk around anymore knowing that there is, like, a dead child inside of me."'

Katie was unconscious during the procedure and 'felt no physical pain.'

She said: 'I remember my OB just, like, holding my and, like, petting my hand and saying: "Youre  its okay. Its okay. Its okay."'

Katie's voice slowed as she said: 'And then I went to sleep and I woke up. And the baby was gone... I wasnt in pain afterwards, but the real pain was mental. And it was s***y, and so much s***tier than I imagined it being.'

'Let's fix it': Katie shared that when she discovered she had miscarried, she felt a need to 'Olivia Pope the situation'; she is pictured with Kerry Washington, who played Olivia on Scandal

Said she: 'I think the initial feeling when I found out there was no heartbeat from the doctor, in a routine checkup, was like: "Okay, lets, like, Olivia Pope the situation. Lets fix it. Lets make the schedule. Lets get to the hospital. Lets get the D and C. Lets get that done. When can I start trying again?"'

Olivia Pope is Kerry Washington's Scandal character, a high-powered Washington D.C. fixer who runs a crisis management firm.

Looking back: Katie, who married her actor husband Adam in 2012, recalled that at the time she miscarried: 'I was about 11 and a half weeks'

But: 'As soon as it sort of set in that I had had a miscarriage, what happens is you have a major hormonal dropoff. And I think I was massively sad for about three months, and I was only pregnant for three months.'

She had 'a lot of therapy,' and 'didn't get my period for three months after I had my miscarriage. And so I felt like an insane person, because my body was really messed up, and my hormones were really recovering and messed up and my - what I've come to learn - my uterine wall was rebuilding.

'And you also cant really start to try to conceive, some doctors would recommend, until youve had a period, because its a sign that your cycles back and the egg is dropping and you might actually have a chance of getting pregnant again. So its not like I could jump back in the saddle and try to start fixing the problem.'

During this three-month period, 'I just felt kind of crazy. I was having disproportionate responses to conflict. Little things would come up and I would be shot out of the cannon, like totally insane and not acting like myself.'

'PTSD': She said: 'I was a couple of days away from telling everybody that I was pregnant - which, by the way, when I got pregnant with Albee, I waited way longer than 12 weeks'

Over sauvignon blanc with actress Jackie Seiden and comedy writer Amy Mass, Katie recounted how she 'videotaped all my familys responses to me being pregnant, and then I had to call all of them and say: "Im not."'

The experience of informing her loved ones of her miscarriage was so scarring that when she was expecting Albee 'I didn't do anything' like those videos.

She did have support from her family, including from her mother-in-law, who told Katie that she herself had once miscarried.

Katie remembered that 'Something that really made me feel better about having one was she said: "I had one before I had your husband, and I wouldnt have had your husband had I not had one."

Scarring: Katie recounted how she 'videotaped all my familys responses to me being pregnant, and then I had to call all of them and say: "Im not"'

With a weak laugh, Katie said: 'So that made me feel better for maybe five minutes.'

She did appreciate getting 'sent a lot of cookies' in the aftermath of her miscarriage, saying: 'I called a woman I know who had a lot of miscarriages, and she knew I was going in that day for my D and C, and when I came home there was like a jug of milk and like a thousand cookies and I ate them ALL.'

Katie added: 'And then I ate sushi. The things youre not allowed to do when youre pregnant.' When one of her guests joked that Katie lifted a few that night as well, Katie joined in on the joke: 'And then I got wasted.'

She waited until May last year to announce that she was pregnant with little Albee, whom she welcomed into the world that October.More explicit footage of former WWE star Paige has been leaked online.

A new clip showing the retired wrestler performing sex acts with Xavier Woods, former WWE wrestler Brad Maddox and a third, unidentified man has been circulating online, according to Ringside News.

This isn't the first time Paige has found herself the victim of revenge porn. In 2017 another sexual video was stolen and shared online.

Retired professional wrestler Paige has had yet another sex tape leak online

After the leak, the Norwich, England-native suffered stress-induced anorexia and baldness.

She opened up about the leak, saying: 'That scarred me. People invading my privacy, to the point where sometimes I don't want to go out.'

Paige elaborated further during the Chasing Glory With Lilian Garcia podcast: 'When they came out I barricaded myself in the house for a couple of months. I was so sad to the point I was contemplating suicide.'

The wrestler hasn't yet addressed the most recent leak.

Here's what you need to know about the leak.

Who is Paige?

Paige, born Saraya-Jade Bevis on August 17, 1992, is an English former WWE wrestler. She was forced to quit after she was injured during a six-woman tag team match involving Sasha Banks in New York.

Describing the incident recently, Paige recalled losing feeling in her limbs when the injury occurred. She feared that she had been paralyzed.

Speaking with the Edge and Christian podcast, she remembered the frightening moments after getting hurt, at which time she tried to walk off her injury.

'So I'm like "no, I'm going to keep going",' she said. 'And I remember trying to grab Sasha's legs and my arms felt like there was just no bones in them you know.'

Completely overwhelmed with the love and support. Thank you everyone. Seriously means so much to me. This isn't the end though. Just the beginning of something special. #ThankYou #ThisIsMyHouse pic.twitter.com/WUhEKdXfMd  PAIGE (@RealPaigeWWE) April 10, 2018

Paige went on: 'So I'm trying to grab her legs and then like, "Wait let me try to stand up and then I'll be good to do the comeback".

'Sasha is like, "Noooooo, absolutely not".

'Then I tried to stand up and I just look drunk like I just start stumbling and falling back'.

In April 2018, after being seen by medical professionals who assessed her injury fully, Paige retired from the ring.

She now works as a SmackDown general manager.

New Paige video leak

Over the weekend, a new sex tape starring Paige, Xavier Woods, Brad Maddox and another man leaked online. The footage has been circulating since.

Although Paige has been active on Twitter in the last few days, she hasn't addressed it.

Social media reacts to new Paige video leak

Paige has been taking a lot of flack from fans online following the leak of a sex tape in which she's seen engaging in sex acts.

Citing the WWE's refusal to induct late female wrestler Chyna into the WWE Hall of Fame because she appeared in Playboy, several wrestling fans expressed the opinion that the organization would be hypocritical to keep Paige on.

Wow. Really?



And remember, folks. We can't induct Chyna into the WWE Hall Of Fame cause she did porn. But hey, we're gonna give Paige a job as an on-screen character. https://t.co/pr52XPRdnb  lightning_kf (@lightning_kf) May 20, 2018

New Paige porno hits Internet. In other news, tomorrow is going to be Monday.  Jon Draper (@iamjondraper) May 20, 2018

Paige currently works as a general manager at SmackDown.

Some fans were quick to rally around her, however.EastEnders fans were left in shock following the traumatic storyline which saw Shakil and Keegan brutally stabbed outside the Queen Vic pub.

In the upsetting scenes from Monday's episode, Shakil (played by Shaheen Jafargholi) was killed and Keegan (Zack Morris) left fighting for his life after deciding to steal a bike, unaware that it belongs to a dangerous gang.

Shakil was left fatally injured by the attack while the rest of Albert Square were transfixed by the royal wedding, with the seriously injured teen also turned away from the Queen Vic pub by Mick Carter (Danny Dyer) who assumes that he is just another rowdy reveller.

Horrific: EastEnders fans were left reeling after Keegan and Shakil were brutally stabbed outside the Queen Vic pub on Monday's episode

The dark storyline will come about after Shakil desperately tried to get Keegan to return the bike after the gang realises he stole it and put a 'most wanted' picture of the theft on social media.

'You know what, I've never had nothing as nice as this bike' Keegan responded.

Shaken by the whole ordeal, Keegan refused to return the bike to the violent owners, so Shakil took matters into his own hands in an effort to give the bike back.

Hard-hitting: The storyline has seen former EastEnders star Brooke Kinsella work closely with soap bosses to raise awareness of knife crime, following the death of her brother Ben

Brutal: Worried for his friend's safety, Keegan goes out in search of Shakil, but before he gets anywhere, he was cornered in an alley by a gang member and the pair were both stabbed

Things quickly spiraled out of control after the bullish thugs turned up at the Vic pub in search of Keegan, who dashed into the toilet to hide, before realising that Shakil attempted to fix the situation himself.

Worried for his friend's safety, Keegan goes out in search of Shakil, but before he gets anywhere, he was cornered in an alley by a gang member and the pair were both violently stabbed.

Staggering back to the pub in a desperate bid for help, Shakil was turned away by a tipsy Mick who assumes that he was just looking for trouble among the drunken revellers celebrating the royal wedding.

Celebrations: Shakil was left fatally injured by the attack while the rest of Albert Square were transfixed by the royal wedding

Heartbreaking: Things quickly spiraled out of control after the bullish thugs turned up at the Vic pub in search of Keegan, who dashed into the toilet to hide

Violent: Shaken by the whole ordeal, Keegan refused to return the bike to the violent owners, so Shakil took matters into his own hands in an effort to give the bike back

Eventually the pair were discovered by Mick as he checks out the pub before heading to bed, with the landlord frantically called an ambulance.

Viewers at home were left stunned after the horrific storyline, and took to Twitter to voice their shock following the episode's cliffhanger.

One fan commented: '#EastEnders has really upset me tonight, as important as the story line on knife crime is, Shaki is too good to die!'

'Eastenders was was and intense today. Wow' wrote another.

'Intense': Viewers at home were left stunned after the horrific storyline, and took to Twitter to voice their shock following the episode's cliffhanger

Fans also recognised the importance of the heartbreaking issue, with a third tweeting: 'Hats off to EastEnders for their storyline around knife crime. I guess anything that raises awareness can only, surely, be a good thing.

'Hope the rest of the story is covered by the grim reality of knife crime so lessons can be learnt'.

The hard-hitting storyline has seen former EastEnders star Brooke Kinsella work closely with soap bosses to raise awareness of knife crime, following the death of her brother Ben in a similar attack in 2008.

Trying to get help: Staggering back to the pub, Shakil was turned away by a tipsy Mick who assumes that he was just looking for trouble among the drunken revellers

Desperate: Eventually the pair were discovered by Mick as he checks out the pub before heading to bed, with the landlord frantically called an ambulance

Speaking about her work on the storyline Brooke said: 'The pain of Ben's loss will never go away, there isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about him and miss him.

'I commend the EastEnders team for choosing this storyline to portray the realities of knife crime.

'I believe that this storyline will bring home the realities of knife crime to a wider audience and show how it damages the lives of victims, offenders, their families and friends forever.'She welcomed her second child Rosie just six months ago.

And Sam Faiers, 27, proved she was back to her best when she slipped into a leopard print bikini, showing off her incredible post-baby figure in the seductive swimwear.

The former TOWIE star displayed her perfectly flat stomach, toned legs and ample cleavage in the beach attire.

Wow: Sam Faiers, 27, proved she was back to her best when she slipped into a leopard print bikini, showing off her incredible post-baby figure in the seductive swimwear

Sam looked positively tropical, donning a contrasting floral kimono with clashing animal print trim on the sleeves.

The stunning star tied her brunnette hair back in a bun, accessorising with teal hoop earrings and funky shades.

The mother-of-two has been sharing a number of family snaps from her getaway with partner Paul Knightley, two-year-old son Paul and six-month-old Rosie.

Fun in the sun: The mother-of-two has been sharing a number of family snaps from her getaway with partner Paul Knightley, two-year-old son Paul and six-month-old Rosie

Last Friday, Sam and her sister Billie revealed that they had their first night out together in four years.

The Mummy Diaries stars headed out with their partners and a group of friends to mark the 30th birthday of Sam's boyfriend Paul.

Posting an Instagram snap of the night out on Saturday, with the glam sisters posing with their girlfriends, Billie told her followers it was an extra special night.

'Last night was to say the least ... celebrating @paulknightley7 30th birthday ... first night out with my sister @samanthafaiers for 4 years ohhh yes we celebrated.'

Celebrating! Last Friday, Sam and her sister Billie revealed that they had their first night out together in four years

Four years: In her Stories, Billie and Sam sipped on cocktails and danced for the camera as they told their fans how excited they were to finally be partying together

In her Stories, Billie and Sam sipped on cocktails and danced for the camera as they told their fans how excited they were to finally be partying together.

Billie is mum to daughter Nelly, three and son Arthur, one while Sam welcomed daughter Rosie six months ago, a big sister for Paul, two.

The sisters celebrated Paul's milestone birthday with a stay at the plush Bulgari Hotel in London on Friday.

27-year-old Mummy Diaries star Sam looked utterly smitten with her estate agent hunk as she dazzled in a chic blue short suit with glittering gold tassels.

Smitten: Sam put on a loved-up display with boyfriend Paul Knightley, as they celebrated his milestone 30th birthday on Friday night

Putting her leggy frame and eye-popping cleavage on full display in the skimpy outfit, Sam added length in a pair of strappy nude killer heels.

Clutching onto an elegant nude handbag, the reality star polished off her look with her glossy blonde locks in a glamorous curl.

Sam let her glittering garb do all the talking as she left any extra accessories at home, while minimalist make-up highlighted her stunning features.

The former TOWIE star couldn't help but smile as she looked at Paul, who complemented her jazzy ensemble with a suede green jumper and blue jeans.

Tight knit: Sam - who's mum to son Paul junior, two, and daughter Rosie - let her glittering garb do all the talking as she left any extra accessories at home

Before painting the town red for Paul's milestone birthday, Sam took to her Instagram page to wish her love a special day by posting a montage of throwback snaps of the happy couple as she revealed they had fallen in love 'at first sight' just five months before she fell pregnant.

Writing to her 2 million followers, she said: 'We fell in love at first sight, 5 months later we was on the path to starting our own family, I love you with all my heart.

'Happy 30th Birthday To the most kind, loving, caring man in the world. Excited for celebrations with you & our family (these pics are pre babies).' (sic)

Happy birthday, big Paul! Sam shared a sweet tribute to boyfriend Paul as he celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday

Sweet: The TV personality posted a montage of throwback snaps of the happy couple as she revealed they had fallen in love 'at first sight' just five months before she fell pregnant

Sam also gave her fans a glimpse at their celebrations, as she shared an image from their home which was full to the brim with golden balloons as well as another that wrote out Paul's name and age.

The TV personality star's sweet message came after fans expressed their shock at the budget fashion entrepreneur's age as the couple made their first ever joint live TV appearance on This Morning last week.

The reality star was discussing her other half's upcoming 30th birthday celebrations on the show, which appeared to shock fans as they assumed he was much older.

Loved-up: The couple raise son Paul junior, two, and daughter Rosie, six months, together

Throwback Thursday: The former TOWIE star's sweet message came after fans expressed their shock at the budget fashion entrepreneur's age on Wednesday

Time to party: Sam also gave her fans a glimpse at their celebrations, as she shared an image from their home which was full to the brim with golden balloons

Twitter was awash with hilarious GIFS and tweets of shock from viewers of the show as The Mummy Diaries pair happily spoke about the upcoming festivities.

On the show, Sam explained: 'Tomorrow is Pauls birthday. We have got a night off from the children. Were staying in town overnight for Pauls 30th.'

However, viewers didn't pay attention to his birthday plans as they proved to be shocked about his age and went on to share their opinions on social media.

During the interview, Sam and Paul also discussed why they are still in separate bedrooms six months after their daughter's birth, as well as why he was unimpressed with her proposal joke.

Pucker up: The Mummy Diaries star shared a series of sweet pictures of her long-term love, telling her fans they were taken in the five months before they had children

Love story: Sam and Paul met in a local Essex nightspot in 2014 and saw their relationship quickly progress

Family first: The former TOWIE star, 27, and her beau who have been dating since 2014, welcomed baby Rosie in November and also share son Paul, two

Sam and her beau, who have been dating since 2014, welcomed baby Rosie in November and also share son Paul, two.

Opening up about up about their sleeping situation, Paul said: It's just sleep' while Sam added the couple do still get to spend quality time together.

She said: Everyone gets to sleep in our house. We're alright we still have our moments.

'This Friday it's Paul's 30th. We've got a night off from the children our first night off in like months.'

The couple also discussed Sam's hilarious fake proposal during the series finale of The Mummy Diaries last month, which saw her go scuba diving in Dubai, before swimming up to Paul and their son while holding up a card underwater which read: 'Will you...'

TV stars: Sam and Paul made their first-ever joint live TV appearance on This Morning on Wednesday

'He's 30??' Twitter was awash with hilarious GIFS and tweets of shock from viewers of the show as The Mummy Diaries pair happily spoke about the upcoming festivities

Shock: Viewers didn't pay attention to Paul's birthday plans as they proved to be shocked of his age and went on to share their opinions on social media

The beauty then swiftly held up the second part of the question, which was simply 'make dinner for me?' with Paul later saying he would have declined Sam's proposal.

Sam said: I thought it would be a little bit of light-hearted fun, because obviously we've got two babies together and everybodys saying when are you gonna get married?

Although humorous on Sam's side, Paul said he had been left unimpressed by his partner's gag.

He said: We're definitely gonna get married, it's just not at this moment. It was one of Sams funny jokes but I didnt find it that funny.

'I was more happy that she got in the water because she don't like fish.

The pair admitted they had been blown away by the success of their ITVBe show, which this series saw Sam's sister Billie, her fiance Greg Shepherd and their children Nelly and Arthur join the cast.He took aim at a woman who insulted his 'chunky' appearance at the Royal Wedding by posting an unflattering snap of her on his Instagram.

And Patrick J Adams has since apologised for sharing the photo after he was criticised for publicly body shaming the woman on Monday.

In a length statement, the Suits star, 36, said he swiftly took the post down after realising 'any sense of being a bully or lashing out felt wrong'.

Annoyed: Patrick J Adams has since apologised for sharing an unflattering photo of a woman after she criticised his 'chunky' appearance at the Royal Wedding

He wrote: 'Yesterday I posted a photo of a woman who did some casual body shaming of my wife and I in the airport. My intention was solely to put a face to the people who think that sort of glancing commentary is necessary, helpful or funny.

'Some of the comments on the post instead said I was being a bully and should have taken the 'high road' (some also doubled down on the body shaming. Thumbs up guys!)

'I thought it over and agreed and took it down, not because I felt the woman was right or fair or undeserving of being called out but because any sense of being a bully or lashing out felt wrong.'

Apology: In a length statement, the Suits star, 36, said he swiftly took the post down after realising 'any sense of being a bully or lashing out felt wrong'

Annoyed: He said: 'My intention was solely to put a face to the people who think that sort of glancing commentary is necessary, helpful or funny'

The actor added that after his actions had hit the headlines, he wanted to have his say on the matter.

The apology came after Patrick revealed his royal wedding appearance came into question by a fellow airport passenger, who claimed he looked 'chunky' in his morning suit at the celebration.

The Canadian actor, who attended the nuptials with his fellow Suits co-stars and wife Troian Bellisario, then uploaded a shot of her sleeping on his Instagram, before he quickly deleted it after sharing it to his 2.1 million followers.

'I'm no bully': He continued: 'I thought it over and agreed and took it down, not because I felt the woman was right ... but because any sense of being a bully or lashing out felt wrong'

Patrick, who played lawyer Mike Ross on the series for seven years, revealed the unnamed woman commented on his weight as she referenced a photo of him at the wedding while he waited for his flight back to the States in Heathrow airport.

The actor captioned the unflattering photo: 'She reads her paper. See's picture of me and Troian from wedding. 'My God. What a terrible photo of you.'

'I look over. 'Really. I kind of like that photo. What do you think is wrong with it?' She pauses. 'Well, you're just so....chunky.' She laughs and falls asleep. And .... scene.'

While he was praised by some of his loyal followers, others were less than enthused by the pointed move which later influenced his decision to take the shot down.

One fan commented: 'I expect better from you. She's rude and what she did was uncalled for but sometimes you don't have to get even.'

Hitting back: Patrick, who played lawyer Mike Ross on the series for seven years, revealed the unnamed woman commented on his weight as she referenced a photo of him at the wedding

Good idea: Troian revealed that the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle supplied guests with slippers

While another follower shared: 'So rude! You both looked great! Someone's jealous they didn't get to go.'

The snap comes after his actress wife and former Pretty Little Liars star Troian revealed that the bride supplied guests with slippers during the wedding reception.

The director, who donned a Temperley London dress, carried her heels in her hand as she slipped on the comfortable alternatives.

Troian, 32, said while walking barefoot during the wedding reception: 'How amazing is this? Because these shoes have come off. They have slippers for us.'

She then exclaimed: 'Slippers! I'm so ready.'

A gentleman asked her: 'Would you like a pair madam?' to which she answered: 'Yes please!'

She tagged Sarah Rafferty and Abigail Spencer; the two actresses co-starred with Meghan and Patrick on Suits.

Cute shoes: Troian showed carried her heels in her hand as she slipped on the comfortable alternatives

Views: Troian, 32, said while walking barefoot during the wedding reception: 'How amazing is this? Because these shoes have come off. They have slippers for us'

Troian chose a peach colored long-sleeved dress with a keyhole detail and a empire waist; the lovely frock featured silver star detailing along each shoulder.

She added gold and crystal accented heels as well as a peach colored headband that featured netting along the front.

Patrick donned a black blazer with a matching waistcoat and trousers, a burgundy tie and a button up shirt.

So smart: She then exclaimed: 'Slippers! I'm so ready'

Strike a pose: Troian chose a peach colored long-sleeved dress with a keyhole detail and a empire waist; the lovely frock featured silver star detailing along each shoulder

The 36-year-old actor played Mike Ross for seven seasons on Suits; Meghan starred on the show as Rachel Zane.

Mike and Rachel - Patrick and Meghan's characters - tied the knot on the hit USA legal drama.

On Saturday, Meghan tied the knot with Prince Harry at Windsor Castle with the royal family as well as countless celebrities including Oprah, Serena Williams and George and Amal Clooney.

Happily ever after: On Saturday, Meghan Markle tied the knot with Prince Harry at Windsor Castle

True love: Guests included the royal family as well as countless celebrities including Oprah, Serena Williams and George and Amal Clooney

'En route': Troian shared Instagram stories as she headed toward Windsor Castle with husband Patrick and other Suits starsAustralians love the ability to have food from their favourite restaurant delivered to their homes, but not at the expense of the person doing the delivering.

That's the case the Greens will make on Monday, introducing legislation into parliament to regulate the wages and conditions of so-called "gig economy" workers.

"If we end up with 21st century technology but 19th century work practices we are all going to suffer," Greens MP Adam Bandt told reporters in Canberra.

"We've got a crisis in this country where nearly one-in-three young people either haven't got a job or haven't got enough hours of work."

The Greens' bill seeks to stop companies like Uber from avoiding paying the minimum wage by using the labour of workers not classified as employees.

"We need to close this loophole and we need to ensure the convenience of the new economy doesn't come at the cost of wages and conditions," Mr Bandt said.

The bill aims to ensure a level playing field of minimum wages and conditions across Australia, while still encouraging the growth of new business models.Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo has launched a blistering attack against suggestions he was behind an apparent push to allow the country's digital spy agency to collect intelligence on Australians.

Mr Pezzullo rubbished reports he asked the secretary of defence and the head of the Australian Signals Directorate to expand the agency's powers to collect information on citizens and covertly access their data.

"I have not proposed - nor would I ever propose - that ASD's powers be expanded in the way described in this false reporting," he told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Monday.The decades-old hunt for the legendary Loch Ness monster may soon be put to rest with some modern technology.

A global team of scientists will take to the Scottish lake next month with DNA-detecting tools they hope will answer questions about the existence of Nessie.

Using environmental DNA sampling - or eDNA - the researchers will identify cells left in the water by creatures swimming through it to paint a picture of all the life in it.

Scroll down for video

The decades-old hunt for the legendary Loch Ness monster may soon be put to rest with some modern technology. Among the most famous claimed sightings is a photograph (pictured) taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson which was published in the Daily Mail

The use of eDNA sampling is already well established as a tool for monitoring sharks, whales, fish and other animals.

'Whenever a creature moves through its environment, it leaves behind tiny fragments of DNA from skin, scales, feathers, fur, faeces and urine,' said lead researcher Professor Neil Gemmell from the University of Otago in New Zealand.

'This DNA can be captured.'

They'll then compare the results to other nearby lochs and a database of about 100,000 organisms to see if anything sticks out as unusual.

'If an exact match cant be found we can generally figure out where on the tree of life that sequence fits', said Professor Gemmell.

When Professor Gemmell proposed the plan last year, he told AAP the same method had been sensitive enough to find a single fish in a lake 12 miles (20 kilometres) downstream in previous tests.

He suggested it wouldn't have a problem finding Nessie if the mythical monster did exist.

'Large fish like catfish and sturgeons, have been suggested as possible explanations for the monster myth, and we can very much test that idea and others,' he said.

However, he said he didn't think a negative result would put an end to the myth that brings thousands of tourists to the small lake in the Scottish Highlands.

The first reported sighting of the monster is said to have been made in 565AD by the Irish missionary St Columba when he came across a giant beast in the River Ness.

Since then more than 1,000 sightings have been recorded.

A global team of scientists will take to the Scottish lake (pictured, stock image) next month with DNA-detecting tools they hope will answer questions about the existence of Nessie

HAS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER EVER REALLY BEEN SPOTTED? The first reported sighting of the monster is said to have been made in 565AD by the Irish missionary St Columba when he came across a giant beast in the River Ness. Since then more than 1,000 sightings have been recorded. Many who believe in the Loch Ness Monster think it could be related to plesiosaurs, marine reptiles that existed in prehistoric times. However, many believe that the sightings are hoaxes or genuine misunderstandings. Among the most famous claimed sightings is a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson which was published in the Daily Mail. Dr Wilson, who was a prominent London gynaecologist, did not want to have his name associated with the picture so it became known as 'the Surgeon's Photograph'. It was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed that the pictures were staged. A renowned sighting was made in 2001 by photographer James Gray and friend Peter Levings when they were fishing on the Loch Other sightings include James Gray's picture from 2001 when he and friend Peter Levings were out fishing on the Loch. But no one has ever come up with a satisfactory explanation for the sightings - although 'Nessie expert' Steve Feltham, who has spent 24 years watching the Loch, said he thought it was actually a giant Wels Catfish, native to waters near the Baltic and Caspian seas in Europe. An online register lists more than 1,000 total Nessie sightings, created by Mr Campbell, the man behind the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club and is available at www.lochnesssightings.com.' Advertisement

Many who believe in the Loch Ness Monster think it could be related to plesiosaurs, marine reptiles that existed in prehistoric times.

However, many believe that the sightings are hoaxes or genuine misunderstandings.

Among the most famous claimed sightings is a photograph taken in 1934 by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson which was published in the Daily Mail.

Dr Wilson, who was a prominent London gynaecologist, did not want to have his name associated with the picture so it became known as 'the Surgeon's Photograph'.

Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately 23 miles (37km) southwest of Inverness (marked)

It was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed that the pictures were staged.

'I don't believe it exists, but I'm open to the possibility we may be wrong,' said Professor Gemmell.

'It's fair to say, a negative result will still leave some level of ambiguity.'

The researchers say while the monster is the 'hook' for the work, there's also a lot to be learned about the other life in the loch, Britain's largest body of freshwater.

Researchers hope the project will help them better understand the invasive species in the loch, such as the Pacific pink salmon.

Professor Gemmell predicts that many undocumented species, such as bacteria, are likely to be found too.The Great Barrier Reef Foundation was given $450 million of taxpayer money without first having to reveal how it would be spent.

Environmental officials revealed on Monday the single largest allocation of federal money to the reef in Australian history was allocated in this year's budget without a tender process.

"You've forked out $450 million to this group that have 10 staff," Labor senator Anthony Chisholm said, demanding accountability from government officials during Senate estimates hearings on Monday.

Environment Department secretary Finn Pratt denied a characterisation by Labor senator Kristina Keneally the grant was the result of an "unsolicited tender" from the foundation.

But the department was forced to take questions on notice, unable to say whether there was any open invitation or opportunities for other organisations to put forward plans.

"It does appear the department cannot answer basic questions how this massive allocation of money came to go to one foundation," the senator said.

But government minister Simon Birmingham backed the allocation, saying the government had done its due diligence and the foundation was best placed to lead the effort to protect the reef.

Earlier Mr Pratt said the Great Barrier Reef Foundation was in talks with the department about its plans to spend the money over six years.The chairman of a company given a share of $20 million in taxpayers' money for a fast rail business case was a former Nationals candidate.

Labor senator Murray Watt told a Senate estimates hearing on Monday Consolidated Land and Rail Australia chairman Nick Cleary was the former vice-chairman of the NSW Nationals and contested a federal election for the party.

CLARA's proposal to build fast rail from Melbourne to regional Victorian centre Shepparton was in March selected for a viability study funded by the federal government.Animals Australia has urged Agriculture Minister David Littleproud to show shocking footage of cruelty on live export ships to his Middle Eastern counterparts.

The minister is visiting Kuwait and Qatar to reassure those countries Australia will continue the trade of live sheep after a crackdown on dodgy exporters.

In a letter to Mr Littleproud seen by AAP, Animals Australia chief executive Glenys Oogjes asks him to show the vision of sheep dying in their own filth on an August 2016 voyage to the Middle East.

Almost 2500 animals died on that voyage.

The footage sparked the industry's latest crisis, compelling the government to announce an overhaul of the trade on the advice of recommendations from vet Michael McCarthy.

Ms Oogjes told Mr Littleproud the Kuwait and Qatar governments should see the images to determine whether the trade meets animal welfare and religious requirements.

It comes after a US expert in Islamic law raised concerns about Middle Eastern countries supporting the trade if they were shown the conditions during the northern hemisphere summer.

Harvard University professor Kristen Stilt said the overcrowding and heat stress present in the footage did not comply with Islamic law.

"The sheep standing or lying in their own excrement for three weeks are also at risk for contracting diseases and producing meat that is not halal," she said.

"The same is true for animals who are confined in pens where other animals are becoming sick and dying."

Mr Littleproud announced a raft of reforms to the industry last week, including more room for sheep on live export ships.

Every vessel will have an independent observer to keep a close eye on conditions.

The government will attempt to legislate for harsh new penalties for animal welfare breaches including jail terms of up to 10 years.

Despite the changes, rogue Liberal MPs led by former minister Sussan Ley have pushed ahead with a private bill to end live exports which on Monday was introduced to parliament.Stopping would-be terrorists from planning attacks at Australian airports justifies giving police fresh powers to demand traveller identification, the head of Home Affairs believes.

Home Affairs boss Michael Pezzullo said the threshold for making inquiries into people's identities at airports was not keeping pace with security threats.

"It's the case that airports are regrettably a high-profile target for international terrorists," Mr Pezzullo told a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra on Monday.

"The ability to thwart a mass casualty attack in that environment has to be paramount when we're thinking about police powers."

Australian Federal Police officers can already demand people's identification at airports when they have a reasonable suspicion a serious offence may be committed.

However, Mr Pezzullo said these powers were not broad enough.

Proposed new laws outlined in the federal budget would allow AFP officers to conduct identity checks without cause at airports and order people to leave.

"At the moment the threshold is not in keeping with best practice in terms of how to safeguard aviation security generally, how to safeguard our airports, and how to keep the travelling public safe," Mr Pezzullo said.

The secretary used the example of a person "casing" an airport to plan an attack to illustrate his point.

"Until you've asked the person who they are and what they're doing there, you would not have a clue," he said.

Mr Pezzullo acknowledged Australia's terror threat level had remained at "probable" since September 2014, but said it was important to keep pace with global threats.

"We've got a responsibility in departments and agencies to stay current on attack planning, the trends that we're seeing, what is happening around the world both in terms of potential strikes on airports as well as aircraft."

Mr Pezzullo took umbrage at Greens senator Nick McKim for suggesting police officers would march up to travellers and say "papers please".

"Papers please has a particular connotation which I am sure you are channelling to people who are interested in your views," the secretary said.

He said "Excuse me sir, can I see your ID" would be the more likely phrasing.

Senator McKim repeatedly asked what would happen to people at airports without ID, but was not given a concrete answer.

Independent senator Derryn Hinch, who supports the proposed airport powers, asked what would be done to prevent racial profiling.

Mr Pezzullo said AFP officers were expected to act at all times in an ethical, respectful and positive manner.Unions and their bitter rivals have drawn the battlelines for the decade's defining moment in industrial relations.

It's increasingly likely the effectiveness of competing clarion calls will play a major role in the outcome of the next federal election.

In the red corner, Australia's union movement.

The old slugger, which some argue has lost its power in recent years, remains determined to land a knockout blow against the Turnbull government.

In the blue corner, the coalition and big business.

It's led by plucky up-and-comer Craig Laundy, the new workplace relations minister intent on overcoming his side's long-time rival.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions is mobilising its attack through the Change The Rules campaign.

It shapes as the biggest bout since the Your Rights At Work triumph a decade ago, while the landmark waterfront dispute recently marked its 20th birthday.

"I feel as though the Change The Rules campaign is absolutely the campaign for this generation," ACTU secretary Sally McManus told AAP.

The 2004-2007 campaign against the Howard government's Work Choices laws and the maritime union's fight against Patrick stevedores in 1998 were defensive efforts.

McManus says the offensive nature of Change The Rules is a key difference.

"They were fights that we were forced into and really both of them we had our back against the wall," she said.

"We didn't pick or choose those fights - they were forced upon us."

This time, the union movement is lobbying for an overhaul of the industrial relations framework, much of which was established by a Labor government.

Unions say the fight is over better pay and job security, with big business and the Turnbull government firmly in the ACTU's crosshairs.

But can they match the might of Your Rights At Work?

Griffith University industrial relations professor David Peetz says that campaign was the biggest single factor in Labor's historic defeat of the Howard government in 2007.

"It wasn't a campaign themed around 'Work Choices is screwing unions', it was a campaign about Work Choices screwing individual workers," Prof Peetz told AAP.

He said during the 2016 election, the seats targeted by unions achieved swings of between 1.5 per cent and two per cent away from the government.

"That's not chickenfeed by any means - that's quite influential," Prof Peetz said.

"If they were able to do that again targeting those, that would be absolutely critical in potentially changing government."

McManus is unsure whether Change The Rules will have the impact of Your Rights At Work.

But she's confident of one crucial factor.

"I feel as though there is an incredible amount of unity which is absolutely essential in order to win a really big campaign," McManus said.

McManus's popularity within the movement is undoubtedly driving harmony.

There was a common theme in the speeches at a major delegates' meeting in Melbourne recently.

"It's not about individuals, but boy we love Sally," one person present told AAP.

While unity and sense of purpose can't be questioned, unions aren't being given an easy road to victory.

Laundy, who before entering politics worked in the family business managing pubs, was handed the workplace portfolio last year.

He has called for big business to fight the campaign with union-style organisational skills, warning of a bleak future if the ACTU's demands are met.

"It's going to be gung-ho battle for the next 12 months, but one I'm up for," he said.

Prof Peetz believes it's instinctive for coalition governments to want to make industrial relations an election issue.

"A few decades ago that might have favoured the coalition, these days it would probably favour Labor," he said.

And big business responding to Laundy's call to arms may not pay dividends either.

"They have done it before and it didn't really work really well," Prof Peetz said.

"Their ads in 2007 didn't really achieve much, even though they were targeting that union message."

Change The Rules' impact is hard to predict, but the round one bell has rung and both sides have come out swinging.Criminals involved in guns and drugs will be targeted by a new specialist police squad to be based on the NSW north coast.

The team of five, to be based in the Tweed-Byron area, is among four regional units to be rolled out across the state.

The officers will be charged with investigating drug supply, firearms offences and property crime, as well as any criminal syndicates that operate in the area.

"This unit will not only increase our police presence in the region but also increase the ability of police to focus on crime which most affects the everyday lives of residents and businesses," Acting Superintendent Brendon Cullen said in a statement on Monday.

Cannabis and ice have become a focus for police in NSW's north, with frequent raids unearthing crops, labs and criminal networks.

NSW Police late last year announced a squad would be launched in Tamworth on the back of numerous raids on drug and bikie networks plaguing the region.A Melbourne couple has won $9.6 million in lotto after a woman bought two separate entries using special numbers marking her wedding anniversary and children's birthdays.

The Langwarrin woman bought a ticket for herself and one for her husband in the "Set for Life" lotto drawn on Friday and won first prize with both entries.

Winnings will be paid out at a total of $40,000 a month over 20 years.

It's the first time there have been two first-prize winners in a single draw since the lotto began.HISTORY OF THE AUSTRALIAN BRUMBY:

* Arrived in Australia with the First Fleet in 1788.

* Abandoned or escaped into the wild in 1804.

* Today about 6,000 brumbies occupy 48 per cent of Kosciuszko National Park.

IMPACT OF HOOFED ANIMALS:

* damage waterways due to trampling.

* degrade soil and cause erosion.

* spread weeds.

* damage vegetation altering the habitat of birds and their prey.

* decline of natural fauna.

CULLING METHODS:

* aerial/ground shooting.

* fertility control.

* fencing out to protect areas of the park.

* mustering for domestication or transport to knackery or abattoir.

RECENT STATISTICS:

* The brumby population in the park increased from 4,200 in 2009 to 6000 in 2016 despite 450 being removed every year.

RECENT HISTORY:

* In 2016 a Wild Horse Management Plan was handed to the NSW government but failed to become law after it recommended brumby numbers be culled from 6000 to 600 in 20 years.

ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS:

* National Parks Association of NSW chief executive Alix Goodwin has expressed dismay at the proposal to protect the horses:

"The decision is an international embarrassment and another nail in the coffin for NSW national parks."

* Nature Conservation Council chief executive Kate Smolski said keeping the brumbies in the Snowy Mountains will endanger the local flora and fauna:

"The feral horse is the most destructive pest species in our fragile Alpine areas and the government should follow the science to ensure we pass it on to future generations in a healthy state."

AUSTRALIAN GREENS:

Greens NSW Animal Welfare and Environment spokeswoman Mehreen Faruqi says more humane methods are needed to control the brumbies:

"We need sustainable and humane wild horse population control measures, ensuring that we also protect Kosciuszko's pristine natural environment."

WHAT LOCALS THINK:

Cochran Horse Treks trail boss Peter Cochrane, who is also the former state member for Monaro, now represented by NSW deputy premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro, says wild horses do not cause damage in the Kosciuszko National Park where he now leads horse treks:

"It's nonsense, more exaggeration and lies from the environment groups."

"They've had an obsession with the Snowy Mountains brumbies at the expense of focusing on feral animals like wild pigs, goats, deer, cats, foxes and wild dogs."

PRO BRUMBY GROUP

Brumby Alliance spokeswoman Madison Young, who is also an environmental scientist, supports the protection of flora and fauna but also says if areas need to be horse-free then more research needs to be done on how best to remove them:

"There hasn't been any studies into the impact the brumbies have on the park."

"If you removed 6000 brumbies from the park then we don't know what will happen if you take them out."Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has met with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi as Australia seeks to renew relations with the Asian trading giant.

Ms Bishop is attending a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires ahead of the leaders' summit in the Argentinian capital later in the year.

She described it on Twitter as a "warm discussion", posting a photograph with the Chinese foreign minister.

Labor claims the coalition has been clumsy in its handling of the relationship, and debate within Australia on the regional role of China could be simplistic.

Last week, Chinese communist party mouthpiece The Global Times said Australia-China relations were "among the worst of all Western nations."

Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said the relationship demands consistency and clarity.

"This is too important a relationship to be mishandled," Senator Wong told Sky News on Monday.

"It is pretty undeniable that the government has been very clumsy in its handling of it... The reality is China is very important to Australia."

No Australian minister had visited the Chinese mainland for eight months until Trade Minister Steve Ciobo broke the drought last week.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to head to China later in the year.Clean out your wallet and check the fridge for a $55 million Powerball winning ticket that's yet to be claimed, more than four months after the draw.

Tattslotto spokesman Matt Hart said it could be a local or even a visitor who's yet to discover they are multi-millionaires from the January 11 draw, but so far, there's been no takers.

"We do have people come forward days, months or years after ... usually in the wallet or on the fridge is where it normally tends to be," he told AAP.

The mystery winner of Australia's largest unclaimed prize bought their ticket at Scole Lotto and News in Brunswick, in Melbourne.

If the money isn't claimed after six months, it will go to Victoria's State Revenue Office, but the ticket owner can still come forward thereafter and take their winnings.

The winning numbers were 32, 7, 5, 34, 38 and 11, while the all-important Powerball number was 12.A former Victorian education department deputy secretary is among a trio charged with deception over a failed online learning system for state schools.

The former deputy secretary, a former chief executive and a former general manager have been charged by corruption watchdog IBAC with five counts each of obtaining property by deception over the failed online education portal Ultranet.

The former department deputy secretary faces an additional charge of misconduct in public office. with the trio due to face Melbourne Magistrates Court on July 3.Detectives working to solve the mysterious death of a man found on a footpath in northern NSW have released CCTV images of a man and a car which may be key to the investigation.

Aaron Marks, 38, was found unconscious with serious head injuries on a footpath in Ballina in the early hours of May 13.

He had left a pub on River Street two hours earlier.

Mr Marks was taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition but died a few days later.

The State Crime Command homicide squad was brought in and a strike force was established to piece together Mr Marks' final hours.

On Monday they released CCTV images of what police say could be a grey Nissan Skyline and a man on River Street on May 13.

"Detectives are urging anyone with information on the man or the car or anyone who was in the area at the time to come forward," police said in a statement.

They previously released images of Mr Marks leaving the pub before the attack.It's late afternoon in Tasmania and we're moored in a sheltered cove in one of the island's remotest corners.

There isn't a human to be seen - bar the eight people on our boat. Neither are there buildings, signage, jetties or buoys. The only noises are the water lapping at the boat and the distant sound of birds.

With so little to distract me here in southwest Tasmania's Port Davey, and with no phone reception or internet, I'm able to immerse myself fully in the Tasmanian Boat Charters' Port Davey Expedition Cruise we're about to undertake.

We're in good hands. Our skipper on Odalisque, the 20-metre expedition vessel that is our home for the next four days, is Pieter van der Woude, a former abalone diver. He knows these waters, both on and below the surface, like few could. His love for this wild and unpredictable place becomes more infectious each day.

Then there's Peter Marmion, our guide, who's knowledge of Port Davey is extraordinary. A member of multiple conservation groups, he has bushwalked all over the area and is passionate about preserving and protecting it.

"Every rock and every island has a story - and there are a lot of rocks and islands here," he tells us.

He's right about the stories. Port Davey isn't populated but settlers have come and gone, seeking riches from the whales and the pines. There is a trove of tales, of both triumph and loss against the harsh elements and isolation. We also hear about the indigenous people who first called this wild place home.

We get plenty of chances to step off Odalisque and explore the area's secluded beaches, isolated coves, rocky outcrops, caves, forests, creeks, lakes, gorges and mountains.

We spot wombats, pademelons and countless birdlife, who completely ignore us. We even stumble across the extremely rare orange-bellied parrot and azure kingfisher, and trace footprints of the Tasmanian Devil.

The weather here can be unpredictable but we're blessed with sunshine and calm conditions, which means we can venture beyond the sanctuary of Port Davey to the Breaksea Islands and Southern Ocean.

On our jet boat we island-hop, weaving among jagged rocks and the tips of kelp forests.

Pieter gets us as close to everything as he can - whether its pulling up next to a family of sunbaking seals or finding a way into the caves tucked into the bases of cliffs.

At one point it's like threading the eye of a needle as he waits for a wave to carry us through a small opening between rocks. The swell lifts us through, assisted by slimy kelp and sea foam.

At times my heart races and my knuckles whiten. But with Pieter's prowess on water and Peter's bushman skills on land, we always feel safe.

Back onboard, chef Ken Mellers creates a parallel adventure, a culinary journey that showcases Tasmania's amazing produce in every mouthwatering meal, alongside local wines and beers.

The Odalisque is a restaurant and hotel floating in the middle of nowhere. There are warm beds, hot showers, comfy couches and good coffee. The views are ever-changing but always spectacular.

In complete luxury, I listen to the water lapping at the boat, feel the sun on my back and the cool breeze running across my cheeks.

But each time we step off the boat, things get a little wild. We tackle steep hills, slippery slopes, dense shrubbery, prickly plants and jumping ants nests. We're reminded of just how rugged, untamed and inhospitable this isolated corner of Tasmania can be.

It's a wonderful place to feel present.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE

Port Davey is not accessible by road so Tasmanian Boat Charters' Port Davey Expedition Cruise begins at Cambridge Airport. Pick-ups can be arranged from Hobart Airport, or any Hobart accommodation.

Hobart is serviced with direct flights from Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.

Travelling by car from the mainland is possible by ferry. Visit www.spiritoftasmania.com.au

From Cambridge Airport guests travel in a light plane to Melaleuca airstrip. A jet boat then takes guests via Melaleuca Inlet, through Bathurst Harbour and Bathurst Channel, to Port Davey, where Odalisque is moored.

STAYING THERE

Odalisque has three double cabins, two with private ensuites, and another two bathrooms on board. There are double / single bed alternatives. For more info, visit https://tasmanianboatcharters.com.au

EXTRA INFO

Cost includes scenic flights, all food and alcohol, accommodation and National Park entrance fees.

The writer travelled as a guest of Tasmanian Boat Charters.The full extent of Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching is difficult to determine because of workplace health and safety.

Coral descends as far as 70 metres in some parts of the Great Barrier Reef but safety regulations mean scuba diving scientists only frequently explore the top 10 to 12 metres of the reef.

That's not a particular problem because shallow reefs are socially and economically more important anyway, Marine Park Authority chief scientist David Wachenfeld told a parliamentary inquiry on Monday.

Shallower reefs are more productive and biologically diverse, and fishing for coal trout is constrained to smaller depths.

"Tourists don't dive on coral at 50 metres - tourists go in glass bottom boats and snorkel and so the vast majority of the very great economic value of the reef is based on the shallow corals," he said.

Autonomous vehicles are used to collect information on deeper coral, and Dr Wachenfeld believes as technology improves scientists will get a better picture of what's happening further below.

The latest reef data, including the effects of Cyclone Debbie, will be released in the coming weeks.

Scientists will begin to look at the impact of wet season flooding in June.A border patrol boat seriously damaged after striking a coral reef will cost $3 million to repair.

The Bay-class vessel ran aground after smashing into the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of far north Queensland, in September 2017.

The reef and transport safety watchdogs are investigating the crash but the exact cause remains unknown.

"We're still waiting to hear from the investigation and their findings," Australian Border Force boss Michael Outram told a Senate committee in Canberra on Monday.

Mr Outram does not expect any action to be taken against the Roebuck Bay's crew, who all underwent mandatory alcohol testing after the crash.

"I've got no information to suggest there was any wrongdoing, deliberate or otherwise," he said.

"There's nothing at the moment that I've been presented that suggests it's anything other than an accident."

Repairs on the vessel are expected to cost $3 million, it was revealed.

"There was substantial damage to the vessel," ABF deputy commissioner Mandy Newton said.

"A large part of the hull was actually sort of torn out, a number of metres of the hull area, that had also caused additional damage to the operating systems."

Significant upgrades to the vessel's navigation and surveillance systems were completed just months before the crash.

The vessel is due back in service in September, with other border and Navy boats picking up the slack in the meantime.A second man is wanted for questioning over the abduction of a 12-year-old boy from the Gold Coast.

The boy was taken from outside his family's Mudgeeraba home on May 11 before being found in Grafton the next day in the company of a 53-year-old man who has since been charged with six offences including kidnapping for ransom.

Queensland Police on Monday released photos of 20-year-old Yu Zhang, also known as Sunny, who they say may have information which could help their investigation.Two men who stole a woman's car after threatening her with a gun have lost a bid to overturn their convictions for the brazen daylight robbery in Melbourne.

Leigh McElroy, Robert Wallace and Robert Barden were jailed last year after they targeted Theresa McLeod in Pascoe Vale on the afternoon of July 25, 2015, waiting for her to return to her car before brandishing the weapon so she would hand her keys over.

McElroy and Wallace lodged an appeal against their convictions, but the Victorian Court of Appeal dismissed their attempt on Monday.Two scandals linking the Australian weather bureau to cryptocurrency are being claimed as coincidental.

An advertising company remains suspended by the Bureau of Meteorology after ads linking to a scam article about Bitcoin appeared on the site in January and February.

The organisation's Melbourne offices were raided by federal police later in February over allegations two employees had been using the bureau's powerful computers to mine cryptocurrencies.

BoM director Andrew Johnson told a Senate hearing on Monday there was "no connection whatsoever" between the two events.

The probe into data mining had been underway for a considerable time before the Australian Federal Police made the decision to act in February, he said.

But he was unable to answer questions from Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick about the progress of that investigation.

Dr Johnson did confirm the advertising agency responsible for the fraudulent ads in January and February remains blacklisted because of concerns about its ability to block activity.

The ads linked to a news story about Tesla boss Elon Musk on a fake CNN look-alike website which then linked users to scam Bitcoin sites.

Dr Johnson said it was a constant battle against those with malicious intent but the bureau used a four-stage review policy used to monitor ads from a second organisation.

Advertising on the site brings in around $4 million annually.Regional Australians are being forced to cope with the costly flow-on effects of lengthy delays for truck permits, senators have warned.

While a national regulator oversees permits, shared responsibilities between three levels of government has created a complex regime to issue licenses.

Queensland LNP senator Barry O'Sullivan says the system is "as crazy as it gets".

"Why can't common sense walk out of this room and grab somebody by the throat?" he asked a Senate estimates hearing on Monday.

"If I ran my business like this I'd be broke by Tuesday lunchtime."

He said it was a serious issue which had caused flow on costs for consumers in the bush who already paid through the nose for other services.

The industry has called for a Senate inquiry into the Oversize Overmass permit system.

Senator O'Sullivan conceded that might be the answer, though he believes the findings will embarrass Australia.

"We'll have every nutter from here to Kununurra wanting to come and give evidence," he said.

Senator O'Sullivan said some operators had waited up to five months for wide load permits.

Former truckie and Labor senator Glenn Sterle said drivers were sitting idle for two to three weeks waiting for a permit.

"It's a shambles," he said.

Federal transport department officials said they were aware of the problems, which needed to be resolved across jurisdictions.More than 200 Commonwealth Games athletes and officials remain in Australia after applying for various visas, with another 50 people staying on illegally.

There were 13,600 visas issued to athletes, team officials and others for the Gold Coast event.

A Senate committee has heard 8103 people arrived on the visas and 7848 have since left the country.

It has been revealed 205 people are now legally in the community on bridging visas while their applications for other categories of visas are considered.

"Most of those have applied for protection visas," Home Affairs deputy secretary Malisa Golightly told senators in Canberra on Monday.

Ms Golightly estimated about 190 had applied for protection, and 10 or 15 had applied for other visas.

Another 50 people remain unlawfully in the country, with one taken into immigration detention.A 24-hour on-call legal service that will check the welfare of all Aboriginal people taken into police custody will be operational in Western Australia before the end of this year.

The Custody Notification Service is a key recommendation from the inquest into the death of Ms Dhu, who died in hospital after being locked up at South Hedland Police Station in 2014 for unpaid fines.

"More recently the case of Gene Gibson, who spent almost five years in prison after being interviewed without a translator, highlights the predicament of indigenous people intersecting with the WA police and justice services," Attorney General John Quigley said.

Police will be required to call a central number, which diverts to the phone of a rostered solicitor, who will also provide legal advice to the person in custody.

Aboriginal Affairs Minister Ben Wyatt said he had no doubt the service will reduce the number of preventable deaths in custody and deliver better justice outcomes for WA's indigenous community.

Greens spokesperson for corrective services Alison Xamon said the introduction of a Custody Notification Service in NSW in 2000 had effectively stopped Aboriginal deaths in custody.

She said the rate of Aboriginal incarceration in WA was horrendous and a lot needed to be done to reduce it.New restrictions on fruit have been imposed on Northern Territory farmers to try and stop an outbreak of the deadly citrus canker disease.

The restrictions will stop farmers selling fruit at markets with bans on the movement of potential citrus canker host plants in and around Darwin including at the airport, Lambells Lagoon, Humpty Doo, Woolner, Wulagi and Palmerston.

The disease wiped out millions of dollars worth of crops and half a million trees in Emerald, Queensland in 2004 and it was another four-and-a-half years before it was eradicated after the disastrous outbreak..

Already NT farms cannot sell interstate, with citrus plants not to be removed from an area over the whole of greater Darwin area and beyond, south to Adelaide River, east to Kakadu and west to Dundee,

Citrus canker was discovered last month at six properties across the region and beyond at two properties in Kununurra and Wyndham in Western Australia.

"Citrus canker has been eradicated in Australia before through the use of similar movement restrictions and surveillance arrangements as have been announced today - with co-operation we can get rid of it again," Department of Primary Industry and Resources chief plant health officer Sarah Corcoran said.Government bureaucrats have denied a Liberal-National MP's campaign director, whose wife won a $2.4 million grant to expand the family pharmacy business, had a conflict of interest.

Cairns-based MP Warren Entsch's one-time staffer Trent Twomey chaired a panel which recommended broad priorities for $20 million in grants.

A separate committee decided on the specific projects awarded money, with QRX Group 1 - which is one-third owned by Mr Twomey's wife Georgina - won $2,415,400 in funds to build a $5 million pharmacy distribution facility.

Under questioning from Labor senator Murray Watt, Regional Development Department secretary Steven Kennedy said he didn't believe there was a direct conflict of interest.

He said Mr Twomey's panel did not design the grants, but recommended sectors to invest in.

"I am stunned that you don't think there's a conflict of interest here," Senator Watt told the Senate estimates hearing.

An Australian Federal Police investigation found there was no criminal offences linked to the grant.

Mr Entsch's son also works for the company, while Mr Twomey's business partner Leo Maltam is a director.

Senator Watt said there was a reasonable argument for a conflict of interest because the company given the grant was part-owned by two people close to Mr Twomey.

Committee chair Barry O'Sullivan said Senator Watt had failed to prove a conflict, before declaring Mr Twomey was a decent and well-respected figure in Cairns.

"I know Trent Twomey well and I'm happy to defend him to midnight," Senator O'Sullivan said.

The money was part of the $220 million Regional Jobs and Investment Package for 10 areas.Police are trying to determine how a council garbage truck ran over and killed a man, believed to be homeless, in an inner Sydney laneway.

He was found by paramedics trapped under the truck with critical injuries about 7.45am on Monday in Bourke Lane at Redfern.

The man, whose age is unknown, was treated at the scene but couldn't be saved, police said.

The driver, believed to be in his 30s, was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said officers were trying to determine how the incident happened.

"The circumstances of how that truck came to run over that male person, who is unknown to us at this stage, (we're) still investigating that," Mr Corboy told reporters on Monday.

City of Sydney mayor Clover Moore, who was at the scene, described it as a sad and tragic situation.

She said the man was a "rough sleeper" and the truck driver was "shattered".

The council also offered its condolences to family and friends of the victim.

"The City maintains rigorous safety standards and will ensure a full and thorough investigation to determine what has caused this incident," it said in a statement.Dozens of asylum seekers are being hunted by authorities after missing a deadline to claim protection in Australia.

The federal government last year gave roughly 7000 asylum seekers who arrived by boat a non-negotiable October 1 deadline to "lodge it or leave".

Just 71 people failed to apply for temporary protection or safe haven visas by the cut-off date, a Senate committee was told on Monday.

Twenty of these asylum seekers have since left Australia, with all but one departing voluntarily.

Another individual has unique circumstances which require further assessment, senators were told.

Seven months on, Australian Border Force officials are still trying to track down 36 people who failed to lodge applications.

"The remainder (14) are in immigration detention pending removal or are in correctional facilities having been charged or convicted of a criminal offence," a Home Affairs officer said.

Announcing the cut-off date in May last year, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton declared "fake refugees" were bleeding Australian taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars in annual welfare payments.

The government was also concerned some of the cohort had lived in the community for several years without a deep analysis of their backgrounds.

Mr Dutton indicated his department would deal swiftly with those who did not meet the deadline, considering it an indication the person no longer intended to seek protection in Australia.

The so-called "legacy caseload" refers to roughly 30,500 asylum seekers who arrived by sea between late 2012 and early 2014, roughly 23,000 of whom had already applied for protection when the deadline was announced.Today's Birthday, May 22: Bob Katter, Australian politician (1945 - ).

Bob Katter, the 72-year-old federal member for Kennedy and outspoken maverick, became a viral sensation when asked his thoughts about the Marriage Equality debate in 2017.

"I mean, y'know, people are entitled to their sexual proclivities. Let there be a thousand blossoms bloom, as far as I'm concerned," he said brightly, chuckling as he spoke.

But in an instant, his face quickly transformed into a snarl.

"But I AIN'T spendin' any time on it, because in the meantime, every three months, a person is torn to pieces by a crocodile in north Queensland," he spat.

Katter was born in Cloncurry, Queensland and raised a Catholic. His grandfather was a Lebanese immigrant and descended from the Maronite Christian community.

He attended University of Queensland but didn't finish his Law degree. Before dropping out he got a taste for politics by running for the student union, becoming President of the Law Society.

Following this, he reached the rank of second lieutenant in the Citizens Military Forces.

In 1964 headlines were made around the world when the Beatles touched down in Brisbane for their Australian tour. Greeted by screaming fans - and eggs - the next day the Beatles took out an ad in the paper and radio calling for the culprits to come forward.

Katter later revealed it was in fact him, along with several high profile barrister friends, who had pelted the eggs at the band.

Katter has worked in Queensland State politics for more than 18 years, holding four ministerial positions. He's been the federal member for Kennedy since 1993.

In 2010, the firebrand MP split from Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott to back the coalition. He cited Labor's axing of Kevin Rudd as a defining factor in his decision to side with Tony Abbott.

A year later (2011), Katter officially listed his own political party Katter's Australian Party based on key values such as equality of opportunity and social cohesion.

He was one of the four members of the House of Representatives to oppose the Marriage Amendment Bill legalising same-sex marriage in Australia in 2017.

During March 2018 floods in Queensland Katter made headlines after saying he had the right to drive through closed roads.Australia's rascals and ratbags will be minted into souvenir coins to mark the 150th anniversary of the last convict ship to arrive in Australia.

The Royal Australian Mint will hit Tasmanian roads to bring the Rascals and Ratbags roadshow to the people for four days until May 24 visiting Port Arthur, Hobart, Launceston and Devonport.

It commemorates the nation's convict era - including its history and folklore - and has also inspired a range of products with some of the larrikins who left their mark on Australia's past.

Tasmanians can visit the pop-up shops to get their own Rascals & Ratbags $1 coin which has a tree with a canopy to represent Australia and convict symbols of the broad arrow and chains at its roots.

People visiting the roadshow can opt to put the Australia outline onto it using a mobile coin press, swap coins or cash for freshly minted standard and special coins.

The story of convict John Boyle O'Reilly, who became a well-loved journalist, is on the coin's packaging.A NSW parliamentary inquiry could be formed to scrutinise Sydney's troubled light rail project.

The upper house Public Accountability Committee is expected on Tuesday to vote on the inquiry, which would examine the $2.1 billion project's delays andcosts as well as compensation offered to businesses and residents along the CBD light rail route.

The joint party committee is chaired by Christian Democratic Party member Reverend Fred Nile, who says the inquiry has the backing of three committee members and would be put to the group of seven on Tuesday.

"I don't see why it shouldn't be passed," Mr Nile told AAP.

The NSW government's light rail, running from the CBD to the eastern suburbs, was meant to be finished in 2019 but the government was advised by contractor ALTRAC in April the new completion date was March 2020.

Stores along the light rail route have criticised the government for not doing enough to compensate them for the loss of business caused by the prolonged construction works.An inquiry examining the culture and mindset of correctional officers at a NSW prison has heard guards lied in reports about the bashing of an inmate.

The NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption is examining allegations prison officers used unwarranted force on an inmate at Lithgow Correctional Centre in February 2014 before deleting CCTV footage and planting drugs to justify a cell search.

The inquiry on Monday heard the victim, a bikie gang associate who can't be identified for legal reasons, abused officers on an intercom.

In return, he was visited by a specially-trained unit nicknamed "the ninja turtles" headed by former prison officer Terrence Walker, who recalled his instructions were to "put him in his place".

An official report said the inmate was injured when he tripped and landed on a toilet while trying to flush contraband.

But Mr Walker told the inquiry the report was a lie.

He alleged colleagues colluded to fabricate the story after learning of the inmate's black eye, bruised mouth and rib injury.

Counsel assisting the inquiry Sam Duggan said the two-week inquiry would examine the culture and mindset of correctional officers with systemic corruption in mind.

The inquiry before Commissioner Stephen Rushton SC continues.A plan to reduce personal income tax over the next seven years is due to be debated in parliament on Tuesday.

The Turnbull government has the numbers in the lower house to pass the draft laws this sitting fortnight.

But the real negotiations will come to a head when the Senate sits in late June - just days out from when the first round of cuts are due to start.

Labor supports the first part of the income tax cut plan, which starts with a reduction of up to $530 a year under a low and middle-income tax offset.

But it won't back the government's second and third steps, which make changes to certain tax brackets at various stages, until at least the government provides more information on their cost.6

The government is adamant it won't split the bill but Labor is confident it will eventually cave in when the legislation reaches the Senate.

The Greens won't support any income tax cuts and instead want the money invested in the nation's public services.

However Treasurer Scott Morrison has flagged the possibility of introducing a digital economy tax to make the likes of Facebook and Google pay their fair share of tax, which has caught the eye of the Centre Alliance senators Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick.

This could be a game changer when the Senate sits and may also swing votes in support of the remainder of the government's 10-year company tax plan.Labor is expected to back a Liberal backbencher's push to end live sheep exports to the Middle East during the northern hemisphere summer.

The opposition's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon says he's confident of securing the support of shadow cabinet and the party room, which meets on Tuesday.

The federal government has announced a series of reforms for the $250 million industry after revelations of animal cruelty on a 2016 voyage to the Middle East.

But Labor and a trio of rogue Liberal MPs say the changes don't go far enough.

Former coalition government minister Sussan Ley introduced a private bill to parliament on Monday which will phase out sheep trade to the Middle East over five years.

The National Farmers Federation have argued against a ban, while animal welfare groups want the trade to end.

The NFF backs the government's changes which include more room for sheep on ships and reducing the number of animals aboard.

There will also be an independent observer on each voyage.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud will introduce legislation for harsher penalties including jail terms of up to 10 years and multi-million dollar fines later in the week.

The minister is in the Middle East where he's assuring the Kuwaiti and Qatari governments Australia will remain in the trade.

Mr Littleproud insists Australia has a responsibility to stay involved because exporters are subject to stricter animal welfare rules than in other countries.The Australian Border Force boss is to face a grilling over Peter Dutton's decision to intervene and grant two foreign au pairs visas in 2015.

The visa status of au pairs was in the spotlight in late March, following an AAP special investigation which revealed the immigration minister used his ministerial powers of discretion to grant visas on public interest grounds to two young women in immigration detention.

Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram told a Senate estimates hearing on Monday he was not properly briefed to discuss the individual cases in the au pair visa saga.

Australian Greens senator Nick McKim flagged he would asking questions on Tuesday.

In the first case, an au pair whose visa was cancelled at Brisbane's international airport in June 2015 was able to make a phone call and within a couple of hours Mr Dutton approved a new visa.

In November the same year, Mr Dutton defied written warnings from his department that granting a visitors visa to a second au pair was of "high risk" because she had been previously counselled about work restrictions.

Mr Dutton has previously stated he doesn't know the two individuals involved and that they didn't work for his family.

The minister's office has refused to answer specific questions about the identity of the au pairs' employers.Despite the two month countdown to Labor's national conference, the opposition's newest MP isn't wasting any time angling for a softer refugee policy.

Former ACTU boss Ged Kearney used her first speech to parliament on Monday to attack the "the shameful policy" of indefinite detention on Manus and Nauru.

"Racist dog whistling has demonised and vilified a community that has everything to give to Australia - and the sacrifice of this human potential has been made solely for political gain," she told the lower house on Monday.

"I doubt, however, we can afford the ongoing cost to our national psyche of subjecting men, women and children to years of punitive, indefinite detention."

She said people's claims for asylum should be assessed "within a fair time-limit".

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten last week insisted a future Labor government won't place any time limits on how long asylum seekers can be held on Manus Island and Nauru.

Labor is preparing to debate offshore detention at its national conference in July, with a draft party platform calling on a Shorten government to "strive to ensure detention is for no longer than 90 days".

The Turnbull government has suggested supporting such a limit would be "rolling out the welcome mat to the people smugglers".

Quizzed about her stance on ABC Radio on Monday evening Ms Kearney declined to specify what she thought was a fair time limit for offshore detention.

She also skirted questions on whether she believes refugees on Nauru and Manus should be brought to Australia.Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has trumpeted a "warm" catch up with her Chinese counterpart in Argentina ahead of their formal meeting.

Ms Bishop is in Buenos Aires attending a G20 foreign ministers meeting.

Relations with China have soured in the past year and Beijing is especially cranky about Australia's foreign interference laws.

No Australian minister had visited the Chinese mainland for eight months until Trade Minister Steve Ciobo broke the drought last week.

Ms Bishop caught up with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at an opening ceremony and posted a picture of the pair to Twitter.

Ms Bishop is seen smiling and wearing a gold sequinned dress, while Mr Yi appears less enthusiastic in the photo.

"Warm discussion with China FM Wang Yi ahead of tomorrow's formal meetings," she said on Twitter.

Overnight, Ms Bishop was catching up with foreign ministers from Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Indonesia and Turkey for a working breakfast ahead of the main meetings.

She's expected to hold bilateral talks Mr Yi and other counterparts on the sidelines on Tuesday morning AEST.

Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has accused the federal government of "clumsy" handling of Canberra's ties with Beijing.

Last week, Chinese communist party mouthpiece The Global Times said Australia-China relations were "among the worst of all Western nations."

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is expected to visit China later in the year.Two men have been charged after police seized more than a kilogram of cocaine and more than $770,000 in cash following search warrants across Sydney's south.

Detectives with Strike Force Boorara, investigating the supply of ice and cocaine in Sydney's eastern suburbs, searched properties early on Thursday at homes in Mascot and Rosebery where they allegedly seized a hydraulic press, white powder, more than $15,000 in cash, mobile phones and other items.

Another two properties were searched at Rockdale and Pagewood, where it is alleged MDMA tablets, steroids, cannabis, cash, mobile phones and documents were seized.

An additional property at Kingsford was searched, where more than a kilogram of cocaine, more than $760,000 in cash and other drug paraphernalia was allegedly found.

A 22-year-old man arrested at the Rosebery home was charged with various drug and criminal offences and granted conditional bail to appear at Downing Centre Local Court on June 14.

A 26-year-old man arrested at the Mascot property was charged with various drug and other charges and was refused bail in Central Local Court. He is due to appear at the same court on July 12.

Inquiries are continuing.Two men armed with a machete have threatened three people during a home invasion in Sydney's west that police describe as a "targeted" attack.

The residents were at their Colyton home about 10.20pm on Monday when two men, described as being Pacific Islander or Maori in appearance, forced their way inside and threatened them with a machete while ransacking the premises.

The occupants were not injured and the attackers left with an amount of money, with police appealing for anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.A major customer of Australia's $250 million live sheep trade is searching for a new supply in case exports are cut off, it's been reported.

Kuwait-based Al Mawashi has imported live sheep from Australia for 40 years as Kuwait Livestock Transport and Trading Company and accounts for more than 60 per cent of the trade a year.

"Our food security needs and the doubts about Australian sheep exports means Al Mawashi is already looking to find other secure sources of livestock," Al Mawashi chief executive Osama Boodai told The West Australian on Tuesday.

The Australian industry has been rocked by revelations of animal cruelty on a 2016 voyage to the Middle East.

A federal Liberal backbencher on Monday is now pushing a private member's bill to end live exports to the Middle East during the northern hemisphere summer.

Community pressure is also mounting to end the trade altogether.Population decline in the nation's regional areas could be stopped if communities could welcome an extra 3000 migrants a year, according to a regional think-tank, which is taking its pitch for changes to federal parliament.

The Regional Australia Institute has released a paper on Tuesday warning that in more than 150 regional local government areas across the country the number of Australian-born residents is decreasing.

That population loss has led to labour shortages in many areas, with the institute arguing there is currently no systematic way for migrant workers to link up with rural employers.

While there have been successful regional migration projects scattered across Australia, with some small towns increasing their population by 15 per cent, they are being carried out in isolation.

"Now we need to connect the dots and help other rural towns capitalise on the opportunities migrant settlement programs can deliver," the institute's chief executive Jack Archer said.

It uses the example of Pyramid Hill in Victoria, which has a population of 550 people with about 100 Filipino.

For the first time in years, new homes are being built, schools have grown and there is even a Filipino grocery store.

The institute wants the government to develop a new way to work out priority labour shortages in regional areas and to offer incentives for migrants to move to those locations.

"We have a national opportunity here to alleviate some of the biggest issues affecting regional Australia," Mr Archer said.

The institute will launch the paper at an event in Canberra with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon.A military hand grenade was thrown at a Melbourne home while a woman and her baby slept inside.

Police believe a man drove up to the Lalor house just before 2.30am on November 19 last year in a dark coloured ute and hurled a grenade at the property before ducking behind a parked vehicle to watch it explode.

The weapon, since identified as a Yugoslavian made M52 hand grenade, caused significant damage to the house and several parked cars.

Police say the man fled after the explosion but returned a short time later before leaving in his ute.

The woman and her baby sleeping in the front room weren't injured.

Police have released an image of a man they believe threw the grenade and investigators believe the attack is linked to ongoing feuds with a number of Middle Eastern crime groups.Northern Territory authorities lost contact with 85 criminals wearing electronic ankle tags for up to four days after a key part of Telstra's network dropped out.

The outage that affected the network's mobile G4S service on May 4 meant that Correctional Services officials had problems keeping track of where the offenders were in the community.

"At 8.10am May 4 there were approximately 85 electronic monitoring devices identified as having an unresolved communication issues," an NT Corrections spokesman told the NT News on Tuesday.

"By 11.30am, 23 had been resolved. By Saturday May 5, seven remained unresolved."

The spokesman said the monitoring devices were all finally restored by May 8.

The department's website says the electronic tags are used to monitor offenders whose movements are restricted, including those on home detention, or who are not allowed to go to certain places such as a park or school.

The devices use Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to help authorities monitor the location of offenders.

At the time, Telstra said outages to its services had been caused by damage to a fibre link after a cable pit in NSW's central west was hit by lightning.

The damage caused some triple-zero calls to drop out for 10 hours across five states.

Meanwhile, Telstra says it has fixed its 4G mobile services after a nationwide disruption on Monday.

Comment is being sought from Telstra and the NT's Department of Correctional Services.A man from Sydney's north shore has been charged with grooming a teenage girl for sex after police officers posed as a 14-year-old online.

Detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad's Child Exploitation Internet Unit arrested a 48-year-old man in a North Parramatta car park on Monday.

Police say the Waitara man, who believed he was speaking with a 14-year-old girl, had sexually explicit conversations and broadcast explicit live video recordings with officers from Strikeforce Trawler from April.

The man, who has been refused bail, allegedly had made arrangements to meet the girl for sex. Officers raided his home following the arrest and seized computers and electronic storage devices.

He will appear in Parramatta Local Court in July.Daly Cherry-Evans denies 2018 is his final roll of the dice for Queensland and his State of Origin career will be dead and buried if his name isn't read out next week.

The Manly halfback is considered to be out of the running for a Maroons recall with rival playmakers Ben Hunt, Michael Morgan and Cameron Munster seemingly entrenched in Kevin Walters's set up.

Cherry-Evans says this year isn't 'now or never' when it comes to his Origin prospects and he won't be disheartened if he's overlooked for game one.A Sydney man charged a year ago with stealing more than half-a-million dollars from other people's bank accounts is now facing more charges.

The 34-year-old has been charged with an additional 49 fraud-related offences after being charged last May for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from 100 bank accounts following a five-month investigation, police said on Tuesday.

Police say the man tried to gain access to more than 400 other bank accounts by contacting the financial institution on numerous occasions pretending to be the account holder.

The man remains behind bars with his next court appearance set for June 6 at Campbelltown Local Court.Once a thriving district home to some 160,000 Palestinians and Syrians, Yarmuk's population has fallen to just a few hundred people

Pro-government forces and the Islamic State group observed a brief ceasefire in southern Damascus Saturday, a monitor said, after weeks of deadly fighting in the jihadists' last stronghold in the Syrian capital.

The regime of President Bashar al-Assad last month launched a wide-scale offensive against IS in Damascus' Hajar al-Aswad district and the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp. Clashes have inflicted heavy losses on both sides.

"A ceasefire came into effect at midday today, ostensibly for five hours," the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP late Saturday that the truce, which may be a prelude to the evacuation of IS fighters from the area, was still in effect.

He said the ceasefire had been negotiated by regime ally Russia and pro-government Palestinian factions.

Syria's state-run Sana news agency however quoted a military source as denying the agreement.

Loyalist forces launched a ferocious assault in southern Damascus after capturing the Eastern Ghouta rebel stronghold near the capital in April.

They have already retaken the Qadam neighbourhood, but the jihadists retain control of around 70 percent of Yarmuk.

According to Observatory, fighting in southern Damascus has killed 484 IS members and more than 250 pro-regime fighters as well as 56 civilians.

Once a thriving district home to some 160,000 Palestinians and Syrians, Yarmuk's population has fallen to just a few hundred people.

Syria's war has left more than 350,000 people dead since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests, before spiralling into a complex conflict involving world powers and jihadists.German prosecutor Jens Rommel leads a small team racing to track down the last surviving Nazi war criminals before time runs out

Tucked away in the picturesque German city of Ludwigsburg, a tiny team of investigators tracks the last surviving Nazi war criminals across the globe and through the better part of a century, in an urgent race against time.

"We put together the smallest pieces of information, like the pieces of a puzzle, to work out who was employed in what role, from when until when" in Adolf Hitler's totalitarian killing machine, says prosecutor Jens Rommel.

He has since 2015 led the eight-strong Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes, at a time when the last perpetrators, accomplices, witnesses and survivors are finally vanishing.

Once all the perpetrators are gone, Germany will close the judicial side of its coming-to-terms with the Nazi government's extermination of six million Jews and hundreds of thousands of others in the Holocaust.

In the meantime, the spectacle of frail defendants aged in their 90s appearing in courtrooms to answer for crimes dating back to 1945 or earlier has renewed vigorous debate about the country's dark history.

For decades after the war, the German government and justice system showed little haste to track down many of those involved in the organised mass murder.

A landmark change came with the 2011 sentencing of John Demjanjuk, who served as a guard at the Sobibor extermination camp in occupied Poland in 1943, to five years in prison.

The ruling opened the way to prosecuting anyone who worked at a concentration camp -- from soldiers to accountants -- as an accomplice in mass murder.

Before that judgement "we never cast an eye over the smallest cogs in the machine," said lawyer Andrej Umansky, author of a book on the Holocaust in Eastern Europe.

The changed legal landscape since then, he said, offers a chance "to give victims a voice, their families, and to bring the facts back into the public consciousness".

- From Moscow to Buenos Aires -

From Hitler to the lowliest soldier, every Nazi wrongdoer identified is catalogued in a database of one million seven hundred thousand cardboard files

The team's probes into the dust-shrouded past have taken Rommel's team of five prosecutors, two judges and one police officer across the world in search of their quarries.

Many German Nazis fled to South America immediately after the war, among them one of the main architects of the Holocaust Adolf Eichmann, who landed in Buenos Aires.

He was captured by the Israeli secret services in 1960 thanks to information passed on by German prosecutor Fritz Bauer, who was outraged by the inching progress of his own country's justice system.

As for less notorious Nazis, "all the boats that arrived there were registered. We have combed the passenger and crew manifests" and followed up on any German-sounding names, Rommel said.

Officials scoured immigration registers, applications to be naturalised in Argentina, and the records of the German embassy.

"We owe it to history" and to the millions of victims to "battle against forgetting", said Peter Haeberle, of the justice ministry in Baden-Wuerttemberg state, where Ludwigsburg sits just outside its capital, Stuttgart.

The team's travels halfway around the globe -- at a time when there remains no chance of tracking down a living high-ranking Nazi official -- have not escaped criticism in the press, such as from Die Welt daily, over their sometimes exorbitant cost.

- 1.7 million files -

The monumental weight of history is clear from the smell of aged paper lingering behind the doors of the former women's prison where the investigation team is based

Many have criticised the comparatively small number of Nazi war criminals ever brought to justice.

By 2012, some 6,498 people had been convicted for their part in the Holocaust.

The monumental weight of history is clear from the smell of aged paper lingering behind the security doors of the former women's prison where the investigation team is based.

One million seven hundred thousand cardboard files are stored in rigorous alphabetical order in rows of imposing metal cupboards -- a unique full-size database of Nazi criminals and details of their acts.

From Hitler to the lowliest soldier or helper, every Nazi wrongdoer identified up until the present day is recorded here, along with the places of their crimes.

Rommel carefully withdraws file 3 AR-Z 95/59 for Dr Mengele, Josef.

Known as the "Angel of Death", the Auschwitz doctor carried out horrific experiments on those held at the camp.

The record, prepared in the late 1950s, reads that his location is "presently unknown, likely in Argentina".

Mengele died in 1979 in Brazil, having evaded capture -- and justice -- for the remainder of his life.

However many more Nazis enter the dock or end up behind bars before all trails finally run cold, Rommel and his team know the overwhelming majority of perpetrators' stories will have ended similarly.

Nevertheless, he insisted, "we have to put every day to use if we want the chance to bring someone else to justice".Migrants on board rescue ship MV Aquarius headed for Sicily after dozens were picked up on May 12 by NGO vessels who fear Italian political changes could put even more people at risk

The impending arrival of an anti- establishment, far- right government in Italy heralds even more controversy over how to deal with the flow of migrants as it raises the spectre of mass expulsions.

With a coalition of the anti-system Five Star Movement (M5S) and the nationalist League party poised to take power, the prospects for migrants reaching Italy after a hazardous sea crossing from Libya look even dimmer.

The outgoing centre-left government has already all but closed the maritime border following controversial accords signed with the Libyan government as well as local authorities, including armed groups, in an effort to curb the migrant influx.

Nearly 700,000 people have landed on Italian shores since 2013.

To stem the tide of human misery, Italy with EU support has also trained and equipped the Libyan coastguard so it can intercept vessels before they reach international waters.

Since the start of this year, Italy's interior ministry has tallied 7,100 arrivals via Libya and 3,500 more via Tunisia, Algeria or Greece.

According to the UN migration agency IOM, the Libyans have themselves intercepted 6,500 people seeking to reach the southernmost tip of Europe.

Now the new, populist government has signalled it will push EU partners to shore up the bloc's external frontiers and accept an automatic and more equitable shareout of migrants across the continent.

It also wants to speed up asylum procedures and repatriate those rejected and those from countries deemed "safe".

- Arrivals down 'but not suffering' -

Data on the diminishing number of migrant arrivals in Italy

To help fund the process the government would reallocate some of the budget -- 4.2 billion euros ($4.8 billion) in 2017 used in rescues, providing sanitary assistance and running reception centres.

Arrivals of migrants to Italy slowed by some 80 percent from July 2016 to July 2017 after Marco Minniti, a veteran secret services coordinator who became interior minister in December 2016, reached an accord with Tripoli to keep migrants in detention centres on Libyan soil.

Human rights groups and the United Nations have blasted most of the centres for their "inhuman" conditions.

The arrivals have fallen also due to a key change in procedure. Whereas previously the Italian coast guard coordinated rescue operations from Rome, operational authority now largely resides with Tripoli.

For the migrants, the difference is critical. Coordination by Rome means they are taken to Italy whereas Tripoli taking charge means they again are left at the mercy of a system stalked by violence and extortion as well as poor conditions.

"The arrivals have gone down but not the suffering," says Carlotta Sami, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

Migrants concur.

"I was not afraid of the water, because God created the water. I'm not afraid of death. We all die one day. I'm more afraid if the Libyan police were to catch me again, because they are so wicked," said Vitoria, a 21-year-old Nigerian who arrived in Sicily earlier this month after spending months, she told AFP, in terrible conditions in Libya.

She was taken aboard The Aquarius, a ship chartered by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders (MSF), after she was first picked up by a smaller boat run by a Spanish NGO following a call from the Italian coastguard.

The crew on the first boat had been told Libya was coordinating the rescue, but the North African country's coastguard did not appear. After a three-day delay, Italy eventually accepted their transfer.

Migrants rescued from the Mediterranean say they are desperate not to be left to fend for themselves in Libyan detention centres where NGOs and the UN have decried often squalid and "inhuman" conditions

Non-governmental organisations are hamstrung by Tripoli telling vessels to keep their distance -- even in cases where the Libyans cannot intervene themselves owing to distance or lack of resources.

"This puts us in impossible situations," says Ruben Neugebauer, spokesman for German NGO Sea-Watch. "If we obey, we are violating the obligation to rescue. If we do not obey, we risk not being able to bring the migrants to Italy or see our vessel seized by Italian authorities."

Recent weeks have also seen the Italians force NGO vessels from rescue zones for days at a time, a tactic which SOS Mediterranee director Frederic Penard says means that "the priority is no longer rescue effectiveness".

- 'More dangerous than ever' -

"Crossings are today more dangerous than ever," says IOM Mediterranean region director Federico Soda. His organisation has registered 383 dead or disappeared off Libya so far this year -- 2.8 percent of known departures, up from 2.2 percent in previous years.

Italy's new government hopes to pull from its sleeve another card, one which Minniti has already tried -- in vain -- to play.

Migrants headed for Sicily play music aboard a rescue vessel -- but even as a harder line on asylum has seen arrivals slump since mid-2016 Italy's incoming populist-hard right government wants to tighten procedures further

That would see Italy simply refuse to take in migrants picked up by European, military or humanitarian rescue vessels.

The populist MS5 and the hard right League hope to send home as quickly as possible the bulk of new arrivals by speeding asylum procedures and systematically kicking out those whose claims are rejected, as well as an estimated 500,000 illegal immigrants.

But at the current rate -- just 6,514 official expulsions in 2017 amid opposition from countries of origin to take back their nationals -- the process could take more than 75 years, Italian media say.Iraqi civil defence search for bodies under the rubble of buildings in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul

Atop an enormous mound of rubble under blistering sun in Iraq's second city Mosul, fire crews and police chip away at a grim but vital task.

Some 10 months after dislodging the Islamic State group, they are still extracting bodies from the ruins of the shattered Old City.

"Over three days, 763 bodies have been pulled from the rubble and buried," Lieutenant Colonel Rabie Ibrahim tells AFP.

Despite the overpowering stench, the men work relentlessly, braving unexploded munitions in an area devastated by the nine-month battle.

"The operations will continue until all the corpses are extracted" from the heart of the city, Ibrahim says.

Civilians' bodies that can be identified are handed to their families, while the remains of IS combatants are buried in a mass grave on the western outskirts of Mosul.

Some of the putrified corpses are sent to Nineveh province's health services, Ibrahim adds.

- Booby traps -

The workers, their faces covered with masks or scarves, move with great caution.

The bodies of jihadists are sometimes still clad in suicide belts.

Grenades, homemade bombs and other crude contraptions left by IS fighters during their retreat to Syria pose a constant threat.

The improvised boobytraps are hidden under multiple layers and obstacles -- the rubble of collapsed homes, disemboweled furniture and uprooted trees, in some places subsiding into the waters of the Tigris that meander murkily below.

Where a maze of cobbled streets was once lined with homes and market stalls, there is now a formless mess populated by stray animals, insects and disease.

The destruction is so great that some residents cannot pinpoint the remnants of their homes or even their street as they try to direct salvage workers to the remains of loved ones.

The rubble makes it impossible to bring in heavy construction machinery, says General Hossam Khalil, who leads Nineveh province's civil defence force.

His men therefore have to rely on smaller vehicles, but Mosul "only has a few," he says.

- Nearly 3,000 bodies -

There is a pressure to work as quickly as conditions will allow: residents are exhausted by three years of IS rule, nine months of brutal urban combat and now the slow pace of reconstruction.

"But it's impossible, with this stench, this pollution and the epidemics they can cause," says Othmane Saad, an unemployed 40-year-old whose home in the old city is entirely destroyed.

Another resident, 33-year-old Abu Adel, wants the authorities "to clear all the corpses as quickly as possible" and to "compensate residents so they can rebuild, then establish public services".

Some 10 months after dislodging the Islamic State group, fire crews and police are still extracting human remains from the ruins of Mosul

But the task is titanic.

Since Mosul was retaken in July, "2,838 bodies, including 600 IS members, have been retrieved from the rubble," governor Naufel Sultane tells AFP.

Even after the corpses are taken away and buried, they leave harmful bacteria which the Tigris can carry far beyond the old city.

The authorities insist drinking water stations are unaffected and that they pump water from the Tigris' central depths, avoiding the banks and other shallows.

But gastroenterologist Ahmed Ibrahim advises caution.

"You must boil water before drinking it and don't use river water, either for bathing or washing," he tells AFP.

Birds and fish "can carry typhus, bilharzia and gastroenteritis," he adds.The $40 billion a year meth trade is entering markets far beyond the 'Golden Triangle' as gangs take advantage of corrupt law enforcement and border controls

"Golden Triangle" countries must address corruption and collaborate more closely to tackle record meth production and the gangs who traffick the drug across Southeast Asia and beyond, the UN said Monday.

From Bangkok to Brisbane, authorities are raking in huge hauls of methamphetamine stimulant pills -- better known as "yaba" -- and the purer, more potent crystallised version known as "ice".

They hail from the "Golden Triangle", a lawless wedge of land that intersects China, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar and is the world's second-largest drug-producing region.

Its drug labs -- mainly in Myanmar's conflict-ridden Shan State -- are working overtime, aiding organised crime gangs in their quest for new markets as far away as Australia and Japan.

Worth an estimated $40 billion a year, huge volumes of meth pass through the Golden Triangle, waved through by corrupt law enforcement and border controls.

"Ensuring governance and the rule of law will be crucial to any long-term reduction in drug production and trafficking," said Jeremy Douglas, regional representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

"To be candid, it also means addressing the corruption, conditions and vulnerabilities that allow organised crime to keep expanding operations."

He was speaking in the Myanmar capital Naypyidaw at a rare regional meeting of police and officials who are aiming to forge a new strategy to fight the drug scourge.

In recent months several Myanmar soldiers have been arrested with massive caches of yaba, destined for Bangladesh.

Myanmar authorities say they are ready to cooperate with their neighbours to stem the flow of drugs and precursor chemicals used by the cook houses in Shan State.

"A top priority for us, is a regional precursor strategy that will slow the supply of chemicals... into the drug-producing areas of the Golden Triangle," Myanmar's Deputy Home Minister Major General Aung Soe said in a statement.

A surge in supply has seen prices for a single yaba pill plummet to around $2 at its cheapest in Thailand and around $7 in Singapore, according to UNODC figures, raising fears over addiction rates.

The UN agency also urged regional governments to address money laundering, share more intelligence on the drug gangs and offer community-based rehabilitation for addicts and petty dealers rather than jail.Syrian government and allied forces started an operation last month to flush out jihadists and other groups from a cluster of neighbourhoods in southern Damascus

A second batch of fighters from the Islamic State jihadist group left their final Damascus stronghold overnight, a monitor said Monday, bringing the Syrian regime closer to a major milestone.

The government has so far not confirmed any deal with IS, but a military source quoted by state media said civilians had been evacuated on Sunday night during a brief ceasefire.

"A second batch of elements from the Islamic State organisation left after midnight," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"They are heading to a pocket in the desert still under the control of the extremist organisation," the Britain-based monitoring group said.

The first group of IS fighters was transferred by bus out of southern Damascus on Sunday, the monitor said.

Government and allied forces started an operation last month to flush out jihadists and other groups from a cluster of neighbourhoods in southern Damascus.

They include Yarmuk, which was the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and has been a besieged IS stronghold since 2015, as well as the adjacent neighbourhoods of Tadamun and Hajar al-Aswad.

The evacuation of those areas would bring the entire capital and its surroundings under regime control for the first time since 2012.

State media has thus far fiercely denied reaching a deal with IS, but state news agency SANA reported for the first time Monday that some evacuations had taken place.

Citing a military source, it said women and children had been bussed out during a ceasefire that would remain in place until noon (0900 GMT) on Monday, but that the government would subsequently resume operations.

President Bashar al-Assad has used a combination of military pressure and evacuation deals in recent months to recapture territory around the capital from his armed opponents.

The assault against the jihadist force in southern Damascus has left more than 250 pro-regime forces, 233 jihadists and more than 60 civilians dead, according to the Britain-based Observatory.

The monitor's head Rami Abdel Rahman said the evacuation operation took place "at night and in secret".

"The Syrian government does not admit to negotiating with IS and wants to make sure the convoy is not targeted by the coalition led by Washington," he added.

Last year, IS fighters and relatives were evacuated from an area on the Lebanese-Syrian border under a deal between IS on one side and the regime and the powerful Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah on the other.

The US-led coalition bombing IS in Syria since 2014 sent planes to monitor the convoy, picking off dozens of jihadists along the way.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas pictured in the West Bank city of Ramallah on May 14, 2018

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's condition was improving and he could leave hospital as early as Tuesday, a senior official and a medical source said Monday.

Abbas, 83, was admitted to the Istishari Arab Hospital near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on Sunday with complications following an ear operation.

He was awake and his condition was improving on Monday, a senior official said on condition of anonymity. A medical source confirmed Abbas was getting better.

The Palestinian president is expected to leave the hospital Tuesday and could return straight to work, the official added.

Abbas's health is the subject of regular speculation, with no clear successor identified.

Senior official Saeb Erekat downplayed fears about his condition late Sunday.

"The president is suffering from an inflammation of the ear that developed following the operation he undertook recently," Erekat told AFP.

A source familiar with his condition had earlier said he was suffering from chest pain and a high fever.

It is the third time Abbas has been in hospital in a week, initially for the ear operation on Tuesday then for tests on Saturday.

In February, he underwent what was then described as routine medical tests in the United States.

Abbas won a four-year term as president in 2005, but he has remained in office in the absence of elections.

Abbas argues the split between his Fatah party and Islamists Hamas, who control the Gaza Strip, has made elections politically impossible.

A moderate, he has been involved in decades of negotiations with Israel but is unpopular among Palestinians, with the majority wanting him to step down.Australia's Gold Coast, venue for the Commonwealth Games

Nearly 200 people who travelled to the Gold Coast for last month's Commonwealth Games have applied for asylum in Australia, an official said Monday.

Several participants from Africa vanished during the international event held on the east coast from April 4-15.

A handful of African athletes resurfaced and sought legal advice on how to apply for asylum last week after their Games visas expired on May 15, refugee advocates said at the time.

Some 205 competitors or support staff "are now lawfully in the country because they've applied for a visa of some type", Malisa Golightly from the Home Affairs Department told a parliamentary hearing in Canberra.

She said some 190 "have applied for a protection visa", while around 10 to 15 had sought other types of visa.

All remain in the country on bridging visas while their applications are assessed, Golightly said, without giving a time frame on when they will know if they are successful.

Some 50 others were also in Australia after their Games visas expired but had yet to get in touch with authorities or apply for another visa, Golightly said.

She added that even though they did not have a current visa, they could likewise seek asylum if they met the application criteria.

Golightly did not say where the competitors and officials were from, but they were previously reported to hail from Cameroon, Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.Recent attacks have made Kabul the deadliest place in Afghanistan for civilians for months

The Taliban warned Kabul residents Monday to avoid "military centres" in the heavily fortified city, saying they are planning more attacks in the Afghan capital where civilians have long borne the brunt of casualties.

The militant group has issued such warnings to civilians before, including during a failed attempt to take the western city of Farah last week, but it is believed to be the first time they have singled out Kabul.

The United Nations has said the capital -- where the Islamic State group is also stepping up attacks -- is already the deadliest place in the country for civilians.

The Taliban said they were planning more attacks on "the enemy's military and intelligence centres" as part of an annual spring offensive.

"Therefore, to avoid civilian casualties and only cause damage to enemy military, we are asking Kabul residents to keep away... we don't want even a single innocent civilian to be killed," said a statement published online.

In response, the defence ministry said police and troops are "ready to protect the people with all means possible", and would not allow the militants to reach their "un-Islamic and inhuman goals".

The Taliban did not define what was meant by "military and intelligence centres".

Such targets are difficult to avoid given that the overcrowded city is the heart of the country's intelligence, government and military operations and plagued by traffic jams due to ubiquitous checkpoints and barriers.

"Any attacks or explosions, even a small one, would cause civilian casualties because military installations are located in the centre of the city near people's houses," political and military analyst Nik Mohammad told AFP.

The Taliban's statement was pure propaganda, he said, adding that if they fight in the cities "you will definitely kill civilians, there is no way to avoid that".

- Top target -

The Taliban statement came Monday as officials in the southern province of Kandahar said the insurgents had killed five mine disposal technicians as they were clearing the area in preparation for a multi-billion dollar gas pipeline.

The Taliban have previously pledged to cooperate with the TAPI pipeline, named after the countries taking part in the project: Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

An insurgent spokesman said they were still investigating the incident.

The Taliban are stepping up their Al Khandaq spring offensive in an apparent rejection of calls to take up the Afghan government's February offer of peace talks.

The group portrays itself as taking care to avoid civilian casualties, but has claimed attacks such as a massive bomb hidden in an ambulance in January. This went off in a crowded street and killed more than 100 people.

The extremists' chilling ability to hit at the heart of the country despite increased police checks has spotlighted security and intelligence failures, with the government of President Ashraf Ghani coming under increasing pressure to protect civilians.

Kabul is overflowing with returning refugees and internally displaced Afghans fleeing war and seeking jobs and security.

The city is a top target. It accounted for 16 percent of all civilian casualties last year, when 1,831 civilians were killed or wounded nationwide, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.

The UN has warned that 2018 could be even deadlier.

emh-str-mam-st/ds/smFruit bats are the main carrier of the often-deadly Nipah virus

A deadly virus carried mainly by fruit bats has killed at least three people in southern India, sparking a statewide health alert Monday.

Eight other deaths in the state of Kerala are being investigated for possible links to the Nipah virus, which has a 70 percent mortality rate.

Kerala's Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged citizens to stay vigilant and follow instructions from the health department.

"Health department is doing everything possible to save the lives of the infected & prevent the advance of virus," his office posted on Twitter.

The victims all died in Calicut district, said Kerala health secretary Rajeev Sadanandan.

Samples tested in government labs confirmed the presence of the Nipah virus in three deaths, while Sadanandan said the cause of other suspicious deaths could only be confirmed through tests.

"We have sent blood and body fluid samples of all suspected cases for confirmation. It will take 24-48 hours for the results to come."

India's health minister rushed medical experts to the state after a local politician reported that residents were panicking in Calicut.

The team would "initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol for the disease", J.P. Nadda said on Twitter.

The three who died included two siblings in their early twenties, the Press Trust of India reported.

A nursing assistant who had treated them also died Monday while the father of the victims was undergoing hospital treatment, PTI reported.

Neighbours told local media the siblings who died had eaten fruit picked from a compound where they were building a home.

A bat was found in the well of their home which was later sealed, PTI quoted state health minister K. K. Shylaja as saying.

Nipah induces flu-like symptoms that often lead to encephalitis and coma. Fruit bats are considered the main carrier of the virus for which there is no vaccination, according to the World Health Organization.

Nipah was first identified in Malaysia in 1998. It spread to Singapore and more than 100 people were killed in both places. On that occasion, pigs were the virus hosts but they are believed to have caught it from bats.

In India the disease was first reported in 2001 and again six years later, with the two outbreaks claiming 50 lives.

Both times the disease was reported in areas of the eastern state of West Bengal bordering Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has borne the brunt of the disease in recent years, with more than 100 people dying of Nipah since the first outbreak was reported there in 2001.

In Bangladesh in 2004, humans became infected with Nipah after eating date palm sap that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian national, was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016 and is serving five years for alleged sedition

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran for two years, has appeared in court to face a new charge, her husband said on Monday.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned to a court in Tehran on Saturday, according to a statement from Richard Ratcliffe, who runs the Free Nazanin campaign group.

The charge is for "spreading propaganda against the regime", which she denies, he said.

On Sunday, she was allowed to speak to the British ambassador to Tehran, Rob Macaire.

"This is the first time that she has been allowed any contact with the embassy in over two years," he said.

Contacted by AFP, Britain's foreign ministry said in a statement: "We will continue to approach each case in a way that we judge is most likely to secure the outcome we all want.

"Therefore we will not be providing a running commentary on every twist and turn," the statement said.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation -- the media organisation's philanthropic arm -- was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016.

She is serving a five-year jail sentence for alleged sedition -- a charge she has always denied.

The couple have a three-year-old daughter Gabriella who is being looked after by Zaghari-Ratcliffe's parents in Tehran.

She has asked for temporary release from prison next month to celebrate her daughter's fourth birthday.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Iran in December last year to press for Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release on humanitarian grounds.This handout picture released by the Iraqi Prime Minister's press office on May 20, 2018, shows Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi meeting with Iraqi Shiite cleric and leader Moqtada al-Sadr in Baghdad

Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr called for an "inclusive" government to be formed quickly, as he sounded out the heads of key parliament factions over a coalition after his shock election win.

The Shiite preacher's Marching Towards Reform alliance scooped 54 seats in an upset at May 12 polls to become the biggest bloc in Iraq's 329-seat parliament.

But Sadr -- whose militia battled American troops after the 2003 US-led invasion -- faces a mammoth task to stitch together a working majority as his demands for less foreign influence in Iraq have stirred tensions with both Washington and Tehran.

In a bid to jumpstart negotiations, Sadr met over the weekend with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose group finished third, and Hadi al-Ameri, whose bloc of pro-Iranian former fighters came second.

After the meetings, the cleric urged "the formation of an inclusive government as quickly as possible" and called for a "nationwide political decision", his office said in a statement Sunday.

Sadr -- whose fighters were once accused of sectarian killings -- has reinvented himself as an anti-graft crusader looking to bridge Iraqi society in alliance with secular leftists.

The election saw a record number of abstentions as Iraqis snubbed the corruption-tarnished elite that has dominated the country since the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein.

It is still far from certain that Sadr, who has ruled himself out of becoming the new premier, will be able to ensure his bloc comes to power.

Whoever emerges at the helm will face the huge job of rebuilding a country left shattered just five months after the defeat of the Islamic State group.A woman washes her hands in Mbandaka, DRC, as authorities prepare to launch a programme to immunise first responders with an experimental Ebola vaccine

The death toll in an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rose to 26 on Monday after a person died in the northwest city of Mbandaka, the government said, as it began vaccinating first responders against the dreaded disease.

"A death was recorded (on Sunday), while two people who had been confirmed as ill with the Ebola virus were cured on Saturday," Health Minister Oly Ilunga said.

The two cases occurred at Bikoro, a remote area where the outbreak began and then spread to Mbandaka -- an event that has deeply worried health experts.

Since the outbreak was announced on May 8, there have been 49 cases, comprising 22 confirmed by laboratory tests, 21 probable and six suspected, Ilunga said. Three new cases had been reported on Saturday.

The authorities meanwhile launched a programme in Mbandaka to immunise front-line health workers with an experimental Ebola vaccine.

First to receive the jab was Guillaume Ngoie Mwamba, in charge of the vaccination programme, reporters saw.

The immunisation team will follow suit on Saturday in Bikoro, about 150 kilometres (90 miles) away -- vaccinating more than 600 people in all for the first phase of the operation.

"This vaccine is here to block the spread of the disease," Ilunga said.

Tests of the prototype carried out in Guinea -- one of three West African countries hit by Ebola from 2013-15 -- show that "all people who received the vaccine during the (virus's) incubation period did not develop the disease," he said.

However, he added, "It won't be a vaccination for mass use, because it first and foremost focuses on health workers. The second circle of vaccination will comprise people who have been in contact with patients, and contacts of contacts."

Donors have promised 300,000 doses of the vaccine, of which around 8,500 have already been received, Ngoie said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has dispatched 35 immunisation experts, including 16 mobilised during the last deadly outbreak in West Africa which occurred in 2013. The rest of the team is made up of newly trained Congolese staff.

- Deadly -

Medical supplies have been rushed to DR Congo to help the country combat the Ebola outbreak. A first wave of immunisations, using an experimental vaccine, will be carried out among health workers on the front line

One of the world's most notorious diseases, Ebola is a virus-caused haemorrhagic fever that in extreme cases leads to fatal bleeding from internal organs, the mouth, eyes or ears.

It has a natural reservoir in a species of tropical African fruit bats, from which it is believed to leap to humans who kill the animals for food.

Transmission among humans then typically spreads through close contact with the blood, body fluids, secretions or organs of someone who is sick with Ebola or has recently died.

The average fatality rate is around 50 percent, varying from 25 percent to 90 percent, according to the WHO.

As there is no licensed drug to treat or prevent the disease, doctors use time-honoured methods of ring-fencing its spread -- identifying and isolating patients and tracing people who have been in contact with them.

The job, which requires strict safety protocols, is exhausting and requires mustering large numbers of personnel. The task is greatly complicated when the disease spreads to a city.

- City worries -

For that reason, alarm bells sounded on Thursday when a first case was reported in Mbandaka,home to around 1.2 million people along the Congo River.

A major transport hub, the city is located upstream from the DRC capital Kinshasa and Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, and downstream from Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, one of the poorest countries in the world.

The experimental vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, is a single-dose injection developed by pharma giant Merck and funded by the WHO.

Clinical trials involving 16,000 volunteers in Africa, Europe and the United States have indicated it may be 100 percent effective, according to preliminary data.

However, experts stress that it has not been tested in the height of an epidemic and at this point can be considered only as an additional tool in fighting the disease.

In addition, the vaccine has to be stored at extremely low temperatures. Keeping it stable is a challenge in poor tropical countries where there are power shortages.

The outbreak is the ninth in DR Congo since the disease was first identified in 1976. It was named after a Congolese river where the first cases were recorded.

The last outbreak was in 2017, and was rapidly curtailed with four deaths.At least 22 alleged drug traffickers have been killed in Bangladesh since last week

Nine suspected traffickers were killed in Bangladesh on Monday in an intensifying crackdown against a "drug menace" that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has likened to the country's war on homegrown Islamic militants.

The latest shootings take to 22 the number of alleged traffickers killed since Dhaka last week announced a pushback against the surging trade in methamphetamine and other drugs.

Authorities told AFP that five dealers gunned down on Monday were "top regional drug lords".

One opened fire at a checkpoint as he sped past on a motorbike, said the Rapid Action Battalion police unit leading the anti-drug offensive.

"We were compelled to fire back," RAB operations officer Anwar Hossain said.

Four other dealers were killed separately in gang wars, police said.

Hundreds of yaba pills -- a popular drug combining caffeine and methamphetamine -- were recovered from the scene of the shootings, police said.

Thousands of alleged dealers have been arrested in an aggressive sweep that Hasina said would eradicate drugs with the same success that Bangladesh had curbed violent extremism.

"We've contained (Islamist) militancy. Now we've taken an initiative to save the country from this drug menace," the prime minister said Sunday.

Muslim-majority Bangladesh has been waging a war against homegrown militancy as Islamist radicals butchered foreigners and secular bloggers in a wave of attacks in recent years.

The frequency of assaults has declined following a brazen cafe siege in 2016 that left 22 dead, including 18 foreigners.

Since then attention has shifted to drugs -- particularly yaba, which is doing a roaring trade.

Bangladesh has been struggling to control a huge surge in yaba crossing its southeastern border from Myanmar, where the cheap pills are manufactured in enormous quantities.

Authorities last year seized a record 40 million yaba pills but said an estimated 250-300 million others managed to enter the market.

Nine million yaba tablets were seized in less than three months earlier this year, including nearly two million pills discovered in a single haul.Lawmakers are planning to quiz Mugabe over his 2016 claim that Zimbabwe lost $15 billion in revenue due to corruption and foreign exploitation in the diamond sector

A Zimbabwe parliament committee has summoned former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence on Wednesday about diamond corruption alleged to have cost billions of dollars during his rule.

Mugabe, who was ousted from office in November after a brief military takeover, has not commented on whether he will appear before the committee.

A parliamentary notice for May 23 was released on Monday.

"Subject to confirmation, oral evidence from His Excellency, the former president of the Republic of Zimbabwe, comrade R. G. Mugabe, on diamond mining revenues," it read.

Mugabe, 94, who is in frail health, was also called to give evidence last month but the meeting was postponed.

Lawmakers plan to question Mugabe over his 2016 claim that the country had lost $15 billion in revenue due to corruption and foreign exploitation in the diamond sector.

No one in Mugabe's office was available to confirm whether he would appear.

The former president, whose own regime was accused of syphoning off diamond profits, has described his ousting as a coup.

He has not been seen in public since November, though he hosted a private birthday party in February at "Blue Roof" -- the lavish mansion where he and his wife Grace, 52, have been living in apparent seclusion in recent months.

Mugabe was replaced by his former deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, a veteran loyalist in the ruling ZANU-PF party who was backed by senior military officers.

Zimbabwe discovered alluvial diamonds in Chiadzwa, in the east of the country, over 10 years ago.

Rights groups have accused security forces of using brutal methods to control the scattered deposits.

The parliament committee, headed by independent MP Temba Mliswa, has already interviewed former ministers, police and intelligence chiefs on mining at Chiadzwa.

Zimbabwe is due to hold elections in July or August, the first since Mugabe was unseated, with the Zanu-PF widely predicted to retain power.Henri van Breda takes his seat in the dock at Western Cape High Court to hear the verdict in his trial. He is accused of killing his two parents, brother and maiming his sister with an axe in their luxury home in January 2015

A South African man was found guilty Monday of killing his wealthy parents and brother and severely injuring his sister in a frenzied axe attack at their home on an exclusive golf estate.

Henri van Breda, 23, had denied murdering his 21-year-old brother Rudi and parents Martin, 54, and Teresa, 55, and leaving his sister Marli struggling with near-fatal injuries to her head, neck and throat.

During the trial, he told the court that a late-night intruder had entered the family's luxury residence on the highly-guarded De Zalze Golf Estate in Stellenbosch, outside Cape Town.

But Judge Siraj Desai systematically took apart the defence case in a five-hour summary of the trial -- and then delivered a verdict that he said "as a family man, it's difficult" to read out.

"After considering all the evidence, the result is inescapable," Desai said, finding van Breda guilty on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, as well as of obstructing justice.

"That the accused was the perpetrator of the crime is the only reasonable conclusion," he said.

"No evidence of a typical house robbery or break-in is evident.

"Four of five members of family found brutally attacked in similar fashion and left for dead... The accused was left standing, having lived through the events."

Van Breda showed little emotion as the verdict was delivered, saying only "I do" to confirm that he understood he was being held in custody until sentencing on June 5.

He was then hand-cuffed from behind and tried to say a few words to his weeping girlfriend before he was led into the basement of the court from the dock via steep stairs.

In his testimony, van Breda claimed he was in the toilet when the masked intruder began attacking his family.

He himself suffered superficial stab wounds which he said were caused while wrestling with the attacker who was trying to slit his throat. He said he then fell unconscious.

Prosecutors insisted the wounds were self-inflicted, and on Monday they called for van Breda to be sentenced to a life sentence for each murder.

- 'Nonsensical' -

Henri van Breda arriving with his partner Danielle Janse van Rensburg at the Western Cape High Court to hear the verdict in his triple murder trial

"The accused testified that he was unaware of anyone with grudges against the family," Desai said.

"The accused denied having any serious arguments with his family and stated that there was nothing out of the ordinary the night before the attack" which occurred in January 2015.

"It is nonsensical that an intruder with the intention to steal would go upstairs and start attacking the family."

Desai said the axe used in the attack was kept in the house.

He also questioned why van Breda waited three hours to call security or the emergency services.

"If the accused's intention was to be helped as soon as possible, it does not explain why he first called his (then) girlfriend... several times from his mobile phone," Desai said.

Van Breda's family had moved to Australia many years ago before returning to South Africa in 2014.

- Turned himself in -

Believing he was about to be arrested, van Breda turned himself in at a police station 18 months after the killings.

The trial generated fevered interest over a privileged son allegedly unleashing a savage attack on his family, whose fortune -- estimated at $16 million (13.6 million euros) -- was derived from property.

Van Breda's claim of an intruder had echoes of the defence used by Oscar Pistorius, who said he thought a burglar was hiding in the toilet to explain why he fired four times through the door, killing his girlfriend.

In a recording of van Breda's call to emergency services, he said his family members were "bleeding from the head" before he appeared to giggle briefly.

Wearing a grey suit and navy blazer, Van Breda had struggled to stay awake in the dock on Monday, nodding heavily as the grisly deaths of his family were detailed by the judge.A police officer arrests Zambian musician Chama Fumba, known as Pilato, during a march to the parliament building in Lusaka last September

A Zambian court on Monday released on bail a popular protest musician, who was arrested last week when he returned home having fled the country fearing for his life.

Hip-hop musician Chama Fumba, widely known as Pilato, was detained last week after he returned home from South Africa, where he had spent four months.

He fled Zambia after receiving threats from supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) over his hit song "Koswe Mumpoto" which in the local Bemba dialect translates to "rat in the pot".

The song was widely seen as accusing President Edgar Lungu and his ministers of being corrupt.

An arrest warrant was issued last month when the 34-year-old, who is also a prominent anti-corruption campaigner, failed to appear in court as he was abroad.

Magistrate Mwaka Mikalile was convinced that Pilato's life was in danger and that the musician was justified in fleeing Zambia.

"I have had the opportunity to watch the video that he tendered before court. His life was indeed threatened and the police did not do anything," said Mikalile. "The threats ought to have been dealt with by the police".

Pilato was freed on condition he pays 30,000 kwacha ($2,950) in bail money.

His trial, along with five other activists accused of staging an illegal protest outside parliament last year, is due to start on Friday. They all pleaded not guilty to charges during their pre-trial hearing last Thursday.

They were protesting against the procurement of 42 fire-fighting vehicles at a cost of $1 million (850,000 euros) each -- an example of alleged graft under Lungu.

Scores of sympathisers, including the main opposition United Party for National Development leader Hakainde Hichilema attended the hearing on Monday.

Hichilema told reporters that he was in court "to show support to citizens in difficult situations like this".

os/sn/riAn alleged Brazilian drug smuggler has been remanded to Tihar Jail in New Delhi

Indian police used laxatives for several days to retrieve 106 cocaine capsules worth some $900,000 from the stomach of a Brazilian woman who tried to smuggle them into the country, officials said Monday.

The 28-year-old woman and the capsules were presented to a New Delhi court which remanded her in the city's Tihar jail.

The woman was held on May 14 after she arrived at Delhi airport from Sao Paulo, according to Vishwa Vijay, a Narcotics Control Bureau superintendent.

"She was taken to Safdarjung hospital where doctors administered laxatives after X-rays showed the presence of the capsules," he told AFP.

The capsules, containing in total about 930 grams of pure South American cocaine, were supposed to be delivered to dealers in the Indian capital.

"This is the highest number of cocaine capsules extracted from any professional drugs swallower in Delhi," said Vijay.

The maximum punishment for drug trafficking is 20 years under Indian law.Syria's army said on Monday it was in full control of the capital Damascus and its outskirts after ousting the Islamic State group, marking a major milestone in the seven-year war.

'The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure,' it said in a statement carried on official media.

The development came after troops had captured a key southern portion of Damascus from ISIS, the statement said, including the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk and the adjacent district of Hajar al-Aswad.

'The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified,' it added.

Scroll down for video

A Syrian army tank advancing through a street in Hajar al-Aswad in the push against the final ISIS militants in the city

Bombs exploding over rebel-held areas of the city as government forces shell enemy positions

Syria's war erupted in 2011 with protests against President Bashar al-Assad, including in the capital.

The following year, the government began losing control of parts of Damascus and placed a crippling siege around Yarmuk, which lies in the capital's south.

The army's announcement came hours after a tenuous evacuation deal saw hundreds of IS fighters and their relatives quit Yarmuk, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The government has denied reaching a deal with IS. It said a brief ceasefire had allowed one convoy of women and children to leave the pocket in southern Damascus.

Since last year, Syria's government has cleared swathes of territory around Damascus from its armed opponents through a blend of military pressure and evacuation deals.

Weeks of fierce combat subsided at the weekend when a ceasefire allowed for group withdrawals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad had made it a key objective to drive ISIS militants out of Damascus

A soldier takes a video of the wreckage of a neighbourhood in central Damascus after a bombing campaign

'The evacuations are over, after 32 buses took 1,600 people including IS fighters and their relatives out of southern Damascus on Sunday and Monday,' said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

They were heading east towards Syria's Badiyah, the vast stretch of desert where IS still holds tiny slivers of territory.

Syrian government forces launched a large-scale operation to clear the last remaining ISIS targets over the weekend - leading to a declaration of victory as early as Sunday.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined a tough new strategy on Iran

The United States will increase the financial pressure on Iran with the "strongest sanctions in history," after Washington pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday.

"We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo said in his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA.

"The sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen for itself and the people of Iran," he added in the speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

"Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East," he said in outlining the new US strategy on handling the Islamic regime, including 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran.

Pompeo said if Iran were to abide by the stricter terms, including ending its ballistic missile program and its interventions in regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria, the United States would lift its sanctions.

"We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world and crush them," Pompeo said.

"Iran will be forced to make a choice: either fight to keep its economy off life support at home or keep squandering precious wealth on fights abroad. It will not have the resources to do both."

President Donald Trump has long said the original 2015 deal with Iran -- also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- did not go far enough, and now wants the Europeans and others to support his hardline strategy.

"In the strategy we are announcing today, we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe. I don't just mean our friends in Europe," Pompeo said.

The secretary of state also warned European businesses who work with Iran in violation of US sanctions that they will be held "to account."

The re-establishment of the US sanctions will force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with the United States.

In reality, there is no choice -- European companies cannot afford to forsake the US market.

For now, the European Union is trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.Residents of Syria's besieged Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp queue for food aid on January 31, 2014, in a picture released by the United Nation's agency for Palestinians, UNRWA

Poverty and exile, siege and starvation, jihadist rule and government shelling -- few places have seen more suffering in Syria's seven year, atrocity-filled war than the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk.

A striking 2014 picture of tired, gaunt-looking residents massing among the ruins for a food distribution drew comparisons with a World War II ghetto and became a symbol of the Syrian conflict.

The gutted neighbourhood in southern Damascus was the Islamic State group's last urban redoubt until Monday, when the last batch of jihadists evacuated after weeks of fighting.

The area was once Syria's biggest Palestinian refugee camp, home to around 160,000 people.

Years of crippling siege and bombardment by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, whose presidential compound is visible from the camp, had already sent tens of thousands of them into a second exile.

Smoke billows during Syrian army air strikes seen from the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus on April 24, 2018

Yarmuk is one of the closest spots to central Damascus to have been controlled by IS and the deal brokered in recent days to secure IS's exit handed the government full control of the capital and its outskirts for the first time since 2012.

Government and allied forces turned their attention to Yarmuk and adjacent neighbourhoods in the south of Damascus last month after focusing their efforts on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta earlier this year.

Around 1,000 fighters remained in the Yarmuk area at the time, of which at least 233 were killed in this month's fighting, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group.

Most of them were former members of Al-Qaeda's Syrian ex-affiliate Al-Nusra Front, but IS fighters there also included Palestinian refugees who joined when the Islamists took over much of the camp in 2015.

Smoke billows during Syrian army air strikes as seen from the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus on April 24, 2018

According to the Britain-based Observatory, the Syrian army led the battle, with Russian officers supervising and Palestinian militias contributing hundreds of foot soldiers.

IS jihadists posted several grisly pictures on their social media accounts purportedly showing regime or allied fighters they beheaded during the operation, which the Observatory said also left more than 250 pro-regime fighters dead.

- Iconic picture -

Yarmuk camp was opened in 1957 with tents set up for Palestinian families forced to leave their homes by the establishment of Israel. These were soon replaced by permanent structures.

A Sukhoi Su-22 Syrian military jet releases bombs over southern Damascus in the area of Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp on April 24, 2018

The wider area of Yarmuk was also home to hundreds of thousands of Syrians.

In 2011, regime attempts to use the traditionally apolitical Palestinian refugee community to raise tensions with Israel and divert attention from the internal uprising in Syria backfired.

Syrian opposition groups came to see Yarmuk as a potential forward base in their campaign to unseat Assad. The fighting that ensued levelled the area and forced most residents to flee.

According to the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, most of the camp's 6,000 residents have been displaced by the recent fighting.

A Syrian government tank drives down a street in southern Damascus on April 23, 2018, during a regime offensive targeting the Islamic State group

The agency's spokesman Chris Gunness said he was "deeply concerned" about them.

Yarmuk, which was meant as haven for displaced Palestinians, had come to symbolise a humanitarian catastrophe that caused some of the worst displacement since World War II.

A picture taken during a UN food distribution in January 2014 gripped the world's imagination.

The photo -- depicting thousands of haggard-looking civilians thronging the ruins of their neighbourhood as they waited for a food handout -- drew parallels with the Warsaw ghetto, even in the Israeli press.

Smoke and flames rise behind the minaret of a mosque in Yarmuk, a Palestinian refugee camp on the edge of Damascus, during overnight regime shelling on the southern district of the capital held by the Islamic State (IS) group on April 22, 2018

Gunness, the UNRWA spokesman, said that year: "The lexicon of man's inhumanity to man has a new word: Yarmuk."

Stories of children eating paper, families surviving on animal feed, and outbreaks of typhoid made Yarmuk a cause celebre, contributing to the global pressure on Assad.Mario Batali, 57, is one of the most famous figures in American cuisine

Celebrity chef Mario Batali's restaurant group announced Monday it was ending its partnership with him following new sexual assault allegations -- as police in New York confirmed an investigation was underway.

In a statement, B&B Hospitality Group -- named after Batali and co-founder Joe Bastianich -- described the allegations he assaulted impaired women as "chilling and deeply disturbing."

"This was the first we learned of them," the group said of the claims, broadcast on CBS Sunday.

A woman who was employed at one of Batali's establishments told CBS he invited her to a party at New York's "The Spotted Pig" restaurant in 2005, where she drank white wine with him.

She alleged that she later woke up, suspecting she had been drugged, and found what appeared to be semen on her skirt. She said she called a crisis hotline before going to a hospital for an examination. However, she declined to file a police report, and her "rape kit" from the hospital was not processed. Batali, 57, said he "vehemently" denies assaulting the woman.

Another employee, Jamie Seet, meanwhile recalled in 2008 intervening to stop a similar assault she witnessed via the restaurant's surveillance footage.

B&B said Batali -- one of the most famous figures in American cuisine -- had been removed from operations across its 26 restaurants since December, when allegations of sexual misconduct first emerged.

It added he had already signed a letter of intent with Bastianich setting out the broad terms of his divestment.

"We have been actively negotiating with Mr. Batali to buy his interests in the restaurants ... We expect to have the final terms set by July 1," the group said.

Batali was accused in December of sexual misconduct over the course of at least two decades. As well as being removed from B&B's operations, ABC television network, which airs Batali's foodie show "The Chew," said it asked him to "step away" from the program.

The Italian-American is a popular TV personality whose empire includes cookbooks, cookware and food products along with B&B's 26 restaurants.

On Monday, the New York police confirmed it was investigating the allegations, without providing further details.US President Donald Trump attends a roundtable discussion on the MS-13 gang in the Cabinet Room of the White House on February 6, 2018

The White House sought to underscore the threat from the largely Hispanic MS-13 gang Monday, describing its members as "violent animals."

Doubling down on Trump's recent controversial remarks about some migrants being "animals" -- which he later said were directed against MS-13 -- the White House sent a statement detailing atrocities committed by the group.

"WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIOLENT ANIMALS OF MS-13," said an email, which used the term "animals" 11 times.

The White House accused members of the gang of "stabbing a man more than 100 times and then decapitating him, dismembering him, and ripping his heart out of his body."

MS-13 started in Los Angeles in the 1980s, but has links to El Salvador.

It is thought to have around 10,000 members, in line with estimates a decade ago.

It is known for its brutal violence, but until the Trump administration had not been seen as a national security threat warranting sustained White House attention.

As he has sought to bolster the case for building a border wall, Trump has often focused on MS-13 in casting aspersions on immigration from Latin America.

Building "the wall" was one of Trump's signature campaign promises, but he has failed to convince the Republican-controlled Congress to pay for it.

According to an estimate from The Washington Office on Latin America, which campaigns on human rights in the Americas, MS-13 accounts for less than one percent of America's 1.4 million gang members.Roger Glenn Self, 62, of Dallas, North Carolina, is facing murder charges for allegedly ramming his family with his car while they were eating lunch in a restaurant

A 62-year-old man was under arrest for murder in North Carolina Monday after he allegedly excused himself from a restaurant lunch with his family, then rammed them with his car at high speed -- killing his daughter and daughter-in-law.

Roger Glenn Self, of Dallas, North Carolina, is being held on two charges of first-degree murder, the Gaston County Sheriff's Office said.

According to the Gaston Gazette, Self was seated with his family at the Surf and Turf Lodge in Bessemer City, near Dallas, on Sunday when he excused himself.

Self went to his car and drove at full speed straight into the table where his family was sitting, it said.

"I saw a white Jeep just fly right past my face," a waiter, Brandon Wilson, was quoted as saying.

"It was so unreal," Wilson said. "I saw chairs and tables and cups just flying everywhere. It just sounded like a tornado."

Self's daughter, Katelyn Self, 26, a deputy with the Gaston County Sheriff's Office, died in the crash along with Self's daughter-in-law, Amanda Self, a nurse, the newspaper said.

Roger Self's wife, Diane, was seriously injured along with their son, Josh Self, a police officer, and their granddaughter, the 13-year-old daughter of Josh and Amanda Self.

The Gaston Gazette quoted friends of Roger Self, who owned a private investigation company, as saying that he had recently been battling mental illness and depression.

"He was trying to get help," Austin Rammell, the pastor of the church which Self attended, was quoted as saying.

"We were trying to steer him toward help," Rammell said.US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has outlined a tough new strategy on Iran

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday warned Tehran would be hit with the "strongest sanctions in history" and cautioned European firms against continuing to do business with it, toughening up Washington's policy line after its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

In his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA, the longtime Iran hawk and ardent opponent of the 2015 nuclear pact outlined an aggressive series of moves designed to counter Tehran, which he called the world's top sponsor of terror.

"We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

"This sting of sanctions will be painful if the regime does not change its course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen to one that rejoins the league of nations."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani quickly dismissed the threats, saying the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf.

"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani said in a statement carried by multiple Iranian news agencies.

"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he added.

Pompeo said if Iran were to abide by stricter terms, including ending its ballistic missile program and its interventions in regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria, the United States would lift its new sanctions.

President Donald Trump has long said the 2015 deal with Iran -- also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- did not go far enough, and now wants the Europeans and others to support his hardline strategy.

The deal was designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The international community, including top US officials, have said Tehran had been in compliance.

But Trump despised the deal, pointing to other aspects of Iranian behavior not covered in the pact, and on May 8 he pulled America out despite intense diplomatic lobbying by European allies who had beseeched him to stick with it by adding tougher new elements.

- 'Carte blanche' -

Iran's main ballistic missiles

Instead of suggesting a re-negotiation of the Iran deal, Pompeo outlined 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran to make sure it "will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East."

These essentially address every aspect of Iran's missile program and what the US calls its "malign influence" across the region, including support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah and Huthi rebels in Yemen.

"It must cease its threatening behavior against its neighbors," Pompeo said.

Rouhani compared the comments as akin to those made by the administration of George W. Bush ahead of the 2003 Iraq invasion.

"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," Rouhani added.

Iran foe Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Pompeo's speech, and urged the rest of the world to follow suit.

"The US policy is correct. Iran is spreading aggressively throughout the Middle East. It aspires to achieve nuclear weapons by various means," Netanyahu said.

European allies heard how Pompeo expects their support for the new US plan -- but he offered nothing in return, and threatened economic fallout for anyone still dealing with the Islamic Republic.

"We understand that our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends," he said.

"We want to hear their concerns. But you know, we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account."

The re-establishment of US sanctions will force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with the United States.

In reality, there is no choice -- European companies cannot afford to forsake the US market.

For now, the European Union is trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.

Russia and China have also criticized the US move and vowed to maintain trade with Iran.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the sort of "jumbo Iran deal" Pompeo envisioned would not be "very easy to achieve in anything like a reasonable timescale."

And the EU's foreign policy chief said there was "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal.

"Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," Federica Mogherini said.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, attending a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Buenos Aires, said he was not surprised by Pompeo's critique of the Iran deal, before adding: "We do not see at this time a better alternative."

"We believe that without this agreement, we would take the risk that Iran resumes its nuclear program," he said.

Maas said he will travel to Washington to talk with Pompeo this week.

Critics rounded on Pompeo's speech, saying his demands could have been made without pulling America from the nuclear deal.

"Pompeo has not outlined a strategy, but rather a grab bag of wishful thinking that can only be interpreted as a call for regime change in Iran," Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings' Center for Middle East Policy wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning said the military was weighing "new actions" to counter Iran's influence in the Middle East, but he stressed this was part of a "whole of government" approach and offered no details.Workers at the Turkey Point Nuclear Reactor in Homestead, Florida: mining companies argue that the huge uranium deposit in Virginia could fuel all the nuclear reactors in the United States and want a ban on exploting the radioactive mineral overturned by the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court said Monday it will examine the legality of a ban on exploiting the largest known deposit of uranium in the United States.

The court was responding to calls by the Trump administration, and by the companies that own the land in Virginia, which are seeking to overturn a ban on mining the estimated 119 million pounds of radioactive material, valued at some six billion dollars.

Virginia banned uranium mining in 1982, citing concerns about radioactive pollution in the state's waterways. The huge deposit had been discovered shortly before that, close to the borders with North Carolina.

But the mining companies that own the land have waged a long legal battle to overturn the ban, arguing that this one deposit could fuel all the country's nuclear power stations.

They argue that, according to the Atomic Energy Act, decisions concerning the exploitation of nuclear materials should be in the hands of federal regulators, and not states.

The Trump administration, which has pledged to revitalize bankrupt mines, has backed the mining companies in the case.President Pierre Nkurunziza -- seen waiting to vote with wife Denise -- obtained the vote he wanted to extend his grip on power which he could now hold on to until 2034

Burundians overwhelmingly backed constitutional reforms that bolster President Pierre Nkurunziza's power and allow him to seek another two terms in office, results showed Monday.

Election commission chief Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye said 73 percent of voters had voted "Yes" in a referendum last Thursday, which the opposition and rights groups said took place in a climate of fear and repression.

Only 19 percent voted "No" in the vote which scored a turnout of 96 percent. Spoiled ballots made up four percent of votes cast.

The results -- which exclude figures from the diaspora representing 0.27 percent of the vote -- are provisional and must be validated by the constitutional court within nine days.

Observers had widely expected the reforms to pass, partly due to support Nkurunziza still holds in rural areas, but also due to a three-year crackdown on dissent, the media and civil society.

A presidential decree ruled earlier this month that anyone advising voters to boycott the vote risked up to three years in jail.

Nkurunziza, 54, who has been in power since 2005, plunged his tiny east African nation into crisis in 2015 when he circumvented a constitutional two-term limit, arguing his first term came after an election by parliament.

The move sparked angry protests, a government crackdown, coup attempt and widespread abuses which prompted the International Criminal Court to launch a probe into the atrocities.

This angered Burundi which became the first country to withdraw from the ICC.

At least 1,200 people have died and 400,000 been displaced, according to the ICC.

The constitutional reforms, which include measures that hand more power to Nkurunziza and his ruling CNDD-FDD, change term limits to seven years, meaning he could start again from scratch in 2020.

The United States on Monday denounced the "climate of fear and intimidation" and "lack of transparency" it said had marred the referendum and questioned the results.

"The May 17 referendum process in Burundi was marred by a lack of transparency, the suspension of media outlets, and attempts to pressure voters," the US State Department said in a statement.

- 'Neither free nor transparent' -

The massive turnout bolstered the legitimacy of the vote, however rights groups and the opposition argue it is fear and intimidation which drove Burundians to the polls.

On election day witnesses said the feared youth militia Imbonerakure was going door-to-door telling people to vote, while polling station officials were intimidating voters to cast a "Yes" ballot.

"The electoral process has been neither free nor transparent, nor independent and still less democratic," former rebel leader and main opposition chief Agathon Rwasa said in a statement Saturday.

Rights groups agreed that the vote had been mired in intimidation, with Nkurunziza himself warning those who dared "sabotage" plans to revise the constitution would be crossing a "red line."

Human Rights Watch decried a vote which had seen "widespread abuse, fear, and pressure" to vote in favour of reforms shoring up the president's position

"Burundi's referendum took place amid widespread abuse, fear, and pressure - a climate that is clearly not conducive to free choice," said Ida Sawyer, Central Africa director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).

HRW said it had documented "15 killings, six rapes used as punishment against those seen as against the (ruling) CNDD-FDD, eight abductions, and numerous other violations."

The watchdog said that with fear preventing the report of abuses, the real figures were likely much higher.

- Death blow to peace deal -

Bujumbura routinely rejects such accusations, accusing foreign NGOs, rights groups and media of peddling a campaign of lies against the government.

Presidential advisor Willy Nyamitwe said these groups were "embarked on a campaign to tarnish the image of Burundi", in an interview with Kenya's KTN News over the weekend.

He said the country was "at peace", blaming violence on elements crossing the border from Rwanda or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

People hold banners written "Vote No" in local language Kirundi during the opposition's campaign against the referendum -- but all to no avail

Aside from intimidation, the opposition also accused the government of rigging the vote, with the "Yes" vote winning even in opposition strongholds where the ruling party has never won an election.

Critics say the referendum has struck a death blow to the Arusha peace deal, signed in 2000.

The accord ended Burundi's 1993-2006 civil war and ushered in measures to ensure power would not be concentrated in either the hands of the majority Hutu or minority Tutsi, after decades of violence between the communities.

Nkurunziza is the latest in a long line of African leaders to tweak the constitution in order to stay in power, along with Rwanda's Paul Kagame, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, Cameroon's Paul Biya and others.Two soldiers and a civilian were killed when armed men attacked a convoy in the Virunga National Park, pictured here in 2016

Twenty people have been killed in a flareup of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including a fresh attack in the renowned Virunga National Park, officials said Monday.

Ten people were killed in the eastern DRC by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia, said Jonas Kibwana, administrator of the Beni region in North Kivu province.

"The ADF attacked the town of Mbau... 10 civilians were shot dead and two others were wounded," Kibwana told AFP, giving a toll confirmed separately by sources in the armed forces and civil society.

Eastern DRC has been wracked by violence since the mid-1990s. The ADF -- created by Muslim radicals to oppose the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni -- is one of a number of armed groups fighting over the region's rich mineral resources.

It stands accused of killing hundreds of civilians over the years and of carrying out a deadly attack on UN troops in Beni last December that left 15 peacekeepers dead.

Also in North Kivu, two soldiers and a civilian were killed on Monday when armed men attacked a convoy in the Virunga National Park, one of the most important conservation sites in the world.

The two soldiers were escorting a large convoy of two trucks and 21 motorcycles, said Kakule Silusawa, a senior administrative official in Kibirizi district.

The attack came just 10 days after a park guard was killed and two British tourists and their Congolese driver were kidnapped, in an attack that prompted the park's authorities to suspend tourist visits until June 4.

The three were freed after two days. The British pair were unharmed, while the driver was injured.

- Wildlife haven -

Virunga National Park is home to about a quarter of the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas

Established in 1925, Virunga is home to about a quarter of the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas, as well as to eastern lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, okapis, lions, elephants and hippos.

Seven people were meanwhile killed and 11 injured in a separate attack early Monday in a village in the troubled central Kasai region, a local official told AFP.

"Armed men close to militia chief Kalamba Dilondo last night infiltrated Matopolo village and killed seven people, using shotguns," said local administrator Jacob Pembelongo, adding all those who died were ethnic Mpiang.

Pembelongo said the 700 inhabitants of the village, 220 kilometres (135 miles) north of regional capital Kananga, fled to the bush, adding troops had been dispatched to the area.

An army officer who would not give his name said the death toll was provisional, blaming the attack on militia from the Kete community close to Dilondo.

The security situation is volatile in a region where militia loyal to Dilondo have been wreaking terror, according to eyewitness accounts.

Troops arrested Dilondo in March but he returned to his village earlier this month accompanied by the Kasai governor aboard a UN helicopter.

Kasai has been wracked by violence leading to more than 3,000 deaths since the August 2016 killing of militia chief Kamuina Nsapu.

Around 1.4 million people were displaced in the year following his death.A group of migrants wait to be transferred from the Spanish war ship Santa Maria to a ship run by a non-governmental organization

The UN Security Council is considering imposing the first-ever sanctions on migrant smugglers in Libya, targeting six leaders of trafficking rings, but Russia has requested more information, documents obtained by AFP on Monday showed.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley told a council meeting on Libya that "there is strong regional support for these designations and the evidence showing the involvement of the six people is clear."

"Failing to move forward would be a travesty," she added.

Presented by the Netherlands, the proposed sanctions blacklist includes two Eritrean nationals described as top operators in transnational smuggling networks and four Libyans including a the head of a regional coast guard unit.

The six individuals would face a global travel ban and assets freeze if the council agrees to blacklist them. France, Germany, Britain and the United States support the Dutch sanctions request.

Russia however told the council's sanctions committee that "we need more information to better understand the value of the said proposal, how efficient it might be if approved", according to a letter obtained by AFP.

Russia called for a committee meeting to examine the evidence on the involvement of the six individuals and noted that the criminal networks "stretch to many European countries and the United States."

The sanctions blacklist was presented on May 1 and Russia put a hold on the request a week later.

- Smuggling of tens of thousands of migrants -

Libya has long been a transit hub for migrants, but smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business in the years that followed the 2011 ouster of Moamer Kadhafi.

The fate of migrants has come under UN scrutiny since film footage emerged last year of Africans auctioned off as slaves in Libya, drawing outrage from African governments.

Among the six on the proposed blacklist is Ermias Ghermay of Eritrea, described as a leader of a network responsible for "trafficking and smuggling tens of thousands of migrants" from the Horn of Africa to the coast of Libya and onwards to Europe and the United States, according to the sanctions request obtained by AFP.

The other five are Fitiwi Abdelrazak of Eritrea, Libyan militia leader Ahmad Oumar al-Dabbashi, Libyan Musab Abu-Qarin, described as a "central actor" in migrant smuggling in the coastal area of Sabratha, Libyan Mohammed Kachlaf, head of the Shuhada al Nasr brigade in Zawiya, western Libya and finally, Abd al Rahman al-Milad, who heads the Libyan coast guard in Zawiya.

Al-Milad was cited for running an operation in which he and other coast guard members would open fire on migrant boats, causing them to sink and would then pick up refugees at sea who were sent to detention centers and beaten, the documents said.

Ghermay and Abelrazak were cited for organising countless perilous journeys across the Mediterranean that ended in shipwrecks and for running private detention camps in Libya.

During the council meeting, Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov did not specifically mention the sanctions request but said the migrant problem should be not be tackled with "half-measures."The US Supreme Court will hear a complaint from Indian villagers in the state of Gujarat

The US Supreme Court said Monday it will examine a complaint by Indian villagers who say they are suffering from pollution caused by a coal power plant funded by a US-based institution.

The plant, owned by the Tata Group in the Indian state of Gujarat, was built with funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a sister organization of the World Bank that specializes in development assistance.

The IFC says the plant, which has a capacity of 4,150 megawatts, uses advanced technology to improve efficiency, save fuel and reduce emissions while generating power for areas that are "chronically short of electricity."

But the fishermen and farmers who are plaintiffs in the case denounce the damage caused to marine fauna and the pollution of soil by coal dust.

The plaintiffs argue that the IFC failed to comply with its charter, which makes the release of funds conditional on compliance with environmental standards.

The case will be argued and judged in the next session of the Supreme Court, which begins in October.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed the administration of President Donald Trump as a "move 15 years backwards to the era of Bush junior and a repeat of the same statements as 2003"

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dismissed threats made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, saying the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf.

"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani said in a statement carried by multiple Iranian news agencies.

"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he added.

It was a pointed response to Pompeo's speech earlier in the day, in which he threatened the "strongest sanctions in history" against Iran unless it capitulated to a series of 12 demands regarding its regional behaviour and missile programme.

But Rouhani dismissed the administration of President Donald Trump as a "move 15 years backwards to the era of Bush junior and a repeat of the same statements as 2003".

"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," he added.

European leaders have strongly condemned the US move to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions, seeing it as undermining regional security and a direct attack on their economic interests.

Russia and China -- two other parties to the agreement -- have also criticised the US move and vowed to maintain trade with Iran.

"The world does not accept the logic by which a gentleman who was head of the spy service... decides for others," said Rouhani, referring to Pompeo's recent job as head of the CIA.A member of the Syrian government forces poses for a photo next to a Syrian flag in destroyed buildings at the entrance of the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk on the southern outskirts of Damascus on May 21, 2018

The road leading into southern districts of Damascus was lined by endless mounds of smashed concrete and rubble, monuments to the cost of the Syrian army's battle for the capital.

Standing on Route 30, a main street in the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk, a young Syrian soldier sighed: "This was the last battle in Damascus. I'm extremely happy."

"Damascus will go back to the way it was. We'll forget the days of shelling and blood -- this victory will help us forget it all," said 22-year-old Lieutenant Mohsen Ismail.

Syria's army on Monday announced it was in full control of Damascus after a month-long assault that ousted the Islamic State group from Yarmuk and surrounding districts.

Hours after the announcement, black clouds of smoke still hung in the air and some small fires were still raging in the abandoned neighbourhoods.

Piles of rubble were still blocking most streets, making them impossible for cars to access during a media tour of the area organised by Syria's government.

Syrian soldiers were still deployed across the area. Some fired their weapons in the air in celebration, while others lay down in apparent exhaustion.

For four weeks, Syrian troops and allied Palestinian fighters waged a relentless battle for Yarmuk, as well as Hajar al-Aswad, Qadam, and Tadamun.

They used air strikes and heavy artillery against IS, which deployed snipers and suicide attackers, according to Ismail.

- Snipers, suicide attacks -

"Yesterday (Sunday), we were storming a building and five soldiers who were with me were killed," he said.

"This battle was different than the rest because they relied heavily on suicide bombers. If one of their fighters got surrounded, he would blow himself up immediately instead of surrendering," said Ismail.

The jihadists blew holes into walls of adjacent homes and used tunnels to move across areas undetected. Faced with such tactics, he didn't think he would survive.

Syrian government forces pose for a photo in front of destroyed buildings at the entrance of the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk on the southern outskirts of Damascus after the army announced it was in complete control of the capital

"When I came here from Jobar and saw this, the suicide bombers, the snipers -- I thought there's no way we'll come out alive," he told AFP.

In one case, he was pinned down for more than an hour by an IS sniper in an area he thought was already secured.

In another, a jihadist hiding out in a house the army had raided jumped out and fired at a soldier, wounding him.

Capturing the capital's south is a major milestone for the regime, which first lost control over parts of Damascus just a year after the conflict began in 2011.

President Bashar al-Assad has used military assaults and negotiated withdrawals to secure territory all around the capital in recent months, before turning to Yarmuk.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a similar deal had been reached for Yarmuk at the weekend.

After a brief ceasefire, some 1,600 people, including IS jihadists and their relatives, left the area on Sunday and Monday under the cover of darkness, said the Britain-based war monitor.

No media was present to document the evacuations.

The government has denied a deal with IS and said a brief ceasefire allowed one convoy of only women and children to leave the southern Damascus pocket overnight.

- Ghost town -

One military source close to the regime said fighters had left under a deal reached through negotiations with the government and its ally Russia.

The month-long assault was bloody for both sides.

One Syrian soldier who identified himself only as Wissam said the toughest parts of the battle were the snipers, "the narrow streets and proximity of the buildings to one another."

Syrian government forces walk down a destroyed street at the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk

But the 22-year-old fighter said the most important part was the outcome: "Now that the terrorists have left, people can sleep in peace."

Yarmuk was once a thriving district in Syria's capital, home to some 160,000 Palestinian refugees as well as Syrians.

But there were no residents in sight on Monday.

Some civilians who had been previously displaced by the fighting could be seen trying to access their districts by car.

The army turned them back, saying it wasn't safe enough yet.Han Solo's BlasTech DL-44 blaster used by actor Harrison Ford in the filming of "Return of the Jedi" is expected to fetch $300,000 to $500,000 at auction next month in Las Vegas

In the wildly popular "Star Wars" films, Han Solo once told a lightsaber-wielding Luke Skywalker: "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."

Now, fans of the space saga can own one of the blaster pistol props Harrison Ford used in his iconic role as Solo in "Return of the Jedi" -- an item expected to sell for between $300,000 and $500,000 next month at auction in Las Vegas.

The faux weapon, mainly made of wood, was put on display in New York on Monday by Julien's Auctions -- after more than 30 years tucked away in the belongings of James Schoppe, the art director for "Return of the Jedi" (1983).

The executive director of Julien's Auctions, Martin Nolan, believes the price for Solo's blaster "could go much higher"

Martin Nolan, the auction house's executive director, said Schoppe, an Oscar nominee for his work on the film, finally decided to part with Solo's gun and about 40 other 'Jedi' items, including an Ewok axe and plans for Jabba the Hutt's ship.

The price for Solo's blaster "could go much higher" at the auction, set for June 23 in Las Vegas, Nolan said.

The announcement of the auction coincides with the release this week of "Solo: A Star Wars Story" -- a standalone film that tells the story of a young Han Solo, this time played by Alden Ehrenreich.

Last year, an R2-D2 droid used in the making of several "Star Wars" films sold for $2.76 million at auction in Los Angeles. Skywalker's lightsaber from the first two movies fetched $450,000.Mario Batali, 57, is one of the most famous figures in American cuisine

Allegations of sexual assault against US celebrity chef Mario Batali spotlight once again an industry known for its macho work environment as the #MeToo era claims yet another high-profile American scalp.

New York police confirmed Monday they had opened an investigation into the 57-year-old icon of Italian-American cuisine after a series of disturbing claims were broadcast on CBS's "60 Minutes."

An anonymous employee of one of Batali's 26 restaurants accused him of assault in 2005 at "The Spotted Pig," a celebrity haunt in Manhattan's Greenwich Village run by one of his friends, and in which he had invested.

The woman alleged that Batali drugged and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious, waking up to find apparent semen on her skirt.

She said she went to a hospital, but decided not to file a police report, and her "rape kit" from the hospital was not preserved.

Jamie Seet, another "Spotted Pig" employee, said she witnessed a similar incident in 2008 on the restaurant's security cameras and several employees intervened to prevent the assault.

"I think Mario Batali's a monster. He has been lauded as this incredible chef and this leader. But behind the scenes he's hurtful and he does not respect women," Trish Nelson, a former "Spotted Pig" waitress told 60 Minutes.

"We called him the Red Menace," she added.

Batali was previously accused of sexual misconduct and harassment last December, leading the restaurant group he co-founded, B&B Hospitality, removing him from operations, and television channel ABC axing him from his cooking show.

He denies the latest and more serious allegations of assault to CBS. But B&B Hospitality called them "chilling and deeply disturbing" and said it was negotiating Batali's divestment from the company, the terms of which it hoped to be set by July 1.

According to Nelson, harassment is "pervasive throughout" the industry, known for its hierarchical dynamic.

- 'Brutal, oppressive business' -

"Doing this over 20 years there isn't one place that I haven't had this kind of an experience," she told CBS.

A flood of allegations leading to the downfall of Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein last October have spawned a public reckoning with sexual misconduct, rocking industries from politics to music to restaurants to finance.

A number of chefs have been publicly accused -- but none as famous as Batali.

Raised in Seattle, he apprenticed with London chef Marco Pierre White and trained in Italy before co-founding a culinary and restaurant empire that spanned New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Singapore.

The author of 11 cookbooks and the winner of a clutch of awards, he starred in cooking show "The Chew" and is known for a gregarious personality and informal style of dress consisting of shorts, socks and sandals.

One of the first chefs hit by the #MeToo movement was John Besh, a famous New Orleans restauranteur, accused last October of harassing a dozen women.

In mid-May, Washington-based celebrity chef Mike Isabella -- the star of "Top Chef" who owned 11 restaurants in the capital -- was sued for sexually harassing a former employee, an accusation he denied.

On the other side of the aisle campaigning against harassment in the restaurant industry, is former chef and food critic Anthony Bourdain -- whose partner is Asia Argento, an Italian actress at the forefront of the #MeToo movement.

"I came out of a brutal, oppressive business that was historically unfriendly to women... I knew a lot of women, it turned out, who had stories about their experience, about people I knew, who did not feel I was the sort of person they could confide in," said Bourdain in a January interview with The Daily Show.

It's no secret that the restaurant industry remains male dominated. In 2017, female chefs made up less than five percent of the world's Michelin star recipients, and only two were head chefs at the World's 50 Best Restaurants.

But change might be on the horizon. Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guide, says more and more women are entering culinary schools -- and it won't be long before more women end up running kitchens.A Palestinian man throws eggs at a car from the US consulate in Jerusalem carrying an American delegation in Beit Jala in the occupied West Bank on May 22, 2018

Palestinian protesters on Monday threw eggs at a US delegation in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and held up signs with anti-American slogans in a bid to prevent them attending an event.

Around 15 protesters confronted a vehicle from the US consulate in Jerusalem as it made its way into Beit Jala, near Bethlehem, and pelted it with eggs, an AFP photographer said.

They also held up signs that read: "US government you are not welcome in Palestine".

Another one read: "Hey Trump, Jerusalem is not the capital of Zion".

The cars then left the area.

In December, US President Donald Trump announced his decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and last week the United States transferred its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

His move has infuriated Palestinians who consider the eastern part of Jerusalem, annexed by Israel, as the capital of their future state. Israel considers the entire city its capital.

Palestinian men holding signs with anti-US slogans sit atop a car carrying members of a US delegation to protest their visit to the occupied West Bank on May 22, 2018

A US State Department official denounced the protest as "intimidation", saying the delegation from the US consulate was there to "promote education and cultural exchange with the Palestinian people."

"Though no one was hurt, the objective was clearly intimidation. The United States absolutely opposes the use of violence and intimidation to express political views."

No further details were provided.

The Palestinian leadership has frozen ties with the White House over its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

On Monday, as the US inaugurated its embassy in Jerusalem, 62 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire during mass protests and clashes along the border between the blockaded Gaza Strip and Israel.

Israel says its actions were necessary to defend the border and stop mass infiltrations from Gaza, which is run by Islamist movement Hamas.

Jerusalem's status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.UDPS opposition party supporters take part in a rally in Kinshasa on April 24, 2018, the first opposition rally authorized since September 2016

The UN Security Council on Monday urged the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to lift a blanket ban on demonstrations ahead of key elections meant to end President Joseph Kabila's rule.

The council met behind closed doors at France's request to hear a report by UN envoy Leila Zerrougui on preparations for the December 23 elections that could pave the way for the first peaceful transfer of power in the resource-rich country.

Council members called on Kinshasa authorities to put "an end to restrictions of the political space, and encouraged them to lift the blanket ban on demonstrations," Polish Ambassador Joanna Wronecka, who holds the council presidency this month, told reporters after the meeting.

The ban was imposed in September 2016 when anti-Kabila protests turned violent.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this month urged the government to end the ban, saying the move would "greatly contribute to the opening of political space."

The government has authorized some opposition protests in recent weeks but security forces cracked down on demonstrators in late March and early April in the second city of Lubumbashi and in other areas of the country.

In power since 2001, Kabila has not clearly stated whether he will step aside despite appeals from the United States, France and Britain for him to clearly state that he will not seek re-election.

The Security Council is stepping up its focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo as it heads toward the December polls, with concerns over violence.

The DR Congo hosts the UN's biggest peacekeeping mission, MONUSCO, with some 17,500 troops and police.A mountain lion, also known as a cougar (Felis concolor) seen in the western region of the US in this undated file photo

Wildlife officials in the US state of Washington on Monday were probing what prompted a cougar to attack two cyclists over the weekend, leaving one dead and the other seriously injured.

The incident on Saturday marked the first such deadly cougar attack in the western state in nearly 100 years.

Authorities said the animal that pounced on the two mountain bikers after stalking them was a three-year-old male cougar that looked "emaciated," weighing in at about 100 pounds (45 kilos) when normally it should weigh upward of 140 pounds.

"It was skinnier than normal," Alan Myers, of the Department of Fish and Wildlife, told the Seattle Times.

He said tests would be carried out on the brain of the animal, which was shot after the attack, to determine if it was sick.

Isaac Sederbaum, 31, the cyclist who survived the attack, told authorities that he and his friend S.J. Brooks, 32, were riding on a remote trail in the Cascade Mountain foothills when they noticed the mountain lion stalking them.

Authorities said the two men did everything right and tried to scare away the animal, with one hurling his bike at it.

It ran off but returned and pounced on Sederbaum's head.

"The cougar had his head in his jaws and was shaking him violently," Myers told the Times.

He said Brooks at that point ran off and the cougar let go of Sederbaum and went after him.

Wildlife police later found the animal laying on top of Brooks' body.

Cougars are common in Washington and as humans encroach on their territory, attacks have become more common.

However Saturday's deadly attack was the first in the state in 94 years.US President Donald Trump signs trade sanctions against China at the White House on March 22, 2018

The compromise reached over the weekend between Washington and Beijing has reduced the threat of a trade war, but the Americans won few concessions from the Chinese side, with key disagreements far from being resolved.

Both sides said Saturday they were committed to reducing the soaring US trade deficit with China, one of President Donald Trump's central demands. To get there, China will "significantly" increase purchases of American goods and services and open its domestic markets wider.

Top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow called the results a "big step."

"These are sort of like peace treaties in a sense," he told CNBC, adding that "the fine print, the details will come later."

Just days earlier, stock markets had been on tenterhooks at the possible approach of a trade war that could stymie global economic growth.

"It is striking that two rounds of intensive negotiations have resulted in at best a temporary truce, while the fundamental differences on trade and other economic issues remain unresolved," said Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University.

Edward Alden, a trade expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, agreed.

"I think this is at best a very preliminary agreement," he said.

Both said President Donald Trump's administration appeared ready to declare victory because the Chinese had acknowledged the need to reduce the US goods deficit with China, which stood at more than $375 billion in 2017.

However, analysts pointed Monday to the glaring lack of details and dollar amounts.

In sum, according to Alden, Team Trump won a "vague Chinese commitment" to buy more American goods and services.

Louis Kuijs, chief Asia economist at Oxford Economics, likewise wrote in a research note that the Chinese had not succumbed to US pressure to agree to cut trade deficit by $200 billion, a demand he called "practically almost impossible."

- North Korea -

After announcing tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum in March, Trump raised the ante repeatedly in the following weeks, threatening tariffs on as much as $150 billion worth of Chinese imports.

For years, Trump has denounced the trade imbalance with China, calling it a threat to US workers and businesses. He has called on China to end allegedly unfair trade practices, in particular the forced transfer, or "theft," of technology and know-how that American companies say the can suffer as a condition of doing business in China.

Observers said that on these points Saturday's White House statement was vague and general. Kuijs of Oxford Economics pointed out that the statement made no reference to China's industrial and technology policies, which are "highly controversial in the US (and elsewhere)."

If the Trump administration gets no further than Saturday's commitments from Beijing, "then this is a huge failure of the Trump administration," said Alden, who noted the discord between reality and the tweets that Trump posted Monday morning.

"China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL farm/agricultural products," the president tweeted.

Alden said it was "ridiculous and absurd" to point to possible increases in US agricultural exports to China as a major victory. This was never the problem, he said. Technologies and the direction of technological development were, he said.

Alden said the "consensus" announced Saturday should be viewed in light of the possible June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. China is Pyongyang's principal ally.

"I do think the upcoming summit is a factor. Chinese cooperation is very important to any successful outcome in North Korea," he said. "So I think there is a desire not to escalate the trade conflict in advance of this summit."Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called off his re-election campaign's plans to raffle off a shotgun, in the aftermath of a school shooting that killed 10 people

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called off his re-election campaign's plans to raffle off a shotgun, in the aftermath of the school shooting that killed 10 people last week.

The decision was made over the weekend and confirmed Monday by the Republican's office. The raffle prize was changed to a $250 gift certificate.

The move came after 17-year-old high school student Dimitrios Pagourtzis was charged for gunning down fellow students and teachers at his rural school Friday in the conservative state.

"It's important to note this contest has been going on since well before Friday. Obviously, we changed it because of the events on Friday," Abbott spokesman John Wittman told the New York Daily News.

Gun ownership is a point of pride in Texas and legal restrictions on firearms are considered politically untenable.

With an image of Abbott looking down the barrel of a shotgun, the governor's campaign website had been raffling off a "Texas-made shotgun."

"As governor, Greg Abbott expanded 2nd Amendment rights, signing into law 'campus carry' and 'open carry,'" his website touts, referring to controversial policies that allow for the public carrying of firearms, including on state college campuses.

Texas organizers with "March For Our Lives" -- the pro-gun control movement sparked after 17 were killed at a Parkland, Florida high school -- criticized Abbott's raffle over the weekend.

"We find this a disgusting display of disregard of the toll gun violence takes," the group said on Twitter, adding Monday that it was gratified by the change.

Abbott, who has focused on mental health issues and arming school personnel, announced a series of townhall meetings to discuss school safety. They will be held at the state capitol building starting Tuesday.Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas, pictured on May 14, 2018, is suffering from pneumonia

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is suffering from pneumonia but his condition is improving, officials said late Monday.

"I visited President Abbas in hospital tonight. He suffers from pneumonia and is treated with antibiotics," Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli Arab member of parliament, said on Twitter, adding that the 83-year-old's condition had "markedly improved".

Appearing on official media, Saed Sarahna, the head of the Istishari Arab Hospital near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said Abbas had an "infection in his right lung".

"He was given the necessary treatment and is now recovering," Sarahna said.

Pictures of Abbas walking around the wards and reading a newspaper were also published, in an apparent attempt to calm rumours that his condition was critical.

Official media said he had spoken to a number of regional politicians to assure them of his health.

Tibi, who is also a doctor, said he expected Abbas to spend "several more days" in hospital.

Abbas was admitted on Sunday with complications following an ear operation, while also complaining of chest pains.

Abbas's health is the subject of regular speculation, with no clear successor identified.

In February, he underwent what was then described as routine medical tests in the United States.

Abbas won a four-year term as president in 2005, but he has remained in office in the absence of elections.

Abbas argues the split between his Fatah party and Islamists Hamas, who control the Gaza Strip, has made elections politically impossible.

A moderate, he has been involved in decades of negotiations with Israel but is unpopular among Palestinians, with the majority wanting him to step down.The coin featuring US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un, was issued ahead of a historic summit planned for June 12 in Singapore

A commemorative coin featuring US President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un has been struck by the White House Communications Agency ahead of their planned summit next month.

In a statement, deputy spokesman Raj Shah insisted that "the White House did not have any input into the design and manufacture of the coin."

The coin depicts Trump and Kim, described as North Korea's "Supreme Leader," in profile facing each other in front of a background of US and North Korean flags.

At the top of the front, the words "Peace Talks" are emblazoned, with the date "2018" beneath.

The back of the coin features a picture of the White House, Air Force One and the presidential seal.

Trump is scheduled to hold a landmark summit with the North Korean leader in Singapore on June 12, but Pyongyang has recently threatened to pull out over US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment."

The White House Communications Agency regularly issues commemorative or challenge coins to present to foreign guests, diplomats and members of the military.

A number of the coins are available for sale through the White House Gift Office.

"Since 2003, White House Communications Agency (WHCA) members have ordered a limited number of commercially designed and manufactured souvenir travel coins for purchase," Shah explained.

"These coins are designed, manufactured and made by an American coin manufacturer. These souvenir coins are only ordered after a trip has been publicly announced."Jai Gillard, a freshman who was in the class where the mass shooting started, looks at a cross for Sabika Sheikh before signing it at a memorial for the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting on May 21, 2018

The gunman accused of killing 10 people and wounding 13 at a Texas high school last week was in a state of mental confusion, his attorneys said Monday, as schools beefed up security for students returning to classrooms.

At least two of those wounded in Friday's mass shooting at Santa Fe High School were still hospitalized, including school police officer John Barnes, who remained in critical condition, said the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a student at the school, faces charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. He is alleged to have used his father's legally owned shotgun and revolver in the rampage.

Pagourtzis's attorneys told reporters Monday that their client was "in a state," while the sheriff in the southeast Texas county of Galveston said the 17-year-old was being held "under suicide watch."

"I think that there is definitely something going on in terms of mental health history," attorney Nicholas Poehl told NBC News.

"I still think he's very confused about the incident."

Law enforcement offered a new timeline of the rampage, saying that two school police officers challenged the gunman four minutes after the attack began.

A gun battle ensued, with the gunman in a classroom and officers in the hallway, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset told a news conference.

"They contained him in that one area, isolated," he said, "so that he did no more damage to other classes."

Recalling the attack on ABC television's "Good Morning America," student Trenton Beazely said the shooter "was playing music, making jokes, had slogans and rhymes he kept saying."

"Every time he'd kill someone he'd say, 'another one bites the dust.'"

- Tightened security -

People visit a cross for Christopher Stone at a memorial for the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting

Several Texas school administrators announced new safety measures as nervous parents sent children back to school.

"We will be increasing police visibility at each school through the remainder of the school year," Greg Smith, the superintendent of schools at Clear Creek, said in a letter.

Another school banned backpacks to prevent hidden weapons from slipping through, while others changed dress codes to forbid heavy clothing such as the trench coat Pagourtzis was said to be wearing to conceal his weapons.

Santa Fe school officials said students would return to classrooms one week from Tuesday.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, officially announced a series of town hall meetings to discuss schools safety. They will be held at the state capital starting Tuesday.

Texas, a conservative stronghold, has some of the most permissive firearm laws in the United States, and new gun restrictions are unlikely.

Abbott has focused on mental health issues and arming school personnel.

The Democratic mayor of Houston, while advocating for metal detectors at all schools, on Monday called for tougher gun laws, as well.

"There's nothing wrong with reasonable, pragmatic (gun) restrictions," Sylvester Turner said at a news conference.

- New threats -

Already frayed nerves were rattled by several new gun threats Monday.

At one school, a student brought an unloaded gun to campus, while at another a student brought a gun apparently to harm himself, local media reported.

At yet another school, a student reportedly texted someone else asking them to bring a gun to campus.

All three students were arrested.

A statewide moment of silence also was held in the morning to remember the eight students and two teachers killed.

Mourners gathered at white wooden crosses planted in front of Santa Fe High School, with a victim's name and a red heart on each cross.THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) - Two people have been arrested as suspects in an attack that left the mayor of Greece's second-largest city hospitalized, Thessaloniki police said Sunday.

About a dozen people set upon Thessaloniki Mayor Yiannis Boutaris at a Saturday ceremony honoring Greek victims of purges carried out by Turks during World War I. He was thrown to the ground and kicked all over his body.

"I lived a nightmare," the 75-year-old Boutaris said after he was discharged from the hospital Sunday. "They were hitting me all over, with fists and feet."

The mayor was in a state of shock when he arrived at the hospital where he was treated for a leg injury and bruises, Ippokratio General Hospital director Vana Papachristodoulou said.

"He wanted to leave immediately, but we insisted and kept him overnight," she said.

One of the detained suspects is a 36 year old with previous arrests for robbery, police said. The other, a 20 year old, confessed, saying he was angered by a statement Boutaris recently made favoring friendlier relations with Turkey, police said.

Police are looking for more suspects. The Greek government blamed the beating on "extreme-right thugs."

Some Greeks with right-wing and far-right views praised the attack on social media. The mayor of Mycenae-Argos, who is a member of the center-right opposition party New Democracy, tweeted "This is the fate of the traitors," with "traitors" written all in capital letters.

Boutaris, a winemaker who was elected Thessaloniki's mayor in 2010 on a center-left ticket that ended the city's 24 years of conservative rule, is reviled by extreme nationalists.

The mayor's supporters are organizing a rally for Wednesday night at the site of the attack, next to the city's iconic White Tower, a 16th-century remnant of Turkish fortifications.

"All of us who believe in democracy and debate, let us gather in the White Tower," they said in a statement.

______________________________

Demetris Nellas contributed to this report from Athens, Greece

Follow Kantouris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CostasKantourisNEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Hillary Clinton returned to Yale University this weekend, warning the graduating class of the "tumultuous times" that await them and using the school's tradition of over-the-top headwear to rib President Donald Trump with her own unusual hat: a Russian fur cap.

The audience laughed as she said, "If you can't beat them, join them."

Clinton says she's concerned about the country's political polarization but believes the current crop of graduates is prepared to rise to the challenge.

Former Secretary of State and former Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holds up a Russian fur hat, an ushanka, with a Soviet era hammer and sickle emblem, to the Yale College class of 2018 during her Class Day address at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., Sunday, May 20, 2018. As a tradition, Yale students and faculty wear humorous and playful hats during a Senior Class Day ceremony. (Peter Hvizdak/New Haven Register via AP)

Clinton delivered her address at Yale's Class Day, celebrated the Sunday before degrees are handed out.

The former first lady, secretary of state, New York senator and 2016 Democratic nominee for president graduated from Yale Law School in 1973. It was where she met her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

Former Secretary of State and former Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton autographs one of her presidential campaign posters for Yale senior and political science major Ryan Liu of California after her Class Day address at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., Sunday, May 20, 2018. (Peter Hvizdak/New Haven Register via AP)

Former Secretary of State and former Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton poses for a photo with Yale senior and political science major Ryan Liu of California after her Class Day address at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., Sunday, May 20, 2018. (Peter Hvizdak/New Haven Register via AP)Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about Monday:

1. WHEN RUSSIA COLLUSION PROBE COULD END

The special counsel's investigation into whether Donald Trump's campaign colluded with Russian meddling in the 2016 election could wrap up by September, says Rudy Giuliani, the president's lawyer.

In this May 19, 2018 photo, a river of pahoehoe lava flows inside Leilani Estates near Pahoa, Hawaii. As lava flows have grown more vigorous in recent days, there's concern more homes may burn and more evacuations may be ordered. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu Star-Advertiser via AP)

2. 'HOW DO WE GET THROUGH THIS?'

Church congregations in Santa Fe, Texas, gather to mourn the victims of a high school shooting that claimed 10 lives.

3. US, CHINA PULL BACK FROM BRINK OF TRADE WAR

The world's two biggest economies report progress in talks aimed at bringing down America's massive trade deficit with Beijing.

4. WHERE POST-WEDDING MELODY LINGERS

Tourists and locals soak up the romantic mood in the town of Windsor where British Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged vows this weekend.

5. 'HERE'S NATURE REMINDING US AGAIN WHO'S BOSS'

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano pours rivers of molten rock into the ocean, and spews heavier eruptions of lava skyward.

6. VICTIMS' REMAINS RECOVERED FROM CUBA CRASH SITE

The death toll in the air disaster is 110, and officials say trauma and flames from the crash make identifications difficult.

7. WHO REACHES NHL FINAL IN FIRST SEASON

Vegas Golden Knights push their remarkable expansion season into the Stanley Cup Final, beating the Winnipeg Jets in five games to win the Western Conference.

8. THEY TRIED TO FIGHT OFF MOUNTAIN LION

But the cougar attacked and killed one mountain biker and injured another in Washington state before wildlife officers tracked it down and shot it.

9. OHIO TEACHER DONATES KIDNEY TO SAVE STUDENT'S LIFE

Fourth-grade teacher Tanya Thomas learns she is a perfect match for 10-year-old Eva Evans.

10. DINOSAUR EXPERT DEVELOPS HOLOGRAM EXHIBIT

"I'm always trying to figure out a good way to get the science of paleontology across to the general public," says Jack Horner.

Nathan Jordan, 18, a senior student at Alvin High School sobs during a service at the Arcadia First Baptist Church two days after a shooting that killed 10 people at the Santa Fe High School, Sunday, May 20, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. (Marie D. De Jesus/Houston Chronicle via AP)DALLAS (AP) - Aaron Wise had to kick his mom out of his hotel room because she was too chatty during a four-hour rain delay before his best shot at a first PGA Tour victory.

The 21-year-old rookie's caddie had to snap him back into the moment when Wise worried if he would get to finish the AT&T Byron Nelson as daylight faded with a comfortable lead over the final holes.

Wise didn't have to wait an extra 12 hours to celebrate, and mom got a twilight hug after a tap-in and another wave to the thinned-out crowd on the 18th green at the new Trinity Forest course.

Aaron Wise acknowledges applause on the 18th green after winning the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas, Sunday, May 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Pulling away at the turn after the long delay to start the final round Sunday, Wise shattered the tournament record at 23 under with a closing 6-under 65 to beat Marc Leishman by three strokes as both became the first to finish the Nelson at 20 under or better.

"I did a great job of staying focused on the present today," said Wise, who won once each on the Web.com and Canadian tours. "That was a big key for me winning. My mom, my girlfriend, my girlfriend's family, a bunch of my other family was there.

"Mainly my mom and girlfriend were the two I wanted to hug and appreciate that time with."

Leishman, who shared the third-round lead with Wise after leading the first two days, shot 68.

The treeless links-style par-71 layout, a few miles south of downtown Dallas, was defenseless with softer fairways and greens and little wind once the morning storms passed.

The Nelson celebrated its 50th anniversary with a return to Dallas after 35 years at the TPC Four Seasons in suburban Irving. Rory Sabbatini set the previous record on that par-70 layout at 19-under 261 in 2009.

"I felt like when it rained today I was really going to tear the course up just because it allowed me to hit driver, which is my strength," said Wise said, who was born in South Africa but raised in the U.S. "I got a lot of short irons in my hand and was able to make a lot birdies."

Branden Grace holed a blind bunker shot for birdie on the par-5 first and matched his career-best 62 from last year's British Open - which was the lowest round ever in a major. He finished at 19 under with J.J. Spaun and Keith Mitchell, who had matching 63s.

Hometown star Jordan Spieth again couldn't improve on his best Nelson finish from his first start as a 16-year-old amateur in 2010. The three-time major winner, and highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3, shot 67 to finish at 11 under. Spieth tied for 21st.

Instead, Spieth has been joined by another 21-and-under winner, with Wise cruising a month shy of his 22nd birthday and two weeks after the 2016 NCAA individual champion at Oregon tied for second at the Wells Fargo Championship, two shots behind Jason Day.

Spieth doesn't have a top 10 finish in eight Nelson appearances, the most of any tournament for him.

"Felt like I played better than I scored," Spieth said. "Typically when you say that, it just means putts didn't go in."

Mitchell, also a rookie seeking his first win, and Ryan Blaum had matching 30s on the front nine, with both playing the last six holes on that side in 5 under. But Wise had five birdies over those six holes, and added one on the 10th while Leishman bogeyed.

His lead suddenly at four shots, Wise cruised from there with all pars - and that was plenty in his second bogey-free round of the week.

Blaum's run of five straight birdies ended with a bogey at 10, one of three on the back nine for him. He shot 66 and finished at 16 under with Kevin Na (68) and Jimmy Walker (67).

Leishman set a 36-hole Nelson record that was previously shared by Tiger Woods because of calm wind the first two rounds. A blustery Saturday brought scores up, but Trinity Forest was even more benign for the final round than it was the first two without its firm fairways and greens.

"It would have been windy I probably would have preferred that, firm and windy, taken a few of the guys behind a little more out of it," Leishman said. "You get what you're given. You can't choose your conditions. I played pretty good. He played better."

Adam Scott shot 65 to tie for ninth at 15 under but was projected to be just outside the top 60 in the world rankings, which he needed to avoid sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open. The 2013 Masters champion hasn't missed a major since 2001.

"I was kind of hopeful to get up there a little bit more but I mean I don't even think it's going to get there now," Scott said. "It's too easy out there, soft and got hundred yard-wide fairways. It's hard to get in trouble."

Defending champion Billy Horschel joined Spieth at 11 under. Hideki Matsuyama, the other world top 10 in the field besides Spieth at No. 9, finished 12 under after a 66.

Aaron Wise kisses the trophy after winning the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas, Sunday, May 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Caddie Brian Dilley, left, congratulates Aaron Wise after Wise won the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas, Sunday, May 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Aaron Wise pumps his fist after his par putt on the 18th green to win the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas, Sunday, May 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Aaron Wise holds up the trophy after winning the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas, Sunday, May 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Aaron Wise hits off the 16th tee during the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas, Sunday, May 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Aaron Wise pumps his fist after saving par on the 17th green during the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas, Sunday, May 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Aaron Wise acknowledges applause from the gallery after sinking a putt for birdie on the ninth green during the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas, Sunday, May 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico's turbulent relationship with the U.S. government under President Donald Trump dominated the country's second presidential debate Sunday.

The debate in the border city of Tijuana focused on issues of foreign policy, immigration and border security. The relationship with the U.S. came up repeatedly in questions from the moderators and from Tijuana citizens in the audience. All of the candidates insisted the relationship must be based on mutual respect.

They were asked about Mexicans taken to the U.S. as children by their parents who years later face the possibility of deportation, about reintegrating Mexicans deported from the U.S. and about whether Mexico should seal its southern border at the behest of the U.S. to block Central Americans from migrating north.

In this photo released by the National Electoral Institute (INE), presidential candidates, from left, independent Jaime Rodriguez, known as "El Bronco," Ricardo Anaya of the Forward for Mexico Coalition, Jose Antonio Meade, of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, with the MORENA party, attend the second of three debates in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, May 20, 2018. Mexico will hold general elections on July 1. (INE via AP)

Polls indicate leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has a comfortable lead over the remaining three candidates. Many have questioned about how confrontational he would be as president with Trump, but his answers about the U.S.-Mexico relationship Sunday were often the most moderate.

"I want a relationship of friendship, but not of subordination," Lopez Obrador said.

Jose Antonio Meade, former foreign minister and candidate for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, defended President Enrique Pena Nieto's decision to invite Trump to Mexico during the U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were both invited, but only Trump accepted. Meade also said that he never thought Trump was going to win.

Ricardo Anaya, the candidate of a right-left coalition, called that episode a "humiliation" for Mexico and held up a large photograph of Pena Nieto and Trump shaking hands. He said Mexico should be more assertive with the U.S. "In security they need us a lot," Anaya said.

Independent candidate Jaime "El Bronco" Rodriguez said Mexico needs to wean itself from the U.S. "and put them in their place."

Another independent, Margarita Zavala, dropped out of the race earlier after struggling to gain traction. She is a former lawmaker and is married to former President Felipe Calderon.

The candidates agreed that Mexico should be welcoming to migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Lopez Obrador said Mexico should not do the United States' "dirty work" by blocking migrants from those countries. A caravan of Central American migrants drew the ire of Trump during its slow trip across Mexico.

Meade had a more balanced answer suggesting that Mexico had to distinguish between refugees and migrants tied to organized crime.

Anaya, who polls have placed in the second position, spent much of the evening attacking front runner Lopez Obrador and walking across the stage to stand in front of him as he did. Lopez Obrador called Anaya names and Anaya repeatedly framed Lopez Obrador, the race's oldest candidate, as out of touch.

One area of agreement between the candidates and Trump was the need to raise Mexican wages.

Tijuana resident Diego Dominguez Sanchez told the candidates he had lived in the U.S. for 13 years and returned to Mexico three years ago. Now he was working many more hours for less than half the salary.

Lopez Obrador said he agreed with Trump that Mexican wages must rise. Anaya said he would increase the country's minimum wage.

The national election is scheduled for July 1.WASHINGTON (AP) - Ratcheting up pressure on the Russia investigation, the White House announced Monday that top FBI and Justice Department officials have agreed to meet with congressional leaders and "review" highly classified information the lawmakers have been seeking on the handling of the probe.

The agreement came after President Donald Trump made an extraordinary demand that the Justice Department investigate whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign. It's unclear exactly what the members will be allowed to review or if the Justice Department will be providing any documents to Congress.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump chief of staff John Kelly will broker the meeting between congressional leaders and the FBI, Justice Department and office of the Director of National Intelligence. She said the officials will "review highly classified and other information they have requested," but did not provide additional detail.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, right, leaves the White House, Monday, May 21, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

During a meeting Monday with Trump, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray also reiterated an announcement late Sunday that the Justice Department's inspector general will expand an existing investigation into the Russia probe by examining whether there was any improper politically motivated surveillance.

Rep. Devin Nunes, an ardent Trump supporter and head of the House intelligence committee, has been demanding information on an FBI source in the Russia investigation. And Trump has taken up the cause as the White House tries to combat the threat posed by special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Trump tweeted Sunday, "I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!"

With the demand, Trump entered into the realm of applying presidential pressure on the Justice Department regarding an investigation into his own campaign - a move few of his predecessors have made.

Trump made the demand amid days of public venting about the special counsel investigation, which he has deemed a "witch hunt" that he says has yielded no evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia. In response, the Justice Department moved to defuse the confrontation by asking its watchdog to investigate whether there was inappropriate surveillance.

"If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," Rosenstein said in a statement announcing the move.

The Justice Department probe began in March at the request of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and congressional Republicans. Sessions and the lawmakers urged Inspector General Michael Horowitz to review whether FBI and Justice Department officials abused their surveillance powers by using information compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy, and paid for by Democrats to justify monitoring Carter Page, a former campaign adviser to Trump.

Horowitz said his office will look at those claims as well as communications between Steele and Justice and FBI officials.

The back and forth between the Justice Department and Congress began with a classified subpoena from Nunes in late April. The panel didn't publicize the subpoena, but the Justice Department released a letter it sent to Nunes rejecting the request for information "regarding a specific individual." The department said disclosure could have severe consequences, including potential loss of human life.

The Justice Department said the White House had signed off on its letter, but Nunes wasn't satisfied, and continued to pressure the department. Negotiations between the House Republicans and the Justice department appeared to stall last week ahead of Trump's tweet - an apparent reversal of the White House's initial policy.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has called Trump's claim of an embedded spy "nonsense."

"His 'demand' DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems," Schiff tweeted. "Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesn't care."

Trump's demand of the Justice Department alarmed many observers, who felt it not only violated presidential protocol but also could have a chilling effect on federal law enforcement or its use of informants.

The New York Times was the first to report that the FBI had an informant who met several times with Trump campaign officials who had suspicious contacts linked to Russia.

The GOP-led House Intelligence Committee closed its Russian meddling probe last month, saying it found no evidence of collusion or coordination between Trump's campaign and Russia. Schiff and other committee Democrats were furious and argued that Republicans had not subpoenaed many witnessed they considered essential to the committee's work.

Sunday was not the first time that Trump accused his predecessor of politically motivated activity against him.

Without substantiation, Trump tweeted in March 2017 that former President Barack Obama had conducted surveillance the previous October at Trump Tower, the New York skyscraper where Trump ran his campaign and transition and maintains a residence. Comey later testified to Congress that internal reviews found no information to support the president's tweets. Trump fired Comey over the bureau's Russia investigation.

___

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Jill Colvin, Eric Tucker, Darlene Superville and Jonathan Lemire in New York contributed to this report.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein leaves the White House, Monday, May 21, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)ATLANTA (AP) - In a story May 20 about potential Democratic presidential candidates and their campaign activity in 2018, The Associated Press reported erroneously that former Vice President Joe Biden was planning to campaign in North Carolina on behalf of a congressional candidate Dan McCready. Biden has endorsed McCready but hasn't made plans to travel to North Carolina.

A corrected version of the story is below:

2018 midterms show start of Democratic scramble for 2020

The 2018 midterm campaign shows signs of a Democratic scramble to reclaim the White House in 2020

By BILL BARROW

Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) - Look closely enough at the 2018 midterm campaign and you'll see the stirrings of a Democratic scramble to reclaim the White House from President Donald Trump.

The leading players - from established national figures such as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to up-and-comers including Sen. Kamala Harris - don't necessarily put it that way. But the potential 2020 candidates are making the rounds, raising and distributing campaign cash among fellow Democrats, endorsing candidates and meeting political activists.

Their movements reflect competing strategies for establishing their reputations and shaping a party that lacks a clear leader and consistent message in the Trump era.

For senators trying to get better known, a primary goal is proving fundraising strength and party loyalty, without necessarily taking sides in the larger fight between the left and moderates who split on the minimum wage, health insurance and other issues.

"I just want to do whatever I can" to help Democrats win, Harris said at a recent stop in Georgia, where she was campaigning and raising money for Stacey Abrams' race for governor.

It is part of an aggressive effort for the freshman senator from California. She's raised $3.5 million for her Senate colleagues and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, plus what she helps candidates such as Abrams raise directly when she appears with them, and at the end of April Harris had nearly a $1 million balance in the political action committee that she uses to back other Democrats.

Warren boasts that she's raised $15 million for other Democrats since her 2013 election. The Massachusetts senator faces a re-election campaign this fall, but not as tough a race as confronts 10 colleagues running in states where Trump won. Like Harris, Warren and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker have aided those senators.

Warren is also helping other branches of the party: a transfer of money to House Democrats' campaign committee, $5,000 for every state party and $175,000 spread across state legislative campaigns in contested states.

Democratic and Republican campaign veterans say such contributions and fundraising trips aren't explicitly about future campaigns. "We're not playing 3D chess," says Harris spokeswoman Lily Adams, who describes the senator's priority as "building our numbers in the Senate" for the final two years of Trump's term, while looking for strong women and minority candidates. (Abrams would be the first female African-American governor in U.S. history.)

Operatives also insist there are no quid pro quos, though Republican presidential campaign veteran Rick Tyler says, "These guys are out there accumulating chits."

Tyler worked for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 2016 White House campaign. Cruz was among the conservatives who traveled the country before his campaign, endorsing like-minded conservatives and raising money. Trump's improbable rise obliterated that groundwork, but Tyler said it's nonetheless a necessary part of a national campaign, because prospective presidents build their networks and test messages as they meet activists and voters beyond their personal bases.

Harris, for example, is noticeably avoiding most early presidential nominating states - no trips to Iowa or New Hampshire so far. Because 10 Senate Democrats must seek re-election in states Trump won, her travels do put her in some of the pivotal states in the battle to control the Senate. She's been to Ohio five times for Sen. Sherrod Brown, twice to Michigan for Sen. Debbie Stabenow and once to Florida for Sen. Bill Nelson. She has a June trip planned for Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin. Warren has been to Ohio at least four times this campaign season and traveled to Michigan and Wisconsin, among others states.

Those states helped give Trump the presidency. They also could prove important as primary states in an extended nominating fight that could materialize with a large field and Democrats' proportional distribution of nominating convention delegates.

Sanders, the Vermont independent whose insurgent presidential campaign in 2016 emboldened the Democrats' left flank, is perhaps the most unabashed of the potential 2020 group about using this year's midterms to put his preferred policy stamp on the Democratic Party. A prolific small-dollar fundraiser, he no longer has to prove he can raise money or draw a crowd.

"I have been very critical about the business model of the Democratic Party," Sanders told The Associated Press. He said his travel to 28 states since Trump took office and his endorsements in federal and state races are part of his promised "political revolution" intended to advance ideas like a $15 minimum wage, tuition-free college and universal health insurance.

Sanders bet on liberal challenger Marie Newman in her unsuccessful House Democratic primary battle against conservative Rep. Dan Lipinski in Illinois. But Sanders scored a notable win Tuesday in Pennsylvania when his pick for lieutenant governor, John Fetterman, finished with a surprise primary victory.

Biden is at the opposite end of Democrats' identity battle. His endorsement list and fundraising itinerary are replete with state party dinners, events for sitting Democratic senators and rallies for candidates running as moderates, at least in tone, if not in policy preference. "I love Bernie, but ... I don't think 500 billionaires are the reason we are in trouble," Biden said at a recent Brookings Institution speech about his priorities for the middle class.

Biden's aides say he's willing to help any Democrat get elected, but the native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, who loves to wax eloquent about his working-class upbringing is in demand to campaign for Democrats running in GOP-leaning places. He headlined fundraisers and campaign rallies for first-year Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and new Pennsylvania Rep. Conor Lamb, who won among voters who had sided overwhelmingly with Trump in 2016. Biden continued the trend with his recent endorsement of North Carolina congressional candidate Dan McCready, a veteran trying to win a suburban Charlotte House district that wasn't competitive two years ago.

Certainly, many Democratic hopefuls around the country are accepting help from multiple would-be presidents, and the alignments don't always follow cleanly along the party's philosophical battle lines.

Abrams has campaigned as a liberal, but her primary opponent has hammered her for cutting deals with Republicans in Georgia's General Assembly. Besides Harris, she's campaigned alongside Booker and gotten an endorsement from Sanders, who's offered to campaign for her.

When reporters tried to ask Harris and Abrams about 2020, they both smiled and walked away.

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Follow Barrow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP .WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump is skimming over the facts involving the investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

In a series of tweets Sunday, he repeatedly assails special counsel Robert Mueller's probe as hopelessly biased, insisting that it is effectively controlled by Democrats. He also repeats a claim that his campaign had been cleared of collusion with Russia.

Neither statement holds up to reality.

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 16, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump waves from the White House, in Washington. In a series of tweets Sunday, May 20, 2018, Trump skims over the facts involving the investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Also in recent days, Trump tried to lay responsibility on Democrats for the separation of children from parents at the border, even though the policy comes from his own administration, and Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt falsely claimed credit for pollution cleanups done mostly by the Obama administration.

A look at the questionable statements:

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TRUMP: "At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren't looking at the corruption..." - tweet Sunday.

THE FACTS: Trump's suggestion that Mueller's team is a Democratic cabal is unsupported. Mueller is a Republican and some others on his team owe their jobs largely to Republican presidents. Some have indeed given money to Democratic candidates over the years. Trump makes a false allegation that Mueller worked for President Barack Obama for eight years. Mueller was FBI chief for less than six years under Obama, leaving in September 2013. He was chosen to lead the FBI by Republican President George W. Bush in 2001 and kept on by Obama.

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TRUMP: "The Witch Hunt finds no Collusion with Russia - so now they're looking at the rest of the World. Oh' great!" - tweet Sunday.

THE FACTS: There has been no definitive resolution as to whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia in the 2016 election, with government investigations still continuing. The special counsel's probe into Russian meddling has produced a number of charges and convictions, none to date alleging criminal collusion. It continues to explore whether collusion occurred and whether Trump or others may have obstructed justice.

As for Congress, the GOP-controlled House intelligence committee concluded in March there was no coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. Its final report came over the objection of committee Democrats, who said the panel had not interviewed enough witnesses or gathered enough evidence to make a definitive assessment.

The Senate intelligence committee is expected to issue a detailed assessment on Russian interference, including the question of collusion, in the coming months.

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TRUMP: "Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party. Don't worry about Dems FISA Abuse, missing Emails or Fraudulent Dossier!" - tweet Sunday.

THE FACTS: Trump insists that the investigations into possible Russian interference - which he often refers to as a "witch hunt" - have given up on Russia, suggesting no meaningful evidence exists that implicates the country in his 2016 win over Democrat Hillary Clinton. In fact, the Senate intelligence committee said last week that it agrees with the U.S. intelligence agencies' assessment that Russia intervened in the presidential election to help Trump. The Senate committee is continuing to investigate whether Russia colluded with the Trump campaign.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the committee, said his staff spent 14 months "reviewing the sources, tradecraft and analytic work" conducted by the intelligence agencies. He said the committee uncovered no reason to dispute the conclusions of the intelligence assessment released in 2017.

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TRUMP to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen: "I know what you're going through right now with families is very tough but those are the bad laws that the Democrats gave us. We have to break up families. The Democrats gave us that law. It's a horrible thing where you have to break up families. The Democrats gave us that law and they don't want to do anything about it. They'll leave it like that 'cause they don't want to make any changes. And now you're breaking up families because of the Democrats. It's terrible." - immigration forum Wednesday.

THE FACTS: Not so. No law that "the Democrats gave us" mandates the separation of children from their parents at the border.

A 2008 law designed to combat child trafficking has been described by Trump and his administration as a principal reason for "catch-and-release" policies that he's trying to end at the border.

The law says children traveling alone from countries other than Mexico or Canada must be released in the "least restrictive setting" - often to family or a government-run shelter - while their cases slowly wind through immigration court. It was designed to accommodate an influx of children fleeing to the U.S. from Central America.

It had the support of Republicans and Democrats, passing the House and Senate unanimously. Republican George W. Bush signed it into law as one of his last acts as president.

The law says nothing about breaking up families. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently announced a "zero tolerance" policy for illegal entries, pledging to criminally prosecute people with few or no previous offenses. If parents are jailed, they are separated from children who joined them under protocols described in the 2008 law.

Administration officials have acknowledged that about 700 children have been separated from their parents since October. That figure is certain to increase once the zero-tolerance policy takes hold; nearly 50,000 Border Patrol arrests since October were of people who came as families. That's about 1 in 4 arrests by the agents.

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TRUMP: "Our numbers are much better than in the past, but they're not nearly acceptable and not nearly as good as what we could have. We're down 40 percent from those other standards, so that's really good - meaning 40 percent crossings." - immigration forum Wednesday.

THE FACTS: That claim of a 40 percent drop in illegal crossings in a year is based on old statistics. Yes, Border Patrol arrests plummeted to the lowest level since 1971 during the last budget year. But they began a sharp and steady climb after Trump's first few months in office. One likely explanation is that people who initially took a wait-and-see attitude toward Trump are now taking their chances.

Overall border arrests in April - which add people who are stopped at land crossings and other official points of entry - topped 50,000 for a second straight month. That was more than triple the number from a year earlier, which was the lowest tally on record since the Homeland Security Department was created in 2003.

Border arrests are an imprecise measure of how many people are attempting to enter the country illegally, because the numbers who make it into the U.S. are not known. But when arrests are up, that's taken by the government to mean that more people are trying.

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PRUITT, referring to a man who was listed as the landlord of a bargain-priced condo Pruitt rented in Washington last year: "Steve Hart is someone that was not registered as a lobbyist in 2017. He's a longtime associate and friend." - Senate committee testimony Wednesday.

THE FACTS: That's wrong. Disclosure reports show Hart was a registered lobbyist for 35 separate entities in 2017. Among those he represented was Cheniere Energy, which owns the only operational liquefied natural gas export terminal in the U.S. The reports show Hart worked on "Issues related to the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG), approval of LNG exports and export facilities."

Pruitt has been a vocal booster of LNG exports while at EPA, even taking a taxpayer-funded trip to Morocco in December to help persuade the North African kingdom to import more gas from U.S. producers. Such increases in LNG exports would probably benefit Cheniere.

Pruitt rented the luxury Capitol Hill condo from a corporation co-owned by Hart's wife. He paid just $50 a night, and only paid on nights when he stayed there. A copy of the lease, reviewed by The Associated Press, shows Steven Hart was originally listed as the landlord but his name was scratched out and substituted with that of his wife, a health policy lobbyist. Pruitt used the condo last year from March through at least August.

In past public comments, Pruitt claimed Hart had no business before EPA in 2017. That turned out not to be true, either.

Records show Hart met with Pruitt in his office at EPA headquarters last year and the lobbyist emailed with EPA staff on behalf of his client Smithfield Foods. The meeting happened in July 2017, during the condo rental period, and was described by Hart last month as a discussion about the Chesapeake Bay. Smithfield and its charitable foundation have been involved with efforts to clean up the bay since EPA fined the company $12.6 million in 1997 for illegally dumping hog waste into a tributary.

In addition to the companies he personally represented, Hart was the top executive at the powerhouse lobbying firm Williams & Jensen before retiring early as a result of the scandal over Pruitt's condo deal. Records show Hart's former firm represented a lengthy roster of companies last year with billions at stake over regulatory decisions made by EPA, including ExxonMobil Corp., the world's largest publicly traded international oil and gas company.

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PRUITT: "In 2017, we removed over three times the number of polluted sites of contaminated communities across the country, as compared to the previous administration. And, in 2018, we are on pace to remove as many as 10 times the number." - Senate committee testimony Wednesday.

THE FACTS: As he has before, Pruitt is taking credit for work done by the Obama administration while disparaging its record.

The EPA declared seven cleanups complete from its Superfund priority list last year, compared with two sites delisted the year before. That's indeed a more than threefold increase. But records show that construction work at all seven sites cited by Pruitt's EPA, such as removing soil or drilling wells to suck out contaminated groundwater, was completed years before Pruitt was confirmed as the agency's chief in February.

Removing sites from the list is a procedural step that occurs after monitoring data show that remaining levels of harmful contaminates meet cleanup targets, which were often set by the EPA decades ago.

An analysis of EPA records by the AP in January showed that the seven sites delisted last year fell short of the average pace set under the administrations of Obama and George W. Bush, even in their opening years.

Trump's proposed 2018 budget sought to cut the Superfund program by 30 percent, but Congress did not go along. EPA lists more than 1,300 Superfund sites that are at various stages of cleanup.

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Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego, and Michael Biesecker and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report.

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Online:

Quarterly lobbying disclosure reports for 2017:

https://tinyurl.com/y7q5he4q

https://tinyurl.com/ycpskln2

https://tinyurl.com/y9323mza

https://tinyurl.com/ya44qahs

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Find AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd

Follow @APFactCheck on Twitter: https://twitter.com/APFactCheckTEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Nahal smokes yet another cigarette on her mother's balcony overlooking Tehran, one of the few peaceful places the 19-year-old transgender woman has in Iran, where her identity can bring harassment and prying, judging eyes on the street.

Nahal recalled how she had hardly started high school before being forced to leave over her classmates' insistence she dress as a man. Her manicured fingernails, painted pink, brushed away her long brown hair as she looked through old photographs of her childhood, recounting how even her own family has struggled to accept her.

"I no longer see my relatives," she said. "Maybe I'm a sign that if your own children will have a similar problem later, you can accept it."

In this Sunday, April 22, 2018, photo, Nahal, a 19-year-old transgender woman smokes cigarette on her balcony in Tehran, Iran. Nahal had hardly started high school before being forced to leave over her classmates' instance she dress as a man. Her manicured fingernails, painted pink, brush away her long brown hair as she looks through old photographs of her childhood, recounting how even her own family has struggled to accept her. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

It shouldn't be like this for Nahal in the Islamic Republic, which - perhaps to the surprise of those abroad - has perhaps the most open mindset in the Middle East toward transgender people. The Shiite theocracy's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a religious decree, or fatwa, 30 years ago calling for respect of transgender people, opening the way for official support for gender transition surgery.

Nevertheless, the general public still harasses and abuses them, and families often shun them. Discrimination in the workplace has forced some into prostitution and others to kill themselves.

"People on the street call me 'womanish;' they ask, 'Is she a man or a woman?'" says Nahal, who asked to be identified only by her first name as some in her family are angry with her. "Sometimes they say: 'May God cure him!'"

Of Iran's 80 million people, estimates suggest under 50,000 are transgender, meaning their gender identity does not match the sex or gender they were identified as having at birth. Like in other parts of the world, they can face harassment.

The ruling clerics' relative open-mindedness on transgender people hardly means tolerance of gender diversity. Homosexuality is illegal. Gay men can face the death penalty while lesbians can face flogging after three convictions and death for the fourth.

Iran's former hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad famously told students at New York's Columbia University in 2007: "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like you do in your country." A Human Rights Watch report in 2010 outlined how Iranian security forces allegedly abused those it suspected of being LGBT people, though Iranian officials have denied that.

In the ruling clerics' view, gender reassignment surgery aims to cure a "disease" and re-fit a person into a recognized binary of straight male or straight female. Those who choose not to undergo surgery and get new documents can face arrest by police for dressing in a way that contradicts their government-recognized gender.

But even with those caveats, the Islamic Republic's stance opens a startling margin of space for transgender people.

It dates back to only a few years after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A transgender woman, Maryam Khatoonpour Molkara, managed to push her way through the guards to meet Khomeini while dressed in men's clothes. Molkara explained to the supreme leader how she felt her true gender was different from her physical sex. After consulting with doctors, Khomeini sanctioned gender-transition surgery in a groundbreaking fatwa.

Iran's current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, later gave Molkara a black veil to officially recognize her as a woman, upholding Khomeini's fatwa, she said. She died in 2012 at the age of 62.

"It was like paradise, that moment, that place, everything felt like I was in paradise," she once said in describing that day.

Transgender people can go to the courts and receive official permission for gender-transition surgery after going through detailed medical examinations and an interview with a psychiatrist. Afterward, they can receive new identity documents and financial aid for the surgery.

Iran grants transgender people loans worth nearly $1,200, though that's still well below the $7,000-$12,000 cost of the surgery. In February, the State Welfare Organization of Iran said 3,000 people have applied for gender reassignment financial aid in the past 15 years. Habibollah Maoudi Farid, the organization's deputy manager, told Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency that as many as 70 people a year apply for the loan.

But even in relatively politically liberal Tehran, Iranians remain highly conservative about sex and gender issues. Few understand what it means to be transgender.

"Social encounters are not good at all - verbal and physical abuse and harassment," said Nahal. "Once even some people attacked and beat me."

That's what inspired Sanaz Bayan, a young director, to make "Blue Pink," a stage show shedding light on the darkest corners of transgender life in Iran.

The play narrates real, often bitter stories, including one of a transgender woman forced by her father to go into Iran's compulsory military service as a man.

Despite his show, Bayan thinks Iranian society as a whole isn't ready to accept transgender people.

"More than 30 years have passed since Imam Khomeini issued the fatwa. ... Thirty years is more than enough for a rule to be realized and implemented," she says. "Our society lacks the ability to accept minorities."

Perhaps the worst abuse transgender people face is in the home. Families still find it difficult to accept their loved ones. Many transgender women end up being kicked out of homes or being threatened by family members.

Behnam Ohadi, a psychiatrist and psychologist who counsels transgender people and refers them to Iran's Health Ministry for surgery, says some families do whatever they can to stop the surgery.

"Some families even threaten to kill me if I tell them their child is a trans," he says. "Sometimes they wish their child had cancer or died."

Ohadi says transgender people rejected by their families can end up working as prostitutes as it is very difficult for them to find work.

"Families try to silence the children, sometimes they even move their house and go to another city," Ohadi says. "These issues are forcefully buried in our society."

For Nahal, whose world now seems limited to the safety of her mother's balcony, she dreams of opening a charity to help other transgender people like herself.

"I want to help people to be good to each other," she says.

In this Sunday, March 11, 2018, photo, Amir Ali Najafi, center, a transgender man, walks on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran. Transgender men and women can face harassment in Iran, despite a religious order acknowledging them. Though it may come as a surprise to those abroad, Iran's founding ayatollah issued a religious decree or fatwa for followers to respect transgender people. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018 photo, Iranian actors perform in "Blue Pink," a stage show shedding light on the darkest corners of transgender life in Iran at Paliz Theater, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Sunday, April 22, 2018, photo, Nahal, a 19-year-old transgender woman plays with her dolls at her home in Tehran, Iran. Though it may come as a surprise to those abroad, Iran's founding ayatollah issued a religious decree or fatwa for followers to respect transgender people. Despite that, Iran remains deeply conservative about sex. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Sunday, March 11, 2018, photo, Amir Ali Najafi, a transgender man, talks on his cellphone as a woman walks on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran. Though it may come as a surprise to those abroad, Iran's founding ayatollah issued a religious decree or fatwa for followers to respect transgender people. Despite that, Iran remains deeply conservative about sex. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

In this Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018, photo, Iranian actor Behnam Sharafi, center, plays his role as a transgender in the play "Blue Pink," as actresses Setayesh Mahmoudi, left, and Nasim Adabi play their roles, at Paliz Theater, in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)DETROIT (AP) - A Detroit-area man who made money by supplying diseased body parts for medical training sometimes peddled them twice and sent the decedent's family a different set of cremated remains, an FBI agent testified Monday.

Arthur Rathburn faces sentencing for fraud and shipping hazardous material.

The sale of human remains is unusual but mostly legal, especially when body parts are used for medical training. But Rathburn was convicted in January of failing to disclose to professional associations that bodies had tested positive for disease, such as HIV and hepatitis C.

FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2016, file photo, Arthur Rathburn of Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., walks out of Theodore Levin United States Courthouse in Detroit. Prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for Rathburn convicted of dealing diseased body parts for medical training. He is returning to Detroit federal court on Monday, May 21, 2018, four months after he was convicted of fraud and shipping hazardous material. (Regina H. Boone/Detroit Free Press via AP)

Federal prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison term. The hearing began Monday and will resume Tuesday.

FBI agent Paul Johnson explained to a judge that Rathburn acquired cadavers from Biological Resource Center in Illinois and then made parts available for medical training.

Johnson said Rathburn later was supposed to cremate the bodies and turn the remains over to families. But the agent said Rathburn's employees told him that families sometimes got "something else" if parts were still valuable.

Tracy Smolka of Kankakee, Illinois, was allowed to speak in court as a victim. Her father died in 2010 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, and his body was supposed to be used for research before cremation.

Randolph Wright's body didn't have infectious diseases. But Smolka said she had no idea that his head was sold to Rathburn for $500 until investigators found it while searching a warehouse.

She called it "vile, disgusting and reprehensible."

"You can burn in hell," Smolka told Rathburn.

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Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwhiteapCANBERRA, Australia (AP) - An Australian state government has decided to legally protect rather than kill thousands of wild horses, infuriating scientists who argue the feral species is doing severe environmental damage to the country's iconic Snowy Mountains alpine region.

New South Wales Deputy Premier John Barilaro said Monday that his government had struck a balanced response to ecological concerns about the impact of the horses, known as brumbies, on Kosciuszko National Park.

A 2016 government report had recommended that 90 percent of the park's 6,000 brumbies be killed, reducing the herd to 600 in the 6,900 square kilometers (2,700 square miles) of mountainous wilderness that includes Australia's highest mainland peak, Mount Kosciuszko, and the nation's most popular ski fields.

In this image made from video, two wild horses stand in an open field, Sunday, May 20, 2018, Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia. An Australian state government has decided to legally protect rather than kill thousands of wild horses, infuriating scientists who argue the feral species is doing severe environmental damage to the country's iconic Snowy Mountains alpine region. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)

Barilaro said legislation will be introduced to state parliament this week that will recognize the heritage value of the brumbies to the park and ban killing them. But brumbies will be relocated from environmentally sensitive areas.

"There is no clear answer. For all the people who are happy today, there'll be some who won't be," Barilaro told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

"The pro-brumby people say it hasn't gone far enough and of course the conservationists and environmentalists will say this has gone too far," he added. "I think we've got a balanced approach."

The brumby's place in the state's largest national park, through which the Snowy River flows, is an emotive argument in Australia. The horses have been both a feral pest and an integral part of Australian frontier folklore for almost two centuries.

Brumbies feature in one of Australians' most beloved poems, "The Man From Snowy River," about a horseman's perilous chase down a mountainside after a mob of brumbies. Banjo Paterson's poem, first published in 1890, inspired the 1982 20th Century Fox movie of the same name. The wild horse was also showcased at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as a significant part of Australian heritage.

Conservation groups accused the government of putting at risk dozens of native species through the proposed bill.

An independent scientific committee recently found that brumbies were endangering more than 20 plant species and seven animal species, including three endangered frogs, in the park.

National Conservation Council chief executive Kate Smolski said the brumby was the "most destructive pest species" in the state's alpine region.

The National Parks Association of New South Wales accused the government of valuing introduced species over native wildlife.

"The decision is an international embarrassment," chief executive Alix Goodwin said.BEIRUT (AP) - Syria's military on Monday captured an enclave in southern Damascus from Islamic State militants following a ruinous monthlong battle, bringing the entire capital and its far-flung suburbs under full government control for the first time since the civil war began in 2011.

The gains freed President Bashar Assad's forces to move with allied militiamen on remaining rebel-held territory in the south near the border with Israel, as Syria's chief ally Iran comes under growing pressure from the Trump administration to withdraw its troops from the country.

Iranian-backed militias, including the Lebanese group Hezbollah, have been instrumental in helping Assad's over-stretched forces recapture huge areas around Damascus and in the country's center and north, building a military presence that has alarmed Israel and its U.S. ally, which is now looking to constrain Iran's activities.

FILE - In this file photo released on Sunday, April 22, 2018 by the Syrian official news agency SANA, smoke rises after Syrian government airstrikes and shelling hit in Hajar al-Aswad neighborhood held by Islamic State militants, southern Damascus, Syria. Syria's military said Monday, May 21, 2018, that it has liberated the last neighborhoods in southern Damascus held by the Islamic State and has declared the Syrian capital and its surroundings "completely safe" and free of any militant presence. (SANA via AP, File)

Iranian officials have vowed to stay on in Syria for as long as needed, setting the stage for a potential confrontation as Washington seeks to tighten the screws on Tehran following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal brokered with Iran under President Barack Obama and world powers.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened Iran with the "strongest sanctions in history" if Tehran doesn't change course. In his first major foreign policy speech since taking the post as the top U.S. diplomat, he issued a list of demands that he said should be included in any new nuclear treaty with Iran, including that it "withdraw all forces" from Syria, halt support for Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel.

Iran and Russia have joined forces in Syria, providing crucial military support to Assad's forces and giving them the upper hand in the civil war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Assad at a meeting last week that a political settlement in Syria should encourage foreign countries to withdraw their troops from Syria. Putin's envoy to Syria, Alexander Lavrentyev, said Putin was referring to Iranian forces, among others.

Iran says it is in Syria at the behest of the Assad government and says it is fighting "terrorism" in the form of Islamic extremists, including the Islamic State group and al-Qaida.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi told reporters that no one can force Tehran to do anything it doesn't want to do.

"Our presence in Syria has been based on a request by the Syrian government and Iran will continue its support as long as the Syrian government wants," he said, speaking shortly before Pompeo made his remarks.

The recapture of IS-held pockets in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and the nearby Hajar al-Aswad district in southern Damascus came after a massive bombing campaign that has all but decimated what was left of the residential area on the edge of the capital, once home to about 200,000 Palestinian refugees.

The camp has been deserted by most of its inhabitants following years of siege, and the few remaining residents fled to nearby areas in the last days of the bombardment.

The last push on the Yarmouk camp came after a group of civilians was evacuated overnight. State TV showed images of troops moving in, waving the Syrian flag and flashing victory signs atop wrecked buildings in the destroyed neighborhood. Some fired in the air in celebration.

The move boosts morale and security in Assad's seat of power, putting it out of range of insurgents' mortar fire and shells for the first time in nearly seven years.

With Iran's help, Assad's forces have been making steady gains since 2015, when Russian launched an air campaign on behalf of his forces. In December 2016, government forces captured rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of the northern city of Aleppo, in Assad's biggest victory since the conflict began.

With a mix of military pressure and surrender deals brokered by Russia, thousands of opposition fighters capitulated and were evacuated in March and April from Damascus suburbs known as eastern Ghouta after a crushing government offensive.

Syrian troops and their allies are expected to turn their attention to opposition-held parts of southern Syria, including Daraa province, in a push that could bring allied Iranian forces even closer to the increasingly tense frontier with Israel. Idlib, in the north, remains a major rebel bastion, but government forces are expected to leave that confrontation to a later stage.

Israel has warned Iran and its proxies to stay away from the border and has carried out a series of airstrikes on Syrian air bases where it believes Iranian troops maintain a presence. Earlier this month, it launched a blistering bombardment of Iranian positions in Syria after an alleged Iranian rocket barrage toward its positions on the annexed Golan Heights.

Gen. Ali Mayhoub, a Syrian army spokesman, declared Damascus and its surroundings "completely secure" on Monday.

A war monitoring group said about 1,600 people, including hundreds of IS gunmen, left the area Saturday and Sunday, heading toward the desert in the east of the country following a deal with the government. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the month of fighting left scores of dead on both sides.

Syrian TV earlier quoted an unidentified Syrian military official as saying the two-day truce had been in place to evacuate women, children and the elderly Sunday night from Hajar al-Aswad. Syrian state media denied a deal was reached to evacuate the militants.

"The Daesh terrorist organization was wiped out in Hajar al-Aswad," an unidentified Syrian soldier told state TV, using an Arabic acronym to refer to IS. "We will keep marching until we liberate all parts of Syria."

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Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran, Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) - A South African man has been found guilty of murdering three members of his immediate family on Monday, more than three years after the gruesome attack in an upscale housing estate that shocked the nation.

Henri van Breda, 23, was also found guilty of obstruction of justice and attempting to murder his sister on Jan. 27, 2015. His sister Marli, then 16, suffered severe injuries and is reported to be unable to remember the incident.

"After considering all the evidence, the result is inescapable," Judge Siraj Desai said in the Western Cape High Court, after reading an hours-long judgment that detailed the evidence given in the case. "As a family man, it is difficult for me to say so."

Henri van Breda, left, talks to one of his legal adviser, Piet Botha, right, in the HIgh Court in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, May 21, 2018 as he awaits the verdict in his murder, and attempted murder trial. Van Breda is accused of murdering his father, mother and brother and the attempted murder of his sister. (AP Photo/Nasied Manie)

He went on to say that the court unanimously found van Breda guilty on three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of obstructing justice.

Van Breda, wearing a short beard and a blue suit, was expressionless as he stood to hear the verdict. He was denied bail, and will be held in custody until his sentencing.

After handing himself over to police in September 2016, van Breda had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was 20 years old at the time of the attack.

The trial of Henri van Breda began more than two years after his parents and older brother were killed in their home in De Zalze Estate in Stellenbosch, a scenic wine-growing region near Cape Town. Martin van Breda, his wife, Teresa, and their eldest son, Rudi, were killed.

The grisly attack, which gripped a country that has a high rate of violent crime, also has attracted international attention. The family had moved to Australia but returned several years ago.

Van Breda alleged during his trial that his family was attacked by an intruder wearing gloves, dark clothes and a balaclava in the early hours of the morning.

Van Breda's defense had said his family had spent a normal evening at home the night of the murders. Early in the morning, van Breda said he heard banging sounds in the house and opened a door to see someone attacking his brother with an ax. He shouted for help and his father entered and accosted the attacker, who was wearing a ski mask, according to van Breda's account. He said there may have been at least two attackers, and that he suffered minor injuries while wrestling with one of them.

Van Breda called emergency responders more than two hours after the attack, saying he had lost consciousness. In a phone call to emergency services played in court, van Breda told the operator: "My family and me were attacked by a guy with an ax."

Van Breda, who the judge said had tampered with the crime scene in order to mislead police, was found that morning by police sitting outside the house, his clothing stained with the blood of the victims. Investigators found a bloodstained ax and kitchen knife in the house.

The first police officer at the crime scene testified that he smelled alcohol on Van Breda's breath after arriving to the family's home. He said the suspect "appeared emotional, like he was blowing off steam, and was nervous but wasn't crying," the African News Agency reported.

The police officer said the area didn't resemble a normal burglary scene.

Judge Desai said in his judgment on Monday that "there was no security breach the night of the murders" and that nobody in the estate had "complained about strangers or any undue occurrence."

The judge said "in the absence of any intruder, the only reasonable inference" is that van Breda wanted to mislead police and that he staged the scene of the crime.

He said van Breda had "intentionally" inflicted injuries on himself and "in order to mislead the police as to the true identity of the perpetrator."

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Mahr reported from Johannesburg.

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Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Henri van Breda, left, talks to a member of his defense team in the High Court in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday May 21, 2018 as he awaits to hear the verdict in his case. Van Breda is accused of murdering three members of his family with an ax. (AP Photo/Nasied Manie)

Henri van Breda sits in the High Court in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday May 21, 2018 as he awaits to hear the verdict in his case. Van Breda is accused of murdering three members of his family with an ax. (AP Photo/Nasied Manie)

Henri van Breda arrives in the High Court in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday May 21, 2018 to hear the verdict in his case. Van Breda is accused of murdering three members of his family with an ax. (AP Photo/Nasied Manie)

Henri van Breda sits in the High Court in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday May 21, 2018 as he awaits to hear the verdict in his case. Van Breda is accused of murdering three members of his family with an ax. (AP Photo/Nasied Manie)

Henri van Breda sits in the High Court in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday May 21, 2018 as he awaits to hear the verdict in his case. Van Breda is accused of murdering three members of his family with an ax. (AP Photo/Nasied Manie)LONDON (AP) - Survivors of a devastating high-rise fire in London wept Monday as relatives paid tribute to some of the 72 victims at the opening of an inquiry into Britain's deadliest blaze in decades.

The Grenfell Tower inquiry is beginning with two weeks of tributes to those who died when a fire that began in a faulty fridge raced through the 24-story apartment block in June 2017. The statements from friends and family members are meant to keep the victims at the center of the inquiry, which will try to determine how the disaster happened and prevent a similar tragedy happening in the future.

"When we die, we live on in the memories of those who knew and loved us," said retired judge Martin Moore-Bick, who is leading the inquiry. "It is fitting therefore that the opening hearings ... should be dedicated to the memory of those who died."

FILE - In this Wednesday, June 14, 2017 file photo, smoke rises from Grenfell Tower in London. An inquiry into last year's devastating fire at Grenfell Tower in west London is set to begin on Monday May 21, 2018, with two weeks of tributes to the 71 people who died. The statements from friends and family members are meant to keep the victims at the center of the inquiry. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file)

The victims included baby Logan Gomes, who was stillborn after his family escaped from the 21st floor of the building.

"He might not be here physically, but he will always be here in our hearts, and will be forever," said his father Marcio Gomes, his voice breaking. "I know he's here, with God, right next to me, giving me strength and courage to take this forward."

The inquiry heard a message left by Mohamed Amied Neda from inside his apartment.

"Goodbye, we are leaving this world now, goodbye," said the 57-year-old, who came to Britain from Afghanistan and ran a chauffeur company. He was found dead after falling from the building. His wife and son were left comatose but survived.

Mohammadou Saye remembered his 24-year-old daughter Khadija Saye, a promising visual artist whose work was shown at last year's Venice Biennale.

"Her burning passion was photography, encouraged by her mother, Mary Mendy, who also lost her life in the same fire," he said in a statement read by a lawyer.

"Khadija said to me one day: 'Daddy, I'm in love with images."

Moore-Bick's inquiry will look at causes of the blaze, the response of local authorities and the country's high-rise building regulations. But some survivors are critical because it won't investigate wider issues around social housing that many residents had wanted to include.

Many residents accuse officials in Kensington and Chelsea, one of London's richest boroughs, of ignoring their safety concerns because the publicly owned tower was home to a largely immigrant and working-class population.

Police say they are considering individual or corporate manslaughter charges in the blaze, but no one has yet been charged.MADRID (AP) - Catalonia's newly elected president is showing no sign of backing down from the region's political standoff with Spanish authorities, insisting he wants jailed former lawmakers to join his pro-independence Catalan government.

Quim Torra says Jordi Turull and Josep Rull, prominent secessionists who are in pre-trial detention, are keen to become government ministers and have asked a judge to release them. Torra visited them at their jails near Madrid on Monday.

But Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy says he won't grant Catalonia independence and won't allow anyone under criminal investigation to take office there.

Newly elected regional Catalan president Quim Torra, second left, walks to talk to journalists after visiting jailed Catalan politicians at the Estremera prison, near Madrid, Monday, May 21, 2018. New Catalan leader Quim Torra named Jordi Turull and Josep Rull, who are both in pre-trial detention, and Antoni Comin and Lluis Puig, who are fugitives in Belgium, as proposed members of his government on Saturday. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Torra also wants Antoni Comin and Lluis Puig, separatists who fled to Belgium, in his Cabinet.

Torra's four picks were members of a Catalonia government dismissed by Rajoy following October's illegal declaration of independence by regional lawmakers.

Newly elected regional Catalan President Quim Torra, centre, makes a statement to the media after visiting jailed Catalan politicians at the Estremera prison, near Madrid, Monday, May 21, 2018. New Catalan leader Quim Torra named Jordi Turull and Josep Rull, who are both in pre-trial detention, and Antoni Comin and Lluis Puig, who are fugitives in Belgium, as proposed members of his government on Saturday. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Newly elected regional Catalan President Quim Torra, center, makes a statement to the media after visiting jailed Catalan politicians at the Estremera prison, near Madrid, Monday, May 21, 2018. New Catalan leader Quim Torra named Jordi Turull and Josep Rull, who are both in pre-trial detention, and Antoni Comin and Lluis Puig, who are fugitives in Belgium, as proposed members of his government on Saturday. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) - French energy company Total says it is looking to expand its search for natural gas off Cyprus' south coast and seeks to secure another exploratory drilling license, days after warning it could exit Iran over renewed U.S. sanctions there.

Stephane Michel, Total's Middle East exploration chief, said Monday that the company has applied for a license to search for hydrocarbons in Block 8, an area south of Cyprus where Italian company Eni is already licensed to carry out exploratory drilling.

Total is partners with Eni to search for oil and gas in two other areas off Cyprus. In one of the two, Eni said in February it has discovered a "promising" gas deposit with similar geological features as that of another discovery in Egyptian waters it described as the largest ever in the Mediterranean.

Cyprus Energy Minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis called Total's move an "important development" that expands the company's exploration footprint off Cyprus.

Lakkotrypis said what gives the move added weight is the fact that Total's interest comes three months after Turkish warships blocked a drillship from carrying out exploratory drilling by Eni in Block 3, an area southeast of Cyprus.

"After all that happened in Block 3, we see one of the most important partners of the Cyprus Republic wanting to expand its presence inside the Exclusive Economic Zone, especially in an area like Block 8 which is still unexplored."

Turkey opposes what it calls a "unilateral" gas search by the ethnically divided island's Greek Cypriot-run government, insisting that it flouts the rights of breakaway Turkish Cypriots to natural resources. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and claims parts of exploration areas south of Cyprus which it says fall within its continental shelf.

The Cyprus government says any potential gas proceeds will be shared equitably with Turkish Cypriots after an accord reunifying the island is reached.

A deposit discovered off Cyprus by Texas-based Noble Energy in 2011 is estimated to contain around 4.5 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Total's move also comes just days after it said it would have to withdraw multi-billion-dollar project in Iran unless it is granted a waiver by U.S. authorities. The group said it cannot afford to be exposed to U.S. sanctions, including the loss of financing by American banks.DIXON, Ill. (AP) - A school resource officer who was hailed a hero for shooting and arresting a gunman at a northern Illinois high school received a standing ovation as he led students into their graduation ceremony.

Officer Mark Dallas' 18-year-old son, Josh, was among the Dixon High School students forced to run for their lives during the shooting Wednesday.

On Sunday, Sauk Valley Media reports Josh said his father "took the whole school under his wing," calling him "everyone's father, savior and protector."

Mark Dallas, a school resource officer, reacts as he leads Dixon High School's Class of 2018 into their graduation ceremony in Lancaster Gymnasium at the school in Dixon, Ill., Sunday, May 20, 2018. Matthew A. Milby Jr., 19, is charged with firing shots inside of his northern Illinois high school Wednesday as seniors met for graduation rehearsal at the school before he was shot by Dallas. Milby was released from a hospital Thursday and transferred to the jail. (Peter Balser/The Telegraph via AP)

No one besides the alleged gunman was injured.

Nineteen-year-old Matthew A. Milby Jr. is being held on $2 million bail after being charged with firing shots as seniors met for graduation rehearsal.

Police say Milby, who is a senior but had not been attending classes, suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Jared Harrison, valedictorian for Dixon High School's class of 2018, gives a speech during his graduation ceremony at the school in Dixon, Ill., Sunday, May 20, 2018. Matthew A. Milby Jr., 19, has been charged with firing shots inside of his northern Illinois high school Wednesday as seniors met for graduation rehearsal at the school before he was shot by Mark Dallas, a school resource officer. Milby was released from a hospital Thursday and transferred to the jail. (Peter Balser/The Telegraph via AP)

Dixon High School's Class of 2018 celebrates their graduation at the school in Dixon, Ill., Sunday, May 20, 2018. Matthew A. Milby Jr., 19, has been charged with firing shots inside of his northern Illinois high school Wednesday as seniors met for graduation rehearsal at the school before he was shot by Mark Dallas, a school resource officer. Milby was released from a hospital Thursday and transferred to the jail. (Peter Balser/The Telegraph via AP)

Officer Mark Dallas is honored during graduation ceremonies Sunday, May 20, 2018 at Dixon High School in Dixon, Ill. Dallas is being hailed has a hero for stopping a former student armed with a rifle who attempted to enter the school last week. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Officer Mark Dallas is honored during graduation ceremonies Sunday, May 20, 2018 at Dixon High School. Dallas is being hailed has a hero for stopping a former student armed with a rifle who attempted to enter the school last week. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune via AP)NEW YORK (AP) - The new Goethals (GAH'-thuhlz) Bridge between New York and New Jersey is now open in both directions after a five-year, $1.5 billion overhaul.

The Staten Island Advance says traffic moved smoothly during the Monday morning rush-hour.

The westbound side was opened Sunday night. The eastbound lanes were opened last June.

The new Goethals has three 12-foot lanes in each direction. The old one had two narrower lanes each way.

The bridge also has shoulders that improve access for emergency vehicles.

The Goethals has connected Elizabeth, New Jersey, with Staten Island since 1928.

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Information from: Staten Island Advance, http://www.silive.comWASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear a challenge to Virginia's decades-old ban on uranium mining.

The state has had a ban on uranium mining in place since 1982, soon after the discovery of a massive uranium deposit in the state's Pittsylvania County. It's the largest known deposit in the United States and one of the largest in the world.

The owners of the deposit put its value at $6 billion and said it would be enough uranium to power all of the United States' nuclear reactors continuously for two years.

A few years after the deposit was discovered, the price of uranium plummeted and interest in mining it waned for about two decades. But after the price of uranium rebounded, the deposit's owners attempted between 2008 and 2013 to convince Virginia lawmakers to reconsider the ban. After that effort failed, they sued Virginia in federal court in 2015. The hope was that a court would invalidate the ban and clear the path for mining the uranium. Lower courts agreed with the state, however, and dismissed the lawsuit.

In asking the high court to take the case, the companies underscored the importance of uranium to the United States. Nuclear reactors powered by uranium generate about 20 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States, the companies say. Uranium also powers the nation's fleet of nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. But 94 percent of the uranium the U.S. needs is imported, they said.

Turning the Virginia deposit into usable uranium would involve three steps. First, the uranium ore would have to be mined from the ground. The uranium would then need to be processed at a mill, where pure uranium is separated from waste rock. The waste rock, called "tailings," which remain radioactive, would then have to be securely stored.

The owners of the Virginia deposit argue that the state can regulate the uranium mining, the first step in the process, but not if the state's purpose in doing so is protecting against radiation hazards that arise from the second two steps. They say that's what motivated the state's ban. They argue the Atomic Energy Act gives federal regulators the exclusive power to regulate the radiation hazards of milling of uranium and of handling and storing the leftover tailings.

Virginia says nothing in the Atomic Energy Act keeps it from banning mining, regardless of its purpose in doing so.

"Virginia is well within its rights to prohibit uranium mining within its own borders, as it has for more than 30 years," Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said in a statement after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. "Federal law does not override the decision the Commonwealth made after weighing the significant risks of an unprecedented uranium mining operation. My team and I have successfully defended the moratorium at trial and on appeal, and we are confident we can do so again at the Supreme Court."

Arguments in the case, 16-1275 Virginia Uranium v. John Warren, are expected in the fall.

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Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jessicagreskoWASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court will hear Oklahoma's plea to reinstate the murder conviction and death sentence of an American Indian.

The justices on Monday said they will review an appellate ruling that overturned the conviction and sentence of Patrick Dwayne Murphy. He claimed he should have been tried in federal, not state, court because he is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the crime occurred in Indian territory.

The federal appeals court in Denver determined that the victim's body was found within the tribe's historical boundaries that take in several Oklahoma counties, and include much of the city of Tulsa. The court said the Creek Nation reservation existed before Oklahoma achieved statehood and was never formally deprived of its official status, or disestablished, by Congress.

The Trump administration, in a rare uninvited Supreme Court filing, said in support of Oklahoma's appeal that the issue has "wide-ranging and serious implications for law enforcement." In Tulsa, with a population of 950,000 people, and eight counties in eastern Oklahoma, most crimes by or against Indians would have to be prosecuted in federal courts if the appellate ruling is upheld, the administration said.

The vast majority of crimes are handled by local and state authorities.

In 2017, federal prosecutors in the region brought just three indictments for serious crimes because they involved Indian country, the administration said. That number could increase to more than 500 indictments a year, the administration estimated.

A jury in McIntosh County, about 80 miles southeast of Tulsa, found Murphy guilty of the 1999 murder of George Jacobs and a judge sentenced him to death. Prosecutors said he had confessed to killing Jacobs when he was arrested.

Lawyers for Murphy had urged the justices to leave the appellate ruling undisturbed. They argued that the appeals court correctly applied Supreme Court precedents dealing with the disestablishment of Indian reservations. They also said the claims of mass disruption of the criminal justice system were overstated.

The case, Royal v. Murphy, 17-1107, will be argued in the fall. Justice Neil Gorsuch is not taking part in the court's review because he dealt with the case while a member of the appeals court.LONDON (AP) - A court has dismissed charges against Barclays relating to its emergency fundraising from Qatar at the height of the financial crisis.

The Serious Fraud Office had accused Barclays over a 2008 deal to give to Qatar Holding LLC a $3 billion loan that was then used to invest in the bank, saving it from a government bailout. Prosecutors had also accused Barclays' operating unit with unlawful financial assistance "for the purpose of directly or indirectly acquiring shares in Barclays Plc."

Southwark Crown Court in London dismissed all of the charges on Monday. However, Barclays warned in a statement to the markets that the fraud office is likely to seek to reinstate the charges.

Individuals still face charges, as Monday's dismissal only refers to Barclays as a corporate entity.STORRS, Conn. (AP) - University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst announced Monday that she will step down after the 2018-19 academic year.

The 55-year-old Herbst, who has led the state's flagship university since 2011, did not give a reason for her decision in a message to the university community.

"None of us are indispensable and the right time for a change always arrives eventually," she wrote. "With my employment agreement concluding on July 1 of next year, I felt that would be the right time for me."

FILE - In this Aug. 23, 2017 file photo, University of Connecticut President Susan Herbst speaks to people on the steps of UConn's new downtown campus after a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Hartford, Conn. Herbst announced Monday, May 21, 2018, that will step down after the 2018-19 academic year. (AP Photo/Pat Eaton-Robb)

Herbst was on a fundraising trip Monday and not available for comment beyond her written statement.

Herbst, UConn's 15th president, is the first woman to hold the job since the school was founded in 1881.

Her tenure has included major state investment in capital improvements at the school, including the more than $1.5 billion in bonding for the Next Generation UConn initiative and $864 million for Bioscience Connecticut which funded major construction on the school's campuses and at UConn Health.

She also oversaw last year's $140 million move of UConn's satellite Hartford campus from the suburb of West Hartford back to the city's downtown.

"Although we'll all be sad to see her go next year, she has left an indelible mark on the UConn community, and our state as a whole," said Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

But, the university also has dealt with lower than anticipated state contributions to the school's $2.3 billion operating budget stemming from the Connecticut's ongoing fiscal crisis, leading to the curtailing of planned hiring at the school.

The state provides about 25 percent of the school's annual revenue, down from 43 percent in 2000.

The total cost of attending the school for an in-state student has risen from under $25,000 a year in 2011 to just over $31,000.

Herbst has said her biggest struggle has been growing the school's endowment, which was $272 million in 2010 and is now more than $420 million. She has said it should be more than $1 billion, given the size of the university.

"My greatest hope going forward is that the state and our many donors will continue to invest in UConn, which is an investment in Connecticut's future," she wrote. "UConn has come so far since its founding nearly 140 years ago and it has all the right ingredients to go further still."

Herbst came to UConn from the University System of Georgia, where she was the executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer. She makes about $758,000 a year and also received a $125,000 retention bonus in 2016 and is due another $75,000 bonus next June.

Herbst, who took a brief leave this academic year to undergo back surgery, said she plans to return to the classroom as a professor of political science at UConn's Stamford campus.

School spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz said the timing of the announcement will allow the school to conduct a thorough national search for her replacement while she is still on the job, allowing for a smooth transition.LONDON (AP) - Kensington Palace has released three official wedding photographs taken of Prince Harry and the former Meghan Markle shortly after their wedding.

Alexi Lubomirski's images include a family portrait of the couple with Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, Prince William and their spouses, as well as Markle's mother and the children who served as bridesmaids and page boys.

A second image shows the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they now are known, just with the children.

This photo released by Kensington Palace on Monday May 21, 2018, shows an official wedding photo of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Saturday May 19, 2018. (Alexi Lubomirski/Kensington Palace via AP)

The newlyweds also posed for a less formal black and white photo.

The palace said Monday that the pair "feel so lucky to have been able to share their day with all those gathered in Windsor and also all those who watched the wedding on television across the U.K., Commonwealth, and around the world."

In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Monday May 21, 2018, shows an official wedding photo of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, center, in Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Saturday May 19, 2018. Others in photo from left, back row, Brian Mulroney, Remi Litt, Rylan Litt, Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Ivy Mulroney, John Mulroney; front row, Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte, Florence van Cutsem. (Alexi Lubomirski/Kensington Palace via AP)BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - Serbia's prime minister said Monday the Balkan country's goal is to join the European Union despite calls by the defense minister for an apparent shift in course toward Russia.

Ana Brnabic said that Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin has the right to his opinion, but "we have our course and we know that our strategic goal is the EU."

Vulin, who is known for his pro-Russia stance, has said that Serbia should perhaps change its foreign policy goals if the EU insists on resolving the dispute with Kosovo as the prime condition for membership.

"If Kosovo is the key, let's go our own way," Vulin said in an official statement released by the Defense Ministry, adding that the EU is setting conditions which it knows Serbia can't fulfill.

Serbia's former province of Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which Belgrade doesn't recognize. Russia supports Serbia in that stand while major Western countries, including the U.S., have recognized Kosovo's statehood.

Serbia, Russia's key ally in the Balkans, has been reluctantly promised possible entry into the EU in 2025 if it fulfills a number of preconditions, including making peace with Kosovo Albanians.

Serbia's apparent path toward the EU has been hindered by political and propaganda pressure from Moscow and its goal of keeping the countries in the Balkan region out of NATO and other Western bodies.

Serbia has a number of pro-Russia ministers in the government who regularly try to undermine its official goal of joining the EU.

At a summit in Bulgaria earlier this month, EU leaders encouraged Serbia and other Balkan countries to continue on the path of EU-oriented reform, but were cool on any of the six joining the bloc in the near future.MIAMI (AP) - A convicted Honduran drug kingpin whose cocaine supplied the Mexican cartel headed by the trafficker known as "El Chapo" has been sentenced to life in U.S. prison.

Court records show a Miami federal judge imposed the sentence Monday on 41-year-old Sergio Neftali Mejia-Duarte. He was convicted by a jury in January of cocaine trafficking charges involving tons of the drug.

Trial testimony showed that Mejia-Duarte used speedboats, helicopters and airplanes to smuggle cocaine into the U.S. Witnesses testified that much of the cocaine was supplied to the Sinaola Cartel headed by Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as "El Chapo." Guzman is jailed in New York awaiting trial.

Authorities say Mejia-Duarte was responsible for trafficking at least 22 tons (20,000 kilograms) of cocaine into the U.S.BEIT JALLA, West Bank (AP) - A small crowd of Palestinian protesters in the West Bank on Monday pelted an American diplomatic vehicle with eggs to protest the recent move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

The incident drew an angry American response and deepened a crisis in relations that has followed the U.S. Embassy decision.

The State Department said the diplomats were on a visit to "promote educational and cultural exchange" in the West Bank when they were accosted.

A Palestinian activist smashes an egg on a vehicle of a delegation from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as they arrive for a meeting in Beit Jala, West Bank, Monday, May 21, 2018. A small group of Palestinian protesters in the West Bank has pelted an American diplomatic vehicle with eggs to protest the recent move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

"The objective was clearly intimidation. The United States absolutely opposes the use of violence and intimidation to express political views," the statement said.

The protesters gathered as members of the delegation from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem walked to their vehicle. The crowd held signs and shouted at the Americans, before throwing eggs at their car as they drove away. No one was injured.

"We are here to say to the American Embassy, 'No we don't need you. Leave Palestine and leave Jerusalem and leave the embassy,'" said Palestinian protester Muhannad al-Said.

This comes just one week after the U.S. Embassy to Israel was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital.

While President Donald Trump has said the embassy move is not meant to prejudge the final borders of the city, the step is seen by both Israel and the Palestinians as siding with Israel in the most sensitive dispute in their conflict. East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, is home to the city's most sensitive Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy sites.

The Palestinians have severed most contacts with the Americans to protest the move.

A Palestinian activist kicks a vehicle of a delegation from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as they arrive for a meeting in Beit Jala, West Bank, Monday, May 21, 2018. A small group of Palestinian protesters in the West Bank has pelted an American diplomatic vehicle with eggs to protest the recent move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Palestinian activists sit on on a vehicle of a delegation from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as they arrive for a meeting in Beit Jala, West Bank, Monday, May 21, 2018. A small group of Palestinian protesters in the West Bank has pelted an American diplomatic vehicle with eggs to protest the recent move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

A Palestinian activist holds a sig as a delegation from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem arrives for a meeting in Beit Jala, West Bank, Monday, May 21, 2018. A small group of Palestinian protesters in the West Bank has pelted an American diplomatic vehicle with eggs to protest the recent move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)ST. LOUIS (AP) - A St. Louis judge on Monday appointed the prosecutor in Jackson County as the special prosecutor who will decide whether to refile an invasion-of-privacy case against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Rex Burlison recused the St. Louis circuit attorney's office from the felony case and appointed Jean Peters Baker, the prosecutor for Jackson County, where Kansas City is located. The ruling gives Baker discretion to consider not only the invasion-of-privacy charge but "other incidents involving the same victim" that occurred from March 21, 2015, to Sept. 1, 2015.

Greitens was indicted by a grand jury in February. He is accused of taking a compromising and unauthorized photo of a woman during an extramarital affair in 2015, before he was elected.

In this May 17, 2018, photo, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens stands off to the side before stepping up to the podium to deliver remarks to a small group of supporters near the capitol announcing the release of funds for the state's biodiesel program in Jefferson City, Mo. A St. Louis judge on Monday appointed the prosecutor in Jackson County as the special prosecutor who will decide whether to refile an invasion-of-privacy case against Greitens. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

The charge was dismissed May 14 during jury selection after the court said it would allow Greitens' lawyers to question Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner under oath. Gardner said it would have been improper for her to be a witness in a trial her office was prosecuting.

Gardner, in a statement, praised Baker as "an experienced prosecutor who is widely credited with being unafraid of tackling difficult cases." She said that if Baker agrees to file charges, the case would remain in St. Louis, not Kansas City.

Baker said that she has assembled a team of prosecutors and staff to begin reviewing the case. She said the review "will be based solely on the evidence."

"Politics, affiliations or other matters beyond the evidence will not play a role," she said in a statement.

Burlison's order said Gardner and her office "are prohibited from any further involvement in this matter except to serve as witnesses in the case."

Gardner's office drew criticism from Greitens' attorneys during several court hearings and filings over the actions of William Tisaby, a private investigator hired for the case. Defense attorneys accused Tisaby of lying to the court and hiding evidence. They accused Gardner, a Democrat, of allowing Tisaby's actions. Tisaby has not returned several messages from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Greitens also faces a second charge in St. Louis accusing him of misusing a charity donor list for his gubernatorial campaign. A trial date in that case has not been set.

After a hearing on Monday, defense attorney Edward L. Dowd Jr. told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the defense was seeking to bar Gardner's office from any more involvement in either case.

"We are delighted that the judge ordered Kim Gardner and her office to not be involved in this case at all," Dowd said in a statement. "She has too many conflicts to continue."

Meanwhile, a Missouri House investigatory committee expanded its membership for a special session to determine whether Greitens should be impeached.

House Speaker Todd Richardson added three members to what had been a seven-person panel consisting mostly of attorneys and former law enforcement officers.

The new members are: Rep. J. Eggleston, a Republican business owner from Maysville; Rep. Curtis Trent, a Republican attorney from Springfield; and Democratic Rep. Greg Razer of Kansas City, a former aide to U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill who has said Greitens should resign.

The committee is to meet Tuesday to discuss rules and procedures.

Records provided to The Associated Press show it has spent more than $14,000 since starting work in March.

___

Associated Press writer David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report.ROME (AP) - The Latest on talks to form a government in Italy (all times local):

8:15 p.m.

Right-wing leader Matteo Salvini says other European nations have no reason to worry about Italy's soon-to-be-born populist government.

FILE - In this Saturday, May 19, 2018 file photo, the League party leader, Matteo Salvini, meets reporters in Milan, Italy. One of Italy's two main populist leaders says he and his rival have finally agreed on who should be premier, and it's neither of them. Exactly 11 weeks after elections resulted in political gridlock, League leader Matteo Salvini told reporters Sunday he and 5-Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio have snagged a deal on both who should head Italy's next government and choice of Cabinet ministers. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File )

The League party chief and fellow euroskeptic leader Luigi Di Maio, of the 5-Star Movement, told Italy's president Monday evening they're ready to form a coalition 11 weeks after inconclusive elections.

Salvini said they aim to "make the economy grow to reduce debt." He insisted their coalition will put "Italians first" while "respecting ... all the rules and limits" of the European Union.

There are fears among Western European governments the populists' campaign promises to drastically slash taxes, give the unemployed sizeable subsidies and ease pension age restrictions will balloon Italy's already sizeable debt.

Di Maio said they've asked President Sergio Mattarella to tap anti-bureaucracy law professor Giuseppe Conte as premier.

___

5:30 p.m.

Italian news agency ANSA is reporting that a law professor named Giuseppe Conte is the person chosen by a populist coalition of the 5-Star Movement and League to be Italy's next premier.

The leader of the 5-Star Movement, Luigi Di Maio, did not identify the coalition's candidate while speaking to reporters after meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella on Monday.

ANSA quoted Di Maio shortly after naming Conte and saying he would be "a political premier of a political government."

Speculation over Conte leading the government arose over the weekend after Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini agreed that neither of them would be premier.

The president also was meeting with Salvini on Monday.

___

10:40 a.m.

Italy's president has convened the leaders of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League for consultations that could lead to the first populist government in the eurozone's third largest economy.

The prospect of a 5-Star-League government is weighing on markets and on Italy's European allies. The cost of borrowing to fund Italy's persistently high public debt rose again on Monday and the Milan stock market was down 2 percent. France's economics minister has already sounded an alarm that the eurozone's financial stability could be threatened if a populist government blows Italy's deficit commitments.

The leader of the 5-Stars, Luigi Di Maio, and League leader Matteo Salvini indicated agreement Sunday on a candidate for premier to present to President Sergio Mattarella, who must grant his approval before a parliamentary confidence vote.LONDON (AP) - Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone resigned from Britain's Labour Party on Monday, two years after he was suspended over allegations of anti-Semitism - an issue that continues to roil the left-of-center party.

Livingstone said in a statement that he is not anti-Semitic, but was quitting because the long-running accusations had become a "distraction."

Livingstone was once one of Britain's most powerful Labour politicians. He ran the Greater London Council, the city's since-abolished governing body, during the 1980s and served two terms as the British capital's mayor between 2000 and 2008.

FILE - In this Thursday, April 5, 2012 file photo, Labour's Ken Livingstone arrives on Regent Street for a visit to Hamleys toy shop in London. Former London Mayor Ken Livingstone has resigned from Britain's Labour Party, which had suspended him over allegations of anti-Semitism. Livingstone said on Monday, May 21, 2018 that he was quitting because the issue had become a "distraction." (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file)

But the party suspended him in 2016 after Livingstone said in a BBC interview that Adolf Hitler had supported Zionism during the 1930s.

In a statement about his party resignation, Livingstone said "I abhor anti-Semitism." But he acknowledged that "the way I made a historical argument has caused offense and upset in the Jewish community. I am truly sorry for that."

Allegations of Labour anti-Semitism have grown since socialist Jeremy Corbyn was elected the party's leader in 2015. Some in the party allege that Corbyn, a longtime critic of Israel's treatment of Palestinians, has allowed abuse to go unchecked.

Corbyn, a longtime ally of the former mayor, said Livingstone's resignation was sad, but "the right thing to do."

Labour is deeply divided over whether enough is being done to combat anti-Jewish prejudice in its ranks. Some Labour members saw Livingstone's continued presence in the party as a sign the answer was no.

Lawmaker Ruth Smeeth, who has pressed Corbyn to do more, tweeted: "Good riddance Ken."A man has died after his Tesla veered off the road, crashed through a guard rail and plunged into a pond in the San Francisco Bay Area, police say.

Rescuers pulled the blue Tesla Model S from a pond in Alameda County early Monday morning and found the body of 34-year-old Keith Leung inside.

Investigators say it is too early to tell if vehicle's semi-autonomous Autopilot mode was engaged when the crash occurred or whether the driver from Danville, California, was speeding or intoxicated.

Authorities are investigating the death of Danville, California, resident Keith Leung, 34, after the Tesla he was driving veered off a road, crashed through a fence and into a pond Sunday

Photographs from the scene show extensive damaged to the front and rear ends of the car and no window left unshattered.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Daniel Jacowitz said the crash occurred between San Ramon and Danville on Sunday evening.

A property owner contacted authorities after hearing a loud noise and noticing the tire tracks and damage to his fence.

The Alameda County Sheriff's office sent a rescue team and divers that found the vehicle submerged in the pond, with the driver still seated in the vehicle, Jacowitz said.

Jacowitz said the driver's speed has not yet been determined, but 'it was great enough to leave the roadway, hit a fence, keep going down an embankment and into a pond on the property'.

Federal transportation authorities began looking into the performance of Tesla's semi-autonomous Autopilot driving system following a crash in March in which the driver was killed on a California highway.

The blue Tesla Model S was pulled from the pond in Alameda County early on Monday morningSPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - It's moving day for Gov. Bruce Rauner and first lady Diana Rauner, who are returning to the Illinois Governor's Mansion after $15 million in renovations on the historic home.

The Rauners led the fundraising campaign to restore the 1855 home, which is one of the nation's oldest continuously occupied governor's residences.

"This is one of the most historic, beautiful governor's mansions anywhere in the United Sates," Rauner said Monday after carrying in moving boxes. "We are very proud to have it restored to its historic beauty."

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner carries a pair of boxes from his van to the governor's mansion as he and his wife Diana move back into the historic structure following a two-year renovation project Monday, May 21, 2018. (Ted Schurter/The State Journal-Register via AP)

Aside from emergency repairs, the mansion hadn't undergone any major renovations since the 1970s. The house now has a new roof, is wheelchair-compatible and environmentally friendly, Diana Rauner said.

There will also be a new visitor's center as part of the Rauners' efforts to make the mansion into an "educational opportunity" for visitors. The governor said starting in July, the mansion will be open seven days a week with new exhibits on Illinois' history and culture. The first exhibit will highlight Illinois artists.

Rauner said the mansion will become "a place for all the people in Illinois to come enjoy and learn about Illinois' history and everything that's wonderful here."

The Rauners, who have multiple homes of their own across the U.S., moved from the executive mansion to the state fair director's home on the Illinois State Fairgrounds while the project, which began last June, was underway. Private donations, including from the Rauners themselves, funded the renovation efforts. A full list of donors is scheduled to be released.

The first family's dog, Stella, ran around the courtyard, wagging her tail, howling and greeting reporters. Diana Rauner said Stella will retain her position as "chief greeter at the mansion."

The Rauners' dog Pumpkin died in 2016. Diana said she would love a new playmate for Stella, adding she talks about it with her husband "all the time."

___

Follow Sarah Zimmerman at http://twitter.com/sarahzimm95LANGLEY, Va. (AP) - New CIA Director Gina Haspel pledged to send more spies into the field during her swearing-in Monday as President Donald Trump offered up praise for the rank-and-file, who felt snubbed during his first visit to the headquarters of the premier U.S. intelligence agency.

"We must learn from the past, but we cannot dwell in the past," said Haspel, whose ascent from undercover operative to the top job was challenged because of her role in a program to harshly detain and interrogate terror suspects after 9/11.

"We must constantly learn, adjust, improve and strive to be better. We demand it of ourselves and America deserves nothing less," she said, drawing loud applause from her co-workers assembled inside the headquarters at Langley, in northern Virginia.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and incoming Central Intelligence Agency director Gina Haspel, center, listen to President Donald Trump speak during a swearing-in ceremony at CIA Headquarters, Monday, May 21, 2018, in Langley, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Haspel, 61, succeeds Mike Pompeo, whom Trump tapped to become secretary of state. Pompeo was present at the swearing-in and the oath was administered by Vice President Mike Pence.

Critics have said Haspel's role in the non-banned program should have disqualified her from becoming CIA director, although she has vowed not to restart it. Her supporters cited her three decades of experience at the spy agency both domestically and at many posts abroad.

Haspel, who has spent 33 years with the CIA, pledged to boost foreign language proficiency, strengthen the CIA's partnerships with intelligence agencies in the U.S. and abroad and deploy more officers to the field. She said the CIA also needed to focus on strategic threats to U.S. national security as well as the ongoing one from global terrorism.

As the first female CIA director, Haspel said she was indebted to female intelligence officers who blazed the trail for women in the field. "I stand on the shoulders of heroines who never sought public acclaim, but served as inspirations to the generations that came after them," she said.

She also referenced her rocky confirmation during which lawmakers had called for her mostly classified past career to be open to public scrutiny.

"It has been nearly 50 years since an operations officer rose up through the ranks to become the director, and after the experience of the last two months, I think I know why that is," Haspel joked.

Trump said she showed courage during the Senate confirmation process in the face of "very negative politics."

The president struck a different tone than on his previous visit to CIA headquarters. He hailed the agency rank-and-file, calling them the "most elite intelligence professionals on the planet" and promised them the "the tools, the resources and the support they need."

When Trump visited the CIA headquarters in January 2017, one day after taking office, it was on the back of his repeated criticisms of the U.S. intelligence community over its conclusion that Russian had interfered in the presidential election.

That day, many of his remarks were focused on settling scores with the media. His comments raised the ire of former intelligence officials because he spoke in front of a wall marked with stars representing fallen CIA officers, which was viewed as disrespectful.

This year, he paid tribute to the lost lives, saying "their stories of service and sacrifice and daring will live for all time."

Only hours before Trump visited CIA headquarters, he was promoting criticism of former CIA Director John Brennan. He suggested Brennan was to blame for the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

On Twitter, Trump referenced comments from conservative commentator Dan Bongino on "Fox and Friends," which argued that Brennan "started this entire debacle." Bongino, a former Secret Service agent, also said Brennan had "disgraced the intelligence community."

Brennan became the agency's director in 2013 under President Barack Obama and served until January 2017. He has been a vocal critic of Trump.

On Sunday, Brennan warned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, tweeting: "If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trump's self-serving actions."HAMDEN, Conn. (AP) - A teen girl has been arrested in connection to five Connecticut students being sent to the emergency room for consuming tainted cookies.

The New Haven Register reports the 15-year-old girl was detained Monday after students from Hamden High School were taken to the hospital for eating what police are calling "marijuana cookies."

Police say the students appeared to be under the influence of drugs and were sent to the school nurse earlier. They reported feeling ill after eating the cookies.

The students were sent to Yale New Haven Hospital as a precaution and have since been released. The girl, who has not been identified, is charged with five counts of risk of injury to a minor, and is scheduled to appear in juvenile court in New Haven.

___

Information from: New Haven Register, http://www.nhregister.comBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) - An Argentine court has sentenced a Catholic priest to 25 years in prison for sexually abusing seven seminary students who were 10 to 14 years old at the time.

Judge Alicia Vivian on Monday announced the decision by a panel of judges. It can be appealed.

Justo Jose Ilarraz abused the boys in the 1980s and 90s when he was prefect of discipline and spiritual guide at a seminary in Parana, capital of Entre Rios province.

Ilarraz pleaded innocent and his attorneys argued that the statute of limitations had expired in any case.

Prosecutor Juan Francisco Ramirez Montrul said it's clear that there were other victims who have not filed criminal complaints. He said the church sanctioned Ilarraz in 1997, but didn't immediately inform his victims of the fact.LOS ANGELES (AP) - Four former University of Southern California students sued the school and an ex-campus gynecologist who they accuse of molesting patients over decades as a "serial sexual predator," according to a court filing Monday.

Dr. George Tyndall routinely made crude comments, took inappropriate photographs and forced the plaintiffs to strip naked and groped them under the guise of medical treatment for his "sexual gratification," the civil lawsuit said.

Tyndall, who worked at a USC clinic for 30 years, denied wrongdoing in interviews with the Los Angeles Times. He didn't return phone calls and it wasn't known Monday if he has an attorney.

The complaint accuses the university of failing to properly respond to complaints about Tyndall. USC said in a statement that it was aware of the lawsuit.

"We are focused on ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our students and providing support to those affected," the statement said.

The Times reported Friday that USC received about 200 complaints from former patients and that the school is planning to forward some of those reports to the Los Angeles Police Department. The LAPD hadn't opened a criminal investigation into Tyndall as of midday Monday, said Officer Drake Madison.

Tyndall continued to examine young women even though he was the subject of complaints that started years ago, according to the newspaper. The complaints against Tyndall include claims of inappropriate remarks about patients' bodies and inappropriate touching during pelvic exams.

Tyndall was suspended with pay in 2016 and resigned with a confidential financial settlement in 2017, the paper reported.

The lawsuit alleges the school agreed to the settlement to keep quiet the details of an internal investigation that found Tyndall "routinely made sexually and racially inappropriate remarks to patients, kept a secret box full of photographs of his patients' genitals."

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

In a letter last week to the university community, USC President C.L. Max Nikias stated he read reports from Tyndall's patients over "many difficult hours" and that it left him profoundly disturbed.

"He should have been removed and referred to the authorities years ago," he wrote. "Once again, I want to personally apologize to any student who visited our student health center and was made to feel uncomfortable in any way. You deserved better, and we let you down."

The university fired Dr. William Leavitt, the clinic's top doctor, and Tammie Akiyoshi, the clinic's director.PERRY HALL, Md. (AP) - Rifle-toting police swarmed into a Baltimore suburb where a female officer was fatally injured Monday, searching for suspects believed to be armed after witnesses reported hearing a pop and seeing the officer run over by a Jeep.

Residents in a leafy community of suburban homes where the officer was injured described seeing her on the ground, badly hurt. Several people tried to keep her alive, but she was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Tony Kurek told The Associated Press his adult son was outside in the family's yard Monday afternoon in the northeast Baltimore County community of Perry Hall when the son saw the officer with her gun drawn, confronting the occupants of a Jeep.

Tactical police stage in a Safeway parking lot on Belair Road near Chapel Road in response to the death of a Baltimore County police officer in Perry Hall, Md., May 21, 2018. Rifle-toting police swarmed into the Baltimore suburb where a female officer was fatally injured Monday, searching for suspects believed to be armed after witnesses reported hearing a pop and seeing the officer run over by a Jeep. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Sun via AP)

"The next thing he heard was a pop, and he saw the Jeep take off and run right over her," said Kurek. The car left skid marks behind, he said, adding the woman was bleeding from her head.

Logan Kurek, who is a volunteer firefighter, said he heard his younger brother "frantically screaming" and ran outside to perform CPR.

The officer was responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle when she encountered at least one suspect and was "critically injured," police spokesman Cpl. Shawn Vinson said. The encounter may have begun as a burglary in progress, said Vinson, who added that one home on the block had damage to a patio door.

By Monday evening, police said, it was still too soon to know exactly how the officer was fatally injured. But they confirmed a homicide investigation was underway.

"What exactly happened, we are not sure yet until an autopsy is performed," Vinson said at a news conference Monday. He said he had no information about whether she had fired her own weapon.

A massive manhunt was under way for "multiple suspects," Vinson added. Aviation and canine units were involved in the ongoing manhunt, which would continue through the night.

"The dark will not hamper our investigation," he told reporters Monday evening, adding the suspects' Jeep was ditched on a road and had been recovered.

Vinson said the family of the officer, who would have been a four-year veteran in July, has been notified.

Officers were searching the area Monday night for suspects "who we believe are armed and dangerous," Police Chief Terrence Sheridan noted earlier.

On Monday afternoon, Kurek's neighbor, Dahle Amendt, said he had just settled into his recliner for a rest when he heard a woman's voice outside his house.

"I heard, 'Get out of the car!' 'Get out of the car!' Get out of the car!' at least three times, and then a pop," Amendt said.

Amendt said his wife also ran outside and tried to revive the officer. Vinson confirmed such accounts but said the officer was pronounced dead at a hospital where she was taken.

"This is a shock. It's a quiet community. It's just so sad," Amendt said.

Investigators urged residents in a sizable swath of Perry Hall to stay hunkered down inside their homes and lock all doors and windows as officers search the community fringed with woodlands.

Three elementary schools were on alert status for hours, with students and teachers told to stay in their school buildings as police continued a search for the suspects. But by Monday evening, parents were allowed to come to the schools to pick up their youngsters.

At a gas station located at a cordoned-off intersection, some residents gathered to watch three helicopters of TV news crews buzzing over the neighborhood. An unmarked car with law enforcers, including one officer cradling a rifle in the back seat, drove past and was waved through by police manning the intersection.

Heavily armed officers with a trained canine also could be seen scrambling across neatly manicured backyards. A pair of officers elsewhere, with guns drawn, entered a home's front door during the search.

"It's pretty scary," said Sukvir Singh, an employee of the gas station.

___

Rankin reported from Richmond, Virginia. Associated Press writer Denise Lavoie also contributed from Richmond.

An emergency vehicle passes a roadblock near a scene where a Baltimore County police officer died, while investigating a suspicious vehicle, Monday, May 21, 2018, in Perry Hall, Md. Heavily armed police swarmed into the leafy suburb, searching for at least one armed suspect. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Officials guard a roadblock near a scene where a Baltimore County police officer died, while investigating a suspicious vehicle, Monday, May 21, 2018, in Perry Hall, Md. Heavily armed police swarmed into the leafy suburb, searching for at least one armed suspect. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)Harry and Meghans wedding was one of the social media events of the year, prompting 3.4 million posts on Twitter alone between the start of the day and the end of the ceremony.

The excitement truly began as guests began their preparations, with Serena Williams confirming her attendance by tweeting that she was getting ready for my friend[]s wedding, and then updating with a picture of herself and her husband dressed up and ready.

Check out my IG stories today. Im getting ready for my friends wedding pic.twitter.com/Y3Xy1JdhM6  Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) May 19, 2018

Actor and fellow guest Patrick Adams also got in on the act, posting on Instagram about his friend and former Suits co-star Meghan: Im beginning to think she might not actually be out getting milk.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau after their wedding ceremony to Prince Harry at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle.

She said she was just going out to get some milk... https://t.co/y7cnM0eC9D  Patrick J Adams (@halfadams) November 27, 2017

As the arrivals began, David Beckhams appearance particularly seemed to cause a stir on Twitter, but among the adoration was a reminder from old club Manchester United that there was another big event that day  the FA Cup final.

Nineteen-year-old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason, who was praised for his performance of Ave Maria at the ceremony, seemed to have the nation rooting for him as he posted that he was on my way to perform at the #RoyalWedding.

On my way to perform at the #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/kZLtXzRGnZ  Sheku Kanneh-Mason (@ShekuKM) May 19, 2018

With the ceremony under way, an undoubted high point for social chatter was the powerful address of American bishop Michael Curry.

Twitter said his speech, entitled The Power of Love, was the most-tweeted-about moment of the day, and one celebrity who clearly enjoyed it was supermodel Naomi Campbell, who tweeted: BISHOP MICHAEL CURRY GIVING ME LIFE 

Elamin Abdelmahmoud tweeted: A black reverend preaching to British royalty about the resilience of faith during slavery is 10000000% not what I thought I was waking up for, the royal wedding is good.

A black reverend preaching to British royalty about the resilience of faith during slavery is 10000000% not what I thought I was waking up for, the royal wedding is good  Elamin Abdelmahmoud (@elamin88) May 19, 2018

TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, however, seemed less impressed with the length of his speech, tweeting: What if this American vicar never stops?

What if this American vicar never stops?  Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) May 19, 2018

Many reflected on the romance of the couples story. Pointless star Richard Osman tweeted: I know the #RoyalWedding is not for everyone, but we all saw Harry lose his Mum so young, then grow up into this kind, cheeky, thoughtful guy. Now hes found this incredible woman, and it brings a tear to my cynical eye. Have a great day everyone (also, enjoy the cup final).

I know the #RoyalWedding is not for everyone, but we all saw Harry lose his Mum so young, then grow up into this kind, cheeky, thoughtful guy. Now hes found this incredible woman, and it brings a tear to my cynical eye. Have a great day everyone (also, enjoy the cup final).  Richard Osman (@richardosman) May 19, 2018

The Chicago Tribune got thousands of retweets with some matter of fact reporting: Northwestern graduate marrying British guy rn.

Northwestern graduate marrying British guy rn https://t.co/50UphKcJ2W pic.twitter.com/WjRcYL3oxc  Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) May 19, 2018

And one Twitter user, @ovotiann, perhaps summed up the feelings of many when she wrote: This all started with Meghans friend setting her up on a blind date with Prince Harry. My friends are actually useless.Comedian Trevor Noah has heralded the quoting of Martin Luther King at Prince Harry and Meghans royal wedding.

The Most Rev Bishop Michael Curry, the first black presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church, gave an address titled the Power of Love at the service and spoke of poverty and justice.

The US bishop, along with the gospel choir, brought a flavour of the American brides homeland with the speech at St Georges Chapel in Windsor.

The Most Rev Bishop Michael Curry, primate of the Episcopal Church, gives an address during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle (Owen Humphreys/PA)

We must discover the power of love, the redemptive power of love. And when we discover that, we will be able to make of this old world a new world. Love is the only way, Bishop Curry quoted.

Noah, who grew up in apartheid-era South Africa, said he doubted Mr Luther King himself ever thought he would be quoted in front of royalty or on a royal occasion.

The Daily Show presenter told the Press Association: It was a coming together of two different families, so it was cool to see that apparent in the ceremony itself.

Any time people can speak about Martin Luther King or remind people of how far weve come or injustices in the world  I dont think its ever a bad time to do that, so it was fantastic that the pastor found a way to weave that into his sermon.

I dont think anyone, maybe not even Martin Luther King himself, ever thought he would be quoted in front of the Queen and the royals, he added.

On the diversity of the event which attracted the likes of Serena Williams, Idris Elba, Oprah Winfrey, Noah said: I think it was organic as well  that is Harrys crowd, thats how Harry has been rolling.

Weve known him in southern Africa doing work for a very long time, so it didnt feel forced in any way which is good.

 The Daily Show Airs on Comedy Central UK.The royal wedding was a hit with TV viewers  smashing records for the year so far.

Prince Harry and Meghans big day was watched by a peak of 13.1 million, just after 1pm, on BBC1, making it the biggest peak figure so far in 2018, the broadcaster said.

Its coverage, led by Kirsty Young, Huw Edwards and Dermot OLeary, beat ITVs, which peaked at 3.6 million around an hour later at 2pm.

The combined average audience, for BBC and ITV, was around 11 million.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridges wedding in 2011 enjoyed a higher combined audience of 17.6 million, according to consolidated figures, but that number included people watching on catch-up.

Charles and Dianas wedding was watched by more than 28 million in 1981.

Prince Harry and Meghan during their wedding at St Georges Chapel (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The BBCs coverage of Saturdays wedding attracted an average of 8.7 million viewers (64% share), between 9am and 2pm.

On ITV, coverage  which was fronted by Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham  averaged 2.5 million viewers (18.6% share) between 9.25am and 3pm.

On BBC1, the FA Cup final averaged 6.7 million viewers and peaked at 8.7 million.

Charlotte Moore, director of BBC content, said: BBC1 brought the nation together in their millions for a super Saturday to remember, combining the royal wedding, with a peak audience of 13.1 million viewers, and the FA Cup Final.Britains Simon Yates is taking nothing for granted despite winning stage 15 of the Giro dItalia to extend his overall lead ahead of Tuesdays potentially vital time trial.

Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) won his third stage of the race so far by 41 seconds from Astanas Miguel Angel Lopez while Team Sunwebs Tom Dumoulin, who is second overall, was third on the same time as Lopez.

With bonus seconds applied, the 25-year-old Yates now leads Dumoulin by two minutes and 11 seconds, although world time trial champion Dumoulin is expected to take a chunk out of that advantage when the race resumes after Mondays rest day with a race against the clock starting in Trento.

Simon Yates extended his overall lead with a third stage win in the Giro DItalia (David Davies/PA)

Its a good gap but (Dumoulin) could take two minutes out of me in a time trial, Yates told Eurosport. Ive been fighting since Israel to have a good gap. Im happy with that gap but it could disappear in 35 kilometres. Well have to see.

Yates attacked on the penultimate climb of the 176km stage from Tolmezzo to Sappada and got away from Dumoulin and the rest of the contenders with a second push.

It was a bit of instinct, Yates added. When we came off the descent I saw a little gap to a few guys so I asked Jack (Haig) to push the pace. Then George (Bennett, Lotto NL-Jumbo) attacked really hard from the very bottom.

I chose my moment to go. They responded the first time but then I gave everything the second time and I finally managed to get away.

 @SimonYatess (@MitcheltonSCOTT) "I still don't know if the gap is big enough" |  @SimonYatess (@MitcheltonSCOTT): "Non so ancora se il vantaggio possa essere sufficiente" #Giro101 pic.twitter.com/rH5MVXxlJj  Giro d'Italia (@giroditalia) May 20, 2018



Yates is the first man to win three stages while in the pink jersey since Gilberto Simoni in 2003, with Simoni going on to claim overall victory that year.

I didnt know that, Yates said. I do like the stats, I like the numbers. Its really fantastic. I dont know why but Im a bit emotional after today. I really gave it everything.

Team Skys Chris Froome, who won Saturdays stage 14 on Monte Zoncolan, was distanced on the final two climbs of Sundays stage and finished part of a group over 90 seconds after Yates.

#Giro101 @SimonYatess crosses the line 41seconds ahead of second place Dumoulin and also takes 10bonus seconds to extend his lead. He now sits 211 ahead  pic.twitter.com/agFi2JmQ57  Team BikeExchange (@GreenEDGEteam) May 20, 2018

The four-time Tour de France winner now sits seventh overall, four minutes and 52 seconds down.A second man has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a 16-year-old boy found stabbed in the street.

The victim, now named by police as Ozell Pemberton, was discovered gravely injured after a disorder at around 3.30pm on Thursday, West Midlands Police said.

Despite the efforts of emergency services and paramedics, who carried out advanced life support, the boy was confirmed dead at the scene.

Police activity in Sutton Coldfield where a 16-year-old was found with stab wounds and later died (Phil Barnett/PA)

The force said a post-mortem examination revealed the teenager died from a stab wound to the chest.

A teenager fatally stabbed in Sutton Coldfield on Thursday (17 May) has been formally named as Ozell Pemberton. Police have arrested a second man, aged 21, on suspicion of his murder and are appealing for two more to turn themselves in: https://t.co/7TExfBrQZT pic.twitter.com/sUCqGeUwrk  West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) May 20, 2018

Police arrested a 21-year-old man from Erdington, Birmingham, on Saturday evening and he is being questioned by officers in custody.

The arrest followed a 17-year-old male who handed himself in at a police station in the West Midlands in the early hours of Friday morning.

Detective Chief Inspector Edward Foster, from the forces Homicide team, said: Our investigation is progressing at speed: we have seized and are examining many hours of CCTV footage and the scene of the stabbing has been forensically examined.

Clearly the arrests are a significant step forward in our investigation but we now believe another two people were involved. I would ask them to do the right thing, and hand themselves in to police. It is only a matter of time before we come knocking at your door.

We know several people were seen fleeing the area after the disorder and are still appealing for witnesses or anyone who was in the area at the time to get in touch.

Mr Foster added: If anyone has photos or mobile phone footage of the incident they may have captured vital evidence so Id urge them to contact us.Rafael Nadal took full advantage of a weather delay to beat defending champion Alexander Zverev in a rollercoaster final of the Internazionali BNL dItalia in Rome.

Nadal was a break down in the decider when rain forced a second stoppage of the match, with Zverev having won nine of the previous 12 games.

And when play resumed after a delay of 50 minutes, Nadal immediately broke back and won four games in succession to seal a 6-1 1-6 6-3 victory.

Rafael Nadal was the winner in Italy (John Walton/PA)

A 32nd Masters 1000 title and an eighth in Rome will take Nadal back to world number one on Monday, the 31-year-old having relinquished top spot with a quarter-final defeat to Dominic Thiem in Madrid last week.

Zverev went on to win in Madrid for back-to-back titles after victory in Munich and looked set to make it a hat-trick after recovering from losing six games in succession in the opening set.

The 21-year-old, who had lost all four of his previous meetings with Nadal, raced into a 5-0 lead in the second set and Nadal breathed a sigh of relief after getting a game on the board to avoid a first bagel on clay since 2007.

32nd Masters 1000 title for @RafaelNadal and back to World No.1 tomorrow!



#ibi18 pic.twitter.com/OcAwj7dMFp  Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 20, 2018

After serving out for the set, Zverev broke in the opening game of the decider and was ahead 3-2 when a lengthy stoppage for rain  the first had lasted only a few minutes  ultimately swung the momentum of the contest firmly in Nadals favour.

Nadal was full of praise for his opponent at the presentation ceremony broadcast on Sky Sports: Today the trophy is with me for just a few points, he said. It was a very difficult match and I wish you all the best for the next couple of years.

Zverev responded by saying: I want to congratulate Rafa, youre an amazing champion and you proved it again tonight. Youre the greatest clay-court player of all time and I think everybody saw that today.

"You're an amazing champion, you proved it again tonight."



Classy words from Alexander Zverev to @RafaelNadal. #ibi18 pic.twitter.com/Bx3NnP3f8P  Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 20, 2018

(Talking to his team court-side) We had an unbelievable winning streak, the title in Madrid last week was amazing, getting to the final here I know its very disappointing to get so close and lose in the end but we lost to Rafa so I guess thats somewhat okay.

In Lyon, Radu Albot progressed to the second round of the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon with a 6-7 (7/9) 7-5 6-4 victory over Federico Delbonis.

Seventh seed Andreas Seppi claimed a 7-5 6-4 win over fellow Italian Marco Cecchinato at the Geneva Open, but Germanys Mischa Zverev  seeded eighth  was beaten 7-5 3-6 4-6 by Bosnian Mirza Basic.Aaron Wise has claimed his first PGA Tour victory with a bogey-free final round at the the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas.

The 21-year-old hit six birdies to card a round of six-under 65, finishing three shots ahead of second-place Marc Leishman on 23-under overall  and claiming a new tournament record.

Australias Leishman  who produced a stunning opening round of 61  shot 68 on day four, recovering from a bogey on the second hole to hit an eagle on the par-four fifth, before two further wayward shots gave him bogeys on the 10th and 15th holes.

Aaron Wise hits off the ninth tee during the final round of the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tournament in Dallas (Eric Gay/AP)

Wise, who shared a four-shot lead with Leishman heading into the final round, continued to pull away from his opponent on a day hit by a four-hour weather delay, with four birdies in a row on holes seven to 10.

A performance deserving of a trophy. @AaronWise_ captures his first PGA TOUR victory at the @ATTByronNelson.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/qbkQeh2Md4  PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 21, 2018

In a video posted on the PGA Tour Twitter page, he told a press conference: It was awesome, everything I dreamed of. It was incredible. Marc played great, really gave me a run for his money. He hit the ball incredible. I knew he would have a ton of looks from hole three on, and he did. Unfortunately, he didnt make all the putts and I was able to edge him out.

It was just a great day for me. I came out really solid. Ive been hitting the ball amazingly all week and that continued today.

And I was able to finally get the putter hot in the middle stretch of that round and birdieing seven through 10 really set me apart because I looked at the leaderboard there on eight green and realised that a lot of people were making an early charge and I knew I needed to kind of separate myself and I was able to do that because my putter got hot and to walk up 18 knowing I kind of had it locked up was pretty cool.

I dont think many people get to do that their first win. It was truly special for me to be able to take in the crowd like that.

Branden Grace fired a round of 62  to match his lowest career best  and finish in joint third with JJ Spaun and Keith Mitchell, who both got round the final day in 63 and ended on 19-under overall.

World number three Jordan Spieth struggled to make an impact on his home-town tournament, the Texan shooting 67, which included two bogeys and six birdies, to be tied for 21st on 11-under overall alongside defending champion Billy Horschel.

Scot Russell Knox finished in joint 16th on 12-under and Englishman Brian Davis dropped to 73rd on the leaderboard on one-over.Two weeks of poignant tributes from family and friends remembering Grenfell Tower fire victims will be heard by the public inquiry into the disaster as its first phase gets under way.

Almost one year on, bereaved family and friends will join together and paint a picture of the loved ones they lost in front of the retired judge chairing the probe, Sir Martin Moore-Bick.

Seventy-one people died in the fire that swept through Grenfell Tower in west London on June 14 last year.

Over the two weeks, a series of pre-recorded videos and statements will be delivered by the bereaved and on their behalf.

Tributes will be paid to six victims on Monday  baby Logan Gomes, Denis Murphy, Mohamed Amied Neda, Joseph Daniels and mother and daughter Mary Mendy and Khadija Saye.

Logan, the youngest victim of the fire, was stillborn in hospital after his parents escaped from the tower.

Starting the hearings this way on will ensure that we will never lose sight of who our work is for and why we are doing it, lead counsel to the inquiry Richard Millett said.

The hearings for Phase 1 are expected to take the following order. https://t.co/Gk80TzyCHk pic.twitter.com/t5QJESWyvL  Grenfell Tower Inquiry (@grenfellinquiry) April 27, 2018

While all the victims names will be read out, it is understood that not all families will give a tribute.

Survivor Nicholas Burton will be able to pay tribute to his wife Maria Del Pilar Burton, 74, who died in January after seven months in hospital following the fire.

Mrs Burton, known as Pily, had suffered from serious long-term health conditions prior to the disaster, in which her home was destroyed and her dog died.

A spokesman for campaign group Justice 4 Grenfell said: We think the tributes will be very powerful and at the same time distressing but we think the process will be strengthening for bereaved families and survivors to go forward to the following sessions of the public inquiry greatly focused on finding out the truth.

Phase one of the inquiry will have some complex technical issues to discuss, there is no reason why these cant be explained in plain English: in fact this will be a litmus test of how inclusive the inquiry really is.

The commemorations follow a week of significant victories for campaign groups including Grenfell United, Justice 4 Grenfell and Humanity 4 Grenfell.

Their wish for a diverse panel to sit alongside Sir Martin was finally granted by Prime Minister Theresa May after months of campaigning and a petition backed by grime artist Stormzy and more than 150,000 supporters.

Panel members will be appointed for the second phase of the inquiry, due to start later this year, so as not to delay the first part. The Government also promised to consult on banning flammable cladding from high-rise buildings.

Slater and Gordon barrister Kieran Mitchell, who is representing three victims families, said the opportunity for them to have their voices listened to had been a long time coming.

He said: Starting this inquest process with statements and images means we have an stark understanding of how this horrific event has obliterated so many lives.

On behalf of our clients, we are grateful they are have been granted this opportunity to finally reveal the impact these truly terrible events have had on them.

(PA Graphics)

However, this is just the beginning. We must get the answers everyone craves and understand how this tragedy could ever have been allowed to happen.

Ultimately our clients want justice and we will not rest until those culpable are held accountable.

On Monday before the tributes begin, Sir Martin will briefly address the room, followed by a statement from Mr Millett.

The commemorations are taking place at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in south Kensington, a new venue closer to the Grenfell community.

Private rooms, quiet areas and a prayer room will be available for the bereaved, survivors and residents, while there will be counselling and NHS support.

As the hearings are taking place during Ramadan, the morning sessions are expected to adjourn for lunch at 12.45pm to allow Muslims to prepare for the 1pm prayer.

A protest outside Parliament over the Grenfell Tower inquiry panel (John Stillwell/PA)

The rest of phase one of the inquiry will take place at Holborn Bars in central London, where several procedural hearings have already happened.

Campaigners have complained that the location is not suitable as it means survivors will have to undergo further trauma by travelling in deep claustrophobic tube tunnels each day.

The probe is believed to have the largest number of core participants to date, with more than 500 survivors, bereaved families and friends, and members of the North Kensington community participating.

As of Thursday, some 533 people have been made core participants in the inquiry, including 21 children. Twenty-nine organisations are core participants.

The main hearing room has a capacity for 500 people and bereaved, survivors and residents will be reserved seats at the front each day.Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating the murder of a German backpacker in Northern Ireland 30 years ago.

The body of Munich teenager Inga Maria Hauser was found dumped in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest, outside Ballycastle, Co Antrim, 14 days after she was last seen alive on a ferry from Scotland.

The 18-year-olds death in April 1988 remains one of the regions most high-profile unsolved murders.

Detectives from PSNI Serious Crime Branch investigating the murder of Inga Maria Hauser 30 years ago have arrested two men on suspicion of her murder pic.twitter.com/7UHsaJjYPg  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) May 21, 2018

The two suspects, aged 58 and 61, were held in the Loughguile area of Co Antrim early on Monday morning.

The arrests come weeks after a much-publicised series of appeals to mark the 30th anniversary of the murder.

In April, detectives said they believed a number of people may have been involved either directly in the murder or in the subsequent cover-up, and said they only need fractional pieces of evidence to bring the chief suspects to justice.

The body of German backpacker Inga Maria Hauser was found in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest 14 days after she was last seen alive on a ferry from Scotland (PSNI/PA)

Police have a male genetic profile found at the murder scene.

A number of years ago, in one of the largest DNA screenings ever undertaken in the UK, 2,000 samples failed to produce a definitive match.

Prior to her death, Ms Hauser had travelled through England and Scotland and, according to diary entries, intended to travel south to Dublin when she docked at Larne, Co Antrim.

But for reasons as yet unexplained, she ended up going in the opposite direction and was found dead in remote woodland two weeks later.

It is understood the IRA carried out its own investigation into the killing 30 years ago.

It is believed republican paramilitaries had considered passing information about the alleged murderer to the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) at the height of the Troubles, but did not follow through.

PSNI Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray at the Cairnryan Ferry Terminal in Dumfries and Galloway on the 30th anniversary of Inga Maria Hausers murder (Jane Barlow/PA)

After Mondays arrests, the officer leading the investigation, Police Service of Northern Ireland Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, renewed his appeal for information.

If there are any witnesses still out there with any further information which might help police then I would ask them to come forward now and speak to detectives, he said.

Even if there are people who know what happened but have stayed silent out of friendship or family loyalty, it is still not too late to come forward and tell us what you know.

Failure to do so can be a criminal offence in itself and surely it would be better to come to police and discuss what happened rather than take the risk we will come to you.

The two men are being questioned by detectives.Brexit has led to Britain adopting one of the warmest attitudes in the EU towards migration and strengthened unionism, Michael Gove has said.

The Environment Secretary said the Leave vote had dealt a blow to the identity politics put forward by parties like the SNP and Ukip.

Then prominent Leave campaigner told a Policy Exchange conference on unionism in London: Another feature of unionism, the explicit embrace of diversity has strengthened since Brexit.

Britain has become more welcoming to migration since the Brexit vote as opinion research has confirmed.

The act of taking back control has allowed British citizens to show that they can be more welcoming to new arrivals if allowed to be rather than required to be.

Michael Gove addressing a conference in London on unionism

And now Britain is one of those EU nations with the warmest attitude towards migration, mirroring the attitudes in sister countries across the globe such as Canada and New Zealand.

Mr Gove attacked what he called the divisive identity politics of the left and right, saying Brexit had boosted unionist values of inclusion as it was a vote of confidence in Britain.

The Cabinet Minister said he did not agree with claims that the Leave campaign indulged in identity politics with warnings that millions of Turkish people could have been entitled to come to the UK in the future if it did not leave the EU.

Mr Gove said he did not believe Brexit would lead to Northern Ireland exiting the UK, and suggested support for Scottish independence had fallen.

He said: Brexit has, certainly so far, strengthened unionist currency in our politics, not weakened it.

Since the vote to leave the European Union in 2016, support for Scotland leaving the United Kingdom has diminished.

Mr Gove said Prime Minister Theresa May was absolutely determined to find the right answer for delicate Brexit issues relating to the Northern Irish border.Downing Street has rejected accusations the Government is turning a blind eye to dirty money from Russia.

In a strongly-worded report the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said despite the outcry over the Salisbury nerve agent attack, President Vladimir Putin and his allies were continuing to use the City as a base for their corrupt assets.

But Number 10 insisted the UK was determined to drive dirty money and the money launderers out of the country.

Our report on Russian corruption and the UK has been published. Read the full report here https://t.co/jRDW4q0toA pic.twitter.com/qKd9eJzJOw  Foreign Affairs Committee (@CommonsForeign) May 21, 2018

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: The UK has taken a leading role in the global fight against illicit finance and criminals should be in no doubt we will come for them, their assets and their money.

We are determined to drive dirty money and the money launderers out of the UK and well use all the powers that we have  including the new powers in the Criminal Finance Act  to clamp down on those that threaten our security.

It is for our independent law enforcement agencies, and ultimately the courts, to use these powers but this Government will continue to take all necessary steps to keep the country safe.

In its hard-hitting report, the committee said the Government needed to show stronger political leadership, with further sanctions against Kremlin-connected individuals and action to close loopholes in the existing regime.

Red Square in Moscow, just outside the walls of the Kremlin (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Assets stored and laundered in London, it said, were being used to support Mr Putins campaign to subvert the international-rules based order and undermine Western allies and combating it should be a major UK foreign policy priority.

Despite the attempted assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, using a Novichok nerve agent, blamed by Britain on the Kremlin, the committee said it remained business as usual in the City for wealthy Russian oligarchs.

When they had tried to press Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on what could be done to halt to flow of corrupt money into the UK, the MPs said he had appeared to suggest there was no real role for Government in this process.

Boris Johnson appeared to suggest there was `no real role for Government in stopping corrupt money coming to the UK (PA)

Despite the strong rhetoric, President Putin and his allies have been able to continue business as usual by hiding and laundering their corrupt assets in London, the committee said.

These assets, on which the Kremlin can call at any time, both directly and indirectly support President Putins campaign to subvert the international rules-based system, undermine our allies, and erode the mutually-reinforcing international networks that support UK foreign policy.

This has clear implications for our national security. Turning a blind eye to Londons role in hiding the proceeds of Kremlin-connected corruption risks signalling that the UK is not serious about confronting the full spectrum of President Putins offensive measures.

Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said there is no excuse for turning a blind eye to Kremlin funds (Victoria Jones/PA)

The committee called on the Government to work with US and EU allies to identify and sanction individuals and entities used by the Kremlin in carrying out its acts aggression  including disinformation campaigns, the destabilisation of neighbouring states and foreign assassinations.

Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said: There is no excuse for the UK to turn a blind eye as President Putins kleptocrats and human rights abusers use money laundered through London to corrupt our friends, weaken our alliances, and erode faith in our institutions.

The UK must be clear that the corruption stemming from the Kremlin is no longer welcome in our markets and we will act.

Speaking during a visit to Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, Theresa May said the Government had taken significant steps to tackle illicit finances in the UK.

The Prime Minister addressed the issue as she visited Jodrell Bank (Darren Staples/PA)

She said: We have set up the National Crime Agency. We have set up a new national economic crime centre within the National Crime Agency under the security and economic crime minister.

Through the Criminal Finances Act we have taken greater powers for the UK to be able to act against criminal finances and we will ensure that we do so.

Obviously where we are talking about criminal finances we are talking about law enforcement taking their actions and they must do so on an operational and independent basis but we have ensured they have greater powers in order to be able to deal with those issues.A British woman jailed in Iran after being convicted of spying has been told to expect another conviction after appearing in court over a new invented charge, her husband said.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested and jailed in 2016, appeared in court on Saturday accused of spreading propaganda against Tehrans hardline Islamist regime.

The 39-year-old British-Iranian dual national, from Hampstead, north London, is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said the mother of one had again denied committing any crime, and appealed for clemency and freedom so that she might be able to have a second child.

She told the court: This year I am turning 40. I might only have a slim chance.

But Mr Ratcliffe said: She was told by Judge Salavati to expect that she will be convicted.

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, was arrested at Tehran Airport in April 2016 while with her then baby daughter Gabriella.

She was later jailed for five years but has consistently denied the charges against her, insisting that the trip was a holiday to introduce her daughter to her Iranian family.

Her time in Tehrans Evin prison, which included a period in solitary confinement, has left her with mental and physical health problems.

The new charge came despite telephone talks between Prime Minister Theresa May and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in which she called for British prisoners held in the country, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, to be released on humanitarian grounds.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016 and was later jailed for five years (Family handout/PA)

Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UKs campaigns director, said the new charge was yet another body blow for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family.

Ms Moscogiuri said: Nazanin has already been subjected to a blatantly unfair trial and sentence, and a string of unfounded accusations in the Iranian media.

We urge the UK Government  including the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson  to now significantly escalate their response to Nazanins plight.

We need to hear ministers calling for this bogus new case to be dropped and for Nazanin to be released.

Nazanin is a charity worker not a criminal, and the Iranian authorities should finally do the right thing  release her and allow her to come back to Britain with her young daughter.

Richard Ratcliffe, pictured holding a photograph of himself with Nazanin and their daughter Gabriella, said his wife has been told to expect a new conviction by a judge (John Stillwell/PA)

The Free Nazanin Campaign said that on Sunday Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe had been able to telephone the British ambassador to Iran for the first time in more than two years.

It said: She updated him on her case and situation, and requested that he try to visit. She also asked him to issue a formal diplomatic note protesting against the new charges and invented case against her.

Nazanin discussed both with the judge and the ambassador a request for her to be released on furlough (temporary release) for Gabriellas birthday next month.

Downing Street said officials were seeking further information from Tehran.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman said: The Foreign Office is urgently seeking more information from the Iranian authorities.

The UK Government remains committed to doing everything possible to help secure Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffes release and alleviate her suffering.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said it would not provide a running commentary on every twist and turn in the case.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson declined to discuss the details of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffes case, but said her husband should feel assured that the Foreign Office was working constantly to resolve it.

Mr Johnson told reporters covering his visit to Argentina: I can tell you absolutely sincerely that there is not a day that goes by in which we are not working in the Foreign Office on every single one of the incredibly sad consular cases that we have  and particularly the difficult cases we have in Iran.

But those cases do not benefit from public discussion.

Asked if Mr Ratcliffe could feel reassured by the attention the Foreign Office was giving to his wifes case, Mr Johnson replied: He really can, and to be fair I dont think he would deny that.DUP leader Arlene Foster has said Dublins very aggressive Brexit stance has left unionists wondering if it is an attempt to claim Northern Ireland.

Mrs Foster also hit out at former prime ministers Tony Blair and Sir John Major over the positions they have taken on the Northern Ireland border issue.

Speaking at a conference on unionism in London, the DUP leader dismissed as myths claims Brexit would see a return to a hard border with checkpoints if the UK leaves the customs union.

The DUP leader said Dublins attitude had hardened since Leo Varadkar became Taoiseach last year.

She said: Our worry as unionists has been the very, very aggressive nature of the Irish government. That has been a change, it has to be said, from the last government, from Enda Kennys government.

It has been quite aggressive. And that leads a lot of unionists in Northern Ireland to think is this just about the European Union, or is it about something else? Is it about trying to claim the fourth green field in terms of Northern Ireland?.

As a unionist I see no logic or rationale for a hard border being created between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The only people stirring up the myths of border checkpoints are those who are committed to unpicking the Union.

They seek to use such imagery to advance and build support for their long term political objective.

Mrs Foster was also critical of Sir John Major and Tony Blairs positions on the Northern Ireland border issue (Jeff J Mitchell/PA)

The DUP leader also said it was very wrong for people like Mr Blair and Sir John to emphasise potential downsides of Brexit and not respect the vote to leave.

Mrs Foster again insisted her party would not accept a Brexit deal that put a regulatory border down the Irish Sea.

She added a backstop option of extending membership of the customs union, to allow for an alternative to be found, would need to be time limited.

Mrs Foster said: There has to be a backstop on the backstop. It is vitally important that if that is to happen there is clarity in relation to the timing of it, for businesses in particular.

We will not support a withdrawal agreement that creates a legal protocol with a new regulatory border down the Irish Sea.

She said she hoped the Northern Ireland Assembly would be back in operation very soon so it could decide on devolved issues.

Tory former Northern Ireland secretary Theresa Villiers also told the conference is was possible to avoid a hard border and leave the customs union.US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has threatened Iran with the strongest sanctions in history as he issued demands that he said should be included in a nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal.

Following US president Donald Trumps withdrawal from the 2015 deal, America will ensure Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon, ever, Mr Pompeo said.

As he called for a better agreement to constrain Irans activities, he said the US would apply unprecedented financial pressure to bring Tehran back to the table.

Mr Pompeo issued a list of stiff demands on Iran (AP)

These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete, Mr Pompeo said at the conservative Heritage Foundation, in his first major policy speech since taking over as the top US diplomat.

We ask the Iranian people: do you want your country to be known as a co-conspirator with #Hizballah, #Hamas, #Taliban, and #alQaeda? The United States says you deserve better.  Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 21, 2018

Mr Pompeos list of 12 requirements included many that Iran is highly unlikely to consider.

He said Iran must stop enrichment of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the 2015 deal.

Iran must also allow nuclear unqualified access to all sites throughout the country, Mr Pompeo said, alluding to military sites that were off-limits under the 2015 deal except under specific circumstances. To that end, he also said Iran must declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon, reopening an issue that the UNs International Atomic Energy Agency has already deemed a closed matter.

.@SecPompeo: @POTUS withdrew from the deal for a simple reason: it failed to guarantee the safety of the American people from the risks created by the leaders of the Islamic Republic of #Iran. #PompeoAtHeritage pic.twitter.com/lSzYDn8CUc  Department of State (@StateDept) May 21, 2018

Mr Pompeo also demanded that Iran cease a range of activities throughout the Middle East that have long drawn the ire of the US and its allies. He said Iran must end support for Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, withdraw all forces from Syria, halt support for its ally Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel.

Iran must also release all US citizens missing in Iran or being held on spurious charges, he said.

At the same time, Mr Pompeo offered Iran a series of dramatic potential US concessions if it agrees to make major changes.

Under a new agreement, the US would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore full diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran, and even support the modernisation of its economy, Mr Pompeo said.

.@SecPompeo: #JCPOA put world at risk b/c of its fatal flaws. The weak sunset provisions of JCPOA merely delayed #Irans nuclear weapons capability. After countdown clock ran out on the deals sunset provisions, Iran would be free for a quick sprint to the bomb. #PompeoAtHeritage pic.twitter.com/zn2N8tB287  Department of State (@StateDept) May 21, 2018

It is Americas hope that our labours toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran, he added.

Mr Pompeos speech came after Mr Trump earlier this month infuriated US allies in Europe by withdrawing from the 2015 deal brokered by Barack Obama, Iran and world powers. Europeans allies had pleaded with Mr Trump not to scuttle that deal and are now scrambling to keep the deal alive even without the US

But the Trump administration has held out hope that those same allies will put aside that frustration and work with the US to ramp pressure back up on Iran through sanctions in a bid to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table for a stronger deal.Irelands Health Minister Simon Harris has said it is frightening that unless citizens vote to liberalise the countrys strict abortion laws, women will continue to face the threat of jail for terminating a pregnancy.

Mr Harris said that, as long as an amendment which gives equal right to life of the woman and the unborn remains in the Constitution, a penalty was legally required.

Thats quite frightening, he said. People who are going to go out to vote on Friday need to know that.

In Offaly today canvassing for a YES vote on Friday. Brilliant turnout of canvassers including @campaignforleo & many Cabinet and Parliamentary Party colleagues. Delighted to meet the super @ArcOffaly - doing great work on the ground #togetherforyes pic.twitter.com/kXYKWRwDsq  Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 20, 2018

He added: I dont give instructions to doctors to call the police but it shouldnt take away from the reality.

Mr Harris made the comments as the masters of two of the countrys main maternity hospitals called for a Yes vote in Fridays referendum.

Citizens are being asked whether they want to remove the Eighth Amendment, which gives equal right to life to the mother and the unborn, and replace it with wording to allow for parliament to legislate for the termination of pregnancies.

If passed, it would see the Government legislate for abortions for up to 12 weeks of pregnancy without restriction.

Currently, terminations are only allowed in the Irish Republic when the life of the mother is at risk, including from suicide, and the maximum penalty for accessing an illegal abortion is 14 years in prison.

Rotunda master Professor Fergal Malone and Holles Street master Dr Rhona Mahony said the threat of the custodial sentence for ending a pregnancy was driving women out of the countrys healthcare system.

They said doctors hands were tied trying to care for women under the current legislation where there has to be a risk to the life of the woman before a termination can be carried out.

We do have to wait until theres a real and substantial risk not to her health but to her life, said Professor Malone.

That ties our hands.

No campaigners at a rally in Merrion Square, Dublin (Niall Carson/PA)

Dr Mahony said: Its too high a bar. It is unacceptable, doctors need flexibility and women need flexibility to make sound clinical decisions so that we are never at the juncture where someone might actually die  thats total unacceptable to me as a doctor.

She added: A bar that requires women to be dying or at serious risk of dying is not an acceptable bar in 21st-century medicine.

Prof Malone and Dr Mahony said they were very concerned about patients sourcing abortion pills from the internet.

About 1,500 women a year are taking medications to procure an abortion, Professor Malone said, and of them about 2% or 3% will run into medical complications.

Dr Mahony said women who had taken these pills and were feeling unwell should seek help.

We are not policemen, she said. We are doctors and we will care for you.

Former taoiseach John Bruton told RTE Radio One that Ireland should be trying to minimise the number of abortions that Irish women have, not changing laws so that women can have them.

When an abortion takes place youre ending the life of a little girl or a little boy who is not going to be allowed to be born thats ending a life, Mr Bruton said.

Its irreversible and we want to reduce that, he said, adding it was not possible to eliminate it completely given people are free to travel to Britain.

He said that he feared more Irish women would opt to have a termination if the referendum were passed.

The number of people who will opt to have abortion if its freely available here in this country without travelling will be far more than there would be if they have to travel, he said.

In the process of them making the decision of having to travel lives are being saved.Policing alone will not solve the dreadful scourge of gun and knife crime, a police and crime commissioner has said following a week of lethal violence.

David Jamieson, who is the West Midlands commissioner, said: We cant arrest our way out of this problem.

He was speaking on Monday after a week of armed attacks across the region which saw promising entrepreneur Adbul Rahman shot dead at a street barbecue, and 16-year-old Ozell Pemberton stabbed to death, in separate incidents in Birmingham.

Ozell Pemberton, 16, was stabbed to death in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, on Thursday. (West Midlands Police/PA)

Mr Jamieson, who launched a Commission on Gangs and Violence two-and-a-half years ago, said there were a raft of issues which needed addressing, for a long-term solution to these dreadful crimes.

Latest Office of National Statistics figures showed West Midlands Polices force area had more than double the national average of gun crimes between 2015 and 2016, with 19 offences per 100,000 residents.

In the Metropolitan Police area, it was 18 per 100,000 over the same period, and in the Greater Manchester Police area the figure was 16.

The number of incidents involving a gun rose by a quarter between 2012 and 2016, while knife crime figures showed a 46% rise over that time.

In August 2017, an unmarked police car was shot at in Ladywood, Birmingham, yards from the street where 18-year-old father-to-be Kenichi Philips had been shot dead in March, the previous year.

His death was the fourth murder shooting across a deadly five months.

In August last year, there were three separate murder stabbings in Oldbury, Solihull and Moseley in Birmingham.

The scourge of violent crime has gripped the second city before, and made national headlines when in January 2003, Letisha Shakespeare and friend Charlene Ellis, 18, were killed in a hail of machine gun fire at a new years party.

The warmer weather has coincided with yet another spike in armed violence in the region, with at least three separate non-fatal shootings since May 12.

Mr Jamieson was in Oldbury, West Midlands, unveiling a new knife bin  the 15th to be opened in the region  while West Midlands Police is part-way through a gun amnesty  its second in six months.

Although the bins are for knives, they are frequently used to ditch firearms and ammo.

When last emptied in September 2017, two revolvers were recovered complete with eight 9mm shells  alongside almost 200 knives.

Mr Jamieson said: In the West Midlands weve got a problem, no question of that.

But then you compare it to mainland Europe and America, were so tiny in comparison with our problems.

Nevertheless, its important we do something about it.

Mr Jamieson added a solution to the problem was complex, and while work was going on, weve got to be doing a lot more than we are now.

He said: We cant arrest our way out of this problem.

Weve actually got to look at why it is happening, why some young boys, why some young men are actually picking up knives and attacking each other.

The vast majority of young people are doing really well, working well at school, getting good jobs, eventually going to look after a family.

But some are finding themselves drawn into violence.

One of the issues he has raised with schools, government and Ofsted, is the issue of pupil exclusions, where children find themselves on the street and become part of street gang violence.

He said: Thats very worrying.

Its a small minority, but actually a minority thats making a huge impact on our society.

Police and crime commissioner David Jamieson said he would like to see the day when the region no longer needs knife surrender bins. (Richard Vernalls/PA)

Mr Jamieson added: Theres a perverse incentive, unfortunately, for schools to unload some of their difficult youngsters because of all the Ofsted reports  and weve spoken to Ofsted as well about this.

Weve got to look at what those alternatives are for those people and how we keep them in their schools and education.

He added while knife bins, weapons amnesties and policing were not the only answer, things would be endlessly worse, without those and other measures like involving community and faith groups, and like the work of the gangs commission to develop a broader strategy.

The commission, which published wide-ranging conclusions at the end of 2017, concluded a link between violent crime and school exclusions, a lack of support for offenders released into the community from jail, and drugs.

About 2 million has since been invested by the police on the reports 24 recommendations, including bringing in specialist negotiators to broker peace between gangs, hiring people to work in A&E departments to spot violent criminals or possible victims, and an in-schools programme, working with youngsters.

Speaking about the future, Mr Jamieson gestured to the regions newest knife bin and said: Id like to think they can all go eventually, and we can get rid of knife crime.A South African man has been found guilty of murdering three members of his immediate family, three years after the gruesome attack in an upscale housing estate that shocked the nation.

Henri van Breda, 23, was also found guilty of attempting to murder his sister on January 27 2015, as well as obstruction of justice. Marli van Breda, then 16, suffered severe injuries and is reported to be unable to remember the incident, in which their parents and brother died.

Van Breda was denied bail, and will be held in custody until his sentencing.

Judge Siraj Desai said after considering all the evidence, the guilty verdict was inescapable.

The verdict was delivered in the Western Cape High Court, following a lengthy judgment that detailed the evidence given in the case.

Van Bredas trial began more than two years after his parents and older brother were killed in Stellenbosch, a scenic wine-growing region.

The family had emigrated to Australia but returned to South Africa several years ago.

After handing himself over to police in September 2016, van Breda had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was 20 years old at the time of the attack.

Van Breda killed his father, mother and brother and also tried to kill his sister (AP)

His parents, Martin and Teresa van Breda, and his older brother, Rudi, died in their home in De Zalze Estate in Stellenbosch.

Van Breda alleged during his trial that his family was attacked by an intruder wearing gloves, dark clothes and a balaclava in the early hours of the morning.

His defence claimed his family had spent a normal evening at home the night of the murders. Early in the morning, van Breda said he heard banging sounds in the house and opened a door to see someone attacking his brother with an axe. After he shouted for help, his father entered and accosted the attacker, who was wearing a ski mask, according to van Bredas account. He said there may have been at least two attackers, and that he suffered minor injuries while wrestling with one of them.

Van Breda called emergency responders more than two hours after the attack, saying he had lost consciousness. In a phone call to emergency services played in court, van Breda told the operator: My family and me were attacked by a guy with an axe.

Van Breda, who the judge said had tampered with the crime scene in order to mislead police, was found that morning by police sitting outside the house, his clothing stained with the blood of the victims. Investigators found a bloodstained axe and kitchen knife in the house.

The judge said that in the absence of any intruder, the only reasonable inference was that van Breda wanted to mislead police and that he staged the scene of the crime.

He said van Breda had intentionally inflicted injuries on himself and in order to mislead the police as to the true identity of the perpetrator.A body has been found by gardai searching for missing Jastine Valdez.

The 24-year-old was last seen being bundled into a Nissan Qashqai SUV near her home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday evening.

A Garda spokesman said the body of a female was found in the Pucks Castle area on Monday.

PLEASE RETWEET



Disappearance of Jastine Valdez, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow.



Gardai in Bray are appealing for information following the disappearance of a 24-year-old woman from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.



For more infor see: https://t.co/mEKvjBTWjD pic.twitter.com/9pv6ASFppo  Garda Info (@gardainfo) May 20, 2018

A suspect, named locally as 40-year-old Mark Hennessy, from Bray in Co Wicklow, was shot dead by an officer in a confrontation on Sunday evening after gardai traced the vehicle to the Cherrywood business district south of Dublin.

The spokesman said: The body has not been formally identified.

Gardai wish to appeal for privacy for the Valdez family at this time.

Pucks Castle Road in Rathmichael, Co Dublin, was cordoned off by gardai on Monday as a large-scale search, involving the Army, took place in the area.

A large convoy of Garda vehicles, including an ambulance with blacked-out windows, left the scene of the discovery shortly after 8pm.

The R760 in Enniskerry, where Ms Valdez was last seen, also remained closed on Monday.

Garda on the R760 in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow (Eleanor Barlow/PA)

Residents in the village spoke of their shock at her disappearance.

Bernard Cawley, 57, from Executive Dry Cleaners, said she had been a regular customer.

Shes very, very friendly, always smiling and laughing, he said.

Shes a lovely girl and always brings a smile to your face.

Everyone is absolutely in shock and devastated by whats happened.

The main thing for everyone in the village now is to hope she is found safe and well.

Gardai conduct searches in the Pucks Castle area near Dublin (Donall Farmer/PA)

Sandra Archer, who runs a clothes shop in the village, said: This area is so quiet normally, people leave their doors unlocked because there is no crime.

Im just shocked.

Irelands police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsmans Commission, is investigating the shooting.

Ms Valdez, an accountancy student originally from the Philippines, was walking home along the Kilcrony road in Enniskerry at around 6.15pm on Saturday when she was abducted.Demand for exotic food has pushed the world's largest amphibian, the Chinese giant salamander, to the brink of extinction in the wild.

The ancient creatures, which date back 170 million years, have all but disappeared from their traditional freshwater habitats, say researchers.

Giant salamanders have been depicted in Chinese culture for thousands of years, but in recent times have become a highly coveted delicacy among the super rich.

To satisfy growing demand, the amphibians  which grow up to six feet (1.8 metres) long  are routinely harvested from the wild to stock commercial breeding farms.

Now scientists have warned the creatures are in 'catastrophic' decline, with possibly only a handful left in the wild.

Scroll down for video

Demand for exotic food has pushed the world's largest amphibian, the Chinese giant salamander, to the brink of extinction in the wild, a study has shown (file photo)

Evidence of the creatures' plight has come from field surveys at 97 sites in 23 Chinese provinces over a period of four years.

Dr Samuel Turvey, a member of the research team from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), said: 'The over-exploitation of these incredible animals for human consumption has had a catastrophic effect on their numbers in the wild over an amazingly short time-span.

'Unless co-ordinated conservation measures are put in place as a matter of urgency, the future of the world's largest amphibian is in serious jeopardy.'

Vast surveys were conducted at river sites where the salamanders - the size of small alligators and weighing some 64 kilos (140lbs) - are known to live.

'We cannot confirm survival of wild Chinese giant salamander populations at any survey sites, and consider the species to be extremely depleted or functionally extinct across the huge surveyed area,' said the report in the journal Current Biology.

The species is already categorised as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened species.

Giant salamanders have been depicted in Chinese culture for thousands of years, but in recent times have become a highly coveted delicacy among China's super rich (pictured)

The ancient creatures, which date back 170 million years, have all but disappeared from their traditional freshwater habitats, say researchers

China officially prohibits the harvesting of wild giant salamanders, but supports widespread releases of farmed animals as a conservation measure.

Paradoxically, this may be harming wild populations by mixing genetic lineages and spreading disease, said the scientists writing in the journal Current Biology.

Co-author Dr Fang Yan, from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, said: 'It's essential that suitable safeguards are put in place to protect the unique genetic lineage of these amazing animals, which dates back to the time of the dinosaurs.'

To satisfy growing demand, the amphibians  which grow up to six feet (1.8 metres) long  are routinely harvested from the wild to stock commercial breeding farms. In this image a woman frees a captive giant salamander in hangjiajie city , Hunan province, China in March 2015

WHAT IS THE CHINESE GIANT SALAMANDER? The Chinese giant salamander is the world's largest amphibian and can grow up to six feet (1.8 metres) in length. It has been described as a 'living fossil' as its appearance has barely changed since the Jurassic period. Although it is one of the world's oldest species  dating back more than 170 million years  there are few surviving populations of giant salamander left in the wild. This photo taken on September 24, 2015 shows Chinese giant salamanders on display at a food festival in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan province The giant salamander is listed as 'critically endangered' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List and a protected species in China. Despite its status as an endangered species, it is still regarded a delicacy among China's super rich. The giant salamander is listed as 'critically endangered' on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List The salamander population has declined drastically over the last 30 years due to poaching and destruction of its habitat. In 2015, Chinese officials were investigated for reportedly eating a giant salamander at a luxury banquet in Shenzhen. A government crackdown means that anyone found to be eating endangered species could receive a jail sentence of up to ten years. It is believed by some that the salamander has anti-ageing benefits, although there is no scientific evidence to support this. The giant salamander holds a treasured place in Chinese mythology and is called 'wa wa yu' - or 'baby fish' - in Chinese because its distress call sounds like the cry of a baby. In the past the amphibian could grow to more than 6 feet (1.8 metres) in length and over 50 kilograms (110lbs) in weight, but due to wild harvesting most salamanders today are much smaller. Advertisement

The salamander population has declined drastically over the last 30 years due to poaching and destruction of its habitat.

Despite its status as an endangered species, the amphibian is still regarded a delicacy.

In 2015, Chinese officials were investigated for reportedly eating a giant salamander at a luxury banquet in Shenzhen.

A government crackdown means that anyone found to be eating wild endangered species could receive a jail sentence of up to ten years.

A Chinese government crackdown means that anyone found to be eating wild endangered species like the giant salamander could receive a jail sentence of up to ten years

Evidence of the creatures' plight has come from field surveys at 97 sites in 23 Chinese provinces over a period of four years (file photo)

It is believed by some that the salamander has anti-ageing benefits, although there is no scientific evidence to support this.

The giant salamander holds a treasured place in Chinese mythology and is called 'wa wa yu' - or 'baby fish' - in Chinese because its distress call sounds like the cry of a baby.

In the past the amphibian could grow to more than 6 feet (1.8 metres) in length and over 50 kilograms (110lbs) in weight, but due to wild harvesting most salamanders today are much smaller.

The country's Ministry of Agriculture supports the release of farmed animals as a conservation measure.

But this may be doing more damage.

A related study, also published in Current Biology this week, shows that the Chinese giant salamander consists of not one but at least five different species, all heading for extinction.

Releasing amphibians back into the wild may be putting their future at even greater risk.The final recorded words of a father killed in the Grenfell Tower fire and a picture of its youngest victim were shared by grieving relatives as the public inquiry into the disaster began.

Six days of tributes from friends and families of the blazes 72 victims are taking place before Sir Martin Moore-Bicks probe begins hearing evidence next month.

Almost one year on, the bereaved laid bare the terrible human cost of the tragedy in a series of pen portraits, reducing many in attendance at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel, South Kensington, to tears.

Sir Martin, a retired Court of Appeal judge, thanked the families for their moving tributes at the end of the first day, saying: They are extremely impressive presentations and they bring to life again the people that you are commemorating and Im very grateful to have had a chance to see and hear them.

The ultrasound scan for Logan Gomes, who was stillborn after his family escaped from the Grenfell Tower fire (Family handout/Grenfell Inquiry/PA)

Stillborn baby Logan Gomes, the youngest victim of the June 14 inferno last year, was the first of six victims to be remembered.

His family had escaped from the 21st floor of the west London block.

Raw grief was written across the face of father Marcio Gomes as he paid tribute, often pausing to contain his distress.

Most upsettingly, a picture of the infants body, swaddled in a blanket and held by his mother, was shown on a screen.

Mr Gomes said: He might not be here physically but he will always be here in our hearts, and will be forever. I know hes here, with God, right next to me, giving me strength and courage to take this forward.

A voice trapped in the tower was also aired for the first time on Monday morning, one of several moments that counsel to the inquiry Bernard Richmond QC warned could be painful.

Mohamed Amied Neda, a proud father-of-one who fled persecution at the hands of the Taliban to find a new home in Britain, was honoured by his brother, wife and son.

A picture was painted of a diligent, hard-working family man, who rose from being a pizza delivery driver to the head of his own chauffeur company.

Mr Nedas final recorded words, sent to loved ones as he was trapped in the burning block, were played to the room.

The 57-year-old, also known as Saber, was heard saying, stoically: Goodbye, we are leaving this world now, goodbye.

His wife and son were left in a coma by the fire.

Also remembered was Denis Murphy, a 56-year-old father who was hailed as his familys lynchpin.

A recovered handful of coins are the only possessions his loved ones have left, sister Anne-Marie Murphy said.

So poignant to us, as he would give you his last pennies to you if you ever needed them.

Many of the tributes were applauded by those gathered at the hearing.

The son of 69-year-old Joseph Daniels, introduced only as Sam, spoke with brevity and power, requesting no applause.

Of his father, who had lived in Grenfell Tower since 1982, he said: The events of that night took his life and all traces of his existence from this world.

He stood no chance of getting out and this should never have happened.

Mother and daughter Mary Mendy and Khadija Saye were the final victims remembered.

The family of Ms Mendy, 54, and artist Ms Saye, 24, said there would be two empty chairs for every birthday, Christmas and New Years celebrated without them, adding: They will forever own a position in our hearts.

Tottenham MP David Lammy, a friend of the young artist and a Grenfell campaigner, joined family members at the front of the room.

The inquiry began in the morning with a 72-second silence, one for each victim of the blaze.

Each name will be read out at the close of the commemorations.

The hearings are taking place at the South Kensington hotel as it is closer to the Grenfell community.

Private rooms, quiet areas and a prayer room are available for the bereaved, survivors and residents, while there will be counselling and NHS support.

The rest of phase one of the inquiry will take place at Holborn Bars in central London, where several procedural hearings have already happened.US president Donald Trump praised new CIA director Gina Haspel at her swearing-in ceremony, saying there was no-one in this country better qualified for the job.

Striking a different tone than in his previous visit to the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Northern Virginia, Mr Trump hailed the agency staffers, calling them the most elite intelligence professionals on the planet and promised them the the tools, the resources and the support they need.

The US senate confirmed Ms Haspel last week after overcoming concerns about her role in the agencys use of harsh interrogation techniques after 9/11. Mr Trump said she showed courage during the process in the face of very negative politics.

President Donald Trump congratulates Ms Haspel (AP)

Ms Haspel said she took pride in being the first woman to lead the agency, adding: I stand on the shoulders of heroines who never sought public acclaim, but served as inspirations to the generations that came after them.

She said she wants to send more officers into the field, improve foreign language proficiency among the ranks and strengthen the agencys working relationships with intelligence agencies in partner nations.

When Mr Trump last visited the CIA headquarters in 2017, he spent much of his remarks at the time focused on settling scores with the media.

Ms Haspel is the first woman at the head of the US intelligence agency (AP)

Last year, the US president spoke in front of a wall in the headquarters marked with stars that represented fallen CIA officers. This year, he paid tribute to the lost lives, saying their stories of service and sacrifice and daring will live for all time.

Hours before Mr Trump visited CIA headquarters, he struck a different tone, promoting criticism of former CIA director John Brennan and suggesting Mr Brennan is to blame for the Russia probe.

On Twitter, Mr Trump referenced comments from conservative commentator Dan Bongino on Fox And Friends, which argued that Mr Brennan started this entire debacle.

Mr Bongino, a former US secret service agent, also said Mr Brennan had disgraced the intelligence community.

Mr Brennan became the agencys director in 2013 under then-president Barack Obama, and served until January 2017. He has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump.Karen Bradley has promised to seek the best Brexit deal for Northern Ireland after meetings with businesses about the Irish border.

The Northern Ireland Secretary visited a cement factory in Co Fermanagh and the chief executives of local authorities which adjoin the frontier.

On Sunday her Brexit and Business Secretary colleagues David Davis and Greg Clark joined her in Belfast for meetings with 14 organisations as they explored a technological solution to cross-border trade to minimise the need for customs checks after the divorce.

The potential impact of regulatory differences on North-South commerce in Ireland is central to negotiations on a pact ahead of next years withdrawal from the EU.

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley (centre), Brexit Secretary David Davis (third left) and Business Secretary Greg Clark (third right) taking part in a meeting at Stormont House (Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye/PA)

Ms Bradley said: The thing I need to do is get on and do the job to make sure that we get the right Brexit, the right deal for the people of Northern Ireland and that we continue to build on the United Kingdom and all that we do as a united country.

The Prime Minister has split her ministers into two teams as they work towards a reconciliation on how to manage arrangements with the EU after the exit.

Ms Bradley, Mr Davis and Mr Clark are part of a group considering maximum facilitation, a solution based on using technology to minimise the need for customs checks after Brexit.

Ms Bradley said: This is really so that I can test how maximum facilitation could be made to work and whether it can be made to work for Northern Ireland.

An abandoned Customs Facilitation Office at the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland near the village of Killeen (Brian Lawless/PA)

She said she had been presented with lots of ideas and thoughts.

My job as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is how do we get it right for Northern Ireland.

Another group established by the Prime Minister, featuring Brexiteers Liam Fox, Michael Gove and Remain-backing Cabinet Office minister David Lidington, is considering a customs partnership whereby the UK would collect tariffs on behalf of the EU without the need for new border checks.

The Brexit Department has said both customs models under consideration are designed to meet the UKs three guiding principles: allowing it to trade goods and services as freely as possible with the EU, enable it to have an independent trade policy, and avoiding any hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland while maintaining the constitutional and economic integrity of the United Kingdom.Midfielder Santi Cazorla is leaving Arsenal after six years with the club.

The Spaniard joined the Gunners from Malaga in 2012 and made 180 appearances, scoring 29 times in all competitions.

However, now 33, Cazorla has not played since October 2016 having suffered an Achilles injury and he will depart at the expiration of his deal.

Santi Cazorlas last Arsenal appearance came in October 2016 (Adam Davy/PA)

He won the FA Cup twice with the north London club, scoring a free-kick in the 2014 final, which Arsene Wengers side won 3-2, to spark a comeback after Arsenal had fallen 2-0 behind to Hull at Wembley.

I am very sad to be leaving after so many great times, Cazorla said in a video addressing fans which was posted on Arsenals official Twitter account.

I have loved my time with the club and I will always remember the special moments we had together.

Our FA Cup win in 2014 is something we will never forget, it was a great moment for me and for the club.

I want to say thank you very much because you always gives me a special support. I am very proud to be part of this clubs history and I want to wish you the best; I will miss you a lot.

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis added on the clubs official website: Santi is always one of my favourite players to watch.

His natural ability with both feet, his speed of thought and movement were central to our best performances in recent years.

He plays with a joy and freedom, which is very rare. We wish him well for the future and thank him for his important contribution to our club.Ken Livingstone has resigned from the Labour Party, saying the allegations against him of anti-Semitism had become a distraction.

In statement, the former London mayor continued to reject the charge that he had been in any way guilty of anti-Semitism or had brought the party into disrepute.

However he acknowledged some of his comments had caused offence within the Jewish community for which he said he was truly sorry.

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone has quit the Labour Party (Danny Lawson/PA)

Please RT to help counter media misrepresentation 



After much consideration, I have decided to resign from Labour. We desperately need a Corbyn-led government to transform Britain & I'll continue to work to this end.

You can read my statement at https://t.co/GDDSp8Q0qN#JC4PM pic.twitter.com/qpDwnxDfcs  Ken Livingstone (@ken4london) May 21, 2018

He said that he feared that if he had tried to carry on, the case against him could have dragged on for months, or even years to the detriment of the party.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, one of his oldest political allies on the left, said he was sad to see him resign but it was the right thing to do.

However critics warned that the departure did not mean an end to the continuing political row over anti-Semitism within the Labour Party.

Backbencher Ruth Smeeth, one of the MPs leading the campaign for the Labour leadership to deal with the issue, tweeted simply Good riddance Ken.

Mr Livingstone was originally suspended in 2016 and after claiming in a radio interview that Hitler had supported Zionism in the 1930s.

Anti-Semitism campaigners had been demanding his permanent expulsion as a signal that the party was serious about dealing with the issue following a protest in March outside Parliament by members of the Jewish community.

As recently as this month, Mr Livingstone indicated he would resist any move to oust him, suggesting he would be prepared to take the case to courts if necessary.

In his statement, he said: I do not accept the allegation that I have brought the Labour Party into disrepute, nor that I am in any way guilty of anti-Semitism.

I abhor anti-Semitism, I have fought it all my life and will continue to do so.

I also recognise that the way I made a historical argument has caused offence and upset in the Jewish community. I am truly sorry for that.

I am loyal to the Labour party and to Jeremy Corbyn.

However any further disciplinary action against me may drag on for months or even years, distracting attention from Jeremys policies.

I am therefore, with great sadness, leaving the Labour Party.

Ken Livingstone's exit from the Labour Party is welcome, but he should have been expelled. We must now make it clear that he will never be welcome to return. His vocal cheerleaders and supporters should follow him out the door.  Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) May 21, 2018

In response, Mr Corbyn said: Ken Livingstones resignation is sad after such a long and vital contribution to London and progressive politics, but was the right thing to do.

Ms Smeeth, however said that the party should have acted years ago to remove him following a series of alleged anti-Semitic incidents.

Ken Livingstones behaviour has been grossly offensive to British Jews, she said.

His departure is welcome but the fact that he refuses to accept responsibility for his actions is a disgrace.

The truth is that Kens despicable and hurtful attitude should have seen him expelled years ago and the fact that it has taken this long to see him go beggars belief.

Ken Livingstone (@ken4london) remains a towering figure of the Labour movement. He popularised progressive socialism and was labelled a 'Loony Lefty' nearly 40 years ago for his efforts to champion public services, stand up for marginalised groups and fight all forms of racism.  Chris Williamson (@DerbyChrisW) May 21, 2018

Backbencher Wes Streeting, another prominent Labour anti-Semitism campaigner, said : We must now make it clear that he will never be welcome to return.

His vocal cheerleaders and supporters should follow him out the door.

In contrast, Chris Williamson, a left wing ally of Mr Corbyn, said the former mayor was a towering figure who had popularised progressive socialism while opposing all forms of racism.

Conservative Party deputy chairman James Cleverly said: If Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party were serious about tackling anti-Semitic racism within the party they would have kicked out Livingstone two years ago.

All Jeremy Corbyn could muster was that it was sad that Ken had chosen to go.

Mr Livingstone said he had acted after being tipped off at the weekend that right-wingers on the partys ruling national executive committee had been planning to raise his case again when it meets on Tuesday.

I just didnt see any point in this rumbling on and on, he told the BBC.

If I was still seeking office Id have to fight to stay in but I can support Jeremy and all the other things I believe in from outside the Labour Party.

Mr Livingstone, 72, refused to rule out the possibility he could seek to rejoin the party at some point in the future.

It depends on how long I live, doesnt it? We will come back and talk about it in a couple of years, he told Sky News.Pope Francis reported comments to a gay man that God made you like this have been embraced by the LGBT community as another sign of Francis desire to make gay people feel welcomed and loved in the Catholic Church.

Juan Carlos Cruz, the main whistleblower in Chiles clerical sex abuse and cover-up scandal, said on Monday he spoke to Francis about his homosexuality during their recent meetings at the Vatican.

The pope invited Mr Cruz and other victims of a Chilean predator priest to discuss their cases last month.

Mr Cruz said he told Francis how Chiles bishops used his sexual orientation as a weapon to try to discredit him, and of the pain the personal attacks had caused him.

He said, Look Juan Carlos, the pope loves you this way. God made you like this and he loves you, Mr Cruz said.

The Vatican declined to confirm or deny the remarks in keeping with its policy not to comment on the popes private conversations.

A rainbow flag in London (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)

The comments first were reported by Spains El Pais newspaper.

Church teaching says gays should be respected, loved and not discriminated against, but considers homosexual activity intrinsically disordered.

Francis, though, has sought to make the church more welcoming to gays, most famously with his 2013 comment Who am I to judge?

He also has spoken of his own ministry to gay and transgender people, insisting they are children of God, loved by God and deserving of accompaniment by the church.

As a result, some commentators downplayed the significance of the comments to Mr Cruz, saying they merely were in line with Francis pastoral-minded attitude and not in any way a challenge to current doctrine.

What the pope was saying is, God loves you and made you just as you are, and therefore you should accept yourself as you are while struggling to live according to the Gospel,' said Father Robert Gahl, a moral theologian at Romes Pontifical Holy Cross University.Arsenal are set to appoint Unai Emery as Arsene Wengers successor, according to reports.

The 46-year-old left French side Paris St Germain at the end of this campaign following a two-year stint where he won one Ligue 1 title and four domestic cups, having led Sevilla to three successive Europa League trophies prior to that.

The Gunners are seeking their first boss since hiring Wenger in 1996 and the BBC claim Emery has emerged as their choice to replace him, with an announcement expected later this week.

Unai Emery is available after leaving Paris St Germain (Adam Davy/PA)

Former Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta, currently part of Pep Guardiolas backroom team at Manchester City, had been heavily rumoured to be the leading candidate and Wenger said last week the Spaniard has all the qualities to do the job.

Arteta, Luis Enrique and Juventus Massimiliano Allegri were among those strongly linked to the role and Emery has only been seen as an outside bet with bookmakers since Wengers departure was first confirmed last month.

Ian Wright, who scored 185 goals in 288 appearances for Arsenal, has accused the clubs hierarchy of being indecisive.

Its like theyre at the sushi shop, he told 5 live on Monday night.

You know the stuff thats just going past? Yeah, Ill have that. Ill take that. Ill leave them ones. No, Ill take that one now.

Whats going on at Arsenal? Wheres Unai Emery come from? I cant get it out of my head.

Youd have thought that by now they would have known exactly whats going on. Unai Emerys now the favourite? Hes going to be the manager?

Good luck to him if he comes in and gets it. Ill back him. The fact is you just want people upstairs to be decisive with what theyre doing. I think theyve had the time. This is the problem Ive got.

Press Association Sport understands Arsenal conducted in-depth interviews with several candidates from a long list of potential managers.

Their new boss will need to work alongside head of football relations Raul Sanllehi and head of recruitment Sven Mislintat, and rumours suggested Arteta was concerned with the incoming head coachs level of control in the new structure.

However, it is believed no one pulled out of the race and the Gunners have settled on their preferred choice.

Emery has worked in such models previously, enjoying great success at Sevilla with sporting director Monchi, who is now at Roma.

News of Emerys possible appointment came on the same day Wenger was pictured waving goodbye as he left the clubs Hertfordshire training complex.

The 68-year-old stopped to pose for selfies and sign autographs in what is expected to be the final act of his departure from Arsenal, having admitted last week he had no time to return properly and empty my desk following the last of his 1,235 matches in charge of the Gunners on May 13.

Arsenal are also in the process of overhauling the backroom staff, with the roles of assistant Steve Bould and coach Jens Lehmann among those to be decided.

It is understood that as many as six other employees will depart, including long-term coach Boro Primorac and Colin Lewin, head of the clubs medical department.A man has been stabbed to death on a busy street in broad daylight in north London.

The victim, who has not yet been named, died in Upper Street, Islington, at around 6.30pm on Monday.

A cordon was put in place along the road, which is lined with high-end shops and restaurants.

The scene close to where the incident occurred (@sam_linnett/PA)

Islington councillor Paul Convery described the attack as horrifying.

He tweeted: Shocking incident on Upper Street right now outside Town Hall. Reported that man fatally stabbed.

Police have launched an investigation but no arrests have yet been made.

Shocking incident on Upper Street right now outside Town Hall. Reported that man fatally stabbed. Upper St cordoned off. This is a horrifying escalation of gang related violence.  Paul Convery (@Paul_Convery) May 21, 2018

Officers are appealing for anyone with information to contact the Metropolitan Police.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: I remain in close contact with @metpoliceuk, the local MP and Leader of the Council following a fatal stabbing in Islington this evening.

This is being investigated by officers and my thoughts are with the victims family.Ryan Giggs has warned Liverpool that Gareth Bale is ready to make the difference in the Champions League final.

Bale is not certain to start for Real Madrid in Saturdays showdown in Kiev, despite scoring five goals in four LaLiga games for the reigning European champions.

But Wales manager Giggs insists the 28-year-old has the right mindset to make a decisive contribution from the bench  if that is the role given to him by Real manager Zinedine Zidane.

Gareth Bale is hoping to lift the Champions League at Real Madrid for a fourth time on Saturday (Nick Potts/PA)

Every time Gareth plays he makes an impact, Giggs said.

It just shows the professional he is that hes not sulking (when hes a substitute) as he always seems to come on and score.

Hes one of the best players in the world and every time he comes on to that pitch he makes a difference.

Again thats a credit to his professionalism, his hunger and desire to get in the team for that final.

He will be thinking if he starts in the Champions League, great.

But if he doesnt, then hes ready to score that winner anyway.

A 13th European title for Real on Saturday would see Bale equal the record of Champions League wins, or its European Cup predecessor, by a British player.

Former Liverpool defender Phil Neal currently holds the record outright with four victories, and Bale would match that tally after five seasons in Madrid.

And despite having his critics in Spain, Bale has still managed to score 19 goals this season in an injury-hit campaign.

Gareth always had potential, but hes gone on to pass that potential, Giggs said.

Hes been playing at a top club for a long time where brilliant players have notoriously not lasted very long.

He has been a huge success for club and country and one of the best British players to have gone abroad because of what hes achieved.

With Wales players Danny Ward and Ben Woodburn part of the Liverpool squad heading to the Ukraine, Giggs insists he will try and remain neutral over the outcome.

But Giggs, as Manchester Uniteds record appearances holder and a former assistant manager at Old Trafford, admits it is hard to see Liverpool just 90 minutes away from being crowned European champions.

As a United fan, and playing for United for so long, it is difficult, Giggs added.

They are our main rivals for a reason  theyve got great history, theyre a brilliant club and its hard for a United fan to take.

When I was playing you didnt want rivals to go and win European Cups.

But in those situations you just have to look after yourselves and try and win things.Top FBI and Justice Department officials have agreed to meet with congressional leaders and review highly classified information the politicians have been seeking as they scrutinise the handling of the Russia investigation, the White House has said.

The agreement came after President Donald Trump made an extraordinary demand that the Justice Department investigate whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign.

It is unclear exactly what the members will be allowed to review or if the Justice Department will be providing any documents to Congress.

President Donald Trump making a speech in front of the Capitol (Evan Vucci/AP)

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump chief of staff John Kelly will broker the meeting between congressional leaders and the FBI, Justice Department and office of the Director of National Intelligence.

She said the officials will review high classified and other information they have requested, but did not provide any additional detail.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein leaves a meeting at the White House (Evan Vucci/AP)

During a meeting with Mr Trump, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray also reiterated an announcement late on Sunday that the Justice Departments inspector general will expand an existing investigation into the Russia probe by examining whether there was any improper politically motivated surveillance.

Representative Devin Nunes, an ardent Trump supporter and head of the House intelligence committee, has been demanding information on an FBI source in the Russia investigation.

The move on Monday comes as the White House tries to combat the threat posed by special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Mr Trump tweeted on Sunday: I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!

Mr Trumps demand for a new inquiry moved beyond his usual blustery accusations of institutional wrongdoing and into the realm of applying presidential pressure on the Justice Department, a move few of his predecessors have made.

Mr Trump made the order amid days of public venting about the special counsel investigation, which he has deemed a witch hunt that he says has yielded no evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia.

In response, the Justice Department moved on Sunday to defuse a growing confrontation with the White House by asking its watchdog to investigate whether there was inappropriate surveillance.

FBI director Christopher Wray, right, leaves the White House on Monday (Evan Vucci/AP)

Mr Rosenstein released a statement on Sunday saying: If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.

The Justice Department probe began in March at the request of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and congressional Republicans.

Mr Sessions and the politicians urged Inspector General Michael Horowitz to review whether FBI and Justice Department officials abused their surveillance powers by using information compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy, and paid for by Democrats to justify monitoring Carter Page, a former campaign adviser to Mr Trump.

Mr Horowitz said his office will look at those claims as well as communications between Mr Steele and Justice and FBI officials.Rules on police pursuits are to be overhauled following warnings that they may be undermining efforts to tackle criminals on mopeds and motorcycles.

Rank-and-file leaders have warned that officers could find themselves in the dock over high-speed chases as they can be prosecuted for dangerous or careless driving in the same way as any other motorist.

Under Government proposals published on Tuesday, laws surrounding the offences will be tweaked to recognise police drivers high level of training.

The Home Office is to publish a consultation on rules surrounding police pursuits (Kirsty OConnor/PA)

The shake-up also aims to smash the myth that officers cannot pursue riders who are not wearing helmets.

Policing Minister Nick Hurd said: People must be able to go about their daily lives without fear of harassment or attack and criminals must not think they can get away with a crime by riding or driving in a certain way or on a certain type of vehicle.

Our proposed changes will make sure that skilled police drivers who follow their rigorous training are protected, while ensuring the minority of officers who do cross the line are robustly held to account.

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) cautiously welcomed the announcement  pointing out that it had been calling for reforms for years.

Ministers launched a review of the legislation, guidance and practice surrounding police pursuits in September.

The issue came under the spotlight after a rise in the number of reported offences perpetrated by criminals on mopeds and scooters, particularly in urban centres.

All emergency services, including police, are exempt from speed limit, traffic light and sign violations when undertaking a 999 response.

But, under the current law, the same legal test for careless and dangerous driving offences is applied to police officers and the general public.

Police have raised concerns that officers have to rely on prosecutors discretion to avoid criminal charges, and face lengthy watchdog investigations and suspension from duty, only to be cleared eventually.

Under the Governments proposals, police drivers would be subject to a separate test when determining whether they should face action after incidents.

It would require an officer to drive to the standard of a careful and competent police driver of a similar level of training and skill, using appropriately authorised driving tactics that are necessary and proportionate to the circumstances.

A consultation document detailing the plans says: This standard would allow investigators, prosecutors and the courts to take account of the drivers level of training and skill, not only to make allowance for driving beyond that expected from the public but also if manoeuvres or tactics are employed that the driver is not trained or authorised to carry out.

Instances in which the test could be applied include hard stops, where trained drivers are required to make contact with a suspect vehicle.

Officials are also seeking views on whether the changes should cover police response driving, such as when officers are called to a terrorist incident, as well as pursuits.

In another step, the Government is proposing to make clear in law that a suspect is responsible for their own decision to drive dangerously and that blame should not be attached to the pursuing officer.

This measure aims to dispel the perception that officers cannot chase suspects who are not wearing helmets.

PFEW roads policing lead Tim Rogers welcomed the announcement.

He added: I do, however, say this with caution as this has been an issue we have been campaigning on now for several years and, although it is a positive step that the Government have finally agreed that a legislation change is required, they must now act quickly to prevent more officers suffering unnecessary and often mendacious prosecutions.

There were around 10,000 police pursuits and 500,000 response drives in England and Wales in 2016/17.

Richard Bennett, of the College of Policing, said public safety is crucial in officers decision-making and in some circumstances it is appropriate to pursue suspects on mopeds.

He said: Police have to balance the need to take immediate action to pursue an offender against arresting them at a later point.

The most important thing is that the public are not put at unnecessary risk and criminals are caught and brought to justice.A backstop option keeping the UK aligned with the EUs Customs Union after Brexit represents the bottom line to safeguard stability, pro-Remain parties in Northern Ireland have said in a rare joint statement.

The proposal was drawn up to avoid a hard Irish border if the EU and UK cannot agree a deal before next years withdrawal.

The backstop would mean the UK matching EU customs duties to avoid checks on goods passing between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Nationalist parties in Northern Ireland have supported the backstop option (David Young/PA)

SDLP Brexit Spokesperson @ClaireHanna : Dublin & Brussels are working hard to limit damage of Brexit, but only UK Gov can opt to stay in Customs Union & Single Market, which is the only way to ensure no borders anywhere in these islands. We need to aim higher than the backstop pic.twitter.com/ZzsHFI9yj0  Social Democratic and Labour Party (@SDLPlive) May 14, 2018

A joint statement by Sinn Fein and several smaller parties opposed to Brexit said: The political parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly wish to reaffirm our common position that we cannot withstand exclusion from the single market or customs union.

That the protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all of its parts, including North/South and East/West co-operation is critical to maintaining relationships within, and between these islands.

That the backstop agreed by both the British Government and the EU27 is the bottom line in order to safeguard our political and economic stability now and for the future.

The main unionist parties, including the DUP whose 10 pro-Brexit MPs are propping up Theresa Mays Government, did not sign the declaration.

Mrs Mays favoured option is a customs partnership whereby the UK would collect tariffs set by the EU customs union on goods coming into the UK.

She faces serious opposition from Brexiteer members of her own Government who back a model relying on technology and advance customs checks to minimise impediments at the frontier.

The EU has expressed doubts about both options.

The Northern Ireland political parties statement added: Sinn Fein, Green Party (cross-community), Alliance (cross-community) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party all share the common position that we should stay within both the single market and customs union and that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland or between the two islands.

This is critical to protecting investment, jobs, trade and the hard-won peace.A three-day building and construction exhibition, with the participation of Chinese enterprises, concluded in Colombo on Sunday, with over 15,000 visitors.

The "Build Sri Lanka Housing and Construction Expo 2018" organized by the Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka, was held to promote the island's construction sector and the ongoing infrastructure development.

Over 200 exhibitors from all over the world participated in the exhibition, including China's SOJEN, which is one of the top 20 private companies in China's Yunnan Province.

SOJEN attracted a large local and foreign audience with its modern products and technology and its fleet of vehicles which included lorries and tippers with stylish designs and luxury interiors.

SOJEN has actively expanded the market in South Asia and established its branch in Sri Lanka in 2017. Since then it has employed a large number of locals.

The three-day exhibition was supported by the Sri Lankan National Ministry of Construction, the National Economic Development Department, the Commerce Ministry, National Investment Development Council and other government agencies.

More than 300 enterprises participated in the Expo. (Xinhua)From left: Sri Widowati, ADB Country Director of the Sri Lanka Resident Mission and R.H.S. Samarathunga, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Mass Media

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Sri Lankan government signed a US $210 million second tranche loan agreement for the Mahaweli Water Security Investment Programme to assist Sri Lanka complete its ongoing drive to deliver surplus water from the Mahaweli river basin to its dry zone, where scarce supplies undermine agricultural output and household incomes.



Completion of the Mahaweli Development Programme is a key priority of the government and this will maximize the productivity of the Mahaweli river basin water resources by transferring available water to the northern dry zone of Sri Lanka for irrigation, drinking and commercial purposes, said Sri Widowati, ADB Country Director of the Sri Lanka Resident Mission.



This availability of water will contribute to accelerating local and national economic growth.



Widowati signed the loan agreement on behalf of ADB while R.H.S. Samarathunga, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Mass Media, signed for the Government of Sri Lanka.

The dry zone is home to nearly a third of the countrys population, with 70 percent of rural dwellers dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. However, the zone receives less than 1,500 millimeters of rain per year, and droughts are common, which severely affects agricultural output.



As a result, average household incomes are around 10 percent lower than other parts of the country, and this situation is expected to worsen as the population grows and rainfall in the region diminishes further due to climate change.



ADBs Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF)  totaling US $453 million will finance more than 250 kilometers of new and upgraded canals, reservoirs, and other irrigation infrastructure, in addition to conducting studies on improving water management and delivery systems.



The first tranche loan of US $150 million was made in 2015, and this is the second tranche of the MFF, which will finance the construction of the Kalu Ganga-Moragahakanda Transfer Canal, a part of the Upper Elahera Canal, two new reservoirs namely Mahakithula and Mahakirula, and the inlet tunnel of the Mahakirula Reservior.



ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members48 from the region.Green travel, which seeks to reduce the environmental impact of the travel industry, continues to grow in popularity across the globe as people become more concerned with the health of the planet. As tourisms role in the Sri Lankan economy grows each year this budding new trend will soon impact the local industry. Staying ahead of the curve and leaning into this global trend with their flagship product, Convertainers, is Advantis Engineering, a subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis Limited.

The pioneer in converting marine containers to usable work space in Sri Lanka, Advantis Engineering has partnered with the team behind The Box House Tangalle to create a novel, sustainable and environmentally friendly villa. Nestled in the tranquil surroundings past Galle city in Tangalle, The Box House provides visitors with an ideal, environmentally friendly and serene escape from the city.

Green or Sustainable tourism is being sought after across the world by a growing movement of conscientious travelers who are more sensitive to the effects of environmental change. It is no longer enough to only have green operational practices. We believe that sustainability begins with construction, and it was our vision to reduce our ecological footprint by repurposing discarded shipping containers. Although the idea itself wasnt novel, we wanted to push the boundaries of what had been achieved before. This is where Advantis Engineering stepped up to the challenge. Together, I believe we have created something amazing, within a short timeframe and at a competitive cost, said Malisha Kodituwakku, Architect and co-owner of the Box House.

Convertainers by Advantis Engineering provides customers with quick, easily made and unique living spaces, by utilizing upcycled freight containers. In addition, the prefabricated and modular nature of Convertainers allows them to be tailored to meet any specific need with even future additions to the structure possible without disruption to ongoing operations. The Convertainers conform to ISO quality standards and have a lifespan of over 25 years with Advantis Engineering providing all after sales services and maintenance.

Our Convertainers allow people to reduce their environmental footprint and be one with nature while ensuring that comfort and amenities are not compromised on. It is our flagship product for our vision of a compact, modular living space that is both eco-friendly and easily deployable, said Kamal Wimalaratne, General Manager, Advantis Engineering. We are delighted that we were able to bring this vision to reality while meeting the specific needs of The Box House, Tangalle. The resulting property is stunning and luxurious, the ideal spot for any green traveler.

Advantis Engineering, a fully owned subsidiary of Hayleys Advantis Limited, constantly strives to provide innovative accommodation solutions for a wide variety of industries. Operating with the latest technology applications, the company has expanded its service offering over the years, ensuring that the best of mobile accommodation solutions are available right here in Sri Lanka. It is also the only company in Sri Lanka that is operating with a fully-fledged sheltered manufacturing plant for container conversions. Advantis Engineering has also been catering to a diverse range of clients in the South East Asian and African region. Hayleys Advantis is the transportation and logistics arm of Hayleys PLC, a diversified blue-chip multinational conglomerate, recognized as the number 1 listed company in Sri Lanka.Hayleys group company, Dipped Products PLC (DIPD) posted higher revenues as the non-medical glove maker ventured into new markets while the groups plantation segment rebounded strongly. But the profit for the latest quarter came down due to higher direct and indirect costs. Releasing its interim accounts for the quarter ended in March 31, 2018 (4Q18), DIPD reported consolidated revenue of Rs.7.1 billion, from Rs.6.6 billion revenue in the corresponding quarter a year earlier, which translates an 8 percent increase year-on-year (YoY).

But the gross profit came in at Rs.1.4 billion, down 2 percent YoY as the direct costs rose 11 percent YoY to Rs.5.7 billion.



The group reported earnings of Rs.4.78 a share or Rs.286 million for the March quarter compared to Rs.11.16 a share or Rs.668 million profit during the same quarter last year.



DIPD Managing Director Mahesha Ranasoma said the steep increase in latex pricesa key raw material used in glove manufacturing has hurt profits.

During the financial year, the company also launched several innovative products into the market and secured several new customers across the global market, said Ranasoma in a statement issued to the press after the interim results were released last week.



DIPD share ended 0.12 percent or 10 cents up at Rs.86 at Fridays market close.



DIPD is one of the leading non-medical gloves manufacturers and suppliers in the world and supplies about five percent of the global market requirement.



The company manufactures general and industrial gloves and has factories in both Sri Lanka and Thailand. DIPD also manage large-scale tea and rubber plantations.

For the financial year ended in March 31, 2018, DIPD reported Rs.28.5 billion in consolidated revenues, up 17 percent YoY but the cost of sales rose by 18 percent YoY to Rs.24 billion resulting in a gross profit of Rs.4.5 billion, up 12 percent YoY.



The glove manufacturing segment or the hand protection business of the group contributed with Rs.15.9 billion worth revenues, up from Rs.14.3 billion in the previous year.



However, the segmental operating profit nearly halved to Rs.507.5 million from Rs.925.6 million in the previous year.



The segment performance has also supported by its Italian marketing subsidiary Icoguanti S.p.A, Ransoma stressed.



As a part of group re-structuring, glove manufacturing subsidiaries Grossart (Private) Limited and Neoprex (Private) Limited were amalgamated in January 2018.

The 2017/18 financial performance was mainly supported by the groups plantation business which recovered strongly from the previous years dip due to higher than average prices fetched by tea at the Colombo auction and also slightly better volumes.



Plantation business revenue for the year was Rs. 12.7 billion, up from Rs.10.2 billion in the previous year.



The segments operating profit was significantly up to Rs.1.2 billion from Rs.564.1 million in the previous financial year.



Meanwhile for the year ended in March 31, 2018, DIPD reported earnings of Rs.8.28 a share or Rs.495.5 million compared to earnings of Rs.12.58 a share or Rs.753.2 million in the previous year.



Hayleys group has 57 percent stake in DIPD while Employees Provident Fund has 12.76 percent stake being the companys second largest shareholder.The Gem & Jewelry Industry of Sri Lanka gears for the 28th edition of its premier exhibition, FACETS Sri Lanka 2018, which will be held from the 30th of August to the 2nd of September at the BMICH.

This International event is organized by the Sri Lanka Gem & Jewelry Association (SLGJA) in collaboration with the National Gem & Jewelry Authority (NGJA) & the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB).

Over its 28 year history FACETS has earned itself a slot in the international event calendar as an important gemstone sourcing fair. Foreign visitors looking to source Sri Lankan sapphires also appreciate the availability of a wide array of merchandise from many producing countries under one roof.

The 4-day exhibition will feature everything from exquisites to fashion jewelry. Diamonds, branded watches & other finer luxury creations from our local jewelers will be on display at this all glittering event.

FACETS 2018 will be held under the patronage of His Excellency, President Maithripala Sirisena, who will grace the event.Until the war victory on 18th May 2009, which overshadowed it, every year on May 22 we commemorated Republic Day

The republican idea was mooted in 1970 by the leaders of the LSSP during the drawing up of a Common manifesto of the United Front for General Election,

Today is the forgotten Republic Day. Sri Lanka became a Republic on 22nd May 1972, with the adoption of a new Constitution. Until the war victory on 18th May 2009, which overshadowed it, every year on May 22 All Ministries, Government Departments, Statutory Corporations and other State institutions commemorated Republic Day. Heads of the department with the participation of staff hoisted the national flag and delivered a short speech on the importance of this Day. I remember the then Ministry of Constitutional Affairs and National Integration distributed brochures titled the Birth of a Republic among school students explaining its significance; that the country achieved real independence from imperialists. The independence, the country achieved on 4th February, 1948 became meaningful through the Republic Constitution in 1972. Dr. Colvin R. De Silva played a prominent role in the compilation of this Constitution as the Minister of Constitutional Affairs in addition to his Plantations portfolio.



However, long before this happened in 1956 former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike set up a Parliamentary Select Committee to draft a new Constitution for the same purpose, but it did not materialize. The republican idea was mooted in 1970 by the leaders of the LSSP during the drawing up of a Common manifesto of the United Front for General Election, which said, we seek a mandate to permit the members of Parliament you elect to function simultaneously as a constituent assembly to draft, adopt and operate a new constitutionwhich would declare Ceylon to be a free, sovereign and independent Republic pledged to realize the objectives of Socialist Democracy. It was placed before the people for a mandate at May 27, 1970 elections. The 1972 Constitution secured fundamental rights and freedoms to all citizens, a feature lacked in the Soulbury Constitution.



The Coalition Government of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, the Samasamajists and the Communists, led by Sirimavo Bandaranaike set up a Constituent Assembly on July 21, 1970, to draft a new Republican constitution which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on the 22nd of May, 1972. The Soulbury Constitution, drafted by Sir Ivor Jennings, which the British Colonial government had imposed on us in 1947 before conceding independence, ceased to have effect from this date. May 22, 1972 became a historic day for Sri Lanka when the final link of the chain that bound us to the British imperialists was severed and the totally independent Republic of Sri Lanka was born. The Republican Constitution was a significant achievement ending the two and a half millennia of monarchical rule as per recorded history of the island nation. The position of Governor General was abolished and a ceremonial post of President was established. The new constitution marked the change in status of our land and its people. It has a foundation or root which is entirely different from the authority of British Crown over Ceylon.

The new constitution marked the change in status of our land and its people. It has a foundation or root which is entirely different from the authority of British Crown over Ceylon.



It is this Constitution that enabled us to remove the economic bonds that bound us to Britain and to expand our relations with the other nations. We were able to serve our own interests. We freed our nation from British economic and political authority. The British crown was no longer the crest of our Government. Britons lost direct control of the tea plantations through which the Sterling companies drew profits away to Britain. Tea auctions located in Britain were relocated in Colombo.

Dr. Colvin R de Silva, the leading criminal lawyer, historian and a leader of Marxist movement in the island, who once commented, thats because God never trusted them in the dark in response to famous saying that identified the British Empire as, The Empire that sun never sets, was appointed as the head of the drafting committee. He ensured maximum power to the Legislature through the elected representatives of the people, which powers the 1978 Constitution of Jayewardene brothers [JR and HW] took away and place it in the hands of a single individual, the Executive President, resulting in many problems of authority that confront us.



Removing Section 29 of the Soulbury Constitution



Two charges were levelled against the architect of the draft proposals, Dr. Colvin, by sections of minority, that by deleting Section 29 of the Soulbury Constitution, the protection that existed to the minorities has been removed.



Section 29 (2) says, No law shall -prohibit or restrict the free exercise of any religion; or make persons of any community or religion liable to disabilities or restrictions to which persons of other communities or religions are not made liable; or confer on persons of any community or religion any privilege or advantage which is not conferred on persons of other communities or religions, or alter the constitution of any religious body except with the consent of the governing authority of that body, so, however, that in any case where a religious body is incorporated by law, no such alteration shall be made except at the request of the governing authority of that body.



The 1972 Constitution being entirely new; the question of preserving a section of the old constitution does not arise. The introduction of a completely new chapter on Fundamental Rights, was something the Soulbury Constitution did not carry. Dr Colvin argued, through a chapter on Fundamental Rights, we did what was done or supposed or believed to have been made by Section 29 of the Soulbury Constitution, together with things that were not done there.



The Indian Tamil voters were disenfranchised by the D.S. Senanayake government by passing the Citizenship Bill of 1948:Section 29 of the Soulbury Constitution did not prevent the passing of the relevant bill: again, same with the Official Language Act of Bandaranaike in 1956; which made Sinhala only the official language. The 1972 constitution introduced a section compelling the Courts to scrutinize the bills before they were passed instead of after it is passed. The above two legislations would not have received the sanction of Courts if the 1972 Provisions were there.



Chapter VI -1972 Constitution- Fundamental Rights and Freedoms



18. (1) all persons are equal before the law and are entitled to equal protection of the law; no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or security of person except in accordance with the law; no citizen shall be arrested, held in custody, imprisoned or detained except in accordance with the law; every citizen shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include the freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and the freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching; every citizen has the right by himself or in association with others, to enjoy and promote his own culture; all citizens have the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; every citizen shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression, including publication; no citizen otherwise qualified for appointment in the central government, local government, public corporation services and the like, shall be discriminated against in respect of any such appointment on the ground of race, religion, caste or sex



Foremost Place for Buddhism



The Kandyan Chiefs and the Mahanayake Theras agreed to the Kandyan Convention as Governor Brownrigg cunningly included an article,[the fifth clause] -

The religion of Buddha, professed by the chiefs and inhabitants of these provinces is declared inviolable and its rites and ministers and places of worship are to be maintained and protected.



The 1948 Constitution of Independent Sri Lanka didnt give Buddhism the foremost place as of now. D.S. Senanayake was under pressure to include a special clause for Buddhism by the two prelates of Asgiriya and Malwatta who in protest threatened to boycott the Independence inauguration ceremony. At a conference with the Mahanayakes of the two chapters, Prime Minister D.S. did not give in but convinced the two Prelates on the importance of not introducing special provisions on protection or foremost place to Buddhism saying, If equality is a basic tenet of Dhamma, then you cant give primacy to one religion. In 1972, PM Sirimavo being mindful of Article 5 of the 1815 Kandyan Convention, she had directed Dr. Colvin to provide the foremost place to Buddhism. The Trotskyite could not escape inclination towards religion though he regretted it later. It was his republican constitution, which provided Buddhism a special place. From then onwards the bhikkhus became lasting players in Sri Lankan politics. From 1972, was there any special protection or progress to Buddhism by the Government; and what damage it did to Buddhism from 1948 to 1972, during which stage there was no such constitutional assurance?



Colvin had quipped



she is thrusting the Kandyan Throne into our Constitution.



Sirimavos government which initiated the conversion to a Republican Constitution; and Dr. Colvin, who was responsible for the draft as Minister of Constitutional Affairs in that government signified the completion of our political sovereignty. The leftists had always believed that the countrys dominion status could be transformed into real independence only with the separation of its constitutional attachment with Britain and the vesting of political autonomy in the people.



Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends [life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness] it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government.

--Thomas JeffersonPresident Maithripala Sirisena has pruned Health Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne 's delegation to attend the 70th summit of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 20 to 14.

The President is reported to have struck off six names because such a big number of delegates had not been sent to this event during the period when he served as the Health Minister.

It is said that a delegation of deputy directors of health had been included in this list.

When the journalists questioned about this fact, the Deputy Minister of Health said that it was true.

The Geneva convention of WHO, will commence today and continue till May 30, 2018. Dr. Senarathna left the island on Friday (19) to participate in this convention. (Sujith Hewajulige)History reveals that Sri Lanka has developed several unique disciplines and skills in areas like native treatment and agriculture that could be found nowhere in the world

The new leader should also prepare the mindset of the people

Our ancient kings had applied highly advanced constitutional theories in the past

No country has yet reached development by following instructions of the IMF

Should we continue to tolerate empty speeches by political leaders who are incapable of delivering and have led this country and the society into chaos and deterioration? In this backdrop The need for an actionable vision for Sri Lanka has been re-emphasized with a new vision for an intellectually inspired Sri Lanka placed before the people.



Viyath Maga gathered an impressive number of Professionals to the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo to figure out the importance, purpose and the depth of that theme. Its Chairman Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his keynote address emphasized the need for Sri Lanka to get prepared to meet Global Economic challenges. Presentations were made using different perspectives by the professionals to identify possible avenues through which this island could move towards development and prosperity by taking the advantage of the unique geographical location of Sri Lanka in the Indian Ocean.



To achieve such goals this country needs a highly disciplined, firm and straightforward, intelligent, innovative and patriotic leader with skills on strategic planning. However, the future leader should also possess the capacity to advance inner spiritual powers and receive the blessings of external spiritual forces, as had been done in the past by our Kings who took the country to the apex of development and contentment.



I pen this article to underscore a few challenges that our future leaders may confront and offer directions that they may choose.



Sovereignty and regulatory framework



The rise of China and India as world economic super powers and their strategic expansion of influence throughout Asia will not let Sri Lanka remain in isolation. Sri Lanka will have to link with global economic networks and therefore require necessary expertise to play her unique role in the global economy. In that, Sri Lanka would be placed in a do-or-die situation, since if we fail in strength and skill to stand and survive in such a competitive global environment, our country will necessarily be subjected to more exploitation.



In a legal sense countries create trade links based on Trade Agreements. Whatever the legal nature of such documents is, when entering into international treaties and agreements, countries are compelled to expose their domestic sovereignty to the danger of being subjected to foreign sovereignties. To avoid such threats of legal and economic interference, countries need to strengthen their domestic constitutional and legal-regulatory framework and have a sound International Trade Policy. The question is do we have the necessary laws and regulations to meet such dangers? Unfortunately Sri Lanka has not yet prepared the domestic legal framework or national trade policy in order to acquire the competencyto enter into trade agreements and create trade or economic relationships with foreign sovereignties.



For example,the main criticism against the Sri Lanka-Singapore Free Trade Agreement is the failure of the Government to evaluate the adverse impact on it by the domestic legal framework of Singapore. On the other hand Sri Lanka does not have necessary laws, regulations and administrative machinery to face the highly competitive economic environment that would be created by the integrated liberalized economic jurisdictions. Therefore, it is like a Giant dealing with a Child, as the two countries are not equal in their respective domestic regulatory frameworks, legal and administrative systems. Such inequality shall always place our country at a disadvantage when implementing the provisions of the agreement. Irrespective of the theoretical equality appearing on the face of the agreement, at the end of the day Sri Lanka would be exposed to an unregulated inflow of goods and services from abroad (as a result of the absence of internal regulatory framework) while on the other hand- it would be much harder to have the same effect on the opposite direction (due to restrictions imposed by domestic laws and regulations of Singapore).



Therefore, one of the challenges a future leader will have to meet is to expeditiously formulate a favourable National Trade Policy (on international trade) and the necessary laws, re-structure the state administration.



Nationalization



A former Judge of the Supreme Court and former Vice President of the International Court of Justice stated However elaborate or simple, Third World societies thus afforded a central place for the group concept, without which they could neither be understood or administered...what follows (from this examination) is the lack of appropriateness of Western concepts of individual freedom adopted without adaptation to their Third World setting. Accordingly it is impractical to adopt here the laws that originated in the Western world, without adjusting them in line with the thinking and behaviour of Asian societies. Our ancient kings had applied highly advanced constitutional theories in the past, which are still unknown to Western Jurisprudence.



This argument is equally applicable to the theories and principles on economy as well. According to economists, we should formulate our own theories consistent with the native thinking and practices. No country has yet reached development by following instructions of the IMF.



When it comes to culture, even the Westerners have now rejected some of their own behavioral patterns and lifestyles that are detrimental to human survival. Unfortunately some of our people still embrace these discarded behavioral patters due to psychological manipulations done through the internet. In that sense it is questionable whether we have true freedom of thinking and a clear conscience.



We have to have our own socio-economic-legal machinery based on the aspirations, needs, practices and thinking of our people. Peoples active participation in all these areas could only be assured by attracting the participation of people to such endeavours.



This does not mean the total rejection of Western knowledge, expertise and experiences.



Identify national potential



Much discussion has been devoted to the proper utilization of multi-skilled human resources. However, the present education system is based on preparing students to confirm and comply in the application of knowledge. Therefore, much emphasis is needed to introduce drastic changes to inspire innovative thinking and to inculcate human values. Sri Lanka has the capacity to be a major service provider in the field of higher education through world recognized national universities; and a better international brand to secure its position in the world economy.



But real challenges remain elsewhere. During the long passage of history Sri Lanka has developed several unique disciplines and skills that could be found nowhere in the world. Native treatment systems and indigenous medicine, agricultural and irrigation systems, engineering techniques, various culture related disciplines, (dancing, singing, martial arts etc.), Theravada Buddhist Philosophy and contentment practices are some of such unique areas a future leader should directly integrate into the Sri Lankan economy.

National harmony



The Sri Lankan society has been harmonious and united throughout with a high level of tolerance when compared with most other societies. From 2015 the Government wasted valuable time and resources in attempting to make a new constitution, where the main objective was purported reconciliation. Reconciliation, is a word/concept imposed on us by several elements with international support and having ulterior motives.



The challenge is to deviate from conventional and untested solutions for hypothetical issues artificially created in the minds of the people with ulterior political motives. Most of the differences leading to disharmony in society are related with finance and economy. We need not waste time on constitutional reforms or devolution of power to uphold solidarity of the people. Instead we need a leadership that can drive the entire community towards prospective economic goals with poverty eradication mechanisms. Providing each and every individual with the opportunity to play his role with dignity in the modern economic environment will see the diminishing of all racial, ethnic or other differences and the integration of the entire nation into one family.



Geopolitical constraints



The biggest challenge a future leader would face are geopolitical constraints. From the defeat of brutal terrorism in 2009, international pressure and interference escalated in an unprecedented scale, which ultimately led to a regime change in 2015. Since then the domestic governance was compelled (in different degrees) to be carried out in accordance with the three international powers that are competing with each other to have the major share of influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean.



Setting the path



To accelerate the journey towards prosperity, the new leadership should be ready with the necessary legal - economic structural framework for immediate implementation. The new leader should also prepare the mindset of the people to function with maximum productivity in the new socio-economic environment. The valuable contribution of professionals should be reaped in this regard.



The mental attitude of the people should also change when utilizing modern concepts, theories and techniques of innovation, so that spiritual and human values and patriotism are also considered as essential for a contented society. A new leadership should stand above all cultural, racial and other barriers and differences, for a mandate to build an intellectually inspired and prosperous Sri Lanka.Baur & Co. (Pvt.) Ltd has announced the appointment of Rolf Blaser as the companys CEO/Managing Director with effect from October 1, 2018.



This well-planned change in the top cadre at Baurs will ensure the successful continuation of the company founded in 1897 with its Swiss heritage and core values in trust, reliability, quality and innovation, a press communique from Baur & Co. said. Blaser has spent more than a decade working and living in Asian markets and brings a rich plethora of experience with him. Graduated as an economist in Switzerland, he topped his education with an Executive MBA from the University of St. Gallen.



With grassroots stemming from sales and marketing, Blaser has a proven success record in leading the path of sustainable growth at the helm of various companies in Europe and Asia, the

communique said.



Rolf is the 11th CEO and Managing Director at Baur & Co.,

taking over from Lakshman Niyangoda and is set to embark on a major growth drive to further strengthen the companies deeply rooted business in Sri Lanka, it added. Retiring Baurs Chairman Thomas Daetwyler said, We consider ourselves lucky to have found a talented and experienced successor for the operations of Baurs and we are sure that Rolf will lead the company successfully into the next generation.



Lakshman Niyangoda, who served the company over more than 35 years, leaves the operational platform to be promoted as the Non-Executive Chairman of Baurs, sharing his vast experience for current and future initiatives in the strategic arena. Thomas Daetwyler, who served the company over two decades as Managing Director and Chairman, will continue to serve on the board of the Swiss shareholding company, Lanka-Baur Holding S.A. With these appointments, the shareholder reassures its commitment to Baurs and Sri Lanka, the communique said.At first glance, the sights, the sounds, the flavours, and even the people appear like a poor reflection of their counterparts from Galle. First you come across the Star Fort, which resembles a bared down version of the more famous Fort from that other part of the South. Then you come across the beaches, which resemble and remind you of Unawatuna and Koggala. Then you walk around and realize that, yes, while these are sites you have seen elsewhere along the coastal belt, they are not all there is to see here and probably not the main sites to come across, record, and write about. The real Matara, in that sense, lies beyond the beaches, the rest houses, the sights, sounds, and flavours. Less packed in than Galle, and less urbanized than most places leading up to it, it is a veritable tourist hub and destination  if you know which spots to patronize and which people to talk with.

Matara is, I have come to feel, a paradox. While less urbanized than Galle, and by default less packed in, it concentrates its streak of opulence alongside the coast and within the town. Symbols of conspicuous consumption adorn both sides of the road, as you travel along the beaches to the Rest House. A huge cavalcade of Cargills, Perera & Sons, and several big name fashion houses and dress points is what you come across here. It seems as though Matara is a repository of big spending, given these. But then the statistics tell a different story.

Galle stands out in terms of tourist destinations is not really the city, but rather the surrounding hamlets: Unawatuna, Koggala, and even further beyond



According to the census data from 2016, the inhabitants of Matara spend less relative to their income (75%) compared with the people of Galle (84%). However, this apparent spendthrift habit conceals another reality: in terms of bank loans, the people of Matara tend to borrow more (around Rs. 320,000 per household) and spend proportionately more on food (36%) when compared with Galle (Rs. 290,000 and 34% respectively). That opulent streak is limited to the town, yes, but the habit of spending, and spending on food at that, runs riot in other parts of this region. This has not come about at the cost of equality, by the way; as the statistics make it quite clear, Matara ranks as one of the least unequal places in the South, with a Gini coefficient of 0.39.



What makes Galle stand out in terms of tourist destinations is not really the city, but rather the surrounding hamlets: Unawatuna, Koggala, and even further beyond. That tourist line ends, I rather think, in Weligama and Mirissa, at least in terms of beaches, seafood restaurants, and various other exotic sites. In Matara you are limited for the most when it comes to beaches to Polhena, and if you travel further on, to Hiriketiya and Medawatta. But these are packed in, smaller than Unawatuna, and they predictably attract so many crowds that solace and contemplation, as a traveller that is, is simply not possible.



So if youre in Matara, you might in all good faith have to tear yourself away from those beaches, and though they exude a clear, lucid sheen against the sun, they are secondary to the other sites you can traverse through here. But even those sites  to name a few, the Weherahena Temple, Dondra Point, the lighthouse at Dondra, and the famous, world renowned Hummanaya  are not enough. They are more than adequate to fill your diary and travel notebooks. That, however, is not all there is to travelling in Matara.

No matter how culturally archaic Ambalangoda and Galle may be, they have come to resemble their more commercialized suburbs in Colombo



First and foremost, there are the people. As with Ambalangoda, a linguistic hotspot its own right, the most distinctive characteristic of the inhabitants of Matara is the way they speak. And its not just the dialect or their mode of speech; its also their lexicon. In this part of the country you come across one of the most localized variants of Sinhala, and you encounter an entire dictionary of terms denoting things, emotions, and gestures, both tangible and intangible, which you might at times find bizarre. Perhaps because of this bizarreness, people from here, once they choose to leave their hometown and reside at least temporarily in Colombo, drop that mode of talking. At one level, I think this is a sign of how inferior they feel, and at another level, I think its also an inevitability, given the development spate and the drive towards eradicating local cultures that weve necessitated in the name of progress and efficiency. Sinhala, unlike English (the variants of which evolved out of class hierarchies), retains its diglossia and distinction between the written and the spoken variety owing to the fact that the people of those days, who talked in a particular way, were restricted from visiting other regions. In other words, immobility, not progress, was what preserved these dialects. If this is so, then the only real solution I can see is to stop visiting other neighbourhoods and be where you are.

Piyasena Kahandagamage, in his seminal but somewhat overlooked book Pradeshiya Vivaharaya, has recorded many of those terms which form various regional dialects and variants of the mawbasa. Its fascinating to see how many of them have entered everyday usage, and from the South and Matara in particular: thunapaha, hapana, hamine, iyum piyum, and that most endearing of all terms tossed between loved ones and spouses, eyi. But then there are those lesser encountered terms, which in one sense sound almost exotic to us: goiya for a person, makkayi for what, bin allanawa for planting a seed, and perhaps the most bizarre of them all, dodanna for talk. As Kahandagamage astutely notes, the speech patterns of the South are more or less spread along Giruwa Pattuwa, Magam Pattuwa, and last but not least, Matara Wellabada and Kandabada Pattuwa. (Beyond these, one must visit Galle: Rathgama, Balapitiya, and Ambalangoda. But with the spate of urbanization and Westernization in these areas, those patterns are being wiped out.) The true, authentic Matara, moreover, exists away from the coastline, and is to be found most acutely in Walasmulla, Akuressa, and Dickwella, among various other hamlets.



The unwary tourist, bombarded with brochures and guides telling him or her what to do and what to visit, tends to miss these places because what sells in the tourism industry is what everyone knows about. Near Walasmulla and bordering Hambantota, for instance, there is Mulkirigala, named Adams Berg by the Dutch once they conquered this part of the island (they got it confused with Adams Peak). Constructed in the third century, Mulkirigala is culturally significant, not least owing to the historical record that one of the 32 Bo saplings brought to Sri Lanka by Sangamitta Thera was planted there. Away from Walasmulla, and closer to the coastline, there is then Dickwella, which houses the sprawling and at times controversial Wewurukannala Raja Maha Viharaya: home to the largest seated Buddha statue in Sri Lanka (at 160 feet). Is it any wonder, I thought to myself as I gazed at this statue, that it is almost as forgotten by outsiders as that other temple in Ambalangoda, the Galagoda Viharaya, which happens to house the largest reclining statue in not just Sri Lanka, but also South Asia? These records have escaped the eye of the unwary traveller, a pity because they neednt have escaped him at all.

Matara is less urbanized than Galle, and by default less packed in. It concentrates its streak of opulence alongside the coast and within the town



Visiting Matara, or for that matter Galle or Ambalangoda, with the intention of talking with the natives is probably the most Orientalist project you, as a traveller, can commit on this island. No one wants to be seen as a member of his town or village if he or she is seen purely in terms of the parameters of that town and village. At another level, this can almost be seen as condescending, and Sri Lankans, particularly from the South, are too proud (and rightly so) to let the outsider judge them on the yardsticks of hometowns and origins such outsiders create by, and for, themselves. Getting into the roots of a place requires getting into the skins of its inhabitants, but not with the intention of seeing the natives for who you or someone else thinks they are. (E. M.Forster, in A Passage to India, depicts this side of Anglo-India, through the imperialists who wish to see the real India. Coming to Sri Lanka to see the real Matara, the real Galle, etc, is no different.)

No matter how culturally archaic Ambalangoda and Galle may be, they have come to resemble their more commercialized suburbs in Colombo. Compare that with the unevenness of the economic development in Matara, you can understand how the people of this region, and beyond (Tangalle and Hambantota), tend to be uneven in their dealings with the outside world. They do talk straight, but they also talk at cross purposes, leaping from one topic to another, rarely curt or short. In that sense, the inhabitants are far more deserving representatives of this region than the beaches, or even the religious sites.It was good news for the country on Monday when China approved a US $ 1 billion loan to revive a long-delayed expressway in central Sri Lanka. The construction of the first phase of the road linking the capital Colombo with the hill resort of Kandy had been delayed for more than two years due to a lack of foreign funding.



Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met the Chinese ambassador on Monday. The ambassador had informed the prime minister that Beijing had decided to approve the loan that will be provided through the Export-Import Bank of China, which can be considered as part of its regional Belt and Road Initiative.



When the ambitious Belt and Road Initiative  with projects reportedly worth US $ 1 trillion  was first announced by President Xi Jinping in the autumn of 2013, many were sceptical of this Chinese move aimed at building up economic connectivity of 65 nations (China plus 64) along its ancient Silk Road and maritime routes.



For China, this New Silk Road would also serve to redirect the countrys domestic overcapacity and capital for regional infrastructure development to improve trade and ties with Asian, South Asian and European countries.



Unprecedented in terms of Chinas financial commitment, many critics have viewed this strategy as a foreign policy strategy designed to expand Beijings influence to poor nations hungry for economic and infrastructure development.



However, for Sri Lanka, this New Silk Road would also serve to further strengthen trade, political and economic ties. This is undoubtedly a boon for debt-ridden countries, which look to China, given the versatility of Chinas approach in engaging Asian countries.



Chinas liberality in providing funding for massive projects is partly responsible for Chinas surge as one of the major economic influences on the continent. For example, Sri Lankas debt maturities between 2019 and 2022 total US $ 13.9 billion. Despite the port agreement bolstering reserves, the foreign reserves challenges are expected to remain and the rupee continues to be under pressure.

Many analysts say that the latest news is credit positive for Sri Lanka because it will boost foreign exchange reserves, which will ease the countrys external liquidity position ahead of several large international bond payments between 2019 and 2022.



The government needs more foreign direct investment (FDI) to feed into the Central Banks foreign exchange reserves, which will help bolster investor confidence and encourage the future portfolio inflows. Importantly, it will allow the government to set aside earnings to repay its upcoming debt maturities and reduce its external debt, a key constraint on Sri Lankas credit quality.



Foreign debt

External debt maturities between 2019 and 2022 total US $ 13.9 billion. Sri Lankas balance of payments position remains vulnerable after foreign currency reserves materially declined in late 2016 and early 2017. More recently, the reserves have risen somewhat because of capital inflows from the international sovereign bond issuance and FDI.



As of May, the gross official foreign-exchange reserves (including gold and special drawing rights) were US $ 9.9 billion. The foreign currency reserves portion of gross reserves was slightly under US $ 8 billion, covering about five months of imports, above the International Monetary Funds (IMF) minimum reserves adequacy threshold of three months.



The Central Bank of Sri Lanka intends to increase the gross official reserve assets to at least US $ 11 billion by mid-June, in accordance with the targets under Sri Lankas current three-year IMF Extended Fund Facility programme.



The market expects the Central Bank to come close to its target, which would help support the countrys credit quality. Moving forward, greater exchange-rate flexibility and more limited foreign-exchange interventions by the Central Bank would help preserve the reserves.



Although the Hambantota receipts from the major Chinese investment there will ease the external pressures, the foreign exchange challenges will continue to remain, given the persistent elevated government debt and large borrowing requirements.



Furthermore, Sri Lankas external vulnerability indicator, which measures the ratio of external debt payments that are due over the next year to foreign-exchange reserves, to rise further. Development of the broader Hambantota port area and the industrial zone will help to bring in FDI of around US $ 585 million in June from China to ease the pressure. A further US $ 1.1 billion is due by way of syndicated loans and US $ 250 from an IMF tranche.



Importance of China

The Sri Lankan political leaders often give lip service to the countrys geopolitical importance. Sri Lanka sits at the heart of the Indian Ocean, adjacent to major shipping routes, within the worlds most promising regionsthe Indo-Pacific, long described as the pearl of the Indian Ocean.



However, we have failed to take the maximum advantage of this strategic geographical positioning. The Chinese-build Port City is one major initiative that has had bipartisan political support. Conceived during the Rajapaksa period, it has been taken to new heights by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government.



The build-up of associated infrastructure surrounding the port also can help to attract greater private sector investments. If the country is led well, this together with other ongoing development projects, such as the Western Region Megapolis Plan and Colombo Financial City Project, will provide a stable source of financing for Sri Lankas external position and support economic growth.



The balance money from the port deal and the free trade zones and also the proposed arrangement with India for the Mattala airport, will allow the government to focus on the key priorities, including advancing economic and structural reforms under its IMF programme that would help the island economy to focus on an export-driven growth model led by private investment.



The construction of the Port City is set to generate tens of thousands of jobs and the foreign finance it attracts is seen as crucial to reducing the countrys US $ 64.9 billion debt burden. Last December, Sri Lanka leased out the Hambantota port to China; also leaseholds an adjacent land to the port.

A joint venture between state-controlled China Merchants Port Holdings and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, the deal, in which the Chinese partner holds a 70 percent stake, was criticised for undermining Sri Lankan sovereignty. For the government winning the argument is not only central to the success of big development projects in the country and attracting Chinese investment. The government certainly needs to work on the relationship much more than what it is doing now if they are to really benefit from the Silk Road initiatives.

(Dinesh Weerakkody is a thought leader)Many advanced nations from Singapore to the US have open policies that allow people to migrate easily, bringing knowledge and skills to transform economies and create new jobs, a top Harvard economist said.



Allowing brains to move brings skills in faster and tends to have a multiplier effect in jobs and economic activity, Ricardo Hausmann, from the University of Harvard, told a seminar organised by Colombo-based Advocata Institute and Echelon Magazine.



In the US, every foreign-born science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduate was found to help create 2.61 additional jobs, Hausemann said.



Technology is not limited to tools and codes/routines/procedures. These can all be easily transferred. What is difficult to transfer is tacit knowledge, knowledge embedded in the human mind through experience. Tacit knowledge includes insights, intuition and personal wisdom gained through experience. This is know-how and something that is difficult to extract and codify.



Know-how takes a long time to acquire, like becoming a skilled surgeon or an anaesthetist. To carry out a successful operation, both are needed.



Producing complex goods requires different types of know-how, which a single person simply does not have. In simple agriculture of a different age, a single farmer knew how to grow seed, cultivate, breed and look after buffaloes, make or repair his plough and produce his fertilizer.



But in modern agriculture, where genetically engineered seeds, combined harvesters and fertilizer are used, he simply does not have the knowledge. An advanced society possesses a lot of know-how but it is in the minds of many different people.



Scrabble theory

To produce a good team, people have to come together, like making a word out of different letters when playing scrabble. While some letters may be available, others are not.



So, if you are missing a letter, the other letters would become less valuable. So, you would give a lot to have this other letter.



I like to say that an anaesthetist working on his own is not much better than a bad economics lecturer. The only thing he does is put people to sleep.



So, if you bring different skills, you can make more things. They are complements, not substitutes. There are enormous benefits in different people working together.



In some sense the secret of development is to get more letters and express them in different words and longer words.



He said it is difficult to move know-how into brains. Author Malcom Gladwell had claimed that it took 10,000 hours (about 14 years) to learn, practice and acquire a world-class skill.



So, how do you move know-how? How do you get more know-how to Sri Lanka? We know it is difficult to put know-how to brains, Hausmann said.



It is much easier to move brains. It is a fundamental intuition.



Moving brains

Brains moved through migration, foreign direct investment and diaspora networks, when people who had originally migrated out, came back.



Moving brains allowed a geographical region to move into entirely new products and keep boost productivity in established sectors, he said.



In Sri Lanka, Camso-Loadstar, now a global solid rubber tyre company, was founded by a foreign national teaming up with a local partner.



The US car companies Ford, GM and Chrysler were founded by people who worked for Oldsmobile. Oldsmobile was founded by a German who worked for Daimler-Benz.



Silicon Valley was founded by 10 people who were hired from AT &T Bell Labs in New Jersey to Shockley Semiconductor. Eight broke away to form Fairchild Semiconductor.



Ex-Fairchild workers then founded a number of other companies including Intel. About 57 percent of Silicon Valley workers are now foreign-born, 25 percent were out of state.



Only 18 percent were born in California, even though it has a population of 40 million, twice as big as Sri Lanka, Hausmann said.



Silicon Valley would not exist if it was based on locally grown talent.



Hausmann himself is originally from Venezuela. Sri Lankas IT sector is small and not growing as fast as the countries that had easier access to foreign talent.



Wage differential

Wages were found to be lower in Sri Lanka than in India, he says.



However, the IT wages are higher than in other sectors in the island. IT graduates could find work easily suggesting that skills were in short supply.



Hausmann said Sri Lanka was a net exporter STEM workers. About 23 percent of engineering and science graduates and 20 percent of computer science graduates leave the country to work abroad each year, he said.



The low inflow of foreign workers does not compensate for outflow, he said.



An apparel manufacture in Bangladesh was pioneered by Desh Garments in 1977, in a joint venture with Daewoo, which took 126 workers of various disciplines to train in their country. By 1988, ex-Desh workers had set up 56 companies.



The foreigners who move tended to create more jobs though the common perception was that they stole jobs.



In Singapore now, 45 percent of the population is foreign born.



People say we want to be like Singapore, Hauseman said.



But they would not have gotten where they were with only homegrown letters. They had to attract letters.



The foreign-born population of Hong Kong is 40 percent, he said.



Stealing jobs or creating jobs?

It is not just obviously technological degree holders that transformed countries, he said.

Albania, an ex-communist state, had at once seen large scale migration into Greece.



When the Great Recession credit bubble broke, hitting the Greeces deficit-spending government and its economy, large numbers returned boosting Albanias workforce by 5 percent. The people who went to Greece were supposedly low skilled.



The standard argument goes that, if the workforce increased, unemployment would rise 5 percent or wages would fall.



Well, unemployment went down and the wages went up, Hausmann said.



And why? The people who returned were not the same people that had left in terms of know-how they possessed.



Agricultural workers for example had worked in green houses.



They built green houses and hired neighbours, he said.



And there was a boom in tomatoes and other agricultural exports.



Panama had seen a spectacular boom in services, which was very skill intensive.



The country had built special economic zones with tax holidays. The country wanted to attract international headquarters.



Horrible immigration laws

But the investors who wanted to come wanted an exemption from immigration laws.



So, Panama has a horrible immigration policy, as bad as that of Sri Lanka, Hausmann said.

They had closed the door on immigration but they opened two windows. People came in through the windows.



So, foreigners came in and there was a boom in construction and everything else and the wages of Panamanians skyrocketed, he said.



Still only 4.7 percent of the population is foreign-born in Panama.



It is one foreigner in 27. Not like one in seven in the US or one in two in Singapore, he said.

And everybody complaints about that. It doesnt matter what level of migration is. Australians are at 27 percent migration and they think it is too high. Panamanians are at 4.7 percent migration and they think it is too high. Sri Lankans are at 0.1 percent migration and they think it is too high.



Sri Lanka could grow fast with immigration law reform, he said.



Though the Board of Investment (BOI), companies were allowed to bring some foreign workers, their spouses are not allowed to work.



Typically professionally qualified people married qualified people.



They also cannot choose a different job after they come.



There was no path to permanent residency or citizenship. It was much more difficult for a non-BOI firm to access foreign talent.



Approving vs. attracting talent

Hausmanns team had done a comparative study reviewing immigration laws of Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. They had also looked at Saudi Arabia.



More economically advanced have sophisticated immigration systems that have moved from being systems that strictly authorised the entry of foreign workers, talent and capital, to systems that promote their entry, he said.



They had a wide variety of visas for skilled, semi-skilled, trainees, managers and entrepreneurs. There were talent visas.



He said immigration reform should be part of an overall effort to draw talent, foreign direct investment and export diversification.



More visa categories should be created. If here is a path to residency, more skilled workers will come. He says immigration reform is a low hanging fruit that can be implemented easily unlike infrastructure, which needs lots of money.



Sri Lanka may have the talent and the people for the current economy but does it have the talent and the people for the economy it wants to have? Hausmann questioned.



To get there, Sri Lanka will need to open up for more inflow of foreign know-how the way all prosperous countries have done already. This means more FDI, more return diaspora and higher inflow of foreign workers.



Sri Lanka is weird, he said because there is no path to citizenship unlike the countries that have become prosperous fast.



Analysts say Sri Lankas immigration laws are even weirder than the people realize.



Ricardo Hausmann is Director of Harvards Centre for International Development and Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at the Kennedy School of Government. He also teaches a capstone course on the MPAID programme. Previously, he served as the first Chief Economist of the Inter-American Development Bank (1994-2000), where he created the Research Department. He has served as Minister of Planning of Venezuela (1992-1993) and as a member of the Board of the Central Bank of Venezuela. He also served as Chair of the IMF-World Bank Development Committee. He was Professor of Economics at the Instituto de EstudiosSuperiores de Administracion (IESA) (1985-1991) in Caracas, where he founded the Centre for Public Policy.



His research interests include issues of growth, macroeconomic stability, international finance and the social dimensions of development. He holds a PhD in economics from the Cornell University.



The Advocata Institute is an independent policy think tank based in Colombo. Advocata conducts research, provide commentary and hold events to promote sound policy ideas compatible with a free society in Sri Lanka.



(For more information Advocata Institute Chief Operating Officer Dhananath Fernando can be contacted on dhananath@advocata.org or log on to www.advocata.org)Army Commander Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake has called on all concerned not to use war heroes for political propaganda, which of course is a timely advice as almost all parties, especially the two main -- the United National Party (UNP) and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) unofficially led by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa -- use the soldiers who sacrificed their lives to gain political mileage.



This is a unique country where political leaders and their cohorts, whose lives had been threatened with death for over three decades due to a gruesome civil war, are not in a position to commemorate those who laid their lives in the course of eradicating that threat, in one place. The former President and other leaders of his party singly celebrated the victory of the countrys armed forces over the separatist rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), while government leaders held the official State commemorative ceremony with the participation of the armed forces.



Rajapaksa wants to hold moral high ground by holding separate ceremonies and thereby lay claim to war victory. During these ceremonies, nothing was mentioned about the war time army commander Sarath Fonseka, who was called by the leaders of the Rajapaksa regime -- when they were in good terms -- the best army commander in the world. The same hypocrisy was the norm during the governments official ceremony where similar treatment was given to the former President and former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the man who bridged the hitherto existed gap between the political and military leaderships during the war, leading to the ultimate victory. Besides, government leaders attempted to outsmart the Rajapaksas in treating the armed forces, by declaring that it was during their tenure that international pressure over human rights violations -- hanging over the heads of the armed forces like the Sword of Damocles -- was eased.



The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) appointed by former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2010 concluded its report with a recommendation to assign a national day for the collective commemoration of all those killed in the war -- soldiers, LTTE cadres and civilians -- with a view to psychologically unite and assimilate the communities in the country. It is now vividly evident that it is a utopian suggestion in light of even political parties within a particular community being unable to get together in one place to remember those who they claim have laid their lives to protect the people of the country.



The key point both parties and the country have forgotten or been indifferent to, is that despite the armed conflict ended nine years ago, the governments of both groups have failed to bring in much needed reconciliation.



The Tamil society is still venerating the LTTE leadership, which is manifest through the Tamil media and political leadership, which is attempting to gain mileage with that mindset of the Tamil people. One cannot deem this is a situation which sprang abruptly or after the Maithri-Ranil coalition came into being. This attitude prevailed among the Tamils even when the armed forces overran the last bunker line of the LTTE on the banks of the Nandikkadal lagoon in the Mullaitivu District on May 19, 2009 and had been suppressed by the new situation that was created by the decimation of the LTTE leadership.



Rajapaksas had about six years and the Maithri-Ranil combine three to win over the Tamils and change this mindset. But both groups failed miserably. And they blamed each other when Tamil people thronged in Mullivaikkal to light flames in the names of LTTE leaders along with those of their kith and kin. In fact, it is appropriate for one to ask whether the governments really wanted to assimilate the Tamil community into the Sri Lankan body politic.This item is available in full to subscribers.

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As a big (big) fan of Koei Tecmo's Nioh, over the past year or so, I've become quite fascinated with the central character in that game - William Adams, or "Samurai Bill", as I like to refer to him. Nioh is only very loosely based on the real Adams' life and experience, but the real story has turned out to be just as fascinating, as I've discovered by the books and histories on him that I've read. The first white samurai, and a foreigner who managed to become incredibly wealthy and powerful at a time of hostility towards foreigners within Japan, the fact he achieved all that after being a near-starved survivor of a failed exploration naval expedition is the very definition of a rags-to-riches story. I'm going to do a video on Adams' story at some point down the track when I get back from Japan. Today, instead, I wanted to do a short article on what a trip to Adams' memorial is like. Because I visited that, and really loved the experience.Adams' memorial is maintained in Tsukayama Prefectural Park (Yokosuka), and straight up, from a visual perspective the best time to go (and the reason the park is well loved by the locals) is the sakura blossom season. But putting that aside (because it is difficult to 'time' a trip with the incredibly short blossom season, and I wasn't there during that time myself), it's still a gorgeous - and relatively quiet - park, and there's a great sense of history to it. It's interesting to reflect on the history not just for the presence of the memorial, but the reason that the memorial is there in the first place; this was the land that the shogun, Ieyasu Tokugawa, granted to Adams when he became a samurai.And then you look at the view and realise that Tokugawa must have really, really liked and valued Adams. The bit of land that he was granted only included this park (there was a lot more than it in reality), and the view is nothing short of spectacular. From the lookouts at the high points in the park you'll get a stunning look down at the ocean and Yokosuka Harbour, Tokyo Bay and the Bosos Peninsula. Even back in the early part of Tokugawa's rule, that land would have held significant commercial and political value, being close to major trade routes and political centres. Including Edo - Tokyo - itself. If you look into the history behind the city, and its original name (Hemi), you can trace how important it was to the most important people in Japan - it was owned, fought over, and gifted around by the likes of the Hojo clan, Hideyoshi Toyotomi and Tokugawa himself before being finally transferred to Adams.The park itself is an easy walk, and a good opportunity to see various flowers in most seasons, as well as a number of native Japanese birds. There's a few really good lookout points, including some perfect early morning photo opportunities, though some power wires and trees in badly need of a trim let that down a little.Unfortunately I can't say that I'm a big fan of the nearby city of Yokosuka itself. These days, Yokosuka is heavily sustained by the military; it houses the main American military base in Tokyo, and in addition to the eyesore that is military boats and structures, an American base also means the city has a huge American population, and where a lot of Americans come, the locals adjust their businesses to appeal to that clientele. Admittedly I didn't spend long in the city itself, (it wasn't much more than a drive through), but it's perhaps the least "Japanese" part of Japan that I've encountered. People who like heavily westernised or "sanitised" to western tastes food will probably find Yokosuka's food culture to be quite appealing though.But the beautiful of Japan - especially Tokyo and its satellite cities like Yokosuka, is that you don't need to dedicate your entire day to a city if you're keen on seeing one particular sight. I was able to see the Samurai Bill monument and get a sense of his role in Japan's history by visiting the park.. and then I was off to the far more appealing city of Odawara for food and further sightseeing. If you can, I recommend hiring a car for that trip. You can follow the coastline, passing through the likes of Hayama and Enoshima, and drink in the beachside atmosphere, as you go.If you do need to train ride your way into Tsukayama Prefectural Park, then it's only a 20-minute walk from Anjinzuka Station on the Keikyu line. Just be aware that the walk isn't brutal, but it is up hills.Save my User ID and Password

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-- Jean Paul-Sartre; Anti-Semite and Jew

Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.Inefficiency, wasted time and effort, stretched to capacity  even just reading these words gives most businesses a bad feeling. For most companies, a smoothly running IT infrastructure is a critical business requirement. Historically, only large companies felt it necessary to monitor bandwidth and availability in their IT infrastructure, but today, more mid-sized companies are using network monitoring solutions to support services such as email, websites, databases, or online shops.

Small businesses are central to the Australian economy, making up the majority of the countrys 2.14 million actively-trading registered businesses. Three in five Australian businesses are sole traders and dont employ any staff, and only one in ten businesses employ more than 20 workers. The IT landscapes of these midsized organisations can be just as complex as those of large companies, just on a smaller scale. A good monitoring solution allows small teams to get on with managing the network and wider business, taking on the role of lookout for potential bottlenecks, failures and IT interruptions. Network monitoring tools free up time for admins, allowing time to be spent on other tasks, such as network upgrades and rollouts. So with small IT teams or even a single administrator or business owner leading the charge, how can Australias SMBs ensure they select the right monitoring tool for them?

Get up and running quickly: SMBs typically have fewer resources available to be able to test and implement monitoring applications compared to large organisations, which can typically dedicate an admin to the task. SMBs, therefore, need a monitoring solution that is simple to test and quick to deploy and manage. Tools that can be easily configured, with features such as auto discovery, can get businesses up and running in just a few minutes. Monitoring tools should have a set and forget capability, which once configured correctly, can run in the background and send alerts when issues are detected. This also means configuring the tool to only generate alerts when truly required instead of overrunning the admins inbox with unnecessary information.

Simplicity is key: Small or midsized businesses are also best suited for solutions that are easy to manage and require little customisation. This ensures that applications or software are not only simple to deploy, but also that another person can easily pick up the monitoring tool and understand the data it provides in the event of an employee leaving. Contemporary network monitoring solutions may also offer corresponding apps for mobile devices that enable users to confirm alarms or call up information using graphs and maps while on the go.

Avoid complicated licenses: When it comes to selecting the right IT tools, pricing is always an important factor. Even more critical, however, is avoiding potential cost traps. Many providers offer nontransparent licensing models with hidden costs. Systems that seem inexpensive at first glance might not have the ability to grow with your business. Its important to look beyond the cost of basic installation and consider the potential costs of integrating new locations and devices as well as adding on new services. There should be a clear pricing model that allows for painless addition of extra monitoring scenarios or devices, without requiring additional funds.

Network monitoring plays an important role in keeping SMBs one step ahead of potential issues. The software constantly looks for issues before they have the opportunity to become major problems, allowing businesses to work more proactively. When an issue does occur, admins can quickly drill down to the root cause and develop a solution within seconds, instead of hours. This means more time to spend on developing new business solutions, instead of putting out fires.

About the author:

Andrew Timms, Sales Manager, Australasia, Paessler AGHave fun in the sun but be kind to your skinthe Sun Patrol is watching

The summer heat is on full effect! Time to get out there, get that golden tan in your most stunning summer threads, and sit back with a nice cold refreshing beverage in hand. Pretty sight, isnt it?

However, while the sun, sea, sand, and breeze collectively paint an amazing imagery of summer, one could also imagine how these elements can damage the skin when exposed without protection.

Have you ever stepped outdoors without any sun protection? Youd be surprised a lot of people are guilty of this. While we all dread the signs of aging, most of us dont make an effort to be kind to our skin.

Some might say they actually protect their skin by using sunblock. But probably the important question to ask is, are you doing enough and are you doing it right?

Have you ever gone out of the house without an SPF of at least 30? Do you apply sun protection only on your face and neglect the other exposed parts of your body? Do you forget to reapply sunscreen every two hours? Do you apply less than a pea- sized amount of sunblock on your face?

If you answered YES to these, then you are committing serious violations against your skin.

Better be on the lookout then because The Kojiesan Sunblock Sun Patrol is watching to see if you commit more skin care violations and they could make a Citizens Arrest! Before they get to you though, youve got to make sure you know a couple of things.

A variety of factors can cause damage to your skin but the biggest culprit is sun exposure! The suns ultraviolet rays break down collagen and elastin, making the skin rough and uneven. These rays also affect the melanocytes, which have something to do with the skins pigmentation.

Whats worse is that when your skin ages prematurely due to unprotected sun exposureyou can get wrinkles, brown spots and even skin cancer!

What can you do to prevent this? Stay out of the sun during the middle of the day when the suns rays are strongest, wear protective clothing such as hats and umbrellas and use a broad-spectrum sunscreen, which protect against both UVA and UVB rays, with a sun protection factor of 30 or higher. And yes, before the Kojiesan Sun Patrol makes another Citizens Arrestdont forget to reapply every two hours for maximum protection.



Kojiesan Sunblock is the only sun care brand in the Philippines with Sunactyl, which helps relieve and repair skin from sun damages caused by sun exposure.

Sunactyl protects the skin against UVA and UVB damage through the glutathione system. It also fights UV-stress and heat-stress.

The products include Kojiesan Sunblock SPF 69 PA+++; Kojiesan Sunblock Face SPF 50 PA+++; Kojiesan Sunscreen SPF 55 PA+++ with Lightening; Kojiesan Sunblock Sport SPF 50 PA+++; Kojiesan Before Sunspray SPF 50; Kojiesan After Sunspray and Kojiesan Kids SPF 30 and SPF 50.

All Kojiesan Sunblock products have broad-spectrum protection against harmful UVA and UVB rays to prevent sunburn and premature skin aging.

So dont be afraid to go out in the sun and enjoy the beach and indulge in other outdoor activities. But make sure to slather on your Kojiesan Sunblock because the Kojiesan Sun Patrol is ready to make a Citizens Arrest anytime you commit a skin crime.

If you want to know more about this, go to the @kojiesansunblockph Facebook page.

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When I posted last Christmas that I went to a cash-in center for Bitcoin in Metro Manila, I got a lot of private messages, emails and comments about it. Almost all of them ask about how Bitcoin works, how to earn money from it, where to buy and how to trade cryptocurrency.

Honestly, I am not an expert on this. All I know is that if you were one of those who have invested 0n this when it started underground in 2013 and cashed-in last year, you are one of the lucky ones who have earned millions from it. However, if you are just starting, you may have a lot of research to do . There is more than just Bitcoin.

Blockchain is part of this new wave of financial technology that promises transparency more than any other online systems present. They said this system can go around bureaucracy in the system and fund transfers will be easier than ever . The trendiest fintech startups in town are banking on building their products around it.

Personally, I need to understand more about this system. I have a lot of question in mind about the practicality of the Blockchain technology.

If you are like me who wants to learn more about it, theres a Blockchain Applications and Economics Forum happening on May 28-30, 2018 at SMX Aura Convention Center in BGC, Taguig City. Fee to join this 3-day conference is $500.

Blockchain Applications and Economics Forum 2018 is centered on connecting corporations to the technology and is expected to be attended by 400+ practitioners over Southeast Asia. The forum aims to provide Filipinos information about blockchain technology and how relevant it is to ones business or company.

Schedule of Activities:

28 May 2018  Bootcamps

This will provide 101 understanding of blockchain to the participants. There are two bootcamps scheduled on May 28, 2018.

A. Ethereum & Smart Contract Development Workshop

B. Media Bootcamp: Helping the Media Understand

28 May 2018  CEO Dinner: Taking The Leap Into Blockchain

An exclusive by-invitation only dinner for some attendees to have a chance to mingle with the guest speakers.

28 & 29 May, 2018  ICO, Blockchain Solutions Showcase & Exhibition

These features new ICO launches and solutions that will be attended by investors, developers and blockchain enthusiasts.

29 & 30 May 2018  Blockchain Applications & Economics Forum

The forum focuses on applications and will be attended by business leaders and management who may or may not be involved in blockchain.

Visit Blockchain Asia Forum for more details.

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There are a variety of definitions of dehumanization but this one is as succinct as I have seen:

Dehumanization is the psychological process of demonizing the enemy, making them seem less than human and hence not worthy of humane treatment. This can lead to increased violence, human rights violations, war crimes, and genocide.

History is rife with this demonizing of people in order to justify treating them inhumanely. The Nazis dehumanized Jews calling them rats (and worse) which paved the way to the extermination of 4 million of them under Adolf Hitlers regime. Hutus in Rwanda called Tutsi cockroaches, which they used to justify ethnic cleansing with astonishing cruelty. In America, slaves were described and treated as subhuman. Police have been referred to as pigs in order to justify violence against them.

Since the Bush administration, Muslims have been the victims of intense social dehumanization and one study showed that average Americans have internalized this characterization.

Under President Trump, immigrants are the group du jour facing widespread dehumanization and none more so than Mexican immigrants. The results are in the headlines this week as a rich white attorney put his bigotry on display in a profound way:

But the impact of Trumps dehumanizing of Mexican immigrants goes beyond one such odious bigot like Aaron Schlossberg. It is allowing far too many Americans to turn a blind eye to immigration officials tearing families apart at our borders and even in our own communities. In order for ordinary Americans to allow this to continue with no reaction, no protest, and no response requires that the victims of these crimes against humanity arent viewed as part of that humanity. And our president is happy to help that process along.

Several days ago, President Trump referred to MS-13 gang members as animals. Thankfully, this pronouncement came as a shock, suggesting that Americans are not quite ready to be led to quietly accepting inhumane treatment of our fellow humans. However, the backlash against this statement didnt deter President Trump. This morning he released a press release in which he calls MS-13 members animals ten times in as many paragraphs:

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAY 21, 2018 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIOLENT ANIMALS OF MS-13

WHAT: The violent animals of MS-13 have committed heinous, violent attacks in communities across America.

Too many innocent Americans have fallen victim to the unthinkable violence of MS-13s animals . At the State of the Union in January 2018, President Trump brought as his guests Elizabeth Alvarado, Robert Mickens, Evelyn Rodriguez, and Freddy Cuevas, the parents of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas. Police believe these young girls were chased down and brutally murdered by MS-13 gang members on Long Island, New York, in 2016. Suffolk County Police Commissioner stated that the murders show a level of brutality that is close to unmatched. In Maryland, MS-13s animals are accused of stabbing a man more than 100 times and then decapitating him, dismembering him, and ripping his heart out of his body. Police believe MS-13 members in Maryland also savagely beat a 15-year-old human trafficking victim. The MS-13 animals used a bat and took turns beating her nearly 30 times in total. In Houston, Texas, two MS-13 members were charged after kidnapping and sexually assaulting one girl and murdering another. The two MS-13 animals laughed, smiled, and waved for cameras in court as they faced the charges. New York communities have suffered tremendously from the abhorrent violence of MS-13. Nearly 40 percent of all murders in Suffolk County, New York between January 2016 and June 2017 were tied to MS-13. In January 2017, MS-13 members were charged with killing and hacking up a teenager in Nassau County. MS-13s animals reportedly saw the murder as a way to boost their standing in the gang. In April 2017, police believe four young men were brutally murdered by MS-13 animals on Long Island. One victim was a young man in town visiting family during an Easter week vacation. Just last month, in April 2018, MS-13 reportedly called for its members on Long Island to kill a cop for the sake of making a statement. WHY: MS-13 is a transnational gang which follows the motto of kill, rape, control by committing shocking acts of violence in an attempt to instill fear and gain control. MS-13 is a transnational gang that has brought violence, fear, and suffering to American communities. MS-13, short for Mara Salvatrucha, commits shocking acts of violence to instill fear, including machete attacks, executions, gang rape, human trafficking, and more. In their motto, the animals of MS-13 make clear their goal is to kill, rape, control. The gang has more than 10,000 members in the United States spreading violence and suffering. Recent investigations have revealed MS-13 gang leaders based in El Salvador have been sending representatives into the United States illegally to connect the leaders with local gang members. These foreign-based gang leaders direct local members to become even more violent in an effort to control more territory. President Trumps entire Administration is working tirelessly to bring these violent animals to justice. ###

This exaggerated and completely over the top use of the term animal is no accident. Its an intentional effort to dehumanize Mexican immigrants in the eyes of American citizens in order to justify the inhumane treatment of ALL Mexican immigrants by the Trump administration all across America. It is this dehumanization that allows otherwise compassionate, caring human beings to turn their backs when children are ripped from their parents arms at the border and sent to be warehoused on military bases. It allows otherwise empathetic and decent people to be unbothered when law abiding but undocumented immigrant parents are deported without warning, leaving behind distraught children and spouses who are often left without the means to take care of themselves.

This isnt about MS-13. MS-13 gang members are certainly criminals but they are hardly representative of the undocumented immigrants in America. Most of these immigrants work brutal jobs no citizen would do for wages no citizen would stoop to working for and spend their entire lives in fear, hoping to avoid notice. They are frequently victims of crimes for which justice is never served whether it is violent crime against them by criminals or wage theft from unscrupulous, opportunistic employers.

Donald Trump has taken a page from the playbooks of Adolf Hitler and Stalin and other fascists who convinced ordinary people to accept outrageous, inhumane treatment of other human beings. When your grandchildren ask you, What did you do when the Trump regime was rising to power?, be able to say you fought back tooth and nail at every step and never allowed them to convince you that its acceptable to treat humans, ANY humans, as if they were animals. Let THAT be YOUR legacy.

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Kangaroo Flats Primary School are working with a digital artist to build a virtual version of the Bendigo Creek in an app and fill it with stories about its history.

'We're looking back through the layers of local history,' says principal Kim Saddlier.

'We have students who have recently arrived from Burma and Afghanistan, students whose families have been here for generations, and Aboriginal students  we're going to reflect all of these histories.'

It's one of 21 projects under way across the state thanks to Creative Learning Partnership residency program run by Creative Victoria, which links schools with artists and provides funding for them to work together on a project.

The school is working with RMIT's Olivia Guntarik, a digital media artist who is interested in how and why we tell stories. She says the partnership is 'a great fit.'

'I get to work closely with students on a project which teaches them about history and technology and which is relevant to me and my research,' Ms Guntarik says.

'Students learn how to dig up stories from the past. Then they learn how to capture these stories as videos or through pictures or some other means.'

'The impact was amazing, students who hated maths were suddenly outside measuring buildings, scaling them down and building a digital world.'

Dja Dja Wurrung Clan Aboriginal Corporation CEO Rodney Carter is advising RMIT on the project.

'Telling these stories makes people more invested in them and they become part of their story,' Mr Carter says. 'It's a great way of using new technology to bring old stories to life and bring people together.'

Ms Guntarik is working on a similar project with Woodford Primary School. Principal Daniel Watson says there's lots of history in the area that will be revealed by this project.

'Woodford was a famous stopover in the early 1900s with tanneries and pubs. This app will highlight what went on in them, as well as Aboriginal history and more modern stories,' says Mr Watson.

'I reckon we will make some exciting discoveries on the way.'



Vietnam buys 4,029 Aussie cows

Vietnam has imported 4,029 cows from Australia for distribution to farms and slaughterhouses throughout the country.

The cows, which arrived at Cai lan Port in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh province, on May 15, were valued at US$6 million, local news site dtinews reported.

They will be raised by Phu Lam Ltd Co. in Mong Cai City before distribution. Dtinews reported that this is the largest FDI project in Quang Ninh province.

Phu Lam farm has received the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System certificate from the Australian Department of Agriculture, and will as well receive the necessary guidance during the raising and veterinary processes.

There is also an existing agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and Australia, under which they will step up the development of slaughterhouses, and processing and preservation facilities to international export standards toward a complete chain of beef production.

By NBC News , May 18 , 2018





Government agencies, businesses and other organizations in Arizona plan to participate in an exercise to practice how the state would respond to a migration of 400,000 people following a catastrophic earthquake in Southern California.





The Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs says participants in the National Mass Care Exercise in the coming week will tackle how to organize operations such as providing food, shelter and medical services.

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By SPL Center , Jan 16 , 2018





LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Ascending the steep steps that lead from the street to the scene of her son's murder, 47-year-old Louisa Prudhomme is charged by a Doberman Pinscher.





Prudhomme reaches over a gate and gives the guard dog a rough pat on the head.





"Sam doesn't seem to remember me," she says.

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Trump administration reportedly set to release its Palestine plan at end of Ramadan in June.

The Trump administration that moves its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, will unveil its so-called peace plan for Palestine next month.

US embassy move had caused protests in Gaza. Israeli forces had killed more than 63 people and injured over 2.800 others. After the massacre in Gaza, US President Donald Trump announced that US Middle East peace plan will be released after the Ramadan, holy month for Muslims.

Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner and Trump's special envoy for international negotiations Jason Greenblatt have begun quietly briefing select allies and partners on elements of the proposal.

According to the so-called peace plan, a Palestinian state will be established with limited sovereignty across about half of the West Bank and all the Gaza Strip. Israel will retain security responsibility for most of the West Bank and the border crossings. The Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem will pass to the Palestinian state, excepting the Old City, which will be part of Israeli Jerusalem and Abu Dis east of Jerusalem is the proposed capital of Palestine.

Trumps so-called peace plan mandates Palestine with limited sovereignty as the Palestinian homeland. Palestinian authority has repeatedly rejected the US as a broker for a potential deal between Israel and the Palestine.Comparing Canadian and American Right (Part Three) By Mark Wegierski

The intellectual, cultural, and academic life of Canada is clearly dominated to a greater extent by political correctness than is the case in the United States. Unlike in the U.S., homeschooling is comparatively rare in Canada, there are fewer private schools at the primary and secondary level, and there are very few private, post-secondary institutions. The hundreds of private, more traditional, usually religious-affiliated colleges in the U.S. may allow for the existence of a community of more traditionally-oriented scholars that can have some effect on U.S. politics. Intelligent persons of conservative or traditionalist outlooks are almost completely isolated in Canada, and have almost no hope of achieving the dream of (for example) a tenured academic appointment  or even of finishing a Ph.D. Policies similar to employment equity operate, de jure or de facto, at virtually every Canadian university. These determine admissions (to undergraduate, as well as graduate programs -- and especially to professional programs like law and medicine); the disbursement of scholarships and other aid to students; and the hiring of all academic faculty, librarians, library assistants, and other academic and non-academic support staff. The Canadian media, including the publishing world, is also more hostile to persons of conservative or traditionalist outlooks than is the case in the United States. The so-called alternative media and alternative publishers in Canada usually embrace very left-wing outlooks and are even more hostile to conservatives than the so-called mainstream publishers. So, again, we see the Right being stymied in Canada. Even the sharpest and most reflective persons of conservative or traditionalist outlooks in Canada are highly unlikely to achieve the dream of becoming opinion-columnists in Canadian newspapers, or acclaimed authors with books appearing with credible publishers. Virtually the entire government-subsidized world of CanLit is inimical to conservatism. The atrophy of the broader Right in Canada means that Canadians are cut off from many stimulating intellectual and creative ideas and political options. It also means that any remaining socially conservative instincts of the general populace are untutored, and therefore easily pejoritized as bigotry by the left-liberal elites. Many people go through their entire lives in Canada without ever hearing even one seriously-presented, conservative or traditionalist argument. It could be argued that it is diversity of thought that is the most important, and most Canadians of any cultural or social group will never get beyond the prevalent, politically-correct, dogmas and taboos. Because of the atrophy of traditional religion in Canada, the gay rights and radical feminist agendas have certainly advanced further than is the case in the United States. The birthrate in Canada has also fallen far below replacement level, in marked contrast to the United States, where even the birthrate of non-Hispanic white (to use the official term of the U.S. Census) women is comparatively high. At the same time, Canada has a very high rate of abortion. There is a general climate of social decadence, ill-discipline, and a never-ending war against the so-called authoritarian personality. Many Canadians are to some extent accepting of all these various Canadian syndromes because they are linked to a very generous welfare-state. Apart from the obvious true believers in the left-liberal cadres (most of whom also clearly enjoy very comfortable lives), most ordinary people also tend to fall into line, unwilling to jeopardize their public sector job, or the government subsidy to their business, for the sake of what seem like distant and questionable notions. It should also be pointed out that Canada prides itself on its very generous medical system. The issue of healthcare is growing increasingly salient in Canada, especially with a rapidly-aging population. It seems that many people would be willing to accept virtually anything as far the social and cultural outlooks they are required to profess, if they could be guaranteed high-quality medical care. At the same time, Canada today fails to meet many of the traditional criteria of a state. It fails to properly control its borders, and its armed forces have (until the most recent years) been critically underfunded, to a point of near-atrophy. The federal government under the Chretien Liberals (1993-2003) had been able to achieve a budget surplus owing mainly to the high income tax rates; the 7% Goods and Services Tax (which is levied on virtually all economic activity) (Harper had lowered it to 5%); the reform of Unemployment Insurance (now called Employment Insurance), which significantly cut benefits; the so-called clawback of Old Age Pensions, over a certain, relatively modest income threshold; and the reduction of federal transfer payments for healthcare to the provinces. Considering these facts, the achievement of a federal budget surplus under Prime Minister Chretien and his Finance Minister, Paul Martin Jr. (who was Prime Minister in 2003-2006) is less of a miracle than it might appear. To be continued. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. HomeEvil GE foods and eco-friendly organics

By Paul Driessen and Vijay Jayaraj



Across the globe, genetically engineered (GE) crops face opposition from environmental and organic food activists, who claim the crops harm the environment and endanger human health.

How factual are their claims? The evidence strongly supports GE over organic crops.

Not long ago, Vijay visited the Sprouts organic food store in San Jose, California. To his surprise, organic vegetables that had shorter shelf-life and higher risk of bacterial contamination and thus serious illness were priced two to ten times more than their GE and conventional food alternatives. The store is famous among millennial techies in the Silicon Valley and enjoys reasonable sales. One possible explanation would be the false notion that GE foods are risky or injurious to health; another is that buyers incorrectly believe organic produce have fewer pesticides, are more nutritious or better protect the environment.

But in science, neither a belief nor even a general consensus determines truth. A thousand people could claim the theory of gravity is wrong, but one simple scientific proof would prove their consensus false. Similarly, the safety of genetically modified foods cannot be determined by the increasingly vitriolic voices of anti-GE groups. It requires robust scientific testing by actual experts in various fields.

All the major GE foods currently on the market have been exhaustively tested and found to be safe for people, animals and the environment. Moreover, to date, Americans alone have consumed more than four trillion servings of foods with at least one GE ingredient  without a single documented example of harm to a person or the environment.

That is why more than 100 Nobel Laureates in chemistry, medicine and biotechnology have said GE foods are safe for human and animal consumption. Thats not an uninformed assertion or consensus. It is a professional, scientific conclusion based on thousands of risk assessment studies over several decades, as well as numerous real-world experiences.

Anti-GE activists typically use the term genetically modified organisms or GMOs, a pejorative coined simply to disparage the use of the most modern techniques. In fact, genetic engineering with molecular techniques is merely a more modern, rapid and precise way than traditional crop breeding methods to change or improve the genetic makeup of plants. It also enables scientists to enhance crops by introducing helpful properties like resistance to droughts, standing water or insects from one organism to another.

For example, corn varieties that integrate the Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) gene right into plant tissue greatly reduce or even eliminate the need for spraying or dusting the crops with pesticides. Golden Rice incorporates two beta-carotene biosynthesis genes (Vitamin A precursors), one from daffodils, one from a soil bacterium, so that even malnourished people get sufficient Vitamin A to prevent blindness and death.

Organic farming prohibits modern manmade pesticides. But some are used surreptitiously anyway  and many organic farmers employ natural but still toxic pesticides like copper sulfate and neem oil. Though they oppose Bt-engineered crops, many spray live Bt bacteria on crops, killing good and harmful insects.

Studies by Stanford University and other researchers have found that organic fruits and vegetables actually have lower yields and are no more nutritious than conventional or GE alternatives.

However, certain organic practices, such as fertilizing with manure, have led to contamination with dangerous fungal toxins or listeria, salmonella or E. Coli bacteria. These problems are far more common in organic produce and can lead to serious intestinal illness, kidney failure, brain damage or even death.

It can fairly be said that the anti-GE war has reached levels that are ignorant, deceptive, and even fraudulent and lethal. Activist claims about the dangers of GE foods are baseless and without bona fide evidence. They ignore the many benefits of GE crops. Moreover, many of the groups and campaigns are funded, directly or indirectly, by the organic and natural food industries and allied foundations.

GE crops are environment friendly and promote sustainable agriculture, while potentially meeting the daily food demand of seven billion people globally. They allow farmers to produce more food, from less land, using less water and fewer pesticides, and with greater resistance to droughts, floods and climate change, than would be the case with conventional crops  and certainly with organic crops. They enable farmers to grow Golden Rice and other crops that prevent malnutrition, blindness and death in children.

By contrast, organic crops require more land, more water, more labor and higher farming expenses to generate the same produce. Expanding organic farms will thus cause additional loss of wildlife habitats in a time when we are trying to nurture and protect what is left of Earths natural habitats.

Tuskegee University professor, dean and biotech expert C.S. Prakash points out that the percentage of land used to grow crops has increased dramatically during the past 200 years, as humanity worked to provide nutritious foods for rapidly growing populations. The ideal solution to avoid deforestation, he says, is to use GE crops, which produce much more food per acre than their non-GE counterparts.

An ardent proponent of GE in the fight against poverty and disease, Dr. Prakash worries that the anti-GE campaigns will impede our efforts to provide sufficient, affordable food in many developing countries. Moreover, non-GE crops are susceptible to many insects and diseases that GE crops are resistant to.

Much of the most important work to improve food crops genetically was done by Norman Borlaug, using pre-molecular techniques. He won a Nobel Peace Prize for developing crop variants that helped billions avoid certain death during the food crises of the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, much of the wheat, maize (corn) and rice now consumed globally are Borlaugs crops, which are disease resistant and high yielding.

GE crops are also more climate adaptive. New variants of rice and wheat are being designed to withstand extreme climatic and geographical conditions. One important example is wheat variants that withstand a whopping 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), which was practically unimaginable just a decade ago. This can make wheat cultivation far more productive in the 40% of worlds dryland surface where conditions are hostile to normal wheat varieties.

Health Canada and the United States Department of Agriculture recently approved Golden Rice and High Fibre Wheat, respectively, thereby continuing to embrace GE crops, as they have done for years. This pro-GE stance has been echoed by international governing institutions such as the United Nations and governments of major technologically innovative countries like Israel, China and India.

Although the number of organic farms is increasing in India, its food markets are largely dominated by crops that cannot be considered organic. Organic madness has nevertheless invaded parts of India. The Indian state of Sikkim recently branded itself organic by banning the entry and sale of more than 25 non-organic horticultural and agricultural products. That decision has caused widespread chaos, leaving families unable to afford cereals, fruits and vegetables that otherwise would be their staple foods.

It is time to progress from unfounded fears about GE foods  and begin educating government leaders and regulators, as well as domestic and global journalists, about the safety and benefits of GE crops.

Let us begin by asking: What actual, replicable, peer-reviewed evidence do environmentalists and organic food producers and advocates have that organic foods are safer, more nutritious or more eco-friendly than conventional or genetically modified varieties? What actual, replicable, peer-reviewed evidence do they have that GE crops have harmed people or the environment in any way?

Neither we nor Dr. Prakash nor any other agricultural experts we have spoken with can find any such evidence. If environmentalists and organic food proponents cannot provide solid evidence, they should end their deceitful pro-organic, anti-GE campaigns  or be compelled to do so by government agencies and courts of law that deal in facts and sound science, instead of allegations, innuendo and intimidation.

The billion dollars spent by radical environmentalists and the organic foods industry on campaigns against GE plants would have been far better spent on approving more GE crops, upgrading agricultural practices, providing more nutritious, affordable food, and improving lives all over the world.

The lies, demagoguery and destructive tactics of anti-GE groups are poisonous to the century-long effort to eradicate food poverty across the globe. These inhumane, lethal tactics can no longer be tolerated.

Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and author of books and articles on energy and environmental science and policy. Vijay Jayaraj (MSc in Environmental Science, University of East Anglia, England), Research Associate for Developing Countries for the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, lives in Coimbatore, India.Why is Hamas so interested in Palestinian deaths? By Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi

Hamas defined the day of violent clashes at Israels border with the Gaza Strip, on May 14, 2018, during which some 59 Palestinians were claimed to have been killed, as living proof of a victory for jihad and the armed struggle against Israel. It openly admitted that these were not spontaneous demonstrations but a campaign orchestrated by Hamas and other Palestinian organizations defined as terrorist groups in the West. Below are excerpts from a Hamas press release [emphasis added] presented at a press conference on May 14, 2018: Oh to the public of our rebellious people, oh to our Arab and Islamic nation, oh to the liberals [or the free people] in the world Our own march was drawn into the heroic armed struggle, the popular peaceful march that took place last March 30 [2018], conducted by our people and the organizations of jihad fighters, and the population itself, of its men, women, and children until today, expressing through successive waves of jihad and struggle that its purpose is to fulfill the objectives of our nation and its aspiration to return, to establish a state, to end the embargo, to end the occupation forever Our people set out today to react to the new American Zionist aggression and to tell the world with its blood and limbs that it is the one that will draw the map of return and the map of victories The blood that has been spilled in resisting this crime will arouse a revolution until the occupation is removed, and the embassy is removed from Palestine forever. We will continue to pursue this enemy and to fight it with every means I have not forgotten to bless our brothers, the members of the national Palestinian organizations who stand up and manage the popular marches, which are run peacefully, the Upper National Council for the Return March and Breaking the Embargo. We support them, and we stand by them, welcoming their efforts, with all our respect and honor The message of the people of our nation who went out today is: Al-Quds [Jerusalem] is the red line, and there are sacrifices for its sake, and for its sake we will continue to follow the path of jihad and fight with all our means Our Palestinian nation today has achieved true unity in the field of action, with gatherings, and in the struggle to reach the fence, which will be removed with the Will of Allah. It will ascend, through true national unity, and through the refined, pure blood that will enrich the land of Palestine. Our duty is to build this freedom and the legitimacy of this powerful nation that has spoken today with its soul, blood, and limbs, and has spread its word to the world through its blood, strength, and revolution, and through its accumulated rage, and its blessed intifada What is called the Trump Deal is invalid and it needs to be sabotaged in every way. It will not pass, with Allahs Will, and we will stand against all of the plans to eliminate the Palestinian problem at any price, which we will pay with blood and in any way to achieve this. True national unity is based upon partnership and the path of jihad. The struggle and dealing with all the elimination plans [of the Palestinian problem] is a national choice that is obligatory for us to strive toward, and which needs to be actualized today and before tomorrow This movement and popular revolution, in all its ways, perpetuates and continues, and we emphasize its constancy and continuation. We support the activities that the Upper National Council for the Return March and Breaking the Embargo have decreed, and of our Palestinian people who have been living the bitterness of banishment and exile, and the bitterness of the Nakba for the past 70 years. They will not be silent or withdraw, and they will not return until their aspirations are fulfilled and they go back to their homeland and the occupation is removed, their independent country is established, and its eternal capital will be al-Quds The Zionist occupation must not receive legitimacy from any source. We call upon our Arab and Muslim brothers to stop the normalization plan, the plan for Arab and Islamic brainwashing, and turning the Zionist enemy into part of the region or a member of a union of countries from this area. The Zionist enemy is our adversary, and we have no other foe apart from it, and there is no room upon our land for it. The day must come when this enemy is removed, by the Will of Allah. The natural reaction to this aggression and the killing of our peaceful people must be an Arab and Islamic one, through a broad-based intifada in all major cities and a clear Palestinian response here in Gaza and the [West] Bank of a firm stand, and in al-Quds and the [territories] of 48 [Israel]. It is obligatory for our enemy to pay the price for this killing, and for the enemy and the American government to pay the price for transferring the American embassy to al-Quds. The West Bank needs to burn, and all of Palestine needs to burn in the face of Zionist aggression today and tomorrow, and after tomorrow, with the Will of Allah Combat organizations are managing and supervising the peaceful marches of our people, and this is one of the rights and legitimate methods of struggle of our people, and they are managing the marches, supporting them, and standing as their defenders, like a shield that protects them. [The enemy] must not try the patience of the struggle or the continued patience of the al-Qassam Brigades This is jihad  victory or causing death in the way of Allah. The Hamas press release reveals these significant points: Hamas takes full responsibility, with the cooperation of other organizations, for managing the Return Marches in their characteristically violent style. In the al-Aqsa intifada, Hamas chose a strategy of individual suicide terror attacks; today they are following a strategy of mass suicide attacks, fired up by clashes, with the clear understanding that endangering Israeli soldiers and civilians will elicit a military response to neutralize the threat. If, in the past, Hamas counted its victories according to the number of Israeli casualties, today it measures victory according to the number of Palestinian casualties. Hamas is interested in flowing Palestinian blood. Its press release mentioned its hope that these events would lead to a broad intifada in the West Bank, Jerusalem, Israel, and various major cities. In other words, Hamas perceives Palestinian blood as an explosive material, the purpose of which is to threaten regional stability in a way that will help it to build a coalition against Israel and weaken it from within through an intifada of Israeli Arabs. Thus, for the purpose of a reaching a broader audience, Hamas did not immediately respond to the killing of Palestinians who attacked IDF soldiers (or to an Israeli air force attack on Hamas targets). This also contradicts its repeated promises to the Palestinian public that its armed activists would follow the participants in the march and protect them if the IDF opened fire on them.

Hamas operatives at the border fence with Israel (Hamas website) There are other purposes for weakening Israel and torpedoing diplomatic initiatives. Hamas is interested in standing out as the true leader of the Palestinian people and being the only leader that can rally all of the Palestinian organizations in the struggle against Israel. This is in contrast to the attempts of Mahmoud Abbas to reestablish his leadership at a recent meeting of the Palestinian National Council, of which Hamas and Islamic Jihad are not members. The assembly was boycotted by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Through clashes and bloodshed, Hamas seeks to create a leadership alternative to the administration of the Palestinian Authority as part of its plans to merge with the PLO and take control of it from within. Hamas refers to the events surrounding the marches as peaceful, yet in the same breath it calls them jihad and the armed struggle. Hamas admits that these are acts of violence and warfare, but it adheres to the description of peaceful ways as part of its propaganda machine against Israel, which receives a sympathetic ear and understanding from the Left and human rights groups. Hamas has clarified the objectives of the Return Marches, which are the elimination of the State of Israel and ethnically cleansing the Jewish presence from the land. Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi is a senior researcher of the Middle East and radical Islam at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He is a co-founder of the Orient Research Group Ltd. HomeIsraels attacks on Irans Revolutionary Guard in Syria spur internal disputes in Iran By Lt. Col. (ret.) Michael Segall and Orly Ram

Irans response to Israels extensive attack on Iranian Revolutionary Guard targets in Syria on May 9, 2018, reflects growing confusion and dissent within its leadership and security service, and hints of the first possible cracks to appear between the Tehran regime and Syrian president Assad and Russia. Furthermore, it expresses and exacerbates the crisis surrounding Irans foreign and defense policies following U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran. Most of the state-run media in Iran have referred to the Israeli attack as a struggle between Syria and Israel and praised and credited the Syrian army for its success in dealing with Israeli missiles. They claim that the rocket attack against Israel was the result of Israeli aggression against Syria over recent weeks. The Fars news agency, which is associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), emphasized that senior Syrian officials have confirmed that the attack on the Zionist regime was carried out by Syria and no one else, while senior officials in the West and Israel were trying to present these events as an Iranian-Israeli issue.

Ali Akbar Velayati Revolutionary Guard officers and the regular army have refused to respond directly to the Israeli attack, and they have threatened in general to react in a firm manner to any further Israeli attacks. Some members of the Majlis (Iranian Parliament) Commission for Foreign Affairs and Security stated that Iran has no bases in Syria, only advisors, and that Israel is lying and planned the attack after Trump gave his speech about withdrawing from the nuclear deal. Ali Akbar Velayati, Khameneis advisor on international affairs, said that the Zionist regime lives in delusions regarding the protective abilities of Iron Dome, and it has shown (during the rocket attack on Israel) that the system is not airtight and can be breached. Irans top proxy, Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of Hizbullah, said that the rockets fired toward the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights were only one small part of the response to Israeli strikes on Syria that will be carried out in the appropriate way and at the appropriate time. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi released his first statement on this issue only on Friday, May 11, 2018. In it, he denounced what he defined as the Israeli attack on Syria, stressing that Damascus has the right to defend itself and that Israel fabricated that the rockets fired at it were Iranian. Criticism of Assad and Russia after the Attack Against the backdrop of the refusal of senior Iranian officials to acknowledge Irans part in the incident, the reaction of Heshmatollah FalahatPisheh, member of the Majlis Commission for Foreign Affairs and Security, is particularly striking. In an interview with the Parliamentary news agency, he expressed some rare criticism of President Bashar Assad of Syria: The fact that Bashar Assad survived and maintains his post is due to Iranian aid. Assad owes his rule to Iran, which provided him with urgent assistance on the level of military consultation six years ago. FalahatPisheh stated that in the last challenge (attack on Revolutionary Guard targets by Israel), through which the Zionists attempted to involve Iran, we witnessed Assads passive stance. Bashar Assads passivity comes at a time when young Iranians have been sacrificing their lives for the past six years to preserve Syrias sovereignty and help it return to its role within international relations. According to FalahatPisheh, Bashar Assads passivity has become food for thought in the Islamic Republic. National interests and security are very important to us, but we cantignore the way our foreign policy is being conducted, he continued. This is not the first time that the president of Syria has been criticized for not compensating for Iranian blood spilled on Syrian soil for the sake of the reconstruction of Syria. Senior religious figure Ayatollah Ahmad Alam ul-Hoda, Friday prayer leader in Mashad, stated in a recent sermon that Iran is making sacrifices for Syria, but Iranian companies are unable to participate in Syrias rehabilitation program. On the other hand, Irans official news agency IRNA, under the headline Where does Russia stand on the Zionist regimes attack on Syria? criticizes the position of the Russian administration on Israels recent attack. The article quotes European media and commentators claiming that the Israeli prime minister informed Russian President Vladimir Putin of the planned attack. It also stated that ties between Iran and Russia are a marriage of convenience as opposed to a strong strategic pact. Moscow has not felt very comfortable with its alliance with Tehran on the Syrian issue, and there have been tensions with Iran due to the Kremlins desire to maintain good relations with Israel. Apparently, IRNAs seemingly laconic report is a way to criticize Moscow for its silence (all it did was express concern and call for a calming of tensions between Israel and Iran) and also, reading between the lines, for its cooperation with Israel while abandoning Tehran and its problems to the international arena. In this regard, an Iranian website that supports the Iranian presence in Syria and relates to developments in the Islamic world in Iranian contexts, criticized the failed performance of both Iran and Russia in protecting Iranian military personnel sent to Syria. The article was published shortly after the attack attributed to Israel at the T- 4 airbase. The raid killed at least seven IRGC members, and the website noted that the number of Iranian fatalities was even higher than what was unofficially reported. The website wondered why Revolutionary Guards outlets do not refer to the deaths of Iranian military officials in the recent attacks in Syria, and why Iranian military leaders cannot properly protect Iranian soldiers in Syria. The authors also criticized Russia for caring only about its soldiers at Syrian sites where Iranian soldiers were present. The website calls upon Iranian commanders to demand Russia to provide protection to Iranians in those sites and asks, What kind of alliance is this between us and the Russians? The article also criticizes President Hassan Rouhanis government for its passivity in view of the continued killing of Iranian military personnel in Syria. We Will Destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa Ahmad Khatami, one of the five Friday prayer leaders in Tehran, a member of the Assembly of Experts, and an opponent of Iranian President Rouhani and his regime, stated in his sermon that, Iran is not involved in a nuclear bomb, but it is getting stronger every day in the field of missiles so that it can stop Israel from sleeping. If Israel goes crazy one day (and attacks Iran), we will destroy Tel Aviv and Haifa. Syria has been at war for seven years, but it stands courageously, with missiles against the reckless moves of the Zionist regime, and it will turn the Zionist cities into ghost towns. We wish to hold (Syrias) hand, and we pray that it will win an eternal victory. Before his sermon, the preacher actively encouraged worshippers to shout out slogans such as, Death to America, Death to Israel, Death to England, and Death to al-Saud (the Saudi royal family). Hossein Dalirian, who heads the military desk at the Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, emphasized the importance of the attack on Israel and attributed it to the Syrian army, referring in a Tweet to those who carried out the attack. He added in another Tweet that guided missiles may be used in upcoming attacks and it was not important whether the rockets hit their target or not. What was important was showing the enemy Irans ability to identify Israeli military bases. Additionally, he tweeted that a number of important targets of the Zionist enemy were attacked by Syria, and that good intelligence work had been accomplished (though he did not say whose). In contrast, the users of social media networks in Iran were convinced that the Revolutionary Guard (al-Quds force) was behind the launch of rockets into Israel as revenge for other recent attacks on Syrian forces, and primarily the attack on the T4 airbase in Syria on April 9, 2018. Some of them echoed the words of their leader that Israel will be destroyed within 25 years, while others posted pictures of Israelis in bomb shelters with the hashtags #Israelhasfallen #_ and #RevengeoftheRevolutionary Guard. # _ Internet social networks (not for the first time) removed the account identified with the commander of the al-Quds forces of the Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, after the account posted a caricature of Soleimani attacking Prime Minister Netanyahu with an Iranian flag. The Iranian People Are Held Captive by the Revolutionary Guard The reactions of the citizens of Iran to these events are divided. Many citizens, in conversations with the Farsi-language service of media such as the BBC, Radio Frada, the Voice of America, and other channels broadcast from the West, which are watched and heard by millions, have said that they have been held captive by the Revolutionary Guard for the past 40 years, and they are pleased that Israel has attacked the IRGC in Syria. Some of the Iranian responses called upon Israel and the United States not to turn these episodes into hostility between the Iranian people and Israel and America. Some said that only an all-out war against Iran would lead to the removal of the Islamic regime, and others were concerned that such a war would lead to the total disintegration of the society, economy, and state of Iran. Dr. Sadegh Zibakalam, a senior lecturer on international relations at the University of Tehran, a sworn critic of the conservative camp in Iran and a key activist in the reformist Iranian media, wrote on his Twitter account that, If, Heaven forbid, a war breaks out between Iran and Israel in Syria, it wont be possible to explain to future generations in Iran that Iran went to war against a country that is not its neighbor, is 2,000km away from it, never harmed Irans national interests, and had no claims against Iran. Why does Iran need to waste billions of dollars on military expenses and absorb a lot of fatalities in this war? In response, the conservative site and newspaper Javaonline, which is identified with the Revolutionary Guard, criticized Zibakalam. It wrote, This lecturer forgets, among other things, that the Zionists assassinated Irans nuclear scientists The newspaper wrote that Zibakalam, despite claims by certain elements in Iran that he receives money to defend the Zionist regime, is a naive, simple person who serves the enemy for free. The newspaper referred to the deaths of Iranian military personnel in Syria (apparently in the T4 attack), writing that Zibakalam is defending Israel at a time when we have not yet reached the fortieth day (Arbaeen) since the deaths of the martyred Iranian soldiers who came to Syria under agreements with the Damascus regime. (In Shia Islam, 40 days after a person dies is marked and considered as an important commemoration date.) In any case, among Iranian leadership and society, differences of opinion are surfacing over the national price that Iran is paying for its reckless policy of deploying the Revolutionary Guard in areas outside Iran (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen). The slogan, Not Lebanon, not Gaza. We will sacrifice ourselves for Iran, heard during unrests in 2009 following the elections, was still heard during demonstrations in December 2017. Today it resounds through the streets of Tehran and other cities and on social networks. The most recent attack against ICRG targets, the increasing numbers of deaths among Iranian forces based in Syria, casualties among Basij forces and the many volunteers working under the auspices of Iran in Syria to protect the Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque (a Shiite holy site in the southern suburbs of Damascus), put this question back on the Iranian agenda. Trumps announcement of his withdrawal from the nuclear deal and the mention of Irans negative involvement in the region only strengthen the internal disputes within Iran regarding this issue and the growing price that it is paying, and it will continue to pay, when crippling sanctions are re-imposed for Iranian military involvement outside the country. Until now, Iran has not paid any price for its belligerent involvement in various parts of the Middle East: in Yemen (aiding the Houthis by providing ballistic missiles to attack Saudi Arabias strategic oil infrastructure and attack ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait); the Palestinian arena (opposition to any peace process with Israel; support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad in their resistance to peace, and supporting terror); Bahrain (encouraging the Shiite opposition); Morocco (supporting the Polisario opposition forces), and various other places. The timing of the Revolutionary Guards reaction to the losses sustained in earlier attacks on Syria that were attributed to Israel  the day after Trumps speech about leaving the nuclear deal  was problematic and played into the hands of the United States and Israel. Trumps statements regarding Irans interventions outside its own borders were put on display. The attack was denounced by all of Irans main co-signatories on the nuclear deal (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom), whom Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif visited days later in an attempt to persuade them to remain with the deal despite the U.S. departure from it. Treat the Problem, Not the Symptoms Since President Trump took office, and especially over the past few weeks, Iran has begun paying the price for its aggressive interventions in regional, international, and domestic affairs. This is only expected to intensify in the near future. Apparently, part of President Trumps policy is to deal with the problem of the Iranian regime and the need to replace it, rather than the symptoms of the problem, such as nuclear policy, ballistic missiles, terror, exporting revolution, and flagrant abuses of human rights. In this context, Irans involvement in Yemen is also gaining increasing attention from the U.S. administration, which has been active in this country against al-Qaeda and ISIS. The United States is also intensifying its involvement in Saudi attempts to prevent ballistic missiles being fired from Yemen into Saudi Arabia and to eliminate the leaders of the Houthi rebels. The price that Iran will pay in the future can already be seen from the disputes inside Iran between the president, the Supreme Leader, and the Revolutionary Guard. It is also expressed through the internal discourse inside Iran about the effect of the Revolutionary Guards involvement in the everyday lives of citizens and the chance of getting out of the severe economic crisis that the Iranian people have been suffering for the past two and a half years after signing the nuclear deal, which has failed to bring any tangible gains. Despite the growing cost of the reckless policies of the Revolutionary Guard outside Iran and the huge budgets allotted to them, it does not appear that Iran will give up on the Syrian arena, which is a bridge to Lebanon and the Mediterranean. Syria and Lebanon, and to a certain extent the Gaza Strip are, from the Iranian national security point of view, the first line of defense from the Zionist enemy. Tehran has devoted billions of dollars to create this line. Iran will be compelled to toe the line and carefully tread between maintaining good relations with Western countries to drive a wedge between them and the United States so that the nuclear deal can be saved and what it considers to be its security interests in Syria and Lebanon. Every action that Iran takes from Syria toward Israel can complicate its relations with the European countries. In this regard, Moscow may play a central role and restrain Iran in Syria and its nuclear policy. IDF Lt.-Col. (ret.) Michael (Mickey) Segall, an expert on strategic issues with a focus on Iran, terrorism, and the Middle East, is a senior analyst at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and at Alcyon Risk Advisors. HomeMitch McConnell is just a clerk at heart By Michael R. Shannon

Curator of the Senate Mitch McConnell has decided to re-define his role in public life. McConnell is moving away from characterizing himself as a conservative legislative titan. According to an obsequious profile in The Weekly Standard (a NeverTrumper hotbed), McConnell has found his true calling. The curator believes the best use of his talents is to serve as the Human Resources Department for the federal judiciary. In his new role as head of HR McConnell contends that whatever happens to those losers in the House this November, the Senate must remain in his swampy hands. The Emperor of Inertia has come to the belated realization that voters were listening when he promised them electing a Republicancontrolled Senate, House and White House would mean a rebirth of conservative legislation. The reality was different. Voters got premature ejaculations on election night and nothing has been conceived since. The stuff we did last year was clearly a Republican agenda, McConnell rationalizes. judges, taxes and regulations  that's what we live to do, and virtually all of those are forever done on a partyline basis. Like Union Civil War Gen. George McClellan, in his mind McConnell is always outnumbered and facing overwhelming odds. Mitch is convinced LBJ couldnt have done a better job, but the voters arent. That means McConnells first task is political alchemy. He must turn stagnation into steak. Yet two of the three accomplishments are reactive at best. The only vaguely conservative legislation passed thru his initiative was the tax bill and taxes werent the driving issue during the 2016 campaign. None of the conservative legislation voters said they wanted has been passed. None of the leftist legislation conservatives want eliminated has been repealed. The cocktail conservatives at the Weekly Standard dont mind. They depict this weak, elderly placeholder as a victorious boxer with both gloves raised overhead. They would have you believe, Republicans are better off than they look. The midterm election is six months away, and their chances of preserving a goodsized chunk of their power in Washington are good. This is supposed to be good news? Up until this November Republicans had 100 percent of the power and did nothing. Losing half their legislative clout is supposed to raise our morale? Any perceptive conservative voter will ask the obvious question: Whats in it for me? The truth is, nothing, but McConnell gets to keep his big office if the GOP wins. Hence McConnells makeover. He doesnt want to move. The way to conceal his failure to repay the conservative base for its loyalty, is by completely changing voter expectations. Now instead of being Mr. Legislator, McConnell is telling voters hes Mr. LinkedIn! The onestop networking source for Republican lawyers looking for a soft landing in the judiciary. If we hold the Senate, McConnell explains, we can continue to confirm nominations to lifetime appointments for a full four years and finish the job of transforming the American judiciary, which is my numberone goal. You might say its one lifetime incumbent eager to recruit more lifetime federal employees, which he hopes wont grow in office once they land on the bench. Forget about resetting the dial on the family, immigration, religious freedom, federal spending or reducing the size of a bloated, wasteful federal government. Who has time for that when Mitch is conducting job interviews for circuit court? Even if youre a conservative who buys into Senateasheadhunter, there is this nagging question. Where do those judicial nominations that McConnell is so eager to ratify originate? Is there a tickertape deep in the bowels of the Supreme Court building that generates a candidate whenever an opening appears? Or does Mitch man a booth at legal job fairs where he lassos likely candidates? All thats immaterial to the Standard. They are in awe of the process, In this ambitious effort, it takes two  a leader and a [Judiciary Committee] chairman  to tango. Well, no. Truthfully this matchmaker isnt making any matches. Instead the nominations originate in a White House occupied by the dreaded President Donald Trump. Im no cheerleader for Trump. His waffling on DACA, his short attention span and his embrace of the spendapalooza budget bill are infuriating. Still, without Trump in the White House there wouldnt be any nominations to transform the American judiciary. Hillary would be president and shed be sending the names of leftist politicians who think they look good in black. But we are 800 words deep in a 994word puff piece before Trumps name is even mentioned and then its in connection with impeachment! Mealymouthed, multichins like McConnell are the reason Trump won in the first place. Their continued failure to grasp that fact explains the trouble they face in November. Michael R. Shannon is a public relations and advertising consultant with corporate, government and political experience around the globe. He is a dynamic and entertaining keynote speaker. He can be reached at mandate.mmpr (at) gmail.com. He is also the author of Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now with added humor!). HomeReal Russian collusion the Dems and MSM ignore

By Paul Driessen



Robert Muellers politicized investigation into allegations that President Trump or the Trump campaign or some Trump associate somehow colluded with Russians continues unproven but unabated. Many think partisan politics ensure it will not be concluded or terminated before the fall 2018 elections.

Federal District Court Judge T. S. Ellis may have rebuked Mueller for attempting to wield unfettered power and actually being motivated primarily by a desire to hurt the President. But Mr. Mueller seems determined to find collusion somewhere  except where it seems blatantly obvious: in former Secretary of State Hillary Clintons dealings with Putin oligarchs and the Clinton Family Foundation, her presidential campaigns ties to Russia in funding and utilizing the Steele-Fusion GPS dossier that launched the Mueller probe, a host of top Obama Administration and Democratic National Committee officials who connived to spy on and disrupt the Trump campaign and transition, and multiple other activities.

Moreover, Putin cronies and agents have long colluded with Obama- and Clinton-allied organizations in yet another area to impact election outcomes and drive important public policies. Congress, journalists and others have investigated this collusion and bankrolling  but their detailed reports have been ignored by Mueller, Democrats and the mainstream media. They need to open their eyes.

The US Senate Billionaires Club and Environmental Policy Alliance From Russia with Love reports, articles by investigative journalists like Ron Arnold and Lachlan Markay (here and here), studies by the US National Intelligence Director and Iowa State University, and a March 2018 report by the US House Science Committee reveal money laundering by Putin cronies and ongoing propaganda efforts by Russian media groups to undermine American drilling, fracking, pipeline and agricultural programs. They found:

One of the most clandestine and devious arrangements involves firms owned or controlled by Nathaniel Simons and his wife. Tax records reveal that their Sea Change Foundation gives tens of millions a year to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Climate Action Network, League of Conservation Voters, Center for American Progress, Progressive Policy Institute, Sierra Club and others.

Extensive Sea Change funding comes through Bermuda-based Klein, Ltd., a shell company whose apparent sole purpose is to channel money covertly to Sea Change, which passes it on to environmental advocacy and educational groups. Kleins only officers are employees of Bermuda law firm Wakefield Quin, its address is the same as WQs, and its registered business agents work for Wakefield.

Hefty portions of Klein funds come from Russia: Rosneft, the Russian-government-owned oil and gas giant that is one of Wakefields largest clients; Spectrum Partners, a Moscow-based energy investment firm with major assets in Russian oil and gas; the IPOC Group, an international growth fund owned by Russian minister of telecommunications and Putin friend Leonid Reiman; and other Russian companies. (Other Sea Change donors include the Gates Foundation, eBays Omidyar Network Fund, David Rockefellers personal foundation, the Walmart Foundation and the extended Simons family.)

The Science Committee Report explains how the Russian government funnel money through surrogates to US environmentalist organizations to fund attacks on the fossil fuels industry. It also reveals how Russian operatives create and spread propaganda on US social media platforms, to manipulate American opinions about pipelines, fossil fuels, fracking and climate change.

Before and after the 2016 elections, Russian agents also promoted protests to block pipeline construction and prevent oil and gas production projects, using Twitter and Facebook accounts created by the Russian government-linked Internet Research Agency, Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) noted.

Russian operatives use similar tactics to undermine hydraulic fracturing and pipelines in Europe, which depends on Russia for a third of its natural gas. In fact, several countries get 100% of their gas from Putin-controlled companies, creating serious risks of high prices, transmission interruptions and blackmail. Even more troubling, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security have revealed that Russian hackers were behind cyber intrusions into Americas electricity grid  and might have been setting the stage for hack attacks that could cause widespread blackouts in the USA and other nations.

On the agriculture front, the Iowa State study found that Russian agents have orchestrated campaigns to disparage genetically engineered (GE) crops that American farmers utilize to produce more food, from less land, using less water and fewer pesticides, and with greater resistance to droughts, floods, insects and climate shifts, than is possible with conventional or organic farming. Precise modern GE technologies also created Golden Rice, which prevents malnutrition, blindness and death in Third World children; heat-resistant wheat; and the corn (maize) US ethanol producers use as their feed stock.

However, radical groups like Greenpeace are determined to eliminate every form of agricultural biotechnology. They are just as virulently opposed to pesticides and herbicides.

Financed by organic and natural food companies  and by the Russia-Sea Change Laundromat  they are adept at devising and conducting their own anti-GE/GMO, anti-glyphosate, anti-pesticide and other campaigns. All are eagerly and uncritically covered by print, electronic and social media. But US activist groups and news outlets also parrot or expand on Russias RT (formerly Russia Today) and Sputnik propaganda stories that likewise falsely portray these technologies as risky for people and planet.

Why do they do all this? US fracking operations, oil and gas exports, miraculous agricultural output, and corn, wheat and other crop exports have hurt Russias income, economy, ruble and military. By supporting radical green groups, Russian agents impair US energy and agricultural exports, increase export opportunities for Russian companies, advance their nations economic and geopolitical ambitions, especially regarding Europe  and (they hope) make Russia stronger by making America weaker.

Foundations, government agencies, rich liberals like Michael Bloomberg, corporations and other donors agree with the green agenda, want to avoid activist attacks, or just cant see past utopian assertions to recognize what Hard Green agendas really do, especially to working class and Third World families.

Radical greens gladly take Russian funds because they can never have too much money to advance their domestic and international ambitions. As Ron Arnold notes in our book Cracking Big Green: just the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace and ten other major US eco organizations raked in $2.1 billion in 2012. Total revenue for all US environmentalist groups exceeds $6.5 billion a year. Over a 12-year period, they received more than $21 billion from major foundations; countless millions in taxpayer money from US government agencies during the Obama era; and billions from other sources.

All this cash is fungible. Even if these shady, secretive Russian contributions arent used directly to fund anti-energy and anti-technology campaigns  or to air political ads, support candidates (some 99.9% of them Democrats) and influence elections  they free up other funds that do exactly that. And the donors and recipients are fundamentally in sync philosophically on totalitarian socialism, global governance, wealth redistribution, disguised but real disdain for the less fortunate, detesting America (especially under President Trump) and free enterprise capitalism, and vilifying skeptics of manmade climate chaos.

All of this is illuminating and disturbing, but hardly surprising. Its yet another example of greens and other leftists demanding ethics, responsibility, transparency and accountability  except for themselves.

So if Mr. Mueller and Judge Ellis ultimately decide there actually are no limits to the scope of these Russian collusion investigations and interrogations, perhaps they can focus some of Muellers staff and seemingly bottomless budget on the HRC activities noted above; the suspicious funding and spending practices of the Clinton Foundation; and the ongoing transfer of countless millions of dollars from Russia through secretive laundering outfits to radical environmentalist groups that are deeply involved in US policy-making, pressure campaigns, shareholder actions, and political elections of every description. That investigation into Russian collusion would be an eye-opening service to America and the world.

Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow and author of books and articles on energy and environmental science and policy.Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, builds objects by adding layers and it is emerging as a more flexible and reliable way of manufacturing complex structures in the aerospace, engineering and biomedical industries. A British team is at the ESRFs ID19 to see into the heart of the process and understand it.

I would not want to ship this equipment on an aeroplane, Chu Lun Alex Leung said, scientist from the University of Manchester. It was too precious to leave it in the hands of third parties, he added. Instead of coming to the ESRF by aeroplane, Leung and his colleagues endured the 12-hour drive in a rental van all the way from Oxfordshire (UK) to the ESRF to make sure their unique equipment arrived safely.

Leung was referring to the laser additive manufacturing (LAM) process replicator, or LAMPR for short, a machine himself and colleagues at the Research Complex at Harwell have developed that 3D prints polymers, metals and ceramics while ESRFs X-rays probe the heart of the process  the melting and solidification of powders to form complex 3D printed components.

The team on the beamline, next to the laser additive manufacturing (LAM) process replicator. Front row: Margie P. Olbinado, Yunhui Chen. Back row: Sam Tammas-Williams, Lorna Sinclair, Peter D. Lee, Chu lun alex Leung, Samuel Clark, Sebastian Marussi. Credits: C.Argoud.

Additive Manufacturing is the technology that builds 3D objects by adding powdered material one layer at a time to form almost any object, regardless of its complexity. AM is particularly attractive for building complex shapes that otherwise would have to be fabricated from many separate components. It is also highly effective for repairing regions of damaged components. Applications range from aerospace, where the shapes are both complex and high value, to making bespoke medical components tailored to each individual patient. In the case of LAM, it produces solid objects via an extremely fast laser-powder interaction.

Only with the high flux and high energy X-rays at ESRF we can obtain the speed and penetration to see inside of components as they are being fabricated from nickel superalloys. The conversion of the powder to solid component happens in milliseconds, Peter Lee explained, Physical Sciences Director at the Research Complex at Harwell and professor at University College London. ID19s ultra-high-speed imaging is ideal for this study on nickel and titanium-based alloys due to its high photon flux and excellent phase contrast. The results are both giving us new insights into the physics controlling the process, how the microstructures are formed, and providing unique data to validate process models, Lee added. The ESRF operates world-wide unique high-energy beamlines, ideally suited to study fast processes in dense materials with high temporal resolution, such as during AM. Our new EBS light source will further boost our capabilities to ensure they remain world-leading, states Alexander Rack, beamline scientist at ID19.

The team has already successfully tested the first generation of the LAMPR at the Diamond Light Source. Since then, they have upgraded the machine: This machine is unique as it can see not only inside a laser spot, like our competitors. We can actually monitor what happens in each layer when the powder is melted to form a melt track, in addition, seeing how the melt tracks interact with each other as the object is being built, Leung explained. The LAMPR is also capable to produce 3D objects with a volume of 25 x 25 x 25 mm3.

The X-ray imaging is coupled with concurrent high speed infra-red microscopy developed at the the University of Sheffield and an ultra-fast optical imaging provided by Oxford Lasers Ltd. Using these two imaging modalities, they hope to translate the insights gained using X-ray imaging at ESRFs ID19 beamline into control algorithms that will optimise the industrial AM process.

Industrial applications

The results of this experiment will not only benefit the academic community but also industry. The breadth and depth of the possible applications of additive manufacturing is so large that the team are using as many as 15 industrially-relevant materials in their tests, including steel, titanium or bioactive glass. The research is part of the EPSRCs future manufacturing hub on Manufacture using Advanced Powder Processes (MAPP www.mapp.ac.uk), with 17 different industrial collaborators, ranging from AM machine manufacturers to aerospace companies. MAPPs aims to provide powder-based manufacturing with low energy, low cost, and low waste high-value manufacturing routes and products.

Ben Saunders, Team Leader at Rolls-Royce for Materials and Process Modelling, explains why they are collaborating in the project: Additive Manufacturing, although simple in principle, is actually an incredibly complex process where the solidification and subsequent multiple heating cycles interact with phase transformations and residual stress. From an industrial standpoint we need to have a deep mechanistic understanding of both the manufacturing process and what the relationship between process parameters and the durability of the parts in service. In situ synchrotron studies are helping us to develop the mechanistic understanding of these relationships, which are simply not observable in any other way, and also provide invaluable data for validating physics-based simulations which allow us to scale up this understanding to industrially relevant problems.

The team outside ID19. Front row: Samuel Clark, Chu lun alex Leung, Sebastian Marussi. Back row: Peter D. Lee, Margie P. Olbinado, Lorna Sinclair, Yunhui Chen, Sam Tammas-Williams. Credits: C. Argoud.

Text by Montserrat Capellas EspunyThe planned Nord Stream 2 pipeline is the latest addition to the list of tensions between Europe and the US. The project has raised US intelligence concerns since it would enable Moscow to put new listening and monitoring technology in the Baltic Sea. Reportedly, US President Donald Trump wants Germany to drop the project of a pipeline that would bring Russian gas to Germany across the floor of the Baltic Sea as one of the conditions of a trade deal with Europe that would not include high tariffs on aluminum and steel.

The White House confirmed that the Congress had recently given President Trump new authority to impose sanctions against a variety of Russian pipeline projects. Any firms involved in the Nord Stream 2 project were in an elevated position of sanctions risk, Sandra Oudkirk, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Diplomacy, commented. She also added that the White House was prioritizing using diplomatic means to halt Nord Stream 2.

The US pushback came a day before Chancellor Angela Merkel traveled to Sochi to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks that were partly also about Nord Stream 2. Germany wants to keep looking for islands of cooperation with the Kremlin, including the commitment to Irans nuclear deal. Berlin also reiterated that Nord Stream 2 was a strictly commercial project but there was also the need to consider the interests of Ukraine as a gas transit country.

Europeans have also suggested that Washingtons motives might not be purely altruistic. The 2017 Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act lists the USs opposition to Nord Stream 2 right next to a clause requiring the White House to prioritize the export of United States energy resources in order to create American jobs, help United States allies and partners, and strengthen United States foreign policy. German leaders also suspect that US attempts to halt Nord Stream 2 are part of an effort to increase US liquefied natural gas exports, which accounted for 5 percent of Europes LNG imports in 2017.I've searched through older posts and found a few discussions about the university degree attestation process for a work visa application. Most were describing how to go about it in the UK or India, though. I'm trying to have my degree attested from a US university. So far I have my diploma and a document from the Texas secretary of state certifying a notary who I guess the university sent the diploma to. (My university was able to do that much for me for $75.) I guess next it needs to go to the secretary of state in Washington DC then to the UAE embassy in DC? I'm a little confused about the process, still. (I'm not currently in the UAE.)



I realize I might need to find a service in the US to do it for me, but among the older posts I noticed an American said that he paid $900 for this service. I hope it won't be that expensive. Could someone suggest a good service in the US they've used and how much they paid?



Thanks, all!You will be living in AD as a "single" with the wife (and family?) back in Canada?



As a single 40 year old man who enjoys cooking I spend on average 200 AED/week on groceries. Sometimes more, sometimes less. This covers 5 x breakfasts, 5 x lunches and 4 x dinners. The rest of the time I resort to takeaways or dine out. My meals are not complicated and I err on the vegetarian side (I rarely cook meat and I often have salads for dinner). You can easily survive on 200/week (800/month) for groceries but I'd be surprised if you could go less if you want a western diet. If you intend to eat meat regularly, expect to spend 250/week minimum.



Social life is what the others said. A typical night is 2-3 drinks at happy hour and then go home to crash into bed by 10:00 latest as I'm always up by 5:30. Assume 100-120 for the drinks, then factor in cost of taxis/uber (another 40 minimum). And something modest to eat. You're up to 200 without thinking about it. Closer to 250 if you want a more substantial meal. Without alcohol you can eat comfortably for around 100-150 for 1 x mains + 1 x appetiser and 1 x water. Or around 50-70 for a mid-range lunch or breakfast without fancy fruit drinks.



If you go out for a "night out" you can easily spend 1,000. If you have a brunch + post brunch drinks + a night out, you can be up to 1,500! But it's entirely up to you. Many people go out and just have a drink or two and that's all and they're happy (like me!).



The one downside to trying to be frugal is that so much of the social life does revolve around going out for drinks and meals that to abstain completely to save money means you really won't develop a social life.



As for a car, cheapest is to buy a used Honda or Toyota, drive it for two years, and resell for marginal (if any) depreciation.



By the way, no cleaning/maid services in your budget?The peak body for veterinarians, the Australian Veterinary Association says the Governments response to the McCarthy Review falls short, failing to guarantee stronger animal welfare provisions on live sheep voyages to the Middle East.

AVA president Dr Paula Parker welcomed the reports move to replace the mortality measures used to assess voyage risk with health and welfare measures, but argued the recommendations and governments response do not address the impact of heat stress on sheep.

Irrespective of space allocation, thermoregulatory physiology indicates that sheep on live export voyages to the Middle East during May to October will remain susceptible to heat stress and die due to the expected extreme climatic conditions. Accordingly, voyages carrying live sheep to the Middle East during May to October cannot be recommended, Dr Parker said.

Although were pleased that our recommendation around minimum increased space allocation based on allometric principles will be adopted immediately, we remain concerned these measures alone will not guarantee the welfare of sheep being exported to the Middle East.

Were extremely disappointed that neither the Ministers nor the departments response addresses heat stress during the peak heat season this year.

AVA said it would continue to liaise with Government, the Department of Agriculture and other stakeholders to address the health and welfare of sheep on live export voyages to the Middle East.LAKE Grace farmers Kael and Ashton Gray put a new Equalizer VX model through its paces recently sowing vetch and oats before starting their main cropping program.

The South African-made bar  the first of its kind in the Lake Grace district  was bought from their local AFGRI Equipment dealer and first impressions were positive.

We used it to sow dry into tight pasture country which is good, loamy soil when its wet and I doubt we could have done that with a spring tine machine, Kael said.

Weve also got at least 50 per cent of our cropping program coming off pastures so it will be interesting to see how the bar handles our ironstone country.

It was somewhat of a surprise for the bar to stop the tractor in one pasture paddocks, but when the leading gangs of scalloped discs were hydraulically lowered and engaged, horsepower requirements dropped dramatically.

The brothers bought the 12 metre (39.6 foot) VX model because it can easily be widened and it is a fit for 12m controlled traffic, with gear on three metre axle spacings.

If we want to go wider with the bar, the lugs are already there to add 3m sections each side, Ashton said.

With the main cropping program, the Equalizer will be employed deep banding phosphate on a 50:50 ratio although there is capacity to adjust the ratios if required.

A liquid system on their Bourgault air seeder also will allow them to band liquid UAN and traces in cereals.

According to Equalizer, the bar can be optioned to suit a variety of soil and stubble conditions.

It features three knife points, including an Aerator (20cm, 8in), which is equipped with a shoe at its base to burst subsoil, two seeding boot options (single and split) and two pivoting press wheel options  narrow semi-pneumatic or wide V-shaped.

The pivot design ensures constant tracking of the knife blade with two separate adjustments for press wheel depth and pressure to match soil conditions.

Three types of leading discs are available for stubble control with a choice of coil spring or hydraulic.

The VX features two in-frame flotation tyres and front, frame-protected outrigger wheels on the wings.

A 18000VF five section 18.2m (60ft) model also is available, which has a unique fold to legal transport width.

The Equalizer models come standard with liquid-ready stainless steel tubes and there is a five-year warranty on the frame and a 12-month warranty on the tine assembly.

More information: See your local AFGRI Equipment dealer.2020 was a year marked by hardships and challenges, but the Fauquier community has proven resilient. The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you for your continued support, wed like to offer all our subscribers -- new or returning --

4 WEEKS FREE DIGITAL AND PRINT ACCESS.

We understand the importance of working to keep our community strong and connected. As we move forward together into 2021, it will take commitment, communication, creativity, and a strong connection with those who are most affected by the stories we cover.

We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.Luis Gustavo Moreno Rivera. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Colombian Attorney GeneralColombias top anti-corruption prosecutor was extradited to the United States Friday to face charges connected to bribes he allegedly took to subvert investigations in the U.S. and Colombia.

Luis Gustavo Moreno Rivera, 36, the former National Director of Anti-Corruption in Colombia, was indicted in August last year in federal court in Miami.

Also charged was Leonardo Pinilla Gomez, 31, a lawyer practicing in Colombia.

They each face one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to launder money in order to promote foreign bribery, and two counts of substantive money laundering.

Moreno and Pinilla were arrested in Colombia last year on an Interpol Red Notice.

Pinilla was arraigned Friday in Miami.

Moreno s arraignment is scheduled for May 30.

They face a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count theyre convicted on.

DEA agents in Miami recorded Moreno allegedly agreeing to take bribes from a witness who was cooperating with U.S. authorities.

The witness is a former Colombian governor, Alejandro Lyons Muskus of Cordoba. He was charged last year in Colombia with embezzlement.

Lyons identity and role in the case were confirmed last year by the office of Colombias Attorney General, the New York Times said.

Lyons undercover cooperation led to Morenos indictment.

U.S. prosecutors said Moreno agreed in June 2017 to take $132,000 in cash from Lyons. In return, Moreno agreed to discredit a witnesses in a case against Lyons before the U.S. Internal Revenue Service.

The DOJ said $100 bills from some of the money Lyons paid to Moreno and Pinilla were found on Moreno and his family when they boarded a flight from Miami back to Bogota.

According to the DOJ, Recorded conversations revealed that Moreno and Pinilla discussed Morenos ability to control the investigation into [Lyons] and that Moreno could inundate his prosecutors with work so that they would be unable to focus on the [Lyons] investigation.

In a statement Friday, the DOJ commended the Attorney General of Colombia and the AGs investigative unit for their cooperative efforts in the investigation.

____

Richard L. Cassin is the publisher and editor of the FCPA Blog.On May 9 the DOJ announced a new policy concerning the coordination of penalties imposed by more than one regulator or law enforcement authority in corporate resolutions.

This new policy (pdf) against piling on requires DOJ attorneys to coordinate with one another to avoid the unnecessary imposition of duplicative fines, penalties, and/or forfeiture against [a] company, and further instructs DOJ personnel to endeavor, as appropriate, to . . . consider the amount of fines, penalties, and/or forfeiture paid to other federal, state, local, or foreign law enforcement authorities that are seeking to resolve a case with a company for the same misconduct.

This policy has the potential to avoid unfair outcomes caused by a lack of coordination among enforcement authorities and the imposition of redundant fines and penalties.

Historical FCPA resolutions may provide insight into how the DOJ is likely to implement the new policy. In recent FCPA resolutions, the DOJ has provided companies with substantial credit for payments made to foreign authorities.

For example, in its settlement with Keppel Offshore Marine last December, which Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein referenced when announcing the new policy, the DOJ credited penalties of $211 million paid to Brazil and $105.6 million paid to Singapore. Offsets for fines paid to foreign regulators were also a feature of 2016 settlements with Odebrecht S.A. and Braskem S.A.

Notably, in the FCPA context, the new policy arguably goes further than Article 4 of the OECD Convention (pdf), which requires signatories with shared jurisdiction over a foreign bribery case to consult with each other with a view to determining the most appropriate jurisdiction for prosecution.

However, the first impact of the DOJs new policy may perhaps be seen outside of the FCPA arena in the proposed $4.9 billion settlement between Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and the DOJ Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Task Force, which was reported the day after the announcement of the new policy.

The settlement, which the parties have agreed to in principle, is for less than half of what analysts predicted. Analysts had predicted a larger penalty amount based in part on RBSs payment of $5.5 billion to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), among other agencies. The RBS agreement is the first time that the DOJ has settled an RMBS matter with a bank for less than the amount paid to FHFA.

In addition to the proposed $4.9 billion settlement with the DOJ and the $5.5 billion settlement with FHFA, RBS has paid $1.25 billion to the National Credit Union Administration, $500 million to the New York Attorney Generals office, and $150 million to the SEC, to resolve RMBS matters.

It appears that the lower-than-expected settlement with the DOJ by RBS may be the first evidence of the Departments willingness to curb its own appetite for penalties when other regulators have already taken their places at the table.

It will be interesting to see how effective companies are in holding the DOJ to the terms of the new policy and convincing other agencies in the U.S., as well as foreign regulators, to follow suit. The result could well be quicker, more efficient resolutions and fairer outcomes.

____

Brad Karp, pictured above left, is Chairman and partner at Paul, Weiss, and is one of the countrys leading litigators and corporate advisers. Brad has successfully defended financial institutions and other companies in numerous bet the company litigations and regulatory matters.

Mark Mendelsohn, above right, is a litigation partner at Paul, Weiss, where he is co-chair of the Anti-Corruption & FCPA Group and a member of the White Collar and Regulatory Defense, Internal Investigations, and Securities Litigation Practice Groups.Meghan Markle once struggled to get "big designers" to dress her for events.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

The 36-year-old former actress left the world stunned as she shone in a floor-length white silk gown designed by Clare Waight Keller, the artistic director of French fashion house Givenchy, for her wedding ceremony to Prince Harry at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle - and after their engagement last year, she became a global style icon stepping out in a range of British and American designers for her public appearances with the British royal.

However, it wasn't always easy for the newly anointed Duchess of Sussex to be dressed by designers and stylist Juliet Angus claims she was snubbed by many fashionistas who didn't think she was famous enough to wear their clothing on a 'Suits' press trip in London, but says they made a "huge mistake" as she is now dubbed one of the most fashionable women in the world.

Posting a picture of the happy couple to Instagram, she wrote: "Hollywood glamour, I remember five years ago trying to help my friend, who at the time was her stylist and no big designers wanted to loan to a #meghanmarkle for her London press trip. Well done, you won't have that problem anymore. Big mistake, HUGE! [sic]"

She later told People: "(I was) simply mentioning a personal experience of how hard [it] was to get British designers she wanted to wear on her London press trip to loan to her."

Meghan worked with a small, LA based jewelry brand Zofia Day on a custom made bracelet - dubbed the 'Kensington' bracelet and is made from 14 karat solid gold - to gift to her friends Benita Litt and Jessica Mulroney as well as Meghan's new sister in law, Duchess Catherine, to mark the big day.Alex Turner wouldn't go solo because he enjoys the "company" of his Arctic Monkeys band mates.

Alex Turner

The 32-year-old musician has been a member of the Sheffield rock band since they formed in 2002, and whilst it was previously speculated that their most recent record, sixth album 'Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino', was originally meant to be Alex's solo material, he has now said the idea doesn't appeal to him because he needs the "encouragement" of his band mates.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Alex said: "I enjoy their company," Turner said in reference to his bandmates. "So, for instance, on this project I was really unsure about what I was doing and lost with it completely. Then, when Jamie [Cook, guitarist] came out to LA to join me and we worked on stuff together, through his encouragement suddenly I felt completely different.

"[Cook] getting excited about it, like the way I remember him getting excited about some idea in his bedroom in his mum's house when we were 16 ... I still get that buzz out of his reaction."

Alex has technically gone solo once before when he released the 'Submarine' EP, although the tracks were written as the soundtrack to the 2011 movie of the same name, rather than as a standalone album.

This isn't the first time the 'Do I Wanna Know?' hitmaker has dismissed rumours of a solo project either, as he previously said he was "never interested" in leaving Arctic Monkeys - completed by Matt Helders and Nick O'Malley - behind.

He said: "I was never interested in making a solo album. I am a part of this band and one would disrespect the other. Nevertheless, I wanted to make this music, it was in me. When you compose on the piano, you automatically get different results than on the guitar. And it was important to me to say goodbye to the realism of most of the Arctic Monkeys stuff.

"Overall, it developed in a direction that soon made me realise she had absolutely nothing to do with what people would expect from a Monkeys record."Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release

SubCategory Select Sub-CategoryCanary Medical, Inc., a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada-based medical data company, raised its first funding round of undisclosed amount.

The round was led by Quark Venture Inc and GF Securities, with participation from Relentless Pursuit Partners Venture Fund and BioScience Managers, through BioScience Managers Ventures Fund I.

The company will use the funds to continue to expand operations.

Led by Bill Hunter, CEO, Canary Medical provides the Canary Health Implantable Reporting Processor (CHIRP), which uses innovative sensor and novel communication technology in medical devices to enable remote patient monitoring. Smart medical devices will self-report on everything from patient activity to recovery and treatment failure, without the need for physician intervention or a dependence upon patient compliance.

FinSMEs

21/05/2018Nanit, a NYC based first smart baby monitor to use computer vision technology to help parents with their babys sleep development, secured $14m in Series B financing.

The round, brings total funding to nearly $30m, was led by new investor Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP), with participation from existing investors Upfront Ventures, RRE Ventures, Vulcan Capital and Vaal Investment Partners. In conjunction with the funding, JVP Founder and Chairman Erel Margalit joined Nanits Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its team of computer vision and machine learning engineers and scale production to meet retail demand domestically and abroad in key markets including Canada and Europe.

Co-founded by Dr. Assaf Glazer, Tor Ivry and Andrew Berman in New York and Israel, Nanit provides a smart baby monitor for children and their parents to get more sleep via sleep insights, behavioral analysis, expert guidance, and nightly video summaries.

The company has customers in the U.S. through national retail partnerships with buybuy BABY and Amazon.

FinSMEs

21/05/2018.          ,      .    ,       ...OnePlus is one company which concentrates only on flagships instead of launching several smartphones. The Chinese handset maker finally launched this years flagship  the OnePlus 6, six months after the launch of OnePlus 5T. This has seen a completely new design compared to the predecessor, has a large screen with a notch, comes with a glass body, and brings several new features such as OIS, water-resistance and more. Even though the phone looks premium and has top-end feature that most flagships have, the company is still keeping the cost low compared to others. So, is the OnePlus 6 the companys best smartphone yet? Let us dive into the review to find out.

Unboxing

We recently unboxed the OnePlus 6, check out the video below.

Box Contents

OnePlus 6 8GB RAM with 128GB storage Mirror Black

Screen Protector (pre-applied)

Clear protective case

Dash Type-C Cable

Dash Power Adapter (5V-4A)

SIM Tray Ejector

Quick Start Guide and Safety Information

Video Review

Display, Hardware and Design

OnePlus is still sticking with FHD+ Optic AMOLED display for the OnePlus 6 as the predecessor, but this has a large 6.28-inch screen with a resolution of 2280  1080 pixels, pixel density of about 401 PPI and 19:9 aspect ratio with a notch. It has rounded corners, and the bezels have been trimmed down to a bare minimum, just to make more space for the display, so it has about 84% screen-to-body ratio compared to 80% on the 5T. Blacks are perfectly black, thanks to the AMOLED panel, the color reproduction and viewing angles are good, it has perfectly readable display under bright sunlight too.

Even though it has a large display, the phone is 155.7mm tall, which is actually less than the height of 156.1mm on the OnePlus 5T, since it doesnt have a bezel on the top. It has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection as well.

Just like its predecessor, the OnePlus 6 gets the DCI-P3 color profile, along with the standard sRGB, Adaptive mode, and a Custom color profile. It retains Reading Mode, which completely changes the display to black and white, which gives you an impression of reading an e-reader/paper when using it. Depending on the ambient light condition, this mode will automatically adjust the color temperature and calibrate the settings to match the environment. You can add a specific app that can use it automatically.

It retains Night Mode, which is now default in stock Android from Android Oreo. This applies yellow tint, thereby reducing the emission of blue light, to help you fall asleep easier after using the phone. It comes with other system customization including Accent color, Font size, Display size and more. There is Ambient display, Lift up display toggle and more.

The OnePlus 6 houses a 16MP front camera, earpiece, customizable notification LED and the usual set of proximity and RGB ambient light sensors within the small notch. It has Gyroscope, Magnetic Sensor or Magnetometer and Electronic Compass. The earpiece has small holes, which attracts dust easily.

Since there is a notch in the middle, clock has been moved to the left, and it doesnt display all the notification icons, if there are a lot of notifications. It doesnt have an option to show battery percentage in the status bar. Looks like OnePlus might have removed the feature to save space. Hope it modifies it in future update to shows percentage inside the icon, like the system UI tuner tweak in stock Android. As promised, OnePlus is offering an option to hide the notch, and there is an option to select apps to display in full-screen utilising the area around the notch. This works in video apps like YouTube, but some might not like it.

Even though it uses on-screen buttons, it still has a chin below the display, which houses the display components, but this is slightly smaller compared to the one on the 5T.

The OnePlus 6 still retains the alert slider, which has been moved to the right side, above the power / lock button, so the volume rocker has been moved to the left side, below the Dual SIM slot (nano + nano) slot. Those who are used to volume rocker on the right might need time to get used to it since most hold the phone on the right hand. It still retains the 3.5mm audio jack, which is present on the bottom, which has the loudspeaker grill, USB Type-C port and the primary microphone. You can see the small antenna lines on the metal frame.

On the back there is a dual-camera setup, which now has been arranged vertically, compared to the predecessor, and there is a camera bump since the sensor is bigger. It has a new 16-megapixel Sony IMX 519 primary camera with f/1.7 aperture with support for OIS, in addition to EIS but the company has retained the 20-megapixel Sony IMX 376K secondary rear camera. Dual-LED flash is present below the camera, and the fingerprint sensor is oval-shaped, and is scratch-resistant.

The OnePlus 6 is the companys first flagship with a glass back and it has Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection to protect it from scratches and accidental drops or bumps. It has a subtle curvature that creates patterns and highlights when the light hits the back. The phone has a width of 75.35 mm and is 7.75mm thick, slightly wider and thicker compared to the 5T, but it hardly noticeable, however it weighs 177 grams, which is 15 grams heavier than the 5T.

In addition to Mirror Black, the phone comes in Midnight Black version, which has a glass back, but with matte finish. A distinctive S-shaped pattern curves off the back of the device as overhead lights hit it just right since it has jagged texture of film in the glass. There is a limited-edition Silk White 128GB version that uses pearl powder to create a subtle shimmering effect. There is a Marvel Edition with a 3D Kevelar-textured glass back, 256GB storage and some goodies as well for Marvel fans.

Since the Mirror Black edition is glossy, it attracts fingerprints and dust easily, so it is recommended to use the bundled clear protective cover. OnePlus is selling addition back covers as well, including a new Nylon bumper case that has finely woven texture on the back and a rubber grip to hold it comfortably. It costs Rs. 1490, and there are other cases and cover which starts from Rs. 990.

OnePlus has finally added water-resistance to its flagship with the OnePlus 6. The company says that the phone has a special type of foam between the screen and the battery cover gap to prevent water from seeping into the wiring, the headphone jack and fingerprint scanner have been covered by waterproofing materials, and the gaps around the buttons are sealed using silicone loops to prevent damage to key components, however the phone doesnt have an IP rating. OnePlus says that it can survive a drop in the sink or a spilled glass of water, and even light rain, but it advises not to take it under water for a swim. It clearly mentions that exposure to liquid is not covered in warranty. In an AMA the company said that water damage is generally not covered by warranty by most companies, including phones certified with IP68.

Camera

The OnePlus 6 equips a 16-megapixel primary rear camera with f/1.7 aperture 1.22m pixel Sony IMX519 sensor with Contrast Detection Auto-Focus, Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) along with Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS), compared to Sony IMX398 sensor on the 5T, which lacked OIS. The company has retained the same secondary 20-megapixel secondary camera with f/1.7 aperture 1.0 m pixel Sony IMX371 sensor as the 5T to capture depth information in portrait shots. Even the front-facing 16-megapixel camera with Sony IMX371 sensor, f/2.0 aperture, and 1.0m pixel size is same as the predecessor.

The Camera UI is simple with toggles for timer, HDR, aspect ratio (4:3 / 19:9 / 1:.1), Flash on one side and front or rear camera toggle, shutter button and image preview button on the other side. You can just swipe left or right to switch between video, photo and portrait, and there is 2x zoom.

It adds new bokeh effects, including hearts, circles and stars so that lights in the background of your portrait shots will change based on your selection. The company has promised to bring Potrait Mode to front camera as well in future via an update. This will use AI algorithm to apply depth effect to selfies.

OnePlus says that is has improved its Smart Capture software to offer better clarity depending on the environment and time of day. Smart Capture selects which feature to use to optimize the photo for maximum clarity.

With Advanced HDR, our improved High Dynamic Range algorithm,

the OnePlus 6 brings out shadows and enhances lighting in your photos, says the company.

Talking about the camera performance, the OnePlus 6 takes good photos under daylight condition with very good details, color, and vibrancy, which is better compared to the 5T. Images taken in HDR mode is better with improved contrast and saturation, and brings out shadows and enhances lighting. Macro shots came out well. Dual camera has been improved, and edge-detection in portrait shots are better. It works a lot better with people and faces than with objects. Addition of new bokeh effects is good.

Low-light shots are decent and has seen a lot of improvement compared to the 5T, but the camera boosts the ISO to maximum (6400) so it has much more noise compared to Galaxy S9 or Pixel 2 that maintains ISO around 1000 even in low-light shots. Images with flash are good, and the flash is not overpowering. The company is still sticking to dual LED flash, instead of opting for dual-tone LED flash in most flagships. The front camera is good for selfies and video chats. It has beautify option in both front and rear cameras.

Check out the camera samples below (Click the image to view the full-resolution sample).

Check out the complete set of camera samples here. Also check out the comparison with the Pixel 2 XL here. It can record videos in 4k or 1080p resolution at 60 fps, but OIS works only in 60fps, while EIS in used in 30fps, as confirmed by OnePlus Camera Product Manager Jimmy Z in AMA last week. It has Slow motion video recording, which now has 480 fps option at 720p as well as 1080p at 240 fps, and slo-mo uses OIS as well. You can record slow-mo videos continuously for 1 minute and select trim down the slo-mo parts you need. The OnePlus 5T is restricted to 720p slow motion at 120fps and normal 4k recording at 30fps. The video quality is good with a lot of details. Thanks to OIS, videos are stable. Since it has dual microphones audio is crisp. Check out the video samples below.

Software, UI and Apps

Coming to the software, the OnePlus 6 runs OxygenOS 5.1.3 based on Android 8.1 (Oreo) with latest May Android security patch, support for project treble and seamless system (A/B) updates. The company has teamed up with Google to bring Android P beta, which is already available for download, and the stable version is expected later this year. It is pretty much stock with added features like Shelf that shows weather, recent contacts, recent apps, Dashboard (with data used, available storage and battery) and Membership card details that was introduced recently.

It has all the features that are already available on the 5T including Gestures, actions for Home, Recents and Back buttons, double tap to wake, Music control, flip to mute, three-finger screenshot, swipe fingerprint for notification, option to customise functions of the alert slider key by choosing what to keep active and what to silence in each mode. The three toggles are now  Ring, Vibrate, and Silent instead of Ring, Vibrate and Do Not Disturb mode on the OnePlus 3 and 5 series phones. The company in an AMA said that that change is made after feedback from users, and not only because DND is changing. It is planning to bring this to 5/5T as well.

There is Gaming Mode, Pocket Mode and Parallel Apps that lets you clone apps including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and more, which allows you to login to the same app two different accounts.

Our unit has 8GB LPDDR4x RAM with 128GB (UFS 2.1 ) storage. Out of 8GB RAM, you get 7.6GB of usable RAM, out of which about 5.6GB of RAM is free on boot with just the default apps running in the background. Out of 128GB of internal storage you get 116GB of usable storage . It also comes in 6GB LPDDR4x RAM with 64GB storage (UFS 2.1 ).

Apart from the usual set of utility apps and Google Apps, this comes with Amazon and Amazon Kindle apps and doesnt have any other bloatware. There is quick search option to search apps based on category that are automatically tagged.

Fingerprint Sensor and Face unlock

The fingerprint scanner on the back of the smartphone is now in an oval shape, and it is pretty quick to unlock the phone in a fraction of a second when you place the finger on it. You can add up to five fingerprints. Just like other OnePlus devices, the fingerprint here is ceramic, which doesnt get scratched easily. There is Face Unlock, which is fast that can unlock to unlock the phone in 0.4 seconds. Face unlocks works well in bright environment, for dark conditions there is assistive lighting that uses screens light to help the camera recognize you.

Music Player and Video Playback

Google Play Music is the default music player. Similar to most of the flagships, it doesnt have FM Radio. Audio Tuner option in the sound settings let you set equalizer presents and select the type of headphones, if you have OnePlus headphones. Audio quality through third-party in-ear headphones is good. Loudspeaker output is good as well. Those were expecting dual speakers in the OnePlus 6 will be disappointed. It can play 4K videos smoothly, and supports several video codecs MKV, MOV, MP4, H.265(HEVC), AVI, WMV, TS, 3GP, FLV, WEBM. It supports WideVine L1 out of the box so you can play HD content on Netflix and other Google Widevine DRM-protected video streaming services.

Connectivity

The OnePlus 5T supports various connectivity options including 4G (44 MIMO) and VoLTE for Reliance Jio with support for Idea VoLTE coming soon. It also has Dual 4G VoLTE support so that you can use VoLTE on both the SIMs and also switch data between two Jio SIMs easily. It has WiFi 802.11ac dual-band (22 MU-MIMO ), Bluetooth 5.0 aptX HD, GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, USB 2.0 Type-C with support for USB OTG, USB Type-C audio and NFC.

Performance and Benchmarks

The OnePlus 6 is powered by the latest Octa-Core Snapdragon 845 64-bit 10nm Mobile Platform clocked at 2.8GHz within AIE and Adreno 630 taking care of graphics department. The performance of the device is just excellent, and the gaming performance is good as well with good graphics even in graphics intensive games, giving no room for frame drops or hangs. Since this has a glass body, the phone gets a bit warm in hot environment and when gaming, similar to most other smartphones, but it doesnt get too hot. Check out some of the synthetic benchmark scores below, in which it topped in most.

Check out the complete set of benchmark scores here. Also check out the gaming review to know about the gaming performance of the OnePlus 6.

Battery life

The OnePlus 6 is powered by a 3300mAh battery with Dash Charging technology, which the company mentions as Fast Charging on its site. Even though the phone has the same battery capacity as the OnePlus 5T, the company says that it will offer 10% more battery life compared to the predecessor. In reality, the OnePlus 6 lasted more than a day with average use and should last for the whole day with heavy use. The company says that half an hour of charge using the fast charger will offer a days battery life, which is fine for casual use, but not for heavy users. It doesnt have wireless charging. OnePlus CEO ahead of OnePlus 5T launch last year said that wireless charging brings several limitations, and 20W Dash Charge is superior and charges faster compared to 10W wireless charging.

In our One Charge rating, the OnePlus 6 achieved 16 hours and 44 minutes, which is slightly better that the OnePlus 5Ts charge rating of 16 hours and 28 minutes. It took just 27 minutes to charge for 0 to 50%, but it took 1 hour and 39 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%, slightly more compared to OnePlus 5T. It takes a lot of time to charge after it hits 95%. There is advanced optimization option which restricts background activity of apps aggressively to improve battery life. We will bring you the complete set of battery test results soon.

Conclusion

Overall, the OnePlus 6 is a solid upgrade to the OnePlus 5T in almost all the departments such as display, performance, design and camera. Even though there is a notch, which might not be preferred by everyone, the implementation of it good, and you have option to hide it or enable it for certain apps. The gorgeous glass body compliments the display. However, no phone is perfect. Even though the OnePlus 6 is water-resistant, it doesnt have IP ratings and the phone misses out wireless charging, even though it has a glass body. It also doesnt have dual speakers.

At a price of Rs. 34,999 for the 6GB RAM with 64GB storage version and Rs. 39,999 for the 8GB RAM with 128GB storage version, the phone gets Rs. 2000 costlier compared to the launch price of OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T. This can be justified with the upgrades to the screen, body and camera.

The OnePlus 6 will be available exclusively from Amazon India starting from May 21st for Prime users and experience store in Bangalore at 12:00 pm, and for everyone on May 22nd through Amazon India, OnePlus India Online Store. The limited-edition Silk White will be available on June 5th. To summarize, here are the pros and cons of the smartphone.

Pros

Large 6.28-inch 19:9 AMOLED screen

Smooth performance

Good design and build quality

Good dual rear cameras with OIS

Cons

No wireless charging

No IP rating for water resistance

Same old front camera

Photography by SirajCommoditisation of technology is a fantastic thing. Be it trickle down economics or the pace of innovation, consumers have never had it better. You no longer have to shell out a kidney for a top of the line smartphone to get an experience that more or less gets you all the way there. One of the last few bastions however has been camera tech. The smartphone obliterated the point and shoot market and with AI, better sensors and computational photography, it is gunning for those who want SLR like quality without the hassle of lugging around lenses. This is also where flagship smartphones like to differentiate their product as being better. OnePlus has always had a mantra of Never Settle, yet their camera experience has always fallen short of the best in the field. Weve brought you our full OnePlus 6 Review and an entire OnePlus 6 Camera Samples gallery, but heres a second take on how well the phone fares against one of the best in the business, the Pixel 2 XL, as well as how well it does in daily use.

All the shots were taking using a OnePlus 6 on the latest available firmware and the comparisons were made against a Pixel 2 XL running the latest Android P developer preview. Well also try and throw in a couple of shots from the OnePlus 5 where possible but youll be best served by our dedicated camera samples post for that. Oh and before we start, heres a bit on the camera specifications of the OnePlus 6. The phone has a 16MP rear camera with an f/1.7 aperture 1.22m pixel Sony IMX519 sensor. The camera supports contrast detection auto focus and has both OIS and EIS. The secondary camera module remains the same as on the OnePlus 5T i.e. a 20MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture and a 1m pixel Sony IMX 371 sensor for portrait mode capture. The Google Pixel 2 XL on the other hand has a single 12.2 MP camera with a Sony IMX 719 with a 1.4m pixel size and f/1.8 aperture. The way that the Google Pixel shoots images though is highly software driven and relies heavily on its HDR+ algorithms.

Right then, we took both the phones for a walk around Edinburgh providing us with ample photography opportunities and a chance to put the cameras through their paces. The results might surprise you. The first image will always be from the OnePlus with comparative shots labelled as such below. (Click the image to view the full-resolution sample of OnePlus 6 and click the comparison shot for the full-resolution sample of Google Pixel 2 XL)

A standard well lit shot, the OnePlus predictably does very well here. Even pixel peeping reveals a good amount of details. The greens are ever so slightly oversaturated and we did notice that there is a bit of over sharpening in the leaves. This is visible compared to the Pixel 2 XLs shot that has a slightly more natural look. The OnePlus 6 also favors a slightly warmer look compared to the cooler Pixel 2 XL shot.

With the light shining into the lens, theres a bit of a flare and a prominent warm tinge to the entire shot. We also observed a slight loss in details here. Zooming in reveals a slightly heavy handed approach to the noise reduction algorithms.

The warm tinge and flare is even more visible when zooming in. Do note that this a digital zoom and unlike the OnePlus 5, the 6 does not have a dedicated telephoto lens.

Shooting this mural with the light shining behind it is a good way to judge the dynamic range on offer.

We observed that in an effort to brighten up the mural itself, the OnePlus 6 loses a bit of fine detail and theres a highly over sharpened look to the background. The Pixel 2 XL on the other hand underexposes and chooses to maintain more details but ends up with a darker image.

Other than a mild difference in saturation levels, the image was perfectly captured by both the OnePlus 6 and the Google Pixel 2 XL. If we had to nitpick, the OnePlus 6 has a tendency to over sharpen. Noticed it becoming a trend? No? Youll see more examples in a bit.

Edinburgh Castle on a sunny afternoon like this is a beautiful subject. Both the phones do well here with the Pixel 2 XL leaning towards a more natural look. The OnePlus 6 defines the brick pattern on the castle walls well but we cant really find fault with either.

Another mural with the sun shining from behind it. As weve established by now, the OnePlus 6 has a tendency to brighten up subjects. In this case, it results in a washed out image and a loss of detail. The walls almost look splotchy. The Pixel 2 XL on the other hand underexposes and keeps all the details albeit a bit darker.

As long as the lighting is good, the digital zoom on the OnePlus 6 does a good enough job. We dont really recommend using it too often but if youre in a situation where youd really like to get a bit closer, the phone does a decent enough job though the over-sharpening really is a tad too much.

Now this one is quite interesting and really highlights the very different approaches in capturing the same subject. The OnePlus 6 really bumps up the shadow region and overall brightness. This results in a more pleasing image until you look at the shot 1:1 and notice the noise patterns. The Pixel 2 XL as expected underexposes the shot and plays it safe. Technically, the Pixel 2 XLs shot might be better but i do think that most people will prefer the OnePlus 6s shot.

Shot on a hike with fading light, the OnePlus 6 starts losing fine detail. Especially in the distance, the loss of detail becomes quite visible.

The OnePlus 6 does a really good job with Macro shots. With an f/1.7 aperture, there is a nice amount of natural looking depth of field.

With portrait mode enabled, we got a similar effect. Well need to test this mode out a bit more.

Coming to low light shots, this is where the OnePlus starts losing out on its edge. The Pixel 2 Xl produces a brighter shot and more importantly keeps noise under control. As youll notice in the EXIF info, the Pixel 2 XL is shooting at ISO 267 while the OnePlus has bumped it up to 1000.

In this shot looking down at the Grassmarket and Edinburgh Castle in the distance, the Pixel 2 XLs shot is visibly brighter and more detailed. The OnePlus 6 while still sharp, is quite a bit darker. And yes, the sky was blue not purple. The OnePlus 6s shot also has quite a bit of noise which is expected at ISO 1600.

In absolute low light situations, the OnePlus 6 begins to show its weakness. Shot in a graveyard around 10pm, the foreground details are almost completely lost.

Comparing it to the Pixel 2 XL, we can see that the Pixel has done a better job of exposing and metering. The sky is more natural looking and you can see more of the foreground. In fact theres a lot more detail across the spectrum.

On the other hand, compared to the OnePlus 5T, the OnePlus 6 is leagues ahead. The OnePlus 5T produced a slightly shaky, much darker and poorer shot with an overexposed sky that has also been metered wrongly.

Conclusion

It is downright astonishing how far OnePlus has come with the OnePlus 6. Does it beat the best in the market? Not really but it sure comes damn close. Unless you find yourself in extremely low light very often, the OnePlus 6 comes within spitting distance of the Pixel 2 XL and its ilk. For a smartphone that at its top end is still cheaper than the cheapest Pixel, thats a mighty big feat. Do check out our review and an additional camera samples page here.Samsung Electronics today announced that it is hosting the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) working group to complete the 5G mobile communication standards in Busan from May 21st to 25th. This meeting will finalize the relevant standard technologies for 5G commercialization.

The company announced that around 1,500 standard experts from handset and equipment vendors including Samsung, Qualcomm, as well as major mobile operators such as Verizon, AT&T, NTT DoCoMo, KT and SK Telecom would attend to complete the 5G phase-1 standard. All the working groups will confirm the final technologies for 5G commercialization which includes 5G wireless access technology providing ultra-high speed data and ultra-low latency and the conformance testing method for 5G terminals.

The RAN4 working group will decide the performance requirements for 5G terminals and base stations including the 3.5GHz and 28GHz bands. They will also inform the radio regulations, which are important for the 5G spectrum when 5G commercialization starts in earnest in Korea, in the U.S. and Japan. Back in December, 3GPP first approved the 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) standard that will be on the lines with the existing 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) as a vehicle to connect to 5G.

It is also known that the company was successful in the worlds first 5G mobility demonstration between base stations over an ultra-high frequency (mmWave) band in 2015. Samsung and KDDI demos 5G on a train traveling over 200kmph achieve 1.7Gbps speed and has also demonstrated the worlds first 8K video download and 4K video upload on the bullet train.

Seunghwan Cho, Executive Vice President of Samsung Research said:

The first 5G standard, which includes innovative technologies developed by Samsung Electronics, will be completed at this 3GPP conference. This will lead the market to commercialize 5G communication to serve as the core infrastructure for the coming fourth industrial revolution.

SourceNokia has announced that it is partnering with Streamr who has just launched Real-time Data Marketplace. This connects data producers and consumers. The main motto behind this is to offer connectivity to remote rural areas and enjoy the benefits that follow.

The partnership will see the development of the next generation of mobile base stations and enable Nokia customers to monetize their data. Streamr will play a major role in building the next generation of mobile base stations and Nokias Kuha transportable base stations will be integrated into Streamrs data Marketplace so customers can monetize their data while receiving a better offer when it comes to connecting to a range of IoT sensors and devices.

With the hosted networks, remote towns, and villages can set up and monitor their new mobile broadband service themselves. On the other hand, Streamrs Marketplace is a web-based application where data providers can list real-time data streams, and data consumers can subscribe and pay for access to those data streams. Interesting this is that the pricing and time-based access control are coded in Ethereum smart contracts by using Streamrs cryptographic token.

Martti Ylikoski, Radio System Evolution Lead at Nokia said:

Providing smart mobile coverage for up to four billion individuals across the world is a major challenge and current solutions dont go far enough. We recognize a growing movement of empowered mobile customers who want to control and monetise their own data. Our partnership with Streamr reflects our firm belief in the platform, as well as our commitment to better serve our customers.

Streamr CEO, Henri Pihkala said:

The launch of our Marketplace represents a pivotal moment for our platform and underlines our commitment to driving the future of data utilization and monetisation. To realize our vision of a sustainable, equitable, and efficient data economy, we needed to create a space in which buyers and sellers could come together freely, and today we have achieved just that.

Source 1, 2LG just announced Q7, the companys latest smartphone in the Q series and the successor of last years Q6, after several leaks. It has the same 5.5-inch FHD+ FullVision Display and packs the same 3,000mAh built-in battery, but this is powered by a new 1.5GHz Octa-core / 1.8 GHz Octa-core SoC and runs Android 8.0 (Oreo). The top-end Q7+ comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage, as well as a 16-megapixel rear cameras, while the Q7 and budget Q7 features a 13-megapixel rear camera, 3GB RAM and 32GB storage.

In addition to military grade durability with MIL-STD 810G, same as the predecessor, this is also IP68-certified for water and dust resistance. It also has Portrait mode, QLens, Hi-Fi quality audio, DTS:X 3D Surround Sound, and the top-end Q7+ also comes with Hi-Fi Quad DAC. Even though it has the same 3000mAh battery has the predecessor, LG has added support for Qualcomms Fast Charge technology that charge the phone from 0 to 50% in 30 minutes and it also has USB Type-C, replacing the micro USB on the Q6.

LG Q7, Q7+ and Q7 specifications

5.5-inch 18:9 FHD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels) FullVision 442ppi Display

1.5GHz Octa-core / 1.8 GHz Octa-core processor

3GB RAM with 32GB storage (Q7 and Q7) / 4GB RAM with 64GB storage (Q7+) expandable memory up to 2TB with microSD

Android 8.0 (Oreo)

Dual SIM

16MP (Q7+) / 13MP (Q7 and Q7) rear camera with LED Flash, PDAF

8MP / 5MP (100-degree Super Wide Angle) front-facing camera

3.5mm audio jack, FM Radio, Hi-Fi audio, DTS:X 3D Surround, Hi-Fi Quad DAC (Q7+ only)

Water and Dust Resistant (IP68) MIL-STD 810G certified

Dimensions: 143.8 x 69.3 x 8.4mm ; Weight: 145g

4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.2 LE, GPS / GLONASS, USB Type-C 2.0

3,000mAh built-in battery with fast charging

The LG Q7 and Q7+ come in Aurora Black, Moroccan Blue and Lavender Violet colors, and the Q7 comes only in Moroccan Blue color. The new Q7 series will roll out starting from Europe from early next month, followed by countries in the Americas and Asia. No word on the pricing yet.Reuters

"The EAC has suggested that Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry that looks after the functioning of banks, financial institutions and insurance companies to be kept at arms length in the functioning of new body. This clearly means there would no interference by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in the appointment of directors and other top officials," sources told Firstpost.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is examining a proposal to replace the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) with a new body that would operate as a holding company to usher in reforms in public sector banks (PSBs). The latest move comes close on the heels of the massive Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam and subsequent clamour within the establishment for sweeping reforms in the banking sector.According to top sources in the PMO, the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) has suggested that the BBB could be upgraded as a holding company for appointment of top bank officers in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The EAC has suggested that the new body should directly report to the PMO, and not to the Finance Ministry.It is learnt that the EAC proposal titled 'Continuing Reforms In PSBs for Better Performance' is under active consideration of the PMO and a decision to upgrade the BBB is likely to be announced soon." While setting up a new body as a holding company, the government would require to make an amendment in the 'Bank Allocation Act, 1980. There are certain other suggestions that are being examined by the PMO," sources further added.A senior official in the government said the BBB that started functioning in April 2016 with primary objective of recommending names for top position in the government owned banks, was not able to act as a catalyst for reform simply because of the overstepping of Department of Financial Services in important matters and the autonomous body was not taken on board on several occasions in the past."Department of Financial Services had clipped the wings of BBB since the very beginning. The Department had shot down several powers, which BBB wanted to exercise in the top rank appointments in the bank," the government official said.Another top officer in the Finance Ministry requesting anonymity told the Firstpost that Department of Financial Services (DFS) role in top appointments in PSBs is that of a post office and he has not witnessed any interference from the Ministry in any recent case."The decisions are largely taken by the political executive. We just shortlist the names and secretary is part of the panel comprising of RBI governor, deputy governor, expert and a former Bank's chairman. But even then the recommendations have to be cleared at the top level and Department role is limited to the scrutiny. But, if the government feels that a new body can do the job better, it should be given a chance. However, it cannot be expected that the political executive would accept 100 percent recommendations of the new body. It may not be possible and feasible," the officer said.The birth of the BBB was triggered by P J Nayak Committee report in 2014 which had suggested that government must distance itself from several bank governance functions, which it discharges while observing that selection process for bank directors is compromised making the board governance weak."Governance difficulties in PSBs arises from several externally imposed constraints. These include dual regulation by the Finance Ministry in addition to RBI, board constitution, wherein it is difficult to categorise any director as independent, significant and widening compensation differences with private sector banks, leading to the erosion of specialist skills," the Nayak panel had observed.The government needs to move rapidly towards establishing fully empowered boards in public sector banks, solely entrusted with governance and oversight of the management of the banks.Subsequently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2015 Budget speech had announced the formation of the BBB. "In order to improve the governance of public sector banks, the government intends to set up an autonomous Banks Board Bureau. The Bureau will search and select the heads of public sector banks and help them in developing differentiated strategies and capital raising plans through innovative financial methods and instruments. This would be an interim step towards establishing a holding and investment company for banks."Later, on August 2015, government issued a statement saying the "Bureau will be a body of eminent professionals and officials, which will replace the appointments Board for appointment of whole-time directors as well as non-executive chairman of PSBs. They will also constantly engage with the board of directors of all the PSBs to formulate appropriate strategies for their growth and development."At the time of the inaugural of the BBB, it was general opinion that board should be provided more powers in case of top appointments at the banks. During the meeting on 8 April 2016 that was attended by then MoS Finance Jayant Sinha and then RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, it was felt that to ensure effective corporate governance of PSBs boards, the BBB mandate should be expanded. Accordingly, a revised 'Terms of Reference' was submitted to the Finance Ministry for approval.The DFS, however, in November 2016, turned down at least 4 mandates sought by the BBB that included directly sending the recommendations to Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, search and selection of non-official directors on PSB boards and a specific mandate on stressed asset resolution strategies.Broadly, 13 mandates were approved for the BBB to operate including to recommend the selection and appointment of whole-time directors, to develop an appropriate methodology to enable the search and selection of high calibre whole-time directors of PSBs, to recommend the selection and appointment of the non-executive chairman and to help banks to develop a robust leadership succession plan for critical positions that would arise in future through appropriate processes including performance and management systems.An officer who earlier handled the department on the condition of anonymity said the new body's proposed mandate for directly reporting to the PMO is a right step in the right direction."Rules of business can be amended to facilitate this but the new body must have more experts on the panel to identify and pick up the talents as well devise the mechanism to reboot and re-energize the PSBs. The government is empowered to take a call and must amend the rules," he said.The BBB's then Chairman Vinod Rai, in a letter to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in July 2017, had stressed upon organic linkages between the Bureau and the government. Rai's letter had observed: "If the Government does indeed desire to make the Bureau address issues of governance around PSBs in a holistic manner and make its output effective, there is need for an organic relationship between Government and the Bureau. The Bureau, as a body of experts on public sector banking, would be able to provide greater utility to the Finance Minister on matters relating to the governance and performance of PSBs, if there were to be greater organic linkage and dialogue with the Finance ministry. At present the body is merely functioning as an appointment board."Rai had made it clear that India now deserves a public sector banking system which can offer a long term sustainable growth rate rather than a public sector which amplifies the excesses of the credit boom with extreme risk aversion during credit bust and the attendant reliance on the tax payer's funds.Original Source:Police in the U.K. are searching for the driver of a $250,000 Ferrari who abandoned the car after a massive accident.

The 458 Spider collided with a Porsche 718 Cayman on a traffic circle in the city of Sheffield on Sunday evening, with the Porsche rolling over before coming to rest on its busted suspension and with what appeared to be a bowl of takeout Indian food on its windshield.

Witnesses told SWNS that they saw both drivers running from the scene after the accident, but the South Yorkshire Police said that 26-year-old who was behind the wheel of the red Porsche returned and had suffered only minor injuries.

Now investigators are asking the public for help finding the driver of the grey Ferrari convertible, and any passenger that was in the car with him or her. The call for action on Facebook says that it is not known if anyone was injured in the car, which was heavily damaged and had its airbags deployed.

ARE YOU FOLLOWING FOX NEWS AUTOS ON FACEBOOK YET?

A similar incident happened in Nevada just last week, when police discovered a wrecked $300,000 McLaren 720S that had been abandoned in the desert. In that case, the driver and passenger had made their way to a hospital before the police arrived in the remote location.Kelly Clarkson opened up the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday night with a tribute to the eight students and two teachers who died on Friday in the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas.

"I'm a Texas girl and my home state has had so much heartbreak over this past year," an emotional Clarkson, the host of this year's show, told the audience.

The "American Idol" star said that "once again" the nation is "grieving for more kids that have died for just an absolute no reason at all" and said producers of the show asked her to prepare a "moment of silence" for those who were killed.

But Clarkson, choking up, said she's "so sick of 'moment of silence,'" which she said is "not working."

CELEBS MOURN FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS, CALL FOR GUN REGULATION

"Why don't we not do a 'moment of silence,' why don't we do a 'moment of action,'" she suggested.

She apologized for getting emotional.

To cheers, Clarkson said that the U.S. should "change what's happening because it's horrible, and mommas and daddies should be able to send their kids to school, to church, to movie theaters, to clubs  you should be able to live your life without that kind of fear."

"I can't imagine  I have four children  I cannot imagine getting that phone call or that knock on the door," she told the audience, adding, "We need to do better."

Clarkson, who's also a judge on "The Voice," said that while she wants to respect and honor the deceased and their loved ones, "let's have a moment of action, let's have a moment of change."Jim Clemente is still haunted by the 2008 death of Caylee Anthony, a 2-year-old girl who went missing for six months before her remains were found in a wooded area near her familys Orlando home.

The retired FBI supervisory special agent and profiler teamed up with former New Scotland Yard criminal behavioral analyst Laura Richards to create a docu-series about it on Oxygen.

The Case of: Caylee Anthony, they explained, looks to put a new lens on the infamous case and present fresh theories on what may have happened.

The pair combed over original investigative files, consulted with forensic experts, tracked down witnesses and spoke with people associated with the case.

The child was reportedly last seen on June 16, 2008, and was first reported missing by her grandmother on July 15. The following day, Anthonys mother, Casey, was arrested on charges of child neglect. She told police at the time that her child had disappeared with a babysitter.

It wouldnt be until Dec. 11 that a utility worker found skeletal remains that were later determined to be Anthonys.

In the 2011 trial, experts testified that air samples indicated that decaying human remains had been present in Caseys trunk.

While the prosecutors proved Casey, the prime suspect, was a liar, they couldnt convince the jury she was a murderer. The government failed to establish how Anthony died, and they couldnt find her mothers DNA on the duct tape they said was used to suffocate her.

After a trial of a month and a half, the jury took less than 11 hours to find Casey not guilty of first-degree murder, aggravated manslaughter and aggravated child abuse.

Clemente told Fox News he believed the fierce media scrutiny surrounding the trial was partly to blame for the reason why Anthonys killer was never convicted.

Caylee is this beautiful young girl who loses her life and is basically forgotten because most of the media made it about the trial and her mother and not about the fact that this little girl lost her life, he explained.

I do think it did [impact the case]. And also, one of the most difficult things to do is prove a murder when you dont have a definitive cause of death. And because of that, I think the jury had questions that amounted to a reasonable doubt. I think thats one of the things that went wrong in this case.

Clemente also pointed out Floridas Sunshine Law provided the public access to evidence, video footage and investigative footage for anyone curious about the case.

This, he insisted, only fired up media interest and tainted the opinions of potential jurors before the trial even began.

The prosecutor, whenever they turn over evidence to the defense, also has to turn it to the media, he explained. And therefore, its put out to the public. So the public then sees everything that the defense sees. And because of that, it makes it very difficult for the prosecutor to sort of come up with new evidence for trial because its already been out there.

And when youre picking your jury? The jury is in the public. Theyve already been exposed to this information and they can only be put on the jury if they have not already formed an opinion about the guilt of the defendant. Therefore, the jury pool that they could select from is going to be of people whove already seen the evidence and havent formed an opinion. That sounds like a jury thats not going to convict.

During the trial investigation, detectives claimed they found traces of the liquid in Caseys trunk. Trial testimony also revealed there were computer searches for how to make chloroform on the family computer.

Clemente and Richards consulted with Dr. Kenyon Evans-Nguyen, a professor of chemistry and forensic toxicology at the University of Tampa. They concluded its very unlikely Casey could have made her own chloroform successfully due to its complicated recipe.

One of the things that we discovered was that chloroform has never actually been used on somebody against their will as a murder weapon, said Clemente. We couldnt uncover one single case of that. Although its in the movies and popular culture.

"But in practice? Its very rarely if ever used, in that way. And because of that, it just minimizes the chance of that actually being the murder weapon or a murder weapon in this case. The fact is they were never able to really prove how Caylee died.

Utility worker Roy Kronk, who found the toddlers remains, told Good Morning America in 2009 he called authorities three times in mid-August after he spotted a suspicious bag in a watery area just off the road.

He admitted to warning police that the area was infested with snakes, which he believed at that the time could have hindered the investigators search.

Police confirmed they search the area in August, but it was under water at the time.

Clemente found the whole story bizarre.

Caylees body could have been found months earlier, he said.  [Kronk] made phone calls, but he never got the police to follow-up. In the end, her body wasnt discovered until five-six months later. This murder is still a mystery because not only because of the delayed discovery of the remains [but] the person who called in was not really taken seriously.

All those things together conspire to make it very difficult for investigators to come up with a certain cause of death. And therefore, it just made this case a much more difficult one to try than it would have been had her remains been discovered right away.

Casey was convicted in 2011 of four counts of lying to police. Two of those counts were later dropped. She served about three years in prison while awaiting trial.

In 2017, Casey told the Associated Press she admitted to lying to police and former Circuit Judge Belvin Perry Jr., who presided at the trial, theorized that Casey may have killed Anthony accidentally when she was using chloroform to calm her.

Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Children and Families concluded Casey was responsible for her daughters death because of her actions or the lack of actions ultimately resulted or contributed in the death of the child.

Clemente said hes still surprised by Caylees seemingly normal upbringing, despite her mothers reputation.

Im an expert in false allegations of child abduction and in most of those cases that I worked, the victims had very, very difficult lives, said Clemente. They were mistreated. They were not cared for. But Caylee was very well cared for. She lived in a loving environment and she was a very happy child. She was outgoing. She had a real personality, even though she was so young.

[Caseys] friends and the people that saw her with Caylee said she was a doting mother. That she really cared about her. That she took care of her. She was teaching her Spanish. She would play music with her. She would play games with her. Its really remarkable because thats not how she was painted in most of the media Shes not by any stretch of the imagination an experienced criminal.

Clemente said the docu-series will offer a different perspective on Anthonys life and what really went wrong at the trial. But more importantly, he hopes that Anthony eventually gets the justice she deserves.

My most important goal is I want people to understand Caylee Anthony was the poor 2-year-old girl who lost her life, said Clemente. Shes the person we should be focusing on. Shes the one whose voice got taken away. And we want people to remember her. And we want people to learn so that they can help protect little kids like her.

"The Case Of: Caylee Anthony" continues Monday at 8 p.m. on Oxygen. The Associated Press contributed to this report.Don Lemon, the CNN star who has been blasted by President Trump as a lightweight and dumb as a rock," recently labeled the commander in chief a "racist."

Lemon sat down with Mark McKinnon for an interview that aired Sunday on Showtimes The Circus to explain how the CNN Tonight host keeps his facts straight while covering the Trump administration. McKinnon pointed out that Trump regularly mocks CNN but very rarely goes after specific reporters, with Lemon being among the individuals who have come under attack.

Hmm, Lemon said before laughing. Why do you think? Why do you think?

McKinnon responded by saying that Trump usually goes after people who bother or threaten him  but the CNN star didnt buy it.

My feelings about this president have been known. Ive said it on the air. I think that he is racist, Lemon said. I think his actions show it. I think the facts show it. Does he attack me for that reason? I dont know. It could be part of the equation.

"My feelings about this president have been known. Ive said it on the air. I think that he is racist."  CNN host Don Lemon

Trump has targeted numerous reporters in recent memory, including The New York Times Maggie Haberman, MSNBCs Katy Tur and CNNs Jim Acosta.

Lemon then declared that Trump watches CNN every night although hell say that he doesnt, because the president likes hearing about himself. Lemon also speculated about why the president doesnt attack MSNBC as frequently as he goes after CNN.

I dont really think MSNBC matters to him, not that they dont matter, but I think to him, because its so far left, I dont think that matters to him, Lemon said. I know hes watching [CNN].

McKinnon then reminded Lemon that Trump famously called him dumb as a rock in a 2016 tweet.

Whatever he says, its the opposite, Lemon said. Dumb people dont usually do two hours a night of primetime.

Earlier in the interview, Lemon explained that politics were not initially his forte, as he started out as a general assignment reporter, but he has educated himself along the way.

Sometimes, I swear, I cant keep up with it, Lemon said before revealing a stack of documents he uses to fact check for his program.

When you have an administration and a president that is factually challenged, you have to get your facts straight. You have to be on your game, Lemon said. It all matters.

President Trump often refers to CNN as fake news, but Lemon defended his network by stating that most of the things it reports turn out to be accurate.

Lemon recently hosted a Sag Harbor soiree at his vacation home in the prestigious Hamptons area east of New York City. Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, was among the guests  as Juanita Scarlett revealed on Wednesday night via twitter.

Last week, Lemons boyfriend shockingly admitted they run in the same circle as Avenatti during an impromptu conversation with a reporter that the porn lawyer has threatened over unfavorable coverage.

Tim Malone, a media ad sales executive, made the disclosure in a Twitter direct message conversation with Daily Caller reporter Joe Simonson. It came after Avenatti appeared on "CNN Tonight" on the heels of a Daily Caller report on Avenatti's allegedly shady past dealings. Lemon gently broached the issue, asking Avenatti about his threats against the conservative news site, but failed to push for an answer regarding what exactly bothered him.

You dont think Avenatti is smart enough to try and befriend the liberal media? Malone said, according to Simonson, implying that Lemon and the attorney are friends.

CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.HBOs Westworld actress Shannon Woodward made a shocking return to the show last week after being recently most known for her anti-Trump invective, including comparing the president to a member of KKK and celebrating when Trump Tower had a fatal fire.

The return of Woodward as Elsie Hughes  a character believed to be dead on the popular show  was celebrated by many devoted followers of the program, weeks after Woodward decried fans for mansplaining about her characters future.

"Last year I had a lot of people telling me their theories, and trying to convince me that they were right," Woodward told feminist magazine Marie Claire. "I tried to be kind to them about it because I was so glad that they were enjoying the show, but at some point it got to sound a lot like mansplaining. I was like, 'You know I've read the scripts, right? I do know what happens and that's not what happens.'"

But her increasingly combative public persona makes her return to the show even more shocking.

Last month, when there was a fatal apartment fire at New York City's Trump Tower, Woodward and other celebrities cheered and joked about the blaze, suggesting the president started the fire to burn evidence.

Burn the evidence? Woodward tweeted, referring to proof that Trump has colluded with a foreign government.

The fire took the life of Todd Brassner, a 67-year-old art dealer. Four firefighters were also injured in the blaze.

The actress, whos often seen paling around with American Idol star Katy Perry  a vocal supporter of presidential candidate Hillary Clinton  has also taken numerous other direct shots at Trump. You are a stain on our entire species, she once wrote.

Among her attacks on the president, the actress compared Trump to a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The only thing that surprises me about what @realdonaldtrump said today is that he forgot to put his white robe on while he said it?

Get the f--- out of the people's house. Take your hood with you. There's no place for your kind in this world, she added in another tweet.

Woodward also repeatedly fantasized about Trump being pursued by law enforcement authorities, writing: I dreamed I was on the run from the FBI. Ive gotta say, I woke up VERY appreciative that Ive never told lies to get me in trouble like that and THRILLED to have felt what an anxiety ridden nightmare Trumps life must be like now. Hes earned it!

Youre going to find out youve been indicted while youre tweeting on a toilet, she noted in another tweet.

HBO did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment regarding the decision to bring back Woodward.Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered a multiyear agreement to produce new films and shows with Netflix.

The former president and first lady are determined to produce a diverse mix of content, including a potential scripted series, an unscripted series, a docu-series, documentaries and features, according to a press release from Netflix about the deal.

The streaming service revealed the projects will be available to their 125 million members in 190 countries.

The couple also established Higher Ground Productions, which will serve as the entity under which they will produce content for Netflix.

One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience, said former President Obama in a statement.

Thats why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix  we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world, the 56-year-old added.

Michelle said the couples willingness to pursue filming after their time in the White House was a no-brainer.

Barack and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others, said the 54-year-old. Netflixs unparalleled service is a natural fit for the kinds of stories we want to share, and we look forward to starting this exciting new partnership.

Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said the streaming service is thrilled to have the Obamas as part of their creative team and are eager to see what the couple has to offer for viewers.

Barack and Michelle Obama are among the worlds most respected and highly-recognized public figures and are uniquely positioned to discover and highlight stories of people who make a difference in their communities and strive to change the world for the better, explained Sarandos. We are incredibly proud they have chosen to make Netflix the home for their formidable storytelling abilities.

The Obamas pursuing the filmmaking world isnt a new concept.

Vanity Fair previously reported that in the summer of 2015, their eldest daughter Malia Obama left the White House to embark on an internship with HBOs Girls. She then moved on to intern for fallen Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

In late 2017, Deadline.com reported Obama issued a statement on Weinstein, who has since been accused of assaulting and raping dozens of women.

Michelle and I have been disgusted by the recent reports of Harvey Weinstein, he wrote. Any man who demeans and degrades women in such fashion needs to be condemned and held accountable, regardless of wealth or status.

We should celebrate the courage of women who have come forward to tell these painful stories. And we all need to build a culture, including by empowering our girls and teaching our boys decency and respect, so we can make such behavior less prevalent in the future.

Netflix did not mention when the first project from the Obamas will debut.There were lots of mixed emotions during Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding festivities on Saturday.

A source opens up to ET about some touching moments at the couples lunchtime reception at St. George's Hall in Windsor Castle that was hosted by Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

MEGHAN MARKLE GETS HER OWN PAGE ON THE ROYAL FAMILY WEBSITE, STATES SHE'S 'A PROUD FEMINIST'

Harry gave a tearful speech paying tribute to his own mother missing from the festivities, the source tells ET. He also thanked Meghans mother [Doria Ragland] for giving him permission to marry Meghan. He talked about how they made a great team.

Anytime Harry referred to Meghan as his wife, the guests cheered, the source notes.

MEGHAN MARKLE'S BOUQUET IS FOLLOWING A TOUCHING TRADITION AFTER THE ROYAL WEDDING

According to the source, Harry asked if anyone could play the piano and Elton John -- Diana's friend -- happily obliged, and performed four songs, including, The Circle of Life, Tiny Dancer, Our Song and Im Still Standing. The source says Harry is a huge Disney and Lion King fan, adding that he and Meghan once went on a date to see "Moana".

During the evening reception at Frogmore House, the source tells ET that Kate Middleton, Prince William and Harry all hit the dance floor with their celebrity friends, and British actor Idris Elba even took a turn DJing at one point. To toast the couple, ET has learned that there was a ginger-and-rum cocktail in honor of the newlyweds.

SERENA WILLIAMS AND PRIYANKA CHOPRA SHOW OFF THEIR AMAZING ROYAL WEDDING RECEPTION LOOKS

Also at the evening reception, one of Prince William and Prince Harrys closest friends, Charlie van Straubenzee, gave a hilarious and naughty speech, which roasted Harry, according to the source.

It left the crowd in stitches, the source says. William had warned Harry before the wedding that it was payback time.Tracy Morgan went through physical therapy to physically recover from a fatal car crash nearly four years ago, but in order to heal mentally, The Last O.G. star used unorthodox methods.

My sonhe turned me onto Key and Peele, that helped my healing process because that was the funniest thing. I was sitting there broken the fk up not knowing my name, but I was laughing, Morgan said in a conversation at New York Magazines Vulture Festival Saturday night.

Months later I would watch it every day.

Morgans love of Key and Peele inspired him to reach out to Jordan Peele, who now produces The Last O.G. The duo met for the first time hours before Morgan surprised the 2015 Emmys with an appearance, where he received a standing ovation.

In addition to Peeles series, Morgan also watched footage of the car crash that took James McNairs life and left Morgan in a coma.

I would watch the accident on YouTube. It helped my healing process, he shared. I would watch where I got hit, where my friend died.

That was part of my healing, watching it.

This article originally appeared on Page Six.Amber Rose has weighed in on ex-boyfriend Kanye Wests controversial comments on President Trump.

Rose, in an interview on The Fallen State, floated a theory about Trump.

When I first seen Trump on the podium and just kind of like running for president, I was like, 'Oh my God, that is Kanye in a white man's body,' Rose told host Jesse Lee Peterson. I really felt like they have the same personality, like completely the same personality.

Rose, 34, said she thinks West appreciates the politics that Trump used in order to get in office and added that she thinks Trump told West during their meeting at Trump Tower that he really wants to make a change.

I would like to think that Kanye met with Trump, and Trump said, Look, I seen these people, I knew they were gonna vote for me and I used them to get elected and I can't tell nobody that because I want to get a second term, but now that I'm in office I really want to make a change, she said. Now, Kanye can't snitch on him, he can't snitch on himself. So, you know, maybe he's thinking of the greater good of what Trump can do for the country.

Rose dated West from 2008 to 2010 and claimed last year in an interview with Complex that she never cheated on him despite Internet rumors and constant bullying from him.

West came out in support of Trump during a wild Twitter rant last month. He claimed that he shares dragon energy with the president.

You dont have to agree with trump but the mob cant make me not love him, the Good Life rapper tweeted. We are both dragon energy. He is my brother.

He later doubled down on his support for the president in a song titled Ye vs. the People.

Trump backed West in a subsequent tweet, saying Thank you Kanye, very cool!

Kim Kardashian, Wests wife, appeared to back away from her husbands support of Trump, saying that his feelings were HIS opinion.

Chance the Rapper, a fellow Chicago hip-hop artist, initially backed West in his support of Trump, but clarified that he was only showing love for West, not the president.

"No matter how much I may disagree with [West], it's hard for me to watch people talk about someone I love--even if they were justified in doing so," Chance wrote. "Unfortunately, my attempt to support Kayne is being used to discredit my brothers and sisters in the movement and I can't sit by and let that happen either."Rob Rousseau, the freelance journalist who declared he would rather his daughter date an MS-13 gang member than a Republican, has a history of deliberately upsetting conservatives with inflammatory rhetoric.

Last week, President Trump referred to dangerous MS-13 gang members as animals, but several media organizations took his comments out of context to make it appear that he was talking about illegal immigrants. The result was a handful of prominent liberals defending the brutal gang, whose motto is literally rape, control, kill.

The attention seeking Rousseau took advantage of the online outrage and tweeted, I would rather my daughter dated a member of MS-13 than a member of the Republican Party.

The tweet resulted in criticism from conservative websites such as The Daily Wire, to segments on cable news programs such as Fox & Friends. Rousseau made it clear in follow-up tweets that his comment was an attempt to annoy Republicans, and he doesnt even have a daughter. But this sort of Twitter trolling is nothing new for Rousseau, as he has bragged about mocking conservatives in the past.

Back on March 12, Rousseau penned a piece for Paste headlined, Gun Con-Troll: How I Managed to Enrage (and Expose) Thousands of Right-Wing Gun Guys. He explained that falsely stating the AR in AR-15 stands for Assault Rifle enrages gun enthusiasts (it actually stands for ArmaLite rifle), so Rousseau did just that and responded to a tweet from conservative commentator Joe Walsh with his purposely false information.

I like to send rude or annoying replies to dumb right-wing reactionaries that I despise, Rousseau wrote.

I responded by quadrupling down on my assertion that the AR in AR-15 does, in fact, stand for Assault Rifle. Nothing anyone said could convince me otherwise. Rather then give them the satisfaction of correcting me, I stuck out both middle fingers, Rousseau wrote.

Rousseau, who now calls himself a gun expert and cool dad in his Twitter bio, declared that he is proud that he figured out what upsets conservatives.

A dumbass liberal journalist was wrong about their guns, he wrote.

Since Rousseaus trolling tweet about MS-13 caught the attention of prominent conservatives, the flamboyant writer, believed to be from Montreal, has posted several messages that mock people who have taken him seriously.

The chuds are mad at me again, Rousseau wrote before posting a chart showing that his Twitter impression surpassed the one-million mark shortly after the MS-13 comment. He has also posted screen grabs of messages sent from people who mocked him for the remark.

People are melting down over this joke (which I guess was the point) but in all seriousness: your elected representatives pose a far greater threat to you & your family's security than an El Salvadorian prison gang you'll never once in your boring life have to interact with, he wrote

While Rousseau seems to discount MS-13, most Americans probably shouldnt follow suit. The group is responsible for some of the most ruthless crimes imaginable and the Trump Administration has made it a point to aim to eliminate them

Among countless other crimes, MS-13 beat four young men to death with wooden clubs and butchered their bodies with machetes in 2017. Video of the mutilated bodies was sent to a girlfriend of one of the victims, CNN reported. The group is also responsible for stabbing a man over 100 times, cutting off his head and then ripping out his heart, the Washington Post reported in 2017.

Rousseau provided Fox News with the following statement: Its interesting and more than a little silly to me that the very people who are so fond of claiming that liberals and leftists are constantly offended, sensitive snowflakes, are now so worked up over a tweet  which was very obviously a joke  that it warrants national media coverage. You can be a free speech absolutist who is against political correctness, or you can be offended by my tweet  but you cant be both.Mario Batali, one of the most famous chefs in the world, was accused of a string of disturbing crimes by a former employee who spoke with CBS News on Sunday  crimes including drugging and sexually assaulting her inside a New York City restaurant, in a third-floor space notoriously known by employees as the rape room.

The NYPD also confirmed it would be investigating allegations against the celebrity chef.

WARNING: DISTURBING DETAILS BELOW

The woman told CBS News' 60 Minutes on Sunday that she woke up surrounded by broken bottles with scratches on her legs and semen on her skirt.

It gets completely foggy for me. And this is  part of the messy, scary part for me, there is a part where it  it all disappears, said the woman, who asked CBS to remain anonymous. I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up  in a toilet. And that is all.

MARIO BATALI ONCE SAID A 'RECKONING' WAS COMING FOR HARASSERS IN THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY

As The New York Post reported, she said she recalled waking up at dawn on the third floor of the downtown Manhattan restaurant The Spotted Pig, owned by Ken Friedman, a friend of Batali's.

The woman said: I woke up by myself on the floor, I dont know where I am, of an empty room, wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, Ive been drugged. That was the first thing I thought is, Ive been  Ive been assaulted.

She said that after the alleged assault she called a crisis hotline, went to a hospital for examination, and reported the episode to the New York Police Department. They tried getting me to file a report. They tried, they tried. But I  you know, a young actress, no resources, no money. I couldnt. I couldnt do it.

The NYPD has confirmed a probe into allegations against Batali following the latest accusations, though they did not clarify which allegations they would be investigating.

In a statement to Fox News on Sunday night, the restaurant firm B&B Hospitality Group said: The accounts tonight were chilling and deeply disturbing. This was the first we learned of them. Our partnership with Mr. Batali is ending.

It added: He has been our partner and close friend, but the actions he has acknowledged required us to separate wholly so that we reinforce our core values for our employees and our guests.

The Spotted Pig is committed to providing a work environment free of any form of harassment and has ensured in recent years that all proper policies and procedures for handling employee relations matters are in place, the restaurant said in a statement Monday. After Ken Friedman was informed by employees of their being uncomfortable with Mario's behavior many years ago, Mario was told he could no longer hold parties at the restaurant.

MARIO BATALI SAID TO BE 'ACTIVELY EXPLORING' IDEAS FOR A COMEBACK

Batali has been accused of sexual harassment by nine women.

Several women who worked for Batali accused the former Chew host of inappropriate touching in a pattern of behavior that spans at least two decades, Eater reported in December. The chef apologized in a statement, saying the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted.

I apologize to the people I have mistreated and hurt. Although the identities of most of the individuals mentioned in these stories have not been revealed to me, much of the behavior described does, in fact, match up with ways I have acted. That behavior was wrong and there are no excuses, he wrote.

Fans, however, lambasted Batali, who owns 26 restaurants, for including a recipe in the newsletter with his apology.

Batali since has been dropped from ABCs The Chew and stepped away from the day-to-day operations of his restaurant businesses.

His business owners added Sunday: We had taken a number of steps in the last six months to separate Mr. Batali from the business, including immediately removing him from any operations this past December and asking Ms. (Nancy) Silverton and Ms. (Lidia) Bastianich to take on business-wide leadership roles and responsibilities.

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In a report published last winter in The New York Times, 10 women accused Friedman of sexual harassment and misconduct and creating a toxic work environment. He went on leave and apologized, telling the paper that his behavior can accurately be described at times as abrasive, rude and frankly wrong.A man in Florida claims he was hospitalized after a McDonalds employee tried to murder him by putting a laundry bleach pod in his soda.

Lee Graves of Jacksonville posted about the incident on social media, sharing images of himself receiving IV treatment along with what he alleges is the remainder of the chemicals in his cup from the fast-food chain.

He said he made the discovery Thursday after receiving his drink at the drive-thru window. The worker initially gave him the wrong size, but Graves told her this was supposed to be a large. When she swapped it out, he said it began to erupt like a volcano 30 seconds later.

STARBUCKS EMPLOYEES, CUSTOMERS EXPRESS CONCERN OVER NEW POLICY: 'I CAN'T SEE HOW THIS WILL WORK'

[I] took a couple big gulps to try to stop it and it tasted like chlorine. I thought my taste buds were off since I've had a bunch of dental work done this week but when I took the lid off I saw a big clump of blue goo. I thought she'd spit in it and it wasn't until an hour later when I dumped it out that I realized it was much worse, he wrote on Facebook.

As a result, Graves claims his stomach was cramping and he was feeling nauseous so he decided to get checked out. According to his post, he had to get several tests, including blood work and an EKG, and was given two IVs and some kind of pill.

"They told me the risk of bleach and chlorine poisoning comes after the fact," he told WJXT. "It creates a chemical imbalance in your gut. If you ingest enough of it, it can kill all the good bacteria in your gut."

Graves said he filed complaints with McDonalds, the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office and the Health Department, though the employee who gave him his drink denied spiking it and told WJXT she only touched it to put the lid on.

The owner and operator of the McDonalds Graves visited, Edgard Gerena, said the incident is under investigation but the claims are so far unsubstantiated.

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Serving my customers safe, high quality food and beverages is a top priority for me.We are continuing to review this matter and gather all the facts, Gerena said in a statement to Fox News.

Graves told Fox News he spoke with the Sheriffs Office Monday morning, who said McDonalds is fully cooperating and that theyll be reviewing the video.Starbucks announced a new policy Saturday that allows anyone to occupy the coffee shop or use the stores facilities, even if they dont buy anything, but many are left to wonder if itll have a negative impact.

The Third Place Policy maintains that employees should consider anyone who enters Starbucks space, including restrooms, cafes and patios, a customer regardless of whether they make a purchase, the company said in a statement.

We are committed to creating a culture of warmth and belonging where everyone is welcome, Starbucks said.

VETERAN AND DOUBLE AMPUTEE CLAIMS SIX FLAGS KICKED HIM OFF RIDE: NAH BRO, YOU GOTTA HAVE TWO REAL LEGS

Customers using the space must still follow a set of general guidelines, which requires them to use spaces as intended, be considerate of others, communicate with respect, and act responsibly, or they might be asked to leave.

This policy comes after the company faced intense scrutiny and backlash when two black men were arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia.

The incident, which CEO Kevin Johnson has called "reprehensible," took place last month and quickly made headlines after video of the arrest circulated online.

According to officials, the officers were told the men were refusing to leave after being denied use of the restroom since they hadnt purchased anything.

Cellphone footage shows police talking to the two men sitting at a table before handcuffing them and leading them outside. Their friend arrives, a white man identified as real estate developer Andrew Yaffe, and tells police they were waiting for him, but an officer says the men were not complying and were being arrested for trespassing.

Johnson said shortly after the mens arrest that the company had made a mistake and was working to take appropriate action, including a review of company policies.

But the resulting Third Party Policy is being called into question by both customers and employees alike, who wonder what impact itll have on stores, specifically in urban locations.

In a Starbucks subreddit, people are voicing concerns that the new policy will lead to stores being filled with homeless people and drug users. One user who claims they work at a Chicago Starbucks wrote that a homeless person using the bathroom got into a fight with a customer and police requested to see the store policy before taking action.

FRONTIER AIRLINES PASSENGER ARRESTED AFTER PEEING ON SEAT IN FRONT OF HIM DURING FLIGHT

This is exactly the kind of behavior that I fear will drive all the regular customers away, at least from urban locations. Opposing racism is nice and all, but it is not the responsibility of Starbucks to resolve all urban problems at one location let alone turn its stores into homeless drop-in centers, another user wrote in response.

On another thread debating the new policy, a Starbucks customer expressed similar concerns. I can't see how this will work in urban areas with large homeless/mentally ill populations... I just worry about how many employees will be put in danger (or get fired) until this happens, the user wrote.

Someone claiming to be an employee who works at a store in the loop in Chicago said they hate the new policy because the store bathrooms have turned into a hub for drug activity. We havent been allowed to change our bathroom codes since April. So almost all the junkies and homeless people know the code now. About once a week we find needles, drug baggies, blood all over the toilet or walls, the user wrote.

However, others argue that while there was never an official policy in place until now, many stores operated under similar guidelines before the April incident.

I was trained on this two years ago when I started. That whole controversy was caused by someone who didnt follow policy. In fact, they went completely against policy. The only time were supposed to kick anyone out of the store is if they are bothering other customers or are damaging the cafe, someone wrote.

This is only a formal announcement of what is already unofficial policy, at least in most stores, another user wrote.

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At my store, we were never allowed to kick out customers that didnt buy anything. And we dont have a code on our bathrooms so anyone can use them, someone else added.

In addition to the official Third Place Policy, Starbucks also plans to implement unconscious bias training by closing more than 8,000 company-owned stores across the U.S. on May 29 to conduct racial bias training.

Fox News Janine Puhak, Michael Bartiromo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.A 15-year-old girl was arrested on Monday when five of her classmates were sent to the hospital after she allegedly gave them cookies laced with a foreign substance. The teen, who was not identified, was charged with five counts of risk of injury to a minor, Fox 61 reported.

DOZENS HOSPITALIZED AFTER ALLEGEDLY INGESTING K2 IN BROOKLYN NEIGHBORHOOD

The students, who attend Hamden High School, reportedly believed they were eating marijuana cookies. They were allegedly sent to the school nurse after appearing to be on drugs, and then taken to Yale New Haven Hospital out of precaution, but have since been released.

"The students advised the high school administrative staff and police, that prior to becoming ill; they had consumed 'marijuana cookies,'" police said, according to Fox 61.

The accused teen is scheduled to appear in juvenile court, WTNH.com reported.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

As evidence mounts that Hamas intended to murder Israeli children, women and men after breaching the border fence to Israel, Hamas apologists must ask themselves why they are on the wrong side of morality.

The recent border attack and attempted invasion of Israel by Hamas was anything but a peaceful protest. It was a lynch mob targeting Israeli day care centers, schools, and homes. The goal of the lynchers, according to Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas political leader, was to take down the border and tear their hearts from their bodies. According to an article in The Wall Street Journal , Hamas posted maps for their operatives showing the quickest routes from the border to Israeli homes, schools and day care centers near the border.

Yet many in the media, and many Hamas sympathizers on the left, insist on portraying this invasion as a peaceful demonstration, comparable to those conducted against the Ku Klux Klan by Martin Luther King and his fellow civil rights demonstrators.

I was part of those demonstrations back in the 1960s, and it is a gross insult to the memory of King and his followers to compare his peaceful tactics to the murderous goals of Hamas. One of Hamas co-founders, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, recently told the truth in an interview with Al Jazeera: When we talk about peaceful, we are deceiving the public.

Many in the public seem all too eager to be deceived because Hamas has succeeded in portraying themselves as the civil rights demonstrators protesting against the Israeli Ku Klux Klan. But in reality, the roles are reversed. Hamas is the Ku Klux Klan, violently rioting to break down the protective barrier so they can lynch innocent Jewish children and other civilians, the way the Klan lynched innocent black citizens.

Only Hamas can stop the bloodshed. But it wont as long as the media gives it public relations victories every time Israel kills in self-defense.

Thankfully, the Israeli military, who are the good guys in this encounter, were there to protect innocent civilians from being lynched. I know, because I was at the Gaza border, and in a tunnel used by Hamas to try to murder and kidnap Israeli civilians and soldiers.

I witnessed young Israeli women  18 and 19 years old  each with a computer assigned to monitor several yards of the protective barrier and to assure that no one crossed over and endangered their fellow Israelis. I met with ordinary soldiers and commanders stationed on the border. These good people lose sleep every time an Israeli sniper accidently kills an unarmed rioter because another rioter burned tires sending up black smoke calculated to block the view and distort the aim of Israeli soldiers whose job it is to protect civilians.

The ordinary citizens of Gaza are also victims of Hamas bloody tactic of promoting death and martyrdom. Only Hamas can stop the bloodshed. But it wont as long as the media gives it public relations victories every time Israel kills in self-defense.

Every time an Israeli soldier kills a Gazan rioter or protestor, Hamas wins. And every time Hamas kills an Israeli civilian, Hamas wins. Because Hamas dual goal is death among civilians on both sides.

The time has come, indeed, it is long past, for the world to recognize and condemn this Hamas tactic, which the media incentivizes by its gruesome focus on the body count.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

President Trump is correct.

If an FBI -- or any Deep State -- informant was embedded within his campaign for the express purpose of spying on it, that would be a scandal Bigger than Watergate.

Bigger and much more chilling.

Over the course of the last two years, I have communicated with current and former government employees who told me that a number of operatives at various three-letter agencies have been actively working to undermine first the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, and then his presidency. Most of them are Obama appointees. All of them doing so for political reasons.

To be clear, if there was evidence indicating that political or career appointees from the administration of President George W. Bush were actively and unethically working to damage the campaign of then Senator Barack Obama or the administration of President Obama, I would want them exposed and then prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

There is nothing more dangerous to the welfare of our republic than operatives from our three-letter agencies taking sides for ideological or personal reasons and then using the vast resources at their disposal to damage and delegitimize those they oppose.

Nothing.

That is the very definition of a Police State.

President Trump knows that and expressed that rightful fear in a recent tweet.

As the president said: Wow, word seems to be coming out that the Obama FBI SPIED ON THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN WITH AN EMBEDDED INFORMANT. Andrew McCarthy says, Theres probably no doubt that they had at least one confidential informant in the campaign. If so, this is bigger than Watergate!

There is nothing more dangerous to the welfare of our republic than operatives from our three-letter agencies taking sides for ideological or personal reasons and then using the vast resources at their disposal to damage and delegitimize those they oppose.

Because the president dared to compare this scandal with Watergate, many in the liberal media proceeded to attack, mock, or belittle the tweet with a vengeance.

Thats because for them, Watergate is a political Holy Grail which can never be equaled. It represents the toppling of a reviled and corrupt Republican president. Whether they were alive then or not, the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974 remains their most joy-filled political memory.

No one -- most especially an equally reviled and corrupt president -- should ever be allowed to equate or minimalize such a liberal touchstone.

Was the Watergate scandal bad? Absolutely.

Prior to the beginning of his second term  which he won in a landslide victory over Senator George McGovern in 1972  President Nixon came to believe that many in the mainstream media opposed him for partisan and elitist reasons and were out to get him.

For those reasons and more, Nixons paranoia and eccentric behavior grew to dangerous levels. Coupled with that, was the fact that there were a collection of political morons within the Nixon White House and associated with his reelection campaign willing to do almost anything to protect him, including trying to bug the office of the Democrat National Committee located at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.

To no ones surprise, some of these idiots were caught trying to re-break in to DNC headquarters on the night of June 17, 1972, to replace a defective listening device they had installed earlier.

Among those assigned to cover the story were Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein of The Washington Post.

Years later, I had the chance to talk with Woodward a few times and believe him to be the most dogged, serious, and respected investigative reporter of our time.

By the time Woodward and Bernstein were done with their stories, had published their book All The Presidents Men and then had the book transformed into a hit movie by Robert Redford, Watergate was forever more the greatest detective story of all time, and must never be likened to any other political crime or transgression.

Except  President Trump is right to do so in this case.

If so, as he stressed in his tweet  if someone associated with the FBI or another government agency, spied on his campaign for political and partisan reasons, that would indeed be Bigger than Watergate.

There is no question that Richard Nixon had to resign. He was not only wrong, but increasingly delusional as the summer of 1974 approached. Even worse were some of the unethical and criminal actions taken by some of his loyalists.

That said, the wrongful measures taken by a paranoid  but truly gifted, in so many ways  president in the attempted cover-up of a bungled break-in by some partisan clowns pales in comparison to political and professional operatives from the Deep State trying to sabotage a presidential campaign or willfully smear or incapacitate a sitting president.

Instead of fashioning themselves as Watergate-like heroes while actively aiding, abetting, and promoting knowingly false Russia collusion stories, the liberal media should attempt to ethically do their jobs for a change and investigate whether the Deep State is trying to take down a constitutionally elected president.

Then maybe they'd have a new -- and well-deserved -- journalistic Holy Grail to celebrate.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Venezuela held what it called presidential and state legislative elections on Sunday, as if voters ballots would decide who governs them. As we went to press state television had not announced its results. But its safe to say that the winners were whoever Castros Cubawhich runs Venezueladecided they would be.

Last week Reuters reported that Venezuelan state-owned oil company PdVSA has purchased almost $440 million of crude in foreign markets this year and delivered it to Cuba on favorable credit terms. Often at a loss, according to internal company documents, the news outlet reported.

A loss, that is, for dystopian Venezuela, where every day the population plumbs new depths of privation. Could there be better evidence that the country has been colonized by Cuba?

Most Venezuelans gave up long ago on elections as the way to restore their rights. They have tried other means, going to the streets peacefully and in big numbers. Some have even taken up arms. But they are outgunned and, perhaps as important, out-surveilled by Cuban intelligence. Midlevel military dissent is no secret, but the top brass has so far quashed rebellion.

To continue reading Mary Anastasia O'Grady on The Wall Street Journal click here.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Breaking News: President Trump is a patient man. That may sound shocking, but consider the evidence.

Nearly 15 months have passed since Trump dropped a bomb on law enforcement and the intelligence agencies. Early in the morning of March 4, 2017, he tweeted, Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my wires tapped in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!

He was immediately denounced as a crackpot paranoid and the media Praetorian Guard defenders of Barack Obama demanded that Trump apologize to their Dear Leader.

No apology was forthcoming, although the White House suggested the quotation marks around wires tapped gave the president wiggle room on what exactly he meant. That turned out to be an important distinction amid mounting evidence that something very dirty took place, although the precise details of what, when and how remain maddeningly murky to this day.

To continue reading Michael Goodwin on The New York Post click here.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

My landlord is a dying breed. Hes a middle-class guy who owns and rents out the tiny house we live in, built in the 1950s on the other side of the lake from Seattle. That house is his retirement plan.

When he comes to repair the stuff our kids break, he always asks about the latest with Seattles housing regulations. He asks because Im an attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest group that has sued Seattle over several of its housing ordinances. Hes terrified the misguided policies infecting Seattles housing market will spread across the lake. If that happens, my landlord would likely sell, as many Seattle landlords are doing now.

A few months ago, he fixed the toilet seat lidwhich I broke this timeand stayed for a plate of spaghetti. We talked about two of Seattles recent housing laws were challenging in court: the first-in-time rule and the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance.

First-in-time, the only ordinance of its kind in the country, required landlords to offer tenancy to the first applicant who meets rental criteriacredit history and such. We defeated that law in court in April. The Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, on the other hand, forbids landlords from checking criminal background or considering prior criminal convictions when selecting tenants.

Each of these laws by itself curtails landlords rights to their own property and raises serious safety and financial risks. But in tandem, the two rules make the risks of renting out property utterly intolerable for the average mom-and-pop landlord.

Two of my clients, MariLyn and Chong Yim, are raising their young family in one unit of a triplex they own. They have close relationships with their tenants/neighbors and share the yard.

Confidence in ones good intentions is not a license to sacrifice property owners constitutional rights to make their own decisions about whom they share their property with.

Lets say MariLyn meets the first person to apply for a vacant unit in her triplex. The applicant checks out on paper, but shes disturbed to see his skin is littered with swastikas and prison tattoos.

Under the first-in-time rule, she would have had to offer him the unit. Happily, she can use her own judgment now to say no to someone who makes her feel unsafe, thanks to our court victory last year. But still, under the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, she cant check someones criminal history to hunt for less obvious red flags. So far as she knows, she could be blindly renting the unit next door to her family to someone with a past murder conviction.

MariLyn, her family, and her other tenants simply become collateral damage in Seattles blind, self-congratulatory march to social justice. I understand why my landlord frets while he eats spaghetti at our dinner table.

The results of these laws are easy to predict. Small-time landlords like the Yims will respond in one of two ways: theyll either try to filter out bad eggs by jacking up rent and toughening rental criteria, or theyll just sell. Neither are desirable outcomes, but it already appears that many landlords are taking the second option. They simply cant stomach trying to do business in such a toxic legal environment.

The great irony is this: the only entities capable of surviving as landlords in Seattles regulatory climate will be the large corporate residential leasing companies. They alone can endure in these mandates because they have the capital reserves and the sophistication to navigate the perils of renting out property in Seattle. If the Yims wind up with a bad tenant, they may well be years in the hole trying to recover. A housing and property management company, however, can spread the risk across a larger number of rental units. This is the bitter harvest of laws passed by the same city council that rails against big money in politics, that touts small business, and that decries corporate greed.

Mom-and-pop landlords are a boon to a community. They tend to offer lower rents. They can be more understanding when the rent check is late or your kid tears the towel rack from the bathroom wall. And they might sit down to dinner with you. But Seattleif it has its waywill usher in more corporate property managers whose token personal touch might stretch as far as a bowlful of joyless candies at the reception desk.

Certainly, city leaders regard their attempt to help the marginalized as virtuous. And we should all want to help ex-offenders move on from their troubled pasts. And sure, rental practices should be fair and non-discriminatory. But confidence in ones good intentions is not a license to sacrifice property owners constitutional rights to make their own decisions about whom they share their property with.

Pacific Legal Foundations lawsuits might yet save Seattles housing market from its false friends. But if Seattle continues on this trajectory, the citys many tenants will be handing over a larger rent check, and they wont be eating spaghetti with mom and pop.NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Sam Blackledge had worked hard on his valedictorian address. He had written a wonderful speech declaring to his teachers and classmates that he is a follower of Jesus Christ.

But administrators at West Prairie High School in Illinois would not let the 18-year-old deliver that speech  because the content was not appropriate for a high school graduation ceremony.

He was summoned to the principals office just a few hours before the May 19th ceremony  where school and district administrators delivered their edict.

They said they didnt want to make it a religious ceremony, Sam on the Todd Starnes Radio Show. They told me that if I took out Christ I could say everything else.

School leaders gave Sam the opportunity to remove all the references to Christ  but he declined to do so.

The young man with the 4.0 grade point average pleaded his case  explaining that he only wanted to convey to the audience about how his personal relationship with Christ had impacted his life.

The principal told me it wasnt appropriate for the setting, Sam told me.

School leaders then said they feared those in the audience might think Sam was speaking on behalf of the school district.

I offered to begin my speech with a disclaimer but they turned that down, too  twice, he said.

Sam told me he was devastated.

I never felt that feeling before, he said. It was terrible. I felt like I wanted to cry. I had basically  for months  I knew I wanted to talk about Christ in my graduation speech. For that to be taken away

School leaders gave Sam the opportunity to remove all the references to Christ  but he declined to do so.

The most important thing in my life is Christ, he said. Christ is the only reason I was a valedictorian. Hes the reason I got that 4.0. If it wasnt for him I wouldnt be up there. I was giving Him the credit for that.

School leaders offered to let Sam say a few brief remarks  provided he would not mention the name of Jesus. He agreed with their terms.

I believe as a Christian we should respect the authority above us, Sam said. I told them I would not disrespect them. I told them I would respect their wishes. And I told them the reason why is because Im a Christian.

The following day, First Liberty Institute, one of the nations top religious liberty law firms, learned about Sams plight and is now providing him legal counsel.

"School officials should remember that students retain their constitutional rights to freedom of expression from the schoolhouse gates, all the way through the graduation ceremony, First Liberty Institute attorney Jeremy Dys told me.

I reached out to the school district for an explanation but so far -- they have not returned my messages.

"These school officials ruined the only high school graduation Sam will ever know," Dys told me. "How many more graduations have to be ruined before school officials will learn that the First Amendment protects student remarks at graduation?"

School administrators silenced a young mans voice because he is a follower of Jesus Christ. That sort of anti-Christian censorship must not be tolerated  especially in America.Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn blasted Robert Muellers Russia investigation on Monday, warning the special counsels team of a looming reckoning and calling for the probe to end.

Penn -- who served as a pollster and adviser to former President Bill Clinton and a chief political strategist for Hillary Clintons 2008 presidential campaign -- said "this process must now be stopped, preferably before a vote in the Senate."

"Rather than a fair, limited and impartial investigation, the Mueller investigation became a partisan, open-ended inquisition that, by its precedent, is a threat to all those who ever want to participate in a national campaign or an administration again," Penn wrote in an op-ed for The Hill.

He continued, Stopping Mueller isnt about one president or one party. Its about all presidents and all parties. Its about cleaning out and reforming the deep state so that our intelligence operations are never used against opposing campaigns without the firmest of evidence.

The blistering column follows new revelations about an FBI informant who reportedly had discussions with multiple Trump campaign members in 2016.

Penn also raised other questions about the origins of the investigation into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election -- like how the FBI knew to speak with Australian diplomat Alexander Downer following an apparently suspicious conversation with Trump adviser George Papadopoulos.

This wasnt intelligence. It was likely opposition research from the start, he wrote, adding that in no way would a fourth-hand report from a Maltese professor justify wholesale targeting of four or five members of the Trump campaign.

Papadopoulos has since pleaded guilty in Muellers investigation to making false statements to the FBI.

Penn went on to criticize the now-infamous dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, claiming it was bounced back and forth between the press and the FBI so it appeared that there we multiple sources all coming to the same conclusion.

Former deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe testified last year that no Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrant would have been sought against another Trump adviser without the Steele dossier information, according to a GOP House Intelligence Committee memo released in February.

Penn's op-ed comes after the president called for the DOJ to look into whether they "infiltrated" his campaign for political purposes. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has since been tasked with looking into any "impropriety or political motivation" in the FBI's Russia probe.

Justice Department Director of Public Affairs Sarah Flores on Sunday announced that the agency requested Horowitz expand the ongoing review of the FISA application process to include Trump's request.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein issued a statement noting that "if anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action."

But Penn took aim at both Mueller and Rosenstein.

With Attorney General Jeff Sessions shoved out of the way, Rosenstein and Mueller then ignored their own conflicts and took charge anyway. Rosenstein is a fact witness, and Mueller is a friend of Comey, disqualifying them both, Penn wrote, adding later that Sessions needs to take back his Justice Department.President Trump praised CIA director Gina Haspel at her swearing-in ceremony Monday by saying "no one in this country is better qualified" for the role.

During the ceremony, which was also attended by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the president said the agency is made up of the "most elite intelligence professionals on the planet."

Haspel was confirmed Thursday as CIA director, becoming the first woman to lead the agency after overcoming initial Democratic opposition regarding her role in post-9/11 interrogation and detention practices.

Haspel, who previously served as deputy director and has spent her career with the agency, replaces Pompeo at the CIA.

Ahead of her confirmation, Haspel earned emphatic support from GOP lawmakers as well as intelligence community members from both Democratic and Republican administrations.

"The safety and security of the American people depend on capable intelligence leadership. Gina Haspel is the right woman at the right time," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.

But her history as base chief at a black-site prison in Thailand in 2002, where techniques such as waterboarding were used on terror suspects, came under scrutiny during the confirmation process. Republican supporters accused Democrats of politicizing her nomination and initially trying to derail an otherwise highly qualified nominee.

Fox News Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the Justice Department Monday to turn over communications between former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, British spy Christopher Steele and others about the infamous anti-Trump dossier.

In a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, requested Ohr's emails, phone logs, written notes and text messages. Grassley also asked the Justice Department to arrange for Ohr to be interviewed by Committee staff.

Grassley wrote that he wants to know whether Ohr continued to pass information from Steele to others at the FBI after the bureau terminated the former MI6 man as a source for disclosing his relationship with the FBI to the media.

JUDICIAL WATCH SUES DOJ FOR BRUCE AND NELLIE OHR RECORDS RELATED TO FUSION GPS, DOSSIER

In February, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee claimed that Bruce Ohr's wife, Nellie, was employed by Fusion GPS to assist in the cultivation of opposition research on then-candidate Donald Trump. They alleged that Bruce Ohr passed the research, which had been paid for by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign, on to the FBI.

The Steele dossier, which was published by BuzzFeed News in January 2017, included detailed claims about Trump's business ties to Russia and salacious assertions about his private life.

The relationship between Steele and the Ohrs was "inexplicably concealed from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC)," during the FBIs effort to obtain a FISA warrant on former Trump campaign official Carter Page, House intel Republicans alleged in a memo.

DOJ OFFICIAL WHO CONCEALED MEETINGS WITH TRUMP DOSSIER FIGURES LOSES ANOTHER JOB TITLE

In December, Fox News reported that Ohr had been stripped of his title of associate deputy attorney general and booted from his office near Rosenstein's at Justice Department headquarters. The demotion came after it was revealed that he had conducted undisclosed meetings with Steele and Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson.

The following month, Ohr was stripped of his second post as head of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. Fox News reported at the time that Ohr was involved in Project Cassandra, an interagency investigation spearheaded by the DEA that tracked a massive international drug and money laundering scheme allegedly run by Hezbollah.

Ohr is believed to still be working at the Department of Justice, though his exact position is unclear.

Fox News' Mike Emanuel, Brooke Singman and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.A highly anticipated report from the Justice Departments internal watchdog reportedly is expected to hit FBI leaders for moving too slowly to review a batch of Hillary Clinton emails discovered toward the end of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Offering a glimpse at the contents of the closely held inspector general review, The Associated Press cited people familiar with the findings in reporting Monday that the investigation would criticize the bureau for its handling of that incident.

Its just one piece of the comprehensive report that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has compiled looking into the FBI and DOJs conduct during the Hillary Clinton email investigation. The handling of that late-campaign email discovery, though, has long been a key issue for officials on both sides of the aisle.

IG COMPLETES CLINTON CASE REVIEW

Clinton has repeatedly blasted then-FBI Director James Comey for notifying Congress that he was revisiting the email probe less than two weeks before the election, claiming that announcement hurt her campaign in the final leg. But Republicans also want to know why the FBI waited weeks to act on those emails, which were discovered on former Rep. Anthony Weiner's laptop.

Some FBI officials, like then-Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, knew as early as September 2016 of the emails, but the bureau did not obtain a warrant to review them until the following month.

The IG report, which is examining a broad range of FBI actions during the email investigation, is expected to criticize officials, including Comey, for not moving fast enough to examine the email trove and for a weekslong delay in getting a warrant, sources told the AP.

Clinton supporters say the candidate's name could have been cleared much faster if the FBI acted on the emails as soon as they knew about them. But Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, a Republican, also pressed the DOJ earlier this year for answers on that timeline.

There are suspicions about whether there was an effort to delay pursuing those Clinton files. The Washington Post first reported in January that Horowitz was investigating whether McCabe wanted to avoid taking action on the laptop findings until after the presidential election.

Horowitz announced last week that the draft report was finished in a letter to members of Congress. He did not say when the results of the review will be officially released to the FBI, DOJ and congressional committees.

But the inspector general said he has provided a draft report to the Department and the FBI, and requested that they review it to identify any information that should be protected from disclosure.

Were all anxiously awaiting this report, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Hannity last week.

For more than a year, Horowitz has been reviewing the FBI and DOJs actions related to its investigation into Clintons use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Horowitzs investigation has looked at a variety of allegations, including whether it was improper for Comey to make a public announcement about not recommending prosecution over the Clinton email arrangement.

Horowitzs review has already put McCabe in legal jeopardy. The Justice Departments internal watchdog sent a criminal referral for McCabe in April to the U.S. attorneys office in Washington.

That was in response to Horowitzs finding that McCabe leaked information to the press about the investigation and later lied about it to Comey and federal investigators, prompting Attorney General Jeff Sessions to fire him in March.

The report is also expected to criticize two FBI officials who exchanged derogatory text messages about Trump while they worked on the Clinton investigation.

In his book released last month, "A Higher Loyalty," Comey writes that he learned in early October -- probably from McCabe -- that Weiner's laptop might hold a connection to the Clinton email investigation. He said he did not recall the conversation clearly and that it seemed like a "passing comment and the notion that Anthony Weiner's computer might connect to ... Hillary Clinton made no sense to me."

Comey said it wasn't until the morning of Oct. 27 when FBI officials asked his permission to seek a warrant for the Clinton emails, having determined that "hundreds of thousands of emails" from Clinton's personal email domain existed on the computer and that there was no way Weiner would consent to a search of his entire laptop given the legal trouble he was in.

The FBI subsequently obtained a warrant, and though Comey said he was told there was no chance the email review would be done before the election, he announced on Nov. 6 that, "Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton."

Fox News Alex Pappas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.A Kentucky politician has drawn the ire of his subordinates for his quick temper and expectation of political support from employees in the form of their cash. These contributions, according to some, are the product of a pattern of coercion and retribution that is unethical and a blatant violation of the law.

Four former employees of Jefferson County Attorney Mike OConnell have described to Fox News a culture of duress in OConnells office, where they witnessed him consulting donor lists before considering employees for promotions.

Glenda Bradshaw, a high-ranking former prosecutor in the office, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against OConnell after she was fired, claiming in the suit that some employees donate to his campaign out of fear of his wrath.

All employees who spoke to Fox News detailed similar expectations of loyalty to the Democrat in the form of cash or check.

In an emailed statement responding to this article O'Connell said through a spokesperson: I am thankful for the campaign support I have received from all walks of our community. I am humbled that some of my staff have supported my re-election because they know firsthand the good work we perform daily."

Before his 2008 appointment to the position, OConnell served as both a district and circuit court judge in Kentucky.

Kara Lewis, a former attorney in OConnells office, claims she was fired for no reason beyond her refusal to contribute to OConnells campaign. Her firing, during which she was pulled from a courtroom and told she would no longer be working cases, threw her familys plans into tumult and doubt.

It affected my career, it affected my family, Lewis said. It had a horrible effect on my life.  It had a horrible impact on us financially.

When he was interviewing me, he would have already seen that I was not on any contribution lists.  Kara Lewis

Lewis was terminated one month after OConnells re-election in 2010 after working five years in the office. At the time, she and her husband Todd were looking for houses and thinking about having children.

I never had any sort of disciplinary things, she said. I was a good prosecutor and they gave me no reason. They gave me no explanation, no nothing. Just, youre not being rehired.

In the prior months, Lewis had applied for a supervisory role in the office. She said OConnell was openly hostile during the interview; she believes her refusal to donate was a deciding factor in his decision to deny her the role.

Before every interview he was going to his secretary and asking to see the contribution list, Lewis said. When he was interviewing me, he would have already seen that I was not on any contribution lists.

The couple decided shortly after OConnells appointment to the position that they would not donate. At the time, Lewis husband Todd was involved in enforcing campaign finance laws for former Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, and he believed OConnells practices would eventually draw the eye of state or federal authorities.

We believed, and still believe, that it is illegal for him to coerce campaign donations, she said. We fully expected that at some point he would be prosecuted for that because it was such a blatant violation of the law.

After his wife was fired, Todd Lewis said he took his concerns about OConnells actions to both the FBI and his employer. His proximity to the case would keep him from prosecuting the county attorney, but he felt someone should. Conway told him that his family and OConnells were longtime political allies. No action was ever taken by the highest legal office in the state.

Despite multiple attempts, Conway could not be reached for comment.

OConnells employees have proved to be a lucrative and constant source of cash for his political ambitions over the past decade.

In 2010, the first year the Democrat ran for re-election, his employees amassed $45,018.45 on 103 individual contributions. That represented 30 percent of the total $149,278.68 he pulled in for the primary race, according to campaign finance records.

Its illegal for Metro employees to be shaken down. The grey area is that all the laws talk about state and city employees. Mikes office is a county office.  Brent Ackerson

The total dollar amount given by his employees dropped to just under $27,000 in 2014. However, the 95 individual donations from them made up 65 percent of the 147 donations included in the filing. OConnell raised $230,815.03 for the successful re-election.

This year, the silver-haired politician has amassed a campaign war chest of $309,118.13 for his primary battle against local attorney Brent Ackerson. OConnell returned to the well again, and his employees contributed $45,616.96 -- about 14 percent of that total. They provided the majority of individual donations to the campaign. Of the 189 total donations, members of the Jefferson County Attorneys Office gave 98, or nearly 52 percent.

As is the case with most incumbent politicians, the remaining balance from one race rolls over into a general campaign fund for the next election cycle.

Ackerson has consistently called OConnells campaign finance practices out in local debates. The attorney also sits on the Louisville Metro Council, and has two years left on his term. He said OConnells actions are certainly unethical, if not illegal.

Its illegal for Metro employees to be shaken down, Ackerson said. The grey area is that all the laws talk about state and city employees. Mikes office is a county office.

For his campaign, Ackerson has accumulated a touch more than $28,000, which includes a $10,000 donation to himself. OConnells employees have outraised him nearly two to one.

Joshua Douglas, a campaign finance expert who is a law professor at the University of Kentucky, said officials cant require their employees to contribute, but theres nothing necessarily illegal about a culture of contribution.

Its not surprising to me that the people that work for him and presumably support him by working for him would choose to make contributions to his campaign, Douglas said.  The devil is in the details, and the question for me is: What are the actual facts?

OConnell is a county politician and the rules of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission, which has jurisdiction over state officials, arent necessarily the same.

We hope that the ethics commission on the state level, our conduct would be a gold standard for the counties to follow, but theres nothing that requires them to follow the same standard we do, Kathryn Gabhart, executive director of the commission, said.

Although she doesnt oversee county officials, she said each county is mandated by state law to develop its own code of ethics and review commission. Dana Nickles, council to the Jefferson County Ethics Commission, refused to comment on whether OConnells alleged actions constituted an ethics violation.

However, the county commissions guidelines state: No Metro Officer or candidate seeking an office covered by this chapter shall compel any subordinate to participate in an election campaign or ballot referendum, or make a political contribution.

Additionally, two provisions in the Kentucky Revised Code directly address campaign contributions from an officials employees. One bars the coercion of votes or donations from state or federal employees. The other states that no person shall coerce or direct any employee to vote or contribute to campaigns.

Each law specifically mentions coercion by way of threatening or termination of employment.

Another former employee of OConnells, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation, said the politicians behavior was a product of the old-school attorney way.

Im just afraid of the repercussions that would come if he found out that I gave you this information, the former employee said.

The individual, who was an attorney in the civil division of the office, said OConnell fostered an anxiety among his employees through his frequent angry outbursts and constant bean counting of his employees political contributions.

I would say there was somewhat a culture of fear, the former employee said. You wanted to make sure you didnt piss Mike off.  It was pretty common knowledge that if you didnt contribute then they knew about it.

Fox News has confirmed via campaign finance records that the employee did, in fact, donate to OConnell at least once. That person said the contributions can take a financial toll, especially on younger staffers who are still climbing the compensatory ladder.

I didnt want to be blacklisted or called out for not having contributed, the former staffer said. I feared whatever the repercussions were if you didnt contribute.

Glenda Bradshaw, who worked in state government for 32 years before she was fired by OConnell, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the county attorney in 2010. In the suit, which was eventually dropped, she alleged that OConnell was well known to summon the campaign contribution list when considering employees for promotions and raises. Her lawsuit seemingly corroborates Lewis allegations.

It was a very unpleasant experience, she said.  On at least one occasion I witnessed him looking at the list prior to interviewing candidates to be made supervisor.

Karl Price is another former employee who told Fox News about OConnells anger and expectations of political loyalty. He was hired in 1992 and left in 2015 amid allegations of ethical misconduct in his private practice. Price refused to admit to ethical violations, instead leaving OConnells office to focus full time on his private practice.

Tense, if you want a single word. It was tense, Price said.  Generally I kept my distance, but it was not unusual to hear screaming on that side of the office, and everybody knew that was Mikes voice.

OConnell, who is seeking a third term, would regularly send his employees campaign fundraising literature in the mail, and his secretary would needle people who didnt act on those flyers. Price said the expected donation was around $200.

Campaign finance records show that Price donated at least $550 to OConnell between 2011 and 2013.

My opinion, most of the people felt that it was unethical behavior, he said. But their general disposition was they didnt want to lose their job.Tony Podesta, the older brother of Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta and co-founder of the onetime lobbying powerhouse the Podesta Group, was thrust back into the political spotlight after President Donald Trump pointedly questioned why he had not been "charged and arrested."

Trump focused on Podesta in one of a series of tweets Sunday attacking Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

In October, reports emerged that Mueller was investigating the Podesta Group over its lobbying work on behalf of a nonprofit group called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECMU). According to the special counsel's indictment of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and associate Rick Gates, the Brussels-based ECMU functioned as a "mouthpiece" for Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine's pro-Russian president between 2010 and 2014.

The indictment went on to allege that Manafort and Gates enlisted the Podesta Group and one other firm to lobby on behalf of the ECMU -- the "nominal client," in the words of the indictment -- so that Manafort and Gates could continue their work on Yanukovych's behalf without making the required legal disclosures to the Justice Department.

The indictment alleged that the Podesta Group was not paid directly by the ECMU, but rather through offshore bank accounts controlled by Manafort and Gates. It also claimed that Gates gave the Podesta Group false talking points in order to cover his and Manafort's tracks about their work for Yanukovych and ECMU.

Manafort is facing charges of acting as an unregistered foreign agent and false statements related to his political work in Ukraine and loans he took out to purchase U.S. properties. Gates has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges and making false statements and is cooperating with Mueller's investigation.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the ECMU paid the Podesta Group $1.02 million over 2012 and 2013 for its work.

Tony Podesta's name is not mentioned in the indictments of Manafort and Gates and it is not clear what, if anything, he knew about their work for the ECMU and Yanukovych. However, former Podesta Group staffers told ABC News they were skeptical about their prospective client.

"There was a lot of suspicion that it was a front for bad stuff," one ex-staffer said. Another said workers were concerned Podesta was bringing in "clients you wouldnt want to touch with a 100-foot pole."

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Podesta was doing $5 million in overseas business by 2015, double what it had been four years earlier. According to the paper, some of those clients included the governments of Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and South Sudan.

That time frame coincided with Podesta's divorce from his second wife, Heather. The Journal reported he gave up "nearly $5 million in retirement savings" and agreed to pay his ex-wife $200,000 quarterly over five years.

The same day that Manafort and Gates' indictment went public, Oct. 30, Tony Podesta announced that he would step away from the firm. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the Podesta Group's lobbying income had plummeted from a high of $29.3 million in 2010 at the height of the Obama presidency. In 2017, the firm took in $18.4 million, its lowest income since 2008, as clients who hired Podesta in anticipation of a Hillary Clinton presidency melted away.

As the Journal reported, the firm's longtime bank had cut ties in the summer of 2016 over its involvement with an American subsidiary of a sanctioned Russian bank. The same week as the Manafort and Gates indictment, the Podesta Group missed a deadline set by its new banker to pony up $655,000 and its line of credit was cut. During that week, Podesta reportedly shot down an idea to use his art collection -- valued in the millions of dollars -- as collateral for a loan.

The Podesta Group ceased operations in November of last year. Most of its employees joined a new firm, Cogent Strategies, headed up by Podesta's last CEO, Kimberley Fritts.

ABC News reported Sunday that six former employees were interviewed by federal investigators in connection with the Mueller investigation. The Journal reported at the time of those interviews that Podesta offered to have the firm pay their legal fees. Three former associates told ABC Newa they had not been reimbursed.

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal.U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has come under fire for her use of personal Twitter account for her diplomatic work and preparing for 2024 elections, despite the precedent being set by previous administrations.

Haley, the rising political star whose fiery statements at the U.N. earned her bipartisan praise, has been using her personal Twitter account @NikkiHaley to make work-related announcements since she was confirmed for the role.

Among her tweets, there are stark condemnation of the Russian government actions in Syria and criticizing other members of the U.N. for voting against the U.S.

The account also features music recommendations and the much-awaited declaration that Haley is on Team Laurel in the hotly contested debate whether an audio clip is saying Yanny or Laurel.

Experts and former U.S. officials expressed concern to Politico about Haley and pointed out that some top U.S. diplomats ignore State Department guidelines prohibiting the use personal social media accounts to conduct U.S. foreign policy.

"Taxpayer dollars shouldn't be used to fund someone's social media stardom for political or business purposes," Brett Bruen, a former diplomat who helped craft the State Department rules, told the outlet. "It doesn't take a savvy political mind to identify that Haley is trying to attract American voters for 2024."

The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. has enlarged its Twitter following eightfold, from 193,000 Twitter followers on the day of her confirmation to 1.6 million today.

The concern of U.S. diplomats using their private accounts became an issue during the reign of then-Secretary of State John. Kerry, who already amassed a large following prior the role, was given an exception to use his account to conduct the diplomatic work. But similar to Haley, Kerry has made numerous personal posts on his Twitter account.

The Obama administration, in its final months, finalized social media guidelines for all U.S. diplomats and barred any future officials from using their personal accounts, according to Politico.

The rules bar State Department employees whose positions make it appropriate for them to engage in official communications on behalf of the Department over social media (Department social media spokespersons) must not use personal social media accounts to do so. They must use official social media accounts, created and owned by the Department.

Diplomatic officials can link or repost official State Department content on their personal accounts but they must clearly indicated that the personal social media account is not being used to communicate on behalf of the department."

Haleys tweeting habits were rebuked last year when the Office of Special Counsel accused her of violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits members of the executive branch from campaigning, when she retweeted President Donald Trumps endorsement of a Congressional candidate in South Carolina, Politico reported. She retracted the retweet and was issued a warning.

A spokesperson for Haleys office told Politico that she works with the State Department to ensure her account is compliant with all regulations.Those who want to see President Trumps border wall built may get a chance to help fund the project if a recently introduced bill is passed.

The legislation, introduced by Rep. Diane Black, R-Tenn., last week, would create a border wall trust fund. People could donate any amount of money to it, with the funds specifically designated for whatever it takes to build the wall -- from supplies to salaries. It would be overseen by the Treasury Department, according to Black.

Real immigration reform cannot be achieved without a secure border -- President Trump has been clear about this since day one, Black, a member of the House Budget Committee, said in a statement. The most important job of the federal government is the safety and security of the American people, and if citizens in our country wish to contribute to this effort, they absolutely should be given the opportunity.

In an interview with Fox News, Black said while anyone can donate money to the U.S. Treasury now, this trust fund would ensure donations would specifically go toward the construction of the border wall.

I support President Trump in building the wall. Its going to take big funds to do that, Black said, adding that she doesnt believe Congress has done enough in terms of allocating funding for the wall.

Black stressed that the trust fund wouldnt be the first time the government used crowdfunding to complete a project. She said the fund could be patterned after the private donations used to construct the Washington Monument.

Created in 1833, the Washington National Monument Society fundraised to begin construction of the Washington Monument. The society was given land, raised money and hired architect Robert Mills to design the memorial. However, the group ran out of money, and construction of the memorial was stalled for more than 20 years until Congress took it over, according to the National Park Service.

Corporations, including Target, also paved the way monetarily for restorations to the monument beginning in 1996, according to the National Park Service.

Black, who is running for governor in Tennessee, said shes already heard from a number of her constituents who support the idea of a public trust fund. If established, Black said she and her husband would be first to donate.

In March, Trump signed a $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill that included only $1.6 billion for border measures -- much of which is for repairs to already existing fencing. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and the White House said the spending bill provided for 100 miles of border construction; however, it specifically ruled out any new prototypes for the wall such as the ones Trump visited in California earlier this year.

RJ Hauman, government relations director at the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), blamed Democrats for the lack of border funding, including in the spending package. He told Fox News that Blacks bill would provide a unique funding source for the presidents signature campaign promise.

Heather Douglass, a spokeswoman for Black, told Fox News, "Were hoping to see [the bill] go through to the presidents desk."

Fox News Adam Shaw contributed to this report.President Trump on Monday met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray, a day after demanding a DOJ investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his 2016 campaign.

Based on the meeting with the president, the Department of Justice has asked the Inspector General to expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigations or the Department of Justices tactics concerning the Trump Campaign, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Sanders said it was also agreed to that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly will immediately set up a meeting with the FBI, DOJ, and DNI together with congressional leaders to review highly classified and other information they have requested.

The president made the investigation demand on Sunday, following reports detailing how an FBI informant had multiple contacts with members of Trumps campaign. Trump said he would formally seek a DOJ probe of whether agents surveilled the campaign for political purposes, and whether any such demands came from the Obama administration.

Within hours, the DOJ had asked the departments inspector general to handle such a review.

And, Rosenstein said in a Sunday statement: If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.

The White House plan to arrange a meeting where highly classified and other information will be shared with members of Congress is highly irregular and inappropriate. The president and his staff should not be involved in the viewing or dissemination of sensitive investigatory information involving any open investigation, let alone one about his own activities and campaign, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., responded. However, if such a meeting occurs, it must be bipartisan in order to serve as a check on the disturbing tendency of the presidents allies to distort facts and undermine the investigation and the people conducting it.

The focus of Mondays meeting was expected to be the Justice Departments response to congressional requests  something that directly relates to the presidents weekend tweets, as GOP lawmakers have been locked in a heated dispute with DOJ over access to information about the apparent informant.

Congressional Republicans have been seeking documents relating to the confidential informant who helped investigate potential Russian collusion by the Trump campaign, but the Justice Department has opposed the move citing the sensitivity of the matter.

Vice President Pence, in an interview Monday with Fox News Martha MacCallum, said Trump was grateful that the DOJ was having the inspector general look into and determine and ensure that there was no surveillance done for political purposes against our campaign.

He added, I think it would be very troubling to millions of Americans if that took place, but were very confident that as the inspector general has been doing their work looking at the conduct of the FBI during that period that, by adding their focus to this, that well get to the bottom of it, because the American people have a right to know.

Fox News' Alex Pappas, Chad Pergram and Meghan Welsh, Fox Business Networks Blake Burman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.President Trump touted progress in trade negotiations with China on Monday following criticism that Beijing might be getting the better of the administration.

I ask Senator Chuck Schumer, why didnt President Obama & the Democrats do something about Trade with China, including Theft of Intellectual Property etc.? They did NOTHING! With that being said, Chuck & I have long agreed on this issue! Fair Trade, plus, with China will happen! Trump tweeted early Monday.

The presidents tweet comes after high-level talks in Washington last week. Beijing agreed in a joint statement with the U.S. to substantially reduce Americas trade deficit with China, but did not commit to cut the gap by any specific amount. The Trump administration has sought to slash the deficit by $200 billion.

MNUCHIN SAYS US HAS DEAL WITH CHINA TO CUT TRADE DEFICIT, WILL HOLD OFF ON TARIFFS

In a written statement Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said: "President Trump has created a unique opportunity but the people doing the negotiating shouldnt blow it. There is nothing wrong with these talks but the proof of the pudding is in the eating."

He called for China to take "strong actions on intellectual property, cyber theft, and American companies having free access to sell goods in China."

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said that the U.S. and China have reached a tentative deal to cut trade deficits that includes the U.S. putting China tariffs on hold, an agreement that potentially averts an economic standoff. Mnuchin said that tariffs would be put on hold while the countries try to execute the framework agreement. Mnuchin also said the U.S. expects to see farm sales to China increasing 35 to 45 percent this year alone.

China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Productswould be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years! Trump tweeted Monday. On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time.

But Trump has faced criticism, including from Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

If putting tariffs on hold means that while we talk #China gets to continue to block U.S. companies but do whatever they want here & to steal intellectual property then #China has out negotiated the U.S. again, Rubio tweeted on Sunday. If we make a deal in which #China promises to buy $200 billion from U.S. in exchange for business as usual, the current administration will become the latest example of a White House so desperate for a deal they get beat badly by China in negotiation.

The Trump administration proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports, and Trump later ordered U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to seek up to an additional $100 billion in Chinese products to tax.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., however, praised the administration's actions, noting it was smart to engage China on trade abuses and would also be smart to get them more involved in trying to help us with North Korea.

The president echoed that sentiment on Twitter early Monday.

China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made. The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing! Trump tweeted.

The president is slated to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12, though the rogue regime has threatened to cancel talks following military exercises practiced by South Korea and U.S. North Korea canceled a high-level summit with South Korea last week.

Fox News Joseph Weber and The Associated Press contributed to this report.President Trump sought to turn the tables on the Obama administration Monday after demanding a probe into whether his predecessors FBI infiltrated his 2016 campaign, pointedly asking what then-President Barack Obama knew about the operation  while clashing with former CIA boss John Brennan.

Following reports detailing how an FBI informant had multiple contacts with members of Trumps campaign, the president said Sunday hed formally seek a DOJ probe of whether agents surveilled the campaign for political purposes, and whether any such demands came from the Obama administration.

While the DOJ swiftly asked the departments inspector general to handle that review, the president turned the spotlight Monday to Obama.

The Wall Street Journal asks, WHERE IN THE WORLD WAS BARACK OBAMA? A very good question! Trump tweeted.

He was referring to an op-ed calling on Obama to explain his administrations surveillance of affiliates of a presidential campaign. The column from James Freeman posited that Obama was likely fairly well-informed about his law enforcement agencies, but said if he was unaware of the Russia probes full history, then it would seem a public explanation is also in orderabout his management, and about just how far the deep state went without specific presidential approval.

Meanwhile, another dust-up between the president and Brennan took shape as the former CIA director, and now MSNBC/NBC contributor, warned Republican leaders in Congress not to enable Trump, in response to his call for an investigation.

Senator McConnell & Speaker Ryan: If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trumps self-serving actions, Brennan tweeted, while also quoting Roman philosopher Cicero: Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error.

Trump fired back by quoting, at length, former Secret Service agent Dan Bongino on Fox & Friends, as Bongino accused Brennan of sparking the entire Russia probe and taking part in a politically motivated investigation.

Brennan has been a vocal critic of Trump ever since he took office.

The precise origins of the Russia probe remain unclear. Officials have previously pointed to comments Trump adviser George Papadopoulos allegedly made about Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton as touching off the investigation in July 2016. A House GOP memo released earlier this year affirmed this timeline.

But reporting over the weekend in The New York Times and Washington Post said an informant was also talking to Papadopoulos and other Trump figures in 2016. The details have raised questions about what prompted those contacts.

The revelations come amid a tense dispute between the Justice Department and House Republicans who have been seeking details about the informants role. Trump referenced that standoff on Saturday, tweeting: Only the release or review of documents that the House Intelligence Committee (also, Senate Judiciary) is asking for can give the conclusive answers. Drain the Swamp!

The FBIs probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump figures would eventually be taken over by Special Counsel Robert Muellers team. The intelligence community, and Senate Intelligence Committee, have since declared that Russia did seek to interfere in the election, largely to boost Trump over Clinton.

But in looking to turn up new information on how the probe began  and suggesting political motivations were at play  Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill could undermine the Muellers probe just as Trump and his legal team are weighing the possibility of a Trump interview with the special counsel.

Meanwhile, Obama has said little about the probes beginnings, and its unclear if he plans to enter this highly charged debate.

One of the few references to his involvement came in texts released earlier this year from anti-Trump FBI officials Lisa Page and Peter Strzok. In one of them, the two discussed preparing talking points for then-FBI boss James Comey to give Obama, who wanted to know everything were doing.The Trump administration promises to impose the strongest sanctions in history against Iran, urging all nations to participate in a new, aggressive campaign to economically isolate the regime.

In a Monday morning speech at the Heritage Foundation, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo detailed the administrations policy toward Iran less than two weeks after President Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement.

Borrowing a strategy, and a moniker, from what it views as a successful economic isolation campaign against North Korea, Pompeo said the United States is planning a new pressure campaign.

Our willingness to meet [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un underscores the Trump administrations commitment to diplomacy to help solve the greatest challenges, even with our staunchest adversaries, said Pompeo. That willingness has been accompanied by a painful pressure campaign that reflects our commitment to resolve this challenge forever.

Pompeo also warned European companies conducting business with Iran that the U.S. would also subject them to economic penalties.

We understand that our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends, said the secretary of state. We want to hear your concerns  but we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account. 

Like the administrations North Korea strategy, Pompeo said the U.S. would lift sanctions and welcome Iran to the international economic system if it dramatically changed its behavior. Pompeo demanded Iran permanently and verifiably abandon its nuclear work in perpetuity, provide international inspectors unqualified access to all sites throughout the country, halt its ballistic missile program, release detained Americans, and end support for Middle East militant groups.

Relief from our efforts will only come when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehrans policies, said Pompeo. The secretary said the administration ultimately wants a ratified treaty.

International participation is unclear. The United States European allies oppose the presidents withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. Theyre also engaging with the agreements remaining participants  Russia, China, Iran and the European Union  to salvage the deal without the U.S.

The Trump administration negotiated for months with Germany, France and the United Kingdom to create a supplement to the Iran agreement. The negotiators reached broad agreement on addressing Irans ballistic missile program and expanding nuclear inspections. They failed to settle differences on expiration clauses in the nuclear deal. The countries, however, were very close to addressing all concerns, according to a European diplomat.A team of French researchers who recently examined Adolf Hitler's remains say the leader of the Nazi party definitely died in Berlin and not elsewhere, as has been rumored about for decades.

There is no possible doubt. Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945, co-author Philippe Charlier told AFP by way of The Washington Post, following the paper's publication on the European Journal of Internal Medicine.

Charlier and other researchers persuaded the Russian government, the entity that discovered Hitler's body, to let them look at the last bits of his remains  a part of Hitler's skull with a bullet hole and a set of teeth. The teeth were compared to the autopsy done in 1945 and it was confirmed they were indeed Hitler's teeth.

ADOLF HITLER KISSED BY AMERICAN WOMAN IN SHOCKING PHOTOS

The study also showed that his teeth did not have any traces of tartar or meat particles, indicating he was a vegetarian, according to Tech Times.

"The teeth are authentic, there is no possible doubt. Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945," Charlier said in comments obtained by The Washington Post.

"In this context, for the first time since 1946, the Russian Secret Services (FSB and GARF) gave us full access to the remains in order to make an independent scientific analysis," the study's abstract reads.

"In March and July 2017, two campaigns of anthropological examination were carried out: direct and under binocular lenses osteological/morphological investigation, followed by minimal sampling for SEM examination and elemental analyses."

The abstract adds that "Hitler's alleged remains in Moscow, Russia, is a scientific and historical fantasy since the death of the dictator in Berlin on April 30, 1945."

In the past, it has been alleged that Hitler's corpse was set on fire, hidden by the KGB, dug up and moved around. It has even been alleged that Hitler did not die in World War II and that he escaped to Argentina or another South American country.

HITLER WWII 'ESCAPE' INVESTIGATED BY THE CIA, BOMBSHELL DOCUMENT REVEALS

A recently declassified CIA document found that Hitler escaping to Argentina was a rumor so credible that the agency had investigated the matter as late as 1955  nearly a decade after World War II ended.

The document, which appears on the CIA's website, highlights a former SS soldier who told spies he had regularly met with Hilter in Colombia. "CITROEN [a CIA source] claimed to have contacted HITLER about once a month in Colombia on his trip from Maracaibo to that country as/an employee of the KNSM (Royal Dutch) Shipping Co. in Maracaibo," the document reads.

Other rumors have persisted for years about Hitler's ultimate fate. Some said he died in battle, while others suggested he lived working as a casino croupier in France or that he escaped on a German U-boat to a secret Nazi base in Antarctica.

Hitler's remains have been tested by researchers prior to Charlier and his team examining them.

In 2009, researchers from the University of Connecticut did DNA testing on Hitler's skull and concluded that it belonged to a woman, between the ages of 20 and 40.

"What the DNA told us is that it was female," archaeologist and bone specialist Nick Bellantoni said at the time. Bellantoni conducted the tests along with his partner, professor Linda Strausbaugh.

RUSSIAN SCIENTISTS UNEARTH REMAINS OF SECRET NAZI ARCTIC BASE

After Bellantoni and Strausbaugh released their findings, however, the Russian government insisted that the remains were Hitler's.

Hitler committed suicide by taking a cyanide capsule and shooting himself. His wife Eva Braun killed herself by swallowing a cyanide pill. His body was later discovered by Soviet soldiers and buried in an unmarked spot.

A German court declared Hitler dead, but not until 1956, more than a decade after the war ended.



Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia

Scientists are set to take a fresh approach in the hunt for the fabled Loch Ness monster.

The scientists plan to investigate the waters of Loch Ness in Scotland next month and use environmental DNA sampling of the waters to try and identify everything that swims in it, the New Zealand Herald reported Monday.

Whenever a creature moves through its environment, it leaves behind tiny fragments of DNA from skin, scales, feathers, fur, feces and urine, lead scientist Professor Neil Gemmell, from New Zealand, told the Herald.

LOCH NESS MONSTER FOUND? SHOCKING PICTURES OF UNIDENTIFIED SEA CREATURE SURFACE

This DNA can be captured, sequenced and then used to identify that creature by comparing the sequence obtained to large databases of known genetic sequences from 100,000s of different organisms  if an exact match can't be found we can generally figure out where on the tree of life that sequence fits, he told the outlet.

Gemmell said hed be surprised if theres any evidence of DNA sequences similar to those of a large extinct marine reptile, but he's eager to see what his team will find.

While researchers are keeping an eye out for Nessie, they said they're focusing on uncovering more information about bacteria in the lake.

While the prospect of looking for evidence of the Loch Ness monster is the hook to this project, there is an extraordinary amount of new knowledge that we will gain from the work about organisms that inhabit Loch Ness  the U.K.'s largest freshwater body, Gemmell said.

Gemmel said he first visited Loch Ness in his late 20s while he was on vacation. He said he first came up with the idea about testing DNA from the lake a few years ago and it resonated with many, including his young children.

The 51-year-old scientist said he isnt a Nessie believer  which some theorize is a long-necked plesiosaur that somehow survived the dinosaur extinction  but is eager to take people on an adventure and communicate some science along the way.

"In our lives we want there still to be mysteries, some of which we will ultimately solve," Gemmell said. "That's part of the spirit of discovery. And sometimes, what you find may not be what you were expecting."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.With an experiment launching to the International Space Station Monday (May 21), scientists will be able to create a temperature that's 10 billion times colder than the vacuum of space to focus in on atoms' weird quantum behavior.

The Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) is a physics research facility the size of an ice chest, designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, that will chill clouds of atoms with lasers and magnets aboard the space station to this ultracold temperature  close to absolute zero, or the lowest temperature possible.

Sunday's cargo launch to the space station, which is scheduled for 4:39 a.m. EDT (0839 GMT), will carry a number of experiments, including CAL. You can watch the launch live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV, beginning at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT). [Visibility Guide: How to See the Antares Rocket Launch Monday]

Researchers will be able to conduct remote experiments in CAL, without any help from astronauts, for up to 6.5 hours every day, according to NASA's project page for CAL.

These ultracooled clouds of atoms are chilled to just about (but not quite) absolute zero. (Absolute zero is equivalent to minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius.) Known as Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs), the clouds contain atoms that are so cold, they move extremely slowly. Under Earth's gravity, the atoms in freely evolving BECs can't be slowed down enough for physicists to observe them for any longer than a fraction of a second, so scientists hardly get a chance to study their quantum characteristics, NASA officials said on the project page.

However, aboard the space station in a microgravity environment, things are much different. Without Earth's gravity getting in the way, these atoms can be slowed down more than they can anywhere else, using lasers and magnetic forces in an "ice-chest-like" compartment. The lasers slow down the atoms, cooling them to "like one-tenth of a billion of a degree above absolute zero," Robert Shotwell, CAL project manager and an engineer at JPL, said at a news conference on May 10.

In using CAL to study the atoms' quantum activity, physicists will be able to better understand how atoms behave at these extreme temperatures, a main thread in physics for over a century, according to a NASA overview.

After cooling the atoms, CAL will automatically load them into weak magnetic traps, where researchers can study them. With the atoms held in place, the teams will be able to observe them in a variety of quantum states and interactions, NASA officials said in the overview. At this extreme temperature, researchers can observe the quantum characteristics and behaviors of BECs for up to 10 seconds, according to the project page. This might not sound like a lot of time, but it's significant when compared to the observation time possible on Earth.

"Studying these hypercold atoms could reshape our understanding of matter and the fundamental nature of gravity," Robert Thompson, a CAL project scientist at JPL, said in a statement. "The experiments we'll do with the Cold Atom Lab will give us insight into gravity and dark energy  some of the most pervasive forces in the universe."

The CAL mission began development in 2012 and will operate through 2020.

Visit Space.com Monday for complete coverage of Orbital ATK's OA-9 Cygnus launch for NASA.

Original article on Space.com.Dont be evil.

The three words that have been part of Googles motto for the last 17 years also encapsulate how much of Silicon Valley sees itselfdoing what is right and just, but a bit edgier than previous stodgy titans of capitalism.

However, the ubiquitous search engine has now removed Dont be evil from its official code of conduct. According to a Gizmodo reporter who used the Wayback machine to check time stamps, at some point between late April and early May, references to the slogan in the document were removed except for one brief mention.

GOOGLE EMPLOYEES RESIGN OVER IN PROTEST OVER CONTROVERSIAL PENTAGON AI PROJECT, REPORT SAYS

A version of the codes preface archived on April 21 opens with these two paragraphs:

Dont be evil. Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But Dont be evil is much more than that. Yes, its about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But its also about doing the right thing more generally  following the law, acting honorably, and treating co-workers with courtesy and respect.

The Google Code of Conduct is one of the ways we put Dont be evil into practice. Its built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct. We set the bar that high for practical as well as aspirational reasons: Our commitment to the highest standards helps us hire great people, build great products, and attract loyal users. Trust and mutual respect among employees and users are the foundation of our success, and they are something we need to earn every day.

TEENSAFE LEAKS THOUSANDS OF KIDS EMAIL ADDRESSES AND PASSWORDS

The revised document, which ditches Dont be evil, opens this way:

The Google Code of Conduct is one of the ways we put Googles values into practice. Its built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct. We set the bar that high for practical as well as aspirational reasons: Our commitment to the highest standards helps us hire great people, build great products, and attract loyal users. Respect for our users, for the opportunity, and for each other are foundational to our success, and are something we need to support every day.

So please do read the Code and Googles values, and follow both in spirit and letter, always bearing in mind that each of us has a personal responsibility to incorporate, and to encourage other Googlers to incorporate, the principles of the Code and values into our work. And if you have a question or ever think that one of your fellow Googlers or the company as a whole may be falling short of our commitment, dont be silent. We want  and need  to hear from you.

The very end of the code includes the following line:

And remember dont be evil, and if you see something that you think isnt right  speak up!

The Dont be evil ethos originated with Googles employees back in 2001 as a way to express the companys values succinctly without sounding like corporate boilerplate. However, now Google has become the massive, powerful company that its first employees may not have envisioned.

The tech company is also under fire from regulators and a range of criticswith some calling for it to be broken up. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin recently urged the Justice Department to review the power that firms like Google have over the American economy, Bloomberg reports.Pennsylvania police were on the hunt for zombies last week after responding to several complaints about a road sign that displayed "strange messages."

"Zombies ahead!! Run!!!" the road sign read, warning of a zombie apocolypse.

Officers with Springettsbury Township Police Department were dispatched to E. Market Street on May 17 to investigate. Cars slowed down as drivers read the unusual sign.

Later that day, police eased the minds of concerned residents.

"We hope there was no public alarm today as there were no reports of Zombies anywhere in Springettsbury Township," the police department posted on Facebook, adding it appeared someone gained access to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation road sign and typed their own messages.

There was another inappropriate message displayed on the board earlier that day but police didn't reveal what the sign said because it was not "G-rated."

PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL 'WANTED' BY PENNSYLVANIA POLICE FOR DECEPTION

While some people said they were disturbed by the edited road sign, others admitted it was funny and encouraged residents to have a sense of humor.

"Now that I think of it, considering how zombies move, you dont really need to run. A brisk walk should work just fine."  Springettsbury Township Police Department

"When I see this stuff. It makes me LAUGH. And we need that in this society without letting anyone get in trouble! FUN with NO HARM. The Zombies was the best," one woman wrote.

"Now that I think of it, considering how zombies move, you dont really need to run. A brisk walk should work just fine," another joked.

"When you do get a report of zombies, however, how will we be alerted? Thanks," one Facebook user asked.

'SKETCHY' DRAWING OF PENNSYLVANIA THEFT SUSPECT ACTUALLY LEADS TO AN ID

The department replied, "We use the color coded Zombie alert system. Right now we are green. If it ever gets to orange we will release further instructions."

This isn't the first time Pennsylvania police have been in the spotlight. In September, police in Lititz said they were completely terrified by an "It"-inspired prank.

The trickster tied red balloons to sewer grates, a move murderous clown Pennywise used to lure children in the horror flick.

"We give points for creativity, however we want the local prankster to know that we were completely terrified as we removed these balloons from the grates and we respectfully request they do not do that again," the Lititz Borough Police Department wrote on Facebook. "If you're not sure what we're talking about, search 'It'and watch the preview, but we suggest watching the preview with a friend or coworker with all the lights on and the sound down low."Search and recovery teams with Phoenix Fire, along with construction crews working at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, have recovered the body of a construction worker who was lost when part of a drilling rig collapsed on Monday.

The identity of the man has not been released, Fox 10 Pheonix reports.

MAN DIES AFTER FALLING FROM MEZZANINE OF SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT

The drilling equipment was being utilized for construction on the PHX Sky Train, a spokesperson for the airport confirmed Monday.

Phoenix Fire Department Technical Rescue Teams responded to the scene at 9:30 a.m., and initially reported that a crane had toplled over in a statment to Fox News.

"Incident Commanders have worked closely with construction personnel to account for all workers in the area during the incident and at this time have one person who is unaccounted for. We do not have any information on the individual or his condition at this point," the said Monday.

The department added that it had taken "considerable time to determine if this will be a rescue or recovery."

Phoenix Crisis Response personnel were said to be assisting with the needs of construction workers who were on the scene at the time of the incident.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

The airport did not impact air traffic or site roadways at Sjy Harbor.Theres nothing cool about this pool.

A woman who went on a recent trip to Vietnam was expecting a wide, aquamarine-colored infinity pool at her hotel, as pictured on a third-party travel website.

Instead, she arrived to a squat, tiled fixture filled with dingy-looking water.

The above-ground structure is so small that a ladder leading up to it spells out Welcom on one rung, with no apparent space for the final e.

The traveler, Jenny Kershaw, posted the two images to Twitter last week, calling out Booking.com, where she saw the listing for the hotel, according to Insider.

Our hotel pool in Vietnam  booking.com VS reality, she wrote, followed by three laughing-face emojis. It is not clear where in the southeast Asian nation the hotel is located.

The tweet quickly went viral.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post.Six Flags has issued an apology after a retired U.S. Marine and double amputee claims he was refused entry to one of the park's rides because he didnt have real legs.

Johnny Joey Jones, who lost both legs to an IED while serving in Afghanistan in 2010, tweeted on Sunday that he got kicked off a ride at Six Flags Over Georgia after an employee noticed his prosthetic legs.

Jones claimed he has been allowed to ride similar attractions at Universal Studios in the past, and added that an employee made him wait in line before he was told he could not be seated.

MAN SUES UNIVERSAL, SAYS 'HARRY POTTER' RIDE GAVE HIM SPINAL INJURIES

Jones later tweeted what appears to be the ride requirements for the parks Harley Quinn Spinsanity ride, which stipulate that visitors must have one (1) functioning arm and one (1) functioning leg absent of prosthetic devices in order to ride.

Hey @SixFlags you really think Im so physically useless I cant ride a tilt-a-whirl? he captioned the tweet featuring the ride requirements. Seriously?! Did you see the enormous hill I walked up and down to get here?

Six Flags has since apologized for the "inconvenience," but stated that the rules prohibiting Jones from entering the attraction were designed for the safety of "all our guests."

We apologize to Mr. Jones for any inconvenience; however, to ensure safety, guests with certain disabilities are restricted from riding certain rides and attractions. Our accessibility policy includes ride safety guidelines and the requirements of the federal American Disabilities Act.

"Our policies are customized by ride and developed for the safety of all our guests. Our policies and procedures are reviewed and adjusted on a regular basis to ensure we continue to accommodate the needs of our guests while simultaneously maintaining a safe environment for everyone."

Jones did acknowledge that the ride's requirements were posted at the entrance, though he did not see them. Still, he theorized that Universal has better equipment for dealing with amputees, which is why he was allowed on similar rides Universal Studios.

SEE IT: UNIVERSAL ROLLER COASTER STALLS, LEAVING RIDERS DANGLING FOR HOURS

Moments later, Jones warned any veterans who were unlucky in their service that Disney Parks, Universal Studios and SeaWorld will still move (magic) mountains for you.

He added that Six Flags will tell you, Nah bro, you gotta have two real legs, presumably paraphrasing what he was told by the teenage employee.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Jones also appeared as a guest on Fox and Friends this May, after tweeting about being turned away from his VA hospital after waiting for five hours to have a prescription filled.One of three inmates who escaped from a South Carolina prison was captured Sunday night after authorities launched a dragnet; but the other two inmates, both murder suspects, remained on the loose.

Christopher Shannon Boltin, 27, was taken into custody in Lexington County, the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office announced in a Facebook post. Boltin had been behind bars on carjacking and grand larceny charges.

Manhunt efforts continue to focus on Tyshon Demontrea Johnson, 27, and Curtis Ray Green, 20  both of whom remain at large. Officials did not reveal exactly how the men seemingly broke out.

Investigators discovered the three were missing after they were notified of a possible escape attempt just before 10 p.m. Saturday.

Authorities said the two inmates, who were both charged with murder, are considered dangerous.

Other inmates who possibly helped the inmates escape are being questioned.

The sheriffs office urged anyone with information on the suspects or incidents to call Orange County Sheriffs Office at 803-534-3550 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.A suspect who allegedly broke into a home in Massachusetts earlier this month was kind enough to make sure the family dog didn't get loose, after he realized a security camera was watching his every move.

The unidentified man was recorded entering the home in East Milton on May 7, just before 1:30 p.m., the Milton Police Department wrote on Facebook Sunday. He knocked on the house's rear sliding-glass doors in the kitchen a few times before the dog barked and tried to greet the new visitor.

The man  wearing tan cargo pants, a brown striped shirt and hat with gloves in his back pocket  apparently shouted "hello" into the house a few times while the dog bounded in and out of the kitchen.

The suspect, police wrote, "realized there were cameras in the house while committing the crime as he covers his face upon exiting the home."

HERO DOG RESCUES HIS PAL FROM DROWNING IN POOL IN VIRAL VIDEO

But before the man left, he seemed to call for the dog to come inside  then shut the kitchen door.

The police department asked that anyone with information on the break-in or the suspect please contact Detective Gennes Seaton or submit tips at the department's anonymous hotline.Police in Washington, D.C., say a man has been charged with murder in the death of his girlfriend's child.

News outlets report 28-year-old Brian Jamal Wooden was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Sunday. Metropolitan police say officers had found 1-year-old Carter Sanders unconscious on Wednesday.

Police spokeswoman Karimah Bilal tells The Washington Post that Wooden is the boyfriend of Carter's mother. Police say he died at a hospital of "multiple blunt-force injuries."

It is unclear if Wooden has a lawyer.

___

Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.comInvestigators in California were pointed in the right direction after a prosthetic arm that was reported stolen last week was spotted in the alleged burglars' car, leading to arrests.

An officer with the Grass Valley Police Department on Wednesday came across the suspects  identified by the Nevada County Sheriff's Office as Michael Martin, Emma St. Claire and Mike Mulligan  and searched their car.

Law enforcement officials uncovered the prosthetic limb  which the sheriff's office described in a Facebook post as "the exact arm that was stolen in the burglary."

Martin, St. Claire and Mulligan were booked at the Wayne Browne Correctional Facility in Nevada City for suspicion of burglary and possession of stolen property.

The prosthetic arm, the sheriff's office said, "was returned to a very appreciative owner."A Baltimore County, Maryland police officer died Monday after responding to a possible burglary, and officials say four suspects  believed to be "armed and dangerous"  remain at large.

Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan said at a news conference Monday evening that around 2 p.m., a citizen dialed 911 to report a possible burglary with four suspects.

OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY IN 2018

The deceased officer, who has not yet been identified, responded to the scene in Perry Hall, where she was fatally injured. The four-year veteran of the force, whose life was "unfortunately cut short," was transported to a nearby hospital and prounced dead at 2:50 p.m.

Witnesses in the neighborhood reported hearing a pop sound and seeing the officer run over by a Jeep.

Tony Kurek told The Associated Press that his son, who was in the family's yard, saw the officer with her gun drawn and confronting the suspects in the vehicle.

"The next thing he heard was a pop, and he saw the Jeep take off and run right over her," he said.

The police chief said that Americans are "seeing something in this country we've never seen before."

"Officers who have died at the hands of gunshots is up," Sheridan said. "This is a bad time in the United States for law enforcement."

"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a Baltimore County Police Officer after she was shot in the line of duty today," Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan tweeted following early reports of the incident. "Our prayers go out to this brave officer's family, @BACOPoliceFire, and the Baltimore County community."

Three elementary schools in the area remain on alert status, and county officials advise that local residents in the area shelter in place. It's unclear whether the suspects are traveling by vehicle or on foot.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.The newest four-legged member of a Southern California police department helped find 60 pounds of methamphetamine on Saturday in his first bust for the force.

The West Covina Police Department said in a Facebook post the dog, named Rye, was called in after officers found the meth stuffed under the driver's seat of a vehicle that was pulled over for a traffic stop on the Interstate 10 Freeway, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles.

Rye then sniffed out additional meth in two hidden compartments, located under the driver's seat and under the front passenger seat, according to police.

VIRAL FACEBOOK POST SHOWS TEXAS POLICE OFFICER POSING WITH DOG AFTER RESPONDING TO CALL OF 'VICIOUS' ANIMAL

The driver, Pedro Lopez, 28, of Paramount, was arrested and booked for possessing methamphetamine for sale and transporting narcotics in a hidden compartment. Lopez's bail was set at $1 million, according to police.

Rye is the West Covina Police Department's newest K9, and was field certified in narcotic detection last month. The bust on Saturday was Rye's first since being field certified, according to police.A cougar that attacked two bikers in Washington state over the weekend, killing one and seriously injuring another, was emaciated, authorities said Sunday.

The cougar was about 100 pounds, making it severely underweight compared to normal 3-year-old male cats that weigh 140 to 180 pounds, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police Capt. Alan Myers told Q13 FOX.

Sonja S.J. Brooks, 32, and Isaac Izzy Sederbaum, 31, were biking in the Cascade Mountain foothills 30 miles east of Seattle when they were attacked. Brooks was killed and the cougar had dragged his body to what appeared to be its den.

"They did everything they were supposed to do," King County sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Abbott said Sunday. "But something was wrong with this cougar."

COUGAR ATTACK IN WASHINGTON KILLS 1 BIKER, INJURES ANOTHER

The cougar was euthanized hours after the attack. Myers said a veterinarian will conduct a brain necropsy to determine why the animal attacked the bikers and if it was sick. Saturdays attack was the first fatal attack between a human and a cougar in Washington in nearly a century, Seattle Times reported.

Myers said the cougars behavior was very abnormal.

Brooks and Sederbaum were biking when they noticed the animal following them. They got off their bikes, shouted and tried to scare the cat away  a normal protocol  but it charged at them. One of the bikers smacked the cougar with a bike and eventually it ran off.

But the cougar returned with a vengeance. It bit Sederbaum in the head.

The cougar had his head in his jaws and was shaking him violently, Myers said.

Brooks was attempting to run away when the cougar spotted him, dropped Sederbaum and pounced on the 32-year-old biker.

The cougar killed Brooks and dragged his body into the trees. Sederbaum got back on his bike, rode two miles to where he received cellphone service to call 911. Authorities found the cougar standing on top of Brooks body about 30 minutes later.

Sederbaum was said to be in satisfactory condition after being taken to the hospital and treated for lacerations and bites to his neck, head and face.

Officials are also matching the DNA taken from the animal and the victims to ensure they killed the right cougar.A Florida woman who was captured in her mugshot with a massive grin following a drunk driving crash that later killed a mother wasnt smiling on Saturday when she was charged with DUI manslaughter.

Angenette Marie Welk, 44, was booked into Marion County Jail Saturday after she turned herself in to police. Welk initially faced several charges, including DUI with serious bodily injury, until Sandra Clarkston died four days after the crash.

Welk was driving down U.S. Highway 27 in Marion County on May 10 when police said she rear-ended a Hyundai Elantra that then slammed into a tractor-trailer stopped in front of it, Florida Highway Patrol reported.

Clarkston had celebrated her birthday a day before the crash. Her daughter, Keonna Sciacca, told WKMG the 60-year-old was paralyzed and brain dead, though doctors performed multiple operations to try to save her.

FLORIDA WOMAN SMILES IN MUGSHOT AFTER DUI CRASH THAT KILLED MOTHER, OFFICIALS SAY

Clarkstons other daughter, 18-year-old Shiyanne Kroll, was driving the vehicle and suffered minor injuries.

Welk had told the trooper at the scene she crashed into the vehicle because she dropped her cell phone while driving. However, the trooper noticed the 44-year-olds breath reeked of alcohol and her eyes were glossy. Welk failed to complete a field sobriety test and her blood alcohol level was .172, more than twice the legal limit of .08.

Welks smiling mugshot angered the Clarkstons, who called the photograph disgusting.

"That disgusts me and that means she has no remorse for what she did at all and I hope that judge sees that picture and says the same thing," Kroll said.

The Clarkstons told Ocala StarBanner on Saturday they were glad Welk was re-arrested. However, they werent happy Welk was released on $30,000 bond the same day she turned herself in.

She needs to be sitting in the jail. She needs to rot in hell. I want to spit in her face, Kroll said.

Welks lawyer Stacy Youmans said her client is a good-hearted person, a wife, mother and friend who is devastated by what happened.

Her heart breaks for the Clarkston family, she said about Welk.Authorities on Sunday warned the public that as molten rock from Kilauea volcano poured into the ocean, a toxic steam cloud has formed due to a chemical reaction when lava touches seawater.

Scientists said the acid in the plume was about as corrosive as diluted battery acid.

The hazardous cloud billowing from where lava is pouring into the ocean off Hawaii's Big Island may spread as far as 15 miles downwind.

Scientists said the steam clouds at the spots where lava entered the ocean were laced with hydrochloric acid and fine glass particles that can irrigate the skin and eyes and cause breathing problems.

The lava haze, or "laze," from the plume was just offshore and running parallel to the coast, said U.S. Geological Survey scientist Wendy Stovall.

Getting hit by it might feel like being sprinkled with glitter.

"If you're feeling stinging on your skin, go inside," Stovall said. Authorities warned that the plume could shift direction if the winds changed.

Kilauea has burned some 40 structures, including two dozen homes, since it began erupting in people's backyards in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on May 3. Some 2,000 people have evacuated their homes, including 300 who were staying in shelters.

Joseph Kekedi, an orchid grower who lives and works about 3 miles from where lava dropped into the sea, said luckily the flow didn't head toward him. At one point, it was about a mile upslope from his property in the coastal community of Kapoho.

He said residents can't do much but stay informed and be ready to get out of the way.

"Here's nature reminding us again who's boss," Kekedi said.

In recent days, the lava began to move more quickly and emerge from the ground in greater volume. Scientists said that's because the lava that first erupted was magma left over from a 1955 erupted that had been stored in the ground for the past six decades.

The molten rock that began emerging over the past few days was from magma that has recently moved down the volcano's eastern flank from one or two craters that sit further upslope -- the Puu Oo crater and the summit crater.

The new lava is hotter, moves faster and has spread over a wider area.

Gov. David Ige told reporters in Hilo that the state was monitoring the volcano and keeping people safe.

"Like typical eruptions and lava flows, it's really allowing Madam Pele to run its course," he said, referring to the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire.

A man was seriously injured when he was hit with lava spatter while standing on his third-floor balcony  the first known injury related to Hawaiis Kilauea volcano eruptions as new volcanic activity creates new threats in surrounding neighborhoods.

The homeowner on Noni Farms Road in Pahoa was hit with lava on the shin and taken to the hospital with serious injuries, Janet Snyder, spokeswoman for the Office of the Mayor, told Reuters.

"It hit him on the shin, and shattered everything from there down on his leg," Snyder said, adding that the lava spatter could weigh as much as a refrigerator.

And even small pieces of spatter can kill, she said.

Fox News' Edmund DeMarche, Katherine Lam and The Associated Press contributed to this reportAs wildfires ravaged California's Napa wine country last October, police officers raced through neighborhoods warning residents to leave or risk death. New bodycam footage shows the terrifying moments as police rescue stranded locals, while trying to convince others to leave the area.

The video, obtained by the San Jose Mercury News and the East Bay Times, shows flames rising above rooflines as officers from the Santa Rosa Police Department drive past homes on fire.

In one clip, an officer approaches a man sitting on a bench in front of his house where flames had not yet reached. "What's your plan?" the officer asked. "Just staying here with the hose," replied Ken Mazzoni, who told the officer he was going to "fight it out."

A second officer approached Mazzoni, explaining: "You're going to put a lot of people in danger. The fire is one row of houses over. It's coming at us."

The first officer again attempted to convince Mazzoni to leave, warning of the fast-moving flames.

"It's huge. It's one of the biggest I've ever seen, he said. It's not worth it."

Mazzoni and his wife refused to go until several minutes later, the Mercury News reported. Flames eventually destroyed their home.

Others had no path to escape. Electrical outages prevented automatic garage doors from working and many couldnt drive their cars out because they did not know how to operate manual backup controls.

"I need help...I can't get the garage door open," explained an elderly woman to Santa Rosa police officer Dave Pedersen in the video. "Sir, I'm scared," she said, her voice trembling.

Pedersen began assisting residents who couldnt get their garage doors open.

We had to get them out of here, he told the Mercury News. As I turned the corner, I saw the whole street. Thats when I started calling more officers. It was just more than a one-man job.

Throughout the video, officers are heard comforting senior citizens and others who were threatened by the fire, but also expressed frustration at those who hadnt heeded evacuation warnings.

When the cops are running away, its time to turn around, one officer said.

The police video is from the night of October 8 and the early morning hours of October 9, when Diablo winds up to 70 mph sent the fire on an unpredictable path of destruction, covering 12 miles in just four hours.

Fires raged in Napa and neighboring counties throughout October 2017, killing 25 people and destroying 5,293 residences according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.The Latest on the Texas school shooting (all times local):

4:15 p.m.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbot has invited state lawmakers from both parties, top education officials and experts on school marshal programs and school architecture and design to the first of three roundtable discussions on curbing future school shootings.

Tuesday's initial discussion will be held at Abbott's state Capitol office. He has pledged to subsequently hear from advocates on all sides of the gun debate, as well as victims of a November mass shooting at a church in the town of Southerland Springs.

Abbott said the goal is to seek "solutions to make our schools more secure and to keep our communities safe."

Rep. Chris Turner, head of the Democratic Caucus in the Texas House, said in a statement Monday: "While discussions to generate consensus are welcome, we believe we also have a responsibility to act immediately."

___

2:40 p.m.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says senators and all Americans "stand in mourning, sorrow and sympathy" with the town of Santa Fe, Texas, where 10 people were fatally shot at a school.

Three days after the nation's latest mass shooting at a school, the Kentucky Republican opened Monday's Senate session saying, "No community should ever be subject to such horror and heartbreak."

He made no mention of taking any legislative steps to curb guns, something most Republicans have long opposed.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis is a 17-year-old student at Santa Fe High School. He is being held on capital murder charges in the killings of eight students and two staff members Friday at the school, which is south of Houston.

___

12:30 p.m.

A student says her friend was killed in the shooting at Santa Fe High School as he attempted to barricade the art classroom from the attacker and help others escape.

Jai Gillard told The Associated Press on Monday that Christian Garcia at one point was leaning against a door to prevent the gunman from getting inside. Gillard says she saw Garcia move to help two others get off the floor before she fled.

Garcia, the two he tried to assist and seven others were killed in Friday's shooting at the school south of Houston.

Authorities have charged a 17-year-old student in the attack. Gillard says the gunman kept shooting despite a fire alarm to alert authorities.

She says she still hears the bullets and remembers the "fear on people's faces."

___

11:10 a.m.

Texas students are laying flowers and photos at the base of 10 white crosses outside the high school where a gunman opened fire on classmates and others.

A 17-year-old student is being held on capital murder charges in Friday's fatal shooting of eight students and two staff members at Santa Fe High School, south of Houston.

On Monday, students placed photos and flowers at the crosses erected outside the school for each person who died in the attack. More than a dozen other people were injured.

Earlier Monday, the students joined dozens of other people who gathered at the school for a moment of silence to honor the victims of the attack.

The school has been closed in wake of the shooting.

___

9:05 a.m.

A statewide moment of silence is planned to recognize those killed and wounded in the shooting at a high school south of Houston.

Gov. Greg Abbott has asked that people across Texas pause at 10 a.m. Monday to remember the 10 people killed at Santa Fe High School on Friday and the more than dozen others who were injured.

Abbott said in a statement Sunday that the "act of evil" has "deeply touched the core of who we are as Texans."

He asks that the families of the shooting victims and first responders also be honored as part of the moment of silence.

A 17-year-old student has been jailed on capital murder charges.

___

11:45 p.m.

Santa Fe High School students and local authorities are confronting challenges borne of the shooting that took the lives of eight students and two substitute teachers at the school near Houston.

The school's graduating seniors heard a speech from Jack Roady, the Galveston County district attorney, on Sunday during their baccalaureate service. He told them about how they will grieve their slain schoolmates and cope with those emotions and others while trying to heal after the shooting.

Santa Fe, a town of 13,000, came together Sunday for prayer services at local churches and the traditional end-of-school baccalaureate service. Mourners also gathered at a Houston-area mosque to remember the life of a slain exchange student from Pakistan.

A 17-year-old student has been jailed on capital murder charges.Two women making an early-morning gas station run in northern Montana on Wednesday were apparently questioned at length by a Border Patrol officer simply because they were speaking Spanish.

Ana Suda, 37, who said she was picking up eggs and milk with a friend, began recording the encounter and asked the officer why he had requested their identification in the parking lot.



"It's the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store, in a state where it's predominantly English-speaking," the officer, who identified himself in the video as Agent ONeal, told the women.

There are no indications in the video that the officer had detained the women, or that the encounter was involuntary. According to Suda, the episode lasted more than thirty minutes.

NYC LAWYER RANTS AFTER HEARING CUSTOMERS, STAFF SPEAK SPANISH IN RESTAURANT

While the Border Patrol can ordinarily only conduct stops away from the border upon suspicion of a crime, officers are free to have voluntary interactions with individuals, so long as they reasonably understand they are free to go at any time.

Both women are reportedly U.S. citizens, and Suda told The Washington Post she is planning to contact the ACLU in contemplation of a lawsuit against the Border Patrol.

The agency said it will review the incident, which unfolded in Havre, Mont., near the border with Canada, The Post reported.

"I was so embarrassed ... being outside in the gas station, and everybody's looking at you like you're doing something wrong," Suda told The Post. "I don't think speaking Spanish is something criminal, you know? My friend, she started crying. She didn't stop crying in the truck. And I told her, we are not doing anything wrong."A principal in New Jersey reportedly faced complaints from students over prom tickets urging the class to party like its 1776, and apologized to those offended.

The Cherry Hill Courier Post reported on Friday that the event is to be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Dennis Perry, the principal, apologized in a letter, the report said. He wrote that he hurt the feelings of members in his "school family."

He continued, I especially apologize to our African American students, who I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording.

Cherry Hill High School is going to send out tickets without the 1776 reference. Those who already purchased tickets will not need to present them at the door.

Lloyd Henderson, the president of the Camden County NAACP East Chapter, told the paper that the tickets are another example that the culture at the school is one where African American students needs are not considered along with the rest of the school.

Henderson did say he appreciated how swiftly Perry reacted to the objections.

The report pointed out that New Jersey did not abolish slavery until 1846.Two off-duty New York City police officers, one who was a groom celebrating his wedding day, were killed Sunday night after their rented Maserati crashed into a tree in upstate New York, police said.

John M. Martinez, 39, and Michael Colangelo, 31, were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash in Shandaken, about 72 miles southwest of Albany. Colangelo, a K9 officer, got married to his wife Katherine and hosted their reception at Full Moon Resort, about a mile from the crash site, a state police spokesman told Fox News. Martinez was an officer at the 84th Precinct in Brooklyn.

Martinez was driving the rented 2018 Maserati just before 11:30 p.m. Sunday when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a large tree, New York state police said Monday. The car overturned and ended up on its roof.

State Police Maj. Pierce Gallagher said in a Monday afternoon news conference that the two NYPD officers were likely not wearing seat belts, causing partial ejection. A third passenger, who was not the bride but a family friend of the groom, was wearing a seatbelt at the time. He was taken to the hospital with head injuries that were not life-threatening.

As far as we can tell they were taking this car out for a ride, Gallagher said. I feel comfortable saying that the speed was excessive.

The police spokesman said the reception ended when the trio got into the car.

Police said they have not released the cause of the crash, but are investigating it as an accident. Interviews are being conducted to determine what occurred before the deadly incident.

Officials are waiting autopsy and toxicology results. The exact speed the vehicle was traveling at was also not given.

Both officers were from Long Island.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shared a message of sympathy on Twitter: "Our entire city is keeping the families and loved ones of Officer John Martinez and Officer Michael Colangelo in our prayers."

Colangelo and his wife were planning a honeymoon in Costa Rica before his tragic death Sunday, according to the Honeyfund page. They had asked guests to contribute money to their honeymoon.

ARIZONA OFFICER'S BELT STOPS BULLET IN 'WAY TOO CLOSE A CALL' ENCOUNTER

We know it's not traditional but it would be a lot of fun, to have some items on our wedding list that will help us catch some sun! So if you'd like to give a gift to send us on our way, a donation to our honeymoon would really make our day! the couple wrote on their page.

They added, Then while we're relaxing on the beach, or by the pool so blue, we'll sit back and know that it is truly thanks to you!!A man accused of deliberately ramming his SUV into a North Carolina restaurant, killing his daughter and daughter-in-law who were dining inside, suffered from severe depression and anxiety and had struggled to find psychiatric care, a pastor said Monday.

Roger Self, 62, underwent radical changes a little over two months ago that led him to commit an awful act, the Rev. Austin Rammell of Venture Church in Dallas, N.C., told reporters.

Rammell said a man who had been an icon in his community for decades developed severe mental illness. Rammell said Self sought treatment and asked his son to take his guns away.

Self was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He was booked into the Gaston County Jail.

Self went to the Surf and Turf Lodge in Bessemer City and had his family seated, according to the Gaston Gazette. He then allegedly went outside and purposely drove his Jeep into the building.

Katelyn Self, a deputy with the Gaston County Sheriffs Office was killed in the crash, officials said Sunday. The second woman was identified as Amanda Self, according to FOX46 Charlotte.

Roger Selfs son, wife and granddaughter were also injured in the attack.

Fox News Nicole Darrah and the Associated Press contributed to this report.A 3-year-old Pennsylvania boy was rescued Saturday after plunging into a 10-foot manure pit that was described as kind of like quicksand.

Emergency crews were called to a farm in Honey Brook Township, about 48 miles west of Philadelphia, around 6:30 p.m. after they received 911 calls about the boy in the manure pit. The pit was 10 feet deep located inside a large barn that housed cows.

"We were unable to get to him because of the thickness of the manure," Honey Brook Fire County Deputy Chief Jake Bailey told WPVI. "We pulled back out to focus on ventilation."

Bailey said rescuers worked on telling the boy to stay still to prevent the 3-year-old from sinking deeper into the filth.

"His whole body was sitting on the manure, so he was completely above the manure, but if he had moved around a lot, it would've been a different story," he said.

"The manure is kind of like a quicksand, the more you move, the more you sink, Bailey added.

RESCUE CREW SEEN AIRLIFTING FISHERMAN BITTEN BY SHARK IN DRAMATIC VIDEO

Heavy rain also bogged down rescue efforts. Two rescuers, wearing dry suits and rope harnesses, were sent down the pit with tag lines.

The entry team quickly reached the victim, removed him from the manure and placed him in a stokes basket. He was removed to the outside and decontaminated and assessed by waiting EMS, Chester County Rescue Task Force said.

The boy was awake and crying when he was removed from the pit. No other injuries were reported.A gas station company is pushing back against accusations a man made in a viral Facebook post claiming that one its stores wasnt flying the American flag because foreigners come in here complaining.

Dave Moore, a self-described trucker, said on Facebook two weeks ago that he stopped by a Pilot Flying J location in Amarillo, Texas, and noticed that there was no Old Glory in sight. In a video that was viewed more than a million times before being removed, Moore claimed that he asked an employee about the missing flag and was told "foreigners come in here complaining, and they didn't want to lose the foreigners' business," The State reported.

Moore reportedly showed the naked flagpole numerous times in the video, and Google Maps images taken in 2017 show the same, but the company says there is more to the story.

At store #436, we are in the process of repairing the flag pole, which was damaged, Pilot Flying J posted on its Facebook account. Our intent is to raise the flag as soon as the pole is repaired and proper flag protocols are in place to show it the respect it deserves.

In a separate statement, the company said there has been a number of inaccurate stories making the rounds on social media.

It also said the company regret[s] our team member was misinformed, without elaborating.

Pilot Flying J, which has more than 700 stores across the U.S., told The State that it follows military protocols when flying the American flag, which cover everything from how its raised and flown, to how its lit at night.

The convicted killer of a 13-year-old girl says in remarks published Monday that he deserves an apology from Michigan police who believe he killed four to six young girls who have been missing for decades.

Arthur Ream told the Detroit Free Press in a jailhouse interview that he had nothing to do with their disappearances.

Warren Police spent several days this month digging up a property where they believed the girls may have been buried after Ream allegedly killed them, the paper reported. Nothing was found.

"He owes them a big apology for getting their hopes up in this case," Ream told the paper, referring to Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer and the families of the missing girls. "He owes Cindy Zarzyckis family a big apology for bringing up bad memories. And he owes me an apology for just getting me dragged into this.

POLICE SEARCH FOR BODY OF GIRL MISSING SINCE 1979, BELIEVE PROPERTY MIGHT BE 'BURIAL SITE' FOR 4 OTHER VICTIMS

Dwyer told the paper that Ream isnt getting an apology from him.

If anybody owes an apology, it's him and that's why he's in prison for life for murder and rape, Dwyer told the paper. Why would law enforcement  the Warren Police Department, the FBI, the Michigan State Police  apologize to him? This was a task force. We all believe we have the probable cause. I said our suspect. I always used the word suspect. I never used his name.

Ream, 69, is serving life in prison for Cindys murder in 1986. He was locked up for the killing in 2008.

The paper reported that during the interview Ream acknowledged burying Cindys body in an unmarked grave but denied killing her.

Police conducted the dig on property where her remains were found, the paper reported.The suspected gunman in a mass shooting at a Texas high school that left 10 people dead is under suicide watch at the Galveston County Jail, officials said Monday.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis Jr., 17, is being held on capital murder charges after he allegedly opened fire at Santa Fe High School on Friday.

Eight of the 10 people police say he fatally shot were students, and the other two were substitute teachers. Thirteen others were injured in the shooting.

WHY THE TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT CAN'T RECEIVE THE DEATH PENALTY

Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset at a news conference Monday revealed more information about Friday's timeline, telling reporters that it took four minutes for school resource officers to engage with the gunman.

The sheriff added that 200 law enforcement officers rushed to the school district in response to the shooting, and said he doesn't "believe" that any of the victims or those injured were shot from crossfire between the gunman and police.

Officials said that teachers and staff are scheduled to return to campuses on Wednesday, while students are scheduled to return to campus on May 29, according to KPRC-TV.

Extra security measures would be enacted once students return to campus, authorities said Monday, and noted that additional resources  such as a crisis hotline number  were available on the district's website.Indiana prosecutors may have run out of time Monday to file charges against a man taken into custody after two off-duty police officers were shot over the weekend during a late night bar altercation.

ONeill Cruz-Burgos, 25, of Burnham, Ill., was detained early Saturday morning after the shooting outside Growlers bar in Highland. But a prosecutor told the Times of Northwest Indiana on Sunday afternoon that police can only hold him for 48 hours without filing any charges. His status Monday is unclear and a message to Highland Police from Fox News was not returned.

The shooting around 2:30 a.m. Saturday unfolded after two men, one of whom police believe is Cruz-Burgos, had left the bar and then returned and were advised by Growlers security staff that the business was no longer allowing patrons inside as it was near closing time, police were quoted as saying.

A disturbance evolved between these two males and the two victims, which became physical and it ultimately ended up outside near the east parking lot, police added in a statement, according to NBC Chicago.

Two officers ended up getting struck by gunfire  East Chicago Police Officer David Aguilera in the head, and off-duty Gary officer Dwayne Brown, who was working as a bouncer in the bar, sources told the Times of Northwest Indiana.

"All of a sudden there was a lot of yelling, and a lot of pushing and then there were gunshots and ... everyone who was inside the bar  probably a crowd of about 60 people  we all got pushed back to the bar in the back of the room, and they told us to stay down until everything was clear," Matthew Potacki, a bar patron, told WLS.

Both officers were taken to hospitals and have since been released, the sources added. They also said Aguilera was shot after identifying himself as a police officer.

Officer Aguilera is being discharged from the hospital today! Thank you to everyone for your kind words and prayers, the East Chicago Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 59 posted on Facebook Sunday.

Police that arrived on-scene then took into custody two men walking away from the bar, but one was released hours later after questioning.A Utah high school came under fire last week after a page in its yearbook described a rival school as ghetto, trash and annoying among other negative descriptions.

Maple Mountain High Schools yearbook printed a word cloud in the shape of a devils face to describe Springville High School. The page was entitled Describe Springville, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

Maple Mountain officials issued an apology Saturday, saying the page didnt reflect how students felt about Springville High School, according to a message posted on the Nebo School Districts Facebook page.

We acknowledge and accept responsibility for our mistake. We are taking action to resolve the situation and to ensure that something like this doesnt happen in the future, officials said.

Some students at Springville were upset by the logo once the picture surfaced on social media.

My first reactions were, like offended, a little mad, Jesse Hullinger, a senior at Springville High School, told FOX13 Salt Lake City.

However, Hullinger was trying to laugh off the controversy.

Maple Mountain tried taking this cheap-shot right at the end of the year and it just totally backfired on them! he said.

Emma Huntington, a sophomore and a yearbook staff member at Maple Mountain High School, told the paper that she wanted to apologize for the logo that appeared in the publication.

When I first saw the logo I was stunned, hurt, and angry, she told the paper. I know your school and you are the complete opposite of the words on the logo. You are strong, kind, loving, helpful, fun, responsible, and so much more and I am honored to know you.

Maple Mountain High School is set to hold an assembly Monday to address the controversy and the school district plans to make T-shirts to unify the rival schools, according to FOX13.Matthew Griffin put away his Army fatigues after his tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, but not his desire to serve. He returned to Afghanistan with the hopes of making the American Dream a possibility for everyone in the country, especially the women.

He was, as Mark Cuban put it, exporting the American Dream.

How did Griffin do it? Through flip-flops.

Griffin is the co-founder and CEO of Combat Flip Flips, a shoe company that gives back with each purchase.

Griffin started the company with fellow veteran, Donald Lee, and Griffins brother-in-law, Andy Sewrey.

They teamed up with Aid Afghanistan for Education, a charity that provides secondary education for Afghan girls.

For every product sold, we donate funds to put a girl in Aid Afghanistan for Education in school for one day, Griffin explained to Fox News.

The idea to fund education for Afghan women was made with fighting terror in mind. Their belief is simple: educated women dont allow their sons to join jihadist movements.

Griffin says their business, from its genesis to where it is now, has always aimed at providing opportunities to people from impoverished nations. This business model was molded by both his years in and out of service.

The fourth generation service members tale started when he headed off to war in Afghanistan after the horrific events of Sept. 11, 2001. He was expecting an all-out fight with extremists, but was met instead with families in abject poverty.

Griffin learned that people take jobs as fighters because they are looking for a way to support their families. They turn to a life of extremism because of the severe lack of opportunities and employment.

These kids are going to be an endless supply of fighters against the United States and really what we need to be doing is finding an alternative for them for employment other than fighting against the U.S., Griffin said.

When his service ended, he returned to Afghanistan in plainclothes, working for Medical International. He found the areas that were the most secure were the ones with entrepreneurs and flourishing small businesses.

One of these small businesses was a boot factory that employed 300 Afghans. Each of the employees were supporting 5 to 13 family members. The social impact of the factory was huge. Unfortunately, the plan was to close the factory when the war ended. The moment Griffin learned the heartbreaking news from the factory manager, he says he looked down to his left and saw a combat boot sole with a flip flop thong through it.

It was ugly and it was cool and I thought, man, Americans would buy this, Griffin said. That was how Combat Flip Flips started.

The attempt to keep the factory open was no easy mission and ultimately failed. Griffin and Sewrey say they were victims of bait and switch by their material provider and were forced to move to a factory in Kabul. This factory lost their boot contract and could no longer cover the overhead. This left Griffin and Sewrey with material to make the boots but no factory for production. Unwilling to give up, they moved production to Griffins garage in Washington state.

Knowing this was only a temporary fix, they searched for a new country to produce their boots -- Colombia.

They found similarities between Colombia and Afghanistan. Both are war-torn nations fighting a narco-finance insurgency. Griffin and Sewrey say moving Combat Flip Flops to Colombia proved to be a help to the nation.

The U.S. backed with a free trade agreement to give those small businesses a competitive advantage, and its working. We are seeing the end of the FARC rebellion in Colombia after 50-something years and its mainly because of business and trade, said Griffin.

Griffin and Sewreys story was featured on ABCs Shark Tank, where billionaire Mark Cuban offered to invest in the company.An Ohio Walmart employee has gone viral for honoring local veterans by singing patriotic songs at the entrance of the Chardon superstore.

Staff and shoppers alike pause and pay tribute while Walmart greeter, Freddy Davidson, belts an honorable tune  something he does several times a day to clapping and cheering. The retired pastor and new grandpa got the idea after seeing a Korean War veteran stand near the checkout area beneath a flag hanging from the ceiling.

OFFICER GETS STANDING OVATION AT GRADUATION FOR STOPPING SCHOOL SHOOTER

I saw the flag up there and said, 'hey, let me honor your service and let me sing the National Anthem if youll stand with me,' and he said yes, Davidson told FOX 8.

When Davidson sees a veteran, he honors them with a song  from the Star Spangled Banner to God Bless America. The Walmart greeter has been in a wheelchair since badly breaking his back more than 20 years ago but he makes sure to stand while he honors the vets.

I cant stand for more than 4-5 minutes, but I stand for the anthem, he said. It is painful, but you just dont notice it.

BUDWEISER TOASTS TO OUR VETERANS

Many veterans have been moved to tears.

Its very heartwarming, Marine Corps Veteran Bill Gibson told FOX 8. It gives me the shivers.

Assistant Manager George Hill, III said everyone in the store  from staff to customers  has enjoyed the gesture.

They stop, they turn around, they face the flag, hand over their chest, they sing along with him and even hold hands, Hill said.

Davidson hopes he inspires others to take the time to thank a veteran.Dimitrios Pagourtzis, who has been accused of fatally shooting 10 people at his Texas high school, cannot receive the death penalty -- and could eventually be paroled.

Pagourtzis, 17, is being tried as an adult in Texas for the brutal slaying that left two teachers and eight of his peers dead at Santa Fe High School near Houston. Thirteen others were wounded in the May 18 shooting, authorities said.

But even though hes been charged as an adult, Pagourtzis will not face the death penalty due to a 2005 Supreme Court ruling. The justices prohibited a state from putting to death someone who is under the age of 18, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).

When a juvenile commits a heinous crime, the State can exact forfeiture of some of the most basic liberties, but the State cannot extinguish his life and his potential to attain a mature understanding of his own humanity, the ruling read.

The justices said they picked 18 as the cutoff age, as it is where society draws the line for many purposes between childhood and adulthood.

Pagourtzis could also be spared life in prison without parole, according to the Houston Chronicle. The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that states could not impose mandatory life in prison without parole sentences for juveniles convicted of murder.

Mandatory life without parole for a juvenile precludes consideration of his chronological age and its hallmark features -- among them, immaturity, impetuosity and failure to appreciate risks and consequences, Justice Elena Kagan wrote at the time. It prevents taking into account the family and home environment that surrounds him -- and from which he cannot usually extricate himself -- no matter how brutal or dysfunctional.

TEXAS SCHOOL SHOOTING SUSPECT WORE BORN TO KILL SHIRT, POSTED ABOUT GUNS, REPORTS SAY

In 2013, Texas passed a statute that allows juveniles convicted of capital murder to be sentenced to life in prison with an option for parole after 40 years, Amanda Marzullo, executive director of Texas Defender Services, told Fox News.

However, just because parole is an option after 40 years, that doesn't mean Pagourtzis will receive it if he is convicted. Marzullo described the process as an "upward battle" and said she would be "surprised if hes ever released" from jail.

Pagourtzis is currently being held without bond in the Galveston County jail on charges of capital murder, county sheriff Henry Trochesset said. Authorities revealed Sunday that various explosives, including a CO2 device and a Molotov cocktail, discovered at the scene were functional, which could increase charges against Pagourtzis, according to the Houston Chronicle.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.Convicted of secretly giving his then-girlfriend medication to kill her unborn child, Sikander Imran was sentenced on Friday to three years in prison.

But the woman who lost her child when Imran put an abortion medication in her tea showed compassion for the doctor she formally dated. Brooke Fiske, who lost her unborn baby boy, asked a judge to give Imran a lighter sentence, WJLA-TV reported.

When something tragic happens, its really important to try to find a way to move forward and to use it for good, Fiske told WJLA. She was reportedly 17 weeks pregnant when she lost her child.

Fiske said last year Imran pressured her to get an abortion when he found out she was pregnant. However, she said she didnt want to do so.

When I was drinking my tea in the evening, I got to the bottom of the cup. There was a gritty substance in there, and when I looked at it, I could tell that it was a pill that had been ground up, Fiske told WROC-TV.

Shortly after she drank the tea, Fiske began to have contractions, according to WROC. She was taken to the hospital where she went into labor.

Fiske said Imran immediately started crying after she began to have contractions. He told her he was a horrible person and that he had done what I thought he did, Fiske said. Irman was arrested last year and pleaded guilty to fetal homicide, according to WTOP-FM.

Life doesnt stop just because something awful has happened.  Brooke Fiske

In court Friday, Imran was sentenced to three years in prison with 17 years suspended, WJLA reported.

To me, the length of time that he serves in prison isnt whats important, Fiske said.

I think that its important that people know that if theyre dealing with depression, before they do something, they should reach out and get help, she also said. Life doesnt stop just because something awful has happened."

Aside from spending time in prison, Imran lost his medical license and could be deported to Pakistan, where he was born, WJLA reported.The Portuguese military says one of its soldiers on a European Union training mission in Mali has died in what it calls a terrorist attack.

The military says in a statement the attack occurred Sunday at the Hotel Le Campement Kangaba, in the outskirts of Bamako, the West African country's capital.

The statement Monday said the hotel was an approved rest and recreation location for soldiers on duty with the EU mission.

Other foreign troops were at the hotel at the time but the statement did not mention any other injuries or fatalities in the attack, nor did it provide further details.

A Malian official said Monday that two died in the attack and the four assailants were killed.Venezuela's election officials say socialist leader Nicolas Maduro has won a second six-year term as president of the oil-rich South American country, while his main rivals are disputing the legitimacy of the vote and calling for a new election.

The National Election Council announced that with almost 93 percent of polling stations reporting, Maduro won nearly 68 percent of the votes in Sunday's election, beating his nearest challenger Henri Falcon by almost 40 points.

WITH SOCIAL MEDIA, VENEZUELA EXERTS INFLUENCE ON THE AMERICAS

The opposition throughout the day argued that a Maduro victory would lack legitimacy because many voters stayed home, heeding the call to boycott an election seen as rigged. Government critics also say other voters were pressured into voting for Maduro.

Electoral authorities say turnout is projected to reach 48 percent.

The United States and many governments around the world rejected the election even before ballots were cast as several key rivals of Maduro were barred from running.

Increasing authoritarian rule and mismanagement of the all-important state-run oil industry have caused a deepening economic crisis, putting Venezuelan on the brink of collapse.As the war against the Islamic State terror group winds down in Iraq and Syria, the U.S. military is increasingly turning its attention to Afghanistan.

In April 2017, American and allied jets dropped over 3,000 bombs on ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

But a year later, aircrafts dropped just 254 bombs, a sign of how much the war against ISIS has changed, according to a new strike report released over the weekend from the U.S. Air Force.

Throughout April, the U.S. military dropped the second-highest amount of bombs in Afghanistan in six-and-a-half years, the Air Force report said. The 562 bombs dropped in Afghanistan last month were more than the combined March and April totals in Iraq and Syria.

As of early May, ISIS holds only two small pockets of territory in eastern Syria, and none in Iraq.

U.S.-backed fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have since returned to eastern Syria following Turkeys incursion into northwest Syria, drawing Kurdish fighters from the fight against ISIS. The SDF recently announced it is once again fully committed to defeating ISIS.

Air Force A-10 jets and drones were recently called to thwart a battle against the Taliban in western Afghanistan, when the city of Farah was threatened.

U.S. Forces Afghanistan released a video showing 28 Taliban fighters getting mowed down by American drones in Farah Province, which borders Iran.

US SERVICE MEMBER KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN JUST WEEKS BEFORE DEPLOYMENT WAS TO END, OFFICIALS SAY

The Pentagon wouldnt rule out Tehrans influence.

I don't think you can ever rule out how much Iran interferes throughout this region. Iran remains the most destabilizing factor in the Middle East. So no, I don't think you can ever rule out their mischief, Pentagon spokesperson Dana W. White said at a press conference at the Pentagon Thursday.

White didnt offer any specific details about the battle last week.

According to the latest numbers, the U.S. Air Force dropped two-times more bombs in Afghanistan than Iraq and Syria last month, as the Afghan spring offensive against the Taliban ramps up.

The U.S. Air Force said that Afghan jets recently helped destroy 29 Taliban narcotics labs as a way of cutting off a key revenue source for the Taliban.

AIR FORCE DEPLOYS A-10S TO AFGHANISTAN TO RAMP UP TALIBAN FIGHT

March saw more bombs dropped in Afghanistan than against ISIS in Iraq and Syria for the first time, but the war against the terror group in Iraq and Syria is not over quite yet.

Overall in 2018, the U.S. military has dropped more bombs in Iraq and Syria than Afghanistan, despite the recent uptick in strikes against the Taliban last month.

The April numbers in Syria included 19 missiles fired from Air Force B-1 bombers against one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assads chemical weapons research labs, after President Trump ordered a massive missile strike against the regime following an alleged chemical weapons attack killing dozens of civilians, including children.

The Air Force says it marked the first time the AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Munition (JASSM) was used in combat.

Last year, U.S. and allied jets and drones fired more than 40,000 bombs and other munitions against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, compared to over 4,000 in Afghanistan against the Taliban and an ISIS off-shoot.

U.S. commanders recently called Afghanistan the main effort for American forces in the Central Command, which is responsible for American military operations in the Middle East and South Asia, including Afghanistan.Supporters of eight prominent Thai politicians who criticized the country's ruling junta shouted "fight, fight" as the group arrived at a Bangkok police station for questioning.

Police are investigating the members of the Pheu Thai party, which was the governing party ousted in a 2014 coup, after they held a news conference last week on the junta's performance despite a police warning not to proceed.

Phumtham Wechayachai, the party's secretary-general, said Monday that nothing they'd done had broken the law.

He said: "Only three of our party members spoke about the government's performance for the last four years and how unsuccessful they are. Why would that be counted as an overthrow (of the government) or an incitement?"

Junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, who staged the coup, has repeatedly postponed promised elections.Pope Francis reportedly told a gay man from Chile who was visiting the Vatican that God made him that way and loves him the way he is.

Juan Carlos Cruz, who was reportedly a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a priest, reportedly spent days at the Vatican to talk about his experiences.

Cruz reportedly told El Pais, a Spanish newspaper, that the two had a conversation about his homosexuality and said he was told, Juan Carlos, I dont care about you being gay. God made you that way and loves you as you are and I dont mind. The pope loves you as you are, you have to be happy with who you are.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the Vatican did not confirm the popes comments given that it was a private conversation.

The pope has upheld Catholic teaching on homosexuality, reiterating the church's opposition to same-sex relationships.

Francis uttered his "Who am I to judge?" comment during his first airborne press conference in 2013, signaling a new era of acceptance and welcome for gays in the church. Francis followed up by meeting with gay and transgender faithful.

Fr. James Martin, the author of Building a Bridge, told The Times that Francis reported comments are a big deal because it is likely the first time the pope made a comment about gay people being born that way.

Martin told the paper that the pope made the reported comment in private and not on the record, which is a big difference.

Meanwhile, every active Chilean bishop offered to resign Friday over what Francis said was their grave negligence in investigating abuse and protecting children.

The bishops announced at the end of an emergency Vatican summit that all 31 active bishops in Rome had signed a document offering to resign.

Calls for mass resignations had mounted after details emerged of the contents of a 2,300-page Vatican report into the Chilean scandal leaked early Friday. Francis had cited the report in footnotes of a 10-page document that he handed over to each Chilean bishop at the start of the summit.

For years, sex abuse victims have blasted the Chilean hierarchy for discrediting their claims, protecting abusers and moving them around rather than reporting them to police and then handing out light sentences when church sanctions were imposed.

Francis, though, has also been implicated in the scandal and he took responsibility for his role as well.

The Associated Press contributed to this reportA South African man accused of murdering three members of his family with an ax arrived in court on Monday morning to hear the verdict in his case.

Henri van Breda also is charged with attempting to murder his sister in the alleged attack on Jan. 27, 2015. Marli, then 16, suffered severe injuries and is reported to be unable to remember the incident.

Van Breda, who handed himself over to police in September 2016, has pleaded not guilty to all the charges, including an additional charge of obstructing justice.

His trial began more than two years after his parents and older brother were killed in Stellenbosch, a scenic wine-growing region.

The van Breda family had emigrated to Australia but returned to South Africa several years ago.A German club owner who lied about Muslim men groping women in his bar last year was arrested Friday for allegedly killing the woman who helped him concoct the fabricated story.

The body of Irina Aizina was discovered in a Frankfurt field Wednesday with her face mutilated and about 20 stab wounds to her body, The Daily Beast reported. Aizina appeared to have been dragged into the field and her purse and jewelry were missing, the outlet reported, citing a police report.

Businessman Jan Mai, 50, was arrested in connection with Aizinas death, The Daily Mail reported. Mai had asked Aizina to invest in one of his clubs two years earlier, according to The Daily Beast. German media reported that the Moldovan mother was set to meet with Mai this week to talk money.

Mais blood was reportedly found at the crime scene.

Mai and Aizina made headlines last year when they made up a story about 50 Muslim men going into one of their clubs early New Years Day and groping women in the dance floor. Aizina told the German tabloid Bild that the men grabbed her everywhere.

Frankfurt police investigated the claim and discovered that Aizina wasnt in Frankfurt during the time of the alleged assault and that Mai told authorities security cameras werent working when police asked for the tapes, according to Newsweek. Police called their story baseless.

Mai and Aizina were both set for court next month over the false story, according to The Sun.

Mai, who was described in the Bild report as a man with big muscles and close ties to a motorcycle gang, had recently come home from Dubai with his sons before his arrest, The Daily Beast reported. He reportedly bragged about owning hundreds of apartments and argued with Aizina about money.

Aleksey Antoni, a friend of Aizinas from Moldova, told The Daily Beast that they talked about the bar in the past and Aizina never mentioned Mai. Antoni said he only knew of Mai through photos.Free Freightnet Membership

List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours.The Braford can produce a larger steer, quicker, with equal beef quality to the purebreds

Political change in Argentina has given many beef farmers the confidence to invest in production and actively seek to export to the European Union.

Between 2003 and 2015, an anti-farming, socialist government made it unattractive to export beef. However, the new ruling party is encouraging farming and beef exports.

Some farmers are choosing to produce beef for the EU under the Hilton Quota, which requires quality beef cuts from cattle that have been finished on pasture  although there seems to be some variability in the interpretation of requirements (see Hilton Quota requirements).

This largely suits farmers in the traditional grass-growing regions of the Pampas  for which Argentina is famed.

See also: Growing beef market threat from Argentina

Nicolas Lafontaine, Sud Oeste, General Lamadrid

Nicolas Lafontaine, who farms at Sud Oeste, General Lamadrid, is one such producer. A low-cost, grass-centric system has always made sense to him, regardless of market outlet.

In fact, by focusing on reseeding, fertiliser use and grass monitoring, he has increased stocking rates from 0.7 livestock units (LSU) a hectare to 1.48 LSU/ha. Meat production has subsequently increased from 177kg/ha in 2012 to 257kg/ha in 2017.

Farm facts 2,000ha total, 1,500ha of which used for livestock

1,100 cows

Black Aberdeen Angus, red Aberdeen Angus and some Aberdeen Angus cross Hereford cows

Steers finished for beef

Heifers kept as replacements or sold as breeding females

Calve end June to 10 September

Maize, sunflower, barley and wheat grown  barley and some maize kept for cows, rest sold

700mm rainfall/year

It is this attention to grassland management that has enabled the business to send beef for the Hilton Quota for the first time this year.

Genetic selection is also key and is one of the reasons Mr Lafontaine is able to produce cattle to suit the varying requirements of internal and external markets.

The Argentine market favours smaller finished animals of about 340kg liveweight for heifers and 400kg for steers, as the consumer believes these cattle are more tender.

They tend to be slaughtered at about 12-14 months. In comparison, the EU market wants an animal of more than 450kg liveweight, which generally means theyre older.

Cattle type

Mr Lafontaine says: In Argentina, its common to say you have to make one kind of cow for export and a different kind of cow for internal consumption. This year we exported 40 steers and 100% went to Hilton at 16-17 months old. A lot of people say this is a lie, how can we do that? Its about making selection for quality of meat.

By producing a steer of about 460kg, the business is sending a lighter animal for export, but a heavier animal for internal consumption, and getting a good price for both.

Mr Lafontaine adds: Four of the steers that went for Hilton were too light, but they made it into Hilton because they had very good carcass conformation.

This links back to years of selecting sires with good growth and muscle conformation to produce animals that are short, but deep in the body for maximum meat yield.

It is this that helped steers to reach slaughter eight months earlier than achieved by most farmers who send their cattle to Europe.

Grass management

Maximising grass production to aid fattening is also key. To drive grassland performance, Mr Lafontaine has implemented grassland improvement techniques, including grazing down to residuals of about fist height and a leader-follower system.

About 20% of grazing ground is now fertilised using urea or diammonium phosphate, which has brought a 15% increase in dry matter yields/ha.

Mr Lafontaine has also been involved with a trial using satellites to assess grass covers and plan rotations. The programme uses historic farm grass growth data, current rainfall data and satellite information on how light is reflected off pasture, to predict grass growth and covers.

This is now being used as a practical tool, enabling Mr Lafontaine to plan where to graze different classes of livestock, depending on grass growth.

Pasture use

Overseeding has mostly involved the use of a fescue and wheat grass mix. Much of this work has focused on poorer, dry, alkaline soils, which make up 60% of the farm and are mostly wheat and weed grass.

The remainder of the farm is made up of dunes or lagoon areas. The dunes are two metres higher than most of the land and have better soil quality, making them ideal for cropping.

Italian ryegrass will follow wheat for one year and be grazed in winter by maturing animals.

The lagoons are a water overflow area that tend to be more fertile and are used for summer grazing and fattening stock. Some of these areas have been direct drilled with the fescue and wheat grass. Lucerne is also planted for summer grazing.

These pastures form the basis of diets. In a normal year, only steers receive any form of supplementation. Traditionally this has involved feeding maize or barley grain in the autumn, post-weaning.

However, Mr Lafontaine has decided to feed it in autumn and winter at 0.7% of body weight, which he says is in line with Hilton requirements.

That 0.7% strengthens the rumen so they can better digest the grass and it improves the daily weight gain, he explains.

Hilton Quota requirements Animals must be exclusively fed through pasture grazing from weaning

Animals should not be raised under any type of confinement or stalling for feeding, except for exceptional climatic reasons

Supplementation with concentrated and/or balanced feed stuffs of commercial of industrial origin is prohibited

Cattle must not be fed protein of animal origin Comment: There appears to be some variability in how the Hilton Quota rules are interpreted. Both farmers visited were approved for EU export, were forward thinking and believed they were doing everything right for the quota. However, Mr Lafontaine was feeding maize grain, while Mr Huber was fattening steers on a confinement system. This appears to go against the Hilton rules. The annex to the draft report of the audit DG Sanco (2014-7226) carried out in Argentina from 3 to 15 September 2014 found all Argentine holdings visited considered supplementing grazing with homegrown grain at key moment of production to be in line with Hilton requirements. This also appeared be the understanding of the National Service for Health and Agri-Food Quality. It was therefore not identified as a non-compliance. However the report said: The reliability of the system is undermined by the misreading of the Hilton Quota feeding requirements by operators and the competent authority. However, prior to print, the UK Argentine embassy confirmed that animals for Hilton should be pasture grazed from weaning and animals could not be kept on confinement systems. It appears there needs to be some improvements in how rules are communicated to ensure they are understood and followed.

Marcelo Huber, La Olguita, Bell Ville

Crossing Aberdeen Angus and Hereford cows with a Bos indicus bull is becoming increasingly popular among farmers looking to produce a larger animal for export under the Hilton Quota.

Figures from the Institute for the Promotion of Argentine Beef Consumption (ICVA), suggest 40% of beef produced for Hilton are Bos indicus-crosses or continentals, with the rest being traditional pure-bred Aberdeen Angus and Hereford.

Farm facts La Olguita (farm) located in Bell Ville in the central Pampas region

1,000ha  650ha grazed by livestock, 350ha for crops

800 Braford cows

900mm annual rainfall

Grow oats which are grazed as winter greens, lucerne and fescue and wheat grass leys

Wheat, soya and maize in rotation with grass

60% kill-out percentage

Argentinian farmers choose to cross with a Brahman Bos indicus breed as a means of producing an animal better able to cope with the heat in certain areas of the country.

The breed also offers the flexibility of producing a smaller animal for the internal market or larger animal for export, if desired.

In fact, the animals ability to produce a larger steer quicker, with equal beef quality to the pure-breds, is a key selling point for farmers looking to export.

Marcelo Huber has chosen to move away from pure Herefords and cross to a Brahman to produce a Braford animal. He believes the cross is better suited to his low-quality, saline soils.

The cows tend to be lighter, eat less food and they have better response to grass, he says.

Since the election of the new Argentine government, Mr Huber has increased the proportion going to Hilton from 5% to 80%.

I can have a 500kg steer for export ready in 16 months with a Braford, he says. He believes it would be difficult to do the same with a straight Hereford while maintaining meat quality.

Post weaning, steers for Hilton are fattened on a confinement system (bare ground) and fed 25-30kg a head of lucerne bales and up to 7kg maize corn.

Mr Huber calls this mechanical grass feeding, which he says fulfils EU requirements. Hilton is not about the way the animal lives  its what it eats, he adds.

Mr Huber says its financially advantageous to produce for Hilton, particularly considering he is able to keep costs low by producing all of the feed on farm.

He says he gets about a 5-7% better price for exported beef over the internal market.News

State law allowed arming Santa Fe school employees

Under a state law passed five years ago, as many as seven Santa Fe High School employees could have been trained, armed and acting as campus marshals charged with preventing murder on campus Friday when a gunman opened fire killing 10.

The little-reported law came to light in the early aftermath of the most deadly school shooting in Texas history and at a time when senior state officials are calling for teachers to be armed as a means of preventing more such shootings.

The district apparently was still in the early stages of implementing the program, which allows school districts to designate one specially trained employee as an armed marshal for every 200 students on campus.

With more than 1,400 students, Santa Fe High School was eligible to have up to seven marshals under the law, known as the Protection of Texas Children Act.

But while public records indicate Santa Fe ISD has the bones of a marshal program in its policies, school board President J.R. Rusty Norman said in a published interview the district had not finalized details to fully implement the program.

Under state law, candidates for a marshal program must complete 80 hours of training, including weapons training, through the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.

The programs sole purpose is to prevent the act of murder or serious bodily injury on school premises, according to the commissions website.

Neither Norman nor other Santa Fe school officials responded Sunday to telephone messages seeking comment about the status of the program.

The school district has since Friday mostly used press releases and social media posts to communicate with media and the public.

While some high-ranking state officials responded to Fridays mass killing with renewed calls for arming teachers, its debatable how much difference seven more armed people would have made because the law enforcement response was quick.

Two Santa Fe Independent School District police officers responded to the shooting within four minutes of the first shot being fired, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset said Sunday.

Those officers, and others that arrived soon after, quickly contained the accused shooter, 17-year-old Dimitrious Pagourtzis, in one area, Trochesset said. About 30 minutes after police received their first call about the shooting, Pagourtzis had surrendered, he said.

School district officer John Barnes was hit in the arm by a shotgun blast during the confrontation. He was flown to the University of Texas Medical Branch and was still in critical condition Sunday.

Other officials also credited the quick actions of Santa Fe ISD officers with saving lives.

But with Santa Fe now embroiled in the ongoing national debate about gun violence, and solutions, some top Texas officials have said that more school staff members needed to be armed.

Speaking to reporters outside a church service Sunday morning, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said teachers should be armed.

We have to arm our teachers, Patrick said. If another person has a gun, the best way to stop that person is another person with a gun. An even better way is four people with a gun to stop that person.

In the few public comments that they have made since the shooting, Santa Fe ISD officials said they prepared for such an event through training for active shooter drills. In a FAQ posted on the districts website, Police Chief Walter Braun wrote that the district was reviewing its policies after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in 2012.

The Texas Legislature created the marshal program in 2013 after the Sandy Hook shootings the year before.

Our efforts have been to re-examine our plans and constantly tweak and improve our own procedures based on lessons learned, Braun wrote.

The marshal program is one of two in Texas that allows school district employees to possess and use weapons around students. The other program, known as the Guardian Program, allows school districts to individually allow students or faculty to carry weapons on campus.

The Guardian Program was conceived by the Harrold Independent School District in 2007. It requires less training than the marshal program, and is more frequently implemented by rural school districts in secluded parts of the state.

Of the eight school districts in Galveston County only one, the High Island Independent School District, has a Guardian Program.

But all of the school districts in Galveston County have the similar, boilerplate school marshal policies posted on an online clearinghouse of Texas school district regulations.

The existence of the policies doesnt necessarily mean that a district is considering appointing armed marshals on their campus, local school officials said. The language is required by the state, but it is left up to local districts whether to appoint marshals.

After the Parkland, Fla., school shooting earlier this year, several local school leaders said they did not support the idea of arming people who were not hired specifically to be school security officers.

If theres an active shooter situation, and you have a teacher with a weapon and an active shooter team coming into the premises, that teacher having a gun might not have a good ending, Clear Creek Independent School District Superintendent Greg Smith said.Galveston, TX (77553)

Today

Windy with periods of thunderstorms late. Low 79F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Windy with periods of thunderstorms late. Low 79F. Winds S at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 70%. Higher wind gusts possible.Sol705 retro point and click graphic adventure has been halfway funded during this weekend and future looking bright!





[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]

Sol705 is a 2D point n click graphic adventure in the best spirit of the good classics from the 90s with a unique setting: a small town from Argentina in the 1970s. UFO sightings, progressive rock and a bunch of wacky rascals ready for all kind of challenges and puzzles are just some of the things this story has to offer. The Kickstarter Campaign The graphic adventure is the focus of a Kickstarter Campaign (that includes free demo for PC, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android) is now live with the goal to reach 10000 USS for further development of which 51% has been already assured. The campaign includes some awesome rewards! Kickstarter page link https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/782397044/sol705 Demo episode is free on Steam for PC and Mac or sur Itch.io for PC, Mac and Linux or sur the Appstore for iOS or Google Play Store for Android More info on the Press Kit and on the Game Website The plot The story will unfold during the 70s, over the course of a young boys winter break in a remote town called Tucana Lake, located on a land at the very end of the world known as Argentina. Mystery and references around every corner, a distorted reality that mixes american, european and out of this world pop culture influences and lots of amazing wacky sci-fi situations has been set to provide you hours of pure pixelated ecstasy! Join a group of eccentric friends looking to sneak out from duty and spend all their free time at their own secret extraterrestrial research club: Sol705. Making contact with an alien race? Easy. Getting a date with one of their classmates, well let just call it a top priority at the club's hidden agenda! Features 2D graphics with animations of great quality with the pixel-toon style. Exquisite hand-drawn backgrounds and dozen of ultra weird characters. An original soundtrack that goes from punk to the most awkward symphonic rock from the 70s. Super funny puzzles and amazing vintage stuff to collect and use!. Full english voiced with spanish, french, english, russian and german dialogues. This adventure plays honor to the great Lucas Arts, Sierra and Delphine software of yore. Developer: Land Patricio Based in Geneva, Switzerland Website: www.sol705.com Press Kit http://www.sol705.com/press/index.html Contact: [email protected] Social: twitter.com/@land_patricio twitter.com/@patosol705 facebook.com/sol705game Trailer https://vimeo.com/257239212 Platforms: Steam or PC, Mac, Linux, Android and iOS The Author Patricio Land was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) he started programming as a hobby back in the '90s for the Sinclair Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amiga 500. One of his early games was pirated even before finished...and he ended up buying it without knowing! Even though, those were really great times and with Sol705 he wanted to bring back those feelings of joy and madness after spending several years into game press journalism. His passion for adventure games, pop culture, manga, anime, classic sci-fi movies, cheap magazines and model making are the main influences for Sol705 the point and click adventure that now he is bringing to Kickstarter. On 2002 he moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where he lives with his wife, his 3 kids and a very bad cat.



[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, 21 May 2018  1C introduces Omnibion War, a frantic 3D shoot em up sci-fi action inspired by mecha anime. To be released on Windows PC via SteamTM and other digital stores soon, Omnibion War is under development by independent developer Crazy Bullet Studio from Chile. Omnibion War puts players into the pilot seat of a high-tech space jet that transforms into a flying mech at the touch of a button. With this high-tech military gear, they blast their way through the galaxy and take down thousands of Hellhounds one by one to prevent them from acquiring Omnibion, a dangerous ancient weapon. With various mission objectives to complete, parts of the universe to visit, types of enemies to blow to smithereens and new weapons and upgrades to unlock, the journey through the galaxy will be an intense and exciting experience with the finger on the trigger. Check out the Omnibion War announcement trailer: https://youtu.be/JyGM3o5-TUE The media are welcome to request review keys through [email protected] or Keymailer. About the game 5 years have passed since the victory of the Coalition of United Colonies over the Omnigans. But the fragile times of peace and prosperity were again disrupted. Once CUC allies, The Hellhounds now unleash chaos and violence throughout the galaxy. They will stop at nothing in order to gain control of Omnibion, a powerful ancient device created by the Omnigans. Become Jaeden, ace pilot of the late Icarus squad and strap yourself in as you again fire up the mighty engines of the A.A.V.G. gunship. Its immense firepower and the ability to rapidly transform between a space jet and a flying mech make it the humanitys most advanced fighting machine. Take full advantage of its destructive potential and put your pilot skills to the test against the incoming Hellhound hordes in various parts of the galaxy. Diverse mission objectives will take you to the vacuum of space, lava deserts or underwater worlds of distant planets. Load up your guns and upgrade your mech as you fight to save the galaxy once and for all! Features Use the transforming abilities of your A.A.V.G. (Automatic Artillery of Variable Geometry)

Take down thousands of enemies and mighty bosses, both in space and on various planets

Complete various mission objectives  protect, destroy, rescue and more

Gain experience points to access new weapons, upgrades and special attacks

Enjoy the retro vibe in two game modes  rail shooter and free flight Game Information Platform: PC Publisher: 1C Company Developer: Crazy Bullet Studio Release date: Coming soon Links Press kit: http://bit.ly/Omnibion_War_Presskit Latest Trailer: https://youtu.be/JyGM3o5-TUE Steam Store Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/776930/ Latest releases Latest releases 1C has recently released THE WATCHMAKER, REALPOLITIKS: NEW POWER, REALPOLITIKS, FALL OF LIGHT. Request Steam keys for 1C games at www.keymailer.co or contact us at [email protected] Get 1C games at the www.1cshop.eu About 1C: Founded in 1991, 1C is a global games publisher with offices located in Europe and Russia. The company releases PC games through its global network of independent distribution partners, digitally and at retail. www.1cpublishing.com | 1C Showreel: https://youtu.be/xFAt-7MeNBw About Crazy Bullet Studio: We are game creators striving to make great things. Focusing on detail and innovation, we are currently developing "OMNIBION WAR", our brand-new title. Follow us on FacebookHey Long Beach, join us as we soar through the skies of Long Beach, California for a unique look at our great city! (Click below to watch video).Accident immediately after take-off : Glider crashes in Konigswinter

Konigswinter A glider crashed near the Eudenbach airfield. Trees in a wood close to the airfield slowed the crash and prevented anything worse happening.

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A glider crashed in the afternoon shortly after taking off from the Eudenbach airfield. At around 4pm, the 60-year-old pilot was towed into the air on a rope, which he then released himself. A few minutes later the glider could no longer be seen in the sky. Eye witnesses therefore immediately called the emergency services for help.

We assume that the thermals and the weather conditions led to pilot error. However, this is currently only a theory, explained a spokeswoman for Bonn police. The pilot landed with his glider a few hundred metres from the airfield in woodland and was able to free himself from the aircraft. He was taken to hospital by rescue helicopter for further treatment as a precaution.

Bonn criminal police are investigating the incident. There are other possible causes of the accident. Therefore the glider will be thoroughly examined, said the police spokeswoman.

Original text: ga.de.The State Council, China's cabinet, unveiled new measures on Friday to deepen reforms and innovation ...

More pilot state-owned enterprises (SOE) will carry out mixed ownership reform in key areas, according ...

Shanghai has attracted 95,000 foreign-funded projects since China's reform and opening up, with a total ...SEATTLE, May 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The International Trademark Association (INTA) today announced that it will hold its 142nd Annual Meetingthe worlds largest trademark eventin Singapore from April 25 to 29, 2020, at the Marina Bay Sands. This marks the second time INTA is bringing its Annual Meeting to Asia, and the first time that the organization will host the event in Southeast Asia.



INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo made the highly anticipated announcement at the opening ceremonies of the Associations 140th Annual Meeting, taking place in Seattle, Washington, now through May 23. Nearly 11,000 trademark practitioners and other intellectual property (IP) professionals from 150+ countries are gathering for this event. The number of registrants has been increasing each year.

In 2014, INTA held its first-ever Annual Meeting in Asiathe 136th Annual Meeting in Hong Kong SAR, China. After that successful event, INTAs Board of Directors approved a rotation strategy to host the Annual Meeting in a location outside the United States every third year.

Bringing the Associations Annual Meeting to Singapore in 2020 offers our global membership the opportunity to once again meet in an optimal location to learn, network, and discuss issues of interest to IP professionals, government officials, consumers, and society at large, said 2018 INTA President Tish Berard.

Registration for the 2020 Annual Meeting in Singapore will open in January 2019, with presale tickets available for purchase at INTAs 2019 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

A confluence of factors contributed to the selection of Singapore for the 2020 gathering, including its vibrant environment, cultural diversity, ease of accessibility, and achievements in the field of IP. INTA, which has a growing international membership now spanning 191 countries, opened an Asia-Pacific Representative Office in Singapore in March 2016.

Singapore is a seminal location for the global trademark dialogue that will take place at INTAs Annual Meeting in 2020. We are extremely pleased to go there and view this as an opportunity to further interact with and serve members globally, said Mr. Sanz de Acedo.

INTAs groundbreaking impact study entitled The Economic Contribution of Trademark-Intensive Industries in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand indicates that trademark-intensive activities in Singapore generate increased employment across sectors and contribute to international trade.

Specifically, looking at data from 2012 to 2015, trademark-intensive industries within Singapore generated a 50 percent direct contribution to gross domestic product, comprised 60 percent of the countrys share of exports, and workers share of the workforce represented 29 percent of total employment, according to the study.

We are honoured to play host to the worlds largest and most widely-attended IP conference  INTAs 142nd Annual Meeting  in 2020, said Daren Tang, Chief Executive, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. This mega conference will connect the Singapore innovation ecosystem to the global community of trademark experts and intellectual property professionals who will build on each others best practices and expertise, sharing thought leading conversations on creating strong brands to differentiate winning enterprises from others.

Jeannie Lim, Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Singapore Tourism Board, added: Our city serves as the ideal platform for this prestigious event. Here, delegates can learn, engage and discover new possibilities, and go on to enjoy the cuisine and experiences that our city has to offer outside of the event. We look forward to welcoming this event to Singapore in 2020.

About the International Trademark Association

The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property (IP) to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation. Members include more than 7,200 trademark owners, professionals, and academics from 191 countries, including 62 members from Singapore who benefit from the Associations global trademark resources, policy development, education and training, and international network. Founded in 1878, INTA is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Singapore, and Washington, D.C., and representatives in Geneva and New Delhi. For more information, please visit www.inta.org.

Contact:

Sari Schwartz

Senior Strategist, Communications

sschwartz@inta.org

1-212-642-1774

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bab1761a-add4-4ae9-9ee9-4e2b81373c52Houston, May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Noble Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NBL) (Noble Energy or the Company) today announced that Rachel G. Clingman has joined the Company, effective today, as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Her responsibilities will include leadership for Noble Energys Legal and Compliance teams.

Prior to joining Noble Energy, she was most recently Vice President and General Counsel for BHPs Petroleum and Minerals Americas businesses. Her experience also includes serving as Houston Partner-in-Charge for Eversheds Sutherland LLP and as a Partner with Fulbright & Jaworski LLP. Clingman holds Bachelor of Administration degrees in Philosophy and Political Science from Rice University and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Texas School of Law. She currently serves as a Board Member for the American Heart Association in Houston.

David L. Stover, Noble Energys Chairman, President and CEO, commented, We are thrilled to have Rachel as a key part of the Noble Energy team. She joins us at a strategically important time in the history of the Company, as we are rapidly increasing cash flows from our onshore business and offshore major projects. Her experience and perspective will bring significant value to our leadership team.

Clingman stated, I am excited to join such a dynamic and successful company and leadership team. The Companys track record of value creation and impact on the communities where it operates is unique, and I look forward to contributing to its continued success.

Noble Energy (NYSE: NBL) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company with a diversified high-quality portfolio of both U.S. unconventional and global offshore conventional assets. Founded more than 85 years ago, the Company is committed to safely and responsibly delivering our purpose: Energizing the World, Bettering Peoples Lives. For more information, visit http://www.nblenergy.com .

This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. Words such as "anticipates", "believes", "expects", "intends", "will", "should", "may", and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not statements of historical fact and reflect Noble Energy's current views about future events. Such forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, future financial and operating results, and other statements that are not historical facts, including estimates of oil and natural gas reserves and resources, estimates of future production, assumptions regarding future oil and natural gas pricing, planned drilling activity, future results of operations, projected cash flow and liquidity, business strategy and other plans and objectives for future operations. No assurances can be given that the forward-looking statements contained in this news release will occur as projected and actual results may differ materially from those projected. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the volatility in commodity prices for crude oil and natural gas, the presence or recoverability of estimated reserves, the ability to replace reserves, environmental risks, drilling and operating risks, exploration and development risks, competition, government regulation or other actions, the ability of management to execute its plans to meet its goals and other risks inherent in Noble Energy's businesses that are discussed in Noble Energy's most recent annual reports on Form 10-K, respectively, and in other Noble Energy reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). These reports are also available from the sources described above. Forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of management at the time the statements are made. Noble Energy does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements should circumstances or managements estimates or opinions change.Governments around the nation are working to design the best vaccine policies that keep both their employees and their residents safe. Although the latest data shows a variety of polarizing perspectives, there are clear emerging best practices that leading governments are following to put trust first: creating policies that are flexible and provide a range of options, and being in tune with the needs and sentiments of their employees so that they are able to be dynamic and accommodate the rapidly changing situation.A few months ago, Kourtnaye Sturgeon helped save someones life. She was driving in downtown Indianapolis when she saw people gathered around a car on the side of the road. Sturgeon pulled over, and a man told her there was nothing she could do: Two men had overdosed on opioids and appeared to be dead.I kind of recall saying, No man, Ive got Narcan,' she said, referring to a brand-name version of the opioid overdose antidote, naloxone. Which sounds so silly, but Im pretty sure thats what came out.Sturgeon sprayed a dose of the drug up the drivers nose and waited for it to take effect. About a minute later, she said, the paramedics showed up.As they were walking towards us, the driver started slowly moving, she said. Both people survived.Sturgeon had the drug with her because she works for Overdose Lifeline, a nonprofit devoted to distributing naloxone. But many bystanders in that situation would be unprepared to help.Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued an advisory urging more Americans to learn to use naloxone and to carry it with them in case they encounter someone who has overdosed.With the increase in overdoses nationwide, the advisory suggests that lay responders  people who may witness an overdose before police or emergency medical services arrive  can play a critical role in saving lives.But if youre not a medical professional, getting a dose of naloxone can be difficult. It is a prescription drug, and normally a doctor or nurse would have to directly prescribe it for the person at risk of overdosing. Corey Davis, an attorney for the National Health Law Program, said that creates a barrier for people with addiction.A lot of people at risk of an overdose dont have contact with a medical provider or theyre afraid because of stigma, he said.To broaden access, every state and Washington, D.C., have passed laws making it easier for friends, family members or bystanders to get and use naloxone. Just how easy it is depends on your state, or even the pharmacy you use.Davis said most states allow something called third-party prescribing, which lets doctors prescribe naloxone to someone who knows the person at risk of an overdose. And most states have passed some kind of Good Samaritan law providing legal immunity for people who administer the drug or call 911.Davis said another type of law allows a kind of prescription called a standing order.But instead of having a persons name on it, it has a group of people, said Davis.A standing order could apply, for example, to anyone who takes opioid painkillers or suffers from addiction. Or, Davis said, anybody who might be in a position to assist someone, which, unfortunately, today means essentially everybody.In his home state of Indiana, Surgeon General Adams signed a statewide standing order in 2016, while serving as the states health commissioner. It allows pharmacies, local health departments or nonprofits that register with the state and follow certain requirements to dispense the drug to anyone who requests it.But two years later, only about half of Indiana pharmacies are registered, and local advocates say many people, even some pharmacists, are still unaware of the law.Even if you understand the laws regulating naloxone in your state  and you feel comfortable asking for it at the pharmacy counter  theres still the cost, which has gone up in recent years. Two pharmacies near WFYI in Indianapolis stock naloxone. One charged $80 for two doses of the generic form of the drug. The other charged $95 for two doses of Narcan, a brand-name version.Its expensive, says Brad Ray, a researcher at Indiana Universitys School of Public and Environmental Affairs. People who are users are scraping money together to buy drugs. Theyre not prepared to buy naloxone with that money.More than a dozen U.S. senators have signed a letter urging Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to negotiate with drug companies to lower the price of naloxone.For people who cant afford the drug, Ray said, health departments and nonprofits can help. Laws in many states allow these organizations to dispense naloxone to lay responders.Indianas health department used federal and state funds to purchase nearly 14,000 naloxone kits since 2016, the state reported. The state distributes those free doses through county health departments. But nearly half of Indiana counties didnt request kits. And the majority of the kits went to first responders.Local health departments, Ray said, need to work harder to get naloxone to people who might use it. People who use drugs, after all, may not feel comfortable going to the government for naloxone.Getting it in the hands of users  thats the trick we need to figure out, Ray said.Davis said there is one change that could really help. The Food and Drug Administration or Congress could make naloxone an over-the-counter medication to make it easier to access, and maybe cheaper. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb has the authority to do so, Davis said, but so far he has not.Colorado is considering allowing political candidates to accept cryptocurrency for campaign contributions.The donations -- whether in bitcoin or another digital currency -- would be subject to the same state limits as a cash donation, and the value would be determined at the time of the contribution.Secretary of State Wayne Williams made the proposal in draft rules presented this week.The move follows the lead of the Federal Election Commission and other states -- New Hampshire was the first -- which began to allow candidates to accept donations of cryptocurrency in 2014."The FEC is doing it now," said Suzanne Staiert, Colorado's deputy secretary of state. "So we are just going along for the ride."U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Boulder, now a candidate for governor, said he was the first member of Congress to accept bitcoin, when he received about $2,000 worth for his 2014 re-election campaign.An FEC advisory opinion, which sets the road map for Colorado's proposal, lays out complicated accounting rules that consider the cryptocurrency an in-kind donation and makes clear that contributions above the aggregate limit for individual donors would need to be refunded or returned."It's going to be an accounting problem, potentially, for campaigns who want to use it," Staiert said.A Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Missouri accepted the largest bitcoin donation in December 2017. The 0.284 of a bitcoin was valued at $4,500.The Colorado Secretary of State's Office is accepting comments through May 23 on the proposed rule.Gov. Eric Greitens' office illegally hired two private attorneys to help fend off impeachment, Attorney General Josh Hawley said Friday in a letter to the state auditor.The attorneys, Hawley wrote, who "purport to represent the Office of Governor at taxpayer expense are acting without authority under Missouri law."Greitens' office pushed back hard against the attorney general's letter, saying Hawley "has his facts wrong" and adding that "the Governor's adversaries would no doubt like to deprive the Governor's office of counsel."Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, earlier this week asked Greitens' office to turn over any information about the hiring of Ross Garber and Edward Greim.Garber is a Washington, D.C., attorney charging the state $320 an hour, or half what he said he normally charges.Greim is a Kansas City-based attorney charging the state $340 an hour.Both say they were hired to represent the governor's office and not Greitens personally.Garber has previously defended three other governors facing impeachment proceedings: Robert Bentley of Alabama, Mark Sanford of South Carolina and John Rowland of Connecticut.Their fees are being covered by the governor's office budget.In a letter obtained Friday afternoon by The Star, Hawley said the governor's office "lacks authority to retain private counsel to participate in connection with any adversarial proceeding without the Attorney General's consent."It is clear, Hawley wrote, that the state Constitution designates the attorney general as "the presumptive legal counsel of state executive entities and officers -- including the Office of Governor -- in connection with adversarial proceedings" unless otherwise stated by Missouri law.He notes that state law expressly authorizes some government agencies to hire private counsel, such as the departments of transportation and conservation. The governor's office is not one of those agencies, and thus, any private counsel must be approved by the attorney general's office.Garber and Greim are acting as attorneys for the governor's office, Hawley wrote, and are being paid using taxpayer funds. Yet, "no authority exists for the Office of Governor to retain those attorneys."Hawley went on to question whether Garber and Greim are actually representing the governor's office as opposed to Greitens personally."It appears that the private counsel retained by Office of Governor are simply advancing the private interests of the individual who happens to currently occupy that office, rather than the constitutional interest of the office itself," Hawley wrote.Hawley asked that Galloway's office take this in mind as it continues its probe into the governor's office's hiring of the private attorneys. The letter also was sent to Republican and Democratic legislative leaders and State Treasurer Eric Schmitt.Parker Briden, Greitens press secretary, said in an email to The Star Friday afternoon that it is "long established that the governor's office has the ability to hire counsel to represent the governor in his official capacity."Briden pointed to a state law that says the governor may "employ and fix the compensation of such legal and clerical assistants as may be necessary for the efficient conduct of his office."Impeachment implicates the institution of the office of the governor, Briden said, and not just the individual."An effort by one branch of government to sit in judgment on another implicates the core of the executive branch of government," Briden said, later adding: "The governor's office has the authority to hire counsel to represent the office to defend its interests in any purported impeachment."Hawley is wrong to assert that Garber and Greim are acting in the personal or private interests of the governor, Briden said. When they've interacted with the legislature or responded to requests for documents, it has been on behalf of the office, not Greitens personally."The arguments for due process advanced by the governor's counsel will affect the dignity of the office for generations to come, regardless of the individual who holds the office," Briden said.The governor's office responded to Galloway's request Friday with a letter saying how much the attorneys are paid and noting that they regularly interact with the chairman and special counsel of the House committee.Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton Saturday vetoed a Republican-backed plan to increase penalties for protesters who clog up traffic.Dayton, a Democrat, has said he supported the idea of stiffer penalties for protesters who shut down airports or highways, as one group of protestors did on Interstate 94 in St. Paul following the shooting of Philando Castile in July 2016.But the Republican-led plan went too far, Dayton said in a veto letter, by using wording that was "unacceptably vague" and could have applied to any protest that delayed a bus route.That criticism was shared almost universally by Democrats, and House and Senate floor debates on the bill featured some of the most impassioned speeches of the legislative session, with critics raising notions like free speech, tenets of Democracy and the civil rights movement.Republicans, who hold majorities in both the House and Senate, said stiffer penalties are needed because the level of protest that disrupts transportation causes a higher level of harm to society than a boisterous demonstration.Blocking traffic is already against the law. The proposal, known as the "anti-protest bill," would have raised the penalty from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor.After losing a legal fight over the way Texas handles online voter registration, state lawyers are arguing that fixes proposed by a civil rights group go too far and should be rejected.U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia of San Antonio had given both sides until Thursday to submit plans that will let Texans easily register to vote when they obtain or renew a driver's license on the Department of Public Safety website.The current system violates the National Voter Registration Act's motor-voter provision, Garcia ruled, because online users are directed to a separate page run by the Texas secretary of state, where they must download a voter registration form, print it out and mail it to their county registrar.Lawyers with the Texas Civil Rights Project submitted a seven-page list of solutions that would give DPS 45 days to create a system that would ask online users if they want to register, or update their address on voter rolls, with every driver's license transaction.The organization's plan, designed to make voter registration easier for the estimated 1.5 million Texans who handle driver's license transactions online each year, would require DPS to send the information to the secretary of state's office, which would forward it to county voter registrars.Instead of submitting a correction plan, however, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton delivered a list of objections to the civil rights group's proposals, saying they are unworkable and go beyond what is required by federal law.First, Paxton said, 45 days is not enough time to change online procedures. The state's current online vendor cannot complete changes before its contract expires Sept. 1, and the new vendor would need 90 days to create a process, he said.Second, many of the proposed fixes go beyond what is required by the motor-voter provision, including calls for a statewide public education campaign on the new online process that must be approved by lawyers with the Texas Civil Rights Project, he said.Federal law "does not give federal courts -- and certainly does not give any plaintiff's counsel -- carte blanche to order the state to do anything they think may be beneficial," Paxton told the judge in a late Thursday filing.Beth Stevens, voting rights director with the Texas Civil Rights Project, accused state lawyers of dragging their feet past the November election."Unfortunately, last night we saw that the state is not willing to come to the table in good faith. Their proposed solution would not even begin to be implemented until after this year's general election, guaranteeing that thousands more will lose their opportunity to cast a ballot that counts," Stevens said Friday. "This is unacceptable."Garcia announced in April that he will rule in favor of the civil rights group, which sued Texas on behalf of voters who were not given the chance to register online, without the need for a trial.The judge, appointed to the bench by President Bill Clinton, followed last week by issuing a 61-page opinion that said federal law requires DPS to give Texans the chance to register to vote -- or to update voting records to reflect a change of address -- when they renew, update or obtain a driver's license.Those who conduct business at a DPS office are offered one-stop voter registration services, but online users must take several additional steps -- a practice that falls far short of the 1993 law's motor-voter provision, enacted to increase voter participation by simplifying the registration process, Garcia said.Paxton has not discussed his options, but if the judge orders specific changes to the Texas registration process, the civil rights group expects him to appeal.Mayor de Blasio will tell the NYPD to stop arresting people for public pot smoking -- and launch a new group to officially prepare the city for the outright legalization of marijuana in New York.De Blasio, who has long opposed making recreational pot legal, now says he thinks legalization is inevitable and is creating an official task force to get ready for the day when that happens.While pot remains illegal, Hizzoner will direct the NYPD to give summonses to people they catch smoking in public instead of arresting them, his aides said Sunday.That policy change will be part of a 30-day review the mayor announced last week to address the massive racial disparity in marijuana arrests.And de Blasio isn't stopping there -- he'll put together a task force of city officials to lay the groundwork for full legalization, figuring out issues like how cops will deal with public smokers, what kind of zoning will be needed for pot dispensaries, and what types of public health campaigns the city should run about marijuana.De Blasio isn't quite throwing his support behind legalizing pot, but says the day is coming -- whether he likes it or not -- and the city should be ready."With marijuana legalization likely to occur in our state in the near future, it is critical our city plans for the public safety, health and financial consequences involved," he said."While I still have real concerns we must work through, it isn't difficult to see where this is headed, and any responsible policymaker must prepare for that eventuality. My focus now will be helping to craft the critical regulatory framework that must come before legalization is realized."City Hall is acting because they believe Gov. Cuomo is likely to act soon to make the drug legal in New York State.Cuomo, like de Blasio, has opposed legalization. But he has shifted his position, appointing a commission to study the issue and saying the availability of legal pot in surrounding states has changed the equation for New York.More and more New York pols have gotten on board with legalizing weed in recent weeks, and the city has faced a torrent of criticism over the racial disparity in NYPD arrests. Research shows white and black people smoke pot at about the same rate, but 86% of those arrested in the city are black and Latino.The NYPD first argued they were making arrests in neighborhoods where residents call to complain about pot smoking -- but as the Daily News first reported, data on 311 and 911 calls show the areas with the most calls and the most arrests do not match up.De Blasio previously loosened marijuana enforcement early in his first term, directing police to give summonses instead of arresting people found with the drug in their possession. But people who are smoking it in public still face arrest.Last week, de Blasio promised to "overhaul and reform" the enforcement policy, but gave no details.Now, the mayor's office says the city will be moving to summonses instead of arrests for smoking as well. It's unclear when the new arrest policy will take effect.The NYPD is also expected to come up with other initiatives to address the racial disparity, but those have not been determined yet.Also last week, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. and Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said they would stop prosecuting almost all possession and smoking cases.De Blasio's task force, made up of officials from various city agencies, aims to have policies in place when pot does become legal on education, small business engagement and economic fairness, in addition to policing and the siting of pot distribution facilities.The mayor has long expressed opposition to legal pot, even as several states around the country moved to end the ban on the drug.Most recently, on Friday, he said he feared there would be "giant corporations in the style of the tobacco companies, taking this opportunity and running with it, and with the goal of trying to hook as many young people as possible on marijuana for the profit of those companies."That has real ramifications for health and safety and that has to be addressed," he said on the Brian Lehrer radio show.De Blasio's spokesman said he is reexamining his position, but proceeding on the assumption legalization will happen regardless of his personal views."The mayor is taking a hard look at it and he believes it's where we are headed. Regardless, he'll definitely have a voice in crafting the critical regulations as this process develops," said press secretary Eric Phillips.Blue state lawmakers are waging a preemptive strike against an anticipated U.S. Supreme Court decision that could decimate the power of public-sector unions across the nation.New York and New Jersey officials are pursuing an end-run around Janus v. AFSCME, a case that could give government workers across all states the option of declining to pay union fees even if they benefit from that unions contract negotiations. Pro- and anti-union partisans alike anticipate the court is likely to rule against the unions  a decision that labor leaders fear will shrink their bank accounts and, in turn, their power.The play by these states is pretty simple: Beef up public-employee unions ability to recruit and retain members in an effort to counteract the chunk of revenue loss these unions expect. New York passed a provision in NY A9509 (17R) that makes it harder for people to opt out of paying union dues by letting unions set the terms for refusals and allows union representatives to recruit new employees during the workday. New Jersey just enacted a similar measure through legislation.The states laws make it easier for public-employee unions to recruit workers by giving them access to employees contact information and allowing them to recruit during the workday.The Governors Official Program is comprised of a wide range of constitutional and legal duties and ceremonial and community engagements. Each year, the Governor hosts thousands of visitors to Government House to take part in investiture and award ceremonies, Open Days, receptions and meetings, and travels widely throughout Queensland to support the activities of Patron groups. View a chronological record of the Governors daily program below.

On Friday, in the morning, at Government House, His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC and Mrs Kaye de Jersey hosted a morning tea for the Embroiderers Guild, Queensland Inc, and the Governor addressed guests.

In the afternoon, at Brookfield Showground, the Governor attended the Brookfield Show.

Following, at Suncorp Stadium, the Governor attended the Brisbane Broncos vs the Sydney Roosters Rugby League match.Governor's Program

The Governors Official Program is comprised of a wide range of constitutional and legal duties and ceremonial and community engagements. Each year, the Governor hosts thousands of visitors to Government House to take part in investiture and award ceremonies, Open Days, receptions and meetings, and travels widely throughout Queensland to support the activities of Patron groups. View a chronological record of the Governors daily program below.Description

GIS - 21 May, 2018: The Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mr Pascal Saint-Amans, paid a courtesy call, on Friday 18 May 2018, on the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis. The Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mr Pascal Saint-Amans, paid a courtesy call, on Friday 18 May 2018, on the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis.

In a statement, Mr Saint-Amans underlined that discussions with the Prime Minister focused on the role and place of Mauritius in the new financial and taxation environment after the financial crisis in 2008. The current international environment as regards international taxation and offshore jurisdiction was also discussed.

He highlighted that treaty shopping which is the practice of structuring a multinational business to take advantage of more favorable tax treaties available in certain jurisdictions was also dwelt upon with the Prime Minister. Referring to Mauritius, he pointed out that the country is compliant with international regulations and has maintained a good reputation.

Mr Saint-Amans is in Mauritius to participate in the Annual International Fiscal Association conference. He is a key stakeholder in overseeing the Mauritiuss reform programme in terms of tax regime and substance requirements with respect to the Global Business sector.

He took on his duties as Director of the Center for Tax Policy and Administration at the OECD on 1 February 2012. A French national, he joined the OECD in September 2007 as Head of the International Co-operation and Tax Competition Division in the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.

Mr Pascal Saint-Amans played a key role in the advancement of the OECD tax transparency agenda in the context of the G20. In October 2009 he was appointed Head of the Global Forum Division, created to service the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, a programme with the participation of over 100 countries.Description

GIS - 21 May, 2018: The Government of the Republic of Mauritius expresses deep concern at the high level of casualties, including the number of injured, following violence on the Israeli-Gaza Border. The Government of the Republic of Mauritius expresses deep concern at the high level of casualties, including the number of injured, following violence on the Israeli-Gaza Border.

In a Communique issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade on 18 May 2018, the Government calls on all parties to exercise restraint, cease hostilities and ensure the safety of all civilians.

Mauritius supports the people of Palestine in their quest for a sovereign, independent and viable Palestinian State.

Mauritius reiterates its call for renewed and genuine international efforts for the creation of a conducive environment for the negotiations towards an early realisation of the two-state solution, with an independent and viable Palestine, on a path of sustainable and inclusive economic development, existing side by side and at peace with the State of Israel.Description

GIS - 21 May, 2018: Government is implementing several measures to combat poverty and empower the vulnerable group with a view to ensure their social integration and improving their quality of life through the provision of an effective and efficient service delivery, imbued in equity, fairness and impartiality and education is one of the means of getting out of absolute poverty. Government is implementing several measures to combat poverty and empower the vulnerable group with a view to ensure their social integration and improving their quality of life through the provision of an effective and efficient service delivery, imbued in equity, fairness and impartiality and education is one of the means of getting out of absolute poverty.

The Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, Mr Alain Wong, made this statement at the Lunch Room of the National Assembly during a handing over ceremony of Cash Award to 173 beneficiaries under the School Premium Scheme on 18 May 2018. The ceremony was organised by the Ministry of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, in collaboration with the National Empowerment Foundation.

Minister Wong highlighted that Government is leaving no stone unturned to provide education to children of low-income families. He pointed out that for the year 2016 some 250 students from Mauritius and Rodrigues have benefitted under School Premium Scheme to the tune of Rs 7 million. Currently, Government has disbursed some Rs 30 million for the provision of school materials for students of Mauritius and Rodrigues, he added.

He further stated that the School Premium Scheme was announced in Budget 2016-2017 to empower families registered on the Social Register of Mauritius (SRM). The Scheme, he underpinned will help reduce the dropout of students from poor families, thus allowing them to pursue higher levels of education.

Minister Wong pointed out that in a bid to combat poverty, Government is also providing a monthly subsistence allowance as from Rs 2720 to Rs 9520 per family and an additional Rs 893 p er child to families registered on the SRM . These different measures undertaken by Government, he emphasised is to ensure the economic empowerment of the vulnerable group and the creation of an inclusive and more equitable society.

Speaking on housing units, Minister Wong highlighted that Government is considering the Prefab housing unit project which aims to providing low-income families with an eco-friendly and cost effective housing units as well as to improve their socio-economic and living conditions. The project is in line with Governments policy to eradicate poverty by providing a decent housing to disadvantaged families, he added.

School Premium Scheme

The School Premium Scheme targets students who have successfully completed their School Certificates and Higher School Certificates examinations. The cash awards under the School Premium Scheme are Rs 25 000 for School Certificate level and Rs 35 000 for the Higher School Certificate level. The Cash Award will be transferred into a savings account created at the MauBank and can be withdrawn only when the beneficiary reaches 18 years old.Version 1.1 of the Framework was published on April 16, 2018. The document has evolved to be even more informative, useful, and inclusive for all kinds of organizations. Version 1.1 is fully compatible with Version 1.0 and remains flexible, voluntary, and cost-effective. Among other refinements and enhancements, the document provides a more comprehensive treatment of identity management and additional description of how to manage supply chain cybersecurity.

The recorded version of the April 27 webcast is available.

Success Stories regarding Framework use/Implementation have been added to the website! Our first Success Story comes from the University of Chicago, check it out HERE!

Start Using the Baldrige Cybersecurity Tool: Here's Help. Learn how the Information Security Team of the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) began using the Baldrige Cybersecurity Excellence Builder (BCEB)  which is a voluntary self-assessment tool based on the Cybersecurity Framework.

CSO magazine: The rise of the NIST cybersecurity framework

magazine: The rise of the NIST cybersecurity framework ThreatPost: NIST Updates Cybersecurity Framework to Tackle Supply Chain Threats, Vulnerability Disclosure and More

Security Boulevard: NIST Updates Cybersecurity Framework

CSO Online Opinion: Implementing the NIST cybersecurity framework could be worth at least $1.4m to your business

Health Data Management: How providers can implement the NIST cybersecurity framework

Last month, NIST released their long-awaited new version 1.1 of the Cybersecurity Framework (CSF).According to the NIST website: This voluntary Framework consists of standards, guidelines, and best practices to manage cybersecurity-related risk. The Cybersecurity Frameworks prioritized, flexible, and cost-effective approach helps to promote the protection and resilience of critical infrastructure and other sectors important to the economy and national security.I first wrote about this Cybersecurity Framework topic back in March 2013 , when the initial Cybersecurity Framework came out for review from the Obama administration. We have come a long way since that announcement.Recent NIST details include:Rather than just another business-as-usual update, this new version of the Cybersecurity Framework has received roaring approval around the nation and the world. Wherever I travel, I hear about more and more organizations that have imoplemented, or are or will be implementing this approach to protect their critical systems and networks and people.Here are just a few of the helpful articles that highlight the growing influence of this plan:But in order to take a deeper dive into this topic and get some front-line perspective on whats in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere, I turned to a trusted colleague who is implementing the Cybersecurity Framework across multiple public- and private-sector organizations.I met Ryan a few years back at a conference, and I was immediately impressed with his knowledge, experience and cybersecurity insights  especially with relation to government activities in and around D.C.Ryan Tappis is a managing director and cybersecurity practice lead for Northramp LLC  a management consulting firm based in Reston, Va. In his 15+ year consulting career, Ryan has provided cybersecurity advisory services to clients across the federal government and commercial sector. He is widely recognized as a subject matter expert in all things federal cybersecurity  from Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) compliance, to the DHS CDM program, to TIC and the OMB cloud first initiative. With the advent and rapid adoption of the NIST CSF, Ryan has advised federal and commercial clients on how best to use the framework in their organizations.Ryan holds a masters degree in Computer Systems Management and is CISSP, CISM, and CRISC certified. He serves as one of 12 worldwide members on the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) exam writing group  the group responsible for writing the CISM exam, and has been featured as a cybersecurity SME in a number of blogs and journals including theHeres the interview:Ryan Tappis (RT): Hot is a strong word. I would describe it as quickly gaining momentum in the federal market. There are a lot of competing priorities in the federal government cybersecurity space right now  the DHS CDM program rollout, OMBs cloud first initiative, DCOI, the HVA program, etc. Couple those initiatives with budgets that have been flatlined, and federal CISOs have their hands full.But I think thats where the CSF can provide a ton of value. As federal CISOs are in the weeds trying to meet the initiatives I listed, the CSF can simplify the management of their cybersecurity programs, streamline reporting to management, and prioritize how they spend their time and money.RT: From the customers and partners we work with, there is certainly an uptick in CSF based reporting and monitoring. As you know, the CSF was originally intended to support the 17 designated critical infrastructure sectors. However, in its adoption, the federal government realized the CSF provided some significant benefit in the way it simplifies cybersecurity. So with leading commercial and private-sector organizations adopting the framework and recognizing its value, the government followed suit. Now through its quarterly and annual FISMA reporting, DHS has aligned its reporting metrics to the CSF functions. I expect more alignment to come.RT: Federal CISOs seem to really gravitate to the CSFs ease of use and simplicity. Id say thats the thing that excites them most about it. The CSF also touches quite a bit on supply chain cybersecurity  an area which has been very much overlooked in the federal world but needs to become more of a focus (SP 800-171 obviously helps here, but thats a discussion for a different blog!). And most importantly, CISOs love that the CSF helps them better communicate cybersecurity to their CIOs and agency heads.Not exactly a dislike per se, but Im still seeing quite a bit of confusion around the difference between the NIST CSF and the NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF). My sense is that if you asked federal cybersecurity SMEs to clearly explain the difference between the two, youd get a lot of blank stares. Thats not a knock on them; it just means we need to do a better job communicating and teaching. Until we get this confusion sorted out, I dont think well get the widespread level of CSF adoption that we need. When weve pitched the premise of using the CSF as the program security framework and the RMF as the system security framework  the picture suddenly becomes much clearer.RT: President Trumps Cybersecurity Effective Order in 2017 obviously put some real weight behind the CSF and accelerated its adoption in the federal space. I also think mapping FISMA reporting to the CSF functions really forced the issue on its adoption in the federal sector. Federal CISOs take FISMA reporting very seriously  scores are publicly available and theyre evaluated against their peers. In general, anything that shows up as a reportable metric in a FISMA report receives a lot of focus.On the private-sector side, the CSF crosswalks have proven to be really valuable. Weve had several clients that have already invested in COBIT and ISO translate their frameworks to the simpler CSF very cheaply by taking advantage of the crosswalks. Of course, simpler isnt always better. Having worked in the federal government space for so long and working through the C&A era, the cynic in me is scared that any surge in CSF adoption is because its just easier to say "I've checked all the CSF boxes, I'm secure.RT: I see additional adoption across the federal and commercial sectors. The Gartner projection of 50 percent of U.S. companies adopting the CSF by 2020 seems right to me. I could see the government adoption rate being significantly higher by 2020. I also see additional improvement and refinement beyond the recently published 1.1 version of the framework as there are still some holes. For example, Id love to see some more formality and process around measuring effectiveness of the CSF functions. Last, I predict well see a marketplace explode around the framework. Given its saturation in the private sector, companies will be eager to develop CSF-based tools and provide CSF-centered auditing services.I also think (and hope!) there will be much better alignment and clarity around the CSF versus the RMF. In the government world, the IG offices drive a lot of the accountability and compliance measures. Im still seeing the overwhelming majority of IG FISMA audits conducted against the RMF as opposed to the CSF. Do a quick Google search on IG Audit and CSF. Then compare the results to IG Audit and RMF. Its night and day. Given that the audits are traditionally at the enterprise level, it would make a lot of sense for IGs to align their auditing approaches to the CSF. Hopefully that can evolve over in the near term.RT: I am excited. Over the course of my career, one of the biggest challenges Ive seen the cybersecurity field struggle with is communicating the very complex cyberspace to non-security-minded individuals. To me, the CSF is a big step in solving that challenge and simplifying the complexity of our trade. The CSFs five functions are simple, brilliant and digestible by decision-makers all the way up the corporate ladder. For our private sector clients, thats where theyre seeing the biggest value in the CSF. We have clients that leverage the CSF functions to report cybersecurity maturity to their corporate boards due to its simplicity. Taking it one step further, were helping organizations tie those five functions to business impact and ROI to find even greater value in the framework.With all these positives, there is of course, more work to be done. We need improved awareness and outreach of the CSF, especially in the federal sector. We need better measurement mechanisms. We need more adoption. Like most things, the more users and the more feedback cycles, the better future iterations of the CSF will be.DL: Thank you, Ryan, for providing this inside look into how the Cybersecurity Framework is playing-out with our security industry. I truly appreciate you taking the time to offer your expertise to my readers.Once again, I urge readers to take a close look at the new Cybersecurity Framework, and how it can be adopted by your enterprise. The new CSF Version 1.1 has been several years in the making, and if you already use the CSF, you probably want to tweak your approach and/or policies and procedures using the updates.In addition, I like the fact that the CSF covers people, process and technology  this is not just about technology and process. There are new sections on self-assessing cybersecurity risk.This paragraph from page v of the executive summary sums the CSF up well:While this document was developed to improve cybersecurity risk management in critical infrastructure, the Framework can be used by organizations in any sector or community. The Framework enables organizations  regardless of size, degree of cybersecurity risk, or cybersecurity sophistication  to apply the principles and best practices of risk management to improving security and resilience.For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.(TNS) - How to prevent gun violence at Washington's K-12 schools has been a divisive topic at the state Capitol, leading to long fights and little action on proposals for strict new firearm regulations and security improvements.After yet another deadly shooting at a U.S. high school, this one Friday in Texas, a top Republican says lawmakers should come back to Olympia and try again to find common ground.On Friday, Centralia state Sen. John Braun urged Gov. Jay Inslee to order a special session before the start of the 2018-19 school year so the Legislature can at least consider bills aimed at preventing mass shootings. He said lawmakers should debate upgrades to the state's troubled mental health system and new age limitations for gun buyers.Braun also said a state task force working this summer on strategies to curb school shootings should give its recommendations by August instead of this winter, so lawmakers can act on them before school begins. Braun is the top budget negotiator for his party in the Senate."No law or legislative action will alone change human hearts and altogether stop violence," he said in a written statement Friday. "But the Legislature can take steps to reduce the risk of deadly school violence, which often stems from mental illness."Braun's proposal was met coolly by Inslee's office, which has been frustrated at the lack of support for a bill to raise the minimum age to buy semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 and other tough gun restrictions. Democrats control the House and Senate by slim majorities, but the party was not able to gather enough votes to pass the legislation in 2018.Lawmakers adjourned for the year in March after a 60-day session."The obstacle to reducing gun violence has not been too few days in session," said Tara Lee, a spokeswoman for Inslee, in an email to The News Tribune and The Olympian on Friday. "As Senator Braun says, there's a legislative workgroup talking about this and we look forward to reading their report."State Sen. David Frockt, a Seattle Democrat heavily involved in negotiating gun legislation and school safety bills, was more open to the idea of a special session  as long as Republicans move toward his side on new firearm restrictions."If they said 'show up and be there to work on this,' I would be there in a second, he said in a phone interview Friday.Near the end of session, Frockt worked behind the scenes on a large proposal aimed at preventing school shootings. Among its many provisions were policies to hike the minimum age to buy semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21, start a new grant program to add school resource officers and mental health counselors and develop emergency response systems to help law enforcement quickly respond to shootings.Frockt said he took lots of input from Republicans, but found only one who would vote for the measure in the Senate. Two Democrats also defected, Frockt said, tanking the bill's chances. Democrats control the chamber 25-24. Some Republicans have voiced concerns that raising the minimum age for buying certain guns unnecessarily restricts law-abiding gun owners.Sen. Phil Fortunato, an Auburn Republican and a lead on gun policy for the Senate GOP, has said if people are capable of voting at age 18, they should be capable of owning firearms.Besides raising the age to buy semi-automatic weapons, Frockt said lawmakers should pass a bill that would make gun owners criminally liable if their gun is not stored properly and a minor takes it and fires it.The 17-year-old who killed 10 at Santa Fe High School this week obtained a shotgun and a handgun from his father, who legally owned them, according to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.Lawmakers have debated the safe firearm storage measure for years.Last month, the Alliance for Gun Responsibility launched a signature drive to put an initiative on the November ballot that would implement the storage law, the new minimum age limitations for gun buyers and other new regulations on firearms. The group needs about 260,000 petition signatures to qualify for the 2018 ballot.Lawmakers did ban bump stocks in the 2018 legislative session. Bump stocks can be used to make a semi-automatic weapon fire more rapidly and mimic an automatic gun.They also passed a bill that allows people to voluntarily give up their right to buy or keep guns if they're suicidal or are under mental distress. Another new law approved in 2018 prevents people with domestic violence harassment convictions from buying a firearm.Braun, in his statement, made a new call for lawmakers to send a $500 million proposal to voters that would pay for construction of a variety of mental health facilities such as crisis centers and transitional housing. Some Republican lawmakers at the state Capitol have called for anonymous tip lines for students to report concerns.Research shows mass shooters can be linked to mental illness, but health officials say people with psychiatric disorders still make up a small amount of perpetrators of gun violence. The American Journal of Public Healthy published a study that says fewer than 5 percent of 120,000 gun deaths between 2001 and 2010 in the U.S. were caused by people with a diagnosed mental illness.Research on the effectiveness of gun restrictions has been split at times. A recent analysis by the nonpartisan Rand Corporation found at least some evidence that policies such as strong background checks, child-access prevention laws and prohibitions on firearm ownership by people with mental illness may decrease suicide, violent crime and accidental shootings.The study found inconclusive research on whether those policies help prevent mass shootings, however.If lawmakers don't convene a special session, they're scheduled to come back to the Capitol for the 2019 session in January. Braun said legislators should work to move past their differences and boost safety in schools."Violence in American schools frequently results in Republicans and Democrats arguing instead of working together to solve the problem," he said in his statement. "Fortunately in Washington state, there are areas where we can find agreement and make meaningful improvements to better protect our students and educators."Walker Orenstein: 360-786-1826, @walkerorenstein2018 The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.)Visit The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) at www.TheNewsTribune.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Dayton's Reasons

GOP Response

Veto Override?

(TNS)  Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton on Saturday vetoed $9 million in funds intended for vehicle license center operators who say theyve lost at least twice that amount from a beleaguered new state computer system that processes vehicle titles and license plates.Even though it had overwhelming bipartisan support in both the House and Senate, Dayton criticized the bill for not including funding to help fix the computer system, known as MNLARS, and criticized the source of the $9 million.Deputy registrars, who run the license centers and have complained for months theyve been hammered  financially  by MNLARS, never cared where the money came from.But they definitely care that, with only a day left in the legislative session, they might not get any now.We are extremely disappointed that Gov. Dayton chose to veto this bill, said Julie Hanson.As property and customer service manager for Scott County, Hanson is one of those deputy registrars. There are more than 100 statewide. They include private businesses, as well as centers run by local governments.Minnesotans are going to see deputy registrar offices closing, Hanson said. This is going to be devastating to some. My heart breaks in particular for the private deputies. There are people putting bills on their credit cards who havent taken paychecks since August. Were all still drowning.In a veto letter , Dayton said: While I fully support reimbursing Minnesotas Deputy Registrars for the financial losses they have incurred since the Minnesota Licensing and Registration System (MNLARS) rollout, I will not sign a bill that does not comprehensively address fixing the MNLARS system in addition to the reimbursement.That MNLARS fix amounts to somewhere between $22 million and $33 million, according to various proposals Dayton has made in the past few months. Some $22 million is included in a much larger bill that Republicans were pushing through the legislature late Saturday night. However, Dayton said he would veto that bill for a number of unrelated reasons.Rep. Dave Baker, R-Willmar, the chief sponsor of the bill Dayton vetoed, said Dayton never mentioned his conditions.As chief author of this bill, the Dayton administration never contacted me to tell me of any issues with our bill language to provide relief for deputy registrars, said Baker, who chairs the House Select Committee on Technology and Responsive Government. He has apologized and taken responsibility for the mess, but is doing nothing to help people whose livelihoods he has hurt as a result of the MNLARS mess.The $9 million plan was approved by votes of 101-19 in the Senate and 46-20 in the House. Thats enough support to override Daytons veto, and Sen. Scott Newman, R-Hutchinson, raised the notion in a floor speech on the Senate late Saturday night.The prospects for such a move remained unclear as midnight approached. Possibly of note: election-year politics. All House members are facing re-election in November; no senators are.When President Donald Trump signed the repeal of Obama-era Internet service provider privacy rules last year, states rushed in to craft privacy legislation of their own. But most of those 2017 and 2018 bills have floundered, done in by the same business and industry forces that opposed the federal rules.The Obama-era rules were intended to restrict Internet service providers from selling or disseminating users personal information without permission. But industry representatives said those rules were burdensome and would stifle innovation and curb growth. Trump agreed.States lined up to step into the breach. About half the states filed bills this year or last to address some or all of the Internet privacy rules that were scrapped with Trumps signature. But few have passed so far, and the ones that have mostly address small pieces of the privacy pie rather than taking comprehensive action.At the federal level you have more of people pushing big idea initiatives that are broad, said Chris Nolen, a Virginia attorney and lobbyist who follows Internet privacy issues and blogs about the issue. The states are more driven to solving an immediate problem instead of imposing across-the-board requirements or protections across topical areas.In the states, broad-based consumer bills on Internet privacy and net neutrality (requiring all content to be treated equally by Internet providers) failed or are still pending as legislative sessions wind down. And the legislation that did pass, in states such as Virginia and Oregon, was limited.The U.S. Senate last week voted to reinstate the Obama-era net neutrality rules the Federal Communications Commission rolled back late last year, but the measure faces an uphill battle in the House, not to mention a possible veto by Trump.California, for example, considered reinstating Obama-era rules requiring Internet service providers to disclose to users what personal information they possess, and barring them from selling or disseminating that information without permission.But the California Chamber of Commerce, representing Internet providers and telecommunications companies, opposed the legislation. In a letter to lawmakers, the group said the bill will create a cumbersome, uncertain, and vague regulation of Internet providers in California.This single-state approach is antithetical to the forward-looking policies that have made California a world leader in the Internet Age, the letter stated. California has so much at stake and cannot afford to get this wrong.The bill stalled.The problem is they are afraid of regulation, said state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, chairwoman of the California Senate Judiciary Committee. They make a ton of money from aggregating peoples information and selling it.True to California tradition, a group of consumer activists has mounted a campaign to get the issue on the California ballot. Backed by San Francisco housing financier Alastair Mactaggart, the group has raised $2.4 million so far. Opponents, led by the chamber and Internet giants, have raised about $1 million, according to Ballotpedia, which tracks referenda and initiatives.Facebook contributed $200,000 to opposing the initiative. But in mid-April, after CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress on Russian infiltration of his social media site, the company dropped its opposition to the ballot measure.We took this step in order to focus our efforts on supporting reasonable privacy measures in California, Facebook officials said in a statement to California media Two states, Nevada this year and Minnesota in 2017, enacted laws requiring ISPs to keep customers information private, unless the customer gives permission to disclose the information, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks legislation. Minnesotas goes further, requiring ISPs to get permission before disclosing Internet sites visited by online subscribers. Oregon enacted a law in April that takes a step toward net neutrality by prohibiting state governmental entities from contracting with ISPs that throttle content.In Virginia, a number of bills on Internet privacy failed, including one that would have limited governmental procurement of ISPs to those that met requirements for neutrality and privacy. A broader bill that encompassed net neutrality and set overall privacy standards also was defeated in committee.Virginia Sen. Jennifer Wexton, a Democrat who is running for Congress, sponsored the Internet privacy bills. At a committee hearing in January, she implored lawmakers to support her bill for privacy and net neutrality.We are limited with what we can do at the state level, but one thing we can do is decide not to purchase from ISPs who do not adhere to net neutrality principles, she said. It is a basic consumer protection bill. If you love freedom, and you love privacy, and I know you do, you should love this bill.But after a parade of Internet service companies came to the microphone to oppose her, the committee rejected the bill.The bill was killed because too many legislators are more interested in protecting corporate ISPs profits than their own constituents Internet freedom and data privacy, Wexton said. There was a long line of corporate lobbyists railing against the bill in my office and in committee, and no matching force speaking up for consumers.Prime Minister Ardern was unable to attend Techweek, New Zealands annual innovation festival, in person. So, she appeared at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland on Monday as a digital projection instead.Arderns image told the audience at the opening ceremony, I was disappointed I couldn't make it to Techweek in person, so this morning, I come as to you as a hologram instead. It was a fitting form of entry, considering the event is all about technology and innovation.While Techweek has said that this is the first time a world leader has used holographic technology to complete official engagements, this is not the first time that a politician has made a public appearance via hologram. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, attended a party meeting as a projection in 2014 while he was prime minister. And last year, Jean-Luc Melenchon, a candidate for the French presidency, attended several rallies in the same manner.(TNS)  A New Mexico man accused of paying hackers to sabotage websites affiliated with his former employers and government agencies in Minnesota, including the state's court system, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.The case is one of the first of its kind in Minnesota. John K. Gammell of Las Cruces was sentenced last week in federal court in St. Paul to five years of supervised release and restitution that authorities were still trying to determine."Gammell's attacks on the websites of his victims had real consequences to small businesses, educational institutions, government entities and others  for no reason other than that Gammell wanted to cause them harm," Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Rank said in a statement."Gammell used his technical knowledge and the Internet's cloak of anonymity to commit his crimes," Rank continued, "all while knowing the damage he was causing and believing he would never be caught."Gammell pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to cause intentional damage to a protected computer and being a felon in possession of a firearm. His plea staved off what would have been one of the country's first federal trials on hacking conspiracy charges.He admitted to engaging in what prosecutors called a "campaign of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks" against at least three dozen websites between 2015 and 2017. Victims included former employers, banks and agencies such as the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota judicial branch, and Dakota County Technical College and Minneapolis Community and Technical College.According to his plea agreement, Gammell used programs from his own computers and also paid several "DDoS-for-hire" services to try to disrupt websites in Minnesota and elsewhere by flooding them with large amounts of web traffic.Gammell also targeted business competitors, companies that declined to hire him, websites for law enforcement, financial institutions and court branches. According to court filings, Gammell caused more than $5,000 in damage while using "IP address anonymization services" to mask his location and paid for the "hacker-for-hire" services using cryptocurrency that can be difficult to trace.Authorities might not have caught Gammell without the taunting e-mails he allegedly sent after attacks and records of his dealings with an Israeli "hacker-for-hire" service whose files were relayed to the FBI by an unnamed web security researcher.Also, FBI agents in Colorado found parts used to build AR-15 rifles and 420 rounds of "full metal jacket rifle ammunition" during a search of Gammell's car last year. Agents also unearthed handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammo in searches of Gammell's parents' home in New Mexico and a storage unit that belonged to Gammell.Gammell lived with his parents in New Mexico before seeking temporary work in Denver, according to court documents.Eric Boullier has hit back at suggestions he could be the next to leave McLaren.

Recently, designer Tim Goss left the British team, which after the move from Honda to Renault power continued to struggle early in 2018.

So when faced with rumours he also may be ousted, team boss Boullier sounded defiant.

"Of course expectations are great at McLaren, but in the past I have restructured teams and won in the all the categories," he is quoted by AS newspaper.

"I know how to do my job. We have improved the reliability and now we have to do it with performance," Boullier added.

"Barcelona was another step, but now we have to continue with development in the next races. The road is long but we're working hard," he said.

(GMM)Chase Carey is eyeing the German capital as a potential replacement for Hockenheim.

F1 will race at Hockenheim in July, but circuit boss Georg Seiler is yet to agree a 2019 deal with Liberty Media.

"We want to keep traditional races on the calendar," F1 chief executive Carey told Bild when asked about the German GP.

"With its great automotive industry and tradition, Germany is important to us.

"We are open to a road race through Berlin," Carey revealed. "If the Berliners want that, we can talk to them."

Berlin already hosts a round of the Formula E series.

Carey said: "Formula one is about heroes, drama, emotions. Formula E is more of a street party."

(GMM)The father of Force India reserve driver Nicholas Latifi is linked with a major deal at McLaren.

Last week, Canadian 22-year-old Latifi tested for Force India in Barcelona.

But now AS newspaper is reporting that a rumoured EUR 230 million cash injection at McLaren courtesy of a company called Nyidala is funded by Latifi's father Michael.

Latifi is CEO of Sofina Foods.

In Barcelona recently, McLaren executive Zak Brown said despite the team's problems in recent years, its shareholders and partners remain supportive.

"They are patient, understanding and know the sport. We are not limited by money," he said.

(GMM)Williams is plotting a course out of its dire current situation.

That is the claim of Robert Kubica, the team's experienced test driver who got a first-hand taste of the issues recently in Barcelona.

"We have a lot to think about and a lot to analyse," the Pole is quoted by Turun Sanomat newspaper.

"The only thing that is for sure is that there are no magic solutions," he added.

The situation is complicated by Williams' delicate financial position, including the impending departure of title sponsor Martini.

"Williams is on the drip of the Stroll family and Sergey Sirotkin's sponsors," pundit Marc Surer is quoted by Speed Week.

"Without that money, they could close."

For now, Lance Stroll's billionaire father Lawrence says they are committed to Williams.

But Kubica said of the dire 2018 car: "It's a pretty clear route we need to follow to get to the bottom of these problems.

"We are trying to find the best way to do it, but time is limited so we need to be as quick as possible."

(GMM)Supplier Hyundai Mobis plans to develop a full range of sensors to support autonomous by 2020 with the goal of leading the global market. The company made the announcement at its new proving ground, which opened last June in Seosan, South Korea, as a test bed for new technologies.

The company will increase its R&D investment cost from the current level of 7% of its parts sales to 10% by 2021. It will also invest 50% of it in ICT (information and communication technology), which is closely related to autonomous driving, expanding related R&D workforce and infrastructure and actively promoting technical partnerships with global companies.

We are aggressively investing in autonomous driving technologies. We will also increase our R&D workforce for autonomous driving from the current level of 600 to over 1,000 by 2021 and increase the number of M.Billy, our global autonomous test vehicles, from 3 to 20 by next year. Yang Seung-wook, Executive VP of ICT R&D Center at Hyundai Mobis

Hyundai Mobis has signed a partnership to develop radars with German companies Smartmicro and ASTYX; the former jointly developed radars with TRW and Continental, and the latter with BMW and Autoliv.

Working with SMS and ASTYX, Hyundai Mobis will develop five radars for autonomous cars, which can allow cars to detect 360 around them by the end of this year and begin full-fledged production by 2021. The company will cooperate with SMS for entry-level front and side radars and with ASTYX for high-performance front radars. It will also complete a joint R&D project with Seoul National University for radar target distinguishment.

To ensure the performance and quality of sensors, Hyundai Mobis laid a dedicated test track for sensor testing in Seosan Proving Ground and commenced tests from last June. The company will also test ADAS equipped with their proprietary sensors and apply the sensors to M.Billy, its autonomous driving test car, which will run on actual roads to help improve performance and safety.

Hyundai Mobis says that its radars under development feature a resolution higher than its global competitors and greater cost competitiveness because of the integration of two chips into one.

We will complete the development of entry-level radars and high-performance radars within this year and commence production from the second half of next year. We are opening ourselves up to collaboration with global companies possessing innovative technologies in various ways including technical partnerships and M&A to develop cameras and lidars. We aim to secure technological power to help us capture the market based on our proprietary sensors and win contracts with global automakers for supplying sensors and systems for autonomous driving. Gregory Baratoff, Vice President of Autonomous Driving Technologies at Hyundai Mobis

The three core technologies of autonomous driving are perception, decision and control; a car autonomously perceives internal and external situations and makes a decision and controls its braking and steering. Hyundai Mobis says that it has already attained global-level competitiveness in decision and control. It has already commenced production of level 2 expressway autonomous driving and announced that it aimed to secure level 3 technology by 2020 and begin production by 2022.

The company says that it is focusing on developing sensors so that it can implement optimal performance for autonomous driving by securing all of the three technologies (perception, decision and control), thus enabling a bonafide competitive edge in the global market. Further, the sensor market is forecasted to accelerate rapidly; the share of sensors in the ADAS (level 2 autonomous driving) market is expected to reach 60% by 2021.

To enable a quantum jump for sensors, Hyundai Mobis plans to actively utilize new technologies such as AI and deep learning.

Developing sensors that can convert external driving circumstances into digital signals and read them accurately is an important challenge for the autonomous industry that is now readying itself for the era of autonomous driving. With the recent development of innovative technologies that could alter the competitive atmosphere of the sensor market, such as advanced identification technologies using deep learning, we will actively utilize them in such a way to realize a quantum jump of our sensor technology. Hwang Jae-ho, Director of ADAS at Hyundai Mobis

From last year, Hyundai Mobis has continuously increased the rate of operation at its Seosan test track and the number of test cars of the proving ground to enhance the verification of the performance and durability of core auto parts. In particular, it has enhanced the performance of its sensors and tested them on the advanced test track and the radar test track to verify the performance of the ADAS technologies equipped with them.

The company evaluates the performance by comparing data from sensors to the actual location of the objects in real time. For this, it collected the coordinates of the lanes of the normal track, advanced test track and high-speed circuit by utilizing high precision maps and DGPS system.

South Koreas only radar test track measures 250 meters in total length. Currently, tests are being conducted on this track to improve the reliability and performance of radars. On this track, a car equipped with a radar sensor is positioned in the center and the detection performance of the sensor is measured using reflective plates called TCR that are installed at 5-meter intervals. This sensor test measures the range and angle of detection and resolution and accuracy. Resolution is a measure of the minimum separation between two targets that enables them to be distinguished.A study of drinking water in Appalachian Ohio found no evidence of natural gas contamination from recent oil and gas drilling. The time-series study was the first of its kind in Ohio to examine methane in groundwater in relation to natural gas drilling. The results were published in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.

Geologists with the University of Cincinnati examined drinking water in Carroll, Stark and Harrison counties, a rural region in northeast Ohio where many residents rely on water from private underground wells.

Some people had elevated concentrations of methane in their groundwater, but the isotopic composition showed it wasnt from natural gas. Amy Townsend-Small, associate professor of geology in UCs McMicken College of Arts and Sciences

UC researchers collected 180 groundwater samples in total at homes in the three counties. Some of the sites were sampled multiple times. In particular, researchers looked for evidence of methane, the primary compound in natural gas. They also studied changes in the acidity or pH of the water, and changes to its conductivity.

They found no increase in methane concentration or composition in groundwater over the four years of the study, despite the presence of new shale gas wells drilled in the study area. Likewise, they did not find higher methane levels in closer approximation to shale drilling.

Researchers did find wide variability in methane concentrations in the drinking water, ranging from 0.2 micrograms per liter to 25.3 milligrams per liter, which is strong enough to catch fire in enclosed spaces. But researchers found no relationship between the methane observed in drinking water and the new gas wells.

Researchers identified the chemical composition of the water using gas chromatography, isotope ratio mass spectrometry, and radiocarbon dating in a UC geology lab. Understanding the chemical composition helps identify the source of methane found in drinking water: from natural gas extraction, organic decomposition or even from the digestive systems of nearby cows.

The study area has seen increasing interest from natural gas companies in recent years. Its located above a geological feature called the Utica Shale formation, which is known to harbor oil and natural gas. When UC launched its methane study in 2012, Ohio had issued 115 drilling permits for the region. By the studys end in 2015, nearly 1,600 permits had been issued, primarily for Carroll County.

Researchers hypothesized that methane concentrations in the drinking-water wells they sampled would increase over time with the growth of natural gas drilling in the area. This is a correlation researchers observed in Pennsylvanias Marcellus Shale region. However, thats not what UCs water tests revealed. The study concluded that methane observed in groundwater was biogenic, or naturally occurring and independent of natural gas drilling.

The study researchers in Pennsylvania thought the contamination issue was a failure of the well casings in the fracking wells. Hopefully, that doesnt happen often. And that apparently didnt happen with the wells of homeowners we worked with for our study. Amy Townsend-Small

The study was funded in part with grants from the David F. & Sara K. Weston Fund and the Deer Creek Foundation. Instruments were provided with grants from the National Science Foundation.

ResourcesRebecca Clare Collerton was 53. Photo: Mr. Curry via Instagram

On April 27, Rebecca Clare Collerton, one of the founders of the recently shuttered and instantly missed Saltie, died from cancer at the age of 53. More detail has not been given about her illness, but according to an official obituary, she was surrounded by friends and family, and is survived by her wife, Greta Elizabeth Dana; siblings Jen Harding, Joe Collerton, Nick Collerton, and Patrick Collerton; and nieces, nephews, and a great-niece. An open-house memorial was held yesterday at Achilles Heel, the Greenpoint bar owned by her former boss Andrew Tarlow.

She was sick for about 1.5 or two years, but she didnt want to let anyone know. She didnt want people to know what she was going through, Dana says.

Raised in Birkenhead, England, she came to New York in the late 90s by way of London and landed at Tarlows Diner and Marlow & Sons. Thats where she met Caroline Fidanza, Diners first chef, whom shed open Saltie with alongside Elizabeth Schula. For its eight-year run, Saltie was one of New Yorks most enthusiastically celebrated places to eat. Eccentric, small, and accessible, it was known for using oddball ingredients and serving excellent food from a menu that never got stagnant  but also its sense of place. There was only one Saltie, and Collerton was an essential part of that.

Related Stories In Loving Memory of Saltie, a Sandwich Shop That Never Got Stale

As a chef-owner alongside Caroline Fidanza and Elizabeth Schula, she created one of the shops most famous sandwiches in the Scuttlebutt. When New York named Saltie the citys fifth Best Cheap Eats restaurant in 2014, it called out that pickle-palooza of a sandwich. Along with Saltie, Collerton also cooked food closer to home with Mr. Curry, a pop-up that celebrated the British-Indian cooking of her home. Started in 2014, the pop-up ended abruptly two years ago. When this news was shared on April 21, 2016, it was also announced that Collerton was leaving Saltie.

On her Instagram account, Fidanza posted an old photo of her and Collerton, whom she called my culinary soul mate and all around badass. I miss you and those days, Rebecca. The photo, fittingly, captures the boisterous spirit of Saltie and two of the people behind it.

I think Saltie was so unique because they didnt take a formula that had been done before. Rebecca was extremely uncompromising, especially when it came to quality, Dana says. She explained that Collerton fell into restaurants (and subsequently for the discipline of it) because the economy in her native England was in rough shape at the time. Rebecca was such an awesome, creative person, and you wanted to see what she would do next. Now, theres no next  well, besides whatevers next. She may not have realized it, but she was living her best life. Really living.McGuigan Wines takes the 'craft' route with new duo

By Lisa Riley

McGuigan Wines has launched a wine range designed to tap the boom for craft products.

The Single Batch Project will be available from June featuring two classic Australian varietals  a Chardonnay and a Shiraz (rrp: 8.99).

In a bid to restore craft to the wine category, each wine is made with grapes from McGuigans South Australian vineyards and features the actual winery batch number and yeast strain used at the winery - elements that remain constant throughout each vintage.

With the UK seeing a boom in the appetite for craft products, McGuigan Wines wanted to share its own dedication and expertise when making this Chardonnay and Shiraz, said the producer.

The Single Batch Project embodies McGuigans commitment to making the wine the hero. This ethos underpins every stage of the winemaking process: from sourcing the grapes and selecting the right parcels, to crafting the wine with care and precision, ensuring the last bottle tastes just as good as the first, said chief winemaker Neil McGuigan.

At McGuigan, when each wine parcel is brought into the winery it is allocated a unique code, separated from other batches and treated independently to ensure cleanliness and purity of winemaking.

The launch follows McGuigan expanding its Black Label portfolio last month with three sparkling wines, including a red variant, marking the first fizz to join the range.

The trio, which is being rolled out into Sainsburys at the end of this month, comprises a Rose, a Shiraz and a Chardonnay Pinot Noir blend (rrp: 10).

In March this year, McGuigan launched its first low-alcohol duo in the shape of the 0.4% abv Delight range, which comprises a Moscato and a Rose, with plans to add a red and a sparkling variant later this year.LWF: Uncertainty continues to cloud Brexit debate to 2020 and beyond

By Jo Gilbert

With 312 days to go until the UK officially leaves the EU, the effect of economic uncertainty and how the trade is placed to take advantage of opportunities offered by Brexit formed the crux of discussions at one of the opening debates of the London Wine Fair this morning.

WSTA chief executive Miles Beale kicked off the debate with a reminder that the UK is the worlds largest importer of wine by volume after Germany and second in value behind the US, making the UK a very significant market economically, and one that is intensely reliant on global trade, which is why Brexit matters.

Since last years Brexit panel discussion at the LWF, the UK has moved forward with the European Council discussions in March which Beale referred to as an important staging post for establishing the UKs financial divorce settlement, citizens rights, and most importantly, a transition period for the UK exiting the EU, due to last from Brexit D-Day on 29 March 2019 to 31 December 2020.

However, Beale remains sceptical as to whether this transition period will come to fruition, advising companies to prepare for both a transitional period to the end of 2020 or longer, and also for the possibility of a cliff edge Brexit in March of next year.

Whether the latter and less favourable scenario comes to bear, hinges on whether or not ministers can decide on what to do about the Irish border.

At the moment, the two solutions on Ireland which have been presented have been rejected by the EU and cabinet cant agree on which one it prefers, said Beale, leaving government and all who are rooting for a smooth exit a lot to do in a short amount of time.

If a solution cannot be agreed by March next year, the UK will face a default hard Brexit without the possibility of a transition period to agree things like free trade agreements.

The UK cant sign up to future arrangements until it has left the EU, Simon Stannard, European and international affairs director at the WSTA told Harpers. A transition period would allow for time to negotiate trade agreements.

But if a decision is not made on the Irish border by March 2019, a hard border would automatically be put in place and customs tariffs would be imposed on goods coming from the EU in the same way that tariffs are imposed on goods coming from outside the EU.

Beale added: December 2017 was the first sign of meaningful progress, followed by March 2018 at the European Council meetings. But its important to note that nothing is agreed until everything agreed, so it doesnt give us a very clear idea of what is going to happen.

Uncertainty therefore is far from being resolved and continues to deter those looking to invest.

This point was made by LWF panellist Jean-Marie Barillere, president of the Union des Maisons de Champagne and a counterpart to Beale working with a similar trade organisation in France.

Barillere was keen to argue against disruption to 300 years of trade between the UK and the continent.

However, the depreciation of the pound, low profitabilty and slow negotiations have led the UK to become very pessimistic market for European wines over the past two to three years.

Other panellists noted new opportunities being presented, as the UK trade finds itself re-evaluating how to re-gain momentum in investment and profit.

Troy Christensen, CEO of Enotria & Coe, said: Premiumisation is going on out there, but its only going to help if we take advantage of it. Brexit has become a magnification of business decisions. Gin is up 23% and Prosecco has seen phenomenal growth, which shows they must be doing something right. How we succeed from here depends on how we operate. Its going to require strong business leadership.

For now, the WSTA continues to confer with its counterparts on both sides of the Channel and UK government for a negotiated outcome "as soon as possible".

One of the problems the WSTA faces is the power that the wine and spirits industry wields to lobby ministers.

Beale gives the example of aeronautics company Airbus, which makes a million crossings over the Channel to produce just one of their products.

There is the argument that were an industry mainly concerned with goods rather than services, capital or people, and therefore not best placed to lobby UK ministers, said Beale.

Were not one of most influential industries, but were also a lot more simple. We have to make more noise to get noticed, but the good news is that it should be easier to reach the outcome that the whole industry wants.





For the full report on the LWF Brexit panel debate, see the June issue of Harpers out at the beginning of next month.





Texas chemical plant explosion and fire injures 21

On May 19, specialty chemical manufacturer Kuraray America confirmed that a fire had occurred at the companys EVAL facility in Pasadena, Texas, and that 21 individuals were transported to off-site medical facilities for treatment. Local media reported that many of the casualties had burn injuries.

Stock image

The company said in a statement that at the time of the incident, 266 employees and contract personnel were onsite as part of a turnaround with heavy maintenance activities. All have been accounted for.



Preliminary findings indicated a pressure safety valve released ethylene causing a flash fire in one of the plants process units.



The company said it was working with authorities to complete an investigation into the incident.



One day after the incident, attorneys for a badly burned worker filed a $1 million lawsuit against the company, alleging gross negligence and safety transgressions, according to Chron.com.



Workers carrying out welding and pipefitting work caused the explosion, the suit alleges. As a team worked on an insulation tower, a safety release valve failed and caused over-pressurisation in the piping, which sparked the explosion and sent a fireball into the sky.

(Reuters) Hedge fund Pagoda Asset Management is shutting down at the end of the month, becoming the latest casualty in the $3.2 trillion industry after a period of sluggish returns, a source with knowledge of the move said on Thursday. New York-based Pagoda was launched four years ago by Adam Bernstein, Glenn Vogelman, and Jeffrey Holycross and specialized in betting on telecom, media, technology and consumer stocks. At the end of last year it managed $566 million and posted small gains. Pagoda notified investors of its decision to shut down by letter on Thursday. A representative for the firm declined to comment.

To read this article:(Bloomberg) Another 13F season is in the books, and everyone wants to know which stocks are getting more attention from the hedge-fund community. Lori Calvasina, head of U.S. equity strategy for Royal Bank of Canada, attempts to answer this in her quarterly examination for both large-cap and small-cap stocks. Heres a recap of her analysis of the filings, which show position changes for the end of the first quarter.

To read this article:(HedgeCo.Net)The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the owner of a Manhattan-based alternative investment firm with misappropriating close to $6 million in investor funds earmarked to finance the construction of an international airport in Belize.

The SECs complaint alleges that between 2014 and 2017, Brent Borland sold more than $21 million of promissory notes to dozens of investors, promising that the funds would be used as bridge financing for development of an international airport in Placencia, Belize, and that the investments would be protected by pledges of real estate as collateral. Borland marketed and sold the notes through two companies, Borland Capital Group LLC, which purports to be active in alternative investment, and Belize Infrastructure Fund I, LLC, which purports to be in the business of construction finance.

The complaint alleges that Borland used millions of dollars of investor funds for personal expenses and unrelated business expenses, including mortgage and property tax payments on his familys Florida mansion, multiple luxury automobiles, private school tuition for his children, $36,000 for his familys beach club membership, and almost $2.7 million to pay off credit cards. Borland also allegedly deceived investors by pledging the same collateral to multiple investors.

Investors should be able to count on the fact that their invested funds are used as promised, said Robert J. Burson, Associate Regional Director of the SECs Chicago Regional Office. We obtained an asset freeze and immediate injunctive relief in this case to protect victims from alleged false promises.

The SECs complaint charges Borland, Borland Capital Group and Belize Infrastructure Fund with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws. The SEC seeks asset freezes, an accounting of investor assets, disgorgement, and civil penalties. The complaint also names as relief defendants Borlands wife, Alana LaTorra Borland, and a corporation controlled by Borland and his wife, Canyon Acquisitions, LLC. The SEC seeks to recover investor proceeds that Borland transferred to the relief defendants.Horrible Histories: More Best of Barmy Britain | Theatre Royal, Windsor | Tuesday, May 15

A REAL livewire of a show, the Birmingham Stage Companys double act of great characters Benedict Martin and Pip Chamberlin injected humour, pizzazz and vivid imagery into this comical precis of the craziness of life on this sceptred isle.

Imagine taking a fusty old history book off the shelf, blowing the dust off its cover and shaking it until all the juicy bits fall out  thats this show in a nutshell. It was ideal material for my two sons, packed as it was with gore and fart gags.

On top of this, I genuinely found it filled a few gaps in my education, with its clever means of transmitting historical facts directly into our brains, through songs and skits.

Covering everything from the etymology of place names after invasions (thank you, Romans, Vikings and Saxons) and various royal antics and societal rules and norms (Im looking at you, Tudors and Puritans), right up to more recent disasters, a lot of ground was covered.

With dressing-up boxes, snazzy costumes and pertinent melodies, it was a whirlwind tour of our island story.

Romans eating putrefied fish guts, Victorians spreading cholera and Elizabethan whipping boys all provided entertaining moments and my sons were squealing with delight and horror.

The myths surrounding Dick Turpin were brought to us in the style of The Only Way Is Essex, while General Haigs ill-fated forays into battle were seen through the eyes of Sir Alan Sugar, resonating with the audience and giving things a contemporary spin.

Barmy Britain indeed!

Until Sunday.

Natalie AldredVILLAGERS celebrated the completion of a 400,000 refurbishment at Eye and Dunsden village hall.

The building, which has been undergoing an extensive overhaul for the past four years, was officially re-opened by South Oxfordshire District Council chairwoman Jeannette Matelot.

It now has a single entryway serving both the main hall, which has been extended by about 40 per cent so it can seat up to 90 people, and the smaller Palmer Room.

Both have new hardwood flooring with underfloor heating and the walls and ceilings have been repainted. The hall has new toilets and lighting, solar panels on the roof and a new kitchen in the main hall.

There are plans to upgrade the smaller kitchen next to the Palmer Room and to improve the grounds.

The work was carried out by contractor 2M, of Woodcote, while Peppard Building Supplies provided materials at cost price.

Gillian Lee, the hall manager, managed the project.

The work started in 2014 and was carried out in stages so the building didnt have to close.

It was funded by a 200,000 grant from the district council, a 100,000 donation from the Phillimore Trust, money from Eye and Dunsden Parish Council and dozens of private donations.

Scores of people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony, including regular users, supporters and members of the halls management committee as well as Henley MP John Howell.

They enjoyed tea, cakes and biscuits as well as sparkling wine and Wilfreds Mild, a limited-edition ale brewed by Loddon Brewery in Dunsden and named after First World War poet Wilfred Owen, who served as rectors assistant in the village from 1911 until 1913.

He also taught at the village school in what is now the Palmer Room, which was built in 1846 before the main hall was added in 1869. The school shut in 1973 and the parish council bought it in 1977.

A plaster bust of Owen and a sculpture depicting his soldiers cap, medal and service revolver were unveiled by Mr Howell and 94-year-old Jean Eastwood, of War Memorial Place, Henley, who was first to research the villages connections to the poet and helped to launch the Dunsden Owen Association.

The artworks were made and donated by sculptor Anthony Padgett, from Lancashire. Mr Padgett read aloud two of Owens works called The Letter and The Last Laugh, which depict a soldiers life in the trenches and eventual death from enemy gunfire.

Pianist Jeremy Boughton, director of music at Dorchester Abbey, then performed a six-minute piece called the Red Kite which was specially composed for the occasion by David Breeze, from Wokingham.

Mr Breeze was commissioned by former hall chairwoman Beth Timms and her husband John.

There was also an exhibition of wildlife photographs by Bill Pound, 69, who was born in the village, attended the old school and lived in the area until he moved to Norfolk aged 60.

Mrs Lee gave a short speech of thanks and presented a key to her 11-year-old son Jenson to symbolise the halls benefits for future generations.

She said: Im absolutely overwhelmed by how great it is. The contractors have done an incredible job and really went the extra mile, working evenings and weekends to get it done. Its beautiful and has exceeded all expectations.

Our feedback has been pretty darn good and the increase in bookings has been a reflection of that. Weve got wedding receptions as far ahead as 2020 and the exercise groups really appreciate the heated floors.

Parish council chairman David Woodward said: This is a major rebuild and the most significant work that has ever been carried out on the building. It has completely transformed and future-proofed it and its proving very popular.

Mrs Eastwood, a former English teacher at Chiltern Edge School in Sonning Common, said: I taught Owens poetry and was surprised when I moved to the village that hardly anyone knew about the connection. I think this is a very fitting tribute to his life.

Councillor Matelot said: I feel very proud to have opened this project as its exactly the kind of thing we wish to support through grants.

Our panel agreed the funding unanimously and were impressed with the efforts that were made to match it. It might well be the best Ive seen yet.

Other supporters included Binfield Heaths parish council, flower show and village society; Sonning residents Richard Ennis, Nicholas Marks and George and Amal Clooney; actress Dame Judi Dench; Dunsden WI; Invesco Perpetual, of Henley; Fiona Raybould, of Sonning Common; Jon Woodbridge, of Playhatch; Coppid Farming Enterprises, of Chalkhouse Green; The Mill thearre and the French Horn restaurant, both in Sonning; actor Simon Williams, of Bix; and the Shoulder of Mutton at Playhatch.DOZENS of new houses and possibly a care home for the elderly could be built on farmland at the western outskirts of Woodcote.

Custom Land, of Birmingham, is seeking outline planning permission for up to either 80 dwellings or up to 66 plus a 60-bed facility on a 4.88-hectare field between South Stoke Road and Behoes Lane.

The firm, which is working with landowner the Rumsey Trust, of Didcot, has proposed a mix of two- to five-bedroom homes, the balance of which would be determined by a separate, more detailed planning application.

Whichever option is pursued, it says up to 40 per cent of the houses would be affordable in line with South Oxfordshire District Councils policies and those of the villages neighbourhood plan.

About three-quarters of the affordable units would be for rent at rates fixed below the market value while the remainder would be sold, most likely under a shared equity scheme. Most would have three bedrooms or fewer. A section of South Stoke Road would be redirected through the new development while the old section would be retained as access for existing residents. New traffic-calming measures would be installed.

The developer would provide pedestrian and cycle access from Behoes Lane and Wayside Green as well as about 2.2 hectares of public green space and up to six additional plots for people to build their own homes.

It would also provide a childrens play area and money towards widening the pavements elsewhere in the village, which it says will encourage residents to walk or use public transport.

It says hedges around the site would be preserved to protect residents privacy and provide a home for wildlife. It has commissioned a report which claims this will offset the impact on the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The site is not earmarked for development under the neighbourhood plan, which passed a referendum in 2014, nor is it being considered for inclusion in the revised draft.

Custom Land says the care home option would create 60 jobs and either option would create an additional 60 during the construction phase, which would take just over two years.

It says the application has the potential to enhance, rather than undermine the look of the area by establishing a new settlement edge and sense of arrival and enhanced transition between town and country.

It says Woodcote is a larger village so the principle of development is acceptable as it has a good number of shops, a primary and secondary school and good bus links to Reading and Oxford plus the train station at Goring, which serves London.

It says the care home and 66 houses would represent a 12 per cent increase in the size of the village and this is not disproportionate for larger villages according to the districts local plan. The developers agent Star Planning told the district council: There is a need for general housing in Woodcote, including family homes and smaller dwellings, suitable for providing a cross-section of accommodation.

The application, whichever option is pursued, can meet the housing needs of the community in a location adjacent to a local service centre whilst still conserving the landscape. No significant adverse impacts have been identified which outweigh the clear benefits.

There have been four attempts to develop the site since the Sixties, the most recent of which was an application for up to 115 homes, which was refused in 2011. The district council sided with about 400 objectors who said it was outside the village boundary and would affect neighbours quality of life while the roads couldnt take increased traffic.

Geoff Botting, the parish councils vice-chairman, said: I expect there will be problems as it doesnt comply with the neighbourhood plan, the local plan or national policy.

The district council will make the final decision by August 1.El presidente @MartinVizcarraC, se reunio con la Comision del Grupo de Accion Financiera de Latinoamerica (Gafilat), ratificando asi el compromiso del Gobierno en la lucha contra el lavado de activos y el financiamiento al terrorismo.



?? Lee la nota aqui: https://t.co/ZgBfgEhkTZ pic.twitter.com/2phpETczelWan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of former rival Anwar Ibrahim, is the new deputy prime minister. Ibrahim is granted a royal pardon. Former Prime Minister Najib Razak will be called to testify before the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission over the disappearance of US$ 4.5 billion from the state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1Mdb). Police search six properties connected to Najib.

Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Mahathir bin Mohamad, Malaysias newly elected prime minister, unveiled his cabinet yesterday, after receiving the approval of King Muhammad V of Kelantan during a meeting at the royal palace.

On Monday, the formal swearing-in of the new government will take place during a ceremony at the Istana Negara, the national palace, the official residence of Malaysias sovereign.

During the week, the 92-year-old Mahathir announced the name of five cabinet ministers, including Lim Guan Eng at Finance, Muhyiddin Yassin at Interior and Mohammad Sabu at Defence.

Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of former Mahathir rival Anwar Ibrahim and now his ally, is the new deputy prime minister.

Meanwhile, outgoing Prime Minister Najib Razak is expected to be called to testify before the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the disappearance of US$ 4.5 billion from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1Mdb), a state strategic development company.

Before Mahathirs surprise victory in the general elections on 9 May, few would have predicted this turn of events in the investigation. Najib has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

The authorities in six countries, including the United States and Switzerland, are now investigating the company.

Shortly after his win, Mahathir issued the order that his former protege and his wife, Rosmah Mansor not be allowed to leave the country because of sufficient evidence warranting further investigation.

Looking for evidence to link the former PM to the financial scandal that has shaken the nation in recent months, police searched six properties connected to Najib in the last few hours.

Last night, during a raid at the former premier's private residence, police seized 52 designer handbags, 10 luxury watches and US$ 135,000 worth in foreign currencies.

A few hours earlier, agents had confiscated 284 boxes with designer handbags and dozens of bags full of money and jewels, from a number of luxury apartments.

Grassroots resentment over the 1Mdb affair played a decisive role in the electoral victory of Pakatan Harapan (PH), the four-party political alliance led by Mahathir that includes veteran opposition leaders who had clashed with Mahathir when he served as prime minister between 1981 and 2003.

The 92-year-old politician joined the alliance in 2016, justifying the move with his loss of confidence in Najib, once his protege, following financial scandals.

Najibs former mentor ruled Malaysia for decades with a firm grip and even threw his former opponent Anwar Ibrahim into prison on sodomy and corruption charges.

On Wednesday, the 70-year-old leader of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) was granted a full pardon by the king and returned to speak at a rally, three years after the last time. The royal ruling now makes him eligible for active political life.

Mahathir said that he will hand over the government to Anwar in "one to two years", once he is elected a member of parliament or senator in a supplementary election.Built in vast numbers, Aleksandr Yakovlevs fighters were among the most important Allied aircraft of World War II.

Yakovlev aircraft have become as closely associated with World War II Soviet air power as Messerschmitts are with the Luftwaffe, Spitfires with the Royal Air Force and Zeros with the Japanese. More Yak fighters were built than any other warplane in history, with the possible exceptions of Germanys Messerschmitt Me-109 and another Soviet design, the Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik. That massive production was achieved despite the severe disruption of the Soviet Unions industrial capacity brought about by the Germans 1941 invasion.

Like the Me-109 and Supermarine Spitfire, Yak fighters were produced in a host of different models that were tailored to specific missions. And like the Spitfire and North American P-51 Mustang, Yaks soldiered on after the war, appearing over Korea in 1950. Unlike the Me-109, Spitfire, P-51 and Mitsubishi A6M Zero, however, Yakovlev completed the transition into the jet age by adapting its airframes for jet propulsion.

During the war years, Yaks were often derided by foreign aviation experts as crude and lacking in high-altitude performance. But what those pundits failed to realize was that many of the characteristics they criticized were specifically designed into the aircraft and were largely responsible for its success. In fact, Yaks proved to be the optimum plane for the sort of fighting to which they were committed.

What Western critics saw as crudity was actually a simplicity of design that enabled semiskilled workers in hastily set up factories to produce Yaks by the tens of thousands. It would have been far more difficult, if not impossible, for the wartime Soviet industrial infrastructure to have produced a similar number of more sophisticated fighters such as Spitfires or Mustangs.

In addition, high-altitude performance was not a primary concern over the Russian Front. American fighters such as the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51D were called upon to escort strategic bombers flying at 30,000 feet. The air war over Russia, however, was primarily a tactical conflict, fought mainly at altitudes below 15,000 feet.

Aleksandr Yakovlev, the man behind the ubiquitous Yak, began his aviation career in 1923 at age 17, when he helped another designer build a biplane glider for a competition. Disappointed when his colleagues glider didnt win, Yakovlev designed and built his own monoplane glider, which won that competition the following year.

Sponsored by the Association of Societies for the Promotion of Defense and Aero-Chemical Development, Yakovlev built his first powered aircraft in 1927. The light two-seat sport biplane, called the AIR-1, justified his sponsors support by setting class records for speed and distance. It also gained Yakovlev admission to the Soviet air force academy, from which he graduated in 1931. By the late 1930s, he headed his own aircraft design bureau and was acknowledged as his countrys foremost producer of light aircraft and training planes.

During the 1930s, the Soviet Union boasted one of the most progressive aviation development programs in the world. Many Soviet planes set load-carrying and distance records. Some of its bombers were so large that they were actually capable of carrying fighters slung beneath their wings. The Soviet Union was also among the first countries in the world to deploy paratroops.

One of the most significant innovations to appear in the Soviet air forces, the Voyenno-Vozdushny Sili (V-VS), during that period was the introduction in 1934 of Nikolai Polikarpovs I-16, the worlds first single-seat, single-engine, all-metal low-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear and an enclosed cockpit (though it later reverted to an open cockpit). Armed with four machine gunsenhanced in some versions to two machine guns and two cannonsthe I-16 was the first production aircraft to combine all the important features that were to characterize the majority of WWII fighters.

Committed to combat during the Spanish Civil War, the I-16 proved superior to the conventional biplane fighters of its day. The tempo of aircraft and engine development during the late 1930s was extraordinarily rapid, however, and in 1938 the Luftwaffe introduced a far more advanced fighter over Spain, the Messerschmitt Bf-109B. It quickly became apparent to V-VS leaders that their once-unbeatable I-16 would soon have to be replaced by a more modern designand that the I-16s designer was not up to producing a suitable successor. Polikarpovs successful fighter designs thereafter reverted to the old biplane formula, while his only new monoplane fighter design proved unsuccessful until it was taken over and modified by another team of designers, Artyom Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. It eventually went into production as the MiG-3. In their search for a replacement for the I-16, the Soviets invited several other design bureaus to submit prototypes for evaluation. Among them was that of Aleksandr Yakovlev, who had never before designed a single-seat fighter.

The Soviet aviation industry did not have privately owned aircraft manufacturing companies like Western nations. Rather, the state sponsored a number of independent design bureaus with limited facilities for the production of prototype aircraft. If a prototype proved successful, the government would assign one or more state-run aircraft factories to build it in quantity. Yakovlev had presided over one such design bureau since 1934.

Initially known as the I-26 (the I stood for Istrebitel, or fighter), Yakovlevs first fighter prototype undertook its maiden flight at Moscow on January 13, 1940. The bright red plane was of mixed construction, with its forward fuselage consisting of a tubular steel framework covered with duralumin, while the rear fuselage was made of fabric-covered wood. The wings and tail were also constructed of wood, and the control surfaces were duralumin. The intended armament was a 20mm cannon firing through the propeller hub and four 7.62mm machine guns, though two of the machine guns were eliminated from the production model to save weight. Later versions replaced the eliminated 7.62mms with a single 12.7mm weapon. Powered by the same 1,050-hp Klimov M-105 liquid-cooled V-12 engine fitted to the competing Lavochkin-Gordunov-Gudkov LaGG-3 fighter (which also entered production), the I-26 was 563 pounds lighter.



An early Yak-1 displays the clean lines and basically sound design of the fighter series. (National Archives) An early Yak-1 displays the clean lines and basically sound design of the fighter series. (National Archives)

Yakovlevs fighter demonstrated excellent flight characteristics from its earliest trials, proving that it was fast as well as maneuverable. It was easier to fly than the MiG-3 and LaGG-3, and performed better than the LaGG-3. Moreover, the I-26 also proved relatively easy to manufacture, demonstrating that Yakovlev understood not only aeronautical design but also the limitations of the Soviet aircraft industry. In recognition of Yakovlevs efforts in developing the new fighter, Josef Stalin awarded him 100,000 rubles, along with the Lenin Prize, and also presented the designer with a new car. In addition, the production version was officially redesignated the Yak-1.

As with any new aircraft, the Yak-1 experienced its fair share of teething troubles. The engines lubrication system leaked, and the oil cooler proved inadequate. Both of those systems required modifications before the fighter was deemed acceptable. Another component that needed beefing up was the landing gear. A test pilot lost control of the prototype and died in a crash after one of the main landing gear legs opened during a low-level roll. Despite those early problems, however, the Yak-1 was judged a formidable combat plane, and the first production aircraft entered service with the V-VS toward the end of 1940.

The Yak-1 was 27 feet 9 inches long and had a wingspan of 32 feet 10 inches. Powered by the 1,050-hp M-105PA engine, it achieved a maximum speed of 360 mph. The fighter was initially built at a Moscow factory, but production was soon transferred to Saratov when the Moscow plant switched to building the Yak-7. A total of 8,721 Yak-1s were manufactured before they were replaced on the production line in 1944 by an improved version, the Yak-3.

One of the principal differences between the Yak-1 and its competitors was that Yakovlev had prepared plans for not just a single fighter plane but a whole family of aircraft tailored to specific missions. Whereas the basic Yak-1 was intended for operation over front lines at low to medium altitudes, a separate version, the Yak-5, was designed to serve as a high-altitude interceptor. In the end the project was canceled due to problems with its supercharged engine, and the Yak-5 never got beyond the prototype stage.

A far more successful variation of the Yak-1, the versatile Yak-7 stemmed from Yakovlevs design for a two-seat trainer. The fact that Yakovlev had provided for such a conversion trainer was a major reason why Soviet pilots accustomed to biplane fighters or the I-16 monoplane could master the Yak-1 with a minimum of mishaps.

More than simply a Yak-1 with an additional cockpit, the Yak-7 featured a stronger airframe than the single-seater. The wing and radiator were moved aft to balance the second cockpit, and the landing gear had to be repositioned and strengthened. Though intended as an advanced trainer, the resulting aircraft performed almost as well as the production Yak-1 fighter. Its maximum speed was about 360 mph, roughly the same as the Yak-1s. With a length of 27 feet 6 inches and a wingspan of 32 feet 6 inches, the Yak-7s dimensions were also essentially the same as the Yak-1s. In addition, the 5,465-pound trainer was only 154 pounds heavier than the single-seat fighter.



Soviet workers build Yak-1s in the assembly shop of a state-run aircraft factory during 1942. ( Sovfoto) Soviet workers build Yak-1s in the assembly shop of a state-run aircraft factory during 1942. ( Sovfoto)

Early in the war Soviet authorities recognized that the Yak-7 trainer could be developed into a whole series of useful combat aircraft, including a high-speed two-seat liaison and reconnaissance plane, a courier aircraft and a single-seat fighter-bomber. Yakovlev was initially reluctant to proceed with the single-seat version, which was known as the Yak-7B, but it proved fully capable of taking on the best Luftwaffe fighters. When powered by the improved 1,180-hp M-105PF engine, it had a top speed of 381 mph. The Yak-7B represented one of the few instances of the successful adaptation of a trainer into a fighter plane.

A more potent version, known as the Yak-7-37, carried a 37mm cannon mounted to fire through the propeller hub. To accommodate the large cannon, the rear cockpit was eliminated and the pilots cockpit moved back 15.8 inches. The 37mm proved effective against aircraft, armored vehicles and small ships. As a bonus, repositioning the cockpit had actually improved the fighters handling characteristics.

Both the Yak-1 and the Yak-7 underwent a continual series of improvements during the course of production. Modifications to the engine produced greater power output as well as improved lubrication and cooling. The most noticeable alteration to both types was to the cockpit canopy. As with the Spitfire, Thunderbolt and Mustang, the Yaks original razorback fuselage was modified to accommodate a bubble canopy that greatly improved the pilots rear view.

In the spring of 1942, Yakovlev began working on an improved version of the Yak-7, known as the Yak-7DI (Dalny Istrebitel, or longrange fighter). Of mixed construction with duralumin spars and wooden ribs, its wings weighed considerably less than the original allwood wings, enabling the new version to carry appreciably more fuel than the production Yak-7B. The long-range fighter entered production in autumn 1942 as the Yak-9, and had its combat debut over Stalingrad in November of that year. After 6,399 Yak-7s had been built, the Yak-9 completely superseded it on the production lines. The Yak-9 went on to become the most prolific Soviet fighter of WWII. A total of 16,769 were built before production terminated in 1947, 14,579 of which were completed before the war ended.



A flight of Yak-9D fighters, 3rd squadron of the 6th GIAP Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet, over Sevastopol, May 1944. (National Archives) A flight of Yak-9D fighters, 3rd squadron of the 6th GIAP Air Force of the Black Sea Fleet, over Sevastopol, May 1944. (National Archives)

Like the earlier Yak-7, the Yak-9 was developed into a wide variety of specialized variants. The Yak-9T (tank-buster) followed the pattern set by the earlier Yak-7-37, with its cockpit moved aft to accommodate a 37mm engine-mounted cannon and one synchronized 20mm cannon in the fuselage upper cowling. It first saw combat during the Battle of Kursk in August 1943. Despite the Yak-9Ts antitank designation, it was credited with nearly half the enemy aircraft destroyed during the course of the battle. That same type was further developed into the Yak-9K (Kanon), mounting 45mm and even 50mm weapons. The Yak-9K was not produced in large numberspartly because the fighters structure could not take the strain of firing such powerful guns, and partly because the heavier automatic cannons were in relatively short supply.

As the Red Army began taking the offensive in 1943, a need arose for longer-range fighters to operate deeper behind enemy lines. The Yak-9D incorporated additional fuel tanks that increased its fuel capacity by 75 percent. It proved to be just as fast as the earlier Yak-9, but pilots considered it less nimble. Nevertheless, the Yak-9D went into large-scale production and proved very successful. An even longer-legged version, the Yak-9DD, increased fuel capacity to 186 gallons, 30 percent more than the Yak-9D and 92 percent more than the standard Yak-9. Performance suffered somewhat, but the Yak-9DD managed to achieve a range of 1,420 miles. Although the aircraft was primarily intended as an escort fighter, one fighter regiment of Yak-9DDs was deployed to Italy to provide air support for Marshal Titos Yugoslav partisans.

The Yak-9Ds wingspan was 31 feet 11 inches, and it was 26 feet 3 inches long. At a gross weight of 6,790 pounds, it weighed 110 pounds more than the Yak-7B. The fighters M-105PF engine gave it a maximum speed of 374 mph, slightly slower than the Yak-7B, but its 876- mile range was 71 percent greater.

The Yak-9B fighter-bomber, a less successful variant, was unusual in that it incorporated an internal bomb bay behind the cockpit that held four 220-pound bombs or four containers of 4.4-pound antitank bomblets. The additional weight slowed the Yak-9B down and adversely affected its stability and handling. In addition, no adequate method was provided for the pilot to accurately aim his bombload. Although used in action by at least two fighter regiments, only 109 Yak-9Bs were built before the type was discontinued.

The final Yak-9 production version, the Yak-9U (Uluchshenny, or improved) was designed around the 1,500-hp Klimov VK-107 engine, which produced 27 percent more power than the Klimov used in the Yak-9D. The cockpit was moved back 1 foot 4 inches, as it had been in the Yak-9T, a modification that improved maneuverability and also reduced the likelihood of nosing over on landing. The engine cowling and air intakes were also redesigned to reduce drag, with the oil cooler transferred to the port wing root and the carburetor air intake to the starboard wing root. Armament was increased to two 12.7mm machine guns and one 20mm cannon.

The most important improvements in the Yak-9U were to its structure. By the middle of 1943, the Soviets realized that the light alloys needed for aircraft production were not in such critically short supply as had been thought. Furthermore, the Yak-9U was expected to continue in postwar service, and since wooden planes tended to deteriorate fairly rapidly, they were not regarded as cost-effective for the peacetime air force. Yakovlev therefore took the opportunity to redesign the Yak-9U with an all-metal, stressed-skin airframe.

The result was indeed a greatly improved fighter, one that fully realized the excellence of Yakovlevs original concept. Introduced to frontline squadrons in autumn 1944, just as the last of the Yak-1s and Yak-7s were being retired, the Yak-9U was 62 mph faster than its predecessors and reduced climbing time to 15,000 feet by more than a minute. Flying the Yak-9U, Soviet fighter pilots were confident they could take on any German piston engine fighter. The all-metal Yak-9 remained in production until 1947. Erroneously identified as Yak-11s by the Americans, they were encountered by U.S. Air Force pilots during the early stages of the Korean War.



The Yak-9, in production until 1947, was encountered in combat as late as the early stages of the Korean War. Often misidentified as a Yak-11, this dilapidated fighter ends its career on a captured North Korean airfield. (National Archives) The Yak-9, in production until 1947, was encountered in combat as late as the early stages of the Korean War. Often misidentified as a Yak-11, this dilapidated fighter ends its career on a captured North Korean airfield. (National Archives)

While Aleksandr Yakovlev pursued one line of development that led to the Yak-9U, he did not neglect the development of the original Yak-1, completing the prototype for an improved variant, the Yak-1M (Modifikatsirovanny, or modified), in February 1943. On this version, the Yak-1s wooden wing was replaced by one similar in construction to that of the Yak-9, but with the area reduced by 24.3 square feet. The oil cooler intake was shallower, with the rear fuselage cut down to accommodate a three-piece canopy offering better rear vision. An improved radio was installed, and plywood skin replaced fabric on the rear of the fuselage. Armament included two 12.7mm machine guns and one 20mm cannon. The Yak-1M was 540 pounds lighter than the production Yak-1, resulting in a much faster and more agile fighter.

One of Yakovlevs design team members, K.V. Sinelshchikov, refined the lightened Yak further, reducing the wingspan and its aspect ratio. The nose incorporated the same aerodynamic improvements later featured in the Yak-9U, and the radiator installation was cleaned up to further reduce drag. The new lightweight fighter boasted a maximum speed of 433 mph, and its acceleration was so good that pilots had difficulty keeping it from exceeding the airframes limitations. For reasons that are unclear, this ultimate lightweight variant entered production with the designation of Yak-3, despite the fact that it appeared after the Yak-7 and Yak-9. Entering service with Soviet fighter units in the late spring of 1944, it became an instant favorite.

Yaks were so numerous in the V-VS and other Soviet air arms during WWII that for a while there were more of them in service than all other fighter types combined. Although the leading Soviet ace did not fly them (Ivan Kozhedub scored all of his 62 victories in Lavochkin La-5s and La-7s), it would be impossible to list even a fraction of the other high-scoring fighter pilots who flew Yaks. Notably, they included historys only two female aces, Lydia Litvyak and Yekaterina Budanova. By the time Litvyak was killed in action on August 1, 1943, she had flown 168 missions and was credited with 12 enemy planes and one balloon, plus three shared victories. Budanova, who has received far less attention than Litvyak, flew 256 missions and downed 11 enemy planes (some sources cite as many as 20 or 22) before she was shot down and killed on July 19, 1943.

Many foreign pilots from Eastern European countries, such as Poland and Czechoslovakia, flew Yaks with the V-VS, as did Groupe de Chasse 3 Normandie, a fighter unit made up of Free French volunteers. Flying Yak-1s, -9s and -3s in Soviet markings, usually with cockades painted on their spinners and the Cross of Lorraine on their tail fins, the French commenced operations in the spring of 1943, expanding from squadron to regimental strength by the summer of 1944. The 95 Frenchmen who served with the outfit were credited with 273 victories, at a cost of 42 pilots. Among its many notable members were Marcel Albert, Frances leading ace with 23 victories; Roland de la Poype, who scored 16 and like Albert was awarded the Gold Star of a Hero of the Soviet Union; and Roger Sauvage, who remains the worlds leading black fighter ace, with 14 victories to his credit.



The distinctive markings of the Normandie make this Yak-9 one of the fighters flown by Free French volunteers alongside Soviet pilots. (HistoryNet Archives) The distinctive markings of the Normandie make this Yak-9 one of the fighters flown by Free French volunteers alongside Soviet pilots. (HistoryNet Archives)

There was one further extraordinary chapter to the story of the wartime Yak fighters. By 1945, Stalin was well aware that the Soviet Union lagged behind the West in the development of jet fighters. Soviets designers had already made several attempts to incorporate their own jet engines into new mixed-power fighter designs, but with no success. In 1942 Yakovlev participated in early Soviet jet engine experiments by fitting a pair of Merkulov DM-4S ramjet engines under the wings of a Yak-7 trainer. Later, in March 1944, he mounted a pair of improved DM-4S engines beneath the wings of a Yak-7B fighter. The performance benefits of the installation were not deemed sufficient, however, and the project was discontinued.

In April 1945, the Soviets acquired access to German turbojet engine technology, and Stalin demanded that his aircraft designers use it to come up with a jet fighter as soon as possible. Yakovlevs solution was simply to fit a Junkers Jumo 004B engine into the nose of an all-metal Yak-3U, with the jet exhausting beneath the fuselage. The prototype was constructed so hastily that it doesnt seem to have occurred to anyone that the rubber tail wheel was directly in the path of the jet exhaust. The tail wheel burned away as soon as the engine started for the first time, along with part of the fuselages duralumin skin. A steel tail wheel and additional fuselage heat shielding were fitted before the first flight of the Yak-15, on April 24, 1946, the same day as that of its principal competitor, the more original MiG-9.

The use of the Yak-3U airframe meant that the Jumo-powered Yak could carry only a limited amount of fuel, and consequently had a relatively short range. On the other hand, it considerably reduced research and development time and enabled the new fighter to quickly enter service. Although the Yak-15 looked more like a flying tadpole than a jet fighter, it proved surprisingly pleasant to fly; 280 were built before production ceased in 1947. Late in the spring of 1947, tricycle landing gear was added to the Yak-15U, which was further refined into the Yak-17, with wingtip fuel tanks introduced to compensate for the loss of fuselage fuel capacity. Though those aircraft were never used operationally, a great many Soviet fighter pilots learned to fly jets in Yak-15s and Yak-17s.

The importance of the piston-engine Yak fighters to the war on the Eastern Front cannot be overemphasized. The Soviets did use many other types of fighters during the war, including the LaGG-3, La-5, La-7 and MiG-3, as well as various Lend-Lease American and British fighters. But more Yaks saw service with the Red air forces than all other fighter types combined. An astonishing total of 36,737 piston engine Yak fighters were produced, of which 34,547 were built before the end of the war. Though it was often criticized as crude, the Yakovlev fighters sound design and simplicity of production made it a winner. Like the Spitfire, Mustang and Zero, the Yak was the right plane at the right time.

For further reading, recently retired U.S. Merchant Marine officer and frequent Aviation History contributor Robert Guttman recommends: Yakovlevs Piston-Engined Fighters, by Yefim Gordon and Dmitriy Khazanov; and Yakovlev Aces of World War II, by George Mellinger.

Originally published in the July 2008 issue of Aviation History.To subscribe, click here.

Time to build your own replica of one of Yakovlevs iconic fighters?The former President and his wife have entered a multi-year agreement with Netflix to produce series and features for the company.

Netflix have today announced that the Obamas have signed a multi-year agreement to produce films and series for the company. The deal will reportedly include scripted and unscripted series, as well as documentaries and features. The content will be produced by Higher Ground Productions.

In a statement, the President said: "One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience. That's why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix  we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world."

Obama previously appeared on Netflix's My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman earlier this year.

Advertisementby Sumon Corraya

In Bangladesh, the holy month of fasting and prayer began yesterday. President Hamid prayed for the well-being of the country and its imams. For a young man, Ramadan is a time to cleanse life of its negative things. The authorities uncover cases of adulterated food for iftar with thousands of mangoes seized and destroyed.

Dhaka (AsiaNews)  Ramadan began yesterday in Bangladesh. Speaking on this occasion, Bangladeshi President M Abdul Hamid said that the holy month is a time of self-restraint, self-rectification and forgiveness.

In his message to fellow Muslims, the president also noted that "Ramadan is the month of Rahmat (mercy), Barkat (blessing), Maghfirat (forgiveness) and Najat (salvation). It offers us the unique opportunity to be closer to Allah and to achieve peace and forgiveness."

Mr Hamid went on to say that fasting, which distinguishes this period dedicated to prayer, "helps to establish cooperation, concord and brotherhood between rich and poor". He ended praying for the well-being of the country and its imams.

For Muslims, this period is a time of reflection on one's own existence and on good intentions to improve it.

"During Ramadan I purify myself through fasting and prayer, said Rony Talkudar, a young Muslim who spoke to AsiaNews. I cleanse the negative things from my life. I think it's the best time of the year dedicated to spirituality."

According to Rony, "all Muslims should follow the teachings of Ramadan and put them into practice in their lives. If we all achieve self-restraint, self-rectification and forgiveness, our country would be a better place to live in."

"Allah will bless me for my fasting, prayer and honest life, said Musfikur Rahim, a student at a madrassa, (Quranic school). Ramadan is the best time to obtain God's mercy."

Still, Rony bemoans the fact that during Islams holy month, "some merchants tend to take advantage [of the situation] and increase the price of goods.

In other Muslim countries the cost of goods is reduced, he said, but in Bangladesh it increases. The reason is that officials take bribes and [thus] boost criminal activities".

Evidence of widespread corruption is the seizure and destruction by police of thousands of adulterated mangoes in Dhaka yesterday.

The fact that some dishonest retailers sold such products did not surprise many people.

The authorities discovered that food destined for iftar was treated with dyes and oils. Iftar is the meal Muslims take to break the fast after sundown.

In the case of mangoes, certain substances were used to make the fruit more attractive to buyers even though they were bad for human health.Urru is my lovingly-run business. Its what I spend most of my time doing, of course  but its also the way I try to spread the good news about Irish food to the public! There are so many great craft producers out there, doing amazing things.

First and foremost were a shop, but we have a cafe integrated into it. So, we have people coming in here to do their shopping, browsing the shelves for wine, kitchenware, cookery books, that kind of thing. A lot of the time, people decide, Well, while Im here exploring, I might as well sit down and have a bite to eat.

The focus for us is very different to most businesses I know. Were a contemporary space in a very traditional market town  and what we offer is what people might find in the likes of Fallon & Byrne, Avoca or Brown Thomas. It is all about seeking out quality. Were also very interested in opening peoples minds and getting them to sample things they might not ordinarily try.

Everything that we serve in our cafe, we also sell in-store  so there are no different tiers of food. Thats what customers love about it: our cafe experience is a taster. So, for example, if youve never had our smoked chicken before, you can try a smoked chicken sandwich in our cafe for lunch, and then buy it in our shop.

Our sandwiches would be one of the signature things on our menu, because weve taken a lot of time to find the best locally-sourced ingredients. And if I do say so myself  weve created something truly unique with them!

For more Food Champions, and all of the gen on Ireland's Food Revolution, get the Best of Ireland 2018 or check out Features on hotpress.com.Fans left high and dry now have a glimmer of hope.

Following the announcement that Shawn Mendes would play in Dublin for one night only, disappointed fans who missed out the first-time round will now have another chance to see the 19-year-old Canadian pop star live.

Due to phenomenal demand, promoters have announced that Mendes will play a second show in Dublins 3 Arena. While tickets for his first show quickly sold out, Irish fans will be able to see Mendes perform the following day in April.

Mendes will perform at the 3 Arena on 14th April 2019. Tickets go on sale this Thursday 24th May at 10am just in time for the release of Shawns new album.As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content.

When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to.

After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS!

OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK

The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those.Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.Sue MacVeety of Sheffield paints her spinet with a first coat of primer to prepare it for painting a flowery landscape to evoke her bucolic town. The piano will be on display this summer before being auctioned with others in August. PreviousNext

Music & Art Come Together This Summer With Painted Pianos



Keith Bona checks out his piano at Memorial School. ADAMS, Mass.  More than a dozen pianos are being transformed into singular artworks to evoke the county's musical and artistic heritage.

Dirty, dusty and out of tune, these castoffs found new partners as local artists tramped through the empty Memorial School last Tuesday to select the perfect piano for their endeavors.

Sue MacVeety of Sheffield had come prepared with primer, covering her selection with its first base coat of white. Keith Bona of North Adams picked a large upright and was planning out a celestial concept and figuring how he might use the frame-like back.

"This would be cool if we did it with a galaxy motif and do pictures here ... they look like frames for something," said Bona.

The piano meetup was hosted by the Adams Arts Advisory Board, with artists selecting their keyboards on a first come, first served basis. Three rooms were opened in the school where the artists will be able to paint and otherwise enhance their pieces.

"Each community will stage events once they're placed in their community," said Richard Tavelli, in between guiding artists between the rooms. The participating artists were invited, with the Adams board, since it was hosting the event, selecting two.

The instruments will be scattered across the county at participating venues this summer in a collaborative celebration of the Berkshire Summer of Music and famed conductor and pianist Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday.

The transformed keyboards -- freshly tuned -- will be on display from July 18 through Aug. 25 and will be the focus of several pop-up concerts with local pianists.

At the end of the exhibition, they will be auctioned off with proceeds to benefit programming at Berkshire Music School.

Each artwork has a host venue, mostly libraries, and are being funded by local cultural councils. There's a long list of collaborators ranging from public libraries to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, with All-Ways Moving Co. the major sponsor (it's moving all the pianos for free) and Greylock Federal Credit Union the corporate sponsor.

"I think it's sharing the wonderful 'Summer of Music' with the entire county," said Tracy Wilson, executive director of the Berkshire Music School. "We're connecting with the theme of the reading programs in the libraries, also double connecting with the Leonard Bernstein 100th anniversary of his birth. ...

"We wanted to get connected as the Berkshire Music School because Leonard Bernstein played a piano recital for us in 1942. It's just a perfect connection."

MacVeety had lucked out in finding a small acrosconic that she expected would save her time from driving 90 minutes away.

"It's a kind of little spinet piano and I have the exact same piano in my house," she said. "So I can do drawings and sketches and things with the exact measurements of the same piano."

Her piano will go on display at the Bushnell-Sage Library in Sheffield that is currently exhibiting her paintings celebrating local farms, "Boogie in the Barnyard."

"They asked me to do something similar," MacVeety said. "Flowers and chickens and a mountain view so it fits in with Sheffield. I'm trying to fit in Mumbet and the Shay's Rebellion stone as well."

Bona was disappointed a day later when he discovered the piano he picked out hadn't come from the late state Rep. Gailanne Cariddi's estate. It will still, however, be exhibited at the North Adams Public Library.

"The music school gets calls all the time about pianos that families don't want, don't need anymore," Wilson said. "Rather than me saying no, I'm sorry, they have another life. Everybody whose donated these pianos, when I told them the story of what was going to happen they loved it. ...

"We're excited to give them another life."Alexander Ciccolo's attorney, David Hoose, meets with reporters on the courthouse steps in Springfield on Monday afternoon after his client pleaded guilty to all charges related to his Adams arrest.

Breaking: Adams Man Accused in Terror Plot Pleads Guilty, Agrees to 20-Year Sentence

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  The Adams man accused by the government of plotting a terror attack and providing material support to the Islamic State pleaded guilty to all charges in federal court on Monday afternoon.

Alexander Ciccolo, 25, admitted to supporting ISIS, planning a terror attack at an unnamed college campus outside Massachusetts, illegally possessing firearms and assaulting a nurse at the Franklin County Jail on the first night of his incarceration during a 50-minute hearing before Judge Mark G. Mastroianni.

According to a plea agreement negotiated between Ciccolos lawyers and the U.S. Attorneys Office, Ciccolo would be sentenced to 20 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release, according to a statement by an assistant U.S. Attorney during the hearing.

Mastroianni set a sentencing hearing for Sept. 5 at 2 p.m. to finalize the agreement.

Under the federal rules of criminal procedure, Mastroianni will have the option to throw out the plea at that time, but he will not be able to modify the sentence agreement reached between the U.S. Attorney and Ciccolo.

"When I was a young attorney, someone told me [an agreement] must be good if nobodys happy," Ciccolos attorney, Northampton's David Hoose, said on the courthouse steps after the hearing. "I'm sure the government could make an argument that more time is warranted. We could make an argument that less time is warranted.

"But the fact is that this is an agreement that everyone has come together on. My goal at this point is just to get it over the finish line and get Alex on to the next phase of his life."

In answer to a reporter's question, Hoose said he was confident that Mastroianni will accept the full plea agreement. The alternative would be to change Ciccolo's plea back to his original plea of innocent and move toward a trial in the case.

Hoose also said it is likely that Ciccolo will receive some credit toward his 20-year prison sentence for the time he has spent in federal custody since his July 4, 2015, arrest.

Mastroianni conducted an extensive colloquy with Ciccolo before accepting his change of plea on Monday.

He asked in several different ways whether Ciccolo had read and understood the terms of the plea agreement and whether he was satisfied with his legal representation, which includes Hoose and New York attorney Ramzi Kassem, who did not attend Monday's hearing.

Mastroianni also stressed to Ciccolo that his change of plea was permanent and binding, giving him one more opportunity to change his mind or express any doubts right before Ciccolo stood and formally entered the guilty plea.

"Those [trial] rights don't come back," Mastroianni warned. "If, five years down the road, you reconsider your situation and say you want to challenge the case, you cannot come back.

"Theres finality to the case. The rights you are giving up, you're giving up forever. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Ciccolo replied.

At Mastroianni's request, Assistant U.S. Attorney Deepika Shukla recited the standards the government needed to meet for each count on the indictment as well as the facts that the government would have used at trial to prove each charge.

On the top count of the indictment, attempted material support to a foreign terrorist organization, Shukla cited pro-ISIS postings by Ciccolo on social media and downloads on his personal computers that included "recipes for explosives and homemade bombs." She also cited Ciccolo's conversations with a government witness about Ciccolo's intention to carry out a terror attack "before the end of Ramadan that year, which was July 31, 2015."

Shukla also cited a nearly two-hour interview with investigators after Ciccolo's arrest in which he expressed sympathy for the Islamic state. Recordings of parts of that interview were played at Ciccolo's initial detention hearing in the summer of 2015.

In support of Count No. 2, Shukla told the court that Ciccolo had purchased a pressure cooker and nails in an attempt to build a pressure cooker bomb and had begun constructing "three  Molotov cocktails."

Count 1 carried a maximum sentence of 20 years followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Count 2, for knowingly attempting to use weapons of mass destruction, had a maximum of life in prison. The gun possession charge had a maximum penalty of three years. And the fourth count, the assault causing bodily injury at the county jail, had a maximum of 20 years.

In answer to several dozen questions from Mastroianni, Ciccolo calmly and clearly answered the judge, affirming repeatedly that he understood the charges against him, admitted to the acts in question and accepted the consequences of a guilty plea.

"Are you pleading because you are in fact guilty or some other reason?" Mastroianni asked.

"Because I am guilty," Ciccolo replied.

The defendant's responses during the long interview satisfied the judge.

"It is the finding of this court in United States vs. Alexander Ciccolo that the defendant is fully competent and capable of entering into an informed plea," Mastroianni said. "He is aware of the nature of the charges and the consequences of his plea.

"I have had the opportunity to observe him  his demeanor, his tone, his affect and the answers to the questions I've asked of him. Nothing causes me any concern at all about his ability to understand what is going on here today."

Early in the colloquy, Mastroianni asked Ciccolo specifically whether he is currently being treated for any mental issues or has been, "seeing any therapists treating you for mental health issues."

"No, sir," Ciccolo replied.

Ciccolo smiled in the direction of family members in the gallery when he entered the courtroom promptly at 1 p.m. for the hearing. But at the hearing's end, he was observed to have an emotional moment with his mother and step-father.

"That's his mother and his stepfather, with whom he is very close," Hoose said. "Nobody signs a piece of paper saying, 'I'm going to go to prison for 20 years,' without some emotion attached to that."

Hoose said he wanted to reserve more comments about his client's state of mind until after the Sept. 5 sentencing hearing, but he did offer one insight into Ciccolo's current attitude.

"I can tell you that he no longer supports the group that calls itself ISIS, Hoose said.If you look back 27 years, you get long average growth of about 4% a year. So 2% is well below and it means you cant absorb the increase in the labour force to keep unemployment steady.

Sen said PNGs growth rate was forecast to be 2% both this year and in 2019, well below PNGs long-term average.

But he reassured them, saying there will be significant returns to be had once the mining recovery starts.

At a recent business conference in Brisbane he warned companies in PNG to run a tight ship, have lean operations and survive two to three years.

NOOSA  Kishti Sen, an economist with the ANZ Banking Group, has offered a mixed message about Papua New Guineas economic prospects.

Kishti Sen - PNG has significant short term economic problems but beyond that a resources comeback makes future looks good

But he was more optimistic about the medium term future.

For the next decade, PNG is setting itself up for very strong growth. It is a good opportunity for the government to secure a broad-based economy once the boom ends.

The government wants to live within its means, it has a debt-to-GDP ratio it wants to adhere to. It has to think about the credit rating agencies as well.

There are reports of cash flow problems. It is something that needs a solution.

But they know this is not the time for austerity. They have to come in and give some stimulus to move the economy along but they are limited in what they can do.

That leaves the economy in the doldrums until the next mining boom happens, he said, adding that importers are struggling but there are limits on what the government can do about the economic slowdown.

There are reports of cash flow problems, Sen said. It is something that needs a solution.

Investors are willing to invest in PNG if they cant get their profits out of the country.

The kina is overvalued and it needs to get to its fair value as quickly as possible because, once it gets to its fair value, it will help exporters immensely.

It will bring more kina into the country, which will help in making business planning decisions, investment. It can kick start the economy, and help exporters.

Sen said PNG has a narrow commodity-based economy and the challenge for the government is to broaden the economy caused by investment booms and busts by paying more attention to tourism and agriculture.

Overall, though, Sen is optimistic: The recovery is thankfully not far away, he said. Something big is going to happen in terms of new projects.Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Japanese automaker Honda will sell its stake in Honda Automobile (China) to GAC Honda, a joint venture with GAC group, valued at about RMB 602 million (around $94.7 million), according to Honda's statement released on May 17.

The stake to be transferred this time includes 55% from Honda and 10% from Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd.

The stake transfer, with the aim of enhancing the operational efficiency of Honda's auto businesses in China, will be conducted in August this year after receiving regulatory approval from China's government.

In the near future, GAC Honda is going to take over Honda Automobile (China)'s plant in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, which will be upgraded and retooled to enlarge GAC Honda's production capacity.

Honda Automobile (China) was founded in 2003 by Honda (55%), Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd (10%), GAC Group (25%) and Dongfeng Motor Corporation (10%).

At the end of last year, GAC Group approved a deal to transfer its 25% stake in Honda Automobile (China) through the open market to GAC Honda. The minimum price for the stake transfer was around RMB 231.6 million. The group also announced that GAC Group will acquire 100% stake in Honda Automobile (China) through open market and agreements.

Then on January 2, 2018, Dongfeng Motor Corporation put its 10% stake in Honda Automobile (China) on the market for sale. Once GAC Honda completes the stake acquisition from the above four shareholders, Honda Automobile (China) will become the wholly-owned subsidiary of GAC Honda.

According to relevant data, GAC Group delivered a total of 730,600 vehicles last year (excluding the deliveries of Acura). It could be expected that GAC Honda's annual production capacity will be elevated from the current 60,000 units after the completion of the stake acquisition and plant upgrading.Initial coin offerings (ICOs)  the blockchain-based issuance of tokens or cryptocurrencies for the purpose of fundraising  are a hot topic at the moment. There is continuing strong demand from mostly young, technology-based companies that seek to tap the capital markets through ICOs as a viable and efficient alternative to traditional fundraising. Switzerland offers an open regulatory framework for ICOs and has therefore developed as a hotspot for token offerings.

While the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) published a first set of guidelines on regulatory aspects to be considered in connection with ICOs on February 16 2018, there has been no comparable publication from the tax authorities as of yet. The only official guidance that has been issued by certain local tax authorities deals with the reporting of cryptocurrencies or tokens held by Swiss resident individual investors in their annual tax returns.

This article provides a brief summary of the status of discussions in terms of Swiss tax treatment of ICOs. The information is based on informal guidance provided by tax authority officials from public speaking engagements, as well as from our interaction with tax authorities in relation to ICOs.

Classification of tokens from a Swiss tax perspective

In its guidelines, Finma categorises tokens into three types, while hybrid forms are also possible: asset tokens, payment tokens and utility tokens. Since ICOs commonly use this classification, we will also refer to the tokens in this way for the tax analysis that follows.

Swiss tax law has no specific rules for tokens; the classification therefore needs to be made under the rules applicable to traditional categories of capital raised by a company, such as debt or equity. The classification is predominately based on an assessment of the economic function of the token, but can take into account certain formal aspects such as the legal form of the issuer (issuers today are mostly corporations; historically, foundations sometimes acted as issuers) or the accounting treatment of the ICO proceeds by the issuer.

Asset tokens

Asset tokens represent financial assets, which confer their holders a financial claim against the issuer. Such tokens can, depending on their features, be assimilated to equity certificates, debt instruments, or derivative instruments in the form of a contractual agreement between the issuer and the holder over an underlying asset. The criteria to be examined in view of a proper classification of the token under tax laws are the ones that are typical to each one of these categories. To the extent a token grants the investor participation rights (eg voting rights, profit participation, or a share in liquidation proceeds), it may be assimilated to an equity instrument. If a token confers its holder a claim against the issuer over a fixed principal and bears interest (or offers an issue discount), it may be assimilated to a debt instrument. Where none of the two aforementioned categories apply, but the token grants the investor a future payment linked to an underlying reference asset (eg the Earnings Before Interest & Taxes (EBIT) of the issuer, or a specific type of asset held or developed by the issuer), it may qualify as a derivative financial instrument. The tax impact for the issuer and the holder follows the tax rules that apply to the financial instrument with which the token is most closely assimilated; an equity-type token would thus follow the tax treatment of the issuance of an equity instrument, both for the issuer and the holder.

Payment tokens

Payment tokens can be used for value transfer, just like a currency. Payment tokens do not confer its holder any claim against the issuing company; therefore they cannot be assimilated to a security interest, and the ICO proceeds are likely to be income of the issuer, subject to corporate income tax. The issuance of pure payment tokens is a rare event in the market, and there is not yet an established practice around ICOs of such tokens.

Utility tokens

Utility tokens provide their holders a right for digital access to an application or service. They are comparable to gift vouchers sold by digital companies. The issuing company realises an income from the ICO proceeds, which is generally taxable. The obligation of the issuer to provide a service to the token holders can require, however, that the issuer establishes a provision for the expected future expense for the development or delivery of that service. Since the utility token incorporates a service which is delivered by the issuer, the issuance of such tokens can be subject to value added tax.

Recommendations

By taking the above criteria into consideration, issuers can design tokens that have the tax features that are most suitable for themselves and the token holders under given facts and circumstances. As the Swiss tax practice around ICOs and tokens is still evolving, it is highly recommended that a planned ICO is reviewed from a tax perspective early in the process and tax rulings are applied for in advance of the ICO.

Christoph Suter Cyrill Diefenbacher

 2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQs.

Share this articleShanghai (Gasgoo)- Geely's premium vehicle brand, Lynk & Co saw its dealership network expansion with 24 new Lynk & Co centers co-opening on May 20, including in Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou. Moreover, Lynk & Co initiates the "6S" service mode characterized with "Social" and "Share" features, based on the deep analysis of youngsters' life styles and shopping habits. Besides, Lynk & Co also invites customer representatives to review and supervise the dealers' services, in order to optimize and promote Lynk & Co's service standards.

With the concepts of "Social" and "Share", Lynk & Co centers not only feature the full functions of traditional 4S dealers, but also provide a human-oriented service system.

Specifically, "Social" represents Lynk & Co centers will become the third place that attracts customer to go, excluding their offices and houses. The Lynk & Co centers not only provide traditional services like vehicle purchasing and aftersales services, but also offer social spaces for customers to hold birthday party and friend visiting.

The "Share" concept extends Lynk & Co's sharing spirit further. When the Lynk & Co models are in idle, their owners can share the models with family members, friends and other persons who own Lynk & Co accounts and digital keys. Noticeably, the personalized settings, including different systematic backgrounds and page layouts, can be switched among different accounts.

The innovative 6S service mode enhances the ties between the brand and consumers. Moreover, it offers more three-dimensional services for customers. The co-opening of the 24 Lynk & Co centers marks the further progress of Lynk & Co's dealership network deployment.

As of now, more than 1,460 dealership investors had applied for building Lynk & Co dealers, and 106 dealers has started operation. By the end of 2018, Lynk & Co will own more than 260 off-line dealers, bringing more convenient services for customers.Under a plea agreement, Adam Purinton will be sentenced to life in prison on each of three federal hate-crime charges, with the sentences to run consecutively to each other and to the life sentence ordered earlier this month in Johnson County, Kansas. (Henry County Sheriffs photo)International demand for Brazilian graphite has gathered momentum in early 2018, with exports up over 50% growth while consumers diversify sources of supply following the decline in Chinese output.

Exports of Brazilian natural graphite, including powder shipments and flake shipments (with HS code 25041000), reached 8,261 tonnes in January-April 2018, a 55%...Barf Alert - Lies, Distortions and Propaganda





Watch: Cruz Rips Media Over Anti-Israel Bias





Texas Senator blasts "useful idiots" in the American media who disseminate Hamas's talking points.



By Elad Benari

May 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Thursday blasted the media for its bias against Israel and expressed his unequivocal support for Israels right to defend itself against Hamass recent attacks on Israel's border.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Cruz recalled taking part in the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem this week, saying the relocation of the Embassy is an unmistakable message to our friends and to our enemies that the United States stands with our friends and stands unshakably alongside the nation of Israel.

Moving our embassy to Jerusalem is an acknowledgment of undeniable truth: That Jerusalem is in fact the capital of the nation of Israel. It is where we find the Knesset, it is where we find the Supreme Court, it is where we find the Prime Minister, it is where we find the president of Israel. It is the capital city, and now our embassy reflects that fact, continued Cruz.

https://youtu.be/V3dg27ilKVQ

Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter

===See Also===

Watch: Australian film Stone Cold Justice on Israels torture of Palestinian children:

Extraordinary violence by Israeli police against Palestinian citizens in Haifa last night.



video via @AdalahEnglish https://t.co/Wnhj92o9uj pic.twitter.com/d4yEOym9ZX  Ben White (@benabyad) May 19, 2018

Congressman seeks US recognition of Israeli sovereignty in occupied Golan Heights

Join the DiscussionMay 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Donald Trump, Jr., the US presidents eldest son, met in August 2016 with an envoy representing the crown princes of United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia who offered help to the Trump presidential campaign, the New York Times reported on Saturday.

The newspaper said the meeting, held on August 3, 2016, was arranged by Erik Prince, the founder and former head of private military contractor Blackwater, who also attended the meeting. Joel Zamel, a co-founder of an Israeli consulting firm, also attended.

A company connected to Zamel also worked on a proposal for a covert multimillion-dollar online manipulation campaign to help Trump, utilising thousands of fake social media accounts, the report said.

Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter

The envoy, Lebanese-American businessman George Nader, told Trump, Jr. that the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE were eager to help his father win the 2016 presidential election, the report said.

Since 1974, the United States has barred foreign nationals from giving money to political campaigns and it later barred them from donating to political parties. The campaign financing laws also prohibit foreign nationals from coordinating with a campaign and from buying an ad that explicitly calls for the election or defeat of a candidate.

The Saudi and UAE embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Wall Street Journal last month reported that investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller had met with Zamel, and that Muellers team was looking into his firms work and his relationship with Nader.

Mueller is investigating whether Russia meddled in the presidential election and if Moscow colluded with the Trump campaign, as well as whether Trump committed obstruction of justice by trying to thwart the US Department of Justice probe.

Trump has denied any collusion with Russia and has called the Mueller investigation a witch hunt.

The New York Times report said the meetings are an indication that other countries besides Russia may have offered help to Trumps presidential campaign. Muellers investigators have questioned witnesses in Washington, New York, Atlanta, Tel Aviv and elsewhere regarding possible foreign help to the campaign, the report said.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Muellers team, declined to comment on the report.

Zamels attorney, Marc Mukasey, said in a statement to Reuters that his client offered nothing to the Trump campaign, received nothing from the Trump campaign, delivered nothing to the Trump campaign and was not solicited by, or asked to do anything for, the Trump campaign.

Media reports about Mr. Zamels engaging in social media manipulation are uninformed, Mukasey added. Mr. Zamels companies harvest publicly available information for lawful use.

Kathryn Ruemmler, Naders lawyer, told the paper that her client has fully cooperated with the US special counsels investigation and will continue to do so.

Erik Prince, who is also the brother of US Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, could not be immediately reached for comment.Haspel Could Be Subject to Arrest Abroad Under Universal Jurisdiction



Gina Haspel is the new CIA Director after the Senate voted on Thursday 54-44 to confirm her, with six Democrats agreeing. In this interview, Francis Boyle explains why Haspel could be at risk of arrest on trips abroad.





By Dennis J Bernstein

Francis Boyle is professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law. He is the author of many books on International Law and an outspoken critic of US policy in the Middle East. Boyles books include Foundations of World Order and the sequel, Destroying World Order. In the following interview with Pacifica Radio host Dennis J Bernstein, Boyle warns that, among other things, given her background as key implementer of the US torture program, Gina Haspel is vulnerable to be arrested for war crimes and crimes against humanity if she travels abroad.

Dennis Bernstein spoke with Francis Boyle on May 10th, 2018. [The transcript has been updated to reflect Haspels confirmation.]

DB: [We now have a new ] a new CIA director who likes to get her hands dirty and participate directly in torture. She has also been actively involved in making sure nobody finds out that torture takes place.

FB: Bloody Gina Haspel is her nickname at the CIA. She was directly involved in the extraordinary rendition program, which is a euphemism for the enforced disappearance of human beings and their consequent torture. This was in the complaint I filed against Bush and company in 2010 with the International Criminal Court for this crime against humanity.

Last fall the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said she is going to open up an investigation into the entire CIA extraordinary rendition program for violating the Rome Statute. Although the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, these actions took place on the territorial sovereignty of Rome Statute states, and therefore the ICC does have jurisdiction. In my opinion, Gina Haspel is a presumptive war criminal and torturer. [We now] have a torturer and war criminal as head of the CIA.

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As I have argued in anti-CIA cases here in the United States, the CIA is an organized criminal conspiracy like the SS and the Gestapo. We argued that successfully back in 1987 at University of Massachusetts, Amherst. I was involved in large numbers of CIA protest cases back in the 1980s because of what was going on in Central America, with 35,000 dead in Nicaragua, 75,000 dead in El Salvador, and perhaps a quarter of a million in Guatemala. Most of those killed were Mayan Indians, which meant outright genocide.

DB: Will it be difficult for our director of the CIA to travel abroad? Maybe she has to be covert forever.

FB: That is correct. Under international law todayfollowing a terrible decision by the International Court of Justiceheads of state and foreign ministers have diplomatic immunity while there are in office. But that is not going to apply to the head of the CIA.

I have a whole dossier here against Bush, Jr. and the rest of them for the extraordinary rendition program. We scared him out of Switzerland over that. A Swiss prosecutor demanded that Bush be prosecuted if he showed up in Switzerland. I know that Amnesty International and the Center for Constitutional Rights also have extensive dossiers against high-level US officials involved in these torture programs, including Haspel. She would be a sitting duck for international human rights lawyers. The evidence is there.

We have a 600-page executive summary of the Senate Foreign Intelligence Committees report on the extent of torture and extraordinary disappearances by the CIA. This is an official US government document. She was not personally named in there, but she was a high-level official who was personally involved. She certainly supervised the operation in Thailand. Under international law, there is a command responsibility. She is denying that she herself physically tortured anyone, but she supervised others doing the torturing. Under international criminal law, she is accountable for the criminal behavior she oversaw.

DB: She admitted at the hearing that she had the tapes of these torture sessions but she considered it prudent to destroy them.

FB: The Senate Committee had just announced their investigation so her boss, Jose Rodriguez, ordered her to destroy the tapes. Arguably, this would be obstruction of justice. [We now have] a notorious international criminal heading up the CIA. In my opinion, any senator who vote[d] to confirm her [became] an accessory after the fact to her crimes: torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and violations of the Geneva Conventions and the Convention against Torture.

DB: This is a very difficult time. We are all worried about our friend Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst who was brutalized while protesting the Haspel nomination. Obviously, they are very serious about shutting up anyone protesting torture.

FB: Ray arguably has the defense of prevention of crimes under international law. I am not saying it would be a winner, because it is always tough going into a federal court and defending anyone protesting and resisting criminal behavior by the United States government.

Dennis J. Bernstein is a host of Flashpoints on the Pacifica radio network and the author of

Special Ed: Voices from a Hidden Classroom. You can access the audio archives at www.flashpoints.net. You can get in touch with the author at dbernstein@igc.org.By Finian Cunningham May 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The growing rift in the transatlantic alliance is set to blow wide open after US President Trump used a top-level meeting with NATO this week to blast Germany and other European members for being disloyal. Trump Uses NATO to Police 'Disloyal' Europeans

Sounding like a Mafia don, Trump warned that such NATO members will be dealt with. Speaking in the Oval Office, along with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Trump resorted to his usual gripe about unfair burden sharing of military spending in the alliance. The US president has long rebuked other NATO members for not meeting the alliances spending target of 2 per cent of GDP. Turning to former Norwegian Prime Minister Stoltenberg, Trump said with menacing tone: I think you will be able to handle the ones that arent [spending enough], right?

But Trump raised the rankle stakes even higher by insisting that NATO members which are lagging in their purported annual contribution are not loyal.

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Praising seven members of NATO that do reach the 2 per cent military spending target  he named Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Greece and Britain  Trump said: Some countries are loyal, some countries arent.

In particular, the president turned his ire on Germany for what he claimed was a long-standing shortfall in financial contribution to NATO. But it was what Trump said next that gave his tirade against Berlin and other low spending NATO members a sinister edge.

In addition to that, theyre [Germany] buying massive amounts of gas from Russia. Paying billions and billions of dollars. Something we will discuss.

Think about that. NATO has been intensifying warnings of Russia as a security threat to Europe. It has recently upped the ante by implementing a policy of Enhanced Forward Presence whereby increased NATO deployments along Russias western frontier are taking on a more offensive capability.

In this anti-Russia outlook, NATO is fully reflecting what the Trump administration has been articulating in several policy papers, labeling Russia, along with China, as a greater threat than terrorism.

In short, Russia is an enemy, despite Trumps contradictions over Russiagate and his oft-stated desire to get along with Russia.

So, if Russia is the enemy, what does that say about Germany buying massive amounts of gas from Russia?

This refers, of course, to the Nord Stream project of Gazprom piping natural gas under the Baltic Sea to Europe via Germany. Berlin, with the strongest economy in Europe, is arguably the main beneficiary of the Russian fuel supply. It is significant that former Chancellor Gerhard Schroder is the chairman of the board of Nord Stream AG, a company that belongs to Gazprom, Russias state-owned gas producer.

Trump is smearing Germany, in essence, as sleeping with the enemy. And when you append that transgression with the lack of loyalty due to NATO military spending, well then you have a traitor in your ranks.

The Donald is all about coercing other nations to bail out the US economy. He twists inherent US economic problems of trade deficits and debt into allegations that other nations are taking advantage of us. We see this with regard to China and Europe over trade tariffs.

The same goes for the US and its relations with the 29-member NATO alliance. Trump has continually browbeaten other members to spend more on military to take the burden off America. But Americas colossal annual military budget of over 3 per cent of its gross domestic product GDP (over $700 billion) is not due to US generosity or chivalry towards allies. It is more to do with the inherent US addiction to the military-industrial complex for sustaining its economy.

Trump has repeatedly chided European members of NATO for not allocating more to military financing. For years, Germanys annual defense budget has been around 1.1-1.2 per cent of its GDP. If Germany were to hit its NATO 2 per cent target it would almost double the countrys military spending to some $90 billion a year.

Lurking in Washingtons calculation is this: the extra massive expenditure would increase sales of US-made warplanes, helicopters and warships to Europe. In other words, Trump wants Germany and other European members of NATO to raise spending in order to bail out the US economy.

In order to put even more squeeze on Germany and others, Trump is now using NATO as a policing mechanism. Countries not raising contributions, according to arbitrary US measure, are disloyal. By way of emphasizing perfidy, Trump is referring to normal trade relations with Russia as somehow a sign of treason.

In his Oval Office meeting with Stoltenberg, Trump also cited Iran and its alleged spread of terrorism across the Middle East as another challenge for NATO.

Again, the same insidious logic of fingering disloyal NATO members applies.

After Trump axed American participation in the Iran nuclear deal last week, the European Union has sought to close ranks to support the accord. The EU summit this week in Bulgaria declared that European companies doing business with Iran must be shielded from US sanctions reimposed on Tehran.

European Council President Donald Tusk denounced the Trump administration for its capricious assertiveness. He quipped too that with friends like this who needs enemies?

Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission chief, also hit out at Washingtons interference in EU foreign relations, saying we will not negotiate with a Damocles sword hanging over our heads.

But, according to Trumps definition, evidently transferred to NATO, Iran is an enemy state which must be confronted by the alliance. Everywhere there is terrorism and instability, Iran is behind it, said Trump, with Stoltenberg seated beside him.

As with trading with Russia, that means European members of NATO which continue to pursue investments and business in Iran are collaborating with the enemy.

The Trump administration is thus using its geopolitical prejudices and NATO as a form of leverage on European nations, in particular the strongest, Germany.

If Germany can be browbeaten into submitting to Washingtons interests, and bailing out its economy, then the rest of Europe will likely follow suit. Some 20 other members of NATO do not currently hit their 2 per cent spending target, including France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark.

Heres the rub though for the American bully. Already, Europe has hit new levels of exasperation with Trumps domineering attitude. His unilateral disregard for Europes strategic interests has been demonstrated over and over, from ripping up the Paris Climate Accord to reckless intervention in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Trumps broadside to the Iran nuclear deal and high-handed threats of economic retribution for Europe doing business with Iran has rebounded to inflict damage on the so-called transatlantic partnership  the relationship between Washington and Europe that has prevailed for seven decades since the Second World War.

The US-led NATO alliance has always served as a US instrument for keeping Europe aligned with Washingtons strategic priorities.

However, it is clearer than ever that Washington is using the alliance to subjugate Europe, Germany in particular, to its interests, even when that means Europe being disadvantaged, whether in commercial relations with Russia, Iran or whomever.

Perhaps the US-led military alliance needs a name change: the North American Tyranny Organization.May 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - What killed democracy was constant lying to the public, by politicians whose only way to win national public office is to represent the interests of the super-rich at the same time as the given politician publicly promises to represent the interests of the public  and may the better liar win!  its a lying-contest. When democracy degenerates into that, it becomes dictatorship by the richest, the people who can fund the most lying. Such a government is an aristocracy, no democracy at all, because the aristocracy rule, the public dont. Its the type of government that the French Revolution was against and overthrew; and its the type of government that the American Revolution was against and overthrew; but it has been restored in both countries.

First here will be discussed France:

On 7 May 2017, Emmanuel Macron was elected President of France with 66.1% of the vote, compared to Marine Le Pen's 33.9%. That was the second round of voting; the first round had been: Macron 24.0%, Le Pen 21.3% Fillon 20.0%, Melenchon 19.6%, and others 15%; so, the only clear dominator in that 11-candidate contest was Macron, who, in the second round, turned out to have been the second choice of most of the voters for the other candidates. Thus, whereas Le Pen rose from 21.3% to 33.9% in the second round (a 59% increase in her percentage of the vote), Macron rose from 24.0% to 66.1% in the second round (a 275% increase in his percentage of the vote). In other words: Macron didnt just barely win the Presidency, but he clearly dominated both rounds; it was never at all close. But once in office he very quickly disappointed the French public:

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On 11 August 2017, Le Figaro bannered (as autotranslated by Google Chrome) "A hundred days later, Macron confronted with the skepticism of the French, and reported that 36% were satisfied and 64% were dissatisfied with the new President.

On 23 March 2018, Politico bannered "Macrons approval ratings hit record low: poll and reported that, "Only 40 percent of the French population said they have a favorable opinion of Macron, a drop of 3 percentage points from last month and 12 percentage points from December, while 57 percent said they hold a negative opinion of the president.

On 22 April 2018, Europe 1 reported that 44% were satisfied with Macron, and 55% were dissatisfied with him; and that  even worse  while 23% were very dissatisfied with him, only 5% were very satisfied with him.

So, clearly  and this had happened very quickly  the French public didnt think that they were getting policies that Macron had promised to them during his campaign. He was very different from what they had expected  even though he had won the Presidency in a landslide and clearly dominated both rounds. That plunge in support after being elected President required a lot of deceit during his campaign.

Second, is US:

The situation in the US was very different in its means, but similar in its outcome: it was a close election between two candidates, each of whom had far more of the electorate despising him or her than admiring him or her. Neither of the two candidates in the second round was viewed net-favorably by the public. The key round of elimination of the more-attractive candidates, was in the primaries; and, after that, it became merely a choice between uglies in the general election. Any decent (or even nearly decent) person had already been eliminated, by that time. Consequently, the ultimate winner never had the high net-favorable rating from the US public, that Macron did from the French public.

Americas system of democracy is very different than Frances: Throughout the primaries-season  Americas first round  the most-preferred of all candidates in the race was Bernie Sanders, who, in the numerous one-on-one polled hypothetical choices versus any of the opposite Partys contending candidates, crushed each one of them except John Kasich, who, throughout the primaries, was the second-most preferred of all of the candidates (and who performed far better than did Trump did in the hypothetical match-ups against Clinton). In the hypothetical match-ups, Sanders beat Kasich by 3.3%, whereas Kasich beat Clinton by 7.4%  that spread between +3.3% and -7.4% is 10.8%, and gives a pretty reliable indication of what the Democratic National Committee threw away when rigging the primaries and vote-counts for Hillary Clinton to win the Partys nomination. Sanders beat Trump by 10.4%, whereas Clinton beat Trump by 3.2%. That spread was only 7.2% in favor of Sanders over Clinton; but, in any case, the DNC cared lots more about satisfying its mega-donors than about winning, when they picked Clinton to be the Partys nominee. (Ms. Clintons actual victory over Mr. Trump in the final election between those two nominees turned out to be by only 2.1%  close enough a spread so as to enable Trump to win in the Electoral College (which is all that counts), which counts not individual voters but a formula that represents both the states and the voters. Sanders would have beaten Trump in a landslide  far too big a margin for the Electoral College to have been able to go the opposite way, such as did happen with Clinton. This fact was also shown here and here. Thats what the DNC threw away.)

Hillary Clinton received by far the biggest support from billionaires, of all of the candidates; Sanders received by far the least; and this is why the Democratic Party, which Clinton and Barack Obama (two thoroughly billionaire-controlled politicians) effectively controlled, handed its nomination to Clinton. On 7 June 2016, the great investigative journalist Greg Palast headlined and documented "How California is being stolen from Sanders right now, and four days later a retired statisticians review of other statisticians statistical analysis of data from all of the primaries and caucuses, reaffirmed their findings, that the Democratic nomination had been stolen by the Democratic National Committee, and he concluded that the whole process has been rigged against Bernie at every level and that is devastating even though I don't agree [politically] with him. A more detailed study was published on 1 August 2016, titled "Democracy Lost: A Report on the Fatally Flawed 2016 Democratic Primaries. Basically, what had happened is that the most-preferred of all the candidates got deep-sixed by Democratic Party billionaires, who ultimately control the DNC, just as Republican billionaires control the RNC. The US Government is squabbles between billionaires, and thats all. Thats whats left of American democracy, now.

On 12 August 2016, Julian Assange noted: "MSNBC on its most influential morning program, Morning Joe, was defending Bernie Sanders. Then Debbie Wasserman Schultz [head of the DNC] called up the president of MSNBC. Amazingly, this is not reported in the US media. It is reported in the US media that they called up Chuck Todd whos the host of Meet The Press. Something much more serious is not reported  that Debbie Wasserman Schultz herself personally called up the president of MSNBC to apply pressure in relation to positive coverage about Bernie Sanders on Morning Joe. That was typical of what went on.

Hillary Clintons favorable rating, by Election Day, was 40.3%, her unfavorable was 55.3%. Donald Trumps favorable was 39.8%, unfavorable was 53.4%. Bernie Sanders, as of the end of the primaries on 29 June 2016, was 50.8% favorable, 39.6% unfavorable, and it has been getting steadily better afterward. But the suckered Democratic Party voters (the ones who were counted, at any rate) voted slightly more for Hillary than for Bernie. Even despite Sanderss having had support from few if any billionaires, he almost won the Democratic nomination, and thats remarkable. He might actually have received more votes during the primaries than Hillary did, but well never know.

So: America is a dictatorship by the billionaires. And this means that it operates by fooling the public. France is similar, though it achieves this via a different way. And, in both countries, deceit is essential, in order to achieve its dictatorship. Fooling the public is now what its all about, in either case. Democracy can never be won by fooling the public; because fooling the public means removing the publics ability to control the government. So, calling such a nation a democracy, is, itself, deceiving the public  its part of the dictatorship, or else support of the dictatorship.

In former times, this system was rationalized as the divine right of kings. Now its rationalized as the divine right of capital. But its also become covered-over by yet another lie: democracy. This is a democratic aristocracy; it is an equal opportunity aristocracy. In it, each citizen has equal rights as every other citizen, no matter how wealthy. Its just a castle of lies. And its doors are actually open only to the few richest-and-well-connected.

Here, a former CIA official tries to describe how the American dictatorship works  the enforcement-part of the system, and he does (even if only by implication) also touch upon the financial sources of it. Starting at 1:07:35 in that video, he discusses his personal case: why he could no longer tolerate working for the CIA. But his description of how he, as an Agency official, saw the system to function, starts at 3:45 in the video. Key passages start at 12:45, and at 20:15. Maybe any American who would email this article to friends who dont understand how the system functions, will come under increased US surveillance, but that CIA officials career and family were destroyed by what the system did to him, which was lots worse than just surveillance. Remarkably, he nonetheless had the courage to persist (and thus did that video). However, when one sees how politically partisan (and so obtuse) the viewer-comments to that video are, one might be even more depressed than by the account this former CIA official presents. But, even if the situation is hopeless, everyone should at least have the opportunity to understand it. Because, if the aristocracy are the only people who understand it, there cant be any hope for democracy, at all.The National, by Nyree McFarlane. Excerpt: The Egyptian Coptic Church was honoured at Meghan and Harry's wedding

The ceremony featured an Archbishop from Egypt's ancient church, which is thought to have been formed in the year AD 42





The wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry - now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - was a refreshingly diverse affair for Windsor Castle, and the inclusive nature of the ceremony included an Egyptian Archbishop - Anba Angaelos - acting as one of the religious officials who oversaw the ceremony at St George's Chapel.

The move honoured Coptic Christians as he represents the ancient church of Egypt: the Coptic Orthodox Church. Archbishop Angaelos became the first Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London last year, after serving as the church's General Bishop since 1999. The Coptic Orthodox Church has around 18 to 22 million members worldwide (with about 15 million of those based in Egypt).

He was born in Egypt, and moved to Australia as a young child - he then returned to Egypt in 1990 where he was later consecrated as a monk.

He was conferred the honour of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2015 for his services to international religious freedom: he has often visited refugee camps in Greece, Lebanon and Jordan, and is outspoken about assisting those in need, no matter their religion.

Archbishop Angaelos during the wedding ceremony.

He is a patron of Embrace the Middle East.

While he was seen at the royal wedding on May 19, he was in Cairo the day before, according to this tweet:

Zipping through # Cairo streets! Who says theres a traffic problem in # Egypt? Then again...it IS Friday (public holiday) in Ramadan at 7am... The one consistent and unchanging factor though, beautifully sunny weather.

_______________Top officials, including former CIA officers, Pentagon officials, US Army officers and former diplomats demand explanation of Israeli actions

May 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - In a letter addressed to President Donald Trump, with copies to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Security Council, four top former officials at the highest level of the US government have given him legal notice about his duty to advise the US Congress, the ICC and the UNSC, among others, about Israels actions coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes.

The letter is signed, among others, by former CIA operations officer Phil Giraldi; former Pentagon official Michael Maloof; former US Army officer and State Department coordinator for counterterrorism contractor Scott Bennett; and former diplomat and author of Visas For al-Qaeda: CIA Handouts That Rocked The World, Michael Springmann.

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Maloof, Bennett and Giraldi, as well as Springmann and this correspondent, were among guests at the 6th International New Horizon conference in the holy city of Mashhad, eastern Iran. The top themes of the conferences debates were Palestine and the Trump administrations unilateral exit from the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

As Maloof and Bennett separately confirmed to Asia Times, the letter was written by Giraldi and Maloof at an airport lounge as they were waiting for a flight from Mashhad to Tehran, where it was presented at a press conference this past Tuesday. This correspondent was on a reporting trip in Karaj. We all reunited on Thursday at Mashhads airport. The press conference in Tehran was virtually ignored by US corporate media.

Visas for the visiting Americans were an extremely delicate matter debated at the highest levels of the Iranian government between the Foreign Ministry and the intelligence services. In the end, the visitors, under intense scrutiny by Iranian media, ended up finding a huge, eager audience all across Iran.

A new psyops in the making

The letter signatories make a direct connection about Israeli actions that may trigger and escalate American military actions against Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Russia since these nations are opposed to the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem; and rising tensions already exacerbated by the US withdrawal from the JCPOA.

President Trump is also served legal notice that the letter will be included as evidence in all matters relating to the US Embassy move to Jerusalem/Al Quds and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The letter is to be listed as exhibit 1 in any war crimes investigation and prosecution (past, present, future) relating to this matter, at all times.

As Bennett told Asia Times, the main concern is that according to his military sources the current, volatile situation may establish the preconditions for a new psyops campaign.

Trump has been served legal notice  pursuant to 18 US Code 4, and 28 US Code 1361  of national and international legal violations. The letter also doubles as a legal notice to the American people  and is established as legal protection against any retaliation, detainment, investigation, sequestration, interrogation, discrimination, imprisonment, torture, financial consequences, or any other negative or prejudicial consequences or actions.

Moreover, any action taken against the undersigned will be interpreted as a violation of the following; 18 USC 242 (conspiracy to deny/violate constitutional civil rights); 42 USC 1983, 1984, 1985 (civil action for rights violations); 18 US 2339A (providing material support to terrorists).

The letter may also be interpreted as an olive branch; apart from requesting full whistleblower protection, the signatories offer themselves to fully debrief the President as well as Congress.

The letter is copied to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani.

There has been no White House response so far.

Considering the US embassy transfer to Jerusalem; the unilateral abrogation of the JCPOA followed by a declaration of economic war against Iran; the new narrative on the DPRK  as in theres only our deal, or you will be destroyed like Libya; not to mention the treatment of whistleblower Julian Assange, the prospects for a fruitful dialogue remain bleak.

Pepe Escobar is correspondent-at-large at Asia TimesSpecial Services Agent: Attack On Russia is Being Prepared

By Andrey Afanasyev.

While the Pentagon accuses Russia of fomenting false fears of a Daesh/ISIS threat in Central Asia  see Sputniks article on this  new reports of an American push to attack Russia militarily via Uzbekistan and Tajikistan and are now emerging.

May 20, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Sources in the Russian law enforcement agencies, citing data from closed communication channels with the Defense Ministries of China, Pakistan and Afghanistan, say that the operation to prepare a large-scale hybrid offensive against Russia through Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is in the final phase.

Reports of this have been received earlier, in particular, this was mentioned at a recent security conference held in Tashkent. Then the head of the Tajik Foreign Ministry Sirodzhiddin Aslov openly announced the activation of terrorists in the region:

The activation of terrorist groups, their advancement to the northern regions of Afghanistan, especially in the territories bordering Tajikistan, the increase in the number of ISIS supporters, as well as the participation of a certain number of citizens of the post-Soviet republics in the terrorist groups and movements present in Afghanistan  causes our serious concern

This problem was also voiced at the Seventh Conference on International Security, held recently in Moscow. According to Russian intelligence agencies, at the moment the combat potential of the Islamic State ranges from 2500 to 4000 people. This is also confirmed by sources from the Ministry of Defense of China. The Chinese military claims at least 3,800 militants operating in 160 terrorist cells. Their greatest concentration is in the province of Nangarhar, in which the Islamic State increases the production and smuggling of drugs, as well as creates an infrastructure for the training of terrorists and recruits local people.

The plan

According to Russian and Chinese law enforcement agencies, militants fleeing the sea from Syria and Iraq follow a route from the Qasim port in the Pakistani city of Karachi to Peshawar, and are then distributed along the Nangarhar province in the east of the country. Representatives of the top leadership of the radicals are located in the Achin district.

In addition, it is noted that since late 2017 the leaders of the Islamic State managed to transfer from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan an additional 500 foreign fighters, including more than two dozen women. A source in one of the Russian law enforcement agencies says:

All of them are also in the province of Nangarhar. They are citizens of Sudan, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Uzbekistan, France and so on.

Movement of militants to the north is planned to be organized in two directions. In Tajikistan, the radicals will penetrate the provinces of Nuristan and Badakhshan, and to Turkmenistan  through the provinces of Farah, Ghor, Sari-Pul and Faryab.

The executor

Governor of Nangarhar Province, Gulab Mangal, personally oversees militant activities in the region, which plans to expand its influence over other regions of the country at the expense of the radicals. In addition, he actively participates in the financial activities of the Islamic State, receiving significant profits. The network informs that any protest actions of the population dissatisfied with the activities of the Islamic State are severely suppressed by the provincial authorities, including through punitive operations against whole settlements.

Mangal has a long-standing relationship with the US intelligence services. In particular, he fought against the Soviet forces during the Afghan campaign of the USSR. Immediately after the US invasion in 2001, he was appointed as the head of the local government of the Pashtuns, the people to which he belongs. Also, Mangal is loved by the Western press. Most of the publications in the major American and British media contain exceptionally positive information about him, and the BBC called him the hope of Helmand province, which Mangal previously headed.

According to the Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan, in the near future the leadership of the Islamic State plans to expand the grouping by another 1,200 militants. Most of them will also be located in the province, under the control of Gulab Mangal and his people.

It is worth noting that the two largest US bases in Afghanistan are in the immediate vicinity of the Nangarhar province, which is hardly worth considering as a coincidence.

At the same time, the expert community points out that the pressure on Tajikistan and Turkmenistan will be only one of the vectors of the new hybrid attack on Russia. Director of the Center for Geopolitical Expertise Valery Korovin is confident that Moscow should prepare for a large-scale offensive of geopolitical opponents on all fronts: in Ukraine, possibly through Armenia, as well as a number of other post-Soviet countries:

The probability of an exacerbation in Central Asia Why do Americans do this? Destabilizing the situation in Central Asia, the US and its allies will achieve several goals at once. First, in this way, Washington can distract Moscow and Tehran from Syria. Secondly, if the operation succeeds, a focus of instability will be created along the path of the One-Belt-One-Road project, which is designed to strengthen the economic and logistical integration of Eurasia. Afghanistan also borders Iran in the west, which opens a new front against Tehran if necessary.is extremely high. It will happen synchronously with the exacerbation in several directions. Starting with economic pressure through new sanctions, ending with color revolutions that will continue in the post-Soviet space, and direct aggression from American networks. Obviously, the United States did not seize Afghanistan, by rigging its military dictatorship there, in order to build democracy and civil society there. This is a springboard for the creation of terrorist networks, with the help of which the US is preparing an aggression against Iran and Russia.

Vaska - Academic. lives in North AmericaProving That The US Is A Criminal Enterprise



Trump Regime Says It Will Destroy Iran





Watch Act Of War - Pompeo Outlines Latest Attack On Iran - "These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete,"

Posted May 21, 2018

Pompeo's listed12 requirements . He said Iran must allow nuclear inspectors "unqualified access to all sites throughout the country" Iran must end support for Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, "withdraw all forces" from Syria, halt support for its ally Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter

This Is What's In Iran's Future

Does The Citizens Of The USA Care About Humanity? Most Could Care Less. How many millions of children will you allow our country to kill in Iran. Our failure to act to prevent this genocide makes us complicit.

Here is Secretary Pompeos list of 12 demands from Iran via @GalloVOA pic.twitter.com/3nZ1qM0QUT  Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) May 21, 2018

Forget Pompeo's BS on Iran. Trump following Netanyahu's script on Iran because pf Sheldon Adelson's hold on him. Adelson gave $30 million to House GOP Congressional campaign after being assured Trump would trash the JCPOA. https://t.co/wrhlzDdJfb  Gareth Porter (@GarethPorter) May 21, 2018

Note from Tom

The comments section below should be used to explain what YOU intend To Do to to prevent the genocide and regime change our criminal, government has planed for Iran. There is no benefit for the people of Iran to your sharing your disappointment and anger. Now is the time to take action. Personally I am going to renounce my U.S. citizenship and am now looking for a safe country where I can continue my work. (If such a place exists) If you have any suggestions please email me at emailtom@cox.net.

Act now -Please re-tweet this article and post to all your social media accounts. Lets show the people of Iran and the Trump regime that we will not allow them to act in our name and kill our brothers and sisters no matter their nationality.

Join the Discussion"All world countries want independence in their decisions and perhaps Americans are able to advance their agenda in some places through pressure, but logic does not accept them making decisions for the world," Rouhani said on Monday.

"Today, we must help each other more" because the current US administration has regressed to 15 years ago and is repeating the same remarks made by former US president, George W. Bush, in 2003, he added.

The Iranian president emphasized that it is "not acceptable at all" that a man who worked at an espionage service for many years is now making decisions for Iran and other countries after assuming the position of US secretary of state.

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"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani asked.

In his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA, Pompeo said on Monday that Washington would increase financial pressure on Iran by imposing the "strongest sanctions in history" on the Islamic Republic if Tehran refuses to change the course of its foreign and domestic policy.

"We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran should have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo said after the United States' move to withdraw from a landmark nuclear agreement Iran signed with major powers in 2015.

US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany.

Trump also said he would reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

Iran has said it would remain in the JCPOA for now, pending negotiations with the other signatories in the coming weeks, before making a final decision on its future role in the agreement. Tehran wants the Europeans to give it clear-cut guarantees about fulfilling their obligations if it remains in the accord.

US repeating wrong choice on Iran: Zarif

Later on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif took to Twitter, noting that the United States was repeating "the same wrong choices" and would obtain the "same ill rewards."

"US diplomacy sham is merely a regression to old habits: imprisoned by delusions & failed policies  dictated by corrupt Special Interest  it repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards. Iran, meanwhile, is working with partners for post-US JCPOA solutions," Zarif wrote in his tweet.

In a letter written to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on May 10, Zarif said the US president's "unilateral and unlawful" decision to withdraw from the key nuclear agreement and to re-impose nuclear-related sanctions showed "a complete disregard for international law."

"These acts constitute a complete disregard for international law and the United Nations Charter, undermine the principle of peaceful settlement of disputes, endanger multilateralism and its institutions, indicate a regress to the failed and disastrous era of unilateralism, and encourage intransigence and illegality," the Iranian foreign minister said.Don Jazzy has reacted to the news of Popular Blogger, Linda Ikejis pregnancy.. and the music producer and boss of Mavins Records has confirmed that he isnt responsible for the pregnancy.

Taking to his Twitter page, the 35-year-old music veteran simply wrote, It wasnt me.

It wasnt me.  ITS DONJAZZY AGAIN (@DONJAZZY) May 20, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

A Hilarious reaction from Twitter user, @Heyweezey: So you were crushing from afar while another guy dey score???

The Blogger celebrated her pregnancy news by writing:

I, Linda Ikeji, is going to be a mum. Somebody please pinch me! Gosh, I cant get over it.

2018 started with me finding out I was pregnant. When I missed my period and my friend and I did a home pregnancy test and it read positive, my friend began to cry with happiness but I was just there staring at the stick like, youre not messing with me, are you? This is real and not a joke on me, right? I refused to believe it and asked my friend to drive me to a lab for another test. And there it was confirmed, I was pregnant. Me, Linda, I am going to have my own child. Please dont wake me up from this lovely dream..lol

So many women have had children, so whats the big deal, huh? Lol. Well, you see me, Im somewhat of a different case. Theres something about me that I have never talked about publicly before and thats the fact that I love children so much (I took that from my dad), and I am particularly obsessed with babies, and I mean that literally. Their pureness, innocence, little beautiful faces, tiny hands and soft cheeks make me just want to be around them.

I grew up in a compound with a lot of neighbours and believe it or not, as a teenager/young woman, I was the unofficial resident babysitter. I swear, ask my siblings. I literally carried all the new born babies born in that compound at a period of time until they grew up to a certain age. Their mums used to come drop the babies at our house whenever they were tired or wanted to go out, this was, of course, to the annoyance of my familylol.

The first baby I carried was a boy named Makoba (wonder where he is now, this was about 20 years ago, he will be a big boy now). From the first day I carried him, I didnt want to let him goso every time I had free time, and his mum hadnt brought him to me, I would walk two floors up, knock on his familys door and ask them if they wanted me to take the child off them for a while. I was always happy when they said yes. After him other mums started dropping their kids with me.

Back then my sisters and I used to take turns to cook every day of the week. So whenever it was my turn to cook and I was babysitting and they insisted I go cook, Id tell my sisters to either hold the baby for me so I could go cook or they go cook. They always chose the latter. Lol.

Then my siblings started having children and I started to feel more joy. These were no longer neighbours or friends children, these were my nephews and nieces. My family! And carrying them brought me even more joy. Like for example, whenever I see my sister Lauras son, Ryan, I shriek with happiness. Hes the love of my lifelol. If I was planning to go out and I heard my beautiful nephews and niece were coming over to the house, most times, I change plans and just stay home with them. Im a homebody, I like to stay home (thats why I bought a big houselol).

So now imagine that in a few months, I will look down at a baby, and it wont be a neighbors child, a friends child, a sisters child, but my own child, my own flesh and blood, carried in my womb. My own son. Its surreal. I cant get over it.

You guys think DJ Khaled is obsessed with his son, Asahd? Wait until this one gets here. Hes not even here yet and I already ordered a Bentley Mulsanne for us. I swear! Lol. Like, I cant keep calm. Oh and please, nannies, stay away from me. Ive got this covered! Thank you. Lol.

Sometimes when Im lying down and I feel him moving around inside me (hes so hyper already, constantly moving aroundlol), I just get up and cradle my tummy and smile. Lol. I cant wait for these months to go by so I can meet him. My own son!

Dear son, of every dream I have had, every achievement, every milestone, out of all my accomplishments and titles, all the money and worldly possession I have, nothing compares to you. You are my greatest blessing, my gift from heaven, my greatest dream realized. I love you more than life itself and I cant wait to meet you and give you so many kisses. And of course, spoil you! You will hear I love you loud and clear so many times, you will beg me to stop. I cant wait to hold you in my arms. .

I know Im going to be the best mum ever! I was born for this and I am finally ready! And now I want to do more, achieve more, so lil man will be proud of his mama.

Considering how much I love children, sometimes I wonder why I didnt have them earlier. But like my dad said, miracles like this finally happen when God is ready to share you.

Anyway, as you all know, Ive always shared every milestone, every good thing thats happened to me over the years with you guys and I definitely wanted to also share this joy with you. Ive been wanting to scream about this since I found out many months ago but my family and friends have been telling me to calm down Linda, calm downlol. Im now way into my second trimester, so I guess its okay to share my joy.

May God grant you what you desire the most and may all your dreams come true.

Oh, by the way, Ill be having a baby shower in a few weeks and I will definitely love for some of you amazing, loyal female readers to come celebrate with me. Will communicate when the time comes.

Plenty kisses and God bless

Linda

Leave a Comment

commentsFast-rising Anambra State-born actress, Paschaline Alex Okoli, has addressed some rumours which have trailed her in recent times as she spoke about her career, life, relationship and more.

While speaking in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun, Paschaline Alex Okoli, who claimed that she has been labeled a snob and even a lesbian, has cleared the air on why people misunderstand her personality. She also talks about her kind of man, premarital s*x, lesbian rumours and lots more.

Here are excerpts from the interview ;

How has the year 2018 been for you?

So far, it has been so good. The year has been litty litty, if you know what I mean.

Any plan to go into movie production?

For now, no! Maybe before the year ends, something might come up in terms of movie production.

Aside Jenifas Dairy, you are hardly seen in regular movies, why?

I do movies too, but not regularly.

Which movie brought you into the limelight?

College Girls, the pay was nothing to write home about, but in all I am grateful.

How supportive are your parents concerning your chosen career?

My mum gave me one million per cent support from the beginning. But my dad was not in support the first time he knew about it. But being someone that is as stubborn as her father, the old man had to accept by force, after much persuasion.

Talking about stubbornness, weve heard people say you are also snobbish, how true is this?

Wow! Snobbish? Thats not true at all. Being stubborn and snobbish are two different things. People that dont know me see me as a snobbish little lady. But, I cant go about trying to make people understand me. If you know me, youll know what Im talking about.

Aside movies what else do you do?

I run a cleaning company, #Weclean. It is actually my personal little company.

How long have you been in it and how did you start the business?

I started the cleaning business last year. It is not easy, you know. Im that girl that loves success, so I tried to venture into one or two businesses apart from acting.

It was once rumoured that you are a lesbian; can you defend that?

Like you said, its all a rumour. Thats not true at all.

Whats your take on same sex marriage?

I dont think its right!

How about s*x toys, its almost taking over the world?

I dont support that either.

Can you share your first encounter with Nollywood?

My first encounter with Nollywood was in 2010 when I did waka pass in a movie directed by Kalu Anya, and starring the likes of Chika Ike among others. The movie was shot in Asaba. But then I was not ready to make acting a career because I was still in school.

Whats your opinion on premarital s*x?

Im not a saint oh. But our bodies are supposed to be temples of the Holy Spirit. St. Paul says that the sin of the body is serious compared to the sin committed outside the body.

What makes a good actor?

A good actor should be so convincing in a role to the extent of holding the audience captive, and also make them feel as if there is nothing but the story at hand.

Are you currently in a serious relationship?

Yes! Im in a very serious relationship with God.

What kind of man do you want for marriage?

I want a man who will support and encourage me to pursue my desires and dreams. I want a man that will make me feel comfortable expressing my thoughts and feelings openly to him without fearing his judgment or ridicule.

What could make Paschaline shed midnight tears?

When I miss home or things arent going the way I want it to; it makes me cry.

Have you been heartbroken? And how did you deal with it?

Yes, I am human, but after two weeks I was back to normal.

Did that make you cry or starve yourself of food?

I was hurt to be honest, but I didnt starve myself of food.

What turns you off in relationships?

Fake lifestyle, pretense and lies.

Leave a Comment

commentsA Nigerian couple who welcomed a set of sextuplets in the United States after 17 years of marriage  are still being grateful to God for the multiple blessings even after one year.

The pictures of the hale and hearty looking babies welcomed by Ajibola and Adeboye Taiwo were shared on social media to mark one year of their miraculous delivery.

The Nigerian couple gave birth to sextuplets last year at a Richmond hospital, three boys and three girls, and were the first to have sextuplets born at VCU Medical Center, according to reports.

The babies were born on May 11 with the help of a 40-person medical team. Ajibola gave birth at roughly 30 weeks and delivered by Caesarean section.

The couple had tried to conceive a child for nearly two decades. They were described as being overcome with joy when they saw four heartbeats at their first ultrasound in November.

Checkout their lovely photos below:

Leave a Comment

commentsLinda Ikejis blogging adventures succeeded in making her (intentionally or unintentionally) step on toes of many persons in the public eye, celebrities and politicians alike.

One of these persons was Nigerias self accclaimed investigative Journalist, Kemi Olunloyo.

It is no longer news that the two powerful women had a long-standing beef and Kemi was always seizing the opportunity to have go at the blogger.

One of these shots Kemi took at Linda was when she claimed that Linda Ikeji had no uterus to carry babies. See her tweets from 2016 below; Sorry! Linda has made NOTHING! No blogger awards, no husband, no kids, no uterus & NO #MAMAs2016. IM HER BOSS! #BAM Someone whos sister Laura confided in a friend that she has no uterus to carry babies made fun of Mayowa Ahmed #RIP However, since the news of Lindas Pregnancy, it seems that her enemies have been hiding their faces.

-YabaleftonlineSenator representing Bayelsa East constituency has reacted to reports that state congresses of the All Progressives Congress, APC, did not end well  According to the common sense Senator, party itself needs to be colonized by a more civilized party as it can not yet govern itself internally govern Nigeria.

Ben bruce via his Twitter account wrote:

How can a party that cant govern itself internally govern Nigeria? The state congresses of the APC shows that the party itself needs to be colonized by a more civilized party. APC is not even mature enough to be a ruling party in a Local Govt, talk less of the federal level.  Ben Murray-Bruce (@benmurraybruce) May 20, 2018

Well, some Nigerians on the platform did waste anytime to shut him, as they reminded the senator that is own party, Peoples Democratic Party is still in crisis.

See some reactions below

This kind of things has happened in the early days of your party (PDP) and your party was the ruling party. So dont come here and start making unnecessary noise here.  Adedipupo Adeosun (@oyinladeacute) May 20, 2018

How can an advocate for buy Nigeria product to grow the naira hire an Indian to manage his cinema too? Enough of hypocritical tweet sir! Get to work and stop all this!  Emmy Tosin Falade (@tosinfalade) May 20, 2018

Fortunately enought senator yellow, they are governing Nigeria in a better manner than you tattered umbrella. Your party govern for 16 yrs they left Nigeria worst than they met it. go face yr constituents and stop talking, you dont have any moral standing to advise us pls.  Kankani Awasak (@KankaniAwasak3) May 20, 2018

@benmurraybruce is somebody i used to admire & respect b4 now, but going by this piece shows he has only succeed in exhibiting his lack of integrity and principle & as such should not be taken serious henceforth. Thanks @a_awasak for this piece By their fruit we shall know them.  Abdallah faskari (@chamelon23) May 21, 2018

I dont blame you,GEJ made you a senator against the peoples wish,we will see how you return back to the Senate in 2019.  Samoo (@Samooo_01) May 20, 2018Zoyawashingtoncopy

Dear (insert name or organization here),

I am xxx, a voter in your electoral district. Like many people living in this district, I am deeply troubled by the outcome of the trade negotiation with China. As a Chinese immigrant, I think I have a good understanding of both sides, and I want to share my thoughts with you in hope you can pass these information to our government negotiation team.

First, I am concerned about our strategy against China The main reason behind our trade deficit with China stems from the fact that China is NOT a market economy. Everything there is controlled by the government, including import and export. Our goal for ending the trade war shouldnt be forcing Chinese government to buy more US goods because they can easily promise to buy more today and break that promise tomorrow if it suits them. We wont have much leverage against them when that happens. To make matters worse, our current strategy will empower Chinese government in the long run as we become increasingly dependent on their willingness to open their market. What we should do instead is to push China towards an open market. As long as we hold upper hand over China in term of the strength of economy, we have the opportunity to get it done. However we must act quickly and firmly as our lead is diminishing at an alarming rate.

Second, I am concerned that our leaders are deceived by the rosy promises made by Chinese government. I lived for almost 30 years in China and I knew from my personal experience that you simply cant trust Chinese government. Joined WTO in 2001, China didnt deliver any measurable change on all of their key promises for the past 17 years. Instead of moving towards free market economy, Chinese government now has even bigger control over its economy and every aspect of life there. That is supported by the unfortunate fact: private companies in the US and around the world have been losing to Chinese state-run firms because no private company can compete against the Chinese government. US might be the only country in the world with the strength to standup against China and I dont how much longer we can hold on to that position.

Last but not the least, I am concerned that our trade team is not aware of the strategy used by Chinese government. What the Chinese government is doing now is simply buying time for themselves so they can break their words again in the near future. They are banking on the fact that president Trump isnt very popular among Americans and American allies, they think it is very possible the upcoming midterm election and 2020 president election will lead to a major changes in US policies. When that happens, they will quickly revert their course and continue to take the advantage of US and the rest of the free world. By then, we will have very few means to fight back and will start to lose to china again.

If you believe Chinese government is the evil vampire praying on the free world, then US is the last line of defense for this world and our way of life, and NOW is our best chance to contain this blood thirsty vampire before it grows stronger.

Please share my concerns with the members of your legislation and re-consider our position related to the ongoing trade negotiations.

ps:

the link of my article Cold War 2.0

https://www.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/8dpsdh/cold_war_20/?st=JHF9IUTZ&sh=88eff14c

Yours Sincerely

AAuthorities of the Nile University of Nigeria (NUN), Abuja, have released the academic calendar for the 2018/2019 academic session.





According to the calendar, NUN is set to commence the 2017/2018 academic session on September 14th, 2018. The session ends on June 29th, 2019.

The breakdown is available below.

Nile University of Nigeria Approved Academic Calendar:

Public Holiday-Eid el Kabir* August 22nd -23rd, 2018

First Semester Course Appointments posted in SIS systemby HODs September 14th, 2018

Course Registration Period September 17th 21st , 2018

First semester Courses begin September 24th , 2018

Independence Day October 1st , 2018

Add and drop period September 24th  October 5th , 2018

Late Registration Period October 8th  12th , 2018

Deadline for Defer October 12th , 2018

Orientation week for fresher October 15th  19th , 2018

First Semester MIDTERM EXAMS November 19th  25th , 2018

Public Holiday-Eid el Maulud November 21st , 2018

Public Holiday- Christmas Day December 25th , 2018

New Year Holidays December 24th,2018  January 2nd 2019

MATRICULATION CEREMONY* January 10th , 2019

First Semester Courses End January 11th , 2019

Announcement of Final Exams Time Table January 11th, 2019

Last day for Continuous Assessments (CA) results Submission to SIS by lecturers January 14th 2019

Lecture free week January14th  18th , 2019

First Semester FINAL EXAMS January 21st  February 2nd , 2019

Semester Holiday February 4th  15th , 2019

Deadline for the Entrance of First Semester FINAL EXAMS Grades posted in the SIS system February 11th , 2019

Second Semester Course Appointments posted in the SIS system by HODs February 15th , 2019

Second Semester Course Registration Period February 18th  22nd , 2019

Semester Course begin February 25th , 2019

Add and drop period February 25th  March 8th , 2019

Late Registration Period March 11th  15th, 2019

Deadline for defer March 15th, 2019

Public Holiday- Good Friday April 19th , 2019

Public Holiday- Easter Monday April 22nd , 2019

Second Semester MIDTERM EXAMS April 23rd 29th , 2019

Public Holiday- International Labour Day May 1st , 2019

Public Holiday- Democracy day May 29th , 2019

Public Holiday- Eid-al-Fitr* June 5th  6th , 2019

Second Semester Courses Ends June 7th , 2019

Announcement of Final Exams Time Table June 7th, 2019

Last day for Continuous Assessments (CA) results Submission to SIS by lecturers June 10th, 2019

Lecture free Week June 10th  14th , 2019

Second Semester FINAL EXAMS June 17th  29th , 2019

Deadline for the Entrance of Second Semester FINAL EXAMS Grades posted in the SIS system July 12th, 2019

CONVOCATION LECTURE* October 25th, 2019

CONVOCATION CEREMONY* October 26th , 2019

*Might be subject to changes. This academic calendar applies to all Bachelor Level programmesAccording to police, circulation of photos of the Offa Bank Robbers in the Media, has helped a lot in getting several credible leads from good citizens and as a result.

The IRT teams deployed by IGP Ibrahim Idris to Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti states have been able to arrest 2 more gang-leaders of the deadly bank robberies which claimed over 40 lives in Offa, Kwara state recently.

Kunle Ogunleye aka Arrow 35yrs native of Kwara State, was arrested yesterday in Oro town kwara State and Micheal Adikwu, Native of Apa LGA Benue State, a dismissed police CPL was arrested again by IRT operatives in Kwara State 2 weeks ago.

Adikwu, was arrested by the Police in 2012 and charged to court in Kwara state for compromising by releasing some wanted armed robbers. He spent 3 yrs in prison and subsequently formed a gang there and when he got out in 2015, he became a notorious armed robber.

All suspects arrested among others have confessed to the Offa bank robberies and murders, They are assisting the IRT teams in arresting more of the bank robbers as investigations continue.Sponsored

Vincent Hayes, Global Head of Family Office and International Wealth Management at BNY Mellon Wealth Management describes the evolution of BNY Mellon Global Family Offices 50 years of serving family offices, and how its strategic approach has helped generations of families maintain and grow their wealth.

Seattle, WashingtonMay 20, 2018The International Trademark Association (INTA) today announced that it will hold its 142nd Annual Meetingthe worlds largest trademark eventin Singapore from April 25 to 29, 2020, at the Marina Bay Sands. This marks the second time INTA is bringing its Annual Meeting to Asia, and the first time that the organization will host the event in Southeast Asia.

INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo made the highly anticipated announcement at the opening ceremonies of the Associations 140th Annual Meeting, taking place in Seattle, Washington, now through May 23. Nearly 11,000 trademark practitioners and other intellectual property (IP) professionals from 150+ countries are gathering for this event. The number of registrants has been increasing each year.

In 2014, INTA held its first-ever Annual Meeting in Asiathe 136th Annual Meeting in Hong Kong SAR, China. After that successful event, INTAs Board of Directors approved a rotation strategy to host the Annual Meeting in a location outside the United States every third year.

Bringing the Associations Annual Meeting to Singapore in 2020 offers our global membership the opportunity to once again meet in an optimal location to learn, network, and discuss issues of interest to IP professionals, government officials, consumers, and society at large, said 2018 INTA President Tish Berard.

Registration for the 2020 Annual Meeting in Singapore will open in January 2019, with presale tickets available for purchase at INTAs 2019 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

A confluence of factors contributed to the selection of Singapore for the 2020 gathering, including its vibrant environment, cultural diversity, ease of accessibility, and achievements in the field of IP. INTA, which has a growing international membership now spanning 191 countries, opened an Asia-Pacific Representative Office in Singapore in March 2016.

Singapore is a seminal location for the global trademark dialogue that will take place at INTAs Annual Meeting in 2020. We are extremely pleased to go there and view this as an opportunity to further interact with and serve members globally, said Mr. Sanz de Acedo.

INTAs groundbreaking impact study entitled The Economic Contribution of Trademark-Intensive Industries in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand indicates that trademark-intensive activities in Singapore generate increased employment across sectors and contribute to international trade.

Specifically, looking at data from 2012 to 2015, trademark-intensive industries within Singapore generated a 50 percent direct contribution to gross domestic product, comprised 60 percent of the countrys share of exports, and workers share of the workforce represented 29 percent of total employment, according to the study.

We are honoured to play host to the worlds largest and most widely-attended IP conference  INTAs 142nd Annual Meeting  in 2020, said Daren Tang, Chief Executive, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. This mega conference will connect the Singapore innovation ecosystem to the global community of trademark experts and intellectual property professionals who will build on each others best practices and expertise, sharing thought leading conversations on creating strong brands to differentiate winning enterprises from others.

Jeannie Lim, Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Singapore Tourism Board, added: Our city serves as the ideal platform for this prestigious event. Here, delegates can learn, engage and discover new possibilities, and go on to enjoy the cuisine and experiences that our city has to offer outside of the event. We look forward to welcoming this event to Singapore in 2020.

About the International Trademark Association

The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property (IP) to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation. Members include more than 7,200 trademark owners, professionals, and academics from 191 countries, including 62 members from Singapore who benefit from the Associations global trademark resources, policy development, education and training, and international network. Founded in 1878, INTA is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Singapore, and Washington, D.C., and representatives in Geneva and New Delhi. For more information, please visit www.inta.org.

Decorative parcel

Under existing law, foreign sellers are generally not required to register for, collect or return GST on items delivered from outside New Zealand to a New Zealand address. Rather, the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) collects GST on imported goods from the New Zealand importer (normally the customer) when the goods arrive in New Zealand. Customs does not charge or collect duty or taxes (including GST) where the amount payable on any one importation is less than NZ$60 ($41). The NZ$60 de minimis generally equates to a parcel value of approximately NZ$400, but can be as low as NZ$226 depending on whether tariffs apply.

The growth of online shopping has resulted in the volume of imported goods on which GST is not collected becoming increasingly significant. For this reason, there has been a concern that the NZ$60 de minimis places New Zealand retailers (who must charge and collect GST on all sales of goods) at a comparative disadvantage. A conservative estimate by the government put the GST foregone due to the NZ$60 de minimis at around NZ$80 million for the 2016 calendar year.

Foreign seller registration considered by the tax working group

The proposal for foreign sellers of goods to register for GST comes following consideration of the issue, on an expedited basis, by the government's tax working group. The tax working group was established by the new government late last year to look at the structure, fairness and balance of New Zealand's tax system. It is chaired by a former minister of finance and its 10 other members include a mix of tax experts and experts from other disciplines.

An interim report by the group is expected in September 2018. Interestingly, the government asked for the group's recommendations about how to collect GST on low-value imported goods ahead of the interim report. The group recommended foreign sellers collect GST at the point of sale due to practical concerns with other options, which involved GST collection between the point of sale and delivery, or from the consumer, after delivery.

Proposed rules would apply to foreign sellers, online marketplaces and re-deliverers

Foreign sellers (including online marketplaces and re-deliverers) that supply goods and services worth NZ$60,000 or more to New Zealand customers in a 12-month period will be required to register for and return GST under the proposed rules. An online marketplace will need to register when customers would normally consider the marketplace to be the seller. This is likely to be the case if the marketplace authorises the charge to the customer, authorises delivery of the goods to the customer, or sets any of the terms and conditions of the transaction. The rules will also apply to re-deliverers that facilitate the purchase and delivery of goods into New Zealand.

The proposed rules would not apply to imports of alcohol and tobacco products, on which GST as well as excise-equivalent duty will continue to be collected at the border.

A consequence of the proposed rules is that any applicable tariffs and cost recovery charges (currently NZ$49.24 per import entry) will be removed for imported goods valued at NZ$400 or less.

Other proposed design features are similar to New Zealand's rules for collecting GST on cross-border services, and to the recently enacted rules for low-value imported goods in Australia. The proposed features include:

 An exclusion for goods supplied to New Zealand GST-registered businesses, unless the foreign seller decides to zero-rate the supply (this would allow the foreign seller to claim any New Zealand GST paid that is associated with business-to-business supplies).

 A simplified "pay only" system for foreign sellers who are not claiming any New Zealand GST paid in relation to their supplies to New Zealand consumers.

 Quarterly GST return filing for foreign sellers whose only New Zealand supplies consist of cross-border goods.

Aspects of the proposed rules are likely to be contentious

While at a general level the proposals were expected and are consistent with initiatives other countries are taking, aspects of the proposals are contentious and will likely be a focal point in submissions. For example:

Thresholds: the proposed NZ$400 boundary between low-value goods (on which the foreign seller will be required to pay GST to Inland Revenue) and higher value goods (on which it is intended that GST is paid by the customer to Customs at the border) seems to have been driven by fiscal considerations and assumes that Customs will collect GST on goods with a value exceeding NZ$400. A higher threshold (Australia's, for example, will be A$1,000 ($751)) may reduce compliance costs for foreign sellers, consumers and Customs.

Consolidating consignments: Clearer rules are required to determine when a foreign seller can treat supplies of multiple low-value goods as exceeding the threshold. For example, when can the sale of two pairs of shoes, each with a value of NZ$250, be treated as exceeding the NZ$400 threshold.

Delivery costs and the value of goods: In determining if the current NZ$60 de minimis applies, the value of goods for GST purposes includes duty (if applicable), and postal/courier and insurance charges. It is unclear whether foreign sellers will need to account for such charges when determining whether a consignment is under the NZ$400 threshold.

GST for marketplaces and re-deliverers: Foreign online marketplaces and re-deliverers who facilitate the cross-border sale of goods on behalf of foreign sellers will likely want further clarity about when they will be required to collect and return GST.

Limiting the market: It remains to be seen whether some foreign sellers will choose not to supply to New Zealand customers rather than incur the compliance costs of registering for and collecting New Zealand GST. The Government will hopefully be alert, throughout the consultation process, to compliance cost concerns and the need for certainty as to how the rules will apply.

Interested parties can make submissions on the Government's consultation documentGST on low-value goods: An offshore supplier registration system until June 29 2018. Foreign sellers, online marketplaces and re-deliverers shipping goods to New Zealand customers should consider the proposals set out in the consultation document, and take the opportunity to provide feedback. Following consultation, legislation is expected to be tabled in parliament later this year.

This article was contributed by Brendan Brown and Matt Woolley of Russell McVeagh.

The material on this site is for financial institutions, professional investors and their professional advisers. It is for information only. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy before using the site. All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws.  2021 Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC. For help please see our FAQ.

Share this articleMay 21, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Wrapping up its winter drill program, holes on this company's property in the Northwest Territories included discovery of visible gold.

In a May 8 press release, TerraX Minerals Inc. (TXR:TSX.V) announced that additional drilling on the Crestaurum zone in its Yellowknife City gold project had intersected mineralization that may have doubled the known size of the gold-bearing structure, and included visible gold.

Assays from 11 drill holes included four in the "high-grade Crestaurum gold bearing structure to test whether gold mineralization continued to depth."Two of those holes showed visible gold, and all "intersected significant gold."

The assays showed the following:

8.84 g/t Au over 2.49 m and 5.38 g/t Au over 0.63 m in hole TCR18-076

3.08 g/t Au over 2.80m, and 5.57 g/t Au over 2.06 m, in hole TCR18-078

13.30 g/t Au over 1.24 m, and 4.41 g/t Au over 0.80 m, in hole TCR18-079

3.86 g/t Au over 0.56 m in hole TCR18-077

TerraX also completed additional exploration work at its Sam Otto west zone, drilling five holes that all intersected "gold mineralized structure with best results of 3.00 g/t Au over 2.69 m in hole TSO18-038, 1.06 g/t Au over 4.00 m in hole TSO18-041, and 1.32 g/t Au over 2.70 m in hole TSO18-036," according to the release. The company asserted these results "makes this a good target for continued exploration."

Reflecting on results from the Crestaurum zone, TerraX CEO Joe Campbell said, "This small program of four holes successfully demonstrated that the Crestaurum zone continues at depth on multiple surfaces, potentially doubling the size of the zone. The 300 meter vertical depth tested with these holes is still considered very shallow for Archean lode gold deposits and mineralization remains open for further expansion, both along strike and at depth."

Disclosure:

1) Tracy Salcedo compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: TerraX. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

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Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.Last year, Apple removed hundreds of thousands of VPN apps from the Chinese iOS App Store due to government intervention. Now, it looks like the Chinese government has gone behind apps that make use of CallKit API. This is because Apple is sending developers an email informing them that they need to remove the CallKit framework from their app in China due to government regulation.

Once developers remove the CallKit functionality, their apps would again be listed on the Chinese App Store. Apple is making this move due to the new regulation enforced by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

Apple had first introduced CallKit with iOS 10 and offers VoIP apps a way to make use of the native in-call Phone app and UI. The framework is primarily used by VoIP apps and the move from the Chinese government seems to be a move to take them down. WeChat, which is massively popular in China, had CallKit framework integration for a short period of time before it was again removed from the app. No wonder then that Skype, a popular VoIP application from Microsoft, was removed from the Chinese App Store.

As a side effect of this move from Apple, apps that use the CallKit framework to pause audio when an incoming call arrives have also been removed from the App Store.

Our Take

Apple has had to remove a lot of apps from the Chinese App Store over the last year to meet the stringent regulations of the Chinese government. The company has already removed hundreds of thousands of apps from the Chinese App Store to comply with the government regulations. To comply with the Chinese government regulations, Apple has had to take a lot of steps which it otherwise would not have. Apart from removing VPN apps from the iOS App Store, this also includes shutting down the iTunes and iBooks Store in China within six months of its launch.

[Via 9to5MacA popular secure monitoring app, TeenSafe, used by parents to monitor the location, calling history, text messages, and browsing history of their kids has suffered a data breach. The company behind TeenSafe left its servers hosted on Amazon Web Services platform unprotected thereby making them accessible to anyone without a password.

More worryingly perhaps, TeenSafe requires parents to disable 2-factor authentication in the accounts of their children to have proper access to it. And a file found on their servers contained a list of the parents email ID along with their childrens Apple ID, their device name, unique identifier, and their Apple ID account password in plaintext. This data is enough for a hacker or anyone with unauthorized access to the server to break into the account of any of the childs account and go through their personal data.

The unprotected servers were first discovered by UK-based security researcher Robert Wiggins, with ZDNet informing the company about the breach after which they were taken offline.

We have taken action to close one of our servers to the public and begun alerting customers that could potentially be impacted, said a TeenSafe spokesperson told ZDNet on Sunday.

As ZDNet points out, TeenSafe claims on its website that it secures and encrypts all data to ensure proper protection in case of a data breach. Right now, the company says that it is assessing the situation and will provide more details as and when possible.

Our Take

If you are a parent using TeenSafe to keep track of your childs whereabouts, you should immediately ask them to change the password of their account and enable two-factor authentication while at it. TeenSafe is a very privacy-invasive app which is why you should avoid using it. If you want to monitor your child whereabouts, you can make use of the Find My iPhone feature until Apple unveils iOS 12 which should come with its fair share of improvements in this department.

[Via ZDNetIt's time to subscribe and see everything

HAVING made several visits as a reporter to the Gaza Strip over the years, the memories that stick in my mind are of children playing in the poverty-stricken refugee camps. The thought keeps recurr[...]iStock/Thinkstock(BALTIMORE) -- A police officer in Baltimore County, Maryland, was shot and killed Monday afternoon after responding to a suspicious vehicle report, according to the state's governor, Larry Hogan.



The suspected killer is still at large and police are searching for multiple suspects in the Baltimore suburb of Perry Hall, authorities said.



"We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a Baltimore County Police Officer after she was shot in the line of duty today," Hogan said in a Twitter post. "Our prayers go out to this brave officer's family."



Cpl. Shawn Vincent, a spokesman for the Baltimore County Police Department, said he could not confirm the governor's statement that the officer was shot. He would only say that the officer was critically injured when she confronted multiple suspects just before 2 p.m. in a residential area.



The officer was not immediately identified. She was rushed to Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore, where she died at 2:50 p.m., officials said.



Vincent said the officer would have been a four-year veteran of the Baltimore County Police Department in July.



"She was just doing her job," Vincent said.



Baltimore County Police Chief Terrence Sheridan and several of the officer's colleagues were at the hospital providing support to the officer's loved ones.



Vincent said the fatal confrontation happened at the end of a cul-de-sac on Linwen Way off Belair Road in a heavily residential area of Perry Hall.



He said the officer was responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood. He also said police discovered damage to a rear patio door of a home in the area, indicating the officer may have interrupted a burglary in progress.



"There were multiple suspects. Right now we are actively searching for at least one armed suspect," Vincent said during a news conference at Franklin Square Hospital about 4:30 p.m.



He said police were combing the neighborhood where the fatal encounter occurred and that three elementary schools were on "alert status" and residents in the area are being asked to shelter in place.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.Burundi announced on Monday that voters had approved amending the nations constitution [text, PDF] to extend presidential term limits from five years to seven.

According to the election commission chief, 73 percent of voters supported [Al Jazeera report] changing the constitution. Nineteen percent voted against the amendment.

The amendment gives Burundis president, Pierre Nkurunziza [BBC profile] the ability to potentially stay in office until 2034. Nkurunziza, who has been in office since 2005, is currently serving his third term, although Burundis constitution sets a two-term limit.

Burundis opposition party expressed concern that the election was rigged. Opposition leader Agathon Rwasa said he plans on filing a petition to challenge the referendum.

Voter intimidation is another concern. On Friday Human Rights Watch reported [JURIST report] violence in Burundi carried out by members of Burundis security forces prior to the referendum. In November an International Criminal Court prosecutor was authorized [JURIST report] to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burundi. In September a UN commission called on [JURIST report] Burundi to end ongoing human rights violations.The US Supreme Court on Monday vacated and remanded [opinion, PDF] the Washington State Supreme Court ruling for the Lundgren family in Upper Skagit Indian Tribe v. Lundgren [SCOTUSblog materials].

The Upper Skagit Indian Tribe had purchased a 40-acre plot of land. After a survey of the land, they believed that an acre of their property was fenced off by Sharline and Ray Lundgren. The Lundgrens claimed the doctrines of adverse possession and mutual acquiescence in Washington state court gave them title to the disputed land. Upper Skagit responded by asserting sovereign immunity from the suit. The Washington State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Lundgrens by citing County of Yakima v. Confederated Tribes [opinion], a Supreme Court case that held tribal sovereign immunity does not apply in rem suits.

Justice Neil Gorsuch stated in his opinion that the Yakima case was not applicable to the dispute. Gorsuch reasoned that the new argument that the Lundgrens were putting forth was not considered by the Washington State Supreme Court and thus should be addressed by them first.

In short, Yakima sought only to interpret a relic of a statute in light of a distinguishable precedent; it resolved nothing about the law of sovereign immunity. Acknowledging this, the Lundgrens now ask the Court to affirm on an alternative, common-law ground: that the Tribe cannot assert sovereign immunity because this suit relates to immovable property located in Washington State, purchased by the Tribe in the same manner as a private individual. Because this alternative argument did not emerge until late in this case, the Washington Supreme Court should address it in the first instance.

Justice Clarence Thomas filed a dissenting opinion, joined by Samuel Alito.Sunday, May 20 is the first-ever World Bee Day, thanks to the lobbying efforts of the Slovenian Beekeepers Association at the United Nations. Slovenia is home to a long and extraordinary tradition of beekeeping, and Slovenes are serious about their bees. Bees are crucial to the worlds food security, with one-third of produced food in the world depending on pollination. But recent years have seen significant threats to the bees environment. With World Bee Day, Slovenian beekeepers hope to remind the world how much we truly need bees.

For international celebrators of World Bee Day, Slovenia offers countless opportunities for visitors to follow the bees. Its the first country in the world that awards special certifications to beekeepers with tourist arrangements, ranking them on a scale of one to three bees. In the api-chamber, the sounds of the buzzing bees are calming and meditative, while breathing in air from the apiary has health benefits for the respiratory system. Its the perfect environment for a detoxifying honey massage. (Dont worry  the bees are nearby but they cant reach guests.) More active visitors can delight in beekeeping and craftsmanship workshops, like making beeswax candles and baking honey pastries. Apitourism provides travelers the opportunity to support the preservation of bees while experiencing the verdant landscape of Slovenia, where the magnificent Alps meet the cerulean Adriatic Sea.MEDFORD, Ore. -- Hawaii isn't the only state on the lookout for active volcanoes. Oregon and Northern California are home to numerous volcanoes laying dormant beneath the earth's surface.

Some of the most notable are Mount Mazama (Crater Lake), Mount Hood, and Mount McLoughlin. While Hawaii is famous for its eruptions and active volcanoes, local geologists insist it's important to remember that the Pacific Northwest has its own volcanoes to worry about.

Mike Strickler is a geologist and instructor with Rogue Community College. He says the Pacific Northwest sits along a major convergent plate boundary where volcanoes form, which means there could be more than what's named.

"Right now we have Mount McLoughlin, we have Mount Shasta, we have Crater Lake, we've got the sisters and such that are defined as the most recent events and locations but you could have one come up in the middle of the Columbia River," said Strickler.

Strickler explains that while most volcanoes are considered dormant for the area, there is always a potential to erupt.

"Certainly in the Earth's way of measuring time, they're active volcanoes," said geologist and RCC Instructor Mike Strickler. "The rest could be called dormant. They're still over the subduction zone. They still have potential to erupt, they still will erupt. It's not a matter of potential, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when."

While it's impossible to predict when a volcano will blow, Strickler says two volcanoes in our region have potential to erupt within the next 100 years. He says Mount Shasta and Mount Saint Helens are considered active but there's one volcano that could be a very significant eruption within our lifetime.

"Ranier has been in my view is ready enough," said Strickler. "If you look at the shape of the mountain... Rainier is just waiting to go."EUGENE, Ore. (AP)  The University of Oregon has apologized for a statement it put out after a student was found dead during a trip to Shasta Lake in Northern California.

The 21-year-old student, identified as business administration major Dylan Pietrs, was found dead at a boat-in campground Saturday morning. There were no signs of foul play, and while the Shasta County Sheriff's Office said the student had reportedly been drinking, it's not clear whether alcohol played a role.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the university's Division of Student Life put out a statement saying: "As devastating as this sudden passing is, it is important to point out that this tragedy is connected to an unauthorized tradition among many college students. Students from many institutions have a history of demonstrating poor life choices during visits to Lake Shasta."

On Sunday the university offered condolences to Pietrs' family on Twitter and said it regretted the statement's "insensitive tone."

___

Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.comThis Friday, May 25, Irish voters will decide in a national referendum whether to repeal Article 8 of the Constitution, which acknowledges the rights of all living human beings in Ireland, including unborn children, and encourages lawmakers to enact laws to defend and vindicate that right. The new language would allow the right to abortion (or, in the proposed wording, termination of pregnancies).

What does it mean if the Republic of Ireland repeals a constitutional provision that does not claim to impart, but only to recognize, unalienable rights? If human beings have any pre-existing right, can it be repealed by majority vote? In an article posted on Actons Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website today, Bruce Arnold  the former chief critic of the Irish Independent  writes:

In five instances in the Constitution, two of them enacted in 2012, the personal and family rights that it guarantees are described as natural rights. They are said to be recognised, acknowledged, and affirmed but never conferred by the Constitution. They are also variously described as inalienable and imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law. This is a very clear affirmation by the people of the principle that our fundamental rights are not created or conferred by a vote in a referendum, but that we owe them to one another as human beings. A natural right is precisely one that is inherent in human nature. It does not depend for its origin or authority on any human law, although it requires such laws for its effectiveness. Recognition of such rights is not optional or elective. As the basic rule of justice in society, our Constitution must and does acknowledge and vindicate them.

After probing the legal and philosophical underpinnings of natural rights, Arnold warns, We cannot validly make laws that go against our human nature.

Read his full analysis here.

(Photo credit: Caravan 4 Peace. This photo has been cropped and transformed. CC BY 2.0.)Theres a scene in the sitcom The Office in which Oscar, an accountant, attempts to explain a budget surplus to his boss, Michael Scott. Why dont you explain this to me like Im an 8-year-old, Michael says. When Oscar explains it in a simpler manner, his boss remains perplexed. Why dont you explain this to me like Im 5, Michael says.

The world, like accounting, can be complicated. Sometimes it helps to have concepts or ideas explained to us like were a childnot because were dumb or simple-minded, but because we may need a basic understanding of the whole before we can understand how it all fits together.

In this article, Ill apply this technique to the concept of religious freedom. The hope is that by providing three levels of explanationeach saying essentially the same thing, though increasing in complexityyou and I can both gain a better understanding of religious freedom in American.

1. Basic Explanation

Religious freedom is a right, given by God and guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, that allows individual people or groups to practice a religionor to practice no religion at allboth in private and also in public with a minimal amount of interference from the local, state, or federal government. The Constitution and other federal and state law protect this right to determine both what we believe and, in a more limited sense, how we act on those beliefs.

2. Intermediate Explanation

Religious freedom is rooted in the idea that the government should not, without a compelling reason, be able to violate a persons conscience. The conscience, as Andy Naselli and J. D. Crowley explain, is your consciousness of what you believe is right and wrong. During the founding period when the Bill of Rights was written, the term conscience was often used as synonymous with religion. Thus, the concept of freedom of religious and freedom of conscience have often been used somewhat interchangeably.

The legal basis for the right to religious freedom (and the right of conscience) is the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, which states Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . . . This clause is extended to state and local states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

However, the courts havent always interpreted the clause in a way that protected religious freedom. So a federal law known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) was passed in 1993 to prevent other federal laws from substantially burdening a persons free exercise of religion.

3. Advanced Explanation

Religious freedom is a legal right that flows from the moral right to conscience. It is rooted in the idea, as Melissa Moschella explains, that as human beings we have a grave obligation to seek the truth, and to follow the truth as we understand it. As Moschella adds,

Conscience rights go to the core of what it is to be a human person: the capacity to act based not only on desires or instincts, but on judgments about what is good and bad, right and wrongand the moral responsibility that is inseparable from that capacity. To force a person to act contrary to conscience is to force him to violate his moral integrity. It is an assault on the person at his core, much worse than any merely physical harm.

For Christians, acting against ones conscience is not only a violation of moral integrity by an act of sin. As the apostle Paul says, For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin (Rom. 14:23). R. C. Sproul expands on that verse by saying:

If we do something that we think is sin, even if we are misinformed, we are guilty of sin. We are guilty of doing something we believe to be wrong. We act against our consciences. That is a very important principle. Luther was correct in saying, It is neither right nor safe to act against conscience.

A primary reason Christians consider religious freedom so important is because we do not believe the state should have the authority to force us to engage in sinful actions.

The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment was adopted to protect our conscience from government intrusion. But until the early to mid-20th century, the clause applied only at the federal level. From about 1920 to the late 1940s, the courts began to adopt and apply the doctrine of selective incorporation, which makes selected provisions of the Bill of Rights applicable to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In 1940, the Supreme Court invoked this doctrine in the case of Cantwell v. Connecticut, ruling that the Free Exercise Clause is enforceable against state and local governments.

Because the Free Exercise of Religion Clause protects religiously motivated conduct as well as belief, the most important modern issue for the courts, as James L. Oberstar says, has been whether the protection only runs against laws that target religion itself for restriction, or, more broadly, whether the clause sometimes requires an exemption from a generally applicable law.

Legal scholar Eugene Volokh identifies four periods in modern American history that relate to religious freedom exemptions:

Pre 1960s  Statute-by-statute exemptions: Prior to the early 1960s, exemption for religious objections were only allowed if the statute provided an explicit exemption.

1963 to 1990  Sherbert/Yoder era of Free Exercise Clause law: In the 1963 case Sherbert v. Verner the Court expressly adopted the constitutional exemption model, under which sincere religious objectors had a presumptive constitutional right to an exemption because of the Free Exercise clause. This decision was reaffirmed in the 1972 case, Wisconsin v. Yoder. During this period that Court used what it called strict scrutiny when the law imposed a substantial burden on peoples religious beliefs. Under this strict scrutiny, religious objectors were to be given an exemption, unless denying the exemption was the least restrictive means of serving a compelling government interest. But during this period, as Volokh notes, The government usually won, and religious objectors won only rarely.

1990-1993  Return to statute-by-statute exemptions: In Employment Division v. Smith, the Supreme Court returned to the statute-by-statute exemption regime, and rejected the constitutional exemption regime.

1993-Present  Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) era: In 1993, Congress enacted the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which gave religious objectors a statutory presumptive entitlement to exemption from generally applicable laws subject to strict scrutiny. (To pass strict scrutiny, the legislature must have passed the law to further a compelling governmental interest, and must have narrowly tailored the law to achieve that interest.)

According to the text of the law, the purposes of the RFRA are:

1. to restore the compelling interest test as set forth in Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963) and Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972) and to guarantee its application in all cases where free exercise of religion is substantially burdened; and

2. to provide a claim or defense to persons whose religious exercise is substantially burdened by government.

RFRA was intended to apply to all branches of government, and both to federal and state law. But in 1997 in the case of City of Boerne v. Flores, the Supreme Court ruled the RFRA exceeded federal power when applied to state laws. In response to this ruling, some individual states passed state-level Religious Freedom Restoration Acts that apply to state governments and local municipalities. This is the reason many of the most hotly disputed religious liberty issues are now at the state and local level rather than at the federal level.LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- More than seven months after the deadly Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting, a Springfield couple who survived the tragedy has returned to Las Vegas for the first time.

Wayne and Kyla Lowell, who were at the VIP tent when the shooting began, were not injured the night of Oct. 1, 2017, but they continue to carry the emotional trauma of survivors guilt.

You dont believe something like that is going to happen to you, Kyla said. Like you see it on the news and the things that have happened since then. Its like the empathy I have for these people that are dealing with this because its very real. And then all of a sudden, a few days later, its the next news story and people forget that its happened, but those memories of that night, in my opinion, will never go away.

The morning after the shooting, KEZI 9 News Morning Anchor Bryan Anderson spoke with Kyla Lowell on the phone as the Lowells headed through the airport to return home. Bryan remained in contact with the couple over the months that followed.

Bryan is on location in Nevada with the couple detailing their emotional journey as part of a special report. The Weight of Survival Part 1 airs tonight at 5 and 6, and Bryan will be live again Tuesday morning. Tune in to KEZI 9 News to get the full story of the couples survival and video from that night, or watch it at kezi.com/livestream.

Wayne Lowell said that one of the hardest things he had to do that night was tell a husband that is holding onto his wife, You gotta move. You cant stay here. And their spouse is obviously not making it and there was gunfire still going on. And I had to grab people and tell them, You have to move. You cannot stay here.

The Las Vegas shooting was the deadliest in modern U.S. history and sparked the Vegas Strong movement, in which the community has come together to show its strength after the tragedy. At the site of the famous Welcome Las Vegas sign, words of love and encouragement are written to remember the 58 people who died when gunfire came from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel.The University of Montevallo has announced the appointment of Tim Alexander as chief of police and director of public safety. Alexander brings more than 20 years of law enforcement experience to the UMPD. For the past 12 years, Alexander has worked for the City of Montevallo Police Department, where he currently serves as captain. He will begin this role at the University June 1.

As captain for the City of Montevallo, Alexander has been responsible for day-to-day operations of patrol, investigations, communications and the narcotics division. In October 2017, he was assigned to the Shelby County Compact 2020 Drug Deterrent Initiative Program. This program is focused on intervening and saving potential juvenile drug users, providing them with community-based partnerships to prevent future addiction.

Prior to his role as captain, he served as a narcotics investigator assigned to the Drug Enforcement Task Force Group 42 in Birmingham. Alexander also served as a deputy sheriff for the Shelby County Sherriff's Office where he was an active member of the Tactical Response Unit and later assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division.

In announcing the new chief, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Affairs/Dean of Students Tammi Dahle said, "The University is excited to welcome Tim Alexander as our new chief of police and director of public safety. As a lifelong community member, Tim has protected city and county residents for many years. He has also received several awards for his service and dedication to the community. We look forward to Tim joining the University of Montevallo family and providing that same dedication and service to our UM students and campus community."

In addition to his law enforcement positions, Alexander has been highly active in the community including serving as a board member for Shelby Emergency Assistance, located in Montevallo. He serves on the Southeastern Law Enforcement Advisors Association and as the current president of the Alabama Law Enforcement Explorer Advisors Association.

For his dedication to the community, Alexander was awarded the City of Montevallo Hometown Hero award in 2013, Montevallo Police Department's Officer of the Year in 2015 and the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce's Civic Leader of the Year in 2017.

Alexander holds a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Faulkner University in Montgomery and is currently pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice. He is also a 2016 graduate of Leadership Shelby County.

Learn more at montevallo.edu/police-chief-alexanderMiss anything from the state track and field meet in Des Moines? We have you covered.

Click here for Thursday coverage.

Click here for Friday coverage.

Click here for Saturday coverage.CERRO GORDO COUTNY, Iowa  Two people are facing felony charges after they were found in possession of several stolen aluminum radiators.

Tracy Burke, 49, is facing charges for second-degree theft and trespassing after he was found with radiators he allegedly took from the North Iowa Collision Center, authorities said.

Tina Caruth, 42, is also facing a second-degree theft charge in connection to the incident.

Both were arrested at North Iowa Collision Center (11201 265th St., Clear Lake) on Monday morning at 1:15.

The value of the stolen property was between $1,000 and $10,000.

Caruth admitted to taking the items from the business, according to court documents.WORTH COUNTY, Iowa  A woman accused of entering a womans house and trying to change into her clothes is facing a felony burglary charge.

Tasha Nelson, 29, of Albert Lea, is facing a third-degree burglary charge in connection to an incident May 19 in the 200 block of 4th St. in Kensett.

Nelson was found in the drivers seat of an SUV when authorities arrived and told them she was at her uncles house so she went inside, authorities said.

The complainant said she heard a noise, checked her house and found Nelson in the bathroom trying to change clothes, according to the criminal complaint.

Authorities found the drawers in the main bedroom had been gone through and the clothes she was trying to change into belonged to the resident.

Nelson is being held on $5,000 bond in the Worth County Jail.MOORLAND, Iowa (AP)  A prosecutor says an Iowa state trooper was justified in fatally shooting a man during a gunbattle.

The Webster County attorney's office said in a news release Friday that Trooper Justin Parman "reasonably believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to defend himself or another."

Parman shot 26-year-old Joshua Ewing on April 29 in rural Moorland, southwest of Fort Dodge. Authorities say Parman found Ewing and a woman on a rural road, arguing near a vehicle. The department says Ewing pointed a handgun at Parman, and the two exchanged gunshots.

Authorities say Ewing had fired several shots into his own vehicle before the trooper arrived.ROCHESTER, Minn.  A man accused of stabbing two people has been sentenced to five years of probation.

Ali Said Elmi, 38 of Rochester, was arrested in July 2017 and charged with two counts of 2nd degree assault with a dangerous weapon. Rochester police say Elmi had a confrontation with two men over a pool game at one bar, then was attacked by them outside a different bar. Officers say Elmi stabbed one of the men twice in the abdomen and slashed the other in the shoulder.

Elmi pleaded guilty to one count of 3rd degree assault and one count of stalking with intent to injure. In addition to the probation, he was ordered Monday to perform 100 hours of community work service.AUSTIN, Minn.  A not guilty plea has been entered in a Mower County sex abuse case.

Jason David Nabors, 19 and now living in Elkin, Texas, was arrested in November 2017 and charged with two counts of 1st degree criminal sexual conduct and one count of 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct. Hes accused of having repeated sexual contact with a girl between the ages of seven and eight years old.

A mental evaluation was ordered to determine Nabors competency. The results were filed with the court on April 23 and Nabors pleaded not guilty Monday.

His trial is scheduled to begin on November 13.LONDON (Reuters) - A British court has dismissed charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) against Barclays (BARC.L) over its 2008 capital raising, the bank said on Monday, suspending for now the threat of regulatory sanctions on its business operations.

The SFO was however not prepared to let the case drop.

We are likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to the High Court, an SFO spokesman said. It was not clear when that application would be heard.

Barclays denied the SFOs allegation that a $3 billion loan it made to Qatar in November 2008 was connected with a Qatari investment in the British bank which ultimately helped it avoid a British government rescue during the financial crisis, unlike its rivals Lloyds (LLOY.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L).

An end to the SFOs case against Barclays and its operating subsidiary would remove the biggest remaining legal headache facing Barclays over its conduct during the financial crisis.

The collapse of one of its most high-profile corporate prosecutions would also represent a major setback for the SFO, with the prosecutors office under fire from politicians in recent years.

Qatar, which is a major investor in Britain, has not been accused of wrongdoing itself, but public companies in Britain are normally prohibited from lending money for the purchase of their own shares, known as financial assistance.

The SFO had been pursuing charges that Barclays unlawfully received such financial assistance, and that it had conspired with former senior executives to commit fraud over two so-called advisory services agreements between Qatar and the bank which facilitated the fundraising.

NOT OVER YET

Even if the SFO were to fail in its efforts to reinstate the charges, Barclays still faces other legal and regulatory problems related to the 2008 fundraising.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the advisory services agreements.

Separately four former Barclays bankers face a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation when they negotiated a capital injection for the bank from Qatar, in a trial due to start next January.

The four are former chief executive John Varley, and senior executives Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath.

Barclays said the dismissal of the charges against itself should not be taken to have any bearing on whether other people may have committed a criminal offence.

Lawyers representing Boath and Jenkins declined to comment, while lawyers for the other two did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

British businesswoman Amanda Staveley has a separate $1 billion civil lawsuit against Barclays over the same fundraising.

Staveleys private equity group PCP Capital Partners is claiming damages for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation in a row over whether Barclays offered Qatar and Abu Dhabi investors the same deal terms for participating in a fundraising in 2008.

Barclays has called the PCP lawsuit misconceived. Staveley declined to comment.

Barclays shares were up 0.7 percent by 1300 GMT (9.00 a.m. ET), in line with the FTSE 350 British banks index .FTNMX8350.ROME (Reuters) - Italian President Sergio Mattarella needs time to consider a request by the anti-system 5-Star Movement and far-right League to nominate a political novice as prime minister, a source close to the president said on Monday.

The 5-Star and League earlier in the day asked the president to appoint a little-known law professor, Giuseppe Conte, to head the coalition government they want to form.

Mattarella has not yet summoned Conte to give him a mandate but has instead called in the heads of the lower and upper houses of parliament for meetings on Tuesday to discuss the situation.BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Representatives of Argentina, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Chile, and the United States said in a joint statement on Monday they would not recognize the result of Venezuelas presidential election held on Sunday.

Taking into account the lack of legitimacy of the electoral process we do not recognize the results of (Sundays) election ... which excluded the participation of some political actors, said Argentinas Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie.

Chile is not part of the Group of 20, but was invited to participate in the meeting of foreign ministers by Argentina, which holds the G20 rotating presidency this year.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Canadian state securities regulators announced Monday they have launched dozens of investigations into cryptocurrency scams.

The North American Securities Administrators Association announced the wide-ranging series of probes on Monday, dubbed Operation Crypto-Sweep. The investigations, some of which have already concluded, are aimed at unregistered securities offerings and initial coin offerings that promise significant returns without informing investors of the risks.

A task force convened by the group of state regulators in April has launched 70 investigations, with 35 already facing completed or pending enforcement actions.

Regulators have already sent cease and desist letters to several alleged schemes, including websites that relied on fake addresses and photos to appear legitimate when seeking investors. Officials said there will be additional enforcement actions to come against companies looking to defraud cryptocurrency investors.

The actions weve taken to date are just the tip of the iceberg, said Joe Borg, NASAA president and director of the Alabama Securities Commission.

Regulators invited the public to come forward with additional potential scams, while urging investors to be vigilant in seeking investments in the new arena.

The move by state regulators to crack down on cryptocurrency scams comes amid growing attention to virtual currencies by federal regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Youre going to see in this space a lot more collaboration and cooperation going forward, said Borg.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said major issues remained in talks between the United States, Mexico and Canada to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA).

There are still some very significant, open issues, Mnuchin said in an interview on CNBC.

Well see where we get over the next few weeks, he said, adding that he thinks there is still a desire among the three countries to reach an agreement.

Were still trying to get a new deal done. That is a priority for the president, Mnuchin told CNBC.

He added that Trump administration remained focused on crafting a new NAFTA deal that would require congressional approval, but that Trump could consider a possible so-called skinny deal that would not.

His comments come as talks to rework the 24-year-old trade accord have intensified in recent weeks.

Mnuchin has said that Trump is not focused on a specific deadline, but there are pressures given Mexicos presidential election in July as well as congressional deadlines and U.S. midterm elections in November.

Mexico has said that the remaining issues are not complex. Last week, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the countries were nowhere near a deal.

U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan has said that the Republican-controlled Congress would need to be notified of a new deal by last Thursday to give lawmakers a chance to approve it before a newly-elected Congress takes over in January.

However, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said there was still time to forge an agreement. I dont think the congressional timetable is quite as strict as Ryan had indicated, he told CNBC.

Its not dead. Its still cooking, he said.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate confirmed Gina Haspel on Thursday to be director of the CIA, ending a bruising confirmation fight centered on her ties to the spy agencys past use of waterboarding and other brutal interrogation techniques.

Haspel, who will be the first woman to lead the CIA, is a 33-year veteran at the agency currently serving as its acting director. The tally was 54-45 in favor of her nomination in the 100-member chamber, where a simple majority was required for confirmation.

Six Democrats joined President Donald Trumps fellow Republicans in voting for Haspel, and two Republicans voted no.

Haspel was approved despite stiff opposition over her links to the CIAs use of harsh interrogation methods, including waterboarding, a type of simulated drowning widely considered torture, in the years after the Sept. 11 attacks.

An undercover officer for most of her CIA career, Haspel in 2002 served as CIA station chief in Thailand, where the agency conducted interrogations at a secret prison using methods including waterboarding. Three years later, she drafted a cable ordering the destruction of videotapes of those interrogations.

Republican Senator John McCain, who has been away from Washington all year as he battles brain cancer, urged the Senate not to vote for Haspel. He did not vote on Thursday.

Tortured himself while a prisoner of war in Vietnam, McCain said approving Haspel would send the wrong message, and the country should only use methods to keep itself safe as right and just as the values we aspire to live up to and promote in the world.

Haspel also had strong support from Trumps administration, many current and former intelligence officials and a wide range of lawmakers, including Democrats.

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, which oversaw the nomination, supported Haspel.

I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the president, who will speak truth to power if this president orders her to do something illegal or immoral, like a return to torture, he said in a Senate speech before the vote.

Rights groups quickly condemned the vote. Laura Pitter of Human Rights Watch called it the predictable and perverse byproduct of the U.S. failure to grapple with past abuses.

Trump nominated Haspel, then deputy director, in March to succeed Mike Pompeo as CIA director. Haspel became acting director after Pompeo was confirmed as secretary of state.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. state and Canadian regulators have opened as many as 70 investigations into cryptocurrency scams, according to The Washington Post. The North American Securities Administrators Association is set to announce a wide-sweeping series of probes on Monday. The investigations, some of which have already concluded, are aimed at unregistered securities offerings and initial coin offerings that promise significant returns without informing investors of the risks, the Post reported. Regulators have already sent cease and desist letters to several alleged schemes. Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Bernadette Baum

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.



By Lee Suh-yoon







Actor Yoon Tae-young has been removed from an upcoming Korean drama for allegedly causing an accident while driving drunk last week.







According to Gangnam Police Station, Yoon drove into a car stopped ahead of him at a red light at around 8 p.m. on May 13. His blood alcohol level was high enough to for his license to be suspended.







tvN reported Monday that another actor would replace Yoon in an upcoming drama series "Dear Husband of 100 Days." The replacement has yet to be announced.







Yoon is also well known as the son of Samsung Group former vice chairman Yoon Jong-yong.







Yoon Tae-yong's agency said the actor was "undergoing a period of deep regret and reflection."

By Yoon Ja-young



As global activist hedge funds are increasingly threatening local businesses, entrepreneurs are demanding the government provide them with shields such as poison pills and golden parachutes.



According to business information provider Chaebul.com Monday, owner families of the country's top 25 companies and their friendly forces held on average 43.23 percent stake. When excluding treasury stocks which lack voting rights, the figure falls to 38.86 percent. Small shareholders take up 30.3 percent, followed by foreign investors at 20.48 percent and the National Pension Service at 5.99 percent.



The friendly stake for the owner family of Samsung Group stood at 34 percent. In Samsung Electronics, it was a mere 17.74 percent. Hyundai Motor Group's owner family had a 34.17 percent friendly stake which would vote with them.



Experts say local businesses are vulnerable to "wolf pack" attacks by hedge funds.



"The hedge fund which first attacked Barnes and Noble in the United States, for instance, had an 18.7 percent stake in the bookstore chain. When combined with the stakes of other hedge funds hidden behind it, the attackers held 36.14 percent. Hedge funds are increasingly taking this wolf pack strategy," said Shin Seok-hoon, a senior researcher at the Korea Economic Research Institute.



He explained they hide themselves and avoid obligations such as disclosure rules by using diverse financial contracts such as options, futures and swaps as loopholes.



"Korea, meanwhile, is discussing a commercial law revision which aims at restricting governing shareholders' right. Some of them don't even exist in other countries, and they are likely to open the doors for speculative hedge funds to hurt management."



The justice ministry recently submitted the revision plan that includes a cumulative voting system and multiple derivative actions. They all aim at restricting large shareholders' rights. Experts, however, point out they also need shielding.



"Unlike other countries where the businesses are also equipped with shields, the government seems to be only sharpening swords that could be abused by global hedge funds," Shin said.



Jung Koo-ryong, CEO of Inzi Controls who currently serves as the president of the Korea Listed Companies Association, said businesses are in urgent need of shields for managerial control such as dual class stocks and poison pills, which are common in other major countries.



Under a dual class stock system, certain stocks are equipped with more voting rights, enabling the largest shareholder to protect their managerial control. Poison pills, meanwhile, allow shareholders to purchase new shares at low prices in case of hostile M&A threats. The United States, Japan and France have adopted both measures.



Xiaomi, which will be listed on the Hong Kong bourse this year, is also scheduled to be under the dual class stocks. Its chairman will have more than half of the voting rights despite holding a 31.4 percent stake, which will protect him from interventions by hedge funds.



"Sovereign attacked SK Group in 2003, and Elliott threatened Samsung in 2015. Recently, an activist fund is meddling in management despite the government's positive evaluation of Hyundai Motor Group's efforts to improve its corporate governance structure," Jung said.



He pointed out Sovereign Fund reaped 900 billion won by attacking SK, and investor Carl Icahn reaped 150 billion won from KT&G as Korean firms were vulnerable to attacks without protective measures.



FSS plans to issue IB license to NH Securities



By Kim Yoo-chul



Although efforts by top-tier securities firms to move to investment banking (IB) have awakened support from Korea's top financial regulators, the question remains how: Will they supply IB services?



The Financial Services Commission (FSC), which oversees financial policies and directs the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), wants to create an environment where IBs with ample capital strength that support venture capital firms would be licensed.



FSS officials said Monday that the regulator plans to grant a license to NH Securities and Investment under which NongHyup Financial Group's investment arm can issue asset-backed securities for a capital increase.



"The FSS is reviewing documents filed by NH Securities that are awaiting business approval. But what I can tell you is the FSS has seen much progress," FSS Governor Yoon Suk-heun told reporters during an industry forum.



Yoon said if the license is granted, the FSS will encourage NH Securities to raise capital to be used in financing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) rather than expanding its size.



"The financial decision will be announced Wednesday at the earliest," an FSS official said, adding the regulator has interest in redesigning the local financial market to prioritize brokerages' focus to IB.



NH earlier said it wants to become the "Goldman Sachs of South Korea." IB is lucrative and promising as clients include large corporations, pension funds, other financial institutions, governments and hedge funds. Size is therefore an asset.



Theoretically, the more connections the bank or brokerage has within the market, the more likely it is to profit by matching buyers and sellers, specifically for unique transactions. The largest IBs such as Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse have clients around the globe.



But can Korean banks or securities firms work, finally?



The main role of an IB begins with pre-underwriting counseling and continues after the distribution of securities, in the form of advice. IBs also examine companies' financial statements for accuracy and publish perspectives that explain offerings to institutional investors before the securities are made available for purchase.



"This is why you need many highly skilled and qualified researchers if you want profit from an IB. But local brokerages are still reluctant to hire experienced researchers because of the high cost," an official at Korea Investment said on condition of anonymity.



At an IB, having good equity research is significant. Equity analysts are hailed as the real financial heroes as they create valuation models and research reports. Later on, they usually assume the status of major decision makers.



The number of investment bank research analysts hired by the nation's five biggest brokerages is falling. KB Securities was the only player that increased the number. More importantly, analysts were assigned to cover small-cap companies rather than top-tier blue-chip ones.



Nomura Securities in Japan has about 300.



"You have to have very good ability to exactly evaluate target companies, then your IB business will expand, but even top-level securities firms aren't prepared," said Hwang Se-un, an analyst at Korea Capital Market Institute, admitting hiring qualified research analysts here incurs big costs.



"They make little direct contribution to earnings, and that means, compared to costs, the returns are small in the short term," a Mirae analyst said. He added well-paid research analysts are usually asked to cover "everything."



By Kim Rahn



President Moon Jae-in is visiting the United States for talks with President Donald Trump before the Washington-Pyongyang summit slated for June 12.



The summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be the first meeting between leaders of the two countries, which have been adversaries to each other, and will be the critical one to decide whether the reclusive regime will give up its nuclear weapons and turn from a "rogue nation" to a "normal country."



Moon, for whom permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula is most important, has continuously tried to broker the denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.



The result of his efforts began to appear at the start of this year  the North participated in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the two Koreas resumed talks and held the inter-Korean summit, Moon and Kim agreed to seek complete denuclearization of the peninsula and officially ending the 1950-53 Korean War, and Pyongyang and Washington agreed to finally hold the meeting between their leaders.



Moon hoped the inter-Korean summit would succeed and become a good guide for the following Kim-Trump summit. And many experts say he has completed the mission successfully, as he had Kim's commitment to denuclearization stipulated on the Panmunjeom Declaration and Washington and Pyongyang set the date and location of their summit.



The South Korean leader is now tasked with fine-tuning the detailed process of denuclearization, a timetable for it, and the allies' concessions in return for the nuclear disarmament, together with Trump before the latter's meeting with Kim. His role as a mediator has become more important, especially after North Korea last week threatened to reconsider the Kim-Trump summit if the U.S. forces it to unilaterally give up its nuclear arsenal.



Moon, the mediator



Moon is now widely recognized as a top "negotiator" as he led the reclusive regime to dialogue and the inter-Korean summit, mediated between Kim and Trump over their different stances about denuclearization, and helped arrange the Washington-Pyongyang summit.



"President Trump and Kim Jong-un are scheduled to meet to discuss denuclearization, and Secretary (of State) Mike Pompeo has expressed confidence that the two leaders share a common understanding about the desired outcome of the summit," Frank Aum, a senior expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace, said.



"So I don't think President Moon could have done a better job in mediating between the two sides. The inter-Korean summit did the best it could to set up the U.S.-DPRK summit, but at this point, it is up to the United States and North Korea to take the next step."



The DPRK refers to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.



Professor Lee Geun at Seoul National University's Graduate School of International Studies also evaluated that Moon's role was to have Kim and Trump meet and he played his role perfectly.



While Moon has stressed South Korea should be in the driver's seat in the denuclearization talks, the rhetoric to dismiss concerns over Seoul being sidelined, Lee said, "Moon is not in the driver's seat; he 'prepared' the car so the North and the U.S. can drive it."



Regarding North Korea's recent threat to reconsider the Washington-Pyongyang summit if the U.S. forces it to unilaterally give up its nuclear weapons, Cho Sung-ryul, senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, said, "The statement was targeting the U.S., but it was also a demand for Moon, before his summit with Trump, to play a role because he has been persuading Trump as a broker."



Ken E. Gause, director of the International Affairs Group at CNA, also said, "In recent days, as North Korea has pulled back a bit from the path set at Panmunjeom, Moon has kept an open channel with Washington to help chart a way forward."



Hefty tasks to discuss



Although Moon and Trump have discussed the issue over the phone many times, they will talk about it in more detail, face to face.





MOSS POINT, Miss. -- Moss Point police have another man in custody related to the shooting that happened near Club Silk, Chief Brandon Ashley announced on Monday.

Henry Belle Watson of Moss Point has been arrested and charged with the felony charge of tampering with physical evidence in the adjacent parking lot to Club Silk.

According to witness statements, Tony Maurice Shoots and another man were in an altercation in the parking lot. Shoots allegedly stabbed the man with a glass beer bottle.

Detective Kimberlee Snowden learned prior to police being notified of the stabbing, Watson was outside of his club in the adjacent parking lot where the altercation happened attempting to clean the crime scene.

Watson was stopped by responding officers in the process of disturbing evidence in the stabbing. Surveillance video secured by Snowden showed Watson using water, cleaning solution and a long handle brush to disturb evidence.

Based on the video evidence, Watson's lack of reporting the crime, and the nature of the victim, 28-year-old Kerry Young's injuries, a warrant was issued for Watson's arrest.

At the time of his stabbing, Young was listed in critical condition. According to Ashley, Young is currently recovering from his injuries at Singing River Hospital.

You can be charged with a felony crime if you destroy, mutilate, conceal, remove or alter physical evidence in the State of Mississippi.

Police are asking anyone with information about this crime to please contact Detective Kimberlee Snowden or the Moss Point Police Department at 228-475-1711.

You may also contact Crime Stoppers at 800-787-5898 or visit the Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers website at mscoastcrimestoppers.com.U.S. President Donald Trump wants to end the North Korean nuclear crisis during his current term, and will likely use military means if diplomacy fails, an American senator said Sunday.



Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made the remark on Fox News, citing his conversation with the president three days earlier.

"He says he's going to end this conflict within his first term, that every other president has been played," Graham said. Trump's term ends in early 2021.



"President Trump told me three days ago that he wants to end this in a win-win way," the senator continued. "He thinks that's possible, but if they pull out, they play him, that we're going to end North Korea's threat to the American homeland in his first term and I'll let you surmise as to what that might look like."



Trump and Kim are set to meet in Singapore on June 12 to discuss the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. But the North threatened to pull out of the summit last week, saying the U.S. is trying to force "unilateral" denuclearization.



The senator on the Armed Services Committee warned that Trump will not tolerate being played.













"If they play Trump, if they try to nickel and dime Trump, and if they try to run out the clock on President Trump, then we're going to have a conflict and it's going to be in his first term," he said. "I'm highly confident of that because there is no other place to kick the can."



The U.S. has no interest in toppling Kim's regime, reunifying the Korean Peninsula or spreading democracy to North Korea, the senator said.



"We are trying to get them to give up their nuclear weapons program, and the Korean War and make it a win-win," he said. "If they don't show up, that's the end of diplomacy. If they do show up and try to play Trump, and that means military conflict is the only thing left. And if we have a conflict with North Korea, they will lose it, not us."



Graham also warned China against using its leverage over Pyongyang as a bargaining chip in trade talks with the U.S.



"China and North Korea have a chance to end the conflict in a win-win fashion and if it doesn't end soon, it's going to be a real mess and if there's a war, it will be in China's backyard, not ours," he said.



Moreover, the U.S. will not withdraw its 28,500 troops in South Korea as part of a nuclear deal with the North because their presence has been "stabilizing," he added. (Yonhap)Four South Korean reporters departed for China en route to North Korea on Monday to cover the planned demolition of its nuclear test site.



The North earlier announced that it would demolish the Punggye-ri facilities in its northeastern mountainous region, where it carried out six nuclear tests, with explosives to demonstrate its willingness for denuclearization. The move comes less than a month ahead of the North's summit talks with the United States to be held in Singapore.



The North has invited journalists from South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Britain to the ceremony set for sometime between Wednesday and Friday.



For South Korea, it said four reporters from a newswire and four others from a broadcaster will be allowed to witness the event.



The South's government tried to deliver the list of the reporters, selected for pool coverage, but the North has not accepted it amid its shift back to a recalcitrant tone. The North is upset about the ongoing combined air combat drill between South Korea and the U.S.













It remains unclear whether the North will hold the Punggye-ri ceremony as scheduled or allow South Korean media to cover it.



The four South Korean reporters will apply for a North Korea visa at its Beijing Embassy and wait for a flight to the North. The other four plan to leave for Beijing later Monday.



The North promised earlier that foreign journalists will be offered a charter flight from Beijing to Wonsan, an eastern port city, and a special train to the nuclear test site. (Yonhap)North Korea has sent investigators to China to search for a North Korean spy stationed in Shenyang who disappeared in February, according to a Japanese report on Monday. / Scene from "Secretly, Greatly"



By Ko Dong-hwan



A North Korean senior spy in China possibly went into hiding in February with the aim of defecting, Tokyo Shimbun reported Monday.



The spy, responsible for collecting intelligence from China and Russia about possible threats to the Kim Jong-un regime, had been staying at a Shenyang hotel in Liaoning Province. He then reportedly disappeared in late February, according to the report, which cited a Beijing correspondent with a North Korean informant.



Pyongyang reportedly knew that the spy, possibly carrying "a large amount of foreign currency," was in possession of confidential intelligence critical to the regime, which has sent investigators to try to find him in China.





South Korean reporters at Incheon International Airport, Monday. / Yonhap



By Park Si-soo



North Korea is demanding that each foreign reporter pay $10,000 for a visa to cover the planned dismantlement of a nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, Seoul government officials said Monday.



South Korean reporters were exempt, the officials said. But people familiar with the situation said the rule could be overturned anytime given the reclusive state's unpredictability.



The North has invited an unspecified number of reporters from South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia and the U.K. to the dismantlement ceremony scheduled for sometime between Wednesday and Friday.



President leaves for Washington for summit



By Kim Rahn



President Moon Jae-in has embarked on a mission to set a joint strategy with U.S. President Donald Trump to help him have a successful summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and achieve the North's denuclearization.



Moon departed for Washington, D.C., Monday afternoon, for bilateral talks with Trump Wednesday.



The meeting will take place amid a twisted situation where Pyongyang has abruptly pulled back from the reconciliatory mood to protest the ongoing South Korea-U.S. joint air force exercises and some American hawkish officials' comments about the possible application of a "Libyan model" in resolving the nuclear issue. North Korea threatened to reconsider the Kim-Trump summit slated for June 12 and has refused talks with the South.





Police officers guard the residence of former President Chun Doo-hwan in Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap



By Kang Seung-woo



The police chief said, Monday, police officers will stop guarding the private residences of the two former authoritarian-era presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo next year amid growing public calls against the duty.



"We plan to reduce police officers guarding their houses by 20 percent this year and withdraw all of them by next year," National Police Agency Commissioner General Lee Chul-sung said in a press conference.



Until last year, 10 close protection agents and 80 police officers were stationed to guard the former presidents and their residences, respectively, but in January, each number decreased to 60 and 5, according to police.



The decision came as more Koreans complain of taxpayer money spent on taking care of Chun and Roh _ both of whom were key figures in the 1979 military coup and the 1980 Gwangju massacre that led to a democratic movement.



Several civic groups launched an online petition, Thursday, urging the government to stop deploying police officers to protect their residences in Seoul, citing their previous misconduct. Chun and Roh were jailed on charges of treason and briery.



As of Monday, more than 12,000 people signed the petition.



In response, the police chief said their commitment is in accordance with the law.



"The Ministry of Interior and Safety is also sitting on the fence about the issue as they have important information and their personal insecurity may trigger social turmoil," Lee said.



Lee further hinted that police may stop providing close protection agents, as well.



"However, I believe it would be right to stop offering guard and security services through a revision of the law if public opinion corresponds with a policy decision."



A relevant law stipulates that a former president can be under the protection of the Presidential Security Service for 15 years after retirement. After that, police take over the duty.



In January, independent lawmaker Son Kum-ju proposed a bill that will strip a former president of his or her rights to receive police protection if he or she commits crimes toppling the nation's foundation.



Chun and Roh had their post-presidential benefits taken away from them due to their imprisonment in 1997, but they can still receive protective service in accordance with an escape clause.



Meanwhile, more than half of Koreans are supportive of the government stopping protecting Chun.



According to a Realmeter survey, released Monday, 63.2 percent of respondents opined that police should stop protecting the general-turned-president against 27.4 percent believing it should continue.



The local pollster interviewed 501 people nationwide, Friday, and it has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.





By Jung Min-ho







South Korea has no plans to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman said Monday.





"We do not have any plans to relocate the embassy," Noh Kyu-duk told The Korea Times.





This statement comes after the United States opened an embassy in Jerusalem last week in a controversial move, cheered by Israelis but met with mass protests from Palestinians.





Guatemala has joined the move since, and three more countries  Honduras, the Czech Republic and Romania  are reportedly considering doing the same.





The spokesman was speaking on a day when President Moon Jae-in left for the United States to meet U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of a U.S.-North Korea summit next month.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to Korea Ramzi Teymurov delivers a speech during an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-sukHippie Korea offers tea lecture







Tea has inspired both religions and war throughout history. Korea has a rich traditional tea culture, dating back millennia to the Three Kingdoms era (57 BCE to 668 CE).







Hippie Korea, a community started by expats in Suwon, offers a lecture this Saturday titled "How Tea Found its Way to Korea." The lecturer, David A. Mason, is an assistant professor of tourism at Sejong University.







The free lecture runs from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Seoul Global Cultural Center in Myeong-dong.







Visit fb.com/hippiekorea or hippiekoreacommunity.wordpress.com for more information.











Drag queens parade through Itaewon







The first Seoul Drag Parade takes place this Saturday in Itaewon. Participants will gather at The LINK at 3 p.m.







"The route will be revealed on the day," said organizer Heezy Yang, "because if it gets leaked, anti-queer protesters can prepare to interrupt."







The parade encourages queer and non-queer participants of all ages to go on a journey of self-discovery and free expression.







The LINK and Rabbithole Arcade Pub in Haebangchon offer after-party events for adults only.







"Not all heroes wear capes," said Erica Balenciaga, a locally active drag queen. "Some wear lipstick and lashes."







Visit seouldragparade.com for more information.















Regeneration center reveals HBC history







Haebangchon (HBC) was a much different place long before becoming an expat enclave, before there was HBC Fest, before Korean foodies formed long lines in front of Bonny's Pizza. Previously a military firing range during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation, the vacant space became a post-war refugee slum for North Korean arrivals settling in the South.







Haebangchon Urban Regeneration Center offers a free English-language excursion of the area this Saturday morning starting at 10 a.m. Participants visit sites such as Marine Command First Church, Shinheung Market and the 108-step staircase to colonial-era Gyeongseong Hoguk Shrine. The center offers further Korean-language events on May 31 and June 7 and 14.









Visit

to register or call 02-2199-7397.





By Lee Suh-yoon







The police are stepping up their investigation into a photo studio that allegedly coerced young women into posing nude for photos and sexually assaulted them in the process.







Police officers searched the studio and the manager's residence and car, according to Mapo Police Station, Sunday.







Police also put a temporary travel ban on the two alleged perpetrators sued by the victims.







Last Wednesday, YouTuber Yang Ye-won posted a video on her channel Beagle Couple, tearfully recounting her experience of being harassed into posing nude while doing a part-time model gig in a studio near Hapjeong Station, Seoul, three years ago.







The photos were later uploaded to multiple porn sites earlier this month.







Yang said she decided to share her story to prevent further exploitation by such studios. Yang's video has gained over 4.4 million views.







A day after the YouTuber's allegations, her acquaintance Lee So-yoon and 18-year-old minor Yoo Ye-rim came forward with similar allegations.







"There are many studios like this in Hapjeong," Yoo said in a Facebook post last Thursday.





Parents of public school students should consider pulling their children out of school until the nation passes new restrictions on gun laws, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan tweeted Saturday.

Duncan, who has long argued that tighter gun restrictions would save childrens lives, was co-signing an idea, also floated on Twitter, from his one-time communications chief, Peter Cunningham. Cunningham now heads up Education Post, a K-12 advocacy and communications organization.

This is brilliant, and tragically necessary.

What if no children went to school until gun laws changed to keep them safe?

My family is all in if we can do this at scale.

Parents, will you please join us? https://t.co/Yo4wsFuJI5  Arne Duncan (@arneduncan) May 18, 2018

Duncans comments came in the wake of a school shooting Friday in Sante Fe, Texas, which left 10 dead, mostly students.

He said in an interview with the Washington Post that the idea was meant to spark discussion .

Im open to other ideas, Im open to different ideas, but Im not open to doing nothing, Duncan told the Post. We will see whether this gains traction, or something does, but we have to think radically.

At least a few folks on Twitter seconded the one-time education secretary. They included Wendy Kopp, the founder of Teach For America, a nonprofit that trains college graduates to work in needy schools.

My #family is in too! This is not about left or right, its about our children that keep dying because some adults are impeding progress. Together we can! #SiSePuede https://t.co/s03kxzOTxT  Efrain Martinez (@EfraMart13) May 18, 2018

Ill do it. My baby shouldnt have to hold a sign like this ever again. She shouldnt have a school shooter drill again. Tornado/fire only pic.twitter.com/vVFSxnZML3  Christine Mooneyhan (@roadmastersgirl) May 18, 2018

Duncan, who was President Barack Obamas first and longest-serving Cabinet secretary, is now a managing partner at the Emerson Collective, a policy and advocacy organization, where he works to promote gun safety.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .South Korean President Moon Jae-in was set to leave for Washington on Monday on an apparent mission to help broker a nuclear deal between the United States and North Korea ahead of their first-ever summit next month.



Moon's trip follows his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the border village of Panmunjom on April 27. He will hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (Washington time).



The trip, however, also comes after a series of old rhetoric from Pyongyang that accuses Seoul and Washington of trying to topple its communist regime.



North Korea abruptly suspended high-level talks with the South scheduled for last week, citing an ongoing joint military exercise of the two allies. It has also threatened to reconsider the Trump-Kim summit, set to be held in Singapore on June 12.



"We expect the upcoming South Korea-U.S. summit to play a role as a bridge (between the U.S. and North Korea) that will lead to the success of the North Korea-U.S. summit as it comes three weeks before the North Korea-U.S. summit," Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy director of the presidential National Security Office, said earlier.



Moon and Trump will likely discuss "ways to guarantee a bright future for the North when North Korea achieves complete denuclearization," he added.



In the Panmunjom Declaration, the leaders of the two divided Koreas agreed to pursue complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.



In a gesture demonstrating its denuclearization commitment, the North is moving to dismantle its only known nuclear test facility in Punggye-ri this week with dozens of journalists from South Korea, China, Russia, Britain and the U.S. witnessing the event.



Still, its recent suspension of inter-Korean dialogue is sending out mixed signals, also forcing many to question the sincerity of its pledge to abandon its nuclear ambitions.



During talks with Trump, Moon is expected to discuss what to expect and what not to expect from Kim based on his own encounter with the North Korean leader last month, officials from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.



The officials said Moon and Trump are set to hold a one-on-one meeting where they will be accompanied by their interpreters and no one else.



"The fact that the two leaders will hold talks with no other attendants is important. It will likely be a chance for them to share their inner-most thoughts," a Cheong Wa Dae official said, while asking not to be identified.



Moon will head back home Wednesday following his two-day trip to the U.S. He will arrive back here early Thursday. (Yonhap)



By Kim Jae-heun







Korea International School (KIS) held an art and essay contest on April 23.





The event was inspired by a suggestion from the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Korea, Mr. Ersin Ercin, to celebrate Turkey's National Sovereignty and Children's Day.





Students could either write a comparative essay on Korean and Turkish cultures or create art blending traditional patterns found in both Korean and Turkish art.





The contest awarded the winners free trips to Turkey sponsored by the Turkish Embassy in Korea.





The essays and works of art were submitted before April 18.





A team of teachers judged the entries.





The ambassador visited KIS for an award ceremony to present awards and prizes to the winners.





The ambassador's idea to host the contest came after student Oh Yun-je invited the third secretary to the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, Seyla Saglik, to the International Day Festival held at KIS last Oct. 12.





"We were asked to conduct research about a country that is not presented in the student population at our school. I gave a presentation about Turkish culture and their customs. While doing my research, my teacher Mr. Greene suggested I reach out to the Embassy of Turkey here. I was fortunate to receive a reply from them when I sent them an email," Oh said.

The blogger "Druking," who has been detained over his opinion-rigging activities on portal sites, attends a trial hearing, May 16. / Yonhap



By Choi Ha-young



Cheong Wa Dae is in the hot seat following media reports that an aide of President Moon Jae-in maintained a relationship with a notorious blogger at the center of a high-profile online opinion rigging case during last year's presidential race.



According to the reports, presidential secretary Song In-bae, met the blogger Kim Dong-won, better known by his online name "Druking," four times before the presidential election in May last year, when Song served as a key campaigner for Moon.



From June 2016 to February 2017, Song also received 2 million won ($1,840) for attending conferences organized by Kim, according to the office of the presidential secretary for civil affairs. A month ago, the presidential secretary office investigated the relationship between Song and Kim, a high-ranking Cheong Wa Dae official told reporters.



The amount of the money was "within the usual boundaries" said the official. At that time, the result of the investigation was told to presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok, but not to the President.



It also turned out that Song introduced the blogger to Kim Kyoung-soo, a confidant of Moon.



After being briefed about this Monday, President Moon told his secretaries to give an unvarnished account of what happened. "When the presidential office looked into the case, we thought the meetings between Song and Druking were part of the usual election campaign," the official said.



The key points of the scandal are whether the blogger and accomplices used an illegal software macro before the presidential election in May last year, under the direction of the aides. The automated program enables a user to input multiple comments or likes for specific comments on news articles.



Initially, the authorities began to look into the blogger's illegal online activities after it recognized the use of the macro in January, in a smear campaign against President Moon's peace overtures. The pro-Moon netizen reportedly turned against him after his request for personnel appointments for friends were ignored.



So far, no evidence has emerged that Song directed the online comment manipulations. In a news conference last month, Kim said he used to distribute article links published on portal sites, such as Naver and Daum, but denied the opinion-rigging allegation.



The case has been at the center of political strife between the ruling and opposition parties. The floor leader of the largest opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Kim Sung-tae even staged a hunger strike for nine days, calling for an independent counsel to look into the President, as well as the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Kim Kyoung-soo.



After weeks of bitter confrontation over the special counsel bill, the rival parties passed it in a plenary session Monday.



The conservative opposition parties have taken the issue up, apparently in a bid to harm the popularity of the Moon administration and rally conservative voters ahead of the mayoral and gubernatorial elections in June.



Since Kim Kyoung-soo is running for the post of South Gyeongsang Province governor, the result of the special investigation may affect the election. The DPK has defined the moves as "ignoring the presidential election outcome."

By Kim Bo-eun







A high-level North Korean intelligence official has gone missing, Japan's Tokyo Web reported Monday.







The newspaper reported the official went missing in the Chinese city of Shenyang in Liaoning Province in late February.







The report from Beijing cited sources on North Korea. It stated the official may have defected and could be hiding in China.







North Korean authorities also believe the official has defected and has dispatched a search team to China, but has been unable to identify his whereabouts, the sources were cited as saying.







The official, who is reported to be a male in his 50s, has been referred to as a member of the immediate family of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung  a descendant of Kim's mother Kang Ban-seok who is idolized as the "Mother of Choson."







The official is reported to have been in based in a hotel in Shenyang to manage data collected from China and Russia on figures who are considered a threat to the Kim Jong-un regime.







When he disappeared from the hotel in late February, he reportedly had a large amount of foreign currency.







North Korean authorities are focusing on the fact that he was in charge of critical data on the incumbent North Korean regime.







The official is also reported to have been in charge of tracking defectors and those who aided defections.

Reps. Hong Moon-jong, second from right, and Yeom Dong-yeol, second from left, wait for the result of a vote on their arrest warrants, in the plenary session Monday. / Yonhap



'Druking' special probe, extra budget bills passed



By Choi Ha-young



The National Assembly has come under criticism for voting down arrest motions for two Liberty Korea Party (LKP) lawmakers facing corruption investigations, in a plenary session Monday.



In secret ballots, the motions on Reps. Hong Moon-jong and Yeom Dong-yeol were rejected by 141 and 172 out of 275 lawmakers, respectively. The prosecution can arrest a lawmaker while the Assembly is in sessions only if the arrest motion is approved by a majority of lawmakers.



On April 2, the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for Rep. Hong, over wide-ranging corruption allegations  bribery, embezzlement and dereliction of duty. Rep. Yeom has been accused of illicitly recommending job candidates to Kangwon Land, a state-controlled casino, which also led to a warrant request, April 11.



However, the court has failed to review the warrants, since the LKP kept prolonging the parliamentary session. The LKP called for an extraordinary session in May, April 27, apparently to protect the lawmakers. The decision drew enormous fire, because the LKP was boycotting all legislative affairs as a part of its anti-ruling camp struggle.



Customarily, the prosecution used to seek arrest warrants for lawmakers during the parliamentary sessions, even though it can request the warrant when the session is over. It was widely considered as a tactic to shift the political burden of arresting lawmakers.



Because of the Assembly's repeated protections of "colleagues" accused of corruption, the parliament was nicknamed the "bullet proof Assembly." Reps. Hong and Yeom's cases were the 15th and 16th efforts to fend off arrest warrants for lawmakers.



This time, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmakers will likely face a mounting backlash. As DPK floor leader Hong Young-pyo admitted, at least 20 DPK members voted against the arrests.



"It was such an excuseless outcome," Hong said in a news conference after the outcome. "I never imagined a situation like this. I do not understand why some party lawmakers made such a decision against the party's official stance."



The two lawmakers' pleas may have affected the decision. Rep. Hong claimed his innocence, saying this is the prosecutors' "abuse of power" and "oppression against the opposition party." Rep. Yeom appealed to colleague lawmakers saying "my 13-year-old son is waiting for his father."



Meanwhile, the Assembly passed a special counsel bill to look into an online opinion-rigging scandal, as well as an extra budget bill aimed at boosting youth employment and supporting workers affected by the faltering shipbuilding and car manufacturing industries.

By Lee Min-hyung



Four South Korean journalists arrived in Beijing, Monday, on their way to North Korea to witness the regime's planned dismantling of a nuclear test site.



But it remains undetermined whether they can enter the North, with Pyongyang suddenly renewing its provocative rhetoric against Seoul and declining to accept a list of journalists. Four other journalists will also arrive in Beijing late Monday before trying to head to the North to cover the event.



"We are trying to send the list to the North, but the regime has yet to acknowledge our notice," the unification ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said Monday in a media briefing. "We need to wait and see how the situation develops."



The journalists will apply for visas to enter the North at the North Korean embassy in Beijing. If they are issued their visas there, they will go to the North, Tuesday, along with other journalists invited from China, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.





Moon should try to keep momentum for detente



President Moon Jae-in will have his fourth summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. For Moon, this summit is more important than the previous ones as he is required to act as a bridge for the success of the upcoming summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.



Moon should make strenuous efforts to narrow differences between Pyongyang and Washington over how to denuclearize the North. He also needs to play a more active role as a mediator to deal with the North's threat to cancel the summit with Trump to be held in Singapore on June 12.



The threat came last week when Pyongyang abruptly suspended high-level talks with Seoul, citing joint air force drills between South Korea and the U.S. The Kim regime criticized Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, for trying to apply the "Libyan model" of denuclearization to the North.



The criticism reflects the fact that the two adversaries have yet to agree on the method of denuclearization. It also explains why the North has suddenly made an about-face from its diplomatic offensive which started with the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and culminated in the April 27 Inter-Korean Summit.



In this situation, President Moon ought to work more closely with Trump to make the summit a success. First the two leaders should reaffirm the shared goal of denuclearizing the North. They also must make clear the definition of "complete denuclearization."



During the Moon-Kim summit last month, the two Koreas agreed to a complete denuclearization of the peninsula. However, Kim seemed to have a different view of the agreement. He has expressed his intention to realize a step-by-step and reciprocal denuclearization so that the North can get rewards for every step it takes.



It might be natural for the North to oppose the Libyan model, considering that Moammar Gadhafi was dethroned and killed by rebels after giving up his nuclear program. Of course there was no direct link between the demise of the Libyan leader and denuclearization. But Pyongyang is anathematic to such a model because Kim wants security guarantees for his regime in return for abandoning its nuclear program.



One positive gesture from the U.S. is that Trump is trying to placate Kim. Trump said Kim's security would be guaranteed in any deal and his country would not suffer the fate of Gaddafi's Libya. His remarks indicate that he is determined to produce successful results from the summit with Kim. In other words, Trump could make some compromise with Kim during the meeting next month.



But, this should not mean a retreat from the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID)." Moon and Trump should send a clear message to Kim that their goal is the complete denuclearization of the North. Equally important is to offer attractive carrots to the North so that the Kim regime can take sincere steps toward denuclearization, peace and co-prosperity.









By Park Si-soo







Fire broke out at S-Oil's refining plant in Ulsan early Monday.





Firemen extinguished the blaze in one hour with no reports of casualties, according to police and fire department officials.



The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are not yet known.





The fire broke out in the lubricant-making unit at 2:41 a.m. Workers evacuated after finding black smoke and flames coming from a pressure control valve.





The company has temporarily closed the plant.





Adolf Hitler died in April 1945, as confirmed by a newly published scientific study. / AP



Adolf Hitler definitely died in 1945 in Berlin, from taking cyanide and a bullet, according to French researchers who were given rare access to fragments of the dictator's teeth held in Moscow.



"The teeth are authentic, there is no possible doubt. Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945," professor Philippe Charlier told AFP.



"We can stop all the conspiracy theories about Hitler. He did not flee to Argentina in a submarine, he is not in a hidden base in Antarctica or on the dark side of the moon," Charlier said.



The study, which Charlier co-authored with four other researchers, was published Friday in the scientific magazine European Journal of Internal Medicine.



The analysis of Hitler's bad teeth and numerous dentures found white tartar deposits and no traces of meat fibre -- the dictator was vegetarian, Charlier said.



In March and July 2017, Russia's secret service the FSB and the Russian state archives authorised a team of researchers to examine the bones of the dictator, for the first time since 1946, he said.



The French team was able to look at a skull fragment presented as being from the Fuhrer, which showed a hole on the left side which was in all probability caused by the passage of a bullet.



The scientists were not authorised to take samples from this fragment.



As it stands, the fragment's morphology was "totally comparable" to radiographies of Hitler's skull taken a year before his death, the research found.



If this study confirms the generally accepted view that Hitler died on the 30 April, 1945, in his Berlin bunker with his companion Eva Braun, it does also shed new light on the exact causes of death, Charlier said.



"We didn't know if he had used an ampule of cyanide to kill himself or whether it was a bullet in the head. It's in all probability both," he said.



The examination of the teeth did not find any traces of powder, which indicates there was not a revolver shot to the mouth, more likely the neck or the forehead.



Equally, bluish deposits seen on his false teeth could indicate a "chemical reaction between the cyanide and the metal of the dentures," the researcher said.



Charlier, a specialist in medical and legal anthropology, was also involved in the analysis of the mummified heart of Richard Lionheart. (AFP)For the fifth time since the start of last year, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will testify publicly before Congress on Tuesday.

The secretary will speak to lawmakers on the House education committee about the policies and priorities of the U.S. Department of Education. Compared to her predecessors, DeVos hasnt been on Capitol Hill a lot during her roughly 16 months as education secretary, at least in terms of public appearances: Shes testified before spending committies three times, and once to the Senate education committee for her rocky confirmation hearing in January 2017. Tuesdays hearing would be the first time shes testified before the House committee that deals with K-12 issues.

DeVos has met privately a few times recently with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. But education committee lawmakers havent had the chance to ask DeVos detailed questions in public about her track record. In fact, on Friday, House committee Democrats sent out a fact sheet pointing out that her predecessors spent significantly more time testifying to Congress over comparable periods of time. In former Secretary Arne Duncans first 15 months, for example, he testified to Congress nine times.



With a big House election in November coming up, Dems on Tuesday might be particularly eager to trip DeVos up during her testimony and spin what they see as embarassing sound bites into campaign ads.

So what might lawmakers ask DeVos? Democrats in particular will have pointed questions for her in the name of opposition party oversight; here are a few prominent items that might come up.

1) Civil Rights

The Democrats have made it plain for some time that they are strongly opposed to how DeVos is approaching civil rights. Just a few days ago, for example, Democrats on the House committee used a hearing on student-data privacy issues to condemn the secretarys approach to everything from transgender students access to school facilities, to racial disparities in school discipline . And on the same day, Democratic leadership also used a forum on the anniversary of the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision to criticize the Trump administrations approach to civil rights in education.

DeVos is at different stages on these issues. Shes already rolled back the Obama-era guidance designed to ensure the transgender students access to the facilities that match their gender identity, for example, while the Obama guidance on discipline disparities is in flux. Expect questions (as well as lengthy statements) on those fronts, as well as on issues like her decision to kill Obama-era guidance on Title IX and sexual assault and her proposed delay to an Obama-era rule on identifying racial disparities in special education .

Its unclear if committee Republicans who agree with DeVos on many issues will wade into this topic, but if they do, they might ask DeVos to describe how these sorts of moves have granted or might grant states and schools more flexibility to deal with these issues in their local contexts.

2) School Safety

The school shooting at a Texas high school on Friday could spur questions from both Democrats and Republicans about the federal school safety commission DeVos is leadingshe hosted a commission meeting last week . So far, the commissions proceedings have been closed to the public and some school groups have complained that theyve been shut out .

DeVos has previously said that its best left up to schools to determine if they should provide staff with firearms in order to improve safety.

3) Every Student Succeeds Act Oversight

Since DeVos started approving state ESSA plans, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the top Democrat on the House education committee, has publicly criticized her for signing off on plans that he and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the Senate education committees leading Democrat, say violate the law.

The thrust of their complaints is that DeVos is letting states be too lax when it comes to ensuring protections for historically disadvantaged groups of students . DeVos has denied this, arguing that the state plans shes approved comport with the law. Murray and Scott have also criticized DeVos process for reviewing ESSA plans. This is an issue adjacent to the civil rights issues weve noted above.

4) School Choice

The Trump administrations push to expand school choice through the federal appropriations process has almost entirely failed. (Congress did agree to give a slight boost to federal charter school aid, far short of what President Donald Trump and DeVos have sought.) So its not as if Democrats can rail against a new voucher program that DeVos controls. However, Democrats in the past have been eager to mix it up with DeVos about choicesee Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Katherine Clarks exchange with DeVos last year , for example. They might do so again.

Conversely, Republicans might encourage DeVos to at least discuss the benefits of choice and what shes seen on her visits to various schools . Remember, though, that the Trump team just said it doesnt support a bill from Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., that would divert a portion of Impact Aid money to create education savings accounts for children connected to the military.

5) Department Reforms

DeVos is seeking to revamp the Education Departments office of elementary and secondary educatio n, as well as the office of English-language acquisition .

DeVos wants to break down silos (in the words of a department spokeswoman) and group people together by their skill sets rather than by which programs they oversee with respect to her departments elementary and secondary education work. And as for its English-language acquisition work, her team says it is considering merging those sevices with others that focus on separate populations of traditionally disadvantaged students.

These potential moves are part of a broader push to reorganize the department with the goal of making it more efficent and responsive, in DeVos view. This might get a favorable review in Republicans comments and remarks, and less so from Democrats.

One related issue: Republicans could ask her about how the relatively slow progress of Education Department nominees through the Senate is hampering her work. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., complained about this issue and put the blame on Democrats last week, when Mick Zais was confirmed by senators to be DeVos deputy secretary . Zais was nominated by Trump in October.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .Thank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.Earlier this year, shortly after 17 students and teachers were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., President Donald Trump created a school commission, led by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, to explore solutions.

And now that there has been another deadly school shooting, at Santa Fe High School in Texas, educators, parents, and othersincluding advocates in Washington and folks on social mediaare wondering just what the commission has been up to since its inception in early March.



Besides DeVos, the commission includes Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen. It has had one organizational meeting, on March 28. By contrast, there have been seven school shootings since the one in Parkland, Fla., according to Education Weeks tracker .

Separately, DeVos met May 17 with experts and those personally affected by past school shootings . That meeting was not open to the public or press, but has been posted online here.

Several news outlets, including CNN , have reported that Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, said the commission was activated after the May 18 shooting in Texas and will meet early this week.

A White House spokesman referred questions on the forthcoming meeting to the U.S. Department of Education. A department spokeswoman was unable to provide further details Monday morning. (We will update this post when there is more to say.)

Advocates say the commission hasnt been transparent about its work or done much to try get the perspective of rank-and-file educators . Eight groups, representing superintendents, state chiefs, school psychologists, social workers, and parents, sent a letter to the department last week outlining their concerns. (The letter was sent prior to the Texas school shooting.)

The Education Department said that two top officialsMick Zais, the deputy secretary, and Kent Talbert, a senior aidehad a 45-minute conference call with the National PTA, one of the groups on the letter. (Jacki Ball, the director of government relations for the PTA, said there were no specific details provided on that call about when future meetings of the commission and/or listening sessions would be held.) And the Council of Chief State School Officers was told the department would be scheduling a meeting with them soon. Zais and Talbert have also met previously with state teachers of the year to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, DeVos is almost certain to face questions about the commission and its work when she testifies before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce for the first time on Tuesday. Democrats will likely ask why educators havent been given more of a voice, and why the commissions first and only meeting was closed to the public. They may also ask whether the commission is a stalling technique, allowing the Trump administration to side-step a divisive debate over gun safety before the congressional midterm elections.

And social media has been buzzing with comments about the school safety commission and what many perceive as a lack of action since its inception.

Tweets on school safety commission:

Perhaps the school safety commission should always be active and not have to be activated.  Emily Brandwin (@CIAspygirl) May 19, 2018

Whatever happened to your Commission on School Safety? pic.twitter.com/aB2dwdkL5J  Farzana (@Farzana722) May 20, 2018

Photo credit: Alex Brandon for the Associated Press.

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .On Mothers Day, Sunday, May 13, 2018, Chris Robinsons latest project, As the Crow Flies hit Portland, Oregon, for a sold out show at the Crystal Ballroom. It was the bands final stop on the tour. You never know what to expect when you cover a show, but everything worked like it was supposed to and we even found a free parking space, which only happens once every five years, so I guess it was time. Even though the show was sold out and packed when we got there we ended up with front row seats center stage in the balcony for an unobstructed view of the entire show. There are a couple hundred seats in the balcony with standing room for over a thousand on the main floor.

The Once and Future Band from Oakland, California opened the show at 8:00 PM with their neo psychedelic brand of progressive rock combining the influences of artists like Pink Floyd, Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The Crystal Ballroom was a dance hall during the Roaring 1920s, with a floating dance floor that vibrates when a thousand people are gyrating on it. Other than going into the photo pit on the main floor for the first 3 songs of both acts I enjoyed the show from my balcony seat where I could see the throbbing sea of people pulsating to the beat of the music.

At 9:15 PM As the Crow Flies hit the stage with an explosive entrance as Chris Robinson and company dove into Remedy, from the Black Crowes second album, 1992s The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion. The band was comprised of Chris Robinson Brotherhood drummer, Tony Leone, phenomenal 22 year old guitarist, Marcus King, and three former members of the Black Crowes, guitarist  Audley Freed, Bassist  Andy Hess and Keyboardist  Adam MacDougall. The next two songs Sting Me and Hotel Illness were also from the same album as Robinson danced back and forth in front of the microphone stand clapping his hands and even inverting the microphone stand as he sang into it, like Rod Stewart. Everyone jammed to high heaven as Robinson cupped the microphone while he played his mouth harp.

Nonfiction, first appeared on 1994s Amorica and began with McDougalls subdued organ that harmonized with Freeds guitar, until a barefooted Robinson danced his way to the microphone and began to sing,

I dont know my telephone number

But you kiss good and Id like to

See you tomorrow

By Your Side, the title song from the Black Crowes 5th album in 1999 was another stellar blowout with McDougall and King singing harmony behind Robinson. The Black Crowes debut album, Shake Your Money Maker was released in 1990 and went multi-platinum resulting in their sharing the stage with top artists like Robert Plant, ZZ Top and Motley Crue. The band officially broke up in January 2015, but released 8 studio albums during its quarter of a century existence and sold 30 million albums, establishing it as one of the top hard rock bands in the world. Seeing Things was one of 4 songs off of that album that they performed, with Robinson singing a soulful lament.

Cause Im seeing things, for the first time

Im seeing things, for the first time

Robinson strutted and danced with his raised hands clapping in the air, like an ecstatic Pentecostal as the band played on between verses. High Head Blues from their third album, 1994s Amorica, with the controversial album cover was an intense number that everyone jammed ruthlessly on. They were as tight as an over wound watch with MacDougall, King and Freed jamming together, until they concluded to the audiences enthusiastic roar. They immediately segued into Good Friday, from 1996s Three Snakes and One Charm with Robinson wailing on his harmonica until he began to sing with a righteous zeal.

I will not forgive you

Nor will I accept the blame

I will see you on Good Friday

Once again the band segued into the next song which was David Crosbys composition, Almost Cut My Hair from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Youngs 1970 album, Deja vu. It featured some of the best ultra stratospheric guitar wailing of the show with both Freed and King trying to outdo the other. Robinson raised his arm in the air as he waved his freak flag. I dont think that anybody that wasnt alive as a teenager or older when this song was released can imagine the solidarity that it evoked among the ostracized hippie long hairs of the then conservative American society. It was an extended jam that built in intensity with blazing guitars, until it exploded in conclusion to thunderous applause.

Both guitars began delicately playing together as an introduction to Amoricas Wiser Times, before drums and bass kicked in. Keyboards were dominant through most of the song, even when guitars came in and the jam intensified, until King began a solo that demonstrated his virtuosity on the axe. About 12 minutes into the jam he took a bow and Freed took over on guitar and proved his worth. It was the longest jam of the night done in the spirit of the Bay area jam bands of the 1960s, which were led by the Grateful Dead.

She Talks to Angels was another great song from Shake Your Money Maker as Robinson alternated between grabbing the microphone stand and wildly gesticulating with his hands as he clapped and danced while he wailed,

Says she talks to angels

They call her out by her name.

I covered two Black Crowes shows. One in 1997 when they headlined the Furthur Festival and the other in 2002 at the Roseland theater. Both times they were superb with tight musicianship and exciting performances. Tonights stellar show was just as good and it rocked.

Thorn In My Pride from the Black Crowes second album gave 22 year old Marcus King an opportunity to perform another amazing guitar solo, as Robinson took over on harmonica with the band joining in behind him, producing another amazing jam at full throttle, until the pace slowed down to nearly a dead stop. At that point the harmonica began again and led the outro as Robinson clutched the microphone to his instrument. Jealous Again another cut from the Crowes debut album had Robinson standing in front of the microphone stand wildly geturing one minute and strutting around the stage the next.

The band dove into Hard To Handle, which was originally recorded and co-written by the late great Otis Redding and appeared on the Crowes 1990 debut. Robinson sang the choppy lyrics as he danced in front of the band that was playing at full throttle. Drummer Tony Leone was beating out time like a locomotive as King shredded his guitar with sonic licks soaring through the ether as multi-colored lights flashed and Robinson danced until they broke into Hush, written by Joe South, but recorded and popularized by Billy Joe Royal and Deep Purple. It was a psychedelic romp as they amplified Deep Purples verson of song. Na, na, na, na, na,na, na, na, na, filled the air as the crowd sang Hush! McDougall took lead on keyboards as Leone continued his cadence, until everyone played to the last note and put down their instruments and walked off the stage.

After about a minute of screaming, clapping and foot stomping the band returned to the stage and began playing, Take the Highway, a Marshall Tucker Band song from the early 1970s. Robinson opened the song with his harmonica and then began to sing with a powerful voice,

Take the Highway

Lord knows Ive been gone too long

Freed began to play and broke into a solo that was riveting, when King joined in and blew the roof off, while Hess thumped his bass like a madman in between them. The song exploded into another jam that had everyone in maximum overdrive, until everything came to an end at 10:45 PM, leaving time to hit the taco stand before it closes.

Review by Bob GersztynHistoric FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour gold for Serbia!

Triumphant Stefan Basta and Lazar Kolaric seconds before they received their first World Tour gold medals (Photo courtesy FIVB).



FIVB: Aydin, Turkey, May 20, 2018  Stefan Basta and Lazar Kolaric wrote yet another piece of history for Serbias beach volleyball as they claimed the first ever gold for the southern European nation on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in either gender. Only a week ago, at the Lucerne three-star, the Serbian pair took silver, their first medal on the Tour, starting their quest from the first qualification round, just as they did in Aydin. Stefan Basta and Lazar Kolaric wrote yet another piece of history for Serbias beach volleyball as they claimed the first ever gold for the southern European nation on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in either gender. Only a week ago, at the Lucerne three-star, the Serbian pair took silver, their first medal on the Tour, starting their quest from the first qualification round, just as they did in Aydin.

Pulling off a tremendous comeback in the nail-biting mens final of the three-star event in Aydin, second-seeded Basta and Kolaric defeated Irans Rahman Raoufi and Abolhamed Mirzaali in three sets and triumphed on top of the podium. The Iranians were also hoping for their first gold, but had to settle for silver, their second medal as a duo, after the bronze they claimed in Satun last month. Raoufi has one more silver and one more bronze on his record, but with a different partner.

The Aydin bronze went to Russias Ruslan Bykanov and Maksim Hudyakov. This was the first medal on the World Tour for either of them.

The mens podium at Aydin

Basta and Kolaric were brave enough to come back from a set down and an 18-20 deficit in the second to secure a 2-1 (16-21, 25-23, 16-14) victory after over an hour of play time. The final was a real delight for the audience with the fifth-seeded Iranians displaying an extremely solid defence game as the Serbs responded with their powerful attacks. Raoufi and Mirzaali, who had impressed throughout the previous stages of the competition, won the first set 21-16 and were standing on a double match point when they claimed a 20-18 lead in the second. However, Basta and Kolaric were able to fight their way back and eventually won the set 25-23. The tie-breaker was a dramatic affair too where the Serbs came back again to emerge victorious at 16-14.

Basta and Kolaric overwhelmed with emotion upon winning the final

It was a very long match and our game #25 in three weeks, Kolaric said afterwards. We did not have any time to practice in the meantime, so we feel literally exhausted. Iran had excellent defence and it felt like it was simply impossible to score at times. We decided to focus on our defence game as well and we eventually made it to the tie-break. It was something like our tenth tie-break and we had not lost any going into this game. I am happy with the victory and proud of what we achieved together with my partner.

Turkeys stars, top-seeded Safa Urlu and Hasan Huseyin Mermer, played against Bykanov and Hudyakov for the bronze medal. Despite the support from the crowd, the Turkish team could not stop the march of the Russian side as Bykanov and Hudyakov celebrated a 2-0 (23-21, 21-14) victory to secure their spot on the podium.

Above-the-net action in the bronze medal match

We are happy with the result - it is not excellent, yet it is good for us. We loved the Turkish crowd, as they are so passionate and enthusiastic. The Turkish federation chose the right place to host such an event. We will now continue our season with the event in Alanya in two weeks, Hudyakov said.Posted 5/20/18

MaKenzie Johnson of Fair Grove recently was initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nations oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Johnson was initiated Rome, May 21 - President Sergio Mattarella is resuming government consultations Monday and has summoned Five-Star Movement (M5S) representatives with leader Luigi Di Maio at 5:30 pm and Northern League officials with leader Matteo Salvini at 6 pm, the Quirinale Palace has announced. In Particular, Mattarella will meet with Di Maio and Danino Toninelli and Giulia Grillo, respectively M5S Senate and Lower House whips, at 5:30 pm. He will then meet with Senate and Lower House whips for the Northern League, Gian Marco Centinaio and Giancarlo Giorgetti, together with the party's leader Salvini half an hour later. The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) conducted an online vote of members about the government contract it has agreed with the anti-migrant, Euroskeptic League, which also consulted supporters about the program via voting at stands throughout the country at the weekend. The contract for the M5S-League government features plans to introduce a two-tier flat tax, a basic income and the revision of a 2011 pension reform that raised the retirement age, among other measures.Brussels, May 21 - European People's Party (EPP) leader Manfred Weber has reportedly said the 5-Star Movement and the League, who look set to form a coalition government in Italy, are taking huge risks with the policies they are proposing. "You are playing with fire because Italy is heavily indebted," Weber was quoted as saying by German media about a future M5S-League government. He reportedly said that "irrational or populist actions could cause a new eurozone crisis" and made "an appeal to stay within the confines of reason". The anti-migrant Euroskeptic League immediately rejected Weber's contention and said he was the one playing with fire by continuing to try to assert alleged German hegemony. "The League-M5S government will act in the interests of the Italians, not that of the Germans!" said League EP Whip Mara Bizzotto. "It's Weber who's playing with fire: the time when Italy took orders from Berlin is over". Bizzotto said Weber "should mind his own bloody business, the Italians are tired of taking orders from Brussels and Berlin! "Let Weber put his mind at ease: the time when Merkel and her proconsuls in Brussels set up and knocked down Italian governments according to the interests of Germans and their banks is over".Vatican City, May 21 - Scandals over sex abuse and money have hurt vocations to the priesthood, Pope Francis told Italian bishops Monday, while urging them to live simply and poorly and not like "pharaohs". Francis opened the annual assembly of the Italian Bishops' Conference (CEI) by saying that the many scandals had weighed on the Church's crisis in vocations. He said "the crisis in vocations is concerning" and is "the poisoned fruit of the cult of the provisory and the dictatorship of money". He said "scandals and lukewarm witness" are all factors that "push young people away from the consecrated life". The pope said "how many seminaries will be closed for the lack of vocations? God knows". Francis told the CEI they should be careful about money and should be bishops rather than pharaohs. Saying he was "concerned about money and transparency", Francis said "it is a counter-testimony to speak about poverty and live like pharaohs". "It's very bad to find out that a churchman has been manipulated or, worse, has managed a widow's pennies in a dishonest way". He said the CEI "has done a lot on the path to poverty and transparency but another step forward can be taken".Rome, May 21 - Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio and anti-migrant Euroskeptic League leader Matteo Salvini said after government-formation consultations with President Sergio Mattarella Monday that 54-year-old law professor Giuseppe Conte would be the premier of a political government. "We are proud of this choice, it will not vex Italians," Di Maio said. He reiterated: "I am very proud of this name because it is the synthesis of the 5-Star Movement. "He will not vex the Italian people. "To those who criticise us in the EU I say first let us start and then criticiuse us," he said. As for the fact that if approved by Mattarella he may be Italy's sixth unelected premier, Di Maio said "he was in my team, 11 million Italians voted for him". Conte will now have to be approved by Mattarella, as will the government programme 'contract' with the League. "Giuseppe Conte will be the political head of a political government, indicated by two political forces, with political figures inside it," Di Maio went on. "And above all with the support of two political forces that have been voted for. "No to changing parties, no to persons that come from the mixed group and join other groups. That was not the spirit we wanted to give to this government". Di Maio said that "I think that today we can say that we are faced with a historic moment. "We indicated the name of the premier to the president of the Republic who can carry forward the government contract" with the rightwing populist League. "The issues of the Italians come before all else," said Di Maio. "I'm proud we brought into government our electoral programme, there are the Five Stars, there are our 20 points". He said "in the government contract there are the 20 points indicated in the electoral campaign and many solutions to Italians' suffering, from the basic income to the Fornero law, to more budget space in Europe, from the fight against gambling, to the reform of the Good School reform, to healthcare, with meritocracy for those heading hospitals. "There are the great historic battles of the M5S, such as public water". Di Maio said "we are fully satisfied about the work we hope in the next few days can start this new course for the Republic. "They have been 80 days in which it has been worth taking time because finally the Third Republic has been born". League leader Salvini said after the consultations with Mattarella that no one has anything to fear and the government with the M5S would grow the economy while respecting EU fiscal limits. "We're ready to start and no one has anything to fear", said Salvini as the spread rose close to 190 on a Fitch sovereign-debt risk report. "We gave the name (of Conte as premier candidate) to the president and we have a very clear idea of the team and the project for the country. "We are eager to start to grow the economy of the country". He said that the government would place the national interest at the centre "respecting everyone and everything, respecting all the norms and limits, but growing the country". "We are ready, we've given (Mattarella) a clear name and team", Salvini reiterated. Earlier European People's Party (EPP) leader Manfred Weber said the 5-Star Movement and the League, who look set to form a coalition government in Italy, are taking huge risks with the policies they are proposing. "You are playing with fire because Italy is heavily indebted," Weber was quoted as saying by German media about a future M5S-League government. He reportedly said that "irrational or populist actions could cause a new eurozone crisis" and made "an appeal to stay within the confines of reason". The League immediately rejected Weber's contention and said he was the one playing with fire by continuing to try to assert alleged German hegemony. "The League-M5S government will act in the interests of the Italians, not that of the Germans!" said League EP Whip Mara Bizzotto. "It's Weber who's playing with fire: the time when Italy took orders from Berlin is over". Bizzotto said Weber "should mind his own bloody business, the Italians are tired of taking orders from Brussels and Berlin! "Let Weber put his mind at ease: the time when Merkel and her proconsuls in Brussels set up and knocked down Italian governments according to the interests of Germans and their banks is over". League leader Salvini tweeted: "after the French, today is the turn of German threats: 'you're playing with fire because Italy is heavily indebted' says Manfred Weber, leader of the EPP...Let him think of Germany, and we'll think about the good of Italy!" The M5S) caucus at the EP) said "EPP leader Manfred Weber missed an opportunity to keep silent. "Those who don't respect democracy and want to trample the outcome of the March 4 elections are playing with fire by trying to impose the umpteenth technocratic government". They said "the 5-Star Movement is a chance for change for a Europe which has disappointed citizens with failed austerity policies and a selfish management of immigration".New York, May 21 - A pen in one hand, a tablet with his farewell to politics in the other: Antonio Canova's only American work was that of a George Washington giving up his role as first US president and victorious general to return to country life. The monument in Carrara marble did not survive, however. Commissioned by the North Carolina Senate but destroyed in a fire a few years after arriving in the 'New World', it has been revived within the Frick Collection in a show curated by Xavier Solomon with Mario Guderzo from the Gispoteca Museo Antonio Canova in Possagno. Only a few carbonized fragments of the statue are left, one of which - with the artist's signature - was sent for the show from Raleigh to New York. The preparatory models are still in Possagno and will be exhibited from May 23 until 23 September, including the final, life-size one presented alone in the rotunda of the museum, which shows the first US president dressed like a Roman general and on the verge of leaving power. "For Europe, used to being governed by absolute monarchs, popes, kings and emperors, this was a revolution," Solomon said. The statue, made 16 years after Washington's death, was commissioned to Canova on the suggestion of Thomas Jefferson, "the arbiter of elegance in early nineteenth-century America". The third American president, at that point retired and living in his palatial Monticello villa, had never met Canova or seen his works with his own eyes but had heard of him. "Canova was the first Italian artist famous at the international level," Solomon said. The last model was completed in 1818, exactly 200 years ago, and was preceded by three drafts that are also in the Frick Collection. At the same time as the show will be another at the Italian Institute of Culture with 16 tempera paintings by Canova that are being exhibited for the first time in America and for the first time after their restoration. Inspired by dance, they are also from the Possagno museum. Next door, at the consulate, there is an exhibition of Fabio Zona photos that document the sculptures of the Veneto region museum whose fulcrum - next to the home that Canova was born in - is a building where the plaster casts were brought from a Rome studio to which an extension was added in 1957 by Carlo Scarpa. The George Washington sculpture was made in Rome. While Canova was sculpting, his assistants and half-brother Giovanni Battista Sartori read him texts on the American Revolution by the historian Carlo Botta. In Canova's eyes, Washington "was a genius that accomplished sublime acts for his country's security and freedom". The show also celebrates this aspect: the trans-Atlantic, artistic and cultural ties between Italy and the US.Aosta, May 21 - The rightwing populist League surged to 17% and seven seats out of 35 in the Val d'Aosta elections Sunday, returning to the regional council after 20 years. The Democratic Party (PD), until now the majority, slumped to 5.4%, below the entry bar, and the centre right of Forza Italia and Brothers of Italy failed to make it in too. Union Valdontaine (UV) stayed top with 19%, down from 33.4% in 2013. The 5-Star Movement (M5S) got 10.44% and four seats. The elections in the far northwestern region reflected recent national polls that see the League up to as high as 25%, following a general election score of 17.5% March 4, and the M5S holding steady above 30%, albeit dipping to around 31% from a general-election high of 32%.Matlacha man found guilty of possession of child pornography

A Matlacha man has been found guilty of possession of child pornography. Marshall Allen Faulkner, 46, was found guilty as charged of 20 counts of possession of child pornography Thursday following a three-day trial. "In August 2020, the Cape Coral Police Department learned of possible child pornography being in the home of the defendant in Matlacha," a release from the State Attorney's Office announcing the jury verdict states. "The Lee County Sheriffs Office was contacted to investigate due to it being their jurisdiction. Detectives secured a computer, that had belonged to the ...It could happen.

Pick your metaphor: Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Circular firing squad. Eating our own. We Democrats are well-versed in the art of self-immolation. Are we about to torch ourselves yet again?

Anecdotal evidence suggests strong support among the LA Left for State Treasurer John Chiang, a former tax law specialist for the IRS, two-term member of the State Board of Equalization and two-term State Controller. Chiang's strong suit--possibly his only suit--is his mastery of tax policy, fiscal responsibility and astute management of public finances. Certainly no small thing, but to put it charitably, not what we ordinarily associate with a fire-breathing progressive agenda. Officials like Chiang call to mind William McChesney Martin, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, who famously compared the Fed's job to a chaperone who takes away the punch bowl just as the party is warming up.

Chiang has policy positions, but virtually no policy chops. But what he mainly does have going for him, for local libs and progressives, is that he's not Antonio Villaraigosa, who would ordinarily have been their runaway favorite.

Once, Antonio had it all: a compelling personal story, replete with gritty upbringing, brushes with the law, out-of-wedlock children, high-school expulsion--and finally, a dramatic redemption inspired by a Jewish public school teacher, Herman Katz, who saw potential in a troubled Latino kid and helped turn him around. He had been a president of the Southern California ACLU board, a longtime union organizer, and Gloria Molina's transit board appointee before going on to serve three terms in the Assembly, including leadership positions as Democratic Majority Whip and Majority Leader, and Assembly Speaker. After narrowly losing the mayor's race in 2001 to then-City Attorney James Hahn, he battled his way back in 2003 by beating incumbent Nick Pacheco for a seat on the LA city council. Breaking his pledge to serve a full council term, he challenged Hahn's mayoral re-election bid in 2005, and voters forgave him--rewarding him with two terms as mayor.

But that's when all the trouble really started. Two years into his first mayoral term, what began as a professional relationship with a longtime local news anchor exploded into a public affair that wrecked his 20-year marriage and derailed her journalism career. Then, urged on by wealthy political patrons including former Mayor Richard Riordan and philanthropist and civic leader Eli Broad, Villaraigosa adopted their pet cause of "education reform" (support for charter schools, curbs on teacher power)--a policy area far outside an LA mayor's wheelhouse--which put him on a collision course with his former allies and colleagues in the teachers' union. After signing a generous five-year wage package early on, the 2009 recession forced him to reverse field, and his efforts to balance the city budget with layoffs, furloughs, and scaling back pensions permanently alienated most of the city unions.

Villaraigosa's 2005-2013 mayoral tenure is not without success--notably in green jobs, energy, and environmental policies, and his undeniable leadership and achievements in restarting the Westside subway extension and funding other regional transit projects--but his own account of the Villaraigosa years, "Straight From the Heart," significantly exaggerates some achievements (reducing homelessness) and overstates his role in others (violent crime reduction, education gains).

Still, Villaraigosa's experience and accomplishments over the decades in organized labor, as a state legislative leader, and mayor of a major metropolis far outshine those of Gavin Newsom, who actually has relatively little to show for 14 years in local office--seven years as San Francisco supervisor representing a district barely a third the size of an LA council district, and seven years as mayor of a city barely 20% of the population of LA and less than 10% of our land area--and virtually nothing of consequence in the seven years he's spent as lieutenant governor, a superfluous statewide office lacking any real power that offers its occupants limited political visibility and little else. Only Gray Davis, with far more state-level experience, rose from it to become governor, and we know how that unfortunately turned out.

Northern California's monolithic parochialism largely explains Newsom's appeal up there, but I confess that I'm baffled how anyone in Southern California can support him. He's got all the superficial appeal--and much of the personal baggage--of Antonio Villaraigosa, with none of Villaraigosa's substantive career accomplishments.

So what's a progressive to do? Our top-two "jungle" primary has really shuffled the deck, and polling to date offers only limited guidance. Since November, Newsom has held steady in the lead, averaging around 27%; Villaraigosa, firmly in second place, has averaged around 16%; and Chiang has been stuck in fifth place and the single-digits, averaging barely 8%, behind both leading Republican candidates. There seems no reasonable scenario where Chiang can leap-frog over three other candidates in the next three weeks to finish second behind Newsom--particularly with a major last-minute independent-expenditure TV ad buy from the front group "Families and Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018," run by the California Charter Schools Association Advocates and largely bankrolled by Eli Broad and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

If SoCal progressives vote their hearts, with Chiang, they will siphon off potential Villaraigosa support to a futile Chiang effort, and could unintentionally vault a Republican into the runoff. With Newsom's vulnerabilities, an aggressive, unified, and well-funded GOP effort could conceivably boost Republican turnout enough to turn back Democratic efforts to flip the battleground Republican congressional districts and retain a narrow Republican majority, and additionally, in a worst-case scenario, defeat Newsom's gubernatorial bid. But voting their minds would require progressives to set aside their deep-seated disappointment, resentment, and animosity long enough to ensure that Villaraigosa at least finishes in second place.

Progressives could live with a Newsom and Villaraigosa face-off in November. That would not only offer Dems a clear ideological choice between wishful idealism and hard-headed pragmatism, but it might also discourage enough GOP voters to cost the Republicans the down-ticket congressional seats and allow Democrats to reclaim the House.

Alternatively, if California Democrats fail to learn the lessons of history, they may be doomed to repeat once again that terrible experience of 2016--and ironically, for the bluest of blue states, put the torch to perhaps the last, best hope for decisively ending the era of Trump.The British government intends to allow Comcast Corp.s $30-billion bid for Sky Plc to move ahead, a boost for the U.S. cable giant as it vies with 21st Century Fox Inc. for Britains largest pay-TV company.

Comcasts offer for Sky doesnt trigger public-interest concerns that would meet the threshold for intervention, Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said in a statement.

Attention now shifts back to Rupert Murdochs Fox. Hancock is due to make a decision by June 13 on whether to clear Foxs offer for the 61% of Sky that Fox doesnt already own. Skys shares have traded consistently above Comcasts February offer, as investors expect Fox to increase its own bid from December 2016, intensifying a bidding war.

If Hancock blocks Foxs proposed takeover, then Walt Disney Co.  which announced a deal in December to buy the bulk of Foxs assets, including its Sky stake  could choose to make its own bid for the pay-TV company. Fox has faced extensive regulatory review in Britain over concerns that the Sky takeover would give Murdoch too much media influence, given his ownership of several newspapers in the country.

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Representatives for Comcast and Fox didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. Sky acknowledged the decision in a statement and declined to comment further.

Fox Chief Executive James Murdoch said this month that Fox was considering its options regarding a revised bid for Sky, with an announcement to be made in due course. He said he expected Comcast to face a robust regulatory review in Britain, while a series of lawmakers also called for an investigation of Comcasts offer.

Hancocks intention not to send Comcasts Sky bid for review, however, is perfectly rational, said Steven Barnett, a professor of communications at the University of Westminster.

Given that there are no newspaper holdings at all for Comcast, it always seemed unlikely there would be any public interest issue, he said.

Hancock has invited interested parties to give feedback on his intention by Thursday regarding his decision on Comcasts bid, after which he will come to a final ruling.

Mayes writes for Bloomberg.

UPDATES:

1:45 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details and with comment from professor Steven Barnett.

This article was originally published at 6:50 a.m.Airlines insatiable demand for pilots threatens to sabotage flight schools ability to train new ones. Carriers are raising wages and hoarding every available pilot  including the instructors schools rely on to teach incoming students.

The very pilot pipeline that is supposed to meet decades of projected labor shortfalls is being squeezed. According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, some schools have been forced to scale back operations or turn down qualified students because they do not have enough instructors.

Michael Farley has been teaching at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts for 18 years. Applications for his program are up, but the aviation department chair is so short on instructors, he has had to cap the number of students in his program.

In my tenure, this is unprecedented, Farley said, reflecting on the speed with which airlines were hiring recent graduates.

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How the flight-school model used to work

The problem is rooted in how collegiate aviation is structured. Classroom courses such as meteorology and aviation law are taught by academic faculty, but flight instructors are usually experienced students or graduates looking to gain flight hours before heading off to the commercial big leagues.

Details vary between vocational, two-year and four-year schools, but an aspiring pilot at a typical accredited institution needs about 250 to 300 hours to become a certified instructor. Those 250 hours used to be all you needed to join an airline as a co-pilot. In some countries, it still is.

Since 2013, most students have had to fly between 1,000 and 1,500 hours to qualify for work at a passenger airline. Even before that, the GAO report found, airlines expected as much as 2,000 hours of experience from entry-level employees, depending on the job market.

So, where do young pilots get the other 1,000 hours or so? Some do aerial photography or fly banners, but the overwhelming majority work at their aviation college or an affiliated institution as a flight instructor. It is built into their career path.

In an ideal world, pilots work first as instructors at their flight school, then as co-pilots and pilots at a regional airline (such as Cape Air or SkyWest Airlines) and finally as co-pilots and pilots at a major airline (such as Southwest Airlines or United Airlines).

When the model snaps

Demand for pilots swings hard. In 2009, as American families and businesses slashed their air-travel budgets amid the Great Recession and furloughs swept the industry, major airlines hired just 30 pilots, according to pilot-advisory service FAPA.aero. Last year, the number of hires soared to 5,000. This year it will be even higher.

When the market was slow, students stuck around, and instructors were cheap and abundant. But when hiring took off, they vanished into jobs flying passenger or cargo jets.

When employees complain about worker shortages, the obvious reply is employees would not be so hard to find if businesses just offered more money.

The aviation job market is complicated by strict federal regulations and what FAPAs president, Louis Smith, called the poach chain.

Flight-school instructors are almost all flight-school students, which means they came into aviation because they wanted to sit in the cockpit of a mammoth Boeing or Airbus with Delta or American stamped on the side, not baby-sit their peers in a single-engine Cessna.

From Day 1, they are focused on getting to a major airline and building seniority, the all-important number that rules route assignments, pay scales and access to standby tickets. Those major airlines poach from the regional airlines, and regional airlines poach from flight schools.

Life is hard at the bottom of the poach chain, where flight schools compete for instructors. U.S. Aviation Academy, a large training outfit that partners with Tarrant County College in Texas, offers new instructors a $2,500 bonus and between $27 and $35 an hour  a wage it has had to raise about 15% in recent months.

We think were solving the problem, said Scott Sykes, who handles business development for the academy. Weve got a full-time recruiting staff that are out there nationwide beating the streets.

Their pay is competitive with regional airlines, where new pilots earn an estimated $50,000 to $60,000 a year. But when a 21-year-old instructor gets poached, the schools are not competing with the regional carrier. They are competing with the promise of a 44-year career in a high-profile, lionized position that can pay more than $200,000 a year and offers excellent benefits.

Aspiring pilot Cade Glass, of Midlothian, Va., plans on becoming an instructor to help pay for flight school and said he has considered a career in aviation education, but the 13-year-old already understands the cold calculus involved.

If airlines are paying like they are today, with nearly $20,000 signing bonuses? Im going to go there every time, Glass said.

Competition causes collateral damage

As flight schools pay instructors more, they are raising their prices to compensate. It is a fraught decision in an industry that worried it is charging too much to attract the quantity and diversity of students that airlines need.

Federal student aid, although available at many aviation schools, typically does not stretch to cover flight-school costs, which are boosted by investments in aircraft, fuel and facilities  not to mention the instructors. The GAO found that most pilot programs charge more than $50,000 for flight training alone.

Not all students have access to the wealth or credit needed to fill the gap between student aid and the flight-school bill, even if they can be reasonably sure  in this job market, at least  that they will earn it back. Schools told the GAO that, after instructor attrition, their biggest obstacle to training enough pilots was their own high price tag.

Glass first choice of flight school  Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he went to aviation camp and learned the ropes from student instructors  costs $48,000 a year. That does not include the cumulative $40,000 to $60,000 the school expects students to spend on flight training while they are there.

If you dont have the financial backing, its difficult, Glass said.

Putting the model back together

The quickest solution to the instructor shortage would be another downturn in the cyclical industry, which would reduce demand for new pilots and flood the market with laid-off and furloughed workers, but nobody is advocating that. It also seems unlikely given the industrys bullish projections that predict the pilot shortfall will extend for decades.

In the short term, schools have partnered with regional airlines and struck deals that enable pilots to earn seniority while they are instructing. They have also offered what Tom Hiltner, FAPAs vice president of operations, called indentured servitude packages, in which students promise to stick around longer in exchange for advanced flight training. The GAO found at least one school is trying to negotiate non-poaching agreements with regional airlines.

Hiltner said some schools have also intensified recruitment of nontraditional instructors including retired pilots, pilots who might not meet medical restrictions for airline certification, and pilots who care less about globe-trotting and more about working regular hours and sleeping in their own beds each night.

It is still a challenge. Farley, of Bridgewater State University, said that he had not been able to hire nontraditional instructors and was not sure they would be a long-term solution to his instructor shortage. People join aviation because they want to work for airlines, and aviation schools just cannot compete in terms of pay or prestige.

The shortages are growing more acute as airlines hire away the people who would otherwise be training more people for them to hire  and Farley does not see a solution coming until and unless the bottleneck works all the way up the poach chain.

When it affects the major airlines, we might see some changes, Farley said.

Van Dam writes for the Washington Post.Siskin Hospitals outpatient therapy services clinic on Gunbarrel Road is slated to move to The Pavilion at Panorama in June.

The new building on Panorama Drive, just off East Brainerd Road, is a much larger space and is more accessible to patients driving to their appointments, said officials.

The additional space will give us more room for private treatment areas and exercise equipment, said James Gose, DPT, clinic manager. This will allow us more options in addressing our patients strength and mobility issues.

Dr. Gose said the current wait time will be further reduced with two additional full-time therapists and a more favorable environment.

The addition of Direct Access and our favorable patient satisfaction and outcomes has led to significant increases in patient volume, said Vice President of Administration Tod Cain. Moving our East Brainerd outpatient clinic makes it possible to extend our services to more patients.

The Direct Access program allows individuals to refer themselves to Siskin Hospitals Outpatient Therapy Services for physical therapy treatment.

The East Brainerd clinic has operated at its current Gunbarrel Road location for six years.

To learn more about the physical rehabilitation services at Siskin Hospital, please visit www.SiskinRehab.org or call 634-1400.



Irvine charter jet operator JetSuite will add hybrid electric planes to its fleet starting in 2022. It is the first substantial commercial order of an aircraft technology that could cut fuel costs and emissions, and make flights quieter.

The planes, which will seat up to 12 passengers, are being developed by Bothell, Wash., electric aircraft start-up Zunum Aero. The company, which has 70 full- and part-time employees, has received backing from Boeing Co.s venture capital arm, as well as JetBlue Technology Ventures.

JetSuite expects to receive about one plane a month for the first year or two, with deliveries accelerating from there, said Chief Executive Alex Wilcox. The company said it would add as many as 100 Zunum aircraft to its fleet.

Over the years, a few electricity-powered planes have been developed as test vehicles, including a two-seater Airbus aircraft that flew over the English Channel in 2015 and a solar-powered plane that completed an around-the-world journey a year later.

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But aviation experts have said battery technology is the major hurdle to developing a commercial electric plane, making a hybrid aircraft a more viable option.

In Zunums plane, battery packs are located in each wing and will be relied upon first to power the aircraft. The planes rear fuselage can be used to store either a third battery pack  to make the plane fully electric  or in the case of JetSuite, a range extender consisting of a traditional gas turbine coupled with a generator that creates electricity to power the planes electric motors, said Ashish Kumar, chief executive of Zunum.

The planes computer system calculates ahead of time when the turbogenerator will need to turn on during flight, he said. The hybrid planes range is 700 miles and it has a maximum cruise speed of 340 mph.

This is very, very carefully optimized so as batteries improve, more and more of the flight becomes electric, Kumar said.

Though technology has improved, batteries specific weight  or the amount of energy they can store for a given amount of weight  has not advanced enough to achieve significant range. That means an all-electric plane would need to carry a large number of batteries to get the same energy as jet fuel, said Alejandra Uranga, Gabilan assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at USC.

On planes, weight is a crucial factor. Its very expensive to carry weight on an aircraft, she said.

If battery technology continues to progress at its current rate, commercial aviation probably would be much more prone to use of hybrid than fully electric, said Pat Anderson, director of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Universitys flight research center and a professor of aerospace engineering.

The hybrid does afford you the capability of having range and endurance that is between electric and gas, yet it has less direct operating costs and fuel emissions, possibly, than the gas counterpart, he said.

However, hybrids could also run into a slight problem with weight, as they must incorporate both a fully electric system and a conventional engine, he said.

Wilcox of JetSuite said Zunums flexible design of the plane, which can later be converted into a fully electric aircraft, was a more realistic approach.

The hybrid planes would be used first for JetSuites private charter jet service, though the company plans to later use the aircraft for its JetSuiteX service, a public charter jet option that flies between several destinations in California and Nevada.

The hybrid planes would first be used as a supplement to the companys existing fleet, though Wilcox said the company would be massively economically incentivized to change out the entire fleet to all hybrid planes.

The company expects it will save 80% in fuel costs on the Zunum planes.

We spend way more on fuel than we do on airplanes today, Wilcox said. The savings on gas will more than pay for the difference.

Wilcox has said JetSuite probably will look at incorporating the hybrid planes into routes that are 200 to 500 miles long, such as Los Angeles to Las Vegas, or Santa Monica to Mammoth Lakes. The planes ability to take off on a runway of just 2,200 feet could also open up new markets, he said.

He mused that one option could be short, intra-state flights  say, from Ontario to San Diego  that could compete with the likes of Uber, which has unveiled plans for urban flying taxi services using vertical takeoff and landing craft.

Zunum plans to conduct flight tests of its electric propulsion system next year. The company is developing its own electric motor that will be added to an existing aircraft for test purposes, before later incorporating the turbogenerator.

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

Twitter: @smasunagaCalifornia toy mogul Isaac Larian said Monday he has given up his effort to buy several hundred Toys R Us stores from the bankrupt retailer after he and the companys debt holders were unable to reach an agreement.

A group of investors led by Larian, founder and chief executive of MGA Entertainment Inc., had submitted a $675-million bid April 13 for 274 of the 735 U.S. and Puerto Rican stores the retailer is liquidating.

The bid was rejected by the Wayne, N.J., retailer as inadequate, but Larian said in April he planned to sweeten the bid for the U.S. stores after a separate $215-million offer he made for 82 Canadian Toys R Us stores was topped by a Toronto investment firm.

However, Larian, 64, said that negotations since then have failed to prove fruitful.

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The so-called advisors and lawyers milked that company to death in a matter of seven months, which is remarkable, he said. And the current lenders are just not in touch with reality on valuation.

Toys R Us declined to comment on Larians decision, as did Joseph Malfitano, asset-disposition advisor for Toys R Us. Attorneys at firms Kirkland & Ellis and Kutak Rock, which have served as co-counsel for Toys R Us, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September in an effort to restructure, and then announced in March it would liquidate after posting poor holiday sales.

Liquidation sales started that month and have continued to offer deeper discounts as shelves have emptied. The retailer has plans to auction off its U.S. intellectual property, with all bids due by June 15.

Toys R Us was struggling for years to compete with growing online and big-box retailers such as Amazon and Walmart, while saddled with $5.3 billion in debt from a 2005 leveraged buyout.

Larian has estimated that the closure of the chain could result in the loss of 130,000 U.S. jobs at Toys R Us, suppliers and other businesses tied to the retailer. But other estimates have put the job losses at 33,000 if only the Toys R Us stores are counted.

Saving at least some of the Toys R Us stores was important to Larian because he has said that MGA has relied on the chain for about 20% of its sales. And it has been an outlet that would stock far more toys than a big-box retailer, which allowed it to serve as a testing ground for new toys.

The privately held MGA makes the popular Bratz dolls, as well as the hit LOL Surprise toy line, which is the No. 1 selling toy in the country. His company also owns Little Tikes, a line that includes playhouses, swing sets and kid-sized cars.

Larian said his inability to reach a deal with debt holders had led him to consider opening his own toy stores, but he acknowleded that such a chain wouldnt be as large as the Toys R Us stores he sought.

We had a great, great plan in how to turn around Toys R Us stores, and I dont want that to go to waste, Larian said.

The toy mogul had raised the idea of turning the stores into experiential places where children could play with the toys they wanted to buy. He compared his plan to building miniature Disneylands across the country.

Toy industry consultant Richard Gottlieb said that Larians inability to acquire the stores was not the end of the road for the toy mogul.

I think the big question is why would someone need to purchase Toys R Us to get in the game. There will be hundreds of vacant stores and thousands of talented people ready to be recruited and put to work under a new retail brand name that is not tarnished, said Gottlieb, chief executive of Global Toy Group.

Toys R Us has burned its bridges with suppliers, it has turned off consumers with its going-out-of-business sales, its failure to honor its gift cards and its dismissal of 30,000 employees without a severance package, he added.

Mondays announcement that Larian was giving up on a Toys R Us deal is the second setback within a week for Larian.

On Thursday, the board of Mattel Inc., rejected outright an offer Larian made in April to discuss a merger between the two companies, which have been bitter rivals with a long history of litigation.

Mattel, based in El Segundo, has been struggling for years  despite being the maker of iconic toys such as the Barbie doll and Hot Wheels  as children have moved on to electronic and computer-based games and toys.

On Monday, though, Larian said he was not dissuaded by the Mattel boards decision not to enter merger talks. He said last week he plans to make a formal offer to shareholders.

The announcement that Larian was giving up on his Toys R Us bid comes two months to the day he launched a #SaveToysRUs campaign, which included a $1-billion GoFundMe campaign.

The crowdfunding campaign, which he acknowledged was more of a publicity stunt, ended up raising less than $100,000.

Toys R Us was founded in 1957 by the late toy industry pioneer Charles P. Lazarus, who found success in having a vast inventory of products that often could not be found elsewhere. Larian said Lazarus gave his toy company its first break.

I gave it my best to make it happen. I didnt give up until the last minute. I fought the system and whats going down because it is going to hurt the whole toy industry  and I guess a lot of people dont care, he said.

For me, it was a personal thing, frankly, because Im 64, Im well off, I dont need the money, I dont need the fame. I just wanted to make sure we saved this legacy for our children and grandchildren, and for the whole toy business.

jaclyn.cosgrove@latimes.com

@jaclyncosgrove

UPDATES:

3:45 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from toy industry consultant Richard Gottlieb.

This article was orginally published at 2:05 p.m.Medical emergency, burglary and physical assault: These are a few instances in which Starbucks is now saying employees should call 911.

The guidelines are a part of Starbucks new policy allowing customers to use restrooms and sit in cafes and patios even if they do not make a purchase. The approach lays out specific steps for how employees respond to and address disruptive customer behavior. Underlying the rules is the expectation that customers use company spaces as intended and be considerate of others; specifically, they should refrain from smoking or drinking alcohol, panhandling or sleeping.

The new guidelines come about a week before Starbucks will close 8,000 stores for mandatory unconscious bias training for 175,000 employees on May 29. Starbucks announced the training in the wake of the arrests of two young black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks who arrived early for a business meeting. They did not make a purchase immediately after arriving, and a white manager called the police.

Previously, Starbucks did not have clear guidelines on what to do about customers who did not make purchases, often leaving decisions up to individual managers. A Starbucks spokesperson previously said that at the Philadelphia location where Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson were arrested, the guidelines were that partners must ask unpaying customers to leave the store, and police were to be called if they refused.

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In a letter to employees Friday, Rossann Williams, Starbucks executive vice president and president of U.S. retail, wrote that the company consulted Starbucks workers, government officials, community leaders and experts on unconscious bias in forming the new rules. Key to the policy was the conclusion that everyone who enters a Starbucks is considered a customer and is welcome in our spaces.

But Williams acknowledged that no policy or procedure can account for every situation.

We know that every day in our stores, you and your partners lead through unexpected, complicated situations including challenging social issues and, at times, disruptive customer behaviors, Williams wrote.

The procedure identifies eight examples of when employees should call 911, including gas leak or fire, robbery, threat of violence, use or selling of illegal drugs and destruction of store property.

The guidelines also lay out a three-step model for addressing disruptive behavior.

First, employees are instructed to assess a customers behavior rather than the person alone. Disruptive or harmful behavior identified by Starbucks includes being unreasonably noisy, viewing inappropriate media, verbally abusing people, making unwanted sexual advances and indecent exposure.

Employees should then consider how any decision they make will affect the customers experience. That includes judging whether the customer or situation is safe to approach, and whether an employees chosen response would be the same for any customer in the same circumstance.

Employees who are unsure how to handle a situation should get help from a store or district manager.

When taking action against disruptive behavior, employees are told to ask another employee to observe and verify the behavior. Employees are told to introduce themselves to the disruptive customer and ask for the persons name, listen actively, use a calm tone and respectfully request that they stop the disruptive behavior.

If the situation becomes unsafe, call 911, the procedure says.

This month, Nelson and Robinson each reached a symbolic $1 settlement with the city of Philadelphia and asked the city to fund $200,000 for a grant program for high school students aspiring to become entrepreneurs.

The men also reached an undisclosed financial settlement with Starbucks, as well as continued listening and dialogue between the parties.

Siegel writes for the Washington Post.Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk has bought a home in a gated 55-plus community in Palm Springs for $450,000.

The 2,637-square-foot residence includes a living room with a fireplace, multiple dining rooms areas, a kitchen with bar seating, four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. A detached casita sits in the courtyard.

Built in 2005, the retreat has a wraparound patio, an outdoor fireplace and a bubbling brook feature. Theres also a built-in barbecue station and a pergola.

1 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 2 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 3 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 4 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 5 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 6 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 7 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 8 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 9 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 10 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 11 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 12 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 13 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 14 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 15 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com) 16 / 16 Hot Property | Herman Wouk (Redfin.com)

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A clubhouse, a fitness center, swimming pools, a spa, pickle ball courts and shuffleboard are among the resort-style amenities at the development.

Wouk, who will turn 103 on May 27, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for the 1951 novel The Caine Mutiny. Among his popular works is The Winds of War, which was published in 1971.

Michelle White of Bennion Deville Homes was the listing agent. Scott Lyle of Douglas Elliman represented Wouk.

lauren.beale2@latimes.com

Twitter: @laurenebealeMicrosoft Corp. promised Monday to give users worldwide the same data and privacy rights Europeans will get under new regulations there. Thats in contrast to some of its tech rivals, which are hedging on how much privacy protections will change for Americans and other non-Europeans.

Microsofts move means no matter where you live, youll be able to see what information the company collects about you and correct or delete it if necessary. Youll also be able to object to the use of data for marketing and other purposes. You can exercise the rights by using online tools or contacting the company directly.

New European rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, take effect Friday, but U.S. tech companies havent generally embraced them outside of the European Union. Facebook Inc., for instance, has said it is offering the same privacy settings and controls worldwide, but it has stopped short of promising European-style rights around the globe.

Julie Brill, Microsofts deputy general counsel, said in a blog post Monday that the company believes the new regulation establishes important principles that are relevant globally.

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Because Microsoft doesnt depend as much on advertising revenue as Facebook and Google, it can afford to give users more options on data use.

Microsoft updated its privacy policy Monday to make the policy easier to understand and include more details. For instance, it spells out additional sources of third-party data that Microsoft gets, including outside developers who create apps and other experiences for Microsofts Cortana voice assistant.

The new EU rules have prompted companies large and small to update their privacy policies and service terms to comply. Heres a look at how Facebook and Google are adapting to a post-GDPR world.

Facebook

In March, Facebook updated its privacy controls in hopes of making them easier to find and understand. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has said Facebook intends to offer those same controls and settings around the world, even though the GDPR governs only EU users.

But Facebook has been vague about applying other GDPR provisions to non-Europeans. That includes a provision that lets Europeans object to the processing of personal data, such as for marketing.

Facebook has also ramped up efforts to get your permission to use facial recognition to automatically identify people in photos  for instance, to make it easier to tag friends or to let you know if someone uses your photo. Facebook has been using that technology in much of the world for six years, but not in the EU and Canada, where privacy laws are stronger.

Now, EU and Canadian users are being invited to turn on that feature. Facebook says it will eventually ask everyone to reaffirm the use of facial recognition; the company previously assumed consent unless users took the initiative to turn that off.

Although Facebook isnt making major changes to its data practices, its new privacy policy has one subtle change. Previously, all users outside the United States and Canada were legally managed by Facebooks Irish subsidiary. Under the new rules, everyone outside Europe will fall under the jurisdiction of its U.S. headquarters. That means users in Asia, for instance, wont get the EU privacy protections. Facebook didnt explicitly announce the change; the Associated Press confirmed it through checks in six countries.

Facebook also plans to offer a less personalized version of its service for EU teenagers to comply with requirements it obtain parental permission before kids under 16 can, for instance, list their political or religious views online. In the United States, the cutoff is lower: age 13. Facebook wont ask for parental consent in such cases outside the EU, but will ask teens themselves if they want these features.

Google

Alphabet Inc.s Google also isnt making major changes to its data practices, although it did rewrite its privacy policy to make the policy easier to understand. It now includes video to explain concepts better. Section headers have larger fonts, and links to related settings are more clearly marked. Google also expanded many sections to more fully explain how it collects and uses data.

Google is also expanding the availability of Family Link, a feature that lets parents create Google accounts for their children. As part of this, parents will have to give consent to comply with new EU provisions governing teens.

The feature also gives parents tools to control Android devices, such as locking the childs device and blocking apps. Family Link was already available in 11 markets, including the United States, the U.K. and Ireland. Google is now making that available in the rest of the EU.Cannes notebook: The wonderful, improbable Palme dOr triumph of Hirokazu Kore-edas Shoplifters

Director Hirokazu Koreeda winner of the Palme dOr award for Shoplifters. (Andreas Rentz / Getty Images)

On the last day of every Cannes Film Festival, word begins to leak out about which filmmakers from the competition have been called back for the closing-night awards ceremony.

Many of us already knew, going into Saturday nights show, that Pawel Pawlikowskis Cold War, Alice Rohrwachers Happy as Lazzaro, Spike Lees BlacKkKlansman, Nadine Labakis Capernaum and Hirokazu Kore-edas Shoplifters were certain to go home with awards, though which film would win what remained a mystery.

Festival juries are notoriously difficult to predict, but several other critics shared my hunch that the Palme dOr, the festivals top prize, would go to either Capernaum or BlacKkKlansman. Both were among the most enthusiastically touted films in the competition, and they offered the jury a chance to anoint either Labaki, a Lebanese director who had just launched herself into the big leagues, or Lee, a veteran American auteur who had famously (and angrily) lost the Palme nearly 30 years ago for Do the Right Thing. Would they go with the striking new talent or the overdue veteran?

In the end, they chose the overdue veteran, though not the one some of us were expecting. In a development as startling as it was altogether marvelous, the jury president, Cate Blanchett, announced that the Palme dOr had gone to Kore-edas Shoplifters, one of the quietest, loveliest and most emotionally enduring films in the competition.

Did anyone see this coming? To judge by his genially shell-shocked reaction, Kore-eda himself certainly didnt.

Read more on this years winnersOn the last day of every Cannes Film Festival, word begins to leak out about which filmmakers from the competition have been called back for the closing-night awards ceremony. Many of us already knew, going into Saturday nights show, that Pawel Pawlikowskis Cold War, Alice Rohrwachers Happy as Lazzaro, Spike Lees BlacKkKlansman, Nadine Labakis Capernaum and Hirokazu Kore-edas Shoplifters were certain to go home with awards, though which film would win what remained a mystery.

Festival juries are notoriously difficult to predict, but several other critics shared my hunch that the Palme dOr, the festivals top prize, would go to either Capernaum or BlacKkKlansman. Both were among the most enthusiastically touted films in the competition, and they offered the jury a chance to anoint either Labaki, a Lebanese director who had just launched herself into the big leagues, or Lee, a veteran American auteur who had famously (and angrily) lost the Palme nearly 30 years ago for Do the Right Thing. Would they go with the striking new talent or the overdue veteran?

In the end they chose the overdue veteran, though not the one some of us were expecting. In a development as startling as it was altogether marvelous, the jury president, Cate Blanchett, announced that the Palme dOr had gone to Kore-edas Shoplifters, one of the quietest, loveliest and most emotionally enduring films in the competition.

Did anyone see this coming? To judge by his genially shell-shocked reaction, Kore-eda himself certainly didnt.

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If anything, this beloved, prolific Japanese auteur had pulled off an upset as stealthy and light-fingered as his movie, which follows a makeshift family of supermarket thieves dwelling in cramped but loving quarters. A tender ensemble piece whose skillful performances dovetail into a perfectly symphonic whole, Shoplifters is a work of such emotional delicacy and formal modesty that youre barely prepared when the full force of what its doing suddenly knocks you sideways.

A scene from the movie Shoplifters. (2018 Fuji Television Network/Gaga Corporation/AOI Pro. Inc. )

Like so much of the directors work, Shoplifters was so unobtrusive in its mastery that it seemed destined to be taken for granted, much like the directors four previous Palme contenders: Distance (2001), Nobody Knows (2004), Like Father, Like Son (2013) and Our Little Sister (2015). Mais oui, another lovely humanist marvel from Kore-eda. What else is new?

There were other factors at play too. Being the first Cannes of the post-Harvey Weinstein era, the festival was dominated by discussions of gender parity and on numerous occasions became a bold platform for the #MeToo movement. Never was this more powerfully achieved than at the closing ceremony, when the actress-director Asia Argento took the stage and delivered a fearless speech excoriating Weinstein, the festival that had been his hunting ground and those in the theater who had yet to be called to account.

It was the kind of stunning, searing moment that makes any segue to the business of awards seem awkward at best, tacky at worst. In other words, it was emblematic of an industry trying to celebrate its best and brightest with one hand and holds its sins up to the light with the other.

Even before Argento left her indelible mark on the awards ceremony, many had theorized that Blanchetts jury  perhaps the most scrutinized and second-guessed jury in recent memory  would be particularly keen on giving the Palme to one of the three films in the competition directed by women. To do so would be a small step toward righting the representational balance of a festival that has only awarded the Palme to one female director, Jane Campion. (Her 1993 film, The Piano, shared the prize with Chen Kaiges Farewell, My Concubine.)

Boluwatife Treasure Bankole and Zain Al Rafeea in the movie Capernaum. (Fares Sokhon )

Cannes 2018: Read Justin Changs full diary from the annual film festival 

That was one reason, though hardly the only one, that many were predicting Palme glory for Labakis Capernaum, her third feature after Caramel and Where Do We Go Now?

A formally ragged, emotionally harrowing slab of Lebanese neorealism about a young boy who tries to sue his parents for bringing him into a world of unbearable cruelty and poverty, Capernaum sent a jolt of emotion through the festival when it premiered Thursday night. Already tipped as a strong contender for the foreign-language film Oscar (it will be released in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics), it offered the jury a popular, broadly accessible choice for the Palme.

A subtler, more beguiling Palme possibility would have been Happy as Lazzaro, a bittersweet fable from the Italian writer-director Rohrwacher (who won the festivals Grand Prix, or second prize, for her 2014 film, The Wonders). Following a young innocent whose selfless compassion throws the cruel machinery of capitalism into stark relief, the movie became an early critical favorite with its sly, mischievous fusion of magical realism and classic humanist storytelling.

Adriano Tardiolo in the movie Happy as Lazzaro. (The Match Factory )

It was unfortunate that only three of the 21 films in competition were directed by women (the third was Eva Hussons generally reviled war drama, Girls of the Sun), which shows that more work needs to be done on the festivals part and, more importantly, on the part of the global film industry.

Still, an impressive two of the three did end up winning awards Saturday night: Capernaum took the jury prize, effectively third place, while Happy as Lazzaro shared the screenplay award with 3 Faces, an ingenious fusion of mystery and social critique from the Iranian director Jafar Panahi (who wrote the script with Nader Saeivar).

In singling out Capernaum and Happy as Lazzaro for awards, Blanchetts jury succeeded in recognizing two of the competitions more popular films while sending a clear message of support for female filmmakers. But looking elsewhere for the Palme sent a message, too, defusing any possible charges of tokenism and alerting the outside world that this jury would ultimately hew to its own path.

Late into the ceremony, with only two films and two awards remaining, I assumed that path would lead to BlacKkKlansman. The improbable true story of a black police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1970s, Lees blisteringly funny, topically urgent drama, which ends with a fierce denunciation of white supremacy in Donald Trumps America, felt like it might well be this years Fahrenheit 9/11, which won the Palme in 2004.

Giving top honors to one of the few American films in Cannes this year might even have helped the embattled festival restore its tarnished reputation as a dream destination for Hollywood blockbusters and awards-season hopefuls. Also, as a friend quipped: Would you want to be on the jury that gave Spike Lee second place?

Adam Driver, left, and John David Washington in a scene from the movie BlacKkKlansman. (David Lee / Focus Features )

But in the end, thats exactly what they did. Kore-eda won, and there was a sweetness to his victory that transcended even the simple pleasure of seeing a great filmmaker receive the highest honor in world cinema for one of his very best movies. It took discernment, for one, to see the shared virtues of Shoplifters and Capernaum, both wrenching portraits of young children on the streets, but also to see that one had been dramatized with a more assured hand.

A win for Shoplifters also partially acknowledged the unusual strength of the Asian-directed films in competition, which included Ash Is Purest White, a gripping gangster melodrama from Chinas Jia Zhangke, and Asako I & II, an emotionally astute romantic triangle from the Japanese newcomer Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

Both were shut out of the awards, and so, most disappointingly, was Burning, a hypnotically unsettling psychological thriller from the South Korean writer-director Lee Chang-dong, which set an all-time record of 3.8 out of 4 stars on the Screen International critics panel (in which I was a participant).

Blanchetts jury made impeccably smart choices for director (Pawlikowski for Cold War), actor (Marcello Fonte for Matteo Garrones Dogman) and actress (Samal Yeslyamova for Sergei Dvortsevoys Ayka), but they also clearly admired more films than they could accommodate. In addition to the tie for screenplay, they awarded a Palme dOr Speciale to the veteran filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, whose The Image Book was the most abrasive and adventurous thing in Cannes by several light years  another of his dense, synapse-frying meditations on the decay of language, imagery and civilization as we know it.

Compared with that option, Shoplifters might seem in retrospect like an unusually safe, palatable choice. Amid the hype, rage and politically charged bluster that dominated this years festival headlines  over #MeToo, over Trump, over Netflix, over selfies  perhaps what this jury needed was the catharsis of a good, collective cry.

All well and good, but what makes Kore-edas movie so quietly devastating, the work of a master in full command of his art, is that its emotional rewards stem from a deep engagement with the world rather than a retreat from it. Its the rare movie indeed that can unite a jury without even remotely smacking of compromise.

justin.chang@latimes.comCharlie Weber, Liza Weil and Aja Naomi King gathered in the lobby of the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles last week before seeing Conrad Ricamora, their fellow cast member from ABCs How to Get Away With Murder, on stage during the May 16 world premiere of the new production Soft Power.

We found out that Conrad got this job while we were wrapping up our season and we told him then that wed be here, said Weil, adding that although they had performed in the same community theater, their paths didnt cross then. So this would be the first time she would see him on stage.

Conrad is one of the most profoundly talented people I have ever met, said King. And so I am excited to see him in this show  for him to utilize all his talents: singing, acting, emoting, just all of it. Hes such a precious person to me. He deserves all the glory and accolades that I know hes going to get for this show.

Conrad Ricamora and his "How to Get Away With Murder" costar Aja Naomi King at the after-party following the world premiere of "Soft Power." Ryan Miller / Getty Images

The event

"Soft Power" cast member Jaygee Macapugay, from left, director Leigh Silverman, cast member Francis Jue, creators Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang, cast members Austin Ku and Maria-Christina Oliveras, choreographer Sam Pinkleton and cast member Geena Quintos backstage. Ryan Miller / Getty Images

Following the opening night performance, a jubilant by-invitation crowd joined the cast at Vespaio on Grand Avenue to celebrate over Champagne, cocktails, canapes, pizza and desserts.

The crowd

Ming-Na Wen, left, and Olympian Michelle Kwan. Ryan Miller / Getty Images

Stars shining at the premiere included Ming-Na Wen (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Leonardo Nam (Westworld), Vincent Rodriguez III (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Frances Fisher (Titanic), James Kyson (Preacher), Zoe Lister-Jones (Life in Pieces), Parvesh Cheena (Outsourced), Loretta Devine (The Carmichael Show), Oscar-winning actress Marisa Tomei and Olympic figure skater Michelle Kwan.

The play

The cast takes a bow after the opening-night performance of "Soft Power." Ryan Miller / Getty Images

Soft Power by David Henry Hwang (play and lyrics) and Jeanine Tesori (music and additional lyrics) is a contemporary comedy that morphs into an over-the-top musical fantasy about Hillary Clinton and the presidential election of 2016, all in the guise of a characters fever dream. The play then jumps into the future, after China has become the world leader, for a 50th-anniversary, made-in-China production of the mythologized version of the events surrounding Clintons electoral loss.

The conversations

"Soft Power" co-creator David Henry Hwang and director Leigh Silverman. Ryan Miller / Getty Images

At the after-party, Alyse Alan Louis, who plays Hillary Clinton, said that although she hasnt met the former First Lady, she made her sentiments clear. Id love to, she said.

Clinton hasnt seen the production, but Hwang said she has been apprised of the show through an intermediary. Out of respect, we wanted her to hear about the play from friends before it got out in the news. He then added, Were hopeful to A.) be in New York and B.) that she will be able to see it and that she will like it.

In declining to name the vice president character, Hwang said he took a cue from The King and I, which defines the king by his title only. Also, a fictitious version of President Trump doesnt appear in the show, and his actual name isnt spoken.

Said director Leigh Silverman of the production, Its like a delicious piece of chocolate with a razor blade inside. So, to make people feel like they want to taste this delicious chocolate  its a daunting task. But its one that I feel proud of  as it stands in opposition to whats happening right now politically in our country.

Entering the restaurant with his French bulldog Wilbur, Ricamora took a moment to explain his four-legged companion, Hes registered as an emotional-support dog. I bring him to the show. He helps with my anxiety.

About his role as a Chinese filmmaker, Ricamora said he had a great time telling a story with Asian faces involved. You dont always get the opportunity to do so unless youre doing King and I or Miss Saigon, which are written through a white lens. This is so unique because David is at the helm, and its been nice to be able to turn those shows on their head a little bit.

"Soft Power" cast members Francis Jue, from left, Alyse Alan Louis and Conrad Ricamora at the after-party. Ryan Miller / Getty Images

Praises for the show could be heard throughout the evening. Said Wen, Its incredible how [Hwang] was able to weave together his personal journeys as an Asian American, a horrific incident that happened in his life and the political environment that were living in now, into a funny, entertaining musical play.

Nam said: Its so important that shows like this one about topics that people resonate with and relate to are being supported.

Rodriguez III called the show one of the most groundbreaking musicals Ive ever seen  in having our political landscape discussed in such a digestible way that is humorous and thought-provoking and poignant, focusing on love and celebrating musicals.

Im so blown away by Soft Power, Fisher said. Even if I could speak about it, I would not tell anyone anything because I want everyone to be totally surprised.

Frances Fisher and "Soft Power" co-creator David Henry Hwang. Ryan Miller / Getty Images

As the actor portraying Hwang in the play, Francis Jue said, Im grateful to be part of this because [the play] says what I want to say because its what art should be saying  that we all need to be talking to each other a lot more, and by we, Jue said he meant both people and countries. Its also saying we need to be judging each other less  that we shouldnt have to prove who we are constantly, he said.

Support our journalism Please consider subscribing today to support stories like this one. Get full access to our signature journalism for just 99 cents for the first four weeks. Already a subscriber? Your support makes our work possible. Thank you.

image@latimes.com

For fashion news, follow us at @latimesimage on Twitter.Saying that he posed a possible flight risk and danger to the community, a federal judge on Monday ruled that the former boyfriend of a woman who was killed in an explosion at her Aliso Viejo spa should remain in custody without the possibility of bail.

Stephen Beal of Long Beach has not been charged in connection with the explosion last week that killed Ildiko Krajnyak. Instead, he faces one count of possessing an unregistered destructive device.

During a brief appearance in court Monday afternoon, Beal wore a neon orange and khaki-colored jail jumpsuit and handcuffs, which were removed for the hearing. He did not enter a plea and his attorney declined to comment.

Krajnyak, 48, was killed Tuesday when a cardboard package blew up at the Magyar Kozmetika spa. The explosion tore open the ceiling and buckled the floor. Body parts flew into the parking lot.

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Soon after, authorities made startling discoveries during a search of Beals Long Beach home. They said they found two complete improvised explosive devices, two cardboard tubes, batteries, a 9-volt battery connector, 130 pounds of explosives and precursors, two handguns and a shotgun.

The findings were detailed in a 10-page affidavit and criminal complaint filed by federal authorities Thursday in U.S. District Court.

During Mondays appearance, federal Public Defender Amy Karlin stated that Beals charges did not merit detention without bond. She asked for a $100,000 bond. The equity in Beals home would be used for the bond, Karlin said.

Beal receives disability checks due to a history of mental illness resulting from lead poisoning from many years ago, Karlin told the judge. She added that her client was undergoing medical treatment and had an appointment scheduled for May 30.

Karlin argued that her client did not present a flight risk and that Beals daughter would be willing to provide a signature bond for her father.

Federal prosecutors countered by stating that Beal had suffered a psychosomatic hallucination in 2004 and could not be trusted, even under electronic monitoring.

According to the court filing, Beal told investigators that Krajnyak was his former girlfriend and that he was a model rocket builder but dropped the hobby in 2004.

But on his personal website, Beal wrote that he builds and flies large-scale rockets and posted about rocket launches in an amateur rocketry Facebook group as recently as 2012.

When asked by investigators about one of the rocket devices, Beal first said he did not recognize it. Later, the filing said, he identified the device as a smoke detonator that releases smoke during flight so a rocket would stay visible.

When he was shown photographs of the two pipe IEDs, Beal initially said he didnt recognize them. But he later explained exactly where they were found, according to the affidavit, which said the devices were not consistent with that of a model rocket.

Beal also said he once built a smaller device to help with his neighbors gopher problem, the affidavit said. He told investigators that he saw news coverage of the explosion, and said he did not have material to create a blast that large, according to the document.

The couple met on a dating app in the summer of 2016. They traveled extensively and vacationed in Cuba, Portugal and Canada. They opened a day spa together in Aliso Viejo. Krajnyak was a skin care specialist who had recently filed for bankruptcy, and Beal was a widower who occasionally acted.

Their romance fizzled, authorities said, over disagreements about money and their dating exclusivity. In February or March, they broke up, but decided to remain business partners. Beal paid the $1,500 monthly rent for the spa space and half its operating costs. Sometimes, if Krajnyak didnt make enough, hed loan her the rest.

Beals wife, Christine, died in 2008, according to the Los Angeles County coroner. The coroner listed the manner of death as undetermined, but pointed to pancreatitis, electrolyte imbalance and chronic lead intoxication as factors. She was 48.

A coroners report obtained by Fox LA called the womans death a mysterious case, and noted that Beal was uncooperative, not wanting to reveal information to the hospital staff about his wife or her medical history. Christine Beal had been vomiting for four to five days and was admitted into the intensive care unit at Community Hospital of Long Beach, according to the report.

A claim he filed to obtain a $21,225 payout from his wifes life insurance policy was denied at least once, according to court records from his 2009 bankruptcy filing. Its unclear if he ever received the money.

cindy.carcamo@latimes.com

Follow Cindy Carcamo on Twitter @thecindycarcamo

UPDATES:

4:25 p.m.: This article was updated with details from court.

This article was originally published at 3:50 p.m.USC gynecologist Dr. George Tyndall was accused of sexually abusing hundreds of students during three decades at a campus clinic. The Los Angeles Times won the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for this series that roiled the prestigious private university and led to dramatic changes, including the resignation of the university president C.L. Max Nikias. The series also triggered local, state and federal investigations. A task force of police detectives interviewed women across the country, a review that grew into the Los Angeles Police Departments largest-ever sex crimes investigation of a single suspect.green|spaces announced that 10 local Chattanooga businesses are solidifying their commitment to sustainability through the green|light program. green|light is a third party corporate sustainability certification program through green|spaces that helps businesses with employee attraction, public image, cost savings, and environmental stewardship.

The new green|light partners include:

5th Dimension Construction

Niedlovs Breadworks

Crabtree Farms

Southern Sqweeze

REV Centre for Optimal Living

Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center

Compass Commissioning

Kyle House Fitness

Mad Priest Coffee Roasters

City of Chattanooga

Greens Eco Build and Design

With a multi-faceted focus, green|light helps businesses and organizations commit to the pursuit of a holistic approach to sustainability.

As the program director, I am blown away by the diversity of businesses that have decided to commit to sustainable initiatives this year, said Kelley Cureton, green|light program director. By aligning their mission, vision and day-to-day operations with green|light, its truly inspiring to know that our community values the cause and that we are a united front in showing other communities that this is simply how we do business here.

While many businesses may have several sustainable practices in place already, the green|light certification is so comprehensive and thorough that additional ways for saving energy and money are always found. It could be an adjustment to toilets to reduce water waste or a change to the cleaning supplies used that could have been previously overlooked.

Committing to the green|light program is a way for us to be held accountable to the values we want to uphold, said Erik Zilen, owner of Niedlovs Breadworks. I want Niedlovs to do a better job delivering on the promises we make in the name of sustainability, and I expect green|spaces to push us by measuring the degree we are sustainable.

Once engaged with green|light a personal eco policy manual is created for each business, a green office checklist template is available as a guide, design services for custom signage are provided, and a network of preferred providers that has been established so resources for a variety of sustainable needs can be easily acquired.

"As Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center moves into a period of renewal and growth, we're excited to rely on the expertise and process laid out in the green|light program to ensure we stay true to our environmental values and conservation mission, said Mark McKnight, president of Reflection Riding.  We look forward to finding new efficiencies, highlighting what we're already doing right, and ultimately, saving resources and money."

"I want our sustainability commitment to reach far beyond used furniture and landfill reduction. Our mission is finding solutions for businesses that consider the needs of our environment. I am confident that green|light will help us realize operational cost savings, more accurately quantify our environmental impact, and cultivate a higher quality workplace experience for our team," said John Jerman, president and founder of Office Furniture Warehouse.

"The work done by green|spaces and the green|light program is pivotal to moving our city and our collective consciousness toward a more sustainable and equitable future, said Sara McIntyre, executive director of Crabtree Farms. Their team works with compassion and integrity to simplify and personalize the path to a greener business or home."

Chattanooga Area green|light Certified businesses include: The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, The Flying Squirrel, The Crash Pad, The Chattanooga Zoo, Ruby Falls, The Strand Salon, River City Company, AEED Inc., Kelly Subaru, the Sportsbarn, Chambliss, Bohner & Stophel P.C., Franklin Architects, Hunter Museum of Art, Rev, Urban Stack, Taco Mamacita, Center for Mindful Living, Lupis Pizza, Office Furniture Warehouse, and Rock City.USC names retired aerospace executive Wanda Austin as acting president, announces Nikias departure By Harriet Ryan USC appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president and laid out a detailed plan for selecting a permanent leader Tuesday, ending speculation about whether outgoing President C.L. Max Nikias might remain in the post. Nikias, embattled over his administrations handling of a campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, relinquished his duties after a meeting of USCs board. The trustees tapped one of their own, Wanda Austin, an alumna and former president of the Aerospace Corp., to temporarily run the university. The trustees also approved the formation of a search committee and the hiring of firm Isaacson, Miller to coordinate the selection of a successor. A second search company, Heidrick & Struggles, will also advise trustees. Read More Facebook

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Ex-student sues elite Brentwood School after teacher is charged with sexually abusing him By Richard Winton A former student sued the elite Brentwood School on Monday in the wake of a female teacher being charged with repeatedly having sex with the minor, alleging that other faculty members encouraged the unlawful behavior and failed to report it to authorities. The lawsuit accuses the private school, whose students include the children of many of Hollywoods elite and L.A.s powerful, of acting negligently and allowing Aimee Palmitessa to abuse and batter the teenager sexually. The suit alleges that the student was abused in summer 2017 after one of the schools counselors offered words of encouragement to the then-17-year-old, identified in the suit as only John Doe, to engage in an illegal relationship with the teacher. Read More Facebook

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Civil jury vindicates fired Montebello school executives in whistleblower case By Howard Blume The Montebello school district is in dire straits  at risk of insolvency and under apparent criminal investigation. An outside audit in July found some teachers earning more than $200,000 a year, as well as improper raises, excess paid vacation time and inappropriate overtime, sick leave and car allowances. Fixing the district and pinpointing blame could take time. Read More Facebook

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L.A. schools fall short on safety measures, new report warns By Howard Blume After the mass shooting at Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, Los Angeles school officials reassured parents that much had been done to keep local schools safe. California had tougher gun laws, after all, and the school district paid close attention to students mental health. But a new report issued Monday by a panel convened to take a close look offers some cause for concern, flagging inconsistent campus safety measures, thinly spread mental health staff and inadequate coordination between the school district and other public agencies. With the stakes this high, we must strive to do better, said L.A. City Atty. Mike Feuer, who assembled the panel. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school district says more are graduating, but rate may not show it By Howard Blume The L.A. Unified School District has hopes of continuing its winning streak this year with another record graduation rate, but the official numbers may not show it. A senior district administrator warned the board Tuesday that graduation rates were likely to decline 2% to 3% across the state, even though L.A. Unified is likely doing better than ever in producing graduates, he said. The issue is that the state will now count high school students who transfer to adult school as dropouts, said Oscar Lafarga, who heads the districts office of data and accountability. Previously, schools treated these students as though they had simply enrolled in another high school, he said. Read More Facebook

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Betsy DeVos to California: Not so fast on that federal education plan By Joy Resmovits Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (Erik Lesser / European Pressphoto Agency) In April, Californias top education officials breathed a sigh of relief. After months of debate and back-and-forth with Betsy DeVos staff, they had finalized a plan to satisfy a major education law that aims to make sure all students get a decent education. The state focused on aligning its plan to fulfill the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act with Californias Local Control Funding Formula, which gives extra money to districts to help students who come from low-income families, are in the foster system or are English learners. But this week, DeVos team said not so fast. Jason Botel, the U.S. Department of Educations principal deputy assistant secretary, sent California education officials a letter asking for more information in such areas as measuring student progress, graduation rates and English learners. In an unsigned statement, the California Department of Education declared itself surprised and disappointed because officials thought  after a meeting with federal officials in Washington  that they were on the right track to get approval. Now the Every Student Succeeds Act plan will be up for discussion once again at the July meeting of the State Board of Education. The U.S. Department of Education has already approved most state plans. Every Student Succeeds is the Obama administrations 2015 replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act. Facebook

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L.A. school board sets a new goal: prepare every grad to be eligible to apply for Cal State or UC By Sonali Kohli Last month, Los Angeles school board president proposed a spate of highly ambitious mandates aimed at ensuring that every district graduate be eligible to apply to one of the states public four-year universities by 2023. By the time the L.A. Unified school board unanimously approved the resolution Tuesday, the original language had been watered down. The goal is no longer that in five years 100% of students meet the long list of benchmarks, which include not just college eligibility for graduates but first-grade reading proficiency and English fluency by sixth grade for all students who enter the district in kindergarten or first grade speaking another language. The original college-readiness goal, for example, called for 100% of all high school students to be eligible to apply to one of the states four-year universities. Now the goal seems to offer more wiggle room: Prepare all high school graduates to be eligible to apply to a California four-year university. Read More Facebook

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We have been hurt. More women say they were mistreated by USC gynecologist By Richard Winton USC student Anika Narayanan says she vividly recalls her first appointment with Dr. George Tyndall at the campus health center, alleging that he made several explicit comments during an examination she felt was inappropriate and invasive. When she came back for a second visit in 2016 after a nonconsensual sexual encounter, he allegedly chastised her, she said in a civil lawsuit and at a press conference Tuesday. He asked me if I had forgotten to use a condom again,  said Narayanan, 21. At one point, she said, Tyndall asked if I did a lot of doggy style,  she said. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unified gives inspector general brief contract extension By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school board on Tuesday extended the contract of Ken Bramlett, its inspector general, by three months, though his job is far from secure and questions remain about the future direction of his watchdog office. Board members also unanimously promoted Vivian Ekchian, who had been the runner-up for the superintendents job, to deputy superintendent  the districts No. 2 position. Both moves had elements of peacemaking between different factions on the board. Read More Facebook

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USCs handling of complaints about campus gynecologist is being investigated by federal government By Harriet Ryan The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into how the University of Southern California handled misconduct complaints against a campus gynecologist, the latest fallout in a scandal that has prompted the resignation of USCs president, two law enforcement investigations and dozens of lawsuits. In revealing the inquiry by the departments Office of Civil Rights, officials rebuked USC for what they alleged was improper withholding of information about Dr. George Tyndall during a previous federal investigation. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has been criticized for taking a less vigorous approach to examining sexual misconduct than predecessors, called for a systemic examination of USC and urged administrators to fully cooperate. Read More Facebook

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Judge to sentence woman and her boyfriend for the murder of an 8-year-old that led to L.A. child welfare reforms By Marisa Gerber A woman and her boyfriend are expected to be sentenced Thursday for the torture and murder of an 8-year-old boy whose killing in 2013 provoked public outrage, prompted sweeping reform of Los Angeles Countys child welfare system, and led to unprecedented criminal charges against social workers who handled the childs case. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 34, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the death of her son, Gabriel. A jury decided last year that her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, 37, should be executed. When paramedics arrived at the boys Palmdale home in May 2013, Gabriel had slipped out of consciousness. He had a fractured skull, broken ribs, burned skin, missing teeth and BB pellets embedded in his groin. A paramedic would later testify that every inch of the boys small body had been abused. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unifieds spending out of step with similar school systems, task force says By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school district is out of step with similar school systems, spending more on teachers pay and health benefits and less on activities that could enhance student learning, according to a new report by an outside task force. The L.A. Unified School District Advisory Task Force did not make specific recommendations, but instead posed a series of questions it said the district needs to answer to make sure its funding is aimed at providing a full opportunity for all students to succeed. What were trying to say is: Lets put the data on the table. Lets look at the truth. Lets be transparent and here are the numbers, said task force member Renata Simril. This is not to say that  we should cut teachers salaries. Read More Facebook

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Top USC medical school official feared dean was doing drugs and alerted administration, he testifies By Paul Pringle A former vice dean of USCs Keck School of Medicine testified Tuesday that he feared the schools then-dean, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, could be doing drugs and expressed concerns about his general well-being to the universitys No. 2 administrator before Puliafito abruptly left his job in 2016. Dr. Henri Fords testimony at a hearing of the state Medical Board marks the first suggestion that any USC administrator had suspicions about Puliafitos possible drug use before he stepped down. A Times investigation in 2017 found Puliafito led a secret second life of using illegal drugs with a circle of young criminals and addicts. Puliafito testified about his behavior at the hearing Tuesday, saying he took drugs with one young woman on a weekly basis. Ford said that he decided to alert USC Provost Michael Quick after receiving reports in early 2016 that Puliafito was partying in hotels with people of questionable reputation, and that he came to worry about his mental stability. Read More Facebook

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Why L.A. Unified may face financial crisis even with a giant surplus this year By Jessica Calefati With more than half a billion dollars socked away for next school year, the Los Angeles Unified School District hardly seems just two years from financial ruin. Its a scenario that is especially tough to swallow if youre a low-wage worker seeking a raise or a teacher who wants smaller classes. But budget documents show that todays $548-million surplus cannot be sustained  and that even basic services face steep, seemingly unavoidable cuts because of massive problems barreling the districts way. Theres a disconnect between the rosy short-term picture and what we know is coming, said board member Kelly Gonez. Read More Facebook

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We have failed: Top USC officials try to reassure students amid gynecologist scandal By Joy Resmovits Top administrators at USC are reaching out to students in the wake of misconduct allegations against the universitys longtime gynecologist, acknowledging failings and vowing reforms as they try to address growing outrage over the revelations. Several USC deans have sent out messages trying to reassure students and faculty that the university is committed to changing. We have failed, wrote Jack H. Knott, dean of USCs Sol Price School of Public Policy, in a May 24 letter. What happened is antithetical to everything we know is right. Read More Facebook

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Rick Caruso is named chair of USCs trustees, vows swift investigation of gynecologist scandal By Thomas Curwen The University of Southern Californias board of trustees has elected mall magnate Rick Caruso to be the new chair of the board, giving fresh leadership as the university navigates a widening scandal involving a longtime campus gynecologist. The move marks the latest effort by USC to address the case, which has sparked a criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and dozens of civil lawsuits. More than 400 people have contacted a hotline that the university established for patients to make reports about their experience with Dr. George Tyndall. In his first act as chairman, Caruso announced that the white-shoe L.A. law firm OMelveny & Myers would conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the gynecologists conduct and reporting failures at the clinic. He set an ambitious timeline for the review, pledging it would conclude before students return for the fall semester. Read More Facebook

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UC Berkeley students persistence helps win more liberal rules for in-state tuition By Teresa Watanabe Ifechukwu Okeke thought shed be a shoo-in for in-state tuition when she was admitted to UC Berkeley for fall 2016. She had moved to the United States from Nigeria in 2012 to go to Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga. By the time she got her acceptance to transfer to UC to study molecular and cell biology, she had lived in California four years. She had a California drivers license, bank account and rental records as proof. UC Berkeley, however, ruled she was a nonresident  which meant she would have to pay nearly $27,000 more. Read More Facebook

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State medical board calls former County-USC doctor a sexual predator, suspends his license By Matt Hamilton A UCLA cardiologist has been temporarily stripped of his medical license after state regulators described him as a sexual predator who assaulted three female colleagues when he was working and training at L.A. County-USC Medical Center. Read More Facebook

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Global California 2030' aims to get more students learning more languages By Joy Resmovits Tom Torlakson (Andrew Seng / Associated Press) Outgoing state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Wednesday announced a new statewide effort to encourage students to learn more languages. Called Global California 2030, its goal is to help more students become fluent in multiple tongues. Torlakson said that by 2030, he wants half of the states 6.2 million K-12 students to participate in classes or programs that lead to proficiency in two or more languages. By 2040, he wants three out of four students to be proficient enough to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy. Torlakson announced the initiative at Cahuenga Elementary School, which offers a dual-language immersion program in English and Korean. Californias public school students speak more than 60 languages at home, and 40% come to school with knowledge of a language other than English. Torlakson called his plan a call to action that invites parents, legislators, educators and community members to pool resources to expand language offerings in schools and get more bilingual teachers trained. He said the state already is working with Mexico and Spain to expand a teacher-exchange program. Fluency, the plan argues, can help students succeed economically  and language acquisition can help their overall critical thinking. The initiative builds on Proposition 58, a ballot initiative passed in 2016 that undid an earlier requirement that English learners be taught in English-immersion classes unless their parents signed waivers. Torlakson recently visited Mexico and met with that countrys education secretary. They later signed a pact to increase collaboration, particularly in language education. This [Global California 2030] is great follow-through on Toms part and very important, Patricia Gandara, a UCLA education professor who hosted the Mexico meeting, said in an email. It hands over a plan to move forward in an area in which California has a unique advantage, but must seize the opportunity. Facebook

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Jury convicts man of murder in 2015 slaying of UCLA student found inside her burning apartment By Marisa Gerber A jury on Tuesday convicted a man in the 2015 slaying of a UCLA student found dead inside her burning apartment  a gruesome stabbing case that led to a fierce rebuke of the police response amid concerns that the killing could have been prevented. The panel deliberated for about six hours before finding Alberto Medina, 24, guilty of murder, arson, burglary and animal cruelty. On Sept. 21, 2015, firefighters found the charred body of Andrea DelVesco inside her apartment after responding to the complex a block from campus. The 21-year-old student  an Austin, Texas, native known to her sorority sisters as a fearless giver who befriended others with ease  was stabbed at least 19 times, authorities said. Read More Facebook

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LAPD begins sweeping criminal probe of former USC gynecologist while urging patients to come forward By Adam Elmahrek The Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday it is investigating 52 complaints of misconduct filed by former patients of USCs longtime campus gynecologist as detectives launch a sweeping criminal probe into the scandal that has rocked the university. LAPD detectives also made an appeal for other patients who feel mistreated to come forward, noting that thousands of students were examined by Dr. George Tyndall during his nearly 30-year career at USC. More than 410 people have contacted a university hotline about the physician since The Times revealed the allegations this month. Tyndalls behavior and practices appear to go beyond the norms of the medical profession and gynecological examinations, said Asst. Chief Beatrice Girmala. We sincerely realize that victims may have difficulty recounting such details to investigators. We are empathetic and ready to listen. Read More Facebook

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At L.A.'s only school for the deaf, parents want leaders who speak the same language By Anna M. Phillips Ever since her son was 6 months old, Juliet Hidalgo has been bringing him to the Marlton School, a low-slung building in Baldwin Hills that for generations has been a second home for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Los Angeles. Marlton staff taught Hidalgos brother and sister, both of whom are deaf. The school was where her deaf son learned to make the signs for milk and food. Hidalgo had planned to enroll her daughter, taking advantage of a popular program that allows hearing children to learn American Sign Language alongside their deaf siblings. But after more than a decade of involvement, she and other family members are considering withdrawing their children. They are not alone. Read More Facebook

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Fueled by unlimited donations, independent groups play their biggest role yet in a California primary for governor By Ryan Menezes An unprecedented amount of money from wealthy donors, unions and corporations is flowing into the California governors race, giving independent groups  unrestricted by contribution limits  a greater say in picking the states chief executive than ever before. The groups have already spent more than $26 million through Thursday, the most ever spent by noncandidate committees in a gubernatorial primary, according to a Times analysis of campaign finance reports. California elections have always been expensive, and the future is even more expensive, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College and a former state Republican leader. The stakes are very real. Read More Facebook

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2 hurt in Indiana middle school shooting; suspect in custody, authorities say By Associated Press Authorities say two victims in a shooting at a suburban Indianapolis school are being taken to a hospital and the lone suspect is in custody. Bryant Orem, a spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, said in a news release that the victims in Friday mornings attack at Noblesville West Middle School are being taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and their families have been notified. He says no other information is available about the victims. Orem said the suspect is believed to have acted alone and was taken into custody. No additional information about the suspect was made public. Read More Facebook

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For new L.A. schools chief Austin Beutner, some key unions are giving no honeymoon period By Howard Blume In the less than two weeks since Austin Beutner took charge of Los Angeles schools, unions representing teachers and administrators have staged a job action and a protest. Theyve made it clear that they will not give the new superintendent the traditional honeymoon period, and they are bashing him for his wealth and lack of experience running either a school or a school district. Beutner is a billionaire investment banker with zero qualifications, local teachers union President Alex Caputo-Pearl told members in a phone alert urging them to participate in a Thursday afternoon rally in Grand Park. The board is saying that billionaires who made their money blowing institutions up and making money off it know best  not the education professionals who have dedicated our careers to working with students. Read More Facebook

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Pressure grows on Board of Trustees amid USC gynecologist scandal By Paul Pringle USCs large and powerful Board of Trustees is coming under growing pressure to provide a stronger hand as the university faces a crisis over misconduct allegations against the campus longtime gynecologist that has prompted calls for President C.L. Max Nikias to step down. Allegations that Dr. George Tyndall mistreated students during his nearly 30 years at USC have roiled the campus, with about 300 people coming forward to make reports to the university and the Los Angeles Police Department launching a criminal investigation. USC is already beginning to face what is expected to be costly litigation by women who say they were victimized by the physician. So far, the trustees to whom Nikias reports have expressed sympathy for the women who have come forward and launched an independent investigation while also publicly backing the president. Read More Facebook

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UC regents approve leaner budget for Janet Napolitano By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents on Thursday unanimously approved a leaner, more transparent budget for President Janet Napolitano, moving to address political criticism over the systems central office operations. The $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 reflects spending cuts of 2%, including reductions in staffing, travel and such systemwide programs as public service law fellowships, carbon neutrality and food security. Napolitano shifted $30 million to campuses for housing needs and $10 million to UC Riverside to support its five-year-old medical school. She also permanently redirected $8.5 million annually to help enroll more California students, as required by the state. Read More Facebook

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USCs Academic Senate calls on university president to resign after a series of scandals By Matt Hamilton The body that represents USCs faculty called on President C.L. Max Nikias to resign Wednesday in the wake of relevations that the universitys longtime gynecologist faced years of accusations of misconduct by students and colleagues at the campus health clinic. The Academic Senate took the vote late Wednesday afternoon after a fiery town hall meeting attended by more than 100 faculty members, many of whom voiced outrage over Nikias and the Board of Trustees leadership. The vote came a day after the trustees executive committee stood firmly behind Nikias, saying it has full confidence in his leadership, ethics and values. At the town hall meeting, Senate President Paul Rosenbloom said he did not think Nikias or Provost Michael Quick committed wrongdoing but that the university president deserved criticism for a lack of transparency. Read More Facebook

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Californias public universities on the way to getting a big longed-for boost in funding By Teresa Watanabe The University of California and California State University systems are poised to get major funding boosts that will help them enroll thousands of additional state students and eliminate the need for tuition increases in the coming school year. A key Assembly budget panel on Wednesday approved $117.5 million in new funds for the UC. A Senate panel approved a similar sum last week. The same committees recently approved even more funding for the Cal State system. Read More Facebook

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UC regents to scrutinize Janet Napolitanos office budget in a step toward stronger oversight By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents this week plan to scrutinize the budget of President Janet Napolitano, whose office came under political fire last year for questionable spending and murky accounting. Regents will vote on the proposed $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 during their two-day meeting, which starts Wednesday, at UC San Francisco. They also will discuss state funding, financial aid, online education and transfer student policies. Board Chairman George Kieffer said regents are stepping up to exert stronger oversight of the presidents office after a blistering state audit last year found financial problems including an unreported $175 million budget reserve. Read More Facebook

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State legislative panels approve major funding boost for Cal State By Teresa Watanabe Cal State students protest against a tuition increase outside the chancellors office (Irfan Khan) After months of intensive lobbying, Cal State University has convinced two key legislative panels to approve funding to enroll nearly 11,000 more students, hire more faculty and expand housing aid to those without shelter this fall. An Assembly budget panel on Tuesday approved $215.7 million more for Cal State, adding to Gov. Jerry Browns proposed $92.1 million general fund increase. A Senate budget panel approved a similar increase last week. The extra funding  which went beyond Cal States own request to the Legislature of $171 million  is still subject to final budget negotiations with Brown. But the actions by the Senate and Assembly panels amount to a demand from Democrats that the governor hike higher education spending. Cal State University is the workhorse undergraduate university serving hundreds of thousands of Californians, said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who heads the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. We need more graduates for the California workforce and higher education is the ticket to the middle class. Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White hailed the actions, but said it was too soon to celebrate. The CSU has a singular focus on helping students earn high-quality degrees sooner, and the entire university community has rallied to reinforce that message to our states lawmakers, he said in a statement. The actions taken thus far by the Assembly and Senate are promising and show that our message is being received, but there is still work to be done. Funding for the University of California was not taken up Tuesday as originally scheduled. McCarty would not comment on sticking points but said he was confident that a resolution would be reached this week. Were looking to provide resources above whats in the governors budget, but negotiations are ongoing, he said in an interview. State per-student funding is not what it once was, leaving both Cal State and the UC in a tough financial squeeze. Both systems raised tuition last year after a six-year freeze on higher costs. For this year, Cal State had asked for funding to enroll an additional 3,621 students, but both the Senate and Assembly panels approved three times that amount. Cal State, the largest public university system in the nation, turned away 32,000 eligible students last year because its campuses werent able to accommodate them. The panels asked that at least $50 million of the extra funding be used to hire more tenure-track faculty to help boost graduation rates. The Assembly panel also approved one-time funding of $5 million to ease hunger on campuses and $14 million for rapid rehousing pilot projects at three campuses, offering needy students rental support and short-term case management. Other items approved include $5 million to support the CSU Long Beach Shark Labs research on sharks and beach safety and $2 million for equal employment opportunity practices. This post has been updated to include comments from Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White. Facebook

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Faculty members call for USC president to step down: He has lost the moral authority to lead By Matt Hamilton Two hundred USC professors on Tuesday demanded the resignation of university President C. L. Max Nikias, saying he had lost the moral authority to lead in the wake of revelations that a campus gynecologist was kept on staff for decades despite repeated complaints of misconduct. Read More Facebook

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Gun battle, negotiations lasted 15 minutes before Texas school shooter was apprehended, sheriff says By Molly Hennessy-Fiske Minutes after a school shooter opened fire in an art class last week, killing 10 people and wounding 13, including a local police officer, fellow officers returned fire in a protracted gun battle before isolating the suspect, the local sheriff said Monday. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset praised first responders as well as Santa Fe Police Officer John Barnes, who was working as a resource officer at the school the day of the shooting. Their actions, he said, prevented the attack from spreading to other classrooms and potentially claiming additional victims. As officials continue to probe last Fridays shooting at Santa Fe High School, students are worried about returning to the scene of the attack when classes resume next week. Read More Facebook

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6 women sue USC, alleging they were victimized by campus gynecologist By Richard Winton Six women filed civil lawsuits Monday alleging that a longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California sexually victimized them under the pretext of medical care and that USC failed to address complaints from clinic staff about the doctors behavior. One woman alleged Dr. George Tyndall forced his entire ungloved hand into her vagina during an appointment in 2003 while making vulgar remarks about her genitalia, according to one of the lawsuits. Another woman alleged that Tyndall groped her breasts in a 2008 visit and that later he falsely told her she likely had AIDS. A third woman accused the doctor of grazing his ungloved fingers over her nude body and leering at her during a purported skin exam, the lawsuit states. The wave of litigation comes as USC continues to grapple with the scandal, which legal experts said could prove costly to the university as scores of former patients come forward about their experiences with the gynecologist. Read More Facebook

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Fatalities reported in Texas high school shooting; suspect arrested, officials say By Associated Press Houston-area media citing unnamed law enforcement officials are reporting that there are fatalities following a shooting at a local high school Friday morning. Television station KHOU and the Houston Chronicle are citing unnamed federal, county and police officials following the shooting at Santa Fe High School, which went on lockdown around 8 a.m. The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the reports. The school district has confirmed an unspecified number of injuries but said it wouldnt immediately release further details. Assistant Principal Cris Richardson said a suspect has been arrested and secured. Read More Facebook

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This student followed the new L.A. schools chief on his first-day tour L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner is greeted by Van Nuys High School principal Yolanda Gardea. (Melissa Barales-Lopez) Melissa Barales-Lopez, a senior at Garfield High School followed Supt. Austin Beutner on his first day on the job, as he toured a variety of programs around the Los Angeles Unified School District. Heres what she took from the experience. LAUSD students and staff alike are looking for a personal champion, someone who will address and improve the difficulties afflicting their education.  What LAUSD students need is someone whos willing to listen and learn, someone who can understand the current issues affecting their schools and act to efficiently amend them, someone who can unlock the full potential of LAUSD students and enable them to reach their goals. During the entirety of his first day, superintendent Austin Beutner did indeed demonstrate a willingness to learn. Posing questions to teachers and students, Beutner engaged with the student communities he encountered to gain a better comprehension of the minutiae and nuances that distinguish each school inside an overwhelmingly large district. From inquiries about Grand View Boulevard Elementary Schools dual language program to questions regarding the services of LAUSDs after-school program, Beyond the Bell, Beutner revealed he has a lot to learn about the system. But, Beutner also showcased a willingness to tackle challenges head-on on his first day. Read More Facebook

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USC let a gynecologist continue treating students despite years of misconduct allegations By Matt Hamilton For nearly 30 years, the University of Southern Californias student health clinic had one full-time gynecologist: Dr. George Tyndall. Tall and garrulous with distinctive jet black hair, he treated tens of thousands of female students, many of them teenagers seeing a gynecologist for the first time. Few who lay down on Tyndalls exam table at the Engemann Student Health Center knew that he had been accused repeatedly of misconduct toward young patients. The complaints began in the 1990s, when co-workers alleged he was improperly photographing students genitals. In the years that followed, patients and nursing staff accused him again and again of creepy behavior, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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On his first day as L.A. schools chief, Beutner plans a day of visits across the district By Howard Blume L.A. Unifieds new superintendent, Austin Beutner, will kick off his first day of work on Tuesday with a choreographed tour of the nations second-largest school district, from the San Fernando Valley to Carson. His day is scheduled to begin at 5:15 a.m. at a school bus depot and end more than 12 hours later at a parent meeting at Garfield High School. Along the way, Beutner is expected to be joined by school district administrators, L.A. Unified board members and the vice president of the union that represents school bus drivers. Though he will be covering a lot of ground, Beutners tour has him skipping Tuesdays school board meeting, when board members are expected to discuss labor negotiations in closed session. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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Why a handful of rich charter school supporters are spending millions to elect Antonio Villaraigosa as governor By Ryan Menezes California voters have seen a barrage of sunny television ads in recent weeks touting former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosas record on finances, crime and education, aired by Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018. But the group is, in fact, largely funded by a handful of wealthy charter-school supporters. Together they have spent more than $13 million in less than a month to boost Villaraigosas chances in the June 5 primary  at a time when his fundraising and poll numbers are lagging. Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, jump-started the group with a $7-million check, by far the largest donation to support any candidate in the election. Their efforts are part of a broader proxy war among Democrats between teachers unions  longtime stalwarts of the party  and those who argue that the groups have failed low-income and minority schoolchildren. Read More Facebook

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Talking schools with L.A. Unifieds new superintendent By Anna M. Phillips Al Seib / Los Angeles Times ( Incoming L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner talks to students at Belmont High School.) Austin Beutner, who officially starts Tuesday as the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is taking on a famously difficult job at a particularly difficult time. The school board is divided and did not back him unanimously. The nations second-largest school district has deep-seated problems, including declining enrollment, lagging academic achievement and rising pension and healthcare costs that eat away at its budget. The 58-year-old former investment banker and former L.A. Times publisher has years of experience in the financial world but none as an educator. Earlier this week, he sat down with the Times education team to discuss the challenges facing the district, which has about 60,000 employees and 500,000 students in traditional public schools. He did not talk about his plans  saying repeatedly, stay tuned  but he spoke in broad terms about his mindset in approaching the tough decisions ahead. Read More Facebook

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Suspect detained, authorities search campus after reports of armed man at Palmdale high school By James Queally One person has been detained after a report of an armed man at a Palmdale high school sparked a massive law enforcement response Friday morning. The suspect was spotted at 7:05 a.m. on the campus of Highland High School in Palmdale, according to Sheriffs Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. The person was detained in a nearby parking lot, according to Nishida, who did not know whether that person was an adult or juvenile. Deputies at the scene are clearing the school methodically, and students will be transported home via school buses once the campus is deemed safe, Nishida said. Read More Facebook

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The education of Bertha Perez: How a UC Merced custodians disenchantment led to a political awakening By Robin Abcarian Its the third day of a three-day strike, and UC Merced custodian Bertha Perez is taking a break from a picket line at the universitys unremarkable entrance, an intersection with stop lights. Photos from other UC campuses this week have shown big crowds of striking service workers  members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  marching and chanting pro-labor slogans as they try to force the University of California back to the negotiating table. But here, at UC Merced, whose handful of big buildings rise from a flat expanse of farmland, the picket line is tiny, maybe two dozen workers and a few students. Its not a big-city-style show of force. Then again, a union sympathizer is banging relentlessly on a snare drum, so its noisier than youd expect. Read More Facebook

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Ref Rodriguez resigns from teacher credentialing commission By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez appears during a court appearance. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez has resigned from the states Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which oversees the integrity and quality of Californias teachers. Rodriguez faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. Separately, his former employer, a charter school organization, has accused him of improperly authorizing checks to a nonprofit under his control. Rodriguez has denied wrongdoing. Rodriguezs resignation from the state body was effective May 4, days after he cast a crucial vote as part of a narrow majority that voted to authorize contract negotiations with Austin Beutner to become superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District. Beutners first official day on the job is Tuesday. Rodriguez remains in his $125,000-a-year position on the Los Angeles Board of Education. The mission of the state body is to ensure integrity, relevance, and high quality in the preparation, certification, and discipline of Californias teachers. Critics had questioned Rodriguezs continued service on the commission, given that teachers can be suspended from work if they face criminal charges. They also can lose their jobs for lapses in personal behavior, such as excessive drinking, with the potential to affect their performance. Police in Pasadena arrested Rodriguez on a Friday afternoon in March for public drunkenness. He was not charged in the incident and has apologized. The state commission reviews teacher discipline cases and can take action to remove a teachers credential to work in a California classroom. The commission has 15 members. Rodriguezs departure was disclosed in a one-sentence announcement on the agencys website. Facebook

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School board members request for restraining order against blogger is rejected By Priscella Vega An Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a school board members petition for a permanent restraining order against a Huntington Beach blogger. Attorney Jeffrey W. Shields filed the petition on behalf of Ocean View School District trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin, 46, who alleged in court documents that Charles Keeler Johnson, 56, has threatened her on social media and at school board meetings, causing her to fear for my own safety and for that of my immediate family members. Johnson, who goes by Chuck and publishes HBSledgehammer.com, said the trustee tried to stifle his freedom of speech. He also contended that Clayton-Tarvin took his blog posts and Facebook comments too seriously and out of context, saying anyone who is afraid of metaphors has serious issues. Read More Facebook

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Deal with workers averts one-day strike that could have shut down L.A. schools By Howard Blume Los Angeles school district and union officials announced a contract agreement Tuesday night that averted a one-day strike planned for next week. The pact, which runs through June 2020, removes one labor problem from the desk of incoming Supt. Austin Beutner  whose first day on the job would have coincided with the strike. Plenty of other challenges remain. Read More Facebook

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UC labor strike expands with show of support from more unions By Teresa Watanabe Fong Chuu is a registered nurse who has assisted with countless liver transplants, kidney surgeries and gastric bypasses during 34 years at UCLA. Working with her are scrub technicians who sterilize equipment, hand medical instruments to the surgeon and dress patient wounds. They are a team, Chuu says, which is why she walked off her job Tuesday in support of those technicians and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299. The 25,000 member AFSCME local, the University of Californias largest employee union, launched a three-day strike Monday. Read More Facebook

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We are humans too: Voices of UCLAs striking custodians, hospital aides and imaging technicians By Joy Resmovits Demonstrators parade in front of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) This week, thousands of UC employees are staging a three-day strike for better pay and working conditions. On Monday, more than 20,000 custodians, cooks, lab technicians, nurse aides and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 walked off their jobs. By Tuesday, two more unions joined in sympathy strikes. The union and UC reached a bargaining impasse last year. The university has said it wont meet the workers demands. The strikers said they wanted better pay, more equity in the allocation of work, stable healthcare premiums and an end to the universitys use of contract workers. These are their stories. Read More Facebook

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Massive UC workers strike disrupts dining, classes and medical services By Joy Resmovits A massive labor strike across the University of California on Monday forced medical centers to reschedule more than 12,000 surgeries, cancer treatments and appointments, and campuses to cancel some classes and limit dining services. More than 20,000 members of UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, walked off their jobs on the first day of a three-day strike. They include custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Two altercations involving protesters and people driving near the rallies were reported at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz. At UCLA, police took a man into custody Monday after he drove his vehicle into a crowd, hitting three staff members. They were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released, said Lt. Kevin Kilgore of the UCLA Police Department. Read More Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris to skip UC Berkeley commencement in support of striking workers By Teresa Watanabe Sen. Kamala Harris (Chris Dekmas) California Sen. Kamala Harris has canceled plans to deliver UC Berkeleys commencement address this weekend in support of UC workers who are on strike over wages and health benefits. Due to the ongoing labor dispute, Sen. Harris regretfully cannot attend and speak at this years commencement ceremony at UC Berkeley, said a statement from Harris office issued Monday. She wishes the graduates and their families a joyous commencement weekend and success for the future. They are bright young leaders and our country is counting on them. UCs largest employee union, the 25,000-member American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees Local 3299, launched a three-day strike Monday and had earlier called for a speakers boycott. The union and university reached a bargaining impasse last year and subsequent mediation efforts have failed to produce an agreement. The union is asking for a multiyear contract with a 6% annual pay increase while the university is offering 3% annual increases over four years. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ will deliver the keynote address instead, the university announced. About 5,800 students are expected to participate in the ceremony Saturday. Facebook

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School mural depicting Trumps bloody, severed head sparks controversy By Gary Warth A Chula Vista school mural that depicts the bloody, severed head of President Trump on a spear sparked a controversy that prompted officials to cover it and issue a response distancing themselves from the work. The statement also said the artist will alter the painting. We understand that there was a mural painted at the event this past weekend that does not align with our schools philosophy of non-violence, read the statement from MAAC Community Charter School director Tommy Ramirez. We have been in communication with the artist  who has agreed to modify the artwork  to better align with the schools philosophy. Read More Facebook

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New blackface incident at Cal Poly prompts calls for state investigation By Kim Christensen Cal Poly San Luis Obispo officials have asked the state attorney generals office to investigate after a new photo of a white student in blackface surfaced on a fraternity groups private Snapchat. I am outraged, Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong said in a video address Friday to the campus. These vile and absolutely unacceptable acts cannot continue. We must not allow these acts to define us as an institution. Armstrong said the latest photo was intended to imitate an incident last month in which a white member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity was photographed at a party wearing blackface. Read More Facebook

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More than 50,000 UC workers set to strike this week but campuses will remain open By Teresa Watanabe More than 50,000 workers across the University of California are set to strike this week, causing potential disruptions to surgery schedules, food preparation and campus maintenance. The systems 10 campuses and five medical centers are to remain open, with classes scheduled as planned. UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, plans to begin a three-day strike Monday involving 25,000 workers, including custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Read More Facebook

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New L.A. schools chief Beutner pledges to listen, learn and take action By Howard Blume New Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner proved Wednesday that hes a quick learner even without an education background. Like countless public officials before him, he appeared at an important event  his first speech and news conference  with a photogenic background of students. His message  that he would put those students first  seemed heartfelt if hardly original. Nor was it a huge surprise that he pledged to push cooperatively but unflinchingly to improve the districts academic performance and stabilize its finances. As an introduction, Beutner, a former investment banker who made a fortune on Wall Street, offered little flash, but that was partly the point. Read More Facebook

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In a school lockdown, one student takes stock of the stressful scene (Phalaen Chang) At the beginning of lunch one day late last month, Duarte High School, Northview Middle School, and California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley were advised by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department to go into lockdown mode due to police activity in the immediate area. Phalaen Chang, a junior at the California School of the Arts, wrote a series of notes on her iPhone while she sat in a room with her classmates. By the time the lockdown ended an hour later, she wrote, she knew which of her friends would hold open the door for others, be the ones calming others down, be the ones barricading the doors. She knew that all of them have the potential to be such strong people. Read More Facebook

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Tale as old as time: L.A. Unified superintendent pick follows a historical pattern of outside-the-box choices By Joy Resmovits Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, superintendent from 2006-2008. (L.A. Times file photo) L.A. Unified has long gone back and forth between picking insiders and outsiders to run the nations second largest school district. The choice of Austin Beutner, announced Tuesday, places the district squarely back in the outsider camp  months after a consummate insider, Supt. Michelle King, announced that she had cancer and would not return to the job. Check out this timeline of former L.A. superintendents to see how the school board members have changed their minds, sometimes favoring leaders who come from the world of education and sometimes executives from elsewhere, recruited to shock the system into change. At one point, the district hired someone from the military  retired Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, who served as superintendent from 2006-2008. In hiring Brewer, board members had opted for a non-educator  largely because they sought a fresh thinker, unwedded to the bureaucracy, unafraid to make bold, even unorthodox moves, reads a 2008 Times story. Facebook

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Austin Beutner named superintendent of Los Angeles schools By Howard Blume Austin Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker, on Tuesday was named superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second-largest school system. His selection was the biggest move yet by a Los Angeles school board majority elected with major support from charter school advocates. The decision came after lengthy public testimony, most of it in support of the other remaining finalist, interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian, who is well known within the school system. Beutner, 58, has no background leading a school or school district. Less than 2 years ago, a school board with a very different balance of power named Michelle King, a former teacher who rose through the district throughout her career, to L.A. Unifieds top job. Read More Facebook

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Hearing delay gives both sides more time in Ref Rodriguezs potential trial By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez and his attorneys will have more time to prepare their defense against charges of political money laundering, a judge ruled Monday. The preliminary hearing in the case had been scheduled to begin May 9, but that date will now be pushed back to July 23 per the ruling from L.A. Superior Court Judge Deborah S. Brazil. Rodriguez, 46, faces three felony charges of conspiracy, perjury and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board poised to name Beutner as superintendent By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education is poised to select philanthropist and former investment banker Austin Beutner to be the next superintendent of the nations second-largest school system. Barring a last-minute development, the only mystery is whether Beutner emerges with four or five votes from the boards seven members. Terms of his contract already have been under discussion, according to sources close to the process who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak. The selection of Beutner, 58, who has no experience managing a school or a school district, would be a signal that the board majority that took control nearly a year ago wants to rely on business management skills instead of insider educational expertise. Read More Facebook

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Teacher walkouts in Arizona and Colorado continue national debate on money for schools By Michael Livingston Following the lead of teachers who walked off the job in other states in recent weeks, thousands of teachers and their supporters took to the streets in Arizona and Colorado for the second day in a row to demand better pay and more funding for education. Read More Facebook

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Three decades before the #MeToo movement, UC San Diego led the way against sexual assault By Teresa Watanabe When Nancy Wahlig first started her fight against sexual assault, one company was marketing a capsule for women to stash in their bras and then smash to release a vile odor. Because of the very nature of society, the only person who can prevent rape is the woman herself, read a 1981 advertisement for the Repulse rape deterrent. Ideas about how to prevent sexual violence have come a long way since then, and Wahlig has helped lead that evolution on college campuses. In 1988, she started UC San Diegos Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC), the first stand-alone program at the University of California. Today, she remains the systems most senior specialist. Read More Facebook

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Andres Alonso withdraws from consideration for L.A. schools job By Howard Blume Andres Alonso, believed to be one of three remaining finalists to lead the Los Angeles school system, has withdrawn from consideration. The remaining known candidates in the confidential search are former investment banker Austin Beutner and interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian. Alonso, 60, announced his decision on Twitter on Thursday night, saying he had notified the L.A. Unified School District on Monday. The exit of Alonso, the former Baltimore schools chief, seems to solidify the front-runner status of Beutner, who also was a former L.A. Times publisher and a Los Angeles deputy mayor. He held each of those positions for about a year. Read More Facebook

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Heres why the apparent increase in autism spectrum disorders may be good for U.S. children By Karen Kaplan The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among American children continues to rise, new government data suggest. And that may be a good thing. Among 11 sites across the U.S. where records of 8-year-olds are scrutinized in detail, 1 in 59 kids was deemed to have ASD in 2014. Thats up from 1 in 68 in 2012. Normally, health officials would prefer to see less of a disease, not more of it. But in this case, the higher number is probably a sign that more children of color who are on the autism spectrum are being recognized as such and getting services to help them, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More Facebook

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UC shelves tuition increase for now, in hopes of getting more state funding By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents will not vote on a tuition increase next month, shelving the plan for now in hopes that state lawmakers will come through with more funding. Raising tuition is always a last resort and one we take very seriously, UC President Janet Napolitano said Thursday in a statement. We will continue to advocate with our students who are doing a tremendous job of educating legislators about the necessity of adequately funding the university to ensure UC remains a world-class institution and engine of economic growth for our state. Last week, Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White said the 23-campus system no longer would consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year. But unlike Cal State, UC officials have not taken a tuition increase off the table entirely. Read More Facebook

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A chemical spill, unchecked eyewash stations, poor training: Audit details Cal States lax lab safety By Joy Resmovits In May 2016, two bottles tumbled off a poorly supported shelf and broke, leading to a chemical spill in a Sacramento State University lab. The liquid got onto one students legs and soaked anothers feet. Five employees cleaned up the mess, even though no one knew for sure what it was and whether it was dangerous. They called fellow employee Kim Harrington, their union representative, to let her know what happened. Read More Facebook

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After blackface incident, minority students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo say they dont feel welcome By Hailey Branson-Potts Aaliyah Ramos was walking through the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus last year when a prospective student approached her. Ramos was the only black person, the young woman said, that she and her mother had seen that day. They asked about the quality of education and the diversity of the student body. Ramos, a mechanical engineering student, didnt want to sugarcoat the truth: Cal Poly long has been predominantly white. But she told the young woman  who also was black  that she didnt want to discourage her from applying, because that wouldnt help with diversity at a school where only 0.7% of students are African American  the lowest percentage of any university in the California State system. Read More Facebook

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El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills wins the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon By Carlos Lozano El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills has won the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon, officials said. The winner was announced early Saturday at a ceremony in Frisco, Texas. More than 600 students from the U.S., Canada, China and the United Kingdom gathered there over the last three days to compete in the 37th annual U.S. Academic Decathlon. Congratulations to El Camino Real Charter High School for another impressive victory, said Vivian Ekchian, interim superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Your academic stamina and competitive spirit to win is remarkable. The entire L.A. Unified family is so proud of you. Read More Facebook

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Anticipation mounts as L.A. school board meets over superintendent selection By Howard Blume L.A. schools superintendent candidate Andres Alonso got an endorsement Friday, but Austin Beutner and Vivian Ekchian also have supporters. (Elizabeth Malby) The Los Angeles Board of Education is reconvening in closed session Friday at noon as anticipation mounts about the choice of the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. The presumed front-runner is former investment banker and philanthropist Austin Beutner, but interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian and former Baltimore Supt. Andres Alonso also are in the running. Most district insiders appear to be rooting for Ekchian, who has spent her entire career in education within the school system. After her 10 years as a teacher, her roles have included head of human resources, chief labor negotiator and regional administrator for campuses in the west San Fernando Valley. Shes managed the district since September, when then-Supt. Michelle King went on medical leave and chose Ekchian to fill in for her. King, who is battling cancer, never returned and announced her retirement in January. Numerous influential civic leaders have urged  and pressured  the board to select Beutner. Also lending their weight have been advocates for charter schools, which are independently operated, growing in number and competing for students with district-operated campuses. Four of the seven board members  enough to control the outcome  were elected with major financial support from charter supporters. Beutner has two ongoing connections with the L.A. Unified School District. The first is his leadership of an outside task force that is making recommendations on how to improve the school system. The second is his charity, Vision to Learn, which supplies glasses to low-income students. The charity and the school system are in a dispute at the moment over who is responsible for delays in providing services to students as part of a $6 million contract, half of which is paid for by L.A. Unified. Unlike Ekchian and Buetner, Alonso, who currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has no deep-seated local constituency, but the prospect of his selection has generated some excitement. While in Baltimore, Alonso was recognized for pushing for progress at low-performing schools, and for being willing to take strong action. While in Baltimore, he also weathered a test-score cheating scandal and occasionally rocky relations with the teachers union. But by the time he resigned, after six years, he and union leaders seemed to be working together without rancor. Leaders of some community groups have split from the pro-Beutner camp. They worry that Beutners approach to confronting the districts financial problems could shut out their voices or involve severe economic cutbacks that would undermine programs that are helping students. Some prefer Ekchian; some Alonso. Theyve been reluctant to speak out publicly because theyll have to work with whoever is selected, but they have tried to get the ear of board members. On Friday morning, one leader of a community group decided to come out in favor of Alonso. L.A. Unified has the opportunity to bring in an instructional leader of color with a history of success, said Alberto Retana, president and chief executive of Community Coalition, which works on behalf of low-income students and families in South Los Angeles. If we have a shot at that, we should go for it  because its in the best interests of our kids and of our community. Retana said his statement was not meant to criticize Beutner or Ekchian but to alert board members that there also is community support for Alonso. Facebook

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Cal State leader shelves proposed tuition hike: Its the right thing to do, but its not without risk By Joy Resmovits Cal State, the nations largest public university system, will no longer consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year, Chancellor Timothy P. White announced Friday. The decision is a bet that Sacramento will come through in the end. If Cal State loses that bet, it could mean cuts to campus programs. White said in an interview that Californias economy is strong enough that families should not be shouldering the burden of higher college costs. Read More Facebook

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L.A. students to participate in national walkout activities on Friday By Joy Resmovits (Los Angeles Times) Students are taking to the streets again Friday to protest gun violence on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. Starting at 10 a.m., students at many schools will spend 13 seconds honoring the 13 people  12 students and one teacher  killed on that day in Littleton, Colo. After that, theyll participate in a host of different activities. Within L.A. Unified, one school is having an open-mic event for students to talk about school violence, and lawmakers are visiting campuses to hear students thoughts. According to a central hub for organizing the protests  written by the students of Ridgefield High School in Connecticut  the walkouts are intended to drive the political change necessary to curb school violence. The day is also a time for students to interact on an elevated platform they have never had before, the site states. It is a day of discourse and thoughtful sharing. Bringing together communities and students to get a national discussion rolling. Organizers have suggested using the event to convey the importance of curbing gun violence to legislators. They are encouraging students to push legislation that would ban assault weapons and tighten up rules around who can buy guns and how. Over 2,500 schools nationwide are expected to participate. In L.A., some students  at campuses including Eagle Rock High School, the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts and Bravo Medical Magnet  plan to walk out. Students from various schools expect to join area marches, including those in Santa Monica and Huntington Park. Other schools are hosting career days and voter registration drives. At 1 p.m., students plan to start a rally in front of L.A. Unified headquarters. For the record: An earlier version of this article stated that 12 teachers and one student were killed in the Columbine shooting. The opposite is true: twelve students and one teacher died. Facebook

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Stabbing of popular student devastates South El Monte High School; teen friend suspected in slaying By Sonali Kohli When administrators at South El Monte High School called Jeremy Sanchezs parents to say he never showed up for class Wednesday, his father began to worry. It was unusual for the 17-year-old junior to miss school, so his father filed a missing persons report and assembled two of Jeremys close friends to look for the popular student-athlete. Their search took them to a scenic stretch of the San Gabriel River Trail, where one of the friends  a 16-year-old boy  made a tragic discovery. Among the bushes in the riverbed near Thienes Avenue and Parkway Drive was Jeremys body, punctured with stab wounds, according to Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Read More Facebook

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Racist fliers spark outrage at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo By Alene Tchekmedyian Soon after Neal MacDougall arrived on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus Tuesday, the professor noticed university police standing outside a restroom near his office. A racial slur against African Americans had been scrawled in red marker on a stall wall. Later, he discovered a series of racist fliers pinned up next to his door. Someone had also slashed posters hed hung outside his office supporting students in the country illegally. The discovery was the latest controversy on the prestigious campus  which the president said is less than 55% white  that MacDougall said demonstrates a culture of racism at the university. Last week, photographs emerged of white fraternity members, including one in blackface, flashing gang signs. Read More Facebook

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The superintendent waiting game, paying for L.A.'s College Promise, Princetons slave history: Whats new in education By Joy Resmovits Acting LAUSD superintendent Vivian Ekchian is a finalist for the permanent job. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) In and around Los Angeles: The L.A. Unified school board spent 10 hours interviewing and discussing candidates for superintendent. When they adjourned after 10 p.m., they said they would reconvene on Friday. Who is paying for Mayor Eric Garcettis much-touted College Promise, a program that promises two years of community college for LAUSD grads? In California: The Legislature is considering a proposal that would boost K-12 education funding for black students. When the cost of living is taken into account, California has the highest rate of child poverty. Nationwide: The families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School are suing Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never occurred. Princeton will name two spaces  an arch and a garden  after slaves who lived or worked on the campus. Facebook

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L.A. school board meets privately with finalists and debates choice for school district leader By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education adjourned late Tuesday after spending more than 10 hours interviewing candidates and trying to reach a decision on who would be the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. When the meeting finally recessed at 10:11 p.m., a spokesman announced only that the school board would reconvene Friday at noon. Going into the days meetings, there were apparently four finalists, according to sources who could not be named because they were unauthorized to speak. Read More Facebook

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Two Sandy Hook families sue Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never happened By David Altimari Families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School have filed lawsuits in Texas against controversial radio host Alex Jones for continually claiming the massacre never happened. Neil Heslin, the father of Jesse Lewis, and Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose son Noah Pozner died in the massacre, filed separate lawsuits late Monday in Travis County, Texas. The lawsuits allege that Jones defamed the parents by constantly calling them crisis actors and insisting the shooting was a false flag operation; they also claim Jones accusations have led to death threats against the Sandy Hook families by Jones followers. Read More Facebook

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Beutner emerges as a top pick for L.A. schools superintendent amid last-minute jockeying By Howard Blume Austin Beutner has emerged as a leading contender to run the Los Angeles school district, with backers saying he is smart enough and tough enough to confront its financial and academic struggles. Though he does not have a background in education, the former investment banker has in the last year examined some of the districts intractable problems, serving as co-chair of an outside task force with the support of then-Supt. Michelle King. Sources inside and outside the school district said Beutner appears to have more support on the seven-member board than other finalists, and his name could come up for a vote as early as Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Challenge at Chicago school construction site: Watch for 38,000 unmarked graves By Nereida Moreno A 15-year effort to build a school in Chicagos Dunning neighborhood is underway with an unusual complication: Construction workers are taking careful steps to avoid disturbing human remains that may lie beneath the soil. The $70-million school is to be built on the grounds of a former Cook County Poor House, where an estimated 38,000 people were buried in unmarked graves. Among the dead are residents who were too poor to afford funeral costs, unclaimed bodies and patients from the countys insane asylum. There can be and there have been bodies found all over the place, said Barry Fleig, a genealogist and cemetery researcher who began investigating the site in 1989. Its a spooky, scary place. Read More Facebook

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Oklahoma teacher walkout winds down despite lawmakers failure to meet demands By Washington Post Oklahomas largest teachers union has announced an end to a walkout that has drawn thousands of educators out of classrooms and to the state Capitol demanding greater investment in the states schools, which have endured the nations steepest funding cuts. The announcement Thursday from the Oklahoma Education Assn. does not necessarily end the protests at the Capitol, as teachers not affiliated with the union vowed to stay longer. Instead of a walkout, the union and school districts across the state have said they plan to send delegations of teachers to Oklahoma City to keep the pressure on lawmakers. Teachers and their supporters have also promised to push education issues to the forefront of November elections, when the state chooses a new governor. As school districts begin to reopen, the protests may lose steam. The Legislature is not in session Friday, and observers are waiting to see what happens Monday, when lawmakers return. Read More Facebook

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Most Californians are worried about school shooting threats and oppose arming teachers, survey finds By Joy Resmovits Hamilton High School student Aiyana Dabriel holds a sign during a March 14 walkout in support of the Parkland shooting victims. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Most Californians are worried that a school shooting like the one that occurred in Parkland, Fla., in February could shed blood closer to home, a new survey found. Some 73% percent of adults and 82% of public school parents said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned about school shootings. The Public Policy Institute of California surveyed 1,704 adults in the state by phone just after the March for Our Lives protest against gun violence. Latino and black respondents were significantly more likely to be concerned about school violence than white or Asian respondents, the institute found. Two-thirds of adults and public school parents said they opposed letting more educators carry weapons in school. The response differed across party lines, with 86% of Democrats and 69% of independents voicing their opposition, while 60% percent of Republicans said they would support a measure to arm educators. The poll, which had a margin of error of 3.2% in either direction, also asked Californians about school funding, educational issues in the governors race and the impact of immigration enforcement on students. You can find the full results here. Facebook

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Californias largest virtual charter school network agrees to contract with its teachers By Anna M. Phillips Nearly four years after teachers at Californias largest online charter school voted to unionize, they have reached a deal to increase pay and create job protections, according to a spokesman for the California Teachers Assn. The contract, which is still tentative and subject to ratification, is a victory for the teachers union. Although charter schools are publicly funded, most are privately managed and their employees arent protected by labor contracts. Under the terms of the contract  the result of years of negotiation and legal wrangling  approximately 500 teachers working for California Virtual Academies will no longer be at-will employees who can be dismissed for almost any reason. Their average salary will rise to just over $45,000, according to union estimates, a figure that remains far below the norm for traditional public school teachers. Still, it is an improvement over the previous average of $38,000. The accord also places a limit on the number of students each teacher is responsible for monitoring in online homeroom classes. Were very satisfied with the gains we made, said teacher Brianna Carroll, president of California Virtual Educators United. I think were going to see some extraordinary changes in our schools. According to Carroll, teachers at California Virtual Academies  better known as CAVA  had grown frustrated with the organizations foot-dragging and were making preparations to go on strike when CAVAs leadership agreed to the deal. CAVA and K12, the Virginia-based for-profit company linked to its schools, did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking for comment. The network currently operates nine virtual charter schools across California. In 2016, the charter network agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle claims of false advertising, misleading parents and inadequate instruction. The state attorney generals office had also accused K12 of controlling the charters for its own financial benefit. Neither CAVA nor K12 admitted to wrongdoing in the settlement. A year later, the state imposed a $2-million fine on CAVA after an audit found that it had misspent public funds. The network disputed the findings. Facebook

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School board approves a new formula for funding high-need schools By Sonali Kohli L.A. schools will soon get more money if they are located in neighborhoods with such problems as high levels of gun violence and asthma. The Los Angeles Unified school board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a new formula to determine how to dole out some funding to schools, based not only on the characteristics of the student populations but on the traumas that affect the communities around campuses. The new formula will be applied to $25 million in funding next fiscal year and about $263 million annually in future years  a small part of the districts $7.5 billion annual budget. Read More Facebook

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Protesters demand Ref Rodriguez resignation outside school board meeting By Sonali Kohli Students, parents, teachers and UTLA marching outside the board meeting chanting "Ref resign" pic.twitter.com/W0LRWZSIXY  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 A few dozen parents, students and teachers marched outside the Los Angeles Unified School Board meeting Tuesday, some calling for board member Ref Rodriguez to resign the week after news broke that he was taken into custody on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena bar and restaurant. Rodriguez was not cited or charged in that incident, but was held for more than five and a half hours before being released. The school board member faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. He is accused of getting more than two dozen people people to donate to his campaign for his school board seat with the understanding that he would reimburse them. He stepped down from his post as school board president after he was charged last fall, but he did not give up his seat on the board. He has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of conspiracy, perjury, and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May. He cant give his full focus to our students, said Rebecca LaFond, a Highland Park parent whose three children marched with her as she chanted, Ref resign. One daughter marched in front of her, using a drum stick to hit the bottom of a gallon-size empty water jug. Our kids deserve someone who has the utmost ethical standards representing them, LaFond said. The protests continued into the board meeting, where some addressed Rodriguez directly, calling on him to step down during public comment portions of the meeting. Rodriguez, through his chief of staff, declined to comment. Some parents outside the board meeting did not know about the charges against Rodriguez but came out to protest the possibility of sharing their school campuses with charter schools. Protesters also oppose colocation  not all of the parents are here to ask Ref Rodriguez to step down pic.twitter.com/1Co8zQ9zSi  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 Cynthia Martinez said her son, who goes to Christopher Dena Elementary School in Boyle Heights, has been bullied in the past by students from a charter school sharing the campus. She said she didnt know who Rodriguez was. Some parents and teachers are worried about losing computer labs, robotics rooms and fitness centers if they are required to share their campus with charter schools, said Ilse Escobar, a parent community organizer for United Teachers Los Angeles. The issues of Rodriguez and colocation are related, Escobar said. Rodriguez is part of a majority on the school board elected with financial backing from charter school supporters, and many parents, she said, feel that the school board is compromised if he is a part of it. Staff reporter Howard Blume contributed to this post. Facebook

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Delaine Eastin tries to gain momentum in the California governors race, one voter at a time By Seema Mehta Delaine Eastin was a sophomore in high school when a drama teacher urged her to try out for a part in The Man Who Came to Dinner. She hesitated until he told her: This is a metaphor for your whole life. If you never try out, you will never get the part. Eastin auditioned and won the role. Decades later, the advice sticks with the former state schools chief, this time in her unlikely run for governor. Despite calls for more women in leadership roles in state politics following sexual misconduct allegations in Sacramento, Eastin has been largely overlooked in the race, lagging far behind her Democratic rivals in fundraising and the polls. Read More Facebook

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Arizona high court rejects in-state tuition for DACA recipients By Associated Press Young immigrants granted deferred deportation status under a program started by President Obama are not eligible for lower in-state college tuition, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. The unanimous ruling will affect at least 2,000 students attending the states largest community college district and hundreds more at other colleges and the states three public universities. The Maricopa County Community Colleges District and state universities said they would begin raising tuition immediately for the coming school year. Read More Facebook

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New York high school students injured when bus strikes overpass By Associated Press A charter bus carrying teenagers returning from a spring break trip Sunday night struck a bridge overpass on Long Island, seriously injuring six passengers and mangling the entire length of the top of the bus. The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday on the Southern State Parkway in Lakeview, according to New York State Police. One of the six injured passengers had very serious injuries, said State Police Maj. David Candelaria. Thirty-seven other passengers suffered minor injuries. Read More Facebook

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Some good news for California in national student test scores By Joy Resmovits National test scores for fourth- and eighth-graders were generally flat from 2015, but eighth-grade reading scores showed some improvement. Every two years, the nations fourth- and eighth-graders are tested in math and reading  and newly released results from last years tests give California at least a little reason to be pleased. The 2017 results  out Monday night  were mostly flat nationwide compared with 2015, though the average score in eighth-grade reading went up. But while that improvement largely came from the increased scores of the highest-performing students, California eighth-graders showed some reading progress from the lowest levels to the highest. Read More Facebook

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Under state control, Inglewood school districts financial picture worsened By Anna M. Phillips When Eugenio Villa agreed to return to the Inglewood schools for a second tour last summer, he knew the district remained one of Californias most troubled. Inglewood Unified had been nearly insolvent when it was taken over by the state Department of Education in 2012. Six years later, its enrollment was still declining. Its school buildings were tired  some edging into decrepitude. Its test scores and graduation rates were still below the state average. And the public was out of patience. Still, Villa, who had signed back on as the districts chief business official, was shocked at what he found when he arrived in June 2017. Two years earlier, he had left the school system on what he thought was firm ground. Read More Facebook

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Charter school group drops two lawsuits against L.A. Unified By Howard Blume A charter schools advocacy group last week announced that it would end two long-running lawsuits in which it was seeking more classroom space and construction money from the Los Angeles school district. The decision, the California Charter Schools Assn. said, reflects better relations between charter schools and the L.A. Unified School District. But the move also suggests that the litigation, which already contributed to significant gains for area charters, was unlikely to produce much more. It takes time, money and effort to litigate, said Ricardo Soto, general counsel for the charter group. Maybe its better to see if we can find the time and opportunity for collaboration. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez is arrested on suspicion of public intoxication By Richard Winton Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez was arrested recently on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena restaurant, the latest trouble for an elected official who faces political money-laundering charges. Pasadena police took Rodriguez into custody on March 16, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. Officers arrested Rodriguez at about 4:30 p.m. at the Yard House restaurant and bar at the Paseo Mall and held him in jail for more than five-and-a-half hours. Rodriguez was ultimately released without being cited or charged, Derderian told The Times. Other details about the arrest were not available, she Superior Court Judge Peter Deddeh reached back in time as he pulled bits of San Diego history out of the narrow copper box.

Newspapers, coins, stamps, government documents, history books, audio tapes and microfilm were among the contents.

The time capsule had been sealed for nearly 56 years, since shortly after the 1961 dedication of what was then a new, seven-story San Diego Superior Court building on West Broadway.

The building, with asbestos in the ceilings, failing utility systems and expensive maintenance problems, is due to be demolished.

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The time capsule was removed from a niche in an exterior wall, near the front entrance, at the end of 2017. But the copper box was not opened until Friday.

The old courthouse closed to the public last year after the state opened its replacement, San Diego Central Court, at C and Union streets a block away. The old site is slated for commercial development.

Before a crowd of about 100 court employees, judges and sheriffs officials gathered in the jury room of the new courthouse, Deddeh displayed the items from the time capsule, including:

The dedication ceremony program dated Dec. 15, 1961

Copies of letters signed by presidents Harry Truman, Herbert Hoover and Dwight Eisenhower congratulating the county on its modern facility

4-cent Mercury Program postage stamps

A Feb. 20, 1962, extra edition of the Evening Tribune headlined, 3 Times Around, Glenn Safe, after astronaut John Glenn orbited Earth three times, and a San Diego Union newspaper a day later headlined, Glenn Triumph Hailed

A Mar. 19, 1962, county Board of Supervisors agenda

A business card and photograph from Rufus Parks, chief of the county construction and repair division

While 1960s civic leaders thought they were being progressive by preserving history on reel-to-reel audio tape and microfilm, the new courthouse had no machinery on which to play them.

Bill Lawrence, executive director of the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park, said his staff could handle both now-outdated media.

Lawrence told those gathered for the first look at the box contents that time capsules are a touchstone to our past.

We choose what we want our future community to know about us. ... History isnt boring. It is about who we are as a community.

The citys History Center will house most of the time capsule contents, said Superior Court spokeswoman Karen Dalton.

Deddeh noted how much has changed since 1961, when the city had a population of 573,000. Today, the population stands at 1.4 million.

In 1960, the Chargers had just moved to San Diego, he added, to laughter in the crowd.

From Los Angeles, he added, to even more laughs.

The new Central Court got its own time capsule after construction. Dalton said items placed in a 3-foot box include newspapers, a book on court operations, and a bit of current technology  an iPhone, with a charger. Sheriffs officials donated a photo of their court services staff. The Public Defenders Office added its own advice for the ages, a T-shirt with the logo: You have the right to remain silent. Use it.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune.comLos Angeles police officers and two men in a stolen vehicle traded gunfire early Monday before a pursuit of the suspects that ended with the officers crashing into a parked vehicle in Highland Park, authorities said.

At around 12:10 a.m., two officers from the Los Angeles Police Departments Northeast Community Police Station were driving a marked police car near North Figueroa and Echo streets when they came upon a white Honda Civic with two male occupants, LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery told reporters.

The officers determined that it was a stolen vehicle and began following it northbound on Figueroa, authorities said. When they approached Avenue 52, at least one man in the vehicle fired a weapon at the officers. At least one of the officers fired back, Montgomery said.

All the shots were car-to-car, he said.

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The officers were following the Honda when the police car crashed into a parked vehicle on Avenue 50 near Aldama Street, Montgomery said. The crash was less than a mile from where the officers first spotted the car.

The two men continued driving along Avenue 50 before abandoning their vehicle, police said. Responding officers found them and took them into custody without incident, Montgomery said. One of the suspects was injured and was taken to a local hospital, where he was listed in stable condition early Monday, he said. It was unclear what kind of injury he sustained.

Neither of the officers was injured, and a weapon was recovered, Montgomery said.

The shooting remains under investigation, he said.

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybransonAuthorities in the San Francisco Bay Area are investigating the death of a man after a Tesla car he was driving veered off a road, crashed through a fence and into a pond. It is unknown if the vehicle was in Autopilot mode.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Daniel Jacowitz said that rescuers pulled the submerged car, a Tesla Model S, from the pond early Monday and found the mans body inside.

The driver was identified as Keith Leung, 34, of Danville, Calif., said Sgt. Ray Kelly, spokesman of the Alameda County Sheriffs Office.

Kelly said it was too soon to know if the vehicles semiautonomous Autopilot mode was engaged when the crash occurred or whether the driver was speeding or intoxicated.

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Photographs of the car show that its back end was destroyed, its hood crumpled and windows shattered.

The crash occurred near the cities of San Ramon and Danville on Sunday evening, Jacowitz said. A property owner contacted authorities after hearing noise and seeing damage to his fence and tire tracks.

The Alameda County Sheriffs Office sent a rescue team and divers who found the vehicle submerged in the pond, with the driver still seated in the vehicle, Jacowitz said.

The drivers speed in the 35-mph zone was not yet known, but it was great enough to leave the roadway, hit a fence, keep going down an embankment and into a pond on the property, Jacowitz said.

Federal transportation authorities are investigating a March 23 crash of a Tesla Model X SUV on a California highway. The driver was killed. Authorities are looking into the performance of Teslas semiautonomous Autopilot driving system.Six women filed civil lawsuits Monday alleging that a longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California sexually victimized them under the pretext of medical care and that USC failed to address complaints from clinic staff about the doctors behavior.

One woman alleged Dr. George Tyndall forced his entire ungloved hand into her vagina during an appointment in 2003 while making vulgar remarks about her genitalia, according to one of the lawsuits. Another woman alleged that Tyndall groped her breasts in a 2008 visit and that later he falsely told her she likely had AIDS. A third woman accused the doctor of grazing his ungloved fingers over her nude body and leering at her during a purported skin exam, the lawsuit states.

The wave of litigation comes as USC continues to grapple with the scandal, which legal experts said could prove costly to the university as scores of former patients come forward about their experiences with the gynecologist.

Tyndall, 71, who worked at USCs student health clinic for nearly three decades, could not immediately be reached for comment Monday. In earlier interviews with The Times, the physician defended his medical exams as thorough and appropriate, adding that frank and honest dialogue about sex lives was part of his way of treating late adolescents who were enrolled at USC.

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I never had any sexual urges toward patients, he said in an interview.

Tyndall has not been charged with any crimes. Capt. Billy Hayes, who oversees the Los Angeles Police Departments high-profile sex crimes unit, confirmed that police had not taken formal reports about Tyndall but discussed the investigation with USC and an attorney for several former patients.

USCs handling of Tyndall has sparked outrage, prompting some faculty members to voice open criticism of President C.L. Max Nikias. A petition calling for Nikias firing has gained more than 1,500 signatures.

We need to make a statement here that we need to change our practices, said one of the plantiffs, Viva Symanski, 30. She alleged Tyndall touched her inappropriately and asked repeatedly about her sex life during a January 2014 appointment.

USC has acknowledged that administrators had reports about misconduct by Tyndall dating back to at least the early 2000s. Officials conceded last week that the gynecologist should have been removed from the clinic years earlier because of the severity of the complaints.

Tyndall was not suspended until June 2016, after a supervising nurse, Cindy Gilbert, became frustrated by clinic administrators for not taking complaints against Tyndall seriously and reported him to the campus rape crisis center. He was placed on paid leave for nearly one year and barred from the clinic while an internal investigation was underway.

Some of the most serious complaints concerned his use of fingers at the start of pelvic exams. Witnesses told The Times the physician routinely inserted one finger and then a second in patients after voicing concern that a speculum might not fit, and commented on the tightness of their vaginal muscles as he probed them.

In recent interviews with The Times, Tyndall said his use of fingers had a legitimate medical purpose and said some of his comments to patients were misinterpreted.

USCs inquiry determined that the pelvic exams were outside the scope of accepted medical practice and amounted to sexual harassment of patients.

But USC brokered a secret deal that allowed Tyndall to resign with an undisclosed payout. He was not reported to the medical board at the time. Last week, USC also acknowledged that not reporting Tyndall to the medical board was a mistake. A belated complaint was filed in March.

USC Provost Michael Quick issued a letter Monday morning apologizing to Tyndalls patients and rebutting the notion that top administrators chose to ignore complaints by patients and staff.

It is true that our system failed, but it is important that you know that this claim of a cover-up is patently false, Quick wrote in a letter. We would never knowingly put students in harms way.

Quick added that settlements never sound appropriate, but given USCs size and complexity, it is often the most expedient way to remove someone from the university.

The provost said that the universitys senior leadership did not learn about the complaints against Tyndall until 2017.

John Manly, an Orange County lawyer who is representing four former patients, disagreed and said it was evident that the university ignored complaints about Tyndall for years.

It doesnt matter how many people get hurt. It is all about protecting USCs reputation, said Manly, who helped secure a $500-million settlement last week from Michigan State University for scores of former patients of Dr. Larry Nassar.

The lawsuits say that many women did not recognize that what they experienced amounted to abuse until the allegations were revealed by The Times.

Lucy Chi, who filed a federal class action lawsuit in the Central District of California, alleged she was violated by the physician in a 2012 appointment when he inserted his fingers into her vagina. She said she came to believe Tyndalls behavior was improper after reading a Times investigation that detailed the trail of misconduct complaints lodged by patients and clinic staff for years.

In a third lawsuit, a young woman who graduated from USCs law school in 2016 alleged Tyndall inserted his fingers inside her at the outset of a pelvic exam and remarked on the tightness of her genital muscles.

Shes in hindsight thinking, Im not sure theres a reason for that to be done,  said her attorney, David Ring. She realizes now some of the things he did in the exam are probably unnecessary and done only for his own prurient reasons.

Gynecologists routinely touch their patients during well-woman visits, so one aspect of the litigation will entail assessing whether each allegation against Tyndall constitutes misconduct. And for many seeing a gynecologist, the pelvic exam can feel invasive and sometimes uncomfortable.

Such a delayed notice will factor into the litigation, lawyers said. Ronald Labriola, an Irvine attorney who is representing four of the women, said the plaintiffs will argue that the two-year statute of limitations does not apply to the gynecologists conduct.

For 99.95% of these patients, they didnt have a true understanding of the abuse until last week, he said, referring to the publication of The Times report.

On Friday, Nikias wrote a letter to the community saying hes personally read the accounts of Tyndalls former patients and was left troubled.

The former physicians behavior distresses us deeply, Nikias wrote. He should have been removed and referred to the authorities years ago.

San Francisco attorney Paul E. Gaspari, who has defended school districts and Catholic dioceses in sex abuse suits, said that given the number of women coming forward and the consistency of their complaints, USC is all but certain to negotiate a mass settlement for the good of the victims as well as the good of the institution.

It is almost impossible to take them one by one. One case alone could easily result in a runaway verdict, Gaspari said. You want to identify as many of the plaintiffs as you can and collectively deal with them.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com | Twitter: @MattHjourno

harriet.ryan@latimes.com | Twitter: @latimesharriet

richard.winton@latimes.com | Twitter: @LAcrimes

UPDATES:

8:10 p.m.: Updated with changes throughout.

This article was originally published at 11:51 a.m.More than $1 million in refunds are being offered to Venice Beach property owners following complaints that a newly formed group had charged them but failed to promptly provide promised services, according to city officials.

The Venice Beach Business Improvement District, which was formed a year and a half ago, reaped more than $1.7 million from property owners in its first year, but lagged in providing the cleanups, safety patrols and other services it had promised. Earlier this year, its board said it would look into refunding some of those charges.

Property owners will be offered a share of the total amount of $1.8 million that was billed that year, minus the roughly $470,000 that was spent by the nonprofit contracted to run the business improvement district, according to the Los Angeles city clerks office. Any property owners that never paid the charges will get a new and reduced bill, city officials said.

Los Angeles City Clerk Holly Wolcott, whose office started mailing out letters to property owners last week, said the refunds were offered up voluntarily by the group.

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The Venice Beach Business Improvement District announced it would be launching clean and safe services this month. It recently unveiled a website saying it would preserve and protect our colorful, exhilarating area by helping to fill the gap between community needs and the level of services the city can deliver on its own.

Chief Executive Officer Tara Devine and board President Mark Sokol did not respond to emails seeking comment on the refunds.

Its not enough, said Marlene Okulick, one of the property owners who has raised concerns about the new district. Okulick complained that the refunds will only cover some of the charges for the last calendar year, and their operations just started in May.

The slow rollout of services has not been the only controversy facing the Venice Beach district, which has faced suspicion from community activists worried about gentrification and privatization of the public boardwalk.

Okulick and several other property owners sued to dissolve the agency, arguing that it improperly included and charged homes that would get little benefit. In April, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the city, finding that it was legal for property that is commercially zoned but used as a residence to be charged for district services.

The new group also faced scrutiny from the city for failing to turn in required documents on time. In March, Wolcott warned the group that if it did not turn in overdue reports about its plans, the city would take steps to abolish it. Wolcott told The Times that those reports were subsequently turned in.

Los Angeles is sprinkled with business improvement districts, which charge business or property owners an assessment for additional services in their area. They typically provide services such as sidewalk cleaning, safety patrols and business promotion.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlpertReyesThe Trump administration, two weeks after it withdrew from an international arms control deal that curbed Irans nuclear ambitions, called Monday for a new global coalition to force the Islamic Republic to capitulate to a long list of political and military demands.

In his first major policy address, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described Iran in uncompromising and combative terms, vowing to enact historys most draconian sanctions against Tehran and to crush its proxy forces across the Mideast.

The administrations so-called Plan B, as an alternative to the nuclear deal, was less a detailed new policy than a dozen harsh demands, with no clear way to achieve them, that Pompeo said Iran must meet before President Trump would agree to a new deal.

The sweeping list would sharply curtail Irans ballistic missile program and wider behavior in the region, and require a radical change in policy  if not leadership  in Tehran. Behind the demands lay what Pompeo vowed would be unprecedented financial pressure through new sanctions.

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The regime has been fighting all over the Middle East for years, he said at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington. After our sanctions come in force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive.

Iran quickly denounced Pompeos remarks as a call for regime change, and some U.S. experts questioned how realistic it was to make strident demands divorced from a broader diplomatic strategy.

Pompeo has not outlined a strategy, but rather a grab bag of wishful thinking that can only be interpreted as a call for regime change in Iran, said Suzanne Maloney, an Iran expert at the Brookings Institution.

The address comes as President Trump focuses on a related gambit with nuclear-armed North Korea. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will visit the White House on Tuesday as Trump prepares for a planned June 12 summit in Singapore with North Koreas ruler, Kim Jong Un, in an effort to persuade him to give up his nuclear arsenal.

In his speech, Pompeo said he expects support from U.S. allies in Europe, as well as a dozen other countries, mostly in the Middle East, for the administrations Iran policy. He said he did not have a timeline, but that the administration would send envoys around the world in coming weeks to explain the plan.

We will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account, he said.

He did not mention Russia or China, which both signed the nuclear accord and are unlikely to back greater U.S. sanctions on Iran, a clear weakness in any new crackdown on Iran. Britain, France and Germany also signed the nuclear deal, and after Trump rejected their pleas to stay in it, they are striving to keep it alive without violating U.S. sanctions.

Sanctions would be lifted, Pompeo said, only when Iran withdraws its forces from Syria, ends support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, and disarms Shiite militias in Iraq. He also demanded Iran end support for other militant groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

He also called for a full stop to Irans enrichment of uranium, which was sharply curbed by the Iran deal, and for international monitors to gain unqualified access to all sites, including military facilities that Iran considers off-limits.

He said the Trump administration would not renegotiate the 2015 nuclear accord. The Iranian wave of destruction in the region in just the last few years is proof that Irans nuclear aspirations cannot be separated from the overall security picture, he added.

He repeatedly called Iran the worlds largest state sponsor of terrorism, saying it antagonizes neighbors, represses its own people and imperils peace worldwide.

Pompeo echoed Trumps complaints about the Obama-era nuclear deal, saying it had fatal flaws because some elements had time limits and it focused only on Irans nuclear program, not its other problematic behavior.

The bet that [the nuclear deal] would increase Middle East stability was a bad one for America, for Europe, for the Middle East, and indeed for the entire world, he said.

Any new agreement would ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon, and will deter the regimes malign behavior in a way the [2015 deal] never could, he said.

It was no accident that Pompeo, who served in the House of Representatives before Trump named him to head the CIA last year, chose the fraught topic of Iran for his first policy speech. A longtime congressional opponent of the nuclear accord, he reverted to that hawkish posture Monday, evoking a time when he said the United States could bomb away Irans nuclear program with under 2,000 sorties.

In his Senate confirmation hearing last month, Pompeo said he saw no evidence that Iran was seeking to build a nuclear bomb given the constraints of the 2015 arms control deal. But on Monday, he warned that once restrictions in the deal expire, Iran would be free for a quick sprint to the bomb  setting off a potentially catastrophic arms race in the region.

He insisted diplomacy was the first choice, however.

Were open to new steps with not only our allies and partners, but with Iran as well, he said. But only if Iran is willing to make major changes.

Longtime opponents of the Iran deal said Pompeos plans were ambitious but they welcomed maximum pressure and muscular diplomacy to push Iran to do Americas bidding. Others worried that Pompeo was forcing Iran into a corner, one likely to raise tensions in the region.

Its hard to imagine that Pompeo or anyone else thinks this is actually going to happen, said Benjamin Friedman, a fellow at the conservative Defense Priorities think tank in Washington. It seems to be an intentional way to get into a confrontation with Iran.

Pompeos speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the [nuclear deal] will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Irans conduct, Federica Mogherini, the European Unions top foreign affairs official, said in a statement issued in Brussels.

Pompeos remarks today make it very clear: Trump has no strategy, said Trita Parsi, president of the National Iranian-American Council, which favors rapprochement with Tehran.

Parsi called the speech a long list of complaints that end with demands that everyone in the policy community knows are non-starters. He added, This will only lead to one thing: Confrontation. And one cannot help but think that is the strategy and the goal.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on TwitterUntil a few weeks ago, Queen of the Hill meant little to anyone. But today, this little-known House rule may be Congress best shot at improving our border security and resolving issues with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

President Trump called on Congress to pass a permanent legislative solution for DACA enrollees, who were brought to the United States illegally as children  but his March 5 deadline came and went. Seven states have now filed lawsuits asserting that the executive branch established DACA illegally. Other federal lawsuits have been filed to keep the program running. The House of Representatives, meanwhile, has drafted several bills that deal with DACA, but the leadership has so far declined to bring any of them up for debate or a vote.

Last week, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) took an unusual step by filing whats called a discharge petition on a resolution that I had proposed. If the House supports the petition  and so far 196 representatives of the 218 needed for a majority do  that will set up votes on four DACA-related bills: the Securing Americas Future Act written by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.); the DREAM Act; an immigration bill of Speaker Paul Ryans choosing; and the USA Act, which I co-wrote with Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Will Hurd (R-Texas).

The Queen of the Hill procedure allows for open debate on each of the outlined bills, and bill authors may amend their legislation before the final vote series  but only over the course of one legislative day. The House will have one hour of general debate, and then each bill will be debated for 40 minutes. All the debate time is divided equally among Republicans and Democrats. Finally, the House votes on each bill in the order outlined in the rule. The bill with the most votes and a majority will emerge as Queen of the Hill and move over to the Senate for consideration.

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California is home to 29% of DACA recipients. Every member of the California congressional delegation should sign the discharge petition to bring Queen of the Hill to the floor to consider four serious DACA proposals. We may have differing opinions about how to reform the broken U.S. immigration system, but we cant keep burying our heads in the sand.

Immigration policy is the responsibility of Congress, and this may be our last chance for a legislative fix before DACA recipients lives are upended; if we leave DACA in the courts to languish (or be dismantled) and fail to act in Congress, then program recipients will be left in limbo or, worse, deported to a home they never knew.

Discharged bills can be brought to the House floor only on the second and fourth Monday of each month, and only when the House is in session. This gives us only two dates that would allow enough time for a bill to make it through the Senate and onto the presidents desk in 2018: June 25 and July 23. Unless the House leaders decide to put a bill on the floor  and they might  this is our last real shot in this Congress to force the debate on DACA.

America has never punished children for the actions of their parents, and we shouldnt start now. These children and young adults know no other country as home. DACA recipients came forward at the governments request, paid their fees (some of them more than once) and passed background checks. They are a part of our workforce, graduates of our high schools, and enrolled in our universities. Many didnt realize they did not hold American citizenship until they applied to that first job or to college. We owe it to them to fulfill our promise of an earned pathway to citizenship.

The president has repeatedly asked Congress to act, and I am confident that after debate and amendment and voting this process will produce a bill that he would sign. As with most successful pieces of legislation, there will be compromises. I believe  and President Trump has been clear  that border security is a necessary component of any successful immigration reform measure.

Its time for Congress to do its job and have the debate that it has avoided for years. Lets hold a vote to settle things once and for all.

Jeff Denham is a Republican Congressman who represents the 10th District of California, which includes all of Stanislaus County and part of San Joaquin County.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand FacebookOn June 5, I will join the ruling elite of Los Angeles. It isnt some coastal cabal or special interest group funded by dark money. Its a powerful minority called voters.

Los Angeles County, with a population of 10.2 million, has 5.1 million registered voters, but during the local elections in March 2017, only 17% of them cast a ballot. Thats a lot of power: Every voter who casts a ballot is doing so on behalf of 11 others who dont have a voice in our elections or those who chose not to vote.

Would you like to be among the deciders? Monday at 11:59 p.m. is the deadline to register for the June 5 election.

This voting elite decide on bonds, taxes and policies for the millions who choose not to vote, but they also speak on behalf of those who do not have the right to vote  including over 2 million children and many of the countys 3 million immigrants who lack citizenship. They vote on policies affecting thousands of people with criminal histories who may not know about their rights to vote under certain circumstances.

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Of course, voting isnt the only way to be counted. Many voters and nonvoters have participated in street protests and other forms of activism since the 2016 presidential election. And, as the Supreme Court has confirmed, all residents  not just voters  must be counted when legislative districts are drawn. Elected officials have to represent all those who live in their districts  not just those who voted for them. However, only U.S. citizens over 18 get to choose those officials.

When only a few vote, theres an increased chance that those who are elected dont reflect the will of the majority. The influence of deep-pocketed corporations and special interest groups become more pronounced. Rich donors and their political action committees relish low-turnout elections that are easy to win by just getting the reliable party faithful or base voters to show up at the polls.

As a first-time voter and young person, I am not important or rich enough to be wooed or courted by candidates. As an Asian American, I probably will not be targeted by either party. As someone who has grown up with social media, I am not easily swayed by dumb news, so Im probably not even valuable to foreign powers looking to manipulate our elections. Like millions of other Angelenos, my only way to sway the future of my state and nation is my ballot.

This bit of leverage is no small thing. Americans  most notably women and African Americans  have marched and sued and sometimes died to secure the right to vote. Even today, there are efforts by people like Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to further dampen turnout with strict voter identification laws that disproportionately affect communities of color and immigrant communities. Given how many voters self-suppress by not showing up at the polls, one wonders: Why do Kobach and his ilk bother? Perhaps they sense the potential electoral strength of new voters, young voters and voters of color.

This June, Ill be voting for the first time. Ive done nothing personally to earn this privilege; Im standing on the shoulders of my immigrant forbears and uncowed civil rights activists. I did nothing but be born here and have 18 birthdays. But I know Im one vote. And in L.A. County, that means a lot.

Jason Fong is a freshman at Wesleyan University. He was born and raised in Los Angeles.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand FacebookA congressman set off a legislative bomb in Californias water wars last week.

Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona) inserted a rider into an Interior Department appropriations bill that would exempt from all judicial review the intensely contested Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta twin tunnels project. Passage of the rider  its scheduled for a House committee vote Tuesday  would mean that the water diversion scheme wouldnt have to follow federal or state law.

The project, known formally as California WaterFix, would bury two 35-mile-long, 40-foot-diameter tunnels beneath the delta. Its backers say its capital costs would amount to $17 billion, but credible estimates including financing start at nearly triple that amount, and its impact on Delta farmers and fish including endangered salmon would almost certainly be severe.

If passed by the House (likely) and Senate (possible) and signed by President Trump (probable), the rider would open a gaping hole in California and federal law. It would render invalid about 20 active lawsuits that have already been filed against various aspects of the project, and that comprise some of the last major barriers to tunnel construction. Plaintiffs include at least 10 local governments, about 30 water districts including the Kern County Water Agency, numerous environmental groups, three fishing organizations and the Native American Winnemem Wintu people.

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More important, even though the project is Californias, the product of decades of studies, plans, battles and ongoing arguments about the states water needs, the rider constitutes a federal end run around those deliberations and Californias rigorous environmental laws. Its all too easy to imagine Trump administration officials at, say, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, changing biological opinions to justify increased pumping of water to San Joaquin Valley and Southern California and overthrowing protections for Delta farmers and salmon. If something like that happens, the victims would have no recourse under state or federal statutes.

Passage of the rider would also set a precedent, opening the way for similar end runs on other projects, eliminating the neutral judicial review that is crucial to the rule of law.

In a statement, Calvert explained his willingness to undermine his own states law: The projects stakeholders have had a plethora of opportunities to express their thoughts and concerns. Now we must move forward. According to Restore the Delta, a project opponent, Calvert has received campaign contributions from construction and engineering corporations and developers that might benefit from the project.

Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the projects biggest booster, tried to distance himself slightly from the rider by tweeting last week that it was not sponsored or sought by the MWD, but he cagily didnt say he disapproved of it. In fact, according to a source in the anti-tunnel environmental movement, Kightlinger has in the past spoken privately of deploying just this stratagem.

Unfortunately for WaterFixs backers, Calverts bomb sends shrapnel in all directions, including theirs. The rider suggests that even the tunnels supporters believe the project wouldnt survive judicial review, that it would be found in violation of environmental laws.

The riders reach is so broad that it will probably meet constitutional challenges. Its sweep could also work against Calverts move forward goal. For example, last year the state Department of Water Resources filed a suit to validate $11 billion in bonds to fund the project. But if judicial review is canceled, the departments complaint is too, potentially hamstringing financing for the project.

The rider will surely face obstacles in the Senate, where Californias senior senator, Dianne Feinstein, the ranking minority member of the Appropriations Committee subcommittee on energy and water, has already expressed opposition. She may be able to block the rider singlehandedly. In case her resolve wavers, voters are hereby encouraged to notify her office that they find the rider appalling.

Finally, Californias next governor, who will be elected in November, may not be as enthusiastic about WaterFix as Jerry Brown is. The permit process for the tunnels is likely to extend beyond Browns tenure, so the project will require backing from the new governor to ensure that construction proceeds. Should the rider survive, wiping out the possibility of judicial review now and in the future, the new governor may be more inclined to drop the project altogether. Contrary to its backers wishes, the rider could turn out to be self-sabotage.

Jacques Leslie is a contributing writer to Opinion.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand FacebookRecently the community was challenged to tell our elected officials what assistance we would like from them. This is an intricate question that requires us to also pull back the layers to a historically uncomfortable position. None of the violence we are seeing is new. None of the outrage from the community is new. Most recently we saw a heinous crime committed against seven women ... (click for more)Newsoms budget proposes $3 million for Alzheimers research, brain task force By Melody Gutierrez Amyloid plaques, shown here in human brains, are a hallmark of Alzheimers disease. (UCLA School of Medicine) Gov. Gavin Newsom will call for the creation of a brain health task force and dedicate $3 million annually from the states general fund to Alzheimers disease research in the budget proposal he will release Thursday, a source close to the administration said. The money for Alzheimers research would target the new grants at understanding why the disease is more prevalent in women and people of color. Former California first lady and Alzheimers activist Maria Shriver pushed for the funding to be included in the state budget. Shriver said in a statement Wednesday that the funding would make California the first state to make understanding our brains a priority. The states former first lady, whose late father Sargent Shriver was diagnosed with Alzheimers, founded the Womens Alzheimers Movement, an advocacy group raising awareness about womens increased risk for developing the disease. In 2011, she wrote a comprehensive assessment on the disease, to which Newsom  then mayor of San Francisco  contributed a portion called What one city is doing. This is personal to me, just like it is to millions of California families, Shriver said. Alzheimers is one of the largest medical, social and economic crises in our state, and of our time. I am so proud that, once again, California is leading the way. Wiping out Alzheimers is going to require bold thinking, and there is no doubt in my mind that California is home to bold thinkers who can make this happen. Facebook

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Gov. Gavin Newsom orders reinvention of troubled California DMV By Patrick McGreevy A line of people stretches around the South L.A. location of a California Department of Motor Vehicles Office on Aug. 7. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday ordered an overhaul of the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which has been plagued by hours-long wait times at field offices, computer crashes and voter registration errors involving tens of thousands of customers. Just a few days after taking office, Newsom appointed a top advisor to a new DMV Reinvention Strike Team to revamp the beleaguered agency over the next six months. By any metric, California DMV has been chronically mismanaged and failed in its fundamental mission to the state customers it serves and the state workers it employs, Newsom said in a statement, adding Its time for a reinvention. The governor appointed state Government Operations Agency Secretary Marybel Batjer to lead the strike team with a goal of modernizing the agency and enacting changes that improve customer satisfaction, employee performance and transparency. Newsom also ordered an accelerated review of initial findings of an ongoing audit ordered last year by Gov. Jerry Brown. The action was welcomed by lawmakers who have been critical of the DMV, including Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield). The egregious management failures of the DMV have been self-evident, which is why I have been calling for new leadership and a comprehensive independent audit of this troubled state agency over and over again as the problems grew significantly worse, Fong said. Last summer, Californians seeking new driver licenses complained of wait times of four to six hours at DMV offices, which the agency blamed partly on snafus caused by a rush of people trying to get Real IDs, a new identification card design required for airline passengers starting in late 2020. Delays were also blamed on computer crashes at DMV offices as the agency struggled to update its aging automation systems. The DMV also admitted that there were an estimated 23,000 errors as people either were unknowingly registered to vote or mistakes were made in their registration status as part of the states new motor voter program. The agency registered to vote as many as 1,500 people with legal U.S. residency but no citizenship. Last month, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto retired from the agency. Legislators were angered earlier this week when the DMV said it needed an additional $40 million to prevent the return of long lines at its field offices. In addition, the agency has been under fire for issuing driver licenses in the last year that do not comply with the federal Real ID standards requiring two forms of identification by applicants. Facebook

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California police unions are preparing to battle new transparency law in the courtroom By Maya Lau Just as a landmark police transparency law is going into effect, some California police agencies are shredding internal affairs documents and law enforcement unions are rushing to block the information from being released. The new law, which begins to unwind Californias strictest-in-the-nation protections over the secrecy of law enforcement records, opens to the public internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. But the lawsuits and records destruction, which began even before the law took effect Jan. 1, could tie up the release of information for months or years, and in some instances, prevent it from ever being disclosed. The fact that police unions are challenging this law is on some level not surprising, said Peter Bibring, director of police practices at the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, one of the principal supporters of the new law. They have a long history of fighting tooth and nail against transparency. Read More Facebook

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Secretary of State Alex Padilla begins second term with challenge to ensure every Californian is counted By Jazmine Ulloa Secretary of State Alex Padilla takes the oath of office as his family stands by his side on Monday in Sacramento. (Jazmine Ulloa / Los Angeles Times) Secretary of State Alex Padilla was sworn in for a second term on Monday, saying he would continue the battle to protect the right to vote at a time when voter suppression efforts, online disinformation campaigns and interference from foreign adversaries have polarized the public and threatened to undermine trust in U.S. elections. I am doubling down on our fight here in Sacramento and in Washington, D.C., to defend our democracy, he said. Working on the front lines with so many of you, I know that our collective resolve has never been stronger. But the loudest applause came when Padilla promised to fight back against the Trump administrations changes to the U.S. census, saying he will ensure every Californian gets counted. Padilla, a former state senator and Los Angeles City Council member from the San Fernando Valley, led the cause for a new motor voter registration law in 2015, and a new system for online business registrations. But the programs have had experienced problems: More than 23,000 Californians were registered to vote incorrectly by the state DMV, the agency reported last year. On Monday, Padilla said he would continue to push back against false claims of voter fraud in California and pointed to the states voter turnout as proof that his office was involving more people in the democratic process, a promise he made when he was first sworn in four years ago. More than 12.7 million voters cast ballots in the Nov. 6 midterm election, representing roughly 65% of the states registered voters, the highest number of any midterm election since 1982, according to state certified results. I made that promise based on a shared belief that we are a stronger democracy and a better California when we hear all voices from all corners of California, and when those voices are not just heard but counted, Padilla said. Facebook

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Ricardo Lara, Californias first statewide officeholder to come out as gay, sworn in as insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara on the floor of the state Senate in 2016. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Ricardo Lara took the oath of office as California insurance commissioner on Monday, pledging action to boost healthcare coverage and combat climate change. Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens, is the first elected statewide officeholder in California who has come out as gay. He began his speech in downtown Sacramento by thanking LGBTQ leaders who came before him and celebrated the occasion. Today, because of you, weve shattered the pink ceiling, Lara said. In his inaugural speech, Lara announced the creation of an executive position in his office to address climate change. There is no other industry that has the necessary expertise to ensure that California is prepared to mitigate and reduce risk to our communities and our environment, Lara said. Our planet cant wait. Im ready, and I hope you are too. Lara served as a state legislator and in 2017 introduced a bill to create a single-payer healthcare system in the state. He promised to work with new Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand coverage across California. Lara was sworn in by retired U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who declared unconstitutional Californias Proposition 8 gay marriage ban. State Sen. President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) was on hand for the ceremony along with multiple other state lawmakers. Facebook

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New California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis says she will help expand access to universities in the state New Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, center, is shown in June talking with attendees at the Power to the Polls rally in Sacramento. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) More Californians should be given access to public universities, Eleni Kounalakis said as she took the oath of office Monday to become the states first woman elected lieutenant governor. Kounalakis was given the oath of office by Gov. Gavin Newsom, her predecessor in the job, who pledged they would work together. As lieutenant governor, Kounalakis serves on the University of California Board of Regents and the California State University Board of Trustees, she noted in a speech at her swearing-in ceremony at the main Sacramento Library. In that role, she said, she will be committed to expanding access to affordable public higher education here in our state. Its wise, its smart and it is the best way to address our rapidly changing digital economy. Kounalakis is former president of a development company founded by her father, Angelo Tsakopoulos, and served during the Obama administration as the U.S. ambassador to Hungary. In November, she won her first run for statewide office. Also attending the ceremony were House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Facebook

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California meets Dutch Newsom, who steals the show at his fathers inauguration By Taryn Luna Gov. Gavin Newsom gives his inaugural address while holding his youngest son, Dutch. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) In the California political world, all eyes were on Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday until his 2-year-old son stole the show. Dutch, the youngest of four children in the Newsom brood, climbed onstage in the middle of his fathers inaugural address in a tent outside the Capitol on Monday. The unplanned moment saw the 51-year-old governors big day interrupted by the toddler, bringing levity to the ceremony. Newsom was recounting Gov. Jerry Browns last inaugural speech and reference to the Sermon on the Mount, a biblical story about two men who built separate homes on sand and rock, when Dutch approached his father, a pacifier in his mouth and blanket in hand. Now more than ever we Californians know how much a house matters and children matter, Newsom said, improvising as he scooped the boy into his arms. The governor kissed Dutch on the cheek and held him for several minutes as he continued with the speech. This is exactly how it was scripted, Newsom joked. Newsom eventually put his child down and Dutch walked to the edge of the stage before retreating behind the podium to hide from his mother, First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom. The crowd roared. Siebel Newsom was able to briefly divert her son only for him to return to the stage minutes later. She grabbed him again and this time, the crying toddler did not reemerge. When fires strikes, when kids cry and the earth shakes, well be there for each other, Newsom said. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who said the moment humanized Newsom, threw cold water on any theories that Dutchs cameo was planned. No, I know it was not, Garcetti said with a laugh after Newsoms speech concluded. I could see that look of absolute abject terror [on Newsoms face]. Weve all been there. Kids always think its about themselves and theyve proved it. California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) agreed. I worked in early childhood education for 20 years and theres no way you can ever get a child to do anything when you want them to do it, Rendon said. Facebook

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Fiona Ma takes oath as Californias new treasurer By Liam Dillon State Treasurer Fiona Ma. Fiona Ma took the oath of office in Sacramento on Monday as the states 34th treasurer, promising to boost Californias economy. Ma previously served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, in the state Assembly and on the California Board of Equalization. I want to thank everyone for entrusting me with this important job. I understand my role here as your state treasurer is to build that financial wall around California so that we will remain the fifth-largest economy, Ma said in brief remarks. That is my promise to you. California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye administered the oath to Ma. Following the ceremony, Ma held an ice cream social for guests. On Wednesday, she will host a public event in San Francisco to celebrate her swearing-in. State Treasurer Fiona Ma takes the oath of office. (Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times) Facebook

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Expectations are high for newly sworn-in state schools chief Tony Thurmond Tony Thurmond shakes hands with retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge Gordon Baranco after taking the oath of office. (Melody Gutierrez / Los Angeles Times) Tony Thurmond took the oath of office as Californias state superintendent of public schools on Monday, promising a labor-friendly agenda before the teachers, students and Democratic officials who filled an auditorium at McClatchy High School in Sacramento to watch him being sworn in. We cant close the achievement gap without a great teacher at the head of every class, Thurmond said Monday to applause. We have to make sure we provide quality compensation and support to our teachers and our classified staff and all the educators who support our kids. Thurmond, a Bay Area Democrat who served in the state Assembly, won a hotly contested and expensive race with the help of labor leaders against charter school executive Marshall Tuck. The race took several days to sort out after Tuck held an initial lead in early returns on election night before falling behind thereafter. Thurmond was sworn in Monday by retired Alameda County Superior Court Judge Gordon Baranco. He was joined on stage by labor rights leader Dolores Huerta and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount). Thurmonds former colleagues in the state Assembly took turns praising him and promising to be an ally in improving schools. Many said they expected Thurmond would be a strong leader focused on improving student outcomes. We know we are going to work hard to give you the money you need and the budget you need to fully fund education and our schools so we can put our money where our mouth is and make sure our children have everything they need, Assemblywoman Connie Leyva (D-Chino Hills) said. As state superintendent, Thurmond will oversee the education of 6.2 million students at 10,000 schools. Thurmond was a member of the West Contra Costa County School Board and a Richmond city councilman before he was elected to the state Assembly. Tony is the right man at the right time to fight the federal, Donald Trump, Betsy DeVos anti-child, anti-education, anti-civil and -human rights agenda, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said. Tony is going to do that for us. Facebook

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State Controller Betty Yee takes oath of office with call for more affordable housing and healthcare State Controller Betty Yee California Controller Betty Yee took the oath of office Monday for a second term, saying she still has work to do addressing problems that include a lack of affordability in housing, healthcare and higher education. A San Francisco native, Yee is the chief financial officer of California  the fifth-largest economy in the world  having first won election to the post in 2014 before winning reelection in November. No region is spared from the widening inequality and increased poverty that plague our state, fueled by the lack of affordable, stable housing, the cost of healthcare and transportation, limited educational opportunities, student loan debt, displacement caused by disasters and more, she said. Yee was administered the oath of office by California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento before an overflow crowd that included state Senate leader Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra and San Francisco Mayor London Breed. As a public official it is about governance that delivers results and stays accountable while upholding the underlying value of dignity for all, Yee said. Facebook

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California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra begins new term promising to fight Trump policies California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Monday took the oath of office for a new term, saying he would continue his role as a leading challenger to Trump administration actions that he believes are counter to the states interests. Becerra, a former 12-term congressman, has become a national opposition figure to Trump, having sued the federal government 45 times since he was appointed as the states first Latino attorney general in 2017. Weve been a little busy stopping the dysfunction and insanity in Washington, D.C., from infecting California, Becerra told an audience during a swearing-in ceremony at the California Museum in Sacramento. Whether its the criminals on our streets or the conman in the boardrooms or highest office of the land, Becerra said, the California Department of Justice, well, weve got your back. Becerra won his first statewide election as the states top cop in November, two years after he filled the post vacated when predecessor Kamala Harris was elected to the U.S. Senate. He has peppered the Trump administration with lawsuits challenging federal policies on healthcare, the U.S. census, the environment and immigration. Our state builds dreams, not walls, he said in a direct criticism of Trumps proposal to build a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. Just last week, Becerra led a coalition of 17 Democratic attorneys general in announcing an appeal of a federal judge in Texas that ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. The ACA has been the law for nearly a decade and is the backbone of our healthcare system, Becerra said last week. This case impacts nearly every American  workers covered by employers, families, women, children, young adults and seniors  so we will lead the ACAs defense as long and far as it takes. Facebook

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California Democratic Party Vice Chairman Daraka Larimore-Hall announces bid to lead group By Christine Mai-Duc Daraka Larimore-Hall. (Dominic Parisi / Courtesy of Daraka Larimore-Hall) Daraka Larimore-Hall, a top official at the California Democratic Party, said Monday hes running to replace former chairman Eric Bauman, who resigned abruptly in November after being confronted with allegations of sexual misconduct. Larimore-Hall, a longtime state party activist and former chairman of the Democratic Party of Santa Barbara County, was one of the party leaders who urged Bauman to resign following the allegations. In an email to supporters announcing his bid, he urged both structural and cultural change at every level of our Party. He also repeated his call for a top-to-bottom investigation of the allegations, the party and its culture. In a Times investigation, 10 party activists and staff members said Bauman made crude sexual comments and engaged in unwanted touching and physical intimidation in professional settings. In order to be where we need to be for 2020, we have to confront the culture of abuse and fear that allowed someone to behave in such a vile way for so long, Larimore-Hall said in an interview. We cant brush it aside or think that our activists or our candidates or our donors are going to forget about this overnight. Larimore-Hall said his first priority would be to fully investigate the allegations and restore rank-and-file confidence in the partys leadership. The second would be to refocus the party on political priorities as the 2020 presidential election nears. The Bauman episode, Larimore-Hall said, threatens to derail the Democrats plans to help defeat President Trump and keep the seven congressional seats gained in the midterm elections. Its definitely a crisis, Larimore-Hall said. But the component parts  the energy, the enthusiasm, the volunteers, the infrastructure  its still there. We just need to direct it toward something. Larimore-Hall was elected vice chairman of the state party in February following Baumans razor-thin victory over Bay Area activist Kimberly Ellis. Ellis has announced another bid for the chairmanship and former state Senate leader Kevin de Leon is also mulling a run. The vote will take place at the partys May convention in San Francisco. Facebook

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Newsom will vow to seize this moment, and swipe at Trump in Monday inaugural address By Melanie Mason Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and his family attend an Inauguration Family Event at the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento on Jan. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Building on the theme of California exceptionalism that defined his campaign, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will depict the state as a guardian of progressive values and a counterweight to President Trump in his inaugural address Monday, according to excerpts of his prepared remarks. What we do today is even more consequential, because of whats happening in our country, read the excerpts obtained by The Times. Peoples lives, freedom, security, the water we drink, the air we breathe  they all hang in the balance. The country is watching us. The world is waiting on us. The future depends on us. And we will seize this moment. The speech casts Californias political stakes in a decidedly national scope, promising an agenda that will unify and be an example to the rest of the country. It contrasts the governing goals of Newsom, a Democrat, with that of Trump, the incoming governors perennial foil. We will offer an alternative to the corruption and incompetence in the White House, the excerpts say. Our government will be progressive, principled, and always on the side of the people. Newsom campaigned on an ambitious and wide-ranging platform, promising sweeping solutions on housing, healthcare, education and other issues that rank among Californians top concerns. In the weeks after his election, he struck a more muted tone, taking pains to emphasize his fiscal caution and need for patience in achieving those goals. The inaugural excerpts indicate a return to lofty pledges. While Newsom will vow to prepare for uncertain times ahead by building budgetary reserves and paying down debt, the prepared remarks quickly turn to a vow to be bold. Newsom has already floated several proposals for his first budget that carry significant price tags, including a nearly $2-billion plan to boost early childhood development for low-income families and a dramatic expansion of paid family leave from six weeks to six months. When asked for a preview of his inauguration speech during a news conference Sunday evening, Newsom predicted pundits would criticize his address as short on specifics. Well, of course, Im at an inaugural, Newsom said. But Ill be very detailed in the budget, a few days later. And then we will architect, in much more nuance and detail, in state of the state. I really see this as three opportunities  to communicate over the next few weeks our agenda, our vision for the state. Times staff writer Taryn Luna contributed to this report. Read More Facebook

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Newsom-hosted benefit concert raises nearly $5 million for wildfire victims By Taryn Luna Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom speaks at a concert to benefit wildfire victims at the Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento on Jan. 6. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) On the eve of the gubernatorial inauguration, Californias political class rubbed elbows in Sacramento for a benefit concert hosted by Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and headlined by the rapper Pitbull. Newsom told the crowd gathered at the Golden 1 Center on Sunday evening that the fundraiser brought in nearly $5 million for the California Wildfire Foundation, a 501(c)(3) that supports the families of fallen firefighters and communities affected by wildfires. You know, a lot of folks feel anxious about not just politics, but government, Newsom said on stage before introducing the rapper and activist Common. But those firefighters, they are the antidote to the fear and cynicism; they are the manifestation of why government matters and why you should care. Top sponsors, including Salesforce, Kaiser Permanente and other interest groups, paid up to $1 million each to support the cause and curry favor with the new administration. Nathan Click, a spokesman for Newsom, said organizers sold more than 7,000 tickets. Several state lawmakers attended the concert alongside Capitol staff, lobbyists and business types, who mingled on the floor of the arena and offstage in private VIP areas. The rock band X Ambassadors and a duo called the Cold Weather Sons from the town of Paradise, which was destroyed by fire in November, were among several performers who entertained the crowd during the four-hour event. The California Rises concert is the final in a series of festivities held Sunday to celebrate the inauguration of Californias 40th governor. Earlier in the day, Newsom attended a private brunch at Sacramentos Crocker Art Museum and his inaugural committee hosted a free party for families at the California State Railroad Museum at the Old Sacramento Waterfront. Newsoms inauguration is set to begin at 11 a.m. Monday on the steps of the Capitol. Facebook

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Inauguration fever hits Sacramento as Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom prepares to take office By Phil Willon Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom holds his son, Dutch, as he and his family attend an inaugural event at the at the state Railroad Museum Sunday. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Incoming Gov. Gavin Newsom doesnt officially take the oath of office until Monday, but the parties celebrating his inauguration were in full swing all day Sunday. Newsom and his family were mobbed by well-wishers at the California State Railroad Museum at the Old Sacramento Waterfront in the afternoon, where his inaugural committee hosted a free party for families. He just has charisma. Hes able to really connect with people, said Rosielyn Pulmano, an attorney from Elk Grove who came to see Newsom with her husband, two sons and her niece. I think he cares about working Californians and a lot of their issues. Newsom arrived with his wife, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and their four young children, and the governor-elect spent a good deal of his time wading through crowds, taking selfies with supporters and signing autographs as music boomed in the background. As the family toured the inside of the museums locomotives and the bevy of exhibits, Newsoms two-year-old son, Dutch, was wide-eyed, impressed by all the train cars and seemingly a little overwhelmed by the crowd. Newsom said that for his son, all that was missing from the museum was Thomas the Train, popular fictional locomotive in childrens books and cartoons . If theres one thing I can contribute to Sacramento maybe its getting a Thomas the Train exhibit for the two years olds, Newsom joked when talking with reporters afterward. Newsom said he wanted to include such an event in his inaugural festivities to highlight families and children, whose wellbeing will be among the top priorities of his administration. Youll see that not only as a preamble to the inaugural and the budget that well be submitting next week, but I think itll be a big part of the administration, Newsom said. The museum event followed a private, high-dollar brunch at Sacramentos Crocker Art Museum. A steady rain failed to dissuade as many as 200 guests who sipped wine and dined on chicken and salmon while waiting for a photo with Californias new first couple. Seen at the event were representatives of some of the states most powerful political interests, among them organized labor, healthcare companies and tribal gaming interests. A few other high-profile guests attended, too, including Larry Baer, CEO of the San Francisco Giants, and Erika Jayne, a singer and cast member of the reality TV show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Im excited to see someone like Gavin  young, vibrant  taking over the state and leading us into the future, Jayne said after attending the brunch with her husband, attorney Tom Girardi. Hes got a lot of great plans. Attendees said the event, which was closed to reporters and held under a tent in the museums outdoor atrium, did not include prepared remarks by Newsom. Among those seen leaving the event were representatives of AT&T, the California Medical Assn., Uber, Kaiser Permanente and the State Building and Construction Trades Council. A fundraising invitation obtained by The Times offered bundled tickets to all of the inauguration events, including those on Sunday and the Monday ceremony, ranging in price from $25,000 to $200,000. The money will be collected by a committee specifically organized to pay for Newsoms inaugural weekend. Sundays festivities are scheduled to end with a benefit concert headlined by Pitbull at the Golden 1 Center, home of the NBAs Sacramento Kings, to raise money for the victims of Californias recent deadly wildfires. Among the attendees at @GavinNewsoms pre-inaugural leadership brunch: Real Housewife of

Bev Hills @erikajayne. Im excited to see someone like Gavinyoung, vibranttaking over the state and leading us into the future. Hes got a lot of great plans. pic.twitter.com/561NHiy2XQ  Melanie Mason (@melmason) January 6, 2019 Facebook

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As Newsom inaugural events begin, he unveils more state budget promises on education and paid family leave Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, seen here last April, will propose new state budget efforts on paid family leave and education subsidies. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Californias incoming governor, who must send his first state budget plan to the Legislature this week, has already signaled a significant new focus on programs to help families and children from infancy to college. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom campaigned on a platform that included a number of child-focused efforts specifically aimed at helping lower-income families. The price tag for the initial efforts is expected to approach $2 billion  a cost paid out of an unrestricted tax revenue windfall that could be one of the largest in state history. Newsom may also seek help for families through new subsidies paid by California employers. The governor-elect is expected to propose a dramatic expansion of paid parental leave  from six weeks to six months  according to an internal document provided by a source close to the Newsom transition team, first reported on Sunday by the New York Times. The document doesnt offer a full explanation for how the program will be funded, saying instead that the budget will set a goal of ensuring that all newborns and newly adopted babies can be cared for by a parent or a close family member for the first six months. Employers across the state are currently assessed a payroll tax that helps offer a subsidy to parents who temporarily leave their job to care for a newborn. Newsoms plan, according to the document, would pay for some of the new costs by shrinking the mandated cash reserve of the state fund that administers the program, allowing more of the money to be paid in benefits. The increase in paid leave would not all happen at once but instead be phased in over a multi-year period. A task force to help implement the expanded care plan is also envisioned, according to the document. It would determine whether two parents could split the six months of paid leave and whether an extended family member could be enlisted to help care for the child of a single parent over the six-month period. The incoming administrations focus on young children will also include $1.8 billion in new spending on early childhood education programs, with a particular focus on training childcare workers and pushing for more California schools to offer full-day kindergarten. Those costs, according to an overview memo obtained by the Los Angeles Times, are considered to be a one-time expense while leaving the long-term costs of the effort to be determined later. More community college students would get free tuition under a third initiative expected in the new governors budget plan. Newsom will propose spending $40 million to offer a second year of tuition-free college to California students, according to an outline provided by a transition official, first reported by Politico. Students are already eligible for a single year of paid tuition under a plan agreed to by Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers in 2017. The incoming governor embraced the idea of free community college during the 2018 campaign as part of a broader focus on additional investments in higher education. Education is an economic development strategy, Newsom said at a higher education forum last spring. We need to significantly increase the investment from the general fund of this state on higher education. Theres no greater higher return on investment. Whether the proposal would be targeted to students based on a familys financial need is unclear. Many low-income students are already eligible for fee waivers at community colleges. The new governor must submit his full state budget plan to lawmakers no later than Thursday. Facebook

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Gavin Newsom and his family decide Sacramento is the place to be The Old Governors Mansion State Historic Park in Sacramento. Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will move his family into the mansion. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom and his family will give up the Marin County life and move to the Victorian-style governors mansion in Sacramento after he takes the oath of office Monday. Newsom and his wife, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, had debated whether or when to relocate to the state capital since his election in November. The couple have four young children and expressed reservations about moving in the middle of a school year. To best serve the people of California while also maximizing family time together, the Newsoms have therefore decided to move to Sacramento, said Newsoms spokesman, Nathan Click. On Monday, they will move into the Governors Mansion  along with their four children, their two family dogs, and their family bunny rabbit  and reside there for the immediate future. The Newsoms currently live in Marin County. Gov. Jerry Brown and his wife, Ann Gust Brown, moved into the grand house in 2015 after it underwent $4.1 million in renovations to update electrical and plumbing systems, as well as to remove lead-based paint and install a fire sprinkler system and other security features. The mansion was built in 1877 and has been home to 14 governors, but before Brown it had not housed a California governor for nearly half a century. The state bought the mansion from a wealthy Sacramento hardware merchant, Albert Gallatin, in 1903 for $32,500. It was one of the few California homes at that time to have indoor plumbing. Facebook

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Newsom announces top labor, business liaisons as he prepares to take office Julie Su will be secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency for Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times) Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom on Friday named two advisors on issues related to the California economy, each recognized for their expertise on business and labor. The incoming governor will appoint Julie Su as secretary of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency and Lenny Mendonca as chief economic and business advisor and director of the Governors Office of Business and Economic Development. Su, 49, has served as state labor commissioner under Gov. Jerry Brown since 2011 and has led an office tasked with the enforcement of Californias labor laws. She won a MacArthur Foundation genius grant in 2001 and previously worked as a civil rights attorney representing low-wage workers. In her new position, Su will be tasked with coordinating the work of several workforce departments in state government, including those that administer unemployment benefits and oversee the relationship between agriculture workers and employers. Mendonca, 57, has been a longtime advocate for rethinking government operations as co-chairman of the nonprofit organization California Forward. Previously, he was partner at McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm. While he will be a key advisor to Newsom on the states economy, Mendonca will also lead the office often referred to as Go-Biz, designated as a high-level way to encourage job growth and economic development. In his new role, Mendonca will help ensure that California is rolling out the welcome mat to current and future California businesses and growing a sustainable economy for every Californian, said a statement from the Newsom transition team. Newsom will take the oath of office as governor Monday. He has previously selected key advisors on the state budget, legislative affairs and the executive branchs wide array of agencies and departments. Facebook

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Joshua Groban, aide to Gov. Jerry Brown, sworn in to California Supreme Court By Taryn Luna California Supreme Court Justice Joshua Groban gives remarks after he is sworn into the court by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday. (Taryn Luna) California Supreme Court Justice Joshua Groban, a lawyer and longtime aide to Gov. Jerry Brown, was sworn into the states highest court Thursday in Sacramento. The ceremony marked Browns fourth appointment to the state Supreme Court and gave the seven-member bench a Democratic majority. We live in a highly chaotic, ever-changing and ever-confusing world, Groban said in prepared remarks at the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building. But Im happy to report that Im joining an institution whose fundamental purpose, at core, is to provide stability and consistency amidst this chaotic place we live. I look forward to doing that with a sense of reflection, respect, fidelity to the law and compassion. None of Browns appointees, Groban included, have judicial experience. Groban served as legal counsel to Browns 2010 gubernatorial campaign and joined the administration as a senior advisor to the governor, overseeing the appointments of some 600 judges over the last eight years. Prior to working with Brown, Groban, 45, practiced law for more than a decade. In perhaps his final public appearance before his successor, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom, takes office next week, Brown pushed back on notions that he stacked the court. I dont want this to be known as a Brown court, the governor said before administering the judicial oath of office. First of all, the so-called Brown appointments do not agree with themselves and nor should they. They are individuals. They will differ. Its not anybodys court. The governor called the court a high calling and said Groban possesses the values for the job. Probably, next to my wife, Ive talked to no person as much as Ive talked to Josh Groban, Brown said. I think youve talked to him more, Californias First Lady Anne Gust Brown interjected. I cant tell you what the hell hes going to do, Brown later quipped. I warned him, dont screw up, at least not at first. Facebook

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California campaign watchdog agency seeks law barring use of campaign funds to fight harassment claims Former state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). ( (Steve Yeater / Associated Press)) Elected officials accused of harassment or discrimination would be barred from using political contributions to cover their legal defense costs under legislation proposed by Californias campaign watchdog agency. The state Fair Political Practices Commission has agreed to pursue a law change to clear up confusion after an attorney for one former state lawmaker argued political funds could be used in such legal defenses. Commission Chairwoman Alice Germond said putting a prohibition into the law would provide some much needed clarity. As chair, I would like to show the public their lawmakers are held to a standard that is above reproach, Germond said in a statement. People dont give money to campaigns for lawmakers to use it to defend their own bad behavior, so lawmakers shouldnt be able to use it in that manner. The issue came up a year ago when an attorney for former Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) sought a formal opinion from the FPPC after the Senate launched an investigation that later concluded Mendoza likely engaged in a pattern of harassment against female aides. Mendoza resigned in February under threat of expulsion by the Senate. In a Jan. 10, 2018, letter, Cassandra Ferrannini, an attorney for Mendoza, wrote to the FPPC that she believed Mendoza should be allowed to establish a legal defense fund able to defray his legal expenses in defending himself against the allegations. The use of campaign funds for attorneys fees under these circumstances would fall squarely within the scope of legislative matters, since it involves the alleged conduct of a legislator with regard to legislative staff that he supervised, Ferrannini wrote. The commission staff originally issued an advice letter that said Mendoza may use campaign and legal defense funds to defend himself from claims of sexual harassment that arose directly out of his activities or status as a candidate or elected officer. But the panel later rescinded the letter after some members questioned using campaign funds to fight sexual harassment claims. That left uncertainty about what was allowed, which Germond said could be cleared up by a new law. The FPPC is still looking for a legislator to carry the bill, a spokesman said. Facebook

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Californias landmark police transparency law takes effect after court denies police union effort to block it California Supreme Court building (Eric Risberg / Associated Press) A new state law allowing the public disclosure of internal police shooting investigations has gone into effect after the California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a bid by a police union to block it. The law opens to the public for the first time internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Employees Benefit Assn. challenged the law last month, asking state Supreme Court justices to decide that the law only apply to incidents that occur in 2019 or later. The court rejected that request Wednesday, allowing members of the public to seek all applicable records held by police departments. Union president Grant Ward said in a statement that his organization was disappointed with the decision and is now seeking other legal options. We feel this is a statewide issue and should be considered accordingly, Ward said. Last month, the city of Inglewood authorized the destruction of more than 100 police shooting investigations and other records in advance of Jan. 1, when the disclosure law was scheduled to take effect. California law requires police departments to keep such records for five years, and Inglewood City Council voted to destroy records older than that. Mayor James T. Butts has said the decision had nothing to do with the new law. In Los Angeles, Police Chief Michel Moore has said that complying with the new disclosure rules could take hundreds of thousands of hours of work. State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), the author of the transparency law, has said she has no immediate plans to propose changes to it. Facebook

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Few complaints of racial profiling are sustained by police agencies in California, state panel finds CHP Officer J. Nelson stands outside the office of Gov. Jerry Brown as activists in 2015 support requiring the tracking of police stops. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Law enforcement agencies in California sustain few citizen complaints of racial or identity profiling, according to a report Wednesday by a state panel set up to help reduce bias in policing. The states Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board recommended in its annual report that law enforcement agencies improve training and adopt clear guidelines for tracking and reporting data on who is stopped by officers. The panel said that 453 law enforcement agencies in the state received 9,459 civilian complaints in 2017, including 865 complaints alleging racial or identity profiling. Of the racial and identity complaints that reached a disposition that year, 1.5% were sustained, 14.6% resulted in officers being exonerated and 83.9% of complaints were not sustained or were determined to be unfounded, the report said. A clearer picture of the issue is expected from a 2015 law that requires police agencies to report demographic data on all detentions and searches. The first reports by the eight largest agencies, including the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, are due to be submitted in April. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, whose office oversees the board, said tracking of all detentions and searches will be helpful to understand the scope of the issue. The Boards recommendations will help make our law enforcement agencies more transparent and promote critical steps to enhance, and in some cases, repair the public trust, Becerra said in a statement Wednesday. Facebook

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California housing crisis podcast: What Minneapolis decision to end single-family zoning might mean for California A view of downtown Minneapolis in 2014 (Stephen Maturen / Getty Images) Theres a national movement brewing to roll back zoning rules in cities that only allow one house on a plot of land. The epicenter of that movement is Minneapolis, which passed a plan last month to eliminate single-family zoning citywide and let landowners build duplexes and triplexes on residential property. On this episode of Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast, we talk about the reasons why Minneapolis leaders took this action, including their desire to combat a history of racial exclusion and spur more housing density to fight climate change. We also debate how Minneapolis decision might affect housing politics in California. Our guest is Minneapolis City Council President Lisa Bender, who helped shepherd the new zoning rules to passage and a former San Francisco city planner. The episode also crowns 2018s Avocado of the Year  the most ridiculous story exemplifying Californias housing woes  and includes our predictions for the most under-the-radar important themes in housing politics in 2019. Gimme Shelter, a biweekly podcast that looks at why its so expensive to live in California and what the state can do about it, features Liam Dillon, who covers housing affordability issues for the Los Angeles Times Sacramento bureau, and Matt Levin, data and housing reporter for CALmatters. You can subscribe to Gimme Shelter on iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Google Play and Overcast. Facebook

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How young immigrant Dreamers made flipping control of the House a personal quest By Jazmine Ulloa Gabriela Cruz, who was brought to the U.S. illegally when she was 1, couldnt vote, but in the final hours before the Nov. 6 election, she was making one last run to get people to the polls. The sun was setting in Modesto when she found Ronald Silva, 41, smoking a cigarette on a tattered old couch behind a group home. He politely tried to wave her off until she reminded him he had a right that she as an immigrant without citizenship didnt have. It could really make a change for us, said Cruz, 29. Read More Facebook

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Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will propose almost $2 billion for early childhood programs (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Seeking to frame his new administration as one with a firm focus on closing the gap between children from affluent and poor families, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will propose spending some $1.8 billion on an array of programs designed to boost Californias enrollment in early education and child-care programs. Newsoms plan, which he hinted at in a Fresno event last month, will be a key element in the state budget proposal he will submit to the Legislature shortly after taking office Monday, a source close to the governor-elects transition team said. The spending would boost programs designed to ensure children enter kindergarten prepared to learn, closing what some researchers have called the readiness gap that exists based on a familys income. It would also phase in an expansion of prekindergarten and offer money to help school districts that dont have facilities for full-day kindergarten. The fact that hes making significant investments with his opening budget is really exciting, Ted Lempert, president of the Bay Area-based nonprofit Children Now, said Tuesday. Whats exciting is the comprehensiveness of it, because its saying were going to focus on prenatal through age 5. A broad overview document reviewed by The Times on Tuesday shows that most of the outlay under the plan  $1.5 billion  would be a one-time expense in the budget year that begins July 1. Those dollars would be a single infusion of cash, an approach favored by Gov. Jerry Brown in recent years. Most of the money would be spent on efforts to expand child-care services and kindergarten classes. By law, a governor must submit a full budget to the Legislature no later than Jan. 10. Lawmakers will spend the winter and spring reviewing the proposal and must send a final budget plan to Newsom by June 15. Though legislative Democrats have pushed for additional early childhood funding in recent years  a key demand of the Legislative Womens Caucus  those actions have typically come late in the budget-writing season in Sacramento. Quite frankly, to start out with a January proposal that includes that investment in Californias children reflects a new day, state Sen. Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) said. The governor-elect will propose a $750-million boost to kindergarten funding, aimed at expanding facilities to allow full-day programs. A number of school districts offer only partial-day programs, leaving many low-income families to skip enrolling their children because kindergarten classes end in the middle of the workday. Because the money would not count toward meeting Californias three-decades-old education spending guarantee under Proposition 98, which sets a minimum annual funding level for K-12 schools and community colleges, it will not reduce planned spending on other education services. Close behind in total cost is a budget proposal by Newsom to help train child-care workers and expand local facilities already subsidized by the state, as well as those serving parents who attend state colleges and universities. Together, those efforts could cost $747 million, according to the budget overview document. An expansion of prekindergarten programs would be phased in over three years at a cost of $125 million in the first year. The multiyear rollout would, according to the budget overview, ensure the system can plan for the increase in capacity. Lempert said the Newsom proposal is notable for trying to avoid the kinds of battles that in recent years pitted prekindergarten and expanded child care against each other for additional taxpayer dollars. The reality is we need to expand both simultaneously, he said. Another $200 million of the proposal would be earmarked for programs that provide home visits to expectant parents from limited-income families and programs that provide healthcare screenings for young children. Some of the money would come from the states Medi-Cal program, and other money from federal matching dollars. Funding for the home visits program was provided in the budget Brown signed last summer; the Newsom effort would build on that. Emphasizing a policy area with broad appeal in his first state budget could reflect Newsoms political sensibility about the challenges ahead. Democratic lawmakers and interest groups will be especially eager to see how Newsom addresses the demand for an overhaul of healthcare coverage in California  especially after a 2017 effort to create a single-payer, universal system fizzled. The path forward on healthcare is complex and costly, making early childhood education a more achievable goal in the governor-elects early tenure. Newsom is likely to face considerable demands for other additional spending. In November, the Legislatures independent analysts projected that continued strength in tax revenues could produce a cash reserve of some $29 billion over the next 18 months. Almost $15 billion of that could be in unrestricted reserves, the kind that can be spent on any number of government programs. Kim Belshe, executive director of the child advocacy organization First 5 LA and a former state health and human services secretary, said the initial Newsom budget proposal suggests the next governor will focus on a comprehensive approach to improving outcomes for children from low-income families. School-ready kids deserve quality early learning, strong and well-supported families, and access to early screening services, Belshe said. Newsom understands the whole child, multifaceted needs of our kids and is clearly ready to lead. Mitchell, the chair of the Senate budget committee, said shes eager to see the details of the governor-elects proposal to determine whether it might signal the beginning of an even broader expansion of early education efforts. Similar efforts have been hindered by a lack of money and ongoing debate over which services to help children 5 and younger need state funding the most. Universal preschool, in particular, has been debated for more than a decade. California voters rejected a ballot measure to fund a full prekindergarten system in 2006. Its clear theres a new movement afoot trying to engage on investment for universal preschool, Mitchell said. How we invest, and how we prioritize that investment, is going to be a great conversation for the coming months. Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: A final conversation with Gov. Jerry Brown No Californian has served longer as governor, signed more laws, granted clemency to more felons or waged more high-profile campaigns than Gov. Jerry Brown. Brown will leave behind a unique legacy when he packs his last belongings for the trip from the governors mansion in Sacramento to his Northern California ranch. His final two terms in office could be his most consequential. The governor reviewed some of the more notable moments from the past eight years in a far-reaching interview with The Times on Dec. 22. This weeks podcast episode includes extended portions of that conversation. Facebook

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A sagging economy could doom a 2020 ballot measure to raise commercial property taxes, Gov. Jerry Brown says Gov. Jerry Brown, at his Colusa County home on Saturday, said a ballot measure to raise commercial property taxes could struggle in 2020. (Randall Benton/For The Times) An effort to remove commercial property in California from the tax limits imposed by the landmark Proposition 13 could be felled by an economic slowdown, Gov. Jerry Brown said. In a Saturday interview with The Times at his Northern California ranch, Brown said liberal activist groups that have successfully placed the proposal on the November 2020 statewide ballot shouldnt read too much into early poll numbers showing support for the plan. That isnt as easy as you think, Brown said. Because youre going to be in a downturn of the business cycle. And youre talking many kinds of business. And the cost of doing business in California is already high. The ballot measure would allow counties to more frequently assess the market value of commercial property in California than allowed under Proposition 13, a 1978 ballot initiative that amended the state constitution to place strict limits on assessing property values and taxation for both homeowners and businesses. An analysis of the new measure, which qualified in October for the 2020 ballot, estimates it could bring in some $10.5 billion a year in new tax revenue. The business community will fight it, Brown said. And the minimum wage, the family leave, the environmental rules  business[es] have left California, thats going to be the big argument. And I think thats something you really have to think a lot about. The governor, who leaves office early next month due to term limits, declined to either endorse or oppose the ballot measure. He said Californias economic health in two years time could be a key factor in how voters weigh the proposal. Well be in a recession by then, Brown said. So its anybodys guess. Facebook

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Inglewood to destroy more than 100 police shooting records that could otherwise become public under new California law By Jack Dolan Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts (Maria Alejandra Cardona / Los Angeles Times) The city of Inglewood has authorized the shredding of more than 100 police shooting and other internal investigation records weeks before a new state law could allow the public to access them for the first time. The decision, made at a City Council meeting earlier this month, has troubled civil liberties advocates who were behind the state legislation, Senate Bill 1421, which takes effect Jan. 1. The law opens to the public internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. The legislature passed SB 1421 because communities demanded an end to the secrecy cloaking police misconduct and use of force, Marcus Benigno, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, said in a statement. Inglewood PDs decision to purge records undermines police accountability and transparency against the will of Californians. California law says police departments must retain records of officer shootings and internal misconduct investigations for five years. The city of Inglewood, however, had kept records longer than that, including case files of police shootings dating to 1991. State Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), the author of SB 1421, intended for her bill to allow public access to all qualifying records held by a department, no matter the date of the incident. Inglewood City Council approved the destruction of records that have been in the police departments possession  more than 100 cases  longer than required by law. The city staff report and council resolution describing the action makes no mention of the new police transparency law. Instead it says the affected records are obsolete, occupy valuable space, and are of no further use to the police department. It added the traditional method of destroying such records is to shred them. It is unclear whether the records have since been destroyed. A spokesman for the Inglewood Police Department along with Inglewoods city manager, attorney, clerk, four council members and Mayor James T. Butts, a former Santa Monica police chief, did not respond to requests for comment. Inglewoods City Hall is closed the last two weeks of December. The Inglewood Police Department has a reputation for secrecy and using excessive force. In 2008, the departments officers fatally shot four men in as many months, three of whom turned out to be unarmed. The U.S. Department of Justice launched a civil rights probe and found significant flaws in the way the department oversaw use-of-force cases and investigated complaints against officers. Civil rights advocates still question why Inglewood police opened fire on a couple found sleeping in a car in 2016, killing them both. California police have a long history of shredding records to avoid scrutiny of their actions. In the 1970s, the LAPD famously destroyed more than four tons of personnel records after defense attorneys began requesting them as part of criminal cases against their clients. The move resulted in the dismissal of more than a hundred criminal complaints. In response, the Legislature demanded that records be preserved but then took other measures, supported by police unions, to ensure the public had very little access to them, making California the most secretive state in the nation when it comes to police misconduct. Skinners legislation begins to unwind those laws, which have been on the books since 1978. No video or audio of the Dec. 11 council action is available on the citys website and neither are meeting minutes or any record of the decision. A city spokeswoman, Courtney Torres, confirmed that the council had voted in favor of the police records purge, and said all the relevant reasons for the decision were included in the city staff report. The Jan. 1 implementation for SB 1421 has prompted other police officials to act. A police union in San Bernardino is asking the state Supreme Court to determine that Skinners bill only applies to incidents that occur in 2019 or later. Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore sent a letter to Skinner earlier this month warning that complying with the law in regard to older records in the departments possession could take hundreds of thousands of work hours. Facebook

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Federal officials question California DMVs process for issuing Real IDs (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has notified the California Department of Motor Vehicles that its process for providing residents with federally recognized identification cards is not adequate. DMV spokesman Armando Botello said Friday that 2.3 million residents who received Real IDs under the current process will have to submit additional documentation when their cards are renewed in five years but will be able to use them in the meantime. The DMV is developing a way for residents to submit more documentation online or via email to comply with the stricter federal requirement, he said. But some state legislators are upset about delays in notifying them of the problem and say Homeland Security could eventually require additional documentation provided by current holders. The DMV has known for a month that millions of Real IDs theyve been dolling out are potentially invalid, Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) said. The DMVs only hope is that the Department of Homeland Security takes pity on California and gives the DMV more time to fix this mess. Real IDs are a new kind of driver license and identification card that federal law will require legal residents to present when boarding domestic flights or visiting military bases and other federal facilities starting Oct. 1, 2020. The DMV has only been requiring one form of documentation, including a current lease or utility bill, to verify the residence of a card applicant. But the federal government said in a Nov. 21 letter to the agency that two such documents are needed. On Friday, DMV Director Jean Shiomoto released a letter defending the current process but said her agency will start requiring a second document to prove residency in April. In order to minimize confusion among our customers, the CADMV will work to inform individuals who have been issued a Real ID under the current process that their card will be accepted for official federal purposes, even if their renewal occurs after the October 1, 2020, final enforcement date for Real ID, Shiomoto wrote to the federal agency. Legislative officials worry there is still a possibility that those issued Real IDs in the past might be required to present a second document to have their cards designated as compliant. The more complex process for obtaining Real IDs has led to hours-long waits for customers at DMV field offices this year, although wait times have been reduced recently by an increase in staffing. Shiomoto last month announced that she is retiring amid problems with the motor voter registration system and after the governor ordered an audit of her agency in response to the long wait times. On Friday, Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron of Escondido blasted the DMV for waiting a month to tell legislators of the problem. This is unacceptable and flies in the face of security for our citizens, which is what Real ID was created for in the first place, she said in a statement. Facebook

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Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom taps Keely Bosler to be his finance director Keely Bosler, the director of the California Department of Finance, will continue in that role under Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom. (California Department of Finance) Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom on Friday appointed Keely Martin Bosler as director of the California Department of Finance, continuing the role she has served under Gov. Jerry Brown since August. Bosler will become Newsoms chief fiscal advisor, and will play a pivotal role in shaping Newsoms spending plan for the state that will lay the foundation for his top policy priorities. Newsom must roll out his first budget plan within days of taking office on Jan. 7. Californias brighter future depends on a strong, stable fiscal foundation, Newsom said in a statement released Friday afternoon. Keely is an accomplished public servant of sound fiscal judgment. She understands that state budgets are more than numbers on a page  they are value statements affecting the fate and future of millions of families reaching for the California Dream. We are fortunate to have her on our team. Prior to being appointed finance director, Bosler served as Browns cabinet secretary for two years and, before that, as the chief deputy director for budget in the Finance Department for three years. Earlier this year, Brown picked Bosler to lead an audit of the Department of Motor Vehicles, which had come under fire for long wait times at DMV field offices and numerous computer problems, including errors in the new motor voter program that registered Californians to vote. As we have discussed, long wait times at the Department of Motor Vehicles do not reflect the high standards of service that Californians expect from their state government, Bosler wrote in a letter in September to DMV Director Jean Shiomoto. The audit is still ongoing, but Shiomoto has since announced she will retire at the end of the year. Facebook

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Californias legislative analyst, after decades of nonpartisan research for lawmakers, calls it a career Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, who has led the state research unit since 2008, will retire on Dec. 31. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Only five people have led the independent research office of the California Legislature since its creation in 1941. And each of them has had a pretty simple mantra to live by in reviewing public policy proposals and government programs: Call it like you see it. The job of any analyst, to me, is you maintain that nonpartisanship, Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor said. Taylor, 65, will retire from the post at the end of December after a four-decade career with the research team that began, as he likes to tell it, just after the passage of the landmark property tax rollback, Proposition 13, in 1978. He became the leader of the office, with the title of legislative analyst, in October 2008. Two months later, state government found itself in arguably the worst fiscal crisis in its history  a projected shortfall that ultimately grew to $42 billion by the following winter. There were forces beyond our control, Taylor said of that time. But dont underestimate the policy changes that were made afterward. Those changes, most notably a boost in taxes paid by high-income earners and a robust state budget cash reserve fund, have helped lead to successive years of fully funded government services. The state is projected to have some $24 billion in reserves by the end of the current fiscal year. Taylor announced his intention earlier to step down this year. Leaders from both houses of the Legislature select the analyst, who leads a staff of almost five dozen researchers. The office provides in-depth reports on pending legislation, as well as on broader policy topics like education and healthcare, and produces an independent analysis for every proposed ballot measure. A succession of lawmakers and governors alike have praised or panned the work of the Legislative Analysts Office based on their own political worldview. Taylor said his staff is mindful that they work for legislators, but try to ignore the rhetoric that follows the release of a major report. People are going to do what theyre going to do with our information, he said. They dont always like it, but they appreciate that we give them our best advice. Taylor oversaw a transformation in the way the Legislative Analysts Office distributes its information, embracing the release of research reports through social media instead of relying on traditional printed copies and journalist roundtable events. But he said the work of the researchers has remained largely unchanged through the decades. Having an independent take on things, I think, is good for the Legislature, he said. No replacement for Taylor has been announced, which means a short transition for his eventual successor before Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom sends his first budget proposal to lawmakers in early January. Taylor, who lives in the Sacramento suburbs, said he will honor the tradition of his predecessors in stepping away from public policy debates in order to give the new analyst space to lead the team as he or she sees fit. He said he hopes to travel in the coming years and spend time with his children who have moved to the East Coast. Forty years in state government, Taylor said in why he was stepping aside now. Isnt that enough? Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown sues to save California sentencing laws By Don Thompson, Associated Press (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown sued Thursday to protect one of his signature actions in office, a voter-approved measure that allows most prison inmates to seek earlier release and participate in rehabilitation programs. His administration filed a lawsuit challenging a pending 2020 initiative that seeks to toughen criminal penalties as part of an effort to roll back reforms adopted by voters within the last decade. Browns lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court contends the measure lacked enough valid signatures to overturn a previously approved constitutional amendment. County officials and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla certified the signatures in July but said they were submitted too late to qualify for last months election. The lawsuit names Padilla and the ballot measures official proponent, Nina Salarno Besselman, president of the advocacy group Crime Victims United. Padilla said the measure exceeded the required roughly 366,000 valid signatures, equal to 5% of votes cast for governor in 2014. Browns lawsuit says he used the wrong threshold. It says changing the state Constitution requires 8%, or more than 585,400 signatures. That makes the pending initiative more than 150,000 signatures short, the lawsuit says. Hes wrong, said Jeff Flint, a spokesman for the campaign backing the measure. He predicted a judge will be reluctant to reject a measure that already has qualified for the ballot. The secretary of state told us how many signatures are required, and thats how many we collected, Flint said. Padillas office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The measure would reverse reforms adopted by voters through Proposition 47 in 2014 and Proposition 57 in 2016. Proposition 57 allows most inmates to seek earlier paroles, and Proposition 47 reduced some drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. The combination has helped keep Californias inmate population below a population cap set by federal judges. Corrections department spokeswoman Vicky Waters said the measure gives corrections and parole officials broad discretion to protect our communities and fashion a rational system of rehabilitation and punishment. This new initiative unlawfully seeks to supplant the departments constitutional authority to implement these critical reforms to our criminal justice system. The pending initiative would shorten the list of crimes that qualify for earlier parole and change some theft crimes from misdemeanors back to felonies. It would also increase the number of crimes for which DNA is collected, a list that was limited when some crimes went from felonies to misdemeanors. Those supporting the tougher penalties say easing criminal penalties has increased the number of dangerous criminals on the streets, but those backing the changes say they have helped reduce mass incarceration and rehabilitate convicted criminals. Facebook

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California Supreme Court orders records unsealed in pardon of ex-state Sen. Roderick Wright Former state Sen. Roderick Wright (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times) The California Supreme Court has granted a request to unseal court records involving Gov. Jerry Browns decision last month to pardon former state Sen. Roderick Wright for felony convictions involving lying about living in his legislative district, officials said Thursday. The court order was in response to a request by the nonpartisan First Amendment Coalition, which argued that the public has a right to know what information went into the governors decision to grant clemency to Wright. This is an important victory for public access to court files involving the exercise of executive clemency, said coalition spokesman Glen A. Smith. We are gratified the court has recognized that these decisions should be subject to the same public access rules that apply to other judicial records under California law. The court gave Browns office until Jan. 2 to redact confidential material before giving the court documents that can be released to the public. The court files submitted by the governors office include letters of support for a pardon and an internal review of Wrights case. The court denied a motion to unseal the records of all clemency cases but left open consideration of requests on other individual cases. Browns office is currently evaluating the courts decision, said spokesman Brian Ferguson. The governor argued against unsealing records in a recent court filing that said confidentiality is consistent with historical practice and is supported by state law. In pardoning Wright on Nov. 22, the governor wrote: He has shown that since his release from custody, he has lived an honest and upright life, exhibited good moral character, and conducted himself as a law abiding citizen. Facebook

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California political watchdog agency fines BART, urges prosecution over using public funds for campaign A Bay Area Rapid Transit train leaves the station in Oakland in this 2013 file photo. (Ben Margot / AP) Californias state political watchdog agency on Thursday imposed a $7,500 fine against the Bay Area Rapid Transit District and called for a possible criminal or civil prosecution over allegations the district used public resources to campaign for a 2016 bond measure. The state Fair Political Practices Commission levied an administrative fine against BART for its failure to disclose spending on YouTube videos, social media posts and text messages to promote Measure RR, which authorized $3.5 billion in general obligation bonds. Though the panel lacks authority to seek criminal charges over the misuse of public funds, it also urged county district attorneys in the BART service area and the state attorney general to pursue possible criminal or civil charges over the spending of taxpayer dollars for campaign purposes, Commission Chairwoman Alice Germond said. It is the concept of misusing public funds that I think we all here are very disturbed about, and we want to send a warning and not create a precedent that is a minor, little slap on the wrist, Germond said, adding that the referral to criminal prosecutors would further send a message that this is wrong. Commissioner Brian Hatch also called for the state Legislature to consider granting the FPPC power to go after public agencies that spend taxpayer money on campaigns. Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) called on the agency to increase the fine to the maximum level of $33,375. The proposed $7,500 fine represents a slap on the wrist for a very serious violation of the law and the publics trust, Glazer said in a letter to the panel. In supporting the fine recommended by the staff, Germond said BART has agreed to pay the penalty. Somebody did something wrong and they have admitted it, she said. A staff report said there were factors in favor of a fine below the maximum. Although the Commission considers BARTs violations to be serious, the absence of any evidence of an intention to conceal, deceive, or mislead; the voluntary filing of the delinquent campaign statement; and the absence of a prior record are mitigating, the report said. Facebook

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California police union seeks state Supreme Court review of new law disclosing internal investigation records Los Angeles Police Department officers. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A police union is asking the California Supreme Court to block the release of internal officer investigations before a new state law takes effect next year. The San Bernardino County Sheriffs Employees Benefit Assn. filed a petition Tuesday asking justices to rule that only investigations of incidents that occur after Jan. 1 would be available under the law  and not those the department has on file from years prior. The litigation comes after this years passage of Senate Bill 1421, which opens to the public for the first time internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, and the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department has told the union it intends to make available in response to public records requests all the information it has. The union is very concerned about any plans to retroactively apply Senate Bill 1421, Grant Ward, the unions president, said in a statement. We believe retroactive application violates our members rights and we hope the California Supreme Court will consider the serious issues raised by our legal challenge. The bills author, Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), does not agree with the unions interpretation. She has said her legislation should apply to all the records in a police departments possession because the law simply declared that affected records were no longer confidential. If the record exists, its disclosable, Skinner said. A decision on what records will be available under the law is key to how far-reaching it will be. If the court restricts access to incidents that occurred prior to 2019, those cases will not be subject to public scrutiny. The police union in San Bernardino County is not the only one raising concerns about the law. Earlier this month, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore sent a letter to Skinner expressing concern that his agency would be overwhelmed if the law required the department to disclose older incidents. Even if the law only applied to the previous five years, Moore wrote, it could take nearly 300,000 hours of work to comply with its provisions. The LAPD operates with a guiding principle of Reverence for the Law; as such, we will diligently comply with SB 1421, Moore wrote. We maintain, however, that a retroactive implementation of SB 1421 will be exceptionally burdensome and would require significant reallocation of front-line investigative personnel. Skinner said if complying with the law becomes untenable for law enforcement agencies that maintain records for a long time, she would consider modifications. But she said agencies did not raise this concern during discussion over the bill. SB 1421 went through multiple committee hearings, multiple floor debates, extensive opportunity for all parties to weigh in on concerns with its structure, she said. That was not an issue that was raised by law enforcement at the time. Facebook

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Gov. Brown warns of backlash for Republicans in 2020 if Obamacare repeal is upheld Gov. Jerry Brown at the National Press Club in April. (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Gov. Jerry Brown warned Republicans on Tuesday that repeal of the Affordable Care Act would devastate the partys political chances in the 2020 election. Brown, speaking at a Sacramento Press Club event moderated by Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton and Brown family historian Miriam Pawel, said a federal judges ruling last week to strike down the 2010 law  if upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court  will build such a backlash that the Democrats will not only take over the Senate, theyll win the presidency and will win with the kind of momentum, particularly on the issue of healthcare, that [the law] will be replaced probably with something even better. The governor, who leaves office in less than three weeks, said he did not believe the ruling by a Texas judge would ultimately prevail. I think the decision will probably be overturned, Brown said. Few states have embraced the law championed by former President Obama more than California, both through its healthcare exchange, Covered California, and by expanding access to government-funded services under Medi-Cal. Some 12 million Californians now receive healthcare through Medi-Cal, and Brown said a final ruling affecting the federal dollars that subsidize that care would be a serious blow. California would not be able to afford it without the subsidy, the governor said. Facebook

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Bars in Los Angeles, San Francisco could stay open until 4 a.m. under new bill A bar in Sherman Oaks (acuna-hansen) For the third year in a row, a California lawmaker is trying to keep bars open until 4 a.m. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is reintroducing legislation that would allow Los Angeles, San Francisco and seven other cities to extend the sales of alcohol in bars, clubs and restaurants by an additional two hours. Nightlife brings people together, fosters creativity and innovation, supports small businesses, and creates middle-class jobs, Wiener said in a statement. Its time to embrace our nighttime economy and give our cities the tools they need to foster the best nightlife possible. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill by Wiener, writing: I believe we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 without adding two more hours of mayhem. Should this years measure, Senate Bill 58, advance through the Legislature, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom would decide whether to sign it into law. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has endorsed SB 58, saying the city should have more flexibility than it does now. Every community has its own needs, and cities should be able to make informed decisions about what nightlife hours make sense for residents, visitors, and neighborhoods, Garcetti said in a statement. The bill would create a five-year pilot program where Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Coachella, Cathedral City and Palm Springs could decide to allow restaurants and bars within their cities to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. with the approval of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Facebook

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Bars in Los Angeles and San Francisco could stay open until 4 a.m. under new bill A bar in Sherman Oaks. (Acuna-Hansen) For the third year in a row, a California lawmaker is trying to keep bars open until 4 a.m. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) is reintroducing legislation that would allow Los Angeles, San Francisco and seven other cities to extend the sales of alcohol in bars, clubs and restaurants by an additional two hours. Nightlife brings people together, fosters creativity and innovation, supports small businesses and creates middle-class jobs, Wiener said in a statement. Its time to embrace our nighttime economy and give our cities the tools they need to foster the best nightlife possible. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill by Wiener, writing: I believe we have enough mischief from midnight to 2 without adding two more hours of mayhem. Should this years measure, Senate Bill 58, advance through the Legislature, Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom would decide whether to sign it into law. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has endorsed SB 58, saying the city should have more flexibility than it does now. Every community has its own needs, and cities should be able to make informed decisions about what nightlife hours make sense for residents, visitors and neighborhoods, Garcetti said in a statement. The bill would create a five-year pilot program where Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, West Hollywood, Long Beach, Coachella, Cathedral City and Palm Springs could decide to allow restaurants and bars within their cities to serve alcohol until 4 a.m. with the approval of the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Facebook

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Californias DMV director announces retirement amid problems with motor voter program (Kent Nishamura/Los Angeles Times) The director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles will retire at years end with a number of questions unanswered about the implementation of a major voter registration system and long wait times experienced by customers for much of the past summer. Jean Shiomoto will not continue in her current role as Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom takes office, and announced to staff several weeks ago her intent to retire at the end of the year after 38 years in state service, spokesman Armando Botello said in an email to The Times on Friday. Newsoms transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who might lead the department in 2019. Shiomoto was appointed DMV director by Gov. Jerry Brown in the fall of 2013, having served in prior leadership roles with the department. DMV officials have been sharply criticized by lawmakers in recent months for delays in serving customers at its field offices across the state. Last week, DMV officials revealed errors in registering California voters for the November election  mistakes that followed a series of problems in the rollout of the states new motor voter registration system. Secretary of State Alex Padilla last week said he had lost confidence in Shiomotos leadership as a result of the voting registration problems. Facebook

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New law could break the stalemate over housing on the site of a near-vacant Cupertino mall By Liam Dillon For more than a decade, developers have tried to build new housing on the site of an all-but-empty mall in Cupertino, a city in the heart of Silicon Valley and home to Apple headquarters. A well-organized group of neighbors, upset about traffic, building heights and the potential loss of the communitys suburban lifestyle, turned away every plan. Now, for the first time, the stalemate might be broken  thanks to a decision made in the state Capitol. In an effort to address Californias housing affordability problem, legislators passed a law last year that requires cities and counties to approve housing projects if they comply with local zoning rules and other standards, forcing some resistant communities to agree to new homebuilding. In September, the city of Cupertino, citing the state law, approved developer Sand Hill Property Co.s proposal to build an office park and more than 2,400 homes where the Vallco Shopping Mall sits. Read More Facebook

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Local government was a last bastion for struggling California Republicans. Not anymore By Mark Z. Barabak Theres no shortage of watery metaphors to describe the disaster that befell California Republicans this midterm election. A blue wave. A Democratic tsunami. But the most apt may be a flood, with the casualties steadily rising as the vote count climbed in the days and weeks following Nov. 6. Eventually half the GOP congressional delegation was washed away, along with the entire slate of statewide Republican candidates. In Sacramento, Democrats claimed 29 of 40 state Senate seats and seized three-quarters of the 80-member Assembly  the largest number since 1883, when Chester A. Arthur was serving in the White House. Read More Facebook

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For the Republicans left in Californias Legislature, fewer lawmakers will have to do more work By John Myers From January to late summer every year, the California Legislature is a perpetual motion machine. And in the new year, the people most likely to struggle in keeping up will be Republicans, vastly outnumbered but still responsible for representing millions of the states residents. There are 22 standing committees in the state Senate, plus at least a dozen more subcommittees or special committees. And after Novembers election, only 11 Republican senators will be left to divvy up the work. To the victors go the spoils. To the vanquished go the extra assignments. Read More Facebook

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Californias DMV failed to finish registering 329 new voters before November election (Los Angeles Times) Officials at the California Department of Motor Vehicles said Friday that the agency failed to send information for 329 new voters to state elections officers in time for the November election, the latest revelation in a string of mishaps regarding voter registration. Secretary of State Alex Padilla responded with a blistering letter, calling on Gov. Jerry Brown or Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom to replace Jean Shiomoto, the DMV director. The Director of DMV has lost my confidence and trust, Padilla wrote. In all, the agency revealed that 589 mailed voter registration records that should have been processed under election deadlines werent sent to Californias secretary of state until late November, including forms from 260 drivers who had intended to update their address on existing voter registration records. The DMV had been instructed to not send registration forms that came in after Oct. 22, but the voters in question had forms that were postmarked before the deadline. In some cases, when the postmark wasnt legible, the agency said, documents inside indicated the voter had intended to finish their registration in time for the Nov. 6 election. The DMV recognizes the pause in transmittals was an error and affected the timing of the registration of the 589 individuals referenced above relative to the November election, Shiomoto wrote in a letter to Padilla on Friday. The pause was due to a misunderstanding on the part of the department, for which we take responsibility. Those who were trying to update their address for voter registration would not have been blocked from casting ballots. But officials said its unclear whether any of the 329 new voters were able to participate in the election. Shiomoto said in her letter that DMV will work with elections officials. The errors were not related to previous DMV mistakes about registering voters, problems associated with the rollout of the states new motor voter law. In those cases, multiple registration forms were sent to local elections offices for some voters, some people were assigned the wrong political party preference and others who are noncitizens were incorrectly placed on the list of registered voters. DMV officials have yet to respond to questions posed by The Times over the last several weeks about who knew of those mistakes and when. Facebook

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Newsom appoints a labor advocate and a former staffer as his chief deputy Cabinet secretaries By Taryn Luna A labor advocate and a San Francisco political operative have accepted positions in Gov.-elect Gavin Newsoms new administration. Angie Wei, a Capitol insider with deep ties to organized labor in California, will serve as a chief deputy Cabinet secretary with a focus on policy development. As a legislative director and chief of staff at the California Labor Federation, Wei has represented more than 1,200 unions and 2.1 million workers in Capitol fights over a host of policy issues, including drug-pricing transparency and paid family leave. The governor-elect also tapped Jason Elliott, a policy advisor to Newsom during his time as mayor of San Francisco and a chief of staff to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, as another chief deputy Cabinet secretary overseeing executive branch operations. Elliott and Wei will serve under Ana Matosantos, Newsoms previouslyThe Supreme Court on Monday delivered a major victory to corporations by sharply restricting the rights of American workers to join together to challenge their employers for allegedly violating federal laws on wages, overtime pay or civil rights.

The justices by a 5-4 vote agreed with Trump administration lawyers and ruled that employers may enforce so-called individual arbitration agreements that require workers to give up the ability to collectively pursue claims that they were short-changed or treated unfairly.

The courts conservatives, speaking through Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, said the employees must abide by a companys arbitration contract, including provisions that limit them to bringing only individual claims.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the decision egregiously wrong and said it harks back to the era of yellow dog contracts. She was referring to a pre-1930s period when workers could be forced to abide by contracts that prohibited them from joining with others, including to form a union.

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Labor law experts said the impact of the ruling in Epic Systems vs. Lewis will fall heaviest on tens of millions of low-wage workers who do not belong to unions. As a practical matter, they said, workers at convenience stores, restaurants, hotels or the like will find it expensive and risky to bring complaints if they must do so on their own.

Ginsburg said the inevitable result of todays decision will be the underenforcement of federal and state statutes designed to advance the well-being of vulnerable workers. One study estimated that in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City alone, low-wage workers lose nearly $3 billion in legally owed wages each year.

The ruling is consistent with a series of high court decisions over the last 25 years that have expanded the reach of the Federal Arbitration Act of 1925, which was originally adopted to uphold commercial contracts between two companies. As a result, it is now routine for banks, credit card companies, cellphone providers and others to include arbitration clauses in their contracts. By doing so, they can prevent consumers from joining class-action lawsuits if they believe the company has violated part of the contract.

The ruling not only affirmed employers ability to bind workers to arbitration, but it also expanded that power to include asking workers to waive the right to take collective action, even though such a right is protected by 1930s labor laws and 1960s civil rights measures. The courts majority ruled the arbitration law in this case overrides later labor laws.

Workers rights advocates accused the court of undermining enforcement of workplace rights laws.

The Supreme Court has dramatically tilted the legal landscape against working people, said Catherine K. Ruckelshaus, general counsel for the National Employment Law Project. She said the #MeToo movement had also exposed the danger of arbitration clauses, which have allowed some employers to conceal sexual abuse and harassment by top executives.

About 60 million nonunionized workers in the private sector are covered by arbitration agreements that bar them from going to court to sue over alleged violations of federal workplace laws, according to a survey by the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal group based in Washington. Among them, about 25 million are also required to arbitrate as individuals. Lawyers predicted Monday that number will rise quickly.

The decision is not likely to affect workers who belong to a union. For them, the union negotiates a contract, and it may represent them before an arbitrator.

The case before the court began when several workers in gas stations in Alabama complained they were not paid overtime for working after hours. Their employer, Murphy Oil, which operates more than 1,000 gas stations in 21 states, pointed to an arbitration agreement that prohibited them from suing or joining a class complaint. The National Labor Relations Board, led by Obama appointees, ruled this restriction was an unfair labor practice. It pointed to the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, which said workers had a right to join a union or engage in other concerted activities for  mutual aid or protection.

A similar dispute over overtime pay arose from software workers employed by Epic Systems in Wisconsin and accountants for Ernst & Young in Northern California. The Supreme Court took up all three cases and decided them as one.

It is unclear whether discrimination and civil rights claims will be affected. Gorsuchs majority opinion did not mention the issue. In dissent, Ginsburg said it would be grossly exorbitant to read the ruling so as to devastate discrimination claims under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Ginsburg read much of her dissent in court. She said her colleagues in the majority had upheld these arm-twisted, take-it-or-leave it contracts even though the labor laws of the 1930s have recognized there is strength in numbers.

Epic Systems Corp., a Verona, Wis.-based provider of healthcare software, said it was pleased with the courts decision. It is important that employers protect an employees right to file complaints, while also providing for a fair forum in which those grievances are addressed, Epic founder and Chief Executive Judy Faulkner said in a statement. When it comes to grievances regarding wages and hours, we believe individual arbitration agreements strike that reasonable balance.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce praised the decision, saying it restores the law to where it was prior to the NLRBs overreaching 2012 determination that the National Labor Relations Act overrides the Federal Arbitration Act. Gutting Americas arbitration system harms all Americans but one group  the plaintiffs bar, the chamber said. Plaintiffs class-action lawyers will vigorously attack this decision because they will lose hundreds of millions in fees.

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said on Twitter that despite the ruling we will continue to defend Californians from all backgrounds and their rights to band together  our hardworking families need a meaningful option to protect themselves in the workplace.

Al Latham, partner at the law firm Paul Hastings who teaches at USCs Gould School of Law, said that California is bound by this decision. He said the ruling would encourage companies that dont yet have arbitration agreements with workers to implement them because class-action cases are extremely risky for employers even if ultimately theres no merit to the case. The cost of litigation is huge and the risk is huge, should  at the end of the road  a jury decide there was merit to the class-action claims.

The Obama and Trump administrations took opposite stands on the case as it moved through the courts. Early in 2016, Obama adminstration lawyers appealed the case of the gas station workers from Alabama and urged the court to allow them to bring a complaint seeking overtime pay. But in 2017, when Trump appointees took office, they urged the court to rule for the company.

When the justices heard arguments on the issue in October, they heard from two government lawyers, one of whom represented the Obama-era workers rights view at the NLRB and one from the Justice Department representing the Trump administrations pro-employer view.

Joining Gorsuch in the majority were Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.

Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan joined Ginsburg in dissent.

Staff writer James F. Peltz in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Here are major cases before the Supreme Court this year 

david.savage@latimes.com

On Twitter: DavidGSavage

UPDATES:

3 p.m.: This story was updated with reaction for legal experts and Epic.

8:35 a.m.: This story was updated with more details from the decision.

This story was originally published at 7:25 a.m.Allies balk at Trump administration bid to block Chinese firm from cutting-edge telecom markets By David S. Cloud Britain and Germany are balking at the Trump administrations call for a ban on equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, threatening a global U.S. campaign to thwart Chinas involvement in future mobile networks. Both countries are expected to limit Huawei and other Chinese companies from providing core components including routers. But other types of Chinese equipment for next-generation, high-speed communications could still be installed on British and German networks, officials and analysts say. The U.S. push to ban Huawei has provoked a global dispute in recent weeks, with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, publicly urging NATO allies in Europe to exclude the company and warning that the United States might limit its military presence in countries that did not do so. Read More Facebook

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Confucius Institutes: Do they improve U.S.-China ties or harbor spies? By Don Lee Hanging red lanterns welcome visitors to the University of Marylands Confucius Institute, the oldest of about 100 Chinese language and cultural centers that have popped up over the last 15 years on American campuses, subsidized by millions of dollars from Chinas central government. But last fall, when four U.S. Senate investigators walked into the Confucius offices in Maryland and spent hours questioning staff, they werent looking for an educational exchange. The committee has been seeking detailed information from the university about the program, including contracts, email exchanges and financial arrangements that school administrators have kept under wraps since it started in 2004. American colleges once viewed these jointly funded institutes as an economical way to expand their language offerings  one that could also bring warmer ties with China and, importantly, an influx of Chinese international students paying full tuition. Read More Facebook

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Watch Live: White House holds surprise news briefing amid government shutdown Facebook

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U.S. policy toward China shifts from engagement to confrontation By David S. Cloud For decades, China had no closer American friend than Dianne Feinstein. As San Francisco mayor in the 1970s, she forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai, the first between American and Chinese communities. As U.S. senator, she dined with Chinese leaders at Mao Tse-tungs old Beijing residence. And in the 1990s, she championed a trade policy change that opened a floodgate of Western investment into China. Today the Democratic senator sees China as a growing threat, joining a broad array of Trump administration officials, national security strategists and business executives who once favored engagement with Beijing and now advocate a confrontational approach instead. Read More Facebook

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Mnuchins attempt to calm markets backfires as Trump takes another shot at the Federal Reserve By Jim Puzzanghera An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin to calm plunging financial markets backfired Monday, further rattling investors with new fears about whether major U.S. banks have enough cash on top of worries about interest rates, political instability in Washington and a slowing global economy. Adding to the volatile mix was a fresh attack on the Federal Reserve by President Trump, who declared that the central bank was the U.S. economys only problem and that it didnt have a feel for the market. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who cant score because he has no touch -- he cant putt! Trump said on Twitter. Read More Facebook

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He speaks to Democratic hearts. But is Beto ORourke a serious White House contender? By Mark Z. Barabak Hes a failed U.S. Senate candidate with an undistinguished congressional record who, for the moment, is a blazing-hot 2020 presidential prospect  despite the fact that he may not run and faces long odds if he does. Beto ORourke suggests the will-he-or-wont-he speculation is something he himself cant quite fathom. I think thats a great question, he responded in a Dallas Morning News interview when asked whether his unsuccessful November Senate bid merited a promotion to the White House. I ask that question myself. Read More Facebook

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Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Elizabeth Dwoskin Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Associated Press) Months after President Trump took office, Russias disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there. The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram  which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal  claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with radical Islamic groups. Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday. Read more Timberg, Romm and Dwoskin report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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President Trump announces Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff By Associated Press President Trump says budget director Mick Mulvaney will serve as acting chief of staff, replacing John F. Kelly in the new year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Facebook

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It aint over when its over: In Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere, losers seek to undermine election results By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Gavin Newsom has yet to become California governor, but already a candidate for state Republican Party chairman is promoting a recall effort. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers have rushed through legislation to thwart their incoming Democratic governors and hamper others in the opposing party from doing the jobs voters chose them to do. In Congress, GOP leaders have echoed President Trump and sought to undermine the legitimacy of Democrats strong midterm performance, raising unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and political malfeasance. Read More Facebook

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New CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger says she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera On her first full day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger said she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney, the controversial acting director whom she replaced in the powerful regulatory position. To underscore that point, the former White House aide said she would even reconsider a Mulvaney action that critics saw as a gratuitous jab at Democrats who championed the agencys creation: changing its name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Kraningers declaration during a meeting with reporters Tuesday addressed one of the main criticisms of her selection. She is considered a protege of Mulvaney, her boss at the White House Office of Management and Budget who has executed a dramatic, industry-friendly shift at the watchdog agency. Read More Facebook

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Trumps pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running By Associated Press Nick Ayers, right, with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush on Dec. 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Associated Press) President Trumps top pick to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is no longer expected to fill that role. Thats according to a White House official who is not authorized to discuss the personnel issue by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ayers is Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff. The official says that Trump and Ayers could not agree on Ayers length of service. The father of young children, Ayers had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump wanted a two-year commitment. The official says that Ayers will instead assist the president from outside the administration. Trump announced Saturday that Kelly would be departing the White House around the end of the year. Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause.  #Georgia  Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018 Facebook

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U.S. hiring slows to 155,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 3.7% By Jim Puzzanghera Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from Octobers strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday. Still, monthly job gains are averaging 206,000 this year, the best since 2015. Even the slower pace of 170,000 over the last three months is close to last years average of 182,000 and well above the amount needed to keep up with population growth. Read More Facebook

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Trump is expected to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador By Associated Press Heather Nauert at a briefing at the State Department on Aug. 9, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump is expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Two administration officials confirmed Trumps plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly before Trumps announcement. Trump has previously said Nauert was under serious consideration to replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year. Trump has been known to change course on staffing decisions in the past. Nauert was a reporter for Fox News Channel before she became State Department spokeswoman under former Secretary Rex Tillerson. Facebook

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Senate confirms new consumer financial protection chief: Kathy Kraninger, protege of industry-friendly Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera The Senate, in a party-line vote Thursday, confirmed White House aide Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and experts predicted a continuation of the industry-friendly shift it has taken since President Trump installed an acting director last year. Kraninger is a protege of acting director and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the agency that was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent predatory lending and other abuses that led to it. Democrats and consumer advocates have denounced him for sharply departing from the aggressive watchdog role the bureau had pursued under its first director, Obama-appointee Richard Cordray, including scaling back enforcement and moving to reassess tough new rules on payday loans and narrow the definition of abusive practices by banks and other firms. Read More Facebook

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Shutdown postponed by two weeks under plan approved by Congress By Erik Wasson Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), shown at the Capitol on Tuesday, says President Trumps border wall is a waste of money. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Congress passed a two-week stopgap spending bill that will delay the chance of a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22 as lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate over his demands to pay for a wall on the southern border. The House and Senate passed the measure Thursday without dissent, and Trump has indicated hell sign the bill before the current shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Negotiations were delayed by memorial services this week for former President George H.W. Bush. The temporary measure gives Democrats and Republicans more time to find a resolution to their biggest hurdle: funding a wall on the U.S. Mexico border wall. Trump says he wants $5 billion for parts of a concrete wall on the southern border and is willing to shut down the government if he doesnt get it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said Democrats will provide no more than $1.6 billion for border security, because the wall is a waste of money. The presidents demands for wall funding from Congress come after he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for it. This week he said on Twitter that a $25 billion border wall would pay for itself in two months, without providing evidence. Most of the U.S. governments $1.2 trillion discretionary budget has been appropriated already by Congress for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Departments at a risk of a partial shutdown late this month include the departments of State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security. Talks to resolve the differences have been on hold since a meeting among Trump, Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California originally slated for Dec. 4 was postponed due to Bush memorial events. The three are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama told reporters the rest of the seven-bill spending package being negotiated is basically done. Shelby in recent weeks had tried to broker a compromise in which Trumps $5 billion request would be split over two years, but Schumer has rejected that. Some Democrats have been willing to trade border wall funding for deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants. Pelosi ruled out such a deal in remarks to reporters Thursday. The stopgap government funding measure also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, to Dec. 21. Facebook

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Bipartisan Senate group wants to formally blame Saudi crown prince for journalists killing By Karoun Demirjian Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Associated Press) A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution Wednesday condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, directly challenging President Trump to do the same. This resolution -- without equivocation -- definitively states that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement accompanying the release of the resolution. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe. The resolution put forward by Graham and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who are expected to lead the Judiciary Committee together next year, comes just one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leading senators about the details of the agencys assessment that Mohammed ordered and monitored the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Senators emerged from that closed-door briefing furious not only with Saudi Arabia, but Trump as well for dismissing the heft of the CIAs findings. You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi, Graham said following the briefing, referring to Mohammed by his initials. He added that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who briefed senators last week, were at best being good soldiers and at worst were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia for presenting the evidence of Mohammeds involvement as inconclusive. The release of the resolution condemning Mohammed also comes as the Senate is preparing to move ahead with debate on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Though the Yemen resolution does not directly address Khashoggis murder, its popularity is a sign of how strained the United States patience with Saudi Arabia is on multiple fronts, including its role in worsening the civilian cost of the war in Yemen, cited by the United Nations as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the Senate voted 63 to 37 to advance the Yemen resolution past an opening procedural hurdle. But Graham and Feinsteins resolution on the crown prince has the potential of drawing broader support, especially from Republicans, who are deeply divided about how fiercely to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggis killing. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and is seen as one of the more influential foreign policy voices in the GOP, did not vote for the Yemen resolution last week or sign on to a bipartisan measure last month to sanction Saudi officials and cease weapons transfers to the kingdom. But he is an original co-sponsor of the resolution condemning Mohammed over Khashoggis death. So is Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who represents the other end of the GOP spectrum in terms of recent Saudi-related votes and endorsements. Young was an initial co-sponsor of the bill Graham wrote with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to sanction Saudi officials deemed responsible for Khashoggis killing and stop the sale of anything but exclusively defensive weapons to the kingdom until it ceased hostilities in Yemen. Young also voted to advance the Yemen resolution  something Graham did as well, though Graham has signaled he will not be lending any similar support to the measure, fearing it may establish a precedent of invoking the War Powers Act too broadly. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are listed as original co-sponsors of the resolution condemning Mohammed, which also urges Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Houthi rebels to end the Yemen war, work out a political solution to its standoff with Qatar and release political prisoners. But how much sway the resolution has probably comes down to how forcefully the administration decides to heed it -- and thus far, Trump has not shown any interest in condemning the crown prince the way the senators hope he will. Demirjian reports for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Los Angeles County offices and U.S. Postal Service closed Wednesday in honor of George H.W. Bush By Brian Park The Honor Guard carries the casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush following his funeral on Dec. 5 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service will suspend regular mail delivery Wednesday, which President Trump has declared a national day of mourning in honor of former President George H.W. Bush. All retail postal outlets will be closed, and package delivery will be limited. In Los Angeles, all nonessential county departments, offices and libraries will be closed for the day, L.A. County officials said. The Los Angeles County Library said no overdue fines will be assessed for books, and due dates will be moved forward one week. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offices also are closed Wednesday. The Sheriffs Department, Fire Department, clinics and hospitals will continue to operate, the county said. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinics are being operated with reduced staffing, and the department asked patients to confirm or reschedule any appointments. All county courts and the disaster recovery centers for the Woolsey fire in Malibu and Agoura Hills will remain open. Larger federal government operations will be closed Wednesday. To honor the life and legacy of President Bush, the Postal Service will observe the National Day of Mourning. Learn how Postal operations will be affected. https://t.co/Mffch7bPCh pic.twitter.com/vG46BsIOpm  U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) December 4, 2018 L.A. County offices and libraries will be closed tomorrow (Dec 5) in observance of the #NationalDayOfMourning for President George H. W. Bush.



The Countys Disaster Recovery Centers in Malibu & Agoura Hills will remain open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sv1J7GoJ7T  Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) December 4, 2018 @LAPublicHealth offices will be closed tomorrow December 5 in observance of the national Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush. Essential Services including clinics and other services will remain open: https://t.co/tZGoGGHRlg pic.twitter.com/ypXsV6vlYY  LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 4, 2018 Facebook

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to skip 2020 White House race, sources say By Associated Press Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks during an interview in Boston on Dec. 15, 2014. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will soon announce he wont launch a 2020 presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with his plans. They did not say why the Democrat decided against a run. A formal announcement was delayed as the country observed a day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, one source said. News of Patricks plans was first reported by Politico. Patrick, 62, served two terms as governor, from 2007 to 2015, was assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and since leaving the governors office has been a managing director for Bain Capital. Patrick traveled the country in support of Democratic candidates in the recent midterm election. Earlier this year, some of Patricks supporters and close advisors started the Reason to Believe political action committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a positive, progressive vision for our nation in 2018 and 2020. Reason to Believe PAC had been holding meetups across the country, including in early presidential primary states. While Patrick is opting against a 2020 run, dozens of Democrats are considering jumping in, including nearly a half-dozen members of the Senate, several House members, and other Massachusetts politicians. On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal critic of President Trump, said in a statement that he would run. Patrick had previously expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination, telling David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Obama, that he wasnt sure he could stand out in such a large field. Its hard to see how you even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill, sensational or a celebrity, and Im none of those things and Im never going to be any of those things, Patrick said in a September interview with Axelrod. Facebook

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Former Trump adviser Roger Stone invokes 5th Amendment right and wont testify before Senate Judiciary Committee By Associated Press Roger Stone in 2017. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, says he wont provide testimony or documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. An attorney for Stone said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees top Democrat, that Stone was invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to produce documents or appear for an interview. Stone has been entangled in investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about whether Trump aides had advance knowledge of Democratic emails published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. Stone has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the timing or specifics of WikiLeaks plans. In the letter to Feinstein, Stone said the committees requests were far too overbroad, far too overreaching and far too wide-ranging. Facebook

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Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook

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Rebuilding crumbling infrastructure has bipartisan support. But who gets to pay for it? By Jim Puzzanghera The grades for major U.S. infrastructure would give any parent indigestion if they were on a childs report card. Roads: D; bridges: C+; dams: D; ports: C+: railways: B; airports: D; schools: D+; public transit: D-. The nations overall grade: D+, which translates to being in fair to poor condition and mostly below standards with significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure, according to an evaluation last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read More Facebook

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Trump calls former lawyer Michael Cohen a weak person who is lying By Associated Press President Trump says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to get a reduced sentence. The president is reacting to Cohens guilty plea Thursday to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia. During a surprise court hearing, Cohen admitted to lying in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen in his guilty plea said he made the false statements to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohens lawyer says he continues to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates. Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Mark Z. Barabak When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Sarah D. Wire When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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Michael Cohen, President Trumps ex-lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump real estate project in Russia By Associated Press Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, pursued a Russian real estate project on candidate Trumps behalf well into the 2016 campaign, he said Thursday while pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Cohen had previously said that the project was abandoned in January 2016, but he now admits he continued to pursue a deal and says he updated Trump and members of his family about the negotiations, according to a new court document. Read More Facebook

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James Comey says acting Atty. Gen. Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer By John Wagner Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 14. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Former FBI Director James B. Comey apparently isnt too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trumps acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston if he thinks Whitaker could derail the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the probe, and Trump  as recently as Tuesday  continues to call it a witch hunt. I think its a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry, Comey said. The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact. He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and Im sure he doesnt want that, added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions chief of staff before being picked by Trump to lead the Justice Department. Trump has called Whitaker a very smart man. Earlier this year, Trump called Comey an untruthful slime ball. Wagner writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Interior Department watchdog clears Zinke in investigation of Utah national monument By Juliet Eilperin Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, third from the left, and Gov. Jerry Brown tour fire damage in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 14. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Interior Departments Office of Inspector General has cleared Secretary Ryan Zinke in a probe of whether he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah to aid the financial interests of a Republican state lawmaker and stalwart supporter of President Trump. In a Nov. 21 letter to Zinkes deputy, David Bernhardt, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote that her office found no evidence that the secretary or his aides changed the boundaries of Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in an effort to help former Utah state representative Mike Noel, who serves as executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District. Last December, Trump shrank the monument, first established by President Clinton in 1996, by 46% based on Zinkes recommendation. Noel owns 40 acres that had been surrounded by the monument, but now lies outside its boundaries. The new boundaries also would make it easier to construct the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, which would deliver water to sites in Kane County that include Noels property. Earlier this year, the Interior Department had proposed selling off 120 acres of federal land from the former monument that lay adjacent to some of Noels land holdings, but later reversed the plan. We found no evidence that Noel influenced the DOIs proposed revisions to the [monuments] boundaries, that Zinke or other DOI staff involved in the project were aware of Noels financial interest in the revised boundaries, or that they gave Noel any preferential treatment in the resulting proposed boundaries, Kendall wrote. Neither the Interior Department nor the inspector generals office would release the actual investigative report. In the letter, Kendall writes that her office will provide the report to Congress no sooner than 31 days from Nov. 21, when it is provided it to Zinkes office. The Associated Press first reported the inspector generals conclusions Monday night, but did not provide details from the report itself. Noel emailed Zinke about the effort to alter Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to emails released by Interior under the Freedom of Informational Act. But those emails do not make references to Noels land holdings. Noel also pushed to rename a Utah highway in honor of Trump, but abandoned that effort in March after some of his fellow Republicans objected to the idea. Noel did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The inspector generals office still has at least two ongoing probes of the secretary, including one focused on his real estate dealings in Whitefish, Mont., and another regarding his decision to deny a permit to two Connecticut tribes who were hoping to jointly run a casino after MGM Resorts International lobbied against it. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift welcomed the watchdogs conclusions. The report shows exactly what the secretarys office has known all along  that the monument boundaries were adjusted in accordance with all rules, regulations and laws, she said in an email. This report is also the latest example of opponents and special interest groups ginning up fake and misleading stories, only to be proven false after expensive and time consuming inquiries by the IGs office. But Kendalls spokeswoman, Nancy DiPaolo, defended the inquiry, even though she said the report has not been publicly released and we will not be speaking specifically about the matter at this time. The OIG opens investigations based on credible allegations and reports our findings objectively and independently, DiPaolo added. Any time or resources spent investigating conduct or activity that may be a violation of law, regulation or policy is a service to the public, Congress and the Department. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that he still intended to investigate the way Zinke and his colleague redrew the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante and another Utah national monument, Bears Ears, next year. I have great respect for the inspector general, and I accept these findings, but Secretary Zinke should have known the people he listened to while destroying our national monuments had disqualifying conflicts of interest, he said. Should I chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, the process he and President Trump used to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be front and center in our oversight and investigations efforts. We need to know why they ignored overwhelming public expressions of support for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, why they ignored Native American tribes throughout their decision-making, and why they removed protections on parcels of land with known mineral deposits. Eilperin and Rein report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump advisor Larry Kudlow says China must do more to end trade war By Jim Puzzanghera Larry Kudlow, President Trumps top economic advisor, said Tuesday that Chinas response to U.S. efforts to rework the two economic superpowers trade relationship has been extremely disappointing but the planned meeting this weekend between the nations leaders is an opportunity for a breakthrough. They have to do more. They must do more, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters ahead of a Saturday dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina. I think the president is exactly right  to show strong backbone when prior administrations did not, to break through these Chinese walls, Kudlow said. Theyre so resistant to change. We have to protect the country. We have to protect our technology, our inventiveness, our innovation. Read More Facebook

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Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook

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Democrat TJ Cox grabs lead over Republican David Valadao in nations last remaining undecided House race By Maya Sweedler Democrat TJ Cox slipped past Republican incumbent David Valadao on Monday to take the lead in the countrys sole remaining undecided congressional race, positioning Democrats to pick up their seventh House seat in California and 40th nationwide. Cox, who trailed by nearly 4,400 votes on election night, has steadily gained as ballot counting continues nearly three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, a pattern consistent with the states recent voting history. On Monday, he pulled ahead by 438 votes after Kern County updated its results. Read More Facebook

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Former CIA director Michael Hayden hospitalized after suffering a stroke By Deanna Paul Then-CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before a Senate committee in 2008. (Saul Loeb / Getty Images) Former CIA Director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his family said Friday. He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful, according to a statement issued by his namesake organization. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters. Hayden, 73, served as director of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He retired from the CIA in 2009. Hayden has been a vocal critic of Donald Trumps campaign and presidency. Earlier this year, after Trump decided to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, Hayden was one of several former intelligence leaders who signed a statement in opposition. Criticizing the president for crossing a line, he quickly became one of the individuals whose security clearance Trump threatened to review. Deanna Paul writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump tells troops hes thankful for what hes done for the U.S. and rails against courts and migrants By Associated Press President Trump talks with troops via teleconference from his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thanksgiving. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump used his Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trumps call, made from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. Its a disgrace, Trump said of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost control on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops  You really are our heroes, he said  as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. It was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics. You probably see over the news whats happening on our southern border, Trump told one Air Force brigadier general stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, adding: I dont have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who were letting in. Later, Trump asked a U.S. Coast Guard commander about trade, which he noted was a very big subject for him personally. Weve been taken advantage of for many, many years by bad trade deals, Trump told the commander, who sheepishly replied, Mr. President, from our perspective on the water  we dont see any issues in terms of trade right now. And throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. I hope that youll take solace in knowing that all of the American families you hold so close to your heart are all doing well, he said. The nations doing well economically, better than anybody in the world. He later told reporters, Nobodys done more for the military than me. Indeed, asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his great family as well as himself. I made a tremendous difference in this country, he said. Facebook

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Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing By Josh Dawsey | Washington Post (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIAs assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had feelings but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. He denies it vehemently, Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that maybe he did, maybe he didnt. I hate the crime .... I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, Trump said. Asked who should be held accountable for the death of Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Trump refused to place blame. Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place, the president said. He also seemed to suggest that all U.S. allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, we wouldnt be able to have anyone for an ally. Trumps remarks came after he held a conference call with U.S. military officers overseas, during which he repeatedly praised his administration and sought to draw the officers into discussions of domestic policy. Facebook

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Former FBI Director James Comey gets subpoena from House Republicans By Bloomberg Former FBI Director James B. Comey said he has received a subpoena from House Republicans, according to a Twitter post on Thursday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Comey would be receiving a subpoena alongside former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch as part of continuing probes into their handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and Russian election meddling, according to a top House Democrat. Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. Im still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a closed door thing because Ive seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Lets have a hearing and invite everyone to see.  James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018 Read More Facebook

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Republican David Valadaos lead slips to 447 votes over Democrat TJ Cox in still-undecided Central Valley House race By Mark Z. Barabak Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), right, finds himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) On election night, it looked like Rep. David Valadao had survived a close shave and was destined to return to Washington for his fourth term. But on Wednesday, when Fresno County announced its latest vote totals, the Hanford Republican found himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox, with his lead in the Central Valley district shrunken to 447 votes. Thousands remain to be counted. Valadao, a repeated Democratic target, finished election night with a lead of nearly 4,440 votes. Cox, an engineer and a business owner who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, has steadily gained ground in the 21st Congressional District ever since. The trend is consistent with historic patterns showing Republicans in California tend to vote early and Democrats later, meaning their mail ballots continue to stream in past election day. Under California law, ballots postmarked up to midnight on Nov. 6 will be counted. Democrats have already picked up six House seats in California. They ousted Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Mimi Walters, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham and won the seats of retiring Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. All six represented districts that backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Valadao was the seventh California Republican in a district Clinton won, though his previous successes  he last won reelection by a 14-point margin  suggested his ouster was a longer shot for Democrats. If Cox prevails, it would give Democrats a 40-seat gain nationwide, far more than the 23 seats needed to take control when Congress reconvenes in January. Facebook

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Trump says no new punishments against Saudi Arabia in Jamal Khashoggi murder By Eli Stokols In this Oct. 25 photo, candles are lit in front of a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Lefteris Pitarakis) President Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he does not intend to punish Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident killed by Saudi officials in Turkey in October. In a remarkable statement replete with exclamation points, Trump cast doubt on the CIAs reported conclusions that it has a high degree of confidence that the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder and sent his closest allies to Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul to carry it out. Read MoreThis article has been updated with staff. Facebook

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Sixteen House Democrats vow to oppose Nancy Pelosi as next speaker By Mike DeBonis | Washington Post House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Sixteen House Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority. Their pledge to oppose Pelosi (D-San Francisco), both in an internal caucus election and a Jan. 3 floor vote, delivered in a letter sent to Democratic colleagues, comes as Pelosi has marshaled a legion of supporters on and off Capitol Hill to make her case. But her opponents said Monday they are convinced it is time to select a new leader. We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus, they wrote. However, we also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran on and won on a message of change. Pelosi has expressed complete confidence that she will retake the speakers gavel in January  eight years after she lost it following massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms and 16 years after she was first elevated to the top Democratic leadership post in the House. Come on in, the waters fine, she said Friday about a potential leadership challenge. The signers might not be able to force Pelosi out themselves. The size of the Democratic majority remains in flux, but Democrats have already won 232 seats, according to the Associated Press, with five races still undecided. All those races have Republican incumbents, but the Democratic challenger is ahead in only one of them. If the leads hold in the uncalled races, Democrats would have won 233 seats, a 16-seat majority. That means Pelosi could lose as many as 15 Democratic votes when she stands for election as speaker on Jan. 3. Read More Facebook

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Democratic senators sue over Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general By Associated Press Acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitakers appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitutions Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitakers appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level. President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nations top law enforcement official, Blumenthal said in a statement. The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called constitutional nobody and thwarting every senators constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts. The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitakers appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitakers appointment as lawful and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent. Facebook

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Gov. Rick Scott says Sen. Bill Nelson concedes Florida Senate race By Associated Press Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott speaks with his wife, Ann, by his side at an election watch party in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 7. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas Republican Gov. Rick Scott says incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson called him to concede defeat in their extremely tight race. Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson graciously conceded their Senate race shortly after the states recount ended. The final results show Scott defeated Nelson by just over 10,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday. The defeat ends Nelsons lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years. Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money on ads that portrayed Nelson as out-of-touch and ineffective. Nelson responded by questioning Scotts ethics and saying he would be under the sway of President Trump. Facebook

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Orange County goes blue, as Democrats complete historic sweep of its seven congressional seats By Michael Finnegan Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim on Saturday in the last of Orange Countys undecided House races, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the states six most fiercely fought congressional contests and marking an epochal shift in a region long synonymous with political conservatism. With Cisneros victory, Democrats will constitute the entirety of Orange Countys seven-member congressional delegation, the first time since the 1930s that the birthplace of Richard Nixon, home of John Wayne and spiritual center of the Republican Party will have no GOP representative in the House. Sitting back in the 1960s, I would never have believed this would happen, said Stuart K. Spencer, a party strategist who spent more than half a century ushering Republicans, including President Reagan, into office. Read More Facebook

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Going, going ... with midterm wipeout, California Republican Party drifts closer to irrelevance By Michael Finnegan For a party in freefall the last two decades, California Republicans learned that its possible to plunge even further. The GOP not only lost every statewide office in the midterm election  again, in blowout fashion  but Democrats reestablished their supermajority in Sacramento, allowing them to legislate however they see fit After major defeats in Orange County and the Central Valley, two longtime strongholds, Republicans will have a significantly smaller footprint on Capitol Hill. (Democrats hold both Senate seats.) When the vote-counting is finished, the GOP may not even have enough lawmakers in Californias 53-member House delegation to field a nine-person softball team. Read More Facebook

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Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter says she will support Rep. Nancy Pelosi for speaker By Maya Sweedler Democratic Rep.-elect Katie Porter is congratulated by volunteers at her campaign headquarters in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter said she plans to support Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for speaker of the House and will make campaign finance reform her top priority when she enters the chamber in January. Im going to continue to have conversations, but so far I feel like Leader Pelosi is definitely making the things that were a priority to the families that elected me her priorities, including announcing her support for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption as HR1, Porter said in her first public appearance since being declared the winner in Californias 45th Congressional District on Thursday evening. It means a lot to me that she is a Californian. She understands our state, Porter added. When we talk about environmental protections, this is a person who understands as a Californian how fragile our environment is and whats at risk in things like drilling off our coasts. Porter, a law professor at UC Irvine, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters. The 45th District, covering inland Orange County, has never been represented by a Democrat. Porter became the third Democrat to claim a Republican-held seat in Orange County, following the victories of Harley Rouda in the 48th District and Mike Levin in the 49th. A fourth, Gil Cisneros, is running slightly ahead of his Republican opponent in the race for the open seat in the 39th District, which extends into Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Porter attributed the massive political shift in the county, for decades a conservative stronghold, to increased levels of political engagement. Folks here care about education, they care about the environment, they believe climate change is real, they want healthcare that protects preexisting conditions, they want a tax system that doesnt punish California, they want our schools and places of worship to be safe from gun violence, she said. Those are the issues we campaigned on, and to the extent that Donald Trump and Mimi Walters were on the wrong side of those issues, the voters have made clear what direction they want us to go. Porter was flying back from the East Coast when her race was called, she said. She turned on her phone to find 167 text messages from friends and supporters. Among them was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of Porters teachers in law school and with whom she has remained close. The pair spoke via FaceTime this morning, she said. Facebook

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Bitter battle for Senate seat in Florida goes to hand recount By Associated Press Employees look through damaged ballots during a recount Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas acrimonious battle for the U.S. Senate headed Thursday to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. But the highly watched contest for governor between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum appeared to be over, with a machine recount showing DeSantis with a large enough advantage over Gillum to avoid a hand recount in that race. Gillum, who conceded the contest on election night only to retract his concession later, said in a statement that it is not over until every legally casted vote is counted. The recount so far has been fraught with problems. One large Democratic stronghold in South Florida was unable to finish its machine recount by the Thursday deadline due to machines breaking down. A federal judge rejected a request to extend the recount deadline. We gave a heroic effort, said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. If the county had three or four more hours, it would have made the deadline to recount ballots in the Senate race, she said. Meanwhile, election officials in another urban county in the Tampa Bay area decided against turning in the results of their machine recount, which came up with 846 fewer votes than originally counted. Media in South Florida reported that Broward County finished its machine recount but missed the deadline by a few minutes. Counties were ordered last weekend to do a machine recount of three statewide races because the margins were so tight. The next stage is a manual review of ballots that were not counted by machines to see whether there is a way to figure out voter intent. Scott called on Nelson to end the recount battle. Its time for Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes  which will yield the same result and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served, the governor said in a statement. The recount has triggered multiple lawsuits, many of them filed by Nelson and Democrats. The legal battles drew the ire of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker, who slammed the state for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems. He also said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this, Walker said during a morning hearing. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work. This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile, Walker wrote in his ruling turning down the request from Democrats. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark. The overarching problem was created by the Florida Legislature, which Walker said passed a recount law that appears to run afoul of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision by locking in procedures that do not allow for potential problems. A total of six election-related lawsuits are pending in federal court in Tallahassee as well at least one lawsuit filed in state court. Walker also ordered that voters be given until 5 p.m. Saturday to show a valid identification and fix their ballots if they have not been counted due to mismatched signatures. Republicans appealed the ruling, but an appeals court turned down the request. State officials testified that nearly 4,000 mailed-in ballots were set aside because local officials decided the signatures on the envelopes did not match the signatures on file. If those voters can prove their identity, their votes will be counted and included in final official returns due from each county by noon Sunday. Walker was asked by Democrats to require local officials to provide a list of people whose ballots were rejected. But the judge appointed by President Obama refused the request, calling it inappropriate. Under state law, a hand review is required with races that have a margin of 0.25 percentage points or less. A state website put the unofficial results showing Scott ahead of Nelson by 0.15 percentage points. The margin between DeSantis and Gillum was at 0.41 points. The margin between Scott and Nelson had not changed much in the last few days, conceded Marc Elias, an attorney working for Nelsons campaign. But he said that he expected the vote tally to shrink due to the hand recount and the ruling on signatures. The developments fueled frustrations among Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats want state officials to do whatever it takes to make sure every eligible vote is counted. Republicans, including President Trump, have argued without evidence that voter fraud threatens to steal races from the GOP. Facebook

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Democrat Gil Cisneros pulls ahead of Republican Young Kim as more votes are tallied in Orange and San Bernardino counties By Michael Finnegan Congressional candidate Gil Cisneros (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Gil Cisneros pulled ahead of Republican Young Kim in one of Californias undecided congressional races Thursday, an ominous sign for a GOP already reeling from its loss of four House seats in the state. In updated vote counts released by the registrars for Orange and San Bernardino counties, Kim fell 941 votes behind Cisneros in the contest to succeed Republican Rep. Ed Royce in Californias 39th Congressional District. The 39th straddles Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. In another unresolved House race, Democrat Katie Porter pulled further ahead of Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which includes Mission Viejo, Tustin, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills. Porter, a consumer attorney and UC Irvine law professor, is now 6,203 votes ahead. The Nov. 6 midterm election has been devastating to Republicans in California. If Cisneros and Porter win, the party will have lost six of its 14 House seats in the state, essentially a wipeout in every contest that both parties spent heavily to win. The three Republicans already bounced from Congress are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Jeff Denham of Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. Democrat Mike Levin won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista in the fourth district flipped so far. Facebook

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Florida Senate race likely headed to second recount By Associated Press A Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputy walks past boxes of ballots before a recount on Nov. 15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee) Unofficial Florida election results show that the governors race seems to be settled after a machine recount but the U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a hand recount. Republican Ron DeSantis is virtually assured of winning the nationally watched governors race over Democrat Andrew Gillum. Florida finished a machine recount Thursday that showed Gillum without enough votes to force a manual recount. Unofficial results posted on a state website show the margin between U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is still thin enough to trigger a second review. State law requires a hand recount of races with a margin of 0.25 percentage point or less. Counties have until Sunday to inspect the ballots that did not record a vote when put through the machines. Those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that the machines cannot read but can be deciphered. The election will be certified Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Pelosi says she has the votes to become the next House speaker By John Wagner Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington on Nov. 14. (Susan Walsh) House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that she has the votes to become the chambers speaker despite solid opposition from more than a dozen Democrats who want fresh leadership when the party takes control next year. I have overwhelming support in my caucus to be speaker of the House, the San Francisco lawmaker told reporters. I happen to think at this point, Im the best person for that. A vote within the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Nov. 28. The full House votes on Jan. 3 to elect a new speaker. During her remarks, Pelosi touted the size of the Democratic victory in the midterms, which she called almost a tsunami. With a few races still to be decided, Democrats are poised to pick up close to 40 seats in the chamber. Pelosi called that the biggest victory for the Democrats since 1974, when the Watergate babies came in. Pelosis comments come as she faces solid opposition from at least 17 Democrats, setting the stage for a battle over who will ascend to one of the most powerful positions in Washington. After a campaign in which some Democrats prevailed in competitive districts by promising to oppose her, a coalition of incumbents and newly elected members has denied her a smooth path to the speakership. The defections, if they stand, would leave Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for more than 15 years, several votes short of the 218 she would need when the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3. However, no Democrat has stepped forward to run against her for a job she held from 2007 through 2010. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that shes being encouraged to stand for speaker if Pelosi doesnt have the votes. In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, she said she has been overwhelmed by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker. Over the last 12 hours, Ive been overwhelmed by the amount of support Ive received, Fudge said, adding that there are probably closer to 30" Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi. Things could change rapidly, Fudge said. Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies in the caucus, moderate Democrats and newly elected members. To this point, Pelosi has enjoyed the strong backing of the Congressional Black Caucus. On Thursday, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), one of its members, wrote a letter to colleagues praising her insight, fortitude and strategic thinking and urging support for her speakership bid. Former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., an African American who is contemplating a 2020 presidential bid, also voiced support for Pelosi, praising her in a tweet as an architect of the recent midterm success. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a leader of the resistance to Pelosi, said during an interview on CNN on Thursday that Fudge is the kind of new leader that we need in this party. Shes in touch with middle America. She understands what the American people want. Shes a next-generation leader that people will look to and say, Thats the future of our party, thats the future of our country, and thats exactly the kind of leader that I want to see as our next speaker. Wagner reports for the Washington Post. The Posts Robert Costa, Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report. Facebook

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GOP Rep. Jeff Denham concedes to Democrat Josh Harder in Central Valley race By Maya Sweedler Rep. Jeff Denham (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Republican Rep. Jeff Denham has conceded to Democrat Josh Harder in the race to represent Californias 10th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been an absolute honor to serve our community and represent the Central Valley in Congress over the past eight years, the 51-year-old congressman said. The enormity of the responsibility was never lost on me. My wife Sonia and I look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives. Harder said he had spoken with Denham and the two were committed to a productive transition. Denham, an Air Force veteran, previously represented the region in the state Senate for eight years and founded a company specializing in plastic packaging used in agriculture. While a member of Congress, he sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture committees. First-time candidate Harder was born and raised in the district. After graduating from Stanford University, he served as vice president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Since moving back, he has been teaching at Modesto Junior College. Denhams House seat is one of four in California that Republicans lost in the Nov. 6 election, with two contests in Orange County still undecided as of Thursday morning. Jeff Denham called me this morning and we had a very productive conversation. I'm honored that I've been chosen to serve our community in Congress, and we're both looking forward to a productive transition that best serves the people of District 10.  Josh Harder (@JoshHarder) November 14, 2018 Facebook

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Democrat Katie Porter now nearly 3,800 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Mimi Walters By Maya Sweedler Rep. Mimi Walters thanks all of her supporters as she watches election results in Irvine on Nov. 7, 2018. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Democrat Katie Porter opened a 3,797-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in Orange Countys 45th Congressional District. In the neighboring 39th, Democrat Gil Cisneros has nearly tied the race against Republican Young Kim. Cisneros now trails Kim by a razor-thin margin of 122 votes. The 39th District straddles Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties; Wednesdays updated ballot counts came from the latter two. There are more than 202,000 ballots left to count in Orange County, which includes parts of seven congressional districts. The 45th is entirely in inland Orange County. In California, the ballots counted first tend to lean Republican and those tallied later skew Democratic. In the Central Valleys 21st Congressional District, Democratic challenger TJ Cox has pulled within 2 percentage points of Rep. David Valadao, who is serving his third term. The Associated Press had projected a win for Valadao on election night, but his 4,839-vote advantage has shrunk to 2,090. Back in CA-21, Valadao (R) wins a batch of ballots from his stronghold in Kings Co., but by a considerably smaller margin (14 points) than his previous ~30-point margin in the county. We're moving to Lean R from Likely R; today a bit scary for Valadao.https://t.co/WqJVUVkqGW  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2018 A spokesman for Valadao told the Fresno Bee that the changes were expected and that [s]tatistically, David Valadao has won this race. Democrats in California have already flipped four House seats, defeating three Republican incumbents and claiming an open seat previously held by the GOP. Reps. Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Jeff Denham of Turlock have already lost their races, and retiring Rep. Darrell Issas San Diego County seat was claimed by Democrat Mike Levin. Facebook

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Trump aide departs West Wing after rebuke from Melania Trump By Associated Press First Lady Melania Trump. (Alain Jocard / AFP-Getty Images) Deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, one day after First Lady Melania Trumps office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal. No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first ladys staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the presidents national security staff. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ricardel would have a new role in the administration. On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, released a statement saying, It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House. President Trumps White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump. An ally of national security advisor John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Facebook

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Race for House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthys to lose By Associated Press (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is running to take over next years shrunken caucus in closed-door elections that will set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthys to lose Wednesday. But the California Republican, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The two encountered questions and finger-pointing during a private meeting with lawmakers Tuesday night as the GOP sorted through the midterm defeat that put Democrats in the majority next year. Elections Wednesday will also determine party leadership in the Senate. Voting for the biggest race, Nancy Pelosis bid to return as the Democrats nominee for speaker, is later this month. Read More Facebook

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Melania Trump calls for the firing of deputy national security advisor By Justin Sink First Lady Melania Trump arrives at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris on Nov. 11. (Alain Jocard / AFP/Getty Images ) First Lady Melania Trumps office said she wants Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, ousted from the White House. It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement in response to a question about reports the first lady had sought Ricardels removal. Ricardel is the top deputy to national security advisor John Bolton. She drew the first ladys wrath after threatening to withhold National Security Council resources during Melania Trumps trip to Africa last month unless Ricardel was included in her entourage, one person familiar with the matter said. Grishams statement comes as several media outlets have reported that President Trump is considering a broader shakeup of his administration, including ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Sink and Jacobs report for Bloomberg. Read More Facebook

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CNN sues Trump over the suspension of Jim Acostas White House press credentials By Jim Puzzanghera CNN said Tuesday that it is suing President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend the White House press credentials of correspondent Jim Acosta after a conflict at a news conference last week. The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, escalates an ongoing battle between Trump and the cable news outlet that he frequently accuses of disseminating fake news for its aggressive coverage of him and his administration. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas 1st Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their 5th Amendment rights to due process, CNN said in a written statement. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials. Read More Facebook

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Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Maxine Waters plans to zero in on two big banks  Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank  when she becomes head of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Los Angeles congresswoman, now the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to gain the gavel after her party won control of the House in last weeks elections. While Waters has outlined a wide-ranging agenda, she said her focus on bank oversight will target two large institutions she has been tangling with for a while  including one, Deutsche Bank, that spills into her bitter feud with President Trump. With Trump in the White House, I know that our fight for Americas consumers and investors will continue to be challenging. But I am more than up to that fight, Waters wrote in a letter last week to her Democratic colleagues on the committee that was obtained by The Times. Read More Facebook

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Heres how a controversial voting system will decide a congressional race in Maine By Kurtis Lee For the first time in U.S. history, a controversial voting system known as ranked choice is being used to decide a federal election. Its happening in Maine, which adopted the system in 2016. Rather than marking a single candidate, each voter ranks them all, assigning a first-place vote, a second-place vote and so on down the ballot. Read More Facebook

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ACLU files suit to stop Trumps new asylum limits By Associated Press A group of Central American migrants march to the office of the U.N.'s humans rights body in Mexico City on Nov. 8. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Trumps order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt said the regulations will put families in danger. The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and wants a judge to stop the rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending. The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum. The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban. Read More Facebook

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Trump on new acting AG: I dont know Matt Whitaker By Associated Press President Trump talks with reporters before departing for France on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 9. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump is moving to distance himself from Matthew Whitaker as he faces criticism over his choice for acting attorney general. Trump told reporters Friday that I dont know Matt Whitaker and said he didnt speak with Whitaker about special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker has made public comments critical of Muellers investigation, and critics have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the inquiry. Under former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the investigation was overseen by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after. He also called Whitaker a very highly respected man. Whitaker was Sessions chief of staff before Trump made him Sessions interim replacement. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg out of hospital after fall By Associated Press The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is home after being released from the hospital. She had been admitted for treatment and observation after fracturing three ribs in a fall. The court said Ginsburg was released Friday. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says she is doing well and working from home. The court had previously said the justice fell in her office at the court on Wednesday evening and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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Gun-control activist Lucy McBath defeats GOP Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia By Associated Press Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Nov. 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Democratic gun-control activist Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia in a suburban congressional district long considered safe for the GOP. Handel had to seek reelection after winning her seat last year in a close special election race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. McBath became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car. McBaths margin of victory was narrow enough for Handel to have requested a recount. The Associated Press declared McBath the winner Thursday after Handel conceded. Handel conceded in a statement Thursday morning, stating that after reviewing all of the election data, its clear she came up a bit short in Tuesdays vote. Handel congratulated McBath, offering good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her. McBath, who is African American, declared victory Wednesday. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall By Associated Press Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court says the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening. Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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White House suspends press pass of CNNs Jim Acosta after heated exchange with Trump By Associated Press The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable. The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her. Acosta tweeted that Sanders statement that he put his hands on the aide was a lie. CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acostas press pass in retaliation for his challenging questions Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acostas actions. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Contrary to CNNs assertions there is no greater demonstration of the Presidents support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters...  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 As a result of todays incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Sanders provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better, CNN said. Jim Acosta has our full support. Journalists assigned to cover the White House apply for passes that allow them daily access to press areas in the West Wing. White House staffers decide whether journalists are eligible, though the Secret Service determines whether their applications are approved. Facebook

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Trump spars with reporters at post-election news briefing, ordering several to sit down By Associated Press  President Trump assails CNNs Jim Acosta at a White House news conference. President Trump sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another hes a rude, terrible person. He told another reporter hes not a fan of yours, either. The presidents mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an invasion. Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections. Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the mans actions to the caravan. Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all. Facebook

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Im living one hour at a time at this point By Christine Mai-Duc Republican congressional candidate Young Kim and gubernatorial candidate John Cox campaign in Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Republican congressional candidate Young Kim greeted gubernatorial candidate John Coxs giant campaign bus, the words HELP IS ON THE WAY emblazoned across it, as it rolled into the parking lot outside her Rowland Heights field office. Standing beside Cox on Saturday, Kim predicted that a string of GOP victories Tuesday would start with voters repealing the gas tax hike. Can you imagine Gavin Newsom being our governor? Can you imagine Gil Cisneros being your representative? Kim asked the crowd, to loud boos and cries of Nooo! The former state assemblywoman who worked for retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is vying for his seat with Democrat Gil Cisneros. She led the crowd in chants of Enough is enough! and, though short-lived, Drain the swamp! Ive served you in Sacramento and Ive seen dysfunction personally, Kim continued. We cannot continue that route. She urged her supporters to stay and help make phone calls or walk neighborhoods. Lets get out there  the 72 hours is really critical. Its all going to come down to a few votes, it could be your vote, she said pointing to her left, then pivoting right, it could be your vote. So dont sit back and do nothing. Every night I go to sleep thinking, OK, how many more votes can I get or how many more people can I call tomorrow? Kim said. It can be physically exhausting but Im mentally, emotionally very energized. She listed off her events so far that day  and the next one she was heading to. Thats just what I can remember, she said. Im living one hour at a time at this point. Kims campaign invited press to two of her events on Saturday. After she was whisked away to her next event  a high tea fundraiser in Walnut, a couple dozen volunteers remained. John Freeman, a statewide field manager for the state Republican Party, tried to pump them up. This is the Super Bowl. Were not in an NFL stadium, were not getting paid millions of dollars, but you know what? Freeman said. Were walking on the field right now. This is that high-stakes-level game. Facebook

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Its going to be tough out there Democratic candidate Katie Porter speaks to volunteers in Mission Viejo. Jon Bauman, Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, is in the background. (Victoria Kim / Los Angeles Times ) Judging from the cheers in the crowd, about half those assembled at Katie Porters campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo Sunday morning were old enough to remember 70s rock n roll star Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na. Jon Bauman, as Bowzer is known off stage, said it was her position on senior issues including retirement and social security that has him out supporting Porter over her opponent, incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters. I want you to make sure every phone is called and every door is knocked, he told the crowd of about 80 volunteers. There has never been a more important election. Both Bauman and his nephew, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman, were interrupted by yells from Trump supporters coming from an adjoining hillside. We love Trump, the voice cried out. We love him too, he makes great fodder, the younger Bauman retorted, before introducing Porter. Porter, a UC Irvine law professor and first-time candidate, acknowledged the uphill battle some of her canvassers might face in this more conservative end of the long-red Orange County district. I know its going to be tough out there, she said, motioning to the hillside. But she said the attacks meant the other side viewed her campaign as a significant threat. This election is going to be close, she said. If we dont fight all the way to the finish line, until 8 oclock on Tuesday, this could slip away. Bowzer then took to a keyboard piano to lead the crowd in a reworded rendition of the song Good Night Sweetheart: Good night, Mimi Walters, he crooned. A woman in a black tank top, jeans and flip flops holding a cup of coffee later joined the crowd with her two sons, 17 and 14, the younger one wearing a Trump 2016 T-shirt. She declined to give her name, saying she was concerned about being attacked, but said she lived up the hill and said she had been the one yelling. She said she was encouraging her sons to talk to people on both sides and make up their own minds. We need to have a government that runs the way government teachers are telling kids its supposed to be run, said the woman, a retired registered dental assistant who voted early for Mimi Walters. Referring to Democrats, she said: Theyve had control over all these years and Californias gone to crap. Among those canvassing was Stacie Campbell, 37, who was at the launch with her husband Jerome and three children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old. Campbell, a Mission Viejo resident who runs a business, had never canvassed or volunteered for campaigns before, and her husband is a French citizen and unable to vote. She said they had been talking to their children  the older ones are 5 and 2  about the presidency and the government since Trumps election. Together, they worked on homemade Katie Porter lawn signs and put them up around town. This is the first time its felt like a big deal and there isnt a president up for election, she said. Because her city is a mix of conservatives and liberals  her next-door neighbor is an NRA-supporting Republican  she the race felt mDemocrats say theyre ready to take charge in Washington. They just cant agree how.

After nearly a decade of GOP rule, the party stands its best chance in years to seize control of the House, an opening thats intensified the long-standing fight among progressives, pragmatists and party professionals.

Some at the grass roots favor a path of most resistance, saying Democrats will turn out in November only if tooth-and-claw candidates press an assertively liberal agenda and wage all-out war on President Trump.

Others push for a more measured approach, reaching out to independents and crossover Republicans who share Democrats disdain for Trump, if not their broad philosophy or political bloodlust.

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The competing approaches will be tested on Tuesday in a Texas runoff, deciding which of two finalists will advance to face Republican John Culberson, an imperiled nine-term Houston incumbent, in the fall.

The year in politics: Control of Congress, more than two-thirds of gubernatorial seats at stake in 2018 

Like a lot of women, Laura Moser was horrified when Trump won the White House. So the writer and liberal activist took a leap, moved home from Washington and began running for Congress.

Attorney Lizzie Fletcher shares Mosers revulsion toward the president, as well as many of the same political views. Both support tougher gun laws, a higher minimum wage and more federal aid for residents still suffering the wrath of Hurricane Harvey.

Time and again the fortysomething rivals have been asked: Why should Democrats choose one over the other?

Their answers speak to the sharp division within the party.

The only way we will win is if we build a bigger coalition of people who have felt left behind, who have not shown up before, Moser says of Democrats whove grown disaffected or indifferent.

The job of a representative is to represent every single person, counters Fletcher, with an eye on tens of thousands of Republicans who voted for Hillary Clinton over Trump. So we need to talk to everyone.

Democrats need to gain 23 seats to take control of the House, and this district, extending from central Houston to its western suburbs, is a prime target. Not only did Clinton win here, the spaghetti-web of freeways, glassy high-rises and oak-studded neighborhoods is home to a significant minority population along with a large number of upscale, college-educated women  two of the groups most hostile to the president.

Culberson, a strong backer of Trump, is seen as highly vulnerable after the city was devastated by Harvey. Critics say he did too little to prepare for the August disaster, the third major flood in as many years, and not enough to help afterward.

Too much time in D.C., said Mark Jones, who lives in the Texas district and teaches political science at Rice University. Not enough in Houston.

The skirmishing among Democrats is not new. The same factions waged the same fight in 2006, the last time the party won back control of the House, amid the same complaints of heavy-handed Washington meddling.

Then, as now, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) was the party leader in Congress, and she makes no apologies for choosing sides. Its a clear-eyed conversation about electability, Pelosi said.

Congressional candidate Lizzie Fletcher leaves a primary polling place on March 6. The lawyer says Democrats must broaden their appeal beyond the base to win Houstons GOP-held seat. (Brett Coomer / Associated Press )

Democrats in Washington were so determined to win in Houston they took the unusual step of brazenly intervening in the March 6 primary, hoping to ensure the nomination of a candidate with the broadest perceived appeal  which is to say someone other than Moser.

In late February, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a memo attacking Moser as a Washington insider  her husband worked for President Obama  and dredged up a snarky observation on rural America.

I could live large in Paris, Texas, Moser wrote in 2014 in Washingtonian magazine. Oh, but wait, my income would be a fraction of what it is here and Id have very few opportunities to increase it. (Plus Id sooner have my teeth pulled out without anesthesia, but thats a story for another day.)

The move didnt stop Moser from finishing second in a seven-candidate field, just behind Fletcher, and sent her national profile soaring.

She makes no amends.

Im not running for office in Paris, Moser said in an interview amid the mannequins and mirrors dotting her campaign headquarters, a former bridal shop. Its 300 miles away.

The national party has since publicly backed away from the contest, though Fletcher remains its favored candidate.

Im not running for office in Paris. Its 300 miles away. Congressional candidate Laura Moser, responding to criticism of her disparaging comment on life in the rural Texas town

The party has signaled its choice  sometimes subtly, other times less so  in more than a dozen House races across the country, with mixed results. Although the establishment favorite prevailed in key primaries in Illinois, North Carolina and Ohio, an upstart Democrat thwarted the efforts of Pelosi and others last Tuesday and won the nomination for a Republican-held seat in Omaha.

That elevates the stakes in Texas, where the GOP has held the 7th Congressional District seat for more than 50 years  ever since a transplanted Connecticut Yankee named George H.W. Bush was elected to Congress and helped launch the states decades-long conversion from blue to deep red.

Moser, 40, and Fletcher, 43, both grew up in Houston, attending the same exclusive private high school a few years apart. Although their fathers are friends and former law partners, the two candidates knew each other only casually before the campaign began.

Fletcher followed her fathers career path, becoming the first female partner at a prominent business law firm. She plays up her longstanding residency and community activism  a TV spot recounts her demonstrating for abortion rights as a high school senior outside the Republican National Convention in Houston in 1992  to the obvious annoyance of her opponent.

Theres no scale of whos more Houstonian, Moser says, noting her family goes back five generations.

How a rash of GOP retirements may portend a Democratic wave in November 

Although they agree on most issues, Moser leans decidedly more leftward.

She favors a government-run, universal healthcare program; Fletcher says Democrats should focus on shoring up Obamas Affordable Care Act to expand coverage. Moser says marijuana should be legalized; Fletcher says more study is needed. Moser calls for the impeachment of Trump; Fletcher prefers waiting to hear any formal charges and weighing the evidence before deciding.

Side by side, the contrast is sharper still.

With her chunky jewelry and brightly patterned wardrobe, Moser comes across differently than your conventionally button-down candidate for Congress, which is part of her appeal. Her conversation is earnest, flowing, unscripted.

Fletcher, soberly pant-suited, appears as the trained lawyer she is, speaking crisply and staking broad policy goals with a sprinkling of devil-in-the-detail caveats and qualifiers.

Superficiality aside, Jones suggested appearance matters, especially winning over Republican women who may be more comfortable voting for a Democrat whose behavior and demeanor doesnt seem much different from their own.

Moser strikes you as someone who seems more at home in Adams Morgan  a late-night hot spot near downtown Washington  than in the Houston suburbs, said the Rice political scientist.

I feel pretty comfortable in suburban Houston, Moser emphatically stated. Its where Im from.

The scrapping between Democrats  over style, over strategy  could matter a great deal if the fight for Congress comes down to a cliff-hanging difference of a seat or two. Not so much, however, in a wave election, when change-hungry voters surge to the polls with little regard for who delivers it.

Republicans were at each others throats for years. All it got them was the House, the Senate and the presidency, said Nathan Gonzales, who analyzes congressional races for Inside Elections, a nonpartisan campaign guide. Democrats can be divided and still win because they have a common enemy in Donald J. Trump.

mark.barabak@latimes.com

@markzbarabakPresident Trump said Sunday that he will demand an investigation into whether federal law enforcement infiltrated or surveilled his presidential campaign for political purposes, escalating an already extraordinary clash between a president and his Justice Department over the Russia probe.

The Justice Department quickly responded, saying Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz would expand an ongoing internal review to determine whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in the counterintelligence investigation that began during the 2016 presidential race.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

At issue is whether the FBI misused a confidential informant who reportedly met with three Trump campaign aides as agents began probing suspicious Russian contacts. The New York Times and the Washington Post reported that the informant was a retired American professor in England who had worked for both the FBI and the CIA. He has not been publicly identified.

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The FBI regularly relies on confidential informants to infiltrate organized crime, terrorist groups and other potential targets. The use of one against members of the Trump campaign has become the latest flashpoint in the high-stakes political battle over the Russia investigation.

The dispute could lead to heightened conflict between the White House and the Justice Department over an investigation that began as a counterintelligence probe, partly because of suspicious contacts between several of Trumps campaign aides and Russian authorities. It later became a wide-ranging criminal investigation led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

The White House did not respond to questions as to whether the expansion of the inspector generals review would satisfy Trumps concerns.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration! the president tweeted Sunday.

Trumps demand marked a shift from his near-daily complaints about Muellers effort to determine whether anyone from Trumps campaign conspired with Moscow during the 2016 election  an investigation the president called the worlds most expensive witch hunt on Sunday.

Whether he now intends to exercise his executive authority over the Justice Department to undermine the investigation is less clear, but critics raised caution flags.

This is just direct interference in an investigation that centers around the administration, said Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University history professor. This is basically a campaign of intimidation.

Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington 

Trump could order the FBI to provide Congress with more records involving the informant, as Republicans have sought, or ask Justice Department prosecutors to open a new investigation into what Trump and his supporters call improprieties in the Mueller probe.

Horowitz announced in March that he had launched an internal investigation at the request of Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and congressional Republicans.

His focus was whether Justice Department and FBI officials abused their authority by relying on intelligence compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy paid by Democrats, to obtain a surveillance warrant on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign advisor who was under suspicion for Russian contacts.

Page is one of the three former Trump aides who reportedly met with the FBI informant. The other two were Sam Clovis, then a campaign aide, and George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy advisor. Clovis has not been accused of wrongdoing; Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI and is cooperating with Muellers team.

Republicans and conservative commentators claim the FBI improperly infiltrated or spied on the Trump campaign for partisan purposes. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and an ardent Trump supporter, has demanded more information from the Justice Department.

If they ran a spy ring or an informant ring, and they were paying people within the Trump campaign, if any of that is true, that is an absolute red line, Nunes said Sunday on Fox News. You cant do this to political campaigns.

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray warned last week about potentially putting confidential informants at risk by disclosing their identities.

The day that we cant protect human sources is the day the American people start becoming less safe, he testified to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Rudolph W. Giuliani, who represents Trump in the Russia investigation, told CNN last week that neither he nor Trump knows for certain if there was a spy on the campaign.

I dont know for sure, nor does the president, if there really was one, he said, although he said they had been told of some kind of infiltration.

Trump has warned in the past that he may try to exert more influence at the Justice Department because whats going on is a disgrace.

David Kris, a former assistant attorney general for national security and a co-founder of Culper Partners consulting firm, said Trumps latest demand could threaten to corrode the foundations of our democracy.

Our system of separated powers is designed to deal with tension between the executive and legislative branches of government, he said. But it is not well designed for this, a schism within the executive branch in which the president and his proxies in Congress work together to attack the FBI and DOJ.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Trumps demand an abuse of power and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems.

The use of an informant is the latest grievance that Trump and his allies have raised to undercut public faith in the Justice Department, starting with his complaint during and since the campaign that the FBI should have prosecuted Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for using a private computer server when she was secretary of State.

Trump also has capitalized on a Republican memo, drafted by Nunes, that claimed law enforcement improperly obtained the surveillance warrant on Page. The FBI called the conclusions inaccurate, and Democrats said the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was adequately informed that some of the information in the warrant application came from sources with political motivations.

In the year since Mueller took over the probe, his team has obtained guilty verdicts from five individuals, mostly for lying to investigators. They also have charged Trumps former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, with numerous financial crimes unrelated to the campaign and have indicted 13 Russians on charges of meddling in the U.S. election.

chris.megerian@latimes.com

Twitter: @chrismegerianWhen a state regulatory body decrees that all new homes must have rooftop solar starting in 2020, my temperature rises.

Big Brother is intruding too deeply into my personal life, Im thinking. Shouldnt it be my call alone whether to invest in solar panels, perhaps incentivized by state tax credits or rebates?

Should solar buying be simply mandated by a government bureaucracy without even a vote by our elected representatives in the Legislature?

One additional very real concern: California is mired in a housing crisis. Buying a home already is unaffordable for far too many families. And now the state is going to add the cost of a rooftop solar system to every new home purchase, like it or not.

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The latest median price for a home in this state is $538,640, according to the California Assn. of Realtors. The minimum annual income required for a mortgage is $111,500, the Realtors say. Only 31% of households can afford that.

Thats more than double the national median: $245,500 is the median price nationally, with a $50,820 income needed to qualify  and 57% of households can.

In the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the median price is $500,000 and the minimum income required is $103,500. In the San Francisco Bay Area, its $900,000 and $186,300.

More from George Skelton 

For many years, housing construction in California has fallen far short of keeping up with population growth. Last year, 114,476 units were built. We needed 180,000 to keep pace with rising population.

There are many reasons for all this. Start with high land costs, especially along the coast. There are labor shortages. NIMBY  not in my backyard  zealots fight nearby developments. Environmental regulating drags on interminably, driving up project costs. For decades after Proposition 13 lowered property taxes, cities discouraged new housing and favored commercial projects that generated sales taxes.

Now theres a new, intrusive cost driver: the solar edict.

Those were my initial knee-jerk thoughts. Sacramento, get off my back.

Coverage of California politics 

I still feel this way, but after more thought I have concluded that perhaps forcing all buyers of new homes to go green is prudent, desirable and inevitable.

Its impact on housing affordability will be minimal, if the California Energy Commissions figures are correct.

The commission, appointed by the governor, recently voted 5 to 0 to require solar panels on single-family homes and multifamily buildings up to three stories. It was the first time any state has done that.

The average cost per home for solar was estimated at $9,500. But over a 30-year mortgage, the commission projected $19,000 in energy savings. The panels will add about $40 a month to the mortgage but save $80 a month in heating, cooling and lighting costs.

At least thats the governments estimate. Who knows how it will turn out?

Economics aside, we do need to cut back further on greenhouse gas emissions. Theyre produced by burning fossil fuel, such as natural gas in home furnaces and water heaters  and in huge power plants that generate electricity for air conditioners and televisions. Those emissions escalate the global warming that is reducing the snowpack weve historically relied upon for water storage and clean hydroelectric power.

Buildings account for 25% of our greenhouse gas emissions. Homes built under the commissions new solar and other efficiency standards are expected to use half as much energy as homes built in 2016 without panels. The agency says that will be the equivalent of taking 115,000 gas-burning cars off the road.

It wasnt too long ago  roughly 18 years  when electricity shortages in California were causing brownouts, and we were desperate. Out-of-state power pirates were robbing us. Rooftop solar is one answer to guarding against ever being victimized again.

But if were going that far and targeting home buyers, we should think about a truly bold move. Heres a twofer that would generate renewable energy and save water.

There are tens of thousands of acres in the parched San Joaquin Valley that would make excellent solar farms. Right now, theyre growing almonds and pistachios for export to Asia. One little almond needs a gallon of water to grow.

Agriculture soaks up 80% of Californias developed water. Only 20% goes to domestic and industrial uses. Plus, for decades, farmers have been sucking up aquifers, and the land is sinking, cracking canals and roads.

The state should regulate agricultural land  as it does most all other land  and carve out patches for solar farms. Buy up the orchards that are feeding China. Convert them to renewable energy production.

Thats not possible now  its political poison. But as the snowpack falls and the population rises, it may be as inevitable as rooftop solar.

The California Building Industry Assn. saw rooftop solar as inevitable several years ago and instead of trying to fight it, worked with the commission on developing a cost-efficient, consumer-friendly plan.

When we started, they believed it would cost nearly $50,000 per home, says Dan Dunmoyer, president of the association. We ended up at under $10,000.

OK, but dont cut corners installing those panels on a roof. Make sure theyre bolted properly. Ive had to replace two roofs prematurely because theyve been devoured by solar for my pool. The technologys better now, Im told.

Big Brother also should help home buyers with state tax write-offs. Dont hold your breath.

george.skelton@latimes.com

Follow @LATimesSkelton on TwitterMemorial Day brings memories.

I remember that occasionally during my youth in Costa Mesa in the 1950s and 60s my fathers old Army buddies would drop by to discuss times past.

Dad had served with them during the second World War and he always greeted them warmly.

Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman visited his boys for decades following the Civil War. Its true; soldiers become brothers.

I caught a glimpse of that after serving in the Army. While in uniform, I made the closest friendships of my life. I was discharged 51 years ago, in 1967, and can to this day close my eyes and see every member of my old brotherhood.

There was David, the wise cracking, Jeep-driving barracks lawyer from Detroit; Mac, the no-nonsense staff sergeant from inner-city Philadelphia who was my roommate and confidant; Darce, the Melancholy Irishman and gifted newspaper editor from NYC; OHara, the company clerk with a heart as big as his biceps; Mark, the moneyed College Boy from the Bay Area; Johnny Ski, the burly Polish-American linebacker from the mines of Pennsylvania; John T. the Man of Mystery, and few words, from Baltimore; Errol, the smooth talkin Frenchman from Baton Rouge, L.a., who was forever reminding us that his name was Errol, not Earl!; and, Ralphie Boy, the electronics wiz from Chi-Town.

And there were more.

I loved those guys. I remember them today as if I last saw them only weeks ago. Its crazy. In my mind, its as though theyre still in Korea pulling duty without me.

Me? Im plumping like a ripe date in the desert heat.

We knew where each of us hailed from. That was central to our culture. I was Jimmy from LaLa Land (California). My buddies and I were stationed in Korea  6,000-plus miles from home.

We got into tiffs; shared a beer or two; laughed uproariously at one anothers stories and jokes; used salty language; talked incessantly about home and the future; were individual Apostle Pauls, writing letters, letters, letters; and, occasionally, wept on one anothers shoulders.

We were closer than brothers.

We repeated a special ritual at the airport when it came time to rotate back to the States. Because wed all arrived in Korea at approximately the same time  a tour of duty lasted 13 months  we were scheduled to leave within weeks of one another.

I was the lone exception.

I saw everyone off, but no one saw me off.

I was the last Jedi.

My time in Korea was extended from 13 to 18 months. With my buddies gone, I was on my own. I didnt bother developing friendships with greenhorn replacements from the States because, frankly, I wasnt interested. I was a short-timer and wasnt drawn to their insipid patter.

Naturally I felt that all the real soldiers had rotated back to the States. Their proxies werent worthy of unzipping their shaving kits.

The last time I saw most of my guys was at Kimpo Airport near Seoul. Theyll never know what a huge impact they had on my life. Id be a different person today without them.

Returning to civilian life, I went back to school and earned three college and university degrees. And I never forgot my buds.

I saw three after returning home.

Ralphie Boy, following his discharge, ended up in San Francisco. I flew up three or four times to see him. Jeep-Driver David reenlisted, married his Korean sweetheart and was reassigned to Alaska. He stopped to see me on a drive through California. Id give a mint to see him today.

The Moneyed College Boy finished up at Berkeley and moved to Studio City, where he entered the advertising trade. We shared several lunches together.

Many years later, I tried looking up Ralphie again only to discover hed long ago been killed in an automobile accident. I was crushed. He was only 32. Id assumed for years that he was out there living his life. I had no idea.

I recently heard that one buddy died of cancer following a career in law enforcement.

Like my dad before me, I treasure my old Army pals.

JIM CARNETT, who lives in Costa Mesa, worked for Orange Coast College for 37 years.On any typical Saturday afternoon, some of the men who belonged to Saint Frances of Rome parish would gather in Puglias Delicatessen on Pitman Avenue in the Bronx. My father would collect different shot glasses and a bottle of Johnny Walker Red. The men, soldiers of World Wars I and II would tell war stories and drink to their buddies theyd left behind. Mr. Donahey was on Iwo Jima, Denny A. Malvey fought in the first war, and Joey Bell piloted a B-17. Father Flynn, our parish priest, fought in Korea, Mr. Kull was in Carlsons Raiders in the Pacific, and my dad was at Anzio beach in Italy.

I was the indentured servant of Puglias Delicatessen and would sit on a milk crate in some out-of-the-way spot and listen. Frankly, I dont recall any bombastic stories of battle or heroism. Ironically, these men had seen the white elephant, a Civil War expression meaning battle. There were moments during their conversation when they would mention the names of fallen soldiers and drink to their memory.

One Saturday afternoon, I summoned the nerve and asked Father Flynn, Why do guys talk about the soldiers who never made it home? He told me that as long as you mention their names, they remain with us  but only in our memories. The priest must have seen a perplexed expression on my face. He saud, emphatically, I believe that.

That memory is perhaps more than 55 years old, and I can understand what Father Flynn meant. No rationale can explain such an assumption. But I too believe it.

At 9 a.m. on Memorial Day, the Commemoration Team of La Canada will conduct a solemn ceremony at Memorial Park in memory of those soldiers who never made it home. The team, comprised of children and young adults, will execute their duties and borrow from the traditions of the Landing Party Manual of the Fleet Marine Force. Such traditions date back to Baron von Stuben, a Prussian military officer who saved the Continental Army at Valley Forge.

This year Eagle Scouts Leonard Pieroni and John Moore will be the masters of ceremonies and Naomi Stephen, a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient will be the mistress of ceremonies. They have been on the commemoration team since they were in early elementary school.

The youth-driven ceremony assures that their generation continues to commemorate our war dead. Reverence toward a memory is an emotion we can nurture in the children of our community. Respecting the fallen, and a responsibility to do so, evolves from reverence.

On Nov. 9, 1918, two days before the Armistice that ended World War I, Moina Belle Michael came across John McCraes poem, In Flanders Fields. She was touched by the lines, To you, from failing hands, we throw, the torch: be yours to hold it high, if ye break faith with us who die, we shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields. Moina described this experience as deeply spiritual. She felt as though she was called by the voices of soldiers who had been silenced by death. Subsequently, she pledged to keep the faith, and vowed always to wear the red poppy of Flanders Fields as a sign of remembrance. It would become an emblem for keeping the faith with all who died.

She wrote a short verse that was meant for us so wed remember the fallen.

Oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields  Sleep sweet  to rise anew! We caught the torch you threw, and holding high, we keep the Faith with All those who died.

Ill see you at Memorial Park.

JOE PUGLIA is a practicing counselor, a retired professor of education and a former officer in the Marines. Reach him at doctorjoe@ymail.com. Visit his website at doctorjoe.us.Pope Francis has reportedly told a gay man that God made you that way and loves you as you are, apparently pushing the pontiffs acceptance of homosexuality to a new level.

Francis made the comments to Juan Carlos Cruz, a Chilean victim of priestly sexual abuse who recently spent days with the pope at the Vatican to discuss his ordeal as the pontiff moves to tackle decades of coverups and ostracism of victims in the Chilean church, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais.

Cruz was quoted as having discussed his homosexuality with Francis. He told me: Juan Carlos, I dont care about you being gay. God made you that way and loves you as you are and I dont mind. The pope loves you as you are, you have to be happy with who you are. 

A spokesman at the Vatican on Sunday declined to confirm or deny Francis comments, stating, We dont normally comment on the popes private conversations.

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In 2013, Francis famously said, If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with goodwill, who am I to judge? when asked for his views on homosexuality, signaling a sea change in Catholic views on sexual orientation.

That year he also told an interviewer, A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality, adding, I replied with another question: Tell me: When God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person? 

His reported remarks based on Cruzs account go further, however, by suggesting he believes people are created gay by God  a position likely to anger Catholic conservatives.

This is a big deal, I cannot remember the pope making a comment about gay people being born that way, said Father James Martin, an American Jesuit priest, whose 2017 book Building a Bridge urged greater ties between the church and the LGBTQ community.

Pope Francis has repeated what all reputable biologists and psychologists say  you dont choose your sexual orientation. And that is a great comfort to many gay and lesbian Catholics who have been told by priests that they have chosen their orientation and are therefore guilty, he said.

The comments do not suggest a change to church teaching, Martin said.

The Catholic Churchs catechism currently states the psychological genesis of homosexuality remains largely unexplained.

Basing itself on sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered,  it states, but adds that gay people must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity in the church.

Martin stressed that the popes comments were reported, not announced. We have to distinguish between something the pope said on the record and a conversation, he said.

Cruz endured sexual abuse as a youth in Chile by prelate Fernando Karadima, who was sentenced by the Vatican in 2011 to a lifetime of penance.

The Vatican did not, however, believe his claim that the abuse was witnessed and covered up by Chilean Bishop Juan Barros. Francis appointed Barros bishop of the town of Osorno in 2015, hugged him publicly during his visit to Chile in January and dismissed accounts by Cruz and other victims as slander.

But as public fury in Chile grew, Francis in February dispatched an abuse investigator to interview the victims, inviting them to Rome, admitting he had made serious mistakes.

Summoning Chiles bishops to Rome, he accused them of destroying evidence of abuse and putting pressure on church investigators to downplay accusations.

On Friday, all 33 bishops in Chile offered to resign.

In his interview with El Pais, Cruz said Francis had been told that Cruz was deranged by his detractors before the meeting at Casa Santa Marta, the residence used by the pope at the Vatican.

The pope treated us like kings in Santa Marta and the bishops as children, Cruz was quoted as saying. It is clear that he believed us.

Kington is a special correspondent.Late last year, a family in north London contacted the Bonhams auction house and asked one of its experts on African art to come see a painting that might solve a decades-old mystery.

In 1973 and 1974, the Nigerian modernist Ben Enwonwu painted three portraits of Princess Adetutu Ademiluyi. The artist was Igbo and the princess was Yoruba  ethnic groups that had been pitted against each other in a brutal civil war  and the portraits were widely seen as a turning point in reconciliation between the two groups.

But all three versions of Tutu had been missing since before the artists death in 1994.

One of them, it turned out, was the painting that hung inconspicuously in the London familys home. Initial estimates suggested it could sell for up to $417,000.

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In a February auction that was livestreamed to a room of about 100 participants in Lagos, Nigeria, an anonymous telephone bidder paid $1.68 million.

The sale was the latest sign that Nigeria has arrived in the world of contemporary art. Demand is booming in the U.S. and Europe  but most significantly in Nigeria.

The newfound interest there is part of a larger cultural and economic revival. It wasnt long ago that moving abroad or catering to outsiders perceptions of their country was the only way for artists here to survive. But as the economy has surged  diversifying from oil into manufacturing, telecommunications and a thriving film industry to give Nigeria the biggest gross domestic product in Africa  so has interest in fashion, music and art.

That has fueled a rise in the number of galleries and auction houses. It has also allowed many artists to make a living at home, reclaiming their Nigerian identities with creations that take on themes that resonate with a Nigerian audience, such as corruption, national politics and gender relations.

Nigeria remains a poor country, with a per-capita GDP of about $6,000 and more than half of its 186 million people living in poverty. But some artists raised there and educated at local art schools say that even their parents are starting to embrace art as a career choice and abandon old beliefs that only doctors, lawyers and businessmen can earn money.

The demand for art has grown so much in recent years that auctions are popping up in some unusual places.

As a British auctioneer called out bids one night in November, men in white gloves carried pieces of art to the front of a Kia car dealership showroom. The works ranged from paintings large enough to take up an entire wall to sculptures so small they could be held in the palm of a hand  one of which sold for about $10,000.

The event, which garnered interest from international and Nigerian collectors, was the 19th auction in nine years that Arthouse Contemporary held in Lagos, where it is based. The first ones took place at the Wheatbaker hotel in the upscale Ikoyi neighborhood. But expanding interest presented the organizers with a problem familiar to artists and gallery owners across this mega-city of 22 million people: a lack of spaces to display art.

This is almost as white cube as it can get, said Joseph Gergel, a consultant for Arthouse, describing the Kia showroom as a stark modern gallery. It happened out of necessity.

Though Arthouse has traditionally targeted the wealthy, it recently launched a more affordable series of auctions. The idea is to engage a new group of collectors who may be scared away by prices in the main auction, Gergel said.

Late last year, the second annual Art X Lagos, West Africas first international art fair, drew more than 9,000 people  bank executives, government officials, the emir of the northern city of Kano and other potential customers, as well as ordinary citizens who came to witness the Lagos Civic Centers transformation into a gallery for a weekend. There were installations, paintings, photographs, record sleeves and sculptures  including seven large wooden pieces that were crafted by Enwonwu for the Daily Mirror newspaper in 1960.

In one of the more political exhibits, photographs by Rahima Gambo depicted ordinary life in Nigerias northeast and the toll of government negligence and attacks by the extremist group Boko Haram on schools and children.

Tokini Peterside, the 31-year-old founder of the fair, said one of her goals was to encourage the increasing number of wealthy West Africans to see themselves as collectors and to see art as an investment.

Another was to offer the regions artists a rare opportunity in an art world dominated by the West: the chance to display and sell their work at home.

Theres a generation of young, vibrant artists of Nigerian or African origin who have felt that the gallery infrastructure in West Africa is not sufficiently developed for them to connect with the international art market from their home base, Peterside said. For generations, when it comes to exporting its cultural capital and so many other things, Africa has had to go overseas.

Yaw Owusu, a Ghanaian artist, stands in front of his work at Art X Lagos in November 2017. (Siobhan OGrady / For The Times )

Yaw Owusu, a 25-year-old Ghanaian artist, said Art X and similar events help him feel grounded at home in West Africa. I do not need to move to New York or Europe to get my works acquired, he said.

Still, the Nigerian government has work to do if it wants its artists to stay in the country. The National Museum in Lagos is housed in a colonial-style building indistinguishable from other run-down government offices around the city. Built in 1957, its collection is largely ethnographic. Inside the dimly lighted main exhibition hall, ancient artifacts sit covered in layers of dust.

There were plans years ago to build a new national museum next door, said Chika Okeke-Agulu, a professor of art history at Princeton University who specializes in African contemporary art. But after construction began, the museum plans fell apart, and the government sold the property.

That tells you something about why its even difficult to talk about museums in Nigeria, Okeke-Agulu said. Who is going to build a museum?

Today the property is an unremarkable shopping mall, where families gather at KFC or buy groceries at a small supermarket.

Tucked away down a nearby street is Rele Gallery, a space that offers a lens into some of what is most exciting about the contemporary art scene in Nigeria.

Hanging on the whitewashed walls are works by artists including Marcellina Akpojotor, whose realistic portraits of Nigerian women are made in part out of small cutouts of local ankara textiles. In her Power Series, Akpojotor explores womanhood and education. The series, which features images of women reading books and newspapers, was inspired by her grandmother, who was denied an education but pursued knowledge as a means of empowerment.

One of Akpojotors portraits was recently selected as the cover for a new edition of Jagua Nana, a 1961 novel by the late Nigerian writer Cyprian Ekwensi that tells the story of an aging sex worker soul-searching in 1960s Lagos.

Much of the work at Rele is created by younger artists and appeals to younger collectors. Most pieces usually go for less than $3,000.

Olakiitan Ade, a former curator at Rele, said some shoppers are looking to invest in their first pieces of artwork, or have been to outdoor markets in Lagos and are looking for higher quality work but not too abstract, not too experimental.

Last year, Lagos state Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode announced plans to open a number of new museums in Lagos as part of a government bid to boost tourism. But Ade is skeptical.

The government does not see the relevance or economic gain or social capital in art or culture, she said.

Modupeola Fadugba, a multimedia Nigerian artist who created an installment titled Heads Up, Keep Swimming, which debuted at a clothing and accessories store in the upscale Victoria Island neighborhood of Lagos. (Siobhsn OGrady / For The Times )

Indeed, for decades Nigerian art seemed to be valued more outside Nigeria than inside.

Enwonwu, who was born in 1917, made his name in Britain, where he studied art and anthropology in the 1940s. He went on to become one of Africas best-known artists and the father of Nigerian Modernism.

His work was so revered in Britain that Queen Elizabeth II sat for him to sculpt her.

In other ways, he was ahead of his time. He never abandoned his Nigerian roots and eventually returned home, where his work  especially his portrait of the princess  made him a national hero and the rare example of an African artist who made his living in two worlds.

He often criticized the lack of access Nigerians had to their own art. African artists, he wrote in a 1956 essay, faced the humiliation of having to listen to lectures on African art in foreign art galleries and museums.

Those days finally appear to be coming to an end.

OGrady is a special correspondent.As RealtyLink continues to grow and expand, so does its team of executives. RealtyLink named Oliver Perdomo as principal of the Chattanooga office.

With an extensive real estate development background, Mr. Perdomo has dedicated his career to delivering consistent results through his professional commitment to customer service and client relationships. Neil Wilson, principal of RealtyLink in Greenville, S.C. said, Oliver has a unique ability to forge strong and lasting relationships with tenants and a wealth of knowledge with national retail and office clients that he brings to the table. We are excited to have him on the RealtyLink team.



Mr. Perdomo has nearly 30 years of experience with managing single tenant developments, grocery store, commercial shopping centers, and Big Box developments including OReilly Auto Parts, Tractor Supply Company, Publix Supermarkets, Hobby Lobby, Dicks Sporting Goods, TJ Maxx, and ULTA Beauty.



Most recently holding the position of executive vice president for The Hutton Companya national real estate development companyduring his time at Hutton, Mr. Perdomo oversaw their asset dispositions, totaling $110 million annually, and worked closely with the real estate, development, and legal departments to ensure congruency for all projects including new and existing developments.



Mr. Perdomo attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, Fl., and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. His focus and devotion to real estate development is key to his results-driven career. His skills and expertise make him an exceptional asset to RealtyLink and their clients.



RealtyLink, LLC is a regional commercial development company providing a full spectrum of services for restaurants and retail tenants, including market analysis, site selection, construction management, project funding, sale leasebacks, and more. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., RealtyLink has completed the development of more than a 1,000 nationally known restaurants and retail establishments throughout the southeast.



For marketing and media relation inquiries, contact Krystal Kusak at 864 263-5420 or at kkusak@realtylinkdev.com.

Sorry, but a wedding  no matter how royal it might be  will not create Princess Meghan

(Ben Stansal/AFP/Getty Images)

Its shouting into the headwinds of romantic swoonery, but Saturdays wedding will not create Princess Meghan.

Quaint and odd they may be, but the rules of the royal road are both clear and strict, and neither tabloids nor TV will change them. In the House of Windsor, princesses are born, not made  or married.

No members of the British royal family can put the title prince or princess in front of their names unless they are born royal. So technically, there can be no Princess Meghan, just as there was no Princess Diana.

Yet, confusingly, Meghan Markle, like Kate Middleton, will have the style of princess of the United Kingdom  essentially her job description  but not the title. Its one more nugget of headache-inducing royal arcana that someone can be a princess without being called princess.

What will she be called, then?

Traditionally, just before a marriage, the monarch puts out what are called letters patent, a kind of royal wedding gift to the son or grandson, making him a royal duke.

It sounds like a demotion from prince, but it isnt. Its a bonus. A royal dukedom is a super-duper-dukedom.

Under Windsor house rules, that royal dukedom  the rumor is the Queen will make Prince Harry the Duke of Sussex  spares Meghan Markle from bearing the clumsy title of Her Royal Highness Princess Henry of Wales. Instead, she would be HRH the Duchess of Sussex, just as the former Kate Middleton is HRH the Duchess of Cambridge.

The title doesnt come with any land  they wont be getting the county of Sussex as a wedding present  and the couple would be only the second Duke and Duchess of Sussex in modern royal history. The first, Queen Victorias favorite uncle, walked her up the aisle at her wedding, because her father was dead.

It really is a kind of strange magic that a woman in a white dress says a few words in a church and becomes a royal highness. But when a princess born to royal rank marries a commoner, his status does not rise to match hers. Sexist, right? When Princess Margaret married a photographer, the Queen made the new husband an earl, in part so their children  the grandchildren of a monarch  would not be plain Mr. and Miss.

The Queen has been paring back the scale of the royal family to match modern sentiment, so its probable that any children Meghan and Harry have will not be royal highnesses, but simply Lord or Lady Whatever. Thats what the Queen did with the children of her youngest son, Edward.

Got it? Good. Now, cut this out and carry it in your wallet, and win those bar bets with the bold but accurate declaration, Theres no such person as Princess Meghan!Winners from 13 Whitfield County elementary schools who were honored during the Kiwanis Club of Daltons annual DARE essay recognition program on May 14 included (from left, front row) Ricky Juan-Nicolas, Trinity Guo, Ann Marie Smith, Falestine Sarameh, Fernando Mendiola, Liberty Franks, Melissa Hernandez, Trinity Franks, and Jenny Cook; (back row) Officer Nathan Center, Sgt. Darlene Crider, McKenzie Kaylor, Kyleigh Stewart, Sirah Moore, Bert Poston, Yadira Salaises, Sheriff Scott Chitwood, Sgt. Tammy Silvers, and Lt. Wayne Mathis. - photo by Mitch Talley

Jenny Cook reads her winning essay during the 13th annual DARE essay recognition program sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Dalton and the Whitfield County Sheriffs Office - photo by Mitch Talley

Chosen as the top writers in the annual DARE essay contest were (from left, front row) Jenny Cook of Cohutta Elementary, first place; Falestine Sarameh of Eastside, second; and Liberty Franks of Valley Point, third. With the winners are Sheriff Scott Chitwood (left) and program emcee Bert Poston of the Kiwanis Club. - photo by Mitch Talley

Having a help network, making good decisions, and being responsible are just a few lessons the DARE program has taught Jenny Cook to apply in her life.

Thats one of the things the fifth grader at Cohutta Elementary School wrote in her Drug Abuse Resistance Education essay, which was judged the best out of the hundreds written by this years DARE graduates from 13 elementary schools in Whitfield County.

Ms. Cook and the 12 other essay winners from each school were honored at the 13th annual DARE recognition program held May 14 at the Dalton Convention Center, sponsored by the Kiwanis Club of Dalton and the Whitfield County Sheriffs Office.

As first-place winner, Ms. Cook received a plaque and a $100 cash prize. Falestine Sarameh of Eastside Elementary received a plaque and $50 for second place, while a plaque and $20 went to Liberty Franks of Valley Point for third place.

Other school-level winners who were recognized during the program  with family, school officials, and Kiwanians looking on  included:

Varnell Elementary School - Yadira Salaises

New Hope Elementary  Sirah Moore

Pleasant Grove Elementary - Fernando Mendiola

Antioch Elementary: Ricky Juan-Nicolas

Dawnville: Ann Marie Smith

Dug Gap: McKenzie Kaylor

Westside: Trinity Franks

Beaverdale - Trinity Guo

Tunnel Hill - Kyleigh Stewart

Cedar Ridge - Melissa Hernandez

Sheriff Scott Chitwood said that since its inception in 1989, the DARE program has reached more than 28,000 youngsters, including 1,100 this school year.

We feel like we have touched a lot of lives, he said. We know the school teachers, principals - yall are changing lives every day. Parents, grandparents, thank you. You have outstanding children, grandchildren in your families.

He urged the students to keep the DARE promise in the years to come. Every one of you when you wrote your essay, you pledged to stay away from drugs and alcohol, Chitwood said. Keep that promise. Theres consequences, and you talked about that all through your classes, so do that.

DARE instructors Sgt. Tammy Silvers, Sgt. Darlene Crider, and Officer Nathan Center introduced this years winners and presented each of them with a medal and certificate.

You are the leaders for your school, Sgt. Silvers said. Youre the leaders that we want to see leading your peers in the future. You made that promise to yourself, to your family, that youre gonna stay drug-free and that youre gonna make good choices, and theyre looking up to you now as being the winner of this essay to make sure and watching every step that you make, and theyre wanting to follow you. But you have to show them the right way, and youve made that commitment.

You are what we call the cream of the crop  youre the best of the best, and we love all of you, Sgt. Silvers said. Youve done a wonderful job on these essays, and were just honored to be here today and get to call you up and honor each one of you individually. Im telling you, these are awesome kids, and I cant wait to see what youre gonna bring in the future, what yall do in the future, because were gonna keep up with you and see whats going on. And I expect yall to be good leaders in your community, in your schools and your family.

Sgt. Crider emphasized the importance of making good decisions. Always think through what you want to do to make that good decision, she said, because my students have heard me say this over and over, and Im gonna say it again today: If youre a good decision maker, youll be good.

Things are gonna happen to you in life  yes, they are  no matter what decision you make, things are gonna come that are not gonna be great. But if youre a good decision maker and youre grounded and you know what you stand up for, its gonna be easier to deal with these hard decisions when they come along.

So thank you for putting your hard work into this - your heart into this. Set examples as Sgt. Silvers said. Set an example for your friends  theyre watching every move you make, and they want to see you do the right thing. You may have someone watching you that you dont know is watching you. You dont know everybody thats going, Hey, what are they gonna do about this? Im gonna do what they do. If its good, okay, if its bad, oh, were just all in it together. So do something good.Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) and Nashville Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Regional Office leaders will host a Veterans town hall meeting at 6 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June 13 at the Chattanooga clinic at 6098 Debra Road, Suite 5200 Building 6200.

This event is free and open to all Veterans.

Town hall meetings give Tennessee Valley Healthcare System leadership an opportunity to meet Veterans they serve face-to-face in their home towns, ask for direct feedback, and provide relevant information on new and upcoming services and projects. The meetings also give representatives from the Nashville VBA Regional Office a chance to provide personalized benefits assistance, to include claim and appeals status for Veterans and their dependents.

TVHS is planning to open an expanded clinic in Chattanooga to replace the current facility. The new facility, scheduled to open by the end of 2021, will be roughly twice the size of the current clinic to meet the increased demand for VA health care in the area. It will also be designed and built to facilitate more efficient delivery of health care services.

TVHS is an integrated tertiary health care system comprised of two hospitals, the Alvin C. York Campus in Murfreesboro and the Nashville Campus, as well as more than a dozen community-based outpatient clinics located in Tennessee and Kentucky. TVHS provides ambulatory care, primary care, and secondary care in acute medicine and surgery, specialized tertiary care, transplant services, spinal cord injury outpatient care, and a full range of extended care and mental health services.

The Nashville VBA Regional Office is comprised of over 600 full-time employees serving a Veteran population of about 506,000 of all generations across Tennessee and Ft. Campbell, Kentucky. The Nashville VBA Regional Office administers approximately $1.4 billion in annual federal benefits. Programs include compensation, pension and vocational rehabilitation and employment. In addition, the Nashville Regional Office includes one of eight National Call Centers providing customer service to clients nationwide.Lehigh Valley International Airport is reporting yet another surge in passenger traffic.

Since takeoff in 2018, traffic at the Hanover Township, Lehigh County airport has experienced a steady uptick. The airport in February reported its highest increase in passenger traffic within the past six years.

Last month, 65,648 passengers traveled through the airport -- a 17.2 percent increase from April 2017, which had 56,012 passengers, according to LVIA spokesman Colin Riccobon. The growth marked the seventh consecutive month of positive passenger growth dating back to October 2017.

Thomas R. Stoudt, executive director of the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority, attributed the increase to a strong performance by the airport's legacy carriers of American, United and Delta.

"(The carriers) certainly played a pivotal role in higher volumes of passengers traveling through the airport," he said.

By the numbers, American reported a total passenger increase of 37 percent, followed by Allegiant at 18 percent, United at 14 percent and Delta at 4 percent.

"The busiest part of our travel season is fast approaching, and we remain focused on maintaining this positive momentum by striving to be the best regional airport system in North America through first class customer service," Stoudt said.

The airport, which provides passengers service on Allegiant Air, American, Delta and United airlines, offers non-stop travel to 11 destinations, including Chicago, Atlanta and Orlando, Florida.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.By Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com

They don't come along that often. But once in a while a Lehigh Valley jury awards $1 million or more to the victims of medical malpractice or their families. These cases are typically the most tragic and involve the loss of loved ones or serious and permanent injuries. The fear of verdicts like these once sent medical malpractice insurance rates skyrocketing for doctors. Some claimed they had to leave Pennsylvania because they couldn't pay their insurance. Keep reading to find out what caused the problem and how it's been curbed.

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The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts has tracked the number of medical malpractice lawsuits filed per county per year since 2000. The office tracks how many of the lawsuits make it to trial and which way the jury ruled. The state's records run through 2016. Data for 2017 won't be available until the fall. Scroll down to find out how often jurors awarded $1 million or more.

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2016

One jury awarded $2.39M to a woman in Lehigh County who will spend the rest of her life confined to a wheelchair after a post-surgery fall. Betty L. Shiflett fell out of bed two days after knee surgery at Lehigh Valley Hospital, according to her attorneys. A nurse failed to take note of her symptoms, and she developed a MRSA infection which could not be treated effectively with surgery. The verdict is pending an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

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In 2016, seven Lehigh County juries sided with the defense. The only medical malpractice case in Northampton County that year went for the defense.

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2015, 2014

None.

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2013

One Lehigh County jury awarded $55M, the largest amount for a single plaintiff in the history of the Lehigh Valley, according to the plaintiffs' attorney, Paul Lauricella. The jury found that St. Luke's University Hospital doctor Ronald Kirner should have performed a C-section rather than allow the vaginal delivery of Matthew Crowell. As a result, Crowell lost oxygen during the delivery and suffered severe developmental disabilities, including cerebral palsy.

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The parents, Mark and Sharon Petrosky Crowell of Luzerne County, likely didnt receive the full $55 million. Both parties struck a high-low agreement, capping the amount of damages that could be awarded. Lauricella didnt disclose the terms of that agreement.

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The other cases

In a second unrelated case in 2013, another Lehigh County jury awarded between $1M to $5M. (Five Lehigh County and one Northampton County juries went for the defense that year.)

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2012

One jury awarded between $1M and $5M in Lehigh County. A second awarded less than $1M. (Three Lehigh County juries and a single Northampton County jury went with the defense.)

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2011

One Lehigh County jury awarded $23M to a Carbon County woman who lost both of her legs below the knees due to infections while being treated by a St. Luke's Hospital home care nurse.

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Sharlee Ann Smoyer was under the care of nurse Jolynn Yurchak for Crohn's disease when she suffered numbness in her lower extremities. She spent 42 days in the hospital, suffered gangrene and underwent three surgeries. Her trial was in Allentown.

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2010

Five Lehigh County juries awarded between $5M and $10M, and three awarded more than $10M. Why so many this year? All of them were brought by the families of individuals killed by nurse Charles Cullen. Cullen admitted to killing 29 people and trying to kill six others during a nursing career that spanned several hospitals in the Lehigh Valley and New Jersey. He told authorities he took patients' lives to end their suffering. He had no means of paying the collective $95M judgment, but the families sued him anyway.

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Charles Cullen in 2004. File photo

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Also in 2010, a Northampton County jury awarded $2M to a Phillipsburg woman who lost her leg during a knee replacement at Easton Hospital. Pauline Raffaele had an undiagnosed blood clot. The jury found the hospital 40 percent negligent and a former nurse, Shelly Benson, who oversaw the patient, 60 percent negligent for not alerting the doctor to her deteriorating condition. Orthopedic specialist John Ialeggio was found not negligent.

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2009

One Lehigh County jury awarded between $1M and $5M. (One Lehigh County jury awarded less than $1M. Eight Lehigh County juries and one Northampton County jury went with the defense.)

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2008

One Lehigh County jury awarded between $1M and $5M. The Morning Call of Allentown reports Barbara Glasgow of Effort won $3.9M after doctor Joseph M. Skutches of St. Luke's Hospital failed to recommend a biopsy for a breast lump that turned out to be cancerous.

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In 2008, one Lehigh County jury awarded less than $1 million. Nine Lehigh County juries and two Northampton County juries went with the defense.

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2007, 2006, 2005

None.

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July 2003 through 2004

One Lehigh County jury awarded between $1M and $5M. (Ten juries in Lehigh County and ten in Northampton County rendered defense verdicts.)

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2000-June 2003

The state doesn't list individual years for this period. Two juries in Lehigh County awarded more than $10M to plaintiffs during this period. One Lehigh County jury and three Northampton County juries awarded between $1M and $5M. Three Lehigh and three Northampton County juries awarded less than $1M. Fifty-four Lehigh County juries and 17 Northampton County juries rendered defense verdicts.

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Why are there so few verdicts?

Most cases end with a settlement between the parties. Doctors and hospitals dont want to risk a massive award against them, and plaintiffs want to walk away with at least some compensation, so both sides compromise and settle on an amount somewhere in the middle. Most of the time the terms of the settlement are kept confidential, which means we have no way of knowing how much the defendant wound up paying.

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Once in a while a judge determines it's in the public interest to force parties in a settlement to disclose the terms publicly, as happened in 2016 in Lackawanna County. A judge refused to allow the parties to seal the details concerning a $4.25 million payout to a woman who lost her twins before they were born. The judge determined the public's right to know outweighed the chilling effect the disclosure would have on hospitals and doctors, who prefer the confidentiality of settlements. If settlement details are made public, there's little incentive to settle, according to Bethlehem attorney John Hill, a specialist in medical malpractice.

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How many cases are filed?

Thousands of medical malpractice cases are filed every year across Pennsylvania. Dozens are filed in the Lehigh Valley. See for yourself in the following charts.

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Why are fewer medical malpractice cases being filed?

Faced with a crisis 15 years ago, Pennsylvania lawmakers enacted two reforms that changed the way medical malpractice claims are filed.

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Certificate of merit

The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act of 2002 requires anyone filing a medical malpractice claim to file a certificate of merit signed by an expert in the medical field covered in the lawsuit. Bringing in a doctor to testify can cost a plaintiff $75,000 to $100,000, according to Bethlehem attorney Chris Reid, who specializes in medical malpractice. Plaintiffs put off hiring the expert until the case was on the eve of trial to avoid spending money.

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Attorney Chris Reid. File photo.

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Cases were in the dockets in some counties for years, sometimes longer, having a cloud over the doctors heads, causing insurance companies to pay for lawyers to represent the defendants, and just before trial the case would be dismissed, said Hill, the Bethlehem medical malpractice attorney. Under state law, if the certificate isnt filed within 60 days of the initiation of the lawsuit, the defendant can ask a judge to throw out the case, Hill said.

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Venue shopping

The MCARE Act also limits the plaintiffs ability to select the county where the lawsuit will be filed. Reid said some attorneys engaged in venue shopping, where they would try to have a case filed in a county such as Philadelphia where juries tend to rule in favor of plaintiffs as opposed to more conservative counties where juries tend to find doctors or hospitals not liable.

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Prior to the reform, a doctor based in Lehigh County but with a seldom used satellite office in Philadelphia could be sued in Philadelphia, Hill said. It didnt matter whether the surgery was performed at Lehigh Valley Hospital, he said. Attorneys were reluctant to file medical malpractice claims in Lehigh County because one of the largest employers is the Lehigh Valley Health Network. Odds are that a few jurors either work for the health network or are closely tied to a person employed in a medical field, Hill said. The MCARE act makes it tougher to venue shop, Hill said.

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Freeimages.com

Better medicine

Reid speculates that fewer lawsuits are filed because medical technology and the quality of care have improved.

I think doctors want to do as good a job as possible at eliminating risk and errors, Reid said. There are still medical malpractice cases that are very valid, but overall the number of medical mistakes have reduced due in part to improvements in technology.

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Even if youve never been involved in a medical malpractice claim, the fact that fewer malpractice cases are being filed probably means all Valley residents benefit from living in a healthier region.

I think its great, Reid said. It means that people who live in the Lehigh Valley are safer and it means that the doctors and hospitals and medical institutions are doing a good job taking care of people. I think thats the goal everyone wants to achieve.

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READ MORE

How much do Lehigh Valley doctors and hospital administrators earn?

Lehigh Valley doctors who accepted at least $100K from drug or medical device companies

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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.The Lee University A Cappella ensemble Voices of Lee received three awards at the 2018 A Cappella Award ceremony, held in Nashville Saturday. The evening included live performances from nominees and special guests, and a red carpet experience.

Voices of Lee was nominated earlier this spring for Collegiate Group of the Year, Religious Group of the Year, and Video of the Year for their music video of What a Beautiful Name by Hillsong, and after several weeks of international online voting, Voices won all three.

What an honor for Voices of Lee to be esteemed among such talented musicians, said Danny Murray, Voices of Lee director. It was already an exciting night, but to win all three categories was a fantastic surprise.

There were 21 award categories, of which 19 were voted on by the public and announced at the May 19 ceremony. In total, there were 80 finalists representing 11 different countries and 46,580 votes were submitted.

Each performance was unique and dynamic, and Voices of Lees performance was no exception. It was a highlight of the evening, said Nathan Hunnicutt, president of the Hunnicutt Group and organizer/producer of A Cappella Awards. I congratulate Danny Murray for leading the group with such passion and for the three A Cappella Music Awards presented to Voices of Lee.

Voices of Lee was founded in 1994 and later propelled into the spotlight on NBCs season one of the Sing-Off. They have performed at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, have been featured performers for Christmas at the White House, appeared on the 2016 CMA Christmas Celebration, and most recently appeared at Carnegie Hall in New York City earlier this month.

For more information about A Cappella Music Awards and to view the full list of award recipients, visit https://acappellamusicawards.com/.

For more information about Voices of Lee or to see their award-winning video, visit http://www.voicesoflee.com/ or follow their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/VoicesofLeeOfficial/.

At first, Jim Piazza says, his reaction to his son's death at a Penn State drinking party was that colleges and universities should get rid of fraternities.

Now, however -- 15 months after 19-year-old of Tim Piazza of Hunterdon County died at Beta Theta Pi fraternity -- his father says he's says more interested in seeing if the Greek system can be reformed and deal effectively with hazing, excessive drinking and sexual assault.

Writing in a Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed column, Piazza says universities must "take ownership" of social organizations and not allow them to self-govern. Working with the national fraternities, they must set standards to prevent unsafe behavior and discourage the wild-partying, hard-drinking image that attracts many students to fraternity life. Legislatures must pass tougher penalties for hazing and related crimes -- such as the proposed Timothy P. Piazza Anti-Hazing bill under consideration in Harrisburg -- and prosecutors and judges must follow up, Piazza argues.

Some college and universities don't allow residential fraternities or sororities. Others, such as Lehigh University, have shut down fraternities for repeatedly breaking the rules.

What do you think? Should fraternities be abolished? Would closer monitoring and stricter criminal laws address problems that have led to injuries and deaths? Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to elaborate in the comments section.A suspected drug dealer faces a slew of charges after he was arrested in a raid Sunday in the Phillipsburg area, the Warren County Prosecutor's Office announced.

The raid, which involved five law enforcement agencies in Warren County, resulted in the seizure of heroin, crack cocaine and a handgun, the office says in a news release.

The handgun belonged to another person, who was also arrested and charged with a weapons violation, the release says.

The prosecutor's office identified the suspected drug dealer as Shacree Chapman, 36, of the 500 block of Green Street in Phillipsburg. He's charged with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.

The latter charge stems from an allegation that Chapman was in a room with a child when he was carrying the drugs.

The second person arrested in the raid was Oscar Clarke, of the first block of Clinton Avenue in Mansfield Township. He's charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, specifically a .32 caliber handgun, the news release states.

The charges were a result of a one-month investigation into heroin distribution, the release states.

Police, including officers in tactical gear, about 10 a.m. Sunday conducted the raid at the

American's Best Value Inn, 1311 Route 22 West, Greenwich Township. Officers emerged from the hotel escorting a man in handcuffs, who police later identified as Chapman. Officers were also spotted later that morning outside the address listed as Chapman's home.

In addition to the prosecutor's office and Greenwich police, the following agencies also participated in the raid: Washington Township police, Hackettstown police, Phillipsburg police, New Jersey State Police and the Warren County Tactical Response Team.

Freelance photographer Tim Wynkoop contributed to this report.

Nick Falsone may be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickfalsone. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.The investigation into Phillipsburg's mayor for allegedly offering patronage jobs in his administration may be turned over to law enforcement agencies due to new evidence, according to the town officials heading the probe.

The new information "could facilitate the expansion of the investigation" and "necessitate reevaluation of jurisdiction," Councilman Frank McVey, chairman of the investigative committee, said in a statement around midday Monday.

The exact nature of the new information was not publicly disclosed, but McVey confirmed that he will recommend the matter be turned over to the Warren County Prosecutor's Office, state attorney general and state election commission. Law enforcement has not been involved in the investigation so far.

McVey said turning the case over does not imply criminal wrongdoing, but that the investigation is too big for the council to handle.

"This is probably not ... a civilian matter anymore," he said late Monday afternoon. "We have plenty to do in Phillipsburg. ... Let's turn it over to these folks and let them investigate it."

The committee conducting the investigation is comprised of four of the five town council members and has met only once. Its second meeting was scheduled for Wednesday but has now been postponed to June 6.

Shortly after the announcement, Mayor Stephen Ellis said he was unaware of the developments. At first, he deferred further comment to his attorney, John Zaiter. About 20 minutes later the mayor provided a statement of his own.

"I am certain there are no irregularities with any of the hiring practices that took place when I was first elected," Ellis said in a phone call, saying that appropriate safeguards are in place. "I see this as an unfortunate attempt to distract from the progress the town is making."

Ellis, a Democrat, took office in 2016, after upsetting five-term Mayor Harry Wyant Jr. the previous November. The 35-year employee of the New Jersey State Park Service never held an elected office before.

The investigative committee, which has a Republican majority, convened for the first time May 9 to examine claims that the mayor circumvented hiring practices after taking office, ousting some town officials and employees and rewarding those who supported his campaign.

The committee appears to have the power to subpoena more information and planned to meet every two weeks to question witnesses in the open-ended investigation.

One Democrat council member, Josh Davis, was officially excluded from the committee after a council vote last week. McVey has previously said Davis was on the mayor's transition team. (The other Democrat on council, Mark Lutz, is said to have left the transition team after two meetings, and remains on the investigative committee.)

The three Republicans on council were all elected last year, and some of their Democratic opponents have publicly criticized what they say is a connection the investigation and the campaign. The Republicans took aim at some of the mayor's employees during the election, and subsequently docked their pay.

What debate? An 18% pay raise for the Mayor's personal asst. & made up jobs for their friends = higher taxes for everyone else. #pburgpork pic.twitter.com/K4TBmiQ5pM  Douglas Steinhardt (@DSteinhardtEsq) October 13, 2017

The council was also publicly criticized by former Democratic candidate Lee Clark last week for its choice of legal representation -- the law firm of Florio, Petrucci, Steinhart and Fader is where New Jersey GOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt works. Steinhardt was the Warren County Republican chairman last year and promoted his party's candidates.

"The optics look a little fishy," Clark said.

Council President Bobby Fulper disagreed with that assessment, saying Steinhardt did not financially contribute to the campaign, though the Republican committee did, and that neither he nor his colleagues have done anything illegal. He said they chose the locally based law firm because "I feel that they know us. I feel comfortable with them."

Steinhardt on Monday said he will decline the committee "due to my representing the (town) in other capacities."

UPDATE: This report was updated at 4:11 p.m. with confirmation of the committee's intent to turn the case over to law enforcement agencies.

Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.Finance First Choice Business Capital in Minnesota and Wisconsin

1st Choice Business Capital

21.05.2018 16:53:38 - First Choice Business Capital has opened two new subdivisions in Minnesota and Wisconsin.



(live-PR.com) - New York, NY -May 21st 2018 - 1st Choice Business Capital, a company that provides bad credit business loans to small businesses, announced today new branches in Minnesota and Wisconsin. These departments were created to support the growing amount of small businesses which need financial assistance. Just a while ago, the company revealed locations in New York, Washington, Montana and - New York, NY -May 21st 2018 - 1st Choice Business Capital, a company that provides bad credit business loans to small businesses, announced today new branches in Minnesota and Wisconsin. These departments were created to support the growing amount of small businesses which need financial assistance. Just a while ago, the company revealed locations in New York, Washington, Montana and Oklahoma.



Glen Andrade, First Choice Business Capitals Media Director stated, The company has done an outstanding job helping small business entrepreneurs achieve financial extensions with ease and absolutely no complications. We are proud that the growth of 1st Choice Business Capital has allowed us to expand to several states across the United States and create new opportunities.

First Choice Business Capital is a lending concept that was constructed after the 2008 economic crisis. Not many know this, but after that financial crisis, new regulations were established when it comes to issuing out funds. These rules make it very difficult for companies with 50 employees or less to obtain a small business loan when credit is subpar. Apparently, there is a discrimination towards smaller enterprises, so First Choice Business Capital has stepped in to solve these issues for many up and coming business entrepreneurs.



Its amazing to find out that a whopping 70% of businesses dont qualify for a bank loan. Furthermore, there are many reasons why so many businesses with bad credit get declined for a bank loan. Your business could have been declined because you suffer from poor credit. Also, a company could also have tax liens or judgments against them. Unfortunately, businesses with bad credit typically give up after they are declined for a bank loan.



Nevertheless, this dilemma has opened the doors for new type of loan options from alternative lenders. Business cash advance and high-risk lenders such as First Choice Business Capital are readily available to provide you with a quick no-nonsense financing approach and getting you quick approvals for your business loan. So, despite of what you may have heard, it is absolutely true and not just a myth that businesses with bad credit can easily get the financing they need by leveraging the various alternative-lending options available to them.



First Choice Business Capital has provided many advantages to applying for a merchant cash advance. One of the biggest perks about these types of loans is that it offers incredibly fast funding compared to that of a traditional bank. Most loans are approved in a day and over 90% of all applications get a loan approval. Plus, loans are funded within 48-96 hrs. after a loan approval.



No matter what your credit score looks like, First Choice Business Capital offers a lending hand to help your business survive any downturn it may be going through. With alternative lending institutions like 1st Choice Business Capital, your financial needs are always covered, even when traditional funding methods are not looking out for your best interests.

For more details about obtaining a business loan with insufficient credit, please click on this link here:

Oklahoma.Glen Andrade, First Choice Business Capitals Media Director stated, The company has done an outstanding job helping small business entrepreneurs achieve financial extensions with ease and absolutely no complications. We are proud that the growth of 1st Choice Business Capital has allowed us to expand to several states across the United States and create new opportunities.First Choice Business Capital is a lending concept that was constructed after the 2008 economic crisis. Not many know this, but after that financial crisis, new regulations were established when it comes to issuing out funds. These rules make it very difficult for companies with 50 employees or less to obtain a small business loan when credit is subpar. Apparently, there is a discrimination towards smaller enterprises, so First Choice Business Capital has stepped in to solve these issues for many up and coming business entrepreneurs.Its amazing to find out that a whopping 70% of businesses dont qualify for a bank loan. Furthermore, there are many reasons why so many businesses with bad credit get declined for a bank loan. Your business could have been declined because you suffer from poor credit. Also, a company could also have tax liens or judgments against them. Unfortunately, businesses with bad credit typically give up after they are declined for a bank loan.Nevertheless, this dilemma has opened the doors for new type of loan options from alternative lenders. Business cash advance and high-risk lenders such as First Choice Business Capital are readily available to provide you with a quick no-nonsense financing approach and getting you quick approvals for your business loan. So, despite of what you may have heard, it is absolutely true and not just a myth that businesses with bad credit can easily get the financing they need by leveraging the various alternative-lending options available to them.First Choice Business Capital has provided many advantages to applying for a merchant cash advance. One of the biggest perks about these types of loans is that it offers incredibly fast funding compared to that of a traditional bank. Most loans are approved in a day and over 90% of all applications get a loan approval. Plus, loans are funded within 48-96 hrs. after a loan approval.No matter what your credit score looks like, First Choice Business Capital offers a lending hand to help your business survive any downturn it may be going through. With alternative lending institutions like 1st Choice Business Capital, your financial needs are always covered, even when traditional funding methods are not looking out for your best interests.For more details about obtaining a business loan with insufficient credit, please click on this link here: www.1stchoicebusinesscapital.com/ Press Information:

1st Choice Business Capital







Contact Person:

Craig Leshinger

CEO

Phone: 1-855-889-1990

eMail: eMail



Web: http://https://www.1stchoicebusinesscapital.com/





21.05.2018 16:53:38 -

Disclaimer: If you have any questions regarding information in this article please contact the author. Please do not contact Live-PR.com. We are not able to assist you. Live-PR.com disclaims content contained in this article. Live-PR.com is not authorized to give any information about content and not responsible for content posted by third party.Stock Market News

Arena Events gobbles up Ice House Rentals 21-05-2018 11:44



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukStock Market News

Barclays beats SFO in Crown Court over Qatar loan 21-05-2018 11:11



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukStock Market News

Europe close: Stocks rise despite Italian uncertainty, Spanish assets knocked lower 21-05-2018 18:14



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukOoltewah Baptist church announces the arrival of its new pastor Rev. Jeremy Colloms, to their congregation and community. He will be preaching during the Sunday morning worship services beginn"ing May 27. He officially begins his duties as senior pastor on May 28.

Rev. Colloms, his wife, Mary Margaret, and their children, Luke and Abby, will be relocating from Charleston, Tn. Rev. Colloms has served as minister in training at First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., minister of Adult Education and Evangelism at St.

Andrews Baptist in Florida and senior pastor at both First Baptist in Chatsworth, Ga. and Mt Bethel Baptist in South Carolina.We believe God has call Jeremy to Ooltewah Baptist Church because his gifts, education and experience fit the needs or our congregation," officials said. "Jeremys educational background is a bachelors degree from Bryan College, masters of arts degree from Lee University, masters degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and soon to be a graduate with a doctorate degree in pastoral leadership from Southeastern Seminary. Please join us as we embark on a renewed spiritual journey with our new pastoral family on Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m."Stock Market News

Europe midday: Italian stocks slump amid warning from Paris 21-05-2018 13:35



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukStock Market News

Iran nuclear deal at risk as EU support 'not sufficient' 21-05-2018 11:27



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukStock Market News

Monday broker round-up 21-05-2018 13:37



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukStock Market News

Monday newspaper round-up: Business registrations, M&S, Sky, RBS 21-05-2018 07:13



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukStock Market News

RM2 narrows losses as it strives towards earnings in 2019 21-05-2018 11:14



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukStock Market News

Ryanair annual profit up 10% but FY19 guidance cut 21-05-2018 07:41



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukStock Market News

SolGold reports new copper targets in Ecuador 21-05-2018 12:03



Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.ukAt Fridays Leadership Luncheon honoring the 2017-18 class of Leadership Chattanooga, the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association presented the Julie Baumgardner Leadership Award to Ronald Harris, vice president, Diversity and Inclusion, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.Mr. Harris, co-founder of the BlueCross BlueShield Association Diversity Alliance, which connects BlueCross plans across the country to share best practices, is the second recipient of this award. The Julie Baumgardner Leadership Award, named after its first recipient who spent 15 years on the Leadership Chattanooga curriculum committee, honors someone with a laudable record of leadership in the community, who has made special contributions to Leadership Chattanooga, the regions premier leadership development program.Like Julie, Ron has contributed greatly to Leadership Chattanooga in many ways for many years, impacting hundreds of us in this room and beyond," said Cynthia Fagan, president of Firefly Social Media and LCAA board member.Chattanooga native, Army veteran and Leadership Chattanooga grad (class of 2001), Mr.Harris has contributed greatly to the field of diversity and inclusion, speaking regularly at conferences and businesses nationwide concerning subjects that affect workplaces, such as unconscious bias, cultural competence and generational diversity. Mr. Harris has been featured in well-known publications, including USA Today, Equal Opportunity Publications and African American Career World, and is nationally recognized for his compelling records of leadership and service to local communities.Id like to thank our more than 1,100 leadership graduates, Mr. Harris said in his acceptance remarks. Also, Id like to thank my colleagues at BlueCross. I have a staff of 6,111 people. Thank you so much. It is a true honor.Culture / Events

The 6th edition of the most sought-after secret event in the city took place at the F1 Pit Turn 23, in front of the Singapore Flyer, amidst a picturesque view of Singapores Central Business District

May 21, 2018 | By Lynette Kee

The 6th edition of Le Diner en Blanc Singapore took place at F1 Pit turn 23, in front of the Singapore Flyer on 12 May 2018 for a dining experience unlike any other. This year, the annual elegant soiree attracted close to 1200 attendees, among the well-dressed crowd are local actors and hosts Jade Seah, Constance Lau, Sarah Benjamin, and Wallace Ang, radio personalities Sonia Chew of 987FM, Xie Jiafa of 883JiaFM, Simone Heng of Class95, Charmaine Yee of Kiss92FM, news personality Sharanjit Leyl, and other media members.

Secrets Out: Le Diner en Blanc Singapore 2018

The evening saw guests arriving for a night of glamorous dining in one of Singapores most unexpected locations  dining in a racing pit? Unheard of! Upon arriving at the destination right before dusk, guests were greeted by the beautiful urban skyline of Singapores Central Business District with the iconic Marina Bay Sands providing a much selfie-worthy backdrop. The course of the evening was carried through by stellar music and performance, featuring International acclaimed artist Randolf Arriola. Alongside him was percussionist extraordinaire Ridz Razali of Wicked Aura and didgeridoo player Stew Bamrah, having their first ever performance at the event.

While guests are encouraged to bring their own picnic basket with their own take on Asian fusion dishes, leading local mod-Asian chefs Shen Tan, Dennis Chong of CreatureS, and home chef Tinoq Goh were also starred in the event, showcasing their uniquely curated epicurean spread. The night was yet again, made a huge success  the most elegant al-fresco picnic the city has ever seen. Even the slight rain before the commencement of the dinner did not dampen the spirits of the party. The rest of the night was completed with guests clinking glasses to the finest selection of wine, music and unforgettable memories.The consensuses reached during economic and trade consultations between China and the United States meet the interests of the people of the two countries and whole world, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said on Monday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy and Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, receives an interview in Washington, the United States, on May 19, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

Liu, just returned from the United States, referred to the talks as "positive, pragmatic, and productive" with some important consensuses reached.

The vice premier made the remarks while meeting some attendees at the fourth China-U.S. governors' forum.

Liu expressed hope that the two sides would take the forum as an opportunity to further advance all-round pragmatic cooperation at the local level and promote stable and sound development of bilateral ties.

Bill Walker, governor of Alaska and John Sanchez, lieutenant governor of New Mexico, were among attendees at the forum. They told Liu that the whole world is celebrating for the consensuses reached between China and the United States on economic and trade issues.

They pledged to further strengthen cooperation with China in such areas as trade, investment, green development and people-to-people exchanges at the local level, so as to make positive contribution to bilateral ties.

Also Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that China expects no further reversals in trade and economic ties with the United States.

"If the governments of the two countries reach a good agreement and results that are acceptable to both, they should stick to the agreement. Of course, we do not want to see any reversal," said Lu.

Based on the experiences of the past four decades, the fundamental reason why both nations have been able to manage disputes has been that the relationship is in the best interest of both countries and their people, he added.

"We hope that the China-U.S. trade and economic relations, which are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, will play a more effective role," said the spokesperson.Famed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou on Sunday was greeted with cheers and applause of an enthusiastic crowd after he received an honorary Doctor of Humanize Letters from the Boston University at its 145th Commencement.

Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou. [File Photo: IC]

"It's my greatest honor to present Zhang Yimou for the Boston University honorary degree," said Boston University President Robert Brown at the 2018 commencement.

Zhang Yimou's films "offer not only a perspective on the people and culture of China, but also a window into the universal qualities of human nature and yearning," he told about 7,000 graduating students and their parents.

He also praised Zhang Yimou's other work including ballet, opera and especially Olympic ceremonies.

"The opening and closing of the 2008 Beijing games left the world in awe at their unparalleled beauty and magnificence. Earlier this year, you dazzled once again with the Winter Olympics handover ceremony," he continued.

"Boston University is proud to confer upon you (Zhang Yimou) the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa", the university president announced amid students' big and warm hail and applause.

"I'm honored. This is a recognition of my work and creation personally, and moreover, it demonstrates the big influence of films which can be seen as the visiting card of a country," the world famous director told Xinhua on Sunday.

Zhang Yimou is one of China's leading directors in the movie industry. His films, which include Raise the Red Lantern, House of Flying Daggers, and The Great Wall, have won prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival, and six of his films have been nominated for Academy Awards, according to an introduction posted on the Boston University's website.

More recently, Zhang directed the Beijing portion of the handover ceremony at the close of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Other recipients of honorary degrees from the private research university, founded in 1839, include U.S. civil rights icon John Lewis and U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony S. Fauci.US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, center, waves to reporters as he arrives to a hotel after meeting with Chinese officials in Beijing, Thursday, May 3, 2018. [Photo: AP/Andy Wong]

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that the United States and China have reached a deal on a "very important" framework concerning their economic and trade ties, and the two sides have agreed to put a possible trade war on hold.

In an interview with Fox News, Mnuchin said that in the just concluded economic and trade consultations between the United States and China, the two nations have "made very meaningful progress."

He added that the two sides will continue with their communications on trade issues.

China and the United States issued a joint statement on Saturday on the economic and trade consultations, vowing not to launch a trade war against each other.

The two sides agreed to take effective measures to substantially decrease the U.S. trade deficit with China.Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.Among their main concerns, teachers cited scripted lesson plans, a significant reduction in the number of full novels to be read, little room for teacher creativity, and the exclusion of Indian Education for All, a state constitutional mandate that all Montana citizens learn about American Indian history and culture in schools.

LUCY TOMPKINS [email protected]

http://missoulian.com/news/local/mcps-recommends-controversial-english-curriculum-teachers-speak-out/article_aa156950-b021-5489-b11f-0b864352e723.html#tracking-source=home-top-story-1Here is our Top 11 for this week, celebrating work and successes to grow and strengthen our Great Falls regional economy. More progress on projects as we finish out 2017.

Thank you to the GFDA Investors who are working hard and putting resources into growing Great Falls! We need your help and support. If you havent renewed your investment pledge, please consider doing so. Give me a call to discuss 406.750.2119. With continued national economic growth, were making major commitments to efforts in 2018 to attract projects to the Great Falls region, and that means we need your financial support!

WE ARE Hungry to Grow the Great Falls regional economy!

Brett

Top 11: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?m=1101450799075&ca=ee504627-9954-45e2-9673-ee06f2d8ec71Manila (CNN Philippines Life)  Anna*, a teacher from Bicol, got pregnant a year after getting married in 2013. But she suffered a miscarriage shortly after, and has not been able to bear a child since.

Originally from Bicol, she, together with her husband Joey*, travelled all the way to Bulacan to join the Obando festival, a yearly three-day festival every May 17 to 19 that honors San Pascual Baylon, Santa Clara, and Our Lady of Salambao. Joining in the festivities has been said to grant couples an offspring.

Yun na lang, yun na lang ang kulang sa amin para masabing family talaga diba, kailangan may anak, says Joey. Kaya pumunta kami dito para sa fertility dance, adds Anna.

The fertility dance supposedly originated from a pre-Christian celebration called kasilonawan. This was before the Spaniards colonized the Philippines, and it was believed that women who cannot bear children were part of the lowest class of society. It was considered Paganistic in belief as women would offer dances to the deities of nature, and when Spaniards introduced Catholicism in the country, Franciscan missionaries introduced the three saints to replace Pagan gods.

Both teachers from Bicol who have been married for over five years, Anna and Joey travelled all the way to Bulacan to join the three-day festival. Photo by JL JAVIER

Nag-offer nga kami ng mass for one month diyan, Anna* says as she points to the San Pascual Baylon church, the venue of the five-step dance, which was formalized in 1993 through the help of a local choreographer and a national folk dancer who had memories of the dance they used to see from years past.

The dance is held inside the church, and one would expect a more solemn celebration, but the dance is more a lively production rather than a sacred prayer. There is a host (or sort of hype man) who pronounces what kind of petition one is asking for (Sa mga gusto magka-anak Sayaw! he shouts), and the crowd proceeds to waltzing.

If one wants to learn the dance, there are videos online about the proper way to do it, and even the parish churchs Facebook page has a dance tutorial that outlines the meaning behind each step.

The festival honors San Pascual Baylon, Santa Clara, and Our Lady of Salambao. The fertility dance is held in the San Pascual Baylon church in Obando. Photo by JL JAVIER

Khristine Oronea, a dentist from Mandaluyong, learned the steps on Youtube. She also went to Bulacan with her husband, as theyve been trying to have a child for over seven years now.

We have no chance na  Naka-ilang OB na kami eh, she says, referring to the impossibility of her getting pregnant.

But her husband, Marlon Oronea, quickly responds, They always say na it's about faith so no one's stopping us from doing it. It's just about what you want to do. And theres no scientific explanation, but it's faith. That's it.

The fertility dance supposedly originated from a pre-Christian celebration called kasilonawan. It was considered Paganistic in belief as women would offer dances to the deities of nature, and when Spaniards introduced Catholicism in the country, Franciscan missionaries introduced the three saints to replace Pagan gods. Photo by JL JAVIER

While the San Pascual Baylon church is known to be host to the fertility rites, other people also come to pray for other intentions. During the ceremony, the host would even yell a list of illnesses (such as aneurysm, asthma, dengue, thyroid, and migraine), pause for a bit, then shout sayaw! over and over again.

Such is the case with Imelda Pagayon, a 57-year-old woman raised in Obando, who started taking the dances seriously only when she was 40 years old. She did join the dancing when she was younger, but it was when she had severe asthma that she performed the dance as a prayer.

Dati konting lakad ko, hingal. Ngayon nawala lahat yun  Basta lahat ng hilingin ko sa [mga santo], naibibigay, she says.

She also shares how she also danced to pray for her husband, a drunkard who physically abused her, to change. Her husband died five years ago, and she recalls it wasnt until a year before dying that her husband stopped abusing her.

Naghintay talaga ako ng bigay ni Lord, she says, reiterating that she didnt mind that it took some time for the Lord to answer her prayers. At least it was answered, she quips.

They always say na it's about faith so no one's stopping us from doing it. It's just about what you want to do. And theres no scientific explanation, but it's faith. That's it, says Marlon Oronea, who went to the Obando festival with his wife, Khristine. Photo by JL JAVIER

For Loraine Aguila, time is also not particularly of the essence when waiting for prayers to be answered. When she and her husband were first trying to have a baby, they joined a pilgrimage in Lourdes, France. She says their prayers were granted but then had trouble bearing a second child.

We've been trying to have another kid after my first. For 12 years, wala, she says. And then I heard about this place and then we were blessed right away. As in we've been trying for 12 years and after I danced here. One month after, I was pregnant. Imagine?

She has since been sharing her story to friends and whoever she can tell it to as she truly believes the place to be miraculous. The mere fact that there are so many people who come is a testament that they've been helped, she says.

Indeed, the San Pascual Baylon church is filled with people, the streets in Obando are lined with vendors and small businesses, and a small room inside the parish even assembled art works by artists from the community. Fifty-nine-year-old hat vendor Evangeline Ayaay has benefitted from this festival precisely because there are more people, so she is able to earn more.

Evangeline Ayaay, a hat vendor, who was born and raised in Obando, Bulacan. If it's not festival season, she sells other items like rosaries and bracelets at the San Pascual Baylon church. She says that the Obando festival usually enables her to earn more than usual because of the large number of people who come to participate in the event. Photo by JL JAVIER

She typically earns 3,000 in three days, but during Obando festival, she earns up to 10,000. Malaki-laki rin ang tulong kasi maraming dumadayo, she says.

Ayaay sells hats mostly for those who join the procession, which happens before the dance inside the church. Ito ang tradisyon na lahat sila kailangan nakasuot na sumbrero, she says. Tsaka ano to eh, eto yung kagandahan ng mga nagsasayaw lahat halos may mga sumbrero.

Festivals like this has not only attracted tourists but it has also helped shed light to other things that the municipality of about 60,000 people can offer.

During the festival, a procession takes place for about one to two hours. Some devotees join this, while others just wait for the procession to finish and join the dance inside the church. Photo by JL JAVIER

Leonardo Mendoza, an employee of the municipality of Obando, says that their town has, for the longest time, been known to be a place that is prone to flood because of their proximity to Manila Bay. He says that as the fertility dance became more popular, it gradually overshadowed the reputation of Obando of being nothing but a place that always floods.

Mendoza also shares that there are several plans in place to highlight other attributes of Obando.

Unti-unti kaming gumagawa ng mga bagong attraction para maging tourist destination dito sa Obando, he says. Kasi sabihin na nating hindi siya ganon kalaking municipality, pero in terms of sa sea food, for example, marami talaga dito. Kaya yan ang delicacy ng Obando.

But he says that, at the moment, the municipality is relishing being known for the fertility dance.

Leonardo Mendoza, an employee of the municipality of Obando, says that as the fertility dance became more popular, it gradually overshadowed the reputation of Obando of being nothing but a place that always floods. Photo by JL JAVIER

Gusto namin na makilala siya for eto nga for fertility dance talaga, he says.

He continues to speak of the power of the dance  from classmates who were products of their parents faith to the three saints to his brother and sister-in-law who also joined in on the five-step dance.

Talagang ano lang din talaga, nasa pananampalataya. Yung sincerity ba ng paghingi mo o ng pagdasal mo, he says. Kasi sa lahat naman ng bagay, once hindi ka sincere at hindi bukal sa loob mo ang ginagawa mo, hindi naman maiibigay sayo yan eh.

***

*Names have been changed to protect their privacy.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  Actor Cesar Montano resigned as Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Chief on Monday amid alleged irregularities in the agency's projects.

Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat confirmed Montano's departure, saying President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted his resignation.

She said she expected the Commission on Audit (COA) to continue to look into the alleged irregularities.

"Yes, confirmed," she said in a text message to CNN Philippines when asked if Montano has resigned. "I would like to consider this matter closed  from my active involvement  but trust that COA will get to the bottom of this episode."

Special Assistant to the President Bong Go also confirmed to CNN Philippines Montano's resignation letter addressed to President Rodrigo Duterte through Go.

"In faithful adherence to my duty as a public servant, I am respectfully tendering my courtesy resignation as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) effective immediately," the letter dated May 22 said.

"I am truly grateful for the trust and the opportunity you have bestowed upon me to serve our country through the Tourism Promotions Board," it added.

Montano was in hot water for approving multi-million peso projects without proper bidding. Last week, Puyat suspended all TPB projects, including the controversial 320 milllion "Buhay Carinderia," pending an audit by COA.

Puyat learned that "Buhay Carinderia" skipped bidding and was instead sponsored by TPB, as was common practice in the agency under Montano.

Additionally, TPB already paid 80 million to the organizer "Buhay Carinderia" although it had not even been launched.

TPB Deputy Chief Operating Officer Maricon Ebron told CNN Philippines it was Puyat's predecessor, Wanda Teo, who referred "Buhay Carinderia," which promotes local eateries, to the agency.

Ebron also said TPB spent millions of pesos in projects that did not go through proper bidding or were not approved by the Board of Directors.

"Marami nang naimplement na medyo nangangailangan ng bidding (Many implemented projects needed bidding.) or it has to go through the process, ng board approval na medyo nagskip doon sa mga processes na iyon (but skipped the process). So I think na tama na dapat ireview (It's right to conduct a review)," Ebron said.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  The Constitutional Committee (ConCom) tasked to recommend changes to the country's charter is proposing a new impeachment process under a federal form of government that would allow both the Supreme Court and Congress to remove from office all impeachable officials.

ConCom chairman and former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said the committee believes the process of impeachment should be both political and judicial in nature.

"This is a system that you cannot find in other countries. It is a system that we hope will be good for our own needs contextually," he explained.

Under a Federal Constitution that the ConCom is proposing, impeachment will no longer be the sole domain of Congress. Instead, the House of Representatives and Senate will form a joint body to determine probable cause and prepare indictment of an impeachable official.

Congress will also serve as prosecutors.

However, the judiciary will try and judge all impeachment cases through the Federal Constitutional Court, one of three proposed high courts that will replace the current Supreme Court.

Puno explained that the recent quo warranto petition that removed former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno from her post was part of the ConCom's discussion.

He called the development a "wrinkle" in the process as there is nothing specific mentioned in the present or past constitutions about the use of quo warranto for impeachment purposes.

Puno added it was the committee's job to address such "open spaces" in the current Constitution.

"Wala namang Constitution that can provide for all eventualities. Lahat ng Constitution may open spaces, open texture so if you are in the process of revising the Constitution, you might as well take a look at these open spaces," Puno said.

The ConComm is still discussing whether or not to limit or expand the grounds for impeachment.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  President Rodrigo Duterte again denied it was during his term when an international tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines over claims in the South China Sea.

"It did not come during my term, 'yung award. Excuse me. Hindi sa panahon ko 'yan, nandiyan na 'yan pagdating ko or two days after," Duterte said in a speech at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu on Saturday.

[Translation: It did not come during my term, the award. Excuse me. It wasn't during my time. It has been there when I arrived or two days after.]

The ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague was made on July 12, 2016, about two weeks into Duterte's term as President after his inauguration on June 30 of the same year.

However, Duterte said even if were the President then, he would not be able to do much to enforce it.

"If I were President at the time, anong magawa ko [what can I do]? I can send my Marines there. I can send every police there. But what will happen? They will all be massacred," he said.

Duterte said Chinese forces have been using the Spratly Islands as their "mainland."

"Sabi ko, because nang nandiyan na, ipinapakita nila are the current ano [I said, right now, what they are showing are], the contemporary bombers pati fighters. But beyond the shores there at the back, nandoon 'yung mga hypersonics nila ngayon [their hypersonics are there now] and it can reach Manila in seven minutes," he said.

This was not the first time Duterte incorrectly said the ruling was issued during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III.

READ: Duterte says U.S., ex-Pres. Aquino allowed military build-up in S. China Sea

On Sunday, Senator Risa Hontiveros and Magdalo Party-list Rep. Antonio Trillanes called on Duterte to do more to protect the country, after Friday reports of Chinese bomber planes were seen landing on an island in the contested waters.

READ MORE: Senator seeks PH action on China's threat of 'nuclear war'

China's exercise of the H-6K bomber planes on an island  believed to be Woody Island in the Paracel group  was part Chinese air force's war preparation skills and its ability to respond to various security threats, according to a statement from military expert Wang Mingliang on Friday.

However, the United States has criticized this show of force from China.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it is closely monitoring developments in the South China Sea.

"We are taking the appropriate diplomatic action necessary to protect our claims and will continue to do so in the future," the DFA said on Monday.

However, it clarified it is not their policy to disclose certain actions taken regarding the dispute.

"While appropriate language, whether expressions of condemnation or concern, over certain developments are clearly conveyed through diplomatic channels, it is not our policy to publicize every action taken by the Philippine Government whenever there are reported developments taking place in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea," it said.

The department said the government is asserting the country's sovereign rights over parts of the South China Sea  through diplomatic measures like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' Code of Conduct in the South China Sea and through the laws under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

It added the country is taking a different approach to resolving the maritime row to "avoid any drawbacks and challenges."Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  The Senate was rendered useless when it was robbed of an impeachment trial, former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said on Monday.

"Ang Senado-pasensya na ang salita-parang ginawang inutil po sila," Sereno told CNN Philippines' The Source.

[Translation: Sorry for the word, but the Senate was rendered inutile.]

She also threw her support behind a Senate resolution questioning her ouster. Fourteen senators, including outgoing Senate President Koko Pimentel, believed the quo warranto petition should not have been granted and that Sereno should be given her day in the impeachment court.

Speaking to The Source, Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo dismissed the Senate petition as premature.

House Justice Committee Chair Rey Umali agreed, and slammed the decision as "self-serving."

"They do not even have jurisdiction over the case because it is still with the House of Representatives," said Umali. "It can only express the sentiment of the Senators, but that is about it."

Following Sereno's ouster on May 11, the Lower House said it would be more prudent to wait for the Supreme Court's final ruling on the quo warranto petition before proceeding with the pending impeachment complaint against her.

On the question of jurisdiction, Sereno said the Senate was merely asserting its constitutional right, and the petition should be given due attention.

"May malaking moral authority iyan... Kailangan pakinggan iyan," she said.

[Translation: That (request) has large moral authority... It has to be listened to.]

The former Chief Justice is expected to file a motion for reconsideration before the Supreme Court on or before May 30.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  The amount needed to rehabilitate Marawi could reach up to 80 billion, higher than earlier estimates, officials said Monday.

Task Force Bangon Marawi chairperson Eduardo del Rosario, in a message to CNN Philippines, said the initial estimate of 72 billion  the amount mentioned in a Cabinet meeting in April  was divided into 55 billion for the rehab of areas outside the main battle area, and 17.2 billion for the most affected areas (MAA) in the city.

"But now, we have factored in additional requirements like the debris volume of 18 million tons instead of the 5 million tons initial estimate, sanitary landfill, hospital, etc., the latest estimate is pegged between 75 billion to 80 billion total," he said.

Del Rosario clarified, however that the cost for the MAA was still up for Swiss challenge.

NEDA reveals cost to rebuild, rehab

According to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), the government needs 53.4 billion to finance the full rehabilitation of areas outside what was the main battle zone in Marawi City.

In a press briefing Monday, NEDA Undersecretary for Regional Development Adoracion Navarro said over 26 billion would be needed this year, while the remaining 27 billion would be disbursed from 2019 to 2022.

"Many of the funding requirements are on the housing sector, livelihood and business development." Navarro said. "We expect that many projects will be implemented this year to address the needs, especially the housing , the transitory housing needs of IDPs (internally displaced persons)."

These figures, however, are tentative and Navarro said there may be changes as deliberations continue.

Navarro added the funding would come from the government, donations from the private sector and non-government organizations, and from the Official Development Assistance.

For 2018, the government has allocated 10 billion from the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund, and another 5 billion from the Unprogrammed Appropriations in the 2018 General Appropriations Act.

Some countries have also donated and pledged financial support: 970 million from Japan, 1.2 billion from China, and 945 million from Australia.

Navarro added the government rehabilitation efforts are on schedule.

She said there was a program for the safe return of residents outside the MAAs in the City

"Actually 72 barangays have already been declared ready, there are residents who have returned to the 72 barangays," she said.

CNN Philippines' Makoi Popioco, Chad de Guzman, and Pia Garcia contributed to this report.Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  Even if the Palace said the presence of Chinese bombers in South China Sea poses no threat to national security, it will bring the matter up with the eastern giant soon.

"And like the other issues that have been reported by a major daily, we will bring this issue again in the bilateral mechanism that we have agreed upon with China," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Monday.

The Bilateral Consultative Mechanism (BCM) is a biannual meeting between working-level officials from both China and the Philippines to raise their concerns on the maritime dispute. The first BCM was in May 2017, and the second one was held in February this year.

Roque said there is a scheduled BCM this year, possibly in June.

Meanwhile, Roque also added the Philippines is one with the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in its calls to stop militarizing the area.

"We also would like to highlight an ASEAN declaration or statement that was adopted in the recent (summit) in Singapore. And this reiterates the importance of non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would further complicate the situation in the West Philippine Sea," he said.

The Presidential Spokesperson added while the Philippines has no independent verification of the report, it takes the reports seriously.

"Hindi naman po natin binabalewala. As the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) said, hindi naman pupwede na lahat ng issue on foreign relations ay nag-iingay tayo," he said.

[Translation:We are not dismissing the reports. As the DFA said, we don't have to announce all our courses of action on foreign relations.]

Former DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario, meanwhile, is urging the public to help the President.

In a statement released Monday, del Rosario said, "Our government needs to listen to its people. Our northern neighbor needs to listen to the Filipino people. And finally, all our traditional partners and friends  who are waiting for a united voice  need to hear from us."

Del Rosario said Filipinos must help Duterte see that Filipinos are willing to "make the supreme sacrifice" for the country should it be needed.

"Let us therefore, respectfully convey to our president that we eagerly await his inspirational leadership by doing what is right," he said.

READ MORE: Duterte asserts arbitral ruling on South China Sea not during his term

The DFA earlier said it is monitoring developments on Woody Island, part of the disputed Paracel chain in the South China Sea.

READ MORE: Senator seeks PH action on China's threat of 'nuclear war'

U.S. still an ally

Roque also responded to reports of Philippine officials in Hawaii to meet with the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) on Saturday.

"I can only surmise that the visit is intended to reassure the United States that while we are pursuing an independent foreign policy, we have not abandoned our traditional ally," Roque said.

A delegation led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea had discussions with U.S. PACOM Chief Admiral Harry Harris Jr., where they talked about the maritime dispute.

The Presidential Spokesperson, however, said the Philippines must not depend on the United States to defend its sovereign rights over its territories.

"Ang Estados Unidos naman, pagdating sa mga pinag-aagawang mga isla, ang palaging punto de vista, ay hindi sila makikialam sa agawan ng teritoryo," he said.

[Translation: The United States when it comes to contested islands will opt to not interference in conflicting territorial claims.]

The United States has repeatedly raised concerns over the alleged military activities in the South China Sea, going as far as sending its destroyers there in March.

READ: U.S. destroyer sails close to contested island in South China SeaMetro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 21)  House leaders said they will meet with members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) on Tuesday to discuss the concerns of lawmakers on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The decision on the meeting was made after an all-member caucus on the BBL Monday afternoon to discuss lawmakers' proposed amendments.

Three house panels approved House Bill 6475 or the Bangsamoro Basic Law last week without any amendments.

The proposed measure authored by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is the same BBL version submitted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission to Congress.

Alvarez said House leaders and the BTC will look for a middle ground to unite the concerns of House members and members of the BTC, such as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

"Tignan namin yung mga niraise na concern kung paano iaddress. So kinakailangan kasama rin sila para di na masyado maging problema sa plenary," he said.

[Translation: We will look at the concerns that were raised so we will know how to address them. So, they have to be included so there won't too many problems in plenary.]

Majority Leader Rudy Farinas said the meeting would take place in the morning, after which the House leadership may call for another all-member caucus to finalize the proposed amendments on the measure before they are taken up in the plenary.

Alvarez said he would ask President Rodrigo Duterte to certify the measure as urgent so they could pass it on third and final reading before Congress goes on a sine break which would start on June 1.When Maison Ferrand (parent company of Plantation Rum) purchased the Barbados-based West Indies Rum Distillery in 2017, it came with a bonus: One-third ownership of Jamaicas Long Pond and Clarendon distilleries. While master blender Alexandre Gabriel is no stranger to Jamaican rums  witness Plantations Jamaican vintage rums and blends like O.F.T.D. Overproofin the past year hes ventured deeply down the Jamaican rabbit hole. The first visible sign just hit the wires today with Plantation Xaymaca Special Dry announcement  a 100 percent pot still, blended rum from the two aforementioned distilleries.

First, lets answer the obvious questions:

No, Xaymaca isnt a typo. Its the Arawak name for Jamaica and means land of wood and water. The indigenous Arawaks inhabited Jamaica well before Columbus set foot on the island in 1494. Thus, Xaymaca is the original name for the island.

Online guides suggest Xaymaca is pronounced zay-muck-uh.

The rum clocks in at 43 percent ABV, or 86 proof. Most cocktails are tuned for rums in this ABV range, not cask-strength monsters, much as we love them.

There is no added sugar, aka dosage.

Its not a limited release of just a few casks.

a limited release of just a few casks. It will be widely available and found in the same locales youd expect to find other Plantation blends. It will be part of Plantations Signature Blends series.

With the preliminaries handled, lets jump to the wonky parts. In April of 2018, Mrs. Wonk and I visited Chateau Bonbonnet, home of Maison Ferrand, for an extremely in-depth look at the Xaymaca blend as the final blend profile took shape. Eagle-eyed followers of my Facebook page might have noticed my post about a Xaymaca blend preview at the Paris Rhum Fest the prior April weekend.

Over several hours at Bonbonnet with Alexandre, Benjamin Galais (technical director), and Nicolas Malfondet (director of research and development), we tasted through numerous Long Pond and Clarendon marques, as well as several other iconic Jamaican rums found on bar shelves around the world. There was a spirited debate about the true nature of Jamaican rum, as well as reviewing laboratory analysis data for many of the rums on the table before us. Wonky nirvana, in case that wasnt obvious.

The Xaymaca label provides very detailed production information, especially for a rum thats not a limited edition, single-cask rum from an independent bottler. Lets start with the distilleries: Long Pond and Clarendon. This shouldnt be a surprise to anyone who follows the Plantation story. In early 2017, Maison Ferrand purchased the West Indies Rum Distillery in Barbados from Goddard Enterprises. Included in the assets were one-third ownership of National Rums of Jamaica, aka NRJ. The other owners of NRJ (also at one-third ownership each) are the Jamaican government and Demerara Distillers Limited. The primary assets of NRJ are the historic Long Pond and Clarendon distilleries.

The Long Pond distillery is in the Trelawny parish, not far from Hampden Estate. Like Hampden, Long Pond produces a wide range of rums, including extremely heavy, ester-filled hogo bombs. A few years ago Long Pond shut down for several years, but it has since restarted operations, in mid-2016.

The Clarendon distillery (sometimes referred to as Monymusk) is essentially two distilleries in one. The original distillery, built in 1949, houses the old wooden fermentation vats and double retort pot stills. The new distillery, built in 2009, is very modern and utilizes a quite large multi-column still.

Returning to the Xaymaca label, if you read a little closer, youll see that it not only lists the distilleries but also the exact rum marques from those distilleries. (Note: Some people use marques, some people use marks. Same idea, either way.) As I wrote about in The Case of the Missing Marque, marques are the specific recipes that a distillery employs during production. Every Jamaican distillery creates a number of marques, from very light rum with low ester counts up to very pungent, highly flavored rums with extremely high ester levels. Loosely speaking, more esters means more flavor.

Component Rum Geek Out

The Xaymaca label tells us that the Clarendon (aka Monymusk) rum marques are EMB and MLC, while the Long Pond rums are VRW and STC^E. Great! But what exactly does this mean? Never fear, dear reader, Ive got you covered. On my Jamaican Rum Marques Roundup page, youll find a listing of nearly all Jamaican distilleries and all their (known) marques.

Distillery Marque Ester range Clarendon EMB 125-175 g/hL AA Clarendon MLC 500 g/hL AA Long Pond VRW 150-250 g/hL AA Long Pond STC^E 550-700 g/hL AA

The letters and symbols that make up a marque have no codified meaning. Every Jamaican distillery defines their own, and they are often peoples initials or an acronym. Figuring out the meaning of the marques is a parlor game for the truly Jamaican obsessed, myself included. So far, were reasonably sure that MLC is Monymusk Light Continental. The VRW marque refers to Vale Royal Wedderburn, a Jamaican distillery that was purchased and absorbed by Long Pond in the mid-1950s. (See here for additional background.) As for EMB and STC^E, Ive yet to come across a plausible explanation for the initials meaning. If you know, do tell!

Normally with the above information, youd have a fairly good idea whats in the bottle. However, thanks to Benjamin and Nicolas, we can go far wonkier on each component rum:

Distillery: Clarendon

Marque: EMB

Distillation method: Vendome pot

Fermentation: 1 week

Cask type/age: Tropical < 1 year, Continental 1-2 year (ex-Cognac and American oak casks)

ABV: 65 percent

Esters: 125-175 g/hL AA

Volatile substance: 250-350 g/hL AA

Distillery: Clarendon

Marque: MLC

Distillation method: Vendome pot

Fermentation: 2 weeks

Cask type/age: Tropical < 1 year, Continental 1-2 year (ex-Cognac and American oak casks)

ABV: 70 percent

Esters: 500-600 g/hL AA

Volatile substance: 800-900 g/hL AA

Distillery: Long Pond

Marque: VRW

Distillation method: John Dore pot

Fermentation: 1 week

Cask type/age: Tropical < 1 year, Continental 1-2 year (ex-Cognac and American oak casks)

ABV: 70 percent

Esters: 150-250 g/hL AA

Volatile substance: 300-400 g/hL AA

Distillery: Long Pond

Marque: STC^E (2009)

Distillation method: John Dore pot

Fermentation: 3 weeks

Cask type/age: Tropical 8 years, Continental 1 year (ex-Cognac casks)

ABV: 60 percent

Esters: 550-650 g/hL AA

Volatile substance: 900-1000 g/hL AA

While we dont know the exact ratios of each rum in the Xaymaca blend, we can piece together a reasonable guess. The label helpfully tells us that the ester level is 156 g/hL AA. From the above chart, we know that the EMB and VRW components are substantially lower in esters than the MLC and STC^E. In fact, the EMB and VWR ester ranges are similar to the Xaymacas ester level. Simple mathematics (weighted averages) tells us there must be substantially more EMB and VRW rums than of the other two. Put another way, if you blended all four rums in equal proportion, the resulting blend would have an ester level around 325 g/hL AA. Since the Xaymaca measures far less than that, we know the majority of it must be EMB and/or VRW.

Case closed, right? Not so fast. In the immortal words of Steve Jobs, there is one more thing.

Although not mentioned on the label, theres a fifth component rum in the Xaymaca Special Dry. Its not necessarily a permanent part of the Xaymaca blend and may be replaced with another marque (or marques) at some point. The master blenders job is to keep the overall flavor profile consistent over many years while dealing with slight changes in flavor profile of available stocks, and/or their depletion. If you read my The Case of the Missing Marque story, this ITP marque is the rum at the center of the story. Truth be told, it was my favorite out of all the marque samples we tasted. The details:

Distillery: Long Pond

Marque: ITP

Age: 17 years, mostly tropical (distilled in 2000)

Esters: 280 g/hL AA

Volatile substance: 1030 g/hL AA

As a side note to the above, blending mostly lighter rums with a touch of much heavier rums is a very common technique. Alexandre calls this a wide range blend. Another example in Plantations portfolio was their first iteration of Original Dark, made entirely from light and heavy Trinidad rums.

One last word on the label: In addition to ester levels (156 g/hL AA), it also provides the volatile compounds measurement  312 g/hL AA. The volatile compound measurement includes not only the esters (i.e. ethyl acetate) but many other flavor-related compounds as well. If you read the Martinique rhum AOC, it also specifies a minimum volatile compound measurement for AOC-compliant rums. In case youre curious, there is an official EU definition of whats included in the volatile compound measurement.

Enough with the science  How is it?

The Xaymaca is instantly recognizable as Jamaican. However, dont approach it with the premise that it will be like Smith & Cross or Hamilton Jamaican, both of which are also pot-stilled, hogo-forward mixing Jamaican rums.

The fact that these expressions are different isnt surprising. The distillates from different distilleries are usually very easy to differentiate, even at the same ester levels. The Xaymaca is from Clarendon and Long Pond, the Hamilton is from Worthy Park, and Smith & Cross is a blend of rums from several distilleries.

While the Xaymaca is very much its own rum, dunderheads will obviously compare it to the two aforementioned rums. In the interest of science, I tasted Xaymaca, Smith & Cross, and Hamilton Jamaican Black side by side, with the Smith & Cross diluted to approximately 43 percent ABV to keep things fair. The Hamilton, at 46.5 percent ABV, is close enough to 43 percent that I didnt dilute it.

The Xaymacas nose is much lighter than the other two  it doesnt leap from the glass as quickly as some Jamaicans do. I notice tropical fruits with a hint of fresh sawdust. In contrast, the other two rums had strong overripe banana, black tea, and vegetal notes.

Once sipped, the Xaymaca is very different from what my nose suggested. The tropical fruit remains, but joined by lush, oily notes similar to what Ive found in other Long Pond expressions. Theres an abundance of flavor at 43 percent ABV without being overbearing. As for the Smith & Cross and Hamilton, I found their flavor slightly less intense and more astringent, with a thinner mouthfeel than the Xaymaca.

If I were to spend an evening sipping only one of these rums, the Xaymaca is the clear winner. Of course, your preferences may differ.

Wrap-up

As a fan of all things Jamaican, Im excited to see the Xaymaca enter the market  it offers a very different flavor profile than other Jamaicans such as Appleton, Coruba, Myerss, etc

For folks pushing for more transparency in rum, the Xaymaca label sets a pretty high bar. In some circles, much will be made of the lack of dosage from Plantation, and wondering if its a trend. But the big picture is whats unsaid thus far: Xaymaca is the first clear and visible signal that owning two Jamaican distilleries has created opportunity for new directions for Alexandre Gabriel and crew to explore. I dont expect Xaymaca to be the last.On May 16, commencing at 6:45 p.m. for approximately 80 minutes, Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, held a summit meeting with Rear Admiral (Retired) Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji, who is visiting Japan to attend the Eighth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM8), which was followed by a dinner with Prime Minister Bainimarama. The overview is as follows.





1. Prime Minister Abe welcomed the visit by Prime Minister Bainimarama, who is visiting Japan for the first time in three years, and hoped that their meeting would serve as an opportunity to further deepen the cooperative relations between Japan and Fiji. Prime Minister Bainimarama thanked the Government of Japan for the invitation to Japan and for the warm hospitality. As this was the first meeting between the leaders following the reelection of Prime Minister Abe, Prime Minister Bainimarama wished to convey his congratulations on the reelection of the Prime Minister.

2. Prime Minister Abe announced the intention of the Government of Japan to provide a grant aid of approximately 300 million yen for maritime conservation and capacity building in disaster risk reduction, adding that the Government would continue to cooperate for the self-sustaining and sustainable development of Fiji. Prime Minister Bainimarama thanked Prime Minister Abe for the Japanese assistance provided to Fiji over many years. The leaders agreed to further promote bilateral trade and investment as well as people-to-people exchanges.

3. The leaders confirmed that they would cooperate towards the successful holding of PALM8 in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture on May 18 and 19.

4. The leaders discussed Japans Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy , and agreed to collaborate closely on important issues facing the region. In addition, the leaders shared the view that they would work together to address the regional situation, including North Korea, and enhance their cooperation in the international arena.





5. The dinner following the meeting took place in a very relaxed atmosphere, during which the leaders exchanged views on a broad range of topics.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,Montreal Gazette Headline News

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Trump's New Campaign Against Iran Will Not Achieve Its Aims

The Trump administration made it perfectly clear today that it wants regime change in Iran by whatever means it has.

In a well promoted speech at the Heritage Foundation Secretary of State Pompeo laid out twelve demands towards Iran. He threatened the "strongest sanctions in history" if those demands were not fulfilled.

But the demands do not make sense. They only demonstrate the incompetence of the Trump administration. The means the Trump administration laid out to achieve its aims are not realistic and, even if they were implementable, insufficient to achieve the desired results.

Iran is asked to stop all uranium enrichment. Stopping enrichment is a no-go for Iran. The program has wide support in Iranian politics as it is seen as an attribute its sovereignty.

Pompeo demands that Iran closes its heavy water reactor. Iran can not close its heavy water reactor. It does not have one. The one it was building in Arak was disabled under the nuclear agreement (JCPOA). Concrete was poured into its core under supervision of IAEA inspectors. How can the Secretary of State of the United States make such a fact-free demand in a prepared speech?

Another demand is that Iran ends its support for the Palestinian resistance. This is also a no-go for Iran as long as the Zionist occupation of Palestine continues. There is a demand that Iran does not develop "nuclear capable" missiles. Iran had already committed to that under the JCPOA Trump killed. Another demand is that Iran pulls back all troops from Syria,and ends all interference in Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Together these demands ask for a wholesale change of Iran's national character and policies. It is apparently supposed to become Lichtenstein.

The Trump administration has no way to achieve that goal.

With painstaking work the Obama administration managed to get much of the world to agree to sanctions on Iran. It was possible because the other countries trusted Obama's assurances that he would keep his side of the deal and seriously negotiate. International unity and trust was necessary to achieve the nuclear agreement.

Now Trump wants much more but he has no united international front behind him. No one trusts his word. The Europeans are enraged that Trump s threatens them with secondary sanctions if they stick to the agreement they signed and continue to deal with Iran. While they may eventually fold and to some extend stop dealing with Iran, they will also try to circumvent those unilateral U.S. sanctions.

Neither China nor Russia nor India will stop doing business with Iran. For them the unilateral U.S. sanctions are opening new markets. The French oil company Total announced that it will stop the development of Iran's South Pars gas field to avoid secondary U.S. sanctions on its other interests. China said "thank you" and took over the work. Russia will likewise jump in where it can. Its agricultural industry will deliver whatever food stuff Iran wants and needs. It will continue to sell weapons to Iran. China, India and others will continue to buy Iranian oil.

The Trump administration will cause some economic pain. It will also make the U.S. and Europe weaker and Russia and China stronger. The threat of secondary sanctions will eventually lead to the creation of a sanction-secure parallel global economy. The SWIFT banking information exchange which routes international payments between banks can be replaced by country to country systems that do not depend an sanctionable institutions. The U.S. dollar as a universal exchange medium can be avoided by using other currencies or barter. The nonsensical use of economic and financial sanction will end up destroying the U.S. ability to use them as a tool of foreign policy.

The Pompeo speech will unite the people in Iran. The moderate neoliberals around the current president Rouhani will join the nationalist hardliners in their resistance. The demands go way beyond what any Iranian government could concede. An Iran in which the will of its people counts will never agree to them.

The only way the Trump administration could possibly reach its aims is by regime change. But regime change has already been tried in the current Iran and it failed. The "green revolution" was strongly supported by Obama. But it was easily derailed and failed. Various assassination campaigns within Iran did not change its policies. Iran's size and geography make a direct military campaign like in Libya impossible. Iran can retaliate against any strike by hitting U.S. interests in the Gulf.

The U.S. can and likely will continue to attack Iranian forces and interests in Syria and elsewhere. Its military will hassle Iran in the Gulf. The CIA will try to fuel internal Iranian unrest. Mounting sanctions will damage the Iranian economy. But none of this can change Iran's national spirit as expressed in its foreign policy.

A year or two from now the Trump administration will find that its sanction campaign failed. There will be a push for a direct military attack on Iran. But plans for such an attack were also made under George W. Bush. Back then the Pentagon advised that such a war would cause it very serious losses and was still likely to fail. I therefore doubt that it will ever happen.

What else then is there that the Trump administration can do when its announced Plan A has failed?

Posted by b on May 21, 2018 at 18:21 UTC | Permalink

Comments

next page Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk!

You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details.Michigan Tech MTRAC Innovation Hub awards more than $200,000 for applied advanced materials projects across the state.

Four technologies from universities across Michigan that demonstrate commercial potential in applied advanced materials earned funding from the Michigan Technological University Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) statewide Innovation Hub. The support will help them continue their path toward commercialization. Michigan Tech engineering faculty led two of the projects.

The MTRAC program, in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporations (MEDC) Entrepreneurship and Innovation initiative, is designed to support applicants with high-tech projects in applied advanced materials from institutions of higher education, non-profit research centers and hospital systems across the state to help them get out of the lab and into the market.

A 10-member oversight committee consisting of venture capitalists, materials experts from various fields and experienced entrepreneurs reviewed 17 proposals from six universities. The level of innovation coupled with the ability to solve a real-life problem and achieve commercialization were the primary factors considered in approving funding.

Newly funded projects are:

Polar Salt Process for High Surface Area Refined Salt: A novel, energy-efficient process using low-cost Michigan-based feedstock to produce a zero additive, premium grade salt providing a quicker burst of flavor with less salt while enhancing other flavors. Principal investigator: Tim Eisele, associate professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Tech.

A novel, energy-efficient process using low-cost Michigan-based feedstock to produce a zero additive, premium grade salt providing a quicker burst of flavor with less salt while enhancing other flavors. Principal investigator: Tim Eisele, associate professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Tech. Recycling of Lithium-ion Battery: A next generation recycling of lithium-ion batteries to recover a high value product for re-use in new batteries that is economical and produces high purity materials, addressing the environmental, regulatory and supply chain concerns for cell phones, laptops, tablets and electric vehicle markets. Principal investigator: Lei Pan, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Tech.

A next generation recycling of lithium-ion batteries to recover a high value product for re-use in new batteries that is economical and produces high purity materials, addressing the environmental, regulatory and supply chain concerns for cell phones, laptops, tablets and electric vehicle markets. Principal investigator: Lei Pan, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Tech. Low-Cost Fabrication Approach for Self-Cleaning and Smudge-Free Resistant Glass Panels: This environmentally friendly fluorine-free, low-cost and high- adhesion self-cleaning coating system is used for applications such as windows, solar panels, windshields, self-cleaning metals and foul-resistant coatings. Principal investigator: Muhammad Rabnawaz, assistant professor, School of Packaging at Michigan State University.

This environmentally friendly fluorine-free, low-cost and high- adhesion self-cleaning coating system is used for applications such as windows, solar panels, windshields, self-cleaning metals and foul-resistant coatings. Principal investigator: Muhammad Rabnawaz, assistant professor, School of Packaging at Michigan State University. Scalable Ultra-Thin Metal Based Transparent Conductors and Applications: A scalable and cost-effective approach to produce ultra-thin and smooth silver film that exhibits high flexibility, high optical transmission, high conductivity, high stability and low haze for optically transparent conductors required in optoelectronic devices. It addresses the needs of this large and growing market, including transparent conductive films for touch screens, flexible electronics and displays, electrochromic smart glass and windows, and electromagnetic interference shielding. Principal investigator: Jay Guo, professor, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan.

The MTRAC program is critically important to our commercialization program at Michigan Tech and at universities across the state, said Jim Baker, Techs executive director of Innovation and Commercialization. In addition to the funding that helps us reach milestones that are essential in moving technologies down the commercialization path, all projects receive valuable feedback and network connections from the external oversight committee members. Michigan Techs Advanced Materials MTRAC program has returned almost $14 for every $1 spent on projects funded to date.

In the five years that Tech has been participating in MTRAC, more than 50 new product proposals have been reviewed and $675,000 has been awarded. The projects have collectively brought in nearly $9 million in follow-on funding.

Michigan Tech is one of four universities with an MTRAC program; others include the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University. Each university has a different focus for projects to receive funding to accelerate to commercialization within applied advanced materials, agriculture biology, life sciences, advanced transportation and biomedical.

This funding announcement is another great stride in demonstrating the success of the statewide innovation hub model, said Denise Graves, university relations director at MEDC. With our goal to spur technology transfer from our universities across the state, programs like MTRACthat build our entrepreneurial ecosystem through collaborationsare instrumental in utilizing our university innovation and resources to become leaders in industries such as advanced applied materials.

Developed and managed by the MEDC, MTRAC programs have funded, through March 2018, 159 projects at Michigan universities, helped develop 29 start-up companies, created 100 jobs, secured over $130 million in additional funding and licensed technology to 22 Michigan companies.

MTRAC is part of MEDCs Entrepreneur and Innovation initiative, designed to establish Michigan as the place to create and grow a business by providing high-tech start-up companies with access to a variety of critical resources such as funding and expert counsel, from ideation to maturation.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the states marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigans economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, the University offers more than 125 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.Videos

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.WASHINGTON (AP)  In the short run, a truce in the trade conflict between the United States and China has lightened tensions, halted the immediate threat of U.S. tariffs on China's goods and cheered stock markets.

The long-run picture may not be so sunny.

The outcome of last weekend's talks upset supporters of Donald Trump's American First policies, left key differences untouched and kept alive the risk of a destructive trade war between the world's two biggest economies.

A vague statement the two countries released said next to nothing about the issue at the heart of the dispute between Washington and Beijing: The hardball tactics China uses to challenge U.S. technological supremacy. Those tactics include outright cyber theft of trade secrets and demands that American companies hand over some of their technology in exchange for access to the Chinese market.

"They failed to drill down on the biggest frictions facing U.S. businesses and on those where we are most able to move the Chinese," said Mary Lovely, a Syracuse University economist who specializes in trade.

In exchange for the United States agreeing to hold off on tariffs on up to $150 billion in Chinese goods, Beijing did agree to "substantially reduce" America's huge trade deficit with China. But Beijing made no specific commitment.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's declaration that the American tariffs would be suspended contributed to a sense of relief in global markets that the two countries had stepped back from the brink.

The celebration could prove premature.

"We are not out of the danger zone yet," said Nick Marro, a China analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit. "There is still a high risk of a trade war, even if the timeline to getting there has been extended."

Beijing refused to knuckle under to a U.S. demand to slash the U.S. trade gap by a specific amount: $200 billion, a figure seen by most economists as wildly unrealistic anyway. The U.S. ran a deficit with China in goods and services last year of $337 billion.

Lovely, the Syracuse economist, said the U.S. was distracted by an "ill-advised focus" on the trade deficit. She said the Chinese, who increasingly have their own technology to defend, might be open to strengthening intellectual-property protections and to pressuring local governments to stop demanding technology transfers.

U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer issued a sharp statement: "Getting China to open its market to more U.S. exports is significant, but the far more important issues revolve around forced technology transfers, cyber theft and the protection of our innovation."

"The U.S.," Lighthizer continued, "may use all of its legal tools to protect our technology through tariffs, investment restrictions and export regulations. Real structural change is necessary. "

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the threatened tariffs had been suspended "right now," but would not be removed as a negotiating or enforcement tool.

"I don't think we're saying tariffs are over  far from it," he said in an interview with CNBC.

Trump is dispatching Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to try to settle on the kinds of details that were sidestepped in last week's talks with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He.

Some analysts say that for now, Trump might have wanted mainly to smooth over relations with China before his planned June 12 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The U.S. needs the help of Beijing, which wields influence in Pyongyang, to help seal North Korea's border and prevent goods from reaching Kim's regime in violation of international sanctions.

The U.S.-China trade truce drew fire from some who had applauded Trump's campaign pledge to overturn decades of U.S. trade policy and crack down on China and other trading partners they accuse of abusive practices.

"More false promises and delaying tactics," tweeted Dan DiMicco, a former steel executive who served as a trade adviser to Trump during the presidential race. "Been there for 20+ years. It needs to be different this time as promised."

Still, the Trump administration trumpeted what it said had been achieved in two days of talks. Kudlow said the discussions had achieved "terrific progress" aimed at ending "unfair, illegal trading practices."

Treasury Secretary Mnuchin predicted a big increase  35 percent to 45 percent this year alone  in farm sales to China and a doubling in sales of energy products to the Chinese market.

Trade analysts and China watchers were underwhelmed.

"Energy exports to China are already soaring," Derek Scissors of the conservative American Enterprise Institute wrote in a blog post. Mnuchin is "promising to win something already happening... the U.S. is folding again."

Lighthizer last summer began investigating Beijing's tactics to challenge U.S. technological dominance.

Last month, the administration proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports to protest the forced technology transfers. Trump later ordered Lighthizer to seek up to an additional $100 billion in Chinese goods to tax. China responded by targeting $50 billion in U.S. products, including soybeans  a direct shot at Trump supporters in America's heartland.

The prospect of a trade war has shaken financial markets and alarmed corporate executives. So some business groups were relieved by the cease-fire.

"We're pleased that the two sides apparently made enough progress to dial back on the tariffs and other threats," says John Frisbie, president of the U.S.-China Business Council.

But Frisbie said he wanted to see further progress in addressing U.S. businesses' complaints about how they are treated in China. In particular, the statement the two sides issued skirted over the key issue of forced technology transfers from the United States to China.

Yet Beijing may not be willing to bargain away its drive to become a technological power in such areas as robotics and artificial intelligence, embodied in its "Made in China 2025" initiative. That project calls for China to develop world-class competitors in fields from information technology to electric cars to pharmaceuticals.

"The Chinese would be more than happy to give up their trade surplus," says Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think tank. "They care about one thing, and that's Made in China 2025."

Atkinson said the Trump administration seems willing to give the Chinese a pass on their aggressive technology policies in exchange for additional soybean exports:

"Do we really want to live in a world where we're a third-world natural resource exporter, while the Chinese are the powerful technological machine?"

____

AP Writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

____

Follow Paul Wiseman on Twitter at https://twitter.com/PaulWisemanAP

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.ORLANDO, Fla. -- Luis Garay waited almost a month after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico before hearing from an uncle -- who gave him a reality check.

Luis Garay is a manager at the FedEx hub in Orlando

Longtime Orlando-area resident has many relatives in Puerto Rico

He and wife brought packages of supplies to island after Maria

Garay's uncle told him, "The family is OK. We got damage in the house, (and) your other uncle lost the house, but we're OK," Garay recalled, relieved.

Garay and his wife moved to Central Florida from Puerto Rico years ago, but both still have the majority of their families living in the island.

"I wanted to do something from the beginning, but it was a waiting game," explained Garay after learning the potential damage Hurricane Maria would leave behind.

Garay talked to his wife about what they could do to help people back home.

"We have to do something. We have to go..." Garay said to his wife.

If there's one thing he knows how to do well, it's handling and delivering packages -- Garay is a manager at the FedEx hub in Orlando.

"We can get plane tickets, we can fly there and take anything we can," Garay told his wife.

They both went to their church to ask for help. Church members not only donated items, they also got him and his wife tickets to fly with two bags each weighing up to 50 pounds.

"We said, 'OK, lets do a bag here for this family, and we put flashlights, batteries, food, you know, immediate things that could help them, and we did different bags based on the families," Garay said.

Back in Puerto Rico, he never expected to see what he saw when they first landed.

"It's really sad. Your island doesnt look green no more," Garay recalled.

For two days, the couple traveled across the island, delivering all the supplies they brought -- and helping more than 10 families in need.

Garay said he could never have done it without the support of colleagues and friends back home. He recently was honored by his company for his humanitarian work after returning from the trip.

"Knowing that a small island -- so many people could love a small island, he said with joy.OCALA, Fla. -- A Florida woman whose smiling mug shot angered the family of a woman injured in a crash is facing more serious charges after the injured woman died, the Associated Press is reporting.

Angenette Welk initially charged with DUI with injury

Another woman in May 10 crash died 4 days later

Welk now facing DUI manslaughter charges

Angenette Marie Welk, 44, was initially charged with DUI with serious bodily injury in connection to the May 10, three-vehicle crash that injured Sandra Clarkston, 60.

She flashed a big grin in the mug shot taken at the Marion County Jail in Ocala, which angered Clarkston's family.

Welk was recently rearrested and is now facing a more serious charge of DUI manslaughter after Clarkston died May 14, AP reported. That charge carries mandatory prison time.SEMINOLE COUNTY -- Seminole County leaders are considering a plan that would put the day-to-day operation of the countys public libraries into the hands of a private company.

County leaders explore privatizing libraries

Leaders looking for ways to cut costs

Residents have already expressed concern

County officials say they are exploring the idea to see if it would cut costs, but so far they say the plan has drawn some criticism.

Seminole County leaders say they want to see if a private company could run the libraries at a lower cost.

County leaders continue to look for ways to cut costs, as they anticipate a potential funding shortfall if Florida voters approve a homestead exemption measure on Novembers ballot.

If approved, the county would collect less property tax money, and its budget would shrink by millions.

County leaders say dozens of people have already reached out to the county expressing concern about what they fear will be an outsourcing of the countys current library services.

An official with the countys leisure services, which is the department that runs the library system, says the county will only consider using a private company if that company can at least maintain the level of service the libraries currently provide.

Daniel Sherman uses the countys north branch in downtown Sanford to correspond with potential clients for his business, Consumer R&D.

Ultimately where I can get Wi-Fi is where I can do business, Sherman said.

Sherman says he can see where some people would be concerned about a possible privatization of library operations.

There is a measure of worry based on the greed an organization or company can have in providing a service to consumers, he said.

Sherman says as long as the county continues to own the libraries and can have a say in how theyre run, hes okay with the plan.

If that happens, then the community can express their concerns to the county, he said.

Seminole County is expected to accept bids from private companies in June, and then county leaders will be able to consider whether its worth it or not to privatize library operations.

County commissioners would likely not make a decision on the matter until late July or August at the earliest.National Geographic WILD is home to a big family of animal caretakers and rescuers. In these special episodes, check out how the Men of WILD are helping all kinds of creatures one case at a time.

Fridays from 8:30pm AEDT.By Express News Service

BHOPAL: Extensive raids by the Income Tax department at 30 premises of a Bhopal-headquartered premier real estate business group began in three cities of the country on Wednesday.

While 30 premises of Bhopal-headquartered Asnani Group of builders and business associates started at Bhopal, Indore and Bengaluru, a parallel survey by the department at premises of others related to the group was carried in Kolkata, Gujarat and Chhattisgarh.

According to informed sources at the IT department Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh headquarters in Bhopal, the searches and survey have been started based on specific inputs about major tax evasion by the group and associated companies, whose real estate projects are mainly concentrated in Bhopal.

The searches in the three cities which are likely to continue over the next three to five days might well result in unearthing of undeclared income worth up to Rs 50 crore.

READ | I-T raids-surveys lead to 6 bogus companies in four states

A senior IT departments investigation wing official in Bhopal told The New Indian Express that searches were carried out at 26 locations in Bhopal, including ten residential premises belonging to the real estate group head Bishan Das Asnani and his business associates. Two locations in Indore belonging to the real estate groups business associate Sharad Darak, who is into hundi-chitthi (money lending) business are also being raided.

At least two premises (owned by another close associate of Asnani Group), including School of Creativity in Bengalurus Koramangala area too were raided by the IT department sleuths.

Importantly, one of the business associates of the Asnani Group whose premises were searched in Bhopal is considered to be a close to jailed self-styled godman Asaram Bapu and son Narayan Sai.

Also, some of those whose properties have been raided are believed to be having links with influential people, including senior politicians and government officials of MP.

Besides, the real estate group owners and their business associates-close relatives, some key employees in the flagship company and its associated units, who are likely to be having vital information about the finances of the group, are also being covered by the taxman.

Primarily the searches and surveys are zeroed on Sri Govind Reality Private Limited, the flagship company owned by the real estate major. Dozens of associated and subsidiary companies too are under the IT department scanner. The magnitude of tax evasion could only become clear over the next two days, the senior IT department official added.

Under the scanner are documents of the real estate majors flagship and associated companies pertaining to last six to ten years. If the searches/surveys lead to any bank accounts/assets outside India then the records up to last 50 years could be scanned by the department, the official said.Sage Westfield, Rebecca Alexander's protagonist in the recently released A Baby's Bones reminds me of Alaskan sleuth Kate Shugak. I was first introduced to Kate last fall. I'm not sure what it is about Sage, and maybe it is only peripherally that the two women are alike, but the two characters are reminiscent of each other. They have a very similar spirit of independence, both has a cerebral approach to the mystery at hand and the two women are not what we normally expect to see in a traditional mystery.

Kate is petite but a force to be reckoned with. She is a former D.A. investigator who has moved home to the National Park in Alaska to be closer to her Aleut roots. She is methodical and precise in how she orders her life and pretty fearless. Sage also has a slightly unconventional background. Her father is not just an Isle of Wight islander, but a West-Wighter coming from a tiny hamlet called Five Houses. Her mother is from Kazakhstan rendering Sage's features exotic to the point that no one believes she is a native of the island. Her wide cheekbones and almond shaped eyes hint at her Turkic heritage. And like Kate, Sage has only recently returned to the island. Educated as an archaeologist it is work on a local excavation which will involve her in a centuries old murder mystery. And one other thing about Sage and her personal life . . . she is very pregnant and very single having fallen for a man with (unknown to her at the time) a wife and children.

Sage has been called in to excavate a Tudor era well that had been filled with Medieval rubbish. The family living in the historical manor house had only wanted to build an extension on their home but had to have an archaeological survey done before they could begin their work. What had been assumed would be simply a very conventional and ordinary dig turns out to unearth more than just a few pieces of broken pottery. It is only the start of a series of problems. Especially when Sage and her two students find bones in the rubbish. The bones appear to belong to a woman and a baby and they have not been recently buried there. It still seems as though it might be simple and very standard work of pulling up the finds and noting them and then filling the well back in, but very curious things begin to happen. It doesn't help that the manor house already has a number eerie stories and a few myths attached to its long history.

This is a dual narrative novel, two stories separated by centuries told in parallel. Sage's story is set on the Isle of Wight today but interspersed with her excavation and the drama surrounding her work and life in the Manor are diary entries and daily accounts written by the steward of the 16th-century Lord Banstock, the previous (hundreds of years removed) owner. Vincent, the author of the accounts is the bastard brother of the Lord of the Manor, so he has an insider's and family view of the inhabitants of the manor and island.

The story is tinged with elements of the supernatural with the stories surrounding the manor and the feeling of dread contemporary residents and visitors have. There are eerie wails and sicknesses attached to the house. Are there really ghosts, or is it just stories and our imaginations filling in the blanks? The diary entries flesh our some of the history and backstory so the reader gets more details yet follows Sage as she investigates the history of the manor and tries to find out who the bones might have belonged to and why they ended up in a well and not in a proper burial plot.

All the elements work really well together and both storylines are absorbing. Of course it is Sage who really pulls the story off. She is smart and likable but also very human and her situation shows how messy life can be even for someone as savvy as an academically minded 21st century woman. I do hope this is only the first book in what has lots of potential for a continuing story. Thanks to Titan books for sending this my way. Every so often a surprise will come in the mail from them and this author has been a happy discovery for me.Why don't we admit when we are wrong? AND why are apologies becoming an endangered species?



Unfortunately, there are those among us who have gotten into a habit of doing one or all three  consistently. Whats up with that? There's also the un-apology APOLOGY. You know the one. There's usually a .."BUT" in the apology and it doesn't ring sincere.

Apologies need a big comeback if we the people want a united country. We need to grow up and find a little maturity because THAT'S the missing link.

Maturity means owning up to a mistake, admitting we DID IT/SAID IT and saying something like: You were right. I was wrong and Im truly sorry for what Ive done. Truly sorry.



It's not really that hard--humbling, yes. Embarrassing--probably. But the bottom line, we all need to learn to admit when we are wrong and to take responsibility appropriately.





The smartest man I ever knew, (14 languages, Doctorate in theology) always said, "with power, must come humility."

But in a world where there is no God, there is no accountability. Apologies are for the accountable. They are for the strong, the realist. Humility takes strength. Knowing, takes strength.

It is through the weak, that we have 'fads', controlling factors, and an irresistible hunger to take it all without guilt.Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 69F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 69F. Winds S at 10 to 20 mph.Reporter

Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).Man Attacked Ex With Acid So

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advertisement(Newser)  "Holy crap. We have caught an evil man." That authorities caught Jose Manuel Martinezknown as El Mano Negra, the Black Hand, the self-proclaimed killer of roughly 3 dozen men in the USwasn't due to superior sleuthing. When being questioned about a rural Alabama murder five years ago, he just decided to confess. To it all. Writing for BuzzFeed, Jessica Garrison has the lengthy story of Martinez, a California-born man whose alleged murder-count aligns him with the likes of Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy. So how did such a prolific killer get away with it, and why is his name still barely known? Martinez says he was "so damn good at it"; police allow that he was careful to eliminate witnesses and evidence. But some say he killed "the right people"farmworkers and drug dealers who "didn't count."

story continues below

Garrison opens with Martinez being questioned by Alabama investigator Tim McWhorter of the Lawrence County Sheriffs Office over the body of a young man found in a hay field. McWhorter was bluffing when he told Martinez a murder charge was coming, but it led to Martinez responding by volunteering the "truth" about murders in 12 states, men he killed over personal offenses (one man kept parking in his mom's driveway) or as a hired hitman. Martinez is now serving life for nine California murders but is in a Florida jailwhere he has won over the guards, writes love letters, and corresponds with his granddaughterswaiting for his trial for two murders there. Garrison delves deep into Martinez's background, how his sister's murder allegedly set him off, and how an ignored cigarette butt may have allowed him to keep killing; read her full story here. (Read more Longform stories.)(Newser)  Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has been declared the winner of an election widely denounced as a "fraud foretold." According to figures released by the National Election Council, Maduro was elected to a second six-year term after winning around 68% of the vote, more than 40 points more than his nearest rival, Henri Falcon, the AP reports. Before the result was announced Sunday, US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said the US would not recognize the election winner, reports Reuters. He said the US is considering oil sanctions on Venezuela, though Washington wants to target "corrupt regime officials," not "damage the country in a way that makes it difficult to repair after democracy is restored."

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Maduro told supporters outside the presidential palace in Caracas that his "truly popular victory" had been achieved through an "impeccable electoral process," but Falcon and other critics said irregularities including widespread vote-buying made the results invalid and called for new elections, the Guardian reports. Reuters notes that after voting, residents of the crisis-stricken country were asked to scan their government-issued "fatherland cards"which are required to claim benefitsat pro-Maduro tents near polling stations to qualify for a "prize" from the socialist leader. Officials said turnout out was 46.1%, down from 80% in 2013, though critics said even that number was inflated and the true figure was closer to 30%. (Read more Venezuela stories.)(Newser)  President Trump took another leap into uncharted territory Sunday with a demand for the Justice Department to investigate whether the FBI infiltrated his 2016 campaign. Trump tweeted that he would officially demand Monday that the department "look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!" In what the Washington Post describes as an effort to avoid a bigger showdown, the Justice Department bowed to the pressure late Sunday, saying its inspector general would investigate whether political motivations had tainted the investigation of alleged Russian links to Trump's campaign, which is now being led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

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"If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," said Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Trump's tweet followed reports that an FBI informant had talked to Trump campaign advisers with alleged links to Russia, which the president called a "really big deal" in a tweet Saturday, Politico reports. Analysts described his demand for an investigation of the investigation as unprecedented. "I can't think of a prior example of a sitting president ordering the Justice Department to conduct an investigation like this one," University of Texas School of Law professor Stephen Vladeck tells the New York Times. "That's little more than a transparent effort to undermine an ongoing investigation." (Read more Justice Department stories.)(Newser)  While religious conservatives have long argued being gay is a choice and even a "disorder," Pope Francis has been known to push back on those arguments, most famously with his 2013 statement: "Who am I to judge a gay person of goodwill who seeks the Lord?" Now he may have made even more "forceful" remarks on the subject, Catholic journalist Austen Ivereigh tells the Guardian, via a gay man who'd been sexually abused by Chilean priest Fernando Karadima. Juan Carlos Cruz talked with Francis a couple of weeks ago about his abuse and said the pontiff had encouraging words after Cruz noted that his homosexuality had been used to smear him. "He told me, 'Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter,'" Cruz told Spanish paper El Pais. "'God made you like this and loves you like this and I don't care. The pope loves you like this. You have to be happy with who you are.'"

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Cruz had been one of three Chilean sex abuse victims who'd traveled to Rome for an audience with the pope, the Telegraph reports. So far, there's been no confirmation or denial from the Vatican about what exactly Francis said to Cruz; a spokesman told CNN, "We do not normally comment on the Pope's private conversations." One Vatican expert noted this wouldn't be any kind of theological or dogmatic shift on the Vatican's part, but simply "a pastoral response to an individual." Still, the pope speaking like that would signal even more of a change in attitude toward gay Catholics. "It goes beyond 'who am I to judge?' to 'you are loved by God,'" a reporter for the Tablet Catholic journal says. "He's demonstrating an affirmation of gay Catholics, something that has been missing over the years in Rome." (Read more Pope Francis stories.)(Newser)  Florida isn't the only state that's home to a problematic prom this year. New Jersey's Cherry Hill High School East is grabbing headlines over prom tickets that featured "inappropriate" wording. The Courier Post reports that tickets for the prom, to be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia this week, contained a call to "party like it's 1776"a time in US history that not all Americans can celebrate. "We thought it would be fun to do a play on the Prince song ... because of the Constitution Center," the student body VP tells Fox 29, but not everyone found the end result so fun. "I am writing to apologize for the hurt feelings this reference caused for members of our school family," Principal Dennis Perry wrote in a letter tweeted Friday.

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"I especially apologize to our African American students, who I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording," he continued. He says that going forward, "a diverse group of people" will have input on communications disseminated to the entire school. As for the tickets, new commemorative ones will be printed with the offending words removed, and Perry says students won't need to hand over a ticket to gain entry, as the school has a list of those who have purchased tickets. It's not the first racial flap at the school, which is about 6% black: The VP of the Cherry Hill African American Civic Association notes the school's production of Ragtime, which includes the N-word, caused a dust-up last year. (This Utah teen's prom dress also caused an uproar.)(Newser)  A man upset that Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was being served at the bar before him gave the PM the fingerand ended up arrested and hit with a $190 fine. The unnamed guy (police, amusingly, describe him as "an angry landscaper," per news.com.au), apparently angry at the PM's group for cutting ahead in line at the bar during a "meet the locals" event near Brisbane Thursday night, was photographed flipping the bird behind Turnbull's head. He allegedly "became abusive to a group at the bar due to the group being served before him," police say, per the Guardian. According to news.com.au, Turnbull's security detail pushed the man away from the PM; shopping center security guards detained him; and ultimately police were called. The man, who's reportedly 26 or 27 years old, was fined for "failing to leave a licensed premises."

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Former Aussie pol Sam Dastyari decided to help the guy out: "I found the bloke who got fined $250 for telling the PM to piss off. Sending him $250 worth of beer," he tweeted (the $250 is in Aussie dollars), along with a link to a GoFundMe campaign titled Australia Owes This Man a Beer. "Pitch in $5 and buy him a beer. WHERE ARE THE FREE SPEECh WARRIORS ON THIS?" The campaign has exceeded its goal, with most commenters expressing support for the finger-flipper: "Giving someone a gesture is not a crime, but pushing in at the bar should be," said one. As for Turnbull, he told reporters after the event, "There was one gentleman there who clearly had had, err, a few drinks too many. And I think he was, ahhh, he was assisted in making an early return home. Which is probably where he should have gone earlier in the evening, as I'm sure he's worked out by this morning." (Read more weird crimes stories.)(Newser)  First a lawyer took issue with two women speaking Spanish in a New York City eatery. Now two US citizens in the Montana town of Havre have had the same experiencebut this time the person with the issue was a Border Patrol agent. Ana Suda, 37, tells the Washington Post she and friend Mimi Hernandez, both Mexican-Americans, ran out to a gas station convenience store for milk and eggs just after midnight Wednesday and started conversing in Spanish while waiting to pay. That's when she says a Border Patrol agent took interest in them and asked for Suda's ID. In a video she started taping as they moved to the parking lot, she asks the agentwho says his name is "Agent O'Neal"why they were detained, and he replies, "I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here." Suda said they were held up for about 35 to 40 minutes and that Hernandez started crying.

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Suda posted about the incident on Facebook, and it soon started making the rounds on social media, per KVIA. Among those who've weighed in: former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, who tweeted, "Way to go, Border Patrol agent. Terrible judgment." A Customs and Border Protection rep tells the Post it's looking into the incident and that "although most Border Patrol work is conducted in the immediate border area, agents have broad law enforcement authorities and are not limited to a specific geography within the United States" (Havre is 35 miles or so south of the US-Canadian border). For Suda, who says she'll be taking legal action, perhaps the worst part is how her 7-year-old daughter reacted. "When she saw the video, she was like, 'Mom, we can't speak Spanish anymore?' I said, 'No. You be proud. You are smart. You speak two languages,'" Suda says. (Read more Border Patrol stories.)(Newser)  "They did everything they were supposed to do. But something was wrong with this cougar." That's the take from King County Sheriff's Sgt. Ryan Abbott after a rare attack on humans left one cyclist dead in Washington state Saturday and another badly injured. The Seattle men's identities have been released; SJ Brooks, 32, was killed and Isaac Sederbaum, 31, was injured. Police say the 3-year-old cougar, which was located and killed after the attack, was "emaciated," weighing just 100 pounds rather than the more typical 140 to 180 pounds. "It was skinnier than normal," says state wildlife official Alan Myers. A brain necropsy will be performed to see whether the animal was sick, the Seattle Times reports. Officials say the animal acted abnormally; cougars don't often attack humans, and the last fatal cougar attack in Washington occurred in 1924.

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The cougar chased the men down the road; they got off their bikes and followed recommendations for facing down a cougar: yelling at it in an attempt to scare it away, and hitting it with one of the bikes when it approached. It ran off, but as the men tried to catch their breath, it circled back and grabbed Sederbaum by the head, the AP reports. "The cougar had his head in his jaws and was shaking him violently," Myers says. Brooks dropped his bike and ran, causing the cougar to let go of Sederbaum, chase Brooks down, pounce on him, and kill him. "You are in a flight or fight situationyou are going to want to flee and its completely natural but it triggers a chase response in a cougar," Myers says. The animal dragged Brooks to its apparent den as Sederbaum rode to find cell reception and call for help. (In California, cougars have acquired a taste for pets.)(Newser)  The Supreme Court says employers can prohibit their workers from banding together to complain about pay and conditions in the workplace. The justices ruled 5-4 Monday, with the court's conservative members in the majority, that businesses can force employees to individually use arbitration to resolve disputes, per the AP. The outcome is an important victory for business interests. An estimated 25 million employees work under contracts that prohibit collective action by employees who want to raise claims about some aspect of their employment. As USA Today notes, many don't become aware of the restriction until a workplace issue surfaces and they learn they're barred from joining a class-action suit. The Trump administration backed the businesses, reversing the position the Obama administration took in favor of employees.

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The court's task was to reconcile federal laws that seemed to point in different directions. On the one hand, New Deal labor laws explicitly gave workers the right to band together. On the other, the older Federal Arbitration Act encourages the use of arbitration, instead of the courts. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, said the contracts are valid under the arbitration law. "As a matter of policy these questions are surely debatable. But as a matter of law the answer is clear," Gorsuch wrote. In dissent for the court's liberals, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the decision "egregiously wrong." Ginsburg said that the individual complaints can be very small in dollar terms, "scarcely of a size warranting the expense of seeking redress alone."

(Read more US Supreme Court stories.)(Newser)  Now that the US has withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, what would it take to strike a new deal? A lot, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo revealed Monday in a speech outlining US demands, reports the Wall Street Journal, the AP, CNN, and Al Jazeera. Pompeo listed 12 things Iran must do, including:

Stop the enrichment of all uranium

Allow "unqualified access" to all nuclear sites

Withdraw all forces from Syria

Release all US citizens in custody

Stop its threats to destroy Israel

Halt its support for militant groups in the region, including Hezbollah in Lebanon

Declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon

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"Relief from sanctions will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran's policies," said Pompeo in a speech at the Heritage Foundation. We acknowledge Iran's right to defend its people. But not its actions which jeopardize the world's citizens. The gist of coverage from the above sources suggests that the odds of Iran agreeing to the demands are virtually nonexistent. "There is such an enormous trust deficit between the US and Iran that Iranian leaders are likely to really shrug this off as yet more angry rhetoric coming from the Trump White House," per Al Jazeera. (Read more Mike Pompeo stories.)(Newser)  Last September, a 15-year-old tossed fireworks on a hot day in the forest and inadvertently set off a massive wildfire that burned 48,000 acres in Oregon. Now he's learned the price he must pay, and it's incredible: a grand total of $36,631,687.10 to various entities, including the US Forest Service, reports the Hood River News. The teen's attorney argued that the penalty amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, but the judge in the case took a few days to assess things and decided that the punishment is warranted, reports KGW.com. The judge ordered the Hood River Juvenile Department to set up a payment schedule, though he added one caveat to the ruling that might eventually give the kid a break.

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"The court can grant a full or partial satisfaction of the restitution judgment after 10 years" if certain conditions are metmainly, if the teen doesn't get into any more trouble and faithfully makes what payments he can over the next decade. At that point, another judge will reassess and could decide that the debt is paid, even if it's nowhere near $37 million. On top of the financial penalty, the Vancouver, Wash., teen must complete about 2,000 hours of community service. He pleaded guilty earlier this year and wrote a letter of apology for his "careless action" that apparently did little to mitigate the sentence. The fire burned through the Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood National Forest, and a group of hikers required rescue. (A witness says she saw the teen throw a "smoke bomb" into a ravine.)(Newser)  Army Sgt. Steven Garcia was deployed in South Korea when his wife, Marina, told him she was pregnant. In January, she told him the baby, a girl, had died at birth. "It was devastating," Steven tells KVOA. "We cried quite a bit together over the phone." But, as he later found out, Marina Garcia didn't actually give birth until weeks after that phone call, on Feb. 2. She delivered a baby boy who, DNA tests have shown, was not fathered by Steven Garciaand then, authorities say, tried to sell or give away the baby. Three days after the birth, Alex and Leslie Hernandez were stopped for speeding with the newborn boy in the car; the officer noticed they seemed nervous and they eventually admitted they were not the baby's biological parents. Since then, Steven Garcia has been dealing with his wife's betrayal (he has filed for divorce)and fighting to adopt the baby boy.

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The infant was placed in foster care, and Steven Garcia, who was also adopted, has traveled to the US to meet him. "My adopted father completely changed my life. Without him I would not be where I am today. And for the opportunity to do that for someone else, I believe it's important," he says. Marina Garcia pleaded guilty to an attempted scheme to defraud by forging the birth certificate, listing Alex Hernandez as the baby's father; she says she does not know who the baby's father is, Stars and Stripes reports. The Hernandezes pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit forgery and were sentenced to four years of supervised probation each. As for Steven Garcia, a GoFundMe campaign is raising money to help with his travel expenses and legal fees, which the campaign says have hit at least $14,000 so far. He has so far been granted just eight visitations with the baby. (Read more adoption stories.)Sorry!

This content is not available in your regionNew Delhi:

In what could be a big blow to the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress, party legislator Shivaram Hebbar on Monday in a Facebook post said that the audio clip released by his party accusing the BJP of horse trading is 'fake'.

Earlier, on Saturday the Congress cited several audio clips, alleging that the BJP reached out to Hebbar's wife for cross-voting ahead of the floor test at the Karnataka Vidhan Soudha on Saturday.

The BJP leaders were trying to 'poach' Congress MLAs by offering offering 'blandishments' in order to help the day-old Yeddyurappa government survive in Karnataka, the Congress said.

The floor test, which was ordered by the Supreme Court to check the majority of the Yeddyurappa-led government in the Karnataka assembly, eventually did not happen. The former chief minister announced his resignation at the Vidhan Soudha minutes before the floor test.

Hebbar's statement came ahead of Janata Dal-Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy's meeting with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday.

The Congress lawmaker raised question over the authenticity of the audio clip, stating that his wife did not receive any call from the Bharatiya Janata Party on the day of the floor test.

"This is not my wifeas voice and she has not received any such calls. The audio tape is fake. I condemn it," Hebbar wrote in a Facebook post.

One of the audio clips, released by the Congress reportedly recorded a conversation between Hebbaras wife and BJP leaders, who offered them bribe and ministerial post to vote for BJP.

Yeddyurappaas son BY Vijayendra and his close associate B J Puttuswamy were also heard in the audio tape speaking purportedly to Hebbaras wife. Puttuswamy was also heard assuring that cases against the wife and the son, who are facing a trial in a mining scam, would be cleared if they vote for the BJP instead of the Congress.

Meanwhile, Congress MLC Ugrappa, who released the coversation on Saturday, told reporters, "We never claimed the voice of the woman in tape was of Congress MLA Hebbar's wife". The BJP leaders on the other end of the line "believed the fake woman to be Hebbar's wife," Ugrappa added.

"Facebook post of Congress MLA Shivram Hebbar from Yellapur, in which he denies his wife ever getting a call from BJP, calls it a fake audio clip... Shame on Congress for brazenly lying, spreading mis-information and media channels for lapping it up. It is all over regional paper," BJPas national information and technology cell head Amit Malviya tweeted hour after Hebbar's statement surfaced on the internet.

Facebook post of Congress MLA Shivram Hebbar from Yellapur, in which he denies his wife ever getting a call from BJP, calls it a fake audio clip... Shame on Congress for brazenly lying, spreading mis-information and media channels for lapping it up. It is all over regional paper. pic.twitter.com/ZoIUqhgXWi a Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 20, 2018

Yeddyurappa's resignation on Saturday, paved that path for the Congress-JD-S combine to form a new government in Karnataka.

JD-S leader HD Kumaraswamy, who has the backing of the Congress will take oath as the Karnataka chief minister on Wednesday.

The newly formed alliance claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221. The BJP fell eight seats short from the majority mark of 112.New Delhi:

Karnataka's Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy will meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday.

Kumaraswamy would discuss "cabinet expansion" and personally invite the Congress leaders for his swearing-in on Wednesday.

Tomorrow I will be going to Delhi, where I will meet Sonia ji and Rahul ji. We will decide about cabinet expansion. I will discuss everything with them on how to give a stable government for the next 5 years, ANI had quoted Kumaraswamy as saying on Sunday.

On Saturday, Kumaraswamy staked claim to form a government in the state after BS Yeddyurappas resignation as CM just before the floor test.

Yeddyurappa, who took oath as Karnataka CM on Thursday after Governor Vajubhai Vala invited him to form the government even as his party BJP lacked numbers, was asked to prove majority by the Supreme Court.

Yeddyurappa could not arrange numbers and chose to resign as the chief minister rather facing trust vote on the floor of the House.

His decision to quit paved the way for the Congress-JD-S coalition to form the government in the southern state.

According to the sources, the Congress, which gave up chief ministers post to keep BJP out of the power, was likely to have more ministers in Karnatakas new cabinet.

Kumaraswamy will take oath on Wednesday and Rahul Gandhi, along with other senior Congress leaders may attend his swearing-in.

Apart from Congress bigwigs, Opposition leaders, including West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Telanaga CM Chandrashekhar Rao and Andhra CM N Chandra Babu Naidu would also attend the oath-taking ceremony.New Delhi:

Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor, who was last seen in Padmaavat, is all set to play the titular role in the Hindi remake of Arjun Reddy. The plot of the flick will focus on a medical student who falls for his junior.

The cast and crew of the film would start their shooting from next month, as per a report in Mumbai Mirror. aThe film is scheduled to go on the floors in July and the team is looking for an actress opposite Shahid at the moment. While the locations are yet to be finalised, the plan is to shoot in India as well as abroadaa, a source had told the daily.

It seems the makers have finally found their leading lady for their film. Tara Sutaria, who will make her silver screen debut with Student Of The Year 2, will play the female lead opposite Shahid Kapoor, a report in Pinkvilla said.

Interestingly, Taraas first film will release on November 23, 2018 and she has already bagged her second film. The beautiful actress is currently busy shooting for SOTY 2 in Dehradun along with Tiger Shroff and Ananya Panday.

Mussoorie mornings YZaiYY #SOTY2 A post shared by TARAY (@tarasutaria__) on Apr 22, 2018 at 9:39am PDT

Shahid Kapoor recently shared a selfie with the producers of the film Murad Khetani, Ashwin Varde and director Sandeep Vanga on social media.

The Padmaavat actor is currently busy shooting for his upcoming film Batti Gul Meter Chalu. The Shree Narayan Singh directorial, which also stars Shraddha Kapoor, is said to focus on a hard-hitting social issue.New Delhi:

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday paid tributes to his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary.

Rahul along with mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra paid floral tributes to Rajiv Gandhi at his memorial Veer Bhumi.

Apart from Rahul and Sonia, former president Pranab Mukherjee and former prime minister Manmohan Singh also paid respects to the former prime minister.

Rahul Gandhi also shared an emotional post on Twitter, marking his fatheras death anniversary. The Congress president said that it was his father who taught him that ahate is a prisona.

aMy father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it. Today, on his death anniversary, I thank him for teaching me to love and respect all beings, the most valuable gifts a father can give a son. Rajiv Gandhi, those of us that love you hold you forever in our hearts,a Rahul tweeted.

Former President Shri Pranab Mukherjee paid floral tributes to Former Prime Minister Shri Rajiv Gandhi at Veer Bhumi. #RememberingRajivGandhi pic.twitter.com/396hbORbjO a Congress (@INCIndia) May 21, 2018

On May 21, 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by separatist Lankan Tamil outfit LTTE. He was killed by a woman operative of LTTE, who greeted him at a rally in Tamil Naduas Sriperumbudur town.

A bomb was strapped to the womanas chest, which exploded when she went near to Rajiv to greet him.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Passengers onboard an Alliance Air flight had a narrow escape on as the ATR aircraft carrying them from Mumbai overshot the runway by 50 meters during landing at the Shirdi airport.



"At round 5.29 pm, the Alliance Air flight arriving from Mumbai overshot the runway by 50 meters during landing at

the Shirdi airport," the official said, adding that there were 70 passengers on board the ATR aircraft.



All the 70 passengers are reported safe and there is no damage to the aircraft, an Air India official said.



"The airline will probe the causes of the incident," the official said.



Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will also investigate the incident of the aircraft overshooting the runway separately, he added.

In , 152 people were killed when the pilot of the Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the runway during landing at Mangaluru.

Constructed at an investment of around Rs 350 crore, Shirdi airport was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 1 last year.

With a 2,500 meter-long runway, the temple-town airport is capable of handling single narrow-body aircraft, such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s.



(With inputs from agencies)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Monday took a dig at the Congress for "portraying defeat in Karnataka as its victory" and termed the coming together of the Congress and the JD-S an "unholy" alliance.

"Congress has found a new way of portraying defeat as its victory. I hope this new definition of victory continues till 2019," Shah said while addressing a press conference in Delhi.

Launching a scathing attack at the Congress-JD-S coalition, Shah said, Congress and JD-S formed an alliance against the people's mandate. This is what I call an unholy alliance."

The BJP president rubbished Congress party's allegations of horse trading and said that it was BJPs right to stake claim to form government in the southern state.

He accused the Congress of lying in the Supreme Court and said that Yeddyurappa didnt seek seven days time from Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala to prove majority.

Congress has falsely claimed that Yeddyurappa ji asked for 7 days, from the Governor, to prove majority. If it was the case, they should have asked for the letter for him. Congress lawyer lied in the Court, Shah said.

The BJP leader said that while his party's vote share increased in Karnataka, the mandate was clearly anti-Congress as half of the party's ministers lost their seat.

"BJP is the single largest party in Karnataka, our vote share saw a major increase. The mandate was clearly anti-Congress. What is the Congress celebrating? More than half of their ministers lost, CM lost from one seat. Similarly, why is JDS celebrating? For getting 37 seats?" Shah asked.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Five people were arrested by the police for mercilessly beating to death a 35-year-old Dalit man, suspecting him to be a thief, in Gujarat's Rajkot.

In a video, two people were purportedly seen beating the man, tied by ropes around his waist, with iron rods. The police arrested five people in connection with the brutal murder after the video went viral on the social media.

A man who used to collect garbage was beaten up by some people at the Radadiya Industries compound near Shapar town yesterday. The factory owner accused him and his wife of theft, PTI quoted Rajkot (rural) in-charge superintendent of police Shruti S Mehta as saying.

We have arrested the five people based on the video that purportedly showed the victim being beaten up. An investigation is underway, she said.

The victims wife had lodged a complaint at the Shapar-Veraval police station in Rajkot last evening, accusing the five people of thrashing her husband following which he died, Mehta said.

The victim, identified as Mukesh Vaniya, a ragpicker, died while being taken to the government hospital in Rajkot, an official at the Shapar-Veraval police station said.

According to the complaint filed by the victims wife, the couple was picking garbage near the Radadiya Industries, located in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) area, when they were held and then beaten up by the accused.

An FIR was lodged under sections 302 (murder) and 308 (culpable homicide) of the IPC, he said.

Four of the arrested persons were identified as Chirag Patel, Divyesh Patel, Jaysukh Radadiya and Tejas Zala. Jaysukh Radadiya is the owner of the factory where the incident allegedly took place while the others are his friends, according to the police.

(With inputs from agencies)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

In yet another major achievement, India on Monday successfully test-fired BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from test range along Odisha coast, according to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated DRDO scientists and team BrahMos for the successful launch of BrahMos missile with new technology on Monday.

"Smt @nsitharaman congratulates Team Brahmos & @DRDO_India for successful flight test carried out at 1040 hrs on 21 May 2018 from ITR, Balasore to validate BRAHMOS missile life extension technologies developed for the first time in India," Sitharaman's office wrote in a Twitter post.

Smt @nsitharaman congratulates Team Brahmos & @DRDO_India for successful flight test carried out at 1040 hrs on 21 May 2018 from ITR, Balasore to validate BRAHMOS missile life extension technologies developed for the first time in India. 1/2  Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) May 21, 2018

Earlier, on March 22, the supersonic cruise missile was successfully launched with an indigenous seeker at Pokhran test range in Rajasthan.

Read | DRDO successfully carries out test flight of Rustom-2 drone

The range of the missile can be extended up to 400 km as certain technical restrictions were lifted after India became a full member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) last year.

BrahMos is a joint venture between DRDO of India and NPO Mashinostroyenia (NPOM) of Russia. The missile is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on India's Su-30 fighter aircraft.

The Indo-Russia joint venture, which currently travels at mach 2.8 or 2.8 times the speed of sound, will have to be tinkered to achieve mach 5 in the next three years.

Read | India successfully test fires nuclear-capable 'Dhanush' ballistic missile from Odisha coast

Work has already begun to integrate the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile on 40 Sukhoi combat aircraft which is expected to fulfil the critical needs of the Indian Air Force in the wake of evolving security dynamics in the region.

(With inputs from agencies)

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Bengaluru:

What may have denied the BJP its full-fledged royal victory is the wrath of the scorned Andhraite who got brethren in Karnataka to avenge by defeating the party that short changed Andhra Pradesh and left it begging for funds.

The BJP and its leaders are loath to admit it, but the traditional campaign of the Telugu-speaking people and leaders of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Congress from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh among the Telugu-speaking voters in Karnataka hit the target. It inflicted defeat in some crucial and very closely contested seats and frustrated the BJP and its powerful electoral machinery. The BJP ended with 104 seats, eight seats short of the magic number.

In Bangalore itself, the BJP could have won more seats, at least six more, but its chances were put paid by the anger of the Telugu-speaking voter, who was organised into fighting the enemy  Modi government for slighting the Andhraites and denying justice on a host of issues. The TDP and its local unit in Karnataka ran a spirited campaign and supported the Congress, in tune with the political belief that an enemys enemy is a friend. Besides, in Raichur or Kolar or Chikkalballapur areas too, the sizeable Telugu speaking voters had made a significant dent in BJPs chances. In closely fought contests, even a few hundred votes made a difference between victory and loss and that showed in the final tally.

Mohan Chowdary, president, Karnataka Telugu Sanghala Aikya Vedika (United forum of Telugu associations of Karnataka) a confederation of some 20 active cultural and social associations, took upon a political role and campaigned to the best of their ability to defeat the BJP. We held street meetings of association members, worked the phones and used the social media to spread the message, to teach a lesson to the party that betrayed Andhra Pradesh, Chowdary said.

The main issue was the denial of special category status to Andhra Pradesh that left little funds for building the new state from a scratch, so to speak, and absolutely no funds to build a new capital city, he said. In fact, AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu was contemplating crowd funding to get funds to build the state and the response from the Telugu-speaking diaspora is encouraging.

Although Chandrababu Naidu himself did not campaign in Karnataka, he sent key campaigners to whip the Telugu pride among the people with an Andhra-connect.

More effective was the role played by the IT Employees Forum. Techies hailing from Andhra Pradesh as well as Telangana joined hands to mount a social media campaign to highlight the step-motherly treatment the BJP-led central government was giving to Andhra Pradesh.

Issues were aplenty, said Kameswara Rao, a private sector IT employee, citing the denial of special category status to Andhra Pradesh, insufficient funds to build new capital city of Amaravati, denial of separate railway zone for Vishakapatnam. More firepower on these issues was provided, ironically by the Congress leaders Raghuveera Reddy and Madhu Yakshi Gaud, who toured the state many times.

Then there was Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishnamurthy, who even though was on a personal trip, appealed to the people not to vote for the BJP.

BJP leaders refuse to acknowledge this as one of the factors that could have made the difference between the tantalisingly close to majority but too far from the number to form the government and an outright victory that the party seemed marching with solid leads established in 120 seats by noon.

But we pulled them back to 101, crowed Chaudary, claiming some of the claim for stopping the BJP.

Political analysts, however, are not ready to buy this argument, saying there was no empirical evidence of the same.

Shastri, political analyst and pro-vice chancellor of the Jain University said, There is no empirical evidence of such an occurrence of Telugu anger, which is not visible even in Andhra Pradesh. The basic premise of this Telugu anger is something that I do not accept.

But the Telugu-speaking populace was gloating over the BJP defeat that in many associations, there were celebrations after BS Yeddyurappa announced his resignation in the assembly on Saturday.

We had worked very hard, said the president of the forum of associations. There are at least 40 assembly seats which have a sizeable Telugu-speaking population. Veera Kanakamedala, chief of the Bengaluru TDP Forum, said, It was only natural for us to work to defeat the BJP after it cheated Andhra Pradesh.New Delhi:

Popular American actress Meghan Markle tied the knot with Prince Harry in a much-publicised wedding at Windsor Castle. The Suits star, who was made the Duchess of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday, offered a glimpse of how she saw her role on the Royal Family website.

The Remember Me actressa official profile debuted on the website and it highlighted her keen awareness on several social issues and her commitment towards womenas empowerment.

Meghan Markleas will have to undertake royal duties in support of The Queen, both in UK and overseas. The Duchess of Sussex will devote her time to support a number of charities and organisation. A A A

The profile on the website stated that the Duchess from a young age actively participated in charity work. The Royal Highness at the age of 11, successfully campaigned for a company to make changes to their television advertisement that had used sexist language to sell their washing-up liquid.

Meghan Markle volunteered at a soup kitchen in Skid Row, Los Angeles from the age of 13-17. She continued to volunteer at the soup kitchen till the age of 22.

These early experiences helped in shaping up her lifelong commitment to different causes like womenas empowerment and social justice, Meghanas profile claimed.

A "I am proud to be a woman and a feminist," the page quotes Meghan Markle as saying.

A second biography page mentioned that she studied in Hollywood Little Red Schoolhouse, and Immaculate Heart High School. The now retired actress attended Northwestern University, where she earned a double major in theatre and international relations.

The page also gave a detailed account of the seven years Meghan Markle spent playing Rachel Zane in the hit American series Suits. "Whilst working on Suits, the duchess moved to Toronto, Canada where the show was filmed; she feels very connected to Canada, as it became a second home to her," the profile said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Russian city Sochi to hold an aagendalessa informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is Modias second such meeting after the informal summit in Wuhan with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

aGreetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him,a PM tweeted.

The two leaders will focus on pressing global and regional issues, including the impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, during the Sochi Informal Summit. They will meet for four to six hours for the aagendalessa talks where deliberations on bilateral issues were likely to be limited, sources said.

HIGHLIGHTS:

#08:30 pm:A Modi and Putin take a boat ride from Bocharev Creek to Olympic Park in Sochi after their informal summit

#04:20 pm:A India and Russia have been friends for a long time. Thankful to President Putin for inviting me for an informal meeting at Sochi: PM Narendra Modi in Russia's Sochi

India and Russia have been friends for a long time. Thankful to President Putin for inviting me for an informal meeting at Sochi: PM Narendra Modi in #Russia's Sochi pic.twitter.com/WxIZaUDniR a ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

#04:15 pm:A Russia played a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in SCO. We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS: PM Narendra Modi in Sochi

#01:25 pm: "All in 9 hours! Continuing the tradition of high-level visits, PM Narendra ModiA arrives in SochiA for Informal Summit with President Putin. The two leaders will meet with delegation, followed by a private lunch at Bocharev Creek & conclude with Tete-a-tete before departing today," tweets MEA.

#12:25 pm:A Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Russia's Sochi for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin.

#WATCH Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Russia's Sochi for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin pic.twitter.com/JgkSVLHG16 a ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

#10:15 am: Here is PM Modi's itinerary in Russia:A Modi willA arrive in Sochi at 9:40 AM. He will hold restricted talks with President Vladimir Putin. After that, the prime minister will haveA Lunch and Tete-e-Tete with Putin. Later, the two leaders will visitA Moya Russia-Ethno Centre at 03.45 pm andA Sirius Educational Centre. With this visit, the summit will come to anA end and Modi will depart for Delhi.A

# 09:25 am: "Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia," Modi tweeted before leaving for Russia.A

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

#09:05 pm:A PM Modi leaves for a day-long summit to Sochi, Russia.

PM @narendramodi off to an early start to #Sochi in Russia for the Informal Summit with the Russian President Putin. The two leaders are expected to discuss steps to cement our already solid partnership over several meetings in the course of the day. @mfa_russia pic.twitter.com/nBDiytBDru a Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

#09:00 am: Hello and Welcome to the News Nation Live Updates. On the line of Wuhan summit with the Chinese president, Modi will hold another informal meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in the coastal city of Sochi in Russia. We will be informing you about all the latest updates and happenings of PM's day-long Sochi informal summit.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.Yesterday, we looked at a few Democrats with their greasy palms out for cash from the Koch brothers , like Ben Ray Lujan (NM), Raul Ruiz (CA) and Pete Aguilar (CA). And it isn't just corrupt conservative Democrats in Congress who have been compromised by the Koch brothers and their network. A Koch aligned organization is sending out attack mailers against progressive Rhode Island Lt. Governor candidate Aaron Regunberg. And heres the thing-- they're attacking him in the DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY.





We're starting to see this more and more frequently around the country-- right-wing groups backing New Dems, Blue Dogs and other faux-Dems from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party in Democratic primaries. It's revolting... especially whenBen Ray Lujan, chair of the DCCC is very much a part of it. almost every candidate endorsed by the DCCC this cycle is from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party. It was horrifying yesterday when the bodies of the dead students in Texas weren't even counted yet and Democrats had two contend with the DCCC's recruitment of NRA allies-- like Jeff Van Drew (NJ), Ann Kirkpatrick (AZ), Anthony Brindisi (NY), Paul Davis (KS) and Elaine Luria (VA). Establishment Democrats have been accusing progressives of not being "real Democrats."





And in Rhode Island, a blue blue state, state Rep. Aaron Regunberg, who's running for Lieutenant Governor against a corporate DINO extraordinaire, incumbent Dan McKee, is watching his own progressive record being savaged by people who have nothing to do with Democratic values and principles. McKee-- while technically a Democrat-- looks a lot like a Republican on every important issue. He fought against increasing the minimum wage and job protections like paid sick days for workers (both legislative wins that Regunberg successfully led the charge for in the state legislature). He opposes single payer (Regunberg has introduced single payer legislation each year since hes been elected).





Furthermore, McKee was singled out for praise by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for being one of the leading proponents of school privatization in the country (Regunberg is a champion for public education). And McKee has dismissed efforts to protect abortion rights at the state level (Regunberg is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, RI-NOW, and other reproductive justice groups for his leadership on choice).





The media routinely labels McKee a "moderate," but is an anti-Choice, anti-worker, anti-public education conservaDem a "moderate?" Give me a break!



A Bahraini man convicted in a murder case attacked guards at Jau Prison out of his desperation to smoke cigarettes, court files revealed. The defendant is serving a life sentence for killing another man, and now will stand another trial for his latest crime. According to court documents, the inmate attacked two guards as they were escorting him to jail clinic for medical examination. The convict had stolen cigarettes from other inmates. After medical examination, he wanted to go to the smoking room and when we discovered the stolen cigarettes from him, he got angry and began attacking us, said a policeman, who was on duty. One policeman was injured in the attack. The Bahraini man was supposed to appear before the High Criminal Court on Sunday, but the case adjourned until May 29 as he failed to appear before court.The first Texans had self-defense in their DNA because Mexico back then was a continuing carnival of revolutions and counterrevolutions. The far northern Mexican states, including Texas, contributed little economically to the central government, and their defense was expensive, so the settlers were often left on their own. The most common danger arose because the fight to take Indian land that so greatly inconvenienced General George Armstrong Custer on the Northern Plains was just as deadly on the Southern Plains. The Comanches, like other Texas Indians, quickly adopted the gun culture of the settlers and took up firearms as swiftly as they could trade for or steal them.

The Texas CowboyThe Texas Revolution, like the American Revolution before it, was touched off when troops from the mother country were sent to repossess arms given to a militia for defense against Indians. While the redcoats at Lexington Green came to clean out an entire armory, the Mexican army was sent to Gonzales, Texas, to retrieve just one small cannon lent for warding off Comanches. That cannon is now represented on a flag iconic to the modern militia movement, along with the reply from the citizens of Gonzales: Come and take it!

The Texas stereotype of the cowboy hat and the pistol, like all stereotypes, has some truth to it. When I was an elected judge in Austin, I appeared at a candidate forum with the incumbent sheriff. A resident on the other side of Lake Travis from Austin asked him about response time.

Well, the sheriff smiled sheepishly, we try to get to it the same day.

Fot.: BRAK

The sheriff was wearing a wide-brimmed hat, as was the man who asked the question. John B. Stetson called his hat Boss of the Plains, and it was a pricey fashion statement, but it was based on the same practicality as a cheap straw sombrero. Mesquite trees dont throw a lot of shade and cottonwoods throw theirs only near water. To work outside in these climes, you bring your own shade.

That stereotypical hat was born in practicality, as was the stereotypical pistol. A rural sheriff needing to summon a posse has no armory. He expects the volunteers to bring their own guns, pistols or long guns. The last land battles in the U.S. with foreign troops were on Texas soil during the Mexican-American War in the 1840s, but the tradition of an armed citizenry goes back to Stephen Austins settlement in 1825.

The tradition endures, even as the threat level has been dialed way back. In 2010, thenTexas Governor Rick Perry was out jogging when, he claimed, a coyote menaced his dog. Perry produced his Ruger .380 semi-automatic with a laser sight from wherever he kept it while wearing a T-shirt and jogging shorts. Theres something only in Texas about the thought of that red laser dot moving across the coyotes body just before Perry squeezed the trigger.

The Republic of Texas purchased 180 early Colt revolvers intended for the Texas Navy in 1839, but some came into the hands of the Texas Rangers, a paramilitary force originally formed to be a body of white men just as tough as the Indians and therefore able to kill the many Indians who objected to white settlements. Ranger Captain Samuel Walker used one of the early Colts, and his experience resulted in Walker and Samuel Colt redesigning the gun in 1846. The Walker model was introduced in 1847. At 4 pounds, 9 ounces, it was the original .44 Magnum handgun. The original black powder Walker Colt is a collectors item today. To this day, Texans who can afford a .44 Magnum might boast that their choice of sidearm is a holster full of whoop-ass.Sturm, Ruger & Co. immortalized the feat when it offered a pistol just like Perrys that said on one side of the barrel Coyote Special and on the other side A True Texan.

Aby uzyskac dostep do caego tekstu, nagran i filmu oraz zwiazanych z nim zadan  kup dostep do Newsweek Learning English:EAST OTTO, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities in Upstate New York have found the body of a California man who was reported missing earlier this month.

Cattaraugus County officials say they found Rudy Ray Rockett Sr. in East Otto on Saturday night. Rudy Ray Rockett Jr., the son of the missing man, confirmed Sunday that the body found was his father and that police called him to inform him of his father's death.

MISSING PERSON SEARCH: Niagara Co Deputy Chief tells me Rudy Ray Rockett was reported missing by his wife Sunday afternoon. There are seven seperate search crews, all with dogs, trying to locate him. @news4buffalo pic.twitter.com/HgBZVmEo6s  Kelsey Anderson (@4KelseyAnderson) May 3, 2018

The 64-year-old man was last seen in Ransomville, New York, on April 29. He was scheduled to fly out of Buffalo Niagara International Airport that night but did not show up to make his flight.

Rockett's stepson is alleged to be the last person seen with his stepfather.

The stepson is currently being held in an area jail on a weapons charge.Sydney deep tech incubator, Cicada Innovations, has been named Top Incubator in the World by global peak industry association for entrepreneurship programs, the International Business Innovation Association (InBIA).

[Related: Now that more capital is available to deep tech startups, they need better access to makerspace: Cicada Innovations CEO]

Finalists were selected from over 2,200 InBIA member incubators, accelerators, and entrepreneurship centres from across the globe, with Cicada Innovations being the only Australian in the running.

Applicants were assessed across economic and social impact-based metrics, including the number of startup entrants and successful exits, jobs created, patents filed, new products and services launched, investment dollars received, value and impact of companies created and depth of collaboration.

In addition to being named the Top Incubator in the World at the InBIA Awards held in Dallas, Texas, Cicada innovations was also shortlisted in the categories of Top Technology Incubator in the World and Top Super Incubator in the World awards. Ahead of the event, the Redfern-based incubator also won InBIAs February 2018 Technology Incubator of the Month.

According to Petra Andren, CEO of Cicada Innovations, the incubator snared the top gong at the InBIA awards by proving a focus on the industries of the future, including taking an innovative, holistic, long-term, and program-driven approach to supporting and growing startups.

This award is strong validation of Cicadas unique program-driven business model, and our position as the home of deep technology in Australia, she told Dynamic Business. It is also serious acknowledgement of the amazing community of entrepreneurs and innovators we house within the incubator  they are truly world-leading!

We would like to thank our shareholder universities  USYD, ANU, UTS, UNSW. Their constant connection with and support of us allows us to gain access to some of Australias best capabilities, talent, and research. This constant flow of science-based innovation and research into the incubator is what allows us to consistently build and nurture businesses with the potential to truly change the world.

We will continue to push the envelope by launching ever-more-specialised accelerator programs in more industry sectors and we will use our shareholder universities to place talent into our companies when they are ready to scale. In this way, Cicada will continue to be a literal embodiment of the governments National Innovation and Science Agenda.

Andren said the primary point of difference at Cicada is its program-driven leadership in deep technologies that are solving some of the worlds greatest challenges, such as food security, climate change, and an aging population.

These innovative technologies need longer time to market, and greater access to domain expertise and STEM talent to scale, she said. This is where Cicadas shareholder universities and its ecosystem of industry partners and local and overseas investors come into play.

Being program-driven and taking a create, validate, and incubate approach allows us to provide longer-term support until our promising startups reach scale-up phase, which can take many years.

We create businesses by sourcing world-changing IP and qualified researchers and tech founders through commercialisation training programs, such as the Medical Device Commercialisation Training Program (MDTCP) for medtech.

We then validate their proof of concept by running businesses through specialised accelerator programs, testing early stage ideas for real-world applications, before considering them for long-term incubation. Our GrowLab accelerator program is an example of one such program that feeds directly into the Cicada incubator.

Once residing inside Cicada, we incubate these businesses through access to specialised infrastructure such as labs, hardware spaces, and cleanrooms. They also receive tailored business support services such as mentorship programs from alumni founder entrepreneurs and domain experts offering free assistance on such matters as legal or IP requirements, networking events, easy access to talent in the form of PhD placement programs, access to highly specialized capabilities from our University shareholders, and much more.

Cicada Innovations is the only incubator in Australia to be classified as a super hub by InBIA, which defines one as a hub that blends several models of entrepreneurial growth into a single location, supporting technology entrepreneurs with a wide range of critical services throughout their entrepreneurial journey until graduation.

Noting that Innovation is doing things differently and doing them better, Alan Kinkel, Australias Chief Scientist, described Cicada Innovations as an innovator amongst incubators. He explained, [Theyre] doing it differently through their programs to attract the best commercialisable ideas, and doing it better by using alumni and industry experts to provide business, legal and financial acumen to the founders to support their validated scientific ideas.Our story

<strong>Your guide in an ever-changing world</strong>

Only NielsenIQ is able to deliver the clear perspective, the breadth and depth of information, and the complete context your business needs. Our insatiable search for knowledge drives our momentum forward, so we stay ahead of the curve to reveal the connected story of your customers and business. Uncovering the truth is critical for your success, and we have the vision to lead you to True Intelligence.The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, on Monday, warned Judges to be extra careful while evaluating electronically generated evidence that will arise from 2019 election petitions.The CJN, who gave the admonition at the opening ceremony of a one-day symposium for Justices, Judges and Jurists, stressed that extreme circumspection and acute vigilance must be the key words for courts in this area of evidence.He maintained that digitally generated evidence must be subjected to the test of admissibility and compliance under section 84 of the Evidence Act, 2011.My Lords, you will all agree with me that whenever digitally generated evidence is sought to be tendered in your courts, the opposing counsel would quickly object to the admissibility of such evidence on the ground of non-compliance with the provision of Section 84 of the Evidence Act, 2011.It suffices to say therefore that for electronically generated evidence to be admissible, evidence as to the functionality of the computer must first be adduced.This section of the law has hitherto been given diverse interpretation by various courts. This has contributed to the delay in dispensing with cases which borders on this section.Notwithstanding the laudable provision of the law therefore, extreme circumspection and acute vigilance must be the key words for courts in this area of evidence. It is very important to emphasize, that Judges at all levels must appreciate how this section of the Evidence Act is applied.I therefore urge you all not to be in a haste to deliver rulings or judgments when issues pertaining to the non-compliance of Section 84 are raised.Justice Onnoghen described the symposium which was organised by the National Judicial Institute, NJI, as the first of its kind, saying our nascent democracy has to be nurtured, consolidated and developed.He said: The entrenchment of the Rule of Law which is the corner stone of any democratic system will only translate to a mere mantra unless the Judiciary not only dispenses justice, but is also seen by the citizenry to be doing so fairly, timely and justly.A weak Judiciary is a recipe for anarchy, impunity, poverty, underdevelopment and instability.Also, the several provisions of our Constitution has in succession come before your Lordships, for interpretation and enforcement in conformity with the arduous task imposed on the courts by the Constitution.The Courts are at all times prepared to perform this role expeditiously and with minimum costs to the litigants. This process, amongst others can rapidly enhance the true comprehension of our Constitutional provisions as a step towards the identification of the grey areas requiring future amendments, modifications, alterations, and/or even complete deletions.The advent of technological development and the consequent evolution of paperless transactions have permeated every sphere of life, and the legal system is no exception.In the event of disputes involving transactions conducted through electronic means, parties are bound to rely on electronic evidence of such transactions.The amendment of the Evidence Act, 2011 was intended to provide for the use of such electronic evidence in court proceedings.Prior to this amendment, the admissibility of electronic evidence in court proceedings had been shrouded in controversy due to the absence of specific provisions in the previous Act.In light of the foregoing, this Symposium shall serve to shed light on the gray areas of the Evidence Act, 2011 with particular regard to Section 84 of the Act.I must state categorically however, that this Symposium could not have come at a better time as we gradually approach an election year, bearing in mind that you will be taken to task to evaluate electronically generated evidence arising from Election Petitions.In her welcome address, the Administrator of the NJI, Justice R.P.I. Bozimo, noted that section 84 of the Evidence Act provided modalities by which electronically generated evidence must be certified and tendered in court.My lords, as ministers in the temple of justice, you should always demonstrate adequate knowledge and sound judgment in dealing with evidence brought before you in any form.It is necessary to note that while the use of computers for daily tasks provides ease, safety and other positive outcomes, it may also be subjected to misuse, she added.The South East stakeholders of African Democratic Congress, ADC, yesterday expressed delight at the adoption of the party by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and members of his Coalition of National Movement, CNM, vowing that ADC would enthrone a new generation of leaders in Nigeria in 2019.In a communique issued after the meeting, the stakeholders promised that the trust placed on ADC by Chief Obasanjo and his group would yield good dividends, assuring that their commitment and passion were in alignment with the good aspiration of all Nigerians.The communique read: It is a known fact that the government of All Progress Congress, APC, has failed in the core responsibilities of any government as the security and welfare of the people have deteriorated monumentally.We are committed to using ADC to bring Ndigbo back to mainstream and national politics. In this regard, we pledge to work and put in our best effort and resources to colour the South East with ADC.We shall use the ADC symbol of handshake to reach out to every Nigerian to bring back friendship, love, unity of purpose, and use power in our diversity to make Nigeria a model for Africa, investors haven, and the darling of the world.We remain committed to the avowed vision of the leaders of this country from the North West, North East, North Central, South West, South- South and South East to use ADC and the coming elections as launch pad to bring in new generation of leaders into governance concourse of the nation. We also appeal to all well-meaning leaders to continue their mentoring and guidance as we journey in our nation building pathway.The ADC leaders endorsed the policy proclamation of their leaders to avail 30% of all positions to women and youths respectively, and call on youths and women across Nigeria to embrace the party that would help them advance their skills, talents, and leadership qualities.They also called on well-meaning patriots in the South East and across Nigeria to join ADC, adding that the doors of the party were wide open to accommodate everyone.The Nigeria police force says it has arrested two suspects that allegedly led the gang that recently robbed a bank in Offa, Kwara state. ...

The Nigeria police force says it has arrested two suspects that allegedly led the gang that recently robbed a bank in Offa, Kwara state.





A statement issued Monday by Jimoh Moshood, police spokesman, identified the arrested suspects as Kunle Ogunleye (aka Arrow) and Michael Adikwu.





The statement identified Adikwu as a dismissed police corporal who once served a jail term upon dismissal from the force.





The statement reads:

Sequel to the Publication of the Pictures of the Offa Bank Robbers in the Media, We have being getting several Credible leads from Good Citizens of Our Country as a Result, IRT teams deployed by IGP Ibrahim Idris to Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti States were able to arrest 2 More Gang-leaders of the Deadly Bank Robbery whos pictures were circulated by the Media.





The Confessed Gang-leaders Arrested are

1) Kunle Ogunleye aka Arrow 35yrs native of Kwara State who was arrested yesterday in Oro town in Kwara State.





2) Micheal Adikwu, a native of Apa LGA Benue State and a dismissed police CPL who was arrested by the Police in 2012 and charged to Court in Kwara State for Compromising by releasing some wanted Armed Robbers. He had spent three years in prison and subsequently found his way out in 2015 and became a notorious armed robber. He was arrested again by IRT Operatives in Kwara State two weeks ago.





All suspects arrested among others have confessed to the Offa Bank armed robberies and murders, They are assisting the IRT teams in Arresting more of the bank robbers as the police continue the investigation.



Presidency last night denied the allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (...

Presidency last night denied the allegation that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) N25 million for transportation when the body visited the State House, Abuja.Speaking with newsmen, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu vowed that Buhari could never give such amount away.He challenged those peddling the rumour to cross check their facts as such money could have been given to CAN under the past Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led Presidency.He said: Which Presidency gave CAN N25 million? If anybody tells you that President Buhari gave CAN N25 million, will you believe it?Which Presidency are they talking about, is it under APC or under PDP? Let them go and check.No, no, it cannot be under Buhari. It cannot be. Not under Buhari. Buhari cannot do that kind of thing. It will not happen.According to media reports, the National Christian Elders Forum (NCEF) is accusing the leadership of CAN of corruption and abuse of office, claiming that the leadership collected N25 million from the Presidency during a visit to Buhari.In a memo, titled: NCEF protests: Is NEC of CAN guilty of negligence? and signed by the Chairman, Elder Solomon Asemota, SAN, called on the National Executive Council, NEC, to investigate alleged high-handedness of the CAN President.According to the memo, NEC should immediately convene an emergency meeting to consider the issues raised and set up the process for investigation of CAN President Rev. (Dr.) Samson Olasupo and his suspension until the allegations have been investigated and he is cleared of wrongdoing.The memo urged the NEC to ensure that the investigation looks into the activities of other CAN officials on whose heads allegations of wrongdoing and misconduct hang.The Christian elders argued that it has the statutory right to make its position public to Nigerian Christians and alert them that, if Christianity is destroyed in Nigeria or Christians continue to get slaughtered, the present NEC of CAN should be held responsible.Ayokunle had dismissed the allegations.The National Christian Elders Forum, (NCEF) has accused the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of corruption and abu...

The National Christian Elders Forum, (NCEF) has accused the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) of corruption and abuse of office.





In a memo reportedly obtained by Vanguard, NCEF alleged that a CAN delegation led by Samson Ayokunle, its president, collected transportation money from President Muhammadu Buhari, when they paid him a visit in November.





The NCEF said while CAN officials said they collected N25 million, sources claimed they received up to N40 million from the presidency.





The forum recommended punishment for those involved.





In the memo, titled NCEF Protests: Is NEC of CAN Guilty of Negligence?, signed by Solomon Asemota, on behalf of some members, the NCEF called the national executive council (NEC) of CAN to immediately convene an emergency meeting to investigate the issues raised.





On the 10th of November, 2017, a delegation of CAN, led by the President of CAN, Rev. Dr. Ayokunle, met with President Muhammadu Buhari and, after the visit, collected transportation money, the memo read.





While informed sources claim it was N40 million, CAN officials insist it was N25 million and it was alleged to have been shared by somebody who is not an official of the national secretariat of CAN.





NCEF insists on proper investigation of how the money was shared and how much each person received. In addition, NCEF insists on proper sanction of every Christian leader that took part in sharing money from President Buhari.





It is unethical and very insensitive for Christian leaders to collect money from the man every Christian is aware has compromised security to the detriment of the church.





The group also called on its NEC to investigate alleged high-handedness of Ayokunle, while calling for his immediate suspension until he is cleared of all the allegations.





The forum demanded a probe into vehicles purchased at questionable prices.





They urged the NEC to ensure that the investigation looks into the activities of other officials of CAN on whose heads allegations of wrong doing and misconduct hang.





In all, N43 million was spent to purchase four second hand vehicles in Cotonou, the statement read.





is too big to be swept under the carpet. (This vehicle is parked at the National Christian Centre, Abuja). This allegationis too big to be swept under the carpet. (This vehicle is parked at the National Christian Centre, Abuja).





The auditor presented a financial report to CAN that did not include the N43 million spent on vehicles in Cotonou. Where did N43 million disappear to?.





The Christian elders argued that it had the statutory right to make its position public to all Nigerian Christians and alert them that, if Christianity is destroyed in Nigeria or Christians continue to get slaughtered, the present NEC of CAN should be held responsible.



The State congress of the Delta State All Progressives Congress approved by the National Working Committee is currently underway at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Asaba, the State capital.The NWC had postponed the congress earlier slated for last week Saturday owing to alleged inducement of some members of the committee charged with the conduct of the exercise.Our correspondent who is monitoring the exercise observed that the congress is being attended by delegates from the 25 local government areas of the State.The embattled lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye, has thanked Nigerians for standing by him during his travails in the hands of those he described as the State.Melaye, in a lengthy write-up posted on Facebook on Monday, alleged that his trials were a plot by the State to silence him.The lawmaker, however, said that he is now more resolute in his convictions.Melaye is being prosecuted by the Nigeria Police in two separate courts.While he is standing trial in a Lokoja, Kogi State, court on charges bordering on gun-running, he is also on trial in an Abuja court for attempted suicide, among other charges.The senator wrote: Someone once said that rock bottom is good solid ground and a dead-end street is just a place to turn around.In the last few weeks, I have been taken to the good solid ground at the rock bottom and they couldnt go further. I have been brought to the dead-end street, but with you standing by my side, I have turned around and bounced back to the chagrin of those who sought to seal my lips from speaking out against tyranny, politics of oppression and blackmail.They unleashed an endless barrage of physical, psychological, metaphysical and emotional torture and assault on me, but through the power of the Most High and you, the good people of Nigeria, we have once again seen the triumph of truth over lies and good over evil.It was Edmund Burke who was quoted as saying that when bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one  in a contemptible struggle.I am, of all men, a blessed man, to have courageous and dependable people like you as my fellow soldiers in the struggle to free us from the shackles of political strongholds and tyranny.He added, The state unleashed its raw power on me and released a 200-man-strong fully-armed policemen on a man without a knife or a bullet. It did this because I called injustice by its name and called for accountability. For this, they sought to break my spirit and destroy me permanently.In their moment of reign, I was fully shackled. With my hands tied to my back and hurled into a dark solitary confinement waiting for the butchers knife, you, my people, stood by me. You came against a raging fire and stood up against tyranny, lies, filthy lucre, injustice, persecution and greed.While in the dark and unable to fight for myself, they sought to take my mandate, which you had freely given to me, but you answered back and quenched deceit in its wake. You stood resolute and unflinching and defended your mandate to me.I thank you from the bottom of my heart. In their attempt to break me, they have made me stronger.The lawmaker thanked all those who stood in his defence and visited him after I was injured and subsequently detained at the hospital.He said, You have strengthened my resolve and hardened my flesh against those who seek to devour and make meat of me. You have once again proved to me the axiom in the saying that in prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends. I am very grateful. For your sake, I remain unbowed.I know many of you worry about my safety and life in this new dispensation where life is no longer sacred in Nigeria, but do not be troubled. My bond of love for you, my good people, makes it impossible for me to consider my self-risk, safety, comfort or opportunity in my unflinching commitment to stand up for you, to stand up for truth and if necessary, die for the truth and the emancipation of our people from the chains of poverty and oppression.Though they raise spurious allegations against me, bear false witness against me, though they seek to frighten me and lure me into their bounty of evil, I will fear no foe.Yes, my traducers and torturers wish that I keep quiet; though they seek to seal my lips, to silence my voice forever, I remain ever more resolute and committed. I am committed to this cause for which I am a politician; the cause of the downtrodden, to speak truth to power and stand against oppression and injustice. On these issues, there will be no compromise. I owe no apologies and I tender none.Like I have always said, you speak the truth, you die; you dont speak the truth, you die. I have chosen to speak the truth, dead or alive. Reverend Martin Luther King Jnr. once said, Cowardice asks the question: is it safe? Expediency asks the question: is it politics? Vanity asks the question: is it popular? But Conscience asks the question: is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe nor political nor popular, but one must take it because it is right.To my people, I promise you this and this only. I have taken my position; I will not hold back, I will not hold my peace, I will not be shut down, neither will I shut up, not as long as injustice and falsehood continues to reign.As long as I will live, I will not bow to Baal.The embattled senator who was granted bail last week, shared the open letter to Nigerians on his Facebook page this afternoon. Read below

The embattled senator who was granted bail last week, shared the open letter to Nigerians on his Facebook page this afternoon. Read below

Someone once said, that, rock bottom is good solid ground and a dead-end street is just a place to turn around. In the last few weeks, I have been taken to the good solid ground at the rock bottom and they couldnt go further. I have been brought to the dead-end street but with you standing by my side, I have turned around and bounced back to the chagrin of those who sought to seal my lips from speaking out against tyranny, politics of oppression and blackmail. They, unleashed an endless barrage of physical, psychological, metaphysical and emotional torture and assault on me, but, through the power of the Most High, and you the good people of Nigeria, we have once again, seen the triumph of truth over lies and good over evil.





It was Edmund Burke who was quoted as saying that when bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one,  in a contemptible struggle. I am of all men, a blessed man, to have courageous and dependable people like you as my fellow soldiers in the struggle to free us from the shackles of political strongholds and tyranny. It is to you and my most wonderful and ever knowledgeable people of Kogi State, especially Kogi West, that I owe my deepest gratitude. You stood by me against the state and your own best political self-interest.





The state unleashed its raw power on me and released a 200 man-strong fully armed policemen - on a man without a knife nor a bullet. It did this because I called injustice by its name and called for accountability. For this they sought to break my spirit and destroy me permanently. In their moment of reign, I was fully shackled. With my hands tied to my back, and hurled into a dark solitary confinement waiting for the butchers knife, you, my people stood by me. You came against a raging fire and stood up against tyranny, lies, filthy lucre, injustice, persecution and greed. While in the dark and unable to fight for myself, they sought to take my mandate, which you had freely given to me. But you answered back and quenched deceit in its wake. You stood resolute and unflinching and defended your mandate to me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. In their attempt to break me, they have made me stronger.





To you my indefatigable leaders; my irremovable President of the Senate, a man of immeasurable vision for Nigeria and true fighter for the enthronement of true democracy and the rule of law, Sen. (Dr.) Abubakar Bukola Saraki. The fearless Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, I thank you both for your steadfastness in the defence of the Nigerian Constitution and the enthronement of the Rule of Law, justice and equity and the emasculation of anti-democratic forces and tyranny everywhere in Nigeria. I am eternally grateful to you.





To the entire National Assembly Membership, especially my colleagues in the Senate, I am eternally indebted to you for not playing politics but standing courageously against oppression and terror. You have shown yourself leaders on whom Nigerias hope for tomorrow can be assured.





To you our governors, ministers, my dear Okun people and leaders, the National Chairman and Kogi State Executive of the PDP, leaders of the Diplomatic Corps, opinion leaders, Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, Chief Ricky Tarfa SAN, human rights lawyers and activists, and all my well-wishers and lovers of democracy in Nigeria; the Christian and Muslim Community, all of you that visited me in the National Hospital, after I was injured and subsequently detained at the hospital. I thank you all for your steadfastness in the defence of due process and the rule of law. I also thank you for your courage and solidarity.





Our ever foresighted and courageous civil society leadership, the media, leaders of thought across the country, our hard-working youth for whom I will give my last blood, our loving mothers and sisters, I lack words to express to you my profound gratitude for the unbreakable chord of love that binds me to you through thick and thin. You have strengthened my resolve and hardened my flesh against those who seek to devour and make meat of me. You have once again proven to me the axiom in the saying that in prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends." I am very grateful. For your sake, I remain unbowed.





I know many of you worry about my safety and life in this new dispensation where life is no longer sacred in Nigeria. But do not be troubled. My bond of love for you, my good people, makes it impossible for me to consider my self-risk, safety, comfort or opportunity in my unflinching commitment to stand up for you, to stand up for truth and if necessary die for the truth and the emancipation of our people from the chains of poverty and oppression. Though they raise spurious allegations against me, bear false witness against me, though they seek to frighten me and lure me into their bounty of evil, I will fear no foe.





Yes, my traducers and torturers wish that I keep quiet; though they seek to seal my lips, to silence my voice forever, I remain ever more resolute and committed. I am committed to this cause for which I am a politician; the cause of the down trodden, to speak truth to power and stand against oppression and injustice. On these issues there will be no compromise. I owe no apologies and I tender none.





Like I have always said, you speak the truth, you die, you dont speak the truth, you die. I have chosen to speak the truth, dead or alive. Rev. Martin Luther King Jnr., once said, Cowardice asks the question - is it safe? Expediency asks the question - is it politics? Vanity asks the question - is it popular? But conscience asks the question - is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular; but one must take it because it is right.





To my people, I promise you this and this only. I have taken my position, I will not hold back, I will not hold my peace, I will not be shut down, neither will I shut-up, not as long as injustice and falsehood continues to reign, as long as I will live, I will not bow to Baal.





May the Almighty continue to keep you all and be your bulwark until victory is assured. Once again, I thank you all so much.





God bless you.

God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.





Sen. Dino Melaye (SDM)

Kogi WestThe Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the Rivers State Commander of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS), Mr. ...

Wike

The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has ordered the Rivers State Commander of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS), Mr. Akin Fakorede, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), to sue the government for libellous publications against him.A May 17 letter, signed by the IGPs Principal Staff Officer (PSO), Usman Umar, authorised the commander to sue the state.The letter, passed through the Commissioner of Police, Zaki Ahmed, reads I refer to your letter No. CB:3960/RVS/VOL.1/3, dated May 16, 2018 with its attachment on the aforementioned subject (request for authorisation to seek legal/civil remedy against continuous publication of false, malicious and libellous publications against ACP Akin Fakorede by the Rivers State Governor, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, and agents of the Rivers State government) and respectfully convey the approval of the IGP that you direct the officer (Fakorede) to go to court, please.The authorisation to sue Wike and Rivers came after IGP exonerated the commander in Rivers of allegations levelled against him.Fakorede, a lawyer, in his request for authorisation, with reference number: CB:3960/RVS/F-SARS/VOL.2/8, addressed to IGP, passed through the commissioner and dated May 15, said he wanted permission to institute legal action, seeking an injunction against the continuous publication of the false advertisements against him.The F-SARS said: In the last one month, the Rivers State government has taken up paid advertisements on the front and inside pages of major national daillies in the country, alleging falsely that some staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), specifically one Mary Tunkoyo and Dr. C. Odekpe were assaulted by my person and I am presently engaging in the plotting, training, recruiting and arming of a special squad in Kaduna, Abuja and Port Harcourt, for the purpose of rigging the 2019 elections.These allegations are not only false, but are very malicious, more so considering the fact that the so-called INEC report has been investigated extensively by the IGPs Special Investigation Panel and I was completely and totally exonerated from blame, as the evidence of all the parties attest to our (F-SARS operatives) good work of protecting INEC staff under attack.It is my humble appeal that I be granted the authorisation of the IGP to seek an injunction against the malicious publications, which are causing irreparable damage to the image of the Nigeria Police Force, my reputation and the good name of my family.Wike claimed Fakorede was indicted for the 2015 elections and rerun, and allegedly colluded with the All Progressives Congress (APC).The IGPs December 7 letter of exoneration, signed by the Deputy Force Secretary 2, DCP M. C. Mukaddas, addressed to the then Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Fakorede, Akingbade Victor, read: You will recall that you were queried for act of serious misconduct, vide letter: AP: 41985/FS/FHQ/ABJ/13 of March 9, 2017. The IGP has carefully considered your representation to the query and found that you are not blameable.He (IGP) has decided that you be exonerated and you are hereby so exonerated, with effect from December 5, 2017. You are to acknowledge receipt of this letter through the appropriate channel, please.Wike, however, claimed page 66 of the report of INEC into the Rivers rerun indicted the F-SARS commander in Rivers, alleging that Fakorede was accused of hostage taking, hijack of electoral materials and physical attacks on INECs officials.Wike called on Rivers people and lovers of democracy to stand up and say no to any officer who would steal their votes and still assault the people.Timi Frank, a suspended chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has apologised to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that ...

Timi Frank, a suspended chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has apologised to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that life is worthless under President Muhammadu Buhari.





Frank, one of the then opposition leaders who criticised Jonathan in the buildup to the 2015 election, conveyed his apology in an open letter.





He explained that he apologised to Jonathan because events in the last three years showed that the ex-president was a better leader.





I would first of all like to use this opportunity to formally apologise to the immediate past President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for all the tantrums and mistreatment orchestrated by me against his person while he held sway at the helm of affairs of our great country, the letter read.





Indeed, I and many others may have misunderstood Jonathans silence for weakness and thus pushed harder to malign his person and portray him as a weak leader.





Having achieved the change agenda, it is now crystal clear, that the change we had clamoured for is not the change we got. Under your (Buhari) tenure the rule of law has been replaced with the rule of force. You have injected fear into the society. People who voted for you to save them from corruption and ineptitude have been barred from speaking up against the myriads of evil and wicked acts being perpetrated by officials in your government.





Unfortunately, corruption is in the upward swing under your watch. This is why I had to apologize to Jonathan since events of the last three years have shown the former president was a better leader.





People freely expressed themselves under Jonathans administration without fear of being branded cultists sponsors, gunrunners or aiding murderers. But not so under this administration.





Under Jonathan, Nigerians enjoyed freedom of speech, association and right to hold dissenting views including organising and partaking in protests against unwelcome government policies. All these are no go areas today. Does it mean Jonathan was a better democrat? It is a fact that no member of the APC which was then in the opposition before 2015 was jailed or harassed for expressing dissent.





He said the current government has shown disdain for court orders.





El-Zakzaky and Dasuki will not be in jail today but for the present rule of force under this government. It is a pity that today democracy and freedom have become scarce. Insecurity continues unabated, he wrote.





Killings take place on a daily basis across the country either by kidnappers, Boko Haram insurgents, herdsmen, and other criminal elements having a free reign around the country. Life has become worthless and uncertain and people cannot speak out for fear of being labeled anti-government by your regime.





Besides, instead of heeding the wise counsel of leaders like Obasanjo, IBB, TY. Danjuma, General Gowon, and religious leaders like Bakare and Oyedepo, you have again declared to seek reelection as President. You even boasted in Bauchi that you will be reelected which was akin to saying you will rig yourself back into office.



A 23-year-old worker, Ismail Yusuf, has attacked and knocked out the teeth of his boss with a hammer for allegedly failing to pay salari...

A 23-year-old worker, Ismail Yusuf, has attacked and knocked out the teeth of his boss with a hammer for allegedly failing to pay salaries.The suspect admitted to knocking out seven teeth from Sattish Kasara, an Indian national and manager of Bolaji Drilling Company in Minna, Niger State.The incident which happened in the Tunga area of Minna, led to Yusufs arrest by the police.Northern City News gathered that Kasara allegedly withheld Yusufs wages because he learnt that the worker planned to travel to Bauchi State to see his parents and feared he might not return to work.Yusuf explained to our source that he promised to return to work within one week, adding that Kasara refused to pay him his salaries.I was begging him to pay my salaries to facilitate my journey to Bauchi, he didnt even listen or give me audience; then the next day, I went to his house, forced his door open and inflicted injuries on his head with a hammer. I knocked out seven of his teeth as a result, he narrated.The 23-year-old stated that he had worked with Kasara for over five years during which he had not visited his parents.I have worked with this man for over five years without seeing my parents; it hurts me a lot and I cannot bear it any longer. I am not asking for his favour; all Im asking for is my salary, he stated.Yusuf accused foreign company owners of maltreating Nigerians, saying, I dont know why they dont treat Nigerians well and the Federal Government is keeping quiet over it. How can I work for a foreigner in my own country at the end of the month he will not pay; can that happen in their own country, he queried.The Niger State Police Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Abubakar, said that police operatives recovered a hammer and a pipe from Yusuf, adding that he would be charged to court after investigation.The Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Osun State, said it was not aware Senator Iyiola Omisore has joined the party.State Secretary of the party, Elder Femi Awe, told newsmen that the party has no record of Senator Omisore as a card carrying member.Well, in his usual style and way of doing things, he has been announcing to whoever cares to listen that he has joined our party.In actual fact, Omisore has not personally or officially met the party leadership to express his interest of becoming a member.We have a laid down procedure and rules in which an intending member must follow, which he has not done, not to talk of submitting letter of intent to contest on our platform, Awe said.Omisore, a former deputy governor of Osun state formally announced his switch to the SDP from the Peoples Democratic Party on Sunday. Our quest for an alternative political platform is basically in pursuit of a credible political structure that would guarantee that our people enjoy the benefits of accountable leadership at the state level from now. Notwithstanding my enormous contributions over the past years or so to building the PDP, after very deep thought and the widest consultations with my God, my family, my supporters in and outside Osun state, It is with great concern that I have made a very expedient decision today, to withdraw my membership from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the Social Democratic Party (SDP); a party that believed in a balanced, equitable and truly functional Nigeria.On the platform of the SDP, I shall with the support of my supporters, followers, and the electorate of the state, seek the nomination to contest for, and by His grace, be elected as the Executive Governor of Osun state on September 22, 2018.Meanwhile, a leading governorship aspirant of the SDP in the state, Chief Yemisi Oladeji has promised to give Omisore a tough fight for the governorship ticket of the party.Oladeji, in a statement sent to journalists on Sunday, said the former Deputy Governor is not more than a friend of SDP in the state.This is just a wishful thinking brought about by certain elements trying to create confusion in the peaceful process of our partys primaries. From records available to us, Senator Omisore is not a member of SDP in Osun.I advise Chief Omisore to first and foremost, properly approach the party to regularise his membership, and until that is done, he is not a member of our party.I would like to sound a note of warning to Omisore that if he felt the primary process in PDP is rigorous, he should wait and see a far more challenging one in SDP. If he opts for the membership of SDP and presents himself as a governorship candidate.I want to assure him that I will give him a good and competitive run, putting in all that it will legitimately require to clinch my partys ticket for the poll.Also, we need to drum it loud and clear to the ears of Omisores supporters that they should not think we will fall for their delusional belief that Omisore has what it takes to win the governorship poll on any platform.We need to remind them that even on PDP platform, Omisore lost miserably to Aregbesola in 2014, even in spite of the backing of the federal government and all its security apparatuses. All those factors that guarantee electoral victory are no longer within the beck and call of Otunba Omisore.On behalf of other aspirants on the platform of SDP, we demand free and transparent primary. Since we may end up having another aspirant bringing into the fold baggage of corruption cases, damaged reputation and questionable personality, I have resolved to give all that it legitimately takes to win SDP governorship ticket and fly our partys flag in the September 22, 2018 poll.Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, says changing the change in 2019 would reverse all the achievements of the All Progressives Congr...

presidential spokesman, says changing the change in 2019 would reverse all the achievements of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Garba Shehu,presidential spokesman, says changing the change in 2019 would reverse all the achievements of the All Progressives Congress (APC).





In an article he titled The Real Price of Changing the Change (1), Shehu said Nigerians needed to understand the implication of voting out President Muhammadu Buhari.





Shehu said members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have only been calling for changing the change without defining what exactly that means.





But Shehu said the real meaning and cost of the Changing the Change is a reversal of the victory gained against corruption.





will be the happiest person if PDP regains power. Shehu claimed that Patience Jonathan, former first lady,will be the happiest person if PDP regains power.





As the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) gears up to celebrate the completion of three years of the Buhari government in the centre on May 29th, Nigerians need to be reminded of what the reversal of the achievements of this administration will amount to, Shehu said.





The main reason for the defeat of the PDP in 2015 was corruption. The present administration at the centre led by President Muhammadu Buhari has so far presented a corrupt-free image of itself. It has also succeeded in abolishing grand corruption at the top.





The list of people who oppose the Buhari government and yearning to change the change include a number of parliamentarians, policemen, customs officials, immigration officials, civil servants now rooting for other political parties, not leaving out those various businesses and platforms owned by these political parties directly or indirectly.





The beneficiaries wont like that the security threat is eliminated. Yes, for them, Changing the Change is an opportunity for a resumption of business as usual.





But the happiest of them all will be Mrs. Jonathan, who will get the first priority when the refunds start coming for obvious reasons. The former First Lady would not anymore need lawyers to keep her mountain of gifts, counted in huge millions of dollars, billions of naira, hotels and buildings.





The Buhari win in 2015, and the possibility of four more years have crumbled their dreams of endlessly looting the state and the growing list of achievements of the administration is not doing any good for them Buhari is bad business for them.





Shehu further listed the casualties of changing the change to include initiatives like the whistle blower policy, Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme ( VAIDS), ease of doing business.



An hour before the wake began Sunday for 10-year-old Miranda Vargas, a long line had already begun forming outside the chapel in Clifton.

Miranda Faith Vargas, 10, was killed in a school bus crash Thursday on Route 80 in Mount Olive. (Photo courtesy of Marrocco Memorial Chapel)

Dozens more formed a crowd as they waited for the doors of Marrocco Memorial Chapel to open, while police directed traffic through a busy intersection nearby.

All ages of visitors had come to pay their respects to Vargas, an East Brook Middle School student who lost her life Thursday in a school bus accident on Route 80 in Mount Olive that also claimed the life of teacher Jennifer Williamson, 51, and injured more than 40 others.

The crowd included family, friends, classmates from East Brook, fellow churchgoers and members of both the Paramus and Clifton police departments, all baring faces of gloom that matched the dark clouds in the sky.

Beatrice Martinez has a granddaughter who also was on the bus during the crash. Her granddaughter, coincidentally, is also named Miranda. As she walked toward the funeral home doors, tears filled Martinez's eyes reflecting on what many families in Paramus have been going through over the past four days.

"She saw her teacher when she died," Martinez said, adding that her granddaughter was still recovering from her injuries from the accident and was unable to attend Vargas's viewing. "It was very, very sad."

Clifton police indicated the Vargas family wanted privacy from the media, and the family's lawyer, David Fried, spoke on their behalf.

"They're just devastated," Fried said. "But their faith, I think, will help them get through this very difficult time."

Fried also spoke to his involvement in the investigation of the accident. Reports said the driver of the bus, carrying 38 fifth-grade students and six adults on a field trip to Waterloo Village, attempted to make an illegal U-turn after missing an exit.

"There are two parts," Fried said. "There's the criminal investigation that will be handled by the Morris County Prosecutor's office.

"I will be handling the civil end of this. We will be looking for all sorts of issues like whether there were seatbelts, whether they were properly being used. Whether medical assistance came in a timely fashion and whether there was anything that could have been done to save Miranda."

Fried added that he has not yet begun to investigate those factors and does not know if anything was improperly done.

"I will look under every rock and every stone in an attempt to find out what happened, and maybe what could have to happened to have saved this poor child," Fried said.

Fried says he will work to get to the bottom of what happened in the NJ school bus crash that killed a 10 year old student and a 51 year old teacher, and see if more could have been done to save Miranda Vargas pic.twitter.com/gCBICaF3Ro  Alexis Johnson (@alexisjreports) May 20, 2018

Cloudy skies turned into a light rain as visitors continued to pour in and out of the memorial chapel. Among them was Adrian Tepale, of Clifton, who said he remembered Miranda as a happy young girl.

"I would often see her at the end of church," Tepale said. "She would always smile and walk around with my sister."

Tepale has sisters around the same as Miranda, and said he feels deeply for the Vargas family.

"For me to be here is not just to fill a seat, it's to support the family for what they've gone through," he said. "Because unlike us, my sister can actually come home from school and not like the family who had to deal with this type of loss. I really do feel bad for the family."

Both Fried and Tepale spoke to the strength of the Vargas family and the Paramus community. A GoFundMe page set up by Vargas's parents has already reached nearly $83,000 in donations.

The solemn scene carried over that evening to Paramus, where up to 500 people were expected to gather at Our Lady of Visitation church in a vigil for Vargas, Williamson and the surviving victims.

Among the victims in attendance was 11-year-old Tiana Holeviczki, who spoke to reporters with a bruise under her right eye, vividly describing the moments when she lost her teacher and her classmate.

"It was very scary because nobody knew what was happening and it was just so unexpected," Holeviczki said. "Before everything happened, everybody was talking and laughing and then all of a sudden everybody was screaming and crying."

She said she was pinned under a seat after the collision, and recalls a firefighter helping her get out.

"Soon as I got out, everybody was crying and people had blood and bruises everywhere," she said.

More victims from the crash have been released from area hospitals today, while others remained hospitalized.

Following the crash, 21 victims were taken to Morristown and another 10 to Hackettstown.

"Many have been discharged from Morristown Medical Center and all but one was discharged from Hackettstown Medical Center," said Elaine Andrecovich, a spokesperson for Atlantic Care System.

Four patients have been transferred from Saint Clare's Hospital Dover and two were discharged, Patricia Montgomery, a hospital spokeswoman said. Montgomery did not say where the patients were transferred.

Another three were discharged from Saint Clare's Denville and one admitted. Representatives from UMDNJ Newark and St. Joseph's Health did not immediately return calls for comment Sunday.

In all, 43 people were counted among the injured, including the bus driver and the driver of the dump truck with which the bus collided.

Funeral services for Vargas will be held at 9:30 a.m. Monday at Marrocco Memorial Chapel.

Visiting hours for Williamson will be from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m on Wednesday at the Vander Plaat Memorial Home at 113 S. Farview Ave. in Paramus.

Williamson's funeral will be held Thursday at Our Lady of Visitation, at 234 N. Farview Ave. in Paramus, before her internment at George Washington Memorial Park.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday that flags will be flown at half staff this week in memory of both victims.

Staff writer Bill Duhart contributed to this story.

Alexis Johnson may be reached at ajohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @alexisjreports. Find nj.com on Facebook.Hundreds of mourners solemnly gathered at Marrocco Memorial Chapel in Clifton early Monday to remember in "quiet sadness" and "quiet tranquility" the East Brook Middle School student who lost her life in a tragic school bus crash last week.

Miranda Faith Vargas, 10, was killed in a school bus crash Thursday on Route 80 in Mount Olive. (Photo courtesy of Marrocco Memorial Chapel)

The services for Miranda Vargas, a fifth grader at East Brook Middle School, followed a wake and vigil Sunday night in the community that has been stunned by the death of the 10-year-old and a teacher at the school, 51-year-old Jennifer Williamson in the crash.

Jose Hernandez, Miranda's great uncle said, her mother, as well as the pastor and her grandfather spoke during the service. He described the "quiet sadness" of the service, particularly as Miranda's mother addressed the mourners.

"She said she lost her angel with no malice. She was asking 'Why did God take my angel?' It's tough to see a mother grieve like that," Hernandez said.

Miranda's twin sister, Madison, seemed to have been handling things okay, as she thanked visitors for attending, according to Hernandez.

"They're a spiritual family," Hernandez said, describing the room to be "packed" with nearly 200 people. "They have a strong belief in a higher power and I'm sure that will get them through this."

The outpouring from the community has helped the family grieve, he said.

"Everybody seemed like they were happy to be there to pay their final respects," Hernandez said. "This was a community event, this wasn't just a singular death."

As mourners arrived at the service, the clear sunny sky beamed down in front of the chapel doors, escorted by a heavy police presence including officers from nearly 10 different departments.

Mourners embrace outside the Marrocco Memorial Chapel prior to the service. The funeral for Miranda Faith Vargas, 10, a 5th grader at East Brook Middle School, in Paramus, who was killed when during a field trip her school bus crashed on Route 80 in Mount Olive. Monday May 21, 2018. Clifton, NJ, USA

Hernandez also said he hopes the unfortunate crash sheds a light on school bus safety. The driver of the bus, which was carrying 38 fifth-grade students and six adults on a field trip to Waterloo Village, attempted to make an illegal U-turn after missing an exit, a source told NJ Advance Media. The crash has also raised questions about seat belts among other bus safety factors.

More than 40 others suffered injuries ranging from minor to severe.

Sunday evening, hundreds of community members attended a vigil in Paramus.

Many returned Monday morning for Miranda's funeral, including Shella Cash, Vargas's camp counselor who recalled her inquisitive spirit during summer camp last year at Adventures in Learning in Paramus.

"Miranda was a sweet young child, she was never far from her sister." Cash said. "She was a high-spirited young girl who was always eager to learn new things and try new things"

Law enforcement lead the procession on dozens of motorcycles as the crowd headed to George Washington Memorial Park where Vargas was laid to rest.

Alexis Johnson may be reached at ajohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @alexisjreports. Find nj.com on Facebook.The principal of a New Jersey high school has apologized for what he called "insensitive" language on tickets for the upcoming senior prom.

The Courier Post reported the Cherry Hill High School East senior prom tickets urged students to "party like it's 1776" during the event at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center.

Please read this letter of apology to the East Community. pic.twitter.com/BnokMF0n9Q  Dr. Dennis Perry (@drperryateast) May 18, 2018

Principal Dennis Perry said in a letter to the community posted on his Twitter account Friday that some people were offended, and he wanted to apologize "for the hurt feelings this reference caused for members of our school family."

"It was insensitive and irresponsible not to appreciate that not all communities can celebrate what life was like in 1776," Perry said.

He said he especially wanted to apologize to black students "who I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording."

Perry said prom attendees will not be asked to present the tickets and will receive commemorative tickets without the language.

Danny Elmore, vice president of the Cherry Hill African American Civic Association, told the paper that he believed the principal handled the situation well.

But Elmore also called for increased awareness of cultural diversity, noting an uproar last year when the school staged "Ragtime," a musical that included a racial slur.

"Talk about it with people before you take an action and we won't have this happen," Elmore said.

Lloyd Henderson, president of the Camden County NAACP East chapter, also praised the principal's immediate response but called the incident "another example" of a school culture in which "the African American students' needs are not considered along with the rest of the school."

The latest New Jersey School Report Card indicates that black youths represented 6.2 percent of East's student body, compared to 62.2 percent for whites, 22.4 percent for Asians and 5.9 percent share for Hispanics.

In future, Perry said, safeguards would be instituted "to ensure that a diverse group of people view all information before it is distributed from the school."

"I would like to thank members of our school community for their caring and thoughtful conversation while discussing this sensitive issue," he said.Former Devils general manager and president Lou Lamoriello will join the New York Islanders' front office to run the team's hockey operations, according to a report from The Athletic.

Lamoriello will replace current Islanders general manager Garth Snow, who served as New York's president and general manager since 2006. The report said Lamoriello could assume either role, if not both.

According to the report, Lamoriello also met with center John Tavares recently. Tavares, who has played nine seasons with the Islanders since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2009, can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Re-signing Tavares was the top offseason priority for the Islanders, and he remains without a contract.

Lamoriello's move to one of the Devils' division rivals comes less than a month after he was transitioned out of his role as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lamoriello served as GM in Toronto for three seasons following his departure from the Devils in 2015.

When Lamoriello signed in Toronto, the plan was to move him to a senior advisor role for four seasons following three seasons as GM.

Lamoriello originally said he planned on honoring his contract with the Maple Leafs, but in the following weeks, the move to the Islanders became a possibility.

Since the start of the offseason, the Islanders were looking for an experienced front-office executive to join the team. Snow kept his job after the Islanders missed the postseason, but adding Lamoriello will shift some, if not all, of his front-office power.

Lamoriello's son, Chris Lamoriello, is currently the Islanders' assistant general manager.

Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.Yesterday, Earnst Williams Jr., 27, was looking at at least another 40 years of prison time after being convicted of shooting a Connecticut man in the back of the head during a robbery attempt.

Today, the state's appellate court overturned his conviction and granted him a new trial.

Williams had appealed his conviction on an aggravated manslaughter charge in the 2012 slaying of 21-year-old Brian Schiavetti, arguing that the trial court hadn't let his attorney get into the details of past drug deals that would have supported his claim of self defense.

Evidence showed Schiavetti was wary about the secluded location for this deal as opposed to previous ones, and the court said it might have supported Williams' claim that the nervous buyer was the one who brought and pulled the gun.

Williams self-defense claim didn't sway a jury in 2015 -- perhaps partly because he testified in front of a large photograph of two bullet holes in the back of Schiavetti's head. Prosecutors at the time called it an execution.

Contacted Monday, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said her office is considering challenging the appellate court ruling in front of the state's Supreme Court.

According to the decision and coverage of the 2015 trial, Schiavetti and Williams were connected by a mutual friend, James Pitts, who pleaded guilty to a drug charge and agreed to testify against Williams.

Pitts, who knew Schiavetti from Villanova University, had sold the Connecticut man drugs several times before July 2012, when he put Schiavetti in contact with Williams, the decision said.

The first deals occurred at Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack, New York, but Williams refused to meet there and insisted Schiavetti come to Montclair for the drug deal that would turn out to be fatal, the decision said.

Schiavetti and a friend drove the 90-minutes to Montclair and picked up Williams, driving him to a building where he said his girlfriend lived, though he admitted at trial it was a lie.

The friend testified that Schiavetti and Williams went in the building together and two gunshots followed soon after. He told the jury he drove away in a panic after Schiavetti didn't answer his cell phone.

Prosecutors alleged that Williams never had any drugs, and lured Schiavetti to the building with the intention of robbing him of the $900 he brought. Schiavetti was found with $500 in his pocket, and Williams' cousin told police she saw him counting $400 and overheard him talking about a robbery later that day. Other witnesses testified that Williams had said he planned to rob him from the start.

Williams testified that he retrieved the drugs inside the building and Schiavetti pulled the gun. He said they tussled and he bit Schiavetti on the hand before getting partial control of the gun and firing several times. He testified that he threw the gun away and sold the drugs, collecting the $400 from that sale, the decision said.

There was evidence of the bite, the decision said.

The appellate court said that there was evidence Schiavetti was nervous about the location for the transaction, including text messages, and the judge should have allowed Williams' attorney to cross-examine the friend about the way the past drug deals had gone down as part of that evidence.

The appellate court said the public nature of the past deals certainly doesn't prove Schiavetti brought the gun, but said Schiavetii's state of enhanced vigilance, stemming from the drug transaction out of public view, was somewhat supportive of the defense that [he] brought a gun to the sale."

The court also noted that the judge gave too much weight to Williams' extensive criminal record when sentencing him to 50 years in prison. That was after a jury convicted him of aggravated manslaughter and several other charges, but did not convict on the first-degree murder charge.

This story was updated to correct that Williams can only be retried on the charges of which he was previously convicted.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tipsAra Zohrabyan: Independence of judges requires also economic independence

The public, including lawyers, has the dreams of an independent court, which makes a fair judgment as a result of an impartial investigation. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's address on the independence of the courts is welcome. Refusing to "the controlling powers" of the judiciary requires serious vision and wisdom, but this is the way of making a real justice system. The rules of the main game are presented. Subsequently, I think it is necessary to review the social guarantees of judges. The independence of judges requires also economic independence. It is necessary to increase the salaries of judges, to solve the problem of the reducing of their overload and raising the level of judges. I am convinced that independent judiciary will contribute to increasing investment, reducing human rights violations and establishing justice. And the judges must remember the words of Francis Bacon (1561-1626): their job is to interpret the law rather than to give it. Chairman of RA Chamber of Advocates Ara ZohrabyanJERSEY CITY -- Two men face aggravated assault and weapons charges for a stabbing inside a vacant building on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

Michael Williams and Raymond Rolon, both 19, were arrested following the 4:30 p.m. incident at 125 Monitor St., city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace Scalcione said.

Sources say Williams and Rolon encountered another group inside the vacant building. Rolon and another person each used a knife to stab one another. Rolon was driven to the hospital in a private vehicle and an ambulance was called for the other victim, according to police sources.

The city spokeswoman confirmed Rolon was treated for injuries at Jersey City Medical Center.

Williams is additionally charged with possession or marijuana and Rolon is charged with conspiracy and endangering an injured victim, officials said.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.Jersey City lawmakers in the state Legislature want to halt implementation of this year's property revaluation until 2019, citing the "fiscal shock" faced by property owners anticipating huge tax hikes.

The bill, (S-2566), would allow municipalities who did not apply reval results to tax bills before April 1 to postpone doing so until Jan. 1, 2019. The delay would allow for towns to provide "revaluation relief abatements" or "mitigate fiscal shock" from steep tax hikes. The bill was introduced last week.

"The bill's short delay in achieving uniform property taxation in this instance is outweighed by the compelling public purpose to provide the impacted municipalities with authority to mitigate fiscal shock associated with a long overdue revaluation, and thus maintain the stability and viability of their neighborhoods and communities," the bill reads.

The three lawmakers behind the bill are state Sens. Sandra B. Cunningham and Brian Stack and Assemblyman Raj Mukherji. Requests for comment from the three were not returned.

Cunningham and Mukherji both own property in Jersey City. Preliminary information from the company conducting Jersey City's reval indicated both will see tax cuts with their new appraisals.

The long-delayed reval is the city's first since 1988. The aim is to square every property's assessment  its value on the city's tax rolls  with its true value. The skyrocketing property values in some areas of the city over the last three decades has led to some wide disparities between those two values, especially in the city's upscale Downtown neighborhoods. Some property owners have been told to expect tax hikes that top $20,000 when the August tax bills are mailed.

Mayor Steve Fulop, who faced angry homeowners at reval-related meetings earlier this year, initially proposed a second reval as a solution, saying it would "correct" the dip in home values expected to accompany larger tax bills. Fulop quickly dropped that idea and said he opposes the bill under consideration by lawmakers.

"It's been 30 years + our team has done the work to do it properly/fairly," Fulop said on Twitter Monday. "At this point we would not like to see any further delay. The bill is well intended but I think mechanics would make it more difficult."

Fulop has faced criticism for halting a reval that was nearly complete in 2013 and delaying the current one as the city fought a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by the company hired to conduct the first one. The city lost that case and was forced to pay the company, Realty Appraisal Co., more than $1 million.

During the 2013-2016 delay, Fulop argued that a reval would hurt homeowners citywide. He has recently argued that most people in the city will benefit.

The most recent new appraisal information from Appraisal Systems, which is conducting Jersey City's reval, includes 43,664 properties. Of those, 21,494 would see no tax change or a tax cut and 22,170 would see a tax hike. 13,248 would see a tax hike over $1,000.

Councilman James Solomon, who represents most of Downtown, supports a delay. Solomon noted that, because the reval was not completed before homeowners received their first two tax bills of 2018, anyone facing a tax hike will have to pay the entire tax hike in the last half of the year.

"Homeowners may lose their homes when they are forced to pay back taxes for the first and second quarters in 2018," Solomon said in an email. "However, to make it fair to the entire city, it must be paired with a commitment to annual reassessments to prevent this entire process from happening again."

One Hudson County politico said the bill could "backfire" by angering property owners poised to get tax cuts. One of them is Helen Hou-Sandi, a Greenville resident who called the bill "shocking" and criticized it for focusing on helping taxpayers who live in the city's "coveted neighborhoods."

Hou-Sandi may see a $1,645 decrease after the reval (she successfully appealed her assessment in 2015). She noted that her neighbors, who have a nearly identical new assessment and did not file an appeal, are expected to receive a $5,281 tax cut post-reval.

"Where are the calls to compensate homeowners such as myself who bought in Greenville in 2013 just as the previous reval was canceled, leaving my family paying approximately double what we should have been paying all this time?" she said. "Maybe I need to crowdfund $25,000 from those who've gotten away with underpaying for so long."

Solomon acknowledged that delaying the reval's implementation would hurt residents like Hou-Sandi.

"The whole process is terrible," he said. "But I have families who helped build this town about to be forced out of their homes when their August tax bill comes in and this bill helps them prepare."

The law would also apply to Weehawken, which is wrapping up its latest reval. That town's mayor, Richard Turner, told The Jersey Journal he would not consider delaying its implementation to 2019.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.JERSEY CITY -- An attorney convicted of robbing a bank in Pennsylvania is one of two Hudson County lawyers disbarred last year, according to the recently released New Jersey Supreme Court's 2017 New Jersey Attorney Ethics Report.

Steven R. French was disbarred on Jan. 18, 2017 as a result of his Aug. 8, 2013 conviction for robbing the bank in Wayne County, according to the report which says it is a "commission of a criminal act that reflects adversely on a lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer.

A local press report says responding officers connected French to the bank robbery by following footprints in the snow to a nearby tattoo parlor owned by French's brother. French, who authorities said stole $2,420, later pleaded guilty.

The report lists Hudson County attorney James P. Madden as being disbarred by the Attorney Ethics Board on Jan. 4, 2017 for having an improper business transaction with a client, failure to disburse funds to a client, making false statements to the disciplinary authority and other violations of professional conduct.

Hudson County-based attorney Robert B. Davis is listed as having been suspended for 12 months effective Feb. 27, 2017. Attorneys Sean R. Sexton and Keith O. Moses, also based in Hudson County, were censured in 2017, the report says.

Local attorneys reprimanded in 2017 are Francis Charles Babcock, James John Callahan, Alfio S. Lanuto, Ihab Awad Ibraham and Heli Marjo Myyrylainen. Jonathan A. Goodman was admonished last year, the report says.

Attorneys temporarily suspended last year were Donald J. Meliado Jr. and Keith O. Moses, the report says.

Attorney Victor G. Sison was reinstated last year, the report says.JERSEY CITY -- A 35-year-old Union City man has been charged with using food to lure a boy into a vacant West New York building last week, officials said.

At 6:05 p.m. Thursday, Victor Suarez allegedly attempted to lure the boy into a building on 66th Street, the criminal complaint says.

The boy and others he was with identified Suarez, a resident of 36th Street, after the man was found alone in the building. Police officers said Suarez appeared to be intoxicated, authorities said.

Luring is a second degree offense and carries a possible sentence of five to 10 years in prison upon conviction. It's unclear how old the boy is.

Suarez made his first appearance on the charges Friday in Criminal Justice Reform Court in Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

At the hearing, the state moved to detain him through the course of his prosecution. A detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.

There is also a warrant for Suarez's arrest out of West New York Municipal Court with a warrant of $974, a court official said.JERSEY CITY -- A 19-year-old Staten Island man has been arrested on charges that he and two others robbed a man at gunpoint outside a Bayonne bank last year, officials said.

Ahmad H. Omar, of Francesca Lane, is charged with first-degree armed robbery in connection to the Aug. 26, 2017 incident outside Bank of America on Broadway at 45th Street, the criminal complaint says.

The complaint alleges the victim was lured by Omar to the 45th Street side of the bank, and then robbed of $200 and his cell phone. Omar had the help of two accomplices, authorities said.

Police said the investigation leading to Omar's arrest included subpoenaing records for a phone app and obtaining security video footage. The complaint states Omar was identified by the victim and by a witness.

Omar made his first appearance on the charges Monday in Criminal Justice Reform Court in Jersey City via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

At the hearing, the state moved to detain him through the course of his prosecution and a detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Paul DePascale.

First-degree crimes carry a possible sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison upon conviction.JERSEY CITY -- The state's key witness in the murder trial of Dashawn Mixson testified Monday that he drove Mixson to the intersection where Dajour Riley was fatally shot in 2017 and watched his friend pull the trigger.

Varnell Mohammed, 20, took the stand Monday and told the jury that on March 28, 2017 he met Mixson, 21, and another friend at the Booker T. Washington public housing complex before the group got some marijuana. Mohammed said Mixson and the friend got into his car and Mixson hid a gun in the engine compartment of the vehicle.

Mohammad said he drove the three of them to a doctor's office at Garfield Avenue and Union Street because he thought his girlfriend's daughter had an appointment. When he went inside, he learned the girl did not have an appointment and he walked back to his car, he said.

At that time Riley and his girlfriend, Tiera Harrison, were heading to the office for a visit because she was four months pregnant with Riley's child. Mohammad said he told Mixson he saw Riley's car, prompting Mixson to fetch the gun from under the hood. The witness identified him doing so while the jury was shown security video Monday in court.

As the security video played, Mohammad said it was Mixson who opened fire on Riley's vehicle. Mixson then got back into his car and Mohammad drove way, dropping Mixson off at his home on Gardner Avenue, he said.

But Harrison recognized Mohammed's car. Mixson and Mohammad were arrested and charged with murder within two days.

Mohammed pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated assault in a deal that required him to testify against his lifelong friend. He testified Monday under questioning by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Andrew Baginski.

After the shooting, Harrison was seen getting out of the passenger side of the SVU and getting into the driver seat. She testified last week that she drove the 19-year-old Riley to the Jersey City Medical Center. He was pronounced dead as a result of multiple gunshot wounds a few hours after the 11:45 a.m. shooting.

Mohammad said his cousin, Tyron Wilson, was involved in a beef with a group Riley was a part of. Wilson was fatally shot in 2016.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Scott Finckenauer said Mohammed lied repeatedly to police before eventually agreeing to cooperate. He told jurors Mohammed was going to continue lying when he took the stand, "because Varnell Mohammed is a liar."

Finckenauer will get a chance to grill Mohammed when the trial resumes Tuesday before Hudson County Superior Court Judge John Young in the Hudson County Administration Building.

Mixson faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted.

Mixson's two cousins, Daquan, 28, and Sammy Mixson, 34, each pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection to two separate Jersey City killings and are serving seven-year sentences.JERSEY CITY -- Two people are hospitalized and two people are under arrest following a stabbing inside a vacant building on Sunday, officials said.

The incident occurred at about 4:30 p.m. at 125 Monitor St., city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said.

She confirmed two people are under arrest following the incident. Sources say the individuals who were hospitalized suffered serious injuries. The spokeswoman said they are now listed in stable condition.

At least one of the victims arrived at the hospital in a private vehicle and police could be seen inspecting the car at Jersey City Medical Center.

Sources say the stabbing was the result of two groups being involved in some kind of altercation inside the building.

Information about the individuals arrested was not immediately available.

This is at least the second time a crime has been committed inside the vacant building, a six-story building near Johnson Street, this year. In August, three men were charged with setting off explosives in the building and were arrested in the Greenville section of the city a short time later.

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.Police on Friday responded to two stabbings in a 12-hour span.

Just after midnight on Friday, police responded to the area of 320 Pacific Ave., where a 27-year-old man had been stabbed in his left ankle, according to city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione.

A short while later, police arrested Santana Cabrera, 21, and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Then, at 11:30 a.m., police responded to the area of 457 Montgomery St., where a Jersey City Medical Center EMS unit was tending to another stabbing victim.

The 35-year-old male victim had one stab wound to his left shoulder and one to the top of his head, Wallace-Scalcione said. He was stable with injuries that were not life-threatening.

The investigation is ongoing, Wallace-Scalcione said.A 34-year-old West New York man will go on trial today for the death of a man police say he admitted dragging down a flight of stairs on Christmas Day 2016.

Wilmer G. Ruiz-Martinez, of Bergenline Avenue, was initially charged with aggravated assault against Leny Antonio Lainez-Hernandez in connection to an incident that occurred in a building on Hudson Avenue in West New York.

Lainez-Hernandez, 39, died two days later at a hospital and Ruiz-Martinez was then indicted on the charge of manslaughter. A criminal complaint for the original charge of aggravated assault states that police recovered video of the attack.

The attorney representing Ruiz-Martinez said at a hearing that Lainez-Hernandez appeared to have been extremely intoxicated at the time of the incident, with a blood alcohol level at a nearly lethal level. The attorney said a self-defense defense was likely.

The criminal complaint said that Ruiz-Martinez told police he he grabbed and pulled the victim down the stairwell, but the trial apparently will hinge of whether it was a violent killing or an act or self-defense.

Jury selection for the trial is slated to begin today before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Patrick Arre in the Hudson County Administration Building in Jersey City.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Pinales is prosecuting the case. Attorneys Chris Orriss and Claude Heffron are representing Ruiz-Martinez.

Manslaughter is a second-degree crime and carries a possible prison sentence of five to 10 years in prison upon conviction.When Mercer County's Homicide Task Force was scouring the Chambersburg neighborhood of Trenton investigating the January killings of two young men from Philadelphia, they did what police typically do.

They looked for evidence, witnesses and clues.

But they also looked up, on utility poles, on the corners of businesses and on homes.

They were looking for surveillance cameras. And in this case, they found several they found to be helpful.

Cameras helped investigators piece together the chain of events that led to the murders of Jerard Perdomo Santana, 25, and Ivan Rodriguez, 19 on the afternoon of Jan. 22, a probable cause affidavit shows.

Nearly five months after the murders, six people have been charged in connection with the shooting deaths of the men from Philly. Four are facing accomplice to murder charges, while two others were charged with hindering an investigation.

Here's what the cameras revealed, as alleged in the affidavit:

While waiting to sell a pill to a Trenton resident that January afternoon, Santana and Rodrigues sat in a black Ford Taurus on the 300 block of Ashmore Avenue. Three men approached the vehicle, and one climbed into the back seat.

First responders found the bodies of Santana and Rodrigues minutes later. They'd been shot in the back of their heads and necks, and $40 was left in the back seat.

The first to be arrested and charged were Tashawn Santiago, 25, Cecil Blake, 31 and Shaquille McNeil, 24, earlier this month.

Footage that day shows Santiago getting into a black Chevrolet Impala owned by Felicita Gee, 44, on the 100 block of Cummings Avenue.

Nearby, two men -- Blake, who was wearing a wool hat, and McNeil, who had on a ski mask -- exited a white Lexus driven by LaKeisha Hill, 29, and climbed into the black Impala.

Shaquille McNeil

Gee identified McNeil in the collected footage, describing him as a "little boy, little kid," who "always got that thing on his face."

The three men traveled down Ashmore Avenue, at first avoiding the two men in the black Taurus.

At 2:14 p.m., footage shows, they parked across the street and approached Santana and Rodrigues.

A 25-year-old man who intended to buy the pill from Santana was in a green Taurus behind them, and was shot at when he accelerated, the footage shows.

"During this interaction, at least one of the suspects (Santiago, McNeil, Blake) entered the back seat of the black Ford Taurus and fatally shot both Jerard Perdomo Santana and Ivan Rodriguez from within," the affidavit reads.

The three ran back to the black Impala and sped off, footage shows. At Morris Avenue and Washington Street, they ditched two handguns.

Footage at Liberty Avenue and Chambers Street shows the black Impala blowing through a red light.

Investigators haven't seen the car since.

The affidavit is dizzying in its detail.

It describes how detectives pieced together different pieces and confirmed the same vehicle and driver were the same from one camera to the next.

In one instance, they compared and confirmed it was still Santiago behind the wheel, from when he got into the car, to 43 minutes later -- because they could see the distinctive white trim on the Nike hooded sweatshirt he wore that day.

It was visible on his left wrist, from camera to camera, as he drove.

Lakeisha Hill

At the time of the arrests, Santiago was already in the county jail on an unrelated case. Blake had been wounded in a separate Trenton shooting last month, records show, and was already in custody of Mercer County corrections officers at an undisclosed location.

During questioning, Gee, who owned the black Impala, told investigators conflicting stories about the car. Her daughter, Fantasia Gee, 23, was dating McNeil at the time of the murder.

Investigators found texts from Fantasia about the murders the days following and texts between Fantasia and Felicity Gee the day of the murders.

Both have since been charged with counts of hindering an investigation for providing false information.

Late last month, investigators also identified and charged Hill as an accomplice to the murder for driving Blake and McNeil in the white Lexus to meet up with Santiago, in the Impala.

When she drove away, a camera recorded her.

"As the vehicle turned right onto Ashmore Avenue from Division Street, the driver was observed and had her head turned to the left, facing the camera," the affidavit says. "The driver ... was later identified as Lakeisha N. Hill."

Prosecutors have not commented on why Santana and Rodrigues were in Trenton, or why they believe they were killed.

The investigation is still ongoing, and prosecutors have filed to keep Santiago, Blake and McNeil detained pending trial.

Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Sasna Tsrer members stop hunger strike

Members of the Sasna Tsrer group Arayik Khandoyan and Ashot Petrosyan have stopped their hunger strike. They started a hunger strike on May 9, joining the "Founding Parliament" president Garegin Chukaszyan, demanding the release of political prisoners. Stopping a 10-day hunger strike, however, does not mean that they refuse their demands. "They have entered a new stage of struggle," said Arayik Papikyan to A1 +. Only Garegin Chukaszyan continues hunger strike at this moment. Let us remind you that Arayik Khandoyan, a member of the Sasna Tsrer group and nine others who were in the case stayed for three days at the Court of General Jurisdiction of Shengavit residence because Judge Mesrop Makyan did not change their preventive measure. The supporters, as a sign of protest, closed the court entrance. Only at midnight on May 19, police were able to open the Shengavit court proceedings and remove the members of the Sasna Tsrer group from the court. The National Security Service (NSS) stated that the memebers of Sasna Tsrer who were in court had asked them to move them to penitentiary institutions. Defender Arayik Papikyan considers this as fake information. "They have said before that as long as demonstrators are in near the court, they will remain in court." In two cases of Sasna Tsrer, the judges did not change their preventive measures. Judge Artush Gabrielyan did not hold a session.A drunken tractor trailer driver who slammed into a car, setting of an chain-reaction wreck that killed one motorist and injured three others, won't drive again for a long time.

Aleksander Isserovich, 39, of Brooklyn, New York, was traveling south on Route 440 in Perth Amboy last September when he hit the rear of a Hyundai Sonata driven by Jason Appio, 45, of Ocean Township.

The Sonata lurched forward into another vehicle as the tractor trailer jackknifed and hit two other cars.

Appio died of his injuries.

Superior Court Judge Michael A. Toto sentenced Isserovich to 7 years in prison for vehicular homicide on Friday and handed down three 12-month terms for assault by auto for the three injured motorists.

The assault by auto terms will be served concurrently to the 7-year term. He also received concurrent time for driving under the influence.

Prior to the wreck, a motorist called 911 to report that Isserovich was driving erratically, the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office previously stated.

Isserovich pleaded guilty to the charges in February.

He must serve 85 percent of his sentence before he's eligible for parole

Upon his release from prison, Isserovich will also lose his driver's license for 10 years, Toto ordered.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips.Sebastian Mongeau fulfilled a lifelong ambition on Sunday.

"I always wanted to shoot a gun since I was a kid," said Sebastion, who at 14 years old arguably still is one.

But now the brawny Lacey High School freshman is a kid who's fired not only a 9mm Glock pistol, but also a fearsome Stag Arms AR-10 semi-automatic rifle, thanks to an event titled, "Common Sense Gun Safety Training for Students," on Sunday, organized in response to an incident in March that angered Second Amendment activists and parents in the generally gun-friendly Ocean County community.

So how was his first pull of a real, live trigger?

"It was really cool," said Sebastian, who now more than ever wants his own Desert Eagle semi-automatic handgun.

"I thought it would have more kick," added Sebastian, who got a ride to the event at a Middlesex County gun range from his half-brother, John Barrow, 24, also of Lacey.

The event was held at the Union Hill Gun Club in Monroe, organized by the president of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society, Alexander Roubian, in response to the disciplining of two Lacey High School students after one of them had posted a photo on Facebook taken at a gun range they were visiting with adults during non-school hours.

No threat of violence accompanied the photo and no criminal activity was ever alleged by authorities. And Roubian was one of 200 or so people who packed a school board meeting where district officials were repeatedly accused of meddling in a perfectly legal family activity, off campus and after school hours. One father was cheered after telling school officials, "It's none of your damn business what our children do outside of school."

Participants in Sunday's free event were given a safety briefing by the gun club's chief instructor and safety officer, Rocco La Rocca II, a National Rifle Association-certified firearms instructor and counselor. La Rocca also runs a self-defense training firm known as ROC -- "Recognize, Organize, Counteract" -- based at Union Hill Gun Club, a two-story indoor shooting range owned by Paul and Beth Picone that also includes the Legend Firearms gun shop, tucked away on a wooded stretch on Union Hill Road.

The Lacey school district was not officially involved in the event.

During Sunday's briefing, participants were given a list of safety precautions, including these three "NRA Gun Safety Rules":

Keep the gun pointed in a safe direction

Keep your finger off the shoot trigger until ready to shoot

keep the gun unloaded until ready to use

To those, La Rocca added two more points:

Always assume a firearm is loaded and act accordingly.

When forced to use a gun, be mindful not only of what or who your target is, but also of what, or who, is behind it.

Sunday's event was two days after the nation's latest mass school shooting, when eight students and two teachers were killed on Friday in Santa Fe, Texas, where authorities say a 17-year-old student used a shotgun and a handgun legally owned by his father and kept in the attic of their house.

Asked how gun safety education might minimize the chances of harm in mass shootings like Friday's, La Rocca did not hesitate to hold parents accountable.

"Very simple, the parents themselves should know that firearms themselves are mechanical devices that can injure somebody or themselves," La Rocca said in n interview after the briefing. "Why don't you lock them up? Why don't you do that? Why don't you buy a safe? I've had some (adult) students come in my class and say, 'Oh, no, it's fine, it's in the drawer.' No it's not. No it's not. Get a safe."

A Rutgers survey of gun-safety studies recently published in Health Promotion Practice found that safety training is unlikely to prevent harmful or fatal mishaps when guns are accessible to young children. The survey found that:

Children ages 4-9 who participate in gun safety programs often ignore what they learned when encountering a real firearm without adult supervision

Boys are more likely to ignore safety rules than girls

Few studies have been done on gun safety programs for children beyond 4th grade.

Nicholas Locha received free gun training from Michael Palma, a NRA certified pistol instructor at the Union Hill Gun Club.

Ira Levin, who runs Legends Firearms and acts as Union Hill's general manager, said there had been 67 registrations for Sunday's training day, most involving more than one person. However, the crowd was considerably smaller than that, and Levin said Friday's massacre in Texas might have cast a pall over the New Jersey event.

"The turnout we had was kind of light, and whether that's predicated on what happened, I don't know," he said.

Several parents, including Charlotte Hoelterling, said the shooting was all the more reason to attend Sunday's event, where her 12-year-old daughter, Alexa, shot a 9mm pistol and a rifle.

"It was really fun," said Alexa, a 7th grader at Lacey Middle School. "I was kinda nervous, but I'm not now. I did pretty good."

Her mom said there were no guns in their house, but she took Alexa to Sunday's event to teach her respect for firearms, nonetheless. Hoelterling also said she believed guns were safe, as long as they were in law-abiding hands.

"I'm a firm believer that if you take away guns, only bad people are going to have them," Hoelterling said. Turning to Alexa, she added, "Right?"

"Yeah," said her daughter.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.Update: Spring Lake Heights Borough Council passed a resolution on Monday censuring Councilman Robert Merriken and calling on him to resign.

A 69-year-old Spring Lake Heights borough councilman is not an intravenous drug user, his lawyer insisted, after the councilman was pulled over last month and he and a passenger were charged with possession of a syringe and other drug paraphernalia.

"I can tell you he is not," an intravenous drug user, said Charles Shaw, a lawyer for the councilman, Robert T. Merriken, in a phone interview with NJ Advance Media on Wednesday.

Merriken and his passenger, Charice Hernandez, 39, were arrested in Neptune City on April 4 and while a needle was found in the SUV, both Merriken's lawyer and Hernandez's mother deny either of them were using it.

Hernandez's mother, Gina Liguori Hernandez, said she never knew her daughter to use drugs during the two months they lived together last winter or the following three months prior to the arrest, when she saw her regularly.

"Not that I knew of, unless she's done something since she been out on the street," said Gina Liguori Hernandez.

Merriken and Hernanez can even be heard on police footage arguing in the back of a police car about whose needle it was.

The councilman was pulled over after police said he ran a stop sign and failed to use a turn signal. Officers found a syringe, bloodied cotton swabs, a rubber band, and a plastic needle cap in Merriken's sport utility vehicle, according to the complaints. Merriken and Hernandez were each charged with two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to inject a controlled dangerous substance, a disorderly persons offense, the complaints said.

Merriken had been scheduled for an appearance Thursday in Neptune Township Municipal Court, where the paraphernalia case had been transferred due to a conflict of interest involving the city prosecutor, Shaw said. But Shaw said Thursday's appearance was adjourned until next month due to a scheduling conflict.

Body and dashboard camera video obtained from the Neptune City Police Department capture several exchanges, including one between Merriken and Hernandez in which both claim not to be responsible for the syringe found in his SUV.

"Where did they find the needle, Robert?" Hernandez asks, while the two are off-camera in the back of a patrol car.

"What needle?" Merriken replies, "I didn't have a needle. That's the one you dropped."

"No," she says. "I didn't bring any needles with me."

Merriken, who runs Bay Head Marine, a boat dealership in Point Pleasant Beach, is a Republican who was first elected to the Spring Lake Heights council in November 2015. Spring Lake Heights is a southern Monmouth County borough of just over a square mile and just under 5,000 residents, separated from the Atlantic coast by the Borough of Spring Lake.

Although Merriken's term expires Dec. 31, his name is not on the June 5 primary ballot, and four of his fellow Republicans on the council have called for his resignation.

"We wish Mr. Merriken well, but he must recognize that this is in the best interests of our town and its residents," council members Christopher Campion, Richard Diver, James Shuler and Joseph Tompey said in a joint statement.

At one point, said Borough Administerator John Barrett, Merriken offered a verbal resignation, but he later insisted he would not step down. He has missed the past two council meetings, and Barrett said the council could act to remove him if he misses two more. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday.

Merriken's April 4 arrest was not his first. Shaw confirmed prior arrests in 2006 in Ocean Township and in 2015 in Neptune, both on prostitution charges, previously reported by the Asbury Park Press. The prostitution counts were dropped, however, and Merriken pleaded guilty to lesser charges, according to the Press and confirmed by Shaw.

On the police tape, Merriken and Hernandez discuss the possibility of her being charged with prostitution.

"I'm not a prostitute," says Hernandez, who was not charged as one in the vehicle stop.

At one point on the video, Merriken tells an officer that Hernandez had been "a good friend of my son, my son passed away." Since then, he told the officer, "I try to help her out."

The Asbury Park Press reported that Hernandez was found guilty of the paraphernalia possession charge on April 26 and fined. Hernandez could not be reached for comment. Her mother said she had no lawyer.

Hernandez has been in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution since May 9, when she was arrested on a warrant for providing false information related to a separate case, her mother said.

Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.In case you've been focused on other things lately, I want to offer a gentle reminder that Memorial Day is coming up on Monday, May 28. It's been 45 years since we've had a military draft, so perhaps it is worth telling the younger folks among us that Memorial Day is celebrated to remember military service members who died serving in the line of duty.

As a country that now has an all-volunteer military, it is all too easy for our wars and armed conflicts to remain out of sight and out of mind. This wasn't always the case. The non-voluntary draft ensured that a cross-section of families was acutely aware not only of military service, but of the ultimate price that might be paid in serving. Today, many live their lives without much thought for those who have died in service to our country.

Memorial Day calls us to remember. In Bridgeton, this will include a program to honor World War I veterans at the Broad Street Cemetery. This year's program will have its own poignancy because it is the 100th anniversary of "The war to end all wars." This program begins at noon, courtesy of the Broad Street Cemetery Association and the Friends of Old Broad Street Church.

Bridgeton's Memorial Day will start at 9 a.m., when the American flag bwill be lowered to half-staff at the Grand Army of the Republic memorial at West Avenue and Broad Street. At noon, this flag will be raised back to full-staff. which is protocol for the day. There will be a picnic site at noon at the Broad Street Church. Those attending are asked to bring whatever lunch they desire. During the picnic, members of the Broad Street Cemetery Association and the Friends of Old Broad Street Church will provide information about the church and its exhibits.

At 12:45, a program inside the church will begin. I am grateful to be able to take part and give brief remarks titled "What the Flag Means to Me." Should anyone fall asleep during my talk -- which is always a possibility -- Stanger's World War I Band will perform songs from the era. The program will also include stories about that war and about our local veterans.

A roll call of the 57 World War I veterans buried at the Broad Street Cemetery begins at 2 p.m., and some of the names will be read out by their relatives. Next comes will be an unfurling of a 20-foot-by-30-foot flag by Eugene Hough of the Heritage Flag Memorial Ceremony Project.

Official activities will come to a close at 3 p.m; with the Mead-Woodward VFW Post 1795 Honor Guard gun salute, followed by the firing of the Model 1848 mountain howitzer by Vietnam veteran Steve Osborn, and "Taps" played by Lou Guinta. It will be a poignant day. I suspect that at some point during the day, I will think of World War II veteran Warren Robinson and the fact that he is missed in this community.

I encourage everyone to come out and participate, to learn, to be moved. This is an opportunity to get your thoughts into a space that will allow for reflection on what it means to serve and the price of our freedoms, liberties, and way of life -- things that these fallen soldiers died protecting and ensuring.

For some, this can be difficult because, in our polarized political climate, it's not always easy to separate policies from the people charged with carrying them out. This has resulted in a line of thought that implies that any criticism of the policy -- i.e., whether or not our troops should be in Iraq or Afghanistan -- is the equated with failing to support or honor the troops, active or otherwise.

Separating the policy from the soldier allows us to properly recognize and honor the individual and his or her sacrifices, even if we should find ourselves questioning the wisdom of our highest-level civilian elected officials. When we fail to separate the two, some bad scar tissue results.

So, let us leave politics and policy behind, and honor our fallen heroes. They answered when called. Their sacrifice was real, pure, honest and extraordinarily personal. Our response to them should be the same.

Albert B. Kelly is mayor of Bridgeton. Contact him by phone at 856-455-3230 Ext. 200.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.By Michellene Davis

Janet, a single mother with elderly, health-challenged parents, had spent many years on public assistance. She juggled child care and her job as a receptionist earning $10 an hour. She dreamed about having a career, going back to school and being able to support herself and set a good example for her daughter, Gabriella.

Daniella, a lone child of a single mother, was a waitress in a bakery in 2013, struggling to make her monthly rent. She wanted to go back to school, but could not afford to pay for the tuition. She yearned for more, but could not figure out a way to make it happen. She was cash-strapped and lived month-to-month on her meager salary.

Janet and Daniella were prime examples of women whom the United Way define as ALICE -- Asset Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed. "ALICE" lives and works in every community -- but does not earn enough to cover basic essentials and pay for monthly expenses. One-quarter of New Jersey households are considered ALICE, despite being one of the wealthiest states in the nation.

Fortunately for these two individuals, their careers have been nurtured through the Career Ladders for Front Line Employees program at Jersey City Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility. The program began in 2010 and since then, Janet, Daniella and more than 100 others have graduated.

For Janet, Daniella and their families, their worlds have dramatically changed.

RWJBarnabas Health recently launched a systemwide Social Impact and Community Investment Practice, which is aimed at addressing the social, economic and environmental conditions that contribute to poor health outcomes, reduced life expectancy and higher costs. These "social determinants of health" include economic instability, lack of education, food insecurity, unaffordable housing and unsafe living environments.

The system recognizes that each of its facilities is an anchor institution in its community and therefore should be leveraging resources and influence for the long-term benefit of all residents. As a result of this commitment, RWJBarnabas Health is working to replicate Jersey City Medical Center's Ladders program at all of its facilities.

Only recently have health care industry experts begun to attribute health outcomes to the social environment surrounding a patient's well-being. These social determinants of health are estimated to impact between 70 to 80 percent of health outcomes, and job insecurity is a prime social determinant of health.

The need to expand programs such as Career Ladders for Front Line Employees was underscored by United Way's report on ALICE in New Jersey. We've taken the report's recommendations to heart by focusing intensively on our local hiring practices, formalizing internal career pipelines and creating pathways to livable wages. We've formalized our support of ALICE and have become part of the ALICE United Way National Advisory Council.

Within the past three years, Janet has continued to grow in her career at Jersey City Medical Center. She began as a medical assistant/phlebotomist, moved on to a medical biller and coder, and is now a billing coordinator, which has doubled her salary. She was able to go back to school and is currently working to attain a degree in health business management. Her daughter, Gabriella, was once an indifferent student, and is now excelling in school. She has become especially good at math, and in December, she began helping her mom with her algebra homework.

Daniella, a self-starter, jumped at the opportunity to become a patient access associate at Jersey City Medical Center. In relatively short order, she was able to transfer to unit secretary, then on to unit clerk, all while attending school and achieving her certification as an EMT. Her salary has nearly doubled and she will graduate in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, concentration in finance. Her goal is to become a chief operations officer in the health care field. For the first time, Daniella says she can see her future.

As we continue to explore career pathways across our health care system, more and more of our corporate partners are stepping up to do the same. This work aims to build community wealth and end generational cycles of poverty in order to create healthier communities.

Shouldn't every company strive to better their workforce, improve productivity and profitability and life in the communities where we work and live? The collective efforts of all employers to elevate their workforce will reduce the number of struggling ALICE families and improve life for all.

Isn't it time to examine the opportunities for ALICE in your work environment?

Michellene Davis is executive vice president and chief corporate affairs officer at RWJBarnabas Health.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.By Craig J. Coughlin



New Jersey is known for many things - our beautiful shore, our great history, Bruce Springsteen - but it's also known for something much less attractive: having the highest property taxes in the nation.



New Jersey's residential property taxes set a new record in 2017, with the average annual tax bill now at $8,690 -- or $725 a month.



High property taxes have long plagued our state, with homeowners paying the price in more ways than just the bill that shows up in the mail.



The awful property tax tentacles reach far and wide, impacting families in many ways.



Senior citizens on a fixed income are especially vulnerable to this regressive tax and often struggle to stay in their family homes, near children and grandchildren.



New Jersey has the highest percentage of college graduates who boomerang back home to live with their parents because they cannot afford to live on their own.



Young working class families cannot overcome the cost of property taxes to afford a home. Relief programs fall victim to short-sighted annual state budgetary decisions. Promises are made to our constituents and then, conveniently, forgotten.



No more.



When I became Assembly Speaker in January, I made clear that confronting property taxes was going to be among my top priorities. New Jersey has gotten too expensive. Everyone knows it, and while solving the property tax crisis isn't easy, the least we can do is keep the promises we made to ease the burden on homeowners while we work on a long-term fix.





Last year, the legislature made a commitment to more than half a million New Jerseyans that they would receive a full year's property tax credit in this year's budget, which is to take effect this July 1. There was no secret about this plan. It was included in last year's budget and would affect seniors, the disabled and families earning less than $75,000 per year.

My pledge to you is simple: despite the state's dire fiscal condition, the General Assembly will pass a budget this year that provides a full year's property tax credit to help ease the burden on seniors, the disabled and working families. Taxpayers deserve better than to have property tax relief programs be held hostage in order to pay for other priorities.



Yes, politicians on both sides of the aisle spent decades passing the buck on making tough decisions that would have put us on a more sound fiscal footing. Governor Murphy inherited a mess when he was inaugurated this January and I believe that he is doing his best to deal with the realities that were handed to him.



But seniors, the disabled and working families - some of the most vulnerable among us - should not have to continue paying the price for decades' worth of bad decisions that were made at their expense.



They deserve the property tax relief they were promised last year -- and I fully intend to ensure that we keep our promise to them.



This is not an academic exercise. A property tax relief cut equates to a property tax increase and real people pay the price - by being driven from their homes, by having to choose between paying their taxes and other vital needs, by counting on tax relief that never came.



We can't ask the very people who put us in office to keep taking our word that things will eventually get better if we can't keep the promises we made to them only a short ten months ago.

And I refuse to balance our budget on the backs of the most vulnerable among us. These New Jerseyans have enough to deal with without having to worry that we are going to force them to pay even more out of pocket after promising them greater relief last year.



We promised more than half a million New Jerseyans and their loved ones a fully funded homestead rebate program. Let's work to make people's lives better in real and tangible ways.

Craig J. Coughlin, D-Middlesex, is the state Assembly speaker.

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.If New Jersey lawmakers were hanging on to hopes that tax collections would prosper and spare them from some tough budget choices on making cuts or raising taxes, Monday's assessment from state budget experts was a bitter pill.

There was no "April surprise," the Trenton expression for a boom or bust income tax filing season that can expose last-minute budget shortfalls or turn up extra cash.

And there was no improved estimate of taxes to be collected in the fiscal year beginning July 1.

In a new report, Moody's Investors Service described New Jersey's April income tax collections, which were down 1 percent from last year, as an outlier and "weaker than expected."

"Most states have reported strong year-over-year growth in monthly receipts," analysts said.

In other words, lawmakers have a lot of work to do before the June 30 budget deadline.

"Despite our best wishes, there is no April surprise. Instead, we have a May reality check," Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio told the Assembly Budget Committee on Monday. "A reality check on the urgent need for new revenues."

In his first budget, Gov. Phil Murphy is calling for $1.5 billion in new revenue through tax increases on New Jersey's wealthiest residents and to the sales tax, which just this year was cut to 6.625 percent.

Democrats and Republicans leadership in both houses of the state Legislature say they're opposed to those tax hikes, and they're now firmly in the position of having to come up with $1.5 billion in cash or slashing as much to keep the budget in balance.

"With the revenue situation essentially unchanged, the difficult choices facing you as budget makers and lawmakers -- for better and for worse -- are similar to how they appeared six weeks ago," said David Drescher, an OLS budget analyst said.

The Murphy administration projects the so-called millionaires tax, an increase in the top tax rate on income over $1 million from 8.97 percent to 10.75 percent, would drum up $765 million in new taxes.

The sales tax would generate another $581 million. Smaller tax proposals, like a 25 percent excise tax on recreational marijuana, closing corporate tax loopholes and taxing carried interest, push the total in new dollars to more than $1.5 billion in a budget of $37.4 billion.

But Democrats who year after year -- five times in all -- put the millionaires tax on former Gov. Chris Christie's desk now say it would be imprudent given the changes in the federal tax landscape.

"Raising taxes is just a bad precedent,'" budget Chairwoman Eliana Pintor Marin, D-Essex, said Monday. "I know we've talked about it for many years now ... but when we also see the economic growth and where it's at ... we've been a little bit stagnant compared to other states."

"We want to make sure that New Jersey stays affordable," she said.

State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, said the millionaires tax should be a last resort, calling instead for structural changes to New Jersey's tax system. Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, told Murphy in a private meeting earlier this month that they don't back his sales tax hike either, according to sources.

Sweeney told NJ Advance Media on Monday he remains opposed to tax hikes.

Coughlin said in a statement that "it remains my strong belief that we must do everything we can to ensure that we do not balance this budget on the backs of New Jersey's families."

Neither Sweeney nor Coughlin have said publicly what they would raise or cut to make ends meet, though Sweeney did throw cold water on Murphy's $50 million tuition-free community college plan.

In fact, Democratic leaders have pledged to add another roughly $150 million to the Homestead property tax credit program that Murphy underfunded.

Pintor Marin said it's "too early" to know whether the Legislature will craft and pass its own budget blueprint or negotiate with Murphy on his.

"We're really trying to have an open dialogue and open communication with the front office," she said.

"I think that we're just going to have to measure exactly what it is that we can afford to do and we can't afford to do," Pintor Marin said.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brent Johnson contributed to this report.

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.A deputy fire chief in Plainfield will receive nearly a half million dollars in a discrimination lawsuit alleging he wasn't promoted within the fire department because he is white.

Jeffrey Courtney filed the discrimination lawsuit in 2016 against Plainfield Fire Chief Frank Tidwell.

"[Fire Chief Frank] Tidwell has made it clear that he does not want a white person to take the position of chief upon his retirement," the suit claims.

The lawsuit also alleges that Tidwell asked black firefighters "if they could take orders from a white man," but did not ask white firefighters if they could take orders from a black man.

Courtney's suit against Tidwell and the city alleges that Tidwell approved overtime for black firefighters to do work on his office, but cut back overtime for Courtney. An investigation into Tidwell's alleged misuse of funds for this incident has since been lifted.

The $450,000 settlement was agreed upon at a city council meeting on May 13, mycentraljersey.com reported.

Tidwell has filed his own tort claim-- which is not a lawsuit but threatens legal action -- against the city in 2017, claiming Plainfield officials have repeatedly tried to persuade him to retire so they can replace him with Courtney, who is white and 12 years younger.

Tidwell alleges in his tort claim that he was the subject of disparate treatment, a hostile work environment, the undermining of his authority and responsibilities as fire chief, the refusal to investigate his complaints, petty acts of harassment and bogus disciplinary investigations.

The settlement will be paid out to Courtney from the Public Entity Joint Insurance Fund, and it agrees that Courtney will retire from the department, effective Sept. 1.

Paige Gross may be reached at pgross@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @By_paigegross. Find NJ.com on Facebook.A quick thinking school bus driver averted disaster Monday morning when she saw smoke coming from the engine compartment, Blairstown Township police report.

The driver, who police and Stocker Bus Company didn't immediately identify, quickly stopped on Hoagland Road and got the 10 Blairstown Elementary School students off the bus and a safe distance away, police Sgt. Scott Johnson said.

Within a few minutes, the bus was engulfed in flames and destroyed, Johnson said. The inside of the bus was blackened by smoke and flames. The front end and the upper portion of the front of the bus were left gray by the fire.

No injuries were reported, Johnson said, adding the children on board were off the bus before being exposed to heavy smoke and flames.

Johnson said police rushed out information on the incident, first reported at 8:02 a.m., because "everybody is a little sensitive" after the crash Thursday on Interstate 80 in Morris County that took the lives of a student and a teacher from a school in Paramus.

A resident on Monday morning took all the children into her home in Blairstown to get away from the fire scene and to await another bus ride to school, the sergeant said.

Blairstown Elementary School Principal Bruce Leal came to the scene, Johnson added. The principal "took charge of the students," a district official said.

"The bus driver did a good job," Johnson said. "Luckily (the fire) was pretty uneventful."

A person who answered the phone at the Newton bus company deferred details to owner Denise Current, but said the driver "knew exactly what to do. She remained calm throughout."

Blairstown Superintendent Mark Saalfield said the driver's efforts, which began when she "noticed a little bit of smoke," were "just spectacular. She did everything you can ask a bus driver to do. Her first thought was for the children. She really did a fine job."

The "experienced" driver "evacuated the bus safety, maintained supervision and made the phone calls" to county dispatch, school officials and the bus company, Saalfield said.

When asked what could have happened if the driver was slower in her response, Saalfield said that's just conjecture.

"I know what she did was perfect," he said. "You couldn't ask for a better reaction."

Parents were notified but none of the students wanted to go home, the superintendent said. He greeted each as they arrived, saying "they handled it very well.

"... They were excited by their interesting bus ride to school. That's an interesting reaction."

Blairstown and Hope Township firefighters quickly doused the flames, Johnson said. The Blairstown Ambulance Corps. responded as well.

Fire Marshal Joe Lake will investigate the cause of the blaze, but there's nothing suspicious, Johnson said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.Artist Mitchell Gaudet's new exhibit in Arabi couldn't be much angrier. It includes an authentic old-fashioned carnival shooting gallery booth, with little metal targets that move along on conveyor belts like cute tin ducks. But they're not cute tin ducks. They're mostly fleeing school kids, plus a handful of so-called active shooters.

The object is to hit the moving gunman without accidentally hitting the crowd of kids. The bb guns provided with the shooting gallery may not be loaded, but the symbolism certainly is.

It gets even uglier. The edgy exhibit also includes a selection of realistic-looking rifle range body targets with bullseyes superimposed on human silhouettes. Except some of the silhouettes are school kids running from danger carrying their book-laden backpacks and teachers trying to protect fleeing children.

The eerie show includes examples of wholesome Americana such as antique cap pistols, lead soldiers, marksmanship trophies, that don't seem especially innocent in the context of seemingly unstoppable mass murders in schools.

You get the picture. "Shooting Gallery" is a brilliantly bitter commentary on the epidemic of wholesale killing in American schools and what can seem like official inaction.

The exhibit was originally inspired by the Parkland Florida school shooting in February, where 17 died. Ironically, Gaudet was busy installing the show on Friday (May 18) when word reached him of the Santa Fe, Texas school shooting that took the lives of 10.

"It was upsetting," Gaudet said of the sinister coincidence. "I think most people are getting, like, shooting fatigue. I've heard on the news that more students and teachers have been killed this year than people in the military. There have been three shootings since I started working on the show."

Before we go any further, it's interesting to note that Gaudet may not be what you expect. He's not a precious art school liberal. Gaudet, 55, is a former Marine, former Army paratrooper and retired captain in the Army Reserve. He owns a shotgun. He's not a softy. But he's had enough of the horror of gun violence. For the past three years, Gaudet, who is known for his glittering cast glass sculpture, has produced public artworks that tally New Orleans' annual murder count.

"Now it seems that the NRA (National Rifle Association) is just pushing more guns, and guns in schools, and teachers owning guns and bringing guns to school," Gaudet said. "To me, it's just insane."

Gaudet said that his intention is not to suggest that all guns should be taboo. To ban high capacity magazines and automatic assault weapons and to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally unstable isn't the same as banning all guns, he contends. He simply believes that better gun control is necessary.

"Most of the people I know are in the middle," Gaudet said. "They believe in the Second Amendment, understand gun ownership, and probably own a gun or two."

Naturally, displaying artwork that addresses such a grim and contentious topic makes Gaudet a bit uncomfortable. He worries that not everyone will understand the intended sarcasm. He said that when he posted his schoolkid body targets online, a friend commented that the artwork was "disgusting."

"I couldn't agree more," Gaudet said.

"A lot in this show has given me pause," he said. I've got to say, I'm torn. Is this a good thing to do or not? But, well, I've done it. Look, I have no answers, I'm kicking this stuff out (producing artworks) and I'm still dealing with this (his conflicted feelings)."

The show is emotionally confusing in part because the objects Gaudet has created from antique toys, trophies, bullet casings and cast glass are fascinating, even beautiful to behold.

"The medium I work in is seductive," Gaudet said. "Design is important to me. It makes the edge a little sharper when something is beautiful but has a sinister narrative quality to it. I think it just makes it a little more powerful."

Gaudet said that the advice he's received from friends and fellow artists has been divided between those who wholly encouraged him and those who had trepidations about the show.

"Finally, I felt like, it was an important thing for me to do, regardless of the consequences, because of my frustration," he said. "It's like an arms race. You have to bring weapons to the church, you have to bring weapons to the grocery store, you have to bring weapons to school. It's just madness to me, so I was going to do something equally as mad."

The "Shooting Gallery" exhibit is on display at Studio Inferno, 6601 St. Claude Ave. in Arabi. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Opening receptions will take place on June 2 and June 9 from 5-10 p.m.

Doug MacCash has the best job in the world, covering art, music, and culture in New Orleans. Contact him via email at dmaccash@nola.com. Follow him on Twitter at Doug MacCash and on Facebook at Douglas James MacCash. As always, please add your point of view to the comment stream.Armenian wines presented in World famous wine cognac La cite du Vin

It has been several days that Armenian wine days are being held in the world-renowned Wine City Museum titled "Armenia, the Charming Country of Wine." In November 2017, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between tVine and Wine Foundation of Armenia (VWFA) and the La cite du Vin Museum, according to which from May 2018 the Armenian wine days will be regularly held in the museum for a year. Before the launch of the event, director of the VWFA Zaruhi Muradyan and expert Anahit Davtyan conducted master classes for the museum staff. In the future, the latter should present the history and traditions of Armenian winemakers, Armenian wines and the grape varieties. All tickets were sold a few weeks before the official opening of the event. The visitors were very interested in the presentation of Armenian winemakers and enjoyed exclusive wines from Armenian grape varieties. Within the framework of the visit, meetings with leading wine experts as well as presentation of Armenian wines and tastings were held for representatives of Armenian communities of Paris, Bordeaux and Toulouse, and French importers. The presentation of Armenian wines was organized with the support of the Armenian International Inter-ethnic Gang in Paris within the framework of cooperation with the VWFA. Director of VWFA Zaruhi Muradyan says: "I highly appreciate the organization of Armenian events in the world's best wine museum, and I am confident that it will greatly contribute to the realization of our mission, which is contributing to the recognition and demand of Armenian wines in the world. The high praise of the French people is quite encouraging to our wines, as it is evidence of the high quality of our wines and having the characteristics that satisfies the international wine lovers." It is worth mentioning that the museum is unique in its kind and hosts about 450,000 visitors a year from different countries. During the event, La Cite du Vin will feature 42 Armenian wines.IberiaBank will close or consolidate 22 branches this year, including at least seven in Louisiana. The closures come as IberiaBank continues to buy out competitors across the Southeast, including a Florida bank in March.

The Lafayette-based bank told investors Friday evening (May 18) the closures are part of a long-term strategy to "enhance the value of the franchise and improve operating efficiency," particularly as the bank expands its online services. The latest round of closures and consolidations will be in addition to closures related to the $223 million acquisition of Gibraltar Private Bank and Trust, a Coral Gables, Florida-based bank, according to a news release.

"As our clients increasingly use and become more reliant on our digital channels, we continuously review our distribution channels to ensure we are operating efficiently," President and CEO Daryl G. Byrd said in the release.

Beth Ardoin, senior executive vice president and director of IberiaBank's communications, confirmed seven Louisiana locations will be affected, including one in Slidell. Louisiana branch locations that will close this year include:

Thibodaux

IberiaBank, the largest headquartered in Louisiana, has opened or acquired 81 branches across its multi-state footprint since 2014, according to the release. Up to this point, the bank has closed or consolidated 53 branches. The South Florida Business Journal reports 124 employees at Gibraltar Bank were laid off this year as a result of that acquisition, which closed in March.

This latest round of closures will be completed by the third quarter 2018. IberiaBank expects to save about $8 million a year in operating expenses.

Following the closures, IberiaBank will operate 296 branches across the Southeast.Clare Jupiter, who worked as a newspaper reporter and a lawyer before being elected to a Civil District Court judgeship, died Friday (May 18) at Touro Infirmary of complications of a stroke. She was 65.

Judge Jupiter, who was elected in 2011 and re-elected without opposition in 2014, suffered a stroke Jan. 7, her husband, Pat Bryant said. She had previously suffered a heart attack in her chambers in 2015.

The stroke left her in a coma for two months, but Judge Jupiter, an athlete who had swum a mile at least five times a week, came out of it, Bryant said.

"She worked hard to regain what she had lost to the point that she could move all of her limbs and had been accepted into rehab," Bryant said. "She took her recovery very seriously."

Judge Jupiter, who was born in Chicago and grew up in New Orleans, graduated from St. Joseph Academy. She earned an undergraduate degree at Yale University and a law degree at Duke University.

Before entering law school, she was a reporter in the mid-1970s for The States-Item, New Orleans' afternoon newspaper.

"She was passionate, principled, scrupulous -- all the qualities that you want in a journalist and a jurist," said Jim Amoss, a States-Item colleague who became editor of The Times-Picayune.

"She was an inspired and inspiring person," he said. "She was completely unafraid. She would deal with any topic head-on without making a lot of noise but with a sureness and a directness that were astounding."

In the feature stories she wrote, "she had a great comedic sense," said Jeannette Hardy, a States-Item colleague. "She had such a light touch and a nice way about her."

Another fledgling States-Item reporter then was Dean Baquet, who went on to become the executive editor of The New York Times.

"She was more mature than the rest of us, a grown-up with a sense of fairness and balance," he said. "I suspect it made her a very good judge."

She also possessed a wry wit, Bryant said. "She was one of the wittiest people I've ever known. She had puns for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They were very tasteful, and not at anybody's expense."

Before Judge Jupiter ran for the judgeship, she was a lawyer in New Orleans. Her clients included the Orleans Parish School Board.

"She was always prepared, always polite," said Max Tobias, a former judge on the 4

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Circuit Court of Appeal. "She was diligent, and she vigorously represented her clients."

When she became a judge, "I found her diligent and caring and studious," Tobias said. "She was a very fine judge."

Civil District Judge Robin Giarrusso, a longtime friend, described her colleague as a "consummate professional."

"She was calm. She was patient," Giarrusso said. "At the same time, she was determined and very smart. I never saw her lose her temper. ... She had a calming influence on all of us."

Although Judge Jupiter "could cut to the very essence of the issue, she was so kind and so thoughtful," Giarrusso said. "We're going to miss her at the courthouse."

Judge Jupiter won the court's Division E seat in 2011 in an election to fill the vacancy when Judge Madeleine Landrieu was elected to the 4

Circuit Court of Appeals.

After Judge Jupiter's stroke, Melvin Zeno, a retired Jefferson Parish judge, was appointed to fill in for her. A special election will have to be held to complete Judge Jupiter's term, which expires in 2020.

Judge Jupiter served on the boards of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, Covenant House and New Life Ministry.

Her brother Steven Jupiter is a Traffic Court judge.

In addition to him and Bryant, survivors include a son, Kwame Bryant of New Orleans; a daughter, Nia Bryant of New Orleans; six brothers, Eric, Danny and Jerome Jupiter, all of New Orleans, David Jupiter of Albuquerque, N.M., Carl Jupiter of Houston and Omodare Jupiter of St. Croix; four sisters, Gayle Jupiter of Albuquerque; Ann Jupiter-Mitchell of Washington; Jill Jupiter-Jones of Silver Spring, Md., and Jane Bell of New Orleans; her mother, Ramona Felton Jupiter of New Orleans; and two grandchildren.

A wake will be held Thursday, May 24, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at D.W. Rhodes Funeral Home, 3933 Washington Ave.

A funeral will be held Friday at 10 a.m. at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, 2515 Franklin Ave. Visitation there will begin at 9 a.m.Tiffany Scott hasn't been able to sleep since May 16, when she heard that her 21-year-old son had been gunned down in Algiers.

It was a call she was never expecting. The circumstances were incongruent with the Walter Scott she had raised. She gave birth to him when she was just seventeen. For the first nineteen years of his life, it was just the two of them.

"We did everything together," Tiffany Scott said. '"He'd kiss me on the head when he walked through the door. We more or less grew up together since I was so young when he was born."

"Now he's never going to open up that door again," she said while sitting at home and staring at the front door of her Algiers home.

According to police, Walter Scott was driving with a friend near General De Gaulle Drive and Life Center Boulevard on Wednesday night (May 16), when people inside a gold car started firing at them. Both Walter Scott and his friend were hit in the shooting. His friend suffered non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, but Walter Scott was struck more than once and ultimately died at the hospital.

"They say he was shot like seven times," Tiffany Scott said.

Walter Scott was dropping off his friend when the shooting occurred. While police have not provided his mother with many details about the incident, she believes it might have had something to do with his friend's family member, "who is caught up in a lot of violence."

"It could be they couldn't get to him so they went after whoever is close to him," Tiffany Scott said. "I don't know if it was just a retaliation thing, but they shot my baby."

Walter Scott grew up in New Orleans. He graduated from Edna Karr High School with honors, shooting hoops and playing video games in his spare time, before heading to Southern University in Baton Rouge to study engineering. He was in the midst of completing his degree at the time of his death.

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According to Tiffany Scott, he dreamed of completing college and starting a job that could support his mother and his 2-year-old brother.

"He knew I struggled to keep afloat during his childhood so he would say, 'I love you so much and I appreciate all that you've done for me. I just want to take care of you and my little brother so you don't have to work anymore,'" she said.

Since the day Walter Scott failed to come home, his 2-year-old brother has continually asked "Where's Walter?," Tiffany Scott said.

"He doesn't understand it," she added. "I don't understand it, honestly."

For Tiffany Scott, the hazy circumstances of her son's death have only compounded her grief.

"I could maybe accept this more if I knew he lived his life in the way he was gunned down, but I am a mother that has tried my hardest to do the best for my child," she said with a wavering voice. "I raised him right. I did what I was supposed to do as a mother. And he was a sweet and productive child."

Police have yet to release further details about the May 16 shooting. Tiffany Scott said she is not aware of any potential suspects, nor leads in the case. The lack of information has tormented her.

"Getting more answer won't bring my child back, but if I had answers that would absolutely help. His killers are out there. I definitely need more answers. Yes, definitely, definitely, definitely," she repeated.Celebrity chef and restaurateur Mario Batali is the focus of a New York City Police Department investigation after at least 11 women accused him of sexual misconduct, according to CBS.

Several women spoke out on "60 Minutes" in a Sunday (May 20) broadcast about the harassment and assault they claimed they endured from Batali at a Manhattan restaurant he frequently visited. Allegations first arose against Batali last December when nine women came forward with stories of his inappropriate behavior, CBS reported.

Batali announced he would take leave from his restaurant group after acknowledging his behavior, however it was previously unknown Batali was under criminal investigation, according to CBS.

B&B Hospitality announced Monday they are in the process of ending their partnership with Batali. The final arrangement for the sales of Batali's shares should be finalized by July, according to B&B's statement.

"We have worked for years with Mr. Batali to bring true, innovative Italian cuisine to our guests. He has been our partner and close friend, but the actions he has acknowledged required us to separate wholly so that we reinforce our core values for our employees and our guests," the statement reads.

According to B&B Hospitality, the company has been taking steps to cut ties with Batali since the allegations first surfaced in December, including removing him from day to day operations.

In their statement, B&B called the allegations against Batali "chilling and deeply disturbing," and said they previously knew nothing about his actions.

"We remain focused on two priorities: ensuring that our employees work with equal opportunity and freedom from discrimination; and continuing to give our guests amazing dining experiences," the company said in their statement.Sixty one percent of respondents in an online survey by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers said they would support a statewide walkout or strike in order to force lawmakers to approve pay increases. The survey results were released Monday (May 21) by the teachers union.

An LFT news release stated 3,832 teachers from 73 school districts in Louisiana responded to the "Louisiana Teacher Salary Satisfaction Survey," which was provided between April 10 and May 7. Les Landon, spokesperson for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said Monday the survey was "promoted heavily" through social media and that it was not limited to LFT's 20,000 union members.

The survey's findings come as teachers across several states stage walkouts over school funding. The results show that 67 percent and 76 percent of respondents are willing to petition their local school board and lawmakers in Baton Rouge, respectively, to demand pay raises. When asked "Which of these steps are you willing to take to win significant pay raises," 59 percent said they would do a "mass demonstration" at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge.

"Our survey shows that teachers are fed up, not just with low pay, but also with a lack of resources, crumbling facilities, poor student discipline, and a lack of parental involvement," LFT President Larry Carter said in a released statement.

Salary data from 1989 to 2016 obtained from the Southern Regional Education Board showed that Louisiana teacher salaries were equivalent to teacher pay in 2007. A Louisiana teacher's average salary reached was as high as $51,381 in 2012-13, but their average pay plunged to $49,745 by 2015-16. That year, the average for teachers in the South was $50,955, and the national average was $58,363.

The teachers union stated only 19 percent of the respondents said they received a local pay raise in the past five years, and 61 percent said their local school boards froze salaries during that same period. The teachers union also drew attention to a study released last year by the Education Research Alliance at Tulane University that stated teacher turnovers spiked after Louisiana weakened tenure protections in 2012.

The survey's findings also come amid a statewide push to recruit more teachers. Teaching certification data provided by the Orleans Parish School Board from the Louisiana State Association of School Personnel Administrators in February showed that fewer teaching certifications have been issued in Louisiana during a four-year period from the 2012-13 to the 2016-17 school year.

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Louisiana has even deployed a special "alternative certification" program to help get more people certified to teach. The program fast-tracks professionals interested in teaching in their respective fields, for example, recruiting a novelist to teach English or a physicist to teach science. However, the number of teachers with alternative certifications decreased from 518 to 366 statewide over the period examined by the Louisiana State Association of School Personnel Administrators.

The state has also approved more teachers to enter classrooms before they earn their certification. Louisiana issued 1,517 temporary teaching authorizations since September 2014 to people who want to be in a classroom, but have not yet completed their certification, according to the data. That accounted for 4.3 percent of all teaching certificates issued from Sept. 1, 2014, through Nov. 13, 2017.

The teacher shortage is an important subject in New Orleans more than a decade after the school district laid off more than 4,300 teachers after Hurricane Katrina. The city's school district oversees a majority of schools managed by non-governmental charter groups that are each responsible for the hiring of teachers at each individual school. The OPSB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Although the survey only included teachers, Carter said there is also a need to raise pay for paraprofessionals and school-related personnel. Carter said Federation leaders will meet over the summer to discuss actions the union may take in the coming school year. The union stated the survey is currently being broken down for by school district to help local leaders plan their local strategies. Results by school district will be released after the data is shared with local leaders, the union stated.

"We hope that instead of removing the statutory dedications for K-12, lawmakers will finally do their job and create a stable budget that will provide the necessary funding for our schools, our children and our future," Carter stated.

. . . . . . .

Wilborn P. Nobles III is an education reporter based in New Orleans. He can be reached at wnobles@nola.com or on Twitter at @WilNobles.Amgen will charge a lower-than-expected $6,900 a year for a novel migraine treatment that investors hope will become the biotechnology giant's next blockbuster.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, which will be marketed under the brand name Aimovig, on Thursday. It's part of a class of therapies known as a CGRP-inhibitors that offer new options to patients who get the recurrent, painful headaches.

Amgen's pricing plans for Aimovig have been closely watched amid a wider U.S. debate over high prescription costs. Last week, the Trump administration unveiled a number of proposals designed to pressure the industry to lower drug costs and list prices.

Amgen shares advanced 0.5 percent to $175.50 at 9:56 a.m. in New York.

Renewed political pressure over drug costs has added to the challenge of finding the right price for innovative medications. While drugmakers want to maximize returns on the substantial investment required to develop new therapies, some payers have begun to push back.

A pricing misstep helped slow sales of Amgen's cholesterol fighter Repatha, which failed to live up to commercial expectations after insurers and pharmacy-benefit managers balked at its $14,000-a-year cost. Though sales of the drug have picked up, topping expectations in the company's most recent quarter after receiving an updated label from regulators showing it reduced heart risks, competitors have taken steps to lower prices for similar drugs.

"The payers recognize that there is a clear and longstanding unmet need in migraine," said Tony Hooper, executive vice president of global commercial operations at Amgen, on a call with analysts Friday. Hooper said the company is in talks with pharmacy-benefit managers and insurers and "by and large, they are supportive of our price."

Amgen and partner Novartis said that they will launch the drug within one week in the U.S. Hooper said that the company expects patients will take the drug if they have tried and failed on other migraine treatments.

The drug's lower-than-expected price was met positively by analysts who said they expect it will win broad reimbursement from insurers.

"Overall, we think their pricing strategy fits well into the current reimbursement environment," said Michael Yee, an analyst with Jefferies wrote in a note. Yee, who has a "buy" rating on Amgen shares, said the lower price "sends a good message."

But Baird analyst Brian Skorney said once rival treatments come to market, insurers and drug middlemen may pit drugs against each other to get the lowest possible price.

"If anything it just makes the eventual lowest net price that much lower once there are several on the market," wrote Skorney, who rates Amgen shares "neutral."

- - -

Story by Rebecca SpaldingHurricane forecasters on Monday (May 21) were tracking a weather disturbance they say has a low chance of developing into a tropical depression this week in the Gulf of Mexico.

As of 7:30 a.m. Monday, the low pressure system was in the Caribbean Sea and extended across Cuba and the Florida peninsula. It's expected to move into the central or eastern Gulf of Mexico over the next several days.

The National Weather Service office in Slidell said the system isn't expected to affect the metro area through Thursday. However, forecasters said, depending on the speed and the track, it could bring heavy rainfall to the northern Gulf Coast toward the end of the week and through Memorial Day weekend.

Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center said it has a near 0 percent chance of developing into at least a tropical depression within 48 hours and a 20 percent chance (low) of developing into at least a tropical depression within five days.

Storm categories, ranked in increasing intensity, are tropical depression, tropical storm and hurricane.

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For this system, the National Hurricane Center said environmental conditions aren't expected to be favorable for development during the next couple days. However, "some gradual development" is possible later this week while it moves into the Gulf.

The system could bring heavy rain to western Cuba and Florida over the next several days regardless of development, forecasters said.

--

Carlie Kollath Wells is a morning reporter at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Have an early-bird tip? Send it to her: cwells@nola.com or Twitter @carlie_kollath.The East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce has tapped Don Shea as its new chief executive officer. Shea replaces Dawn Sharp, who left the agency in March after 11 years at the helm.

Shea is a Massachusetts native who has spent the past 30 years working in economic development. Most recently, the Chamber said in a news release Monday (May 21), Shea was director of business services at the Louisiana Workforce Commission serving St. Tammany, St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes.

"We are fortunate to have Don join the Chamber family as our new CEO," 2018 Chamber Chairwoman Victoria Langlinais said in the news release. "He has a great vision for the future of our organization. Don's extensive experience with economic development, strategic planning and program implementation will help guide our organization into an even brighter future."

Shea has a bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and a master of city planning from Harvard University.

"I have enjoyed being a member of this Chamber over the last couple of years and I'm grateful for the opportunity to serve as the new CEO," Shea said. "I look forward to working with the staff and the Board of Directors to create new and exciting programs for our members."

Shea has also been CEO of New Orleans' Downtown Development District and was St. Tammany Parish's first economic development director from 2013-2015.

The East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce is based in Slidell.President Rouhani met with government family in an iftar ceremony and said: One of the most important effects of the holy month of Ramadan is intimacy and being together.



(AhlulBayt News Agency) - President Rouhani met with government family in an iftar ceremony and said: One of the most important effects of the holy month of Ramadan is intimacy and being together.



Mentioning that since last year the government has been facing with many ups and downs and problems, the President appreciated the members of the government and their families for working hard for running the country.



The wealth of the region and the Zionist system of state terrorism, as the evillest regime in the history, and the greatest economic and military power of the world are against the Iranian nation, Dr Rouhani added, saying: The Iranian nation have stood on their feet powerfully against all these pressures.



The big part of the burden of independence and ups and downs that we are experiencing are on the shoulders of the government and its different political, economic and cultural sectors, continued the President.



Stating that today, Iran is in special political conditions, he said: We are proud of what we have done in our critical political times and today, we will certainly overcome these problems.



He also said: The United States and other powers supporting them cannot bring the Iranian nation to their knees, but rather we are standing and we can go down this path well.



The President also appreciated the government employees and their families for their efforts and supporting the authorities, saying: Families must lay the groundwork for authorities calmness so that they can serve people better.







/257A former Causeway toll taker pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft in February in connection with the theft of $2,275 in tolls during one month in 2017, according to an audit that was made public Monday (May 21).

Roxie Kolbe, 55, pleaded guilty Feb. 20 to theft under $750 and paid full restitution to the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway on Feb. 27, according to state court records and the audit, which was posted Monday on the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's website. Kolbe was placed on one year of probation.

Causeway General Manager Carlton Dufrechou said he was "very disappointed" in the theft but said the bridge's administrative safeguards caught the problem.

"The checks and balances worked. Our internal controls worked," Dufrechou said.

According to the audit for the year ending Oct. 31, 2017, a Causeway toll analyst detected the theft. The analyst reconciled the amount of revenue collected against the number of motorists paying tolls in Mandeville and discovered a discrepancy of $2,275 for February 2017.

An internal investigation determined Kolbe stole cash collected from motorists, the audit said. She was fired last year, and bridge authorities notified the Mandeville Police Department.

A Causeway toll collector also was busted stealing money in 2016. That employee, accused of stealing $4,400, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft and was ordered to pay full restitution.Candace Watkins, who served as Covington mayor from 2003 to 2011, announced Monday (May 21) that she has resigned her position with the Louisiana Office of Community Development Disaster Recovery Unit and will make another run at the city's mayoralty next year.

Watkins said she hopes to succeed Mike Cooper, who is prohibited from seeking another term as mayor because of term limits. Cooper was re-elected without opposition in 2015.

She joins City Councilman Rick Smith, who formally announced his candidacy in May of 2016, in the race for the city's top administrative post. Businessman Mark Johnson is reportedly also campaigning for the office.

Watkins acknowledged that two other candidates have been on the campaign trail for some time and have a head start, but she wanted to keep her current job with the state Disaster Recovery Unit for as long as possible before stepping down to run for office. State policy prohibits public employees from being a candidate or joining in any political activity.

"I'm not retired or self-employed" Watkins said in her announcement. "I hope the public can identify with my needing my job and having to remain employed as long as possible."

Like Cooper, Watkins was prohibited from seeking re-election after her second term ended. Since then, she spent nearly two years as director of community development for St. Bernard Parish government before taking a job with the state Office of Community Development where she served as a disaster recovery specialist.

In late 2014, she became an executive officer for the St. Tammany Home Builders Association before returning to state government in 2016. Prior to becoming mayor in 2003, Watkins served for four years as the city's Downtown Development director.

"It's my job now to convince the voters that I am the most qualified, experienced, and industrious candidate, and that experience and qualifications matter," Watkins said in her announcement. "The election is almost a year away which is plenty of time for voters to make an informed decision."A plan to build a public restroom on the Mandeville lakefront has stalled as city officials deal with its higher than anticipated cost and complaints from some area residents.

The proposed restroom is earmarked for a small parcel of public land adjacent to a play area and splash pad on the eastern end of Lakeshore Drive, across from the Pontchartrain Yacht Club. The City Council last year budgeted $200,000 to build the facility, and the project proceeded through the design phase before being put out for public bid.

But the project encountered a snag when construction bids came back way over what was budgeted, the lowest bid being $318,000. The council must now decide whether to amend the budget to pump more money into the restroom or try to redesign it in hopes of attracting lower construction bids.

Meanwhile, some area residents are displeased with the idea of building the facility at the idyllic site. Becky Rohrbough, a local history buff, said the property on which the restroom is to be built is supposed to remain clear of structures in accordance with the wishes of Bernard de Marigny de Mandeville, the city's founder who donated the land along Lake Pontchartrain.

In dedicating the land to the town in 1834, Marigny stated: "The space situated between Lake Street (Lakeshore Drive) and the lake will always remain free and for common use; that no individual or corporation shall raise any edifice whatsoever, nor change its destination, and that the banks of the lake facing the said space will also remain forever free and for common usage."

"It is the responsibility of the city to maintain this gift of natural beauty with the unobstructed view of the lake as Marigny intended," Rohrbough said in an email to City Council members, pointing out the words of the founder.

Rohrbough said building the facility at Jackson Street and Lake Pontchartrain would mean "a major entrance corridor in Mandeville leading to the lake (Jackson Street) would be marred by the lovely view of a bathroom. How pathetic."

Mandeville lakefront resident Charles Goodwin has also weighed in on the project. "The average Mandeville home is some $250,000, and our mayor proposes to spend $317,000 for one stinking bathroom and to put it in the worst possible location," he said.

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Both opponents are urging residents to stand against the project by contacting council members and appearing at the council meeting Thursday night to express their views. An ordinance that would amend the city budget to add $118,000 for the project is being introduced at the meeting. It will not come up for a vote until next month.

The city's lakefront has become a popular place for leisure activities, attracting walkers, joggers and others to the park-like setting between Lakeshore Drive and the seawall. There are currently no public restrooms along the 1.5-mile stretch of public land along the waterfront.

The restroom controversy is symbolic of the community debate - often times simmering below the surface - between those who view the lakefront community as a desirable place to live that should remain as organic as possible and those who view it as a destination of sorts that could benefit from further enhancements.

Mayor Donald Villere said Monday that many citizens have asked the city to consider building a restroom on the lakefront, particularly near the popular play area and splash pad where "kids and their moms and dads congregate."

Villere acknowledged that the cost of the restroom is significantly higher than expected, the result of "burdensome" federal government flood zone requirements. Because of the proposed facility's proximity to the lake, the government requires that the structure either be elevated and have ramps to make it comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act or that it be constructed with an "air-tight" design to keep flood water out and include pumps in case water gets in.

"I understand when people say 'my goodness, I could build a house for that (317,000),' " Villere said. "But these are requirements that the feds are placing on it. I think we should bite the bullet and spend the $317,000. It's a one-time cost."

Rohrbough said she understands the reason for the high cost, noting that the price tag helps make a case against building the restroom in that location.

"No doubt the cost of meeting flood zone building requirements on top of ADA requirements has added considerably to the cost," she said. "This alone should make anyone stop and think of the wisdom of trying to place a public restroom facility in a flood zone."A Powerball ticket sold in Slidell was a big winner in Saturday's drawing, Louisiana Lottery Corp. officials said Monday morning (May 21). Lottery players are being asked to check their tickets.

A ticket worth $50,000 was sold at the Time Saver 3 at 1801 Gause Blvd. West. It matched four of the five numbers plus the Powerball, Lottery officials said.

The winning numbers in Saturday's drawing were 03, 06, 09, 17, 56 with 25 as the Powerball. The jackpot was worth $315,300,000, according to Lottery officials.A dark period for students and the St. Tammany Parish public school district will be revisited this week as a judge hears testimony in a lawsuit brought against the school district by one of the victims of Dino Schwertz, the Slidell elementary school janitor convicted in 2009 of raping and molesting young boys.

Schwertz was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.

One of his victims was in a St. Tammany Parish courtroom Monday (May 21) as State District Judge Raymond Childress began hearing testimony in a lawsuit claiming the school district shares some of the blame for Schwertz' criminal acts.

Justin Bleker and his parents, Terry Bleker Sr. and Rebecca Hickman, first sued the school district and Schwertz in 2008, shortly after Schwertz was arrested.

Schwertz, who was 41 at the time, was arrested in March 2008 and accused of multiple counts of aggravated rape and child molestation involving boys at Abney Elementary School. He eventually was tried and convicted on a count of aggravated rape of one boy and a count of molestation of another.

Initially, Justin Bleker's identity in the lawsuit was shielded because of he was only 12 when the abuse occurred. But he and his family asked a judge to unseal the records because they wanted to go public with their suit, Hickman has said.

"We don't want someone else to have to go through what we've gone through,'' Hickman said in a recent interview, adding that Justin Bleker is still in therapy and trying to recover from the crimes.

Justin Bleker told a reporter Monday that he has no objection to his name being used in news coverage of the trial, which could last much of this week.

The lawsuit contends that the school district and Abney were negligent in hiring and keeping Schwertz on the staff. Hickman, in the earlier interview, blamed the school district's "poor'' background checks in part for allowing Schwertz to be hired.

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Schwertz was a temporary janitor at Abney from July to December, 2007, when he took a full-time position at Northshore High School in Slidell. Court records revealed that at the time he was hired Schwertz was serving a five-year probation for a bank fraud charge and had been the subject of two protective orders, one from his fiancee and another by his parents.

St. Tammany Parish schools Superintendent Trey Folse said the school district could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, but issued a statement.

"Many of our security policies and hiring procedures have changed during the past ten years to help ensure the safety of our students,'' he said. "We are constantly reviewing all of our safety protocols and making updates as needed.''

Monday's witnesses included former Slidell Police Department Detective Stan Rabalais, who is now an investigator for District Attorney Warren Montgomery's office.

Rabalais testified that authorities initially began investigating what they thought was a case of "bullying,'' but learned it was a sexual abuse case as the investigation continued.

And earlier, JoBeth Rickels, a forensic investigator with the Child Advocacy Center, was called to the stand. Rickels explained how she and other investigators talk to children who have been the victims of or witnesses to crime.

While she was on the stand, a laptop computer was set up facing her and Childress that showed videotaped interviews in which she questioned Justin Bleker in 2008.

Bleker's family members dabbed their eyes with tissues as Bleker, then a 12-year-old, could be heard telling Rickels that Schwertz pushed him into a bathroom stall, threatened him and raped him. At one point, Rickels could be heard on the tape asking the boy if he'd be more comfortable pointing things out on a picture.Last week, President Donald Trump was accused - somewhat inaccurately, it seems - of describing as "animals" people who try or succeed in illegally crossing the Mexican border into the United States. Trump wasn't talking about everybody crossing illegally, only members of the violent gang MS-13. And this week, in what can only be described as a sophomoric response to complaints about Trump's use of the word "animal," the White House released a press release about MS-13 that uses the word "animals" 10 times.

The headline is "What You Need To Know About The Violent Animals of MS-13." The first subhead of the press release: "The violent animals of MS-13 have committed heinous, violent attacks in communities across America." The first sentence after that: "Too many innocent Americans have fallen victim to the unthinkable violence of MS-13's animals."

Before we address the problem with the government of the United States of America using such problematic language, let's first start with a hypothetical: What if the gang members really are animals? Wouldn't that give the United States a moral obligation to take in those families fleeing such animals?

Over and over again, we hear people from El Salvador and Honduras explain that they've left their home countries because the gang violence has become unbearable. In 2014, the Jesuit Social Research Institute held a Catholic teach-in at St. Anthony of Padua School. There New Orleanians who may have had all sorts of wrong ideas about the families crossing the border were confronted with Central Americans who described the violence that had forced them to leave and that continued to threaten the lives of their loved ones.

And, yet, Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have taken the position that those families seeking asylum from so-called animals are not welcome here. And sometimes, to little we think of them and the sanctity of their familial bonds, our government has made a promise to separating parents from their children and incarcerate them all.

That'll teach 'em to run from animals!

What noun do we use for a government that punishes asylum seekers - or even families not planning to officially ask for asylum - by deliberately tearing their families asunder?

In November, the Rev. Shawn Anglim of First Grace United Methodist Church was talking about the sudden deportations of parents when he asked, "How can this be good for a child? How can this be good for parents?" Even though he was talking about parents being forced out and not parents trying to come in, Anglim's question also applies to the family separations the U.S. government is forcing at the border.

The chief question raised here - how could the White House call MS-13 members "animals" and then not take in families fleeing MS-13 - is not meant to suggest that Trump cares about consistency.

He's the same president who'll bomb Syria in response to the depravity of dictator Bashar al-Assad but won't open America to those who are fleeing Assad's depravity. His MS-13 policy is equally hypocritical.

In addition to the hypocrisy, it's disturbing to see the White House - in an official press release, no less - describe the members of MS-13 as something other than human. Have the members of that gang shown themselves to be violent, even murderous? For sure. Therefore, the White House would be justified using the words violent and murderous. "Animals" goes too far.

We shouldn't want to follow the examples of governments that have dehumanized whole groups of people.

Such language would be more forgivable if it were offered in the heat of the moment.

In 2013, when gunfire at a New Orleans Mother's Day parade injured (and eventually killed) Deb Cotton, the city's pre-eminent chronicler of second-line culture, a journalist friend wrote a blog post that asked, "What kind of animal shoots up a Mother's Day parade crowd? What kind of monster?" In a subsequent post, that friend explained that he had been "trying to reconcile the anger I had inside of me, after spending hours in the hospital seeing my friend who was shot, with the more logical and humane response that should come after such a tragedy."

I argued that the most difficult part of writing opinions about disturbing crimes is choosing the right noun for the perpetrators: "The nouns we choose reveal our relationship to the violent people we're talking about. The nouns we choose indicate whether we think they are redeemable or hopeless, reachable or incorrigible. The nouns we choose reveal what we think ought to happen to them when they transgress."

Though our friend had described her shooters as "animals," when Cotton addressed them in federal court, she said she loved them and that they "weren't born to shoot up a parade." She said," You still have the capacity to do good."

I don't expect our government to be as forgiving. But we should expect them to be better than those governments that have used dehumanizing language to describe others.

And, yes, if our government believes that MS-13 is that bad, then it should take in those who desperately trying to escape them.

Jarvis DeBerry is deputy opinions editor for NOLA.COM | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at jdeberry@nola.comor at twitter.com/jarvisdeberry.The New Orleans Pelicans' 2017-18 season has come to an end, so now it's time to look forward. We will take a look at each one of the Pelicans' free agents going into the summer and allow fans to decide which players should be brought back and which ones should be allowed to walk.

Ian Clark

Age: 27

Position: Point guard/ Shooting guard

Height: 6-3

Weight: 175

2017-18 stats: 74 games, 7.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.5 apg, 44.8 FG%, 31.8 3PT%.

2017-18 salary: $1.58 million

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Numbers that stood out:

Clark will become an unrestricted free agent in July.

Best game: Clark had a season-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the Pelicans' overtime victory against the Miami Heat on Feb. 23. He played a season-high 38 minutes and poured in 15 of his 21 points in the second quarter.

He also had 19 points in a win over the Heat on Dec. 23.

Worst game: Clark had two points, missed all four of his shot attempts and turned the ball over twice in 17 minutes during a 10-point loss to the Washington Wizards on Dec. 19.

Decision time: Should the Pelicans re-sign Clark this offseason? How much will it cost? Would it be worth it if he demands a multi-year deal? How would the Pelicans replace Clark if they allow him to walk? Vote in the poll below and leave your thoughts in the comment section.

Will Guillory can be reached at wguillory@nola.com or 504.258.5344. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WillGuillory. You can subscribe to our Pelicans Youtube channel here.Up to 150,000 households who otherwise wouldnt qualify  including some with six-figure salaries  are expected to apply for food stamps as qualifications are relaxed to help in the recovery from Hurricane Ida.The three men involved in Sunday's deadly helicopter crash into a St. Charles Parish marshland were identified Monday (May 21) by the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office. Authorities say Ryan Lamont Cardwell, 33, of Watonga, Oklahoma, was killed in the crash and pronounced dead at the scene.

Crewman Chance Mills, 33, from Missouri, suffered "severe injuries," and the pilot, identified as Kenneth Gestal, 38, from Florida, sustained what authorities say appeared to be "less severe injuries," according to a Sheriff's Office statement.

The men worked for a company called Air2 which was contracted by Entergy to conduct routine inspection on transmission lines. The helicopter was flying in Boutte when it went down shortly before 11 a.m., authorities have said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

Val Harmon, who lives in Boutte and help to rescue Harmon and Mills, said the pilot told him that the helicopter's landing gear got caught on a power-line wire, and he was unable to extricate it.

The helicopter went down in a remote area that authorities say was accessible only by airboat, all terrain tracked vehicles and helicopter.

Mills and Gestal were taken to the hospital while authorities searched for Cardwell, who authorities say was found under crash debris several hours later.Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 86F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

Mainly clear skies. Low 71F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow

Intervals of clouds and sunshine. High 88F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph.Qom's cultural week in Lebanon's closing ceremony was held at Nabatieh at the presence of aa number of Qom and Nabatieh's authorities.

According to Ahlul Bayt News Agency  ABNA  Qom's cultural week in Lebanon's closing ceremony was held at Nabatieh at the presence of aa number of Qom and Nabatieh's authorities.



This ceremony began with reciting the holy Quran by an international reader named Ali Alizadeh. After that, the national anthem of Iran and Lebanon was played it was followed by a set of programs such as a display of Karate moves by Lebanese athletes and other similar programs.



Wherever Iran goes, victory and blessings follow



In the following, Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Kahil, the governor of Nabatieh said in his speech: "we thank Islamic republic of Iran and its people and authorities and surely wherever Iran goes, victory and blessings will follow."



He also said: "Nabatieh is the city of Imam Hussain (AS) and thanks to the presence of the people of Qomwe could smell Jamkaran's mosque and Masoumeh (SA)'s shrine's scent all the way here in Nabatieh."



He continued: "many efforts were made for this event to be held, both by Iranian and Lebanese authorities and Qom and its history was introduced to us in this exhibition and I thank all those who contributed to this event in any way, specially the governor's deputy and Iran's cultural advisor in Lebanon."



Quds will stay in Palestine's capital forever



In the followings Dr. shariatmadar, Iran's cultural advisor in Lebanon stated: "Qom's cultural week in Nabatieh was successfully held and achieved its goals and made both sides eager for the future events and contracts must be fulfilled in order to prepare for the next collaborations and events."



Iran's cultural advisor in Lebanon pointed to Hezbollah's victory in Lebanon's parliament election and said: "this victory was pleasant news to us, but savage invasion of Israel's army against the people of Palestine's rally against moving the U.S embassy to Quds in which rally more than 60 innocent people of Palestine were killed was extremely sad news for us."



He continued: "together with Iran we condemn this massacre and announce that Quds will remain Palestine's capital forever."



Shariatmadar also said: "I thank all those who helped us with this event specially the people of Nabatieh who participated in this event or visited it because without them this event would not be possible to hold."



Jerusalem will be for Palestine forever



Qom's deputy of visitor affairs also thanked the authorities of Iran and Lebanon and also the people of Lebanon for helping and attending this event and said: "we hope that the visitors enjoyed this event and for this event to pave ways for future events and collaborations."



He also said: "hopefully we will hold next events with more size and more advancements."



He asked people of Lebanon to use Iranian products instead of the products which the countries who support Israel produce and said: "Qom has high productive abilities in different fields and can meet the required standards."



He also stated that Qom is ready to hold Lebanon's cultural week in it.



In a another part of his speech he condemned the U.S for moving its embassy to Jerusalem and reminded: "just as Imam Khomeini said, Israel should be destroyed."



Alipoor: "the world should know that Jerusalem belongs to Palestine forever and hopefully we will see Israel's demise soon."



Some of Qom's artistic handicrafts were given to Hezbollah and Nabatieh's Municipality as gifts.



In the following the authorities responsible for holding this event such as Nabatiieih's governor, Iran's cultural advisor in Lebanon were praised; the exhibitors participating in this event were also appreciated by various gifts.



It is worth mentioning thatYunesAlipoor,Deputy of Qom's visitor affairs, Mohammad Mahdi Shariatmadar, Iran's cultural advisor in Lebanon and Ahmad Mahmud Kahil, Nabatieh's governor and a number of Qom and Nabatieh's authorities, as well as a wide set of Nabatieh's people were present.



Qom's cultural week in Lebanon ended at May 15th, Tuesday in Nabtieh, Lebanon.









/257The US-backed Saudi-led coalition warplanes on Monday launched eleven air strikes on Saada Northern Province of Yemen.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - The US-backed Saudi-led coalition warplanes on Monday launched eleven air strikes on Saada Northern Province of Yemen.



The air strikes were waged on Kitaf district, the official added.



Meanwhile, the Saudi rockets and artillery shells bombarded several areas of border districts, causing huge casualties in the citizens houses and farms.



The Saudi-led coalition forces continued its hysterical air strikes on several Yemeni provinces over the past 24 hours.







/129A Zionist study by Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies confirmed that the ballistic missiles fired by, what it called, Houthis are extremely dangerous because of their high accuracy and technical development, claiming that Yemen obtained these missiles from Iran and North Korea.

(AhlulBayt News Agency) - A Zionist study by Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies confirmed that the ballistic missiles fired by, what it called, Houthis are extremely dangerous because of their high accuracy and technical development, claiming that Yemen obtained these missiles from Iran and North Korea.



The study claimed that the Saudi depth is under threats, following the launching of ballistic missiles by the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees, which increase the chances of Saudi Arabias intention to purchase Israeli air defense systems to counter it.



The study, which was published by the Centers website on Saturday, revealed that Saudi Arabia expressed this year a desire to supply anti-missile defense systems, especially the Iron Dome system, and the Trophy system, considering that this desire shows the significant improvement in the relationship between Tel Aviv and Riyadh.



The study said that Saudi Arabia is trying to exploit its relations with the Zionist entity to strengthen its deterrent power, and to improve its ability to confront the growing Iranian role in the region.



The study indicated that Saudi Arabia could be a testing field of the air defense systems efficiency.









/129Medical interns have called off their strike indefinitely after government paid off their allowances.

The medical interns laid down their tools last month citing failure by government to pay their allowances for two months amounting to about Shs 2 billion. At the time of the strike about, 800 interns in 29 regional hospitals had not been been paid their allowances for March and April.

Members of the committee addressing the press

The national interns' medical executive committee called off the strike this morning at a press conference at Galloway House. Dr Robert Lubega, the president medical interns said the interns are resuming their work.



"After our recent engagements with interns in 35 hospitals, we found out that majority of the interns, about 85 per cent had received money on their individual accounts and it was then that the national interns executive committee made the following resolutions. That, interns will resume duty effective today May 21, 2018." said Lubega.



He however, noted that the committee would fully support all interns that decide to continue with the strike because of non payment of their allowances.

"As the NIC we shall support all sites that continue with industrial action for reasons of of non payment of allowances among others.As NIC were saying that those hospitals that have not been fully paid if they continue with the industrial action, we're going to fully support them because they can't continue working on empty stomachs." he added.

According to the committee, interns from 12 teaching facilities have not yet been paid. These include among others Jinja regional referral hospital, Mbale regional referral hospital, Soroti regional referral hospital, Lira regional referral hospital, Gulu regional referral hospital , Naguru hospital , Entebbe hospital, Masaka regional referral hospital, Kitovu hospital, Mbarara regional referral hospital, Kampala International University Teaching hospital and Mulago national referral Hospital.



The intern doctors are also calling for more funding for the National Medical Stores. They want government to fulfil its commitment to the Abuja declaration and spend at least 15 per cent of the national budget on health.



According to Lubega, if government fulfils its commitment, it would be able to increase the budget of National Medical Stores.

"During our visit we discovered that the many health facilities suffer from a lack of drugs. People are suffering due to a lack of drugs and government should sort this out by increasing funding for NMS from Shs 225 million to Shs 500 million," he said.

Last year, David Bahati, the state minister of Finance for Planning during the medical workers strike promised to provide a supplementary budget of Shs 2.4 billion to cater for the deficit that would come with maintaining medical interns at a gross pay of Shs 940,000 per medical intern.Betsy McCaughey

Since 20 million Americans opted not to take either Obamacare or private plans, the cost of the private plans in 2018 will be nearly triple the rates of 2013.

The analysis was made by Betsy McCaughey. She was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1995 to 1998 under George Pataki. She unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor after Pataki dropped her from his 1998 ticket. She later joined the Donald Trump presidential campaign as an economic adviser.

A historian with a Ph.D. from Columbia University, McCaughey has provided conservative media commentary on policy affecting healthcare issues.

She says the 20 million decided they cant afford Obamacare even though they risk fines for doing that unless they get an exemption.

The problem with Obamacare, she says, is that while five percent of the population consumes almost 50% of healthcare costs, everyone pays the same premiums. Healthy people are being forced to pay the bills of the chronically ill, she writes.

Some PR firms bolster staff with part-timers to avoid health insurance costs which can range from about $700 monthly for single persons to $1,000 and more monthly for married persons depending on the number of children.

McCaughey Supports Trump Plan

President Trumps plan would allow consumers to pay according to their own needs and to buy 12-month plans without extras such as maternity and pediatric dental coverage.

Senator Charles Schumer, D-New York, said Trump would sabotage the Affordable Care Act and drive up costs for millions of Americans. McCaughey calls this the Democrats Healthcare Lie. Another lie he tells us that private insurance plan hikes are a new problem, she charges.

Schumer seems exultant over the rate hikes, missing no opportunity to repeat the lie, she says.

Members of Congress are not suffering, she notes, because they get government insurance for life. They should be trying to solve the problem for everyone else instead of lying about it.

Single Payer Plan Pushed

Single-payer national health insurance, called Medicare for all by Physicians for a National Health Program, would allow a single public agency to organize healthcare financing, but keep delivery largely in private hands. All residents of the U.S. would be covered for services, including doctor, hospital, preventive, long-term care, mental health, reproductive health care, dental, vision, prescription drug and medical supply costs.

Most industrial nations have such plans.

The program would be funded by the savings obtained from replacing todays inefficient, profit-oriented, multiple insurance payers with a single nonprofit, public payer, and by modest new taxes based on ability to pay, says PNHP.

The Medicare for All Act, H.R. 676, would establish a single-payer health insurance system.

What about Obamacare?

The Affordable Care Act, says PNPH, aims to expand coverage to about 30 million Americans by requiring people to buy private insurance policies (partially subsidizing those policies by government payments to private insurers) and by expanding Medicaid. However, it notes:

 About 30 million people will still be uninsured in 2023, and tens of millions will remain underinsured.

 Insurers will continue to strip down policies, maintain restrictive networks, limit and deny care, and increase patients co-pays, deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs.

 The law preserves a fragmented financing system, making it impossible to control costs.

 The law continues the unfair financing of health care, whereby costs are disproportionately borne by middle- and lower-income Americans and those families facing acute or chronic illness.

Potter Pushes Single Pay

Wendell Potter, former communications head of CIGNA, left the company in 2008 to become a consumer advocate, authoring Deadly Spin: An Insurance Company Insider Speaks out on How Corporate PR Is Killing Health Care and Deceiving Americans.

His most recent book is Nation on the Take: How Big Money Corrupts Our Democracy.

"Most people don't realize how what they eat, what's available to them, is so influenced by special interests who have huge amounts of money to spend," Potter says. "People are very busy. They don't necessarily have the time to do the research and try to find credible sources of information."Leonardo DRS, the US arm of Italys top defense, aerospace and security contractor, has hired Trump-connected Ballard Partners for military procurement matters.

Brian Ballard, a Republican fundraiser who chaired the Trump Victory organization in Florida, heads the lobbying team that includes Daniel McFaul, who was campaign manager for ex-Florida Republican Congressman and now Morning Joe Trump critic Joe Scarborough.

Earlier this month, Leonardo DRS replaced Northrop Grumman as incumbent on a $65M contract from the US Navy and Japan for radars designed to detect low-flying cruise missiles. If all contract options are exercised, the pact's value could increase to $265M.

Leonardo DRS is pitching the Air Force to build its next-generation trainer aircraft. The planes would be manufactured at Alabamas Moton Field, which is where the Tuskegee Airmen trained before being deployed to Italy during WWII. The T-100 engines would be built in Arizona and its flight simulators made in Florida.

The Leonardo Company, which changed its name from Finmeccanica in 2016, builds training aircraft for air forces in Italy, Singapore, Poland and Israel.Starbucks, which ranks among the countrys most socially responsible companies, is taking heat from social media critics who blasted it for apparently opening its doors, restrooms and patios to anybody who wants to hang out or use its restrooms.

On May 19, Starbucks released its use of the third-place policy in which it expressed its commitment to creating a culture of warmth and belonging where everyone is welcome.

The chain reinforced its somewhat starry-eyed mission to inspire and nurture the human spiritone person, one cup and one neighborhood. To paraphase the great James Carville, "It's the coffee, stupid."

The Starbucks policy redefined the word customer to include anyone who wants to use its spaces whether he buys a Cup of Joe or not. Thats downright crazy.

The chains critics fear that hordes of homeless people will turn Starbucks cafes into shelters, while drug users will flock to its bathrooms. That's a tad much. Its doubtful that the homeless or drug users are close followers of Starbucks corporate pronouncements.

The company today clarified its policy, telling the Wall Street Journal that employees will not tolerate disruptive behavior, which includes sleeping, improper use of bathrooms, smoking and drug/alcohol use. What a relief!

Im a fan of Starbucks and its corporate philosophy.

The Seattle-based company though lost a stride or two since last months embarrassment in Philadelphia when a manager called the police about two black men who used its bathroom without buying anything.

Starbucks executive chairman Howard Schultz told a think tank earlier this month that the company didnt want to be a public restroom.

But in places like New York City, which is notorious for its lack of public restrooms, Starbucks is the go-to place for people who have to go.

Starbucks new policy statement was an overreach, codifying open bathroom access to also include tables, chairs and patios. But like it or not, Starbucks is a business owned by shareholders who want the best financial returns for their investment. Stockholders tend to be biased toward paying customers.

Following the Philadelphia fiasco, Starbucks announced a plan to close its doors for the afternoon of May 29 for a round of anti-bias education.

Leaders of those sessions now have more to talk about.President Donald Trump's tough-guy persona is taking a beating from China, judging from the reaction of some of his allies on Capitol Hill and in the trenches of the trade wars.

The former business executive, who prides himself on his negotiating savvy, is facing criticism for bending to the Chinese government on two key trade disputes in the space of a week, alarming longtime supporters who had welcomed his call for a more confrontational approach to Beijing.

On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the administration put its trade war with China "on hold" after two days of talks in Washington that he said had produced an agreement on increased Chinese purchases of American products and measures to make it easier for U.S. companies to operate in China.

Even though the agreement lacked the specific $200 billion reduction in the U.S. trade deficit with China that was Trump's signature demand on trade, the president halted tariffs he had threatened to impose on $150 billion in Chinese products.

In an earlier sign of softening,Trump directed administration officials to consider easing harsh penalties on a prominent Chinese telecom company that had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

"It's a huge disappointment given the expectations," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, a partnership between steelworkers and their employers. "It plays right into Beijing's hands . . . and is more of the same old failed policies we saw under the Bush and Obama administrations."

Administration officials on Sunday scrambled to cast the Chinese talks as a victory, while some staunch Trump supporters questioned whether Trump had blinked in the first major confrontation with China.

"Not good enough. Time to take the gloves off," Dan DiMicco, former chief executive of steelmaker Nucor, tweeted Saturday.

Meanwhile, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., warned in a tweet Sunday that by continuing to talk while putting the tariffs on hold "#China has outnegotiated the U.S. again."

Settling for Chinese promises of increased purchases of American goods and improvements in intellectual property laws marked a shift for the administration, which disparaged earlier U.S. diplomatic dialogues with China as fruitless.

The president personally demonstrated an appetite for harsher measures, saying at one point that trade wars were "good and easy to win."

The administration's rocky handling of relations with China reflects a complex intermingling between economic and national security. Trump on Friday proclaimed that the United States "has entered a new era in trade policy that is based on the recognition that our economic security is critical to our national security."

In March, he cited national security to justify imposing tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, a move designed to boost domestic employment. But now, national security concerns are causing him to give ground on other economic objectives.

Dennis Wilder, a former China analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency, said the president's softer line was linked to his desire for a successful June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a Chinese ally.

The recent visit to Beijing of a North Korean delegation of municipal and provincial officials - the first such visit in eight years - suggested that Beijing might have been preparing to relax its sanctions on Pyongyang, perhaps in retaliation for Trump's tariff threats, Wilder said.

"The administration has been a little rattled by how quickly the China-North Korea rapprochement occurred," he said. "He probably believes that China is using the North Korea card in the trade negotiations."

Trump threatened in April to impose tariffs on up to $150 billion in Chinese imports unless China made widespread changes in industrial policies that he said required U.S. companies to surrender technology secrets to do business in China.

Mnuchin said the two sides have agreed on a "framework" to avoid the sanctions that requires China to lower tariffs on unspecified American goods, protect U.S. technology and buy more made-in-the-U.S.A. items.

"Right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework," Mnuchin said on "Fox News Sunday."

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will be dispatched to Beijing "immediately" to work out the details of accelerated Chinese purchases, said Mnuchin, who led the U.S. delegation in the talks with a Chinese team headed by Vice Premier Liu He.

The treasury secretary would not comment on reports that China had balked at a U.S. request for $200 billion in increased annual purchases, a figure that many economists regard as impossible to execute. Instead, he said the two sides had agreed on specific targets for individual sectors, such as agriculture and energy.

"We expect to see a very big increase, 35 to 45 percent increases in agriculture this year alone," Mnuchin said. "In energy, doubling the energy purchases. I think you could see $50 [billion] to $60 billion a year of energy purchases over the next three to five years."

Other administration officials have suggested that China might buy enormous quantities of liquefied natural gas, though there are questions about the volumes that the limited U.S. export infrastructure could handle.

Mnuchin's remarks came one day after the United States and China released a joint statement that appeared to take a step back from a potential trade war. Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said Friday that China had agreed to buy "at least $200 billion" more from the United States each year.

On Sunday, Kudlow appeared to back away from that claim, saying on ABC News' "This Week" that "there's no agreement for a deal. We never anticipated one. There's a communique between the two great countries. That's all."

Mnuchin said the president "can always decide to put the tariffs back on if China doesn't go through with their commitments."

Amid concerns that Trump was also preparing to soften the punishment for a major Chinese telecom company that had illegally traded with Iran and North Korea, Mnuchin said the administration "didn't agree to any quid pro quo."

Chinese President Xi Jinping asked his American counterpart to "look into" a Commerce Department enforcement action against ZTE that threatened to put the company out of business. After ZTE violated the terms of a 2017 settlement of criminal and civil charges, the department slapped a seven-year ban on U.S. suppliers doing business with the company.

Last week, after Trump directed the Commerce Department in a tweet to help the company return to normal operations, lawmakers from both parties objected. The Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee amended a must-pass annual spending bill to bar the department from lifting the penalties.

"I can assure you that the president wants us to be very tough on ZTE, and all he did was ask the secretary to look into this," Mnuchin said.

Kudlow on Friday said that ZTE would have to overhaul its top management ranks before the United States would ease the enforcement action.

Mnuchin also suggested that Trump was prepared to wait until 2019 to wrap up negotiations aimed at a new North American trade deal. He confirmed that the United States, Mexico and Canada remain "far apart" after nine months of talks, having missed a deadline set by House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., last week to reach a deal on which lawmakers could vote this year.

"The president is more determined to have a good deal than he is worried about any deadline," the treasury secretary said.Portland General Electric crews continue work on overhead transmission lines this week, this time at Northeast Halsey Street at Fairview Parkway. Work hours are 9 a.m.-3 p.m. daily Monday through Friday, May 21-25.

Expect delays as long as 15 minutes as flaggers direct traffic through the intersection during the work. Consider alternate routes including Northeast Glisan Street or Northeast 223rd Avenue.

***

NEWPORT 8:20 a.m.; Travelers to the Oregon coast can expect delays 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday, on U.S. 101 just north of Newport from milepost 135-137. ODOT crews are making road repairs. One lane will be closed with flaggers controlling two way traffic.





***

NORTH PORTLAND 8:04 a.m.; Police are heading to a crash on North Interstate Avenue and Going Street.



***

Gresham-area MAX riders will find temporary changes the East 162nd Ave Station in Gresham. Construction on new platforms begins Monday and temporary wooden platforms are in place and being used to keep the station open during the work. The project is expected to take about six months. Follow directional signs and be aware of stop locations.

ODOT will hold an open house 5-7 p.m. Monday, May 21 on plans to reduce congestion and improve safety along the Historic Columbia River Highway. Staff will be on hand to discuss the issue and answer questions 5-7 p.m. Monday, Cascade Locks Marine Park, 395 S.W. Portage Road, Cascade Locks. Details: ODOT open house

Check back throughout the morning for the latest commuting updates and follow us on Twitter: @trafficportlandThe Oregon Education Association, in a statement on the first day of a special legislative session, urged lawmakers "not to politicize" how school districts handle sexual abuse.

The message comes against a backdrop of new revelations about how Oregon's largest school district botched an egregious case of educator abuse and politicians' calls to rewrite teacher contracts to better track reports of educator misconduct.

In its statement Monday, the statewide teachers association called for "immediate review" of the way districts respond to complaints of misconduct. But the union said it wants the fixes left to school districts and their teachers.

"School districts and unions should examine any policies that could be hindering investigations of sexual misconduct in a thoughtful, localized manner," Oregon Education Association President John Larson told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email. "This is too important of an issue to deal with in one fell swoop  one policy change won't fix the problem."

Earlier this month, Portland Public Schools released a searing outside investigation that that attempted to explain how the district allowed educator Mitch Whitehurst to go unchecked, despite repeated allegations of sexual misconduct, over the course of his 32-year career.

The report was done in response to an Oregonian/OregonLive story last fall titled, "Benefit of the Doubt: How Portland Public Schools helped an educator evade allegations of sexual misconduct."

Investigators made several suggestions to improve how Portland Public Schools handles sexual abuse, including changes to the teacher contract and a change to state law to lower the bar for when districts must pass on concerns about an educator.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Knute Buehler seized on the report and called for Gov. Kate Brown to tackle these issues during this week's special session.

Buehler did not call for a single policy change, but several. He urged Brown to put a time requirement on the state's investigations into bad teachers so that licensing investigations no longer drag out, to create a law that would prohibit teacher contracts from requiring files be purged every time a teacher or their boss moves to a new school, and to lower the bar for when a district is required to notify another district of problem teachers.

The teachers union statement sent out Monday defended policies that require complaints be purged from teacher files.

"We want to work with school districts to consider updating policies that may have unintended consequences," the statement said. "Policies to remove portions of records exist because as in any profession, employees may be the subject of unfair accusations made by a supervisor, colleague or community member. They also impact incidents filed for minor infractions like tardiness, which should not follow an employee for life."

The statement said proven allegations of sexual misconduct should not be purged. But the investigators hired by Portland Public Schools determined a safer practice is to retain a record of complaints that could neither be proven or disproven as well as those that are substantiated in order to avoid missing a pattern of behavior.

Asked by email what to do about records of allegations that fell into that category, Larson said, "Records of concerns about sexual misconduct (or other issues) should be fully investigated by school districts as quickly as possible and not be left to linger by administrators like what happened in Portland Public School District."

Investigators noted poor record-keeping and reluctance from administrators to document problems and use the discipline process in place, possibly because of a desire to not deal with the union, allowed Whitehurst to repeatedly convince people he'd had a one-time lapse.

"We are calling for school districts to immediately review how they handle any complaints about sexual abuse, as well as their own practices and procedures. Red flags must be investigated immediately, and the union fully backs having a robust review of all incidents," Larson's Monday statement said. "Clearly these incidents warrant a deeper look into the cultures and policies that allow violence against students to occur and there are clear actions that can be taken."

The statement called for school districts to take four initial steps:

 Review how complaints are handled.

 Ensure adequate training is in place to help administrators look for signs of sexual misconduct and to document it.

 Ensure districts have clear procedures to deal with allegations of sexual abuse.

Ensure districts follow their own procedures, including completing investigations related to harm of students as quickly as possible.

 Bethany Barnes

Got a tip about Portland Public Schools?

Email Bethany: bbarnes@oregonian.comGresham police have identified a man shot and killed by officers -- more than three days after the deadly altercation.

Two patrolmen opened fire on Dmitri Bullard, 24, around 12 a.m. Friday after authorities say he crashed a car and threatened them with a hatchet, said Officer Ben Costigan, a Gresham police spokesman.

Police did not disclose the suspect's identify, the type of weapon he allegedly possessed or the names of the officers who shot him until 10:20 a.m. Monday, nearly 83 hours after the incident occurred.

The Gresham Police Department has no written policy guidelines or directives when it comes to releasing information on incidents that involve the use of deadly force by its personnel, Costigan said.

By contrast, Portland police policy directs its bureau to publicly release the name of a person wounded or killed by police "as soon as possible" and to provide the identities of any officer involved within 24 hours.

"While there may be valid reasons for a delay, police need to be up front about why they are not releasing the identity of a person killed by the police and how long they will delay release of the name," said Mat dos Santos, legal director for the ACLU of Oregon. "The need for transparency from our government is at its highest when it involves use of force by the police."

Costigan told The Oregonian/OregonLive that investigators were unable to confirm Bullard's identify until Saturday night -- more than 36 hours after the incident -- and that his next of kin lived in Utah.

Multnomah County court records show Bullard was previously accused of shoplifting from a Portland-area Home Depot in 2016.

Gresham police identified the officers in the shooting as Joshua Price and Brendon Hayes. Both are on routine paid administrative leave until an investigation is complete and a Multnomah County grand jury reviews this case, Costigan said.

Price has served one year with the Gresham Police Department and was previously an officer in Lake Oswego. Hayes is a 2-year veteran of the force, Costigan said.

In an separate incident late last month, Price fired his weapon at a suspect who police said rammed into his patrol car and fled during a stolen vehicle investigation, court records show. According to Costigan, the suspect, Vasile Manta, later tried to fire a shotgun at the officer but the weapon jammed.

Price was placed on paid administrative leave but had returned to duty May 16, Costigan said.

Friday's fatal incident occurred after police responded to the report of a suspected car prowler in southeast Gresham. The officers located the suspect, Costigan said, but he fled in a dark colored SUV.

Police didn't give chase, but they found the SUV moments later crashed on Southwest Pleasant View Drive north of Highland Drive, according to Costigan.

As Price and Hayes approached, Bullard allegedly exited the wrecked car and charged at them with a hatchet, Costigan said. The officers shot Bullard from about 20 feet away, the spokesman said.

Costigan said he did not know the number of shots fired by the two patrolmen.

Bullard died at the scene.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 II @shanedkavanaughIn the May 13 letter, "Nobel Peace Prize -- Obama vs. Trump," Dennis G. Ortega asks what former President Barack Obama did to deserve the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. According to Wikipedia, "The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to United States President Barack Obama for his 'extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.' " Ortega claims President Donald Trump is more deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize than Obama.

Personally, I rather doubt the high-minded Norwegian committee will award the Nobel Prize for Peace to Trump, who has spent much of his life perpetuating financial, physical and mental violence against others. Further, Alfred Nobel charged the committee to award the Prize to the person who in the preceding year, "shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Trump does not qualify as a man of peace.

-- Karmen L. Schmidt, Oregon CityUpdated at 6:17 p.m.

SALEM  Lawmakers in the Oregon House and Senate passed Gov. Kate Brown's small-business tax cut Monday afternoon, allowing the Legislature to wrap up the special session in a single day.

The votes were bipartisan in both chambers, with some Republicans voting for the Democratic governor's plan and some members of Brown's own party voting against it.

For Brown, the session was a win that the former legislative leader ensured by personally calling individual lawmakers in recent weeks to request their votes. She brushed aside reporters' questions Monday evening about why she didn't push for ambitious tax reforms or proposals to tackle housing affordability.

"You have to have cooperation from both sides of the aisle, and urban and rural," Brown said. "No one brought me a housing policy that would meet that criteria ... We went with my very simple, straightforward proposal that would ensure tax fairness for our small businesses."

Brown's practical approach won the support she needed from many Republicans, who had warned they would slow down the session if the governor allowed lawmakers to stray outside the narrow tax change.

In the Senate, three Republicans joined most of the chamber's Democrats to pass Brown's plan on an 18-12 vote. When it became clear the governor's plan had more than enough votes to pass, Democrat Sen. Sara Gelser of Corvallis switched her "yes" vote to a "no."

"I think it was important to get through the day," Gelser said, explaining that she wants to repeal the existing tax break that Brown's bill will expand. "The governor made an important statement about equity."

The margin was much wider in the House, which passed Brown's plan, 51-8, with Democratic Rep. Barbara Smith Warner excused.

Last month, Brown called for the special session to expand a controversial business tax break that lawmakers passed during the 2013 special session. The governor cast it as a fairness issue and pushed for lawmakers to allow sole proprietors access to the lower income tax rates already available to certain other businesses. At the same time, Brown announced her support for a law to prevent businesses from receiving a much larger break on their Oregon taxes.

Most of the testimony on the House floor came from Republicans who assailed Brown for signing into law Senate Bill 1528, which prevented that larger state tax break from taking effect. Businesses were set to receive that tax benefit automatically because Oregon is among a handful of states that largely copy federal tax code, including a new federal deduction for businesses in the Republican tax overhaul passed by Congress in December. Democrats argued earlier this year that many of those businesses already receive a break on their Oregon taxes under state law and did not need a new state tax deduction.

Under Oregon's 2013 tax break, people with pass-through businesses pay a 7 percent tax on income under $250,000, a rate otherwise reserved for joint filers with income up to $17,400. The Legislature created that tax break during the last special session, which focused on trimming public pension costs and raising taxes. The benefit is available to people with as much as $5 million in taxable income from partnerships and other pass-through businesses; multiple owners of a single qualified business can each pay the lower rates up to that $5 million cap.

Rep. Phil Barnhart, a Eugene Democrat who carried Brown's bill, was tepid in asking other lawmakers for their support. "What this bill does very simply ... is it deals with what appears to be an omission in the 2013 law," he said. Barnhart, who supported an unsuccessful House Democratic plan last year to trim the tax break, is not seeking re-election this year.

It had been unclear whether Brown would be able to get her tax proposal through the Legislature in one day as she hoped. Top Democrats told lawmakers to plan for a weeklong session, and Senate President Peter Courtney said he did not know whether there were enough votes to pass Brown's bill.

Courtney and other lawmakers also questioned whether the small-business tax cut rose to the level of emergency necessitating a special session. But Brown pointed out that the Legislature held a similar session in the past to vote on tax policy to benefit multinational corporations, and she scheduled the session during interim committee meetings when lawmakers are already in Salem.

On Monday morning, lawmakers on a joint committee quickly and succinctly discussed Brown's proposal, then approved it without any amendments.

Rep. Greg Smith, a Heppner Republican, questioned why Brown crafted a proposal that will mostly benefit higher income earners. Legislative economists forecast that more than 75 percent of the $11 million annual tax cut would go to sole proprietors who earn at least $200,000 a year. Approximately 12,000 tax filers might be eligible, although economists predict roughly half will take advantage of the benefit.

"What if we reverse this and give those who are trying to get off the ground in the first year or two the greatest opportunity?" Smith said.

No one answered the question, and Smith voted to pass Brown's plan, House Bill 4301, out of committee. Republicans in both chambers ultimately waived procedural rules, an action that was necessary for Brown to get her plan through the Legislature in one day.

Meanwhile, the division among Democrats in the Legislature was clear from the morning committee hearing when Sen. Mark Hass, a Beaverton Democrat, changed his vote to "yes" as a courtesy to move the bill out of committee. Hass later voted "no" on the bill during the Senate floor vote.

After taking pains to compliment Brown on her fairness and likability, Hass said "the jury's still out" regarding the effectiveness of the 2013 tax break in achieving the economic benefits touted by supporters. Since no one has studied the economic impact, Hass said, it's unclear what the state is getting in return for the $240 million per biennium tax cut.

"I suspect, like many things around here, it's a mixed bag," Hass said.

-- Hillary Borrud

503-294-4034; @hborrudIn the late spring of 1918, when the United States was immersed in World War I, Portland's annual Rose Festival was canceled.

But a small group of kids refused to take the cancellation of the parade they had been enjoying since 1907 lying down, according to Rose Festival COO and spokesperson, Marilyn Clint.

"It was a little parade with six kids in Northeast Portland," Clint said in a phone interview earlier this month. "I love that story because I love the fact that the kids would not be discouraged."

The children's parade involved one wagon, two bikes and a tricycle. They even elected their own Junior Rose Queen, Barbara Cable.

This year on June 6, the Rose Festival Junior Parade will celebrate its 100th birthday in honor of those scrappy kids of 1918.

The Junior Parade doesn't appear in the documentation of the Rose Festival until 1933, but Cable is listed officially as the first Junior Rose Queen, Clint said.

The Junior Rose Court was a huge part of the Junior Rose Parade in the early days. Clint remembers being a child in Portland Public Schools in the 1960s. She said all children, boys and girls, were measured to see if they were the right height to be a princess or an escort in the court.

"They would come to your classroom when you were the right age," Clint said, around 9 or 10.

"They had this ruler thing," she said. "If you fell within the right range they would ask you more questions."

Clint said that the only year she was the right height, she was missing her two front teeth. She didn't make it past the question-and-answer portion, she thinks probably because of her difficulty with the "s" sound when she answered that her favorite book was "Dr. Seuss."

In those days, Clint said, the parade started later in the afternoons and Portland schools let children out early to participate in the event. The parade was just one part of what was called the Junior Rose Festival, which encompassed all the child-focused events. That included the junior court, the Lil Britches rodeo at Alpenrose Dairy, and starting around the late '70s and early '80s, the Milk Carton Boat Races.

Dan Larson, 53, and his siblings participated in the Junior Parade in the '70s as part of the Kelly Kadet Korps, a drum and bugle corps with baton twirlers.

Larson remembers when his family built a float for the parade in 1971. The finished product was 10 to 15 feet long and covered in flowers, he recalled in a phone interview.

"It wasn't like a modern float that was powered," he said. "They had to recruit all the neighborhood boys to pull it."

That year, Larson was too little to play in the corps. "I just carried the banner," he said.

His sister was the float's princess.

By that time, students were no longer getting out of school early for the parade, but the Larson kids got to leave so they could march.

"We really enjoyed it and looked forward to it," Larson said.

The Larsons weren't the only Portland kids who looked forward to the parade every year. For many years, children would gather at Grant Park after the parade for one big afterparty. Clint said there would be different activities, put on by event sponsors.

"You'd make the biggest ice cream sundae," she said as one example.

In the 1980s, the Grant Park party was permanently shut down because of gang activity, Clint said. And in 1995, Rose Festival officials voted to discontinue the junior court after deciding the process was harmful to such young girls.

But other traditions continue. The Milk Carton Boat Races will happen this year and the Junior Parade itself is as popular as ever, even if all Portland kids aren't released early from school to participate.

Clint estimated 45,000 spectators turned out for the 2017 Junior Parade to see 4,000 to 5,000 participants, including marching bands, karate schools, dance troupes and unicycle clubs.

The 2018 Junior Parade will feature 28 bands and a round-up of local youth activity groups marching through the Hollywood District starting at 1 p.m.

Clint sees a long future for the Junior Parade, and maybe a turn back toward one of the things that made older Junior Parades so charming: floats, like the one the Larsons made, crafted by the kids themselves.

Other than that, Clint said, "I don't know how you can improve it," adding, "It's a great day to be a kid."

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyackerWASHINGTON -- School kids know all about lockdown drills. They hear a lot about gun scares in or near schools, picking up snippets of news from conversations and TV at home, from social media and from talking with their friends.

This may suggest a bit of a disconnect, since school shootings occur nowhere near the rate of other gun violence, as gun-rights and gun-control activists both acknowledge.

A young demonstrator participates in the March for Our Lives Los Angeles rally on March 24, 2018 in Los Angeles. (Sarah Morris, Getty Images)

And for some Americans, school is one of the most secure places they know.

"I grew up in an urban area and every school had metal detectors, security, and police officers," said Ade Kelly, of East Orange, New Jersey. "For many of us, school was one of the safest places we could be."

Yet the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman killed 20 students and six adults, and the recent killing of 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, shook up families in a number of other settings.

After Parkland, a majority of teens said they worried about a possible shooting at their schools, according to the Pew Research Center. Parents shared the concern.

The Parkland shootings sparked rallies and marches across the country. Americans pleaded for better school safety, some asking for more guards or even armed teachers; others calling for limits on firearms purchases. There was talk of finding ways to better identify and counsel troubled people before they turn dangerously violent.

And the shootings prompted a fresh round of discussions at home between parents and children.

Participants in "Guns, an American Conversation," have talked about those home discussions over the last month.

"Guns, an American Conversation" is an initiative by Advance Local newsrooms from across the country in partnership with Spaceship Media. The project has brought together 150 engaged readers with a broad spectrum of opinions to talk about guns in an honest and civil way through a closed Facebook group.

Today's topic: Talking to children about gun violence

Counselors and psychologists have an abundance of advice for parents who want to discuss gun violence with their children.

A top discussion point recommended by the National Association of School Psychologists: "Schools are safe places. School staff works with parents and public safety providers (local police and fire departments, emergency responders, hospitals, etc.) to keep you safe."

Joseph Jensen, 10, of Spanish Fork, Utah, carries a "Protect our kids with the 2nd Amendment" sign while attending a pro-gun rally on the steps of the State Capitol in Salt Lake City last month. (AP Photo)

"You want your kids to feel safe," said Daniel J. Flannery, director of the Begun Center for Violence Prevention, Research and Education at Case Western Reserve University and a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at University Hospitals of Cleveland.

While stressing that a school is safe, parents shouldn't dismiss a child's concerns, Flannery said in a telephone interview. And it's important for children to know that if they see something that concerns them, they should tell a teacher or other adult, he and others said.

"And you say 'Look, sometimes bad things do happen,'" Flannery said. "'But when you go to school, you are going to be safe, and we will do everything to keep you safe.'"

The tenor of parent-child talks depends somewhat on the child's age, authorities say:

Early elementary school children need brief, simple information with reassurances that their school and homes are safe, and that adults are there to protect them, the school psychologists' association says.

"Give simple examples of school safety like reminding children about exterior doors being locked, child-monitoring efforts on the playground and emergency drills practiced during the school day."

Upper elementary and early middle school children are likely to ask more questions about whether they truly are safe.

"They may need assistance separating reality from fantasy. Discuss efforts of school and community leaders to provide safe schools," the association says.

Upper middle school and high school students "will have strong and varying opinions about the causes of violence," the association says.

It recommends that parents emphasize the role that students themselves have in maintaining safe schools, which includes communicating any personal safety concerns to school administrators.

Inside the conversation

So how have participants in "Guns, an American Conversation," handled at-home discussions with their children? The group's moderation team asked parents in the group to share their experiences. Some of their answers differed but there was common advice:

Be mindful of the statistical reality

"I explain that schools are still the safest institution in America, and that their school is doing everything it can to keep them safe," J. Scott Lewis, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said he has told his 12-year-old son and his 8-year-old daughter.

"I explain that schools are still the safest institution in America, and that their school is doing everything it can to keep them safe. At the same time, I am realistic that bad people will always exist to do bad things, and so we should be aware of our surroundings and know how to react."

"I spoke with my children about the Parkland shooting," said Kimberly Gobla Krupka, of Bath, Pennsylvania, the mother of a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old. She said she "stressed they are very safe. We discussed there are 50.1 million children in the U.S. who attend school daily. The risk of being shot is less than .0001%.

"While any single death is one too many, they should not be fearful of attending school. The risks associated with drugs, distracted driving and domestic (girlfriend/boyfriend) violence is much greater."

Be aware of your environment and be willing to say something

"I tell my 15-year-old son to report to his teachers anything he overhears kids saying about guns and to be aware of his surroundings," Jennifer Brush, of Solon Ohio, said. "Though I have not yet started asking if there are guns in the homes of his friends, I am thinking of starting."

Gobla Krupa agreed. She said she "stressed 'see something, say something'" -- but she also said she looked "rationally at the statistical risk" and emphasized "living life to the fullest."

Be true to your ideals, Part 1

Do you own guns? Then teach your children gun safety and respect for their power, said gun-owning parents.

"Our kids know we're in the firearms industry and have seen us turn down sales to people we just don't feel right selling to," said Deborah Keen Butler, of River Ridge, Louisiana, who has two sons, ages 18 and 10. The younger one "said he felt sad that kids were hurt and killed. He wanted to know why someone wanted to hurt so many people.

"We explained that sometimes a person is so broken that they just want everyone to hurt as much as they do. He thought about it for awhile and then asked why they couldn't just use words. I told him that I wish they would just use words, too."

Keen Butler made a point stressed repeatedly by gun owners in "Guns, an American Conversation": They want safety as much as anyone.

For example, her sons "know we have helped ATF arrest many people for straw purchases. They know that we do our best to teach people to be safe with firearms, we try to get everyone to take a class and if not we try to spend time with them at the time of their purchase to teach them as much safety as possible.

"We are open with other parents that there are firearms in our home, but that they are stored very safely and never where a child can get to them. We have taught our children that if they are in a friend's home and see a firearm they are to go outside and yell that there's a gun, because to take it away is an adult problem and if their friend picks it up they are at the wrong end."

Be true to your ideals, Part 2

But what if you want nothing to do with guns? This was emphasized by other parents: Talk about guns in the context of your lives.

Reba Holley, for example, of Pennington, New Jersey, said she works to curb gun violence, and she talked with her children "about policy and politics and guns on campus." They are now young adults but "none of them were surprised when I wouldn't allow them to apply to colleges where guns were allowed on campus."

"My children are grown," said Denise Trasatti Sellers, of Stratford, New Jersey. "I had many conversations with them as children, at all stages, and though I don't recall any specifics, they centered on my pacifist beliefs. I never allowed them to play with guns, or video games, and sent my son to a Quaker school ( a 'peace school,'not a 'war school,' as he called it) partly because of that."

Know your schools and have a voice there

"I am also keeping up with the board of education to ensure there is no discussion of arming teachers or teaching gun safety in the schools," Brush said.

Teach some manners

"I also teach him to be polite and respectful to everyone," Brush said. "I teach him to hold doors for people, greet them, look them in the eye and thank them for any kind or courteous gesture.

"He just got his learner's driver's permit and I am stressing road manners, never to be in a rush and to yield if he perceives a driver as being aggressive. I teach him always to be cooperative and polite in any encounter with the police, and always to have his documents in order. I teach him to be kind and helpful if he sees others in need."

Find positive influences

"Most people are good people and want to help," Lewis said he tells his children. "Look for heroes and associate with them. Find positive influences, and avoid positions that increase the likelihood of victimization."

Show some love

"I conclude," Lewis said, "by telling them that no matter what, they are loved and cherished."

What do you think?

What are your feelings on the best ways to talk to kids about gun violence? Share your thoughts in the comments.Microsoft has secured a potentially lucrative agreement that makes the full suite of the tech giant's cloud-computing platform available to 17 U.S. intelligence agencies, executives said recently, moving agencies' computer systems onto Office 365 applications and adding certain cloud-based applications not previously available to them.

The agreement could strengthen Microsoft's prospects for winning government business at a time when it is locked in competition with some of the world's biggest tech companies for a Pentagon cloud-computing contract that is expected to be worth billions.

For years, Amazon Web Services, a subsidiary of Amazon.com that provides cloud computing for businesses and government agencies, has been the primary provider of cloud services to U.S. intelligence agencies, thanks to a $600 million contract with the CIA. (Amazon founder Jeffrey Bezos also owns The Washington Post.)

That remains the case after the recent agreement. Still, executives from Microsoft framed the contract agreement as an "awakening."

"This is a huge win from a Microsoft perspective," said Dana Barnes, vice president of the company's joint and defense agencies business unit. "It's kind of an awakening as far as the intelligence community is concerned that you can't be a one-cloud community."

The update came as part of a routine contract renewal between the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and computer provider Dell, which subcontracts government work to Microsoft. Microsoft has for years provided basic computer programs to the intelligence community under contract with Dell, some of which make use of cloud-based technology. But U.S. intelligence officials have not previously had access to the full suite of Microsoft Azure Government cloud services.

A release published by the company said the cloud stores government data itself in eight geographically distributed data center regions that include no commercial data. Barnes also said the platform has been designed to support different levels of classified data, echoing a cloud storage service released by Amazon last year that is meant to serve a similar purpose.

The opportunity could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars as the 17 agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community see more choices for data storage and analysis, though the exact amount will depend on how many orders are placed by government contracting officers.

Microsoft executives said the update could also strengthen the company's bid for a coming Pentagon cloud computing award. Called the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI), the contract has sparked a competitive frenzy that has attracted West Coast tech companies and Beltway government contractors.

"From a Microsoft perspective, this shows that the intelligence community has trust in our cloud," Barnes said. "If the intelligence community can trust our cloud, then the federal government can, the Defense Department can."

The contract is expected to grow to billions of dollars, officials said in a March 7 conference call. It is also seen as a foothold for future business with the Defense Department, which received more funding than any other agency by far under the president's 2019 budget.

The opportunity has attracted the interest of large tech firms including Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, IBM and the IT services unit of General Dynamics. Amazon Web Services is seen as a front-runner for the contract given its past work with the CIA.

The Pentagon said in early March that it plans to pick a single winner for the JEDI award, which is expected to be the largest Defense Department cloud-computing effort to date.

Amazon's competitors, including Microsoft, have sharply criticized the Defense Department for its decision to turn to one company for the effort, saying the government would miss out on innovation elsewhere if it uses a single provider. Amazon has said that its "partner community," under which the government can use other companies' products alongside Amazon's, means that users have options.

And the company's rivals are worried that the firm may have an inside track to receiving the contract. Such concerns peaked in early February when the Pentagon awarded a contract with a $950 million ceiling to Herndon, Virginia-based REAN Cloud, a start-up that advertises itself as an Amazon Cloud partner. A month later the company slashed that contract to $65 million and dramatically limited the scope of work following criticism from the industry.

The Defense Department has justified its decision by arguing against unneeded complexity. Tim Van Name, the deputy director of the Defense Digital Service, said in early March that having a single cloud provider is the best approach because having several "would exponentially increase the overall complexity," introducing greater risk into military operations because officials "would have to manage the seams between the applications."

-- Aaron GreggHargrave High School student arrested after tip about gun

HUFFMAN, Texas - A student at Hargrave High School was arrested Monday after administrators were told he had a gun, officials said.

Officials at the Huffman Independent School District said in a Facebook post that they received a tip that the student had a gun in his backpack and wanted to hurt himself.

The student and backpack were immediately taken into custody, and the building has been placed on lockdown as a precaution as we continue to investigate the incident, officials said in the post.

Officials said the child did have a gun, but they would not say whether it was loaded..

This was another in a series of threats at Houston-area schools after Friday's massacre at Santa Fe High School that killed 10 people.

More information can be found at https://www.click2houston.com/ news/hargrave-high-school- student-arrested-after-tip- about-gun

KPRC is a news partner of the Tribune Newspapers.We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.Morning Briefing: This Week Is Going to Be an Insane Roller-Coaster of a Shitshow

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | May 21, 2018 |

Theres some truly terrifying shit in the works right now. I am not being hyperbolic. The President is playing a game of chicken, but hes driving an 18-wheeler and hes heading straight into a Prius carrying the entire American population, and he doesnt give a shit.

Let me just catch you up on the weekends drama: As we wrote about last week, Trump asserted  based on no evidence  that President Obama embedded a spy within his campaign. This was entirely based on some bullshit statement a Fox News personality said, based on no evidence. Rudy Giuliani doubled down on that statement before backtracking and saying, Well, we dont actually know if that is true.

Two days ago, the NYTimes tried to clarify exactly what happened: The FBI used an informant  an academic who had previously worked with other GOP administrations  in an effort to find out whether Carter Page and George Papadopoulos were colluding with the Russians. There was nothing illegal about this, or politically motivated, and the FBI only opened up an investigation against the Trump campaign after learning that Papadopoulos was told that Russia had thousands of Clintons emails.

Basically, this is the Obama wiretap all over again. Its not about whether the FBI did anything illegal; its about undermining the investigation into collusion, and of course, the conservative media is buying right into it, while Trump proclaims its the all-time biggest political scandal ever, even bigger than Watergate (though it is unclear if Trump actually understands Watergate).

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

Basically, Trump is asking that the DOJ conduct an investigation into the matter, although thats not really whats going on. Hes trying to out the informant, which is like 20 times worse than the Valerie Plame situation. The FBI director, Christopher Wray, in fact, has said that he would resign before revealing the name of an informant. Meanwhile, Trump believed maybe he could force Rod Rosenstein into resigning before opening up an investigation into the DOJ.

But Rosenstein, in an effort to diffuse the situation and mollify Trump, referred the case to the Inspector General. If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, Rosenstein said.

So, basically, Trump has forced a political investigation into whether there was a political investigation into his campaign (there was not). Matthew Miller sums this up, appropriately:

When you add it all up, today Trump demanded a counter-investigation into the legitimate, lawfully-predicated DOJ probe of his campaign, based on no evidence of wrongdoing, solely to undermine the special counsel - and he got it. The system is failing.  Matthew Miller (@matthewamiller) May 21, 2018

And if youre wondering what Kellyannes husband is retweeting, here you go:

Benjamin Wittes also weighs in: This is a nakedly corrupt attempt on the part of the president to discredit and derail an investigation of himself at the expense of a human intelligence source to whose protection the FBI and DOJ are committed.

This is all about eroding Americas faith in the intelligence community, as the FBI continues to build what looks increasingly like collusion. I mean, look at what is happening: Roger Stone, as he told Meet the Press, is bracing for an indictment:

BREAKING: Republican lobbyist just told me that Trump and his White House are bracing for indictments of Americans prob for conspiring against US & fraud. Likely to include Roger Stone, Sam Clovis, and more charges against Paul Manafort. Maybe Kushner and Don Jr. #TrumpColluded  Scott Dworkin (@funder) May 20, 2018

Michael Cohen, meanwhile, is almost certainly facing prison, while there is evidence not only that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians, but with Saudi Arabia, too, and that Trumps actions in Qatar relate to the relationship Trump developed with Saudi Arabia during the campaign.

Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son. One was an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation. Another was an emissary for two wealthy Arab princes [of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates]. The third was a Republican donor [Erik Prince] with a controversial past in the Middle East as a private security contractor. The meeting was convened primarily to offer help to the Trump team, and it forged relationships between the men and Trump insiders that would develop over the coming months  past the election and well into President Trumps first year in office, according to several people with knowledge of their encounters.

Trumps surprising decision last summer to align himself with the Saudis over Qatar, a US ally, looks a little different in light of todays NYT bombshell about SA & UAE offering help to his campaign.https://t.co/D0sr5ALtSP  Eli Stokols (@EliStokols) May 19, 2018

Meanwhile, Guiliani is telling everyone that Mueller told him that the special counsel intends to complete their investigation into Trump collusion by September 1st, although there is no reason to believe Giuliani.

A source familiar with the probe called the Sept. 1 deadline (asserted by Giuliani) entirely made-up" and "another apparent effort to pressure the special counsel to hasten the end of his work." https://t.co/uy9kkgfoGV  Jonathan Landay (@JonathanLanday) May 20, 2018

With all of this going on, the Republicans are staying completely silent, too terrified of what will happen in November to take a position. In fact, theres chaos in the House, where the GOP may be making an effort to overthrow Paul Ryan as speaker before his retirement. Theres also a shitshow going on in Israel and Iran, Trump is getting his ass kicked in the trade war with China, and Trump is now considering pulling out of the summit with North Korea in order to avoid political embarrassment.

Trump may be preparing for the wrong game: a two-player round of checkers when Kim is steeling for a multiplayer two-board chess match, writes Michael Green, a professor at Georgetown University and a leading expert on Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Meanwhile, a year and a half into his Presidency, Trump still cant stop his obsession with Obama.

The Wall Street Journal asks, WHERE IN THE WORLD WAS BARACK OBAMA? A very good question!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2018

Its going to be a roller-coaster of a week, and Trump may believe that the Friday before Memorial Day will be the best time to make a big move.

 And Then There Was The One 'Deadpool 2' Cameo You Really DID Miss | 'Saturday Night Live' Cut Scene Parodies HAIM 

Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.In perhaps the most memorable moment from Cannes, Weinstein-survivor and Hollywood staple Asia Argento delivered a speech in which she told the film industry's predators and their protectors sitting in the audience that women are watching them.

The Cannes Film festival has proved to be a real activism hotspot this year, with attendees protesting racism, gender inequality, and Israel's attack on Palestine. Argento closed out the festival, taking the stage with Ava DuVernay to send a message to the men who have terrorized young actresses on their rise.

Related | Black Actresses Walk the Red Carpet in the Pouring Rain to Protest Racism

"In 1997 I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes," Argento said. "I was 21 years old. This festival was his hunting ground. I want to make a prediction: Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again. He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that once embraced him and covered up for his crimes. Even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women, for behavior that does not belong in this industry, does not belong in any industry or workplace. You know who you are. But most importantly, we know who you are. And we're not going to allow you to get away with it any longer."

Argento was one of the actresses interviewed by The New Yorker for their expose on the film mogul, she alleged Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her in 1997. The actress/director has since been at the forefront of the #MeToo movement, and has been attempting to form a master list of his accusers since.

Image via Getty

Barack and Michelle Obama are reportedly set to become the First Couple of Netflix, inking a multi-year agreement with the streaming giant to produce films and series. In an announcement made on Twitter, the company said the couple's future projects will potentially include scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features. Given the former president's chic taste in music, we can't wait to see what he and Michelle will bring to the table for television. Binge-watching Obama-produced shows will bring us all just a little bit closer to being our best selves.

Image via Getty

Some wily young entrepreneurs are capitalizing on wealthy millennial's highly meme-able trauma by tracking down original Fyre Festival merch and selling it (for a fortune, no doubt) at a one-time pop-up in New York.

Related | Flaming Hot Mess Fyre Festival is Coming to the Big Screen

You'll remember this time last year Ja Rule teamed up with Jordan Belfort 2.0, twenty-something-year-old Billy McFarland, to organize a luxury festival in the Bahamas, promoted by supermodels, where tickets go for thousands a piece. When those who could afford the experience arrived on site, they found refugee tents, very little food, next-to-know bathroom facilities and wild dogs. In other words: chaos. Who wouldn't want to ironically pay tribute to the greatest scam of our generation?

via fyremerch.com

At fyremerch.com you can sign up to attend the event (you might even get a discount for subscribing), otherwise head over to 873 Broadway, 6th floor, until 6pm today to cop yourself some stuff that you might be able to make a real profit off in a decade's time. Mom, it's an investment!

Otherwise, feel free to once again chortle at the reminder that Fyre Festival was a thing that (kind of) happened.

Image via InstagramIt's unlikely there's anyone left on Earth that hasn't heard of Instagram, or is unaware of its significant power. The app has made and propelled many careers, particularly those who're naturally beautiful, or those who have paid to appear as such. Leah Schrager, known simply to her fans as ONA, is the former  an objectively stunning woman who has worked her angles into hundreds of thousands of dollars, millions of followers, and a viable independent career.

While the paparazzi may not be camped outside her Brooklyn, New York apartment like a traditional celebrity, ONA is certainly famous by 2018 standards. By stripping down for a personal photographer, which in turn has enticed her fans to pay $500 dollars per hour for a one-on-one webcam session, ONA has built herself the platform to explore another creative field: music. ONA's debut album is two years in the making (following two well-received EPs) and will see her embark on a North American tour which climaxes  no pun intended  backstage in a live masturbation session to seven of her songs for her subscribers' eyes only. She cums, naturally, on the last song.

Of course, this life does not come without sacrifice. Living publicly as a sex worker has seen everyone from family members to former classmates weigh in on her lifestyle, and she's aware an office job probably isn't in the cards any time soon. While it seems like movement to reclaim female sexuality is progressing in leaps and bounds, there's still a long way to go, ONA asserts, but she is more happy to be in the trenches. PAPER caught up with the model to talk sex, more sex and rock 'n' roll.

Headpiece by Ellen Christine Couture, Dress by Maison Margiela (Vintage)

You're releasing your debut independently. Did you ever consider signing to a label? Actually, I was turned down from labels, they thought I was "too sexy." But the aesthetic was really into sex and into men, and that kind of thing. And actually one of the record label people I emailed was like, "Well what about the women?" I was like, "Well women should love it too," but you know, that's what record labels are worried about. I didn't start in the industry, so I don't really have any connections in the music industry. So, maybe if I did then it would be different. Ah, like isolating the women for being too sexy for the men. How did you start? Actually, I just started with my Instagram. This page called The Butt Blog posted me, and I got 5,000 followers immediately. And then I basically started to work through that experience. To grow, you gotta up your photos, and then more people started finding me because of that.

Do you get reported a lot? You know, it's really weird. I don't know what happened, but a couple of years ago I had a couple of photos taken down and I got deleted. I can't tell you how many hours I spend talking about Instagram's reporting and rules. Is anyone actually watching it or are they just basing it off of reporting? So my account was deleted at 70K, and then it was reactivated just a day or two later. But I was completely devastated. When did you find it really gaining traction? When I started creating more content for it. Once I started being on it more and once I started looking at what other people were posting and then exploring more of my ideas. One of my early things, which I call a meta selfie because it's a photo of me taking a photo of myself, was really fun. When you come up with some cute ideas, which I call "Instagram classic," it's really fun but there's almost a joke within the photo. There's a quirk or symbol that's just attractive. Are there girls reaching out to you saying that they want to do this too? Yeah, and I try to email advice but it's hard. It's hard to say, it's actually a lot of work. You just have to be creative and have really good photos, and you have to identify what audience you're going for and just really go for it. Don't half-step it or you won't grow as much.

Headband by Ellen Christine Couture

Headband by Ellen Christine Couture

How would you describe your audience?

My audience is 94 percent male, so it's pretty straightforward. It's kind of like, mostly men, and it's really playful with my captions and photos. I try to be playful and creative and get a lot of colors and poses to get different vibes in there. So I actually approach it as an art. It's so aesthetically pleasing. What do you think of the cam model landscape at the moment? I think cam models are the next big things. And also, lots of porn stars might as well have private Snapchats and cams too, so I think that cam is the way that the model themselves can own and get their money directly. So, it's very present. You're $500 an hour, right? Oh yeah, to cam privately. Do they beat down your door? Can people afford it? I also have my private website of just naked photos, access to my private SnapChat, and videos, which altogether is $29.99/month. It's more affordable than other people, so it's super cheap. And there are a lot of private chats, too.

Does that astound you?

Yeah, it does. I've had to increase the price because of demand, which is how it works. So, I was charging less, but then I was like, "Oh my god I'm not getting time to do anything, so then I increased the price. So I would have to keep increasing it if people want more, so I can level out how much time I can put into it. So in between all of this, you're having to do private cams? Yeah, the private cams I don't intend to do as much when I'm touring or doing intense photoshoots. I cut back quite a lot on private cams, but then when I'm in New York and I'm just doing my regular thing, I might do one or two a day. Related | Riley Reid Is Pornhub's Most Searched Porn Star That's nice, it's sort of like a relationship and a familiar face. Yeah, a lot of people just want to talk. Masculinity is so bizarre. The fact that they won't go to a shrink, but they'll go to a cam model just to talk and fork out $500. I think it's really unfortunate. I actually did this thing called Naked Therapy. It was one of my first instances in camming, and that actually got really big on the internet. It was so powerful, and it was really great. So that's another reason why I'm apart of this and pro-expression in that sense. Freedom of expression for the female performer and for the male audience. There's so much there, and I think there's something so therapeutic about it. But unfortunately we're talking about a world with issues. But I think that's actually one of the most therapeutically fortunate spaces.

Headpiece by Ellen Christine Couture, Dress by Missoni

I think about whether Instagram would ever get deleted like tomorrow. It's created so many communities and put so many people on the map.

God forbid. Absolutely, and there's so many niches. That's what I love about it, you can follow just sex cammers and you would have a very rich feed. You've reached this point to where you're so successful in this field, what prompted the transition to music? Once I had realized that my Instagram was getting bigger, I felt that I wanted to offer something that didn't feel like democratically available, something that was very it's almost life. And I can be, but it's a little hard, and there's something about music that's very special. And I've done music since I was really young as well, so it just felt like a really natural thing. I started working on the EP pretty quickly, as soon as I started realizing I was getting big. And there was always going to be an album, and a second album as well. We'll see after that. Is the pressure of the debut album crazy? Yeah, but I'm super proud of the album. I love it, so I feel like it's a really good album and I just want to get it out. The pressure is more on hoping that people will see it and like it. But the album itself, I feel like is really great and I'm really pleased. But I've been working on it for 2 years, so it was not a quick thing. So hopefully it will be well-received. So your day would be you camming, creating Instagram content, and then running into the studio? Yeah, totally. It's been pretty serious. It's a new level of no time that I've never experienced before.

What's it like dating as a cam model?

I think it's good. Sometimes, I feel like I date all of my fans. But I kind of feel like there's a lot of love I get from my fans, so that's actually really a beautiful feeling. In terms of dating in real life, that can get trickier, but I feel like I'm really good at assessing someone really quickly and knowing if I think they're cool or not. And also, a lot of people have hang outs with cam girls, so I feel like there's a quick edit that goes on. Related | Karley Sciortino is Your Slutty, Post-Woke Carrie Bradshaw I remember that you were on Slutever, and I read Karley Sciortino's book. She talked about the "Whorearchy," and how people who work in the sex industry are perceived in the outside world. Like, what's socially acceptable, sugaring, cam girls? Do you find that in dating? You know, the weird thing is that when you're doing cam girling or porn starring, you have to be very public with your sexuality. It's very visible, and anyone from the walk of your life can see it. The one really nice thing about escorting and sugaring is that it's very private. So there are different long-term risks, I think. And to me, the public thing was the biggest stressor and vulnerable point. Because people come at you from all different directions, it's actually so surprising from where people come at you from.

"If you cut out sex workers, then feminism is dead in my opinion."

Like people you know from high school? Oh, definitely high school. Family friends and colleagues who tend to have major issues with it. They'll just come at me and tell me that this is wrong and they're not okay with it, telling me that I'm dragging my life backwards. It's like... what makes a slut? Is a man having sex with tens or hundreds of people but not putting his ass on Instagram more slutty than someone who does have their ass on Instagram? Well, it's exactly what you said. It's the ass on Instagram that was the real issue. I thought we were beyond all of that, but we're definitely not. I think the thing is that all women have to be embraced, it can't exclude sex workers. If you cut out sex workers, then feminism is dead in my opinion. That's the problem of feminism right now, it's still left over in past waves. So, is porn empowering or not, is a sexy image on Instagram empowering? Lots of feminists would say it's not, which I think is crazy.

Top by Greta Constantine

America is still really Puritan, and there's this leftover sentiment of, "How much is too much?" Exactly. What's "too much" or "too sexy?" Which tiny angle shift makes it too sexy? There's still this lingering problem of what's too sexy. It's literally the tiniest angle or the tiniest peak in a particular way, and it's bizarre to me. I used to be a modern dancer, so to be the body is the body. I'm dancing here, so it's just about moving and having fun. So it's like, "Oh that little areas right there is too much," that's what makes the difference. What do you wish you could communicate with people that feel that way? I guess that I'm enjoying myself and that they should stick to their own business. Just leave me alone, do your own thing and I'll do mine. So when you first went into it, how was navigating that dissonance? The only dissonance comes from this societal thing where I get record producers saying it's too sexy, or I get the mainstream media not covering me because I'm too sexy, or I get family and friends saying not to put my ass on Instagram. They're conservatives. I was so surprised, but it's been enough distance now that I feel like I'm mostly over it. But it still hurts. For you to be doing this during the #MeToo movement, how is that? Does it make men more cautious? Yeah, it does. I actually had artwork at a very well known place, and it had been agreed upon in commission and it was going up. And they said said, "Oh no, we can't put this up now because of the #MeToo movement." So they took it down. Images that are very sexy are suddenly not okay. So I think that that's the little danger it's moving into. It's fairly exclusionary of sex workers, and it's sex workers who actually have the best lessons to teach everybody on how to draw boundaries, consent, income, and how to judge and feel good about your sexuality.

Do you get a lot of hate? Yeah, usually from women. They call me a slut, sometimes they'll say I'm ugly, and sometimes they'll say I have nothing better to do with my life so I have to do this. Dragging the world backwards is a common one, too. How do you feel about the word "slut" in general? Do you embrace it? Yeah. I honestly prefer not to self-label, but in general I think it's a great word. I guess I'm more of a virtual slut. I think sex workers should be empowering to other women. Sex workers are not the skinny, agency-driven, perfectly attractive women that are models. They're all very different.

Dress by Christian Siriano

What's the difference between modeling and sex working? Aren't you both selling your body, in a sense? Yeah, I don't think there is a difference. I think models are sex workers as well, but they're socially respected, unlike everyone else unfortunately. But, I really don't know if anything will turn it. I personally love following sex workers, and I don't like following the agency model girls because they seem like they have these perfect, fun lives that are unblemished. Do you feel the impact to get the Kardashian figure with big boobs and curves? Because that's so saturated in images of women. A few years ago I actually tried to gain some weight to get curvier, but it wasn't working. So I lost the weight. And I do a lot of video, and the main issue was that I couldn't look the way I wanted to because it translates differently than photos. Related | An Afternoon With Kim Kardashian Have you considered booty injections? I haven't. I have seriously considered getting breast implants. I categorize girls three ways on Instagram: face, tits, and ass girls. The face girls are the agency models, and obviously the well-known influencers. The tit girls are the ones who mostly have breast implants. And if they're natural, they're probably agency models. So, those girls do really well, the face, the tits, the ass, they're all cheeks of the body. Are they just regular influencers who happen to have fake tits and asses or are they undergoing surgery literally to show their bodies online? I'm not sure which order it is, but the best implants help the pages to grow really well. For me I've always been all natural. That's just my brand and who I am. But it's funny because the whole process has forced me to really identify with who I am. Breast implants weren't really right for me and it's not my brand. So, it's weird to be so identified in that way, but it's also pretty powerful. This is me, and you're someone else, and we all want different things. We all fulfill different niches in people's feeds, and that's what's so fun about it. So who are you now? I am a free-loving, hippie, but very pro-sex girl. The girl next door, is also sort of my thing. The girl next door with a ton of followers. I'm at 1.8 million now, but I want more women followers, I think that would be cool and to be more mainstream. That would mean times are changing and that would be great. Watch ONA's latest video below and look out for her album dropping June 8.

Photography: Maddalena Arcelloni

Stylist: Zu Sb

Hair: Kiyonori Sudo

Makeup: Angie Parker (using Marc Beauty at The Wall Group)

Location: The Standard, High LineI wasn't invited to the Royal Wedding and I can't imagine the stress of having to pick out an outfit that would be photographed and scrutinized not only by the public but by the Queen.

Except that I can. Because when I got dressed last Friday night, I knew there was some chance I might meet royalty: Meme Queen Tiffany Pollard. Several weeks ago a friend told me about an upcoming Tiffany Pollard exhibit at the THNK1994 Museum, a pop culture obsessed, Bed-Stuy based gallery launched by an exhibit on the Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan incident. It's since featured everything from art inspired by the Olsen twins hiding from paparazzi to oil paintings of Real Housewives.

Their latest exhibit, David's Dead!, was named after the iconic reality TV moment where Pollard mistakes David Bowie's death for Big Brother UK castmate David Guest's death. The curators contextualized the exhibit to call Pollard "the greatest performance artist of our generation."

The opening gala promised a very special night though there was no explicit mention that Pollard would attend. I put on a Sandro sweatshirt screen printed with the word EVIL and hoped if Pollard saw it she'd recognize the homage to one of her greatest moments: when she reminded us she was "very sweet and nurturing" but "also like an evil bitch, too."

Courtesy of THINK1994 Museum

When I arrived at the THNK1994 Museum cameras were pointed at the door in anticipation; she was coming. I did a lap around the small, but impressive gallery. I paused in front of a massive collage of stills where Pollard weeped about David Guest's "death;" I snapped a photo in front of a painting of Pollard lying arms crossed on a couch in my favorite of her memes; and I pressed a button on a painting to play a recording of her insane and sinister laughter when Angie Bowie mourned the death of the David who actually died. I also caught a glimpse living art: Sister Patterson, Pollard's mom and a reality star in her own right. She was sitting upstairs in a makeshift "VIP section," cooling herself with a handheld fan. She was surrounded by a legion of what appeared to be die-hard New York-loving gays: one wore a cut-off tee with Pollard's face; he had a tattoo of her face on his bicep. It was going to be a night.

There were about 20 people in the gallery entrance when Pollard arrived but the energy of the room was like that of a Beyonce stadium concert. The energy propelled her to ham for the cameras like she's been doing for all those years and then she spoke, "Brooklyn, New York, I have one thing to say: New York is in the motherfucking houseeeeee!" About 5 minutes after she walked in, Pollard trekked upstairs to the VIP stairs where an unauthorized fan followed her and a fight broke out. But Pollard was unfazed  she'd seen worse. She spent the next 20 minutes standing in front of the various works of art posing with the portraits, sometimes guffawing at their ingenuity and other times contextualizing the moment. I needed to meet her.

I wasn't there to cover the event, but I sensed an opening. Other media outlets were in attendance but it seemed unlikely those talented career journalists had let their brains rot enough to watch Flavor of Love, Flavor of Love Girls: Charm School, I Love New York, New York Goes to Hollywood, and New York Goes to Work, like I had. I went for it. "Can I ask you some question for PAPER?" "I love PAPER!" I pressed record on my phone and held it to her bosom. When conducting interviews like this, it's typically a struggle to get talent to speak close enough to the phone to transcribe their words over the noise of the crowd. But Pollard leaned into my phone and spoke into it from just an inch away. She didn't want me to miss a word. "Listen, I can't believe how humbled I am. I didn't even realize how many shows I did until I saw it translated onto the canvas. I feel like a legend." Translated onto the canvas. Chef's kiss. I asked what was next and she was vague, only saying that she had so much more coming and to stay tuned. Related | Next Jenneration: Kylie Jenner Talks Fame, Family and the Future So I waxed philosophical to get her opinion on the state of reality TV today. How did she feel about the Kardashians and The Bachelor?

"I ain't gonna fault none of these bitches for being out there and making extra dollars but listen: the shit ain't as real as it was when I invented it. These bitches be crying for no reason, pretending for no fucking reason. I left my heart on the damn cutting room floor."

Courtesy of THINK1994 MuseumNews and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.Rival Camps In Iran Point Fingers Over JCPOA Failure

05/21/18

Source: Radio Farda

The saber-rattling over the decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran's nuclear deal with world powers, has intensified between the two rival camps in Iran.



People's situation before & after Trump exited JCPOA

(satir by Iman Khaksar, Iranian daily Ghanoon)





Friday Prayer ceremonies across the country presented a platform for supporters of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to use Washington's withdrawal from JCPOA as a tool to attack President Hassan Rouhani's performance in the 2013-2015nuclear talks.



In response, Ali Akbar Nateq Nouri, a former right-leaning prominent cleric who recently joined the reformist camp, said conservatives are using the JCPOA news as an excuse to settle scores with Rouhani and his supporters.



"Some of the local critics of JCPOA, either intentionally or inadvertently, are using Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear deal to settle scores with the government," he said.



Nateq Nouri, a veteran politician and mid-ranking cleric, told journalists on May 18, "Those who deliberately table devastating criticism against the government to settle political scores are not aware that their behavior paves the way for the failure of the internal front and the success of enemy designs."



Nateq Nouri also served as chief of Khamenei's Inspection Bureau but resigned from the influential post last year to support the incumbent Rouhani's re-election. He recently became more active in the reformist camp led in tandem by Rouhani and former President Mohammad Khatami.



In an unprecedented session last April, prominent reformists -- including Khatami and Nateq Nouri -- cautioned Rouhani against stalling on his campaign promises.



Five days before Nateq Nouri's defense of Rouhani, a statement attributed to the influential Assembly of Experts (AE) lambasted Rouhani's administration for JCPOA and the United States' withdrawal.



The statement, later relabeled as the AE chairman's "personal communique," maintained that Khamenei had reservations about the nuclear deal but had accepted JCPOA after repeated requests by Rouhani and his team.



AE Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati demanded that Rouhani apologize for not respecting the "red lines" set by Khamenei. Several close allies of the supreme leader echoed the comments, casting doubt on Rouhani's ongoing talks with Europe to keep JCPOA alive.



The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Mohammad Ali Jafari, implicitly blasted Rouhani and his nuclear talk team by criticizing "certain officials" who "turn to foreigners," adding, "I hope recent events will lead us to end our trust in the West and the Europeans."



"The Europeans have repeatedly proved they are not capable of resisting U.S. sanctions," the IRGC-run Fars news agency cited Jafari as saying.



Though the deal now looks shaky after Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from it earlier this month, Rouhani and his team are maneuvering to keep it alive by seeking unspecified "guarantees" from the remaining countries still party to JCPOA.



Conservative allies of Khamenei, however, apparently see no point in remaining loyal to JCPOA after Washington's withdrawal. They blame Rouhani and his nuclear team for the failure of the deal.



Immediately after Trump announced his decision to drop JCPOA, 100 conservative MPs issued a written protest admonishing Rouhani for not seeking sufficient guarantees to prevent violations of the deal.



"You should have demanded powerful and indestructible guarantees, including a written commitment to lifting sanctions imposed on Tehran, signed by the president of the U.S.A. and the EU," the conservative MPs said.



In response, government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said on May 15, "We have no more time to confront enemies on one front and watch our friends on the other lest they stab us in the back."



The notorious anti-Rouhani Friday Prayer leader in the city of Mashhad, mid-ranking cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Alam al-Hoda, continued to censure the government for its "doomed" nuclear talks.



"From day one, the supreme leader insisted that he did not trust them [the United States and its European allies]. He said we would achieve nothing from negotiating with them save losses and damages," he said. "Yet his eminence let the government go ahead and see for itself that they [U.S. and EU] would not stay committed to their promises."



"After the deal was signed, the leader noted that the deal would be worthy only when the U.S. president commits himself in writing to lifting all sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic," he continued.Heritage Bank Limited, Ghana has disclosed that it is firmly on track to meet the new minimum capital requirement set by the Bank of Ghana, well ahead of the stipulated December 2018 deadline.



Managing Director of the Bank, Mr. Patrick Fiscian made this revelation to some members of the media during an interaction on the sidelines of the SMEGA (SME Ghana) 5th anniversary breakfast meeting.



He stated that management of the bank had already initiated plans to meet the revamped minimum capital requirement even before the bank commenced operations in 2017. Prior to the official opening of the bank, we were well aware of the proposal by the Bank of Ghana to inject fresh capital, this has therefore been at the fore of our strategy even before we opened our doors to the public he added.



He also predicted that Heritage Bank would emerge as one of the stronger local banks after the Bank of Ghanas recapitalization deadline elapses.



Mr. Patrick Fiscian further asserted that the move by the Bank of Ghana is understandable as it would serve to strengthen local banks and provide them with the financial capacity to provide relevant services with a view towards facilitating business and spurring economic growth across the country.



Heritage Bank, one of the newest entrants onto the Ghanaian banking scene, marked its first anniversary in February this year. Within a year of operations, the Bank has established 7 Branches, with 4 in Accra (Airport City, East Legon, Dzorwulu, Abbossey Okai), 2 in Kumasi (Adum and Suame-Magazine) and 1 in Tema.



All Branches of the bank offer extended banking services from 8:30am to 6:00pm throughout the working week. The Bank also prides itself on some of the most efficient digital banking platforms and consumer asset finance loan offerings on the market as well as a host of other bespoke products.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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Featured VideoThe Deputy Minister for Education has described as alarming the number of students who are unable to get admission into tertiary cycle institutions across the country.



Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum said the persistent poor performance of the students in the West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) speaks ill of Ghanas education system, an indication that new reforms must be put in place.



Speaking at the 2018 Educational Summit in Accra, the deputy minister reiterated governments commitment to relentlessly put structures in place to ensure an improvement in the situation.



When you have a system where only about 30 percent of your students can move on from secondary to tertiary something needs to change. 70 percent of our students cannot move on to universities and teacher education institutions even if they wanted to. There is something that needs to be done, he noted.



He further indicated that in order to keep track of the performance of students and improve their academic stand, some interventions were underway to establish a national assessment of students at the various levels of education in the country to bring the educational vision of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to life.



We need to begin to create a pipeline from KG to secondary, but we cannot create that pipeline if you dont have a national assessment. Beginning next year, we are looking at a national assessment which will give us the opportunity to begin to look at how the students are doing.



In 2016, the then presidential candidate of the NPP, Nana Akufo-Addo criticized the Mahama administration after more than half of the candidates who sat for WASSCE failed.



The results showed that the students failed in the core subjects that is Mathematics, English, science and social studies.



About 32 percent of the students obtained the pass grade of A to C6 in the core subjects and 19.82 percent of students obtained D7-E8 which most tertiary institutions consider a fail score. Also, 38.10 percent of the students who took the exams that year had F9.



Upon assuming office in 2017, President Akufo-Addo pledged to put in place a number of policies to improve the educational sector, the major being the rollout of the Free SHS programme.



The ministry has also warned that basic and second cycle school heads who record 90 percent or more failure in their final exams will be sacked.



Government through the ministry and the Ghana education service has subsequently promised to give all schools the needed support to raise academic level nationwide.



The 2018 Educational Summit was under the theme Bridging the gap between secondary and university education in Ghana: The Role of Stakeholders.

Source: Ghanaweb.com









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Featured VideoPresident Nana Akufo-Addo has said that the so-called unprecedented projects, especially roads, which former President John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government spoke about are nowhere to be found.



During the 2016 electioneering campaign, then President Mahama accused Nana Addo, then presidential hopeful of the New Patriotic Party), of not seeing the rehabilitated roads because he was sleeping as he travelled to do his campaign throughout the country.



President Akufo-Addo made this observation yesterday when he interacted with the chiefs and people of Nkoranza North, as well as all the chiefs who want the creation of Bono East Region from the Brong-Ahafo Region.



The durbar of chiefs and the people took place at Busunya in the Nkoranza North District on day one of the presidents three-day tour of the region.



His response was in reaction to a request by the Omanhene of Techiman, Oseadeeyo Akumfi Ameyaw IV  chairman of the Coalition of Bono East Region  that they need roads in the area.



President Akufo-Addo assured the people that his government is doing everything possible to construct and upgrade roads in the area.



He indicated that the brief period of his administration has witnessed the fulfilment of a number of promises he made to Ghanaians in the run-up to the 2016 elections.



According to him, many of the pledges were described by his political opponents as lies and impossibilities.



They told you that Free SHS was a lie. They said I could not restore teacher trainee and nursing trainee allowances. They said the revival of the National Health Insurance Scheme was also impossible.



Nananom, right before your very eyes, and in the eyes of all Ghanaians, I am fulfilling these promises one after the other. Before the end of my tenure in office, I would have fulfilled all of the promises I made to you, the president articulated.



Free SHS is now a reality. In September this year, the Free SHS policy will cover new entrants, in addition to those who will then be in SHS 2. By September 2019, it will cover all students in senior high schools across the country. Teacher and nursing trainees are also receiving their allowances. We have also retired a large chunk of the NHIS debt left by my predecessor, and the NHIS is working, he claimed.



President Akufo-Addo was confident that with the fulfilment of his promises, Ghanaians will know that I am an honest person who did not deceive them in order to win their votes in 2016.



Touching on one of his governments flagship projects, President Akufo-Addo, noted that the Planting for food and jobs had resulted in the Brong-Ahafo Region receiving 15% of farm inputs, thus becoming the largest recipient region of inputs for the programme.



Last year 200,000 farmers nationwide were beneficiaries of the programme. This year, we are increasing the scope to 500,000 farmers. By 2020, one million farmers will be beneficiaries, he said.



New Regions



On the proposed creation of new regions, President Akufo-Addo noted that the Justice Brobbey Commission, which is inquiring into the need for the creation of new regions, would by the end of June, present its report.



He told the audience that if he received the recommendations from the Commission, and they are positive, he would send the proposals to the Electoral Commission to organise a referendum in the areas where there are demands for the creation of new regions.



He explained that the referendum would require that 50% of the residents concerned come out to vote, and 80% of them must vote Yes for the creation of the new region.



DKM



Responding to a request for government to help all the people who lost their investments to DKM, Care for Humanity, God is Love, amongst others, to retrieve their moneys, the president said so far about 90 per cent of all DKM investors had been paid.



With 90% of refunds made to the victims of DKM and other financial entities, President Akufo-Addo urged the people of the region, and indeed, all parts of the country, to be wary of unlicensed microfinance institutions.



He asked them to demand from microfinance institutions into which they intend to deposit monies, their licence from the Bank of Ghana before engaging in any transactions with them.



Bono East



Oseadeeyo Ameyaw Ekumfi IV had earlier said that the area has a lot of resources such as gold, diamond, rivers, markets and banks that can support the region to succeed.



Regional Tours



On the rationale for his regional tour, President Akufo-Addo stated, I cannot stay in Accra and know whats going on in the country. If I do not leave my office and come to you in your regions, I will not know what is truly happening on the ground. So, every year, I will visit every region in the country to know what is going on.



He commissioned the new Techiman Divisional Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service and also cut the sod for the construction of a new district hospital at Nkoranza.

Source: Daily Guide









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Featured Video"Nobody does the 4th like those who did it first," that's the tagline for the Wawa Welcome America 2018 celebration in Philadelphia.

The seven day citywide festival is back and larger than ever, running from June 28 to July 4.

Festivities are slated to kick off at noon on June 28 with Wawa Hoagie Day where 27,000 hoagies will be gin away after a 7-ton hoagie salute.

Throughout Wawa Welcome America there will be free access to museums (including The Mutter Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary and Penn Museum), mini music festivals and a sand sculpture display. There will also be free movie screenings, including one of Rocky on the Rocky Steps themselves at the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 7 p.m. on July 1.

The United States of America's Independence Day Parade will be at 11 a.m. July 4 by Independence National Historical Park.

Want fireworks? There'll be two firework shows, one at 9:30 p.m. on June 30 over the Delaware River, and the other at 9:30 p.m. July 4 over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Check out the video below to see snippets from last year's firework display.

Can't see the video? Click here.

And, of course, there's the main event the Party on the Parkway starting at noon on July 4 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, followed by the Wawa Welcome America Concert and Fireworks with headliner Pitbull.

New this year will be a barbecue celebration at Valley Forge National Historical Park on July 4 which includes artillery demonstrations, music performances, tours, games and a chance to join George Washington's network of spies.

You can learn more about Wawa Welcome America at welcomeamerica.com.

Want more stories about Philadelphia? Click here to read all our coverage of the City of Brotherly Love.The Diocese of Harrisburg - one of six dioceses under state investigation for clergy sex abuse - on Monday walked back the suggestion that it might oppose the findings of a grand jury investigation.

In a statement to the media Attorney General Josh Shapiro applauded the decision, which was also taken by the Diocese of Greensburg.

Shapiro commended Bishops Ronald Gainer of Harrisburg and Bishop Edward Malesic of Greensburg for "doing the right thing."

"Victims of this sexual abuse deserve the right to tell their stories to the people of Pennsylvania," Shapiro said. "That is why my legal team and I have worked tirelessly to have each diocese agree to give victims the opportunity to be heard."

The decision from the heads of the Harrisburg and Greensburg dioceses means that all six dioceses are in support of the release of the investigation's findings and results and that the bishops will not stall the process.

Over the weekend, Bishop David Zubik, head of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, joined the dioceses of Erie, Scranton and Allentown in announcing he would not obstruct the process going forward.

Gainer late last week signaled that he might have concerns with the findings of the 18-month long probe by state investigators.

While Gainer stressed that the diocese was cooperating with the investigation, he also was concerned "about due process rights," he said Friday in a statement released to PennLive.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General is expected in June to release the findings of the grand jury investigation into allegations of clergy sex abuse and potential cover-up across six Catholic dioceses.

The probe was launched in 2016 to investigate allegations of clergy sex abuse and potential cover-up across the Catholic dioceses of Erie, Harrisburg, Scranton, Pittsburgh, Allentown and Greensburg.

Shapiro said he expected to make public the findings by the end of June.

"The only thing that could stop these findings from becoming public at that time is if one of the bishops or dioceses would seek to delay or prevent this public accounting," he said.

Authorities have already made two arrests stemming from the investigation.

Shapiro earlier this month announced the arrest of Father David Poulson, a 40-year priest in the Diocese of Erie. Poulson, 64, was charged with sexually assaulting two boys over the course of many years. He has been charged with three felonies including indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children and corruption of minors.

Last September, authorities arrested a retired priest who had served at various parishes throughout the Greensburg Diocese.

The Rev. John Sweeney, 74, is accused of sexually molesting a 10-year-old boy.There's talk of big, hard changes for the 14 universities that comprise Pennsylvania's state system of higher education.

to disbanding the system and turning surviving schools into branches of the state's major public universities such as Penn State.

One certainty is that something must be done in response to a falloff in traditional-age students that isn't expected to reverse, and persistent tuition increases making the schools unaffordable for ever-more people.

Into that steps Daniel Greenstein, 57, who on Monday was selected as the system's new chancellor.

Speaking to reporters, he was pressed for his views on the prospect of shuttering any of the schools, or similarly changing the statewide network of universities that includes Shippensburg, Kutztown, West Chester, East Stroudsburg and Clarion universities, to name a handful.

Greenstein said it was too early for him to have strong views on things like that. But he did express a certain reluctance to closing schools, saying "you can't just eliminate educational opportunities from whole regions," and stressing the view that economically-distressed communities are the ones that most need the presence of higher education.

Rather, he expressed the view Pennsylvania must figure out "what the educational opportunity needs to look like" for students in the various communities, and then consider how the system can provide that. He further stressed a need to work with local businesses and others to design an education that gives students a solid prospect for graduating into a job, and to turn out students who add to the region's economic viability.

Greenstein, 57, will earn an annual salary of $380,000. He'll begin Sept. 4. Since 2012,

There, he focused on developing programs to help colleges improve retention and graduation rates of students who are racial minorities or come from lower-income backgrounds.

For a decade before that, he held administrative positions including vice provost for strategic planning, programs and accountability for the University of California system.

He has bachelor's and master's degrees in history from the University of Pennsylvania, and a doctorate in social studies from Oxford University in England. He also studied at London School of Economics, according to biographical information provided by the state system.

On Monday, he said the thing he cares most about in education is helping students "who have historically been left behind by our colleges and universities."

He takes the job at an unprecedented and potentially contentious time, as the system and state lawmakers wrestle with factors including a declining number of new high school graduates headed for the universities, and major questions about the long-term sustainability of the system.

A study commissioned by the system itself calls for steps that would keep it largely intact, although calling for changes such as new governance structure, focusing the schools on the program or programs each excels at, and waging efforts to attract non-traditional and working students.

More recently, state lawmakers commissioned their own study, resulting in some options that would more dramatically transform the system, including the one that would make schools into branch campuses of the state's major universities.

The 14 universities presently serve about 105,000 students, down from a peak of nearly 120,000 in 2010. Demographic forecasts predict the number of traditional-aged students available to feed the universities will continue to go down.

Another major challenge has to do with finances. At one time, state funding covered about two-thirds of the system's operating costs. Today it accounts for 21 percent, with the rest having shifted to students, thus pushing the universities beyond the affordability of some students.

The current base tuition is about $7,500 per year, more than double the amount of a decade ago.

Asked what about his biggest reservations in taking the job, Greenstein said the challenges facing the system also represent the biggest appeal to him. He said universities across the country face the challenge of remaining viable in a time of a declining number of young people, an affordability crisis for middle- and lower-income families, and a need to meet the needs of older students who already have jobs.

He said those challenges have hit Pennsylvania sooner than many states, but soon they will hit many others. Further, solving those challenges is critical to the nation's economic and social well-being, he stressed.

It was pointed out to Greenstein he has never held a major leadership position such as university president. Given the current challenges, he said, it's not the time to hire "traditional presidents." He said "colleges are facing some very untraditional challenges and they require some new approaches."

Cynthia D. Shapira, chair of the systems board of governors, said the board considered assorted "traditional candidates" and "Dan rose above them all."

Greenstein his first action will be to visit all of the campuses to get to know people there as well as in the surrounding community and business community. "Listening and learning are my two number one priorities," he said.A man smokes an electronic cigarette in Chicago in this April 23, 2014 file photo. One year ago vaping wasn't all that cool, says grade 12 student Laurence Lafleur of the rising trend among teens, but it's become "super popular" and it's viewed as an alternative to cigarettes. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Nam Y. Huh, FileAngela Bassett, center, lines up with other honorary degree recipients in front of Sterling Memorial Library at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, for commencement on May 21, 2018 where she received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree. (Arnold Gold/New Haven Register via AP)U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Chuck Anthony wears a gas mask as he stands next to a wall of lava entering the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii, Sunday, May 20, 2018. Kilauea volcano, oozing, spewing and exploding on Hawaii's Big Island, has gotten more hazardous in recent days, with rivers of molten rock pouring into the ocean and flying lava causing the first major injury. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)FILE - In this May 8, 2018, file photo, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship speaks to supporters in Charleston, W.Va. Despite having lost the Republican primary, convicted ex-coal baron Blankenship said heAos going to continue his bid for U.S. Senate as a third-party candidate. BlankenshipAos campaign said in a news release Monday, May 21, that heAoll be running as a member of the Constitution Party, which nominated him by a unanimous vote. (AP Photo/Tyler Evert, File)Authorities work the scene of a restaurant where police say a man intentionally rammed a vehicle into the steak and seafood eatery shortly after midday Sunday, May 20, 2018, in Bessemer City, N.C., leaving his 26-year-old daughter and one other person dead and several others injured. The vehicle's driver, Roger Self, was immediately arrested. Jail records show heAos been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. (Kevin Ellis/The Gaston Gazette via AP)ADDS DATE AND PLACE OF THE PHOTO - In this Feb. 18, 2018, photo provided by Ashley Fonseca, her cousin Christopher Riley Garcia, left, poses for a picture with Ashley and Robert Zamora in Houston. A gunman opened fire at Santa Fe High School on Friday, May 18, 2018, killing 10 people, including Christopher Riley Garcia, in Santa Fe, Texas. (Courtesy of Ashley Fonseca via AP)Santa Fe High School students, parents and the community observed a Moment of Silence Monday, May 21, 2018, in Santa Fe. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called for a moment of silence at 10 a.m. Monday morning to remember the victims of the Santa Fe School Shooting. (Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle via AP)An emergency vehicle passes a roadblock near a scene where a Baltimore County police officer died, while investigating a suspicious vehicle, Monday, May 21, 2018, in Perry Hall, Md. Heavily armed police swarmed into the leafy suburb, searching for at least one armed suspect. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)Oil prices rise Monday with global markets after China, US put trade war 'on hold'

By Henning Gloystein



SINGAPORE

Petroleumworld 05 21 2018

Oil prices rose on Monday, lifted by news that China and the United States had put a looming trade war between the world's two biggest economies on hold.

Brent crude futures were at $78.87 per barrel at 0045 GMT, up 36 cents, or 0.5 percent, from their last close. Brent broke through $80 for the first time since November 2014 last week.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $71.68 a barrel, up 40 cents, or 0.6 percent, from their last settlement.

The U.S. trade war with China is on hold after the world's largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday, giving global markets a lift in early trading on Monday.

The U.S. and China agreeing to no trade war will be positive for oil prices given that the possibility of a full-out trade war would have dealt a significant blow to global growth, said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at futures brokerage Oanda in Singapore.

However, crude prices were some way off the November 2014 highs reached last week as many traders and analysts say there is enough supply to meet demand despite ongoing production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), plunging output in crisis-struck Venezuela and looming U.S. sanctions against major oil producer Iran.

Without a further escalation in geopolitical risk, oil might be due a pullback, said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader.

BP's Chief Executive Bob Dudley told Reuters he expected a flood of U.S. shale and a possible reopening of OPEC taps to cool oil markets after crude rose above $80 a barrel last week.

Dudley said he saw oil prices falling to between $50 and $65 a barrel due to surging shale output and OPEC's capacity to boost production to replace potential falls in Iranian supplies due to sanctions.

The U.S. oil rig count, an early indicator of future output, was at 844, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes. That was the same count as the week before, which marked the highest level since March 2015.



Petroleumworld.com



Hit your target - Advertise with UsExxonMobil to verify local content claims before Guyana's Parliamentary Committee

By Kaieter News



GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 05 21 2018 Senior executives of United States oil giant, ExxonMobil, are to appear before the bi-partisan Parliamentary Sectoral Committee on Natural Resources to provide information about its operations in Guyana, including local content claims.



Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, has committed to provide a list to the committee, detailing the companies contracted and the services they are providing to ExxonMobil.



It is a substantial number, the Minister disclosed during his appearance before the Parliamentary Committee yesterday.



The list was requested by the Coalition MP, Audwin Rutherford. Committee Chairman, People's Progressive Party (PPP) MP, Odinga Lumumba, said the company will have the opportunity to discuss local content when executives appear in the coming weeks.



ExxonMobil claims to have utilised 309 Guyanese-owned suppliers and has 605 Guyanese businesses registered in the oil sector.



However, these figures have been questioned by Chairman of the Guyana Oil and Gas Energy Chamber (GOGEC) Manniram Prashad, who has called for verification.



Prashad had expressed concerns as there is no evidence provided at the same time to support the claims made by the oil company.



We would like to have a list of the companies and the services they provided and when, Prashad had told Kaieteur News.



ExxonMobil's Public and Government Affairs Advisor, Kimberly Brasington, has said that 605 Guyanese businesses have registered in ExxonMobil's supplier database. She said that those are companies, which have expressed interest in being part of the supply chain.



She said that 70 of them are taking courses in order to build capacity in areas like procurement and safety.



Last year, Brasington said that ExxonMobil and its contractors provided 30,000 hours of capacity training to Guyanese.



Committee Member, Neil Kumar stated that there must be a balance.

Minister Trotman said that there is currently no legislation that stipulates what percentage of local content ExxonMobil should undertake.



He said that countries that have gone the way of legislation have not done as well as they have anticipated.



According to Minister Trotman, there are several issues that need to be considered that relates mostly to building the capacity of Guyanese workers and companies for the oil sector.



The Minister expressed the view that the Government plans to build that capacity.



We are in the process of building the capacity so we can legislate, Trotman indicated.



He also shared that market forces will dictate how ExxonMobil operates, Government is cautious about tying to dictate to the company.

Guyana is still to finalize a Local Content Policy, which sets out guidelines to be observed by foreign companies operating in an economy.



It is supposed to secure maximum benefits for citizens of a country.



A second draft of Guyana's Local Content and Value Addition Policy Framework has been completed.



Guyana's Local Content Policy, formulated specifically to guide players in the oil industry, was supposed to be no different. In fact, the authors, including Trinidad's Anthony Paul of Chatham House, stated in the policy that the intention is to secure benefits for Guyanese. Petroleumworld.com



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Kaieteurnewsonline.com 05 19 2018

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Gubkin University, Moscow

SPE Student ChapterGuyanese business are hardly benefitting from oil development, need legislative protection for local content Ramson

By Kaieter News



GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 05 21 2018 Former Member of Parliament and Oil and Gas Consultant, Charles Ramson, is of the opinion that if the Government proceeds on its current trajectory, Guyanese will benefit the least from the oil offshore Guyana, and foreigners will be the ones smiling.



He said this during a recent interview with Kaieteur News. he politician was adamant that he is not talking off the top of his head, I consulted with several businessmen; they are hardly benefitting.



Ramson said, What's happening is a national scandal. As it stands, two Trinidadian-owned companies have been awarded big catering contracts, customs brokerage contracts, freight forwarding contracts and even meet and greet' contracts.



These are some of the most basic goods and services that are required for the oil industry and companies owned by Guyanese people bid for those contracts and were not awarded. The companies that were given the contracts are hiring Guyanese to do the work.



Ramson said that some of the contracts are multi-million US dollar contracts awarded for three-year periods to these non-Guyanese owned companies. What's worse is that the supply vessel moves from Trinidad to the drilling ships offshore so a lot of the goods and services are not even sourced locally in Guyana.



The politician said that no one is expecting Guyanese to be given contracts to provide services that they are incapable of, but everyone knows Guyanese can cook. We have brokerage companies and are more than capable of handling a few meet and greet exercises. But guess what is lacking? Guyana lacks a government that is serious about local content.



Ramson said that any government that wants to represent the interests of its nationals, will find it its duty to advance a serious way forward to ensure that there is local content. But, the recently published second draft of the local content policy has the concluding paragraph by Minister Trotman:



The Local Content Policy (LCP) will be implemented over time and in tandem with the growth of the industry. At present, regulations will not be promulgated, but may become necessary as the industry unfolds and expands, and impetus is needed to steer the process or to solidify gains.



Ramson said that while Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, is not keen on legislation, it seems as if legislation is the only way to compel local content in Guyana.



The former MP was adamant that Guyana needs more than just a policy. He said that otherwise foreign companies and foreign employees will continue to dominate the oil and gas scene for Guyana



This government is failing its people. The high paying jobs are already going to foreigners; most of the money will be spent in their home country and not Guyana. The goods and services needed by oil companies are already being awarded to companies not owned by Guyanese people, said Ramson.



Ramson said that several oil producing companies around the world have made it a legal requirement to have nationals own a certain percentage of all companies incorporated.



Other countries have even gone as far as making it a legal requirement for the country to have a percentage of the oil companies actually extracting oil from their jurisdiction.



Even if there are concerns about the lack of specialists, the legal requirement can be phased; starting small and gearing over time as the industry develops properly. But the fact that fully owned Guyanese companies cannot be contracted for simple catering services is a total shame. Petroleumworld.com



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Story from Kaieter News



Kaieteurnewsonline.com 05 20 2018

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Gubkin University, Moscow

SPE Student ChapterBpTT celebrates Brighter Prospects program in Trinidad & Tobago



By TT Guardian



PORT SPAIN

Petroleumworld 05 21 2018

Graduates of bpTT's Brighter Prospects programme have been told not to despair when faced with a challenging job market.

Giselle Thompson, the energy company's Vice President, Corporate Operations, who address the 19 graduates at a ceremony at bpTT's Hospitality Suite, Queen's Park Oval, urged them to persevere as the education process is continuous. Brighter Prospects is one of bpTT's signature programmes within its corporate social responsibility portfolio.

Thompson said: I know that those feelings of accomplishment in completing your studies can quickly be dashed as you face a very tough job market.

My advice to you would be to be patient, be persistent, show up strong and have faith that you will get that job opportunity that you long for.

She said the company understands the value of education to personal, community and national development, adding that it is one of bpTT's areas of focus to achieve its aspiration of positively impacting national development.

Programmes range from early childhood to tertiary level.

We work with many organisations to target areas of need. A key area of focus for us has been to introduce technology into the teaching and learning environment.

Through our smart board technology in education programme, for example, we are helping to modernize the delivery of the curriculum in a way that is interesting and aligned with how children interact with the world around them, Thompson said. Ten smart boards have been installed at schools in Mayaro, Arouca, Port-of-Spain and Carenage and more than 60 teachers have been trained in the proper use of the technology.

The company also continues to marry technology and learning with the launch of the Arrow programme in primary schools in Mayaro and Tobago. The cutting-edge software helps children and adults improve their literacy.

This fantastic programme consistently ranks among one of the top 10 programmes in the UK for literacy improvement, Thompson said.

Valedictorian Amanda Mahadeo chronicled her struggles, which included lack of basic resources such as a computer. She said the assistance of bpTT propelled her study.

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Puerto Rico power grid braces for the coming hurricane season

By Jessica Resnick-Ault, Nick Brown



NEW YORK

Petroleumworld 05 21 2018

The U.S. federal agency tasked with restoring electricity to Puerto Rico, after Hurricane Maria hit the Caribbean last year, is leaving the island though thousands still have no power heading into the next hurricane season starting next month.

Only a last-minute request from the governor of the island, bemoaning the fragile state of the power grid, managed to keep most of the generators brought by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on Puerto Rican soil for another six months.

The remaining generators might help keep the lights on for hospitals or police stations if the island gets hit again during the coming hurricane season, which begins June 1.

Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico last September, leaving 1.5 million homes and businesses in the dark. Both the island's power utility and the Trump Administration's Federal Emergency Management Agency were criticized for a slow response.

Most power has been restored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers but the electricity grid remains unreliable, and suffered an island-wide blackout last month.

The whole world is very nervous about hurricane time, said Rosalina Abreu Gonzalez, who lives near Mariana, on the eastern side of the island, where power has still not been restored. There is a real concern - the government hasn't provided an energy system that is more secure.

The Army Corps, a unit of the U.S. armed forces, has said its task is largely complete now that most people have power. About 22,000 customers are still without electricity, most in remote areas, according to the new head of the island's power utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority.

Our mission wasn't to build a modern resilient system, Charles Alexander, Director of Contingency Operations and Homeland Security Headquarters at the Army Corps, said at a Senate hearing last week.

On April 29, Governor Ricardo Rossello asked U.S. officials to leave behind 850 generators at critical facilities, along with three larger generators used to keep the grid stable. FEMA agreed to leave the mega-generators and generators for 700 critical facilities. Mega-generators supply 75 megawatts of power, enough to power 75,000 homes.

New PREPA Chief Executive Walter Higgins, who has only been on the job for two months, said he is focusing on emergency procedures in the event of another disaster in coming months.

He said there is a plan for building a more resilient grid in the future. Higgins took over from Ricardo Ramos, who resigned as CEO in November after coming under fire for signing unvetted, little-known contractors to restore power, rather than immediately ask for assistance from other utilities.

Unfortunately, pain causes learning, and what we've learned is how to get mutual assistance called for and on the island immediately, Higgins told Reuters.

Still, PREPA's grid lacks buried power lines or reinforced poles, common in other hurricane prone areas. The power utility ran up an $8 billion debt over many years, largely due to poor bill collection, causing the system to fall into disrepair.

It is very hard to see these messages where the government is saying we're ready for next season. We're not, said Sheylda Diaz, a biology professor who lives near Utuado, in the island's center, where some lines and poles have yet to be fixed.

The Army Corps will not provide further line restoration after Friday, FEMA said.

People here have no idea that they are leaving, said Abreu Gonzalez, who runs a center where people without power can go for meals.

Higgins said he sympathizes with those who want the Corps to remain. I can understand why somebody would want them to stay longer, as long as there's a single customer out.

Maria hit shortly after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma slammed the U.S. mainland in 2017, but in both cases, power was largely restored within a week.

I cannot imagine a scenario where 20,000-plus Texans or 20,000 Floridians were without power and FEMA would make that decision, said Sen. Martin Heinrich, a Democrat from New Mexico. I think that's reprehensible.

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Argentine invites big oil companies to submit offshore proposals

By Reuters

BUENOS AIRES

Petroleumworld 05 21 2018

Argentina has called on oil companies to submit proposals for offshore exploration areas, the country's official gazette said on Friday, looking to exploit under-explored parts of the country's continental shelf and other potential oil basins.

Oil companies, including Shell and Statoil, have said they are mulling bidding in auctions to be held later this year.

The country faces fierce competition to attract the billions of dollars of investment needed to develop deepwater reserves. Several other Latin American countries are auctioning offshore blocks this year.

For Big Oil, the potential access to Latin American energy reserves is unprecedented. In many countries now opening, including Argentina, resource nationalism has long barred their entry or limited opportunities.

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ConocoPhillips forze by Curacao's courts to partially release PDVSA fuel storage seize in Bonaire to local distributor

By Reuters

NEW YORK

Petroleumworld 05 21 2018

Courts in Curacao and Bonaire have partially lifted attachments introduced by ConocoPhillips aiming to seize Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA's assets to satisfy a $2 billion arbitration award, the U.S. oil firm said on Friday.

The courts ruled that fuel stored at PDVSA's facilities in the Caribbean islands must be released to supply local distributor Curoil. Proceeds from the fuel sales are expected to be transferred to bank accounts, Conoco said in a statement.

We are pleased with the result, as this is consistent with the proposal made by ConocoPhillips to both (islands') local authorities, Curoil and the local courts, the firm said.

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How ConocoPhillips' fight with Venezuela landed in Curacao

Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters



View of PDVSA Isla refinery in Willemstad on the island of Curacao.

By Alex Nussbaum , Ezra Fieser , and Lucia Kassai

NEW YORK/BOGOTA/HOUSTON

Petroleumworld 21 05 2018

ConocoPhillips is going all out to recover $2 billion it was awarded in arbitration from Venezuela. First it froze the assets of Venezuela's state-run oil giant, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, at Caribbean harbors that serve as key waystations for much of Venezuela's crude exports. Now it's pushing to do the same in the U.S., Europe and Asia. The fight pits the world's biggest independent explorer against the holder of the world's most significant crude reserves, and it's exploring some surprising legal territory.

1. Why does Venezuela owe $2 billion?

In 2007, under then-President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela moved to strip four of the world's biggest oil companies, including Conoco, of control over several billion-dollar crude projects in a region of the country known as the Orinoco Belt , named for the river that flows over the world's largest deposits of petroleum. Chavez's argument was that the projects played a strategic role in the country's development and sovereignty. His government seized two Orinoco ventures and one smaller project. That's when Conoco began its push for reimbursement.

2. Where did Conoco turn first?

Believe it or not, the chamber of commerce. Not the local one, mind you, but the International Chamber of Commerce , a private organization headquartered in Paris and used by member states and companies since 1923 as an arbiter of last resort for international financial disputes. In Conoco's case, the ICC ruled the company should be paid $2.04 billion for the assets it lost. The problem: The ICC doesn't have the ability to enforce its rulings. That's up to local jurisdictions.

3. So Conoco had to go back to Venezuela?

No. Instead, it filed legal actions on the Caribbean islands of Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire and St. Eustatius, where ships regularly offload Venezuelan crude to tankers and refineries, part of its journey to China, Russia, and even the U.S. All four of those islands are former Dutch colonies, and still follow the Netherlands legal system, which happens to be friendly to asset-seizure requests. On May 4, a court in Curacao took less than an hour to allow Conoco to freeze $636 million worth of assets and accounts held on the island by PDVSA. Courts in the other islands did the same.

4. What exactly is frozen, and what does that mean?

Courts in the Caribbean islands have frozen PDVSA oil and oil products sitting in storage tanks in all the islands and in oil tankers. Frozen means they can't be touched by either party until final legal arguments are made and a ruling is issued. Conoco also is trying to take over a terminal in Bonaire owned by PDVSA, and money transfers to PDVSA.

5. How have the Venezuelans responded?

PDVSA hasn't commented officially, although a person familiar with the company told Bloomberg that it intends to pay off the arbitration award. PDVSA has faced criticism for not moving aggressively to take precautions commonly used by distressed debtors to protect assets from seizure, including so-called free-on-board" contracts that designate cargo no longer belongs to a company once it leaves local shores.

6. What has Conoco seized so far?

Nothing yet, since the court ruling is not yet final. But the litigation puts any other company or organization that works with PDVSA in its own legal jeopardy, effectively freezing the assets in place.

7. What happens next?

The Caribbean rulings were ex parte" decisions, orders based on arguments from only one side of a legal dispute. They still must survive a more detailed legal review. PDVSA, meanwhile, is seeking a license from Venezuela's environmental agency to carry out ship-to-ship transfers off the coast of Venezuela, rather than in the Caribbean, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Meantime, Conoco is looking to expand pressures on its quarry, Chief Executive Ryan Lance said in a May 15 news conference. The U.S. company filed similar requests in New York, London, Paris and Hong Kong in a push to place liens on assets in other parts of the world.

8. Who gets hurt by all this?

Beyond the direct impact on the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which is bankrolled by the export of crude oil, any hindrance of PDVSA's business could mean that refineries from the U.S. to Asia find themselves out of the Venezuelan oil many of them were set up to run. That could mean higher oil prices and more pain at the pumps. And pity the poor folks in the Caribbean, where the oil facilities are a major employer, as well as a prime source of fuel for locals. Four of Curacao's government-controlled companies, including the owner of the Isla refinery, went to court this week seeking to allow delivery of the fuel oil originally targeted for them. On May 18, PDVSA was ordered to supply fuel oil to Bonaire and Curacao starting no later than May 22, with the proceeds to be deposited into in an escrow account until courts decide if PDVSA or Conoco is entitled to the money

9. Who's going to win?

It's unclear. PDVSA still has options, including a challenge to the arbitration ruling that could take a year to decide. But Conoco's progress could start a chain reaction" of competing claims against PDVSA, according to Francisco Monaldi, an energy policy expect at Rice University in Houston. You could have an avalanche of new creditors."

Read: ConocoPhillips takes over Venezuela's Caribbean oil assets

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Here's something we haven't heard much in a while: It's a good time to run a factory in Philadelphia, says William Stockwell, fourth generation owner of Stockwell Elastomers, a 75-employee gaskets-and-seals manufacturer in the Holmesburg section.

It's about hiring: While suburban factory managers complain that it's tough to find reliable new people who can handle factory work, the city has more people looking for hourly wages that start in the low teens and range through the high 20s, plus medical, retirement, and a piece of the action: Stockwell has added an employee stock-ownership program.

Unlike in the far suburbs, "I can look out a half-mile from this building and I have 10,000 people to choose from," in rowhouse neighborhoods spreading west of the low-rise tan-brick plant, Stockwell told me from his office.

He needed all the referrals he could get last year, when area temp services ran out of names during a mini-boom in factory and warehouse hiring. Stockwell sent an all-hands email appeal. Staff responded with friends and family members "who had never dreamed of working in a manufacturing facility," he told me. "We have a lady from the Kmart that closed on Cottman Avenue. She's a star. People assume the work is drudgery. But we do small-run, high-mix jobs. You won't be bored by doing the same thing shift after shift. It's an entry to the middle class."

The stronger economy is also forcing factories "to take a second look at people we might not have been inclined to hire before," he added. Stockwell has sped up on-the-job training. Generally, he concluded, "the private sector is reaching deeper into society to teach and train, where the school system and the government haven't been able."

Stockwell was one of 111 manufacturers in eastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delaware who answered the sixth yearly manufacturing survey  about hiring and the impact of economic policies of the Trump administration and the Republican-led Congress  by Kreischer Miller, a Horsham accounting firm that focuses on industrial companies in Southeastern Pennsylvania and nearby towns.

More than two-thirds of the factory owners said they expected last winter's federal tax rate cuts will help the U.S. economy generally.

Nearly half expected their own sales will grow at least 5 percent, outpacing the U.S. economy. That's a big increase: Only one-third felt that way in last year's surveys.

But just 1 in 12 manufacturers expect the looming tariffs on steel and aluminum imports will help their companies. Nearly six in 10 expect tariffs will hurt both their companies and the U.S. economy.

Federal corporate income-tax cuts are making it easier for German-owned lighting-parts maker GEHR USA in Boothwyn to afford new investments "in the business, in equipment and people," said president Patrick Foose in his comments to the survey, which were made public by Kreischer Miller. That includes $1.5 million for two new extrusion lines, instead of the single line he had been planning to add, plus "a little bit more" for wage increases.

He wasn't worried about higher tariffs; Foose expects Trump's move will end up obliging the Chinese to ease restrictions on their U.S. imports, boosting the U.S. economy.

"The new tariffs on steel have had a very quick, negative impact" on Waste Gas Fabricating Inc., an employee-owned steel fabricator in Fairless Hills, president Kyle Cloman said in his survey response.

Even though the company uses mostly U.S.-made steel, the threat of tariffs has driven overall prices higher, boosting steel costs by 20 cents a pound. The company handles 125 tons of steel a day, "so that means it costs about $40,000 more a day to run our business" since the tariffs were announced. "The resulting increase in the cost of goods made from steel" will "offset the tax advantages," he added. But that could take a few years; For now, "we are about as busy as we can possibly be."

Nearly two-thirds of the companies said they plan to hire this year, up from fewer than half two years ago. But many added that reliable, experienced help is getting harder to find.

The Labor Department says the national unemployment rate has fallen below 4 percent. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average U.S .hourly manufacturing wage was $26.91 an hour in April and $26.55 a year earlier. That compares to $40.34 for information technology workers, $29.63 for construction workers, $26.80 for health-care and school workers, and $15.83 for restaurant and hotel workers.

If demand keeps rising faster than the labor supply, factory owners could face more pressure to raise wages, automate operations or move work overseas. The pressure should grow as fewer Americans have children and President Trump and other Republican leaders have pushed to limit immigration, a traditional source of American factory labor.

More than 90 percent of the manufacturers in the area survey said they had to give workers a raise in the past year (48 percent said they added workers in 2016, 59 percent in 2017, and 65 percent plan to hire this year).

But many are finding it harder to find qualified and skilled workers: "There is a disconnect between jobs available and the skill sets of applicants" in the Philadelphia area and nationally, said Michael A. Coakley, Kreischer Miller's audit and accounting director and manufacturing group head, in a statement.

GEHR's Foose says there are plenty of sales and office workers around, but it's tough to find reliable entry-level plastics workers in the firm's Delaware County neighborhood: "We're not a sexy business," and there's "a fairly large section of society" in that area of people who never learned or adapted to factory work.Chef Jose Garces in his test kitchen at 2401 Walnut St. on April 25, 2018. Read more

An investment banker involved in the attempted sale of Jose Garces' restaurants testified Monday that the value of a proposed deal nosedived after two key investors rejected the offer.

Jeff Manning of CohnReznick Capital, retained to sell the chef's troubled empire, said in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing in Camden that Ballard Brands originally offered $14 million to buy the restaurants and catering division, and settle with Garces' three largest vendors. Manning said he fielded six solid offers  one of which, he said, offered Garces a seven-figure salary.

After investors spurned the deal and Garces filed for bankruptcy protection, Ballard cut its offer to about $6.3 million, including $2 million in cash and $2.8 million to pay for gift cards and catering deposits. That offer is expected to become the floor for bids if an auction takes place next month.

Manning said the company could run out of cash by July, the start of a slow season for restaurants.

Jason Spiro, a lawyer for an investor fighting the move to bankruptcy, disputed Manning's account. In an interview, he said the Garces camp never provided detailed information to back up the initial offer.

Spiro's client, investors Tom and Maria Spinner, and another investor, Jim Sorkin, are urging U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Jerrold N. Poslusny to block Garces from taking key restaurants  Amada, Tinto, and Village Whiskey  into bankruptcy.

Attorney Adam Wolper, also representing the Spinners, told the judge that Garces had ignored "the plain contract language" to win approval for bankruptcy during a controversial board meeting last month in which the chef overrode their opposition to proceed with his plan.

But Warren Martin Jr., an attorney for Garces, said the original contract was a product of the "theater of the absurd" and improperly hamstrung Garces' authority.

Poslusny is expected to rule shortly.

Experts agree that any bankruptcy would likely leave investors with little or nothing. Most of the buyout money would go to M&T Bank of Buffalo, N.Y., a secured creditor owed about $7 million. It has liens on Garces' restaurants and his home and farm.

Garces, 45, has blamed his financial woes on the impact of the 2014 closing of the Revel casino in Atlantic City, which housed four successful Garces restaurants, and the recent failure of an Amada restaurant in New York City.

Sorkin, of Center City, and the Spinners, from New Jersey, fear that they will be left out in the cold as unsecured creditors. They sought to block the filings on grounds that Garces needed their backing for the step and failed to obtain it.

Garces, in a sport jacket with pocket square, attended the hearing with nearly a dozen employees  putting faces on what has been a bloodless legal dispute.

Sorkin, part-owner of Julius Silvert & Co., a major Philadelphia food distributor, and Tom Spinner, an insurance executive, also were in the courtroom. They sat on a separate side of the courtroom from Garces, the man they had backed financially.

In a crucial board meeting last month, Garces divided his share in the company into three, which he said gave him the votes necessary to prevail. The Spinners and Sorkins maintain that the chef's maneuver was improper.

Wolper said to the judge Monday that Garces' maneuver was illegal.

Earlier on Monday, Poslusny allowed the Garces camp to give bonuses to about 30 key employees to retain them during the auction and sale.Shah Golamkade, a cab driver who switched to Uber and back to cab driving, is ready for a fare at Eighth and Market Streets. Read more

Three cushions buttressed the driver's seat of Shah Golamkader's taxicab.

"These are for pain," Golamkader, 46, explained.

Driving up to 14 hours a day is no good for his ailing back. Not ideal for his high blood pressure, either.

For an immigrant from Bangladesh, though, driving was a job that could bring in $400 to $500 a week  enough to pay the bills.

That changed when ride sharing came to Philadelphia in 2014. Golamkader, like many of the city's 1,500 cabdrivers, has spent four years trying to earn what he did before Uber and Lyft. That meant switching from driving a taxi to driving for Uber, and then, in 2017, switching back again.

Golamkader's weekly earnings are down about $200 compared with four years ago.

Drivers face difficult choices in this changing environment: Work through a ride-hailing app, put strain on their personal vehicles, and compete with a seemingly ever-growing population of drivers, or work for a cab industry that is bleeding customers.

In 2017, taxis made $43 million less than in 2014 and had 4.2 million fewer fares, according to Philadelphia Parking Authority data. The value of a medallion, the auctioned permit that allows a cab to operate, was $500,000 in 2014, compared with $38,000 in April.

The pressure is wearing on the city's cabbies, said Ron Blount, president of the Taxi Workers Alliance of Philadelphia.

"It still required a lot of hours," he said. "Drivers were still working 12 hours a day, six days a week, but they could still make a living."

Now, he said, it's difficult for a cabdriver to earn minimum wage.

There's rage toward the PPA, which cabdrivers say has failed to provide rules for ride-share vehicles, something state legislation allows it to do. The PPA has said the glut of ride-share vehicles in the city has overwhelmed its regulatory resources, and it has proposed a 50-cent tax on every ride-share trip to compensate. However, it also wants to impose the same fee on cabs, something drivers say would inflict more pain on the industry.

The PPA is still working on new rules for ride-share vehicles, said Christine Kirlin, director of the PPA division that oversees cabs and ride-share companies. In any case, most of the complaints she hears from the cab industry would require action from the legislature, she said.

A recent New York Times story about the suicides of four professional drivers in New York City this year cited the for-hire car industry's difficulties.

People in the cab industry say a shift back to cab driving, like Golamkader's, has become increasingly common as drivers find the best way to maximize their earnings.

Another driver who made the switch, Max Leventhal, 31, said that at first the money driving for Uber was good. But both he and Golamkader described driving for Uber as a gig with diminishing rewards.

Golamkader first drove for Uber Black in 2014 and did well, but UberX, Uber's primary ride-share service, eventually took his customers, he said. He switched to UberX, but as more drivers signed on to the app, his profits dwindled. By the time he left in 2017, he said, he was making about the same money he now makes as a cabdriver, but was putting miles on his personal car that led to maintenance he had to pay for.

"At the end of the day, I had no money," he said.

Uber noted opportunity for drivers with the pool of new riders in Philadelphia growing by about 40,000 each month.

Still, the shrinking profits Golamkader experienced are common, said David King, assistant professor at Arizona State University-Tempe, who has studied the cabs and ride-share companies in New York City.

He described Uber and Lyft in the midst of an arms-race-like competition, in which both companies are flooding cities with vehicles to take a commanding share of the market. The more drivers, though, the less money any one can make. Philadelphia now has more than 20,000 ride-share vehicles.

"The drivers are the sorry losers in it," King said. "That's kind of a larger narrative about deregulation and technology-enabled gig economy."

Ironically, the switch back to taxi driving for Golamkader was possible because of ride share's disruptions. He paid $450 a week to lease a cab before ride share came to Philadelphia. Because the value of medallions plummeted, his lease now is a more affordable $200 a week.

The taxi industry is seeking to compete both by adopting ride share's strengths and emphasizing traditional cabs' differences.

Ride-share companies pride themselves on having expanded for-hire vehicle service to poorly served city neighborhoods and for reinventing the industry's business model.

"Competition from Uber and other ride-sharing services has created more choice for drivers, forcing taxi bosses to up their game so all drivers are better treated," said Uber spokeswoman Danielle Filson.

Indeed, the success of Uber and Lyft has pushed cabdrivers to keep their vehicles cleaner and to be more aware of customer service, Leventhal said.

Almost every cab in the city can be hailed through the app Curb, which is similar to ride-hailing apps with some taxi-specific features, such as allowing payments through the app for a cab hailed off the street. The 215-GET-A-CAB app, which last fall began dispatching for the combined fleets of Freedom, PHL Taxi, and 215-GET-A-CAB, is a rebranding of Curb, said Jason Gross, vice president of mobile at Curb.

Since the upgrade and partnership, driven by the need to compete, the app accounts for 35 percent of all taxi passengers for the partnered companies, said Danielle Friedman, the lawyer for 215-GET-A-CAB.

Taxis could compete in new ways with services that connect riders with public transit centers, offer better service for people with physical limitations, and provide nonemergency medical transportation, Gross said.

"We think there are a lot of untapped markets that taxis haven't participated in," he said.

The legislation legalizing ride-share businesses in Philadelphia allowed cabs also to increase their rates during busy times  which Uber calls surge pricing  but so far, none has done it, the PPA's Kirlin said. People in the industry see a consistent rate as an asset that could attract customers, she said.

Leventhal noted cabdrivers' training, pointing to five days of testing to memorize city landmarks and the best routes. And he dismissed the Uber and Lyft culture of the chatty driver.

"A cabdriver is a professional driver," Leventhal said. "He's not there to be your friend."

Kirlin, though, said the cab industry has squandered opportunities. The 2016 legislation gave cab companies less stringent inspection requirements and the ability to do their own background checks. The condition of vehicles has noticeably declined since then, Kirlin said, and the authority has found owners that aren't doing background checks.

Some drivers still fight battles long since decided. About 15 percent of complaints to the PPA cite drivers who refused to take a credit card, something required since 2005, Kirlin said.

Even if cabs fully embraced professionalism and new technology, it might not be enough to resuscitate the industry, Kirlin said. The ease that drivers can enter ride share and the adjustable rates will tilt the hire car business toward more part-time drivers.

"I think it's likely going to be hard for the taxi market to go back to anything that resembles 2008 or earlier," she said.

Meanwhile, cabbies and ride-share drivers alike continue to feel the squeeze. As president of the Taxi Workers Alliance, Blount is increasingly interested in trying to find common ground between taxi and ride-share drivers, he said. He's looking for ways to increase ride-share drivers' earnings, as well as reducing the leasing costs for a cab.

For Golamkader, life as a driver allows him to drop his two children off at school and take 10 minutes a day for prayer at a city mosque (his only break other than a few minutes for lunch). The flexibility, though, is increasingly untenable.

"If I could find any job, I go," he said. "If you're longtime driving a taxi cab or Uber, you have no money."Destiny Kobel had a vague idea of what high school would be like, and, frankly, she was frightened before she launched into her freshman year at Kensington High in September.

"I thought it was going to be scary," said Kobel, 14. "I thought it was going to be hard."

But things have gone much better than planned; classes have been manageable, with teachers she can relate to, trips and activities, and a constant push to stay on target academically and personally. She chalks that up to her experience in Kensington's ninth grade academy  essentially a school within a school, where freshmen have a dedicated group of specially selected teachers and extra supports.

For the Philadelphia School District, ninth-grade academies are an area of focus and a planned $7.2 million investment next school year.

In the race to high school graduation, ninth grade is make-or-break time: Finishing freshman year on schedule is the strongest predictor of whether a student will earn a diploma in four years, research shows. And in a city where one-third of all high school students do not graduate on time, strategies to get teens to the finish line are important.

"The transition from eighth grade to ninth grade is where we lose our kids," said Jose Lebron, a 40-year education veteran and Kensington's principal.

Schools around the region and across the country, particularly those in urban areas, have zeroed in on freshman year as a time to catch kids  or else. Nineteen Philadelphia comprehensive high schools now have ninth-grade academies; for the 2018-19 school year, 27 high schools will have them.

Cheryl Logan, who until recently was Philadelphia's chief academic officer, believes a focus on ninth graders is the path to Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.'s target of an 80 percent graduation rate by 2021, up from 67 percent in 2017.

"For years, the strategy has been backward: We put all of our investment dollars in credit recovery and reengagement," said Logan, recently named the next schools superintendent in Omaha, Neb. "There's only one place to invest in raising the graduation rate, and that's ninth grade. The issues are a lot less complex when kids are 14 than when they're 19."

Kensington is in its second year of the model, and it has made a marked difference, said Lebron, who is in his third year as principal.

Change does not come overnight, and Kensington still has a long way to go, but the academy has begun to move the needle, administrators say. Serious incidents have been cut in half, more students are on track for promotion to 10th grade, and attendance is up. (Last year, Lebron said, just 8 percent of freshmen attended school 95 percent of the time or more, and so far this year, 30 percent of freshmen have hit that mark.)

The district dollars have given the school an assistant principal dedicated solely to ninth grade, a college and career readiness coordinator, and climate supports to focus on student behavior, and extracurricular opportunities. Ninth graders have their own floor in the building and their own entrance to the school, where staff members stand outside every morning to greet them.

The school's strongest educators teach freshmen, who have 90 minutes of math and English class a day, and a "freshman seminar class" that offers lessons on skills Kobel and her classmates say are helping them adapt to high school: study skills, note taking, social and emotional lessons. At regular town hall sessions, issues are aired and victories celebrated.

And all 159 pupils in the freshman academy can tell you exactly where they stand on the Kensington Tiger rating wall, a long bulletin board with bright yellow backing paper and the name of every student. Every week, teachers get together to confer and bestow separate marks (red, yellow, or green) for attendance, behavior, and academics, and to share insights about individual kids, to help keep them close  and to keep them publicly accountable, the ratings are posted for all to see.

"If a student moves from neutral to negative, we need to know what's going on, we have to follow up," said Jamie Clark, Kensington's assistant principal for the ninth grade. Teachers make an effort to understand students' strengths and weaknesses even before they walk into the building  before school begins, staffers pore over pupil records from middle school to prep for what supports the teens might need.

On Wednesdays, Alyssa Morales races to the bulletin board to check her marks. Positive marks come with rewards  trips, parties, other perks, and negative marks aren't just letters on a page. They come with feedback from staff on how to make changes  such things as "always wear full uniform," "use professional language," "show respect for everyone."

"We all strive for positive," said Morales, 15. She was in neutral for academics, she said, but she had a plan to raise the bar. "I'm going to pay more attention in class, and I'm going to finish my work  all of it."

Ana Ramirez, the college and career coordinator, meets with every student at least twice a year to develop individual plans for their academic careers and their future, and a road map to get there.

"It's trying to change the culture, long-term, when it comes to graduation rate," said Ramirez.

Nick Niedosik has taught in the imposing building on East Cumberland Street for 12 years, when it was the old Kensington High School, then when it became Kensington Business, and now, reformed as Kensington High again. As ninth-grade dean, Niedosik sees a marked improvement in culture because of the structure and supports of the academy, he said.

"Some of our kids don't have a role model at home, but we make sure that everyone at school has some adult to talk to," said Niedosik. "I didn't see that when I taught other grades."

A focus on ninth grade is not new, or unique to Philadelphia; Lebron used a ninth-grade academy so successfully when he led Edison High in the late 1990s and early 2000s that he also expanded the model to start a separate 10th-grade program. But education trends often come and go as administrations shift.

Still, when Hite asked Lebron to take the helm of Kensington to "clean the place up," Lebron said, he knew that a focus on a highly structured freshman year would be key to improving the school, which scored just 13 out of 100 on the district's internal report card for 2017.

"In the past, we were just saying, 'Here's your roster, go and do your best,' and hope that they would make it. There were all kinds of ramifications, and nothing consistent," Lebron said. "Now, we're making meaningful progress. This is going a long way to getting our students up to par."Former Gates Foundation director Daniel Greenstein, is the new chancellor for the State System of Higher Education. Read more

A senior adviser at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation  the philanthropic organization that has doled out millions to spur improvement in higher education  was selected Monday to lead Pennsylvania's 14-university state system as it continues on a path of redesign amid falling enrollment and tighter finances.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's board of governors voted unanimously to hire Daniel Greenstein, who led the post-secondary-success strategy at the Seattle-based foundation for six years before leaving in March to become a senior adviser.

Greenstein, 57, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, previously served as a vice provost in the University of California system, which is more than twice the size of Pennsylvania's system. He will replace Karen M. Whitney, who took over as interim chancellor following the resignation of Frank T. Brogan last summer.

"He is the perfect fit to lead the state system as we move forward with the redesign," said Cynthia Shapira, chairwoman of the system's Board of Governors.

In September, he will take the helm of the 102,000-student Pennsylvania system, which is coping with declining enrollment and searching for more state funding. Enrollment has dropped by nearly 17,000 students, or 14 percent, since 2010.

In an interview, Greenstein declined to specify his plans for the system or say at what point he would consider closures or mergers. But he has previously opined on the difficult conditions facing higher education and the need for bold change.

"That college you have your eye on for your teenager? It may be going out of business. Your alma mater, too," he wrote in a December 2013 piece in Inside Higher Education.

At the Gates Foundation, Greenstein worked on initiatives to increase college-degree attainment and reduce the attainment gap for minority students. He said he stepped away from that role having accomplished what he set out to do.

"I am the kind of guy who comes in and builds things or fixes things that need some help," he said in the interview.

He left no doubt that he will work toward helping the state system achieve the same goals.

"Let me be crystal clear," he said in a statement, "I do mean all of our students; regardless of zip code or background, all must and all will have an opportunity to succeed."

The seven-month search for a new chancellor began last fall and was overseen by an eight-member search committee, co-chaired by Shapira and Harold C. Shields, vice chair.

Universities in the system include Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock, and West Chester.

Greenstein, who will earn $380,000 annually, will oversee a system with varying success among its members. Cheyney, a historically black university, is among the state schools that have struggled financially; the university had been in danger of losing its accreditation, but got a reprieve last fall and is making changes under new leadership. Nearby West Chester University has been one of the most successful schools in the system and continues to grow.

Greenstein said he was excited about the opportunity to find a way to help Cheyney succeed and pointed to Paul Quinn College, a historically black school in Dallas, as one example of a successful turnaround. Paul Quinn is a "work college" where every student works on- or off-campus jobs for 10 to 15 hours a week to help pay tuition, keeping the price tag affordable.

A study of the state system universities commissioned by the system last year recommended no closure or merger of campuses, but suggested consolidation and staff reductions for schools with the greatest enrollment declines and budget gaps, an overhaul in the system's governance, and more stable and stronger leadership at the universities.

A subsequent review commissioned by the state legislature, however, called for more drastic restructuring, including possibly reducing the number of schools to as few as five to eight.

Greenstein got his bachelor's in history at the University of Pennsylvania, studied at the London School of Economics, and got his doctorate in social studies from Oxford University. He began his academic career in 1989 as a senior lecturer in modern history at Glasgow University in Scotland. In 1999, he became executive director of the Digital Library Federation in Washington and moved to the University of California system in 2002.

There, he oversaw academic planning, programs, and coordination, and had a leadership role in the system's aggressive online venture, which struggled to raise enough seed money from foundations or other private sources. That system, like Pennsylvania, has faced budget woes and cutbacks, some during Greenstein's tenure.Americans should be outraged at the news that the Trump administration is considering breaking apart desperate immigrant and asylum-seeking families and placing the children in camps on military bases.

Since August 2017, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has been weakening parental rights, overturning earlier measures meant to facilitate children's well being.

Earlier this month, the Marshall Project, a nonpartisan news organization focused on the U.S. criminal justice system, reviewed the steps taken to curtail legal protections for immigrant juveniles. Under the guise of law enforcement, federal officials increased efforts to detain vulnerable children entering the U.S. in order to escape violence or trafficking.

Now the federal government is poised to go a step further, taking children away from parents in order to deter those seeking asylum or refuge.

The outright cruelty of separating and incarcerating children and the threat it poses to their health is stunning. Who will care for the children? Who will educate them? Who will look after their physical and mental health needs? Will infants and toddlers become part of this incarcerated group? How quickly can families be reunited? The harm done by separation can be lasting.

Organizations of professionals dedicated to the well being of children have spoken out about the need for protecting young people from areas racked by deadly violence. The American Psychological Association advocates federal policies on immigration that promote keeping families together. Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a statement urging the President to ensure that families fleeing violence and seeking refuge be treated with compassion. Foster care experts have long known that separation of children from families can have lasting traumatic developmental effects even when it is necessary for the safety of the children. In regards to immigration, the National Association of Social Workers has urged avoiding long-time family separation. The decision makers in Washington, D.C. should be listening to these experts and turning to them for help in making immigration programs addressing families better for all parties.

We've been down this ugly road of family separation before, with Native American boarding schools that became cesspools of physical and sexual abuse. The schools, established in order to take children far from their parents and force them to lose their culture and their language, left a terrible legacy of suicide, alcohol abuse, and family dysfunction. To trod that ground again, destroying families and scarring children, is not just about failing to learn the lessons of history, it is about failing to build a better nation.

In 1790, George Washington wrote to the congregation of the Touro Synagogue, "happily the Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance" That was something to aspire to in 1790 and so it is today. Our elected officials must turn stop persecuting children and instead focus on protecting them.

Janet Golden is a professor of history at Rutgers University-Camden.The delegation in the Netherlands (Photo: VNA)

The delegation had a working session with representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy and communities in the Netherlands.

Vietnamese Ambassador Ngo Thi Hoa briefed the delegation on the situation of Overseas Vietnamese (OV) in the Netherlands and its policies for Vietnamese people and students living, working and studying in the country, as well as the Vietnamese citizen protection work of the embassy.

The representatives of the OV Association reviewed the achievements and difficulties of the association in the Netherlands and emphasized the demand for Vietnamese language study and maintaining Vietnamese culture among the second and third Vietnamese generations.

Besides, the OV also highly appreciated activities of the government of Vietnam such as Homeland Spring program, Summer Camp for OV youth, orthodox information on VTV4 channel and timely attention of the Party Central Committee Commission for Mass Mobilization for active collectives and individuals in mass mobilization work in the Netherlands.

Representatives of the Vietnamese Student Association in the Netherlands affirmed that they always maintain their political stuff, activeness in students activities and participate in the embassy activities.

Ms. Tran Thi Bich Thuy applauded work related to the Party and mass mobilization implemented by the embassy, and highly appreciated the information provided by the embassy and organizations.

The delegation will propose appropriate measures and policies for the local country, contributing to promoting the OV community to deeply integrate into the local society.

Later on, the delegation paid a working visit to France./.Ramadan is here, and I've got some resolutions. During this month of spiritual growth, I am resolving to use my time more wisely. I am letting go of the fruitless, demoralizing work of proving my humanity. I hope others will do the same.

As an African American Muslim woman, I have often felt pressure to explain and justify my existence to others. The pressure to explain, explain, and explain is familiar to all minorities. Members of the dominant culture see difference, develop biases, and then  implicitly or explicitly  demand explanations.

Cloaked in the politics of respectability, we walk through our white-dominated, Christian-influenced contexts like we owe everyone an apology. We apologize for being us. We think we have to explain.

My freshman year at New York University began with the 9/11 tragedy, and I did a lot of explaining then. In my classes, students and professors expected me to be able to discuss jihad as an expert. In the days and weeks after the attacks, I spent time in Muslim Student Association information sessions learning about jihad  something I knew little about beforehand  with other Muslim students who were also expected to explain.

We didn't know, at the time, to question this expectation. We didn't know we had the right to instead grieve as everyone else was grieving. We didn't know we had the right, and the need, to simply process being in such close proximity to the murder of thousands. We didn't know we had the right to just be.

The problem with putting the burden of explanation on minorities is that it can be exhausting labor that takes away time to address more important needs of an already marginalized people. Don't task individuals with teaching their culture, defending whole world religions, and speaking for groups of people that number in the hundreds of millions. And don't make a member of a minority explain themselves to you so that you can feel more comfortable.

This is not to say there is no room for dialogue or that people should not seek to understand minority groups. But you can learn without creating a burden for others.

First, take on the responsibility for learning. If you are in the dominant culture, know that others take the time to understand your culture all of the time, because not doing so means losing social currency. In our global world, this work is necessary for everyone. Fortunately, instant information is constantly at our fingertips. Use online resources and libraries. Go to events and places of worship. Be willing to compensate others for taking time to teach you, just as you would compensate someone for teaching you anything else.

Second, while it's reasonable to discuss culture or faith with someone you know, these topics should rarely be the first real discussion you initiate with a person you have just met. For example, don't ask a person of color, "What are you?" or a Muslim woman in hijab, "Why do you wear that?" Questions like these are rude, invasive, and suggest you see a person's otherness before you see their humanity.

To Muslims and other minorities, I say, let's resolve to have conversations on our own terms. While it's beneficial to share things about ourselves, we should never feel pressured to explain or justify. Allow yourselves the right to say "I would rather not discuss my background," or "I don't want to defend my religious beliefs."

And let's refuse to use the problematic frameworks the dominant culture has set out for us. I have previously written about the Islamic headscarf (hijab) in ways that are familiar and comfortable to African American Muslims. I do not make the expected apologies or defense for the hijab. Nor do I try to make others comfortable with it.

In this age of Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino, and Lemonade-era Beyonce, it is OK to create work that centers on a marginalized audience work that flouts the white gaze by not explaining, and isn't meant to make the mainstream comfortable. Progressive people can still appreciate this work and learn from it  even in discomfort.

Let's make no apologies for who we are this month. Let's just be. Ramadan mubarak.

Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow is a program director at Mighty Writers and the author of the children's book "Mommy's Khimar."Former U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent will begin to appear on CNN on Monday not just as a talking head, but as a member of the network staff.

Dent, a 57-year-old Allentown native who officially resigned from Congress a little more than a week ago, has been hired by CNN as a political commentator. He will make his first appearance in his new role on Erin Burnett OutFront at 7 p.m. Monday, based out of Pennsylvania.

Dent, the former co-chairman of the moderate Republican Tuesday Group, who had represented Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District since 2005, has been a highly sought-after pundit over the last year for his willingness to criticize President Trump and his administration from the right. Dent previously told my colleague Jonathan Tamari he was pursuing multiple job opportunities in the private sector, and didn't rule out lobbying.

"Nothing is final yet, I'm still working on it. But it just seemed like the right time for personal reasons, and I hope to be able to deal with my future when I'm out of Congress," Dent said in April.

Dent's hiring seems to buck a recent trend at CNN of hiring conservative contributors who defend Trump. CNN chief executive Jeffrey Zucker boasted to the New York Times last year that his group of about 12 pro-Trump panelists were "characters in a drama" intended on hitting a viral nerve that could be debated and shared throughout the day.

>> READ MORE: CNN hosts Brian Stelter, Jake Tapper face questions about Kellyanne Conway interviews

Earlier this month, Dent was among the few Republicans calling for congressional hearings in light of conflicting statements about a $130,000 payout to porn star Stormy Daniels to silence allegations of an affair with Trump.

"If a Democratic president had paid off a porn star to keep quiet while he was president, I suspect we'd have oversight hearings, and I suspect there probably should be some oversight hearings to get to the bottom of that," Dent said on CNN Newsroom. "If a Democratic president had done this, we'd be waving a bloody shirt right now."

CNN has turned to Pennsylvania in recent years to find political analysts. Former Sen. Rick Santorum, also a Republican from Pennsylvania, is a commentator on the network. He most recently gained attention for his commentary when he suggested teenagers who marched in Philadelphia, Washington, and other cities in support of stricter gun-control laws should learn CPR instead.

Another Pennsylvania native, political strategist and former Reagan White House staffer Jeffrey Lord, was fired last August after using a Nazi reference in a tweet directed at the president of the liberal media watchdog group Media Matters.

Former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and former Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey have also recently worked as commentators for CNN.Gov. Wolf sued several firms Monday for arranging what the lawsuit calls "the worst financial disaster in the history of the commonwealth" in connection with a failed $360 million Harrisburg trash-to-steam incinerator project, in the mid-2000s.

The state accused investment bank RBC Capital Markets; Pennsylvania law firms Obermayer, Rebmann, Maxwell & Hippel LLP, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott LLC, and Foreman & Caraciolo PC; financial adviser Public Financial Management Inc. (PFM), of Philadelphia; and York-based engineering firm Buchart Horn Inc. of "unjust enrichment" at taxpayers' expense.

The governor's suit (READ LAWSUIT HERE) in Commonwealth Court also accuses Obermayer, Buchanan, Eckert, and PFM of breach of fiduciary duty and legal malpractice. Obermayer and Eckert were also accused of fraud and negligent misrepresentation, and the Foreman firm of aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty.

The Buchart firm was accused of professional malpractice in its work setting up the plant. The government says its backers knew it could not have operated profitably, but hid that reality from public officials so the professionals could profit from high fees at public expense.

Veteran professionals including RBC banker James Losty, PFM adviser Glen Williard, and lawyers at each of the firms formed a "working group" that advised Harrisburg on building and financing the incinerator. The group suffered from "destructive conflicts of interest," which resulted in the members focusing on getting paid, instead of delivering a workable facility to utility ratepayers and taxpayers, the suit contends.

The professionals failed to make the dangers clear to Harrisburg City Council and other public officials, and some of them lied to keep the project going, the suit alleges.

Instead of sound advice that would help ratepayers and taxpayers benefit from a sound facility, the state was given "false and misleading information" by pros who "concealed material facts" and imposed an "imprudent and illegal debt" on taxpayers, according to the suit.

The Wolf administration hired lawyer Walter Anderson of the Washington firm of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP to sue the professionals (UPDATE): in 2015, to review whether firms that profited from the deal, or their insurers, could be forced to pay anything back. The lawsuit says fees totalled $12 million. The state is seeking, not just lost fees, but also punitive (punishment) damages.

Meanwhile, taxpayers had paid to cover the losses, along with Harrisburg city employees whose pay and benefits were cut, and Harrisburg residents, who lost when the city was forced to sell parking garages and other assets to keep from going bankrupt, according to the suit.

"It is time to hold those responsible for the failed incinerator debt scheme accountable and recoup the taxpayer dollars wasted by their negligence and deception," Wolf said in a statement.

Wolf blamed "lobbyists and special interests" for "bilk[ing] taxpayers for their own gain" and collecting "millions" in the incinerator debacle.

A series of inquiries by the Harrisburg Authority and other agencies found that the incinerator was poorly designed and badly insured. According to Wolf, taxpayers ended up covering the losses in the form of higher tax payments and fees.

In filing the suit, Wolf signaled his interest in seeking punitive damages from well-connected firms, some run by prominent Democrats, and from their insurers, years after the losses.

City and authority officials, their paid advisers, and contractors building the incinerator shared blame for more than $300 million in losses in this 2011 Harrisburg Authority report reviewing the construction and financing.

Harrisburg defaulted on its bonds in 2012. City Council leaders sought a rare Chapter 9 bankruptcy to avoid paying the incinerator bonds, but Gov. Tom Corbett's administration insisted the bondholders get paid, and city officials eventually agreed to sell parking garages and other assets and to reduce city employment costs in order to limit damage to lenders.

David Unkovic, the lawyer sent in by Corbett to prevent a bankruptcy that might have boosted borrowing costs for other Pennsylvania communities, resigned in 2012, blaming "unchecked greed" for Harrisburg's plight.

The city later settled fraud charges with the SEC in connection to the case.92 year old Longfellow alumna Bette Bailey holds a photo of the school as it looked around 1933 when she attended the Longfellow Elementary School in Pennsauken. The school will be torn down and replaced with a community park by next year. In a final goodbye, alumni of Longfellow Elementary School are touring the aging building one last time. Read more

As 92-year-old Bette Bailey leafed through the yellowing pages of an old PTA minutes book, she was momentarily transported back to 1934.

That year, Bailey's mother was nominated as vice president of the Longfellow Elementary School parent group, and the proof was written in perfect script around Page 100.

"The last time she was inside this building was a long time ago," said Bailey's daughter, Meg Snyder, 62, of Pennsauken. At age 9, Bailey would walk about a half-mile each day to the school, where she sang in the chorus and stayed on the good side of the strict but caring principal, Eleanor Coe.

Bailey wasn't the only former student sitting in the school's multipurpose room on Friday lost in snippets of history. Dozens of alumni were scouring through old yearbooks, newspaper clippings, and photos strewn across tables for a goodbye tour of the soon-to-be demolished building.

Up a flight of stairs, others strolled through halls again, peering into classrooms and recalling trips to the principal's office.

The 93-year-old school long ago saw its glory days. For years, officials considered tearing it down because of its leaky ceilings and myriad maintenance issues. Finally, a bond referendum that passed in March forced its closure.

By September, the school will be replaced with a community park with walking trails, a gazebo and playgrounds. The project will cost $800,000. The school district, which owns the property, plans to repurpose the lot for field trips and nature observations.

Some bricks, clocks, and other items will be preserved and incorporated into other buildings throughout the district, he said. Kids and teachers have already been assigned to new elementary schools for the upcoming year.

The three-story brick building with large wooden front doors was designed in 1925 by Irwin Thornton Catharine, architect of the Philadelphia public schools. Construction was completed a year later, said Pennsauken Historical Society president Robert Fisher-Hughes.

At the time, the formerly agricultural town was transitioning into a suburb and the population was exploding, Fisher-Hughes said. Longfellow was built to accommodate the huge spike in student enrollments.

The idea for a farewell tour of Longfellow began after a newly hired counselor stumbled upon a treasure trove of records related to the school's past.

In September, counselor Marge Gaffney was reorganizing a closet in her office when she found stacked boxes of hundreds of photos dating back decades. On Friday, she helped guide alumni through a table of documents.

"It's exciting to finally see former students looking through all of this," Gaffney said. "It's part of the school's history."

Traditions at Longfellow remained frozen in time for decades. Alumni from the 1930s and 1970s alike shared stories of sledding down a small hill next to the school and walking home for lunch.

Peering through the rectangular window of her fifth-grade classroom, Margie Horvick-Visconti expected to find rows of desks facing a blackboard. Instead, she found a computer lab.

With her grade-school memory book in hand, Horvick-Visconti pointed out classmates in photos. She recalled one distinct memory: approaching the principal in kindergarten with her friend Peggy to question the school's dress code.

"We walked to the principal's office one day and said, 'We think it's wrong girls have to wear dresses in the freezing cold,'" Horvick-Visconti said. "That was my big feminist move in kindergarten.  I'll never forget that."Lisa Mothee of Olney said her five kids were removed by order of a judge who would not even let her present her case. Read more

Lisa Mothee came to Philadelphia Family Court last September confident she'd get the chance to tell her story, and hopeful that the Department of Human Services' case on the youngest of her five kids would be closed.

Yet, in the courtroom of Judge Lyris Younge, that's not what happened. After she answered questions about the birth of her daughter, the topic of her four older kids was raised  and Mothee wasn't permitted to speak. When she tried, according to a transcript, the judge cut her off: "Do not blurt out in court."

Then, Younge ordered Mothee, 31, and her fiance, Brian Colon, 30, of Olney, to be handcuffed and held until the kids could be claimed from school and from the babysitter, to be taken into protective custody.

"I didn't understand how something like this could happen," Mothee said. "I had all my documents ready, thinking I was going to get a fair hearing. And they tore us apart."

On Monday, another judge, Joseph Fernandes, who this week and last has been assigned to Younge's courtroom, took a total of 15 minutes to reverse the removal, allowing Mothee to reunite with her five children. By the afternoon, they were back home.

It's just the latest overturning of a ruling by Younge, who has faced blistering criticism and reversals from state appellate judges for violating due process and who, the Legal Intelligencer reported last week, is the subject of a probe by the state Judicial Conduct Board.

A spokesman for the courts would not comment on her status or whether she would return. The general counsel for the conduct board did not return messages.

"She took over a very difficult caseload," said Samuel Stretton, speaking as Younge's attorney. "The judge always looks out for the children. That's her priority."

He said that she is not suspended but rather took two weeks in chambers to catch up on an administrative backlog. Next week, she'll be on vacation. The week after that, she might return to the courtroom  or she might be reassigned, he said.

Lawyers and clients described a culture of fear and intimidation in her courtroom, where in January she held a lawyer, Brian McLaughlin, in contempt for being late to represent a mother in a contested hearing. Karen Deanna Williams, McLaughlin's lawyer, said he wasn't late: He'd waited in Younge's courtroom for an hour and a half before being called to another courtroom on a separate matter. She called Younge's court order in the case fraudulent and possibly criminal. And, she alleged, Younge held the contempt hearing without any notice to McLaughlin. A Superior Court judge removed Younge from the case.

"She's done any number of things in specific cases, all of which go to denial of litigants' due process," she said. "That's the overarching theme. Each case has a denial of due process or several denials, in separating families or not allowing children to go with their grandparents."

Everybody has been dealing with the same issue

Mothee said she has connected with 25 families who shared similar claims  that Younge would not allow them to present evidence or testimony before she moved quickly to remove their children, in some cases going even further than the city Department of Human Services' recommendation.

Mothee had feared retaliation, but hoped that if all the families spoke up together they could prevail. They've been holding protests outside TV stations and the courthouse.

"Everyone has been dealing with the same issue," she said.

In interviews, the families all said the same thing: "She wouldn't let me speak." "My lawyer wasn't allowed to talk." "I never got to testify."

For instance, one issue in Mothee's case was her son's truancy the previous school year. According to Mothee, Younge wouldn't allow her son's teacher to testify about bullying that led to the absences, or about the provisions the school and parents had made for the boy, who finished the year with A's and B's. Nor was Mothee allowed to present a letter from the principal describing her as an "involved" and "valued" parent.

Family Court hearings and filings are not public, but the records in appellate cases describe similar concerns.

One Superior Court judge excoriated Younge in an opinion vacating her termination of a couple's parental rights. The case began when the parents took their 2-month-old to the doctor and learned she had two broken ribs. Abuse allegations were lodged.

According to the opinion, Younge said in court that she would place the child in foster care until a cause of the injury was determined  but refused to allow the couple's medical experts to testify as to the likely cause.

"The elephant in the room," Judge Anne Lazarus wrote, "is that the trial judge was and remains the cause of the deteriorated bond between the parents and [child]."

In another reversed case, the Superior Court found that Younge refused to let a mother testify or even reenter the courtroom after she ran out, apparently sick to her stomach.

"The trial court violated mother's constitutional guarantee to due process when it precluded her from the opportunity to be heard," Judge Jacqueline Shogan wrote.

Stretton said Younge had not violated due process in any cases, and any of her missteps were early in her time on the bench and could be blamed on inexperience. For instance, she didn't properly document that the woman who'd been sick in her courtroom had been disruptive, and had refused offers to return.

The Superior Court opinion in that case "was written in a very mean-spirited way," he said.

But, one attorney, who didn't want to be named because of ongoing cases, said there are many more examples.

"The cases you're seeing are just the tip of the iceberg," the lawyer said, "because many attorneys don't have the time and resources to write appeals."

Younge, 52, was elected in 2015 despite a "not recommended" rating by the Philadelphia Bar Association. She worked for a decade in the city Law Department, according to her since-removed campaign website. There, she worked on child-welfare cases and collaborated with DHS to reduce placements in group homes, according to the site.

The Bar Association doesn't publish the rationale for its recommendations, though lawyers said "not recommended" ratings may reflect a judicial candidate's knowledge of the law or temperament for the bench.

Richard Bost, a lawyer who practices in Family Court, said the situation is a reflection of Pennsylvania's system of electing judges, given that most voters don't know much about the candidates they're selecting.

"All the recent data suggests that judges' position on the primary ballot in Philadelphia is a better indicator than anything else of whether they'll be elected," he noted.

Why cant I be part of your family anymore?

Mothee said her case started with a single Percocet. She was in excruciating pain in the last days of her pregnancy and took a pill from a family member's prescription, she said.

After she gave birth a couple days later, she and the baby tested positive for opiates. The hospital wanted to hold her daughter five days to monitor for withdrawal. Mothee refused. "I took one Percocet," she said she told them. "That's not going to happen."

The hospital discharged her daughter, but also called DHS.

DHS petitioned for dependency for Mothee's infant daughter  that is, for court supervision over her. Although DHS said there was no present danger  and had not petitioned for the four older children's removal  Younge ordered them all removed on the spot, allowing only supervised visits.

DHS spokeswoman Heather Keafer said that the agency cannot comment on individual cases, but that the agency seeks to keep as many children in their homes as possible.

Mothee said that, since her son was removed, his grades have worsened to C's and D's.

"He's acting out," she said. "I can understand. He's grieving."

Recently, she got her 3-year-old daughter a Peppa Pig house as a present. "And I said, you have to keep them together. They're a family. She said, 'But why can't I be part of your family anymore?' "

More calls for action

The other parents and grandparents who joined Mothee at protests described similar frustrations.

Lawyer Jimmy Binns said he's been trying to adopt his three grandkids for more than a year and a half. They were removed from his ex-wife's home for reasons he said he doesn't fully understand because he's not permitted in court.

"You can't get in  they won't let anybody in," he said. "That's how she gets away with what she does. There's no oversight."

Andrew Walsh said he and his wife were in town from California with their five kids when they brought their son to the hospital for issues related to his epilepsy. The hospital called DHS. Their kids were removed for medical negligence. But Walsh said the full picture of their medical records from back home was never introduced in court: "The judge didn't allow us to present evidence."

Lawyer William Calandra, who regularly appears in Family Court, said everyone's wondering what's next for those on Younge's docket.

Some lawyers have been in limbo, unable to file appeals: They first need Younge to write her opinion, and they're not sure whether she'll return to do so.

Calandra said the situation is chilling  particularly McLaughlin's contempt case, since dashing between courtrooms is a daily necessity.

"Scheduling a hearing without notice and making a finding of contempt, which is terribly damaging, it affects your malpractice, it affects your public perception. To do that when they're in front of another judge in a room one floor up, it's unheard of," he said.

Somebody actually gave us a fair trial

Last week, Miltreda Kress  yet another mother whose three youngest daughters had been removed on Younge's order  got some unexpected news: A different judge was handling her last Tuesday court date. It felt like a miracle.

Kress' case started with an allegation of abuse by her partner that was later deemed unfounded by DHS itself. Yet Kress was still prohibited unsupervised visits, she said, and her partner was allowed no visits at all. Instead, a stay-away order was lodged against him. Kress claims Younge told her, "As long as I stayed with him, my kids would never be able to come home."

Like others, Kress said she was never heard: "We never got to talk in her courtroom. Once, I got the word I out of my mouth. She cut me off there."

Last Tuesday, though, Fernandes allowed her to submit the evidence she'd never been permitted to bring forward in court. Her lawyer was at last able to call her as a witness. The judge also met with her daughters privately in a back room.

That day, he lifted the stay-away order, Kress said, and restored her partner's visitation. "Now I get unsupervised visits with my kids, something I was told I could never get," she said. "He told my girls in the back they're halfway home. 'All your mom has to do is finish a few objectives, and when you come back in August I don't see a problem with you going home.'"

Kress was shocked and jubilant.

"Somebody actually gave us a fair trial," she said, "and I didn't think I was ever going to get that."As summer approaches, Philadelphia is preparing for one of the most festive weeks of the year: Wawa Welcome America, a celebration of everything the city loves (including hoagies) and the history behind the founding of our nation.

On Monday, Welcome America Inc. and Mayor Kenney announced the 50 free events that will take place from June 28 through July Fourth. Festival organizers announced last month that Pitbull will headline the free concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway this year.

>> Read more: Why Pitbull is a good choice to headline Welcome America

"This year's festival is a collective vision of the city," Welcome America president and CEO Jeff Guaracino said during a news conference. "It combines the waterfront, the downtown area, and Valley Forge."

The festival is starting with an annual favorite  Wawa Hoagie Day at the National Constitution Center. The 26th annual Hoagie Day will have a 7-ton hoagie salute, a hoagie-building competition between police and firefighters, and, of course, 27,000 free Wawa hoagies.

On the Fourth of July, the City of Philadelphia will honor the Philly Pops for its 40-year history before a parade with 4,000 marchers, floats, and celebrities. Afterward, visitors can head to the Liberty Bell Center for a bell-tapping ceremony or a birthday party at the Independence Visitor Center hosted by Betsy Ross and Termini Bros. Bakery, with 2,500 cupcakes displayed in the shape of the American flag.

This year, there will be two fireworks shows  one on the Delaware River Waterfront on June 30 and one on the Parkway following the Pitbull concert on July Fourth. Both fireworks shows are scheduled for 9:30 p.m.

During the weeklong festival, 18 museums will offer free admission. They include the Constitution Center, the University of Pennsylvania Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the African American Museum in Philadelphia, and more. (The Philadelphia Museum of Art is also hosting a screening of Rocky on its steps on July 1.)

"Wawa Welcome America is about fun," Kenney said. "But it's also about promoting education and community engagement."

Independence Hall will be the site of three performances, including a first-time gospel performance on July 1. The Kimmel Center's Broadway Philadelphia on Independence will showcase song selections from the 2018-19 Broadway Philadelphia season, featuring performances from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Anastasia. and Cats, on July 2. The Philly Pops will also partner with Grammy Award-winner Heather Headley for its annual free concert on July 3.

In honor of its 25th anniversary, the Convention Center is hosting a community festival with tours of its $1.5 million art collection, birthday cake and a screening of the movie Sing on June 30. The Reading Terminal Market is also celebrating its 125th anniversary across the street on the same day with the Philly Scoop Ice Cream Festival.

Other new events include a launch party at Dilworth Park with multiple stages, as well as food and drink, on June 28, and a Fourth of July picnic at Valley Forge National Historic Park with barbecue and live music.

"Our country has been in a difficult position this year, socially and politically," Kenney said. "During this week, we want to show the world strength and inclusivity. Philadelphia is a diverse city, and we're happy to be that."

For a full list of events, visit welcomeamerica.com.Louellyn White, an assistant professor in the First Peoples Studies Program at Concordia University in Montreal, reacts to finding an American Indian skull in a cabinet in the Byberry Friends library on May 9, 2018. The skull was found while digging a canal near Lambertville, NJ. White is working with the Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition to search records and cemeteries for students who died while on Outing at the Carlisle Indian School. Read more

Louellyn White came to Pennsylvania to search for graves of native children who died after their Carlisle Indian School masters sent them out to work as maids and farmhands.

But as she hunted for burial records in the dusky, seldom-used library of the Byberry Quaker Meeting in Philadelphia, she made a horrifying discovery: a yellowed skull, labeled as Native American, set in a display case among a collection of rocks and fossils.

A note taped to the cabinet said the skull was dug out of a canal near Lambertville, N.J., part of a skeleton that in one hand held a pipe and hatchet.

"It's just wrong," said White, of Mohawk descent, who teaches First Peoples Studies at Concordia University in Montreal. "This is really an ancestor here, who's been stuck on this shelf next to animal skulls."

A Meeting representative said that she was shocked by the find  and that the Quakers will offer to return the remains, to conduct a burial, or take any action that Indian leaders may desire.

"We want to do the right thing," said Mary Ellen McNish, a longtime member and former clerk of the Meeting. "We will do whatever they want."

The discovery comes at a time when Indian nations are increasingly asserting their rights to the remains of their kin, not just from boarding-school cemeteries at places like Carlisle, but from museum storerooms and university laboratories. Institutions are being pushed to return human remains and sacred objects by enlightened moral values and by federal laws like the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

The change was a long time coming. For generations in this country, the rough treatment of native dead was not merely tolerated but endorsed.

In the late 1860s, the Army collected 4,000 Indian heads from graves and battlefields at the direction of the surgeon general, who wanted specimens for study.

More than 230 native skeletons excavated from Dickson Mounds in Illinois were put on display in the 1920s and kept on view, despite protests, until 1992. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln incinerated what it saw as useless Indian bones from its archaeological collection in the mid-1960s, a destruction acknowledged only in 1998.

"Broadly speaking, there's increased cultural sensitivity around these kinds of issues  sacred items, spiritual items, bones, all of it," said Ari Kelman, a chancellor's leadership professor of history of the University of California at Davis and author of A Misplaced Massacre: Struggling Over the Memory of Sand Creek. But at the same time, "there's a longstanding sense on the part of some collectors that their property rights trump the human rights of tribal peoples."

White traveled to Pennsylvania this month at the behest of the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, a Minnesota-based rights group. The coalition wants to strengthen its demand for a national accounting of all Indian children who went missing while under official supervision at dozens of boarding schools run by the government and by churches, the Quakers prominent among them.

Carlisle was founded in 1879 as the nation's first federal off-reservation boarding school. It worked to destroy the "savage nature" of Indian children by erasing their customs, languages, religions, and family ties.

Nearly 200 boys and girls who died in the experiment are buried on the grounds of what is now the Army War College. But others died or disappeared away from the school, lost during an assimilation program called "Outing." It's those children White seeks. Outing sent students to live with white families, immersing them in the dominant culture and turning them into cheap labor.

Today, Indian children known and unknown are buried across central and eastern Pennsylvania.

Two lie side-by-side in the Byberry Meeting cemetery.

City records identify one as 14-year-old Gertrude Spotted Tail, daughter of a famous Sioux chief, who died of pneumonia while on Outing in 1883. The identity of the other girl is unknown.

As White searched for graveyard ledgers in the library  crammed with stuffed birds, clothing, shells and books  she came upon the skull.

Her legs wobbled. And her stomach dropped.

She alerted Christine Diindiisi McCleave, the boarding school coalition executive officer, who then messaged Jaime Arsenault-Cote, a tribal historic-preservation officer.

Arsenault-Cote offered advice and reassurance.

"You're out there looking for them, and now they're showing themselves to you," she told White. "He's been waiting a long time."

Two days later, White returned to the library. She covered the skull with red cloth, sprayed cedar water, placed an offering of tobacco.

"I felt I needed to comfort this ancestor, and let him know we'll be taking care of him," she said.

Elsewhere, she found strings of wampum, the sacred white-and-purple shell beads. Byberry Quakers say they'll return those too.

Historically, Philadelphia Quakers were "inconsistent friends" to Indians, engaged in the same colonizing projects as other faiths while seeing themselves as uniquely able to educate natives, Kari Elizabeth Rose Thompson wrote in her 2013 University of Iowa dissertation.

The Friends were strong proponents of Indian schools, managing more than 30 during the 19th and early 20th centuries, according to Colorado Quaker activist Paula Palmer. Just this month in Wallingford, a Quaker-sponsored conference sought to examine the church's historical mistreatment of natives and try to find ways to right the relationship.

McNish said the Byberry Meeting is discussing the possibility of inviting Sioux and other native representatives to hold a joint ceremony honoring the two girls in the cemetery.

The Meeting is among the oldest in Pennsylvania, founded in 1683. Today, McNish said, its membership has shrunk to about 22 people, the library rarely visited.

She believes the skull came to the library when the old Byberry Philosophical Society ceased operations and transferred its holdings. She doubted members knew the skull was there, though Meeting Clerk David Nepley, nearing 70, said he remembered seeing it as a boy.

The cabinet note said the skull was among bones dug from the feeder to the Delaware and Raritan Canal, which was completed in 1834. The feeder stretches 22 miles; there's no indication where the remains were found on that route.

Judging by geography, the remains are likely those of a Leni Lenape, people who lived for thousands of years along the Delaware River watershed in what is now New Jersey, Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, and New York City.

European settlers drove the tribe west in the 1880s. Today, some people of Lenape heritage live in the Philadelphia region, but the tribe has its headquarters in Oklahoma and Kansas.

Tribe cultural director Curtis Zunigha declined to comment. But already native groups are moving to sort out which tribe or agency might take possession of the remains and ensure that the ancestor is accorded a dignified  and final  burial.

Tribes often work together to ensure that human remains are respectfully repatriated, particularly when information on their lineage may be lacking.

"The goal," said Shannon Keller O'Loughlin, executive director of the nonprofit Association on American Indian Affairs in Maryland, "is to return the ancestor to the earth."A photo of Antwine Jackson in his familys Mayfair home. Jackson was shot dead in January 2007, and the man convicted of killing him, Dontia Patterson, was freed from prison in 2018 after the Philadelphia District Attorneys Office said it believed Patterson likely was innocent. Read more

The sister of a 2007 murder victim whose accused killer, Dontia Patterson, was set free last week said Monday that she still believes Patterson was guilty and that the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office should have done more to seek her family's input while reinvestigating the decade-old case.

In an interview outside her Mayfair home, Meka Jackson, 27, said her family got a letter from the prosecutor's office this winter urging them to reply and learn about updates in the case. But she said that it did not specify that Patterson's release and exoneration were under consideration, and that she was unaware of efforts by the office to follow up to reach her or her relatives. Prosecutors, in arguing for Patterson's release, acknowledged they had not spoken with members of Jackson's family despite efforts to do so.

Jackson said she learned of the decision to clear Patterson last week when a relative told her to check the news, which triggered an emotional "meltdown" over the weekend as she relived the memory of her brother's killing.

"If they wanted to hear our side of the story, they could've found us," said Jackson, 27, whose brother Antwine was fatally shot in Summerdale in 2007. She said that no one should "be put on the back burner when it comes to situations like this."

In theme at least, the situation has similarities to other criticisms leveled this year against the District Attorney's Office and its new top prosecutor, Larry Krasner, when some victims' relatives complained that prosecutors had taken actions in court without sufficiently informing them.

But Jackson's case appears to have differences.

Jackson said she did not reply to prosecutors' letter about Patterson's case because her mother has been undergoing dialysis treatment, taking a toll on the family.

Ben Waxman, a spokesman for Krasner's office, said prosecutors had tried to reach the Jacksons by phone, by email, by letter, and in person, sending county detectives to several addresses possibly associated with them.

Waxman said staffers tried four phone numbers and four email addresses tied to the Jacksons. Last month, before publicly announcing their intent to seek Patterson's release because they believed he likely was innocent, prosecutors asked a judge for more time to contact the family.

Jackson said she had not seen or heard of any efforts beyond the letter to reach her relatives, which made her feel "disrespected."

Waxman said Monday that "we fully can sympathize and understand the pain this family has been through." He said prosecutors still would speak with family members to explain the case and the decision to drop charges against Patterson.

"We are prepared to meet with them any time they'd like," Waxman said.

Jackson said the episode was emotionally draining. She described her brother as her best friend, and said they had a bond as strong as "stainless steel." She remembers coming home after school in 2007 to learn that he had been shot. Monday, while recalling seeing him in the hospital afterward, she cried.

Her brother's ashes sit in an urn on a table in the dining room near a photo of him that reads, "Antwine Jackson, we love you always." She wonders who if anyone spoke up for him during Patterson's appeals in court. Unlike her brother, she said, Patterson could speak for himself and had lawyers working on his behalf.

"I just feel disrespected," Jackson said. "Y'all didn't put [any] respect on my brother's name."

Patterson's case was the first homicide conviction that Krasner's office sought to overturn and dismiss because of questions about a defendant's guilt. Prosecutors had agreed to vacate Patterson's conviction in February over questions about the effectiveness of his trial attorney. In an extraordinary motion last week, Krasner's chief of homicide, Anthony Voci, went a step further, writing that the office believed in the likely innocence of Patterson, who was found guilty in 2009 of fatally shooting Jackson two years earlier. His first trial, in 2008, ended in a hung jury.

Voci called Patterson's conviction "illogical" and "an egregious example of police and prosecutorial misconduct," saying previous prosecutors had failed to turn over information that could have pointed to a more likely shooter who is now deceased. One of those former prosecutors, Richard Sax, has denied that he withheld exculpatory information before trial.

Jackson said that she still believed Patterson was guilty, and that she has "many questions" about why prosecutors felt they should not try him again.

"We've got to deal with a family member being away the rest of our lives," she said.Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan in 1987 on Dongshan Island, Fujian Province. (File Photo/Xinhua)

Love means being together

Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan married in September 1987. They didn't hold a big ceremony, just a simple dinner to celebrate with a few colleagues and friends.

May 20, is a newly-invented celebration for Chinese people, because the pronunciation of "5.20" sounds similar to the words for "I love you" in Chinese. In the Internet age, Chinese netizens have taken it as a day to express their love. On this special day, let's take a look at the love story of President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan.

Xi Jinping respects his parents and loves his wife and daughter. He and his wife Peng Liyuan are seen by many as a good example of marriage for the Chinese people.

18

1

[ Editor: Xueying ]Authorities work the scene of a restaurant where police say a man intentionally rammed a vehicle into the building, killing members of his own family. Read more

The Sunday lunch rush was underway at the Surf and Turf Lodge in Bessemer City, N.C., a restaurant about 30 miles west of Charlotte. Inside the eatery's rustic interior of wooden plank walls, Roger Self, a former police officer turned private investigator, was eating appetizers with his family. Around noon, the 62-year-old got up from the table. The family believed he was just using the restroom, the Gaston Gazette later reported.

Moments later, waiter Brandon Wilson was heading to check on the table when a sound shattered the dining room.

"I saw a white Jeep just fly past my face," Wilson told the Gazette. "It was so unreal. I saw chairs and tables and cups just flying everywhere. It just sounded like a tornado."

With Self behind the wheel, the car blasted through the restaurant's log cabin facade, punching into the heart of the building and colliding with the table where Self's own family were sitting, police said. Through curtains of dust, patrons and staff saw some people still pinned beneath the wreckage. "I helped paramedics move tables off this dude, and I moved debris out of the way so they could get to him," a busboy explained to WSOC.

On Sunday afternoon, police confirmed two were killed in the crash. But the deaths were not the result of an accident at the wheel or driving mishap, police said. They allege that Self intentionally drove his car into the building.

Self was taken into custody and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. According to WSOC, one of the fatalities was Self's daughter, Katelyn Self, a 26-year-old deputy with the Gaston County Sheriff's Office. The other victim has been identified as Amanda Self, Roger Self's daughter-in-law who was an emergency room nurse and the mother of two, the station reported. Three others were injured, including Amanda Self's 13-year-old daughter, according to the Gazette.

Roger Self has not filed a plea. No lawyer representing him could be located.

"He drove his car into the building, killing people, so that's why we took him into custody immediately," Bessemer City Police Chief Thomas Ellis Jr. told reporters at a brief news conference on Sunday afternoon. But authorities have offered little insight into why a father would run down his family members in such a dramatic fashion.

"This is a hard time," Gaston County Sheriff Alan Cloninger admitted at the Sunday news conference. "All I would ask is for people to keep the family in your prayers, and also the sheriff's office. Because we're suffering a little bit right now."

According to the Gaston Gazette, Self arrived at the restaurant with his family, including Katelyn Self; Amanda Self; her husband, Josh, a Gaston County Police Officer; Josh and Amanda's 13-year-old daughter; and Roger Self's wife, Diane. The family was beginning their meal when Roger Self left the table.

Self, however, allegedly returned behind the wheel of his Jeep.

"It was chaotic, dust everywhere," a waiter recounted to the Gazette. "The woman died in my manager's arms."

Self joined the Gastonia Police Department in the 1970s, according to a 2017 profile in the Gazette. Eventually, he jumped into private investigations, specializing in loss prevention for stores and corporate clients. "My skill is learning how to gather information, getting someone to talk with me," Self told the paper.

But in recent months, Self had been wrestling with mental illness, Austin Rammell, a pastor at Venture Church, told WSOC. A family friend for 16 years, he told the station Self was beset by anxiety, depression, and mental breakdowns. Sometimes he would go days without leaving his bed, Rammell said.

"He's been taking precautions. He had all the guns removed from his house, so he was making steps that were rational steps."

The family was aware of Self's internal battles, according to Rammell.

"Family has been loving him through this," the pastor said. "This was not a conscious act by their father and they know that."Police have found the minivan driver who ran from a two-car crash in Southwest Philadelphia early Monday, leaving one man dead and another critically injured, officials said.

Police did not immediately say where they found the 50-year-old man. Authorities only said they had located and were questioning him. Police had earlier sent officers to wait at the Philadelphia address where the Kia minivan was registered.

No charges have been announced in connection with the crash, which occurred just before 2 a.m. at 63rd Street and Passyunk Avenue, police said.

The Kia was eastbound on Passyunk when it attempted to make a left turn at 63rd, colliding with a westbound Ford Mustang, police said. The minivan suffered front-end damage while the car slammed into two utility poles, trapping its occupants.

The Mustang's 29-year-old driver was pronounced dead at the scene while his passenger was taken in critical condition to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, police said. The minivan's driver ran north on 63rd.

Photos from the scene showed the Mustang was mangled in the crash.

Police said speed may have been a factor and investigators are seeking to determine the cause.Alita and Haashim Johnson were among those killed in a fire March 20 at an unlicensed boarding house at 1855 North 21st Street in North Philadelphia. Read more

A relative of three people who died in a March fire at an illegal North Philadelphia boarding house is suing their landlord, claiming his negligence and unsafe conditions at the property ultimately led to their deaths.

But if they hope to collect a monetary judgment against Tyrone Duren or his company, Granite Hill Properties, they'll have to get in line.

Since the March 20 blaze  which killed Alita Johnson, 25; her son Haashim, 3; and her stepfather, Horace McCouellem, 63  Duren has been besieged by investigations, tax liens, fines, and the threatened forfeiture of many of the properties he owns in the city.

As recently as last week, Duren told a court in San Diego  where federal investigators have alleged that he used his property rental business to launder stolen drug money  that his financial outlook is dire.

"Since that fire," he wrote in a court filing Friday, "the City of Philadelphia has attempted to shut down all of my commercial properties and many tenants have simply refused to pay [rent] based on the publicity associated with the fire."

Still, Duren admitted in the document, he has been using his credit card to charge up to $9,000 a month to finance his life at what federal prosecutors have described as his "lavishly furnished," $700,000 house outside San Diego.

Duren, 47, a former U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent, and his criminal attorney, John D. Kirby, did not return requests for comment Monday. Calls to phone numbers listed for Granite Hill, which owns 28 rental properties in poverty-stricken neighborhoods across North and Southwest Philadelphia, went unanswered.

In her civil suit, filed earlier this month in Common Pleas Court, Tamika Johnson  Alita Johnson's sister and the administrator of her estate  asks a jury to award her more than $100,000 in damages.

The complaint cites many of the same faults city officials flagged in their investigation earlier this year into the circumstances that led to the fire at 1855 N. 21st St.

Among them: Granite Hill had not obtained a proper license to rent out the rowhouse to multiple tenants, and Duren had failed to install required fire escapes and smoke detectors that might have alerted the tenants to the blaze.

"By the time [the three victims] had realized that a fire had started, it was too late to escape the building," Tamika Johnson's attorney, Thomas A. Lynam III, wrote in their filing. "Ms. Johnson called 911  and remained on the line with the dispatcher for approximately 10 minutes, begging for rescue of her family [as they] huddled in the unit's bathroom shower stall in a desperate effort to avoid the encroaching flames and smoke."

Their bodies were found three days after firefighters cleared the scene  and only after family members requested that they return to the rowhouse's charred remains in search of their missing relatives.

But even as city officials investigated how they might have missed the Johnsons, they vowed to fully investigate Duren and his business for fostering an environment that ultimately led to tragedy.

A city spokesman said that officials met with prosecutors in March to recommend criminal charges against Duren and his business. The District Attorney's Office would not say Monday whether it was moving ahead with its own investigation.

Meanwhile, the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections  after visiting all 28 city properties owned by Duren, Granite Hill, and its associated entities in the wake of the fire  said it had found nine more properties operating as unlicensed rooming houses, four of which, like the North 21st Street house, lacked proper smoke alarms.

Code violations were found at all of the sites owned by Duren, department spokeswoman Karen Guss said Monday. Inspectors were initially denied entry to 10 of Granite Hill's rental homes and are circling back for a second attempt to inspect those properties.

Still, the greatest legal threat Duren faces is in California, where he is scheduled to go on trial in September on charges of conspiracy, money laundering, bank fraud, tax evasion, and lying to federal investigators.

Prosecutors in that case allege that Duren, while working as a federal agent, stole unknowable sums from drug traffickers caught in Southern California as far back as 2013 and used the money to fund lavish trips for his family to Canada, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, the Cayman Islands, Russia, Israel, and Europe.

They also believe that some of the drug money was used to finance Granite Hill's purchase of distressed buildings in Philadelphia, although investigators admit they have been unable to fully untangle the web of holding companies, multiple LLCs, and more than 25 bank accounts through which Duren and Granite Hill have moved their assets over the last several years  including one account opened in Croatia after Duren learned of the federal probe.

Although Duren appears to have access to hundreds of thousands of dollars, prosecutors said in recent court filings that they haven't been able to trace that money to any legitimate source.

Duren has denied the allegations, maintaining that all of his money was earned as income from either his rental business or his latest career move as a "semi-professional" poker player.

Yet, in an affidavit filed Friday, Duren laid out a financial picture that suggested he may run out of money long before the Johnson family's lawsuit can end up before a jury.

The federal government has seized nine of Granite Hill's properties in Philadelphia and is seeking an additional $2 million in forfeiture should he be convicted. The company owes an additional $500,000 in mortgage payments while 12 of its buildings remain vacant, he said.

Since Duren was charged, monthly rent collections have plummeted from their peak of $60,000 a month in 2015 to less than a quarter of that sum, "putting me squarely in the red each month by some $15,000," his affidavit states.

It was not clear Monday whether Duren had retained a lawyer to represent him in the Johnson family's lawsuit. A judge has not set a date for an initial hearing in the case.John Fetterman, a Democrat running for lieutenant governor on a ticket with Gov. Wolf, is, well, different. Read more

By any measure, Braddock Mayor John Fetterman's road traveled is different. As is the man himself.

When I wrote of him in 2016, he was running for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, a candidate like few seen in American, let alone Pennsylvania, politics.

I wrote he doesn't look like a politician, act like a politician, work a room or talk in platitudes. He just shows up and makes sense.

He didn't win. But he made an impact that set up his win last week. He's now the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, paired with Gov. Wolf in November.

And, despite common thinking that LG candidates make no difference, can only hurt and not help in a general election, I'd argue that Fetterman helps Wolf.

Because there's nothing common about Fetterman. And because he's known to make a difference.

Yes, his primary win was fueled by incumbent Lt. Gov. Mike Stack's incinerating his own reelection chances. You know the story: boorish behavior by Stack and wife toward state employees and state troopers assigned to their care and security, leading Wolf to strip the Stacks of the bulk of such taxpayer-provided service.

So, an office that gets no attention got plenty, and Stack got four primary opponents, including Philly's Nina Ahmad, who outspent the field.

Yet Fetterman won the five-way race with 40 percent of the statewide vote, rolling up impressive margins in (home-base) southwestern counties: 77 percent in Allegheny; 73 in Westmoreland; 71 in Beaver; 70 in Washington.

I'm betting what comes next is both interesting and fun.

Fetterman and Wolf are something of an odd couple, especially in looks and style.

Fetterman's size ( 6-foot-8, 300-plus pounds), tats, shaved head and trademark black work clothes clash with Wolf's professorial appearance and business-blah attire.

(Though Wolf's Jeep sorta saves him.)

If you saw photos of their post-Election Day lunch at a York County diner, you get it. One social media wag wrote: "Your dad and your cool uncle."

Speaking of the lunch, jokes circulated that Wolf would order an arugula salad, and Fetterman (a la John Candy's classic The Greater Outdoors) the Old '96er, a 96-ounce prime aged beef steak.

Fetterman's physical presence evokes such reaction. And more.

If elected, would he turn the LG's stone mansion into a food co-op, as per his efforts to help feed Braddock's poor? No. Says he wouldn't live in the mansion. He, his wife and three young kids still would live in Braddock. He'd commute (200 miles); maybe rent a Harrisburg apartment.

Would he get the security detail Stack lost? Doesn't want it. Besides, look at him. He is security.

What about presiding over the Senate, where men are required to wear jackets? Says he owns two suits.

I wonder if one is chain mail.

And I know we're getting ahead of ourselves. There is a November election: Wolf/Fetterman vs. Scott Wagner/Jeff Bartos. But it starts with Wolf the odds-on favorite. And Fetterman adds to Wolf's odds.

At 48, with graduate degrees in business and public policy from UConn and Harvard, he's the four-times-elected mayor of a small former steel town outside Pittsburgh. It's majority African American. More than a third of its people live below the poverty line.

Since taking office, Fetterman's efforts (and those of his wife, Gisele, who opened a free surplus-clothing store) attracted national note and helped Braddock begin to come back in what Pittsburgh media calls "stunning ways."

That, plus Fetterman's longtime mantra, "No community deserves to be abandoned," is a potent message in many parts of the state.

Also, his appeal to young people, Bernie Sanders fans (Sanders endorsed him), urban hipsters, and others means he can bring out voters that otherwise might sit out a gubernatorial race.

Fetterman sees his campaign role as deferential to Wolf. His sole job, he says, is to promote the governor's reelection.

But he also says helping strapped communities is "important  that's how I'll always feel. It's always been part of my DNA."

It's also part of the road he's traveled. If it takes him to his second office  one, like the first, with little impact, depending upon who occupies it  it'll be interesting to see if he (again) can make a difference.HARRISBURG  With outsider candidates from the left and the right having success in last week's Pennsylvania primaries, some high-ranking legislative leaders are discussing opening the nomination races to independent, or nonaffiliated, voters.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) Monday told a Press Club luncheon that he intends to introduce legislation that would open up the primary process. As it is, voters must be registered with either the Democrats or Republicans to participate.

"The extremes of the parties have taken over the primary process," Scarnati said, pointing to the upset of a Republican state senator in western Pennsylvania by a conservative insurgent, and also to the defeat of two veteran Democratic state representatives in the region at the hands of candidates endorsed by Democratic Socialists of America.

"And by far, I'm not a moderate and I'm not a liberal," Scarnati continued. "I'm a conservative. But I don't know that I fit the new brand of conservatives, and I'm not so sure that some of the Democrats in the Senate Democrats fit the new brand of liberals."

The political landscape is changing, he said, "and I don't think it will end with good results."

House Majority Leader Dave Reed (R., Indiana) has also expressed support for the idea of opening primaries to independent or nonaffiliated voters, going so far as to circulate a co-sponsorship memo this month outlining plans to open the primaries to them.

Reed, speaking to reporters this month, noted that many local elections (such as those for school boards or local councils) are often decided at the primary level.

"I think giving independent voters that opportunity could help really reform the electoral process, get more people involved and hopefully get a more diverse set of opinions in the primary process, as opposed to only a select few choosing who gets to go on," Reed said.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Minority Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) signaled he would be open to the proposal.

"Senator Costa is a strong supporter of active, participatory democracy  and is in favor of all legislation that allows more citizens to vote, and increases turnout amongst already-registered voters," said spokeswoman Brittany Crampsie.

House Minority Leader Frank Dermody (D., Allegheny) has not taken a position on the issue, according to a spokesman.

Passing legislation to open the primaries  let alone doing so in time for a 2020 election  would be a very difficult task. Scarnati's bill will likely be introduced in the coming weeks. Reed's bill did not appear to have been introduced as of Monday.

Depending on how the bills are ultimately worded, they may require amending the state constitution. To change the state constitution, a bill must pass in identical form in two separate sessions and be approved by voters.Kellyanne Conway speaks during an interview with CNN in the White House in March. Read more

Appearing on CNN's Reliable Sources Sunday, White House counselor and South Jersey native Kellyanne Conway sparred with host Brian Stelter in a 20-minute interview.

Stelter pressed Conway at least six times to answer this question: How does President Trump know that special counsel Robert Mueller has not found any evidence that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election?

Every time, Conway instead characterized CNN and other media outlets as biased, at one point pressing Stelter to reveal whom he and his wife, NY1 traffic anchor and Fox 29 alum Jamie Stelter, voted for during the 2016 election.

"I did not vote for president. I left that spot blank on the ballot that day," Brian Stelter replied. "But it's not appropriate for you to go around asking people who they voted for."

"You probably didn't think she needed your help," Conway replied, referring to Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Here is the full interview:

While Stelter tried to get answers out of Conway, many journalists had a question for the host: Why have Conway on in the first place?

"She's just going to lie more. And you're going to broadcast those lies," asked Vox reporter David Roberts. "Has she EVER done an interview and not mentioned Hillary Clinton's name?" Stelter's colleague, CNN producer Jason Morrell, asked on Twitter. Vox's Carlos Maza called it "bonkers" that the show booked guests like Conway, "essentially rewarding them for being unreliable sources."

Stelter also bristled when panelist Max Boot, a Washington Post columnist and CNN contributor, called Conway a liar. Asked by Stelter to explain, Boot pointed out several falsehoods Conway pushed during the interview, such as falsely claiming Democrats walked away from the a deal on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, commonly known as DACA.

"It's lie after lie, essentially," Boot said.

New York University journalism professor and media critic Jay Rosen wrote on his blog Press Think that Stelter's comment during the interview that he was "glad" Conway appeared on the show revealed the true reason for her interview  to ward off criticism that the network is biased against Trump.

"Interviewing Kellyanne Conway places us in opposition to our core audience  which is exactly why we do it, Kellyanne. To prove to the world how open we are to your voice, even when 'they' are not," Rosen explained.

Stelter declined to comment for this story. On Twitter, the CNN host defended his decision to book Conway for interviews.

"She reports the POV of many Trump voters. So, I strive for thought-provoking Q's," Stelter wrote. "I think her answers AND non-answers are revealing."

Dan Kennedy, a Northeastern University journalism professor, said Stelter's explanation would be satisfactory if he were dealing with a conventional relationship between a news organization and the White House. But with the constant attacks aimed at news outlets like CNN and repeated falsehoods offered as facts, he isn't.

"She doesn't answer his questions. She aggressively asserts Trump talking points  and she continually tries to delegitimize CNN and other news organizations," Kennedy said. "It was a really ugly, vicious performance on her part. It also fits into the Trump M.O.: Everything and everyone is partisan, so nothing matters. There is no truth."

Kennedy also said he's uncomfortable with shows, such as MSNBC's Morning Joe, refusing to let Conway come on (co-host Mika Brzezinski has harshly criticized CNN for allowing Conway to appear, calling it "politics porn" and "a gross tabloid management ploy for ratings"). But of all the Trump loyalists, Kennedy said, Conway is least qualified to appear on TV after she coined the phrase alternative facts to describe former White House press secretary Sean Spicer's false claims about the size of Trump's inaugural crowd.

"Maybe I would do this: Insist on interviewing her on tape rather than live," Kennedy suggested. "Promise that you'll air the whole thing if you have to. But give yourself time to sift through the falsehoods so that you don't have to try to fact-check in real time."

Of course, Reliable Sources isn't the only CNN show where Conway appears. At one point last year, her combative appearances on The Lead and State of the Union with Philadelphia native Jake Tapper became such a hot topic that Saturday Night Live mocked them in several skits, including one that went a little dark mocking Conway's obsession with appearing on cable television.

During an appearance on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert last week, Tapper also tried to explain why he thought there was journalistic value in having Conway face questions on CNN.

Tapper didn't really disagree with Colbert's premise that Conway can't be trusted to tell the truth (Colbert called her a "collection of deceptions with a blonde wig stapled on top"). But he defended having Conway on his show this month to respond to questions over Trump's truthfulness regarding a $130,000 payment to silence allegations of an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels.

"I thought it was worth the time to have Kellyanne Conway come on and for me to challenge her on the notion of why does this president tell so many lies," Tapper explained, noting to the laughing audience that she didn't take issue with the premise.

"She said, 'The president does many things,' " Tapper told an amused Colbert. "Which, you'll have to concede, is true."

Watch:

Correction: A quote by Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy was initially misattributed to CNN producer Jason K. Morrell.President Trump demanded the Justice Department investigate whether political motivations fueled the FBI investigation of his campaign. Read more

WASHINGTON  Under pressure from President Trump, the Justice Department on Sunday asked its inspector general to assess whether political motivation tainted the FBI investigation into ties between Russia and Trump's campaign  a remarkable step officials hoped might avert a larger clash between the president and federal law enforcement officials.

Trump, who spent much of Sunday railing against the year-old special counsel probe, tweeted in the afternoon:

Hours later, the Justice Department responded by saying it had asked its inspector general to expand an ongoing review of the applications to monitor a former Trump campaign adviser "to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election."

The department noted that a U.S. attorney would be consulted if evidence of criminal conduct was found.

"If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

Sunday's developments came in the wake of reports that a longtime U.S. intelligence source assisted the investigation into Russian election interference now overseen by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The Washington Post reported Friday that the source, a retired American professor, had contacts with three Trump advisers during the 2016 campaign.

Trump and his allies have seized on the informant's role to claim that the FBI spied on his campaign. There is no evidence to indicate an intelligence source was embedded within the campaign, as the president has suggested.

The quick move Sunday by the Justice Department could forestall a bigger showdown.

Late last month, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., issued a subpoena to the Justice Department seeking all documents related to the professor. So far, he has been rebuffed by department officials, who have said that exposing the source or the source's work could put him and his contacts in danger and jeopardize international intelligence partnerships.

Law enforcement officials consider the informant's identity so sensitive that the FBI had been working over the past two weeks to mitigate the potential damage if his name was revealed, according to several people familiar with the matter.

Some Justice Department officials feared that the president's tweet signaled that he might overrule them and order the department to turn over the material Nunes seeks. If that occurs, it is possible that senior officials could resign in protest  or refuse the president's order and force him to fire them.

Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, said that while Trump has the authority to order Justice Department officials, those officials also have the right to quit rather than follow his direction.

"If the president is basically saying, 'I want you guys to investigate yourselves, to convince me that you weren't spying on me,' there comes a point where DOJ has to say, 'We'll refer to the IG, but that's all we're doing,' " Vladeck said.

The furor over the role played by the professor in the Russia investigation could further complicate the sporadic negotiations between Trump's legal team and the special counsel over the prospect of a presidential interview.

Mueller has sought a sit-down with the president to conclude the portion of his investigation examining whether Trump or any officials sought to obstruct the probe.

In an interview with The Post on Sunday, Rudy Giuliani, one of the president's attorneys, said that Trump's lawyers would like questions about the source "to be cleared up before we even approach the idea of doing an interview."

Giuliani also said that Mueller, in pressing for that interview, told him in a late April meeting that the investigation into president's conduct and possible obstruction of justice could be completed by Sept. 1 if Trump agreed to sit down with investigators.

Giuliani said Mueller "put it out there as an incentive that if we do the interview, we can have more control over the termination date."

Giuliani acknowledged, though, the timeline could change significantly if the president did not cooperate.

"It would depend on if they subpoena him. And if they subpoena him, there will be litigation. So no timeline on that," Giuliani said. "That'd be unfortunate, but it could happen."

Throughout the weekend, Trump appeared consumed by the revelations about the role played by the FBI source in the Russia investigation, repeatedly tweeting about the matter and consulting by phone with Giuliani.

"He called me very early, 6:30 a.m., and we spoke Saturday night," Giuliani said. "We concluded last night that he should do something to ask the Justice Department."

Trump was "doing what the president should do," Giuliani added. "He's telling the Justice Department the obvious, which is  they should turn over information gleaned from this source."

But later in the conversation, Giuliani seemed to note that the president had not yet given a formal order. He said he expected a letter would be issued Monday.

"He's not commanding them at this point but asking them to reveal the substance of this and clear it up," Giuliani said.

Giuliani said he was not worried about that sparking a possible crisis at the Justice Department, remarking, "I have a hard time believing they won't go along. They have to eventually reveal something about this. This is a serious issue."

In emails and phone calls Sunday afternoon, GOP lawmakers close to Trump conferred and tried to interpret his position. They wondered, in particular, whether he would forcefully demand the Justice Department to hand over documents to Congress or whether he would simply push the department to eventually share more information from its ongoing probes led by its inspector general, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

On Sunday, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., wrote on Twitter, "DOJ can't be trusted to investigate themselvesCongress needs the documents too. Rod Rosenstein: where are the documents? Show Americans the truth."

There was also concern among Trump-aligned lawmakers that White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and White House counsel Donald McGahn may be trying to "water down" the president's position as a way of avoiding a potential crisis over highly sensitive materials that the Justice Department has long been wary of releasing, according to one person close to those Republicans.

"What's in the letter on Monday and what it tells DOJ to do is going to be everything for us. Not the tweets," said the person, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk about a topic the person was not authorized to discuss publicly.

The president's tweet  and the Justice Department's quick response  left open the possibility that a larger conflict could be averted.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced in March that he would explore controversial applications to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, along with the department's relationship with a former British intelligence officer who provided information cited for those requests.

That review will assess whether the FBI and the Justice Department complied with the law and their own policies in requesting and carrying out the surveillance. Horowitz also said that he would examine other matters that might arise from his work.

It is possible that Horowitz's review might have led him to look at the FBI's use of the confidential source, who had contact with Page, in the Russia investigation. The Justice Department's response to the president's tweet indicated that, no matter the case, Horowitz's investigation could now broaden.

The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett and Ellen Nakashima contributed to this report.Protesters marched along a line of people waiting outside as U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur held a town meeting in Willingboro last year. Read more

With the Pennsylvania primaries behind us, voters should take a hard look at what congressional candidates on the ballot in November are going to do to fix our expensive health-care system. Its fate will be on the line in the general election.

The debate over the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, became a wake-up call for both voters and elected officials just a year ago, when a new repeal-and-replace bill passed the House and many feared they would lose coverage. But the bill ultimately didn't make it past the Senate.

Take the case of U.S. Rep. Tom MacArthur (R., N.J.), who offered an amendment that helped move the GOP plan out of a deadlock and closer to passing, which would have caused many to lose coverage. At a MacArthur town hall meeting in Burlington County, hundreds of angry voters came to protest. Democrats saw enough blood in the water that they ran a candidate against him this year, instead of sitting on the sidelines like they did in 2016.

MacArthur certainly wasn't the only Republican to face criticism at a town hall, and by the time the Senate released its bill in the summer, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) couldn't muster the votes to move it forward.

The GOP plan would have denied affordable health insurance to 23 million by 2026, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It allowed insurance companies to discriminate against people with preexisting conditions, charge people over 50 more than younger customers, and let states eliminate coverage for maternity and mental health care.

The bill also let people escape the individual mandate, which forces customers to either purchase health insurance or pay a fine. Insurance companies correctly argue that when healthy people aren't buying insurance, the companies are unable to smooth out costs by adjusting the rates paid by healthy and sick people.

These ideas aren't dead, however. They're laying low, waiting for the right time to resurface.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) announced last week that he's going to continue to push a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.

To be sure, there are still problems with Obamacare. Premiums and medical costs are too high. It doesn't help that the Trump administration continues to undermine it.

For example, the administration cut payments to insurance companies that help lower consumer costs (called cost-sharing). In Pennsylvania, state officials had predicted Obamacare premiums would increase by about 7.6 percent from 2017 to 2018. But with the cutbacks in federal payments, that jumped to 30.6 percent for 389,081 people for 2018.

The health debate has shifted to one about cost, according to a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, and drug prices seem to be at the center. Although Trump recently gave a speech on drug costs, he gave few hints on how he'd lower them. But he will have to come up with something. Insurers will be announcing 2019 rates in the coming months, and they're expected to go up, in part because of those higher drug prices.

Voters should make affordable, good quality health care an issue in the fall election. Ask candidates to detail just how they are going to lower your premiums and guarantee good care.Suhaylah Gilliland, 4, shows off her artwork in her pre-K class. The Philadelphia Beverage Tax (PBT), a levy on the distribution of artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages, brings in funds that will go toward expanding quality pre-K. Read more

As resources for services, programs, and critical needs including public education have declined, municipalities have been forced to think creatively about how to make up the gap without overburdening local taxpayers.

One creative solution put forth locally is the Philadelphia Beverage Tax (PBT), a levy on the distribution of artificially and sugar-sweetened beverages in order to expand quality pre-K to our children.

We know that early childhood education pays dividends, not just academically but in overall health and other metrics. Polls show pre-K expansion is overwhelmingly popular in Pennsylvania. Yet, investments by the commonwealth have failed to meet demand.

City Council's vote on the PBT was one of the most emotional we've ever seen. Yet, we made the difficult decision to approve this tax, knowing the PBT would yield significant investments for early childhood education.

>> READ MORE: Beverage tax might be Philly's biggest win of all | Opinion

Which is why we are extremely concerned that an effort to kill the PBT appears to be working its way through the Pennsylvania House.



House Bill 2241, which is scheduled for second consideration on Tuesday, would restrict any political subdivision from imposing a fee, surcharge, or tax on any food and beverage, or the delivery, acquisition, or distribution of any food and beverage, or food and beverage container. This bill not only threatens the ongoing expansion of pre-K, but funding for the School District of Philadelphia as well by way of the liquor-by-the-drink tax  which was affirmed with state-enabling legislation.

While it is true that the constitutionality of the PBT is currently being challenged in the courts, H.B. 2241 will do so much more than affect this one funding vehicle. This bill attacks the right of local communities trying to solve their own problems, potentially threatening a host of innovative local policy and budget solutions throughout the commonwealth.

>> READ MORE: Pa. Supreme Court hears arguments on Philly soda tax

Meanwhile, thousands of low-income children who are receiving the quality education and care they need to get a great start in life could see their futures threatened.

This preemption legislation cannot be justified on policy grounds, on economic grounds, or on moral grounds. I urge every Pennsylvanian who supports universal pre-K, as well as local solutions to address enormous challenges like generational poverty, to contact their representatives in the General Assembly and urge a "no" vote on H.B. 2241.

Darrell L. Clarke is president of Philadelphia City Council. Darrell.Clarke@phila.gov. City Council Majority Leader Bobby Henon, Majority Whip Blondell Reynolds Brown, and Deputy Majority Whip Bill Greenlee also contributed to this piece.Mayor Jim Kenney, pictured here in April at the unveiling of new storyboard honoring Civil War troops, says his administrations sanctuary city policies ensure fair treatment. Read more

For once in their contentious "sanctuary city" court battle, the city and federal governments agree on something:

They don't like the compromise suggested by the judge.

The Trump administration doubts that "further attempts at negotiations with the city would be productive" and thinks the best answer is for the city to change its policies, wrote senior trial counsel Daniel Schwei of the U.S. Justice Department.

The city is "not willing to modify its policy" in regard to a key issue, and the federal government is trying to impose unlawful conditions, wrote Virginia Gibson, representing Philadelphia.

This month, U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson tried to push the Trump and Kenney administrations toward compromise, calling the case "a paperwork dispute" that could "be solved with the stroke of a pen."

The Trump administration wants to withhold about $1.5 million in law enforcement grant money unless the city agrees to actively assist federal authorities in identifying and turning over undocumented immigrants. The city sued in the summer of 2017, saying the Police Department is not an arm of immigration enforcement, and making it one would damage community relations.

>> READ MORE: Philly's sanctuary city status on trial

A key issue is the city's refusal to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers for people who are being released from custody, viewing those papers as administrative requests, not binding. The city says it will respond to a detainer only if that paperwork is accompanied by a signed warrant from a judge.

The Trump administration argues that city policies allow dangerous criminals to be released into the community, when they should be deported to their homeland. It wants the city to hold people on detainer until ICE agents can get there.

On May 10, as testimony concluded, Baylson said he thought the sides could find a third path, one that would demand minimal concessions. He warned that if the sides could not agree on a compromise, he might do it for them.

The judge said an undocumented immigrant who has never been convicted of a crime, and who is being released on bail or his own recognizance, is entitled to due process under the law. But, he said, an undocumented immigrant who has been convicted of a crime, and is being released from prison or being released on bail after being charged with a new crime, is a different matter.

A "criminal alien" has no rights under the law, Baylson said.

The judge suggested that, in filing a detainer, ICE could provide information establishing the criminal convictions of the person it wants held. And that the city could agree to turn over undocumented immigrants for whom ICE provided a detainer and proof of criminal conviction.

On Monday the judge told the sides to file legal briefs no later than Friday. It's unclear when he might rule.President Donald Trump and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's top leader Kim Jong-un are planned to meet on June 12, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]

SEOUL - Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in and his US counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday pledged to work closely to ensure the success of the planned summit between Trump and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea top leader Kim Jong-un.

The two leaders exchanged their views on the recent responses from the DPRK when they held talks via telephone for 20 minutes, according to the ROK's presidential office.

Moon is scheduled to visit Washington next week to hold a meeting with Trump to discuss the summit, among other issues.

The Moon-Trump talks will hopefully serve as a bridge to a successful DPRKUnited States summit, the presidential National Security Office said on Friday.

On Wednesday, Pyongyang said it may reconsider the scheduled US-DPRK summit because of extremely provocative remarks by US officials.

Kim Kye-gwan, the DPRK's first vice-foreign minister, said in a statement that the Trump administration must show sincerity in its desire to meet with the DPRK to improve bilateral relations.

Before the statement, the DPRK threatened earlier in the day to withdraw from the scheduled meeting with the US next month due to ongoing US-ROK joint war games, which kicked off on May 11.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said on Friday that China will continue to encourage the US and the DPRK to build mutual trust, and make joint efforts to promote the political resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue.

Kim and Trump are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12 for the first-ever DPRK-US summit.

Meanwhile, the DPRK has demanded the return of a group of women that it said were abducted two years ago by ROK intelligence officers.

The return of the restaurant workers is key part in settling humanitarian issues in the joint declaration by the leaders of the two sides last month at an inter-Korean summit in Panmunjom, the Korean Central News Agency quoted a spokesman for the Central Committee of the Red Cross Society of the DPRK as saying on Saturday.

According to the spokesman, ROK cable broadcaster JTBC recently reported that claims the group defected in April 2016 were proven to be a conspiracy concocted by former ROK president Park Geun-hye.

The spokesman claimed the women had been "forcibly abducted", adding that how the ROK tackles the case "will have great impact on deciding the prospect of settling the humanitarian issue between the north and the south clarified in the Panmunjom Declaration".

Twelve DPRK women were abducted two years ago from a third country where they were working to the ROK, said Pyongyang.

[ Editor: Xueying ]In more than 1,200 of Philadelphias 1,688 precincts, fewer than 1 in 5 registered voters showed up to vote in this month's primary election. Read more

Amanda Silberling was part of a distinct minority among Philadelphians last week.

She voted.

Just 17 percent of registered voters bothered to show up for Tuesday's primary  the 825,000 other voters didn't bother, according to official figures.

The city's turnout was low even by statewide standards. Only 18 percent of Pennsylvania's registered voters cast ballots, which means that almost seven million didn't.

That's a shame, said Silberling, who graduated from the University of Pennsylvania the day before voting.

"It's extremely important that people engage in local government and that people educate themselves about every election that they can vote in and talk to their friends also about being aware of what's happening, both on a local and a national level," she said, standing outside the library at 40th and Walnut Streets where she had just cast her vote.

Silberling's precinct has 734 registered voters; 21 of them showed up, a turnout of less than 3 percent.

Although the turnout was typical of a midterm primary, this was no ordinary election, with inducements for voters on the right and left. For Democrats, on fire since President Trump's 2016 victory, this was their first chance to weigh in on federal races. New congressional maps drew a posse of candidates to competitive primary races. On the Republican side, candidates waged a ferocious campaign for the gubernatorial nomination.

Yet only one precinct, Division 16 in Ward 8 in Rittenhouse Square, cracked the 50 percent turnout mark in Philadelphia; in more than 1,200 of the city's 1,688 precincts, less than 1 in 5 registered voters showed up Tuesday.

Why primary elections have lower turnout than general elections

The act of voting takes just a few minutes, standing in the isolation of the machine, pushing buttons before stepping back out into the real world.

Getting there isn't always that simple. It requires registering, knowing the polling location, the voting hours, and perhaps taking time off from work or figuring out what to do with the kids. Oh, and you have to know the issues and the candidates.

These can be major obstacles, especially for low-income people and the disabled. But for others, voting simply isn't worth the inconvenience. And besides, they might have better things to do.

"I've been moving out and trying to see friends as they leave," said Aria Kovalovich, 22, who lives in Silberling's district and also graduated on Monday  but did not vote Tuesday. "I passed a voting booth and I remembered, and I was like, 'I'm going to sit down and look at the candidates and make a decision and go vote,' and then I just didn't."

"I think I just got wound up in friends leaving and trying to say my last goodbyes," she said.

Inconvenience can be enough to deter voters, even the ones who believe in voting.

"There are far more people who are kind of OK with the idea of going, but they're not itching to get there," said Laura C. Bucci, an incoming political science professor at St. Joseph's University. "Even smaller obstacles can get in the way of that as well. It's that really any obstacle means that people are just not going to go."

Kovalovich's story speaks to some of the reasons turnout is lower in primary elections than in general elections.

"The easiest explanation is that [a general election] is the most likely to mobilize people, people are most likely to hear about that election," Bucci said. General elections can get wider news coverage, so more people know there's an election in the first place, and large, well-funded campaigns can reach voters whom smaller local campaigns might not. General elections also pit parties against each other.

"You can go and know one thing about yourself, and that's that you're a Democrat or a Republican, and you can go from there and pick," Bucci said. "You can't do that in a primary.  You have to know more information, or at least be willing to guess more information."

Some voters also assume that the general election is more important. And although the November election decides who wins office, May might outweigh November in Philadelphia. Democrats dominate the city, almost always winning the general elections.

Voting matters because representation matters

Increasing turnout is about more than civic duty or feeling good  it's about representation. Whose voice is heard? Which issues matter?

When turnout is low, a tiny percentage of the electorate can drive the agenda and shape policy.

Those motivated to vote are more likely to be better educated, more affluent, and older than nonvoters. Different groups may have different preferences for candidates and policies, but only that small group of voters gets heard. And once in office, politicians care more about what their voters say than about their constituents writ large, said Shauna Shames, a political science professor at Rutgers-Camden.

"Of course, if you're somebody who takes your job as representative seriously, you're thinking about everybody," Shames said. "But within 'everybody' there are different circles of importance, and the people who are going to vote the next time, that's a big circle. You're probably paying more attention to their issues."

That means uneven turnout among interest groups is more significant than low turnout.

"Young people have usually pretty different political issues from older people; lower-income folks tend to be more supportive of government programs and services than more affluent people are," said Mallory SoRelle, a government and law professor at Lafayette College in Easton.

Sophie Bodek, 21, another Penn student who graduated Monday, had representation in mind when she thought about Tuesday's election.

"I feel like I should be voting in all of the elections, just because you should be involved in politics. Especially in this election, after there are so many women running and other people who should have their voices heard," she said. "And so I should be more attuned to that and try to elect different, more diverse voices to office. So that, especially, this election, is important. But otherwise I think it's a civic duty that you ought to be doing."

Turnout might be higher than we think. Then again, maybe lower

Turnout numbers aren't necessarily accurate, and that's not a wholly bad thing.

In the case of the Penn precinct, it's unclear how many of those registered voters still live there. Once they graduate, they may never vote in Philadelphia again.

But for several elections, they'll remain on the voter rolls. For highly mobile populations, including homeless people and low-income families that move often, updating voter registrations can be near the bottom of a long list of things to do after each move.

Officials have to balance two noble but competing interests: Having accurate and up-to-date voter rolls is important; it's also important not to disenfranchise people, and experts said registration already poses a barrier, and being unnecessarily purged from the rolls can exacerbate the problem.

"List maintenance is vital to the integrity of elections," Jonathan Marks, the state's elections commissioner, said in an email. "It is also essential that the procedures be carried out with precision and due diligence to avoid the inadvertent elimination of any eligible voters from the rolls."

In Pennsylvania, election officials can change registrations based on certain information provided formally: A change of address with the postal service, a change of address with PennDot, a death certificate from state or local officials.

Otherwise, it takes time. Years.

After five years, registrants who have not voted in two federal general elections are sent a notice in the mail. If they do not respond and do not vote for an additional two federal general elections, they are removed.

"You're missing 14 elections before you're inactive. That means all those presidentials and gubernatorials and mayorals and all that in-between," said Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, an election officer. "Fourteen elections in a row is a really significant number of elections to miss."

So a college freshman who registers to vote might never again vote at that address, but will remain on the rolls for several years after graduating. And for every election in between, that ghost student contributes to low turnout.

"Imagine, year after year, students come and students go, but their voter registration lives on past the time that they've left the city," Schmidt said. "That is not a voter-fraud situation. That is inactive voters who remain on the rolls because of state and federal requirements for making them inactive and then canceling them."

On the other hand, many eligible voters do not register, and the turnout figure does not take them into account.

In the end, primary elections are decided by a tiny minority of all the adults who could vote.

Bodek, the Penn student who said she was particularly interested in last week's election because of the diverse array of candidates, went home to the suburbs to be with her family Monday afternoon after commencement. The few minutes it would have taken to vote would entail a lengthy round-trip drive.

So instead of being one of the 21 people who voted in her precinct, Bodek was one of the 713 who didn't.

"I do feel a little bad," she said. "But clearly not bad enough to vote."

Staff writer Jonathan Tamari contributed to this article.Philly.com homepage producer Addam Schwartz was once fired from a job for not smiling enough. Read more

There's a new policy in the Northern Lebanon School District, and it's no laughing matter.

Not the Lebanon in the Middle East, known for its lethal violence. The Lebanon in Pennsylvania, known for its lethal bologna.

At Northern Lebanon High School, it turns out, Someone in a Position of Power decided that students must smile when they walk through the hallways. If they don't, they have to meet with a counselor, who presumably will make them watch cat videos on YouTube until the corners of their mouth curl upward. The next step? Detention, or maybe clown makeup.

This issue hits home for me because many years and many jobs ago, I was fired for not smiling enough.

It was during a fabled time called the '80s, populated by women with very high hair, men with very skinny ties, and, in the case of the Cars' Ric Ocasek, both. I had just gotten a job at a Northeast Philly record store called Sam Goody. (Historical note: A "record store" was a physical place that sold music. Sort of a Spotify with walls and, sometimes, an odd, sweetly smoky smell drifting up from the basement.)

I'd always wanted to work at a record store, because a) I was a big music fan and b) given that my other jobs have included working at a pinball machine shop and being a professional journalist, apparently I have a fondness for dying industries.

But Sam Goody was a dream job for a college student who loved to bore people with lengthy dissertations on, say, why the Beatles were better than Led Zeppelin. (Short answer: They just were. Get over it.) I correctly answered two questions about music during my interview with an assistant manager named John, and that was enough to win me the job.

As a new salesman, I was supposed to walk the floor and ask people if they needed help. As a shy teenager, I mainly thumbed through records and stood around aimlessly. At one point, an assistant manager named Rich  Sam Goody had more assistant managers than Kajagoogoo albums  breezed by me, told me to smile, and jokingly offered me some "happy pills."

The smile comment was foreshadowing. The "happy pills" thing was just kind of creepy.

A couple of weeks later, at the end of my shift, Assistant Manager Rich took me aside. He had something to tell me that he knew I wouldn't want to hear: that Houses of the Holy was way better than Abbey Road, even with its brilliant Side Two medley and charming "Her Majesty" coda.

No, wait. That wasn't it. He was firing me.

"Why?" I asked.

His reply: "You don't smile enough."

Well, I thought, this isn't helping.

I pleaded my case, but it's surprisingly difficult to put on a happy face when you've just been canned for not smiling enough. And so I collected my emotions, my dignity, and a few Duran Duran albums and headed for the door. On my way out, I told a coworker, Todd, what had just happened. Then I went home, put on a deconstructed jacket over a T-shirt, poured myself a Bartles & Jaymes wine cooler, and switched on Doogie Howser, M.D. (Did I mention it was the '80s?)

The next day, while I sat at home and practiced grinning, smirking, and generally looking amused, my erstwhile colleagues made up smiley buttons and wore them through their shifts. It was by far the biggest labor protest in Roosevelt Mall second-rate record-store history, and, thanks to all those smileys, one of the cheeriest.

I had become the Norma Rae of frowny faces.

It would be nice to say there was a happy ending, but this was the decade in which the air traffic controllers' union  responsible for keeping people safe while they hurtle through the air in massive, gravity-defying machines  was dismantled. A college kid who looked unhappy amid racks of Rod Stewart LPs didn't stand a chance, no matter how skinny his tie or how high his hair. So, I set out to find a new job, though in retrospect Betamax repair probably wasn't the way to go.

For the, um, record, Sam Goody went out of business several years later. That did, in fact, make me smile.

So, my advice to the Northern Lebanon High School kids: Stay strong. Fight the power with a glower. And someday you, too, could be the unsmiling face of a social movement.

Addam Schwartz is the night producer at Philly.com. aschwartz@phillynews.com @addamschwartzSenate Bill 2 proposes the creation of Education Savings Accounts (ESA) for students in public schools ranking in the bottom 15% based on state standardized test scores, to use on education expenses. Read more

The proposal to create a new type of school voucher program in Pennsylvania has prompted substantial debate in the legislature and the public on the best way to help students in struggling schools.

Senate Bill 2 proposes the creation of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) for students in public schools ranking in the bottom 15 percent, based on state standardized test scores, to use on education expenses. Expenses such as private or parochial school tuition, textbooks, tutoring, and other "valid educational expenses" would be covered by taxpayer-funded vouchers, which are purported to save public schools money.

Instead of hyperbole and rhetoric, data and a real-world example illustrate how S.B. 2 fails to address the barriers to achievement present in struggling schools. In reality, S.B. 2 will make things worse for those schools and communities.

First, poverty has a significant impact on student achievement. The average acute poverty rate (percentage of children living in families with income less than 100 percent of federal poverty limits) in school districts with more than one low-achieving school was 33.3 percent  more than double the state average of 16.3 percent. There is a strong correlation between higher poverty and lower achievement on state standardized testing. On average, the proficiency rate for students in the highest-poverty school districts is 33 percent less than students in the lowest-poverty school districts.

These school districts need additional resources, programs, and partnerships to overcome the barriers to achievement posed by high poverty, yet the revenue in the highest-poverty school districts is more than $2,000 less per student than in their lowest-poverty counterparts, leaving them unable to make the necessary investments.

Second, S.B. 2 will not save public schools money by helping them operate more efficiently. While this sounds good in theory, budget pressures are difficult at best to manage. This point is best illustrated by example. Take an elementary school that has 50 students enrolled in the third grade and 10 of those students leave to utilize an ESA  taking with them $57,000 in state funding. The fixed costs that stay behind in the school yield no savings and, in fact, result in a greater financial burden for local taxpayers.

With 40 students left in the third grade, administrators can't reduce staffing, combine classes, or reduce heating or electric costs, and the school would have to be ready and able to accommodate those students if and when they return (textbooks, desks, supplies, etc.). Even with 10 fewer students in that grade level, the district would still be providing instruction at the same cost as when 50 students were there. With $57,000 less in state funding to provide the same education, that money would have to be raised from other sources  namely, local property taxes. In communities with median household incomes under $40,000 and a greater reliance on state education funding, S.B. 2 is something residents and schools can literally not afford to pay for.

So great is the case for concern that more than 230 school boards across the state have taken the step of adopting a resolution opposing S.B. 2.

We are grateful that our state senators are hearing the voices speaking in support for public education in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania School Boards Association is committed to working with the General Assembly to find solutions that will allow struggling schools to improve and ensure all students reach their full potential, but S.B. 2, or any similar proposal, is not the plan to do it.

Nathan G. Mains is CEO of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association.West Covina, CA, K-9 Rye made a huge score his first day on the job. (Photo: West Covina PD)

The West Covina (CA) Police Department's newest K-9 officer made his first bust over the weekend after he sniffed out sixty pounds of methamphetamine that was stuffed under the seats of a Nissan Rogue.

Officers conducted a traffic stop on Saturday on a silver 2010 Nissan near Vincent Avenue and the 10 Freeway. When officers found meth under the driver's seat, they detained the driver and called in the K-9.

Rye, West Covina's newest K-9 recruit, came to the scene where he sniffed out more meth that had been hidden inside two compartments. One was located under the driver's seat, with the other located under the passenger's seat, KFI reports.Officer Thomas Coulter (Photo: Daytona Beach PD)

A 25-year-old rookie Daytona Beach police officer died Monday after collapsing during physical training Friday, Daytona Beach Police Chief Craig Capri said.

Officer Thomas Coulter and 23 other new police officers were doing what the chief described as very light" physical training last Monday when Coulter collapsed. The trainees had just started a session of jogging and doing pushups around 8 a.m. when Coulter collapsed.

There was no indication of previous health issues and Coulter passed every test to become a police officer, Capri told ClickOrlando.

Coulter had recently married his high school sweetheart, Capri said.BUCHAREST, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Academics and dentists have praised the increased cooperation between China and Europe on Esthetic Dentistry on the sidelines of an international congress on this field, which concluded Saturday.

The 15th International Congress of Esthetic Dentistry gathered more than 1,500 dental professionals during the past three days.

The congress was organized by the Romanian Society of the Esthetic Dentistry, a member of the European Society of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Florin Lazarescu, a founding member of the Romanian Society of the Esthetic Dentistry and president of the European Society of Cosmetic Dentistry praised the increased exchanges between European dental professionals and their Chinese peers.

"The flow is in both directions and the interest is mutual. I noticed the interest of Chinese doctors to attend meetings in Europe, but also our interest as lecturers at European level to be invited to conferences in China," Lazarescu said to Xinhua.

According to him, Chinese producers play a more and more important role in the global dental products market.

The Chinese presence in the European Society of Cosmetic Dentistry is just the first brick of the house, noted Lazarescu.

Lazarescu was agreed by Chinese specialist in esthetic dentistry Wu Minxuan, who told Xinhua that many Chinese academics and professionals have joined the European Society of Cosmetic Dentistry in recent years.

"Dental medicine is very developed in Romania, compared to other countries in the world, especially in digital aesthetic medicine," added Wu, who studied dental medicine years ago in Bucharest.

Wu believes that the future of dentistry lies in digital, which was one of the most interesting themes of this year's congress.

"The future of dentistry is digital. We attended presentations on the new CAD/CAM technology which allows rapid dental restorations with using digital manufacturing techniques," said Wu.

[ Editor: WPY ]25  2021 - 200     

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KINSHASA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- At least three new cases of Ebola were confirmed Friday in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the country's health minister announced in the evening.

DRC Minister of Health Oly Ilunga said in a statement that the three new cases have been confirmed in the health zone of Wangata, one of the three health zones affected by the epidemic in the province of Equateur.

The confirmation increased the number of people affected by Ebola in the country to 17 from 14 based on the test results in the mobile laboratory on the spot.

On Friday, the minister inspected the city of Mbandaka, which has a population of nearly 1.2 million in northwestern DRC and is a major transportation hub with routes to the capital Kinshasa.

The city already has reports of Ebola cases.

During a working session with Mbandaka officials in charge of local response to the epidemic, Ilunga once again stressed the importance of monitoring the contacts with the affected.

He said that it is very important to anticipate the evolution of the epidemic and to break the chain of transmission.

The African country received Wednesday thousands of doses of vaccine against the Ebola virus sent by the WHO. The vaccination campaign will be targeted at exposed health professionals, those who have been in contact with confirmed cases.

According to the health ministry's statement on Thursday, the total number of Ebola cases in the DRC was 45, including 10 suspected cases, 21 probable cases and 14 confirmed cases.

[ Editor: WPY ]Among the several Yiddish words for angry is broyges. For the purposes of alliteration and anomaly, I want to apply it to the indignation reflected in former Communist Party voter and Obama administration CIA Director John Brennans recent tweet on Hamass terrorist assault on Israel last week. Brennan was angrywith President Trump and with Israel. For both he seems to harbor a certain animus.

Deaths in Gaza result of utter disregard of Messers Trump & Netanyahu for Palestinian rights & homeland. By moving Embassy to Jerusalem, Trump played politics, destroyed US peacemaker role. New generation of Israelis/Palestinians need to isolate extremists to find path to peace.  John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) May 14, 2018

As Brennans role in the origination of the counterintelligence investigation culminating in the appointment of Robert Mueller becomes ever clearer, let us pause over this and take a look back. Whence the source of Brennans anger?

Brennan gave a mind-boggling speech before a Muslim audience at NYU in 2010 as part of A Dialogue on Our Nations Security. The speech must have been the keynote of the public forum co-hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement and the Islamic Center at New York University. As Brennan moved to head the CIA in President Obamas second term, I found the video must viewing.

Brennan testified to the beauty and goodness of Islam in a speech full of the apologetics, false equivalences and straw men that we have come to expect from the Obama administration in addressing these matters. As he instructs the faithful in the meaning of Islam, he doesnt quite get around to the subject of jihad.

Brennan decried violations of the PATRIOT Act, surveillance that had been viewed as excessive, policies that had been perceived as profiling, and the creation of an unhelpful atmosphere around Muslim charities. This was all of course during the nightmare years of the Bush administration. Brennan overlooked the Holy Land Foundation, a Muslim charity surrounded by a particularly unhelpful atmosphere when it was shuttered by the government as a terrorist front (and later convicted on the same ground). The pandering and evasions that permeated Brennans speech had to be seen to be believed.

Brennan sought to address the subject of jihad elsewhere. As Kerry Picket recalls, Brennan followed up on his NYU remarks in an aborted meeting with the editors of the Washington Times. Unable to avail himself of his usual evasions, Brennan walked out of the meeting with the editors for which he himself had asked. He was, as we say, broyges.The Washington Post reports that European leaders are vexed with President Trump. Sorely vexed.

Our European partners feel that Trump delight[s] in smashing transatlantic bonds. The situation is so dire that, according to Josef Janning of the European Council on Foreign Relations, the post-World War ties that provided the basis for Western strength and peace for 70-plus years are probably gone forever.

The end of the Trump presidency wont restore the alliance, Europeans fear. Rather, the blend of unilateralism, nationalism, and protectionism Trump embodies may be the new American normal.

But what actual policies and controversies support this European pessimism? The Posts article, by Griff Witte and Michael Birnbaum, cites three.

First, and apparently foremost, is Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. Second, Witte and Birnbaum point to the bloodshed in the Gaza strip, referring to it as a Trump-ignited brushfire.

Americans had no role in the Gaza bloodshed, so I assume the Post and the European leaders it speaks for mean the decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. In reality, the Gaza bloodshed was not caused by this decision, but lets assume for the sake of argument that it was.

Does the transatlantic alliance really depend on Americas willingness to abide by what it considers a terrible nuclear deal and to keep its embassy in Israel outside that nations capital? These arent transatlantic issues (though, to be sure, Europeans want desperately to make money in Iran).

By treating these two decisions by the Trump administration as serious affronts to the transatlantic alliance, Europes leaders seek, in effect, a veto over American foreign policy decisions that dont directly affect Europe. If thats their demand, then the Post is right; the alliance isnt viable. But thats not President Trumps fault. Blame it on European overreach  and arrogance.

Keep in mind, too, that Trumps decisions reflect an American consensus that predates his rise. In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act. It formally recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital and called for the U.S. Embassy in Israel to be moved there from Tel Aviv by 1999. This bill passed the Senate by a 93 to 5 vote and the House by 374 to 37.

As for the Iran deal, it came nowhere near garnering the support it needed in the Senate to become a treaty. Thats why Trump was able to walk away from it as president. Nor was Trump a national political figure when the agreement was before the Senate.

The third grievance of the Europeans/Washington Post is the specter of an international trade war. Here we finally have a legitimate transatlantic issue.

But right now, there is only the prospect of new American trade policies directed against European firms. A compromise may be in store.

It is premature, to say the least, to declare defunct the post-World War ties that provided the basis for Western strength and peace for 70-plus years based on a trade dispute. Things would have to spiral out of control before this fear would become legitimate.

As noted, the Europeans leaders fret that even Trumps eventual departure from the White House wont cure the problems they perceive. They are probably right. A post-Trump U.S., even one controlled by the Democrats, will probably be more protectionist than the Europeans desire. And a post-Trump U.S. controlled by the GOP wont yield to European policy preferences for dealing with the Middle East.

But Europes leaders should be worrying about public opinion in Europe, not the U.S. Disgust with their brand of internationalism and elitism was evident when Great Britain voted in favor of Brexit. It is evident from the recent Italian elections. There are indications of it even in the German election results.

It has a name  populism. When one contemplates the arrogance on display by Europes elites in the article by Witte and Birnbaum, its easy to understand why European populism is on the rise.What is the true origin of the counterintelligence investigation that has culminated in the appointment of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel? Signs point to former CIA Director John Brennan  he was certainly in the mix  who has been on a verbal rampage roughly coincident with the inauguration of President Trump. His most recent effusion on Twitter shows him in characteristic form (below). If he had any friends, someone might perform an intervention.

Senator McConnell & Speaker Ryan: If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trumps self-serving actions. https://t.co/uAhgL6wfIC  John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) May 20, 2018

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes has demanded the FBI/Department of Justice documents relating to the origin of the counterintelligence investigation. As Nunes has persisted, anonymous authorities resisting his demand commenced a leak campaign with stories planted in the New York Times and the Washington Post (story linked here) this past Friday evening, both full of information all but identifying Stefan Halper as an informant working with the FBI to probe the Trump campaign.

Who is Halper? He is gingerly described as [a] Cambridge professor with deep ties to American and British intelligence. In its editorial The FBI informant who wasnt spying, the Wall Street Journal states: He has worked as a longtime U.S. intelligence source for the FBI and the CIA.

The leak campaign of the anonymous authorities who took to the Times and the Post for the stories that surfaced late Friday was intended in part falsely to defame Nunes. Rep. Nunes appeared yesterday morning on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo to discuss it. Questioned by Bartiromo, Rep. Nunes spoke of his demand for the documents in issue and the resulting flak. This is an astounding interview.

Nunes answers in clear and straightforward fashion the questions posed to him by Bartiromo. He mentions his narrow avoidance of a possible set-up by which he was to take the fall for Fridays stories. Nuness performance contrasts markedly with the smarmy slander of Senator Mark Warner and Jake Tapper on CNN yesterday morning (posted here).

Forgive me for repeating myself, as I do here. Rep. Nunes deserves some kind of award for statesmanship and political courage. Men in high places with eager servants in the mainstream media are desperately seeking to hide something that they really dont want us to see. One infers from the flak he is taking that Nunes is circling the target.Glenn Greenwald, a leftist, offers his perspective on the man the FBI selected to spy on the Trump campaign and on the brouhaha surrounding his outing. First, Greenwald says that this man, now a professor, was responsible for spying on the Carter administration on behalf of Ronald Reagans presidential campaign in 1980. He did this, by running a scheme whereby CIA operatives passed classified information about Carters foreign policy to Reagan campaign officials in order to ensure the Reagan campaign knew of any foreign policy decisions Carter was considering.

If true, this means, that (in Greenwalds words) the informant used by the FBI in 2016 to gather information on the Trump campaign was not some previously unknown, top-secret asset whose exposure as an operative could jeopardize lives. Rather, his decades of work for the CIA  including his role in an obviously unethical if not criminal spying operation during the 1980 presidential campaign  is quite publicly known. Indeed, it can be discover from public records showing him to be a CIA vendor.

This doesnt mean the professor should have been outed. But Greenwald has something to say about the outing, too:

[B]oth the Washington Post and New York Times  whose reporters, like pretty much everyone in Washington, knew exactly who the FBI informant is  published articles that, while deferring to the FBIs demands by not naming him, provided so many details about him that it made it extremely easy to know exactly who it is. The NYT described the FBI informant as an American academic who teaches in Britain and who made contact late that summer with George Papadopoulos and also met repeatedly in the ensuing months with the other aide, Carter Page. The Post similarly called him a retired American professor who met with Page at a symposium about the White House race held at a British university. In contrast to the picture purposely painted by the DOJ and its allies that this informant was some sort of super-secret, high-level, covert intelligence asset, the NYT described him as what he actually is: the informant is well known in Washington circles, having served in previous Republican administrations and as a source of information for the C.I.A. in past years.

The behavior of the Post and the Times makes no sense:

Either these newspapers believe the FBIs grave warnings that national security and lives would be endangered if it were known who they used as their informant (in which case those papers should not publish any details that would make his exposure likely), or they believe that the FBI (as usual) was just invoking false national security justifications to hide information it unjustly wants to keep from the public (in which case the newspapers should name him).

Greenwald also notes, as others have, that the facts relating to the informant undercut the FBI/New York Times claim that concern about Russian infiltration of the Trump campaign was triggered by information relating to George Papadopoulos supplied by Australia about his drunken boast regarding Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton. But now, says Greenwald, it seems clear that the professors attempts to gather information for the FBI began before that. According to the Times, the professors interactions with Trump advisers began a few weeks before the opening of the investigation, when Page met the professor at the British symposium. In other words, before Papadopoulos drunken rantings supposedly triggered concern.

Finally, Greenwald takes issue with the assertion by Ben Wittes and others that it was President Trump and Rep. Devin Nunes who are responsible for outing the professor. [Wittes] almost certainly has no idea of who the sources are for the NYT or the Washington Post, says Greenwald. Rather than blaming the organs that made it easy to identify the professor  the New York Times and Washington Post  Wittes chose, apparently without basis, to blame the enemies of his friend Jim Comey.

Its understandable that the FBI and the mainstream media want to distract attention from the scandal of the FBI spying on a presidential campaign by talking about outing  first of a top secret agent and, when that narrative fell through, of a well-known longtime collaborator. This effort was never likely to succeed because the scandal of spying dwarfs the counter-narrative of outing. And now we know that the counter-narrative is a largely a smokescreen.The U.S. and China have reached a deal on trade. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said this about the deal:

Right now, we have agreed to put tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework. We are immediately going to follow this up with . . . hard commitments in agriculture, where we expect to see a very big increase  35-40 percent increases  in agriculture this year alone. In energy, doubling the energy purchases. I think you could see $50, 60 billion a year of energy purchases over the next three to five years. We have specific targets. Im not going to publicly disclose what they are.

(Emphasis added)

Its easy to see what has happened. The Trump administration has backed down on imposing tariffs on Chinese products in the hope of getting China to buy more American products.

There are two problems. First, the tariffs werent, or shouldnt have been, primarily about getting China to buy more American stuff. They were, or should have been, directed at ending predatory Chinese practices that enable China to steal American technology as part of its plan to gain dominance in the technology sector.

What does the deal with China accomplish on this front? According to the joint statement of the U.S. and Chinese governments:

Both sides attach paramount importance to intellectual property protections, and agreed to strengthen cooperation. China will advance relevant amendments to its laws and regulations in this area, including the Patent Law.

In other words, China has agreed to nothing.

Second, China hasnt agreed to much even on the straight trade side. There is a framework that Mnuchin will try to execute. He wants to follow up with hard commitments. In other words, no hard commitments have been made. We could see $50 or $60 billion a year of energy purchases by the Chinese along with 35-40 percent increases in agricultural purchases. But the Chinese havent committed to this.

Once again, the can has been kicked down the road. I agree with Rich Lowry:

The vague-to-the-point-of-useless deal and complete absence of American action could have been pulled straight from the Obama or Bush administrations. Secretary Mnuchin is perfectly imitating former Treasury secretaries Lew, Geithner, and Paulson, who led us here.

I understand why Trump, like his predecessors, doesnt want a trade war with China. Contrary to his absurd pronouncement, trade wars arent easy to win  not against powers like China. Still, its disheartening to see Trump fold this way.An election is going on in Venezuela. In a country where there are no more pets and children join gangs to fight over dumpster refuse, while their parents battle for dead rats to eat for dinner, you would expect the incumbent party to lose a free election. But Nicolas Maduro will no doubt be re-elected, in part because the polls are being boycotted by most of his opponents. So Venezuelas socialist catastrophe will most likely continue, for now. The Associated Press reports:

Sundays election has drawn broad criticism since some of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduros most-popular rivals were barred from running, and several more were forced into exile.

There were a lot of other irregularities, too, but barring your rivals from running is a tried-and-true path to a second term.

Here in the U.S, the Democratic Party tried a subtler approach. It hired Fusion GPS to fabricate smears against Donald Trump, and then leaked those smears to news outlets that it controls (i.e., nearly all of them) and used the smears to obtain FISA warrants to spy on the Trump campaign. The Democrats also conveyed the Fusion GPS fantasies to high-ranking office-holders like Harry Reid, who used them to attack candidate Trump. But reporters were squeamish about running with the Fusion GPS story, which few actually believed, and, to the Democrats dismay, Trump won the election.

So the Democrats went into overdrive. Shortly before President-Elect Trumps inauguration, Obamas CIA and FBI leaders briefed Trump on the Fusion GPS dossier, which Trump naturally knew was an absurd pack of lies. No matter: that intelligence briefing, leaked to the press, opened the floodgates, and Democratic Party news outlets promptly went public with the contents of the false dossier, in an effort to disable President-Elect Trumps nascent administration.

At the moment, the Democrats relatively subtle approach doesnt appear to be working very well. Next time, perhaps, they wont take any chances, and will go full Maduro.President Andrzej Duda on Sunday evening unveiled a plaque commemorating Polish President Lech Kaczynski and the last Polish President-in-exile Ryszard Kaczorowski in Chicago's St. Ferdinand Church.

Both Presidents died in the 2010 Smolensk air disaster, in which a Polish government plane crashed in Smolensk, western Russia, 1km short of the runway in foggy weather conditions, killing all those on board. Among the victims were President Kaczynski, his wife and scores of top political and military officials, including President Kaczorowski. The delegation was underway to nearby Katyn for anniversary commemorations of the April-May 1940 Katyn Forest Massacre, in which units of the Soviet NKVD security service mass-executed 22,000 Polish officers, policemen and administration staff.

In his address during the unveiling, Andrzej Duda appealed to the US Polish community to uphold their unity, and appealed to US leaders for a "policy of alliance" towards Poland.

"I would like you to stand united and I would like you to be perceived as being united, also by politicians in the United States, so that they feel respect towards the Polish community, Poles, and therefore also towards Poland; so that they can be sure that if something is not right, Poles will stand up in defence of their country and will not allow their good name to be tarnished," Andrzej Duda said in Chicago.

Sunday was the last day of Andrzej Duda's five-day visit to the US, during which he also chaired a high-level UN Security Council debate in connection with Poland's takeover of the council chair, and met with members of Chicago's Polish diaspora in the city's Millennium Park. (PAP)The Republic of Korea (RoK) remained the leading investor in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of US$2.32 billion in the four-month period, accounting for 28.7% of the total FDI capital in Vietnam. Japan came in second with a total registered capital of approximately US$1.29 billion, occupying 16% of Vietnam's total FDI capital.

So far, Vietnam has attracted over US$60 billion worth of FDI capital from the RoK and US$50 billion worth of FDI capital from Japan. Besides making the most of the established trade, invest and tourism promotion channels, it is necessary to encourage new ideas and initiatives to attract more FDI from these two countries.

In addition, Vietnam should map out a strategy to attract investment from other potential markets in order to diversify and enhance the quality of FDI inflows.

According to experts, the US and the EU remain the world's largest FDI markets with many potential investors possessing modern technology and services which are conformable to the investment attraction directions of Vietnam.

However, investments in Vietnam by the US and the EU have yet to meet the FDI capital potential that the two countries have invested in other countries in the world.

The US has registered to invest nearly US$12 billion in Vietnam, while the two-way trade revenue between the two countries has reached over US$50 billion. 24 out of 28 EU countries have invested a mere US$24 billion in Vietnam, less than half of the RoK's FDI in Vietnam.

The flow of FDI capital from the US and the EU in Vietnam has thus far not matched the potential and expectations of both sides. According to experts, when the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the EU is signed, there will have plenty of opportunity to increase FDI from the EU into Vietnam.

Regarding the US, a bilateral trade agreement with Vietnam or the possibility of the USs return to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will also provide an opportunity for Vietnam to attract more investment from the country. But the matter is whether Vietnam can take advantage of these opportunities.

In fact, foreign investors, especially those from the US and the EU, often require a transparent and consistent investment and legal environment as well as convenient administrative procedures.

Therefore, the prospect of attracting more FDI from the US and the EU depends on Vietnams fulfilment of the investors' requirements for an open, transparent and predictable legal system and the strict requirements of the world's leading multinational corporations on intellectual property, anti-corruption, and law enforcement, in addition to a facilitative administrative apparatus.BANGALORE, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

42Gears Mobility Systems, one of the first providers of Wearable Management Solution under its UEM umbrella, has expanded its offering to include support for Application Management for Android-based wearables. Apart from managing apps on devices like Smartphones, tablets and PCs, enterprises can now also manage Android Wear OS apps from 42Gears UEM console.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/517153/42Gears_Mobility_Systems_Logo.jpg )

With Google updating its smartwatch operating system to Wear OS 2.0+ (previously Android Wear), the wearable OS now offers standalone apps that can connect to the network directly and work independently. The latest Wear 2.0 upgrade is already pushing Android smartwatch adoption in enterprises. Higher adoption rate transcends into some new challenges such as mass deployment of enterprise applications for Wear OS. While Google has introduced a native and independent Play Store for Wear 2.0 devices, administrative framework to allow EMM vendors to perform advanced device management activities, like remotely and silently pushing applications to devices, is still missing.

Coming up with advanced wearable management subsystem, using which admins can do remote installation, updates and uninstallation of Android Wearable apps, without any user intervention is a big achievement, as currently this solution is offered only by 42Gears UEM.

Prakash Gupta, Co-founder and CTO, 42Gears, reflected on the importance of wearable app management, "Wear OS 2.0+ was an ambitious project from Google, and considering the difference in phone and watch platforms it is a big breakthrough for us. 42Gears figured the gap in remote wearable app management to promote enterprise adoption of Android smartwatch. Admins can remotely check app versions, package name and install/update/uninstall apps on Android watches from our UEM console."

About 42Gears

42Gears is a leading Unified Endpoint Management provider, offering SaaS and On-premise solutions to secure, monitor and manage all business endpoints such as tablets, phones, desktops and wearables. 42Gears products support company-owned as well as employee-owned devices built on Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux platforms. 42Gears products are used in verticals like healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, education and retail. 42Gears products are trusted by over 7000+ customers in more than 107 countries. For more information, please visit http://www.42gears.com

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SOURCE 42Gears Mobility Systems Private LimitedBEIJING, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Air China will launch a new service between Beijing and Hanoi on 1 June, 2018. The non-stop route will enable passengers to travel from Beijing to Vietnam's charming capital city in just four hours.

Founded over 1,000 years ago, Hanoi has a long and complex history reflected in its eclectic range of architectural styles, including its French colonial buildings, the Neo-Gothic Hanoi Cathedral and the countless Chinese temples and pagodas that can be spotted throughout the city. In 2017, bilateral trade between China and Vietnam surpassed USD 100 billion for the first time, while China remained Vietnam's largest trade partner for the 13th consecutive year. According to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, Chinese holidaymakers made over 4 million trips to Vietnam in 2017, an increase of 48.6% over the previous year.

In recent years, Air China has opened routes between Beijing and Ho Chi Minh, Hangzhou and Nha Trang, and Chongqing and Nha Trang. This latest link between Beijing and Hanoi will strengthen trade, investment, tourism and cultural ties between China and Vietnam, while offering a convenient new travel option for Chinese passengers keen to explore Vietnam and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia. Conversely, the new Air China route will also make it easier for passengers from Vietnam and Southeast Asia to fly to Beijing, from where they can choose from an extensive range of international destinations.

In recent years, Air China has expanded the reach of its global route network, which revolves around its central hub in Beijing. As part of this expansion, Air China has launched new routes to Southeast Asia, with a focus on key regional destinations. Air China already operates flights to nearly 20 destinations in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Chiang Mai and Rangoon. In recent years, it has also opened new routes between Hangzhou, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chengdu and Bangkok; Hangzhou and Phuket; and Beijing and Jakarta.

Flight information:

The new route between Beijing and Hanoi will be operated under flight numbers CA741/742 four times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. Outbound flights will depart from Beijing at 01:25 and arrive in Hanoi at 04:15; inbound flights will depart from Hanoi at 05:45 and arrive in Beijing at 10:25 (all times are local).

Logo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180323/2086726-1LOGO

Related Links

HTTP://www.airchina.com/



SOURCE Air ChinaHosted by the NGO Volunteers for Peace Vietnam (VPV) Club, in coordination with the Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and the Embassy of Ireland in Vietnam, this years event featured activities centred around the theme of Inequality: In or Out?

It is an annual activity by the VPV Club, which aims to create a space for cultural exchanges between Vietnamese and international youths, as well as volunteer exchange opportunities both inside and outside the country, thereby contributing to raising the youths awareness on social issues.

According to the organisers, the entire revenue collected at the 2018 Global Volunteering Day will be used for future community activities by the VPV Club.

Winners of a writing contest on the 2018 Global Volunteering Days theme announced at the event.





A performance by young foreign people at the programme.





Youths convey messages related to inequality at the event.





The programme offers a chance for young people to explore themselves and experience the different cultures around the world.





Learning to play traditional instruments from Myanmar.





Joining in folk games at the booths of different countries at the event.





A foreign volunteer learns to play a traditional Vietnamese game.





Enjoying traditional pastries from France.





The Mongolian booth attracts the attention of young people.





The programme also offers an opportunity for young people to meet new friends and enroll for volunteer programmes this summer.GUWAHATI, India, May 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Apex Professional University (APU), Pasighat announced the online entrance test (TREAT) dates of Ph.D. and M.Phil. programmes for August 2018 session in regular mode. APU will conduct a national-level online entrance test on June 28 in selected examination centers across the country to select the candidates for Ph.D. and M.Phil. programmes in full-time and part-time mode.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694069/Apex_Professional_University_Logo.jpg )



"As per official notification released by APU, the candidates who wish to appear for the online Entrance Test can submit their application on or before June 20, 2018. The entrance test will be of 100 marks (50 questions of two marks each with multiple choices). Candidates will qualify if they score 50% marks or more," said Dr R. Saikia, Dean (Research) of the Apex Professional University.

The candidates who are willing to appear for the Ph.D. entrance test 2018 are required to apply online for the examination in the official website - http://www.apexuniversity.ac.in.

After the publication of entrance test results, all applicants will be called for an interview on 15 July, 2018 and the final selection will be made on the basis of total marks obtained in the written examination and the interview subject to the availability of vacancies under the qualified supervisors.

As per UGC regulations, candidates having a valid SET or NET score or M.Phil. degree are exempted from taking the entrance test as per notification of the University. Selected research scholars will be eligible for an APU Fellowship of Rs. 12,500 per month from the University.

The entrance test is being held for full-time and part-time M.Phil. Degree in Law, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, Economics, Geography, History, Social Work, Library and Information Science, Commerce, Computer Science, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, and Physics.

APU is focusing on full-time and part-time Ph.D. Degree in Law, English, Economics, Philosophy, Anthropology, Sociology, Library and Information Science, Political Science, Public Administration, History, Women's Studies, Geography, Statistics, Environmental Studies, Management, Computer Science, Life Sciences, Commerce, Education, Social Work, Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Zoology and Mathematics.

Students can also pursue Ph.D.s at APU in the Vedic subjects like Astrology and Vastu Shashtra as well as in Yoga and Naturopathy.

Vice Chancellor Prof. J N Das said, "The PhD admission procedure has been drawn up according to the UGC guidelines. We have put the necessary infrastructure and lab in place for research activities."

"Since we have faculty members with us who can act as research guides, we have decided to take in research scholars," said Acharya Dhanwant Singh, Chancellor of the University.

About Apex Professional University:

Apex Professional University (APU) is a non-profit university established by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and Apex Foundation, Bangalore under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Scheme. Government of Arunachal Pradesh has legislated Apex Professional University Act, 2012 (No. 7 of 2013) as a Statutory University vide notification No. LAW/LEGN-17/2012 dated 10th May, 2013. APU started functioning in July 2013 under the sponsorship of Apex Foundation, Bangalore, one of the top charitable organization in the field of education.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has accorded its recognition to Apex Professional University as a state private university vide its letter F.NO8-13/2013(CPP-I/PU) dated 28th June 2013 in accordance with section 2(f) of UGC Act, 1956. As per Ministry of HRD, Government of India, Apex Professional University is empowered to award Degrees as specified in section 22 of UGC Act, 1956.

Apex Professional University, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh is approved by Bar Council of India, New Delhi, Council of Architecture (CoA), New Delhi and is a member of Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi. The APU has also obtained no objection letter from the AICTE, New Delhi for conducting technical and management programme.

Apex Professional University, Pasighat, Arunachal Pradesh is empowered to register external (private) students in accordance with Apex Professional University Act (No. 7 of 2013) and the consent of the Distance Education Bureau (DEB), University Grant Commission, New Delhi.

For more detail about APU, visit: http://www.apexuniversity.ac.in.

Media Contact:

V S Moray,

[email protected],

+91-7308372397,

Registrar,

Apex Professional University



SOURCE Apex Professional UniversityBANGALORE, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Canadian International School (CIS) Bangalore, organized its annual Graduation Day ceremony for its outgoing batch, 'Class of 2018'. A total of 82 students graduated from the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, the largest batch to date at CIS.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/638328/CIS_Logo.jpg )



The event began with the graduating students participating in the ceremonial procession, clad in graduation gowns and caps. The opening speech was given by Mr. Shane Kells, Head of School and the chief guest for the occasion, Ms. Jahnavi Rudrakshala, an alumnus of CIS, addressed the students and participated in the traditional lighting of the lamp. Ms. Shweta Sastri, Executive Director, CIS also addressed the occasion.

The school presented various awards to the students in recognition of their academic achievements including the CAS Award, IB Learner Profile Award, and the Valedictorian Award. Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Shweta Sastri said, "It is a proud moment in the history of CIS to see our largest batch of 82 students graduate high school. We wish them success in their future endeavors."

There was a scene of festivities at Canadian International School on Friday evening. Students celebrated the occasion with emotional moments, group photos, and selfies. Family members were also present to encourage their wards and witness the grand spectacle.

The students of the graduating 'Class of 2018' have received an aggregate of US$ 2 Million in scholarships. Apart from that, students have also secured admissions into top universities around the world. Students will be proceeding to established schools like New York University, Cardiff University, University of California, London School of Economics, University of Amsterdam, Purdue University, University of Sussex, and more around the world.

About Canadian International School

Canadian International School is a culturally-rich mosaic serving each student by providing world-class international education, nurturing potential, developing life-long skills, and preparing students for an ever-changing global community. As India's 1st Apple Distinguished School, Canadian International School has continued to deliver a very high standard of education with an array of subject choices and activities tailored to students' interests, aligned with a very high level of care in a warm, friendly and non-threatening environment. It follows internationally recognized curricula - IB (Grades 11 & 12), IGCSE (Grades 9 -10), Cambridge Secondary 1 (Grades 6 - 8) Cambridge Primary, and Montessori (Pre K to Grade 5), and employs a majority of foreign-trained, experienced teachers.

Media Contact :

Amala Warrick

[email protected]

+91-9008607755

Canadian International School



SOURCE Canadian International SchoolNEW DELHI, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

CleanMax Solar, sustainability partner for India's leading corporates, has donated a rooftop solar plant of 6.4 kWp to Ahinsa Sthal, a prominent Jain temple in Meherauli, Delhi. With this installation, Ahinsa Sthal has taken a step towards environment conservation by adopting solar energy. The temple is estimated to save Rs 50,000 on its electricity expenditure every year by replacing more than 35% of the temple's electricity consumption. This recently commissioned plant is also equipped with net-metering facility, allowing the temple to export 25% of the solar energy back to the grid.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Kuldeep Jain, Founder & Managing Director, CleanMax Solar, remarked, "India is a diverse and pluralistic nation with countless temples, mosques, gurudwaras, churches and other institutions, reflecting the devotion of their respective communities. When such institutions move towards sustainability, they set an example for the public to adopt sustainable ways of living. We are extremely happy to help Ahinsa Sthal reduce its dependence on conventional sources of energy and adopt rooftop solar projects to meet their daily power needs."

Mr. Vinod Jain, Trustee, Ahinsa Sthal expressed, "We are thankful to CleanMax Solar for donating this solar plant to our temple. We believe the future is in preserving nature and utilizing renewable resources to meet our daily needs. Due to this installation Ahinsa Sthal is replacing more than 35% of its electricity consumption. As the disciples of Lord Mahavira, we believe in non-violence towards not only humans but also nature. This initiative is a significant step towards reducing carbon footprint without harming any natural resources."

About CleanMax Solar:

CleanMax Solar is India's largest provider of solar power to corporates. The company was founded in 2011, and since then, CleanMax Solar has successfully installed more than 250 projects for over 70 corporates, with a combined rooftop solar capacity of more than 100 MW. CleanMax Solar is the #1 rooftop solar developer in India for the past three years, with a market share of 24 per cent (as per the Bridge to India May, 2017 report). CleanMax Solar also operates more 300 MW of solar farms in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, for supply to its corporate clients.

With clients spanning sectors such as automobiles, education, pharmaceuticals, food & beverages, and information technology, the company develops projects on a turnkey basis, providing power on a per-kWh basis, under long-term Power Purchase Agreements, at rates cheaper than prevailing grid tariffs. CleanMax Solar has been recognized by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (Government of India) with National Excellence Awards for Rooftop Solar Developer and Rooftop Solar EPC Player in 2016; and has won the National Award for sustained excellence in solar energy by World CSR forum in 2017. CleanMax has also been awarded the Best Rooftop Solar Player at the Renewable Energy Exposition (REI) 2017.

For more information, log onto http://www.cleanmaxsolar.com

About Ahinsa Sthal:

Ahinsa Sthal is a Jain temple located in Mehrauli, Delhi. The main deity of the temple is Mahavira, the 24th and last Tirthankara (human spiritual guide) of Avasarpini (present half cycle of time). A magnificent statue of Tirthankara Mahavira is installed here.

Media Contact:

Mayukhi Mondal

[email protected]

+91-9168464125

AAD, Communicate India



SOURCE CleanMax SolarMUMBAI, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The World Confederation of Businesses (WORLDCOB) recently conferred Dr Batra's[TM] Healthcare as the 'Most Inspirational Company' at The BIZZ Awards held in Prague, Czech Republic. Dr Batra's[TM] Healthcare, the largest chain of over 225 homeopathic clinics spread across India, UAE, UK, Bahrain and Bangladesh, is the only healthcare company this year to be selected amongst companies participating from over 120 countries. Dr. Mukesh Batra, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Dr Batra's[TM] group of companies, was present to receive the award.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/664189/Dr_Batra_s_Multi_Specialty_Homeopathy_Logo.jpg )

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694092/Dr_Batra_with_Bizz_award.jpg )

The BIZZ Awards were created by WORLDCOB to recognize some of the leading businesses across the world, which are contributing significantly to the economy of their country. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mukesh Batra said that it is very fulfilling to be recognised globally for being the most inspirational company and that demonstrates the growing acceptance of homeopathy in the world. He further adds, "We thank WORLDCOB for awarding us. This will be a new impetus for our company to continue our success through innovation and excellence in homeopathic healthcare."

Playing a pioneering role of highlighting India on the global homeopathic map, Dr Batra's[TM] Healthcare has healed people and changed lives of over 1 million patients across the world through its uncompromising levels of expertise and unmatched experience.

About Dr Batra's Group of Companies

Dr Batra's[TM] Health Care Group was founded by Dr. Mukesh Batra in 1982 in Mumbai. The Group today is the leading Homeopathic healthcare corporate, having 225 clinics across 133 cities with presence in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Dhaka, India, London and Manama. In 2009, the company introduced Aesthetic Services through its flagship brand Dr Batra's[TM] Aesthetic Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The aesthetic arm of Dr Batra's[TM] offers wide services ranging from Hair Growth, Skin Care, Hair Transplantation and Sliming Solutions.

The brand has also made significant progress and development in personal and healthcare products under its well established division Dr Batra's[TM] Positive Health Products Private Limited. This marks a phenomenal contribution by Dr Batra's[TM] due to its individualized treatment and care to over 10 lakh patients across the globe, including 3.5 lakh hair patients and 1.4 lakh skin patients.

Dr Batra's[TM] Cyber Clinic has been listed in the Limca Book of Records (Editions 2004 and 2005) for becoming the first-ever cyber clinic to offer online consultation to over 4.5 lakh patients every year. It has also launched the world's first tele-homoeopathy clinic which enables real-time multi-location connectivity. The brand is the only Homeopathic Most Trusted No.1 Ranked Brand by The Brand Trust Report - India Study 2013, and feted as a Power Brand for the year 2012 by Planman Media. Dr Batra's[TM] is the world's first homeopathic healthcare corporate to receive the much-coveted ISO 9001-2008 Certification. Moreover the brand is well-known as a philanthropic work for underprivileged sections of the society to get free treatment.

Media Contact:

Rachna Sunder

[email protected]

+91-80-80789076

Deputy General Manager - Marketing

Dr Batra's Healthcare



SOURCE Dr Batra's Multi-Specialty HomeopathyNEW DELHI, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) ranks No. 10 overall in the Financial Times worldwide survey of executive education, which was released last Monday, 14 May.

CCL retains its position as the top-ranked executive education for Open Enrollment programs in the 2018 survey of the world's best educational institutions. It is the 17th consecutive year that CCL has earned a Top 10 ranking in the survey.

CCL is the only institution - from more than 85 in the rankings - that focuses exclusively on leadership development. The rankings are based on direct feedback from organizational and individual clients who rated leading executive education providers, including Harvard, Wharton, IMD and Insead, for quality and impact.

"CCL is focused on getting results for our clients, and these rankings demonstrate the critical difference that leadership development makes for individuals and organizations," CCL President and CEO John R. Ryan said. "It is a privilege to partner each day with world-class clients around the globe and to be in the company of so many outstanding educational institutions in this survey."

"It's an honor to be ranked among the top of the 2018 Financial Times rankings. Over the past few years, India has enjoyed rapid economic growth, a testament to its tremendous potential. Here in India, home to one of the world's largest populations, we are proud to help organizations and individuals adapt to economy's rapidly changing needs, supporting nation building in the process," said Muniinder K. Anand, Managing Director, CCL India Asia. "Through our focused research and carefully tailored programs in executive leadership, we continue to equip our clients in India for a future full of potential."

"Partnering with CCL on the LEaD MARUTI program for senior leaders last year has been proven impactful to Maruti's preparation for the future of the organization," said Rajesh Uppal, Chief Information Officer of Maruti Suzuki. "Participants had the ability to sharpen their skills, gain better self-awareness, relate the learnings back to daily work, and achieve a common leadership language among the leaders, inspiring the rest of the organization to follow."

About CCL

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) is a top-ranked, global provider of leadership development. By leveraging the power of leadership to drive results that matter most to clients, CCL transforms individual leaders, teams, organizations and society. Our array of cutting-edge solutions is steeped in extensive research and experience gained from working with hundreds of thousands of leaders at all levels. Ranked among the world's Top 10 providers of executive education by Financial Times, CCL has offices in Greensboro, NC; Colorado Springs, CO; San Diego, CA; Brussels, Belgium; Moscow, Russia; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Singapore; New Delhi-NCR, India; and Shanghai, China.

Related Links

http://www.ccl.org



SOURCE Center for Creative LeadershipNEW DELHI, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Less than a year after rolling out its partner program in India, REC Group, the leading European brand for solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, this week completed the first wave of training for rooftop solar installers for close to 100 companies nationwide. Active in many countries worldwide, the hugely popular REC Solar Professional Program promotes and rewards long-term alliances between REC and the EPC companies which install the solar systems, ensuring excellence along the downstream value chain.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/557305/REC_Group_Logo.jpg )

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694109/REC_Partner_Program.jpg )



The REC Solar Professional Program is one of two platforms of support for the company's partners in India and around the world. The REC Global Partner Program provides distributors with a range of services, tools and benefits to grow business profitably with REC products. The REC Solar Professional Program offers installers a unique package of training, skill-building and certification to ensure global best practice in system installation. Alongside India, the successful channel programs are in operation in several countries in the APAC region, including Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and the latest addition, Taiwan.

Training and certification under the REC Solar Professional Program, which wraps up in India this week, was held in six cities across the country: New Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune. 156 solar professionals from 95 companies are the program's first graduates in India, gaining expertise on the technical and commercial aspects of rooftop solar installations, aligning them to the global best practices of rooftop solar. The freshly-certified installers are eligible for a range of benefits, including an extended product warranty and a range of sales and marketing tools to promote their own business.

These results were achieved in a remarkably short time. It was only last September that REC launched its channel programs in India and certified Redington, as the first Platinum Partner. With its strong supply chains Redington provided a robust platform to help secure solar installers and system integrators for installations with REC's award-winning solar panels.

Feedback from training participants in India has been consistently positive, with many applauding REC for its commitment to engaging directly with installers. Rohit Kumar, Head of Indian Subcontinent at REC Group, on speaking about why the program is such a success said, "The REC Solar Professional Program is unique as it works on two levels: it forges a direct connection between the small installers and REC as the manufacturer and it also gets everyone on the same platform, connecting the end consumer, installer and manufacturer with one another. It's also unique in that it provides a structured approach to rooftop installations. This is becoming crucial in India, as there are many skill gaps since it is a relatively new segment."

To date, more than 1300 installers have come through REC's Solar Professional Program worldwide, with numbers set to surge in 2018: training and certification for a further 300 installers is planned. The focus on training solar professionals in India reflects the country's importance for REC. Shipment volumes have surged upwards in this rapidly expanding market, with REC recording year-on-year shipment growth in excess of 120% to year end 2017. As stated in the REC's Q4 2017 Solar Market Insight report, cumulative shipments to India totalled over 260 MW to the end of 2017, making REC the largest European player in the market.

About REC Group:

Founded in Norway in 1996, REC Group is a leading vertically integrated solar energy company. Through integrated manufacturing from silicon to wafers, cells, high-quality panels and extending to solar solutions, REC Group provides the world with a reliable source of clean energy. REC's renowned product quality is supported by the lowest warranty claims rate in the industry. REC Group is a Bluestar Elkem company with headquarters in Norway and operational headquarters in Singapore. REC Group employs more than 2,000 people worldwide, producing 1.5 GW of solar panels annually. Find out more at http://www.recgroup.com

Media Contact:

Shikha Upadhayay

[email protected]

+91-9953943411

+91-124-6768714

Manager Marketing Communications & PR

REC Group

915, Regus Business Centre,

Level 9, Spaze I-Tech Park,

A1 Tower, Sector - 49 Sohna Road

Gurgaon, India - 122018



SOURCE REC GroupAt the meetings during his recent working visit to Namibia, the Deputy FM recalled valuable support of the Namibian Government and people for Vietnams struggle for national liberation in the past, and hoped the country will successfully assume the position of presidency of the Southern African Development Community.

He also affirmed Vietnams support for the 4th National Development Programme of Namibian President Hage Geingob.

The two sides stressed the need to boost economic links on a par with the political relations between the two countries.

They agreed to further push connection between the two countries chambers of commerce, and push exchange of goods, especially those of strength such as beef, cattle meat, minerals of Namibia; and agricultural machinery, fertilizer, textiles, machinery components, and telephone of Vietnam.

The Namibian side expressed their desire to attract Vietnams investment and cooperate with the Southeast Asian nation in tourism , energy, cotton growing and processing, breeding, and technical vocational training.

Namibia pledged to soon ratify the agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders signed between the two countries in 2013.

Nam took the occasion to hand over a letter of President Tran Dai Quang to Hage Geingob, which suggested Namibia support Vietnam's candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in 2020-2021 tenure.

The Namibian side promised to consider its support for Vietnam in the next years election for the seat.

The two sides compared their notes of regional and international issues of common concern, and agreed on the importance of international law, dialogue and peaceful settlement of disputes.

The Vietnamese official also informed the Namibian side of the history of disputes in the East Sea, recent relevant developments, and viewpoints of concerned parties.The New York-based firm already has large deployments in Europe, having secured millions of users worldwide. With major customers in the financial services and healthcare sectors including Mastercard and Vhi  Ireland's largest Health Insurer  the new London office solidifies HYPR's presence in the two financial capitals of the world. HYPR team leaders and industry veterans, Marc Ewin and Kevin Turner, will be leading the EMEA go-to-market initiative.

"We're seeing urgency from enterprises in Europe who view the new regulatory requirements not as a road block  but an opportunity to enhance security, privacy, and user experience," said George Avetisov, Chief Executive Officer of HYPR Corp. "Establishing a presence on both sides of the Atlantic allows HYPR to deliver on that urgency and speaks to the global momentum we are building, following our news of strategic investments from industry leaders like Samsung. I have no doubt that our EU team will execute and achieve great success in the region."

Demand for HYPR solutions is being accelerated by Europe's latest regulatory requirements. GDPR has shined a spotlight on the importance of how user data is stored, especially with regards to identity, user credentials and biometrics. HYPR's ability to decentralize credentials and enable secure password-less experiences has proven an attractive solution for GDPR-compliant user authentication.

With regards to PSD2 requirements for customer authentication, HYPR's decentralized approach focuses on eliminating credential reuse and accelerating transaction speeds. Having deployed secure biometric payments and transaction signatures for major financial institutions, HYPR helps enterprises achieve regulatory compliance while empowering a faster, more secure, mobile and online checkout experience.

"Bringing HYPR decentralized authentication to a critical market like the UK and Continental Europe with leaders like Marc and Kevin is invaluable to eliminating credential re-use, preventing breaches and securing millions of password-less experiences. Looking at the regulatory landscape, particularly in the EU with GDPR and PSD2, one could say regulators are mandating solutions like HYPR  and we are responding in kind," said Seth Robbins, Chief Revenue Officer, HYPR Corp.

"Kevin and I are excited to join the HYPR team and match the EMEA financial services market needs with our innovative and secure password-less solution. So many favorable conditions  regulatory, standards based, and technological  are aligned to make HYPR adoption assured. Aside from validation by Vhi, early interest here already shows great promise," said Marc Ewin, Vice President, EMEA, of HYPR Corp.

Marc Ewin joins HYPR Corp. with more than 20 years in cybersecurity software sales and building high-performing EMEA sales operations for disruptive startup technologies. Marc has been involved in successful IPO/acquisition outcomes for a number of startups including Axent Technologies, Securant Technologies, Cybertrust, and Fireglass. Kevin Turner joins the team with over 25 years in sales and engineering roles at Oracle, Sun Microsystems, RSA Security, and most recently Okta, where he built and directed the systems engineering operation in Europe. Kevin's career has allowed him to undertake a variety of responsibilities which require a strong combination of consultancy and technical depth.

"There is a pressing need to upgrade legacy identity and authentication platforms to prevent data breaches and to support modern digital services. This comes at a time when new EU regulations, GDPR and PSD2, mandate the use of strong customer authentication including the use of biometric technology," said Alan Goode, CEO and Chief Analyst with Goode Intelligence. "HYPR's entry into the UK market comes at an ideal time and I am confident that organizations in the UK and internationally will benefit from HYPR's innovative decentralized authentication platform."

About HYPR

HYPR is the leader in decentralized authentication with millions of users secured across the Fortune 500. Named a "Cool Vendor" by Gartner in 2017, HYPR is trusted by major enterprises such as Mastercard and Samsung to prevent breaches, eliminate fraud, and accelerate transaction speeds.

As enterprises transition to password-less experiences, they often store user credentials in a centralized repository. Centralized authentication creates a single point of failure targeted by hackers and has remained the #1 cause of major data breaches  until now.

The HYPR solution ensures that personal credentials always stay safely decentralized and encrypted on your users' devices. By eliminating the need for a centralized credential store, HYPR removes the target and minimizes your risk of a data breach. With HYPR, enterprises are changing the way millions of users experience secure, password-less access to our connected world.

Additional information is available at: https://www.hypr.com/

Media Contact: North 6th Agency, Inc.

212-334-9753, gvelez@n6a.com

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/486945/HYPR_Logo.jpg

Related Links

https://www.hypr.com



SOURCE HYPR Corp.While presenting a letter of credentials to President of Moldova Igor Dodon in Chisinau capital city on May 18, Tuan congratulated Moldova on its achievements since economic reform in 2015 and receiving observer status at the Eurasian Economic Union.

The ambassador expressed his wish that the President and ministries and agencies of Moldova will assist Vietnamese nationals and students in the European country to serve as a bridge between the two nations.

The guest hoped that the President and Government of Moldova will create favourable conditions for him to fulfil assigned tasks.

Dodon, for his part, said Moldova always treasures ties with Vietnam  a promising partner in the Asia-Pacific region.

Highlighting the important role of bilateral economic, health care and education, he said Moldova has welcomed many Vietnamese students to Chisinau and hoped that both countries will further strengthen education collaboration in the near future.

The host committed all possible support to the ambassador to fulfill assigned tasks and contribute to bilateral ties.

Both sides vowed to fully tap potentials of cooperation in diplomacy, politics and economy, at international organisations, the United Nations and multilateral forums.

They expressed their interest in strengthening bilateral legal framework, stepping up political dialogue and consular consultation, agreed to facilitate the exchange of high-level visits to diversify joint work in fields of shared concern.

Earlier on May 17, Tuan met and presented a copy of credentials letter to Secretary of State for Bilateral and Multilateral Affairs Tatiana Molcean

The host hoped that the two countries will enter a new period in their ties as well as promote initiatives to reinforce bilateral and multilateral ties.

In the afternoon of the same day, the ambassador held a working session with Director of the Department of Asian-Pacific Affairs Emil Jacota to discuss measures to boost bilateral links across economy, trade, education and national defence.

On the occasion, he also met Vietnamese nationals and students in the country.

The deputies paid respects to President Ho Chi Minh before the meeting formally began.

In her opening remarks, Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, stated that Vietnam needs to prepare in order to reduce the negative impacts of global uncertainties and guarantee the sustainable growth of the Vietnamese economy.

The parliament speakers speech was followed by Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binhs report on Vietnams socio-economic performance in the early months of 2018 and President of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Mans report on voters feedback.

In the afternoon, the National Assembly will hear the 2016 budget settlement reports and the Ministry of Education and Trainings suggested revisions to the law on general and higher education.

The 5th plenary meeting is expected to last until June 15, with much of the focus on discussing the laws on special economic zones, cyber-security, national defence, planning, anti-corruption and education.

Also on the agenda will be a quick question session when the government officials are required to answer the deputies questions for three minutes, which is expected to increase dialogue and debate at the parliament.Our mission is to provide nutrition to your pet, while giving back to the community.

Brutus Broth, LLC is pleased to announce their brand debut today by launching its all-natural chicken and beef bone broths for dogs in all Wegmans Food Markets. Catering to the growing demand for high quality pet foods, Brutus Broth is a nutritious and delicious liquid bone broth that can be mixed with a dogs existing dry food or can be served on its own. Fortified with turmeric, glucosamine and chondroitin, Brutus Broth is a human-grade product that is gluten, soy, yeast and dairy-free and has no artificial flavors, preservatives or colors. Unlike a majority of pet foods on the market today, Brutus Broth is made in a USDA-approved facility in New York.

Our story began on Thanksgiving Day 2016 when a family member asked to what we attribute Brutus' longevity. The answer: Love and Grandmas Bone Broth," mentions Sue Delegan, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. Adding bone broth to his dry food provided Brutus with additional nutritional benefits and made his food much easier to digest. Plus, he loves the taste!

In collaboration with her sister and father, Sue and the Brutus Broth team spent thousands of hours researching the pet market and speaking to experts in the industry. Using their tried and true family recipe, designing packaging prototypes, and working with ingredient suppliers and manufacturers, they created a product like no other pet food available - Brutus' Bone Broth -which is now launching to market.

Packaged in a ready to serve, 32-ounce aseptic carton that yields 8 servings (based on a 50 pound dog), Brutus Broth has a 2-year shelf life when unopened. In keeping with the Companys mission of providing nutrition to your pet while giving back to the community, Brutus Broth will donate a portion of proceeds to help homeless animals with the help of the Brutus Broth Kids Committee.

The Brutus Broth Kids committee is comprised of kids aged 5-15 years old who will be responsible for choosing the charities that will be the beneficiaries of Brutus Broths charitable donations. It is important for us to get tomorrows leaders involved to not only learn about entrepreneurship, but also philanthropy and giving back to the communities we live in, adds Sues sister, Kim Hehir, Co-Founder and President.

The pet food industry has experienced robust growth and strong market fundamentals in recent years. This trend is fueled by a rise in pet ownership (over 50% of US households own dogs) and increased spending due to the humanization of pets (treating them like children). This has resulted in a demand for ingredient transparency, especially within the natural foods sector, as well as pet foods that are analogous to trendy foods enjoyed by humans, which is currently the case with bone broths. Finally, there is a manufacturing trend towards freeze-dried pet foods that need to be reconstituted with water or another liquid, which creates an opportunity for pet owners to use Brutus Broth as a healthier alternative. For more information, please visit http://www.brutusbroth.com or https://www.facebook.com/brutusbroth.

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Brutus Broth, LLC was founded in 2017 by sisters Kim Hehir and Sue Delegan and their father, Tom Moffitt, who is a retired Vietnam veteran. With diverse backgrounds in entrepreneurship, branding, finance, non-profits and food, the Brutus Broth executive team has built their business around their passion for pet health and giving back to the community.

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 95-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by FORTUNE magazine for 21 consecutive years, ranking #2 in 2018.The legal team at Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A. proudly announces that Raeann Warner, the firms Director, has been once again honored as a Rising Star by the prestigious Super Lawyers organization. Ms. Warner has been named a Rising Star each year since 2012, making this her seventh consecutive year. In addition to this distinguished honor, Ms. Warner was also recently named a Top Civil Rights Attorney by Delaware Today.

Ms. Warners illustrious career began in 2007 when she started representing clients in childhood sexual abuse and employment cases. In addition to those practice areas, Ms. Warner also focuses on sexual assault, personal injury, and toxic tort cases.

The highly regarded Super Lawyer honor is awarded after an extensive, patented, multi-phase selection process. It combines independent research with peer nominations and evaluations. Every candidate is individually evaluated on twelve indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made annually, on a state-by-state basis. Honorees represent the top five percent of attorneys in each state. The selection process for Rising Stars is similar, with the exception being that a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger, or in practice for 10 years or less.

If you would like to learn more about Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A., or you are in need of legal services, this full-service firms legal team can evaluate your claim free of charge. They will work tirelessly to fight for the financial compensation you need now and for the future. To arrange a free consultation, call today at 302-656-5445, or visit their website at https://www.jcdelaw.com/.We are preparing for exceptional growth over the next three year period and the new office space will allow us to continue to fulfill our promise to investors, associates, and most of all our guests by running an exceptional portfolio of hotels across all major brands.

Baywood Hotels, one of the nations fastest growing management and development companies, announced it has moved into a new corporate office at 9130 Guilford Road in Columbias River Corporate Park area to accommodate the companys continual growth, expanding from a little less than 8,000 square feet to 13,000 square feet at the new location.

As we add properties, we continue to add experienced, focused, tireless corporate support to our field based teams and regional satellite offices throughout the U.S. said Rick Fenstemaker, Chief Operating Officer of Baywood Hotels. We are preparing for exceptional growth over the next three year period and the new office space will allow us to continue to fulfill our promise to investors, associates, and most of all our guests by running an exceptional portfolio of hotels across all major brands.

The new space represents a continuation of the companys momentum, following the opening of its 103rd hotel in May 2018. The new headquarters will offer collaborative work spaces, three meeting rooms, usable outdoor space, and a multi-purpose room that will all foster engagement from the 60+ team members that will be working out of the office.

###

Established in 1975, Baywood Hotels, Inc. is a fast-growing hospitality management and development company, operating $1 billion in assets and employing over 3,000 associates nationwide. The company is headquartered in Columbia, MD and has regional offices in Denver, CO; Miami, FL; Rochester, NY, San Antonio, TX and Northern VA. In each of its regions, the private hotel ownership company is consistently recognized as an innovative leader in the hotel industry, focusing on product concept and development and the outstanding management of its assets. The focused vision, strong values and aggressive long-range strategy of Baywood Hotels has helped the company develop reputable and well-branded hotels in areas where Baywood has competitive expertise and partnerships. Baywood Hotels portfolio includes well-known brands, such as Marriott, Hilton and InterContinental Hotels Group, as well as several independent brands. Contact us through Facebook or our website or connect with us on LinkedIn.The law firm of Williams Cedar is pleased to announce that Attorney Gerald J. Williams, co-founder and partner of the firm, was named a Super Lawyer for 2018. Super Lawyers bestows this honor on outstanding lawyers throughout the 50 states and Washington, D.C. each year to recognize their achievements in the legal profession.

Independent research, peer nominations and evaluations encompass the patented selection process, and each nominee is rated by 12 benchmarks of peer recognition and professional achievements.

Introduction to our Super Lawyer

Gerald J. Williams was designated a Top-Rated Environmental Litigation Attorney in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for 2018. Mr. Williams has received the Super Lawyers honor in each year since 2006. Since the early 1980s, when he established his first law practice, he has been accorded high honors for his work in environmental litigation, civil rights, class action/mass torts, child abuse, workplace safety, and whistleblower cases.

Mr. Williams has secured significant recoveries for his clients, including successful verdicts in cases like Merry vs. Westinghouse, which helped establish the remedy of medical monitoring under Pennsylvania law, and Palinkas v. Petro, which resulted in the largest award for a domestic oil spill in Pennsylvania history. He has also received the Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent peer-review rating, which is the highest a lawyer can receive.

The team of trial lawyers at Williams Cedar fight for their clients rights and work to ensure the just treatment of individuals throughout the community in environmental toxic tort, civil rights, personal injury, and other complex litigation. For more information, contact the law firm at 215-557-0099 or visit their website at https://www.williamscedar.com/. With offices in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, New Jersey, the firm serves clients in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and throughout the nation.Modo Labs, the leading platform for mobile experiences in the workplace, is celebrating its roots at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) by sponsoring the annual World Real Estate Forum. This influential forum is hosted by the MIT Center for Real Estate, whose Head of Industry Relations recently recognized Modo as a disruptive Corporate Real Estate (CRE) technology innovator.

Modo's roots reach back to 2008, when Andrew Yu, then MIT's Mobile Platform Architect, spearheaded the unified mobilization of essential information and services for the University's students, employees, and visitors. Recognizing the broader potential of the platform they'd built, Andrew and his team launched Modo Labs in 2010. After first creating campus apps for MIT, Harvard, and NYU, Modo soon expanded its scope beyond higher ed campuses by implementing a powerful mobile workplace platform, for use by Fortune 1000 and other leading global companies as a cornerstone for transforming the digital workplace.

Stewart Elliot, CEO of Modo Labs, commented, The millennials and GenZs who have been using our product at the top higher ed institutions, now represent the talent pool that top companies are competing to hire. However, these post-graduates are also looking for the same mobile and digital experience at their workplace that they previously had on campus. Companies partner with us because they know we are experts in digital and mobile engagement, and recognize the value of a platform that meets the high expectations of the next generation workforce. Whether youre a student or an employee, you want to feel engaged and valued within each digital experience. Thats Modo.

Work dynamics and expectations have changed, and not just for the up-and-coming generation. Across the workforce, more and more employees are dividing their work hours between dispersed offices, on-demand shared work spaces, and their homes. This has led Corporate Real Estate leaders  and the owners, developers, and researchers that guide them  to re-imagine their newest offices as flexible flagships that encourage collaboration, embody corporate culture in an open environment, and increase employee satisfaction and retention. Over time, these showcase offices will be used as the template for all of their office space.

The forward-thinking leaders in CRE are transforming their creative visions into reality by leveraging todays technology to deliver tomorrows digital workplace. By working with Modo, companies are able to deliver a scalable yet personalized mobile experience that facilitates each employee's connection to the company, culture, and environment. The platform works by delivering real-time information into a single workplace app, powered by integrations with core information and data systems, such as facilities management and HR tools, and with the physical environment through indoor and outdoor maps, beacons, wayfinding and more. This approach is changing the way companies think about employee engagement, proactively driving success through personalized content and communications delivered the moment it matters.

Elliot stated, The pace of workspace change is incredibly exciting. As we see the office dynamics changing, our platform is evolving as a unifying factor of modern transformations, bringing the digital setting and the physical workplace to life through an equally dynamic and engaging app experience. Modo meets this critical need, and organizations have taken notice.

About Modo: Trusted by hundreds of companies, institutions and hospitals in over 30 countries, Modo Labs offers an enterprise-scale mobile engagement and communication platform that allows customers to quickly and easily create institutional or corporate apps that engage recruits, employees, candidates, students, faculty, and alumni. By using Modo, our customers quickly unlock innovation and digitally transform their organizations, by harnessing the domain skills of any person in their Company or University, no matter their technical skill set.God's Prophetic Army vs Leviathan and the Deep State: a call to build onto Donald Trumps Presidential victory in the spiritual war for Americas soul. God's Prophetic Army vs Leviathan and the Deep State is the creation of published author, T.H. Strong, a Vietnam Veteran and political enthusiast.

During my second tour in Vietnam, I began to realize we were not being allowed to win the war. The US Government policy created another no win war. I began to look for answers. What I found is not pretty. The conspiracy is real and deeply embedded in American government culture and religion. They are not invincible, but they are winning because too many good people are not engaged. THIS BOOK IS FOR THOSE WHO CARE. --T.H. Strong

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, T.H. Strongs new book unveils the spiritual war being waged within the American political system.

Strong shares, We are now engaged in an epic battle for the soul of America. Lovers of truth and a free America showed up in armies at the polls in 2016 and gave Donald Trump an overwhelming victory, not only in the Electoral College, but in the popular vote also when the millions of illegal votes are deducted from the equation. We have now had time to see just how vicious and determined the Deep Staters in the Democrat and Republican parties are, which is only a fraction of how far they are willing to go to preserve their hold on power. We gained a beach head in the White House in 2016. Now we must exploit this breach in the enemy lines and pour in more prayer, more fasting, and more anointed political action along with righteous candidates for office at the local, state, and federal levels. God showed His willingness to help America get back on track to fulfill our destiny but we must repent of our love of comfort and our fear of confrontation. There is a spiritual dimension to this conflict that we dare not ignore. The opposition is energized with demonic power every bit as ruthless as that which possessed Hitler's SS in WW II. Their goal is not only to regain power but to literally silence all opposition to their sub-human agenda.

To confront and defeat this confederacy of criminals God calls forth His new prophetic leadership, trained, tested, and tenaciously committed to God, His truth and His will-to keep America free to fulfill our destinyto be a beacon of hope and freedom to the world. The time of rattling sabers is overthe time to engage has arrived.

View a synopsis of God's Prophetic Army vs Leviathan and the Deep State on YouTube.

Consumers can purchaseGod's Prophetic Army vs Leviathan and the Deep State at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about God's Prophetic Army vs Leviathan and the Deep State, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.The legal team at Chappell, Smith & Arden is proud to announce that partner Mark Chappell has been named as a Super Lawyer for 2018. Mr. Chappell has received this recognition annually since 2009, making this his tenth consecutive year. Graham Newman has also been honored. Mr. Newman has been named a Rising Star by the Super Lawyers organization each year since 2013, making this his sixth consecutive year.

Mr. Chappell recognizes that each client and case are unique, and he handles his work with great insight and responsiveness backed by more than 30 years of experience. Since founding the firm, Mark has handled thousands of cases in personal injury, truck and auto accidents, catastrophic injury, and product liability. He represents only those who have been injured by the negligence, incompetence, or wrongdoing of others. He never represents insurance carriers, employers, or companies.

The dedication, vast experience, insight, and the personal attention Graham Newman provides for his clients are the reasons he has once again been honored as a Super Lawyers Rising Star. Mr. Newmans work is focused on commercial class actions, contractual litigation, insurance bad faith, and products liability in both state and federal court. His trial court victories have included a $14.5 million insurance bad faith verdict, an $8 million class action judgment, and a $4.75 million products liability verdict.

The highly regarded Super Lawyer honor is awarded after an extensive, patented, multi-phase selection process. It combines independent research with peer nominations and evaluations. Every candidate is individually evaluated on twelve indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement. Selections are made annually, on a state-by-state basis. Honorees represent the top five percent of attorneys in each state. The selection process for Rising Stars is the same, with the exception being that a candidate must be either 40 years old or younger, or in practice for 10 years or less.

If you need assistance with a legal matter, or to learn more about Chappell, Smith & Arden, please call 800-531-9780 or visit their website at https://www.chappellsmitharden.com/. A member of the legal team can provide additional information or can schedule a free consultation.

The firms offices are conveniently located throughout South Carolina. They serve clients in Columbia, Aiken, Camden, Sumter, Orangeburg, Greenville, Florence, Beaufort, Irmo, Spartanburg, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head Island, West Columbia, Rock Hill, Charleston, Lexington, Winnsboro, Summerville, and throughout the counties of Lexington County, Richland County, Sumter County, Charleston County, Aiken County, Florence County, Lancaster County, York County, Spartanburg County, Orangeburg County, Kershaw County, and Newberry County.

"Like" us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChappellSmithArdenGlobal Voice Group (GVG) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. James Gabriel Claude as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the company. Mr. Claude has been working for GVG since 2005, holding the positions of Network Operation Center Engineer and Project Manager before his appointment as Vice-President, Technologies in 2013. He has been closely involved in the delivery of important GVG projects in many countries over the last decade.

His appointment as Deputy CEO comes at the right time for GVG, as the company is in the process of completing new important projects in Africa and is experiencing significant and exciting developments as regards technological innovation and business opportunities. Earlier this year, in February, GVG signed an agreement with the Smart Africa Alliance Secretariat for the deployment of an African Regional Traffic Exchange and Financial Settlements (ARTEF) Platform in 22 countries.

This year, GVG celebrates its 20th anniversary as a leader in telecom governance and revenue-assurance solutions for governments and state agencies. Recipient of the Frost & Sullivan Best Practice Award for its innovation in telecom governance technologies, the company has extended its product portfolio to offer a complete range of IT solutions, including data exchange platforms for governments, tax control and management systems, and data analytics solutions.

As Deputy CEO, Mr. Claude will share an increasing workload with the CEO of GVG, Mr. Patrice Baker, enabling the company to maintain the highest standards in customer relationships and to exceed client expectations.

About GVG

Founded in 1998 and present in more than 20 countries, with its main offices in Spain and South Africa, Global Voice Group (GVG) has rapidly grown to become a prominent provider of world-class IT solutions to governments and telecom regulatory authorities. We work with governments and state agencies across a number of critical areas, including: telecom regulatory oversight, digital financial services control, data analytics, electronic control of taxes, revenue mobilization, and overall governance optimization through Big Data technologies.Google Maps(DALLAS) -- A letter threatening an active shooting was found this morning at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, the medical school said on Twitter.



One building on campus was evacuated as a precaution, the school said.



University Police are investigating and patrolling the campus, UT Southwestern said, adding that no immediate threats were discovered.



Additional details were not immediately available.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.The announcement ceremony was held by the Ministry of Defence, under the chair of Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, in Hanoi.

Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh asked the seven officers to seriously obey the foreign policies of the Party, State, and Army of Vietnam, as well as the disciplines of the UN missions and the laws of the host countries.

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh expressed his hope that the seven officers would become a bridge between Vietnam and the UN peacekeeping missions in service of dealing with issues in the field, as Vietnam's first level-2 field hospital is going to join the UN peacekeeping force in South Sudan in late June.

He also asked the Vietnam Peacekeeping Department to continue to strengthen its selection and preparations for the next qualified officers to join the UN peacekeeping force in the near future.

The seven officers to join the UN peacekeeping missions in 2018 include Lieutenant Colonel Vu Van Hiep and Major Ly Thanh Tam, who will perform their duties in South Sudan; and five officers who will carry out their duties in the Central African Republic, namely Major Nguyen Duy Quang, Lieutenant Colonel Bui Thanh Van, Captain Bui Xuan Duong, Captain Dao Duy, and Senior Lieutenant Vu Manh Thang.The terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001 left 343 New York firefighters dead. Retired FDNY Lieutenant James J. ODonnell survived that horrific day but attended over 150 memorial services for those that passed. Now, he shares the lives of 10 heroes who perished in the attacks, as told by their parents in Sons of Valor, Parents of Faith.

The crashing of two planes into the Twin Towers not only dismantled the buildings but hundreds of families as well. Mothers and fathers were left in the rubble of these attacks, searching for husbands, brothers and sons. Some of them never received answers nor recovered the bodies, ODonnell said. The parents spiritual and emotional journeys can serve as an example of faith rising over despair.

Sons of Valor, Parents of Faith serves as a memorial to the lives and careers of 10 first responders who perished on 9/11. ODonnell presents a unique and personal look at how the parents of these heroes were consoled by the FDNY Counseling Services Unit and the role that they played in helping them manage their grief in the aftermath of a national tragedy.

In their own words, these faithful families share their sons' bravery and sacrifice-so that it will never be forgotten. These parents not only recount the lives of their children but their own road to healing. ODonnell takes a special look at the role faith played in the lives of those that perished and their families.

Sons of Valor, Parents of Faith is meant to help readers understand the stress, hardship and sometimes devastation that parents and families of fire responders face, ODonnell said. I also hope that readers realize the efforts and sacrifices of the FCNY and their families. Not only on that day but in the ensuing months and years.

Sons of Valor, Parents of Faith

By James J. ODonnell

ISBN: 9781973604624 (hardcover) 9781973604617 (softcover) 9781973604600 (ebook)

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Westbow Press

About the author

James J. ODonnell is a retired FDNY lieutenant with 30 years of service. His retirement was due to injuries he sustained on 9/11. After retiring he earned his bachelors degree in religious studies from St. Josephs College, and he went on to earn his masters degree from Fordham University, where he studied theology and religious education. He has now used his experience and insight to bring together the families of 9/11 to share their stories in Sons of Valor, Parents of Faith.

Review Copies & Interview Requests:

LAVIDGE  Phoenix

Kalin Thomas

480-998-2600 ext. 540

kthomas(at)lavidge(dot)com

###TRVSC Logo This new logo is designed to represent the full region and all of the partners served by the TRV mapguide,"

The Tennessee River Valley Stewardship council announces that a new logo for the Tennessee River Valley has been released. The previous logo was adopted in 2010 with the original mapguide launch. At that time, only the greater Knoxville and Chattanooga regions of Tennessee, and a small portion of North Georgia were included on the mapguide project. In 2016 with support of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the mapguide was expanded to include the full watershed area, a region represented by 7 states and 125 counties. This new logo is designed to represent the full region and all of the partners served by the TRV mapguide, says spokesperson, Julie Graham. The design work was created by Graphics South and approved by the Council in May, 2018.

In addition to the redesigned logo, the Tennessee River Valley Stewardship Council has rebranded the tagline from Where Mountains Meets Water to Explore TRV and has been using the new branding for printed, social, and digital campaigns.

The Tennessee River Valley mapguide serves as an online travel guide to the places and events most respected and recommended by locals. One of the twenty interactive geotourism mapguides developed world wide, ExploreTRV.com provides visitors an insiders guide to the spectacular geologically diverse Valley sometimes called the Great Lakes of the South.Dickinson Wright PLLC is pleased to announce that Giselle Alexander, of counsel in our Phoenix office, has been awarded the distinction of John S. Nolan Fellow by the officers and council of the ABA Section of Taxation. Six tax lawyers of achievement and promise were selected for the 2018-2019 Class of Nolan Fellows, a one-year position commencing on September 1, 2018.

I am so honored to be selected for this prestigious fellowship, said Ms. Alexander. To be only the fourth Arizonan ever selected as a Nolan Fellow is quite remarkable  Im looking forward to this exciting opportunity.

Ms. Alexander is a tax attorney with Dickinson Wright, practicing primarily in the area of tax controversy at all levels of the process  audits, administrative appeals, and litigation adverse to federal, state, and local entities.

The elite Jack S. Nolan fellowship program was named for the late Jack Nolan, a great lawyer and distinguished leader of the tax bar. Mr. Nolan was highly respected for his role in many important Section initiatives, and was a valued mentor to young lawyers. The incoming Class of Nolan Fellows was introduced at a plenary luncheon in Washington, D.C. on May 12, 2018.

About Dickinson Wright PLLC

Dickinson Wright PLLC is a general practice business law firm with more than 450 attorneys among more than 40 practice areas and 16 industry groups. Headquartered in Detroit and founded in 1878, the firm has 19 offices, including six in Michigan (Detroit, Troy, Ann Arbor, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw) and 12 other domestic offices in Austin and El Paso, Texas; Columbus, Ohio; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Nashville and Music Row, Tenn.; Las Vegas and Reno, Nev.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Silicon Valley, Calif.; and Washington, D.C. The firms Canadian office is located in Toronto.

Dickinson Wright offers our clients a distinctive combination of superb client service, exceptional quality, value for fees, industry expertise and business acumen. As one of the few law firms with ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, Dickinson Wright has built state-of-the-art, independently-verified risk management controls and security processes for our commercial transactions. Dickinson Wright lawyers are known for delivering commercially-oriented advice on sophisticated transactions and have a remarkable record of wins in high-stakes litigation. Dickinson Wright lawyers are regularly cited for their expertise and experience by Chambers, Best Lawyers, Super Lawyers, and other leading independent law firm evaluating organizations.LendingQB and Mortgage Capital Trading (MCT) announced today an integration between the LendingQB loan origination platform and the new Bid Auction Manager (BAM) technology within the MCTlive! secondary marketing software platform. Combining the two systems enables mortgage lenders to utilize a pure digital closed loop secondary marketing process, drastically reducing time and cost while improving loan sale profitability.

BAM is a powerful new bid tape management technology designed by MCT Chief Operating Officer and industry veteran, Phil Rasori. BAM migrates the bidding and selling of loans to investors out of unsecure emails and into a convenient platform, eliminating the time and effort needed to manually collect, analyze, and commit loan sale executions. "BAM provides a better way for lenders to manage their bid tapes and achieve best execution. The secure bidding portal lets investors communicate instantly with lenders, completely eliminating exporting and emailing of bid tape spreadsheets. Using BAM, secondary can easily solicit bids from every single investor they work with, increasing the opportunity to sell loans at a better price," said Tom Farmer, Managing Director at MCT.

The significance of BAM is clear when combined with the LendingQB loan origination platform. Loans are initially priced using LendingQB's Total Decision Engine (TDE), an automated underwriting and loan pricing engine built into the overall LOS platform. TDE ensures that loans are locked at an accurate price and efficiently tracks the progress of loans as they proceed toward funding in LendingQB. LendingQB sends pipeline data into MCTlive! continuously throughout the day, allowing secondary managers to see exactly how their pipeline changes which results in a more transparent and accurate hedge.

"I know exactly where my hedge position is because LendingQB and MCTlive! are integrated and up-to-date," said Timothy Ieyoub, SVP of Capital Markets at Eustis Mortgage. "It gives me a real-time view of our pipeline with a real-time view of the markets. I can adjust my position as many times as I need to, especially considering the recent market volatility."

Once bids are analyzed and investors are chosen, commitment data recorded in Bid Auction Manager (BAM) is automatically sent back into the LendingQB LOS. "Being able to bring commitment data back from MCTlive! into LendingQB is a huge time saver for us," said Ieyoub. We save two to four hours every time we do loan sales. The convenience of communication and analysis has encouraged us to send bid tapes to our full set of investors more often rather than just the top tier, resulting in a surprising pickup in some cases. We used to bid out on a fifteen-day delivery, but now weve reduced that to seven-day.

"LendingQB and MCT are changing the way that secondary marketing is done," said David Colwell, Vice President of Strategy at LendingQB. "We now have the ability to manage a 'closed loop' secondary marketing process: originate, price, lock, execute trades and then store the commitment in an entirely digital fashion. Lenders and investors are able to communicate and respond to each other quickly and accurately. This is the future of secondary marketing."

Lenders interested in learning how this new integration can improve their secondary marketing processes are encouraged to request a demonstration.

About MCT:

Founded in 2001, Mortgage Capital Trading, Inc. (MCT) has grown from a boutique mortgage pipeline hedging firm into the industrys leading provider of fully-integrated capital markets services and technology. MCT offers an array of best-in-class services and software covering mortgage pipeline hedging, best execution loan sales, outsourced lock desk solutions, MSR portfolio valuations, business intelligence analytics, mark to market services, and an award-winning comprehensive capital markets software platform called MCTlive! MCT supports independent mortgage bankers, depositories, credit unions, warehouse lenders, and correspondent investors of all sizes. Headquartered in San Diego, California, MCT also has offices in Philadelphia, Santa Rosa, Los Angeles and Dallas. MCT is well known for its team of capital markets experts and senior traders who continue to provide the boutique-style hands-on engagement clients love. For more information, visit https://mct-trading.com/ or call (619) 543-5111.

About LendingQB:

LendingQB is a provider of Lean Lending solutions. The Lean Lending solution consists of a 100 percent web browser-based, end-to-end mortgage loan origination system, best of breed integrations with key industry partners and 'adoptimization' services that result in faster cycle times and lower costs per loan. For more information, please call 888.285.3912 or visit http://www.lendingqb.com.CNG Founders, Clement Connor and Giovanni Letellier The digital space is constantly evolving and we are committed to staying in the forefront of these changes to better serve our clients.

Both French, Giovanni Letellier and Clement Connor come from different business backgrounds. They met in San Diego in 2014 and became friends, not knowing this friendship would evolve into a successful business partnership.

Clement had a proven record of successful enterprises built on transparent customer relationships and aggressive business development.

Giovanni had moved from Canada to SoCal nursing the idea of launching a marketing agency that would use advanced technology to reach and exceed clients goals.

It was all in the timing and made perfect sense to team up, so it could happen. Thus was created CNG Digital Marketing, Clement N Giovanni.

To get started, they needed an office. Starbucks coffee shop was the place that fueled their energy (caffeine may have played a role). Their goal? To revolutionize online marketing by helping businesses grow, though as a partner more than an agency in the classic sense.

In 2017, they moved into a beautiful space located in Sorrento Valley  the New Silicon Valley - in the heart of San Diego tech companies turf. The modern 4,000 sq ft office houses the team that works on new business development and projects yet to be publicly revealed.

In 2016, CNG gave life to a sister company that focuses more on medium to large businesses: SiO Digital, an AI-powered and data-driven marketing agency. Giovanni transferred his responsibilities as CEO of CNG to Clement and took the role of Chief Strategist, so he could dedicate more time to SiOs growth and future projects.

Starting small, with big ideas and a venti latte, they built two complementary entities from scratch and have recruited 15 team members, reaching 3 million dollars business valuation.

The opportunity to move has allowed us to find new talents, while also working closely with larger companies, Clement says.

The founders believe that digital marketing evolves constantly, and marketers must redefine strategies to adapt and tailor to businesses needs.

They are talented innovators, visionaries, who understand the limits of traditional marketing better than anyone, and who have the drive to adapt and outpace the demands of todays digital space.

I wanted to change the way people see marketing agencies by implementing data-driven strategies. We did it, we are implementing it, and we will make it incredible. The best way to predict the future is to create it, right? Giovanni says.

Clement and Giovanni are more than chief-something, truth be told. They believe in giving back to the community as a token of gratitude for what life has allowed them to accomplish. Together with Diaa El All, VP of Business Development, they launched a members-only network of luxury-car lovers/entrepreneurs. The profits from the events associated with each gathering (dining, auctions, fundraising, ) are distributed to selected charities.

About CNG Digital

CNG Digital Marketing is a uniquely established agency, but also the beginning of a long entrepreneurship. Some other secret projects will be announced soon and will make the story of the bros even more incredible.

This story is brought to you by Emma Astroth, the very first salaried employee of CNG Digital Marketing, now Inbound Director at SiO Digital and Inbound Strategist for CNG.

It is an honor to be part of this incredible journey and a joy to work with Clement and Giovanni. We are all growing professionally and personally and becoming better persons and better marketers. What a ride!

Author: Emma AstrothThe organization selected the commercial litigation team of lawyers at Johnston Pratt PLLC to prosecute Chilean iPhone claims based on the law firms history of handling complex, cross-border litigation.

Chiles leading consumer protection organization, the Corporacion Nacional de Consumidores y Usuarios de Chile, known as CONADECUS sued Apple, Inc. in U.S. federal court. Case information is as follows: Corporacion Nacional de Consumidores Y Usuarios de Chile v. Apple Inc., No. 18-2527 (N.D.Cal. filed Apr. 27, 2018).

CONADECUS is Chiles oldest and largest consumer rights organization, empowered by law to protect Chilean consumers though representative litigation. The organization selected the commercial litigation team at Johnston Pratt PLLC to prosecute Chilean iPhone claims, based on the firms history of handling complex, cross-border litigation.

"Our team of litigators has extensive experience representing clients' best interests and handling complex litigation on their behalf," stated Robert Gifford, Partner at Johnston Pratt.

In the lawsuit, CONADECUS alleges Apple intentionally and secretly slowed the performance of iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 models. According to CONADECUSs court filings, Apples actions amount to electronic trespass and fraud under California law. As a California-based company, California law governs consumer claims against Apple. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction that prevents Apple from releasing software updates that electronically trespass on users devices or using adhesion contracts to gain permissions to electronically trespass on users devices. The lawsuit also seeks monetary damages on behalf of Chileans who bought affected iPhones.

About CONADECUS

CONADECUS (pronounced con a DAY koos) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1996 and headquartered in Santiago, Chile. Chilean law authorizes CONADECUS to protect the rights of Chilean consumers through bring legal actions. Its mission is the promotion and protection of the rights of consumers and users in Chile, through training, information and legal defense actions, in partnership with other social organizations and public and private entities, at the national and international level. Visit http://www.conadecus.cl/ for more information.

About Johnston Pratt PLLC

Johnston Pratt PLLC is a law firm based in Dallas, Texas. The firm offers sophisticated litigation, compliance, and transaction expertise for its clients. Johnston Pratt litigators have the depth and breadth of experience needed to resolve the diverse array of disputes that may arise from business activities. From complex commercial litigation and class-action claims, multidistrict litigation, bet-the-company lawsuits, regulatory enforcement actions, and critical licensing and administrative hearings, Johnston Pratts litigators have forged solutions at every stage in the process. For more information, visit http://www.johnstonpratt.com.If a consumer finds themselves victim of identity theft, it is important they stay calm and are aware of the necessary steps to take to recover and take back control of their finances.

Every year consumers fall victim to identity theft. Not only can identity theft empty a consumers bank account, but it can also prolong any future financial plans. With the growth in anonymous transactions and easy accessibility to accounts online, it is now more important than ever that consumers know what steps to take should they find their identity stolen. To help consumers, national nonprofit American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) provides consumers with the necessary steps to take after falling victim to identity theft.

The number of identity theft victims has continued to rise, especially within the past year, said Steve Trumble, President, and CEO of American Consumer Credit Counseling. If a consumer find themselves victim of identity theft, it is important they stay calm and are aware of the necessary steps to take to recover and take back control of their finances.

According to the 2018 Identity Fraud Study by Javelin Strategy & Research, 16.7 million U.S. consumers were victims of identity theft, eight percent higher than 2017 (15.4 million). A total of $16.8 billion was stolen from U.S. consumers. Account takeover losses reached $5.1 billion, tripling over the past year and reaching a four-year high. Account takeover victims spend an average of 15 hours resolving this fraud and spent about $290.

ACCC provides consumers with steps to take after falling victim to identity theft.

1. Report it  If you know your identity has been stolen, it is important to report the problem to the organization immediately.

2. Check credit  Irresponsible purchases made by identity thieves can cause serious damage to your credit score. Check your credit history for anything out of the ordinary and contact TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian to place a fraud or identity theft alert.

3. Contact banks and creditors  Consumers should report stolen or missing credit cards and any fraudulent activity on statements.

4. Contact Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  By filing a complaint with the FTC, consumers will receive an Identity Theft Affidavit to verify they are the victim.

5. Credit freeze  If you dont need to apply for credit in the near future, it may be a good idea to freeze your credit so your report cant be shared with creditors while identity thieves try to open new accounts.

6. Contact police  File a report with the local police. Document and report the theft to begin the investigation. Get a copy of the report as evidence for re-securing identity and removing fraudulent charges.

7. Change passwords and pin numbers  Change passwords to all accounts. Try to be creative using a variety of upper and lower case letters numbers, and symbols. When it comes to PIN numbers, avoid using the last four digits of your social security number.

ACCC is a 501(c)3 organization that provides free credit counseling, bankruptcy counseling, and housing counseling to consumers nationwide in need of financial literacy education and money management. For more information, contact ACCC:



For credit counseling, and student loan counseling call 800-769-3571

For bankruptcy counseling, call 866-826-6924

For housing counseling, call 866-826-7180

Or visit us online at ConsumerCredit.com

About American Consumer Credit Counseling

American Consumer Credit Counseling (ACCC) is a nonprofit credit counseling 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to empowering consumers to achieve financial management through credit counseling, debt management, bankruptcy counseling, housing counseling, student loan counseling and financial education concerning debt solutions. To help consumers reach their goal of debt relief, ACCC provides a range of free consumer personal finance resources on a variety of topics including budgeting, credit and debt management, student loan assistance, youth and money, homeownership, identity theft, senior living, and retirement. Consumers can use ACCCs worksheets, videos, calculators, and blog articles to make the best possible decisions regarding their financial future. ACCC holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and is a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC). For more information or to access free financial education resources, log on to ConsumerCredit.com or visit http://www.consumercredit.com/financial-education.aspxMiguel Lopez de Leon My favorite part about the authors writing was the sheer imagination and creativity that was used to create both terrifying and enchanting characters, as well as his ability to create a whole world unique to other popular science fiction settings.

Miguel Lopez de Leon started writing as a hobby, crafting short stories for several magazines, and online publications. That passion soon flourished into his first fantasy series, the award-winning Galadria trilogy. His latest novels are also making a mark in the young adult literary world with impressive honors and recognition in both the Nautilus and Reader Views literary awards programs.

The Light Dweller and The Covens of Elmeeria were each awarded a silver medal in the Middle Grade Fiction category at the 2017-2018 Nautilus Book Awards. In the 2017-2018 Reader Views Reviewers Choice Awards, The Light Dweller won 2nd Place in the overall Fantasy category, and The Covens of Elmeeria won 2nd Place in the overall Young Adult category.

Both stories feature the importance of self-worth, with the protagonists in each growing into their own as they overcome tremendous obstacles to realize their full potential. The Light Dweller is about Ben, a 12-year-old boy who finds a hidden world far below the Earths surface, and must help its populace save the only light source available or risk being plunged into darkness forever. As noted by the author, Throughout 'The Light Dweller' Ben is dealing with his own internal battles. Since he was badly bullied for many years, he has a difficult time trusting people. Ben finds it a challenge to look someone in the eyes, let alone to go on a dangerous quest. Hes an unlikely hero full of self-doubt and fear, who is constantly fighting against his own insecurities.

The Covens of Elmeeria, on the other hand, takes place in a prosperous kingdom where witches are hated and scorned. But when enemy soldiers take the king and queen hostage, Crown Princess Nia must convince a coven of sorceresses outside the kingdom to help her overtake the soldiers to save her family. Of The Covens of Elmeeria, De Leon says, Although Nia wants to be taken seriously as a leader, the choices she has to make, and the situations she has to endure, are ones that anyone would find challenging. She has to overcome incredible odds, and deal with devastating loss, all in a very short amount of time.

In addition to the strong characters, readers are captivated with the authors world-building and storytelling talents. My favorite part about the authors writing was the sheer imagination and creativity that was used to create both terrifying and enchanting characters, as well as his ability to create a whole world unique to other popular science fiction settings -- Faryal Jabbar on The Light Dweller, Reader Views Kids. Clever plotting and rich descriptive passages make this a fun glimpse into a new fantasy realm. 'The Covens of Elmeeria' is a believable and inspiring fantasy journey. -- Foreword Clarion Review

The Nautilus Awards represents Better Books for a Better World. Now in its 20th year, this book award program seeks, honors, awards and promotes print books that inspire and connect our lives as individuals, communities, and global citizens. The Reader Views Reviewers Choice Awards, now in its 11th year, honors and celebrates writers geared for the North American reading audience.

Its such an honor to receive these awards, and Im so grateful to both Nautilus, and Reader Views. -- Miguel Lopez de Leon

About the Author

Miguel Lopez de Leon lives in Los Angeles. He writes young-adult and middle-grade fantasy novels. His debut novel Galadria: Peter Huddleston & The Rites of Passage was chosen by Kirkus Reviews as one of the "Best Books of 2014."

Before becoming a novelist, Miguel started out as a short-story writer. Over 30 of his short stories were chosen for publication, and have appeared in various magazines and collections. One of Miguel's short stories, A Working Professional, won first place in Writer's Digest Magazine's "Your Story #24" writing contest, and beat out over 550 other international submissions.

"The Light Dweller" (ISBN 9780692888582, Galadria Worldwide 2017) and The Covens of Elmeeria (ISBN 9780692832837, Galadria Worldwide 2017) are available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle. For more information visit http://www.miguellopezdeleon.com and connect with him on Twitter and Facebook. Publicity contact is http://www.readerviews.com. Review copies available to the media upon request.This partnership enables Scientist.com users to easily access innovative rodent models generated with the latest CRISPR technology.

Scientist.com, the life science industrys leading online marketplace for outsourced research, announced today that it has partnered with Taconic Biosciences, a global leader in providing genetically engineered rodent model and service solutions. Pharmaceutical and biotech users of the Scientist.com marketplace can now purchase rodent models generated with Taconics using the Easi-CRISPR gene editing technology.

Taconic Biosciences is an industry leader in the creation of custom animal models for drug research, stated Kevin Lustig, PhD, CEO and Founder of Scientist.com. This partnership enables Scientist.com users to easily access innovative rodent models generated with the latest CRISPR technology.

Licensed by Taconic from the University of Nebraska, Easi-CRISPR is an improved gene editing technology that allows the site-specific insertion of large exogenous DNA sequences, thereby generating knock-in rodent models for some applications more efficiently than CRISPR or standard gene targeting methods. Applied properly, it is a robust, comparatively inexpensive, and quick method for generating certain types of preclinical animal models including Cre-deleter and Flp-deleter lines, fluorescent gene expression reporter lines, cDNA knock-in lines, epitope tag lines and more.

Scientist.com is an effective method to connect with customers looking for custom model generation solutions, commented Dr. John Couse, VP at Scientific Services of Taconic Biosciences. Drug researchers can now connect online with Taconic experts, who will help them to determine which gene modification solution best fits their goals.

About Scientist.com

Scientist.com is the world's leading marketplace for outsourced research. The marketplace simplifies the entire research sourcing process, saving time and money and providing access to the latest innovative tools and technologies while maintaining full compliance with an organizations procurement policies. Scientist.com operates private enterprise marketplaces for most of the worlds major pharmaceutical companies, VWR and the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). Since its founding in 2007, Scientist.com has raised more than $33 million from Leerink Transformation Partners, 5AM Ventures, Heritage Provider Network, Bootstrap Ventures and Hollywood producer Jack Giarraputo among others. Visit scientist.com to learn more.

Join Scientist.com on social media: YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Instagram.

Media Contact:

Sean Preci

Director of Communications

+1 858 455-1300 ext. 401

About Taconic Biosciences, Inc.

Taconic Biosciences is a fully-licensed, global leader in genetically engineered rodent models and services. Founded in 1952, Taconic provides the best animal solutions so that customers can acquire, custom generate, breed, precondition, test, and distribute valuable research models worldwide. Specialists in genetically engineered mouse and rat models, precision research mouse models, and integrated model design and breeding services, Taconic operates three service laboratories and six breeding facilities in the U.S. and Europe, maintains distributor relationships in Asia and has global shipping capabilities to provide animal models almost anywhere in the world.

Media Contact:

Kelly Owen Grover

Director of Marketing Communications

(518) 697-3824

kelly.grover(at)taconic.comAGNITY Global, Inc. (AGNITY), a global communication application solutions provider, is pleased to announce that it has been selected by a leading Telecom Service Provider in North America Region to replace its existing Telcordia IN SCP. AGNITY is partnering with its premier global OEM partner for this deployment. The service provider selected AGNITY because of its proven experience in replacing similar SCPs with other tier-1 and tier-2 operators around the world.

The Service provider offers over a dozen IN applications including Intelligent Call Routing, Multi-Location VPN, Single number Service and Caller ID on TV; all running on its Telcordia SCP. The SCP has reached its End-of-Life. The customer is burdened with high maintenance support fees and unable to offer any new enhanced services on this SCP. To make the situation worse, customer is now challenged with lack of in-house expertise and technical documentation to continue supporting this equipment.

AGNITY is deploying its industry-leading Communication Application Server (CAS) and Next Gen IN applications. AGNITY CAS is highly acclaimed to be a carrier-grade scalable, open standards based IMS-compliant multi-network multi-service software platform. It offers app components and open API that enable service providers to retire the existing SCPs, customize and introduce new services with faster time-to-market. CAS is deployed on COTS Servers or in virtualized geo-redundant architecture.

At AGNITY, our focus is to relieve the pain points of the customers who are stuck with legacy SCPs, provide them an easy migration path to a next-gen platform that brings high operational efficiency with a reduced OPEX explained Sanjeev Chawla, CEO at AGNITY Global, Inc. Highlighting the benefits for this specific customer, he said We are delighted to offer 100% feature parity for all existing Telcordia IN services and provide a path for future applications on a next-gen application server.

About AGNITY Global, Inc.

AGNITY Global is a leading global provider of intelligent business communication applications and infrastructure to organizations in the telecommunications and healthcare industry verticals. It is headquartered in the Silicon Valley, with Development and Support Operations in Richardson (Texas), and Noida (India). The Communications business of AGNITY Global is branded as AGNITY Communications and powers the networks of global Tier 1 service providers. The Healthcare business of AGNITY Global is branded as AGNITY Healthcare and offers a comprehensive mobile contextual communication and collaboration solutions for Healthcare service providers.

AGNITY Global Contact:

Media Relations Team

media_relations@agnity.com

(510) 270-5412

http://www.agnity.comIn a sincere and open atmosphere, the two sides reviewed the implementation of the cooperation projects that have been signed since the 10th negotiation round, expressing their delight at the cooperation outcomes across the projects, including a study and comparison of the Holocene sedimentary architecture of Vietnams Red River Basin and China's Yangtze River Basin, a study on the maritime and island management in the Gulf of Tonkin, and the implementation of cooperation in releasing and protecting aquatic resources in the Gulf of Tonkin.

They also devised a working agenda for the effective and substantive implementation of the projects in the near future, while discussing various ideas on the new projects proposed by the Chinese side.

Additionally, the two sides debated a number of contents related to their bilateral collaboration in the field of search and rescue at sea and the agreement on the establishment of a hotline for the related incidents of marine fisheries.

They emphasised and highly appreciated the role and significance of the cooperation mechanism in less sensitive marine areas between Vietnam and China, while agreeing on the serious realisation of the important common perceptions reached by the leaders of the two Parties and States, as well as the agreement on the basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues between Vietnam and China, in the spirit of mutual respect, equality, and mutually beneficial, substantive and effective cooperation, in line with the resources of each side and international laws.

The two sides agreed to accelerate their mutual cooperation towards attaining greater achievements, aimed at benefitting the two countries and their people, thereby contributing practically to maintaining peace and stability at sea, and deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between Vietnam and China.

They also agreed to hold the 12th round of negotiations in China in late 2018, with the specific date and venue to be arranged through the diplomatic channel.

Concluding the negotiations, the two sides signed the minutes of the talks.

On May 16, Assistant to the Foreign Minister, Pham Sao Mai, hosted an intimate reception for members of the working group of both sides at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry in Hanoi.The BeneVision Distributed Monitoring System sets a new industry standard for patient monitoring

Mindray North America will be introducing the new BeneVision Distributed Monitoring System at the AACN/National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition in Boston, May 21st  24th.

The BeneVision Distributed Monitoring System sets a new industry standard for patient monitoring, states Rich Cipolli, Vice President, Product Development at Mindray North America. From our new intuitive touch driven user interface with icon driven menus for easy operation, to our distributed system architecture allowing our customer/partners to maximize IT resources, BeneVision DMS has been designed with our customers workflow in mind. Additionally, the BeneVision DMS software application solutions (iOS, Android and Windows based) deliver remote, secure, and near real time viewing of monitored patients, allowing clinician access to critical patient information from anywhere.

In todays challenging healthcare environment, the ability to deliver relevant and critical patient data to clinicians in any setting is fundamental to enhancing outcomes and BeneVision DMS certainly meets this challenge, said Beth Aquaviva, Marketing Manager for Patient Monitoring at Mindray North America. Just as important, is the ability to continuously monitor a patient and provide a seamless flow of vital signs data to the patients electronic medical record, regardless of where a patient is located within your facility. Mindrays best in class T1 Transport Monitor/Module delivers this capability. T1 is truly transforming patient care.

Designed to function as both an integrated bedside monitor parameter module and transport monitor, the T1 will automatically convert when removed from a monitor to a WiFi enabled transport monitor that continues sending a stream of patient data to your EMR, delivering a seamless, uninterrupted patient record.

Mindray solutions also include industry standard communication protocols. Mindray has long supported the use of industry standard interfaces such as the IHE PCD technical framework and HL7, said Rich Cipolli. Use of these standards across our portfolio of solutions can reduce the expenses that are frequently associated with proprietary protocols, such as middleware and associated license fees. Our eGateway Integration Engine can also serve as a single integration point for Mindray solutions within the hospital enterprise, reducing complexity and improving integration efficiencies.

About Mindray

Mindray is a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices worldwide. Mindray maintains its global headquarters in Shenzhen, China; North American headquarters in Mahwah, New Jersey; and multiple development facilities and offices in major international markets including an ultrasound Innovation Center in Silicon Valley. Mindray supplies a broad range of products across three primary business segments, patient monitoring and life support, in-vitro diagnostics, and medical imaging systems. For more information, please visit the http://www.mindray.com.

For media inquiries, please contact:

Kelley Murphy

Marketing Director  PMLS

Mindray North America

800 MacArthur Blvd.

Mahwah, NJ 07430

k.murphy(at)mindray.com

iOS is a registered trademark of Apple. Android is a trademark of Google LLC. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft.Singapore is a seminal location for the global trademark dialogue that will take place at INTAs Annual Meeting in 2020. We are extremely pleased to go there and view this as an opportunity to further interact with and serve members globally, said INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo.

The International Trademark Association (INTA) today announced that it will hold its 142nd Annual Meetingthe worlds largest trademark eventin Singapore from April 25 to 29, 2020, at the Marina Bay Sands. This marks the second time INTA is bringing its Annual Meeting to Asia, and the first time that the organization will host the event in Southeast Asia.

INTA CEO Etienne Sanz de Acedo made the highly anticipated announcement at the opening ceremonies of the Associations 140th Annual Meeting, taking place in Seattle, Washington, now through May 23. Nearly 11,000 trademark practitioners and other intellectual property (IP) professionals from 150+ countries are gathering for this event. The number of registrants has been increasing each year.

In 2014, INTA held its first-ever Annual Meeting in Asiathe 136th Annual Meeting in Hong Kong SAR, China. After that successful event, INTAs Board of Directors approved a rotation strategy to host the Annual Meeting in a location outside the United States every third year.

Bringing the Associations Annual Meeting to Singapore in 2020 offers our global membership the opportunity to once again meet in an optimal location to learn, network, and discuss issues of interest to IP professionals, government officials, consumers, and society at large, said 2018 INTA President Tish Berard.

Registration for the 2020 Annual Meeting in Singapore will open in January 2019, with presale tickets available for purchase at INTAs 2019 Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

A confluence of factors contributed to the selection of Singapore for the 2020 gathering, including its vibrant environment, cultural diversity, ease of accessibility, and achievements in the field of IP. INTA, which has a growing international membership now spanning 191 countries, opened an Asia-Pacific Representative Office in Singapore in March 2016.

Singapore is a seminal location for the global trademark dialogue that will take place at INTAs Annual Meeting in 2020. We are extremely pleased to go there and view this as an opportunity to further interact with and serve members globally, said Mr. Sanz de Acedo.

INTAs groundbreaking impact study entitled The Economic Contribution of Trademark-Intensive Industries in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand indicates that trademark-intensive activities in Singapore generate increased employment across sectors and contribute to international trade.

Specifically, looking at data from 2012 to 2015, trademark-intensive industries within Singapore generated a 50 percent direct contribution to gross domestic product, comprised 60 percent of the countrys share of exports, and workers share of the workforce represented 29 percent of total employment, according to the study.

We are honoured to play host to the worlds largest and most widely-attended IP conference  INTAs 142nd Annual Meeting  in 2020, said Daren Tang, Chief Executive, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. This mega conference will connect the Singapore innovation ecosystem to the global community of trademark experts and intellectual property professionals who will build on each others best practices and expertise, sharing thought leading conversations on creating strong brands to differentiate winning enterprises from others.

Jeannie Lim, Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Singapore Tourism Board, added: Our city serves as the ideal platform for this prestigious event. Here, delegates can learn, engage and discover new possibilities, and go on to enjoy the cuisine and experiences that our city has to offer outside of the event. We look forward to welcoming this event to Singapore in 2020.

About the International Trademark Association

The International Trademark Association (INTA) is a global association of brand owners and professionals dedicated to supporting trademarks and related intellectual property (IP) to foster consumer trust, economic growth, and innovation. Members include more than 7,200 trademark owners, professionals, and academics from 191 countries, including 62 members from Singapore who benefit from the Associations global trademark resources, policy development, education and training, and international network. Founded in 1878, INTA is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Brussels, Santiago, Shanghai, Singapore, and Washington, D.C., and representatives in Geneva and New Delhi. For more information, please visit http://www.inta.org.SITC Logo The support of early career scientists in cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology research is one of the most important functions of the society, said SITC President Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD.

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is now accepting applications for the 2018 SITC Sparkathon. This unique program brings together investigators early in their careers with various backgrounds, degrees and professional experiences to collaboratively address obstacles facing the field of cancer immunotherapy. Applications are available at sitcancer.org/Sparkathon and are accepted until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, June 18, 2018.

The support of early career scientists in cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology research is one of the most important functions of the society, said SITC President Lisa H. Butterfield, PhD. This innovative program is an exciting opportunity for scientists seeking to advance their careers and the cancer immunotherapy field.

SITC will select a group of 30 emerging leaders, the SITC Sparkathon Class of 2018, in the fields of cancer immunotherapy, physical sciences, systems biology, and statistics.

Selected participants will meet Sept. 1214, 2018, in Chicago, for a two-and-a-half-day retreat where they will develop innovative solutions to the obstacles facing the field of cancer immunotherapy.

During the retreat, participants will work alongside business experts to develop project proposals. A panel of SITC leaders will award the single most promising project up to $200,000 to implement the proposed project. The full 2018 class (all participants) will then implement the project during the following 1218 months, culminating in a presentation at the societys 34th Annual Meeting, Nov. 610, 2019.

The 30 participants will emerge as a unique, dynamic network of cancer immunotherapy professionals formed to further individual professional development and foster collaborations across institutions and work settings.

The first SITC Sparkathon, the 2017 class, has developed two innovative projects to help address obstacles facing the field of cancer immunotherapy. Teams TimIOs and the METIOR Incubator will present their findings during the 33rd Annual Meeting & Pre-Conference Programs (SITC 2018) in November 2018.

For more information or to apply, visit the SITC website at sitcancer.org/Sparkathon.

About SITC

Established in 1984, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) is a nonprofit organization of medical professionals dedicated to improving cancer patient outcomes by advancing the development, science and application of cancer immunotherapy and tumor immunology. SITC is comprised of influential basic and translational scientists, practitioners, health care professionals, government leaders and industry professionals around the globe. Through educational initiatives that foster scientific exchange and collaboration among leaders in the field, SITC aims to one day make the word cure a reality for cancer patients everywhere. Learn more about SITC, our educational offerings and other resources at sitcancer.org and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

# # #Accounting professionals and preparers will walk away with a deeper understanding of the rapidly changing landscape and how to employ technology to meet the challenge.

Financial Executives International (FEI), the association of choice for CFOs and other senior-level finance executives, today opened registration for the 2018 Accounting Change for Finance Leaders Conference. The event will be held at the Sheraton Grand Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. The conference kicks off on June 18th with a cocktail reception followed by a full day of content on June 19th.. Attendees are eligible to receive up to 8 CPE credits to meet NASBA Standards requirements. For full agenda details and to register, visit http://www.financialexecutives.org/acct2018.

Financial executives from across the country are expected to attend this years conference to gain insight into regulatory changes affecting their day-to-day responsibilities from lease accounting to tax reform. Sessions will cover updates from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Accounting professionals and preparers will walk away with a deeper understanding of the rapidly changing landscape and how to employ technology to meet the challenge.

Sessions include:



Leases Update: Many companies still face implementation challenges and panelists will share their transition considerations, system readiness, manual workarounds and more.

Leases  System Solutions: Technologies aiding in adoption of the new leases standard are explored.

Post Implementation 606: Panelists share issues and opportunities emerging from adoption of the ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers regulation.

Tax Reform Implications for Financial Executives: The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs act poses the most significant change to US tax law in 30 years. The legislations impact is discussed.

Cryptocurrency Craze: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Zcash, and other cryptocurrencies are bringing forth new rules and reporting regulationswhich are raised for consideration during this session.

ICFR Update: Effective internal controls over financial reporting are increasingly more important. ICFR considerations for efficient implementation of new accounting standards are laid out.

FEI continues to gather some of the most experienced financial professionals able to help executives work with accounting changes, said Andrej Suskavcevic, CAE, President and CEO of FEI. This years Accounting Change for Finance Leaders Conference is no exception. Were privileged to have access to the individuals best equipped to explore and train on standards and regulations that, if not implemented properly, can be extremely detrimental to a companys financial health and overall success.

Experts serving as presenters and panelists hail from CoStar Real Estate Manager, Crowe Horwath, Ernst & Young, Financial Reporting Advisors, GrantThornton, KPMG, LeaseAccelerator, LeaseQuery, RGP, and Visual Lease. Details on the Conference speakers can be found here.

About FEI

Financial Executives International (FEI) is the leading advocate for the views of corporate financial management. Its more than 10,000 members hold policy-making positions as chief financial officers, treasurers and controllers at companies from every major industry. FEI enhances member professional development through peer networking, career management services, conferences, research and publications. Members participate in the activities of more than 65 Chapters in the U.S. and a Chapter in Japan. FEI is located in Morristown, NJ. Visit http://www.financialexecutives.org for more information.Dr. Haydee Gonzalez Hidalgo

Dr. Haydee Gonzalez Hidalgo, is a highly experienced Board Certified Oncologist that brings over 20 years of experience to the Oncology Institute of Hope and Innovation.

Dr. Gonzalez received her medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University District Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She fellowed at the Department of Medical Oncology in Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, Hematology at the Boston City Hospital and University Hospital, and Renal at the Memorial Sloan, Kettering Cancer Center. She has both clinical and hospital experience.

Dr. Gonzalez has fluency in Spanish.

Patient Care Philosophy:

Dr. Gonzalez believes strongly in patient education. She believes that once the patient understands their condition and treatment options, they will be ready to manage their own healthcare plan. Her care is customized and reflects patient needs, values and choices.We value the partnerships we forge with our clients and recognize that their needs are special and unique. We work hard to tailor our communication initiatives to their specific goals and objectives and then work tirelessly as a team to exceed expectations.

Team Fleisher Communications is pleased to announce recognition by the Central Ohio chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) as this years winner of three prestigious PRism awards. This marks the fifth consecutive year that Team Fleisher has won multiple awards for exceptional public relations (PR) activities. Team Fleisher was honored in three categories on behalf of three clients. These included:



Interactive Digital PR: New WebsiteEastway Behavioral Healthcare, Client

Multi-faceted Campaign/Community Relations, IGS Energy, Client

Multi-faceted Campaign/Crisis Communications, Kitrick, Lewis & Harris, Client

In addition, Team Fleisher received four coveted Diamond Awards from the East Central District (ECD) of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) announced earlier this year. The annual Diamond Awards are prized by public relations firms across the region and recognize excellence in public relations (PR) and marketing campaigns. The ECD District represents 17 PRSA chapters concentrated in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Western and Northwestern Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Kentucky. Team Fleisher was honored in the following categories on behalf of multiple clients. These included:

Brand Management: Choice Recovery, Client

Brand Management: Eastway Behavioral Healthcare, Client

Special Event: Batten Disease Support and Research Association, Client

Community Relations: Heritage of Hannah Neil, Client

It is a very special honor to be recognized by our peers for the campaigns we create and implement, said Team Fleisher founder Marcy Fleisher. We value the partnerships we forge with our clients and recognize that their needs are special and unique. We work hard to tailor our communication initiatives to their specific goals and objectives and then work tirelessly as a team to exceed expectations. We never lose sight of the fact that the relationships we form with clients, and the results we deliver, are the keys to our success.

In 2018, Eastway Behavioral Healthcare was celebrating its 60th year of service. Team Fleisher recognized that this significant milestone presented an opportunity to celebrate the organizations journey, while reaffirming the important role the Dayton, Ohio community played in its past, present and future. In conjunction with the events surrounding Eastways 60th year, Team Fleisher created and launched a new website for Eastway. The site is consistent with the refreshed branding Team Fleisher has implemented for its client and is vibrant, engaging, easy to navigate and best of class.

Last winter, IGS Energy partnered with Team Fleisher to promote its involvement in Operation Warms Bundle Up campaign in Pittsburgh and Cleveland. IGS has been participating in the program since 2014. For every customer that bundles IGS products, the company makes a donation to Operation Warm, a national nonprofit organization that supports children in need by providing new winter coats. Team Fleisher secured impactful earned media in each market, which helped IGS exceed its goal, the donation of 10,000 coats.

And in July 2018, Team Fleisher executed a crisis communication plan for Kitrick, Lewis & Harris, a Columbus-based personal injury law firm. The attorneys were retained to represent the family of a young many who died when a ride at The Ohio State Fair malfunctioned. The attorneys sought to secure as much earned media coverage as possible as a key part of its preparation for likely litigation. Team Fleisher secured multiple placements both locally and nationally in order to exceed the law firm's expectations.

Team Fleisher, along with other award recipients, was recognized at the 2018 PRism Awards dinner held in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, May 17.

Tweet This: Honored to win 4 Diamond Awards + 3 #PRism awards for PR initiatives that exceed expectations. We are so proud of the company we keep and the award winning work we produce daily. #WeveGotThis

About Team Fleisher Communications

Team Fleisher Communications delivers outstanding communications solutions based upon decades of experience. We have a proven track record of securing results for organizations ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. As senior-level communicators and former journalists, we understand how to tell stories, pitch reporters, secure earned media and leverage coverage. We work fast and efficiently to get the job done right. And we deliver results  always. For more information visit Teamfleisher.com.Navilas is the only digital retinal laser that uses eye-tracking technology. The benefits for patients: Effective treatment to maintain vision with less pain(1) and less subsequent treatments(2-4).

Many diabetics develop a retinal disease affecting blood vessels during their lifetime. The severe form of the so-called proliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR) is listed amongst the major causes of blindness worldwide(5). 10 % of diabetic patients are affected by a vision-threatening form of DR(6) amounting to 40 million people worldwide based on the current WHO Global Report on Diabetes(7). These numbers are rising as the incidence of diabetes increases with an aging population and the growing number of overweight people(7).

Patients affected by diabetic retinopathy do not have any symptoms at an early stage, thus education about the course of the disease and about treatment options is particularly important. Thereby, patients are sensitized for regular ophthalmological checks. This is important as early detection of retinopathy allows timely treatment and may reduce the risk of blindness.

To treat diabetic retinopathy, regular injections into the eye may often be applied. These have shown to be successful in stabilizing or improving vision, but in many cases have to be repeated chronically, sometimes monthly and over several years. This leads to a high burden for patients and their relatives.

Photocoagulation with retinal lasers has shown long term effects of stabilizing visual outcomes(8). However, conventional slit lamp based systems have a limited field of view, so the laser application is often tedious and inaccurate, requiring several retreatments, and thus being less effective, while frequently inducing pain to the patient (1).

With the navigated Navilas Laser System for the retina, the doctor can for the first time plan the treatment completely and accurately on digital diagnostic images and then - assisted by eye-tracking - apply laser spots safely and quickly. Clinical studies show that this treatment is more comfortable and less painful for patients than conventional slit lamp lasers(1). In addition, fewer subsequent treatment sessions of injections and laser (2-4) are often required to maintain improved vision.

Further information on diabetic retinal diseases and the benefits of navigated laser therapy: http://www.navilas.com.

1 Pain and accuracy of focal laser treatment for diabetic macular edema using a retinal navigated laser (Navilas). Kernt M, Cheuteu RE, Cserhati S, Seidensticker F, Liegl RG, Lang J, Haritoglou C, Kampik A, Ulbig MW, Neubauer AS. Clin Ophthalmol. 2012;06:289-96

2 Navigated macular laser decreases retreatment rate for diabetic macular edema: a comparison with conventional macular laser. Neubauer AS, Langer J, Wolf J, Kozak I, Seidensticker F, Ulbig M, Freeman WR, Kampik A, Kernt M. Clin Ophthalmol. 2013:121-128

3 From Art to Science in DME Treatment - A comparison of anatomical outcomes following navigated OCT-based laser and conventional focal laser treatments. Ang Li, BA; Rumneek Bedi, BA; Rishi P. Singh, MD.

4 Comparative evaluation of combined navigated laser photocoagulation and intravitreal ranibizumab in the treatment of diabetic macular edema. Liegl R, Langer J, Seidensticker F, Reznicek L, Haritoglou C, Ulbig MW, Neubauer AS, Kampik A, Kernt M. PLoS One. 2014 Dec 26;9(12)

5 WHO, Priority Eye Diseases: http://www.who.int/blindness/causes/priority/en/

6 Global prevalence and major risk factors of diabetic retinopathy. Yau, J. W., Rogers, S. L., Kawasaki, R., Lamoureux, E. L., Kowalski, J. W., Bek, T., ... & Haffner, S. (2012). Diabetes care, DC_111909. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/diacare/early/2012/01/25/dc11-1909.full.pdf

7 WHO Diabetes Report 2018: http://www.who.int/diabetes/global-report/en/

8 The long-term effects of laser photocoagulation treatment in patients with diabetic retinopathy: the early treatment diabetic retinopathy follow-up study. Chew, E. Y., Ferris, F. L., Csaky, K. G., Murphy, R. P., Agron, E., Thompson, D. J., ... & Schachat, A. P. (2003). Ophthalmology, 110(9), 1683-1689.

Navilas is developed and distributed by OD-OS GmbH, a privately held medical technology company with offices in Irvine, California, and Teltow near Berlin, Germany. http://www.od-os.com

Contact: Stefanie Gehrke, Director Marketing | stefanie.gehrke@od-os.com, +49 (172) 3808 537

OD-OS GmbH | Warthestr. 21 | 14513 Teltow | DeutschlandPecan Grove Solutions | A QSI Facilities Company "We are proud to welcome Pecan Groves founder Lawrence Collins along with Pecan Groves employees, customers and field partners to the QSI family," said Joe Kirmser, CEO of QSI.

QSI Facilities (QSI), a leading provider of facilities services, has acquired Pecan Grove Solutions (Pecan Grove), a commercial aquatic equipment and water features service provider.

Leading up to the acquisition, QSI and Pecan Grove had developed a strategic partnership and worked closely on providing high-performance solutions to help facilities managers improve service levels and reduce the total cost of operations. With Lawrence and the teams years of experience in installation, maintenance, repair and consulting services focusing on commercial aquatic equipment and water features, this acquisition continues QSIs growth in expanding their North American critical solutions capabilities for their customers.

"Joining forces with QSI gives us additional resources to expand our service offerings and enhance our customers experience. Our team is very excited about this new chapter." said Lawrence Collins, CEO of Pecan Grove. Headquartered in Alvin, TX, Pecan Grove Solutions will operate as a division of QSI Facilities. Lawrence Collins will remain QSI as a critical part of their leadership team. In that role, he will be tasked with expanding sales and service of aquatic equipment and water features, across QSIs national footprint.

"We are proud to welcome Pecan Groves founder Lawrence Collins along with Pecan Groves employees, customers and field partners to the QSI family," said Joe Kirmser, CEO of QSI. "Both companies share remarkably similar cultures, values, and approach to customer service. We look forward to leveraging our combined strengths to create even greater value for our customers."

For more information, visit qsifacilities.com

About QSI Facilities

Located in the nation's heartland just outside Wichita, Kansas, QSI Facilities has grown over the past two decades to become the nation's top-performing provider of facilities maintenance and construction services. QSI clients include premier brands in retail, food service, commercial/industrial real estate and many other market segments. Last year, QSI completed more than 250,000 work orders covering 75 skilled trades at 100,000+ client locations in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. QSI's Six Sigma trained project teams take a data-driven approach to working with clients and their network of high-performance field service partners to measure, manage and improve facilities performance and cost control. Visit qsifacilities.com.Colligo, a leading provider of collaboration apps for the digital workplace, today announced support for Microsoft Office 365 labelsmetatags tied to disposition, classification and retention of content which span multiple Office 365 workloads.

This new capability enables customers to leverage the advanced data governance features of the Office 365 Security and Compliance Center. Knowledge and Records managers can create a standard set of labels which can then be automatically or manually applied by workers using Colligo Email Manager for Office 365 to capture content into central SharePoint repositories.

As organizations everywhere deploy Microsoft Office 365, Knowledge and Records Managers have a new set of advanced data governance capabilities they can leverage to ensure their corporate content is securely stored in the right place at the right time, said Colligo COO, Loic Triger. By incorporating support for labels into our software, were giving our customers the full ability to benefit from the evolution of the governance tools available in Office 365.

This is the latest evolution of the Colligo Engage platform, which recently won the award for Best Mobile Solution from the European SharePoint, Office 365 & Microsoft Azure Community at the 2017 European SharePoint Conference.

Metadata is an essential component of any record, for both context and process purposes, said Robert Bogue, Microsoft MVP and CEO of Thor Projects. Labels will allow administrators to more easily manage records and knowledge in Office 365, ensuring the application of appropriate retention schedules, facilitating discovery, and reducing legal risk.

Currently exhibiting at the SharePoint Conference North America in Las Vegas (booth 316), Colligo will be presenting a session on Advanced Data Governance in Office 365 with Labels as part of the conference agenda on Monday May 21st from 3:00-4:00pm in room 120.

Learn more about Colligos software for Office 365 at: https://www.colligo.com/o365

About Colligo

With 10 years of SharePoint-centric expertise, Colligo is a leading provider of collaborative apps for the digital workplace, extending Microsoft SharePoint, Office 365, and OneDrive for Business with a focus on achieving 100% user adoption. The companys award winning, unified suite is used by organizations every day for email records capture, document distribution, and mobile collaboration. Colligo is a Microsoft Gold Application Development Partner with Global 500 customers including four of the top five global oil and gas companies, and serving multiple government agencies including the US Department of Energy. For more information, please visit https://www.colligo.com.

Contact Information

Bruce Herzer

Colligo

(604) 685-7962June 3, 2018 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. author R.D. Freeman will host Books! Brunch! & Blessings! at Artist Village Detroit located at 17336 Lahser Rd. Detroit, Michigan.

It was important for me to have a book signing in the city where I was raised, educated, and been in complete awe of its magical qualities my entire life says R.D. Freeman.

With the backdrop of Soul Custody being the city of Detroit, its imperative to connect with the community and acknowledge those that are advancing themselves and their surroundings. The author will honor individuals with awards for their extraordinary strides in personal growth and academic achievement.

About Soul Custody:

You must start trusting yourself so, when will you begin? Thats the question that haunts Myla Moore through her complex journey of love, womanhood, and her souls calling. As she discovers truths about the people closest to her and a huge mystery living in the background it forces her to leap towards her personal evolution. A story of betrayal, heartbreak and strength becomes a cautionary tale for all womenThe Vietnamese delegation, headed by Vice Chairman of the CPV Central Committees Commission for External Relations Nguyen Manh Cuong, contributed actively to the contents discussed at the event.

The meeting discussed preparations for the 20th session of the IMCWP, which is scheduled to be hosted by the Communist Party of Greece this November, coinciding with the IMCWPs 20th founding anniversary.

The preparatory meeting also tabled a number of other common tasks set for the international communist and workers movements, stressing the need to strengthen solidarity among members of the communist and workers parties in the current context of numerous challenges and difficulties.

Following years of operations, the IMCWP has become the most important forum of the communist and workers forces.Rebecca manages a diverse portfolio of stateside and worldwide projects, providing the warfighter with the highest-quality designs and planson time and within budget.

Woolpert Project Manager Rebecca Knolle, PE, PMP, LEED AP BD+C, has been awarded the 2017 Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Tudor Medal. The society of more than 30,000 international members awards the medal to one civilian member, 39 or younger, who has made outstanding contributions in engineering, design, construction, research and development or planning in the past three years, and has demonstrated and been recognized for leadership in project or organizational management.

Knolle is a former U.S. Air Force civil engineer officer who has worked at Woolpert for just over six years. Knolle earned her bachelors degree in environmental engineering from the University of Southern California and her masters degree in engineering management from the Air Force Institute of Technology. She is a Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional, and gained LEED AP certification in Building Design and Construction.

Knolle was nominated for this honor by her immediate supervisor, Woolpert Senior Vice President and Military Market Director David Ziegman, AICP. Ziegman said Knolle is a force multiplier, who executes complex programs on behalf of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), Department of Defense Education Activity, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air Force Reserve Command, European Deterrence Initiative and Defense Logistics Agency, to name a few.

Rebecca manages a diverse portfolio of stateside and worldwide projects, providing the warfighter with the highest-quality designs and planson time and within budget, Ziegman said. Set apart by the extraordinary scale and breadth of her projects, Rebeccas appetite for process improvement and technology adoption is evident in her advocacy of many of the technologies incubated by Woolperts research and development group.

Ziegman cited technologies championed by Knolle at Woolpert that include cloud-based building information modeling (BIM), virtual reality technology, and cybersecurity practices and protocols. Woolpert Research and Development Facilitator Nadja Turek, PE, LEED AP BD+C, said Knolle never balks at introducing ideas and innovations to her culturally cautious clients.

Rebecca is the kind of fearless leader who will accept the pain of implementing something new when she believes in the eventual benefit, Turek said. I recall approaching Rebecca about introducing the idea of resilient design to the command planner for AFSOC. It was not the trendy topic that it is now, but once I explained my rationale, Rebecca saw the benefit of resilient facilities and infrastructure to AFSOCs tip-of-the-spear operators. Without hesitation, she supported me.

Turek added that, true to her military roots, Knolle places taking care of her people above all else. She said Woolpert designers jockey to work on Knolles projects.

AFSOC Deputy Chief, Installations Division, Thomas E. Wahl said Knolle has a practical knowledge of AFSOCs needs and workflows and this enables her to better facilitate projects to achieve optimum results.

Rebecca is positively tenacious at holding her team and others accountable for action items and to the highest quality standards, Wahl said. She is responsive to our concerns, knows our weapons systems and requirements, and skillfully navigates otherwise costly and time-consuming obstacles to keep projects on track. I cant say enough about her project management skills!

Knolle said she is overwhelmed by the award and truly grateful to those who nominated her.

Im humbled by this recognition, knowing how many great professionals are out there doing tremendous things, Knolle said. Im also very honored by those who took time from their busy schedules to document my achievements and put together an award-winning nomination package. For that, I am speechless.

The 2017 SAME Tudor Medal will be among the honors announced at the Society Ball and Awards Gala at the SAME 2018 Joint Engineer Training Conference and Expo (JETC) in Kansas City, Mo., on Friday, May 25.

About Woolpert

Woolpert is the fastest growing architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm in the country, delivering value to clients in all 50 states and around the world by strategically blending engineering excellence with leading-edge technology and geospatial applications. With a dynamic research and development department, Woolpert works with inventive business partners such as Google and Esri; operates a fleet of planes, sensors and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS); and continually pushes industry boundaries by working with advanced water technologies, asset management, building information modeling (BIM) and sustainable design. The firm, which is among the ENRs Top 100 Design Firms, supports its mission to help its clients progress and become more progressive. For over 100 years and with 25 offices across the U.S., Woolpert serves federal, state and local governments; private and public companies and universities; energy and transportation departments; and the U.S. Armed Forces. For more information, visit woolpert.com or call 937-531-1258.Military honors will be given for the 65 lost boats and 4,000+ submariners at the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef dedication. We can think of no more fitting memorial to these heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice under the waves. These submariners will continue to serve and protect our marine environment for the benefit of future generations in the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef.

Tomorrow marks 50 years since the U.S. nuclear submarine the USS Scorpion (SSN-589) was lost with all hands, 99 officers and crew, on 22 May 1968. She is one of 65 U.S. submarines that have never returned from duty since 1900.

Representing more than 4,000 service members, these 65 boats and crews will be honored this Memorial Day weekend with full military honors at the dedication of the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef at 10 a.m. on Sunday, 27 May at Ken Thompson Park, 1700 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, FL 34236. The public is invited and many military service personnel and veterans are expected to attend.

This first ever undersea memorial will be a collection of 65 Eternal Reef balls with plaques identifying each of the submarines still On Eternal Patrol and one additional Eternal Reef ball representing those crews and boats lost in non-sinking incidents. The 66 Eternal Reefs will be deployed to the ocean floor off the coast of Sarasota this summer to significantly boost the marine environment in which these submariners served and made the ultimate sacrifice.

We can think of no more fitting memorial to these heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country beneath the waves and its particularly impactful that we will make the dedication nearly 50 years to the day after the loss of the Scorpion, said George Frankel, Eternal Reefs CEO. These submariners will continue to serve and protect our marine environment for the benefit of future generations in the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef.

A reef ball is a designed artificial reef, specifically engineered to mimic Mother Nature and quickly assimilate into the ocean environment; new marine growth begins in as little as three months. The reef balls in the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef each weigh about 1,300 pounds and stand three feet tall.

Full military honors will be presented on 27 May, including rifle salutes, buglers playing taps and an honor guard bestowing folded flags to representatives for each lost submarine. For many, this will be the first time theyve been recognized collectively for their contribution and sacrifice.

Dave Taylor, Past Commander Disabled American Veterans Chapter 97, will be the master of ceremonies at the dedication of the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef. Rear Admiral Thomas Logan Malone, Ed.D, U.S. Navy (Ret) will be the guest speaker at the event and Colonel Charles Caudill, U.S. Air Force (Ret), will be the officiating chaplain and offer the invocation and prayers. Students from Port Charlotte High School Naval Junior ROTC Unit will present the colors under the supervision of Cadet LCDR John Flaws.

Additionally, middle school cadets from the Sarasota Military Academy Prep School(SMA) will be at the dedication ceremony as cadet experts, providing guests background on each of the lost 65 subs. The 72 sixth and seventh graders are supervised by Major Alex Vanston, USMC (Ret) and Captain Terri Davis, both military studies instructors at SMA Prep. Christina Bowman is SMAs executive director of schools.

A Sarasota-based 501c3 memorial organization, Eternal Reefs, Inc., has planned the ambitious project, in partnership with Reef Innovations and The Reef Ball Foundation. The On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef has already garnered recognition from more than 25 states, including gubernatorial proclamations from Alabama, Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin, to name a few.

Submarine enthusiasts, veterans and other military representatives plan to attend from around Florida and across the United States. Brian Lawrence, a Navy veteran from Missouri, is attending in honor of RM2 Kenneth Eugene Nearman, who was aboard the USS TROUT (SS-202) when it went down on 27 February 1944 with all hands, 81 officers and crew. Lawrence shared that his late mother dated Nearman while in and after high school in Missoula, Montana and often spoke of him, and cried, well into her 90s.

Michael Burasco, from Ocala, Fla., plans to attend to honor his brother, Nugent Anthony Burasco, who was one of 79 men lost on the USS Tullibee (SS-284) when she went down on 26 March 1944. James Jordan -- who moderates the Facebook submariner group OTS at Crush Depth and served aboard on the USS Parche (SSN-683), the USS Daniel Webster (SSBN- 626), and the USS Sam Rayburn (SSBN-635)  plans to attend and be aboard his own boat to witness the deployment of one representative Eternal Reef on the reef site, weather permitting.

View a video of the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef project, including a full listing of all submarines with their date of loss, on YouTube. Find a complete list of the 65 boats On Eternal Patrol and the boats lost in non-sinking events at http://www.OnEternalPatrol.com. Eternal Reefs is accepting outside funding to support the On Eternal Patrol Memorial Reef. Interested parties should call 888-423-7333 or email info@EternalReefs.com.

About Eternal Reefs

The Genesis Reef Project dba Eternal Reefs, Inc. is a Sarasota-based non-profit organization that provides a creative, environmentally-enhancing way to memorialize the cremated remains of a loved one. Eternal Reefs incorporates cremains into a proprietary concrete mixture used to cast artificial reef formations which are then dedicated as permanent memorials which bolster natural coastal reef formations. Eternal Reefs pioneered the concept of reef memorialization and, since 1998, the organization has placed nearly 2,000 Memorial Reefs in 25 locations off the coasts of Florida (North Atlantic, South Atlantic, Gulf Coast and Panhandle), Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, substantially increasing the oceans diminishing reef systems. Memorial reefs can only go in properly permitted locations by the U.S. Government. Eternal Reefs has strategic partnerships with the Reef Ball Foundation and Reef Innovations. The company secured 501c3 status in January 2017. Learn more at http://www.EternalReefs.com or on the companys Facebook page.

# # #Quickly identify contracting and subcontracting opportunities at the CT Business Matchmaker. The CT Business Matchmaker is our favorite event of the year. It allows us to meet with small businesses that we normally would miss."

The skilled labor and technology skills gap has left many manufacturers and construction companies without the workers they need to meet increasing demands. One solution is to hire contractors and other project-based employees, but finding the right people to fill those roles is just as importantand sometimes just as difficult. The University of Hartford Entrepreneurial Centers annual CT Business Matchmaker event will help area companies address that problem by focusing on the manufacturing and construction industries this year.

CT Business Matchmaker pairs small, established businesses, contractors, and service providers with Primeslarge and medium-sized companies, municipalities, and other hiring entities who are actively interested in increasing and diversifying their supplier lists. With this years emphasis on the manufacturing and construction sectors, Primes can expect to be connected with experienced contractors who can fill a range of roles from skilled labor to operations consulting. The ninth annual event, managed by the Entrepreneurial Center, will be held on the campus of the University of Hartford in June, and registration for Primes is open now.

The CT Business Matchmaker is our favorite event of the year," according to Bethel Hairston of Skanska USA Building. "It allows us to meet with small businesses that we normally would miss. We are grateful to attend and sponsor an event that helps open the door for so many small businesses in Connecticut.

Giving opportunities to local, small businesses is a driving priority for Michael Jefferson at The Metropolitan District (MDC), another Prime attendee. Through the CT Business Matchmaker, we accomplished our goal of reaching out to new subcontractors and providing economic opportunities to local businesses. He appreciates the presence of resource partners in the Matchmaker event. They help get the small businesses ready for the opportunities we put out to bid. I like to network with those agencies as well so I know what resources are available to support the success of our vendors. The MDC is committed to this process that helps build opportunities for small businesses.

CT Business Matchmaker 2018 will be held from 7:00 am until 2:30 pm on Thursday, June 14, on the campus of the University of Hartford. Prime registration is now open, and as space will be limited, companies need to confirm their participation as soon as possible. Signing up early will also allow Primes to take full advantage of the promotional opportunities associated with CT Business Matchmaker. There is no charge for Primes to participate.

This event will offer an invaluable opportunity for companies to interview and vet contractors and expand their contracting relationships. During CT Business Matchmaker, small businesses will present their products and services to hiring companies in a series of ten-minute, one-on-one interviews.

The Matchmaker program is a premier event offering significant new opportunities for Connecticut-based small businesses, said Fred Wergeles, Director of the University of Hartford Entrepreneurial Center. Bringing together large companies and agencies with small businesses in the fast-paced Matchmaker environment creates the spark for emerging relationships that will fuel the states economy and help companies secure the workers they need.

To sign up or learn more, visit http://www.hartford.edu/matchmaker.

About The University of Hartford Entrepreneurial Center

The Entrepreneurial Center/Womens Business Center provides training for new and expanding small businesses, as well as aspiring entrepreneurs, throughout Connecticut. Part of the nationally-renowned Barney School of Business, the Center helps small business owners and employees gain the business skills needed to succeed in the marketplace through business advising, technical assistance, educational programs, and networking events. The Women's Business Center, which specializes in serving women in business, is the largest initiative of the EC. For more information, visit http://www.hartford.edu/ec."The Embassy's mission is to build bridges between America and the people of the Republic of Georgia, a strong NATO partner, and Jen is an inspiring role model who shows off the best of what America has to offer."

Jennifer Jo Cobb, American NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver, will take her first lap as an international speaker. The U.S. Embassy Tbilisi will host Cobb from May 26 to June 2. Throughout the week, she will speak in multiple locations to groups of female and male leaders about empowerment, leadership, entrepreneurship, overcoming personal obstacles and the benefits of inclusive education to Georgias economy. Cobbs appearances will include visits to vocational colleges in the capital city of Tbilisi, as well as Zugdidi, Poti, Kobuleti and Batumi, where she will encourage women and men to follow their dreams. She will lead a female-only race at Rustavi International Moorpark that will honor Georgias female soldiers, veterans and cadets.

Since seceding from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Georgian culture has experienced movement toward social change but remains patriarchal. In recent years, women have been included in Georgias military, served in law enforcement and in the government. The U.S. Embassy Tbilisi supports equal opportunity and education for Georgian women, believing that it will positively impact Georgias economy.

"The Embassy's mission is to build bridges between America and the people of the Republic of Georgia, a strong NATO partner," said Damian Wampler, cultural attache at the U.S. Embassy Tbilisi, "and Jen is an inspiring role model who shows off the best of what America has to offer. Her message will reach thousands of young women and men in this emerging democracy."

Over the years, I have spoken about personal empowerment at countless corporate events and schools in the U.S. Positively impacting the lives of others and inspiring them to become their best selves is important to me, said Cobb. I am humbled and grateful to bring my message to Georgia.

Cobb continues to hold records in NASCARs Camping World Truck Series for the female driver with the most starts, the highest series finish and the highest finish by a woman in any of NASCARs top series at Daytona International Speedway, with her sixth place NCWTS finish in 2011. She is one of NASCARs few driver-owned teams and is the only female driver-owned team. Cobb launched Driven2Honor in 2011, to honor Americas female military members. More information about Cobb and Driven2Honor can be found at http://www.cobbracingteam.com.

Think Realty is a central education and information resource for new investors and seasoned professionals, providing members with valuable tools that help them to optimize their competitive advantage, succeed in the real estate investing industry, achieve wealth-building goals and live a life of purpose. Think Realty is part of Affinity Worldwide. More information can be found at http://www.thinkrealty.com and http://www.affinityworldwide.com.

For additional comments or questions please call or email

Laura Chalk, PR Manager

Rivet

816-398-4111 x 86172

laura(at)wearerivet.comDr. Kevin Hogan, Dentist in Mount Pleasant, SC, Accomplishes Misch Institute CE Series As a result of Dr. Hogans participation in the Misch Institute course, he plans to bring a deeper understanding of dental implant prostheses to his team and patients.

Dr. Kevin Hogan, a highly regarded dentist from Mount Pleasant, SC, has announced his completion of an intensive Misch Institute continuing education (CE) course. Dr. Hogan attended sessions two and three of the Prosthetic Series held in Irvine, CA. As a top provider of dental implants, he is committed to learning as much as possible about leading-edge techniques, protocols, equipment and methodologies related to implantology.

Sessions two and three of the Misch Institute series focused on a range of issues forward-thinking dentists need to understand to best serve their patients. Some highlights from the CE course include understanding the differences between prosthetic teeth and natural teeth, creating fixed treatment planning schedules to improve efficiencies and outcomes, discussing monolithic zirconia prostheses, evaluating the pros and cons of screw versus cement prosthetics, and numerous complementary concerns and subjects.

As a result of Dr. Hogans participation in the Misch Institute course, he plans to bring a deeper understanding of dental implant prostheses to his team and patients, thereby improving single and full arch implant solutions at the practice level.

Always interested in cosmetic dentistry with a functional aspect, Dr. Hogan has been a lifetime learner. His dedication to staying ahead in advancements in dentistry has earned him a stellar reputation in his community, as well as among peers.

Those interested in being evaluated for dental implants and implant prostheses, or who wish to change to a new dentist in Mount Pleasant, SC, are encouraged to contact Dr. Hogans comfortable, modern office at 843-216-0908 or visit http://www.smilesbyhogan.com to book an appointment.

About the Doctor

Dr. Kevin Hogan is a general dentist providing individualized care for patients in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Dr. Hogan is a graduate of the Indiana University School of Dentistry and has completed hundreds of hours of continuing education courses to stay contemporary with the latest dental technologies. In addition, he has also completed coursework with the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation and has lectured at the University of North Carolina, Emory University, the Saginaw Valley University and AUA-American University of Antigua on head and neck anatomy and oral pathology. Dr. Hogan is a member of the American Dental Association, International College of Cranio-Mandibular Orthopedics, Academy of Laser Dentistry, International Association of Physiologic Aesthetics, Institute for Advanced Laser Dentistry, DOCS (the Dental Organization for Conscious Sedation), International Congress of Oral Implantologists and the South Carolina Dental Association. He is also a past member of the American Straight Wire Orthodontic Association, Maxillofacial Orthopedic Growth and Development, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the Functional Orthodontic Society. He and his team are dedicated to providing exceptional oral care to patients through personalized treatment plans. To learn more about the services offered by Dr. Hogan, please visit his website at http://www.smilesbyhogan.com or call 843-216-0908.San Franciscos water system is not above the laws of California.

Restore Hetch Hetchy will present oral arguments to Californias 5th District Court of Appeal in Fresno at a hearing on May 30th at 9:00 a.m. to determine whether San Franciscos OShaughnessy Dam and Hetch Hetchy Reservoir must comply with Californias Constitutional law regulating water distribution (Case No. CV 59426  http://bit.ly/29CQTkJ).

Restore Hetch Hetchys case alleges that the reservoir that is flooding the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, burying it under 300 feet of water, violates the California Constitutions mandate prohibiting any unreasonable method of diversion.

The Court of Appeal hearing is a result of a trial court ruling that Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is exempt from the California Constitutions mandate that the method of diversion for all water systems must be reasonable. The trial court also ruled that any such complaint should have been filed within 4 years of the Constitutions adoption in 1928.

San Franciscos water system is not above the laws of California, said Restore Hetch Hetchy Executive Director Spreck Rosekrans. We believe that the court will rule in our favor and that Californians will finally have a hearing on the merits of restoration.

Restore Hetch Hetchy seeks a hearing in the California courts which would weigh the significant value of restoration against the cost of water system improvements necessary for San Francisco to retain its existing Tuolumne River supplies without the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Restore Hetch Hetchy is prepared to present evidence that, in this day and age, flooding a wondrous valley, in a world-renowned national park by a municipality, is not reasonable given the extraordinary value of a restored Hetch Hetchy Valley and the availability of other water storage options for the City, continued Rosekrans.

Amicus briefs advocating that the City must comply with the California Constitution and that the State should have an opportunity to hear Restore Hetch Hetchys claim have been filed by the California Attorney General on behalf of the State Water Resources Control Board, two former California Resources Secretaries, two former California Attorneys General, two former Yosemite Superintendents, leading water law professors, and the Earth Island Institute. We are pleased that our position has been supported by so many amicus curiae (friends of the court), and in particular that Californias Attorney General agrees that we have a right to a trial on the merits, said Richard Frank, co-counsel for Restore Hetch Hetchy.

Congress specifically required that all elements of the Citys water system comply with all California water law and that California always retains the final say as to whether San Franciscos flooding of the Hetch Hetchy Valley remains reasonable or whether a different diversion and storage location should be identified and implemented, said Michael Lozeau, chief counsel for Restore Hetch Hetchy. In addition, the trial courts ruling, that the statute of limitations for challenging the Citys current Hetch Hetchy diversions under the California Constitution expired in 1932, is inconsistent with past court rulings that form the bedrock of State water law and ignores the Citys ongoing duty to only employ a reasonable method of diverting water from the Tuolumne River.

Citizens who are interested in joining campaign to restore Yosemites Hetch Hetchy Valley can find out more at http://www.hetchhetchy.org.

Restore Hetch Hetchys mission is to return the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park to its natural splendor while continuing to meet the water and power needs of all communities that depend on the Tuolumne River.

Media Relations

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723, melanie(at)mwebbcom(dot)comWe are honored that the College of Law has acknowledged Leo Goodwin Sr.s legacy with the rededication of the Leo Goodwin Sr. Building at the Shepard Broad College of Law.

Continuing its legacy of charitable donations, scholarships and grants, the Leo Goodwin Foundation celebrates the Rededication of the Leo Goodwin Sr. Building which houses the NSU Shepard Broad College of Law as well as the commitment of Goodwin Foundation Trustees Alan Goldberg and Elliot Borkson to NSU. The Rededication will be held on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 5:30 pm at the NSU Law Leo Goodwin Sr. Building and will include a ribbon cutting ceremony and Leo Goodwin Sr. portrait unveiling.

Leo Goodwin Sr. was born in 1886 in Lowndes, Missouri, just south of St. Louis, the son of a country doctor who traveled by horse and buggy to treat his patients. Educated as an accountant, Leo Goodwin Sr. entered the accounting business in San Antonio, Texas. Goodwin founded the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO) in 1936.

Shortly after its founding, NSU stirred Goodwins creative instincts and became a major object of his philanthropy. A series of increasingly generous donations followed, supported by both Leo Goodwin Sr. and Leo Goodwin Jr. that contributed to the 1974 founding of the NSU Shepard Broad College of Law. In addition to the College of Law, undergraduate students live in the attractive Leo Goodwin Sr. Residence Hall on the main campus.

The Leo Goodwin Sr. Building broke ground in 1990 and was completed and dedicated in 1992. Following major interior renovations to its clinical education wing, the Panza Maurer Law Library, and other common areas, the Leo Goodwin Sr. Building renovation was nationally recognized in the 2017 American School & University Architectural Portfolio, the premier showcase celebrating the best in education design. Through ongoing investment and philanthropic support of the Goodwin Foundation and other donors, NSU Law continues its innovative teaching, clinical education, and a 21st-century curriculum that set NSU Law apart from other law schools.

The Leo Goodwin Foundation embraces a strategy to do good for the community and partners with other organizations trying to do the same. From the very beginning, the Foundation has been a strong supporter of NSU, said Alan Goldberg, President and Trustee of the Leo Goodwin Foundation. We are honored that the College of Law has acknowledged Leo Goodwin Sr.s legacy with the rededication of the Leo Goodwin Sr. Building at the Shepard Broad College of Law, he continued. The goal of the Foundation is to improve the lives of those who are the most vulnerable and to champion future generations through education and life skills, said Elliot Borkson, the Foundations Vice President and Trustee. The Leo Goodwin Foundation has established an endowment for NSU to fund scholarships each year to deserving law students. These students are known as Goodwin Scholars. Many of the Goodwin Scholars that have graduated from NSUs College of Law have become the Whos Who in the legal field and we look forward to continuing this tradition with future classes for years to come, he said. This event is made possible by the generous support of the Leo Goodwin Foundation and its Trustees, Alan Goldberg and Elliot Borkson.

The dedication event will feature remarks by President Hanbury, Dean Garon, Goodwin scholarship recipients, and the Leo Goodwin Foundation Trustees Alan Goldberg and Elliot Borkson.

For additional information, contact Kathleen Perez at Kperez1@nova.edu or 954-262-6295.

Shepard Broad College of Law: Nova Southeastern Universitys College of Law offers a cutting edge, skills-centered academic program in three-year full-time and four-year part-time divisions. With its recently redeveloped clinical programs, every NSU Law student is guaranteed a live-client experience. In-house clinical studies are supplemented by full-time field placement opportunities practicing law in Florida, across the United States, or select locations throughout the globe. To solidify student success after graduation, NSU Law pioneered a curriculum on the business of lawyering through the NSU Law Leadership Academy. NSU Law students have a myriad of curricular opportunities, including a rich, diverse curriculum, concentrations in International Law, Health Law or IP, Technology and Cybersecurity; dual degree programs abroad in Rome, Barcelona, or Prague; dual degree programs at many of NSUs other 17 colleges; and much more. For more information, please visit http://www.law.nova.edu.

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Ranked among U.S. News & World Reports Top 200 National Research Universities and located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa Bay, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with high research activity by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 50 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegies Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education's criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit http://www.nova.edu for more information about NSU.

About Leo Goodwin Foundation: The Leo Goodwin Foundation, a charitable foundation based in Broward County, was established by Leo Goodwin Sr. Leo Goodwin Jr. It was the Goodwin family that founded GEICO Insurance Company. The mission of the Foundation is to improve the lives of all of those who live in the community. Their work began with the youngest and most vulnerable in the community. Their initial investments supported the efforts of Kids In Distress; the Boys and Girls Clubs; PACE Center for Girls; SOS Childrens Villages and many others whose primary focus was on the kids. The Trustees of the Foundation quickly saw the importance of education and made a significant commitment to Nova Southeastern University. The Goodwin name prominently appears on the buildings of the Law School at Novas Davie campus. In addition, the Foundation funds and distributes scholarships each year to numerous deserving students, with needs, at NSU Shepard Broad College of Law and Broward College. The Leo Goodwin Foundation has also sought to tackle some of the more immediate problems facing the community, including mental health issues, with a major grant to Henderson Behavioral Health; and homeless issues, with initial capital funding and ongoing commitments to Broward Partnership for the Homeless. The Trustees are also proud of the Foundation's commitment to the Arts, including funding for the Broward Performing Arts Center; The Museum of Discovery and Science; and Young At Art Children's Museum. It is the hope of the Foundation that its efforts will benefit the community as a whole and that their positioning line, "By Doing Good, We All Win, is fulfilled. To learn more about the Leo Goodwin Foundation, please visit http://www.leogoodwinfoundation.org or call 954.772.6863.Realtor Gillian Bartley Im committed to finding eight more people to take my place every year. It doesnt sound like many, but I was surprised at how hard it was to get eight people to say yes. One pint of blood at a time can go a long way collectively.

RE/MAX Gold Coast Realtors recently hosted a blood drive for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in which it collected 30 units of blood.

RE/MAX Gold Coast Escrow put on the drive and asked me to give blood, but Im not allowed to give blood because I lived in The UK between 1980 and 1996. That rule is in place to minimize the risk of spreading Mad Cow Disease, so I figured I could find a way to give blood, said RE/MAX Gold Coast Escrow Realtor Gillian Bartley. I asked eight people (because I lived in England for eight years) to take my place and donate blood at our blood drive. The blood is benefiting the Childrens Hospital LA, in part to minimize the risk of spreading Mad Cow Disease.

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit institution that provides pediatric health care and helps its patients more than 528,000 times each year in a setting designed just for their needs. As the first and largest pediatric hospital in Southern California, CHLA relies on the generosity of philanthropists in the community to support compassionate patient care, leading-edge education of the caregivers of tomorrow and innovative research efforts that impact children at its hospital and around the world.

There is always a child who needs ones blood type at the hospital. Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has one of the largest and most successful Neonatal Intensive and Critical Care Units, making blood needs great. Platelets, the blood component necessary for clotting, are the most used component for children undergoing bone marrow transplant therapy or chemotherapy.

RE/MAX Gold Coast Escrow will be hosting another blood drive in six months. Im committed to finding eight more people to take my place every year, concluded Bartley. It doesnt sound like many, but I was surprised at how hard it was to get eight people to say yes. One pint of blood at a time can go a long way collectively.

To donate directly to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, please visit https://secure1.chla.org/site/Donation2?idb=91524424&df_id=1480&mfc_pref=T&1480.donation=form1.

About Gillian Bartley, RE/MAX Gold Coast Escrow

Gillian Bartley was named to the RE/MAX Gold Coast Executive Club in 2012 and 100% Club in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017. She is known as the Most Referred Realtor in her community, and has helped customers buy or sell properties in Ventura since 2006. For more information, please call (805) 338-4095, or visit http://www.mostreferredrealtor.com.

For media inquiries, please call 805.650.6121, ext. 361.Vantage Network, the Contribution Tracking Platform that leverages blockchain technology to provide full transparency and traceability of contributions made to organizations and nonprofit entities, welcomes Keith Kaplan, a recognized expert in the integration of new technology into the marketplace, to Vantage Networks Board of Advisors.

Keith is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of the Tesla Foundation, a think tank with initiatives focused on the Industrial Revolution 4.0 - connectivity, robotics, autonomy, big data, cyber security, education, commercialization, and educational events. From meetings with the White House, appearances on major TV and Radio stations, articles in major publications, and speaking at major conferences and symposiums globally, Keith has traveled the world talking about the integration of cyber autonomy into our everyday lives.

Vantage Network is creating an innovative use for blockchain technology to aid the growth and mission of the nonprofit sector of the economy, which I see as a huge win for both nonprofit organizations and for donors, said Keith Kaplan, CEO and Co-Founder of the Tesla Foundation. Im looking forward to working with Vantage Network as they roll out their contribution tracking platform and work to bring transparency and accountability to nonprofit contributions.

Keith brings a creative, innovation-minded approach to the commercialization of new technologies, said Jeff Hood, Co-Founder of Vantage Network. Keiths work with the Tesla Foundation and his technology and brand consultancy, KKMedia, give him valuable perspective in evaluating innovative technologies and businesses and in rolling out commercial models, and we look forward to working with him as we bring Vantage Network to market.

About Vantage Network

Vantage Network is a Contribution Tracking Platform that leverages blockchain technology to provide full transparency and traceability of contributions made to organizations and nonprofit entities. Vantage Network will develop a utility token (Vantage Token or XVT) that will allow those who donate to nonprofits to see exactly where and how their funds are spent, down to the transaction level. To learn more, visit https://vantage.network/.Delaware County full-service law firm Raffaele Puppio is pleased to announce that four of its attorneys have been named 2018 Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.

Attorneys Michael A. Raffaele, Michael V. Puppio, Jr., and Gabrielle C. Goham again have been named Super Lawyers, while attorney Robyn E. Musi has been named a PA Rising Star. Raffaele and Musi were honored for their prowess in family law, while Puppio was recognized for general litigation and Goham was honored for school and education law.

A program of Thomson Reuters, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers who, through a peer review and independent research process, have been identified as attaining a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Only the top 5 percent of Pennsylvanias 50,000 lawyers and the top 2.5 percent of up-and-coming Pennsylvania attorneys are named to the Super Lawyers and Rising Stars lists.

Candidates are evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement, including verdicts and settlements; honors and awards; special licenses and certifications; pro bono and community service efforts; and scholarly lectures and writings. The ultimate objective of Super Lawyers is to create a credible, comprehensive and diverse list of outstanding attorneys that can be used as a resource for other practitioners and consumers searching for legal counsel.

About Raffaele Puppio  Raffaele Puppio is one of the largest and most established full-service law firms in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Attorneys within the firm are known for their legal prowess among the bench and bar in Delaware County, having decades of experience representing school districts, municipalities, businesses and individual clients, helping to solve legal problems while avoiding future legal issues. The attorneys provide sound legal counsel in the areas of education law, government and municipal services, family law, general litigation, personal injury, commercial real estate and business transactions, elder law, estate administration and planning, and criminal law.

# # #Chasing the clouds on Ta Xua Peak

Vietnams northwest region is famous for its long and winding roads perched along high mountain cliffs and over deep chasms. The terrain is even rougher and more rugged due to the height, after crossing Phu To to Bac Yen district (Son La province) and Mu Cang Chai district (Yen Bai province).

The first stop for travellers is Bac Kien districts Ta Xua Peak, which is known as the heaven of clouds in northwest region. Although the downtown of Ta Xua commune is just a few tens of kilometres from Bac Yen town, visitors will feel as if they are lost in a completely different world as they wander through the mountains under a shroud of white clouds. At 10 am, thick mists obscure the roads, posing a huge challenge for drivers.

Standing on the top of Ta Xua, which is nearly 2,000 metres above sea level, one can admire the spectacular views of mountains and forests. If you are lucky enough to visit the peak on a day of favourable weather, you can behold the layers of cloud sweeping down the sides of the mountains, creating a picturesque and heavenly panorama.

Another adventurous challenge for travellers is to take on a breath-taking conquest of the spine of dinosaur on the top of Ta Xua

Watching dawn break over the mountain is an unforgettable memory for backpackers, who have to keep a close watch on weather conditions and be present on the peak before 5 am.

There are countless photographers and travel lovers who spend days staying at homestays in Ta Xua to capture dawn on the peak; however, many of them have missed the moment despite their careful preparation and research.

Another challenging option for travellers is to take on the breath-taking conquest of the spine of dinosaur on the top of Ta Xua with a rough path halfway up the mountain, extremely high cliffs and strong winds along the two sides of the mountain.

Admiring picturesque rice terraces

In addition to Ta Xua commune, Hang Chu, Lang Chieu, and Xim Vang communes are also attractive tourist sites. As a usual practice in April and May of every year, the local people fully water their fields to prepare for a new crop, making the surface of the green rice paddy terraces shine like a mirror under sunbeams.

Mu Cang Chai district in Yen Bai province is renowned as the land of the most picturesque multi-layer terraced rice fields in Vietnam. In Hmong ethnic language, Mu Cang Chai means "village of dried trees".

Rice terraces are a symbol of the wonderful farming initiative throughout sloping mountains areas which are short of water resources, and are examples of the perfect handiwork of the local people.

In April and May every year, the locals fully water their fields to prepare for a new crop, making the surface of green rice paddy terrace fields shine like a mirror under sunbeams.

A number of homestays and community-based tourist products have been built at the foot of Khau Pha mountain pass in the district, allowing travellers to explore the indigenous culture and scenery.

Mu Cang Chai district Peoples Committee recently announced a plan to promote the localitys well-known terraced rice fields with various activities, including a rice transplanting and ploughing contest, performances of folk songs and 'khen' (traditional bamboo pipe flute) of Hmong people.

Community-based tours are also designed to let tourists enjoy the traditional cultural practices of Thai and Hmong ethnic people right among the rice terraces.

Notably, a paragliding festival will be held for the second time by the Vietwings Hanoi Paragliding Club from May 18 to 20, offering an opportunity to paraglide over the area to enjoy panoramic views of Mu Cang Chais scenic landscapes.

Last years event took place in mid-May, with the participation of 100 pilots and a large number of visitors.3 New Marketing & Web Design Plans to Grow Your Business Our new offerings provide a roadmap for success, and allow businesses to evolve from one plan to the next based on their goals and budget.

Three new marketing and web design plans have been announced by Power Marketing International, LLC, a web design and marketing firm serving the greater Philadelphia, Lehigh Valley, and Berks County region. Dubbed Web Pro, Online Marketer, and Social Media Master, the three digital offerings combine an array of features and functionality designed to create and promote a highly effective online presence for small and mid-sized businesses.

A Roadmap for Success

We realized that many small and mid-sized businesses lack a coherent online strategy to level the playing field and compete with their larger rivals. Our new offerings provide a roadmap for success, and allow businesses to evolve from one plan to the next based on their goals and budget, said Alan Robezzoli, president and founder. Each plan provides a focused scope and strategy. As their business grows, our clients can progress from one plan to the next, or they can mix and match elements to create a custom plan, he added.

Web Pro, Online Marketer, and Social Media Master Packages

According to PMI, a great website can be the foundation of an effective online strategy. Therefore, their introductory plan, dubbed Web Pro includes a robust website built upon a foundation that includes detailed keyword research, competitor website analysis, and first-rate branding and messaging. Based on that foundation, PMI develops a website featuring thorough search engine optimization (SEO), exquisite graphics, persuasive messaging, and sophisticated features. This combination is designed to convey professionalism, establish trust, and clearly communicate their client's value proposition.

The Online Marketer plan goes the next step by adding monthly SEO improvements, online advertising campaigns, and email marketing campaigns designed to increase sales and rapidly expand an organizations customer base.

Finally, the Social Media Master plan expands upon the above offerings by adding a complete Social Media Marketing and Local SEO Boosting System, complete with a custom dashboard enabling PMIs clients to gain social media reviews, manage their social media interactions, and track and improve their local SEO results on an ongoing basis.

For more information on all three plans, visit the Internet Marketing page of their website at https://www.powermarketinginternational.com/internet-marketing-services.

About Power Marketing International

Power Marketing International, LLC is a Berks County web design and internet marketing firm specializing in developing complete online marketing systems for small and mid-sized businesses in the greater Berks County, Philadelphia, and Lehigh Valley area. Their mission is to help their clients get found online, make a strong impression, engage their leads, and convert them to repeat customers. Find them at https://www.powermarketinginternational.com.Study after study has shown that arts education nurtures students creativity and problem-solving skills, competencies that are critical for success in a 21st Century world, but how does dance and movement heal and transform at-risk youth?

New Yorks Battery Dance launched its Dancing to Connect programs in 2006. Since that time, the program has spread to 6 continents, 50 countries, 100 cities, and 1,000 schools. A powerful new documentary by Wilderness Films follows six dancers from the dance company from India to Eastern Europe to the Korean Peninsula to the Middle East as they support vulnerable youth helping them to express themselves through movement. The film focuses on the struggles, frustrations, resilience and ultimate transformation of the students and their dance teachers.

Producer Cornelia Ravenal says that as a trauma survivor she understood the power of art to heal and transform. Ravenal along with husband partner Mikael Sodersten collaborated with Battery Dance Founder Jonathan Hollander to create the documentary because she believed this was a story that had to be told. As global populations continue to grow, migration and increasing social and cultural diversity are reshaping classrooms worldwide. Solutions for integrating and uniting peoples from diverse cultural backgrounds are now sought by schools and communities all over the globe. Hollander believes that no divide has been too great for the art of dance, the primacy of movement, the common humanity, and expression, to span.

Read the Full Article

Battery Dance performs on the worlds stages, teaches, presents, and advocates for the field of dance. The Company is dedicated to the pursuit of artistic excellence and the availability of the Arts to everyone. Battery Dance has produced over 100 original dance works choreographed by its founder and artistic director Jonathan Hollander, in collaboration with a diverse array of composers and designers, and its cast of outstanding dancers.

CMRubinWorld launched in 2010 to explore what kind of education would prepare students to succeed in a rapidly changing globalized world. Its award-winning series, The Global Search for Education, is a celebrated trailblazer in the renaissance of the 21st century, and occupies a special place in the pulse of key issues facing every nation and the collective future of all children. It connects todays top thought leaders with a diverse global audience of parents, students and educators. Its highly readable platform allows for discourse concerning our highest ideals and the sustainable solutions we must engineer to achieve them. C. M. Rubin has produced over 700 interviews and articles discussing an expansive array of topics under a singular vision: when it comes to the world of children, there is always more work to be done.

Follow @CMRubinWorld on Twitter

For more information on CMRubinWorld

David Wine

CMRubinWorld

david(at)cmrubinworld(dot)comDr. Rohrich during a panel discussion in the 2018 Cosmetic Meeting The Dallas Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine Meeting offers an unprecedented opportunity for surgeons and the cosmetic physician to enhance their skills and understanding of advances in cosmetic medicine and cosmetic surgery.

Meeting Chairman, Dallas plastic surgeon Dr. Rod J. Rohrich, is pleased to announce the dates for the 21st annual Dallas Cosmetic Meeting which will be held at the Westin Galleria Dallas, February 28-March 1, 2018. This annual meeting, along with the Dallas Rhinoplasty Meeting which takes place immediately afterwards, draws plastic surgeons and cosmetic physicians from around the world.

Key topics at this year's two day meeting include a day of Cosmetic Medicine filled with innovations in nonsurgical skin tightening and fat removal devices that work as well as the hot emerging topics in lasers, including laser vaginal rejuvenation and advances in skin care. The second day on Cosmetic Surgery will focus on efficacy and safety of innovative and emerging treatment options in breast augmentation, buttock and body sculpting as well as the latest in new cosmetic fillers, and best treatments for the aging face.

"The Dallas Cosmetic Surgery and Medicine Meeting offers an unprecedented opportunity for surgeons and the cosmetic physician to enhance their skills and understanding of advances in cosmetic medicine and cosmetic surgery," says Dr. Rohrich, the meeting's Chairman. "The unique aspect of this course is its world renowned cosmetic cadaver lab which focuses on a hands-on interaction and learning directly with the world experts who are the innovators in these frontiers of cosmetic surgery."

The meeting includes panel discussions, video feeds with expert commentary, live demonstrations, and a unique fresh cadaver cosmetic anatomy lab which gives participants direct, hands-on experience. Presentations are delivered by highly experienced plastic surgeons and will cover the latest trends and offer expert guidance on controversial applications of cosmetic treatments with an emphasis on evidence-based medicine which is changing how cosmetic surgery is practiced.

"The movement toward evidence-based plastic surgery is ongoing and improves and supports what we do in cosmetic surgery," explains Dr. Rohrich. "This is truly a change in the way we practice our profession - a change that sets the stage for continuous improvements, with an awareness to assure the safety and satisfaction of our patients."

About Rod J. Rohrich, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Rod Rohrich is a Dallas, Texas board certified plastic surgeon, Distinguished Teaching Professor and was the Founding Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Rohrich graduated from Baylor College of Medicine with high honors, and completed residencies at the University of Michigan Medical Center and fellowships at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard (hand/microsurgery) and Oxford University (pediatric plastic surgery). He has served as president of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the largest organization of board certified plastic surgeons in the world. He repeatedly has been selected by his peers as one of America's best doctors, and is the only plastic surgeon to receive one of his profession's highest honors three times in his career-the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation Distinguished Service Award, which recognizes his contributions to education in plastic surgery. Dr. Rohrich participates in and has led numerous associations and councils for the advancement of plastic and reconstructive surgery.IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the world-leading non-profit collaborative advancing educational technology innovation, impact and interoperability announced that it is launching the One EdTech Ecosystem (1EdTech) initiative, a collaboration between school districts and suppliers that will make it radically easier for school districts to make digital resources and applications available to teachers and students. IMS Global refers to this reliable school software integration strategy for the benefit of maximizing teaching and learning time as digital on day one of learning.

1EdTech consists of a secure trusted cloud-based registry and connection service that will enable any educational technology provider to connect to any school districts learning platform, portal, or student system using the IMS OneRoster standard. Once a participant organization has integrated they will be able to connect to any of the institutions or suppliers on the other side. 1EdTech will be free to all IMS member organizations that have OneRoster certified products. 1EdTech is a unique approach because it is a trusted community-sourced and governed non-profit connection service that does not compete with existing marketplace solutions, but rather complements existing solutions.

The unprecedented adoption of IMS OneRoster has led to a desire by both product providers and institutions to ensure plug-and-play integration that takes into account the variability of implementations, commented Dr. Rob Abel, Chief Executive of IMS Global Learning Consortium. The 1Edtech collaboration is an indication that the leading providers of digital learning and leading school districts are rallying together to enable digital on day one via a set of community-governed open standards and services.

The development of 1EdTech is being funded through the support of IMS Global Learning Consortium and a set of sponsoring organizations that include suppliers and non-profit educational foundations.

1EdTech will initially support OneRoster connectivity, soon to be followed with support for IMSs LTI Advantage. These standards enable digital on day one via a variety of application launch and data back scenarios that are being used across a majority of school districts and higher education institutions today.

In the future 1EdTech will support other IMS standards to enable use of the 1EdTech infrastructure to launch specific learning objects (Thin Common Cartridge and LTI Resource Search), access published competencies and academic standards (CASE), and perform learning data collection and analysis (Caliper Analytics).

A list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding 1EdTech is available on the 1EdTech website.

1EdTech is in its initial development phase with rollout of OneRoster-based integrations planned for a pilot set of school districts and suppliers in Fall 2018. The set of districts that are currently leading the charge for 1EdTech are: Edina Public Schools, Escambia County School District, Forsyth County Schools, Gwinnett County Public Schools, Henry County Schools, Houston Independent School District, Neosho School District, Orange County Public Schools, School District of Lee County, and Volusia County Schools.

If your school district is interested in participating in participating in the 1EdTech Ecosystem Initiative advisory group please contact IMS.

Although the 1EdTech collaborative is in early stages, endorsements have been received by the following learning product suppliers: Accelerate Learning, Achieve3000, Cengage, Classworks, Edmentum, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Knovation, McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson, SAFARI Montage, SchoolCity, and Renaissance.

I am very excited about the 1EdTech collaborative and the possibilities it will open up for HISD. As HISD matures in its work with interoperability this really is the next logical step. Lenny Schad, Chief Information Technology Officer, Houston Independent School District

"In Gwinnett County Public Schools our focus is on teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning. To that end, we're glad to be a part of the community developing 1EdTech which will allow for greater integration across technology platforms, putting better resources in the hands of our teachers. This initiative moves us to a new level of digital learning. It is much more than just random hardware and software solutions. 1EdTech, coupled with the increased adoption of the IMS Global standards by vendors, allows us to enhance tools, better turn data into information, and better support the work of our teachers in the classroom." Dr. Debbie Durrence, Chief Data Officer, Gwinnett County Public Schools

One of the core promises of technology is the simplification or elimination of tasks that take away time from teaching and learning. One of the most time-intensive tasks for teachers at the beginning of each year is correctly assigning resources to their students. Automating this process returns precious minutes to individual teachers and hours and days at scale to districts. Maurice Draggon, Director, Instructional Systems, Orange County Public Schools

The 1EdTech initiative is a crucial step in building flexible teaching and learning ecosystems that set all teachers and students up for success, said Rose Else-Mitchell, Chief Learning Officer, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. As a learning company focused on improving student outcomes, were committed to working with our district partners on creating integrated solutions that engage learners and empower educators. Being a part of 1EdTech is another way to enable us as we partner with districts to make day one of school be Day One of Learning so as to better drive achievement and propel student growth.

At McGraw-Hill Education, we believe both open standards and easy-to-use tools are essential in helping schools and universities provide access to their digital learning solutions from day one, said Stephen Laster, Chief Digital Officer, McGraw-Hill Education. We think the launch of 1EdTech is an excellent step forward in the widespread adoption of OneRoster, which will significantly ease the integration process for education institutions, who often have to work with multiple vendors to integrate various different learning systems and solutions within their own ecosystem.

Pearson has a long history of supporting open industry standards and is excited by the growth in customer demand for high quality, blended curriculum experiences, said Bethlam Forsa, Managing Director of Pearson Learning Services. The One EdTech Ecosystem Initiative is a great opportunity to simplify integration and place greater value in the hands of our teachers, learners and administrators.

Renaissance is pleased to be a part of this very important initiative, said Mike Evans, chief operating officer at Renaissance. As we talk with leaders at schools and districts around the world about their technology needs, interoperability is always one of their main priorities. The edtech community has made great strides in recent years to address these needs, and 1EdTech is a natural next step toward a future of seamless technology integration for all educators and students.

IMS Global Learning Consortium open standards are developed and managed via a partnership among over 450 of the worlds leading educational technology suppliers, school districts, higher education institutions, and states. IMS Globals 60 plus school district and state members serve approximately 11 million students. IMS state and state consortium members represent 44 U.S. states. IMS higher education institutional members represent 109 universities serving approximately 4.5 million students worldwide.

About IMS Global Learning Consortium

IMS Global Learning Consortium is a nonprofit organization that advances technology to affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment. IMS Global members are leading suppliers, institutions, and government organizations that are enabling the future of education by collaborating on interoperability and adoption initiatives. IMS Global sponsors the Learning Impact Leadership Institute, a global program focused on recognizing the impact of innovative technology on educational access, affordability, and quality while developing the people and ideas to help shape the future of educational technology.In a time when technology is steering the customer experience, we look forward to what the Breakthrough Award nominees will highlight for the restaurant industry. Programs like this support growth in innovation and align with our mission to enhance the industry through technology.

Hospitality Technology (HT) magazine is now accepting nominations for the 2018 MURTEC Breakthrough Awards. The MURTEC Breakthrough Awards honor restaurant companies for outstanding achievement in business innovation. The awards are presented to operators for leveraging groundbreaking technology and innovative strategies to improve customer engagement and/or the overall enterprise. The MURTEC Breakthrough Awards are sponsored by NovaDine, an enterprise-class digital and mobile ordering solution provider to the restaurant industry.

Now in its 13th year, the MURTEC Breakthrough Awards will be presented at the MURTEC Executive Summit, a sister event to MURTEC (Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference).

Technological innovation has always been a central component of the Breakthrough Awards, Dorothy Creamer, editor of Hospitality Technology magazine, explains. The MURTEC Executive Summit with its tagline, The Business of Technology, emphasizes how forward-looking restaurant companies are increasingly using technology to build an ongoing dialogue with guests and staff inside and outside of the physical restaurant. Companies that do so are better positioned for future growth as the world changes and customer and employee expectations shift.

The submission deadline is Friday, July 6, 2018. MURTEC Breakthrough Awards are given in two categories:

Enterprise Innovator  This is presented to the company that has leveraged a specific strategy or technology beyond standard practice to improve overall restaurant operations. Results should reveal an increase or marked improvement in efficiency, cost savings, etc. Areas of innovation can include, but are not limited to: back-office and/or front-of-house applications, labor management, point-of-sale technologies, cloud computing, and enterprise-grade mobile applications.

Customer Engagement Innovator  This is presented to the company that has leveraged a specific strategy or technology to increase guest satisfaction, loyalty, and/or brand reputation. Potential concepts can include, but are not limited to: mobile applications, social networking, loyalty and CRM.

To nominate a company, please fill out the nomination form at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MURTECBreakthrough18 no later than July 6, 2018. Winners shall be notified on or about July 31, 2018, and awards will be presented at the MURTEC Executive Summit on October 17, 2018, in Nashville. Technology vendors are encouraged to nominate restaurant companies, but are not themselves eligible to receive an award.

"NovaDine is pleased to support the MURTEC Breakthrough Awards, says George Istfan, founder and chief software architect, of the Raleigh, N.C.-based NovaDine. In a time when technology is steering the customer experience, we look forward to what the Breakthrough Award nominees will highlight for the restaurant industry. Programs like this support growth in innovation and align with our mission to enhance the industry through technology.

The MURTEC Executive Summit, held October 17-19, 2018, in Nashville, is produced by Hospitality Technology, and is a sister event to MURTEC (Multi-Unit Restaurant Technology Conference). The Summit is an intimate gathering of senior-level executives, unique from other technology events in the industry. The format and content is designed to draw in technology thought leaders and influencers in a program that prioritizes group discussions, two-way dialogue, and collaboration amongst both peers and sponsors.

Past HT Breakthrough Award Winners Include:

P.F. Chang's China Bistro (2017)

The ONE Group (2017)

Twin Peaks Restaurants( 2017)

Outback Steakhouse (2016)

Fun Eats and Drinks LLC (2016)

Panera (2015)

Firehouse Subs (2015)

Chilis Grill & Bar (2015)

Jersey Mikes Franchise Systems (2014)

Trulucks Restaurant Group (2014)

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar (2013)

Tony Romas (2013)

Legal Sea Foods (2012)

Jersey Mikes Franchise Systems (2012)

Subway Restaurants (2011)

Dominos Pizza, LLC (2011)

Jack in the Box (2010)

ERJ Dining, LLC (2010)

Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar (2010)

Mortons Restaurant Group (2009)

T.G.I. Fridays (2009)

Hard Rock International (2009)

Cara Operations (2008)

uWink (2008)

Marcos Pizza (2008)

Legal Sea Foods (2007)

Ruths Chris Steakhouse (2007)

Kahala  Cold Stone Creamery (2007)

Jasons Deli (2006)

Noodles & Co (2006)

Buca, Inc. (2006)

About Hospitality Technology

Hospitality Technology (HT) is the only publication dedicated to covering the role of information technology in improving business performance for hotel and restaurant operators. The Hospitality Technology editorial portfolio includes: a print publication that publishes nine times annually and reaches more than 16,000 hospitality industry executives, three networking and educational events (MURTEC, HT-NEXT and MURTEC Executive Summit), a comprehensive website, e-newsletters, web seminars, and several exclusive annual reports and studies. Visit Hospitality Technology online at http://www.hospitalitytech.com. Hospitality Technology is published by Chicago-based EnsembleIQ.

About NovaDine

NovaDine provides enterprise-class POS integrated digital and mobile ordering solutions to multi-unit restaurant operators. Multiple prominent chain restaurants like Panda Express, Pollo Tropical and Taco Bueno have deployed the feature-rich turn-key solution to support their online and mobile ordering since the company's founding in 2007. To date, more than 25 million orders have been processed for clients, across multiple continents, in multiple languages. NovaDine is an innovator in the marketplace with unique features like its patented Group Ordering; the recently introduced full menu/order/POS integration with Grubhub; and Delivery As A Service integration with Grubhub, UberRush, Postmates and DoorDash. For more information, visit http://www.novadine.comJim Newberry

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC has named former Lexington mayor, Jim Newberry, as the Managing Member of its Louisville office. Newberry begins his duties on June 1. He succeeds Bonita Black, who managed the office since it opened in 2014. Black, a business attorney who currently serves on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees, is stepping down from her management responsibilities to devote more time to her corporate clients and to the increasing demands associated with her involvement at the University of Louisville and at other community organizations.

Bonita has helped to bring Steptoe & Johnson to prominence in Kentucky, said CEO Susan S. Brewer. We are grateful for her years of service, her ongoing commitment to the firm, and her service to the Louisville community. Brewer continued, With Jims leadership and Bonitas community involvement, the Louisville office will play an even greater role in our firms long term plans.

The firm is deeply committed to our presence in Kentucky, and I am grateful for this opportunity to work with my colleagues and the firms leaders to continue to expand it, said Jim Newberry. He will relocate to Louisville as he begins his new role with the firm.

Newberry is a business attorney who formerly served as vice president and general counsel for Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky. He leads Steptoe & Johnsons Higher Education Team which has achieved national recognition. He assists colleges and universities with governance issues, finance matters, as well as Title IX and Clery Act compliance. Newberry joined Steptoe & Johnson in 2014 and is ranked among The Best Lawyers in America. He earned both his law degree and bachelors degree from the University of Kentucky.

About Steptoe & Johnson

Steptoe & Johnson PLLC is a law firm nationally recognized for its strengths in energy law with more than a century of know-how in the areas of business, employment, and litigation. Steptoe & Johnson has more than 300 attorneys practicing in 13 offices in Colorado, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia. Visit http://www.steptoe-johnson.com and connect with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

For more information, contact Betsy Spellman, Chief Marketing Officer, at (304) 933-8000 or by email: press(at)steptoe-johnson(dot)com.This summer, Pell-eligible students will have more options than in past years.

While many students celebrate the arrival of summer break, for others it can be a stressful time. The costs associated with enrolling in and paying for summer classes can be a real challenge for low-income students. But this summer, Pell-eligible students will have more options than in past years.

Students and families will be able to make use of the expanded Pell Grant eligibility that was reinstated last year via the fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations process. Taking advantage of the newly available funds means that some students can take classes year-roundand graduate that much quicker, potentially saving them thousands of dollars on college costs for additional semesters.

The FY 2017 omnibus appropriations bill approved in May 2017 restored students access to additional Pell Grant funding in an award year, also known as year-round Pell, beginning with the 2017-18 award year. What this means for qualified financially needy students is that for the first time in seven years, Pell Grant funds can be used during the summer term.

Year-round Pell allows a student to receive more than one scheduled Pell Grant in an award year, up to an additional 50 percent of the students Pell Grant award. The current grant maximum is $5,920, which increases to $6,095 July 1 due to additional funding from Congress in FY 2018. The additional funds would count toward a students Pell Grant lifetime eligibility limit.

Lawmakers instructed the Department of Education (ED) to implement this provision to maximize flexibility for institutions of higher education and avoid unnecessary administrative burdens while ensuring the best interests of students.

NASFAA and its members have been advocating on Capitol Hill for many years now for the restoration of year-round Pell eligibility, said Justin Draeger, president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Giving our nations neediest students access to their educational grant funding when they need it, rather than making them wait until the following fall semester to use it, will enable students to complete their education more quickly and take on less debt in the process.

For more information about summer Pell eligibility, students and families should speak to their institution's financial aid office.

For more information or to speak to a NASFAA spokesperson, please email powerse@nasfaa.org or call (202) 785-6959.

About NASFAA

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) is a nonprofit membership organization that represents nearly 20,000 financial aid professionals at approximately 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every ten undergraduates in the U.S. Based in Washington, DC, NASFAA is the only national association with a primary focus on student aid legislation, regulatory analysis, and training for financial aid administrators. For more information, visit http://www.nasfaa.org.Securities Training Corporation We are excited to continue advancing the industry with our new programs and tools that seamlessly incorporate new technologies with our proven approach to securities training, said Paul Skordilis, President of STC.

Securities Training Corporation (STC), the market leader in securities training, announced today at the FINRA Annual Conference a series of innovative training program offerings, from a new study platform that optimizes learning to a manager tool to track student performance.

We are excited to continue advancing the industry with our new programs and tools that seamlessly incorporate new technologies with our proven approach to securities training, said Paul Skordilis, President of STC. Success is all about preparation. With the highest pass rates in the industry, we know how to prepare associates for a successful career, and now were making it even easier for them.

STC is the leading provider of training for the financial industry, offering FINRA and NASAA pre-licensing and continuing education courses along with Life, Accident and Health pre-licensing courses for over 3,500 corporate clients worldwide. More than a million professionals have used STC to prep for their exams and launch their careers.

STCs new training program offerings include the following:

 Enhanced Exam Prep

 New Student Performance Manager

 Corporate Partner Portal

 Our forthcoming Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam training

New Exam Prep

STCs new study platform, Exam Prep, gives candidates an interactive toolbox of study aids, self-review, knowledge assessment, and study customization to optimize each candidates learning style. New tools designed to help them successfully pass their licensing exam include crunch-time facts, digital Flashcards, On Demand courses, custom exams and more.

New Student Performance Manager

Managers can now view and manage associates progress and guide them successfully toward getting their license. Student Performance Manager shows student progress in one convenient, intuitive interface where managers get tools and flexibility to track and measure individual students or a class. It includes flexible tracking class progress so managers know when students are using their online study manuals and progress exams. It also provides comprehensive updates on student information and current test scores.

Corporate Partner Portal

Financial companies can make the student enrollment process simpler than ever for employees. With the corporate partner portal, corporate customers can have a custom branded site, a custom tracking account which provides access to employees progress in real time, and a dedicated account manager to customize the licensing process for their company and provide support for their students.

While at the FINRA conference, STC will also be discussing the forthcoming SIE Exam in the fall. The SIE Exam is an introductory level FINRA exam for current non-registered staff members and prospective securities industries professionals who are not associated with a brokerage firm as well as individuals pursuing careers in the financial service industry.

The new SIE Exam is a game changer for businesses, and we are in a unique position to leverage our expertise in securities training to help companies reduce training time, expand bench strength and build a pipeline of qualified candidates, continued Skordilis. With the addition of our Student Performance Manager, businesses now know exactly where their students are in the training process, and can actively manage and assist them to successfully pass their exams.

Companies attending the FINRA Annual Conference can visit STC at booth 11. Additional information about the new training program offerings can be found on the STC website at http://www.stcusa.com.

About Securities Training Corporation

Founded on Wall Street in 1969, Securities Training Corporation (STC) has successfully helped over 1,000,000 professionals pass FINRA regulatory exams and launch their careers. STC has grown to become the leading provider of financial examination training, working with the top banks and broker dealers in America to offer FINRA exam courses like Series 6, Series 7, Series 24, Series 79, and Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) (coming October 2018) in addition to continuing education, and Life, Accident and Health pre-licensing courses. STC is committed to providing a superior customer experience and innovative product offerings. Learn more at http://www.stcusa.com.Four attorneys from global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP have been recognized in the 2018 guide of Whos Who Legal: Labour & Employment.

The guide selects nominees based upon research and feedback from general counsel and private practice worldwide. The guide recognizes the leading labour and employment lawyers, selecting only those who meet publications independent international criteria for the guide.

The four attorneys featured in the guide are:

Kelly Dobbs Bunting  Labour & Employment: Bunting is co-chair of the firms Labor & Employment Practices Workforce Compliance & Regulatory Enforcement group. A shareholder in the Philadelphia office, she litigates she litigates wage and hour class and collective actions, discrimination/harassment claims, whistle blower, and trade secret cases. She also provides day-to-day HR counselling and policy advice, and is co-chair of Greenberg Traurigs HR Training and Compliance group.

Jordan W. Cowman Labour & Employment: Cowman is co-chair of the firms Labor & Employment Practices International Employment, Immigration & Workforce Strategies group. He focuses his practice on transnational projects and transactions, international agreements, public international law and policy, and corporate compliance.

Todd D. Wozniak Pensions & Benefits: Wozniak is the co-chair of the Labor & Employment Practices ERISA & Employee Benefits Litigation group. He is a trial lawyer who defends companies and public institutions throughout the United States in labor and employment, ERISA, and business disputes. Throughout his career, Wozniak has defended more than a dozen class or collective actions and tried more than 40 cases or arbitrations to verdict.

Peter W. Zinober  Labour & Employment: A shareholder in the firms Tampa and Orlando offices, Zinober specializes in the defense of employment discrimination cases in state and federal court, as well as wage and hour, disability discrimination, Sarbanes-Oxley, Dodd-Frank, and other whistleblower defense, age, and all other types of employment litigation.

About Greenberg Traurigs Labor & Employment Practice

Greenberg Traurigs Global Labor & Employment Practice serves clients from offices throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Members of the practice have had numerous trial wins and are frequently called upon to handle complex, bet-the-company, and large high-stake cases, including class and collective actions. On the labor side, a leading group of lawyers regularly represents management with labor-relations matters. Labor & Employment team members assist clients with complex employment issues, and design practical, proactive strategies that can be readily implemented by todays human resources professionals. The practice has been recognized by Law360 as Practice Group of the Year for Labor & Employment (2011 and 2013), and has received a regional award from American Lawyer affiliate, Daily Report, for Litigation Department of the Year in Georgia (Labor & Employment 2015 and 2017). In addition, the practice is recognized by The Legal 500 United States in the areas of Labor and Employment Litigation, Labor-Management Relations, ERISA Litigation, and Trade Secrets Litigation. Visit Greenberg Traurigs Labor & Employment Blog for insights and analysis of the latest labor and employment developments, including legislation, regulations, cases, policies, and trends.

About Greenberg Traurig

Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GT) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. GT has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and is among the Top 20 on the 2017 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.BEIJING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Starbucks has planned an ambitious expansion in the fast-growing Chinese market by doubling its number of coffee shops to 6,000 across China by fiscal 2022.

To this end, the Seattle-based coffee chain plans to build 600 new stores annually over the next five years in China's mainland, the company announced at its first-ever China Investor Conference, held in Shanghai.

Starbucks is also looking to more than triple revenue and more than double operating income in China by the end of 2022 from the 2017 levels, according to a press release from the company.

"We are committed to long-term investment in China," said Kevin Johnson, Starbucks president and chief executive officer, who expressed confidence in the company's future growth in the dynamic market.

He said the company will continue to promote coffee culture in China "where the reward will be healthy, long-term, profitable growth for decades to come."

China is the Starbucks's second-largest and fastest-growing market globally, with 3,300 stores in 141 Chinese cities currently.Welcome Guest! You Are Here:He said the motivation gave birth to Aliko Dangote Foundation, on whose platform a total of N2.5bn had been disbursed to 256,500 women across Kano, Lagos, Jigawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states.

I do not only want to be known as Africas richest man but the biggest philanthropist. I will continue to use my resources and my voice to help shape a better Nigeria, and Africa as a whole, the businessman said.

One-off and unconditional micro-grants programme

The Aliko Dangote Foundation flagged off its one-off and unconditional micro-grants programme in Niger State with 25,000 disadvantaged women as beneficiaries bringing the total number of women beneficiaries to 256,500 across seven states of the federation.

Dangote at the inauguration of the foundations one-off and unconditional micro-grants programme held at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, Minna, Niger State, said the scheme targets 25,000 disadvantaged and vulnerable women in Niger State, who will each be given N10,000 cash to boost their household income generation.

He said his foundation had earmarked N10bn for the empowerment of vulnerable women in the 774 local government areas of the country.

Alhaji Abubakar Bello, governor of Niger State, while lauding Dangote for his generosity, urged the beneficiaries of the N10,000 cash to use it to start small businesses so the foundation would be pleased to do more.

The Foundations Executive Director and daughter to the Chairman, Hajiya Halima Aliko Dangote, said the Foundation was poised to help lift the status of womanhood in the country, adding: If you empower a woman, you empower the whole nation.

She stated that women have always bear the brunt of the harsh economic reality in the country and the Aliko Dangote Foundation reasoned that they should be the target of such critical intervention as the disbursement with the hope that the benefits will cascade down the family line with women as the maker of the home and improve the family wellbeing.

Meanwhile, the Africas richest man, Aliko Dangote will meet other billionaires at the New Economy Forum in November 2018.The West African capital Accra can boast of some of the best hotels in the country, which in turn play host to some of its finest food offerings.

Whilst most of these restaurants are known for their top-notch service and go the extra mile attitude, we set out to pin-point what exactly sets Accra Marriott's restaurant apart.

READ ALSO: Take a peek inside the glamorous hotel room attracting conferences to Ghana

A good restaurant located in the hotel lobby is certain to attract serious diners from the neighborhood, as well as travelers.

Its the creme de la creme of hotels, where priority is put on ensuring that each and every experience is exceptional.

Accra Marriott's restaurant is a perfect venue for all kinds of local and continental dishes prepared and served in classic, stylish ambience.

Whilst their prices are pretty cool, there is an attention to detail you will struggle to find elsewhere and a spirit of dedication in everything they do.

Take a look at the hotel's restaurant.But it hasn't been a jolly ride for the company. The Naspers-owned media giant has been reported to have appealed to South African regulators making a case for why it could not survive any regulation in the face of streaming.

According to DStv a significant number of subscribers have left within half a decade.

MultiChoice says local competitors like iROKOtv and Kwese are giving them such a great competition. Any further regulations, it argued, would affect its profits.

Chief executive Calvo Mawela claimed DStv has lost 100,000 subscribers since the introduction of streaming services like Amazon and Netflix.

Netflix, in particular is waging such a strong competition for DStv, Mawela says.

So they are here, they are challenging us in our business on a day-to-day basis, and yet they do not have to comply with any of the regulations the country has made."

DStv believes that the contribution it is making to the African continent is mind-blowing

"While Netflix only employs around 4,000 around the world, MulitChoice employs twice as many in South Africa. Where it gets scary for owners of TV stations is how much less TV viewing is happening in younger generations.

Unable to beat streaming services, MultiChoice plans to join them and is launching a standalone streaming service.The nominations were announced at an exclusive ceremony at the Palais de la culture - Treichville, in Abidjan, Cote d Ivoire, and was attended by film makers, government officials, representatives from the Ghanaian Embassy in Cote d Voire and capitals of industry from across the continent.

Speaking at the announcement ceremony, Mrs. Mimi Andani Michaels, director of Golden Movie Awards Africa, introduced the award scheme to the stakeholders of the movie industry and government officials in Cote d Ivoire, stating, I make sure that every African country participates so my job is to make sure that I add different countries every year. We really want Cote d Ivoire to be part of the event next year and that is why we came to Ivory Coast so that we can also introduce the award scheme to the country.

In a short address, the Communications director for Golden Movie Awards Africa, Mr. Ken Addy, also added that he believes this nomination announcement in Abidjan will ignite collaboration between Anglophone and Francophone film makers.

Since its inception in 2015, GMAA has established itself as the most prestigious and glamorous awards celebrating film making on the continent.

The event, which is televised live around the world, attracts celebrities in the movie industry, as well as African politicians and media.

The list of 2018 nominees follows below;

GOLDEN ACTOR

RAMSEY NOUAH

ALLENNE MENGET

GABRIEL AFOLAYAH

BLOSSOM CHUKWUJEKWU

MAJID MICHEL

MIKE EZURUONYE

GOLDEN ACTRESS

LILIAN ECHELON

TANA ADELANA

DANIELLA OKEKE

LEILA NAKABIRA

EMAN SINARE

RITA DOMINIC

GOLDEN WRITER

NKANYA NKWAI

ANI IYOHO

ANTHONY KENINDE JOSEPH

NAKAMAYA MARIE ANITAH

BETH ROGERS

GOLDEN SUPPORTING ACTRESS

KALSUOME SINARE

DANIELLA OKEKE

EBELE OKARO

NODREYN EVANCY

JOYCE KALY

GOLDEN SUPPORTING ACTOR

UMAR KRUPP

BASHIR BADIR

KEN ERICS

YEMI BLAQ

GOLDEN STORY DRAMA

NKANYA NKWAI

BETH ROGERS

ANI IYOHO

NAKAMYA MARIE ANITAH

ANYHONY KEHINDE JOSEPH

GOLDEN ACTOR IN COMEDY

O C UKEJE

AYO MAKUN

JOHN DUMELO

KOFI ADJORLOLO

KOJO NKANSAH

GOLDEN ACTRESS IN COMEDY

JOSELYN DUMAS

NANA MC BROWN,SIKA OSEI& LYDIA FORSON

ADESUA ETOMI

MAAME ADJEI

PAULINA ODURO

GOLDEN WRITER IN COMEDY (MOVIE)

SHIRLEY F MANSO

AYO MAKUN

PETER SEDUFIA

NICOLE AMARTEIFIO

DARLINGTON ABUDA

GOLDEN SUPPORTING ACTOR IN COMEDY(MOVIE)

RICHARD MOFIE DAMIJO

BERNARD NYARKO

BLOSSOM CHUKWUJEKWU

MIGUEL NUNEZ

CLEMENT ASHITEY

GOLDEN MOVIE ( COMEDY)

SHIRLEY F MANSO

AYO MAKUN

RACHEL ADIKU

NICOLE AMATERFIO

EUNICE ASIEDU

GOLDEN CINEMATOGRAHY

STANLEE OHIKHUARE

OKECHUKWU OKO

TAKONG DELVIS MEZZO

RWANUSIGAZI KYAKUNZIRE

NKANYA NKWAI

GOLDEN DIRECTOR

NKANYA NKWAI

ERIC AGHIMIEN

OKECHUKWU OKO

OKECHUKWU OKO

SAMUEL SAVIOUR KIZITO

GOLDEN MOST PROMISING

LEILA NAKABIRA

LILIAN ECHELON

KAYE TREVOR RAIJI

JOSEPH SONG

EMAN SINARE

GOLDEN DISCOVERY ACTOR

LEILA NAKABIRA

LILIAN ECHELON

SYRIETTE CHE

BELVIA ABINWI

MAYOHCH ATEM-EBAI

GOLDEN EDITOR VIDEO

OKECHUKWU OKO

KASOZI AUSTIN

EDEM TENGUE/ SHIRLEY F MANSO

YAW KARKON-AMPOMAH

NWAOGBURU NELSON JOMBO/GBENGA ENIOLA

GOLDEN EDITOR SOUND

BENARD MASOKA

SHIRLEY F MANSO

MAURICE KINGS

GNANI SESOM

FRANCIS DABAH

GOLDEN ARTS DIRECTOR

ANVIRIN NWUNEABOM

EMMANUEL QUIST-HAYNES&EDMUND JOHNSON

ARABA PRABA ADAMS

COWRIES CHUKWUGOZIE OKOYE

EYSTEING YOUNG JUNOIR

GOLDEN MAKEUP ARTIST

TAKONG DELL MEZZO

NATHANIEL AMEWUGAH

BELUS FAB

NODRYN EVANCI

GBESOLA JANET

GOLDEN COSTUME

SHASHA DESIGNS

AWENSEBA ALI-AKPAJIAK

E.B CREATION

AFUA RIDA

TAKONG DELL MEZZO

BENJAMIN BLARNEY

GOLDEN SOUND TRACK (ORIGINAL)

ACHILLES BRICE

FRU ADRIAN

O.C UKEJE

SIDE CHIC GANG

ERIC AGHIMIEN

GOLDEN INDIGENOUS MOVIE TWI/SWAHILI/HAUSA

BOUND

BAABANI

A KING WITH NO CULTURE

TENACITY

HAKKUNDE

GOLDEN SHORT FILM

ITERUM (AGAIN)

COAT OF HARM

BREAKFAST

H20

THE STAB

OVER ALL GOLDEN MOVIE

A GOOD TIME TO DIVORCE

CODE GREY

BLACK ROSE

THE FORBIDDENU.S., South Korean leaders say to work closely for success of Trump-Kim meet

SEOUL, May 20 -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump on Sunday pledged to work closely to ensure the success of the planned Trump-Kim summit in a phone conversation.

The two leaders have exchanged their point of views on the recent responses from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) when they held talks via telephone for 20 minutes, according to Cheong Wa Dae, South Korea's presiential office.

Both leaders have decided to work closely and unswervingly for the successful U.S.-DPRK summit slated on June 12, as well as the upcoming meeting between Moon and Trump, said the office.

Moon is scheduled to visit Washington next week to hold a meeting with President Trump in a bid to help the upcoming summit between the DPRK and the United States become a success.

The Moon-Trump summit is anticipated to serve as a bridge to lead to a successful DPRK-U.S. summit, the presidential National Security Office said on Friday.

On Wednesday, Pyongyang said it may reconsider the scheduled U.S.-DPRK summit because of extremely provocative remarks made by American officials.

Kim Kye Gwan, the DPRK first vice foreign minister said in a statement that the Trump administration must show sincerity in its desire to meet with the DPRK to improve bilateral relations.

Before the statement, the DPRK threatened earlier in the day to withdraw from the scheduled meeting with the United States on June 12 due to on-going U.S.-South Korea joint war games, which kicked off on May 11.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Friday that China will continue to encourage the United States and the DPRK to build mutual trust, and make joint efforts to promote the political resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue.

Kim and Trump are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12 for the first-ever DPRK-U.S. summit.The South African country suffered some turbulence after its military temporarily took control over the affairs of the state which eventually led to the resignation of controversial former president, Robert Mugabe.

During the disturbances, the countrys police was reduced to almost nothing after some of its members were subjected to dehumanising tortures amidst allegations of corruption.

Videos and photos of some police officers who were made to kneel down while others lied on the bare floor with their weapons taken away from them by military officers became viral online and social media.

As the nation gradually draws closer to its general election this year, the Emmerson Mnangangwa led administration is seeking to restore the widely ridiculed police service to enable them man the upcoming elections.

Addressing some senior officers of the service in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, General Godwin Matanga warned against actions of officers that have the tendency to further soil the shaky reputation of the service.

He is quoted as saying: Acts of walking with hands in pockets, carrying bags while in police in uniform are now the norm rather than exception.

General Godwin Matanga decried the conduct of some officers who unashamedly spend most of their time swiping on their phones even in circumstances where a high level of alertness is demanded.The Ramaphosa family were reportedly in Ugandan capital, Kampala on Saturday, May 19 to present the dowry to his colleague, former Ugandan prime minister and presidential candidate, Amama Mbabazi whose niece was the bride-to-be.

The presentation of the dowry was part of processes to tie the knot between son of the South African President, Andile Ramaphosa and Bridget Birungi Rwakair.

However, right after the formal introduction when the Ramaphosa family narrated their mission and disclosed what they had in store for the bride-to-bes family, Amama Mbabazi rejected the outrageous dowry on behalf of the family.

The rejection was not because they deemed the dowry inadequate, but they claimed it was too much.

He is quoted as saying: "Even the so called giveaway ceremony is distorted. We are not giving away our daughter. She is still our own, so whatever youre going to give us, we are giving it to the young family so that they can multiply it to raise their family."

The former Ugandan Prime Minister explained that women are so priceless that equating them to animals is dehumanising, hence accepting the bride price would mean selling out their daughter.

Not even pleas by Cyril Ramaphosa and his delegation could convince the Mbabazi family to accept the juicy dowry.

Amama Mbabazi emphasised the familys entrenched position, saying: "This is prehistoric form of injustice which we must address. We should instead be cementing the bond between the two families and growing the roots of the family trees. We are not giving away our daughter because she is still one of us.

The family insisted: We do not want to hear the word dowry or bride wealth in this meeting, because we are not selling our daughter. You may find another word. Maybe gifts to thank us the parents for raising our daughter.

According to Tuko.co.ke, the dowry was made up of 100 cattle and other precious items, but the bride-to-bes family flatly rejected it.

Guess what the womans family took from the groom-to-bes family at the end of the long debate!

The news portal reported that the Mbabazi family took from their Ramaphosa counterpart only five cows to be given to the couple and five Boer goats for the extended family of Rwakairu as a token of appreciation for raising her.Before your doom-spiral, slow it way down-this outbreak is still in its infancy (as compared to the 2014 outbreak in West Africa, which spread to seven additional countries, including Italy, the U.K., and the U.S., infecting more than 28,000 people, and killing more than 11,000, according to the CDC).

Still, the current outbreak is concerning for a number of reasons; here's what you need to know about the latest threat:

Where is Ebola, like, right now?

The outbreak started in remote, rural parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo in April, according to the World Health Organization. Since then, there have been three confirmed cases and more than 40 probable or suspected cases, and 23 people have died, as the New York Times reports.

Whats worrisome right now is that the first case of urban Ebola was reported in the port city of Mbandaka, the provincial capital and home to more than one million people. Ebola's arrival in Mbandaka marks this outbreak's first case in a major city, which makes the disease harder to contain, increasing the risk of Ebola moving into neighboring countries.

Rewind: I need an Ebola refresher.

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention points out, Ebola, a.k.a. Ebola haemorrhagic fever, is spread either by direct contact with an infected animal (bats and primates) or someone who is sick or has died from the virus.

After infection, symptoms begin to show anywhere from two to 21 days (FYI: humans aren't infectious until after they develop symptoms). Symptoms appear flu-like at first-fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache, and sore throat-and are eventually followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, and even internal and external bleeding, according to WHO.

While supportive care (like oral or intravenous fluids or treatment of specific symptoms) can improve survival rates, there's no known treatment for Ebola. In a report from WHOearlier this week, the disease claims the lives of about half of those it infects, so it's extremely deadly.

I live in the U.S.-how worried should I be?

Basically, not too worried-at least right now. This is not something someone in the U.S. needs to fear immediately, says Julie Fischer, Ph.D., global health infectious disease expert at Georgetown University Medical Center. While the Ebola virus is a disease that is very frightening, its not an airborne disease, and it doesnt spread rapidly. Rather it requires exposure to fluids from people who are already infected, explains Fischer.

Thus far, WHO has said that the risk of Ebola spreading internationally is low, though that could change tomorrow when they release a new statement and decide whether or not to declare it an international emergency.

Take assurance in the fact that world health leaders learned from the previous outbreak, which is why theyre moving fast to understand this one and mobilize a response to protect people from Ebola traveling across borders, says Fischer.

In fact, the WHO has shipped 4,000 doses of a newly developed Ebola vaccine to infected areas, in an attempt to "encircle the ourbreak," per the NYT. So, according to Fisher, "as of right now, you dont need to take any special precautions to protect yourself against the spread of this disease."Akua Blakofe resigned about 2 weeks ago over what she described as massive corruption at GTDC. She announced her resignation to the general public on her Facebook wall.

This won her admiration from many people. However some people were also not happy with her outburst.

READ ALSO: Soldiers assault agric extension officers collecting data

She wrote again on her Facebook timeline that her life was in danger since some sympathisers of the governing New Patriotic Party have threatened her.

However, in a response Mr Otchere-Darko said it looks like Akua Blakofe is starting a negative campaign against the government.

READ ALSO: NYA trainees steal 25 laptops

These are some of the little things that piss NPP folks right off. You joined the campaign at the very end. You were first seen to be pro-Mahama, but apparently fell out over what exactly we dont know. The leadership acknowledged your campaign contribution and your value and rewarded you with an appointment to help your country.The WHO is sending over 7,540 doses of Ebola vaccine to Congo, 540 of which have been earmarked for Mbandaka where four Ebola cases have been confirmed.

Health workers in DRC began the vaccination aimed at containing an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.

A spokesperson for the health ministry, Jessica Ilunga said that 4,000 doses of vaccine were shipped on Saturday to the city of Mbandaka.

The outbreak is Congos ninth since the disease made its first known appearance in the 1970s.

The cases in Mbandaka, a port city on the Congo river, have raised concerns that the virus could spread downstream to the capital Kinshasa, which has a population of 10 million.He said efforts were being channel to ensure that the institution had all the requirements for standard learning facilities that would produce the best students and productive individuals in the society.

He explained that other approvals in education sector included N99.5 million contract for additional works at Army Girls Secondary school and N268 million at Government Secondary School Balle in Gudu local government area.

NAN reports that the Commissioner for Land and Housing, Alhaji Bello Abubakar, during last meeting disclosed that state government had concluded arrangement to upgrade its three petroleum service stations to full commercial activities aimed enhancing fuel availability in state

Abubakar said N125.5 million was earmarked for acquiring licence and upgrading the stations to meet statutory Directorate of Petroleum Resources (DPR) requirements.

He said that the council had approved N240 million as starter for construction of 100 housing units at Bado area for low income earners.

The commissioner said the construction, which was under direct labour, would be undertaken by state Housing Authority, adding that government had review the period of 20 per cent payment on already sold government quarters from three months to six months.

The Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Umar Ubandoma, said N28 million had been approved for relocation of Illela Livestock Market to new site in recognition of social and health hazard being faced by the people in the present location.

Ubandoma said a memorandum of understanding was signed with Ministry for Animal and Fisheries on modalities and disposal of old market premises.Mr. Opuni applied to the court seeking an order for the release of his accounts. His application was after a new order was obtained to have the account frozen, hours after the same court had ordered for the release of the accounts.

The Judge, Justice Georgina Mensah Datsa as part of her reasons for the dismissal said EOCO was carrying out its task of protecting state funds. She further criticizes EOCO describing their handling of the matter as "not following due process but however, said, the mandate of EOCO must be respected by the court.

Dr Opuni, businessman Seidu Agongo and AgriCult Ghana Company Limited, are facing 27 charges of willfully causing financial loss of GHS217 to the state, through three separate fertiliser supply contracts between 2014 and 2016.

The contracts were GHS43.1million (2013/2014 cocoa farming season), GHS75.3million (2014/2015 cocoa farming season) and GHS98.9million (2015/2016 cocoa farming season) totaling GHS217million through sole-sourcing, the state claimed, adding that procurement procedures for sole-sourcing were not followed.EOCO says their continuous freezing of Opuni's account is to enable them conduct their investigations.

After months of having his bank accounts under the control of EOCO, Dr Opunis lawyers obtained a High Court order on April 23, 2018 for the accounts to be defrozen.READ ALSO: Opuni's case adjourned to June 11

But the defense team could not sustain that judgment, as EOCO filed an ex-parte motion the following day, April 24, 2018, and obtained another order from the same court for the accounts to be frozen again.

The contracts were GHS43.1million (2013/2014 cocoa farming season), GHS75.3million (2014/2015 cocoa farming season) and GHS98.9million (2015/2016 cocoa farming season) totaling GHS217million through sole-sourcing, the state claimed, adding that procurement procedures for sole-sourcing were not followed.She, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Her lawyers, led by Nkrabea Effah Darteh, and another Counsel who was standing in for Freddie Blay, pleaded for bail for her and assured that she will make herself available for trial.

Effah Darteh told the court that the case against his client has been unnecessarily blown out of proportion with a high level of media trial going on.

The case has been adjourned to June 18, 2018.

Background

Hajia Fati created a scene at the party's headquarters after slapping a journalist with Accra based radio station Adom FM, when Sammy Crabbe went to pick his nomination forms.

She said, she slapped Ama Sekyiwaa because the reporter did not introduce herself adding that she had not sought her permission before taking pictures.

She added: "She was snapping [taking pictures of] me, I dont know her, she didnt approach me, she didnt tell me anything. I only saw a flash on my face twice, the third time, I slapped her because I didn't know who she was."

She also said the reporter looked more like an onion seller.

She added: "I don't know anyone but I remember slapping a lady. She didn't approach me and all I saw was that she was taking a picture of me. I thought it was one of Sammy Crabbe's people who wanted to take a picture of me so I slapped her.

"She didn't look like a journalist, she was looking like a normal lady who sells onions. I want you to withdraw the statement that she's your colleague because I don't know any of your colleagues," Hajia Fati stated.He said some party members are the ones pushing the former Bole Bamboi MP to come again as NDC's Presidential candidate.

Mahama is an unwilling contestant. He has been forced to contest the polls. This election has nothing to do with who has the most resources. It is about who has the capability of leading the nation", he said.

READ ALSO: Alabi hopeful of beating Mahama in NDC presidential race

"Its important to welcome John Mahama to the competition. Perhaps, it took him too long to make his intentions known but we are in a democratic era and so he has the right to contest", he added.

I may not be as resourceful as others but there is hope, Mensah said on Starr FM.File photo

Chinas housing ministry said it would uphold the real estate regulation goal to tame both housing prices and rent by increasing housing supply and tightening up fund controls.

The statement issued May 19 on the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Developments website warned against property market speculation, saying it would step up checks on local governments efforts to rein in property prices, and will hold those who fail to do so accountable.

The ministry demanded local governments prevent boosting housing prices by significantly increasing land supply for rental housing and government-supported housing with property in common.

According to the statement, the measures on funds control mainly focus on the implementation of differential housing credit policies and restriction on misappropriating consumption loan, firm operation loan and other funds to housing purchasing leverage.

It is the second time this month that the ministry has voiced concern about property prices. In early May, it told governments in 12 cities to rein in their rising property prices and step up regulations.

On a yearly basis, new residential housing prices in China's first-tier cities declined 0.4 percentage points more in April compared with a 0.6 percent drop in March, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said a few days ago.

Meanwhile, new home price growth in second-tier cities were flat with the March level, and those in third-tier cities saw year-on-year growth 0.3 percentage points lower than a month ago.He said it will be a waste of time on the part of Mahama to contest because he won't win.

His comments come at the back of Mahama who has declared his intentions to contest the 2020 elections.

Mahama said he has listened to calls from supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for him to lead the party again.

He said he will not disappoint them.

In a Facebook post, Mahama said "I want to congratulate the rank & file and executives of our party, the NDC, at all levels for the commitment and work rate we have put into our reorganization efforts.

"To you, the teeming supporters and sympathizers calling and requesting me to declare my intentions for the future, I wish to assure you today, that as a servant-leader, I have listened to your calls and reflected. I will not disappoint you even as we await the publication of the partys guidelines for selecting a new leader."

READ ALSO: Prof Asare warns Mahama not to contest elections 2020

But speaking on Mahama's declaration, Isaac Owusu Bempah said it will be a waste of time on for him to contest in 2020 because he won't win.He said the President must do this as a matter of urgency in the wake of Israel's killing of 60 Palestinian protesters, and the United States moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem last week.

Any country which flouts international law with such increasing regularity and maintains a brutal military occupation is a rogue state. Israel deserves to be isolated and boycotted immediately. The time to act is now. It is inconceivable that Ghana - one of Africas first nations to gain independence - continues to have relations with Israel, a modern-day settler-colonial power, Mubarak said.

According to Mubarak, Ghana is undoubtedly committed towards the cause of the Palestinian people, citing the Ghanaian governments vote in favour of all four key issues on the rights of Palestinians at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March.

He compared the death of the protestors the May 14 bloodbath has been compared to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre that took place in apartheid, South Africa, where 69 peaceful protesters were shot by apartheid security forces.The move prompted immediate criticism from the US, with a Pentagon spokesman condemning China's "continued militarisation of disputed features in the South China Sea".

But China was quick to dismiss concerns that the deployment had raised tensions in a region home to vital global shipping routes.

"The South China Sea islands are Chinese territories," foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a regular briefing.

Lu said the movement of the bombers into the area was "part of the normal training for the Chinese military", and that the US "sending its own warships and planes to the region... poses a danger to other countries".

Friday's takeoff and landing drills took place on Woody Island, according to Washington think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Woody Island is home to China's largest base in the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Territorial disputes over the South China Sea have been brewing for years and the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia have also made competing claims to waters believed to have significant oil and natural gas deposits.

The Philippines on Monday said it was taking "appropriate diplomatic action".When a farmer is looking down the barrel of having to sell his farm or lose his farm or give up the profession hed done all his life, its devastating, Mary Guy said from her farmhouse in Simpson, a town in Australias dairy heartland of Victoria. They just lose their identity.

Family farms like James Guys have been the producers of Australias agricultural bounty, and the bedrock of its self-image as a nation of proudly self-reliant types, carving a living from a vast continent. But as Australias rural economy has boomed on the back of growing exports, small farmers have not always shared in the bounty, with many forced into borrowing money or selling their farms.

The emotional cost of these losses has become visible in a mental health crisis in rural regions, seen most tragically in a rising number of suicides.

Nationwide, people living in remote Australia now take their own lives at twice the rate of those in the city: Every year, there are about 20 suicide deaths per 100,000 people in isolated rural areas, compared with 10 in urban communities, according to independent studies of local health figures.

In very remote parts of the country, the figure is closer to 23, the studies say.

Research shows that farmers are among those at the highest risk of suicide.

In the state of Queensland, studies have shown that farmers are more than twice as likely as the general population to take their own lives. In remote parts of the state, the suicide rate for farmers was up to five times that of nonfarmers.

Theres a mental health crisis in rural Australia, said Hugh van Cuylenburg, founding director of the Resilience Project, an organization that promotes mental health across Australia.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.According to Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Bauchi, Ekiti and Kebbi states recorded a decline at the end of 2017 Fiscal Year.

The three states made a total of N13.73 billion between January and December 2017. Bauchi made N4. 36 billion, Ekiti N4.96 billion and Kebbi made N4.39 billion.

The Royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held on Saturday, May 19, 2018 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.

According to an online wedding planner, Bridebook, the bulk of the costs were spent on security, Meghan's dress, the ring and glass of marquee.

Here is the break down key costs at the Harry and Meghan Royal wedding:

The Meghans family and the Kensington Palace paid the larger part of all the costs while Britain economy was said to have realised a whooping sum of N250 billion (500 million) from tourism and merchandise.

What can the Royal wedding fund in Nigeria?Special Assistant (Media) to SAPND/Coordinator, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Murphy Ganagana in a statement signed in Sunday, May 20, 2018, described the report which was attributed to one of the students, Abilo Franz as mischievous.

Ganagana said it's not a true picture of the situation adding that it is a misrepresentation of facts concocted to blackmail the Amnesty Office.

Earlier, the 19 postgraduate students studying at the Peoples Friendship UniversityofRussia cried out that the Federal Government has stopped funding their education since June 2016.

In a statement sent to media houses, Abilo Franz, one of the students said they had a meeting with the coordinator of their scholarship in September 2016, they were asked to go back to Russia and continue with their education.

The students' scholarship only covers BSc program

However, Ganagana said the students' scholarship which started in March 2011 only cover their Bachelors Degree programmes.

He added that the students were informed via a letter that the payment of their tuition will stop immediately after their graduation in June 2016.

ALSO READ: OAU emerges as the best university in South West

''The Amnesty Office originally sponsored 50 students to the Peoples Friendship University, Moscow, mainly for Bachelors Degree programmes in March 2011. By June 2016, 24 students were left and 21 among them duly completed and graduated with good grades, for which they were congratulated by the Amnesty Office for their sterling performance''.

''On August 8, 2016, the Amnesty Office formally communicated them via a letter, notifying them that upon the completion of their graduation ceremonies in June 2016, payment of their tuition fees and allowances had ceased with the payment of June/July In-Training Allowances (ITA). They were requested to inform the Office of the Special Adviser within ten (10) days of receipt of the letter, the exact date they intended to return to Nigeria, in order to facilitate the issuance of their flight tickets''.

The statement further states that after completing their BSc program, some students returned home while some stayed back to start postgraduate programs.

Instead of complying with the directive to return home after the successful completion of the Bachelors Degree programmes for which their sponsorship strictly covered, the affected students opted to proceed on postgraduate programmes on their own volition, thereby making financial commitments to the institution in their private capacity, perhaps, with the hope of assistance from the Amnesty Office, the statement reads.

The coordinator of the students' scholarship in the statement, however, concluded that it is uncharitable for the 19 students to allege that the Federal Government abandoned them in Russia after completing the program the Presidential Amnesty Programme covers.The school management in a statement on its website said the dismissed students should not visit the university campuses without invitation or clearance.

The statement reads: "The University Management has been inundated with information of the presence of on the Main Campus of the University.

In view of this development, the Management hereby calls on such students visiting the Campus and other Campuses of the University without invitation/clearance to henceforth, stay off the University Campuses.

It would be recalled that the expulsion letters given to the expelled students stated clearly the appropriate sanctions for their various offences. They are to maintain the status quo."

LASU also warns students and staff to stay away from dismissed students

Also, the university management also warned students, lecturers and stakeholders of the university to stay clear of the dismissed students.

ALSO READ: Richest African woman wants YABATECH to become a university

Stakeholders of the University, staff, students, others are to stay clear of these expelled students. Anyone who hobnobs with them will face the dire consequences as well as sanctions. Also, it is an act of illegality for any expelled student to visit the Campus (es) without clearance or invitation.

All expelled students and stakeholders of the University are hereby requested to heed this warning, which is the final from the University Management.

The statement also states that the expulsion of the students is in line with the managements commitment to ensuring good attitude of the university students.According to the reports, the drama began during the states annual cultural festival, known as Imo Awka.

A source reveals that the group had earlier threatened to attack each other during the festival over yet-to-be-identified reasons.

The source said, The reasons for the cult killing and counter-killings were not immediately ascertained but lifeless bodies of people alleged to be cult members littered different quarters in Awka eliciting tears from families of victims.

"Four were killed around Eke Awka , three killed around Nkwelle Awka, while one was killed around Regina Caeli Hospital Awka."

Instablog9ja reports that the incident has been confirmed by the police who promised that those involved in the killings would be brought to book.

Four people die as rival groups clash

Rivalry between two cult groups, Black Axe and Eiye has led to the death of four people in Benin, Edo State, during a recent clash.

This happened on the evening of Sunday, May 15, 2016, at a bar along Sakponba Road in Benin, the state capital, according to Punch.

A Black Axe was said to have been injured during a confrontation with the opposition group, which led to him being rushed to the hospital.

The occurrence, according to Punch, gave rise to reprisal attacks which led to the killing of three members of the Eiye confraternity.

Lawal, a member of the Eiye group was killed during a gun attack at Ezoba, along Sokponba Road in the state capital.

Osifo Abiodun, the Police Public Relations Officer, gave a confirmation of the attack.

He said, We did our intervention by deploying our men in the area; we are on a manhunt for those fingered.

We are very sure that before the end of tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be able to arrest those that have been fingered in the action,SEOUL, May 21 -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday refused to receive a list of South Korean journalists who could witness the dismantlement of its nuclear test site, Seoul's unification ministry said.

Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a press briefing that the South Korean side tried to send the list of journalists who will witness the dismantlement of the DPRK's Punggye-ri nuclear test site via the communications hotline at the border village of Panmunjom.

The DPRK side continued to deny receiving the list, clouding the South Korean journalists' participation in the coverage of the dismantlement scheduled for Wednesday to Friday, the spokesman said.

Pyongyang has not responded to the unification ministry's comments.

On May 12, the DPRK invited journalists from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and South Korea to cover the dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where Pyongyang conducted all of its six nuclear tests.

The DPRK's refusal came after Pyongyang canceled high-level talks with Seoul last week over South Korea-U.S. air combat exercises, codenamed Max Thunder.

The air drills allegedly involve about 100 aircrafts, including the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets. The radar-evading fighters are mobilized usually for an attack purpose.

South Korea's defense ministry claimed that the air drills are defensive in nature.He asked the girl to split her legs and stimulate her genital. During the unthinkable act, the shameless headmaster was mo aning and asking the girl if she was enjoying the act and whether she had ejaculated.

A section of the public who have had the chance to listen to the audio have condemned the conduct of the headmaster and called for his dismissal in line with the code of conduct of the Ghana Education Service.

However, speaking in an interview with Accra-based Class FM, Lawrence Kwasi Korley boastfully said: I am a man, there is no law on morality, other than that I should be behind bars. No one has come to arrest me, radio stations are saying I have been arrested but I am still in school.

It is unclear why the man is still at post considering the fact that former headmaster of Breman Eduman D/A Basic School in the Central Region, Robert Sepey who was dismissed after a video of him having sex with his student became public is still fresh in the memories of Ghanaians.

The scandalous development comes even as the Ghana education service is yet to take action against some nine teachers of Ejisuman Senior High School (SHS) in the Ashanti region who have been indicted by a committee that investigated allegations of sexual exploitation of their students.One of the pair who wore a Liverpool FC jersey wore a sober look as his hands stayed out of sight as a result of being handcuffed.

A police statement confirming this was shared via the state command's Twitter handle on Monday, May 21, 2018.

"These two knuckleheads were caught by the Police this morning around Ketu bus stop trying to hijack a vehicle from the driver with a toy gun," a statement reads.

ALSO READ: Man suspected of theft forced to eat raw pepper

Farmer can't remove stolen bag of maize from his head

In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, a farmer, Frank Japhet, has been caught up in a struggle to remove a stolen bag of maize from his head.

Japhet, who is 23 years old, reportedly stole the cereal from a woman on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.

Residents of the community where the incident occurred suspect African juju as a reason for the bizarre event, explains Pulse Kenya.

On Twitter, a user named Dominic Chimhavi, confirmed that the Japhet returned to the woman in order to have the bag detached from his head.

"The thief going to the farmer to have the bag removed from his head," Chimhavi wrote.The deceased, a 45-year-old tailor, was attacked on Sunday, May 20, 2018, in Central India, according to reports.

He was allegedly attacked alongside buddy, Shakeel Maqbool, who is dealing with a critical health condition at a hospital.

We have arrested four people, and they have been sent to judicial custody. We are investigating what prompted the attack, a local police chief, Arvind Tiwari told AFP.

The incident is hardly scarce in India, where a lot of attention is given to the way cows and bulls are treated.

Why cows are important to Hindus

Hinduism is a religion widely practised by a large percentage of the population of India. It is one that does not promote the consumption of beef.

In India, sacred cows are allowed to freely roam busy roads but the general concern is not particularly reserved for the ruminants.

The doctrine of Ahimsa which emphasizes on respect for all living things and avoidance of violence towards others, is considered a driving factor for the Hindus.Across the globe, Muslims mark this period with glamorous celebrations unique to each region and passed on through generations.

ALSO READ: 5 things you need to know about the holy month

Below are five of the most beautiful traditions.

1. Morocco

During Ramadan, Moroccos neighbourhoods are roamed by a town crier, called a nafar, marks the start of dawn with music. Selected by the townspeople for his honesty and empathy, he walks down the street while blowing a horn to wake them up for suhoor.

This tradition dates back to the 7th Century when a companion of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) would roam the streets at dawn singing melodious prayers. He is officially compensated by the community on the last night of Ramadan.

2. Iraq

After breaking their fast Iraqis come together for a traditional game of mheibes. Predominantly played by men during Ramadan, this game involves two groups of about 40 to 250 players, who all take turns to conceal a mihbes, or ring. In a tense exchange, their opponents must determine which of the dozens of men conceal the ring through body language alone.

This tradition a profound cultural and historical value. For many years, the Iraqi government would organise community-wide games, hosting hundreds of participants and bringing together locals from across the country.

3. Egypt

Egyptians welcome the holy month with a colourful display of lanterns, fanous. The intricate lanterns symbolise unity and joy throughout the holy month. It has come to be strongly associated with the holy month of Ramadan, taking on a spiritual significance.

4. Turkey

More than 2000 drummers will roam the streets of Turkey, uniting the local community during the holy month. These drummers beat the drums in the early hours of the morning for suhoor.

Recently, Turkish officials have introduced a membership card for drummers in order to instill a sense of pride in those who play, and to encourage a younger generation to keep this age-old tradition alive in a growing metropolis.

5. Pakistan

After the final iftar in Pakistan, women and girls flock to the local market to buy colourful bangles and paint their hands and feet with intricate henna designs.On Thursday, All in with Chris Hayes on MSNBC aired footage of a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation event, where Gates recounted his meetings with the president in December 2016 and March 2017. During both of these encounters, Gates said, the president asked Gates how HPV was different from HIV.

"Both times he wanted to know if there was a difference between HIV and HPV, so I was able to explain that those are rarely confused with each other," Gates told the audience at the event.

To clear up any confusion, human papillomavirus (HPV) refers to a group of viruses spread through sexual contact, some of which can cause genital warts or cancer. It's estimated that roughly 79 million Americans have HPV, making it very common.

HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system and can ultimately progress to AIDS. Though both can be spread through sex, HPV and HIV are two very different conditions.

Yes, it's surprising the leader of our country doesn't know the difference between HIV and HPV, but this isn't the first time Trump's administration has shown a lack of knowledge about sexual health issues. Here are three more alarming things members of the Trump administration apparently don't know about sexual health:

VP Mike Pence Said Condoms Are Ineffective for STIs

In 2002, Mike Pence, who was then an Indiana congressman, voiced his opinion on CNNabout former Secretary of State Colin Powell's decision to advocate for condom use. In 2002, Pence said on CNN that condoms offer poor protection against sexually transmitted infections:

Of course, condoms are not fail-safe, but public health experts do recommend using them to lower your chances of pregnancy and STIs. Condoms are 98 percent effective at preventing pregnancy, and reduce your risk of transmitting STIs.

Trumps Administration Claimed Birth Control is Ineffective

In October 2017, the Trump administration changed an Affordable Care Act (ACA) - also known as Obamacare - mandate that required employers to offer insurance coverage for contraception, among other services. Under the new administration, employers can eliminate contraceptives from health insurance plans for religious purposes.

To justify its new set of rules, the administration said that contraceptives aren't proven to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

The rates of, and reasons for, unintended pregnancy are notoriously difficult to measure, the administration wrote in a document. In particular, association and causality can be hard to disentangle.

Oral contraceptives are the most popular form of birth control among women, and have been shown to be 99 percent effective when taken as prescribed.

Public health experts agree that birth control does prevent unwanted pregnancies.

We know that safe contraception - and contraception is incredibly safe - leads to a reduction in pregnancies, Michele Bratcher Goodwin, director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy at the University of California, Irvine, School of Law told Bloomberg at the time. This has been data that weve had for decades.

Trump Misspoke About Late-Term Abortions

In January, President Trump spoke at a March for Life anti-abortion rally, in which he made a factual error when talking about late-term abortion.

"Right now in a number of states the laws allow a baby to be born from his or her mothers womb in the ninth month. It is wrong; it has to change, he said.

Of course, this blunder is likely the president misspeaking; as many commentators later speculated, he likely meant to say torn. In October 2016, Trump also claimed during a presidential debate that late-term abortions regularly took place in the ninth month.

Still, many medical professionals argue there is little evidence that women frequently get abortions during the ninth month.

In a piece for Vox, OB/GYN Jen Gunter, MD, explained that data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that only 1.3 percent of abortions occur on or after 21 weeks. There are nine states and the District of Columbia that allow abortions after 24 weeks without restrictions, but that's still a long way away from 36 weeks, or the nine-month mark. "Honestly, I've never heard of it happening," Gutner said of abortions taking place in the final month of pregnancy.

As previously stated, CDC records show that 99 percent of abortions occur before 21 weeks. Past that point, they're performed under harrowing circumstances that make it impossible for a baby to survive outside of the womb.

That's why Trump's statement outraged health professionals and women who faced late-term abortions due to fetal abnormalities.

Abortions that occur at this stage in pregnancy are often the result of tragic diagnoses and are exactly the scenarios wherein patients need their doctors, and not obstructive politicians, Dr. Jennifer Conti, clinical assistant professor at Stanford University, told The Guardian. Asking a woman to carry a fatally flawed pregnancy to term is, at the very least, heartbreaking.Okonjo-Iweala recently sat down with the BBC to discuss fighting corruption in Nigerias governance circles.

This is what she said:

1. Okonjo-Iweala reveals why her mum was kidnapped

In December of 2012, Madam Kamene Okonjo, the 82-year-old mother of Okonjo-Iweala, was kidnapped in Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State.

Okonjo-Iweala recalls what the kidnappers said to her mother. She was held for 5 days. I got a call. They didnt ask for money, contrary to what people think. They said I should go to the television and radio, announce my resignation and leave the country and go back to the US from where I came. This was shocking.

The key thing is, when my mother asked the 4 young men who took her, why did you take me, they said because your daughter did not pay oil marketers their money. And thats how we found out it had to do with oil marketers.

2. Oil marketers threatened to cripple Okonjo-Iweala

In the words of the former economy minister: Oil marketers who held a meeting in Lagos said I was going to leave office on a wheelchair. It was by the grace of God that one of the people who participated happened to have been a friend of my brothers; and thought that he was part of the meeting and what was being planned was not fair and so he called my brother and said you have to tell your sister that she has to be careful.

I confronted one of the marketers in whose house this meeting took place just to let them know we knew about it and that was how that was averted.

3. Okonjo-Iweala says fighting corruption in Nigeria is possible

I would not say that fighting corruption in Nigeria is impossible and that was another point of the book. It was actually to give hope and show that you can win some battles. Have we won the war? Probably not. But you have to win some battles to show it can be won.

The issue is, how do you weave all this into a bigger picture? Almost every government in the country has been accused of corruption. And you see, youve given up hope and said you cant win the battle. Theres one thing you need to remember and I say it in the book. The majority of Nigerians are honest, hardworking people but Nigeria is held hostage by a small minority of people. Why should we give up? Thats what they want.

They want everybody to give up. When you try to fight corruption, they attack you viciously and then they get away with it.

And Im to say in the book that we mustnt do that and to give people examples of where you could actually block it, even with threats to your life, to your relatives. Im not saying everybody should take that risk but people have to stand up too.

And actually, they are other people standing up every day.

4. Okonjo-Iweala says her book wasnt an attempt to exonerate her from corruption

Some have said Okonjo-Iweala's book is nothing but a hagiography--an attempt by the author to use her book to clean up an image that took a beating during the Jonathan years.

But Okonjo-Iweala told the BBC that was far from her goal.

The word exoneration doesnt come to mind because when you didnt commit any crime, what are you exonerating yourself from?, Okonjo-Iweala asked her interviewer.

I dont need to exonerate myself from anything but I wanted to tell my story and I have a right to do that! Everyone who wants to tell their story can do that.

5. Okonjo-Iweala says there is a plan to intimidate herMetuh slumped as he made his way to the dock of the Federal High Court Abuja, at exactly 9am on Monday, May 21, 2018.

Metuh and his company, Destra Investment Limited, are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for the N400million he allegedly received from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in 2014.

The NSA was at the time headed by Sambo Dasuki who has been in prison custody since 2015 for misappropriating a certain $2.1billion.

The government says this $2.1billion was meant for procurement of arms for soldiers fighting Boko Haram insurgents; and that Dasuki used this money for the Goodluck Jonathan campaign instead.

Prosecutors say the N400million Metuh received came from the $2.1billion Dasuki allegedly misappropriated.

Metuh is being prosecuted on a seven-count charge bordering on fraud and money laundering.

Since Metuhs arrest in January of 2016, hes made some quite dramatic court appearances. Here are 5 of those.

1. Metuh joins beard gang

Metuh used to be all clean shaven.

However, to make the point that he was having a hard time behind the walls of the Kuje prison, Metuh first made his court appearance in full beards the colour of grey or snow.

His white beard look didnt really sit with his cuffed hands though; and that got a lot of people talking in the beginning.

The white beard has become a permanent feature of the Metuh ensemble these days.

2. Metuh eats paper

According to sundry reports, in January of 2016, Metuh grabbed a piece of paper containing his confessional statements from EFCC operatives, threw the paper into his mouth and began chewing the paperall in a bid to destroy evidence.

The paper chewing drama would inspire an eatery to come up with an advert copy that read: why chew paper when you can eat our chicken?

Metuh later denied that he ate paper, though.

They said I ate paper. I did not eat any paper. I dont know where they got that from. As a matter of fact, the last contact I had with those people was the next day after I was arrested when I told them to charge me to court", Metuh said.

3. Metuh shows up in court on a stretcher

On February 5, 2018, Metuh appeared in court on a stretcher after Justice Okon Abang ruled that he was going to have his bail revoked if he didn't show up for continuation of his trial.

ALSO READ: 5 politicians who became sick after corruption allegations

Metuh's lawyer, Onyeachi Ikpeazu (SAN), had told the court that his client was on admission at the Nnamdi Azikwe University Teaching Hospital for an undisclosed ailment.

4. Metuh appears in court on wheelchair

On March 14, 2018, Chief Olisa Metuh was in court on a wheelchair.

On this day, Metuhs lawyer, Ikpeazu, told the court that his clients health had badly deteriorated in the past two months.

According to Ikpeazu, due to his clients worsening health, Metuh was going to require urgent medical attention from his doctors in London.

The lawyer tendered as an exhibit, a letter from one Dr. Adrian T. H. Kasey, a Neurosurgeon at Wellington Hospital in London, which he said emphasized the need for Metuh to be treated urgently.

5. Metuh collapses

May 21, 2018: Metuh is making his way to the dock for cross examination when he collapses.According to a report by SaharaReporters, a source revealed that the seized substance was well above the government-recommended milligrams (50-100) and was finally impounded after the importer did not show up to claim the consignment.

The source further revealed that the NCS has already handed the seized substance to the National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) through its Deputy Director, Udoekpo Ekpo, who commended the actions of the NCS and promised that NAFDAC is committed more than ever to rid Nigeria of illicit drugs.

The source said, "These banned items were discovered at the SAHCOL shed by our intelligence. We have been monitoring it for a while, but the importer did not show up to claim it. So, we have to impound it and hand it over to the necessary government agency.

"This simply shows that our intelligence is working and will continue to unravel several of such illicit drugs or items that anyone may want to bring into the country through this airport."

NDLEA seizes 4 tonnes of Tramadol

The seizure of the banned substance follows another such seizure by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) who impounded four tonnes of imported Tramadol capsules at the same airport on Thursday, May 17.Balarabe-Abdullahi made this known on Sunday at a rally organised by a youth group known as Nasarawa State APC Youth Awareness Group. The rally was organized to endorse Sen. Abdullahi Adamus third term bid for the Senate.

He, therefore, urged Nigerians to vote massively for President Buhari come 2019 to enable him to complete his developmental projects for the country.

God brought President Buhari to save the country.

He is president for the poor and the masses. We will continue to support him to enable him succeed.

The speaker noted that the Nigeria future is assured with APC led government of President Buhari for embarking on projects with direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state.

Everybody in the state has seen what the government of President Buhari has done which have direct impact on the lives of Nigerians and I will call for prayers and support for the president to succeed.

He called on the people of the state and Nigerians to pray for Gov. Al-makura, President Buhari and other leaders to enable them succeed in initiating people-oriented projects in the country.

Prayer is a key to the success of every individual and government.

He added that sustained prayers by the adherents of the two major religions in the country would go a long way towards assisting the President and other leaders in moving the country forward.

He also urged the people of Nasarawa Western Senatorial district of the state to support Sen. Adamu for a third term, adding that he had performed creditably.

According to him, Adamu has contributed positively to the development of the party and the country at large.

Balarabe-Abdullahi also urged the people of the state and Nigerians to be law-abiding for peace and progress of the country.The minister made the disclosure in Osogbo, Osun State, on Monday, May 21, 2018, while commissioning the Channelization, De-silting, Flood Control and Development of Okoko and Ogbagba Rivers, phases one and two, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said the discovery by the auditing firm KPMG is many times worse than the N1.34 trillion carted away by 55 public officials between 2006 and 2013.

Recently, the Federal Government ordered an audit (between 2010 and 2015) of 15 government revenue generating agencies. The result was the discovery that the agencies had not remitted over 8.1 trillion Naira to the Federation Account. This amount is about six times the 1.34 trillion Naira that was stolen between 2006 and 2015.

''It is also the equivalent, on the average, of the country's yearly national budget! Imagine, for a moment, how many kilometres of roads could have been constructed, how many kilometres of rail tracks that could have been laid, and how many modern hospitals and schools that could have been built if that money had been properly accounted for, Mohammed said.

He told the mammoth crowd at the commissioning that the Buhari Administration's fight against corruption remains very critical because it will free the much-needed resources for national development.

The minister said the projects being executed by the present administration, including the one that was commissioned in Osogbo - one of 53 being commissioned across the country - could have long been completed but for the mind-boggling looting of the treasury by previous administrations, which deprived the nation of infrastructural growth.

ALSO READ: 5 things ex minister wants you to know about corruption in Nigeria

'This is why we will not stop talking about those who have looted the public treasury, despite the pushback from their apologists. If we do not stop the looting of the treasury, there will be no money for the kind of projects we are commissioning here in Osogbo today.

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun state, corroborated the Minister's disclosure that 8.1 trillion Naira was unaccounted for by 15 revenue generating agencies, saying the share of his state from the said amount is 75 billion Naira which, he said, would have been more than enough to pay all civil servants their salaries and complete all infrastructural projects of the government.

Speaking on the commissioned project, the Minister said this is the first time the Ecological Fund Office is ever commissioning any project and handing it over to the host community."Ganbei!" - We cheers over the meal that my colleague and friend, Ning, has ordered for us to try. He's originally from Qingdao, and so has a far better knowledge than me of the local dishes and what will go best with the locally brewed beer, Tsingtao.

Tsingtao is the much loved beer of Qingdao and indeed the country. In fact, it was the first beer I ever tried when I landed in China for the first time three years ago, and is up there as one of the country's most famous. It seems fitting to be enjoying a glass or two right over the road from the brewery the way it's meant to be had - out of a small, almost shot sized glass with fresh seafood and barbequed meat.

We try a variety of dishes - my personal favorite a scallop dish with soy and salad. The food, compared to other dishes in China, is not overly spicy and lets the seafood speak for itself. The clean taste of Tsingtao really goes hand in hand with the fresh taste of the food.

Among the beautiful coastal bays and bright lights of Qingdao's skyline, the local culture of Qingdao is here on Beer Street, as you watch people pass through for dinner and drinks that last until late into the night. The smell of the sea, the cool air and the sense of relaxation you feel here is contagious. There isn't a bar culture here in Qingdao, instead people meet their friends at a restaurant just like this, a round table on the street, and drink beer and enjoy hours of company and conversation.

In a world that constantly feels like it's speeding up, life slows down a little round these tables.

Before sampling the delicious spread in front of me, I got to taste test the fresh beer across the road at the original brewery. Tsingtao brewery was originally opened by the Germans way back in 1903 and you can still see the architecture that stands out compared to the surrounding Chinese-style buildings. The name "Tsingtao" comes from the original Latin spelling of the city's name before the modern phonetic alphabet, pin-yin, was developed. Tsingtao's brewing methods have stayed pretty similar since then, apart from upgrading machinery to keep up with the sheer demand required today.

The ingredient list has only changed slightly since it was first developed. Of course, China grows a lot of rice, and it's found its way into the ingredient list alongside hops and grains to make the beer I've been drinking all day. The beer takes around 40 days to go from grain to bottle and the city is the only place you can get a taste of the "fresh beer", which has a shelf life of only 24 hours. It's less filtered, and has a stronger, full bodied taste that goes with the higher alcohol content. During my visit, I was lucky enough to catch up with Dong Fang, the Curator of Tsingtao Brewery Museum, over a German styled lunch, and, of course, a few glasses of Tsingtao, to discuss how the brewery has developed since it opened over 100 years ago.

"When they first built the brewery, Germans began a high-quality industry. Then, Chinese people infused our brilliant traditional culture into it, using management skills and local advantages to develop the beer into a global brand," he said. Dong explained that due to benefits of the Belt and Road Initiative, Tsingtao is now exported to over 100 countries. When asked about the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit to be held in Qingdao this June, he added "to SCO-associated countries, our exports have increased rapidly as well, with an average year-on-year increase of over 70%."

The expansion of the Tsingtao brewery across the whole country and indeed world is something that people from the city are incredibly proud of. As I cheers a group of dinner goers back on Beer Street, they tell me about a bar that I need to check out before my time in Qingdao is up. By this stage, I've been drinking since 10am and am starting to feel a little dizzy, but there's no way I can pass up on the opportunity when I hear the bar serve one of Tsingtao's newer additions - a stout!

Walking into the local community bar and restaurant, we order some more local dishes including sea cucumber, octopus and to my delight, more clams, along with a "one by one" which includes all the beer that Tsingtao produce at the moment - lager, fresh beer, IPA and the much anticipated stout. The array of beer shows that Tsingtao, although already successful, has not become complacent. China's interest in different beers has been growing steadily for the past few years, and Tsingtao has produced an IPA and stout to compete with an international market and appeal to a wider audience. The stout has a coffee and chocolate tinge that I really enjoy, less heavy than a UK stout but still rich in flavor and somewhat easier to drink in one go.

Qingdao is gearing up for the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit this June, and the city is already getting ready. Renovations are obvious, and the beautiful skyline has been upgraded to rival light shows all over the world.

But, for me, it's here on Beer Street with Qingdao locals that you truly feel a part of the city and community, and can enjoy the simple things in life like some great food and a glass of beer with friends.In a Facebook post on Monday, May 21, 2018, Melaye alleged that about 200 man-strong fully armed policemen were unleashed on him by the State.

The Kogi lawmaker who pledged to continue speaking for the masses described his trial as a plot to silence him.

They, unleashed an endless barrage of physical, psychological, metaphysical and emotional torture and assault on me, but, through the power of the Most High, and you the good people of Nigeria, we have once again, seen the triumph of truth over lies and good over evil, Melaye said.

The state unleashed its raw power on me and released a 200 man-strong fully armed policemen - on a man without a knife nor a bullet. It did this because I called injustice by its name and called for accountability. For this they sought to break my spirit and destroy me permanently. In their moment of reign, I was fully shackled, he added.

ALSO READ: Conflicting details emerge on how Dino escaped from SARS vehicle

Melaye who expressed concerns over the allegations levelled against him was, however, optimistic that he would be free of all the charges.

Though they raise spurious allegations against me, bear false witness against me, though they seek to frighten me and lure me into their bounty of evil, I will fear no foe.

My traducers and torturers wish that I keep quiet; though they seek to seal my lips, to silence my voice forever, I remain ever more resolute and committed. I am committed to this cause for which I am a politician; the cause of the down trodden, to speak truth to power and stand against oppression and injustice. On these issues there will be no compromise. I owe no apologies and I tender none.

Like I have always said, you speak the truth, you die, you dont speak the truth, you die. I have chosen to speak the truth, dead or alive.

I have taken my position, I will not hold back, I will not hold my peace, I will not be shut down, neither will I shut-up, not as long as injustice and falsehood continues to reign, as long as I will live. I will not bow to Baal."

Melaye appreciated the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, his colleagues at the National Assembly, and Nigerians for their support while he was in the dark.

You came against a raging fire and stood up against tyranny, lies, filthy lucre, injustice, persecution and greed.While in the dark and they sought to take my mandate, which you had freely given to me. But you answered back and quenched deceit in its wake. You stood resolute and unflinching and defended your mandate to me. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. In their attempt to break me, they have made me stronger, he said.Nine police officers and dozens of others lost their lives when a group of at least 30 armed robbers attacked Union Bank, Eco Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank and Ibolo Micro Finance Bank,as well as the Owode Police Station on April 5, 2018.

A police statement that emerged on Monday, May 21, 2018, disclosed that Kunle Ogunleye, aka Arrow, was arrested in Oro town, Kwara, by the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Teams (IRT) on Sunday, May 20.

His arrest followed the arrest of another suspect, Michael Adikwu, who is a former police corporal and was attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Kwara State command before he was dismissed in 2012. He was arrested in Kwara two weeks ago.

The statement released to PRNigeria, read, "Sequel to the publication of the pictures of the Offa bank robbers in the media, we have being getting several credible leads from good citizens of our country as a result, IRT teams deployed by IGP Ibrahim Idris to Kwara, Ondo, Osun, Oyo and Ekiti states were able to arrest two more gang-leaders of the deadly bank robbery whose pictures were circulated by the media.

"The confessed gang-leaders arrested are Kunle Ogunleye, aka Arrow, 35-year-old native of Kwara state who was arrested yesterday in Oro town in Kwara State and Michael Adikwu, a native of Apa LGA Benue State and a dismissed police CPL who was arrested by the Police in 2012 and charged to court in Kwara state for compromising by releasing some wanted armed robbers.

He had spent three years in prison and subsequently found his way out in 2015 and became a notorious armed robber. He was arrested again by IRT operatives in Kwara state two weeks ago.

"All suspects arrested among others have confessed to the Offa Bank armed robberies and murders, They are assisting the IRT teams in arresting more of the bank robbers as the police continue the investigation."

In a statement signed by Force Public Relations Officer, ACPJimoh Moshood, on Friday, May 4, 2018, he released pictures of four suspects who are still at large and wanted in connection to the crime. With the arrest of Ogunleye and Adikwu, only two suspects remain at large with 20 other suspects arrested in connection to the robbery.According to a statement signed by Deputy Director of Army Public Relations, Colonel Kayode Ogunsanya, on Monday, May 21, troops of Sector 3 deployed under "Operation Whirl Stroke" encountered the bandits while on patrol along Manya-Gangun road in Ussa.

They recovered two AK-47 rifles, one K2 rifle, two Dane guns, 56 rounds of 7.62 special ammunition, 25 K2 rounds, three cartridges, charms and phones from the bandits.

Colonel Ogunsanya further disclosed that the bandits are still in Army custody undergoing interrogation, and urged members of the public to be alert enough to report anysuspicious activities to the nearest security agency.

10 bandits also killed in Taraba

The Joint Military and Police Patrol Team in Taraba state killed 10 suspected bandits and arrested one at Katibu village in Lau local government area of the state on May 10.

The state's Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), Faleye Olaleye, said they were killed during a shootout after they ran into security operatives at the border between Adamawa and Taraba.On Saturday, May 19, 2018, the APC held two parallel congresses in Lagos which threw up two separate State chairmen in two locations in Ikeja.

One faction led by Fouad Oki was going against the other faction of the party led by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

A divided APC was once unheard of in Lagos; a city where Tinubu has maintained a stranglehold on the base since 1999. But here we are.

In Bayelsa, the APC has two factions. One faction is loyal to former Governor Timipre Sylva, the other swears by Nestor Binabo, a former acting Governor and Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly.

On May 5, 2018, the APC held a contentious governorship primary election in Ekiti which ended in fisticuffsA couple of weeks before the July 14 governorship contest in that Southwest State, you still cant put your money on the APC putting together a united front that will give the Fayose backed PDP a run for its money.

A couple of weeks ago, the 'new PDP' faction in the APC made a return (and here we were thinking nPDP is no longer a thing in the politics of our nation).

The nPDP wrote a very bitter, long letter to President Buhari, threatening to pull out of the APC if they arent compensated with board and federal appointments.

At least one chieftain of the APC, Timi Frank, has gone on the record to say he misses former President Goodluck Jonathan because the APC under Buhari has become a dictatorship.

In Kogi, two chieftains of the APC in Governor Yahaya Bello and Senator Dino Melaye have been engaged in a battle for supremacy for a while now.

In Kaduna, Governor Nasir El-Rufai has drawn the battle line againstSenators Suleiman Hunkuyi and Shehu Sani.

In the national assembly, the APC has been unable to push through its policies and agenda even though it holds a slim majority in both chambers; because presiding and principal officers often sing from separate hymn sheets.

And just before Chief John Odigie-Oyegun was told he wouldnt be handed another term as APC national chairman, Tinubu often wrote public letters calling him a disaster and snake.

Such is the sorry state of the nations governing party before major election battles in Ekiti, Osun and across the nation in February of 2019.

Any keen watcher of politics in our nation shouldnt be surprised at what the APC has become. The 2013 merger of CPC, ACN, ANPP and a splinter of APGA was an assemblage of strange bedfellows whose only goal was to seize power from the PDP. There was no ideology underpinning what was essentially a marriage of convenience or circumstance.

However, writing off the APC on account of all of its recent troubles across the States will be foolhardy and presumptuous because there is no formidable opposition ready to take advantage, exploit the governing partys many cracks and make it pay.This was the resolution of the group after a summit in Kaduna on Monday, May 21, 2018.

In a communique signed by its spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the group urged the two leaders to leave the stage for younger people between 18 to 60 years of age.

We have advised him (Buhari) to look for younger person who has the integrity like him to run for the presidency, the communique read.

Anybody above 70 years of age should give way to younger generation,

"The advice became imperative in view of the fact that Buhari and Abubakar who are both in their 70s participated in debates that gave birth to the current national arrangement that is largely acknowledged as having failed our national aspirations, it added.

The northern youths expressed concerns that Nigerians were becoming worried that the older people who have dominated the political scene since independence have not move the country forward.

They called on Nigerians to insist on generational change in the leadership of the country.

Frustrated young Nigerians, having paid their dues in the national development effort, have been manifestly left to suffer from the suffocating consequences of the prevailing exclusive and defeatist leadership selection process being imposed on the country over the years, by succeeding ruling elites, they said.

Similarly, a presidential aspirant, Datti Baba-Ahmed, has advised Nigerians not to vote for President Buhari if he seeks re-election in 2019."I have scanned through some of the discussions concerning my participation in our flag bearer contest, and wish to assure all that I still stand by my decision to contest should our party open nominations this year," he told Ghanaweb.

READ MORE: Mahama declares he is running for president

He added: "I admit it would require hard work, commitment and selflessness but what I know is that the Good Lord is in the center of our campaign and we are surely going to win the primaries. It would be a triller in the history of our great party( NDC) I entreat all to stay focused to the course. We are winners, yes we are."

His comments come after former president Mahama announced on Saturday that he was running for president of Ghana.

The 59-year-old former Bole lawmaker said he has listened to calls from National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters for him to lead the party again into the 2020 election, saying he will not disappoint them.

To you the teeming supporters and sympathizers calling and requesting me to declare my intentions for the future, I wish to assure you today, that as a servant-leader, I have listened to your calls and reflected, he wrote on Facebook. I will not disappoint you even as we await the publication of the partys guidelines for selecting a new leader.

He is expected to speak to camera at the NDCs last unity walk in the Volta Region to announce his bid for the presidency.

Mr Mahama lost the 2016 polls to candidate Nana Akufo-Addo, making him the first sitting president in Ghana to lose a second term bid.

The ex-president, who has been leading a series of unity walk organized by the party in 9 regions so far, also congratulated the rank and file and executives of the NDC for their commitment and work rate in the reorganization process.

He urged them to keep up with the momentum generated from the unity walk.

I want to congratulate the rank & file and executives of our party, the NDC, at all levels for the commitment and work rate we have put into our reorganization efforts, he said, adding: The zeal and determination of the average sympathizer of our great party is greater and miles ahead of what it was after the December 2016 Elections.It returned to growth in 2017 after nine years of deep recession, and the bailout relief is due to end in August.

"After so many difficult years, efforts and sacrifices, Greece is finally on the home stretch," European Union commissioner Pierre Moscovici said.

With a meeting of eurozone finance ministers set for June 21, teams of experts from the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have met with the Greek government in recent days to discuss its privatisation drive, an overhaul of the civil service and the deregulation of the state-dominated energy market.

In a statement that gave no detail on the agreement, the EU's executive said a staff-level accord had been reached.

"The Greek authorities aim to implement these measures as swiftly as possible in advance of the Eurogroup of 21 June 2018," it added.

While Greece's economy is now in better shape, successive bailouts have left it with debt levels at an unsustainable 180 percent of its annual economic output.

France has called for extending Greek loans by 12 years and capping interest at two percent, thereby reducing repayment by 18 billion euros.The victim, who had a history of violent crime and drug dealing, was repeatedly kicked and punched by a group of up to 12 teenagers, and was also beaten with a plastic chair leg and a piece of wood in front of horrified witnesses, local media reported.

Pau prosecutor Cecile Gensac confirmed Monday that three people had been arrested over the murder of the victim, a French national born in Burkina Faso in west Africa who had moved from Paris to Pau in recent years.

"The man died Friday in the street in an area of Pau after a group attacked him," Gensac told AFP.

The housing estate in the Saragosse area of Pau, where the crime took place, is known for its high crime rate and is typical of many deprived, high-immigration urban neighbourhoods in France.

But murders committed by minors are rare and the man's death on a grassy public area was widely reported on Monday, with Le Parisien newspaper describing it as a "terrifying lynching."

"They're very young: 12, 13, 14 years old. It's a gang around here that smokes weed, that causes problems," one local told La Republique des Pyrenees newspaper.

The death came as French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to unveil his long-awaited strategy for tackling the entrenched social problems found in many poor areas in the country's towns and cities.

The 40-year-old leader has faced criticism from some associations for failing to put tackling crime, unemployment, poverty and Islamism at the heart of his agenda since his election in May 2017.

'Doing badly'

Presidential aides have said Macron will avoid announcing a new strategy based on massive increases in public spending.

"The aim is not to reinvent grand projects" that are "top-down", an aide told reporters last week, but to "be efficient and succeed in bringing on board locals" to encourage community projects.

Macron is likely to insist on his government's record of investing in schools in poor areas, creating a new community police service for crime-hit zones, and economic reforms which he believes will generate more jobs.

A host of local lawmakers from the hardest-hit urban areas of France have warned about the problems of crime, poverty and Islamism that blight the lives of local families.

The mayor of the gang-plagued region of Seine-Saint-Denis north of Paris published a column at the weekend urging Macron not to miss the opportunity to send a signal about his intentions.

"The suburbs are doing badly," wrote Laurent Russier.He has since 2015 led the eight-strong Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes, at a time when the last perpetrators, accomplices, witnesses and survivors are finally vanishing.

Once all the perpetrators are gone, Germany will close the judicial side of its coming-to-terms with the Nazi government's extermination of six million Jews and hundreds of thousands of others in the Holocaust.

In the meantime, the spectacle of frail defendants aged in their 90s appearing in courtrooms to answer for crimes dating back to 1945 or earlier has renewed vigorous debate about the country's dark history.

For decades after the war, the German government and justice system showed little haste to track down many of those involved in the organised mass murder.

A landmark change came with the 2011 sentencing of John Demjanjuk, who served as a guard at the Sobibor extermination camp in occupied Poland in 1943, to five years in prison.

The ruling opened the way to prosecuting anyone who worked at a concentration camp -- from soldiers to accountants -- as an accomplice in mass murder.

Before that judgement "we never cast an eye over the smallest cogs in the machine," said lawyer Andrej Umansky, author of a book on the Holocaust in Eastern Europe.

The changed legal landscape since then, he said, offers a chance "to give victims a voice, their families, and to bring the facts back into the public consciousness".

From Moscow to Buenos Aires

The team's probes into the dust-shrouded past have taken Rommel's team of five prosecutors, two judges and one police officer across the world in search of their quarries.

Many German Nazis fled to South America immediately after the war, among them one of the main architects of the Holocaust Adolf Eichmann, who landed in Buenos Aires.

He was captured by the Israeli secret services in 1960 thanks to information passed on by German prosecutor Fritz Bauer, who was outraged by the inching progress of his own country's justice system.

As for less notorious Nazis, "all the boats that arrived there were registered. We have combed the passenger and crew manifests" and followed up on any German-sounding names, Rommel said.

Officials scoured immigration registers, applications to be naturalised in Argentina, and the records of the German embassy.

"We owe it to history" and to the millions of victims to "battle against forgetting", said Peter Haeberle, of the justice ministry in Baden-Wuerttemberg state, where Ludwigsburg sits just outside its capital, Stuttgart.

The team's travels halfway around the globe -- at a time when there remains no chance of tracking down a living high-ranking Nazi official -- have not escaped criticism in the press, such as from Die Welt daily, over their sometimes exorbitant cost.

1.7 million files

Many have criticised the comparatively small number of Nazi war criminals ever brought to justice.

By 2012, some 6,498 people had been convicted for their part in the Holocaust.

The monumental weight of history is clear from the smell of aged paper lingering behind the security doors of the former women's prison where the investigation team is based.

One million seven hundred thousand cardboard files are stored in rigorous alphabetical order in rows of imposing metal cupboards -- a unique full-size database of Nazi criminals and details of their acts.

From Hitler to the lowliest soldier or helper, every Nazi wrongdoer identified up until the present day is recorded here, along with the places of their crimes.

Rommel carefully withdraws file 3 AR-Z 95/59 for Dr Mengele, Josef.

Known as the "Angel of Death", the Auschwitz doctor carried out horrific experiments on those held at the camp.

The record, prepared in the late 1950s, reads that his location is "presently unknown, likely in Argentina".

Mengele died in 1979 in Brazil, having evaded capture -- and justice -- for the remainder of his life.

However many more Nazis enter the dock or end up behind bars before all trails finally run cold, Rommel and his team know the overwhelming majority of perpetrators' stories will have ended similarly.Glorious Mission, the first online, military-themed video game released by the People's Liberation Army.

A recruitment video filled with rap lyrics and sci-fi weaponry, patriotic cartoons featuring endearing animal characters and computer games teaching the public to understand basic military skills  the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has been adopting creative approaches to introduce itself to the world, gaining ground in the global military publicity arena.

On Sunday, PLA Ground Forces launched their official Wechat and Sina Weibo accounts, making it the second Chinese military force to join social media after the PLA Air Forces made their online debut back in 2015. The Weibo account has attracted over 250,000 followers in just one day, while the video clip showcasing PLAs combat capabilities has garnered over 20 million views as of press time.

PLA Ground Forces launched its Sina Weibo account on May 20th.

Subverting traditionally distant attitudes towards the public, PLA has attached great importance to its online presence, communicating with the public on a regular basis in recent years.

Guiding and regulating Internet public opinion is a crucial task for the PLA. It is important and urgent to study the possibility of constructing PLAs own online publicity team, Ma Hongbin, secretary of the political department of PLA Rocket Force, said in his article published in Military Journalists Magazine.

Echoing Ma, a Beijing-based military expert who asked for anonymity, told the Peoples Daily Online that Internet technologies have posed both opportunities and challenges for PLA, pushing it to create better ties with the public and the world.

Social media battlefield

Following Chinas swift development of cyber technologies, social media has become a publicity force to be reckoned with. In 2015, while visiting PLA Dailys headquarters, Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of innovation in the Internet era, asking the paper to follow the trend of cyber development. Xi also posted an update on the papers Weibo account, encouraging armed forces to making new contributions to build a stronger military.

According to Statistia.com. an international statistics portal, four Chinese social media platforms are among the worlds top ten most popular social networks in 2018, while Sina Weibo has overtaken Twitter in terms of user numbers.

This new reality, along with PLAs military reform, has urged the worlds largest army to march on social media for more publicity. As of press time, PLA Daily has over 15 million followers, while the number for Chinas Ministry of National Defense is more than 5.8 million.

Patriotic cartoon Year Hare Affair.

In addition to its presence on social media, PLA has also embraced new technologies and methods to introduce itself to the world. In a recruitment music video published in 2016, the military authorities allowed military personnel to sing and dance in rap-style, attracting millions of viewers who supported the creative move. The PLA has also cooperated with animation companies to create patriotic cartoons, such as Year Hare Affair, a Chinese cartoon using animals as an allegory for nations to present military events in history, which has garnered over 230 million page-views on Sina Weibo.

Though PLA has made great progress in the social media battlefield, experts noted that PLA military officials and soldiers are yet to play their part in the armys online promotion, as army rules have banned military individuals from using social media.

Unlike the U.S., which published an All Army Activities message in 2017 to encourage soldiers to wisely and lawfully use social media for better military propaganda, PLA has forbidden its soldiers from using social media in fear of information leakage, though there are signs of the ban relaxing. In May, PLA has issued new military rules, unprecedentedly allowing soldiers to use WeChat and QQ.

The new decision was made to comply with the development of the Internet, as well as satisfying soldiers needs, said Wu Qian, spokesperson of the ministry of national defense, who also stressed the importance of securing military information and data.WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Graduate students from 22 universities across the world are expected to participate in the 2018 Borlaug Institute on Global Food Security, June 3-16 at Purdue University.

Participants are selected based on their demonstrated interest and commitment to finding solutions to world hunger, and have chosen dissertation research that addresses the challenges of global food security.

The goal of the summer institute is to provide participants with a more holistic understanding of the conceptual challenges around global food security, with a focus on cross-disciplinary approaches in addressing major global development challenges, said Gebisa Ejeta, director of the Purdue Center for Global Food Security, based at Purdues Discovery Park.

Ejeta, distinguished professor of agronomy and 2009 World Food Prize laureate, will join other Purdue faculty working with students throughout the two-week period of the institute. They include: Jay Akridge, Purdue University provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity; Karen Plaut, Glenn W. Sample Dean of the Purdue University College of Agriculture; Suresh Garimella, executive vice president for research and partnerships; and Tomas Diaz de la Rubia, chief scientist and executive director of Discovery Park.

Other speakers include:

* Shenggen Fen, director general, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

* Jimmy Smith, director general, International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).

* Rob Bertram, chief scientist, USAID Bureau for Food Security.

* Julie Borlaug, vice president for communications and public relations, Inari Agriculture Inc., and granddaughter of the late Norman Borlaug, an agronomist and humanitarian for whom the institute is named.

* Clara Cohen, USAID Bureau for Food Security Office of Agricultural Research and Policy.

* Donn Cummings, Purdue alumnus and global breeder sourcing lead, Monsanto (retired).

The institute is hosted by the Center for Global Food Security and engages students through lectures by prominent faculty and guest speakers, practicums, small-group research work, and visits to area farms and research infrastructures at Purdue and throughout the region.

The 2018 participants include 15 students from Nepal, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Guatemala, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, and Sri Lanka in addition to 25 U.S. students. Their collective academic disciplines range from agronomy, plant pathology, human nutrition, to agricultural and biological engineering, economics and other social science areas such as conflict resolution.

Students will develop country-specific food security group-project reports in response to a simulated request for proposals from the United States Agency for International Development. Purdue professors with experience in international development will simulate a donor panel on the last day, challenging students to defend their proposals.

The summer institute is part of the U.S. Borlaug Fellows in Global Food Security program, funded by USAID under the Feed the Future initiative. The program is aimed at preparing the next generation of U.S. food security professionals with the scientific foundation needed to effectively study and manage the global landscape in support of sustainable food systems.

More information about the institute is available at https://www.purdue.edu/discoverypark/food/programs/borlaug-fellows/summer-institute.php.

Writer: Pamela McClure, 765-494-5441, pmcclure@purdue.edu

Media Contact: Darrin Pack, 765-494-2722, dpapck@purdue.edu

Source: Gebisa Ejeta, 765-494-4320, gejeta@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications: (765) 494-8415;

Darrin Pack, Manager/Media Relations and Public Information, dpack@purdue.edu

Agriculture News PageQUIZ: Guess the Road Songs

We can't wait to get back on the road again! Play this quiz and see if how many you can get right!Jan Kilstrom announced on May 15 that he would be stepping down as CEO of Green Cargo in the autumn, having received an exciting offer that I could not refuse, the details of which I am unable to disclose at present. Recruitment of a new CEO has started. After so ...NIGERIA: China Civil Engineering Construction Corp is to complete the long-planned 1 435 mm gauge railway linking Lagos and Kano, under a U$668bn contract signed in Abuja on May 15.USA: A weekend of celebrations entitled Welcome to the 305!, referencing the citys historic telephone code, marked the launch of Brightline inter-city services to Miami on May 19.A parallel forum of the 2018 Global Unicorn Enterprise Forum kicked off in Silicon Valley, California, on May 18 local time. Panelists in Silicon Valley conducted conversations with their peers in Chengdu, Sichuan province through video conferencing.

Luo Linquan, Consul-General of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, delivers a speech at the 2018 Global Unicorn Enterprise Forum. Photo by Zhang Jiexian from Peoples Daily Online

Luo Linquan, Consul-General of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, said the combined economic output of China and the U.S. accounts for 40 percent of the world's total.

Luo said unicorn enterprises that are constantly emerging in both countries demonstrate that a deeper reach of multinational companies and technological innovation offer new opportunities for cooperation.

David Haubert, mayor of Dublin, California, who has spent 116 days in China over the past two years, said every time he went back to China, he saw new things, incredible development and a brighter future there.

David Haubert, mayor of Dublin, California, delivers a speech at the 2018 Global Unicorn Enterprise Forum. Photo by Zhang Jiexian from Peoples Daily Online

Haubert said the China-U.S. relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world. Technological innovation represented by the two countries will guide the world a century from now.

Ren Jianmin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of People's Daily Online, delivers a speech at the 2018 Global Unicorn Enterprise Forum. Photo by Zhang Jiexian from Peoples Daily Online

Ren Jianmin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of People's Daily Online, said Chinas economy is undergoing an in-depth adjustment. In this process, consumption and service have become the main drivers for economic growth, and Chinese enterprises are catching up with their international counterparts, some becoming leaders in the race.

Participants share their thoughts on the unicorn ecosystem in Silicon Valley at the 2018 Global Unicorn Enterprise Forum. Photo by Zhang Jiexian from Peoples Daily Online

Cui Yi, professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University, said scientific research must have a view to globalization, and technological innovation should not be limited to research on new technologies, but should also keep an eye on the demands of society and the market, taking other factors into consideration.

Panelists at the forum in Silicon Valley conduct parallel conversations with their peers in Chengdu, Sichuan province through video conferencing. Photo by Zhang Jiexian from Peoples Daily Online

U.S. guests said the Chinese government has given prominent support to unicorn companies within the country. Though China sees a lack of talent with strong execution, the country has an advantage in the number and quality of these talents.

Participants from Uber and Alibaba Cloud also shared their thoughts about the unicorn ecosystem in Silicon Valley. Guests in Chengdu and in Silicon Valley watched a promotional video about the Unicorn Island located in Tianfu New Area in Chengdu.

The Forum was hosted by Peoples Daily Online and the Chengdu Municipal Government jointly.IKEA affiliate appeals recovery of $283,000 in favor of Gazprom subsidiary

 flickr.com/kaktuslampan

10:47 21/05/2018

MOSCOW, May 21 (RAPSI) - IKEA Centers Rus Property A has appealed a court order to pay 16.6 million rubles (about $283,000) to Gazprom gazoraspredeleniye Voronezh, a subsidiary of Russias oil giant Gazprom.

The Tenth Commercial Court of Appeals will consider the appeal on July 2, according to court records.

In April, the Moscow Commercial Court recovered a 16.6-million-ruble debt (about $283,000) from IKEA Centers Rus Property A in favor of Gazprom gazoraspredeleniye Voronezh. Moreover, the court dismissed a IKEA subsidiarys counter claim for recovery of the unspent part sum of advance payment worth 6.7 million rubles ($114,000) under a distribution connection agreement plus 126,600 rubles ($2,200) of interest.

According to Gazprom gazoraspredeleniye Voronezh, on December 16, 2015, the company concluded a contract with the defendant. Under the agreement, the subsidiary of Gazprom assumed an obligation to carry out technological connection of IKEAs capital construction projects in the Voronezh Region to its network. IKEA Centers Rus Property A in turn was obliged to pay services of providing connection and all accompanying expenses of the plaintiff.

The defendant paid over 7 million rubles (about $120,00) as a down payment. As Gazprom gazoraspredeleniye Voronezh incurred expenses totaling to 23.6 million rubles ($402,000), the defendant owed 16.6 million rubles to the plaintiff.

The court has accorded the plaintiff saying that the defendant has not introduced evidence supporting compensation for the Gazprom subsidiarys expenses.



Moscow court detains defendant in extremism case

 Oleg Sivozhelezov, RAPSI

11:54 21/05/2018

MOSCOW, May 21 (RAPSI)  The Presnensky District Court of Moscow has detained Vladislav Kuleshov, a defendant in a criminal case over calls for terrorism and attempted organization of riots in Moscow, until June 30, the press-service of the court has told RAPSI.

According to the courts spokesperson Aleksey Chernikov, earlier there was another defendant in this case, ex-teacher of mathematics Dmitry Bogatov, who was reportedly cleared of all charges.

Investigators believe that on March 29, 2017, a person hiding identity behind a pseudonym published texts calling for radically extremist actions. Law enforcement agencies involved in the case said that it was Bogatov, who published calls for mass riots using special computer programs.

However, a later computer examination failed to produce evidence that Bogatov called for terrorism and extremism. Attorney Sarkis Darbinyan told RAPSI that experts examined Bogatovs electronic devices and did not find any illegal materials there.Moscow engineering bureau demands $32 mln from Rostec embezzlement case defendants

 RAPSI

13:28 21/05/2018

MOSCOW, May 21 (RAPSI)  The Moscow engineering bureau Compass has filed a 2-billion-ruble ($32 million) claim against defendants in Rostec Corporation embezzlement case, defense lawyer Yulia Bondarenko has told RAPSI.

On Monday, the Moscow City Court upheld a lower courts ruling to extend seizure of the defendants assets as interim relief. Prosecutor during the hearing said that the seized assets including transport vehicles, residential and non-residential premises and a land plot, practically belong to ex-CEO of Compass Murad Safin and ex-CEO of Prompostavka company Ruslan Suleimanov.

According to investigators, Safin being a top manager of Compass, which is Rostec subsidiary, signed contracts with shell companies. The state corporations money was transferred to the firms accounts to be later cashed.

In 2016, the Interior Ministry reported that 10 individuals were arrested in embezzlement of more than 800 million rubles ($12 million) from Rostec. An organized group participating in implementation of state defense procurement and acquisition and foreign trade contracts for the supply of civil and military purpose products made deals by using dummy companies from 2011 to 2016, spokeswoman Irina Volk told journalists in December 2016.Chinese citizen behind alleged iPhone bribe gets detained

13:59 21/05/2018

MOSCOW, May 21 (RAPSI)  A court in the Kaluga Region has detained a Chinese citizen, who allegedly attempted to bribe officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) with iPhones in exchange for release of her 26 compatriots, the Investigative Committees press-service has stated.

According to the Committee, 26 Chinese citizens were arrested in the Kaluga Region for violating immigration procedures. Investigators believe that the defendant promised two FSB officers iPhone X models for each of them with alternative option being money sum equal to the value of smartphones.

The defendant was arrested during transfer of 100,000 rubles ($1,600).Criminal case of Russian nationalist Martsinkevich to be reviewed again

 RIA Novosti, Mikhail Fomichev

14:59 21/05/2018

MOSCOW, May 21 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court on Monday overturned a 10-year prison sentence given to infamous Russian nationalist Maxim Martsinkevich for inciting hatred and ordered retrial, RAPSI correspondent reports from the courtroom.

The court also mitigated sentence for three associates of Martsinkevich, who are also defendants in this case. Dmitry Sheldyashev and Alexander Shankin are to spend 5 years and 10 months in a penal colony while Roman Maksimov is to spend 4 years and 10 months.

Last June, Moscows Babushkinsky District Court found Restruct movement leader Martsinkevich guilty of inciting hatred and enmity, hooliganism, robbery and property destruction. Ten members of the movement were sentenced to prison terms varying from 3 to 10 years.

According to case documents, under pretense of drug interdiction, the group attacked people in 2013-2014 in Moscow using electro shockers, gas sprayers and metallic pipes, leaving several people traumatized and one person dead.

Martsinkevich, one of the more well-known Russia nationalists, has a history of clashes with the law. In 2014, he was sentenced to five years in prison for publishing extremist content on the Internet.

He has already been convicted of publishing online a video of staging an execution of a Tajik drug dealer and extremist statements. He has received 3.5 years in prison in two cases taken together.Moscow realtor convicted of $500 mln embezzlement to be released on parole

 Fotolia/ V.P.

12:56 21/05/2018

MOSCOW, May 21 (RAPSI)  Moscows Babushkinsky District Court has granted parole for prominent realtor Alexander Konstanitnovsky sentenced to 3 years in prison for embezzling $500 million, the courts spokesperson Maria Borovikova has told RAPSI.

Konstantinovsky was convicted and sentenced in the fall of 2017.

According to investigators, over 10 years Konstantinovsky acting in collusion with some other unidentified persons and using false documents, registered his ownership of non-residential premises (attics, basements) in the Moscow downtown, often putting pressure on the residents of the buildings.

In 2011, the defendant in his capacity of a realtor could secure ownership of a mansion located in the central part of the Russian capital for a company he controlled. The mansion had been planned to host a museum of collector Igor Vozyakov, who could later settle the ownership dispute in his favor in a commercial court.

The realtor was arrested in April 2016.Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale

Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada.

Search Real EstateSig Sauer has been producing their own branded ammunition for some time now, and they've just launched a new line. No, not a new defensive pistol load (though we wouldn't be surprised), but individual components for those that like to roll their own.

Here's what they have to say about it:

SIG SAUER, Inc. is now manufacturing premium pistol and rifle ammunition components for precision handloaders at its state-of-the-art ammunition facility in Jacksonville, Arkansas. Elite Performance Ammunition shell cases are engineered to exacting tolerances and available for multiple pistol calibers (primed or unprimed) and rifle calibers (unprimed). The geometric consistency of these premium brass cases ensures each primer is held tightly in its pocket. Flash holes are precise with no burrs and the superior metallurgical properties of the SIG SAUER cases enable repeated reloading. All Elite Performance rifle shell cases are induction annealed for consistent bullet retention. Each brass case undergoes rigorous in-line and post production quality assurance testing to ensure a flawless casing, said Brad Criner, Senior Director, Brand Management and Business Development, SIG SAUER Ammunition. The result is unparalleled durability and dependability. Pistol component cases are available, primed or unprimed, in bags of 100 in the following calibers: 380 Auto, 9mm Luger, 357 SIG, 38 Spl, 357 Mag, 40 S&W, 10mm, 45 Auto. Rifle component cases are unprimed and available in bags of 50 in the following calibers: 223 Rem, 22-250-Rem, 243 Win, 300 BLK, 300 Win Mag, 308 Win and 6.5 Creedmoor. Coming soon in: 270 Win and 30-06 SPRG. All SIG SAUER Elite Performance Ammunition and Components are manufactured by SIG SAUER at its new state-of-the-art ammunition manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, Arkansas to the same exacting standards as the companys premium pistols and rifles.

To learn more, hit them up hereTo expand crude oil and natural gas imports from the US will optimize Chinas energy structure, said Wang Zhongying, deputy director of the Institute of Energy Research under the Chinese Academy of Macroeconomic Research.

Wang made the remarks after China and the US issued a joint statement last Saturday following economic and trade consultations, agreeing to meaningfully increase the export of US agricultural and energy products.

The US is an emerging supplier on the international energy market with sufficient oil and gas supplies. It has achieved energy independence after the subprime mortgage crisis.

Meanwhile, China sees a large energy demand to keep up with its rapidly developing economy. However, its domestic energy output cannot satisfy such a huge need.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the country imported over 400 million tons of crude oil in 2017, which was more than twice the amount of that produced domestically.

In addition, the countrys gas import also experienced substantial growth in the same period, reaching 94.63 billion cubic meters.

China-US energy cooperation enjoys natural advantages, said Zhong Wei, director of Beijing Normal Universitys center for financial studies.

On one hand, southeast coastal regions of China see most of the countrys energy demand, and the broad seaway on the west Pacific guarantees smooth transportation, he explained, adding that China is also capable of building mega ships to carry crude oil and liquefied gas.

In Wangs opinion, China is a country that highly relies on crude oil import, and most of that currently comes from the Middle East. As a result, to further expand import sources will also improve the countrys security.

In addition, increasing the energy import from the US will help stabilize energy supply as China transits its economy from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development.

Furthermore, to expand imports in energy is also one of Chinas major moves to improve its peoples livelihood.

So far, the US has grown into the worlds largest natural gas producer. The International Energy Association predicted that the natural gas production of the US will take up to more than 20% of the worlds total in 2020, and the country is expected to be the largest gas exporter by 2022.'15, 17 years back we were not even in existence in the US. Today nearly 1/3 of prescriptions written comes from India.'

'India is showing that in a very competitive environment -- like the US and Europe -- our industry is doing very well.'

IMAGE: Dr Habil Khorakiwala, chairman, Wockhardt Ltd, at the company's headquarters in Mumbai. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wockhardt Ltd

The year Jewel Thief debuted, Madhuri Dixit was born, Zakir Husain became President of India and an earthquake near the Koyna dam shook western India, Dr Habil F Khorakiwala founded a drug company named Wockhardt.

That was 50 years ago. The year 1967. The month September.

We all know how well Dhak Dhak Dixit did. Today the Koyna dam, in spite of the quake, is one of the largest in the country, with an installed capacity of 1,920 mw of power. People have never stopped watching the box-office hit Jewel Thief.

How has their contemporary Wockhardt fared?

The pharmaceutical and biotechnology company is as big a winner as Madhuri with a 56.10 billion turnover annually, much of it coming from abroad.

It has its headquarters in Mumbai, but employs over 10,000 people in India and several other countries, including the UK, Ireland, the US, France and is marketing its products in most emerging markets. It now runs Wockahardt Hospitals and the Wockhardt Foundation too.

With earnings, in sales, from its US set up alone at $531 million and from Britain 108 million pounds, Wockhardt is easily one of the most successful products of the India of 1967.

The young man, with a degree in pharmaceutical science from Ahmedabad and Purdue, who set up Wockhardt, is 75 today.

Dr Khorakiwala wears his age lightly. And his success modestly. But he is, rightfully, immensely proud of the 50 golden, fruitful years he has come through.

For Dr Khorakiwala his favourite mantra on becoming a winning entrepreneur is about the courage to take risks.

Risks are attractive to him. He equates them with ambition, purpose, tenacity and energy. And the meaning of life.

He seems not fond of tradition. Traditional people, probably in the Khorakiwala School of Thought are risk averse.

And Dr Khorakiwala, in his 50-plus-year career, has never taken a traditional path. He didn't follow his father into the department store business or helm any of the allied family businesses. Instead he forged a new path formulating pharmaceuticals.

When the business teetered twice financially, because of some of the risks taken, he dug a new path for the company out of it.

Today, Dr Khorakiwala, who is on the Forbes 2018 list of billionaires, is still sniffing around for newer non-traditional paths as he immerses Wockhardt -- which is not a German word, but a name the entrepreneur took a shine to in his youth when he began his company because it sounded like work hard and also quaintly foreign -- deeper into drug research.

He has recently published his first book, and he says probably his last, his memoirs Odyssey of Courage: The Story of an Indian Multinational.

A meeting with him -- Vaihayasi Pande Daniel's first encounter happened years ago at the company's small then Worli, south central Mumbai, HQ -- takes place in his large office in the shining 8-storey skyscraper Wockhardt Towers, Bandra-Kurla Complex, north west Mumbai, that is the company headquarters.

Dr Khorakiwala is a cheerful man, with a smooth, polite but warm manner, who laughs a lot. He says he has always been a fighter. Never inclined to give up. But a calm one.

He speaks to Rediff.com about his children, who now run the company, and about the Wockhardt Foundation, which is focusing on education and healthcare. It has a fleet of mobile vans and other health projects that offer healthcare in interior India on behalf of Wockhardt and other companies.

Dr Khorakiwala discusses where India is going and his and Wockhardt's place in the Future New India.

IMAGE: Dr Habil Khorakiwala with his family. Standing, left to right: Grandson Zayn, daughter-in-law Umaima, second son Murtaza, eldest son Huzaifa, daughter-in-law Samina, son-in-law Ali Nabee and grandson Miqdad. Sitting, left to right: Grandson Ali, grandson Muayyad, Wife Nafisa, daughter Zahabiya, grand-daughter Aida, Habil and mother-in-law Sugrabai Latif. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wockhardt Ltd

Why do you have confidence in India?

You are assuming I have confidence. (Laughs.)

(For) the very fact that our economy has (become) reasonably liberalised -- I wouldn't call it highly liberalised. I think this growth momentum of 7 per cent, around, is going to continue.

We could be growing even faster depending on how we address governance in this country.

From that point of view, every eight to ten years we will double our economy.

There are not many economies, excepting China, which can attract (this kind of) global interest.

The second aspect: Why are we growing so much?

There is less of government and that's why we are growing. Not because the government has done anything for us to grow. There is no infrastructure. Health and education are in shambles.

So just because there is less government, India is growing.

We are growing mainly because of our people. And the entrepreneurs. That is something that is unstoppable.

So as the government (hold/interference) becomes less and the government becomes more responsible, this momentum will only increase.

Our government (has to) start functioning a little better -- in (areas like) our infrastructure, in our education and healthcare.

You have to take care of the people. Or the country cannot move forward too much.

Education is very essential for growth, in terms of skills, in terms of knowledge, whatever we need. That is why I feel India will continue to grow.

We have the extremes. Very good and very bad. That very good is something which is driving part of the growth.

Just take our (pharmaceutical) industry as an example.

15, 17 years back we were not even in existence in the US. Today nearly 1/3 of prescriptions written comes from India.

India is showing that in a very competitive environment -- like the US and Europe -- our industry is doing very well.

The whole IT industry's business is oriented towards exports. That is what shows some degree of global competiveness.

The auto industry is emerging to be globally competitive. In telecom, India's rates are some of the lowest in the world.

In the last ten years you have seen this kind of dramatic change. And it is only going to accelerate.

So the fact that we have grown, in spite of lack of governance, shows Indians have good staying power?

I wouldn't say that.

I would simply say: We are hungry.

We have to deal with a lot of difficulties, as a nation, and as individuals within the country.

Therefore the energy levels to do things, and think laterally, the need to succeed -- the motivation for all these are of a very high order.

Whereas (when it comes to) the Western countries, they had those things a hundred years back, 150 years back. As a whole, they are not as hungry. They want to maintain the status quo. De-risking is what they want to do in life.

Since we are hungry, we are high-risk takers. That is why we are growing.

It is not because we are Indians that we are growing. It because this (is what) our evolution level (is) that is why we are growing.

You obviously travel a lot and meet lots of people from all over the world. How do you give those interested in investing in India a sense of confidence in India?

India often gets a bad name internationally as it happened in the Daiichi-Ranbaxy deal.

We go forward five years and back ten years.

When you meet potential India investors what picture do you give them?

All democracies and all countries have problems.

All have scams of some kind. Having a scam is not new in a democratic set up, in a free society. It is only in a totalitarian society you don't hear (of them)

In a democracy, India, the US, or anywhere else, things happen. There shootings take place. Or you have a president like (Donald ) Trump getting elected. Those kinds of things do happen. You have to accept it as normal.

Why does the investor come to India? Because there are opportunities.

And there is growth.

A billion people, growing at 7 to 8 percent.

That is where India continues to attract, because of sheer size and the growth. A combination.

If you are a tiny country of a million people or 5 million people and growing at eight percent, it doesn't interest many people.

It is the very fact that there is sheer size and the growth is coming with it.

People look for opportunities.

Problems all businesses know how to manage. It is a risk factor.

IMAGE: Dr Khorakiwala figures on the Forbes 2018 list of billionaires. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wockhardt Ltd

How has India made you who you are? As a person, as a businessman, as an entrepreneur?

In short, whatever I have is because of India...

The family plays an important role in terms of the values and the culture you get as an individual. That is one aspect that is very important for anything you do in life.

Second, in my earlier years I had a lot of freedom available to do what I wanted to do.

Thirdly, I would suggest that we have moved systematically and grown.

But after the liberalisation of the early 1990s, opportunities of globalisation (came our way).

It offered challenges because we were no longer in a comfort situation. The Patent Act came in 1995. India liberalised, so obviously people (global businesses) would come.

The comfort position changed. We (in the pharmaceutical industry) responded by accepting it as a challenge and opportunity, rather than going into a shell.

Like the textile industry went into a shell. It was a mature industry, but it was going to the government to ask them to do something to protect it and so on and so forth.

You had the Bombay Club which was formed (a bunch of Indian businessmen who lobbied the government for protection in the 1990s).

Our (pharmaceutical) industry as a whole accepted this as an opportunity and a chance.

I think that is what India contributed by liberalising, and allowing people to do what they want.

I think what we see -- the growth of the last 15, 20 years -- is mainly because of this liberalisation and the speed with which it happened earlier.

Now it has slowed down. Some reverses have taken places.

One doesn't like it, but it will move forward basically (again).

In what way has India personally shaped your view, your business?

I think the competitiveness in India is very intense... Obviously that spurs (on) an individual and an organisation to look for new horizons, stretch itself, accept new challenges.

Secondly, I had great opportunities, over the years, to be involved in a number of associations in our industry and social organisations. To understand how a society responds. That also helped to shape you as an individual.

Everyone says India is instinctively an entrepreneurial country. That the country has entrepreneurship in its blood. Is that true in your view?

I don't think it is in the DNA of anybody to do that.

Earlier times, the Vikings were there. They were risk takers; going all over the place. They might not have been nice people, but they were doing all those things.

And Christopher Columbus discovered the US.

So adventure and all those things are various phases in a nation's life.

So we will remain like this for maybe another 100, or 200 years, I don't know.

IMAGE: Dr Khorakiwala with his wife Nafisa, whom he met and fell in love with when she was still studying at St Xavier's College, then Bombay. He had just finished his master's and had started working.

His memoirs are dedicated to her firstly and then his three children. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wockhardt Ltd

But Indians are always ready to sell you something. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking in every street corner seller. There is a salesmanship mentality that you don't always see everywhere.

Which is true. Because in Western countries, people are de-risking.

They are very few who are still doing new things. Those who do, they take very high risks. That's why overnight there are new organisations coming up. There are those kinds of people (there too).

Why is America doing so much better than Europe today in innovation? They have injected a lot new people (new blood) through immigration. So the country has remained relatively young.

Anybody who goes to another country -- they are very hungry for a while, to get established. So that injection over the last 50, 100 years is what America is today.

While Europe doesn't have that much injection of new people coming from outside. (It was) rescued, according to me, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Eastern Europe became part of Europe. Eastern Europe (had those) kind of hungry people, at a different level (from the rest of Europe), and they have come into Europe and given it a little bit of energy and spark.

What is the climate for doing business in India today?

Is it better, as projected by Prime Minister Modi?

There are two things that have improved since Mr Modi has become prime minister.

One, India's image outside India has dramatically improved. UPA (the United Progressive Alliance government), in the second round, spoilt the image considerably.

So that is now very definitively positive.

Why has India's image abroad improved?

There are two or three things. One, he (Prime Minister Narendra D Modi) is perceived as a very strong leader, which also helps, therefore something will happen.

Second, India is always loved in terms of its democracy, its language and all those things.

All those positives were there. India moved back considerably. But it was a temporary setback that got revived.

(Thirdly) a very large number of business people have started noticing India even more for the future.

They are very closely watching, basically. So these are the positives fundamentally.

What is the second thing that has improved since Mr Modi became prime minister?

He has also stabilised the country. There is a stable economy and a stable way of working.

There is improvement taking place, incrementally, not dramatically, as people had expected.

So if there is an incremental improvement taking place, and the direction is okay, things will improve.

IMAGE: Then President A P J Abdul Kalam inaugurates the Wockhardt Biotech Park, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wockhardt Ltd

Incremental improvements are the nature of India really, isn't it? The less the government interferes, the more incremental growth will continue.

So can the credit for this incremental growth go really to Mr Modi?

Yes, I would. Because to bring stability and bring about steady improvement is important. At times, during (then prime minister P V)Narasimha Rao's time, (then prime minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee's time and during the first part of Manmohan Singh's time, the change was even faster than it is today.

But there is nothing like five steps forward and four steps backward. Maybe one step backward is what is happening.

What are some of the things pulling India back under Mr Modi?

Two things worry me.

One was the recent Budget which talked of going back to protectionism, which is counter to liberalisation. That worries me.

Because we are not going to help the competitive dynamics of India over a period of time. Instead of doing that (protectionism) we should have tried to resolve some of the specific issues. It has become really broad, and not a few areas, so that worries me.

Second, this division in society, which is taking place.

It does not bring a kind of perception of stability from a long-term perspective.

Where will it end? How far it will go?

What will happen in a socio-economic sense two years, five years, ten years down the road?

IMAGE: Dr Khorakiwala with his family on the company's 50th Founder's Day in 2017. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wockhardt Ltd

Does it worry you that Mr Modi may be too strong a leader?

There is nothing (about) being a strong leader. Like (India's first prime minister Jawaharlal) Nehru was a very strong leader in (India's) formative years and he had an ideological mind, which people today criticise.

But without Nehru you wouldn't have democracy, you wouldn't have those kinds of institution building which he has done, you wouldn't have the temper of science and technology, which he has created. So he was a builder that way.

A strong leader doesn't mean good or bad, that is what I am trying to tell you.

China has a strong leader, leadership coming for the last 40 years, liberalisation and they have done extremely well. It is not a democratic system. Done well, strong leadership. So by strong leader, it is not good or bad.A declining rupee, elevated crude oil prices and sustained foreign fund outflows added to the gloom

Equity indices reeled for the fifth session on Monday as investors rushed to unwind bets following post-poll instability in Karnataka amid discouraging global cues.

Benchmark Sensex plunged over 232 points to end at 34,616.13, while the broader NSE Nifty lost almost 80 points to close at 10,516.70.

Investors were wary after BJP's B S Yeddyurappa resigned as the chief minister of Karnataka on Saturday minutes before he was to face a floor test, paving the way for the JD(S)-Congress combine to form the government.

A declining rupee, elevated crude oil prices and sustained foreign fund outflows added to the gloom, brokers said.

Sentiment got another jolt after Moody's Investors Service downgraded PNB's rating, citing the impact of the recent fraud on its capital as well as weak internal controls.

The 30-share Sensex had opened strong and advanced to a high of 34,973.95 in early trade but gave up its gains following a widespread sell-off, which dragged it down to 34,593.82.

The gauge finally ended at a nearly one-month low of 34,616.13, down 232.17 points or 0.67 per cent.

This is its weakest closing since April 25, when it had finished at 34,501.60.

The gauge has now lost 940.58 points in five days.

The broader NSE Nifty closed lower by 79.70 points, or 0.75 per cent, at 10,516.70, after hovering between 10,621.70 and 10,505.80.

"Short-term chaos from state election results and weak currency due to surge in oil price led the market to come down.

"Investors' sentiment on mid and small cap index dampened due to high valuation and lower than expected quarter results.

Continued outflow of foreign funds have a key role in the current consolidation as domestic macro looks fragile," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 166.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 149.58 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

Private sector lenders Yes Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank witnessed heavy selling pressure, dropping as much as 3.27 per cent.

Among the Sensex components, Sun Pharma emerged as the biggest loser by falling 4.50 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's at 4.23 per cent.

Other losers were Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Ltd, HUL, Wipro, NTPC, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, L&T, RIL and Infosys, falling by up to 2.85 per cent.

SBI was the top index gainer, spurting 2.47 per cent, followed by TCS which advanced 1.59 per cent.

Coal India, ICICI Bank, ONGC and Power Grid also finished with gains of up to 1.26 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, realty fell 3.11 per cent, healthcare 2.55 per cent, infrastructure 2.08 per cent, consumer durables 2.07 per cent, auto 1.92 per cent, metal 1.59 per cent, power 1.06 per cent, FMCG 0.85 per, capital goods 0.79 per cent and bankex 0.32 per cent.

PSU, IT, oil and gas and teck ended in the green.

In line with the overall trend, the broader markets too remained under selling pressure.

The BSE small-cap and mid-cap indices fell by 2.20 per cent and 1.64 per cent, respectively.

Shares of Bhushan Steel climbed 4.88 per cent after the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) today declined to stay Tata Steel's acquisition of debt-laden firm under the corporate insolvency resolution process.

On the global front, Asian markets rose after the US and China agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, though lack of specifics tempered high expectations.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.60 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.64 per cent.

Japan's Nikkei too was up 0.31 per cent and Singapore gained 0.52 per cent.

European markets were mixed in their early deals, with Frankfurt's DAX falling 0.28 per cent, while Paris CAC 40 rising 0.69 per cent. London's FTSE too was up 0.80 per cent.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/ReutersWhile farmers in Gujarat are rejecting the compensation package, those in Maharashtra say they do not wish to part with their land for a project that largely benefits Gujarat.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

The prime ministers favourite project - the bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai - is not only facing hurdles in land acquisition in Gujarat and Maharashtra but may evolve into a major election issue in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, say political pundits in Ahmedabad.

While farmers in Gujarat are rejecting the compensation package offered in accordance with the Jantri rates, which are lower than the market rates, farmers in Maharashtra (led by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena) say they do not wish to part with their land for a project that largely benefits Gujarat.

In Gujarat, the opposition Congress has sprung into action - with senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel writing to the Prime Minister - seeking his intervention in the matter.

Political analysts such as Vidyut Joshi say the BJP is on a sticky wicket here: They (the BJP) fully understand the repercussions of annoying the rich farmers of South Gujarat, but they are unable to take their side, given this is a pet project of the PM himself.

"If the land acquisition issue snowballs, this might become a major pain for the BJP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections next year.

The Japanese government, which is providing a Rs 88,000 crore loan (Rs 880 billion) for the Rs 1.1 trillion project, has flagged concerns that hurdles in land acquisition may delay the commissioning of the project.

The deadline for completion is August 2022. Japan has indicated that given the delays in getting land, the project could be commissioned by the end of 2023.

As such, no land acquisition has happened. Reports suggest that only 0.9 hectares have been acquired in Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai, from where the bullet train starts.

The project covers 508.9 km, of which 487 km is an elevated corridor, and the remaining 22 km is underground (in the Thane creek).

About 192 villages in Gujarat and around 120 in Maharashtra would be affected by the project.

Bhagubhai Patel, a mango farmer in Valsad district of Gujarat and a former senior employee at a cooperative bank, said this was the peak mango season in Gujarat. Land acquisition at this time is tricky.

South Gujarat is the states hub of mango cultivation. Farmers here expect around Rs 50 lakh per acre for their land that has mango orchards.

The agencies are talking of compensation on the basis of the prevailing jantri rates.

The implementing agency for the project - National High Speed Rail Corporation (NHSRC) - is organising stakeholder meetings in villages of Gujarat.

It is planning to complete the land acquisition in Gujarat by December. However, in recent meetings held with farmers, NHSRC representatives had to face their anger.

They are not worried about gaining farmers' consent for parting with their land. They come to show some presentation.

"A day before the meet, a small advertisement is given in some local dailies. Many do not even get to know about the meeting, let alone participate, Patel said.

The meets in Nadiad and Vadodara turned hostile.

In villages of Valsad district, the prevailing Jantri rates are around Rs 600,000-700,000 per acre, while the market rates are much higher at Rs 50 - 60 lakh per acre for land parcels in the interiors.

Land adjoining the national highway comes for around Rs 1 crore per acre, claim farmers.

Similarly, in areas around Surat, the jantri rate works out to be around Rs 60-70 lakh per acre, while farmers claim the prevailing market rates are Rs 3-4 crore per acre.

While the leader of the opposition in the Gujarat assembly, Amit Chavda, could not be reached despite several attempts, district-level leaders of the Congress, however, said that the high-handedness of the ruling party might prove to be costly.

Farmers in South Gujarat are traditionally pro-BJP. However, they would not part with their land without adequate compensation.

"If the NHSRC (and in turn the state government) tries to coarse these villagers, the results would be felt in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections," said a Congress leader from a South Gujarat district.

The BJP spokesperson too could be not be reached for a comment.

Sagar Rabari, head of the Gujarat Khedut Samaj, which champions farmers rights, said the organisation had written to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), intimating it about violations of the JICAs guidelines (related to land acquisition).

"We plan to hold a demonstration before the Japanese embassy in New Delhi soon if the implementing agency does not pay heed to our demands, Rabari said.

Given the peoples anger, the bullet train is unlikely to see the light of day by 2022.'What happens in case the party joins a post-poll alliance with another party whose ideology the legislator is opposed to?'

'Should s/he let down her/his voters merely because her/his party leadership has taken a decision in that direction?' asks Aakar Patel.

IMAGE: Janata Dal-Secular leader H D Kumaraswamy, left, and Congress leader D K Shivakumar celebrate after the Bharatiya Janata Party's B S Yeddyurappa resigned as chief minister before the vote of confidence at the Vidhana Soudha, Bengaluru, May 19, 2018. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

In 1985, soon after the Congress won a landslide victory of over 400 seats, Rajiv Gandhi got Parliament to pass the anti-defection law.

In essence the law said the following: Any legislator who defied the party leadership on a vote would be seen as a defector and disqualified.

Meaning that once the party issued a whip (a written notice to its legislators requesting attendance for a particular vote), the legislator could not vote as s/he chose but had to vote as the party wanted her/him to.

Even if the legislator abstained from voting s/he could be disqualified.

The vote need not necessarily be a confidence vote, linked to the survival of a government.

The anti-defection law can be invoked for any vote that a party chooses.

The law originally shielded legislators voting against their party if one-third of them did so. But in 2004, this aspect was also removed.

The logic was that the one-third law encouraged 'wholesale defection'.

In a 2007 case (Rajendra Singh Rana vs Swami Prasad Maurya, connected to defections in the Bahujan Samaj Party) the Supreme Court said that even signing a letter to the governor supporting the opposite party was equivalent to defection.

This is one reason why the Bharatiya Janata Party did not name the members from the Congress or the Janata Dal-Secular who may have been supporting it in Karnataka.

If their names and signatures had been added by B S Yeddyurappa in his letter to the governor, this could have been fatal for the MLAs concerned.

The Union government arguing in the BJP's favour in Karnataka made the claim that because the Karnataka MLAs had not yet been sworn in, the anti-defection law did not apply.

The Supreme Court said that this claim was 'preposterous' and 'an open invitation to horse-trading'.

Over the years, because of this law, the judiciary has been able to impose itself on what it essentially the prerogative of the legislature. This may be seen by some as being necessary but it is not healthy in a parliamentary democracy.

Over 100 MLAs across India and over 2 dozen MPs have been disqualified under this law over the decades.

Other great democracies also have the problem of defying their whip, but their solution or punishment is not as drastic as ours.

In the United Kingdom, an MP who defies a three-line whip (meaning a written notice which has been underlined three times to mark its urgency) could be expelled from the party but retains their seat, unlike in India where they lose both.

In Australia the punishment for defying the whip is such things as being denied some party resources.

In the United States, members cannot be expelled from political parties and therefore the question of such punishment does not arise.

India is the only major democracy where casting a vote against your party directive results in such extreme action.

In 1992, the Supreme Court (Kihoto Hollohan vs Zachilhu) decided that the law was not against free speech or any other freedoms and was not against parliamentary democracy.

The court said 'the anti-defection law seeks to recognise the practical need to place the proprieties of political and personal conduct.... above certain theoretical assumptions.'

One need not agree with this, but even if one does, other serious questions remain unanswered.

What happens in case the party joins a post-poll alliance with another party whose ideology the legislator is opposed to?

Should s/he let down her/his voters merely because her/his party leadership has taken a decision in that direction?

This is not an easy question to answer and the anti-defection law ignores it.

The anti-defection law was justified because that period saw a lot of legislators changing their party, being bribed with offers of ministries or money.

In the late 1960s, a Congress legislator from Haryana, Gaya Lal, changed his party three times in a few days. This action produced the phrase 'Aaya Ram, gaya Ram', referring to those legislators who owed no party loyalty but were in politics purely for themselves.

The anti-defection law was meant to curb such activity. And it has done so to a large extent. However it was too sweeping a solution to what was essentially a problem of morality.

If a legislator defied the party on which s/he was voted, surely it was the elector who should punish her/him and not the party.

The anti-defection law essentially removed the conscience of the elected representative and was thus a blow against democracy and constitutionalism.

It also took away the agency and freedom of the legislator.

The law fails us the citizens in two most important ways.

First the loyalty that a legislator must have towards her/his voter and her/his constituents as opposed to her/his party.

And second, the assumption, which is false, that the party is always right.

The history of independent India shows that no party is perfect and their leaderships are capable of mistakes. The anti-defection law blunts the resistance to such actions.

Parliament is the loudest and most powerful forum in a democracy. The anti-defection law has muzzled all forms of internal dissent in it.

No matter which side of the divide one is on the matter of the mess in Karnataka, all of us must look again seriously at this law and examine the harm it has done, while acknowledging its benefits.

Aakar Patel is Executive Director, Amnesty International India. The views expressed here are his own.'Then all the usual troubles will break out.'

IMAGE: A supporter holds a poster of Congress President Rahul Gandhi and JD-S leader H D Kumaraswamy in New Delhi, May 19, 2018. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo

Karnataka's fractured mandate has resulted in high political drama in the state.

Though the election result had been a setback for the Congress, it has succeeded in keeping itself in power, even if in the backseat, by supporting the third-placed Janata Dal-Secular to front the government.

Krishna Prasad, the well-known journalist and former editor-in-chief of Outlook magazine, who in a pre-poll interview to Rediff.com clearly expected the Congress to perform better, argues that the Congress has not been entirely rejected by Karnataka's voters.

"There's no question that Modi's rallies changed the mood in the last 15 days," Krishna Prasad tells Rediff.com's Utkarsh Mishra.

What went wrong for the Congress and Siddaramaiah?

I don't know what went wrong with the Congress. But sure, (the result) is not what people or analysts expected.

At the same time, as you can see from the hung verdict, it is not as if that the Congress has been entirely rejected or the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) has been entirely accepted.

No question that the BJP has put up a very fine performance, from 40 seats it's up to 104.

But as I said in a previous interview, there was always a weight of history behind Siddaramaiah.

Karnataka has never repeated a government in the last 35 years. It seems as if following the trend, but I think it is too simplistic a reading.

The fact that we change a government repeatedly does not mean that we should keep changing it all the time. But I suppose there could be a lot of reasons.

Maybe people still have hope in Narendra D Modi.

Maybe people rejected the arrogance of the Congress.

Maybe people just want change.

Maybe they feel that having the same kind of government in the state and at the Centre would help.

It could be any reason. But net net I would say it is not a completely anti-incumbency vote since the vote share of the Congress has actually climbed nearly three per cent.

But the truth is that the BJP has got more seats than the Congress, which is without a shadow of doubt.

And without a shadow of doubt the JD-S had held on to what it had, about 40 MLAs.

So you can now offer many reasons, but that would be post rationalisation.

As you pointed out, the Congress vote share is more than that of the BJP, but what corresponded to such a huge difference in the seats?

This is one of the things that happen very often in Indian politics, a higher vote share does not turn into a higher seat share.

For example, if you saw what happened in Tripura, I think the Left parties held onto their entire vote share from the previous election. But yet the BJP got 35 seats.

That's because of the first past the post system. So in Tripura, the difference between the total votes of the BJP and the CPI-M Communist Party of India-Marxist) was exactly 9,000 votes. And yet the BJP got a huge mandate. So one should not be surprised with this kind of result.

Is this a personal defeat for Siddaramaiah, as he also lost one of the seats he contested?

I would say 100 per cent.

It's a big loss of face for Siddaramaiah, who has been saying for the past few months that he will be the next chief minister.

It's certainly a big loss of face that he lost from his hometown in Mysore, from Chamundeshwari.

It's certainly a big loss because the Congress had invested a fair amount of hope in winning Karnataka.

The fact that not just Siddaramaiah, but many of his ministers have also lost tells you that there was a different kind of dynamics at play, not necessarily just development or corruption (issues).

There would be a very subterranean sort of wave which consumed a lot of people. But there is no question that it is a loss of face (for Siddaramaiah).

In fact, Siddaramaiah going to (H D) Deve Gowda's house and meeting his son (H D Kumaraswamy) tells you that he had to swallow his pride, because he was speaking very poorly of Deve Gowda and his son.

His body language at the press conference soon after the results was quite revealing of a man who has lost face.

However, he won the other seat and he had already announced that it was his last election. But it is still a loss of face because when you think you have done well and you will give a victory, then being sent out like this tells you that maybe you got some signals wrong.

Where did the BJP gain? Was it purely because of Prime Minister Modi?

One bit of it was certainly Modi.

The BJP got 40 seats in 2013, largely because (B S) Yeddyurappa had left the party and B Sriramulu had also launched his own party.

If you add the seats and votes that Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu have brought back to the party, it would be around 33 per cent. The remaining 3 or 4 per cent has clearly come because of Modi's visits and rallies.

There's no question that Modi's rallies changed the mood in the last 15 days.

I think in the last 12, 13 days he was able to successfully change the narrative. It is one possibility.

The other possibility is the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) cadre was heavily at work across the state.

And, of course, the BJP's own strategies like having a 'panna pramukh' dealing with each and every voter on the electoral list.

All those things have helped. But I think the fact that BJP has got a vote share of 36, 37 per cent tells you that Modi's rallies have played a very big role.

In the Bombay Karnataka region the BJP won most of the seats, which clearly means that the Lingayats did not vote for the Congress. So has Siddaramaiah's move (of granting them minority status) backfired?

You could say all that. There's no question that the Lingayats perhaps reacted in a very different way; and (perhaps others too) whether it is Dalits, whether it is Muslims.

But let's not run away from the fact that they (the Congress) also got 78 seats. It's not like they have got some 20 seats or so.

It is still 26 short of the BJP, which is a big gap, but it's not like the Congress (was) entirely rejected.

Karnataka's history is like that, every five years the government is changed.

Each time a new government comes it gets into the business of governance and therefore what you see in Karnataka is a result of many governments over many years.

So maybe people just want change.

Maybe they think having the same government here and at the Centre would help, we don't know.

Maybe they think Modi still has hopes. I don't think (that), but let's assume people do.

So it could be a plethora of reasons. I don't see any one reason for what happened.

Certainly, if there is only one reason for what has happened, it has to be Modi.

But that is only on top of Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu bringing their vote shares back into the party.

It also tells you how important a role caste plays in Karnataka.

What do you think of the Congress manoeuvre to lend support to the JD-S after the results? Will they be able to provide a stable government?

You see, the governor (was) bound to invite the single largest party, but you hve seen recently, particularly in Manipur, that Governor Najma Heptullah did not invite the single largest party.

And as you can see in Karnataka, not just now but for a while that, technicality and morality do not matter too much in front of power and politics.

The Congress has learned from its experiences in Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa. So it moved very fast and made an offer to the JD-S that the latter couldn't refuse.

And therefore Kumaraswamy (instantly) sent a letter to the governor saying he had accepted the Congress support.

You can see the Congress moved very fast (and) by 2 o'clock Ghulam Nabi Azad said they have extended support to the JD-S.

You heard that (by then) Sonia Gandhi had already spoken to Deve Gowda. Siddaramaiah and the (state) president of the Congress also went to meet him.

Will it result in a stable government? Of course, not.

It will last for a few months and then all the usual troubles will break out. But it is still very early to say.

Do analysts underestimate the influence Modi still holds on the Indian people?

Well, you could certainly say that about me because I said that the Modi wave has waned. Maybe we see it that way.

But as you know and as I know, seeing and covering politics, that it is not only one person, there is a huge machinery behind this wave and Modi is the last mile in that wave actually.

There are many things which boost up that wave. So there are many, many, factors behind the Modi wave, it is not just the man; the circumstances and the economics.

But I would think that the Modi wave has waned simply on the evidence of several elections in the last two years. And also the fact that he seems to be having less and less of carry because of his speeches.

For example, his speeches in Karnataka were not very substantive and did not say anything new, they were full of abuses and lies. So I cannot see a market for that beyond a point.

But you can never underestimate what people are looking for.

Maybe people are looking for things that we don't look for. Maybe they respond to these issues much better than we do.

But I would certainly think that the Modi wave is not what it was.

It is certainly a fact that Modi has helped the Congress come to where it has in Karnataka.Congress leadership would take a call on who would be its deputy chief minister on Tuesday.

Karnataka Chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal-Secular on Monday promised a stable government in the state and a 'long-term relationship' with the Congress, as he invited top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to his swearing-in in Bengaluru on May 23.

According to highly-placed sources, the Congress-JD-S combine will have a coordination committee in place to ensure smooth functioning of the coalition government in Karnataka and the assembly speaker will be from the Congress.

The coordination committee will have five-six members who will ensure smooth functioning of the coalition government.

The top leadership of the two parties decided to make a new beginning leaving behind the past, when they had come together and fallen apart, and vowed to have 'a long-term relationship'.

The sources said the Congress leadership would take a call on who would be its deputy chief minister on Tuesday, when the leaders of the two parties would meet in Bengaluru to work out modalities of power sharing in the southern state.

The sources add that only a few ministers were likely to take oath initially on May 23 along with the chief minister and other modalities would be worked out in the coming days.

However, the nominations for the Speaker's post would be filed the same day and the Congress has staked its claim to the post, it being the larger party.

Kumaraswamy was in the national capital on Monday to express his gratitude to the United Progressive Alliance chairperson and the Congress chief for supporting the formation of a JD-S-led government in Karnataka.

He also invited Sonia and Rahul for his swearing-in.

According to the sources, the Congress has mooted two deputy chief ministers for the numerically strong party in order to strike a balance with the JD(S) but the regional party is believed to be not in favour of this proposal.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief G Parameshwara is among the frontrunners for the deputy chief minister's post.

Kumaraswamy, who will be sworn-in as chief minister on Wednesday for the second time in 12 years, flew into the capital on Monday afternoon and began his engagements with a meeting with pre-poll ally Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. BSP bagged one seat.

Kumaraswamy will take oath as chief minister of Karnataka on May 23 at 4.30 pm on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat.

Governor Vajubhai Vala will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Kumaraswamy, a government release said.

The JD-S leader will visit Dharmashala and Sringeri on Tuesday to seek the blessings of Lord Manjunath, Sringeri Sharada Devi and the present Shankaracharya Sri Bharati Teertha, the release said.

Rahul confirmed his presence at the swearing-in ceremony. Chief Ministers of non-Bharatiya Janata Party states and head of regional parties, including West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, are also expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury would also share the stage with leaders of the Congress and other parties at the swearing-in ceremony.

Yechury, who has been personally invited by Kumaraswamy, would travel to Bengaluru to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinnarayi Vijayan will also register his presence.

During his 20-minute meeting with Sonia and Rahul, Kumaraswamy is understood to have discussed the nitty-gritty of cabinet formation on the number of ministerial berths the Congress and the JD-S would get.

The meeting took place at Rahul's Tughlak Lane residence.

The sources said during the meeting Kumaraswamy promised to provide good governance in Karnataka and said he would seeking Rahul's advice on all important issues. The Congress chief also extended his full support to the JD-S chief for the 'long-term relationship'.

"There is no bargain. We will cordially work out things. We must work together. I am here to take their (Congress leaders') advice," said Kumaraswamy when asked by newsmen ahead of the meeting how the Congress and the JD-S will address the issue of ministry formation.

"We are going to give a stable government. All these issues are not yet discussed. We have not discussed any future course of action," he said.

After the meeting, Kumaraswamy told reporters he had invited both Sonia and Rahul for the swearing-in ceremony in Bengaluru and they have agreed to come.

K C Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Karnataka, was also present at the meeting. Kumaraswamy is expected to take the floor test within 24 hours after being sworn-in.

Both Congress and JD-S MLAs will remain confined to their hotels till the floor test, according to reports from Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of power after the three-day Bharatiya Janata Party government collapsed last Saturday with B S Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepping down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung verdict with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats.

The Congress was next with 78 and the JD-S followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.

Meanwhile, at an event in Bengaluru, Parameshwara said difficult times were ahead, but there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power in the southern state.

He said he understood the sentiments of many who were averse to a tie-up between the Congress and JD-S.

However, the need to keep communal forces away from power made the Congress lend support to JD-S, Parameshwara said.

"I do understand the sentiments of many people that we should not have gone with the JD-S. But there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power again in Karnataka. Keeping this in mind, our seniors took a decision to support the JD-S. We all must accept their decision," he said.

"We may see difficult times ahead. We are visualising the challenges ahead, but we need to bear all the hardship to build a strong party," the KPCC chief said.

IMAGES: JD-S leader and Karnataka chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy meets former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi at the latter's residence in New Delhi on Monday. Photographs: Manvender Vashist/PTI PhotoIt was the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew, the Navy said.

IMAGE: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman salutes one of the officers of the Indian Navy's six-member all-women crew of INSV Tarini, who circumnavigated the globe in over eight months, at Panaji in Goa, on Monday Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba also seen on her right. Photograph: PTI Photo

An all-woman crew commanding the INSV Tarini on Monday returned to Goa after successfully circumnavigating the globe in a 55-foot sailboat in more than eight months, the first-ever Indian expedition steered by women sailors.

MUST READ: India's first all-women crew set to sail around the world

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba welcomed the crew at INS Mandovi boat pool in Panaji.

The 'Navika Sagar Parikrama' expedition was flagged off on September 10.

Terming the expedition historic, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would meet the six crew members in Delhi on Wednesday.

IMAGE: The crew was led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi. Lt commanders Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P, Lieutenants Aishwarya Boddapati, S Vijaya Devi and Payal Gupta were the other members. Photograph: PTI Photo

Led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, the crew comprising Lt commanders Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P, Lieutenants Aishwarya Boddapati, S Vijaya Devi and Payal Gupta covered a total of 21,980 nautical miles in INSV Tarini, inducted into the Indian Navy on February 18 last year.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept a tab on what is going on (with Navika Sagar Parikrama). Occasionally, he also directly spoke to them and kept the nation's motivation and interest on," Sitharaman said after receiving the crew.

She said she felt 'honoured' by the achievement of the young women.

IMAGE: The crew covered 21,600 nautical miles in the Indian-built sailing vessel INSV Tarini that visited five countries and crossed the Equator twice, the Navy said. Photograph: Courtesy @indiannavy/Twitter

"I just don't want to say that it is a pleasure (to receive the crew), I feel honoured and I feel humbled by the great achievement of these six women," the minister said.

She recalled that flagging off the crew on September 10 last year was her first 'out-of-Delhi appointment', three days after she became the defence minister.

She praised the women for making history.

"And today, by the grace of God and the grit and courage that the girls have shown, they are back home to join all of us, having made history," she said.

The minister said 'the feat is not about girls' achievement, it is (about) youngsters from India achieving and it is a whole motivation for the youth. The women of the country have shown to youngsters that if they want to do something they can do it indeed'.

She said she followed the circumnavigation everyday.

"I have not contributed anything except one retweet of the navy spokesperson in the morning to say where they are and what is their location. In fact, that just one re-tweet in the morning became the first thing...wherever I went in the country, the conversation would start with 'how are the girls'?" she said.

IMAGE: A Navy spokesperson said the expedition was completed in six legs, with stopovers at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Mauritius. Photograph: Courtesy @indiannavy/Twitter

"That became the conversation amongst many people who were closely following ministry of defence," Sitharaman said.

The minister said the girls have made history not only for themselves but also for the Navy.

"In every small way and big way, the Navika Sagar Parikrama is something that we can be proud of for generations to come," she said.

The six women officers were trained for the project under Captain Dilip Donde, the first Indian to solo-circumnavigate the globe between August 19, 2009, and May 19, 2010, on board the Indian-built vessel INSV Mhadei, a Navy official said.

A Navy spokesperson said the expedition was completed in six legs, with stopovers at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Mauritius.

"The crew covered 21,600 nautical miles in the Indian-built sailing vessel INSV Tarini that visited five countries and crossed the Equator twice. It sailed across four continents and three oceans, and passed south of the three Great Capes - Leeuwin, Horn and Good Hope," the spokesperson said.

Congratulating the crew, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, 'Heartiest congratulations to Indian Navy's all-women crew of INSV Tarini for completing the Navika Sagar Parikrama, their mission to circumnavigate the globe. Welcome home. The entire nation is proud of you.'

WATCH: INSV Tarini crosses Cape Horn, roughest stretch of water, earlier this yearIndia has the world's second highest number of languages.

At present, Indians speak in 780 different languages.

However, 183 of these languages are in different degrees of endangerment.

An endangered language is at a risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift speaking to another language.

To determine the language as endangered, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization) outlines 9 factors.

They are:-

1. Intergenerational language transmission

2. Absolute number of speakers

3. Proportion of speakers existing within the total (global) population

4. Language use within existing contexts and domains

5. Response to language use in new domains and media

6. Availability of materials for language education and literacy

7. Government and institutional language policies

8. Community attitudes toward their language

9. Amount and quality of documentation

UNESCO operates with five levels of language endangerment beyond safe and they are:-

Vulnerable: Not spoken by children outside the home

Not spoken by children outside the home Definitely endangered: Children not speaking

Children not speaking Severely endangered: Only spoken by the oldest generations

Only spoken by the oldest generations Critically endangered: Spoken by few members of the oldest generation

Spoken by few members of the oldest generation Extinct: There are no speakers left.

Rediff Labs analysed the data on endangered languages from UNESCO atlas of the world languages in danger.

The above map shows the total number of endangered languages in each states of India.

The states where there are high numbers of endangered languages are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, Himachal Pradesh and Odisha.

The states where there is only one endangered language are Bihar, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.'With changing times, elections no longer are won by giving subsidies, doles and gifts before and after.'

'Entitlements, rightful gains of growth and economic development and the like are becoming important for increasingly conscious and demanding voters, especially younger voters,' points out Bheemaiah Krishnan Ravi.

A fascinating excerpt from his book, Modern Media, Elections and Democracy.



Prime Minister Narendra D Modi is one of the most followed world leaders on Facebook and Twitter.

The Internet is definitely emerging as a new force to be reckoned with in Indian politics.

In the coming days, Internet use will bring a paradigm shift to Indian politics.

Right now, the Internet is offering new possibilities for political mobilisation and participation.

These are still early days for the Internet in Indian politics, and it is difficult to predict with certainty what would be the impact of the Internet on Indian elections which usually revolve around public rallies, sentiments, television, print or radio ads and popular welfare schemes.

But now Indians are now more comfortable with social media, especially when it comes to discussing critical or sensitive issues such as politics, corruption, poverty and economy.

The 2014 Lok Sabha elections had a high social media impact, considering the fact that it has entered deep into mainstream politics.

Here is how social media played a vital role in the most influential elections in India.

Narendra Modi, popularly known as NaMo, acquired the tag of the first social media prime minister of India.

He was also the second most liked politician on Facebook.

The BJP carefully entered social media platforms engaging the users in important conversations.

The tagline Ab ki Baar Modi Sarkaar became viral on social media.

The party's social media cell carefully orchestrated the Media and Elections in India 197 conversations with common people, with its ever-obliging volunteers chipping in to create a buzz around Modi.

Impact of Social Media on the 2014

Lok Sabha Elections

Direct connection with users:

Politicians were trying to form a direct contact with potential voters through Facebook and Twitter by posting and tweeting regularly.

The active users were also started to engage with each other on the political front.

Hence, social media became a tool both for party leaders as well as the voters to understand each other's perspectives.

Indian politicians also used hashtag strategy discretely on Twitter to drive home the point.

Hashtags such as #Election2014, #NaMo and #ArvindKejriwal were trending during elections.

Impact on young voters:

Youngsters were in the forefront when it came to using social networks as a tool of discussing political content.

Social media savvy politicians such as Modi and Kejriwal made the most of the opportunity and had a mind-boggling impact on young voters, especially the first-timers.

Politicians and youth had a mutual impact on each other with their active participation in social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Image boosting:

Politicians have used social media to boost their images just like big brands.

For example, every time Modi was scheduled to address a political rally, there was an update on Facebook and Twitter.

His campaigns were turned into online campaigns, thereby connecting with the people who were not part of his offline campaigns.

Social media was also flooded with images of Modi and his campaign and what he spoke on those rallies, registering his image in the minds of the users, many among them were impressionable first-time voters.

This strategy did help him to create an aura around his persona during the elections.

Overtook the mainstream media:

Social media was able to bypass the mainstream media such as newspapers and television during the elections.

Dedicated accounts and pages of the parties doled out images, videos and activities continuously over social media platforms to digital savvy party followers.

They got the minute-to-minute updates on their smart phones when on the move.

Through Twitter and Facebook, parties tried to reach out to vast number of voters and pulled them into the political conversation.

In a new changed mainstream, media is no longer the firsthand source of news for the active social media users.

Powerful media for freedom of speech:

Social media is an incredible platform to express, share thoughts and create awareness.

Manufacturing Consent, the famous treatise by Noam Chomsky, has had a major application during the 2014 general elections.

Social media has emerged not only as a medium of freedom of expression, but also as a source of content for mainstream media to develop and build stories around them.

The BJP and AAP are initiating the changes in tone and tenor, images and messages in this regard.

With changing times, elections no longer are won by giving subsidies, doles and gifts before and after; entitlements, rightful gains of growth and economic development and the like are becoming important for the increasingly conscious and demanding voters, especially the younger voters.

The Indian Left parties which were traditionally banking on the labour and lower classes along with a section of the educated middle class are increasingly being left out of the new emerging political discourse in the country partly due to social media.

It is the neo-left like AAP, which mixes Inquilab Zindabad with Bharat Mata Ki Jai, capturing the public imagination now.

AAP has managed to carve a niche for itself within a very short span of time thanks to social media.

Mass interest in politics is slowly changing.

A very large number of youth influenced by the BJP and AAP have become politically active in recent times.

Thanks to this new-found interest, women are also voting in large numbers.

With the backup of social media, ordinary and less powerful candidates, especially belonging to AAP, were able to put a strong fight in many seats.

In fact, AAP gave the media-driven, corporate-funded election juggernaut BJP a run for its money.

Some parties have begun to present constituency specific manifestoes to make their respective candidates accountable post elections.

Thanks to social media, Indian democracy went into participatory mode with millions of young voters participating in the electoral process.

One can only hope that this unprecedented participation now leads to empowerment in a holistic sense.

Excerpted from Modern Media, Elections and Democracy by Bheemaiah Krishnan Ravi, Sage, 2017, with the publisher's kind permission.'The Himalayan people may not represent a large or politically influential section of the population, but India's security depends on them.'

'Let us hope Sikkim remains a beacon of stability,' says Claude Arpi after a recent visit to the picturesque north eastern state.

A hundred years ago, a young French lady described thus her visit to North Sikkim: 'Perched on a mountain slope, a humble monastery dominates the villagers dwellings. I visited it the day after my arrival, but finding nothing of interest in the temple, I was about to leave when a shadow darkened the luminous space of the wide-open door: a lama stood on the threshold.'

The narration continued: 'I say 'a lama', but the man did not wear the regular monastic garb, neither was he dressed as a layman. His costume consisted of a white skirt down to his feet, a garnet-coloured waistcoat, Chinese in shape, and through the wide armholes, the voluminous sleeves of a yellow shirt were seen. A rosary made of some grey substance and coral beads hung around his neck, his pierced ears were adorned with large gold rings studded with turquoises and his long, thick, braided hair touched his heels.'

IMAGE: The lady was Alexandra David-Neel, the famous French explorer who would make Tibet and Buddhism known to the world.

When Alexandra David-Neel wrote the above lines, she had just met her future guru, the Gomchen of Lachen: 'This strange person looked at me without speaking, and as at that time I knew but little of the Tibetan language, I did not dare to begin a conversation. I only saluted him and went out.'

When she returned to the traveller's bungalow, she asked: 'Who was this lama?'

One of her attendants told her: 'He is a great gomchen (great meditator). He has spent years alone, in a cave high up in the mountains. Demons obey him and he works miracles. They say he can kill men at a distance and fly through the air.'

A couple of years after this encounter, Alexandra David-Neel decided to live for three years (between 1913 and 1916) in total seclusion at an altitude above 10,000 feet to learn the esoteric form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and the Himalayas.

The French lady a few years later would be the first foreign woman to reach Lhasa.

The next 50 years of her life would be consecrated to tell the world, particularly in her bestseller, With Mystics and Magicians in Tibet what she learnt from the Gomchen of Lachen.

A century later, the 'magic' Alexandra David-Neel encountered continues to permeate the mountainous state.

The Beauties of North Sikkim

Alexandra David-Neel's three-year tough apprenticeship was on my mind when I arrived in Sikkim; for me, a visit to North Sikkim was a must.

The two main villages are Lachung and Lachen.

Lachung, the 'small pass', is in fact higher in altitude than Lachen (2,900 metres above sea level versus 2,750m); it is a large and prosperous village.

If one continues (the next day) to the north is Yumthang, the 'Valley of Flowers', with its myriad rhododendrons of different colours and beyond at 'Zero Point', one experiences the snow-covered Tibetan plateau at some 15,300 feet.

Further north is a 'restricted' area under the control of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and the Indian Army.

Incidentally, it is the only area where the boundary with China is emborned with a series of cairns (it is unfortunately not the case in southern Sikkim, an area which witnessed a standoff for 73 days with China last year).

In order to preserve the pristine natural beauty of these northern reaches, plastic bottles are banned. If you are caught with a bottle of mineral water, there is a fine of Rs 2,000.

IMAGE: Lachen town.

Lachen, the 'big pass', though built in an extremely narrow valley, has developed at a fast pace in recent years.

I could not visit the Gomchen's cave due to the bad road between Lachen and the village of Thangdu where his abode was located. Hopefully, this will be remedied soon.

Towards the north is the lake of Gurudongmar.

Legend says Guru Rinpoche (also known as Guru Padmasambhava) dwelt in seven sacred and hidden lands; most of these places are in Tibet and Bhutan, but locals believe that Guru Rinpoche visited Sikkim in the 8th century, he then blessed this often-frozen lake near the Tibetan border, which became 'Gurudongmar Tso', the 'lake of the red-face Guru'.

Some say the Great Guru manifested at the lake in the form of Gurudongmar or Gurudrakpo, one of the main aspects that the tantric master to establish Buddhism in Tibet and the Himalayan region.

Gurudramar, the red-face deity of Guru Rinpoche, is one of the main protecting deities of several important monasteries in Sikkim, including in Lachen and Pemayangtse; in the 13th century, the ancestors of Sikkim's ruling Namgyal dynasty were instructed by the deity to go southwards to 'Payul Demjong', the 'hidden valley of grains', as Sikkim was traditionally known. A visit to Gurudongmar, three hours from Lachen by road is a must.

Something else touched me when I reached Gangtok: Sikkim is clean and the environment is well-protected. This is particularly striking when one comes from a state where plastic and garbage litters each and every public place; it is a truly refreshing experience to see clean forests, streams and villages.

Driving in from West Bengal, Sikkim seems paradise.

Sikkim is indeed a stable and prosperous State; the fact that the charismatic Chief Minister Pawan Chamling has recently become the longest serving Indian chief minister, is a clear sign of the continuity.

Sikkim is also the first Organic State in India, showing the way to other smaller progressive states.

At a time this state is so crucial to India's security, it remains a trend setter and a model. India can't afford to have insecure and 'unhappy' borders, when the northern neighbour is always ready to change the status quo.

Another welcome change is the forthcoming disenclavement of the state. A couple of weeks ago, Pakyong airport formally obtained a license to operate commercial flights, thus enabling Sikkim to be connected with the rest of the country by air.

Union Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted: 'The PakyongAirport at Sikkim got a license today for scheduled operations. It's an engineering marvel at a height of more than 4,500 ft in a tough terrain.'

The need of the hour is the strengthening of the Indian Himalayan border states; the issue has even become more urgent after the Doklam episode.

Sikkim could be a role model for other states.

IMAGE: The Nathu-la mountain pass.

Another must visit is Nathu-la, the border pass between India and China; it is a special place for many reasons.

Several times a year, it witnesses BPMs (Border Personnel Meetings) between the Indian and Chinese armies in a 'hut' built for the purpose. It symbolises the decision taken at the highest level of the Indian and Chinese States to solve the border issues around a table.

Nathu-la is also the entry point for the Kailash Yatra organised every year by the ministry of external affairs (it was unfortunately cancelled in 2017 due to the Doklam episode). Several batches of Indian pilgrims will go again on pilgrimage to the holy mountain this year.

Nathu-la is also one point where the Sikkimese and Tibetan traders meet during several months. Pre-Doklam, the border exchanges had reached a peak; more than Rs 80 crores (Rs 800 million) for the financial year; it is hoped that business will reach new heights in 2018.

Traditionally (till 1962), it is via Nathu-la (and also Jelep-la further south) that most of the trade with Tibet was conducted.

A strange episode came back to mind: In the early 1950s. India started feeding the Chinese troops who had just started occupying the plateau.

John Lall, a former diwan of Sikkim, was posted in Gangtok when the supply of rice took place; he could witness the long caravan of mules leaving in the direction of Nathu-la.

'This could, and indeed should, have been made the occasion for a settlement of the major problems with China as a prelude to the altogether unprecedented help requested from the Government of India,' Lall remembered. 'It simply did not occur to anyone in Delhi, and which caution as I advised was brushed aside.'

The mules of yesterday have been replaced by the long convoy of Indian tourists wanting selfies near the BPM hut.

Ultimately, Sikkim needs to remain stable'.

One possibility is 'development', particularly eco-tourism which can bring rich dividends. But it is probably not enough. It is also necessary to empower the local populations.

China has recently decided to 'empower' the Tibetan populations living on the border; Xi Jinping's 'border' doctrine is: 'govern the nation by governing the borders, govern the borders by first stabilising Tibet, ensure social harmony and stability in Tibet, and strengthen the development of border regions.'

China tries to kill two birds at the same time; it uses border tourism as a way to tackle poverty ...and to protect the country's borders (by buying the local population over to China's side).

With the fast developments taking place on India's borders and the arrival of a railway line in Yatung in the Chumbi Valley, the pressure is going to greatly increase for the local population to remain steadfast.

The Himalayan people may not represent a large or politically influential section of the population, but India's security depends on them.

Let us hope that Sikkim can remain a beacon of stability and cleanliness.

Incidentally, there is hardly any crime against women in Sikkim, another sign of a progressive society.'Parents always remember what their child was last wearing, so it helps in both verifying what they say as well in identifying the child correctly even after many years have gone by,' says the head of a crack Delhi police team which has traced 54 missing children in the last one year.

A Ganesh Nadar reports.

IMAGE: The tenacious seven from the anti-human trafficking unit at the West Delhi police district.

Press Trust of India recently reported that the anti-human trafficking unit at the West Delhi police district reunited 54 missing children with their families in the past one year, some of who had been missing for 12 years.

In all, between March 2017 and April 2018, the anti-human trafficking unit traced 54 children from different shelters and children's homes, the PTI report said.

The feat was accomplished by a group of seven dedicated officers and men of the Delhi police, one of who is said to sit at the computer the whole day scanning the national database of trackthemissingchild.gov.in to find if it matches any of the children they are trying to help.

Inspector Vijay Pal, who heads the anti-human trafficking unit, told Rediff.com, "Whenever any child is found roaming on the streets by social workers or by the police, they are sent to children's homes. The local police station maintains a record of what they said at that time and also makes a record of the clothes they were wearing."

"The children's homes keep this set of clothes very safe, as this is important evidence," adds Inspector Pal. "For the parents always remember what their child was last wearing, so it helps in both verifying what they say as well in identifying the child correctly even after many years have gone by."

"We go to the shelters and talk to the children to find out what memories they have of their home. If they mention the name of a village, we search for it and contact the local police station there and find out if there are any missing children of that particular age. If there is a match we go there and bring the parents here," Inspector Pal explains.

"We do a DNA test to make sure that what they are saying is true. Sometimes it matches and sometimes it doesn't."

"One child knew the name of his village, but did not know his parents' name," the inspector recalls. "He had been missing for 12 years and had come here (Delhi) as a 6 year old. All he remembered was that his father sold belts. We went there and found another belt-seller who gave us details of all the belt-sellers in his village. We then managed to find the father."

"Once we know where the child was found, we contact the local police station and find out what the child had told them at the time. They may have forgotten it now, but at that time the memory was fresh. This gives us clues as to where to search."

"We have pictures of the children we are trying to restore to the parents," says Inspector Pal. "One man from our team matches this with the data on the government Web site. We have found parents through this method."

"It is continuous work, sometimes we are successful and sometimes not. But we carry on our work on a daily and continuous basis."The Head of Assets Management and Investments at Egypt's biggest investment bank EFG Hermes Karim Moussa said the group is willing to investment $300 million in basic education in Egypt in cooperation with UAE GEMS Education in the upcoming five years.

" In the upcoming two months, Hermes will launch its first investments platform in education sector in Egypt with a plan to obtain four or five schools by the end of September 2018", Moussa told Reuters on Sunday.

The announcement comes as Hermes said it has signed an exclusive cooperation with UAE GEMS education to launch the largest investment platform targeting Egypt's basic education sector.

Hermes is aiming to establish a portfolio of international and language schools in major Egyptian cities in the upcoming five years starting from kindergarten and until 12th grade.

"The group will obtain already existing schools in addition to establishing new schools, initially in Cairo and Alexandria governorates" Moussa added.

Established in 1959, GEMS UAE is one of the largest schools management groups in the Middle East and North Africa.

Hermes is currently active in a number of markets around the Middle East in Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman Pakistan as well as Kenya in Africa and the United States.

Egypt, the Arab worlds biggest education market and most populous nation exceeding 90 million, is becoming attractive to investors as the country has been undertaking a promising economic reform program to attract foreign investors who left in the wake of the 2011 political uprising and following political turbulences.



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The meeting saw a discussion of the establishment of an integrated complex for refinement and petrochemicals in Suez Governorate as well as a hydrocracking complex in Assiut.

The president gave orders for the swift implementation of the two projects, stressing that these projects contribute to ensuring the stability of the domestic market for petroleum products and helping reduce imports.

The meeting was also attended by Chairman of the Financial Affairs Authority of the Armed Forces General Mohamed Amin and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank Gamal Negm.

The meeting was held to follow up on the Ministry of Petroleums efforts to develop and establish plants, facilities and networks for the oil and gas sector.

The officials also reviewed feasibility studies for the projects and their sources of financing.

El-Molla also discussed during the meeting the latest developments in exploration activities by a number of companies, highlighting the success rates at a number of sites, which are indications of further discoveries.

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John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg (October 1, 1746{spaced ndash}October 1, 1807) was an American clergyman, Continental Army soldier during the American Revolutionary War, and political figure in the newly independent United States. A Lutheran minister, he served in the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate from Pennsylvania.

==Early life and education==

Muhlenberg was born to Pennsylvania German parents Anna and Henry Muhlenberg in Trappe, Pennsylvania. He was sent, together with his brothers, Frederick Augustus and Gotthilf Henry Ernst in 1763 to Halle. They were educated in Latin at the Francke Foundations. He left school in 1767 to start as a sales assistant in Lubeck and returned in the same year to Pennsylvania. There he received a classical education from the Academy of Philadelphia, which is today the University of Pennsylvania.

He also served briefly in the German dragoons, earning the nickname Teufel Piet (Devil Pete) before returning to Philadelphia. He was ordained in 1768 and headed a Lutheran congregation in Bedminster, New Jersey, before moving to Woodstock, Virginia. In 1770 he married Anna Barbara Hannah Meyer, the daughter of a successful potter. Together they had six children.

Muhlenberg visited England in 1772 and was ordained into the priesthood of the Anglican Church although he served a Lutheran congregation. Since the Anglican Church was the state church of Virginia, he was required to be ordained in an Anglican church in order to serve a congregation in Virginia. Besides his new congregation, he led the Committee of Safety and Correspondence for Dunmore County, Virginia. He was elected to the House of Burgesses in 1774, and was a delegate to the First Virginia Convention.

==Military career==

Toward the end of 1775, Muhlenberg was authorized to raise and command as its colonel the 8th Virginia Regiment of the Continental Army. After George Washington personally asked him to accept this task, he agreed. However, his brother Fredrick Augustus Muhlenberg, who was also a minister, did not approve of him going into the army until the British burned down his own church in front of him. Then he joined the military himself.

According to a biography written by his great nephew in the mid-19th century,. on January 21, 1776 in the Lutheran church in Woodstock, Virginia, Reverend Muhlenberg took his sermon text from the third chapter Ecclesiastes, which starts with To every thing there is a season; after reading the eighth verse, a time of war, and a time of peace, he declared, And this is the time of war, removing his clerical robe to reveal his Colonels uniform. Outside the church door the drums began to roll as men turned to kiss their wives and then walked down the aisle to enlist, and within half an hour, 162 men were enrolled. The next day he led out 300 men from the county to form the nucleus of the 8th Virginia Regiment. Though it is accepted that Muhlenberg helped form and lead the 8th, historians doubt the account of the sermon, as there are no reports prior to Muhlenbergs great-nephews biography.

Muhlenbergs unit was first posted to the South, to defend the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. In early 1777, the Eighth Regiment was sent north to join Washingtons main army. Muhlenberg was made a brigadier general of the Virginia Line and commanded that Brigade in Nathanael Greenes division at Valley Forge. Muhlenberg saw service in the Battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. After Monmouth, most of the Virginia Line was sent to the far south, while General Muhlenberg was assigned to head up the defense of Virginia using mainly militia units.

At the Battle of Yorktown, he commanded the first brigade in Lafayettes Light Division. His brigade was part of the Corps of Light Infantry, consisting of the light infantry companies of the line regiments of Massachusetts (ten companies), Connecticut (five companies), New Hampshire (five companies), and Rhode Island and New Jersey (one each). They held the right flank and manned the two trenches built to move American cannons closer to Cornwallis defenses. The battalion commanded by French Lieutenant Colonel Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat led the night bayonet attack that stormed Redoubt No. 10 on October 14, 1781.

At the end of the war (1783), he was brevetted to major general and settled in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Muhlenberg was also an original member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Society of the Cincinnati.

==Political career==

After the war, Muhlenberg was elected to the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1784. He was elected Vice-President of the Council, a position comparable to that of Lieutenant Governor, on October 31, 1787. His term as Vice-President ended on a mysterious note. On October 14, 1788 the minutes of the Executive Council report that Muhlenberg had left Philadelphia without tendering his resignationwhy his resignation was needed or expected is not notedso a messenger was sent after him. That night, after the messenger returned with the resignation, the Council met at President Benjamin Franklins home to choose Muhlenbergs successor, electing David Redick to the position.

Muhlenberg was elected to the 1st Congress (17891791) as one of the at-large representatives from Pennsylvania. His brother Frederick was the Speaker of the House for that same Congress. He was the first founder of the Democratic-Republican Societies in 1793. Muhlenberg served in Congress as a Republican during the 3rd Congress 1793-1795 and 5th Congress 1799-1801 for the 1st district. Muhlenberg was elected by the legislature to the U.S. Senate on a second ballot in February 1801 over George Logan, but resigned on June 30 of that same year.

President Thomas Jefferson appointed him the supervisor of revenue for Pennsylvania in 1801 and customs collector for Philadelphia in 1802. He served in the latter post until his death.

Muhlenberg died in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on October 1, 1807 and is buried at the Augustus Lutheran Church in Trappe, Pennsylvania.

==Legacy==

* Muhlenberg is the namesake of Muhlenberg County, Kentucky.

* A memorial to Peter Muhlenberg is located in Washington, DC on Connecticut Avenue (see image).

Another memorial to him is found behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_MuhlenbergSecretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Abou El-Gheit condemned on Monday the opening of the Paraguay embassy in the occupied city of Jerusalem, stressing that this would "negatively impact" the South American countrys relations with the Arab world, MENA reported.

Abu El-Gheit said that the decision would inflame the situation in Palestine and damage opportunities for a fair settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"The decision issued by the Council of the League of Arab States on 17 May clearly affirmed the intention of member states to take appropriate political and economic measures against countries that are willing to move their embassies to Jerusalem," said the secretary-generals spokesperson.

The spokesman said that the decision to move embassies to Jerusalem is legally and morally reprehensible, and violates a clear international consensus and international laws on occupied Jerusalem and its legal and historical status.

The statement called on the international community to take a stance against these decisions that will negatively affect relations with all Arab countries.

Paraguay moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Monday; the third country to do so following the United States.

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended on Monday the inauguration ceremony. The United States relocated its embassy to Jerusalem a week ago, and was followed by Guatemala on Wednesday.

In December, US President Donald Trump officially recognised Jerusalem as Israels capital, breaking with decades of US policy and upsetting Arab and Western allies.

Most countries do not recognise Israeli sovereignty over the entirety of Jerusalem, with their official position being that the citys final status should be settled in peace negotiations.

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed on Monday his appreciation for the aid and support Egypt has been providing his country in a phone call with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Egyptian presidency spokesperson Bassam Rady said in a statement.

El-Sisi called the 82-year-old Abbas to wish him a speedy recovery after he was hospitalised on Sunday for the third time in a week in the West Bank.

Doctors have given conflicting reports about the Abbas condition, according to Reuters.

During the phone call, El-Sisi and Abbas discussed the latest Palestinian political developments and other regional issues.

Since the latest violent clashes between the Israeli occupation forces and Palestinian protesters in Gaza, which led to the death of more than 60 Palestinians and the injury of thousands, Egypt has opened the Rafah border crossing with Gaza for the month of Ramadan.

The Rafah crossing is the main gateway to the outside world for 1.8 million Palestinians living in the Israeli-besieged Gaza, and is the only crossing point not controlled by Israel.

Egypt has also sent convoys into Gaza with medicine and other aid.

The clashes last week started when the high-profile opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem by President Donald Trumps administration raised tensions to a boiling point after weeks of anti-Israeli demonstrations.

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Iran is working hard to save its nuclear deal with the West despite Americas withdrawal, perhaps explaining its silence on the recent Israeli attacks on Iranian positions in Lebanon

Just 40 years ago, Iran and Israel considered each other to be allies and had good relations. However, this was before the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, which led to the two countries becoming mortal enemies.

This long-distance animosity became near-distance when Iran managed to push its influence close to Israels borders thanks to its allies in Syria and Lebanon.

The region shivered throughout the Israeli war in Lebanon in 2006 and then the Israeli bombing of Gaza in 2014. Now there are forecasts of more thunder to come, this time between Iran and Israel in a conflict that would be on an entirely different scale were it to come about.

Following the outbreak of the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011 and of the Syrian Revolution, the regime led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad found itself in need of allies, and the Iranian regime stepped in to support its Syrian allies.

This led to opportunities for the Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to move into bases near the Syrian border with Israel, not only to fight the Islamic State (IS) group that had forces in the area, but also to confront civilians rising up against the dictatorship in Syria.

The war with IS ended, but the Iranian presence along with that of Irans associated militias continued in Syria. Israel found itself confronted by Iranian-backed militias across its borders, and, alarmed for its security, it proved willing to take military action to push them back even at the risk of a new regional escalation.

Over the past few months, several members of the IRGC have been killed by Israel military strikes aimed at Iranian bases in Syria.

Some have also seen Israels aggression against Iranian forces in Syria as linked to US President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from Irans nuclear deal with the West.

This was valuable for Iran, and despite threats made by Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that if the US tears up the deal, we will also burn it at once, no harsh reaction to the American withdrawal has yet come from Iran.

Not only has Iran not withdrawn from the deal, but Iranian officials are working hard to find a solution in case they can save the deal between themselves and the Europeans along with Russia and China as parties to this international treaty.

Without the United States as one of the most important partners in the Iran nuclear deal, it could collapse in months no matter how hard the Europeans want it to hold, however.

As major economic partners of the United States, it will be difficult for the UK, Germany and France to continue to do business with Iran if there is any chance of penalties against them from the US treasury or department of justice.

The West cannot force the private sector to engage with Iran if it does not wish to do so, or if it is fearful of US punishment.

Three years after the deal was made, most of the big European banks are still hesitant about working with Iran despite EU encouragement.

China and Russia are a different story as their economies are less related to the US.

There are obvious difficulties in working with Iran when trade in dollars and through the international banking system is forbidden, but these countries could find a way through their own local banks and local currencies of working with Iran.

However, such trade would likely mean Iran having to import goods in exchange for oil rather than paying for them in cash.

Many are asking how Iran has reached this stage after all the hard work done by the international community to reach the nuclear agreement in 2015.

It is possible that pressure from the region and from Israel led to Trumps abandoning the deal rather than working to try to fix it.

Perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin will now also want to find a new role for the Iran-backed militias in Syria, as he hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a World War Two memorial ceremony last week.

Netanyahu succeeded in changing Putins mind about sending an S-300 anti-missile system to Syria, and perhaps the two men also agreed to limit the Iranian presence and Iranian heavy military equipment in Syria, including the ballistic missiles used against Israel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohamed Javad Zarif is doing his best to save the nuclear deal, of course with the permission of Irans supreme leader.

Iran does not object to continuing to abide by the nuclear deal as long as it can sell its oil, even if one of the chairs legs is missing and it has to sit somewhat uncomfortably in the absence of the US.

If the oil embargo returns, and China as the biggest single buyer of Irans oil also hesitates to do business with Tehran, then Iran would be better off leaving the deal and waiting for a new approach from the Trump administration.

Zarif was in Russia on Monday where he met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, and on Tuesday he headed to Brussels to meet EU foreign ministers.

Iran wants to save the nuclear deal even if it means its withdrawal from Syria, explaining its silence over the recent Israeli attacks on Iranian positions in the country.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 May 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly with headline: Trying to save the deal

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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.Syria's army on Monday was in complete control of the capital and its outskirts for the first time since 2012, after ousting the Islamic State (IS) militant group from a last pocket of resistance.

It marked a major milestone in the protracted war, which began in 2011 and saw parts of Damascus fall to armed rebels the following year.

But in recent months, President Bashar al-Assad has used a blend of military pressure and negotiated withdrawals to steadily flush rebels out of territory around Damascus.

A small IS holdout remained in the capital's south. Troops and allied Palestinian militia launched an offensive last month to recapture the area covering the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk and adjacent districts of Qadam, Tadamun and Hajar al-Aswad.

On Monday, the army declared it had ousted IS from that zone, sealing its control of the capital.

"The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure," it said in a statement carried on official media.

"The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified."

Weeks of fierce combat subsided at the weekend when a ceasefire allowed for group withdrawals, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

"The evacuations are over, after 32 buses took 1,600 people including IS fighters and their relatives out of southern Damascus on Sunday and Monday," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

They were heading east towards Syria's Badiyah, the vast stretch of desert where IS still holds tiny slivers of territory.

After the final departure around midday on Monday, Syrian troops entered Yarmuk for combing operations, said the Britain-based monitor.

Yarmuk was the largest Palestinian camp in Syria and was put under crippling government siege in 2012 -- making it one of the longest besiegements of Syria's war.

Attacks by Syria's government, as well as rebel and jihadist infighting, have ravaged the district for years.

IS overran it in 2015, and the thriving 160,000-strong population dwindled further to just several hundred.

The evacuations from Yarmuk were shrouded in secrecy and took place under the cover of darkness with no media present.

The government has denied reaching a deal with IS, but did say a brief ceasefire had allowed one convoy of women and children to leave the pocket in southern Damascus overnight.

But one military source close to the regime said the deal had been reached through negotiations with the government and its ally Russia.

"They left in small batches at night," the source said. A monitor headed towards Syria's south, where an IS still holds some territory.

"The largest group went towards Syria's Badiya, because the Americans did not agree to let them enter pockets east of the Euphrates where the Syrian Democratic Forces are present," the source added.

The SDF has been waging its own offensive against IS for several years, ousting the jihadists from Syria's north and east with air support from the US-led coalition.

It is currently closing in on a string of IS-held villages east of the winding Euphrates river, near the border with Iraq.

The US-led coalition told AFP on Monday it was aware of the reported evacuations from Yarmuk and was "monitoring the situation".

Last year, IS fighters and relatives were evacuated from an area on the Lebanese-Syrian border under a deal between IS on one side, and Syria's regime and its powerful Lebanese ally Hezbollah on the other.

The deal enraged the US-led coalition, which sent airplanes to shadow the convoy and conducting bombing raids to block it from reaching IS-held territory. Those strikes killed several dozen IS fighters.

A resident of Yarmuk who was evacuated on Monday said IS fighters had tried to take precautions.

"The last group of fighters left on trucks, not on buses. They requested this out of fear the buses would be targeted," the resident said.

Before launching its anti-IS push in Yarmuk, Syria's government cleared out other rebels from the area with military drives and evacuation deals.

More than 1,000 Islamist fighters and civilians left Qadam in March for opposition territory in northern Syria.

The following month, Assad's forces began the assault specifically targeting IS.

Those operations have killed more than 250 pro-regime forces and 233 jihadists, as well as more than 60 civilians, according to the Observatory.

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Israel has summoned the ambassadors of Spain, Slovenia and Belgium over their votes at a UN body calling for an international probe of the deadly shootings of dozens of Palestinians on the Gaza border, the foreign ministry said Monday.

The Spanish and Slovenian ambassadors were called in on Monday, while the Belgian envoy was to be summoned on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement.

The UN Human Rights Council voted Friday to send a team of international war crimes investigators to probe the deadly shootings. The three European countries were among 29 that voted in favour.

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The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash, said on Monday U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was taking the right approach on Iran.

"Uniting (our) efforts is the correct path for Iran to realize the futility of its incursions and expansionism," Gargash wrote on his official Twitter account, several hours after a policy speech on Iran by Pompeo.

Pompeo demanded Iran make broad changes to its foreign policy in the wartorn Middle East or face economic sanctions, as the Trump administration hardened its stance after pulling out of an international deal to limit Tehran's nuclear programme.

A close U.S. ally in the energy-rich Gulf, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, accuses Iran of backing armed groups across the region in a bid for domination.

"The Pompeo strategy requires wisdom and a change of the Iranian compass," Gargash added.

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No summer lull in the diamond market this year According to Yevgeny Agureyev, Deputy CEO of ALROSA, the company summing up this last September the results of three past auctions for the sale of large diamonds observed a steady demand for expensive high-quality rough throughout the trading period...

Xtract boosts Manica alluvial gold production Xtract Resources has improved its total contractor alluvial gold production at its Manica concession in Mozambique from 284 ounces (oz) in the first quarter of the to 427 oz at the end of the second quarter ended June 30.

BlueRock sells 7.1 ct diamond for $64.8k BlueRock Diamonds, which owns and operates the Kareevlei Diamond Mine in South Africa, has sold a 7.1 carat stone for $64,826 in the September tender.

Six suspected illegal miners killed in South Africas North West Six suspected illegal miners known as zama zamas were killed and 35 arrested after an attack on security guards at an unnamed mine in North West.Japan posted a merchandise trade surplus of 625.977 billion yen in April, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday - up 30.9 percent on year.

The headline figure exceeded expectations for a surplus of 440.0 billion yen following the downwardly revised 797.0 billion yen surplus in March (originally 797.3 billion yen).

Exports were up 7.8 percent on year to 6.822 trillion yen, missing forecasts for an increase of 8.7 percent but up from 2.1 percent in the previous month.

Exports to Asia were up 6.0 percent on year to 3.654 trillion yen, while exports to China alone jumped an annual 10.9 percent to 1.426 trillion yen.

Exports to the United States added 4.3 percent to 1.286 trillion yen, while exports to the European Union gained an annual 14.1 percent to 819.253 billion yen.

Imports advanced an annual 5.9 percent to 6.196 trillion yen versus expectations for 9.8 percent following the 0.6 percent contraction a month earlier.

Imports from Asia added 3.7 percent on year to 2.938 trillion yen, while imports from China alone gained an annual 2.2 percent to 1.462 trillion yen.

Imports from the United States added 3.9 percent to 670.633 billion yen, while imports from the European Union jumped 9.0 percent on year to 716.343 billion yen.

The adjusted trade surplus was 550.0 billion yen, exceeding forecasts for 114.9 billion yen following the 119.2 billion yen surplus in March.

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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.French Geoscience company CGG (CGG) announced Monday that CGG GeoConsulting has launched the Robertson New Ventures Suite, an integrated and digitally transformed family of exploration-focused geoscience tools and databases.

The six core products of the Robertson New Ventures Suite are Basins & Plays, Geochemistry, Plate Kinematics, Predictions, Provenance and Analogues. The brands include Tellus, Frogi, Plate Wizard, Merlin+, ProvBase and ERGO.

The company said the updated products have been integrated and re-named as part of GeoConsulting's ongoing GeoVerse digitalization program that is providing a common architecture and taxonomy across the New Ventures Suite, allowing for optimum interoperability and a broad range of exploration workflows.

CGG said that the Robertson New Ventures Suite, together with the library of over 650 Robertson Studies (Red Books), complements the company's extensive multi-client offering that includes its global Seep Explorer product, comprehensive gravity and magnetics database, GeoSpec enhanced legacy data, integrated JumpStart geoscience packages and extensive high-end library of seismic data.

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Business NewsEgypt and Russia are set to ink an bilateral agreement on Wednesday that paves the way for the development and operation of an industrial zone in Port Said, aiming to attract $7 billion in investments.

Russia's Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov and his Egyptian counterpart Tarek Kabil will sign the agreement during the 11th meeting of the joint Egyptian-Russian commission.

The Russian Industrial Zone in Egypt, located in East Port Said and built on a 5.25 million square-meter plot of land over three phases, has been under negotiation between the two countries since 2014.

The Russian Trade Ministry described the upcoming signing as a "historic milestone in the development of bilateral ties between Rusia and Egypt."

The industrial zone, which will serve as an international hub for producers aiming to export to the Middle East, Europe and Africa, is expected to generate 35,000 jobs.

Both sides will also discuss boosting ties in several fields, including energy development, delivery of agricultural products, railway engineering and the aviation industry.

The statement specified that the talks would cover Egypt's first-ever nuclear power plant at Dabaa, which is being built in cooperation with Russia on Egypt's North Coast.

The two countries have been aiming to bolster economic ties along their shared interests within the framework of their strategic relationship.

Last year, trade between Cairo and Moscow reached a total of $6.712 billion.

As of January 2018, current Russian investments in Egypt were estimated at $66.49 million from 424 companies in the fields of tourism, construction, industry, communications, information technology and agriculture.

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In Russia, cryptocurrency falls under the legal category of "other property," the Russian Ministry of Justice said.

Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov also told reporters that the country does not consider the virtual coins as electronic money, at least at this stage.

"If digital money is not property, its theft would not be considered criminal offense because there would be no object of the crime," he warned.

His comments came as officials and legal experts in the country are arguing about the status of cryptocurrencies following a bankruptcy filing last year that included crypto funds of less than 0.2 bitcoin.

Regarding the case, a Russian arbitration court of appeals recently recognized cryptocurrency as a property with value, overturning a previous ruling by Moscow Arbitration Court, which concluded that cryptocurrency is a certain set of symbols/characters and cannot be an object of the civil rights.

The absence of firm definitions in the country's current legislation has brought the legal experts on two sides, with one arguing that cryptocurrency has real value, while others wanting the Russian law to explicitly say so.

In Russia, cryptocurrencies are still unregulated, while two draft laws on the matter are pending in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. One draft that focuses on legalizing initial coin offerings will have its first reading on May 22. The second bill is intended for amending the country's Civil Code in order to regulate crypto payments.

Konovalov demands Russia to introduce strict cryptocurrency regulations. "If cryptocurrencies are to develop, additional regulation will be necessary. The main point is to ensure that all this does not grow into financial pyramids," he said.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said recently that the legislators will replace common words like cryptocurrencies and tokens with legal terms digital money and digital rights, respectively.

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Business NewsJapan and Singapore renewed their bilateral swap arrangement that enable both countries to swap local currencies in exchange for US dollars from each other in times of need.

In a joint statement, released Monday, the Bank of Japan and the Monetary Authority of Singapore said the financial cooperation will contribute to the stability of the financial in both countries.

The renewal of the arrangement will help Singapore to swap Singapore dollars for up to US$3 billion or its equivalent in Japanese yen from Japan. At the same time, Japan can swap Japanese yen for up to US$1 billion from Singapore.

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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.NextEra Energy Inc. (NEE) said it reached definitive agreements with Southern Company (SO) to acquire Gulf Power, Florida City Gas and its ownership interests in the Oleander and Stanton natural-gas generating plants located in Florida in transactions valued at about $6.475 billion, including the assumption of about $1.4 billion of Gulf Power debt.

NextEra Energy expects the transactions to be immediately accretive to earnings upon closing and $0.15 and $0.20 accretive to its 2020 and 2021 adjusted earnings per share expectations, respectively. As a result, upon closing of the transactions, NextEra Energy expects its 2020 adjusted earnings per share expectations to be in a range of $8.70 to $9.20 and its 2021 adjusted earnings per share expectations to be in a range of $9.40 to $9.95.

NextEra Energy said it intends to finance the about $5.1 billion purchase price through the issuance of new debt.

NextEra Energy is expected to continue to maintain $5 billion to $7 billion of excess balance sheet capacity, while maintaining its current strong credit ratings.

NextEra Energy will acquire Gulf Power, which serves approximately 450,000 customers in eight counties throughout northwest Florida and has roughly 9,500 miles of power lines and 2,300 megawatts (MW) of electric generating capacity; Florida City Gas, which serves approximately 110,000 residential and commercial natural-gas customers in Florida'sMiami-Dade, Brevard, St. Lucie and Indian River counties with 3,700 miles of natural gas pipelines.

NextEra Energy will acquire 100 percent ownership interest in Plant Oleander, a natural-gas fueled, simple-cycle combustion turbine electric generation plant located near Cocoa, Florida, with a generating capacity of 791 MW and power purchase agreements with the Florida Municipal Power Agency and Seminole Electric Cooperative; and 65 percent ownership interest in Stanton Energy Center, a combined-cycle electric generating unit, with a generating capacity of approximately 660 MW, located near Orlando, Florida. The 65 percent interest is contracted with the Orlando Utilities Commission and Florida Municipal Power Agency.

NextEra Energy expects to complete the acquisition of Florida City Gas in the third quarter of this year, with the Gulf Power and natural-gas generating plant acquisitions anticipated to close in the first half of 2019.

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Business NewsJapan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group or MUFG is planning to launch its own cryptocurrency called MUFG Coin by 2019, reports said. The fifth-largest bank in the world by assets is planning a large-scale trial that will involve nearly 100,000 account holders who apply to take part.

MUFG Coin is designed to offer currency functionality, especially for retail purchases. In the test, an app will be installed on participants' smartphones that converts their deposits into the digital currency. One MUFG coin is said to be worth 1 Japanese yen.

According to local news outlet NHK, the participants in the test will be able to use the currency to make payments at places like restaurants, convenience stores and other shops, and also to transfer the currency to other participants' accounts.

The bank's initial plan to launch a crypto coin dates back to 2016. MUFG president Nobuyuki Hirano earlier said the bank was trying to overcome issues of virtual currencies and create a highly useful currency.

MUFG is also said to be considering cooperation from other banks in its digital efforts.

Meanwhile, a consortium of other Japanese banks including Mizuho Financial Group and Japan Post Bank are said to be planning to launch their own digital currency called the J-Coin in time for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. The project is in the early stages, and the banks held study meetings with other institutions.

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Business NewsCrude oil futures were flat Monday, holding recent gains as oil ministers from the Middle East prepared to meet with Russian officials.

Saudi Arabian energy minister Khalid al-Falih, OPEC secretary general Mohammed Barkindo, UAE energy minister and current OPEC president Suhail al-Mazrouei will be at Russia's St. Petersburg energy conference.

Markets will be looking for clues about whether they intend to extend the supply quota plan that has helped re-balance global .

Meanwhile, the U.S. and China have said they will suspend trade tariffs.

"To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services," China and the US said. "This will help support growth and employment in the United States."

WTI light sweet oil for June was up 5 cents at $71.35 a barrel, having recently touched a 4-year high.

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President Raphael Bostic, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank President Patrick Harker and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will speak today.

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Market Analysis(Agencia CMA Latam) - Nicolas Maduro was re-elected for a new six-year term as president of Venezuela on Sunday, but more than half of the potential voters refrained from casting a ballot and opposition candidates rejected the results, arguing that there is evidence of fraud.

The National Electoral Council of Venezuela said that Maduro won the election with 67.7% of the votes. Henri Falcon was the runner-up with 21.2%, and Javier Bertucci ended in the third place with a 10.7% support.

The Council also said that 8.603 million voters took part in the electoral process, less than half of the 20.52 million people registered to vote in Venezuela. Supporters from opposition candidates largely boycotted the poll. Falcon refused to accept the election result and called it a fraud.

"Not only there was a violation of the [electoral] guarantees, but also of the Constitution. We do not recognize the electoral process and consider illegitimate," he said in a Twitter post, calling for new elections.

The United States mission in the United Nations said that the "so-called 'election' in Venezuela is an insult to democracy. We will continue to stand with the Venezuelan people fighting for a brighter future for their country. It's time for Maduro to go."

Sebastian Pinera, the Chilean president, also criticized the Venezuelan election, arguing that the country's electoral process fails to comply with the minimal standards of a democracy.

"Those are not clean and legitimate elections, and they do not represent the free and sovereign will of the people. Chile, like most democratic countries, does not recognize those elections," he said.

The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, congratulated Maduro. "The sovereign Venezuelan people have triumphed again against coup supporters and interventionism from the United States imperium. Free people will never submit," he said on Twitter.

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.Honduran drug kingpin Sergio Neftali Mejia-Duarte was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in a large-scale international narcotics transportation organization.

A Miami jury found Mejia-Duarte guilty of conspiring to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine with the knowledge that the cocaine would be unlawfully imported into the United States.

The evidence at trial, which included the testimony of multiple co-conspirators and pictures from a seizure of over 2,000 kilograms of cocaine, showed that defendant Mejia-Duarte led a large-scale international narcotics transportation organization based in Honduras and Guatemala that was part of a distribution chain spanning from Colombia to Mexico and the United States.

Mejia-Duarte is responsible for trafficking at least an estimated 20,000 kilograms of cocaine.

"Until his arrest, Sergio Neftali Mejia-Duarte was a violent and prolific drug trafficker whose criminal organization supplied cocaine to the Sinaloa Cartel, knowing full well that the poison would make its way to our streets," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan.

"Today's sentence reflects the unwavering commitment of the Department of Justice to prosecute those who fuel our drug crisis by sending illegal narcotics across our borders. I especially thank our law enforcement partners in Honduras and Colombia for their assistance in bringing Mejia-Duarte to justice."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business NewsPresident al-Mashat: New invaders' ambitions will never be realized in Yemen [21/May/2018] br>

SANAA, May 21 (Saba)  President of the Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat said on Monday that ambitions of new invaders will never be achieved in Yemen, because Yemenis are strong men and tough fighters.



This came in the president's speech directed to the Yemeni people on the eve of the 28 anniversary of the unification of Yemen, which marks Tuesday May 22.



The president referred to the recent events in Socotra Island, which revealed objectives of the aggression coalition aspiring to divide Yemen, plunder its wealth, occupy its territory and undermine its sovereignty and independence.



"Yemen, with its wealth and strategic location, has been and will continue to be a focus of attraction of the arrogance and domination forces, topped by the U.S., Britain, Israel and those who walked in their orbit," said al-Mashat.



The president affirmed that Yemen will remain strong and impregnable and a renewable cemetery for invaders as it has throughout history.



"We had warned of the colonial practices of the coalition countries as a political leadership since the beginning of the aggression in March 2015," the president said.



The president called on all free people in the occupation areas to take serious and responsible action to confront the invasion and occupation projects by all means.



The president called on all Yemeni political parties and components to give priority the national interest and to work together within the state-building project launched by the martyred president Saleh al-Sammad.



He stressed that this national project is the rescue ship for all Yemenis, and the path to overcome conflicts and disputes.



In his speech, the president confirmed that the battle in Yemen is a battle for defending the land, unity, sovereignty and independence in the face of the US-Zionist project that will not stop in Palestine.



The clear alignment of the aggression coalitions against Yemen and Palestine confirms that we are fighting against the true enemy of the Arab and Islamic nation, al-Mashat said.



The president said the abandonment of al-Aqsa Mosque (the first Kiblah of Muslims) is a bridge to abandon the holy Kaaba (the second Kiblah of Muslims), which he considered a real danger to the unity of Arabs and Muslims and to religion and belief.



He noted that after the US president Trump headed the Islamic Summit in Saudi Arabia a year ago, the region has witnessed wars, killings, and displacement.



Today, the same summit is crying over Trumps decision to move his embassy to al-Quds (Jerusalem), he added.



The president described the position of the summit as shameful and disgraceful for the Arab and Muslim peoples.



He called for a unified Arab and Islamic liberation project to stop this destruction and prevents depleting the resources and wealth of the region.



BA





SabaBetween 10 and 15 May, Falaki Theatre hosted MAAT Kicks Off, a programme of three contemporary dance performances featuring graduates of Cairo Contemporary Dance Companys professional training program.

MAAT Contemporary Dance Company was founded in Cairo by artist and choreographer Karima Mansour in 1999, and is now being reintroduced in a new format that expands its scope.

The performances included group performance Credo, choreographed by Mansour; Who Said Anything about Dance?, a solo performance also by her and Las Bernardas by Libertad Pozo.

All three were very different in their subject matter, and as they were staged in pairs over the course of six days, allowed the audiences to form unique connections as one show colors their perception of another.

On Sunday 13 May, Las Bernardas and Credo were staged consecutively.

The Dutch director of Las Bernardas, Libertad Pozo took inspiration from a work by Spanish writer Frederico Garcia Lorca tilted La Casa De Bernarda Loca to create a powerful, poignant and sensitive dance piece centered on five women.

The piece explores the relationships of the subjects of Garcias book, especially the interrelationships between the sisters who are living together in a period of mourning that lasts several years.

In the pamphlet, the piece is described as a dramaturgy in the form of a collage, bringing together moments and anecdotes derived from the daily experience of the performers and their own body language.

The hour-long performance played out like a family saga told in both small and grand movements.

The piece features Amany Atef, Marihan Samy Mona El-Husseini, Nermin Habib and musician Balqeis Riad, who performed the soundtrack live in her station downstage.

With electric oud, synthesizer and drum machine, her music was as much a character as the other four sisters with which Balqeis shared the stage.

And she was acknowledged as such in certain parts of the performance. But her music takes a role similar to that of a narrator, witnessing from above, commenting in her own language but untouched by the drama.

Las Bernardas borrows elements from theatre, including the set and the way the women communicate. A dining table is set up mid-stage, around which much of the dance is performed, whether the performers are seated or moving around it.

The dance piece blends many means of communication to tell its story in many different spoken languages: Spanish, English, Arabic, as well as different artistic languages: movement, music and a monologue delivered by Amany Atef that breaks the fourth wall.

Part of the choreography was comprised of small gestures, like a sign language between the characters that seems familiar but foreign to us.

This was in contrast to bigger, impassioned movements performed as solos or in pairs, communicating a range of emotions from restraint and tension to emancipation.

Part of a bigger picture

While Las Bernardas had a storytelling element as it delved into the tensions of human relationships, Credo was more abstract and tackled existential themes as it looked at the person's role and place within a society.

Credo asks the question, "What does it mean for a person to switch off and refuse to perform a mechanical role, like an error in a machine that will produce faults all the way down the production line?"

The performance begins with the ten dancers joining the stage with their unique individual movements, each in their own space and at their own pace. Then slowly, they all blend into one unit, in which their rhythmic mechanical motion is unified.

Throughout the dance piece, they explore their relationship with this unity, or this ritual they have created together.

The performance triggers thoughts on comfort zones that become familiar with their monotonous repetition, and the disorientation that can occur when we try to transcend it.

Loosely linked to this theme of questioning identity in Credo, in the third performance within the MAAT programme, Mansour's solo Who Said Anything about Dance? reflects on the role of the artist and the artist's identity.

According to the piece's synopsis, Mansour seeks to delve into the creative process, questions the expectations that are placed upon her as the creator and ultimately questions the role of art itself.

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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Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal has sent shockwaves across the region. But it doesnt mean that the JCPOA is dead in the water

True to his campaign promises, US President Donald Trump announced 8 May the withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear deal with Iran (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA).

The deal was signed in July 2015 between the P5+1 Group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) and Iran. The signing of the agreement was the culmination of 13 years of quiet and patient diplomacy.

The Obama administration played a decisive role in reaching this landmark agreement that saved the Middle East from a nuclear arms race and prevented a wider military confrontation between Iran and Israel.

Prior to the signing of the agreement in Vienna, Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, had done his best to dissuade the Obama administration from proceeding. In his annual appearances before the UN General Assembly he repeatedly, albeit unconvincingly, had warned the world that the deal with Iran would not achieve the P5+1s goals, and that Iran would still, sooner or later, strive to acquire nuclear capabilities.

His strategy was to drag the United States into a military confrontation against Iran to the advantage of Israel. He kept warning of possible Israeli strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, even without consulting with Washington.

His intelligence chiefs were at odds with him. Their professional assessments of Iranian nuclear intentions and capacities ran counter to his.

From January 2017 onwards, the Israeli prime minister found in the new American president an indispensable ally in laying the groundwork for a possible military reckoning with the Iranians.

And the American president proved to be a very good listener. He went as far as quoting the Israeli prime minister in his remarks from the Diplomatic Room in the White House on 8 May to the effect that Tehran has not lived up to its commitments in the JCPOA and has pursued a secret nuclear programme.

And this despite the fact that there has been an international consensus that Iran has not violated the agreement. But still the American president decided to serve Israeli interests.

The proof that the US president was eyeing Iran from day one in office came in May 2017 when he addressed the first American-Islamic-Arab Summit in Riyadh and singled out Iran and what he called Islamic terrorism as the common enemy of America, the Muslim world and Arab countries.

The host country and Israel were elated. They have found, at last, an American president willing to support them without conditions in their fight and confrontation with Iran.

His remarks on 8 May could be interpreted that his administration is not against regime change in Tehran, at least in principle.

In fact, and putting aside the criticism that Trump raised concerning the technical aspects of the Iranian nuclear deal, the withdrawal of Washington from the accord with Iran has to do with larger strategic considerations than its so-called shortcomings.

It provides the political cover for Israel and Saudi Arabia, covertly allied and united, to confront Iran in the Middle East and the Gulf, and as far south as Yemen.

Judging by the overall tone of Trumps remarks earlier this month, it seems that the strategic objective of the American withdrawal from the deal has more to do with America-Israeli cooperation in reshaping the balance of power in the Middle East rather than with the nuclear capabilities of Iran at present or in the future.

In this context, 24 hours after Trumps remarks at the White House, the Israeli prime minister travelled to Moscow on Wednesday, 9 May, to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The visit aimed at talking Moscow out of providing Syria with S-300 surface-to-air missiles and, in the meantime, asking the Russians to try to convince the Iranians to scale back their military presence in Syria.

This presence has been perceived by Washington, Tel Aviv, Riyadh and Amman as part of a more sinister Iranian plan to exercise regional hegemony through what these powers have called the Shia Arc extending from Iran to the Mediterranean.

The Israeli prime minister succeeded in postponing the delivery of the surface-to-air missiles to the Syrians; however, it remains to be seen whether the Russians would be willing to discuss with the Iranian and Syrian governments the scaling back of their forces in Syria.

It is doubtful that Damascus and Tehran would accede to such a demand, in case Moscow would broach it, absent a final political solution to the Syrian crisis in the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2254 of December 2015.

The Middle East is at a crossroads today driven by two opposing forces and alliances.

The American-Israel-Saudi line-up against Iran, and a regional and a wider international consensus that the best way to restore peace and security in the Middle East is to engage Iran in a dialogue with the purpose of reaching common ground on three interrelated questions; namely, a non-nuclear Iran, less Iranian interference in regional affairs, and the pursuit of political solutions to the armed conflicts and crises that have destabilised the Middle East and the Gulf in the last seven years.

Luckily, and despite the American withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear accord and the re-imposition of American sanctions against Iran that had been waived upon the signing of the nuclear agreement in 2015, the JCPOA still stands.

Iran, on the one hand, and the remaining signatories, that include four permanent members of the Security Council and Germany, have committed to work together to save the nuclear deal.

They have made clear that it remains the best possible plan, and that negotiating a new one, as President Trump suggested in his remarks 8 May, is not feasible nor practical.

As far as Egypt is concerned, its national interests oblige it to position itself, squarely, in the second camp, come rain or high waters.

The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 May 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly with headline: The unravelling

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On 8 May, in fulfilment of his electoral campaign pledge, US President Donald Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the nuclear deal signed between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany).

He then signed a presidential order restoring the highest degree of sanctions against Tehran and cautioned countries that Washington would sanction them too if they helped Tehran in its efforts to obtain a nuclear weapon.

The US presidents action is consistent with his behaviour since the beginning of his term of office when he set upon decimating a range of important international agreements such as the Paris Climate Accord, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

He embarked on these actions with no strategic vision for what to do afterward and with no ability to produce agreements to take their place.

The US decision to withdraw from a joint working plan that had been agreed on in 2015 has precipitated numerous adverse repercussions:

- It will aggravate the internal conflict in Washington, especially between Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton, who favour the decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford and a large number of State Department officials and Democratic and Republican members of Congress who believe that withdrawal from the agreement will isolate Washington internationally, undermine any influence the US can have over the evolution of the Iranian nuclear problem and ultimately strengthen Irans hand and its ability to seek a nuclear weapon.

The position of the camp opposed to US withdrawal from the deal is supported by US and international reports confirming that Iran has been meeting its obligations under the agreement which had put into place ascertainable limitations on Iranian nuclear energy activities.

The conflict in Washington will play out primarily in Congress, especially after midterm elections in November, when Trump will need a new law in order to impose more sanctions against Iran and the countries cooperating with it.

- It will aggravate the USs declining international image and status. The Trump administrations decision to withdraw from the nuclear accord with Iran has damaged the USs credibility among both its adversaries and allies.

The US, in this case, is the country that has failed to abide by its commitments. It is the party that recklessly tears up agreements while the other side (Iran) comes off as responsible and true to its word.

The USs traditional allies are, naturally, compelled to reassess their relations with Washington and the prospects of strengthening their relations with countries that rival Washington internationally in order to better safeguard their national interests and national security.

In general, the Trump decision exposes the decline in the USs leadership of a world order that has been changing in ways unfavourable to US interests.

Among these developments are the rising roles of rival powers, such as China and Russia, and allied powers, such as France and Germany. These have begun to take Washingtons place in the tasks involved in the preservation of international stability and security.

- The security and stability of the Middle East as a whole has been further jeopardised by the US withdrawal from the agreement with Iran and the re-imposition of sanctions against Tehran which will now work to rebuild its uranium enrichment processes and to acquire a nuclear weapon.

The Trump decision will ultimately aggravate this regions already flaring crises, fuel a regional arms race, increase the likelihood of a face-to-face clash between Iran and Israel, and escalate the proxy wars between Tehran and Riyadh, all of which will be detrimental to security and stability in the Middle East and to the interests of the US and its allies in the region.

- US-European relations will suffer. The US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, against strong objections voiced by European cosignatories, adds another bone to pick between the two sides of the transatlantic relationship which has never been this strained in decades.

Until the very eve of the Trump announcement, European countries had done all they could to persuade him to be reasonable. He snubbed their advice and cautions.

While this, alone, may fuel rancour, the major source of heightened tensions will be European fears of US sanctions against European companies working with Tehran and the threat to recently revived European-Iranian commercial interests which have been steadily increasing since the sanctions were lifted.

- The decision undermines the US and international drive to prevent nuclear proliferation, especially in the Middle East.

The withdrawal makes it difficult for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and US officials to unearth any secret Iranian efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

It also hampers the USs opportunities to bring the crisis over the North Korean nuclear programme to a successful conclusion.

- The Iranian regime will become more hardline and intransigent domestically and externally thanks to the Trump decision, while the reformist camp will suffer.

The hardliners in Iran have always argued that Washington, the Great Satan, cannot be trusted, and Washington has just given them the ammunition to bolster their chances in the next Iranian general elections.

- The Trump decision will rebound against the US economy. Renewed US sanctions will target the Iranian petroleum sector and the international energy firms working with Tehran. Global energy prices will rise again as Iranian supply declines.

Rising international prices will impact adversely on the US economy at a time when US oil producing firms are facing mounting obstacles to the production of shale oil. The American consumer will, of course, end up carrying the burden of rising oil prices.

Trumps unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran aims to achieve narrow, personal ends.

It will embroil the US further in the crises aggravated by his decision and it will further enflame the Middle East which is torn by extremism and sectarian hostilities.

Contrary to Trumps notion of disengaging from the Middle East, the US will find itself unable to avoid being drawn into more of the regions conflicts.

The writer is associate editor of Al-Siyassa Al-Dawliya published by Al-Ahram.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 17 May 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly with headline: Danger in the making

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By SA Commercial Prop News - I-Net Bridge

City Lodge V & A Waterfront Cape Town.



Listed hotel group City Lodge is planning to invest about R1,5bn over the next five to 10 years to build as many as 20 hotels in Africa in an effort to expand its footprint and diversify its income away from a single economy.

The investment drive into sub-Saharan Africa had been selected over India, which it had identified as being its next market to establish a significant presence outside SA, City Lodge CEO Clifford Ross said yesterday.

"We will be very disappointed if we dont make announcements in the next six months (on new hotels)," Mr Ross said.

The most likely cities for the new three-star City Lodge branded hotels included Nairobi, Gaborone and Lusaka, City Lodge financial director Andrew Widegger said. Cities in Nigeria, Tanzania, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda and Namibia are also being considered under the African expansion plans.

City Lodge, which operates 52 hotels in SA, was still "very interested" in India, Mr Ross said. "We would like to be as big as we are in SA in another part of the globe and India is still a story we like, maybe in three or four years time we will revisit that," he said.

The "real negative" in establishing a presence in India and obtaining the critical mass needed for the brand to flourish, was the time it took to get anything done. Regulations in the country were also onerous, Mr Widegger said.

"We were looking at a dual strategy in India to get critical mass, that was both a greenfields and brownfields, which meant acquisitions, and the prices people were asking were just crazy, we couldnt understand it."

The African expansion, if it proceeds at the rate which City Lodge expects, will mean the group will be investing about R150m a year.

City Lodge is "highly cash generative; the past 40 properties we developed we built with our own cash", Mr Ross said. The group also owned almost all of its properties and had a substantial balance sheet, Mr Widegger said.

The group is confident that City Lodge is the right brand to take into southern Africa as it is a brand that is recognised by travelling businesspeople across the region, particularly South Africans who are increasingly travelling in the continent.

African expansion was a logical step for City Lodge, De Wet Schutte, an analyst with Avior Research, said yesterday.

"Its a familiar brand for South Africans and its associated with decent value," he said. "They certainly have capacity to do it, they will have no debt the year after next and their cash flows are very strong. If they cant find opportunities investors will want cash back but as long as they find the opportunities and go for it they generate value for shareholders in the longer term."

Weak economic conditions and a surplus of hotel stock in parts of SA are forcing stressed developers and operators to exit the industry.JD-S leader and Karnataka Chief Minister-designate H.D. Kumaraswamy on Monday met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to discuss ministerial berth sharing between the coalition partners ahead of his swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday.

The details of the meeting were not divulged but the sources said the Congress demanded two posts for Deputy Chief Ministers -- one for a Dalit and the other for a Lingayat, 12 for ministers and one for the Speaker. However, Kumaraswamy said the matter will be finalised when the two sides sit together on Tuesday in Bengaluru.

The Congress has authorised its General Secretary incharge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal to discuss the matter with local Congress leadership, including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He will also discuss the issue with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leadership.



"Rahulji cleared the modalities to be done. He has given permission to Venugopal to discuss all those matters and finalise everything. He will sit together to finalise things," Kumaraswamy told reporters after meeting the Gandhis.



He also invited both the Congress leaders to his oath-taking ceremony in Bengaluru on Wednesday. "Both agreed to come," he said.



Kumaraswamy earlier met Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati here and discussed plans of putting in place a Congress and JD-S coalition government. The JD-S contested the Karnataka election in a pre-poll alliance with the BSP and later had a post-poll tie-up with the Congress.



JD-S General Secretary and Spokesperson Danish Ali said Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders discussed "long term relationship on mutual trust" of the newly-formed coalition and vowed to give a joint contest to the BJP in Karnataka in 2019 Lok Sabha polls.



Ali told NDTV: "This is what we have decided. We will fight together."



Asked about Congress's demand of two Deputy Chief Ministers, he said: "Who will be their Deputy CM its up to them (Congress)."



Before Kumaraswamy meet the Gandhis, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot met Rahul Gandhi and are learnt to have discussed issues related to government formation in Karnataka.



Besides Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati and Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and K. Chandrashekar Rao (Telangana) are expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony.



Meanwhile, BJP President Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on both the parties and described the alliance as "unholy" while defending his party's decision to form the government.



"We were invited to form the government. There was nothing unethical," Shah told reporters here.



"The BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Karnataka. The mandate was in favour of the BJP. The Congress and the JD-S formed an alliance against the people's mandate. This is what I call an unholy alliance."



He said if the Congress and the JD-S had not "locked" their MLAs in five-star hotels and allowed them to interact with people, the JD-S would have supported the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in government formation.



Shah said the BJP was invited to form the governments in Goa and Manipur earlier because the Congress did not stake claim despite emerging as the single-largest party as their leaders were "resting and sleeping".



The BJP chief said as the single-largest party, it was the BJP's right to stake claim. Responding to charges of attempts at horse trading by the BJP, Shah hit back, saying it was the Congress which sold its stable to form the state government.



Hitting out at the Congress for "preaching on democracy", Shah reminded how it formed the government in Goa in 1980 despite failing to win a single seat in the Assembly elections.Six people were injured on Monday in indiscriminate shelling by Pakistan Rangers across the International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Jammu district, police said.

Meanwhile, an eight-month-old baby, who was hit by a stray bullet fired from across the border on Sunday, succumbed to his injuries, police said.



In Monday's firing, a special police officer (SPO) and five other civilians including a woman were injured in the shelling on Border Security Force (BSF) positions and civilian facilities in Arnia sector. The firing came a day after the Rangers contacted BSF over phone and agreed to maintain peace in the area.





"A shell fired from across the IB exploded in the compound of Arnia police station injuring a woman and a SPO.



"Four civilians were also injured in Pakistan shelling in Arnia area," a police officer said.



Police is evacuating civilians from areas close to the the border and has also advised people not to move out of their homes till shelling stops.LONDON (AP)  Tyson Fury will launch his comeback against 39-year-old Albanian Sefer Seferi, his promoter Frank Warren announced Sunday.

The former IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion finally returns to the ring at the Manchester Arena on June 9 after an absence of more than 2 1/2 years, and in Seferi fights an opponent who is a career cruiserweight.

Seferi has lost only once, at heavyweight against Manuel Charr in September 2016, and he has been significantly more active than Fury, fighting four times since Fury defeated Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015.

He represents the type of opponent Fury and his new promoter Warren have targeted since next month's date was confirmed.

Seferi is expected to be durable without posing a significant threat, giving the 29-year-old Fury the chance to shed some of the ring-rust that will have accumulated over the course of their scheduled 10 rounds. He will also be his first opponent since working with new trainer Ben Davison following his split from uncle Peter Fury.

Tyson Fury and Warren plan for him to fight at least twice more before the conclusion of 2018, in an attempt to continue to build the stamina he has worked on since gaining and losing so much weight while he struggled with depression.The Government spent $30 million tala in 2007 to separate the Health services to form the National Health Services and the Ministry of Health.

Ten years later, the state of the health services in Samoa doesnt appear to have changed at all. And the Governments decision to re-merge them has hit a snag.

This is what a Commission of Inquiry, appointed by Cabinet to consider the proposed organizational structure for the re-merge, has been told.

Chaired by prominent lawyer and former Attorney General, Taulapapa Brenda Heather-Latu, the Inquiry started last week. The Commission members include Professor Fui Asofou Soo and Faamausili Dr Matagialofi Luaiufi. The lawyers assisting the Commission are Sefo Junior Ainuu, the Assistant Attorney General and Chief Public Solicitor, and Shalon Time, a State Solicitor.

At the beginning of the Inquiry a presentation of the structure was presented to the Commission. It was during that presentation a lot problems were highlighted.

These include issues such as doctors and nurses having to pick up trash on the floor when the cleaners shift has ended.

This interrupts their work as it delays them from seeing patients who are angry and frustrated about the long wait.

Then there are issues where medical records cant be located; triage nurses running out of blood glucose test strips.

When patients need to be admitted, there are no beds.

The Inquiry was also told that human resources dont follow protocols; there is poor monitoring in enforcement of working conditions, the non-existent Primary Health budget, shortages of staff, poor quality of service, disconnect, lack of accountability, inefficient health information system and more.

Chairman Taulapapa expressed grave concerns about the issues highlighted.

According to Taulapapa, she was the first Chairperson during the separation the last time 11 years ago.

The separation was to address shortcomings in the health system, she said.

And if this is a functional analysis and assessment in 2017, it tells me thats it been a waste of time in the last 11 years.

The Chairman added that the quality of the health service affects how the poorest members of the community are treated.

If this is the picture that has been taken of the Samoa public health services, and I understand from the reports from the doctors who are working in every department, I dont imagine it will be a different assessment from the nurses, then we have a big problem.

We have been asked to look and propose a structure which spends a lot of time talking about high level managerial positions.

I guess my questions Lauano and Namulaululu and members of your Associations is what impact does any of the structures that we have in front of us, including yours, including the nurses, including the one from task force, what actually will that have on providing professional hygienic, timely health services for the less person in the country, such as planters, workers and stay home mothers?

Apparently we have appeared to have waste a hell a lot of money to separate health services over an 11 year period since I have been involved there appears to be absolutely no difference.

Why? Because this is exactly what was presented as the problems to the N.H.S. force in 2007.

Taulapapa pointed out the S.M.A. has delivered an incredibly depressing description of whats out there now.

It tells me, the environment is a poor environment, doctors, nurses, radiologists clerks, cleanersso my question is what in this proposed structure is going to change that?

Because if we are to go on and spend another $30 million on merging, what is the point if the health outcomes remain exactly the same?

The Commissions Terms of Reference require the Commission to:

 Review the proposed structure for the new merged health agency which has been proposed by a high level taskforce;

 Consider the concerns about the structure raised by nurses employed in the N.H.S;

 Recommend options for the proposed new structure after consultation with the relevant stakeholdersA defamation lawsuit over the use of the name Stowers has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The decision was delivered by Supreme Court Justice Tafaoimalo Leilani Tuala-Warren in the defamation lawsuit filed against one Julieanne Stowers and TV1.

The lawsuit was filed by Muliau Matulino Stowers, Tupai Farani Stowers and Afa Mulitalo Poe, who were represented by lawyer, Shane Wulf.

Julieanne, who is named first defendant, was represented by Alex Sua while Leota Tima Leavai stood in for TV 1, which is second defendant in the suit.

According to the ruling, the families of the plaintiffs and the first defendant are neighbours in Lano, Savaii. They all live on Stowers land. Around the 1990s and into the early 2000s, the plaintiffs started using the surname Stowers.

The first defendant and her family, who are Stowers, object to this because they say they have no connection by blood, marriage or adoption to the plaintiffs. The plaintiffs maintain that they are Stowers.

In August 2015, the first defendant took a notice to TV1, which was broadcasted on its Lali programme on 20 and 21 August 2015. The notice was to the plaintiffs to cease using the surname Stowers.

The plaintiffs then in turn sued the first defendant, Julieanne and TV1 for defamation. The plaintiffs plead in their defamation suit that as a result of the publication of the notice, the reputation of the plaintiffs has been seriously damaged and they have suffered considerable distress and embarrassment.

The plaintiffs sought for punitive damages is pleaded on the basis the defendants did not confirm the correctness of their assertions before publication, publishing the notice twice despite plaintiffs demand to stop publication, publishing the names of the plaintiffs and the villages in which they are serving as ministers of religion shows that they were motivated by malice, refusing to provide the plaintiff with a written copy of the published notice, and the first defendant, through her solicitor, sent police officers to serve a letter on plaintiff causing further stress and embarrassment to the plaintiffs.

They sought $600,000 in general damages, $400,000 for punitive damages and costs of the action.

In response, Julieanne noted the notice was fair publication of what was advised by writing by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages.

The notice was qualified by truthful information that was presented by the first defendant and her family to the Registrar, and the notice was the truth that the plaintiffs have no connection by blood, marriage and adoption to the Stowers family yet they are using the Stowers surname.

The TV1, in their respective response, stated it has a professional duty only to make sure that any statements, notices etc. broadcasted are not indecent, improper or unlawful.

Its duties as a broadcaster are not extended to confirming whether assertions, innuendos, implications, meanings, circumstances etc. of notices are correct or defamatory to anyone.

It is not only an impractical, extremely difficult but unreasonable expectation. It is normal for notices to be run on air twice a night. It did the same for the plaintiffs notice. It denies continuing to publish the broadcast after the plaintiff demanded it to stop the publication.

The TV 1 had no knowledge of the first defendant, the plaintiffs or any of the Stowers family and published the notice because it was through a paid customer the first defendant. It therefore denies any ill-feeling or malice when it published the notice.

TV1 informed the plaintiff that it needed permission from the customer before it could release the contents of the notice to them.

Justice Tafaoimalo pointed out that given the defendants do not dispute the imputations pleaded; there is no need to dwell on this issue.

The test as to whether the imputations are defamatory is, would the words tend to lower the plaintiff in the estimation of right thinking members of society generally? In this case it is not necessary to go beyond the words themselves.

The imputations of using a surname illegally, being dishonest, deceiving, untruthful and untrustworthy are clearly imputations that would lead to right thinking members of our society to think less of the plaintiffs who are all ministers of religion. Quite simply the imputations are of a defamatory nature.

There is also no dispute that the defendants published the notice which is the matter complained of. The first defendant gave it to the second defendant to broadcast, which the second defendant did twice on its Lali programme. In relation to the submission of the second defendant about publishing, I will briefly address the issue of publication to avoid any doubt.

It is accepted that any person who has authorised or participated in the publication of a libel is treated as publishing the libel and hence is liable in his own right. In the result, the defendants are both liable for the defamation, unless there is a distinct affirmative defence available to either of ovr both of them. It is for them to establish such a defence.

According to Her Honour, there are three major discrepancies in the facts between the parties.

The first is whether John Stowers was married to Maria Toga Sua, according to the plaintiffs or Maria Toga Vui according to the first defendant.

The second is whether the Sua title came from Maria Toga Sua according to the plaintiffs or given to Harry Stowers by the village of Saipipi, which he then gave to Paulo, according to the first defendant.

The third discrepancy is whether Charles Stowers married Kalifonia Cecilia and had one son who is Sua Paulo according to the plaintiffs or married Silifono and had five children who are Vui Ausai, Kegikegi, Koke, Faapisa and Pelesauma, according to the first defendant.

The plaintiffs submit that the evidence of Meipo is not credible. However, I find the most credible evidence came from Silifono Vui and Meipo.

The plaintiffs father, Matulino, was born in 1975, Afa Poe was born in 1968 and Farani Poe was born in 1958. Meipo is 79 years old and has lived in Lano her whole life.

Silifono Vui is the granddaughter of Charles Stowers, her father Vui Ausai being the son of Charles Stowers and Silifono. Silifono Vui says her grandfather Charles or Sale did not have a son Sua Paulo and he is not her fathers brother. She says Silifono is Charles wife.

Silifono would be her grandmother and the closeness of this connection makes her evidence as to her grandmothers name reliable and credible. Furthermore, Sua Paulo would be her fathers brother and therefore her uncle if the evidence of the plaintiffs is to be accepted.

However, she says Sua Paulo is not her fathers brother and the Court finds this reliable evidence given she is the granddaughter of Charles Stowers, a fact I accept as Silifono was consistent and convincing.

Silifonos evidence that her father is Vui Ausai the son of Charles Stowers is consistent with the evidence of Meipo and Vui Aileone that Vui Ausai, not Sua Paulo, is the son of Charles Stowers.

After a six-day hearing, Justice Tafaoimalo concluded the evidence of the first defendant and her family reliable and credible.

The onus was on the first defendant to prove that the allegations are true. The first defendant did not have to prove the truth of each and every fact.

She is in this case able to defeat the claim as she has justified the substance of the allegation, or what is commonly referred to as the sting of the libel, that is that the plaintiffs are not Stowers.

The defence of justification or truth is established on the balance of probabilities to the satisfaction of the Court.

The first defendant has proved that the notice taken as a whole was in substance true. I find it is true as it is based on evidence, which I have found reliable, plausible and credible, ruled Her Honour.

According to Justice Tafaoimalo, TV1 is involved in this matter as the publisher of the notice.

They submit that if the first defendant is successful in proving its defences of truth and fair comment, a domino effect on the claim against the second defendant should be established.

The second defendant relies on section 8(6) (b) Defamation Act 1992/1993 and submits it exercised reasonable care in relation to the publication.

The notice came with a letter from the Registrar of B.D.M. dated 8 May 2015 that he had cancelled records of Charles and Paulus Stowers.

It is submitted that the second defendant does not have malicious or ill-purported motives against the plaintiffs. It is further submitted that it was not practical to contact persons named in the notice and unnecessary given the Registrars letter. The second defendant submits it will only interfere where the notice is indecent, improper or illegal.

It is submitted that it did not breach any clause of the Code of Ethics of journalism. It is submitted that a fair opportunity to respond refers to news items and awareness programmes.

While there are many cases which deal with the reporting of news or a news item, I have not been able to find one in Samoa in relation to broadcasting a notice verbatim given by a paying customer to be broadcast.

This then raises the issue that given the first defendants defence of justification/truth is established, which means she is not liable to the plaintiffs, does this also extend to the second defendant or is the second defendant required to establish its own defence.

I find that in the case before me now, given that the defence of truth/justification is established by the first defendant, the second defendant can also rely on that defence and avoid liability. The second defendant cannot be liable for publishing a notice, which is found by the Court to be justified and true, ruled Justice Tafaoimalo.

Her Honour further ruled that broadcasting a notice verbatim on a TV station, whether paid or not, does not take away from the control which the manager of the TV station has over content.

This control of content is when he or she will interfere where a notice is indecent, improper or illegal. This means that the TV station is regarded as a publisher, not a passive instrument or mere conduit of content broadcast over the TV. Broadcasters should be mindful of this, Her Honour pointed out.

The cause of action of defamation against the first defendant is struck out and dismissed. The cause of action against the second defendant of defamation is struck out and dismissed.

Counsel for the first defendant and second defendant, having successfully defended this action, are invited to submit their memoranda as to costs to the Court within seven days if they cannot agree on costs and Counsel for the Plaintiffs to reply within a further seven days. The costs were reserved for the strike out motion in which the plaintiffs were successful as against the second defendant and should also be included in the plaintiffs memorandum.

Justice Tafaoimalo also acknowledged the Archdiocese of Samoa and Father Fereti for allowing them to view their original records as well as B.D.M. for the original records brought into Court.

I also acknowledge the plaintiffs and the first defendants families for allowing us to participate in a site visit which was extremely helpful in understanding the evidence which was given in Court.

During her verbal ruling, Justice Tafaoimalo urged the parties to make peace as they are after all a family.

The same sentiments were echoed by Sua and Leavai who represented the defendants in the case.The heavenly harmonious sound of the National Orchestra of Samoa and Chamber Opera Choir rung out beautifully at Taumeasina Island Resort on Friday night.

The chamber ensemble concert was well attended by guests, including the Head of State, His Highness Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II and the Masiofo, Her Highness Faamausili Leinafo.

The concert was organized by the Friends of the National Orchestra of Samoa, the Tiapapata Art Centre Inc. and the Samoan Jazz and Arts Festival Board (Samoa).

Friends of the National Orchestra of Samoa comprise people who enjoy music and want to help to support orchestra.

It was a big step tonight since 2013. It is to settle many more concerts in a format like this, National Orchestra of Samoa Director, Fonoti Ieriko said.

It is very foreign for the group to learn an instrument, so they learnt with the help of YouTube.

About 60 percent of the members cant read the notes. It took us a lot of time to help them to read. We have to simplify the notes for them. That is what I am doing. It was challenging, I had to think outside the box.

Finding qualified teachers to help the students is one other challenge Fonoti faced.

It is very expensive to bring professional teachers. The challenge for us is to find qualified teachers. We are depending on volunteers who come to Samoa and help out for a week, Fonoti said.

He has big plans for orchestra in Samoa.

We want to grow the orchestra to about 40 members. I am really happy we got a complete set. This is a good start. At the moment we are only using 10 strings, which builds the orchestra, he said.

I am really proud, some of these guys just started last year. We could see a month ago they have been scared.

But tonight we said before we came, just enjoy yourself and dont worry, just play. To have the Head of State here just made the night, to be recognised and to encourage more.

Galumalemana Steven Percival, who works for the Tiapapata Art Centre Inc. and is responsible for organising the event said: This is an ensemble that has achieved a certain level of profession that allows the team to be comfortable to perform in public, especially to the Head of State, Mr. Percival said.

In terms of the orchestra performance, this is the biggest event ever performed. We hope that this will be a springboard for further concerts.

Classic has a way of influencing the human spirit. Here in Samoa, the long-term aim is to adopt our tradition, which is unique.

This is like a pathway to peace, the harmony between the people. These kinds of activities are really important. People often overlook this and they do not the deep of expressions, he added.

The preparation and planning for the concert started just one month ago.

There have been hips of challenges. The first challenge was the members were from different places, it was really hard to try to contact them to meet at the same time, Principal Leader for the choir, Franziska Sione Finaufinau.

The other issue was the transportation, some rely on the buses. Our time of practice is after hours, the time where no bus operates. Especially to planning this event, it made it hard.

I am so proud of everyone, as a leader of the choir. We got this out of the challenges we had in the last couples of weeks. Everyone put together and tried their best. The string players have been amazing. I am just happy, Franziska said.Revenue from Agriculture makes up only seven percent of Samoas Gross Domestic product with taro being a major export.

Efforts have been made to assist farmers of our major export crops such as cocoa, coconut and taro but there are some challenges that are out of the control of local farmers.

Samoas largest commercial taro farmer, Peter Tulaga Eliesa, told the Samoa Observer about the struggles farmers in his industry face and his perspective on how they can improve their situation.

New viruses that attack taro crops are one of the most frustrating problems for farmers at the primary level.

Asked why there were so many different types of viruses occurring, Eliesa said quite simply: Climate change.

The new virus is called B.L.T. and that one is getting tougher and people are giving up on farming, said Mr. Eliesa.

According to Mr. Eliesa, climate change is affecting the severity and over occurrence of these devastating viruses that kill taros as well dreams.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries are currently working with Eliesa to test another new variety called Cycle 9, which is going through a cross pollinating process.

With every new string of virus that kill our taro crops, the Government works to produce another taro breed that will reject all the viruses and help find the best one for Samoa in the current climate.

We do taro breeding in Samoa. Only Samoa can do taro breeding, at the moment I got five new ones right now.

Aside from working on his 100-acre taro farm, Eliesa never stops learning in fact some of his recommendations to those who are thinking of dabbling in taro farming involve making a serious commitment to the job.

Farming is not a hobby its for a life time. You have to give everything to it. So I had to do my homework, I had to study and be smart about everything. It has to be precise.

I never had any experience in farming but I developed a plan and a strategy of what I was going to do because I was a bank officer who used to sit inside an air conditioned office so I not only had to learn how to plant taro, I also had to do the numbers.

Also the other most important thing is in any large commercial farm like mine is to be a smart farmer and to be smart about using chemicals. If you dont get the recipe right, you are going to stuff it up and give up easily.

I made a lot of mistakes when I first started and I dont want to see other people make the same mistakes I made. Thats why I help a lot of farmers.

According to Mr. Eliesa, the taro market is getting bigger and even though he exports to American Samoa, he prefers to supply the local market and other exporters who ship taro to other countries. There is a real misconception that exporting is where you can make your money but for the smaller farmers, Mr. Eliesa says to put your money on the local market.

Lots of people assume that exporting is where the money is but my first priority is the local market because the demand is so high. Every day for six days a week I sell out my taro and I save time and effort because I dont have to prepare my taro for shipment or pay someone else to do it.

Exporting is expensive, only rich people can afford to last long in the exporting game, not the small guys. It makes financial sense for small and big farmers to satisfy the local market because there are a lot of costs involved in the preparation and labour needed to export but if you bring it to the market and sell it out of your trunk, theres no costs, you sell straight to the customer.

Apart from being one of the most hard working taro farmers in Samoa, Mr. Eliesa prefers to live simply, working with just three men and living out in the open with no shelter at his plantation in Aleisa.

I never muck around, those are the issues that push me harder, I sleep in the tree at night when it rains I dont care. Its so amazing.The annual conference for the biggest denomination in Samoa, the E.F.K.S. Church, officially begins today.

Hundreds of church members from all over the world are gathering at the Malua Theological College compound for the annual pilgrimage where church leaders discuss future plans for the church.

The main meeting follows a week of meetings last week  including the all important mothers meeting.

On Saturday, church members gathered for a glorious celebration during the ordination of twenty-four pastors and their wives.

The ordination allows them to administer marriages, funerals and Holy Communion.

The ordination was held at the Jubilee Church.

Among the attendants was the Head of State, his Highness Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II and the Masiofo, Her Highness Faamausili Leinafo.

The service was led by Reverend Elder Lucky R. Slade.





THE ORDAINED PASTORS AND THEIR WIVES:

 Apela and Foketi Ah Him;

 Clay and Eseta Tofilau;

 Ekepati and Pomate Va;

 Etiveni and Siileviiga Taavao;

 Farani and Sinoi Pauga;

 Filemoni and Alpha Tuigamala;

 Ioakopo and Aneta Ropati;

 Iopu and Talalele Kalepo;

 Julius and Lenitali Fruean;

 Karanita and Elena Petaia;

 Komisi and Mercy Samuelu;

 Maligi and Fofoga Setefano;

 Mose and Uputaua Malaga;

 Motusaga and Tanya Lesa;

 Peniamina and Eseta Neueli;

 Perkins and Olataga Waterhouse;

 Peteru and Vaasiva Taula;

 Poasa and Leminia Toiavao;

 Sekoa and Teevale Levasa;

 Seumaninoa and Neda Puaina;

 Sumeo and Sauimalae Leota;

 Tasele and Tine Tuluauau;

 Ulale and Usufono Sakaio

 Vailele and Eseta Lemalu

Here are some more photos from Saturday.ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday warned that "true civil discourse" is under threat around the world while speaking to graduates at NYU Abu Dhabi, an event that the school blocked journalists from filming.

While obliquely criticizing President Donald Trump, Kerry did not mention the 2015 Iran nuclear deal he secured with other world powers, an accord of which Trump now has pulled America out.

It likely was courtesy to his hosts in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, which long opposed the deal as not going far enough to limit Iran's power in the greater Mideast. Kerry shared the stage with Emirati Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash, who long had led the UAE's criticism of the deal.

"True civil discourse is also under threat all around the planet, eroding rights alongside trust," Kerry said. "Certainly in my country, our politics has become almost all accusatory and all bombastic."

While never naming Trump, Kerry began his remarks by saying: "Given what's going on today, I'm glad to be invited anywhere folks." He quickly added that the U.S. "needs to build partnerships and cannot turn its back on the world."

Andrew Hamilton, president of New York University, also made a point to criticize "disturbing trends of anti-intellectualism and anti-factualism" in the world.

NYU Abu Dhabi invited reporters to cover Kerry's speech, then just before the ceremony said journalists from The Associated Press and others could not film his full remarks. They said the school would offer video that it would editorially control after the event.

A university spokeswoman, Kate Chandler, said it was the school's decision. Staffers for Kerry said they had no part in the organization of the event. The school allowed an AP photographer and writer to attend Kerry's full speech.

This is not the first time NYU Abu Dhabi has faced criticism when trying to balance the ideas of an American liberal arts education in the UAE, which has strict rules governing speech despite being a staunch American ally in the Mideast.

Human rights groups have criticized the school for using migrant workers to build the campus who they say had been subject to a range of violations including being forced to pay recruitment fees to get their jobs that were never reimbursed, living in overcrowded conditions and being forced to work overtime.

Following the report, NYU commissioned an investigation, which found a number of workers hadn't been protected by the fair labor practices the school had said would be in place. The school promised reimbursement. A report released this month said that even though the school investigated its labor compliance, some workers involved in the campus' construction still were owed money and worked in harsh conditions.

The journalism department at New York University in 2017 told the school it was cutting its ties to NYU's Abu Dhabi campus over two professors being denied work visas by the UAE, as well as the school's handling of the situation.Dear Editor,

Re: Aid galore Samoa

They are chipping away on the first two letters that defined Samoa since 1962.

The INdependent state of Samoa, would eventually become the overly dependent state of Samoa.

They have started with flooding samoa with 2-dollar quality products to build their infrastructure.

The P.M. and H.R.P.P. in their part of the deal is to ensure the loss of rights of individual Samoans to their customary land, as securities to their long term investments.

And the Chinese want to devour the bigger slice of the pie before the rest come rushing in.

And the best part of the pie that had been cooked up by the P.M. and the H.R.P.P. was the cream, the sweetener, L.T.R.A. 2008.

On the matter about China helping Samoa with the chronic shortage of doctors, the problem is due some of them moving into Parliament like that of the current Minister of Health and his Associate.

Then there are those that moved into administration posts within the Ministrys structure.

Others have opted to have their own private clinics or work in the privately owned hospitals.

For some, they have even moved to earn the greenbacks next door. Thats the real problem.

Ropati V.An 18-year-old boy accused in a murder case has asked the Supreme Court for permission to be released on bail.

Ietitaia Misialofa of Fogasavaii appeared in Court yesterday.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder and being armed with a dangerous weapon.

Misialofa is accused over the death of a man in his 20s from Vailoa.

The deceased was found dead on the side of the road with severe injuries to his head.

The defendant is represented by Afamasaga Michael Soonalole, while prosecuting the case is Lupematasila Iliganoa Atoa.

Misialofa has been in custody since 26 March 2018. He was working for a pork bun business at Vailoa when the incident happened.

The motion to release him on bail was rejected by the Prosecution for the defendants own safety.

According to the affidavit in support by the leading investigator Sergeant Sani Afu, he strongly opposes bail for the defendant.

The defendant is charged with the highest offence in Samoa, liable to mandatory life imprisonment.

The family of the deceased is still very much hurt and angry about the death of their beloved son and that the safety of the defendant is at risk given the anger by deceaseds family from this matter.

The defendant himself made a full voluntary confession after he was cautioned and he admitted that he deliberately dropped or threw rocks at the deceaseds face about three times while the deceased was lying motionless on the ground, according to the affidavit.

Furthermore, the affidavit indicates that during the investigation, two rocks were located at the scene starred with blood.

And that both rocks were big in size that a person would require both hands to carry each rock.

That I have seen the deceaseds face at the hospital, and it was badly disfigured consistent with the actions of the defendant as he confessed, stated SSgt Afu in his signed affidavit.

Furthermore, SSgt Afu noted there has been no reconciliation and the victims families are not at peace with this matter.

SSgt Afu in his affidavit further stated I strongly believe that it is not safe for the deceaseds family and the defendant himself to be released on bail pending this matter.

As reported earlier, a villager, Lafi Tagomoa, identified the deceased man as Mose.

He was drinking with other young men of his age on Saturday night, he said.

Im not sure whether those who were drinking with him beat him but his family found him dead where they were drinking.

The family was looking for him in the early hours of Sunday but they found him on that spot where he was drinking with his friends.Over the years, Ive heard plenty of elevator speeches, some that made me wish I could get off that elevator before my floor. A few made me wish I could just jump out a window, no matter how many floors up.

Of course, there is no single, perfect elevator speech. By their very nature, theyre always a work in progress. What works in one situation might not work in another. But whatever the situation, 30 ticks should be plenty to get your point across.

For job interviews, its best to have your e-speech ready at a moments notice, so youre prepared for the age-old question: So tell me a little about yourself.

At that moment, the clock starts ticking for your this is me e-speech, one that succinctly describes who you are, what youve done, and professional goals.

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Why only 30 seconds?

Truth is, youd be better off making it even shorter because according to a recent Microsoft study, the average human attention span since 2000 has dropped from 12 seconds to eight seconds.

Thats it.

Perhaps youve heard that Brevity is the soul of wit? That age-old expression goes back to Shakespeares Hamlet, meaning that the best sort of written and verbal communication starts with a few wisely chosen words. No rambling.

Consider another time-tested tale: Abraham Lincolns Gettysburg Address in 1863 ranks among the most memorable speeches of all time. Yet it consists of fewer than 300 words and was delivered by Lincoln in less than three minutes.

By contrast, the marquee speech that day was given by a noted orator named Edward Everett, whose commentary was also originally called the Gettysburg Address. Everetts oration was 13,607 words long and took him more than two hours to deliver.

No one remembers what he said.

So be brief.

Next, emphasize a few special strengths or talents you have, such as: Im a good bet to be my companys top sales leader or I consider coding to be my best asset or Im looking to get into a more technical field. Or something.

Finally, stay on point: Dont tell your whole life story, reciting job after job after job. And spare us stories of how awful your previous jobs have been.

Here are few more tips when youre trying to make a favorable impression in a short amount of time:

* Speak in easily understood language: Avoid trying to over-impress with your stunning expertise. That may come later. Just be natural and relaxed.

* Try not to sound rehearsed: The best way to do that is to rehearse enough to be confident about what youre going to say.

* Practice in front of a mirror: The more you practice, the more confident youll be. Dont wing it.

* Be appropriate for your listener: Strive to be relevant by staying within your listeners topics of interest. Avoid industry jargon and slang terms.

Conveniently, these tips also apply to business and social situations when youre meeting someone for the first time. Invariably, theres an awkward moment or two before one of you says, So what do you do?

Personally, I regard such situations as prime opportunities to meet new people who, if you ask the right questions and listen carefully, often have their own interesting stories to tell.

To get started, heres what I might say:

Well, thanks for asking. My name is Phil Blair and Ive been in the job placement field for many years. Based on our companys success in placing top candidates in influential positions, Im proud of our ability to help our clients find good, sometimes even better, jobs. Now tell me a little about yourself. What do you do?

Just timed it. About 15 seconds.

Our conversation goes on from there. Or doesnt.

But at least Ive tried to light the spark of easy, low-pressure conversation between two people who 15 seconds ago dont know anything about each other.

Dont forget to look the other person in the eye, with a smile and good-natured attitude.

Because no matter if youre looking for a job or meeting new people, the right elevator speech holds the potent power to get you hired and make new friends.

Blair, co-founder of Manpower San Diego and author of Job Won; pblair@manpowersd.com

Twitter: @PhilManpowerSDSan Diego startup incubator EvoNexus has switched up its business model in hopes of putting itself on more solid financial footing over the long haul.

That means startups entering the regions best known startup residency program no longer do so with no strings attached, which has been a much touted mantra of the non-profit organization since its doors opened nine years ago.

While EvoNexus has been funded by sponsorship donations up to now, it will require a 1 percent to 5 percent ownership stake in new startups entering the program going forward.

We have known all along that the long-term sustainability will have to come from the companies themselves, said co-founder and Chief Executive Rory Moore. We wanted to get far enough along with outcomes and money raised and venture capital coming in to where we could show anybody entering EvoNexus that providing equity is very reasonable.

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To date, 22 EvoNexus alums have been acquired for a total of roughly $750 million. The latest was Edico Genome, which Illumina bought earlier this month for $100 million.

Taking an equity stake is the common business model for the top startup accelerators nationally such as Y Combinator, Techstars or 500 Startups.

But Y Combinator, Techstars and other programs also provide seed capital to the young companies under their umbrellas.

Y Combinator, for example, well invest $120,000 in return for 7 percent stake in companies admitted. Techstars offers a $100,000 convertible note and another $20,000 stipend for living expenses in exchange for 6 percent ownership.

EvoNexus wont be offering cash at admission  at least not for a few years. It hopes to eventually write checks as it builds a war chest from graduates being acquired or going public, said Moore.

In the meantime, EvoNexus is highlighting its access to outside capital  76 percent of the 186 companies that have gone through EvoNexus have landed funding while in the incubator from more than 100 venture capital outfits.

EvoNexus also is talking up its mentor network, top-tier lab and office space donated by the Irvine Co. and the ability to stay in the program for up to two years  which is substantially longer than many other programs.

In addition, EvoNexus is asking the 34 existing companies in its offices in University City and Irvine to voluntarily contribute equity.

The reaction has been mixed.

We do have companies with very high technical skills and experienced people, and they probably dont get as much value from the incubator as we do, said Sarp Sekeroglu, co-founder of Water Pigeon, which provides an easy to deploy, secure automated water metering technology.

And on the other hand, there are some junior people where this is their first company, and they get more value out of it than we do.

Sekeroglu said Water Pigeon will contribute equity, though he declined to say exactly how much.

As a company it has been tremendously valuable to us, with the mentor network, the technical expertise network and the day-to-day operational support, he said. I think it was perceived negatively more from the outside than the inside.

About 70 percent of current companies are expected to pledge at latest some equity, according to Moore.

What I like is they are being very flexible in the amount of equity, which I think is smart because at a blanket 5 percent, if I am a seasoned CEO, I might not be willing to do that, said Mike Krenn, head of the San Diego Venture Group.

EvoNexus operating expenses run about $1.4 million annually. It raises money from corporate sponsors such as Qualcomm and Viasat, as well as the Irvine Co.s significant donation of the office/lab space.

Corralling sponsorships is time consuming and depends heavily on personal relationships, which can fade over time as companies change.

When it is a sponsorship deal like it is now, it takes away from running the incubator -- helping out the companies  because they must focus on raising money and keeping the lights on, said Sekeroglu.

Sponsors also want to see a return on their investment. While thats relatively easy to prove for lawyers and accountants, who are often hired by startups, its harder to connect the return on investment dots for the big corporate sponsors who arent providing services.

For startups, however, there are plenty of advantages, including that it is tough to get in, said Charles Brown, chief executive of CLiCS, which has developed a computer controlled hair color system for the $7 billion salon industry.

The credibility that came with being admitted into EvoNexus helped CLiCS raise $2 million in financing, said Brown. So when the request came for a voluntary equity stake, he felt it was the right thing to do.

EvoNexus is getting $43,000 in stock equivalents at CLiCS current valuation. But we expect that to grow 10 times at least, so by the time it is done, we will have contributed materially to the enterprise, said Brown.

Business

mike.freeman@sduniontribune.com;

Twitter:@TechDiego

760-529-4973A sailor doing time at the Miramar brig sought to get out early but was rejected by a military court, which ruled that he knowingly agreed to a lengthier sentence to seek treatment for sex and pornography addiction.

In a decision handed down late last month, the United States Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in Washington, D.C. denied Information Systems Technician 3rd Class Ericson Johans Geronimo-Hernandezs request.

The appellate tribunal also held that he received adequate counsel when he pleaded guilty to indecent visual recording and possession of child pornography in a case that revealed he made a surreptitious video of his then-15-year-old half-sister in her bedroom after she showered.

Although the girls mother later urged military authorities to spare Geronomino-Hernandez jail time, he also admitted to possessing about 1,000 images and 20 videos depicting other child pornography.

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Geronimo-Hernandezs appeal shines a spotlight on the rarely discussed porn and sex addiction treatment program at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar, a prison located on an air base best known to the public as the former home of the Navys famed Top Gun school for fighter pilots.

A submariner from Puerto Rico, he was sentenced to four years in confinement at Miramar and reduction to the Navys lowest enlisted rank.

He claims Capt. Ann K. Minami  the military judge at Navy Region Northwest in Silverdale, Washington  erred by giving him 48 months behind bars.

She based her sentence on an affidavit from the militarys Sex Offender Treatment Program at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar that stated a non-violent service member needed at least 45 months of confinement to complete the treatment.

Convicts with sentences of 30 to 45 months in prison need to voluntarily forfeit good conduct time or earned days in pretrial confinement to complete the program, she ruled.

Geronimo-Hernandezs struggle with pornography addiction and his long desire to get help loomed large throughout his case.

Ive been struggling with, like, a porn addiction, he told Minami in unsworn testimony. I choose my behavior. I regret that I did it, but I dont want to do it anymore.

The question became whether Geronimo-Hernandez made an informed decision about what his call for help entailed. He came to consider the sentence far more draconian than was necessary or even routine in these types of cases and appealed, but the tribunal meeting in Washington, D.C. disagreed.

Writing on behalf of her two Marine justices, Appellate Senior Judge Navy Cmdr. Anne Y. Marks pointed out that Geronimo-Hernandezs maximum sentence for the recording crime could have been five years confinement, plus up to 10 years behind bars for possessing child pornography.

Even in light of his half-sisters request that the military judge spare him incarceration, the appellant has failed to demonstrate that his sentence of four years is excessive, Marks wrote.

Geronimo-Hernandezs appellate attorney, Navy Cmdr. Brian L. Mizer, said that his client would challenge the ruling before the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces in Washington, D.C., the final appellate step in the military before the Supreme Court.

A sentence is supposed to punish the offender for the offense that was committed. They shouldnt drag in these collateral issues, such as how long it would take to complete sex offender treatment, Mizer told The San Diego Union-Tribune by telephone.

Mizer said Geronimo-Hernandez likely would have drawn a sentence of two years in prison, with credited time for pretrial incarceration, if he hadnt asked to get help. By doing the right thing, he got penalized, Mizer argues.

Geronimo-Hernandez completed one sea tour aboard the ballistic missile submarine Kentucky before his arrest.

Hes still imprisoned at Miramar but its unclear if hes in the special program for sexual offenders.

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cprine@sduniontribune.comMexicos four presidential candidates focused on the countrys ties with the United States during a debate in Tijuana Sunday night, vowing that if elected, they will defend Mexicos dignity as it navigates an uncertain new era in bilateral relations.

President Donald Trump will have to learn to respect us, this I can guarantee, said Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the left-of-center candidate who is a strong front-runner in most polls.

We need to recast the relationship with the United States, said Ricardo Anaya, of Mexicos right-of-center National Action Party, the PAN, who has been running in second place.

Held at the Tijuana campus of the Autonomous University of Baja California six weeks before the countrys July 1 election, the debate was titled Mexico and the World.

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But it largely focused on Mexicos relationship with the United States, with topics that included the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the return of deportees, treatment of Central American migrants traveling to the U.S. border, the production of opioids in Mexico, and the southbound smuggling of U.S. weapons.

1 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico Ricardo Anaya (right), with his wife Carolina Martnez Franco (left). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico Ricardo Anaya (center), with his wife Carolina Martnez Franco (center right). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 19 Mexicos presidential candidate Jaime el Bronco Rodriguez Calderon (center) with his wife Adeline Avalos (center left) and their children. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 19 Supporters of the PAN group in Mexico walk outside the area of the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 19 Mexicos presidential candidate Jaime el Bronco Rodriguez Calderon (raising his hand) arrives with his wife Adeline Avalos (center left) and their children. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (left), gets out of his vehicle and puts on a coat as he arrives at the second debate at the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 19 Supporters of presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador rally outside the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC). | Alejandro Tamayo  The San Diego Union Tribune 2018 (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Jose Antonio Meade (right), with his wife Juana Cuevas (left). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 19 Near the Autonomous University of Baja California several sit down to watch the debate at Cerveceria La 22 Otay. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 19 Supporters for presidential candidate of Mexico Jose Antonio Meade gather at the Cuauhtemoc roundabout in Tijuana. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 19 Several media outlets wait for the arrival of the presidential candidates to the second of three debates at the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Jose Antonio Meade (right), arrives at the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Jose Antonio Meade (right), with his wife Juana Cuevas (left). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico Ricardo Anaya (right), with his wife Carolina Martnez Franco (left). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 19 The presidential candidate of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (left), with his wife Beatriz GutiZrrez MYller (on the right). (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 19 Supporters of the PAN group in Mexico wave flags outside the area of the Autonomous University of Baja California. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 17 / 19 Near the Autonomous University of Baja California several sit down to watch the debate at Cerveceria La 22 Otay while others watch from the sidewalk. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 18 / 19 Supporters for presidential candidate of Mexico Jose Antonio Meade gather at the Cuauhtemoc roundabout in Tijuana. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune) 19 / 19 Supporters for presidential candidate of Mexico Jose Antonio Meade gather at the Cuauhtemoc roundabout in Tijuana. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Organized by Mexicos National Electoral Institute, this was Mexicos first presidential debate conducted in a town hall style that included questions from a live audience.

Also for the first time, one of the moderators was a U.S.-based journalist, Leon Krauze, who is an anchor in Los Angeles for Univision. His co-moderator was Yuriria Sierra, a Mexican broadcast journalist.

The debaters included Lopez Obrador, often referred to as AMLO. He is a former mayor of Mexico City making his third bid for the presidency and backed by coalition of three parties called Together We Will Make History.

His chief rival, Anaya, formerly served as national president of the PAN and is being backed by a coalition of the PAN and two smaller left-of-center parties in a coalition called Forward Front for Mexico.

In third place in most polls is Jose Antonio Meade, a Yale-trained economist who has served in a number of high-level federal government posts, at one point as Mexicos foreign minister but most recently as secretary of finance in the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto. He is running as the candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or the PRI, with two smaller parties in a coalition called Todos Por Mexico, or All for Mexico.

Trailing in a distant fourth place is the independent Jaime Rodriguez Calderon, the tough-talking former governor of the northern state of Nuevo Leon. A second independent candidate, Margarita Zavala, dropped out of the race last week.

What we saw was the narrative of this election, there is a fierce competition for second place, between Anaya and Meade, said Rafael Fernandez de Castro, a political scientist and director of the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California San Diego.

While Anaya stood out for his debating skills, he overplayed his hand in attacking Lopez Obrador, Fernandez de Castro said, adding that Meade came across as the most sophisticated with the greater vision.

The debate had its colorful moments. At one point, Rodriguez urged Lopez Obrador to hug Anaya and Meade. Anaya, who frequently relied on visual aids, held up a photograph showing the Mexican president shaking hands with Trump, calling the invitation to Los Pinos, Mexicos White House, an unacceptable error after Trump repeatedly attacked Mexico during his campaign.

As the candidates squared off in the universitys gym, local VIPs, students and members of the media were in separate areas, watching the debate on screens. With the campus barricaded, crowds of political supporters of the different candidates waved flags on the street outside. They also gathered across town in the citys Rio Zone, where several bars overflowed with people watching the debate.

Tijuana was an apt setting for the debate, a city of some 1.8 million residents that on a daily basis experiences both the challenges and advantages of being on the U.S. border. The citys geographic location puts it at a cross-roads for migration and drugs. And while Tijuanas export-oriented factories have been booming, its homicide rate has reached unprecedented levels as drug traffickers battle for control of the neighborhood drug trade.

Lopez Obrador said he plans to create an economic zone along Mexicos northern border whose provisions would include doubling the minimum wage. He also said he wants Mexicos National Migration Institute to be based in Tijuana.

While critical of Trump, Lopez Obrador said he is in agreement with the North American Free Trade Agreement, adding that we need to take advantage of the relationship with the United States, a relationship of friendship and mutual respect.

Though he has never held elected office, Meade is by far the candidate with the most experience in high-level government posts. He also stressed the importance of Mexicos trade with the United States and other countries. It helps us, it creates employment, he said.

In many ways, the event, which was streamed and televised live, was more about style than substance. A campaign fact-check group, Verificado 2018, listed no detailed proposals during the hour and 26 minutes of the debate. It tallied 19 mentions of Trump, two mentions of the border wall, and 30 attacks by one candidate on another.

The most frequent attacker was Anaya, who at 39 is the youngest of the candidates, and his target was often Lopez Obrador, who at 64 is the oldest candidate. Anaya accused Lopez Obrador of outdated views and using erroneous facts. The problem is not age, it is the ideas, you need to get updated, Andres Manuel, Anaya said.

Lopez Obrador accused Anaya of corruption, and called him a contemptible Richie Rich, and said both he and Meade represented the power mafia that he has vowed to dismantle if elected to the presidency.

Meade was asked to justify the controversial invitation extended by the Mexican president in 2016 to Trump, who was then the Republican candidate; an invitation was also extended to Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who declined. Asked whether it was a mistake to receive Trump, Meade said, judging by the results, no. He pointed out that while the U.S. has pulled out of other international agreements, the Trump administration is continuing to negotiate NAFTA.

INEs first presidential debate was held on April 22 in Mexico City, and focused on issues of corruption, public safety and democracy. The third and final debate will be held on June 12 in Merida, with a focus on economic development, poverty, inequality and climate change.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibbleIn partnership with San Diego Unified, Intrepid Theatre will perform a series of pieces Tuesday evening inspired by stories of refugee students from Crawford High School.

At 6:30 p.m. at the Ballard Parent Center on Congress Street, artists will share a mix of music, theatrical works and visual art as part of Exiled Voices: The Refugee Art Experience. The performance will also include a community dialogue featuring the artists and two of the students and videos of interviews with some of the refugees.

It provides a great tool for conversation, said Tiffany Tang, associate director with the theater company. It provides an impactful, visceral and immediate understanding, a path to empathy.

The performance premiered over a year ago at the Horton Grand Theatre and has since toured to schools around San Diego County.

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The idea for the show came about in late 2016 when members of Intrepid Theatre decided they needed to produce a work to educate people, particularly students, about the refugee experience.

There is this pervasive negativity and bullying and violence towards new arrivals, and its frightening, and its terrifying for these children, said Christy Yael-Cox, producing artistic director at Intrepid Theatre. If anything, these children are more passionate about this country and more passionate about their education than most Americans who are born and raised here.

The goal, she said, isnt to make a political statement.

Its a child telling their story, Yael-Cox said. Its an individual experience. And, its an art piece that celebrates that story. Its really impossible to sit in that room and be witness to those experiences and not have empathy and compassion regardless of your position on immigration in this country.

Intrepid worked with SAY San Diego, a nonprofit focused on youth advocacy, to pair artists with 13 refugee students, most of whom had arrived to the U.S. in the last year or two. A sampling of those stories, similar to the version shown in schools, will be performed Tuesday evening.

Lucia Acevedo, director of the SAY San Diego Crawford Community Connection, said she was moved by how the project has kept longterm relationships with the students involved and helped them grow through speaking opportunities at the school performances.

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kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on TwitterThe Trump administration wants more migrants fleeing their home countries to seek asylum in Mexico instead of coming to the U.S. border to ask for help.

As a recent migrant caravan that was the subject of criticism by President Donald Trump made its way north, U.S. officials encouraged caravan participants to seek asylum in the first safe country they entered, implying that they should ask Mexico for protection.

This week, news reports surfaced that Mexican officials were negotiating with the Trump administration over a potential safe third country agreement similar to one between the U.S. and Canada that would require asylum seekers to ask for protection in whichever of the two countries they enter first.

Critics of the Trump administrations immigration policies were quick to say that such an agreement could be harmful to people who merit asylum. They worried that Mexicos system  which receives a fraction of the requests processed by the U.S.  would not be able to handle a large influx of requests and that many with meritorious asylum claims would not be safe in Mexico.

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An official with the Department of Homeland Security explained that by encouraging migrants to seek protection in the first safe country, the administration means they should stay in the first country where they are no longer facing the persecution that they were fleeing. The official said that the department has worked with Mexico and the United Nations office responsible for refugees and asylees to make sure that Mexico has a strong asylum system.

The DHS official declined to comment on reports of negotiations with Mexico over a safe third county agreement.

The idea of requiring more migrants to seek protection in a country other than the U.S. has been proposed before under this administration.

What we cannot do  what we must not do  is continue to let our generosity be abused, we cannot capitulate to lawlessness and allow the very foundation of law upon which our country depends to be further undermined, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in October 2017 when he called for an expanded ability to send asylum seekers to other countries.

Some caravan members decided to stay in Mexico. Of the 1,200 who were reported in the caravan at the beginning of its journey, a little over 200 came to the U.S. border together to request asylum.

But, Mexico may not be a safe place for everyone fleeing persecution in other countries.

Certain groups of people  including the LGTBQ community, people with indigenous heritage, and foreigners in general  frequently report persecution in Mexico and seek asylum from Mexico itself. Some Central Americans report being followed by the gangs they fled back home through Mexico.

Organizations that monitor Mexicos adherence to its own asylum laws have found human rights violations and failures by immigration officials to follow the process.

Asylum seekers are not obligated to ask for protection in the first country they enter that is not their own, said immigration attorney Tammy Lin.

Many countries dont have a system in place and dont accept asylum seekers, Lin said. Most of the places  if were just talking Central Americans  that theyre coming up to dont have a good system set up, and even if they did go that way, they hardly ever approve anyone.

She has had clients from the Middle East who lived for periods of time in Jordan or Lebanon before seeking asylum in the U.S. They were able to request asylum here because they were never offered permanent status in those countries.

Canada is the only country that the U.S. has an agreement with regarding safe third country designation.

The treaty, signed in 2002, is based on a mutual acknowledgement that the countries have similar systems for requesting asylum, explained immigration attorney Ginger Jacobs.

If someone pursues their claim in the U.S., they cant go to the Canadian border and try to get a second bite of the apple in Canada, Jacobs said.

There are several exceptions to the agreement. It does not apply to U.S. or Canadian citizens seeking refuge.

Asylum seekers who have family members living with permission in the country theyre trying to enter can still request protection there. Unaccompanied children are also exempt from the agreements restrictions.

People who have permission to enter the second country can still apply for asylum there. The U.S. and Canada may also make public interest exceptions for people who they want to help, regardless of the agreement.

Lin said that having an agreement with Mexico would mean expecting Mexico to have an infrastructure similar enough to the U.S. to process asylum seekers.

Canada is a first-world country, Lin said. Its not much different from the U.S. They have a good mechanism in place, and theyve had a system in place for asylum seekers for so long. To require Mexico to do it, theyd have to build it up.

In 2016, 8,788 people applied for asylum in Mexico, according to a Human Rights First report. Canada received 23,930 asylum applications that year, according to government data. Between asylum applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and asylum applications filed in immigration court, the U.S. received more than 180,000 asylum applications in fiscal 2016.

Just under a third, or about 7,300, of the applications made in Canada came through its land border despite the agreement with the U.S.

Canadian media have reported that migrants seeking protection in Canada now cross illegally into the country so that theyre still able to apply for asylum after being in the U.S. Because of harsh winters along the U.S.-Canada border, this has led to asylum seekers getting severe cases of frostbite or even dying.

The Trump administrations rhetoric regarding immigrants has led to higher numbers of asylum seekers risking illegal crossings into Canada because the migrants dont believe that the U.S. will protect them, according to Canadian media.

Besides the agreement between the U.S. and Canada, asylum seekers can also be restricted from applying for help in the U.S. if they firmly resettled in another country before coming here.

Firm resettlement means more than just living somewhere for a while. The country where the person was living had to offer some type of permanent residence to the migrant.

Country shopping is not allowed, Lin explained, though if someone was also persecuted in the country he or she first resettled in, that person could still request asylum in the U.S.

Lin had an Ethiopian client who went to South Africa before coming to the U.S. During his asylum hearing, the client had to explain that he looked identifiably different from Zulus, a large ethnic group in South Africa, and that because of those differences, he also faced persecution in that country.

On paper, Mexicos asylum law is broader than the one in the U.S., but human rights organizations and even the U.S. State Department have reported that in practice, the country often falls short of providing the protection promised under law.

Asylum law in individual countries is generally based on the Refugee Convention of 1951, which Mexico signed in 2000. That international treaty is the basis for U.S. law that defines asylum seekers as those fleeing persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.

Mexicos legal definition, published in 2011, also includes people whose life, liberty or security are in danger because of generalized violence, foreign aggression, internal conflict or major human rights violations.

In 2016, Mexico added protections in its Constitution saying that anyone entering the country has the right to request asylum.

Still, many say that Mexicos system poses challenges for asylum seekers. In Mexico, asylum seekers have 30 days to file an application. The U.S. allows people up to one year to request protection.

A September 2016 report by Sin Fronteras, a Mexico City-based human rights organization, found that many Mexican immigration officials do not know the proper legal procedure to follow with asylum seekers.

As a consequence, they have even prevented access to legal representatives, omitted adequate information on the process, and even discouraged requests of acknowledgement, the report says.

Those responsible for deciding whether to grant asylum often dont have enough time to do the required level of analysis, it also says.

In July 2017, Human Rights First reported that despite some improvements in Mexicos system, asylum seekers also still frequently faced dangers like kidnapping, disappearance, sexual assault or trafficking after entering Mexico.

It found that immigration officials frequently discouraged migrants from seeking asylum in Mexico and that the Mexican Refugee Commission, called COMAR, was massively underresourced to adjudicate the number of asylum claims that the country received.

COMAR has three offices, one in Mexico City, one in Tapachula and one in Acayucan, a city in Veracruz.

Eleanor Acer, director of Human Rights Firsts refugee protection program, criticized the Trump administrations attempts to designate Mexico as a safe third country.

Mexico is not a safe third country in any sense, Acer said. The administration has waged a year-long campaign to undermine the asylum system and vilify those who seek protection at our border; todays negotiations are merely the latest tactic to shut the door on those who are desperate to live in freedom and safety.

Jacobs has had Central American clients who first tried to resettle in Mexico but were persecuted there as well.

She said other asylum-seeking clients chose the U.S. over Mexico because they already had family in the U.S.

In times of crisis, people often want to join their family members, Jacobs said. I think thats a natural human instinct if we think about ourselves. If we were in a moment of crisis and were forced to flee to another state, we would first think of states where we have relatives.

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kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com, @bgirledukate on TwitterNathan Fletcher was a far better fundraiser than mayoral candidate.

In the years following his two failed campaigns for the San Diego Mayors Office, Fletcher collected more than $1 million to fight depression and suicide among the nations war veterans, according to an unaudited report published by the Three Wise Men Veterans Foundation.

Now a candidate for an open seat on the county Board of Supervisors, Fletcher released a summary of the charitys activities after The San Diego Union-Tribune requested details about how much money was raised and where the funds were directed.

The six-page document is first time the foundations finances have been disclosed publicly because Fletcher merged his organization with a New York nonprofit called the Headstrong Project last year, just ahead of the due date for an extended federal tax filing.

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According to the undated report, the Three Wise Men Veterans Foundation raised $1,024,000 between 2014 and 2017.

The money came from individuals, corporations, labor groups and various private trusts and foundations. Tens of thousands of dollars also was raised at special events like gala dinners and national veterans campaigns.

The Three Wise Men Veterans Foundation was created to honor three brothers  Jeremy Wise, Ben Wise and Beau Wise  who all volunteered to serve in the armed services, like their cousin Nathan Fletcher. Both Jeremy Wise and Ben Wise were killed in Afghanistan.

Fletcher, who spent 10 years in the U.S. Marine Corps before serving two terms in the California Assembly, said he established the foundation to honor his family and to help other service members who confront difficulty transitioning back into civilian life.

Our mission is to stand with veterans who survived combat as they not only survive but thrive in the peace that follows, the organization mission statement reads.

The foundation established three main priorities: advocacy, awareness and alliances.

As an advocate, the charity lobbied for laws and policies to benefit veterans. The awareness campaign worked to provoke conversations about post-traumatic stress and promote available resources. The alliance element focused on building relationships with other veterans groups and awarding grants to assist in their causes.

One of the foundations most high-profile efforts was the Make the Call campaign, which urged veterans not to resist asking for help when needed.

This is a key, but often overlooked part of the challenge in addressing veterans suicide, Fletcher said. The problem is not the lack of available services. The problem is getting veterans to ask for available help.

The Three Wise Men Veterans Foundation spent all but $200 of the $1.02 million raised, before merging into the Headstrong Project last year.

According to the Headstrong Project, which provides mental-health services to veterans, for every soldier killed in combat 25 to 30 take their own lives.

Fletcher, who joined the Headstrong Project board of directors when the two groups merged, was the largest individual donor to the Three Wise Men Veterans Foundation, the report he released states. The former combat veteran gave just under $36,000 over the three years.

The sports-drink company Kill Cliff was the top corporate donor, contributing $100,000 to Fletchers foundation. Qualcomm Inc. and Manpower each donated tens of thousands of dollars, as did the local Building Trades Council and the United Nurses Association of California.

Individual contributions accounted for the most donations, just over $385,000. The nonprofit also received $280,000 from business and labor groups; $131,000 from other foundations and trusts; and $94,000 from special events.

The largest share of spending paid for other special events, some $262,000. Fletcher said those costs were well worth the expense.

I am proud we were able to pull together over 10,000 events in all 50 states reaching veterans with a powerful message and connecting them directly to available services, he said by email. We also helped drive legislative change, launched a national awareness campaign to tackle the stigma associated with post traumatic stress that reached millions and provided direct financial support to other veteran non-profits.

The foundation paid just over $222,000 in salaries, the report said. None of that compensation went to Fletcher, the candidate said. It also paid $153,000 to consultants, mostly for legal and accounting services.

Fletchers charity also reported $128,000 in grants, about 1 in every 8 dollars it collected. The would-be county supervisor said the foundation received dozens of requests for support from deserving causes, but could accommodate only so many.

We focused our limited grants on supporting organizations that we believed would have the greatest impact, he said.

The recipients were not disclosed.

Under federal law, nonprofits that raise less than $50,000 in one year may submit an electronic postcard as a formal tax filing. Known as Form 990-N, the IRS e-notification provides no detail on organization fund-raising or spending.

Because of the timing of the Three Wise Men Veterans Foundations incorporation and merger, the nonprofit never submitted the more formal Form 990, which asks dozens of questions about the organizations governance and operations and requires detailed revenue and expense data.

Fletcher said the foundation complied with every rule governing nonprofits and financial disclosures, and releasing the report even though it was not required shows he is committed to being transparent.

With 75 percent of the funds raised going to programs to help veterans, Three Wise Men is proud of the impact we made in helping our returning veterans, he said.

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jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonaldA suspect in an armed robbery in the Tierrasanta area of San Diego on Sunday afternoon was arrested in Escondido about six hours later.

OnScene TV reported that the robbery in Tierrasanta occurred at 3:22 p.m. and involved two pedestrian victims. San Diego police detectives provided no other details about the incident.

Police pursued the suspect, described as a man in his 20s, to Ash Street in Escondido, near El Norte Parkway, according to OnScene TV. The suspect was taken into custody at approximately 9:45 p.m.

No assistance from Escondido police was required.

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rob.krier@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2241

Twitter: @sdutKrierAn arsonist set a fire that caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage at a Kensington elementary school early Monday, a fire official said.

A nearby resident reported flames at Franklin Elementary School about 5:40 a.m.

The fire was first started in a clothing rack outside the schools auditorium and quickly blackened the buildings walls and broke several windows. The blaze caused about $20,000 in damage, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokeswoman Monica Munoz.

Munoz said about $1,000 in damage was caused to items at the Copeland Avenue school.

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Firefighters quickly doused the flames. Investigators have not been able to locate any witnesses or suspects. Anyone with information about the fire was asked to call fire officials at (619) 236-6815.

The fire did not disrupt classes.

Twitter: @LAWinkley

(619) 293-1546

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.comThe first time Vanessa entered the bland gray classroom at the back of Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, she was scared, broken, unsure how she was going to cope without the one thing that for so long had ruled her life: pills.

The attorney took a seat alongside a group of strangers. And then she listened as the first person shared.

It was like time stopped, recalled Vanessa, who asked that her full name not be used. She remembers the sense of peace that melted over her and the thought: Im home.

That Pills Anonymous meeting was the first time Vanessa heard other people talking her language  the unique language of a pill addict.

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Its the language of someone who turns to prescription drugs to feel what normal people must feel, or to fuzz out the rough edges of life. Someone who holds up a doctors prescription as justification. Someone who masters the art of deception. Someone who is so desperate to secure the next pill that they will do unthinkable things. And someone who wants to be free from the grip of addiction.

Every one of us has that same feeling, Vanessa said of the Pills Anonymous members she now considers family. That sense that I can exhale. They get me. They understand me.

Every Wednesday evening, Vanessa and about a dozen others gather in that same room to celebrate success, share in loss, encourage in stumbles and hold each other up in recovery.

And each week they also cant help but wonder why there are still so many empty chairs.

With the nation in the throes of a prescription pill and opioid epidemic, Pills Anonymous seems more crucial than ever before. But it seems few know this tailored 12-step recovery program exists.

A unique addiction

The roots of Pills Anonymous are hard to pin down, although it seems to have existed in some form or other since the 1970s. It wasnt until 2008 that Pills Anonymous World Service was incorporated as a nonprofit, and it is the organizing backbone behind more than 80 meetings around the world  mostly in the U.S. but some as far away as Japan, Brazil and Sweden.

Like other groups with the anonymous title  Sex Addicts Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous  Pills Anonymous is based on the tenets of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Members attend regular meetings, work the 12 steps of recovery and are encouraged to maintain a relationship with a sponsor.

Pills Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from pill addiction, the groups website mission statement reads. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using pills.  Our primary purpose is to carry the message to the addict who still suffers. We work together to stay clean and help others achieve the same freedom.

The program is not religious but participants are encouraged to find a higher power  whatever that might mean to each individual.

The website estimates there are more than 5,000 successfully recovering members of PA, as it is often called.

However, that number pales in comparison to the scope of the current drug crisis facing Americans.

In 2016, an estimated 64,000 people in the U.S. died from accidental drug overdoses, many of them opioids.

In San Diego County that same year, prescription drugs were involved in 253 accidental deaths. And it is estimated that for each death, there are 130 people who are abusing or dependent and 825 non-medical users, according to the countys Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force.

Youd think the Pills Anonymous meetings would be brimming with people. But there are currently only two weekly Pill Anonymous meetings in San Diego County: the Mesa Vista one and another in Tierrasanta on Sundays. Both are small, intimate groups.

Meanwhile, those struggling with alcohol addiction have some 1,400 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to choose from around the county. Narcotics Anonymous, the similar 12-step program for those with an addiction to all types of drugs, holds about 390 weekly local meetings.

People addicted to prescription pills often find themselves at AA or NA meetings, where they are welcome. But theres something particular in the collective experience of a pill addict  a false legitimacy  that can make it hard to relate to other forms of substance abuse, many have said.

I had gone to a few AA meetings, said Vanessa, who abused benzodiazepines and painkillers. I always walked out feeling better, but I didnt really feel connected to it.

Pills are unique, she continued. Its inherently easy to keep it a secret and inherently easy to justify. You dont smell it on your breath, your eyes dont dilate unless youve had too much, and you can function at what you think is a really high level.  You get addicted to that false sense of achievement you get from it, whether it be social or professional.

The demographics also tend to lean more toward women and professionals  although its important to note that, at this point in the crisis, prescription drug addiction touches every single walk of life in America.

Alternately, the crowd at Narcotics Anonymous meetings is often more male than female and is known for being tougher.

Vinny, a service worker at a local college who asked to go by his first name only, started going to NA after his substance abuse counselor insisted he get involved in a 12-step program. But he didnt feel like he fit in, or like he could open up.

People had just gotten out of prison, some were still on the streets, he said. It was kind of scary.

It was through a mobile phone app that he found a listing for Pills Anonymous. There were teachers in there, a court reporter, moms, grandmothers, lawyers, he recalled of his first meeting in Tierrasanta.

He found that, despite his best efforts, he couldnt maintain his standoffish facade for long. They got through to him.

Seeking normal

Vinny got hooked on pills the way many others do: he hurt his back and got a prescription. It didnt help that he was already in recovery from alcohol abuse and has a family history of addiction.

When he kept pressing for more Norco  a hydrocodone painkiller  his doctor encouraged him to seek treatment for possible addiction.

Vinny sweated through withdrawals at a drug treatment program and took two weeks off work. But it wasnt long before he found a friend with a Norco prescription and asked for a few pills, then a few more.

I was looking for that feeling, that numbness, fuzziness, body euphoria, Vinny recalled. If I didnt have it, I was missing it very bad.

His grandmother, who was prescribed a large amount of pills for various health problems, became his primary source. He took them both with and without her knowledge.

M30s (oxycodone) were my favorite, Vinny said. I did some pretty s****y things to get those from her.

His ratcheting addiction was also eating him financially. He took out payday loans to buy drugs on the street and fell deeper into debt.

It was when he missed a car payment that his wife started to get suspicious. She finally found an empty pill bottle from a prescription only a few days old  130 pills gone  and it all came tumbling out.

I wanted to get caught, he said.

Vanessa, too, grew addicted to opioids after debilitating lower body pain. But she had started a relationship with benzodiazepines long before. Her mother had given her her first benzo at age 15.

Its like theres this rulebook of life that everyone else has that we never got, she said. I felt like I didnt fit in, I didnt belong. I had tons of friends, but I was still lonely.

When life started to fall apart for Vanessa in her mid-20s, she turned to benzos. The pills, which are used to treat anxiety, would make her feel normal, she thought, like everyone else. She took them as prescribed.

Years later she had new struggles. The recession hit her profession, her work life was miserable, her marriage was on the rocks, she had a young child and shed developed pain in her hips that no one seemed able to diagnose.

She was bedridden in six months, tens of thousands of dollars in the hole from medical expenses, and finding ways to get multiple benzo prescriptions.

Two hip surgeries proved successful, but then she fell down the stairs, tore a muscle and was back on painkillers. Now she was addicted.

I didnt know why I couldnt stop. I thought something was wrong with my body, she said. Rather than help her pain, the long term opioid use had intensified it.

Her pain management specialist declined to give her more drugs, and she was eventually referred to an addiction specialist.

He saved my life. He said You cant get off these on your own. You need to detox, she said. Its like the clouds parted. Someone was reaching down and saying this is how you get out of this.

Detox was brutal, but she was able to carry her daughter out of the facility nine days later  something shed been physically unable to do since her injury. She learned other ways to treat her hip pain.

And she decided to be as brutally honest with herself as possible the day she stepped into her first Pills Anonymous meeting.

I saw people in that room going through what Id been through and were healthy now, she said. I thought Just listen to what they do. If I keep taking pills, Ill die.

That room saved my life, continues to save my life. Without it Id just keep secrets again.

Putting in the work

On a recent Wednesday evening, Vanessa stepped to the front of the room and embraced Connie, who was celebrating 90 days of sobriety with a chip.

Youve shown tremendous strength and courage, she told Connie. It hasnt been easy. It hasnt been easy for any of us. Anything you want for the future, you can have.

Connie shared with the group that her struggle with pills has been long, always ending in relapse.

Its the hardest thing Ive ever done, she said. I wouldnt change it for anything. Addiction has brought me closer to God. Ive learned who I am. I dont worry about tomorrow, just for today.

The meeting closed with an announcement about a new gathering. Three members have organized a different meeting, Opiates Anonymous, on Tuesday nights. Its the first meeting in California.

After the meeting, a member who asked to remain unnamed said its baffling why more people arent there. The Wednesday meeting used to be much bigger when patients at Mesa Vistas inpatient program were allowed to pop in, but that stopped over liability concerns.

When asked about his addiction story, he said he is one of the lucky ones. He came into recovery before he lost anything important  a job, his family, his liberty, his reputation.

I just hope that others dont have to actually lose something in order to find their way into this room, he said.

Find a meeting

Pills Anonymous

Wednesdays 6:15 p.m., Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital Educational Building, 7850 Vista Hill Dr., Birdland

Sundays 4:30 p.m., Tierrasanta Luthern Church, 11240 Clairemont Mesa Blvd., Tierrasanta

Note: Two other San Diego County meetings listed on the Pills Anonymous website are no longer active.

Opiates Anonymous

Tuesdays 6 p.m., Live and Let Live Alano Club, 1730 Monroe Ave., University Heights

For more information visit pillsanonymous.org.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavisIn a message he said was about hope rather than politics, evangelist Franklin Graham told a crowd of thousands in Escondido on Sunday night that faith in Jesus and cooperation among leaders was needed to pull the country together.

The problem were facing in our culture today is the result of godlessness in our society, Graham said before going on stage at Grape Day Park, where a crowd stretched from the north end of the lawn to City Hall.

The only hope for our country is not the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, he said. The only hope is God.

Graham was in Escondido to kick off his 10-city Decision America California Tour, his first tour since the death of his father, Billy Graham, in February.

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He is carrying on his fathers mission as president and CEO of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and of Samaritans Purse, an international Christian relief organization.

1 / 16 Before Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour the audience was entertained with musician Jeremy Camp at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 2 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour beginning here in Escondido as he addressed a packed audience at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 3 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour beginning here in Escondido as he addressed a packed audience at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 4 / 16 Before Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour the audience was entertained with musician Jeremy Camp at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 5 / 16 Before Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour the audience was entertained with music from Jeremy Camp at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 6 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour beginning here in Escondido as he addressed a packed audience at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 7 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America tour beginning here in Escondido as he addressed a packed audience at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 8 / 16 Before Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour the audience was entertained with music from Jeremy Camp at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 9 / 16 Before Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour the audience was entertained with music from Jeremy Camp at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 10 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America tour beginning here in Escondido as he addressed a packed audience at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 11 / 16 Before Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour the audience was entertained with music from Jeremy Camp at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 12 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America tour beginning here in Escondido as he addressed a packed audience at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 13 / 16 Before Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America California Tour the audience was entertained with musician Jeremy Camp at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 14 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham kicked off his Decision America tour beginning here in Escondido as he addressed a packed audience at Grape Day Park. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 15 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham spoke with news reporters before he kicked off his Decision America California Tour beginning here in Escondido. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune) 16 / 16 Rev. Franklin Graham spoke with news reporters before he kicked off his Decision America California Tour beginning here in Escondido. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Graham also is known for his political commentary, and before the last presidential he held a Decision 2016 national tour to encourage Christians to vote. While he said at the time he was not endorsing any one candidate, he also has defended what he said are President Trumps Christian values whle also acknowledging he is not President Perfect.

While the California tour overlaps the final weeks of the states primary election, Graham said the timing was coincidental, as there always is an election happening somewhere.

He did, however, say he wanted Christians to vote, which he said was their duty as citizens.

People began arriving before noon to hear Grahams 7:30 p.m. talk.

Karen Rehm, a 30-year Escondido resident, staked out a spot in front. Im thankful I know the Lord, and I want people to be set free, she said.

Her friend Tammy DeArmas said she had been praying for the city and the state.

Graham said hes focusing on small towns to have a bigger impact and he picked Escondido for personal reasons.

When I was growing up, my father had friends in Pauma Valley, he said. They were ranchers. We used to spend summers here. My childhood memories are in this part of the world.

While the country is politically divided, Graham has acknowledged that some social issues also have created a rift among Christians.

There are far too many churches that tolerate members who deliberately pursue a sinful lifestyle in an open and unrepentant manner, he wrote in a 2014 commentary that, among other things, criticized then-President Obamas support of marriage equality.

The Rev. Madison Shockley, pastor of Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, said he was invited to attend Grahams rally but declined.

I didnt feel I would learn anything that would help me in my ministry, he said. His version of Christianity and my version of Christianity are very different.

Shockley, an outspoken advocate for immigrant rights, reproductive choice and marriage equality, said he believes it was not by happenchance that Graham choice Escondido as his first stop in his tour because the city has a record of being tough on immigration. In April, the City Council joined a federal lawsuit against the state of California regarding so-called sanctuary laws.

Shockley said Graham was making a false claim when he said his appearance in Escondido was not political.

You cant walk into Escondido and not talk about immigration, he said.

Grahams appearance in Escondido included a performance by Grammy- and American Music Award-nominated artist Jeremy Camp and a laser-light show.

Following the Escondido kick-off, Graham is schedule to continue his tour with a stop Monday night on the Rose Bowl lawn in Pasadena, followed by stops in Oxnard, Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, Santa Clara, Berkeley and Chico. A final stop is scheduled in Redding on June 5.

Homeless Playlist  On Now San Diego hepatitis outbreak continues to grow: 481 cases On Now Homeless entrenched in booming tent city along Santa Ana River On Now San Diego mayor agreed to homeless hub, then delayed, advocates say On Now Homeless outreach in San Diego On Now Video: Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #8 On Now In poverty himself, 'Water Man Dave,' is the fearless saint of San Diego's homeless 5:41 On Now Video: Homeless living in cars find safe havens 2:21 On Now Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #7 On Now Pitching a tent plan for San Diego's homeless On Now Homeless efforts get $80M boost for various services

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939The 49th Congressional District, encompassing southern Orange County and north-northwest San Diego County, has gone from Republican redoubt to purple partisan battleground. After barely winning a ninth term in 2016, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, apparently saw the writing on the wall and realized his combative, partisan style didnt have the same old appeal. Now voters in the 49th have their choice of 16 candidates to replace the tech tycoon in the House. Most have little or no relevant experience. But the candidate with the most pertinent experience is by far the best fit both for the district and for this polarized era: Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez, the former Oceanside councilman who served in the Marines for 28 years, retiring as a colonel.

When Chavez says Congress should not be an entry-level job, hes exactly right. But his military background and deep familiarity with local issues are only part of his appeal. In the 16 years since he got into politics, his party and U.S. politics in general have changed for the worse. The days in which both Democrats and Republicans had prominent members willing to work in a bipartisan way to tackle big issues seem long gone. Sharp disagreement is common on a whole host of issues, thanks to gerrymandering establishing strongly red or strongly blue districts and the ascendance of news sources that routinely frame stories to promote conservative or liberal causes and politicians.

But Chavez has followed his own path, passing on the hard-edged social conservatism that continues to be popular (and marginalizing) among many California Republicans. A 2015 interview with the Los Angeles Times offered deep insight into how independently Chavez thinks. He backed immigration reforms of the sort once championed by President George W. Bush, but wasnt thrilled with legislation that reduced state cooperation in deportation proceedings. He supported gay marriage, but not gun control. He praised Gov. Jerry Brown for tackling global warming, but rapped environmentalists for their opposition to nuclear and hydroelectric power. Its no surprise that Chavez has signed on to an effort led by Assemblyman Chad Mayes, R-Yucca Valley, and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to rebrand the California GOP.

The contrast with another prominent Republican in the race is sharp. The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board endorsed then-Encinitas Mayor Kristin Gaspar in 2016 in her race for county supervisor when she ran as a thoughtful moderate. But earlier this year, seeking to boost her congressional bid, Gaspar disappointingly adopted a new persona, blasting state laws limiting state cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and successfully pushing the county board to endorse the Trump administration lawsuit over the laws. Ironically, Gaspar now sounds like Escondido Mayor Sam Abed, whom she defeated in her 2016 supervisor bid partly by running toward the middle.

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As for the Democrats in the race, theyre in a contest to see who can denounce President Donald Trump most fervently. So much for the nearly 70 percent of district voters who arent Democrats.

There are plenty of Trump loathers and Gaspar-style Republicans in Congress. There arent nearly enough Rocky Chavez-style thoughtful moderate conservatives. Chavez for Congress.

To read Chavezs and seven other 49th district candidates responses to questions about their campaign, go to sdut.us/49district.

Read and listen to all of our candidate interviews & questionnaires.

Related: How The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board will make its 2018 election endorsements

You will find all of our endorsements here.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/21/2018 -- Market Research Hub (MRH) has introduced a new report to its research inventory on retirement planning in Canada. The report has been titled, "Retirement Planning - Canada - May 2018." The report presents an overview of the retirement planning market in Canada. The reports provides the importance to provide retirement plans to people, especially women who are not much confident about their retirement finances.



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Read Industry News at - https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/Share your JBoss BPM story

As mentioned previously , a few weeks ago in San Francisco, CA I spent some time signing copies of my book Effective Business Process Management with JBoss BPM for attendees of the Red Hat Summit Since the book was launched as a free ebook download on Red Hat Developers , it was not really possible to get your hands on a real paper copy of the book.Until now.With over 200 put in print for Red Hat Summit, it was amazing to see the lines of people wanting to meet, greet and obtain their signed copies.If you would like to receive a copy, possibly signed by me, read further.It was wonderful to meet people from all across the globe. Just off the top of my head, I spoke with readers and JBoss BPM Suite fans from the UK, Australia, India, Japan, China, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Brazil and South Africa.There might have been more, but after two signing sessions of an hour, my mind was whirling from all the friends, colleagues, customers and partners that attended the signing table.I left the Red Hat Developers team with a few books pre-signed for their next event and they were kind enough to send me home with a small box of the book. If you would like a free paper book copy, possibly signed by me the author, then here's what you have to do.Share your JBoss BPM story in a comments section of this post and let me know by contacting me through my Twitter account I'll be in touch about finding how to get a copy of the book, while the limited supply lasts, to you!The first whole-genome analysis of ancient human DNA from Southeast Asia, defined as the area east of India and south of China, identifies at least three major waves of human migration into the region over the last 50,000 years, each shaping the genetics of Southeast Asia to a remarkable extent. The findings appear in the journal Science.

Southeast Asia has a complex history of human occupation, yet studying this history through genetics has remained a challenge because, for one, its humid and tropical environment presents unfavorable conditions for DNA preservation.

As such, hypotheses based on archaeological findings  predicting the human origins of cultural shifts brought on by the introduction of farming, for example  remain unresolved by genetic studies.

A very important part of the world is now accessible for ancient DNA analysis. It opens a window into the genetic origins of the people who lived there in the past and those who live there now, said study first author Dr. Mark Lipson, of Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Lipson and co-authors extracted and analyzed DNA from the remains of 18 people who lived between about 4,100 and 1,700 years ago (from the Neolithic period to the Iron Age) in what are now Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.

With additional support from archaeological and linguistic data, the scientists identified several major waves of genetic mixture indicative of specific migration events.

They found that the first migration took place about 45,000 years ago, bringing in people who became hunter-gatherers.

Then, during the Neolithic period, around 4,500 years ago, there was a large-scale influx of people from China who introduced farming practices to Southeast Asia and mixed with the local hunter-gatherers. People today with this ancestry mix tend to speak Austroasiatic languages, leading the team to propose that the farmers who came from the north were early Austroasiatic speakers.

The study authors also found that subsequent waves of migration during the Bronze Age, again from China, arrived in Myanmar by about 3,000 years ago, in Vietnam by 2,000 years ago and in Thailand within the last 1,000 years. These movements introduced ancestry types that are today associated with speakers of different languages.

The identification of three ancestral populations echoes a pattern first uncovered in ancient DNA studies of Europeans, but with at least one major difference: much of the ancestral diversity in Europe has faded over time as populations mingled, while Southeast Asian populations have retained far more variation.

People who are nearly direct descendants of each of the three source populations are still living in the region today, including people with significant hunter-gatherer ancestry who live in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and the Andaman Islands, said senior author Professor David Reich, of Harvard Medical School and the University of Vienna.

Whereas in Europe, no one living today has more than a small fraction of ancestry from the European hunter-gatherers.

The high diversity of Southeast Asia today can be partly explained by the fact that farmers arrived much more recently than in Europe, leaving less time for populations to mix and genetic variation to even out, he added.

Also unexpected were the linguistic implications raised by analyses of the ancestry of people in western Indonesia.

The evidence suggests that the first farmers of western Indonesia spoke Austroasiatic languages rather than the Austronesian languages spoken there today. Thus, Austronesian languages were probably later arrivals, Professor Reich said.

Additional samples from western Indonesia before and after 4,000 years ago should settle the question.

_____

Mark Lipson et al. Ancient genomes document multiple waves of migration in Southeast Asian prehistory. Science, published online May 17, 2018; doi: 10.1126/science.aat3188On May 18, Panorama II berthed at Cagliari Cruise Port's Rinascita Pier Terminal.

Those disembarking passengers took various shiore excursions in the city before heading to Elmas Airport for their flights to London.

On the same day, 40 new guests of Panorama II arrived to Cagliari to start a new cruise in the Mediterranean.

It is the first concrete operational test for Cagliari, numerically small but particularly significant, in relation to a MoU recently signed between the Port Authority of the Sardinia Sea, the Municipality of Cagliari, Sogaer (Cagliari-Elmas Airport Co) and Cagliari Cruise Port, to collectively promote and develop homeport operations.

A dedicated meeting point was prepared at the airport to provide the incoming cruise passengers a warm welcome to the City of Cagliari, as well as to improve the ease and efficiency of the operations.

Cagliari Cruise Port aims to promote homeporting opportunities to the cruise lines supported by the expansion of its cruise terminal, which is planned to be completed before the start of the 2019 cruise season.

Cagliari Cruise Port is part of Global Ports Holdings.The top container port operator has signed a cooperation memorandum of understanding with GLP China Holdings (GLP) and Eshipping Global Supply Chain Management (Shenzhen) Company (Eshipping) to form a strategic partnership. Cooperation of the three parties will begin in China at CSPs terminals and gradually expand into its global network.

China COSCO Shipping Corporation deputy gm, and CSP and Eshipping chairman Huang Xiaowen said: The development of terminal extended services and port supply chain platform will be a new growth driver for COSCO Shipping Ports and the company will put great effort in it. We are happy to form a long term strategic partnership with GLP. We believe integrating the complementary synergies within China COSCO Shipping and the strengths and resources of external leading corporations, should help speed up the market development and provide clients with more effective and high efficiency full supply chain services by forming a seamless connection of sea, terminal and terminal extended area and supply chain services.

CSP vice-chairman and md Zhang Wei added that COSCO Shipping Ports is diversifying its business to further enhance its profitability by shifting from relying on traditional organic growth to more innovative inorganic growth; and moving from focusing on terminal resources control to comprehensive deployment of port resources. By partnering with GLP and with its experience in logistics development and operation, CSP can better utilize its existing terminals and land outside the terminals, and create a new business model and value beyond the limits of traditional seaborne logistics.

Read More: HKCTOA firmly headed to a digital future with development at Port of Hong Kong

Zhang noted that teaming up with China COSCO Shippings e-commerce supply chain management platform Eshipping to integrate upstream and downstream resources along the supply chain with integrated warehousing solutions would also enhance CSPs supply chain services.

GLP China vice-chairman Teresa Zhuge said: We are delighted to establish this partnership with CSP and Eshipping. The creation of this strategic platform will enhance our cooperation in development and operation of port and logistics infrastructure as well as integrated supply chain solution. This partnership leverages all three parties strengths, enhancing the logistics ecosystem.The Ministers of Europe's leading flags met in Nicosia, Cyprus, May 18 as part of regular discussions held between the three nations. After the meeting Greeces shipping minister, Panagiotis Kouroumplis, says the 28-member bloc needs to look at ways of making the sector more competitive by getting rid of bureaucratic obstacles.

Maltas Transport Minister, Ian Borg, says work is underway to look at EU directives that compound the administrative burden on issues including the mutual recognition of seafarers qualifications.

Cypriot Deputy Minister for Shipping Natasa Pilides said the three officials discussed practical ways of boosting cooperation and tackling issues like pollution.Press Release

May 21, 2018 Senate approves HIV-AIDS Policy Bill on third and final reading PASAY CITY - The Senate on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to strengthen the two-decades old law governing the government's response on HIV-AIDS. Senate Bill No. 1390 or the Philippine HIV AIDS Policy Act of 2018, sponsored by Committee on Health Chairperson Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito and Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros, will adopt a multi-sectoral approach in responding to the HIV epidemic by ensuring that local communities, civil society organizations, and persons living with HIV are at the center of the process. With the House of Representatives having approved their own version of the bill in December last year, both chambers of Congress will now convene for a bicameral conference committee to finalize the bill's version for ratification and the President's signature into law. "This is an important victory in our fight to reverse the tide of the HIV-AIDS epidemic in the country. We now have a stronger and modern policy tool to appropriately respond to this problem," Hontiveros said. In recent data by the United Nations, the Philippines has the highest HIV infection rate in the Asia Pacific region. In the past six years, the country has registered a 140% increase in HIV infection. Hontiveros, who is also the principal author of the measure, explained that the bill was formulated with stringent consultation and validation from health advocates. "It is a product of both love and expertise", she mentioned. "The bill incorporated a concerted response that makes use of the most recent developments in prevention and treatment in medical and health science. It also gathered all the stakeholders' input, especially the communities that are at the forefront of the anti-HIV campaign," she added. Hontiveros also said that young people will benefit greatly from the bill's passage into law. She said that HIV education in academic institutions and workplaces will be implemented as part of the law. In addition, voluntary HIV testing and increased delivery of non-discriminatory HIV and AIDS medical services shall be the policy of the state. "It is unfortunate that young people are at the losing end of the struggle versus HIV", she lamented, citing reports that 80% of the 31 cases of HIV infection being reported daily are from the age bracket of 15 to 30 years old. "With this measure, we will mainstream HIV prevention and treatment for the youth", said Hontiveros. The Akbayan Senator expressed her thanks to her fellow Senators for supporting the bill. "The passage of this measure expresses the Senate's strong institutional support to address the country's HIV problem. I thank my colleagues for helping shape a future free of stigma and discrimination that hound persons living with HIV and prevents people from getting tested and access treatment " Hontiveros said.Press Release

May 21, 2018 SEN. RISA HONTIVEROS'

EXPLANATION OF VOTE

ON THE PHILIPPINE HIV-AIDS POLICY BILL

Third and Final Reading

May 21, 2018 Finally, Mr. President, my dear colleagues, an HIV law that we need. A policy that will not only focus on prevention but will deliver treatment, care, and support services to Filipino PLHIVs. A response that is evidence-based, human rights-centered, and gender-responsive. An approach that is inclusive--ensuring that communities, civil-society organizations, public health institutions are consulted and that People Living with HIV are at the front, center, and heart of the process. A strategy that removes the climate of stigma which clouds the epidemic and makes the access to health service an impossible dream for our vulnerable communities. At this point, I would like to thank the passionate and seemingly tireless advocates who through the years have been constant figures in our halls, at our lobbies and committee rooms: The Action for Health Initiative (ACHIEVE), The Library Foundation TLF-Share, HIV AIDS Support House, NoBox Philippines, PAMACQ, Candon Youth Movement, Philippine Sex Workers Collective, KAKAMMPI, GAYON, 8HAVEN, Viva Vivo Zamboanga, ALAGAD-Mindanao, RedX, APWAI, HACG, UWVI, CrossBreeds, Juan Positive Movement, TAHAS, MAAAI, SHIP, The Red Whistle, NORMAAA, CPAI, B-Change, The Love Yourself, and Positibong Pasigueno. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the UNAIDS, the Department of Health, Philippine National Aids Council, the PLCPD, the Senate Committee on Health, and of course my fellow co-authors in both the House and the Senate. Mr. President, my fellow Senators, the first AIDS case in the Philippines was reported in 1984. Since then, science has progressed and the rest of the world has left us behind in the dark corners of this epidemic. In Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir, Paul Monette said, "[i]t will be recorded that the dead in the first decade of the calamity died of our indifference." Our years of indifference have brought us 141 per cent rate of increase, the number one in Asia and the Pacific in HIV incidence. This indifference has cost lost dreams and untimely deaths. Today, we end this indifference. We now have a new policy that does not leave behind the most vulnerable, the most affected. To the young girl whom I met last week, Vina, who I learned was diagnosed when she was a teenager, and our indefatigable lobbyist Nanay Elena, who have been living with HIV for over 20 years, and to all the Filipino PLHIVs, who have become our hope and inspiration: I VOTE YES. Finally, we have a law that can beat this epidemic. Please check upon deliveryPress Release

May 21, 2018 Sen. Lacson Delivers an Update on the Senate's Relocation

May 21, 2018

More at: https://pinglacson.net/2018/05/21/update-on-the-senates-relocation-may-21-2018/ Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, as the chairman of your Committee on Accounts, I have the honor and privilege to give you an account of our progress on the construction and relocation of the new home for the Philippine Senate, as articulated in Senate Resolution No. 293 filed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian and adopted by this august chamber on November 21, 2017. It has only been six months since then, but through and through, we have made significant milestones. In fact, we are moving forward to the acquisition of the 18,320-square meter parcel of land at the Navy Village, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. After a thorough review, the Contract to Sell has already been finalized and submitted for approval of the Senate President. Even as we pursue with the project planning and land acquisition, we also launched the Global Conceptual Design Competition with the theme: Bagong Senado sa Ikalawang Siglo, where a total of 40 local and international firms expressed their interest to participate. Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, we have already concluded Stage 1 of our Conceptual Design Competition when the Selection Panel convened on March 20 of this year to shortlist five technically competent firms that would come up with their respective conceptual designs of the Senate building. In no particular order, our five shortlisted firms are: AECOM, Aidea, Henning Larsen Architects, Leeser, and Pelli Clarke Pelli. We also successfully kicked off Stage 2 of the competition with the comprehensive briefing of the shortlisted firms on April 4, where members of this chamber were given a chance to share their needs and vision for the new facility, and questions about the conceptual designs had been clearly addressed. The briefing process also included an actual site visit at the Navy Village. Mr. President, as scheduled, all five firms have already submitted their conceptual design deliverables at 9:00 this morning. And at this very minute, members of my staff are already on course in printing and collating the entries for the technical evaluation. Today, our vision of the new Senate unfolds before us in the form of design sketches and scale models that represent the varying concepts of a green, secure, functional and iconic building. With your indulgence, may I share with you the submissions of the top five firms that we have earlier selected. To objectively select which among these five conceptual designs best articulates our vision, a comprehensive scoring system will be adopted for our selection. For the purpose of transparency and for the appreciation of every member of this chamber, let me discuss our scoring methodology at length. Our scoring system has three components: the Technical Score comprising 40% of the overall score; the People's Choice at 5%; and the Executive Ranking at 55%. The Technical Score will be determined by the Technical Evaluation Committee comprising representatives from the Senate and the BCDA and pre-selected experts from relevant professional disciplines such as architecture, engineering, interior design and cultural research, among others. These experts are from different government agencies, reputable professional organizations and the academe, namely the: Philippine Institute of Interior Designers;

Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners;

National Committee on Architecture and Allied Arts;

Department of Public Works and Highways;

United Architects of the Philippines;

Philippine Association of Landscape Architects;

UST College of Architecture; and the

Bonifacio Estate Services Corporation. This Committee will review and evaluate the design entries based on four criteria: Sustainability, Functionality and Feasibility -- each comprises 20% of the overall Technical Score -- and Identity, which makes up the biggest percentage score of 40%. The Technical Evaluation Committee will objectively rate the entries per criterion independent of the other, and provide technical comments for each design entry. Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, the Technical Evaluation Committee will officially convene tomorrow, May 22, to start the technical review. The second component of our scoring system is the People's Choice. The People's Choice, which I consider as the swing vote, will allow the Senate community, meaning our staff and our employees, to take part in the decision process. All Senate staff are encouraged to select one entry design on May 23, 2018. The voting process shall be administered by the Office of the Deputy Secretary for Administration and Finance. Finally, the Executive Ranking which comprises the highest percentage score of 55%, will be determined by each of us, Senators of this Republic, BCDA Chairman Gregorio Garcia and BCDA President Vivencio Dizon during the final presentations of the designs set on May 28, 2018. Aside from the presentations per firm, we will also be provided with the summary of the scores and technical comments by the Technical Evaluation Committee and the result of the People's Choice. The ranking system will be simple -- each of the Executives, meaning us, will categorically rank the designs from 1 to 5, 1 being our top choice and 5 being the least, based on our overall impression and consideration of each design as a sum of its parts. Mr. President, to ensure the integrity and fairness of the scoring system, I wish to put emphasis on the established competition mechanics that only Executives who are present for the entire duration of the Final Presentations are allowed to cast their votes or scores. The final presentations of the designs on May 28, 2018 will promptly start at 9 o'clock in the morning at the Recto/Laurel/Pecson Committee Rooms. Thus, I am earnestly requesting everyone to be on time so as not to forfeit your right to vote. In sum, this comprehensive scoring system puts primacy to the important technical aspects of the design and also ensures that the preferences of the different stakeholders of the facility are taken into account. Mr. President, may I reiterate, I urge everyone to cast their votes and take part in this milestone initiative of building a home we envision for the Senate. Thank you, Mr. President.Press Release

May 21, 2018 Legarda Meets Singapore's Environment Minister on Green Economy and ASEAN Partnership In her recent visit to Singapore to attend the 5th Singapore Dialogue on Sustainable World Resources, Senator Loren Legarda cited the country's resolve to address the global threat of climate change and embrace the tenets of sustainable development. Legarda, UNISDR Global Champion for Resilience, met with Minister Masagos Zulkifli, Singapore's Minister for Environment and Water Resources, to discuss noteworthy issues on climate action, carbon pricing, and ASEAN partnership towards resilience and innovation. "I admire Singapore's political will to get things done. The initiatives of the government to impose early investment in green economy and environmental resilience sustained the countries socio-economic growth," Legarda said. "The Philippines has enacted a lot of good environmental laws, but the strict implementation of these laws remains a challenge. We need Singapore's influence and example, more especially because Singapore is the current Chair of ASEAN and it has declared 2018 as 'Year of Climate Action'," she added. Singapore is set to be the first ASEAN country to impose carbon tax by next year. Zulkifli explained that the carbon tax to be collected is not meant to fund the government, but will be used instead to support climate initiatives to encourage investments on green growth projects that will eventually reduce carbon emission. Legarda said the Philippines could learn from Singapore's Cooperation Programs, which include the Distinguished Visitor Program for ministers and eminent persons, a customized visit in Singapore to observe the government's environmental initiatives, such as carbon pricing and innovations in climate and energy. Legarda noted that engagements like these convey a message to climate deniers that pursuing a low carbon pathway does not impede economic growth but would actually mean more jobs, less vulnerability, less risks, and more income. Meanwhile, Zulkifli said that he is looking forward to the Philippines' representation at the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action in July for a more thorough discussion on ASEAN's collective action in the fight against climate change.Press Release

May 21, 2018 Koko to nominate Sotto as Senate President, thanks colleagues for passing landmark legislation Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III is leading the reorganization of the Senate Leadership by nominating Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III as the new Senate President effective on May 21, 2018. In a statement, Pimentel also acknowledged his fellow senators for their roles in passing landmark legislation. "I am grateful for the support extended by my colleagues in the Senate, all of whom played a significant role in the crafting and passage of landmark legislation that have helped improve the lives of our people," said Pimentel. Pimentel said that he was honored to have served as Senate President, a position once held by his father, former Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr. "It has been an honor and a privilege for me to serve the Senate as its President, a position once held by father before me. He served the Senate with dignity, always staying true to his principles and consistently putting the interests of our nation before his - and it was his example I had tried to emulate during my time at the helm of the Senate." "When I became a lawyer, my father reminded me of the immortal words of former Justice JBL Reyes, words that he said inspired all those in our profession who fought Martial Law: No master but law, no guide but conscience, no aim but justice," added the former Bar topnotcher. "I served as Senate President inspired by the words of Justice JBL Reyes and guided by the principles and actions of Senator Nene Pimentel. I step down knowing that I tried my best to do this." Pimentel added that "The cause of Federalism needs help. Federalism is not only PDP LABAN's advocacy but also my personal one. Hence, I need to help the cause of Federalism on my personal time." Pimentel added that as the head of PDP LABAN, he believes it is imperative that "the party marshal its resources in support of our party's candidates in the upcoming midterm elections - individuals who are committed to supporting the reforms and the advocacies of the President. Hence the need to focus on preparing the party for the 2019 national elections." The Cagayan de Oro native committed to help his successor and to continue to help push the Administration's legislative agenda. "I wish my successor, Senator Sotto, good health and Godspeed, and pledge to help the new leadership pass pro-people legislation consistent with the legislative agenda of the President." Pimentel was elected the 28th Senate President in July 2016, a post previously held by his father, former Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel Jr., from November 2000 to June 2001. Under his leadership, the Senate passed landmark legislation such as Republic Act (RA) 10931, which grants free tuition and other fees in state universities and colleges; RA 10932, which strengthens the provision of emergency health care service to patients by prohibiting medical practitioners from demanding advance payments from patients needing immediate care; RA 10929, which provides free internet access in public areas; RA 10963, which lowered the rates for personal income tax; RA 10928, which extends the validity of the Philippine passport from five to ten years; RA 10930, which extends the driver's license validity from three to five years; RA 10969, which provides free irrigation to farmers; RA 10951, which made the penalties in the Revised Penal Code fairer and more reasonable; RA 10927, which covered Casinos under the Anti-Money Laundering Act; and Joint Resolution No. 1, Series of 2018, which increased the base pay of uniformed personnel in the military and the police. During Pimentel's term, the Senate also concurred in treaties involving the following: membership of the Philippines in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), climate change agreement (the "Paris Agreement"), cybercrime, the RP-EFTA (Free Trade Agreement), the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation with the European Union, avoidance of double taxation, and standardization of social security benefits.Press Release

May 21, 2018 Senate commends KasamaKa initiative as an advocacy program for financial inclusion in barangays and LGUs The Senate adopted today a resolution commending the KasamaKa initiative, a national grassroots-based advocacy program, which provides affordable access to inclusive digital finance for every barangay and local government unit. Senator Bam Aquino, author of Senate Resolution No. 625, said the resolution seeks to steer Filipinos away from informal lenders by giving them access to reasonable cost of credit and introducing them to a complete suite of digital financial services. "FINTQologies Inc. (FINTQ) spearheads the KasamaKa initiative, a community-based, self-help, income-generating ecosystem-building movement towards financial inclusion and financial literacy via a bottom-up approach," the resolution said. FINTQ is engaged in the development of software and services related to or incidental to the business of e-money, electronic, and digital financial services including but not limited to mobile banking and payment. Under the bill, KasamaKa aims to tap barangays to participate in the movement. According to the resolution, bottom-up approach is a new way of going down the community level and giving opportunity to the common 'tao' to look after themselves by empowering and spreading the benefits of growth and development equitably among the people. "This program is in accordance with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in its vision, by leapfrogging digital financial transactions in the country from the current one percent to a minimum of 20 percent by year 2020," the resolution added. Meanwhile, the Senate also adopted a resolution commending Dr. Ricardo Orge for winning the 2017 Manila Water Foundation (MWF) Prize for Engineering Excellence. Senate Resolution No. 641 was also authored by Senator Bam Aquino. Orge, a research specialist of the Rice Engineering and Mechanization of the Philippine Rice Research Institute, was chosen for his notable contribution in the field of Agriculture through his Continuous-Type Rice (CtRH) Carbonizer project. "The CtRH project was conducted to improve the system of processing rice hull into biochar. It was designed to recover the heat generated from the carbonization process with the intention of reusing it in various farm applications, opening up opportunities for additional income for rice farmers and reducing their dependency on fossil fuel," the resolution said. The MWF prize for engineering excellence is sponsored by the Manila Water Foundation, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Technological Council (PTC). (Olive Caunan)Press Release

May 21, 2018 Statement of Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri

on his election as Senate Majority Leader I am humbled and honored to be chosen, once again, as Majority Leader by my colleagues. I will work with the same zeal and same work ethics as I used to during the 14th Congress when I held the same position. It is fitting that we just "celebrated" the life of Senator Edgardo Angara. I pay tribute to him whose philosophy was to pass quality legislation without the noise. That's the "Angara way". I will make that as my mantra as Majority Leader. I will make sure that we will pass legislation that not only improves the lives of Filipinos but will also prioritize local legislations from our Representatives throughout the country and for the smooth coordination and working relationship between the two chambers of Congress. We will take action on the legislative priorities passed on to us by the other House. We will continue to prioritize the BBL to achieve long-lasting peace in Mindanao, end the ENDO, amendments to the retail trade to allow more investments; and the Public Services Act to allow competition on people's basic needs such as telecommunications and transportation. We will continue to take action on the other legislative priorities of the Chamber. I am willing to spend long days and nights pushing for these measures, as I did during my first term as Majority Leader. My leadership style is one of not courting controversies and political fights. Those who know me, know that I am a consensus-builder, team player and an optimist. We will uphold and defend the Senate's image as an institution from its detractors and protect the Senate's independence and integrity. I have mixed emotions in accepting this post. For one, I am happy that I am given another opportunity to shepherd the passage of important pieces of legislation. On the other hand, I am saddened that it will take a lot of quality time away from my family, my wife and young children. After going through the ups and downs of my political career, marked by my resignation as Senator in 2011 and losing in 2013, I made a pact with God that this time I will do better. I did not seek this position. I accept this post not due to ambition but due to the new lease in my political career given to me by the people who want change from the status quo. God humbled me through my political trials in life, so, this time I just want to do a better job. This is now THE challenge to do better.Fulton Hogan has bought Stevenson Group's construction materials units for an undisclosed sum, adding two quarries, four concrete plants and a lab testing facility at a time when infrastructure work is tipped to keep growing over the coming five years.

Christchurch-based Fulton Hogan today signed an agreement to buy Stevenson Construction Materials and Stevenson Properties (2015), adding more than 200 employees to its 7,100-strong workforce, the companies said in a joint statement. The terms of the deal are confidential and it's expected to settle by July 31.

Stevenson Group hired PwC to investigate options for the business late last year, which chief executive Mark Franklin described at the time as "premium assets" which would fit well with several companies.

Fulton Hogan chief executive Cos Bruyn, who took over the reins last year, said the acquisition complements the firm's vertical supply chain and gives it a long-term supply of quality aggregates to meet growing demand in Auckland and Waikato.

"We look forward to welcoming Stevensons 200+ strong workforce to the Fulton Hogan family once the purchase is complete," Bruyn said. "We thank the Stevenson family for their trust in Fulton Hogan to continue their legacy and are pleased to retain the Stevenson brand."

New Zealand's infrastructure construction accounts for about a quarter of all activity by value and is seen expanding at about 4.5 percent a year through to 2022 in the 2017 National Construction Pipeline. That's underpinned by transport, Kaikoura earthquake-related work and water and wastewater projects, and in the government's budget last week, some $14.3 billion of capital spending was earmarked for purchases of physical assets and another $13.2 billion for investments via entities including the New Zealand Transport Agency and City Rail Link.

Franklin today told BusinessDesk the company has been a long-term owner of the construction materials, citing the Drury quarries as an example that has been part of the group since 1939, but that it's now probably "more valuable as part of someone else's supply chain".

Stevenson Group's current portfolio includes the Drury South Cross development, which Franklin said will be a five-to-10 year plan, and its mining assets, which have been "very successful".

"We will have the ability to look at other investments as well, but we're concentrating on Drury south right now," Franklin said.

(BusinessDesk)

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The New Zealand dollar rose back above 69 US cents as a truce in the trade war between US and China spurred on demand for commodity-linked currencies.

The kiwi gained to 69.41 US cents as at 8am in Wellington from 68.97 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 72.79 from 72.50.

The Thomson Reuters CRB index of 19 commonly traded commodities rose 1 percent and Brent Crude oil gained 1.2 percent to US$79.44 a barrel as investors remained upbeat about the successful trade talks between the world's two biggest economies, which would increase US exports of agricultural and energy products to China. US President Donald Trump tweeted the potential deal would mean China "will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce". The positive outlook for commodities comes ahead of a Fonterra Cooperative Group board meeting, which is expected to lift the forecast farmgate payout to New Zealand farmers.

The optimism over the global trade outlook unwound the kiwi dollar's losses yesterday after weaker-than-expected consumer spending weighed on the outlook for domestic economic growth in the first quarter.

"The softer retail data provided only a modest setback for the NZD, as the more positive tone to US-China trade relations and rumours of a relaxation in the Chinese birth limits lent support," ANZ Bank New Zealand chief economist Sharon Zollner and economist Philip Borkin said in a note. "After a decent move lower (and some technical momentum indicators looking oversold), it appears the NZD has seen its near-term lows for now."

The kiwi rose to 4.4300 Chinese yuan from 4.3999 yuan yesterday and decreased to 91.55 Australian cents from 91.70 cents yesterday, with Australia's currency a bigger beneficiary from the cooling trade tensions between the US and China.

The local currency rose to 58.89 euro cents from 58.69 cents yesterday amid heightened political uncertainty in Italy, where the leaders of the populist Five Star Movement and League parties are due to meet President Sergio Mattarella after an inconclusive election two-and-a-half months ago. University professor Giuseppe Conte is the frontrunner to become prime minister.

The local currency gained to 77.06 yen from 76.72 yen yesterday and gained to 51.68 British pence from 51.33 pence.

(BusinessDesk)

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Vocus Group's New Zealand chief Mark Callander will join the Australasian telecommunications group's board later this month, joining newly appointed managing director Kevin Russell.

The Kiwi executive will join the board on May 28, the same day telecommunications veteran Russell joins the company to focus the group after a series of rapid acquisitions became too much of a handful and led to a number of writedowns. That included a merger with rival M2 Group in 2016 which brought the New Zealand business with it, including Callander. Vocus tested the waters for a sale of the New Zealand business but pulled the pin last month when it didn't get any offers big attractive enough to entice a sale.

"Mark brings to the board an extensive understanding of the New Zealand market, together with the lessons learned through the successful integration of prior acquisitions," chair Bob Mansfield said in a statement. "Under Mark's leadership, our New Zealand business is delivering the value promised by earlier transactions and has overcome many of the challenges which currently face our Australian business."

The telecommunications group wrote down the value of its assets by A$1.47 billion in the June 2017 year after rapid expansion through a series of acquisitions, including A$199 million on the New Zealand business. That shook out interest from private equity bidders, although no deal was forthcoming, and Vocus subsequently identified assets it could sell.

Earlier this year, Geoff Horth stepped aside as group CEO, an earlier exit than initially planned as part of the group's executive and boardroom overhaul that also saw former chair Vaughan Bowen step down in March.

Vocus highlighted Russell's past experience turning around Hutchison Three UK in today's statement, and acknowledged his previous executive positions at Telstra and Singtel Optus as supporting his knowledge of the Australian market.

The ASX-listed shares rose 4.2 percent to A$2.46, having shed 22 percent so far this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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During their informal summit, the two leaders will primarily focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the United States withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for Russia for an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.

PM Modi on Sunday voiced the hope his talks with President Vladimir Putin would further strengthen the 'special and privileged' strategic partnership between India and Russia.

In a series of tweets -- in Russian and then in English -- on the eve of his visit to Russia, Modi said he looked forward to his meeting with Putin.

'Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him,' Modi tweeted.

During their informal summit in the Russian city of Sochi, the two leaders will primarily focus on global and regional issues, including the impact of the United States decision to withdraw from a nuclear deal with Iran.

'Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia,' Modi said in another tweet.

Official sources have said the two leaders will meet for four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.

They said the issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan and Syria, threat of terrorism, and matters relating to the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and BRICS summits.

The sources said the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act on Indo-Russia defence cooperation might also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.

India is not going to allow its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources have said, adding New Delhi has been lobbying with the Trump administration on the issue. The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, the sources said.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Fleet Week New York will kick off on Wednesday, when the Parade of Ships moves through New York Harbor.

The 30th annual event will include public visitation of participating ships, military band concerts, several exhibits and more through Monday, May 28. The ships will depart on Tuesday, May 29.

Over 2,300 members of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard are expected to visit New York City as part of the festivities.

Below is a look at some of the activities planned on Staten Island in celebration of Fleet Week. For a complete schedule, click here.

PARADE OF SHIPS

The Parade of Ships is the signature kick-off event for Fleet Week each year. The ships will sail through New York Harbor Wednesday morning, and can be seen along the Hudson River from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On Staten Island, the public is invited to Fort Wadsworth Overlook at the Visitor Center Lot, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Fort tours will be ongoing during that time. Phone 718-354-4655 for details.

SHIP TOURS

Ships will be open for tours across New York City.

Four ships will be docked on Staten Island at the USS The Sullivans Homeport Pier in Stapleton: The Freedom-class littoral combat ship USS Little Rock, from Mayport, Fla.; the bay-class cutter USCGC Sturgeon Bay, from Bayonne, N.J.; the reliance-class cutter USCGC Diligence, from Wilmington, N.C.; the pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship USNS Maury.

Tours of the ships will take place daily from 8 a.m to 5 p.m., beginning on Thursday and continuing through Monday.

There is no age requirement to tour the ships, however, adult visitors over the age of 18 are required to show a valid picture I.D. Tours may not be appropriate for small children.

Small items such as handbags, clear bottles of water, small cameras or diaper bags are permitted aboard the ships. All bags will be searched.

MUSIC FESTIVAL

The 2018 Fleet Week Music Fest will take place on Sunday, May 27, from noon to 7 p.m. in Tompkinsville's Minthorne Street "party lot" -- one block from Bay Street and Victory Boulevard.

There will be music courtesy of the many bands in attendance, a DJ, games, and a photo booth. Food and beverages will be available.

SOCIAL MEDIA

You can also "Like" FleetWeekNewYork on Facebook, check out photos on their Instagram @fleetweeknyc or "Follow" @FleetWeekNYC on Twitter. Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #FleetWeekNYC.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Traffic is moving smoothly early in the first morning rush hour over the new New Jersey-bound lanes of the Goethals Bridge.

No accidents or delays are reported on the span early in the Monday morning rush hour, according to posters on Waze.com and state Department of Transportation cameras.

A project nearly five years in the making saw its fruition Sunday night as the west-bound side of the new Goethals Bridge opened around 10 p.m.

Both directions of the span now are accessible to the public.

The new bridge features three, 12-foot travel lanes in each direction, as opposed to the two, 10-foot travel lanes of the previous bridge.

Both spans include a 12-foot outer shoulder, as well as a 5-foot inner shoulder to allow emergency vehicles to safely and efficiently navigate the bridge.STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With recreational marijuana legalization an increasingly likely possibility, Mayor Bill de Blasio wants police to take a different approach when it comes to folks smoking pot in public.

No arrests, just summonses, according to a New York Daily News report.

That policy change will be part of a 30-day review the mayor announced last week to address the massive racial disparity in marijuana arrests, wrote the Daily News.

Do you favor his approach? Tell us via our Tylt poll above.

The Staten Island Advance and SILive recently took an in-depth look at legalized recreational marijuana in Oregon. In addition, the Advance penned several stories related to how similar laws would impact New York (and New Jersey).STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- About 50 nurses from Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze will be boarding buses to Northwell Health headquarters in Long Island on Monday to show their support for a labor strike, according to the nurses' union.

The nurses, who are members of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA), voted overwhelmingly to authorize the strike on Friday after they say negotiations over labor contracts remain stymied.

NYSNA members say they are fighting for contract proposals that benefit the hospital, nurses and residents of Staten Island.

According to NYSNA, major disagreements have arisen over safe staffing, health insurance, fundamental union rights and wages.

A NYSNA spokesman said previous negotiation talks have not resulted in "a fair and equitable response from hospital executives."

However, hospital officials say they hope to avoid a strike.

"We're extremely disappointed to be at this crossroad once again with NYSNA, but we remain hopeful we can reach agreement on a new contract," a hospital spokesman said.

"After 37 collective bargaining sessions over the past 11 months, NYSNA announced that the hospital's unionized nurses voted to authorize NYSNA to issue a 10-day strike notice, which we hope can be avoided," he added.

CONTINGENCY PLAN

Staten Island University Hospital said ensuring patient safety and maintaining high-quality care is "a top priority." Officials said it has taken steps to ensure the hospital's Ocean Breeze site remains fully operational if the union moves forward with a strike.

"We have contracted with a nationally respected nursing agency to staff our hospital with highly qualified, professional nurses," a spokesman said.

There is another bargaining session scheduled for May 24 to continue to work toward resolving disagreements, said the hospital spokesman.

Nurses at the hospital's Prince's Bay site are not represented by NYSNA.

FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER.PHILIPSBURG:--- On behalf of the Government & People of Sint Maarten, it is with heartfelt feelings I extend my condolences to the family and friends of my friend Roy Marlin. We have lost another political heavy weight after a long battle against illness.

Mr. Marlin has made his mark on the political arena on Sint Maarten with his contributions as a Civil Servant, board member at NV GEBE, Island Council Member, Commissioner in the Executive Council and Member of Parliament.

The public of Sint Maarten will be able to sign the condolence register in his remembrance starting on Tuesday May 22nd in the lobby of the Government Administration Building. May his soul rest in peace.SIMPSON BAY:--- Experts from various airports that comprise the Islands Airport Safety Committee (IASC) will be discussing issues related to all aspects of operational safety at aerodromes from Monday, May 21 to Friday, May 25th, at a conference hosted by the Princess Juliana International Airport, SXM. The Honorable Interim Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications, Dr. Cornelius de Weever, will officially open the conference which will attract delegations from Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bonaire , Curacao, Saba and Suriname.

According to the head of the SXM delegation, Stefania Kong - Gumbs of the Quality Assurance Department, the conference was supposed to have been held in September 2017 but due to hurricane Irma it had to be cancelled. SXM was given the opportunity to host this years event by the President of IASC, Mr. D. Phalai and Mr. Michel Hyman, COO, accepted on behalf of the SXM airport. At the opening session on Monday, Hyman, will provide the conference with updates and information about developments at SXM Airport following the severe damages inflicted by Irma last year. FAA expert, Kenneth Taira will give a presentation on Safety in Airport Design

while another FAA colleague, Mr. Mahendra Raghubeer will follow with a presentation on Safely in Airport

Operations.

The packed schedule which includes a meet and greet at the beginning, conference meetings, audits, and a closing party on Friday, has been designed to offer participants an opportunity to engage in interactive sessions, while they would also be able to see for themselves how the island, and particularly SXM airport, continue to recover from

the devastation of last September storms.

Aviation safety is at the core of SXM Airports fundamental objectives. SXM Airport is constantly striving, in close collaboration with partnering airports and the entire air transport community, to further improve aviations successful safety performance while maintaining a high level of capacity and efficiency. We are indeed happy to be able to host the Conference this year, in spite of all the challenges of rebuilding our airport and island after the unprecedented damages suffered at the hands of Irma and Maria last year, said Hyman.

We hope all participants will be able to experience first-hand the resilience that we are known for, and the friendliness that is our trademark, he added.

Presentation by COO Michel Hyman.

Opening of the IASC Conference

Honorable Minister of TEATT, Dr. Cornelius de Weever, President of the IASC,

Heads of Delegations from IASC membership

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Let me begin by thanking the President of the Is-Lands Airport Safety Committee, Mr. D. Phalai for giving us the opportunity to host this years conference. Last year, the conference was to have been held in September, but as you know, it had to be cancelled as a result of Hurricane Irma. We have been steadily digging ourselves out of the rubble the storm left behind. We are however honored to welcome you, as always, with open arms, to this important conference.

Safety for us at SXM Airport has always been and will continue to be top priority. This has become even more so in the aftermath of the hurricanes of last September. Only those who lived through that nightmare would know how powerful Irma was. Gusts of up to 230 miles per hour were recorded at our airport and storm surge recorded at

18 feet high. That is what hit us on September 6th last year.

As you can see, we are in full recovery and reconstruction mode right now. Our goal is, of course, to rebuild better, stronger and smarter, so that, God forbid if we ever get hit again, we will be able to withstand storms as strong as or stronger than Irma and Maria. In this process, our focus remains firmly on safety; operational safety; passenger safety, and safety of equipment, aircrafts, and in particular, safety of all our staff

and employees.

The Princess Juliana International Airport has been a member of the Is- Lands Airport Safety Committee since its inception in 2006. And this is the third time we have had the honor of hosting this Conference where we exchange safety information, sit in safety classes/workshops, review various aspects of aerodrome safety and share safety ideas. This has always benefited us as an aerodrome operator and has helped us prepare for external audits.

But let me say this: the safety of any one of our airports affects the reputation of all the others in one way or another, the same way that when a hurricane destroys any one of our islands in the Caribbean, the whole region feels the impact.

That is why coming together in conferences like this one allows us to share experiences and best practices, while ensuring that we all remain on the same page when it comes to safety matters.

Aviation safety is not only a national or regional concern, it is a global issue, with organizations like the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO, at the forefront of promoting aviation safety worldwide. Recognizing that the air transport industry has a significant role to play in world economy and development, ICAO, a United Nations body, sets Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) to facilitate harmonized regulations in aviation safety, security, efficiency and environmental protection on a global basis.

We must, in our own region, function as a mini-ICAO, fostering cooperation among ourselves, to improve safety at our airports and therefore continue to earn the confidence of all our users.

Finally, I would like to ask for us to keep in our prayers the family for the more than 100 passengers who lost their lives when a Boeing 737 crashed shortly after take-off from the Jose Marti International Airport, Havana at about midday last Friday, May 18th. This is a chilling reminder of how seriously we must take aviation safety.

I wish you all very insightful and useful deliberations and a very successful conference.

I thank you.





12 civilians killed in Mali market attack



Bamako, May 20 (AFP) May 20, 2018



At least 12 civilians were killed in northern Mali in an attack on a market that also involved the shooting of a Malian soldier, military sources said on Sunday.

The attack took place Saturday in the town of Boulekessi near the border with Burkina Faso.

"Malian troops under the G5 Sahel command are at the centre of this incident," a military source from the joint force of soldiers from five Sahel countries told AFP.

"One of the soldiers had been attacked by an armed man at the market in Boulekessi. Afterwards, in circumstances not yet clear, at least 12 civilians at the site were killed," the source said.

A Malian military source added that it was difficult to contact the region by phone and that an investigation was under way "to find out exactly how many civilians were killed and who shot the soldier."

Contacted by AFP, a former Malian minister, who comes from the region, said that witnesses had claimed the incident was due to military "blunders" and that "more than 15 civilians were killed".

"According to two witnesses, an armed man shot a Malian soldier who was now fighting for his life," the ex-minister said, adding that he was waiting for confirmation of the details of the incident.

Mali's defence minister Tienan Coulibaly could not been reached for comment.

The Malian army is often accused of making arbitrary arrests and carrying out extra-judicial executions in its fight against jihadists in the north of the country.

France intervened militarily in Mali in 2013 to help government forces drive Al-Qaeda-linked jihadists out of the north.

But large tracts of the country remain lawless despite a peace accord signed with ethnic Tuareg leaders in mid-2015 aimed at isolating the jihadists. The violence has also spilled over into both Burkina Faso and Niger.Beijing denies 'militarisation' of South China Sea



Beijing, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



Beijing hit back Monday at allegations it was "militarising" the South China Sea after landing bombers at an airbase in the contested waters, accusing Washington instead of raising tensions with its own military footprint.

China on Friday for the first time landed several combat aircraft -- including the long-range, nuclear strike-capable H-6K -- at an island airfield in the sea, triggering international concern.

The move prompted immediate criticism from the US, with a Pentagon spokesman condemning China's "continued militarisation of disputed features in the South China Sea".

But China rejected concerns that the deployment had raised tensions in a region home to vital global shipping routes.

"The South China Sea islands are Chinese territories," foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a regular briefing.

Lu said moving the bombers into the area was "part of the normal training for the Chinese military", and that the US "sending its own warships and planes to the region... poses a danger to other countries".

Friday's takeoff and landing drills took place on Woody Island, according to Washington think-tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The island is home to China's largest base in the Paracel Islands, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

Hanoi slammed the drills and demanded Beijing "immediately cease" its military moves in the area, the foreign ministry said in a statement to AFP Monday.

The exercises "seriously violated Vietnam's sovereignty... raising tensions (and) destabilising the region", it said.

Vietnam has long traded barbs with its communist neighbour over competing claims in the sea but tensions have risen in recent weeks.

Earlier this month Hanoi told Beijing to remove military equipment from the Spratly islands after CNBC reported it had installed anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles.

Soon after, the Vietnamese unit of Russian oil firm Rosneft said it started drilling in a part of the sea also claimed by China. Beijing responded by asserting its sovereignty over the area.

China claims almost all the South China Sea and has built a string of artificial islands in contested areas since 2013, installing an array of airbases, radar systems and naval facilities.

The Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia have competing partial claims.

The Philippines, which has largely backed off from the sea dispute under China-friendly president Rodrigo Duterte, said Monday said it was taking "appropriate diplomatic action" over the bomber exercises.Sweden releases war preparation booklet amid Russia worries



Stockholm, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



The Swedish government on Monday presented an emergency pamphlet to prepare citizens in the event of a war, natural disaster, or cyber attack amid soaring tensions between Russia and the Western allies.

Entitled "If Crisis or War Comes", the brochure is published in 13 languages at the request of the government and gives advice on how to take shelter, what foods to store and what information to trust. It will be sent to 4.8 million Swedes between May 28 and June 3.

The 20-page document outlines with simple illustrations the threats which the Nordic nation is facing such as military conflict, natural disaster and terror attacks similar to the deadly Stockholm truck attack last year.

"Even if Sweden is safer than many other countries...threats do exist," said Dan Eliasson, head of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, which prepared the booklet.

"It's important that everyone has knowledge of what can threaten us so we can prepare in case something serious occurs," he told a news conference in Stockholm.

"It might affect our import of goods like food and so on. Even though the military conflict is not in Sweden itself, we can get affected," Christina Andersson, the brochure's project manager, told AFP.

The last time such a brochure was printed was in 1961 during the Cold War. While the latest booklet does not point to any country, its release comes amid fears of an open conflict between NATO and Russia over Moscow's military activities along its borders.

Sweden, which is not a NATO member, does not share a border with Russia, but the two nations are connected across the Baltic Sea, where Moscow has a naval base in Baltiysk, located in the Kaliningrad region east of the Stockholm coastline.

The sight of an unidentified submarine in the Stockholm archipelago in the autumn of 2014 exasperated Russian worries, followed by several violations of Swedish airspace by Russian aircraft.Supreme Court to rule on largest uranium deposit in US



Washington, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



The Supreme Court said Monday it will examine the legality of a ban on exploiting the largest known deposit of uranium in the United States.

The court was responding to calls by the Trump administration, and by the companies that own the land in Virginia, which are seeking to overturn a ban on mining the estimated 119 million pounds of radioactive material, valued at some six billion dollars.

Virginia banned uranium mining in 1982, citing concerns about radioactive pollution in the state's waterways. The huge deposit had been discovered shortly before that, close to the borders with North Carolina.

But the mining companies that own the land have waged a long legal battle to overturn the ban, arguing that this one deposit could fuel all the country's nuclear power stations.

They argue that, according to the Atomic Energy Act, decisions concerning the exploitation of nuclear materials should be in the hands of federal regulators, and not states.

The Trump administration, which has pledged to revitalize bankrupt mines, has backed the mining companies in the case.'Few signs of progress' in Afghanistan: US inspector



Washington, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



Upbeat assessments of an improving security situation in Afghanistan do not line up with the facts on the ground, the Pentagon watchdog said Monday, pointing to "few signs of progress" in the war-torn nation.

Top US officials and military commanders insist Afghan security forces are doing a better job of maintaining order, even though the Taliban are staging repeated attacks and the Islamic State group has conducted a series of high-profile suicide blasts.

"This quarter, US officials stated that the Taliban was not achieving its objectives and that momentum was shifting in favor of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF)," the Inspector General of the Pentagon's office said.

"However, available metrics showed few signs of progress."

The top US commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, in November said the fight had "turned the corner" and predicted that the Afghan security forces will expand government control of the population from about 64 percent now to 80 percent over two years.

But the inspector general said there had been "little positive change" in the first quarter of 2018, with just 65 percent of the population living in areas under government control or influence.

At the same time, the number of Afghan security force personnel dropped from 331,708 to 313,728 -- a figure that is 11 percent below its authorized strength of 352,000.

"This shortfall, at a time when there is an increased emphasis on building the lethality of the ANDSF, renews concerns about recruiting, retention, and casualty rates of the ANDSF and the overall effectiveness of the ANDSF," the report states.

President Donald Trump last year unveiled a much-vaunted "South Asia Strategy" to tackle Afghanistan by including a broader regional approach.

The aim is to convince the Taliban through diplomatic, military and social pressure it cannot win and must reconcile.

"During this quarter there was little publicly available evidence that the actions to increase pressure on the Taliban were having a significant impact," the report notes.

Much of the diplomatic pressure relies on Pakistan to eliminate Taliban safe havens, but despite suspending between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in planned security aid, Pakistan did not take any "significant action" to eliminate the sanctuaries, the report said.

In February, the Afghan government offered the Taliban the chance to start a reconciliation process with no preconditions, and the US has suggested Taliban elements want to negotiate.

But attacks have continued unabated and last week the Taliban tried to seize the western city of Farah.

On Monday, the Taliban warned Kabul residents to avoid "military centers" in the heavily fortified city, saying they are planning more attacks in the Afghan capital.Iran's Rouhani: 'world no longer accepts US deciding for them'



Tehran, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dismissed threats made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, saying the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf.

"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," Rouhani said in a statement carried by multiple Iranian news agencies.Iran's Rouhani: 'world no longer accepts US deciding for them'



Tehran, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dismissed threats made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, saying the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf.

"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani said in a statement carried by multiple Iranian news agencies.

"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he added.

It was a pointed response to Pompeo's speech earlier in the day, in which he threatened the "strongest sanctions in history" against Iran unless it capitulated to a series of 12 demands regarding its regional behaviour and missile programme.

But Rouhani dismissed the administration of President Donald Trump as a "move 15 years backwards to the era of Bush junior and a repeat of the same statements as 2003".

"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," he added.

European leaders have strongly condemned the US move to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions, seeing it as undermining regional security and a direct attack on their economic interests.

Russia and China -- two other parties to the agreement -- have also criticised the US move and vowed to maintain trade with Iran.

"The world does not accept the logic by which a gentleman who was head of the spy service... decides for others," said Rouhani, referring to Pompeo's recent job as head of the CIA.Broad Iran deal 'very, very difficult': UK's Johnson



London, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



The "jumbo Iran negotiation" sought by US President Donald Trump will be "very, very difficult" to achieve, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned Monday.

US counterpart Mike Pompeo on Monday set 12 tough conditions for a "new deal" with Iran after Trump walked away from the existing nuclear agreement.

But Johnson said that he didn't see a comprehensive deal "being very easy to achieve, in anything like a reasonable timetable."

Britain and the other powers who signed the 2015 agreement have vowed to honour the deal, despite the US promising to increase financial pressure on Iran with the "strongest sanctions in history," hampering companies hoping to deal with the Middle Eastern state.

Johnson defended the original deal, saying it "protected the world from an Iranian nuclear bomb, and in return it gave the Iranians some recognisable economic benefits."

He added that G20 foreign ministers would discuss the issue when they meet in Buenos Aires later Monday.

"I think we will be discussing, not in the session but we'll certainly be discussing it with friends and colleagues today, how to take it forward," he told reporters.

"But the prospect of a new jumbo Iran treaty is going to be very, very difficult.

"I think in the end, we will get back to the kind of additions to the JCPOA that we initially envisaged -- but it may take a long time," he added.

Johnson said Britain was already taking measures to try to shield British companies dealing with Iran from being hit by US sanctions.

"We're going to do everything we possibly can," he said.US to impose 'strongest sanctions in history' on Iran



Washington, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday warned Iran would be hit with the "strongest sanctions in history" and cautioned European firms against continuing to do business in Tehran, toughening up Washington's policy line after its withdrawal from the nuclear pact.

In his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA, the longtime Iran hawk and ardent opponent of the 2015 nuclear pact outlined an aggressive series of moves designed to counter Tehran, which he called the world's top sponsor of terror.

"We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

"This sting of sanctions will be painful if the regime does not change its course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen to one that rejoins the league of nations."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani quickly dismissed the threats, saying the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf.

"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani said in a statement carried by multiple Iranian news agencies.

"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he added.

Pompeo said if Iran were to abide by stricter terms, including ending its ballistic missile program and its interventions in regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria, the United States would lift its new sanctions.

"Iran will be forced to make a choice: either fight to keep its economy off life support at home or keep squandering precious wealth on fights abroad. It will not have the resources to do both," he said.

President Donald Trump has long said the original 2015 deal with Iran -- also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- did not go far enough, and now wants the Europeans and others to support his hardline strategy.

The deal was designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The international community, including top US officials, have said Tehran had been in compliance.

But Trump despised the deal, pointing to other aspects of Iranian behavior not covered in the pact, and on May 8 he pulled America out despite intense diplomatic efforts by European allies who had beseeched him to stick with it by adding tougher new elements.

"Iran's leaders saw the deal as a starting gun for the march across the Middle East," Pompeo said.

Pompeo said the bet that the deal would increase Middle East stability had been a bad one for the international community.



- 'Carte blanche' -



Instead of suggesting a re-negotiation of the Iran deal, Pompeo outlined 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran to make sure it "will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East."

These essentially address every aspect of Iran's missile program and what the US calls its "malign influence" across the region, including support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah and Huthi rebels in Yemen.

"It must cease its threatening behavior against its neighbors," Pompeo said.

Rouhani compared the statements as akin to those made by the administration of George W. Bush ahead of the 2003 Iraq invasion.

"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," Rouhani added.

European allies heard how Pompeo expects their support for the new US plan -- but he offered nothing in return, and threatened economic fallout for anyone still dealing with the Islamic Republic.

"We understand that our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends," he said.

"We want to hear their concerns. But you know, we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account."

The re-establishment of US sanctions will force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with the United States.

In reality, there is no choice -- European companies cannot afford to forsake the US market.

For now, the European Union is trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation.

Russia and China have also criticized the US move and vowed to maintain trade with Iran.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the sort of "jumbo Iran deal" Pompeo was suggesting would not be "very easy to achieve in anything like a reasonable timescale."

Critics rounded on Pompeo's speech, saying his demands could have been made without pulling America from the nuclear deal.

"Pompeo has not outlined a strategy, but rather a grab bag of wishful thinking that can only be interpreted as a call for regime change in Iran," Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings' Center for Middle East Policy wrote on Twitter.Netanyahu hails US policy on Iran, calls on world to back



Jerusalem, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday hailed the United States's policy on Iran and urged the rest of the world to follow suit.

"The US policy is correct. Iran is spreading aggressively throughout the Middle East. It aspires to achieve nuclear weapons by various means," Netanyahu said as he met Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes in Jerusalem.

"We call on the entire international community to join this American position," Netanyahu added.Trump promises N.Korea's Kim can stay in power







Washington (AFP) May 17, 2018





US President Donald Trump tried to put his summit with Kim Jong Un back on track Thursday, offering the North Korean leader guarantees of staying in power if he abandons nuclear weapons. As prospects for a historic summit next month between the two leaders dimmed, Trump told reporters that if the meeting were to go ahead successfully, Kim "will get protections that will be very strong." "He'd be in his country and running his country. His country would be very rich." But the pledge came bar ... read moreOptimization

Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should?

Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools.Shaheed Al-Hafed, May 20, 2018 (SPS) - The Ministry of the Occupied Territories and Community Abroad has condemned, in a statement, the brutal assassination carried out Friday by the Moroccan of forces repression of Sahrawi student Abdel-Rahim Badri on the Ibn Zuhr University site in the Moroccan city of Agadir.



The statement called for the need to conduct an international investigation into the circumstances surrounding the assassination of Sahrawi student Abdel-Rahim Badri and to punish those responsible. The ministry also expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased and through them to all the Saharawi people. (SPS)



062/SPS/TRATifariti (Liberated Territories), May 21, 2018 (SPS) - On the occasion of the festivities marking the 45th Anniversary of the outbreak of the armed struggle, organised in the liberated town of Tifariti, the President of Republic, Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, affirmed in his speech that the national cause has achieved successive and important victories.

The President of Republic highlighted the achievements of the Sahrawi state at the level of the African Union, which was reflected in the strong message that the Euro-African Summit in Abidjan clearly addressed the attempts of the Moroccan occupier to ignore the charter of the African Union.



In this regard, he highlighted the recent ruling of the European Court of Justice, which confirmed that Western Sahara is not part of Morocco, and that the Moroccan presence, "is an illegal military occupation, with no right to exploit the soil or the waters of Western Sahara without the consent of the Saharawi people, expressed by its sole representative, the Polisario Front," said the President of the Republic, expressing "the will of the Polisario Front to open a serious and responsible dialogue with the European Commission , in accordance with international law, international humanitarian law and common law ".



President Ghali, on the other hand, asserted the Independence Intifada that was undertaken on May 21, 2005, "constitutes a qualitative leap in the resistance against the Moroccan occupier, by the methods and scope of their actions," he said, while citing "The epic of Gdeim Izik in 2010, and the demonstrations of May 4, 2013"



He took the opportunity to appeal to the international community to intensify efforts to free all Saharawi political prisoners in Moroccan prisons.



Finally, the President of the Republic demanded that Morocco "resort to reason, political will and respect of international legality to find a just and lasting peace in our region," he said, expressing the will of the Polisario Front to begin direct negotiations with the Kingdom of Morocco, with the aim of completing the process of decolonization of Western Sahara. (SPS)



062/SPS/TRATifariti (Liberated Territories), May 21, 2018 (SPS) - President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, reaffirmed Sunday in Tifariti that the Polisario Front was ready to engage in direct negotiations with Morocco in good faith and without preconditions, urging Morocco to ensure that "reason will prevail."



In his opening address at the official festivities marking the 45th anniversary of the outbreak of the Sahrawi armed struggle, the Sahrawi President said that "the Polisario Front, as the only and legitimate representative of the Sahrawi people, is ready to engage in direct negotiations with Morocco  in order to complete Western Sahara decolonization process and guarantee the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination and independence."



The Chief of the Frente Polisario has highlighted the importance of applying the latest Security Council resolution on Western Sahara and the decision of the 30th African Union (AU) summit, calling on the Moroccan government "to ensure that reason will prevail and to show courageous political willingness to comply with the international law for a just and lasting peace in the Maghreb."



"The Sahrawi people are peaceful people who despise wars, extremism and terrorism, but at the same time they are attached to their legitimate rights as stated in the UN resolutions," said President Ghali.



"These rights will be regained whatever the sacrifices."



SADR president also condemned "the attempts of some European parties to circumvent the European Union (EU) decisions in order to sign a fisheries agreement with Morocco which includes the territorial waters of Western Sahara, in blatant violation of the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)."



In this regard, he reiterated the Polisario Front's readiness to engage in a serious and responsible dialogue with the European Commission, in accordance with the international law, international humanitarian law and European law.



Speaking about the festivities of the 45th anniversary of the armed struggle outbreak, President Ghali said that "this day represents a crucial date in Sahrawi peoples history, who decided to end the dark occupation through a great revolution to regain freedom and independence."



In front of remarkable audience made up international diplomats, the Sahrawi president broached the stages of the Sahrawi people struggle.



Besides, Ghali praised the distinguished audience made up of representatives of countries, governments, parliaments, parties, organizations and associations, who carried messages of solidarity of brotherhood, love and peace.



He notably paid special tribute to Algeria, under the leadership of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, which has consistently and clearly supported the just struggle of the Sahrawi people." (SPS)



062/SPS/APSHarare, May 21, 2018 (SPS) - A special envoy sent by the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic President Brahim Ghali, has paid tribute to Zimbabwe for its continued support for the Saharawi Republics right to exist as an independent state in line with the resolutions adopted by the African Union.



President Emmerson Mnangagwa received a special envoy of the President of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Mr Mohamed-Salem Ould-Salek, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who delivered a message from President of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic and Secretary General of the Polisario Front, President Brahim Ghali.



President Mnangagwa has reaffirmed Zimbabwes support to the Saharawi peoples right to freedom and independence.



Speaking to journalists after the meeting attended by Zimbabwes Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Retired Lieutenant General Sibusiso Moyo, Mr Ould-Salek said he appraised President Mnangagwa on latest developments regarding the question of Western Sahara in light of current international efforts for the decolonisation of the country.



Mr Ould-Salek expressed optimism the new administration in Zimbabwe will take the already good relations to a higher level.



He thanked President Mnangagwa for reaffirming the position of Zimbabwe to support the just struggle of the Saharawi people and for supporting the AU resolutions. (SPS)



062/SPS

http://www.zbc.co.zw/just-in-sahrawi-dispatches-special-message-to-ed/As part of its commitment to nurture and promote leadership in agriculture, the Emerging Leader Programme, sponsored by BASF, seeks out potential leaders, aged 30-45, in agri-business in the UK, who have not attended the conference or may not have the means to attend. Successful applicants win a sponsored place at the two-day Oxford Farming Conference in January (3-4 January 2019), including valuable networking dinners and fringe events.

The 2019 programme was launched at an on-farm event for past Emerging Leaders hosted by OFC Director and EL programme organiser, Andrew Pitts. Mr Pitts, who farms 2100 acres with his brother and has a seed production business, said

The Emerging Leaders initiative is designed to develop the skills of potential leaders in the industry, and this is an excellent opportunity for those who may not necessarily be on the radar to gain in confidence and experience and take strides to play a part in the bigger picture. The conference is a vibrant event which exposes you to the latest thinking across agriculture and its associated industries, as well as offering exceptional networking opportunities with key and progressive people in the business. Last year one Emerging Leader came face to face with Michael Gove at the Chairmans drinks. You never know who you will meet or who you may influence. With change afoot, we need strong leadership more than ever, and as an organisation we are keen to support that at every level.

The OFC works with other organisations already actively developing leadership within agriculture and the rural communities to identify candidates, including the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Programme, which is sponsoring a number of places on the Emerging Leader Programme for the 2019 conference. Julian Pace, Head of Rural at Scottish Enterprise, who also runs the successful Rural Leadership Programme in Scotland, said:

Those we sponsored to join the Emerging Leader Programme last year gained enormously from the experience, both in terms of the invaluable networking it offered and the exposure to new ideas and insights into the industry at the conference itself. They came back informed, challenged and inspired. These types of programmes are an essential tool in developing our future leaders, and we are delighted to be able to support the Programme again this year.At the outset, they couldnt have imagined that the plan would lead to a record price for a Limousin embryo when on Saturday 5th May the hammer at Borderway Mart, Carlisle went down at 8000gns. The grade A embryo, donated to the fundraising effort by Robert and Jean Graham who run the Grahams Limousin herd at Bridge Of Allen, Stirling, is the only embryo ever to have been offered for sale from the mating of Grahams Coffee and Claragh Franco. This mating needed no introduction to the ringside audience; the successful combination has already produced show winners and sale toppers. A total of five cattle this way bred have grossed 146,500gns, including Grahams Lorenzo at 40,000gns, Grahams Natalie 38,000gns, Grahams Lilly 32,000gns, Grahams Nashville 20,000gns and Grahams Lillie 16,500gns. The undisclosed buyer managed to secure the best of breeding right from the heart of the Grahams herd.

In addition to the embryo from the Grahams, others were donated by AW Jenkinson, Whinfellpark herd, Penrith, Cumbria and Henry Savage and Sons who run the Trueman Limousin herd at Newry, Co Down, Northern Ireland.

The fundraising really captured the heart of British Limousin Cattle Society members and many other breeders and businesses donated goods and services to a charity auction held at Ballymena Market on Monday 7th May ahead of the NI Limousin Breeders Club annual spring sale. With his tenacious approach, David Hamill, who runs the Cloverdale Herd in Dunmurray, secured some great lots, other embryos, semen straws, a calf crush, a heifer, a ewe with her lamb at foot and even a toy tractor. The Judge at the pre-sale show, Blair Duffton from Aberdeenshire, went home with a new wheelbarrow, spade, shovel and compost!

The combined effort, which includes a JustGiving page, has raised 22,000 to date. The family are humbled by the generosity of Society members, not only by the outstanding donations but also from the willing purchasers and those who gave up their time in the planning and preparation of the fundraising events.Bees are under great threat from the combined effects of climate change, intensive agriculture, pesticides, biodiversity loss and pollution.

In Slovenia for the official ceremony to mark World Bee Day, FAO's Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said;

" Countries need to shift to more pollinator-friendly and sustainable food policies and systems.

"We cannot continue to focus on increasing production and productivity based on the widespread use of pesticides and chemicals that are threatening crops and pollinators," Graziano da Silva said.

"We must now turn our words into actions and perform specific activities to conserve bees and other pollinators, thus taking care of their survival and, consequently, our own survival," Slovenia's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Dejan Zidan said.

More than 75 percent of the world's food crops rely to some extent on pollination for yield and quality. The absence of bees and other pollinators would wipe out coffee, apples, almonds, tomatoes and cocoa, to name just a few of the crops that rely on pollination.

"Each one of us has an individual responsibility towards protecting bees and we should all make pollinator-friendly choices. Even growing flowers at home to feed bees contributes to this effort," Graziano da Silva said.

Pollinators, such as bees, wild bees, birds, bats, butterflies and beetles fly, hop and crawl over flowers to help plants fertilize. Pollinator numbers and diversity have declined in the past decades, and evidence indicates that the decline is primarily a consequence of human activities including climate change which can disrupt flowering seasons.The one-day event, held every two years, will be held on the sheep and beef farm of Kings Arms Farm, Ballantrae, South Ayrshire, courtesy of Robert & Caroline Dalrymple, and is being organised by National Sheep Association Scotland.

NSA Scotsheep will be officially opened at 10.00 am, by John Scott, MSP for Ayr, who farms at Balkissock, Ballantrae, and a former chairman of NFU Scotlands hill farming committee.

No fewer than 16 speakers will take part in four hour-long seminars focussing on what impact Brexit will have on trade, marketing and future support, the next generation and sheep health issues. The seminar programme will be complemented by three half-hour workshops and the topicality of subjects is sure to prove a real draw for the thousands of sheep farmers from throughout Scotland, the North of England and Ireland expected to attend the event.

The seminars are set to create huge interest with a tremendous line-up of speakers, all recognised experts in their particular field, said organising committee chairman, George Allan, a representative with Carrs Billington Agriculture and Secretary of the Scotch Mule Association.

The first seminar at 10.45am will discuss What impact could Brexit have on lamb trade and marketing and will be chaired by John Fyall, NSA Scotland Chairman. The panel of speakers will include Quality Meat Scotland Chairman Jim McLaren, Dunbia/Dawn Meats representative Isla Roebuck, Scottish Institute of Auctioneers & Appraisers President Scott Donaldson, and AHDB Beef & Lamb Halal Manager Awal Fuseini.

At 12 noon, British Wool Chairman Trevor Richards will give a ten-minute introduction to British Wools new entrant scheme and will be followed by a 45-minute seminar on Next Generation  Next Chapter, chaired by Jennifer Craig an NSA Scotland Committee Member and NSA Next Generation Ambassador. The panel of speakers will include Rory Gregor, Clarke Hibberd and Alister Watson, like Jennifer also NSA Scotland Committee Members and participants of the NSA Next Generation Ambassador programme in recent years.DOJ Informs Operation Rescue that Neck-Twisting Texas Abortionist Referred to Houston FBI

info.operationrescue@gmail.com Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-683-6790 ext. 111; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- The U.S. Department of Justice has informed Operation Rescue in a letter dated May 11, 2018, that abortionist Douglas Karpen has finally been forwarded to the FBI Houston Field Office for "any action deemed necessary" related to crimes that include the murder of living babies after failed abortions.

The case actually began in 2012, when four women who worked at Karpen's Houston area abortion facilities contacted Operation Rescue with information that he was violating the law. Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President of Operation Rescue, received photos of large babies that one Karpen employee had taken at his abortion facility with her cell phone that workers said had been born alive then killed by slashing or twisting their necks.

On May 15, 2013, Operation Rescue released a report along with the photos that supported allegations that Karpen was murdering babies that survived the abortion process. Other alleged crimes included sexual harassment and/or abuse of employees and patients.

That report and ensuing complaints prompted a grand jury "investigation" that declined to indict Karpen. Operation Rescue later learned that grand jury was tainted by improper communications between then District Attorney Devon Anderson and Karpen's criminal defense attorney Chip Lewis, who were close family friends. Lewis later donated $25,000 to Anderson's political campaigns

Operation Rescue then forwarded the information about Karpen's alleged crimes to the U.S. House Select Panel on Infant Lives that was tasked in 2015 with investigating evidence that Planned Parenthood was engaging in the illegal trafficking of aborted baby remains for profit.

On December 7, 2016, the House Select Panel referred Karpen to the Department of Justice under former Attorney General Loretta Lynch for investigation and prosecution. In 2017, the House Select Panel renewed its criminal referral of Karpen to the DOJ under Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Sullenger wrote to Sessions in August 2017, asking for him to open an investigation into Karpen's alleged crimes, especially the allegations that he murdered babies born alive during abortions.

"The letter I received from the Department of Justice is encouraging. The photos depict wounds inflicted on those babies that could not have been done inside the womb. After having personally attended the Pennsylvania trial of Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted of murdering living babies after failed abortions, I knew we could never give up seeking prosecutions for Karpen's similar crimes," said Sullenger. "We are grateful for this new FBI investigation that has renewed our hope that Karpen may finally be brought to justice."The Anti-Defamation League of Missouri, Southern Illinois and Eastern Kansas has announced that local high school seniors Pardes Lyons-Warren and Hannah Maurer are recipients of the 20th Annual Meyer and Marcelle Kranzberg Memorial Scholarships. Each...Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.In April 2019 the head of the Australian military, army general Angus Campbell, who was a career infantry and special operations officer, ordered that members of the Australian military halt the use of aggressive symbols like Spartans (ancient Greek soldiers) or fictional characters like the Phantom or Punisher (and more to come given the proliferation of violent video games out there) as well as the grim reaper, skull and crossbones, and similar symbols that were not in line with Australian army values and the ethical armed forces Australia sought to build and sustain. The announcement generated some revealing reactions.

While few of these symbols are used for official insignia by combat units, many are used unofficially for banners, clothing and for large bombs and missiles used in combat. This order was met with incredulousness and unprintable comments by Australian combat troops, especially combat veterans of the many wars and peacekeeping operations Australia has been involved in.

The veterans, military historians and medical professionals (who treat those suffering from combat stress) could have (and many already have) explained to the general that these symbols are part of the psychological conditioning used to prepare troops, especially infantry, for the stresses of combat and its aftermath. After all, infantry training is often referred to (by the students and instructors) as schools where the students learn how to break things and kill people. The combat stress suffered by troops who see sustained combat over months or longer is recognized as a debilitating condition and a number of odd (to civilians and even many non-combat troops) practices were found useful in dealing with the problem. This was particularly true as many American troops saw sustained and very stressful combat after 2001.

For example between September 11, 2001 and 2009, nearly 5,000 troops were evacuated (as medical cases) from Iraq and Afghanistan for mental disorders. Only 16 percent of those were confirmed PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) cases, the rest were for more familiar things like severe depression. This was because most of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan were not involved in combat. Yes, they were living in a combat zone, but aside from an occasional mortar shell or rocket (which usually causes no injuries), most troops tended to have air conditioned sleeping quarters, gyms, Internet access, video games, good food and excellent medical care. It's unclear how many troops actually have PTSD, although many who are in combat, definitely are stressed out and in need of help. One useful therapy for combat troops, while in the combat zone and later as a treatment for PTSD, was playing violent video games. This seemed illogical but it worked.

PTSD (also known as shell shock or combat fatigue) was first noted after the American Civil War (1861-5). That war was one of the first to expose large numbers of troops to extended periods of combat stress. The symptoms, as reported in the contemporary press were not much different from what you hear today. In the mid to late 19th century affected veterans were diagnosed as suffering from "Irritable Heart" or "Nostalgia." Symptoms noted included fatigue, shortness of breath, palpitations, headache, excessive sweating, dizziness, disturbed sleep, fainting and flashbacks to traumatic combat situations. Many of these symptoms were noted while troops were still in uniform. During the 20th century, the condition was called shell shock during World War I and combat fatigue during and after World War II and came to be known as PTSD by the end of the century.

The use of the now banned (in the Australian military) symbols arose spontaneously among troops in heavy combat (including peacekeeping or counter-terrorism operations) where the troops faced danger on a regular and sustained basis. Combat commanders (NCOs and junior officers) also getting shot at tended to allow the symbols to be used. Motivating combat troops and maintaining morale (and sanity) is very much a school of whatever works. But the further up the chain of command you go the less influence combat psychology has and the more concern is shown for what the politicians and voters are concerned about. At the most senior levels of command, which some troops refer to as echelons beyond belief it is expected (by combat troops) that decisions will be made that make life more dangerous and unpleasant for those doing the fighting. Thus if the Australian ban stands, other practices will be discouraged (or already are in some countries) like putting impolite messages on bombs and shells. What it comes down to is a clash of cultures. Those getting shot at and trying to cope with the prospect of getting killed develop a different outlook than most of those back home reading about it or seeing video of troops and their symbols.

Bans like this are part of a trend that began in the late 20th century with bans on aircraft nose art. For example in 2013, following the example of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps ordered the removal of racy photos, pinups, and the like from all workplaces. Follow-up inspections were to be held annually after the initial inspection. This particular ban began efforts to get racy pictures of women off aircraft, along with less sexual (but often more threatening) symbols.

In late 2012 officers and senior NCOs searched all offices, workshops, and other work spaces in the air force and removed any images or material that demeaned or insulted women. Mainly, this meant pinups, but some inspectors erred on the side of career security and removed anything that hinted of a bad attitude towards women. Many airmen feared this would also include pictures of wives or girlfriends in revealing beachwear but there was little of this. No protests were tolerated and the decisions of the inspectors was final. This was all meant to reduce the number of assaults on or other mistreatment of women. Previous efforts to eliminate this bad behavior have not been completely successful, so the extensive hunt for offending images was ordered. The air force did agree to spare the racy examples of nose art on air force combat aircraft in its museums.

The 2012 crackdown continued a U.S. Air Force tradition of cleaning up their image that began after World War II. In the last few decades the navy has been trying to catch up. Not all members of the air force go along with this effort. For example, in 2011 Google supplied satellite photos revealing something the American military uses to help morale but that they would rather keep secret. In this case it was a Batman style bat symbol painted on the roof of a hanger in a U.S. airbase (Kadena Air Force Base in Japan). There are actually a lot of these roof paintings, usually representing the squadron (the Batman symbol was for a fighter squadron known as the vampire bats). Once pictures like this became widely known some commanders ordered the symbols painted over. Wiser commanders tended to let them stay. But the trend is towards playing it straight and humorless. Even the navy and marines have got with the program and the army reluctantly followed suit.

All this use of morale building symbols has had a hard time in the last few decades, as commanders ordered them removed because they were often not politically correct. For example, in 2007, the British Ministry of Defense found out that Harrier pilots and ground crews in Afghanistan had painted racy images ("nose art") on their aircraft. The brass ordered the troops to cease and desist. In addition to the possibility of women in the Royal Air Force complaining (none ever did), there was the risk that some Afghans would be offended. No Afghans have complained either and Afghan men who had seen the nose art usually studied it intently.

The concept of nose art was first seen during World War I and flourished during World War II because of enthusiastic efforts by American pilots and ground crews. The practice was quickly adopted by their British counterparts. From World War II through the 1950s, U.S. combat aircraft often had customized, and unofficial, cartoons or insignia painted on the front portion of their aircraft. The illustrations were usually created by someone on the ground crew and personalized the aircraft for the crew. It boosted morale. During World War II the practice was also adapted for some combat vehicles and small ships in many countries.

The practice largely disappeared after World War II. In the mid-1950s, U.S. Air Force commanders decreed that the nose art was "unprofessional," and by the 1970s, most of it was gone. It managed to survive in some reserve units but was forbidden for active duty aircraft. The air force says the official reason for the policy has to do with security and "sanitation." Basically, it's become part of the air force traditions not to have nose art.

In 2006 two retired air force sergeants, and some commercial artists, began campaigning to bring back nose art. Some senior air force commanders were favorably disposed towards this and the air force was keen to boost morale, as the air force was then going through a period of personnel retrenchment (cutting 40,000 people) and tight budgets. Allowing nose art would not cost anything, as it would be voluntary and up to units to find artists and materials for creating it. So it was allowed to return. Sort of. Like bureaucracies everywhere, changing something like this was difficult. Many air force bureaucrats resisted but the nose art began to reappear. No scantily dressed women were allowed on the new nose art and the practice continues to encounter resistance from senior commanders.

Actually, the nose art never completely disappeared. This was particularly the case with the Air National Guard (a reserve operation, with units controlled by state governments when not called up for federal service). The state politicians were more inclined to look the other way, especially since some of those politicians served in Air Guard units. Regular air force units are increasingly sporting nose art and hoping that their roof art will also be spared the wrath of the politically correct. Pinups in the hanger or warships are another matter and are, for the moment, banned just about everywhere in the American military.

The latest Australian ban may, or may not, extend to troops wearing the forbidden symbols off-duty or on T-shirts worn under their combat uniforms. Then again if there is another period of major combat and more civilians are turned into soldiers the symbols will quietly return and become, for the duration of the national danger, politically correct.8th SAARC Film Festival 2018  Sri Lanka By Musaffa Mafaz View(s): View(s):

The SAARC Cultural Centre continues its tradition of bringing wider recognition for South Asian films by presenting the 8th SAARC Film Festival 2018 in Sri Lanka. The SAARC Film Festival had been held every year since 2011.

This year the SAARC Film Festival will take place from May 22  27, with the opening ceremony on May 22, a Masterclass on the 25th and the Film Awards Ceremony on the 27th at the Cinema Hall of the National Film Corporation, Colombo 7. The festival will screen a minimum of 26 films with a combination of feature films, short films and master films.

Aganthukaya and Bahuchithawadiya from Sri Lanka, Serga Mathang from Bhutan, Salute from Pakistan, GI and Kshitij from India, Khacha from Bangladesh, and Status from Maldives, are some of the films to be screened. A childrens film named Poorna from India will also be screened during this years Festival.

The Masterclass, a key event of the festival is conducted by the Jury Members at the Sri Lanka Media Training institute (SLMTI), Colombo 7. A reputed panel of international judges selects the best films and recognizes the individuals who are at the very core of this creativity as a form of encouragement for the Region.

The SAARC Film Festival 2018 Jury members this year are: Paolo Bertolin, a festival programmer and film critic, Han Sunhee, a filmmaker, professor of International Film Business Academy of Busan Asian Film School and Amable Tikoy Aguiluz, award winning Filipino film director, film producer, screenwriter and cinematographer.

For more details contact the SAARC Cultural Centre on 011 2584451 or visit their website scc@saarcculture.orgAn assault on Indias institutions By Shashi Tharoor, exclusive to the Sunday Times, Sri Lanka View(s): View(s):

NEW DELHI  In Indias Karnataka state, the governor is favoring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a government, despite an opposition coalition having won more seats in the state legislature. The ongoing controversy has drawn attention to the way in which a constitutional position has been reduced to serving the political interests of Indias ruling party.

Strong public institutions that operate above the cut and thrust of the political fray are vital to a democracy. Yet in the last four years, every such priceless institution in the worlds largest democracy has come under threat, as the BJPs assertive Hindu-chauvinist government works to consolidate its own authority.

Leave aside governors (the BJP asked all to resign to make way for political appointees after its 2014 election victory) and start with the judicial system, which has come under scrutiny since January, when the Supreme Courts four most senior judges held an unprecedented press conference to question Chief Justice Dipak Misras allocation of cases. Misra, their comments implied, was assigning cases to his preferred judges, presumably in an effort to secure outcomes favoring the government.

Three months later, several opposition parties circulated an impeachment motion against Misra in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament. After the Rajya Sabhas chairman, Indian VP Venkaiah Naidu, rejected the motion, two MPs asked the Supreme Court to challenge that decision. But Misra named a bench seemingly favorable to him to hear their appeal  prompting the MPs to withdraw their case. Misra may be safe, but the judiciarys image has taken a beating from which it will not easily recover.

The reputation of Indias Election Commission (EC)  which has a decades-long record of conducting free and fair elections, despite comprising largely retired civil servants appointed by the government for fixed tenures  also took a severe blow last year. In a break from its Code of Conduct, the ECs BJP-appointed then-chief, Achal Kumar Jyoti, announced the dates for elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat 13 days apart, though the two states normally go to the polls simultaneously. The EC claimed that it delayed the announcement on Gujarat so that the electoral Code of Conduct (which would restrict government spending in the state) would not impede flood relief. But most Indians believe that the BJP pressured the EC to delay the announcement as long as possible, so that it could attract voters with last-minute giveaways that had nothing to do with flood relief. The Gujarat government and even PM Modi subsequently announced several such schemes. Former election commissioners unanimously condemned the ECs decision, to no avail.

Making matters worse, the EC decided in January to disqualify 20 Aam Aadmi Party members of the Delhi Legislature on technical grounds  an action that could have benefited the BJP if by-elections to their seats had followed. The Delhi High Court overruled that decision, calling it bad in law and violating principles of natural justice. But, as in the case of the judiciary, the damage was done: what was once the impartial custodian of Indias democratic process has  under BJP pressure  distorted its role, weakening its standing.

The list of increasingly discredited Indian institutions continues with the Reserve Bank of India. The disastrous demonetization process of Nov. 2016 spurred widespread criticism of the RBI for failing to perform its fiduciary duties. To be sure, the RBI did not appear to have been properly consulted when the BJP made its decision. Nonetheless, it roundly failed to anticipate the problems that the scheme would cause, and to use its autonomy to improve implementation and minimise negative effects. Instead, the RBI issued 138 notifications about the demonetisation process over 70 days, with each new announcement amounting to a tweak of an earlier declaration about, for example, how much money could be withdrawn and when. It was as if the RBI had been reduced to a puppet, with the BJP pulling its strings.

In January last year, the United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees wrote to the government to highlight operational mismanagement, which they argued had dented the RBIs autonomy and reputation beyond repair. The silence of the RBIs governor, Urjit Patel, reduced him to a lamb. But, in this case, the silence of the lamb was cannibalising the RBI itself, with long-lasting consequences.

Modis government has been similarly willing to politicise security institutions. For example, in appointing Lieutenant General Bipin Rawat as Chief of Army Staff, the government bypassed two higher-ranking generals, flouting time-honored principles of seniority. Moreover, the government has repeatedly used the military in its political propaganda, making public operational details that previous governments had kept secret (such as announcing a surgical strike on terrorist bases in Pakistani-controlled territory). During the recent Karnataka state elections, Modi himself flagrantly exploited the Indian military for his own short-term ends, by denouncing Indias first PM for allegedly having insulted two army chiefs from the state.

The Delhi police and the federal investigative agencies are not safe from politicisation, either. The CBI has even been described as a caged parrot under the BJP, with its work, once considered the gold standard in Indian crime-fighting, now often viewed as politically motivated. The Right to Information Act, intended to ensure transparency and accountability, has been hollowed out by government foot-dragging, and a national Ombudsman, or Lokpal, has not yet been appointed, nearly five years after the law was passed to create the position.

Doubt has also been cast on the integrity of the Central Board of Secondary Education, after questions for a national school exam were leaked, forcing 1.6 million students to re-sit the test. Similar problems have arisen over admissions tests to study law and medicine, as well as exams for clerical positions. At a time when there are far fewer jobs than workers, declining faith in the competitive examination system as a fair means of evaluating students could undermine social peace.

Even the Indian parliament  the temple of democracy  has seen its work reduced to a farce, as BJP allies and supporters purposely brought the budget session of the Lok Sabha (the lower house) to a standstill in April 2018. With the BJP-appointed speaker claiming that she could not count heads in the din, opposition parties motion of no confidence against the government was not even debated.

Such behaviour is being facilitated by an assault on a final critical institution: the free press, which now seems largely to have been cowed by the governments overweening power, not to mention its explicit intimidation and co-opting of mainstream outlets.

If this assault on Indias institutions is allowed to continue, the public could lose faith in the system altogether. This would carry incalculable consequences for Indias most valuable asset: its democracy.

Shashi Tharoor, a former UN under-secretary-general and former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Minister of State for Human Resource Development, is currently Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and an MP for the Indian National Congress.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2018. www.project-syndicate.orgSince the return to democracy it has never been officially recognised, but in Torremolinos there was a concentration camp between 1938 and 1939. It was built at the site currently occupied by the Aqualand waterpark. Thousands of prisoners passed through that inhumane prison, living in the open air and kept inside by a metal fence. Although investigation carried out several years ago brought this information to light, the lack of evidence has meant that knowledge of one of the darkest parts of Malaga's history has not been made public.

The site. The camp was located on the site of what is now Aqualand, in the open air and without medical services. Prisoners. 4,000 people were imprisoned there at a cost of 1.6 pesetas per day each. Dates. The camp was active between 1938 and 1939 at least. There were others in Malaga, Antequera and Ronda.

Until now. Local historian Carlos Blanco has found official documents that show the existence of the facility; these include a quartermaster's report, an administrative journal and an invoice. A budget from the Ministry of National Defence reveals that the Seville Treasury covered the expenses of this terrible service, with a daily cost of 1.65 pesetas per prisoner.

The documentation discovered by Blanco leaves no room for euphemisms despite years of attempts by the council to play down the facility. Former mayor Pedro Fernandez Montes (PP) denied that there had ever been a concentration camp in Torremolinos - only a detention centre, which is not the same - and called the claim cliche during a council meeting in 2015.

Documents from the time describe the confinement centre as a concentration camp designed for prisoners of war. It even had its own stamp. On 30 March 1939 a document signed by the captain of the camp confirmed that the facility had a population of 1,924 inmates, although the total number of people detained in Torremolinos during the final months of the civil war and the beginning of the dictatorship is unknown.

Another document details the costs associated with running the prison; the warden validated the invoices, which were reviewed by the chief accountant, the auditor and a tax office representative. For example, 6,349 pesetas were sent from Seville to pay for the concentration camp to be run on 30 and 31 March 1939.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, however. We don't know how long the camp remained there for or what happened to the prisoners although it is known that one of the cemetery walls was used for executions by firing squad.

While the majority of the inmates in this type of Franco camp were Republicans, there were also foreigners, Gypsies, political dissidents, homosexuals and other citizens. They were all used for labour. Some research indicates that part of Malaga Airport could have been built by prisoners.

The inmates slept in the open air and had no medical services.

Research by Javier Rodriguez, a lecturer at the Universidad Autonoma in Barcelona, revealed that in April 1939 there were 4,494 people registered at the Torremolinos concentration camp, and more than 13,000 in this and other camps in the province of Malaga.The traditional 'jabegas' of Malaga took to the waters of Venice for the first time on Sunday, taking part in the 44th edition of the famous 'Vogalonga' a 30-kilometre exhibition route from St Mark's Square to the island of Burano.

Two clubs from El Palo and Pedregalejo were delighted to have the chance to participate in one of the most prestigious regattas in the world this year. This is something that everybody who rows dreams of going to once in their life. I believe it is the biggest gathering of non-powered boats in the world, says Felipe Romero, who was on board 'Carmen y Gloria', the jabega which belongs to the El Palo club.

Rowers proudly display the Spanish flag on their boat. MONTSERRAT CLOS

The members of both clubs wore traditional Malaga fishermen's outfits: white shirt, waistcoat, red cummerbund, trousers which come between the knee and the ankle, and sandals.

Over 2,000 boats with participants from all over the world took part in the event, which began at 9am and lasted for over ten hours. "Rowing in Venice in a jabega is a spectacular feeling. I've never felt anything like it," said Agustin Montanez, president of the El Palo club. Silvia Campos, club secretary, shared his enthusiasm: "We've wanted to participate in a jabega event outside of Malaga and Spain for a long time, so we were thrilled to take part in this event," she said.

The El Palo crew rescuing the crew of another boat. MONTSERRAT CLOS

Luis Felipe, one of the participants in the El Palo team, said that the event was not without its difficulties: "Spending hours in the sun without food or water was very challenging," he explaned. "Due to tiredness and poor organisation there were also a few crashes in the water. Near the end of the route a boat of between 15 and 20 women who were raising money for breast cancer charities sank. We had to help them, and that slowed us down a lot," he said.

Leopolda Tapia from the Pedregalejo team said: "Everyone asked us where we were from. A man rowing a gondola stopped us and said that our boat was one of the most authentic, as it was actually made of wood. Almost all of the others were made of fibre."The legal situation of the various former Catalan politicians in self-imposed exile in Europe was back in the spotlight this week. Courts in Scotland, Belgium and Germany are still deciding whether to extradite some separatist leaders to Spain on a variety of charges including rebellion and embezzlement.

In Belgium, where three were waiting to see what judges there will decide, a court said on Wednesday that it did not agree to extradite them for rebellion as, due to an omission, there was no evidence supplied to them by Spain of an active detention order in Spain itself. The Spanish Supreme Court was quick to contact courts in Europe to clarify the situation and accuse Belgium of a lack of cooperation.Syracuse, N.Y. -- Gas prices in Central New York have climbed past the $3 a gallon milestone ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, which traditionally kicks off the summer driving season.

The average price of a gallon of regular gas is $3.04 in the Syracuse area, up 20 cents from a month ago, according to the price-tracking service GasBuddy.com. A year ago, the average price was 70 cents lower at $2.34.

It's almost the same story nationally. The average price in the U.S. is $2.93 a gallon, up 17 cents from a month ago. The average was 57 cents lower at $2.36 a year ago. Start GasBuddy Code

Rising crude costs, the switchover to more-expensive summer blends of gasoline by the federal deadline of June 1, tighter supplies and strong gasoline demand are lifting pump prices across the nation, AAA said in a report Monday.

The automobile association said an estimated 41.5 million Americans will travel during the upcoming holiday weekend, with the majority (36.6 million) taking road trips.

"Rising gas prices shouldn't deter travelers, but drivers should budget accordingly based on their destination," the association said.

Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, said the higher prices are likely to continue beyond Memorial Day.

"With refineries now well positioned for the summer months, we may see some relief in mid-June, but expect this summer to remain the priciest since 2014 with a strong likelihood of the national average hitting the psychological $3 per gallon barrier sometime this summer should we see any unexpected outages or geopolitical tensions flare," he said in a statement.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148The New York Police Department has confirmed an investigation of Mario Batali after a woman accused the celebrity chef of drugging her and sexually assaulting in a New York City restaurant.

An unnamed woman told "60 Minutes" on Sunday that that she worked for Batali when he allegedly drugged and raped her on the third-floor of The Spotted Pig restaurant. She said that she woke up in a space known by employees as the "rape room," with scratches on her legs and semen on her skirt.

"It gets completely foggy for me. And this is -- part of the messy, scary part for me, there is a part where it -- it all disappears," she told the CBS News show. "I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up -- in a toilet. And that is all."

According to the Associated Press, the woman says she remembers joining Batali for a glass of wine at the eatery co-owned by Batali's friend Ken Friedman, then woke up on the floor, surrounded by broken bottles.

"The first thing I think is, 'I've been drugged.' That was the first thing I thought is, 'I've been -- I've been assaulted,'" she told "60 Minutes."

The woman said she talked to police but never filed a report. The NYPD confirmed Sunday that it is investigating the allegations against Batali, who was secretly referred to by female employees as "The Red Menace."

Batali denied assaulting the woman in a statement to CBS.

Restaurant firm B&B Hospitality Group said in a statement that it was severing all ties with Batali. He previously stepped down from "The Chew" and all daily operations at his restaurants after being accused of inappropriately touching four women over 20 years.

Batali has apologized for those encounters in a letter that included a recipe.

Jamie Seet, who was a manager at The Spotted Pig, told CBS that she once complained to Friedman about Batali, but nothing came of it.

"I said, 'Ken, Mario just grabbed my boobs,' and he's like, 'oh, don't worry about it, it's just Mario." And I'm like 'OK,'" she recalled.

Ten women previously accused Friedman of sexual harassment and misconduct in The New York Times.

A former bartender at the restaurant said Friedman also sexually assaulted her in his car, then told her not to tell anyone what happened. Friedman told CBS Sunday that he "vehemently denies any non-consensual activity" occurred.Patricia Morison, an actress who combined ravishing beauty with cool sophistication, was promoted as the "Fire and Ice Girl" when she landed in Hollywood in the late 1930s. She appeared opposite some of the most popular stars of the era - from Spencer Tracy to "Tarzan" actor Johnny Weissmuller - but her career stalled from typecasting as a well-coiffed vamp.

Morison, who died May 20 at age 103, did not emerge to public recognition until returning to her Broadway roots in 1948 to perform in Cole Porter's "Kiss Me, Kate," which became one of the most popular stage musicals of all time.

She had won the leading role only after big names of opera and stage, from Jarmila Novotna to Mary Martin, had turned down what they assumed would be a hard-sell musical adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew."

"Kiss Me, Kate," co-starring Alfred Drake, was about battling ex-spouses - he's vain, she's tempestuous - who unite for a revival of Shakespeare's romantic comedy. An instant classic, the show ran for more than two years and won the Tony Award for best musical. The comedy also revived the reputation of composer and lyricist Porter after several flops and enshrined Morison in theater history.

Robert Osborne, the host of the Turner Classic Movies cable channel, once called Morison "woefully misused" in films. One studio, ignorant of her background in musical theater, even dubbed her singing voice in the 1943 movie musical "Silver Skates."

But the qualities Hollywood had overlooked - Morison's skill as a mezzo-soprano, her droll presence, her feisty charisma - was on full display in the Porter show. New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson praised Morison as "an agile and humorous actress who is not afraid of slapstick and who can sing enchantingly."

Among the standards that Morison introduced were "So in Love,""Wunderbar" and "I Hate Men," a song Porter feared would turn the audience against her but in fact won ovations for her wickedly robust rendering while banging an ale tankard. (The score was awash in other future pop hits, including "Too Darn Hot,""Why Can't You Behave" and "Always True to You (In My Fashion).")

Morison reprised the role for a 1951 London production, followed by several TV performances. In 1954, she took over the Broadway role of Anna Leonowens in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "The King and I" starring Yul Brynner. They later toured nationally.

She often recalled fending off the less-than-subtle advances of Brynner, who once invited her to his dressing room - where she found him naked and in a lotus position.

"I didn't take my eyes off his face and said, 'You wish to speak to me, Mr. Brynner?' " she once told an interviewer. Her nonchalance diminished his morale. But, she added, "We ended up the best of friends."

Eileen Patricia Augusta Fraser Morison was born in New York City on March 19, 1915. Her father, William, was an Irish-born playwright and actor who worked under the name Norman Rainey.

At 16, she enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse, a theater school in New York where she studied dance and movement with Martha Graham. In the mid-1930s she understudied Helen Hayes as the British monarch in the long-running drama "Victoria Regina." Hayes, Morison lamented, always showed up for work.

In 1938, Morison won ecstatic reviews in "The Two Bouquets," a spoof of Victorian operetta that featured Drake, her future "Kiss Me, Kate" co-star. She was soon in Hollywood, under contract with Paramount Pictures. In publicity photos, she was often featured with her Rapunzel-length raven hair, deemed the longest in the film colony.

Morison played a gun moll in her movie debut, "Persons in Hiding" (1939), based on a book by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. After a run of equally lackluster films, her prospects dimmed quickly. She parted ways with Paramount after they replaced her with the new blond sensation Veronica Lake in "The Glass Key" (1942), based on a Dashiell Hammett crime story.

As a freelance actress, she was often in minor or unsympathetic roles. She played the Empress Eugenie in "The Song of Bernadette" (1943), a film that made an Oscar-winning star of Jennifer Jones, and was a bossy type in "Without Love" (1945), a romantic comedy with Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.

She was an outright villain in "Dressed to Kill" (1946), the last of the hit Sherlock Holmes movies starring Basil Rathbone, and "Tarzan and the Huntress" (1947).

A possible breakthrough performance as a rape victim who commits suicide in "Kiss of Death" (1947), a first-rate crime drama, was deleted by censors from the final film. But perhaps the ultimate indignity she suffered in Hollywood was her exclusion from the 1953 movie version of "Kiss Me, Kate"; Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel played the leading parts.

Morison, who never married, had no immediate survivors. She died at her home in Los Angeles, said Harlan Boll, her publicist. He did not disclose the cause.

A theater stalwart, Morison played in regional, touring and stock productions of musicals and comedies. She also had guest roles on television shows ranging from the Western "Have Gun - Will Travel" in 1958 to the sitcom "Cheers" in 1989.

Best remembered for her stage work, she expressed surprise when people approached her about her movies, in which she had so often played the femme fatale. Among the meatiest of those films was "Song of the Thin Man" (1947), the last installment of the wry mystery series starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.

"At the end of the picture I shoot (actor) Leon Ames," Morison told syndicated columnist Nick Thomas in 2015. "About five or six years ago, I was on a Mediterranean cruise and at the dinner table one evening a man looked at me and said, 'You killed my father!' He then introduced himself as Leon Ames' son."Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Washington Nationals selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Tim Collins from Triple-A Syracuse and transferred infielder/outfielder Howie Kendrick to the 60-day disabled list on Monday.

Collins, 28, joins the Nationals after appearing in 17 games with Syracuse, where he recorded 10.4 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and held opposing batters to a .190 batting average (11-for-58). He went 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA in those 17 appearances for the Chiefs.

Collins allowed just one of 11 inherited runners to score and tossed more than one inning in five of the 17 outings. He did not allow a home run, surrendering just four extra-base hits along the way.

Collins appeared in 228 games with the Kansas City Royals from 2011 to 2014. He went 12-17 with a 3.54 ERA and struck out 9.4 batters per 9.0 innings across those four seasons.

Collins tallied 220 strikeouts in four seasons with the Royals, 10th-most among relievers in Royals history and the most of any left-handed reliever. He appeared in four games during the 2014 postseason, including three in the World Series.

Collins signed a minor league contract with the Nationals in 2017 after undergoing "Tommy John" ligament replacement surgeries in 2015 and 2016.Nedrow firefighters battled a house fire Saturday night on Smith Avenue.

NEDROW, N.Y. -- Volunteer firefighters saved a dog from a house fire Saturday night in Nedrow as they tried to exit the house, which had become too unsafe, Nedrow First Assistant Fire Chief James Emm said.

The firefighters were ordered out of the house, at 303 Smith Ave., minutes after they entered, he said.

On their way out, they happened to come across the dog, Emm said.

"There was a lot of fire," he said. "The fire was too much... It was safer to fight the fire from the outside."

Firefighters carried the dog out of the burning house to safety, Emm said.

TLC Ambulance crews administered oxygen to the dog; the town dog warden then brought the dog to a local animal hospital, according to Emm.

Firefighters were told the dog survived.

A man and woman who rented the house were not home when the fire started.

Firefighters battled a house fire Saturday night at 303 Smith Ave. in Nedrow.

Instead, several neighbors called the Onondaga County 911 Center, starting at 9:39 p.m. to report smoke and a possible house fire in the area. Shortly after, another neighbor called 911 to say the side of the house, at 303 Smith Ave., was on fire.

Nedrow, Onondaga Nation, Sentinel Heights, Southwood, Jamesville, South Onondaga, Taunton, Onondaga Hill, Howlett Hill and DeWitt volunteer fire departments helped fight the fire. Tully Fire Department covered calls for the Nedrow fire district during the fire. TLC Ambulance provided rehab services for firefighters. Onondaga County sheriff's deputies and Onondaga County fire investigators also responded.

The first chief on the scene reported heavy fire on the second floor of the house and flames shooting through the roof at the back of the house, Emm said.

Firefighters arrived within five minutes of the initial dispatch, he said. They did not see any vehicles in the driveway when they arrived. Bystanders also told firefighters they did not think anyone was inside at the time.

Firefighters tried to fight the fire from within the house, but they were quickly told to get out "for their safety," Emm said.

The roof on the back half the house burned away, causing the roof to collapse, he said. Firefighters cut holes in both the roof and siding on the front side of the house to get access to the fire.

The couple who lived in the house came home while firefighters battled the fire. Emm said they seemed to be in shock.

Deputies and fire investigators spoke with the couple after they arrived to gather information. The American Red Cross then helped the couple.

Firefighters extinguished the bulk of the fire after about an hour, however they continued to fight several small pockets of fire for the next several hours, Emm said.

The fire, which destroyed the home and everything in it, appears to have started in the basement.

"Unfortunately, I think the fire got a good start before we got there," Emm said.

County fire investigators are continuing to investigate the cause of the fire, however Emm said, "it does not appear to be suspicious or intentional in any way at this time."

Firefighters remained on scene until about 1:30 a.m., four hours after they arrived, he said. While they were there, residents brought firefighters water and Gatorade, the Nedrow Fire Department's Auxiliary brought them sandwiches and Green Hills Farms grocery store gave the firefighters donuts.

"It's wonderful how the community comes together in a time of tragedy," Emm said. "And we're obviously grateful no citizens or firefighters were hurt, and we're thankful the dog survived."JORDAN, N.Y. -- State police say a Jordan man downloaded videos depicting sexual images of children, then uploaded the child porn videos to another website.

Joel T. DePietro, 40, of 5670 Hamilton Road, is now facing felony counts of promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing a sexual performance by a child, Trooper Jack Keller said.

State police received a cyber tip, which sparked the investigation, Keller said.

The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, which includes members of the New York State Police, U.S. Marshals Service and Department of Homeland Security Investigations Division arrested DePietro at his home on Thursday, the same day they executed a search warrant. The task force seized several items from DePietro's home, including his computer, Keller said.



"The arrest followed an investigation in which Depietro had uploaded images consistent with the sexual exploitation of children over the course of several months to an Internet service provider," Keller said in a release.

On Monday, state police confirmed there were no local victims.



DePietro was transported to the Onondaga County Justice Center while he waited to be arraigned after his arrest. By Monday evening, there was no record of DePietro at the county jail.





SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Upstate Medical University has placed Sergio A. Garcia, its chief of staff, on leave as it reviews allegations he lied about his past and his credentials.

Upstate took the action after an Albany Times-Union report debunked several assertions Garcia made in a 2017 speech, including a claim that he narrowly escaped a car bombing in Afghanistan.

"We are aware of the disturbing and troubling allegations made against Upstate Medical University's chief of staff and are reviewing this matter," Upstate said in a prepared statement. "The allegations are contradictory to Upstate's shared values of being open and honest. While this matter is under review, Sergio Garcia has been placed on leave. Upstate will conduct its review in a timely and decisive manner."

Garcia, 43, of Manlius, is paid $340,000 a year. Upstate hired him last year. He oversees the office of Upstate President Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena. He also is in charge of Upstate's offices of external relations, human resources, facilities and planning, and university police. Before coming to Upstate, he worked for St. Lawrence Health System in Potsdam and Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Ohio.

Upstate President Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena and Sergio Garcia, her chief of staff, at the New York State Fair last summer.

The newspaper report also cited sources who refuted Garcia's claims that he was hired by former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell to work in the State Department, that he was in the White House when the 9/11 terrorist attacks occurred in September 2001 and is close friends with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The report also shows Garcia was charged in 1998 while working for a bank in La Mesa, Calif., with falsifying bank records, a felony, and embezzlement, a misdemeanor, for allegedly taking $560 from customer accounts for his personal use. The case, which was investigated by the FBI, was dismissed in 1999, after Garcia had completed 100 hours of community service, records show.

The head of the union that represents nurses at Upstate called the revelations about Garcia "another example of mismanagement" at the SUNY academic medical center.

In a prepared statement, Wayne Spence, president of the New York State Public Employees Federation, said:

"Unqualified, apparently dishonest people are being hired for high-paying, sometimes 'no-show' jobs, while the hardworking PEF nurses and healthcare professionals who care for patients are being underpaid and overworked. Enough is enough!"

Spence's comment about "no show" jobs was a reference to a $660,500 one-year consulting job Upstate gave Dr. John McCabe when he stepped down as Upstate University Hospital's CEO in 2017.

That job was part of a secret non-disclosure agreement signed by Laraque-Arena and McCabe. Upstate and McCabe have refused to say what work, if any, he did in the consulting job.

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Sergio A. Garcia, chief of staff at Upstate Medical University, has quit in the wake of allegations he lied about his background and credentials.

Upstate put Garcia on leave Sunday after a Times-Union story debunked several assertions Garcia made in a 2017 speech, including a claim that he narrowly escaped a car bombing in Afghanistan.

Upstate announced Garcia's resignation in a prepared statement issued this afternoon:

"After an expeditious review of the troubling accusations made against Upstate Medical University's chief of staff, and at the request of Upstate President Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD, FAAP, Sergio Garcia has resigned, effective immediately. The allegations are contradictory to Upstate's shared values of being open and honest, and the president and her leadership team will work together to confirm these values are instilled at every level of the organization."

Garcia, 43, was hired by Upstate last year at an annual salary of $340,000.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced Garcia was one of 12 individuals named to the inaugural class of fellows at SUNY's Hispanic Leadership Institute.

Richard Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesman, said today the governor created the institute, but did not pick the fellows.

"The fellows were either self-nominated or nominated by other people, not the Governor," Azzopardi said in an email. "This is a SUNY endeavor and the fellows were selected by a steering committee of SUNY staff."

Contact James T. Mulder anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-470-2245SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Syracuse Common Council doesn't want to do business with Walmart anymore.

The council today voted down a resolution that would allow the Parks Department to buy food and supplies for community centers from Walmart and Wegmans. It's the kind of annual approval the council typically rubber stamps.

This year, however, a new council refused the Parks Department's request. The vote seemed to surprise some of the councilors who supported it.

In his objection, Councilor-At-Large Michael Greene said Walmart doesn't pay its employees enough.

"I support this programming but I feel that Walmart does not pay its employees well enough that they can operate without public assistance," Greene said. "For that reason I don't think taxpayer dollars should be used to support this corporation."

The item was defeated by a vote of 3-4. It would have needed five votes to pass.

Councilors Greene, Khalid Bey, Tim Rudd and Joe Driscoll voted against the resolution. Councilors Joe Carni, Steve Thompson and Susan Boyle voted for it. Councilors Chad Ryan and Latoya Allen were absent.

A 2014 report from Americans for Tax Fairness, a collection of progressive groups, estimated Walmart employees receive $6.2 billion a year in federal assistance. In a report from Forbes, a Walmart spokesman said that figure was inaccurate.

Walmart this year raised its starting wage from $10 an hour to $11 an hour. The company employs more than 1.5 million people in the United States.

Kory Lundberg, a Walmart spokesman, said the company offers people an opportunity to climb the ladder if they work hard, and that more than three-quarters of store managers started as hourly workers.

"At the end of the day, it is up to policy makers to determine who qualifies for assistance," Lundberg said.

The council resolution would have allocated $12,000 next year for food and paper products for programs that support senior citizens and youth.

1st District Councilor Carni, who sponsored the resolution, expressed frustration about the result and the process.

"If this was a real issue it should have been brought up during study session and we should have come to the table and figured out who would have been a palatable company," he said. "I'm genuinely concerned that the seniors...are going to lose out here. This isn't the way it should have gone down."

Council President Helen Hudson voiced a concern about buying from Walmart during a study session last Wednesday. No other councilors objected or asked questions about the item.

"I'd like to participate with someone who pays a wage where people don't have to use food stamps, so I have a problem with that," Hudson said of the retailer.

The fiscal year for which the money was sought begins July 1. Greene said there's time between now and then to introduce new legislation. He said he has no problem with Wegmans and hopes to find other local, "responsible" vendors.

"There's obviously a balance between using resources efficiently and supporting businesses that we think are good corporate citizens," he said. "I think supplies can be purchased from a litany of other businesses that are more responsible to spend our money on."

Carni said he's concerned about what happens next.

"Now we need to figure out what company is going to be okay and if we're going to be able to afford it," he said.The 20-year-old state fishing record for a black crappie was broken May 6 on a small lake in Western New York.

The action took place May 6 on Lake Flavia in Cattaraugus County. When it was through, William Wightman, of South Dayton, N.Y was the new state record holder. His fish weighed 4 pounds, 1 ounce and was 18.5 inches long.

Black crappie, also known as strawberry bass or calico bass, are found throughout the state in clear, quiet lakes, ponds, and rivers where vegetation is abundant. Spring is a popular time of year to fish for crappie, as these fish can be found in large schools in shallow water prior to spawning.

Wightman's fish, caught on a black Maribou jig tipped with an emerald shiner and fished underneath a bobber, broke the 1998 record set by Ken Kierst, who caught a 3 pound, 12-ounce crappie on tiny Duck Lake in northwestern Cayuga County on a homemade lure. Kierst's fish measured 17.5 inches.

Lake Flavia is a man-made lake at the Country Side Gravel Inc.'s operation near South Dayton in western Cattaraugus County, said the DEC. "Under a cooperative agreement with Country Side Gravel Inc., a portion of the lake is open to the public for shore fishing only. No boating or ice fishing are allowed.

Wightman, 30, was fishing at the time with Dylan Naples, 12, also of South Dayton. Also present were Wightman's father, Jace Wightman, and Michele Naples, who is his girlfriend. Dylan is the girlfriend's grandson.

Before Wightman landed his record crappie, young Dylan also pulled in a monster crappie of his own, weighing 3.65 pounds on the same kind of rig that Wightman was using.

"It was a monster and we were all excited," Jace Wightman said.

About 15 minutes later, though, William Wightman landed his record-setting fish and Dylan helped net it.

Both fish were later weighed at the nearby South Dayton Super Duper Grocery store with a DEC official present.

Dylan Naples' crappie.

Wightman submitted details of the winning catch as part of DEC's Angler Achievement Awards Program, which tracks state record fish. Through this program, anglers can enter freshwater fish that meet specific qualifying criteria and receive official recognition of their catch and a distinctive lapel pin commemorating the achievement.

Three categories make up the program: Catch & Release, Annual Award, and State Record.

Wightman's catch occurred on the same weekend that another angler broke the state record for a walleye that he landed in the St. Lawrence River.

For more information about the Angler Achievement Awards Program, including a downloadable application form, go to DEC's website.

SEND US YOUR PHOTOS: Catch a huge fish? Send your photo to outdoor writer David Figura at dfigura@NYUP.com. Include your full name, where and when you caught it and on what. Include weight and length if you have it.

If caught on a charter boat, include the guide's name and the name of the charter service.WASHINGTON -- Two years ago, Juanita Perez Williams marched in the nation's largest annual rally against abortion. Now the Syracuse lawyer is running for Congress on a promise to vigorously defend abortion rights.

Perez Williams says there's no contradiction. She said she walked out of curiosity in the "March for Life" in Washington, D.C., at the invitation of her son.

But Dana Balter, her opponent in the Democratic primary in the 24th Congressional District, says Perez Williams is trying to backpedal on a series of comments she authored on social media about her personal advocacy against abortion.

Balter said the prime purpose of the "March for Life" is to make abortion illegal.

Perez Williams shared some of her feelings on the issue in public and private Facebook posts in 2016. Those posts, later deleted, are now circulating among party activists in the early weeks of the campaign.

In one private Facebook message that Perez Williams acknowledged she sent to a relative about two years ago, she referred to her "pro-life advocacy" work.

"My heart has also been changed for life from the many women I know, both young and old like me, who have suffered greatly from abortion," Perez Williams wrote in the message first reported by The Intercept, a national news website.

"It is a choice that leaves many with years of suffering," she wrote. "It is a choice that leaves one with depression, and sadness, and often hurts relationships. I mention this because there is nothing in my pro-life advocacy that even suggests judging or condemnation. I hate that crap! Women suffer with pregnancy and often feel hopeless. This I know!"

Perez Williams, 54, a lawyer and Navy veteran, told syracuse.com in an interview that nobody should be confused where she stands: She supports abortion rights, and part of that is recognizing that women such as herself have the right to choose not to have an abortion.

"I will always vote as a congresswoman for choice," Perez Williams said. "I will always support a woman's right to privacy when it comes to her reproductive concerns. Like many issues, I believe a woman's personal beliefs have to be respected. If you understand choice, it is exactly that. You respect all choice."

Perez Williams, a Catholic whose four children graduated from Bishop Ludden High School, said it's wrong to make her personal views about abortion a campaign issue.

"Women have the right to their own opinion," she said. "Mine is irrelevant. The only thing that should matter is how I would vote."

Her position is similar to those held over the years by some prominent Democrats, including Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clinton's pick for vice president in 2016, and the late New York Gov. Mario Cuomo.

Cuomo famously argued in a 1984 speech at the University of Notre Dame that a Catholic politician can personally oppose abortion while voting to protect abortion rights.

"There are many people that believe because of your faith or culture that you oppose abortion," Perez Williams said. "But you can still support a woman's right to choose. That is not contradictory."

She added, "As a congressperson I would never impose my personal beliefs on anyone."

Democrats Dana Balter, left, and Juanita Perez Williams, will face each other in a June 26 primary in the 24th Congressional District.

Balter, 42, a visiting teaching professor at Syracuse University, disagrees. She argues that Perez Williams can't be trusted to always set aside her personal views and vote to protect abortion rights, affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that made abortion legal in all 50 states.

Balter said it seems inconsistent that someone could take part in the "March for Life" in Washington, and still favor abortion rights.

"That event and that organization has the express purpose of outlawing abortion," Balter said. "How can we trust that somebody that participates in that event will stand up to protect reproductive rights?"

Balter said she believes it's valid to bring up the issue because it's one of the first clear contrasts between the candidates, and it comes at a perilous time for abortion rights.

Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, the congressman who will face the Democratic primary winner in November, has joined the House Republican majority in voting to expand restrictions on abortion and cut off funding for women's health care through Planned Parenthood.

At the same time, several Republican-controlled states have passed new abortion restrictions. In Iowa, the GOP-led legislature this year passed what would be the nation's most restrictive abortion ban - prohibiting the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as the sixth week of pregnancy.

When pressed for an answer in his first campaign for Congress in 2014, Katko said he would vote to repeal Roe v. Wade if given the opportunity. But his campaign said he would never make his abortion views a priority on his agenda.

Balter said Katko's record on abortion makes it more important for Democrats to know where their candidates stand before the June 26 primary. The winner will have the Democratic line in the general election against Katko in November.

One group watching the primary closely is EMILY's List, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group that was established to help elect Democratic women who support abortion rights.

EMILY's List endorsed Perez Williams in her unsuccessful bid for Syracuse mayor in November. And Perez Williams showed up at the group's annual gala in Washington last month, where she posed for a photo that she posted on her Facebook page.

EMILY's List did not respond to inquiries from syracuse.com about whether it will endorse in the 24th District Democratic primary this year, or if the group has concerns about the personal views expressed by Perez Williams.

Perez Williams said the group is aware of her position on abortion and that she walked in the "March for Life." She said she took part in the 2016 march only because her son, a student at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., asked her to join him.

Perez Williams said she traveled to the march with a group from her Syracuse church and an affiliated organization where she volunteers to support vulnerable single women with children.

"I was curious," Perez Williams said, adding that her intent in joining the march was never to call for overturning Roe v. Wade.

"I felt that experiencing something like that made me conclude that choice is more important than ever," she said. "At the end of the day, I still thought that's what choice was -- to respect one's faith and culture in making that very delicate decision."

Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will "demand" this week that the Justice Department open an investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign for political purposes and whether any demands or requests for such action originated with the Obama administration.

Trump tweeted: "I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!"

The Justice Department declined to comment.

Trump has been promoting a theory circulating in conservative circles about a possible FBI spy on the campaign, though his attorney has cast doubt on it.

Rudy Giuliani, who represents Trump in the ongoing special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, said in a television interview last week that neither he nor Trump knows for certain if there was a spy on the campaign. Giuliani said they had been told of "some kind of infiltration."

In any event, the Justice Department's internal watchdog is already examining Republican complaints of FBI misconduct in the early stages of the Russia investigation.

Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced an investigation in March at the request of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and congressional Republicans. Sessions and the lawmakers had urged Horowitz to review whether FBI and Justice Department officials abused their surveillance powers by using information compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy, and paid for by Democrats as part of the basis to justify monitoring Carter Page, a former campaign adviser to Trump.

Horowitz said his office will look at those claims as well as communications between Steele and DOJ and FBI officials.

Trump did not elaborate on the promised "demand," which he included in one of a series of tweets he sent throughout the day Sunday. On Saturday, Trump tweeted, "If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal." He said only the release or review of documents the House Intelligence Committee is seeking from the Justice Department "can give conclusive answers."

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Trump's claim of an embedded spy "nonsense."

"His 'demand' DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems," Schiff said on Twitter. "Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesn't care."

The GOP-led House Intelligence Committee closed its Russian meddling probe last month, saying it found no evidence of collusion or coordination between Trump's campaign and Russia, which special counsel Robert Mueller is looking into. Schiff and other committee Democrats were furious and argued that Republicans had not subpoenaed many witnessed they considered essential to the committee's work.

Trump last week accused the Justice Department of trying to frame him by planting a spy in his 2016 campaign. Trump quoted Fox Business anchor David Asman and tweeted Friday: "Apparently the DOJ put a Spy in the Trump Campaign. This has never been done before and by any means necessary, they are out to frame Donald Trump for crimes he didn't commit."

But when asked whether there was an informant on the campaign, Giuliani told CNN, "I don't know for sure, nor does the president, if there really was one," though he said they have long been told there was "some kind of infiltration."

Earlier this month, the National Review raised the question of a possible FBI spy in Trump's campaign. The article cites work by Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California, an ardent Trump supporter and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who has demanded information on an FBI source in the Russia investigation. Opponents of Nunes' request have stressed the need to protect intelligence sources and methods.

The New York Times reported separately last week that at least one government informant met several times with Page and George Papadopoulos, another former foreign policy adviser on Trump's campaign. The Times reported, citing current and former FBI officials, that the informant talked to Page and Papadopoulos because they had suspicious contacts linked to Russia.

Papadopoulos was charged last year in Mueller's investigation and pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. He has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will travel to New York on Wednesday for a speech on immigration.

New York Rep. Pete King's office says they're expecting the president to travel to Bethpage, on Long Island, to discuss efforts to eradicate the violent MS-13 gang.

Last week, Trump raised eyebrows when he used the word "animals" to describe some people who enter the country illegally, in response to a comment about MS-13.

The president has doubled down on his rhetoric, saying he will continue to use the term in referring to the gang.

The White House also released a fact sheet Monday morning, titled, "WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIOLENT ANIMALS OF MS-13."

Trump traveled to Suffolk County Community College last July to discuss the gang before law enforcement officials.A New Jersey high school principal has issued an apology for an upcoming senior prom's "insensitive" theme.

CBS reports Cherry Hill High School East prom tickets told students to "party like it's 1776," because the dance is being held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The center is located near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, where the U.S. Declaration of Independence was ratified on July 4, 1776.

Principal Dennis Perry posted an open letter on Twitter apologizing to black students "for the hurt feelings this reference caused for members of our school family."

"It was insensitive and irresponsible not to appreciate that not all communities can celebrate what life was like in 1776," Perry wrote. "I especially apologize to our African American students, whom I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording."

Madison Vogel, Cherry Hill High School East's student body vice president, told Fox 29 that the "1776" slogan was created and approved by a "diverse committee of students." She said the intended theme was American Independence.

"We thought it would be fun to do a play on the Prince song. "Party Like It's 1776" because of the Constitution Center," Vogel said. Prince's 1982 song "1999" included the famous chorus "Tonight we're going to party like it's 1999."

Danny Elmore, vice president for the Cherry Hill African American Civic Association, said he accepted Perry's apology and told NBC that he doesn't think any offense was intended.

"The intent was a good intent," he said. "However, for some Americans, 1776 itself was not a good time."

The Courier Post reports Perry did not specifically mention slavery, which still existed in New Jersey and other U.S. states long after America broke free from England. A state law abolished slavery in N.J. in 1846;

Perry said students will not be asked to present the tickets at prom and will receive commemorative tickets with revised language.

According to the Post, black students make up 6.2 percent of the student body at the Cherry Hill school. The majority -- 62.2 percent -- are white students, followed by 22.4 percent Asians.A new report says Pope Francis told a gay man that God made him "like this" and "God loves you like this," suggesting an increasing acceptance of homosexuality by the Catholic church.

Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim of clerical sexual abuse, told Spanish newspaper El Pais that he spent three days with the pope at the Vatican in April. He discussed his sexuality and being abused by a Chilean priest.

"He told me: 'Juan Carlos, I don't care about you being gay. God made you that way and loves you as you are and I don't mind. The pope loves you as you are, you have to be happy with who you are,'" Cruz said.

Pope Francis also allegedly told him that his sexuality "does not matter," Cruz told CNN.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a Vatican spokesman declined to confirm or deny Francis' comments on Sunday: "We don't normally comment on the pope's private conversations."

The Roman Catholic Church traditionally opposes same-sex marriage and considers homosexuality "objectively disordered," and contrary to God's law. However, Francis suggested views were evolving shortly after beginning the papacy five years ago.

"If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with goodwill, who am I to judge?" he said in 2013 when asked for his views on homosexuality.

A year later, Pope Francis released the 256-page document "The Joy of Love," which encouraged individual conscience to be the guiding principle for Catholics negotiating the complexities of sex, marriage and family life. No changes were made in church doctrine, and marriage was still described as a lifelong commitment, but it loosened views on divorce and non-traditional relationships.

Cruz was abused by Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty by the Vatican in 2011.

CNN reports all bishops in Chile offered their resignation to Pope Francis last Friday after a three-day emergency summit at the Vatican to discuss the South American country's sex-abuse scandal. Altogether, 31 active bishops and three retired bishops said they would place the issue "in the hands of the Holy Father so that he might freely decide for each one of us."History buffs of Central New York, the Library of Congress needs you!

Especially Cary O'Dell, who works for the Library's National Recording Preservation Board.

Do you recognize the woman in the photo, taken in Syracuse, sometime in July 1968 with actor Paul McGrath, above?

For almost three years, O'Dell has been working to identify the subjects in a huge collection of photos the Library acquired. The treasure-trove of photos, more than 30,000 images, enough to fill 36 file cabinets, were acquired from a vendor in New Jersey. The collection mostly contained movie and television stills.

Many were from the Syracuse-area.

Many of the photos came with identification, about a thousand of them did not.

O'Dell says that in-house they were able to identify all but 200 of them.

He reached out to the public, posting the photos on a blog.

"To our surprise, and great gratitude, many people throughout the country adopted our problem as their problem and took on the task of IDing some of these super-obscure pictures as a personal pet cause," O'Dell wrote.

He is down to 60 photos that need to be identified.

Many of his colleagues have pleaded with him to let it go.

"I could let it go," O'Dell said, but he wonders if the people in the photos may "have interesting stories to tell."

The photo in question shows an African-American woman holding onto a camera in an office.

The man with her is radio and television actor Paul McGrath, who in 1968 was playing Dr. Keith in the soap opera "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."

In late-July 1968, he appeared for a week of performances at Henninger High School in the comedy play "The Desk Set."

The star of the play was Shirley Booth, best known for her role in the television show "Hazel," for which she won an Emmy.

According to a Post-Standard review, Booth played Bunny Watson, head of the reference department in a large radio and television company, who has an enormous amount of information in her head and the ability to track down the answers to every question asked. Her job though is threatened when an efficiency expert at the company sets up a computer system that threatens her job.

The photo was stamped July 31, 1968, and was taken by Herald-Journal photographer Howard LaChanse.

A hand-written caption on the back says, "The Apprentice with Mr. McGrath" along with the name Dorothy but the last, believed to begin with the letter "S," is impossible.

The photo could not be found in the newspaper archives and O'Dell says local historical societies and Howard LaChanse's family were unable to identify the woman.

The two leading theories are she was either an apprentice to LaChanse's or she appeared in the play, set at a media company, as an apprentice.

Crop marks on the original photo highlight her, while a black X covers the play's second-biggest star.

Do you recognize the woman? Is she relative of yours or, perhaps, could you be her?

Please leave a comment here or at O'Dell's blog.

This feature is a part of CNY Nostalgia, a section on syracuse.com. Send your ideas and curiosities to Johnathan Croyle: Email | 315-427-3958.Candidates named in city and school elections

With the passing of the filing deadline for the upcoming city and school election, several area governing bodies including the City of Tama and ...An H-6K bomber during an exercise. (Photo/Xinhua)

The People's Liberation Army Air Force landed its H-6K bomber aircraft on an airport in the South China Sea during a recent exercise, marking the first time Chinese bombers have used an airport in the region.

Several H-6Ks from an unidentified aviation division, headed by division commander Hao Jianke, took off from an undisclosed air base in South China and made a simulated strike against sea targets before landing on an island in the South China Sea, according to a statement published by the Air Force on Friday.

The aircraft then conducted takeoff drills using the island's airport, the statement said. It noted the operation provided experience for Air Force bomber units to use islands as their bases.

The division involved in the exercise has taken part in patrols over the western Pacific Ocean, South China Sea and plateaus, according to the Air Force.

The statement quoted Wang Mingliang, a researcher at the PLA Air Force Command College, as saying that takeoff and landing exercises on islands in the South China Sea will help the Air Force strengthen its combat capability to deal with marine security threats.

Wang Yanan, editor of Aerospace Knowledge, told China Daily that after the Air Force's bombers are able to be deployed on islands in the South China Sea, their operational range as well as China's maritime defense parameters will be tremendously extended, adding to existing prowess to deter any plots to compromise China's territorial integrity from the sea.

According to the Chinese government, there are at least four large airports in the South China Sea - on Yongxing Island in the Xisha Islands and Meiji, Zhubi and Yongshu reefs in the Nansha Islands - that are capable of handling large aircraft.

In 2016, large jetliners from Chinese airlines carried out landings and takeoffs using airports on Meiji, Zhubi and Yongshu reefs.

The H-6K is the PLA's most advanced bomber and is capable of carrying supersonic cruise missiles to make precision strikes against land targets or ships. Foreign analysts speculate that the aircraft has a flight range of about 3,500 kilometers while China's CJ-10 series cruise missiles have a minimum range of 1,500 km, which means the bomber is able to hit targets at least 5,000 km from where it takes off.

Aviation Industry Corp of China, the nation's leading aircraft maker, is developing a new long-range strategic bomber, which observers say is likely to have an operational range of at least 12,000 kilometers and a maximum carrying capacity of 20 metric tons of bombs and missiles.The official Sino Weibo account of the PLA Air Force released a group of photos and a video clip of an H-6K bomber's island/reef takeoff and landing training on May 18, drawing extensive attention from domestic and foreign media.

Considering the location of the runway and other infrastructure in the video released by the PLA Air Force, an article published by the US Defense News said that the airport where the H-6K took off and landed was situated on the Yongxing Island, one of the Xisha Islands, and was not the airport that China has built on the Nansha Islands.

In the video clip, the number 23 appeared at the end of the runway, which is consistent with the runway number on the Yongxing Island as shown in satellite photos.

A Chinese military expert who asked for anonymity told the reporter that the H-6K bomber flew to the Yongxing Island for its first landing in the South China Sea perhaps for three reasons.

First, the airport on the Yongxing Island has existed for many years with complete facilities. Its runway is about 3,000m long, which is convenient for the takeoff and landing of large planes like the H-6K. Boeing 737 passenger planes used to take off and land there.

Second, by taking off from there, the H-6K gains certain strategic advantages. When it takes off fully loaded with conventional bombs, it is able to cover all of Vietnam in the west and the entire Taiwan Island in the east, and still include all the Nansha islands in the south. The scope of coverage is even larger if it takes off with a full fuel tank.

Third, the Yongxing Island is located in the Xisha Islands, so the H-6K taking off from there wouldnt draw too much attention from the South China Sea claimants, thus minimizing objections from the international community.

Of course China has every right to have the H-6K take off and land at the airport in the Nansha Islands because that's within its own territory. The H-6K's taking off and landing on the Yongxing Island shows China's restraint on the South China Sea issue.

Disclaimer: The authors are Li Qiang and Liu Yang, reporters with Global Times. The article is translated from Chinese into English by the China Military online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Chinamil.com.cn does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. If the article carries photographs or images, we do not vouch for their authenticity.Microsoft is reportedly working on new Surface Pro tablets on a budget, aiming to compete against Apple's cheaper iPad.

The new line will reportedly consist of smaller tablets and a redesign would make them look more like iPads, with rounded corners rather than the rectangular form factor of current Surface tablets.

The news comes from Bloomberg, which reports that Microsoft would price this new line of Surface tablets at roughly $400. The new slates are expected sometime in the second half of this year, notes the publication.

Apple vs Microsoft Tablets

Apple and Microsoft are competing on the tablet market with their iPads and Surface tablets, respectively. However, Apple gained a competitive edge recently when it launched the $329 iPad.

Microsoft's current tablets are more expensive, and the purported redesigned Surface line would target customers who find the Surface Pro too expensive or too much for their needs.

Cheaper Microsoft Surface Tablets

Even at $400, the new Surface line would still be more expensive than the $329 iPad, but it would allow Microsoft to better compete with Apple on this front. The upcoming Surface tablets will reportedly be the first to sport USB Type-C ports and will come in 64 GB and 18 GB storage options.

The tablets will reportedly feature 10-inch displays rather than 12-inch, and they will also come in Wi-Fi + Cellular options for those who want LTE internet access on the go.

Moreover, Bloomberg also notes that Microsoft will make its new Surface tablets 20 percent lighter than the Surface Pro, but will mean cutting a few corners to make it.

Battery life will likely take a hit, lasting roughly four hours less than the Surface Pro, Bloomberg adds. The publication doesn't have additional information regarding the specifications of the new Surface line, but its sources say that the CPU and GPU will come from Intel.

Just like the current Surface models, the low-cost options will still run the full-fledged Windows 10 Pro, albeit it remains to be seen whether they will enable the S Mode by default. The new models will also come with a kickstand like existing models.

Microsoft has yet to comment on the matter, so it's all in the rumor state for now. As always in such cases, it's best to take all leaks, rumors, and reports with a hefty grain of salt until an official announcement is made.

If Microsoft does indeed plan to launch the tablets in the second half of this year, it should make a formal announcement soon enough. We'll keep you updated as soon as we learn more.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Bill Gates shared an anecdote about the sitting president of the United States that doesn't paint him in a positive light. In the story, Gates says that Donald Trump asked him if HPV and HIV were the same things, two different times.

Gates had to explain the difference between the two to Trump.

Gates Explains HPV And HIV To Trump

At a recent meeting of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates told a story in which he claims that Donald Trump asked him if there is a difference between HPV and HIV. Bill Gates took questions from staff at the meeting. Footage from the event doesn't seem to be from an official source due to the low quality of the footage.

Gates describes meeting Trump in December 2016 in New York and March 2017 at the White House. The two discussed vaccines. Trump asked Gates his opinion about starting a commission to look into the negative effects of vaccines. Gates told him that this wouldn't be a good idea. This is probably due to the large amount of scientific information that supports the safety of vaccines.

He said that both times he met with Trump, the president wanted to know if there was a difference between HIV and HPV. Gates said that he told Trump that the two aren't confused with each other.

Bill Gates also mentioned a time that he met Trump at a horse show in Florida. He says that Trump was at the event then left only to return to the horse show on a helicopter 20 minutes later. Gates said that it was obvious that Trump only arrived in the helicopter to make a grand entrance for the event.

HPV And HIV

HPV stands for human papillomavirus and HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, even though they have similar acronyms the viruses cause different health problems. HPV affects a person's skin and moist membranes, it causes problems such as verrucas, genital warts, and abnormal cell changes in the cervix. HIV affects the immune system, it can lead to AIDS but with proper treatment, most people do not develop AIDS.

The White House hasn't released a statement about the confusion from Trump. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation hasn't released a statement about Gates' story about Trump, either.

This isn't the first time that the president has been accused of lack of knowledge. While still campaigning to be president, Trump asked a foreign policy expert that if the US has nukes, why can't they use them?

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.A new report reveals the possibility that an already-banned chemical is still being produced as its emissions slow down in decline. What exactly are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and why were they banned?

CFC Emissions Returning?

A recent report revealed that emissions of CFC-11 are rising again after years of already being banned. The analysis, which is based on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) long-term readings of CFC emissions in the atmosphere, showed that the rate of decline of CFC-11 has slowed by 50 percent since 2012.

This could mean that production of CFC-11 may still be ongoing in an unknown location despite the chemical being banned in 2010. If this is not controlled and abated, the emissions could slow down the healing process and recovery of the ozone layer.

"It is therefore, critical that we take stock of this science, identify the causes of these emissions and take necessary action," said UN Environment in a statement.

What Are CFCs?

CFCs are non-toxic, non-flammable chemicals that contain atoms of chlorine, halogen, carbon, and fluorine. It was first synthesized by Thomas Midgley, Jr. Of General Motors in 1928 as safer refrigerants, and in 1932, Carrier Engineering Corporation used Freon-11 or CFC-11 on the world's first self-contained home air-conditioning system. They were also used in the production of aerosol sprays, blowing agents, refrigerants, packing materials, and solvents.

CFCs were widely used in a variety of products, but in 1974, chemists from the University of California showed how CFCs could become a major source of inorganic chlorine in the stratosphere. The concerning thing about CFCs is that while they are inert in the lower atmosphere, they undergo a change in the stratosphere where they become active in the destruction of the ozone.

By 1985, researchers described a worsening depletion of the stratospheric ozone. Just two years later in 1987, 27 countries signed the Montreal Protocol, which aimed to cut the production of CFCs in half by the year 2000. The treaty included reducing the production of CFC-11, -12, -113, -114, -115, and Halons.

By 2010, the production of CFC-11, the second most abundant CFC, was completely ended, as the ozone continued to heal and recover. In fact, just last year, NASA announced that the ozone hole over Antarctica has shrunk to its smallest since 1988.

Why Is The Ozone Important?

In the stratosphere, ozone does the very important job of trapping and absorbing potentially harmful UV radiation. It is because of the ozone that plants, animals, and humans are protected from the harmful radiation of the sun. Without it, radiation levels that could cause severe biological damage could reach the Earth's surface.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.A study has found that users of Tinder or any other mobile dating apps do not acquire more casual sex partners than their nonuser counterparts.

Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology found that while Tinder users may be more open to short-term sex than the average people, this does not mean that they end up with more number of sexual partners than non-Tinder users who, just the same, prefer casual sex.

Essentially, Tinder users can end up with the same number of hookups with those who search for one-night stands using any other known interaction, like waiting at a bar or club.

Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, a professor at NTNU's Department of Psychology, explains that mobile dating apps simply evolved to become a new public arena for dating, like an alternative to finding a partner at work and through other recreational activities. The result with regard to acquiring partners is just the same.

Sociosexual Orientation

The study, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, surveyed the social media activity and sexual behavior of more than 600 students ranging from ages 19 to 29. Out of those surveyed, nearly 50 percent said they used picture-based mobile dating apps at one point, while there are one in five who have remained active users.

The study noted that users of dating apps showed higher levels of sociosexual orientation. The term refers to how one unequivocally accepts short-term sexual relationships without the assumption or goal of ending up in a committed relationship.

Those who are more accepting and open to casual sex are more inclined to use mobile dating apps, the study found.

The study also revealed that the reasons why women used Tinder are different from why men used the platform.

Men And Women Using Tinder

Women are more inclined to use Tinder or other dating apps to feel better about themselves, the study said. They also spend more time examining potential matches than their male counterparts.

Men, on the other hand, use dating apps to solely find sex. They are also quick in choosing potential dates and are quick to invite women out in a private setting.

"But it should be noted that the myth that men on dating apps are only looking for casual sex isn't accurate. Men who use these apps also seek long-term partners, but to a lesser extent than short-term partners," said Ernst Olav Botnen, first author of the study and a clinical psychologist.

Kennair adds that women tend to be more discerning while men are more eager due to clear evolutionary reasons.

"Women have more to lose by engaging with low-quality sexual partners than men do," Kennair explained.

Nevertheless, men and women both use Tinder for recreational purposes, particularly when they feel bored and had nothing to do, the study stated.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.The first private rocket launch in China happened on May 16, with the maiden flight of OneSpace Technologies' OS-X rocket reaching an altitude of 127,000 feet.

The successful test flight places OneSpace on the same path as SpaceX, the private space company founded and helmed by Elon Musk.

OneSpace OS-X Rocket Successful Maiden Test Flight

OneSpace became the first among private space companies in China to launch a rocket. OneSpace CEO Shu Chang said in an interview with CNN Money that the rocket is the first one to be developed and built entirely using homegrown technology.

The OneSpace OS-X rocket reportedly reached a height of 127,000 feet, or about 25 miles, in its maiden test flight, with a top speed that is over 5.7 times the speed of sound.

The OS-X rocket is a 29.5-foot solid-fueled single-stage rocket with a weight of about 7.2 metric tons. The rocket is capable of travelling for around five minutes, but its payload capacity is only 220 pounds, compared to the capacity of over 50,000 pounds for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

OneSpace was established in 2015, a year after the government of China allowed private capital to make investments in the space industry. OneSpace is the first private company with the license to develop Chinese space rockets.

OneSpace Follows Footsteps Of SpaceX

Chang said that OneSpace aims to become one of the largest companies in the world for launching small satellites into space, a lofty ambition that already places it on track to become the SpaceX of China.

"OneSpace's situation right now is very much like where SpaceX stood in its early years. SpaceX is the first in the US. We're the first in China," said Chang.

OneSpace is emulating SpaceX through its business model that falls in between being run as a private company and funded by the government. SpaceX is a private company that has benefitted from several NASA contracts, and OneSpace will look to do the same for the Chinese government. Missions that OneSpace may handle in the future may include the likes of the Chang'e 4's relay satellite launch, which looks to study the far side of the moon.

OneSpace, however, will face a lot of competition in the private space flight industry for small satellite launches. In addition, there are more private space companies in China that will soon be testing their own rockets. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether OneSpace will see the same amount of success in China as SpaceX has experienced in the United States.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Another high-profile director is being accused of sexual improprieties. This time its Luc Besson, the filmmaker behind The Fifth Element, Lucy, and many other films.

An actress who worked with Besson on two movies has filed a complaint with the police accusing the director of rape.

The actress, who chose to remain anonymous, told Variety that the incident, which she regards as a "violent sexual assault," happened on May 10 following a meeting with Besson at the Bristol Hotel near the Champs Elysees in Paris.

Authorities in Paris are now investigating the complaint, which describes Besson putting something in the actress's tea that left her unconscious. The actress accuses him of touching and penetrating her without consent.

Thierry Marembert, Besson's lawyer, told Agence France-Presse on May 19 that the director categorically denies all the accusations made against him.

"(The accuser) is someone he knows, towards whom he has never behaved inappropriately."

Women Power At Cannes Film Festival

The reports came as the annual Cannes Film Festival wrapped up, where female filmmakers marched and spoke up about parity and representation. During the festival's closing remarks, actress Asia Argento confessed that she was raped by Harvey Weinstein at Cannes in 1997.

"I was 21 years old. This festival was his hunting ground. I want to make a prediction: Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again. He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that once embraced him and covered up for his crimes," said Argento.

She also pointed to some individuals among the audience "who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women."

"You know who you are. But most importantly, we know who you are. And we're not going to allow you to get away with it any longer."

Besson is the newest name in the growing list of men in Hollywood who have been accused of sexual misconduct. The most prominent name among which is, of course, Weinstein, who allegedly used his position to force women to perform sexual acts with him. Some who declined his advances ended up getting raped.

Luc Besson

Between writing, producing, and directing, Besson's work spans nearly 100 films. This includes the popular Taken franchise, and most recently, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which only grossed $255 million against a $177 million budget.

Besson's next movie, Anna, is scheduled to premiere this October. It stars Helen Mirren, Cillian Murphy, and Luke Evans.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Artificial intelligence may help in the prevention of thousands of cancer death per year by 2033, and UK Prime Minister Theresa May will be looking to make that application of AI in medicine a reality.

The early diagnosis of cancer is a huge advantage in a person's battle against the disease. This increased fighting chance is what artificial intelligence in healthcare will look to provide.

UK To Pledge Millions For AI In Healthcare

In a speech, UK Prime Minister May pledged millions of British pounds in government funding to develop artificial intelligence that will help with the early diagnosis of cancer. The pledge also promises the creation of high-skilled science jobs.

May described artificial intelligence as a "new weapon" in the fight against cancer and urged the country's National Health Service and technology companies to work on it. The systems should tell doctors if a patient should be forwarded to an oncologist for possible cancer.

The plan looks to provide early diagnosis of cancer to at least 50,000 people, including prostate cancer, lung cancer, ovarian cancer, and bowel cancer. Experts believe that AI will be able to help prevent 22,000 cancer deaths every year starting 2033 and may give patients an extra five years for a healthy and independent life by 2035.

May's speech was the first major address on the field of science delivered by a UK prime minister since 2009, when Gordon Brown outlined plans for research funding.

The Importance Of Early Diagnosis Of Cancer

The mere mention of the disease already brings so much negativity, especially due to the fact that the cure for cancer is still out of reach. However, the uphill climb to recover from cancer is made easier by early diagnosis.

"Late diagnosis of otherwise treatable illnesses is one of the biggest causes of avoidable deaths," said May. "And the development of smart technologies to analyze great quantities of data quickly and with a higher degree of accuracy than is possible by human beings opens up a whole new field of medical research."

The UK prime minister envisions AI-powered computer algorithms looking through medical records, genetic data, and lifestyle habits to diagnose possible cancer cases before they become serious. With the government's commitment to the technology, artificial intelligence will hopefully start contributing to the fight against cancer in the years to come.

The importance of early diagnosis of cancer could not be stressed enough. Alongside the AI-powered technology, another early diagnosis method named CancerSEEK is being developed. Through a blood test, it will detect the eight most common types of cancer, five of which have no early detection method.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.A team of French researchers have examined the teeth of Adolf Hitler and have asserted that he died in Berlin in 1945 despite numerous theories claiming otherwise.

The French team, headed by Professor Philippe Charlier, said the infamous leader died inside his Berlin bunker on April 30, 1945, due to two probable causes: cyanide poisoning and self-inflicted gunshot.

The researchers said Hitler's skull has a hole on the left side, suggesting that a bullet passed from the neck or the forehead.

His teeth, meanwhile, showed no traces of gunpowder but showed bluish deposits that were suggestive of contact with cyanide.

He also supposedly died with his longtime companion Eva Braun, the team concluded.

Adolf Hitler's Teeth

The bluish deposits they found on the teeth were from a chemical reaction between the cyanide and the metal of the dentures, the researcher wrote in their study published in the journal European Journal of Internal Medicine.

Furthermore, his teeth showed no traces of tartar and meat particles, which meant that the villainous man was a vegetarian.

The team also reiterated that their study is consistent with the radiography of Hitler's skull, which was taken a year before his death.

"The teeth are authentic, there is no possible doubt. Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945," Charlier said.

Hitler's teeth remained in Moscow's custody and were only put on display in 2000, marking the 55th anniversary of the end of the World War II.

In 2017, Russia's Federal Security Service and the Russian state had given Charlier and his team an access to fragments of Hitler's teeth and skull. This was the first time since 1946 that such right to use was given for a group of researchers to examine the controversial fragments.

In 2009, researchers from the University of Connecticut released the result of a DNA analysis conducted on the same skull and concluded that it did not belong to Hitler. Their study asserted that the skull belonged to a woman, probably aged between 20 and 40 years old. The Russian authorities insisted otherwise.

Adolf Hitler Death Conspiracy Theories

Ultimately, Charlier's team concluded that Hitler died with Braun after ingesting a cyanide pill and subsequently shooting himself in the head. The study hoped to finally put an end to numerous conspiracy theories claiming that Hitler lived way past 1945 after an elaborate escape plan.

"He (Hitler) did not flee to Argentina in a submarine, he is not in a hidden base in Antarctica or on the dark side of the moon," Charlier said.

One theory goes that two corpses were just placed in place of Hitler and Braun while he escaped through a secret tunnel from their Berlin bunker. He purportedly rode an airplane, flew to Denmark, and then to Spain. From there, he took a submarine to South America, where he died peacefully until his old age.

Another theory goes that he detoured to Antarctica, where Hitler was left inside a Nazi ice base. This secret base was purportedly the reason why British and American militaries were conducting covert missions in Antarctica at the time. The missions reportedly resulted in a secret nuclear attack against the Nazi ice base, which happened in 1950s.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.Source: thenews.com.pk

Islamabad, 20 May 18:Vice Chairman of Chinese Central Military Commission, General Zhang Youxia was on an official visit to Pakistan. During the visit, General Zhang Youxia called on Chief of the Naval staff, Admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi at Naval Headquarters Islamabad on May 18, where discussions on professional matters and avenues of existing and future naval collaboration were focused.

In the second leg of the visit, Vice Chairman of Chinese Central Military Commission visited various PN Units at Karachi. Upon arrival at Karachi, the visitinjg dignitary was received by Commander Karachi, Rear Admiral Asif Khaliq.

Upon arrival onboard ship, General Zhang Youxia was received by Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Kaleem Shaukat and was presented Guard of Honour by a smartly turned out contingent of Pakistan Navy. The dignitary also interacted with the crew of the ship and appreciated the professionalism of officers and men of Pakistan Navy.

The visit of Vice Chairman of Chinese Central Military Commission to Pakistan will further strengthen the bilateral defence collaboration between Pakistan and Peoples Republic of China in general and defence forces in particular.Google is making a significant change to its Code of Conduct. It has diminished three crucial words that have guided the company for years.

The Fading Power Of 'Don't Be Evil'

Media outlet Gizmodo found that Google's unofficial slogan, "Don't Be Evil" has been severely diminished in the technology company's latest version of the Code of Conduct. The media outlet found out about the phrase's elimination by using Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Gizmodo found that the technology company removed the phrase between near the end of April and early May.

The phrase has been ingrained in Google's company culture since it was first used in 2000. In fact, several company insiders noted that it was frequently used throughout the company. 4,000 employees referenced the unofficial motto in an internal petition to company CEO Sundar Pichai on removing Google from its contract with the Pentagon. Company insiders also added that the updated version of the phrase was used as the Wi-fi password for its transportation to its Mountain View, California headquarters.

A Tale Of Two Codes

The Wayback Machine found the updated Code of Conduct on the company Google's parent company, Alphabet's website through a May 4 entry. The updated version's first two paragraphs address that the company standards will be measured against the ethical business conduct. They also mention that Google's various touchstone practices would assist in all aspects of the company that range from the hiring process to attracting users. The only time that "Don't Be Evil" is even mentioned is at the end of the document.

Google's original Code of Conduct used the sacred phrase in the first two paragraphs that explained the company's mission. The company policy encouraged employees to help give Google users access to information without showing any biases and give everyone the best quality of service. They also added essential words about having a strong moral compass and advised to follow the law, act honorably, and respect their co-workers.

Google Corner

In addition to updating the Code of Conduct, the company announced a new tool for its Google Wi-Fi network called Network Check. It would check the quality of their houses and apartments' Wi-Fi network. Network Check can identify dead zones and connections of household items that incorporate Wi-Fi such as outdoor security cameras and smart TVs. Google Wi-Fi was created in hopes to replace the traditional Wi-Fi router.

Google Chrome announced that in September, it would remove the Secure URL label from its platform in September. In an official blog post, Google Chrome officials stated that users would notice that websites with HTTPS designation would no longer have the green "Secure" text and lock that appear in the URL bar. The Google Chrome representative stated that it was doing this because they believe that Google's web browser users know that they would be warned if they went to a suspicious website.

Tech Times reached out to Google for a comment on this story.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.With the SpaceX Crew Dragon currently in the testing phase, Elon Musk decided to tease his fans on social media with the design of the spacecraft.

What Did Elon Musk Reveal About The SpaceX Crew Dragon?

On May 20, Musk shared a photo to social media of the SpaceX Crew Dragon ship as it is being tested for electromagnetic interference. It is currently docked in an anechoic chamber.

Previous modules were only able to ship cargo to space and conduct scientific missions. This particular autonomous spacecraft is being designed to include a human crew.

It has been in design since 2013, one year after the first SpaceX Dragon made a successful cargo delivery to the International Space Station.

As of May 18, Musk's Instagram post has been liked over 400,000 times.

What Is Special About The SpaceX Crew Dragon?

SpaceX says that the Crew Dragon has been developed as an "enjoyable" trip through space so that passengers can feel "comfortable and safe."

Inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon, the monitors display real-time information. The spacecraft can hold up to seven passengers. Each seat is mounted with carbon fiber and Alcantara cloth to provide comfort. The technology ensures that the temperatures are always kept between 65 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. There are also four huge windows that offer an incredible view of the surroundings.

To protect the passengers during re-entry, SpaceX included a phenolic impregnated carbon ablator heat shield. In case of an emergency, there is a built-in escape system in the engines that will help the spacecraft arrive back on Earth safely.

One of the most impressive technical features is the spacecraft's unique ability to land back on Earth for refueling purposes.

The capsule, also known as the pressurized section of the spacecraft, has enough space for both crew and passengers. Unpressurized cargo can get stored in the trunk, which also houses solar arrays for the ship. The total launch payload mass for the SpaceX Crew Dragon exceeds 13,000 pounds.

What Is Next For The SpaceX Crew Dragon?

After the current testing is complete, the SpaceX Crew Dragon will be sent to NASA's vacuum chamber at Plum Brook Station in Cleveland, Ohio.

If the testing goes well in Ohio, then the spacecraft could head to Cape Canaveral, Florida for a demonstration with a flight crew. This test could occur as early as August 2018. SpaceX said that its ultimate goal was to send people to Mars by 2024 in this spacecraft.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.A new study suggests that people who are overweight, and carry most of their excess weight in their stomach are at risk of vitamin D deficiency. The study was conducted by Rachida Rafiq and her team of researchers from VU University Medical Center and Leiden University Medical Center, both located in the Netherlands.

Rafiq and her team discovered a link between obesity and Vitamin D during their study and suggested that individuals who have high levels of belly fat should get their vitamin D levels checked immediately to prevent health issues.

Vitamin D And Obesity

Vitamin D is very important in regards to human health. It plays many crucial roles including maintaining healthy teeth and bones, supporting lung function, and maintaining the health of the immune system. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency can include dizziness, hair loss, and muscle pain. If prolonged, it can lead to obesity.

Rafiq, who is a doctoral student, and her team studied the findings from an experiment conducted by the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity and examined how body fat and abnormal body fat related to the participants' Vitamin D levels.

The men and women who participated in the experiment were from ages 45 to 65 years old. The researchers adjust several variables that could influence the obesity in a person, including alcohol intake, physical activity levels, ethnicity, and smoking. The team discovered that in obese men, lower vitamin D levels are linked to the fat in the liver and abdomen.

In obese women, both total and abdominal fat were associated with lower vitamin D levels, but abdominal fat had a greater impact.

What Is The Next Step?

Obesity is one of the common conditions in the United States that can lead to severe health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Rafiq commented that the next step in her research was to why this link between a deficiency in vitamin D and obesity exists and ways to tackle the on-going issue.

"Due to the observational nature of this study, we cannot draw a conclusion on the direction or cause of the association between obesity and vitamin D levels. However, this strong association may point to a possible role for vitamin D in abdominal fat storage and function," Rafiq stated.

The findings of this study were presented to the European Society of Endocrinology during their annual meeting.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.PYONGYANG, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Monday accused Japan of challenging the atmosphere for regional peace and stability through military expansion and rewriting post-war constitution.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary that the ground and maritime Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are staging their first joint exercises aimed at overseas military operation.

Meanwhile, the moves for constitutional revision by the Japanese government are becoming "earnest" to scrap the country's commitment not to wage war, it said.

"The amphibious vehicle launch drill, landing drill, and airborne transport drill involving the amphibious task force and the first helicopter unit belonging to the ground SDF and the maritime SDF prove the nature of the drills to be of continental aggression, not 'self-defense,'" said KCNA.

At the same time, Japan has put into effect a "security legislation" involving the law on SDF which is drastically expanding the scope of operation by the SDF under the pretext of exercising the right to collective self-defense with the United States, said the commentary.

"Through the formation of an amphibious task force specializing in seizing remote islands and establishing the 'general ground force command' invested with the command of the ground SDF, the services and arms and commanding system of the Imperial Japanese Army are being revived," it added.At least 18 dead after cyclone hits Horn of Africa



Addis Ababa, May 21 (AFP) May 21, 2018



Flooding and strong winds caused by a tropical cyclone left at least 18 people dead and thousands homeless across two countries in the Horn of Africa, an aid agency said Monday.

Cyclone Sagar formed last week in the Gulf of Aden off Yemen's coast and made landfall on Saturday in Djibouti and Somaliland, a breakaway state in northern Somalia where the bulk of the deaths occurred.

"1,780 families fled their homes due to the storm, 16 people were reported killed, and at least 80 homes were destroyed," Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said in a statement, citing the UN's humanitarian coordinator OCHA.

The aid group added that the storm left two people dead in Djibouti's capital and flooded several neighbourhoods, affecting between 20,000 and 30,000 people.

"This is the biggest storm to hit the region in years," NRC regional director Nigel Tricks said.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the full extent of the damage in Somaliland remained unclear because the storm destroyed roads and communication infrastructure.

Forty fishermen who were at sea and were not warned about the storm remain unaccounted for, the body added.

Relief efforts have been hindered by deadly clashes that erupted last week in a disputed desert region between Somaliland and the semi-autonomous Somali state of Puntland.

Those clashes displaced 10,000 people and "further (complicated) an already complex humanitarian picture," OCHA said in a statement on Sunday.U.S. President Donald Trump says he will order an investigation Monday about a secret source of the country's top law enforcement agency he claims infiltrated his 2016 election campaign -- setting up a potential showdown with his Department of Justice, which oversees the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Trump tweeted Sunday from the White House, "I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes -- and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!"

Later Sunday, the Justice Department announced it has asked the inspector general to expand its current review of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance ACT (FISA) "application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election," department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement.

"If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

Within minutes of the president's tweets, members of the Obama administration and others reacted with alarm, perceiving the Trump threat as potentially the most serious intervention into the American judicial system since the president last year fired FBI Director James Comey, who was investigating Trump's campaign.

Trump's charge is dangerous to American democracy, with the president "officially knocking down the firewall between policy and law enforcement -- an indispensable element of the rule of law," senior Obama administration official Ned Price tells VOA News.

"And he's doing so for his own personal ends," adds Price, a retired officer of the Central Intelligence Agency who served on the National Security Council.

Former NSC spokesman Tommy Vietor tweeted, "This is crossing a massive red line. Trump is forcing DOJ to conduct a politicized investigation -- something he himself conceded he shouldn't do."

It is yet not clear whether Trump will ask for a general investigation or specifically call on the Justice Department to make public certain materials about the FBI's counterintelligence process or the identity of sources.

Two months ago, Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced that he would examine a series of applications for surveillance of one former Trump campaign adviser, Carter Page. This would appear to indicate at least part of the president's request announced on Sunday is already being investigated.

There is "no doubt" Trump has the authority to make the demand, said Benjamin Wittes, a Brookings Institution senior fellow who specializes in U.S. national security law.

Wittes also predicts, in a series of tweets, that Attorney General Jeff Sessions (who has recused himself from the current investigation into Trump campaign contacts with Russian agents), Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray will not comply with Trump's order.Less than an hour before he was shot and killed on Gus Young Avenue Sunday afternoon, 20-year-old Arvion Finley received a text from Robert Harrell asking him to come by a shop to get some money, according to court documents released Monday morning.

He wasn't the only one: Police say Harrell, 40, who has been accused in Finley's death, also texted other shop employees to meet him at the location with "hammers," which police believe to be slang for a firearm.

+2 Gus Young Avenue killing: Victim ID'd; suspect arrested; community 'sick and tired' of killing A young man was shot and killed Sunday afternoon, taking his last breaths on the sidewalk of Gus Young Avenue  not far from an elementary sch

Harrell, 1554 North 47th Street, told police that Finley had been threatening him and showed up to the shop in the 4000 block of Gus Young Avenue with a gun, according to an affidavit of probable cause. Harrell said he was wrestling the gun away from Finley when the weapon went off. That report is "inconsistent" with recordings of the shooting, as well as the several suspected gunshot wounds in Finley's back, police said in the affidavit.

A witness who called 911 told police he was with Finley all day and did not see him with a firearm.

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Harrell, who was convicted in 2006 for conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine in Louisiana, was booked into East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on counts of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and illegal use of weapons.

Can't see video below? Click here.A young man was shot and killed Sunday afternoon, taking his last breaths on the sidewalk of Gus Young Avenue  not far from an elementary schAbout 60 percent of teachers surveyed said they favor a statewide walkout or strike to land a "significant" pay raise, leaders of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers said Monday.

Also, 59 percent said they would back a "mass demonstration" at the State Capitol, according to the survey.

"Our survey shows that teachers are fed up, not just with low pay but also with a lack of resources, crumbling facilities, poor student discipline and a lack of parental involvement," LFT President Larry Carter told reporters.

Can't see video below? Click here.

The 16-question survey, which included nearly 4,000 teachers, comes at a time when teachers have held strikes and other action in Oklahoma, West Virginia and Arizona to demand higher pay.

The questionnaire was not scientific.

LFT members were asked to respond to questions online.

Teacher pay here, which reached the regional average in 2007, has since fallen below that target by $1,705.

Louisiana's roughly 50,000 public school teachers are paid an average of $49,244 yearly compared to the $50,949 average for Southern states, according to the Southern Regional Education Board.

The national average is $58,064.

All the figures are for the 2015-16 school year, the latest available.

Carter said what actions teachers take depend largely on how the Legislature addresses public school funding issues.

He said LFT leaders plan to meet with local affiliates during the summer to see "what it will take to actually gain a pay raise."

If teachers see little response from the Legislature "they may actually step up and take action sooner than we can predict."

LFT officials did not spell out what they view as a significant pay raise.

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Carter said he believes starting pay for teachers should be about $75,000 annually.

The survey was taken from April 10-May 7.

It says, "School funding in Louisiana has remained stagnant for most of the last decade, and our teacher salaries are now about $2,000 below the Southern regional average. Another budget crisis is looming, and yet our Legislature has taken no steps to avert it."

Teachers were asked to let LFT leaders know "what you think about salaries in our state and what you think will help correct the situation."

Carter told reporters teacher strikes elsewhere have not gone unnoticed in Louisiana.

"I do believe there has been a spark coming out of West Virginia where they (teachers) are looking to colleagues across the country and thinking maybe it is their time," he said.

The action in West Virginia, like Oklahoma and Arizona, sparked attention in part because they are politically conservative states where teacher walkouts are more rare than California, New York and Illinois.

No salary hikes are expected from the state this year.

Last week the Legislature gave final approval to a $3.7 billion public school spending plan for the 2018-19 school year, the 10th time in the past 11 years that basic state aid has been frozen.

Again, state aid for public schools will go unchanged for 2018-19 school year Basic state aid for public schools will be frozen for the 10th time in 11 years under legislation that won final approval Thursday in the Loui

The only increases will cover the costs of new students.

Teacher pay was barely mentioned during the two-month session, which ended last Friday.

The lack of any boost from the state stems largely from an ongoing budget crisis, including a $648 million shortfall starting July 1.

The Legislature starts a special session on Tuesday  the sixth in the past two years  to try to reach agreement with Gov. John Bel Edwards on revenue-raising measures.

Both the LFT and the Louisiana Association of Educators, the other union, are closely aligned with Edwards.

Each group represents about 20,000 teachers and other school personnel.

Shane Riddle, legislative and political director for the LAE, said Monday the fact state aid for public schools has been frozen for the past decade, larger class sizes and other factors contribute to heightened concerns among educators. "I feel like the momentum is sort of building, the frustration is building," Riddle said.

Nearly 90 percent of about 400 teachers who took part in a recent gathering said they would participate in a rally at the State Capitol, he said.Two lava streams have entered the ocean, sending hydrochloric acid and steam with fine glass particles into the air, which can lead to lung damage, and eye and skin irritation, the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency said.

Lava that's erupting from cracks in the Earth can weigh as much as a refrigerator and even small pieces can be lethal, officials said. They released no other information about the man or his condition.

The lava "hit him on the shin, and shattered everything from there down on his leg," Janet Snyder, spokeswoman for the Hawaii County mayor, told the Hawaii News Now TV station.

A man was seriously injured when he was hit by lava spatter while standing on his third-floor balcony, in the first known significant injury related to Hawaii's Mount Kilauea eruptions that began on May 3.

One stream blocked a key Hawaii highway that serves as an escape route for coastal residents as two of 22 fissures had merged. Magma destroyed four more homes, as the Hawaii National Guard warned of mandatory evacuations if more roads were blocked.

Since the first fissure opened, lava had been mostly spattering up and collecting at the edges of the cracks in the ground. However, fresher magma is now coming up and flowing faster and farther.

Kilauea is the most active volcano in the world and one of five on the Big Island. Since May, about 2,000 people have been forced to evacuate, and lava has destroyed more than 40 homes.

Scientists do not anticipate fatalities in the event of a large eruption because most of the exposed residential communities have already been evacuated, and the southeastern part of the island where the volcano is located is sparsely populated.

Most of the Big Island and the rest of the state's island chain have not been affected by the volcanic activity. Officials say flights to and from the Big Island and the rest of the state have not been impacted.

County officials, however, have been urging area residents to be ready for possible evacuation, as scientists believe the volcanic activity may precede a major eruption similar to one that rocked the island in the mid-1920s.Gov. John Bel Edwards announces his intent to call a special session to deal with the fiscal cliff starting Tuesday May 22nd and ending June 4th as part of legislative action Monday May 14, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La. Plans are for the regular session now meeting to adjourn Friday May 18th.United States' Vice President Mike Pence and South Korean President Moon Jae-in laugh during the ladies' 500 meters short-track speedskating in the Gangneung Ice Arena at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) ORG XMIT: OLYFS191Calvin Duncan poses for a photo with two stacks of legal paperwork filed under "Notification of Direct Appeal Decision" and Non-unanimous Jury Verdict issues" in his Central Business District office in New Orleans, La., Friday, Feb. 23, 2018. Duncan is a former Angola inmate who is pushing the United States Supreme Court, through repeated petitions on behalf of inmates convicted on non-unanimous jury counts, to overturn the state's unusual law allowing murder convictions of a 10 to 2 jury serious felony cases.Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain and Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, discuss removing occupational licenses for florists during House Agriculture Committee on Thursday, March 29, 2018. In a close vote the committee sent House Bill 561 to the full House for consideration.John Liljeberg Jr. and his brother, Robert, spent decades trying to build a nursing home in Kenner, near the Ochsner Medical Center there. Work began in the early 1980s, but long periods passed while the property sat idle.

By 2007, the Liljebergs had changed their plans. Acting in part on the advice of New Orleans' best-known banker, Ashton Ryan Jr., they decided instead to develop a 100,000-square-foot healthcare facility, called St. Theresa Specialty Hospital, a 42-bed, long-term acute-care hospital and rehabilitation facility.

One factor that helped jump-start the long-stalled effort, according to a lawyer involved in the case, was that the Liljebergs found a willing lender in First NBC Bank.

The community bank was founded by Ryan in 2006 and expanded rapidly, developing a reputation for making loans that many larger banks in the area were not willing to take on.

But a decade later, First NBC Bank and St. Theresa are both closed, and in the aftermath of First NBCs collapse, the Liljebergs borrowing is the focus of separate civil lawsuits in which they are both suing and being sued. One of the suits accuses Ryan of fraud.

The Liljebergs borrowed almost $40 million in a nine-year span, much of which, they now allege in court documents, was done without their approval and at Ryan's behest. They say the First NBC president and CEO issued them new loans so that they'd be able to make payments on older ones as they came due. His goal, they claim, was to fraudulently improve the banks finances.

Ashton Ryan was at times acting outside the scope of his role at First NBC Bank, and took actions which were outside the practices and policies of First NBC Bank for his own self-benefit and enrichment, the Liljebergs' lawsuit states.

Ryan, who has not been charged with a crime, has denied wrongdoing. His attorney, Eddie Castaing, declined comment on the matter Friday.

Still, the allegations made by the Liljebergs have caught the attention of federal investigators, who continue to probe First NBCs collapse. Castaing recently asked a judge to stall the Liljebergs' suit while the federal probe plays out.

Meanwhile, the first criminal charge tied to the federal grand jury inquiry was filed last week against a Slidell contractor, who is charged with one felony count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Prosecutors allege that Jeffrey Dunlap, 44, worked with Ryan to file phony or misleading financial documents with First NBC to support ill-advised loans that Ryan approved. At the same time, they allege, Ryan, in a separate business venture unrelated to First NBC, ran up a multimillion-dollar debt to Dunlap's firm.

The charges are part of a broader probe into the bank's collapse, in which federal prosecutors are evaluating whether Ryan or other bank officials were negligent, failed in their fiduciary duty to oversee the business or benefited personally from a business relationship, like extending a line of credit.

In Dunlap's case, prosecutors allege that his firm, Phoenix Civil Contractors, secured a $22 million line of credit from First NBC based on "false financial statements and inflated accounts receivable that were filed at Ryans urging.

Ryan has denied wrongdoing in both matters.

But the allegations by St. Theresa Hospital against Ryan follow others, outlined in court filings and regulatory reviews, that Ryan regularly renewed loans to cash-strapped clients even as their long-term prospects were questionable, in some cases issuing loans without the proper paperwork or adequate collateral.

While the cases are similar, what's unique, so far, about the loans to Dunlap may be Ryan's alleged personal ties to his business.

Some experts have speculated as to whether Ryan's relationship with Phoenix ran afoul of federal banking regulations that govern insider loans, which include transactions involving bank officers, directors or entities to which they are linked.

In the wake of First NBC's failure in 2017, the Liljebergs are among a number of borrowers who have turned to the courts to seek relief from their debts. Like others, they contend that, at Ryan's urging, they borrowed more than they could handle, and that First NBC's loan underwriting and risk selection were substandard. Also like others, their debt load mushroomed as Ryan extended them loan after loan.

For St. Theresa, an arrangement that began with a $1.5 million loan in 2010 grew into a nearly $33 million debt, court records show. In fact, First NBC kept the money flowing, amending the original loan terms multiple times and issuing loans that the Liljebergs contend often came on Ryans own volition  without their knowledge  to repay the earlier loans that were coming due.

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Ryan issued new loans even though he was aware that the operation was in danger of defaulting, the lawsuit alleges.

St. Theresas lawsuit contends that Ryans relationship with the Liljebergs went past a normal arms length, and that he stepped into an advisory role in his relationship, which constituted a breach of his fiduciary duty.

St. Theresa closed in January, a step that Craig Mordock, a lawyer representing the hospital, described as tied to the banks collapse.

Mordock said Ryan continued to make loans even though it was not in the Liljebergs best interests. ... He marked loans as performing when they clearly were not, and this was done to the detriment of St. Theresa Hospital.

In the lawsuit, filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court in February, St. Theresa alleged that Ryan disguised the hospitals true financial picture, and enabled the borrowing to balloon far beyond the Liljebergs' roughly $23 million of collateral.

In some cases, Ryan sidestepped bank safeguards in order to advance more money, according to the lawsuit, which describes a tactic in which he would force the hospitals checking account to overdraft. That allowed Ryan to put additional money into it without having to first get approval from the banks loan committee.

John Liljeberg Jr., a pharmacist and entrepreneur, died in 2013. His wife, Rose Lynne Liljeberg, and Robert Liljeberg Sr. are listed in the various lawsuits.

After it closed, nearly $1 billion of First NBCs loans were auctioned off by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the U.S. banking regulator. The Liljebergs debt was among scores of loans that were ultimately sold for a fraction of their face value.

The buyer, Denver-based private equity firm Summit Investment Management, was active in the First NBC auction. Last month, the firm sued St. Theresa, saying that it had defaulted on its loans. It was one of a number of lawsuits that Summit has filed across the metro area in recent months as it works to turn a profit on its investment.

Summits lawsuit against St. Theresa Specialty Hospital LLC, filed in Civil District Court, contends that the hospital defaulted on nearly $32.7 million.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit filed by the Liljebergs continues to move through the courts. Last week, the FDIC filed a motion to move the case to federal court. The case lists Ryan and First NBC Bank as defendants, as well as Summit and the FDIC.

Earlier this month, Ryans attorney asked the judge to put the case on hold until the grand jury finishes its investigation, saying Ryan faced a real risk of self-incrimination if both cases proceed simultaneously.

The grand jury investigation is examining banking activities that are inextricably intertwined with the claims of plaintiffs herein, as well as defendants defenses to such claims, Castaings motion stated.

The request, though common in cases where civil and criminal matters overlap, may signal that charges around the St. Theresa loans could be coming.

Mordock, the Liljebergs' lawyer, said Friday that he had not received a grand jury subpoena for documents related to the accusations.

Dunlap, the Slidell contractor charged last week, sued Ryan in November, alleging that Ryan had stiffed him on a debt of nearly $5.5 million and instead set up a loan and credit line for Phoenix at First NBC. Castaing also sought a stay in that case, citing the grand jury proceeding.

If convicted, Dunlap could face up to 30 years in jail and a fine of more than $1 million. However, he was charged in a bill of information, which is typically a signal that a defendant is cooperating with the government in exchange for leniency.

Though he pleaded not guilty last week, his lawyer said he "accepts his responsibility" and is expected to plead guilty. He was released on $25,000 bail by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Wilkinson Jr.North Korea continues to dismantle its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri despite warnings to South Korea and the U.S. that it could call off negotiations.

The North at the same time demands that the U.S. lower the bar for denuclearization and accuses it of provoking hostilities with joint aerial exercises with South Korea.

On Saturday, the North demanded that South Korea return a group of restaurant workers who defected from China in 2016 in an operation Pyongyang has denounced as an "abduction." North Korea has been demanding their return since 2016, but the demand has recently been fueled by a tendentious program on a cable channel here which gave the false impression that the women want to go home.

The North Korean Red Cross, which is unconnected to the international organization, warned in a statement, "How the mass abduction is handled will have a major impact on determining the outlook of humanitarian issues between the North and South." It was a thinly veiled threat to call off reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, which Pyongyang had previously agreed to without preconditions.

A day earlier the North also rejected a roster of South Korean reporters who were to cover the dismantling event in Punggye-ri.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged during his April 27 summit with President Moon Jae-in to shut down the nuclear test site in May and invite U.S. and South Korean nuclear experts as well as reporters.

Daegu started operating a tour bus in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Government in April. The two-day bus tour exclusively for foreigners aims to promote other parts of the country among tourists visiting Seoul.

The tour offers routes linking Seoul to seven cities including Incheon, Changwon and other provincial areas. The route from Seoul to Daegu operates once a week, stopping in major tourists spots there. The tour offers participants various hands-on experiences including picking fruit at a farm, and relaxing herbal treatments and foot baths.

For travelers who want to see local areas apart from Seoul, the bus tour is a great option that includes four-star hotel accommodation, meals, a professional guide, transportation, and admission fees. Tourists can book tickets for US$185 per person at www.k-travelbus.com. The website offers information in English, Japanese and Chinese. For additional information about Daegu, visit the city's website at www.facebook.com/globaldaegu/.Kim's agency Inspokorea said Saturday that she has signed a deal with Eczacbas VitrA, which have the most title wins in the Turkish league. Before moving to China, Kim played for rival club Fenerbahce for six seasons.

Eczacbas said that it is "a very important transfer" for the team. "We have transferred one of the best players in the world. Kim is a very talented and successful player who has played in Turkey for many years. I believe she will contribute tremendously to our current roster and it will be a great fit for both sides."

Kim's salary for the two-year contract was not disclosed.

Based in Istanbul, Eczacbas are one of the leading volleyball clubs in the world's best club league, along with Fenerbahce and Vakfbank. Eczacbas have 17 titles in the Turkish league, but have not won since 2011-12. Eczacbas aim to end the drought with the acquisition of Kim.

Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Yoon Young-chan said the two leaders agreed to "cooperate closely" to ensure the success of the U.S.-North Korea summit scheduled for June 12.

President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the telephone for about 20 minutes on Sunday morning just two days before their scheduled summit.

Trump apparently wanted to sound out Moon about the reasons for North Korea's new, more assertive rhetoric. Trump "asked President Moon a lot of questions about current political circumstances," a Cheong Wa Dae official said, which "gave a palpable sense that Trump wants the U.S.-North Korea summit to succeed."

North Korea last week canceled high-level talks with the South and warned it could pull out of the summit with Trump.

Moon told Trump why he thinks the North is anxious and urged him to refrain from making too aggressive demands.

In Washington, Moon and Trump will discuss how to keep Pyongyang engaged in negotiations.Korea's export growth has fallen from first to eighth place in the world amid concerns over a slowdown. The country's exports in April shrank on-year for the first time in 18 months, while their growth in the first quarter lagged behind major exporting countries.

According to the World Trade Organization on Sunday, Korea's exports grew 15.8 percent last year, which was the highest among the world's top 10 exporters.

But growth slowed to 10.1 percent during the first three months of this year, trailing behind France (20.2 percent), Belgium (19.5 percent), Italy (19.3 percent), Germany (18.8 percent), the Netherlands (18.6 percent), China (14.3 percent) and Japan (10.2 percent).

The U.S. and Hong Kong rounded out the top 10 with 7.9 percent and 4.9 percent.

In money terms, Korea ranked seventh by exporting US$145.43 billion over the quarter, down one notch on-year. The falling performance comes as countries around the world are seeing exports recover.

The average growth rate of 71 exporters that account for 90 percent of global trade was 13.8 percent in this first quarter, compared to 10.2 percent in the same period of last year.

The government blames the slowing growth on more robust performance last year to compare with as well as a strong euro resulting in bigger numbers among European countries once they convert their shipments into U.S. dollars.

Sung Tae-yoon at Yonsei University said, "Export indices are deteriorating if you exclude semiconductors, while increasing labor costs are also posing a burden on Korean businesses."

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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 08:17 1239 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e52cc70 4 Editorial #Editorial,reformasi,New-Order,democracy,Indonesian-politics,reform-era,Jokowi,Soeharto Free

In the timescale of a democratic transition, 20 years is fleeting. There are countries that have experienced transition longer than us and slid back into an authoritarian period. A democratic transition is a process and not an endpoint, where countries could rest on their laurels after organizing regular elections and vote for civilians as their president.

After two decades, Indonesia is still going through the process and it has not been a walk in the park. The reformasi movement, which led to the ouster of then president Soeharto on May 21, 1998, was spurred into action by the demand to bring down the New Order regime with all its attendant maladies, corruption being the most paramount.

Two decades later, were still grappling with the same problem. Some have even gone further, diagnosing that after 20 years we are seeing a new incarnation of the corrupt regime. The countrys political system continues to be controlled by oligarchs who owe their rise to the top to patronage given by Soeharto. Some key ministers and close aides to President Joko Jokowi Widodo built their career during the end of the New Order and are now capitalizing on their old networks to maintain their stranglehold on the system. Prabowo Subianto, a former son-in-law of Soeharto who rose through the ranks of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the twilight years of the New Order, is now the strongest contender to challenge Jokowi in next years presidential election. The Golkar Party, the political machine Soeharto built to maintain his grip on power, is now one of the largest political parties in the country and could determine what the future government of this country looks like.

In much of the economy, those who come from old money and built their business empires on the network of patronage given by Soeharto, remain key players and the effort to push growth cannot succeed without their participation and contribution. Corruption, which mushroomed and thrived under Soeharto, has become more rampant with its deleterious effects posing threats to the economy. We hear news of government officials being arrested for alleged corruption practically on a weekly basis. In April, then-speaker of the House of Representatives Setya Novanto, a New Order holdover, was sentenced to prison for siphoning off funds earmarked for e-ID cards.

Its not all doom and gloom though. The fact that Indonesia now has a president who was once a mayor of a small town and has no ties to the old regime is enough reason to cheer on the gain from reformasi. In the past decade, the country has also organized thousands of elections to elect presidents, governors, regents, lawmakers and councillors, a feat that could seal the countrys status as a stable democracy. As strongmen and dictators in the region silence free press and quash opposition, journalists in the country operate with little restriction.

After two decades, the glass is now half full. Three cheers for reformasi.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Randi Julian Miranda, Nurlaela Jufri and Marianto (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 13:42 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e544076 3 Opinion universal-healthcare,BPJS,BPJS-Kesehatan,informal-worker,workforce,employment,health,#health Free

The establishment of the National Health Insurance (JKN) in 2014 marked the watershed of Indonesias ambitious commitment to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2019. JKN is a new system that integrates multiple insurance schemes into a single national carrier of health insurance, namely BPJS Health, with a primary focus on low-income groups and workers in the formal sector.

As of 2018, 74 percent of Indonesias population were covered by JKN. However, informal workers in particular are yet to be adequately covered. They are in the low-productivity sector which involves activities of the working poor, generally without any recognition, protection and regulation by the public authorities.

The challenges in Indonesias health insurance to be inclusive of informal workers revolve around policy constraints in term of targeting method and inadequate social capital and facility resources.

Indonesias UHC commitment for informal workers is compounded by the difficulty to identify those eligible to access governments coverage due to the absence of reliable data at the national and provincial level.

One major cause is the governments weak commitment to regulate the informal sector, and willingness to abide by the law from informal employers and employees. Another challenge includes the unavailability of formal avenues to collect their contributory premium.

Informal workers are more likely unregistered as employees especially casual workers. Therefore, it is difficult to administer and to collect contribution from this group. Many lack fixed contracts and are mostly seasonal and temporary workers paid on daily or weekly basis, often without fixed amount of salary, making their participation problematic. Although the government might be able to assist them in registration stage, their long-term membership remains uncertain.

Although the number of informal workers covered by the government experienced a slight increase to around 76.4 million, the remaining are not yet covered which means requiring them to join the scheme under payable fixed-amount premium by 2019.

Moreover, the current scheme employs an income cut-off approach to determine the eligibility of participants to get full subsidies from the government or they have to self-fund. This means a minimum income threshold is applied, where the government will cover the social health insurance (SHI) for informal workers whose salary is below the minimum threshold. This has led to inequity issues because the informal workers who share the same level of income are subject to different financial scenarios, and assumptions that workers whose salary is over the threshold could afford to pay for insurance is fundamentally biased.

Another problem is the big proportion of those living close to the poverty line. Therefore, implementing such a scheme without robust policies and alternatives would potentially exclude vulnerable groups in need of subsidies such as informal workers.

Many households in urban and rural areas who identify as informal workers quit their BPJS health membership only a few months after registration due to financial instability. There has also been wrong targeting where well off people were registered as non-contributing members and the opposite.

Lack of awareness on the significance of health, further impeded by limited access to information, quality healthcare services and easy payment method, also hampers Indonesias UHC target. The fact that a huge proportion of poor Indonesians seem unaware of health protection makes it difficult to reach out to the lowest groups.

Information on BPJS health is not evenly distributed across the country, especially in rural areas where access to information is very limited. Consequently, the rural communities who are often engaged in the informal economy remain unaware of the significance of BPJS Health.

Raising public awareness about health alone without a sound understanding and strategy to deal with the intersecting demographic issues will remain an enigma.

This is further exacerbated by the uneven distribution of healthcare facilities. The majority of countryside still lacks quality public hospitals, and often the only accessible healthcare facilities are community health centers (Puskesmas). This has resulted in public reluctance especially the uncovered informal workers to register since they cannot access the maximum benefits of what they pay for. The payment methods also become another issue hindering peoples willingness to join especially in rural areas. Most do not have access to banking and other available payment methods under BPJS scheme, creating another barrier.

Recommendation for the improvement of JKN might include increasing the enrollment of informal workers through better targeting policy and vulnerability analysis, an alternative campaign strategy to promote the importance of JKN and expand the coverage. This, of course, needs to come with better quality and distribution of health facilities, and convenient payment methods especially in rural areas.

***

Randi Julian Miranda has an extensive experience working in forest governance, community empowerment and sustainable development with some NGOs including the Heart of Borneo Project (HoBP), International Labour Organization (ILO), The Forest Trust and grassroots NGOs in Indonesia. His research focuses on forest governance, human rights and gender equality. He can be reached via email: rmiranda@student.unimelb.edu.au

Nurlaela Jufri is an experienced social worker who obtained her degree from the University of Melbourne. She has worked extensively in child protection, community development and gender-based violence. She has worked with the Ministry of Social Affairs Indonesia (MoSA), Empowering Indonesian Women for Poverty Reduction Program (MAMPU). Her research is related to social policy and development particularly disability issues and gender equality. You can reach her via email: njufri@student.unimelb.edu.au

Marianto is a young medical doctor with four years of experience working in remote areas in Sumatera and Kalimantan. He is passionate about public health services and epidemiology. He can be contacted at mariantoli33@gmail.com

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.Ramadhan has just arrived and, as usual, it is time to exchange gifts.

Felix Budisetiawan, executive chef of The Dharmawangsa hotel in South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post via email that there was no specific rule on what kind of items should be included in Ramadhan gifts.

He stressed that the most important aspect of the tradition was preserving good relationships between colleagues, neighbors or relatives.

Those looking for gifts may want to check out the following items recommended by two five-star hotels in Jakarta.

The Dharmawangsa Jakarta

'Nasi campur' Dharmawangsa was created based on the philosophy of wellness, as the hotel collaborated with a local farm to get the fresh organic vegetables. (The Dharmawangsa Jakarta/File)

Those looking for a gift with a local touch may want to order nasi campur Dharmawangsa (Dharmawangsas mixed rice) from The Dharmawangsa hotel in South Jakarta.

The dish comprises steamed rice served with grilled prawns, crispy beef, shredded spicy chicken, sauteed green beans and braised eggs.

The chef said the dish was created based on the philosophy of wellness, as the hotel collaborates with a local farm to get fresh organic vegetables.

Contact: 0217258181

Read also: Five most-searched for bargains in Ramadhan according to Google

Mandarin Oriental Jakarta

American chocolate cake, popularly known as Amchoc, was first introduced around 30 years ago. (Mandarin Oriental Jakarta/File)

The Mandarin Cake Shop at Mandarin Oriental hotel in Central Jakarta has two signature cakes, namely American chocolate cake and lapis legit (layer cake).

The former, popularly known as Amchoc, was first introduced around 30 years ago. The moist chocolate sponge cake is a popular sweet treat to indulge in on special occasions.

Meanwhile, lapis legit needs no introduction as it has been a local favorite for decades.

The hotels pastry chef, Enggie A. Kusumah, said the two cakes were ideal for sharing. Furthermore, since they came with elegant packaging, the cakes made the perfect gift for business partners or colleagues.Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will delay heading off for their honeymoon, instead attending a birthday party for his father Prince Charles just days after marrying in a ground-breaking ceremony that blended the modern with the traditional.

After a day that saw the couple exchange vows in a medieval chapel at Windsor Castle under the gaze of royals, celebrities, and a global television audience of many millions, Harry and Meghan spent Saturday evening partying with friends in privacy.

They will head home to their cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace before attending their first official royal engagement as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex  the 70th birthday patronage celebration for Prince Charles.

The outdoor event marks the heir to the thrones milestone birthday - which falls in November - by recognizing Charles patronages and military affiliations as well as others involved in charities supported by the royal.

On Sunday, while the Queen attended church, there was no sign of the newly weds.

So far, the destination of their honeymoon is unknown, with some media guessing they might travel to Botswana, possibly to an exclusive safari camp which the couple visited in August last year, just a few months before they announced their engagement.

Read also: Harry and Meghan shake up royal tradition in star-studded wedding

Harry sourced the diamond in Meghans engagement ring from Botswana, the worlds biggest producer.

The marriage of Harry, 33, a former royal wild child and sixth-in-line to the British throne, and 36-year-old Meghan, a divorcee whose mother is African-American and father is white, was like no other the royal family has seen before.

Kisstory said the Sunday on Sunday newspaper. Harry and Megs historic change for monarch. There is power in love, said the Sunday Times, referencing a passionate sermon by U.S. Episcopalian Bishop Michael Bruce Curry.

They crowned the day with a black-tie dinner and party where Meghan was expected to make a speech and the couple were expected to have their first dance.

Some media reported that Prince Charles had wedding guests rolling with laughter with his speech after cracking a joke about changing Harrys nappy.

At around 11:00 p.m., fireworks lit up the night sky.Already accused of sexual harassment and groping, US celebrity chef Mario Batali now faces allegations that he sexually assaulted impaired women at a New York restaurant, CBS television's "60 Minutes" reported Sunday.

Batali had already stepped away from his eponymous gastronomic empire over previous allegations of sexual misconduct.

One woman who was employed at one of Batali's establishments said he invited her to a party at "The Spotted Pig" restaurant, in which he had invested, where she drank white wine with him.

"I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up -- in a toilet. And that is all," the unidentified woman told "60 Minutes".

"I woke up by myself on the floor, I don't know where I am, of an empty room, wooden floor. I see broken bottles. The first thing I think is, 'I've been drugged.' That was the first thing I thought is, 'I've been -- I've been assaulted.'"

After finding what appeared to be semen on her skirt, she called a crisis hotline and went to a hospital for an examination, but declined to file a police report, and her "rape kit" from the hospital was not processed.

Batali said in a statement that he "vehemently" denies assaulting the woman.

Read also: Chef Mario Batali leaves food empire over sexual misconduct allegations

Jamie Seet, a former manager at "The Spotted Pig," said she witnessed via surveillance footage Batali carrying out another assault at the restaurant, and that she intervened to stop it.

"He crossed a line. A huge, a huge line... assaulting someone that's unconscious," Seet said.

"So we all went out there, and we -- we stopped what was going on. 'Hey Mario. How are you doing? Let's get you a cab.' Just -- you know, we were saying something just to snap him out of this," Seet said, adding that she regrets not contacting police.

One of the most famous figures in American cuisine, the 57-year-old Italian-American is a popular TV personality whose empire includes 26 establishments nationwide, as well as cookbooks, cookware and food products.

Controlled by private shareholders, the group does not publish its accounts, but US media has estimated its worth to be at least $250 million.

According to CBS, the New York police confirmed that "there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Mario Batali".When Endang Moerdopo arrived in Aceh back in 2004, the fierce tsunami had just devastated the province, popularly called Tanah Rencong. Endang had come to Aceh to assist the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) to help disaster victims get over their trauma through her expertise in dance therapy, as well as collect data for her masters thesis in sociology.

During her stay in Aceh, Endang, who now teaches social welfare sciences and is a postgraduate school director at the Widuri School of Social and Political Science in Jakarta, became acquainted with the story of a powerful, outstanding woman named Malahayati.

Curiosity led Endang to do further research about this phenomenal woman and write about the national hero in her novel.

I had heard the name Malahayati mentioned in history books, but thats all, Endang said in our conversation.

Although her name is mentioned and used in many places in Aceh, when I tried to find more information about her, nobody could give any explanation, nor was there sufficient reading material about her, she said.

That reality brought her to realize that in Aceh and some other places in Indonesia, history had only been passed from generation to generation orally. Soon, Endangs head was filled with questions, such as the background and personal information of Malahayati and what made her so extraordinary.

Keumalahayati, or Malahayati as she was later known, was the first female admiral of the 16th century in the Aceh Sultanate Royal Navy and probably also the first female admiral in the modern world (excluding Artemisia I). Malahayatis track record is documented in a number of museums in Holland, Portugal and Malaysia.

Admiral Malahayati was killed in combat while attacking the Portuguese fleet in Teuluk Krueng Raya in 1604. She was buried in Lereng Bukit Kota Dalam, a small fishing village 34 kilometers from Banda Aceh.

Endang started searching for Malahayatis grave in 2005. The BRR Aceh staff took several days to find it, with the help of several local villagers.

When they finally found the grave, it was in a poor state and the villagers had been using it as a place to hang their laundry, recalls Endang. The funny thing was after that, I often felt drawn to visit Malahayatis grave in my spare time, while in Aceh.

Born in Yogyakarta on April 5, 1968, Endang holds bachelor, master and doctorate degrees in social welfare from the University of Indonesia. In the end, she managed to complete her project with the BRR in Aceh, a masters thesis and a novel on Malahayati.

For the research of this historical novel, I would have liked to go to Spain and Holland too, but due to limited funds, I only went as far as Malaysia, she said.

In her 350-page novel, Endang writes about how Malahayati gathered all the widows of the soldiers who died in battle in Teluk Haru and trained them to fight. Her army was named Inong Balee, or the widow fleet. The army started with 1,000 women and later increased to 2,000 troops. In 2017, Malahayati was named a national hero by President Joko Jokowi Widodo.

The first edition of her novel was titled Perempuan Keumala: Sebuah Epos Untuk Nanggroe (The Keumala Woman: An Epic for Nanggroe) in 2008. The book was a hit and became a reference for many. A revised edition has recently been published by Grasindo with a new title, Laksamana Malahayati, Sang Perempuan Keumala: Sebuah Epos Untuk Nanggroe (Admiral Malahayati, the Keumala Woman: An Epic for Nanggroe). Endang hopes that the book will soon be translated into English.

This book marks a note in history and is proof that I was once there in Aceh, she added with a big smile.

Traditional Indonesian dancing has been in her heart since she was little. As a professional Balinese dancer, Endang was often invited to perform in front of state visitors at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta during the reign of Soeharto. She has also mastered Javanese, Sundanese, Betawi as well as other regional dances. Currently, Endang still dances for art development purposes and does art missions in other countries, and is often asked to judge several dancing contests and festivals.

Dance therapy is a creative intervention method for handling social problems, she said.

Performing dance movements can help someone cope with their problems in a non-verbal way.

Endang is an active listener who does not take any story for granted, especially when it is about violence against women.

One day, while I was having my nails done at Kuta Beach, the Balinese woman who was painting my nails began talking about her husband. She told me how he would ask her to have sex with him the whole day. Her story disturbed me. This urged me to do research on that matter, she said.

Later, for her doctorate dissertation, Endang took Balinese dancing as a therapy method for helping sexual domestic violence victims deal with their trauma.

I chose this topic because there are lots of women who cannot talk about this problem as its something taboo and is a very private area to talk about.In a recent conference attended by around 100 clerics and scholars from different countries to discuss promoting the concept of moderate Islam in Bogor, West Java, the grand imam of Al Azhar University, Syekh Ahmed Ath-Thayyeb, said differences and conflicts between Islamic groups had weakened the Muslim community.

In Indonesia, such differences and conflicts have metamorphosed into terror acts by those who had manipulated and hijacked the peaceful teachings of Islam.

For Indonesians, fighting terrorism should entertain a local approach since the think globally, engage locally principle is the key to figuring out radicalism finding its foothold in different regions.

In the context of the archipelago, however, a lot has to do with the regions cultural characteristics. Customs, traditions and local wisdoms might play a pivotal role in combating terrorism in this country.

Local wisdoms, for instance, might contribute in an attempt to fight terrorism in Indonesia  case in point: the culture of Minang.

First of all, Minang culture accentuates inclusivity. The adages of dima bumi dipijak, disinan langik dijunjuang (the sky will be held high no matter the ground you stand on) and lain lubuak lain ikannyo lain ladang lain belalangnyo (each grassland is home to its own kind of locust and each pond is home to its own kind of fish) suggest that we must observe local customs since each place has its own customs and culture. Thus, we should not measure others by our own yardstick.

Such strong emphasis on inclusivity makes it easier for Minang people to interact with people of different backgrounds and cultures. That is why there is no Padang town, unlike China towns or Javanese villages, which are easily found across the archipelago. They believe that being exclusive is not simply detrimental to their social transformation but also opens the door to conflict.

Concerning terrorism as a part of radical teachings, there is a strong tendency for terrorists to appear on an exclusive social stage; intermingling with their own people instead if assimilating with others, undermining their non-group members and viewing their values as superior to the locals moral standards. They believe themselves to be saviors with unquestionable claims of truth and salvation.

Considering the terrorists exclusive treats, the government might team up with Minang intellectuals, ulema and traditional leaders to restore those involved in terrorist circles through an educational approach such as dialogue and field trips. Cushioned by strong Islamic values within the Minang culture, it is hopeful that those recruited by terrorist groups will be rehabilitated into friendly Muslims.

Second, democracy constitutes an essential value in Minang culture. When people pay Istano Basa Pagaruyung a visit  a palace without a king, rebuilt after the suppression of the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Indonesia (PRRI) movement in 1958 in West Sumatra  they will not find a throne in it. Why? Because Minang culture adheres to the notion of duduak samo randah tagak samo tinggi (when sitting down, we are equally low; when standing up, we are equally tall). Social castes and discrimination have been long culturally blocked in favor of open-mindedness within the Minang culture.

Underpinned by the principle of duduak samo randah tagak samo tinggi, Minang people never look up to someone to the point of reverence.

In this perspective, the Minang culture could be instrumental in taming the tendency of idolizing and worshipping any particular leader preaching radical thoughts.

Together with historians, the government could launch a massive campaign against terrorism through biographical studies of Minang figures as to the connection between their democratic way of life and Minang culture.

This attempt would expose the very nature of Hatta, Sjahrir, Agus Salim, Hamka, M. Yamin, Natsir and Tan Malaka. In spite of their ideological distinctions, they are considered great individuals who managed to escape the entrapment of radical acts often used by others to justify their means. The biographical studies would later conform to the fact that their greatness is inseparably linked to their Minang background.

Third, Minang culture pays much attention to the power of traditional networking. In terms of leadership, Minang wisdom highlights the significance of networking.

In Minang terms, the success of leadership is rooted in the balance of three pillars  known as the tigo tungku sajarangan (the three stoves at the hearth). They are niniak mamak (head of the clans), alim ulama (religious scholars) and cadiak pandai (experienced and enlightened elders).

In practice, West Sumatras unique form of administration is useful in coping with various social problems, like gambling and adultery. Central to their success in tackling assorted social illness is a regular forum involving the three pillars.

Former Solok regent Syamsu Rahim, for example, does well to push down crime rates, social illnesses and crisis of legitimacy at the level of nagari, an administrative system equal to the kelurahan (village) in other provinces, for his breakthrough in involving niniak mamak, alim ulama, and cadiak pandai across his regency.

Syamsus success story reminds us of the necessity of traditional networking system in response to assorted social pathologies, including terrorism. It is often the case that traditional leaders have more penetrating powers into untouchable areas.

Similar approaches may prove to be effective in eradicating the spread of radicalism, especially considering the likely accessibility of traditional leaders toward radical kingpins.

***

The writer, a lecturer at the School of Cultural Sciences at Andalas University, Padang in West Sumatra, is pursuing a doctorate at Deakin University, Australia.Facebook Indonesia has reportedly removed thousands of posts related to the recent Surabaya bombings.

Facebook Indonesia public policy lead Ruben Hattari told kompas.com in Jakarta on Friday that among the removed content were 472 posts reported by Communications and Information Minister Rudiantara.

"[We removed] 472 posts just two days after the Surabaya bombings. But actually there were thousands of radical posts that have been removed [in total]," said Ruben, who hesitated to share more detailed information.

However, he said the move was not only based on reports from the public and government, as the company has a team that monitors content on the platform.

Read also: Government raises demands to Facebook Indonesia

Not all content related to the Surabaya bombings was removed by Facebook Indonesia, said Ruben, as some of it was uploaded by mainstream media organizations, such as videos of the explosions. However, the company said it is striving to safeguard its users from distressing content by implementing a filter feature that will flag sensitive posts.

"There is content that we filter, such as videos of the explosions, which is often broadcast on television. We do not remove it; we only cover it using a filter," said Ruben.

Previously, Rudiantara called on the public to refrain from circulating photos and videos of victims of the bombings, which could cause distress. He also encouraged the public to report inappropriate content on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to prevent content from going viral. (kes)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 08:39 1239 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e52dfea 2 National PostScript,anti-terrorism,bill,legislation,anti-terrorism-bill,government,house-of-representatives Free

Indonesia will soon have a new antiterrorism law to replace the current law, which is widely seen as weak, with deliberations on the antiterrorism bill expected to conclude this May or June.

Speaking to The Jakarta Post in an interview on Thursday, Enny Nurbaningsih, head of President Joko Jokowi Widodo administration's team to deliberate the antiterrorism bill, ensured the new legislation could provide security for Indonesians against deadly terror attacks such as those that had occurred recently in numerous places across Indonesia's most populated island of Java.

Calls for the government and the House of Representatives to conclude the long-due deliberation on the bill have mounted after the attacks, which were allegedly conducted by an Islamic State (IS)-linked local jihadist organization known as Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD).

Enny, who is also head of the Law and Human Rights Ministry's National Law Development Agency (BPHN), said the government expected deliberations to be concluded at a hearing with the parliament scheduled for May 23, saying that nearly "99 percent" of the bills content had been finalized, and only the debate over the definition of terrorism as a crime remained to be concluded.

Below are some crucial points in the antiterrorism bill, which was initiated after the Jan. 14, 2016 bombings on Jl. MH Thamrin, one of Jakarta's busiest thoroughfares.



What is terrorism?

One of the main reasons the deliberations have been dragging on for months is that the government and the House have failed to reach an agreement on what constitutes terrorism.

While the government insists that terrorism is "any deed that uses violence or threats of violence on a massive scale, and/or causes damage to strategic vital objects, the environment, public facilities or international facilities", the House demands that terrorism as a crime includes "any deed that is based on political and ideological motives and/or threats to state security."

Lawmakers have said a detailed and rigid definition of terrorism as a crime would ensure that investigators crack down on terrorist activities, while the government believes it would only hamper terrorism prevention and mitigation processes, as it would obligate investigators to determine whether suspects had either political or ideological motives before naming them as terrorists.

Enny said the government would accommodate the parliament's request by inserting the latter's version in the general explanation part of the bill, not in the verse section of it.

The government expects to convey that proposal to the parliament at the scheduled May 23 hearing, so that the bill can be further deliberated before being proposed for the next plenary meeting.

Terrorism prevention measures

Law enforcers will have greater powers. The new terrorism law will include numerous provisions on terrorism prevention measures -- something that is not dealt with comprehensively in the prevailing terror law, Enny said.

"For instance, we can do nothing to people who plan terror attacks if we use the prevailing law," said Enny. Under the bill, plotting terror attacks is a crime.

The bill stipulates that a person accused of terrorism could be held in custody from seven to 14 days without charges. Law enforcers could hold them for up to 200 days after officially charging them with terrorism.

Rights activists have voiced concerns over the policy, but Enny ensured that the policy would be carried out in accordance with human rights principles.

If there is a law enforcement officer found guilty of violating human rights principles during the terrorism investigation process, they will be charged with a criminal offense, said Enny.

People who import explosives or components such as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or radioactive weapons for terrorism purposes into the country, or make, receive or possess them, can be charged under Article 10a of the bill, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment.

The bill also charges people who mastermind terror attacks, partake in paramilitary training with the purpose of launching terror attacks or join overseas wars related to terror attacks, with maximum terms ranging from 12 years, 15 years, 20 years to life sentence and the death penalty.

That means the police will later be able to charge Indonesians returning from war-torn countries where they are proven to have joined a terrorist group such as IS.

Terrorism prevention measures also include what the bill describes as "counter-radicalization" and "deradicalization" activities.

Counter-radicalization activities are intended for people or groups that have been exposed to radical teachings that could potentially lead them to committing terror attacks. Deradicalization activities are intended for terrorist suspects, defendants, convicts, inmates or former inmates and aim to reintegrate these people into society.

The bill says counter-radicalization and deradicalization activities will be detailed in other supporting regulations.

The roles of the Indonesian Military (TNI)

The decades-long rivalry between the two institutions to handle and manage state security has been apparent during the deliberation of the terrorism bill. Activists have also warned about possible abuse of power carried out by the two authorities in handling terrorism.

Enny ensured that, while the bill finally included a provision on the role of the TNI in countering terrorism, the military would not be involved in law enforcement.

To prevent the military from entering the domain of law enforcement, we have decided that the President will regulate the TNIs involvement through a government regulation.

The regulation will refer to the 2004 TNI Law, which stipulates that the TNIs involvement in civilian affairs depends on the political decision of the state, which should be consulted with the House.

Compensation and protection for victims

Victims of terror attacks have long sought comprehensive provisions about their rights as victims.

Yayasan Penyintas Indonesia, an organization that supports terror victims, detailed in 2016 that over 1,900 victims of terror attacks suffered from physical and mental trauma from a number of bomb attacks that had occurred since the start of the millennium.

House terrorism bill committee chairman Muhammad Syafi'i said last year that "the well-being of victims has been one of our biggest concerns since the beginning of the deliberation."

The terrorism bill has one special chapter dedicated to detailing protection for victims of terror attacks. The bill acknowledges two kinds of victims: direct victims, for example victims who are killed or injured in attacks, and indirect victims, for example wives who lose their husbands as a result of a terror attack.

The bill says terror victims are the "responsibility of the state", a responsibility which is fulfilled by providing medical assistance, psychosocial and psychological rehabilitation, as well as financial compensation for the families of the deceased. (ahw)The U.S. military has staged a flight drill of B-52 strategic bombers independently of joint aerial exercises with South Korea.

The bombers were supposed to have taken part in the joint drill dubbed "Max Thunder," but were left out "after the South Korean government expressed concerns that it could generate tensions" ahead of a U.S.-North Korea summit, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The joint aerial drills have been going on since May 11. The B-52s flew near the southernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula last Thursday but did not enter South Korea's air defense identification zone.

According to the daily, the B-52s were to have buzzed the edge of South Korea's ADIZ, but Seoul told Washington that it did not want the bombers to take part in the joint drill.

Defense Minister Song Young-moo and Gen. Vincent Brooks, the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, met on May 16, when the North canceled high-level cross-border talks citing the Max Thunder drill. After their meeting, the B-52s were given a new mission to fly only within Japan's ADIZ.

Presidential security adviser Moon Chung-in said the same day, "Song told Gen. Brooks not to send B-52s to the Korean Peninsula." But a ministry spokesman explained that Song's remarks with Moon had been "misinterpreted" as the bombers were not supposed to take part in the drill from the beginning.

The Defense Ministry in a text to reporters said Song "told Moon over lunch that no B-52s will take part in the Max Thunder drill because it is aimed at training combat pilots," not because of a request from South Korea. The Pentagon also claimed it never had any plan for the B-52s to take part in the drill.

But the chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, Kim Hack-yong, in a statement the same day said, "We've detected signs that the military is going to downscale the upcoming joint exercise in August to keep it low-key. We're worried that the military itself will become a low-key one."Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Vela Andapita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 07:20 1239 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e52c630 1 City Jakarta-administration,school-renovation,graft,corruption,ICW Free

The Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) urged the Jakarta administration on Sunday to open an investigation into the Rp 180 billion (US$12.7 million) allocated for school renovations last year.

The move was triggered by a report by Warta Kota claiming irregularities in several school renovation projects.

At SD Pinangsia 01/02 state elementary school in West Jakarta, for example, renovation works carried out were reportedly different from those reported in official documents.

Girders that framed the roof were welded instead of connected using bolts. Meanwhile, the document showed that Rp 4.7 million had been allocated to buy 1,200 bolts.

Documents also mentioned a specific type of roof tile would be installed to frame the edges of the roof that would cost approximately Rp 6.9 million. However, the edges of the roof did not have a frame.

This could be a fictitious budget and the KPK [Corruption Eradication Commission] should crack down. Well soon get our hands on the case, too, said ICW researcher Febri Hendry.

In the past few weeks, Jakarta Police have summoned people to be questioned in connection to the renovations. Education sub-agency heads from several municipalities are slated to be questioned next week. (wit)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Fachrul Sidiq (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 09:08 1239 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e52f415 1 Politics Sandiaga-Uno,Agus-Harimurti-Yudhoyono,Gerindra-Party,Democratic-party,2019-elections,#Indonesia Free

Gerindra Party politician Sandiaga Uno admitted on Sunday that he had met with Democratic Party leader Agus Yudhoyono, in a move to establish a possible coalition for the 2019 presidential election.

Gerindra, which has named its chairman Prabowo Subianto as a candidate to challenge President Joko Jokowi Widodo, has yet to secure support from other parties, pending a consensus to name a running mate.

This is a coalition that we will try to build, and apparently we share the same views about the current state of the economy. [Agus] said purchasing power is weakened; I said prices are skyrocketing Sandiaga said.

The Jakarta deputy governor, who is leading a Gerindra team to prepare Prabowo's run, added that he expected another meeting involving the candidate and Democratic Party chairman Soesilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the countrys former president and Agus father.

Recent surveys have placed Agus, the leader of the partys Joint Command (Kogasma) for the 2018 and 2019 elections, among favorites as VP candidate for both Jokowi and Prabowo.

Political analyst Yunarto Wijaya said it was unlikely for Gerindra to join the Democratic Party since the former had allied with the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), which also wanted to nominate its own member.

The PKS has insisted on nominating its own members for vice president candidates, who, according to surveys, are not among those that can increase Prabowo's electability, he said.

The PKS has yet to announce support for Prabowo's presidential bid.

In February, the PKS announced its own members as potential candidates in the 2019 elections, including West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan, senior member Hidayat Nur Wahid and party chief Sohibul Iman. (wit)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 07:21 1239 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e52c688 2 National #preacher,preachers,moderate-Islam,#moderate-islamic-leaders,#tolerance,tolerance,#radicalism,radicalism Free

The Religious Affairs Ministry has released a list of 200 Islamic preachers that are deemed far from radical and intolerant teachings amid concerns of radicalism being instilled through preaching.

According to Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saefuddin, the list was made to cater to the publics demand for moderate preachers.

There are three criteria for moderate preachers, according to the ministry: competency in understanding Islamic teachings, experience in preaching and high commitment to preserving the nations values of unity.

Abdul Somad was among several preachers who did not make it onto the list.

The Youtube-based preacher, notorious among internet users for his various controversial remarks, said he did not feel disappointed when the ministry excluded him from the list.

Read also: Muslims buying from Starbucks will go to hell, says popular preacher

The ministry did not want to disappoint the public, since I am fully booked until April 2020, he wrote on his Instagram account @Ustadzabdulsomad.

The list, which can be found on the Religious Affairs Ministrys website, also excludes popular preachers Felix Siauw and Sholeh Mahmoed Nasution, widely known as Solmed.

Both preachers are also known for their controversial remarks.

Lukman said, however, that preachers not making the list does not immediately mean that they are not moderate preachers.

The list was made based on input from a number of Islamic figures, he said as quoted by kompas.com on Friday.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 07:12 1239 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e52b906 2 National #Inmates,#NusakambanganPrisonIsland,Nusakambangan,Nusakambangan-prison,inmates,terrorism,#Terrorism,prison-riot,#PrisonRiot,mako-brimob,#MakoBrimobRiot Free

Fifty-eight terrorist inmates have been transferred from correctional facilities on the Nusakambangan prison island in Central Java to Gunung Sindur Prison in Bogor, West Java, on Sunday.

Most of the 58 inmates were initially incarcerated at Pasir Putih and Batu prisons, the two most secure facilities on Nusakambangan prison island, Antara News Agency reported.

The police and the military deployed hundreds of personnel to secure the relocation process to Gunung Sindur, which also has special maximum-security blocks for high-risk inmates, just like on Nusakambangan.

Yet it remains unclear if the 58 detainees are high-risk inmates or if they are among the 145 inmates involved in a deadly riot in a detention center at the National Polices Mobile Brigade headquarters (Mako Brimob) two weeks ago, as authorities were tight-lipped on the details.

Ade Kusmanto of the Correctional Facilities Directorate General at the Law and Human Rights Ministry revealed only their status of custody.

All of the inmates are detainees who are standing trial, he said on Sunday as quoted by Antara.

When the standoff at the Mako Brimob detention center in Depok, West Java, came to an end on May 10, authorities were quick to send 145 terror inmates allegedly involved in the deadly incident to Nusakambangan.

The government has also pledged to review prisoner placement and handling procedures, as well as gradually separating all terror detainees from detainees of other crimes across the country and impose a one-man, one-prison-cell system for high-risk terror inmates.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 14:06 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e545ba8 1 National truck,Brebes,Central-Java,traffic-accident,road-accident,fatal-accident Free

A truck has crashed into houses along the Tegal-Purwokerto road in Bumiayu district, Brebes, Central Java, when the vehicle failed to brake at around 4:30 p.m. on Sunday. Eleven people were killed in the incident and dozens injured.

The truck, which was carrying sugar, had departed from Purwokerto and was bound for Jakarta. The truck driver suddenly lost control of his vehicle when he entered the village of Jatisawit, hitting houses, motorcycles and cars along the road.

"We suspect that the brake pedal was broken," Brebes Police traffic unit chief First Insp. Budi Supartoyo said on Sunday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

Supartoyo said the driver had attempted to prevent the accident by turning the wheel sharply to the left but the truck had kept going. It then hit a car, 13 motorcycles and seven houses. The truck driver is reportedly in a coma after suffering serious injuries. (hol/ebf)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Yudith Ho and Haslinda Amin (Bloomberg) Kuala Lumpur  Mon, May 21, 2018 16:24 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e54d36e 2 Business Anwar-Ibrahim,Malaysia,Malay-community,racial-discrimination,racial-issues,Southeast-Asia,Najib-Razak,Pakatan-Harapan,Mahathir-Mohamad Free

Anwar Ibrahim has a simple message for ethnic Malays who fear losing benefits they enjoyed under the previous governments six-decade rule: Dont worry.

Anwar, who is expected to replace 92-year-old Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a year or two, said Malaysia must assure the nations largest racial group that its security would be upheld. Previously Anwar, 70, had called for affirmative action policies that favor ethnic Malays to be dismantled.

Mahathir led the Pakatan Harapan coalition that Anwar founded to a surprise election win in early May, ousting Najib Razaks United Malays National Organisation. Anwars coalition, which fell short in a 2013 vote after pledging to roll back racial preferences for the ethnic Malay majority, aligned with a staunch defender of the policy in Mahathir.

The Malay belt have rejected UMNO but are ambivalent and unsure about lending their support to the alternative multi-racial pluralistic Pakatan Harapan, Anwar said in an interview with Bloomberg TVs Haslinda Amin on Friday. Which means we should be taking enough measures to try and reach them.

In the northern states of Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan -- collectively known as the Malay belt -- Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) won roughly 50 percent of seats up for grabs. The conservative Islamic party supported by ethnic Malays didnt align with either Najibs coalition or Anwars group.

When pressed on whether he would repeal the affirmative-action rules once he becomes premier, Anwar said he would honor the guarantees for ethnic Malays as set out in the constitution. He added that other races would also receive state support based on merit and need.

We would of course protect the position of the Malaysian Bumiputeras in terms of giving opportunities, but not enriching them to become billionaires, he said at his residence in Kuala Lumpur shortly after being released from prison on a sodomy charge he said was politically motivated.

Two years after 1969 race riots that left hundreds dead, Najibs father Abdul Razak initiated Malaysias New Economic Policy, giving ethnic Malays cheaper housing and quotas for college scholarships, government contracts and shares of listed companies. It sought to raise the share of national wealth to at least 30 percent for Malays and indigenous groups known as Bumiputera, or sons of the soil, which currently account for about 70 percent of the population.

Income inequality

While the NEP was only supposed to last 20 years, Mahathir subsequently introduced the National Development Policy in 1991 that kept much of the affirmative-action concepts intact. Since then, Najib has tweaked the policy for publicly traded firms and extended benefits to poorer members of all races, but has kept many other elements in place.

Malays household income grew fastest among the nations major ethnic groups since the NEP was introduced, but remains the lowest in absolute numbers. Their monthly average earnings surged 36 times from 1970 to 6,267 ringgit ($1,575) in 2016, compared with a jump of 22 times to 8,750 ringgit for ethnic Chinese and growth of more than 23 times to 7,150 ringgit for ethnic Indians, according to data from Malaysia Economic Planning Unit.

Anwar said hes now focused on correcting economic inequality, which he said was worsened by Najibs government.

To be realistic, theres a good chance that many of these policies will continue, but possibly in a more even-handed way, said Johan Saravanamuttu, an adjunct senior fellow at Singapores S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. We have heard a move toward this idea of Malaysians are Malaysians, a move away from race divisions.

Anwars ideological shift is another signal that the winning coalition may be more coherent than previously thought. Pakatan Harapan, which former premier Najib described as a motley collection, is composed of four parties with contrasting views, including a majority ethnic Chinese party and a Malay nationalist party.

Corruption fight

To promote unity, Anwar has turned to the one cause that spans party and racial lines: rooting out corruption.

He said hes willing to let Mahathir, who previously ruled the country for 22 years, hold the reins for one to two years while he travels the world on speaking engagements.

I think it would be great for me to assume office with the major task having been completed extremely well by Mahathir, he said of the fight against corruption. Ridding the state of leakages and opulences would save some 20 to 30 billion ringgit ($7.6 billion) a year, he said. That compares with the 44.3 billion ringgit earned in 2017 from Najibs goods-and-services tax, which the government scrapped last week.

Mellowed a bit

Anwars reiteration of his support for Mahathir and agreement with his policies stand in contrast to decades of enmity between the two men. Mahathir dismissed him as his deputy in 1998 over debates on how to respond to the Asian financial crisis. Anwar was then jailed twice, once for committing sodomy and abusing power, and a second time for a subsequent sodomy conviction. He denied the charges.

The Anwar we see today has mellowed a bit, said Ahmad Martadha Mohamed, an associate professor at Universiti Utara Malaysia. He has become more accommodative, more moderate and less radicalized than the Anwar of 20 years ago.

Prison has changed him to better appreciate freedom and to look past democratic pageantry to see how economic policies affect the people, Anwar said in the interview, adding that he spent his time behind bars reading the likes of Shakespeare and Tolstoy.

Anwar said hes wary that voters will see the new government as UMNO 2.0 given it contains many former members, including himself. Still, he said, anyone who is seen as corrupt wont be allowed in the new government in an effort to sustain support after the initial honeymoon period ends.

Once it sinks in and the government can no longer sustain the euphoria, people will become more critical, Anwar said. Which is a good thing.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java  Mon, May 21, 2018 13:28 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5428d9 1 National Wonogiri,Central-Java,Idul-Fitri,Idul-Fitri-2018,idul-fitri-exodus,homebound-travelers,holiday-travel,#IdulFitriExodus,#IdulFitri Free

With the Idul Fitri celebration just around the corner, the administration of Wonogiri in Central Java has prepared dozens of buses to bring back former residents working in Greater Jakarta. The buses will pick them up on June 10, five days before Idul Fitri.

This year, we have prepared 43 buses with a capacity of 40 passengers each. For this years Idul Fitri, we can carry around 1,800 homebound travellers  more than last year, when we transported 1,500, said Sudarno of the Wonogiri Transportation Agency on Sunday.

That figure does not include free homebound transportation provided by state-owned enterprises or private companies.

Sudarno said the Wonogiri administration only provided the free buses for inbound trips, while the residents had to make arrangements of their own to return to Jakarta after the Idul Fitri holiday.

We have allocated Rp 850 million [US$59,882] for this years homebound travel, Sudarno said.

Meanwhile, Giri Adipura Wonogiri Terminal head Agus Hasto Purwanto said around 3,600 Wonogiri residents in Greater Jakarta would take advantage of free Idul Fitri transportation offered by the Transportation Ministry. Eighty buses had been prepared for the purpose, he added.

We will also facilitate residents traveling by motorcycle. Fifty personnel will be deployed to handle this exodus trip, Agus said.

The departure of the motorcycle travelers is scheduled for June 9, while holiday revellers traveling by bus will depart between June 9 and June 13.

The Transportation Ministry accepted online registrations for the free trips from March 25 to May 19. Travelers can also register at Jakarta Kota Station, Bogor Station or with the Jakarta Transportation Agency from May 21 to June 2. (hol/ebf)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Panca Nugraha (The Jakarta Post) Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara  Mon, May 21, 2018 18:44 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e553865 1 National Ahmadiyah,Ahmadiyah-followers,Ahmadiyah-sect,East-Lombok,riot,rioting,clash,NTB,West-Nusa-Tenggara Free

Twenty-three Ahmadiyah followers, mostly women and children, have continued to seek refuge at the East Lombok Police station, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), following their evacuation to the police office on the weekend.

The Ahmadiyah members had to leave after an angry mob destroyed their homes in Gereneng village, East Sakra district, East Lombok regency, on Saturday in an attempt to expel them from the area. Eight homes of the Ahmadiyah members were damaged in the attack.

We will soon repair the damaged houses, and the mediation process has begun. The [legal] process against perpetrators of the destruction will be conducted by the police," said NTB police spokesperson I Komang Suartana on Monday.

The attack happened at noon on Saturday. The incident began from a small quarrel among elementary school children who were studying the Quran at the house of an Ahmadiyah member. The children mocked each other, prompting some of them to go home and report the incident to their parents.

In only a short period of time, around 30 people gathered in the area and started to pelt the houses of several Ahmadiyah members.

Komang said there had been clashes between Gereneng residents and Ahmadiyah followers since 1990. There was even a riot against the Ahmadiyah community in 2001.

East Lombok Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eka Faturrahman said the attack was a culmination of the residents' anger toward the Ahmadiyah community, which had promised that they had repented but continued to return back to their Ahmadiyah belief.

He said the situation had stabilized, but the residents demanded that the Ahmadiyah community never return to their village.

"There is a demand from the residents that there must be no Ahmadiyah in their area. This is because the Ahmadiyah followers have repeatedly said they had repented. They have even signed a statement letter [to quit their belief], but they always return back to this belief again, Eka said.

Persecution of the Ahmadiyah community across Indonesia happens often, as they are labeled infidels by some Muslims. (hol/ebf)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 14:10 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e545fb0 4 Business Garuda-Indonesia,pilot,grounded,social-media-post,#SurabayaBombings Free

A pilot of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is grounded over a comment posted on social media about recent suicide bombings in Surabaya.

The decision to ground the pilot was made on Friday.

We will further investigate the pilot, and whether [his statement] is right or not. We will also investigate the motive and background for his social media post, said Garuda Indonesia vice president corporate secretary Hengki Heriandono over the weekend, as reported by kompas.com.

Read also: Police nab conspiracy theorists following Surabaya bombings

Hengkis statement referred to a post allegedly made by a pilot identified only as OGT, who posted the comment dudududuuuuu" in response to a Facebook post by user Sofyan, who, among other things, said the suicide bombers were only victims, as he believed they had only been told to send the packages to the three churches.

Sofyan also apparently believed the bombers had never gone to Syria, as stated by the police.

Dudududuuuuu was a vague expression perceived among netizens as supporting terrorism, and who responded to OGT's shared post with bullying and anger. Some netizens accused him of being a radical.

Hengki said Garuda would also investigate the relations between the pilot and a woman that had also become a topic of discussion in social media. He assured that the airline would punish the pilot according to internal guidelines.

We can assure you that the pilot will be punished based on the corporations policy, particularly related to his alleged deviant behavior and ethics violation, Hengki added.

He said Garuda also reminded the companys employees about the need to pay attention to ethics when posting comments in social media, particularly statements related to ethnic, religious, racial or social groups issues. (bbn)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Jon Afrizal (The Jakarta Post) Jambi  Mon, May 21, 2018 11:33 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e53e8fe 1 National Jambi,JambiElections,indigenous-people,indigenous-people-rights,Suku-Anak-Dalam,orang-rimba,2019-elections,2019-legislative-election,2019-presidential-election,2018-regional-election,regional-elections Free

The members of Jambi's remote indigenous communities, officially dubbed the Suku Anak Dalam (SAD), may be unable to exercise their voting right in the 2018 regional elections and the 2019 presidential and legislative elections because they are not registered properly.

They live in forests and coastal areas that are difficult to reach. Furthermore, they are nomadic, Jambi Population and Civil Registration Agency (Dukcapil) head Arif Munanda said on Sunday.

It was difficult for the agency to register members of the SAD communities comprising the Orang Rimba, Batin Sembilan, Talang Mamak and Duano tribes, because many of them were unaware of the importance of population registration, he said.

SAD members that have not carried out e-ID data registration will likely be unable to participate in the 2018 regional elections and 2019 [general] election, said Arif.

He said Dukcapil Jambi had made an agreement with the Jambi General Elections Commission (KPU) to issue suket, or letters of recommendation, for members of SAD communities who had registered but had still not received their e-ID cards, so they would be able to vote.

A mere 200 individuals of SAD communities, all from Merangin, are registered and will be able to cast ballots in this year's regional elections. However, according to the Merangin administrations records for social assistance beneficiaries, more than 300 SAD families live in the regency.

A similar situation also occurred in voter registration for the Batin Sembilan community in Batanghari regency.

Many of the tribes members attended the voter data verification and assessment process, which can be seen from the officially registration stickers on their houses. However, most have no idea as to why they registered.

We dont know what we are registered for, said Usman, a Batin Sembilan member of the Gelinding subtribal group.

He said the tribes members had not received any information from the officials that visited them at home on what the election was about or why they needed to vote. All they knew was that they were all registered, Usman said.

The tribes' rights are regulated under Presidential Regulation (Perpres) No.186/2014 on social empowerment of remote indigenous communities. The regulation states that the government must empower indigenous peoples by providing them with settlements, healthcare and education services, decent employment, social advocacy, food security, access to land and the environment, and ensure their right to religious freedom. (hol/ebf)The corruption trial of ex-President Lee Myung-bak starts on Wednesday, some two months after his arrest in late March.

The Seoul Central District Court last Friday announced a schedule that coincides with the ninth anniversary of the death of Lee's predecessor Roh Moo-hyun.

It is unclear whether Lee will personally enter a plea. His lawyer Kang Hoon said Lee "is still deliberating whether he will attend the first session and criticize prosecutors and argue that the trial is politically motivated. His mind keeps changing, and so do our plans."

Lee faces 16 charges including embezzlement from auto parts maker DAS, which he is accused of running by proxy, and taking bribes worth more than W11 billion (US$1=W1,080).

The key charge is that he squirreled away W34.9 billion worth of DAS funds and persuaded Samsung to pay W6.8 billion in U.S. legal fees incurred by DAS in return for favors.

Lee's lawyers agreed to the use of all evidence submitted to the court by prosecutors but insists Lee is innocent of all charges. Lee claims the charges are the current center-left government's revenge for the death of Roh, who killed himself during a corruption investigation on Lee's watch.Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 09:26 1239 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e52ff64 4 Business Kertajati-Airport-Majalengka-WestJava,historical-landing,Budi-Karya-Sumadi Free

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi found weighty words to announce that Kertajati International Airport in Majalengka in West Java will soon begin operations, just in time to help people travel to their hometowns for the Idul Fitri holidays.

A historical landing is scheduled to be conducted on May 24, Budi said in Cirebon, West Java, on Sunday, as reported by kompas.com.

The airport is also expected to serve pilgrimage flights to Mecca two months after.

Meanwhile, the grand launching was scheduled for June, Budi said, adding that state-owned PT Angkasa Pura (AP II) was now making preparations for the operation of the airport, construction of which started in 2016.

We are trying to have Kertajati International Airport start operations to support the Idul Fitri exodus. State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura (AP II) is doing its job, Budi said.

Kertajati International Airport is located some 200 kilometers from Jakarta. Its development cost an estimated Rp 2.1 trillion (US$153.7 million). Combined with its operational costs, total investment in the new airport will be about Rp 2.6 trillion.

The airports developer, PT Bandara Internasional Jawa Barat (BIJB), is owned by the province of West Java. (bbn)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Jon Afrizal (The Jakarta Post) Jambi  Mon, May 21, 2018 17:13 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e551663 1 National murder,murder-case,PremeditatedMurder,mutilation,mutilation-case,Jambi Free

Terosman, alias Mansur alias Kete bin Jaman, 57, who was found guilty of murder and mutilation, decided to accept a life sentence imposed by the Muara Bulian District Court's judge panel in a hearing led by presiding judge Derman P. Nababan on May 3.

After being given one week to consider the court's ruling, Terosman, who also cut and ate the genitals of the victim, said he would not file an appeal and would accept the verdict wholeheartedly.

"The defendant accepts the judges' decision and so do the prosecutors," said Panda Satria Pradipta, one of the prosecutors on Monday.

In the hearing on May 3, the Muara Bulian District Court's judge's panel sentenced Terosman to life imprisonment and ordered him to pay Rp 500,000 [US$35.27] in fines.

Derman said Terosman was found guilty of violating articles 340 and 363 of the Criminal Code on premeditated murder and theft. The judges said what Terosman had committed was sadistic and inhumane.

The incident took place on Nov. 5, 2017. Terosman also asked his child, identified only as R, 16, to help him murder Dasrullah. During his interrogation, Terosman said he murdered Dasrullah, 45, as revenge because the victim had withheld his salary for three years after he was employed on an oil palm plantation. (hol/ebf)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 10:25 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5342db 4 Business toll-road,discount,Idul-Fitri-2018,Basuki-Hadimuljono Free

Public Works and Public Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono has promised motorists a 10 percent Idil Fitri discount on all toll roads across the country, including those in Greater Jakarta.

Basuki said in Jakarta over the weekend that the government had discussed the plan with the Indonesian Toll Road Authority (BUJT).

With regard to the length of the discount period, the government is still discussing with 10 toll road operators. The official holiday period is June 11-20.

Each toll road operator has its own policy to extending the duration [of the discount]. For example, a certain toll road may start two days before the day of Idul Fitri and would end two days afterward, he said, as quoted by kontan.co.id.

Meanwhile, Toll Road Regulatory Agency (BPJT) head Herry Trisaputra Zuna expressed hope that the discounts policy would ease traffic during the exodus season this year.

I estimate that the traffic will be reduced this year due to longer holidays, Herry said, adding that traffic was expected to peak on June 8, when the people headed to their hometowns, while the backflow peaks would occur on June 20 and 24.

Basuki said his ministry would collaborate with the National Polices traffic corps to help smoothen road conditions during the holiday period. (srs/bbn)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 15:57 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e54af7f 1 Business pertamina,Ogan-Komering-field,operation Free

Pertamina has commenced the operations of its Ogan Komering oil and gas field in South Sumatra on Sunday, one month after the state energy giant signed its production sharing contract (PSC) with the government.

The Ogan Komering field is now managed under a gross split scheme by Pertamina's subsidiary, PT Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE), after the joint operation between PHE and Jadestone Energy Ltd ended.

Besides Ogan Komering, Pertamina also inked a new contract for Tuban field in East Java.

"The operations of the Ogan Komering and Tuban fields are one of our strategies to ensure the sufficiency of national oil and gas production," PHE president director Gunung Sardjono Hadi said in a press statement The Jakarta Post received on Monday.

The two oil and gas fields are among the 10 contracts Pertamina has signed with the government this year.

The Ogan Komering field has a gross production of 2,250 barrels of oil per day (bopd) and 8.64 million standard cubic feet (sfd) of gas per day.

Pertamina had lowered its 2018 gross production target to 1,950 bopd and 8.2 million sfd gas per day. In order to increase the production volume, PHE plans to revive inactive wells, repair facilities and commercialize unexplored wells.

"In a bid to increase our reserves, we will conduct a GGR [geology, geophysics & reservoir] study, 3D seismic exploration and drillings," Gunung said, which would also fulfill contractual requirements for the first three years. (bbn)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 13:53 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5457ac 4 Business patimban-seaport,groundbreaking,July-2018 Free

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has said that the development project for Patimban Seaport in Subang, West Java, will break ground in July, with the seaport targeted to start operating in 2019.

God willing, the groundbreaking will be moved up to July, Budi said on Sunday in Cirebon, West Java, as quoted by kompas.com.

He added that three contractors  Japanese company Penta Ocean Construction Co. and the two state-owned construction companies, PT Wijaya Karya and PT PP  would be managing the project

The project is funded through a 118.90 billion yen (US$1.07 million) loan from the Japanese government.

JICA Indonesia senior representative Tomoyuki Kawabat said on Nov. 13, 2017 that the Japanese loan covered 83 percent of the total 144 billion yen funding for the project, as land procurement and taxes were the Indonesian government's responsibility.

The port will be situated roughly 70 kilometers from the Karawang Industrial Estate in West Java, where many Japanese automotive companies have built factories.

Once the project's first phase of development is completed, Patimban Seaport will have a container capacity of 1.5 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which will expand to 7.5 million TEUs once the second and final phase of construction is completed. (bbn)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 15:21 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e548dbf 1 City jakarta,extortion,North-Jakarta,North-Jakarta-Police,crime,truck-drivers Free

The North Jakarta Police have detained five teenagers alleged to have regularly extorted truck drivers in North Jakarta, after videos purportedly showing the crimes went viral on social media.

We have apprehended five teenagers -- two of whom have been named suspects -- over the extortion for further investigation. They claimed there was no mastermind behind the acts they committed all this time, North Jakarta Police criminal investigation unit director Adj. Sr. Comr. Febriansyah said on Sunday, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He said the suspects had claimed that the money they had received from extorting the truck drivers had been used to cover their daily needs. The police did not believe those claims, however, he said, and would question the suspects further.

Febriansyah said the North Jakarta Police had set up an anti-illegal fees special unit comprising personnel of the patrol unit, the criminal investigation unit, internal security unit and the intelligence unit to prevent similar crimes in the future.

Subprecinct police personnel will also be deployed to help the special unit. We will enforce security to anticipate similar incidents, and we will take firm action against the perpetrators [of extortion], Febriansyah said.

Separately, the North Jakarta Police have detained 83 members of a road extortion syndicate locally known as bajing loncat that frequently targeted truck drivers. Thirteen of the suspects were arrested because they had reportedly used weapons to commit their crimes.

Febriansyah said the 70 perpetrators would be rehabilitated by the Jakarta Social Affairs Agency. (ami/ebf)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan and Vela Andapita (The Jakarta Post) Medan/Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 12:11 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5410c4 2 National #SurabayaBombings,social-media,hate-speech,ITE-Law,freedom-of-speech,Facebook,Garuda-Indonesia,North-Sumatra,terrorism Free

North Sumatra Police have arrested a lecturer at North Sumatra University (USU), identified as HDL, and a security guard at a regional bank, identified as AAD, over the weekend for their social media comments that suggested the Surabaya church attacks were an attempt to divert attention from current issues.

The police have charged them with inciting hate speech under the Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law.

What a perfect attention-diverting scenario. #2019GantiPresiden[2019ChangePresident], HDL posted on May 13, the day of the attacks. Her post had since gone viral.

North Sumatra Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Tatan Dirsan Atmaja said that HDL, who was arrested at her house in the Johor Permai residential complex in Medan Johor, would be charged with Article 28 of the 2008 ITE Law.

HDL told the police that she wrote the post while she was emotional from being disappointed in the government, Tatan said on Sunday. HDL told the police she was upset over the rising prices of goods.

Our officers have questioned several witnesses and confiscated some items as evidence, namely a cell phone and a SIM card, he added.

Budi Agustono, the dean of USUs Humanities Department and HDLs direct superior, said the lecturers actions did not reflect the institutions views. As a lecturer who had been teaching for 16 years, Budi said, she should have known better not to post the comment on social media.

Tatan said the other suspect, AAD, posted a Facebook comment on May 17 that said, There are no terrorists in Indonesia, it is only a fiction, [an attempt] at diverting attention from important issues. AAD did not elaborate on what he meant by important issues.

Tatan advised members of the public to be careful in sharing their thoughts on social media, as they might spark controversy that might drag them to court.

Read also: Garuda Indonesia pilot grounded over comment on Surabaya bombings

A similar incident occurred that involved a pilot of state-owned airline Garuda Indonesia, who was identified as OGT. OGT allegedly shared a third-party Facebook post on his Facebook account that said the suicide bombings in Surabaya were part of a conspiracy.

OGT commented on the post with dudududu, a vague expression that was perceived among netizens as supporting terrorism, and who responded to his shared post with bullying and anger. Some netizens accused him of being a radical.

OGTs post also went viral, prompting the Garuda Indonesia management to take immediate measures against him. Garuda Indonesia corporate secretary to the vice president Hengki Hariandono said on Saturday that OGT had been suspended while the airline investigated the case.

I am sorry for causing such inconvenience. We are attempting to uncover the reason behind OGTs post. Should we find that he had engaged in behavior that deviated from our ethics [policy], we will penalize him according to company policies, said Hengki, as quoted by kompas.com .

Shortly after the string of terror attacks hit West Java and East Java earlier this month, some social media users speculated that the attacks were part of a conspiracy. The conspiracy theories ranged from a smear campaign against Islam to a political motive related to the upcoming elections, as HDL had suggested.

Such conspiracy theory posts have been popular, but have also garnered attacks from other social media users that have accused the posters of supporting the terror attacks. (evi)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21, 2018 17:23 1238 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e552896 2 City Tanah-Abang,Tanah-Abang-Market,Jakarta-administration,jatibaru-closure Free

City-owned developer PD Sarana Jaya Pembangunan, which is in charge of the construction of a sky bridge in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, has said that it will first use its own funds to finance the project, before receiving financial aid from the citys revised budget.

We are ready. We will use our internal funds first, Sarana Jaya Pembangunan president director Yoory C. Pinontoan said on Monday, as quoted by tempo.co.

The Jakarta administration is planning to build a sky bridge over Jl. Jatibaru Raya, located in front of Tanah Abang Train Station in Central Jakarta, with a fund of Rp 50 billion (US$3.5 million). The bridge is set to connect the train station with all blocks of the Tanah Abang Market, the largest textile center in Southeast Asia.

Jakarta Deputy Governor Sandiaga Uno said previously that the project would be built with funds from this years revised budget, which is expected to be passed in August. Meanwhile, he expressed hope the construction could commence in June.

If I were the president director of Sarana Jaya, I would use other sources of funding first, as I have already got certainty on the funding from the administration, Sandiaga said. (vny/wit)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Aman Rochman (The Jakarta Post) Malang, East Java  Mon, May 21, 2018 09:42 1239 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e5322c5 1 National soekarno-hatta-airport,parrots,wildlife,wildlife-trade,smuggling,BKSDA Free

Authorities at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten, have thwarted an attempt to smuggle 353 parrots to Medan, North Sumatra.

The parrots of different species were allegedly brought to the airport on Saturday by HA, a bird trader from Malang in East Java, who traveled on a Sriwijaya Air flight from Abdulrachman Saleh Airport, Malang.

The head of the East Java chapter of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA), Nandang Prihadi, said on Sunday that the illegal delivery of the 353 parrots was uncovered when the Sriwijaya Air aircraft was in transit at Soekarno-Hatta on its way to Medan.

Information we received stated there was an illegal delivery of birds to Jakarta via a Sriwijaya Air flight. We tried to prevent the smuggling attempt by calling Abdulrachman Saleh Airport authorities. Unfortunately, the aircraft had already taken off, said Nandang.

He then coordinated with officials from the BKSDA Jakarta, Sriwijaya Air and Soekarno-Hatta International Airport aviation security authorities to confiscate the parrots. They include red lory (78), dusky lory (30), rainbow lorikeet (173) and blue-streaked lory (30). One red lory was found dead.

The four types of parrots were caught in their natural habitats in Maluku, Papua and Papua New Guinea. The suspect only had a quarantine letter but not a wildlife transportation permit, said Nandang.

He noted that, even though the parrots confiscated by the BKSDA officials were not protected species, they had been taken from the wildlife or their natural habitats. The suspect violated [Environment and] Forestry Ministry Decree No. 447/2003 on wildlife hunting and distribution, said Nandang.

He said all of the parrots were temporarily kept at the Tegal Alur Rescue Center in West Jakarta for a rehabilitation process before they would be released to their natural habitats. (ebf)Share this article Whatsapp

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Linkedin Sri Mulyani Indrawati (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Mon, May 21 2018

Twenty years ago, Indonesia underwent tectonic shifts that paved the way for democratization and reform. To this day, the 1998 reformasi movement is still fresh in my mind. For many Indonesians who lived through it, that year was a tumultuous period that brought despair and hope at the same time.



As an academic then, many of my students were involved in the movement and selflessly marched the streets to advocate for change. As much as I feared for their safety at the time, I could also relate to their struggle and ideals. They were courageous  a generation of brave souls who put their lives on the line for the greater good and carried a vision of how they felt this nation should be.



The 1998 reformasi movement happened with the backdrop of the Asian financial crisis, which crippled Indonesias economy. It affected the lives and livelihoods of many Indonesians.



The impact of the crisis was indiscriminate. People from all socio economic statuses were hit hard. Overnight, our economy tanked and policymakers were struggling to contain the impact. Our currency plunged, inflation skyrocketed, jobs were lost and many fell into poverty.



Amid the facade of what was thought to be good fundamentals, there lies structural weaknesses in the form of acute and pervasive corruption in our economy and weak governance in our financial system that were exposed by the crisis.



Two decades have passed since that tragic period in our history. Indonesias story is still a work in progress, but we have to acknowledge that progress has been made since then. Most importantly, Indonesias transition to democracy has sustained to this day.



This republic has strived to make democracy work and efforts are continuously being made to increase participation, transparency and accountability. It is truly encouraging to see that, 20 years after, Indonesia has evolved into a thriving nation. It is becoming a main growth engine and source of stability for the region.



Hundreds of legislation have been passed since the start of reformasi to rebuild Indonesias new foundation based on the rule of law, transparency, accountability, good governance and fair competition. Financial, monetary and fiscal reforms were instituted to promote the prudent management of our economy. The independence of Bank Indonesia (BI) was introduced to ensure sound monetary policy and stability. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) was established to provide sufficient oversight of the financial services sector.



Furthermore, on the fiscal side, the issuance of state finance, treasury and accountability laws provided a constitutional mandate for the Finance Ministry to be accountable and effectively manage the nations resources. Seamless coordination of the monetary, fiscal and financial dimension is imperative for the nations economy.



In 2000, decentralization laws were introduced and paved the way for the devolution of authorities and fiscal resources to subnational governments.



A country with the size of Indonesia requires effective governance, not just at the central level but also at the provincial and subprovincial levels. This, too, is still a work in progress. But for the first time in our countrys history, we are seeing national leaders being born and elevated from the local level.



President Joko Jokowi Widodo is a case in point. After his success as the mayor of Surakarta and governor of Jakarta, the electorate trusted him to lead this nation. Decentralization has enabled leaders to prove their mantle from the grass roots all the way to the national level.



Like building a house brick by brick, institutional and regulatory gaps were being addressed one by one. Promoting good governance and building institutions is an ongoing effort that continues to this day, namely through bureaucratic reforms of our public institutions.



The establishment of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has further bolstered oversight to ensure public entities and the people that run them perform as they are supposed to.



Since the 1998 reformasi movement, our economy is in much better shape and more resilient in weathering subsequent global crisis that followed. Last year, our gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5.07 percent  better than most emerging economies  and our GDP per capita has multiplied sevenfold to around US$3,600 in the past two decades.



The inflation rate, which used to be pervasively double digits, has been kept low and stable at around 3.5 percent. Our debt to GDP ratio is well below 30 percent  among the lowest compared to peer countries.



Furthermore, the poverty rate, which reached almost a quarter of the population during the height of the crisis is now at around 10 percent. Last year, Indonesias economy hit the $1 trillion mark and it is now becoming more diversified. And thanks to our fiscal discipline rule, our budget deficit has been kept below 3 percent of GDP.



This is a testament to stronger economic fundamentals, the fruit of comprehensive and continued reforms in the past 20 years. This vibrant economy has been supported by prudent fiscal management, a credible budget and cohesive structural reforms. The policy reforms in Indonesia aim to boost three elements: spending, investment and exports.

_________________________Startup competition has its eye on foreign talent

From:Shine | 2018-05-21 00:29

a successful entrepreneur is invited to share his experiences with other enterpreneurs at the opening session of the annual startup competition in Yangpu District over the weekend.

The citys major competition to attract foreign professionals to open startups in Shanghai has been expanded overseas for the first time.

The annual entrepreneurial talent competition, launched by Yangpu District over the weekend, has established five sub-sites in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto and Sweden, the district government said.

Candidates selected from the overseas sites will compete with the winners from the eight local sites.

The initiative aims to find and reach more foreign professionals and attract them to come to Yangpu, with generous subsidies and preferential policies, the government said.

The competition this year has collected a total of 200 million yuan (US$31.4 million) of government and private funds for 100 winning startup projects, said Qiu Jian, an official with the competition organizer.

A number of venture investors and financial institutes have been invited to judge the projects.

Ti Gong

Official awards the winners of the annual startup competition in Yangpu District over the weekend. The competition this year has collected a total of 200 million yuan (US$31.36 million) with both governmental funds and private investments to support a total of 100 winning startup projects.

Since the competition began in 2016, the district has selected 2,400 startups and 259 entrepreneurs, including some unicorns  privately owned startups valued at more than US$1 billion. This includes winners and other companies eligible for subsidies.

I initially founded my company in London, but later decided to move to Shanghai due to the high living costs in the United Kingdom, said Zhang Shengliang, CEO of a robotic startup focusing on artificial limbs with artificial intelligence technology.

Thanks to Shanghais great entrepreneurship environment and supportive policies, the company has been developing quite well.

Winning enterprises such as Zhangs contributed an average 6.4 million yuan in taxes in 2017, more than double the previous year,

So far, the Yangpu government has attracted 374 overseas professionals, including Chinese who study overseas as well as foreigners.

The district government will spend 20 million yuan a year to support overseas professionals willing to start their businesses in Yangpu.

Professionals who studied or worked overseas and are deemed top talent will receive 1 million yuan in assistance for startup projects and 500,000 yuan in housing subsidies.

Apart from the competition, the district has also started recruiting high-tech professionals from Silicon Valley and Seattle to develop innovation and entrepreneurship.

More than 500 foreign entrepreneurs and Chinese students studying abroad attended two recruiting events that were conducted by senior officials from the citys Yangpu District at Stanford University and the Global Innovation Exchange in Seattle in March in the United States.The mainly Buddhist kingdom's southern border provinces have been plagued by a 14-year fight between ethnic Malay militants and the Thai state that has left nearly 7,000 dead.

On Sunday suspected rebels launched their most sweeping attack in recent months, striking 14 ATM booths, two electricity poles and other public spaces and security posts.

No one was killed by the blasts, which went off across the four Muslim-majority provinces bordering Malaysia, but the coordinated offensive marked a brazen challenge to the ruling junta's efforts at peace negotiations.

"They always look for a way to create chaos and inconvenience," army spokesman Colonel Pramote Prom-in said of the insurgents.

"This time they went after the easy targets," he added.

Attacks are common during the Muslim fasting period of Ramadhan, which began last week.

Pramote brushed aside a question on whether the violence would effect the junta's ongoing talks with a group that claims to represent the rebels.

The military recently said the two sides had made progress in designating a "safe zone" in one district of the insurgency-roiled region.

But analysts have long doubted that the rebel interlocutors have genuine sway over fighters on the ground.

"It's (the rebels') way of reminding the Thai security apparatus that they have the will and capacity to discredit them," Don Pathan, a Thailand-based independent analyst, told AFP.

"And a reminder that they are not part of the so-called peace process," he added.

It remains unclear how a change of guard in Malaysia, where elections brought a new government to power earlier this month, will affect the negotiations that have been facilitated by Kuala Lumpur.

The culturally distinct "Deep South" was annexed by Thailand more than 100 years ago and has incubated waves of secessionist bloodshed.

The latest flare-up reignited in 2004, with violence playing out far from Thailand's tourist destinations and garnering little international attention.Clare Rewcastle Brown was harassed and vilified for years for waging a quixotic campaign to expose Malaysian corruption that helped topple the country's long-ruling regime.

The British investigative journalist is now back in the country of her birth after being blacklisted for years, and being treated as a celebrity in a sign of the whirlwind changes since historic May 9 elections.

No one is more stunned than Rewcastle, who said she expects to see further startling revelations of corruption and misrule emerge as a reformist administration cleans house.

"There is so much thats going to come tumbling out now," she said during an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

"Everyone is gob-smacked as they see these things happening. There are going to be more amazing scenes to come."

Rewcastle, now 58, has been a thorn in the side of Malaysia's ruling elite for years, working from abroad to expose larceny and misrule centring mostly on the rainforested state of Sarawak where she was born and spent her early years.

But her biggest bombshell may have been the 2015 revelation by her website Sarawak Report that nearly $700 million was funnelled into the bank account of ex-premier Najib Razak.

That helped super-charge allegations that Najib and his entourage plundered billions from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB, in a scandal that led to his electoral defeat, ending six decades under an increasingly corrupt government.

He is now under investigation and expected to be charged.

Smear campaign

Rewcastle's work over the years triggered Malaysian arrest warrants, lawsuits, threats, and a sustained campaign of online vilification that she suspects was orchestrated by Najib's government using western PR firms.

The sister-in-law of former British prime minister Gordon Brown, Rewcastle was still recently being approached by shadowy characters offering pay-offs if she'd publish juicy "revelations" for them -- ham-fisted attempts to entrap and discredit her, she says.

"Millions have gone into trying to destroy my reputation, which could have been spent on something useful," she said. "But all they did was help make me famous, the stupid idiots."

Never welcome, and officially barred from Malaysia in 2015, Rewcastle has gone almost overnight from persona non grata to welcome guest.

She met AFP following an interview with a state-aligned newspaper that formerly maligned her but gave her glowing front-page treatment on Monday.

She was halted repeatedly by ordinary Malaysians who recognised her distinctive ginger locks, stopping to thank her and snap selfies.

Many more have praised Rewcastle on social media after learning of her arrival. "It's extremely gratifying," she said.

Few foreigners were as feared by Malaysia's government.

Born in Sarawak when it was a British crown colony, she spent several years there, often following her mother -- a midwife for indigenous people -- on jungle jaunts to remote clinics.

She later worked for the BBC and others in London in investigative journalism before devoting herself to publicising Sarawak corruption, deforestation, and eviction of native peoples from traditional lands.

"I did this partly because I was mad, and partly because I thought there was a slim chance something could be done," she said of the state which environmentalists believe has lost nearly all of its original rainforest.

In 2010, she started Sarawak Report and short-wave broadcaster Radio Free Sarawak -- operated in secret from London, and later Bali, Brunei and Sarawak itself.

Rewcastle drew on a network of contacts in Malaysia to repeatedly expose the plundering of Sarawak. Najib's regime eventually blocked the website -- a move the new government has reversed -- and radio signals were jammed.

Winding down

With Malaysia on a reform path, Rewcastle expects to wind down her anti-graft work, which she said was a money-losing project reliant on financial backers she won't name.

But she pledged to "do my darnedest" to continuing advocating for Sarawak.

That includes pushing for investigations into its former chief minister, Abdul Taib Mahmud.

The retired 82-year-old, who was loosely aligned with Najib's regime, is accused by indigenous activists of ruling Sarawak like a family fiefdom for 33 years, plundering its timber and building ecologically harmful dams.

Sarawak Report, along with the Bruno Manser Fund, a Swiss NGO, has documented huge investments around the world by Taib's circle.

"Taib needs to be taken by the ankles and shook, so the money falls out," Rewcastle said.

"There's still a lot to be done. But we're in a terrific position now to really campaign for what this was originally about."A plan to restore an iconic castle in a central Japan city to attract more tourists has faced criticism as the mayor is aiming to re-create the original structure in the 17th century and has refused to install elevators for the disabled.

Citing problems about quake resistance, the city of Nagoya will demolish the concrete main tower of Nagoya Castle and rebuild it with woodwork in 2022, which it says is more durable and similar to one built in 1612 by the Tokugawa shogunate.

As the current tower has elevators, Mayor Takashi Kawamura's fidelity to history has triggered a backlash from the public, with civic groups saying the project goes against promotion of a barrier-free society.

The city has said it plans to introduce an alternative to elevators using "new technologies," without specifying them.

Re-creating the original wooden structure was among pledges by Kawamura when he won his fourth term in last year's mayoral election. He says it is possible because historic documents such as detailed survey maps of the castle buildings have remained.

The elevator problem emerged late last year. But the project had been already plagued with other issues including its ballooning costs, estimated at 50 billion yen ($450 million) in 2016, compared with an initial projection of up to 40 billion yen. The city has also pushed back the schedule for completion from 2020 to 2022.

Read also: Exploring Japan's rising dragon

The main tower, or donjon, which Japanese call "tenshu", was designated as a national treasure in 1930 along with affiliated buildings before being lost in U.S. air raids in 1945 during World War II. The current tenshu was built as a seven-story building with reinforced concrete in 1959.

Nagoya Castle is known for the golden statues of the imaginary half-tiger, half-fish creature adorning the roof of the tenshu. Tourists queued up before the city closed the tower this month for the renovation.

A local group representing handicapped people criticized the city government last week, saying its plan not to install elevators at the re-created tenshu is contrary to the philosophy of laws banning discrimination against the disabled.

The group, Aichi Disability Forum, has also requested the Cultural Affairs Agency not to approve the city's plan, which the group says could violate human rights. The agency has oversight on national historic sites.

"I felt helpless before the stairs many times," said a member of a wheelchair users' group. "Does he (Kawamura) mean to give priority to accurate restoration over availability for all people to have fun visiting the castle safely?"

Kawamura says he is ready to talk with opponents. But the member said, "It doesn't seem we are getting anywhere even if we keep talking."

Yoshihiro Senda, a castle archeologist and professor at Nara University, said that even if the wooden tenshu is restored without elevators there must be countless other features that the original structure did not have, such as a concrete foundation to ensure quake resistance and electrical wiring.

"If you go fully historical, then you can't produce a wooden tenshu in the 21st century," Senda said.Authorities in the Central Java regency of Kendal are using online and offline exhibitions to promote locally produced coffee in the hope of getting more tourists to buy the beans.

Kendal Regent Mirna Anissa said to Kompas.com that the regency was a productive coffee grower. Kendal specializes in liberica coffee, a bean rarely found in other areas.

Liberica grows well in the higher areas of Kendal, such as Patean, Sukorejo and Plantungan. It has the aroma of jackfruit, explained Mirna, who has also instructed local administration heads in the regency to provide Kendal coffee at their offices.

If a guest comes to visit, brew the coffee and say that it is locally sourced in Kendal! she went on to say.

Mirna added that there were many home industries producing Kendal coffee. Kendal also produces exelsa, arabica and robusta coffee as well as civet coffee, which sells for millions per kilogram.

Mirna Annisa, the regent of Kendal, is seen at a coffee shop. (Kompas.com/Slamet Priyatin)

Local officials in Kendal always supported the regents programs, said Wahyu Yusuf, head of general affairs at the municipal office. He added that he always served Kendal coffee, along with mineral water. He believes the program is aimed at improving the welfare of the regency.

Read also: The rise of Lawu coffee among Java's single origins

Coffee shop

The regent is confident that Kendal coffee has the potential to become an attraction for both local and foreign travelers. Coffee shops are mushrooming across Kendal, and they serve local coffee, apart from beans sourced from outside the regency.

A kiosk serves coffee at Radja Pendapa in Kendal regency, Central Java. (Kompas.com/Slamet Priyatin)

The coffee shop owners say many buyers order Kendal coffee at their shops, said Mirna.

Visitors are also invited to explore coffee plantations and learn about how the beans are processed. The regent also hinted at the possibility of combining coffee sessions with traditional art performances from Kendal.

Yoyok, who produces coffee at his home in Singorojo village, is grateful for the regents efforts to promote Kendal coffee. He is positive that the effort will raise optimism among small-scale coffee growers to stay productive.

When we become more known, were sure there will be demand. We hope everything goes well, said Yoyok, who confirmed that there were many small-scale coffee growers in Kendal. (mut)Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi has stated that the law must be strictly imposed on airplane passengers that make bomb-related jokes or remarks.

It is necessary to create a deterrent effect, Budi said to Tempo.co in Cirebon on Monday.

Recently, there have been several cases of Lion Air passengers joking about bombs.

On May 12, a passenger with the initials ZN uttered the word bomb to one of the flight attendants during boarding.

On May 16, a passenger on Lion Air flight JT 291 asked a flight attendant whether he was allowed to carry bombs onto the airplane.

Kompas.com reported that the passenger said he was a terrorist and there was a bomb in his bag.

Read also: No bomb jokes in airports, airplanes: Authorities

The flight was delayed for over two hours as all passengers, cargo and luggage had to be rechecked. The passenger was removed from the plane and was detained by airport security officials for investigation.

On Friday, a passenger identified only as EF said on flight JT 261 that he had carried a bomb into the airplane.

EF said that he had brought a bomb in his cabin bag during the security check prior to entering the boarding room, Danang Mandala Prihantoro, corporate communications strategist at Lion Air Group, said in a press statement on Friday.

EF was also removed from the plane and investigated by airport security officials.

As stipulated in Law No. 1/2009 on the Transportation Ministrys national flight safety program, anyone who expresses false information that can endanger flight safety faces up to one year in prison. (wng)Posted Sunday, May 20, 2018 11:00 pm

Staff Sergeant Brandon Merano, a member of the Illinois Air National Guard and a broadcaster with KSDK in St. Louis, will be the guest speaker at the Memorial Day services in Hillsboro this year.

Services are set for Monday, May 28, beginning at 10 a.m.an hour earlier this yearat Veterans Memorial Park on Main Street in Hillsboro. In case of rain, ceremonies will be at the Hillsboro Junior High School.

Staff Sergeant Merano grew up in Hillsboro, the son of Scott and Stacie Merano and Angela Merano. After graduation from high school, he joined the Illinois Air National Guard in 2009 and first served in the 126th Air Refueling Wing, Force Support Squadron out of Scott Air Force Base, and then cross-trained to be a "boom operator" or in-flight refueler with the 126th, a job he continues.

He is deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and Operation Enduring Freedom.

He earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, and began his career at WSIL-TV in Carterville as a reporter and anchor for five years before joining the KSDK news team in St. Louis in February.

The Memorial Day program will also feature music by the Hillsboro High School choir and Hillsboro Junior High School band, and welcome by Hillsboro Mayor Brian Sullivan. Jim Palmer will read the names of those killed in action, and members of the Daughters of the American Revolution will present wreaths. The Joint Armed Forces Honor Guard will present colors and fire a salute to the dead, and John Kieslar will play "Taps." Brad Huber will be master of ceremonies for the program.It was pretty much a washout Saturday at the Essex Street Markets annual Block Party, but merchants and customers alike braved the elements and made the best of it.

The Vendor Association also looked ahead to the future. In a few months, the 78-year-old public market will be moving across the street to an expanded facility in the Essex Crossing project. At this past weekends event, Vendor Association President Anne Saxelby dedicated this years block party to Delancey Street Associates, the consortium building Essex Crossing. Ron Moelis, CEO of L+M Development Partners; Charlie Bendit, co-CEO of Taconic Investment Partners; and Isaac Henderson, Essex Crossings project manager were on hand to accept awards.

As part of the developers agreement with the city, they are building the new market and paying moving expenses for all of the vendors. Saxelby thanked them, as well as the citys Economic Development Corp. (which runs the market) and Community Board 3 for working to make the new market happen. When we first learned of the Essex Crossing project back in 2013, said Saxelby, we as vendors were really concerned because we didnt know what our fate would be. Thanks to the work of the EDC, CB3 and Delancey Street Associates we have a beautiful new market, and all of the current vendors will be moving over, plus 14 new vendors.

Also attending Saturdays rainy party were Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and City Council member Margaret Chin.

At one point, Chin ducked inside the market to pick up a few items at one of the newer stalls, Essex Olive & Spice House. In her public remarks, she said, The new market will be gorgeous and wonderful, said Chin, but there are a lot of new vendors in the market right now, so please check it out. I did. Its just wonderful to celebrate the history of the market and also to celebrate the neighborhood.

The EDC, Vendor Association and Lower East Side Partnership have been sponsoring the block party during the past few years as a way to boost awareness of the market, which has struggled to attract foot traffic. The new market will be located at 115 Delancey St., just across from the current building.The New York Times just rolled out a multi-part series investigating New York Citys broken system ostensibly meant to protect rent regulated housing. One of the featured players in the series is landlord/convicted felon Steve Croman, who owns many buildings on the Lower East Side.

The Times reports:

(Rent regulated) apartments  seen as the scourge of landlords and the salvation of struggling New Yorkers  are at the center of a housing crisis that has swelled the ranks of the homeless and threatens to squeeze all but the affluent from ever-wider swaths of the city. But even as Mayor Bill de Blasio has made adding more affordable housing a signature pledge of his administration, the system that protects the citys roughly one million regulated apartments is profoundly broken, a New York Times investigation has found.

In one story, reporter Kim Barker revisits Steve Cromans formative years as a real estate investor in Lower Manhattan. He purchased his first building, 221 Mott St., in 1992. Within a year of Mr. Cromans first big purchase, the rent-stabilization laws started crumbling, noted the Times, in the face of relentless lobbying by the real estate industry. The tactics used against rent stabilized tenants are well-known on the Lower East Side and Chinatown:

Mr. Croman recruited a certain kind of tenant: college students, young Wall Streeters, people who cycled through quickly, enabling repeated vacancy increases. Mr. Croman pressured longtime tenants, first offering minimal buyouts, then bringing frivolous eviction suits and harassing them with nerve-racking construction, according to tenants and advocates. Once empty, the apartments moved through the renovation mill, emerging as glass-and-exposed-brick confections, often with cramped bedrooms, primed for more roommates and higher rents. In 1998, The Village Voice named him to its 10 worst landlords list.

In that first building, all 11 apartments were regulated in 1992. Today there are 18 apartments, and all but two are market-rate. Croman did eventually go to jail after pleading guilty to mortgage fraud. He was sentenced to just one year, and is set to be released next month.

Last week, local advocacy groups and tenants in Cromans building staged a protest on the Lower East Side. Theyre determined to keep the pressure on the notorious landlord, who may have received a legal slap on the wrist, but who still controls a large real estate empire . [Well have more about the local rally this week.]

Meanwhile, you can read the Times investigation here.A curious tale of mystery and history

From:Shine | 2018-05-21 01:29

A visitor watches as a Shanghai Museum worker shows how to make gesi, a patterned silk tapestry, at the Yangtze River Delta Museum Education Exposition.

The first Yangtze River Delta Museum Education Exposition opened to the public at the citys World Expo Museum in Huangpu District over the weekend.

With the theme Exploration to Knowledge and Excellence, it brings in museums from throughout the Delta and has them each showcase their own regional culture, history and traditional skills. The exhibition ends tomorrow.

One of the most eye-catching contributions is from the Shanghai Museum. Following the story in a picture book made by the museum, visitors enjoy traditional handicraft skills including Lan Yin Hua, or blue floral print on cloth, bamboo-weaving, embroidery, woodcut New Year paintings, Suzhou fan-making and Jingdezhen porcelain art.

The story is about designer A Kun who received packages of traditional Chinese handicrafts from a stranger called Xiao Lu after he moved into a new home.

The letters tell him that Xiao traveled to many places in the country and sent the things she found to the home-owner, who has already died.

These mysterious packages triggered his curiosity and prompted him to travel to the some of the places in the hope of meeting Xiao, which he eventually does.

Visitors can follow the two characters' steps and see the real objects mentioned in the book at the booth, and even how they were made. They can also watch how to make gesi, a patterned silk tapestry, on a wooden loom.

The story raises the concept of "Yi Jiang," or artisan, and discusses the meaning of antique and modern handicraft skills and looks at the future.

Another of the museums displays is models of ancient buildings. The 12 models and the stories behind them show ancient times and highlight heritage protection and inheritance.

Wang Keda, a Peking University student who helped create the display, told Shanghai Daily that it's a circulating exhibition initiated in 2012.

The team visited the sites of the structures to collect detailed information about them.

"I feel the structures, made of wood and bricks thousands of years ago, can tell us stories and touch people," Wang said. "I hope these things can be delivered to more people. They are not only about the structures themselves, but the history and people behind them."

"I've been to Shanxi Province and visited the two old temples there. So today I came here (to see the models)," said a female visitor, surnamed Li. "Here, I can feel the things of history, humanism and the spirit of ancient Chinese can be passed on to me."

In another display, Yangzhou Museum brought a pool used to make traditional Xuan raw rice paper so visitors could try making paper themselves.

"It's a global trend that people are starting to know that museums are not only places for learning in seriousness, but somewhere they enjoy and have fun," said Yang Zhigang, the curator of the Shanghai Museum.There is nothing spookier than a haunted house. A creepy old mansion is a staple and has taken centre stage in many classic horror films.

The unnerving horror thriller Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built (2018) is based on true events surrounding the infamous Winchester house near San Francisco. The film will be available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Monday 28th May and to celebrate the release, weve put together a list of some of the best horror films set in a haunted house.

1. The Conjuring (2013)

Based on a true story, The Conjuring unveils the terrifying truths of the unfortunate Perron family who were terrorised by a dark spirit in their home in the 70s.

Following a brutal murder in the 1800s, the house is the setting for countless horrors. Paranormal investigators Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) and Ed (Patrick Wilson) arrive at the house to help the family, and encounter horror beyond belief.

If you havent seen this already, be prepared to spend most of the film peeking out from behind your fingers!





2. The Others (2001)

The Others is centered around Grace (Nicole Kidman) and her two children, who live in a creepy mansion in Jersey.

Grace is a weary mother who is eagerly waiting for her husband (Christopher Eccleston) to return from the Second World War, and is convinced that her home is plagued by spirits. Her children have a rare disease making them allergic to direct sunlight. This makes Grace even more on edge with her giving out strict instructions for curtains to be closed at all times; making the film even more intense!

This film leaves audiences on the edge of their seat. Its a brilliant ghost story with many creepy moments and a cracking twist.

3. House on Haunted Hill (1999)

House on Haunted Hill stars the iconic Geoffrey Rush as multi-millionaire amusement park mogul, Stephen Price, who offers a group of strangers $1,000,000 each to stay in a creepy old mansion. Guests discover that the mansion was formerly a mental asylum with a very dark history and is home to very angry spirits.

The film is based on Agatha Christies classic novel, And Then There Were None, however be warned, there are definitely no quaint going ons here.

4. Poltergeist (1982)

Written by Steven Spielberg, Poltergeist pioneered the paranormal activity film genre and secured itself in the cult horror hall of fame in the eighties.

Unlike most haunted house horrors, this one is set in a seemingly normal looking house in US suburbia. However, it soon becomes apparent that the house is home to many ghosts who are on a mission to torment the Freelings family.

5. The Amityville Horror (1979)

This film must be the most infamous haunted house horror. Based on a true story, The Amityville Horror follows a family who move to the coast into a large house with a dark history. Despite warnings from the real estate agent, the family purchase the house and dismiss the claims saying houses dont have memories which is not true when it comes to this house!

Winchester: The House that Ghosts Built is available on Blu-ray and DVD from May 28th.World-class venues pull out all stops

From:Shine | 2018-05-21 01:29

Shanghai has many world-class museums, and this weekend they pulled out all stops to mark International Museum Day. Visitor numbers showed a thumbs-up from the public.

The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum said it hosted more than 20,000 visits on Friday and Saturday. The museum mounted special activities to mark the Shanghai Science Festival.

The science museum was filled with booths set up by companies and institutes to display the latest technologies. Visitors, especially children, were encouraged to engage in activities.

At the booth run by Chalmers Laboratory, Swedish student Mans Ostman, 24, from Chalmers University of Technology, showed youngsters a self-sustaining greenhouse controlled by a computerized system. Its part of the Belt and Road International Science Popularization Park.

Ostman said its good for children to be exposed to science education.

Society is developing with technology, he said. I think its good that everyone has a little bit knowledge about how things work, like computers and electricity. Everything is pushing toward quite advanced technology.

Another Belt and Road participant was Farrukh Hassan, from Pakistans First Biotech LLC, who exhibited eco-friendly biological fertilizer. The bottled fertilizers, marked with different colors, were added to soil samples on a table to show how they work.

Students and people here have a great interest in science, Hassan said. They know many things about different technologies.

German researcher Kaspar Bienefeld, director of the Institute for Bee Research at Humboldt University in Berlin, introduced children to the world of bees.

Bees are very important, he said. About 10 percent of total agricultural productivity in the world depends on bees. If there are no bees, we will have less food.

His booth showed how bees are selectively bred to save endangered species and safeguard diversity.

Ding Tianyi, 12, who visited the Science and Technology Museum with his parents and younger brother, was thrilled by some of the exhibits.

I liked the high-tech things, like the sensor gloves, he said.

Dings brother, who has a passion for robots, told Shanghai Daily that the robots he saw at the museum were far more complicated than what he was taught at school.

The events here are very nice and allow the kids to fully participate, said Yue Wenfeng, who took his 8-year-old daughter to the museum. They are easy to understand as well. These events broaden a childs vision and develop their interest in what will happen in the future.

The museum hosted other special activities for the science festival.

Naoko Yamasaki, an aerospace engineer from Japan, gave a talk on her experience as a female astronaut in the space age.

I think science education for the younger generation is very important because our daily life is so strongly connected to science and technology, she said. Without science and technology, there would be no innovation.Margaret Leclere, Staffordshire University

The Auteur Theory, which has held the film industry and film criticism in its grip since the 1950s, has recently come under attack from film critics  until now its greatest champions. The problem they face is that many of the directors deified as auteurs have been caught up in the #MeToo movements sweep of the film industry.

Film critic Ryan Gilbey writes of the atrocities wrought by the Auteur Theory and asks what happens when a God-like director turns out to be a liability. He ends his piece with the line:

It is difficult to see how the unquestioning reverence of directors can continue in this new climate of hyperawareness, where the constant drip-feed of discrediting stories proves once and for all that times up.

Time may be up, but #MeToo is not a critically sound basis for renouncing the Auteur Theory. Its faults need greater scrutiny . The foundation stone for the theory can be found in one paragraph from a thoughtful 1948 essay by the film-maker Alexandre Astruc , in which he sought to identify a new age of cinema: the age of the camera-stylo (camera-pen):

Direction is no longer a means of illustrating or presenting a scene, but a true act of writing. The film-maker/author writes with his camera as a writer writes with his pen.

Astruc considered the future of cinema to be dependent upon there being a single creator (a scriptwriter who directs his own scripts  like Woody Allen). After all, as he says: Could one imagine a Faulkner novel written by someone other than Faulkner? His aim was to push cinema towards being taken seriously as an art form, rather than remaining a fairground attraction. Yet it was the line: the film maker/author writes with his camera as a writer writes with his pen that launched the Auteur Thoery and the cult of the director.

Astrucs argument was twisted but his aim was achieved: cinema could now be considered an art form, with a single creative mind in control  the director. This led eventually to the use of the notorious possessory credit which states that the film is by the director, regardless of who wrote the screenplay. This happens even when the screenplay is an original idea, written before a director is attached to the project.

The auteur tyranny

The Auteur Theory became a tyranny, McCarthyite in its single-mindedness. Horribly, lists of auteur directors were drawn up, notably by American film critic Andrew Sarris . Those whose names were not on the list had been judged by critical opinion to be lesser directors. John Huston , for example, never made the list. His extraordinary number of great films failed to display the kind of mono-style that marked out the true auteur, aiming instead for a style appropriate to the literary source.

Yet the fact remains that over the decades it held sway, the focus on the director meant that many artists working in film flourished and produced masterpieces. Among the discredited auteurs cited by Gilbey are Woody Allen and Roman Polanski, whose names would feature in most critics lists of the greatest geniuses of cinema  along with Chaplin, Hitchcock, Kubrick and Welles. It is through their innovations that film achieved its modern ability to rival the novel in depth and subtlety.

Art and ethics

But if cinema is an art form, then why treat it differently from the other arts? Conversely, why not include the other arts in the clean-up and stop revering the paintings of Picasso, Gauguin or Degas? Or stop reading the works of Lewis Carroll or Vladimir Nabokov, just in case? Let us not look at anything made by anybody who is, in Margaret Attwoods phrase , guilty by allegation ( like Woody Allen ).

Reviewing Allens latest film Wonder Wheel in The Times, Kevin Maher found it necessary to ditch discussion of the films director altogether, only mentioning Allen in the final sentence:

The film was written and directed by Woody Allen. In 1993 he was accused of molesting his adopted daughter  He denied the accusations and was never prosecuted. Should you go and see it? Over to you.

And what of Roman Polanski , who actually admitted a statutory rape charge in 1977? If Allens films are suspect, Polanskis must be even more so. It does not for one moment excuse his crime to insist that his work in cinema has taught and inspired generations of film makers, with some of his films even claimed by young feminists . Must we now avert our eyes?

Where will this end?

Charlie Chaplin , possibly the greatest auteur the world has known, made all his films before the Auteur Theory existed. Chaplin wrote, directed, starred in and composed the music for his movies. His stature as an artist is arguably on a level with Picasso. Of Picasso, the novelist Caroline Blackwood  speaking from personal experience  said: He was an old letch, genius or no. Perhaps something similar could be said of Chaplin

The artistic drive and the sex drive have always been closely linked. The adoration of the human form, the fascination with the object of desire, driving the creation of works of art, or simply driving the artist. Tracey Emins work is as sexually driven as Hitchcocks, or as her hero, Egon Schieles . To deny this, to attempt to outlaw it, is an act of cultural suicide.Unfortunately, The Content Is Not Here

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Home PageHere's a 6-page preview for the May 23rd issue that kicks off a new arc.

Source: Pop Cuture HQ



Matt Kindt takes us back in time .. way back .. to 393 AD and a previously unknown point in the X-O history. The "Barbarians" story arc begins here.

Here's how Valiant Entertainment describes this issue:





As HARBINGER WARS 2 besieges the Valiant Universe  and X-O Manowar along with it  Aric of Dacia cannot escape the flames that now threaten his future...or the shadows that cloud his past. Before space... Before the armor... Return to the apex of the Visigoth conquest as a younger, brasher Aric and a sword-wielding grifter set off on a continent-spanning quest for fortune, glory, and power! From the bloodstained sands of the gladiatorial arena to the dunes of the Arabian Desert, meet the man who would become the warrior-king of an alien civilization  and our own world's most powerful hero  as he sets out to seize his destiny once upon a time in a land of faraway kings and unrepentant conquerors!

Written by: Matt Kindt

Art by: Trevor Hairsine

Colors by: Diego Rodriguez

Covers by: Lewis LaRosa (A), Jim Mahfood (B), Veronica Fish (Variant), Viktor Kalachev (Icon Variant), Shane Davis (Pre-Order)

32 pages

$3.99 (US)

In shops: May 23, 2018 :          -     ...

remaining of

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.IDF Spokesman Brigadier-General Ronen Manelis announced that Hamas continues to lie, describing violent confrontations along the Gaza border as peaceful, when it is now a known fact the terrorist organization instructed participants to become violent, and it has even been learned that many of them participated because Hamas paid them.

Hamas paid many over recent week as it staged weekly protests along the Gaza border, actions that included attempts to break and/or compromise the integrity of the border fence when possible. Hamas worked hard to dupe Western media sources in the hope of bringing world attention against Israel. Manelis comments in the Wall Street Journal in his piece entitled The Truth About Hamas and Israel, dated May 20, 2018, detailing what really occurred and how Hamas orchestrated the border clashes while duping western media and some leaders.

He points out the rioting that occurred on March 30, 2018 was labeled the March of Return and organized by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Manelis explains how the Gazans were transported to the border by bus, receiving $14 for participating, and $100 to families as they wanted women and children too. There were payments of $500 for injured persons, those wounded in the cross-border clashes.

Hamas Salah Bardawil has already admitted 50 of the 62 people Hamas claimed were killed by the IDF were Hamas soldiers, not innocent civilians as first reported around the world.

Manelis also documents Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar also admitted the May 13, 2018 protests along the border were not peaceful resistance actions as Hamas claimed. Manelis adds that despite all this, there are Western media outlets that prefer publishing the lies to bolster the Hamas initiative against Israel, rather than going with what really occurred.

Some of the examples were the NY Daily News and New York Times, with the latter running the headline, Israeli forces kill dozens in Gaza as U.S. Embassy opens in Jerusalem.

By now, it should be clear for all those wishing the truth, as opposed to those nations who prefer to continue criticizing Israel and playing into Hamas efforts in Gaza to gain media notoriety.

Published on isru chag from Yerushalayim.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)Barclays has successfully challenged charges brought against it over a deal with Qatari investors which helped prevent it needing a bailout from taxpayers during the 2008 financial crisis.

The Serious Fraud Office brought the charges against the bank and former senior executives, including ex-boss John Varley last year, claiming they loaned $3billion (2.4billion) to the Qatari state, which was then used to buy Barclays shares.

But today Southwark Crown Court in London dismissed the charges against the bank - but not against the individuals - in a major setback for the SFO, which had been investigating the issue for five years.

Barclays said all charges against it have been dismissed

Barclays also said the court had dismissed charges against Barclays of conspiring with former executives to commit fraud by false representations over two agreements with Qatar.

Barclays shares were trading 0.7 per cent higher at 209p.

The bank said in a stock market announcement: 'Barclays announces that the Crown Court has today dismissed all charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office against Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC regarding matters which arose in the context of Barclays' capital raisings in 2008.'

However, Barclays warned that the SFO is likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to a High Court judge to recommence proceedings via a new indictment of the same charges.

Raising private money to get it through the financial crisis meant that Barclays, unlike rivals Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, was able to avoid needing a bailout.

Accepting state help would have given ministers a say over its casino banking operation and multi-million-pound bonus schemes.

Qatari investors - the state-backed Qatar Holding and Challenger Universal - pumped 6.1billion into Barclays during two fundraisings in June and October 2008.

In November that year, Barclays agreed to issue a $3billion (2.4billion) loan made available to the State of Qatar.

The bank, Mr Varley, Mr Jenkins, and their two former colleagues, Mr Kalaris and Mr Boath, were all charged with conspiracy to commit fraud over the June 2008 fundraising.

The bank, Mr Varley and Mr Jenkins faced the same charge relating to the second fundraising in October 2008, while they were been charged with providing unlawful financial assistance.

The individuals are still facing charges as Monday's dismissal relates only to Barclays as a corporate entity.

Andrew Katzen, partner at Hickman and Rose, said: 'The SFOs most high profile corruption prosecution has fallen at the first hurdle, but Barclays isnt off the hook yet.

'The SFO is almost certain to seek to continue the prosecution by applying to the High Court to issue what is called a voluntary bill of indictment. Meanwhile a separate but related prosecution of Barclays plc is still ongoing.

'Nevertheless, the ruling makes for an inauspicious start for the prosecutor as it awaits its new director.'Fraud charges over a Barclays bid to raise 2.3billion from Qatar at the height of the financial crisis have been thrown out of court.

The case had focused on allegations that Barclays illegally lent money to Qatari investors in 2008 who used it to buy shares in the bank  saving it from a taxpayer bailout that would have given ministers a say over bonus payouts.

Yesterday at Southwark Crown Court, judge Mr Justice Jay dismissed the charges of fraud and unlawful financial assistance against the lender, Barclays Bank PLC, and its parent group, Barclays PLC.

It is a blow for the Serious Fraud Office, which has been pursuing Barclays for five years over the claims.

Charges dropped: Barclays had been accused of fraud over its bid to raise 2.3bn from Qatar at the height of the financial crisis

If the decision stands, Barclays will avoid a trial which, if convicted, could have left it facing massive fines.

However, the lender said that the SFO is likely to challenge the decision, meaning the charges could be reissued and it could again be headed for the dock.

And four former senior bankers at Barclays  including then-chief executive John Varley, 62  still face criminal charges over the same issue and are due to stand trial in January next year.

For legal reasons, no details can be revealed about why the Barclays charges were dropped.

Barclays said: The crown court has dismissed all charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office against Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC regarding matters which arose in the context of Barclays capital raisings in 2008.

The SFO is likely to seek to reinstate charges by applying to a High Court judge to recommence proceedings via a new indictment of the same charges.

The dismissals do not and should not be taken to indicate any finding on the issue of whether a criminal offence has or may have been committed by other persons.

Barclays is also facing a High Court battle with glamorous financier Amanda Staveley over the fundraising from the Qataris.

Staveley, 45  an ex-girlfriend of Prince Andrew  represented Abu Dhabi investors who bought Barclays shares at the same time in 2008, and claims that her clients were unfairly given different treatment to Qatar.

She is suing the bank for as much as 721million, but the lawsuit is on hold until the criminal proceedings are finished.

It comes as Barclays fights to move on from past misdeeds.

In March it was fined 1.4billion by US authorities for selling toxic mortgages which helped trigger the financial crisis.

And chief executive Jes Staley was hit earlier this month with 1.1million of penalties for trying to unmask a whistleblower, but was allowed to keep his job.

The bank is also squaring up to corporate raider Edward Bramson, who has bought a 5.2 per cent shareholding and is demanding a radical shake-up.

He is expected to call for bosses to sell their prized trading operations to slash costs  a move likely to be fiercely resisted by Staley and chairman John McFarlane.

Varley and his three former colleagues are the only senior bankers to face trial for alleged wrongdoing during the crisis.

The SFO said yesterday: We are considering our position in respect of the ruling concerning the companies.

Barclays shares yesterday rose 0.7 per cent, or 1.4p, to 208.9p.The Government is exploring alternatives to tenancy deposits as it looks to make renting more affordable for tenants.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government report has found that deposits have become larger than they need to be to protect landlords, and prevent some tenants from moving or even entering the private rental sector.

The average tenancy deposit in the UK is now 1,161  an increase of 18.6 per cent over five years. On top of this, tenants often have to pay a new deposit when moving before they get their old one back.

The average tenancy deposit has increased 18.6 per cent over five years, now standing at 1,161

But a Government study, launched alongside a Bill which will result in a complete ban on letting fees, could shed light on the viability of the alternative options available to tenants.

According to The Tenancy Deposit Scheme, in March 2016 there were 3.4million tenancy deposits in the UK.

Ajay Jagota, founder of deposit-free renting firm Dlighted, said: Were talking about a system which sucks 4.2billion from our economy, makes renting unaffordable and costs landlords tenants without adequately protecting them against rent arrears and property damage.

Intervention is needed to address these market failures, and it could be here by the end of the year.

The results of the study will be shared in six months time.

What other options are available already?

There are currently a few alternatives on the market to tenancy deposits.

Zoopla-backed Zero Deposit allows tenants to buy an insurance policy for the equivalent of one weeks rent which protects their landlord for up to six weeks rent.

The difference between this and a normal deposit is that the renter doesnt get the money back at the end of the tenancy. Renters remain responsible for any financial loss or damage due to the landlord, as they would with a traditional tenancy deposit.

At the end of the tenancy, any claims found to be in the landlord's favour are paid to the landlord by Zero Deposit who then seek reimbursement from the tenant. If the tenant doesn't pay, the matter is handed to a debt collection agency.

To qualify for Zero Deposit tenants need to pass new tenant checks and be renting a property with a standard Assured Shorthold Tenancy agreement.

Zero Deposit is not available on all properties and are offered subject to the landlord's approval.

A company called Reposit provides a similar service, in that it allows tenants to pay the equivalent of one weeks rent, which is non-refundable, and protects the landlord for damage and loss worth six weeks rent.

Tenants are still liable for any damages and they still have to pay any costs at the end of the tenancy, like they would with a deposit. If the tenant leaves the property with no outstanding charges against them they get a discount on their next policy.

Jude Greer, co-founder of Reposit, welcomed the Government's study: 'It is great to see the Government considering alternative solutions to rental deposits,' he said.

'The industry presumes that because everyone is paying their deposits that there isnt a problem but the reality is they are in debt before their second rental payment.

Many schemes allow tenants to pay a non-refundable fee equivalent to one weeks' rent in lieu of a traditional deposit

'We would hope to see the Government advocating products like Reposit, which does provide the innovation needed and is engineered to make renting more affordable.'

With a service called Flatfair, tenants pay a weeks worth of rent, which covers the landlord for 12 weeks rent, rather than the typical six weeks worth.

Flatfair claims to be the fastest growing deposit alternative in the UK, having just signed a deal with the UKs largest independent estate agency Spicerhaart.

Franz Doerr, founder of Flatfair, said: 'The UK residential lettings model is broken.

'Agents and landlords focus primarily on getting the tenant into the house quickly at the beginning of the tenancy but then seem to care less about the tenant when moving out.

'We, therefore, welcome the Government encouraging innovation in the deposit space, which we believe is long overdue.'

Not all landlords are on board with these schemes and they may not be available to all tenants, who are subject to background checks on application.

Doerr explained: 'If a landlord or agent is not yet on board, we offer tenants to introduce us to them so we can take it from there. It's important that landlords give their consent.'

There is also Dlighted, an insurance intermediary which protects the landlord against unpaid rent or tenant damage. The renters are then liable for the costs of a successful claim made against them at the end of their tenancy.

What separates this from other schemes is that it is the landlord paying the premium, not the tenant.

Are they a realistic or desirable option?

Some observers are unconvinced that the deposit-free services available are a better solution than what is already on offer with a traditional tenancy deposit, however.

Dan Wilson Craw, director of campaign group Generation Rent, said that while such products may be attractive, there is a danger that tenants may end up worse off.

'If you pay a deposit, and you meet all your obligations as a tenant, you will get it back when you move,' he said.

The Government is proposing a complete ban on agent letting fees

'With these schemes, you pay 200 that youll never see again. For most tenants, it would be cheaper to borrow the money for a conventional deposit and pay it off over a few months than pay for a non-refundable insurance premium.

SHOULD DEPOSITS BE PASSPORTED BETWEEN PROPERTIES? Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, believes that Government should explore whether tenants should have the option to carry their deposits over to new properties. She said: 'Finding a new deposit worth six weeks rent before the old one has been returned causes big money worries for tenants renting privately. 'To help fix this, the government should amend the Tenant Fees Bill to cap deposits at the equivalent of four weeks rent. 'It should also consider introducing measures to allow deposits to move automatically to the new property, and prevent the need for "double deposits".'

'We could reform the system so that deposits could be passported between tenancies, and for the money to earn tenants a return while it is locked away.'

The schemes may be beneficial for landlords and managing agents, however. Reposit report that 17 per cent of Reposit tenancies end with some form of a charge to the tenant, which is lower than the 30 percent of traditional deposits that have some form of deduction.

But Richard Lambert, chief executive at the National Landlords Association, also has his doubts.

'Tenancy Deposit Protection has been around now for more than 10 years, and in the vast majority of cases the tenants deposit is returned without any deductions,' he said.

'This means that while a smaller, one-off payment may seem like a more cost-effective up-front expense for tenants, it could prove costly in the long-run for the majority who meet their obligations during the tenancy and would otherwise have been entitled to receive their deposit back in full.

'Above all, deposit protection is well understood by landlords and a viable alternative has yet to be proven.'

Ban on letting fees

The main proposal of the Government's Tenant Fees Bill is a complete ban on agent letting fees.

Letting agents charge an assortment of different fees to tenants, ranging from reference check fees to charges on the over-payment of rent. These would all be banned under the new proposals.

BUY-TO-LET MORTGAGE CALCULATOR Work out your monthly payments Mortgage amount:  Interest rate: % Duration: years Mortgage type: Interest only Repayment ::: Calculate ::: Monthly payment:

According to comparison site Letting Fees UK, as of April 2016 a two-person household paid an average 386 in letting fees, with fees charged ranging from 40 to up to 780.

The Government predicts that the Bill will cost landlords 83million, or 31 a landlord in the first year of implementation. It could also cost letting agents 157million and even lead to closures and employment losses.

Renters can expect to see a benefit of 240m over the next two years. However, landlords have warned that the measures may lead to tenants paying higher rent.

The Tenant Fees Bill also includes proposals to cap the amount that can be charged for a change to tenancy at 50, unless the landlord demonstrates that greater costs were incurred.

Poll Do you struggle with your rent or mortgage? Yes No Do you struggle with your rent or mortgage? Yes 139 votes

No 308 votes Now share your opinion





Alongside rent and deposits, agents and landlords will only be permitted to charge tenants fees associated with a change of a tenancy when requested by the tenant, as well as utilities, communication services and Council Tax, and payments arising from a default by the tenant, such as replacing a lost key.

A government consultation found that 58 per cent of the 4,700 respondents and 93 per cent of tenants agreed with the Governments proposed approach to ban letting fees to tenants.

The measures were first announced in Chancellor Philip Hammonds 2016 Autumn Statement. The government has indicated that the new rules will not come into force until Spring next year.Former Marks & Spencer boss Lord Rose is 3 million richer after grocery delivery firm Ocado struck a ground-breaking deal with a giant US supermarket.

Lord Rose is chairman of Ocado, the FTSE 250 firm which has unveiled a partnership with Americas second-largest supermarket group, Kroger, to use its technology.

The news sent Ocados share price soaring 44 per cent on Thursday and means that Ocado, run by founder Tim Steiner, is now valued at 5.3 billion  more than M&S at 4.7 billion.

Rosy: The Ocado chairman and former Marks & Spencer boss has shares worth 10 million

Lord Rose was chief executive of M&S for six years until 2010. He remained as executive chairman until the following year and also led the pro-EU campaign Britain Stronger in Europe.

He has 1.2 million shares in Ocado, which are now worth almost 10 million. He bought 750,000 when he joined Ocado in 2013 and was gifted 450,000 shares for a nominal sum.

The fact that Ocado is now worth more than High Street stalwart M&S is a reflection of the changing retail environment.

Ocado made a small loss last year. Investors waited years for its first overseas deal to materialise.

Now it has struck four in rapid succession, helping the shares to surge 175 per cent in a year.

In the fast lane: The fact that Ocado is now worth more than High Street stalwart M&S is a reflection of the changing retail environment

It is now in contention for promotion to the FTSE 100, while M&S is at risk of dropping out of the top tier for the first time since the index was established in 1984.

It would mark a major fall from grace for the fashion and food giant, which is due to reveal full-year profit figures on Wednesday.MBABANE  Make hay while the sun shines.

This was the advise of an economist who encouraged that companies, individuals and public institutions should invest in the E150 million infrastructure bond to widen their revenue base to cushion against challenging economic times in future. Investing in bonds is always a good business decision especially if the coupon rate is high, said the economist who preferred anonymity. On behalf of the State, the Central Bank of Swaziland (CBS) announced an eight-year infrastructure bond. The coupon rate for the bond will be fixed at 9.75 per cent and the auction date will be May 28, 2018 and the settlement date will be May 31, 2018. The bond will be issued by competitive multiple bid auction and is open to the public including individuals, corporate and institutional investors. All investors should apply through primary dealers who are the four local commercial banks, CBS announced.

The four commercial banks in the Kingdom of Eswatini are: Standard Bank, FNB, SwaziBank and Nedbank. It was mentioned that the purpose of the issuance of the bond was to raise finance capital for infrastructure projects which seek to stimulate economic, business and social development. CBS explained that the minimum bid size would be E10 000 for individual non-competitive bidders and E1 million for institutional investors. The interest payment date was reported to be November 30 and May 31 in each year, while the redemption date will be May 31, 2026. Successful bidders who fail to honour their obligations on time will be disqualified from participating in one subsequent bond auction, warned CBS.Eswatini has augmented its maternal mortality ratios in public health hospitals by almost 54 per cent within four years.

Between 2007 and 2011, institutional maternal death rate increased to 590 deaths of pregnant women per 100 000 births, as reported by United Nations agencies in the country. According to the World Health Organisation, maternal death is the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site of the pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management but not from accidental or incidental causes. The increase in the maternal mortality rate comes after government failed, for years, to prioritise health in the country, and thus reduce the deaths of women while pregnant or giving birth or after giving birth.

Health department statistics show that Eswatinis maternal death ratios have been doubling each year since 1990. Maternal mortality figures are strong measures of how badly the countrys public system is doing. Almost all the maternal deaths in the country occurred due to unavailability or fewer health systems and resources than the countrys population. Eswatini has over the years seen a massive increase in HIV infections. This was not, however, countered by decisive government policy and action, especially in so far as spending on health facilities, especially focusing on women generally and pregnant women in particular, is concerned. These, buttressed by the well documented high levels of poverty and poor social systems, resulted in the death of many pregnant women.

It is worth noting that maternal deaths for HIV positive women is also, perhaps mostly, caused by non-pregnancy related infections such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and meningitis, that people living with HIV who are not on treatment are likely to develop. Thus, HIV positive women who are not on antiretroviral drugs and have poor nutrition usually develop AIDS symptoms. Taking their treatment without food, as is too often the case in Eswatini due to the well-known extreme levels of poverty, only makes things worse. The bodies of these women become weak and their immune systems compromised. The risks of contracting other infections like TB are then increased tremendously as their bodies are by then too weak to fight them.

It is foreseen that maternal deaths are bound to increase in the immediate and midterm future due to lack of investment in public health hospitals and clinics. The public health system continues to be underfunded despite calls from the public for government to prioritise the health of the nation instead of unnecessary events. If more resources could be availed to tackle the causes of HIV, among other diseases, then the country could be in a position to reduce the number of women who die while giving life.NKHABA  Attractive as may be the terrain at Nkhaba, forget about acquiring land there if you do not have a relative.

Acquiring land through traditional structures (kukhonta) at Nkhaba Royal Kraal remains banned. This was a reminder by a member of the royal kraal, Bomgani Sigcokosiyancinca Dlamini to residents during the inauguration of the chiefdoms new headman (indvuna) Vusi Kunene yesterday. Kunene replaces former headman Paul Mefika Matsebula, who died in February in an accident involving a truck belonging to the Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC) and a kombi. Dlamini clarified that kukhonta was banned after the demise of the areas chief, who had the authority to allocate land to people. He said at times matters reached the courts as some people were allocated land illegally. He said although the ban was in force, life had to go on. Dlamini explained that the royal kraal could assist those who wanted to give land to their children and relatives.

He said it could assist those who wanted to allocate land to relatives within their land, and made an example of giving them land in family fields. The fact of the matter is that, allocation of land at Nkhaba was banned, he said. Dlamini cautioned the new headman to always remember and respect that. He also cautioned the headman to always respect acting Chief, Inkhosikati Molta Dlamini, despite that she was a female. In an interview, Dlamini clarified that kukhonta would only be allowed once there was a chief at Nkhaba. Supporting him in his response was the Nkhaba Inner Council Chairman, Abraham Dlamini, who explained that acquiring of land at Nkhaba stopped in 1999. Abraham said residents were only permitted to build new structures within their allocated family land. The chairman said what troubled them was that there were other chiefdoms which were taking advantage of the situation by illegally allocating land to people within the Nkhaba chiefdom.

He viewed this as an attack on the royal kraal, and said they had reported such acts to relevant authorities. When asked why the royal kraal chose Kunene to be the headman, Abraham said he had good working ethics. He described Kunene as someone who was willing to learn and was familiar with working with people at the royal kraal as he served as the indvuna yemajaha. He added that Kunene showed commitment in everything he did, but stated that sometimes he would be guided by the royal kraal to help him with his new position. Kunene was announced as the new headman to the about 50 residents, who had gathered at the royal kraal, by acting Chief Inkhosikati Molta. The acting chief, in her address which hardly took five minutes, first passed her condolences to the chiefdom for the loss of two former headmen, in Matsebula and Mgcabhi Shabangu. Vusi Kunene is your new headman, the Inkhosikati said. Kunene, in an interview, said he wanted to bring unity in the royal kraal so to achieve common goals instead of pulling in different directions. Like a man proud of his culture, he said he wanted to restore the culture of paying homage to traditional authorities at Nkhaba.MBABANE  Contrary to the fact that paramedics objective is to ensure safety for people, it is not the case with the people of Dumako, as they are transported by a faulty car to various hospitals.

Dumako is in the outskirts of Hlatikhulu in the Shiselweni region. The EMS base is one of the new stations that were recently opened. It was opened by Health Minister, Sibongile Simelane on April 9, 2018 much to the delight of the poverty stricken community. Sources within the area have disclosed that the vehicle, a white Landcruiser is not roadworthy, thus becoming an extreme danger to the patients, as well as the EMS employees. It is said the car has no interior lights, thus becoming a problem when transporting patients to hospital at night. In an incident that happened recently, it is alleged that cellphones light played a major role to provide light at night when a woman almost gave birth inside the vehicle, something that shocked the relatives who were accompanying the pregnant lady.

In addition, the back door is also faulty, as it is wrapped with a bandage to ensure that it closes properly. Sometimes when the car is in motion, the door just opens, thus causing a hazard to the people ferried by the vehicle. According to residents of the area, relatives of patients have resorted to hiring cars in the dusty area than relying on the EMS car. It is said they preferred spending huge sums of money to go to various clinics than to risk their lives by using the government vehicle. Our lives are in massive danger here. We are afraid that these paramedics car may roll with us while they are trying to help us. The vehicle they are using is not even roadworthy. If it is not changed, i am afraid more people will be exposed to danger, said a resident. Another source within the government entity revealed that the staff feared for their lives while using the car.

He revealed that while attending to the patients, they also needed to be cautious while travelling in the vehicle, thus not entirely concentrating on the job. We make sure that we protect ourselves at all costs in the car because we may end up in hospital as well, said the source, who preferred to remain anonymous. However, Sifiso Dlamini, who is the senior Regional paramedic for the Shiselweni region, said the last time he checked, the car was not bad. He went on to say that they did their best to make sure that they checked the vehicles before being used. Dlamini went on to say that if the vehicle had problems, it could be caused by the bad road. He said they would communicate with the ones using the car. We have not received any reports related to that matter. We normally make sure that the cars are checked before being used, he said.

MANZINI  As the local national elections draw near, some people are allegedly committing serious offences, robbing people and threatening to kill them and use their body parts for rituals.

A suspect, Mfanufikile Bongeka Manyatsi (28) of Mathangeni, Matsapha, allegedly kidnapped a woman, dragged her to a forest at knife-point and further threatened to kill her. The accused also told the woman, Thuli Mdluli, that he would remove her private parts and take them to a traditional healer. If I cannot get the money, I will kill you, remove your private parts and further take them to a traditional healer to make muti for the upcoming elections, the accused allegedly threatened. The incident occurred while the complainant was walking home from her place of employment, at Helemisi, where she is employed as a domestic worker. She told the court that while walking at Mhlaleni, near the late businessman, Boy Motsas car wash at about 4pm, a stranger emerged from nowhere and assaulted her with open hands.

While assaulting me, he demanded money. I fell down and he drew a knife and further took my handbag. He then ordered me to open the bag and give him my purse. he told me he wanted an amount of E5 000. I opened the bag and told him I only had E21.80. he took the money and further dragged me to the nearest bushes and sat me down. He asked me where I was employed and I told him I worked for a businesswoman as a domestic worker, the complainant said. Mdluli added that the suspect allegedly asked where her boss was employed and when she told him that she was a businesswoman, he allegedly ordered that she be called so she could pay a ransom fee of E5 000, otherwise she would stab her to death. The complainant was further allegedly dragged to the mountains by the livid Manyatsi, where upon arrival, he ordered her to call her boss and demand the money.

I called my boss and informed her that I had been held captive by a man who was demanding E5 000 otherwise I would get killed and my body parts taken to a traditional healer to make muti for the elections. While I was speaking to my boss, the suspect grabbed the phone and ordered her to pay the money otherwise he would kill me. My boss asked him where he was and how they could meet, however, she told him she did not have the amount of money he was demanding, Mdluli told the court yesterday. The complainant also told the court that the suspect insisted that her boss should meet him soon, otherwise he would kill her. Three hours later, at about 7pm, the complainants boss, Elsa Holzel, called and asked where she could meet the suspect. He suggested that they should meet at the nearest Puma Filling Station in 15 minutes and dragged me down the mountains. Along the way to meet up with my boss, he was severely assaulting and insulting me.MBABANE  Allegedly accepting imali yedrink from Asian nationals has resulted in a senior police officer being arrested and suspended from work.

Imali yedrink is money that is usually given to a person as a token of appreciation or sometimes to drive him to do favours for you. Inspector Ntokozo Alpheous Khumalo, who is based at the Police Headquarters in Mbabane under the IS (Intelligence Service) Department, has been slapped with 12 counts of corruption. IS is the police department which is, among other things, responsible for background checks of people, including foreigners who intend to settle or start businesses in the country. Khumalo appeared at the Manzini Magistrates Court where he was admitted to E3 000 bail. It is alleged that during the course of his employment, he would accept various amounts of monies from Asian nationals in return for favours. According to the charge sheet, all the 12 complainants in the matter are Asian nationals.

On Friday, Khumalo filed an urgent application at the High Court where he is seeking an order interdicting the Civil Service Commissin (CSC) from proceeding with his disciplinary hearing. This comes after the Executive Secretary of the CSC wrote him a letter inviting him to appear before it for a pre-suspension hearing. The national commissioner has reported to the Civil Service Commission that you were arrested and charged with 12 counts of contravening the Prevention of Corruption Act by a competent court of law at the Manzini Magistrates Court. You were granted bail to the tune of E3 000 on April 11, 2018, reads the letter of invitation dated May 7, 2018. In the letter, Khumalo was also informed that the national commissioner of police has recommended to the Civil Service Commission that he be suspended from duty pending finalisation of his criminal trial. His application to interdict the commission from proceeding with the hearing was filed by Khumalos attorney, Leo Ndvuna Dlamini. He is, among other prayers, seeking an order reviewing and setting aside the decision by the CSC of instituting a disciplinary hearing against him.

Respondents in the matter are the executive secretary of the CSC, The national commissioner of Police Isaac Magagula, attorney general and Assistant Commissioner of Police Vusi Mkhabela. Khumalo argued that the matter was urgent because the respondents were holding the disciplinary action against him contrary to the provision of Section 189(5) of the Kingdom of Eswatini Act of 2005. In his application, Khumalo stated that on May 12, 2018 he received a letter dated May 7, 2018 from the CSC. The letter had a brief outline that after a departmental investigation by the police and subsequent suspension from work, the CSC wanted to conduct a pre-suspension hearing, alleged Inspector Khumalo. He contended that it was common knowledge that no pre- suspension was done before his suspension on March 27, 2018. It is trite law that the suspension stands valid from the date when I was verbally suspended on March 27, 2018. A formal administrative decision to suspend me was taken as such I am on suspension, argued the senior law enforcer.Food accounts for 27 per cent of municipal waste in Oman, accounting for about OR57 million ($148.02 million) in a year, revealed the Oman Environment Services Holding Company (Beah).



Beah vice president Mohammad Al Harthy said that the amount of food wasted was generally higher during Ramadan as compared to the rest of the year, added the Times of Oman report.



Al Harthy called upon people to try to cut food wastage during the month of fasting, it said.



He further highlighted that the total cost of the food wasted is enough to cover 18 per cent of the annual food demand in the sultanate.



Al Harthy said that the study was based on an analysis of landfills.



He noted that the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) did a similar study and recorded findings that were almost identical.



Al Harthy said: Youd be surprised that food waste spikes during Ramadan. What one can do to cut this waste is to buy only what one needs and not exceed ones requirement.



The official claimed that a good way to bring down the food waste was to raise awareness about the issue among the masses.



Al Harthy requested people in the sultanate to raise awareness, and also suggested that the authorities can try to use this waste to produce compost for farming or biogas to derive energy out of it.



The Environment Society of Oman (ESO) has also called upon people not to waste food, added the report.Kuwait-based Equate Petrochemical Company, a global producer of petrochemicals, recently earned the Leed-Silver Building Design & Construction (BD+C) certification for its new headquarters, which fully complies with the US Green Building Council Leed programme, thus becoming a pioneer for green buildings in Kuwait.



Leed (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and provides an international framework to establish healthy, efficient and cost-saving green buildings. Equates headquarters, extending over 16,500 sq m, is the first building in Kuwait to receive the Leed-Silver (BD+C) certification for its design and construction.



Commenting on this achievement, engineering and construction department director Sulaiman Albader said: From the initial design of this new headquarters, we set our sights on making a difference in the green building movement. Our building conserves energy consumption through the reduction of water usage by 36 per cent, utilises solar energy to generate around eight per cent of the total building consumption, and achieves energy cost savings of 26 per cent, all of which make it an ideal green building in Kuwait. This achievement and all others were realised through the performance excellence of our human capital who deserve utmost appreciation and gratitude.



The Equate Group is a global producer of petrochemicals and the worlds second largest producer of ethylene glycol (EG). The group has industrial complexes in Kuwait, North America and Europe that annually produce over five million tons of ethylene, ethylene glycol (EG), polyethylene (PE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The products are marketed throughout Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Equate Groups shareholders include Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), Boubyan Petrochemical Company (BPC) and Qurain Petrochemical Industries Company (QPIC). - TradeArabia News ServiceAhead of the expected peak summer season, the idyllic Mediterranean island of Cyprus has celebrated record tourism arrivals for the first four months of the year, representing an increase of 19.5 per cent compared to January  April 2017.



New figures from Statistical Service of the Ministry of Finance revealed that overall visitor arrivals from January through to April of 2018 totalled 683,581 compared to 572,024 during the same period last year, outnumbering the total arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the first four months of the year.



April 2018 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month with arrivals reaching 314,143, compared to 286,331 in April 2017 - an increase of 9.7 per cent.



Kuwait and the UAE led percentage growth from the Gulf region, registering a 37 per cent and 7.7 per cent increase respectively during the first four months of the year.



This year has seen an increased marketing campaign across the GCC, further raising awareness of the destination and its offering, stimulating further demand from destinations that have direct air links to Cyprus, said Marinos Menelaou, acting director general at Cyprus Tourism Organisation, which is responsible for organising and promoting tourism within the Republic of Cyprus.



The introduction of direct flights from Abu Dhabi by Cobalt will support Emirates existing route from Dubai and provide additional reason to visit the idyllic island in the Mediterranean.



Travellers from across the GCC can reach Cyprus in three to four hours, with direct flights operated by Cobalt, Emirates, Qatar Airways and Gulf Air. - TradeArabia News Service

Jazeera Airways, Kuwait's leading low-cost airline, has officially inaugurated the Jazeera terminal (T5) at the Kuwait International Airport, announcing that it will start welcoming passengers through the terminal tomorrow (May 22).



The inauguration was announced at an event held at the terminal on May 20, and was attended by officials from the Kuwait Directorate for Civil Aviation, government entities, partners, travel agents and press.



The airline announced that all flights arriving in Kuwait on May 22 from 12:00 pm will arrive at the Jazeera terminal while departing flights will gradually be routed to the Jazeera terminal. All departing flights will be fully served from the new terminal starting May 27.



Speaking at the event, Jazeera Airways chairman, Marwan Boodai, said: We are very excited to welcome our first passengers on Tuesday. The new terminal was designed to facilitate their journey and provide them with a seamless travel experience thanks to a capacity exceeding 2.5 million passengers annually and state-of-the-art facilities that offer passengers advanced self-service check-in alternatives, a modern design to ease the flow of passengers, retail offerings, lots of parking spaces, and most importantly, a quick and simple 90-meter journey from parking to boarding. Our fast-paced travellers no longer have to worry about traffic at the airport



The first terminal owned by a non-government airline in the Middle East, the Jazeera terminal will ease traffic congestion at the Kuwait International Airport.



The terminal covers a total area of 4,750-sq-m and can handle an average of 1,200 bags per hour.



Check-in process

Twelve check-in counters are located at the ground floor level, of which two are dedicated to business travellers and baggage drop-offs for passengers who have checked-in online. Two car park check-in counters and self-service check-in kiosks will be made available in the parking structure and the terminal to enable passengers to check-in.



The terminal has its own passport control desks at departure and arrival, with only one security check after passport control and none required at the gates due to the new passenger flow system designed to separate departing and arriving passengers. The terminal connects directly to the Jazeera Airways dedicated gates B1, B2 and B3 at the Kuwait International Airport.



Short-term parking

The terminal is connected to a parking structure which accommodates 350 cars and gives passengers access to the terminal through a connecting tunnel.



Long-term parking: Park & Fly

Complementing the customer-centric terminal, Jazeera Airways Park & Fly service will connect passengers to the new terminal through a shuttle. Located at the Jazeera Airways headquarters opposite the Amiri Terminal, Park & Fly is ideal for passengers who opt to leave their car at the airport for a nominal fee of KD2.500 ($8.2) per day. Passengers can park their car, check-in, drop-off their baggage and enjoy a shuttle transport to the new terminal.



New shuttle service: Ride & Fly

Jazeera Airways launches on May 22 its newest shuttle service, Ride & Fly, enabling passengers to take a shuttle from dedicated bus stops in Kuwait, check-in on board and travel to the new terminal. - TradeArabia News ServiceAfter joining the Chamber of Commerce, Kara Haines Acupuncture celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony Monday, May 14, followed by an open house. All who attended were able to meet Haines and enjoy refreshments while getting a glimpse of her office located in the Hollingsworth Build-ing on East Main Street in Brevard.

Kara Haines Acupunc-ture opened its doors Sept. 15, 2017, after many long hours of construction, painting and decorating to turn a drab, dark colored dance studio into a warm, relaxing clinic. Located on the lower level of the Hollingsworth Building, Haines' practice invites comfort in a stress-free environment. Visitors step out of their busy lives and into a healing ambiance. In addition to acupuncture, Haines practices many different modalities within the scope of Chinese medicine, including cupping, gua sha, herbology, castor oil packs, moxabustion, nutritional therapy and more. Comm-unity style acupuncture "Happy Hour" is also offered every Tuesday and Thursday between 5-7 p.m., welcoming those interested in introductory, maintenance or stress relieving mini treatments.

Haines lives for travel, knowledge, the outdoors, helping others and expanding her horizons. Born and raised in Saudi Arabia, she has seen the world while adventuring in diapers. Later in life, she fell in love with acupuncture during her volunteerism in Costa Rica. Transitioning from a life of academics to becoming a business owner, Haines worked as an acupuncturist and herbalist aboard cruise ships; providing her with experience, excitement, lasting memories and friendships, and a great appreciation for finding a home to plant her roots in Brevard. Learning from each of her patients and sharing their goals toward health, she shows a passion for the medicine and compassion for all.

Haines has watched her dream unfold with the help of her father, Phil Haines; her first and forever patient, Ronnie Jenkins; her web designer, Patrick Evans; her hard workers, Leigh Gray and Cory Ecker; her inspiring partner, Daniel Flint; and the welcoming community of Brevard.

To learn more about Kara Haines Acupuncture or to book an appointment, call (828) 575-0123 or go online at http://www.KaraHainesAcu.com.Jill Hoggard Green, Ph.D., R.N., Mission Health's Chief Operating Officer (COO) and president of Mission Hospital, has been selected by Modern Healthcare as one of 2017's Top 25 COOs in health care. This prestigious recognition, given by the leading health care industry executive publication is designed to recognize health care's best chief operating officers.

"Jill's compassionate servant leadership and commitment to clinical excellence combined with her deep concern for our patients and team members are the primary drivers of her extraordinary success," said Ronald A. Paulus, M.D., president and CEO of Mission Health. "She possesses a unique blend of leadership skills, a deep appreciation of the needs of our Western North Carolina communities, an intense focus on quality and exceptional emotional intelligence that benefit our health system and our patients every day. There is no one more deserving of this honor."

Dr. Hoggard Green has been COO of Mission Health since 2011 and also serves as president of Mission Hospital. In managing the operations for a health system whose patients are older, poorer, sicker and less likely to be insured than state and national averages, the challenges can be extraordinary. Yet under Hoggard Green's leadership, in 2017, Mission Hospital provided $21 million more in charity care (compared to 2016) while cutting system-wide costs by nearly $70 million.

Hoggard Green has contributed to Mission Health being named a Top 15 Health System by IBM Watson Health for six of the past seven years and also led Mission Hospital to the designation as one of the nation's 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals by IBM Watson for the twelfth time in 2018.

Prior to joining Mission Health in 2011, Hoggard Green received her M.S. and Ph.D. in health care leadership and quality from the University of Utah College of Nursing. Her professional history includes serving as an oncology nurse at Intermountain Healthcare's LDS Hospital and later holding multiple leadership positions in patient care and quality improvement within Intermountain Health Care, Salt Lake City. Hoggard Green also was the Regional Chief Operating Officer for PeaceHealth's Oregon Region, part of a nine-hospital system based in the Pacific Northwest.

"I am truly honored to have been included among such an impressive group of individuals," said Hoggard Green. "I'm grateful to have been recognized for my efforts on behalf of Mission Health and our patients in Western North Carolina, but I'm also mindful that this recognition is the direct result of the dedication of all Mission Health team members who work diligently every single day to create exceptional patient and family experiences. Together, we are striving to reach our shared vision of providing the best care to our community."MSCS Alumni share their journeys from Mountain Sun to where they are now.

Ten years ago, Mountain Sun Community School began when a small group of parents and teachers came together to create a unique educational environment for the children of Transylvania County. Mountain Sun, an independent school, was formed as a nonprofit, parent-driven effort to create a community school that cultivates each child's passion and unique abilities.

On April 29, 2018 on the campus of Brevard Music Center, Mountain Sun's current home, more than 150 people came together in celebration of MSCS's 10th anniversary. There was live music by Pretty Little Goat String Band, barbecue with vegetarian options, crafts and games for kids, and a chance to reminisce about the last 10 years with alumni, friends, and family.

"As we grow and evolve, we are still what we have always been and always will be: a committed group of parents and educators dedicated to offering inspired holistic education for the children of this community," Executive Director Michael Brown said.

MSCS began in 2008 at St. Timothy United Methodist Church with 19 students. The children enjoyed a wooded outdoor space with rhododendrons to climb and a creek to explore. The next year, the school served students from preschool to fourth grade in two classrooms, the Sun and the Moon rooms.

In the fall of 2011, MSCS began its first year on the campus of Keystone Camp with three classes: Owl (Preschool and Kindergarten), Acorn (first through third grades), and Monarch (fourth through sixth). Mountain Sun then grew into middle school, and in the fall of 2016, the school moved to the campus of Brevard Music Center.

MSCS now has five classes and serves more than 75 students from age three through eighth grade.

The afternoon of celebration began with an introduction by current board chair, Dilshad Posnock. She explained her journey of finding Mountain Sun Community School after she and her husband moved to Brevard to join the Brevard Music Center's staff in 2008. She then introduced founding director, Julie Holt, who shared her love, excitement, and pride in Mountain Sun Community School.

"I decided to create a school that focused on the whole child," Holt said.

She explained that while dreaming up a new educational path, she decided to take matters into her own hands and design the school she'd always imagined for the children in this community. This dream became Mountain Sun Community School, where each student's unique potential is recognized and each child's passions and abilities are nurtured.

Past Board Chair Harvest Leasure then recognized all current and past board members. He passed the microphone down the line and allowed each member to express his or her time at Mountain Sun and why they believe in the school today.

"My son comes home every day and tells me that his day was awesome. His enthusiasm to go to school and learn is so powerful, and that's why I'm here," said a current board member and parent.

Founding teacher and current Monarch (fourth-sixth grades) teacher Becky Langerman was then invited to share her story. She explained the early days of working with students who have gone on to graduate from Mountain Sun Community School. She emphasized the daily work of the teachers.

"We honor who the child is, and help them realize the strength in their identity, while giving them tools to be heroes and empowered citizens in this world," she said.

She then invited all current faculty and staff to be recognized, and each was celebrated for their passionate work over the years.

Skyler Williams, member of the first class, represented the alumni of MSCS.

"I would not be who I am today without Mountain Sun," he said. "I can't even put into words how important this place has been in my life. I learned how to be true to myself and commit to my own path."

Current students, and also members of the original class, Arawen Leasure, Mary Ella Hastings, and Kathryn (Kat) Clark, joined the stage to represent all current students at MSCS. They chose to honor their time at MSCS by performing, "In My Life," by the Beatles.

"We feel like this song represents Mountain Sun best," said Hastings. "It put our feelings into a song that we could perform."

Current parent Rachael Duffy then recognized all parents who have been a part of Mountain Sun Community School. While her daughter twirled and danced around her, she said, "This school has provided a space for my two daughters to be sparkling, giggling, little girls. Mountain Sun has provided my family with a strong, tight-knit community that we are so grateful for."

Brown then brought the community together in a circle for gathering time, just as the school does every Friday morning.

"What we have to understand is that we are living our dream, and it's not just any dream. It's the dream for these children," Brown said. "It is wonderful to stand here among you and realize that something good and beautiful can come together in the world."

The community then joined in a moment of silence to recognize the space they hold for the children in this community, as the children sat in the middle of the circle of adults surrounding them. The silence was followed by the Mountain Sun Pledge. The children, families and community then sang "Inch by Inch" and the Mountain Sun song.

The afternoon was a beautiful community gathering that celebrated each person's integral part of creating and sustaining Mountain Sun Community School. Between gleeful smiles, hula hooping in the sunshine and enjoying delicious food, there was an immense amount of love, gratitude and celebration being shared.

(Mountain Sun Community School is honored to serve the children in this community. Mountain Sun Community School is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) independent school in Brevard, NC. Mountain Sun serves children ages 3 through middle school and combines Montessori education with outdoor exploration, artistic creativity, and community service. Visit http://www.mountainsunschool.orgor call (828) 885-2555 for more information.)Transylvania County is one of 10 North Carolina local governments chosen to work to address the opioid crisis in their communities through an intensive two-year program.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina and the UNC School of Government made the announcement Thursday. The School of Government and Blue Cross N.C. will provide the following to each participating community: five regional forums at which teams will form goals, set plans for implementation, collaborate across fields and jurisdictions, and learn from experts on opioid-related issues; School of Government support thr...The Pisgah Group of the Sierra Club welcomes western North Carolina filmmaker David Weintraub, creator of "Call of the Ancient Mariner," a new documentary which will be shown at the monthly meeting on Thursday, May 24, at 7:30 p.m.

"Mariner" tells the story of man's love affair with sea turtles that goes back since the dawn of time. The film was shot throughout the southeastern U.S., with original music created by local musicians. The film won Best of the Festival at the 2015 Charleston Film Festival and played to packed houses there. In addition to seeing this award-winning film, those...In the $100 billion vacation rental industry, Florida-based Weatherby Consulting holds a unique position as the preeminent provider of consulting services in the industry.



(TRAVPR.COM) CA - May 19th, 2018 - Miramar Beach, FL, May 19, 2018  In the $100 billion vacation rental industry, Florida-based Weatherby Consulting holds a unique position as the preeminent provider of consulting services in the industry.

Weatherby Consulting, with more than 100 buy-and-sell transactions and more than $200 million in sales of vacation rental companies in its first five years, is a rarity in the market, a company that not only provides buy-and-sell services, but vacation rental consulting, expert-level accounting services, and even partnership opportunities, where they partner with vacation rental companies to manage and increase the value of the business.

Were really blessed to work with the industrys best management companies, admits Weatherby Consulting founder and CEO Ben Edwards. There isnt a vacation rental management company out there we couldnt help in a meaningful fashion. It boils down to experience and weve operated in hundreds of resort destinations, from Key West to Whistler, Maui to Maine, Costa Rica to Cabo. You name a market and we have worked with someone there.

Weatherby, which celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, has more than 19 years of direct industry experience purchasing and selling vacation rental management companies, managing operations, finance and accounting, Weatherby Consulting can provide rapid, strategic advice to assist their clients.

A respected, innovative and experienced leader in the vacation rental industry, Edwards has worked with a number of companies and associations, including as President of Vacation Rental Management Association; President of Sanctuary Vacation Rentals, Inc.; Vice President of Royal Shell Vacations; Advisory Board Committee member of HomeAway; President of Waterstone Resorts and Vacation Homes; Board of Directors, Florida Vacation Rental Managers Association; General Manager of ResortQuest SW Florida; and member of the Board of Directors of VRMA.

The vacation rental industry is a growing and increasingly competitive market with a multitude of players at many levels. Not all are scrupulous or on the clients side, something Edwards hopes to counter with Weatherbys mission as an industry leader.

There are a lot of vultures out there now, so we want each transaction to follow an organized process in line with market rate terms, we ensure the transaction is fair and reasonable for both parties, says Edwards. Weve made meaningful changes in the lives of many companies. Were really proud of our work.

In 2015 Greg Herr joined Edwards bringing additional resources to the Weatherby team. Herr has over 25 years of vacation rental specific operations, marketing, management and financial expertise. Although Ben and I have worked together in different capacities for over 18 years the opportunity to join Weatherby Consulting was simply too good to pass up. It has been an exciting and busy three years and the work we do pulls from every bit of my vacation rental experience, but I absolutely love working with our clients to help improve their businesses.

In addition to consulting Mr. Herr assists Edwards in providing transaction advisory services. It is very rewarding to help a business successfully execute a sale. Often times the seller of a vacation rental business has poured a significant portion of their career into the creation and growth of the business. Helping them get maximum value for the business is incredibly important and rewarding. Says Herr.

Leading Weatherbys Accounting Services Division is vacation rental accountancy expert Stacey Herr. With Staceys over 25 years of vacation rental accounting experience, Edwards, and team, have been able to shore up an area of consulting that many vacation rental companies overlook, the accountancy of owning and managing a vacation rental business.

Weve ramped up the accounting side of our business in the last 16-24 months, says Stacey Herr, of Weatherby. Weatherby, accounting service dovetail into the profitability consulting we provide. In numerous cases, we were trying to provide consultative advice based upon bad information and so the accounting service division was born. Currently, we provide routine accounting services and prepare actionable financial statements for a number of clients in many markets.

The monthly financial package prepared for their accounting clients is a fundamental component to understanding a companys key drivers of profitability. It also provides actionable data allowing companies to increase profits, reduce operational expenses, implement new technologies and target new sources of revenue.

Weatherby now provides comprehensive consulting and transaction advisor services, plus accounting services to more than 30 companies across the U.S. and internationally.

About Weatherby Consulting

Weatherby Consulting provides strategic transaction advisory services, vacation rental consulting and expert accounting services to create opportunities and solutions in the highly competitive vacation rental and resort management industries.

Founded in 2013 by vacation rental industry veteran Ben Edwards, Weatherby Consulting is the preeminent provider of consulting services in the vacation rental industry with more than 100 buy-and-sell transactions and more than $200 million in sales of vacation rental companies throughout his career.

Based in Miramar Beach, Florida, Weatherby Consulting delivers high-impact results, provides partner-level attention and implements solutions tailored to address every clients unique goals and objectives.

Weatherby Consulting has worked with industry leading clients in more than 200 resort markets across North America and beyond. With more than 19 years of industry and accounting knowledge, Weatherby Consulting provides rapid, strategic advice to assist our clients with purchase-and-sale transactions, profitability consulting and vacation rental specific financial reporting.

With an unwavering dedication to both the short- and long-term interests of your company, our services are designed to identify underlying issues, provide straightforward answers, and create solutions that will achieve the maximum financial benefit and a competitive advantage for your organization.

Their services include:

1. Transaction Advisory Services  This service line includes the purchase and sale of Vacation Rental Companies, our primary service line.

2. Vacation Rental Consulting  We provide consulting services focused creating sustainability, efficiencies and increased profits.

3. Accounting Services  We provide expert-level accounting services and financial reporting to more than 30 companies across the U.S.

4. Partnership Opportunities  Weatherby Consulting is willing to partner with Vacation Rental Companies to more effectively manage certain business operations and substantially increase the value of the business.

Weatherby Consulting, LLC

755 Grand Boulevard

Suite 105-275

Miramar Beach, Florida 32550

Toll-Free: (888) 304-1405

Fax: (888) 304-1405

Email: info@weatherbyconsulting.com

Contact:

Marci Bracco Cain

Chatterbox PR

Salinas, CA 93901

(831) 747-7455

http://www.weatherbyconsulting.com

###singhking99@yahoo.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 20

In a scathing attack on the BJP government, former Union Minister Harmohan Dhawan said on Sunday it was his biggest mistake to support the BJP in the last parliamentary elections.

Addressing supporters in the presence of veteran leaders Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha at his residence, Dhawan said during the past four years, the BJP failed to fulfil even a single promise of the 60 it made to people before the elections.

Dhawan said it was difficult for him to answer people when they asked him what the party had done for them.

Dhawan challenged BJP leaders to show even a single promise they had fulfilled. Though Dhawan did not announce his future plan, he said his identity in politics was not because of the BJP, but because of the work he had done for the people in the past 40 years of his political career.

Former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha and Shatrughan Sinha also spoke on the occasion and asked the workers to wait for the change, which has started.

Yashwant Sinha said due to the wrong policies of the BJP government, people of the country had been suffering a lot.editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 20

While launching a scathing attack on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government at the Centre, former Union Minister Yashwant Sinha accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of subverting the democracy and its values.

Accompanied by veteran BJP leader Shatrughan Sinha, while addressing a press conference at the Chandigarh Press Club on Sunday, Sinha said the Modi government had failed on all fronts.

He said the government failed to fulfil the promises made to the public before the Parliamentary elections in 2014. Due to the wrong policies of the government, there had been a feeling of hopelessness in the country.

From economic situation, issues concerning farmers, foreign policy to democracy, the veteran leader attacked the Modi government on various issues. He said democracy, traditions, institutions and several such things were under threat under the government.

While answering the question on the Karnatakas episode, the veteran leader said the constitution was repeatedly violated in the state by the BJP government.

While denying any political ambition, he said his only aim was to spread awareness from his Rashtra Manch to save the democracy, which is under threat at present. Dismissing the governments claims of creating more jobs, he pointed that the government had been making a fool of the people. Sinha said the government had also failed to deal with Pakistan.

Shatrughan Sinha also criticised several policies of the BJP and said he would continue to speak truth even if some called it anti-party activities. Sinha claimed that internal democracy in the BJP was destroyed.editorial@tribune.com

Chandigarh, May 20

A 38-year-old woman was killed after she allegedly jumped before the New Delhi-Kalka Shatabdi around noon on Sunday.

The victim, Nisha (38), was a resident of Housing Board Colony in Kalka. The incident took place at the railway crossing near the Pinjore-Nalagarh road. She was a teacher at a school in Amravati Colony.

Though no suicide note was recovered, the police said Nisha jumped on her own before the train.

She had been married for 15 years. Her husband, Rohit, told the police that Nisha hailed from Patiala and was a schoolteacher in Amravati.

She is survived by her husband and their 13-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son. Rohit told the police that around 11 am, she left the house on her scooty saying that she had some work. He said he got to know about the death after getting a call from Nishas phone.

The police said a passerby called up Rohit from Nishas mobile phone.

It is a case of suicide. The body had been handed over to the family members after a postmortem, said Jaipal, SHO of the Government Railway Police, Kalka. TNS

youth jumps before train, dies p4editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 21

The body of a Batala-based man, Nishan Singh, was flown to the city from Saudi Arabia on Monday. Singh lost his life while transporting a chemical that fell on him accidently. Members of Helping Hapless, an NGO, which helped the family bring the body, were also present at the airport. Amanjit Kaur Ramoowalia, president of the NGO, informed that Nishan Singh was a native of Langarwal village in Batala. He had been working in Saudi Arabia for the past three years as a truck driver. He died on April 7. His family contacted us for help in bringing his body.

He was the sole breadwinner for the family, having three sisters.uttara@tribuneindia.com

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, May 21



Haryana School Education Board announced Class 10 results on Monday. Some 51.15 per cent of regular candidates (1,86,586 of 3,64,800 candidates) passed th examination, a marginal improvement over last years 50.49 per cent

At 55.34 per cent girls did better that boys, whose pass percentage was 47.61.

On the other hand, 7,916 of 11,864 private candidates (66.72%) passed the examination, a dramatic rise from last years 35.48 per cent.



Students can log on to www.bseh.org.in and www.indiaresults.com, or use the education boards app Education Board Bhiwani Haryana after 5 pm for their results. The app is available on Google Playstore.

Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said on Monday students could download results and certificates from the boards digital locker, introduced for the first time this year, at their convenience.

Jinds Kartik, a student of Nav Durga Senior Secondary School took the top spot with 498. Selina Yadav from Rewaris Jeevan Jyoti Senior Secondary School, Sonali from Sirsas Saraswati High School, and Hariom from Palwals Bal Vidya Niketan Senior Secondary School were tied for second with 495.

Riya from Ambalas SMB Geeta Senior Secondary School, Preeti from Mohengdergarh Paras Senior Secondary School, and Zeegyasa from Panipats Tangore School Devi Murti Colony came third with 494.

Ria of SMB Geeta Senior Secondary School, Ambala, Preeti of Paras Senior Secondary School, Mahendergarh, and Jigyasa of Tagore School, Panipat, have jointly bagged the third rank by securing 494 marks each.

All marks are out of 500.



amansharma@tribunemail.com

Jammu, May 21

Pakistani troops targeted border outposts and villages with mortar shells and small arms in Jammu district on Monday, killing an eight-month-old boy and injuring six, including a special police officer, officials said.

Firing from across the border took place in several areas along the Line of Control (LoC) and the International Border (IB), drawing effective retaliation from the Indian troops, the officials said.

Eight-month-old Nitin Kumar, sleeping with his family outside their home in Pallanwala sector along the LoC, was killed in Pakistani firing, while six people, including the special police officer, were injured in Pakistani shelling in Arnia sector along the IB.

Today's firing, in violation of a ceasefire agreement, came two days after four civilians and a BSF jawan were killed in firing by Pakistani troops in Jammu district.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, who met a few victims of Saturday's attack, described the killings as "highly unfortunate".

She said the attacks came when Ramzan had just begun and the people of the state had heaved a sigh of relief after the central government announced an unilateral halt to security-related operations in the state during the holy month.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh said by killing people during the holy month of Ramzan, Pakistan "is guilty of sacrilege".

According to the BSF, "Pakistani troops started mortar shelling in civilian areas in Arnia sector around 0700 hours."

Border Out Posts (BoPs) of Vikram, Chinaz and Jabowal were hit by Pakistani shelling.

BSF troops guarding the border retaliated and the heavy exchange of fire between the two sides stopped around 1400 hours, a BSF officer officer said.

Pakistan Rangers rained mortar shells on Arnia town. A mortar shell landed at a police station, damaging its wall and some parked vehicles. It also killed a special police officer (SPO).

The heavy firing triggered panic among locals. Many of them fled from home and took shelter in camps set up by the government.

According to the officials, the intense Pakistani shelling started a day after it "pleaded" with the BSF to stop firing, after being pounded with heavy artillery that left a Pakistani trooper dead.

In the firing by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Pallanwala sector in Jammu district, eight-month-old Nitin Kumar was killed in Sherpalai hamlet, a police officer said.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Jammu, Vivek Gupta said six people including the SPO and 62-year-old woman Darshana Devi were injured in Pakistani shelling and have been hospitalised.

All schools within 5 km of the border have been closed as a precautionary measure, he said.

The state has witnessed a spurt in Pakistani shelling and firing along the IB and the LoC this year. Over 700 such incidents have been reported this year, which have left 38 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.

The chief minister today visited the house of Tarseem Lal and his wife Manjeet Kour, who were killed in Pakistani shelling in Mangu chak belt of R S Pura sector on Saturday.

She assured all support to the victims of the border firing and consoled the families.

Interacting with the people there, the chief minister described the killings as "highly unfortunate".

She said the people of the state, who had gone through very tough times in the past, wanted to live in an environment free from violence and killings.

She said the Centre's move of halting security operations had generated a hope among the people who expected positive reciprocation to it from all stakeholders. - PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Srinagar, May 20

The signatures of Vishal Jangotra, an accused in the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua in January, does not match the one which he claimed to have signed in an exam attendance sheet in Meerut to claim he was not at the crime scene, according to a report of forensic experts.

The report by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), detailing this conclusion, has been submitted to the crime branch of the J&K Police, according to officials in the probe team.

The crime branch, meanwhile, issued notices to all three friends of Vishal for appearing before it for questioning tomorrow after the Supreme Court gave a go-ahead on May 17 for their further examination.

The officials said the report had stated that Vishal had not put the signature on the attendance sheet and it was done by someone else.

Vishal, one of the eight accused arrested in the case for raping and murdering the girl from the minority nomadic community, had claimed that he was in Meerut and had never visited Kathua when the crime was committed. He had also told the investigators that he had signed the attendance sheet before the exam on January 15.

The crime branch had sent the attendance sheet to the CFSL for having an opinion as the probe indicated that the signatures appeared to have been made by some friend of Vishal as his train from Jammu to Meerut was late and he had reached Meerut after the examination was over, officials said.

The questioner of examined documents (QED), who is an expert on examination of handwriting samples, opined that the signatures on the attendance sheet did not match with that of Vishal, son of Sanji Ram, the alleged mastermind of the murder, the officials said.

The police wanted to again question his three friends  Sachin, Neeraj and Sahil  but they had approached the SC earlier this month alleging harassment by the crime branch. The apex court on May 17 directed them to appear before the crime branch but said in its order that a relative of each of the witnesses shall be allowed to accompany him, but the said relative shall not enter into the investigation room. However, he shall remain at a reasonably visible distance.

The SC made it clear that these directions should not remotely be inferred that there is any kind of harassment by the investigating agency. The officials said that the three would be questioned tomorrow and all the directions of the apex court would be adhered to.

In its chargesheet, the crime branch had mentioned that some officials of the university had allegedly received a huge amount as kickback from accused Sanji Ram.

The aspect needs further investigation as records are to be collected from the college and university concerned... after conducting further investigation a supplementary charge sheet shall follow, the chargesheet had said.

Vishal is among the eight persons chargesheeted by the crime branch in the rape and murder of the girl. The charge sheet also claimed that Sanji, who has been termed as a main conspirator, had planned the kidnapping of the girl only to drive away nomads fromKathua.

The crime branch has alleged in the charge sheet that Vishal had tried to create an alibi of his absence from the crime scene by allegedly resorting to manipulation of records and creation of false evidence with the connivance and assistance of his father Sanji Ram.

Vishal, who is pursuing bachelor of agriculture from a college in Meerut, has been charged by the crime branch with raping and helping in the murder of the girl along with a juvenile (main accused and a relative of Sanji Ram) and SPODeepak Khajuria, alias Deepu. The girl was kidnapped on January 10 and her body was recovered on January 17. She was murdered on January 14 and her body had been dumped in a jungle.  PTI

Crime branch to again quiz his 3 friendsrchopra@tribunemail.com

Srinagar, May 21

Authorities on Monday imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar city to thwart plans by separatists to hold a rally at Eidgah to mark death anniversaries of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone.

Restrictions under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed in five police station areas of the old city as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order, a police official said.

Police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed in strength in Safakadal, Rainawari, Nowhatta, MR Gung and Khanyar police station areas to prevent separatists from organising the rally at Eidgah.

The separatists, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL), had called for a march to Eidgah to pay tributes to Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq who was killed by militants on this day in 1990 and Abdul Gani Lone, who fell to the bullets of militants during a commemoration function for the slain Mirwaiz in 2002.

Normal life remained affected across the valley due to the strike called by the JRL for commemorating the death anniversaries of the slain leaders.

Business establishments, schools, colleges and other educational institutions remained closed while public transport was off the roads in most parts of the valley. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Arteev Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, May 21

Shelling by Pakistan continues to force the closure of schools along the International Border in the Jammu region, but the state government is yet to formulate an education policy for children living in forward areas.

In the past one week, the education department has closed more than 300 government and private schools along the International Border following intense shelling by Pakistan Rangers.

We are worried about the bleak future of our children as they are unable to get normal education in the prevailing circumstances. Neither the Centre nor the state government is bothered about what we and our children have been facing on a daily basis. The Central government should either find a permanent solution to this problem or else provide us plots in safer places so that our children can live a normal life, said Toshi Devi, an elderly woman at Arnia village.

There are about 150 government schools within a radius of 5 km in border areas, including Bishnah, RS Pura, Arnia, Suchetgarh, Khour and Jourian, in Jammu district that are prone to Pakistans misadventures. Any skirmish on the border forces the children and their families to leave their homes and stay in relief camps without books and teachers. Many times, their stay at relief camps prolong for several weeks due to hostile conditions along the border, said JK Sudan, Chief Education Officer (CEO), Jammu.

The Samba CEO Rampal Bal said they had to close 67 government schools along the IB in the Ghagwal, Samba and Ramgarh zones twice this week due to Pakistan shelling.

Sources said the education department had put up a proposal to the government for a policy to take special care of the schooling of border children but nothing had been achieved so far.

A senior officer of the education department, preferring anonymity, said the government was aware of the disruption to normal classwork in border belts. We will hold remedial and additional classes for students to minimise the loss to their education. A comprehensive education plan for border children is under discussion, he said.

In forward areas, edu takes backseatgspannu7@gmail.com

London [United Kingdom], May 21

Prince Harry, who seemed absolutely in awe of actress and now Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, went to the latter's dress designer Clare Waight Keller of French Fashion House Givenchy, to thank her.

He came straight up to me and said, oh my God, thank you. She looks absolutely stunning, People quoted Keller, as telling reporters on Sunday at Kensington Palace in London.

I think everybody saw on television he was just absolutely in awe. I think she looked incredible, she added.

The Givenchy designer highlighted that she had the opportunity to talk to the newlyweds at the lunchtime reception.

Markle wore a boat-necked, sculpted white dress for her Royal wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday, designed by Keller for French fashion house Givenchy.

Markle looked beautiful in the pure white silk Givenchy gown, which was 15 feet veil embroidered with flowers and held in place by a diamond tiara lent by the Queen for her wedding.

Markle met Keller earlier this year and the pair worked closely together on a design that Kensington Palace described 'epitomises a timeless minimal elegance', according to the official site of the British Royal Family.

The open bateau neckline frames Markle's shoulders and emphasises the slender sculpted waist of the dress. The shape is achieved using just six seams, and the dress flows towards a train at the back, cushioned by an underskirt of triple silk organza. The sleeves are slim and three-quarter length.

It is made of a pure white double bonded silk cady - a thick fabric - which has a soft matt luster.

The veil was made of silk tulle with a trim of hand-embroidered flowers in silk threads and organza. It was five meters long and had to be held by two pageboys as Markle arrived.

It depicts the distinctive flora of each country in the Commonwealth, the 53-nation grouping for which Price Harry is an ambassador.

The embroidery took hundreds of hours to complete, with workers washing their hands every 30 minutes to keep the tulle and the threads pristine.

Markle's veil was held in place by Queen Mary's diamond bandeau tiara, which was loaned to her by Queen Elizabeth II.

Made in 1932, it comprises 11 sections, with a detachable centre of ten diamonds that can be worn as a brooch.

Markle also wore earrings and a bracelet by Cartier.

Prince Harry, sixth in line to the British throne, and Markle sealed their wedding vows with a kiss outside Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel on Saturday, cheered on by thousands of delighted crowds.

The couple - now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - exchanged rings in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and 600 celebrity guests. The Dean of Windsor, the Right Reverend David Conner, conducted the wedding service while the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, officiated it.

Actress and now Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle wore a boat-necked, sculpted white dress for her Royal wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday, designed by Clare Waight Keller for French fashion house Givenchy.  ANI.amansharma@tribunemail.com

Panaji, May 21

An all-woman crew commanding the INSV Tarini on Monday returned to Goa after successfully circumnavigating the globe in a 55-ft sailboat in more than eight months, the first-ever Indian expedition steered by women sailors.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba welcomed the crew at INS Mandovi boat pool in Panaji.

The 'Navika Sagar Parikrama' expedition was flagged off on September 10.

Terming the expedition historic, Sitharaman said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would meet the six crew members in Delhi on Wednesday.

Led by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi, the crew comprising lt commanders Pratibha Jamwal and Swati P, lieutenants Aishwarya Boddapati, S Vijaya Devi and Payal Gupta covered a total of 21,980 nautical miles in INSV Tarini, inducted into the Indian Navy on February 18 last year.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi kept a tab on what is going on (with Navika Sagar Parikrama). Occasionally, he also directly spoke to them and kept the nation's motivation and interest on," Sitharaman said after receiving the crew.

She said she felt "honoured" by the achievement of the young women.

"I just don't want to say that it is a pleasure (to receive the crew), I feel honoured and I feel humbled by the great achievement of these six women," the minister said.

She recalled that flagging off the crew on September 10 last year was her first "out-of-Delhi appointment", three days after she became the defence minister.

She praised the women for making history.

"And today, by the grace of God and the grit and courage that the girls have shown, they are back home to join all of us, having made history," she said.

The minister said "the feat is not about girls' achievement, it is (about) youngsters from India achieving and it is a whole motivation for the youth. The women of the country have shown to youngsters that if they want to do something they can do it indeed".

She said she followed the circumnavigation everyday.

"I have not contributed anything except one retweet of the navy spokesperson in the morning to say where they are and what is their location. In fact, that just one retweet in the morning became the first thing...wherever I went in the country, the conversation would start with 'how are the girls'?" she said.

"That became the conversation amongst many people who were closely following ministry of defence," Sitharaman said.

The minister said the girls have made history not only for themselves but also for the Navy.

"In every small way and big way, the Navika Sagar Parikrama is something that we can be proud of for generations to come," she said.

The six women officers were trained for the project under Captain Dilip Donde, the first Indian to solo-circumnavigate the globe between August 19, 2009, and May 19, 2010, onboard the Indian-built vessel INSV Mhadei, a Navy official said.

A Navy spokesperson said the expedition was completed in six legs, with stopovers at Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falkland Islands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Mauritius.

"The crew covered 21,600 nautical miles in the Indian-built sailing vessel INSV Tarini that visited five countries and crossed the Equator twice. It sailed across four continents and three oceans, and passed south of the three Great Capes - Leeuwin, Horn and Good Hope," the spokesperson said. - PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Ramakrishna Upadhya

THE pangs of government formation have hit the JD(S)-Congress combine hard in Karnataka, as even 24 hours after receiving an invitation from the Governor, Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy was unable to go beyond fixing the date of swearing-in.

Raj Bhavan has been informed that Kumarasw-amy will take oath on Wednesday on the grand steps of the Vidhana Soudha, with the time of the ceremony to be communicated later. The venue itself was changed twice, as the initial plan was to hold it at the Kanteerava stadium.

Editorial: The aborted floor test

There was hectic activity in both the camps as the Congress and JD(S) legislators held separate meetings and discussed strategies on Cabinet formation.

The Congress is demanding the posts of Deputy CM and the Speaker and a lions share of Cabinet positions, considering that it won 78 seats compared to 37 by the JD(S). While a section of leaders want G Parameshwara, a Dalit, to be made Deputy CM, the Lingayats are demanding that the post be given to their community as they narrowly lostthe chief ministership.

The supporters of ex- CM Siddaramaiahs son Yatheendra came in two buses from Mysuru to Bengaluru demanding Yatheendra be made a minister. Siddaramaiah, having now become leader of the legislature party, is under pressure from his former colleagues for berths.

Those who have won more than four terms have put up the demand that they should get priority, but others are arguing that regional and caste balance should be maintained.

In the JD(S), Kumaras-wamy cannot ignore giving an important position to his elder brother and senior legislator HD Revanna as the latter has lost out on the CM post on both occasions.

Kumaraswamy will also have problems in giving adequate representation to various communities on his side as a majority of them belong to the Vokkaliga community.

Kumaraswamy told report-ers on Sunday that nothing has been decided yet either on the Cabinet formation or the posts to be shared with the Congress. He said he will visit Delhi on Monday, meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi and personally invite

From page 1

them to the swearing-in ceremony, adding, I will take up the issue of Cabinet formation with them.

Meanwhile, the JD(S) has decided to turn the coming of a coalition government in Karnataka into a show of Opposition unity across the country. Trinamool Congress Mamata Bannerjee, TDPs Chandrababu Naidu, TRS KC Chandrasekhar Rao, BSPs Mayawati, SPs Akhilesh Singh Yadav and National Conferences Farooq Abdullah have been invited to the swearing-in ceremony.

There is talk of having a coordination committee between the two coalition partners to reconcile differences.

Both the Congress and JD(S) have made many unrealistic promises in their manifestos, especially to the farmers involving Rs 2 lakh crore and it will have to be seen how they will work out a formula, as the state is already burdened with huge debts left behind by the previous government.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Balasore (Odisha), May 21

India on Monday successfully test-fired the Indo-Russian joint venture BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from a test range along the Odisha coast to validate some new features.

The missile was test-fired from a mobile launcher stationed at Launch pad 3 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near here at 10.40 am, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officials said.

The trial was conducted to validate its life extension technologies developed for the first time in India by DRDO and team BraHmos, said an official of the ITR.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated DRDO scientists and team BrahMos for the successful launch of missile with new technology today.

Smt @nsitharaman congratulates Team Brahmos & @DRDO_India for successful flight test carried out at 1040 hrs on 21 May 2018 from ITR, Balasore to validate BRAHMOS missile life extension technologies developed for the first time in India, her office said in a twitter post.

The successful test will result in huge savings of replacement cost of missiles held in the inventory of the Indian Armed Forces, it said.

The two-stage missile  first being solid and the second one, a ramjet liquid propellant  has already been inducted in the Army and Navy, while the Air Force version had witnessed successful trial, the DRDO scientists said.

BrahMos variants can be launched from land, air, sea and under water. India successfully launched the worlds fastest supersonic cruise missile from a Sukhoi-30 MKI combat jet for the first time against a target in the Bay of Bengal in November, 2017, they said.

The missiles land and naval variants are already in service. At least two Su-30 squadrons with 20 planes each are planned to be equipped with the air-launch variant BrahMos missile, 500 kg lighter than land/naval variants.

India has already extended the range of the three-tonne missile from its earlier 290 km to 400 km and successfully test-fired the variant in March 2017.

Increasing the missiles range from 400 km to further 800 km is now possible after Indias induction into the Missile Technology Control Regime in June 2016, they said.

Prior to that, India was bound by restrictions that limited the range of the missile, which is an Indo-Russian joint venture product, to less than 300 km.

Currently the Army is equipped with three regiments of Block 111 version of Brahmos missile. Induction of the first version of BrahMos missile system in Indian Navy began with INS Rajput in 2005. It is now fully operational with two regiments of the Army, said the scientists.

After two successful test trials of BrahMos missile from INS Kolkata in June 2014 and February 2015, the test firing from INS Kochi on September 30, 2015, had validated the newly commissioned ships systems.

The air launch version and the submarine launch version of the missile system are in progress.

So far, the Army has placed orders for the BrahMos missile which are to be deployed by three regiments. Two of them are already operational.

The last land-based trial was conducted from the same base on March 11, 2017, successfully. PTIrchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 21

Any comment from Islamabad calling for peace between the two countries would be taken seriously by India, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Monday in the backdrop of the Pakistan Army chief favouring talks to resolve lingering disputes.

The minister said the armed forces would fully honour the governments decision not to launch any operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the holy month of Ramzan.

Any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously, Sitharaman told reporters on the sidelines of an event when asked about the Pakistan Armys recent indication of supporting peaceful resolution of disputes between the two countries through talks.

Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa had said last month that a peaceful resolution of disputes, including Kashmir, would be possible through talks between the two countries.

His comments came amid the impression, persisting for decades, that the Pakistan Army was not supportive of talks with India.

Asked about the recent incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan and whether India would stick to its decision not to launch any operation in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan, Sitharaman said the armed forces would abide by what was announced by the Centre.

We shall fully honour the policy which the Home Ministry on behalf of the Government of India announced. The policy has clearly laid out how it is going to pan out and we shall abide by everything that was announced, Sitharaman said on the sidelines of a seminar on artificial intelligence.

Speaking at the seminar, she underlined the need for incorporating AI applications in the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

She said AI could also be utilised in checking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons as well as keeping a vigil on outer space.

The Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling along the International Border (IB) in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday night. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Suresh Dharur

THE emergence of a regional party, not as kingmaker but the king, in neighbouring Karnataka has come as a boost for Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao who has been rooting for a federal front.Ever since unveiling his plans in March last to play a key role in national politics, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) founder president has been in touch with leaders of various regional parties to impress upon them the need for forging an alternative force at the national level ahead of the 2019 polls.

The recent developments in Karnataka have vindicated our stance. The importance of the regional parties will gain strength in the days ahead, TRS sources claimed.

Incidentally, KCR, as the CM is known in political circles, is among the invitees for the swearing-in ceremony of JD (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy as Karnataka CM in Bengaluru. As part of his efforts to build a federal front of regional parties, he had met JD (S) supremo HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru last month in the midst of electioneering in that state.

TRS circles argue that the Karnataka developments in the run-up to government formation have virtually set the template for the General Election 2019 and could boost Opposition unity. KCR, widely seen as the architect of the Telangana statehood movement, had in March last vowed to play a key role in national politics to bring about a qualitative change in politics and governance.

Though initially he spoke about forging a non-Congress, non-BJP formation, he now appears to have softened his opposition to the Congress after holding parleys with leaders across the political spectrum.

Nobody is untouchable. We are keeping our options open, KCR had said recently after meeting Akhilesh Yadav in Hyderabad. The Karnataka model is an indication that the 2019 elections will see regional parties leading the fight against the BJP, with the Congress, at best, playing second fiddle, a senior TRS leader said.

However, it remains to be seen how the TRS, founded in 2001 with the single-point agenda of achieving statehood for Telangana, would reconcile to the presence of Congress, even as a junior partner, in the proposed federal front. The Congress remains the principal political adversary for the TRS in Telangana, while BJP is only a marginal player. There have been allegations that KCRs federal front idea is only aimed at indirectly benefiting the BJP-led NDA in the elections. His detractors point out that he has been meeting leaders of only those parties who are friendly with the Congress in a bid to lure them away from the UPA.

It is just a smokescreen to indirectly strengthen the BJP ahead of the elections. On the face of it, KCR may appear to be criticising the BJP and the Congress equally, but covertly, he is a strong supporter of PM Narendra Modi. After the Telugu Desam quit the NDA, Modi and Shah found a new friend in KCR and through him are polarising the anti-BJP and secular political parties, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Dr D Sravan says.

However, TRS leaders maintain that the CM has been pursuing the idea of federal front as a genuine alternative formation to give a new direction to the development agenda and to demonstrate to the world what India is truly capable of.

For 70 years, the Congress and BJP have ruled the country. But, what have they done? India lags behind on so many fronts, KCR had said while addressing his partys 17th plenary recently. The federal front, he had asserted, could transform the country. Over the last two months, he has met TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, DMK president MK Stalin and Deve Gowda to discuss the contours of the new front.amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 21

Chief Minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) on Monday promised a stable government in Karnataka and a long-term relationship with the Congress, as he invited top Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to his swearing-in in Bengaluru on May 23.

According to highly-placed sources, the Congress-JD(S) combine will have a coordination committee to ensure smooth functioning of the coalition government in Karnataka, and the Assembly Speaker will be from the Congress.

The coordination committee will have five-six members.

The top leadership of the two parties decided to make a new beginning leaving behind the past, when they had come together and fallen apart, and vowed to have a long-term relationship.

The sources said the Congress leadership would take a call on who would be its deputy chief minister tomorrow, when the leaders of the two parties would meet in Bangaluru to work out modalities of power sharing in the southern state.

The sources add that only a few ministers were likely to take oath initially on May 23 along with the chief minister and other modalities would be worked out in the coming days. However, the nominations for the Speakers post would be filed the same day and the Congress has staked its claim to the post, it being the larger party.

Kumaraswamy was in the national capital today to express his gratitude to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for supporting the formation of a JD(S)-led government in Karnataka.

He also invited Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for his swearing-in.

According to the sources, Congress has mooted two deputy chief ministers for the numerically strong party in order to strike a balance with the JD(S) but the regional party is believed to be not in favour of this proposal. KPCC chief G Parameshwara is among the frontrunners for the deputy chief ministers post.

Kumaraswamy, who will be sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday for the second time in 12 years, flew into the capital this afternoon and began his engagements with a meeting with pre-poll ally BSP chief Mayawati. BSP bagged one seat.

During his 20-minute meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Kumaraswamy is understood to have discussed the nitty-gritty of Cabinet formation and the number of ministerial berths the Congress and the JD(S) would get. The meeting took place at Rahul Gandhis Tughlak Lane residence.

The sources said during the meeting Kumaraswamy promised to provide good governance in Karnataka and said he would seeking Rahul Gandhis advice on all important issues. The Congress chief also extended his full support to the JD(S) chief for the long-term relationship.

There is no bargain. We will cordially work out things. We must work together. I am here to take their (Congress leaders) advice, said Kumaraswamy when asked by newsmen ahead of the meeting how the Congress and the JD(S) will address the issue of ministry formation.

We are going to give a stable government. All these issues are not yet discussed. We have not discussed any future course of action. After the meeting, Kumaraswamy told reporters he had invited both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for the swearing-in ceremony in Bengaluru and they have agreed to come. K C Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Karnataka, was also present at the meeting.

Kumaraswamy is expected to take the floor test within 24 hours after being sworn in. Both Congress and JD(S) MLAs will remain confined to their hotels till the floor test, according to reports from Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of power after the three-day BJP government collapsed last Saturday with B S Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung verdict with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.

Meanwhile, in a development that could leave the Congress red-faced in Karnataka, its MLA Shivaram Hebbar dismissed as fake an audio clip released by the party to allege that the BJP offered money and ministerial berth to him for cross-voting during the floor test in the Assembly.

The Congress had released three audio tapes in the run-up to the floor test, claiming that the BJP leaders were trying to poach the party MLAs by offering blandishments so that the Yeddyurappa government was saved.

This is not my wifes voice and she has not received any such calls. The audio tape is fake. I condemn it, Hebbar wrote in a Facebook post.  PTIuttara@tribuneindia.com

Chennai, May 20

A day after BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa stepped down as Karnataka chief minister without facing a floor test in the Assembly, actor Rajinikanth today said the development in the neighbouring state was a victory for democracy.

"According to the Constitution, majority should be proved in the assembly, the Congress-JD (S) is going to do it, and I see this as a victory for democracy," he told reporters in reply to a question on the assembly elections in Karnataka and its outcome.

Dubbing as "farcical" the time of 15 days given by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to Yeddyurappa to prove his majority, the Tamil superstar, who is set to enter politics, said that it should not have been done.

"Hats off to the Supreme Court, which gave a good ruling," he said, apparently referring to the apex court asking the BJP to take the floor test to prove its majority in the House on Saturday.

After a meeting with the women's wing functionaries of Rajini Makkal Mandram (Rajini people's forum), the actor said the verdict of the Supreme Court on the Cauvery issue should be implemented in letter and spirit.

Asked what he felt the Congress-JD (S) coalition should do on the river water issue as the alliance would assume power shortly, he said: "Whatever the Supreme Court has said must be implemented and it is their (Karnataka's) duty".

"It is my humble opinion that it will be good if the control over the dams (in Karnataka) is with the (proposed) Cauvery authority," he said.

Anticipating "government intervention" in the authority that has been mooted, he said, "Let us see what happens in due course".

To a query if his frequent meetings with functionaries were as per the plan for the launch of his party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019, he said: "It can be said that is the plan... we will be ready".

There was a huge response from women followers and it made him very happy, he said, adding that "success is sure" for his upcoming political innings since women in large numbers supported him.

The 67-year-old political aspirant said women would be given priority in his party.

To a report that said support for him was strong in about 150 constituencies in Tamil Nadu, he said, "If that report is true I am happy". PTIrchopra@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21

After around nine deaths on account of confirmed and suspected cases of Nipah virus in Kerala, the Centre on Monday rushed a specialist team of doctors for help and review.

The virus has broken out in Kozhikode and has no cure. It has 70 per cent mortality rate and is transmitted from fruit bats to humans.

J P Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, today assured all support to the Kerala Government and has directed a multi-disciplinary Central team from the National Centre for Disease Control to immediately visit the district, and assist the state and closely monitor the situation. The team will reach Kerala today.

We are closely monitoring the situation. I have spoken to Health Minister, Kerala and assured hims support of the Central government. I have also dispatched a Central team to assist the State government and initiate required steps, Nadda said in a statement from Geneva where he has gone to attend the World Health Assembly.

The Central team includes Dr Sujeet K Singh, Director, National Centre for Disease Control, Dr S K Jain, Head Epidemiology, NCDC, Dr P Ravindran, Director, Emergency Medical Relief (EMR), Dr Naveen Gupta, Head Zoonosis, NCDC along with two clinicians and one expert from Ministry of Animal Husbandry.

What is Nipah

Newly emerging disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals.

The natural host of the virus are fruit bats.

Can be prevented by avoiding exposure to sick pigs and batsrchopra@tribunemail.com

Smita Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21

Amid global turmoil and in a bid to arrest perceptible drift in relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday held an 'informal setting' meet in Sochi city, located on the Black Sea coast.

PM Modi who reached Sochi this morning, embraced Putin with a warm hug upon arrival at Bochkarev Creek. The two held restricted talks first with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale, Indian Ambassaador Pankaj Saran and Joint Secretary in PMO Gopal Baglay on the Indian side.

According to sources, host of issues, including strain in ties between US and Russia and possible Trump administration sanctions for dealing with Russian military firms blacklisted by Washington DC also figured in talks.

Recalling his first visit to Russia with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001, Modi remarked that his meeting with Putin then was a first with any world leader after becoming Chief Minister of Gujarat.

He also emphasised that the seed of strategic partnership between India and Russia were sown during the Vajpayee-Putin meeting. "Now, we have added a new chapter of an informal summit. Last four years I have walked shoulder to shoulder with you. We have had free consultations on bilateral issues to global developments," added PM Modi in his first meeting with Putin since the latter's return to Kremlin as President for the fourth term.

PM Modi also thanked Russia for its role in India's membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). India and Pakistan became full members of SCO last year and in early June PM Modi will be travelling to Qingdao for the summit meet.

The PM will have an opportunity to meet Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping again during the upcoming SCO and BRICS summits following the informal meetings with the two world leaders in Wuhan and Sochi.

"You played a key role in granting India full membership in the SCO and BRICS, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), as well as in such mechanisms as the North-South International Transport Corridor," remarked Modi.editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Mohali, May 20

Consistent outscoring of male counterparts by girl students across the country is a pointer to gender equality and making the country a developed society, said President Ram Nath Kovind during the 7th convocation of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) on Sunday.

The President expressed happiness over girl students winning two gold medals for academic performance and three out of four awards for academic excellence.

Congratulating them, the President said: I find this commendable performance of our young women, of our societys daughters, to be something of a national trend. They are consistently outscoring their male counterparts. This is a step forward in the cause of gender equality and making India a developed society, said Kovind, adding that of the 152 students who graduated (got undergraduate and masters degrees or PhD) on Sunday, as many as 66 were girls.

The President was accompanied by wife Sarita Kovind and Governors of Punjab VP Singh Badnore and Haryana Kaptan Singh Solanki, respectively.

As many as 152 students of BS-MS, BS and PhD got degrees. Terming the IISER as an important centre of higher education and research in the country, Kovind said the institute had quickly become one of North Indias foremost destinations for students and faculty interested in the pursuit of scientific advance.

The President said Mohali, with institutions like IISER, was a hub for the knowledge economy, Information Technology, biotechnology and bioinformatics and related fields. President Kovind exhorted them to serve the country and give back to society, especially those who are less privileged.

Scientific research has 3-fold purpose

The purpose of scientific research is three-fold. It plays a role in nation-building, finding answers to development questions and keeping alive the instinct of curiosity. You (students) must remember these purposes to climb higher. Ram Nath Kovind, Presidentrchopra@tribunemail.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21



Moments after HD Kumaraswamy, the chief ministerial candidate of the opposition alliance in Karnataka said meeting Rahul Gandhi was not crucial, only cordial, the Congress president flexed muscle in Delhi by holding a meeting with top party strategists.

Gandhi met Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot and KC Venugopal, AICC in charge for Karnataka, at his 12 Tughlaq Lane house here to talk about the proposed Cabinet structure in the stage where Kumaraswamy is to take oath on May 23.

Kumaraswamy will meet Rahul Gandhi and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi later on Monday to finalise the look of the cabinet amid reports that there are differences of opinion between the Congress and JDS on the post of chief ministership and portfolios.

The Congress is keen on the post of deputy chief minister for its state chief G Parameswara but the JDS is yet to open its cards.

The Congress which gave the Lingayats religious minority status ahead of the polls is equally under pressure from this faction to accommodate Lingayat ministersa matter of discussion between the JDS and Congress.

Kumaraswamy has said more than once that everyone should accept what his father and JDS chief HD Deve Gowda said about the cabinet and its composition because stability is more important than anything else.

The Congress, however, feels it has compromised enough by offering the CM post to the JDS which has just 37 MLAs in a 222-member assembly when the Congress has 78.

Senior Congress men are exerting pressure on the high command to bargain hard.

Former minister and Congress MLA DK Shivakumar, widely hailed for the Congress and JDS alliance, wants his pound of flesh in the form of power ministry.

All this is to be discussed between Gandhis and Kumaraswamy.editorial@tribune.com

New Delhi, May 20

The success of the Congress-JD(S) alliance in outpacing the BJP in the Karnataka elections bodes well for Opposition unity, with a chorus of regional voices hailing the Grand Old Partys decision to play second fiddle to a smaller outfit in the southern state.

Congratulatory messages poured in from the regions soon after BJPs BS Yeddyurappa  unable to garner the numbers required for a simple majority in the state Assembly  bowed out as CM, paving the way for a JD(S)-Congress government.

The Congress decision to allow Janata Dal (Secular) to take the lead in the state by installing its CM was applauded by many leaders, with NCP chief Sharad Pawar describing the role of the Congress as a sensible one.

But while Pawar congratulated Congress president Rahul Gandhi for ousting the BJP, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee  among the first to call the developments a victory of the regional front  did not mention Rahul Gandhi in her message.

The sub-text was clear: Some regional leaders would not allow the Congress to take the lead in forming a broad platform of the Opposition.

While an Opposition leader felt the Congress would need to play a more gracious role in a grand alliance before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to keep the BJP and RSS out, senior CPI leader D Raja said the question of who would lead the front should be kept open.

Raja stressed that the issue of who would be Prime Minister in 2019 should be discussed at a later stage. The instant focus should be on defeating the BJP, he said.

What is clear is that the Congress understands the need to keep regional parties happy. That explains why it agreed to be the junior partner in the Karnataka Government led by HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S).

In his statement after the fall of the BJP, Rahul Gandhi lauded JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda for the coalitions victory.

The Opposition will unite and coordinate to defeat the BJP, Rahul said. But this may require more give and take than the Congress is used to.

That said, the Karnataka developments have sounded a clarion call for Opposition unity.

From the DMKs MK Stalin and Loktantrik Janata Dals Sharad Yadav to TDPs N Chandrababu Naidu, RJDs Tejashwi Yadav and TRS K Chandrashekhar Rao, every regional leader urged non-BJP forces to align to defeat the BJP.

Now that the May 12 election over and done with, all eyes are now on how the Congress plays its role as the central pole of Opposition unity.

Opposition leaders said the Congress would have to show the same openness and flexibility going forward and ensure it gives space to other parties, even if it wanted to lead the front.

The equations are changing. How far the Congress goes in accommodating its allies may determine how far the BJP will go in 2019.  PTI

Kumaraswamy to meet Sonia, Rahul today

Ahead of his swearing-in as the Karnataka CM, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to discuss the modalities of government formation. Clarifying that no discussion has taken place so far on the allocation of ministerial berths, Kumaraswamy termed reports on the power-sharing formula of 30 months each between the parties as bogus. Im visiting New Delhi on Monday...I will meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the partys senior leader Sonia Gandhi, he said. Based on the outcome of discussions with them, a decision would be taken on the number of Congress and JD(S) MLAs who will become ministers, Kumaraswamy added. PTI

Cong to PM: Probe horse-trading bid

The Congress on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the BJP for allegedly attempting horse-trading in Karnataka and demanded that PM Narendra Modi order a probe into efforts made by his party leaders to bribe and induce Congress and JD(S) legislators ahead of trust vote. PTI

BJP confident of staging comeback

Events in Karnataka may have not gone according to plan, but the BJP believes it can make a comeback, thanks to the inherent contradictions in the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the state. The likely consolidation of a section of voters, especially Lingayats, behind the BJP would also help keep the party in pole position in the run-up to the 2019 General Election, its leaders said. We may have lost the battle, but we will win the war, said a party leader, referring to the next Lok Sabha polls. PTIeditorial@tribune.com

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, May 20

Naveen Pandit, a farmer of Kot village in Jhajjar, is a harried man. Yet to receive payment for his mustard crop the agencies procured last month, he has skipped his loan instalment. He will not only have to pay penalty now, but may be denied subsidy too.

I sold 25 quintals of mustard on April 16, but have not been paid so far even though as per the rules, it should have been done within 72 hours of procurement, he says. Many other farmers are in the same boat. One of them, Raj Singh of Jondhi village, says he has yet to pay wages to the labour.

Not one farmer has received money since April 16 when procurement of mustard at the Jhajjar grain market began. In all, a payment of Rs 15 crore is due, claims Narender Kumar, president of the Commission Agents Association, Jhajjar.

Ashok Sharma, District Food and Supplies Controller, says payments could not be released for technical reasons. The process to transfer money to bank accounts of farmers who sold mustard on April 16 and 17 has been initiated, he adds.

Mustard in Jhajjar district has been procured by both HAFED and the Food and Supplies Department. HAFED began procurement on March 15, on behalf of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation, and the Food and Supplies Department on April 16. It came to a halt in mid-May.

HAFED chairman Harvinder Kalyan admits delay but points out that it is the Food and Supplies Department which is to release the money directly. There has been a delay since online procurement has been launched for the first time, he reasons.uttara@tribuneindia.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 21

Maharashtra's BJP leaders grudgingly admit that their party may not have any tie-up with the Shiv Sena for the 2019 Lok Sabha and assembly elections.

"We won't be approaching the Shiv Sena for a tie-up for the 2019 elections. However we will consider an alliance if the Shiv Sena approaches it," Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, a senior BJP leader, said.



Speaking to reporters here on Sunday evening, Mungantiwar admitted to being snubbed by the leaders of the regional party when approached for negotiations on a tie-up. According to BJP sources, attempts by Mungantiwar to meet with Uddhav Thackeray were thwarted by Matoshree and even his calls to the Shiv Sena chief were not put through.



BJP leaders said the Shiv Sena's fielding of a candidate for the Palghar Lok Sabha seat came as a major blow to the saffron party. The Shiv Sena has betrayed us. On May 1, both Uddhav Thackeray and (Industries Minister) Subhash Desai said they would support the BJP's candidate. On May 3, they broke the promise and put up Shrinivas Wanga as the candidate for the by-election, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.



Shrinivas is the son of former BJP MP Chintaman Wanga, who died earlier this year.



With almost the entire party set up in Palghar crossing over to the Shiv Sena, the BJP fielded Congress leader Rajendra Gavit, who defected to the party shortly before filing his nomination papers.



With the Shiv Sena backing it, the Wanga family has filed complaints against the BJP for using the pictures of the late MP in the election campaign.



Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, who vowed to contest all future elections without allying with the BJP, has become shriller after the recent developments in Karnataka. Shortly after BS Yeddyurappa took the oath of office as chief minister, Thackeray accused Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala of encouraging horse-trading.amansharma@tribunemail.com

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 21

BJP chief Amit Shah on Monday defended party decision to form the government in Karnataka, terming the Congress-JD (S) coalition apavitra gathbandhan (impure coalition).

If we had not tried to form government, it would have been against the mandate of the people. I don't see anything wrong in it, Shah said while addressing the media for the first time after the Karnataka Assembly floor test and the controversies that preceded.

I don't think it was a confused mandate because the BJP was short of just seven MLAs, he said, hitting out at both at the Congress and the JD(S).

The Congress should tell the people what they are celebrating. Are they celebrating there status as PPP? JD(S) should also explain what they are celebrating, he questioned.

Accusing the Congress of using all the underhand means in these elections, Shah said they should explain that loss in 14 states was big or win in couple of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies.

Karnataka marks the entry of the BJP in the South, he said, calling Congress-JD (S) as "adha adhura" win.

Notably, Yeddyurappa announced his decision to quit even before the floor test was called out.

Winning as many as 104 of the 224 Assembly constituencies, the BJP emerged as single largest party in the recently held elections.

Flanked by Union mnisters Ananth Kumar and Piyush Goyal, Shah thanked people of Karnataka and BJP workers for the party's performance by spreading its message across the state.

We increased the vote share of the party in the elections centred around poor governance, farmers' distress and law and order of the Congress-led government. All these factors are indicative of extremely poor government," he said.

The Centre gave maximum help by way of projects and monetary help to the state, Shah added.

The mandate given by people of Karnataka is anti-Congress, let there be no confusion. Half of their ministers lost, their CM lost his seat, he said.

The BJP chief said, Yeddyurappa never asked for seven days. It is a lie. If they had not held captive their MLAs in hotels and resorts, people would have told them to support BJP.

"There was no question of breaking Congress-JD (S) because till then they had not even staked claim. So how can BJP be accused of 'jor-tor ki rajneeti'," Shah asked.editorial@tribune.com

Bijay Sankar Bora

VOWING to put up a resistance against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016, students organisations of the North-East have been in touch with various political parties, urging them to oppose the Bill in Parliament.

The All-Assam Students Union (AASU), a key constituent of the North East Students organisation (NESO), claims to have garnered the support of 11 national parties, including the Janata Dal (United), on the issue.

An AASU delegation met Bihar CM and JD-U chairman Nitish Kumar and apprised him of the implications of the proposed legislation. We had about a two-hour discussion with the CM. We submitted relevant documents, including a 16-point memorandum. He has understood the seriousness of the situation and has assured us he will write to the PM about it. He is against the idea of citizenship being given on the basis of religion, AASU president Dipanka Nath said.

The AASU as well as NESO maintain that under no circumstances can Centre impose the burden of lakhs of Bangladeshi Hindus on Assam, and that the legislation is a threat to the existence, language and culture of Assams indigenous communities. The AASU and 28 indigenous organisations have resolved to take the anti-Citizenship Bill movement to a larger scale, both within the region and outside.

Meanwhile, the National Peoples Party (NPP)-led Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government has decided to oppose the Bill, terming it a threat to the political and cultural identity of indigenous communities.

Pan-Naga body bid

The Government of Manipur has condemned the recent statement of RN Ravi, the Centres interlocutor for peace talks with the NSCN-IM, regarding a pan-Naga body, as reported in a national daily. The statement triggered vociferous protests by various organisations in Manipur, especially in the valley. Subsequently, Chief Minister N Biren Singh came out with a statement that any agenda to disintegrate the state on communal lines would not be tolerated. There has been apprehensions on the possible bifurcation of the states Naga-dominated hill areas while negotiating the vexed Naga problem.

The Chief Minister reminded all concerned what the interlocutor had said  that before the culmination of the Naga peace talks, all stakeholders would be consulted.

Khandus plea to Centre

Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu has called upon the Centre to do away with the practice of considering all north-eastern states as a single entity while rolling out programmes, policies and schemes.

All north-eastern states  while being looked upon as one single entity from the mainland perspective  are distinct and different from each other. Each state has its own potential and challenges. Even within a state like ours, each region, district and community have their own potential and challenges. I would, therefore, request the Government of India to approve and sanction state-specific programmes and schemes for each of the states in the North-East, he said.

Anti-poaching dog squad

North-East-based biodiversity conservation and research organisation Aaranyak, a member of the IUCN, has added four new Belgian Malinois  Misky, Sheela, Leon (male) and Jubi  to its prized K9 anti-poaching dog squad to add more teeth to the anti-poaching drive by Assams Forest Department in the states rhino-bearing wildlife parks.

The secretary-general and CEO of Aaranyak, Dr Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, said: The K9 squad now has strength of six Belgian Malinois. The four canines were initially trained by Susan, a dog trainer from Germany. Now, we have an in-house trainer.

Aaranyak had formed the sniffer dog squad back in 2011 with the induction of a Belgian Malinois dog, Jorba (male) to track down rhino poachers. In 2014, it roped in another, named Babli (female), as a back-up dog. The four new members of the K9 squad were earlier trained around Deepor Beel, a Ramsar site, to acclimatise them with the flood plains and were thereafter taken to the hilly Assam-Meghalaya border. While Jubi has been stationed in the Kaziranga National Park, the other three are undergoing training.

The reason why we use this breed is because of their extreme prey drive capability. They are capable of assisting arrests of suspects if the situation demands. Once they pick up a scent and come to a lead, they have the capability of outrunning and bringing the suspect down if he tries to escape, he says.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

WASHINGTON: Scientists have developed an automated robotic system that can rapidly produce mini human organs required for medical research and drug testing.

The traditional way to grow cells for biomedical research is to culture them as flat, two-dimensional sheets, which are overly simplistic.

In recent years, researchers have been increasingly successful in growing stem cells into more complex, 3D structures called mini-organs or organoids.

These resemble rudimentary organs and in many ways behave similarly. While these properties make organoids ideal for biomedical research, they also pose a challenge for mass production.

The ability to mass produce organoids is the most exciting potential applications of the new robotic technology, according to the developers.

In a study published in the journal Cell Stem Cell, researchers from University of Washington in the US used a robotic system to automate the procedure for growing stem cells into organoids.

Although similar approaches have been successful with adult stem cells, this is the first report of successfully automating the manufacture of organoids from pluripotent stem cells. That cell type is versatile and capable of becoming any type of organ.

In this process, the liquid-handling robots introduced the stem cells into plates that contained as many as 384 miniature wells each, and then coaxed them to turn into kidney organoids over 21 days.

Each little microwell typically contained ten or more organoids, and each plate contained thousands of organoids. With a speed that would have impressed Henry Fords car assembly line, the robots could produce many plates in a fraction of the time.

Ordinarily, just setting up an experiment of this magnitude would take a researcher all day, while the robot can do it in 20 minutes, said Benjamin Freedman, an assistant professor at UW.

On top of that, the robot doesnt get tired and make mistakes. For repetitive, tedious tasks like this, robots do a better job than humans, he said.

The researchers further trained robots to process and analyse the organoids they produced. They used an automated, cutting-edge technique called single cell RNA sequencing to identify all the different types of cells found in the organoids.

We established that these organoids do resemble developing kidneys, but also that they contain non-kidney cells that had not previously been characterized in these cultures, said Jennifer Harder, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan in the US.

These findings give us a better idea of the nature of these organoids and provide a baseline from which we can make improvements, Freedman said.

The researchers discovered a way to greatly expand the number of blood vessel cells in their organoids to make them more like real kidneys.

They also used their new technique to search for drugs that could affect disease. In one of these experiments, they produced organoids with mutations that cause polycystic kidney disease, a common, inherited condition that affects one in 600 people worldwide and often leads to kidney failure. PTIgspannu7@gmail.com

Karachi, May 21

The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued a three-day heat wave warning for Karachi and Sindh.

On Sunday, the temperatures soared to 44 degrees Celsius in Karachi and 46 degrees Celsius in other parts of the southern Sindh province, making life difficult for the people, particularly those fasting in the month of Ramazan.

A press release issued by the Pakistan Meteorological Department issued an alert for the city saying that hot to very hot weather is likely to prevail in Karachi until May 23.

Maximum temperature is expected to remain in the range of 40-43 degrees Celsius during the period. Sea breeze is likely to remain cut-off and wind from north west is expected to prevail during this period, the PMD said.

In June, 2015, some 400 people died in Karachi in a heat wave that lasted for three days with maximum temperatures soaring to 49 degrees Celsius while over a 1,000 people were killed in other parts of the country.

The Met Department release also warned that temperatures would remain high in other parts of the province including Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas etc.

The Sindh government also issued a warning in which it has advised people to avoid unnecessary forays outside their homes in the dry and hot weather and to keep their heads covered in the open.

The warning comes at a time when people have begun the month of fasting from Thursday and have already braved hot weather and frequent power cuts.

The government and other NGOs have already set up special heat stoke camps in the city.

Last month, Nawabshah became the hottest place on earth, April when the temperature crossed 50 degrees Celsius on the last day of the month, breaking its own 2017 record of 49.2C.  PTI.gspannu7@gmail.com

Manila, May 21

The Philippine government is taking appropriate diplomatic action to protect its claims in the South China Sea but did not elaborate or name China in a non-confrontational policy to avoid problems.

China reportedly landed long-range bombers on one of its occupied islands for the first time in its latest military action in the disputed seas, setting off international concern. A Pentagon spokesman said late last week Chinas militarsation of disputed areas destabilises the region.

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs reiterated Monday the government is committed to protecting every single inch of its territory and areas where it has sovereign rights. But it added that its responses to certain developments might not be publicized.

While appropriate language, whether expressions of condemnation or concern, over certain developments are clearly conveyed through diplomatic channels, it is not our policy to publicize every action taken by the Philippine government whenever there are reported developments taking place, the department said.

Moving forward, we are taking a different approach to avoid any drawbacks and challenges, the statement added.

After rising to power nearly two years ago, President Rodrigo Duterte took steps to thaw the Philippines frosty ties with China over the sea disputes in an effort to secure Chinese infrastructure funds and investment while often criticizing security policies of the United States, his countrys treaty ally.

Duterte refused to immediately demand Chinese compliance to a landmark 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Chinas claims to virtually all of the South China Sea on historical grounds and upheld the Philippines sovereign rights to vast stretches of waters.

The Duterte administration has also muted criticisms of Chinas increasingly assertive actions in the disputed territories, including the installation of missile defense systems on seven islands it built on disputed reefs close to other areas occupied by rival claimants, including the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia.

The long-range bombers involved in the recently reported exercise would have all of Southeast Asia in range. They reportedly landed on Woody Island, Chinas largest base in the Paracel Islands that are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines had gained much under Duterte and intended to achieve more.

Critics and nationalists have accused Duterte of squandering the Philippines arbitration victory and helping embolden China.

Renato Reyes of the left-wing group Bayan called the Duterte administrations approach to the territorial disputes defeatist.

Asserting our sovereign rights does not mean we intend to go to war with China and end up losing, Reyes said. It simply means we are telling China and the entire world that we have sovereign rights in those waters under international law. It means we have not surrendered those rights.  AP.pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Manila, May 21

The Philippines expressed serious concerns over the presence of Chinas strategic bombers in the disputed South China Sea and its foreign ministry has taken appropriate diplomatic action, the spokesman of President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday

Chinas air force said bombers such as the H-6K had landed and taken off from islands and reefs in the South China Sea as part of training exercises last week, drawing angry reactions from opposition lawmakers in Manila. The United States also sent ships to the disputed areas.

The Philippines could not independently verify the presence of Chinese bombers in the South China Sea, said presidential spokesman Harry Roque.

But, we take note of the reports that appeared and we express our serious concerns anew on its impact to efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region, Roque told a regular media briefing at the presidential palace.

The Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines said it was monitoring developments.

We are taking the appropriate diplomatic action necessary to protect our claims and will continue to do so in the future, it said in a statement.

We reiterate our commitment to protect every single inch of our territory and areas which we have sovereign rights over, the statement said.

However, the foreign ministry stopped short of condemning Chinas action, which Washington said could raise tensions and destabilise the region.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which about $3 trillion worth of sea-borne goods passes every year. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have conflicting claims in the area.

China has built seven artificial islands in the Spratlys group in the South China Sea and turned them into military outposts with airfields, radars, and missile defences.

Beijing says its military facilities in the Spratlys are purely defensive and that it can do what it likes on its own territory.

Roque said the Philippines has also reassured the United States it was not abandoning 70 years of security alliance after several senior officials met last week with U.S. Pacific Command officials in Hawaii.

Filipino lawmakers have criticised President Rodrigo Duterte for not confronting China in preference for his attempts to win Chinas friendship, despite a favourable ruling Manila received over the disputed waterway from an arbitration court in the Hague in 2016.

Duterte has said he would not risk a confrontation with China and has reiterated his openness to undertaking joint exploration and development in waters believed to be rich in oil and natural gas. Reutersamansharma@tribunemail.com

Washington, May 21

The US on Monday threatened to apply "unprecedented" financial pressure on Iran along with other punitive measures if Tehran does not give up its reported goal of developing nuclear weapons and alleged destabilising behaviour in the region, including supporting terrorist groups.

At the same time, the Trump administration promised resumption of diplomatic and economic relations with Iran, along with financial aid, and technology transfers if Tehran agreed to a verifiable regime to give up its nuclear weapons and missile programme.

In his first major foreign policy speech, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought the support of European allies and other global partners and friends, including India.

"In the strategy we are announcing today, we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe. I don't just mean our friends in Europe," he said.

"I mean Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, the UAE, and many, many others worldwide," Pompeo said in his address at the Heritage Foundation, a top American think-tank.

"I know we share the same goals in facing the challenge from the Iranian regime. We welcome any nation which is sick and tired of the nuclear threats, the terrorism, the missile proliferation, and the brutality of a regime at peace with inflicting chaos on innocent people," he said.

Pompeo demanded that Iran must declare to the IAEA a full account of the prior military dimensions of its nuclear programme, and permanently and verifiably abandon such work in perpetuity. Iran, he said, must stop uranium enrichment and never pursue plutonium reprocessing, including closing its heavy water reactor.

Demanding that Iran must also provide the IAEA with unqualified access to all sites throughout the country, Pompeo said Iran must end its proliferation of ballistic missiles and halt further launching or development of nuclear-capable missiles, and it must release all US citizens, as well as citizens of US partners and allies, detained on spurious charges or missing in Iran.

Iran, he said, must end support to Middle East terrorist groups, including Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Asserting that Iran must respect the sovereignty of the Iraqi government and permit the disarming, demobilisation, and reintegration of Shia militias, Pompeo said Iran must also end its military support for the Houthi militia and work towards a peaceful political settlement in Yemen.

He also demanded that Iran must withdraw all forces under Iranian command from Syria, end support for the Taliban and other terrorists in Afghanistan and the region, and cease harbouring al-Qaeda, and it must end its Quds Force's support for terrorists and militant partners.

Pompeo said Iran must also cease its threatening behaviour against its neighbours - many of whom are US allies. This includes its threats to destroy Israel, and its firing of missiles into Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It also includes its threats to international shipping and destructive cyber-attacks.

"These are 12 basic requirements. This list may seem long to some, but it is simply a reflection of the massive scope of Iranian malign behaviour. America did not create this need for changed behaviour, Iran did," Pompeo said.

The top American diplomat then said in exchange for major changes from Iran, the US is prepared to take actions which will benefit the Iranian people.

These areas of action include, all principal components of the US sanctions regime, the reestablishment of full diplomatic and commercial relations, access for Iran to advanced technology, and support for the modernisation and reintegration of the Iranian economy into the international economic system.

"Relief from sanctions will come only when we see tangible, demonstrated, and sustained shifts in Tehran's policies. We acknowledge Iran's right to defend its people. But not its actions which jeopardise the world's citizens," Pompeo said.

While seeking support from friends and allies on the new Iranian policy, Pompeo warned that the new Iranian sanctions would kick in if they continued business as usual with Iran.

The US is not asking anything other than Iranian behaviour that is consistent with global norms and the elimination of Iran's capacity to "threaten" the world with its nuclear activities, he said.

He acknowledged that America's reimposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of US friends. "We want to hear your concerns. But you should know that we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account," he said.

Over the coming weeks, the Trump administration will send teams of specialists to countries around the world to further explain the US policy, discuss the implications of sanctions reimposition, and hear their concerns.  PTIThe domain turkeytelegraph.com may be for sale. Please click here to inquireIt is a Saturday in Karlskoga, in the middle of Sweden. Kerstin and her husband, Ake, have each brought their smartphones, a tablet and a laptop. Theyve got a slew of questions, and they admit they might have already asked some of them. But Setrag and his colleague Sara dont mind. A repeated question is just another opportunity for them to practice Swedish.

While working as an IT guide, Setrag speaks slowly. But so do the seniors who come to the public library every Saturday to learn how to use their computers and smartphones. They dont mind that their teachers are refugees, as speaking slowly makes it easier for them to understand each other.

Wearing his blue IT guide shirt, Setrag patiently explains to Kerstin: But now you want to travel by bus, so you have to open another app, because this one is for buying train tickets, Setrag says. As the app loads, Setrag explains to Kerstin that the initial message that shows up is a one-off. Youll only see this the first time. Its supposed to give you an idea about how to use the app, he explains as he points to the spot saying Next.

Setrag Godoshian, 20, came to Sweden from Syria in 2014. He has spent three years in the introductory programme learning Swedish. A certain level of Swedish speaking skills was needed for him to become an IT guide. Now Setrag gets to speak lots of Swedish, has his first important job in Sweden, and hes more integrated in the local community. In return, numerous seniors are improving their IT skills.

Sara Alaydi, 20, is also a Syrian refugee, who arrived in Sweden in 2015. Becoming an IT guide has led to major changes in her integration into the Swedish society. It has helped me so much. Ive become more social, for instance, also at school. My experience from the job as an IT guide helps with all the group work we have in class, she explains. Elderly people tend to speak a little bit slower, which makes it easier for us. And it also makes it less nerve-racking to talk to them, so we constantly get a chance to practice, Sara says. And were more confident speaking with them, even though we make mistakes, Setrag adds.

Both Kerstin and Ake are very impressed by the IT guides helping them. Theyve taught us so much, from online banking to Google Maps. The younger generation learn so fast. Im glad weve been able to come here several times to learn computer skills from them, Kerstin says.

IT Guide Sweden started in 2010. Its founder, Gunilla Lundberg, was approached by two teenagers, both having just arrived in Sweden, and in need of a summer job. Gunilla asked what they were good at, and the answer was were good with computers. Today, IT Guide is present in more than 20 Swedish municipalities and employs about 200 young IT Guides.

The intention of IT Guide Sweden is partly to offer young refugees a first job  something that can prove to be very valuable when moving forward in life. Good references from former employers are always an asset when applying for future jobs. In the future, Setrag would like to study to become either an IT engineer or a computer game developer. He has chosen the IT program at high school as well, making his part-time job as an IT guide on the weekends highly relevant. I want to continue helping people with their challenges. For, me its a fun job. At the same time, we learn Swedish, which helps us communicate with the Swedes. And of course, its good to have a paid job, Setrag adds.

IT Guide Sweden was nominated for the Swedish Door-Opener Award for 2018, an award recognizing Swedens best integration initiatives.

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For information only - not an official document

UNIS/MA/222

21 May 2018

MEDIA ADVISORY

Media representatives are invited to the

United Nations/ China Space Station Announcement of Opportunity Ceremony

28 May 2018, 6:30 p.m.

Park Hyatt Hotel, Vienna, Austria

VIENNA, 21 May (UN Information Service) - The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Permanent Mission of China to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna invite media representatives to a ceremony for the Announcement of Opportunity for the United Nations/China Cooperation on the Utilization of the China Space Station (CSS). The ceremony will be held on Monday, 28 May, from 6:30 p.m. at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Vienna and will be followed by a reception.

In 2016 UNOOSA and the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to develop the space capabilities of United Nations Member States via opportunities on-board China's future space station. This agreement will enhance international cooperation in space research and exploration with a particular focus on helping developing countries access space and its benefits. Completion of the CSS is expected by 2022 and will mark the third step in China's space programme, which began in 1992.

The ceremony will include the announcement of further details of how Member States can participate in this initiative, as well as remarks from



SHI Zhongjun, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Vienna

Simonetta Di Pippo, UNOOSA Director

Technical experts from the China Manned Space Agency.

***



Media accreditation:

Media representatives who wish to attend the ceremony and reception should write to twzhao[at]126.com by Wednesday 23 May .



* *** *

For more information, please contact:

Daria Brankin

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

Telephone: (+43 699) 1459 8718

Email: daria.brankin[at]un.orgThe backers behind a major new office development in Glasgow city centre have shared their indicative plans for a 13-storey tower on the corner site. .

The jewel in the crown of Galashiels tourism has opened with the completion of The Great Tapestry of Scotland Gallery, the custom-built home for a tapestry that brings history to life in pictorial form..

A burgeoning residential neighbourhood at Granton Harbour has taken a step toward greater cohesion with the completion of 104 affordable waterfront homes..

The University of Strathclyde has taken possession of a new Learning and Teaching Building at the heart of its Rottenrow Campus following handover by BDP Glasgow..

A warehouse operated by a homeless charity on Edinburgh's Logie Green Road is to be ...

A listed Glasgow city-centre office building that has lain vacant since 2017 is to be ...

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A major riverfront development has been launched by Glasgow City Council for 22 acres of former industrial land, with the promise of 562 mixed tenure homes Riverside Dalmarnock has been prepared by Link Group and Laurel Homes to provide a mixture of flats and houses for sale and rent to designs by Hypostyle architects.Council leader Susan Aitken remarked: I am delighted to see the beginning of work at the Riverside Dalmarnock development, which will bring more than 500 homes that will play a key role in the ongoing regeneration of Dalmarnock. These homes are in a tremendous location beside the river Clyde, with good transport links to the city centre.In addition to housing a central green space bounded by terraced housing will take the form of a traditional grand square with a riverside park expanding the current Clyde Walkway.Building on the successful completion of the Commonwealth Games Village and Clyde Smart Bridge the scheme will be delivered in phases, the first of which should be available by summer 2019.First Look at WyoCloud Human Capital Management System May 24 at UW

To prepare the University of Wyoming campus community for WyoCloud Human Capital Management (HCM), the WyoCloud team will host deep dive sessions throughout the summer to provide live demonstrations of the new HCM system and answer employee questions.

The first WyoCloud HCM deep dive session is Thursday, May 24, from 1:30-3 p.m. in the Wyoming Union West Ballroom. The new system will prepare campus users for the June release of the Employee LearnCenter, UWs new training platform for WyoCloud and Human Resource courses.

For a preview of the first WyoCloud deep dive session and what to expect, click here.

The Thursday WyoCloud subject matter experts will provide system demonstrations, details on the release timeline and available training for the Employee LearnCenter. Additionally, the WyoCloud team will share information about next years annual performance evaluation process and the timeline for transitioning employee hires from HRMS to WyoCloud HCM leading up to the October release.

For remote employees, the session is available through the WyoCast system at https://wyocast.uwyo.edu/WyoCast/Play/8812473e552f425a8ceda8475a6831191d. All HCM deep dive sessions will be available through WyoCast and posted on the WyoCloud website after each session.

For more information about the WyoCloud project, visit www.uwyo.edu/wyocloud or email the WyoCloud team at wyocloud@uwyo.edu.Start your day with Sunrise, a roundup of B.C. news and opinions delivered straight to your inbox

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Sign up now>A truck in Indonesia had hit a car, 13 motorbikes and seven houses, leaving 11 people dead. (Photo: AFP)

The truck was heading downhill in the district of Brebes in Central Java province on its way to the capital Jakarta when it failed to brake, according to the local disaster agency.

It tried to stop by swerving left but instead hit a car, 13 motorbikes and seven houses.

"So far eleven people died and 11 others are wounded," said agency official Sarwa Permana, adding that the injured have been taken to hospital.

The fate of the driver is unclear.

Transport accidents are not uncommon in the archipelago nation, where buses, trains and even planes are often old and badly maintained.

In February, at least 27 people died and 16 others were injured when a bus carrying domestic tourists crashed in West Java province.

In July last year, 10 people including an Austrian tourist and a 12-year-old child died when a bus traveling from resort island Bali to the town of Malang in East Java hit the back of a fertilizer truck, killing the sleeping passengers.Harvesting tra fish in Can Tho Citys Thot Not District. - VNA/VNS Photo Thanh Liem

More farmers are breeding the fish because of the high price, but authorities have told them to not breed the fish in unzoned areas as there are threats of disease outbreaks and reduced productivity.

The price of adult tra fish and fingerling tra fish have been stable since early last year, resulting in many farmers switching to breed the fish.

The price of adult tra fish is VN32,000  33,000 (US$1.4  1.6) a kilogramme, up VN1,000  2,000 a kilogramme against last month.

In Long An Province, the Peoples Committee has ordered local authorities in Tan Hung, Vinh Hung and Thanh Hoa districts and Kien Tuong Town to warn local rice farmers not to breed fish in unzoned areas.

Many farmers in the districts and town began turning their paddy fields into tra fish breeding ponds late last year.

In Long Ans Tan Hung District, the fry fish breeding area has increased from 500ha late last year to nearly 800ha.

Farmer Vo Van Liep in Tan Hung Districts Hung Dien B Commune says the profit from breeding tra fries is many times higher than that from rice.

Each hectare of tra fry fish can yield a profit of VN300  400 million ($13,200  17,600) after three months of breeding, while the profit from rice is VN20 million ($880) per hectare for each three-month crop.

The Long An Province Peoples Committee has also instructed its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to review its aquaculture zoning plan and work with localities to determine which aquaculture areas have water and land resources suitable for breeding the fish.

In Dong Thap Province, the provinces Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has petitioned the provinces People Committee and the Tan Hong District Peoples Committee to stop the digging of new tra fish ponds in unzoned areas in Tan Hong.

Tan Hong District and Hong Ngu Town have the largest new tra fish breeding areas in Dong Thap.

Farmers in Dong Thap, the deltas largest tra fish producer, have turned more than 100ha of rice fields into tra fish ponds so far this year, according to the provinces Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

In the delta, tra fries are bred mostly in Dong Thap, An Giang and Long An provinces.

Dong Thap has produced more than 164 million of tra fingerling in the first three months of the year, down 44 million fries against the same period last year because of unfavourable weather.

Dong Thap supplies its tra fingerling to local farmers and nearby provinces and Can Tho City.

Ho Thanh Dung, deputy director of the Dong Thap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the price of tra fingerling, about 30 fingerling a kilo, was at VN70,000 a kilo, up VN31,000 against the same period last year.

Dong Thap has 207,000 tra fish breeders which have produced fries since 2013.

The Dong Thap Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked tra fry producers to gradually replace old tra fish breeders to improve the quality of fries.

The delta produced about 373,400 tonnes of adult tra fish in the first four months of the year, an increase of 9 per cent year-on-year, according to statistics from the Deltas provinces and Can Tho.Italian coffee producers highly evaluate Vietnamese coffee beans. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese Robusta coffee beans are of high quality that meets strict requirements of Italian coffee producers, he said, noting that Italian producers import raw coffee from Vietnam for the production of coffee products which will be supplied to both Italian and foreign markets. Italy has more than 1,000 coffee factories and all of them have known about Vietnamese coffee.

Federico Colombo, an Italian businessperson operating in the field of import-export, sharing the view, saying that high-quality Robusta coffee from Vietnam is very popular in the Italian market.

The Milano Coffee Festival is being held in Italy from May 19  21, gathering the worlds leading coffee makers, including Vietnam.

Visitors to the festival are not only able to have a taste of the worlds most popular coffee products from many countries but also get to know the processes to produce and make coffee of different cultures. This year, Vietnam brings to the festival Robusta and Arabica raw coffee beans and several Vietnamese processed coffee products.

According to Nguyen Duc Thanh, Trade Counsellor of the Embassy of Vietnam in Italy, Vietnam exported 3.2 billion USD worth of coffee in 2017, an increase of 34 percent from a year earlier. The country has remained the worlds second largest coffee producer for years, behind Brazil.

Italy is the countrys third biggest buyers, just behind the United States and Germany. Last year, Italy purchased 274 million USD worth of coffee from Vietnam, up 30 percent year on year and accounting for 8.5 percent of Vietnams total exports.

Vietnam plans to step up coffee marketing in 2018 and the following years to ship more raw and processed coffee to Italy.Projects with disappeared investors will soon incur official operation termination

In the first half of May 2018 alone, competent management agencies in Ho Chi Minh City issued a series of announcements to track down foreign investment projects which have been stalling for years with no information about the project owners.

The most noteworthy projects are Samoan investor Weita, Ventron Technologies Vietnam and Maxrob from the US, Thermatech Vietnam (a joint venture with an Australian investor), Taiwanese Taa Wieu, and C&N from the Philippines, to name but a few.

Besides Ho Chi Minh City, many localities have started looking for investors whose projects have seen virtually no progress for years now.

In late March 2018, the Hoa Binh Industrial Zones Management Authority announced searching for BTG Holding, the developer of the Czech Brewery and Lac Thinh Industrial Zone (IZ).

According to the authorities, Czech Brewery was licensed in late October 2012 and temporarily stopped operations in October 2017. There was no more information about the developer.

Czech Brewery once dominated the local press as it was the largest foreign investment project in Hoa Binh province at the time.

As scheduled, the developer wanted to build a brewery with an annual capacity of 190 million litres with the total capital value of EUR86 million ($101 million) to serve the Vietnamese market and export to South Korea, Japan, and China.

The projects first phase broke ground in late 2013. According to the plan at the time, the construction would start after the ground-breaking ceremony to turn out the first products in 2015. Then, BTG Holding will begin the construction of a thermal power plant valued at EUR100 million ($118 million) and an auto component manufacturing plant valued at EUR200 million ($236 million).

The ambitious investment plan, however, never made it farther than paper.

Under current regulations, the project will be officially terminated unless the investors contact the relevant management bodies within 90 days of the issuance of announcements requesting their presence.

Last October we drew up the papers to confirm the projects termination. In fact, we had no information about the project investor for a long time, said an official working at Hoa Binh IZ Management Authority.

Meanwhile, the 220ha and EUR45 million ($53 million) Lac Thinh IZ project kicked off construction in late 2013 before the ground-breaking ceremony of the brewery project. Since then the project saw almost no progress.

A raft of FDI projects are in a similar situation. If nothing changes, they will be officially terminated in the coming time as under current regulations the projects will be officially terminated unless the investors contact the relevant management bodies within 90 days of the issuance of announcements requesting their presence.

In reality, compared to more than 25,500 on-going FDI projects at present, the number of foreign invested projects where investors have absconded is not large. Notwithstanding, this situation has brought to the fore the question of how Vietnam can effectively control FDI projects post-licensing.Vietnamese Ambassador to Spain Ngo Tien Dung (centre) speaks at the auction of photos on the ocassion of the 128th birth anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh

On May 19, the Vietnamese Embassy in Spain exhibited and auctioned 20 artistic photos to raise funds for disadvantaged children in Vietnam.

The event, organised in coordination with photographer Tran Viet Ha and jewellery and auction company DURAN, attracted 150 participants, including many foreigners and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Madrid.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Spain Ngo Tien Dung stressed the importance of the cultural diplomatic activity on the occasion of the 128th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh and the 41st founding anniversary of Vietnam-Spain diplomatic ties (May 23, 1977).

A sum of money equivalent to 100 million VND (nearly 4.400 USD) was collected from the auction of 15 photos. The other photos can be bought via the website of DURAN.

Later the same day, the embassy held a meeting with about 70 Spanish families adopting Vietnamese children.

Nearly 2,000 families across Spain have adopted Vietnamese children over the past two decades.

Also on May 19, the Association of Fellow Countrymen of Nghe An province in Germany organised a celebration of the 128th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh at the Dong Xuan Centre in Berlin.

Nghe An, a province in central Vietnam, is the home province of Ho Chi Minh.

A singing performance at the celebration of President Ho Chi Minh's 128th birthday in Berlin

In his speech, Chairman of the Association of Fellow Countrymen of Nghe An Tran Van Dung reviewed the life and career of the late leader, affirming the pride in and endless tribute to President Ho Chi Minh.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Doan Xuan Hung highlighted the leaders enormous contributions to the fight for the independence of Vietnam and the struggle for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress around the world.

Earlier, the embassy staff and the Association of Nghe An Fellow Countrymen paid respect to Ho Chi Minh at the memorial site dedicated to the President in Moritzburg town, about 15km to the northwest of Dresden city. The memorial site, located in the campus of the previous Kathe-Kollwitz-Heim school, was set up shortly after Ho Chi Minh visited the school 61 years ago.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese people in Mexico paid tribute to the leader in front of his statue in Mexico City on May 19. The Vietnamese Embassy in Mexico also held a number of activities in May to celebrate the late Presidents birthday and 43 years of the two countries diplomatic relations (May 19, 1975).

President Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was the founder of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He founded and led the Vietnamese revolution to victory with the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, in 1945.

President Ho Chi Minh remembered by overseas Vietnamese

Vietnamese Ambassador to Spain Ngo Tien Dung (centre) speaks at the auction of photos on the ocassion of the 128th birth anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh

Many activities have been held by Vietnamese people in Spain, Germany and Mexico to mark the 128th birth anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890).

On May 19, the Vietnamese Embassy in Spain exhibited and auctioned 20 artistic photos to raise funds for disadvantaged children in Vietnam.

The event, organised in coordination with photographer Tran Viet Ha and jewellery and auction company DURAN, attracted 150 participants, including many foreigners and representatives of the diplomatic corps in Madrid.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Spain Ngo Tien Dung stressed the importance of the cultural diplomatic activity on the occasion of the 128th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh and the 41st founding anniversary of Vietnam-Spain diplomatic ties (May 23, 1977).

A sum of money equivalent to 100 million VND (nearly 4.400 USD) was collected from the auction of 15 photos. The other photos can be bought via the website of DURAN.

Later the same day, the embassy held a meeting with about 70 Spanish families adopting Vietnamese children.

Nearly 2,000 families across Spain have adopted Vietnamese children over the past two decades.

Also on May 19, the Association of Fellow Countrymen of Nghe An province in Germany organised a celebration of the 128th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh at the Dong Xuan Centre in Berlin.

Nghe An, a province in central Vietnam, is the home province of Ho Chi Minh.

A singing performance at the celebration of President Ho Chi Minh's 128th birthday in Berlin

In his speech, Chairman of the Association of Fellow Countrymen of Nghe An Tran Van Dung reviewed the life and career of the late leader, affirming the pride in and endless tribute to President Ho Chi Minh.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Doan Xuan Hung highlighted the leaders enormous contributions to the fight for the independence of Vietnam and the struggle for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress around the world.

Earlier, the embassy staff and the Association of Nghe An Fellow Countrymen paid respect to Ho Chi Minh at the memorial site dedicated to the President in Moritzburg town, about 15km to the northwest of Dresden city. The memorial site, located in the campus of the previous Kathe-Kollwitz-Heim school, was set up shortly after Ho Chi Minh visited the school 61 years ago.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese people in Mexico paid tribute to the leader in front of his statue in Mexico City on May 19. The Vietnamese Embassy in Mexico also held a number of activities in May to celebrate the late Presidents birthday and 43 years of the two countries diplomatic relations (May 19, 1975).

President Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) was the founder of the Communist Party of Vietnam. He founded and led the Vietnamese revolution to victory with the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, in 1945.

Activities mark President Ho Chi Minhs 128th birthday abroad

Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung offer incense to late President Ho Chi Minh

A series of activities held by Vietnamese communities in many countries across the world to celebrate the 128th birthday of late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19).

The Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, the Vietnamese Association in Vientiane, the Vietnam Business Association in collaboration with Thailands Udonthani provincial authorities organised an incense offering to the late leader at his memorial site in Udonthani, where President Ho Chi Minh, with alias "Thau Chin", worked and built a revolutionary base in 1928- 1929.

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung recalled great contributions made by President Ho Chi Minh to the national independence and freedom, and happiness of the people.

Governor of Udonthani province Wathana Phutthichat expressed his honour to attend the event, affirming that the memorial site is not only to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh, but also helps enhance the friendship between Vietnam and Thailand.

In Cuba, the Vietnamese Embassy and the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) laid flowers in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his monument in Havana capital on the same day.

ICAP President and Fernando Gonzalez Llort, and head of the Cuban National Assemblys External Relations Commission and President of the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association Yolanda Ferrer attended the event.

Also on the occasion, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong, China, held a tour of relic sites related to activities of President Ho Chi Minh when he was staying in Hong Kong.

Staff members of the Consulate General, representatives from other Vietnamese offices and overseas Vietnamese in Hong Kong participated in this meaningful activity.

Vietnamese Consul General Tran Thanh Huan said he hopes through the activity, participants have an opportunity to learn more about the life and revolutionary career of President Ho Chi Minh when he was in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile in Japan, authorities of Mimasaka city, Okayama prefecture, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Consulate General in Osaka hosted a ceremony to mark the 128th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh.

The event saw the participation of representatives from the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association, and the Japan-Vietnam Exchange Association in Osaka and Mimasaka, the Vietnamese Business Association in Japan, and the Vietnamese Associations in Kansai region and Kobe city, along with crowds of overseas Vietnamese in the country and Japanese friends.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor of Mimasaka city Hagiwara Seiji highlighted President Ho Chi Minhs contributions to peace and democracy in the world.

Mimasaka is honored to be the first city in Japan to place a statue of President Ho Chi Minh and celebrate his birthday, he said.

He hoped the relationship between Mimasaka and Vietnam in particular, and between Japan and Vietnam will be stronger in the coming time.

An art performance and a photo exhibition on the land and people of Vietnam were also included in the programme.

Also the same day, staff from the Vietnamese Embassy, Vietnamese agencies, Vietnamese people and students living, working and studying in the UK gathered for a ceremony to mark the late leaders birth anniversary.

The ceremony took place New Zealand Building, which was built on the foundation of the famous Carlton Hotel in the centre of London, where President Ho Chi Minh worked during his stay in the UK from 1913-1917.

In his speech at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Ngoc An expressed his respect for and gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh.

Chairman of the Vietnamese Association in the UK Vuong Manh Hung and Chairman of the Vietnamese Students Association Ngo Nam Son expressed their emotion when attending the ceremony.

Similar events were also organised in Pretoria, South Africa, and Maputo, Mozambique.

Addressing the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Vu Van Dung highlighted President Ho Chi Minhs life and revolutionary career as well as his ethics, saying that the thought, morality, personality and teachings of President Ho Chi Minh is the light for the nation.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Mozambique Le Huy Hoang pointed out the major milestones in President Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary career and his contributions to the nation as well as to the national liberation cause in Africa and in the world.

Ho Chi Minhs birth anniversary marked in France

The memorial site dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh in Montreau Park in the French city of Montreuil

A commemoration of Ho Chi Minhs 128th birth anniversary took place at the memorial site dedicated to the late Vietnamese President in Montreau Park in the French city of Montreuil.

Speaking at the ceremony, Florian Vigneron, deputy mayor of Montreuil, recalled the time Ho Chi Minh lived and worked for the cause of liberation of oppressed nations in France.

He said his city is proud of having made contributions to the bilateral ties between the two nations during Vietnams struggle for independence and national construction.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Nguyen Thiep said visiting the Ho Chi Minh space in Montreau Park on his birth anniversary has become an annual tradition of staff at the embassy, Vietnamese expatriates in France, and French friends of Vietnam.

He stated the Ho Chi Minh memorial site in Montreau Park is evidence of the friendship, solidarity and cooperation between Vietnam and France.

Earlier, representatives of the embassy and the association of Vietnamese in France visited and laid flowers at No 9, Compoint alley, District 17, Paris, where Ho Chi Minh lived from 1921-1923.

On the occasion, an exhibition of French archive materials on Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese patriotic revolutionaries, is running at the headquarters of the Vietnamese association in France from May 17-25.Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a meeting in the northern province of Ha Nam with nearly 1,000 workers at industrial zones (IZ) in the Red River Delta. VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

Speaking at a meeting in the northern province of Ha Nam with nearly 1,000 workers at industrial zones (IZ) in the Red River Delta, Phuc said businesses must also pay attention to improving working conditions by offering regular health check-ups and lunches to workers.

He also said meetings like the dialogue he attended needed to be made regular to promptly deal with workers concerns, following two similar dialogues in the southeastern and central regions.

The government leader requested building standard kindergartens for workers with the involvement of the private sector and directed Hanoi City and other localities to earmark land for building accommodation for workers.

Regarding salary, he said that under the Resolution on salary reform adopted by the five-day seventh plenum of the Party Central Committee, held in Hanoi earlier this month, the State regulated the minimum salary level to protect workers. Beyond that, enterprises will negotiate salaries with workers to ensure that their pay correlates with their work efficiency.

For pension for female workers who retire after January 1, 2018, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs was required to submit a plan to the government that ensures they will not be put at a disadvantage.

Early retirement and special pension for workers in hazardous fields needed to be taken into consideration when amending the Law on Social Security, he said.

During the dialogue, workers talked about their difficulties in daily life, work, salary, housing, kindergartens and schools for their children, social activities, work safety, food safety and security and expressed hope to have more support from the Government and local authorities.

President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Bui Van Cuong said following the PMs dialogue with workers in southern economic zones in 2016, a number of firms and localities expressed readiness to partner with the government and trade unions to offer welfare to trade unionists and workers.

The VGCL signed agreements with 18 corporations to bring products and services to workers with a 5-25 per cent discount. Its chapters also reached 1,139 deals with firms and partners to benefit 1.7 million trade unionists with products and services at preferential prices of over VN526 billion (US$23.4 million).

In 2016-17, VGCL from grassroots levels held more than 11,700 meetings with local administrations, employers and workers to listen to their feedback and answer questions.

In response to a question about housing and preschools for children of workers in industrial and processing zones, Chairman of the Hanoi City Peoples Committee Nguyen Duc Chung said the city built a kindergarten in Bac Thang Long Industrial Park and assigned the outlying district of Dong Anh to build additional two preschools in the park. In August, apartments in the park will be sold at VN200400 million ($8,900-17,800) each. The Hanoi Transport and Services Corporation was also asked to increase bus services to and from the park.

The PM visited an exhibition of products made by firms in the Red River Delta, presented 65 scholarships to workers, funds to build 18 houses for poor workers, and a computer set to worker Vu Xuan Dat from the northern province of Hai Duong.This year's meeting of G20 foreign ministers, the second ever, will take place in Buenos Aires Nov 30-Dec 1. (Photo: AFP/Juan MABROMATA)

The talks will seek to strengthen cooperation "on the big issues on the international agenda, in particular the fight against terrorism and the fight against climate change," the French foreign ministry said Sunday.

At the initiative of Argentina and the United States, a statement will be issued on Sunday's election in crisis-hit Venezuela, in which President Nicolas Maduro is seeking a second term but which has been boycotted by the opposition.

While Syria, Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be on the agenda, ministers are not expecting to reach consensus.

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan will represent the United States.

In the absence of EU's foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva, whose country holds the body's rotating presidency, will be attending.

It is only the second meeting of foreign ministers from the G20- its state leaders, finance ministers and central bankers meet much more often - following talks in Hamburg in 2017.

This year's G20 summit will take place in Buenos Aires Nov 30 - Dec 1.You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close#politics Ex-PM Lee Nak-yon to appeal ruling party's primary results Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon will appeal results of the ruling Democratic Party's primary, his camp said Sunday, hours after he came up short against Gyeonggi Gov. Lee Jae-myu...

#Seoul city Seoul city gov't bans labor group's planned street rallies this month The Seoul city government has prohibited South Korea's major umbrella labor group from staging street rallies this month in accordance with a law on preventing the spread of infect...iStock/Thinkstock(EL PASO, Texas) -- Two U.S. citizens were stopped and questioned last week by a Border Patrol agent in Havre, Montana, for speaking Spanish at a gas station, one of the women told ABC El Paso, Texas, affiliate KVIA-TV.



As she was being questioned, Ana Suda recorded the interaction on her cellphone, the video of which has gained traction online.



The agent can be heard saying, "Ma'am, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here and saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here."



Andrew Meehan, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) assistant commissioner for public affairs, told ABC News Sunday night that the "agent used a poor choice of words, for sure."



Speaking Spanish alone "is not enough" to pull someone over or ask for ID, he said, though adding it's possible that the agent still "very well could have been following procedure."



An internal investigation into the incident has been launched, according to CBP.



The woman was not detained but stopped in a consensual encounter, according to a Border Patrol official. She was not prevented from leaving, the official said.



Suda said she entered the convenience store to buy eggs and milk when she was approached by the agent.



"I was next in line when I heard my friend say something in Spanish and then I looked and a Border Patrol agent was behind me," Suda told KVIA-TV.



"He asked where I was born, so I looked at him and I said, 'Are you serious?'" Suda added. "He's like, 'Yes, I'm serious,' but, you know, with a very authoritative voice."



Suda asked whether she could pay for her items, to which he responded "no."



"He's like, 'No, give me your ID,'" she said. "I said, 'I will give you my ID and I will go and pick up my cellular phone because I'm going to record you,'" Suda said.



The Border Patrol official told ABC News that speaking Spanish is not something you can solely detain someone on, but it is something you can use as one factor for the totality of the circumstance.



Speaking Spanish in a place like Havre, Montana, for example, catches one's attention, according to the official.



The Border Patrol said in a statement, "U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers are committed to treating everyone with professionalism, dignity and respect while enforcing the laws of the United States. Although most Border Patrol work is conducted in the immediate border area, agents have broad law enforcement authorities and are not limited to a specific geography within the United States.



"They have the authority to question individuals, make arrests, and take and consider evidence," the statement continued. "Decisions to question individuals are based on a variety of factors for which Border Patrol agents are well-trained. This incident is being reviewed to ensure that all appropriate policies were followed."



Suda, who was born in El Paso, Texas, plans to file a lawsuit, she told KVIA-TV.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.Signing of St Annes School Contract

The design for St Anne's School, which will be built at Laguna Estate on the site of the present Notre Dame School and next to the new Notre Dame , by Orfila Architects, was signed off on Friday by St Annes Head Teacher Pat Duarte and acting Director of Education Lilli Gomez.

Also present were Deputy Head Lizanne Andrews, the Education Ministrys New Schools Project lead Derek Alman and Minister for Education John Cortes.

The process now continues with the selection of a contractor and preparation to start works as soon as Notre Dame School moves location in September. It is envisaged that the new St Annes will open a year later in September 2020. With works on Notre Dame and the new Comprehensives now well on the way, the project moves on to focus now on the remaining four schools. In the meantime improvement works are being planned for those schools that are not moving.

Minister for Education John Cortes stated, I am so pleased that our plans are moving ahead at such a pace. I am particularly happy with our having achieved sign-off four our fourth new school, and that the teachers are looking forward to magnificent new facilities for them and the children of the north district. I am grateful to them and my team in the Department of Education for their constant hard work. No resting now, though, as we move ahead in preparation for the rest that is to come.Isola: Gibraltar Remains Top Online Gaming Jurisdiction of Choice

The Government of Gibraltar have reacted to an article in the Times of Malta in relation to Bet365, which they claim contains 'several important and material inaccuracies.'

Govt also said that 'Bet365 has confirmed to us that it plans no reductions in the size of its Gibraltar workforce.'

Gibraltar's Minister for Gambling, Albert Isola said "We have a high degree of confidence that there will be positive outcome for Gibraltar companies as the Brexit negotiations progress. We nonetheless understand that business needs certainty and has to manage risk. There is no single risk management solution here as the issues are complex. That is why we are working with operators and with other jurisdictions to establish the best overall regulatory framework in which to do business. Bet365 have confirmed directly to us that they remain totally committed to Gibraltar and the entirety of it's workforce here. They are not leaving Gibraltar by any stretch of the imagination. Neither are they having to choose between us and Malta. What remains true is that Gibraltar remains the jurisdiction of choice for the most reputable gaming companies in the world. Brexit isn't going to change that."Artists for Gibraltar - Berlin Artist Exchange Residency

Gibraltar Cultural Services have announced that Naomi Martinez has been selected to represent Gibraltar at the Berlin artist residency.

The Berlin art residence exchange programme is a cultural development initiative organised by GCS on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, together with Lichtenberg Studios.

Naomi Martinez will travel to Berlin, Germany, in July for a four week period and develop her work and ideas in urban public spaces. The artist will receive a stipend, travel expenses, accommodation and a production budget as part of this award.

GCS can also confirm that as part of the exchange, Berlin based artist Karen Koltermann will be travelling to Gibraltar in September as part of the residency. The work by Karen Koltermann promises exciting and innovative site-specific works that will hopefully delight and inspire older, as well as the younger generation of artists and the arts-loving public of Gibraltar.

An exhibition in Gibraltar will follow at the John Mackintosh Hall in October 2018.Guardian Angel Foundation Donates Communication Software and Devices for Non-Verbal Children on the Autism Spectrum

The Ministry for Equality have announced a donation by the Guardian Angel Foundation of ten tablets with specialised communication software.

The donation was made last week to children who attend St Martins school. These speech generating devices will be used to improve communication with non-verbal and minimally verbal children on the autism spectrum, who may have some level of understanding but nevertheless have difficulties communicating.

The donation came about as a result of a seminar organised by the Ministry of Equality, as part of the National Autism Strategy, entitled Maximising Opportunities for Children and Young Adults with autism to Communicate, delivered by Gaynor Vatvani, Head of the GHA Speech & Language Therapy Service.

Mrs Vatvani recommended the specialised software, called Proloquo2Go, as this is the most effective tool currently on the market that helps children who find it difficult to communicate verbally. Local charity, the Guardian Angel Foundation, purchased 10 of these specialised software programmes, which were installed in 10 tablets that they also donated. The software works by using a collection of stored images, which are then phonetically pronounced by the tablet upon their selection. In essence, the tool thereby acts as a voice to the user.

Mrs Vatvani was very pleased with the donation and said: If we cant communicate, we cannot make active choices that impact on our lives. These speech-generating devices can empower a child to have a say in what happens in their life, that is why they are so important.

Mr Kevin Hook, founder and Chair of the Guardian Angel Foundation, said: We heard about the Proloquo2go app and the difference it can make to children who have difficulties in communicating. Being able to communicate with family and your peers is an essential part of life and we are extremely happy that our contribution will make a substantial difference to their communication development. While at St Martins School we saw the tool being used by one of the children and were touched by this. The Guardian Angel Foundation is once again delighted to partner with the Government of Gibraltar with the aim of improving the lives of children in Gibraltar.

The Minster for Education, The Hon. Dr John Cortes MP, said: Technology is playing an ever increasing role in education. Most importantly, this particular system does so much to increase communication and to help us better cater for the needs of these children. Support of this nature from the community is always most welcome.

The Minister for Equality, The Hon. Samantha Sacramento MP, said: For many people, verbal communication is very difficult or even impossible for a variety of different reasons and yet it can also be taken for granted by the rest of us. Communication, especially nowadays, is not always verbal and you just have to think of how we can communicate using e-mails, social media and through smart phone applications. As we advance technologically, more options become available. The Proloquo2Go application is such an example, which helps many to communicate with those around them. I am grateful to Gaynor for her advice and my staff at the Ministry for Equality for arranging the procurement of this tool. I am once again extremely grateful to the Guardian Angel Foundation: their generous donation of this software and iPads will make an important difference.Gibraltar at Token Summit in New York

Minister Isola addressed the annual Token Summit in New York last Thursday on Gibraltars proposed framework for Token offerings.

The days events focused on all aspects of token sales and was attended by over 2000 delegates from all corners of the world. Mr William Mougayar who chaired the panel, and was the Summit producer and host invited Minister Isola on to a panel with Joey Garcia of Isolas.

The session enabled Minister Isola to update the delegates on Gibraltars proposition and its progress in the DLT and Token offering sectors and expand on the policy paper issued by HMGOG in March 2018 on the proposals for regulating token sales. Gibraltar continues to generate serious interest in these sectors and is widely commended for its innovative and supportive position in the blockchain world.

The session was followed by meetings with firms considering Gibraltar as a Jurisdiction for their business and journalists including the New York Times who were covering the event.

Gibraltar Finance Senior Executive Paul Astengo who is driving the Governments Fintech work supported the Minister and Gibraltar firms Hassans, Isolas, GBX, Coinsilium and Token-Market were also in attendance.If someone told you that current president of the United States not only used to go on the radio with Howard Stern and rate women, but that those women would include his own daughter, Ivanka, would you believe it? On an upcoming episode of David Lettermans My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Stern tells the host about how forthcoming Donald Trump was whenever he would visit his show, and and remembers one occasion where he asked the future commander-in-chief to assess the great beauties of the world. Whos overrated? Basically all actresses. Who is the benchmark-setting specimen of female human perfection? Well, go ahead and guess.Its about time we knew who solved the murder of Biggie Smalls, and Detective Johnny Depp is the man for the job. His hypothesis in the new film City of Lies: Biggies murder has never been solved because of ongoing institutional corruption. Depp plays LAPD detective Russell Poole, who joins forces with reporter Jack Jackson (Forest Whitaker) to unravel the case. During a Vulture Festival panel this weekend, Wendy Williams was asked about Johnny Depp, who she said she liked from his 21 Jump Street days. She then wondered aloud about City of Lies, which will reexamine a high-profile true-crime case thats already frequently revisited. Whatcha gonna tell us, Johnny Depp? Williams asked. Well see when City of Lies opens September 7.Jonathan Groff. Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Vulture Festival

Based on a real story and book by John E. Douglas, Netflixs Mindhunter follows two FBI agents and a psychologist as they begin to study serial killers, in order to figure out how they can quickly catch and hopefully prevent future murderers. As they study these killers, we start to see the team crumble under their work. One character Holden Ford, played by Jonathan Groff, has fans especially concerned. One very popular fan theory is that Ford is turning into a sociopath himself and might even be a serial killer. At Vulture Festival on Sunday, Groff told the audience that he was completely surprised by the idea.

Everyone has said to me after they watch the show, that they thought the character was a sociopath, laughed Groff. And I had no idea! No idea  So many of my friends were texted me, saying Okay, so when are you gonna start killing people? I think the thing that they are aligning with  that I think is very similar, that we start to see more and more in our characters is this characteristic of narcissism and becoming self obsessed.

You can watch Groffs explanation below.

The cast is shooting season two now, with hopes that the next season will be ready in 2019. Things could change for Holden, but as far as Jonathan knows, his character wont be joining the serial killers in their sadistic pastimes anytime soon.Killing Eve I Dont Want to Be Free Season 1 Episode 7 Editors Rating 4 stars * * * *  Previous Next Photo: BBC AMERICA/Robert Viglasky

Last week, I said that I wasnt sure how much sympathy we were supposed to lend Villanelle, a young woman with a high propensity toward violence, a steep body count, and no one resembling a friend. According to her ex Nadia, she pushed or persuaded her way into contract killing, but Villanelle certainly seems lost now, bereft of a purpose in life other than work. This week, were given her (pretty underwhelming) origin story: that of an effective orphan who became obsessed with her French instructor, Anna, and adopted the older womans Francophile tastes as her own. Oh, and cut off her teachers husbands penis as part of her infatuation. That is some whiffy fromage.

Still, this seasons penultimate installment ends up being highly watchable for its narrative propulsion and many twists. (Though I could have done without the possibility of another todger on the chopping block.) The hour begins at the British agents Moscow hotel, where Eve catches Carolyn on a morning walk of shame, while the older woman gets news that Nadia has been murdered by a fellow prisoner. They join Konstantin for breakfast, over which the Russian operative refuses them an interview with Nadias (fictional) killer. Eve is livid, convinced without any proof that Nadias murder is Villanelles doing, as if it were remotely strategic to fly into Russia, sneak into prison, kill a witness, and sneak back out instead of simply paying off a guard or an inmate already inside to achieve the same objective. (In Villanelles case, the 12 went through the trouble of having her kill Nadia so that they could trap her in solitary confinement, but Eve doesnt know that.) In any case, Carolyn is serenely accepting of their only lead being killed off hours before she was to cooperate.

Despite orders for her and the just-arrived Kenny to go home, Eve decides to continue her pursuit of Villanelle by paying a visit to Anna. Carolyns computer-whiz son happens to be a pretty good amateur sleuth, too, having found filthy love letters to his mother from Konstantin in a safe behind a bookcase and at least one old photo with the Russian in them. Planning to use the letters as evidence of Carolyns betrayal of Vladimir, Eve sets out to learn from Anna what made Villanelle become a killer.

Probably not too far away, Villanelle is returned to her solitary cell to find a catatonic woman named Inga lying in her bed. Dont fall asleep, warns a guard. Villanelle stays awake until she cant, and thats when a razor blade snakes its way out of Ingas mouth. Her blade is sharper than Villanelles teeth, but the latter do more damage as they sink into Ingas neck. The guards drag Villanelle out of the prison and put her in the back of a truck with Agniya, the cancer patient our assassin used as a prop to kill Nadia. The truck abruptly stops, one of the guards unloads a barrage of bullets into the other guards chest, an explosion rings out by the back door, and Villanelle is free. A man on a motorcycle tells her to get on his vehicle, but Villanelle cant help surveying the carnage around her: In addition to the dead prison guard in the truck, there are four other law-enforcement officers bloodied and collapsed around her. Naturally, she smiles, undoubtedly pleased that Konstantin or the 12 would go through this much hassle for her rescue. Agniya, on the other hand, is devastated by her liberation. I dont want to be free, she shouts, just before receiving a bullet in the back of her head.

Thus begins a hall-of-fame stupid-ass move. Villanelle is brought to a dingy room where shes told in so many words by her mouthy new handler, Anton, that shes to no longer worry about Konstantin. He gives her some clothes, a gun, and a postcard with a challenging local target. Villanelle promptly shoots Anton in the head because duh. Her next target? Konstantin.

Just outside Moscow, Anna tells Eve how she came to know Oksana so well. The girl arrived at the school with a violent reputation, and Anna decided to nurture this bright, needy student who had no parents or friends. Oksana reciprocated that attention and then some, with a chestful of letters and expensive gifts like designer clothes and luxury perfumes. Annas effort to reestablish borders  once with a joke that the only reason she loved her husband was because of his penis  backfired cruelly. A month after being told of Oksanas death in prison, she received a white coat, inside of which Eve finds a fake passport. Be careful, Anna cautions this other woman with a curly black mane. Youre her type. Eve calls Niko several times thereafter because although he was an asshole to her last week, he deserves to keep his dick attached to his body. It probably wouldnt hurt for Eve to text, email, and skywrite over her house Shes coming for your cock in the worst way!!!!!!! but she neglects these other forms of communication. (If this season ends in Niko getting his phallus sawed off, I am going to throw my laptop out the window because that is the most boringly literal act you can associate with the phrase female psycho.) Suddenly, whatever thought Eve had about Nikos penis disappears. On her computer screen, she sees security footage of Carolyn meeting with Villanelle in the prison without her.

That was then; this is now. Villanelle surprises Konstantin at his home, having stashed his family in a cupboard somewhere. Shes considerate, to a point: Shell let him die in his preferred way and release his family afterward, as long as he cooperates. Between sips of whiskeys and swallows of pills, Konstantin tells her everything shed been dying to hear: that hes defended her from the 12, that he loves her, that shes the best thing that ever happened to him. Her eyes water as he says, Im so proud of you. Jodie Comer sells Villanelles anguish wonderfully, though the assassin has it together enough to ask for the names of the 12. Konstantin says he isnt a Keeper, so he doesnt know. To dignity in death, he toasts, right before chucking his Scotch tumbler at Villanelles nose with full force. He punches her hard, then runs out the back door toward his speedboat. Villanelle shoots at him and screams, I am going to skin your family alive! If he ever loved his wife, child, or glamorous, sociopathic protege, we dont see a glimmer of it as he zooms away from land, his outstretched middle finger disappearing with him into the horizon.Mario Batali. Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Fast Company

In response to inquiries related to last nights 60 Minutes episode about Mario Batali and the Spotted Pig, the New York Police Department confirmed to 60 Minutes that the disgraced celebrity chef is under ongoing criminal investigation. While the NYPD did not say what, specifically, they are investigating, several former female employees spoke to 60 Minutes on Sunday about the environment of sexual misconduct at Batalis West Village restaurant, expanding on previous claims of sexual harassment.

In one incident discussed on the show, dating back to 2008, Spotted Pig manager Jamie Seet says she and other employees intervened when they allegedly spotted Batali groping a woman who seemed to be unconscious. Another former employee, choosing to go unidentified on the program, accused Batali of allegedly drugging and sexually assaulting her after she met with him for a drink at the Spotted Pig in 2005. She says she went to the police after the incident, but declined to file a police report.

As CBS News reports, Batali issued a statement denying the alleged 2005 sexual assault, while also acknowledging his past inappropriate behavior, behavior which led to his dismissal from the ABC cooking show The Chew and his stepping away from his businesses back in December. You can read Batalis full statement below as reported by People:

I vehemently deny the allegation that I sexually assaulted this woman. My past behavior has been deeply inappropriate and I am sincerely remorseful for my actions. I am not attempting a professional comeback. My only focus is finding a personal path forward  a path where I can continue in my charitable endeavors  helping the underprivileged and those in need.

The NYPD confirms to #60Minutes that there is an ongoing criminal investigation into Mario Batali. https://t.co/KIwBwHJsfQ  60 Minutes (@60Minutes) May 20, 2018

Update: B&B Hospitality Group, the restaurant group Mario Batali helped found in 1998, has released a statement about the allegations against Batali, and the NYPDs investigation.Photo: GAGA

Hirokazu Kore-Eda tends to stay at eye level with his characters. Its what makes his patient dramas, which often concern families and the subtle dynamics that hold them together and divide them, so involving. So when his camera flies high up above the Sumidas tiny hovel midway through Shoplifters, on a buzzing summer night as fireworks pop in the distance, its striking in context. Whats more, in the midst of an otherwise lifeless Tokyo suburb, squeezed in between drab apartment buildings and the cold glow of energy-efficient street lamps, the Sumidas cramped house, spilling over with people young and old, is the one bright spot of light.

But Kore-Eda isnt romanticizing his characters poverty, or suggesting that it puts them more in touch with some abstract, sentimental idea of what really matters. The film meanders pleasantly through its picaresque episodes of odd jobs and familial bonds and many a five-finger discount, and two-thirds of the way in it feels  not unpleasantly at all  like the chill, lived-in kind of fare the director seemingly effortlessly excels at. But when the script rounds its corner and the familys true nature comes into the light  not one single dramatic revelation but a cascade of them  it becomes clear that Shoplifters has much more to say about the active choice of being a family member  especially a parent  in a way that goes far beyond the Sumidas particular situation.

Osamu (Lily Franky), Nobuyo (Sakura Ando), Aki (Mayu Matsuoka), and Shota (Jyo Kairi) all live under the roof of their grandma Hatsue (Kore-Eda stalwart and muse Kirin Kiki), living off her pension and the menial labor jobs Osamu and Nobuyo hold down. To make ends meet, the family shoplifts nearly all of their food, with young Shota and patriarch Osamu bringing home most of the ill-begotten bacon. (If its in a store, it doesnt belong to anyone yet, reasons Osamu later on.) One winters night, while coming home from the days errands, they spot a young girl (Miyu Sasaki), left outside on her parents patio. Its not the first time theyve seen her there, and fearing for her safety in the cold, they take her home with them. One wonders if a little bit of that shoplifting logic is at play, and how much stealing and saving are interchangeable ideas for the Sumidas.

The familys resources are stretched as it is, but when it becomes clear that the girl is being abused by her parents, they decide to informally adopt her. They give her a haircut and a new name  Lin  but none of it feels as sinister as that description sounds, even though they are technically kidnappers. As Nobuyo wraps her arms around her, almost defiantly, its as if shes willing her affection to be a kind of vengeance against the cruelty and negligence of the world. If they really love you, she tells Lin, tears welling up in her eyes, they do this.

So begins a year in the life of this unconventional family and their newest member. Kore-Eda, even more so than his last film After The Storm, paints a picture of Japanese poverty that rarely gets airtime overseas. The setting is hardly recognizable to a foreign audience as Tokyo, far from the citys identifiable centers of commerce. Kore-Eda takes his time exploring the pockets of his ensembles lives as individuals and as family members, from Akis alienating job as a peep show worker (I have a second name, too, she reassures Yuri/Lin), to Grandmas strangely dependent relationship with the children of her ex-husband and the wife he left her for. Every scene adds another onion-skinlike layer, adding density and mass so slowly that you hardly notice the emotional weight of it all until it is suddenly overwhelming.

This kind of subtle richness is not new for Kore-Eda, though its as satisfying here as its ever been. But its development runs parallel to the slowly dawning realization that all may not be as it appears in the family, and that their devotion to each other and exile on the margins of society are related, and under the pressure of external factors. Meanwhile, the hunt for Yuri becomes a national news story, but from our perspective, it seems trivial next to the fact that, by all appearances, Osamu and Nobuyo have given her a better life. When all that finally unravels, it feels as though the film flips around 180 degrees  no less empathetic than before, but more clear-eyed.

Its tempting to call material like this sentimental, but Shoplifters matter-of-factness  even nihilism at times  about death and loss is bracing  and ultimately what makes it so heartbreaking. At the end of the road, Nobuyo tries to reckon with the fact that the life shes built for herself was always untenable, and I wont soon forget Ando, rubbing her head almost compulsively, her devastation boiling down to one repeated, wounded gesture. Shoplifters is a sneakily ambitious tale for Kore-Eda, and feels like one of the most consequential films hes made in a very long time.

Shoplifters was nominated for an Oscar in 2019 for Best Foreign Language Film.Samantha Bee. Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vulture Festival

This Sunday, Samantha Bee and part of the Full Frontal team  Melinda Taub, Ashley Nicole Black, Allana Harkin, Mike Rubens, and Amy Hoggart  joined New York writer-at-large Rebecca Traister in conversation at Vulture Festival to discuss the shows place in comedy, media criticism, and the night the allegations against Eric Schneiderman came out. Within hours, you guys were somehow getting trolled for it, Traister pointed out. Bee explained that Full Frontal did a piece on Schneiderman months before the physical abuse allegations and his subsequent resignation from attorney general of New York. We characterized him as a superhero, and we owned that because he really was doing just an incredible job of bringing all the AGs together. He was putting up just great resistance, Bee said. The segment included animations of Schneiderman leaping from tall buildings. She continued.

It was a really funny piece. It was really fun to do. I had never met him before. We sat there. We talked for about two or three hours, and that was pretty much it. We built this piece around him. And then that just quietly existed. The day that the piece dropped, and I recall it dropping at 6:47 p.m. because I looked at my watch. I saw the headline. I was making dinner. I saw the headline, and I was like, Nooooo. And then I read the article really fast. It was just horrifying.

We learned that he had tweeted at the show that day. Eric Schneiderman had with the animations of himself. He was like, Remember when I was on Full Frontal. He literally clung to us like we were his feminist life raft. Like, Remember when the feminists thought I was cool. Im still cool. I still got it. Obviously he knew that that story was going to be breaking about him. And that unleashed troll hell on our show. Were always trolled. Thats just like a fact. But sometimes it escalates in a way that feels really different. Its in the air. Everythings different. Everything changes. You reach a new kind of high, and that is what we experienced from that because he did that. I mean hes a fucking asshole.

Not surprisingly, the Full Frontal team was pretty angry with Schneiderman. So angry, said Bee. Thats a great example of literally everybody in the office being just wild with fury. It was enraging for a million reasons. She and the team had a long discussion the next day about what to do with that piece, before deciding to not remove the video on YouTube but to retitle it. I think was the correct thing to do.

And then, of course, Full Frontal released a new piece, giving Schneiderman a big F**K YOU.Photo: A24

This years sprawling Cannes Film Festival has finally come to a close, and even though your Vulture correspondents Kyle Buchanan and Emily Yoshida are back in the United States, their thoughts still drift eastward to the Croisette. Here are some of the movies, performances, songs, and murders they cant stop thinking about.

Most Likely to Vex New Yorkers: Under the Silver Lake

The East-coast Establishment has always condescended to the City of Angels, and after David Robert Mitchells trippy L.A. noir Under the Silver Lake comes out in theaters this summer, even more scorn will be heaped westward. Let them seethe! This Andrew Garfield mystery is set in the sort of sunny hipster enclaves that inspire New Yorkers to fire off their most poisonous tweets, but if youre willing to keep your arms uncrossed, youll find something funny, beautifully filmed, and possessed of unexpected poignance. Kyle Buchanan

Best Film to Watch With Your Parents: Shoplifters

That may sound like a dig, but such is the joy of Hirokazu Kore-Eda: creating approachable, generous dramas that almost everyone, of any age, can find something resonant in. His latest Palme dOr winning family tale is the director at his best, warm and funny and heartstring-pulling, sometimes all at once. That the film is not only about a family, but interrogates what it even means to be a parent on a sophisticated, satisfying level, makes it all the more appropriate. If your parents are the cool kind who dont mind subtitles  and if you dont mind weeping in front of each other  you can do no wrong by streaming this one or buying a ticket when its released by Magnolia (date TBD). Emily Yoshida

Funniest Line Readings: BlacKkKlansman

Though its based on a true story, theres a seeming plot hole that can never quite be surmounted in this new Spike Lee joint: The plot kicks off when John David Washingtons black cop cold-calls the local Ku Klux Klan chapter and pretends to be a racist new recruit, but given that he then has to send his white colleague Adam Driver in to be the face of the operation, shouldnt Driver take over all the subsequent phone calls, given the obvious difference in the two mens voices? At least it gives us one great scene where Washington tries his damnedest to get Driver to imitate the way he speaks, something Driver  the heir to Christopher Walkens utterly unexpected line readings  simply cannot force his voice to do. KB

Best Single Scene: The First Dance in Climax

Even the not-so-great films at Cannes have some wonderful isolated moments, and the sterling films are strung through with them. Still, no single scene in this years lineup felt as much like an instant-classic adrenaline rush as the first dance sequence in Gaspar Noes Climax. Choreographed by Nina McNeely and packed to the rafters with young voguers and krumpers, its an astonishing single-take sequence that never flags, and the only disappointing thing is that we have to wait for A24 to release this movie so we can watch it a second time. Things eventually go to hell in the movie, but boy, is that scene heaven. KB

Most Unforgettable Use of 3-D: Long Days Journey Into Night

Attendees at the Un Certain Regard screening of Chinese filmmaker Bi Gans lovelorn epic may have been surprised to receive 3-D glasses as they entered, even more surprised to put them on as the lights lowered, only to have the opening title card read, This is not a 3-D film. However, please join the protagonist in putting on your glasses when he does. That moment doesnt come until what must be an hour into the film, when our drifter hero (Huang Jue) wanders into a grimy adult-movie theater to kill time, falls asleep, and wakes up alone. At that point, the title card comes up, and the film switches to 3-D for an extended dream sequence that runs in one hour-long shot for the rest of the film. Its impossible to describe  it involves, karaoke, flying and a magic spell  and even more impossible to forget. If only every 3-D film used that extra dimension with Bis sense of vision. EY

Most Disheartening Applause: The House That Jack Built

Who scripted the first scene in this serial-killer tale: Lars von Trier, or some problematic subreddit? In the sequence, Matt Dillons roaming murderer encounters Uma Thurman on the side of the road, pleading car troubles and ignorance. She nags him into driving her to a repair shop, then continues to prattle on for so long that certain audience members actually applauded when Dillon smacks her with a car jack to shut her up. Sigh. KB

Best Shot at Broadway: Cold War

I heard someone describe Pawel Pawlikowskis latest as a Polish La La Land, which is more than a little reductive, but at least acknowledges the great potential Cold War has to be a Broadway smash. Theres singing, dancing, and the bright lights of Berlin, and the genres of music, from stirring Polish mountain folk songs to Parisian jazz, guarantee a best-selling soundtrack. As long as the rights to Rockin Robin are reasonable, youve got a show-stopping ensemble dance number in the middle. And what the heck, keep the fantastic Joanna Kulig as Zula, who with her throaty belting and tragic charm gave what for my money was the best lead performance in the competition this year. Forget the Palme, we smell a Tony! EY

Best Fashion: Knife + Heart

Director Yann Gonzalez brings high style to this eccentric story of a porn set beset by a mystery serial killer, but no one is more stylish than lead actress Vanessa Paradis. As the bleach-blonde tyrant who directs these blue movies, her every outfit is a soft-butch, high-fashion Halloween costume. Expect Cannes juror Kristen Stewart to start rocking the Knife + Heart ensemble of a tatty wifebeater and a leather dress within weeks. KB

Best Eating Scene: Ash Is Purest White

Jilted gangsters moll Qiao (Zhao Tao) goes through a lot in Jia Zhangkes Ash Is Purest White, and at a certain point in her journey, she works up an appetite. Wandering through the streets of a river town, she happens upon a wedding party spilling out into the street. Why yes, she did go to college with the bride! Why yes, shed love to join in the feast! What follows is some of the most cathartic and enviable noodle-eating this side of Tampopo, equal parts desperate and indulgent and scammy as all hell. EY

Most Unexpected Cutaways: The Image Book

Jean-Luc Godards latest cinematic montage is mostly stitched together from classic movies and modern-day news footage of the Middle East, but he finds room for at least two surprising inclusions: A vigorous bit of gay-porn footage, and a clip from a Michael Bay film thats so unlikely that even the legendary Godard pled dumb. KB

Best Directorial Debut: Sauvage

The trans dance film Girl won first-time filmmaker Lukas Dhont the Camera dOr and a Netflix pick-up, though Dhont still hasnt figured out a good explanation for why he cast a cisgender actor as the lead. For my money, the best first film I saw at Cannes was Camille Vidal-Naquets poetic Sauvage, the story of a 22-year-old French hustler (played by Felix Maritaud, who also appeared in Knife + Heart). Perhaps its because the film debuted in Critics Week, or because its utterly unapologetic about its sexuality, but I didnt hear nearly enough buzz for this film, which doesnt set a single foot wrong and has the ending that has most stuck with me from any film I saw at Cannes this year. Regardless, try to catch it when it makes it was stateside, so you can say that you were a ground-floor fan of Vidal-Naquet. KB

Best Acting Debut: Jeon Jong-seo, Burning

Poor Jeon Jong-seo couldnt catch a break. As she arrived at the airport to take off to Cannes  for the premiere of her first acting performance ever  paparazzi caught up with her and captured her looking less than happy to see them. Apparently, her performance as a young ingenue eternally grateful for the spotlight didnt go over well, but hopefully all is forgiven back home when they catch her beautiful, yearning performance in Burning as a young aimless woman who falls for a wealthy, worldly older man (Steven Yeun). Her Hae-mi could have easily been a flitty, semi-magical Murakami femme fatale, but in Jeons hands theres deep hunger to her millennial malaise and a desperation to connect above everything else. A scene where she, tipsy and almost tearful, demonstrates a tribal dance for her beaus well-heeled friends (to their derisive amusement) is still stuck in my head, days later. EY

Best Earworm: Happy as Lazzaro, Dreams (will come alive)

During Cannes premieres, its tradition for a song from the film to play for the director and casts arrival on the red carpet. When Alice Rohrwacher and her cast and crew ascended the red carpet for her semi-mystical time-hopping parable Happy as Lazzaro (or the much-more-fun-to-say Italian title, Lazzaro Felice) I was puzzled but delighted to hear the selection: the thumping 90s dance-floor track Dreams (will come alive) by Dutch eurodance duo 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor. At first glance, it seems totally at odds with the painterly, out-of-time mood of Rohrwachers film, but its the favorite song of young aristocrat Tancredi (Luca Chikovani) that ends up becoming a beacon of sorts between him and saintly peasant Lazzaro (Adriano Tardiolo.) As such, its played approximately 78 times over the course of the film, but somehow, in all its chipper Dance Dance Revolution glory, it never gets old. EY

Best Couple: Rafiki

Wanuri Kahius lesbian love story, banned in her native Kenya, finds such immediate chemistry between tomboy Kena (Samantha Mugatsia) and rainbow-braided Ziki (Sheila Munyiva) that you want exactly what the characters want: a simple, radiant love uninterrupted by homophobes in their midst. Kahiu gives us that blissful high for so long that I got happy just whenever I saw Mugatsia and Munyiva on the red carpet or on the Croisette: Theyre together again! KBPhoto: Kinology

And now, after 25 years of making and unmaking, a film by Terry Gilliam. So reads the opening title card of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, and even before a single frame of the film, you kind of want to tell the film to zip it; that its jinxing itself. Of course the films reputation precedes it  Gilliam has had multiple iterations of it collapse over the past two decades. Even its screening at Cannes was not certain until the second day of the festival. But once it actually starts rolling, one could hope that it could carve out a space for itself and exist separately from the drama surrounding it. Clearly, it cannot, but thats not what sinks it in the end.

There is a good idea for a film somewhere in this finished product, the story of which bears the erasure marks of previous versions of itself. Toby (Adam Driver) is a hotshot director shooting a vodka commercial in Spain, wasting his budget, chasing production assistants and sleeping with the producers wife (Olga Kurylenko). One night at a restaurant, a bootlegger comes by with DVDs, and one of them is Tobys first film, an adaptation of Don Quixote shot in a village nearby. Toby buys it and watches it and the experience starts flooding back to him, the excitement of working on a student budget and creating something out of nothing, the village girl he fell for and cast in the film (Joana Ribeiro), and particularly the old man he found to play Quixote himself (Jonathan Pryce).

He ditches his set and motorcycles off to the village, where he finds that the old man is still there, and has never broken character since the film wrapped. In other words, he has basically become a real-life Don Quixote, who was himself an actor of sorts stuck in a role. Quixote sees in Toby his Sancho Panza, and Toby, feeling more than a little guilty for having impacted this old mans life in such a way, plays along and joins him on his quest, the reality of which becomes more and more slippery as it goes on  Quixotes delusion might be catching.

As a film about filmmaking, which Don Quixote cannot help but be, the premise has a lot of potential to talk about a kind of ethics of creativity, especially the ethics of creating something with as big a footprint as a feature-length film. It seems easier to ruin other peoples lives in the course of a film production than not to; is there any way that can that be mitigated? What happens when people, specifically actors, cant escape the headspace of the roles they are made to play, long after the production has wrapped and everyone else has managed to move onto the next?

But Gilliam has a blindspot, and a pretty untimely one at that. Its rough stuff when Kurylenko, decked out in a blonde wig and looking like some corrupt succubus of the male imagination, throws herself at Toby, rougher when Toby feels up the assistant whose name he cant remember on set (its a joke!). Counter to these wicked and/or disposable sluts is Angelica, the village girl, who later learn was 15 (!) when Toby first wooed her with his camera. You were so young, he says later after they reunite, then catches himself  Not that youre old now, youre still very young. This is how you tell a woman shes still as beautiful as ever in Gilliams bumblingly misogynistic fun house.

Angelica, it turns out, was also impacted by Tobys production. After the film wrapped, she went to Madrid to be a actress, but it didnt quite work out the way she hoped. When she reveals that she had worked as an escort at one point, the score gasps with lamentation. As the film reorients itself around protecting her purity, and quite literally pits her as the Madonna to Kurylenkos whore, it feels like Quixote has gotten lost in some very strange weeds. The experience of watching it, especially given its dreamlike unreality and head-scratching punnery (this is a deeply unfunny movie) is like listening to a doddering old man for whom every story  about art, politics, local goings on  ends up being about how every woman is an evil witch that cant be trusted. Theres enough of a germ of something in Don Quixote that you find yourself shaking your head by its climax, wondering, wait, what were we talking about again?



Quixote lives in the end  the delusions of art and meaning and grandeur are too compelling to not be passed on down the ages to whatever romantic sucker buys into it next. Hopefully, though, Gilliam can finally put him to bed  and with him some of the fustier ideas that seem to have festered up alongside him.Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Are you even ready to binge-watch with Michelle and Barack Obama? The former president and first lady have signed a multiyear agreement to produce films and series with Netflix, according to the streaming service. In March, it was rumored that Netflix was courting the Obamas, after the site inked deals with Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy. The Obamas will produce a diverse mix of content, including the potential for scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features, according to a release from Netflix. The Obamas have established Higher Ground Productions as the entity under which they will produce content for Netflix. Heres hoping for the Malia Obama short we pitched back in March, Malia Bird.Photo: Starz Entertainment, LLC

The third episode of Starzs Vida revealed what viewers probably already suspected: Emma (Mishel Prada) is gay. But surprise or no, the way the episode disclosed that detail  in a heart-thumping opening sex scene  made it instantly memorable and remarkable.

With Jarina De Marcos Tigre blasting, the usually uptight Emma, wearing black lingerie, is getting her toes sucked. The gender of her partner, Sam (Michelle Badillo), is kept deliberately unclear until the couple moves on to standing sex, when Sam, who is nonbinary, is completely nude. From there, Emma throws Sam on the hardwood floor, removes her panties, and sits on Sams face.

Of all the sex scenes in Vida  and there are many  this was the one the writers discussed and revised the most. Its a radical act to put two brown bodies on the screen already, but to put two queer bodies having queer sex like this is a political act, creator and showrunner Tanya Saracho said. I knew, if we got it right, it was going to be really important because we dont see this representation, this imagery, ever, really. Im so proud of it.

The priority in filming the scene, as with all of the shows sex scenes, was to avoid any exploitation of the female actors. Our goal was to represent the female gaze, female liberation, and as a sexual woman myself, I appreciate that very much. I love that we are going against stereotypes, particularly in the Latin community, director of photography Carmen Cabana said. Women being tough in sex and actively seeking their own pleasure and satisfying their particular cravings is bold for TV  and wonderful, in my opinion.

The Script

If Emma and her younger sister Lyn (Melissa Barrera) have one thing in common, its their attitudes toward sex. When Saracho was creating the characters, she designed both to be in charge of their sexual power, even though they do so in different ways: Emma prefers anonymous sex that she controls and is negotiated ahead of time, while Lyn wields sex like a superpower and uses it to manipulate her partners. What I notice a lot about millennials is that they have agency over their sexuality, Saracho said. They might still make bad decisions when it comes to emotional things sometimes, but theres an agency they have over how and who they have sex with that we didnt have in my generation. Its something I admire. Everything else might be falling apart, but they know how they want it and what they want. I wanted both of these sisters to be steeped in that.

The Vida writers, which include four queer women, dedicated several days to discussing every aspect of the scene and staging demonstrations in the writers room. This is our chance to have a femme queer girl have sex with a nonbinary, gender nonconforming person and see what that looks like, Saracho said. When you first see Sam, you dont know if theyre male or female, and then we see the breasts, and then we see them be on bottom  not on top, like you would think. All of these moments were workshopped and everyone went around the room and shared their experiences. It was a lively few days making it as authentic as possible.

The Actors

Photo: Erica Parise/Starz Entertainment, LLC

For both Prada and Badillo, who met for the first time in rehearsals, this was their first sex scene. Prada says she felt emboldened not just by Emmas physical power in the scene but also by the shows depiction of sex and nudity through the female gaze.

I grew up very conservative Christian and I was taught that youre allowed to be sexy but not sexual, Prada said. There was something really amazing about feeling empowered and feeling in complete control that day on set. Historically, lesbian sex has been fetishized to a point that its almost not real, and I think its time for us to talk about it and normalize it. We come from a culture where we dont talk about it. I think about me as a child growing up. What if my sexuality had been celebrated instead of shamed?

Badillo, a writer for One Day at a Time, had not acted professionally but Saracho thought she had the perfect look for the scene, so she approached her about it over email. The two women had previously met on the set of One Day at a Time when Saracho attended a taping. I thought she was very interesting and I follow her on Instagram, so she was in my orbit, Saracho said. When someone asked me what Sam looks like in the writers room, I pulled up Michelles Instagram and said, We could get an actor that looks like Michelle Badillo. But then I said, What if we could get Michelle Badillo?

Once she was approached, it took Badillo only a few minutes to agree to play Sam. I havent acted professionally before, let alone being fully nude doing a sex scene, she said with a laugh. But I thought, first of all, if Im going to do it, Im never going to be in safer hands than with Tanya. Second, I thought it would be so cool to be part of this tradition of powerful queer Latina sex scenes on TV  and then I was like, Oh wait, there is no tradition of that. So I thought if I can be a part of that, Ill get over any kind of awkward body shame I might have and do it for the history.

The Filming

Two days before they filmed the scene, Prada and Badillo rehearsed it with Saracho, other producers, Cabana, and episode director Rashaad Ernesto Green. Starz requires that all sex scenes be detailed in writing and signed off by all parties before they can be filmed, and the set was closed, with only a small group of essential crew members allowed to stay.

Even though the scene was shot over four hours at night, Badillo arrived on set earlier that day so she and Prada would have time to get comfortable with one another. When it got closer to show time, Badillo says she took a lot of deep breaths: I knew it wasnt exploitative, so I didnt have any of the concerns people might have doing a sex scene. I just thought, Focus on what it means. And then, immediately when I got to set, I had to go to makeup to cover up all the tattoos on my body. And I have a tattoo on my butt. So, within 15 minutes, I was naked and getting makeup applied to my butt. It was like, Youre in it to win it!

As the recipient of the toe sucking, Prada had different concerns, which is why she splurged on a $100 pedicure beforehand. In my normal sex life, I never done that, so I looked into it, she said. And then, right before it, my makeup person soaked some little rags in mouthwash and cleaned my feet so we could be respectful of each other and make it nice. (Badillo appreciated the foot cleanse: This is a classy lady! I couldnt have asked for a better scene partner, she said. Shes one of the classiest and most thoughtful ladies.)

Although most sex scenes on Vida are filmed with a handheld camera, this scenes many angles required a second camera, which was operated by David J. Frederick. When it came to framing the shots, Cabana looked for ways to enhance the dramatic journey of the characters moment by moment. We used the elements within the space as foregrounds that would frame them in specific ways, she said. One foreground that I loved was this chair that had horn-like ends. If I lowered the camera just enough, it created this phallic shape right below the two of them. The scene also called for a sense of danger. We wanted the audience to wonder where Emma was and if she was putting herself at risk, so those shapes along with the street light tonality contributed to the prohibitive tone.

To keep Sams gender identity a mystery, Cabana designed the opening sequence with close-ups and used a camera that traveled across Emmas body to her feet. Sam, played by Michelle, had a fantastic look and she made it very easy for me to film her from different angles at first without revealing female anatomy, she said. Meanwhile, Prada said she found Emmas dominance challenging, but Saracho remembers it differently. I kept thinking, oh my God, Mishels throwing Badillo too hard on the hardwood floor! Saracho said, laughing. Nobody complained but I was worried about Badillos shoulder blades. We had rehearsed it and everything but, you know, fully naked, owww! For her part, Badillo said she was so pumped with adrenaline that she didnt feel a thing. We did that one a lot because she has to throw me down and sit on my face and the angle is really important, she said. That quickly became very funny because it felt like a comedy reel, like, how many times could I hit the floor and have her sit on my face? Its funny how immediately desexualized these scenes become. Every time they called cut, Mishel and I would just sit, laughing and hugging each other.

After Emma throws Sam down on the floor, she removes her underwear. The first time they filmed that sequence, an alarmed producer rushed on set to make sure Prada was okay. We can see your butt! Prada recalled the producer telling her. What? Oh my gosh, does it look bad? Is that why shes freaking out? she thought. When the producer told Prada it looked fine but they needed her approval because that hadnt been agreed to beforehand, she started laughing. Um, guys, me being from Miami, thats not nudity!

But Prada says she did appreciate all of the ways her bosses were considerate. After the scene was edited, Saracho showed it to her to make sure she was comfortable with the final version that would air. She even slowed the footage down and pointed out how the perverts would look at it, Prada added. I dont know if its because after spending so much time on set, it felt like a summer camp, but I just dont think twice about it, she said. I think it makes sense for Emma. Its really amazing to not feel any shame over it. I know that my mom and some of my family are not going to be too happy about it, but I think its time that we start celebrating sexuality as opposed to shaming it.

The Song

Tigre, which the Dominican-born De Marco wrote for Broad City, is catchy and easy to remember. For most of the song, shes repeating, Tu lo que quieres es que te coma el tigre, which means What you want is for the tiger to eat you. But in Dominican slang, tiguere also refers to a womanizer or slick dude.

Tigre is one of Sarachos favorite songs. When the editor gave me the first cut, it had this really sexy song, you know, like looking at sexy girls type of song, Saracho said. And I was like, No, no, no, its so wrong. I want something offbeat. And I thought of Tigre so we tried it and everybody was like, Its perfect! Tiguerazo! Tiguerazo! Que te coma el tigre and she squats on her face. Its so good!

The song makes Prada laugh all of the time. Its hysterical, she said. Tanyas got such a great sense of humor. With our writers room being all Latinx, it allows us to poke a little fun at ourselves and to reveal things about ourselves that you really couldnt do on another show.Stacey Abrams' bid to become the first female African-American governor in America is the hottest ticket in Democrats' shadow 2020 presidential primary.

In Georgia's Tuesday primary, Abrams, the former state House minority leader, faces former state Rep. Stacey Evans for the Democratic nomination in what will be a closely-watched governor's race.

Just ahead of the primary, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Abrams, and California Sen. Kamala Harris visited Georgia to campaign for her. In January, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker was in Atlanta for events supporting Abrams.

Nina Turner, the president of Our Revolution, the organization that emerged from Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, spent the weekend in Georgia turning out the vote for Abrams.

The national figures' interest in the race and national support for Abrams is in part a result of her appeal to both the Democrats' progressive wing and its African-American base.

There's also Georgia's status as a key state in both the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. It votes on Super Tuesday, and black Democratic voters in the South are a crucial source of delegates. The formerly deep-red state has also emerged as competitive in general elections.

Hillary Clinton's strength with black voters in the South was at the core of her strategy to clinch the party's 2016 nomination, and Sanders was never able to make up the ground he'd lost there later in the nominating process.

Abrams' emergence as a Democratic star, fueled by her calls for massive black voter registration efforts, became clear to a national audience in August 2017, when the progressive gathering Netroots Nation was held in Atlanta.

Abrams was among the biggest stars at the event. And Evans attempted to speak, too. But protesters accusing Evans of taking stances on education issues similar to President Donald Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos, drowned her out for about 10 minutes with chants of "trust black women."

Evans is still seen as a strong candidate, and amid all the national attention, Abrams' campaign has become sensitive to the potential perception that she is ignoring local voices.

Abrams' list of endorsements on her campaign website first highlights a long list of Georgia Democrats and local organizations. Only at the very end of the list is a group of "Additional Supporters" comprised of national figures.

"Of course, we are really thrilled about the national support and endorsements we have received from senators from members of Congress, but really what we want folks to know is we have a really strong base of local support as well," an Abrams aide said, arguing that Abrams has told supporters and aides that her campaign is "grounded here in Georgia but nationally known."

The aide acknowledged that campaigns like Abrams could make winning Georgia in two years easier for Democrats.

"The tilling of that soil is really important," the aide said, arguing that the state won't be flippable without competitive Democratic races.

The rush to back Abrams also represents Democrats' hope that 2020 will be the year they turn Georgia blue for the first time since then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton won the state in 1992.

Democrats from Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez on down remain bullish about their prospects in 2020 in a state Trump only won by 5 percentage points in 2016, making it closer than traditional swing states like Ohio and Iowa.

Booker, who has focused much of his endorsement travel in 2018 on colleagues in the Senate, has stepped out and endorsed two candidates for governor so far, Abrams in Georgia and Ben Jealous in Maryland.

Both are African-American leaders in their respective states, and a senior aide to the New Jersey senator said one reason he has endorsed the two candidates is because he "feels especially passionately about getting more men and women of color into elected office and politics."

In an email to supporters, Booker said the Georgia gubernatorial race represents "a unique opportunity -- not only to turn the state blue, but to build progressive power in the South and bring new voices and voters into the political process nationwide."

Harris campaigned for Abrams in May, saying the race has "national impact."

Lily Adams, a spokeswoman for Harris, said the California Democrat backs Abrams because of the diversity she would bring to the upper echelon of the state's political scene.

"Senator Harris, really throughout her career, has placed a premium on endorsing a more diverse set of elected officials and this year is no different," Adams said.

Harris has also endorsed Aaron Ford, who would be Nevada's first African-American attorney general, and Joe Neguse, whose campaign in Colorado's 2nd District House race could make him the state's first African-American congressman.Key evidence in a brutal Colbert County murder is waiting to be tested by the state forensics lab.

69-year-old John Johnson was found stabbed to death in his Bainbridge Loop home just days before Christmas and his killer is still on the loose.

Colbert County Sheriff Frank Williamson told WAAY31 his investigators have worked around the clock on John Johnson's murder.

They collected DNA evidence at the scene of the crime but are waiting for the evidence to be tested by the Alabama State Forensics Lab, which could put Johnson's killer behind bars.

"We've got a killer that's walking the street and we need to get him locked up," said Williamson.

Williamson told WAAY31 they are having to wait because the forensics lab is backed-up. We reached out to the state forensics lab but are waiting for a call back.

"It's been very frustrating...This is not the forensics lab fault, this is a legislative issue and it needs to be addressed by the legislature," said Williamson.

Williamson, Johnson's family, and dozens of others called the state forensics lab to get the evidence in the case fast tracked. Officials are hoping to have the forensic lab results by next week. Williamson is asking lawmakers to properly fund the forensics lab or come up with another solution to get evidence tested quicker.

"There is a need. The people of Colbert County and the citizens in the state of Alabama don't deserve this. They deserve better," said Williamson.

Since Johnson's murder, officials have increased patrols in the area of Bainbridge Road.Free 2 Teach in Huntsville is the only free school supply store in the state of Alabama. They give out supplies and resources to teachers throughout North Alabama. Their main goals is to show support for educators in our community.

"I was out doing volunteer work for another non-profit, there was a large box of supplies there and we were trying to put together an art kit, and someone said 'wouldn't you have liked to have that when you were teaching?' And I said well yeah,'" said Eula Battle, the Executive Director of Free 2 Teach.

That's how the idea of Free 2 Teach began.

It started in 2010 as a much smaller operation. In the first year, the store gave out around $38,000 worth of school supplies to teachers.

"We came to realize, why don't we go talk to businesses about things they aren't using anymore? Teachers will take a hand me down," added Battle.

Through business partnerships and individual donations, Free 2 Teach quickly grew.

It's now housed in a 10,000 square foot warehouse. Teachers in Huntsville City, Madison City and Madison County schools district can shop for their classes up to 5 times a year.

On average, each teacher will take away $549 in supplies and resources from the shop for free.

This year, Free 2 Teach gave away $1.2 million of supplies to 3,800 teachers in North Alabama.

" Our focus as an organization is getting supplies into the hands of students who need them most. So we are getting teachers what they need for their classrooms, we're getting kids what they need to learn," said Alison Kling, Development Director at Free 2 Teach.

Kling was previously a school teacher who knows the financial impact teaching has on a family.

"What I know from my own experience is you often do pay out of pocket. I was reading quotes from our facebook page and articles and I saw again and again spouses of our teachers are saying 'this is changing our families budget, you are making our financial future different,'" added Kling.

The store will reopen for teachers to shop in July.

Right now, they are working to reorganize the store. Volunteers and donations are always welcome.

For information on how you can help, visit https://www.free-2-teach.org/The Marion County Sheriff's Office said an escaped inmate is back behind bars after an escape just after midnight.

Officials say Thomas Joe Green, 31, escaped from the Marion County jail around 12:45 Monday morning. He was behind bars charged with rape in the first degree.

The sheriff's office said just before noon that Green was back in custody.

Sheriff's deputies say Green has ties to both the Haleyville and Muscle Shoals area. He is originally from Joiner, Arkansas.(CNN) -- The gunfire tearing through Santa Fe High School didn't stop for half an hour. And during that time, Texas deputies were in a 25-minute shootout with the gunman, authorities said.

By the end of the melee, eight students and two teachers were killed. The suspect was taken into custody. And once again, the country is grappling with yet another school massacre.

The investigation

New details are emerging about what happened Friday at Sante Fe High, a school of about 1,500 students.

Texas governor to convene discussions on gun violence

Officers arrived at the school's art lab section about four minutes into the shooting and engaged the shooter right away, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset told CNN.

But it's unclear whether all the victims were shot by the suspect, or whether some were shot by deputies during the crossfire. Trochesset said authorities are waiting for the medical examiner's autopsies to make that determination.

A "decent amount of cameras in the school" will help investigators piece together a timeline, Trochesset said.

The suspect told an investigator he acted alone and spared people he liked because he wanted his story told, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The victims include a girl who rejected the suspect

One of the students killed, Shana Fisher, had rejected the suspect's advances for months, her mother Sadie Baze said. Finally, about a week ago, she stood up to him in the middle of class to proclaim she would not go out with him.

Baze said she believes the incident embarrassed the suspect so much that he targeted Shana. "One of the shotgun shells was for my daughter," she said.

Shana had turned 16 days earlier.

Another student killed, Jared Black, turned 17 last week and was supposed to have a birthday party Saturday.

The massacre also claimed the lives of students Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani exchange student; Chris Stone; Angelique Ramirez; Christian Riley Garcia; Aaron Kyle McLeod; and Kimberly Vaughan. Teachers Glenda Ann Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale were also killed.

The people hospitalized included retired Houston police Officer John Barnes, who served as a resource officer at the school and confronted the gunman.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted Friday that he had visited Barnes in the hospital, and he was "hanging in there."

The suspect yelled 'Woo Hoo!'

Authorities identified the gunman as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17. He was armed with a shotgun and a .38 caliber handgun, both legally owned by his father, according to Gov. Greg Abbott.

Deedra Van Ness' daughter, Isabelle Laymance, survived the shooting by hiding in a classroom closet.

In a Facebook post Saturday titled "longest day of my life," she said her daughter told her the gunman was "yelling Woo Hoo!" as he fired in the classroom next door.

Pagourtzis is being held without bail and is accused of capital murder of multiple people and aggravated assault on a public servant. He has not entered a plea.

Attorneys Robert Barfield and Nicholas Poehl said they had met with Pagourtzis for two 30-minute visits. Barfield said his client is "not doing well" and is "confused."

The suspect won't face the death penalty if he is convicted. Under Texas law, offenders who are under age 18 and charged with a capital offense face a maximum punishment of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years.

The controversial response

While the massacre reignited the debate over gun control, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said guns aren't to blame. Instead, he put the blame on issues such as abortion, violent video games and the lack of armed teachers.

"The video games issue, we have got to address in this country. Based on all the research we have done, 97%, according to psychologists and psychiatrists ... of teenagers view video games, and 85% of those video games are violent," Patrick said Sunday.

"And what are these games showing you how to do? Kill people. ... The vast majority [of psychologists and psychiatrists] will tell you it leads them to become numb to violence, to have less empathy to their victims and be more aggressive. Does that impact everyone who views them? No, but it obviously is part of the problem."

He also made a connection between violent video games and abortions.

"We have 50 million abortions. We have families that are broken apart, no fathers at home. We have incredible heinous violence as a [video] game, two hours a day in front of their eyes," Patrick said. "And we stand here and we wonder why this happens to certain students."

The lieutenant governor also said more armed teachers would help avert school massacres.

"We have to arm our teachers," he said. "If another person has a gun, the best way to stop that person is with another person with a gun. But an even better way is four people with a gun to stop that person."Wanted man who evaded police during pursuit in September, arrested following another police pursuitEmail To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required.

Your Full Name: (optional)

Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required.WASHINGTON: Pakistan Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Chaudhry remarked that Pakistan intends to consult with the World Bank on the Kishanganga Dam issue.



He was addressing a seminar titled Pakistan and the United States a Lasting Partnership on Saturday.



Speaking in the context of issues pertaining to Islamabads eastside neighbour, Aizaz said the country intends to take up plans of Indus Waters Treaty (alternatively known as the Sindh Taas Agreement), Kishanganga Dam, and Ratle Hydroelectric Plant with Jim Yong Kim, the president of the global financial institution.



Meanwhile, a Pakistani delegation led by Attorney General, has landed in Washington to meet the President of the World Bank in connection with Indian violation of Indus Water Treaty.



Pakistan ambassador to USA, Aizaz Chaudhry has told that the four-member delegation led by Ashtar Ausaf will raise the issue of violating the Indus Water Treaty by building dams on Neelum River, dismissing objections by Pakistan and the World Bank.



The statements come in response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating Kishanganga Dam project on Saturday amid protests from Pakistan, which says the project on a river flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies.



The 330MW Kishanganga hydropower station work on which started in 2009, is one of the projects that India has fast-tracked in the volatile state amid frosty ties between the nuclear-armed countries.



This region cannot only become self-sufficient in power but also produce for other regions of the country, Modi said in the states capital, Srinagar. Keeping that in mind we have been working on various projects here for the past four years. Pakistan has opposed some of these projects, saying they violate a World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends.



Pakistan is seriously concerned about the inauguration (of the Kishanganga plant), its Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. Pakistan believes that the inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).



The Kishanganga project was delayed for several years as Pakistan dragged India to the International Court of Arbitration, which ruled in Indias favour in 2013. India has said the hydropower projects underway in Jammu and Kashmir are run-of-the-river schemes that use the rivers flow and elevation to generate electricity rather than large reservoirs, and do not contravene the treaty.



While responding to US moving its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the ambassador reiterated that Pakistan holds reservations on Washingtons decision.



Pakistan expresses concerns over the US embassy move to Jerusalem



On May 14, the new US embassy to Israel officially opened in Jerusalem as US President Donald Trump has formally recognised the holy city as the countrys capital.



The opening comes after a day of celebratory festivities in Israel juxtaposed with mass protests along the border of Israel that left at least 60 Palestinians dead and more than 1,000 injuredmaking it one of the bloodiest day of weeks of demonstrations that have cast a cloud over the embassy opening.INP



As protests continue to erupt in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the world in outrage against the horrific shooting of Jacob Bla Read moreWiGBits Headline News Would you like to receive our WiGBits? Signup today!

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Digital Issue Would you like to receive our Digital Issue? Signup today!More than a thousand drivers are receiving red light tickets every month in Greenville, six months after the introduction of a new red light camera program that one lawsuit is challenging the legality of.

The latest numbers released by the City of Greenville show that 1,632 drivers were ticketed in April for trying to beat the red at five different intersections.

Greenville spokesperson Brock Letchworth says that number has decreased since the program first began, which city leaders take as a good sign because the ultimate goal of the program is to reduce traffic violations.

"Originally, we had a spike in the number of tickets that were issued early on, but lately we've leveled off at around 1,600 tickets per month," said Letchworth.

If you're caught going through a red light, it'll cost you $100. State law requires that the money from the fines go to public schools.

Letchworth says $69.15 is given to Pitt County Public Schools and $30.85 is given to American Traffic Solutions to pay for the program. So far, the program has generated about $681,816 for Pitt County Schools.

A

 was filed earlier this month challenging the legality of the program, arguing that the public school system isn't getting their mandatory share of funds and that yellow lights are too short.

While the city isn't commenting on the lawsuit, Letchworth did comment on the timing of the yellow lights.

"We actually increased the time slightly at the intersections with the red light cameras for the yellow light. We increased it by 3/10 of a second at those intersections," Letchworth explained.

He said they did that to give people more time to stop at the intersections.

Based on the latest numbers, East Arlington Blvd and Greenville Blvd is where a majority of the violations take place, most frequently between 3 p.m.-4 p.m. on Friday afternoons.The "Run for Life" 5k is raising money for North Carolina Transplant Athletes, an organization that supports organ recipients and donors who attend the Transplant Games of America.

The race is happening on Saturday, June 2. Runners will gather at River Park North in Greenville. Registration begins at 8am and the race starts at 9am.

There will be live music, free food from Muscle Maker Grill and beer from Uptown Brewing Company.

Registration is $20 before the event and $30 for same day registration.

You can get more information by visiting

.Wits alumnus Professor Colin Caro explains why helical stents can change lives  and why, at 92, he still has much to do

Emeritus Professor Colin Caro keeps the fruits of a very long lifes work in the top drawer of his desk: two feather-light, finger-length tubes. Both are made of thin, wire mesh, zigzagging around to create hundreds of tiny triangles. But there is a vital, and deceptively simple, difference between them: one tube is straight, like a drainpipe; the other is gracefully curved, like a snake.

The tubes are both stents: scaffolds to keep a blocked or narrow artery open, allowing blood to flow through it. The straight one will be familiar to heart surgeons. First used in 1986 in Toulouse, France, by doctors Jacques Puel and Ulrich Sigwart, it is widely employed in modern heart surgery, both in its basic form and with various enhancements, such as a coating of drugs to discourage further blockages.

The curved one, however, could also become a common sight in the operating theatre one day. It is Caros own invention, the BioMimics 3D helical-centreline arterial stent, created as a result of a basic realisation: blood flows in three dimensions, not two. For 500 years people have known that arteries branch and bend, he points out. But what has really been underappreciated is that they dont do this in a planar fashion: its more of a curve, a helix.

Working on the single challenge of how to stop so many people dying of heart disease, Caro theorised that the helix had something to do with atherosclerosis, the narrowing of the arteries, which was affecting half the worlds population back in the 60s and 70s. This turned the accepted theory on its head. For a hundred years or more, people believed that the cause of atherosclerosis was blood flowing too quickly through the arteries, he says. I showed, using several simple experiments  postmortem studies and modelling  that the opposite is the case. The slower flow is dangerous, and the faster flow actually protects against disease.

This is due to the three-dimensional nature of blood flow. Atherosclerosis is not a uniform disease, explains Caro: not every inch of the arteries is affected, because the helical flow is not uniform, either. Within the branches and bends of our arteries, there are areas of low wall shear, where the blood flows more slowly, and areas of high wall shear, where it flows quickly. Areas of low shear are more likely to develop atherosclerosis. That is why the BioMimics 3D stent is designed to mimic how the blood flows and, by doing so, harnesses its ability to protect artery walls.

The helical stent causes the flow to rotate, to swirl, and it causes mixing, he says. In a straight stent, blood and the oxygen it carries gets from the middle of the artery to the wall by diffusion  Brownian motion, which is a slow process. In the helical case, the blood in the middle of the artery gets to the walls faster by being stirred, rotated. And thats what you need.

Yet this insight, Caro emphasises, did not come in a sudden flash of inspiration. Rather, it was the culmination of many years work. And being an outlier at the beginning wasnt easy. Its hard trying to persuade people that a long-held theory is wrong, though it never got unpleasant, he emphasises. It can take time to turn the Queen Mary around.

For a hundred years or more, people believed that the cause of atherosclerosis was blood flowing too quickly  in fact, the opposite is the case" The results from the first randomised controlled trials in humans have been promising. Use of the BioMimics 3D helical stent resulted in arteries being more open at two years when compared with a straight stent. Ongoing research is being carried out by Veryan Medical Ltd, a company formed in 2003 with initial funding from Imperial Innovations, when the commercial possibilities of Caros idea were recognised.

Originally from South Africa, Caro gained degrees in both medicine and physiology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, after volunteering for the South African navy from 1944 to 1946. In the 1950s, he taught medicine in the US and at St Thomass Hospital Medical School in London, before founding Imperials Physiological Flow Studies Unit in 1966. In 1989, the unit became the Centre for Biological and Medical Systems and then the Department of Bioengineering, of which he was director. Next year the department will be moving to a state-of-the-art new facility, the Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Research Hub, at the White City Campus.

His many honours and achievements include serving on academic scientific advisory boards in the US, France and Japan; receiving the 2003 Arthur Guyton Award from the International Society of Cardiovascular Medicine and Science, and being named Outstanding Engineer at the 2007 Engineer Technology and Innovation awards. He is author of The Mechanics of the Circulation (1978), and was awarded honorary doctorates from Imperial in 2003, the University of Paris in 2005 and the University of the Witwatersrand in 2010.

When I was a young doctor, we had engineers in the department who were regarded as technicians; they werent quite respected. Nowadays there is full and open recognition that many of the scientists are just as bright, if not brighter, than the doctors, Caro says.

Despite being ahead of its time, the idea of collaboration between medicine and engineering seemed entirely logical to Caro. I have always been interested in physics, mathematics, biology and medicine, he says, so I was an engineer and a doctor, which was helpful. And I was a doctor in a hospital, and therefore in a better place to recognise disease. But I was working alongside mathematicians from Cambridge and Kings. I took a few extra courses in maths, and it struck me it might be interesting to see what could be done in terms of collaboration. I talked to a few people, and Imperial said they would give me one room  it was at Princes Gate, across Exhibition Road  and we would see how it went, and how long it would be before I failed! With typical understatement, he adds: We were lucky. It went well.

And it continues to go well. He has never retired or left Imperial, he says, because he still finds the work exciting  and important. It is a serious business, the potential to prolong life. I have always been aware that this could be important. And its exciting to see it possibly change things. We are starting to understand the why, and thats even more important to me.

And at the age of 92, Caro is still not finished. What concerns him now, he says, is exactly why low shear and slow flow cause atherosclerosis. Youre never satisfied: you always want to know the mechanism. If you go to a GP, they will say you have high blood pressure and that it is a danger to your arteries. Both those statements are correct. But why? Years later, we are still uncovering what that is all about. He is currently working on how oxygen is transferred from the bloodstream into the artery wall: if this isnt done efficiently, the artery will become diseased.

We have these tiny, fine vessels, called vasa vasorum, which supply the artery walls, he explains. But if mixing is inadequate  which it would be in a planar bend  they can get squashed. And they can get squashed when you are stressed, or if you smoke, or if you dont exercise enough, as these all cause the walls of the artery to constrict and get stiff. The key to progression of disease rests on the tension of the artery wall, and the flow of blood. And it is therefore imperative to keep the flow stable and three-dimensional, and well mixed.

Caro continues to research and publish, and his office door is still always open to colleagues and students. There arent too many places, after all, where you can draw on the experience gained over a 70-yearlong career. His advice to those following behind is simple. This area is wide open. Encourage younger people. Work as hard as you can. And carry on as long as you can.

This article is reproduced with the kind permission of Imperial College London. See the original here.

Professor Colin Caro has the following Wits degrees: BSc Hons (1950), MBBCH (1950), PhD (1961), DSc Eng honoris causa (2010)UTICA  A new affordable housing complex has officially opened in the city of Utica.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Monday morning at West Street Apartments, a 42-unit development on West Street in Utica. The new complex includes six units specifically for formally homeless families and 11 supportive units for people recovering from mental illness.

The new $13.8 million facility is run by the Rescue Mission of Utica, which is located right around the corner on Rutger Street.

The building also houses a Community Services Center for tenants and local residents with a learning center, a community clothing room, food pantry and meal program, and a representative payee program that helps people manage their financial obligations.

Jim Haid, executive director of the Rescue Mission of Utica, says the complex took a long time to come together but it was well worth the wait. He says the funding to build it came from a variety of sources.

"It's a variety of sources, but mostly through New York State," Haid said. "Homes and Community Renewal, OTIDA, some city funds through HOME Funds, a few other investors, but mostly through investment through Homes and Community Renewal."

"We created  the Rescue Mission of Utica created  West Street Apartments LLC, so we are the owners of the facility, obviously with the partners we have with the investors, they are all in that mix as well," Haid said.

All 42 of the units are already occupied. If youre interested in getting on the waiting list for one of the units, you can call the Rescue Mission of Utica.CLINTON- On Sunday, Hamilton College held their 206th commencement ceremony. The school graduated 477 students with a Bachelor's of Arts degree.

This years commencement speaker was Darren Walker who is the president of the Ford Foundation.

Families who spoke with NEWSChannel 2 said they were happy to see their loved ones graduate.

"I am so proud of him and all of his friends for graduating from such a great school. He has made a lot of terrific relationships that will last a lifetime and he's got a job waiting for him," said Greg Cannon, Cannon about his son's graduation.ROME  A western New York woman is facing charges after she allegedly brought heroin into a local correctional facility and prompted a hazmat response from several emergency crews.

On Sunday, May 20, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision requested assistance for a possible hazmat incident at Mohawk Correctional Facility, located on State Route 26 in Rome, according to New York State Police.

Police say while an investigator at the prison was processing contraband, which was a gray powdery substance, he began to feel lightheaded. AmCare Ambulance was called at 1:07 p.m., according to the Oneida County 911 Center, and the investigator was transported to Rome Memorial Hospital for evaluation, then released.

The Rome and Utica fire departments were also called to assist at the correctional facility, along with the State Police Contaminated Crime Scene Emergency Response Team. The CCSERT team determined the substance was heroin and 47-year-old Christine Robinson of Jamestown was arrested.

Robinson is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and first-degree promoting prison contraband for possessing heroin in a correctional facility.WASHINGTON (WLFI)  Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly is calling for the protection of more than a hundred thousand Hoosier workers and retirees pensions.

Pensions earned through decades of work are at risk of being lost.

Without congressional action, nearly 150 multiemployer pension plans listed by the U.S. Department of Labor as in "critical or endangered status" could fail.

That could lead to the collapse of the federal pension insurance program, also known as the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Donnelly said this could impact thousands of Hoosier Teamsters and mineworkers.

"These are pensions where there's nothing that's been given," Donnelly said. "These were folks who paid in, every week, out of their paycheck. All we're trying to do is protect what they had earned and what they were promised. So, we're fighting for this right now."

Donnelly helped introduce the bipartisan Miners Pension Protection Act.

It would ensure the necessary funds are available to keep the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan active.INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Gov. Eric Holcomb has directed flags across Indiana to be flown at half-staff to honor the victims of the shootings at Santa Fe High School in Texas.

Holcomb says flags should be flown at half-staff until sunset on Tuesday. He also asked businesses and residents to lower their flags to half-staff until then.

The shootings Friday morning killed 10 people, most of them students, and wounded 10 others.

The Indiana Blood Center announced it was shipping blood and platelets Friday evening to the University of Texas Medical Branch in response to a request for help.



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Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home pageFloating plant arrives at Murmansk for fueling

21 May 2018

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A ceremony has been held to welcome the Akademik Lomonosov, Russia's first floating nuclear power plant, following its arrival at Atomflot's berth in the port city of Murmansk in the far northwest part of the country. Fuel will be loaded in to the vessel's two reactors prior to its delivery to Russia's northernmost city of Pevek next year.

The Akademik Lomonosov moored in Murmansk (Image: Rosenergoatom)

The Akademik Lomonosov - 144 metres in length, 30 metres wide and having a displacement of 21,000 tonnes - left the Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in Saint Petersburg on 28 April. It arrived in Murmansk on 17 May after having been towed over 4000 kilometres and travelling through four seas: the Baltic, Northern, Norwegian and Barents.

On its arrival at Murmansk, a welcome ceremony took place during which the plant was handed over to the customer, Rosenergoatom, the nuclear power plant operator subsidiary of state nuclear corporation Rosatom. The ceremony was attended by Rosatom Director General Alexey Likhachov, Rosatom Deputy Director General Alexander Lokshin, Rosenergoatom Director General Andrey Petrov, Atomflot Director General Vyacheslav Ruksha, Chukotka regional governor Roman Kopin and Murmansk regional deputy director Eugene Nikora.

Likhachov said: "We have successfully towed the power unit, not yet loaded with fuel, to Murmansk and are here going to fully launch this unique project, which was only made possible thanks to cooperation of many companies." He added, "Akademik Lomonosov is an unparalleled piece of engineering by Russian scientists. It is a first-of-a-kind, reference project for mobile medium capacity range nuclear power units, a product we expect to be growing in demand in the coming years. For instance, we see great interest from all island nations where it is difficult, for various reasons, to set up a developed centralised power transmission infrastructure."

Rosatom said fuel will be loaded into the two reactors on Akademik Lomonosov in the coming months. The vessel is expected to be towed to its permanent base at Pevek in Russia's Chukotka region in the summer of 2019. It noted construction work is under way in Pevek to create all the necessary on-shore infrastructure. Rosatom said that once in operation the facility will both the world's only operational floating nuclear power plant and the northernmost nuclear installation. Akademik Lomonosov will replace the Bilibino nuclear power plant and the Chaunskaya thermal power plant. The first Bilibino unit is scheduled to be shut down next year and the whole plant will be shut down in 2021.

The keel of Akademik Lomonosov was laid in April 2007 at Sevmash in Severodvinsk, but in August 2008 Rosatom cancelled the contract - apparently due to the military workload at Sevmash - and transferred it to the Baltic Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, which has experience in building nuclear icebreakers. New keel-laying took place in May 2009 and the hull was launched at the end of June 2010. The two 35 MWe KLT-40S reactors were installed in October 2013.

Rosatom said it is already working on a second generation of floating nuclear power unit which will be equipped with two RITM-200M reactors, each having a capacity of 50 MWe. It noted that although having a greater generating capacity, the new "optimised" units will be smaller in size.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topicsEurope and Iran reiterate commitment to JCPOA

21 May 2018

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The European Commission and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) have confirmed their continuing commitment towards implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), following a visit by European commissioner for climate action and energy Miguel Arias Canete to Tehran.

Miguel Arias Canete and Ali Akbar Salehi meet in Tehran (Image: European Union/EC-Audiovisual Service)

"We met today to confirm the continuing commitment of the European Commission and the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran towards the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and in particular its Annex III which addresses civil nuclear cooperation," Canete and Ali Akhbar Salehi, president of the AEOI, said in a joint statement on 19 May. "We believe that the continuing implementation of the JCPOA, which was unanimously endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, is crucial for the development and progress of the region as well as the global peace and security."

"The JCPOA represents the fruit of more than a decade of successful multilateral diplomacy which signifies the imperative of peaceful settlement of dispute and is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture," they said. The statement notes that the International Atomic Energy Agency - which is responsible for verifying and monitoring Iran's implementation of its nuclear commitments under the plan - has so far confirmed in ten successive reports that Iran has implemented those commitments. "[F]or its part, the European Union will remain committed to the continued full and effective implementation of the JCPOA, as long as Iran continues to implement its nuclear related commitments," the statement adds.

Since the JCPOA was implemented in January 2016, the European Commission and the AEOI have issued a joint statement on cooperation in the field of nuclear energy setting out guidelines for cooperation in the implementation of Annex III, they note. The two bodies have also held high-level seminars on nuclear cooperation and governance in Brussels and in Isfahan, and adopted a roadmap detailing future cooperation in the field of nuclear R&D. The European Commission has opened up its nuclear research programme for Iranian participation, and exchanges and visits of nuclear scientists have already taken place.

Ongoing projects between the two bodies address nuclear safety cooperation including: a project for stress testing of Iran's first nuclear power plant, Bushehr 1; a project to prepare for the establishment of a nuclear safety centre in Iran, and projects to enhance the capabilities of Iran's Nuclear Regulatory Authority.

The European Commission and the AEOI have also deepened working level contacts aimed at bringing nuclear safety specialists of the both sides together: Iranian specialists have participated in the bi-annual conference of European Union nuclear safety regulator's group ENSREG and have also participated in the peer review of the stress test of a reactor under construction. Iranian specialists also were invited to the launch of the EU's Samira project on non-power applications of nuclear energy and nuclear technology, and Iran and the EU are currently preparing a technical seminar on the issue of third-party nuclear liability and insurance, they said.

"The European Commission is also strongly supporting Iran's endeavours in governing the safe and responsible use of nuclear energy, including accession to the relevant international conventions," the statement notes.

"We welcome the strengthening of ties at all levels and look forward to their further development over the coming months and years."

A third high level seminar on nuclear cooperation will take place in Brussels at the end of November 2018.

US President Donald Trump on 8 May announced the termination of the USA's participation in the JCPOA, directing the US administration to begin the process of re-imposing sanctions on Iran.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topicsOver the past week, the imperialist-led campaign against WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange has intensified. The Guardian, acting as a mouthpiece of the intelligence agencies, has published a stream of articles aimed at providing the pretext for Assange to be expelled from Ecuadors London embassy, where he was granted political asylum almost six years ago, and forced into the hands of the British and US authorities.

Julian Assange

The political establishment in every country has supported the persecution of Assange, including the Ecuadorian governments decision to cut off his Internet access and ban all visitors seven weeks ago. In Australia, successive Labor and Liberal-National governments, beginning with the Greens-backed Labor government of Julia Gillard from 2010 to 2013, have played a central role in the attacks on WikiLeaks for its exposures of US-led war crimes and diplomatic intrigues.

The sentiments of ordinary people stand in stark contrast to the venomous hostility to Assange on the part of governments and the corporate media. On Sunday, the Socialist Equality Party held a successful public meeting in Brisbane, concluding a national series titled Organise Resistance to Internet Censorship, Free Julian Assange. The Brisbane meeting, like previous events in Sydney, Melbourne and Newcastle, was attended by workers, retirees, students and WikiLeaks supporters.

Over recent days, WSWS correspondents have spoken to workers and youth about the stepped-up attacks on Assange and the campaign to defend him.

Anthony

Anthony, a casual teacher on the New South Wales central coast, commented: Julian Assange represents an opposition to state secrecy. I dont buy into the fact that there should be government secrets. There should be complete transparency.

Anthony spoke out against the censorship of the Internet, which has gone hand in hand with the attacks on Assange. The claims about fake news are a big distraction to redirect public anger away from the government and to justify a crackdown on free speech online, he said.

Any news that is oppositional to the establishment is deemed fake news. It is a way to censor dissent. It is also a continuation of war propaganda. Russia, North Korea and Iran are not real threats at all. Governments are desperate to distract people from the issues at home, like growing unemployment.

Michael, a 35-year-old support worker in Sydney, said the campaign against Assange was abhorrent. He explained: It is an attack on democratic rights and most frighteningly, an attack on people who expose the truth. The assault on Assange is a warning to other journalists who might expose the truth like he did. The ruling classes want to dictate how we think and feel. They want to determine what information we have access to.

This goes on alongside the preparations for war. There is a desperate attempt by the billionaire class and the capitalist governments to suppress anti-war sentiment. They are quite aware that there is hostility to war and to the attacks on the working class that go with it.

Michael noted: A lot of people who supported Assange turned against him as soon as he exposed Hillary Clintons class character. He said leaked emails from the Democratic National Committee, published by WikiLeaks in 2016, had exposed that Clinton was the personification of Wall Street. WikiLeaks had previously played a role in exposing that she was also a war criminal.

Sebastian

Sebastian, a student originally from Ecuador, spoke to the WSWS after a speak-out defending Assange, called by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality at Sydneys University of New South Wales. He said that Assanges confinement inside the Ecuadorian embassy was a complete violation of his rights as a human being.

To condemn him to stay in such a place, without being able to see his family, without being able to move, this is a crime. No one should be able to take that away from you. He has been forced into this situation because he gave information that should be public for everyone to read.

The more the US government and its allies are able to censor the deaths and murders they are carrying out, the more crimes they can commit. The US presence in Afghanistan and the Middle East is about economics. It benefits those who are in a position at the top. The real reason for these invasions is to control resources.

Sebastian condemned the actions of the Ecuadors government. He said they were a product of the change in the Ecuadorian government last year. The time that he has spent in the embassy is a service to the citizens of the world. He wasnt doing anything wrong in my opinion. The current stance of the president is wrong.

Elaine, a social worker in Melbournes western suburbs, stated: Im very concerned about Julian Assanges human rights. How can somebody stay isolated in a limited compound for six years without getting ill? Its not healthy. His rights as a human being have been violated.

I dont think that Britain should send Assange to the United States for any reason. The US is always dabbling in other peoples affairs. Its wrong.

Assange is trying to tell us certain things that nobody else has the guts to. The whistleblowing that he has done is for the common good. There is nothing personal in that and it is not a grab for power. I admire him.

Sanela, an engineer in Melbourne, said: I think Assange should be free to speak the truths he exposes about what is going on behind our backs. They should stop persecuting him.

Unfortunately truth and people who expose it are always victimised. There are heroes in the fight for truth. Assange is certainly one of those heroes.

Sanela denounced the media attacks on the WikiLeaks editor: There will always be a smear campaign against somebody who is doing good. Its happening to Julian Assange right now. Of course its a smear campaign. Whenever you want to walk over somebody, you try to destroy their credibility.

Suraj, a 20-year-old IT student at the University of Newcastle, declared: The government is doing things behind our backs and the public needs to know what is taking place. Thats why I fully support WikiLeaks. For example, we dont know a lot of the crimes that are being committed in the war in Afghanistan.

I believe in freedom of speech. What Assange is doing is practicing freedom of speech. I dont think a government has any right to stop that.

Moya

In Sydney, Moya, a retiree originally from Peru, said: Assange is a journalistthat is his job and thats what I really like about himhe let us know what was really going on.

We are more conscious now because of what Julian Assange did. No one would dare do what he did, letting us know the truth of what all the governments are doing around the world, and for me, especially, the actions of the CIA.

I always knew there were a lot of cover-ups with the CIA. It is really a criminal organisation. I know that from my country, Peru. They did so many dirty things behind our backs to get what they wanted.

The governments attacking Assange are attacking the rights of ordinary working people.Following interventions at the 2018 Oscars, Baftas (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) and Berlin film festival, promoters of the selfish #MeToo movement shifted their attention last week to the Cannes Film Festival.

The sexual witch hunt commenced after journalist Ronan Farrow and others published allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein last October. Weinstein was a frequent visitor to the Cannes festival and #MeToo advocates used this fact to promote their campaign. Supporters of the campaign handed out 40,000 flyers to festival guests warning that sexual harassment can be punished in France by three years in prison and a 40,000 ($US 54,000) fine. The festival leadership also announced it was setting up a hotline for women to complain of any incidents of sexual abuse at the festival.

In the course of the festival, however, it became clear that the priority for #MeToo and its wealthy backers in Cannes had less to do with deterring sexual abuse and much more to do with advancing their own careers and bank balances.

On May 11 Australian actress Cate Blanchett, who heads the jury at the film festival, led a red carpet protest march by 82 actresses, female producers and directors, including Salma Hayek and Kristen Stewart, to demand equal pay and an end to sexual harassment.

Addressing the aims of the protest Blanchett said: We demand that our workplaces are diverse and equitable so they can best reflect the world in which we live. But the world in which we live is dominated by social divisions, not gender issues. There is not the slightest indication that the stronger presence of upper middle class women in filmmaking has led to any widening of cinemas scope.

According to Forbes magazine, Blanchett earned $12 million in 2017, placing her eighth in the league of highest earning actresses for that year. One can safely assume that the circles inhabited by multi-millionaire Blanchett have nothing in common with the lives of working women throughout the world.

One day after the red carpet protest, the French gender-parity group 50/50 by 2020 held a meeting at the festival. On its web site, 50-50-2020 notes that While French cinema wasnt shaken by the Weinstein shock wave, it is essential that we move to take concrete action reaching beyond the issue of sexual abuse alone. The organisations proposals for concrete action are all aimed at increasing the power and income of women in the film industry.

The Cannes meeting was chaired by another leading advocate of #MeToo, Melissa Silverstein, founder of Women and Hollywood. A few years ago Silverstein complained about the fact that a man had been selected to make a film about Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Silverstein declared at the time: Hiring a guy to direct the movie about the woman who is working her ass off to put more women in leadership positions around the world is a gigantic slap to everyone working on gender equity issues. That Clinton is a warmonger in the pocket of Wall Street does not trouble Silverstein.

One of the principal speakers at the 50-50-2020 Cannes meeting was University of Southern California Annenberg professor Stacy L. Smith, who told those assembled that efforts to affect change in the film industry must concentrate on finance. Were going after tax incentives at the state and federal level to link [them] to production credits so that if a production has the inclusion rider attached to it, it should move to the front of the line or automatically qualify for funding.

Smith is regarded as the initiator of the inclusion rider whereby actors and filmmakers insist on contracts requiring a crew selected on the basis of gender, race, and/or sexual orientation. The inclusion rider was the main demand raised by actress Frances McDormand in her speech at the 2018 Oscars.

Already at the Berlin film festival, a plethora of organisations, including Speak Up, Pro Quote, Times Up, etc., held meetings demanding so-called Gender Monitoring, i.e. the vetting of film roles, according to gender. For the first time, the press statement released before the start of the Berlin festival contained a detailed breakdown of films according to the gender of the filmmaker. Selection according to gender or sexual orientation has long been a policy for certain sections of the Berlin festival. Now it has become official festival policy.

Some of the advocates of gender monitoring and inclusion riders argue that the result of such policies will be more female directors and therefore better films. Filmmaker and actress Whitney Cummings writes on her web page: An inclusion rider is something actors put into their contracts to ensure gender and racial equality in hiring on movie sets. We should support this for a billion reasons, but if you cant find a reason to, heres one: it will make movies better.

The fact is that male and female filmmakers in America and across the globe are subject to the same social and political pressures in what is a generally hostile ideological climate. An examination of recent movies by prominent women filmmakers reveal that they share the problems of their male counterparts and are quite capable of churning out similarly execrable material.

This is confirmed by a brief review of the work of female directors dealt with on this web site. Writing on the CIAs favourite director, Kathryn Bigelow, we described her film Zero Dark Thirty as a semi-fascistic cinematic embrace of the US military-intelligence apparatus and its crimes. And furthermore, Bigelows work was shameful. At nearly two hours, the film is long, dark and boring. Not a single character is developed.

Referring to the film Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins and praised as a breakthrough for female directors, we wrote that  Wonder Woman is a trite, often tedious, special effects-laden film.

And just recently, in regard to British filmmaker Lynne Ramseys You Were Never Really Here, the WSWS commented: This is a terrible, marketably violent film that sheds no light whatsoever on its ostensible subject matter or characters  Here she confirms her lack of interest or hostility to the coherent examination of social life. Ramsay seems to be offering herselfbacked by a universally admiring mediaas a female candidate for the Scorsese-Tarantino school of perverse, gratuitous and inexplicable brutality.

To their credit, some participants at the festival in Cannes have spoken out clearly against the Hollywood #MeToo witch hunters.

French-Polish director Roman Polanski, in Cannes with his new film, Based On a True Story, compared the campaign around #MeToo to a form of hypocritical mass hysteria. He told Newsweek Polska: I think this is the kind of mass hysteria that occurs in society from time to time.

Director Terry Gilliam, whose latest film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote closed the festival in Cannes, recently compared the #MeToo movement to mob rule: The mob is out there, they are carrying their torches and they are going to burn down Frankensteins castle.

The Cannes experience demonstrates once again there is nothing democratic or progressive about the demand for gender or race quotas. These are maneuvers by already privileged middle class layers looking for more privileges.On Saturday, May 19, family, friends and co-workers paid tribute to 60-year-old Steven Wade, a veteran welder at Caterpillars South Milwaukee plant who died last week after suffering injuries on May 10. A diverse group of around 60 people came to support the family and commemorate Wades life at an intimate ceremony held at Heritage Funeral Home in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

Reporters from the World Socialist Web Site spoke to family members and co-workers at the service and expressed support and condolences on behalf of the Socialist Equality Party. Bonnie Wade, Stevens widow, and Jessie Wade, his daughter, had both read the WSWS article on Stevens death, which has been circulated among CAT workers.

Wade was hit by a falling metal plate, weighing approximately 1,600 pounds, while he was welding machinery. Co-workers told the WSWS Wade had apparently seen the gigantic plates falling and tried to move out of the way, but he was hit on the shoulder and crushed.

Wade was remembered as a lively conversationalist, a dedicated father, grandfather and husband, and an animal lover. He enjoyed boating, fishing and camping during his life and was described as someone who put others before himself. Medals commemorating his achievements as a welder adorned the casket.

A note from a friend on the funeral home website reads, I have seen Steve in lean times and times of comfort. The one thing that he showed more than anything else, was his love of family. And making sure that they were free of worry. We will all be better for knowing Steve, and he will truly be missed.

Steven Wades son, Justin, delivered the eulogy at the service. He said, My dad worked extremely hard to always put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. He loved us so much and made sure to tell us so every day. He taught us to always work hard, to show our love for our families, and to always speak our minds and stand up for what we believe in.

There were times when we didnt see our parents a whole lot because they were both working. Its what they had to do to give us the best life that they could, but we as kids thought it was normal because thats how most families were around where we grew up.

He taught my kids how to tell time. We lived close to Caterpillar, so they would always know when it was 3:05, or 3:15, because thats when they would wait for Papa to leave and watch him wave through the window as he drove by.

Steve was a great guy. It is tragic how he died, a co-worker told the WSWS after the ceremony. He noted the similarities between Wades death and that of Jeff Smith, a 30-year-old worker who was killed at the S. Milwaukee plant on September 8, 2011.

Jeff died right after the plant was bought from Bucyrus. He was working on hooking up a chain to a crawler that snapped and fell on him and he was completely crushed underneath it. When Jeff was working there, he was concerned about safety conditions and he brought them up all the time.

I ended up having to work on that machine, not right after it happened, but one or two years later. The company had put it outside for a while, I think because they knew how many people would have been angry if it had been brought back into the plant. I heard they eventually ended up scrapping the metal from the crawler for sale.

Questions remain about the events surrounding Wades death. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation into the incident. It is unclear whether an independent investigation will be opened by the United Steelworkers (USW) as was the case after Smiths death in 2011. As the continued deadly conditions prove, the USWs investigation did not lead to safer working conditions but only served to quell workers anger that followed.

The USW has been complicit in the downsizing that has undermined safety conditions. The South Milwaukee plant was officially taken over by CAT as part of its $8.8 billion acquisition of Bucyrus in 2011, and the company has continued to take major cost-cutting measures since then. From a workforce of about 2,000 workers in the 1970s, only 200 to 250 remain at South Milwaukee today. In 2016, CAT announced it would begin moving about 600 employees, including manufacturing, from its mining equipment division in South Milwaukee to a new headquarters in Tucson, Arizona over the next five to seven years. The bulk of those jobs are expected to be moved in 2018.

Far from opposing these attacks, the USW has functioned as managements tool. The union forced through a six-year concessions contract in 2013, which included a wage freeze for current workers and starting wages for new workers as low as $13.64 per hour. Shortly after the contract was pushed through, CAT announced the layoff of 260 South Milwaukee workers.

Neither the international nor the local union has issued any statement about Wades death on their websites, while CAT issued a perfunctory statement. No union representatives offered statements of support for the family from the podium at the funeral, let alone any condemnation of the companys policies.

Cutting back staff and hiring underpaid and undertrained workers is a major cause of industrial deaths across the United States. At the South Milwaukee plant, much of the labor previously performed by laid off workers is now done by subcontractors. With the aid of the USW, CAT has introduced second and third tiers of workers in order to maximize its profit margins, following the pattern of the UAW at Ford, Fiat Chrysler and GM. The restructuring of the auto industry by the Obama administration has led to similar cost cutting and a perilous wave of workplace injuries and fatalities.

A January 12 report issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the rate of workplace deaths for workers aged 55 and older climbed to an all-time high in 2016, 7.2 deaths per 100,000 workers. From 1992 through 2016, older workers, especially in the 65 and older group, have experienced the highest rates of death in the workplace overall.

Whitney Arizzola, the wife of Jon Arizzola, who was killed at US Steel Gary Works in 2016, sent a powerful statement of support to the Wade family. She told the WSWS, Please let the family know that I grieve for them and with them. I am still struggling through this hellish aftermath myself. The best advice I could give, as much as it hurts right now, learn everything. How the plant runs, the types of equipment, brands of machines, parts, even safety equipment, and who installed them and when. You can find responsibility agreements online, and those will be your lifelines in finding justice.

Find an attorney, find a welder, and if you need help with finding someone that knows OSHA inside and out, I can help. As much as I want to say you can trust the union and people in it, the company probably owns those people. Hold your loved ones, cry, scream, and let anyone else willing to hold the day to day things. Always remember that being strong isn't holding it in, it's letting yourself deal how you need to.

Rank-and-file workers at the South Milwaukee CAT plant should elect a factory committee to organize a genuine investigation into the death of Wade and fight the union-management conspiracy to pump out as much profit from workers, regardless of the cost in lives and limbs.On Tuesday and Wednesday last week, US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made her first official visit to New York City. She declined to visit the nations largest public school district and instead toured two Orthodox Jewish schools, the elite Manhattan School for Girls and the Yeshiva Darchei Torah for boys. She also spoke at the Albert E. Smith Foundation, meeting with Cardinal Timothy Dolan and other Catholic dignitaries.

New York yeshivas have been under investigation since 2015 in the wake of allegations that 39 Hasidic schools failed to teach math, science or English and conducted classes only in Yiddish. Young men are restricted to studying only religion after age 13 and allegedly many students struggle to write their names in English upon graduation.

As these schools received millions in government funds, they are required by state law to teach an equivalent curriculum to public schools. Such matters did not appear to concern DeVos whose tours provided her an opportunity to better understand Jewish education and, more importantly, offer her strongest support yet for public funding of religious and other private schools.

Speaking at the Smith Foundation, DeVos said, I know there are powerful interests that want to deprive families their God-given freedom to choose private schools. She failed to point out that the cost of attending the Manhattan School for Girls was $20,000 a year.

DeVos tour followed the May 9 Department of Education (DOE) announcement that it would scrap or amend a number of rules that restrict faith-based entities from receiving federally-administered funding. The DOE said it will review any provisions that unnecessarily restrict participation by religious entities or could eliminate unnecessary burdens on religious activities. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had already mandated that religious observance and practice should be accommodated in all government activity.

Billionaire heiress Betsy DeVos is a devotee of neo-Calvinist Dutch theologian and Prime Minister Abraham Kuyper, an ultra-right-wing opponent of the French Revolution. Kuyper responded to the 1903 railway strike by mandating new anti-socialist laws known as strangling laws, which forbade striking by public employees and enacted harsh new penalties. Kuypers central practical mission, however, was to win state funding for religious schools.

This mission is a preoccupation of the DeVos family. There are not enough philanthropic dollars in America to fund what is currently the need in education which is, said DeVos in 2011 to advance Gods kingdom. Husband Dick DeVos then rued the fact that the church has been displaced by the public school.

The DeVos family has used its Amway fortune to bankroll a national effort to promote vouchers and charter schools to undercut the funding of public education and pave the way for its complete privatization. DeVos, together with the Wall Street interests behind her, see both a lucrative and ideological potential in tearing down the wall of separation between church and state, as it was so famously put by Thomas Jefferson.

Standing in their way are not only the First Amendment and its establishment clause, but also the Blaine amendments. In effect in 37 states, these latter statutes explicitly prevent the use of public funds for private schools. At her Wednesday speech, DeVos confidently predicted the Blaine amendments may not be around much longer. Pandering to her Catholic hosts, she maligned Blaine for arising from anti-Catholic bigotry and an ugly history of unjust laws that force families to violate their consciences.

Far from an ugly history of unjust laws, the Blaine amendments were inspired by President Ulysses Grant in 1875 when he called for a constitutional amendment mandating free public schools and prohibiting the use of public money for sectarian education.

Encourage free schools, and resolve that not one dollar, appropriated for their support, shall be appropriated to the support of any sectarian schools, Grant implored, adding, Keep the Church and State forever separate. With these safeguards, I believe the battles which created the (union) Army of the Tennessee will not have been fought in vain, addressing veterans of the hard-fought Civil War battles of Vicksburg, Chattanooga and Shiloh.

Taking up this cause, Congressman Blaines amendment, introduced in December 1875, passed overwhelmingly in the US House of Representatives, but failed by four votes in the Senate and never became federal law. However, due to overwhelming popular support for the measures, supporters of public education turned to state legislatures and were successful in passing laws that accomplished the same end on the state level. All but 10 states did so.

The elimination of Blaine amendments has taken on a new emphasis with the heavily-funded drive for school privatization and the work of the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council. Blaine, in fact, has become a more practical barrier to vouchers than the First Amendment from which it is derived. This is despite the precedent set in 1947 when US Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black ruled strongly in favor of the wall of separation between church and state in Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another, Black ruled.

However, in the aftermath of their reactionary decision in the stolen election of 2000, the US Supreme Court issued a similarly undemocratic 5-4 decision in 2002 holding that school vouchers did not violate the establishment clause. Writing a dissent, Justice David H. Souter emphasized that the establishment clause in relation to school funding was settled in Everson v. Board of Education of Ewing, and argued, No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. He emphasized that, at that time, 96.6 percent of current voucher money went to religious schools.

Stephen G. Breyer, in a separate dissent, also decried the 2002 decision as turning the clock back and warned it could encourage domestic religious conflict. He referenced the fact that the First Amendment arose after decades of religious wars and based itself on religious tolerance. Finally, he stated that if adopted school vouchers may well provide billions of dollars for the religious education of the young.

Marshalling her best arguments against Blaine and the separation of church and state, DeVos told the ecclesial group that public schools were a reason for the collapse of American standing in the world including, unbelievably, the US team finishing fourth at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

To back up such claims, DeVos quoted the old reactionary, Pope Leo XIII: The contention that the civil government shouldat its optionintrude into and exercise intimate control over the family and the household is a great and pernicious error. DeVos, intoned, Pope Leo was right! Government cant know the needs of individuals better than a parent, a pastor or a friend. Leo, who held the papacy from 1878-1903, was also known for opposing freedom of thought, or speech, or writing or worship.

Not content to stop there, DeVos added that Pope Pius XI wrote that any monopoly that forces families to make use of government schools, contrary to the dictates of their Christian conscience, or contrary even to their legitimate preferences is fundamentally unjust.

According to the medieval outlook of DeVos, secular education unjustly imperils religious freedom and therefore the state should subsidize the church and religious indoctrination. The corollary of this is the starving of funds from public education and its destruction.

DeVos, representing the parasitic interests of the financial oligarchy, invokes age-old religious obscurantism and bigotry as a battering ram against the democratic and social right to high-quality public education. How far the American ruling class has travelled in breaking with traditional bourgeois-democratic and constitutional norms! The wall of separation between Church and state was enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution because it was understood as necessary to open the path to democracy, reason and progress. Those aims are now wholly the province of the revolutionary, international socialist movement.

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[13 December 2016]

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Obamas contraception climb-down and the separation of church and state

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Justice Scalia repudiates separation of church and state

[4 January 2016]American television viewers and newspaper readers were inundated this weekend with banner headlines and around-the-clock coverage of the royal wedding of Prince Harry of the British House of Windsor and his American partner, Meghan Markle.

The major networks deployed an army of reporters to present the wedding as an historic event. CNN called it an electrifying affair that will live long in the memory. ABC called the wedding a love locomotive, while the phrase A Modern Fairytale appeared as an on-screen banner. The coverage provided no hint that the United States was born out of a violent struggle against the British crowna revolution that produced a Constitution banning titles of nobility.

How is the fawning praise for aristocracy by the American media establishment to be explained?

It is rooted in the staggering growth of social inequality, which continues to enrich a modern-day financial aristocracy that exercises oligarchic rule all over the world. The historically unprecedented concentration of wealth at the very pinnacle of society inevitably breeds envy of the British nobility, with its titles and caste privileges, within the ruling elite of the American republic and its well-paid apologists.

The material and social basis of this longing for monarchy finds new documentation in the publication last week of the Wealth-X Billionaire Census. It shows that a tiny group of billionaires is continuing to increase the immense scale of the fortunes it has amassed at the expense of billions of workers and poor people worldwide.

The Wealth-X report shows that the worlds billionaire population has grown by 15 percent, to 2,754 people, since 2016, and that the wealth of these billionaires surged by 24 percent to a record level of $9.2 trillion, equivalent to 12 percent of the gross domestic product of the entire planet.

Billionaires the world over increased their wealth, but nowhere did they make as much money as in the United States and Asia. The wealth of all North American billionaires (now 727 people) increasedby 22.8 percent to a total of $3.3 trillion, a rate outpaced only by the 49.4 percent wealth increase among Asia's billionaires (now 784 people), who recorded a combined fortune of $2.4 trillion in 2018.

The super-rich are for the most part speculators. They derive their income not by contributing to the process of production, but by gambling, stealing and cheating. Among all billionaires, the portion of total wealth derived from shares of stock increased from 32.9 percent in 2016 to 41.5 percent in 2017.

At the very top of the wealth pyramid, the richest 10 billionaires own a combined $663 billion. Each has a net worth that is on average 20 times higher than the average billionaire. A plurality of billionaires (413) derive their wealth from finance, banking or investment, surpassing industrial conglomerates (380), real estate (173), manufacturing (167) and technology (143).

The increase in billionaire wealth is the result of policies enacted by the governments of the world. In no other country do the super-rich so nakedly control the political system as in the United States, where President Donald Trump epitomizes the criminal character of Wall Street.

The report notes a dramatic improvement in extreme wealth creation in the United States due to buoyant equity markets and robust corporate earnings. American billionaires benefited from the implementation of a major US tax reform package late in the year, i.e., the Trump administrations sweeping tax cut for the rich, passed without any serious opposition from the Democratic Party.

The United States is home to the most billionaires of any country in the world and accounts for 34 percent of billionaire wealth worldwide. New York maintained its position as the top billionaire city, home to 103 billionaires.

In 2017, Wealth-X published a report on the worlds ultra high net worth population, which includes individuals whose net worth is over $30 million. According to this report, the worlds ultra wealthysome 250,000 people worldwideowned a combined $25 trillion, including $9.6 trillion in liquid cash alone.

The ultra wealthy expect to increase their wealth by another $8.5 trillion in the next five years to over $35 trillion, equaling the total net worth of the bottom 90 percent of the worlds population, according to 2017 figures from Credit Suisse Bank.

Even these astronomical figures mask the real power of the billionaires and the super-rich, whose wealth translates into control over the worlds governments, media corporations, trade unions, political parties, universities, courts, militaries and spy agencies.

After having made billions of dollars on the technology boom, the ruling classes of the major powers are now working with technology corporations such as Google and Facebook to censor left-wing viewpoints out of fear that cell phones and the Internet are helping billions of the poor and working class acquire access to news and information that is not vetted by the corporate media.

Karl Marx wrote in Volume 1 of Capital: Accumulation of wealth at one pole is, therefore, at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, at the opposite pole, i.e., on the side of the class that produces its own product in the form of capital. This aptly characterizes the global situation today.

All over the world, in developed, undeveloped and semi-developed countries alike, the working class is completely excluded from the government decision-making process. As the governments enact policies to increase the wealth of the billionaires, the needs of billions of people for clean water, adequate medical attention and affordable health care, education, food, housing, public transportation, infrastructure and culture go unmet.

For just one fifth of the total wealth of the 10 richest people in the world, the following social needs could be immediately addressed:

* The provision of housing for all 634,000 homeless people in the US: $20 billion

* The provision of food to 862 million malnourished people worldwide: $30 billion

* Reduction by half of the total number of people without access to clean water: $11 billion

* Education for every child who doesnt receive one: $26 billion

* Free maternal and prenatal care for every mother in the developing world: $13 billion

* Treatment and vaccination to prevent 4 million malaria deaths: $6 billion

* Replacement of the toxic water infrastructure of Flint, Michigan with a safe and clean system: $1.5 billion

* Immediate $20,000 bonuses to all 3.1 million teachers in the US: $62 billion

Total cost: $169.5 billion.

The glorification of monarchy underscores the fact that no society can sustain democratic forms of rule under conditions where such levels of wealth concentration and inequality prevail. Nor can any social problems be addressed when the wealth produced by the working class and the worlds natural resources are squandered to satisfy the insatiable greed of the super-rich.

There is no real democracy today outside of the mobilization of the international working class to put an end to capitalism and establish socialism.The naming of Stefan Halper as the individual sent by the FBI to spy on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election campaign has further inflamed the political warfare raging within the US state apparatus and political establishment. Halper is a long-time CIA asset with deep ties to US and British intelligence.

Published reports that the FBI had used a confidential informant to gather information on the Trump campaign led US President Donald Trump to announce via Twitter on Sunday, I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes, and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!

Repeating his denunciation of the year-old probe by Robert Mueller, the special counsel who is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion by the Trump campaign, as a witch hunt, Trump declared last week that the report of FBI spying on his campaign was a political scandal bigger than Watergate.

A few hours after Trumps latest tweet, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein issued a statement saying that the Department of Justice had referred the matter to its inspector general, who is already reviewing applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Rosenstein said the inspector general would determine whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

The identification of Halperwho was implicated as the leading figure in a conspiracy by intelligence agents to subvert then-President Jimmy Carters re-election campaign in 1980as the covert FBI spy has been the subject of a heated debate in Washington and the media.

Both the New York Times and the Washington Post, the two papers of record for the US political establishment, have studiously observed the demands of the FBI to conceal Halpers identity.

The Post reported that it was concealing the identity of the spy from the American people because of warnings from US intelligence officials that exposing him could endanger him or his contacts. For its part, the Times merely indicated that it was following standard operating procedure, stating that it has learned the sources identity but typically does not name informants to preserve their safety. Nothing could more nakedly expose the US media as a propaganda extension of the American intelligence agencies.

The White House has backed the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes of California, who issued congressional subpoenas demanding that the Justice Department turn over documents on the origins of the investigation into the Trump campaign and the role of FBI spies. Nunes has demanded that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein be held in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the documents.

Democrats have rallied behind the FBIs defiance of congressional oversight. Leading Democrats have rushed to the defense of the intelligence agencies, denouncing Trump and Nunes for allegedly placing US security at risk.

Senator Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence panel, appeared on the CBS News program Face the Nation Sundaywell after Halpers identity as the FBI covert agent had already been revealed by a number of publicationsto threaten that when individuals want to try to reveal classified information about the identity of an FBI or CIA source, that is against the law.

Warner went on to warn that the attack on the Justice Department and the FBI by Trump and his allies leads to an... era where people can start saying Im going to decide which laws I want to follow and which laws I don't want to follow. He went on to declare that classified information, identity of agents is sacrosanct.

This line was echoed by the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Adam Schiff of California, who declared on the NBC Sunday talk show Meet the Press, in relation to the FBI spy, that revealing information about this individual could compromise peoples lives, it could betray a relationship with our allies, it could compromise the investigation.

This hysterical defense of the already blown cover of the FBI informer Halper is in line with the overarching political focus of the Democratic Partys opposition to Trump, which is directed not at his war on immigrants, attacks on social programs or tax cuts for the rich, but rather at advancing the claims of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and collusion by the Trump camp.

The protracted campaign on this issue by the Democrats and the media, together with the Mueller investigation, now in its second year, has produced no evidence to substantiate that Russian government meddling played any role in tilting the US elections to Trump. The most widely cited proof of Russian interference is the alleged purchase by unidentified Russians of $100,000 worth of Facebook ads, less than a drop in the bucket in a $4 billion presidential campaign.

The revelation of Halpers role in spying on the Trump campaign has exposed the previous explanation for the origin of the FBI investigation into alleged Russian ties to the Trump campaign as a lie. As the New York Times reported last week, in a lengthy article based on unnamed government sources, the probe was purportedly launched after the Australian ambassador to Great Britain, Alexander Downer, contacted US authorities to recount a conversation with George Papadopoulos, a Trump foreign policy adviser, who told him about efforts to obtain dirt on Hillary Clinton from Russian sources.

It is now clear, however, that Halper was sent to spy on the Trump campaign before any contact from the Australian ambassador. He reportedly met, beginning in early July 2016, with at least three Trump campaign advisors. Two of them, Papadopoulos and former national security advisor Gen. Michael Flynn, have since pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI investigators about their contacts with Russian individuals. The third, Carter Page, was the subject of an FBI surveillance warrant.

Pentagon documents indicate that the Department of Defenses shadowy intelligence arm, the Office of Net Assessment, paid Halper $282,000 in 2016 and $129,000 in 2017. According to reports, Halper sought to secure Papadopouloss collaboration by offering him $3,000 and an all-expenses-paid trip to London, ostensibly to produce a research paper on energy issues in the eastern Mediterranean.

The choice of Halper for this spying operation has ominous implications. His deep ties to the US intelligence apparatus date back decades. His father-in-law was Ray Cline, who headed the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence at the height of the Cold War. Halper served as an aide to Donald Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney and Alexander Haig in the Nixon and Ford administrations.

In 1980, as the director of policy coordination for Ronald Reagans presidential campaign, Halper oversaw an operation in which CIA officials gave the campaign confidential information on the Carter administration and its foreign policy. This intelligence was in turn utilized to further back-channel negotiations between Reagans campaign manager and subsequent CIA director William Casey and representatives of Iran to delay the release of the American embassy hostages until after the election, in order to prevent Carter from scoring a foreign policy victory on the eve of the November vote.

Halper subsequently held posts as deputy assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs and senior adviser to the Pentagon and Justice Department. More recently, Halper has collaborated with Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6, the British intelligence service, in directing the Cambridge Security Initiative (CSi), a security think tank that lists the US and UK governments as its principal clients.

Before the 2016 election, Halper had expressed his viewshared by predominant layers within the intelligence agenciesthat Clintons election would prove less disruptive than Trumps.

The revelations of the role played by Halper point to an intervention in the 2016 elections by the US intelligence agencies that far eclipsed anything one could even imagine the Kremlin attempting.President Donald Trump isn't over the 2016 election, and Hillary Clinton isn't either.

That's what she said in a commencement address at Yale.

"No, I'm not over it," she said. "I still think about the 2016 election. I still regret the mistakes I made."

But while Trump continues to goad his Department of Justice into investigating her campaign, she made jokes about the investigation into Russian election meddling that has already ensnared former staffers of his.

Tapping into a Yale tradition involving crazy hats, she produced a Russian military ushanka.

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," she shrugged.

While most of the speech centered on her own time at Yale, Clinton also offered stark warning about the state of the American government under Trump.

"Right now we're living through a full-fledged crisis in our democracy," she said. "No, there are not tanks in the streets, but what's happening right now goes to the heart of who we are as a nation, and I say this not as a Democrat who lost an election but as an American afraid of losing a country."

A few hours earlier, Trump, in a series of tweets, had been complaining about the Russia investigation and that Clinton wasn't being investigated more.

"....At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP! They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren't looking at the corruption..."

"....in the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got $145,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife $700,000 (and got off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more. Republicans and real Americans should start getting tough on this Scam."

Clinton made multiple jokes about her email issues as secretary of state, about the release of her campaign staffers' emails by WikiLeaks and more. She also did an extended riff on the opening of Tale of Two Cities, written in the lead-up to the French Revolution, but said it could be applicable today and encouraged graduates to "rise to the occasion" in this "tumultuous moment."

She encouraged people to embrace "radical empathy" and make connections across the political divide.TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Franklin Fennell now has one extra week before he's forced to report for his 24-month prison sentence.

On Monday, Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson granted him the extra time.

LINK | GOVERNMENT MOTION AGAINST FRANKLIN FENNELL

Originally, he was told to report to FCI (Federal Correctional Institution) Pekin, in Illinois, by May 30th.

He now has until June 6th.

DOCUMENT | JUDGE GRANTS FRANKLIN FENNELL ONE MORE WEEK

According to court documents, this was so he can "attend to certain personal matters."

Last week we told you that a judge denied his request for a two-week extension.

On April 19th, a federal judge sentenced Fennell to two years in federal prison. That's after a jury in December convicted him on all counts filed against him related to the stealing of federal funds while Fennell was employed with the Vigo County School Corporation.WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump said he will demand that the Justice Department open an investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign, an extraordinary order that came hours before his legal team said the special counsel indicated the investigation into the president could be concluded by September.

Trump tweeted Sunday: I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!

Trumps demand puts further pressure on the Justice Department, which later Sunday asked its watchdog to expand an existing probe of FBI actions, as the White House combats the threat posed by special counsel Robert Muellers ongoing investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. The presidents lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Mueller recently shared a timetable that suggested his probe could end by Sept. 1 if Trump were to sit for an interview in July, which is the legal teams new working plan.

We said to them, If were going to be interviewed in July, how much time until the report gets issued?' Giuliani told The Associated Press on Sunday, referring to the report Mueller is expected to issue to Congress at the conclusion of his investigation. They said September, which is good for everyone, because no one wants this to drag into the midterms.

Giuliani said he did not want a repeat of what happened in 2016, when FBI Director James Comey announced in the campaigns final days that he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server, a decision Democrats believe cost Clinton the race. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, also said Muellers team indicated that the entire probe could end by September, not just its investigation into potential obstruction of justice.

This would be the culmination of the investigation into the president, Giuliani said.

The special counsels office did not respond to a request for comment.

It is not certain that Trump will sit for an interview with Mueller, though the president has publicly said he would. Giuliani said a decision would not be made until after Trumps summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, which is slated for June 12. Giuliani said Sunday the two sides were getting closer to agreeing on the parameters on a potential interview but would not put the odds of it happening at better than 50/50.

Giulianis apparent attempt to publicly pressure Mueller amid interview negotiations came just hours after Trumps demand for a new inquiry, which moved beyond his usual blustery accusations of institutional wrongdoing and into the realm of applying presidential pressure on the Justice Department, a move few of his predecessors have made.

Trump made the order amid days of public venting about the special counsel investigation, which he has deemed a witch hunt that he says has yielded no evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia. In response, the Justice Department moved Sunday to defuse a growing confrontation with the White House by asking its inspector general to expand an existing investigation into the Russia probe by examining whether there was any improper politically motivated surveillance.

It was not immediately clear if that move would satisfy Trump, or if any further demands could lead to a confrontation with FBI Director Christopher Wray or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller investigation. Rosenstein released a statement Sunday that read, If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.

The Justice Department probe had begun in March at the request of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and congressional Republicans. Sessions and the lawmakers had urged Inspector General Michael Horowitz to review whether FBI and Justice Department officials abused their surveillance powers by using information compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy, and paid for by Democrats to justify monitoring Carter Page, a former campaign adviser to Trump.

Horowitz said his office will look at those claims as well as communications between Steele and DOJ and FBI officials.

Trump did not elaborate on the promised demand, which he included in one of a series of tweets he sent throughout the day Sunday. On Saturday, Trump tweeted, If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal. He said only the release or review of documents the House Intelligence Committee is seeking from the Justice Department can give conclusive answers.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Trumps claim of an embedded spy nonsense.

His demand DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems, Schiff said on Twitter. Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesnt care.

Trumps extraordinary demand of the Justice Department alarmed many observers, who felt it not only violated presidential protocol but could have a chilling effect on federal law enforcement or its use of informants. Giuliani defended the presidents actions.

As the presidents lawyer, I cant be concerned on what effect it may have, he said. To me, theres not much of a difference between an informants ongoing collection of information in a surreptitious way or a spy.

If this guy was an FBI implant into the campaign, Giuliani said, thats as offensive as Watergate.

The New York Times was the first to report that the FBI had an informant who met several times with Trump campaign officials who had suspicious contacts linked to Russia.

Giuliani said the information discovered by the source should eventually be made public and released to Congress, even if his identity is kept confidential.

The GOP-led House Intelligence Committee closed its Russian meddling probe last month, saying it found no evidence of collusion or coordination between Trumps campaign and Russia. Schiff and other committee Democrats were furious and argued that Republicans had not subpoenaed many witnessed they considered essential to the committees work.

Sunday was not the first time that Trump accused his predecessor of politically motivated activity against him.

Without substantiation, Trump tweeted in March 2017 that former President Barack Obama had conducted surveillance the previous October at Trump Tower, the New York skyscraper where Trump ran his campaign and transition and maintains a residence. Comey later testified to Congress that internal reviews found no information to support the presidents tweets. Trump later fired Comey over the bureaus Russia investigation.OLNEY, Ill. (WTHI) - Over the last few years, money has been tight in Richland county. But administrators with the school corporation say that things are beginning to look up.

As with most schools in Illinois, the district has had to struggle with receiving money from the state. Currently, the state owes Richland county schools just under a half a million dollars. That's down from numbers in the three million range.

The district was able to stay afloat thanks to four million dollars in incentives. The incentives were from the consolidation of east and west Richland schools. This year was the final year for that extra money.

News 10 spoke with Richland county superintendent Larry Bussard. He believes a new system of funding in Illinois called "evidence-based" funding, will help keep the school on track.

Bussard says, "If we can keep receiving these new evidence-based dollars along with that. We should be sound. As long as the state funding continues to be pretty regular, we feel pretty positive where we're going."

Bussard says the district hopes to hire a few more teachers as well as a school resource officer.COLUMBUS, Miss. (WTVA) - Columbus police arrested a Columbus man in connection to a shooting incident that happened at the end of April.

Police arrested Vershawn Williams, 18, on three felony charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and shooting into a vehicle. Two charges are from 2017 and the aggravated assault charge was from April.

Columbus Police Chief Fred Shelton said this arrest is connected to the incident that occurred April 28 around noon in the area of 15th Street and 8th Avenue North.

Police responded to shots fired and found a victim with a gunshot wound was treated at the hospital. Officers said Williams and the victim knew each other and had been in an altercation.

Shelton says Williams is also being questioned concerning other incidents in Columbus involving gunfire. No bond has been set at this time.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Florida Highway Patrol has identified the man that was killed after a head-on crash with a Leon County Schools bus.

The bus, 3031, was carrying two children from Roberts Elementary and one child from Montford Elementary when the crash happened around 7:30 a.m. Monday.

Troopers say that 50-year-old Alejandro Sera was driving his Cadillac SUV north in the 11000 block of Veterans Memorial Drive when his car crossed the center double line into the path of the school bus.

The bus was unable to avoid the SUV, leading to a head-on crash. Troopers say Sera was pronounced dead on scene.

The bus driver, identified as 27-year-old Keyontra Barnes, and the three juvenile passengers aboard were transported to the hospital for minor injuries.

LCS says the remaining students were picked up by a substitute bus and are currently on campus.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - State and local organizations came together to celebrate the 153rd anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation Announcement.

Dozens of people came to Knott House Museum with songs and speeches, putting on performances to celebrate the day slavery ended in Florida.

"After the reading it was a Hallelujah time because African Americans were free even though it came two and a half years later," said Jarvis Rosier, Second Infantry Regiment U. S. Colored Troops Living History Association President.

The Emancipation Proclamation was signed and put in effect by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, however it was not announced in Florida until 1865.

"Slaves were continuing to literally work on these plantations and their slave masters very well knew that the slaves were freed, but continued in rebellion to keep these slaves in captivity," said Michael Johnson, John G. Riley Center and Museum Director of Education.

Even though Emancipation Day happened many years ago, event organizers want community members to understand the importance of Emancipation Day and how it affects Tallahassee to this day.

"There are tons of lessons to gain, not from just from African-Americans, but from white Americans, it's just an understanding about where we came from," said Johnson.

People decorated the unmarked graves of African-Americans who fought in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

"By laying those wreaths and commemorating those soldiers over there you can't help but think back and be apart of what was going on then. The sacrifice they made some gave all," said Rosier. "We're paying tribute to what they did to get us where we are now."

People were also able to take free tours of the Knott House Museum, the place where the original announcement of the Proclamation was read in 1865.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-20 23:34:17|Editor: yan

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GENEVA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Health plays an important role in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and China is actively involved in global health governance, a senior health official from China said Sunday.

Ma Xiaowei, head of China's National Health Commission, is leading the Chinese delegation to the 71st World Health Assembly (WHA) that is to kick off in Geneva Monday.

At a press conference on Sunday, he said China attaches great importance to safeguarding its citizens' health and promoting the wellbeing of people's livelihood, and China is also actively engaged in global health governance.

Focusing on relevant sustainable development goals (SDGs), China has elevated its Healthy China initiative to a national strategy and released the Healthy China 2030 Outline for its national health progress, he said.

"China has developed extensive cooperation with international organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) to actively improve global health governance," he added.

As the world's biggest developing country, China has proven experience on multiple fronts of health governance and is ready to share it with other countries, said Ma.

"Working with research institutes in Africa, China has launched joint projects to adapt for use in Africa its practices in the prevention and control of malaria and schistosomiasis," he said, explaining that China is also a pioneer in global emergency response.

Over the years, China has continuously engaged in health assistance to other developing countries. Since 1963, China has sent medical teams to 69 developing countries, according to the official.

In 2014, China sent over 1,200 health care professionals and public health experts to help African nations in their response to Ebola. Ma said China is prepared to do so for the current Ebola crisis facing the Democratic Republic of Congo.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 01:04:32|Editor: Chengcheng

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A visitor checks on some illustrations displayed at a booth during the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival 2018 in Vancouver, Canada, on May 20, 2018. Hundreds of comic artists, creators and publishers attended Vancouver Comic Arts Festival 2018, held from May 19 to May 20, to showcase their works. (Xinhua/Liang Sen)

By: EVAN DUGGAN

VANCOUVER, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Lina Le stands in a queue that snakes out of the gymnasium and into the hallway of a community centre in Vancouver's Yaletown.

She's clutching a copy of Blankets, a graphic novel by Craig Thompson. At the other end of the line, inside the gym doors, sits Thompson. He's making quick chats with other fans and signing copies of his hefty comic.

Le tells Xinhua that Blankets is her favorite novel and this is the first time she'll meet Thompson.

"I'm trying to be cool about this," she says.

A young man near her in line speaks up "I'm in the same boat," he interjects. "Craig Thompson is the reason I got into drawing comics so I'm trying not to be a weirdo about it."

They're here at the sixth Vancouver Comic Arts Festival. The volunteer-run festival will attract about 10,000 comic fans through the doors this weekend, all eager for a chance to meet their favorite artists and illustrators, or to discover new ones.

Among the creators is Molly Muldoon. She's here with her co-writers to unveil their recently-published graphic novel: Dead Weight.

It's a murder mystery set in the Oregon woods at a fat camp, she tells Xinhua.

"It's a young adult comedy murder mystery," she says. "It just came out three weeks ago so we're very excited about it."

Muldoon says this isn't her first time at the event, but this is the first time she has a presentation table.

"I've come before, just because it's a really good environment," she says, a short stack of her colorful novel sits on the table in front of her in the gym that feels steamy hot as hundreds of people wander from table to table.

"Everyone is really creative," she says. "Everyone has cool stuff to show. I'm just happy that now I have cool stuff to show as well."

She says the novel took about three months to write but about three years to finally get published. (It's now available on Amazon and in bookstores.)

Andrea Demonakos, the event director, says the event aims to bring together comic artists of all different types and genres and to boost their public exposure. Admission is free.

"We have about 300 creators this year," she says. "The majority of them are from the Vancouver or British Columbia area."

Among them are New York Times bestsellers, but also young up-and-comers.

"We're not really (about) mainstream comics, like it's not super hero comics very often here, but sort of everything else representing the wide range of genres and stories and people that can create comics," she says.

The comic industry is diversifying and opening up, Muldoon says.

"Now you can put your stuff online for free," she says. "You can have a web comic, pretty much for free, and that gets your work out there for people to see it."

She said the stories, characters and genres are also becoming more representative of potential readers.

"We try to represent anyone who would go to fat camp," she says, referring to Dead Weight.

"You don't have to go through Marvel or DC to get your stuff out there," she adds. "There are people who want the diverse stuff, who aren't into like, the big buff superhero dudes, but would like to see a bunch of kids solve a mystery."Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 04:19:54|Editor: Yurou

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GENEVA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China is closely watching the outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and stands ready to offer health professionals and experts if asked, a leading Chinese health official said Sunday.

Ma Xiaowei, head of China's National Health Commission, is leading the Chinese delegation to the World Health Assembly (WHA) that is to kick off in Geneva Monday. At a press conference on Sunday, he said "We are very much concerned about the development of the outbreak of Ebola in the DRC."

The DRC's latest confirmation on Saturday increased the number of people affected by Ebola in the country from 17 to 21.

"As you all know in 2014 when the Ebola outbreak occurred in West Africa, the Chinese government and the people made a quick response and... we sent experts and public health professional helping the West African countries to deal with the Ebola outbreak," said Ma.

He said that in the same spirit China is watching the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC and "where necessary on request" the government and people will send experts or professionals to offer their help.

The WHO's Emergency Committee of 11 experts said in a statement on Friday that the rapid and comprehensive response had eased the risk from the DRC Ebola outbreak.

"Interventions underway provide strong reason to believe that the outbreak can be brought under control," the committee said in a statement on Friday.

The WHO Emergency Committee said in its statement, "Global solidarity among the scientific community is critical and international data should be shared freely and regularly."

Ma said that China is "watching very closely the academic exchanges in the world on the Ebola outbreak and we are ready to share our experience during the 2014 outbreak." He said that China will take part in discussions that take place at the WHA on the DRC outbreak.

Ebola is a highly infectious disease that spreads through contact with even a small amount of bodily fluid of an infected person. Its early flu-like symptoms are not always easy to detect.

Dr. Peter Salama, who leads the Health Emergencies Program at WHO, told journalists Friday that the Ebola West Africa outbreak two years ago cost the international community between three and four billion U.S. dollars.

The Ebola epidemic hit Africa between late 2013 and 2016, causing more than 11,000 deaths in nearly 30,000 cases, according to UN statistics.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 04:24:55|Editor: yan

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RIYADH, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Part of a crane fell in the Grand Mosque in Mecca in Saudi Arabia, with one worker slightly injured, Sabq local online news reported Sunday.

The Mecca region authority tweeted that the accident took place in a worksite in the mosque that is away from the routes of worshipers and visitors.

The accident brings the bitter memory of the death of at least 107 people when a crane collapsed onto the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 2015. Over 230 people were also injured.

Saudis civil defence head said the collapse is caused by strong winds and heavy rains. The deadly mishap led to a long court case and around 8.5 million U.S. dollars compensations for the victims and their families.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 04:44:57|Editor: Chengcheng

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Bee honey products are displayed and on sale during the celebration of the first World Bee Day at the northern village of Zirovnica, Slovenia, on May 20, 2018. With waves of music and hails bursting out from a huge white meeting tent, a high-profile celebrating ceremony for the first ever World Bee Day was held in Slovenia on Sunday, signalling a further initiative by Slovenia to raise public awareness about the vital role of bees and other pollinators for humanity. (Xinhua/Wang Yaxiong)

ZIROVNICA, Slovenia, May 20 (Xinhua) -- With waves of music and hails bursting out from a huge white meeting tent, a high-profile celebrating ceremony for the first ever World Bee Day was held here in Slovenia on Sunday, signalling a further initiative by Slovenia to raise public awareness about the vital role of bees and other pollinators for humanity.

Slovenia's northern Alpin village of Zirovnica was the home town of the 18th-century Slovenian beekeeping pioneer Anton Jansa, whose date of birth, May 20, was picked for World Bee Day.

Some 2,000 beekeepers across the country gathering at the ceremony were addressed by Slovenian President Borut Pahor as well as Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva, and Bostjan Noc, the head of the Slovenian Beekeepers' Association and the architect of the bid for World Bee Day.

Pahor described the world day as "the beginning of a long march" that should end in "humans coexisting with nature" and the world developing along a sustainable trajectory, according to the report by Slovenian Press Agency STA.

While the FAO chief Da Silva said World Be Day highlighted the fact that the world cannot continue to focus on increasing production and productivity based on the use of pesticides and chemicals that threaten pollinators.

The ceremony was followed by a meeting of Slovenian beekeepers from around 200 regional bee associations across the country. More than 80 stalls were selling bee products and handicrafts, and honey delicacies were available for tasting.

Da Silva, who took part in the world beekeeping conference on Friday and an international ministerial conference on Saturday, held separate meetings with Pahor and Prime Minister Miro Cerar on the topics mainly of bee and food of mankind.

Along with the Slovenian beekeeper participants, international and European representatives, bee experts, honey nutritionists and bee products producers attended the celebrating ceremony and visited the beekeeping pioneer Anton Jansa's birth place in the village as well as the relics of his beehives.

World Bee Day was declared by the UN General Assembly in December 2017, about three years after the idea was first floated in Slovenia.

The country is now trying to initiate another project to protect bees at the European Union (EU) and world level.LONDON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- British Culture Secretary Matt Hancock announced Sunday that Britain is to introduce new laws to make social media safer by outlawing "wild west" elements of the Internet.

The measures are part of a response to an Internet Safety Strategy published Sunday, with a commitment by the government to tackle the full range of online harm.

The study revealed 6-in-10 people have witnessed inappropriate or harmful content online, 4-in-10 have experienced online abuse, while 4-in-10 said concerns they put to social media companies were not taken seriously.

Hancock said: "Digital technology is overwhelmingly a force for good across the world and we must always champion innovation and change for the better.

"At the same time I have been clear that we have to address the Wild West elements of the Internet through legislation, in a way that supports innovation. People increasingly live their lives through online platforms so it's more important than ever that people are safe and parents can have confidence they can keep their children from harm."

Hancock said new measures being taking forward Sunday will help make sure children are protected online and balance the need for safety with the great freedoms the internet brings.

He said the British government will take the lead, working collaboratively with tech companies, children's charities and other stakeholders to develop details of new legislation. Potential areas where the government will legislate include the social media code of practice, transparency reporting and online advertising.

Sunday's report stated: "Our consultation revealed users feel powerless to address safety issues online and that technology companies operate without sufficient oversight or transparency."

The government, it added, is already working with social media companies to protect users, and while several of the tech giants have taken important and positive steps, the performance of the industry overall has been mixed.

Later this year the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Britain's interior ministry, the Home Office, will set out new legislation to be brought forward that tackles a range of both legal and illegal harms, from cyberbullying to online child sexual exploitation.

Javed Khan, CEO of the children's charity Barnardo's said: "We welcome the Government's commitment to making the UK the safest place to be online and the recognition of the need to bring industry, charities and the public together to tackle the risks and opportunities the online world brings.

"We have long seen the harm that online can bring to children's lives, our own child sexual abuse services saw a 38 percent increase last year in children referred. Online can be a force for good, but the ease of exploitation of children must be tackled."HOUSTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Governor of U.S. Texas state Greg Abbott on Sunday called for moment of silence to honor victims of Santa Fe High School shooting.

Ten people were killed and another ten wounded when a shooter opened fire inside Santa Fe High School in the southeast of Houston Friday morning.

Law enforcement has identified the suspect as 17-year-old Santa Fe student Dimitrios Pagourtzis.

The governor issued a statewide call for Texans to take part in a moment of silence at 10 a.m. on Monday to honor the memory of the victims.

"The act of evil that occurred in Santa Fe has deeply touched the core of who we are as Texans," said Abbott, adding "I ask all Texans to join in holding a moment of silence tomorrow morning to remember the victims, their families, and first responders of the attack that took place at Santa Fe High School."

During a press briefing near the high school which was held Friday afternoon, Abbott said, "We grieve for the victims who lost their lives at Santa Fe High School and we pray for the families who are suffering and will continue to suffer in the days to come."

The governor described the shooting as "one of the hideous attacks" that has ever happened in the histories of Texas schools, a place of learning where parents should be able to send their children without fear for their children's safety.

Santa Fe High School is located in Galveston County, about 54 km southeast of downtown Houston. There are about 1,400 students in the high school. Santa Fe is a city with a population of about 13,000.

The county is about 360 km east of Sutherland Springs, Texas, where a gunman barged into a church last November and murdered 26 people.SAN FRANCISCO, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Governor Bill Walker of the U.S. northwestern state of Alaska said Sunday that he is happy to sell Alaska products to China at a time when the U.S. and China reached an agreement that would avert a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

"This news comes on the first day of the Opportunity Alaska: China Trade Mission. We are excited to show the world what Alaska has to offer, and how we can help reduce the trade imbalance between the US and China," Walker said in a tweet with hashtag #akleg #opportunityalaska #strongeralaska.

The U.S. and China Saturday released a joint statement that China will increase purchases of American goods to increase cooperation and avert further trade conflict, Walker wrote in another tweet.

The Alaska governor is heading a delegation of businesses from around the state to travel in China as part of a week-long trade show called Opportunity Alaska.

The delegation is composed of 26 Alaska organizations representing a wide range of Alaska firms, including Alaska Native corporations and members of the education, tourism, seafood, beer and baby-food industries.

Walker's delegation wants to expand Alaska's trade ties with China and find more business opportunities for Alaskan enterprises and firms during its week-long trip in the world's second largest economy.

He also hopes to highlight Alaska's strategic position as the closest U.S. state to China. Walker said early this week that Opportunity Alaska is about building something bigger.

The delegation will visit major Chinese cities of Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province in southwest China, during the trip that began on May 19 and ends on May 26.

According to Chinese official data, China has been the largest trade partner and export destination of Alaska since 2011.

Walker's office said Alaska exported more than 1.32 billion U.S. dollars worth of goods to China in 2017.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 07:25:17|Editor: Yamei

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XICHANG, May 21 (Xinhua) -- China launched a relay satellite named Queqiao (Magpie Bridge) early Monday to set up a communication link between the Earth and the Moon's far side.

The satellite will enter a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian Point (L2) of the Earth-Moon system and play a vital role in China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which is expected to be the first-ever soft-landing probe on the Moon's far side later this year.

China's lunar exploration program is named after the legendary Chang'e, the "Moon Lady" who took a potion and floated into the sky, eventually landing on the Moon, where she became a goddess accompanied by a jade rabbit.

China's three-stage Chang'e lunar exploration program, starting in 2004, includes orbiting and landing on the Moon, and bringing samples back to Earth. So far, China has sent four spacecraft to orbit or land on the Moon.

CHANG'E-1

China's first lunar probe Chang'e-1 was launched on Oct. 24, 2007, making China the fifth country to develop and launch a lunar probe on its own.

Orbiting 200 kilometers above the Moon, it mapped 3D images of the lunar surface, analyzed the distribution of elements, measured the depth of lunar soil, and explored the environment between the Earth and the Moon. Chinese scientists acquired the first complete map of the Moon's surface, thanks to Chang'e-1.

After orbiting the Moon for about 16 months, the probe made a controlled crash on the lunar surface in March 2009.

Chang'e-1 opened up a new age of deep space exploration for China.

CHANG'E-2

Chang'e-2, which blasted off on Oct. 1, 2010, gained a full lunar map with a spatial resolution of 7 meters, showing more detail of the lunar surface than its predecessor, Chang'e-1, which had a resolution of 120 meters.

The probe also took pictures of the Sinus Iridum, or the Bay of Rainbows, the proposed landing site of Chang'e-3.

After accomplishing its tasks, Chang'e-2 flew to the L2 point of the Sun-Earth system, where gravity from the Sun and Earth balances the orbital motion of a satellite, to conduct scientific experiments.

It was then tasked to fly by the Toutatis asteroid, about 7 million km from the Earth. Chang'e-2 came to 3.2 km from Toutatis and captured images with a spatial resolution of 10 meters at a relative velocity of 10.73 km per second.

It then continued into deep space, becoming a man-made asteroid in the solar system.

CHANG'E-3

Chang'e-3 was launched on Dec. 2, 2013, and softly touched down on the Sinus Iridum 12 days later. It was the first Chinese spacecraft to soft-land on and explore an extraterrestrial object.

The success made China the third country, after the United States and the former Soviet Union, to soft-land on the moon.

Chang'e-3 included a lander and a moon rover called Yutu (Jade Rabbit), which took photos of each other while the rover circled the lander.

The probe acquired a geological profile of the Moon, and detected the geological structure from the lunar surface to 330 meters beneath, discovering a new kind of lunar rock. The data could give scientists new insights into the evolution of the Moon.

An optical telescope installed on the lander conducted observations in the ultraviolet band of celestial bodies above the North Pole of the Moon.

Another instrument, an ultraviolet camera, obtained Earth plasma layer images, which could help forecast space weather and ensure the safety of communication on Earth as well as between Earth and spacecraft.

The rover, Yutu, suffered from a mechanical anomaly and stopped operating.

TEST CRAFT FOR CHANG'E-5

China launched an experimental spacecraft on Oct. 24, 2014 to test technologies to be used in the Chang'e-5, which is expected to bring Moon samples back to Earth.

The spacecraft, comprising a re-entry capsule and a service module, flew around the Moon for half a circle. After the re-entry and service capsules separated, the re-entry capsule approached the Earth's atmosphere at about 11.2 km per second.

The capsule was designed to "bounce" off the edge of the atmosphere to slow it, before re-entering again. The process has been compared to a stone skipping across water, and can shorten the "braking distance" for the spacecraft.

The return capsule touched down at the designated landing area in Siziwang Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Nov. 1, 2014.

The service module flew back to orbit the Moon for further tests, and reached the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system to conduct experiments.Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou (C) received an honorary Doctor of Humanize Letters from the Boston University at its 145th Commencement on May 20, 2018. (Xinhua Photo/Dong Ding)

BOSTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Famed Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou on Sunday was greeted with cheers and applause of an enthusiastic crowd after he received an honorary Doctor of Humanize Letters from the Boston University at its 145th Commencement.

"It's my greatest honor to present Zhang Yimou for the Boston University honorary degree," said Boston University President Robert Brown at the 2018 commencement.

Zhang Yimou's films "offer not only a perspective on the people and culture of China, but also a window into the universal qualities of human nature and yearning," he told about 7,000 graduating students and their parents.

He also praised Zhang Yimou's other work including ballet, opera and especially Olympic ceremonies.

"The opening and closing of the 2008 Beijing games left the world in awe at their unparalleled beauty and magnificence. Earlier this year, you dazzled once again with the Winter Olympics handover ceremony," he continued.

"Boston University is proud to confer upon you (Zhang Yimou) the degree Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa", the university president announced amid students' big and warm hail and applause.

"I'm honored. This is a recognition of my work and creation personally, and moreover, it demonstrates the big influence of films which can be seen as the visiting card of a country," the world famous director told Xinhua on Sunday.

Zhang Yimou is one of China's leading directors in the movie industry. His films, which include Raise the Red Lantern, House of Flying Daggers, and The Great Wall, have won prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice Film Festival, and the Berlin International Film Festival, and six of his films have been nominated for Academy Awards, according to an introduction posted on the Boston University's website.

More recently, Zhang directed the Beijing portion of the handover ceremony at the close of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Other recipients of honorary degrees from the private research university, founded in 1839, include U.S. civil rights icon John Lewis and U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony S. Fauci.CHICAGO, May 20 (Xinhua) -- With countless attendees visiting the Chinese Exhibition Section at the 99th National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show, which lasts from May 19 to 22 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Chinese restaurant industry shows its image of Chinese cuisine with high quality, authenticity and upscale dining.

More than 67,000 restaurant industry professionals are expected to converge on Chicago this weekend for the 99th National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, organizers said.

This is second time Chinese restaurant industry attended the world first class exhibition. Chinese Consul General in Chicago Hong Lei highly praised their efforts, saying that "we can see innovations on the Chinese Exhibition Zone, such as we have Chinese Cuisine Forum, Chinese Culinary Competition."

Hong on Saturday addressed the opening ceremony of Chinese Exhibition Section that Chicago NRA Show is world renowned event with long history and he is happy to see Chinese restaurant industry continues to attend this grand industry exhibition.

"What Chinese cuisine show not only color, flavor and good taste, but embodies traditional Chinese culture and our pursuit of good life. I hope Chinese restaurant industry could be a cultural ties to bridge China and the United States together." Hong said.

Tony Li, deputy manager of Juhao Flavor (Hong Kong) Co.,Ltd told Xinhua that through NRA show, many restaurant industry professionals have visited his exhibition booth and some of them expressed willingness to cooperate.

"We found more and more American customers are loving more authentic regional Chinese food, which is our expertise in keeping overseas kitchen outside China that can keep its original flavor and taste." Li said.

The Chinese Exhibition Section is hosted by American Chinese Culinary Federation, American Chinese Restaurant Institute, North American Restaurant Association and Juhao Flavor(Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 09:40:36|Editor: Yurou

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YANGON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A China's Hong Kong listed company is seeking to construct a paper production plant in Myanmar's southern Bago region, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Monday.

Chairman of Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing limited, which is Hong Kong-listed Chinese private papermaking company, told Bago Region Chief Minister U Win Thein that the company will use the waste from the production plant to generate electricity for the plant itself.

He said the production plant requires 3.4 million square-meters of area and will send 3,000 local residents of Bago to attend a one-year training course in China for the investment.

The regional government vowed to provide full support for the investment project.

Meanwhile, Myanmar authorities has granted six investment proposals in the Bago region in recent months.

The permitted enterprises, with a capital of 16.35 million U.S. dollars, mainly include those in manufacturing sector and will create more than 7,100 job opportunities.

At present, about 78 foreign investment enterprises are running in Bago region with estimated capital of 1.58 billion U.S. dollars while 944.7 billion kyats (694.6 million U.S. dollars) worth investments by Myanmar citizens from 32 local enterprises.

In accordance with the figures from the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), a total of 5.718 billion U.S. dollars' foreign direct investment entered the country during FY 2017-2018.

Under the new Myanmar Investment Law, investment with capital not exceeding 5 million U.S. dollars can be permitted by regional and state authorities of the DICA.WASHINGTON, May 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will demand that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) "infiltrated" his 2016 campaign.

"I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes -- and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!" Trump tweeted Sunday.

The message, which came amid a flurry of tweets the president unleashed Sunday attacking the Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller, was an apparent reference to a New York Times story.

The story reported Friday that an FBI informant met with a number of Trump campaign associates in the summer of 2016, as part of the agency's investigation into the alleged Russian interference with the presidential election that year.

Representative Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has asked the DOJ to turn over documents disclosing why the FBI launched an investigation into the Trump campaign.

It is "an absolute red line" if the FBI ran a spy ring inside Trump's campaign, Nunes said.

Democrats said that the president's threatened investigation would amount to "an abuse of power."

Representative Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on Nunes' panel, tweeted Sunday that "Trump's claim of an embedded 'spy' is nonsense."

"His 'demand' DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems," Schiff added.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's lawyer, said that the president would be "walking into a trap" if he agreed to be interviewed by Mueller's team without clarification on the role of the informant.

"What we intend to do is premise it on, 'If you want an interview, we need an answer to this,'" Giuliani told The Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Sunday.

Giuliani also said Sunday that Mueller plans to finish his probe by Sept. 1, a claim that the special counsel's team has not commented.

Hours after Trump's tweet, a DOJ spokeswoman said the department has asked its inspector general to expand a probe launched in March.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement: "If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action."

The informant, identified by numerous news outlets as Cambridge professor Stefan Halper, met with campaign aides Carter Page, Sam Clovis and George Papadopoulos in 2016.

Page and Clovis testified to grand juries, and Papadopolous pleaded guilty last year to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russians and is cooperating in the Mueller probe.

The FBI had been monitoring Page since 2013 when they learned Russian agents were trying to recruit him, according to reports.

The Mueller probe reached its one-year mark last week.

Trump, who has repeatedly called the Russia probe a "hoax" or "witch hunt", has ratcheted up pressure on it in the past months, amid a reshuffling of his legal team.

Mueller is mandated to investigate the alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and any potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, among other matters that may arise from the investigation.

Over the past year, Mueller's team has brought charges against 19 individuals, including several Trump campaign associates, and three Russian entities, notched five guilty pleas and seen one person sentenced.

A number of those charges were related to Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election, but none of them has been extended to collusion allegations.

Russia has denied interference in the election campaign.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 10:30:46|Editor: Yurou

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TAIYUAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Tan Kejian, 63, still keeps some old paper documents, even though they have expired. He says they are a symbol of history.

After his daughter was born in 1982, Tan filled out an application form to voluntarily have only one child in Pinglu County of north China's Shanxi Province,

"Bearing the concerns of the country, I promise to have only one child," he wrote in the application.

China lifted its one-child policy in 2016, allowing each family to have two children. The policy was originally enacted around 1980 to cope with increasing population pressure.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up drive. Over the past four decades, a lot of paperwork, documents and certificates have faded into history, turning quotidian items into collectables.

With the one-child certificate, Tan's family could receive an allowance of five yuan every month, one-sixth of the monthly income back then.

"Had we been allowed to have more children, our meager income could not possibly have afforded them," Tan said, adding that his stepfather had to borrow grain occasionally to make ends meet.

By 2017, the annual per capita disposable income in urban China had reached 36,396 yuan (5,712 U.S. dollars), compared to only 477 yuan in 1980.

Ration coupons are also among the obsolete scraps of paper that show how much China has changed over the past 40 years. The government used to issue food ration coupons to meet basic living requirements and tackle food shortages.

Wang Jianzhang, 66, keeps a set of food ration coupons, which remind him of the days of hunger.

"The coupons were allocated based on people's ages and their jobs. One had to use both cash and food coupons to buy a meal," he recalled.

Wang was born to a family of workers in Shanxi. Frequent starvation during childhood has left him with stomach ailments.

Coupons were needed for many necessities and household items. Wang bought his family's first color television set in 1986, when they finally attained a coupon.

"The TV set cost me an entire year's income," he said.

Following the reform and opening up, the market economy has gradually replaced the planned economy, phasing out the ration coupons in 1993 after 38 years of use.

The coupons are popular among collectors. A set of food coupons from the 1950s and 1960s is worth more than 10,000 yuan, according to Zeng Bo of the China Association of Collectors.

Rural people were among the first to benefit from China's reforms. Farmland tracts were contracted to households in the late 1970s, and since then, farmers have been able to support themselves with their farming yields.

The government exempted agricultural taxes in 2006, annulling farming tax certificates and ending China's 2,000-year-old practice of rendering grain to the state. Instead, farmers now enjoy an agricultural allowance.

Wang Erluo, from Shanxi's Kelan County, said they had to pay 63 yuan in farming taxes and other fees every year in the 1980s, taking nearly a quarter of the family income. Now, the family receives an annual subsidy of between 900 yuan and 2,000 yuan as the government encourages growing high-yield crops.

While some papers have perished, new documents have emerged in recent years as signs of people's improved well-being.

Wang, a poor farmer and veteran, has been granted a certificate to receive the minimum living standard allowance, a medical insurance certificate for rural people, as well as a veteran certificate, which allows him to receive a pension.

With the certificates, Wang's medical bills are covered, and the family is granted nearly 15,000 yuan in allowance a year.

"Life has really changed greatly, especially over the past 10 years," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 11:00:53|Editor: Chengcheng

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CANBERRA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian member of parliament Sussan Ley has introduced legislation to the Australian parliament which would phase out the live-export trade of sheep to the Middle East over the next five years.

Ley introduced the Live Sheep Long Haul Export Prohibition Bill 2018 on Monday morning which, if passed, would see an immediate suspension of live exports over the three months of the northern summer, from July to September.

By 2023, the practice of sending ship-loads of live Australian sheep to the Middle East would end. The bill has been supported by both the Greens and Labor parties.

Ley said she was moved to table the legislation following distressing television footage earlier this year which showed sheep dying in horrific conditions during Middle East-bound voyages.

Ley said after 15 years advocating for the live export industry, she had looked again with "fresh eyes" and had been "shocked, angered and disappointed."

"The case for live sheep exports fails on both economic and animal welfare grounds," Ley told the chamber on Monday.

"The live sheep trade is in terminal decline, dropping by two thirds in the last five years."

"The litany of animal cruelty in the live sheep trade makes a mockery of the no pain, no fear mantra. If the rules were actually enforced, avoiding high heat stress, no commercial operator would undertake the trade. Unfortunately, this is an industry with an operating model built on animal suffering."

Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon confirmed the opposition will support the bill.

"Private member's bills are not the ideal way to promote legislation, but this is what happens when the government of the day vacates the field of an issue which is so important to the Australian community," he told reporters in Canberra.

Former National Party leader and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce rejected the bill, however, fearing the impact on farmers.

"If you shut down the live sheep trade you're going to make people poorer," he told reporters on Monday.

Ley applauded the government's reforms to export rules but said they "will not go far enough," noting that a 60 kg sheep would get an increase in space "equivalent to just under two A4 pieces of paper."

She said Australia had been "deceived by an export industry that has had 33 years and countless second chances" and the industry "has been very good at talking the talk and downright culpable when it comes to walking the walk."

"Exporters do not comply with the rules, most of the live export chain is outside of Australia's legal jurisdiction in international waters and overseas countries. As one Western Australian consultant to the trade told me, regulations written on paper in Australia ceased to mean anything once the ship departs."NEW DELHI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Russia on Monday morning for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin in the city of Sochi, confirmed an official in the country's external affairs ministry.

Modi is visiting Russia at the invitation of Putin. The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of current bilateral, regional and global issues.

"This will be an important occasion for the two leaders to exchange views on international matters in a broad and long-term perspective with the objective of further strengthening our special and privileged strategic partnership," the Indian external affairs ministry said in a statement, adding that both leaders will also discuss their respective national developmental priorities and bilateral matters.

It further stated that the "informal summit" between Modi and Putin is in "keeping with the tradition of regular consultations" between India and Russia at the highest levels.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 11:51:04|Editor: Yurou

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XICHANG, Sichuan Province, May 21 (Xinhua) -- China launched a relay satellite early Monday to set up a communication link between Earth and the planned Chang'e-4 lunar probe that will explore the Moon's mysterious far side.

The satellite was carried by a Long March-4C rocket that blasted off at 5:28 a.m. from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The satellite was named Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge. In a Chinese folktale, magpies form a bridge on the seventh night of the seventh month of the lunar calendar to enable Zhi Nyu, a weavergirl who is the seventh daughter of the Goddess of Heaven, to meet her beloved husband, cowherd Niu Lang, for one day. The couple were banished to opposite sides of the Milky Way as their love was not allowed.

"The launch is a key step for China to realize its goal of being the first country to send a probe to soft-land on and rove the far side of the Moon," said Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project.

About 25 minutes after lift-off, the satellite separated from the rocket and entered an Earth-Moon transfer orbit with the perigee at 200 km and the apogee at about 400,000 km. Meanwhile, the solar panels and the communication antennas were unfolded.

Queqiao is expected to enter a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian (L2) point of the Earth-Moon system, about 455,000 km from the Earth. It will be the world's first communication satellite operating in that orbit.

But the mission must overcome many challenges, including multiple adjustments to its orbit and braking near the Moon and taking advantage of the lunar gravity, Zhang said.

Chinese scientists and engineers hope the Queqiao satellite will form a communication bridge between controllers on Earth and the far side of the Moon where the Chang'e-4 lunar probe is expected to touch down later this year.

Monday's launch was the 275th mission of the Long March rocket series.

Tidal forces of the Earth have slowed the Moon's rotation to the point where the same side always faces the Earth, a phenomenon called tidal locking. The other face, most of which is never visible from Earth, is the far side or dark side of the Moon, not because it's dark, but because most of it remains unknown.

With its special environment and complex geological history, the far side is a hot spot for scientific and space exploration. The Aitken Basin of the lunar south pole region on the far side has been chosen as the landing site for Chang'e-4. The region is believed to have great research potential.

However, landing and roving require a relay satellite to transmit signals. The Chang'e-4 mission will be more complicated than Chang'e-3, China's first soft landing on the Moon in 2013.

"We designed an orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 point where the relay satellite will be able to 'see' both the Earth and the far side of the Moon," said Bao Weimin, director of the Science and Technology Commission of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Establishing a communication link is essential for the success of the Chang'e-4 mission, said Bao.

The satellite, weighing about 400 kg and with a designed life of three years, carries several antennas. One, shaped like an umbrella with a diameter of 5 meters, is the largest communication antenna ever used in deep space exploration, said Chen Lan, deputy chief engineer of the Xi'an Branch of the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

The satellite could stay in the halo orbit around the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system for a long time by using relatively little fuel, thanks to the gravitational equilibrium at that point.

Together with Queqiao, two microsatellites, Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2, were launched to orbit the Moon to conduct ultra-long-wave astronomical observation, which could help scientists study the cosmic dawn.

Astronomers yearn for a completely quiet electromagnetic environment to detect the weak signals emitted from remote celestial bodies in deep space.

The far side of the Moon is such a place, as the body of the Moon shields against radio interference from the Earth. From there, astronomers can study the origins and evolution of stars and galaxies, peering into the dawn of the universe.

"Exploring the cosmic dawn is our long-term goal, and Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2 are a preliminary experiment that could lay the foundation for future exploration," said Chen Xuelei, a cosmologist with the National Astronomical Observatories, who leads a team to analyze the data of the microsatellites.

The relay satellite is also equipped with a low-frequency radio spectrometer developed by Dutch scientists, which will help scientists "listen" to the deeper reaches of the cosmos.

A small lunar optical imaging detector developed by Saudi Arabia is installed on the satellite.

China's lunar exploration program will be a new research platform for scientists around the world. The lander and rover of Chang'e-4 will be equipped with instruments developed by Germany and Sweden, said Sun Zezhou, chief designer of the Chang'e-4 mission.

In addition, the satellite carries a reflector developed by the Sun Yat-sen University to conduct laser-ranging experiments between the relay satellite and an observatory on the ground at a maximum distance of 460,000 km. If successful, it will set a new record for this kind of experiment, said Zhang Lihua.

To raise interests of the public in space exploration, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the CNSA has invited people to write down their hopes for lunar and space exploration, and the relay satellite is carrying the names of about 100,000 participants and their hopes into deep space.NEW DELHI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people have died due to Nipah virus outbreak in the southern Indian state of Kerala, health officials said Monday.

"Some nine people have succumbed to the deadly virus in the state's Kozhikode and Malappuram districts in the past 24 hours after being hospitalised for fever. Three of these deaths took place late Sunday night," a senior health official said.

"Several others affected by the virus are under treatment at government hospitals in these two districts," he added.

Meanwhile, Indian Health Minister J.P. Nadda has directed a central team, led by the head of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to visit Kerala to assist the state government in the wake of the deaths.

Health officials said the state government is working on war footing to tackle the outbreak of the deadly virus.

"An isolation ward has already been opened in Kozhikode Medical College and Hospital and a special task force has been formed to tackle the situation. The state government has cancelled the leaves of the doctors and the paramedical staff," another health official said.

Nipah virus is an emerging infectious disease that broke out in Malaysia in 1999, and first affected domestic animals before humans. The organism that causes the virus is an Ribonucleic acid virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 12:16:10|Editor: Xiang Bo

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A Long March-4C rocket carrying a relay satellite, named Queqiao (Magpie Bridge), is launched from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Cai Yang)

By Xinhua writers Yu Fei, Bai Guolong & Yu Xiaojie

XICHANG, Sichuan Province, May 21 (Xinhua) -- China launched a relay satellite early Monday to set up a communication link between Earth and the planned Chang'e-4 lunar probe that will explore the Moon's mysterious far side.

The satellite was carried by a Long March-4C rocket that blasted off at 5:28 a.m. from southwest China's Xichang Satellite Launch Center, according to the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

The satellite was named Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge. In a Chinese folktale, magpies form a bridge on the seventh night of the seventh month of the lunar calendar to enable Zhi Nyu, a weaver girl who is the seventh daughter of the Goddess of Heaven, to meet her beloved husband, cowherd Niu Lang, for one day. The couple were banished to opposite sides of the Milky Way as their love was not allowed.

"The launch is a key step for China to realize its goal of being the first country to send a probe to soft-land on and rove the far side of the Moon," said Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project.

About 25 minutes after lift-off, the satellite separated from the rocket and entered an Earth-Moon transfer orbit with the perigee at 200 km and the apogee at about 400,000 km. The solar panels and the communication antennas were unfolded.

Queqiao is expected to enter a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian (L2) point of the Earth-Moon system, about 455,000 km from the Earth. It will be the world's first communication satellite operating in that orbit.

But the mission must overcome many challenges, including multiple adjustments to its orbit and braking near the Moon and taking advantage of the lunar gravity, Zhang said.

Chinese scientists and engineers hope the Queqiao satellite will form a communication bridge between controllers on Earth and the far side of the Moon where the Chang'e-4 lunar probe is expected to touch down later this year.

Monday's launch was the 275th mission of the Long March rocket series.

VITAL TO CHANG'E-4 SUCCESS

Tidal forces of the Earth have slowed the Moon's rotation to the point where the same side always faces the Earth, a phenomenon called tidal locking. The other face, most of which is never visible from Earth, is the far side or dark side of the Moon, not because it's dark, but because most of it remains unknown.

With its special environment and complex geological history, the far side is a hot spot for scientific and space exploration. The Aitken Basin of the lunar south pole region on the far side has been chosen as the landing site for Chang'e-4. The region is believed to have great research potential.

However, landing and roving require a relay satellite to transmit signals. The Chang'e-4 mission will be more complicated than Chang'e-3, China's first soft landing on the Moon in 2013.

"We designed an orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 point where the relay satellite will be able to 'see' both the Earth and the far side of the Moon," said Bao Weimin, director of the Science and Technology Commission of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.

Establishing a communication link is essential for the success of the Chang'e-4 mission, said Bao.

The satellite, weighing about 400 kg and with a designed life of three years, carries several antennas. One, shaped like an umbrella with a diameter of 5 meters, is the largest communication antenna ever used in deep space exploration, said Chen Lan, deputy chief engineer of the Xi'an Branch of the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).

The satellite could stay in the halo orbit around the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system for a long time by using relatively little fuel, thanks to the gravitational equilibrium at that point.

MISSION BEYOND BORDERS

Together with Queqiao, two microsatellites, Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2, were launched to orbit the Moon to conduct ultra-long-wave astronomical observation, which could help scientists study the cosmic dawn.

Astronomers yearn for a completely quiet electromagnetic environment to detect the weak signals emitted from remote celestial bodies in deep space.

The far side of the Moon is such a place, as the body of the Moon shields against radio interference from the Earth. From there, astronomers can study the origins and evolution of stars and galaxies, peering into the dawn of the universe.

"Exploring the cosmic dawn is our long-term goal, and Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2 are a preliminary experiment that could lay the foundation for future exploration," said Chen Xuelei, a cosmologist with the National Astronomical Observatories, who leads a team to analyze the data of the microsatellites.

The relay satellite is also equipped with a low-frequency radio spectrometer developed by Dutch scientists to help scientists "listen" to the deeper reaches of the cosmos.

A small lunar optical imaging detector developed by Saudi Arabia is installed on the satellite.

China's lunar exploration program will be a new research platform for scientists around the world. The lander and rover of Chang'e-4 will be equipped with instruments developed by Germany and Sweden, said Sun Zezhou, chief designer of the Chang'e-4 mission.

In addition, the satellite carries a reflector developed by the Sun Yat-sen University to conduct laser-ranging experiments between the relay satellite and an observatory on the ground at a maximum distance of 460,000 km. If successful, it will set a new record for this kind of experiment, said Zhang.

To raise interests of the public in space exploration, the Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center of the CNSA has invited people to write down their hopes for lunar and space exploration, and the relay satellite is carrying the names of about 100,000 participants and their hopes into deep space.

REACHING FOR THE FUTURE

China has outlined an ambitious blueprint for deep space exploration, including the Chang'e-5 lunar probe in 2019.

After fulfilling the three steps of its lunar probe program -- orbiting, landing and returning -- China will further explore the Moon, including landing and probing the polar regions, said Tian Yulong, CNSA secretary general.

China will launch its first Mars probe in 2020, and it is expected to orbit, land and put a rover on the Red Planet.

It also plans to probe asteroids around 2022, followed by a probe in 2028 to bring Mars samples back to Earth. An exploration mission to the Jupiter system is planned around 2029.

Experts have proposed building a research base on the Moon in the future.

Zhou Jianping, chief designer of China's manned space program, says China has the technological basis for a manned lunar landing.

(Hu Zhe also contributed to the story. Video editors: Shang Yang and Shan Ruchao )TOKYO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Passengers were evacuated from All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 767 aircraft on Monday at 10:00 a.m. local time prior to its departure to Hong Kong from Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture after the passenger cabin filled with smoke.

After the plane's doors had been closed at the gate, 137 passengers who had boarded flight 809 bound for Hong Kong were evacuated back to the terminal.

At least four of those evacuated from the plane complained off feeling ill after inhaling the smoke but no one was hospitalized, official said.

One man was quoted by local media as saying, "as soon as the plane's doors closed, smoke came billowing out of the air conditioner and the inside of the plane quickly became filled white with smoke."

"There was a smell of burning machinery, so I covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief," the male passenger said.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism said that upon investigation of the grounded plane, they found that an oil leakage had occurred in the auxiliary engine at the rear of the plane and smoke had flowed into the passenger cabin.

The ministry said there was no sign of fire, however.

A representative for ANA said they were also investigating the cause of the accident.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 12:51:17|Editor: Yurou

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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) meets with Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 20, 2018. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)

BUENOS AIRES, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Sunday that China and Argentina should enhance cooperation in various fields to promote bilateral relations.

Both nations should seek to integrate the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Argentina's development strategy to inject new stimulus into the their comprehensive strategic partnership.

Wang made the remarks when meeting with Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie during an official visit to the Latin American country.

Wang said under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Argentina ties have maintained a good momentum of comprehensive development, with steady growth in bilateral trade, orderly advances in major cooperation projects, close people-to-people and cultural exchanges as well as good coordination in international and multilateral mechanisms.

Argentina has been facing some economic and financial difficulties recently due to external factors, Wang said, adding that as Argentina's comprehensive strategic partner, China firmly supports the South American country to take effective measures to maintain economic and financial stability and would offer assistance to the best of its capability.

China is the most reliable and long-term partner of Argentina's development and confident about its economic prospect, he said.

China fully supports Argentina's effort to host a successful summit of the Group of 20 (G20) and will work with Argentina to ensure that the meeting will achieve positive outcomes, promote multilateralism and build an open world economy, said Wang.

Faurie said Argentina highly values bilateral relations, treasures and appreciates China's trust and support, which is crucial for Argentina to overcome its current economic and financial difficulties.

As an important country on the world stage, China is playing a significant role in international politics, economy and strategy, said Faurie, adding everything is possible when it comes to cooperation with China.

Argentina thinks the Belt and Road Initiative is of great significance to the world economy and is keen to integrate the initiative with its own development strategy, said Faurie.

Argentina expects to increase agricultural exports to China and strengthen cooperation in areas of energy, mining and tourism, added Faurie.

He said the two countries have consensus with regard to the firm safeguarding of multilateralism.

Argentina, which holds the G20 presidency for 2018, is the final leg of Wang's four-nation tour, which has taken him to France, Spain and Portugal.

Wang will attend the G20 ministerial meeting and meet with Argentine President Mauricio Macri.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 13:01:19|Editor: Yurou

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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (R) meets with Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok during the ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, May 20, 2018. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)

BUENOS AIRES, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China and the Netherlands are willing to strengthen cooperation in various fields under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R), Chinese and Dutch foreign ministers said here Sunday.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok during the ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 held here.

Wang said the Netherlands is China's important partner in the European Union (EU) and the Sino-Dutch relationship constitutes an important part of Sino-EU relations.

China expects the Netherlands to continue providing a fair, friendly and open environment for trade and investment cooperation and to take advantage of the land, maritime and air connectivity between the two countries to enhance bilateral cooperation in multiple areas under the B&R framework, the minister said.

Bilateral exchanges and cooperations in various areas have maintained a strong momentum and the recent visits to China by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Prime Minister Mark Rutte have charted a new blueprint for bilateral ties, said Wang.

China is willing to work with the Netherlands to implement the consensuses reached by the two heads of state so as to maintain a healthy and stable development of bilateral ties, said Wang.

Blok said the Netherlands expects to further strengthen exchanges and cooperation in various fields with China in line with a series of agreements signed during the visits of the Dutch king and prime minister.

He said the B&R is beneficial to international trade and the Dutch side is willing to strengthen cooperation with China to jointly develop the initiative under the EU framework.

Noting the common challenges facing the international community, Blok said his country expects to enhance communication and coordination with China on important international and regional issues.

At the request of Blok, Wang introduced China's standpoint on the trade friction with the United States. He said it accords with the interests of both nations and peoples, and also the common expectations of the international community that China and the United States properly handle the issue through equal dialogue.

Wang said China will continue to firmly uphold multilateralism and the free trade system centered on the rules of the World Trade Organization.

Blok said the Netherlands always supports free trade and an open economy and therefore appreciates China's handling of relevant issues with wisdom.HANOI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A forester from Vietnam's northern Son La province has been arrested when transporting 22 cakes of heroin from Son La to a drug kingpin in northern Lang Son province, local media reported on Monday.

Pham Xuan Lan, a 37-year-old forester of the Son La Forest Ranger Department, was detained in Lang Son last week when he was driving a truck with heroin on it, online newspaper VnExpress reported. Lan confessed that he transported the drug to Trieu Ky Voong from Lang Son for a wage of 2.8 billion Vietnamese dong (over 123,000 U.S. dollars).

Voong, 49, was also detained last week. Voong is the leader of a ring that smuggles drugs from Laos to Vietnam, and he owns many hotels, restaurants and properties in the border province of Lang Son.

According to Vietnamese law, those convicted of smuggling over 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine are punishable by death. Making or trading 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal drugs also faces death penalty.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 13:46:25|Editor: Chengcheng

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KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Global funds reacted to the unprecedented outcome of Malaysia's 14th General Election (GE14) by dumping about 2.48 billion ringgit (624 million U.S. dollars) of Malaysian equities in the open market last week, the heaviest weekly foreign selldown in the country since some five years ago.

MIDF Research said in a report Monday, foreign investors have been net sellers of Malaysian market for 10-straight trading days as of last Friday.

In the week ended Aug. 23, 2013, Malaysia's stock market saw a net outflow of 2.9 billion ringgit.

According to the report, Malaysia saw a net outflow of 682.6 million ringgit on the first trading day after GE14, and the net foreign selling swelled to 837.3 million ringgit in the following day, the largest in a day since early February 2018.

The foreign outflows tapered to 320.7 million ringgit on last Wednesday as investors cheered the post-GE14 reforms which included the reduction of goods and services tax (GST) to 0 percent effective from June 1, in addition to the pardon granted to jailed former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Foreign investors continued selling on last Thursday and Friday to a tune of 384.4 million ringgit and 251.2 million ringgit net respectively as the surge in U.S treasury yields during the week crept into minds of investors.

Due to the intense selling pressure, the cumulative net inflow into Malaysia so far this year has been substantially reduced to 40.2 million ringgit from 2.52 billion ringgit before GE14, said the report.

"We are cautiously optimistic that this cumulative figure may gradually pick up as more political clarity comes into picture," said MIDF.

Despite recording the largest weekly outflow among the four ASEAN markets that it monitored last week, it said, Malaysia is still the major beneficiary of foreign inflows.

Thailand's weekly net outflow last week increased to 203.2 million U.S. dollars, while Philippines bourse's net outflow remained contained at 42.6 million U.S. dollars. Indonesian bourse has also seen 16 straight weeks of outflows after foreign investors pulled out 242.4 million U.S. dollars net of local equities last week.

MIDF noted, foreign participation in Malaysia remains strong as the foreign average daily trade value soared by almost 100 percent to 2.39 billion ringgit last week, the highest in 24 weeks.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:06:31|Editor: Liu

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HOHHOT, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Every morning, Huhtuyaa is woken up by his roosters' crowing, but he was not so comfortable with the sound 13 years ago when his family abandoned grazing and started to raise chickens.

"I grew up hearing sheep and cows, and it felt strange to hear chickens in the beginning," said the resident of Sainhoda Township, deep in the Hunshandake Sandland, in the north of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

In early summer, Hunshandake turns green, but 20 years ago, 80 percent of the area was sand dunes.

Hunshandake means "yellow wild horse" in Mongolian. The sandland was believed to be a major source of the severe sandstorms that would often shroud northern China.

In 2002, China started a sand control project in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area. A series of environmental restoration efforts were undertaken in Hunshandake, with one of them being encouraging herders to raise chickens.

Scientists at the Hunshandake environmental research station under the Chinese Academy of Sciences brought some chickens to the sandland, persuading the herders to give up grazing.

However, most of the herders refused to change their traditional way of living.

Huhtuyaa's family took the daring step.

With low interest loans given by the government, Huhtuyaa's parents bought around 400 chicks in 2005. Afraid that there might be no market for their chickens, they traveled to Hebei Province and Beijing from time to time, looking for potential clients.

Huhtuyaa joined his parents in raising chickens after graduating from high school in 2007.

Over the years, the family's land grew ever greener. The grass seeds and worms became delicacies for chickens. Their manure worked as the fertilizer of the grass. A virtuous cycle was formed.

Every morning, Huhtuyaa takes a leisurely walk on the grassland before starting his work.

His pockets have also become fuller thanks to the growing market demand for chickens.

Two years ago, the family invested over 6 million yuan (940,910 U.S. dollars) and opened a eco-tourism business. Every year, they sell about 8,000 chickens and 290,000 eggs, and can make as much as 1 million yuan.

The farm has also become a tourist attraction for people from the cities. Visitors can enjoy the grassland scenery as well as freshly-cooked chicken and eggs.

Huhtuyaa's success has attracted the attention of many of his neighbors. He plans to give 30 to 50 chicks to his fellow villagers, and buy the chicken back for sale after they have grown.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:11:34|Editor: Yurou

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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (3rd, R) meets with his Chilean counterpart Roberto Ampuero (3rd, L) during the ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina, May 20, 2018. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)

BUENOS AIRES, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China expects Chile to continue to play an active and exemplary role in jointly building the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with Latin America, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here Sunday.

Wang said China appreciates the Chilean government's firm effort in developing ties with China, and China is willing to link the Belt and Road Initiative with Chile's infrastructure investment plan to further the beneficial cooperation in sectors such as infrastructure, connectivity, and cultural and people-to-people exchanges for common prosperity.

Wang made the remarks when meeting with his Chilean counterpart Roberto Ampuero during the ministerial meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina.

Chile is China's friend in Latin America and though being far away from each other, the two nations are closely connected by open concepts and a free trade agreement, Wang said.

China and Chile have witnessed a rapid growth in bilateral economic and trade cooperation, which has benefited the people of both countries, added Wang.

China is confident in the prospect of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Chile, said Wang.

Ampuero said Chile highly values and actively supports the Belt and Road Initiative, and hopes that it will be extended to Latin America.

He said the two countries have enjoyed a very good relationship and Chile appreciates China's role in safeguarding free trade and an open world economy, which is an important cornerstone for Chile's diplomatic policy.

Chile firmly upholds the one-China policy and appreciates China's efforts in maintaining the stability in the South China Sea and promoting a political solution to the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, Ampuero said.

Chile expects to strengthen high-level exchanges with China, expands mutually beneficial cooperation and enhance exchanges in culture, education and other areas, said Ampuero.

He welcomes Chinese enterprises to come to invest in Chile, adding that Chile is willing to become China's gateway to Latin America.BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Cuba confirmed on Saturday that 110 people were dead from Friday's Boeing 737 crash close to Havana's Jose Marti International Airport.

The worst air disaster in Cuba in decades only left three survivors out of 113 people, including six Mexican crew members. The survivors are still in serious condition, according to local authorities.

The following is a list of major aircraft incidents with a death toll exceeding 100 that happened worldwide in a decade:

On April 11, 2018, a total of 257 people were killed in a military plane crash in Algeria, the worst air disaster in the county's history.

On Oct. 31, 2015, an Airbus A321 plane crashed over the Sinai Peninsula en route from Egypt's Sharm al-Sheikh to St. Petersburg in Russia, killing all 224 people on board.

On June 30, 2015, a military cargo plane crashed near Medan, the capital city of Indonesia's North Sumatra Province, killing over 100 people on board and on the ground.

On March 24, 2015, an Airbus 320 plane of German budget airline Germanwings with 150 people on board crashed in southern France while en route from Barcelona to Duesseldorf. No survivors were reported.

On Dec. 28, 2014, an Airbus A320-200 of the budget carrier AirAsia with 162 people on board vanished from radar screens en route from Indonesia's second biggest city Surabaya to Singapore. Victims' bodies and the jet's black box were retrieved over a week later in the Java Sea.

On July 24, 2014, an Air Algerie flight with 116 people on board crashed in neighboring Mali, killing all the 110 passengers and six Spanish crew members.

On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, went down in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished with 239 people aboard en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

On June 3, 2012, a Dana Air plane from Nigeria's capital city Abuja crashed in a residential area in the Lagos metropolis, killing the 153 people on board and 40 others living inside a two-story building hit by the aircraft.

On July 28, 2010, an Airblue Flight ED-202 crashed into the Margalla Hills in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, killing all the 152 people aboard.

On May 22, 2010, at least 158 people were killed when an Air India Express plane from Dubai overshot the runway during landing and crashed near Mangalore airport in the southern Indian state of Karnataka.

On May 12, 2010, a passenger plane of Libya's Afriqiyah Airways crashed on landing at Tripoli airport, killing all of the 103 people on board except an 8-year-old Dutch boy.

On July 15, 2009, an Iranian passenger plane crashed near the country's northwestern city of Gazvin, killing all 168 people on board.

On June 30, 2009, an Airbus A310 crashed into the Indian Ocean as it approached the airport on the Comoros Islands, killing 152 people on board. Only a 13-year-old French girl survived.

On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330, went down over the Atlantic Ocean after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris, killing all 228 people on board.

On Aug. 20, 2008, 154 people died and 18 others were injured when a 15-year-old plane crashed and burst into flames during takeoff in Madrid.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:16:37|Editor: Chengcheng

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ULAN BATOR, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 Mongolia Economic Forum kicked off here Monday, with the aim of boosting the country's economic development through public-private partnerships.

"We have to consolidate our views on development policies. The public-private partnership is very important for the development of the economy," said Mongolian Prime minister Ukhnaa Hurelsukh at the opening ceremony of the forum.

Over 1,000 domestic and foreign representatives will attend the two-day event.

The annual forum is designed to provide a platform for constructive discussion among key stakeholders, including government, business, civil society and academia, with added input from potential foreign investors and donors.

This year's forum is expected to cover topics such as reviving the economy, speeding up capital market development, building a harassment-free business environment, improving the tax system and investment policies. EnditemSource: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:16:38|Editor: Yurou

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XICHANG, Sichuan Province, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists are to conduct a laser-ranging test between the relay satellite of the Chang'e-4 lunar probe and an observatory on the ground, which might help lay the foundation for space-based gravitational wave detection.

The relay satellite Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, which was launched Monday, will fly to a halo orbit around the second Lagrangian point (L2) of the Earth-Moon system. It will be a communication link between controllers on Earth and the Chang'e-4 lunar probe, which is expected to soft-land on the far side of the Moon at the end of this year.

Chinese scientists will also conduct a laser-ranging test with the satellite at a maximum distance of 460,000 km, a record distance for an experiment of its kind, said Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project.

China has reportedly accomplished its first successful lunar laser-ranging, with a 1.2-meter telescope at southwest China's Yunnan Observatories on Jan. 22 this year, when scientists measured the distance between the Moon and the Earth, based on the signals of laser pulses reflected by the lunar retro-reflector planted by the U.S. Apollo mission more than 40 years ago.

Scientists calculated the time a laser pulse takes to travel from a ground station to the retro-reflector on the Moon and back again to get a measurement.

Just a few countries, including the United States, France and China, have successfully harnessed the lunar laser-ranging technology.

The Queqiao satellite, carrying a reflector developed by Sun Yat-sen University, is expected to extend laser-ranging to a new record distance.

As the satellite will fly at a constant high speed, it will be extremely hard for the laser beam from the ground to target the reflector on the satellite about 460,000 km away.

Luo Jun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of Sun Yat-sen University, has proposed a space science program to detect gravitational waves. Laser-ranging is a necessary technology for that detection.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:21:40|Editor: Yurou

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QINGDAO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in Qingdao have begun offering the city's residents lectures on social etiquette in an effort to groom them to be better hosts ahead of a key summit.

In June, the coastal city in east China's Shandong Province will host the 18th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

"Etiquette is the respect for others from the bottom of your heart," lecturer Liu Xiang told a group of residents at a park on Sunday.

About 700 lecturers from colleges, public services and volunteer groups will teach residents in Qingdao knowledge about social etiquette, the SCO, and first aid.

Last week, more than 2,200 volunteers started offering various services on the city's subways, from giving directions and translation to helping to buy tickets and providing first aid.

Zhang Jiangting, secretary of the Qingdao Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, said hosting the summit offers Shandong and Qingdao new opportunities.

The summit will not only boost Qingdao's tourism, trade and convention and exhibition industries, but will also promote new growth sources and improve the quality of the city's development, he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:31:41|Editor: Yurou

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XICHANG, Sichuan Province, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The relay satellite, launched Monday for China's Chang'e-4 lunar probe, is carrying the largest communication antenna ever used in deep space exploration, according to Chinese experts.

The launch of the satellite Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, is a key step for China to realize its goal of sending the Chang'e-4 lunar probe to soft-land on the far side of the Moon.

Queqiao, developed by China Spacesat Co., Ltd. under the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST), will be the world's first communication satellite operating in an orbit around the L2 point of the Earth-Moon system to establish a communication link between controllers on Earth and the probe.

Chinese experts designed several antennas for the relay satellite, including one shaped like an umbrella with a diameter of 5 meters, which opened in space after the satellite separated from the carrier rocket.

It must endure temperatures as cold as 230 degrees centigrade below zero. Chinese experts conducted countless experiments during the development of the antenna, said Chen Lan, deputy chief engineer of the Xi'an Branch of CAST.

The satellite is of great scientific and engineering importance in the exploration of the universe, said Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project.

A reliable long-distance data transmission link is a key technological goal for space experts around the world.

A relay satellite is a type of communication satellite that provides data transmission, observation and control services for other spacecraft.

China has already sent a series of relay satellites into geosynchronous orbit at an altitude of 36,000 km for manned spacecraft.

Queqiao is similar to those relay satellites, but its orbit is more than 10 times farther, which is the main technological difficulty.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:36:42|Editor: Yurou

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BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo honored influential microbloggers on Sunday for their dedication to online and offline public welfare services.

Ten microbloggers, including pianist Lang Lang, were credited for their leadership in promoting environmental protection and other public interest activities.

Sina Weibo launched an alliance in 2016 to encourage celebrities to leverage their resources to promote public welfare causes.

Over 1,100 celebrities and other influential microbloggers have participated in Sina Weibo's online public welfare campaigns, according to Dong Wenjun, social responsibility director at Sina Weibo.

The company also unveiled its shortlist of 15 candidates for the title of Chinese Young Champion of the Earth, an award co-launched with the United Nations Environment Programme in April to recognize young Chinese citizens who have made major contributions to innovative plans for China's environmental protection.

The UN introduced the Young Champion of the Earth in 2017 as an annual award program to recognize and support young environmentalists.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:41:43|Editor: Chengcheng

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CANBERRA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian agriculture experienced a bumper year in 2016-17, according to data released on Monday, recording a 9 percent increase in value to 45.8 billion U.S. dollars.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released the figures which showed near-record yields in broadacre crops, such as wheat, canola and barley, and also in sugarcane.

Many farmers reported crop yields being at "once in a lifetime" levels, with records broken in most states for key commodities.

Compared to the previous year, 2015-16, the value of wheat grew by 19 percent to 5.5 billion U.S. dollars, with production up by 43 percent.

The value of barley rose by 17 percent to 2.03 billion U.S. dollars with production up by half on the previous year. The value of canola, meanwhile, rose by 63 percent to 1.8 billion U.S. dollars.

Sugarcane was another star performer, according to the ABS. "Strong export demand and good prices for sugar" resulted in an increase in value of 27 percent to 1.22 billion U.S. dollars in 2016-17.

ABS Director of Environment and Agriculture Statistics Lauren Binns said on Monday the data confirmed that 2016-17 was a good year for agriculture with above average yields and record production for many broadacre crops.

"Total crop values in 2016-17 rose by one fifth compared with the previous year, while total livestock values were steady overall," Binns said.

Results were more mixed for livestock. The value of livestock products was largely steady with a strong result for wool, up 17 percent to 2.6 billion U.S. dollars, offsetting falls in milk, which was down 14 percent to 2.7 billion U.S. dollars.

Declines in the value of livestock disposals were largely due to re-stocking. For example, the beef cattle herd in Australia increased 6 percent to 23.6 million head in 2016-17 compared with the previous year, although there was a continuing decline in the dairy herd, which went down 2 percent to 2.6 million head.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 14:53:15|Editor: zh

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A boat made by 21,000 plastic bottles sails into the harbor in Beirut, Lebanon, May 20, 2018. The boat made by 21,000 plastic bottles which is under a slogan "reviving our heritage, saving our environment" arrived in Beirut from Byblos on Sunday. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)CANBERRA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Australians lost 256 million U.S. dollars to online fraudsters last year, according to consumer data revealed on Monday.

In its ninth annual report into cybercrime, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) revealed that online fraud was at record levels in 2017, with more than 200,000 scam reports being submitted to the ACCC, Australian Cybercrime Online Reporting Network (ACORN) and other federal and state-based agencies.

Investment scams were responsible for the heaviest losses at 48 million U.S. dollars, an increase of more than 8 percent on 2016. Dating and romance fraud was the second-worst category, being responsible for the theft of 32 million U.S. dollars.

ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard voiced her concern over Australians "losing such extraordinary amounts to scammers."

"Based on just the reports provided to the ACCC, victims are losing an average of 6,500 Australian dollars (4,900 U.S. dollars). In some cases, people have lost more than 1 million Australian dollars (750,000 U.S. dollars)," she said in a statement on Monday.

"Some scams are becoming very sophisticated and hard to spot.

"In the past few years, reports indicate scammers are using aggressive techniques both over the phone and online."

Rickard said some of the scamming techniques can be very frightening. "For example, scammers will impersonate the Australian Taxation Office and threaten people with immediate arrest unless they pay an outstanding tax bill. They may pretend to be from Telstra to try to hack into your computer or from Centrelink promising extra payments in return for a 'fee'," she said.

"Scammers scare us or butter us up with promises of cash because they know it clouds our judgement. People get so worried about being arrested they don't question if the person threatening them is genuine."

Anti-scam IT specialist Ziggy Zapata told one news outlet that the ACCC had underestimated the true cybercrime figure.

"The reason is that most people are too embarrassed to go to police and in most cases, there is no redress because the scammers are well out of Australian legal jurisdiction," Zapata said on Monday.Gunmen kill 5 demining workers in S. Afghanistan Source: Xinhua 2018-05-21 15:16:50 KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Some five Afghan demining workers were killed and one other went missing after they were attacked by gunmen in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar on Monday, local police said. Editor: LiangyuSource: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 15:41:53|Editor: Liangyu

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Nepali Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari (Front L) and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong (Front R) attend a launching ceremony of an interactive tourism website in Chinese language in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, May 21,2018. Nepal on Monday launched an interactive tourism website, the first of its kind, in Chinese language to attract more Chinese tourists. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)

KATHMANDU, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Nepal on Monday launched an interactive tourism website, the first of its kind, in Chinese language to attract more Chinese tourists.

Amid a function attended by government officials, tourism professionals and Chinese community, Nepali Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari launched a customized website www.welcomenepal.cn which is an initiative of Nepal Tourism Board, the main tourism promotion body, to communicate in Chinese language.

The website comprises information on various tourism destinations of Nepal, photos and videos, different activities and things-to-do, and necessary information for the Chinese nationals visiting the Himalayan country.

Appreciating the role and contribution of China in Nepal's tourism, Nepali officials said that they have prioritized promotion of Nepal through website, mobile apps, road shows, sales missions and travel fairs in China.

"We believe that information about destinations and major features of Nepal through Internet, websites, apps and videos will help in attracting more Chinese tourists. Since we aim to attract 1.5 million tourists during 'Visit Nepal Year 2020', this website will play a crucial role," Adhikari said at a launching ceremony.

The minister further informed that Nepal will increase air connectivity with China by adding flights to some new cities within a few months. He also added that the works are underway in regard to road connectivity between the two countries, which can ease the flow of Chinese tourists via land route.

China has emerged as the number one source market for Nepal's tourism after arrivals of Chinese tourists overtook India during the first quarter of 2018.

According to Nepal's Department of Immigration, Nepal received a total of 36,384 tourists through air during the period from January to March against the arrivals of 34,133 from India.

Chinese tourist arrivals to Nepal have shown 100 percent increase since 2003 with around 7,000 in 2003 to more than a 100,000 in 2017.

Addressing the function, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong said that China attaches great importance to bilateral tourism cooperation and encourages more Chinese tourists to visit Nepal.

She added that the bilateral tourism cooperation will promote people-to-people exchanges and create a harmonious atmosphere for the development of bilateral relations.

On the occasion, Nepal Tourism Board also launched the promotional videos of seven provinces of the country.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 15:51:55|Editor: Xiang Bo

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PHNOM PENH, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Phnom Penh and China's Beijing entered into an agreement on Monday to establish a "sister cities" relationship.

Phnom Penh Governor Khuong Sreng and Qi Jing, member of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC) and head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, inked the agreement at the Capital Hall here under the presence of Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, Khuong Sreng said the agreement will further strengthen the all-round cooperation between Phnom Penh and Beijing.

The governor spoke highly of the excellent relations and cooperation between Cambodia and China, and extended his thanks to the government and people of China for always supporting Cambodia in its socio-economic development.

Qi said the agreement was a historic milestone of the development of relationship between the two cities and it was made in the year that the two countries were celebrating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

"From now on, the relationship between the two cities will reach a new development stage," she said, adding that the agreement would open a new chapter for comprehensive and pragmatic cooperation between the two cities.

Phnom Penh, the capital and largest city of Cambodia, is home to approximately 1.5 million people, and it covers the total land of 678 square kilometers. Beijing is one of the most populous cities in the world, with some 21.7 million residents, and it covers the land area of 16,410 square kilometers.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 16:02:02|Editor: ZD

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Health workers check a body of a victim outside a local hospital in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, May 21, 2018. Five Afghan demining workers were killed and another went missing after they were attacked by gunmen in the country's southern province of Kandahar on Monday, local police said. (Xinhua/Sanaullah Seiam)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Five Afghan demining workers were killed and another went missing after they were attacked by gunmen in the country's southern province of Kandahar on Monday, local police said.

"The incident occurred on Monday morning in Malang Karaiz locality, Maywand district, west of provincial capital Kandahar city. A probe is still on," Zia Durrani, provincial police spokesman, told Xinhua.

The killed were part of a joint team, including demining personnel, which was busy conducting an assessment survey for a gas project, he said.

Durrani blamed the enemies of Afghanistan, a term referring to Taliban insurgents, for the attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 16:17:04|Editor: Liangyu

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JERUSALEM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel security forces arrested five Palestinians in the West Bank overnight Sunday on suspicion of involvement in terror activities and violent disturbances.

During army operation, dozens of protesters set tires alight and threw rocks at security forces, said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a statement on Monday.

The IDF responded with crowd control methods and the suspects were transferred for questioning by security forces, said the statement.

In addition, the Israeli police arrested three suspects involved in Sunday's evening disturbances near the Damascus gate area in Jerusalem.

Stones were thrown at police there at the scene and fire works were fired at officers that were on patrol, said the Israeli police in a statement on Monday.

The three suspects aged 20, 21 and 17 will appear before the courts later Monday.

Regular police operations continue in Jerusalem in order to prevent incidents and disturbances from taking place, added the Israeli police.MOSCOW, May 21 (Xinhua) -The United States continues testing its missile defense systems and producing missiles which are prohibited by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty aimed at limiting strategic weapons, said a Russian military official on Monday.

In an interview with Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper, the head of the National Nuclear Risk Reduction Center Sergei Ryzhkov said that Washington continues producing a series of target missiles.

The missiles' tactical and technical characteristics, especially the flight range, belong to the class of short-range and medium-range missiles, Ryzhkov said.

These missiles, according to the official, are of a general type and can be installed with different warheads as combat ballistic missiles.

The development and testing of such missiles pose a precedent for the circumvention of the INF Treaty, since these missiles are capable of delivering weapons at ranges limited by the treaty, added Ryzhkov.

The INF Treaty was signed in 1987 by the former Soviet Union and the United States to ban the development, deployment and testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 300 miles (483 km) and 3,400 miles (5472 km). 8 Moscow and Washington have repeatedly accused each other of violating the treaty.SEOUL, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday refused to receive a list of South Korean journalists who could witness the dismantlement of its nuclear test site, Seoul's unification ministry said.

Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a press briefing that the South Korean side tried to send the list of journalists who will witness the dismantlement of the DPRK's Punggye-ri nuclear test site via the communications hotline at the border village of Panmunjom.

The DPRK side continued to deny receiving the list, clouding the South Korean journalists' participation in the coverage of the dismantlement scheduled for Wednesday to Friday, the spokesman said.

Pyongyang has not responded to the unification ministry's comments.

On May 12, the DPRK invited journalists from China, Russia, the United States, Britain and South Korea to cover the dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where Pyongyang conducted all of its six nuclear tests.

The DPRK's refusal came after Pyongyang canceled high-level talks with Seoul last week over South Korea-U.S. air combat exercises, codenamed Max Thunder.

The air drills allegedly involve about 100 aircrafts, including the F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets. The radar-evading fighters are mobilized usually for an attack purpose.

South Korea's defense ministry claimed that the air drills are defensive in nature.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 16:47:11|Editor: Xiang Bo

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by Xinhua writer Gao Shan

SALT LAKE CITY, the United States, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Standing with a bright smile in front of a booth at the 11th annual U.S. National Chinese Language Conference at a hotel in Salt Lake City, educational coordinator Brain White warmly greeted attendees.

His visitors were among the 1,300 teachers, administrators and officials from across the United States who attended the conference at the Grand American Hotel.

White represents Educational Partners International (EPI), a company that sponsors exchange programs and facilitates international teacher recruitment, placement, and support. It aims to build up contacts with Chinese language teachers attending the conference, which ended on Saturday.

"There is an increasing demand from U.S. schools to have Chinese language programs, but there's difficulty obtaining teachers that are qualified to teach," said White.

"We work with teachers from all over the world, but we are here today to put an emphasis on the importance for Chinese teachers to come over to the U.S. and learn about our education system," he said, adding that in the meantime his organization aims to "give American students the opportunity to learn more about Chinese language, Chinese culture and inspire them to travel to China."

EPI, he said, is the bridge between American schools and Chinese language teachers, and that they are committed to recruiting the best teachers for American schools.

Chinese language courses are now available in more and more primary and secondary schools across the United States, ranking the fourth most widely taught foreign language in the country's education system, according to the National K-12 Foreign Language Enrollment Survey Report released last year.

The survey shows that as many as 227,086 American students have enrolled in Mandarin courses, trailing those taking Spanish, French and German. Mandarin is China's official language and currently has the largest number of native speakers in the world.

With the rise of Chinese language programs in recent years, a shortage of qualified Mandarin teachers has become a challenge for U.S. school administrators and policymakers who hope to expand their language curricula.

EPI's vigorous efforts to recruit Mandarin teachers is a new initiative the increasing demand for Chinese language teachers in the United States, according to White.

According to White, EPI is a new initiative launched to cope with the aforementioned challenge. Whereas, it was not the only organization in the conference looking to recruit more Mandarin teachers.

Eddie Conger, founder and superintendent of International Leadership of Texas (IL Texas) took part in the event and talked with participants face-to-face.

IL Texas is a public charter school founded in 2013 in the southwestern state of Texas. The number of the students attending IL Texas has increased from 5,000 to a staggering 16,000 in the last five years.

According to Conger, IL Texas is the largest school system in the United States that requires all students, aged 5 to 18, to master not only English, but Spanish and Mandarin as well. The requirement demonstrates an effort to better equip the graduates to adapt to the highly competitive international business landscape of the future.

"Because of our incredible growth in five years, the demand for international teachers is very important," said Conger, adding that they are working with Hanban, the Chinese institution tasked with promoting Chinese language worldwide, to look for opportunities to bring more Chinese teachers to Texas.

There are 93 Mandarin teachers in IL Texas currently, but the school hopes to hire around 20 more in the coming year, according to Xiaoyan Wang, director of the Chinese Language program at IL Texas.

"It doesn't mean you are a qualified Chinese language teacher even you can speak fluent Mandarin. You should be creative in teaching skills and proficient in some other subjects, such as science and math," Wang said.

Echoing Wang's remarks, White said eligible teachers for EPI must currently be teaching full-time and "have two years full-time teaching experience."

In the end, language could be the key in bridging the several gaps that exist among the world's two largest economies.

"It would be a much better world for Chinese and American students to be able to understand each other's language," said Conger, "and understand and respect each other's culture."SUVA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Fijian government said on Monday that it is committed to providing water and sanitation access to all ordinary Fijians no matter where they live.

According to a press release by Fiji's Department of Information on Monday, Fiji's Minister for Waterways Mahendra Reddy said at the 2018 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Summit that Fijians must pull their resources together and address this most important task of ensuring that their people have access to clean water, safe sanitation and good quality of life as stated in their constitution.

Currently, 78 percent of Fiji's population, or 135,498 households, have access to proper water supply, while 25 percent of the population, or 43,281 households, have access to central sewerage systems.

The Fijian government has allocated a budget of 413 million Fijian dollars (about 198 million U.S. dollars) in 2017-2018 for the implementation of WASH projects and programs within the various ministries. This is an increase from 376 million Fijian dollars (about 180 million U.S. dollars) for the period 2016-2017.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 16:57:16|Editor: Liangyu

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CARACAS, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday secured a second six-year term in the election and called on opposition groups to solve the country's political crisis through dialogue.

President of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Tibisay Lucena announced late Sunday that Maduro was reelected by a wide margin, garnering over 5.8 million votes.

Over 8.6 million Venezuelans went to the polls, putting voter turnout at 46.01 percent. Maduro's next closest rival Henri Falcon got around 1.8 million ballots and the third-place candidate Javier Bertucci got 925,042 votes.

The announcement was made when the CNE counted more than 92 percent of ballots.

Voting progressed smoothly throughout the day, said Lucena, adding "there were no regrettable incidents" to mar the electoral process.

However, both Falcon and Bertucci denounced alleged voting irregularities minutes before the CNE issued its first official report.

According to Falcon, 87.6 percent of voting stations were close to so-called "red points," government-organized centers used to mobilize the vote in favor of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), though he provided no proof to back up the claim.

"In addition, we have 91,732 complaints" from Falcon supporters "who were not allowed to access voting stations," the rival candidate said, adding that he would not recognize the official outcome.

However, Bertucci told reporters at a press conference that "if the results are very close, we are going to contest them, if the margin is very wide, we will have to concede."

Minutes after the electoral body issued its announcement, Maduro celebrated the results, saying "it has been a day of a beautiful victory."

He congratulated Venezuelans for their election participation and called on opposition leaders, including former opposition candidates, to take part in constructive dialogue to promote national peace and prosperity.

Maduro was first elected in 2013, pledging to strengthen the Bolivarian Revolution launched by former President Hugo Chavez.

Born on Nov. 23, 1962 in a working-class family in the capital Caracas, Maduro went on to work for seven years as a bus driver for the city's Metrobus transit system. There, he founded the Caracas Metro Union and also served as coordinator of the Bolivarian Workers Force.

It wasn't until an attempted coup on Feb. 4, 1992 by the Chavez-led Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement that Maduro began his political activism alongside Chavez.

Maduro's administration faced turbulence during his first term in office as the right-wing opposition staged violent protests against him and the Western countries imposed economic sanctions on the country.

He has also spearheaded economic reforms to diversify the economy, which has long relied on the revenue generated by oil exports.

During the presidential campaign, Maduro stressed that he would continue strengthening social programs and boosting production to overcome the economic crisis.

Some 150 international observers from 30 countries and international organizations monitored the presidential election in Venezuela, including former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, the online daily Noticias24 said.LONDON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A public inquiry is expected to open Monday ahead of the one year anniversary of the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in London.

The commemoration hearings are expected to last for two weeks. Every bereaved family from the fire will have an opportunity to make a statement to the public inquiry with no time limit on their speeches.

British media said the inquiry will look into 72 deaths caused by the blaze on June 14, 2017 at the 24-story tower.

Dozens are expected to read statements or show videos of their loved ones.

The inquiry, which will take place in central London, will also take evidence from other individuals and organizations, as well as evidence from experts and witnesses.SYDNEY, May 21 (Xinhua) -- More than 2,000 people from all walks of life gathered here Sunday night at the Town Hall of Sydney, capital of Australia's New South Wales state to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Chinese migration to Australia.

Tong Xuejun, deputy consul general of the Chinese Consulate-General in Sydney, lauded the role of overseas Chinese in promoting exchanges between Australia and China.

"Overseas Chinese have become bridges for enhancing understanding and friendship between the two countries," Tong said at the event, adding, "China and Australia have deepened their exchanges in various fields such as economy, culture, science and technology."

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, federal opposition leader Bill Shorten, and premiers and chief ministers of state and territory across Australia also sent congratulatory messages for the event.

In 1818, Mak Sai Ying, or John Shying, arrived in Sydney and became the first known Chinese born settler to Australia.

"For 200 years, Chinese migrants ... have worked with other ethnicities and contributed immensely in building a prosperous, affluent and harmonious Australia," Huang Xiangmo, president of the organizing committee in commemoration of the anniversary, said at the event.

Parliamentary Secretary to the New South Wales Cabinet John Sidoti, representing the state's premier, said the story of Chinese migrants is unique and he was proud that so many Chinese migrants had chosen and continue to choose to settle in the state.

"Chinese migrants and their families both recent and well established are actively involved in every aspect in our society, this contribution is deeply valued."

Sunday's gala was presented in four main segments - Pioneers, Endeavors, Diversity and Working Together - to highlight the history of the Chinese migrants, with guest speakers reflecting on the history of Australian Chinese.

Various ethnic groups including the Aboriginal people also presented performances during the night to highlight Australia's cultural diversity.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 17:47:25|Editor: ZD

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DAMASCUS, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A brief cease-fire was reached on Sunday afternoon in the Islamic State (IS)-controlled pockets south of the capital Damascus for the humanitarian evacuation, state news agency SANA reported Monday.

The cease-fire, which will end at noon on Monday, enabled the evacuation of women, children and elderly people from Hajar al-Aswad area south of Damascus, SANA said.

The Syrian army will continue its military operation against the IS after the cease-fire, it added.

The cease-fire comes at a time when the opposition activists were talking about a secret deal for the evacuation of IS militants and their families from Hajar al-Aswad and the nearby Yarmouk Camp, following a month-long intense military showdown in those areas.

The Syrian army has launched a massive assault on IS-held areas to completely secure Damascus, after dislodging the rebels in another countryside of the capital in recent months.MOGADISHU, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Somali government's humanitarian branches and the UN humanitarian agency have launched an appeal for 80 million U.S. dollars to assist flood victims following heavy rainfall pounding the Horn of Africa nation.

In a joint statement released on Sunday evening, both the Somali and UN relief organizations said the funds will help them provide immediate help for people affected by recent flooding in the country's central and south -- resulting from the heaviest rainfall experienced in more than three decades.

Peter de Clercq, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said the 80 million dollars is a fraction of what humanitarian agencies require to address the existing case load prior to the onset of the flooding.

"Unlike in 2017, when funding came in very early in the year to support the famine prevention, less than 370 million dollars has been recorded to date in 2018," de Clercq said.

The UN official said the appeal falls within a broader appeal made at the start of 2018 for 1.5 billion dollars for the humanitarian needs of more than 5 million people affected by drought and conflict across the country.

The flooding comes against the backdrop of ongoing efforts to address the effects of previous consecutive drought seasons which left at least 5.4 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

The first half of Somalia's Gu rainy season, which started in March, has recorded an unprecedented amount of rainfall, comparable only to heavy rains last witnessed in Somalia in 1981.

The flooding has led to fatalities, massive displacement, and damage to infrastructure and cropland, compounding an already fragile humanitarian situation.

OCHA adds that more than 750,000 people are estimated to have been affected by the flooding and more than 229,000 are displaced."Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 18:02:31|Editor: ZD

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BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan will travel to Russia to attend the 22nd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) and visit Belarus from May 24 to 29, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

During his stay in Russia, Wang will also exchange opinions with Russian leaders on bilateral ties and issues of common concern, spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing.

"This visit will further strengthen high-level exchanges between the two countries, deepen all-round cooperation, and further promote the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination," Lu said.

After attending the forum in Russia, Wang will travel to Belarus, exchange opinions with Belarusian leaders on bilateral ties and visit the China-Belarus industrial park, a special economic zone developed within the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, according to Lu.

Wang's visit to Belarus will further advance bilateral ties, promote all-round cooperation, and create a good atmosphere for meetings between top leaders of the two countries during the upcoming summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 18:02:34|Editor: Liangyu

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HANGZHOU, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou released a guideline on Monday to help boost innovation in the city's bio-medicine industry.

Hangzhou will work to become a leading city in China for research and development in the bio-medicine sector by 2020, with the sector's revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan (around 15.6 billion U.S. dollars), according to the guideline.

It also aims to become a bio-medical innovation city with global influence, said the guideline.

Hangzhou will prioritize developing new bio-technological drugs such as antibody drugs and new vaccines, according to the guideline.

In 2017, the total industrial output value of bio-medicine companies in Hangzhou hit nearly 50.8 billion yuan, up 22.9 percent year on year.

Seven of the 10 top global bio-medical companies have set up offices in the city's economic and technological development area.NEW DELHI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- India's Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Monday directed a multi-disciplinary team from the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) to the southern state of Kerala amid rising number of cases and reported deaths related to the Nipah virus.

So far more than 10 deaths have been reported due to the virus outbreak, while many have been admitted in hospitals.

According to an official in the health ministry, the minister also assured all support to the state government to combat the outbreak.

The team directed to go to Kerala included NCDC Director Dr Sujeet K. Singh, NCDC's head of Epidemiology department Dr S.K. Jain, among others.NAIROBI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's real estate sector is attracting big investments as investors seek to cash in on huge housing deficit, high returns and infrastructural development amid stable political climate environment.

The past months have seen several investors announce projects that include building of houses, student hostels, office blocks and hotels.

Among them is Cool Breeze Development Limited, a Nairobi-based group of investors, which last week unveiled plans to construct five 14-floor blocks in a gated community in Nairobi.

The development would consist of 120 studio apartments, 240 one-bedroom apartments, 148 two-bedroom units and 16 three-bedroom units.

The project, according to the developers, targets middle to high income earners, with the construction set to start soon.

Another developer who has announced plans to invest in Kenya is Consonance Kuramo Special Opportunities Fund I, a subsidiary of New York-based Kuramo Capital, which bought a stake in Century Developments Limited, a Pan-African real estate development.

The deal will see Kuramo invest 200 million U.S. dollars over the next five years on the development of 10,000 purpose-built student housing units and 7,500 affordable houses targeting young people and middle-income families in major towns across the East African nation.

Recently, the United Bank of Africa (UBA) Bank, which operates in 20 African countries including Kenya, announced plans to build affordable housing scheme in Kakamega County, in which it will finance over 1,000 affordable housing units for 3 million dollars in partnership with National Housing Corporation.

And last week, the Federation of Kenya Employers, which represents collective interests of employers in the East African nation, unveiled plans to put up an eight-storey office building in Upperhill.

Outside Nairobi, Homa Bay County Government announced plans to construct a modern industrial park that will cost approximately 1 million dollars and host an Export Processing Zone to boost the manufacturing sector.

"These projects are a step in the right direction towards addressing the high demand for accommodation across Kenyan institutions of higher learning, as well as addressing the housing deficit by construction of affordable housing," said Cytonn, a Nairobi-based investment firm in a brief.

The investments complement government's announcement to build 100,000 housing units across the East African nation under the Big Four Agenda proposed by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

However, the Big Four projects aside, individual investors have also stepped up efforts to construct both residential and commercial buildings.

Data from the Nairobi County Housing Department show that the value of approved building plans stand at an average of 2.5 million dollars a month, up from 2 million dollars last year.

Antony Kuyo, a consultant with Avent Properties attributed the boom to the stable political environment following the unity pact between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his rival in last year's polls Raila Odinga, with developers taking advantage of the environment to launch projects.

Analysts expect real estate investment in the East African nation to pick up in the coming months, with both local and foreign firms investing in the sector.

"We expect to the real estate sector to maintain the expansionary trend due to the high returns from the industry averaging at over 24.3 percent as at December 2017, investment in infrastructure, and continued growth of the hospitality and tourism sectors," said Cytonn.HARARE, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Inspection of the provisional voters' roll for the forthcoming harmonized elections which began Saturday is proceeding smoothly with many people verifying their details with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC).

While some people are checking out their details physically at the inspection centers designated by ZEC, some are opting to do so online.

ZEC is also sending out messages to mobile phone subscribers giving them their registration details and imploring them to visit their designated inspection centers in the event there are errors in the captured data.

The 11-day period ends on May 29.

One Facebook subscriber praised ZEC for a job well done after confirming his details online.

"Today I also came across ZEC voter education officials busy at work at a shopping centre. (I) was impressed. Hope this is a nationwide exercise," he added.

ZEC officers were also visiting churches and explaining the voter inspection process, while others moved from house to house reminding people to go and inspect the rolls.

Zimbabweans will choose a president, legislators and councilors in elections to be held between July 21 and Aug. 21, according to the constitution.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week said that he would proclaim the election date at the end of May.

Zimbabwe holds elections every five years.MANILA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) released on Monday a Filipino government engineer they had kidnapped three months ago, the military said Monday.

Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, the commander of the Joint Task Force Sulu, said the extremists freed Enrico Nee at around 8 a.m. on Monday in Latih, a village in Patikul town in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

Nee was abducted by Abu Sayyaf members in Jolo town on February 14.

"He recalled that he was cornered by seven heavily armed men on board a jeep. He was brought to the mountainous part of Patikul where a bigger ASG formation was waiting," said Sobejana.

Sobejana said Abu Sayyaf militants abandoned Nee due to health problem. The villagers reported Nee's presence to the authorities immediately, he added.

Nee told military that he has been in three armed clashes between the military and the Abu Sayyaf group during the period of his captivity.

"He said the ASG may have released him because he delays their movement due to his health condition and probably the ASG don't want him to die due to sickness under their custody," Sobejana said.

The Abu Sayyaf are still holding nine kidnapees, the military said, including four Filipinos and five foreigners.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 18:52:44|Editor: mmm

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LANZHOU, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists are building a water balance simulator to assist in prevention and control of desertification.

The automatic device was developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Shapotou Desert research and experiment station.

The device has the ability to simulate precipitation and control groundwater. It can simulate the rainfall of climatic zones in north China's sandy areas, track changes of water content in the soil and track the growth of the plants.

North China has about 1.7 million square kilometers of sandy areas, the country's most environmentally fragile regions, head of the Shapotou station Li Xinrong said.

Water content plays an important role in vegetation restoration and growth in sand areas, Li said. Quantitative assessment of water balance helps vegetation growth.

The device will provide theoretical and technical support for the restoration of the ecosystem.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 18:57:45|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The ninth China Satellite Navigation Conference will be held in Harbin in northeast China's Helongjiang Province from May 23 to 25, according to China Satellite Navigation Office on Monday.

Experts from China, the United States, Russia and other countries and regions will exchange ideas on satellite navigation applications and location services among other topics.

The ninth China Satellite Navigation Exhibition will be held during the conference, showcasing BeiDou's basic products including chips, modules, antennae and terminals.

Named after the Chinese term for the Big Dipper, BeiDou aims to rival the U.S. GPS system, Russia's GLONASS and the European Union's Galileo as an alternative global satellite navigation system.

BeiDou will provide navigation and positioning services to many countries along the Belt and Road this year and a global service by 2020.

China Satellite Navigation Academic Conference is one of three major international satellite navigation conferences.JAKARTA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Mount Merapi, the most active volcano in Indonesia, spewed a column of smoke and ash into the air on Monday in the second phreatic eruption this month.

The volcano, located in the borders of Central Java and Yogyakarta province, erupted twice with a column of volcanic material sent up to 1,200 meters high, creating volcanic ash rain in several villages, spokesman of the national disaster management agency Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Monday.

"Climbers are prohibited from getting close to the area around the crater as the ground is vulnerable to slide down," the spokesman told Xinhua in a text message.

Mount Merapi is located about 28 km north of Yogyakarta city which has a population of 2.4 million and thousands of people live on the flanks of the volcano.

On May 11, the volcano witnessed a phreatic eruption, spewing a column of volcanic ash 5,500 meters high, and forcing residents living in the slope to flee homes and the closure of the main airport in Yogyakarta province, the agency said.

A 3 km no-go zone has been declared by the volcanology agency.

Mount Merapi has regularly erupted since 1948. In November 1994, pyroclastic flow from a large explosion killed 27 people, and another large eruption occurred in 2006. Mount Merapi is one of Indonesia's 129 active volcanoes.Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes sits next to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin at his residence in Jerusalem, ahead of the dedication ceremony of the embassy of Paraguay in Jerusalem, May 21, 2018. (Reuters photo)

RAMALLAH, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Member of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Executive Committee Hanan Ashrawi slammed on Monday the Paraguayan embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying this move is "a deliberate and flagrant violation of international law and legitimacy resolutions."

"Taking such a provocative and irresponsible step comes as part of the complicit role of Paraguay, following the steps of the U.S. and Guatemala, to consolidate the Israeli military occupation and annex Jerusalem," Ashrawi said in a statement.

She urged Arab and Islamic states and the non-aligned movement to boycott countries that support Israel and move their embassies to Jerusalem.

The Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry said that Paraguay embassy relocation came in response to "American and Israeli dictations and allures."

The ministry said in an emailed statement that it will closely follow up this issue, strengthen the international rejection of U.S. President Donald Trump's move on Jerusalem and the countries that moved their embassies in Israel to Jerusalem and take legal, political and diplomatic actions against them.

Paraguay is the third country to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after the U.S. and Guatemala. The ceremony on Monday was attended by Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 19:12:48|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities on Monday publicized five typical cases concerning blackmail by fake journalists.

China's National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications launched a campaign against fake news organizations and journalists earlier this year.

A statement issued Monday by the office pointed out that extortion is among the key targets of the campaign, and real journalists who help or work with fake journalists have also been punished.

In one case, eight were arrested in Binzhou City in east China's Shandong Province last month on suspicion of blackmailing several companies and institutions in the name of "interviews."

This group led by a man surnamed Zhang had earned more than 3 million yuan (470,000 U.S. dollars) since 2015.

In another case in Xingtai, Hebei Province, seven fake journalists were arrested for blackmailing companies and government offices by threatening to publish negative reports. In 18 such cases over various provinces since 2010 the group had made a profit of over 200,000 yuan.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 19:12:51|Editor: ZD

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GENEVA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Assembly (WHA) kicked off here Monday and is expected to unveil a plan aiming to benefit three billion people worldwide for the next five years with better health care and well-being.

The plan, titled 13th General Program of Work, will be reviewed and passed Monday to guide the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2019 to 2023.

The plan sets three strategic priorities to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all, namely, to help one billion people benefit from universal health coverage; better protect one billion people from health emergencies; and to ensure that one billion people enjoy better health and well-being.

The 71st annual WHA, from Monday to Saturday, is a gathering of nearly 4,000 delegates from the WHO's 194 member states and partner organizations. The assembly is the WHO's highest decision-making body and set the organization's policy.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 19:22:53|Editor: Liangyu

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CHANGCHUN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Xia Xicheng has put a lot of money into his museum, but to him, the treasures it holds are priceless.

Xia, 68, is the creator and owner of a museum in the city of Hunchun in northeast China's Jilin Province.

With an area of 35,000 square meters and more than 140,000 exhibits, the museum features folk and ethnic culture, Chinese artifacts, revolution-themed items and the history of Hunchun.

Xia collected or bought all the items over the past 50 years.

"When I was young, I applied to join the People's Liberation Army (PLA), but didn't pass the test," said Xia. "I have this fondness for military life, and that's why I love PLA-themed collections."

"The unique culture of Hunchun also mesmerizes me," he said. Xia's museum has numerous artifacts and tools from local ethnic groups, and he has even built several examples of traditional ethnic architecture inside the museum.

Private museums are gaining momentum in China. According to data published by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) in January, China had a total of 4,826 museums at the end of 2016, 1,266 of which were privately owned and operated. Jilin also has 14 private museums.

Private museums can play important roles in exhibiting and preserving cultural heritage and can be a good supplement to public museums, according to Lu Jiansong, head of the department of cultural heritage and museology at Shanghai-based Fudan University.

However, running a private museum is not so easy.

For Xia Xicheng, a successful entrepreneur, money is not a problem. But most of his family and friends discouraged him when he first had the idea to build his own museum.

"They all thought I was crazy," said Xia. "They told me if the hundreds of millions of yuan were invested elsewhere, the profits would be respectable."

But Xia continued with his museum project anyway. Making money is not the point, Xia said. "Now after seeing my museum, they can finally understand me."

In July 2017, the SACH issued a set of guidelines to facilitate the development of private museums, pledging better financial support and favorable tax treatment.

Xia made his own efforts. As a local lawmaker, he has been proposing measures to facilitate the development of the prefecture's tourism and cultural industry.

"Culture is the soul of a city and a country. I hope the development of our cultural industry can help boost our cultural confidence," he said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 19:27:55|Editor: Liangyu

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QINGDAO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- After four years at university in east China's Qingdao, Junusbekova Meruyert from Kazakhstan is to return to her country after graduation, although she likes living in the coastal city very much.

Meruyert, 22, is a native of Almaty, and majors in petroleum engineering at the China University of Petroleum, but she dreams of opening an support center in Kazakhstan to help those who hope to study in China.

She owes her opportunity to study in China to her father, who works in the petroleum sector in Kazakhstan and hopes she will work in the same field.

Before coming to China, Meruyert knew very little about China, and what she did know came through the TV drama "Journey to the West," based on a legend first written down in the 16th century, and describing events that may have taken place a thousand years previously.

She spent a year learning Chinese at Shandong University of Technology in Weifang before moving Qingdao, but it was still difficult at first for her to understand courses such as physics and chemistry.

She worked hard, improved her language skills and passed all her exams. She even took a Chinese name, "Zhenzhu" (Pearl) and has traveled all over China, mostly by high-speed train.

"Qingdao is modern, international and has many historical sites," she said. She likes local seafood very much, which is very cheap compared with Kazakhstan.

"Just beside my campus is the sea. Here the clams are cheap and delicious. I am almost drooling just talking about them, " she said.

Besides traveling, she practices Peking Opera and writes short stories in Russian during her spare time.

In about two months, she will leave Qingdao for Kazakhstan when she completes her thesis.

"I know the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit is to be held in Qingdao in June and feel closer to realizing my own dream," said Meruyert.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 19:53:01|Editor: mmm

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad addresses civil servants at the Prime Minister's Office in Putrajaya, Malaysia, May 21, 2018. Core members of the cabinet led by newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad were sworn in on Monday, as the 92-year-old leader vowed to restore the former glory of the country. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Core members of the cabinet led by newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad were sworn in on Monday, as the 92-year-old leader vowed to restore the former glory of the country.

TV live-broadcast showed that 13 ministers, all from the four component parties in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, were sworn in at the National Palace.

Mahathir has said his government is aiming for a smaller cabinet with 25 ministers in total.

Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, president of the People's Justice Party, became the country's first female deputy prime minister. She will also serve as minister of women and family development.

Mahathir backtracked on his earlier plan to take over the education minister, and appointed Maszlee Malik from his Malaysian United Indigenous Party to the post.

Lim Guan Eng, former chief minister of the northern Penang state, was appointed finance minister. Muhyiddin Yassin, president of Malaysian United Indigenous Party and a former deputy prime minister, was sworn in as home minister while Mohamad Sabu was sworn in as defense minister.

Mohamed Azmin bin Ali, also chief minister of the wealthy Selangor state, became minister of economic affairs. It is reported that he will only relinquish his post in the state after a proper replacement is found.

Anthony Loke Siew Fook from the Democratic Action Party (DAP) was sworn in as the minister of transport, while Gobind Singh Deo, another DAP veteran, was sworn in as minister of communications and multimedia.

When addressing civil servants for the first time at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday morning, Mahathir said he wanted to restore the country's past glory.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 19:53:02|Editor: Xiang Bo

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DAMASCUS, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army on Monday fully wrested control over the Hajar al-Aswad area, a key Islamic State (IS) stronghold south of the capital Damascus, according to the state TV.

The recapture of Hajar al-Aswad follows a month-long offensive by the army to recapture some areas under IS control.

Earlier in the day, the Syrian state TV said a brief cease-fire went into force on Sunday afternoon until Monday noon for the evacuation of humanitarian cases from Hajar al-Aswad before the military operation continued in that area.

The state TV aired footages of the largely-devastated Hajar al-Aswad with Syrian soldiers firing celebratory gunshots while chanting for the Syrian army.

The battle in Hajar al-Aswad was complicated as that area is jam-packed with buildings that are so close to each other, making a ground offensive extremely difficult.

The Syrian warplanes have carried out intense airstrikes on Hajar al-Aswad and the nearby Yarmouk Camp over the past month.

While Hajar al-Aswad is completely liberated, the report spelled no details about the situation in Yarmouk Camp.

The Syrian army has launched a massive assault on IS-held areas to completely secure Damascus, after dislodging the rebels in another countryside of the capital in recent months.MAIMANA, Afghanistan, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have repulsed Taliban attempts to overrun Khawja Sabzposh district in the northern Faryab province, police said Monday.

"A group of Taliban militants launched multi-pronged attacks on security checkpoints in Khawja Sabzposh district late Sunday night, triggering heavy battle which lasted until 4:00 a.m. local time Monday and the militants after suffering casualties fled away," provincial police spokesman Abdul Karim Yurush told Xinhua.

According to the official, six attacking militants were killed and over two dozen others injured during the fire exchange that lasted for five hours.

On the other hand, Taliban purported spokesman Zabihullah Majahid, in contact with media outlets, has confirmed the conflict and said the militant group has also inflicted casualties to government forces, besides capturing two security checkpoints.

Afghan militancy and counter-militancy have increased since the launch of Taliban's annual offensive on April 25.JAKARTA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of 12 people were killed and scores of others injured after a truck crashed into houses, shops, and vehicles in Central Java province of Indonesia, a police officer said on Monday.

The truck allegedly suffering from brake failure swerved to avoid collision and crashed into six houses, one shop, 19 motorcycles and two cars in Jatisawit village of Brebes district, senior police officer at directorate of traffic management in the province Bakharuddin said.

The truck loaded with sugar was on its way from Purwerejo to Jakarta city, according to the police.

All the injured have been rushed to hospital, the officer was quoted by local media as saying.KIEV, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were injured after a tourist minibus overturned in a mountainous area in western Ukraine on Sunday, the National Police said in a statement Monday.

According to the statement, the accident happened on the international highway linking the Ukrainian capital Kiev and the city of Chop on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border.

The driver of the minibus lost control of his vehicle, which swerved out of its lane and flipped onto its roof.

Nine passengers on the bus were hospitalized with bruises, fractures and lacerate wounds, the statement said.

According to some preliminary information, all those injured were Ukrainian nationals.

The police has launched an investigation into the accident.

In the first quarter of 2018, some 500 were killed and 5,500 others injured in about 35,000 road accidents in the country. Speeding and violation of road safety rules were the main causes of those accidents.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 20:18:09|Editor: Yurou

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Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming receives an interview with Xinhua in Windhoek, capital city of Namibia, on May 14, 2018. Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming has called for building a community of common destiny between Namibia and China by jointly promoting the Belt and Road Initiative. (Xinhua/Lyu Tianran)

WINDHOEK, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhang Yiming has called for building a community of common destiny between Namibia and China by jointly promoting the Belt and Road Initiative.

Cooperation between Namibia and China has huge potential, especially in mining, agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing and tourism, Zhang told Xinhua in a recent interview.

The diplomat hailed Namibia's social and political stability and rich natural resources, saying it has exceptional advantages for joining the Belt and Road Initiative.

The initiative, proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013,comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and is aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.

Highlighting the friendship between Namibia and China, Zhang said the pragmatic cooperation "has driven into a fast lane" since the two countries elevated the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in March when Namibian President Hage Geingob visited China.

Chinese investments in Namibia have reached almost six billion U.S. dollars and China is actively engaged in the country's infrastructure and human resources development, according to Zhang.

He said that China will promote the docking of the two countries' policies and development plans, and support Namibia's industrialization and agricultural modernization, as well as help it reduce poverty and unemployment.THE HAGUE, May 21 (Xinhua) -- More than 100 people suspected of shoplifting, pickpocketing or illegal possession of weapons were arrested during last week's actions against itinerant criminals, the Dutch police announced on Monday.

The arrests were made during house searches and other checks. For example, four were arrested in The Hague who would sell stolen baby milk powder. In Hoofddorp five shoplifters were caught red-handed and several pickpockets were caught at Amsterdam Central Station.

In the vicinity of Venlo, close to the German border, a Romanian who carried 600 kilos of raw materials for synthetic drugs was arrested. On the highway police control led to arrests of people illegally possessing weapons.

According to the police, the itinerant criminals often come from countries such as Poland, Albania and Bulgaria. They often work in well-organized gangs, travel around and exchange identity and license plates to stay out of sight of the police.

For these actions against itinerant criminals, the Dutch police received assistance from the tax authorities, the immigration and naturalization service, as well as German and Belgian colleagues.

Similar actions were launched last year in May and October, with about 60 people arrested each time.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 20:53:17|Editor: Liangyu

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LONDON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Almost 8,200 km separate, Changchun in northeast China's Jilin Province and the English city of Sheffield, both described as "rust belt" areas, brought together by close collaboration between their universities.

And that closeness has helped create a home from home atmosphere for thousands of Chinese students heading to a city sitting in the foothills of the Pennines, the mountain chain known as the backbone of England.

So close is the relationship that in one university department more than a third of its students are Chinese, with one-in-10 across all faculties hailing from China.

Sheffield emerged as Britain's "Steel City" in the industrial revolution of the 19th century, but as the coal mines shut and the smelting mills fell silent, the city decided it would not just turn to rust, building instead a booming 21st century economy.

Away from the world renowned universities of Oxford, Cambridge and London, Sheffield has been winning a big slice of the action in attracting growing numbers of students from China.

CLOSE COLLABORATIOBN

This year marks the 110th anniversary of the first Chinese student to graduate from the University of Sheffield and more than a century later the one-time Steel City remains a magnate for Chinese students, attracted by a university and a city that welcomes them to their "family".

Sir Keith Burnett, vice chancellor of the University of Sheffield, who speaks Mandarin and counts Chinese culture as one of his top interests, describes one of the big tasks of the university's innovative Grantham Institute for Sustainable Futures, working in Jilin on an ambitious climate change research project.

"One of the most difficult things that's happening in China in climate change is the loss of soil, desertification," he said. "We went on a train trip from Beijing to Jilin and the thing that stuck out really is large sections of the north have actually lost an enormous amount of their soil quality, lots of devastation of farms due to a combination of climate change and other things."

"We're working with the Chinese government, particularly with one of the agencies that trains farmers and gives its community information," he added.

And back in Sheffield, the university is closely involved in an Advanced Manufacturing Park that has risen from what was once the infamous Orgreave Coking Plant. Now Orgreave is a fully integrated Industrial Research site, said Burnett, with 600 researcher doing PhDs.

"It has the national nuclear laboratory which has signed up with the Chinese nuclear power corporation," he added, "this is a university with university students doing PhDs but it's also a fully licensed nuclear manufacturing capability."

CHINESE APPROACH HAILED

Burnett's interest and knowledge in China is paying dividends for Sheffield and its university.

He said: "I have a sort of persistent theme which is that often Western people who've done a little bit of looking at China do not understand the scale of Chinese transformation. So they don't understand the scope and scale of how China has changed, and will change."

Burnett said one can see China's hope is that its people will join in with its development of a cleaner world that can feed itself.

"That's the goal, because you've got a situation in China where you want to have cleaner air, clean rivers, you want to have very environmental protection, but you want to share those with other areas in the world."

Citing the enormous investment in electric cars, Burnett agrees China will most likely be the dominant producer of electric cars in the future and maybe it will it be the domain producer of nuclear power.

"The hopes are actually to build the world based on environmentally-clean, high-technology that people can share it, particularly in areas of Africa. This is the new way to do it. China is going to go into all areas in the modern world."

Burnett said such long-term infrastructure investments could never be done in a Western economy because they don't deliver fast enough. In China, he added, what you've got is the sort of cooperation which magnificently trains its executives and the people who run it, and takes a long-term view as well.

"China is doing it with a very pragmatic corporate approach to it, with the people within it, strategic plans, incentive schemes. It's like a great big, very effective Western corporation, but with the purpose not just to make it a shareholders thing, but to make the people, China prosperous."

"It's got a whole spectrum of possibilities, and that's something that we have lost," he added.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 21:13:22|Editor: ZD

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TEHRAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday denied the allegations that it helps a Taliban push in an Afghan province bordering Iran, state TV reported.

The claim is instigated by the U.S. commanders who try to divert public opinion from the real cause of the flare-up in violence, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying.

"The Taliban's attack on Afghan cities and their recapture by government forces is not a new thing and is not related to good relations between the two neighboring countries," Qasemi said.

"U.S. commanders who have been unable to establish security in Afghanistan after years of massive military presence and shedding the blood of thousands of innocent people are trying to deflect the public opinion of Afghanistan from the real reasons behind the perpetuation of the war by accusing the Islamic Republic of supporting the Taliban," he said.

For four decades, Iran has been standing by the government of Afghanistan to defend their sovereignty and independence, he added.

Fighting has continued in Farah province on the border with Iran where the insurgents came close to overrunning the provincial capital, prompting its police chief to echo U.S. claims that Iran was supporting the Taliban.In this file photo taken on January 21, 2013 Afghan commandos walk down a road near the Kabul police headquarters building after a clash between Afghanistan forces and Taliban fighters in Kabul. (AFP photo)

TEHRAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday denied the allegations that it helps a Taliban push in an Afghan province bordering Iran, state TV reported.

The claim is instigated by the U.S. commanders who try to divert public opinion from the real cause of the flare-up in violence, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying.

"The Taliban's attack on Afghan cities and their recapture by government forces is not a new thing and is not related to good relations between the two neighboring countries," Qasemi said.

"U.S. commanders who have been unable to establish security in Afghanistan after years of massive military presence and shedding the blood of thousands of innocent people are trying to deflect the public opinion of Afghanistan from the real reasons behind the perpetuation of the war by accusing the Islamic Republic of supporting the Taliban," he said.

For four decades, Iran has been standing by the government of Afghanistan to defend their sovereignty and independence, he added.

Fighting has continued in Farah province on the border with Iran where the insurgents came close to overrunning the provincial capital, prompting its police chief to echo U.S. claims that Iran was supporting the Taliban.STOCKHOLM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- While the Swedish Armed Forces' operations have halved in size over the past three decades, on Monday the military bucked the trend by reopening the P18 regiment on the Baltic island of Gotland, Swedish television reported.

In a speech on Monday, the supreme commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, Micael Byden, said that Gotland has been a strategically important location for Sweden for centuries and that it remains so today.

"From the point of view of security policy, we live in a time of unpredictability and swift turns of events, including in our neighboring region," Byden said. "In order to respond to every threat and every challenge, we must be present where our capabilities are needed. Gotland is included in that. Keep the banner high," Byden said.

Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf was also present at the ceremony for the re-opening of the Gotland regiment, which will include around 350 people. However, not all of them will be stationed permanently on the island. Around 150 are employed full time and the rest are temporary employees or enrolled in military service.

The base for the Gotland regiment is expected to be completed by 2020 to the cost of around 780 million SEK (89.5 million U.S. dollars).

In 2015, the Swedish government and parliament decided to introduce a permanent military presence on Gotland due to alleged worsening security situation. The Sweden also recently signed a trilateral deal with Finland and the United States, which will bring a larger American military presence to the Nordics. (1 U.S. dollar=8.71 SEK)Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 21:28:28|Editor: ZD

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Displaced residents rest inside their tent at an evacuation center in Marawi City, the Philippines, May 21, 2018. Rehabilitation efforts for the war-torn Marawi City will be in full swing starting on June 2018, according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)

MARAWI, the Philippines, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The rehabilitation work in the former battle area in the war-torn Marawi city will start in June and will be completed by 2021, a Philippines official said on Monday.

Felix Castro, the assistant secretary of Urban Development Coordinating Council and the manager of the Task Force Bangon Marawi Field Office, told Xinhua that the rehabilitation of the Marawi city in the southern Philippines, which will be divided to two phases, will start in June.

"The first phase is debris clearing, which will take around six months to 12 months. After that horizontal infrastructures will be laid, certain roads will be widened. We will improve the tunnel because we will no longer have hanging electric lines. Electric lines will be all underground. So, that will take around 12 months to 18 months," Castro said.

That means the rehabilitation work will be finished by 2021.

Extremists and terrorists attacked Marawi City in May last year, triggering a five-month heavy fighting that ruined a big part of the city. At least 1,200 people were killed in the war and thousands of its residents were also displaced.

However, the Philippines is still looking for a developer who will conduct the debris clearing in the city's central business district which the military calls the "most affected area," said Castro.

Aside from roads, the government is also looking at building various public infrastructures.

The Philippine authorities said in April that a consortium of Chinese and Filipino firms will build the new Marawi.

Castro said the government is in the final stage of negotiations with the Chinese-led consortium.

"Negotiations are still ongoing," Castro said, adding that the final plan has yet to be finalized.

Castro said the Philippines is looking forward to the Chinese experts who will help rebuild Marawi.

"We will continue to welcome the help of the Chinese considering the fact that we know that these companies are professional in their own fields and they will do a good job once they start working in Marawi," Castro added.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 21:33:29|Editor: Liangyu

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Chinese Vice Premier Liu He meets with Governor of Alaska Bill Walker, Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico John Sanchez and some attendees at the fourth China-U.S. governors' forum in Beijing, capital of China, May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The consensuses reached during economic and trade consultations between China and the United States meet the interests of the people of the two countries and whole world, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said on Monday.

Liu, just returned from the United states, referred to the talks as "positive, pragmatic, and productive" with some important consensuses reached.

The vice premier made the remarks while meeting some attendees at the fourth China-U.S. governors' forum.

Liu expressed hope that the two sides would take the forum as an opportunity to further advance all-round pragmatic cooperation at the local level and promote stable and sound development of bilateral ties.

Bill Walker, governor of Alaska and John Sanchez, lieutenant governor of New Mexico, were among attendees at the forum. They told Liu that the whole world is celebrating for the consensuses reached between China and the United States on economic and trade issues.

They pledged to further strengthen cooperation with China in such areas as trade, investment, green development and people-to-people exchanges at the local level, so as to make positive contribution to bilateral ties.

Also Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that China expects no further reversals in trade and economic ties with the United States.

"If the governments of the two countries reach a good agreement and results that are acceptable to both, they should stick to the agreement. Of course, we do not want to see any reversal," said Lu.

Based on the experiences of the past four decades, the fundamental reason why both nations have been able to manage disputes has been that the relationship is in the best interest of both countries and their people, he added.

"We hope that the China-U.S. trade and economic relations, which are mutually beneficial and win-win in nature, will play a more effective role," said the spokesperson.JOHANNESBURG, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) on Monday raised concern on the rise in cash-in-transit (CIT) heists in the country.

This comes after many attacks on CIT vehicles in various parts of the country. Last Friday two CIT vehicles were attacked at the same time in Johannesburg.

Kalyani Pillay, CEO of SABRIC, said they are collaborating in threat surveillance, risk detection and tactical support with relevant authorities to stop the attacks.

"As an organization whose members comprise CIT companies, SABRIC is gravely concerned and alarmed about the crisis proportions CIT attacks have reached. This negatively impacts on the country and economy, investor confidence, our member banks and CIT companies, the public and society," said Pillay.

Pillay called on government and law enforcement authorities to put special interventions in place to end the current scourge of violent CIT attacks.

SABRIC wants CIT attacks to be treated as a priority crime.

Pillay said there should be CIT provincial investigations teams and ensure that such cases are systematically compiled and prosecuted.

South Africa's parliamentary portfolio committee on police will hold a special meeting on CIT heists on June 13.

Pillay said this would give legislators an opportunity to implement some operations and legislative interventions to stop CIT heists.

He expressed hope that the special session will improve coordination amongst role players in preventing and combating CIT heists.BAKU, May 21 (Xinhua) -- At least two people were killed and two others injured after an explosion hit a cafe in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku on Monday, Russian news agencies reported.

The cafe is located near Elite shopping center and the injured have been hospitalized for severe burns, said Safia Akhmedova, spokeswoman for the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health.

Both the deceased are workers at the cafe.

According to local media reports, the explosion was possibly caused by a gas leak.PHNOM PENH, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's National Election Committee (NEC) on Monday released the code of conduct for national and international observers in the forthcoming national election.

"The code of conduct of electoral observers aims to set out important measures for non-governmental organizations, associations, and electoral observers to fulfill their duties in a neutral and impartial position," according to a NEC's statement.

The statement said electoral observations should be conducted with integrity and transparency, and electoral observers should perform their tasks without any interference.

It said the observers should not interfere in internal affairs of Cambodia, and should not talk with voter registration applicants or voters in term of supporting or opposing any political party or candidate.

Also, the observers should not conduct any survey for any political party or candidate, and should not provide a written statement or interview to media in the form of supporting any political party or candidate.

The code of conduct also banned observers from disturbing the process of voter registration, voting and ballot counting.

Under the Law on the Election of Members of the National Assembly, the violator will be fined between 2,500 U.S. dollars and 5,000 U.S. dollars by the NEC, the statement said.

According to the statement, after the election process is completed, the electoral observers should submit a written report on their observation and conclusion on election process to the NEC.

The Southeast Asian nation is scheduled to hold a national election for the 125-seat parliament on July 29, 2018 and some 8.3 million Cambodians are eligible to cast their ballots.

As of Monday, the NEC had officially recognized 16 out of the 20 political parties that registered to contest in the election, according to another NEC statement.

The statement said that the NEC gave another five days (till Saturday) to the remaining four political parties to make adjustments and add some more requirements.

Among the recognized political parties are the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) of Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, the royalist Funcinpec Party of Prince Norodom Ranariddh, and the Grassroots Democracy Party.

The three-week electoral campaign will start from July 7 to 27.

Hun Sen on Monday called on the authorities to freely allow political party leaders to meet their activists or supporters at different places across the kingdom.

"It will not be a free contest if we prevent the leaders of political parties from visiting various places to meet their members or supporters," the prime minister said during a groundbreaking ceremony for a road construction in Kampong Chhnang province.

Meanwhile, Hun Sen also appealed to the people to vote for the CPP, saying that only the CPP could maintain the country's hard-earned peace and development.by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The killing of 65 people by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since last week has thrust Turkey and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the forefront of the Islamic world against the Jewish state, as he vows to defend the Palestinian struggle ahead of the crucial general elections, analysts say.

"There is a vacuum among Arab nations regarding the Palestinian issue and Turkey is filling it while sectarian strife is on the rise between Sunni and Shiite Muslims," Oytun Orhan, an expert at the Ankara-based think tank Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies (ORSAM), told Xinhua.

In Turkey, the Palestinian issue is traditionally supported by conservative electors, Orhan added.

Turkey has so far been the most outspoken Islamic country in denouncing the massacre of Palestinian protesters against U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial decision to move embassy in Israel to the holy city of Jerusalem.

One month ahead of the June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections that would give Erdogan, if re-elected, extensive executive powers and remodel Turkey's parliamentary tradition, he launched a vehement attack against Israel's mass killing of Palestinians, branding it as a "massacre," "barbaric deed" or "genocide."

On Friday, the clear favorite of the presidential race convened an emergency summit of the 57-member Organization for Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul, while joining a mass political rally in the Turkish largest city, to protest the Palestinian deaths in Gaza.

Both Turkey and Israel have recalled their ambassadors, while Turkey's largely government dominated press has been condemning the Israeli government in the harshest terms for days.

"These crimes of Israel are being committed with the support of the U.S.," said Erdogan, who also called back Turkish ambassador in Washington, and suggested sending an international peace force to Palestine.

The Turkish strongman, who has accused Arab countries of not doing enough for the Palestinian cause, appears determined to spearhead the international campaign against Israel amid a war of words on Twitter with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"The Islamic world has unfortunately failed in the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) issue. But Turkey will continue to defend Palestine in the international sphere until the end," Erdogan told a massive crowd on Friday.

For all his sincerity in defending the Palestinians, Erdogan also understands that religious feelings could be a game changer in the upcoming polls, especially among the largely conservative electorate.

Surveys show religious and patriotic themes tend to win votes, as Turkey's electorate regularly favors nationalist or conservative parties.

"President Erdogan is very popular in the Arab streets. Since coming to power 15 years ago, he has always defended the Palestinian cause, making it one of his missions, as he knows that this cause is deeply rooted in the mind of the faithful Turks," Orhan explained.

Other analysts said Erdogan has been building his country as a soft power by expanding influence in an area that Turks had governed for centuries under the Ottoman Empire.

"Erdogan has made his mark on a divided Islamic world and made a real difference with strength and sincerity by defending the cause of the oppressed Palestinians," Veysel Ayhan, an international relations professor on the Middle East, told Xinhua.

But Muharrem Ince, presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said Erdogan was more concerned with boosting his own profile than those of Palestinians.

"Your concern is not Palestine. People are struggling to survive in these economic conditions, while your concern are the elections," Ince said in a public rally in western Turkey.

It is also worth mentioning that Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, which holds the majority in parliament, dismissed last week a motion by a opposition party to cancel economic and political agreements with Israel.

Despite deep differences, Turkey, a NATO member, and Israel have normalized their relation in recent years after a meltdown of diplomatic ties in 2010, when a Turkish-led flotilla sent to break Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip ended in a clash with Israeli forces, leading to the death of 10 Turkish citizens.

The two countries have signed cooperation agreements worth multi-million U.S. dollars, including the construction of a gas pipeline in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Moreover, Orhan said Erdogan's active role in the Palestinian issue will also be secretly disapproved by some key Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, which enjoy a newly found relationship with Israel behind the scene.

"These countries are not happy with the fact that Turkey plays a role in the Palestinian issue as they are losing their energy in sectarian tensions and regional rivalries and hostilities," the Turkish expert pointed out.STOCKHOLM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Swedish state plans to send out a brochure to all Swedish households titled If Crisis or War Comes, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) announced on Monday.

The aim of the brochure, which will be sent out to 4.8 million homes next week, is to help Swedes become better prepared for everything from serious accidents and extreme weather to IT attacks and military conflicts.

"We could face societal risks and so we need to be prepared to cope on our own for a few days before social services become available to assist us," Dan Eliasson, director-general of MSB, told Swedish television on Monday.

The government tasked MSB with compiling the brochure, which is written in simple Swedish and is also available in a total of 13 languages. It contains tips for how to ensure you can access water, food and heating in case of a crisis, and it lists tips for how to communicate with one's surroundings in emergency situations.

This is the fifth time that a brochure of this kind has been produced in Sweden. Brochures were also distributed in 1943, 1952 and 1961. One was also produced in 1987 but it was never distributed to Swedish households. The information contained in the brochure could also be found in the national telephone catalogues until they were cancelled in 2016.

"Society becomes more and more vulnerable," said Eliasson. "The more dependent we become on electricity and the internet, the more serious the consequences will be in case of problems with electricity or internet provision," he added.

However, Eliasson also said that there is no reason to panic when receiving the brochure. "You definitely should not become scared. You should see it as an expression of society's concern for you as a person living in Sweden. Think beforehand so that, in case something happens, you have food and water at home," Eliasson said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 22:08:42|Editor: Xiang Bo

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JERUSALEM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Paraguay opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem Monday, becoming the third country to do so following the United States and Guatemala.

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes, who arrived in Israel Sunday evening, opened the embassy along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Malha Technological Park, the same building in which Guatemala opened its embassy in Jerusalem last week.

On May 14, the United Stated opened its embassy in what Israel claims to be the capital of the Jewish country --Jerusalem. Wide-spread protests broke out in West Bank cities and Gaza. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 60 were killed and over 3,000 wounded due to clashes with the Israeli Defense Forces.

Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War, along with the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It later annexed East Jerusalem and declared it as part of its "eternal and indivisible capital," in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Palestinians, who make up more than one third of the city's overall population, consider East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The peace talks between Palestine and Israel have been stalled since April 2014. The U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) shakes hands with Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes during their meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem on May 21, 2018. (AFP photo)

JERUSALEM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Paraguay opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem Monday, becoming the third country to do so following the United States and Guatemala.

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes, who arrived in Israel Sunday evening, opened the embassy along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Malha Technological Park, the same building in which Guatemala opened its embassy in Jerusalem last week.

On May 14, the United Stated opened its embassy in what Israel claims to be the capital of the Jewish country --Jerusalem. Wide-spread protests broke out in West Bank cities and Gaza. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 60 were killed and over 3,000 wounded due to clashes with the Israeli Defense Forces.

Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War, along with the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It later annexed East Jerusalem and declared it as part of its "eternal and indivisible capital," in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Palestinians, who make up more than one third of the city's overall population, consider East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The peace talks between Palestine and Israel have been stalled since April 2014. The U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results.WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday here that Iran will suffer the toughest sanctions in history from the United States if it does not change the current course.

In a speech at the Heritage Foundation unveiling "a new Iran strategy" of the United States, Pompeo urged Tehran to report to the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuke program, end proliferation of its missiles, and stop supporting "terrorist groups" in the Middle East.

Outlining the bid to establish an international coalition to pressure Iran, Pompeo said the United States will send teams around the globe to explain the U.S. motives and build momentum.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 22:18:44|Editor: ZD

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AMMAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Jordan on Monday slammed Paraguay for relocating its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the state-run Petra news agency reported on Monday.

Jordan's Minster of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said the opening of the embassy of Paraguay in Jerusalem is a violation of the UN charters and the international legitimacy resolutions.

The minister stressed Jordan's fixed stance that rejects the relocation of any embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, saying that such measure is condemned and rejected by the majority of the world countries.

He said that such measures will only fuel violence and extremism in the region and affect global stability, and encourage Israel to keep on violating the international laws and UN resolutions.

Momani called for launching serious and effective peace talks to resolve the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution.

Paraguay is the third country to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem after the United States and Guatemala.

The opening ceremony of the Paraguay embassy on Monday was attended by Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.RABAT, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of 51,500 ecstasy pills were seized Sunday night at Morocco's Mediterranean Tangier-Med Port, the Moroccan police said in a statement on Monday.

The drug was concealed in a truck heading to Morocco, the statement said, adding that the vehicle's two drivers were arrested.

An investigation is underway for ramifications and links of this drug-trafficking attempt, it said.

Morocco has foiled many cases of trafficking psychotropic tablets.

According to official statistics, Moroccan security services seized some 2.87 million of psychotropic tablets between May 2015 and May 2018.WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush has returned to his family compound in the state of Maine for the coming summer, according to his spokesman.

Bush, 93, arrived at the family's summer vacation home in Kennebunkport Sunday evening, where well-wishers greeted his motorcade at the town's Dock Square, according to tweets by his spokesman Jim McGrath.

Friends of the nation's 41st president said that he had been eager to get to Maine after his wife, Barbara, died last month.

The elder Bush, who was president from 1989 to 1993, was recently hospitalized for two weeks with a blood infection after Barbara's funeral.

Bush has spent part of every summer in Kennebunkport since childhood except during the World War II, when he served as a naval aviator.WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday here that Iran will suffer the toughest sanctions in history from the United States if it does not change the current course.

In a speech at the Heritage Foundation unveiling "a new Iran strategy" of the United States, Pompeo urged Tehran to report to the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuke program, end proliferation of its missiles, and stop supporting "terrorist groups" in the Middle East.

Outlining the bid to establish an international coalition to pressure Iran, Pompeo said the United States wants a better deal to address its concerns on Iran, and will send teams around the globe to explain the U.S. motives and build global momentum.

The speech came after the Trump administration withdrew from the historic Iran nuke deal earlier this month, which sparked wide international outrage.

U.S. allies in Europe, which have many economic links with Tehran, have been particularly frustrated.

After the exit announcement of U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said that China regrets the U.S. decision.KIEV, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Monday that the situation in the conflict-hit eastern Ukraine has significantly escalated in the past week.

"Last week was in many ways the worst we have seen so far this year. In total, we recorded almost 7,700 cease-fire violations," Alexander Hug, deputy chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, told reporters in Kiev.

The violence, which included the use of the heavy artillery, has resulted in civilian casualties, Hug said, noting that the OSCE monitors have confirmed two deaths and three injuries among the non-combatants last week.

The mission's observers are currently verifying the reports of four fatalities and six injuries, Hug said.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine has started in April 2014 after the government army launched offensives to regain control over the cities and towns seized by armed groups, who declared independence.

According to the latest United Nations estimates, over 2,500 civilians were killed, and about 9,000 others injured since the start of the violence.

In the past two years, the number of conflict-related civilian casualties has significantly decreased.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 22:43:50|Editor: yan

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ISTANBUL, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A Turkish court on Monday sentenced 104 people to aggravated life imprisonment each over their involvement in a coup bid in 2016, local media reported.

The court in the western province of Izmir handed down its final verdict on some 137 out of 280 defendants who are facing charges including violation of the constitution, the Haberturk daily said.

Of the 104 jailed for life, 21 are given 20 years more in prison for "attempting to kill the president" during the failed coup in July 2016, in which 250 people were killed, the daily said.

The court will announce its verdict on the other defendants in the following days, noted the daily.

Turkey blames the putsch on a network led by Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in the United States.NAIROBI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of piracy incidents doubled off the coast of East Africa in 2017 compared to 2016, an international maritime body said in its latest report released on Monday.

This indicates that Somali criminal networks are still capable of sophisticated attacks, according to the report by One Earth Future (OEF)'s Oceans Beyond Piracy program.

The report calls for new approach to combat maritime threats as the total number of piracy/armed robbery attacks against foreign vessels increased to 54 in 2017 compared to 27 in 2016.

"Pirate activity in 2017 clearly demonstrates that pirate groups retain their ability to organize and implement attacks against ships transiting the region," said Maisie Pigeon, the report's lead author.

The organization said the total cost of Somali piracy remains within the historical norm of the past three years, noting that there was a 13 percent decrease in the use of privately contracted armed security personnel between January 2015 and December 2017.

The study says crew members of the FV Siraj still remain in captivity after three years of hijack, noting that a total of 1,102 seafarers were affected by piracy and armed robbery in the Western Indian Ocean region in 2017.

"Additional threats complicate the maritime security picture in the Western Indian Ocean region, including spillover into the maritime space from the political conflict in Yemen," says the report.

According to maritime experts, Somali pirates tend to be well armed with automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade (RPG) and sometimes use skiffs launched from mother vessels, which may be hijacked fishing vessels or dhows, to conduct attacks far from the Somali coast.

The experts said lack of economic opportunities and the prevalence of illegal fishing are pushing more Somalis to turn to piracy - partly as a form of protest and partly because they see no other options.

"There are now a wide range of threats to shipping near the Horn of Africa that have been complicated by the conflict and instability in Yemen," said Phil Belcher, Marine Director of Intertanko.

"We are advising our members to consider a more comprehensive security assessment to take into account other threats beyond traditional piracy emanating from the regional conflict in Yemen," Belcher said.

The report analyzes the human and economic impacts of maritime piracy and robbery at sea in the Western Indian Ocean Region, the Gulf of Guinea, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.MOSCOW, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian President Rumen Radev on Monday asked Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to consider the possibility of direct gas supplies to Europe through the Black Sea.

"Russia has always been a strategic partner in the energy sector as a supplier of natural gas, oil, and nuclear fuel," Radev said when he met Medvedev in Moscow, according to an official transcript of the meeting.

"The security of energy supplies is a very important issue for Bulgaria and the European Union," he said.

Russia currently pumps its natural gas to Europe mainly through Ukraine and Belarus and it attempts to diversify the routes.

During the talks, Medvedev stressed the need for Russia and Bulgaria to intensify trade and economic activities since bilateral trade declined in recent years.

This was Radev's first trip to Russia as Bulgarian president.

Radev will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday at the Black Sea resort of Sochi.ADDIS ABABA, May 21. (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Monday 1,085 Ethiopians imprisoned in Saudi Arabia have returned home over the last three days.

In a press statement sent to Xinhua, the Office of the Spokesperson of MoFA, said the release of the Ethiopians came after the visit of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week.

"MoFA is working with the International Organization for Migration to rehabilitate the returnees and assist in their return to their home areas," said the statement from MoFA.

Ahmed had paid a two-day official state visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday and Friday, during which he held discussion with Saudi Arabia's Crown Price Mohammed bin Salman on ways to boost Ethio-Saudi ties and the fate of Ethiopians detained in Saudi jails.

It is estimated every year thousands of Ethiopians travel across the Red Sea to Saudi Arabia looking for better economic opportunities, often employed in the informal sector without having valid residency permits.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 22:53:54|Editor: yan

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BAGHDAD, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) Monday said it has cancelled the ballots of 103 polling stations in five provinces after checking complaints over irregularities in May 12 parliamentary elections.

A statement by IHEC said it had labelled 33 complaints as "red" (serious complaints that affect results of polls), and after checking, the commission decided to abolish votes in 103 polling stations in the provinces of Anbar, Nineveh, Salahudin, Baghdad and Erbil.

The commission's statement did not clarify whether the decision included all the 33 complaints or part of them.

Early on Saturday, the electoral commission announced the final results of the parliamentary elections, which showed that the al-Sa'iroon Coalition, led by Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was the front-runner and won 54 seats in the upcoming 329-seat parliament.

The results showed that al-Fath Coalition, led by Hadi al-Ameri, came in the second place with 47 seats, while the al-Nasr Coalition, led by current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, came in third with 42 seats. The State of Law Coalition, headed by Vice President and former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, garnered 25 seats.

The two major Kurdish parties, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), headed by Masoud Barzani, and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) took the lead in the Kurdish region and in the ethnically-mixed province of Kirkuk with 25 seats for the KDP and 18 for the PUK, according to IHEC figures.

Many Iraqi parties, especially in the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan and some disputed areas, have complained about alleged irregularities and forgery in the parliamentary election.

The complaints put the electoral commission under pressure to carry out manual recount of many ballot boxes. It had only collected the electronic count of the votes.

On Thursday, the United Nations special envoy to Iraq Jan Kubis issued a statement, calling on the IHEC to carry out an immediate and thorough investigation into all complaints concerning the election.

Earlier, Riyadh al-Badran, head of the electoral commission, told a press conference that "there is no justification for a manual recount yet" despite many accusations of voter fraud.

On May 12, millions of Iraqis went to 8,959 polling centers across the country to vote for their parliamentary representatives in the first general election after Iraq's historic victory over the Islamic State (IS) group last December.SOFIA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Researches on environment protection took the first and third places here on Monday in Bulgaria's annual Best Innovative Project contest.

The project "New Ceramic Materials with Improved Performance Properties Obtained by Using a High Share of Industrial Waste" developed by a team from the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) led by Prof. Alexander Karamanov won the first place.

The project "New Absorption-Adsorption Method and Devices for Cleaning of Waste Gases of Sulfur Dioxide" by a team of the Institute of Engineering Chemistry at the BAS took the third place.

The second place award went to Dr. Eng. Petar Bodurov for his project "Prototype of a Universal Hammer with a Rocket Engine for Rock Crushing."

"The specifics of the Bulgarian economy, for good or for bad, are quite different from the European one," Prof. Karamanov said at the award ceremony, which was attended by Lachezar Borisov, Bulgarian deputy minister of economy, and Stamen Yanev, Executive Director of InvestBulgaria Agency. "We produce more waste, which is a potential resource," Karamanov said.

The waste utilization required co-operation between innovators, industrial waste producers and the state, and investment, he said.

The introduction of innovation and high technology was among the challenges facing the country's economy at the moment, Borisov said.

Their development would help the country create higher levels of added value, hence higher economic growth and faster social development, he said.NICOSIA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- French energy company Total has asked for permission to expand its operations for natural gas exploration in Cyprus's exclusive economic zone, energy minister Yiorgos Lakkotrypis said on Monday.

His statement came after a meeting of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades with Total's regional director Stepane Michel, during which the company's overall operations were discussed.

"The next steps in the exploration program were discussed, but one of the most important issues was the interest by Total in participating in block 8," Lakkotrypis said.

The concession for gas exploration in block 8 has already been given to Italian company ENI.

"We see an interest by the French company to grow in this segment. It's a very important development that strengthens the (ENI-Total) consortium and expands its presence in Cyprus' EEZ," Lakkotrypis added.

ENI and Total have jointly carried out a drill in January in block 6 of the Cypriot exclusive economic zone, which led to the discovery of a gas field containing an estimated 6 to 8.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Neither he nor Total's official expressly said that permission was given, but they said they were more than pleased with the outcome of discussions.

Total's application to expand in block 8 of the Cypriot exclusive economic zone was seen by the Cypriot government as a snub to Turkey's objections for the management of natural gas by the Cypriot government.

Only on Sunday, Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told an Athens daily in an interview that his country will continue to object to the Cypriot government managing natural gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean, adding that it will defend Turkish Cypriots' right to have a say on the issue.

Turkish warships imposed a blockade and prevented an ENI drillship from carrying out its work in Cypriot block 3 in February. It said that it acted to defend Turkish Cypriot rights and alternatively to defend Turkey's rights in the region.

Lakkotrypis sounded more than pleased with Total's application when journalists mentioned Turkey's objection to the management of natural gas by the Cypriot government.

"After everything had occurred in Block 3, what we see is that one of the most important partners of the Republic wants to expand its presence in our EEZ, especially in a field such as block 8 which is predominantly still undiscovered," Lakkotrypis said.

Energy activities in the eastern Mediterranean are closely watch over by the European Commission which considers Levantine gas as an alternative source of energy for Europe.

EC has already expressed its support for a study to construct the EastMed pipe to carry gas from Cypriot and Israeli gas fields to Europe via Cyprus, Greece and Italy.HANOI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Seven officers from the Vietnam Peacekeeping Center will be dispatched to the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic and South Sudan in 2018.

Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh presented the Vietnamese President's decision to the officers at a ceremony in Hanoi on Monday, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Two officers will be sent to South Sudan as military observers, and five others to the Central African Republic as one military observer and four staff officers.

The officers are also assigned with the task of working with the UN mission to help with the deployment of Vietnam's level-2 field hospital in South Sudan in late June.

The center needs to continue selecting and training of capable and virtuous officers to work for the UN peacekeeping mission in the following years, Vinh said.

Vietnam has sent 20 officers to work at the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Central African Republic and the UN Mission in South Sudan, including a female officer, after nearly four years of joining the UN peacekeeping operations.MADRID, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The arrival of new technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality offers an enormous range of new opportunities in the creative world, and recent years have seen a start of a debate over whether these new possibilities in artistic expression will lead to what has been described as a "New Renaissance".

If this is the case, the stars of the New Renaissance won't be artists such as Michelangelo or Leonardo Da Vinci, but experts in communications technology and programming, and they will find a host of opportunities to express themselves over the coming years.

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, one of the companies at the vanguard of new communications development, recently commissioned a joint study "New Renaissance Hotspots" from the Institute of Arts and Ideas and Kjaer Global.

Kjaer Global is a trend management consultancy, while the Institute of Arts and Ideas is a London-based arts organization.

In a press release published on Monday, Huawei Spain gives some of the results of the study, which predicts the cities of Barcelona, Granada and Salamanca will lead this revolution in the fields of innovation, creativity and cultural exchange.

The study concludes that the "New Renaissance" will create around 1.1 million new jobs in the European culture and creative sector by 2025 and 1.47 million by 2030, with opportunities emerging in fields such as educational programming in Artificial Intelligence and control of ethics and data privacy.

The study calculates that 100,500 of those jobs will be created in Spain by 2025 and over 172,000 by 2030. It also predicts which cities will be at the heart of this expansion, looking at several factors such as the number of graduates in fields of creativity and technology, as well as other cultural, social and economic issues.

Barcelona will be a "New Renaissance Hotspot" due to its character as a Smart City, and its close links to art and culture, with the study highlighting that UNESCO has recognized the Barcelona as a Creative City of Literature.

Granada, southern Spain, was selected because it is a leader in Cultural Exchange thanks to its links with festivals and international creative events, as well as its heritage as a meeting point for different cultures and religions.

Finally Salamanca's historic university is one of the keys to it being named as a center for innovation.

"We are at the start of a new society, a New Renaissance which will be pushed forward by art and design, and from Huawei we believe that we are at the forefront of this New Renaissance strategy driven by artificial intelligence," commented Ramiro Larragan, Director of Marketing at Huawei Spain in the press release.ADDIS ABABA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The African union Peace and Security Council on Monday approved a proposal to establish an African Migration Observatory to stem illegal migration.

In a press statement, the AU said the Observatory will be tasked with collecting data, ensuring information exchange and coordination between African countries to understand, anticipate and act on migration issues and support continental initiatives to stem illegal migration.

In particular, the Africa Migration Observatory is expected to work with initiatives like The Regional Operation Center (ROC) based in Khartoum, Sudan to enhance collaboration and intelligence sharing to combat criminal activity related to migration.

Every year tens of thousands of Africans are thought to be trafficked to Middle Eastern and European destinations where they are exploited in various informal sectors such as prostitution, physical labor and agricultural labor.

Despite regional and intra-African countries initiatives to stem illegal migration of Africans and stop their exploitation by criminals, so far there is largely an absence of an effective collaboration mechanism between the AU's 55 member states to curb illegal migration and crack down on criminal networks.

The prevalence of criminal networks trafficking humans has led to instability of member states and of facilitating links between terror groups and criminal gangs, according to the AU.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on the Trump administration's Iran policy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, U.S. May 21, 2018. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said here on Monday that Iran will suffer the toughest sanctions in history from the United States if it does not change the current course.

In a speech unveiling "a new Iran strategy" at the Heritage Foundation, a U.S.-based conservative think tank, Pompeo urged Tehran to report to the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuke program, end proliferation of its missiles, and stop supporting "terrorist groups" in the Middle East.

"We will ensure freedom of navigation on the waters in the region. We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world and crush them," said the U.S. top diplomat. "Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East."

Speaking of the U.S. upcoming sanctions, Pompeo said "the sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen for itself and the people of Iran."

"These will be the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are done," he added. "We will also ensure Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon -- ever."

Outlining the bid to establish an international coalition to pressure Iran, Pompeo said the United States wanted a better deal to address its concerns on Iran, and will send teams around the globe to explain the U.S. motives and build a global momentum.

"Any new deal must begin with defining what the world should demand from Iran," he said. "America did not create this need for changed behavior, Iran did."

In an apparent bid to garner allies support, Pompeo said that "we want support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe," adding "we welcome any nation which is sick and tired" of Iran's behavior.

The speech came after the Trump administration withdrew from the historic Iran nuke deal earlier this month, which sparked wide international outrage.

While announcing the pullout, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose "the highest level" of economic sanctions on Tehran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with Tehran.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an announcement that "sanctions will be reimposed, subject to certain 90-day and 180-day wind-down periods. At the conclusion of the wind-down periods, the applicable sanctions will come back into full effect."

U.S. allies in Europe, which have many economic links with Tehran, have been particularly frustrated.

After the exit announcement of Trump, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that China regrets the U.S. decision.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 23:44:04|Editor: Yurou

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Che Jing, researcher of Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduces research findings at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, May 21, 2018. Chinese scientists found that the critically endangered Chinese giant salamander, the world's largest amphibian, isn't one species, but five and possibly as many as eight. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists found that the critically endangered Chinese giant salamander, the world's largest amphibian, isn't one species, but five and possibly as many as eight.

The discoveries reported on Monday in the journal Current Biology highlighted the importance of genetic assessments to properly identify the salamanders, now facing imminent threat of extinction in the wild.

The study also suggested that the farming and release of giant salamanders back into the wild without any regard for their genetic differences was putting the salamanders' already dire future at even greater risk.

In fact, some of the five newly identified species may already be extinct in the wild, according to the researchers.

"We were not surprised to discover more than one species, as an earlier study suggested, but the extent of diversity, perhaps up to eight species, uncovered by the analyses sat us back in our chairs," said Che Jing from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"The overexploitation of these incredible animals for human consumption has had a catastrophic effect on their numbers in the wild over an amazingly short time span," said Samuel Turvey, from Zoological Society of London, who conducted a large wildlife survey in China and published his findings in the same issue of the journal.

Che said salamander farms have sought to "maximize variation" by exchanging salamanders from distant areas, without realizing they are in fact distinct species.

As a result, she said, wild populations may now be at risk of becoming locally maladapted due to hybridization across species boundaries.

They suggested that Chinese giant salamanders might represent distinct species despite their similar appearances, because the salamanders inhabit three primary rivers in China, and several smaller ones.

Turvey and colleagues found that populations of this once-widespread species are now critically depleted or extirpated across all surveyed areas of their range, and illegal poaching is widespread. The researchers were unable to confirm survival of wild salamanders at any survey site.

While the harvesting of wild salamanders is already prohibited, the findings show that farming practices and existing conservation activities that treat all salamander populations as a single species are potentially doing great damage, the researchers say.

"Conservation strategies for the Chinese giant salamander require urgent updating," Che said. She said it was especially critical to reconsider the design of reserves to protect the salamanders and an effort that has already released thousands of farm-started baby salamanders back into the wild.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-21 23:44:05|Editor: Yurou

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HEFEI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- A red-brick building with special carvings sits in sharp contrast to the local grey-white architecture of east China's Anhui Province, as do several hundred other buildings that have been relocated here.

In an outdoor museum in Bengbu city known as Bright Moon on the Lake, more than 450 dilapidated, but extremely beautiful buildings have been given a new lease on life. The red-brick building came from Shishi, Fujian Province.

Named after ocean-going vessel "Jinji" owned by the ancestors of the Cai Family, the house witnessed the ups and downs of generations. In 2013, the city government began urban renewal, and the house was scheduled to be demolished.

Cai Qingquan, nearing his 70s, came back from abroad to bid farewell to the house where he spent his childhood. "I can understand why the younger family members wished to move into modern homes, but its a pity to pull it down. It's a shame that we can't preserve the property of our ancestors."

"Not having been listed yet, many old buildings with local characteristics and history have already vanished," said Cheng Jiyue, an architect.

According to the third national cultural relics survey, more than half of the 40,000 immovable cultural relics that disappeared in the past 30 years were destroyed due to construction work. The wave of urbanization leaves these buildings in peril with no alternative but to be relocated.

The Bright Moon on the Lake Museum covers 53 hectares. The buildings were re-erected and categorized based on their place of origin. The Jinji house is now restored to its previous brilliance in the museum.

Feng Jicai, member of China's national experts committee for intangible cultural heritage protection, said that in countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland, endangered buildings that cannot be protected in their original places are often relocated to an outdoor museum.

Local governments are now exploring other ways to preserve their buildings.

In Pingyao in north China's Shanxi Province, the local government has been handing out maintenance subsidies to residents since 2012. By last October, over 10 million yuan (1.6 million U.S. dollars) had been spent on the repair of 76 buildings.

An ancestral hall in Yixian County, Anhui Province, has been turned into an antique furniture museum at a cost of 30 million yuan to the local government and private sector.

The situation of these residences is improving, Cheng said.

Not long ago, the outdoor museum sent a photo invitation to Cai, to reassure him that his ancestral home is under good protection and to come to visit when reconstruction is complete.LONDON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The worst British airports for flight punctuality was revealed on Monday, with passengers departing from London Luton Airport facing the longest flight delays in the country.

Planes left Luton took off 19.7 minutes late on average, with Gatwick, Jersey and Durham Tees Valley next worst, according to the data from the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The data showed that Gatwick's average take-off delay in 2017 was next worse 18.9-minute delay, followed by Jersey Airport, at 18.7 minutes.

The top performers were Heathrow -- flights were 11 minutes late -- Leeds Bradford, Belfast City and London City.

Scheduled and charter flights, but not cancelled services, from the 25 busiest airports were examined in the study.

Passengers can claim compensation when flights are delayed by more than three hours unless there are "extraordinary circumstances," such as severe weather or security alert.

Payout range from 219 pounds, about 294 U.S. dollars, to 524 pounds, or 703 U.S. dollars, depending on the length of the flight and how long it was delayed, reports said.

A CAA spokesperson said the data will enable passengers to "make informed choices about which airports they fly from," and that the industry "should constantly strive to improve punctuality to enhance the passenger experience."

A spokesperson for London Luton said the airport "regrets any delay our passengers experience," adding that punctuality was influenced by "many factors" outside its control including air traffic control strikes, late-arriving aircraft, bad weather and congested airspace.

Meanwhile, London Gatwick Airport said it is doing "everything within its power" to improve its punctuality.NEW DELHI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- An all-women Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) named "Tarini" returned to India on Monday after a 254-day long voyage.

Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Seetharaman welcomed the six-member all-women crew at southern city of Goa Monday evening.

The vessel covered over 22,000 nautical miles visiting five countries -- Australia, New Zealand, Falkland Islands (UK), South Africa and Mauritius.

Sitharaman had flagged them off the vessel on Sept. 10 last year.

Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and Vice Admiral A.R. Karve were also present at the historic flagging-in ceremony.

This is the first-ever Indian circumnavigation of the globe by an all-women crew.

The women crew themselves were ecstatic on completion of the voyage.

Speaking at the occasion, Skipper Lt Commander Vartika Joshi said, "We knew at the very start of this voyage that we had a daunting task ahead. However, the many challenges we encountered brought in a new found strength from within, which we ourselves never knew we were capable of. Our close bonding helped us overcome those difficult times."

The expedition was covered in six legs, with halts at five ports, namely Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), Cape Town (South Africa) and Port Louis (Mauritius).

The indigenously-built INSV Tarini is a 56-foot sailing vessel, which was inducted in the Indian Navy in February 2017, and has showcased the Make in India initiative on the International forum.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 00:14:09|Editor: Chengcheng

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a speech regarding U.S. policy after withdrawing from Iran nuclear deal at the Heritage Foundation in Washington D.C., the United States, on May 21, 2018. Mike Pompeo on Monday chastised Iran for its nuke and missile programs, vowing to issue Tehran the toughest sanctions in history if it does not change course. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin)

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday chastised Iran for its nuke and missile programs, vowing to issue Tehran the toughest sanctions in history if it does not change course.

In a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a U.S.-based conservative think tank, the U.S. top diplomat rolled out a "new Iran strategy," issuing tough rhetoric against Tehran and summoning calls for frustrated U.S. allies.

Defending the U.S. withdrawal from the historic Iran nuke deal, Pompeo said Iran must report to the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuclear program, end the proliferation of its missiles, and stop supporting "terrorist groups" in the Middle East.

"We will ensure freedom of navigation on the waters in the region. We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world and crush them," said Pompeo. "Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East."

Speaking of the U.S. upcoming sanctions, Pompeo said "these will be the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are done."

"The sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen," he said. "We will also ensure Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon -- ever."

Pompeo said that the United States wanted a better deal to address its concerns on Iran.

"Any new deal must begin with defining what the world should demand from Iran," he said. "America did not create this need for changed behavior, Iran did."

Outlining the bid to establish an international coalition to pressure Iran, Pompeo said "we want support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe."

"We welcome any nation which is sick and tired" of Iran's behavior, he noted, adding that the United States will send teams around the globe to explain the U.S. motives and build a global momentum.

The speech came after the Trump administration withdrew from the historic Iran nuke deal earlier this month despite the global outcry.

While announcing the pullout, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to impose "the highest level" of economic sanctions on Tehran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with Tehran.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin also said in an announcement that "sanctions will be reimposed subject to certain 90-day and 180-day wind-down periods. At the conclusion of the wind-down periods, the applicable sanctions will come into full effect. This includes actions under both our primary and secondary sanctions authorities."

The United States' European allies, which have many economic links with Tehran, have been particularly frustrated.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire responded that Europe should not accept the United States' playing the role of the "world's economic police," or become U.S. "vassals" that "obey decisions taken by the United States while clinging to the hem of their trousers."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also said on May 11 that the U.S. exit decision "breaks the trust in the international order."

Although the deal was far from ideal and many issues still remain unresolved, the U.S. withdrawal is a cause of great concern and regret, she said.

The European Commission on Friday proposed the activation of a dormant statute to shield European firms doing business with Iran due to the renewed U.S. sanctions.

After the exit announcement by Trump, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said that China regrets the U.S. decision.

Geng said China urged all parties to proceed "in the long-term and overall situation in a responsible manner, persist in solving and managing differences through political and diplomatic means, and return as soon as possible to the correct track of continuing to implement the comprehensive agreement."

"A bigger, better deal is a pipe dream," said Robert Einhorn, a former State Department official and non-proliferation expert, at an event of the Brookings Institution.

He noted that Washington's "real objective is not really a bigger, better, deal, the real objective is to put immense pressure on Iran" to weaken the Iranian government.

However, Einhorn predicted that "new sanctions won't be as crippling as those put in place in 2012," partly because other countries "strongly oppose" Trump's decision to abrogate the deal.

"Other countries will defy or ignore sanctions, and look for workarounds," Einhorn said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 00:19:10|Editor: yan

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CAIRO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Arab League (AL) Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit condemned on Monday the opening of Paraguay's embassy in Jerusalem, warning the move will have a negative impact on ties between the Latin American country and the Arab world.

In a statement, the AL chief urged world countries to refrain from taking similar steps that would harm opportunities for fair settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Paraguay opened its embassy in Jerusalem Monday, becoming the third country to do so following the United States and Guatemala.

On May 14, the United Stated opened its embassy in Jerusalem, which Israel claims to be the capital of the Jewish country.

Wide-spread protests broke out in West Bank cities and Gaza, where at least 60 were killed and over 3,000 wounded due to clashes with the Israeli soldiers.

AL Council issued a resolution on May 17, stipulating that the AL member countries will take suitable political and economic measures against countries that transfer their embassies to Jerusalem.

Moving embassy to Jerusalem is an invalid move as it violates the international consensus about Jerusalem, the AL statement said.

Israel seized East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War, along with the rest of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It later annexed East Jerusalem and declared it as part of its "eternal and indivisible capital," in a move that has never been recognized by the international community.

Palestinians, who make up more than one third of the city's overall population, consider East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

The peace talks between Palestine and Israel have been stalled since April 2014. The U.S.-sponsored talks that lasted for nine months achieved no tangible results.NAIROBI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is considering introducing tax incentives for manufacturers in the information and communication and technology (ICT) sector in order to reduce reliance on imports, a senior government official said on Monday.

Joe Mucheru, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of ICT, told journalists in Nairobi that Kenya currently imports the bulk of its technology devices as local manufacturers lack knowledge to make world-class products.

"We are therefore going to put in place tax incentives that will help to attract global manufacturers of ICT devices to serve the growing local demand," Mucheru said when he officially unveiled the Connected Summit 2018, set to be held on Oct. 22.

This year's forum, which marks the summit's 10th edition, will be held under the theme "Building for Prosperity."

Over 1,000 people are expected to attend the forum, which will bring together ICT innovators, corporate executives, financiers and key policymakers in the regional ICT industry for discussions geared toward nurturing partnerships that will spur the realization of Kenya's development agenda.

"We want to make it an international event so that we can continue to grow," Mucheru added.

"Many countries are aspiring to learn from the innovations we have implemented over the years and this will be a great platform to enable such collaborations," he said.

Previous Connected Summit events are credited with the birth of key public service innovations, including the Huduma Centers, E-Citizen Portal, Digital Literacy Program as well as the National ICT Master Plan.

Mucheru noted that a digital literacy project that seeks to introduce laptops for primary schools will drastically expand the domestic market for computers.

Kenya will require over 50 million smart devices in the next two years due to increasing reliance on technology to fuel all sectors of the economy, he said.

Kenya is part of the Smart Africa Alliance that aims to achieve total connectivity for sub-Saharan Africa, Mucheru said.

He noted that Kenya plans to be an export hub for the huge ICT market that will be created by the Smart Africa Alliance, which has the potential to have approximately 600 million potential consumers.

The east African nation is currently developing Konza Techno City, which is located 60 km south of the capital, Nairobi.

Jerome Ochieng, permanent secretary in the Ministry of ICT, said Konza Techno City will enable Kenya become an ICT hub in Africa due to its world-class infrastructure.

Ochieng noted that the government is prioritizing ICT because it is a critical enabler for all sectors of the economy.

Technology allows people to leapfrog and could help Kenya fast track achievements so as realize the national agenda within the next three years, he added.

The government also plans to further digitize land operations, deploy a robust heath management platform, establish a database for agricultural producers across the country as part of the government's efforts to streamline service delivery, Ochieng said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 00:29:11|Editor: yan

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JERUSALEM, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Israel will hold the International Conference for Science Ministers in Jerusalem from May 28 to 30, the first of its kind in Israel, sources from the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology said on Monday.

Science ministers and delegations are expected to arrive from India, Britain, Argentina, Poland, Thailand, Kenya, Uganda, Spain and the Czech Republic, as well as the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

The event will feature an exhibition of Israel's scientific achievements and discussions, spotlighting Israeli developments and innovations that are a source of Israeli pride.

They will share information and promote collaborations with Israeli entrepreneurs and scientists, said the Ministry.

"During the event, many countries will salute Israel's science, technology and innovation. This is a real source of pride for Israel," said Israeli Science Minister Ofir Akunis.KIEV, May 21 (Xinhua) -- At least 36 children were hospitalized Monday with symptoms of poisoning after being exposed to unknown substance sprayed in their school in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolayiv, local authorities said.

Eugene Shevchenko, deputy head of Mykolayiv regional administration, wrote on Facebook that two children were taken to the intensive care of the local hospitals.

The affected children showed such symptoms as coughing, eye tearing and nausea, Shevchenko said.

The State Service for Emergencies said later that about 380 people had been evacuated from the school in the wake of the accident.

The occurrence marked the second similar emergency in Ukraine in less than two weeks.

On May 8, 54 children and four teachers were sent to hospital with symptoms of poisoning in the city of Cherkassy in central Ukraine. It is still unclear what caused the symptoms.WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Gina Haspel was sworn in Monday as the first female director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in its 71-year history.

Speaking at a ceremony at the agency's headquarters in Langley, state of Virginia, Haspel said that she's honored to lead the agency, calling her service of over 30 years at it "more than a career."

Haspel said that she intends to send more officers into the field, improve foreign language proficiency among the ranks and strengthen the agency's working relationships with counterparts in partner nations.

President Donald Trump, who also spoke during the event, praised Haspel's qualifications to take the job.

Vice President Mike Pence and Haspel's predecessor Mike Pompeo, now the secretary of state, attended the ceremony.

Haspel was confirmed in a 54-45 vote in the Senate last week largely along party lines, but six Democrats supported her and two Republicans voted against her candidacy.

The nomination came under fire for Haspel's past ties to the CIA's former rendition, detention and interrogation program carried out in the years following the Sept. 11 attacks.

The program used so-called enhanced interrogation techniques like waterboarding, now widely considered torture.

In 2002, Haspel supervised a secret prison in Thailand where harsh interrogations were conducted and she destroyed CIA interrogation tapes years later. Her specific role in the program remains classified.

During her confirmation hearing earlier this month, Haspel promised that the program would not be restarted under her leadership, even if pressed to do so by the president.

Trump had said that "torture works" and that he would consider using it again.

In a letter to Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, last week, Haspel wrote that the interrogation program "is not one the CIA should have undertaken," a stance that helped her secure enough votes to be approved by the Senate.

Haspel had been an undercover officer for most of her 33-year career with the CIA.

The 61-year-old Kentucky native became acting CIA director following Pompeo's resignation to become U.S. secretary of state and was nominated by Trump to become the permanent director in March.by Alessandra Cardone

ROME, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The temporary housing of displaced people in quake-hit areas of central Italy reached 98 percent, the country's Civil Protection Agency said on Monday.

Overall, 3,303 prefabricated houses were so far provided to the displaced, out of 3,645 needed, the agency said in a statement.

Further 284 post-quake emergency homes (SAEs) were ready to be assigned, which would bring the total to 98 percent of all the prefabs originally requested.

"To this day, the SAEs delivered are 1,557 in Marche, 787 in Lazio, 742 in Umbria, and 217 in Abruzzo," the agency stated.

The four regions had asked the central government to provide 1,825, 824, 758, and 238 prefabs, respectively.

An additional request for 184 temporary houses was filed in November 2017, and these were not included in the current count, the agency specified.

The regions of Umbria, Marche, Abruzzo, and Lazio were hit by a series of powerful earthquakes that killed some 300 people and left thousands homeless between August 2016 and January 2017.

The quakes struck 140 municipalities and over 32,000 people, according to a data provided by the Italian government in mid-2017.

Some 220 schools across 122 towns were partially or fully destroyed, affecting the life of at least 13,000 students, the government added.

Thousands of buildings were razed to the ground, and much of the historical heritage in these central areas was affected. Besides, entire communities had to face reconstruction in a freezing winter, and endure exhausting months of aftershocks.

The seismic events followed one another: the first quake carrying a magnitude 6.0 on the Richter scale struck on Aug. 24, 2016, killing 298 people. It was the only deadly episode.

Two other quakes hit in the same areas on Oct. 26 and Oct. 30, 2016, levelling dozens of hamlets and severely damaging central Italy's famous medieval towns, such as Norcia.

The latest seismic disaster occurred on Jan. 18, 2017: four temblors all carrying a magnitude above 5.0 took place in about four hours.

Extensive damages were reported, but no victims, since the local population had already been evacuated after the first major event. Overall, the final toll was 299 dead, and 388 people injured.

Considering the four quakes, Italy suffered damaged worth 23.53 billion euros (27.67 billion U.S. dollars), the Civil Protection stated in a report to the European Union in February last year.KAMPALA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Government representatives, civil society organizations and experts from around the world will meet here on Wednesday to devise ways of preventing mass atrocities like genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Over 200 delegates will convene for a three-day meeting under Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC), a state-led network, the Ugandan government said in a statement on Monday.

"The states and civil society organizations representatives will work together to make prevention a reality at the local, national, regional and international level," the statement said.

Participants will exchange good practice and lessons learned from ongoing experiences of prevention like early warning systems, prevention of hate speech, role of politicians.

One key feature of the meeting will be the presentation of the Africa Working Group Manual on "Best Practices on the Establishment and Management of National Mechanisms for Genocide and Mass Atrocities Prevention," the statement said.LONDON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- There'll be a welcome for Prince Harry and his bride Meghan Markle in a small Northern Ireland fishing port after the newly weds became the Baron and Baroness of Kilkeel.

Local political leaders and business owners believe the title, bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II on her grandson and his American actress bride will boost tourism.

Kilkeel is no stranger to celeb visitors, according to Samuel Hamilton who owns the Kilmorey Arms Hotel in Kilkeel. During World War II the hotel hosted Britain's wartime prime minister Winston Churchill and General Dwight Eisenhower, later to become the U.S. president.

Still, Hamilton was surprised when he heard the announcement about the Royal couple's title.

He told the Belfast Telegraph: "I was in absolute shock when I heard on Saturday. I had to ask my wife if there was another Kilkeel."

Hamilton added: "I think we've sadly been neglected by the tourist board in this part of the world, so this is one of the things we hope will give Kilkeel and the Mourne area a bit more vibrancy and bring people to the area."

Last year Prince Harry's father, Prince Charles, visited Kilkeel harbour, with Hamilton adding a royal visit from Harry and Meghan would make history.

With a population of less than 7,000, Kilkeel is in County Down and home to one of the largest fishing fleets in the island of Ireland. It is also close to one of Northern Ireland's most scenic areas, the Mourne Mountains, mentioned by Beatle John Lennon in his song "The Luck of the Irish".

According to the newspaper report, the local council has already issued an invite to the Kilkeel's new Baron and Baroness to pay them a visit some time soon.

"We would welcome them with open arms and accommodate them in every way we can," said Hamilton.

Jenna Stevenson from a social enterprise art shop and cafe in Kilkeel called "Made in Mourne" said: "We are isolated in a rural and coastal area so it is good to have that exposure to be able to put us on the world map. Nobody would have known about us otherwise, now people from all over the world will be googling Kilkeel."

Local resident Shelagh Roberts said: "I thought it was fabulous, I'm amazed that they even knew where Kilkeel was. I think it's very nice and great for the area. It's such a beautiful part of the world with the mountains of Mourne flowing down to the sea and my own hometown of Rostrevor just around the corner.

"It would be so good for the area if Harry and Meghan visited. They're young, happy and in love so what more would you need to bring a ray of sunshine to the area?"

Local councillor Jill McAuley told the Belfast telegraph it was a very proud moment for Kilkeel.

"Hopefully, we'll be seeing the Baron and Baroness here very soon. If they did come they could see the natural beauty of Mourne and south Down that is very unique," she said, "It really is just a massive tourism opportunity for us, we have a tourism strategy in place and that will now become a huge priority for our council."by Stefania Fumo

ROME, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Italy's rightwing League party and the populist Five Star Movement want law professor Giuseppe Conte to lead their coalition as Italy's next prime minister in a prelude to forming a new government, the two parties told President Sergio Mattarella on Monday.

Mattarella may summon the little-known academic to the presidential palace and officially confer on him a mandate to form a new government as early as Tuesday morning.

Together, they will discuss a cabinet line-up, and then the new government must obtain a vote of confidence from each house of parliament -- the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.

The Five Stars and the League agreed on Conte's name after their respective grassroots supporters approved a so-called "contract" outlining how the two forces plan to govern Italy over the weekend.

The decision follows on a number of false starts and failed consultations, more than two months after Italy's inconclusive March 4 general election that delivered no clear winner, forcing the two top vote-getters into an alliance.

"This is a historic moment," Movement chief Luigi Di Maio told reporters in televised comments after meeting with Mattarella.

Di Maio confirmed minutes later in a blog post that Conte got the nod. "I am particularly proud of this choice," Di Maio's statement said.

"No one has anything to fear," League leader Matteo Salvini said after meeting with the president of the country, in reference to warnings about Italy's possible new euroskeptic government being sounded by the European Union and international observers. "The government we will participate in will respect its commitments, but wants to make Italy grow. Italians first."

Salvini declined to specify who the candidate is, but local media report that the League also backed Conte.

According to press reports, the Five Star-League cabinet will be made up of 18 ministers, with Salvini to enforce his party's anti-immigrant policies as chief of the Interior Ministry and Di Maio heading up a possible joint Labor-Industry Ministry to roll out the Movement's flagship promises of a basic income and other generous welfare spending.

Conte first emerged from relative obscurity days before the general election, when Five Star chief Di Maio introduced him in a televised event as the Movement's candidate for the post of "civil service, de-bureaucratization and meritocracy minister."

In his early 50s, Conte obtained a law degree from Rome's La Sapienza University in 1988 and teaches private law at Florence University.

According to a curriculum vitae published online by the Chamber of Deputies, or Lower House of parliament, Conte sat on a government commission for the reform of the civil law code in 1998, during the center-left administration of Romano Prodi.

"Traditionally, my heart has always beaten to the left," Conte has been quoted as saying in reference to his political leanings.

The academic, who has zero experience in public administration, will lead a coalition seeking billions of euros in tax cuts, additional welfare spending and a roll-back in pension reforms -- expensive measures that according to an editorial by leading Italian economist Carlo Cottarelli on La Stampa newspaper, could increase Italy's public deficit by "110-125 billion euros" (130-147 billion U.S. dollars).

Also on Monday, one of the "top three" international debt rating agencies sounded an alarm. "The coalition policy agreement of Italy's two most populist and eurosceptic parties increases risks to the country's sovereign credit profile, notably through fiscal loosening and potential damage to confidence," Fitch Ratings said in a statement.TRIPOLI, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The spokesperson of the Libyan UN-backed government, Mohamed Al-Sallak, on Monday said that the government is willing to coordinate with all military parties to secure the troubled south.

At a press conference in the capital Tripoli, Al-Sallak confirmed that "forming a military force to secure the south has begun to resolve the conflict, secure and protect the region, combat terrorism and smuggling networks, and pursue foreign infiltrators across the border."

Prime Minister Fayez Serraj reiterated demands to all parties to unite efforts against challenges in the south, Al-Sallak added.

"There are no fears about the tasks assigned to the force, since the purpose of its formation is only to secure the south, resolve the conflict, and establish stability," Al-Sallak said when asked by Xinhua reporter about certain tribal leaders asking the government not to send a force for fear of possible clashes with the eastern-based army forces.

"There is no enemy except for terrorist groups and all external parties that destabilize the security of Libya," he said.

Both of Serraj's government forces and the eastern-based army, led by General Khalifa Haftar, control Sabha and other southern cities and have military presence there.

The government on Wednesday formed a military force to secure southern Libya, following escalation of armed violence in the city of Sabha, about 800 km south of Tripoli.

Since the beginning of February, Sabha has been witnessing violent tribal clashes that have so far killed 23 people and injured 91 others, according to the city's hospital.

The fighting also forced more than 200 families to flee their homes.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 02:49:43|Editor: Yurou

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Professor Emmamouil Giakoumakis, rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB), speaks at the European Confucius Institutes Joint Conference in Athens, Greece, on May 21, 2018. The 2018 European Confucius Institutes Joint Conference started in Athens on Monday aiming to strengthen the cooperation between China and Europe. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

by Maria Spiliopoulou

ATHENS, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 European Confucius Institutes Joint Conference started in Athens on Monday aiming to strengthen the cooperation between China and Europe.

Some 90 delegates from China and Confucius Institutes across Europe gathered in the Greek capital for a two-day event.

The main goal was to explore ways to improve the teaching of Chinese language in Europe and build a stronger cultural bridge to facilitate the better understanding between nations, keynote speakers said at the opening ceremony.

"I hope there will be a closer cooperation between China and Europe to make our friendship last long and profound," Professor Jiang Qingzhe, president of the academic council of the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics, said.

Since its establishment in 2004 in order to promote Chinese culture and language around the world, the Confucius Institutes have been developing rapidly worldwide, speakers said, presenting some impressive numbers.

Up until now 526 Confucius Institutes (CIs) and 1,113 Confucius Classrooms (CCs) have been set up in 147 countries around the world.

By 2017 the number of all kind of CI students had reached 1.7 million with teacher population, both Chinese and local, of 46,000.

In order to improve the operation of the institutes to make it more effective and better in quality, regional conferences are held regularly to discuss problems and find solutions to common challenges.

This week in Athens gathered representatives of 34 CIs from 14 European countries, Professor Emmanouil Giakoumakis, rector of the Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) said, in his welcome speech.

"We envision our (Business Confucius Institute) BCI to become a center of excellence for promoting Chinese culture and business in Greece," he said presenting the Athens Business Confucius Institute which is hosted since 2008 by AUEB.

The Athens BCI, the first and only Confucius Institute operating in Greece, offers certified Chinese language courses to Greeks and organizes activities and seminars of culture, philosophy, arts and business to enhance the Sino-Greek ties.

The Athens BCI hosts for first time the European Confucius Institutes Joint Conference which is held every two years.

Zhao Guocheng, deputy director-general of Hanban, stressed, addressing Monday's opening session, one of the special links connecting Greece and China which is at the heart of the Confucius Institute philosophy worldwide.

Zhao referred to the teachings of Confucius and ancient Greek philosopher Socrates and how 25 centuries later they still guide CIs teachers and students to the search of the ideal.

"The Confucian pedagogical concept of 'Teaching students according to their talent' and the Socratic 'problem- oriented midwifery' teaching methodology have shed new light on the construction of CIs in Europe and even the whole world. I think this conference will surely be a success under the enlightenment of their great ideas," Zhao said.

On his part, Wang Qiang, political counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Greece, underlined the significant role the Confucius Institute holds in strengthening East-West cooperation in many sectors.

"The Confucius Institute ....provides an important platform for widening people to people exchanges and deepening friendship, thus playing a positive role in the Belt and Road Initiative," Wang said.

"It can also play a special role in promoting and cultivating new type of international relations, which will eventually lead to the emergence of a community of shared future for mankind," he stressed.

Speaking to Xinhua about the role the Athens BCI plays in these efforts, Professor Zu Lijun, co-director of the Confucius Institute in AUEB, said that the target for the future is to work harder to contribute more to the further enhancement of Sino-Greek friendship and collaboration in all fields.

"Basically what we will do in the future is to enlarge, to expand the scope for our CI teaching and teachers...The other task is to communicate with the local people, to give them some Chinese culture knowledge," Zu said.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 02:49:44|Editor: yan

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TEHRAN, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Monday dismissed the U.S. threats of imposing the "toughest sanctions" on the Islamic republic, according to Iran's presidential website.

President Hassan Rouhani said that the United States cannot make decisions for Iran or other independent countries in the world.

"All world countries want independence in their decision-making ... and it is not logical that the Americans decide for the world," Rouhani said on Monday following the anti-Iran remarks of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Pompeo said on Monday here that Iran will suffer the toughest sanctions in history from the United States if it does not change the current course.

Pompeo urged Tehran to report to the International Atomic Energy Agency about its nuclear program, end proliferation of its missiles, and stop supporting "terrorist groups" in the Middle East.

Rouhani called for the solidarity and unity among the Iranians to counter the U.S. pressures.LISBON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The Portuguese government is actively seeking solutions to compensate retail investors affected by the collapse of International Bank of Funchal (Banif), a failed bank, according to a statement issued on Monday.

Banif had to be bailed out by the government in December 2015. Retail investors say they were mis-sold financial packages and should be compensated.

Many of the aggrieved investors are based in Madeira, an Atlantic Ocean archipelago and region of Portugal. Prime Minister Antonio Costa was visiting Madeira's regional capital Funchal on Monday.

The Association of Banif's Aggrieved Investors (ALBOA) organized a rally to greet Costa's arrival in Funchal. It says its members lost 263 million euros through Banif's collapse.

The prime minister's office issued a press release via the Lusa Portuguese News Agency saying that the government had met with the Securities Exchange Commission (CMVM) and members of ALBOA in Lisbon on Friday.

The CMVM is investigating the exact nature of the financial products sold to retail customers, in order to ascertain whether any mis-selling took place.

As soon as the investigation is complete, the government will meet "with the aim of identifying possible courses of action, in accordance with parliamentary resolutions," the government statement read. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollars)Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 04:45:04|Editor: Yamei

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Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (C-Front) delivers a speech during an event to celebrate his reelection at the Miraflores Palace, in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 20, 2018. Nicolas Maduro was reelected for a second six-year term in the presidential election on Sunday, according to the National Electoral Council. (Xinhua/Boris Vergara)

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday escalated its rhetoric and moves against Venezuela, right after Nicolas Maduro secured a second six-year term in the country's election.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order prohibiting certain additional transactions with respect to Venezuela.

The order, effective at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, targets the Maduro government by banning all transactions by a U.S. individual or an entity within the United States from purchasing any debt owed to the Venezuelan government, including accounts receivable.

Moreover, the order prohibits the purchase of any debt owed to Venezuela that is pledged as collateral after the effective date of the order; the sale, transfer, assignment, or pledging as collateral by Venezuela of any equity interest in any entity in which the Venezuelan government has a 50-percent or greater ownership interest.

It also bans "any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions" and "any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions" set forth in this order.

Trump has authorized the U.S. treasury secretary, in consultation with the state secretary, to promulgate rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to implement this order.

"All agencies of the United States Government shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order," reads the order.

Earlier on Monday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence lashed out at Venezuela's elections in a statement, saying it was a "sham" that was "neither free nor fair."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said in a statement issued on the same day that the United States will take "swift economic and diplomatic actions" against Caracas.

Venezuelan President of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Tibisay Lucena announced late Sunday that Maduro was reelected by a wide margin, garnering over 5.8 million votes, with a voter turnout at 46.01 percent. Maduro's next closest rival Henri Falcon got around 1.8 million ballots and the third-place candidate Javier Bertucci got 925,042 votes.

Minutes after the electoral body issued its announcement, Maduro celebrated the results, calling on opposition leaders, including former opposition candidates, to take part in constructive dialogue to promote national peace and prosperity.

Maduro was first elected in 2013, pledging to strengthen the Bolivarian Revolution launched by former President Hugo Chavez.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Feb 5. that China supports the various parties of Venezuela to properly settle their problems through dialogue, adding that China is willing to continue to help with the country's economic and social development through practical bilateral cooperation.WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Independent U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders announced on Monday that he will seek re-election to the Senate in November's midterms.

Announcing his decision on Twitter, the 76-year-old senator said that he intends to run a strong grassroots campaign throughout Vermont, a northeastern state.

He urged a continued fight for a progressive agenda and improvement of the lives of working people across the country.

"These are frightening and unprecedented times," Sanders said as he stressed his opposition to President Donald Trump.

An independent who caucuses with Democrats in Congress, Sanders is among the list of possible contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Sanders ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, but has not said whether he plans to run for president again.

Currently, Sanders is seeking a third term as senator and is expected to face no serious opposition in his home state.

He was first elected to the House of Representative in 1990 and the Senate in 2006.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 05:10:08|Editor: yan

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CAIRO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi phoned on Monday his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas to check on his health conditions.

Sisi wished Abbas a speedy recovery, Sisi's spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.

The spokesman added that the two leaders discussed the latest Palestinian and regional developments, affirming they would resume mutual discussions over issues of common interest.

On Sunday, Abbas was taken to hospital in Ramallah for medical tests for the second time this week.

According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, the test results showed that the 82-year-old president's health is very good.

Secretary of the Palestine Liberation Organization Saeb Erekat told reporters Sunday that Abbas would remain at hospital for one or two more days.

Abbas had an ear surgery last Tuesday and left hospital on the same day. Then he headed to hospital on Friday for follow-up tests, according to WAFA.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 05:40:13|Editor: yan

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BRASILIA, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian truck drivers on Monday blocked key highways and disrupted cargo shipments to protest a rise in diesel prices and demand a reduction in fuel taxes.

Protesters blocked access to highways across at least seven states, including Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro.

Truck drivers had threatened last week to take action unless the federal government met their demands.

Fuel costs account for 42 percent of their working expenses, the drivers said, so lowering taxes would help counter the rise in gasoline and diesel prices, which have shot up nearly 16 percent in the past 12 months.

The price hike is a result of new pricing policies implemented by the state-run oil giant Petrobras, which now passes on to consumers any variations in the price of oil on the international market.

The truck drivers have the support of the owners of gasoline stations, who have also seen their profit margins shrink.

Brazil's President Michel Temer was to meet with aides later in the day to discuss the rise in fuel costs and possible tax breaks, the Agencia Brasil news agency reported.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (L) participates in a parade to commemorate the International Workers' Day in Caracas, Venezuela, on May 1, 2018. (Xinhua/Prensa Miraflores/AVN)

WASHINGTON, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Monday escalated its rhetoric and moves against Venezuela, right after Nicolas Maduro secured a second six-year term in the country's election.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order prohibiting certain additional transactions with respect to Venezuela.

The order, effective at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Monday, targets the Maduro government by banning all transactions by a U.S. individual or an entity within the United States from purchasing any debt owed to the Venezuelan government, including accounts receivable.

Moreover, the order prohibits the purchase of any debt owed to Venezuela that is pledged as collateral after the effective date of the order; the sale, transfer, assignment, or pledging as collateral by Venezuela of any equity interest in any entity in which the Venezuelan government has a 50-percent or greater ownership interest.

It also bans "any transaction that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, causes a violation of, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions" and "any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions" set forth in this order.

Trump has authorized the U.S. treasury secretary, in consultation with the state secretary, to promulgate rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to implement this order.

"All agencies of the United States Government shall take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order," reads the order.

Earlier on Monday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence lashed out at Venezuela's elections in a statement, saying it was a "sham" that was "neither free nor fair."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said in a statement issued on the same day that the United States will take "swift economic and diplomatic actions" against Caracas.

Venezuelan President of the National Electoral Council (CNE) Tibisay Lucena announced late Sunday that Maduro was reelected by a wide margin, garnering over 5.8 million votes, with a voter turnout at 46.01 percent. Maduro's next closest rival Henri Falcon got around 1.8 million ballots and the third-place candidate Javier Bertucci got 925,042 votes.

Minutes after the electoral body issued its announcement, Maduro celebrated the results, calling on opposition leaders, including former opposition candidates, to take part in constructive dialogue to promote national peace and prosperity.

Maduro was first elected in 2013, pledging to strengthen the Bolivarian Revolution launched by former President Hugo Chavez.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Feb 5. that China supports the various parties of Venezuela to properly settle their problems through dialogue, adding that China is willing to continue to help with the country's economic and social development through practical bilateral cooperation.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 06:05:16|Editor: Chengcheng

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Syrian soldiers walk in the Hajar al-Aswad district, south of Damascus, Syria, on May 21, 2018, just hours after it was declared free of the Islamic State (IS) militants. For the first time in seven years, Syria's capital Damascus was declared secure and empty of any rebel presence on Monday, following the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in their last strongholds south of the capital, an achievement that closed the last chapter of war in the Syrian capital. (Xinhua/Hummam Sheikh Ali)

by Hummam Sheikh Ali

DAMASCUS, May 21 (Xinhua) -- For the first time in seven years, Syria's capital Damascus was declared secure and empty of any rebel presence on Monday, following the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in their last strongholds south of the capital, an achievement that closed the last chapter of war in the Syrian capital.

The battles against the IS have renewed a month ago, as the government forces were pushing hard to eradicate the terror-designated group from Hajar al-Aswad and the nearby Yarmouk Camp, both the last IS-held areas in the capital.

The sounds of airstrikes and artillery shelling targeting the IS positions in those areas and nearby pockets were the themes of the month-long battles, as the buildings in Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmouk Camp are so close to one another, almost cramming the neighborhoods there.

The structure of those areas made it extremely hard for the infantry units to easily storm there easily, which explained the intensified airstrikes and artillery shelling against the IS positions.

The Syrian army on Monday declared the entire Damascus city and its countryside secure, with the defeat of IS in their last stronghold south of Damascus.

In a statement, the army said the significance of this achievement emanates from the defeat of the most "vicious terrorist group" and proves that the Syrian army has become more powerful and determined to eliminate the terrorist groups in other Syrian areas.

Following the victory declaration, Xinhua reporters visited Hajar al-Aswad area, and it was a fresh battlefield.

Black and white smoke was still spiraling outward into the air over the area, with the heavy smell of smoke penetrating the nose strongly. The smoke was heavy and it felt as if the fog has enshrouded the area, making it difficult to see clearly.

A fire was also seen gutting some homes and streets, while the rubble was everywhere with pancaked buildings, whose rooftops have kneeled down and kissed the ground.

The spectacle was a total disaster in that area, and it seemed the normal result of the presence of a terror-designated group such as IS in a vital area only a few kilometers from Damascus.

While the Syrian army officially denied it, activists such as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the IS militants had finally surrendered and evacuated to the Syrian desert.

This claim was denied by the state media, which said that only women, children and elderly men were evacuated from Hajar al-Aswad.

Either way, the result is the same that Damascus is now safe all around, according to the Syrian army.

In Hajar al-Aswad, a colonel told Xinhua that military victory in Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmouk Camp is so important to the security of the capital.

"This achievement of liberating Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmouk Camp is considered very big as it restores the peace and security to Damascus and its countryside," the officer said.

Meanwhile, Maher Ihsan, a Syrian political expert, told Xinhua that the declaration of the capital safe has a political significance as the capital, which is the core of control of the government of President Bashar al-Assad, is now safe and far from any threat, contrary to previous years when the rebels' threat was reaching the heart of the capital with mortar shells.

"This means that the government is in a strong position now that the capital is entirely under control and the threat of the rebels on the capital has been eliminated completely," he said.

The Yarmouk Camp, which is adjacent to Hajar al-Aswad, was largely populated by Palestinian refugees in Damascus, the reason why it was called a "camp"; the fact is that this area was booming ahead of the crisis as it constituted of several neighborhoods and marketplaces that were bustling with people.

The Syrian army turned the focus on Hajar al-Aswad and the Yarmouk Camp after capturing the entire Eastern Ghouta countryside east of Damascus, as well as the eastern part of Qalamoun region north of Damascus, after the rebels withdrew to northern Syria areas this month.

IS has lost its major stronghold late last year, with the Syrian army capturing the Deir al-Zour city in eastern Syria as well as large swathes of the Syrian desert near the Iraqi border. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) also stripped the IS of its de facto capital of Raqqa north of Syria.

Now, the IS still holds some areas in the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, namely in villages on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, where the SDF is now fighting against the terror group.Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-22 06:40:22|Editor: Chengcheng

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Frank Turyatunga, the Deputy Regional Director, Africa Office, UN Environment, speaks at the Joint Network and Thematic Meetings of the National Ozone Officers of the 54 African countries in Gaborone, capital of Botswana, on May 21, 2018. The United Nation (UN) Environment, Africa office has applauded Africa's 54 countries for their efforts to phase out CFCs and Halons among others, which were some of the most widely used ozone-depleting substances. (Xinhua/Sharon Tshipa)

GABORONE, May 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Nation (UN) Environment, Africa office has applauded Africa's 54 countries for their efforts to phase out CFCs and Halons among others, which were some of the most widely used ozone-depleting substances.

Speaking at the Joint Network and Thematic Meetings of the National Ozone Officers of the 54 African countries, which commenced on Monday, in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana, Frank Turyatunga, the Deputy Regional Director, Africa Office, UN Environment, said the total emissions that will ultimately be avoided as a result of phasing-down HFCs - as well as the extent to which other sustainable development co-benefits can be secured - will depend on the choices countries make about key issues.

Africa's efforts to phase out CFCs and Halons followed the 16th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), which welcomed the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

The protocol adopted in Kigali on Oct.15, 2016 at the 28th Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol, included a commitment to reduce the production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons by more than 80 percent over the next 30 years in order to reduce greenhouse gases.

According to the 2016 consumption data that Botswana submitted to Ozone Secretariat, the country has already achieved the 10 percent HCFC reduction and it is expected that by continuing with the ongoing activities the country will also achieve the 35 percent reduction by 2020 in line with the phasedown schedule.

In order to reduce greenhouse gases effectively in the next 30 years, Frank Turyatunga called on all member states who have not yet ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, to do so as soon as possible.

He said they should do this bearing in mind that universal participation is necessary to ensure the protection of both the ozone layer and the climate.

Without a healthy ozone layer, all life on earth would be negatively impacted by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Skin cancer, cataracts, and threats to plant growth and food chains are just some of the effects said to cause by high exposure to ultraviolet radiation.ABSTRACT

Soil erosion is an important cause of land degradation and consequent to soil fertility which reduces land productivity and production. This problem aggravates in developing countries like Ethiopia. To minimize this challenge, soil and water conservation with proper design is the first choice. The aim of this study was to assess the adoption and effect of Vetiver grass on soil erosion in Somodo watershed. Community mobilization was used to implement Vetiver grass on farm lands as bund stabilization and grass strip. Accordingly, more than 45 km (20%) of the watershed was covered by Vetiver grass on soil bund as bund stabilizing measure. The hedge was fully established within two years and formed averagely 36 cm raised terrace. The result of the study showed that within two years period about 36 cm soil was accumulated above the hedgerow. From mean annual soil deposition and average bulk density of the watershed, the mean annual soil loss was recorded 20.88 ton ha1year1 in the absence of Vetiver hedge row as erosion barrier. In addition, field slope was reduced on average by 2.5% due to soil accumulated above Vetiver hedgerow. And phosphorus availability was found higher on the above hedgerow than below the hedge row while, exchangeable acidity was found less above the hedgerow than below the Vetiver hedgerow in the watershed which implies soil fertility improvement. The study recommends Vetiver hedgerow as an immediate mitigation measure for soil erosion on hill slopes and farm lands which can be implemented through community mobilization. Further study on how the Vetiver hedgerow improves phosphorus availability and decreases exchangeable acidity is also highly recommended.

Subject Areas:

Environmental Sciences, Natural Geography

Keywords:

Vetiver Grass, Hedge Row, Soil Erosion

1. Introduction

Soil degradation can be described as a reduction of resource potential by a combination of processes, such as soil erosion by water and wind, acting on the land and bringing about deterioration of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soil [1] . Land degradation is a major environmental problem in Ethiopia and it is manifested mainly in the form of soil erosion, gully formation, soil fertility loss, and crop yield reduction.

In the Ethiopian highlands case, the decline of soil fertility and severe soil erosion is due to water outflow on steep and fragile land that have been under intensive farming [2] . Researches assessed an actual rate of erosion exceeding the regenerating rate, which is 12 ton/ha/year. In 1986, estimations of the erosion damage were as followed: regarding the highlands, 50% were significantly eroded, of which 25% were seriously one and 4% of those were impossible to regenerate [3] .

Soil conservation strategy is one of the most prevention methods of soil being eroded from land surface. These mechanisms reduce soil acidity, salinization, chemically altered by over use and other chemical soil contaminations to retain the fertility of soil. In Ethiopia, the agricultural sector creates employment for about 84% of the population and it accounts for 45% - 50% of the GDP of the country and makes the largest input to raw materials for agro-industries and food security. The cost of loss of soil and essential nutrients due to unsustainable management in Ethiopia is estimated to be about $139 million annually [4] . He stressed that this cost is about 3% - 4% of the agricultural GDP but where 85% of the rapidly growing population depends on agriculture; even this small percentage is critical.

Smallholder farms are pre-dominant and account for more than 90% of agricultural production and cover over 95% of the total areas under cultivation [5] [6] . However, most of their products go for their own use as they retain about 80% of their products for their own consumption [7] . Cognizant of these problems, soil and water conservation technologies were implemented in many parts of the country for the last 30 years. These conservation mechanisms were introduced mainly in some degraded and food deficit parts of the country. Thus, fanyaju and level soil bund are mainly practiced in the area [8] . However, biological conservation measures are ignored for a long period of time in the country. But, in most parts of the world, biological conservation measures have been practicing [9] . In Ethiopia, these biological conservation measures was started during 1980s when revising the soil and water conservation strategies, it included both physical and biological conservation methods.

Runoff is made to move more gently down the slope over the soil surface and as it does, it is intercepted and spread out by the Vetiver strip. In using the Vetiver as a green structure, the farmer does not need any mathematical formulae or engineering designs for its establishment in the field. Even in situations where steep slope limits the use of engineering structures and erosion continues uncontrolled, the green structure can be used without any constraint. To the farmer, this means food crops can be effectively grown on very steep slopes with a reasonable level of erosion control. Studies on the use of Vetiver grass buffer strips for soil and water conservation are still in their infancy in Nigeria [10] . Field measurements such as erosion plots, bounded runoff plot, erosion pin, splash boards (splash erosion measurement), sequential surveys using aerial photography and recording stations (sediment yield and discharge) are major methods of soil erosion measurement by field measurement and experiments [11] .

In the watershed, there is no information on the rate of soil erosion and biological mitigation measures to overcome the problem. In addition, there is no information on the effectiveness of Vetiver hedge row used as grass strip or as bund stabilizer in the study area. Because of these, the study was initiated with the objective of evaluating the effects of Vetiver hedge on soil erosion through erosion pin measurement and slope change in Somodo watershed.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Description of the Study Area

The study was conducted at Somodo watershed, which is found at the upper part of Abay (Nile) river basin, Oromia regional state in the South West part of Ethiopia. It is located about 20 km from Jimma town and about 369 kilometers to the South West of Addis Ababa, Capital City of the country. The watershed covers about 400 ha with a total of 300 households and found in between 746'00'' - 747'00''N latitude and 3647'00'' - 3648'00''E longitude. The altitude of the watershed varies in the ranges of 1900 to 2075 m.a.s.l. The average annual rainfall of the area is about 1523 mm with the mean temperature of 18.9C ranging from 13.0C and 24.8C (Figure 1).

2.2. Method of Data Collection

Awareness and training for stakeholders, local farmers, woreda/district experts and development agents were given in different time on the use of Vetiver grass and how to plant it for soil erosion before intervention. Vetiver grass nursery site was established at Jimma Agricultural research center and distributed for the farmers in the watershed to be planted as a grass strip on gentle slope farm lands and grazing lands, and as stabilizing agent for physical soil and water conservation structures, soil bund, implemented by community mobilization. During the study about 45 km Vetiver hedgerow was planted as a grass strip and 95 km was planted on soil bunds to stabilize the structure. This Vetiver was planted as a single hedgerow and double hedgerows. Above and below hedgerow erosion pins

Figure 1. Study area map.

were planted to measure the amount of soil deposited or removed at both above and below the hedgerows.

To evaluate its effect on some soil properties and nutrient contents soil samples were taken from four location in the watershed above the hedgerow and below the hedgerow; and these samples were analyzed in Jimma agricultural research center soil and plant tissue laboratory for phosphorus availability, bulk density and exchangeable acidity separately before and after Vetiver intervention. Furthermore, the slope or gradient changes of farm lands at four locations were also measured by the help of clinometers before and after intervention.

These locations were selected purposively, one from the upper part of the watershed and two from the middle of the watershed. The rest one was from the bottom of the watershed near to the outlet. Mean annual soil loss of the watershed was determined through erosion pin measurement, which is applied through multiplication of pin height and bulk density.

3. Results and Discussions

3.1. Effect of Vetiver Hedge on Soil Erosion

The mean soil deposited from all, four, locations above the Vetiver hedgerow within two years was found to be 36 cm. The maximum soil deposition was observed at location 2 and 3, at the middle of the watershed, and minimum at 1 and 4 locations, which were found at the upper and lower part of the watershed respectively. This result implies that in the absence of Vetiver hedgerows on average about 36 cm soil can be removed or eroded within two years period of time in the watershed and the inverse can occur if Vetiver hedge row is implemented.

As shown in Table 1. The bulk density ranges from 1.11 to 1.20 with a mean value of 1.16. It is clear that if 36 cm soil is deposited within two years due to Vetiver hedge about 18 cm soil can be saved by Vetiver hedge in one year. This

Table 1. Vetiver hedge row effect on soil erosion and bulk density.

also mean that in the absence of Vetiver hedge on slope farm lands similarly about 18 cm of soil depth can be eroded from the watershed according to this study. Using average soil eroded in one year in the absence of Vetiver which is 18 cm and average bulk density of 1.16 gmcm3 mean annual soil loss was resulted 20.88 ton ha1year1 by multiplying mean soil depth and mean soil bulk density.

This result is in agreement with the findings of some researchers on soil erosion rate in different parts of the country. [12] has found mean annual soil loss ranging from 7 - 243 ton ha1year1 for a catchment in the Blue Nile basin while [13] found the annual soil loss of Ethiopia highlands ranges from 16 - 300 ton ha1year1 from pasture ranges and cultivated fields. And [14] came up with the result of soil erosion range of 2.60 - 116.94 ton ha1year1 in the Eastern part of Ethiopia.

Soil moisture content on the Vetiver plots was higher than on the control by a mean of 25.6% at 40 cm depth and 50.1% at 20 cm depth [15] . The higher moisture content under Vetiver strip management is the result of reduced run-off velocity and enhanced water infiltration during the rains. [16] came out with the result Vetiver grass (Vetiveria nemoralis) has great potential for reducing runoff and soil loss by about 38.7 - 68.6.

The Vetiver strips delayed incipient runoff and reduced peak runoff rate and steady erosion rate. The land slope affected soil loss but did not have a significant effect on runoff. A narrow Vetiver hedge interval slightly reduced runoff and soil loss more than a wider one. The soil loss equation obtained in this study revealed that runoff has a higher effect on soil loss.

3.2. Effect of Vetiver Hedge on Slope

The hedge was planted on a field with a slope of 13%, 17% and 18% and after two years of intervention the slopes of these fields were reduced to 11%, 14% and 16% due to the accumulated soil above the hedge. These hedges were currently growing to terrace and field slope length was also reduced. The field length is divided into different segments with the Vetiver hedgerows and as a result field slope was reduced from 16.25% to 13.75% on average, which is about 2.5% slope change due to Vetiver hedge intervention.

Due to the reduction of slope gradient and slope length soil erosion problem in the watershed was also reduced as some farmers stated. This is because the hedgerows reduce the velocity of running water detaching and transporting soil particles (Table 2).

3.3. Effect of Vetiver Hedge on Soil Nutrient

According to local farmer discussants, soil fertility and productivity around the area is being increased after they had started to implement and adopt Vetiver grass as a protective measure for soil erosion. As indicated in Figure 2 nutrient availability of the above hedge row is higher than below the hedge row. This indicates that, mineral contents in the soil were increasing after this Vetiver grass planted in the watershed. Therefore, the production and productivity of the area was increased.

The other interesting finding of this study was exchangeable acidity improvement which showed increment above the hedgerow was less than below the Vetiver hedgerow in all locations across the watershed. The reason is that, nutrients that were going to be eroded by water erosion were protecting above the Vetiver hedgerow. [17] reported soil bulk density, CEC, Organic Matter, Total Nitrogen, Available Phosphorous, and Potassium contents, were significantly higher for soil with Vetiver than for without Vetiver grass soil at Anno agro industry farm, Gobu Sayo District, Oromiya region, Ethiopia. They concluded that the use of Vetiver grass as a soil conservation practice improved soil fertility and land productivity. Their finding was also in agreement with the finding of this study.

4. Summary and Recommendation

This study revealed that, the implementation of soil and water conservation practices in the watershed has many advantages regarding ecosystem and sustaining farmers livelihood. The result of this study shows that, Vetiver grass plantation and soil bund construction in the area are significantly affected the soil physico-chemical properties as well as the production and productivity at large. In addition to this, Vetiver grass hedge row as bund stabilization on slope farm lands can minimize soil erosion by 20.88 ton ha1year1 and reduce land slope by 13.75 percent in two years. Accordingly, soil fertility can be improved and ecosystem of the watershed is conserved through implementation of Vetiver

Table 2. Effect of Vetiver hedge row on slope.

Figure 2. Effect of two years vetiver hedgerow on ex-acidity and available phosphorus in Somodo watershed.

hedge row in the watershed.

The study can recommend Vetiver hedge row to reduce sever erosion, increase soil fertility, reduce land slope length and steepness, and can serve as watershed ecosystem conservation if it is implemented properly through community participatory approach.

Acknowledgements

My great appreciation goes to Jimma Agricultural Research Center Soil and Plant Tissue Laboratory for their active participation in soil sample analysis and Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research for supporting this research financially.

Cite this paper

Tesfaye, G., Debebe, Y. and Yakob, T. (2018) Adoption and Effect of Vetiver Grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) on soil Erosion in Somodo Watershed, South-Western Ethiopia. Open Access Library Journal, 5: e4431. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1104431

ReferencesChildren's Day is celebrated in Hungary on the last Sunday in May each year.

The tradition of celebrating Children's Day started here in 1931, but then it wasn't just a special day. The festive of events ran for a whole week. Only later that week of celebrations was shortened to one day only, much to children's regret!



On Children's Day in Hungary parents allow their children to do 'whatever they want to' and visit any place they would like, so zoos and amusement parks become very popular on this day.

Children also chose where they'd like to eat. Parents can't say No, because it's Children's Day and they do nearly everything for them.

The weather may spoil all outdoor events, however, children won't be upset, because they make ask their parents for any present they want to. Many children choose this option and get some things, they were dreaming of for a long time.

The government of Hungary remembers about celebration of Children's Day and makes local authorities and governmental institutions responsible for organization of special events for children.

These cultural and educational events are focused on children's well-being. Parents are also welcomed to participate.

More: anydayguide.com and officeholidays.comThere are restaurants in the city that people born and raised here would never think of opting for. Castle District or Vaci utca? No way. Andrassy ut? Only if someone truly trusted recommends it (such as The Budapest Times for example). Raday utca? In justified exceptions.

But what if because of our fear of "tourist traps" we lose out on wonderful culinary experiences? So we went on a discovery tour and found that the Halaszbastya Etterem is one of those restaurants in the city that should not be missed.



There are very few of us true Budapesters who have not been to the Fisherman's Bastion yet. And if you go, you will certainly fall in love with the romantic turrets and curved observation terraces.



The neo-Romanesque monument erected between 1895 and 1902  which owes its name to the Fisheries Guild, who protected this section of the city wall in the Middle Ages  also counts as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city, and is frequented daily by innumerable tour groups from all over the world.



While mainly the western galleries and terraces are used to take a quick look at the incomparable Danube panorama, the bastion in the north tower has a sophisticated restaurant, the Halaszbastya Etterem.



Historic ambience

The restaurant got its present form in 2010, but there had been a restaurant here between 1970 and 2003. Time had left its mark on the North Tower, which eventually had to be closed off because it was deemed too dangerous to enter.



When the support of the government allowed the spending of around HUF 500 million, Magyar Halaszbastya Kft.  the present owner of Halaszbastya Etterem  completely renovated the tower and its adjoining gallery. The stairs that lead up to this part of the bastion have also been redone and even an elevator was built, making the restaurant wheelchair-accessible.

A significant portion of the money was spent on restoring the interior in a historically accurate manner and it was done with great success. After entering the restaurant and passing the anteroom, patrons find themselves in the middle of the tower, a section known as the Hall of Knights.



In addition to a few tables for two to four people, four heavy wooden round tables are available for larger groups. The largest of them, right in the centre of the impressive room, can accommodate up to 12 people.



In addition to crystal chandeliers and carved wooden figures on the walls, the carpets specially made for the restaurant give the interior its historic ambience. The carpet displays one of the famous emblems of the bastion as well as the logo of the restaurant, a shield held by two lions with the outline of the iconic building.

If you want to enjoy a bit more privacy, you should use the narrow staircase and retreat to the upper gallery of theHall of Knights, where five tables await offering hospitality to up to six people each. According to restaurant manager Robert Gaspar, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other heads of state, who have already paid one or two visits to the restaurant, also use the gallery for an intimate meal.

Some of the tables even have their own small outdoor balcony from which you can quickly snap a great souvenir photo between two courses.



From here a few more steps lead to the tower room of the restaurant, which opens to a terrace, offering room for an additional 40 guests, and without exaggerating it is one of the most beautiful places in the Castle District, especially in good weather. But no matter on which floor of the restaurant you are sitting, a unique view of the Danube and the city are included in your meal.



Classics in a new format

The well-arranged menu focuses on traditional Hungarian dishes, such as goulash soup, mangalica neck steak and chicken paprikash. But while the restaurant bows to the dictates of its location, the implementation of local cuisine is very much its own way. In terms of preparation technology and especially presentation, the restaurant can easily keep up with other fine-dining locations of the Hungarian capital.



Classics such as liver pate or chicken pork chops that are actually used for simple home cooking are broken down into their individual building blocks and served so or reassembled in a surprising shape.

The kitchen of the restaurant is run by head chef Zoltan Hammer. His unique style for each dish is also reflected in the choice of porcelain used for the serving.



Halaszbastya Etterem is playful in its choice of ingredients or side dishes, whether it is using goat cheese balls with bourbon vanilla, lamb instead of beef for its goulash soup, or polenta instead of potatoes to complement the steak. All this makes a visit to the restaurant a novel experience even for Hungarians or those who are already familiar with the local cuisine.

In addition to the a la carte courses and the recommendations of the chef, the restaurant offers a variety of six-course meals, the cheapest for HUF 14000. There are corresponding wine pairings available for each menu.



This is ensured by their extensive wine selection, which covers all the regions of Hungary as well as a good selection of foreign wines.



Conclusion

If one defines a "tourist trap" by exploiting the popularity of a particular location to sell inferior and often unoriginal food at excessive prices, Halaszbastya Etterem undoubtedly receives absolution.



Granted, a visit to the elegant restaurant does not come cheaply, and it's clear that you will have to pay for the prestigious location, but the quality you receive is in a healthy relationship with the prices of the place.

If you are not an international film star, a head-of-state, a well-known businessman  who regularly frequent the establishment  or simply if your purse is not filled with cash to the brink, you should probably reserve a visit to the Halaszbastya Etterem for a special occasion. But if you want to pull out all the stops for that special someone, this is exactly the place to celebrate romantic anniversaries, or even to hold a wedding reception.

In addition to the unique view, the sophisticated interior and the surprisingly innovatively presented dishes, it is above all the professional and very attentive service that makes a visit a special experience.



To be placed at the table by the head waiter, to conjure up the food under the serving bell or the liquor cart appearing between the courses may perhaps be considered outdated in the trendy restaurants of the city, but here it contributes to the magic of fine dining.

If you want to experience the historical ambiance and the splendour of Halaszbastya Etterem without having to empty all of your pockets, you can do so in the lounge area of the restaurant located in the gallery corridor adjacent to the tower.



Here, too, patrons can expect an excellent  albeit not so exclusive  service.



Halaszbastya Etterem

Budapest, District I, North Tower of the Fishermans Bastion

Open: daily noon-midnight

Reservations: (+36-1) 201-6935

See www.halaszbastya.eu

Prices:

Soups and starters: HUF 2520-5600

Mains: HUF 3920-9800

Desserts: HUF 2800-3080

Six-course menu (without wine): HUF 22,400-32,200THE FRIED walleye on a bed of spanish rice with a mild jalapeno cream sauce was one of the dishes that secured the Aberdeen Restaurant and Bar the People's Choice award at the Taste of the Northwoods Sunday in Mercer.

MERCER, Wis. - Some of the best culinary talents in the region put their skills to the test Sunday at the Taste of the Northwoods fundraiser at the Mercer Community Center.

The event, in its fifth year, was a fundraiser for the Mercer Education Foundation.

"All proceeds from both of our annual fundraisers go to support teacher grants over at the Mercer School, and also senior scholarships," said foundation president Jama Boes.

"(Teacher grants) are items that are not in the typical school budget," Boes said. "So, for instance, the robotics team was here and we've helped sponsor them. We've...ABSTRACT

This study explores the temporal and spatial distribution of technology transfer in China by analyzing the licensing activities from the perspective of supplier and demander of the technology transfer chain, using the data obtained from the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO). We find that the overall number of licensed technologies has increased dramatically during 10 years and different types of technology show diverse trends. And the technology age is declining year by year, among which the age of invention patents is the oldest. As licensors, individuals and firms provide the vast majority of outward technologies and most of their technologies are utility models. However, only firms take the vast majority as licensee. And most inward technologies come from foreign organizations before 2008, while domestic sources provide the majority of inward technologies after 2008. We also provide suggestions for policy-makers and firms.

Keywords:

Technology Transfer, Patent Licensing, China

1. Introduction

Learning from external technology sources through an effective technology market has been promoted as a primary means to overcome technological deficiencies at a national level [1] . Technology transfer has been one of the most important vehicles by which firms gain access to technological knowledge from developed economies [2] . Technology licensing is one of the most important means through which technology transfer is achieved. Many scholars have confirmed through empirical research that in-licensed technology from the outside can effectively improve their innovation performance [3] [4] . As a developing country, China acquires and absorbs advanced knowledge from developed countries, which is the key in filling its own technical gaps and catching up with other countries [5] [6] . Among them, patent licensing is an important channel for technology transfer.

The patent licensing activities represent the transfer of the right to use the patent from the licensor to the licensee, and it shows obvious directionality. From the perspective of the licensor, especially for developing countries, the in-licensed technology can provide strategic assets to make up for technological gaps and gain competitive advantage in the international market [7] . Therefore, patent licensing is widely considered one of the most important ways to transfer technology.

In the previous researches, the dimensions of knowledge transfer are generally drawn from temporal, spatial and geographical perspectives [8] . Liu and Ma explored the rules of knowledge creation activities at both temporal and spatial scales through a bibliometric view [9] . Chen provided a detailed analysis on the potentiality for alliances involving technology transfer between Chinese enterprises and Western companies, based on a questionnaire survey covering 200 sample companies and factories in mechanical industries in China [10] .

However, most existing studies focused mainly on the supply of technology, but several other aspects of these markets remain under-studied, including the demand for technology and the dynamic interaction in the market for technology. We believe that these questions are becoming increasingly vital due to the stylized fact that the innovation paradigm has been shifting from closed innovation to open innovation, in which an increasing number of firms from both developed and developing countries are adopting external technology as their main innovation strategy [11] [12] . Thus, to address the aforementioned question, this study intends to empirically analyze the data obtained from the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) to explore the overall trends, the evolutions of temporal and geographical distributions of technology transfer represented by technology licensing activities from the perspectives of supplier and demander of the technology transfer chain respectively.

This study makes a contribution that it analyzes the temporal and geographical distribution of technology transfer, not only from the perspective of licensee, but also in terms of licensor, extending the existing literature on knowledge transfer. In practice, these findings have strong implications for policy-makers and firm managers about how to find, transfer and successfully commercialize the existing technologies generated by various agents in different places.

However, there are still a few limitations of this study. Firstly, this study only empirically analyzes the temporal and geographical distribution of technology transfer. Secondly, this article only explores the flow of knowledge through the patent licensing, while there are many other channels of technology transfer remaining to be investigated. Thirdly, it is difficult to update the data we use in this study, so we can only investigate the rule of the evolutions from 2002 to 2012. Future research is needed to provide better investigation about this topic.

The next section introduces the data sources and methods used in this study. Section 3 presents the analysis results from the perspective of the licensor, while Section 4 from the perspective of the licensee. At last, this paper ends with discussion and conclusions.

2. Technology Licensing Data and Methods

Patent licensing refers to the way in which a patented technology owner can authorize another entity to use the technology in a certain way for a certain period of time, and the licensee needs to pay a fee to the licensor. In practice, the technology holder is generally called the licensor, whereas the opposite knowledge user is referred to as the licensee. Since 2001, SIPO has been authorized by legislation to register technology licensing contracts within three months after them being signed by the licensor and licensee. The data used in this paper is obtained from the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO). However, the available data is only published from 2002 to 2012 by SIPO, so there is a time limit of our data.

The records of patent license contract include information such as contract filing number, patent number, patent name, license type, etc. The licensors could be individuals or firms, either domesticor abroad, but all the licensees are domestic. We search the names of the licensor and the licensee on the website of the Trade and Industry Bureau and the search engine to check the provinces where the patent licensor and the licensee are located. After excluding invalid data, there are 86,662 valid records, covering 41,691 license contracts, with a total of 76,289 patents, 19,976 licensors and 22,080 licensees (see Table 1). The licensors come from 31 provinces and territories in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and foreign countries, but the licensees are all from 31 provinces in China.

Some prior studies have shown that mature technologies and state-of-the-art technologies have very different advantages and disadvantages for further innovation [13] . So we will study the evolutions of technology flow by analyzing the distribution of technology age of the licensed technology from the temporal perspective [14] . Technology age equals the interval between a patent being granted and being licensed. For example, if a technology has been granted in 2000 and licensed in 2005, then its technology age is 5 years. The older the patent is, the more mature the technology is, which means the technology is fully tested by the market. If the technology age is smaller, it represents a more advanced technology.

Figure 1 shows the total amount of in-licensed patents in China from 2002 to 2012. The amount of patents has increased from 265 in 2002 to 15,898 in 2012,

Table 1. Total number of valid data published by SIPO.

Figure 1. Annual number of technologies recorded in the SIPO, 2002-2012.

almost an increase of 60 times. And there are three stages of the evolutions of the distribution. In the first stage, only less than 500 patents are licensed out each year from 2002 to 2004. While according to the China Statistical Yearbook, the number of patents granted exceeded 100,000 each year from 2002 to 2004. This reflects the fact that the transfer of patented technology has not been paid enough attention. And technology licensing is not common as a channel for technology transfer then. In the second stage, the number of licensed technology increased rapidly but unsteadily from 2005 to 2008. This is mainly due to the rise of optical disc technology and the vacancy in the domestic optical disc technology market, which requires the import of advanced technologies in large quantities to make up for domestic technological gaps. In the third stage, the number of licensed technology increased rapidly and steadily after 2008, which indicates that patent licensing has received widespread attention as a technology transfer channel.

3. Licensor

Most existing studies focus mainly on the supply side of technology transfer in which case regions in China are the licensees, but seldom on the demand side. Thus, we intend to empirically explore the overall trend, the evolutions of temporal and geographical distribution of technology transfer from the perspectives of licensor.

3.1. Types of Licensor

According to Wangs classification method, licensors are classified as four types, including individuals, firms, research institutes and universities [8] . We find that most of the technologies licensed before 2008 come from firms, and after 2008, individuals are the main supplier of patented technology (see Figure 2). In 2011, as many as 11,912 patents are exported by individuals. Research institutions and universities tend to publish papers and apply for patents to improve innovation performance. They are less involved in the commercial use of their own technologies.

Figure 2. The distribution of outward technologies by licensor type (in absolute value), 2002-2012.

Figure 3 shows the respective percentage of different types of licensor based on the total number of licensed patents. We find that individuals and firms are the main exporters of patented technologies. Its usually difficult for individuals to commercialize the technology they hold, so they tend to license the technology out, rather than holding it for long periods of time. While firms are for-profit organizations, and they often quickly put their patented technology on the market and realize their maximized commercial benefits.

3.2. Types of Technology

There are three types of patent in China, including invention, utility model and design. And different types of technology contain different levels of innovation, of which inventions have the highest degree of innovation and design the lowest degree [15] . Figure 4 shows the distribution of various types of outward technology in terms of absolute value from 2002 to 2012. We find that the amount and growth rate of the three types of technology exported by regions within China is very small before 2008, and the amount of the three types of outward technology increases rapidly after 2008, especially utility models.

We further analyze the types of patents output by different types of licensors and the result is presented in Figure 5. It indicates that although universities and research institutions do not have an advantage in the number of outward technologies; most of the technologies provided are highly innovative inventions. Besides, the type of technologies that are mainly exported by enterprises and individuals are utility models, which are not so innovative, but can be quickly put into the market to generate economic benefits and realize the commercial use of technology. This is consistent with our previous analysis results.

3.3. Temporal Distribution

Licensors have a choice to license out whether mature technologies or state-of-the-art technologies. In the case of entities within China as licensors, we find the technology age of outward technologies exported by domestic individuals

Figure 3. The distribution of outward technologies by licensor type (in percentage), 2002-2012.

Figure 4. The distribution of outward technologies by patent type, 2002-2012.

Figure 5. The distribution of different types of outward technologies in terms of licensor type in 2012.

and organizations has gradually declined, from the highest of 4.4 to 2.6 (see Figure 6). While in 2004, the technology age suddenly dropped. This is due to the relatively low percentage of invention exported in 2004, which only makes up 43%, and most of the outputs are utility model patents and design patents with shorter technology life cycles.

Figure 6. Average age of outward technologies, 2002-2012.

Furthermore, we use the data of 2012 to analyze the distribution of technology age of outward technologies exported by different types of licensors. The result shows that whether it is individual or organizations, they will hold most of their technologies no more than 3 years (see Figure 7). Moreover, there are some different trends when it comes to different types of licensor. For example, individuals tend to license out most of their technologies within first year, while firms prefer 2 years. As for research institute and university, the duration is 3 years.

The reason is consistent with the analysis above. Individuals have difficulty in obtaining the commercial value from their technologies, and they have to bear the annual fee for the patent that increases as time goes by. Therefore, they will choose to license their technologies out as soon as possible. While firms will balance the expected return on technology and the maintenance cost to decide whether to hold the technology, and firms also have the ability to put technology into production, so it will retain its own technology for a longer time. As for research institute and university, they will choose to hold their own technology for a much longer period of time for the purpose of research and innovation.

3.4. Spatial Distribution

From the perspective of the licensors, it is interesting to know where the domestic technologies go. Figure 8 shows the total distribution of outward licensing (in terms of percentage) based on the location of the licensees. We find that within-province technology licensing takes the main role and there is almost no technology being licensed abroad. This finding indicates that technology transfer in China is very localized.

4. Licensee

It is also important to know how the distribution evolves when it comes to the perspective of the demand side of the technology transfer transaction. So this study will analyze the overall trends, the temporal and geographical distribution of technology transfer from the perspective of licensee.

Figure 7. The distribution of technology age by licensor type, 2002-2012.

Figure 8. The geographical distribution of outward technologies, 2002-2012.

4.1. Types of Licensee

We analyze the distribution of different types of licensee by the total number of in-licensed technologies. The result is shown in Figure 9 (in terms of percentage).

Unlike licensors, 97% of licensed technologies flow into firms. This finding suggests that enterprise is an effective channel for patented technology to enter the market to achieve commercial benefits.

4.2. Types of Technology

This study also investigates the distribution of different types of in-licensed technologies from the perspective of licensee. The result shows that the growth of the three types of technologies is very slow from 2002 to 2004 (see Figure 10). And there is an unsteady increase of invention patents from 2005 to 2007. However, during the last four years, utility models are the primary licensing type, almost three times the number of designs.

4.3. Temporal Distribution

Chinese licensees have a choice to import old or new technologies. We analyze

Figure 9. The distribution of inward technologies by licensee type, 2002-2012.

Figure 10. The distribution of inward technologies by patent type, 2002-2012.

the evolution of the average technology age of inward patents in China from 2002 to 2012 to find the preference of licensees. The result shows that Chinese licensees have gradually shifted their focus on newer technologies (see Figure 11). The average age of inward technologies during the period of 2005-2007 has shown a significant upward trend, due to a large number of mature foreign invention patents imported at that time. While after 2008, the average technology age is drastically reduced, approaching 3 years. This shows that one hand it is easier to acquire novel technologies in the technology market. On the other hand, now firms have enough technological capabilities to absorb and utilize innovative technologies to improve their own innovation capabilities.

Figure 12 shows the distribution of in-licensed technologies at every age in terms of absolute number. We find that most of the technologies are licensed within the first 3 years and starting from the third year, there is a rapid decline in the licensing of patents as time goes by.

Regarding the accumulated distribution of technology age, we find that 60 % of patents are licensed out within the first 3 years after being granted by SIPO (see Figure 13) and 90% of patents are licensed out within 8 years. On one hand, the maintenance costs of patents will increase with time, on the other hand, the

Figure 11. Average age of inward technologies, 2002-2012.

Figure 12. The distribution of age of inward technologies, 2002-2012.

Figure 13. Accumulated percentage of technology age of inward patents, 2002-2012.

market value of technologies will gradually decline as time goes by. So the technology owners will not hold their technologies for too long.

In order to investigate the licensees tendency to the newness of different types of patents, this paper further analyzes the age of technologies of different types. The results are shown in Figure 14. The technology age of foreign patents is

Figure 14. The average age of inward technology by patent type, 2002-2012.

generally higher than that of inventions and utility models, and the technology age of inventions is generally higher than that of utility models, except for 2007. This analysis also further validates that different types of technologies have different life cycles and different rate of technology obsolescence.

4.4. Spatial Distribution

Licensees may import technologies from different regions. Since China has been promoting an indigenous innovation policy since 2006, it will be interesting to see whether the source of technology licensing changed. Figure 15 and Figure 16 show the distribution of different regions of licensors (in absolute value and percentage, respectively). It indicates that before 2008 foreign technology market is the main supplier of technology, while after 2008, the inward technologies become much more localized, especially within province. This may be due to the development of the domestic technology market and the guiding role of indigenous innovation policy, resulting in technology search much more localized.

We find that from 2005 to 2007, foreign technologies account for more than 95% of the total amount (see Figure 16), indicating that domestic technology market has a strong dependence on foreign technology. However, the trend changes after 2008, with over 70% of inward technologies coming from within provinces, showing that domestic technology market is capable to meet the needs of demand side of technology transfer trade.

5. Conclusions

This paper empirically analyzes the evolution of distribution of technology transfer in China, using the data of patent licensing contracts published by the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) from 2002 to 2012. We study the rules of technology licensing activities from the perspectives of licensor and licensee respectively. The results of the analysis are as follows.

Figure 15. The distribution of inward technology by geographical sources (in absolute value), 2002-2012.

Figure 16. The distribution of inward technology by geographical sources (in percentage), 2002-2012.

On the overall trends, the total amount of technologies received in China has increased by nearly 60 times from 2002 to 2012. There are three stages of the whole evolution. From 2002 to 2004, no more than 500 patents are received every year, while from 2005 to 2007, the number of patents has increased a lot, by more than 10 times, with great fluctuations. Then, after 2008, the number of patents shows a steady and rapid growth trend. On one hand, our results reflect that the system of technology trade market has gradually improved, and technology information has become more transparent and open. On the other hand, patent licensing has gradually received wide attention as an important technology transfer channel. Moreover, different types of patents also show different trends, reflecting the change in demand for technology in the Chinese technology market, and utility model patents that can be rapidly put into production to obtain commercial benefits are valued by the market gradually.

From the perspective of licensor, firm is the main licensor type before 2007, while individuals become the main technology supplier after 2008. In the total number of patents, individuals and firms provide almost half of the total respectively. As for the type of technology, most of the outward technologies provided by individuals and firms are utility model patents, while most of the technologies provided by universities and research institutes are highly innovative invention patents.

Unlike the situation of licensor, 97% of licensees are firms, indicating that the main intention of technology transfer is to put technology into the market, generate benefits and realize commercial value.

As for the temporal distribution, technology age shows an overall downward trend from 2002 to 2012. About 60% of the technologies are licensed within the first three years, and the chance of technology being licensed decreases over time. It shows that the speed of technology upgrading is accelerating, and the market value of technology is declining with time. Therefore, when funds are limited, the licensees should choose to import newer technologies.

This study also reveals that most of the inward technologies come from foreign countries before 2007, while domestic suppliers take the leading role after 2008. This phenomenon of the evolution in the geographical distribution indicates that the technologies held by the domestic technology market now are able to meet its own needs and Chinas indigenous innovation policy makes technology search more localized.

In summary, this study analyzes the temporal and geographical distribution of technology transfer, not only from the perspective of licensee, but also in terms of licensor, extending the existing literature on knowledge transfer.

In practice, these findings have strong implications for policy-making and firm managers. First, they help policy-makers to address the specific external technology needs of the different regions and types of organizations. Second, this study not only helps the supplier of the technology, but also the demand side of technology transfer to make choices about the technology trade.

Although we emphasize our contribution to visualizing knowledge space of the knowledge value chain, there are still several limitations that deserve to be addressed in future studies. Firstly, this study only empirically analyzes the temporal and geographical distribution of technology transfer, while there are still technical and cognitive dimensions to be discussed. Secondly, this article only explores the flow of knowledge through the patent licensing, while there are many other channels of technology transfer, such as FDI and business alliances, remaining to be investigated.

Cite this paper

Cai, Y.Q. (2018) The Evolution of Distribution of Technology Transfer in China: Evidence from Patent Licensing. American Journal of Industrial and Business Management, 8, 1239-1252. https://doi.org/10.4236/ajibm.2018.85084

ReferencesCoun Perez reiterates warning to barangay leaders involved in drugs

07 Aug 2017 Hits:37 Comments(0)

Liga ng mga Barangay President, Councilor Jerry Perez yesterday reiterated his warning to all barangay officials from using or selling drugs. Perez said he is closely monitoring the activities of all the barangay officials and vowed sanctions against erring leaders. Aqui gane na mio barangay ya quita ya iyo na puesto cunel dos barangay leaders quien mas temprano ya sale positivo na...Tirupati: A controversy has broken out over the removal of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chief priest AV Ramana Deekshitulu. The move came days after he alleged that the administrators of the temple were swindling money. The decision to remove Ramana was taken in after the TTD Trust Board passed a resolution on Wednesday to state that all 'mirasi archakas' (hereditary priests) must be retired on reaching the age of 65.

In his place, a Venugopala Deekshitulu has been hired as head priest at the Lord Venkateswara temple atop Tirumala.

Ramana has alleged that the Tirupati temple administration misuses the offerings, as per Zee Media reports. He has also levelled allegations against Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, saying that that the CM chooses the board members and has diverted approximately Rs 100 crores of temple funds for his political use.

Ramana has further said that the temple's kitchen, where prasadam was made since thousands of years, was broken and ancient valuable ornaments kept beneath it has been taken away.

TTD is an independent trust which manages the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh. It also manages many other temples in Tirupati and all around the world.

Meanwhile, the TTD board said on Sunday that it would print 3D pictures of all precious ornaments at the temple as a safety measure. "The temple administration, as a safety measure, has decided to create a file of 3D pictures of all the jewels," TTD executive officer, AK Singhal told reporters, PTI reported.

He also said if Agama (Vedic scriptures defining traditions and rituals in a temple) pundits gave their nod, TTD would telecast on its SVBC channel all the rituals including the Suprabhatham, Thomala and other Sevas conducted for the main deity of Lord Venkateswara.

Singhal said he would soon hold talks with the Agama pundits on the proposed live telecast of the rituals performed for the main deity.Kathmandu: Nepal on Monday launched a new website in Chinese language in order to facilitate an increasing number of tourists from China who are visiting the Himalayan nation. The Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) has developed its website to inform Chinese tourists about major tourist destinations in the country. Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Rabindra Adhikari inaugurated the NTB website in Chinese that contains information about tourist destinations of all the seven provinces across Nepal.

The website lists major tourist spots along with graphics and pictures of important religious places, temples, snow-capped mountains and rivers. The infographic video uploaded on the website contains information on all seven provinces and the routes to reach various tourist spots.

Addressing a function organised in Kathmandu to unveil the website, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong said the site will help take bilateral ties between Nepal and China to new heights and help promote cultural and economic partnerships between the two countries through tourism.

Currently, more than 100,000 Chinese tourists visit Nepal every year.

Nepal has several beautiful regions and cities like Dolpa, Palpa, Tehrathum-Sankhuwasabha, Annapurna, Taplejung, Everest, Janakpur, Ilam, Kathmandu Valle, Pokhara, Bhaktapur, Gorkha, Patan, Kathmandu, Kirtipur, Bandipur, Gokyo Valley, Lumbini, Kapan Monastery, Tengboche, Rara, Bardiya, Namche Bazaar, national parks, Swayambhunath, Pashupatinath, Boudha, Manaslu, etc.Mumbai: Bigg Boss 10 contestant and Bhojpuri star Monalisa aka Antara Biswas is making this summer unbearably hot! The pretty actress, who is all set to sizzle as Jhuma Boudi in Dupur Thakurpo season 2, will make you go gaga over her sensuous avatar in the Bengali web-series.

She took to Instagram to share a video of a song on Holi from the web-series.

Wearing a white chiffon saree and a matching netted blouse Monalisa sets the temperature soaring with her dance moves. Her hair loosely plated and adorned with gajra makes her look even prettier.

Check out the video posted on Instagram:

The vermillion on her hair parting, the red kumkum bindi on her forehead, make Monalisa look absolutely gorgeous in the desi avatar. The traditional Shakha and Paula (bangles worn by married women in Bengal) complete her look.

She also shared a few stills from the song:

Monalisa became a household name after she appeared in the tenth season of Bigg Boss hosted by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. She married her Bhojpuri co-star Vikrant Singh Rajpoot while she was inside the house of Bigg Boss. Her wedding ceremony was aired on national television.

Monalisa is a very popular name in the Bhojpuri film industry and is one of the highest paid actresses. She made her debut in a film titled Bhole Shankar in 2008 and has worked in a number of films since then.

She has quite a few Bhojpuri films in her kitty including Itihaas with her real-life husband Vikrant Singh Rajpoot, Jawani Zindabad with Gaurav Jha, Rani Dildar Jani with Shyam Dehati, Milan Sanyog with Vikrant and Son Of Bihar with Rakesh Mishra, reports suggest.New Delhi: Bollywood's top-notch performer, Deepika Padukone has had a great start to the year with magnum opus 'Padmaavat' getting a thunderous response followed by her enchanting appearance at the Cannes red carpet. But what's got everyone guessing is why there hasn't been any formal film announcement on part of the actress.

Well, there are several speculations doing the rounds. According to a report in Deccan Chronicle.com, from her chronic neck and back problem to impending marriage with Ranveer Singh, rumour mongers are talking about it all in hush-hush tones.

However, the report states that another reason which is being cited is the fact that she now is focussing on author-backed scripts. Quoting a source the report mentions that although the actress has been offered big banner projects with leading actors but the script and her role has not been as powerful as 'Padmaavat'. So, the gravity of the role is primarily important for the actress, it seems.

Besides, remuneration is another big reason for why she hasn't signed anything new. Apparently, her fee is way too high for the production houses, reportedly.

Meanwhile, the Vishal Bhardwaj project which she was supposed to star in took a back seat after co-star Irrfan Khan revealed his health condition. The actor disclosed that he is suffering from NeuroEndrocrine Tumour for which is he undergoing treatment currently.NEW DELHI: The results of CBSE Class 12th and Class 10th Board examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education are likely to be released in a few days. As per media reports, the CBSE will announce the results on its official website -cbse.nic.in - by the end of May 2018.

The CBSE Class 12th Result 2018 and CBSE Class 10th Result 2018 will also be available on cbse.examresults.net, cbseresults.nic.in and results.gov.in. Students will be able to check their results by visiting any of these websites.

Interestingly, more boys had called up the CBSE counselling helpline with stress-related queries during exams than girls, statistics have revealed. The CBSE's annual outreach programme to help students beat exam stress begins in February every year and provides counselling to students till April.

The CBSE Class 12 examinations 2018 were held from March 5 to April 13 while the CBSE Class 10 examinations were conducted between March 5 to April 4.

Here is how to check CBSE Class 10, Class 12 Results 2018 -

Step 1: Log on to the official websites of the board - cbse.nic.in or cbseresults.nic.in

Step 2: Click on the link 'Class 10 Exam Results'

Step 3: Enter roll number and other required details

Step 4: Click on submit

The results will be displayed on the screen. Candidates are suggested to download their results and take a printout of the same for future reference. Students are advised to collect their official mark sheets from their respective institutes. The printouts are for information purposes only.

About CBSE

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) was founded on November 3, 1962. It's headquartered at Preet Vihar, New Delhi. Its primary function includes preparing academic programmes and organizing examinations, especially for Class 10 and Class 12 studentsA Dalit man was allegedly beaten to death on suspicion of death at a factory in Rajkot in Gujarat. The incident occurred on Sunday morning and video of the incident has been shared by many on social media platforms.

Sharing a video of the incident, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Chavda said that the name of the man beaten to death was Mukesh Vaniya, and that he used to collect garbage from the factory where is was beaten up mercilessly.

Dalit named Mukesh Vaniya was brutally beaten to death by factory owners where he used to collect garbage, on the suspicion of theft. His wife was also brutally beaten and tortured. - I strongly condemn this heinous and inhuman act. pic.twitter.com/Vqf9WrUQ86  Amit Chavda (@AmitChavdaINC) May 21, 2018

According to the Congress leader, the wife of the deceased was also beaten up by unidentified men in the factory premises.

Allahabad Mirror reported that the man was beaten up by three workers of the same factory. Following this, the police registered a case and detained two suspects for questioning on Sunday.

The complaint was filed by the wife of the deceased, Jaya, said the report. It further said that the factory workers stopped beating up her husband only after she rushed to the spot with some of her relatives.

However, as they rushed Vaniya to the Rajkot Civil Hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. The police have not given any confirmation on the theft charges against the deceased.

A case has been registered by the police under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.Union Health Minister JP Nadda has ordered the constitution of a high-level team of doctors to tackle the Nipah virus outbreak, which has claimed several lives in Kerala in the last two weeks. The order was given by the minister after he reviewed the situation.

According to news agency, ANI, a team constituted under the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has already reached Kerala. The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is constantly in touch with the Kerala Health department.

Notably, the Kerala Health department has been put on high alert after the rare virus claimed five lives in the state.

At least nine people died in Kozhikode in Kerala due to high fever. News agency ANI reported that the health department of the state confirmed that two out of the nine deceased were affected with the rare Nipah virus.

Earlier, there were reports of death of three members of a family in Kozhikode due to the Nipah virus. Following the deaths, the Kerala Health Department has been put on high alert.

Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister Mullappally Ramachandran had sought the central government's intervention to contain the outbreak of what he termed was a 'rare and deadly' virus in some parts of Kozhikode district.

In a letter to union health minister JP Nadda, a copy of which was made available to the press in Kochi, he said some panchayats, including Kuttiyadi and Perambra, in his Lok Sabha constituency of Vatakara were in the grip of the 'deadly virus'.Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa will be in Israel from May 21 to 24 to take part in a conference on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Israel Air Force. ACM Dhanoa will attend the "Air Superiority as a Bridge to Regional Stability" conference during the four-day tour and also discuss strategic issues with the Israeli military leadership and chiefs of over 20 other air forces.

Defence ties between India and Israel have grown manifold in the last couple of decades. India has emerged as Israel's biggest arms market and has been purchasing around $1 billion worth of weapons every year. Air forces of the two countries have also taken part in several professional exchange programmes over the last few years including Israel's largest air exercise - 2017 Blue Flag exercise. ACM Dhanoa will also visit bases of the Israel Air Force, monuments of Israeli military aviation and cultural heritage.

In January, India cancelled the USD 500 million order to but Spike anti-tank guided missiles from Israels state-owned defence contractor Rafael. However, India is going ahead with the acquisition of 131 Barak surface-to-air missiles by Rafael. The deal is worth USD 72 million. In 2009 Israel had sold Barak 8 air defence system to India for USD 1.1 billion.

The two countries established diplomatic ties only in January 1992 but the defence deals go back to 1962 when the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru wrote to his Israeli counterpart Ben Gurion and asked him to supply arms and ammunition during the Sino-India war. Israel had then accepted Nehru's request and supplied the weapons.

Israel had also supplied weapons to India during the 1971 war with Pakistan after former prime minister Indira Gandhi had written to Israeli PM Golda Meir.Even before taking oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, it seems that work has already begun for Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader HD Kumaraswamy. Reacting to a request by Rajinikanth, who is expected to soon launch a political party, Kumaraswamy has invited the superstar to Karnataka.

Speaking to mediapersons on Monday, Kumaraswamy said that he had invited Rajinikanth to see the conditions of reservoirs in Karnataka. He made the statement when asked about Rajinikanths demand to release Cauvery river water for Tamil Nadu.

I have invited Rajinikanth to come here and look at the condition of our reservoirs, water is not sufficient. I am sure he will understand, said Karnataka chief minister-designate Kumaraswamy.

Rajinikanth had asked the new government in Karnataka, which is yet to take over the functioning, to release Tamil Nadu's share of Cauvery river water.

On Sunday as well, Kumaraswamy had objected to the demand of the actor-politician. He had said, "If there is water in Karnataka it is possible for us to give them water. I request Rajinikanth, please come and see the situation in our dams, what has happened to our farmers. After seeing that, if you (Rajinikanth) still want water, let's discuss."

"... On seeing the situation here, I think he (Rajinikanth) will change his stand," the JD(S) leader had said.

Meanwhile, Rajinikanth had termed the political development in Karnataka, which paved the way for a JDS-Congress coalition government, as a win for democracy. Criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Governor Vajubhai Vala, Rajinikanth had said that their actions were mockery of democracy.

What happened in Karnataka yesterday was a win for democracy. BJP asking for some more time and Governor giving 15-day time was a mockery of democracy, Rajinikanth said on Sunday.

Speaking to mediapersons in Chennai, he had further said, I would like to thank Supreme Court for its order, which upheld the democracy.Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi in Russia on Monday. Though the meeting is said to be an informal one, several issues of global as well as regional importance, such as US withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal, are likely to be discussed by the two leaders.

According to official sources, deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be limited during the meeting, which is expected to go on for four to six hours. With regard to US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, Modi and Putin are expected to discuss its economic impact on India and Russia.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for Russia's Sochi for an informal summit with President #VladimirPutin pic.twitter.com/RNuE97GxZC  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

Current situation in war-torn countries like Afghanistan and Syria is also likely to come up during the meeting. This would also include a discussion on the growing menace of terrorism.

Another highlight of the meeting will be a discussion on the impact of US sanctions against Russia, under the Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), on the Indo-Russia defence cooperation.

Sources said that Russia is interested in enhancing economic cooperation with India. Putin has been making concerted efforts to push economic growth in his country which witnessed significant slowdown following Western sanctions after the Ukraine crisis.

Modi and Putin are also likely to discuss possible extension of the Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation to third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor project, India's engagement with the five-nation Eurasian Economic Union and the situation in the Korean peninsula.

A day before leaving for Sochi, Prime Minister Modi had on Sunday tweeted that he was looking forward to his meeting with the Russian President, adding that the discussions between the two would further strengthen the partnership between India and Russia.

"Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia... I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow (Monday) and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," he had tweeted.

PM Modi is travelling to Russia at Putin's invitation for an informal summit in Sochi on May 21, 2018. It would be his second informal summit in as many months as he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in China's Wuhan in a similar format in April 2018.There seems to be no end to incessant ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the International Border. In the latest instance, Pakistani rangers on Monday morning fired mortar shells on border outposts at several places in Arnia sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Border Security Force (BSF) personnel retaliated to the unprovoked firing from the Pakistani side which started at around 7 am. Firing from both sides continued till last report came in. "Three border outposts are under fire from the Pakistani Rangers and the personnel deployed there are also retaliating to silence the Pakistani guns," a senior BSF official told PTI.

Pakistani rangers had resorted to similar unprovoked firing on Sunday night along the International Border in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, just hours after pleading with the BSF to stop firing. The request came after they were pounded with heavy artillery that also left a trooper dead across the border.

On Sunday, a 19-second thermal-imagery footage released by the border guarding force showed the destruction of a Pakistani picket across the border in retaliation to the unprovoked firing and shelling along the International Border.

A senior official also claimed that the befitting reply by BSF units to the unprovoked shelling and firing across the IB by Pakistani forces has forced them to plead for a ceasefire. "For the last three days, the precision fire of BSF troopers on Pakistani firing locations inflicted heavy losses and yesterday this firing found their mark with one of the rangers in chicken neck area," the official said.

The BSF has also faced casualties in the unprovoked firing. It has lost two of its jawans in firing on the Jammu IB over the last few days. A number of civilians have also been killed and injured in the Jammu area due to this firing incident. The firing seemed to have been increased in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

Over 700 incidents of fire and shelling have been reported along the IB and the Line of Control (LoC) this year. 38 people including 18 security personnel have been killed and scores have been injured in these incidents.

(With PTI inputs)Sochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he had "extremely productive" discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and they reviewed the complete range of India-Russia relations as well as global issues and underlined the need for a multi-polar world during their first ever informal summit in this Black Sea coastal city.

Modi said friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time and their ties will continue to scale newer heights in the coming years.

He said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Putin have now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" in itself.

"I am grateful to President Putin who invited me for an informal meeting and hence, in the long friendship of ours, this is a new aspect that has been attached to our relationship," Modi said.

"You have added a new aspect of an informal summit in the bilateral relationship which I think is a great occasion and creates trust," he said.

A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said the two leaders agreed that the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia is an important factor for global peace and stability.

"They shared the view that India and Russia have an important role to play in contributing to an open and equitable world order. They recognised each other's respective roles as major powers with common responsibilities for maintaining global peace and stability," the statement said.

The two leaders held in-depth discussions on major international issues and agreed on the importance of building a multi-polar world order, it said.

They decided to intensify consultation and coordination with each other, including on the Indo-Pacific Region.

"Both leaders expressed their concern over terrorism and radicalisation, and their determination to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. In this context, they endorsed the importance of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan in an atmosphere free from the threat of terrorism, and agreed to work together towards achieving this objective," the statement said.

Modi and Putin held a detailed exchange of views on the national development plans and priorities.

The two leaders directed their officials to prepare concrete outcomes for the forthcoming Summit in India later this year, the statement said.

They agreed to institute a Strategic Economic Dialogue between NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, to identify greater synergy in trade and investment. They noted with satisfaction the expanding cooperation in the energy sector and welcomed the arrival of the first consignment of LNG under a long-term agreement between Gazprom and GAIL, next month.

The two leaders also reiterated the significance of longstanding partnership in the military, security and nuclear energy fields and welcomed the ongoing cooperation in these areas.

Modi also thanked Russia for playing a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation.

"We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS," Modi said.

He also congratulated Putin for becoming the President for the fourth time with an overwhelming majority.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Sochi, Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties.

"We are delighted to see you, Mr Prime Minister, and consider you personally as a big friend of our country. We are very glad to be able to have this meeting," Putin told Modi.

He said Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries' defence ministries.

"Our defence ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said.

He also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS and the SCO.

"There is no need to explain Russian-Indian relations since we all know that they have deep roots. However, we have been able to create additional momentum recently. Last year, our trade saw a significant increase, adding another 17 percent since the beginning of this year," he said.

Russia's official Tass news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that the talks were "very intense."

"I am confident that the ongoing informal contacts between the leaders of Russia and India will be useful and will help define the further guidelines for our development and strategic partnership," Lavrov said.

"We discussed the whole spectrum of our particularly privileged strategic partnership," the minister said.

The summit took place amidst the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation.

The CAATSA is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. It includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia's defence and intelligence sectors.

India could face US sanctions for purchasing high-value military defence items, in particular, state-of-the-art S-400 Triumf missile defence system, from Russia under the act.Sochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met Vladimir Putin in Russia's Black Sea coastal city Sochi. "India and Russia have been friends for a long time. Thankful to President Putin for inviting me for an informal meeting at Sochi." PM Modi told the Russian President. "India and Russia now enjoy special privileged strategic partnership," he added.

Relationship characterised by deep trust, mutual respect and immense goodwill! Russian President #Putin warmly welcomed PM @narendramodi at Bocharev Creek in #Sochi ahead of the delegation-level talks. pic.twitter.com/dOKaHE61VV  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

And this is how close friends meet! PM @narendramodi with Russian President Putin on his arrival at Bocharev Creek in #Sochi for the bilateral meeting. Pictures reflecting our deep and long standing ties! pic.twitter.com/dt5lty2K6D  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

Boat ride on the Black Sea! PM @narendramodi and Russian President #Putin had plenty to discuss as they sail together from Bocharev Creek to Olympic Park in #Sochi. @IndEmbMoscow pic.twitter.com/20bPWGzBip  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

PM @narendramodi reached Sochi, where he will take part in an informal summit with President Putin. pic.twitter.com/0FDg6TluAC  PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 21, 2018

PM @narendramodi off to an early start to #Sochi in Russia for the Informal Summit with the Russian President Putin. The two leaders are expected to discuss steps to cement our already solid partnership over several meetings in the course of the day. @mfa_russia pic.twitter.com/nBDiytBDru  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

"Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," PM Modi had tweeted on Sunday before embarking on his trip. "Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia," he had added.

Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the situation in Afghanistan, Syria, the threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and BRICS summits.

There have been apprehensions that the US decision on Iran deal may adversely impact New Delhi's oil import from the Persian Gulf nation as well as on the Chabahar port project, PTI reported. Iran is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The countries having financial dealings with Iran are expected to be hit by the comprehensive sanctions regime announced by the Trump administration after withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

The US had imposed sanctions on Russia earlier this year under CAATSA for its military intervention in Ukraine and alleged meddling in the 2016 US Presidential elections.

The two leaders may also deliberate on extending Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation in third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, India's engagement with five-nation Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the situation in the Korean peninsula.

Preparations are on for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Sochi for talks with President Putin on May 21. The India-Russia agenda is vast and of practical relevance to both countries. A vital partnership in today's world. @MEAIndia @mfa_russia @IndEmbMoscow @IndianDiplomacy  Pankaj Saran (@PankajSaran11) May 15, 2018

It's very important & different kind of meeting b/w PM Modi & President Putin. Difference is President Putin invited PM to come to visit him & discuss various issues almost within 2 weeks of him becoming President of Russia for 4th time: Pankaj Saran, Indian Ambassador to Russia pic.twitter.com/CSFFzbt5JY  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018

We expect talks to begin at 1 o'clock local time in delegation format followed by lunch hosted by Pres just for PM. We expect them to be together for a few hrs. It's great opportunity for personal chemistry b/w them to discuss different ssues: Pankaj Saran, Indian Envoy to Russia pic.twitter.com/GEscu6cXRY  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018

In a few months time President Putin himself will be traveling to India for the regular summit. This frequency of meetings is another important aspect of our relations with Russia: Pankaj Saran, Indian Ambassador to Russia pic.twitter.com/nJFhVU8WEU  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018

They'll also discuss situation in Afghanistan & Syria, because whole problem in Syria is related to conduct of international terrorism & it's a problem the region faces: Pankaj Saran, Indian Ambassador to Russia on PM Modi's informal summit with President Putin in Sochi on May 21 pic.twitter.com/7Tzs0UBRBQ  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018

It would be PM Modi's second informal summit in as many months as he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jingpin in China's Wuhan in a similar format in April 2018.

The annual summit talks between the top leadership of the two countries have been taking place alternately in Moscow and New Delhi since 2000.

(With PTI inputs)JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) will announce RBSE Class 12 Science and Commerce results 2018 on May 23, Wednesday. The results will be released on the official Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan (BSER) website rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in.

The expected time of the declaration of result is 6.15 pm. The results will also be available on examresults.net/rajasthan, indiaresults.in.

Over 8 lakh candidates appeared for Rajasthan class 12 board this year, out of which 5,27,259 students were from the Humanities or Arts stream. The exams were held from March 8 to April 2, 2018.

Steps to check the RBSE Rajasthan Board Class 12 result 2018:

1: Click on the official website rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in, examresults.net/rajasthan, indiaresults.in.

2: Click on link that says Rajasthan Board Class 12 results 2018 or RBSE Rajasthan Board Class 12 result 2018

3: Enter the required details such as roll number, date of birth

4: The results of BSER Rajasthan Board Class 12 result 2018 will be displayed on screen

Students also can check their Rajasthan Board Class 12 results 2018 via SMS.

GET YOUR RAJASTHAN BOARD CLASS 12 SCIENCE RESULT 2018 ON SMS

SMS - RESULT<space>RAJ12S<space>ROLL NUMBER - Send it to 56263

GET YOUR RAJASTHAN CLASS 12 COMMERCE RESULT 2018 ON SMS

SMS - RESULT<space>RAJ12C<space>ROLL NUMBER - Send it to 56263

The Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan organizes and manages the entire school level education, i.e. Class 1st to 12th in both Hindi and English. The students can check their result on the official website (rajeduboard.nic.in / rajresults.nic.in) of BSER.Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and ex-Congress president Sonia Gandhi, among others, on Monday paid homage to former PM Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary. They paid floral tributes to the Congress leader at Vir Bhumi in the national capital. Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also visited the memorial to pay homage to their father.

Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh pay homage to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary at Vir Bhumi in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/rbyhopHmSU  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi pay homage to their father Rajiv Gandhi at Vir Bhumi in Delhi, on the 27th death anniversary of the former Prime Minister. Former President Pranab Mukherjee and Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra also pay homage pic.twitter.com/DFmThKwtI0  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

Former President Pranab Mukherjee and veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge also visited Vir Bhumi on Monday morning to pay homage to the former prime minister. Another Congress leader who visited Rajiv Gandhis memorial was former Union minister Sushil Kumar Shinde.

Rajiv Gandhis son and Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to microblogging site Twitter to pen a touching post saying, My father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it. The Congress chief thanked his father for the most valuable gift.

My father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it. Today, on his death anniversary, I thank him for teaching me to love and respect all beings, the most valuable gifts a father can give a son. Rajiv Gandhi, those of us that love you hold you forever in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/BBjESe4D3S  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 21, 2018

My father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it. Today, on his death anniversary, I thank him for teaching me to love and respect all beings, the most valuable gifts a father can give a son. Rajiv Gandhi, those of us that love you hold you forever in our hearts, tweeted the Gandhi scion.

Meanwhile, the oath taking ceremony of Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader HD Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, which was initially scheduled for Monday, was deferred to Wednesday in the wake of the death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.

"We are going to take oath on Wednesday as Monday is Rajiv Gandhi's death anniversary. That is not a proper date. In the entire country, all the Congress workers will be attending death anniversary functions. Conducting oath taking ceremony at that time is not good," Kumaraswamy had said on Sunday.

Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a woman suicide bomber of LTTE, the terrorist group in Sri Lanka led by Prabhakaran, on May 21, 1991. The attack was carried out at an election rally in Tamil Nadu.Washington: The US trade war with China is "on hold" after the world`s largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

Mnuchin and U.S. President Donald Trump`s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the agreement reached by Chinese and American negotiators on Saturday set up a framework for addressing trade imbalances in the future.

"We are putting the trade war on hold. Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework," Mnuchin said in a television interview on "Fox News Sunday."

On Saturday, Beijing and Washington said they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States to narrow the $335 billion annual U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China.

During an initial round of talks this month in Beijing, Washington demanded that China reduce its trade surplus by $200 billion. No dollar figure was cited in the countries` joint statement on Saturday.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not return a request for comment on Mnuchin`s statement.

Tension between the two sides has been growing since the Trump administration proposed tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese goods and said it might extend the levies to an additional $150 billion. China responded with its own measures targeting U.S. agriculture.

The top U.S. trade official, Robert Lighthizer, said that getting China to open its market to more U.S. exports was significant, but that it was far more important for the United States to resolve issues with China such as forced technology transfers and cyber theft.

"Real structural change is necessary. Nothing less than the future of tens of millions of American jobs is at stake," U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer said in a statement on Sunday.

In response to Mnuchin`s comments, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a frequent Trump critic, said he thought it would be a mistake for Trump to settle for "a promise to buy goods" with so many larger issues on the table.

"If President Xi is going ... to fail to take strong actions on intellectual property, cyber theft, and American companies having free access to sell goods in China ... we will have lost," Schumer said.

Kudlow told CBS "Face the Nation" it was too soon to lock in the $200 billion figure for China`s promised purchases. "The details will be down the road. These things are not so precise," he said.

In addition, he told ABC`s "This Week" that the broader issues were still in play, and that China had "structural reforms" such as lowering tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will allow the United States to boost exports.

Trump was in a "very positive mood about this," Kudlow said.

However, he said there was no trade deal yet reached.

"There`s no agreement for a deal," Kudlow told ABC. "We never anticipated one. There`s a communique between the two great countries, that`s all. And in that communique, you can see where we`re going next."

One next step will be dispatching Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to China to look at areas where there will be significant increases, including energy, liquefied natural gas, agriculture and manufacturing, Mnuchin and Kudlow said.

Mnuchin said the United States expects to see a big increase of between 35 percent and 40 percent in agricultural exports to China this year alone and a doubling of energy purchases over the next three to five years.

"We have specific targets. I am not going to publicly disclose what they are. They go industry by industry," Mnuchin said.

Saturday`s statement made no mention of whether there would be a relaxation of paralyzing restrictions on Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp imposed last month by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The action was related to violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea and banned American companies from selling semiconductors and other components to ZTE, causing the Shenzhen-based company to cease most operations.

Trump said last week he had directed Ross to put ZTE back in business, but Kudlow said any changes would be minimal.

"If any of the remedies are altered they are still going to be very, very, tough, including big fines, compliance measures, new management, new boards," he said. "Do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. Ain`t going to happen."Bengaluru: JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will take oath alone on May 23, 2018, as per Zee Media sources. Also, the lone MLA of Mayawati's BSP will be part of the state Cabinet.

Kumaraswamy met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress chief Rahul in the national capital on Monday.

UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi and Congress President @RahulGandhi met with Karnataka CM-designate Shri @hd_kumaraswamy in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/91kYi8w676  Congress (@INCIndia) May 21, 2018

I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with Shri H D Kumaraswamy ji. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing in as CM of Karnataka, on Wednesday, in Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/sZAwX8mQut  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 21, 2018

The JD(S) fought the May 12 Assembly elections in alliance with the BSP and joined hands with the Congress after a fractured verdict on May 15. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, while the Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents. The newly-formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy has already indicated that there won't be a rotational arrangement with the Congress for the post of the CM. "No such talks have taken place," he had told reporters on Sunday. There were reports in a section of the media about both parties heading the government for 30 months each on rotation, similar to the 20:20 months power-sharing agreement in 2006 with the BJP.

The three-day-old BJP government in Karnataka had collapsed on Saturday, minutes before the scheduled trust vote, with CM BS Yeddyurappa resigning with defeat staring him in the face. It was his shortest stint in power. Yeddyurappa became the CM for the first time for seven days in 2007. He became the CM for the second time when the BJP formed its first government in Karnataka in 2008. Yeddyurappa was at the helm of the state for over three years before he was made to quit following indictment by the Lokayukta in an alleged mining scam.

Hours later, Kumaraswamy, the chief ministerial candidate of JD(S)-Congress-BSP alliance, met Governor Vajubhai Vala and had said that he had been invited to form the government. However, later in the evening, he had said that the swearing-in would be held on May 23 as May 21 happens to be the death anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and therefore it would not be appropriate to hold the ceremony on that date. Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in 1991.

The 58-year-old leader, son of JD(S) supremo and former PM HD Deve Gowda, had added that the Governor had given him 15 days to prove his majority, but had asserted "we don't need 15 days".

(With PTI inputs)New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah on Monday said that the mandate in Karnataka Assembly polls was against the Congress, but the grand old party had found a new way of portraying defeat as its victory. He also asked the Congress to explain to the people of Karnataka as to why they were celebrating even when most of their ministers had lost the election.

"Only Congress and JD(S) are celebrating, people of Karnataka are not (celebrating). The mandate given by people of Karnataka was against the Congress. There was no confusion about it. If we had not staked claim to form the government, it would have been against the mandate of the people," Shah said.

"Congress crossed all limits in Karnataka elections. JD(S) formed an alliance with Congress against the people's mandate. This is an unholy alliance. We never believe in horse-trading. Congress should answer what they did with MLAs by locking them in a five-star hotel. In Goa and Manipur, the Congress despite being the single largest party had not staked claims, so the Governor invited us. Congress party with a history of dismissing more than 50 governments by abusing Article 356 has no moral right to preach us on democracy," he asserted.

Taking a swipe at the rival party, Shah said that he hopes this new definition of victory continues till 2019 as it will benefit the BJP. "We will form the government with absolute majority in 2019... Congress is now starting to have faith in constitutional bodies like Supreme Court, Election Commission and they even like EVMs," he said and voiced hope that it continues even when the Congress loses and is unable to form the government, taunting the party which has been critical of the poll panel and the apex court's functioning in recent times.

Shah claimed that the Congress lawyer lied in the apex court that BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa had sought seven days time from the Governor to prove majority in the House.

The three-day-old BJP government in Karnataka had collapsed on Saturday, minutes before the scheduled trust vote, with CM Yeddyurappa resigning with defeat staring him in the face. It was his shortest stint in power. Yeddyurappa became the CM for the first time for seven days in 2007. He became the CM for the second time when the BJP formed its first government in Karnataka in 2008. Yeddyurappa was at the helm of the state for over three years before he was made to quit following indictment by the Lokayukta in an alleged mining scam.

Hours later, HD Kumaraswamy, the chief ministerial candidate of the newly formed JD(S)-Congress-BSP alliance, met Governor Vajubhai Vala and had said that he had been invited to form the government. However, Kumaraswamy later in the evening had said that the swearing-in would be held on May 23 as May 21 happens to be the death anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi and therefore it would not be appropriate to hold the ceremony on that date. Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in 1991.

The 58-year-old leader, son of JD(S) supremo and former PM HD Deve Gowda, had added that the Governor had given him 15 days to prove his majority, but had asserted "we don't need 15 days". The newly-formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221.

The BJP emerged as the single-largest party (104 seats) in Karnataka when results were declared on May 15, but fell short of a majority. The Congress, which finished second with 78 seats, moved swiftly and stitched an alliance with 38-member JD(S)+ and backed its leader Kumaraswamy for chief ministership.

(With PTI inputs)By Shadab Siddiqui

Congress president Rahul Gandhi has reportedly denied permission to senior Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and G Parameshwara for coming to the national capital for deliberations on formation of JDS-Congress government in Karnataka.

All these leaders were earlier slated to meet the Congress president in New Delhi to discuss names of leaders who would join the coalition government. Discussions were also slated to be held on the allocation of portfolios. However, the Gandhi scion has now told them that the meeting would be held after Congress leadership confirms the support of the JDS leadership.

Notably, JDS leader and Chief Minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy is slated to meet Rahul and Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday. Sources have told Zee News that there have been differences over allocation of portfolios and selection of candidate for the post of deputy chief minister.

Kumaraswamy, who will hold the office of Chief Minister, wants to keep Finance, Health and PWD ministries with himself whereas the Congress is eyeing key ministries like Home and Power.

The chief minister-designate has also declared that he would remain the Chief Minister for all five years. He cited an assurance given to him by senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad. The JDS leader has reportedly said that he was offered chief ministership for five years and only then he agreed for the post-poll alliance. According to sources, the JDS leader has refused to relent from his stand.

The JDS leader wants that he should be sworn in first, and then a decision should be taken on allocation of portfolios. He feels that there might be a controversy if allocation of portfolios is done before his swearing in.

Meanwhile, lobbying is also at full pace within the Congress for the post of Deputy Chief Minister. While DK Shivakumar, who has been hailed for keeping the JDS-Congress flock together during the political parleys in the state, is eyeing the position, some Lingayat members have demanded that the Deputy CM must be from their community.

A final decision on all the key issues concerning the government formation is likely to be taken on Monday during the meeting between the Congress president and Kumaraswamy. Following this, a joint meeting of the lawmakers from both the parties has been convened on Tuesday wherein a mutual stand is reached before the trust vote in Assembly.BENGALURU: Amid the behind-the-scenes bargaining on portfolios in the new Karnataka Assembly, the Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Monday met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi.

The Chief Minister-elect Kumaraswamy, who will take oath alone on May 23 as per Zee Media sources, said that both the Congress leaders have agreed to be present in the swearing-in ceremony. Kumaraswamy was accompanied by JDS Secretary General Danish Ali and Congress's KC Venugopal.

"I wanted to show my respect and regards to Gandhi family. That's why I came here. I requested them further presence in oath taking ceremony. Both of them agreed to be present at the oath-taking ceremony," Kumaraswamy told news agency ANI.

Taking to Twitter Rahul Gandhi said, "I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with Shri H D Kumaraswamy ji. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing-in as CM of Karnataka, on Wednesday, in Bengaluru."

The oath-taking ceremony will witnesses a gathering of non-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief ministers and chief of opposition parties.

Kumaraswamy earlier met Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati at her residence here and invited her for his oath ceremony. The lone MLA of Mayawati's BSP will be part of the state Cabinet.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee, Puducherry Chief Minister Narayanasamy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav will also mark his presence on the occasion.

Kumaraswamy has also invited Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury to attend his swearing-in ceremony.

On Saturday, Kumaraswamy was invited by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to form the government in the state, after BJP's B S Yeddyurappa stepped down ahead of the floor test in the state assembly.

While Kumaraswamy was earlier expected to swear-in as Karnataka Chief Minister on Monday, the ceremony later got pushed to May 23 due to the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The JDS fought the May 12 Assembly elections in alliance with the BSP while the party formed a post-poll alliance with the Congress following a hung verdict on May 15.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats, while the Congress was leading in 78 constituencies and the JDS managed to bag 37 seats. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents. The newly-formed alliance has claimed support of 117 MLAs in the 224-member House with an effective strength of 221.

(With inputs from ANI)Mumbai: As many as 70 passengers on board an Alliance Air flight had a narrow escape after the ATR aircraft carrying them from Mumbai overshot the runway by 50 meters during landing at the Shirdi airport on Monday.

All the passengers are safe and there is no damage to aircraft too, an Air India official said. Alliance Air is the regional arm of the national carrier Air India.

"At around 5.29 pm, the Alliance Air flight arriving from Mumbai overshot the runway by 50 meters during landing at the Shirdi airport," the official said.

There were 70 passengers on board the ATR aircraft," he said adding, "airline will probe the causes of the incident."

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) will also investigate the incident of the aircraft overshooting the runway separately, he added.

In May 2010, 152 people were killed when the pilot of the Air India Express flight from Dubai overshot the runway during landing at Mangaluru.

Constructed at an investment of around Rs 350 crore, Shirdi airport was inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on October 1, 2017.

With a 2,500 meter-long runway, the temple-town airport is capable of handling single narrow-body aircraft, such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737s.Days after two resident doctors at JJ Hospital were allegedly thrashed by the family of a patient on May 19, resident doctors of Sion hospital in Mumbai have called for a one-day strike on Monday. This comes two days after a strike was held by JJ Hospital doctors.

The resident doctors were allegedly beaten up when a patient, who was being treated for a gall bladder ailment, died on Saturday. The family members of the patient alleged that it was due to negligence on the doctors part.

Angered by this, some relatives of the patient also went on ransacking and vandalised a ward of the JJ Hospital. The incident was caught on a CCTV camera.

Following the incident, the Mumbai Police arrested four members of the patients family on charges of assaulting the doctors on duty. One of the accused has been absconding since the incident took place.

"Both doctors and one policeman sustained minor injuries. We have registered a case. Four people have been arrested, one person is absconding," a police official had said. The four accused, who were arrested in connection with the incident, have been sent to the judicial custody by a local court.

(With ANI inputs)A street vendor in Mumbai has filed a case against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya, accusing him of manhandling and collecting penalty money. According to the street vendor, the BJP leader pushed them as he asked them to vacate the place where they were holding their business.

Street vendor filed complaint against BJP MP Kirit Somaiya in Mumbai, said, 'he(Kirit Somaiya) came at 8 pm & asked us to vacate the place. He came again, we told him we are vacating but he pushed us.A lady was buying vegetables, he threw her bag,also made us pay fine of Rs 1250' pic.twitter.com/E4pw7T4Obo  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

He (Kirit Somaiya) came at 8 pm and asked us to vacate the place. When he came again, we told him we are vacating but he pushed us, the vendor told news agency ANI.

He further said that Somaiya even threw the bag of a woman who was buying vegetables. The vendor also alleged that the BJP leader made all of them pay a fine of Rs 1250.

More details are awaited.Washington: Stars paid tribute to Swedish musician Tim Bergling, popularly known as Avicii, at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. The superstar DJ-producer-artist was found dead in Muscat, Oman on April 20.

Before presenting the Top 100 Songs award, The Chainsmokers` Alex Pall said, "We`d like to take a moment and talk about our friend, Avicii."His partner Drew Taggart added, "His passing was a great loss for the music world and for us."

"He was an artist who inspired so many in so many ways, and simply put, he meant so much to us and everyone in the EDM community," Taggart said, as reported by Billboard. Halsey then concluded the tribute, adding: "Everyone that worked with him would agree that he was such a joy and it makes this tragedy all the more painful - and it`s a reminder to all of us to be there and to support and love all of our friends and family members who may be struggling with mental health issues."New Delhi: Bollywood's leading lady Deepika Padukone has been creating waves not just in India, but internationally as well.

The 32-year-old actress was seen setting the red carpet on fire at MET Gala and Cannes leaving fashion police raving across boundaries.

Recently, 'Padmaavat' grabbed eyeballs with her dazzling appearance at the MET Gala as she dressed in a red gown. Further, the actress made heads turn with her stunning appearances at the Cannes red carpet.

Apart from that, Deepika has been creating a splash with her stunning magazine covers. After mesmerising the audience with her Filmfare Middle East cover, Deepika Padukone graced the TINGS London cover in her raw sexiness.

The actress made everyone proud by emerging as the only actress to feature in TIME's 100 influential list this year. She was also chosen amongst the top 4 people to raise a toast at TIME gala.

The leggy lass pleased the fashion police across the globe with her MET Gala and Cannes appearance has been garnering praises by international institutions like Hollywood Reporter, Vanity Fair, Variety, Paris Match, amongst others.

The Hollywood Reporter praised the actress saying, "Now this is Cannes. Deepika Padukone walks up the steps at the Palais for the premiere of 'Ash is Purest White.' #Cannes2018 ".

Vanity Fair appreciated Deepika's looks at MET Gala and Cannes, "Deepika Padukone set hearts aflutter when she graced the red carpet at the Met Gala and Cannes." They further added, "Infectiously warm and approachable, this is one Indian star the rest of the world needs to keep an eye on".

Deepika today shared images from her TINGS London magazine, taking us back to her stunning cover that released recently.

lady in....eerrrr.....Black! @tingslondon A post shared by Deepika Padukone (@deepikapadukone) on May 21, 2018 at 2:51am PDT

Variety not only appreciated the actress for her Cannes appearance but also listed the actress in International Women's Impact Report 2018 for contribution to cinema.

Paris Match from France also hailed Deepika saying, "Deepika Padukone, Indian actress, and model, appeared on the red carpet in an incredible creation signed by the Indian brand ASHI studio, graphics and asymmetrical, pink fuchsia, which surprised many on the Croisette. It is little to say, moreover, if the photographers had eyes only for her; the flashes crackled, his name echoed at the entrance to the Grand The'tre Lumiere."New Delhi: Pro-Khalistani groups are compiling a list of police officers who have been involved in the interrogation of arrested terrorists in Punjab, as per an intelligence report. These groups are also trying to collect details about members of the families of police officers living or studying outside India, particularly in Canada, US, UK and Europe.

Details of the report submitted to Ministry of Home Affairs, accessed by Zee Media, reveals that Pakistan's ISI, with the support of pro-Khalistani groups, is trying to radicalise the youth of Punjab. ISI is also conspiring to target few religious leaders in Punjab to destabilise the state, the report says. Evidence gathered by intelligence agencies points towards the ISI as the key preceptor of extremism in Punjab.

Zee Media had earlier reported that pro-Khalistani groups with the support from ISI were trying to hire criminals and gangsters in Punjab to create unrest in the state. Intelligence inputs say that that pro-Khalsa group of the United Kingdom has started a campaign on the social media to appeal to the people of Punjab to join the 'struggle for Khalistan'.

According to a Ministry of Home Affairs report, these groups living in New York had organised a conference in April 2018, in which various pro-Khalistani elements from India, Germany, UK and USA had participated in the conference.

(Reporting by Manish Shukla)Showing solidarity with other G7 countries following Russias 2014 invasion of Ukraine, Japan imposed sanctions on Russiaalbeit reluctantly. Ukraine's crisis occurred amid Japan's efforts to reinvigorate Japan-Russia relations in the hope of solving the long-standing territorial dispute over the Northern territories (the Kuril Islands in Russian). Subsequently, maintaining Japans balance between other G7 countries and Russia became one of the main challenges for the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.



While Japan felt obliged to support the international community and to impose sanctions, the geopolitical dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region forced it to take a conciliatory approach to Russia. This delicate balance resulted in Japans symbolic sanctions and in different narratives promoted at home and in Ukraine.



Tokyo did not recognize Crimeas independence and condemned an attempt to change the status quo by force as Abe put it. Nonetheless, Japan introduced its sanctions only after pressure from the United States, and the punitive measures were limited and toothless. Japans public list of targets was restricted to Ukrainian separatists from Crimea and the self-proclaimed republics.

Read the original text here.Andry Maslov, the commander of the anti-sabotage group, is among the dead

Open source

Two Ukrainian soldiers die in Joint Forces Operation zone in a battle with a subversive group, four were injured, as the press office of the 24th brigade named after Danylo King reported in Facebook.

It was noted that today on May 21 at around 5 am enemys secret subversive group consisting of ten people was found near Pivdenne village, which was recently released by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The brigades anti-sabotage reserve propelled to intercept the subversive group, having halted its moving and flung back the enemy from Armed Forces positions. As a result, the enemy sustained casualties and hiding behind the mortar fire from its batteries, had to drop back, the message says.

Besides, the representatives of the press office stated that as a result of the battles two Ukrainian soldiers die.

One of them (of the dead)  Andry Maslov, the commander of the anti-sabotage group. As the deputy, he headed the unit after Volodymyr Mayborod died, continuing implementing the traditions of this group. Four soldiers suffered shrapnel wounds, they were taken to the hospital, where they receive a professional medical care, the representatives of the press office added.

Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian servicemen released Pivdenne village, Donetsk region. It was noted that starting from May 8 the militants are attacking the 24th brigade units at times trying to move them outside Pivdenne village.Lyudmyla Denisova asked that of her Russian counterpart, as well as to help free Ukrainian political prisoner Stanislav Klykh on humanitarian grounds

Ukraines Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova received information that the state of physical and psychological health of Ukrainian citizen Stanislav Klykh who was detained in Russia is critically worsening. Thus, she is asking her Russian counterpart to help organize an independent medical examination of the detained. This was stated in the message on the website of the Ombudsman.

Due to this, Lyudmyla Denisova addressed the Ombudsman of Russian Federation Tatyana Moskalkova to help organize an independent medical examination by Ukrainian or foreign doctors and also to assist an immediate release of Stanislav Klykh on humanitarian grounds the message says.

As it was reported earlier, in February, Ukrainian consul visited political prisoner Stanislav Klykh who now stays at a prison in Verkhneuralsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, central Russia.

He also visited the Ukrainian political prisoner and reported that Klykh looks 'just a little better than he did before he was convoyed from Grozny to Verkhneuralsk; however, his speech makes even more sense than before, he can't even stay focused on one topic'.

Stanislav Klykh was detained in Russia in September 2014, when he came to Russia to visit his pregnant girlfriend.

The Russian jury said Klykh and another Ukrainian political activist, Mykola Karpyuk both allegedly joined the Viking unit, which fought on the side of Chechen nationalists as they sought independence from Russia in the 1990s. The jury accused Karpyuk and Klykh of killing and wounding dozens of Russian servicemen. Klykh was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Related video:Russia's foreign ministry urged Ukraine not to compare the cases of Roman Sushchenko and Kyrylo Vyshynsky, opened in Russia and Ukraine, respectively. Mariya Zakharova, the official representative of the Russian authority said that as quoted by TASS news agency.

'Any comparisons of Sushchenko and Russia Today news agency reporters that are based in Ukraine have no grounds - not even by some moral standards, but merely in terms of law', she said.

She added that when Sushchenko came to Russia, he was not considered a reporter - under the Russian law. 'Russia today correspondent worked in Ukraine as a certified reporter, and it was his journalist activity that caused searches; and then, the arrest folowed. As for Mr. Sushchenko, who came to Russia, he never worked as a journalist here (...) It is a documented fact that Sushchenko was not a reporter when he came to Russia. He never filed documents to get a journalist visa', she said.

Ukrainian Roman Sushchenko, the reporter of Ukrinfiorm news agency, was detained in September 2016 in Moscow, and accused by the FSB of espionage. For this he faces 20 years in prison.

Related: Political prisoner Sushchenko releases painting from behind bars in Russia

Related: Ukrainian political prisoner Sushchenko passes pictures from remand center

Related: Sushchenko did not plead guilty in espionage; court suspends session until March 28

Related: Merkel intends to discuss RIA News Director arrest with Poroshenko

Related: What is RIA Novosti news agency's director accused of?Open source

Ukraine intends to re-view all previously signed agreements with the CIS (Commonwealth of the Independent States, - 112 International). According to President Petro Poroshenko, Kyiv will withdraw from those not meeting this state's national interests.

'Since the 1991 "Belavezha Accords (the deal that sealed the formal disbanding of the USSR, - 112 International), Ukraine has been considering CIS a tool for civilized break-up with the empire (Russia, - 112 International). It was the latter's fault that the civilized break-up could not happen. Moscow aimed to turn the CIS into a modernized empire (...) This is why Ukraine did not ratify the CIS Statute and never became the Commonwealth's full-fledged member. So now, we will carefully review all international agreements, signed within the CIS, and withdraw from the ones where we find at least slightest discrepancy with the national interests', Poroshenko said during the memorial rally, where participants paid tribute to the victims of "political repressions.

Earlier, Poroshenko said Ukraine would not participate in "the coordination bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States.The assailant is in custody now; the wounded undergo treatment

Open source

Nine people suffered in the incident that occurred in Ivano-Frankivsk region, western Ukraine. When several people got into a fight, one of them threw a hand grenade. Vyacheslav Abroskin, the first deputy head of the National Police posted this on Facebook. "

'A disaster occurred in a village in Ivano-Frankivsk region. A man, born in 1993, who was involved in a somestic conflict, threw a hand grenade into the crowd', he wrote.

Later, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov added that the attacker appeared to be the Ukrainian Army sergeant who returned to his home village while being on a leave.

Nine people sustained injuries due to the blast. They are now undergoing treatment.

The assailant was taken in.400 pupils of Mykolaiv city were evacuated from school due to the dispersion of unknown aerosol with the strong stench. 32 children were sent to hospitals for examination. This was reported by the press-centre of the Emergency Service.

After the call to 101, the chemists with a mobile chemical-radiological laboratory came to the school, as well as the unit of the Emergency Service of Ukraine.

It is noted that nothing threatens the lives of children. Specialists have not detected dangerous substances. The school is still being examined.

The ambulance doctors and the police are working at the site.

As it was reported earlier, in the morning on May 8, during the assembly in Cherkasy school, children started to lose consciousness. As of 11:00 am, 42 children were hospitalized. The preliminary diagnosis is a poisoning by an unknown substance.

At the moments, the state of the majority of schoolchildren who suffered from poisoning in school in Cherkasy is satisfactory. According to the Health Ministry, the state of children is estimated as mild and medium poisoning.

The Emergency Service press center reported that their chemical and radiological laboratory has checked whether the air on the territory of the school was contaminated by the dangerous chemical substances.

Related video:Ukraines Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy announced this, saying the parties will try to agree on some issues to lessen the disputes when the Verkhovna Rada will be adopting the document

Verkhovna Rada Speaker Andriy Parubiy said that today he would take part in the discussion to agree on the Anti-Corruption Court draft law with the representatives of the International Monetary Fund and Venice Commission. He announced this during the council of the Parliament on air of 112 Ukraine TV channel.

Today I will also attend the meetings so that we with the IMF and the Venice Commission can decide on the position (regarding the draft law on the Anti-Corruption Court). This way, during the voting we would not have too many disputes and we could gain the majority of votes, Parubiy said.

He noted that 1,925 amendments to the draft law were submitted.

The committee meeting will take place today at 15:00, and it is crucial that all members of the committee attend the meeting to make the decisionYou also know that most positions are consistent with the IMF and the Venice Commission. It is the last position that will be discussed - the powers of Public Council of International Experts, Parubiy added.

The Speaker of Parliament said the meeting of the Committee on Legal Policy was todays main issue. He announced that the bill will be considered in the session hall of the Verkhovna Rada tomorrow afternoon.

As it was reported earlier, President Petro Poroshenko is convinced that the process of creating an Anti-Corruption Court will be completed already in the first half of this year. He said this in an interview to Focus magazine during the discussion of the issue of Ukraine's cooperation with the International Monetary Fund.

At the same time, Poroshenko stressed that, along with the position on the need to further strengthen the fight against corruption, the IMF notes significant economic growth and the implementation of reforms in our state. "I am proud of the fact that we managed to improve the investment climate, for these four years we reached more than 25 years ago," he said, noting that this is not only an assessment of the IMF, but also of the World Bank.



The Verkhovna Rada supported in the first reading the presidential bill number 7440 on the Anti-Corruption Court on March 1. Since that day, the head of state has called upon the people's deputies to speed up the work on the adoption of the full document.

This bill provides that the Anti-Corruption Court will consider cases if the subject of the crime or the damage caused is at least 500 times higher than the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons (from January 1, this is UAH 881 thousand). This is the basic condition. And it does not matter who considered the case - the National Police, Prosecutor General's Office or NABU. Some of the articles describe violations related to drugs or weapons, but there are no articles regarding electronic declaration.Two pupils are in intensive care unit in Mykolaiv as a result of spraying of an unknown aerosol with a stench. This was reported by the press service of the Mykolayiv Regional Health Department.

"Currently, 36 children with a previous diagnosis of poisoning by an unknown substance are in the hospital. Parents of one of the children refused hospitalization; two children are in the intensive care of the city hospital. Their condition is assessed by doctors as moderate," the statement reads.

As it was reported earlier, 400 pupils of Mykolaiv city were evacuated from school due to the dispersion of unknown aerosol with the strong stench. 32 children were sent to hospitals for examination.

After the call to 101, the chemists with a mobile chemical-radiological laboratory came to the school, as well as the unit of the Emergency Service of Ukraine. It is noted that nothing threatens the lives of children. Specialists have not detected dangerous substances. The school was examined.

Related video:The interlocutors discussed the relevant issues of the bilateral agenda and positively noted the dynamics of political relationships between Ukraine and Slovakia

Petro Poroshenko, Ukraines President, had a phone conversation with Andrej Kiska, the President of Slovakia. The Presidents discussed the preparation to the NATO summit, which is to be held in Brussels in June, as the Presidents Administration reported.

They emphasized the importance of restoration of the intergovernmental mixed commission on economic, industrial and scientific-technical cooperation, the next meeting of which is scheduled for June 2018, the message says.

The interlocutors discussed the relevant issues of the bilateral agenda and positively noted the dynamics of political relationships between Ukraine and Slovakia.

As previously reported, Hungary vetoed a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission in Brussels at the level of foreign ministers, which was to take place this week. Earlier, Hungary blocked a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Commission, which was to be held on February 14-15, and before that - the convening of it in December 2017.



Hungary stated that it would not support Ukraine's rapprochement with Europe until the law on education was repealed.Ukraines President Petro Poroshenko held a telephone conversation with the German Chancellor Angels Merkel. The parties discussed the issues of security connected with the construction of Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, presidents press service reported.

It is also noted that the interlocutors discussed the situation in Donbas and joint efforts for the implementation of Minsk agreements.

The Federal Chancellor informed the head of the Ukrainian state about the results of recent talks with the Russian president in Sochi, the message said.

As it was reported earlier,

Russian gas transit through Ukraine will be continued after the establishment of the Nord Stream 2, if it is economically reasonable, as Vladimir Putin, Russias President, stated at the meeting with Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany. According to him, Russia has always considered the Nord Stream 2 as an economic project and Moscow is ready to conduct talks with the Ukrainian side on this issue.

Richard Grenell, the U.S. Ambassador to Germany has criticized the Nord Stream 2 project and claimed that the US is very concerned about it. Grenell has noted that the US closely works with the Europeans who share these concerns. He called the current strategy on the gas pipeline very problematic and he also warned Germany and Europe on the Russian influence through this project.

European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager has also criticized the Nord Stream 2. According to her, this project does not meet the European interests.

The construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline has begun in Germany on May 3. Not all countries have given the permission for it; at the same time, Ukraine and Poland protest against the construction as it can strengthen Russias positions as the gas monopolist in Europe.

Related video:Refat Chubarov, the Head of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, stressed that the searches and detentions in Crimea are repressions and large provocations

Russias Federal Security Service searches in the houses of Crimean Tatars and the accusation of extremism are an attempt to discredit the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People before the international community, which demonstrates that the occupation authorities do not want to enforce the decision of the International Court of Justice. Refat Chubarov, the Head of Mejlis, said it in the comment for 112 Ukraine.

I assume this as the new wave of arrests and quite explosive provocations look like this all is a preparation of a terrorist attack. First of all, it is connected with the fact that this time last year in April the International Court of Justice made a decision according to which Russia has to cancel the ban on Mejlis activity immediately. A year passed, Russia did not enforce the decision, which is obligatory. Recently, Ukraines Foreign Ministry appealed to the administrative office of the Court to get the explanation why Russia has not canceled the ban yet. I think that Russia is taking another attempt to discredit Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People before the international community, Chubarov stated.

On his Facebook page, Chubarov stressed that the searches and detentions in Crimea are repressions and large provocations.

Besides, the representatives of Russias Federal Security Service announced strong statements even before the searches.

Without waiting till the searches of the houses of Mustafayev and Smailov, the press office of Crimea Central Administration of the Federal Security Service spread the information that the officers of Russias Administration of the Federal Security Service in Crimea and Sevastopol detained two residents of Bakhchysarai region on suspicion of involvement in Hizb ut-Tahrir, an organization banned in Russia, which is charged with commission of a crime provided in Russian Criminal Code article on participation in terrorist organization, Chubarov stated.

As it was reported, Russias Federal Security Service searched the houses of two Crimean Tatars  Server Mustafayev, the founder of Crimean Solidarity, and Edem Smailov.

Later, the representative of Russias Federal Security Service stated that they revealed an extremist group in Crimea, which was allegedly created by the order of Refat Chubarov.

Criminal proceedings were opened on the creation of an extremist organization, on recruiting and participation in the organization.Iryna Lutsenko, the Presidents Representative to the Parliament, said that they were expecting the results in 2019

Ukraine submitted an application for the protection of sovereign interests of the state to the Arbitration Tribunal according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) because of Kerch Bridge constructed by Russia. Iryna Lutsenko, the Presidents Representative to the Parliament, MP from Petro Poroshenko Block, said it at the session of the Parliaments Coordination Board.

112 Ukraine broadcasted this.

On the order of the Head of the state, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea Ukraine submitted an application for the protection of Ukraine (because of Russias Kerch Bridge, - ed.), Iryna Lutsenko stated.

She added that this issue would be considered by the end of 2018.

We are expecting the results in 2019, the Presidents Representative to the Parliament noted.

As it was reported earlier, President of Russia Vladimir Putin has opened a vehicle part of the bridge over the Kerch Strait that unites annexed Crimea and Krasnodar Krai. Putin at the wheel of Kamaz headed the convoy of the vehicles and cargo equipment that made the first trip over the bridge. The automobile traffic over the bridge was opened prematurely at 5:30 am, on May 16 (Moscow time).

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered to sue Russia for the ecological damage brought by the construction of the bridge over Kerch strait in occupied Crimea.

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch expressed confidence that the ongoing construction of the bridge over Kerch Strait could vastly interfere with Ukraines transport connection with international markets.

The U.S. government has condemned the construction and opening of the Kerch Strait Bridge.

The Ministry of Infrastructure estimates the direct damages from the construction of Kerch Bridge at around $19,2 million.The forum addresses pressing US domestic and foreign policies, including trade agreements, diplomatic efforts, immigration and refugee populations and intake as well as security.

This upcoming Congressional District 1 forum will address pressing U.S. domestic and foreign policies, including trade agreements, diplomatic efforts, immigration and refugee populations and intake, and security.

This event will be held at UNM Continuing Education Centers Auditorium on May 21 at 6  8pm. Local international organizations: Global Ties ABQ, the World Affairs Council of Albuquerque, the New Mexico Trade Alliance and UNMs Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) co-host the event.

Attending congressional candidates will express their positions on these issues and how they align with state policies. The forum will be moderated by Ambassador William Itoh, the President of the World Affairs Council of Albuquerque. Officials working on immigration and refugee issues from various European countries on an IVLP project will also be in attendance.

RSVP is not required and is free to attend. For more information on this event, please contact Adelle Lees at adelle@globaltiesabq.org or 505-888-1867.The software engineering team, a lab and product demo area will be housed in the Dublin facility.



VARGO, a provider of material-handling system integration, warehouse execution software and equipment solutions for fulfillment and distribution centers, is expanding its footprint in central Ohio, leasing office space in Dublin to house its growing software engineering team.

The VARGO Technology Center will be housed in 7,500 square feet of office space at 400 Metro Place North. The company, with headquarters in Hilliard, Ohio, has additional offices in Austin, Texas; Berkeley, Calif.; and the Grand Rapids, Mich., area.

The central Ohio software team, encompassing about 17 employees, will relocate in September from the Hilliard headquarters to the Technology Center, which will have space to grow to about 30 employees.

VARGO offers complete fulfillment solutions for e-commerce, retail, wholesale and manufacturing clients. Its intelligent software drives the fulfillment of many global retailers distribution centers across the country, including American Eagle Outfitters, Forever 21 and Gap Inc.

This new space will allow for efficient and effective collaboration and inspire innovation from our software engineering team, said Mike Vargo, president and CEO of VARGO. The Technology Center will allow us to continue our vision to bring leading-edge WES software solutions to our industry and to our customers.

The Technology Center will include a 900-square-foot training center dedicated to client meetings, sales presentations and large group training sessions. In addition, VARGO plans to house a lab and product demonstration area.

The space that opens up at the VARGO headquarters in Hilliard will be used by the growing systems integrations group.YEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. The current situation in Armenia led to the fact that in some markets the business revises its pricing policy, economist Atom Margaryan  head of the Innovation and Institutional Research Center at the Armenian State University of Economics, told ARMENPRESS, commenting on the recent decline of prices of some products, in particularly in sugar, banana markets.

The government has not submitted a program yet, has not applied a political lever, but the business automatically goes to such pricing revisions. The business understands quite well that the shadow component in prices will sooner or later be studied and maybe later they will be accounted for. Therefore, smart businessmen go to that step. I would recommend the remaining businessmen, if they face similar problems, to quickly go to that step. Price-quality ratio must be not only just a lever ensuring profit, but be a fair bar enabling to operate with long-term competitive conditions in the market, Atom Margaryan said.

The economist believes that in the near future the prices of fuels, fertilizers, medicines, building materials, timber will be revised. According to him, the markets of large importers will also be examined, and the new leadership must take steps.

What the business needs to do? It must distribute the accumulated capital in other sectors, it should go to diversification, be flexible and resisting in the market for long-term presence. Its clear that if there are several import businesses with a superprofit and it declines, there will be a quick bankruptcy. Therefore, the way out is diversification, the economist noted.

Last week the price of sugar declined from 390 ADM to 340 AMD for 1 kg. The price of banana declined from 900 AMD to 550-600 AMD.

English translator/editor: Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. Since being elected Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan has received numerous congratulations from foreign heads of state and government, most recently from US President Donald Trump.

The latest congratulatory letter comes from Pashinyans Belgian counterpart Charles Michel, the PMs office said.

I convey to you my sincere congratulations and best wishes of good luck on the occasion of being elected Prime Minister of Armenia.

It would be nice to jointly work with you for the benefit of the brilliant cooperation between our two countries and more strengthening of friendly relations, Prime Minister Charles Michel said in part.

Nikol Pashinyan was elected Prime Minister of Armenia on May 8.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan KocharyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivered remarks via live video at the discussion titled Armenia Tomorrow: Citizen Diplomacy at Work organized by the Institute of Armenian Studies of the University of Southern California, reports Armenpress.

PM Pashinyan said the meaning of existence of the Republic of Armenia is to concentrate the Armenians social, economic, financial, scientific potential or most of it in its territory and ensure the security and normal development of that potential. Our task is to stop and turn back the millennial wheel of our peoples emigration, to make Armenia a state aimed at preserving the potential of Armenians and ensuring its normal activity. In order to reach this goal we should reach the point that the citizen of Armenia is the highest leadership. This must be the cornerstone of Armenias future, PM Pashinyan said.

He added that the priority task of the new government is to become the peoples institutional power guarantor.

Asked how to keep the citizens engaged in political processes in the period from election to election, Nikol Pashinyan stated: I think after these changes we have no problem of ensuring the engagement of citizens: the most important is that the citizen fights for his/her right.

As for the future of the Diaspora, the PM said here the issue of engagement is sometimes conditioned by the provisions of the Constitution. The Constitution says that for instance a person can be appointed as a minister who has been only a citizen of Armenia in the past four years and has lived in Armenia in the past five years. We think this regulation doesnt reflect our national aspirations and creates artificial barriers for the engagement of the Diaspora. We plan to eliminate these barriers so that we can use the Diasporas potential in the process of development of state institutions, the PM said.

English translator/editor: Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. The military investigative committee is probing the death of a private serviceman.

Earlier on May 20, Private Hamlet Grigoryan was found shot dead in his designated military base.

A criminal case has been filed.

The serviceman was 19 years old.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan KocharyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. A fresh demonstration has begun outside the Court of Cassation building in Yerevan, Armenia in the morning of May 21.

Demonstrators are demanding the court to launch proceedings over imprisoned former Artsakh defense minister Samvel Babayans case.

Babayan was once a military commander and is currently serving a 6 year prison term for smuggling a shoulder-launched IGLA type missile system into Armenia.

The demonstrators had previously rallied for the same cause on May 18 outside the Prosecutor Generals Office and later proceeded towards the courthouse.

Chairman of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation Serzhik Avetisyan had met with the protesters and told them that there is no specific date for launching proceedings over a complaint and that the court has a three-months period to make a decision.

The attorney of Babayan has appealed the verdict to the Court of Cassation pending approval for proceedings.

In the early 2000s Babayan was also convicted for an attempted assassination of Arkady Ghoukasyan, then-President of Nagorno Karabakh.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan KocharyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. During a press conference within the framework of a visit to Yerevan on May 21, president of the Cypriot parliament Demetris Syllouris has touched upon a question about the change of government in Armenia and cooperation with it.

Speaking at a joint press conference in the Armenian parliament with Speaker Ara Babloyan in response to a question about the latest domestic political events in Armenia, Demetris Syllouris emphasized that Armenia is one for Cyprus.

We have other approaches of cooperation with Armenia. We dont have party-related approaches in this matter, he said.

He added that they would like to see a powerful Armenia, based on its rich history, civilization and culture.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan KocharyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. A Turkish court has remanded Rozerin Zeri, a human rights activist, in pretrial detention due to her social media posts deemed to be propaganda on behalf of a terrorist organization, the Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) - an advocacy organization that promotes the rule of law, democracy, fundamental rights and freedoms  reported May 20.

According to SCF, the woman is of Armenian background. The only fact backing SCFs claim on Zeris Armenian background is a Facebook account with the same name where the users country of origin is mention as Armenia. It is unclear if the account is real and the credibility of the Armenian background claim is uncertain.

According to a tweet posted by Acun Karadag, a history teacher who was fired with a government decree issued by the Turkish government in the aftermath of the coup attempt on July 15, 2016, Zeri was put behind bars late on Saturday because of Facebook posts that are critical of the Turkish government. Rozerin Zeri. She was arrested today due to her social media posts. She is the mother of a sick child. What kind of crime could she commit with a single tweet? She is innocent. Whats with the hurry? What are you trying to do? Enough is enough! Karadag tweeted.

Turkey has launched thousands of investigations into social media users based on simple criticizing statements which the government deems to be insults. A total of 1,080 people were convicted of insulting Erdogan in 2016, according to data from Turkeys Justice Ministry. Data also showed that 4,936 cases were launched against people on charges of insult in 2016.

Rozerin Zeri. Tweet paylasmlar gerekce gosterilerek tutukland bugun. Cocugu hasta olan bir anne. Rezillik bu. Bir insan tweetle nasl bir suc islemis olabilir? Nedir bu telasnz? Tertemiz bir kadn. Ne yapmak istiyorsunuz? Artk yeter be! pic.twitter.com/89ZgZ6nueQ  Acun Karadag (@acun_karadag) 18  2018 .

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan KocharyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan received the delegation led by Demetris Syllouris, president of the Parliament (House of Representatives) of Cyprus, on May 21, the Armenian Parliament told Armenpress. The meeting was held at the extended format.

Speaker Babloyan said the relations between Armenia and Cyprus have reached to a qualitatively new level in recent years thanks to the joint efforts. The Speaker highly appreciated the productive cooperation of the parliaments of the two countries in international structures.

Ara Babloyan said the bilateral firm relations are conditioned by historical-cultural, spiritual and value system commonalities. According to him, this visit is a great opportunity to discuss issues of mutual interest which in its turn will contribute to further deepening and developing the inter-parliamentary and inter-state ties between the two states.

Speaker Babloyan also touched upon the signing of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), expressing hope that the Cypriot Parliament will ratify the document as soon as possible.

Coming to regional issues, Ara Babloyan said Armenia and Cyprus have always supported each others positions on the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh and Cyprus issues. Although we have different tasks, the stance over the settlement is the same  without use of force, exclusively through peaceful means, based on the principles and norms of the international law, Babloyan said.

In his turn Demetris Syllouris thanked for the warm reception and said Cyprus and Armenia have many commonalities and taking into account this fact the relations can further deepen and develop in all spheres.

He proposed to create a trilateral Cyprus-Armenia-Greece parliamentary cooperation format. Ara Babloyan attached importance to this proposal.

Talking about the Nagorno Karabakh conflict the Speaker of the Cypriot Parliament reaffirmed that Cyprus supports the peaceful settlement of the NK conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and has always supported and will support Armenia at different international platforms.

During the meeting the officials also highlighted the role of the Armenian community of Cyprus, stating that Armenians are full members of the Cypriot society and play a great role in the states development process.

At the end of the meeting Demetris Syllouris left a note at the Armenian Parliaments Honorary Guest Book.

Ara Babloyan and Demetris Syllouris also planted a fir tree at the Parliaments park as a sign of long-term friendship of the two peoples. Thereafter, they held a joint press conference.

English translator/editor: Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. World-renowned economist Daron Acemoglu, who agreed to assist Armenia in developing its economy, says the youth in Armenia must turn its engagement in politics into a positive trend of changes, Armenpress reports.

Im happy to share my knowledge as its an exciting time, and at least I can do that. Its the Armenian people who should make a step, rather than the prime minister, the MPs or judges, as well as neither me nor the Diaspora. The Armenian people, youth, who have been silent for a long time, must be engaged in politics, they should find a way to keep their participation in this and turn it into a positive trend of change. But this doesnt mean that people should hold protests every day. They must be involved in, should not allow the repetition of mistakes made in the past two-three decades, the economist said vie live video at the discussion titled Armenia Tomorrow: Citizen Diplomacy at Work organized by the Institute of Armenian Studies of the University of Southern California.

Daron Acemoglu added that the citizens should be vigilant, find the right way to control vie media and civil society structures in order to be assured that the new leadership is not the previous one, they are the continuation of the positive change.

The economist said now the real time is for changes, given the great wave of excitement among the society. This is really a perfect opportunity of preconditions for us to move forward. At the moment it is important to create a system where there is an equal game field, there are promoting factors, opportunities and people are encouraged to effectively participate in the countrys social and economic life, the ethnic Armenian economist said.

Daron Acemoglu highlighted the necessity to introduce new institutional elements so that the new system in its turn will not bring persons and groups who will become beneficiaries of corruption.

English translator/editor: Aneta HarutyunyanYEREVAN, MAY 21, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan announced today that all the governors of Armenia will be replaced, PM Pashinyan told the reporters following the inauguration ceremony of the Cabinet members at the Presidential Residence. I think all the governors will be replaced, ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan as saying.

Referring to the possibility of replacing the heads of Special Investigation Service and Investigative Committee, Pashinyan emphasized that there are some legislative problems there. We will observe those issues in the context of the legislation, Pashinyan said.

English translator/editor: Tigran SirekanyanAllegations of sexual assault against US celebrity chef Mario Batali spotlight once again an industry known for its macho work environment as the #MeToo era claims yet another high-profile American scalp. New York police confirmed Monday they had opened an investigation into the 57-year-old icon of Italian-American cuisine after a series of disturbing claims were broadcast on CBS's "60 Minutes." An anonymous employee of one of Batali's 26 restaurants accused him of assault in 2005 at "The Spotted Pig," a celebrity haunt in Manhattan's Greenwich Village run by one of his friends, and in which he had invested. The woman alleged that Batali drugged and sexually assaulted her while she was unconscious, waking up to find apparent semen on her skirt. She said she went to a hospital, but decided not to file a police report, and her "rape kit" from the hospital was not preserved. Jamie Seet, another "Spotted Pig" employee, said she witnessed a similar incident in 2008 on the restaurant's security cameras and several employees intervened to prevent the assault. "I think Mario Batali's a monster. He has been lauded as this incredible chef and this leader. But behind the scenes he's hurtful and he does not respect women," Trish Nelson, a former "Spotted Pig" waitress told 60 Minutes. "We called him the Red Menace," she added. Batali was previously accused of sexual misconduct and harassment last December, leading the restaurant group he co-founded, B&B Hospitality, removing him from operations, and television channel ABC axing him from his cooking show. He denies the latest and more serious allegations of assault to CBS. But B&B Hospitality called them "chilling and deeply disturbing" and said it was negotiating Batali's divestment from the company, the terms of which it hoped to be set by July 1. According to Nelson, harassment is "pervasive throughout" the industry, known for its hierarchical dynamic. - 'Brutal, oppressive business' - "Doing this over 20 years there isn't one place that I haven't had this kind of an experience," she told CBS. A flood of allegations leading to the downfall of Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein last October have spawned a public reckoning with sexual misconduct, rocking industries from politics to music to restaurants to finance. A number of chefs have been publicly accused -- but none as famous as Batali. Raised in Seattle, he apprenticed with London chef Marco Pierre White and trained in Italy before co-founding a culinary and restaurant empire that spanned New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Singapore. The author of 11 cookbooks and the winner of a clutch of awards, he starred in cooking show "The Chew" and is known for a gregarious personality and informal style of dress consisting of shorts, socks and sandals. One of the first chefs hit by the #MeToo movement was John Besh, a famous New Orleans restauranteur, accused last October of harassing a dozen women. In mid-May, Washington-based celebrity chef Mike Isabella -- the star of "Top Chef" who owned 11 restaurants in the capital -- was sued for sexually harassing a former employee, an accusation he denied. On the other side of the aisle campaigning against harassment in the restaurant industry, is former chef and food critic Anthony Bourdain -- whose partner is Asia Argento, an Italian actress at the forefront of the #MeToo movement. "I came out of a brutal, oppressive business that was historically unfriendly to women... I knew a lot of women, it turned out, who had stories about their experience, about people I knew, who did not feel I was the sort of person they could confide in," said Bourdain in a January interview with The Daily Show. It's no secret that the restaurant industry remains male dominated. In 2017, female chefs made up less than five percent of the world's Michelin star recipients, and only two were head chefs at the World's 50 Best Restaurants. But change might be on the horizon. Michael Ellis, international director of the Michelin guide, says more and more women are entering culinary schools -- and it won't be long before more women end up running kitchens. Mario Batali, 57, is one of the most famous figures in American cuisine

A former flight attendant is suing Alaska Airlines after she claims she was fired when alleging she was drugged and raped by a co-pilot.

Ashley Geffre, 25, filed a lawsuit against the airline, claiming after she reported the alleged incident to her employer in August 2017, she was dismissed.

Ms Geffre alleges the incident happened during an overnight stay in Florida, when she accompanied her colleague for dinner and drinks.

The next day I woke up early in the morning around 6 or 7am. And I had no clothes on. My clothes were on every corner of the room and I was scared I felt sexually assaulted, Ms Geffre told US television network KIRO 7.

Former flight attendant Ashley Geffre, 25, alleges she was drugged and raped by a colleague while on an overnight stop in August 2017. Source: Facebook/ Ashley Geffre

After heading to the local sheriffs office, she was informed that she was discovered in a stairwell by a security guard who claims to have found her covered in vomit with her underwear around her ankles.

Ms Geffre contacted Alaska Airlines to inform the airline she wouldnt be able to work that evening because she didnt feel safe. She claimed the first officer had also claimed he was drugged would also not be flying.

Ms Geffre later spoke with her union rep over the matter, and says she was oblivious that the conversation was going to lead to termination.

They called me dishonest. Ive been called a liar by a company that I loved working for. Ive been slut-shamed by a company that I devoted my time to, Ms Geffre recalled.

The airline said in a statement that the reported attacker had been grounded while they investigated the incident. Source: Getty, file.

According to Ms Geffres lawsuit, the first officer she alleges assaulted her remains employed with the airline. She says she believes its because flight attendants and pilots are treated very differently.

In a statement to KIRO 7, Alaska Airlines said the first officer hadnt flown with the airline since the alleged incident.

Alaska Airlines has a firm non-retaliation policy. We can confirm that the first officer was removed from duty immediately and has not flown since August 2017, a spokesperson said.

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The spokesperson also said the airline is fully investigating the allegations.

Yahoo7 News has contacted Alaska Airlines for comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit follows another employee suing the airline in recent months claiming she was also drugged and raped by a pilot during an overnight stop in Minneapolis in June 2017.At least four people were killed and nine others wounded in Ukraine's separatist east in the latest surge in violence between Russian-backed rebels and the Ukrainian army, authorities from both sides said Monday. The latest casualties brought the death toll to ten over the past five days, marking the sharpest spike in the long-running conflict in recent months amid diplomatic efforts to settle it. The Ukrainian army reported two soldiers were killed and four wounded in fighting near the government-controlled village some 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of the rebels' de facto capital of Donetsk. Rebel authorities said one of their fighters was killed and another one wounded in the renewed clashes along the front line. Four civilians in Gorlivka, an industrial town in one of the two separatist-held regions, were also wounded in mortar shelling, they said. Later on Monday, Ukrainian police reported the death of a civilian man after a bullet hit him in his own household in Mariinka, a Kiev-held town just ten kilometres (six miles) west of Donetsk. A series of periodic truce deals have helped lower the level of violence in Ukraine's east but have not fully ended bloodshed. On Monday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko spoke by phone to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two leaders "discussed the situation in Donbas", another name for the war-scarred region, the Ukrainian leader's press service said. Poroshenko and Merkel also discussed "joint efforts for the implementation of Minsk agreements", a Western-brokered peace plan signed in 2015 but not fulfilled by neither side. The situation has deteriorated in recent days with two Ukrainian soldiers killed in fighting on Thursday and four people, including two civilians, losing their lives on Friday. "Last week was in many ways the worst we have seen so far this year," the mission from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe monitoring the conflict said Monday. "In total, we recorded 7,700 ceasefire violations." More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict. Moscow has denied the allegations despite overwhelming evidence that it has been involved in the fighting and its explicit political support for the rebels. Activists dig trenches and make other fortifications to build a new front line against "Ukrainian tanks" not far from the pro-Russian rebel capital of Donetsk on May 5, 2018Nicaraguans were back on the streets in their thousands on Sunday to protest what they called a government breach of a two-day truce agreed during Church-mediated peace talks. Students at a university in northeastern Managua claim police attacked them during a demonstration outside the campus on Saturday night in which four students were shot and injured. Police said in a statement they had complied with the truce, agreed during Catholic Church-mediated talks between the government of President Daniel Ortega and opposition groups demanding his ouster. The aim of the truce was to create a calmer climate and allow an investigation into the deaths of dozens of people in a month of anti-government protests. Protesters in Mangua and other main cities demonstrated against the police action, which was strongly condemned by the university's rector, Telemaco Talavera. In Managua, protesters carried Nicaraguan flags, banged pots and blew whistles to call on Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, to resign. Despite the renewed tension, a third session of talks is scheduled to go ahead on Monday. Meanwhile, a delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have begun probing the deaths recorded by rights groups since the protests erupted mid-April. Offices opened by the visiting delegation in Managua and the towns of Masaya and Matagalpa were filled at the weekend with relatives of those killed or disappeared, many of whom waited several hours to file their complaint. "I am devastated. My son was taken from me. I came here to see if (his death) had been verified," Martha Mendoza, an employee of the state prosecutor's office, told AFP through tears. Another mother, Guillermina Bracamonte, said police had killed her 19-year-old son, who had traveled from a rural area to find work in the capital. The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights said the protests, initially prompted by social security reforms, had left 63 people dead, more than 500 injured and an undetermined number of missing. Students are in the forefront of Nicaragua's anti-government demonstrationsA deaf woman, who is five months pregnant, claims a man punched her in the stomach and hit her service dog during a confrontation on an plane.

Hazel Ramirez said she and her partner Matthew Silvay, who are both deaf, were confronted last Thursday by another passenger, Timothy Manley, who objected to their service dog.

Matthew Silvay confronted another passenger who he claimed hit his pregnant wife Hazel Ramirez (left) and her service dog. Source: Joshua Manley / You Tube

Mobile phone footage shows how an argument escalated in the aisle of the aircraft, and spilled into the gangway and terminal of the Orlando International Airport in Florida, US.

The video also shows Mr Silvay, the pregnant womans partner, blocking the walkway, appearing to be waiting for Mr Manley.

A police report states the passenger punched the great dane Zariel, upsetting Ms Ramirez and Mr Silvay, who yelled at him.

The argument escalated in the aisle of the aircraft, then spilled into the gangway and terminal of the Orlando International Airport in Florida, US. Source: Joshua Manley / You Tube

The woman, who is 20 weeks pregnant, said she was punched during a subsequent physical confrontation with Mr Manley, who she claimed also hit her pet with a closed fist.

According to the police report, the contact caused Zariel to yelp and retreat under a seat.

However Mr Manley denied hitting the canine, instead describing his contact with the service dog as a swat.

After disembarking the aircraft, Matthew Silvay pushes the other passenger, in full view of onlookers including children. Source: Joshua Manley / You Tube

He said the dog triggered his wifes allergies as the flight from Colorado Springs to Orlando was making its descent.

I pushed her away, he told ABC News in Florida.

I wouldnt call it a punch.

Officers took statements and referred the case to the FBI. Mr Ramirez says she plans to press charges.Telstra has admitted it still does not know what caused a major outage impacting 3G and 4G networks today.

Police warned the outage may have prevented people from calling Triple-0 and a number of customers were frustrated they only had SOS coverage.

Despite the police warning, Telstra said calls to Triple-0 would connect over other carriers networks where they have mobile coverage.

Telstra was working to resolve the issue impacting 4G mobile voice and data services across the country, which then caused congestion for 3G services.

A large number of customers in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth were affected and the ABC reports Commonwealth Bank and NAB customers were having trouble with EFTPOS facilities.

The Telstra outage affected customers in Sydney, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane. Source: Aussieoutages.com

Telstras group managing director of networks Mike Wright told the ABC the cause of the outage was unknown, but it was not related to a widespread outage 20 days ago, which impacted customers for two hours.

Today at around 10am a fault in the core of our network caused some problems with connectivity to the 4G layer of our network, he said.

That meant all our customers on our networks were connecting to the 3G layer, and of course with that big shift in traffic, that had some interruptions in the amount of data the network could carry and also caused some calls to fail and some customers to intermittently lose service.

From around midday we began to isolate some elements that were problematic in the network  were still finding the source of the problem itself, [but] we know what the effect was and were able to isolate some elements to restore service.

Aussie Outages reported thousands of customers were impacted on Monday morning. Source: Aussieoutages.com

Telstra issued a statement just before 3pm AEST saying mobile voice and data services had returned to normal levels.

We will closely monitor network stability and performance and continue supporting customers to restore their services. We are again deeply sorry for any disruption as we know how customers rely on our mobile services.

A spokesperson for Communications Minister Mitch Fifield told the ABC the secretary of the Department of Communications was seeking information about what caused the outage.

Story continues

Dear @Telstra I pay my bills on time, can you please start to hold up your end of the bargain. Getting a little tired of this happening and has been for months. Please dont reply with std bull answer of no reported problem in post code area 3551 as it wont cut it with me. pic.twitter.com/6SYaTiCfQc  Dion Costigan (@LinkBrokering) May 21, 2018

Customers slammed the communications giant on Twitter, with some claiming it had been happening for months.

Dear Telstra, I pay my bills on time, can you please start to hold up your end of the bargain, customer Dion Costigan wrote on Twitter.

Getting a little tired of this happening and has been for months.Houston's Muslim community gathered to offer prayers Sunday at the funeral service for a 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student killed in a mass shooting at her southeast Texas high school. About 1,000 people, many with Pakistani roots and wearing traditional Muslim dress, converged on an Islamic center in Stafford to honor Sabika Sheikh, whose body was brought by hearse to the somber service from Santa Fe, the nearby small rural town where a student murdered 10 people including eight students. Among the mourners was the late teen's first cousin who lives in the United States. She said Sheikh's relatives are completely devastated. "The family back home, we are in touch with them. They're crying every moment. Her mother is in denial right now," Shaheera al-Basid, a graduate student in the US capital Washington, told AFP at the funeral service. "It's a shock we need our entire life to recover from," the 26-year-old added. Men lined up in rows offered traditional mourning prayers as Sheikh's coffin, draped in the green and white flag of Pakistan, was brought into a small, cramped sanctuary. Sheikh had been due to return home in mere weeks, in time for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan. - 'Shock' - "It's a shock, it's so sad," said realtor Ike Samad, 67, who was born in Pakistan but has lived here most of his adult life and raised his children as Americans. "I came here just like her, as a student," he recalled. "God forbid that could have happened to me when I was here. As a parent, it is just devastating." Samad also addressed the painful irony that a young woman from a country that many Americans associated with the war on terror in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington was killed in a country that millions around the world see as a bastion of freedom. The attacks were a "tragedy, and tragedy sometimes teaches you life," he said. "But it also revisits, and in this case very close to here." Several Pakistani-American youths also attended the funeral service, including Danyal Zakaria of nearby Sugar Land, Texas. The 17-year-old said it was "truly mind-blowing" that an exchange student his age could be cut down in cold blood at a US school. "This nation is known to be safe," he said. "If America is not safe, then where is?" Nasir Shenwari (C), holding daughter Aunza, grieves as the casket of Santa Fe High School shooting victim Sabika Sheikh, 17, leaves after a funeral service in Stafford, Texas, on May, 20, 2018 Worshippers pray during the funeral servicePresident Donald Trump attacked the probe into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia as a "political hit job" on Monday, as a part of a mounting White House effort to paint the probe as politically motivated. In the latest salvo from Trump's administration and his Republican Party, the president assailed former CIA chief John Brennan, a strident critic, as having initiated the investigation. A day earlier, Trump demanded the Justice Department investigate the FBI for allegedly planting an informant in his campaign, and his lawyer pressed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to speed up the probe to avoid it affecting November's mid-term elections. Both moves highlighted the heightened political stakes surrounding the year-old probe, as Mueller seeks to interview Trump himself amid growing chances of an impeachment effort against the president if evidence of collusion and obstruction of justice is found. "This was a Political hit job, this was not an Intelligence Investigation," Trump said in a series of tweets, quoting Fox News commentator Dan Bongino. Brennan, the CIA's head from 2013 to 2017, "started this entire debacle about President Trump," the president said. "He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community." - FBI infiltrated Trump campaign? - In recent weeks, Trump has stepped up his attacks on the Russia investigation, aiming to erode trust in Mueller's integrity in the event the probe takes aim at the president himself. After hitting the one-year mark last week, Mueller's probe has taken on increasing political weight as the country heads towards midterm elections. Investigators have already issued 22 indictments, including of top Trump aides like chairman Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn. More indictments are expected, but Mueller and his team have remained absolutely silent about the direction of the investigation and what evidence they have, especially with regard to Trump. Aiming to exploit that silence, Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to order the Justice Department to investigate the FBI's implanting of "at least one" informant in his 2016 campaign, suggesting it was an act of political espionage by president Barack Obama's administration. Late last week, some US media identified a British-based American academic and former government official, with longstanding ties to the CIA, as the informant who sought meetings with several Trump aides during the campaign at the FBI's request. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, FBI Director Chris Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats met Trump to discuss the issue Monday. Based on the meeting, the Justice Department will include in its ongoing investigation into the 2016 election "any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's or the Department of Justice's tactics concerning the Trump Campaign," according to the White House. Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani added pressure on the probe, telling media Mueller hopes to wrap up by September 1 -- a target date that no one on Mueller's team has made public. Vice President Mike Pence reiterated that stance, telling Fox News: "I think it's time that the special counsel wrap it up." The White House is gambling that by both pressuring and denigrating the investigation, Republicans can gain voter support ahead of the November elections. If Mueller finds evidence of criminal behavior by Trump, it is crucial the Republicans prevent Democrats from gaining control of the House of Representatives, which would rule on any impeachment motion. Analysts say Trump's strategy to attack the CIA and FBI could be working. "The FBI and DOJ are reluctant to publicly respond in any way that makes them appear political," said Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. "By tweeting the accusation, the president has already cast the doubt in the public mind." US President Donald Trump accused former CIA director John Brennan of launching the Russia meddling probe of his campaign as a "political hit job" US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein promises to investigate whether there was any politically motivated surveillance of the Trump campaignUS Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed Sunday that Washington and Beijing have agreed to back off from imposing tariffs on each other, a day after reaching an accord on slashing the American trade deficit with China. "We have made very meaningful progress and we agreed on a framework," Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday. "So right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework." China's Vice Premier Liu He, who led a high-level delegation to the United States this week, meantime confirmed that "the two sides reached a consensus, will not fight a trade war, and will stop increasing tariffs on each other," official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. The apparent detente between the two economic giants follows months of increasing tensions that have set markets on edge over fears of a damaging trade war. The US-Chinese thaw raised concerns in some other countries still facing potential US tariffs, however, with France saying it could come "at the expense of Europe." Mnuchin emphasized Sunday that the sides had also discussed structural changes by Beijing "to make sure that we have a fair ability to compete" in its vast market. - 'Unfreezing the ice' - As each side worked to set expectations, Liu cautioned that "unfreezing the ice cannot be done in a day" and that structural changes "will take time." Mnuchin added a caution of his own, emphasizing that if China did not respect its commitments, Trump could "always decide to put the tariffs back on." In the absence of an agreement, US levies on $50 billion of Chinese imports could have taken effect as early as next week. Tariffs on steel and aluminum were put in place in March. A joint statement issued Saturday in Washington said Beijing would "significantly" increase its purchases of American goods, but offered few details. Last year, the United States had a $375.2 billion trade deficit with China, and Washington reportedly had demanded the deficit be slashed by at least $200 billion by 2020. - Targets not disclosed - Asked on Fox whether the agreement addressed the $200 billion demand, Mnuchin said, "We have specific targets" but that he would not disclose them publicly. He said they were set "industry by industry." Trump's threats of further tariffs had prompted Beijing to warn it would target US agricultural exports, aircraft, and even whiskey. Against that fraught backdrop, teams led by Mnuchin and Liu met earlier this month in Beijing. Both sides said further talks are planned to flesh out details. "There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China," Saturday's joint statement said. It added that "China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services." Mnuchin said there would be "a very big increase" in Chinese purchases of US agricultural supplies -- by 35 percent to 45 percent this year -- as well as a potential doubling of energy purchases. And Liu said the new cooperation would extend to medical care, high-tech products and finance, according to Xinhua. The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation on protecting intellectual property -- a long-standing source of US discontent. - Korean complication - The trade issue is complicated by the impending summit meeting in Singapore between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has consulted with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. China is North Korea's biggest trade partner, and Trump has called on it repeatedly to press Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programs. Meantime, the effects of the new US-Chinese warming were being nervously assessed in other countries, with French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire warning Sunday that it could exact a cost from Europe. "The United States and China risk entering an agreement at the expense of Europe if Europe is not capable of showing a firm hand," he told CNEWS television. Trump earlier this month granted the EU, along with Canada and Mexico, only a 30-day reprieve from threatened steel and aluminum tariffs. "The United States wants to make Europe and European countries pay for China's bad behavior," Le Maire said. "All of that is totally absurd and incomprehensible for allies." US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, seen here in a file photo, confirms that the United States and China had agreed to drop mutual threats of tariffs, easing fears of a damaging trade war US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, seen here in a file photo, confirms that the United States and China had agreed to drop mutual threats of tariffs, easing fears of a damaging trade warUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday warned Tehran would be hit with the "strongest sanctions in history" and cautioned European firms against continuing to do business with it, toughening up Washington's policy line after its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. In his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA, the longtime Iran hawk and ardent opponent of the 2015 nuclear pact outlined an aggressive series of moves designed to counter Tehran, which he called the world's top sponsor of terror. "We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran will have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank. "This sting of sanctions will be painful if the regime does not change its course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen to one that rejoins the league of nations." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani quickly dismissed the threats, saying the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf. "Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani said in a statement carried by multiple Iranian news agencies. "The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," he added. Pompeo said if Iran were to abide by stricter terms, including ending its ballistic missile program and its interventions in regional conflicts from Yemen to Syria, the United States would lift its new sanctions. President Donald Trump has long said the 2015 deal with Iran -- also signed by Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- did not go far enough, and now wants the Europeans and others to support his hardline strategy. The deal was designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. The international community, including top US officials, have said Tehran had been in compliance. But Trump despised the deal, pointing to other aspects of Iranian behavior not covered in the pact, and on May 8 he pulled America out despite intense diplomatic lobbying by European allies who had beseeched him to stick with it by adding tougher new elements. - 'Carte blanche' - Instead of suggesting a re-negotiation of the Iran deal, Pompeo outlined 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal" with Tehran to make sure it "will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East." These essentially address every aspect of Iran's missile program and what the US calls its "malign influence" across the region, including support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Hezbollah and Huthi rebels in Yemen. "It must cease its threatening behavior against its neighbors," Pompeo said. Rouhani compared the comments as akin to those made by the administration of George W. Bush ahead of the 2003 Iraq invasion. "The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," Rouhani added. Iran foe Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Pompeo's speech, and urged the rest of the world to follow suit. "The US policy is correct. Iran is spreading aggressively throughout the Middle East. It aspires to achieve nuclear weapons by various means," Netanyahu said. European allies heard how Pompeo expects their support for the new US plan -- but he offered nothing in return, and threatened economic fallout for anyone still dealing with the Islamic Republic. "We understand that our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends," he said. "We want to hear their concerns. But you know, we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account." The re-establishment of US sanctions will force European companies to choose between investing in Iran or trading with the United States. In reality, there is no choice -- European companies cannot afford to forsake the US market. For now, the European Union is trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement, even without Washington's participation. Russia and China have also criticized the US move and vowed to maintain trade with Iran. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the sort of "jumbo Iran deal" Pompeo envisioned would not be "very easy to achieve in anything like a reasonable timescale." And the EU's foreign policy chief said there was "no alternative" to the Iran nuclear deal. "Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," Federica Mogherini said. Critics rounded on Pompeo's speech, saying his demands could have been made without pulling America from the nuclear deal. "Pompeo has not outlined a strategy, but rather a grab bag of wishful thinking that can only be interpreted as a call for regime change in Iran," Suzanne Maloney of the Brookings' Center for Middle East Policy wrote on Twitter. Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning said the military was weighing "new actions" to counter Iran's influence in the Middle East, but he stressed this was part of a "whole of government" approach and offered no details. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has outlined a tough new strategy on Iran Factfile on Iran's main ballistic missilesU.S. Rep. John Katko has established two advisory boards consisting of school officials from the 24th Congressional District, including the Cayuga County area, to advise him on education issues.

One panel will focus on primary and secondary education, according to Katko's office. The other will provide guidance on issues affecting higher education.

Members of the primary and secondary education advisory board will include administrators and teachers from schools in each of the district's four counties. The Cayuga County representatives include Auburn Superintendent Jeff Pirozzolo, Auburn High School Principal Brian Morgan, Moravia High School Principal Bryan Ford and Emma Cowley, a teacher at the Port Byron Central School District.

Jessica Docteur, assistant superintendent for curriculum at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, is on the panel. Two officials from nearby schools in Onondaga County  Skaneateles Superintendent Ken Slentz and Elbridge Elementary School Principal RJ Hartwell  have joined the advisory board. Laurie Piccolo, executive director of the Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency, is also a member.If you want to have the spookiest house on the block this year, here are all the Halloween decorations you need for a seamless transformation.An Auburn man was arrested early Monday morning after strangling a woman and 9-year-old boy at the suspect's apartment, the Auburn Police Department said.

At around 1:30 a.m., officers responded to 86 E. Genesee St. for a report of a domestic dispute. Upon arrival, Auburn Deputy Police Chief Roger Anthony said, police discovered 38-year-old Raymond Kent Oxendine had attacked his girlfriend and a child at his residence.

According to the arrest report, Oxendine placed his hands around the neck of a 37-year-old woman, who ultimately lost consciousness. The woman was in the bathtub at the time.

"Raymond held the victim down in a bathtub by the throat, preventing her from standing up or removing herself from the incident," Anthony said.

After releasing the woman, Oxendine allegedly shoved a 9-year-old boy against the wall and grabbed him by the throat, strangling him briefly, police said. A 10-month-old girl was also present.

Oxendine was charged with second-degree strangulation, a class D felony, and several misdemeanors, including second-degree unlawful imprisonment, obstructing breathing and endangering the welfare of a child. He was also charged with second-degree harassment, a violation.

Oxendine was arraigned Monday morning in Auburn City Court. He pleaded not guilty to all counts and was remanded to Cayuga County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash, $20,000 bond. He was scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing May 25.

Staff writer Megan Blarr can be reached at (315) 282-2282 or megan.blarr@lee.net. Follow her on Twitter @CitizenBlarr.

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Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.Q How do seedless plants start?

 Nico Conti

A Amaya Atucha, assistant professor in the department of horticulture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison:

Plants can propagate in two ways: sexually and asexually. Sexual propagation is through seeds. Seeds develop from the sexual organs of flowers. But some plants take a very long time to be able to propagate by seeds.

For example, some trees take a very long time until they produce a seed. What we do is we can propagate them asexually. We take a vegetative part of the plant, and we produce a new plant out of it.

Some plants have natural vegetative structures. They propagate asexually in a natural, unforced way. For example, potatoes and onions produce bulbs and tubers. So if you take an onion and plant it in the soil, you can produce a new onion plant thats not coming from a seed, but is coming from a bulb.

Other plants, like grape vines or apples, in nature dont reproduce asexually. But we can use some techniques like grafting, cutting and air layering so that we can propagate them asexually.Veteran adult star and Hall of Famer Sara Jay has reported that popular international online lodging app Airbnb has abruptly and permanently terminated her account, giving her no warning or notification of any policy violationssolely because Jay is an adult actress. The termination by Airbnb was reported by the Daily Beast's Aurora Snow, herself a former adult star, here.

Airbnb's policy states, "To ensure that hosts and guests can use our platform without encountering prejudice or discrimination. ... we do believe that the Airbnb community can promote empathy and understanding across all cultures. We are all committed to doing everything we can to help eliminate all forms of unlawful bias, discrimination, and intolerance from our platform."

"I went to use the app one day to book a place to stay and my account wasn't working," Sara Jay stated. "When I contacted Airbnb customer support, I got a dismissive response that my account had been closed. They wouldn't give me a reason. I was stunned."

According to the Snow article, "They kept asking me for identification," Jay stated. "I sent in four different copies of my ID, then they wanted a clearer picture. It was ridiculous how many times they wanted me to verify my identity and name. Once I sent in all these verification pictures, they locked me out of my account and told me my profile was shut down."

Sara's business manager followed up by email and certified mail on March 30, 2018, stating that "Airbnb is violating its supposedly inclusive policies by discriminating against a female solely because of her gender and occupation... So much for empathy and understanding. An award winning female Hall of Fame actress being blacklisted." Airbnb finally responded on April 30: "For the safety and security of our community, we restrict access to the platform when users have advertised sexual services in exchange for compensation. This policy is gender neutral, and we have applied it to men, women and non-binary individuals. In this case, advertisements featuring Ms. Jay run afoul of this policy (including here and here). As a result, Ms. Jay is no longer able to use the Airbnb platform."

In response, Sara Jay's business manager responded on that same day, "The first website is Miss Jay's official site which is just an official site. No sexual services are advertised at all."

Indeed; Jay's VNA site simply states, "Join today and get live shows for free with your membership! Watch me live with all my hot and sexy friends! Enjoy cam to cam so I can see you having fun too, or just sit back and enjoy the showits all up to you! You also get live shows daily for free with your membership. 60+ live girls to meet and interact with. So what are you waiting for? Grab a pass and meet me and them inside!"

"The second website is not owned, controlled or affiliated with Sara Jay," Jay's manager continued. "Unfortunately there are third parties in the world who attempt to profit from Sara Jay's name by setting up sites. It is called click baiting. A quick name check [shows] it was set up in Panama. Miss Jay has done NOTHING wrong in the use of any of AirBnB's facilities. You are discriminating purely because of her gender and profession."

(The Panama-based site lists 20 pages of "pornstar escorts," many of whom are no longer acting in adult featuressome for at least a decade. It is likely that most are unaware that their photos and biographies are currently on the site.)

To date Airbnb has not responded to Jay's manager's entreats.

Sara Jay tweeted @AirBnb and @AirBnbHelp on April 30, but got no response except from other adult stars. @SexyKarenFisher tweeted that the same type of thing had happened to her.

Airbnb has not responded to the social media posts.

"It's incredibly wrong for such a large company to ban adult actresses who are doing nothing illegal or against their policies," declared Jay. "Imagine if Delta refused to sell me an airline ticket or Starbucks told me I couldn't buy a cup of coffee because I shoot adult? In this day and age, we shouldn't be restricting rights of women who are making a living in this country. Airbnb may not agree with everything women do for a living or what I do with my body but that should not be their call. What next... refuse to rent to women who make a living showing off their bodies on Instagram or Playboy models?"

Sara Jay continues to be one of the best known figures in adult, having just been inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in January 2017. On social media, Sara boasts over 847,000 followers on twitter and 1.5 million followers on Instagram. Her #SaraJayTV Channel on YouTube just passed a whopping 175,000 subscriptions with more than 35,000,000 views. She is part of the popular VNA Girls Network, and Askmen.com recently declared she is the 16th most googled star worldwide.

Sara Jay can be reached for comment at [email protected].

Sara Jay's business manager can be reached at [email protected].Jonathan Oddi, the 42-year-old self-described fitness consultant who was arrested Friday after allegedy opening fire in the lobby of a Miami, Florida, hotel and resort owned by Donald Trump, has a connection to the porn industry, according to media reports surfacing on Sunday.

No one other than Oddi was reported to be injured in the shooting, in which Oddi fired a gun toward the ceiling of the hotel lobby in what police said was an apparent attempt to draw police into a gunfight. The exchange ended when police did, in fact, show up and shoot the South Africa native, who appears to be a naturalized United States citizen, in the leg.

Oddi is a resident of Doral, Florida, who rents an apartment just a few miles from the Trump National Doral property, according to news accounts, and his motive for for the bizarre incident remains unclear.

Witnesses said that he was ranting about Donald Trump before repeatedly discharging a firearm in the hotel lobby. According to one law enforcement source who spoke to the Miami Herald, Oddi was also shouting derogatory statements about former President Barack Obama, and rap music star Sean P. Diddy Combs.

But according to a report by CBS4 News in Miami, Oddi until six years ago worked as a male stripper and appeared in videos for the porn site Dancing Bear, which features male dancerswho are nude except for a large bear-headhaving sex with multiple women during what the site claims are "real" events, such as bachelorette parties.

The Herald report, however, describes the Dancing Bear events as staged.

On his Twitter feed, CBS4 News reporter Jim DeFede said that a friend of Oddis claimed that Oddi quit performing in the bear-porn videos about six years ago due his fear that he would contract AIDS from his work.

Well I guess this settles it, the Dancing Bear dances no more, Oddis friend said, according to DeFede.

Though he was reportedly inveighing against Trump prior to his shooting spree, Oddi had liked several of Trumps postings on the social media platform Twitter, according to a Newsweek report. His liked Trump tweets attacking fake news and CNN, the online news magazine said.

Oddi may have disliked Trump, but his social media posts showed that he admired Trumps wife, Melania, according to the Herald report.

"#flotus rocks! She sets the example of mannerism. She counters Trumps aggressiveness," he wrote.

Oddi also commented on his social media about a Time magazine story covering Trumps alleged sexual encounter with AVN Hall of Famer Stormy Daniels noting, Reality is harsh.

Photo via Jonathan Oddi TwitterWASHINGTON, D.C.Democrats in the United States House of Representatives have already gathered 90 of the 218 signatures theyll need to force a vote on whether or not to roll back net neutrality rules, while Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai has already predicted that the House effort will fail and large telecommunications companies publicly expressed their anger at last Wednesdays Senate vote to keep the Obama-era open internet rules in place.

Led by Pai, a Donald Trump appointee, the FCC voted 3-2 along party lines in December to scrap the net neutrality regulations that prevent internet access providers from favoring certain online sites over others, effectively creating an internet landscape dominated by whichever companies can pay the most to get into the online fast lane.

Telecommunications companies could also choose to block some sites simply based on their content, a threat to which the online porn industry would be especially vulnerable, after five states have either passed or are considering legislation labeling porn a public health hazard.

On May 16, however, the Senate forced a vote on overturning the FCCs decision to repeal net neutrality rulesand the measure passed 52-47 with three Republicans joining all 47 Democrats and two independents in the vote to keep the rules in place.

Its disappointing that Senate Democrats forced this resolution through by a narrow margin. But ultimately, I'm confident that their effort to reinstate heavy-handed government regulation of the Internet will fail, Pai said in a statement following the Senate vote. Our light-touch approach will deliver better, faster, and cheaper Internet access and more broadband competition to the American people.

But Pai has not yet explained how the light-touch approach will prevent big internet service companies such as AT&T, Verizon and others from blocking traffic to sites that cant pay up, or strangling off access to sites with controversial content, such as porn sitesor even content providers who take political positions that disagree with the telecom corporations interests.

While the House Republican leadership has taken the position that the net neutrality issue should not even come to a vote, on May 17 Pennsylvania Democrat Mike Doyle introduced a discharge petition that would force the issue to the House floor.

The discharge petition process has been in place in Congress since 1931 and was created specifically to allow a majority of House members to overrule the leadership and force votes on specific issues.

A discharge petition needs 218 signatures of House members to succeed in forcing the vote. As of Monday morning, May 21, Doyles petition had received 90 signatures. The effort would need all 193 House Democrats plus 25 Republicans to sign on, in order to bring the net neutrality rollback to the House floor.

Photo by Bjoertvedt / Wikimedia CommonsWhat is Beneath N. Oregon Coast's Seaside? Trippy Geologic Answer

Published 05/18/2018 at 5:25 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff





(Seaside, Oregon)  Have you ever looked around the north Oregon coast town of Seaside and wondered: what on Earth is beneath you? What is under all that sand?

The answer is a little mind-boggling, especially when compared to other beaches along the Oregon coast. Theres a lot. All that sand goes really, really deep before theres anything solid.

Tom Horning, the famed geologist every coastal tourism official loves to have around, provided the trippy answer.

Theres about 150 feet of sand before you get to solid Earth.

Contrast that with Cannon Beach, Horning said, where the sand is only about three feet above the hard rock surface. Other spots around the Oregon coast can show their bedrock fairly often  albeit briefly  when winter storms scour out sand levels. They pop up at Newport, Pacific City and even parts of Lincoln City at times.

At Seaside, however, youll never get to see bedrock.

Horning said there are dunes rising up just above sea level. After that things get really down and dirty. Literally.

Then beach sands for 20 feet, then silty offshore sands down several dozen more feet, Horning said. Depending on where you are, these young sediments go down to nearly 100 feet below sea level.





If you want to see what Seaside looks like underneath, head to Cannon Beach. He pointed to bedrock and cliffs with layers stretching across that tell all sorts of geologic tales, even providing this picture.

The end of the Ice Age meant a huge rise in sea levels around here, where the beaches were probably a few miles west from where they are now. Then, somewhere after 10,000 years ago, the ice melted and the seas rose, swallowing up old formations and random stuff they left behind, like gravel from creeks.

Probably, those sediments at 125 below sea level include creek gravels laid down in streams before rising sea level flooded the coastal plain in this area, roughly 7000 years ago, Horning said. Under all these young sediments, it is good old mudstone of the Astoria Formation, what makes up the hills around Cannon Beach.

Horning provided a graphic spotlighting the Gearhart area, but its largely the same as Seaside. In it, you see layers of plants, fossils and crumbled bits of basalt.

The Astoria Formation is like the ground floor of most Oregon coast beaches. Not like most of the headlands such as Tillamook Head or Neahkahnie, which are made of basalt (former lava flows), the Astoria Formation is softer.

Sometime around 18 million years ago or so, a massive area along what would eventually become the northwest United States had already been carved out by various kinds of erosion. About then, it started filling back up with other rock debris, primarily sandstone and similar materials. It was all underwater or around the tideline, and it formed a layer of sandstone and mudstone that was eventually named the Astoria Formation, running from the central Oregon coast up to the north coast.

It's part of a massive underlying structure. This is softer stuff and gray, not black like basalt. It was actually a kind of fill-in mish mash of a variety of materials, much of it coming from eroded basalt from around Oregon, including the Gorge and other sources.

Thats what youre walking when you see bedrock during the winter at Hug Point or Arch Cape. Its the same stuff lying 150 feet below Seaside.

Lots of fossils are embedded in these mudstones and sandstones, which can be seen at Hug Point and especially Newports Moolack Beach in winter. When sand levels drop like this, it makes you a kind of time traveler. Seaside Hotels in these areas - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours













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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permittedWhat You're Missing Out on in May on the Oregon Coast

Published 05/06/2018 at 5:55 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Oregon Coast)  Two months in particular tend to be woefully neglected on the Oregon coast, and one is happening right now. May  along with April, actually  can have some of the most interesting action on the beaches: between the extreme low tides, the end of the stormy season and its beachcombing delights, weather that seems to be resplendent yet secret, and startlingly low lodging rates. On top of it all, Killer whales can really make, well, make a splash right about now.

May is an especially delectable time because of these aspects. Many of the heads of the local visitor centers agree on this and would like to see the word get out.

One of the big secrets of the Oregon coast is that the weekend just before Memorial Weekend can be astoundingly dead. Nearly deserted. Yet interestingly enough, the big weekend gets uncomfortably crammed with traffic and people. Mothers Day certainly sees a big spike, but aside from that, tourism experts say the real treasures happen just before the holiday weekend.

Jon Rahl, director of the Seaside Visitors Bureau, said this time of year is definitely underutilized.

Its definitely a value season for visitors and with a little bit of planning, folks can sneak in a short excursion or staycation for a rate they wont find once the school year ends, Rahl said. Minus tides during the morning and early afternoon in mid-May and late-May are also perfect times to visit and you could strike gold with a nice 65-70 degree day.

By this point in spring, the sporadic  but fascinating  stormy action of April has disappeared and May calms considerably. More warm weather days pop up, then June often sees a return to more rainy patterns.

I think in general, May has been a time of year where travel to the coast slows down, Rahl said. Were well past all of the spring break travel but families are nearing the end of the school year and tend to hold tight on any travel before schools close up for the summer.

Great weather days get a little more publicity now in the digital age, and thus tourism entities are saying May is getting a little more attention  but not much.

Nan Devlin, head of the Tillamook Coast group, which is essentially the visitor center for all of Tillamook County, agreed that weather is the important factor. Shes also noticed the weekend before Memorial Weekend can be exceptionally slow, but she says theres an uptick if the weather is good.

People are making plans for the big weekend  and she partially blames the annual May slowdown on the recent run of spring breaks in March and April.

However, it might also be that because March and April had several weeks of spring break between Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho (all big visitors here), that families are waiting for Memorial Day weekend for a getaway, Devlin said. Spring has been growing quite a bit for tourism dollars.

Rahl said the visitor numbers are comparable to October.

Just like the fall season, great weather tends to drive people out here regardless of the day of the week, but it typically presents travelers with tremendous value on hotels, he said. And the crowds are much lower than youll find by the end of June or early July. (See the lodging deals)

Another big feature of this time of year is the increased visibility of Orcas. Killer whales often show up in April, usually lingering through May. This tends to be more on the central coast, but they do make appearances up north around Cannon Beach and Seaside. Essentially, this is an unusual pod of Orcas that scientists dont know much about, except that theyre here to gobble up baby gray whales as they continue their migration north with their mothers.

As of May 6, there are many sightings of killer whales on the north Oregon coast, with the bulk coming from around the wreck of the Peter Iredale.

Also see What They Don't Tell You About Oregon Coast's Spring; Video.

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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permittedSeeing Stars on the Oregon Coast Above - and Below - This Week

Published 05/16/2018 at 5:15 AM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff





(Manzanita, Oregon)  This week is action-packed with intense nature fun on and near the Oregon coast, some of it literally interstellar. Theres a star party, a tour of tidepools in Oceanside, and a tour of oyster-growing facilities in Tillamook County.

Theres some stargazing to be had in the Oregon coast range this week.

On Saturday, May 19, join OMSI and Rose City Astronomers at both Rooster Rock State Park and L.L. "Stub" Stewart State Park starting at sunset. From beginners to experts of all ages, its an opportunity to view the stars and other celestial objects up close and personal through telescopes. Viewing highlights waxing crescent moon, Venus, Jupiter, and more.

Join the group as they gaze at the spring night sky at Rooster Rock State Park, located 22 miles east of Portland on I-84 just east of Sandy River at exit 25. To reach L.L. "Stub" Stewart State Park, take US-26 west of Portland and turn right on OR-47. The event starts at sunset and is free with $5 parking per vehicle.

On the scheduled day of each OMSI Star Parties, it is suggested that interested visitors check back on OMSIs website for possible weather-related cancellations.

Warm clothing and a flashlight with red light are recommended. Personal telescopes and binoculars are welcome.



In wondrous Oceanside, Tidepool Discovery Days bring the coolest critters into the light on May 19. The group Friends of Netarts Bay Watershed, Estuary, Beach & Sea (WEBS) is hosting this event, which starts at 9:30 a.m. and is free.

What amazing creatures are lurking at the waters edge? Come out to Oceanside and make some discoveries. WEBS staff and volunteers will be onsite in the tidepools helping visitors understand what is living along the coastal edge. Learn about anemone clone wars, how a sea star eats, or how hermit crabs steal shell homes from other crabs. From seaweeds to sculpin fish, there is another worldly place to uncover. It happens at the main access: Oceanside Recreation Area.

Wear boots or bring a change of shoes. Flip flops are never ideal for exploring tide pools. Be prepared for shifting Oregon coast weather. Dogs are allowed. 541-231-8041. Registration at this link.

The following day, May 20, Friends of Netarts Bay hosts the Art of Growing Oysters.

Do you enjoy Pacific Northwest oysters? The oyster industry is an important part of Tillamook County and includes a number of farms, like Pacific Seafood operating out of Bay City, and one of the largest oyster hatcheries in the country, Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery on Netarts Bay. If you are interested in understanding where the tasty critters on your dinner plate come from, join in on the next tour.

This is a rare opportunity to learn about the these facilities, the state-of-the-art scientific research going on at the hatchery, and the issues faced by the shellfish industries and wild shellfish along the Pacific Northwest. This event includes an estuary walk to view oyster beds near Bay Ocean Peninsula County Park, a stop at Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery, and ends at Pacific Seafoods restaurant, the Fish Peddler.

It is free and starts at 9 a.m. Wear boots or closed toe shoes. The walk to the oyster beds will be muddy and is a moderate to moderate plus walk depending on the day. The groups requests you consider your comfort walking through mud and water. Meet at Netarts. 541-231-8041. Registration at this link. ----- Oregon Coast Hotels for these events - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours













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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permittedN. Oregon Coast History: Tsunami Tragedy Started Cannon Beach's Sandcastle Festival

Published 05/04/2018 at 4:55 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff





(Cannon Beach, Oregon)  This year, on June 9, the 2018 Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest will celebrate 54 years of crowd-pleasing and wowing. The small town tradition has become big time industry over those decades, but the strange truth of it is that the Oregon coasts most high profile festival owes its existence to something rather tragic.

It was a tsunami that triggered the beginnings of the festival of sand sculpturing.

Its also apparently switched official names over the years. Recent references and publicity have it labeled Cannon Beach Sandcastle Contest, but earlier references show it as Cannon Beach Sandcastle Day Festival.

The Sandcastle Day Festival began in 1964, not long after a tsunami washed out the bridge between the town and Highway 101. An earthquake in Alaska caused that destructive wave, which wrecked parts of Seaside, other parts of the Oregon coast, and killed four children down in the Newport area.

The lack of a bridge left Cannon Beach locals a little stir crazy for awhile, but even once it was rebuilt, residents found the tourists werent coming back. By early summer of 1964, Cannon Beach held the first Sandcastle Day Festival to help get them to return to town.

The first one was a low-key event featuring mostly local sand sculptors, put together by Margaret Atherton, daughter Billie Grant and Marian Crowell. It was designed specifically for kids and families, and one of several efforts to draw tourists back to town.

The second, in 1965, was more focused and a bit more publicized. A local newspaper article at the time touts the event happening on July 29. Judges will be Gerald Gower, Cannon Beach mayor; Francis of the Cannon Beach Commercial Club; Frank Lackaff, local artist, and Mrs. Paul Dueber, the article says.

The prize that year was $10. Gower Street was clearly named after the then-mayor: its the road that leads to the main access to Haystack Rock in midtown.

Summer fun on the Oregon coast would never be quite the same.

After that, the Sandcastle Day Festival was usually planned around days with the lowest tides, which would happen in May, June or July. By the 80s it had grown to national and international fame, even featured on Good Morning America. At one point, representatives from Cannon Beach were asked to help set up similar contests in San Francisco and North Carolina, and in 1984 the city of South Brighton in Australia asked for their assistance as well, according to documents from the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum.

Since then, it has grown to enormous proportions and become one of the pivotal events of summer on the Oregon coast. It still is based on lowest tides, scheduled around that occurrence in May, June or July  although it has generally happened in June in recent years.

In 2014, on its 50th anniversary, the Cannon Beach Chamber put together a commemorative book called "50 Years of Sandcastles in the Making," showing historical photographs and all the posters of previous years festivals. These are still for sale: call the chamber at 503-436-2623.

Also that 50th year, Oregon Parks & Recreation Department recognized the festival as an Oregon Heritage Tradition, only one of 11 events around the state get snag that honor. See cannonbeach.org for full festival info. Cannon Beach Hotels / Lodging for this event - Where to eat - Map and Virtual Tour





















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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permittedNorth Carolina ranks 44th in the nation in access to health care. When you consider we have great access in some parts of the state - those close to metropolitan areas and teaching hospitals in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, the Triad, and Triangle - the overall ranking is misleading.Access is especially poor in rural parts of the state.In North Carolina, 20 counties don't have a pediatrician, 26 counties don't have an OB-GYN, and 32 are without a psychiatrist. Three counties haven't had a dentist for the past 10 years, and 70 counties have been designated as dental health professional shortage areas. North Carolina consistently ranks 47th among the states in terms of dentist-to-population ratio. Seventy of the 80 rural counties are currently "medical deserts" for lack of availability to primary care .Less access to health care brings poorer health outcomes, people don't get diagnoses and treatment early, and the population experiences persistently higher mortality rates. When there's less health care infrastructure, a downward spiral occurs. Fewer doctors want to practice in underserved areas, there's less care, costs go up, and healthy people don't access care in early stages of illness. Sick people get sicker. When less health care is available in an area, people don't want to move there, fewer businesses expand and relocate, and there are fewer jobs. All of this results in higher rates of poverty. People get sicker, outcomes are worse, care is less accessible, and it comes with a higher cost.We don't have a physician shortage. We have an allocation problem. It's not a matter of supply but of distribution. Most providers cluster in wealthier, more culturally diverse urban areas. Of the 434 medical school graduates in North Carolina in 2011, only 1.6 percent - seven graduates - are now providing primary health care in rural areas. Where to practice and live is a choice for doctors, but it goes further than doctor distribution.Real economic costs are linked to a lack of health care. New entrepreneurs need access to health care to offset the risk of opening their own business and to attract and retain workers. A community that doesn't have a good health-care system isn't going to get to first base in recruiting new companies. To recruit good workers, employers must be able to ensure access to quality, affordable health care.I'm not suggesting a new government program or set of regulations controlling where doctors can live and practice, exerting even more government control over our health care. I'm suggesting we do the opposite - that we remove the legal handcuffs that regulations have imposed on providers. I propose we solve the problem by empowering individuals, using the power of enterprise and free markets, not government regulations.Four policy changes can be made that would transform our health-care system, innovative ideas that wouldn't require new government programs and massive taxpayer funding.Telemedicine allows interaction between patients and providers. Doctors can monitor and treat patients from a distance, saving time and money. Technology has been used in overcrowded emergency rooms, accessing experts located elsewhere to stabilize stroke victims and to save lives.Exploring new models of health-care delivery is gaining acceptance from doctors and patients. Direct primary care offers patients 24/7 access to their doctors without the constraints and complications of insurance. Paying a monthly fee, fees for services rendered, and a high deductible insurance plan covers medical needs and restores the traditional doctor/patient relationship many had found missing. The state has more than 30 direct primary care physicians. Union County offered direct primary care as an option for its employees. In addition to great satisfaction with the plan, the county saved more than $1 million in health-care costs the first year.Another way to expand care is to allow medical providers to practice within their full scope of training. Twenty-two states have removed a requirement for a physician to supervise nurse practitioners. Fourteen states since 2010 have moved to "full practice authority" for advanced-practice registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and nurse anesthetists. When Arizona removed its requirement of physician supervision of nurse practitioners, the number of nurse practitioners serving rural areas jumped by 73 percent within five years. Removing government handcuffs from dental hygienists and allowing dental therapists and midwives to provide basic care would increase access and bring down costs when preventive and management measures can replace emergency care for serious yet neglected illnesses.North Carolina needs to repeal certificate-of-need laws, as 15 other states have done. Qualified doctors and medical providers must get government approval before they expand or build their practices, buy new equipment, offer different services, or open new facilities. The process is expensive and time-consuming. It's particularly difficult for smaller practitioners. North Carolina has the fourth-most restrictive certificate-of-need laws in the country. Numerous studies confirm what common sense tells us: Certificate-of-need laws stifle competition, drive up costs, and limit access to care.Major tax cuts, limiting the growth and scope of government, paying down debt, building savings reserves, and massive regulatory reform have propelled North Carolina to a No. 1 ranking in Forbes Magazine as the most business-friendly state in the country. In the Tax Foundation's business tax climate index, North Carolina has climbed from 44th in the nation in 2010 to 11th.These efforts have achieved a tremendous economic benefit for our state. A total of $5 billion has been returned to taxpayers, a net of more than 444,000 jobs have been created, businesses are growing, and more businesses have been created and are profitable. Unemployment has been cut in half since 2011. The next frontier of North Carolina's reform efforts must be medical. Not only will it create more economic benefits for our residents, but, more important, it will save thousands of lives. High quality, accessible, lower-cost health care is literally a matter of life and death.

Rally participants wait outside the legislative building Wednesday. (CJ Photo by Kari Travis)



Mark Jewell, N.C. Association of Educators president, center, leads the teachers as they march in Raleigh on Wednesday. (Photos by Don Carrington)

Bickering over the state education budget opened the floodgates to a red sea in downtown Raleigh.Teachers, school personnel, and students clad in red T-shirts took to the streets Wednesday, May 16. They clustered on the old Capitol grounds. They crowded shoulder to shoulder in a massive throng slowly pushing toward the state legislative building to press their money demands on lawmakers opening the 2018 short session.Teachers walked out of some 40 school districts that canceled classes for about 1 million students. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance estimated 19,000 marchers in attendance.The House and Senate quickly gaveled in and out of session at noon. Teachers jammed into the galleries and lobbies, causing a few disruptions.The N.C. Association of Educators' rally brought a festive atmosphere, complete with horn players belting out "When the Saints Go Marching In" on the sidewalk outside the legislative building. Many teachers held signs with messages from the banal to the brilliant.one sign read.Katherine Koppel-Dobbs, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools special education teacher at Quail Hollow Middle School, made a two-sided sign:andKoppel-Dobbs said.Teachers pay up to $1,000 for classroom materials, she said. Textbooks are out of date. Per-pupil funding is insufficient, especially for special education and English as a Second Language teachers who need special equipment and support services. It's difficult to improve student test scores without additional funding.She said the teachers had a collective message for lawmakers:Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, picked up that theme while addressing his colleagues in chamber.Blue said. But they teach by example, and students who attended the rally got a life lesson about democracy.He urged thatBlue's message was shattered by a trio of teachers who burst into a chant,They were removed from the gallery. Another teacher picked up the chant and also was removed. When the gavel fell, a small number of other teachers began screaming at the senators from the balcony.Teachers in the lobby outside legislative chambers were warned several times to quiet down. They chanted "Remember, remember, we vote in November."Republicans, who are the target of teacher ire, embraced the educators. Lt. Gov. Dan Forest welcomed them as he gaveled the Senate into session. Sen. Dan Bishop, R-Mecklenburg, drew chuckles from them as he noted the mass of red, a color usually associated with Republican states.Bishop said.In the House, which opened with a color guard and Miss North Carolina singing the national anthem, Minority Leader Darren Jackson, D-Wake, dismissed concerns partisan politics drive budget decisions. The differences are policy matters, not political considerations, and attempts to politicize the process are not helpful, he said.Jackson said.Rep. Josh Dobson, R-McDowell, a member of the House Select Committee on School Safety, said he's optimistic lawmakers from both sides of the aisle can work collaboratively to accomplish a meaningful budget.Dobson chairs the House Health Committee, which met after the House recessed to approve a fast-tracked House Bill 933 . The measure directs the State Board of Education to grant a license to out-of-state school psychologists to practice in North Carolina if they hold a National Association of School Psychologists certification.The bipartisan bill was approved unanimously and is scheduled to be heard in the House on Thursday. It is intended to reduce a shortage of school psychologists in North Carolina. Seventy positions are funded but unfilled.Dobson said.Although no new money is required for the school psychologist reciprocity bill, Dobson said, appropriations will be needed to hire new school counselors, nurses, social workers, and psychologists.Milton "Toby" Fitch Jr. was welcomed as the state's newest senator and expressed a wish for collaboration. He replaces Angela Bryant, who resigned her Senate District 4 seat representing Halifax, Nash, Vance, Warren, and Wilson counties. Fitch served in the state House from 1984-2001, and recently retired after 16 years as a Superior Court judge.Fitch said.The General Assembly is a different place than it was during his House terms, Fitch said. But he insistedGov. Roy Cooper addressed teachers later in the afternoon. He hailed his budget as a better prescription for North Carolina.Cooper said he knew why teachers were in Raleigh. Terry Stoops , vice president of research and director of education studies at the John Locke Foundation, said financial costs are associated with the walkout.Stoops said.Stoops said.Stoops said.The state's largest health insurance company is removing a community hospital in Stokes County from its network after an alleged scheme to score millions in insurance revenue.The move is effective Aug. 21.LifeBrite Community Hospital of Stokes took over Pioneer Community Hospital in 2017 and has since taken in 22,000 percent more in lab billing revenue than its predecessor, Blue Cross Blue Shield of N.C. says.While under Pioneer management, the facility billed an average of $37,400 a month for tests. To date, LifeBrite has pulled in a monthly average of $8.5 million for the same services.A federal bankruptcy judge Dec. 27, 2016, approved the purchase of the operations for the Stokes hospital for $400,000 by LifeBrite Hospital Management Co., the Winston-Salem Journal has reported. The company is an affiliate of LifeBrite Hospital Group LLC of Lilburn, Georgia,Blue Cross stated in legal claims filed May 16.The company is seekingthe claims say.Carolina Journal called LifeBrite and was abruptly transferred to a voicemail box. The hospital did not immediately respond to our request for comment.The situation in Stokes County is one of many such scenarios playing out across the U.S. Rural hospitals are endangered . Eighty-three have closed since 2010, a CBS investigation shows. Insurance companies, in an attempt to rescue local health care, reimburse community hospitals at higher rates. The action has been a magnet for money schemes. To date, insurance companies have paid nearly half a billion dollars in fraudulent billing charges.In 2016, a Missouri state auditor discovered one such rip-off at Putnam County Memorial Hospital. With just 15 beds, the institution was at risk of extinction.Auditors combed financial records to find millions of dollars flooding the hospital's accounts. Officials discovered a management company called Hospital Partners had acquired the facility just weeks before it would have flatlined. To revive business, the Hospital Partners took advantage of Putnam's higher reimbursement rates by billing lab tests from around the country through the rural hospital.In Stokes County, LifeBrite, between August 2017 and April 2018, billed an average of 67,000 lab tests through its hospital, BCBSNC says. That tab totaled 525,000 tests and a total cost of $74 million. In contrast, Pioneer billed a monthly average of 267 between January 2015 and January 2017.Danbury, the hospital's locale, had a population of 189 residents in 2010. About 98 percent of the tests billed through the Stokes County hospital were for people living outside North Carolina, Blue Cross NC said. In 2017, Empower iHCC Inc. , an affiliate of the group that owns and operates LifeBrite, tried to acquire the failing Morehead Memorial Hospital in Eden. The deal fell through, and UNC Health Care bought the facility instead.Most of the company's plans allow customers to receive covered services from out-of-network providers, but customers will typically pay higher out-of-pocket costs, the company said in the release.Now that it is fully apparent, to all who have the ability to pay some modicum of attention, that Imposter President Biden has extreme cognitive issues, in addition to being an inveterate liar: Can OUR Republic continue with this Executive Office that has completely failed, so many times, on far too many issues here at this early date in this abysmal presidency?

No, Joseph R. Biden is completely unqualified, morally and cognitively, to represent real Americans, and lead this Republic of disparate peoples.

Yes, Joseph R. Biden has started whispering again, even softer now than before; so, I know he still cares, plus, OUR media will soon stop reporting on Afghanistan in favor of OUR Socialist ideals.This resource is no longer available

This resource is no longer available. Return to previous page.The proposed rule would undo an Obama-era regulation that prohibits such controversial and scientifically unjustified methods of hunting as using artificial light to kill hibernating bears and their cubs and shooting wolf and coyote pups and mothers in their dens. Photo by Alamy

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The Trump administration is trying to bring back some of the worst and most appalling hunting practices for wolves, grizzly bears and other wildlife on 20 million acres of federal public lands in Alaska. A rule proposed today by the Department of the Interior would roll back an Obama-era regulation that prohibits such controversial and scientifically unjustified methods of hunting as using artificial light to kill hibernating bears and their cubs, shooting wolf and coyote pups and mothers in their dens, using bait to attract brown and black bears, shooting vulnerable swimming caribou, and using dogs to hunt black bears.

This proposal is unlawful because it conflicts with clear statutory directives from Congress that the National Park Service must conserve and protect wildlife in national preserves.

For years, the National Park Service has pushed back against Alaskas increased use of fringe hunting methods that prioritize trophy hunting over conservation. After being fed up with the states efforts to expand killing of predators on national preserves in order to have more ungulates such as caribou to hunt, the NPS, in 2014, began work on a rule that was finalized the following year. That rule made clear that certain methods of hunting that Alaska sanctions for predator control are inconsistent with the NPSs conservation mandates, and are prohibited on national preserves in Alaska.

Last year, when the state of Alaska and Safari Club International sued NPS to invalidate this crucial rule, the Humane Society of the United States intervened in the lawsuit to defend the rule and similar rules issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Now, in a new ploy, the NPS is claiming that due to secretarial orders issued by Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to expand hunting opportunities on federal lands and improve coordination with states, the agency is required to rescind these protections. In reality, the agency and Zinke have no authority to override Congressional protections for these federal lands.

This proposed rule also goes against the wishes of Alaskans themselves, and can hurt the states economy. A March 2016 poll found that most Alaskans abhor and oppose these hunting practices, and support putting a stop to these methods on federal lands. Alaskas predator control practices also do not make any economic sense. Wildlife watching in Alaska contributes far more to local economies than trophy hunting. Like Alaskans, most Americans value wildlife and relish the unique opportunity to see bears, wolves, river otters, wolverines and lynx in Alaskas national parks and preserves. Wildlife watchers who visit Alaskas national parks and preserves, such as Denali, contribute more than $2 billion each year toward these activities, with wolves and grizzly bears among the biggest lures for tourists. Wildlife watching contributes five times more than the amount generated in Alaska from all hunting activity (and these extreme methods account for only a tiny fraction of total hunting in the state).

We need your help to stop the federal government from handing over some of our most precious wildlife to trophy hunters. Please post your comments here to tell the Department of the Interior that you do not support these methods of hunting, and urge them to keep the prohibitions in place. Heres a sample message you can use or adapt: I am opposed to the National Park Services plan to repeal the 2015 rule, which would be inconsistent with the agencys statutory conservation mandate, prohibiting killing hibernating bears and their cubs using artificial light, shooting wolf and coyote pups and mothers in their dens, using bait to attract brown and black bears to shoot them point blank, shooting vulnerable swimming caribou, and using dogs to hunt black bears. Americans do not support these hunting methods and travel to Alaska to see these wild animals, providing billions of essential dollars to the local economy to do so. Please keep these prohibitions in place.





India's national elections are only a year away, and things aren't looking good for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling party of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an authoritarian war criminal who has a mutual love affair with US President Donald Trump.

The BJP has announced that it cannot form the government of the southern state of Karnataka, because it could not convince the other parties to enter into coalition with it. The BJP won the largest number of seats in the Karnataka election, but without a majority, it has to find coalition partners in order to form the government.

It's being characterised as the breaking of the "Modi wave" of support that the BJP enjoyed in the honeymoon period after Modi's election, a honeymoon that has been decidedly over for some time now (Modi presided over one of the largest strikes in human history in 2016  the kind of thing that presages a turning tide in public opinion).

Modi is a Trump-style media manipulator, a serial liar and authoritarian who exploits sectarian differences and Islamophobia to consolidate power; he is backed by a troll army who never fail to show up in the comments for posts like this and on Twitter following any negative sentiment. For an example of their standard line of critic-bollocking, check out the comments below in an hour or two.

In earlier elections held in the states of Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur, the BJP managed to form governments with the help of friendly governors despite not having enough votes. In these states, the BJP quickly forged post-poll alliances to trump Congress, which had the largest numbers. The Constitution provides decision-making powers to state governors, which led to BJP forming governments with as few as two seats. Clearly, the Congress had learned its lesson and was quick to form an alliance in Karnataka, offering to back the JD(S) leader, HD Kumaraswamy as chief minister. As the BJP quit, a relieved Congress and JD(S) declared victory. "Now and in the future, we will all be together," Congress leader DK Shivakumar  who played a key role in ensuring the outcome  told the media as he left the state assembly. "This is a win for the Constitution and Rule of Law," announced Congress leader and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. A combative Congress President Rahul Gandhi went on the offensive as soon as Yeddyurappa resigned. He mocked the BJP legislators by pointing out that they did not even wait for the national anthem to be played as per custom, before walking out of the state assembly. "It shows they can disrespect any institution if in power. Both BJP and RSS have disrespected institutions," he said.

Huge setback for Modi as BJP fails floor test in Karnataka [Vishakha Saxena and Saikat Datta/Asia Times]

(via Naked Capitalism)Next year, high schools in Lockport New York will use the "Aegis" CCTV and facial recognition system to track and record the interactions of students suspected of code of conduct violations, keeping a ledger of who speaks to whom, where, and for how long.



The record will be used to assemble evidence against students and identify possible accomplices to ascribe guilt to.

Lockport Superintendent Michelle T. Bradley justified the decision by noting, "We always have to be on our guard. We can't let our guard down."

Lockport will be the first school district in the world to subject its students to this kind of surveillance. The program will cost $1.4m in state money. The technology supplier is SN Technologies of Ganonoque, Ont., one of the companies in the vicinity of Kingston, Ontario, home to the majority of the province's detention centers.

The Lockport district says that the system will make students safer by alerting officials if someone on a sex-offender registry or terrorist watchlist enters the property. None of America's school shootings or high-profile serial sex abuse scandals were carried out by wanted terrorists or people on the sex-offender registry.

Deployed law-enforcement facial recognition systems have failure rates of 98%. The vendor responsible for Aegis would not disclose how they improved on the state of the art, but insisted that their product worked "99.97% of the time." The spokesperson would not disclose any of the workings of the system, seemingly believing that doing so was antithetical to security.

The consultant who advised Lockport to spend $1.4m on the Aegis system, Tony Olivo, is listed as a "partner" of the vendor receiving the $1.4m in tax money; according to Lockport Superintendent Michelle T. Bradley, Olivo did not ask to be paid by the school district for this advice. Olivo says he also isn't being paid a commission by the Aegis vendor. Olivo also consults for the nearby Depew school system, which is also committed to purchasing Aegis with tax money. Despite refusing to disclose any technical details about Aegis, Olivo said, "There is nothing in the world that can do what this technology does."

Students' photos won't be uploaded into the system unless there's a reason. Lockport's system has a 60-day video memory, Olivo said. So if school officials load a student's photo into the system, they can track where and when the student moved around in the school in the past 60 days. They can see who the student talked to and where the student went during class hours. Rabey, the Depew superintendent, said the Aegis system also could be applied to school discipline. "If we had a student who committed some type of offense against the code of conduct, we can follow that student throughout the day to see maybe who they interacted with, where they were prior to the incident, where they went after the incident, so forensically we could also use the software in that capacity as well," Rabey said.

Lockport schools turn to state-of-the-art technology to beef up security [The Buffalo News]





(Image: Cydia, CC-BY; Google Maps)A man in Elyria, OH was walking home at 5:26am Saturday morning when he got spooked. Someone  or something  was following him. When he noticed it was a pig, he freaked out and called the police.

Of course the cops thought he was either really drunk or hallucinating. But he wasn't. The frightened gentleman just didn't like being followed by a pig.

The police ended up returning the animal, whose name is Zoey, back to its owner.

Phew. Close call. But the man survived the frightful morning without a scratch and lived to tell about it.

Via CBS

When an Ohio man told police he was being followed by a pig, they thought he was drunk. In fact, he was sober  and being followed by a pig. https://t.co/cSjZv8jlQp pic.twitter.com/r5OFPRk4fU  CBS News (@CBSNews) May 20, 2018

Image: North Ridgeville Police DepartmentHere's a photo of a gentleman, possibly inebriated, who appears to be urinating while seated in a Frontier jet. The Denver CBS news affiliate reports the man was taken away in handcuffs when the plane landed in South Carolina.

From CBS:

The woman said the male passenger was moved to the row she was in after he allegedly verbally and physically assaulted two other women near his previous seat. She also said the man allegedly touched one sleeping female passenger and later asked another woman about her sexual and marital life. The passenger said she was disappointed with the way the airline handled the incident, and was discouraged when Frontier flight attendants allegedly placed the suspect next to her. She said one flight attendant warned her of his previous actions, and told her to monitor his status. It was then when the passenger photographed the suspect urinating on the seat.

From Fox News:

When flight attendants became aware of the man's behavior, he was moved to an empty row of seats in the rear of the plane. A flight attendant also warned Emily, who was sitting in the row across, of his behavior, telling her to leave her seat if the man tried to touch her. Instead, Emily says the passenger proceeded to urinate on the seat directly in front of him. "And I scream, 'He's fing peeing. He's peeing. Oh my God.' And the flight attendant doesn't even acknowledge him at first. [The attendant] acknowledges me and says you need to calm down and stop cursing," she told Fox 31.

When the woman told Frontier that she wanted to file a complaint about how she had been treated by flight attendants, they gave her a card with a telephone number that had been disconnected.

Image: Shutterstock/M-SURAna Suda and her friend, Mimi Hernandez, were born in the United States. They live in Montana. On early Wednesday morning they went grocery shopping. A uniformed Border Patrol agent heard them speaking Spanish to each other and demanded to see their identification. When they asked him if they were being racially profiled he said, "Ma'am, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here, and I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here. It's the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store, in a state where it's predominantly English-speaking." He detained the women in the store's parking lot for 35 to 40 minutes before letting them go.

When the Washington Post contacted US Border Patrol for a response, a spokesperson said, "U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers are committed to treating everyone with professionalism, dignity and respect while enforcing the laws of the United States. Although most Border Patrol work is conducted in the immediate border area, agents have broad law enforcement authorities and are not limited to a specific geography within the United States. They have the authority to question individuals, make arrests, and take and consider evidence."

Image: Washington Post Video screenshotNews / National

by Staff reporter

With his tail between his legs, after realizing that diaspora haidi wakura, Saviour Graveyard Kasukuwere will sneak into Zimbabwe in the next few days.



It's cold out there



Read his story in the Sunday Times today @ray_ndlovu @TimesLIVE @SundayTimesZA @GomoDubi @Duke18n pic.twitter.com/crHw7Fo60y  mmatigari (@matigary) May 20, 2018

A key ally of Grace Mugabe is set to return to Zimbabwe six months after he fled into exile in the wake of the military takeover, a newspaper reported Sunday.Speaking to the Zimbabwe edition of South Africa's Sunday Times, former local government minister Saviour Kasukuwere said that he is prepared to return to Harare as "early as this week" and face possible criminal charges. The minister met the paper's journalists at a hotel in Ekurhuleni: it was not clear where exactly he's been staying in South Africa until now.Accused of corruptionKasukuwere was among several of Grace Mugabe's allies, including former higher education minister Jonathan Moyo and former labour minister Patrick Zhuwao who fled the country after the November 15 army operation dubbed Operation Restore Legacy. The army said it was targeting "criminals" around Mugabe. The operation led to Mugabe's resignation six days later."We were accused of corruption and that we are the centre of destroying the economy," Kasukuwere told the paper. "The reason I will go back home is that if I did commit a crime, then I must be brought before the courts and charged," he said.Several other ministers loyal to the Mugabes who stayed in the country have been arrested and charged with corruption and abuse of office.Kasukuwere's home was reportedly attacked by soldiers in the early hours of November 15 while he, his family and Moyo and his family were holed up there. They later escaped to the Mugabe's mansion, and Kasukuwere and Moyo then fled the country.Kasukuwere said that life in exile had been hard.Bitter feelings"I have had to adapt to the environment, live within my means and do away with yesterday's appetites," he said. "I can't afford either the luxury or the pleasures of things such as a holiday."Kasukuwere said last November's events had left him feeling bitter. He said the power struggle within Zanu-PF had been a "political" one that did not merit the army's intervention."You would have expected political players to deal with each other politically," he said.News / National

by Stephen Jakes

A prominent Zimbabwean cleric, who prophesied that President Robert Mugabe would die in 2017, has been set free by a magistrate in Zimbabwe.Pastor Patrick Mugadza, 46, of the Remnant Church was charged of criminal nuisance following a protest he staged in November 2016, where he tied himself to some steel rails while demonstrating against President Robert Mugabe's administration.Mugadza torched a storm when he predicted that Zimbabwe's longtime ruler would die on October 17 this year. The cleric urged 92 year-old Mugabe to confess to his sins and pray hard in order to avoid the impending death.The pastor - now commonly known as the 'Mugabe-must-go-pastor' - chained himself to a pole while holding a cross in one hand and a Bible in the other, before speaking to passersby for an hour and half about "what we are supposed to do to free ourselves from the ills which are taking place in our nation".In a statement, Mugadza said he was blasting "the cowardice where the majority of our people are silent when just but everything is going in the wrong direction under our watch".Mugadza, who had been on trial since last year, was arrested on 22 November 2016 and charged with criminal nuisance as defined in section 46 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 after he had chained and padlocked himself onto some fencing rails at Africa Unity Square in Harare while staging an anti-government protest.The clergyman, who was represented by Gift Mtisi and Kuzivakwashe Ngodza of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, was set free on Friday 18 May 2018 by Magistrate Blessing Murwisi, who found him not guilty and acquitted him after ruling that the state failed to prove its case beyond any reasonable doubt.Magistrate Murwisi also ruled that the state failed to present independent witnesses to corroborate the evidence of the three witnesses, who are all police officers and who testified during Pastor Mugadza's trial.In December 2016, Mugadza led a one-man demonstration in Victoria Falls during the ruling Zanu-PF's national conference where he waved a placard inscribed: "Mr President, the people are suffering. Proverbs 21:13."The Bible verse reads: "Whoever closes his ears to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered."He was charged with criminal nuisance and spent 18 days in prison before being rescued by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and is currently out on US$50 bail.News / National

by Staff reporter

PRIMARY elections for the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC-T party were this weekend marred by organisational chaos and incidents of violence resulting in the votes being called off in some constituencies, NewZimbabwe reported.In Harare's Budiriro suburb, youths from Ward 43 blocked people from voting and closed the entry gate to the community hall resulting in the elections being postponed.The youths were against the selection of one Machingauta whom they claimed had been imposed by officials.In other areas such as Mbare, Mabvuku and Glen Norah, the primaries had to be abandoned. In Epworth, unconfirmed reports claimed that violence broke out after one of a candidate's names was not found on the ballot papers.Candidates later gathered at Morgan Tsvangirai House in central Harare where party chairman Morgen Komichi battled to resolve some of the concerns.Sitting MP Tapiwa Mashakada's vehicle was stoned by angry supporters in Waterfalls after one of his bodyguards allegedly pushed and slapped a party member.Speaking late Sunday, Komichi admitted that there were "logistical" problems in certain areas.News / National

by Staff reporter

A prominent Zimbabwean cleric, who prophesied that President Robert Mugabe would die in 2017, has been set free by a magistrate in Zimbabwe.Pastor Patrick Mugadza, 46, of the Remnant Church was charged of criminal nuisance following a protest he staged in November 2016, where he tied himself to some steel rails while demonstrating against President Robert Mugabe's administration.Mugadza torched a storm when he predicted that Zimbabwe's longtime ruler would die on October 17 this year. The cleric urged 92 year-old Mugabe to confess to his sins and pray hard in order to avoid the impending death.The pastor - now commonly known as the 'Mugabe-must-go-pastor' - chained himself to a pole while holding a cross in one hand and a Bible in the other, before speaking to passersby for an hour and half about "what we are supposed to do to free ourselves from the ills which are taking place in our nation".In a statement, Mugadza said he was blasting "the cowardice where the majority of our people are silent when just but everything is going in the wrong direction under our watch".Mugadza, who had been on trial since last year, was arrested on 22 November 2016 and charged with criminal nuisance as defined in section 46 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23 after he had chained and padlocked himself onto some fencing rails at Africa Unity Square in Harare while staging an anti-government protest.The clergyman, who was represented by Gift Mtisi and Kuzivakwashe Ngodza of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, was set free on Friday 18 May 2018 by Magistrate Blessing Murwisi, who found him not guilty and acquitted him after ruling that the state failed to prove its case beyond any reasonable doubt.Magistrate Murwisi also ruled that the state failed to present independent witnesses to corroborate the evidence of the three witnesses, who are all police officers and who testified during Pastor Mugadza's trial.In December 2016, Mugadza led a one-man demonstration in Victoria Falls during the ruling Zanu-PF's national conference where he waved a placard inscribed: "Mr President, the people are suffering. Proverbs 21:13."The Bible verse reads: "Whoever closes his ears to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered."He was charged with criminal nuisance and spent 18 days in prison before being rescued by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and is currently out on US$50 bail.News / National

by Reuters

Cypriot investor Karo Resources wants to use some of the output from its planned $4.2 billion platinum project in Zimbabwe to make catalytic converters for capping emissions in diesel cars, the mines minister said on Monday.Cyprus-born Loucas Pouroulis, who heads Karo, signed the deal in March to build a platinum mine and refinery in the Mhondoro-Ngezi platinum belt.Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa has said the investment showed the country was "open for business", although it is unclear where all the funding would come from.Zimbabwe Mines Minister Winston Chitando told a committee of parliament on Monday that Karo and an unnamed partner planned to channel some of the platinum towards manufacturing diesel catalytic converters locally.The price of platinum is pinned below $1,000 an ounce, less than half the lofty peaks it scaled a decade ago and little upside is seen given falling sales of diesel cars, which emit pollutants blamed for health problems."One of the players within Karo is in the production of catalytic converters," Chitando said."They have requested to have a partnership where some of the platinum which will be coming from the precious metal refinery will actually be feeding into a catalytic converter plant, which will be installed on that site," said Chitando.Chitando would not comment when pressed for more details by Reuters.Zimbabwe is keen to revive its mining sector after years of reticence by foreign investors during Robert Mugabe's rule.Little is known about Karo, which targets starting production at the plant in 2020.Analysts have said the project start date of July this year looked ambitious but Chitando said Karo's contractors would start work on the mining site in Chegutu, west of Harare, on June 23."The speed with which they are moving in terms of coming to establish sight (and) in terms of the mobilisation of equipment, I would like to believe that the timelines which are in the agreement will be met," said Chitando.News / National

by eNCA

More than 100 political parties are expected to take part in the Zimbabwe elections expected to be held in July.Preparations for watershed elections got underway over the weekend, with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) opening the voters roll for inspection countrywide.The July election would be the country's first since independence in 1980 without the long-time ruler and former president Robert Mugabe.About 5.5 million Zimbabweans have registered to vote in the country's elections.The country's election body said opening the voters roll for inspection would help clean up anomalies and ensure fairness in the country's elections."The most commonly observed discrepancies anomalies arouse from typographic errors and incorrect polling stations posting while others involve people with same IDs and multiple registrations.https://www.youtube.com/watch?3=&v=nmE_BnUxOs4"It is for these reasons that the roll has to be inspected and it is for this reasons it is referred as the professional voters roll because is it in progress to identity more anomalies through subjecting it to public inspecting before final voters roll is gazetted. In other words, the inspection of the voters roll is an auditing process," said ZEC chairperson Priscilla Chigumba.Chigumba also noted stories circulating on social media that say the electoral commission has already started rigging the election in favour of President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling Zanu PF."Let me take this opportunity to announce that the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission would like to dissociate itself with an app which is circulating and this app has our logo and a message click to vote."When one follows the app the following messages appears 'Congratulations you have voted for Emerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa your vote counts'. Members of the public are advised that the message did not originate from ZEC and would like to state the commission does not use Whats App to communicate," she said.News / National

by Staff reporter

Former Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere has spoken for the first time on his haste departure from his home country last November and life in self-imposed exile.In an interview with the Sunday Times of South Africa, the ex-Zanu PF national political commissar, said he will return to Zimbabwe next week, nearly six months after he was forced to rush for the exits following former president Robert Mugabe's ouster.An influential figure in the Generation 40 (G40) faction which fought against then vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa's Team Lacoste camp in the battle to succeed Mugabe, Kasukuwere fled into exile soon after the army stepped in on November 14, 2017 to deal with "criminals" around the 94-year-old despot.Kasukuwere stands accused of influencing Mugabe into expelling Mnangagwa from government and the ruling party, before the shrewd former vice president dramatically bounced back to lead the country and a divided Zanu PF after Mugabe was forced to resign.Other G40 kingpins namely; Jonathan Moyo (the former Higher and Tertiary Education minister) and Patrick Zhuwao, who was in charge of the ministry Labour and Social Welfare, were also forced into exile although they now appear to have fallen out with Kasukuwere in the wake of reports linking him to the National Patriotic Front (NPF), currently led in the interim by retired brigadier-general Ambrose Mutinhiri.As first reported by the Daily News last week, Kasukuwere confirmed to the Sunday Times that he was on his way back into the country, saying he would be home "as early as next week" as he has no criminal case to answer."Home is home and Zimbabwe remains my country. We were accused of corruption and that we are at the centre of destroying the economy. The reason I will go back home is that if I did commit a crime, then I must be brought before the courts and be charged," Kasukuwere said.Affectionately known as Tyson for his demeanour which matches that of former heavy-weight American boxer, Michael Gerard Tyson, Kasukuwere boasted that he had the valour to come back and face those who "persecuted" him before he fled."It's courage that should drive you to say: 'let me face whatever has to come my way'. Why should you carry the stigma of being a criminal when you have not stolen anybody's money? If you are charged with corruption and there is evidence of that corruption, so be it," he vowed.Responding to reports that his decision to return was informed by the fact that he had negotiated his safe return through his alleged links with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Kasukuwere scoffed at the suggestion saying if that were the case, he would have long returned.He said contrary to that belief, he was in fact bitter with the Mnangagwa government because of what they did to him when the military raided his home."It was a traumatic experience. What happened in November is something that one does not want to take lightly. It was an event that was very challenging, it was not expected and was an event that leaves a lot of bitterness".He suggested that the military intervention that forced Mugabe out was illogical as it was a political dispute which required a political solution."That was a party conflict and to have the army step in, that was not expected, you would have expected. You would have expected political players to deal with each other politically."If you feel aggrieved you go and form your own political party, just like Joice Mujuru who formed her own party".Mujuru was Mugabe's former deputy before she was unceremoniously expelled on allegations of plotting to assassinate the former president.Kasukuwere came out guns blazing also accusing all Zanu PF and government officials who worked with Mugabe since independence from Britain in 1980, including officials in the current Mnangagwa administration of being complicit in overseeing the collapse of the economy.He called upon Zimbabweans "to have the integrity to accept collective responsibility"."To shift the blame of everything that happened in Zimbabwe to one man (Mugabe) is totally unfair. I think that the sooner we all accept our mistakes, all of us, the better for our country,'' he said.Kasukuwere is returning to Zimbabwe at a time when knives have been drawn out against Mutinhiri, who is accused of incompetence and dereliction of duty.His impending arrival has already split the NPF, with two groups emerging  one in support of Mutinhiri's leadership of the party and the other one which is putting faith in Kasukuwere to lead the party into the forthcoming elections.Contacted for comment yesterday, the minister of Information and Publicity Simon Khaya Moyo refused to say whether government was keen on having Kasukuwere arrested or not, referring questions to the police.Police spokesperson Charity Charamba could, however, neither deny nor confirm that the politician was on the police wanted list, saying she needed to check with the Criminal Investigation Department first.News / National

by Staff reporter

Y'all called it right. The author of "UNDER THE EAVES with Igomombe" in @HeraldZimbabwe on Saturdays is good ol' chicken George Charamba. It's a doomed reincarnation of "THE OTHER SIDE with Nathaniel Manheru". A case of the old resurfacing as new, like the NEW DISPENSATION! https://t.co/pWXQrLncNb  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

Charamba justifies pseudonyms in media columns on grounds that they keep the focus on arguments & not the author. But this has never applied to him. Whether his pseudonym is MANHERU or IGOMOMBE doesn't matter, his style is invariably ad hominem; with no ARGUMENTS OR IDEAS! pic.twitter.com/p39pwrG7ts  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

AN EARLY WARNING TO GEORGE CHARAMBA: You did the Nathaniel Manheru column under the old constitution. Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution in 2013. Don't be stupid. Take care. The stuff you wrote about Mutamangira is garbage. There's unimpeachable evidence aliunde. Shut up!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

George Charamba is a civil servant. Yet he acts like a politician & is now tackling opposition politicians "UNDER THE EAVES" on behalf of #ZanuPF & its causes in blatant violation of s200 of the new Constitution which came into full effect on 22/8/13. The law will visit him! pic.twitter.com/PQpzyscmsm  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

Before he is visited by the law sooner or later, whatever Charamba believes about Mnangagwa's or Chiwenga's control of the judiciary, it is necessary & only right that Charamba's unconstitutional #ZanuPF participation in politics be dealt with politically; hence this thread!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

Charamba struts like a peacock in the media & the civil service & masquerades as the voice of the system ("nhuta") to the disgust of other permanent secretaries whose disdain of him is legendary. He imagines he has influence in the media, yet the sector is scornful of him!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

For all his strutting peacock antics as the "voice of the system" (yes, the nhuta voice), Charamba is utterly useless in real politik. In 2008 he produced a crap #ZanuPF manifesto & went OWL as #JuntaPF produced a voodoo 2018 manifesto, claiming 4,5m jobs created since 2013!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

Perhaps one telling example of how useless Charamba is in the world of real politik is the widespread ridicule he has invited upon Chiwenga by writing speeches full of English words that poor Chiwenga can't pronounce like this case at the launch of the voodoo manifesto! pic.twitter.com/kpqhECnLO9  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

While he still fancies himself as presidential spokesperson, a title he gave himself ages ago when it did not exist in the public service, he's been frozen out of presidential communication by a team of young media consultants that confined him to his hotel room at #Davos!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

Yet to be released are hateful press briefs that Charamba used to give to President Mugabe at a regular senior staff briefing to the president that met & took decisions every Monday. Charamba used to be the most vocal, most alarmist & his briefs incite the arrests of many!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

Despite the affection Charamba faked for President Mugabe, the untold truth is that he in fact has a longstanding personal grudge against President Mugabe, and especially Amai Mugabe, connected to the misfortunes of a Ms Kadungure, Charamba's relative. Let him say nyoo!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

Charamba--one of 4 civil servants that violated their fiduciary duties & committed treason by aiding & abetting the illegal 15 Nov coup--is now fair game since he has entered the 2018 election campaign. When did Charamba join the public service to do what over the years?  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

If you consult @Wikipedia or @WeArePindula you'll be fooled into thinking that George Charamba's public service career started in 2000. Also missing is the that he's a karate kid with a black belt to his name. The only known victims of his karate savagery are women in his life! pic.twitter.com/qeodpnFrjW  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

In 1984 George Charamba joined the Public Service, as a Press Officer, in the Ministry of Information, Post & Telecommunication Services.  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

From 1984 to 1987 George Charamba was seconded as Press Secretary to then President of Zimbabwe, Rev. Canaan Sodindo Banana. Charamba was Banana's closest officer. Among many as yet untold tasks, he was instrumental in helping Banana compile & edit TURMOIL & TENACITY!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

TURMOIL & TENACITY: ZIMBABWE, 1890-1990 is a must-read on the country's state politics. Charamba's finger prints & prejudices, which he still exhibits, are all over the text. Mnangagwa hates the book because of the truth told about him in late Dr N Shamuyarira's chapter!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

For the record, an excellent review of TURMOIL & TENACITY was done by the late Professor Masipula Sithole under the title, "Turmoil and Tenacity: A Review Essay in the journal: Zambezia, Volume 18, Issue 2, Jan 1991, pp. 143-152. It's a great read!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

After Banana's office was abolished following the 1987 Unity Accord, George Charamba was redeployed in 1988 to be an Assistant Secretary to deputise Mrs Linda Chihuri, nee Sadza, in President Mugabe's Information Unit.  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

The working relationship between George Charamba & Mrs Chihuri was hell on earth. Poison. Charamba could not stomach being supervised by a woman with what he saw as "inferior" vocabulary. So in 1993 he was transferred to the President's Secretariat until the end of 1994.  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

In 1995 the British govt identified George Charamba as a "rising bureaucrat" & recruited him with an award of the Chevening scholarship. He used it to full effect in terms of making Albion contacts, widening & deepening his wordsmith skills from Shakespearean archives!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

In 1996 Charamba returned armed with Albion's jawbreakers he used to razzle & dazzle his way to become Director of Information in OPC. The late Bornwell Chakaodza, as Information Director in the Information Ministry, reduced Charamba into writing letters to the editor!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

In 2000, after the the no vote won in the constitutional referendum, the late Dr Utete asked me to propose a new structure to manage govt information. I proposed the scrapping of information ministry & establishment of an information dept in Ofiice of President & Cabinet!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

In July 2000, a Dept of information & publicity was established in OPC & I was appointed Minister of State to head it at Cabinet level. Charamba was promoted to Permanent Secretary in that Dept which was abolished in 2005 after Tsholotsho debacle. The rest is history!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

A lingering & troublesome issue out of George Charamba's public service yet to be told revolves around his intense Banana years between 1984 and 1987, when he served as Banana's Press Secretary & closest aide. History does not forget. And it does not lie!  Prof Jonathan Moyo (@ProfJNMoyo) May 20, 2018

Jonathan Moyo promised to post online a comprehensive thread revealing details about George Charamba (author of UNDER THE EAVES) and other hitherto unknown details about him.Below are posts done by Prof Moyo via his Twitter handle:Y'all called it right. The author of "UNDER THE EAVES with Igomombe" in @HeraldZimbabwe on Saturdays is good ol' chicken George Charamba. It's a doomed reincarnation of "THE OTHER SIDE with Nathaniel Manheru". A case of the old resurfacing as new, like the NEW DISPENSATION!Charamba justifies pseudonyms in media columns on grounds that they keep the focus on arguments & not the author. But this has never applied to him. Whether his pseudonym is MANHERU or IGOMOMBE doesn't matter, his style is invariably ad hominem; with no ARGUMENTS OR IDEAS!AN EARLY WARNING TO GEORGE CHARAMBA: You did the Nathaniel Manheru column under the old constitution. Zimbabwe adopted a new Constitution in 2013. Don't be stupid. Take care. The stuff you wrote about Mutamangira is garbage. There's unimpeachable evidence aliunde. Shut up!George Charamba is a civil servant. Yet he acts like a politician & is now tackling opposition politicians "UNDER THE EAVES" on behalf of #ZanuPF & its causes in blatant violation of s200 of the new Constitution which came into full effect on 22/8/13. The law will visit him!Before he is visited by the law sooner or later, whatever Charamba believes about Mnangagwa's or Chiwenga's control of the judiciary, it is necessary & only right that Charamba's unconstitutional #ZanuPF participation in politics be dealt with politically; hence this thread!Charamba struts like a peacock in the media & the civil service & masquerades as the voice of the system ("nhuta") to the disgust of other permanent secretaries whose disdain of him is legendary. He imagines he has influence in the media, yet the sector is scornful of him!For all his strutting peacock antics as the "voice of the system" (yes, the nhuta voice), Charamba is utterly useless in real politik. In 2008 he produced a crap #ZanuPF manifesto & went OWL as #JuntaPF produced a voodoo 2018 manifesto, claiming 4,5m jobs created since 2013!Perhaps one telling example of how useless Charamba is in the world of real politik is the widespread ridicule he has invited upon Chiwenga by writing speeches full of English words that poor Chiwenga can't pronounce like this case at the launch of the voodoo manifesto!While he still fancies himself as presidential spokesperson, a title he gave himself ages ago when it did not exist in the public service, he's been frozen out of presidential communication by a team of young media consultants that confined him to his hotel room at #Davos Yet to be released are hateful press briefs that Charamba used to give to President Mugabe at a regular senior staff briefing to the president that met & took decisions every Monday. Charamba used to be the most vocal, most alarmist & his briefs incite the arrests of many!Despite the affection Charamba faked for President Mugabe, the untold truth is that he in fact has a longstanding personal grudge against President Mugabe, and especially Amai Mugabe, connected to the misfortunes of a Ms Kadungure, Charamba's relative. Let him say nyoo!Charamba--one of 4 civil servants that violated their fiduciary duties & committed treason by aiding & abetting the illegal 15 Nov coup--is now fair game since he has entered the 2018 election campaign. When did Charamba join the public service to do what over the years?If you consult @Wikipedia or @WeArePindula you'll be fooled into thinking that George Charamba's public service career started in 2000. Also missing is the that he's a karate kid with a black belt to his name. The only known victims of his karate savagery are women in his life!In 1984 George Charamba joined the Public Service, as a Press Officer, in the Ministry of Information, Post & Telecommunication Services.From 1984 to 1987 George Charamba was seconded as Press Secretary to then President of Zimbabwe, Rev. Canaan Sodindo Banana. Charamba was Banana's closest officer. Among many as yet untold tasks, he was instrumental in helping Banana compile & edit TURMOIL & TENACITY!TURMOIL & TENACITY: ZIMBABWE, 1890-1990 is a must-read on the country's state politics. Charamba's finger prints & prejudices, which he still exhibits, are all over the text. Mnangagwa hates the book because of the truth told about him in late Dr N Shamuyarira's chapter!For the record, an excellent review of TURMOIL & TENACITY was done by the late Professor Masipula Sithole under the title, "Turmoil and Tenacity: A Review Essay in the journal: Zambezia, Volume 18, Issue 2, Jan 1991, pp. 143-152. It's a great read!After Banana's office was abolished following the 1987 Unity Accord, George Charamba was redeployed in 1988 to be an Assistant Secretary to deputise Mrs Linda Chihuri, nee Sadza, in President Mugabe's Information Unit.The working relationship between George Charamba & Mrs Chihuri was hell on earth. Poison. Charamba could not stomach being supervised by a woman with what he saw as "inferior" vocabulary. So in 1993 he was transferred to the President's Secretariat until the end of 1994.In 1995 the British govt identified George Charamba as a "rising bureaucrat" & recruited him with an award of the Chevening scholarship. He used it to full effect in terms of making Albion contacts, widening & deepening his wordsmith skills from Shakespearean archives!In 1996 Charamba returned armed with Albion's jawbreakers he used to razzle & dazzle his way to become Director of Information in OPC. The late Bornwell Chakaodza, as Information Director in the Information Ministry, reduced Charamba into writing letters to the editor!In 2000, after the the no vote won in the constitutional referendum, the late Dr Utete asked me to propose a new structure to manage govt information. I proposed the scrapping of information ministry & establishment of an information dept in Ofiice of President & Cabinet!In July 2000, a Dept of information & publicity was established in OPC & I was appointed Minister of State to head it at Cabinet level. Charamba was promoted to Permanent Secretary in that Dept which was abolished in 2005 after Tsholotsho debacle. The rest is history!A lingering & troublesome issue out of George Charamba's public service yet to be told revolves around his intense Banana years between 1984 and 1987, when he served as Banana's Press Secretary & closest aide. History does not forget. And it does not lie!News / National

by Byo24News Reporter

Zimbabwe has applied to re-join the Commonwealth, the organisation has revealed on Monday afternoon.The application addressed to Secretary-General Patricia Scotland by President Emmerson Mnangagwa was made on May 15 2018The Commonwealth revealed its pleasure at receiving Zimbabwe's letter."I whole-heartedly echo the sentiments of Heads of Government who have said twice, in 2009 and subsequently in 2011, that they very much look forward to Zimbabwe's return when the conditions are right."Zimbabwe's eventual return to the Commonwealth, following a successful membership application, would be a momentous occasion, given our shared rich history," Scotland said.Zimbabwe joined the Commonwealth on its independence in 1980 and withdrew from the organisation in 2003.The club of British colonies said for Zimbabwe to rejoin, the country "must demonstrate that it complies with the fundamental values set out in the Commonwealth Charter, including democracy and rule of law plus protection of human rights such as freedom of expression."The membership process requires an informal assessment to be undertaken by representatives of the Secretary-General, followed by consultations with other Commonwealth countries.The application comes at a time when Zimbabwe has also invited the Commonwealth to observe its forthcoming elections."The Secretariat is now mobilising a team of observers to do so  and their observations will form part of the Secretary-General's informal assessment," read the statement.Regarding the elections, Secretary-General Scotland urged all stakeholders to ensure there is peace."I urge the government, opposition parties, the election management body, civil society, and all stakeholders, to play their part in ensuring a credible, peaceful and inclusive process that restores citizens' confidence, trust and hope in the development and democratic trajectory of their country."Opinion / Columnist

In any democracy, every political party or any individual has the right to make checks and balances in as far as the implementation and non-implementation of reforms are concerned.Likewise, the MDC Alliance's visits to United States of America and United Kingdom are part of the democratic right all political parties enjoy. However, MDC Alliance top officials in the party's echelons should desist from holding Zimbabweans at ransom in an attempt to win political relevance in Zimbabwe.On 17 May 2018, the people of Zimbabwe woke up to the most exciting news which pointed to a major foreign policy shift to Zimbabwe from the Britons. The United Kingdom (UK) is teaming up with Standard Chartered Bank to lend Zimbabwean companies US$100 million, the first direct commercial loan to the country's private sector in more than 20 years. That was the good news that brought hope and the sense of belonging to the people of Zimbabwe in so many years.However, l was gobsmacked by one of the MDC Alliance top official, PDP president and MDC Alliance Secretary General, Tendai Biti. He said foreign governments should wait to lend until credible elections had taken place. "This attempt to put lipstick on the crocodile is most unfortunate," he said.Instead of celebrating the relief to the Zimbabwean industry sector, Biti lambasted the UK Government for their gesture. Such is the action that confused me. Why?This is not the first time that Biti has talked out of turn as he often speaks in undiplomatic, bombastic way. We have all come across people who say something so erroneous, foolish, or impudent at an unsuitable time or when they do not have the authority to do so. And, with all due respect, Biti is one such individual. What he utters is mostly high-sounding, but with little meaning, little relevance like sound and fury signifying nothing. He rushes to open his mouth without, to use a lawyerly word for his benefit, "due" consideration of the consequences.Biti did stir a hornet's nest by his utterances. It became so clear that the MDC Alliance enjoy holding the Zimbabwean people at ransom. They enjoy the plight of Zimbabweans. Their inane way of justifying their political relevance is desperate. How does redressing the plight of the Zimbabweans have to do with elections?Actually l was made to ponder if Biti does have emotional intelligence to be an effective politician. Indeed, Biti is completely offside on this loan extended by CDC to the Zimbabwean private sector. Down with scorch-earth policy politicians.Opinion / Columnist

The new Zanu PF government is doing good to rebrand its image. The past is now foregone and now looking towards the future. Reshaping, rebranding and re-engaging. As part of confidence rebuilding, as well as ensuring accountability and transparency, the Zanu PF government has adopted a number of measures as a way of rebuilding confidence in people including the government workers.President Mnangagwa in his foreign trips to countries like, Qatar and Switzerland, was marketing the country Zimbabwe that it is open for business. He is encouraging everyone to come to Zimbabwe to invest. In the Mugabe regime investors were not willing to commit their funds to Zimbabwe, so President Mnangagwa is touring around the world inviting those willing to come to invest in Zimbabwe.Several countries in the West were against investing in Zimbabwe because they thought everything had been politicised therefore they feared to lose what they would have invested to politicians in the country.The electoral reforms also are instilling confidence to the International community. Previously the International community always doubted our electoral results. This had been corrected in the new dispensation. The United States of America is happy with the progress made by the new administration in electoral law reforms and looking forward to amend its relations with Zimbabwe.The move by Zanu PF to re-engage and re-build confidence is working. Very soon investors will start trickling in Zimbabwe. However others expect a complete change overnight. Already things have started to change. The civil servants petitions have been attended to. The recent pay rise in the health sector showed that President ED Mnangagwa has an ear for the people. He is demonstrating that he is a servant of the people.The new dispensation is focusing on peace and security, freedom and democracy, economic and public sector reforms to lay a firm foundation for consistent rapid economic growth, domestic and foreign investment attraction, creation of jobs, mainstreaming of the youth and women in all economic sectors. The re-branding of the Zanu PF image will go a long way in re-building confidence in the people and the International society at large.Opinion / Columnist

One of the most famous ever political campaign slogans comes from the Bill Clinton 1992 campaign: Change Vs More of the same. The genius of this slogan is in its simplicity. Because in pretty much any election, one candidate represents change, and the other represents more of the same. If the electorate is satisfied with how things are going, they vote for the continuity candidate, and if they are dissatisfied, they vote for the candidate of change.Looking at our upcoming election, on the surface it seems obvious which candidate is which - a 40 year old opposition candidate with very little governmental experience is facing a 75 year old veteran of the Liberation Struggle who has been a major player in government ever since.But when you begin look deeper, you begin to realise that the division between the two is less clear cut, and if anything, may be reversed.Let's begin with ED. Though he has spent much of his life as an establishment figure, as President, he has surprised many of us with his openness, accessibility, forward-thinking and commitment to change.Starting with his inauguration speech, in which he embraced the world and committed to build a new Zimbabwe, his actions have been the polar opposite of Mugabe's. He has pledged free and fair elections and invited international observers, embraced the international community and built bridges with the West, acknowledged the mistakes of the past and committed to building a better future. All the while, he talks of being a listening president and 'the Voice of the People is the Voice of God', two of the most un-Mugabe statements one can imagine.He has also set up a Facebook page, which he uses to interact with us, the youth, to update us and to answer our questions. In fact, one only needs to look at a memorable recent Facebook video, in which he calmly answered an extremely hostile question by simply saying, "we are free as a people to say what we want and express ourselves. It is good for our country that the views of everybody come on board and we must listen to each other." Could anybody imagine Mugabe doing this?On the other hand, Nelson Chamisa has in many ways embraced the ways of the past. Starting with his cold-eyed power grab in the MDC following the death of Morgan Tsvangirai, he has acted with ruthless efficiency in cementing his power and banishing rivals. His smooth talk has been backed up by the extreme violence of his personal militia, the Vanguard, who have attacked and silenced opponents, without any censure by their master.This worrying tendency was noted by NewsDay editor and published Trevor Ncube - hardly a ZANU-PF supporter - who tweeted, "Nelson Chamisa reminds me so much of a young Robert Mugabe. Nak*d ambition. A great orator. Terrible relationship with the truth. Terrible listener." When hit by the inevitable onslaught from Chamisa's online zealots, he responded, "Nelson Chamisa's nak*d ambition frightens me. I have seen this before. It did not end well." In a further ode to Mugabe's famed intolerance for the free press, Chamisa supporters are now calling for a boycott of Ncube's newspapers following these comments!In fact, the links between Chamisa and Mugabe cannot only be reduced to their leadership style. In recent months, the two seem to have become closer and closer - seemingly as ED moves away from Mugabe, Chamisa is making the opposite journey. What began with overtures to the disparate elements of G40, evolved to include meetings with Jabulani Sibanda and other figures associated with the worst of Mugabe's violence.And then this weekend it was revealed in The Standard that Nelson Chamisa has been negotiating with Mugabe's NPF about an electoral pact. And this is notwithstanding the receipts that are circulating that imply a business relationship between Chamisa and Mugabe!Indeed, it seems that Chamisa has no qualms about any partnership, and will even sell his soul to the devil himself, if it brings him closer to power.The favoured recourse of lazy political commentators is to base their analysis on superficial factors. Chamisa + young = change. Mnangagwa + old = continuity. Too much of our political discourse is based on this immature thinking.In fact, a closer, more detailed analysis of the past few months in Zimbabwe implies exactly the opposite. Irrespective of his age and background, it is Emmerson Mnangagwa who is pushing for sustainable, concrete change, while Nelson Chamisa - despite his boyish good looks - in fact is flirting with the same forces of conservatism and repression that have brought us to where we are today.As Trevor Ncube said, "we have seen this before. It did not end well."Alberta woman says Air Canada left her stranded in P.E.I. over ID mixup

A woman from Alberta says she was left stranded in Charlottetown because Air Canada refused to accept the ID she travelled with just a few days earlier.

The woman from Brooks says she ended up staying in P.E.I. several weeks longer than planned and now wants compensation from the airline.

Mary Hazelwood says she flew from Calgary to Charlottetown in March with two pieces of government issued ID, that didn't have photos  her birth certificate and a document from Service Canada.

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"I called Air Canada to make sure that my documents were OK, and I told them I had two government issued, non-photo pieces of identification, and they assured me I was fine," she said.

But when Hazelwood went to purchase her return flight from Air Canada a few days later, she says she was told she would need photo ID.

"My mind is still boggled. I still can't believe it, they flew me down with this identification and they wouldn't fly me home," she said.

'They're not following the law'

Air Canada officials declined an interview request, but told CBC News the company deals with its customers directly and Hazelwood is welcome to contact their customer relations team with concerns.

According to the airline's own website, as well as the Public Safety Canada website, domestic travellers are required to have one piece of photo ID or two pieces of valid, government issued, non-photo ID.

Air passenger rights advocate Gabor Lukacs says Hazelwood's ID appears to meet the Canadian regulatory requirements.

"The problem here is that Air Canada is making the rules up as they go," he said. "They're not following the law."

In the end, Hazlewood says she called WestJet and they advised her to go buy a fishing licence.

She did that without showing any form of ID.

And says she flew home on WestJet without a hitch.

"I just breezed right through," she said.Several hundred Canadian tourists, including some Quebecers, are still waiting to leave Cuba following a devastating plane crash last week.

Cubana airlines grounded its flights to Montreal and Toronto Friday, after one of its planes crashed in Havana right after takeoff, killing more than 100 people.

Corinne Sollows was supposed to return to Montreal from Cayo Largo on Friday, but her flight was cancelled. After being told the flight was delayed numerous times, she found out it was cancelled by looking it up online.

She said no one at her hotel gave her that information.

"It's been kind of a nightmare. More than a nightmare. Everybody has gone through a million emotions. The stress levels are insanely high because we're not given any information," she said.

She said at one point, a representative from the Caribe Sol, a flight and travel provider, told them that there was a flight leaving from Varadero, but it could only hold 16 people. There were 77 Canadians at the hotel.

"It was like a snake pit. People were attacking each other, they were screaming. People were faking illnesses to get on this flight."

Another Quebecer, Lisa Gauthier ,learned Saturday her return flight from Varadero was cancelled, and she says she has been waiting for news about her flight ever since.

"We're stuck here. We're well treated, we're at the hotel, it's fine, but at some point it would nice to have an idea" of when they will be returning, she said.

Gauthier added that her mother is sick and she's worried about whether she has enough medication with her.

Flights into Montreal to resume today

In an emailed statement, the president of Caribe Sol apologized for the situation and said Cubana flights to Canada will resume Monday.

"Cubana de Aviacion airline have [sic] been working to protect passengers buying air tickets to other air lines, have also protected all passengers in hotels at destination and at the same time passengers have been assisted on 24 hours basis by Caribe Sol Reps at destination," Juan Carlos Soto Garcia said.

Story continues

The company says 346 of its customers are left in Cuba, and many customers were flown back on other airlines.

A statement posted to the company's Facebook page said travellers who were supposed to fly from Montreal to Cuba are being offered a full refund.

The list of scheduled arrivals on the Trudeau airport website doesn't mention a single flight from Cuba. One Cubana flight is scheduled to return to Toronto's Pearson airport Monday afternoon.

Cubana was renting the 39-year-old plane that crashed from Damojh airlines, a Mexican charter company.

Damojh had been the subject of two serious complaints about its crews' performance over the last decade.By Jeongmin Kim SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump held discussions on Sunday to ensure that the North Korea-U.S. summit remains on track after North Korea threatened to pull out of the high-level talks. Moon and Trump spoke over the phone for about 20 minutes, and exchanged their views on North Korea's recent reactions, South Korea's presidential office said without elaborating. "The two leaders will work closely and unwaveringly for the successful hosting of the North Korea- U.S. summit set on June 12, including the upcoming South Korea-U.S. summit," the presidential official said. Moon and Trump are set to meet on Tuesday in Washington before North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with Trump on June 12 in Singapore. The White House said Trump and Moon discussed recent developments in North Korea and continued "their close coordination ahead of President Trumps June 12 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un." Although a historic inter-Korean summit in late April raised hopes of reconciliation, North Korea showed a dramatic change in tone in recent days. North Korea's chief negotiator Ri Son Gwon said on Thursday it would not hold talks with South Korea unless their demands were met, taking issue with the U.S.-South Korean air combat drills known as Max Thunder. It came a day after it threatened to pull out of the summit with the United States. Further dampening the mood, a spokesman for North Korea's Red Cross Society demanded on Saturday that South Korea's government should send North Korean female restaurant workers back to their home "without delay" to show the will to improve the inter-Korean ties, the North's Korea Central News agency said. A dozen North Korean restaurant workers came to South Korea in 2016 from China, and North Korea had urged to send them back claiming they were abducted by the South, even though the South has said the 12 workers decided to defect of their own free will. Lee Dong-bok, a researcher at New Asia Research Institution, said part of the reason for the North's demands of the repatriation is to divide South Korea's public opinion over the 12 workers. "It is also to pressure the Moon government to agree to its demand so that South Korea can keep up the momentum for the North Korea-U.S. summit meeting," Lee said. (Reporting by Jeongmin Kim; Additional reporting by Christine Kim; Writing by Jane Chung; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Andrea Ricci)There's probably nothing more controversial in Canada right now than Kinder Morgan's plan to expand its 1,000-kilometre Trans Mountain pipeline.

The idea is to triple the amount of bitumen the pipe can carry from Alberta's oilsands to the B.C. coast. The project has the support of the federal government, which believes the pipeline is critical to the future of the country.

Environmentalists, on the other hand, worry it is an ecological disaster waiting to happen.

The National sent reporter Nick Purdon and producer/videographer Leonardo Palleja to drive the pipeline route from Edmonton to Vancouver and talk to the people who live along it to find out what's at stake for them and their communities.

- WATCH: Nick Purdon's feature from The National on the people living along the Trans Mountain pipeline route

Clarence Shields - Nisku, Alta.

Clarence Shields' natural habitat is behind the giant wooden bar at Blackjack's roadhouse  a kind of unofficial union hall for oilpatch workers.

The bar is a stone's throw from the beginning of the Trans Mountain pipeline. Shields owns the place.

Shields' view is that oil powers the country, and all Canadians benefit from getting it out of the ground.

"In order to keep us whole we built a railway. In order to keep us whole we built pipelines," he says.

"This is really the economic future of the next generation. If we don't have access to our resources, we're going to be a have-not country.

"That's what scares me."

Todd Noble - Jasper, Alta.

Todd Noble, 46, has worked at the Jasper Skytram (the highest and longest in Canada) for 22 years  today he's the general manager.

Even though Noble has made the seven-minute journey and stepped out on the lookout located 2,277 metres above sea level more times than he can count, he says the beauty of Jasper National Park still astonishes him.

He's also keenly aware that Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline runs right through the postcard of the country.

Story continues

In 2008 when Kinder Morgan upgraded its existing pipeline in Jasper to increase its capacity from 260,000 barrels per day to 300,000 bpd, the company impressed Noble.

"They were in and out of here quite smoothly, no issues," he says. "The impact on the area was minimal. Face value, it can seem a little disturbing, but having experienced it before and how they managed the area, it's not such a scary thing to think about."

There have been several spills in Jasper National Park, including one of the biggest in the history of the pipeline when in 1966 almost 7,000 barrels of oil leaked into the park.

Since 1961 there have been 82 spills along the entire length of Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain route.

Patti Tyacke - Blue River, B.C.

"It used to be a church," laughs Patti Tyacke as she explains why she and her partner Robin named their bed-and-breakfast the Holy Smoke Inn.

Tyacke caters mostly to snowmobilers who explore the area around Blue River, a small town of about 250 people.

"I love this place. It's the jewel of the Yellowhead highway," Tyacke says. "Blue River  it doesn't get any better."

Still, Tyacke  who has lived in Blue River for 24 years  explains how her town has fallen on hard times since the local logging industry dried up.

She's not worried about the environmental risks of expanding the Trans Mountain pipeline. She's worried about Blue River's future.

"This whole valley needs it, we really need it bad," she says of Trans Mountain. "The jobs, and just the people, we need the pipeline to go through in order to survive."

Charles Hays and Penny Powers - Black Pines, B.C.

"That's the rooster. His name is Lucky," says Penny Powers, who has her joke ready whenever anyone visits her small farm just north of Kamloops.

"He's lucky because we had a bunch of males and he was the best one, and the rest went to freezer camp."

Powers, a retired nursing professor, and her partner Charles Hays live close to the land on a farm where they get much of their power from one of the largest sun-tracking solar panels in the province.

If the pipeline expansion gets built, they say it would mean the end of their farm as they know it.

"I don't really like the idea of someone coming in and vandalizing my property and leaving it for me to clean up," says Hays.

He has followed the debate about the pipeline expansion, but finds it lacking. Hays says he wishes the Trans Mountain project, which crosses the property of 2,200 landowners in Alberta and B.C., was more of a referendum on oil.

"The problem is bigger than the farm. The problem is that oil is a 19th century technology," he says.

"We are not having a discussion about what's next, what can we do instead ... it's just, 'we have to pump oil because we have been doing it now for 100 years and we don't know anything else.'"

Pete Ryan - Hope, B.C.

Covered in sawdust, Pete Ryan, the legendary chainsaw carver from Hope, B.C., works on an owl.

"Got to have an owl ready, because there are a lot of smart guys out there," he says. "You have to have smart answers."

For Ryan, the smart answer when it comes to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is to quit debating the project and get building.

"It has to get built. It's not a matter of ain't getting built," he says. "If it doesn't get built, we are all in trouble. It's good for the economy and it should be done."

The existing pipeline runs just behind Ryan's property where he has been carving with his chainsaws for 40 years.

"It's not sawdust ... it's man-glitter," Peter Ryan says as he uses a mini-vacuum to blow his t-shirt clean.

Ernie Crey - Cheam First Nation

"Wrong!" Ernie Crey says, doing his best Donald Trump imitation.

Crey is Chief of Cheam First Nation, about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver on the shores of the Fraser River.

"The popular image of Indigenous people is that we are not interested in participating in the economic development of the larger community," he says. "Wrong! We want this pipeline to go through so we can improve our economic standing in Canada."

Crey says he won't allow environmentalists who oppose the project to stand in his way.

"I don't know where they get off thinking that my community can continue to live in poverty in this country by opposing developments that we see as important," he says.

Crey believes in the Trans Mountain pipeline project so firmly that he says his community would consider investing in it to make sure it gets built.

Atiya Jaffar - Vancouver, B.C.

On March 20, Atiya Jaffar sat down with her back against the gate to Kinder Morgan's Burnaby Terminal and broke the law.

"I felt nervous, of course," says the 26-year-old from Vancouver. "I hadn't done anything like this before."

Jaffar and five others were arrested for defying a B.C. Supreme Court injunction which states that demonstrators must stay at least five metres back from all Kinder Morgan facilities.

"I want to be able to look my children in the eye years from now and tell them that I did what I could to protect their future," Jaffar says.

"It's so important in moments like this to stand on the right side of history when politicians like Justin Trudeau are not doing so."

Ronnie Dean Harris - Vancouver, B.C.

In the final pipeline right-of-way, a dozen or so metres from Kinder Morgan's Burnaby operation, Ronnie Dean Harris clears his throat and starts to rap.

"You're all making deals with the devil without checking the levels ..." the Sto:lo/St'at'imc/Nlaka'pamux artist rhymes.

Harris is a fixture in and around the permanent protest camp set up outside Kinder Morgan's Burnaby Mountain operation.

Even so, he admits he's nervous about standing up against the pipeline.

"Speaking up against this industry, against this project, puts me in danger  puts my family in danger," he says.

"We are living in a country where we know the justice system doesn't serve us well."

More from CBC

Watch Nick Purdon's feature from The National on the people living along the Trans Mountain pipeline route:Last week, J.C. Newman Cigar Company relaunched its Save Cigar City campaign. Its a campaign designed to create awareness about the fact that regulations against premium cigars could put the last operating cigar factory in Tampa out of business.

On Monday, May 14th, 2018 J.C. Newman Cigar Company held a press conference announcing the relaunch of the campaign. The press conference was hosted by Eric and Bobby Newman, President and Vice President of J.C. Newman Cigar Company respectively, and was attended by U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor. J.C. Newman had launched a similar campaign in 2014 as the FDA had announced a public comment period on its intent to regulate premium cigars. Now the Newman family is using the new comment period to once again generate awareness.

The factory, known as El Reloj is located in the Ybor City district of Tampa. It is known for the iconic watch that adorns the tower . One side clock is now draped with a banner Save this Factory. Another large banner also is affixed across the roof of the factory saying SAVE AMERICAN JOBS. The banners can be seen by motorists driving on Interstate I-4, the major highway into the city of Tampa.

The El Reloj factory was opened in 1910. At the time, Tampa was considered a mecca to the U.S. cigar industry. There were over 150 factories that Eric Newman says produced 500 million cigars. Over the years, the reality of competing with cheaper labor rates overseas in Latin America has led to many of the factories closing in Tampa.

The Newman family uses El Reloj mostly for machine-made products as they produce most of their handmade products at a factory they own in Nicaragua as well as through Arturo Fuente in the Dominican Republic. Recently, the company has announced that despite the challenges, it is returning to make some handmade products in its El Reloj factory. It is working with Jeff Borysiewicz, owner of the Florida Sun Grown Tobacco farm, to produce a 100% American cigar at the factory. However, the regulations imposed by the FDA stand to affect the operations as a whole, thus why the Newman family is calling attention to this.

Castor is the local representative to the Congressional district that includes Ybor City. Since 2010, she has sponsored the legislation calling for a premium cigar exemption from regulation, including the most recent one H.R. 564.

She stated, The family-run cigar factory is central to Tampa heritage and cultural identity  and we need to keep it that way. This is the last operating cigar factory in the city of Tampa, in Cigar City. We do need to convince the FDA that cigars are not marketed to kids and they are smoked infrequently.

J.C. Newman has a website dedicated to the campaign with links to the FDAs website, which includes the links to the ANPRM on Premium Cigars.

Castor emphasized the importance of presenting concrete evidence in building the database and comments to the FDA during the ANPRM. When the Congress adopted the Control Act, the Congress directed the FDA to look at products marketed toward children. These include e-cigarettes, vapes, and those flavored cigarettes that have come in bubble gum flavor. Thats inappropriate and thats where FDA should concentrate its efforts. What weve got to build in the record is the evidence that demonstrates that children are not smoking premium cigars. The traditional machine rolled/hand-rolled cigar is not being marketed to kids. I think its plain as day, but to convince the FDA we have to build the record to do that.

Photo Credits: Cigar CoopMONDAY, May 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- An important checklist used to screen for autism can miss subtle clues in some children, delaying their eventual diagnosis.

Researchers found that the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, or M-CHAT, can fail to detect developmental delays that are tell-tale signs of autism in 18-month-olds, according to findings published in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics.

Because of this, a small percentage of children can be given a "false-negative" result that is later overturned by an autism diagnosis, said lead researcher Roald Oien, a visiting research scientist with Yale School of Medicine's Child Study Center.

"These findings are important," Oien said. "They show even if these children are passing the criteria of this specific screening instrument and flagged as not at risk for autism, there are other measures that are telling a different story about them."

The study supports the view that autism includes a wide spectrum of symptoms and behaviors, some of which might be difficult to capture in a questionnaire, said Dr. Daniel Coury, medical director of Autism Speaks' Autism Treatment Network.

"On the M-CHAT, there are a lot of questions about what the child does and doesn't do. It's not that black and white," Coury said. "We may need to investigate ways we can more clearly look at this as a range of ability. It's 'sometimes' or 'usually' as opposed to a yes-or-no type answer."

Girls with autism, in particular, have different social behaviors that could mask their disorder, the researchers found.

Girls incorrectly screened as not at risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) tended to have less social inhibition and fearfulness, traits that run counter to the typical image of children with autism as being withdrawn, the study authors reported.

"As a result of that," Coury said, "they aren't withdrawing from strangers and other adults as much as boys with autism do. That could obscure some of their other symptoms that put them on the autism spectrum."

Catching autism early is important to make sure kids get as much therapy as possible, Oien and Coury said. Early intervention provides the best chance for a child with autism to have later success in life.

For this study, Oien and his colleagues focused on just over 68,000 Norwegian children who were screened at 18 months old and deemed not at risk for autism.

Of those children, 228 were later diagnosed with the disorder, the researchers said.

The research team compared M-CHAT questionnaires filled out by those kids' parents against other screenings for development and temperament that occurred at 18 months of age, to see what might have been missed.

Oien reported that "even if these children didn't present with autism-specific concerns, they had atypicalities in developmental milestones compared to children who were 'true negatives.'"

Specifically, the children lagged in communication, social interaction and fine motor skills, based on answers parents provided in development and temperament screening, the researchers discovered.

Coury noted that "the parents saw these differences and reported them in other screening instruments, but the screening instrument for autism was not necessarily picking them up."

The differences found in girls could help explain the wide gender gap in autism diagnosis rates, he said.

"As we start becoming more aware of this spectrum, we start seeing there are many girls who have been missed," Coury added. "The current approximately 4-to-1 predominance of males to females may be less than that if we pick up more of these females."

Oien said these findings show that doctors need to take parents seriously if they report that something about their child seems atypical.

"It's very important we don't only rely on the ASD-specific instruments. We need to regard parental concern as one of the factors, and we need to be sensitive and monitor the child's development in terms of milestones," Oien suggested.

Coury agreed.

"Parents should discuss their concerns with their child's physician and they should continue to monitor this to be certain this isn't something that has missed detection by the screen," Coury said.

More information

Find out more about the screening test at M-CHAT.org.MONDAY, May 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- The number of U.S. kids accidentally or intentionally overdosing on ADHD medications may be on the rise, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that between 2000 and 2011, there was a 71 percent increase in calls to U.S. poison control centers related to kids' ingestion of drugs prescribed for ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder).

After 2011, there was a small -- but not statistically significant -- dip.

Most cases were accidents, the study authors said. Young children got their hands on pills such as Ritalin or Adderall, for example, or kids were mistakenly given a double-dose of their prescription.

But 18 percent of calls were made after a teenager intentionally abused an ADHD medication, or took it in a suspected suicide attempt, according to the new report.

Calls to poison control centers are often made by worried parents whose kids aren't actually sick, but might have been exposed to a drug.

"So an exposure to a medication does not necessarily mean there's been a poisoning," said senior researcher Dr. Gary Smith.

Still, it's concerning to see such calls going up, said Smith, who directs the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, in Columbus, Ohio.

And in some cases, the kids did suffer an overdose, the findings showed.

Just over 6 percent of calls ended with a hospital admission, the investigators found. And three teenagers died -- two from abusing ADHD medications, and one in a suspected suicide.

"The scenario of the medication exposure varies greatly depending on the age group," Smith said.

That means various solutions are in order -- from safer medication storage, to education on the risks of abusing ADHD medication, he added.

ADHD affects how kids function in school and in everyday life. Stimulants such as amphetamine and methylphenidate are frequently prescribed to help control behavior and improve focus.

The study findings are based on calls to U.S. poison control centers between 2000 and 2014. Over the years, Smith's team found an average of 29 calls a day related to kids' exposure to ADHD medications.

Those numbers steadily rose until 2011, when about 12,300 calls were made -- up from just over 7,000 in 2000. Then from 2011 to 2014, calls declined slightly -- to fewer than 11,500.

It's not clear whether the recent dip represents any turnaround in the problem, Smith said.

Overall, kids reportedly suffered symptoms in 28 percent of cases -- including agitation and irritability, elevated heart rate, and drowsiness or lethargy. About one-quarter of all kids were taken to a medical center and released soon after, while just over 6 percent were admitted to a hospital.

When children younger than 6 were involved, it was usually because they'd stumbled upon pills that were left out or improperly stored, Smith said.

"With children that age, it's all about safe storage," he stressed. "Keep all medication in child-proof containers up, away and out of sight."

Anita Siu is a clinical associate professor at Rutgers University School of Pharmacy who specializes in pediatric pharmacy.

She made the same point about younger children -- and said that also applies to any over-the-counter medicine or supplement that could mistakenly get into little hands.

With kids aged 6 to 12, the study found, they typically had a prescription for ADHD medication and were accidentally given an extra dose.

Parents can prevent those mishaps, Smith said, by having a system that helps them remember whether their child has taken that day's dose -- using a smartphone app, for instance.

Pill boxes can be helpful reminders, Siu said. But, she stressed, they can also make it easier for young kids to get their hands on pills.

With kids in the 6- to 10-year age range, Siu said, an adult should always supervise medication use. But parents can start to educate them on label reading and the importance of taking medications only as directed.

With teenagers, it's a different situation. In this study, half of the teens had intentionally abused an ADHD drug or used one in a suspected suicide attempt.

That figure is striking, Smith said.

Siu said, with preteens and teenagers, education is key. They should know that taking someone else's prescription -- or sharing their own with a friend -- is dangerous.

And if parents have any concern their child might be abusing a medication, they should talk to their health care provider, Siu and Smith said.

The findings were published online May 21 in Pediatrics.

More information

For advice on safe storage of medications, visit Up and Away.MONDAY, May 21, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Obese people who carry much of their excess fat around their waist are at risk of vitamin D deficiency, new research warns.

The finding highlights yet another damaging health effect of obesity. Low vitamin D levels have been linked to poor bone health, as well as increased risk for respiratory infection, autoimmune disorders and heart disease.

"The strong relationship between increasing amounts of abdominal fats and lower levels of vitamin D suggests that individuals with larger waistlines are at a greater risk of developing deficiency, and should consider having their vitamin D levels checked," said study author Rachida Rafiq.

Rafiq is a doctoral student at VU University Medical Center and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Her team is slated to present the findings at a meeting this week of the European Society of Endocrinology, in Barcelona, Spain.

The findings stem from an analysis of data collected by the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study. It linked higher levels of abdominal fat to an added likelihood of low vitamin D levels among both men and women who are obese.

Among obese men, higher levels of total overall fat were also linked to lower vitamin D levels. The same link was not found for obese women.

Among obese women, however, higher amounts of liver fat were linked to low vitamin D, a finding not seen among obese men.

It remains unclear, however, whether low vitamin D causes people to store abdominal fat or whether excess belly fat somehow triggers vitamin D levels to drop, Rafiq said. That will be a focus for future study, researchers said.

"Due to the observational nature of this study, we cannot draw a conclusion on the direction or cause of the association between obesity and vitamin D levels," Rafiq said in meeting news release. "However, this strong association may point to a possible role for vitamin D in abdominal fat storage and function."

Research presented at meetings is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

Learn more about obesity at U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Share this: Twitter

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New York, May 21, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Fiji authorities to drop sedition charges against the weekly Fiji Times, three newspaper executives, and an opinion columnist. A High Court judge tomorrow will make a final ruling in the case after a panel of three High Court assessors on May 18 found all parties in the case not guilty of the charges in a preliminary court ruling in keeping with Fiji judicial processes, according to The Associated Press.

The AP reported that each person Hank Arts, the papers publisher, Anare Ravula, the editor, Fred Wesley, the editor-in-chief, and opinion columnist Josai Waqabacacould face up to seven years in prison if convicted and the newspaper would face a large fine.

The Fiji government should heed the opinion of three assessors who found Fiji Times and its employees not guilty of sedition, and immediately drop all charges, said Steven Butler, CPJ Asia program coordinator from Washington D.C. Taking the case further only suggests the true intent of the government is to harass an important independent source of news reporting.

The case is related to an opinion piece Waqabaca wrote for the April 27, 2016, edition of a weekly indigenous-language newspaper, Nai Lalakai, which is published weekly by the Fiji Times, in which the columnist accused Muslims of historic crimes including invading foreign lands, rape, and murder, according to news reports.

The AP, citing court documents, reported that Waqabaca was charged with committing sedition by intentionally promoting feelings of ill-will and hostility between Muslims and non-Muslims in Fiji; Arts was charged with sedition for overseeing the columns publication. Ravula and Wesley were both charged with aiding and abetting sedition, the agency reported.

The Ministry of iTaukei Affairs permanent secretary Naipote Katonitabua, who oversees affairs of the

Fijis indigenous iTaukei people, filed charges against the paper and its three employees two months after the opinion piece was published, according to the Fiji Times. Fiji has a history of ethnic tensions between the indigenous majority and minority groups, according to The AP.The 26th BASIC Ministerial Meeting of Environment Ministers was held in Durban, South Africa. The grouping is a bloc of four countries  Brazil, South Africa, India and China. It was attended by from BASIC countries and Michal Kurtyka of Poland, next president of Conference of Parties (COP-24) under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). India was represented by Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan.

Key Outcomes of Meeting

BASIC countries decided to preserve integrity of historic 2015 Paris Agreement, including principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and equity. They held that world is at critical stage in combating climate change and response of developed nations to tackle the issue is still not adequate.

They reiterated that developed nations should take lead in terms of mitigation and providing means of implementation to developing countries. They should equally give importance to ambition of developing countries by providing them supported and sustained, predictable and adequate finance, technology and capacity-building support. Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan reiterated his appeal for joint efforts to create societal movement in combating climate change through Green Good Deeds.

BASIC

BASIC countries are bloc (geopolitical alliance) of four large newly industrialized countries  Brazil, South Africa, India and China. It was formed by agreement in November 2009. They are committed to act jointly at Copenhagen climate summit, including possible united walk-out if their common minimum position was not met by the developed nations during climate talks. It is working to define common position on emission reductions and climate aid money and try to convince other countries to sign up to Copenhagen Accord.Tamil Nadu: Fish found dead in Sulur lake

May 21,2018 | Source: The Hindu

In a suspected case of contamination caused by illegal releasing of sewage, large number of fish were found dead in Sulur lake in Coimbatore on Saturday. According to fishermen, around five tonnes of fish was found washed up on the banks of the lake. The fish kill was noticed by fishermen on Saturday morning. Majority of the fish washed up had ruptured stomach. With dead fish floated in water, fishermen removed them from the lake to avoid further contamination caused by the ones that started to decay.



According to sources in Sulur, fishermen depending on the lake has been complaining of water contamination caused by illegal release of sewage, toilet waste and poisonous substance into the waterbody. Also, mass killing of fish were reported in the lake several times. Fishes are found with ruptured stomach when they are old or died of contamination caused by poisonous substances, said a source.



Apart from varieties of freshwater fish, the 60-odd acre lake and its surroundings form a perfect habitat for native and migratory birds. Unlike several other lakes in Coimbatore, a cooperative society of fishermen are given the right for fishing in Sulur lake. Fishermen, who lamented the killing of large quantity of fish, sought authorities to take measures to prevent contamination of the waterbody and protect their livelihood.Indonesia will soon have a new antiterrorism law to replace the current law, which is widely seen as weak, with deliberations on the antiterrorism bill expected to conclude this May or June.





Speaking to The Jakarta Post in an interview on Thursday, Enny Nurbaningsih, head of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo administration's team to deliberate the antiterrorism bill, ensured the new legislation could provide security for Indonesians against deadly terror attacks such as those that had occurred recently in numerous places across Indonesia's most populated island of Java.





Calls for the government and the House of Representatives to conclude the long-due deliberation on the bill have mounted after the attacks, which were allegedly conducted by an Islamic State (IS)-linked local jihadist organization known as Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD).





Enny, who is also head of the Law and Human Rights Ministry's National Law Development Agency (BPHN), said the government expected deliberations to be concluded at a hearing with the parliament scheduled for May 23, saying that nearly "99 %" of the bill's content had been finalized, and only the debate over the definition of terrorism as a crime remained to be concluded.





Below are some crucial points in the antiterrorism bill, which was initiated after the Jan. 14, 2016 bombings on Jl. MH Thamrin, one of Jakarta's busiest thoroughfares.





What is terrorism?





One of the main reasons the deliberations have been dragging on for months is that the government and the House have failed to reach an agreement on what constitutes terrorism.





While the government insists that terrorism is "any deed that uses violence or threats of violence on a massive scale, and/or causes damage to strategic vital objects, the environment, public facilities or international facilities", the House demands that terrorism as a crime includes "any deed that is based on political and ideological motives and/or threats to state security."





Lawmakers have said a detailed and rigid definition of terrorism as a crime would ensure that investigators crack down on terrorist activities, while the government believes it would only hamper terrorism prevention and mitigation processes, as it would obligate investigators to determine whether suspects had either political or ideological motives before naming them as terrorists.





Enny said the government would accommodate the parliament's request by inserting the latter's version in the general explanation part of the bill, not in the verse section of it.





The government expects to convey that proposal to the parliament at the scheduled May 23 hearing, so that the bill can be further deliberated before being proposed for the next plenary meeting.





Terrorism prevention measures





Law enforcers will have greater powers. The new terrorism law will include numerous provisions on terrorism prevention measures -- something that is not dealt with comprehensively in the prevailing terror law, Enny said.





"For instance, we can do nothing to people who plan terror attacks if we use the prevailing law," said Enny. Under the bill, plotting terror attacks is a crime.





The bill stipulates that a person accused of terrorism could be held in custody from 7 to 14 days without charges. Law enforcers could hold them for up to 200 days after officially charging them with terrorism.





Rights activists have voiced concerns over the policy, but Enny ensured that the policy would be carried out in accordance with human rights principles.





If there is a law enforcement officer found guilty of violating human rights principles during the terrorism investigation process, they will be charged with a criminal offense, said Enny.





People who import explosives or components such as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or radioactive weapons for terrorism purposes into the country, or make, receive or possess them, can be charged under Article 10a of the bill, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years' imprisonment.





The bill also charges people who mastermind terror attacks, partake in paramilitary training with the purpose of launching terror attacks or join overseas wars related to terror attacks, with maximum terms ranging from 12 years, 15 years, 20 years to life sentence and the death penalty.





That means the police will later be able to charge Indonesians returning from war-torn countries where they are proven to have joined a terrorist group such as IS.





Terrorism prevention measures also include what the bill describes as "counter-radicalization" and "deradicalization" activities.





Counter-radicalization activities are intended for people or groups that have been exposed to radical teachings that could potentially lead them to committing terror attacks. Deradicalization activities are intended for terrorist suspects, defendants, convicts, inmates or former inmates and aim to reintegrate these people into society.





The bill says counter-radicalization and deradicalization activities will be detailed in other supporting regulations.





The roles of the Indonesian Military (TNI)





The decades-long rivalry between the 2 institutions to handle and manage state security has been apparent during the deliberation of the terrorism bill. Activists have also warned about possible abuse of power carried out by the 2 authorities in handling terrorism.





Enny ensured that, while the bill finally included a provision on the role of the TNI in countering terrorism, the military would not be involved in law enforcement.





"To prevent the military from entering the domain of law enforcement, we have decided that the President will regulate the TNI's involvement through a government regulation."





The regulation will refer to the 2004 TNI Law, which stipulates that the TNI's involvement in civilian affairs depends on the political decision of the state, which should be consulted with the House.





Compensation and protection for victims





Victims of terror attacks have long sought comprehensive provisions about their rights as victims.





Yayasan Penyintas Indonesia, an organization that supports terror victims, detailed in 2016 that over 1,900 victims of terror attacks suffered from physical and mental trauma from a number of bomb attacks that had occurred since the start of the millennium.





House terrorism bill committee chairman Muhammad Syafi'i said last year that "the well-being of victims has been one of our biggest concerns since the beginning of the deliberation."





The terrorism bill has one special chapter dedicated to detailing protection for victims of terror attacks. The bill acknowledges two kinds of victims: direct victims, for example victims who are killed or injured in attacks, and indirect victims, for example wives who lose their husbands as a result of a terror attack.





The bill says terror victims are the "responsibility of the state", a responsibility which is fulfilled by providing medical assistance, psychosocial and psychological rehabilitation, as well as financial compensation for the families of the deceased.

Death Penalty for Terrorist is Firm Message from Indonesian Govt

The death penalty given to convict of terrorism case Aman Abdurahman is considered to be a form of a firm message from the Government of Indonesia in eradicating terrorism.





"The death sentence in my opinion can only be interpreted as a firm message of the government in eradicating terrorism in front of them, the supporters of ISIS," said Director of The Islah Center and observer of terrorism Mujahidin Nur in Jakarta, Monday (5/21/2018).





That, he said, also minimizes the risk of spreading the teachings compared to if the convict is still free to spread his teachings.





Last week, the South Jakarta District Court dropped a capital punishment to convicted terrorist Aman Abdurahman.





Mujahidin said that the terrorist group (ISIS) is a group that moves on ideological basis, not on individual leader or leadership, for example Aman Abdurahman.





"The ideology-based group characteristics like ISIS is resilient, not easily discouraged and cannot be attenuated so even if the leaders are sentenced to death as given by the government through the South Jakarta District Court to Aman Abdurahman," he said.





Because, he said, ideology as the foundation of their movement (teaching of takfiri, Muslim accusing another Muslim of apostasy) spread by Aman Abdurahman has been massively distributed throughout the network or group.





"Although Indonesian ISIS is lack a leader who has field and scientific skills like Aman Abdurahman, but the death penalty to Aman Abdurahman does not necessarily have a significant impact on the weakening of terrorism networks in Indonesia," he said.





Even so it has a positive impact in the short term because the supporters of ISIS in Indonesia lost a figure that has the knowledge and leadership like Aman Abdurahman.





"I analogize in the Al-Qaeda group, for example, the killing of Osama bin Laden has had no significant effect on the halting of global terrorism masterminded by the Al-Qaeda group because Al-Qaeda's ideology has spread to various parts of the world," he said.





He asserted the death sentence to the leader of the terrorist group will effectively stop terrorism seen from 2 variables namely first, if the terrorist leader has a strong influence or charisma among his followers.





Secondly, of course this applies to terrorist groups who have few members and actually make the leaders as foundation of their movement so this death sentence will be effective.





"ISIS is a terrorist organization that has many followers," he added, as quoted from Antara.

Komnas HAM: Death Sentence to Aman Abdurrahman Detrimental

The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) is disappointed with the death sentence charged to the terrorist convict Aman Abdurrahman. The Commission considers the death sentence is detrimental to the handling of terrorism case.





"The death to the terrorists is a hope," said Komnas HAM member Choirul Anam in Menteng, Jakarta, on Saturday, May 19.





Anam agreed that the act allegedly done by Aman is barbaric. However, executing a terrorist is detrimental to counter terrorism.





He considers the death sentence will not cause a deterrent effect for other terrorists. Because death is indeed the ultimate goal of the terrorists.





"We see Amrozi (Bali bomber) after being sentenced to death actually considered as a hero by his group," he said.





Anam said the imprisonment accompanied by de-radicalization efforts is far more effective in dealing with terrorism cases. It will certainly help police to dismantle their networks.





"The backbone against terrorism is to dismantle its network," he said.





Source: tempo.com, May 21, 2018

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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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

: Jakarta Post, May 21, 2018: netralnews.com, May 21, 2018Iran Human Rights (May 16, 2018): A prisoner was hanged at Ardabil Central Prison on murder charges.





According to a close source, on the morning of Wednesday, May 16, a prisoner was hanged at Ardabil Central Prison on murder charges.





The prisoner, named Babak Rezaei, was sentenced to death and 10 years in prison on the charge of murder during an armed robbery.





The robbery took place in October 2012.





According to a report by Tasnim news agency quoting the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Ardabil, Naser Atabati, The defendant was 41 years old and he committed armed robbery and murder with his accomplice.





It should be noted that during the last week, the statistical department of Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported 11 executions in Iran.





According to Iran Human Rights annual report on the death penalty, 240 of the 517 execution sentences in 2017 were implemented due to murder charges.





There is a lack of a classification of murder by degree in Iran which results in issuing a death sentence for any kind of murder regardless of intensity and intent.

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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Currently the oldest verified mother in the world, Bousada de Lara was 66 years and 358 days old when she gave birth to twin baby boys, Christian and Pau, in December 2006. (Photo: Pixabay)

In a bizarre revelation, a 70-year-old woman who claims she is six months pregnant with her eighth child will become the oldest mother in history if she gives birth.

Maria de la Luz from Mexico has already shown reporters ultrasound scans which she says confirm she is six months pregnant with a baby girl.

However, De la Luz, who did not reveal any details of the pregnancy including whether she had had IVF treatment or other similar procedures, said she first suspected she was pregnant three months ago.

Speaking to reporters she said that her legs hurt and she was feeling pukish and dizzy.

They have done around 10 ultrasounds in a private clinic and in the (public) social security hospital. The doctors could not believe it, she told reporters.

If the baby girl is born, it will make De la Luz four years older than the current record holder, Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara.

Currently the oldest verified mother in the world, Bousada de Lara was 66 years and 358 days old when she gave birth to twin baby boys, Christian and Pau, in December 2006.

They were delivered prematurely by caesarean section and weighed 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) each.The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing! Trump said.

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday asked China to be tough with North Korea on its border till Pyongyang signs a deal on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

China must continue to be strong & tight on the border of North Korea until a deal is made, Trump said in a tweet. The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing! Trump said.

Trump's tweet comes amidst uncertainty over his scheduled June 12 meeting with the North Korean leader Kim Jong un in Singapore. Trump and his senior officials have said that their goal is denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Last week, North Korea threatened to withdraw from the first ever summit meeting with the US, against the ongoing joint US-South Korea military exercise. The US still hopes that the meeting would happen as scheduled. Trump had indicated that North Korea changed its stance after Kim met for the second time with Chinese President Xi Jinping.Sochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Russia's Black Sea coastal city Sochi on Monday for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin that will focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, official sources said.

They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.

"Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," Modi had tweeted on Sunday.

Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

"Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia," Modi had tweeted.

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and BRICS summits.'The announcement of the possible withdrawal by major European companies from their cooperation with Iran is not consistent with the European Union's commitment to implementing (the nuclear deal),' Zarif was quoted as saying. (Photo: File)

Tehran: The European Union is not doing enough to preserve the benefits for Iran from the 2015 international nuclear pact following the withdrawal of the United States, Iran's foreign minister told the EU's energy chief on Sunday.

Miguel Arias Canete, European Commissioner for energy and climate, said Tehran wanted the 28-nation bloc to act fast to preserve its oil trade with Iran, and to consider making direct euro-denominated payments for Iranian oil to Iran's central bank, bypassing the US financial system.

"With the withdrawal of America ... the European political support for the accord is not sufficient," Mohammad Javad Zarif told Arias Canete in Tehran, Iran's state news agency IRNA reported.

Since President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that he would pull the United States out of the deal, the US. Treasury said Washington would reimpose a wide array of Iran-related sanctions after the expiry of 90- and 180-day wind-down periods, including sanctions aimed at Iran's oil sector and transactions with its central bank.

The EU leaders have pledged to try to keep Iran's oil trade and investment flowing, but conceded that would not be easy.

"We have to preserve this agreement so we don't have to negotiate a new agreement," Arias Canete told Western journalists after two days of meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran.

"Our message is very clear. This is a nuclear agreement that works."

Under the deal, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear work in return for the lifting of most Western sanctions. With the threat of new US sanctions looming over them, some foreign firms have already started signaling their intention to pull back from Iran.

"The announcement of the possible withdrawal by major European companies from their cooperation with Iran is not consistent with the European Union's commitment to implementing (the nuclear deal)," Zarif was quoted as saying.

He appeared to be referring to announcements by several large European companies last week suggesting their activities in Iran would end or be curtailed because of the reimposition of US sanctions.

A top adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Sunday cast doubt on whether European nations could be trusted to save the agreement.

"The contradictions in the words of European authorities are suspicious. We hope that our government officials will be able to secure the necessary guarantees in their negotiations, as one cannot rely on those who vacillate and speak contradictory words," IRNA quoted Ali Akbar Velayati as saying.

Oil trade

Following the withdrawal of Washington, Iran said it would remain in the deal only if Tehran achieved its goals - namely being protected from sanctions on key sectors of its economy such as oil - in cooperation with other signatories of the pact.

EU investment in Iran, mainly from Germany, France and Italy, has jumped to more than 20 billion euros since the lifting of sanctions in 2016, in projects ranging from aerospace to energy.

But to improve its oil-reliant economy, Tehran needs to attract USD 100 billion in foreign investment to boost its oil industry and major western investors have stayed away from Iran, partly because of the remaining US sanctions on Iran.

"The announcements, in cascade, of European companies that will not keep investing in Iran are making the things much more complicated at the moment," Arias Canete said. "So what he (Zarif) is asking the European Union is that we have to have concrete solutions in order to implement the European Union commitments, which is something that we fully recognize."

The options being considered by the EU to keep Tehran in the nuclear deal include new credit lines for Tehran, increased energy cooperation and implementing EU laws to block European companies from caving in to US sanctions.

Arias Canete said Iranian officials were keen to mitigate the impact of US sanctions under a proposal for EU governments to make direct euro-denominated payments for Iranian oil to Iran's central bank, bypassing the US financial system.

"The EU will consider it," he said, adding that the EU needed to deliver fast on preserving oil trade with Iran.Combining their expertise in marketing and pharmaceuticals, Queensland father/daughter duo Glenn and Pip Summerville have wasted no time in taking to the global stage with their natural elixir company. In the space of 18 months, Tonik has achieved 250% sales growth and successfully courted international stockists such as Gwyneth Paltrows Goop.

Pip Summerville, who also heads up Base Agency, a boutique creative agency on the Gold Coast, spoke to Dynamic Business about being in business with her father, the strategies that have fuelled Toniks early success and plans for the companys future growth.

DB: How did you and your father come to partner on Tonik?

PS: Tonik was born out of my desire to make natural health supplements easier and more convenient for health and beauty conscious individuals. Id been drinking coconut oil and apple cider vinegar as a means of enhancing my health and wellness but struggled not to gag due to the oily and acidic after tastes.

Wanting to create a no nonsense approach to natural health care, I founded Tonik in 2016. About six months into the business, I approached my dad Glenn  a semi-retired pharmacist whos had ownership interests in three large NZ-based pharmacies  and he helped me develop gel-filled capsules containing my favourite supplements  organic coconut oil (Tonik #1), organic apple cider (Tonik #2) and organic turmeric (Tonik #3).

DB: How would you sum up your working dynamic?

PS: My dad and I work incredibly well together due to our complementary skills, our very strong focus on work/life balance and our willingness to roll up our sleeves and give anything a go. Theres trust too, as well as family prideand it doesnt hurt that were both competitive people!

In terms of day-to-day business, dad focuses his energy on product development, governmental compliance, certification and the business aspects of Tonik. Meanwhile, I oversee the warehousing and distribution of Tonik products as well as our marketing and social media.

Honestly, Im very fortunate to be working with my dad. Ive always admired the commitment he demonstrated with his own businesses, and my own work ethic and business acumen have very much been informed by him. Plus, his knowledge of  and passion for  the pharmaceutical, natural health and clinical industries, developed over four decades, is priceless.

DB: What success have you achieved with Tonik?

PS: In less than 18 months, weve gone from operating out of a kitchen to operating from a commercial warehouse and office space totalling 250 square metres. Moreover, weve enjoyed sales growth of 250% (balanced between direct website sales and bricks-and-mortar) and our range is currently stocked in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Hong Kong, including by international heavy weights Free People, Urban Outfitters and Gwyneth Paltrows Goop. Being approached by Goop was, of course, a huge confidence boost and business model validation. Ultimately, we believe that success breeds success.

DB: What strategies have fuelled your early success?

PS: I attribute our strong sales to a combination of strong word of mouth and a hip, funky and almost tongue-in-cheek approach to social media and website marketing, which has set us to apart from mainstream supplements. Weve also occasionally turned to PR companies and influencers. In this way, Tonik has been informed by my background in marketing, including work I performed as a marketing manager for the likes of Billabong, Quicksilver and Hi Smile, who I was contracted to in the early days of their business growth.

In addition, our strategy has been to align with health and wellness-focused businesses (e.g. beauty clinics, spas, salons and fitness centres) who FIT our aspirations, NOT mainstream retail outlets  we dont want to be at the mercy of sales assistants who have many brands to sell. Were currently in discussion with potential stockists in South Eastern and Central Asian countries and in the UK, so its very exciting times for us.

DB: How do you manage to run two businesses?

PS: Tonik and the Base Agency are very complementary in that being across social media and digital marketing trends, as they happen, is vital for the success of both. In fact, being exposed to different sectors and industries through Base Agency has helped my teams and I implement a diverse marketing strategy with Tonik.

DB: How do you plan to capitalise on your early success?

PS: We see that it is essential to gain Therapeutic Goods Authority (TGA) accreditation for our Tonik products. Currently, our products are classified as food supplements and governmental regulations prohibit us from making any health claims at all or even including links in any of our marketing to the many international websites detailing the beneficial health effects that may be attained after taking similar ingredients.

Yes, obtaining TGA accreditation is a time-consuming and expensive process but it will ultimately give us more credibility in the marketplace and allow us to make well-researched and documented health claims across our labelling, advertising and marketing.

TGA accreditation aside, we will continue to take a truly global approach to our sales and distribution. In the months ahead, we will expand our range with Tonik #4  watch this space!An integrated cloud-based business platform will revolutionise and simplify accounting, payroll, banking and daily operations for Australian small and medium businesses from July 2018.

Combining the business expertise and software development teams of KPMG Australia (business advisory), CBA (banking) and Microsoft (technology platforms), Wiise is targeting SMEs that see themselves as having more complex needs due to issues around compliance, tax and employee payments.

Wiise Executive Board member, John Munnelly said: The ability for Wiise to partner with three leading providers with complimentary areas of expertise, deep resources, capabilities and strong brands allows us to genuinely look at a unique opportunity to rapidly scale Wiise in the Australian market.

KPMG Australia National Managing Partner, Markets & Growth, James Hunter said: The idea for Wiise was sparked by our acquisition of Microsoft systems implementer, Hands-On Systems.

It opened our eyes to a gap in the market between existing cloud accounting software providers to SMEs and enterprise-scale ERP solutions. By collaborating with market leaders, CBA and Microsoft, we have been able to develop a single platform at an affordable price to unite SMEs accounting, financial and business needs.

Microsoft Australia Managing Director, Steven Worrall said Wiise offered software that scales as your business grows.

As businesses mature, they experience the inevitable growing pains and complexity that come with growth. The technology solutions that served them well when they first started out are no longer fit for purpose and they just want a solution that makes their business simpler to run and faster to grow but without the complexity of deploying large, expensive ERP solutions.

Wiises partnership with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia tackles the complexity faced by small business by linking customers banking and accounting platforms.

CBA Group Executive for Business and Private Banking, Adam Bennett said: We are always looking for ways to continue simplifying business banking and to empower our customers to focus on what they do best. Wiise is a great example of this commitment and our openness to seamlessly integrate with leading business tools that bring our customers banking to wherever they are doing business.

For more information or to register your businesses interest visit www.wiise.liveThe world is in midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, an era characterised by an avalanche of digital innovations changing what customers expect from businesses.

In the realm of small business, operators are having to embrace technologies like the cloud, social, mobile, and artificial intelligence (AI) to find, win and retain todays consumers more connected than ever before, they want superior experiences on demand.

Despite the bottom line benefits of customer-centric technologies, most small businesses havent embraced arguably the most important one: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. According to Digital Opportunities for Todays Small Businesses, a recent Deloitte Access Economics report, companies with CRM systems have on average 44% higher revenue than those with no system or basic paper or spreadsheet systems.

Simply put, CRM software liberates small businesses from administrative burdens such as manual data entry, enabling them to concentrate on selling to customers, responding to customer enquiries and bigger picture activities such as pursuing new growth opportunities.

With small business owners generally kept busy wearing multiple hats, its disconcerting that Deloitte Access Economics found that just 30% of Australias small businesses have adopted a CRM system. Why is this the case? The number one reason given by non-adopters was the belief that their existing system is good enough, followed by the perceived expense. Similarly, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that barriers to businesses embracing innovations such as CRM commonly include a lack of access to necessary funds and skilled persons.

Of course, the cost of technology is no longer a major barrier to small businesses adopting a CRM system. The emergence of the software as a service model (SaaS) model has largely eliminated the need for businesses to spend large sums of money upfront on one-size-fits-all, on-premise software that has a use-by-date. Modern, cloud-based CRM systems are constantly updated by the service provider and are consumed on a subscription basis, enabling users to reduce upfront costs. Further, invaluable customer data and insights are available to users anywhere, anytime and on any device, and they have the ability to scale up and down the service depending on where they are in their business lifecycle.

Similarly, small businesses are no longer hamstrung by a lack of suitably skilled staff. For instance, Salesforces technology comes with Trailhead  a suite of free online training modules that can be consumed within 20 minutes in some cases, enabling users to rapidly (and at their own convenience) learn about the features relevant to their business.

Just as small businesses cannot afford to buy into the myths surrounding CRM systems, they mustnt overlook the opportunity costs associated with NOT adopting one.

For instance, having no system or a basic system threatens business continuity. How so? Lets take the case of a sales rep who resigns in circumstances where they were the chief point of contact with a major customer with insights into their requirements and persona. In the absence of a CRM system, there is a risk the reps customer knowledge will be lost, potentially setting back the businesss relationship with the customer. Had that rep been working within a CRM system, they could have created a detailed profile on the customer, enabling other team members to continue providing a personalised customer service.

Further, the AI leveraged by modern CRM systems enables users to not only better forecast sales and create an accurate sales pipeline but to make robust, data-driven decision either to capital on opportunities for business growth or manage difficult situations such as economic downturns.

One Australian company that has successfully used Salesforce is specialist seafood marketing and sales agency Blue Harvest. Founded 12 years ago to offer seafood producers a new way to sell their product and maximise returns while enhancing the traceability and consistency of supply. Blue Harvest uses Salesforces technology to track products all the way through the supply chain and identify trends related to supply and demand. Sharing these insights with producers and customers helps build trust and ensure consistency of supply and sales.

Blue Harvests small team of eight manages the sale of 3,000 tonnes of prawns, fish and shellfish annually. Its expansion into the rock oyster industry two years has led to it now managing 30% of the industrys production.

Earlier this year, Salesforce launched Essentials, a version of its cloud-based CRM system tailored for small businesses. Easy to set up and intuitive to use, Essentialsequips small businesses with an expanding suite of sales and service apps accessible from a customisable interface as well as a single view of every customer. Critically, users can add new capabilities as their business scales.

According to Adrian Towsey, Salesforces Area Vice President  Small & Medium Business (APAC): With Salesforces Essentials, we have the set-up for every small business to take advantage of the full power of the Salesforce platform to fuel their innovation and growth, he said. They can work smarter and faster than ever before, while future-proofing their business with a platform that grows as they do.

To learn how to put customers at the heart of your small business, download the free ebook Getting to know Salesforce Essentials.Facebook users should change their passwords as 1.5 million Facebook accounts and passwords have been put up for sale by a hacker Kirllos in Russia.

VeriSigns iDefense group has warned that a hacker, kirllos, is advertising up to 1.5 million Facebook user names and passwords for sale, in bundles of 1,000 accounts starting with 10 friends or less for US$25 and bundles of 1,000 for those with more than 10 friends for US$45.

It is thought that 700,000 accounts had already been sold by Kirllos, who was believed to be a 24-year-old from New Zealand, but was Russian born.

However, The Australian reports that Kirllos was traced back to Saransk, Russia, about 630km east of Moscow.

The only connection between him and New Zealand is that he changed his underground forum profile to that of a female from New Zealand, Detective Senior Sergeant John van den Heuvel of the National Cyber Crime Centre said.

He is still in Russia and there is no information to suggest he has ever been to New Zealand. Russian police are now investigating, Mr van den Heuvel said.

It is not known how Kirllos came into possession of the Facebook usernames and passwords, however it is most likely he phished the log-in details using either spam designed to direct users to log-in to a fake Facebook page that captures their passwords, or malware that logs keystrokes and reports back possible username/email and password details.

It is likely that the buyers of these Facebook log-ins will use them to commit confidence scams on peoples friends, or as has happened to someone known to Dynamic Business, to send messages to friends that the accounts owner is trapped in a foreign country (in this case London) and needs money to get home.

Additionally having Facebook account information will allow these criminals to compile information for potential identity theft attempts, looking for birth dates, mothers maiden name and the like to use as credentials to gain access to bank accounts and request new credit cards sent to alternate addresses.Ahead of tonights Federal Budget announcement, startups have urged the Turnbull Government to facilitate better access to finance for small businesses, extend the instant asset tax write-off scheme, better support startups with global ambitions, implement sharing economy regulations, expand the R&D tax incentive and incentivise early stage investments.

Beau Bertoli (Prospa), Tim Bos (ShareRing), Mike Rosenbaum (Spacer), Ben Thompson (Employment Hero), Shendon Ewans (Gobbill) and Julian Waters-Lynch (Typehuman) shared their budget wish lists with Dynamic Business.

Small business finance

Beau Bertoli, joint CEO of Prospa said the online SME lender would like the $20,000 instant asset tax write-off scheme extended for small business owners because the popular initiative has enabled them to invest in their own growth, create more jobs and boost the Australian economy.

Noting the Budget will include the governments response to the Review into Open Banking report produced by King & Wood Mallesons partner Scott Farrell, Bertoli said he hoped the government would reaffirm its commitment to the timetable it laid out in last years Budget.

Open banking paves the way for a fairer, more accessible financial system that puts control back into the hands of customers, he said. Reducing the scope or delaying the implementation of Open Banking, will only reduce or delay innovation. The Governments approach needs to balance the clear security imperatives, with making it easier for people  including small business owners  to access new products and services.

Bertolli said the Budget should also include measures that support the fintech sector to provide small businesses with better access to finance.

We would support measures that go towards reducing the relative advantage enjoyed by larger banks, in particular around promoting the ability of non-banks to access to lower cost wholesale funding, he said. This would mean companies like Prospa could provide small business owners with even easier, lower cost access to finance, and create a more competitive finance market  something Australia badly needs.

Global startup approach

Tim Bos, co-founder and CEO of ShareRing suggested the Government should rethink its strategy for supporting startups.

Whilst the Australian government has come a long way in offering grants and tax incentives for the startup community and its investors (i.e. EMDG, R&D tax incentive), it is still very difficult to get the right level of support for a startup in Australia to truly thrive.

One of the key reasons that I have seen is that the government seems to reward a startup for doing everything in Australia, which stymies our ability to actually grow our companies to a point where we can find the best talent and the most customers. For example, in Silicon Valley, a lot of governments from other countries actually support a company when they decide to relocate part of their business there, because they know that, ultimately, the skills and income will likely flow back to that countrys economy.

Australia almost got there with their launch of the landing pad in San Francisco, but it was an underfunded, half-baked effort to build the Australian startup community there. In Australia, the government needs to do more to fund the overseas expansion or relocation of a startup. In addition to this, whilst we have a great R&D tax incentive, it is only good if you can afford to hire the majority of the skills from within Australia. Sometimes this just is not possible, either because of cost, or resource availability. It would be great to see the government take a more global approach to these types of incentives.

The sharing economy

Budgetary measures to support Australias burgeoning sharing economy were endorsed by Mike Rosenbaum, co-founder of The Sharing Hub and CEO of Spacer.

Ten years ago, the sharing economy didnt really exist, so most regulations werent written with the sharing economy in mind, he explained. Our wish is for the Government to start recognising the seismic shift in how people live, consume and earn thanks to the sharing economy and ensure that this is reflected in future legislation. This will help future-proof regulations instead of creating rules for the old world. For example, if we take a look at strata rules, they currently do not address the flexible way in which we live today and the rapid adoption of platforms such as Airbnb and Spacer.

With more and more consumers choosing to use the sharing economy to source affordable services and better experiences, Government support is essential. We would also welcome the appointment of a Minister for the Sharing Economy to represent the interests of the sector and promote collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing between Government, consumers, businesses and sharing economy users.

R&D incentives

According to Ben Thompson, founder and CEO of HR tech startup Employment Hero, the R&D tax incentive should be expanded by the government rather than reduced or capped.

The government needs to wake up to the tectonic shift occurring in the global economy, he said. The biggest technology companies on earth (Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook and Microsoft) are growing by around 40 per cent each year and collectively they spend $70 billion on R&D. This compares to just $20 billion spent by all Australian businesses combined. This years budget needs to help Australian businesses keep pace by opening up, rather than narrowing, the opportunity for R&D subsidies.

Thompsons commented were echoed by Shendon Ewans, co-founder and CEO of fintech startup Gobbill. He described the R&D tax incentive as an important lifeline for startups, enabling them to continue investing in innovative solutions.

Gobbill has spent the last three years  and most of our funding  on R&D to develop artificial intelligence in fraud checking and bill payment automation, which has allowed us to file local and international patents and export contract opportunities, he said. This is testament to the fact that the tax incentive should remain. Any notion to reduce or cap it may have an adverse effect on Australian innovation.

Ewans said the Early Stage Innovation Company (ESIC) scheme, introduced in July 2016 and reaffirmed in the 2017 federal budget, is also important to foster more early-stage investments.

After we became ESIC compliant, Gobbills angel investor was able to receive a CGT (capital gains tax) free status for his half a million dollar investment, he said. ESIC encourages investors to look at higher risk investments differently, with higher rewards on the exit side. It should remain part of this years federal budget, to continue to foster and support local entrepreneurship.

Cryptoassets

Julian Waters-Lynch, co-founder of Typehuman said the blockchain startup would like to see budgetary measures that contribute to a well-informed regulatory evolution towards cryptoassets.

Just like the internet, the technological revolution that began with the Bitcoin blockchain creates great opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation, but it requires appropriate regulation to unlock, he said. Our interest is in the potential of blockchain technology to unleash a wave of innovation that addresses many current social challenges, and an area we are particularly interested in is regulatory development towards cryptoassets.

Regulators in the past have attempted to fit tokens and other cryptoassets into existing categories. For example, in 2014 the ATO classified cryptocurrencies as intangible assets rather than currencies, which made them subject to the GST and imposed double taxation on their use. The result was Australian based crypto exchanges were more expensive than their overseas counterparts. Whilst this classification was amended in 2017, by this time some Australian startups had already relocated to more favourable jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and Singapore. Now many places around the world are rethinking their regulatory approaches to blockchain-based innovations. Countries like Singapore, Estonia and Switzerland have led the way here, other countries are catching up. France for example just reduced its capital gains tax obligations on cryptoassets from 45 per cent to 19 per cent.

Water-Lynch said cryptoassets should be redefined as a novel asset class, with particular clarification of the legal difference between security tokens and utility tokens.

We are seeing some interesting regulatory innovation emerge on the subject, most recently in the state of Wyoming in the USA, he said. In Australia we find many entrepreneurs and startups want to do the right thing, but the regulatory details around how they handle and issue cryptoassets is still a grey zone. This uncertainty can stifle honest innovation locally, but does little to address the actions of bad-faith actors, or offshore activity. We would like to see initiatives in the budget that build spaces for better collaboration between regulators and entrepreneurs and startups proposing new, safe ways of using crypto tokens, so that the community can benefit from the huge promise of innovation in this area.Yesterday streaming service Netflix released its first Netflix ISP Speed Index taking into account Australian and New Zealand providers, and Telstra has a thing or two to point out.

The ranking of ISPs saw TPG take the top spot with an average speed of 3.36 Megabits per second (Mbps) during peak periods, with Optus (3.27 Mbps), iiNet (3.24 Mbps) and Primus (3.03 Mbps) following behind. Telstra came last among the seven ISPs ranked, locking in an average speed of 2.23 Mbps.

Netflix said speed was measured across all available devices in Mbps, the average bitrate for Netflix content streamed by Netflix members per ISP. 

In an official Telstra blog post, Group Managing Director of Networks Mike Wright made an effort to explain why the company had these results. The distance between customers and ADSL exchanges was cited as one of the key issues.

The Telstra Netflix results are not unusual for a national ADSL provider where the lower averages are due to the extensive size of our ADSL footprint, Mr Wright said.

What it does show is that we are delivering a more than reasonable video experience during peak viewing times, providing over 2 Mbps on average across a vast and extensive network area, servicing some 3.9M customers over ~2800 exchanges.

Mr Wright said the average speed was influenced by Telstras larger network, meaning the length of copper lines causes a reduction in speed.The APEC summit brought not only an unprecedented number of world leaders to Sydney; it strengthened our economy and further cemented our position in the Asia Pacific region. Executive Director from the Australian Institute of Export, Ian Murray looks at the major outcomes of APEC, and gives credit to the NSW Police and DFAT task force.

For Sydney, APEC is over. The leaders have gone home, the barriers are down and the demonstrators have moved on. While the press, including Your ABC seemed to focus primarily on some mindless antics and a little pedestrian inconvenience, APEC 2007 was an outstanding success.

Great credit should be given to Paul Keating, one of the architects of APEC, and to the Federal and New South Wales Governments for putting on a good show and achieving some significant outcomes.

But having 21 of the worlds top politicians in Sydney for the leaders conference was just the end game. APEC 2007 ran right through the year in all states of Australia. This included APEC ministerial meetings on minerals in Perth in February, transport in Adelaide in March, energy in Darwin, small business in Hobart, and health in Sydney. While trade was top of the agenda in all these discussions, specific trade issues were addressed in July in Cairns where APEC trade ministers met and when conferences were held on secure trade in APEC regions. These were followed by the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) meeting in Melbourne in August.

In total, 31 major meetings took place across the country resulting in a substantial number of decisions being considered on issues affecting our region. And, most importantly, a large number of export deals were struck in all sectors of business and in all states of Australia.

While it was the final announcements in Sydney that made the news, these outcomes resulted from many thousands of hours of negotiation by teams here in Australia and by other member countries. Australias largest single export deal was announced, with agreement between Woodside Energy and PetroChina for the supply of liquefied natural gas to China. This 20-year deal is worth up to $45 billion in export revenue to Australia. Another bilateral initiative was an agreement on cooperation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes between Australia and Russia. Leaders also agreed to address emissions reductions, making it the first time the United States, China, and Russia have agreed to aspirational goals that include a decrease in energy intensity of 25 percent by 2030.

One of the most important issues here is the significance of APEC to the Australian economy. Some 50 percent of world trade is undertaken by these 21 countries. It is the fastest growing region in the world. Moreover, it contributes 50 percent to our export earnings and even more to total trade. Apart from the fact that hosting APEC brought an unprecedented number of world leaders to Sydney, and some good trade deals, there was one often overlooked benefit to Australia. It further cemented our position in the Asia Pacific region and took us one big step forward as being seen by world leaders as part of Asia.

And finally, who are the unsung heroes of APEC 2007? The first group has to be the DFAT Task Force who worked tirelessly for two years to make the leaders meeting and the many lead-up programs a huge success. Thanks is also due to the NSW Police who certainly kept things under control, and the NSW DFAT team, who I understand worked round the clock to make it all happen. Australia owes you much gratitude.

* Ian Murray is executive director of the Australian Institute of Export.Starting a business can be both exciting and overwhelming  where do you start, and will it be a success? Below is my checklist for those looking forward to the challenge of starting a business.

Will it be a hobby or a business?

All businesses start as a small business and a lot of small businesses start off as hobbies. So, what is the difference? A hobbys primary purpose is to provide enjoyment and fun. A business is primarily commercial in nature and the purpose is to make a profit. Another distinction is that a business is an activity that is planned, organised and carried out in a business-like manner. Once you have decided whether the activity you are undertaking will be a business, you should assess whether it will be viable or feasible. The Victorian government has a free booklet called Planning and Starting Your Business  A short guide for new starters available from www.business.vic.gov.au. It includes a ten-question quiz to help you self-assess if your business idea is feasible. If a business is feasible, it is realistic and workable  not only from a financial perspective.

Have you considered the positives and negatives?

Lets be real, starting and running a business is not all milk and honey. There are negatives attached to the venture and there are positives too.

Positives of starting a business include:

You make your own decisions  you have some freedom.

You choose where you work and who you work with both suppliers and customers.

You get to run the business the way you want to.

You hire and train the people you want and not those who are already there.

You dont make a payment of goodwill for an existing business.

The negatives are:

Getting the initial funds to commence and operate a business may be difficult.

New businesses must create a demand for their product or service.

It may take months or years for a new business to become profitable.

Researching, planning and establishing a business can take a long time and a lot of money.

You are an unknown quantity  suppliers may not extend credit to you at first.

The key point is that starting a business compared with buying a business entails a lot more work, cost and research.

Have you thought about the structure?

There are three typical business structures used by new businesses:

sole trader;

partnership; or

proprietary company.

Which structure you use will depend on several factors: What type of business will it be? How many people will be involved? How will the profits be shared? What will be your legal liability?

How will the tax be paid? Where do you envisage the business in the future?

What about a name for your business?

The structure you decide upon for your business will dictate how you register its name. If you wish to operate as a sole trader you can simply use your own name, e.g. Stephen Barnes Consulting, and you dont need to register it. Any other business name (for example, Byronvale Advisors and Books by Byronvale) has to be registered.

When you register a business and company name, you have to check that the name is available to be used, unique and preferably easy to remember. Think about how it will stand out and emphasise what you do, for example Essendon Lawn Stencilling and Dyeing. Check the proposed name at the ASIC National Names Index and Australian Trade Mark Online Search System, and maybe also check the domain name availability.

Have you considered tax implications?

Successive governments promise no new taxes and attempts are made from time to time to simplify Australias tax system. But the reality is that taxation in this country is complicated, most businesses seek professional help to make sure they are compliant, but still, business owners need to be across it broadly. The tax-related matters you will need to consider are listed below.

Tax file number (TFN)

Australian business number (ABN)

Goods and services tax (GST)

Pay as you go (PAYG) withholding

Fringe benefits tax (FBT)

Wine equalisation tax (WET)

Luxury car tax (LCT)

Excise duty

Stamp duty

Land tax

Payroll tax

How will you protect your intellectual property (ip)?

First of all, what is IP? Well, according to the IP industry body, IP Australia:

IP is the property of the mind or proprietary knowledge. It is a productive new idea you create. This can be an invention, trademark, design, brand or even the application of your idea.

Your IP may be something as innocuous as your business name. I registered Byronvale Advisors as a trade mark. Why? Because there was a consultant in Australia with the name Byron Vale and I did not want him to trade as Byron Vale consultant or advisor.

Registering a business name, a company or a domain name does not automatically give you the same rights as registering IP, and you may not even have the right to use that name as a trade mark. If Byron Vale had registered Byron Vale as a trade mark, Byronvale Advisors Pty Ltd could have been prevented from trading as Byronvale Advisors, even though the company name is registered. Likewise, if I had not registered Byronvale Advisors, anyone could have registered the domain names www.byronvaleadvisors.com or www.byronvaleadvisors.com.au and there is nothing that I could have done about it.

Will you need council and planning permits or licences?

Every local council in Australia has a range of bylaws, zones and permit requirements and unfortunately these are not standardised.

Where you operate your business, the type of business and the size of business will determine the applicable council permits required. Examples of permits include:

Building permit;

Planning permit (for zones);

Registration of food premises;

Permit for tables and chairs on footpaths;

Advertising signs; and

Sale and serving of alcohol.

Another consideration is for home-based businesses that may require a council permit. Generally, a home-based business will not require a planning permit if:

The home is your main place of residence.

The total floor area used for the business is not more than 50 square metres, or one-third of the total floor area of the home.

The business employs no more than one person who does not live there.

The business does not use more of the propertys utilities  such as electricity, gas and water  than normal domestic usage.

The business does not decrease the attractiveness or value of the neighbourhood, e.g. it doesnt make excessive noise.

Only one commercial vehicle less than two tonnes is registered to a resident on the property at any time.

Nothing is offered for sale from the premises except goods made or repaired onsite.

Goods are not displayed so they are not visible from outside the property.

No vehicle is serviced, repaired or fuelled on the property.

Indigenous businesses can register as an Indigenous Corporation under the Corporations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act 2006 (CASTI Act). Under the CATSI Act, your business will operate under rules that take into account Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander customs and traditions. Youll also be given the ability to operate nationally (as opposed to being limited to the state or territory in which your business is registered).

Registration information made easy

OK, so there is a long list of red tape and it seems a job in itself understanding and keeping up to date with all the requirements. But the Australian government has an online service designed to help you set up, expand and manage your business. To do this go to https://account.business.gov.au/, create an Australian business account (ABA) and register free to this online service.

Your ABA connects you to your local, state and federal government business obligations. Its delivered by a partnership of all three levels of government. You can use your ABA to:

receive updates about changes to regulations;

find and save the regulations that relate to your business;

reduce your paperwork by pre-filling forms;

apply for a range of licences online;

keep a record of the forms youve submitted online;

receive updates about new tools, events and webinars;

be kept in the loop about ways to increase your bottom line; and

get updates about opportunities in your industry.

What insurance will you need to take out?

Lets face it  insurance is expensive, especially when youre first setting up a business. Insurance, though, is important. What would happen if you were sick, lost your stock or premises in a fire or you were burgled? What would happen if someone was injured by a visitor to your premises, or your clients sustained financial loss caused by your supply of services or advice?

I advise clients to use an insurance broker for all their insurance requirements. Brokers know what insurances you need, the level of cover necessary and they obtain quotes from a range of underwriters for you. They usually offer reduced exclusions compared to what would be offered to you if you went direct to the underwriter.

Some examples of insurances your business may need are:

Building and contents.

Public liability.

Professional indemnity.

Business interruption.

Product liability.

Cyber insurance.

Intellectual property insurance.

Note also that for home-based businesses, the standard home and contents insurance policies often do not adequately cover them. The public liability part becomes void when a business is started on the premises.

If you employ workers in your business and/or make yourself an employee, then you are required to have WorkCover Insurance. WorkCover Insurance may also apply to contractors and directors who may be classified as employees for WorkCover Insurance, where it is deemed the contractual arrangement is akin to an employment relationship.

About the authorThe Andrews Labor Government has announced new funding to accelerate the growth of Victorias health startups and capitalise on one of Victorias leading industries.

Delivered by Victorias startup development agency, LaunchVic, the funding will support accelerator and education programs focused on the health sector  including medtech, biotech, pharma, health and ageing services and disability services.

Victorias health sector contributes $30 billion each year to the state and is the largest and fastest growing source of employment.

In Victoria, 11 per cent of startups and scaleups are health and wellbeing companies  yet these businesses are accounting for 26 per cent of startup jobs. This is disproportionately larger than any other industry in Victorias startup sector.

The recently released 2018 Global Startup Genome report stated that Melbourne is one of the worlds most important global health and life sciences ecosystems.

On top of this, earlier this week LaunchVic released a new report that looks at what needs to be done to maximise this important sector and create economic benefits for Victorians.

The State of HealthTech  Victoria report found 57 per cent of health startups do not know where to go to access the support needed to grow and another 42 per cent do not know how to identify or locate investors.

Recommendations to address these gaps include more assistance for health startups entering the startup world and using experienced HealthTech entrepreneurs and experts as consultants and mentors.

Applications for funding close on Thursday 5 July 2018. A preference will be given to accelerators that are led by or partnered with Victorian hospitals. Funding guidelines and the report are available at launchvic.org.

According to LaunchVic CEO Dr Kate Cornick, leveraging Victorias strengths and supporting startups that are focused on health will further position Victoria as an internationally leading health startup hub.

Minister for Health Jill Hennessy added, Victoria is a leader in innovation and a leader in medtech and pharma  we want to combine these to create new companies and medical technologies that could enhance or save lives.Great ideas often come from startups and small to medium enterprises (SMEs), but the difficult question is what to do next, and at what stage should intellectual property (IP) protection be considered? Its important to devise an IP strategy of what to protect and when, and costs can be a factor.

Luckily, not all IP strategies need to be expensive and they can safeguard your future income streams. The most common intellectual property rights relevant to startups and SMEs are trade marks, designs, copyright and patents.

Copyright is free and overseen by the Department of Communication and the Arts. To learn more about copyright laws visit http://www.copyright.org.au.

The prices for trade marks, designs and patents can be found at ipaustralia.gov.au. For startups and SMEs that require a patent, I recommend considering a provisional patent. Provisional patents are relatively cheap, costing a $110 fee to IP Australia plus the cost of having a patent attorney draft your patent specification. Where appropriate (and in particular in the specialised area of patent drafting) its always beneficial to seek professional attorney advice. However, pick an attorney who has familiarity with your product or technology and ensure you get a clear statement of the relevant fees upfront. The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys offers a free 30 minute consultation with a specialist Patent or Trade Mark Attorney for IP creators and users. This is a great place to begin for any SME or startup.

Provisional patents dont require the application to meet the same level of detail as a full patent. Provisional patents give you a priority application date, which establishes the fact that you are the first person to file a new invention with us. While a provisional application doesnt provide you with the protection of a full patent, it does give you up to 12 months to consider your options and test the market before deciding to proceed with a full patent application. Think of it as a placeholder.

The provisional application doesnt require a full description of the claim, meaning you can use the 12 months to fully develop and strengthen your patent claim. Also the application is not published and so never becomes public knowledge, which provides certainty that the knowledge of your product or technology will stay within the control of your company.

Having a patent can boost the value of your business to investors. If you can prove you have a new product or technology that is protected by IP rights, investors will be much more likely to finance your venture. IP rights are something that can be monetised. They give investors an asset to back and they are defensible in court. Investors can invest in your business and be certain that it has the rights to license, sell or commercially use the relevant IP.

While professional advice is usually the most expensive aspect of securing an IP right, it can be money well spent. However there are ways to help keep a lid on costs and get the best value out of attorney services. Before meeting with an attorney ensure you have a basic understanding of patents. This will help you maximise the efficiency of your meetings. The patents section of IP Australias website can help with this initial research. Some further preparation to do before meeting with an attorney is to research the similarities and differences between competing products or technologies. IP Australia has a tool called IP Nova, which is a simple web based application which allows users to visualise IP data, making it easy for anyone to explore over 30 years of patents or other IP rights information. This will be a good starting point for discussion with your attorney.

Its important to remember that applying for a provisional or full patent with IP Australia will not protect your IP overseas. However, if you want to base your overseas patent application on your provisional patent, you will need to submit your Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application within 12 months of filing your provisional patent.

See also: IP Australia adopts image recognition tech to help SMEs better protect their trade marks

About the author

Patricia Kelly is the Director General at IP Australia, which is an agency of the federal Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.The outlook also factors in the rating agency's assumption that the city will keep its tax-supported debt low.

S&P Global Ratings on May 18, 2018, affirmed its 'B-' long-term issuer credit rating on the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv.

The outlook is stable, S&P said in its statement.

"The stable outlook reflects our expectations that Kyiv's strong budgetary performance and ample cash buffers will enable it to withstand uncertainties coming from Ukraine's very volatile institutional framework and also provide financial support to its government-related entities (GREs) if needed," S&P said.

Read alsoFitch gives its forecast when Ukraine gets $1.9 bln disbursement from IMF

The outlook also factors in the rating agency's assumption that the city will keep its tax-supported debt low.

"We might lower the rating if we were to lower our sovereign ratings on Ukraine, if the city's tax-supported debt were to increase materially above what we envisage in our base-case scenario, or if the city's liquidity were to deteriorate. We believe that, for the moment, there is no upside potential for our rating on Kyiv," S&P said.

S&P assesses Kyiv's economy as weak compared with peers, mostly due to still relatively low wealth levels by international standards. At the same time, S&P experts say, Kyiv's economy is well diversified and is Ukraine's most prosperous. Kyiv contributes more than 20% of national GDP and enjoys the lowest unemployment rate in Ukraine. "We project that Kyiv's economic growth will likely mirror that of the national economy, continuing its gradual recovery at 3% on average in 2018-2020. Nevertheless, for Ukrainian LRGs [local and regional governments], including Kyiv, we use national GDP per capita (about US$2,300) as a proxy, given their high dependence on transfers from the central government and the very centralized public finance system," it said.

S&P says it expects Kyiv to continue reporting a strong but declining operating surplus, as well as moderate deficits after capital accounts, which will allow the city to keep tax-supported debt below a low 30% of consolidated operating revenues through yearend 2020.Oil-rich Venezuela has for decades been one of Latin Americas most affluent countries. In those days, when Venezuela experienced manpower shortages, thousands of people would cross the border from neighboring Colombia to find work. These days, the shoe is on the other foot.

Thanks in large part to mismanagement by the government of President Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela is in an economic and political crisis. There is no food, no medicine, no jobs, and no end in sight. So, Venezuelans are fleeing the country in droves.

Most are going to Colombia. Every day, around 35,000 people cross the Simon Bolivar International Bridge and head for the closest large city: Cucuta, just a few kilometers to the north. About half of them purchase food and medicine there, visit family or conduct business and return home. Some keep moving, heading to Chile, Argentina or Peru. But every day, about 5,000 stay in Cucuta. And when they arrive, nearly all are in need of food and medical attention.

This exodus of Venezuelans desperate to leave the poverty and repression in their native country has been going on for two years now. The people and government of Cucuta are doing what they can, but they are overwhelmed and underfunded. So, Colombia's president has appealed to the international community for help, and the United States is responding.

On May 8th, the U.S. government announced an additional 18.5 million dollars in bilateral funding to support displaced Venezuelans in Colombia. Subject to Congressional approval, this funding will go toward school feeding programs for children in communities most impacted by the influx; mobile health services to provide vital healthcare for underserved populations; and registry and border data collection systems to help the Government of Colombia make informed and timely decisions regarding Venezuelans seeking assistance.

This new funding complements the more than21 million dollars in humanitarian assistance the United States has provided since 2017 for Venezuelans who have fled their country, and for the neighboring countries hosting them.

We urge the friends and neighbors of Venezuela and Colombia, as well as the global community, to follow our example.In Iraq, the disposal of landmines, improvised explosive device and unexploded ordnance is necessary to help stabilize areas liberated from ISIS, and make day-to-day life possible again.

As Iraqi Security Forces, backed up by the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, were liberating areas occupied by ISIS, the terrorist group soiled the land with explosives and booby traps. Their intent was to not only prolong insecurity and cause additional civilian casualties, but also to delay stabilization and reconstruction in communities.

For example, the al-Dawassa water treatment facility came through the fight for Mosul nearly intact, but still needing repairs after three years of occupation by ISIS. As ISIS retreated from Mosul, they put down explosives around the water treatment facility.

Clearly, if the local neighborhoods are to recover, the hazards have to be removed, and the facility fixed. Explosive war materiel removal is a crucial precursor in stabilizing post-conflict areas.

However explosives removal is not as straight-forward as one might imagine. Not only is this work labor intensive and very dangerous, explosive hazards are often difficult to spot because they blend in with other debris.

The United States has partnered with Janus Global Operations company, funding its efforts to find and remove these hazards. And after six months of hard work, the al-Dawassa Water Treatment Facility was cleared of deadly improvised explosives, allowing maintenance teams to bring the plant back to working condition.

Al-Dawassa is critical to the daily functioning of Mosul. It not only provides families with clean drinking water, but also supports local businesses and agriculture. With these critical functions restored, families can return to their homes.

With smart investments in the work of partners like Janus to support stabilization, the United States demonstrates its enduring commitment to bolstering the safety of the Iraqi people. These efforts are not only making a difference in the lives of ordinary Iraqis, but they are also removing the barbaric legacy that ISIS left behind, a key priority of the United States and the entire 75-member Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine (OSCE) observed an explosion 300 to 500 meters from its location in the Zolote disengagement area in Luhansk region of Ukraine on Sunday.

"At 11:04 on 20 May, two SMM patrols consisting of ten members and four armored vehicles positioned themselves about 20m south of a checkpoint of the armed formations inside the disengagement area near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) on its southern edge," the mission said in a statement.

"All patrol members were outside the vehicles, five of whom were speaking with two unarmed members of the armed formations, and saw an additional five to eight members of the armed formations (one armed with an assault rifle (AK-type), the remainder unarmed) walking around the checkpoint inside the disengagement area," it said.

"At 11:06, the patrol members heard an undetermined explosion 300-500m north (assessed as inside the disengagement area). (The SMM had previously observed an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) about 10m north-west of the abovementioned checkpoint inside the disengagement area," the monitors said.

"Both patrols immediately left the area and returned safely to their bases in Severodonetsk (government-controlled, 74km north-west of Luhansk) and Kadyivka (formerly Stakhanov, non-government-controlled, 50km west of Luhansk), respectively," the mission said.European Commissioner Hahn to visit Ukraine on May 22-23  EC

European Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn will visit Ukraine on May 22-23.

According to a report on the website of the European Commission, Hahn is scheduled to pay an official visit to Ukraine.

Details of the forthcoming visit of the European Commissioner, as well as the events planned in its framework, are not included in the information.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine demands from the Russian Federation to release at least 24 Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia and more than 40 Ukrainians held in the occupied Crimea.

"At least 24 Ukrainians are political prisoners in the Russian Federation, more than 40 ones are held in the occupied Crimea. We once again demand that the Russian Federation release captives," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Betsa wrote on Twitter on Sunday morning.

On the third Sunday in May, Ukraine hosts commemorative events timed to the Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repressions.Russia's gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 is a geopolitical project of the Kremlin, which has nothing to do with economic and business interests, but aims to destroy the unity of Europe, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

In his article for Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper, which was published on May 18, Poroshenko emphasized that Nord Stream 2 is a tragic mistake of a historical scale with unthinkable consequences.

"This is an absolutely geopolitical project of the Kremlin, which has nothing to do with economic and business interests, and is aimed, first and foremost, at the destruction of the unity of Europe and, subsequently, its subordination. This has always been the ideology of the Russian energy policy. Today there are no grounds to think differently, until Russian aggression against Ukraine and the West is not actually stopped, and the Kremlin begins to respect international law and order," the president wrote.

Poroshenko expressed confidence that under the current circumstances any large-scale pan-European project with the Kremlin would mean pacification of the aggressor, rather than a manifestation of force. And as soon as Nord Stream 2 is filled with Russian gas, "the Kremlin will not refrain from an even more brutal attack on our common values." "Even worse, it will give Russia an advantage," Poroshenko said.

In addition, he warned of trust in the promises of "bright dividends" of the Kremlin.

"Do not believe that Gazprom intends to adhere to the agreements. Its reliability has been significantly compromised, and the last example is the failure of Gazprom to recognize the Stockholm arbitration decision in favor of Ukraine. It's hard to be a reliable partner when you are called to be an energy lever of the Kremlin in its geopolitical games," Poroshenko said.

"Thus, investment in Nord Stream 2 is investment in the disintegration of Europe. Does Europe really need another such gas pipeline with Russia?" he said.Joint Forces Operations (JFO) Commander Serhiy Nayev has expressed dismay at the loss of life of civilians on both sides of the demarcation line due to shelling by Russian occupation forces.

"I officially declare a number of decisions taken by JFO commanders to improve the safety situation and avoid the deaths of civilians living close to Ukrainian forces, as well as in town under the control of Russian occupation forces," Nayev said on the JFO's Facebook page.

Nayev said Ukrainian solders never use civilians as human shields and never attack civilian targets.

He said, "We will liberate this land, but before this we will prevent Russian occupation forces from firing on peaceful towns and villages under Ukrainian control. We will find a way to do this without violating our international obligations to end the conflict."

Nayev called on all Ukrainian units along the demarcation line to assist the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Special Monitoring Mission (SMM). He added that he expects the OSCE's SMM mission to provide objective, accurate information about ceasefire violations.Russian-led forces have mounted 55 attacks on Ukrainian troops in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, in the past day, violating the ceasefire regime and using proscribed weapons 19 times, with no casualties reported, the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has said.

"Intense fighting continued in the Svitlodarsk, Horlivka, Donetsk and Mariupol sectors. The Russian occupation forces violated the ceasefire 55 times and used proscribed weapons 19 times," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on May 21, 2018.

The situation was less tense in Luhansk region with hot spots reported mainly at the Svitlodarska Duha bulge, namely near the villages of Troyitske and Luhanske.

In the Horlivka sector, the enemy tried to oust the Ukrainian troops from their positions near the villages of Zaitseve, Shumy and Novhorodske under the guise of mortar fire. At the same time, in violation of international law, the occupiers opened heavy mortar fire on residential buildings in Zaitseve.

Intensity of hostilities near the towns of Avdiyivka, Krasnohorivka and Maryinka, and the village of Pisky, which are in the Donetsk sector, does not decrease.

In the Mariupol sector, active fighting continued near the villages of Vodiane and Shyrokyne.

According to intelligence data, three enemy soldiers were wounded, while other enemy losses are being clarified.The building of the Center for Socio-Psychological Rehabilitation has been damaged, where there were 28 children, as a result of shelling by Russian occupation forces in Toretsk (Donetsk region) on Monday morning. Police are conducting evacuation.

According to the press service of the National Police in Donetsk region, during the shelling the windows in the center building were damaged, there are no casualties.

The administration of the centre appealed to the police with a request for assistance in the evacuation of 28 children aged 3 to 17 years.

As a result of shelling in the morning of May 21, seven apartment buildings were damaged, the police of Donetsk region in Toretsk reported.Observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine have recorded 7,700 violations of the ceasefire regime in the area of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in Donbas over the past week.

"Last week was in many ways the worst we have seen so far this year. In total, we recorded 7,700 ceasefire violations," Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE SMM Alexander Hug said at a briefing in Kyiv on Monday.

Late on May 16 and early on May 17, about 500 explosions were recorded in the Svitlodarsk area, and monitors stationed at a patrol base heard 140 explosions, mostly artillery tank fire in the Horlivka area on May 17-18, he said.

In his words, a camera installed near the Donetsk water filtration station (DFS) recorded explosions of 20 rockets fired with multiple rocket launchers on May 16. These rockets blew up in a territory controlled by Kyiv, Hug said.

"On May16, an SMM camera at the DFS recorded over 20 Grad rockets impacting the west of the facility, in the government-controlled area. Artillery  especially MLRS  is a wide-area weapon. It doesn't discriminate between a combatant and a civilian. [When] used in urban areas, it's murderous," Hug said.

According to Hug, there is a need to immediately disengage the forces in the DFS area.

"With positions of the sides currently as close as 200 to 300 meters from Donetsk Filtration Station, the DFS has been at centre of fighting. Over 300,000 people on both sides of the contact line depend on the DFS, there must be disengagement from the wider DFS area," he said.Servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces defeated early on Monday a militant sabotage and reconnaissance group that attempted to force the Ukrainian army out of the recently liberated village of Pivdenne (Chyhari) in Donetsk region, with two Ukrainian soldiers killed and four wounded in the fighting.

"Today, on May 21, at around 05:00, the enemy's subversive group of up to ten people was spotted on the southern outskirts of this village. The counter-subversion reserve of the brigade moved to intercept the subversive group, stopping its advance and throwing the enemy away from the positions of Ukraine's defenders. The enemy sustained significant losses in combat clashes and, hiding behind heavy mortar fire of its batteries, was forced to retreat," the press center for the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) headquarters reported on its Facebook page on Monday.

The press center said that two Ukrainian servicemen, including the commander of the anti-subversion group, Andriy Maslov, had been killed and four more wounded in the fighting.Ukrainian Sentsov, who went on hunger strike, transferred to 1-man cell - lawyer

Ukrainian citizen Oleh Sentsov, who went on a hunger strike in a penal colony, has been transferred to "a safe place," a one-man cell, his lawyer Dmitry Dinze said.

"According to regulations, such a prisoner, who has gone on a hunger strike, is to be isolated. He was placed in a separate cell in a separate 'safe place,' where the convict is being held alone without any outside contacts," the lawyer said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

An average period during which a person can continue a hunger strike is two months and may be adjusted depending on, for instance, chronic illnesses, Dinze said.

"He will continue his hunger strike through and through. [...] He won't make any concessions," the lawyer said.

The Northern Caucasus District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Sentsov, who was detained in Crimea in 2014, to 20 years in a high-security penal colony in August 2015 for an attempt to create a so-called terrorist group in Crimea.

He is serving his sentence in a high-security correctional facility known as Bely Medved (White Bear).KYIV. May 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) - Lawyers of ex-head of the State Fiscal Service (SFS) of Ukraine Roman Nasirov are appealing to President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko with a request to take measures to protect lawyers' constitutional guarantees in connection with violations of lawyer's secrecy by agents of the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).

Lawyer Liubomyr Drozdovsky said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Monday, May 21, that from August 3 to September 20, 2017, audio and video of confidential communication between Nasirov and his lawyers were unlawfully recorded inside NABU's premises, and later NABU agents tried to use the recordings as evidence for the prosecution in court.

After that, the lawyer said, the defense informed the Prosecutor General about violations of lawyer's secrecy by NABU's agents, which is a crime. According to Drozdovsky, no criminal proceedings were opened, after which the defense appealed in court, which, in turn, ordered the Prosecutor General's Office to begin an investigation. "However, the criminal investigation was closed by a decision of a NABU detective on April 19, 2018, and no investigation had been conducted," the lawyer said.

On May 22, Kyiv's Solomiansky District Court will consider the lawyers' claim against the closure of the criminal proceedings, Drozdovsky said.

In his words, the lawyers sent an open letter to the President of Ukraine with a request to protect the constitutional status of advocateship.

"We are compelled to ask you ... as a guarantor of the Constitution of Ukraine, human and civil rights and freedoms, with a request to take all necessary measures without delay to protect the constitutional status of advocateship as an independent institution of providing professional legal assistance in Ukraine, including initiatives to introduce appropriate amendments to the current legislation of Ukraine, which would ensure the fullest possible constitutional guarantees of advocateship in Ukraine," the lawyer quoted the letter addressing Poroshenko.Ukraine is one of the leading world producers of agricultural products with a huge export potential. Favorable climate and geographical location provide opportunities for successful fruit production, mainly apples, plums, cherries and sweet cherries, apricots, pears, and berries. With the onset of aggression in eastern Ukraine, local growers lost their main market for their crops. This significantly weakened the industry's position, but Ukrainian companies are actively looking for new markets for their products.

In 2017-2018, the Association Ukrsadprom, which brings together leading fruit and berry producers throughout Ukraine, has initiated and organized the stands of Ukraine at the world's largest exhibitions, including Asia Fruit Logistics in Hong Kong and Fruit Logistics in Berlin, as well as provided Participation of fruit producers at the Ukrainian stand at the Galfood Exhibition in Dubai. The First Aggregating Company of Fruits Producers in Ukraine "AUSP FRUT" presented Ukrainian producers there. Having the opportunity to communicate closely with potential international partners during these exhibitions, the Ukrainian representatives identified the strategic markets, so that AUSP FRUT team has begun systematic work with.

"Opening up new markets is not a simple but very important matter, because we must not only acquaint potential consumers with the advantages of our products, which has unique tastes and flavors, thanks to favorable climatic conditions and unique Ukrainian black soils, but also to assure the purity of products, which, already confirmed by the British and Swedish laboratories, and assuring the ability of Ukrainian producers to fulfill their contractual obligations qualitatively, "said Volodymyr Gurzhiy, expert on export markets of AUSP FRUIT.

The experience gained by Ukrainian companies, including through participating in these exhibitions, was realized in the first systemic supply of apples to Dubai (UAE). There was reached a contract with local company from Dubai. The fresh Gala apples, a 2017 crop, sold in accordance with the mandatory requirements for the quality of the product: the firmness of the apples, which should correspond to at least 7 kg / cm2, the color of the fruits - not less than 70% of coloration, also the manufacturer had to use certain post-harvest technologies to extend the shelf life of fruits. The buyer requested to get apples in cardboard boxes such as bushels, net weight 18 kg.

The company "AUSP FRUIT" has developed its own packaging design, which should not promote a separate producer, but namely a product called "Ukrainian Apples".

In the period from December 2017 to January 2018, the producer shipped 125 tons (8 containers). The average shipping time by the sea was 27 days.

There were no complaints under the contract, and the buyer has already ordered a large batch of apples for the next season.

According to the information received from the Association "Ukrsadprom", this was the first supply of apples from Ukraine to the UAE in this volume.

At the moment, AUSP FRUT company is actively contracting fruits and berries for the 2018 season, as the interest of international traders has turned out to be quite significant, and in order to cover the corresponding demand, it is necessary to aggregate large volumes of crops of the export class. In the 2018-2019 season, suppliers plan to increase trade volumes up to 20 thousand tons. The technologies used in post-harvest application along with the packing of apples, allow to ensure the preservation of their high quality for at least 60 days of sea shipping.

For more information please contact:

Volodymyr Gurzhiy, CCO, USPA FRUIT LLC

Sichovykh Striltsiv street, 77

Kyiv, Ukraine

04053

Tel: +380 44 232 22 68

Cell / WhatsApp / Viber: +380 50 925 57 32

E-mail: v.gurzhiy@uspafruit.com

WEB: www.uspafruit.com

Representing orchards-members of Ukrsadprom Association

WEB: www.ukrsadprom.orgDespite Irans Intelligence Ministry insisting there is no proof to suggest that the environmentalists who have been detained were involved in espionage against their homeland, their attorney sees no breakthrough in his clients situation.

At least 13 environmentalists, charged with espionage for enemies, have been behind bars since January 24.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) intelligence organization also detained more than 40 environmentalists, rangers, and their relatives on May 7 and 8 in Hormozgan Province, southern Iran.

State-run TV aired a report to justify the detentions, showing a stick that it claimed the environmentalists had used as an antenna to relay secret information to the CIA and Mossad.

However, according to the environmentalists attorney, Payam Dorafshan, the so-called antenna shown on TV is in fact a fishing rod that Kavous Seyed-Emami and his family used to position a radio so that they could listen to the news and music while spending time in the countryside.

Earlier, it was also claimed that the environmentalists had installed cameras in sensitive locations to monitor IRGC missile activities.

Isa Kalantari, head of the Environment Department and President Hassan Rouhanis deputy, dismissed the claim by firing back, Environmental cameras cannot be used for espionage purposes. Environmental cameras that monitor leopards activity have a range of no more than 50 meters (roughly 55 yards).

Seyed-Emami, founder of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, was an Iranian-Canadian academic and environmental activist whose death at Tehrans notorious Evin Prison has been described as suspicious.

Along with several other environmentalists, he was charged with espionage and detained by IRGC agents in late January. Two weeks later, on February 9, Seyed-Emamis relatives were informed that he had committed suicide.

Seyed-Emamis fellow environmentalists Morteza Arianejad, Niloufar Bayani, Alireza Farhadzadeh, Taher Ghadirian, Houman Jowkar, Sepideh Kashani, Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, Hassan Ragh, Sam Rajabi, Iranian-American Morad Tahbaz, and brothers Aref and Hassan Zare are still behind bars.

Nevertheless, many observers, including Tehran MP and deputy speaker of the parliament Ali Motahari, have repeatedly argued that the only department responsible for espionage and counterespionage is the Intelligence Ministry.

The IRGCs involvement in espionage and counterespionage affairs is explicitly against the Iranian Constitution, Motahari said.

Considered the most fearsome intelligence entity in Iran, the IRGC unit expanded its dominance after the reformist Mohammad Khatami won the presidential election in 1997. It has since detained scores of political and civil rights activists, including individuals affiliated with religious-national activists and the Iran Freedom Movement.

It played a pivotal role in suppressing widespread unrest and protests against the re-election of Mahmud Ahmadinejad in 2009. At the same time, Khamenei issued an edict promoting the IRGC intelligence apparatus to the level of an organization practically on par with the governments Intelligence Ministry.

However, analysts and legal experts maintain that the existence of the Intelligence Organization -- and, specifically, its interference in cases related to espionage -- explicitly violates the Iranian Constitution.

In the meantime, Seyed-Emamis wife has been banned from leaving Iran and joining her children in Canada.

Ramin, one of the sons of Seyed-Emami and his wife, Maryam Mombini, says his mother has been living alone since the authorities barred her from leaving Iran on March 7.

The trauma stemming from her husbands death on February 8 has caused her extreme physiological distress, said Ramin, who lives in Vancouver. She has been going through so much emotionally and physically. And she doesnt have her family to support her through this devastating time.

In an interview with the Vancouver Sun Ramin, also said, We just want her out of there, to get on with our lives.

The Iranian judiciary has not yet commented on Mombinis situation or why she has been banned from leaving Iran.While clashes between riot police and angry demonstrators continue in the Southwestern city of Kazeroon near Shiraz, local officials blame each other for the unrest that has claimed at least two lives according to official figures.

Vehemently defending the plan to divide the ancient city of Kazeroon, its representative to parliament has accused the local Friday Prayer leader of provoking people to rebellion.

The source of the recent protests in Kazeroon is where Friday Prayer is held, MP Hossein Rezazadeh said, adding that the plan wasnt his idea. The plan to divide Kazeroon has been on the table for 25 years. The citys former MPs repeatedly promised to implement the plan but never fulfilled it.

According to Rezazadeh, the plan was first proposed by the governor-general office of Fars Province.

Earlier, a local news outlet had reported, A motion tabled by Rezazadeh will split Kazeroon into two counties, giving prominence and executive power to Rezazadehs birthplace, Qaemeyyeh, as the center of one of them, charging that the MP has personal motives in supporting the motion.

A local website also cited Rezazadeh as saying, I am after what the people of the district [Qaemeyyeh] have demanded and, whether some like it or not, I will follow up on the case.

Despite these reports, Rezazadeh accused Kazeroons Friday Prayer leaders of feeding the people false information and encouraging them to revolt.

Thousands of people in Kazeroon have been protesting for nearly a year against the planned split, which they say would unfairly divide already scarce water resources. They also claim the borders would be drawn in such a way as to leave Kazeroons historic sites -- including the ancient city of Bishapur, founded in 226 AD.

Rezazadeh says the people have been misled by the prayer leaders. Though they knew that Bishapur was not added to the boundaries of the new proposed city, they said otherwise to provoke people.

Kazeroons MP went further by accusing an unnamed Tehran-based official from the Interior Ministry of sending messages to the citys residents, telling them to pour into the streets and make international headlines.

The proposed plan has turned into a bitter dispute between Rezazadeh and Kazeroons Friday Prayer leader, mid-ranking cleric Mohammad Khorsand.

Khorsand, a de facto representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Kazeroon, fiercely opposes any changes to the boundaries of the city.

The dispute led to days of unrest in the city to the extent that the Interior Ministry announced on May 17, The proposal to divide the ancient city of Kazeroon into two separate entities has been shelved for the time being, adding, The plan would be taken under consideration by experts and the peoples concerns would be taken into account in order to eliminate the plans deficiencies.

Nonetheless, many of the protesters have dismissed the statement as a tactic to defuse the tension in Kazeroon.

State-run Iran Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted Fars Province Chief Justice Ali Alghasi on May 19 as saying two people had been killed during clashes between security forces and protesters.

Locals on social media and those who have risked speaking to the media outside Iran despite government interception of communication lines, put the casualty toll much higher.

Despite a heavy security presence in Kazeroon, 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) south of Tehran, the ancient city was the scene of sporadic clashes on May 18.

According to local officials, the protesters burned a bank building and damaged public property and police vehicles.

The protesters had earlier attacked security forces and burned two police vehicles on Thursday, governments official news agency, IRNA, reported.

Images and footage shared on social media depicted a heavy presence of police and Baseej paramilitary forces across Kazeroon, while the citys Internet has been disconnected.

Many people on social media have criticized the state-run Radio & TV for covering events in Gaza while ignoring the bloody clashes in Kazeroon.Irans Parliament (Majles) has discussed four regulatory bills at a closed-door session also attended by a few senior security and executive officials on Sunday May 20.

MPs have disclosed that the discussions at the session evolved around international requirements against money laundering demanded from Iran, and that there have also been negotiations in this regard with the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a G-7 initiative to combat money laundering and financing terrorism has placed Iran beside North Korea at the top of the list of countries with the highest economic and financial risks.

Media reports have said that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Supreme National Security Council Chief Ali Shamkhani, Abbas Araqchi the Foreign Ministry official in charge of the JCPOA and Economy Minister Massoud Karbasian were among the officials taking part in the Sunday meeting.

Hardliners close to Khameneis office have criticized the four bills presented to the parliament by President Hassan Rouhanis administration, fearing that passing these bills would pave the way for Tehran to join the FATF and make financial assistance to terrorist groups in the Middle East difficult.

The four bills include measures to join the convention against organized crime, to amend the anti-money laundering law, to accept the convention against financial support for terrorism and a bill to amend the law against financial support for terrorism.

Iranian Parliaments news agency ICANA has quoted Shamkhani, as saying that the four bills have nothing to do with FATF.

However, Majles Presidium Spokesman Behrouz Nemati has said that The bills may somehow be related to FATF.

During recent months Iranian economic analysts living abroad have charged that Irans hardliners oppose joining the FATF because it will make money laundering hard for financial institutions linked to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Tehran MP Ali Motahari has told reporters in Tehran that there have been long and seriously confrontational debates during Sundays Majles session.

Motahari quoted Shamkhani as saying that there were problems about the bill, but they were solved thanks to cooperation between the Majles Research Center, the Supreme National Security Council and Khameneis office.

The Rouhani administration says the bills are aimed at introducing transparency and discipline into banking operations and bringing about compliance with international banking regulations.

Rouhanis opponents including members of the ultraconservative Paydari Party oppose the bills and insist that passing those bills is tantamount to accepting the terms of FATF.

Irans hardliners believe that the FATF would prevent Iran from sending money to Hamas and the Lebanese Hezballah.

Hamas is listed as a terrorist group in Canada, US, and Israel and the EU recognizes its military wing as a terrorist group.

The Lebanese Hezballah is also listed as a terrorist group by US, Holland, the Arab League and Israel, while the EU recognizes its military wing as a terrorist group.

Both groups have repeatedly confirmed receiving money and military equipment from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In March 2018, Irans President Hassan Rouhani called on Iranian banks to comply with international regulations in order to evade being blacklisted.

In an apparent reference to the requirements of FATF and UNTOC, he advised the banks that abiding by these regulations, you can distance yourself from the black list.

Rouhani was referring to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) black list and regulations recommended by the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).Iran has urged the European Union to do more to preserve a landmark 2015 accord easing sanctions against Tehran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

In a meeting with EU Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete on May 20, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that with the withdrawal of the United States from the deal, the Iranian public expects more from the EU to ensure gains made under the accord are not lost.

"Under present circumstances, political support from Europe is not enough," Zarif said.

"The union must take more practical steps to continue its economic cooperation with Iran and increase its investments in Iran," he added.

China, Russia, France, Germany, Britain, and the United States signed the 2015 accord, which provided Tehran with relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

But U.S. President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that the United States would abandon the deal and reimpose the tough sanctions that were lifted as part of the accord.

Trump long complained about the deal and said Tehran was violating the "spirit" of it by continuing to test ballistic missiles and by supporting militant activities in the region, leading him to withdraw from the pact on May 8.

The other signees had urged Washington to remain in the deal.

"We have to preserve this agreement so we don't have to negotiate a new agreement," Canete said after two days of meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran.

"Our message is very clear. This is a nuclear agreement that works."

EU investment in Iran -- mainly from Germany, France and Italy -- has jumped to more than 20 billion euros ($23.5 billion) since sanctions were eased in 2016, with projects ranging from aerospace to energy ventures.



With the threat of renewed U.S. sanctions looming, some foreign firms have already started signaling their intention to pull back from Iran.

Canete said he recognized that time was of the essence and that clear measures were needed from the EU to protect investments and oil purchases.

Iran has threatened to resume industrial uranium enrichment "without limit" if its interests are not protected.By RFE/RL



Iranian President Hassan Rohani said Tehran does not accept the United States making decisions for it in a defiant response to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement of tough economic sanctions against Iran.



"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," Rohani said in a statement in Iranian media. "Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?"



His comments come hours after Pompeo said on May 221 that Washington will impose "the strongest sanctions in history [on Iran] once they come into full force" and that the "sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change its course."



Pompeo set 12 conditions for Iran to follow in order for the United States to agree to a new nuclear deal with Tehran in a speech in Washington on May 21 at the Heritage Foundation think tank.



Rohani dismissed Pompeo's statements, saying U.S. President Donald Trump's as a "move 15 years backwards to the era of Bush junior and a repeat of the same statements as 2003."



"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," Rohani said.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and APBy RFE/RL

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says Washington will impose "the strongest sanctions in history [on Iran] once they come into full force" and that the "sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change its course."

Pompeo set 12 conditions for Iran to follow in order for the United States to agree to a new nuclear deal with Tehran in a speech in Washington on May 21 at the Heritage Foundation think tank.

His speech comes almost two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington was withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.

Pompeo said the deal was a "loser" that had "huge negative repercussions," adding that Iran had "advanced its march across the Middle East" since the signing of the 2015 deal.

He said the sanctions will apply "unprecedented financial pressure" on Iran, which he called the world's leading sponsor of terrorism. "The authorities in Iran will have no doubt" about our determiniation, he said.

Pompeo said Iran will be "battling to keep its economy alive" under the sanctions and will have to choose between maintaining its economy or sponsoring terrorist and insurgent groups in countries like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen; what he called "squandering precious wealth on fights abroad." "It will not have the money to do both."

He blamed the money that the Iranian government received after sanctions ended as a "newfound treasure" that it used to sponsor those groups.

"We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hizballah proxies operating around the world and crush them," Pompeo said.

Pompeo said if Iran makes "major changes," the U.S. would be willing to lift all sanctions. He did not give a timetable for when the sanctions would be imposed.

Among the demands he made, Pompeo said Iran must "stop the enrichment" of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the nuclear deal. He said Iran must also allow nuclear monitors have "unqualified access to all sites throughout the country," in a reference to several military sites that were off-limits under the JCPOA under specific circumstances.

Iran must also declare all of its previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon, Pompeo said, reopening an issue that the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has already deemed closed.

The United States will also demand that Iran cease its support for Shi'ite Huthi rebels in Yemen, "withdraw all forces" from Syria, halt support for Hizballah in Lebanon, and to stop "threatening" Israel.

Iran must also "release all U.S. citizens" missing in Iran or being held on "spurious charges," he said. Pompeo also offered Iran a series of potential U.S. concessions. Under a new agreement with Iran, the U.S. would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore diplomatic and commercial ties with Tehran, and even support modernizing its economy, he said.

"It is America's hope that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran," Pompeo said.

In defending Trump's decision to leave the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, Pompeo said it "failed to secure the safety of the American people." He listed the problems with the JCPOA as having "weak sunset provisions" that would allow Iran to make a "quick sprint to the bomb" once they kicked in that would set off an arms race for a nuclear weapon.

Pompeo said Iranian officials had negotiated in "bad faith" in obtaining the deal because "Iran has lied for years about having a nuclear weapons program." He also criticized the nuclear deal because it did not address Iran's ballistic- and cruise-missile programs.

Pompeo said the windfall that Iran received after signing the JCPOA allowed it to arm the Lebanese-based Shi'a militia group Hizballah "to the teeth," saying that the group "has its sights set on Israel."

The U.S.'s top diplomat added that Iran has been able since ageeing to the nuclear deal to "prop up the murderous [Bashar al-]Assad regime" in Syria and to sponsor Shi'a forces in Iraq.

He also said Iran is fueling the Huthi uprising in Yemen and that Tehran's Quds Force is conducting "covert assassinations in the heart of Europe." Pompeo criticized Iran for detaining and jailing several U.S. citizens but added that the Trump administration is "working dilligently to bring every home American unlawfully kept in Iran."

He said the United States will "continue to work with allies to block the financing of terror [by Iran]" and ensure that "Iran has no path to a nuclear weapon -- not now, not ever."

Pompeo said that if Iran decides to restart its nuclear program that was halted by the JCPOA, "it will have problems like it never experienced before." Trump has long said the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran -- also signed by the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia -- did not go far enough.

"In the strategy we are announcing today, we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe," said Pompeo, "I don't just mean our friends in Europe."

The EU is trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement without Washington's participation. Pompeo also warned European businesses who have signed business deals in recent years to work with Iran that if they are in violation of U.S. sanctions they will be held "to account."

The U.S. Treasury has put European businesses on notice that they have 90 days to wrap up most business with Iran before the renewed U.S. sanctions take effect. European leaders are now mulling ways to avoid renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran and soften their impact on European firms doing business with the country.

On May 18, the European Commission proposed to let EU members make payments for oil directly to the Iranian central bank to bypass U.S. sanctions.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and APU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is due to announce on May 21 a new U.S. strategy for dealing with Iran in his first major address taking over the job last month.

Pompeo will outline a "diplomatic road map" for reaching a new nuclear deal with Iran in a speech (EDS: 1500 Prahue time) at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington.

The new approach will seek to create "a framework that will address the totality of Iran's threats," a State Department official said last week.

The official did not provide details on the speech, but said it would focus on revisions to the deal that address concerns about so-called sunset clauses allowing some of the restrictions of the deal to expire over time, Iran's ballistic missiles, its "stoking" of civil wars in the region, and a better inspections regime.

Pompeo's speech will come two weeks after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear accord and reinstated economic sanctions against Tehran.

The State Department said Pompeo held consultations with the foreign ministers of Germany, France and Britain - the European signatories of the deal -- ahead of his speech.

All remaining signatories have pledged to stay in the agreement even without U.S. participation. China and Russia are the other countries in the agreement.In the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to leave the nuclear deal with Iran, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehran is most likely the biggest loser. JCPOA was a huge victory for the fundamentalist regime in Iran, and its unraveling represents a considerable blow to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the status quo of Irans military motives in the region.

Khamenei, for his part, was so outraged by the move that he hurled personal insults at Trump for leaving the deal.

The main winners in the United States withdrawal are Trump -- who can say he delivered on a campaign promise -- and those in Iran who oppose the regime and want to overthrow the ruling dictatorship.

Many viewed JCPOA as a tool of appeasement by former U.S. President Barack Obama handed to Khamenei, which had a demoralizing effect on the Iranian people. It was primarily the brainchild of Obama and Khamenei, taking root through secret discussions back in 2012, which included Obama expressing acceptance and recognition of the regime in private letters to Khamenei.

Through concessions proposed by Obama and accepted by Khamenei, JCPOA unfroze an estimated $100 billion to $150 billion of Irans assets. More significantly, it eliminated or suspended sanctions by the United States, the United Nations, and the European Union.

On the nuclear issue, Obama conceded that the United States would allow Iran to enrich uranium on Iranian soil, which had been forbidden by several UN Security Council resolutions. He pledged to arrange the repeal of six major UN Security Council resolutions against Iran and that the United States would allow Iran to keep much of its nuclear infrastructure, as well as continue its research and development on advanced nuclear technology such as centrifuges.

In return, Khamenei agreed to allow a process wherein Iran would effectively be at least 12 months from assembling a nuclear bomb if it decided to go for a breakout.

Some opponents maintain that Obama was soft toward Iran on issues such as Syria, Iraq, ballistic missiles, human rights, and terrorism.

U.S. Congress passed sanctions on Iran over the objections of the Obama White House. The administration, however, did a phenomenal job convincing the EU and the UN Security Council to pass sanctions on Iran. These crippling sanctions played a major role in compelling the regime to come to the negotiating table.

The details of the deal were left to U.S. State Secretary John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad to work out. Khamenei and Zarif soon figured out that Obama and Kerry were desperate to reach a deal, and the Iranian team drove a hard bargain to win major concessions, disproportionate to the strengths of the two sides.

The deal was so one-sided that many believe it did not serve the national interests of the United States. Knowing that the deal lacked support among American lawmakers, Obama did not send it to the Senate for ratification as a treaty.

The Republicans in Congress forced a vote on the deal, and not only did it not receive 67 yes votes (as is required for a treaty), but there were actually 58 votes against it in the Senate. Four powerful Democratic senators joined all 54 Republican senators in opposing the deal. The four were Chuck Schumer (the current Democratic leader in the Senate), Bob Menendez (current ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee), Ben Cardin (then-ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee), and Joe Manchin.

In the House, 25 Democrats voted against the deal, while not a single Republican voted for it. Moreover, in another vote to extend the sanctions law on Iran that was set to expire at the end of 2016, the Senate voted 98 to 2 to extend the law, over the objection of Obama. Obama refused to sign the bill, and it became law without the presidents signature. Thus, JCPOA does not carry the force of a treaty for the United States as the overwhelming majority of American lawmakers did not consider it to be in the national interest.

With assets unfrozen and sanctions suspended, Tehran was then able to increase its oil exports from about 1 million barrels to more than 2.5 million barrels a day. Khamenei used these windfalls to drastically increase the budget for his armed forces and dramatically intensify Irans interventions in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and Bahrain.

In Syria, for example, it is estimated that Iran spends between $6 billion and $15 billion annually to help Assad defeat his opponents. One can assume that assistance to Lebanese Hezbollah has also increased, given the armed groups intense involvement in supporting Iran and Assad in Syria.

Irans economy spiraled into a severe recession due to the crippling sanctions that went into effect in 2012. After JCPOA, though, Irans GDP growth turned positive. But since Trump began speaking out against the nuclear deal, the economy has shown signs of weakness. Stagflation is back. In 2015, one dollar was 30,000 rials. Since Trump entered the White House, Irans currency has depreciated, and the U.S. withdrawal from JCPOA was announced, it hit a new low. On May 10, one dollar traded for 70,000 rials on the streets of Tehran.

The mass protests that took place in cities and towns across Iran in January were signs of great political and economic dissatisfaction among a vast numbers of Iranians. They also showed that many Iranians oppose the regimes destabilizing foreign policy. Slogans condemned the regimes policies in Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq, and Syria. Although the regime crushed the uprising in January, protests continue. One of the slogans in March and April protests was: They say the enemy is in the United States, but the enemy is right here [in Iran].

As U.S. economic pressure on Irans fundamentalist regime increases and the economy weakens, the regime loses strength, too. As Trumps political pressures on the regime grows, American allies in the region such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates become more confident in pursuing bolder actions against Iran.

An example of such bold action may be Israels massive attacks on about 50 IRGC bases in Syria on May 10, with about 60 air-to-surface missiles from jetfighters and another 20 surface-to-surface missiles. The 90-minute operation was a devastating and humiliating defeat for Khamenei.

The UAE has increased its actions against the fundamentalist regime by cooperating with the United States in identifying and sanctioning individuals and groups that collaborate with the IRGC in money-laundering in the UAE, where the IRGC has a large presence.

Back in the United States, Trump can claim that he stood up to the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism that has American blood on its hands and reversed Obamas appeasement of the regime ruling Iran. Trumps decision to withdraw enjoys strong support among Republicans.

The U.S. government should refrain from policies that would even indirectly help the ruling minority. Instead, it should offer support to the opposition and support the demands of the people.

Trumps strong words of condemnation of the regime will encourage many Iranians to join the protests. If such rhetoric translates into material assistance to opponents of the regime, that would further increase the ranks and power of opposition groups and undermine the clerical rulers.

Sadegh Zibakalam, a political science professor at the University of Tehran, has said, If there was a referendum on the Islamic Republic  over 70 percent of the people would vote no to the Islamic Republic, and the officials of the regime know this, as well. My own study has yielded similar results, namely that the fundamentalist regime has the support of about 10 percent to 20 percent of the population. In other words, more than 70 percent of the Iranian people oppose the current rulers.

It is that minority that controls the Irans government, resources, and wealth, using all of the means at its disposal to rule over the majority and silence their dissent.

The lesson of Syria should be clear for Khamenei, the Iranian people, and the United States. There comes a point when large numbers of people are not willing to continue being oppressed and brutalized by a repressive regime. The recent protests in Iran clearly show that the Iranian people have reached that point.

So far, 2018 has been a horrible year for Khamenei. The mass protests greatly damaged all factions of the regime, hard-line and reformist alike. The economy has deteriorated since Trump took office, and his withdrawal from JCPOA will make the situation a lot worse. Israeli attacks on IRGC bases have badly humiliated the regime, which appears more fragile than ever before. Trumps promise of sanctions going into effect in the next 180 days will certainly further undermine the fundamentalist regimes hold on power. What remains to be seen is what shape the actual policy of the Trump administration will take.

Although he has said he is willing to negotiate for a better deal, Trumps effusive praise for the Iranian people and strong condemnation of the regime seem to indicate he is willing to side with the people.

If U.S. policy can bring about a regime change in Iran, that would constitute a victory perhaps equal to the downfall of the Soviet Union.

There is a feeling among Iranians that we are witnessing the beginning of the end of the fundamentalist regime. Supporters of the regime appear anxious, and opponents are more confident. The next year or two will probably witness truly historical events. Wise or unwise policies by leaders and the response of the masses will determine whether the next period resembles 1991 Soviet Union, 1994 South Africa, or 2011-2018 Syria.

The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of Radio Farda.WASHINGTON/BERLIN, May 20 (Reuters)

The United States on Sunday said it hopes to use strong shared interests that have emerged with its European Union partners in recent months to move forward on addressing Iran's nuclear program, missile development and role in regional conflicts.

A State Department official said the shared interests could form a "foundation to continue to work together moving forward."

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will outline a "diplomatic roadmap" and call for broad support from European and other allies to apply pressure on Iran to force it back to the negotiating table, as well as their support to address "the totality of Iran's threats".

Iran said on Sunday that it would join a meeting with diplomats from Britain, Germany, France, China and Russia in Vienna on Friday to discuss next steps after the May 8 decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to exit the 2015 nuclear accord.

It said Washington would not participate in the meeting of the joint commission set up by the six world powers, Iran and the European Union to handle any complaints about the deal's implementation.

The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag cited an unnamed senior EU official as saying there were also discussions about a possible new pact between Iran and world powers that would cover the same ground as the 2015 deal but with some additions to appease the United States.

These could include provisions to address U.S. concerns over Iran's ballistic missile program and Tehran's support of armed groups in the Middle East, the source said.

"We have to get away from the name 'Vienna nuclear agreement' and add in a few additional elements. Only that will convince President Trump to agree and lift sanctions again," the senior EU official told the paper.

Such an agreement could in the future include financial aid for Iran, the report said.

The State Department official said Washington hoped the EU would focus "on the central issue here: Iran's multiple set of malign behaviors with regard to its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism, regional conflicts, and other issues."

Three EU sources who were part of negotiations to keep Trump from quitting the nuclear deal said Friday's meeting would address only the implementation of the 2015 deal, but not offer Iran financial aid in exchange for concessions.

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi rejected reports of a proposed new agreement as "irrelevant claims", the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.

"A meeting set for the next few days for the first joint commission without the United States ... will only cover issues of the nuclear accord between Iran and the other members," Qasemi said.

Earlier, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on state television that the "joint commission ... will be held at Iran's request, and without the United States, to discuss the consequences of America's withdrawal, and how the remaining countries can continue their commitment to the deal."Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is creating serious problems for ensuring employment in Azerbaijan, the countrys Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov said at an international conference Towards Sustainable Development Goals: Promotion of Sustainable Development and Decent Work in Baku.

Ahmadov noted that as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijanis were subjected to ethnic cleansing by Armenia.

As a result, more than a million people have become refugees and internally displaced persons, he said. You know how big is the task to provide more than a million people with decent work.

He noted that on the other hand, the fact that Azerbaijans territories occupied by Armenia arent used for agriculture purposes creates problems.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

The goals of sustainable development are one of the most important directions of activity of the Azerbaijani government, the countrys Deputy Prime Minister Ali Ahmadov said May 21 at an international conference Towards Sustainable Development Goals: Promotion of Sustainable Development and Decent Work in Baku.

He noted that one of the most important factors in the world for changing peoples lives is labor-related, and the Azerbaijani government is taking all the necessary steps to provide citizens with decent work.

As many as 1.9 million new jobs have been created in Azerbaijan over the past 15 years, which is about 40 percent of the active population in Azerbaijan, he said.

He stressed that Azerbaijan is among the countries with rapid population growth, which amounts to up to 1.2 percent per year.

This is quite a big figure, which makes it necessary to create more than 100,000 jobs annually, Ahmadov said.

He added that 46 percent of Azerbaijans population are people under the age of 29 years.

This sets important tasks to provide the youth with work, he said. The necessary steps in this direction will be continued.Details added (first version posted on 16:34)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

Radar stations of Azerbaijan's Air Defense Forces monitor all aircraft moving in the country's airspace, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a message on May 21.

The ministry stated that Armenian media reports related to alleged use of tactical and military aircraft during the exercises of the Armenian Armed Forces in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is exaggerated and intended for Armenian audience.

"During the exercises on May 16 and 17, only Mi-24 helicopters and two Su-25 aircraft of the Armenian Armed Forces were used," according to the ministry.

The ministry reported that the helicopters took off from the Erebuni airport and flew in the direction of Vardenis-Zod and back.

"The planes performed flight in the direction of Sisian from the Gyumri airport in Armenia and landed at the Erebuni airport. The radar stations of Azerbaijan's Air Defense Forces monitor all aircraft moving in the airspace of our country. The information on routes of their flight is immediately automatically transferred to the command post of the Air Force," the ministry said.

The ministry stressed that the Air Defense Forces of Azerbaijan, using modern weapons systems, are capable of destroying any air targets violating the country's air borders.

"We once again urge not to succumb to such information provocations of the enemy," the ministry said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.Details added (first version posted on 14:28)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

The conflicts faced by Azerbaijan and Serbia must be resolved in line with the norms and principles of international law and territorial integrity of the two countries, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said May 21 in Baku while making press statements together with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Mr. President, first of all, I once again cordially welcome you to Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev told Vucic. We attach great importance to your visit. I am sure the results of the visit will open up new opportunities for the development of the Serbia-Azerbaijan friendship and strategic partnership ties.

We are strategic partners and among the documents signed today was the Joint Action Plan for the Strategic Partnership," the president said. "This is a very voluminous and important document. The document reflects all important issues related to our further cooperation. We constantly support each other at international organizations. We support each other in all important issues.

We always support each other at all international organizations in the issues related to the territorial integrity, sovereignty, inviolability of the borders of our countries, he said. The conflicts that we have faced must be resolved in accordance with the norms and principles of international law, within the territorial integrity of our countries. The conflicts must be resolved within the corresponding resolutions of the UN Security Council. In this issue, we always render and will render mutual support to each other."

President Aliyev stressed that among the issues discussed today, economic cooperation has a special place.

"We highly appreciate the steps taken in this direction. However, we are absolutely sure that the existing trade turnover does not reflect our economic potential. There is a growth, but absolute indicators are still very low. That is why, I am sure the issues that have been discussed and are to be discussed during the visit will lead to an increase in the turnover in the future. There are good opportunities for that," the president noted.

President Aliyev further assessed prospects for cooperation in the energy sector as encouraging.

"This issue is reflected in the signed Action Plan, he said. Azerbaijan is an initiator and an active participant of giant energy projects. The Southern Gas Corridor Project has a special place among them.

In the next days, we will celebrate the completion of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project, the president said. TANAP gas pipeline is to be commissioned next month. Thus, the main projects of the Southern Gas Corridor will be completed."Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

There is a great potential for improving relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia, said Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic making press statements together with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku May 21.

"I would like to thank you for the sincere and kind words. I would like to express my gratitude for all the work carried out to develop the relations between Azerbaijan and Serbia. I think I am the first head of state to visit your country after your election as the president. It is a great honor for me," he said.

Vucic stressed that for Serbia it is very important to develop friendly relations with Azerbaijan.

"This fully meets the interests of our countries and peoples. There is a very large space for our cooperation. Exactly for this reason, it can be said, I have visited Azerbaijan together with almost half of our government. Because, we intend to develop cooperation with Azerbaijan in all spheres, " the Serbian president said.

He further expressed gratitude to Azerbaijan for support to the independence and sovereignty of his country.

"We, in turn, support the independence and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. This position of both countries will remain unchanged. Mr. President, we highly value your policy. You are a personality who ensures the independence of his country, who protects freedom and makes every possible effort for well-being of his citizens. Your country is located in a very complex region, at the intersection of different regions, and you have been able to keep your country safe," Vucic added.

The Serbian leader emphasized that economic interests are also ensured.

"We have a great potential to improve our relations. A meeting of our intergovernmental commission will take place in the near future. The last meeting was held in 2015. I think we will be able to actively cooperate in implementation of various transport projects," he said, reminding that an Azerbaijani company is successfully building a road in Serbia.

"Along with this, we will be able to achieve great success in trading in various agricultural products, in culture, sports and others. Surely, we also have a great potential in the military-technical sphere and military education. I think these are also very important spheres," the Serbian leader said.

According to him, the lack of disputable issues between the two countries is a very positive moment.

"We fully support each other at various international organizations. Mr. President, taking this opportunity, we, in presence of media, invite you to pay an official visit to Serbia. You will witness the hospitality of our people, manifestation of liking and respect for both you and your country. Azerbaijan is a friendly country, and we hope to see you in Belgrade soon," he said.

The Serbian president further highlighted the growth in the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan.

"I congratulate you in connection with a 3-percent growth in the non-oil sector of your country. I see that you attach great importance to diversification of the economy. This is a feature inherent in a real political leader."

"We have good relations. We have seen an increase in our budget for already third year. This gives good opportunities in terms of mutual investing at a higher level. Mr. President, I thank you once again for your sincere friendship and I hope to see you in Belgrade soon," Vucic concluded.Details added (first version posted on 14:28)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

The conflicts faced by Azerbaijan and Serbia must be resolved in line with the norms and principles of international law and territorial integrity of the two countries, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said May 21 in Baku while making press statements together with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Mr. President, first of all, I once again cordially welcome you to Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev told Vucic. We attach great importance to your visit. I am sure the results of the visit will open up new opportunities for the development of the Serbia-Azerbaijan friendship and strategic partnership ties.

We are strategic partners and among the documents signed today was the Joint Action Plan for the Strategic Partnership," the president said. "This is a very voluminous and important document. The document reflects all important issues related to our further cooperation. We constantly support each other at international organizations. We support each other in all important issues.

We always support each other at all international organizations in the issues related to the territorial integrity, sovereignty, inviolability of the borders of our countries, he said. The conflicts that we have faced must be resolved in accordance with the norms and principles of international law, within the territorial integrity of our countries. The conflicts must be resolved within the corresponding resolutions of the UN Security Council. In this issue, we always render and will render mutual support to each other."

President Aliyev stressed that among the issues discussed today, economic cooperation has a special place.

"We highly appreciate the steps taken in this direction. However, we are absolutely sure that the existing trade turnover does not reflect our economic potential. There is a growth, but absolute indicators are still very low. That is why, I am sure the issues that have been discussed and are to be discussed during the visit will lead to an increase in the turnover in the future. There are good opportunities for that," the president noted.

President Aliyev further assessed prospects for cooperation in the energy sector as encouraging.

"This issue is reflected in the signed Action Plan, he said. Azerbaijan is an initiator and an active participant of giant energy projects. The Southern Gas Corridor Project has a special place among them.

In the next days, we will celebrate the completion of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project, the president said. TANAP gas pipeline is to be commissioned the next month. Thus, the main projects of the Southern Gas Corridor will be completed."

This is Azerbaijan's another contribution to energy security, President Aliyev said. This big energy project has had a positive impact on the settlement of issues of broad international cooperation. Presently, cooperation in the energy sector in our region is rising to a new level."

The president reminded that the ceremony of launching the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was held in Baku in October 2017.

"The railway is also of great importance, he said. Asia and Europe will be connected through Azerbaijan and other countries thanks to the beginning of the operation of the railway. This is the shortest way from Asia to Europe and back. Cargoes are already being sent via this railway and the volume of cargo will grow.

Of course, we also see Serbia as an active participant of this railway, he added. I think that our relevant structures can already begin negotiations on this issue for us to be able to increase the freight traffic. Thus, energy and transport projects being implemented upon the initiative of our country open up new possibilities for broad cooperation. This will give a momentum to the development of tourism, increase bilateral trade turnover and thus enhance stability, ensure security in our region, in the Eurasian area."

President Aliyev added that the humanitarian sphere has a very important place in the relations between Serbia and Azerbaijan.

"Mr. President, I know that you will participate in the opening ceremony of the Center for Serbian Language and Culture at the Azerbaijan University of Languages, he said. I am sure that you know and you will see that Azerbaijan has a great interest, great respect for your people, culture, literature of your people. The ties in the humanitarian sphere have an important place in the development of relations between the peoples.

I think the mutual development of the tourism sector will bring income to our countries, people will get to know each other better, they will become friends, just like our countries," the president said. "Our countries are friendly countries. As I have noted they are strategic partners. I am sure that after the visit our relations will get a new impetus, new dynamics for Serbia and Azerbaijan to act as the countries constantly supporting each other, helping each other.

We appreciate the policy being carried out by you in your country, he said. You protect the independent policy of Serbia, rule your country confidently. People support you greatly. Your policy is appreciated by the Serbian people. We, as your friends, rejoice at this. We are sure that the Serbia-Azerbaijan relations will continue to have an important place in your agenda.

Relations with Serbia are very important for us, the president said. I am sure there are all opportunities, conditions for the successful development of these ties in the future. The main thing is that there is a very strong joint will. I think that in the next years we will live upon these desires, develop the Serbia-Azerbaijan ties. Thank you.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

On May 21-25, 2018, Princeton University Professor Dr. Michael A. Reynolds, an internationally renowned professor on Middle Eastern and Eurasian History, will deliver public lectures on the Geopolitics of the Birth and Death of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic at Baku American Center and a number of universities: Baku State University, Azerbaijan Pedagogical University, Khazar University and Western Caspian University, the US Embassy in Baku said in a press release.

Professor Reynolds will hold meetings with members of the Institute of History at the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences staff and deliver keynote speeches on The Birth of Azerbaijani Democracy in its Global Context at ADA Universitys International Conference dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of ADR.

Baku State University has also invited Dr. Reynolds to be a Keynote Speaker at the international conference on Azerbaijan  100: The First Parliamentary Republic in the Muslim East. The conference will take place from May 21-23, 2018 at Baku State University. International and local historians will attend the conference, as well as state officials.

Michael A. Reynolds is Associate Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, where he teaches courses on Eurasian history and American foreign policy.

He is the author of Shattering Empires: The Clash and Collapse of the Ottoman and Russian Empires, 1908-1918 (Cambridge University Press, 2011), a recipient of the American Historical Associations George Louis Beer Prize, and editor of Constellations of the Caucasus: Empires, Peoples, and Faiths (Markus Weiner, 2015). In addition to his historical research, Reynolds researches and writes on contemporary Turkey, Russia, the Caucasus and American foreign policy. He is a Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

On May 25, Startup Days jointly organized by the Ministry of Transport, Communication and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, UNEC and the Startup Azerbaijan Organization will be launched.

The Startup Days will be realized with the support of the High Technology Park and the State Fund for Information Technology Development under the auspices of the Ministry of Transport, Communication and High Technologies.

The goal of holding the Startup Days is to promote the creation of new startups and stimulate the development of online business. At the same time, it is one of the priorities of the project to develop national startup infrastructure and provide the students with methodological support in this direction.

The Startup Days, which will last for two days, will enable UNEC students to meet with the local startup owners, well-known experts and managers of the influential IT companies. The students will be trained on presenting the startups, drafting the original versions and prototypes.

The Startup Days will also host the competition of business ideas of students and the initial versions of the new internet projects. The students will form teams around the innovative business ideas and will develop the initial versions of new startup projects with the support of mentors and experts. At the end, the professional jury will evaluate the ideas of students participating in the competition by presenting their projects.

The winners will receive the valuable prizes, diplomas and certificates.

The students, wishing to participate in the Startup Days can apply to the UNEC Career Center.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

The Baku - Tbilisi  Kars (BTK) railway route will provide an economic boost for the development of the region, Bulgarian Transport Ministry told Trend.

"Our country aim to provide suitable land and sea routes to serve the Euro-Asian traffic from the new railway corridor. Our analyzes show that construction of a railway line along the Baku - Tbilisi - Kars route as part of the Silk Road will offer an alternative to the route through Russia and will provide an economic boost for the development of the region," said the ministry.

The new link is expected to reduce the travel time between China and Europe with about 15 days, which is more than twice as fast compared to the sea route and at the half of the cost of air transport, according to the Bulgarian Transport Ministry.

"In this connection, the Bulgarian side participated actively in the discussions on the new project of the multimodal transport corridor "Persian Gulf - Black Sea". The cooperation of the parties on the Persian Gulf - Black Sea Corridor would contribute to the development of transport links between Asia and Europe and to the establishment of effective trade routes between the European Union countries, including Bulgaria, to Iran. Our country has a strategic geographic location and has the potential to become a transport hub for Europe. With the realization of all priority transport directions and projects, Bulgaria will become Asia's most direct route to Europe," said the ministry.

The official opening ceremony of the BTK railway was held in Baku Oct. 30, 2017. The BTK railway was constructed on the basis a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement.

The railways peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At an initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn

Subscribers of Trend News Agency can read this and other exclusive materials before they are published in open access.

More information on Trends news products can be found here.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Uzbekistan is aimed at more intensive cooperation of Uzbek and Georgian businessmen, Sputnik Georgia reported citing Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan Utkir Butaev.

He noted that the authorities of the republic have certain expectations from the joint Uzbek-Georgian business forum that was held in Tbilisi.

Uzbekistan needs Georgian technologies for development of wine-making and a deeper relationship in the tourism sphere. Georgia, in turn, will be able to develop textile companies using raw materials from Uzbekistan, Butaev said.

On May 15, the first Georgian-Uzbek business forum took place in Tbilisi, which was attended by representatives of 12 major Uzbek and tens of Georgian companies, as well as representatives of the chambers of commerce and industry of the two countries. The parties discussed development of the bilateral business relations.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanovBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Azad Hasanli - Trend:

Azerbaijan and Serbia will sign two agreements in the aviation and road transport sphere as part of the visit of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to Baku on May 21-22, the Serbian government said in a message May 21.

Documents from the Serbian side will be signed by Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlovic.

These agreements will make it possible to create conditions for the opening of direct flights between Belgrade and Baku, as well as promote the expansion of economic and trade ties between the two countries.

Azerbaijans trade turnover with Serbia amounted to $5.5 million in 2017, which is 36 percent more than in 2016, according to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee. Almost the entire volume of the trade turnover accounted for the imports of Serbian products to Azerbaijan.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanliDetails added (first version published at 10:51)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

The Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of Azerbaijan will continue to work to eliminate informal employment and further improve the social welfare of the country's population, said Minister Sahil Babayev May 21 at the conference "Towards sustainable development goals: promoting long-term development and decent work" in Baku.

The minister noted that over the past years Azerbaijan has achieved significant success in providing employment and improving the social well-being of the population.

He said Azerbaijan has managed to reduce poverty and unemployment and increase wages in a short period of time.

"Over the past 15 years, the country's GDP has grown 3.2 times. The minimum wage increased 5.2 times, the average wage rose by 6.6 times. It is important that the poverty rate in the country has decreased from 49 percent to five percent. In addition, the unemployment rate was also reduced to five percent. During this period, more than $230 billion were invested in Azerbaijan, about half of which fell on foreign investments," Babayev said.

Babayev said that the ministry has such tasks as the fight against informal employment, an even greater improvement in social welfare, increase of employment, creation of new jobs and so on.

"The ministry is trying to improve the targeting of social policy, and to link social policy with employment. Our steps are based on the principle of tripartism, which was developed in cooperation with the International Labour Organization. That is, each of our steps is evaluated from the point of view of the government, the employer and the employee, and the best proposals are prepared," the minister said.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Anvar_MammadovBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Abdufattokh Musurmonkulov, an Uzbek scientist from Markhamat district of Andijan region, created a high-yielding cultivar of mulberry tree on the basis of inoculation of the local variety Uzbekistan and the Japanese Oshima, the press service of the president of Uzbekistan stated.

The Markhamat-2017 cultivar, as the scientist decided to call it, differs in large and densely arranged leaves. It can yield up to 40 tons of leaves from one hectare of plantation, whereas ordinary trees usually yield 20 tons of leaves.

Cocoons can be harvested three times a year. Ready-made silk fabrics will make a big profit. We dont have enough leaves of mulberry. The existing trees are old, their yield has decreased. To develop the silk industry, it is necessary to create such highly productive varieties, Shavkat Mirziyoyev said while being acquainted with the new cultivar.

The Uzbek leader emphasized that silkworming is the national value and wealth of Uzbekistan.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanovBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Ilkin Shafiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijani wine producer Sharg Ulduzu LLC intends to increase export volumes, the company's head Asgar Alirzayev told Trend on May 21.

In 2017, the company produced 48,500 decaliters of wine and 5,000 decalitres of wine were sold.

"Our export markets are Russia and China. In general, about 60 percent of the sales were directed for export last year," he said.

Sharg Ulduzu LLC was established in 2002.

According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, in January-April 2018, the country exported alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as wine vinegar for $3.73 million, and imported alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as wine vinegar for $19.28 million.

The exports decreased by 50.76 percent and imports increased by 15.38 percent compared to the same period last year.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyevBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

Kyrgyzstan exported fruit and berry crops worth $157 million to the EEU countries in 2017, Minister of Agriculture, Food Industry and Land Reclamation Nurbek Murashev said at a meeting of the Republic-ATA Zhurt faction, Kabar news agency reported.

Speaking about the export of agricultural products, Murashev said mainly dairy products are exported from the country, and in May 2017, the export of fruits and vegetables was started. For example, in 2017, fruits and vegetables exports amounted to $157 million, of which $74 million were exported to Kazakhstan, and the rest of the products were exported to Russia.

In his speech about the state of agriculture, First Deputy Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov focused on the implementation of the "Financing of Agriculture" project, aimed at supporting agricultural producers, financing leasing projects, and preparation of irrigation network for the growing season in the country.

Answering a question of MP Umbetaly Kydyraliev about the implementation of 18 technical regulations, Minister Nurbek Murashev said in connection with the accession of Kyrgyzstan to the EEU, technical regulations were adopted, eight of which are currently enforced.

MP Parhat Tulendiyev asked what work is done to increase livestock and to enhance yields. Questions were raised about the activities of the processing enterprises of the food industry. Members of the faction stressed that despite the fact that Kyrgyzstan is an agricultural country with a large production potential, the real situation in food production and processing remains precarious.

The MPs expressed criticism to the work of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Industry and Land Reclamation, which should carry out reforms to ensure that the agricultural sector becomes an effectively developing industry, providing the domestic market with quality food. Members of the faction stressed the need to implement the work which would expand export opportunities.A British court has dismissed charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) against Barclays over its 2008 capital raising, the bank said on Monday, suspending for now the threat of regulatory sanctions on its business operations over the matter, Reuters reports.

The SFO was however not prepared to let the case drop.

We are likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to the High Court, an SFO spokesman said.

Barclay denied the SFOs allegation that a $3 billion loan it made to Qatar in November 2008 was connected with a Qatari investment in the British bank which ultimately helped it avoid a British government rescue during the financial crisis, unlike its rivals Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.

A dismissal of the charges against Barclays and its operating subsidiary would remove the biggest remaining legal headache facing Barclays over its conduct during the financial crisis

Qatar, which is a major investor in Britain, has not been accused of wrongdoing itself, but public companies in Britain are normally prohibited from lending money for the purchase of their own shares, known as financial assistance.

Separately four former Barclays bankers face a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation when they negotiated a capital injection for the bank from Qatar, in a trial due to start next January.

Barclays said the dismissal of the charges against itself should not be taken to have any bearing on whether other people may have committed a criminal offence.

Barclays shares were up 1 percent by 1035 GMT (6.35 a.m. ET), in line with the FTSE 350 British banks index.China has pledged to buy more U.S. goods to reduce Americas huge trade deficit and help avoid exacerbating a trade war between the worlds two biggest economies, with energy and commodities high on Washingtons list of products for sale, Reuters reports.

The U.S. trade war with China is on hold after the governments agreed to drop tariff threats and work on a wider agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday. Washington is especially keen to sell more of the United States surging oil and gas production.

Yet infrastructure bottlenecks mean energy and commodity exports can grow only gradually, and only if U.S. oil, gas and other goods remain cost attractive against global competition.

Morgan Stanley estimates it could take up to three years to increase Chinese purchases of U.S. goods by $60 billion to $90 billion, with a rise in agricultural imports in the near term followed by energy.

Total U.S. oil and gas exports to China in 2017 were worth $4.3 billion, based on average prices, a far cry from a deficit reduction target of $200 billion.

But U.S. exports are rising, and China has spent $2 billion on U.S. oil in the first quarter of 2018 alone.

Increased purchases of U.S. oil will help China replace Iranian supplies, which are expected to fall as the United States re-imposes sanctions on Tehran.

Buying U.S. crude would help with the Iranian situation in ... that these barrels from the U.S. would provide additional supplies at a time when buyers will be expected to cut Iranian volumes, said Michal Meidan of consultancy Energy Aspects.

Chinas U.S. oil import bill this year could rise to $9 billion to $11 billion with purchases rising to 300,000 to 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the second half of 2018, according to Energy Aspects.

That would still be only a fraction of Chinas import needs of 9.6 million bpd in April, worth around $20 billion. And while U.S. exports may grow somewhat, infrastructure bottlenecks for the time being hold back sales.

U.S. oil export terminals are small by global standards and the biggest tankers - Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) - dont fit through the Panama Canal. Having to take the detour around Africa, they are at a cost disadvantage against producers from the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

Washington also wants the United States to export more liquefied natural gas (LNG) to China.

While LNG shipments have increased, there are only two U.S. export facilities, both of which have largely contracted out their supplies. There are also restraints in China due to pipeline and terminal capacities.

U.S. LNG exports to China could eventually surge if Chinese companies become partners in many of the U.S. export projects that still seek financing.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

The shareholders of the Rogun Dam JSC will discuss increasing the authorized capital on June 15, 2018, the Asia-Plus news agency reported.

This issue will be considered during the next annual meeting of the Society of Shareholders, which will be held at the National Library of Tajikistan.

The amount of the authorized capital of Rogun Dam JSC is currently 14 billion somoni. It was increased during the annual meeting in May 2015. Prior to this, in February 2014 at the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, the authorized capital of the Company had been increased from 6 billion to 12 billion somoni.

During the forthcoming meeting in June, it is planned to amend the Charter of the Rogun Dam JSC. It is also planned to approve the Charter of the Directorate.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend:

The Azerbaijani government will review the state budget for 2018, Azerbaijani MP, member of the parliamentary committee for economic policy, industry and entrepreneurship, doctor of economic sciences Rufat Guliyev told Trend.

Guliyev stressed that one of the factors that positively affects the Azerbaijani economy is the stability of oil prices and the growth trends in oil prices.

Today, the price of both Azerbaijan's Azeri Light oil and Brent oil varies around $80. Some experts expect the price of "black gold" to reach $100 by the end of the year.

Furthermore, many international financial institutions are reviewing their forecasts for the Azerbaijani economy.

Thus, the International Monetary Fund expects that the country's GDP to be 2 percent (1.3 percent in the previous forecast) in 2018, and to reach 3.9 percent in 2019. The World Banks expects the figure at the level of 1.8 percent for 2018 and 3.8 percent for 2019.

Guliyev noted that two more factors positively affect the Azerbaijani economy along with the high oil prices.

First, according to him, Azerbaijan's GDP growth rates in the first quarter of 2018 exceeded the expectations.

Secondly, revenues of the country's budget were higher than forecast, which is also related to the development of the economy's non-oil sector, he explained.

Revenue part of the 2018 state budget is forecast to total 20.127 billion Azerbaijani manats (including centralized revenues in the amount of 19.473 billion manats, local revenues in the amount of 653.353 million manats), while expenditures are expected to amount to 21.047 billion manats (including centralized expenditures in the amount of 20.323 billion manats, local expenditures in the amount of 723.925 million manats).

Azerbaijans GDP in the first quarter of 2018 amounted to almost 17.2 billion manats, which is 2.3 percent more than in January-March 2017, according to a report of Azerbaijans State Statistical Committee.

The Azerbaijani government forecasts a 1.5 percent GDP growth for this year.

--

Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyevBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

The construction of the third airport in Istanbul has been completed by more than 88 percent, the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of Turkey told Trend May 21.

The ministry said that the test flights will be launched at the third airport in Istanbul on October 25.

"All flights to Ataturk airport will be suspended on October 31 this year," the ministry announced, noting that the airport will be closed.

The third airport is being built near the Lake Terkos in northern Istanbul.

Initially, it will serve 90 million passengers a year. The new airport will annually serve about 150 million passengers by 2023.

After commissioning, the number of flight destinations in Turkey will increase from 282 to 350.

Under the project, the first runway of the new airport will be 3.7 kilometers long and 60 meters wide. The second runway will be 4.1 kilometers long and 60 meters wide.

Currently, construction and assembling work is underway to build 28 bridges and a hydrometeorological tower at the airport. More than 31,000 employees are involved in the construction.

About 300 passenger and service elevators will be installed at Istanbuls third airport.

Airport City, which will include a network of shops, logistics and exhibition centers, will be also built at the new airport. Limak-Kolin-Cengiz-MaPa-Kalyon consortium of companies won the tender for construction of the airport.

The construction will cost 10 billion Turkish liras, the Turkish Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications told Trend earlier.

Turkeys Ziraat Bankasi allocated 1.54 billion euros for the airports construction, while Halkbank and Vakifbank  1 billion euros, Denizbank  500 million euros, Garanti and Finansbank  300 million euros each in October 2017.

The first airport in Turkey was built in 1912 and was used for military purposes.

For the first time the Istanbul airport was opened for international flights in 1953 and in 1985 it was renamed in honor of founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizogluDetails added (first version posted on 17:44)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Ilkin Shafiyev - Trend:

Mexico intends to increase the number of trade delegations to Azerbaijan, Mexican Ambassador to Azerbaijan Rodrigo Labardini said at the press conference in Baku May 21.

Labardini added that these delegations can include producers of alcoholic beverages, namely, tequila, mezcal, salsa sauce, and canned food.

"The trade delegations will arrive in Azerbaijan in July and October 2018, as well as in June 2019," the ambassador said.

The diplomat stressed that the trade delegation, which arrived in Azerbaijan at the end of April 2018, returned home with nine concluded contracts. The delegation consisted of five tequila producers.

The first trade delegation arrived in Azerbaijan from Mexico in 2017.

According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Mexico exceeded $5.8 million in January-April 2018.

Almost the entire volume of trade turnover accounted for imports of Mexican products to Azerbaijan.

The trade turnover between the countries increased by 41 percent for the year.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @IlkinShafiyevBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:

Kazakhstan plans to increase oil production, Kazakh media reported May 21 with reference to the Minister of Energy of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev.

"Large projects will make a significant contribution to the economic growth of the country in the medium term. The volume of oil production will annually, steadily grow and by 2025 will reach a level exceeding 104 million tons per year," the minister said during the Government hour in the Majilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan.

The minister noted that the oil and gas projects Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan remain the main incentives for growth in the field of oil production. In 2017, with the release of industrial development of the Kashagan field, the total annual oil production in the country increased to 86.2 million tons from 78 million tons in the previous year

"In particular, Kashagan produced 8.3 million tons of oil last year. Thus, the level of annual oil production of the country rose to a new level," Kanat Bozumbayev said.

The minister noted that, for four months of this year, oil production in the country reached 30 million tons, showing an increase of 6 percent over the same period last year.

"This year, oil production in Kazakhstan is projected at 87 million tons. This is our preliminary forecast, but it is possible that it will be a little more," the Minister stressed.

In particular, Kashagan is expected to produce 11 million tons of oil and 6.8 billion cubic meters of gas. In 2019, the field is expected to reach a production level of 370,000 barrels per day, and by 2024, the project of further expansion is expected to increase production to 450,000 barrels per day.

"After 2022, oil production at Tengiz will increase from the current 26 to 39 million tons of oil per year. The plan for the future development of Karachaganak provides for the implementation of projects to maintain the current level of production," the Minister added.

In January this year, Kanat Bozumbayev assured that Kazakhstan is fulfilling its obligations under the OPEC agreement to reduce oil production.

The OPEC countries agreed on a total reduction in oil production by 1.8 million barrels per day at the end of 2016. Thanks to this, it was possible to stabilize the world oil prices, which had been rapidly declining.

Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanovBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

Bulgaria aims to implement the Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB) project in accordance with the schedule, said Bulgarian Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova.

She made the remarks during a meeting with representatives of the Shah Deniz consortium, said a message from Bulgarian energy ministry.

"The work on the IGB project has been intensified in recent months, and I can reaffirm the government's support for the project, said the minister.

Petkova pointed out that IGB has received a government guarantee of 110 million euros.

The minister said that currently, the process of selecting a pipe supplier, a provider of design and construction work, as well as a consultant engineer is underway as part of the IGB project.

The interconnector Greece-Bulgaria is planned to be put into operation in 2020, she added.

The representatives of the Shah Deniz consortium for their part informed Minister Petkova that the process of gas production as part of the Phase 2 of development of Shah Deniz field has been accelerated.

They assured that Bulgaria will be able to get the first volumes of natural gas from Azerbaijan in 2020.

Azerbaijan supports Bulgaria in its activities to ensure energy security, they added.

IGB is a gas pipeline, which will allow Bulgaria to receive Azerbaijani gas, in particular, the gas produced from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz 2 gas and condensate field. IGB is expected to be connected to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) via which gas from the Shah Deniz field will be delivered to the European markets.

The initial capacity of IGB will be 3 billion cubic meters of gas.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_ZeynBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Azad Hasanli - Trend:

Energy Minister of Bulgaria Temenuzhka Petkova will visit Azerbaijan in June, the Bulgarian embassy in Baku told Trend on May 21.

The minister is expected to take part in the international conference "Southern Gas Corridor and Energy Security in South-East Europe" on June 13.

The conference participants will discuss energy security of South-East Europe and the Balkan region, Azerbaijan's role in diversifying gas supply routes to Europe, development of the European Energy Union, Bulgaria's role in the energy security of Europe, implementation of the Southern Gas Corridor project and other issues.

The Southern Gas Corridor, worth over $40 billion, is considered as one of the priority energy projects for the EU, which strives for diversification of gas sources. The project envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At an initial stage, the gas to be produced in the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.

As part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and construction of Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) and Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).

The first stage of the 2,000-km Southern Gas Corridor (SGC), from Azerbaijans Caspian shores to Eskisehir in Turkey, will come on stream May 29 with a ceremony in Baku.

The SGC opening ceremony will be attended by state and government delegations of the countries that will receive gas, as well as the heads of companies that are involved in the project.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanliBaku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Azad Hasanli - Trend:

STAR refinery will receive the first crude oil shipment for processing from Azerbaijan by the end of June 2018, Turkish media reported with reference to General Manager of the Refinery Mesut Ilter.

"Then, we will take the first crude oil processing unit into operation in the third week of July. We will receive three or four more cargoes mostly from the Middle East and Russia," he said, adding that the refinery will be ready to process first product at the beginning of October.

Ilter said that 99.1 percent of the refinery has been completed.

The investment to date is $5.2 billion, but once the project is completed, the total investment volume is anticipated to reach $6.3 billion, he added.

Along with naphtha, the new oil refinery will produce 5.95 million tons of diesel fuel with ultra-low sulfur content, 500,000 tons of aviation kerosene, 500,000 tons of reformate, 630,000 tons of petroleum coke, 240,000 tons of liquefied gas, 415,000 tons of mixed xylene, 75,000 tons of olefin LPG and 145,000 tons of sulfur. The refinery will not produce petrol and fuel oil. It is planned to refine Azeri Light, Kerkuk and URALS oil at the plant.

To date, the project shareholders are: Rafineri Holding with 60 percent (completely owned by SOCAR Turkey Energy), which previously bought out all 18.5 percent of the project shares of Turcas Petrol, and SOCAR with 40 percent.

--

Follow the author on Twitter: @AzadHasanliBakcell - the First Mobile Operator and Leading Mobile Internet Provider of Azerbaijan has announced the start of the stimulating draw-based lottery, conducted under the title of Trip abroad from Bakcell Ulduzum and Bank of Baku.

This lottery will be held in the period from May 18 to August 18, 2018 and all Bakcell customers who use the services of Bank of Baku shall be eligible to participate.

Thus, within the frames of the new lottery, 1 randomly selected Bakcell subscriber who uses the services of Bank of Baku will become the winner of the main prize  a trip to Dubai. The prize package includes one round-trip ticket from Baku to Dubai, accommodation in 3* or 4* hotel for 3 nights and 4 days, transfer from airport to hotel (and from hotel to airport), as well as the travel insurance. Winner of the second main prize will get an iPhone, while other participants will also be able to receive many valuable gifts.

In order to participate in the lottery, Bakcell customers will need to send a free SMS with text BOB to number 5555. After that, they will receive an SMS with Ulduzum code. Note that each code can be used only one time, and each participant can get up to 10 codes per day. The codes shall be valid during 24 hours. Thus, the subscriber will present the received Ulduzum code at any branch of Bank of Baku while using the following services to get various prizes and lottery chances:

When taking a cash loan in the amount up to 20 000 AZN: 100 on-net minutes, 300 Mb of internet, 5% discount on annual interest rate and 3 lottery entries;

When making purchases with Bolkart credit card in the amount more than 100 AZN: 100 on-net minutes, 200 Mb of internet and 1 lottery entry;

When using the urgent money transfer services via the banks payment terminals: 100 on-net minutes and 1 lottery entry;

When ordering a Bolkart debit card: 100 on-net minutes and 1 lottery entry.

Winners of the lotterys main prizes will be determined on 21.08.2018 by means of a random selection, automatically conducted via special computer software.

More detailed information about terms and conditions of the Trip abroad from Bakcell Ulduzum and Bank of Baku stimulating draw-based lottery can be obtained at www.ulduzum.az or by calling to 145 Information Center of Bank of Baku.

***

About Bakcell

Bakcell, the First Mobile Operator and Leading Mobile Internet Provider of Azerbaijan, offers a wide range of products and Services to users of modern mobile communications Services. The company provides its customers with the best-in-class 3G and 4G mobile internet.

With more than 6500 base stations, Bakcell network covers 99% of the population and 93% of the land area of the country (except for the occupied territories).

After proving itself to provide the best 3G mobile internet service in the country, Bakcell has announced the commercial launch of 4G LTE services on 5th of May 2015. 4G ensures a significant increase of mobile internet speed and is especially useful for those users who wish to stay mobile at all times, having an access to high-speed mobile internet at all locations. Currently, in addition to Baku and Absheron peninsula, residents of Ganja, Quba, Qusar, Khachmaz, Shabran and Siyazan regions are able to benefit from the high-speed 4G internet of Bakcell. In the year 2018, Bakcell continues to expand its LTE network to other regions of Azerbaijan. Bakcell became the first mobile operator in the country to launch 4G service in Baku subway. In the year 2017, Bakcell network has been recognized as the Best in Test in Azerbaijan by P3 Communications, being the international leader and most trusted independent authority in mobile benchmarking. According to tests, implemented in August 2017, Bakcell has the best score overall network experience in Azerbaijan and the best mobile internet network in test in Baku and other big cities.

For more information about Bakcell products and services, please visit www.bakcell.com or call 555. For press releases please see www.bakcell.com/az/news (or www.bakcell.com/en/news for press releases in English).

If you are not a Bakcell subscriber, but wish to find out about Bakcell and its products and services, please call 012 498 89 89Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 21

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmen officials and Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Slovak Republic to Turkmenistan Jan Bory discussed the prospects of partnership in Ashgabats headquarters of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs said in a message.

Chairperson of the Turkmen parliament Gulshat Mamedova has recently received ambassador Borys credentials.

According to the message, the sides discussed the prospects of partnership in trade, economy, agriculture and food industry.

During the conversation, the diplomat was updated about promising investment projects which are being developed.

Stressing the most favourable conditions for the intensification of bilateral relations at the level of business structures in Turkmenistan, the ambassador said that he intends to fully promote the expansion of contacts between the entrepreneurs of the two countries.

The measures are being taken in Turkmenistan to stimulate small and medium-sized businesses, which contribute to the development of the export potential of Turkmen entrepreneurs.

During the meeting, the issue of the recent commissioning of the Turkmenbashi International Seaport was discussed. In this regard, the prospect of the expansion of partnership in transport, energy and tourism sectors was also stressed.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed current state and prospects for development of bilateral cooperation during a telephone conversation, Kazakh media reported on May 21 citing the press service of the president of Kazakhstan.

Reportedly, the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also discussed the implementation of the agreements at the highest level during the conversation.

The heads of state exchanged views on topical issues of the regional and international agenda.

The conversation took place on the initiative of the Uzbek side.

Earlier today, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Uzbek leader Shavkat Mirziyoyev had a telephone conversation and discussed strengthening of the strategic partnership between two countries in the political, trade and economic, and other spheres.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanovTehran, Iran, May 21



By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:



Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Timur Suleymanov described Iran as the most economical route for his countrys exports.



"The geographical position of Iran and Kazakhstans lack of access to the high seas have turned Iran to the most economical route for Kazakhstans exports," Suleymanov said on May 19 during a meeting with Iran's Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari in Astana.



Iran has a long record in the fields of science and research, he added, stressing that the two nations could boost their cooperation in the sectors of science and education, Fars news agency reported.



The Iranian minister, for his part, stressed the need for enhanced ties between the two sides in the various fields, particularly banking and economic industries.



Shariatmadari has travelled to Astana to participate in the Astana Economic Forum, Eurasias leading conference on economic matters, underway in the Kazakh capital.



The eleventh Astana Economic Forum kicked off in the Kazakh capital on May 17, welcoming 5,000 participants from 111 countries and more than 500 speakers, including former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former French President Francois Hollande and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Organized in Astana since 2008, this years event focuses on global trends and challenges.



The event will come to an end on May 19.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

Irans electricity industry witnessed a 30 percent equipment exports in the last fiscal year, ended March 20, Arsalan Fathipour, a member of Iran Electricity Industry Syndicate, said.

Fathipur, who is managing director of Iran Transfo Corporation, said that over $120 million worth of transformers were exported to Iraq and Afghanistan in the 12-month period, IRIB news agency reported.

The country plans to export $150 million worth of various transformers to foreign countries during the current fiscal year, Fathipur said.

He added that Syria, Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan are among potential regional markets where the device will be sold in the near future.

A transformer acts as a link between generators and distribution grid, stepping up the low output voltage from the generator to higher distribution voltage level.

Fathipur further said that Iran manufactured 23,000 transformers(with a capacity of 23,000 meqawatts) in the last fiscal year, adding that the output is expected to reach 33,000 during the current fiscal year.

Irans annual transformer demand is equal to 24,000 megavolt-ampere of transformer capacity, he said, adding that the country had to annually spend $500 million on importing transformers in the past before reaching self-sufficiency in this sector.

Established in 1967 under the license of Germany's Siemens, Iran Transfo Corporation is the top manufacturer of oil-immersed distribution and power transformers. It comprises 13 companies that closely collaborate with more than 100 domestic and foreign subcontractors for manufacturing all kinds of substations, insulation materials, ceramic insulators and accessories such as radiators.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

Iran will stay in Syria as long as it is needed, the Islamic Republics Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said.

Ghasemi made the remarks while responding to a question about statements by Russian presidential envoy to Syria Alexander Lavrentiev on necessity for withdraw of foreign troops including Iranian forces and Hezbollah militia from Syria.

As long as it is needed, terrorism threat is not eliminated and the Syrian government's help request continues Iran will remain in Syria, Ghasemi told reporters in Tehran May 21.

Lavrentiev has confirmed that President Vladimir Puttins remarks on the need to withdraw foreign troops from Syria had implied Iranian forces and Hezbollah militia fighters as well as Turkish and American troops.

He stressed that Putins statement on this issue represents a political message, but added not to view it as the beginning of a withdrawal process of foreign troops from Syria.

Meanwhile Ghasemi said that Iran is an independent country, which makes decisions based on its regional and global interests.

While responding a question about possibility of forcing Iran by Russia to leave Syria, Ghasemi said that no one can force Iran.

Iran is in Syria over the invitation of the Syrian government to fight terrorism, Gasemi said, adding that the forces which should exit Syria are those who, have entered the country without permission of the Syrian government and have violated its territorial integrity.

Tehran has always expressed support for the Syrian government since it sees President Bashar Assad's regime as its main strategic ally in the region and as a part of the "axis of resistance" against Israel.

Iranian officials refer to their regional alliance with Lebanese group Hezbollah and Syrian government against Israel as resistance movement, or "axis of resistance" Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

Trend:

At least 640 people in Iran have died as a result of poisoning with aluminum phosphide, known as rice tablet, during the last Iranian calendar year (ended March 20), Kambiz Soltaninejad, academic member of Iranian Legal Medicine Organizations research center, said.

Soltaninejad said the figure indicates an increase by 7 percent compared to the preceding year, ILNA news agency reported.

Aluminum phosphide (ALP) is a cheap solid fumigant and a highly toxic pesticide. Some Iranian traders reportedly use the tablets for grain preservation.

At least 134 death cases by rice tablets were registered in Tehran province, followed by Mazandaran (88 people) and Gilan (69 people) provinces, Soltaninejad said.

The age range of people who use the tablets for suicide is mainly between 20 to 40 years, he added.

Some 36 of those killed were women, Iran's Legal Medicine Organization reported.

Starting from 2008 to 2012, about 2,000 people died in Iran due to poisoning from the rice tablet. The highest poisoning rate occurred among those of 20-40 years old. Most cases were registered as suicides.

Iran banned import of rice tablets in 2005. But, in September 2012, it was reported that the rice tablets were being imported illegally.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21

By Azer Ahmadbayli  Trend:

Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran further increases the degree of confrontation between the two countries in the region, and Iraq is not an exception.

After the parliamentary elections in Iraq have taken place this week, and the appearance of new figures in the political scene, the balance of power will change one way or another.

The election of the new government and the Prime Minister give rise to both fear and hope, depending on what policy the new authorities of the country will pursue. Tehran has a strategic aim to maintain its strong influence in Iraq, while Washington has a chance to break the so-called Shiite arc or Iranian land bridge  call it as you like.

Three parties have been so far leading in the polls to gain the majority of seats in the Parliament: Sadrist movement with about 55 seats, Victory alliance led by outgoing Prime-Minister al-Abadi with 51, and pro-Iranian Fatah alliance headed by Hadi al-Amiri with 50.

It is clear that none of the parties or movements cannot solely form the next government and will therefore need to create coalitions to gain the majority in Parliament and the future Cabinet. That is, the intrigue is still ahead.

When paying a visit to Iraq in mid-February, Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran Supreme Leaders adviser on international affairs, made statements on the then forthcoming parliament elections, which caused a negative reaction among the Iraqi political circles. We will not allow liberals and communists to govern in Iraq, Velayati then said.

He was referring to the alliance between the Sadrist movement and the Iraqi Communist Party  the same alliance, which is now leading the electoral race.

However, the same Velayati said a couple of days ago that the elections were very successful, and congratulated the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people.

By the way, why has such a seemingly incredible alliance between Shi'ite clergymen and Communists become possible, given the polar ideologies? As many analysts believe, the ground of the alliance is a purely pragmatic approach for the sake of the states survival: the eradication of corruption devouring the remnants of the Iraqi statehood, the creation of a technocratic government that will deal with the post-war reconstruction of the country, the rejection of sectarian strife and the preservation of the secular system in the country, as well as an independent state policy.

Moqtada al-Sadr as the leader of the faction of the majority will most likely have the final say in choosing the new Prime Minister.

Sadr is a Shiite cleric  a fact that is congenial to Iran, but at the same time he is a nationalist and an ardent supporter of Arab identity  another fact, which is welcomed by Saudi Arabia. He had armed clashes with the US, but that was long ago, in 2004, and much has changed in Iraq and the region since then.

We have a good relationship  bless you  with the Government of Iraq, and we believe that we will continue to do that, said Heather Nauert, the spokesperson for the US state department at a press briefing in Washington commenting on recently held elections.

Responding to a question whether the US feels comfortable that the leading two party lists include people who were opposed to the United States presence in Iraq up to 2011, she said: We are very well aware of Moqtada al-Sadr and his background and his positions now.

Many are guessing now what policy the new Iraqi power is going to pursue, oversimplifying it to a mere choice between pro-American and pro-Iranian courses.

But in fact some preliminary details have been just revealed, which helps to explain whats happening.

The Iranian Tasnim agency quotes Moktada al-Sadr, who announced after the preliminary results of the elections that he plans to create a coalition with Ammar Hakim and Ayad Allawi to form a technocratic government in the country.

He also said that the country should move towards reforms and the formation of a new generation in Iraq.

As a future Prime Minister, he sees Ali Dawai Lazem, who has been a two-term incumbent Governor of the province of Maysan. He is very popular among Iraqis because of his simplicity to communicate and practical activities in the implementation of infrastructure and public services projects in the province.

The post-war reconstruction of Iraq requires about $ 88 billion. Despite the fact that Iraq is the worlds third largest oil exporter and gets significant revenues from that, the country will hardly be able to accomplish the task on its own.

The main argument for winning hearts and minds of both the Iraqi authorities and the Iraqi street will be technical and financial assistance in the post-war economic recovery process and investment in the Iraqi economy. And here the chances of Saudi Arabia and its Western allies look stronger.Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili and the ministers of economy, foreign affairs and defence will visit the US from May 21-24, Agenda reports.

During his working visit PM Kvirikashvili will open the plenary meeting of the Georgia-US strategic partnership council with the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Also, Kvirikashvili will take part in the US-Georgia strategic partnership annual conference which is being organised by the Heritage Foundation and the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC.

On May 23 Kvirikashvili will attend the event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the first democratic Republic of Georgia, which will be held at the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC organised by the Georgian Embassy in the US.

Moreover, several bilateral meetings are planned with representatives of the executive government, as well as with the heads of various congressional committees.The next regular working meeting between the Georgian PMs special representative for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze and the Russian deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin will be held on May 24 in Prague, Agenda reports.

As Zurab Abashidze told Georgian media today, the major topic of discussions will be the implementation of the 2011 Georgia-Russia agreement on neutral monitoring of customs which envisages the setting up of a mechanism of customs administration and the monitoring of regional trade by third parties. Russia and Georgia have agreed that Swiss company SGS will carry out the monitoring activities.

According to the agreement, monitoring will cover threetrade corridors between Russia and Georgia. The Swiss company will monitor cargo traffic for both sides and report to the government of Georgia and Russia at the same time.

"Georgia signed the contract with the Swiss company at the end of last year, the Russian government did the same on May 18. We hope that Russia will honestly fulfill its obligations under the 2011 agreement, Abashidze said, adding that a Georgian-Russian-Swiss joint working group could be set up to monitor the projects practical implementation.More than 290 Syrians returned to their homes in the province of Homs and Damascus Eastern Ghouta neighborhood during the day, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria Yuri Yevtushenko said on Sunday, TASS reported.

"Restoration of damaged social infrastructure facilities and normalization of everyday life encourage people to return to the places of their former residence. Over the past day, as many as 179 people returned to their homes in the province of Homs, and 114 people returned to Eastern Ghouta. The Russian reconciliation center continues to monitor resettlement of refugees from the Tell Rifaat de-conflicting zone to the settlement of Manbij in the province of Aleppo. As many as 413 people with their personal belongings were evacuated throughout the day," he said.

"The Russian reconciliation center delivered humanitarian assistance to the settlements of Deir al-Bakt in the province of Daraa and Dahiyat al-Assad in the province of Rif Dimashq. Humanitarian cargoes included 950 food sets, articles of daily necessity and bottled water with an overall weight of eight tonnes. A total of 110 Syrians, including 74 children, received medical assistance from Russian military doctors," he added.Chinas powerful new vice president, Wang Qishan, will visit Russia and Belarus starting this week, Chinas foreign ministry said on Monday, his first overseas trip since being appointed in March, Reuters reports.

Wang, 69, a key ally of President Xi Jinping and Chinas one-time top graft buster, should have retired last year during a leadership reshuffle of the ruling Communist Party, but Xi has kept him on to add extra heft to Chinese diplomacy.

While he is expected to take a key role in managing tricky ties with Washington, having previously overseen annual economic talks with the United States, that will not be his first foreign visit since becoming vice president.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that Wang would attend the St Petersburg forum in Russia and also go to Belarus, on the May 24-29 trip.

While in Belarus, he will tour a project that is part of Xis signature Belt and Road initiative, Lu added, an ambitious scheme to build infrastructure to connect China to Asia and beyond.

China has close ties with both Russia and Belarus.

However Wang could go to the United States soon too.

A U.S. official said it may happen in the middle of the year, where he may sign a agreement on trade following a bitter spat between the two countries that both are trying to put behind them.Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schrambock will visit St. Petersburg on May 25 to take part in a session of the Mixed Russian - Austrian Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Monday, TASS reports.

"The 16th session of the Mixed Russian - Austrian Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation will be held in St. Petersburg on May 25," the ministry reported.

Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs Margarete Schrambock is expected to attend the plenary session.Paraguays President Horacio Cartes arrived in Israel Sunday evening ahead of the opening of his countrys embassy in Jerusalem this week, The Times of Israel reports reports.

Cartes was greeted at the airport by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, who praised him for moving the Paraguayan embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

I thanked the president for his decision that testifies to the depth of countries ties and his brave leadership. Another state leader that chooses truth and strengthens our sovereignty in our capital, Erdan tweeted.

Paraguay is set to open its new mission in Jerusalem on Monday, making it the third country to do so after the United States and Guatemala opened their embassies in the city last week.

Following the embassy inauguration, Cartes will attend a reception at the Foreign Ministry attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said.

Last month, Cartes said he wanted to relocate the countrys embassy to Jerusalem before the end of his presidential term in August.

The decision has been controversial in Paraguay. It comes less than two months before Mario Abdo Benitez replaces Cartes, and the president-elect has said he wasnt consulted.Some 50,000 Israelis visited national parks Sunday for the Shavuot holiday, as tens of thousands more flocked to beaches across the country, The Times of Israel reports.

With Israel in the grips of a heat wave, nature reserves and parks with water saw the highest number of visitors, among them the Banias Nature Reserve, Ein Gedi National Park, the Snir Stream Nature Reserve and the Gan Hashlosha National Park, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority said.

The Palmachim and Beit Yanai beaches, both run by the Parks Authority, were at full capacity and additional would-be visitors were called on to stay away from the beaches.

Elsewhere, some 30,000 people visited the Sea of Galilee, the Kinneret Authority said, with all 15 of the Galilees recognized beaches seeing large numbers of visitors.

The Shavuot holiday, known in English as the Feast of Weeks, was originally an agricultural festival to celebrate the wheat harvest and ripening of fruits. It later became associated with Gods giving of the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai.

During the festival, many celebrants throw water over each other to symbolize the trust Jews put in God to provide them with water now that the rains have stopped until the winter.Paraguay opened its Israel embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the second country to follow the United States in making the politically sensitive move from Tel Aviv, Reuters reports.

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the inauguration ceremony. The United States relocated its embassy to Jerusalem a week ago. It was followed by Guatemala on Wednesday.

This is a historic day that strengthens ties between Paraguay and Israel, Cartes said at the ceremony.

A great day for Israel. A great day for Paraguay. A great day for our friendship, Netanyahu responded. You have not only the support of our government but the profound gratitude of the people Israel.At least five people were killed and over a dozen taken ill due to consumption of spurious liquor in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, police said Sunday, Xinhua reported.

The liquor was consumed by people at Sichendi area in Kanpur district, about 108 km south of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh.

"Five people were killed and over a dozen were taken ill after consuming spurious liquor in Sichendi area here," a senior police official posted in Kanpur said. "Yesterday the victims after consuming the liquor started vomiting, following which they were rushed to nearby hospitals."

Authorities fear the death toll may go up owing to the critical condition of some people.

A probe has been initiated into the deaths and local excise inspector has been suspended, officials said.

Last year, 18 people were killed and over a dozen taken ill due to consumption of spurious liquor in state's Azamgarh district.

Spurious alcohol deaths are often reported in India, where people often drink cheap country made bootleg liquor.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to discuss cooperation with Moscow in resolving the North Korea nuclear issue, as well as economic and humanitarian cooperation on the South Kuril Islands, during his upcoming visit to Russia, as he himself said at a meeting involving leaders of Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party and cabinet members on Monday, TASS reports.

"I would like to advance the issue concerning joint economic cooperation on the Northern Territories [which is what Japan calls Russias South Kuril Islands] and humanitarian measures, including the arrangement of flights for former residents willing to visit their ancestors graves. I would also like to confirm cooperation in resolving the North Korea issue," Abe said as sited by the Kyodo news agency.

Japans Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, in turn, pointed out at a press conference in Tokyo that the arrangement of charter flights to the South Kuril Islands was being discussed with Russia.

Japans government announced earlier that Abe would make a visit to Russia on May 24-27. On May 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Japanese prime minister, French President Emmanuel Macron and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde are expected to participate in the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). After that, as Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said in late April, Abe will attend the opening ceremony of the Russia-Japan Year of Cultural Exchange, set to be held in Moscows Bolshoi Theater on May 26.The United States on Monday demanded Iran make sweeping changes  from dropping its nuclear program to pulling out of the Syrian civil war  or face severe economic sanctions as the Trump administration hardened its approach to Tehran.

Iran dismissed Washingtons ultimatum and one senior Iranian official said it showed the United States is seeking regime change in Iran.

Weeks after President Donald Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, his administration threatened to impose the strongest sanctions in history, and vowed to crush Iranian operatives abroad, setting Washington and Tehran further on a course of confrontation.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded sweeping changes that would force Iran effectively to reverse the recent spread of its military and political influence through the Middle East to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

The sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen for itself and the people of Iran, Pompeo said in his first major speech since becoming secretary of state.

These will be the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are done, he added.

Pompeo took aim at Irans policy of expansion in the Middle East through support for armed groups in countries such as Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

He warned that the United States would crush Iranian operatives and proxies abroad and told Tehran to pull out forces under its command from the Syrian civil war where they have helped President Bashar al-Assad gain the upper hand.

Irans president summarily dismissed Pompeos demands.

Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?, the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying.

The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent ... that era is over ... We will continue our path with the support of our nation.

Tension between the two countries has grown notably since Trump this month withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement aimed at preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

A senior Iranian official said Pompeos remarks showed that the United States was pushing for regime change, a charged phrase often associated with the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein.

Pompeo warned that if Iran fully resumed its nuclear program Washington would be ready to respond and said the administration would hold companies doing prohibited business in Iran to account.

Our demands on Iran are not unreasonable: give up your program, Pompeo said, Should they choose to go back, should they begin to enrich, we are fully prepared to respond to that as well, he said, declining to elaborate.

Pompeo said Washington would work with the Defense Department and allies, including Arab Gulf states and Israel, to counter Iran in the cyberspace and maritime areas.

The Pentagon said it would take all necessary steps to confront Iranian behavior in the region and was assessing whether that could include new actions or doubling down on current ones.Representatives of Argentina, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Chile, and the United States said in a joint statement on Monday they would not recognize the result of Venezuelas presidential election held on Sunday, Reuters.

Taking into account the lack of legitimacy of the electoral process we do not recognize the results of (Sundays) election ... which excluded the participation of some political actors, said Argentinas Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie.

Chile is not part of the Group of 20, but was invited to participate in the meeting of foreign ministers by Argentina, which holds the G20 rotating presidency this year.Amazon.com Inc aims to expand cloud computing operations in Latin America, a company executive said on Monday, after its Amazon Web Services unit opened an office in Buenos Aires on April 8, Reuters reported.

That added to Amazon offices in Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, Teresa Carlson, company vice president, worldwide public sector, said at a conference.

Amazon Web Services handles data and computing for large enterprises in the cloud. The team in Argentina works to promote the use and innovation of cloud-based technologies, its website says.

We have to be partners of Latin America. Theres lots of opportunities, amazing talent, Carlson said.

We also have a cloud region in Brazil and will be expanding to more countries for sure in Latin America.

Argentinas President Mauricio Macri met with Amazons Elaine Feeney, vice president for infrastructure global expansion for Amazon Web Services, late last year and discussed installing a data center in Argentina, according to the Argentine government.

The Argentina office appears to have opened with little fanfare. In February, AWS executives who work on energy supply for data centers met with Argentinas Energy Minister Juan Jose Aranguren in a sign Argentinas move to develop renewable energy may be attractive to Amazon.

An energy ministry spokesman said they discussed energy supply, the evolution of energy prices and the impact of renewables on the national grid.Nearly 40 people suffered injuries in a storm that hit Russias Siberian city of Tyumen, six of them have been hospitalized, spokesperson for the regional healthcare department Alexandra Malygina told TASS on Monday.

"A total of 39 people sought medical treatment of various injuries received in a storm," she said, adding that "six patients, including a 12-year-old girl who suffered a brain contusion, were taken to the hospital."

According to the spokesperson, one of the hospitalized women is in critical condition.

On May 20, Russias Emergencies Ministry issued a storm warning for the Tyumen region. Wind gusts of up to 26 meters per second, rain and hail hit the region overnight into Monday.An international conference titled Fort Ross Dialogue opened in Veliky Novgorod on Monday. The conference will be discussing the outlook for Russian-US cultural and business cooperation, TASS reports.

Russias special presidential envoy for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi described Fort Ross as a symbol of "unity of Russians and Americans, which has retained its great relevance."

He said Russian-US relations today were living through a no easy period of "distrust, reproaches and senseless sanctions" and at such moments culture plays a tremendous role.

"In this sense the Russian side and the American side display loyalty," Shvydkoi said.

The conference Fort Ross Dialogue will consist of three sessions: cooperation by Russian and US archives, cybersecurity and global energy problems. On the first day, the forum will discuss the outlook for wider cooperation between Russian and US museums and archives and the role of scientific and cultural institutions in strengthening mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. The delegates will exchange experience in using modern technologies in the museum and archive business.

The second day will be devoted to cooperation by Russia and the United States in cybersecurity and global energy. The delegates will be discussing risks for the energy sphere and likely mechanisms for struggle against threats in this field. Speakers will present Russian and American views on long-term development trends in the information and telecommunication space.English Dutch

Lochem, 21 May 2018

ForFarmers: update on share buy-back programme

ForFarmers N.V. (hereinafter 'ForFarmers') has repurchased 9,509 shares in the period from 14 May 2018 through 18 May 2018.

The shares were repurchased for an average price of 11.74 per share, for a total amount of 111,643. These repurchases were made in accordance with the authorisation granted by the ForFarmers N.V. Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 26 April 2018 as part of the share buy-back programme announced on 2 May 2018.

The total number of shares that has been repurchased to date according to this programme is 129,509 shares, for a total amount of 1,521,542.

More information about the purchase programme is available on the ForFarmers website (www.forfarmersgroup.eu/en).

This press release contains information that qualifies as inside information in the sense of Article 7 paragraph 1 of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.

 Download weekly report regarding progress of share buy-back programme (including the individual transactions).



Note to the editor / For additional information:

Caroline Vogelzang, Director Investor Relations & Communications

T: 0031 573 288 194 M: 0031 6 10 94 91 61

E: caroline.vogelzang@forfarmers.eu



Company profile

ForFarmers N.V. ('ForFarmers', Lochem, the Netherlands) is an internationally operating feed company that offers total feed solutions for conventional and organic livestock farming. ForFarmers gives its very best "For the Future of Farming": for the continuity of farming and for a financially secure sector that will continue to serve society for generations to come in a sustainable way. By working side-by-side with farmers ForFarmers delivers real benefits: better returns, healthier livestock and greater efficiency. This is achieved by offering tailored and Total Feed solutions and a targeted approach with specialist and expert support.

With sales of approximately 9.6 million tonnes of feed annually, ForFarmers is market leader in Europe. ForFarmers has approximately 2,300 employees and production facilities in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom. In 2017, revenues amounted to over 2.2 billion.

ForFarmers N.V., Postbus 91, 7240 AB Lochem, T: +31 (0)573 28 88 00, F: +31 (0)573 28 88 99

info@forfarmers.eu, www.forfarmersgroup.eu/en/



FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including those relating to ForFarmers legal obligations in terms of capital and liquidity positions in certain specified scenarios. In addition, forward-looking statements, without limitation, may include such phrases as "intends to", "expects", "takes into account", "is aimed at", ''plans to", "estimated" and words with a similar meaning. These statements pertain to or may affect matters in the future, such as ForFarmers future financial results, business plans and current strategies. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which may mean that there could be material differences between actual results and performance and expected future results or performances that are implicitly or explicitly included in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may result in variations on the current expectations or may contribute to the same include but are not limited to: developments in legislation, technology, jurisprudence and regulations, share price fluctuations, legal procedures, investigations by regulatory bodies, the competitive landscape and general economic conditions. These and other factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect any forward-looking statements or the actual results of ForFarmers, are discussed in the last published annual report. The forward-looking statements in this press release are only statements as of the date of this document and ForFarmers accepts no obligation or responsibility with respect to any changes made to the forward-looking statements contained in this document, regardless of whether these pertain to new information, future events or otherwise, unless ForFarmers is legally obliged to do so.Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries defense ministries, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday at a meeting with visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TASS reports.

"Our Defense Ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said, also hailing joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS (an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).Russian President Vladimir Putin will discuss Russian-Indian military-technical cooperation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sochi, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, TASS reports.

"It can be supposed that the military-technical cooperation issue will be discussed [at the meeting between Putin and Modi,]" he noted.

The Kremlin spokesman added that the meeting itself still continues. In particular, the leaders will talk face to face. They earlier held closed negotiations.Russias Almaz-Antey defense manufacturer will showcase advanced S-300 and S-400 air defense missile systems at the KADEX-2018 arms exhibition in Astana on May 23-26, the companys press office reported on Monday, TASS reports.

"The companys united exposition in Pavilion No. 5 will feature models, videos and media presentations on long-range S-400 Triumf, S-300VM Antey and S-300PMU2 Favorit air defense missile systems, Buk and Tor medium- and short-range surface-to-air missile complexes," the press office said.

The companys stand will also present information on various radar stations.

Almaz-Antey Deputy CEO for Foreign Economic Activity Vyacheslav Dzirkaln said that at the KADEX-2018 arms show the company would focus on products and services essential for the Central Asian region.

The companys delegation will hold negotiations with representatives of state structures, official delegations of the countries viewed by Almaz-Antey as its potential customers. The negotiations will also touch upon the issue of spare parts and the provision of services for the maintenance, repair, modernization and disposal of air defense systems and foreign specialists training in carrying out these works.

"At the KADEX-2018, we expect foreign customers serious interest in air defense missile systems, ground-based complexes and our products of civil and dual use, which have high export potential due to their exclusive characteristics," the press office quoted Dzirkaln as saying.

Russias Almaz-Antey has the independent right to deliver final military products and provide for their after-sale maintenance, deliver spare parts and accessories, components, extend the service life, repair, modernize and dispose of its products supplied earlier.Baku, Azerbaijan, May 22

Trend:

Turkish Air Force has killed 8 terrorists in the province of Tunceli, Turkish media reported.

The executive power of Tunceli province says an anti-terrorist special operation was started by the local police department.

It is reported that the special operation, during which eight terrorists were killed with the help of F-16 fighters of the Turkish Air Force, is still ongoing.U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan underscored the importance of concluding a new NAFTA trade deal in talks on Sunday with Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers meeting in Buenos Aires, Reuters reported.

Sullivan and Videgaray discussed continued cooperation on managing a shared border and the importance of working together to disrupt transnational criminal organizations, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement.

The Deputy also emphasized the importance of concluding a NAFTA deal, said Nauert.

Canada, the United States and Mexico are renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Talks to reach a deal on reworking the 24-year-old accord have intensified in recent weeks, pressed by U.S. congressional deadlines and a common will to reach an agreement before Mexicos July 1 presidential election.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that President Donald Trump is focused on getting a good NAFTA deal, whether it is passed by the current or future U.S. Congress. He said Trump is not focused on specific deadlines.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Monday the United States would impose the strongest sanctions in history against the Iranian leadership, after c pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal, Reuters reports.

Pompeo laid out 12 demands for Iran and said relief from sanctions would only come when Washington had seen tangible shifts in Irans policies.Seattle-based Alaska Airlines celebrated a historic first Sunday: its first flight operated by an all-black, all women crew, Sputnik reported.

Captain Tara Wright and First Officer Mallory Cave greeted the passengers of flight #361 last Sunday by wishing them a happy Mother's Day, the Daily Mail reports.

"You're sharing a pretty interesting piece of Alaska Airlines history this morning," Wright told passengers. "You'll be piloted by two African-American female pilots, for the first time in Alaska Airlines history."

The plane was heading from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon.

"You're making [history] this morning, whether you're awake or not," Wright said.

The airline shared the video of Wright's address to passengers on the company's Facebook page."What Bessie Coleman started in 1921, we continue here," the airline wrote to caption the video, referring to Bessie Coleman, the first black woman to ever earn a pilot's license.

Though a first for the airline, Alaska Airlines #361 was not the first-ever flight crew made up entirely of black women, the Daily Mail notes.

In February 2009, Atlantic Southeast Airlines (now known as ExpressJet) flight 5202, flying from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Nashville International Airport earned this historic notation. The flight was piloted by Captain Rachelle Jones and First Officer Stephanie Grant. The return flight 5106 had the same crew.October 18 is the deadline set for Adani's take over the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport from the Airports Authority of India.Finnish English

Digitalist Group Plc Stock Exchange Release 21 May 2018 at 10:00 a.m









Digitalist Group grows and becomes more international by acquiring Grow Holding AB and Grow Nine AB through share exchange





Digitalist Group Plc (Digitalist Group) has signed an agreement whereby the Swedish Grow Holding AB (Grow) becomes part of Digitalist Group, provided that certain conditions for the closing of the arrangement (Arrangement) are met. In connection with the Arrangement, Digitalist Group will also acquire from other shareholders (the Owners) such shares of Grow Nine AB which are not owned by Grow group. If the Arrangement takes place, Digitalist Group expands its operations in Sweden to strengthen its opportunity to create and provide comprehensive innovation, design and technology solutions. Grow is a Swedish company which has supported the growth of its client companies since 2004 by providing strategy, design and communication services both in Sweden and internationally. As a result of the sale, almost 50 experts will transfer to Digitalist Group. Together, Digitalist Group and Grow will form a creative and international design and technology company.

The unaudited turnover of the Grow Holding AB group (Grow Nine AB combined with the group) on 31 December 2017 was SEK 71.9 million, EBITDA was SEK -2.3 million and result was SEK -2.3 million.

Together we will be a more strategic, more creative and more significant provider of user-driven software solutions for our current and future clients, states Ville Tolvanen, CEO of Digitalist Group.

Grow wants to become more comprehensive and more international. Together with Digitalist Group, creative technology will be a part of our holistic solutions, says Andreas Rosenlew, founder of Grow Holding AB.

Information about the Arrangement

If the Arrangement is carried out, all the shares of Grow Holding AB and shares owned by the Owners in Grow Nine AB will be transferred to the ownership of Digitalist Group. As a result of the Arrangement, Grow Holding ABs subsidiaries Grow AB, Grow Finland Oy, Grow Norway AS and Grow Nine AB would become part of Digitalist Group. As consideration, Digitalist Group would issue approximately a total of 75,327,046 new Digitalist Group shares (Consideration Shares) in a directed share issues (Share Issues) in a share exchange for subscription by the current owners of Grow Holding AB and the Owners of Grow Nine AB. In relation to the purchase prices adjustment mechanism, a maximum of 90,392,456 shares would be issued in Share Issues.The purchase price of all of Grow Holding ABs shares is an estimated SEK 62.1 million and the purchase price of the Grow Nine AB shares is an estimated SEK 10.4 million, which purchase prices will be adjusted under the terms set out in the purchase agreement.

There are altogether six Swedish companies acting as a sellers in the Arrangement (jointly Sellers). After the Arrangement, the key persons of Grow Holding AB and Grow Nine AB would continue to work for the companies.

The Share Issues would take place by the decisions of the Board of Directors of Digitalist Group in deviation from the shareholders pre-emptive subscription right on the basis of the authorisation given by the Annual General Meeting of Digitalist Group on 17 April 2018 in connection with the closing of the corporate transaction. The Consideration Shares issued in the Share Issues would be issued in order to develop the groups business and finance the corporate transaction, so there is a weighty financial reason for the Share Issues and the deviation from the pre-emptive right of the shareholders within the meaning of the Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. The Share Issues would beare conditional upon the closing of the corporate transaction and the approval of the share subscriptions. The subscription price of the Consideration Shares would be EUR 0.09 per Consideration Share and the final amount of shares issued for subscription in the Share Issues will be determined on the basis of the terms set out in the purchase agreement.

The main part of Consideration Shares would be subscribed and the transfer of all of Grow Holding ABs shares and Grow Nine AB shares not owned by Grow group into the ownership of Digitalist Group would take place in connection with the closing of the transaction.

The Consideration Shares would entitle to full dividends possibly distributed by Digitalist Group and to other distribution of assets as well as carry other shareholder rights in the company starting from when the Consideration Shares have been entered in the Trade Register and the shareholders register of the company. Consideration Shares would be subject to a lock-up period of twelve (12) months  three (3) years starting from their issuance as separately agreed.

The consummation of the Arrangement is subject to, inter alia, the following special conditions:

EUR 8.0 million's worth of capital of and all interest accrued by the closing day of the Arrangement (approx. EUR 0.7 million) from the loans (Loans) granted to Digitalist Group by Tremoko Oy Ab (Tremoko), totalling EUR 9.6 million, are converted into a convertible loan (CL) on the closing day of the Arrangement. The essential terms of the CL would be the following:

interest 6.0% p.a. interest starts to accrue as of 1 January 2019, interest paid biannually 30 June and 31 December, maturity date (if conversion right not exercised) 30 June 2021, in addition to the maturity date, the debtor also has the right to repay the loan and its interests to the creditor at any time between 1 July 2018 and 30 June 2021, the subscription price would correspond to the trade volume weighted average price of a Digitalist share for a period of 6 months preceding the notice concerning the conversion deducted by 10%, yet so that the CL in its entirety may be converted into a maximum of 150,000,000 new shares, and the conversion period is at any time between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2021 (unless otherwise agreed between the creditor and the debtor for a pressing financial or other weighty reason), yet so that the debtor has the right to notify that it intends to repay the loan, in which case no conversion right exists for 3 months starting from such a notification, regardless of whether or not the creditor has submitted a notice of the conversion. The debtor may submit the request to convert referred to herein only once.

Tremoko subscribes for 22,222,222 new Digitalist Group shares directed to it by Digitalist Group on the closing day of the Arrangement for a subscription price of EUR 0.09 or for a higher price which corresponds to the trade volume weighted average price of a Digitalist share for a period of 3 months preceding the closing day of the Arrangement and pays the subscription price by setting of the remaining principal of the Loan against the payment of the subscription price EUR 1.6 million and EUR 0.4 million in cash. Tremoko will against a commission give a guarantee or collateral or a combination thereof at market price for a bank loan of EUR 2.0 million taken out by Digitalist Group to support working capital or, alternatively, provide a loan of corresponding amount on market terms itself. In connection with the closing of the Arrangement, Tremoko would give conditional undertaking, limited to fourteen trading days after the listing of the Consideration Shares, to buy subject to the fulfilment of certain requirements a maximum total amount of 1,667,000 Consideration Shares from one designated Seller as separately agreed in connection with the closing.



Digitalist Group estimates that the consummation of the Arrangement would not have effect on Digitalist Groups previous guidance regarding the year 2018 according to which turnover is expected to grow further and the operating profit is expected to improve in 2018 compared to the previous year.





DIGITALIST GROUP PLC

Board of Directors





For more information, please contact:

Digitalist Group Plc

CEO Ville Tolvanen, tel. +358 50 3100 642, ville.tolvanen@digitalistgroup.com

Grow Holding AB / Grow Nine AB

Founder, Andreas Rosenlew puh. +46 708 238 521, andreas.rosenlew@grow.eu

AttachmentSARASOTA, Fla., May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Roper Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:ROP), a diversified technology company, today announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire PowerPlan in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.1 billion. PowerPlan is a leading provider of software and solutions for asset-centric companies, enabling its customers to optimize their financial performance and achieve regulatory compliance.



PowerPlans award-winning software platform integrates highly detailed financial and operational data to help enhance operational efficiency, minimize tax obligations, improve cash flow, and mitigate compliance risk. This comprehensive software solution delivers insight into the impact of complex rules and regulations on areas such as lease accounting, income and property tax provisions, and capital planning, enabling customers to make decisions that improve financial performance.

We are excited to add another industry-leading, niche application software business to our family, said Brian Jellison, Ropers Chairman, President, and CEO. The PowerPlan transaction demonstrates our disciplined capital deployment strategy, which results in the acquisition of high performing, niche businesses that grow and compound our cash flow.

Neil Hunn, Ropers Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, noted, PowerPlan provides the technology backbone enabling its customers to get the enhanced financial, tax, and operational information they need to improve financial performance. We look forward to working with PowerPlans leadership team to continue to grow their innovative product suite, loyal customer base, and strong cash profile.

PowerPlan will continue to manage the business from its Atlanta, Georgia headquarters. PowerPlans name and brands are not expected to change as a result of the transaction.

PowerPlan is currently an investment of private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

Acquisition Financing and Financial Outlook

During the first 12 months of ownership, Roper expects PowerPlan to deliver approximately $150 million of revenue and $60 million of after-tax free cash flow, excluding the impact of fair value accounting for PowerPlans deferred revenue and financing costs. Roper anticipates funding the transaction using its revolving credit facility and cash on hand, and expects the acquisition to be immediately cash accretive. PowerPlan has a strong history of growth in revenue, EBITDA, and cash flow, which Roper expects to continue.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.



About Roper Technologies

Roper Technologies is a constituent of the S&P 500, Fortune 1000, and the Russell 1000 indices. Roper operates businesses that design and develop software (both license and software-as-a-service) and engineered products and solutions for a variety of niche end markets. Additional information about Roper is available on the Companys website at www.ropertech.com

About PowerPlan

PowerPlan software provides financial insight into how complex rules and regulations impact your organization  empowering you to make credible decisions that improve overall corporate performance. The integrated solution provides complete visibility starting with forecasting and monitoring to scenario planning and analytics while maintaining financial compliance. For more information, email info@powerplan.com or visit www.powerplan.com.

The information provided in this press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements may include, among others, statements regarding operating results, the success of our internal operating plans, and the prospects for newly acquired businesses to be integrated and contribute to future growth, profit and cash flow expectations. Forward-looking statements may be indicated by words or phrases such as "anticipate," "estimate," "plans," "expects," "projects," "should," "will," "believes," "intends" and similar words and phrases. These statements reflect management's current beliefs and are not guarantees of future performance. They involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Such risks and uncertainties include our ability to identify and complete acquisitions consistent with our business strategies, integrate acquisitions that have been completed, realize expected benefits and synergies from, and manage other risks associated with, the newly acquired businesses. We also face other general risks, including our ability to realize cost savings from our operating initiatives, general economic conditions and the conditions of the specific markets in which we operate, changes in foreign exchange rates, difficulties associated with exports, risks associated with our international operations, increased product liability and insurance costs, increased warranty exposure, future competition, changes in the supply of, or price for, parts and components, environmental compliance costs and liabilities, risks and cost associated with asbestos related litigation, potential write-offs of our substantial intangible assets, and risks associated with obtaining governmental approvals and maintaining regulatory compliance for new and existing products. Important risks may be discussed in current and subsequent filings with the SEC. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update publicly any of them in light of new information or future events.

Contact Information:

Investor Relations

941-556-2601

investor-relations@ropertech.comHigher levels of belly fat are associated with lower vitamin D levels in obese individuals, according to data presented in Barcelona at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2018

Higher levels of belly fat are associated with lower vitamin D levels in obese individuals, according to data presented in Barcelona at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2018. The study reports that vitamin D levels are lower in individuals with higher levels of belly fat, and suggests that individuals, particularly the overweight with larger waistlines should have their vitamin D levels checked, to avoid any potentially health damaging effects.

Obesity is a global epidemic and contributes to an estimated 2.8 million deaths per year worldwide. Vitamin D deficiency is typically associated with impaired bone health but in recent years has also been linked with higher risks of acute respiratory tract infections, auto-immune diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Low vitamin D levels could therefore have wide-ranging and undetected adverse effects, although more research is required to confirm the role of vitamin D in these conditions. A link between low vitamin D levels and obesity has previously been reported but whether this effect is more associated with the type and location of fat was undetermined.

In this study Rachida Rafiq and colleagues from the VU University Medical Center and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands examined how the amount of total body fat and abdominal fat measured in participants of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study related to their vitamin D levels. After adjusting for a number of possible influencing factors, including chronic disease, alcohol intake and levels of physical activity, they found that the amounts of both total and abdominal fat were associated with lower vitamin D levels in women, although abdominal fat had a greater impact. However, in men abdominal fat and liver fat, was associated with lower vitamin D levels. In all cases the greater the amount of belly fat, the lower the levels of detected vitamin D.

Rachida Rafiq comments, "Although we did not measure vitamin D deficiency in our study, the strong relationship between increasing amounts of abdominal fat and lower levels of vitamin D suggests that individuals with larger waistlines are at a greater risk of developing deficiency, and should consider having their vitamin D levels checked."

The researchers now plan to investigate what may underlie this strong association between vitamin D levels and obesity - whether a lack of vitamin D is predisposing individuals to store fat, or whether increased fat levels are decreasing vitamin D levels is not yet clear. However, this research points to a more important role for abdominal fat in the relationship, and a place to focus future studies on.

As Rachida Rafiq says, "Due to the observational nature of this study, we cannot draw a conclusion on the direction or cause of the association between obesity and vitamin D levels. However, this strong association may point to a possible role for vitamin D in abdominal fat storage and function."

###

Abstract

OC6.5

Associations of different body fat deposits with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations

Rachida Rafiq , Floor Walschot, Paul Lips, Hildo Lamb, Albert de Roos, Frits Rosendaal, Martin den Heijer1,2, Renate de Jongh, Renee de Mutsert

VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.

Introduction

Overall and abdominal obesity are both well-established risk factors of vitamin D deficiency. However, it is unclear which fat depot is most strongly related to serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations.

Objective

This study aims to distinguish specific contributions of total body fat, abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (aSAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and hepatic fat on 25(OH)D concentrations.

Methods

This study is a cross-sectional analysis of the baseline measurements of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study, a population-based cohort study in men and women aged between 45 and 65 years. We used linear regression analyses to examine associations of total body fat, aSAT, VAT (n=2441) and hepatic fat (n=1980) with serum 25(OH)D concentrations. In the analyses we adjusted for age, ethnicity, education, chronic diseases, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity. Standardized values were used to compare the different adiposity measures.

Results

Mean (SD) age and serum 25(OH)D concentrations of the study population was 56 (6) years and 70.8 (24.2) nmol/L, respectively. Total body fat was inversely associated with 25(OH)D concentrations in women, but not in men. One percent higher total body fat was associated with 0.40 nmol/L (95%CI: -0.67 to -0.13) lower 25(OH)D. VAT was inversely associated with serum 25(OH)D concentrations in both men and women. One cm2 higher VAT was associated with 0.05 nmol/L (-0.09 to -0.02) lower 25(OH)D in men, and 0.06 nmol/L (-0.10 to -0.01) lower 25(OH)D in women. Hepatic fat was only associated with 25(OH)D in men. A tenfold increase in hepatic fat was associated with 6.21 nmol/L (-10.70 to -1.73) lower 25(OH)D. aSAT was not associated with 25(OH)D concentrations in both men and women. Regressions with standardized values showed VAT was most strongly related to serum 25(OH)D concentrations.

Conclusions

The relationship between different adiposity measures and 25(OH)D concentrations was different for men and women. In women, total body fat and VAT were inversely related to 25(OH)D concentrations. In men, VAT and hepatic fat were related to 25(OH)D concentrations. In both men and women, VAT was most strongly associated with 25(OH)D concentrations. This implies that specific attention for vitamin D deficiency should be given to individuals with a high amount of VAT.You like cheap? We all like cheap! But we also like quality, whether we're talking about used cars or dividend stocks.

And despite the stock market's long bull run, there are still some dividend stocks out there that are both cheap and high-quality. So let's go bargain shopping and see if we can find some! Three in the bargain bin that look promising are Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI), ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), and Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA). Here's why they might be right for your portfolio.

A sign reading "SALE" in a shop window

Bargain hunters will love these three cheap oil and gas industry stocks. Image source: Getty Images.

Piping hot performance

You'd think the stock market would reward the world's largest oil and gas pipeline owner, Kinder Morgan, especially after the company announced a stellar Q1 2018 and boosted its dividend by an impressive 60% -- no, that's not a typo: sixty percent!

But after a small bump the day the earnings were announced, Kinder Morgan's shares have been trending lower...again. Wall Street has been bearish on the company since management announced a -- probably necessary -- quarterly dividend cut from $0.51/share to $0.125/share in 2015. The price is still languishing at near-historic lows, recently hitting its lowest per-share price in more than two years.

And yet, during that time, Kinder Morgan has been executing well. In 2017, it delivered on its strategic plans. In the first quarter of 2018, it brought in more than $1.2 billion in cash flow thanks to natural gas transportation volumes that were up 10% year over year and natural gas pipeline earnings that rose by 6% year over year. That cash was $804 million more than management needed to pay out its newly increased dividend. So it funded some expansion projects and bought back $250 million in stock with the leftovers.

That's not to say that Kinder Morgan is without risks. The company has a high debt ratio of 6.2 times EBITDA, which is well within its historical range but higher than the generally accepted upper limit of 5 times EBITDA. While Kinder Morgan has made some progress in debt repayment, it's surprising that a company so flush with cash hasn't devoted more energy to paying down some of that debt.

Story continues

Still, Kinder Morgan is trading at a discount to its peers on an enterprise value to EBITDA basis, which makes it both embarrasingly cheap and a top prospect for investors who want to cash in on the North American gas production boom.

Big kid on the block

Kinder Morgan may be the world's largest oil and gas pipeline owner, but its size pales in comparison to the world's largest oil company by market cap: ExxonMobil. As an integrated oil major, ExxonMobil not only produces oil and gas, but also refines and markets it. However, there's one big way ExxonMobil currently differs from its oil major peers: its shares are undeniably cheap by comparison.

While most oil major stocks' prices have risen over the past year -- and some, like Royal Dutch Shell's, have risen a lot -- ExxonMobil's has fallen. That's pushed its valuation way down compared to the other oil majors. ExxonMobil's P/E ratio is currently 16.6, lower than Shell's 19.1 and less than half of BP's 34.3. Its price to tangible book value is the lowest it's been since 2015, while its current dividend yield of 4% is the highest it's been in more than a decade.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that ExxonMobil is undervalued: it's possible that it's simply not as valuable a company as it was five or ten years ago. It's true that production has been declining for Exxon lately, and that some of its oil major peers have caught up to its historically superior returns.

But ExxonMobil isn't going anywhere -- and its dividend certainly isn't either. The company has outlined plans to boost its returns, and is investing heavily in promising new offshore oilfields in Guyana and natural gas resources in Papua New Guinea. It will probably take time for these investments to pay off for Exxon, but in the meantime, you can enjoy the healthy dividend at a bargain price.

A rare bargain in the oil patch

The benchmark prices for both domestic and international crude oil closed above $70/barrel for the first time since 2014 this month. That was good for oil majors like ExxonMobil, but it's been even better for independent oil drillers, which are having a very, very good 2018. Shares of many independent oil and gas exploration and production companies have risen 20% or more since the start of the year. That's good for existing energy investors, but for would-be investors, it's made value tough to find in the oil patch.

The market's been giving one driller the cold shoulder, though. Apache Corporation, which despite the improving oil price climate and a huge new Permian Basin play, has actually seen its shares decline by 1.8% so far this year. That looks like a great opportunity to snap up some shares at a bargain price, and nab Apache's best-in-class 2.4% dividend yield into the bargain. That is, if there isn't some other reason the market is sour on the stock.

It's true that Apache has missed some of the production targets it set for itself in 2017. This was partly due to Hurricane Harvey -- which caused several problems for Houston-based Apache -- and also thanks to the company's sale of its low-margin Canadian holdings. It also reflected delays in bringing Alpine High -- its big Permian Basin find -- online.

Alpine High sits on acreage in West Texas that Apache was able to pick up on the cheap, thanks to misconceptions about the amount of hydrocarbon potential in the region. But that meant Apache needed to build out Alpine High's infrastructure from scratch, and some unforeseen delays have made investors nervous that the company is missing out on today's high oil prices.

Still, Apache's first quarter of 2018 saw more oil and gas finally coming from Alpine High, with Permian Basin production up 19% from the company's Q2 2017 low point. Indeed, Apache raised its 2018 production guidance on the strength of its Permian operations. If Apache can keep up this momentum, the market should start to take notice. In the meantime, Apache investors can content themselves with a decent yield at a bargain price.

Cheap for a reason

Most embarrassingly cheap stocks are cheap for a reason. That reason may be that the company has a high debt load, like Kinder Morgan, or has lost some of its advantages over its peers, like ExxonMobil, or has run into delays executing its plans, like Apache Corporation. And sometimes, there are good reasons for the market to be skeptical of those stocks.

But no matter what the reason is behind the pricing, Kinder Morgan, ExxonMobil, and Apache are looking seriously undervalued at the moment and should be very attractive as part of a balanced dividend portfolio at these prices.

More From The Motley Fool

John Bromels owns shares of Apache and Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.The SpaceX Dragon 2 is designed to carry seven astronauts to the International Space Station.

US astronauts havent had their own ride into orbit since the space shuttle was retired in 2011. Two private companies are racing to replace it and become the first to fly astronauts for NASA.

Boeing and SpaceX are being paid billions of dollars to build and operate crewed space capsules that will take humans to the International Space Station. NASA and the two companies recently shared new pictures of the astronauts and their custom spacesuits training for their flights with simulated missions in mock-up capsules.

Heres the inside of Boeings CST-100 Starliner:

"NASA astronauts Bob Behnken, Eric Boe and Doug Hurley conduct a fully-suited exercise in Boeings CST-100 Starliner mockup trainer."

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken, Eric Boe and Doug Hurley conduct a fully-suited exercise in Boeings CST-100 Starliner mockup trainer.

Heres SpaceXs Dragon crew capsule:

"NASA astronaut Suni Williams, fully suited in SpaceXs spacesuit, interfaces with the display inside a mock-up of the Crew Dragon spacecraft."

NASA astronaut Suni Williams, fully suited in SpaceXs spacesuit, interfaces with the display inside a mock-up of the Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Both are about six times smaller than the Space Shuttle main cabin: The Dragon has an interior volume of about 10 cubic meters and the Starliner about eleven cubic meters.

S97-00254 (17 Dec 1996) --- The STS-81 flight crew goes over pre-flight checklists on the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Atlantis during the final phase of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) exercises for the January 1997 mission

Inside the comparatively roomy flight deck of the space shuttle. (Its vertical on the launch pad, so that person is standing, not floating.)

The new class of astronauts can at least take comfort in the fact that their capsules are about sixty percent larger than the Apollo command module that took astronauts on multi-day journeys to the moonand NASA is requiring that private engineers attempt to make the capsules more than twice as safe as the space shuttle was when it stopped flying.

While superficially similar, the two vehicles have their own identities; SpaceXs controls are almost entirely based on touchscreens, while Boeing maintains more physical switches, for example. Both are now approaching maturity, with uncrewed test flights expected in 2018.

Story continues

SpaceX founder Elon Musk shared this picture yesterday of the Dragon and its trunk, a container for additional unpressurized cargo and support systems, undergoing electromagnetic interference tests before a journey to a massive NASA vacuum test chamber in Ohio.

Instagram Photo

And heres an exterior view of a Boeing Starliner under construction:

A Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft under construction at Kennedy Space Center.

A Boeing CST-100 Starliner spacecraft under construction at Kennedy Space Center.

After both companies demonstrate their vehicles in missions without crew in August 2018, Boeing is expected to be the first to carry astronauts into space on a test mission scheduled for November 2018, with SpaceX to follow with a crewed demonstration flight in December 2018. However, industry and NASA sources expect both crewed test flights are to slip into 2019.

Read this next: How the Columbia tragedy began the age of private space travel

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More stories from Quartz:* Congo facing its ninth Ebola outbreak

* Cases confirmed in river port city Mbandaka

* 4,000 doses of vaccine sent there on Saturday (Adds details, quotes, changes dateline to MBANDAKA)

By Benoit Nyemba

MBANDAKA, Democratic Republic of Congo, May 20 (Reuters) - H ealth workers in Democratic Republic of Congo will begin a vaccination campaign on Monday aimed at containing an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, a spokeswoman for the health ministry said.

Jessica Ilunga said 4,000 doses of vaccine were shipped on Saturday to Mbandaka, which last week registered the first cases in an urban area since the latest flare-up of the disease was announced earlier this month.

Cases in Mbandaka, a port city on the Congo river, have raised concerns that the virus could spread downstream to the capital Kinshasa, which has a population of 10 million.

The outbreak is Congo's ninth since the disease made its first known appearance near the vast central African country's northern Ebola river in the 1970s. An Ebola epidemic killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa in 2013 to 2016.

"I don't know how to protect myself against Ebola. God alone can protect me from this illness," said Lusya Mbangu, who was selling fish at Mbandaka's bustling floating market on Sunday.

According to Congolese health ministry data released late on Saturday, there have been four cases of Ebola confirmed through testing in Mbandaka's Wangata neighbourhood and another two suspected cases.

One patient has died there, the figures showed.

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres has established an isolation ward at a hospital in Wangata, where health personnel could be seen being sprayed with disinfectant before entering the facility on Sunday.

"The building does not conform to international regulations but we have reorganised it ... to make sure there is no contamination," Dr Hilaire Mazibu told Reuters.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that Ebola -- which causes hemorrhagic fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and is spread through direct contact with body fluids from an infected person -- had killed 25 people since early April.

Story continues

Confirmation of the disease in Mbandaka, a city of about 1.5 million people, prompted the WHO last week to declare a "very high" public health risk for the country and a "high" risk for the region. But it said the outbreak could be brought under control and was not yet an international public health emergency.

"Previous outbreaks have demonstrated the importance of a rapid and well-resourced response in order to save lives, but also prevent an exponential increase in the economic cost of a response," WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said on Sunday.

The U.N. health body was heavily criticised as too slow to declare an international emergency during the 2013-2016 epidemic that spread through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia and infected nearly 30,000 people.

Jasarevic said the WHO was seeking $26 million to fund the Ebola response in Congo.

The WHO is sending 7,540 doses of the vaccine developed by Merck to Congo. It is also in talks about a second vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson.

More than 30 health workers with experience administering Ebola vaccines are being deployed from Guinea to help with the campaign in Congo. Logistical difficulties remain, especially the need to keep the vaccine 80 degrees Celsius below freezing in a humid region where daytime temperatures hover around 30 and power supplies are erratic.

A government spokesman said late on Saturday that Congo's partners had promised to make available 300,000 doses of vaccine. (Additional reporting by Fiston Mahamba in Goma and Issa Sikiti da Silva in Kinshasa; Writing by Joe Bavier; Editing by Catherine Evans)FILE PHOTO: French Minister for the Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire arrives at panel on the security-development nexus during IMF spring meetings in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

By Sudip Kar-Gupta

PARIS (Reuters) - France is looking to see if the European Union could compensate European companies that might face U.S. sanctions for doing business with Iran, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday.

Le Maire referred to EU rules dating back to 1996 which he said could allow the EU to intervene to protect European firms against any sanctions imposed by the United States, adding that France wanted the EU to toughen its stance in this area.

In 1996, when the United States tried to penalize foreign companies trading with Cuba, the EU forced Washington to back down by threatening retaliatory sanctions.

"Are we going to allow the United States to be the economic policeman of the world? The answer is no," Le Maire told C News TV and Europe 1 radio on Sunday.

"Strengthening that 1996 rule ... would allow us to take charge ourselves of the cost of any potential sanctions paid by firms, which could therefore be paid for on their behalf by the European Union," added Le Maire.

European companies conducting business in Iran face U.S. sanctions after President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

The 2015 agreement, worked out by the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, China and Iran, lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear program. The pact was designed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.

The other signatories have indicated that they hope to salvage the nuclear deal.

Le Maire said European companies looking to invest abroad, such as in Iran, could aim to get financing from within Europe, rather than via U.S. dollars or U.S banks.

EU leaders have pledged to try to keep Iran's oil trade and investment flowing but admitted it will not be easy to do so. Iran's foreign minister told the EU's energy chief on Sunday that the 28-country bloc was not doing enough to preserve the benefits for Iran from the 2015 pact.

On May 16, French energy giant Total (TOTF.PA) joined other European companies in signaling a possible exit from Iran in light of Trump's decision.

"There might be some element of arbitration for the European companies in Iran, but ultimately nobody will want to get on the wrong side of U.S. sanctions," said Lorne Baring, chief investment officer at fund management firm B Capital SA.

(Additional reporting by Emmanuel Jarry; Editing by Mark Potter and Catherine Evans)After a barrage of tweets from president Donald Trump yesterday (May 20), the Department of Justice will now probe the FBIs use of an informant to gather information on the Trump campaign in 2016.

Trump was responding to reports by the New York Times and Washington Post that the FBI had sent a source to meet at least two campaign aides, as part of its probe into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia. Its unclear what information that source actually provided to the FBI, or when he started working with them to investigate the Trump campaign.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, said US deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein.

Heres what we know about it so far:

Who was the FBI informant?

The FBI informant was Stefan Halper, according to the Wall Street Journal (paywall) and NBC. Halper is an American academic, sometime politics professor at Cambridge University, and Republican political operative, who worked in the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. He has provided information to US intelligence services for years, according to the Washington Post (paywall).

What did Halper do?

Halper met with three Trump campaign officials in 2016, according to reports by the New York Times (paywall) and Washington Post. He had several conversations about foreign policy with campaign advisor Carter Page, a controversial figure long on the radar of US intelligence for his contacts with Russian spies, who has said their talks were benign, according to the Times.

His interactions with another foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulos were more elaborate. Halper reportedly flew the unpaid aide out to London, and paid him $3,000 to write a 1,500-word academic paper. Papadopoulos, who first heard about Russias hack of Hillary Clintons emails and inadvertently tipped off (paywall) US intelligence about them, met with Halper and his assistant several times that week, according to the Times.

Story continues

Halper also had coffee with campaign co-chair Sam Clovis in Northern Virginia, offering foreign policy advice and discussing China, according to the Post. Its unclear if the meeting with Clovis was part of the FBI probe.

Were any FBI sources embedded in the campaign?

Not as far as we know. Trump demanded an investigation into whether law enforcement infiltrated or surveilled the Trump campaign for political purposes, and has tweeted that there was an FBI representative implanted into the campaign. However, no public reports suggested that Halper was embedded or conducted extensive surveillance on the campaign. The Times and Post report, citing intelligence sources, that there is no evidence Halper did anything improper.

House Intelligence Committee chair Devin Nunes earlier this month subpoenad (paywall) the DoJ for all its information about Halper, but the Justice Department declined, citing Halpers safety and relations with intelligence partners.

What has the Department of Justice done in response?

A few hours after Trump demanded an investigation, Rosenstein expanded an existing probe by the DoJs inspector general, an internal watchdog, who was looking into how the FBI had secured warrants to spy on Page. DoJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said the probe would examine whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the worlds most important and interesting news.

More stories from Quartz:CHICO, Calif., May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AmeraMex International, Inc. (OTC:AMMX), a provider of heavy equipment for logistics companies, infrastructure construction, and tactical military vehicles, announced the appointment of Hope Dilbeck-Stone as Chief Financial Officer effective June 4, 2018. Reporting directly to CEO Lee Hamre, Stone will be responsible for all financial aspects of the Company including accounting oversight, financial reporting and analysis and budgeting. She will be the point of contact for all outside accounting and advisory firms. Stone will replace Tracie Hannick who has tendered her letter of resignation.



AmeraMex CEO Lee Hamre commented, On behalf of the Board and everyone at the Company, I would like to thank Tracie for her dedication to the Company and her many contributions during her tenure as CFOwe wish her continued success. I appreciate her assisting the company, on an as-needed basis, to ensure a smooth transition. 

Hamre continued, We are pleased to welcome Hope as our new CFO. Her 20 years of accounting experience will be a powerful asset as we finish up the audit and become a fully reporting company. Her versatility, deep breadth and history of financial leadership will be leveraged to assist management and the board to lead our company to continued success.

Before joining AmeraMex International, Stone was controller and acting CFO at Digital Path, Inc., where she managed all financial initiatives, developed accounting policies and procedures, prepared financial reports, participated in organizational planning and coordinated financial audits with outside auditors. Prior to joining Digital Path, Inc., Stone was controller and human resource manager for Moana Nursery where she managed a 10-person accounting team in all accounting functions. Additionally, she oversaw special projects and handled all HR duties.

Before joining Moana Nursery, Stone held the position of controller and HR manager at ISU Stetson-Beemer Insurance where she handled all accounting and tax matters including preparation of financial reports for quarterly review and yearly audit. She also participated in financial strategic planning and handled all HR and employee benefit duties for the 80-person company.

Stone resides in Durham, CA and holds Bachelor of Finance from Tennessee Baptist College, Cookeville, TN and an MBA from the University of Devonshire, Reno, NV.

About AmeraMex

AmeraMex International sells, leases and rents heavy equipment to companies within multiple industries including construction, logistics, mining, and lumber. The company also represents an inclusive product line of advanced performance tactical military vehicles from Oshkosh Defense, LLC. AmeraMex, with a US and international customer base, has over 30 years of experience in heavy equipment sales and service. Follow AmeraMex on Twitter @ammx_intl and visit the AmeraMex website, www.AMMX.net or www.hamreequipment.com for additional information and equipment videos.

Except for the historical information contained herein, statements discussing sales or revenue projections are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements made herein.

Investor and Media Relations

McCloud Communications, LLC

Marty Tullio, Managing Member

Office: 949.632.1900 or Marty@McCloudCommunications.com



ExxonMobil Corporation XOM plans to boost refined products deliveries in Mexico starting this summer. The company will start supply to the greater Mexico City region and the states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Puebla.



Unit train delivery on the Kansas City Southern system will be used to supply to these markets. Mexico is turning out to be an attractive region for refiners and midstream players as they compete for market traction in the region. Among several other recently planned projects, Valero Corporation VLO announced the signing of a deal to supply Mexico's northern region via NuStar's midstream infrastructure.



ExxonMobil already supplies about 362,300 barrels per day (bpd) by unit trainfrom its refinery based in Beaumont, TX, to as far south as San Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato state. Since the beginning of 2018, ExxonMobil imported 900,000 barrels of fuel to train terminals in the city of San Luis Potosi and San Jose Iturbide.



ExxonMobils product delivery expansion into Puebla toward the south and further west into Coahuila will grant the company access to the heavily populated Mexico City and Monterrey areas.



ExxonMobil is a major customer of the new terminals developed by Bulkmatic terminals. The companys expansion strategy is in sync with its plan to invest $300 million in logistics, inventory and marketing efforts in Mexico over the next 10 years. The countrys growth and accessibility to infrastructure will decide the volume of fuel the company will export in the region.



Per ExxonMobils estimates, Mexican fuel demand will grow 40% over the next 25 years while the same in the United States will drop 17%.



In Mexico, Monterrey and Mexico City are considered to be the most valued fuel markets along with Guadalajara. Per government data, Pemex terminals in the greater Mexico City area recorded total gasoline and diesel sales of more than 162,000 bpd in 2017. Of which, Pemex's terminals in Monterrey alone distributed more than 98,000 bpd of fuel. During the same period, Pemex sold about 36,000 bpd of fuel in Puebla and more than 19,000 bpd of fuel in Coahuila.



ExxonMobil intends to rebrand stations in the greater Mexico City region and is negotiating retail agreements. However, sanctions and land-cost issues have prohibited the construction of new retail outlets in the Mexico City region.



Per Mexico's Energy Regulatory Commission, Mexico City had 361 retail stations in 2017.



ExxonMobil intends to enter Mexico not as a fuel wholesale supplier but as a retailer. The company has presence in Guanajuato, Queretaro and San Luis Potosi. The company will open stations in Puebla, Aguascalientes and Zacatecas states during the summer.



Price Performance



During the past three months, ExxonMobils shares have gained 8.5% compared with the industrys 21.1% rally.

Story continues









Zacks Rank & Key Picks



ExxonMobil currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



A few better-ranked players in the same sector are Nine Energy Service, Inc NINE and CVR Refining, LP CVRR. Both these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.



Nine Energy Service is engaged in delivering onshore completion and production services to unconventional oil and gas resource development. The company pulled off a positive earnings surprise of 28.57% in the preceding quarter.



Sugar Land, TX-based CVR Refining is an independent downstream energy partnership with refining and associated logistics properties in the Midcontinent United States. The company delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 7.05% in the last four quarters.



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Zacks Investment Research[caption id="attachment_20606" align="alignnone" width="478"]

Jeremy Alters of Morelli Alters. Courtesy photo[/caption] The Florida Supreme Court Monday issued a sua sponte suspension of noted litigator Jeremy Alters, until further order. During oral arguments on May 8, Florida Supreme Court justices appeared to be weighing "substantial suspension, if not disbarment, for the litigator who admitted he failed to report that his firm moved more than $1 million from its trust accounts to cover operating costs and his personal expenses. At that time, Justice Barbara J. Pariente made it clear the high court was considering only the degree of Alters punishment  not whether to discipline him. Less than two weeks later, the justices handed down a decision that provides some insight into Alters' fate. "On the court's own motion, and having considered the Report of Referee, the briefs filed by the parties, and the issues presented at oral argument, respondent is suspended from the practice of law until further order of this court, effective thirty days from the date of this order so that respondent can close out his practice and protect the interests of existing clients," the court ruled in a May 21 order. Alters' lawyer, Andrew Berman of Young Berman Karpf & Gonzalez in Miami, said the decision disappointed his client and legal team. "We  continue to hope that the referees factual findings will temper the ultimate discipline meted out, Berman said. Bar counsel William Mulligan did not respond to a request for comment by press time. Florida Bar spokeswoman Francine Walker later said Mulligan had no comment because the Bar has a policy of not discussing active litigation. "Neither Mr. Mulligan nor any representative of The Florida Bar will ever comment on pending litigation or provide reactions to court orders," Walker wrote. "When asked, reporters are referred to any Florida Bar filings with the Supreme Court or any statements made in the referee trial or in oral arguments for the Bars positions, findings and charges and we advise that reporters may quote from those." Alters, meanwhile, said he remained confident in the judicial process. "More than six years ago, Judge Caballero was entrusted to hear evidence and make findings in this very complicated matter," he wrote in a statement to the Daily Business Review after the suspension order. "She wrote over 110 pages of findings, which speak clearly as to what happened here. I believe the process will prove that out." The high court has the final word on attorney discipline and can accept or reject a referees recommendation. In this case, it appears to have rejected the proposal by the referee in Alters' case, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Marcia Caballero. Caballero found Alters not guilty on four of the most serious misconduct and fraud charges against him, and recommended no sanctions after a trial on claims Alters misappropriated trust account funds. She also found the bar's request for $305,000 in prosecution costs from Alters excessive, because the attorney had prevailed on the key issues in the disciplinary case. She instead recommended the high court grant the bar $1,250 in costs, but award Alters more than $143,000 to cover years of litigation expenses. Alters is a Dania Beach lawyer who provided $2.5 million to launch Alters Boldt Brown Rash & Culmo in 2007, according to information presented in court. Once a prolific Democratic fundraiser and high-stakes class action litigator, he is now a personal injury attorney with Morelli Alters. The Florida Bar claimed he directed 49 improper transactions from 2009 to 2010 that funneled $1 million from his firms trust account to pay operating expenses and Alters personal bills. Alters claimed he was at first unaware of the violations, but admitted in court and in an interview with DBR that he did not report them to the bar when he did find out. He instead repaid the money and continued to operate for about a year before his former nanny-turned-bookkeeper filed a bar complaint against him. He claims he hid the truth for two reasons. The first was to shield the firm he had built from immediate disbandment. The second was allegedly to protect managing partner Kimberly Boldt, who he claims committed the ethics violations. Boldt denied contravening bar rules. She claimed Alters authorized every transaction, then later sought to pin the blame on her. The Florida Bar appeared to believe Boldt. It dismissed most of its charges against her and recommended she attend an ethics class. Boldts Florida Bar file shows no disciplinary actions against her in the last 10 years. But the bar continued to prosecute its case against Alters. During his disciplinary case, Alters' firm dwindled from 57 people in 2010 to about 18 one year later. Now, in 2018, he is down to five colleagues, including two other attorneys. The five who have remained with him are fiercely loyal. The bottom line is I believed in Jeremy  100 percent, said Cindy Russell, a former paralegal who said she took out a $150,000 line of equity on her home to bolster Alters firm, offered a $45,000 line of credit and rallied relatives, who raised about $800,000 to keep the firm afloat.By Tatiana Bautzer

SAO PAULO, May 21 (Reuters) - Rampant corruption scandals and a deep recession soured many foreign investors on Brazil in recent years, but one Canadian group saw opportunity.

Brookfield Asset Management Inc and its subsidiaries have made nearly a dozen major acquisitions there since 2013. The companies have spent about $10 billion on energy, infrastructure and real estate assets few others would touch due to the legal, political and economic risks involved.

"A crisis is a good time to find value," said a person close to the group, who called Brookfield a "contrarian investor."

That includes buying assets from companies entangled in the blockbuster "Car Wash" investigation, which jailed dozens of businessmen and politicians. The deals confirmed Brookfield's reputation as one of the strongest-stomached investors in Brazil.

In 2016, for example, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP led a $5.2 billion acquisition of a pipeline operator from Petroleo Brasileiro SA, the state-controlled oil company at the heart of the Car Wash scandal. Recently, another Petrobras pipeline network with half the capacity fetched a top bid of around $8 billion from other investors. Bargain-hunting Brookfield gave that deal a pass.

The Canadians' savvy is built on nearly 120 years of experience in South America's largest economy. But the recent buying spree pushed the company to new extremes of due diligence and bulletproofing, according to interviews with six people involved in the deals.

The company declined to comment on investments in Brazil, which account for about 15 percent of its $286 billion portfolio and represent its biggest market after the United States.

Chief Executive Bruce Flatt, whom some call the Warren Buffett of Canada for his value-investing approach, called recent Brazil acquisitions "quality businesses from sellers in need of capital" in a February letter to investors.

CONTENTIOUS PRIVATIZATIONS

Brookfield's purchase of gas pipeline operator Nova Transportadora do Sudeste SA (NTS) from Petrobras was part of a controversial divestment program aimed at trimming the oil firm's massive debt load.

Story continues

Critics have decried the privatizations, and Ciro Gomes, a leading leftist presidential candidate, has pledged to reverse sales of state energy assets if elected this year.

Foreseeing the risk, Brookfield tasked dozens of lawyers with drafting an ironclad agreement. Brookfield has a right to compensation if Petrobras changes the contracts in a way that hurts the Canadians' cash flow, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.

The head of Brazilian investment banking at a global bank, who was not involved in the NTS deal, said it was an example of Brookfield's willingness to bet big while protecting itself.

"Everyone was stunned by their $5 billion bid at the time," the banker said. That successful deal persuaded other investors to consider bidding on the other Petrobras pipeline unit, the person added.

Analysts at Saibus Research raised their target price for shares in Brookfield Infrastructure Partners after the NTS deal, citing a boost to its recurring profit margins. Shares have climbed 18 percent to more than $38 in New York since the deal was reported.

Started in 1899 as the Sao Paulo Railway, Light and Power Company, Brookfield grew into a diversified global investment firm. Until 2005, it went by the name Brascan, a reflection of its roots as a Canadian investment firm in Brazil.

PRICING IN CORRUPTION RISK

Brookfield, too, has grappled with graft allegations in Brazil.

Its homebuilding unit was among around 30 developers accused of paying bribes to building inspectors in Sao Paulo between 2010 and 2012. Former employees of the unit, which later changed its name to Tegra, confessed to paying bribes and were cooperating witnesses in the trial of the building inspectors.

Brookfield said the company was not a target of the investigation and cooperated with authorities.

In a separate case, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened an investigation in 2012 into accusations that Brookfield's Brazil shopping mall unit bribed Sao Paulo officials to win construction permits. The SEC dropped the case in 2015 without bringing any enforcement action. Brookfield denied wrongdoing.

One of Brookfield's toughest recent deals will test its ability to avoid fallout from another municipal graft scandal.

Last year it agreed to pay $1 billion for a 70 percent stake in a sewage and water utility owned by Odebrecht SA, an engineering group ensnared in the Car Wash probe. Prosecutors accused Odebrecht of paying bribes to secure contracts with some of the 186 municipalities where the utility operates.

Odebrecht, which reached a leniency deal with prosecutors, said in a statement it is cooperating with law enforcement and "has created internal controls to detect and prevent unlawful behavior."

Some 60 lawyers working for Brookfield spent eight months assessing the risks. They arranged for $100 million of the purchase price to be set aside to cover potential liabilities if city governments break off contracts or demand compensation due to alleged kickback schemes.

Since subsidiary Brookfield Business Partners LP closed the deal in April 2017, none of the municipal contracts held by the company, now called BRK Ambiental, were rescinded and only one is in litigation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer Additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto, Luciano Costa and Carolina Mandl in Sao Paulo Editing by Christian Plumb, Brad Haynes and Marla Dickerson)More than 10,000 people have been killed in eastern Ukraine since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in April 2014 after Russia's annexation of Crimea (AFP Photo/ANATOLII STEPANOV)

Kiev (AFP) - At least four people, including a child, were killed in Ukraine's separatist east, pro-Russian rebel authorities said Friday as fighting intensified in the region.

The news came the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel were set to meet in Russia to discuss the long-running conflict.

A 13 year-old boy and his father were killed when their house was hit by shelling in Troitsky, inside a Kiev-controlled zone in the region of Lugansk, local police said.

The boy's mother is in intensive care after she was seriously injured and her other 18-year-old son suffered leg injuries that are not life threatening, the regional governor Yury Garbuz wrote on Facebook.

Rebel authorities reported two of their fighters were killed and a third wounded in the clashes with the Ukrainian army.

Three civilians in Gorlivka, a city in the separatist-controlled Donetsk region, were also wounded, they said.

For its part the Ukrainian army reported seven wounded soldiers.

The situation in eastern Ukraine deteriorated in recent days with two Ukrainian soldiers killed in fighting on Thursday. A school was also hit by shelling this week, despite the ceasefire.

The chief monitor of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) special mission to Ukraine Alexander Hug left the conflict zone on Thursday due to a "serious deterioration of the security situation", the organisation said.

More than 10,000 people have been killed since the Moscow-backed insurgency broke out in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict.

Moscow has denied the allegations despite overwhelming evidence that it has been involved in the fighting and its explicit political support for the rebels.Elizabeth Holmes

Jeff Chiu/AP

The blood-testing company Theranos had been around for 12 years before questions started getting raised about its services. The company, however, had a long history of deceptive practices.

In the Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou's new book, "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," he describes a demonstration of the technology in 2006 in which recorded blood-testing results were presented as real-time results.

During a demonstration in Switzerland, he wrote, one of the readers malfunctioned and a fake result was sent over from California.

While Theranos was founded in 2003, questions didn't take hold about the company until nearly 12 years later when the Wall Street Journal investigative reporter John Carreyrou started poking holes into the company's claims about its new blood tests.

The tests, which required a much smaller amount of blood than a normal blood test, had been touted as being able to work across hundreds of tests for things as varied as potassium levels or diagnosing herpes.

But as Carreyrou outlines in his new book, "Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup," trouble was brewing years earlier.

Back in 2006, about three years after the company got off the ground, Theranos' founder, Elizabeth Holmes, gave a demonstration to the pharmaceutical giant Novartis in Switzerland. The demonstration, by all accounts, was a success. But the Theranos employees who had been on the trip didn't seem too excited, noticed Theranos' chief financial officer at the time, Henry Mosley.

That, according to Carreyrou, is because the blood-testing system the team had demonstrated in Switzerland didn't always work. To mask the problem, the team had recorded results that could be displayed during a demo to investors. Mosley wanted to know whether that happened at the Novartis meeting.

Here's how Carreyrou recounts it in the book:

Story continues

"Mosley couldn't get a straight answer from anyone, but he now suspected some similar sleight of hand. And he was right. One of the two readers Elizabeth took to Switzerland had malfunctioned when they got there. The employees she brought with her had stayed up all night trying to get it to work. To mask the problem during the demo the next morning, Tim Kemp's team in California had beamed over a fake result."

After Mosley learned this, he brought it up to Holmes, who Carreyrou said acknowledged there had been an issue but didn't seem bothered by it. But when he brought up his suspicions during meetings with investors, Holmes' tone changed, Carreyrou said, and he was fired.

NOW WATCH: How Amazon gets away with not paying taxes

See Also:

SEE ALSO: Theranos appears to be running out of money  here are the investors who stand to lose the mostWF vs. BEN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

In its weekly release, Baker Hughes BHGE, a GE company, reported an increase in rig count in the United States.

About the Rig Count

Baker Hughes data, issued at the end of every week since 1944, helps energy service providers gauge the overall business environment of the oil and gas industry.

Change in this Houston-based oilfield services players rotary rig count impacts demand for energy services like drilling, completion and production provided by the likes of Halliburton Company HAL, Schlumberger Limited SLB, Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. DO and Transocean Ltd. RIG.

Details

Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the United States totaled 1046 in the week (ended May 18) compared with the prior weeks 1045. Notably, total count increased 11 times in the last 12 weeks.

Since it slipped to an all-time low of 404 in May 2016, rig count has been rising rapidly in U.S. shale resources. Punctuated by a few pauses, the current nationwide rig count is considerably higher than the prior-year level of 901.

For the week in discussion, the rise in rig count can be attributed to higher onshore operations. The number of onshore rigs totaled 1023, marginally higher than 1021. Four rigs operated in the inland waters last week, higher than three for the week ended May 11. The tally for offshore rigs was, however, recorded at 19 compared with 21.

Oil Rig Count: Oil rig count was 844, flat with the week ended May 11. Moreover, the current tally, though far from the peak of 1,609 attained in October 2014, is significantly higher than last years 720. The oil rig count rose nine times in the last 12 weeks.

Natural Gas Rig Count: The natural gas rig count of 200 is higher than 199 for the week ended May 11.

Moreover, like oil, the count of rigs exploring gas is above the year-ago tally of 180.

Per the recent report, the number of natural gas-directed rigs is 88%, below the all-time high of 1,606 achieved in late summer 2008.

Story continues

Rig Count by Type: The number of vertical drilling rigs of 61 units increased from 55 units. However, the horizontal/directional rig count (encompassing new drilling technology that has the ability to drill and extract gas from dense rock formations, also known as shale formations) fell by five units to 985 units.

Gulf of Mexico (GoM): The GoM rig count is at 18 units  17 rigs were oil-directed  lower than the tally of 20 for the week ended May 11.

Conclusion

The number of total rigs exploring in the United States has increased, courtesy of the addition of three land rigs in New Mexico and two in Texas.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude continues to trade above the $70-a-barrel psychological mark owing to concerns that Irans crude export might fall after Trump nixed the nuclear deal. Moreover, there is considerable room for rally in oil prices which could support the persistent ramp up in drilling activities.

Two energy stocks that should make valuable additions to your portfolio are Anadarko Petroleum Corporation APC and Comstock Resources, Inc. CRK. Both the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

We expect Anadarko Petroleum to witness year-over-year earnings growth of 229.6% in 2018.

Comstock will likely see year-over-year earnings growth of 90.8% in 2018.

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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research* FP&L parent NextEra to buy most of Southern Co's assets

* Deal worth $6.48 bln, including debt

* NextEra says deal to add to earnings immediately (Adds comments from CEO, background on Florida economy, shares)

May 21 (Reuters) - NextEra Energy Inc said on Monday it is expanding in Florida by buying some utilities from Southern Co for $5.08 billion, the latest move in a sector consolidating as heavy debt drags on the industry.

Consumers, companies and governments across the United States are looking for ways to be more energy efficient, limiting growth and revenue for many power companies.

NextEra, the parent of Florida Power and Light Co, said it would buy almost all of Southern's assets, including Gulf Power Co and Florida City Gas.

Atlanta-based Southern is building the first nuclear power plant in the United States in decades. It plans to use the transaction proceeds to cut debt. Southern had about $44.46 billion in long term debt as of Dec. 31, 2017, according to the latest annual filing.

For NextEra, buying Southern's power and gas assets gives it a bigger foothold in Florida, which is seeing an economic boom.

"A key element of the rationale for the transactions are the excellent complementary geographic and strategic fit of both Gulf Power and Florida City Gas with FPL," Chief Executive Officer James Robo said on a call with investors. Florida Power and Light is the biggest utility in the state.

"Compared to many other regions in the U.S., an attractive and expanding Florida economy should benefit Gulf Power and Florida City Gas over the long term," Robo said.

Gulf Power serves around 450,000 customers in eight counties throughout northwest Florida, and has roughly 9,500 miles of power lines and 2,300 megawatts of electric generating capacity.

Florida City Gas serves about 110,000 residential and commercial natural-gas customers, and has 3,700 miles of natural gas pipelines.

FPL, Gulf Power and Florida City Gas are regulated by the Florida Public Service Commission, which means there are no additional approvals necessary for the deal to go through, Robo said.

Story continues

NextEra expects the deal to add to earnings immediately and intends to finance the transaction by issuing new debt.

BofA Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs & Co were financial advisers to NextEra, while Citigroup Global Markets Inc advised Southern Co.

Shares of NextEra and Southern were both up nearly 1.5 percent in morning trade on Monday. (Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)Washington D.C., May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNITED SIKHS today announced open enrollment for the 2018 Advocacy and Humanitarian Aid Academy (AHAA) Summit. This annual program hosts the next generation of human rights advocates for a week of engaging civic courses, meetings with elected officials and leading non-profit organizations, and a host of exciting extracurricular activities in Washington D.C.



Working to provide a unique experience for the Academy, this years Summit will focus on topics of global disaster relief best practices, Sikhs in American History, how to combat hate crimes and violations of religious freedom, as well as self-identification in U.S. Census statistics and other reporting measures. Participants will have the opportunity to attend Congressional committee hearings, tour national monuments and connect with policy makers in-person.



We are thrilled to once again host the next generation of leaders at our annual AHAA Summit, said Hardayal Singh, Executive Director of UNITED SIKHS. As these college students prepare for the next phase of their careers, the Academy provides a crucial hands-on experience rooted in real world case studies.



From now through the June 30 deadline, UNITED SIKHS is encouraging students interested in government affairs, hate crime investigation, disaster relief first-responder work and humanitarian advocacy to apply to AHAA. Applicants from America and Canada, as well as international applicants with valid United States visas can apply.



Each participant will be trained during a five-day period, culminating in the Annual AHAA Summit Awards Ceremony, where participants can choose which UNITED SIKHS program they would like to help lead in the future. The Academy offers a foundational network of advocates drawn from the community, embracing opportunities to learn, train, advocate and partake in the grassroots movement of their generation.



This all-inclusive training experience includes hotel, wifi, coursework, breakfast, lunch and transportation to meeting sites and tours. A nominal fee of $350 from all affording families is requested as a token of seva (selfless service) to help support youth who are encouraged to participate and make an impact in the future of Sikhism.



The 2018 AHAA Schedule is as follows:



July 8 (Sunday): AHAA Students Arrive in DC, Hotel Check-In, Welcome Meeting, National Gurdwara Langar, AHAA Orientation, Ice Breakers Group Intro Session, Roundtable Discussion: A Day in The Life of A Human Rights Advocate

July 9 (Monday): AHAA Goals Workshop, Press Conference, Know Your Rights Workshop, NGO Civil Rights Presentations, Global Human Rights Survey Focus

AHAA Students Arrive in DC, Hotel Check-In, Welcome Meeting, National Gurdwara Langar, AHAA Orientation, Ice Breakers Group Intro Session, Roundtable Discussion: AHAA Goals Workshop, Press Conference, Know Your Rights Workshop, NGO Civil Rights Presentations, Global Human Rights Survey Focus July 10 (Tuesday): Meetings with Congressional Sikh Caucus & FBI, Attend Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, NGO Combating Hate Crimes Presentations

Meetings with Congressional Sikh Caucus & FBI, Attend Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, NGO Combating Hate Crimes Presentations July 11 (Wednesday): NGO Disaster Preparedness & Relief Presentations, Tours of U.S. Capitol, Census Bureau, National Monuments & more

NGO Disaster Preparedness & Relief Presentations, Tours of U.S. Capitol, Census Bureau, National Monuments & more July 12 (Thursday): AHAA Goals Recap, Breakout Group Dialogue: How Can I Be a Human Rights Advocate in My Hometown?

July 13 (Friday): AHAA Summit Awards Ceremony

To apply, please visit: http://unitedsikhs.org/AHAA/page.php?pageId=2. For more information, email contact@unitedsikhs.org.



ABOUT UNITED SIKHS

UNITED SIKHS is a United Nations-affiliated, international charity that advocates for civil and human rights globally. Our International Civil & Human Rights Advocacy helps advance the economic, social and spiritual empowerment of minorities and other marginalized groups and individuals in need, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social status, age or ability. We achieve this by protecting and enforcing the civil and human rights of minorities and marginalized groups in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Attachment* North says tunnels will be collapsed for dismantlement

* Journalists to be invited to event -KCNA

* North Korea-U.S. summit scheduled for June 12

* S.Korea official to visit UN nuclear watchdog this week (Updates with S.Korea presidential official, analyst comments)

By Christine Kim and David Brunnstrom

SEOUL/WASHINGTON, May 14 (Reuters) - North Korea has scheduled the dismantlement of its nuclear bomb test site for sometime between May 23 and 25 in order to uphold its pledge to discontinue nuclear tests, the country's state media reported on Saturday a month ahead of a historic summit.

The official Korean Central New Agency said dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test ground would involve collapsing all of its tunnels with explosions, blocking its entrances, and removing all observation facilities, research buildings and security posts.

"The Nuclear Weapon Institute and other concerned institutions are taking technical measures for dismantling the northern nuclear test ground ... in order to ensure transparency of discontinuance of the nuclear test," KCNA said.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will hold talks in Singapore on June 12, the first-ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.

Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that North Korea can look forward to "a future brimming with peace and prosperity" if it agrees to quickly give up its nuclear weapons.

Trump welcomed the North Korean announcement.

"North Korea has announced that they will dismantle Nuclear Test Site this month, ahead of the big Summit Meeting on June 12th," he tweeted. "Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture! Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture!"

South Korea's presidential office echoed the sentiment on Sunday, saying it shows Pyongyang's willingness to denuclearise through actions beyond words.

However, in spite of its pledge to stop testing, North Korea has given no indication it is willing to go beyond statements of broad conceptual support for denuclearization by unilaterally abandoning a nuclear weapons program its ruling family has seen as crucial to its survival.

Story continues

In announcing the plan to shut Punggye-ri last month, Kim said North Korea no longer needed to conduct tests because it had completed its goal of developing nuclear weapons.

KCNA said journalists, including from the United States and South Korea, would be invited to cover the event, to "show in a transparent manner the dismantlement of the northern nuclear test ground to be carried out". The exact date of the closure will depend on weather conditions, the agency said.

To accommodate the travelling journalists, North Korea said various measures would be taken including "opening territorial air space".

NO MENTION OF EXPERTS

South Korean officials said in April that North Korea also planned to invite experts from the United States and South Korea for the Punggye-ri shutdown, but KCNA made no mention of this.

Last month, South Korean President Moon Jae-in had asked the United Nations to help verify the shutdown.

South Korea's deputy nuclear envoy Jeong Yeon-doo will visit the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna this week to discuss the "complete denuclearisation of North Korea" the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

All of North Korea's six known nuclear bomb tests have taken place at Punggye-ri, in the northeastern of North Korea where a system of tunnels have been dug under Mount Mantap.

North Korea has a total of four tunnels and while two were shut down following previous nuclear tests, one remained usable and the other was under construction until recently, a South Korean presidential official told reporters on Sunday under condition of anonymity.

According to Chinese academic reports, North Korea's most recent nuclear test in September of what Pyongyang said was a hydrogen bomb, was so large it triggered a collapse inside the mountain, rendering the entire site unusable for future tests.

But U.S. intelligence officials have said it remains usable and could be reactivated "in a relatively short period of time" if it was closed.

"I think theyre done testing. They have what they need so the way in which they collapse the tunnels is just show," said Melissa Hanham, senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at California's Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said in a blog post this week that recent satellite images had shown the removal of some buildings from the site.

On Saturday, he told Reuters that closure of Punggye-ri did not mean much in terms of disarmament, given that the United States, for example, stopped nuclear testing in 1992.

"It would, however, require North Korea to clear out the test tunnels and rebuild any infrastructure that might be removed  or dig new tunnels at the site or elsewhere. So, its a good confidence building measure, but not necessarily a sign of irreversible disarmament."

Siegfried Hecker, a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States and a leading expert on North Korea's nuclear program, said collapsing the Punggye-ri tunnels would be "a big and positive step," given his belief that North Korea still required more nuclear and missile tests to reach the U.S. mainland with a nuclear-tipped missile.

However, he said the other crucial steps North Korea needed to take to demilitarize its nuclear program were to shut its plutonium production reactor, and open its uranium processing to inspection.

(Reporting by Christine Kim and David Brunnstrom Additional reporting by Lucia Mutikani in WASHINGTON, Joori Roh and Josh Smith in SEOUL Editing by Alistair Bell & Simon Cameron-Moore)(Adds quotes, detail)

By Denis Pinchuk

SOCHI, Russia, May 18 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday any retaliation against U.S. sanctions must not hurt the Russian economy or partners that do business in Russia, signalling that a package of counter-sanctions measures being prepared may be watered down.

In response to a new round of U.S. sanctions on Russian businesses, Russian lawmakers are debating legislation that would make it a crime punishable by jail for a Russian citizen to comply with the U.S. measures.

Russian and foreign business lobbies say the proposal, if it becomes law, would effectively force firms to choose between doing business with Russia and having dealings with the rest of the world.

Putin, speaking at a news briefing after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, warned such measures could undermine foreign investment in Russia.

"Of course it should be balanced," Putin said, referring to the legislation.

"It must not do harm to our own economy and to those of our partners who with good conscience do business in Russia. I am confident that is how it is going to be," Putin said.

Lawmakers who suggested treating compliance with western sanctions in Russia as criminal offence were guided by "emotional considerations," Putin said.

Facing fierce criticism over the bill, Russian lawmakers this week put off a second reading of the bill pending consultations with business groups scheduled for May 23.

The draft, in its current form, makes it a crime punishable by up to four years in jail to refuse to supply services or do business with a Russian citizen, citing U.S. or other sanctions.

The legislation must pass a third reading, before being approved by the upper house of parliament and signed by Putin.

His views on the legislation are likely to have a direct bearing on the contents of the bill because parliament is dominated by his allies. (Reporting by Denis Pinchuk Writing by Andrey Ostroukh)Retirement is a milestone that millions of workers look forward to. Some seniors, however, don't wind up as enamored with it as expected. An estimated 39% of Americans age 65 and older who are currently employed were actually previously retired, according to a 2017 Rand Corp study, and the reason doesn't just boil down to money.

Sure there are plenty of seniors who end up going back to work after attempting to retire due to financial concerns or constraints. But for many, it's more a matter of missing their jobs.

In fact, when asked what they miss the most about pre-retirement life, the most popular answer among retirees is work -- specifically, working with their former colleagues. And it makes sense. For many, work serves as a community of sorts and an opportunity to interact with different people, challenge oneself, and celebrate accomplishments. Retirement, by contrast, doesn't always serve as the same social outlet and often doesn't provide the fulfillment that comes with a job well done.

Older man sitting at a laptop, smiling

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

If you're aiming to retire in the near future but happen to enjoy your job, you may want to think twice before bringing a thriving career to a close. Here are just a few of the benefits you might enjoy as a result of working longer.

1. A larger nest egg

It stands to reason that the more savings you retire with, the more comfortable a lifestyle you'll enjoy. Working longer can help boost your nest egg in a number of ways. For each additional year you work, you'll get an opportunity to keep contributing to a retirement plan or another savings plan, but just as importantly, you'll hold off on tapping your nest egg while still collecting a paycheck. And that will make whatever savings you've amassed last longer.

Even if your savings are pretty robust to date, remember that once you retire, you're going to have a lot of free time on your hands -- and that time will cost money to occupy. Having a more substantial nest egg might buy you the flexibility to travel and enjoy your newfound free time to the fullest, and that's something that might soften the blow of eventually leaving a job you love.

Story continues

2. Increased Social Security benefits

Another perk of working longer is the potential to boost your Social Security benefits. For each year you hold off on taking benefits past your full retirement age up until age 70, you'll increase them automatically by 8%. This means that if you're looking at a monthly benefit of $1,600 at a full retirement age of 67, waiting until 70 to file will give you $1,984 per month instead -- for life. And if you're still collecting your regular paycheck, it's safe to assume that you won't necessarily be in a rush to get your hands on that Social Security income right away.

3. Better health

One final reason it pays to work longer is that doing so has been linked to better health and a longer life. And clearly, that's a benefit unto itself. From a financial perspective, however, keeping yourself in good shape can lower your healthcare costs, thus saving you money on medical bills.

Remember, for some people, work serves as a form of physical exercise (whether it's the job itself or the commute). For others, it's a means of keeping the mind engaged. Either way, there's a lot to be gained healthwise by working longer.

The perfect compromise

If your main hesitation about retirement stems from having to leave your job but you're reaching the point where you're struggling to keep at it, a partial retirement may be the right choice for you. If you're a long-term employee in good standing, you never know what arrangement your company might be willing to agree to. If you can no longer manage the 40-hour-a-week grind, working 20 hours a week could be the perfect compromise. This way, you can take a load off while also enjoying the benefits of having a job to report to.

Similarly, if you're already retired but are missing your colleagues and office life, there's no reason not to approach your old boss and see if a part-time arrangement might work. It's a far better bet than walking around unhappy in retirement because you have too much downtime and too little to do.

More From The Motley Fool

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.TransCanada Corporation TRP recently announced that the construction of its Coastal GasLink pipeline is likely to commence in early 2019, subject to a positive final investment decision on the linked LNG Canada project.



The LNG Canada project is a joint venture between Royal Dutch Shell plc RDS.A, PetroChina Co. Ltd. PTR, Korea Gas Corp and Mitsubishi Corporation with 50%, 20%, 15% and 15% stakes, respectively. The partners in the project have proposed to design and operate an LNG export terminal in Kitimat, British Columbia. The project will likely cost around $32.7 billion and is meant for exporting cheap natural gas from Canada to Asia. Post construction, this project will be able to export up to 24 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year.



While the project had been greenlighted by the environment ministry of Canada in 2015, Shell, along with its partners, has been delaying the final investment decision as the project has become too expensive to proceed with due to a drop in natural gas prices. However, the final investment decision on the project is expected this year, post which the construction of TransCanadas Coastal GasLink pipeline will begin.



The Coastal GasLink pipeline project worth $3.8 billion will consist of a 415-mile pipeline, with transportation capacity of 5 billion cubic feet per day. Once it comes online, it will be a game changer for the Canadian natural gas producers, transporting natural gas from shale fields in Alberta and northeast British Columbia to the LNG Canada export facility. Being the owner and operator of the pipeline, TransCanada is likely to award contracts for its construction of four consortiums in the next two months.



Zacks Rank and a Key Pick



TransCanada carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

TransCanada Corporation Price

TransCanada Corporation Price | TransCanada Corporation Quote

A better-ranked player in the same industry is Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings, LLC. CQH, holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Cheniere Energy Partners 2018 earnings are likely to grow 325.49% year over year.



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PetroChina Company Limited (PTR) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A) : Free Stock Analysis Report



TransCanada Corporation (TRP) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings, LLC (CQH) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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Zacks Investment ResearchPresident Donald Trump said hell demand an investigation into possible infiltration of his campaign for political purposes by the Obama administration or others.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration! Trump said on Twitter.

His comment comes after House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes said U.S. spy agencies crossed a red line if they planted a paid informant inside Trumps campaign.

In an interview on Fox News Channel, Nunes said he and Republican colleagues have yet to determine whether there was such an informant, because the Justice Department and FBI continue to withhold documents from them.

But the California lawmaker pointed to what he said were leaks behind news reports in recent days that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had used an informant to get information regarding the Trump campaign early in its counterintelligence investigation of possible ties to Russia.

You cant do this to political campaigns, Nunes said.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

One-Year Anniversary

This week marked the one-year anniversary of Robert Muellers appointment as special counsel to lead a probe into election meddling by Russia. Trump and some Republicans are increasingly pressing the argument that the inquiry should be shut down because it was irreversibly tainted by improper actions well before Mueller was appointed.

Story continues

The president and his allies on Capitol Hill have been trying to undercut the probe by exposing the role of a confidential source who helped the FBI. Democrats, including Senator Mark Warner, as well as the Justice Department and intelligence leaders, have warned that identifying the source may put lives in danger.

Warner of Virginia, top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that exposing the source would be illegal.

If any individual, elected official or otherwise, knowingly reveals a classified piece of information about an FBI source, you are breaking the law and should be fully prosecuted, he said on CNNs State of the Union. Warner said hed not seen any evidence that the FBI planted an informant in Trumps campaign, as the president has claimed.

Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said revealing information about the alleged FBI informant was a dramatic and new and destructive low for Republicans in Congress.

Protect the Country

Schiff said hes confident the FBI acted appropriately in its investigation. Everything I have seen, it would have been negligent for the FBI not to take steps to protect the country in the midst of the information it was receiving, he said on NBCs Meet the Press.

The president this week retweeted a comment by a Fox News anchor that apparently the DOJ put a Spy in the Trump campaign, adding, Really bad stuff!

The New York Times reported May 19 that the FBI used an existing informant to covertly approach several Trump campaign associates. It does not report that the FBI embedded the informant.

Trumps attorney, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, is now looking to combine the prospect of the president sitting down for an interview with Mueller with knowing whether the alleged informant had any incriminating information on Trump associates.

What we intend to do is premise it on, If you want an interview, we need an answer to this,  Giuliani said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Sunday.

Also this week, Giuliani said Mueller has indicated that hes willing to narrow the scope of an interview with the president. That would include foregoing questions about payments by Trumps personal lawyer to adult film star Stephanie Clifford.Dallas, May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Jan Pruitt, the late, hunger-fighting visionary best known for her decade long tenure as CEO of the North Texas Food Bank, was recognized for her significant contributions in the area of hunger relief at the grand opening of the Jan Pruitt Community Pantry in Lancaster, Texas.



Local elected officials, non-profit and business leaders and a supportive community came together at the Lancaster Community Outreach, where Pruitt was executive director prior to joining the North Texas Food Bank in 1997. While there, she worked to provide food assistance to hungry neighbors in Lancaster and the surrounding communities. The center closed several years ago, but was revived when the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas was gifted the property in 2016 as part of the St. Vincent Campus initiative. After Jan Pruitts passing in January of 2017, the board at the North Texas Food Bank raised the funds for the naming rights to the pantry, honoring NTFBs longtime CEO. Thus, the new Jan Pruitt Community Pantry was named in honor of her many contributions in the area of hunger relief locally and at the national level through her work with Feeding America.



It is an honor for St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas to be a part of this transformational initiative said Michael Pazzaglini, Executive Director of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas. In addition to housing the Jan Pruitt Community Pantry, this site will also host a variety of programs and future partnerships that will pioneer systemic change meant to enrich the lives of our neighbors here in Lancaster and the surrounding region.



The new pantry came to life thanks to a collaboration between The Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas (SVdP), Catholic Charities Dallas and the North Texas Food Bank. In an effort to help close the hunger gap in North Texas, the Food Bank was working to identify areas of need across their service area with a goal of expanding capacity within their feeding network thanks to funds raised via their capital campaign, Stop Hunger Build Hope. The non-profits solidified a partnership whereby SVdP would provide the space for the pantry, the North Texas Food Bank would provide the funds to renovate the pantry and stock it with food, and Catholic Charities Dallas would manage the operations of the pantry eventually subsidizing the effort.



Jan Pruitt was a visionary; a trailblazer - thanks to her dedication to the cause, millions of hungry North Texans had food on the table, said Trisha Cunningham, President and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank. When I took the helm at NTFB last year, two things were clear: our organization would always strive to put healthy food on the table, and we would work to strengthen partnerships with local nonprofits to ensure that together we would meet the needs for hunger relief and social services for our neighbors in need. I am proud of what we have built alongside Catholic Charities Dallas and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of North Texas, and I want to thank our Board of Directors for believing in this vision of a hunger-free, healthy North Texas and honoring Jan in this meaningful way.



The organizations set lofty goals for the Jan Pruitt Community Pantry, including providing neighbors inneed with more than one million pounds of nutritious foods per year by the third year of operation,serving more than 1,000 families in need. This will help toward the Food Banks broader strategic goal ofproviding access to 92 million meals by 2025 by helping the more than 800,000 people in North Texaswho dont know where their next nutritious meal is coming from.



The team at Catholic Charites Dallas worked alongside the North Texas Food Bank for many years as aPartner Agency, said Dave Woodyard, CEO of Catholic Charities Dallas. Supporting the operations ofthe Jan Pruitt Community Pantry is exciting because we will be able to see the incredible impact thataccess to healthy foods will have in the community. It is our shared hope that this partnership will serveas a model both here locally as well as nationally. It is clear that by working together, we can accomplishso much.





About the Society of St. Vincent de Paul North Texas

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) is a faith-based volunteer organization that offers direct aid tothose in need across nine counties in North Texas. The Society provides short-term financial, materialand emotional support. People are empowered to reach the goal of self-sufficiency through advocacy,education and referrals. Through systemic change, the Society promotes dignity, alleviates suffering anddistress, and addresses the conditions that cause the person to need assistance.The Society of St. Vincent de Paul was formed by a handful of university students in Paris, France in1833. Today, the Society can be found in 150 countries on 5 continents with over 900,000 women andmen carrying on the tradition of performing works of charity for those in need. The first SVdP presencein Dallas began in 1954. Today, SVdP North Texas has grown to 850 volunteer members throughout thenine North Texas counties. In FY 2017, SVdP North Texas served over 50,000 people in our community.



About Catholic Charities Dallas

For more than 127 years, Catholic Charities Dallas has helped the poor and most vulnerable in four coremission areas: strengthening families, alleviating hunger, preventing homelessness, and welcoming thestranger; and calls the community to action. Catholic Charities Dallas serves more than 38,000individuals each year, regardless of their faith. In addition, more than 4,125 people volunteer more than40,000 hours each year. Our services provide assistance to families in need throughout the nine countiesthat make up the Diocese of Dallas: Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro andRockwall.



About the North Texas Food Bank

North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) is a top-ranked nonprofit hunger-relief organization with its primarydistribution center in Southwest Dallas and administrative headquarters located in the Dallas FarmersMarket. Each day, NTFB provides access to more than 190,000 meals for hungry children, seniors, andfamilies through a network of more than 1,000 programs and more than 200 Partner Agencies. In fiscalyear 2017, NTFB provided access to almost 70 million nutritious meals. While NTFB is making steadyprogress toward closing the hunger gap, much work remains to be done to reach the organization's 10-year goal of providing 92 million nutritious meals annually by 2025.



NTFB is a member of Feeding America, a national hunger relief organization.The Trump administration wont impose tariffs on Chinese products for now, after the two nations made progress on trade issues during two days of talks, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

Were putting the trade war on hold. So right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework, Mnuchin said on Fox News Sunday.

President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports to punish Beijing for allegedly violating American intellectual property and unfair trade practices. China vowed to retaliate with tariffs on everything from soybeans to airplanes.

Mnuchins remarks will be a relief to investors, who had feared the worlds two biggest economies were on the brink of an all-out trade conflict. The International Monetary Fund has warned that a global trade war would undermine the broadest global upswing in years.

Still, when asked on CBSs Face the Nation Sunday whether Trump has taken the threat of tariffs off the table, Larry Kudlow, Trumps top economic adviser, said, I dont think were at that stage yet.

Tariffs are part of any negotiation, and tariffs maybe have to be part of any enforcement, Kudlow said. You cannot do this kind of major change without using everything thats in your quiver.

Switching Positions

Its also not clear how long any truce will last. Trump has often switched his position on trade issues. He has frequently declared that talks on a new North American Free Trade Agreement are going well, for example, only to threaten again to withdraw from the pact.

Mnuchins comments came after the two nations on Saturday released a joint statement in which China proposed to significantly increase purchases of U.S. goods.

The statement released by the White House didnt place a dollar figure on the increased purchases by China, or address a comment on Friday by Kudlow suggesting that Beijing had agreed to slash its annual trade surplus with the U.S. by $200 billion. The U.S. had a $376 billion trade deficit in goods with China last year. The shortfall was $337 billion when services are added.

Story continues

Rough Estimate

Kudlow on Sunday downplayed the significance of the $200 billion figure, saying on CBS that maybe I got ahead of the curve and during a separate interview on ABCs This Week that both sides have used that as a rough ballpark estimate.

Vice Premier Liu He, a special envoy of Chinas President Xi Jinping, told reporters in Washington that talks with Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer ended with a pledge not to engage in a trade war, according to a Xinhua news agency report.

We made very meaningful progress and we agreed on a framework. The framework includes their agreement to substantially reduce the trade deficit by increasing their purchases of goods, Mnuchin said. He said the two sides have agreed to numerical targets but he didnt want to disclose them.

The Chinese are offering to make structural reforms such as lowering tariffs and other import barriers that will allow the U.S. to export billions and billions of additional goods to China, Kudlow said on ABC.

Positive Mood

We made a lot of progress here in Washington and built on what happened in China, Kudlow said. The president is in a very positive mood about this. I myself am very encouraged.

The joint statement between the two nations said both sides agreed on meaningful increases in U.S. agriculture and energy exports and that the U.S. will send a team to China to work out the details. Kudlow said Ross is going to the Asian nation and will be looking into a number of areas where were going to have greatly, significant increases, including energy, agriculture and manufacturing.

Even so, U.S. lawmakers will probably have pointed questions about what the administration has agreed to give up in exchange for a truce with China. In a major reversal, Trump instructed his administration last week to come up with a penalty against Chinese telecom-equipment maker ZTE Corp. that allows the company to stay in business. The Commerce Department had banned ZTE from receiving imports from its U.S. suppliers, a move that crippled ZTE.

Real Backlash

The administration would face a real backlash if it offers concessions to ZTE as part of the trade talks, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Fox News.

Kudlow said on ABC that while there may be perhaps some small changes around the edges in U.S. action on ZTE, there will still be big fines and other remedies and do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. It aint gonna happen.

During the trade talks, the delegations discussed expanding trade in manufactured goods, and each side agreed to strengthen cooperation on intellectual property. China will advancerelevant amendments to its laws and and regulations in that area, including its patent law, the White House said.

If we can fix the technology stealing, which is so important in this China story, and we can get these market openings, this will be good for American export sales, Kudlow said on ABC. I think its good for Chinese growth. We will have come a long way.

The White House joint statement didnt mention additional U.S. demands, including a halt to subsidies and other government support for the Made in China 2025 plan that targets strategic industries from robotics to new-energy vehicles. China had made its own demands, including giving equal treatment to its investment, and warned U.S. companies may be excluded from measures to open its economy.

This round of talks is generally positive, said Li Yong, a senior fellow at the China Association of International Trade in Beijing, adding that the U.S. still may take a harder line on reviews of Chinese investments. Trade tensions will ease gradually, but there still could be frictions.Midland Holdings is one of the undervalued dividend stocks worth considering today. Dividend stocks are a great way to hedge your portfolio as they provide both steady income and cushion against market risks. Coupled with an attractive share price and youd stand to gain from capital appreciation as well. If youre a buy and hold investor, these undervalued dividend stocks can generously contribute to your portfolio value.

Midland Holdings Limited (SEHK:1200)

Midland Holdings Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides property agency services in Hong Kong, the Peoples Republic of China, and Macau. Started in 1973, and run by CEO Tsz Wa Wong, the company size now stands at 7,452 people and with the stocks market cap sitting at HKD HK$1.53B, it comes under the small-cap stocks category.

Over the past 10 years, Midland Holdings has been distributing dividends back to its shareholders, with a recent yield of 2.35%. At the current payout ratio of 18.56%, 1200s yield exceeds Hong Kongs low risk savings rate of 1.66%. Analysts forecast future payout ratio to be 72.67%, indicating that 1200s upcoming dividend payments are well-covered by earnings. 1200 is also undervalued by 59.66%, which means 1200 is currently an attractive buy for those looking for dividend and capital gains. Interested in Midland Holdings? Find out more here.

SEHK:1200 Historical Dividend Yield May 21st 18

China MeiDong Auto Holdings Limited (SEHK:1268)

China MeiDong Auto Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, operates as an automobile dealer in Mainland China. Established in 2003, and currently run by Tao Ye, the company provides employment to 3,489 people and with the stocks market cap sitting at HKD HK$4.46B, it comes under the mid-cap category.

China MeiDong Auto Holdings has been paying dividend over the past 4 years. It currently paid an annual dividend of CN0.15, resulting in a dividend yield of 3.92%. 1268s upcoming dividend are appropriated covered by its profits over the next three years, according to industry analysts, with a forecasted payout ratio of 38.63%. At the current payout ratio of 48.81%, 1268s yield surpasses Chinas low-risk savings rate of 1.66%. 1268 is trading beneath its true value by 40.21%, which means 1268 is currently an attractive buy for those looking for dividend and capital gains. More detail on China MeiDong Auto Holdings here.

Story continues

SEHK:1268 Historical Dividend Yield May 21st 18

Bestway Global Holding Inc. (SEHK:3358)

Bestway Global Holding Inc., an investment holding company, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells a range of outdoor leisure products primarily under the BESTWAY brand in Europe, North America, the Asia-pacific, and internationally. Established in 1994, and headed by CEO Qiang Zhu, the company now has 14,276 employees and has a market cap of HKD HK$4.84B, putting it in the mid-cap stocks category.

Over the past 1 years, Bestway Global Holding has been distributing dividends back to its shareholders, with a recent yield of 2.32%. 3358s upcoming dividend are appropriated covered by its profits over the next three years, according to industry analysts, with a forecasted payout ratio of 27.84%. At the current payout ratio of 23.53%, 3358s yield surpasses Chinas low-risk savings rate of 1.66%. 3358 is undervalued by 30.05%, which makes for an attractive investment. More detail on Bestway Global Holding here.

SEHK:3358 Historical Dividend Yield May 21st 18

For more mispriced dividend stocks to add to your portfolio, explore this interactive list of undervalued dividend payers.



To help readers see pass the short term volatility of the financial market, we aim to bring you a long-term focused research analysis purely driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis does not factor in the latest price sensitive company announcements.



The author is an independent contributor and at the time of publication had no position in the stocks mentioned.Social Security has nearly $3 trillion in reserves but is expected to completely run out of money by 2034, thanks to the gradual retirement of the baby boomer generation and generally longer life expectancies. There are several potential ways we can fix the program, but all can be split into two main categories -- raise taxes or cut benefits. Democrats generally are in favor of tax increases, while Republicans often propose some form of benefit reductions, such as raising the retirement age and cutting benefits for high-income retirees, among others.

Surprisingly, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett's ideas on how we should fix Social Security combine both types of changes. Here's what Buffett (a Democrat) and his right-hand man Charlie Munger (a Republican) have said about Social Security and how we should fix it.

Warren Buffett speaking with reporters.

Image Source: The Motley Fool.

Here's what Warren Buffett has said about Social Security

There are two main ways that we could fix Social Security's projected financial shortfall -- cut benefits or raise taxes. And past comments by Warren Buffett show that the Oracle of Omaha is generally in favor of the latter.

For starters, Buffett has advocated removing -- or at least increasing -- the Social Security maximum taxable earnings. For 2018, the maximum amount of income subject to Social Security payroll tax is $128,400. This leaves billions of potential Social Security tax from high earners on the table. And while Buffett hasn't directly mentioned raising the Social Security payroll tax rate -- currently 6.2% on both employers and employees -- he has spoken in favor of the U.S. paying a greater percentage of GDP toward Social Security.

Buffett's right-hand man Charlie Munger agrees: "If the country is going to grow at 2%-3% per annum for decades ahead, it's child's play to take a little larger share of the pie and divert it to those who are older. Social Security has a low overhead and does a world of good."

Story continues

However, it's important to point out that not all of Buffett's ideas about Social Security have to do with raising taxes. Buffett also pointed out that it may be necessary to raise the full retirement age, as well. "Perhaps the idea that 65 isn't the right age for retirement anymore is correct and more change is needed," Buffett said in a 2006 annual shareholder meeting.

The full retirement age has since been raised to 67 for Americans born after 1959, and it's unclear what full retirement age Buffett would prefer. Along with this comment, Buffett elaborated that life expectancies have increased significantly since 1935 when Social Security was first implemented, so it doesn't make sense that the full retirement age has remained the same.

One thing is for sure, though: Buffett is not in favor of cutting Social Security benefits in order to fix the program's shortfall. "I don't want to do anything to hurt the bottom 10%-20% of the population," Buffett said in a 2005 annual shareholder meeting. "I've seen people who fear for the last years of their lives [that they won't have enough money]."

Three Social Security changes that Buffett probably would approve of

A 2014 study by the National Academy for Social Insurance analyzed the long-term benefit of several potential Social Security fixes, as well as the costs of some potential improvements. Here are three fixes that would align with Buffett's Social Security views and how much of an impact they would have:

Eliminating the taxable earnings cap over a 10-year period would fix 74% of the long-term financing gap all by itself.

Raising the Social Security payroll tax rate from 6.2% to 7.2% over a 20-year period would generate 52% of the shortfall.

Finally, gradually raising the full retirement age to 68 would take care of 16% of the funding gap.

Combined, these three changes would boost Social Security's long-term revenue by 142% of the expected shortfall. In fact, if these three changes were implemented, we also could raise the minimum benefit to a level where nobody who worked for 30 years would retire poor, give every Social Security beneficiary a $65-per-month raise, and still have a long-term surplus.

Will it happen?

To be clear, I believe something will be done to fix Social Security before it runs out of money in 2034. History tells us that politicians will figure it out. And Buffett agrees. In his 2016 letter to Berkshire's shareholders, Buffett predicted that in the future, "America's Social Security promises will be honored and perhaps made more generous."

Having said that, I wouldn't hold my breath for Social Security tax increases to be passed while Republicans control the White House and both houses of Congress. While lifelong Republican and Buffett's right-hand man Charlie Munger has spoken in favor of paying more, he acknowledges that most of his party doesn't feel the same way.

"It's a perfectly reasonable thing to do, to pay a little more in the future, to support what I regard as one of the most successful programs in the history of our country. I wish my own party would wise up," said Munger at Berkshire's 2006 shareholder meeting.

The bottom line is that Social Security is fixable. As Buffett has said, "our country can easily handle the Social Security issue." It's just a question of when and if the necessary changes will be implemented. The earlier a solution is put in place, the less painful the additional cost will likely be, but there still is plenty of time before anyone has to worry about their benefit checks being slashed.

Video: Social Security Tips to Maximize Your Benefits



More From The Motley Fool



Matthew Frankel owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Last week, Barclays BCS acquired 4.3 billion ($5.8 billion) worth of Irish residential mortgage loans from Lloyds Banking Group LYG. The portfolio comprises around 27,000 mortgages, originated between 2004 and 2010. Of the total loans acquired, nearly 300 million are impaired.



Mortgage loan portfolio incurred a pre-tax loss of roughly 40 million in 2017. Notably, Lloyds is expected to record 110 million in pre-tax loss on the deal in second-quarter 2018.



So, why has Barclays purchased this loan portfolio? The bank is definitely not interested in entering Irish mortgage market.



Well, given the growing demand for securitized mortgage deals, Barclays plans to package and sell these Irish loans over the next two months. The group of investors that has shown interest in buying residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) includes M&G Investments, the investment management division of British insurer Prudential Plc PRU and Pacific Investment Management Co. (PIMCO).



Though the deal looks similar to the repackaging of home loans for resale to investors that was one of the primary reasons for the 2008 financial crisis, certain changes in the regulations as to how such deals are to be formed and sold means that these are expected to be less risky.



Under the new rules, Barclays will be required to retain at least 5% of the Lloyds mortgages. This will align with the banks interest in the deal similar to other investors.



Additionally, the securitization deal is not expected to hurt Barclays capital in the long term.



This agreement comes at the heels of another one announced last month. Barclays, along with other investors had purchased 5.3 billion worth of residential mortgages from the British bad bank. PIMCO funded the deal, with Barclays and five other banks planning to buy RMBS to help finance the acquisition.



As European banks intend to focus on their core operations and shrink balance sheet with an aim to comply with stringent capital rules, such deals are likely to continue.



Shares of Barclays have rallied 4.5% so far this year against 6.3% decline for the industry.





Story continues





Barclays, currently, carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).



A better-ranked foreign bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.s MUFG fiscal 2019 earnings are expected to grow 4.2% year over year. Also, the company shares have gained 3.7% in the past year. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



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Ignited by new referendums and legislation, this industry is expected to blast from an already robust $6.7 billion to $20.2 billion in 2021. Early investors stand to make a killing, but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look.



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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment ResearchSAN DIEGO, May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Swinerton is pleased to announce the grand opening of the new Terminal 2 Parking Plaza at San Diego International Airport.



Swinerton team members from Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Diego partnered with San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, Watry Design, and Gensler as a design-build team to deliver the new parking plaza, which will serve as one of the gateways to the airport.

We understand that convenient, close-in airport parking is a core customer service need, and we address that need with this beautiful new facility, said Kimberly Becker, President/CEO, San Diego International Airport. Opening ahead of schedule and in time for the busy summer travel season, the Parking Plaza features smart parking technology and integrated public art for an enhanced overall parking experience.

Swinerton is proud to have completed the Terminal 2 Parking Plaza on time and under budget in a strong partnership with the San Diego International Airport, said Chris Murphy, Swinerton Project Executive. The progressive design-build contracting method used on the project allowed us to deliver maximum value to the Airport rapidly and efficiently.

The Parking Plaza is designed to provide a fast, safe, and convenient traveler experience, with easy vehicle circulation and state-of-the-art parking guidance systems that will direct customers quickly to the nearest available open space. Overall, the Parking Plaza brings nearly 1,700 new close-in parking spaces to the San Diego International Airport. The three-story Parking Plaza is almost one million square feet in total parking structure area with over 2,900 parking spaces. The project also had off-site improvements, including parking lot reconfigurations, utility relocations, and connection into the existing airport campus.

The plaza is also environmentally sustainable, with extensive natural lighting, energy-efficient fixtures, and a stormwater re-use system that captures and treats rainwater for use in the airports Central Utility Plant.

About Swinerton

Swinerton provides commercial construction and construction management services throughout the United States and is a 100% employee-owned company. Recognized nationally since 1888, Swinerton is the preferred builder and trusted partner in every market it servesproudly leading with integrity, passion, and excellence. For more information on Swinerton, visit its blog, Swinerton Builds Tomorrow, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, and Instagram.Civilians in the beleaguered Afghan capital have called on the Taliban and the Afghan government to cease hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when all adults observe a fast from dawn to dusk.

The calls came in reaction to a Taliban warning to Kabul residents to avoid military and intelligence centers in the capital.

Thousands of Afghan civilians are killed in militant attacks every year. Teeming Kabul, where insurgents frequently launch deadly attacks, has witnessed the greatest number of civilian casualties.

Homayoon, a Kabul resident who goes by one name only, called on the warring sides to cease fighting.

"Why are they [the Taliban] conducting bomb and suicide attacks? he asked while talking to Radio Free Afghanistan. This is the month of Ramadan, and I want them to come to peace to put an end to this bloodshed in our country.

Another Kabul resident, Abdul Ghani, backed the call for suspending violence.

A lot of women have become widows and a lot of people were already killed by the Taliban, the government, and Daesh, he said, referring to the Islamic State militants by their Arabic acronym. I want them to make peace in the month of Ramadan.

In a statement published online on May 21, the Taliban warned Kabul residents to stay away from "military centers" as they vowed more attacks. The insurgents said such attacks are part of their annual spring offensive.

"To avoid civilian casualties and only cause damage to enemy military, we are asking Kabul residents to keep away.  We don't want even a single innocent civilian to be killed," the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Afghan Defense Ministry has labeled the Taliban's fresh warning to Kabul residents as hollow and ineffective propaganda.

Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanesh says the Afghan security forces would not let the terrorists achieve their goal.

"We are monitoring the gates of Kabul, and we always try to maintain safety and security, he told Radio Free Afghanistan. The fact that the Taliban always launch such propaganda is that they only want to ruin the mental security of the people, but they will not reach their goal.

Aziz Wardak, a former army general and military expert, says civilians suffer because of Kabuls high population density and the proximity of military and intelligence installations to residential areas.

"First, there is a strong need for strong intelligence to uncover and foil the plans of insurgents from where they originate far away from Kabul, he told Radio Free Afghanistan. Secondly, in the city, the neighborhoods must have several strong security rings. For example, in areas where there are military units, the troops must be vigilant.

In the past, the Taliban have accepted responsibility for attacks that hit civilians hard. For instance, more than 100 people were killed in a deadly Kabul attack claimed by the Taliban in January.

The Taliban began their spring operations in late April. Dubbed Al-Khandaq, it vowed to target the Americans and their internal supporters.

This is the first time the Taliban have warned of launching more attacks on military and intelligence centers in Kabul.

Afghan and U.S. officials have called on the Taliban to join peace talks because they are unlikely to score a military victory.An overflow crowd of hundreds of people attended the funeral in Texas of Sabika Sheikh, the Pakistani exchange student killed in the May 18 mass shooting at a high school.

The ceremony took place on May 20 at an Islamic center in Stafford, Texas, which is not far from Santa Fe High School, where the massacre took place.

As she did not have family members in Texas to help organize the service, the Islamic Society for Greater Houston planned the funeral, keeping it open to the public.

"She doesn't have any family here, but she has all of us and this whole community that is mourning," said M.J. Khan, president of the society. "We are all there to be her family."

She had been staying with a host family in the Santa Fe area. Her host father, Jason Cogburn, said Sabika and his family learned from each other, and his family even fasted with her during Ramadan.

"We loved her and she loved us," he said. "She will be very missed, but she will always be loved."

Sabika, 17, was among eight students and two teachers who were killed when a 17-year-old shooter identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis opened fire with a shotgun and a handgun before surrendering to police.

Her funeral was the first for any of those killed in the shooting.

The girl's father, Abdul Aziz Sheikh, told AFP at the family home in her hometown of Karachi that "we are still in a state of denial. It is like a nightmare."

She was studying in the United States under the State Departments Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, which provides scholarships for students from countries with significant Muslim populations to spend an academic year in the United States.

Her father said Sabika had dreamed of working for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

He added she was expected to return to Karachi next month for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The Islamic Society called the shooting "an act of terror" and said such events "remind us as to what world we live in, where sanctity of life is not valued."

The society said it had also offered to help with the transportation of the student's body back to Pakistan, where her family will also hold a service.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner cited Sabika's desire to be a diplomat as he mourned the student.

"Even through her death, she will continue to be a diplomat. Even in her death, she is pulling the relationships between Pakistan and the United States, specifically the Houston area, even closer, " he said.

The Houston area -- about 55 kilometers from Santa Fe -- has some 60,000 people of Pakistani decent.

With reporting by AFP, USA Today, and CNN(Reuters) Adil Khans hopes for a good harvest are fading again this year as he inspects his orchard of apricot and loquat trees in the mountains of Pakistans northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

Usually, fruit in the five-acre family orchard is ready to pick only by the last week of May. But this year, and in other recent years since 2013, much of the harvest has ripened by mid-April  nearly a month ahead of schedule.

With less time to grow, the fruit is half its normal size  and his income is shrinking too, the 34-year-old farmer told Reuters.

We are really at loss, he said, pulling down a branch of tiny apricots. The fruits have ripened in the middle of their growth.

Pakistans farmers are struggling to bring in a harvest as the countrys weather patterns change as a result of climate change. Warm spring weather, now coming as early as March, has led to fruit trees flowering before bees arrive to pollinate them, for instance, or fruit and vegetables ripening at unusual times.

Farmer Muntazir Khan  who is not related to Adil - has seen his harvest of beets and tomatoes fall by 40 percent this year on his 3-acre family farm in Taxila, about 35 kilometers from Islamabad, despite planting seeds on time and applying the right fertilizer.

That huge drop, due the crops ripening in late March instead of late April, means nearly no profits, he said.

I am scarcely able to recover the expenditures with such low yields, Khan said, clutching a handful of freshly harvested beets.

The problem, the farmers agree, is that spring is getting shorter, hotter and earlier.

We are clearly noticing that springs are not cool anymore and are increasingly becoming warmer, which is not good for our seasonal vegetable crops, Adil Khan said.

His fruit requires cool weather from January to March to grow well, he said, but warmer days in February and March are now disrupting old patterns.

Record Heat

Pakistans weather officials say theyve also noticed the shift.

We have clearly observed through our weather monitoring stations all through Pakistan that springtime has not only warmed by more than 3 degrees Celsius in recent years but also shrunk from 45 days to less than 10 days over last two decades, said Ghulam Rasul, director general of the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

This is in no way a good omen for springtime vegetable and fruit farmers, he told the Reuters.

He said at least 34 meteorological stations broke temperature records for March this year in most parts of the country, with temperatures sometimes more than 10 degrees Celsius above the monthly long-term average between 1981 and 2010.

Nausherwan Nawab, a senior science officer at a vegetable research center of the state-run National Agricultural Research Council, said lower spring temperatures of 20 to 25 degrees Celsius a decade ago resulted in slow and steady ripening of spring fruits and vegetables.

But such is not the case anymore, said Khuda Bakhsh, an agro-economy professor at the COMSATS Institute of Information Technology in Pakistans Punjab province.

Once spring temperatures hit 35 degrees Celsius, vegetable production declines heavily, he said.

Growing Imports

One consequence of the decline in production is soaring vegetable and fruit imports from China, India, Afghanistan, Thailand and New Zealand, said Yusuf Zafar, chairman of the National Agriculture Research Council, an arm of Pakistans Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

Over last five to seven years, production of citrus and other fruits and vegetables has shown a notable declining trend, with fruit harvests down an estimated 25-28 percent and vegetables down 22 percent, he said.

Aslam Pakhali, chair of the All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporter and Importers Association, said nearly 30 percent of the vegetables and fruits consumed in Pakistan are now imported.

Pakistan used to export surplus vegetables and fruit prior to 2010, he said.

Imports have increased over the last five years as low production of these farm items is insufficient to meet domestic needs, he said in a telephone interview.

To adapt to the changing conditions, farmers need access to hardy new fruit and vegetable varieties that can grow over a shorter season, Bakhsh said.

The role of agricultural scientists and extension department officials in this regard is of unprecedented significance, he said, with farmers needing help to learn how to adopt and grow new heat-resistant and short-season crops.

Meanwhile, some farmers  like Muntazir Khan  are adjusting to changing spring weather by cutting out some of their vegetable production altogether and turning to things like raising chickens.

Lack of resources makes such shifts difficult for many, however. Khan would like to set up a commercial half-acre poultry farm, but that will happen only whenever I have enough financial resources, he said.SAN JOSE, Calif., May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zoom Video Communications, Inc. today announced that its founder and CEO, Eric S. Yuan, has been selected as a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 Awards in the Northern California region.



Entrepreneur of the Year is worlds most prestigious business award, where the finalists are selected by a panel of independent judges. NBC reporter Scott McGrew will host a gala on June 8, 2018 at the Fairmont San Francisco to announce award winners. Entrepreneur of the Year Awards has been active for 32 years and have expanded to acknowledge business leaders in more than 60 countries.

It is an honor to be named a finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards, said Yuan. It has been a pleasure to meet the judges and get to know the other nominees. It is a very distinguished group and I am humbled to be named amongst them. I am deeply appreciative of this recognition for the work of myself and my colleagues at Zoom.

This finalist designation follows on the heels of numerous accolades earned by Zoom in the past year, including the Frost & Sullivan 2017 Company of the Year in the Video Conferencing Industry and an American Business Awards 2018 Golden Stevie Award for Large Computer Software Company of the Year. Yuan was also named on the Business Insider 2017 list of the 52 Most Powerful People in Enterprise Tech.

About Zoom

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat, and webinars across mobile devices, desktops, telephones, and room systems. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done.

Zoom Rooms, the leading software-based conference room solution, features video and audio conferencing, wireless content sharing, and integrated calendaring running on off-the-shelf hardware. Zoom Rooms suit any meeting or collaboration space, from small huddle rooms to world-class training centers.

Zoom is a private company headquartered in San Jose, CA. Visit zoom.us and follow @zoom_us.

Press Contact

Priscilla Barolo

Communications Manager for Zoom

press@zoom.usConcord staked its claim to be the birthplace of Independence during the celebration of "Americas jubilee" on April 19, 1825, the fiftieth anniversary of Concord Fight. Concord in 1825 was an expansive town of nineteen hundred inhabitants, thriving with crafts and trade in the village and surrounded by farms prospering on demand from rising urban centers in the long boom that accompanied the opening phase of the Industrial Revolution in the Northeast. It also occupied a prominent place on the political landscape; as a shire town, where the county courts convened, it had risen into a leading center of Middlesex County, and its politicians were major players on that stage. Economic and political ambitions, as well as pride in the past, drove the insistence that Concord was the "first site of forcible resistance to British aggression."



A decade later, by the mid-1830s, with over two thousand inhabitants, Concord was probably at its political and economic pinnacle . The central village hosted some nine stores, forty shops, four hotels and taverns, four doctors and four lawyers, a variety of county associations, a printing office and a post office. Manufacturing was humming, too, with a growing mill village in the west part of town, along the quick-running Assabet River, and rising production of carriages and chaises, boots and shoes, bricks, guns, bellows, and pencils.



But a good many people were left out of the prosperity. In what was still a farming town, 64 percent of adult males were landless, while the top tenth of taxpayers, some fifty men, controlled nearly half the wealth. Those who failed to obtain a stake in society, native and newcomer alike, quickly moved on. The ties that once joined neighbors together were fraying. On the farms, the old work customsthe huskings, roof-raisings, and apple beesby which people cooperated to complete essential chores gave way to modern capitalist arrangements. When men needed help, they hired it, and paid the going rate, which no longer included the traditional ration of grog. With a new zeal for temperance, employers abandoned the custom of drinking with workers in what had been a ritual display of camaraderie. There was no point in pretending to common bonds.



With the loosening of familiar obligations came unprecedented opportunities for personal autonomy and voluntary choice. Massachusetts inaugurated a new era of religious pluralism in 1834, ending two centuries of mandatory support for local churches. Even in Concord, a slim majority approved the change, and as soon as it became law, townspeople deserted the two existing churchesthe Unitarian flock of the Reverend Ripley and an orthodox Calvinist congregation founded in 1826in droves. The Sabbath no longer brought all ranks and orders together in obligatory devotion to the Word of God. Instead, townspeople gathered in an expanding array of voluntary associationslibraries, lyceums, charitable and missionary groups, Masonic lodges, antislavery and temperance societies, among othersto promote diverse projects for the common good. The privileged classes, particularly the village elite, were remarkably active in these campaigns. But even as they pulled back from customary roles and withdrew into private associations, they continued to exercise public power.

4. It can be inferred from the passage that which of the following was true of Concords economy in the 1840s?



(A) Manufacturing was a growing industry, overtaking farming in importance.



(B) The economy likely was stagnant or in decline relative to the previous decade.



(C) Land ownership among adult males was on the rise.



(D) The sale and consumption of alcohol declined sharply.



(E) The construction of new farmhouses and other farm buildings slowed.Re: K-numbers are positive integers with only 2's as their digits. For exa [ #permalink

Bunuel wrote:

K-numbers are positive integers with only 2's as their digits. For example, 2, 22, and 222 are K-numbers. The K-weight of a number n is the minimum number of K-numbers that must be added together to equal n. For example, the K-weight of 50 is 5, because 50 = 22 + 22 + 2 + 2 + 2. What is the K-weight of 600?



(A) 10

(B) 11

(C) 12

(D) 13

(E) 14

OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

The correct answer is A.

Since we are looking for the minimum number of K-numbers that sum to 600, a practical place to start is with the largest K-number less than 600, or 222. There are between 2 and 3 multiples of 222 in 600, so let's subtract out the two whole multiples!600 - 444 (= 2*222) = 156.Now, the next largest K-number is 22. Again subtract as many whole multiples as possible:156 - 154 (= 7*22) = 2.The next largest K-number is obviously 2:2 - 2 ( =1*2) = 0.Thus, 600 = 222(2) + 22(7) + 2(1), and the K-weight of 600 is 2 + 7 + 1 = 10._________________Thank you Daagh for your time on GMAT Club and all your contributions! Thank you for everything you did!

Your work will remain a great tribute to you here on GMAT Club !

-bb -bb Signature Read More

Neither the president nor the vice president were concerned about the pervasive negative comparison between their own corporation's environmental policy and their main competitor's.A) Neither the president nor the vice president were concerned about the pervasive negative comparison between their own corporation's environmental policy and their main competitor's.B) Neither the president nor the vice president were concerned about the pervasive negative comparison between their own corporation's environmental policy and their main competitor's policy.C) Neither the president nor the vice president was concerned about the pervasive negative comparison between their own corporation and their main competitor's environmental policy.D) Neither the president nor the vice president was concerned with the pervasive negative comparison between their own corporation's environmental policy and their main competitor's.E) Both the president and the vice president were unconcerned about the pervasive negative comparison between their own corporation's environmental policy and their main competitor's.When we say we are concerned with, we mean to say that we are dealing with. For example, we say thatThe Travel Dept is concerned with my flight bookingAn ICU in a hospital is concerned with very sick people.Here, we mean that the travel dept. deals with ticket booking and the ICU deals with sick people.We do not mean that the travel dept. is very worried by ticket booking or that the ICU is literally tormented by the very sick condition.However, when we say we are 'concerned about', we mean that we are 'worried by'.I am concerned about my son's performanceThe President is concerned about the neo-migrants into his country.We may perhaps see the difference between both the idioms. In the light of this perception, I think the idiom 'concerned with' in D does not make much sense. In addition, whenever nor/or is used, the effective subject turns out to be the noun that is just before the verb and as the deciding subject is the vice president, we must settle for the singular 'his' rather than 'their'. On the other hand, E has no sub-verb or sub-pronoun number agreement issues and fittingly uses an appropriate idiom._________________

How the Beijing elite sees the world



The charms of democracy and free markets have withered for Chinas leaders



Martin Wolf







How does the Chinese ruling elite view the world? Over the weekend, I participated in a dialogue between a handful of foreign scholars and journalists and top Chinese officials, academics and business people, organised by the Tsinghua University Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking. The discussion was franker than any I have participated in during the 25 years I have been visiting China. Here are seven propositions our interlocutors made to us.



China needs strong central rule. This idea went with the notion that China is in important ways a divided society: one participant even remarked that 500m Chinese people love Deng Xiaopings reforms, while 900m favour the world view of Mao Zedong. Another pointed to the fact that the central government spends only 11 per cent of the total by all levels of government and employs just 4 per cent of all civil servants. Others emphasised that China is a developing country with huge challenges.



The conclusion participants drew was that the Chinese Communist party, with some 90m members, is essential to national unity. Yet corruption and factional infighting has threatened the legitimacy of the party. One senior official even stated that Xi Jinping has saved the party, the country and the military. This perspective also justifies the suspension of term limits on the presidency, which, it was stressed, does not mean perpetual one-man rule.



Western models are discredited. The Chinese have developed a state system run by a technocratic elite of highly educated bureaucrats under party control. This is Chinas age-old imperial system in modern form. The attraction that western-style democracy and free-market capitalism may have exercised on this elite has now withered. They stressed the failure of western states to invest in their physical or human assets, the poor quality of many of their elected leaders and the instability of their economies. One participant added that 90 per cent of democracies created after the fall of the Soviet Union have now failed. This risk is not to be run.All this has increased confidence in Chinas unique model. Yet this does not mean a return to a controlled economy. On the contrary, as a participant remarked: We believe in the fundamental role of the market in allocating resources. But government needs to play a decisive role. It creates the framework for the market. The government should promote entrepreneurship and protect the private economy. One participant even insisted that the new idea of a core leader could lead to strong government and economic freedom.

.





China does not want to run the world. This sentiment was repeated. Its internal problems are, in the view of participants, too big for any such ambition. In any case, it has no worked-out view of what to do. But, as a senior policymaker insisted, in the specific context of relations with the US, we must co-operate, to deal with shared problems.China is under attack by the US. One participant argued that the US has now shot four arrows against China: over the South China Sea, Taiwan, the Dalai Lama and now trade. This then is a systematic attack. Many expect this to get worse. That is not because of what China has done, but because Americans now view China as a threat to US economic and military hegemony.



US goals in the trade talks are incomprehensible. People closely engaged in the trade talks are puzzled by what the US is after. Does Donald Trump even want a deal, they wonder, or is his aim just conflict? In any case, top officials say they understand and accept the legitimacy (and value to China itself) of demands for better protection of intellectual property. They also understand the case for unilateral liberalisation, including of financial services. China would, one official suggested, like to make the Made in China 2025 programme a win-win for the world. But Chinas technological upgrade is non-negotiable. Also, how is China expected to reduce the bilateral imbalance with the US if the latter imposes tough controls on exports of strategically sensitive goods and lacks the infrastructure to ship coal or oil competitively?







China will survive these attacks. The Chinese participants seemed reasonably confident that their country could endure the tests to come. One noted that China is already a huge industrial country. Its manufacturing sector is almost as big as those of the US, Japan and Germany together. It has enormous numbers of skilled people. The economy is also less dependent on trade than it used to be. Furthermore, noted another, US business is highly involved with and dependent upon the Chinese economy. The Chinese people, stressed others, are probably better able to bear privation than Americans. They are also highly resistant to being bullied by US power. Indeed, the Chinese leadership could not ignore public opinion in considering concessions. Whatever happened, some insisted, Chinas rise was now unstoppable. (See charts.)







Furthermore, they noted, while China cannot challenge US global military dominance, that is less the case in the western Pacific, where China is increasingly potent. In the longer run, China will develop a first-class military.This will be a testing year. China and the US will have a complex and fraught relationship over the long run. But, one participant remarked, this will be a testing year. If it goes in the right direction, it will be fine; if it goes in the wrong direction, it will be earth-shaking. The progress made over Korea, an area of Chinese and American co-operation, could be a harbinger of the former; friction over trade presages the latter. The direction taken may reshape our world.Estimados amigos,

Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia.

Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro.

Gonzalo Raffo de Lavalle

Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras.

Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada.

Helenio Herrera

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

Karl Marx

If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

Sun Tzu









We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.



Paulo CoelhoImperial Valley News Center

Oregon Missionary Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing Six Cambodian Children at Orphanage

Portland, Oregon - A Coos Bay, Oregon man, who was a Christian missionary running an orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was found guilty by a federal jury of six counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, traveling with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct and aggravated sexual abuse.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams of the District of Oregon, and Special Agent in Charge Loren G. Cannon of the FBI, Portland Division, made the announcement after the verdict was accepted by U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane of the District of Oregon.

Daniel Stephen Johnson, 40, was charged in December 2014 after serving a one-year sentence in Cambodia for sexually abusing some of the same victims. According to evidence at trial, Johnson was a Christian missionary who traveled between the United States and Cambodia, along with other countries in Southeast Asia. He started an orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, that housed several Cambodian children. Over a period of years beginning in 2005, Johnson engaged in sexual abuse and attempted to sexually abuse at least nine children who resided at his orphanage. The victims ranged in age from eight to 17-years-old. The sexual abuse continued until December 2013 when Johnson was arrested by the Cambodian National Police. Based on disclosures made by children at the orphanage, Cambodian officials charged Johnson and detained him pending trial. In May 2014, Johnson was convicted by a Cambodian judge of performing indecent acts on one or more children at the orphanage and sentenced to one year in prison. Following his release from prison, Johnson was escorted back to the United States by the FBI. He will be sentenced on Aug. 22 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. McShane.

While Stephen Johnson held himself out as a selfless missionary helping orphans in Cambodia, in reality he exploited that cover to sexually abuse the children entrusted to his care, said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan. Todays conviction is a testament both to the courage of the victims, who traveled to the United States to provide critical testimony against their abuser, and to the steadfast commitment of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to seeing that Johnson be held to account for his terrible crimes.

The despicable nature of this defendants conduct is beyond understanding, said U.S. Attorney Williams. Whether you are abusing children in this country or abroad, you will be pursued and held accountable in a court of law. The fact that this defendant abused children under the guise of being a missionary and orphanage operator is appalling.

Daniel Johnsons promises of charity and a better life were nothing more than lies as he dragged these children into his dark world of abuse, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Cannon. This case should serve as warning to those predators who believe they can hide their crimes  whether here at home or half-a-world-away. We will always stand with the victims, and we will always work to bring justice in their names.

According to evidence presented at trial, while in custody awaiting trial, Johnson made multiple efforts to tamper with witnesses and obstruct justice. Johnson contacted his victims online, encouraging them to lie and offering money and gifts. One message, sent via his relatives Facebook account to an adult in Cambodia, discussed visiting a victims family and encouraging them to convince the victim to retract their statement, potentially in exchange for $10,000. Another message explains the need for a victim to say they were under duress and pushed by police to thumbprint a document.

The FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Lauren E. Britsch of the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey S. Sweet and Ravi Sinha of the District of Oregon prosecuted the case with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy E. Potter for the District of Oregon. The Criminal Divisions Office of International Affairs also provided assistance in this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.As of August 26th, 2021 Yahoo India will no longer be publishing content. Your Yahoo Account Mail and Search experiences will not be affected in any way and will operate as usual. We thank you for your support and readership. For more information on Yahoo India, please visit the FAQAs the racial disparity in marijuana arrests continues, and with a state report recommending the legalization of marijuana set to drop this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Sunday that he would direct the NYPD to stop arresting New Yorkers for smoking weed in public, and create a task force to prepare the city for legalization.

With marijuana legalization likely to occur in our state in the near future, it is critical our city plans for the public safety, health, and financial consequences involved," the mayor said in a statement, first reported by the Daily News.

"While I still have real concerns we must work through, it isnt difficult to see where this is headed and any responsible policymaker must prepare for that eventuality. My focus now will be helping to craft the critical regulatory framework that must come before legalization is realized.

According to the New York Times, during the first four months of 2018, around 4,000 people were arrested for marijuana possession, and 89 percent of them were Black or Hispanic.

In his testimony before the City Council last week, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill rejected the premise of the reports in the Times, WNYC, and the Daily News, that marijuana arrests were racially motivated, and pointed out that those arrests have decreased by 38 percent since 2013.

"In the case of smoking marijuana in public, we have evaluated our data and NYPD executive staff members know they must ensure that arrests conform to the mission and vision of this police departmentthat the enforcement will enhance quality of life or bring about disorder [control] or crime-control," O'Neill said.

The Mayor's Office confirmed that broadly, police officers will be directed to issue criminal violations$100 for a first offensefor public marijuana consumption instead of making misdemeanor arrests, and that the task force will examine the kind of discretion the police will have to make arrests for smoking marijuana in public.

Some states that have legalized marijuana, like Washington, make public smoking a civil offense, much like having an open container of alcohol.

Jeffrey Fagan, a law professor at Columbia University who specializes in police accountability and criminal law, said the mayor's policy may cause a drop in arrests for marijuana smoking, "but even with a drop well still see significant racial disparities, and we will until they totally decriminalize public burning."

Fagan points to the fact that there are more marijuana arrests in neighborhoods with more people of color, despite other neighborhoods that have the same amount of 311 and 911 calls complaining about marijuana smoke. The NYPD contends that's because those neighborhoods with more marijuana arrests have more violent crime and therefore more police officers.

"High crime area" was also one of the top justifications for why NYPD officers stopped and frisked five million New Yorkers, most of them Black and Hispanic, over the course of a decade. Roughly ninety percent of those stops ended with no arrest or charge, and were often justified with vague, flimsy reasons, like "furtive" movements.

"Public order rationale for police action, whether it be a stop and frisk or a marijuana arrest or Broken Windows arrests, has always been invoked far more often in areas that the police believe to be high crime areas," says Fagan, who was an expert witness in the stop and frisk case in which the practice was declared unconstitutional. "But research shows that police officers believe areas to be high crime areas that arent necessarily high crime areas, but they do have a concentration of Black and Hispanic people."

Darius Charney, a senior staff attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, and one of the lawyers who successfully litigated the stop and frisk case for the plaintiffsFloyd v. City of New Yorksaid he felt a sense of "deja vu" when he read the stories about racial disparities in marijuana arrests.

"It really is the racial composition of the neighborhoods that is driving the marijuana arrest activity which is just like it was with stops," Charney says. "The equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment says that everyone has to be treated equally under the law. If [the police] are overwhelmingly enforcing their marijuana laws against one ethnic group or two ethnic groups, and not others, that would clearly violate the 14th Amendment."

Jonathan Moore, another civil rights attorney who litigated the stop and frisk case for the plaintiffs, said that there is a "striking similarity" between the NYPD's justification for stop and frisks and their justification for marijuana arrests.

"The rationale sounds a lot like Floydwere only stopping people who are committing crimes and therefore were not racially profiling," Moore said. "That was a fallacy."

Moore says that class action federal lawsuits like Floyd are expensive and difficult to bring. Asked if the city is vulnerable to a similar suit based on the racial disparity of marijuana arrests, Moore replied, "Im sure someones got it in the works."

"We have to know more about the facts of each arrest. Are the arrests based on observations? Or the discovery of marijuana after a search?"

Timothy Rountree, Legal Aid's attorney-in-charge for Queens County, said the police department's numbers for marijuana arrests can be "misleading."

"Police often say marijuana was in public view when it wasnt to form their false basis for probable cause. This in itself is a form of abuse because facts are made up on the street to justify the stop," Rountree said.

The NYPD has not yet responded to our request for comment.

The Mayor's Office said that the threat of litigation against the racial disparity in marijuana arrests was not a consideration in de Blasio's policy announcement.Two off-duty NYPD police officers were killed in a crash late Sunday night in upstate New York. One of the police officers was driving, while the other officer was a groom who had just been married that day.

Michael Colangelo, 31, an officer in the K9 division, was married at the Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY, on Sunday. According to NY State Police, John Martinez, an officer in the 84th Precinct, was driving a 2018 Maserati which "struck a large tree before overturning and coming to rest on its roof" on Oliveria Road in Shandaken, Ulster County. State police responded to the scene at 11:23 p.m., and Colangelo and Martinez were pronounced dead at the scene.

A third passenger was taken to Albany Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries. This unnamed victim was apparently not the bride.

An investigator told the Post that the "victims were coming from the reception at the time of the fatal crash," while NBC New York reports that the Maserati had been rented.Havana, May 21 (IBNS): Several Canadians, who went to Cuba to spend vacations, are unable to return to their own country after a plane crash in the capital city.

On Friday, a flight from Havana had crashed shortly after it took off.

The incident claimed 110 lives. Only three out of 113 passengers and crew members could survive the crash.

Nancy Charland, who is from Montreal, has no idea when she will be able to depart. She said she is unable to get any information from the respective airline.

Nancy told CTV News, "I've been trying to hold it together. I have little doubts (where) I start crying because I'm super stressed. I hardly sleep."

Like Nancy, Michael Renard also said he is unable to get any update from the airline.

"Every few hours we keep getting told to come back to get more information," he told CTV News.

Charland said it is possible for 16 people to fly to Varadero and rest to Montreal in another flight. But the airline is giving no information.

The latest plane crash is considered to be the worst airline disaster in Cuban history.The residents of Kazerun disapproved of the planned changes and rallied to voice their opposition, but things became much worse after the police showed up and tried to force them to disperse.

There are videos of the violent attacks from Irans security forces circulating online, where protesters can be heard chanting slogans like State Radio and Television Should be Ashamed, The Government Supports Gazans, But Betrays Kazerun, and Our Enemy is Here, not in the US.

According to unconfirmed reports, the protesters may have attacked the police station and nearby government buildings following the arrival of the security forces.

Prior to the protests, opponents of the changes have gathered signatures, disowned their member of parliament for introducing the deal, gone on strike, but none of these produced the desired result.

Thus, they began a new round of protest actions, including occupying the location of Friday Prayers in Iran, calling for the resignation of some local officials and decrying the Iranian Regime as a whole.

This caught the attention of the media and the internet as the slogans were remarkably similar to those used by protesters in the nationwide Iranian uprising that sprung up in December 2017.

These protests, where all involved are calling for an end to the Iranian Regime and decrying the mullahs lies about who the real enemies are, show that the Iranian people as a whole want regime change. It is not isolated to any particular group or issue, but the overwhelming desire of the people of Iran.

Even a member of parliament in the province admits that these protests are about more than the redrawing of boundary lines.

MP Bahram Parsaeinejad said that these are the same protests we see in other parts of the society and that people are looking to be heard on wide-reaching issues, like the dire situation of the Iranian economy.

While Parvaneh Salahshouri, a representative from Tehran, wrote in a memo: The responsible authorities, whether they accept it or not, are on one side and people are on the other side. We can see proof of this in Isfahan and Kazerun and many other places. We must be aware that for years now people have been under pressure and these [protests] amount to acts of civil disobedience.

A solution has yet to be found to the crisis, which probably has a lot to do with the fact that the Iranian Regime is incapable of reform and the only solution is regime change by and for the people of Iran.Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have now, in the wake of the US withdrawal, banded together to come up with ideas for a US-led containment campaign against Iran.

Sanctions

While the sanctions already being proposed and implemented by the US are a good start, they dont really go far enough to stop Iran, even if they do limit investment from international companies.

This is because Iranian expansionism largely took place before the nuclear deal was signed and the comprehensive sanctions against Iran in the early Obama years did not stop the Regime from supporting terrorist groups (i.e. the Houthis) and ruthless dictators (i.e. Syrias Bashar Assad) across the Middle East.

Thus, the three countries want more effort to tackle Iran, including:

 focused military action to tackle the expansionism that the Regime has been able to do since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003

 confrontation of the Iranian Regime in Iraq, where Saudi Arabia has offered to play a diplomatic role in its place

 choking the Iranian economy

 weakening the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Iranian proxies

 sending Iranian proxies (i.e. Hezbollah) back to their own countries

 preventing the Iranian Regime from further implantation in Syria

 persuading other countries (i.e. Turkey and Russia) that an expansionist Iran will not serve its interests

This is a good start, but it fails to address the most glaring problem with Iran: The Iranian Regime are incapable of change.

After nearly 40 years of appeasement, including brief periods of containment, the Iranian Regime had failed to modify its behaviour. The country is run by fanatical mullahs who would rather see their country burn than change the way that they do things. Therefore, any attempts to pressure them will not bring change to Iran or peace to the Middle East.

The only way to tackle the problem of Iranian expansionism is through regime change, which the people of Iran and the Iranian Resistance are loudly calling out for. Any other policy will fail to address the actual problem and therefore fail to keep the world safe from Iran.Throughout history, the eugenics ideology/movement has been used by racist individuals and groups, like the Nazi leaders in Germany or neo-Nazis in the United States, to claim that the Aryan race is genetically superior compared to other races or groups. Prior to the rise of Nazism, however, white Americans used this pseudoscience to argue that they were superior compared to racialized groups, such as African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Mexican Americans. For instance, as a way to justify their racist policies towards African Americans throughout the late-1800s to the mid-1900s, like residential segregation and whites-only spaces (public and private), white American leaders and white citizens claimed (to the present) that whites were/are superior to blacks.New Yorkers issued a raucous, musical rebuke to now-infamous lawyer Aaron Schlossberg on Friday, gathering for a block-long party and protest outside his Upper West Side home, complete with a five-piece Mariachi band and free tacos.

The protest began with a GoFundMe campaign called "Mariachis For Aaron," which raised over $1,000 after Schlossberg achieved viral infamy for his xenophobic rant and threats to call ICE on a group of Spanish-speakers in a midtown Fresh Kitchen. A host of progressive groups, including Latinos for Revolution, Alt Immigration, and Millennials for Revolution, helped organize Friday's event.

Over 100 people flooded Schlossberg's block for the demonstration, chanting "Ole, Ole! Throw him out! and waving signs that read "Proud Mexican" and "Viva la educacion bilingue." A five-piece Mariachi band drew huge cheers as they serenaded the crowd with "La Cucaracha" and other Spanish language songs. Jade Sixty, an Asian restaurant on the Upper East Side Asian, donated Duck tacos, according to the Forward.

The mariachi band leads off with 'La Cucaracha' at the #latinparty outside a certain racist's condo #HolaAaron pic.twitter.com/swm07OtUFa  L.A. Kauffman (@LAKauffman) May 18, 2018

Schlossberg has not been heard from since Thursday, when he was confronted at a Queens courthouse and later caught on video fleeing a group of reporters outside his home. Over the weekend, PhillyVoice reported that Schlossberg was arrested for disorderly conduct in 2009, after disturbing patrons at a Phillies game and allegedly telling a police officer, "you're fucking dead." The charges were later dropped.

The lawyer who threatened to call immigration enforcement on workers at a Manhattan cafe earlier this week sprinted away from an NBC News reporter earlier today https://t.co/BCsW1WSWDG pic.twitter.com/rb5A6XZBXF  NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) May 17, 2018

Schlossberg has been kicked out of the co-working space he used as an office, and multiple local politicians are calling for his disbarment. The New York City Commission on Human Rights has also spoken to employees of the Fresh Kitchen about filing a complaint against Schlossberg for the racist tirade.

"We deal with crazy people all the time, and don't pay them any mind," one employee told Gothamist on Friday. "We're okay, really."

A series of incidents involving Chinese tourists in Vietnam has fueled tension despite the countries efforts to improve relations.

Last week, 14 Chinese tourists passed through immigration in the central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa, all wearing the same red-on-white T-shirts.

The shirts showed a nine-dash line marking Chinas claim to the entire South China Sea. The marking covers area that Vietnam also claims as its own.

Vietnams immigration officials seized the shirts. And Vietnamese voiced their anger online toward the Chinese tourists.

The incident is at least the fourth involving Chinese tourists over the past two years.

Trung Nguyen is head of international relations at Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities. He said, "We can see that the Chinese government might increasingly use civilians as a way to spread their sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, from militia fishermen to uber-nationalist southbound tourists.

A series of incidents

China and Vietnam have had a long history of dispute. In the 1970s, the two neighboring countries fought a border war that resulted in many deaths on both sides.

Now, the two are involved in a dispute over parts of the South China Sea rich in fisheries, oil and gas. China commands the more powerful armed forces and has militarized small islands in the disputed parts of the sea.

VnExpress International is a news website with official permission to operate in Vietnam. It said that in 2016, the city of Da Nang suspended a travel agency because it offered travel services to Chinese visitors who burned Vietnamese money.

That same year, China asked Vietnam to investigate whether immigration officials had written profanity into the passport of a Chinese visitor to Ho Chi Minh City.

VN Express also said Chinese tour guides have sometimes spread anti-Vietnamese information about history to tour groups.

Oh Ei Sun teaches international studies teacher at Singapore Nanyang University. He said people in both countries are influenced by the nationalist traditions in their education.

"Of course they would think that those disputed territories unquestionably belong to them and therefore all others are sort of occupiers and should be gotten rid of as soon as possible," Sun said.

Still trying to get along

Officials from the two countries, however, are trying to get along.

China and Vietnam have held defense talks and exchanged state visits. The two ruling Communist parties have also met regularly since 2014. And the two countries depend on each other for economic activities.

Adam McCarty is the chief economist with Mekong Economics in Hanoi. He said China sees Vietnam as an economic link to Southeast Asia. Vietnam looks to China as a top trading partner and Chinese tourism to support its service economy.

He said, "There will still be some on both sides who are overtly nationalistic and trying to push issues with these silly T-shirts. I think the Vietnamese government (is) not going to be provoked by that.

Im Phil Dierking.

Ralph Jennings reported this story for VOANews. Phil Dierking adapted the story for Learning English. Hai Do was the editor.

Have you seen tourist try and make political statements while traveling? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

profanity - n.offensive language

province - n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

provoke - v. to cause the occurrence of (a feeling or action)

sovereignty - n. a country's independent authority and the right to govern itself

uber - adj. used to indicate that someone is a great or extreme example of a particular kind of personA funeral service has been held for a Pakistani exchange student killed in a mass shooting at a high school near Houston, Texas.

The student, 17-year-old Sabika Sheikh, was one of 10 people gunned down Friday at Santa Fe High School in the town of Sante Fe, Texas. Eight of those killed were students, two were teachers. At least 10 people were injured in the attack.

The accused gunman is Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student at the school. He was arrested and is being held on murder charges.

Sabika Sheikh came to the United States last fall as an exchange student. Friends and family said she wanted to learn about U.S. culture, while sharing her own with Americans.

Sabika had two U.S. host families. Her first host mother was Pakistani American Uzma Parveen, who spoke to VOA at the funeral, held Sunday at a mosque in Stafford, Texas.

We did not have children. She was the first one who called us mom and dad. She was literally like a daughter to us.

Parveen said Sabika experienced many parts of American culture, including going to the yearly high school dance known as prom. She said she had big dreams, with plans to attend college to study to become a diplomat or a businesswoman.

Also attending the funeral was Gerri Manlove, who helps run the foreign student exchange program. She tried to reach Sabika by text message the day of the shooting, but never got an answer.

She and two other students and a teacher hid in the classroom. They hid.They found a closet. But the boy found them.

Manlove said she thinks there should be steps taken to improve security to prevent future shootings. She suggested students could be required to wear clothes that would not easily hide guns. Or, she said putting metal detectors in schools might help.

Uzma Parveen said she also believes more should be done to prevent future tragedies.

If anybody listens to me, I have only one appeal. Please do something. No children should be taken away from parents. It hurts. Believe me, it hurts. One metal detector could have saved her, just one.

Friends say Sabika was looking forward to going home in a few weeks after the school year ended. They said she planned to celebrate the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

Her second host family also attended the funeral. Host father Jason Cogburn spoke about the familys desire to include Sabika in everything they did.

When she started Ramadan and started fasting, my family did that with her, because we did things together.

Her host sister, Jaelyn, called Sabika the most beautiful, loving person she had ever met.

In Pakistan, Sabikas parents were in shock over her death. Father Abdul Aziz Sheikh told the Associated Press in Karachi he could not believe what had happened. We are still in a state of denial. We cant believe it. Its like a nightmare.

Sheikh said his daughter had talked about one day joining Pakistans Foreign Office after finishing her studies. He called on U.S. officials to completely investigate the shooting. But he said he hoped it would not prevent other students from going abroad.

One must go for education undeterred," he said. "But controlling such incidents is the responsibility of the respective governments, he added.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Elizabeth Lee reported this story for VOA News. Bryan Lynn adapted it for Learning English, with additional material from the Associated Press. Hai Do was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

host  n. person or people who offer to let someone from another country live with them for a period of time

literally  adv. used to stress that a statement or description is true and accurate even though it may be surprising

closet  n. a small room used to store things

detector  n. device that can tell if a substance or object is present

fasting  n. eating no food for a period of time

nightmare  n. a frightening dream

undeterred  adj. continuing to do something despite problems of a bad situationVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won re-election in a disputed vote on Sunday.

The result led his main political opponents to call for another vote to prevent a national crisis.

Venezuelas National Election Council announced that Maduro won nearly 68 percent of the votes Sunday. It said he defeated Henri Falcon by more than 40 points.

Falcon accused the Maduro government of buying votes and dirty tricks to increase the number of poor Venezuelans voting. Falcon refused to recognize the results, and said the election lacks legitimacy. Falcon told supporters that he will fight on instead of joining others in exile.

Third-place finisher Javier Bertucci agreed on the need for new elections. Venezuelan officials say Bertucci won around 11 percent of the vote. He urged the president against being a candidate in a re-vote. Bertucci warned that if Maduro pressed forward, Venezuela would explode before his new six-year term begins in January.

International pressures

Maduros disputed victory is likely to raise international pressure on the Venezuelan leader. On Monday, the United States government announced economic sanctions to punish Venezuela for what officials called its fraudulent election. President Donald Trump signed an order that bars Americans from dealing with Venezuelas oil industry.

The European Union and some Latin American countries also warned that the presidential election was not fair.

Chilean president Sebastian Pinera, said, Venezuelas elections do not meet minimum standards of true democracy. He added that, Chile does not recognize these elections. Panamas government also said it would not recognize the results.

But Cuba and El Salvador, two allies of Venezuela, sent their congratulations on the vote.

Venezuelas economic crisis

Maduro called for discussions with his defeated opponents, but he showed no sign of wanting new elections. He told supporters, It doesnt faze me when they say Im a dictator.

The Venezuelan leader promised to repair an economy he says has been damaged by Colombia and the U.S.

In the past two years, more than 1 million Venezuelans have fled to neighboring countries as the value of the national currency dropped.

Venezuelas oil production  the source of almost all of its overseas earnings  has collapsed to its lowest level. And U.S. government sanctions have made it impossible for Venezuela to renegotiate its debts.

I'm Jonathan Evans.

The Associated Press reported this story. Hai Do adapted the report for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

legitimacy  n. the state of being lawful or rightful

sanction  n. a measure designed to punish a nation for violating international law

fraudulent - adj. done to trick someone with the goal of getting something valuable

minimum  adj. the lowest level or amount permitted

standard  n. a measure or level of quality

faze  v. to make someone feel afraid or worried

currency  n. paper money; money that a country uses

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A representative of Republican Congressman Peter King told the NY Post Trump will visit Long Island on Wednesday to speak at an immigration event that will focus on an "MS-13 forum discussion." For a taste of what to expect, here's a press release the White House issued today about the "violent animals of MS-13," which refers to the gang members as animals eight times.

MS-13 animals has gone from a presidential utterance to White House doctrine. This WH press release on what you need to know about the violent animals of MS-13 calls them animals 8 times. pic.twitter.com/ZAfOlYjaDB  Todd Zwillich (@toddzwillich) May 21, 2018

Trump will speak at the Morrelly Homeland Security Center in Bethpage Wednesday. The office of Rep. Tom Suozzi, Bethpage's Democrat representative, told the Post he had gotten no heads up or invite to the event yet.

According to the NY Times, at least 17 murders on Long Island were attributed to MS-13 in the last two years. Multiple members were arrested in the deaths of four teenagers in 2017, and two girls Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens were killed by gang members in 2016. That led to Trump inviting the girls' family members to his State Of The Union address at the start of the year, in which he targeted the gang. He said in that speech that many of its members "took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as unaccompanied alien minors."

MS-13 experts have argued that the group is "more of a social organization than a criminal enterprise." David C. Pyrooz, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder, told PolitiFact that while there is no doubt that MS-13 has engaged in serious and heinous forms of violence, "the emphasis on immigrants as the source of the gang problem in the United States is misguided...[MS-13 is] the perfect boogeyman, owing to their ethnicity, transnationality, and extreme violence. The problem is that the constant callouts from the highest office in the land are giving MS-13 the notoriety that they could never achieve on their own accord."

Trump previously spoke at Suffolk County Community College in LI last July, in one of his six visits to NYC in 2017, and railed against the MS-13 gang then as well. Although Trump used the "animal" rhetoric in his speech last year, it provoked an outcry last week after he made remarks during a meeting with California officials about immigration.

"We have people coming into the country, or trying to come in  and we're stopping a lot of them  but we're taking people out of the country. You wouldn't believe how bad these people are. These aren't people. These are animals," Trump said. Trump was widely criticized for calling immigrants "animals," but the White House later doubled down and said he was only referring to MS-13 members. It's a testament to how incomprehensible Trump's garbled speech is that few understood that even within the full context of the meeting.

And as the Washington Post wrote, "Its never right to call other human beings animals. Its not something we should even have to debate. No matter how debased the behavior of a given individual or group, no matter how much legitimate anger that genuinely evil actions might inspire, dehumanizing others always leads us down a dangerous path."

What say you Mr. President?Wall Street analysts have given Centennial Mining a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Centennial Mining wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.Augusta Gold Corp., a junior exploration company, engages in the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties in the United States. It primarily explores for gold, silver, and other metals. The company holds interests in the Bullfrog gold project located in the north-west of Las Vegas, Nevada. It also owns, controls, or has acquired mineral rights on Federal patented and unpatented mining claims in the state of Nevada for the purpose of exploration and potential development of metals on a total of approximately 7,800 acres of land. The company was formerly known as Bullfrog Gold Corp. and changed its name to Augusta Gold Corp. in January 2021. Augusta Gold Corp. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Read MoreBrookfield Asset Management, Inc. engages in the management of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients. It operates through the following segments: Asset Management, Real Estate, Renewable Power, Infrastructure, Private Equity, Residential Development, and Corporate Activities. The Asset Management segment includes the management of its listed partnerships, private funds and public securities. The Real Estate segment is comprised of the ownership, operation and development of core office, core retail, LP investments and other properties. The Renewable Power segment encompasses the ownership, operation and development of hydroelectric, wind, solar, storage and other power generating facilities. The Infrastructure segment consists of the ownership, operation and development of utilities, transport, energy, data infrastructure and sustainable resource assets. The Private Equity segment refers to the broad range of industries, and is mostly focused on business services, infrastructure services and industrials. The Residential Development segment represents homebuilding, condominium development and land development. The Corporate Activiti

Read MoreOrmat Technologies, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm engages in the provision of geothermal and recovered energy power business. It operates through the following segments: Electricity, Product and Energy Storage. The Electricity segment focuses in the sale of electricity from the company's power plants pursuant to PPAs. The Product segment involves in the manufacture, including design and development, of turbines and power units for the supply of electrical energy and in the associated construction of power plants utilizing the power units manufactured by the company to supply energy from geothermal fields and other alternative energy sources. The Energy Storage segment consists of battery energy storage systems as a service and management of curtailable customer loads under contracts with U.S. retail energy providers and directly with large commercial and industrial customers. The company was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Reno, NV.

Read MorePlease enable cookies on your web browser in order to continue.

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We use cookies and other technologies to customize your experience, perform analytics and deliver personalized advertising on our sites, apps and newsletters and across the Internet based on your interests. By clicking I agree below, you consent to the use by us and our third-party partners of cookies and data gathered from your use of our platforms. See our Privacy Policy and Third Party Partners to learn more about the use of data and your rights. You also agree to our Terms of Service.Chinese Doctor Becomes Mentally Unstable After Police Interrogation for 12 Hours

Doctor exposed harmful side effects of Chinese medicinal liquor and was already detained for months

The content is not available due to expiration.Winnie Fok, the wife of Chief Executive Chui Sai On, has been formally accepted as an honorary president of animal rights group Anima (Macau), according to information provided by the associations president. Albano Martins told the Times that Foks position was ratified at an annual general meeting on Saturday. The association invited Fok to become an honorary president as part of their outreach to important members of the Chinese community. In March, Fok adopted a stray dog, according to Martins, and she now plans to adopt others from Anima.

Red Market library expected to open this year

The refurbishment of the Red Market Library will shortly commence, according to Tang Mei Lin, Head of the Department of Public Library Management of the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC). The library was damaged during last years Typhoon Hato. Tang disclosed that the IC has already prepared new books, new furniture and new facilities for the restored library. The library will be open to the public shortly after the restoration works are completed. The IC still hopes that the library can begin operating this year.

1,400 students to graduate from UM

More than 1,400 students will graduate from Bachelors degree programmes at the University of Macau (UM) and will receive their graduation certificates on Saturday including 42 outstanding students who have completed programmes offered by the Honours College. UM will also present academic awards and scholarships to 63 outstanding graduating students. The university released a statement indicating that graduating students are required to collect their admission tickets for family members and friends at UMs Registry by May 23. The admission tickets can also be collected at registration desks on the day of the ceremony between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Local artist participates in HK art fair

The Affordable Art Fair in Hong Kong featured 115 works from Chinese and other international galleries during a three-day fair concluding yesterday. During the fair, Macau-based artist Fortes Pakeong Sequeira did a live-sketch as part of his work entitled Living Painting, according to media reports. Visitors were invited to make their own additions to a community art piece entitled Playground by Hong Kong artist Vanessa Wong. The fair also featured an exhibit known as Young Talent Hong Kong, which began in 2013 and aims to provide a platform for emerging talent to show their works and further their career through exposure to a diverse audience.

MGTO head wants to foster non-gaming offer

The MSAR should imitate Las Vegas by aiming for non-gaming attractions to contribute 40 percent of revenue, the director of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO), Helena Senna de Fernandes, remarked during a panel discussion at G2E Asia last week. Whatever the mix is going forward, there has to be a balance for the operators and I dont think Macau can reasonably expect to reach 60 percent like Las Vegas, but I think 40 percent non-gaming is the goal in the mid-term, the official said, as cited in Gaming Today. Last year, the city only recorded around 12 percent non-gaming revenue.The MSAR government has announced that it will join the central governments

poverty-combating projects, which will begin by focusing on the province of Guizhou, specifically Congjiang.

On Saturday, influential figures, including government officials, gathered at the East Asian Games Dome to attend a briefing led by Liu Yongfu, a mainland Chinese official in charge of the nationwide poverty-relief programs.

As cited in a TDM report, the gathering followed the announcement that the MSAR government will join forces with the central government to lift people in

Guizhou out of poverty.

The meeting discussed how the central government would seek to eradicate the issue of poverty in rural areas by 2020.

The main effort will be to bring some enterprises to Guizhou to see what resources and financial opportunities it provides and, in the meantime, the mainland will roll out supporting policies in return to increase efficiency and mutual benefits, Liu said.

The Chief Executive is set to start a visit to the southwestern province tomorrow to learn about its current situation and explore opportunities for cooperation.

Chui will lead a delegation to the southwestern province with Zheng Xiaosong, head of Beijings liaison office in Macau, and will meet with their Guizhou counterparts, attend talks and go on trips to inspect the province.

Both sides are expected to reach several agreements, covering poverty reduction, education, medical services and talent nurturing.

Further details about the program and its costs remain unknown.The wife of former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has slammed police raids on their properties, saying Saturday they appeared targeted at vilifying the family to provoke public anger.

In her first statement since Najibs long-ruling coalition was ousted in May 9 elections, Rosmah Mansor said authorities conducting a corruption and money-laundering investigation should avoid a premature public trial of her family.

Thousands of Malaysians followed a livestream on social media of Thursday nights raid at a Kuala Lumpur condominium, where police confiscated 284 luxurious Hermes Birkin handbags and 72 suitcases filled with cash, jewelry and other valuable items.

Rosmah said the family will cooperate in the investigation into the 1MDB state investment fund, but that authorities should not be feeding social media trolls.

It is our hope that the authorities would observe the rule of law and due process, to avoid a premature public trial, she said in a statement released through her law firm.

Rosmah was reviled by many Malaysians as an avaricious first lady who loves Birkin bags and leads an opulent lifestyle, but television footage of the police haul has Malaysia gasping with shock. It is possibly the most sensational image of elite corruption in Asia in the three decades since former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos and her infamous collection of designer shoes.

Najib started 1MDB in 2009, but the fund accumulated billions in debts and is being investigated abroad. U.S. investigators say Najibs associates stole and laundered USD4.5 billion from the fund, some of which also landed in Najibs bank account, and that some $23 million was used to buy a rare diamond pink necklace for Rosmah. Najib denies any wrongdoing.

New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad reopened a probe into 1MDB after a stunning victory in this months polls that led to the first change of power since independence from Britain in 1957. Mahathir, 92, was prime minister for 22 years until 2003 but emerged from retirement to join hands with former political foes amid anger over the 1MDB scandal.

Najib and Rosmah have been barred from leaving Malaysia. The government has also told the current attorney general, who cleared Najib of wrongdoing in 2016, to go on leave, and has relieved the countrys treasury chief, who is also the 1MDB chairman.

Malaysias Anti-Corruption Commission has summoned Najib for questioning on Tuesday over the 1MDB case.

Najib slammed the police raids as irresponsible and cavalier, his lawyer Harpal Singh Grewal said Saturday.

He declined to comment about the Birkin bags and luggage seized. He said police took personal belongings such as cellphones, iPads, clothing and baby shoes from two of the three apartments at the condominium that were raided and occupied by two of Najibs children, Singh said.

He said there was no relevance and no prima facie evidence for this seizure to take place. APThe Macau European Chamber of Commerce (MECC) held its 2018 Gala Dinner at the Grand Lisboa last Friday.

The fifth annual occurrence of its kind, the British-Irish themed dinner celebrated the endeavors of the European Union (EU) and Macau communities in strengthening their bilateral ties.

Continuing its tradition, MECC presented the MECC Awards for Euroexcellence in Food and Beverage, Luxury and Innovation to recognize Macanese companies which uphold high European standards and quality, contributing to the sustainable development of Macau.

First presented in 2015, the awards encourage local enterprises to engage in Sino-Western collaboration, create new international business opportunities, and sustain Macaus rich history of cross-cultural exchange.

Vitor Sereno, Honorary Chairman of MECC and Consul General of Portugal to Macau and Hong Kong said, Relations between Macau and the EU have been long and successful; in addition to political, trade and economic ties, we have also witnessed an expansion of relations in culture, education and environment. The environment is one of the areas with the most potential for cooperation, since Macau has [an increasing number] of infrastructure projects in various sectors. EU companies can play a major role in providing expertise and services for Macau projects and boosting overall competiveness. Since Macau has been designated as the platform between China and the Portuguese- speaking countries, lots of efforts [have been] made to strengthen the citys legal system and cultivate professionals.

For the future, the EU and its companies should continue to work closely with Macau government to diversify the economy, improve sustainability and promote bilateral trade and investment flows.

Carmen Cano de Lasala, head of the Office of the EU to Hong Kong and Macao, noted that Europe remains a key partner to Macau, China and other Asian partners. She noted that the EU is more indispensable than ever and ready to engage with the world, including Macau.

In addition, she said that the EU appreciates the MSARs efforts to pursue economic diversification and reiterated Macaus willingness to play a positive role by providing expertise to EU businesses.

Kevin Thompson, president of the Board of Directors of MECC, said in his speech: This year a significant milestone will be reached, an economic boost projected with the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge. With the hardware for connectivity in place, it is vital that the software keeps pace and that we continue to attract innovative European businesses, cultivate talent and generate an exchange of ideas amongst all Macaus business communities.

The winners of this years MECC Awards for Euroexcellence were the Educational Restaurant of the Institute for Tourism Studies (MECC Award for Euroexcellence in Food and Beverage), Mandarin Oriental (MECC Award for Euroexcellence in Luxury), and MGM Cotai (MECC Award for Euroexcellence in Innovation).North Korea on Saturday reiterated its demands for South Korea to send back 12 North Korean restaurant workers who came to the South in 2016, saying such a move would demonstrate Seouls willingness to improve relations.

The statement by North Koreas Red Cross came a week after Seoul said it would look more closely into the circumstances surrounding the womens arrival following a media report that suggested some of them might have been brought to the South against their will.

Earlier in the week, North Korea canceled a high-level meeting with the South over U.S.-South Korean military exercises and threatened to call off a planned summit between its leader, Kim Jong Un, and President Donald Trump.

The cancellation cooled what had been an unusual flurry of diplomatic moves from Pyongyang following a provocative year of nuclear and missile tests.

Kim met with South Korean President Moon Jae-

in in a historic summit on April 27 where they issued a vague vow for the complete denuclearization of their peninsula and pledged permanent peace. More substantial discussions over the Norths nuclear weapons are expected between Kim and Trump in a meeting planned for June 12 in Singapore.

The Norths Red Cross accused South Korean officials of evading responsibility and betraying the spirit of last months inter-

Korean summit.

It said Seoul should severely punish those involved in the case, send our women citizens to their families without delay and thus show the will to improve the North-South ties.

Seoul had previously said it sufficiently confirmed the womens free will in escaping from the North and resettling in the South. North Korea had been accusing South Korea of abducting the women, who were working in China.

Television network JTBC aired an interview earlier this month of a man it said was the manager of a restaurant in China where the women had been working. The man, whos now also in South Korea, said he carried out the escape under plans arranged by South Koreas National Intelligence Service and that the women were brought along without knowledge of where they were going.

JTBC also interviewed four women who it said were among the group that arrived in the South. They said they didnt know where they were headed to until they reached the South Korean Embassy in Malaysia and that they wish to see their parents again.

When the restaurant workers arrived in 2016, South Koreas then-conservative government said they represented the largest group defection by North Koreans to the South since Kim took power in 2011. Later in 2016, South Korea rejected a highly unusual overture by the North to temporarily send the restaurant workers relatives to the South to meet with them.

South Koreas liberal government, elected last year, has reached out to North Korea in recent months in attempting to settle the international standoff over the Norths nuclear program. Kim Tong-Hyung, Seoul, APTAIWANS president said yesterday her government will step up security measures to respond to military threats from China.

President Tsai Ing-wen gave no details in comments posted online but her government has encouraged development of a domestic arms industry in response to pressure from Beijing, which claims the island as its own territory and has sent fighter planes near its coast.

We will strengthen our work for the whole societys security, Tsai wrote in response to questions from the public. She said her government will especially look out for these factors from China.

Taiwan and the communist mainland, separated since a civil war in 1949, have extensive trade and investment ties but no official relations.

Tsai, elected in 2016, rejects Beijings contention they are one China and must unite.

The mainland government of President Xi Jinping has responded with shows of force and diplomatic efforts to persuade the few countries that recognize Taiwan as an independent country to switch ties to Beijing.

The Communist Partys military wing, the Peoples Liberation Army, has sent fighter planes near Taiwans coast a dozen times since Tsais election and an aircraft carrier sailing through the 110-mile-wide (170-kilometer-wide) strait that separates them.

Beijing has threatened to attack if Taiwan declares formal independence or delays talks on unification. Government surveys in Taiwan show most of the islands 23 million people prefer to maintain their autonomy.

According to Tsais office, members of the public left 56 questions about cross-strait relations on her offices Facebook page ahead of yesterdays event.

One asked what she will do to get rid of Chinas channels to infiltrate into Taiwan. Tsai didnt respond directly but said as a polite president she would shake hands with Xi.

The president appeared to be trying to use the online forum to allay public fears and reach out to younger Taiwanese rather than expand on her China policy, said George Hou, an assistant professor of mass communications at Taiwans I-Shou University.

The flybys and aircraft carrier movement have alarmed people in Taiwan, prompting questions about whether Tsai is handling the situation appropriately.

She probably considered that she should make some connections with younger friends, Hou said. China-Taiwan policies havent changed in the past year. China needs to change.

In October, Tsai promised annual military budget increases of 2 percent, though spending still is modest compared with the mainland. Beijings military spending is the worlds second highest behind the United States at USD228 billion in 2017, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

Tsais government has announced plans to promote development of Taiwans aerospace industry and suppliers of submarines, missiles and other technology. Ralph Jennings, Taipei, APThe United States and China have agreed to take measures to substantially reduce Americas massive trade deficit with China, but the Trump administration failed to get the Chinese to commit to a specific numerical goal.

Still, the talks, which began Thursday and ended Saturday with the issuance of a joint statement, may have helped to ease tensions at least slightly between the worlds two biggest economic powers. In recent months the two have threatened to impose punitive tariffs on billions of dollars in each others exports.

In the statement, Beijing committed to significantly increase its purchases of American goods and services, saying that the increase would meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development. The two countries also agreed on meaningful increases of U.S. agriculture and energy exports and greater efforts to increase trade in manufactured goods and services. The United States said it would send a team to China to work out the details.

The statement, however, provided no dollar amounts on how much China might boost its purchases of American products. Lawrence Kudlow, head of the presidents National Economic Council, had told reporters Friday that a reduction in the trade gap of at least USD200 billion by 2020 was a good number.

Last year, the United States had a record deficit with China in merchandise trade of $375 billion, the largest with any nation.

Saturdays statement also was silent on whether the talks had made progress in easing a developing tit-for-tat trade war in which each nation threatened to impose punitive tariffs.

Trade analysts said it was highly unlikely that China would ever agree to a numerical target for cutting the trade gap between the two nations, but they said the talks likely were more successful in de-escalating recent trade tensions.

It is likely that this agreement, weak and vague though it is, will serve as grounds to at least delay the imposition of tariffs, said Eswar Prasad, an economist and trade expert at Cornell University.

The Trump administration seems eager to engineer at minimum a temporary peace with China to ensure a smooth runup to the Kim-Trump summit in June, Prasad said, referring to the June 12 meeting between President Donald Trump and North Koreas leader.

The Washington talks, which followed a high-level meeting last month in Beijing, were led on the Chinese side by Vice Premier Liu He and on the American side by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The U.S. delegation included Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

Trump campaigned in 2016 on a pledge to get tough on China and other U.S. trading partners. He views the massive U.S. trade deficit with China as evidence that Beijing is engaged in abusive trading practices and has outmaneuvered previous U.S. administrations.

Last August, Lighthizer began an investigation into Beijings strong-arm tactics to challenge U.S. technological dominance. These include outright cybertheft of U.S. companies trade secrets and Chinas demands that American corporations hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese markets.

Last month, the administration proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports to protest the forced technology transfers. Trump later ordered Lighthizer to seek up to an additional $100 billion in Chinese products to tax.

China responded by targeting $50 billion in U.S. products, including soybeans  a shot at Trump supporters in Americas heartland. The prospect of an escalating trade war has shaken financial markets and alarmed business leaders. APGuyana Goldfields Inc. provides exploration and production of gold. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and operation of gold mineral properties. The company also owns and operates gold drilling rights. The company was formerly known as Chiboug Copper Company Limited and changed its name to Guyana Goldfields Inc. in January 1995. Guyana Goldfields Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. As of August 25, 2020, Guyana Goldfields Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited.

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A major study examining the fish-eating habits of pregnant women has found that they are not linked to autism or autistic traits in their children.

Scientists at the University of Bristol looked at the assumption that mercury exposure during pregnancy is a major cause of autism using evidence from nearly 4500 women who took part in the Children of the 90s study.

Using analysis of blood samples, reported fish consumption and information on autism and autistic traits from one of the largest longitudinal studies to date, researchers found no links between levels of mercury in the mothers and autism or autistic traits in their children. The only adverse effect of mercury found was poor social cognition if mothers ate no fish at all, especially for girls.

Lead author and founder of the Children of the 90s study Professor Jean Golding commented: "Our findings further endorse the safety of eating fish during pregnancy. Importantly we've found no evidence at all to support claims that mercury is involved in the development of autism or autistic traits.

"This adds to a body of work that endorses the eating of fish during pregnancy for a good nutritional start to life with at least two fish meals a week."

In October 2017 the University of Bristol presented a policy briefing document to government departments explaining that current advice for pregnant women is complex and confusing and may encourage women to limit or avoid eating fish altogether.

Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at the University of Bristol Dr. Caroline Taylor contributed to both the new research and policy document and added: "All species of fish contain traces of mercury, which can harm brain development, but we've found that the health benefits of fish, probably from nutrients such as vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and iodine, outweigh the risks from mercury.

"The advice on eating fish when pregnant is complicated and overwhelming. There is now a body of evidence to support a simpler and clearer approach that maximises the health benefits of fish. "I believe the next step is for a comprehensive study into how the current guidelines have affected the consumption of fish in pregnant women overall."

Director of the National Autistic Society's Centre for Autism, Carol Povey said: "At The National Autistic Society, we welcome all research which furthers our understanding of autism. This is a robust study which confirms what previous research has found: it is a myth that high mercury levels in pregnant mothers cause autism.

"There are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK and, although the exact causes of autism are still not fully understood, research to date has shown it involves many complex and interacting factors, including genetics, the environment and the development of the brain.

"While it is important to understand the causes of autism, we believe more research should be focused on what helps autistic people and their families so that all autistic people can have a good quality of life and get the support and understanding they need."

Explore further Scientists link genes to brain anatomy in autism

More information: Jean Golding et al. Prenatal mercury exposure and features of autism: a prospective population study, Molecular Autism (2018). Journal information: Molecular Autism Jean Golding et al. Prenatal mercury exposure and features of autism: a prospective population study,(2018). DOI: 10.1186/s13229-018-0215-7Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Among organ transplant patients, those receiving new lungs face a higher rate of organ failure and death compared with people undergoing heart, kidney and liver transplants. One of the culprits is inflammation that damages the newly transplanted lung.

Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago have uncovered the precise cells that flow into and harm the lung soon after transplant. The resulting dysfunction is the leading cause of early death after lung transplantation and contributes to organ rejection that can lead to death months or years later. The discovery, in mice, may lead to drug therapies that target the destructive cells.

"More than 50 percent of lung transplant patients experience some lung damage after a transplant" said Daniel Kreisel, MD, Ph.D., surgical director of lung transplantation at Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital, where he treats patients. "Eliminating this problem would increase the success of lung transplants."

The study is published online May 21 in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Early lung damage typically occurs in the 72 hours following surgery, said Kreisel, the study's senior co-author and a Washington University professor of surgery and of immunology and pathology. When a lung is removed from a donor, it is flushed with a cold preservation fluid and placed on ice, where it is deprived of blood and oxygen. The damage typically occurs after the lung is surgically implanted and the recipient's blood enters the lung for the first time. The recipient's white blood cells seep into the transplanted lung and trigger inflammation that harms the organ's tissue. Affected patients can require extended time on a ventilator in the hospital or even a lung bypass machine to give the new lung a chance to recover.

The condition is a big reason why the success of lung transplants trails behind other solid organ transplants. Five years after lung transplantation, about half of the transplanted lungs are still functioning, according to the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. This compares with five-year organ survival rates of about 70 to 80 percent for liver, heart and kidney transplants.

"Lungs are unique, fragile organs that are particularly susceptible to early damage," said Hsi-Min "Jim" Hsiao, Ph.D., a staff scientist in Kreisel's laboratory and the study's co-first author. "Treatment is largely supportive as the condition is not well-understood. Our research identifies a population of inflammatory cells called monocytes that are key instigators to the inflammation. We are hopeful that these findings will help with the development of new therapies for lung transplant patients."

Studying mice that had undergone lung transplants, the researchers found that monocytes are rapidly released from the spleen after lung transplantation. These cells infiltrate the newly transplanted lung and then produce a protein called interleukin 1 beta, which, in turn, invites in the tissue-damaging white blood cells known as neutrophils.

"Understanding the mechanisms of this damage is important in developing novel therapeutic agents to treat or prevent the condition in lung transplant patients," Kreisel said. "We already have interleukin-inhibitor drugs for treating other inflammatory diseases. The next step is to test whether this type of drug can tamp down on the inflammatory cells that cause lung failure."

Kreisel shares senior authorship of the study with Ankit Bharat, MD, an associate professor of surgery at Northwestern University. Bharat completed his residency and fellowship training in surgery at Washington University.

"This study is a fundamental advancement in our understanding of early lung injury after transplantation," Bharat said. "We are excited because the findings build on our past research. The work demonstrates the complex yet fascinating interaction between the host's immune cells and the freshly transplanted lung. The study also introduces clinically relevant therapies that may extend the lives of lung transplant patients."

Besides researchers at Washington University and Northwestern University, scientists at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, also contributed to the study.

Explore further New clues found to preventing lung transplant rejectionCredit: Monash University

When Rachel, 25, made an appointment to see her GP, she wasn't surprised by the diagnosis of thrush.

But after the usual six-day antifungal treatment didn't work, Rachel returned to her doctor, told her that the discharge wasn't smelling like thrush, and that it didn't look like the thrush she was used to.

The doctor agreed, and she was subsequently diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), a condition often referred to as a "silent epidemic".

It occurs when an infection spreads from the vagina to the cervix, the endometrium (lining of the uterus) and the fallopian tubes, usually via sex. Rachel immediately began a course of two "aggressive and different antibiotics".

"I took an oral pill and vaginal cream, and that didn't work either. So I went back and asked for a referral to a gynaecologist, and then when I went to see them, they said there were no infections of PID or thrush."

Frustrated, Rachel began Googling her symptoms, which led her to an excerpt about "something called bacterial vaginosis (BV)".

"It said that BV was more common in women than thrush, and I thought, 'Well, if it's so common and they haven't picked it up, then I probably don't have it'. "

She kept taking antibiotics. Eventually, after one year and six rounds, she went back to the same gynaecologist, asked for a pap smear and was tested for BV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). She was finally diagnosed with BV and chlamydia.

This is also when Rachel found out that bacterial vaginosis makes it quite easy for women to contract sexually transmitted diseases.

"It was never suggested in the GP visits, never even mentioned that it existed," Rachel said.

"If I can Google my symptoms and see them presented back to me and say, 'Oh, that's what I have' ... and two GPs and a gynaecologist can't, that's really frustrating."

Rachel's case is very common. Bacterial vaginosis is the most common vaginal infection affecting women of reproductive age, striking up to one in three at some point in their lives.

"While general practitioners do know about BV, they're often not trained in diagnosing the condition clinically, and don't always examine women presenting with vaginal symptoms," says Dr. Catriona Bradshaw, a practising sexual health physician at the Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic, and an associate professor at Monash University.

"In addition, the private laboratory services that doctors frequently use aren't using established diagnostic criteria to look for BV. So overall, the problem is often poorly managed in the community.

"We see cases of BV every day; it's a very common vaginal infection in women. Based on limited data, we already know that about 10 per cent of Australian woman have BV, and one in two women can get it again within six months of treatment."

Credit: Monash University

Dr. Bradshaw, along with Monash academic Dr. Jade Bilardi, who both work in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences' Central Clinical School, have made it their mission to try and inform women, and their partners, about the prevalence and effects of bacterial vaginosis (BV).

Dr. Bilardi spoke to Rachel as part of her research into building a website, which would provide women with up-to-date information on the two most common vaginal conditions, BV and thrush, including the latest treatments.

She says that while most women are aware of thrush, few have heard of BV.

"When they get it for the first time, they often mistake the symptoms for thrush, mistreating themselves with over-the-counter medications that don't actually treat BV," Dr. Bilardi said.

Dr. Bilardi, Dr. Bradshaw and other colleagues from Alfred Health and the University of Melbourne have now built a website, What's Going On Down There, to raise awareness about this relatively unknown but very common vaginal infection.

Dr. Bilardi said women wanted credible and trustworthy information that was easy to understand.

"Specifically, they wanted clear information on the differences between BV and thrush: symptoms, risk factors, treatment, testing, where they could seek help, examples of other women's experiences and current research and advancements in the area," she said.

What we know about BV

Despite the cloud of mystery surrounding bacterial vaginosis, researchers have been able to gather some insights about the condition.

"We know that women who are sexually active are more likely to get BV than women who aren't sexually active. We also know that certain practices increase women's risk of getting BV," Dr. Bilardi said.

These include:

sex with a new partner

sex with an ongoing partner after treatment and not using condom

shaving a female sexual partner

not using condoms all the time

vaginal douching (cleaning inside the vagina with soap or water)

"Research suggests BV may be sexually transmitted, but further research is required to find out how it's being transmitted," she said.

Dr. Bradshaw said that while researchers haven't yet "nailed the cause of this condition", they've narrowed down the organisms that may contribute to, or even cause, BV.

Credit: Monash University

Why the silence?

Dr. Bilardi believes that BV is often considered a non-serious condition and, as a result, doesn't often take priority in public health communications.

"We don't currently have effective over-the-counter treatments for BV, meaning that unlike thrush, there's no marketing or advertising around BV as a condition," she said.

"The only recommended treatment is a course of antibiotics, which must be prescribed by a doctor."

The hidden toll

According to the research, women with BV are at a greater risk of sexually transmitted infections, HIV and pelvic inflammatory disease. Pregnant women are more at risk of miscarriage, premature delivery, low birthweight babies and postpartum endometritis.

But the ramifications aren't solely physical; Dr. Bilardi says that most women are very embarrassed and concerned by their symptoms, which impacts their self-esteem and sexual relationships.

"In about half of women, BV causes a watery, milky-white or greyish discharge and a strong 'fishy-like' odour. Studies our research team has conducted show that women often feel highly embarrassed about these symptoms, reporting that they make them feel 'dirty', ashamed, and very concerned other people will notice 'the smell'. Many women avoid sexual contact with their partners as a result," she said.

Current treatment for BV includes a course of oral or vaginal antibiotics. In the short term, treatment is usually very effective. However, because the exact cause of BV is unknown, treatment aims to alleviate the symptoms but doesn't treat the underlying cause. More than half of women will again get BV within six to 12 months.

What's next?

There have been no improvements in the treatment of BV for several decades, and new treatment approaches are clearly needed.

Dr. Bradshaw said that based on her research, women with an ongoing sexual partner appear to have the highest risk of BV recurrence.

"Studies have also shown males can carry the bacteria we find in women with BV under their foreskin and on the penis. Based on this evidence, it appears likely that the bacteria that cause BV are being sexually transmitted between men and women, and that the reason our BV treatment approach hasn't been working is that we've only been treating the female.

"It's very clear to researchers in the field that well-conducted studies treating both the woman with BV at the same time as her sexual partner are needed," she said.

Professor Bradshaw's group has received funding to conduct male partner treatment studies at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. Information about participating in the study is available here.Blue stain is cell nuclei for anatomical reference. Credit: Rosi lab / UCSF

Planning a trip to Mars? You'll want to remember your anti-radiation pills.

NASA and private space companies like SpaceX plan to send humans to the red planet within the next 15 yearsbut among the major challenges facing future crewed space missions is how to protect astronauts from the dangerous cosmic radiation of deep space.

Now the lab of UCSF neuroscientist Susanna Rosi, Ph.D., has identified the first potential treatment for the brain damage caused by exposure to cosmic raysa drug that prevents memory impairment in mice exposed to simulated space radiation. The study was published May 18, 2018 in Scientific Reports.

Humans venturing beyond the Earth's protective magnetic fields will be exposed to levels of cosmic radiation estimated to be 1000 times higher than what we experience on Earth or even in the International Space Station's low-earth orbit. Protecting astronauts from this harmful radiation will be key to making deep space explorationand perhaps one day colonizationpossible.

Rosi, who is Director of Neurocognitive Research in the UCSF Brain and Spinal Injury Center and a professor in the departments of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science and of Neurological Surgery, has conducted NASA-funded research for the past four years to understand how deep space radiation may affect astronauts' brains.

Rosi's team has previously found that exposing mice to simulated space radiation causes problems with memory, social interactions, and anxiety, and has linked these symptoms of radiation exposure to activation of cells called microgliapart of the brain's immune system. Activated microglia drive brain inflammation similar to what is seen in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, and also seek out and consume synapses, the information-bearing connections between brain cells.

Reactive microglia (red+green) in irradiated mouse hippocampus. (Blue stain is cell nuclei for anatomical reference.) Credit: Rosi lab / UCSF

"We are starting to have evidence that exposure to deep space radiation might affect brain function over the long term, but as far as I know, no one had explored any possible countermeasures that might protect astronauts' brains against this level of radiation exposure," said Rosi, who is a member of the Weill Institute for Neuroscience, the Kavli Institute of Fundamental Neuroscience, and the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In the new study, the researchers collaborated with co-authors at Loma Linda University in Southern California to expose mice for a day to a dose of radiation comparable to what they might experience in deep space. The experiments were conducted at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, the only facility in the country where such experiments are possible. A week later, after being shipped back to UCSF, some of the mice were treated for 15 days with PLX5622, a drug produced by Berkeley-based pharmaceutical company Plexxikon, Inc, and which the Rosi lab had previously shown to prevent cognitive deficits in a mouse model of cancer radiation therapy when administered prior to irradiation of the brain.

In the present study, the irradiated animals initially displayed no cognitive deficits, but after three months they began showing signs of memory impairment. Normally, when researchers place mice in a room with a familiar and an unfamiliar object, the animals spend more time exploring the new object. But mice that had been exposed to space radiation three months earlier explored the two objects equallypresumably because they didn't remember having seen one of the objects just the day before.

Remarkably, animals that had been treated with PLX5622 soon after being exposed to radiation performed just like healthy mice on the memory task. The researchers examined the animals' brains and showed that while the brains of untreated mice were full of activated microglia and had lost significant numbers of synapses, the brains of treated mice looked just like normal. The authors hypothesize that by forcing the brain to replace irritable, radiation-exposed microglia with new, healthy microglia, the drug had allowed the animals avoid the cognitive consequences of radiation.

"This is really neat evidence, first that rebooting the brain's microglia can protect cognitive function following radiation exposure, and second that we don't necessarily need to treat immediately following the radiation exposure for the drug to be effective," Rosi said.

Similar compounds to PLX5622 produced by Plexxikon (inhibitors of a cellular receptor molecule called CSF1R) are already in clinical trials for multiple forms of human cancer, which suggests that the new findings could soon be translated to human use, the researchers say. Beyond spaceflight, these compounds could potentially be used to prevent cognitive impairments following cancer radiation therapy, or in age-related cognitive impairmentwhich has also been linked to microglia-driven brain inflammation.

"NASA is very interested in finding ways of ensuring both astronaut safety and mission success during deep space travel," said study co-lead author Karen Krukowski, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher in Rosi's lab. "But astronauts are a small populationit's exciting that these findings could potentially help prevent many other forms of cognitive impairment."

Explore further Microglia are key defenders against prion diseases

More information: Karen Krukowski et al. Temporary microglia-depletion after cosmic radiation modifies phagocytic activity and prevents cognitive deficits, Scientific Reports (2018). Journal information: Scientific Reports Karen Krukowski et al. Temporary microglia-depletion after cosmic radiation modifies phagocytic activity and prevents cognitive deficits,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26039-7Clinicians and researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the Homerton Hospital are encouraging black women to visit their GP if they notice any changes in their breasts. The call comes following the publication of a Queen Mary research paper which shows that among black women, breast cancer is often still perceived as "a disease of whiteness".

The study, published in Social Science & Medicine, is based on a series of 20 focus groups with 100 black women aged between 25 and 50. The women reported a relatively low level of awareness about the prevalence of breast cancer among black women, and referred to "the whiteness of the media coverage of breast cancer".

Since the introduction of new therapies and the National Health Breast Screening Programme in 1988, deaths from breast cancer have declined by 40 per cent. However, despite huge progress in detecting and treating breast cancer, there are still significant disparities in mortality rates, according to Stephen Duffy, Professor of Cancer Screening at Queen Mary.

"I think with black women there is a tendency to forget they are at a similar risk of breast cancer, slightly lower compared to white women, but it has been noticed they sometimes get a faster growing type of cancer. So it's all the more important to catch it earlier and get it treated," says Professor Duffy.

While breast cancer incidence is lower among black women in the UK, survival rates are also lower. Up to the age of 45, a black woman is about as likely as a white woman to develop breast cancer, after which the risk among black women does not increase in the same way as it does in white women. However, for black women who do develop the disease, they are more likely to develop it at a younger age than their white counterparts and it is more likely to be oestrogen receptor negative and therefore more aggressive.

Dr. Markus Ornstein is a retired consultant breast surgeon, and honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary. He says: "There's good evidence now that young black women get more advanced and difficult to treat breast cancers. Breast cancer is more common in white women certainly, but when it occurs in black women they are younger and tend to have a more aggressive type. If you're concerned, then there is no place for ifs or buts: you have to get examined. The vast majority of the lumps we see are not cancer  but that's not a reason to stay silent and hope for the best. Look out for changes in your breasts, and don't hesitate to go to your GP."

Lucy Carter is a GP in Hackney, in East London. She says there are often cultural barriers, including a stigma about cancer, that prevent black women from coming forward.

"I think as a GP it's really important that black women do come to the doctors as soon as they are concerned about any symptoms. GPs are here to allay their concerns, examine them and we are always open. We know that black women may come in a little later over concerns about breast cancer, and they may have a more aggressive formwe really do need to pick these cases up earlier. The door is open, do come and do not be afraid. We are your first port of call."

Explore further Type 2 diabetes associated with risk of aggressive breast cancer in black women

More information: Tim Brown et al. Fear, family and the placing of emotion: Black women's responses to a breast cancer awareness intervention, Social Science & Medicine (2017). Journal information: Social Science & Medicine Tim Brown et al. Fear, family and the placing of emotion: Black women's responses to a breast cancer awareness intervention,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.10.037CARRS-Q's advanced driving simulator. Credit: Queensland University of Technology

Drivers use "self-regulation" techniques like slowing down when they use their mobile phone hands-free while driving, according to a new QUT study of Brisbane drivers in a high-tech simulator.

But the study found the opposite for drivers who actually held and looked at their phone  they sped up while looking down.

The study analysed the driving performance of 35 drivers aged 18 to 29 in QUT's advanced driving simulator at its Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety-Queensland (CARRS-Q) at Kelvin Grove.

In a paper published online in Accident Analysis and Prevention, the researchers say previous studies of driver impairment while on the phone have not taken into account drivers' ability to self-regulate their behaviour.

Lead researcher Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios said the self-regulatory behaviour demonstrated in their tests included slowing down while on the phone and keeping very central in the lane.

"But, overall, driving and using a phone still negatively affects both activities," Mr Oviedo-Trespalacios said.

"It's more efficient  and of course safer  to just pull over in an appropriate place to use your phone quickly and then resume your journey."

The simulator tests put drivers through three driving scenarios  driving without using their phone, driving while using their phone hands-free, and driving while holding their phone.

"We found most drivers actually increased their speed while distracted by looking at and holding their phone," Mr Oviedo-Trespalacios said.

The experimental study also found that drivers who held their phones were more likely to use them on the open highway than on S-curves and city roads.

"Road traffic conditions appear to play a vital role in self-regulation of secondary tasks and associated driving performance," the researchers wrote.

The findings of the study can be found online here.

Explore further Why some drivers slow down when using mobile phones

More information: Oscar Oviedo-Trespalacios et al. Driving behaviour while self-regulating mobile phone interactions: A human-machine system approach, Accident Analysis & Prevention (2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2018.03.020Sana Karam, MD, PhD. Credit: CU Anschutz Medical Campus

Anaplastic thyroid cancer is almost uniformly fatal, with an average lifespan of about 5 months after diagnosis. And standard treatment for the condition includes 7 weeks of radiation, often along with chemotherapy.

"We put patients through toxic treatment for seven weeks when most will only live five months. I'm not sure that's how I would want to spend my time," says Sana Karam, MD, Ph.D., investigator at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and assistant professor in the CU School of Medicine Department of Radiation Oncology.

Now a paper published in the journal Thyroid suggests an alternative. Rather than conventional radiotherapy, the paper suggests that thyroid tumors may be more susceptible to treatment with precisely targeted radiation known as stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), and possibly with fewer side effects.

The study was made possible by one of Karam's patients.

"It was one of those journeys that reminds you why we are so fortunate to be physicians," Karam says. The patient was only 50 years old at the time of diagnosis. "I treated him with six or seven weeks of radiation only to find that the cancer had already progressed elsewhere in his body. He had six kids, five of them adopted, and at the end of his life one of the only things he could enjoy eating was ice cream, and so they all enjoyed it together."

After her patient passed, the family created a fundraiser called Cream Cancer that accepted small donations from ice cream parlors near where they lived. Eventually the family raised $10,000, which they donated to the Karam lab to fund research to improve treatments for future thyroid cancer patients.

"My biggest thing was seeing if we could replace seven weeks of radiation with a shorter regimen, say three sessions of targeted radiation instead of thirty of conventional radiation," Karam says.

Because the laboratory of CU Cancer Center colleague, Bryan Haugen, MD, holds one of the largest existing batteries of thyroid cancer cell lines, Karam and first co-authors Andy Phan and Ayman Oweida, Ph.D., were able to show that anaplastic thyroid cancer cells are almost universally resistant to conventional radiotherapy.

Karam wondered if targeted radiation might succeed where conventional radiation failed. In collaboration with the lab of CU researchers Rebecca Schweppe, Ph.D., and Nikita Pozdeyev, MD, Karam tested these two radiation strategies in mouse models of the disease.

"What we found is that not only is this condensed regimen of targeted radiation equivalent to conventional radiation therapy, but it's actually superior, not only in terms of local control but also distantly," Karam says.

Karam's last point is an important one. A common criticism of targeted radiation is the idea that while it may treat the deposits of cancer at which it is aimed, it may not treat invisible deposits of cancer elsewhere in the bodyinvisible deposits that might be irradiated as a byproduct of more system-wide, conventional radiation therapy. However, recent work in the Karam lab and elsewhere shows that focused radiation may have a systemic effect.

"It may be that SBRT eradicates the root of the cancer so that it can't continue to send out cells that lead to metastases, or it may be that SBRT wakes up the immune system to the presence of cancer, which helps the immune system combat cancer elsewhere in the body," Karam says.

Whatever the mechanism, mice treated with SBRT had less cancer and lived longer than mice treated with conventional radiation.

The work also found a genetic signature of cancers that resist radiotherapy, namely hyper-activation of the gene CXCR4, which is associated with inflammation and has been shown to aid tumor growth in models of other cancer types.

"Because of our patients who are willing to contribute their tumor tissue to create the cell lines we need for our experiments, and because of our expertise with animal models, Colorado is known to be one of the best places for thyroid cancer research," Karam says.

And because of her patient's motivated family who raised money for research through loose change from ice cream parlors, Karam is able to take another step on the path toward demonstrating more effective, less toxic strategies against anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Explore further Beyond PD-L1: Taking away TIM3 and Tregs stops cancer regrowth after immunotherapy

More information: Ayman J Oweida et al, Hypofractionated radiotherapy is superior to conventional fractionation in an orthotopic model of anaplastic thyroid cancer, Thyroid (2018). Ayman J Oweida et al, Hypofractionated radiotherapy is superior to conventional fractionation in an orthotopic model of anaplastic thyroid cancer,(2018). DOI: 10.1089/thy.2017.0706Inpatient opioid use and insufficient weaning pre-discharge may increase outpatient opioid prescription use. Credit: ATS

According to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine scientists who conducted the study, theirs is the first large-scale evaluation of the impact of in-hospital opioid prescribing on post-discharge opioid use.

"Most previous studies of opioid use in health care have focused on the outpatient setting," said lead study author Jason Kennedy, MS, research project manager in Pitt's Department of Critical Care Medicine. "But opioids are often introduced during hospitalization. That's something clinicians can control, so we looked at inpatient prescription of these drugs to identify targets that may reduce opioid use once patients are out of the hospital."

The researchers analyzed the medical records of 357,413 non-obstetrical adults hospitalized between 2010 and 2014 at 12 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) hospitals in southwestern Pennsylvania. The region is one of the areas of the country where opioid addiction is a major public health problem. The researchers focused on the 192,240 patients who had not received an opioid in the year prior to their hospitalizationotherwise known as "opioid naive" patients.

Nearly half (48 percent) of these patients received an opioid while hospitalized. After discharge, those patients receiving hospital opioids were more than twice as likely to report outpatient opioid use within 90-days (8.4 percent vs. 4.1 percent).

The study also found that:

Those who took an opioid for more than three-quarters of their hospital stay were 32 percent more likely than those who took an opioid for less than one-fourth of their stay to be prescribed an opioid within 90 days of leaving the hospital.

Those who used an opioid within 12 hours of discharge were twice as likely as those who stopped taking an opioid more than 24 hours before discharge to be prescribed an opioid within 90 days of leaving the hospital.

33 percent received an opioid during the 24 hours prior to discharge from the hospital.

20 percent of those receiving opioids in the ICU received intravenous opioids on transfer to the medical ward.

The findings suggest some inpatient interventions that might reduce opioid use in outpatient settings, Mr. Kennedy said.

"Reducing use of opiates near the end of a hospital stay, especially in the 24 hours before discharge, may reduce outpatient prescription of opioids," he said. "And weaning ICU patients off of intravenous opioids, the most potent way of administering these pain killers, before transitioning them to the medical ward may also help reduce outpatient usage."

Further study, ideally with randomized, controlled trials, would be necessary to provide definitive guidance to doctors and other health care providers, he added.

Explore further Longer duration of post-op opioid use associated with misuse

More information: Abstract 16954: Patterns of Inpatient, Intensive Care, and Post-Discharge Opioid Prescribing to Opioid-Naive Patients in a Large Health System(HealthDay)Risk-standardized mortality rates for ischemic heart disease (IHD) and chronic heart failure vary across Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs), according to a study published online May 16 in JAMA Cardiology.

Peter W. Groeneveld, M.D., from the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study involving 138 VA hospitals and each hospital's affiliated outpatient clinics to examine the differences in cardiovascular outcomes. Separate cohorts were constructed for patients diagnosed with IHD (930,079 veterans) or chronic heart failure (348,015 veterans).

The researchers found that the crude annual mortality rate across VA was 7.4 and 14.5 percent for IHD and chronic heart failure, respectively. VAMC's risk-standardized mortality varied from 5.5 to 9.4 percent for IHD, and from 11.1 to 18.9 percent for chronic heart failure. Twenty-nine and 35 VAMCs had IHD and chronic heart failure mortality rates that significantly exceeded the national means, respectively. There was no association for VAMC mortality rates among IHD and chronic heart failure populations with 30-day mortality rates for myocardial infarction; a weak association was seen for hospitalized heart failure 30-day mortality and for the VA star rating system.

"Risk-standardized mortality rates for IHD and CHF varied widely across the VA health system, and this variation was not well explained by differences in demographics or comorbidities," the authors write. "This variation may signal substantial differences in the quality of cardiovascular care between VAMCs."

Explore further No higher cancer risk seen for heart failure patients

Copyright  2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.(HealthDay)Undocumented immigrants in the United States are often denied treatment for kidney failure until they have a life-threatening emergency. Now a new study finds that the doctors and nurses who treat them are frustrated and demoralized over it.

At issue is access to treatment for end-stage kidney diseasein which the kidneys can no longer perform their job of removing excess water and waste from the body.

The standard of treatment is dialysis three times a week: The treatment passes the patient's blood through a machine that filters it as the kidneys would.

But in the United States, undocumented immigrants often cannot undergo dialysis, because they don't qualify for standard Medicaid or the federal dialysis entitlement program set up in the 1970s.

Instead, they can only get dialysis when they land in an emergency room at death's door, explained study lead author Dr. Lilia Cervantes, a hospitalist with Denver Health in Colorado.

The consequences are obvious, Cervantes said. When the kidneys stop working, fluids build up in the body, including the lungs, she explained.

"People arrive in the emergency room feeling like they're drowning," she said.

Excess potassium is another life-threatening complication. When potassium builds up in the blood, it can send the heart into cardiac arrestwhich is fatal within minutes without emergency medical care.

Such "emergency-only" dialysis carries a 14-times higher death rate, compared to standard dialysis, Cervantes said. Beyond that, she added, the process causes debilitating physical and emotional stress for patients and their families.

The new study reveals another consequence: the strain put on doctors and nurses.

In interviews with providers at two U.S. hospitals, Cervantes' team found widespread guilt, exhaustion and "moral distress" over the care given to undocumented immigrants.

Doctors and nurses were emotionally drained from seeing "needless suffering and high mortality," Cervantes said.

At the same time, some also said they tried to "numb" themselves against feeling too much, because they were powerless to change anything.

"Turning patients away from hemodialysis is a huge aspect of physician burnout," one physician said. "Residents have to emotionally disassociate from their patients, and that's the opposite of what we're trying to teach."

Both hospitals in the study were "safety net" hospitalsmeaning they are legally obligated to provide care regardless of whether patients can pay.

And the providers there "uniformly" believed it was unethical to base medical care on a person's social status, Cervantes said.

So some admitted to "gaming the system." On records, they would exaggerate symptoms or lab results, so that a patient could qualify for emergency dialysis.

Yet those tactics also left providers worried about their personal integrity, the study found.

"This study shows that providing emergency-only dialysis is harmful not only to patients, but also to the physicians and nurses who take care of them," said Dr. Ashwini Sehgal, a professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

He wrote an editorial published with the findings May 21 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

To Sehgal, it's clear that a national policy change is in order. But, he said, since any such move would take time, states and cities could act in the interim.

Some states, such as Arizona, California and New York, have already made changes to their Medicaid programs to fund standard dialysis for undocumented immigrants. In Arizona, for example, the administrative code was altered to include regular outpatient dialysis as an "emergency service," according to Cervantes.

"I'm not sure if all states realize they can make those changes," she said.

The incentives to do so go beyond providing humane treatment, Cervantes said. Studies show that emergency-only dialysis is four times more costly than standard careand it uses up scarce ER resources and hospital beds.

Cervantes said she hopes this study raises awareness outside the kidney disease field.

"We are all stakeholders in this," she said. "How can we come together to advocate for these most vulnerable patients?"

An estimated 6,500 undocumented immigrants in the United States have end-stage kidney disease, according to Cervantes' team. A number of other countriesincluding Canada, Germany and Italyprovide regular dialysis to undocumented immigrants, Sehgal said.

One argument against doing so is that people would start crossing borders specifically seeking dialysis. However, Sehgal said, there is no evidence that has happened in places that already fund standard dialysis.

Explore further State rules affect survival of immigrants with kidney failure

More information: Lilia Cervantes, M.D., hospitalist, Denver Health, and associate professor of medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver; Ashwini Sehgal, M.D., professor of medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland; May 21, 2018, Annals of Internal Medicine Lilia Cervantes, M.D., hospitalist, Denver Health, and associate professor of medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver; Ashwini Sehgal, M.D., professor of medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland; May 21, 2018, The National Kidney Foundation has more on kidney disease and dialysis. Journal information: Annals of Internal Medicine

Copyright  2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.Contrary to what some studies may suggest, the local anesthetic drug, liposomal bupivacaine, did not reduce in-hospital opioid prescriptions or opioid-related complications in patients who received the drug during total knee replacement surgery as part of a multimodal approach to manage postsurgical pain, finds a new study published in the Online First edition of Anesthesiology, the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA).

Bupivacaine is a commonly used local anesthetic that prevents pain by blocking signals at nerve endings. Liposomal bupivacaine is a long-acting version of bupivacaine, formulated in a new lipid-based structure. The drug is injected into tissues surrounding the surgical wound. One injection of liposomal bupivacaine is designed to provide long-lasting pain control for up to three days, thereby potentially reducing the need for opioid painkillers.

"When we tested this hypothesis in a real-world setting where state of the art pain procedures such as peripheral nerve blocks were used, we were unable to show benefit," said Stavros G. Memtsoudis, M.D., Ph.D., senior study author and director of critical care services in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. "Local anesthesia is one mode that has been proposed as being part of a multimodal approach to reducing opioid consumption. But we found that adding liposomal bupivacaine to the mix did not add significant benefit."

While opioid-based regimens remain the cornerstone of postsurgical pain management, a multimodal approach involving a combination of opioids, non-opioid analgesics and local anestheticsall with different mechanisms of actionis increasingly being used to provide pain relief while reducing the need for postsurgical opioids and opioid-related adverse effects. However, the effectiveness of local anesthetics is limited by a relatively short period of action. Physician anesthesiologists had hoped liposomal bupivacaine, which is released slowly over time, would help solve this problem, Dr. Memtsoudis noted.

The study looked at data from 88,830 total knee replacements performed between 2013 and 2016 with a peripheral nerve block, which involves injecting a local anesthetic near the nerves that control sensation and movement for a specific part of the body, as part of a multimodal regimen. One group had a peripheral nerve block and general anesthesia, and another group had a peripheral nerve block and regional anesthesia. Liposomal bupivacaine was used in conjunction with a peripheral nerve block in 21 percent (18,817) of patients. Between 2013 and 2016, the use of liposomal bupivacaine increased from 7 percent to 26 percent.

Researchers found the addition of liposomal bupivacaine was not associated with a decrease in patients' risk for opioid-related complications including those affecting the respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous system. Further, no clinically relevant decrease in inpatient opioid prescriptions, length of hospital stay and no reduction in cost of hospitalization was seen.

"The routine use of liposomal bupivacaine should be carefully examined, especially given its relatively high cost. It does not seem to be the silver bullet physicians have been hoping for," Dr. Memtsoudis said. "We also need to look for other ways to try to combat the opioid crisis, including trying to change physician and patient behavior and expectations. We shouldn't necessarily look at a pharmacological solution for everything."

Researchers note that there's uncertainty in the data as to how liposomal bupivacaine was administered. It's expected that most was administrated by infiltration at the surgical site which is FDA approved, but off-label use is possible in some cases.

Provided by American Society of AnesthesiologistsMore hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in correctional facilities, a possibility if medication costs were to drop, is essential to controlling the hepatitis C epidemic in the US, according to researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health and Harvard University.

In a new paper published in the June 2018 edition of the Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, Anne Spaulding, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, along with Jagpreet Chhatwal, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School, pose five questions and possible solutions to address dilemmas faced by correctional and public health administrators in the screening and treatment of HCV in correctional facilities.

"Screenings for hepatitis C in the prison system have a high yield, as nearly one-third of infected individuals in the US interact with the criminal justice system each year," explains lead author Spaulding.

"The new therapies available mean that nearly all persons with the disease, including those incarcerated, can now be cured," adds co-author Chhatwal. "The issue is that the treatment price is high and the budget for treatment in prisons is limited; as a result, the majority of incarcerated people with hepatitis C cannot access these medications."

For years, the prevalence of hepatitis C was declining in prisons; however, the current opioid epidemic has reversed that trend. Researchers note that greater access to hepatitis C treatment in the prison setting could help reignite the past decline in the prevalence of HCV. They advocate nominal pricing, where pharmaceutical companies extend a price to prisons that is less than one-tenth of the average manufacturer's price.

"Nominal pricing will still permit pharmaceutical companies to sell the drug above production price," says lead author Spaulding. "This pricing strategy will directly address the epidemic and open up access to curative treatment for the most vulnerable patients."

Explore further Opioid epidemic possibly linked to hepatitis changes in prisons

More information: Anne C. Spaulding et al. Five Questions Concerning Managing Hepatitis C in the Justice System, Infectious Disease Clinics of North America (2018). Anne C. Spaulding et al. Five Questions Concerning Managing Hepatitis C in the Justice System,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.idc.2018.02.014A pilot study subject wears a wireless fNIRS headband while researchers on the ground monitor his cognitive workload. Credit: ISAE-SUPAERO

After a plane engine blew apart at 32,000 feet in the air last month, the pilot flying Southwest Flight 1380 safely brought the Boeing 737 to an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Captain Tammie Jo Shults was heralded a hero, but a different flier may not have been able to respond as adeptly.

Consider what was racing through her mind: where to land, the speed and altitude to maintain, how to aid an injured passenger and comfort a bewildered crew. It's likely Shults was experiencing "cognitive overload," said Frederic Dehais, Ph.D., a professor at ISAE-SUPAERO in Toulouse, France, and an expert in flight safety.

The efficiency and safety of human-machine systems depend on the cognitive workload and situational awareness of human operators, according to Hasan Ayaz, Ph.D., an associate research professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems at Drexel University.

"Unfortunately, many human-machine interfaces expose users to workload extremes, diminishing the operator's attention and potentially leading to catastrophic consequences," Ayaz said.

An ideal human-machine system would actually be able to read its operator's mind in real-time, to know how well he or she was paying attention or able to process new information. Such a system may sound like the makings of a sci-fi movie. But Ayaz and Dehais, along with a team of researchers at Drexel and ISAE-SUPAERO, have now successfully measured the brain activity of pilots in real-time using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, or fNIRS. Their results were published this week in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Unlike traditional functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in which a person is resigned to a large machine while lying down, Drexel's portable fNIRS system is worn like a headband, making it ideal for measuring brain activity while study subjects move around freely in their natural environments.

The fNIRS system measures "the brain at work" by monitoring blood oxygenation changes in the prefrontal cortexthe area underneath the forehead that is involved in cognitive functions such as problem solving, memory, judgement and impulse control. When first learning a new task, for instance, this area of the brain is highly activated. However, as you become more proficient, these tasks move to other brain areas, clearing up important resources in the prefrontal cortex for skills like split-second decision making.

"The exciting thing is we can now quantify this," Ayaz said. In a flying scenario, Ayaz envisions that the airplane itself might one day be able to assess the cognitive and emotional state of the pilot, and then make adjustments accordingly.

To find out whether this could be possible, the researchers split 28 pilots into two categories: The first group flew a real aircraft, while the second group operated a flight simulator. In both cases, the researchers monitored the pilots' brain activity as they completed a series of memorization tasks from pre-recorded air traffic control instructions, which varied in levels of difficulty.

The results showed that the pilots in the real flight condition committed more errors and had higher anterior prefrontal cortex activation than pilots in the simulator when completing cognitively demanding tasks.

The implications are twofold, says Ayaz. First, the researchers successfully demonstrated the feasibility of monitoring cognitive workload in a realistic flight situation. Secondly, the differences between the two groups underscores the need for "ecologically valid" research studies. In other words, solely measuring brain activity in a laboratory likely won't lead to the most accurate results.

In the future, understanding the underlying neurocognitive process of pilot-plane interactions could help to make simulators more realistic, as well as to improve the safety and efficiency of aircraft-pilot interactions.

"We believe that this type of approach will open a whole new direction of research for studying parameters in an aviation setting and eventually designing better machines," Dehais said.

Explore further Researchers measure how our brain reacts to Google Glass

More information: Thibault Gateau et al, In silico vs. Over the Clouds: On-the-Fly Mental State Estimation of Aircraft Pilots, Using a Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Based Passive-BCI, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (2018). Journal information: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Thibault Gateau et al, In silico vs. Over the Clouds: On-the-Fly Mental State Estimation of Aircraft Pilots, Using a Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy Based Passive-BCI,(2018). DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00187(HealthDay)Pharmacists should counsel Muslim patients who fast during Ramadan with respect to their medications and adjusting their medication regimen, according to an article published in Drug Topics.

Muslims who observe the fast of Ramadan will refrain from consuming anything by mouth between dawn and sunset, including oral medications. Pharmacists can counsel their patients by recommending medication adjustments and discussing ways to avoid the potential hazards associated with fasting.

According to the article, the fast can be particularly challenging for people with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association recommends against prolonged fasting for those with multiple complications of diabetes. Patients should measure glucose before, during, and after fasting, and should be aware of the signs and symptoms of low blood sugar. Pharmacists can suggest adjustments for medications that should be taken several times a day, or that are affected by food and drink intake, and in the timing for once-daily medications. In order to prevent dehydration, patients should consume enough water before and after fasting. Too much activity should be avoided, as well as exposure to the sun and high temperatures.

"It is important for pharmacists to ask patients if they are considering fasting and engage in the conversation about safety and necessary adjustments, rather than restricting their intervention to patients who ask," Wasem Alsabbagh, Ph.D., from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Waterloo in Canada, said in the article.

Explore further Ramadan fasting can be safe for patients with heart failure

Copyright  2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Nephrons are the microscopic blood-filtering units inside our kidneys that convert waste products into urine, regulate our electrolyte levels and our blood pressure.

Most of us are born with about 1 million nephrons, all of which form in the womb between weeks 25 to 36 of gestation. Unfortunately, the nephron formation process can be interrupted when babies are born preterm, which places them at higher risk of developing kidney disease later in life.

Now a study led by scientists at Cincinnati Children's reveals one mechanism involved in regulating when nephron formation ends. The discovery, based on mouse models, suggests that intervention during pregnancy or after preterm birth could extend nephron development. If translated to clinical practice years from now, the result could be reduced need for kidney transplants and fewer deaths from kidney disease.

Findings were posted online today in the journal PNAS.

The paper is the latest advance by scientists at Cincinnati Children's who are trying to reduce preterm birth by addressing environmental factors, understanding genetic drivers, and exploring the mechanisms that regulate complications.

"All the nephrons you or I have were generated while we were in our mother's uterus. Prematurity terminates this process too early. As a result, adults that were born prematurely are at high risk for hypertension, heart disease and end stage renal disease," says Raphael Kopan, Ph.D., Director of the Division of Developmental Biology at Cincinnati Children's, and senior author of today's study.

"The question we tried to address is how we generate the specific number of nephrons we have as adults, and how can we increase this number in premature babies."

Can a closing window of development be propped open?

By studying how mice control their nephron numbers, the researchers discovered that a protein called hamartin plays a central role in shutting down the nephron formation process.

Until now, this protein was known primarily as a factor involved in tuberous sclerosis complex, a rare genetic disease that causes benign tumors to grow in the brain, kidneys, heart, and other organs. In this study, when mice were bred to produce reduced amounts of hamartin, their kidneys developed 25 percent more nephrons than a control group.

However, when bred to produce no hamartin at all, the mice developed fatal kidney defects. These results were seen in mice with two different genetic backgrounds, suggesting that hamartin function did not depend upon the method the research team used to reduce its level.

"This study provides important new information that will improve outcomes for all babies born prematurely," says Louis Muglia, MD, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children's and Director of the Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth. "Optimizing pregnancy outcomes is a central focus shared by the basic scientists and clinicians in the Perinatal Institute, and this work reflects that shared commitment."

More study needed before people can benefit

From affected families to society at large, the health impact of preterm birth remains a major concern.

Overall, about one in 10 infants are born prematurely (before 37 weeks) in the U.S. That's about 387,000 births a year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, nearly 109,000 are considered "early" preterm births (before 34 weeks). This group faces the highest risk of complications from interrupted kidney development.

As they grow up, many of those babies join the ranks of more than 8 million Americans affected by chronic kidney disease, including more than 100,000 who begin dialysis each year while awaiting a kidney transplant.

At first glance, today's findings suggest that the hamartin protein would be a prime target for a medication to protect kidney development. However, in people, directly reducing hamartin production would likely cause tuberous sclerosis.

"We have discovered the tip of the iceberg," Kopan says. "We are hoping that the mechanism hamartin acts through to regulate nephron numbers will contain druggable targets."

If a safe drug can be developed, treatment would need to be provided shortly after a preterm infant is delivered.

"We never make another nephron after we are 36 weeks old," Kopan says. "It would be necessary to target at-risk premature babies to try to prolong their nephron-generating window."

So far, no diagnostic test exists that can determine if a developing fetus or newborn preterm baby has a nephron shortage. But several research groups around the world are studying how to use MRI scans to measure nephron supply. That work currently is focused on adults, but if proven safe, will eventually become applicable in newborns.

Science builds upon cradle Cincinnati work

Today's study is one of many efforts underway at Cincinnati Children's to address the problem of prematurity. Cincinnati Children's is a leading partner in Cradle Cincinnati, a community-wide collaboration to reduce high rates of preterm birth and infant mortality in Hamilton County.

The organization has already helped reduce infant deaths through initiatives to manage factors that contribute to preterm birth, such as promoting smoking cessation, waiting at least a year between pregnancies, and safe sleep practices.

Until recently, not much was known about how genetic factors might play a role in premature birth. In a breakthrough study last year, scientists here collaborated with the company 23andMe in a large-scale genetic study. They discovered six genomic locations that show strong potential to affect birth timing.

It remains to be seen how that discovery will lead to improved treatments. But together with Cradle Cincinnati's programs and today's study, research is helping identify ways to reduce some of the problems associated with premature birth, Muglia says.

Explore further Helping preterm babies get the best start

More information: Oded Volovelsky el al., "Hamartin regulates cessation of mouse nephrogenesis independently of Mtor," PNAS (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Oded Volovelsky el al., "Hamartin regulates cessation of mouse nephrogenesis independently of Mtor,"(2018). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1712955115A hairpin loop from a pre-mRNA. Highlighted are the nucleobases (green) and the ribose-phosphate backbone (blue). Note that this is a single strand of RNA that folds back upon itself. Credit: Vossman/ Wikipedia

A collaborative research team has uncovered new information that more accurately explains how cancerous tumors grow within the body. This study is currently available in Nature Genetics.

Researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and Baylor College of Medicine found that a losing a section of messenger RNA that was previously thought to transform normal cells into cancerous ones actually acts by blocking a body's ability suppress the formation of tumors. The finding could completely alter the way that medical science approaches the formation of tumors.

In molecules throughout the body, the three-prime untranslated region, or 3'UTR, is a section of messenger RNA that can alter gene expression. It's known that shortening this RNA section promotes cancerous tumor growth.

"Researchers have historically thought that this was because 3'UTR shortening induces the expression of proto-oncogenes, normal genes that when altered by mutation or expressed too high, become oncogenes that can transform a normal cell into a cancer cell," said Eric Wagner, UTMB associate professor in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology. "However, using a combination of computational approaches and cancer cell models, we found that 3'UTR shortening in tumors actually causes tumor-suppressing genes to be turned off."

In the study, the researchers used "Big data" analyses to reconstruct the RNA thought to form global regulatory networks within breast tumor cells and their matched normal tissues. This approach identified the fact that 3'UTRs are vital in regulating these global regulatory networks. Using this new information, they then disrupted these networks within breast cancer cells to test the effects on tumor growth.

Explore further New breast cancer targets

More information: Hyun Jung Park et al. 3 UTR shortening represses tumor-suppressor genes in trans by disrupting ceRNA crosstalk, Nature Genetics (2018). Journal information: Nature Genetics Hyun Jung Park et al. 3 UTR shortening represses tumor-suppressor genes in trans by disrupting ceRNA crosstalk,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41588-018-0118-8Researchers have developed a new tool that utilizes basic laboratory tests to effectively identify patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are at high risk of being hospitalized due to a flare up of the condition. Credit: Intermountain Medical Center

Researchers have developed a new tool that utilizes basic laboratory tests to effectively identify patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are at high risk of being hospitalized due to a flare up of the condition.

The new risk-score stratification tool, developed and validated in more than 132,000 patient records by Intermountain Healthcare researchers at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, is unique in that it uses laboratory tests used in routine care to determine whether patients are at high or low risk of hospital admission in real time.

Researchers say the new Laboratory-based Intermountain Validated Exacerbation tool, known as the LIVE Score, may help clinicians better care for COPD patients by predicting high-risk patients who may benefit from early and specific interventions to avoid hospitalization.

COPD is the name for a group of diseases, primarily emphysema and chronic bronchitis, that are chronic inflammatory lung diseases that cause obstructed airflow from the lungs that affect more than 15 millions Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Acute exacerbation of COPD is a sudden worsening of COPD symptoms (shortness of breath, quantity and color of phlegm) that typically lasts for several days, and in severe situations can lead to hospitalization. Symptoms can be exacerbated, or worsened, by airborne irritants like secondhand smoke, dust, pollen, fumes or air pollution. During a flare up, patients may end up in their doctor's office, the emergency department, or require hospitalization.

In the retrospective study, researchers found the majority of patients who experienced COPD exacerbations were in the LIVE risk-score model's two highest risk groups. Conversely, patients in the risk model's lowest risk group, fewer patients had exacerbations.

"We believe the ability to effectively identify these patients and intervene earlier in the course of a COPD exacerbation may help provide them with a higher quality of life, and potentially reduce medical costs associated with preventable hospital admissions," said principal investigator Denitza Blagev, MD, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Intermountain Medical Center and medical director for quality for Intermountain Healthcare .

Results of the study of the LIVE Score model will be presented at the American Thoracic Society's annual international conference in San Diego on Monday, May 21, at 9:15 a.m, PDT.

The LIVE risk score was validated among 48,871 patients who received a COPD diagnosis at Intermountain Healthcare between 2009 and 2016, and later validated among 83,134 patient records from the Veterans Affairs National Health System. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, and the VA Medical Center in San Francisco participated in the study.

At first, COPD may cause no symptoms or only mild symptoms. As the disease gets worse, symptoms usually become more severe. They include: a cough that produces mucus, shortness of breath (specially with physical activity), wheezing, and chest tightness.

There is currently no cure for COPD, but treatments are available to manage the symptoms and include: medications (such as inhalers), pulmonary rehabilitation, physical activity training, and oxygen treatments.

"Although we currently think about COPD as a single disease, the course and progression of the disease is variable among patients," said Dr. Blagev. "It's not only based on the severity of their COPD and lung function, but also on the number and variety of other medical problems a patient may have."

The new LIVE scoring tool allows for improved COPD patient care on a health system level by identifying when earlier interventions may prove useful, while educating patients and families on what the future may look like for an individual patient diagnosed with COPD.

Dr. Blagev said further study is needed to examine the utility of the LIVE Score as a population health strategy in COPD patients. But she is encouraged by initial findings.

"Because the LIVE Score is laboratory based and reproducible, we are able to calculate the LIVE score electronically and identify high risk patients at the time of contact," she noted. "We can also identify patients based on data previously collected, even if they are not in the hospital currently, and can begin to develop interventions targeting these highest risk patients."

Explore further COPD action plan shortens duration of flare-ups and reduces hospital admissionsPurdue University researchers are developing an app and wearable technology that will allow pregnant women to use a smartphone to detect whether they have or are susceptible to a preeclampsia, a complication caused by high blood pressure that can cause organ damage and premature birth. The device uses the supine pressor test, which measures whether a womans blood pressure increases when she changes position from lying on her left side to lying on her back. If the diastolic pressure increases enough, it is a warning sign that a woman is susceptible to preeclampsia. Credit: Purdue University

Purdue University researchers are developing an app and wearable technology to enable pregnant women to use a smartphone to detect whether they have or are susceptible to a condition that could lead to serious health complications for them or their unborn child.

The team, led by Craig Goergen, an assistant professor in Purdue's Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering, is developing a low-cost automated early detection sensor of preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication caused by high blood pressure that can cause organ damage and premature birth.

"We hope this will allow us to predict and prevent preeclampsia and reduce the number of children born prematurely each year. This could also reduce the long-term health complications for mothers," Goergen said.

The researchers received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in November. The program is part of a family of initiatives by the foundation fostering innovation to solve key global and health development problems.

The World Health Organization estimates that nearly 10 percent of all maternal deaths in Africa and Asia are associated with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and 25 percent of all maternal deaths in Latin America. Most of those deaths are avoidable, according to the WHO.

"The Gates Foundation is looking for something that's going to have an impact in the immediate future in low- and middle-income countries," Goergen said. "They are interested because the treatment and management of preeclampsia in sub-Saharan Africa, India, China and other developing countries is typically very poor."

Dr. David Reuter of Seattle Children's Hospital, a Purdue alumnus and a member of the research team, said the primary goal of pediatricians is to prevent disease.

"Addressing the problem of prematurity and preeclampsia could have profound implications for women and children globally," Reuter said. "Our scientific insights provide an exciting road map to start revolutionizing the care of pregnant women."

Other team members include George Wodicka, the Dane A. Miller Head of Biomedical Engineering at Purdue, and Kirk Forster, a senior research engineer at the Weldon School. The team is working to combine available existing technologies such as smartphones, a conventional inflatable blood pressure cuff, and a wireless accelerometer (which measures body position) to build an innovative prototype that will detect preeclampsia before it develops.

Credit: Purdue University

The most innovative aspect of the Purdue researchers' device is that it uses a simple but underused tool called the supine pressor test that can identify the risk for preeclampsia. The test assesses blood flow through the kidney, and 90 percent of women with a positive test eventually develop preeclampsia. The early detection enables more effective prevention strategies.

"This is a device that women are going to be able to use at home with a minimal amount of training," Goergen said.

The device will measure whether a woman's blood pressure increases when she changes position from lying on her left side to lying on her back. If the diastolic pressure increases enough, it is a warning sign that a woman is susceptible to preeclampsia, Goergen said. The researchers have obtained a provisional patent with the help of the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization.

Women will send the results to a doctor's office, a health-care system or a centralized network for the results to be read and where they could receive counseling so they can start management and treatment options as early as possible.

While the Gates Foundation's goal is to help women in developing countries, Goergen said the device the Purdue researchers are working on also could help women in inner cities and rural areas of the United States and other developed countries. They plan on initially testing the device on low- and middle-income women in and around Indianapolis once the researchers receive the necessary institutional approval.

"It will be a great way to make sure that these patients are not going down a road that is going to lead to problems for both them and their baby," Goergen said.

The American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology issued a report last year estimating the costs to the U.S. health-care system for preeclampsia at $2.18 billion for the first 12 months after birth $1.03 billion for mothers, and $1.15 billion for babies.

The Purdue research team is looking to partner with companies with technological expertise in these areas as the team works to further develop this technology.

Explore further Researchers developing device to enable pregnant women to detect serious health complicationsA major new analysis reveals for the first time the likely cause of most cases of childhood leukaemia, following more than a century of controversy about its origins.

Professor Mel Greaves from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, assessed the most comprehensive body of evidence ever collected on acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) - the most common type of childhood cancer.

His research concludes that the disease is caused through a two-step process of genetic mutation and exposure to infection that means it may be preventable with treatments to stimulate or 'prime' the immune system in infancy.

The first step involves a genetic mutation that occurs before birth in the foetus and predisposes children to leukaemiabut only 1 per cent of children born with this genetic change go on to develop the disease.

The second step is also crucial. The disease is triggered later, in childhood, by exposure to one or more common infections, but primarily in children who experienced 'clean' childhoods in the first year of life, without much interaction with other infants or older children.

Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is particularly prevalent in advanced, affluent societies and is increasing in incidence at around 1 per cent per year.

Professor Greaves suggests childhood ALL is a paradox of progress in modern societieswith lack of microbial exposure early in life resulting in immune system malfunction.

In a landmark paper published in Nature Reviews Cancer today, Professor Greaves compiled more than 30 years of researchhis own and from colleagues around the worldinto the genetics, cell biology, immunology, epidemiology and animal modelling of childhood leukaemia. The research in his lab at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) was largely funded by the charities Bloodwise and The Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund.

Professor Greaves challenged previous reports of possible environmental causes, such as ionising radiation, electricity cables, electromagnetic waves or man-made chemicalsarguing that none are supported by robust evidence as major causes.

Instead, he presented strong evidence for a 'delayed infection' theory for the cause of ALL, in which early infection is beneficial to prime the immune system, but later infection in the absence of earlier priming can trigger leukaemia.

Professor Greaves suggests that childhood leukaemia, in common with type I diabetes, other autoimmune diseases and allergies, might be preventable if a child's immune system is properly 'primed' in the first year of lifepotentially sparing children the trauma and life-long consequences of chemotherapy.

His studies of identical twins with ALL showed that two 'hits' or mutations were required. The first arises in one twin in the womb but produces a population of pre-malignant cells that spread to the other twin via their shared blood supply. The second mutation arises after birth and is different in the two twins.

Population studies in people together with animal experiments suggest this second genetic 'hit' can be triggered by infectionprobably by a range of common viruses and bacteria. In one unique cluster of cases investigated by Professor Greaves and colleagues in Milan, all cases were infected with flu virus.

Researchers also engineered mice with an active leukaemia-initiating gene, and found that when they moved them from an ultra-clean, germ-free environment to one that had common microbes, the mice developed ALL.

Population studies have found that early exposure to infection in infancy such as day care attendance and breast feeding can protect against ALL, most probably by priming the immune system. This suggests that childhood ALL may be preventable.

Professor Greaves is now investigating whether earlier exposure to harmless 'bugs' could prevent leukaemia in micewith the possibility that it could be prevented in children through measures to expose them to common but benign microbes.

Professor Greaves emphasises two caveats. Firstly, while patterns of exposure to common infections appear to be critical, the risk of childhood leukaemia, like that of most common cancers, is also influenced by inherited genetic susceptibility and chance. Secondly, infection as a cause applies to ALL specificallyother rarer types including infant leukaemia and acute myeloid leukaemia probably have different causal mechanisms.

Professor Mel Greaves, Director of the Centre for Evolution and Cancer at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:

"I have spent more than 40 years researching childhood leukaemia, and over that time there has been huge progress in our understanding of its biology and its treatmentso that today around 90 per cent of cases are cured. But it has always struck me that something big was missing, a gap in our knowledgewhy or how otherwise healthy children develop leukaemia and whether this cancer is preventable.

"This body of research is a culmination of decades of work, and at last provides a credible explanation for how the major type of childhood leukaemia develops. The research strongly suggests that ALL has a clear biological cause, and is triggered by a variety of infections in predisposed children whose immune systems have not been properly primed. It also busts some persistent myths about the causes of leukaemia, such as the damaging but unsubstantiated claims that the disease is commonly caused by exposure to electro-magnetic waves or pollution.

"I hope this research will have a real impact on the lives of children. The most important implication is that most cases of childhood leukaemia are likely to be preventable. It might be done in the same way that is currently under consideration for autoimmune disease or allergiesperhaps with simple and safe interventions to expose infants to a variety of common and harmless 'bugs'." Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:

"This research has been something of a personal, 30-year quest for Professor Mel Greaveswho is one of the UK's most influential and iconic cancer researchers. His work has cut through the myths about childhood leukaemia and for the first time set out a single unified theory for how most cases are caused.

"It's exciting to think that, in future, childhood leukaemia could become a preventable disease as a result of this work. Preventing childhood leukaemia would have a huge impact on the lives of children and their families in the UK and across the globe."

Explore further Scientists map the genetic evolution of childhood leukaemia

More information: Mel Greaves, A causal mechanism for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, Nature Reviews Cancer (2018). Journal information: Nature Reviews Cancer Mel Greaves, A causal mechanism for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41568-018-0015-6A recent article published by Business Insider SA titled SAs first cryptocurrency ATM to open in Johannesburg by the end of the week covered the installation of a new cryptocurrency ATM at a Spar in Johannesburg.

The article (archived here) claimed that South Africas first crypto ATM was to be installed by Northwold Spar, and supported multiple cryptocurrencies like Dash, Ethereum, and Bitcoin.

While this is undoubtedly a forward-looking move, it is most certainly not the first cryptocurrency ATM to go live in South Africa.

MyBroadband spoke to Bitmart CEO Jacques Serfontein, who confirmed there are multiple cryptocurrency ATMs live in South Africa  including a Douro cryptocurrency ATM at the retailers physical store in Nelspruit.

Bitmarts cryptocurrency ATM was installed in September 2017 and supports multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, and ZCash.

The retailer also sells Douro cryptocurrency ATMs through its online store for R149,999.

The picture of the ATM posted in the Business Insider SA article implies it is Douro ATM model.

Business Insider SA then published a follow-up article, showing the first cryptocurrency ATM in South Africa in action.

Cash exchanges and wallets

Cryptocurrency ATMs allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies for cash without requiring a bank account.

Users simply supply a QR code containing their chosen cryptocurrency wallet address, either through a smartphone app or physical print.

The machine then scans the users QR code, accepts the cash payment, and deposits cryptocurrency into their wallet.

Cryptocurrency ATMs function as direct cash exchanges with the owner of the machines wallet, however, and are not regulated by the same rules which apply to bank ATMs.

This can make it difficult to track the number of active cryptocurrency ATMs in South Africa, and means that property owners who wish to offer cash exchange services have nothing to stop them from buying an ATM for their store.

Websites such as Coin ATM Radar can be helpful for those looking to find an ATM, but they function on user submissions and are not perfect record keepers of all crypto ATM locations.

As cryptocurrencies are decentralised, there is also no regulator or single body controlling who can open a wallet, purchase an ATM, or make transactions.

This, paired with the fact that a crypto ATM looks like any other address on a blockchain, makes it difficult to determine the true number of ATMs in South Africa.

Serfontein said he knew of several other crypto ATMs in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Midrand, and there could easily be more dotted around the country which are not as well advertised.

Tracking which was the first to be implemented is therefore a difficult task.Cloud computing is driving massive growth in IT, with IT job opportunities growing three-times faster than national job opportunities.

This is according to the IDCs latest Economic Impact Model report Economic impact of IT and Microsoft in South Africa.

IT spend is currently growing faster than the economy, said Mark Walker, IDC associate vice president for sub-Saharan Africa, speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg.

On top of this, the IT workforce is growing three-times faster than the national average, specifically on the technology production side.

The IT sector in South Africa is expected to reach R175 billion by 2022, at a 5-year compounded annual growth rate of 4.25%, according to the report, creating as many as 119,000 net new local job opportunities.

This growth is being driven largely by public cloud, said Walker.

While the software market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 2.9% over the next 5 years, the cloud market is expected to grow at 21.9% to reach R11.53 billion.

The increased adoption of cloud services in South Africa will create 112,000 net new job opportunities in the economy by 2022, driven by the benefits of cloud computing, such as lower capex, efficiency, scale, and flexibility.

Microsoft will contribute to 44% of the available opportunities, offering 53,000 net new jobs in South Africa, Walker added.

And for each R1 of Microsoft revenue, there will be downstream revenue of R8.84  with the hardware sector generating R2.94 in revenue, the broader software space generating R1.90, and the technology services sector generating R4.

While these jobs will be available in South Africa, many of these opportunities run the risk of being lost to the country due to the current skills gap, Walker warned.

It would be a shame if we dont have skilled South Africans to fill these available jobs, said Zoaib Hoosen, Managing Director Microsoft, speaking at the media briefing.

At Microsoft, we are aware that there is a huge need for training, and we cant rely on government alone. As such, we have been working with the Gauteng provincial government to offer free, online, self-paced courses to professionals, said Hoosen.Telkom recently lost a case in the Western Cape High Court against the City of Cape Town over the placement of a cellphone mast on land that it leased on 9 November 2015.

The land Telkom leased was zoned as a low-to-medium density residential area, primarily for family housing.

It launched an application to rezone the land on 22 January 2016, but Cape Town informed Telkom a month later it left out required information and did not pay the application fee.

After Telkom provided the information and paid the fee, the City of Cape Town processed the application.

Telkom started erecting a cellphone mast on the property before it was rezoned, however, and without getting the relevant building plan approvals or exemption.

It also did not give notice to the City that it had started construction.

As a result, the City of Cape Town halted the rezoning application and said Telkom needs to pay an administrative penalty before the process can continue.

Telkom disputed the matter and asked the City to halt the process so it may get a declaratory order on the issues in the dispute.

Telkom then asked the courts to rule that Cape Towns by-laws are either in conflict with the Electronic Communications Act, or unconstitutional and invalid.

Right to information

Telkom and the property administrator stated that the Electronic Communications Act emphasises the publics right to information.

The Act also gives licensed network operators extensive rights to enter land to construct and maintain their networks in South Africa.

They then argued that the Constitutional Court has already recognised the societal importance of telecommunications.

The court stated that the ability to build networks promotes economic growth, education, public service delivery, and has the potential to improve the quality of life in South Africa.

The Constitutional Court also stated that network providers only need to comply with applicable laws so long as doing so does not mean their rights are defeated or eviscerated.

As such, Telkom argued it does not have to comply with the City of Cape Towns by-laws, as they are frustrating the rights given to them by the law  and upheld by the Constitutional Court.

However, judge AJ Andrews was unconvinced.

Andrews said the Constitutional Court has also established the role of municipalities in local planning.

This includes zoning, even when it comes to the use of land for telecommunications  which falls within the exclusive authority of national government.

Andrews sided with the City of Cape Town and declared Telkoms construction of the basestation unlawful.

It dismissed the application with costs.

Service provision

Telkom told MyBroadband it is studying the judgment, and will only be in a position to comment fully once it has considered all the issues raised.

Telkom has always maintained that the activities that were the subject of this matter were not regulated by the by-laws concerned. It is for this reason that there was, in our view, never a need to apply for approvals in terms of the processes described in the by-laws, said a Telkom spokesperson.

Depending on the final outcome of the matter, Telkom said it will need to assess the impact of the by-laws on the ability of licensed network operators to build the masts it is trying to erect.

Adherence to the by-laws will most certainly make such activities more cumbersome and time consuming, which in turn most likely would, should this become the case, have a negative impact on service provision, said Telkom.Kenzo Napa welcomes acclaimed Chef Shinichiro Takagi, who hails from two Michelin star Zeniya in Kanazawa on Japans western coast, for two special seatings on Thursday, May 31 and Friday, June 1 at 7 p.m. His menu will celebrate seasonal Japanese cuisine paired with the wines of Kenzo Estate.

Takagis famous restaurant received its Michelin recognition in 2016, along with membership into the Relais & Chateaux family. Zeniya was also named to the La Liste 1,000 Best Restaurants in the World List.

Known for his regional Kaga cuisine, Chef Takagis Kaiseki menus have been described as not only a meal, but a work of art.

We have appreciated Chef Takagis extraordinary cuisine at his incomparable Zeniya, where each course is truly customized to the needs of the guest, and when he awed a group of more than 200 as the honored chef at The Japan Society of Boston, said Kenzo Napa Owner Natsuko Tsujimoto. In both settings, his cuisine was transformative. The collaboration with Kenzo Napa is going to be a special, once-in-a-lifetime moment between Chef Takagi and our guests.AMERICAN FORK, UtahJon McNaughton did not intend to become the countrys most famous pro-Trump, mass-market painter of the 21st century. But then, to achieve such an identity does require a modicum of cultivation; it does not happen overnight.

In 2008, the Utah artist was selling landscapes out of a gallery in a shopping mall. Then the presidential election happened and McNaughton, who didnt like John McCain or Barack Obama, was struck with inspiration. The result, One Nation Under God, was a massive canvas featuring Jesus Christ holding a copy of the Constitution, surrounded by Davy Crockett, Ronald Reagan and 61 other historical figures dismayed by the direction of the country (Satan, also in the painting, was pleased). It wasnt particularly subtle, but something about the work spoke to people and a new creative doorway was opened.

You might have seen, for example, The Forgotten Man, in which Obama ignores a weeping citizen on a park bench while the Founding Fathers implore him to pay attention. Or, The Demise of America, in which he fiddles while the U.S. Capitol burns. Or, One Nation Under Socialism, in which he has lit the Constitution on fire.

After the 2016 election, McNaughtons paintings gained a hero in Donald Trump instead of just a villain in Obama: A sequel to The Forgotten Man, You are Not Forgotten, features the same weeping citizen, now planting a tree as Trump looks on benevolently.

Yes. McNaughton is that guy.

Its pure id art. Which means, in the sense that art can reveal truths about the undercarriage of the psyche, McNaughton is one of the most significant painters of the current era. The New Yorkers art critic analyzed the influence of McNaughtons work and dubbed 2016 The year of The Forgotten Man. 

Im just honestly a little perplexed, says McNaughton, 50, a soft-spoken Mormon father. I have no idea where [buyers] are hanging them, I just know I sell a ton. Sometimes Im shocked at how many I sell. That one I told you about, Obama burning the Constitution? When I painted it, I worried, this thing is just hideouswhy would anybody hang that in their living room?

Its not, he says, the kind of warm, happy work people typically want in their homes.

But they sell. McNaughton is a repeat guest on Fox and Friends. Sean Hannity owns several originals, including The Forgotten Man. McNaughton wont say how much Hannity paid (its been reported as $300,000, which the artist says is too high), but the majority of his income comes not from originals but reproductions: $30 for an 11 x 14 lithograph, $700 for something large, framed and signed.

Rob Dickerson, the account manager at the printing outlet that fills McNaughtons orders, says when customers submit orders, they often include personal notes: Your work has meant so much to me. You are my favorite artist. Sometimes orders come in with a shipping address of Trump Tower. These arent Trump employees, Dickerson thinks: Just regular citizens spending $250-300 on a painting theyll never hold, sent to a man who has more money than they ever will, because the art is doing . . . something . . . for their souls.

The other day, we flew to Utah to watch McNaughton put the finishing touches on his latest work, which he planned to release by the end of the week. Over the phone, hed said only that the painting would be Mueller-themed.

American Fork, a Salt Lake City suburb, is an interesting town, a backdrop of ridiculous beauty and a foreground of terrible chain restaurants. The address hed provided led to Altus Fine Arts, an art consortium specializing in Mormon paintings, where McNaughton rents warehouse space. In the backroom of the nondescript white building, the painter had already set up his easel.

The new painting was Mueller-themed in the same way a banana is fruit-themed: there might have been a layer to peel back, but for the most part, the thing was just the thing. In the work, which McNaughton had tentatively titled Exposing the Truth, Trump grabbed special counsel Robert S. Mueller III by the necktie, roughly pulling him close while Mueller shrunk back in fear. In Trumps other hand was a magnifying glass, which he held inches from Muellers face.

Its about how its all kind of coming to a head, McNaughton explained. How Trump is turning the tables on Mueller. It does have a bit of a bully feelTrump is saying, Im not going to be the victim here.  McNaughton thinks that the president will end up firing Mueller, and the painting reflects that.

As McNaughton sat at his easel, painting the shadows on Trumps sleeve, he explained that this wasnt his regular studio. Normally, he works from his basement, which is also where he stages paintings (a lanky neighbor is the regular stand-in for Obama; McNaughtons brother is the recurring Forgotten Man). But as his fame has grown, his wifes tolerance for the circus has shrunk; no interviews in the house.

McNaughton talked about his faith: The Mormon mission he did in Japan in his youth. He talked about working as a financial planner for eight years until hed saved enough money to pursue art full time. He talked about his art training Brigham Young University, where a frustrated professor chastised him for not taking instruction better.

He talked abouthow he wakes up every morning and turns on the news, perpetually seeking out angles for future projects.

I have a great idea for an immigration-themed painting, he said. I have a great idea for a foreign policy-themed painting. I have an idea for a Second Amendment-themed painting, and an idea that involves a lot of past presidents, and a Christmas painting thats going to be crazy.

A good bellwether for if a painting would sell well was whether someone like Rachel Maddow, the liberal MSNBC host, was offended by it. Her blog once held a cheeky caption contest for one of his works. My sales spiked after, McNaughton said cheerfully.

While watching McNaughton paint, we told him that Exposing the Truth seemed tame compared with his earlier works. Nobody was burning or tearing the Constitution. Abraham Lincoln was not weeping in the background. Jesus Christ wasnt presiding over the halls of Congress.

Several hours later we realized these standards were off. If a painting of the president of the United States physically threatening the special prosecutor didnt seem downright wacky, then what did that say about what passes for normal in this country?

Its perhaps not surprising to know that coastal critics dont believe in McNaughtons work. New York magazines Jerry Saltz has called it visually dead as a doornail. Stephen Colbert once did a whole segment lampooning the obvious metaphors in the painting: Barack Obama represents President Obama, Colbert deadpanned. The burning Constitution represents a Constitution that is on fire.

What isnt entirely clear is whether McNaughton believed in it himself. The Trump world is populated by disciplesMichael Cohen, Diamond & Silkwhose ideology can seem both deeply felt as well as performative and opportunistic.

McNaughtons art shapes perceptions of the president. It stokes anger in Trumps supporters. But had McNaughton himself jumped on the Trump Train, or had he merely set up a lemonade stand at the station?

McNaughton didnt support Trump at first; he liked Ted Cruz in the primaries. Ask what he thinks about Trump now, and hes measured: He gets away with stuff nobody else can get away with, McNaughton says. I laugh when I see it. I cringe and laugh at just about anything I see. He says that his works do come from an emotional place but that he doesnt view himself as a Trump supporter so much as a Trump observer.

Take this painting, he says at his makeshift studio, gesturing to You Are Not Forgotten, which hangs on an easel nearby. As a regal Trump gestures toward the Forgotten Man, who is planting a tree, a crowd of mostly veterans and law enforcement look on with approval. McNaughton asks, Based on this painting, what do you think McNaughton thinks of Trump?

The symbolism seems pretty bonk-you-on-the-head: Tree as hope, Trump as savior, audience as grateful.

McNaughton says, No, thats wrong. No, thats not what he intended. The point of the painting is that here are all the people who got him elected, McNaughton says. Its, Okay Mr. Trump, now youre here, what are you going to do? The painting is not an endorsement of Trump, McNaughton says, so much as its a snapshot of the country at a moment in time. More than anything, he considers himself a historical painter.

The way I look at it, these paintings will either be swept under the rug, or theyll represent this era. The same with Trump, really.

But if thats true, its not really what comes across in his work. When people buy a painting, they dont also buy McNaughton to come to their house and explain how You Are Not Forgotten is merely an observational statement about the demographics who elected Trump. The people who buy the painting are buying it because the message seems to be, #MAGA #MAGA #MAGA, in big neon lights.

This prompts a thoughtful interrogation into the meaning and purpose of art: How much ownership does a painter have over his messaging? How much should the artists intent inform the works perception?

Perhaps McNaughton is trying a little bit to have it both waysto benefit from the fervor of Trumps supporters, while leaving himself some plausible deniability about whether hes a supporter himself. Perhaps its just about money?

To spend all day, every day, creating beatific images of Donald Trump would be exhausting, if you didnt believe in Donald Trump at least a little. So McNaughton must believe in him at least a little.

But its complicated. As McNaughton talks, with some thoughtful sadness, about being the whipping boy of the art world he spent a lifetime hoping to join, hes not the person you expect him to be.

Dickerson, the account manager, says that he doesnt share the political views espoused in McNaughtons paintings. Dickerson considers himself moderate-to-liberal, at least by Utah standards. But, he says, I do have one of Jons paintings. I really like it. Its in my officeshould I go get it?

He returns a few minutes later carrying a small square canvas, maybe eight-by-eight inches, of a painting that doesnt look like anything else in the studio. Its of John F. Kennedy. Its a simple black and white sketch, and its accompanied by the JFK quote, Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic answer. Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.

On McNaughtons website, this painting does pop up, but its not featured prominently. The Kennedy painting cost only $10, when it was for sale, but its no longer for sale. A note says that only 50 copies were made.

--

The next day, McNaughton brings a finished canvas of the Mueller painting back into the warehouse. Hed stayed up until 3 a.m. completing it, he says, and its changed quite a bit. Now, there are faces watching the Trump/Mueller altercation: James Comey, Jeff Sessions. McNaughton has also changed the name: Instead of Exposing the Truth, the painting is now titled Expose the Trutha swap that makes the depiction seem less observational and more directive.

A little more in-your-face, McNaughton allows.

Whether he fully believes in what hes doing or not, hes chosen to lean into it, without hesitation. He spends the afternoon composing the text that will accompany the painting on his website: Robert Mueller leads a special council of at least 17 partisan Democrat attorneys who have yet to find a single piece of evidence against the President, yet they ignore the mounting verifiable evidence against Russian collusion with the DNC and the Clinton Foundation, the text says. There comes a time when you have to take a stand to Expose the Truth!

McNaughton puts the painting up for sale on his website, and almost immediately people respond on Twitter: GREAT PAINTING. WAKE UP, AMERICA! Time to take this country back from the arrogant minions of the LEFT.

Scrolling through the online response to Expose the Truththe McNaughton fans who cant wait to order their own copies, and its hard not to think back to one of McNaughtons earlier statements, about how his paintings didnt provide the warm, happy vibe that people typically want out of their living-room artwork.

Maybe his work doesnt make people feel good in the way weve traditionally defined feeling good. It doesnt provide a sense of calmness, peace, and amity toward our fellow man. But his art does make people feel good under the new definitions of feeling good. It provides a self-fulfilling sense of self-righteousness. It assuages people, telling them that they are upset about the right things. It feels good because feeling angry and justified is the new feeling good.

McNaughton used to paint something new every few months. He says thats changed, recentlynow hes painting something every few weeks, because it seems like thats how often there is appetite for a new outrage.

Before leaving, we ask McNaughton for a tour of the warehouse, where all of his stock is kept, and he provides a copy of an out-of-date calendar: 12 of his greatest hits, consolidated in one item. Its too large to fit in a carry-on, and at the airport gate, a few fellow passengers ask to flip through it.

Oh, that guy, one says wearily.

Oh, that guy! says another. I think hell be famous for a long time. I think he gets America right.A wind-propelled grass fire along American Canyon Road shut the roadway for more than an hour at mid-day Monday, with agencies sending some 60 firefighters to control the blaze.

The fire was reported to have burned 12 acres, with crews still on the scene in the late afternoon, working on containment.

The Napa County Sheriff''s Office issued a traffic alert during the noon hour, asking motorists to avoid American Canyon Road due to a grass fire.

American Canyon Road was closed between Flosden Road and Interstate 80, reopening at 1:30 p.m. after the threat to traffic had passed.

No structures were threatened.

The fire was reported at 11:56 a.m. near the Via Bellagio development in east American Canyon, Cal Fire reported.

The American Canyon Fire Department, the Napa County Fire Department and two state inmate crews assisted with the firefighting, Cal Fire said.

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.American Canyon Police made two arrests Saturday morning after responding to a hotel on a report of a room being booked on a fraudulent credit card.

Police interviewed the occupants of the room, who had numerous items of suspected stolen property, personal identifying information for more than 10 people, fraudulent credit cards and methamphetamine, Police Chief Oscar Ortiz reported.

Police arrested Briana Kristina Tellez, 24, and Yolanda Dolores Martinez, 40, both of Fontana, on felony counts related to identity theft and misdemeanor counts of possessing methamphetamine.

They were released from the Napa County jail after posting $25,000 bail, police said.

Detectives are following up on the origins of the suspected stolen property, Ortiz said. The American Canyon motel room had been booked on a credit card belonging to someone in Arizona, he said.

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy.ST. HELENA  The St. Helena Planning Commission rejected an application for a downtown health and beauty shop last week, citing the questionable reputation of the stores other locations.

With Commissioners David Knudsen and Lester Hardy absent, the commission voted 3-0 to reject the store, directing city staff to return at a future meeting with formal findings of denial.

Green Biotics, which has stores in Florida and La Jolla, had proposed to move into the former Gathered space at 1309B Main St. A written application stated that the store would sell vitamins, supplements, tea, coffee and derma care products.

Commissioners and a few members of the public noted one-star online reviews for the La Jolla store, with customers saying theyd been offered free tea samples as they passed the store, subjected to high-pressure sales tactics once they went inside, and been left frustrated by the stores no-return policy.

Commissioners also talked about the stores expensive products and questioned whether it could meet standards in the General Plan that encourage local-serving businesses that are consistent with St. Helenas community image. No representatives of the store attended Tuesdays hearing.The cumulative firestorm would ultimately destroy 5,130 Sonoma County homes and take the lives of 44 Northern Californians. At least five of the victims failed to get past their garage doors after the power went out.

In the early morning hours on Oct. 9, Pedersen came to realize a number of Fountaingrove residents either didnt know they could manually open their garages, or were too feeble from age to lift them. The footage depicts the officer spending critical moments unlatching garage doors in a condominium complex and urging people to get into their cars and flee.

There you go, maam, Pedersen tells a woman who was stranded. You are outta here. You need to get down the hill, maam.

Body camera footage also shows officers spending considerable time saving residents at three assisted and memory care facilities in Fountaingrove  one of which, Villa Capri, eventually burned to the ground. A few officers vent their frustrations over not seeing any facility staff around to help wake residents, and having to repeatedly break down doors with crowbars and battering rams to extricate unsuspecting tenants still fast asleep.California has been in a bragging mode lately because the states economy has climbed in global rankings to 5th place behind only the United States as whole, China, Japan and Germany.

Its a remarkable factoid, certainly, that one American state generated so much economic production  $2.7 trillion last year  that it could rank among global leaders.

Its even more impressive that California produces so much even though in terms of population, its 40 million residents would be considered a fairly small country, about the size of Iraq.

California moved into 5th place by slipping past Great Britain, which has 63.5 million people, after previously topping France (65 million) and Italy (61 million).

Even more dramatically, California outproduced Russia (142.5 million) and even India, which has 32 times as many people (1.3 billion).

Okay, so it is something about which Californians should feel proud. It might even fuel those semi-serious efforts to separate California from the rest of the nation and restore the nationhood it briefly had in the 19th century.

However, its just as important to keep the new economic rankings in perspective, to wit:There's also cautious optimism surrounding an experimental vaccine being donated by Merck, an American pharmaceutical company, and deployed by Geneva-based Gavi, a nonprofit vaccine provider. The vaccine was used in the later stages of the West Africa outbreak, but, according to Mother Jones' Megan Jula, it will be the first time a vaccine has been used as part of an initial response to an Ebola outbreak. Vaccinations are expected to start as early as this weekend, with 4,000 doses already in the country and another 4,000 on the way.

Indeed, the entire reason this vaccine exists is because of the 2014-15 crisis - though the logic behind its development is grim. Potential vaccines for Ebola have existed for years, but few drug developers were interested as they couldn't make money off them. "There just hasn't [sic] historically been enough Ebola cases for a private company to make any profit," said Tom Geisbert, one of the lead researchers on the vaccine, to Mother Jones.

Despite the official optimism, however, there's plenty of reason to worry. There are logistical hurdles with the vaccine, for example: The Post's Bearak notes that it must be transported and stored at between minus-60 and minus-80 degrees Fahrenheit, which means powerful refrigerators will need to reach some remote locations. And, as with any experimental vaccine, there will be doubts about its effectiveness.Saakashvili's condition worsens on tenth day of hunger strike

Armenia lawyer: Most ridiculous thing is that only COVID-19 statistics are stated in rationale for legislative amendment

Russian MOD issues statement on murder of peaceful Armenian civilian by Azerbaijanis in Karabakh

Iran FM: Tehran has no intention to be dependent of Russia

Karabakh Central Electoral Commission reports 59.2% voter turnout in elections

Aliyev declares that 'a new era for Karabakh is beginning'

Saakashvili answers questions about his personal life

Veolia Water reports stoppage of water supply in Armenia's Syunik Province on Oct. 11

MP: Armenia is the only country in Europe where 3 opposition MPs are arrested and ambassadors are silent

Garibashvili: New peace initiative was discussed during meeting with Pashinyan

Iran is ready to participate in construction of transit route leading to Georgia through Armenia

Joaquin Caparros and Taron Voskanyan giving press conference (LIVE)

Citizens holding rally demanding release of Mikheil Saakashvili near parliament in Tbilisi

UEFA Nations League: Italy beat Belgium (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Armenia President to visit Holy See with Mrs. Nouneh Sarkissian, to hold personal talks with Pope Francis

Armenia Shirak Province governor appoints acting heads of communities

Karabakh Central Electoral Commission reports 46.6 % voter turnout in elections as of 5 p.m.

Simeone: We all lost in La Liga after Ronaldo and Messi left

Ex-member of Portugal national team elected Benfica president

Cross-stone commemorating 14 martyrs of 44-day war unveiled at school in Armenia's Abovyan

"Ribbon of Eternity" monument in Armenia vandalized again

Russia's Putin to meet with Armenia PM on Oct. 12

Azerbaijani Navy to hold military exercises in Caspian Sea

AS Roma intend to purchase Borussia Monchengladbach's midfielder

Karabakh Central Electoral Commission reports 36.1 % voter turnout in elections as of 2 p.m.

Iran declares presence of Israelis on border with Azerbaijan again

Karabakh Central Electoral Commission reports 15.1% voter turnout in elections as of 11 a.m.

4 Armenian families displaced from Karabakh already provided with dwellings in Armenia

L-410 plane crashes in Tatarstan, leaving 16 dead

Karabakh MP: Azerbaijanis took villager's car and then returned it, they are obstructing harvest

20 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh, 6 patients are in severe condition

Armenian human rights activist: Opposition truly believes Armenia is legal state and it can restrain authorities

Armenia MOD leaves for Moscow

Armenia President attends Aurora Prize Ceremony at St. Lazar's Island

1,151 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia President sends condolence telegram to Georgian counterpart

Selena Gomez and Chris Evans suspected of having a love affair

Iraq holding snap parliamentary elections

Portugal's victory and Ronaldo's goal (VIDEO)

Armenia national football team is in Bucharest (PHOTOS)

2021 World Wrestling Championships: Armenia team to bring home one gold medal

Armenia territorial administration and infrastructure minister, India ambassador discuss opportunities for collaboration

President visits Armenia honorary consulate in Veneto region of Italy

Burned body of man, 65, found in Armenia rural community

Armenia MOD: Serviceman wounded at Yeraskh village section of border with Azerbaijan is contract soldier

Turkey detains 6 foreigners on suspicion of espionage

Hraparak.am: Armenia soldier wounded at Yeraskh village section of border with Azerbaijans Nakhchivan

Armenia Constitutional Court finds bill tabled by parliament speaker to be in accordance with Constitution

Opposition MP: Armenia authorities obsessed with false ideas of building dialogue with Turkey, Azerbaijan

Britney Spears' lawyer to compel her father to testify in court

Messi: We are one step behind other Champions League favorites

Ukrainian tourist, 64, dies suddenly near Armenias Temple of Garni

Adele speaks about new boyfriend (PHOTOS)

Artsakh civilian, 55, killed by Azerbaijan sniper (PHOTOS)

UK House of Lords member thanks opposition Armenia Faction in parliament

Modernas Spikevax vaccine against coronavirus is distributed to Armenia polyclinics, mobile points

Madonna regrets turning down role in The Matrix (VIDEO)

India FM to visit Armenia for first time in history

Armenia PM condoles with Georgia counterpart

Spain man, 40, found dead in Armenia

October 11 declared a day of mourning in Georgia

Armenian priest continues his religious service at Dadivank Monastery of Artsakh (PHOTOS)

China, US discuss lifting customs duties, sanctions

4 people killed in single-engine plane crash in US

1,331 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia President awarded with highest medal of University of Bologna

Messi announces who he would vote for among Ballon d'Or candidates

Vanetsyan: Armenias Pashinyan, by me, Azerbaijans Aliyev, by his NSS head, had exchanged closed envelopes

Armenia premier, his staff conceal fact of 'operative link' with Azerbaijans Aliyev

Residential building collapses in Georgias Batumi

Chile court considering case against president based on Pandora Papers leaks

Newspaper: Selective investigation being conducted into Armenia criminal case on arms supply

Newspaper: Armenia PM worries about delay in actual 'process' of illegal property confiscation

2022 World Cup qualifiers: Match results of the day

2022 World Cup qualifiers: Armenia manager holds post-match press conference in Iceland

2022 World Cup qualifiers: Armenia play draw with Iceland (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

OSCE Minsk Group: Co-Chairs discussed possible de-escalatory and humanitarian measures

Sergey Markedonov: What axis between Yerevan and Tehran?

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification: Armenia winning Iceland (first half)

Armenia Parliament Speaker: It's very important to be able to turn the page over and establish peace in the region

World champion Malkhas Amoyan awarded in Oslo (PHOTOS)

Legendary Armenian gymnast Albert Azaryan's daughter, teacher Zhanna Azaryan dies from COVID-19

Georgia citizens to hold rally in support of Saakashvili in central Tbilisi on Sunday

Armenia sets up governmental commission for funeral of Ambassador Vigen Chitechyan

Armenia opposition MP: Yerevan, Baku are synchronously working to destroy Armenian statehood

Slovenia Ambassador to Armenia: Armenian-Slovenian economic relations not adequate to existing potential

Malkhas Amoyan declared world champion (PHOTOS)

Cavusoglu: Ukraine has applied to obtain observer status in Turkic Council

Turkey building a wall on border with Iran

Basque Country Parliament, affirming European Parliament's stance, adopts resolution on Armenian POWs

Turkish FM touches upon Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

Armenia FM receives Apostolic Nuncio of Holy See Jose Avelino Bettencourt

Saakashvili's father calls on son to stop hunger strike

Armenian and Belarusian MFAs hold political consultations

Digest: Russia offers 3+3 Caucasus regional platform, more on COVID-19 vaccination in Armenia

Armenia MOD receives Diaspora Armenian benefactors

Armenia Ambassador presents credentials to Turkmenistan President

Armenia Parliament Deputy Speaker and Russia Ambassador: We are interested in expansion of cooperation

Armenia finance ministry-European Investment Bank cooperation development directions discussed

One dollar drops below AMD 480 in ArmeniaYEREVAN.  New Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has started the work toward making amendments to the Electoral Code of Armenia, and active respective discussions are underway with civil society representatives of the country.

Informed Citizen NGO Chairman Daniel Ioannisyan told about the aforesaid to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

He added, however, that the main amendment that is not even debated on is the rating-based election system which, in their view, needs to be ruled out.

Discussions are planned with parliamentary forces too.

PM Pashinyan plans to make amendments to the Electoral Code, whereupon to conduct a snap parliamentary election.

But prior to being elected PM, Pashinyan had announced in the National Assembly that he was not going to make those amendments in the way he wants to, but rather he expected the reaching of an agreement between Armenias public and the political forces regarding this matter.YEREVAN.  Civic activist David Sanasaryan has been appointed head of the State Oversight Service under the Prime Minister of Armenia.

To all intents and purposes, the State Oversight Service will be a newly established government agency because there has never been such state agency under the PM of the country.

The objective of this government agency will be to ensure the implementation of the supervisory powers of the Premier.

In addition, the State Oversight Service will to conduct studies in the public administration system, monitor the implementation of government and PMs decisions and instructions, and oversee the carrying out of anticorruption programs and measures in Armenia.YEREVAN.  The protest, which was held outside the Court of Cassation of Armenia building on May 18and in defense of Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) former Defense Minister and Defense Army Commander Samvel Babayanwas staged on Monday too.

Once again the demonstrators were holding banners with the picture Babayan and a demand for the resignation of Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan. They were chanting, Freedom for political prisoners.

One of Babayans supporters said the Court of Cassation does not accept proceedings on Babayans case and that this demonstration of theirs is also a demand for accepting the proceedings.

The court had found Samvel Babayan guilty of orchestrating smuggling of arms into Armenia and sentenced him to six years in prison.

According to the indictment, Babayan had prompted a group of people to illegally purchase, transport and store Igla missile system, and he had acquired unlawful property in exchange.YEREVAN.  Armenias minister of economic development and investments Artsvik Minasyan met with a Doing Business group of representatives from the World Bank.

The participants of the meeting discussed improvement of business climate and the ongoing reforms that will enable Armenia to improve its positions in the WBs Doing Business report. Minister Minasyan briefed the experts on a number of changes that made doing business much easier.

The Minister asked the experts to pay attention to the opportunities provided by the new political situation, stressing that they will continue to work at a new level to adopt the best decisions to improve the business environment through an open and transparent manner.

Doing Business group representatives Tiziana Londero and Parvina Rahimova spoke about preparation for the ranking that will be issued in fall and shared their impressions about the meetings with Armenian entrepreneurs that they held over a week.

Experts have pointed to the enthusiasm of businessmen in relation to the new government and political change, which can have good impetus for business development.

Minister Minasyan once again assured that the ministry will establish direct contacts with businessmen by using new and will address all the problems.Armenias State Food Safety Service: Violating Food Safety Norms Instead of Enforcing Them

Earlier this week, around 80 people got hospitalized with food poisoning in Armenias Armavir Province. They ate chicken sandwiches which are suspected of having salmonella. A criminal case has been initiated.

The Control Chamber report of 2017 shows several cases when chicken with microbial deviations entered the Armenian market with the permission of the State Food Safety Service (SFSS), after a second examination proved them safe.

Months ago, after Hetq's investigation of imported chicken meat, we did an article proving that the SFSS did not exercise proper border control, resulting in meat with salmonella entering the Armenian market.

On February 8 and March 2 this year, 7 and 50 tons of Brazilian poultry were impounded on the border crossing because of microbial infections. They were imported from Brazil. The supplier was Seara Alimentos Ltd.

At the end of March, Hetq sent a request to the State Revenue Committee (SRC) and the SFSS asking about the fate of the above-mentioned meat.

In April, the SRC replied that no order to destroy the poultry had yet been issued.

According to Hetqs information, 6,930 kilograms of frozen Brazilian poultry imported by Meat Import LLC were contracted to another company, Ardelicates LLC. The salmonella-infected poultry was to be processed and sold as semi-smoked sausage.

Such a decision by the SFSS, however, contradicts the existing technical regulations, since semi-smoked sausage cannot be made of chicken, especially when its been frozen more than once.

However, on May 16, the SRC reported that the issue of the 6,930 kilograms of frozen Brazilian chicken is included in the agenda of the Inter-Agency Customs Commission on Destruction Organizing and Coordinating to take place on May 23.

Director of Meat Import LLC Levon Badeyan confirms that the meat is in the process of destruction now, since it does not comply with the Eurasian standards.

The director said that though they wanted to sell meat somehow, but the SFSS reported that the bacteria could not be eliminated, even at high temperatures.

We asked Mr. Badeyan to provide us with relevant documents, acts and photos after the destruction. He promised to do so.

This is not the first time that Meat Import has imported tainted meat. In 2016, 19.8 tons of frozen chopped chicken meat, imported by the company from Vinidsky PtitsiFabriks, was suspended due to the discovery of listeriosis.

As for the 50 tons of frozen Brazilian chicken mentioned above, the SRC says it was re-exported from Armenia in March of this year.

The destruction order planned to be issued on May 23 will be one of the few times that tainted meat will be destroyed. We make this statement based on Hetqs study of the Control Chambers 2017 Annual Report showing that bacteria tainted meat was allowed into Armenia and was either reprocessed or declared safe, ending up on market shelves.

There were several cases in 2017 and 2016, when tons of imported frozen chicken were first sent to the Standard Dialog laboratory for testing. The samples came back positive for salmonella and, according to the SFSS decision, the poultry had to be destroyed or disposed of.

A few days later, however, the same meat was sent to SFSSs subordinate Republican Veterinary-Sanitary and Phytosanitary Laboratory Services Center (RVSPCLS) SNCO, and was declared safe for consumption, and the importing company got the requested certificate to import the meat.

It should be noted that RVSPCLS SNCO is not a reference laboratory, and the results of its testing cannot be considered final.

The SFSS has committed other violations. In 2017, it allowed 25 tons of beef containing Escherichia coli bacteria to be used in making canned meat-veggie preserves, although it should have been destroyed within ten days.Around a dozen people demonstrated outside the Prosecutor Generals Office in Yerevan early today, demanding the resignation of Prosecutor General Artur Davtyan.

The demonstrators placed banners with the photos of Jirayr Sefilyan, Shant Harutyunyan, Gevorg Safaryan, Samvel Babayan on both sides of the main entrance to the building.

They placed a huge yellow banner reading Freedom to Political Prisoners directly in front of the doorway, blocking the entrance to the building.

Arayik Papikyan, an attorney representing some of the Sasna Dzrer members now on trial for seizing a Yerevan police building in 2016, joined the protestors in their vigil.

Papikyan said that Davtyan should have resigned when Serzh Sargsyan resigned as prime minister on April 23, arguing that the number of political prisoners and the politically persecuted increased during Davtyans tenure as prosecutor general.

A scuffle ensued when a building security guard pushed one of the demonstrators to clear the doorway to the building and allow employees to enter.

One demonstrator, Vardges Gaspasr, blocked the rear entrance to the building by laying down in the street.The US intends to exert unprecedented pressure on Iran, imposing the worst sanctions in history, if Tehran does not change its political course, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.

The US will place the strongest sanctions in history on Iran, AP reported quoting Pompeo.

The Iranian deal only postponed Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons, said Pompeo adding that nuclear agreement with Iran did not guarantee American peoples security.

The Iranian deal put the world at risk because of its fatal flaws, Pompeo noted.

According to him, the US is ready and intends to make a deal with Iran, as the US President Donald Trump has already said two weeks ago.

The US goal is not a deal in itself, Pompeo said adding that US primary concern is the American peoples security.

Any new deal should ensure that Iran will never have nuclear weapons and that it will abandon malicious conduct, Pompeo concluded.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans attack on Israel has opened an unanticipated window of opportunity, both in Washington and Jerusalem to break a decades-long refusal to join historians and many governments in recognizing a real genocide that Turkey continues to deny -- that against Armenian Christians, Bloomberg reported.

According to the author of the article, Zev Chafets, Turkey has made it a policy to baldly deny the genocide, and demand acquiescence in this lie as the price of good relations with Israel and other countries.

The journalist noted that almost 30 countries have now officially classified the mass murder of Armenians as genocide. Israel and the United States are not among them.

This year, on Armenian Remembrance Day, President Trump issued a statement to mark the occasion that managed to omit the words, Turkey and genocide.

"Less than a month later, Erdogan rewarded Trumps kow-towing by labeling him an accomplice to what he called Israel's genocidal actions against Palestinians. The best answer Trump could give now would be to demonstrate American leadership by officially recognizing the Armenian genocide," Zev Chafets noted.

According to him, the silence of Israel had been a matter of sheer pragmatism. Once, when Turkey was a secular, pro-Western country, Israel relied on it as a strategic partner in a hostile Arab neighborhood. That rationale no longer holds. Israel can now take care of itself. And Erdogan, an aspiring caliph, is now an enemy.

Zev Chafets stressed, that at least five senior ministers in the governing coalition have come out for measures that would punish Turkey and recognize its genocide. So have the speaker of the Knesset and the heads of the major opposition parties.

"Still, nothing will change without Netanyahu's say-so. No legislation can pass without his consent, no new diplomatic policy can be adopted either, as he is also Israel's foreign minister.

Netanyahu is a strategic thinker, and Turkey, like it or not, is a player in the regional game of thrones now underway. He will officially recognize the Armenian genocide only if he thinks it fits his purposes. That may be the wrong reason, but for once in this debate, for both Israel and the U.S., raw national interest and moral obligation are perfectly aligned: In a war against fanatics, truth is a powerful weapon," the author of the article noted.YEREVAN.  If there has been damage to the state, our task is to repay it, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan told reporters on Monday.

Asked why the director of the National Security Service was talking about the return of money to the state budget, but never talked about criminal responsibility, the Prime Minister said that one does not contradict the other.

Our political position is that we are not going to install guillotines in Yerevan. If the state suffered damage, our task is to restore it. The Criminal Code contains many procedures, and they provide for different opportunities, he emphasized.

According to Pashinyan, the outcome of each case will be different.

There will be a case, and there will be an investigation. There is no common model that can be taken as a guide, Pashinyan said.

Asked whether an investigation into the offshore scandal can be reopened, the Prime Minister noted that over time the opportunities will be used as necessary.Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dismissed threats made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday (May 21), saying the rest of the world no longer accepts Washington making decisions on their behalf, IRNA reported.

Addressing a gathering of university instructors and physicians, he added that today in the US an administration has come to power that has got the country back to 15 years ago overnight, as they repeat what used to be said in 2003 and 2004.

Americans have found that the words uttered during the tenure of junior Bush were wrong and took step to modify the situation, but some have come to repeat them, he said, noting that the world will surely not agreed to the US making decisions on behalf of all countries.

That a man who used to serve at a espionage center for years now comes to make decisions for Iran and entire world is by no means acceptable, he said in reference to US Secretary of State.

Who are you to decide for Iran and the world and tell Iran what to do or what not to do in nuclear technology? he said.

These words have been uttered earlier and the Iranian nation did not heed to them, nor will it do in the future while continuing to tread its path, he said.

Elsewhere in his speech, Rouhani hailed the 11th governments achievements in various fields, saying that some 24 science and technology parks have been created since he took office as president.Shabaab Claims Assassinations of Prime Minister Office Staff Member, Former Head of Somali Elite ForcesHome | News | General | Kogi state government reveals why it is not paying salaries regularly

- The Kogi state government has revealed why it has not been paying workers' salaries regularly

- Kingsley Fanwo, the state director-general, media and publicity explained that the state has had to service huge loans which he thinks adds no value

- However, he said that despite the dwindling resources of the state, the government will remain committed in the payment of salaries even if not as when due

The Kogi state government has said that huge loan servicing is responsible for its inability to pay the salaries of its workers regularly.

Kingsley Fanwo, the state director-general, media and publicity made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday, May 21 in Lokoja.

READ ALSO: nPDP members set to pull out of APC over failed congresses, others

Fanwo said that the loans were taken by the two previous administrations for projects that did not add value to the state.

Fanwo: Sometimes, we repay between N400 million and N500 million monthly as loans that add no value to the state. These loans were taken by the last two administrations and some of them were invested on projects that were never completed.

When you go out, you will see Kogi Hotels, billions of naira was collected for that project and it was not completed, and it is not adding any value to the state.

Also, the Kogi House in Abuja has gulped billions of naira, yet, it is not completed, not adding any value to the state.

The DG said the previous administrations collected N200 million from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) development, which was not used for the purpose intended.

According to him, rather than using the money for SMEs development, some people just shared the money.

He remarked: There is no record of anybody given loan and now we are repaying. So all of these have taken its toll on the resources and finances of the state.

He said despite the poor resources accruing to the state, the government still strive to pay workers salaries.

Fanwo remarked: We cannot shy away from the fact that the resources that is coming to the state now has dwindled due to the loans we are repaying. It is increasingly difficult to muster enough resources to pay salaries regularly. As I speak with you, we are still owing March and April salaries."

He said despite the dwindling resources of the state, the government will remain committed in the payment of salaries even if not as when due.

The DG: When you do a comparative analysis of wages in the North Central geopolitical zone, Kogi pays the highest and despite that, we have been very faithful.

The DG denied allegations that workers were being owed 24 months salary.He said those peddling the falsehood were the people that benefited from the rot in the state in the past.

On bailout funds received from the federal government, Fanwo said that they were used to pay workers salaries. He, however noted that the bail out funds were not free gifts.

He said: The bailout funds were not gifts from the Federal Government, it was more or less a loan, so you have to prioritise what you use your bailout funds for.

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"So, we used it basically for salaries and we were the only state in the federation that published how we used that bailout funds. Transparency and accountability are the hallmarks of this administration.

Earlier, NAIJ.com reported that the leadership of the organised labour in Kogi had appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene over the issue of non-payment of salaries by the state government. According to the workers, the issue had resulted to the deaths of many workers in.

Kogi West senatorial district to recall senator Dino Melaye from the Nigerian Senate - On NAIJ.com TV

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Bandits abduct 3 housewives in Maganda, Birnin Gwari

By Kingsley Omonobi & David Odama

Boko Haram: Worshippers escape death as brave civilians foil suicide bomb attack in Yobe

The Female Suicide Bomber and suicide vest that failed to detonate

ABUJATragedy was averted at a mosque in Gashua village, Gujba Local Government area of Yobe State, yesterday, as brave civilians prevented a female suicide bomber from detonating bombs strapped to her body.

This came as armed bandits terrorising and killing people in Birnin Gwari axis of Kaduna State, abducted three housewives in Maganda village on Saturday, barely a week after the Chief of Army Staff, Lt General Tukur Buratai gave soldiers stationed in the area the marching order to flush out armed bandits that have been terrorising and killing people in the area.

Similarly, gunmen, yesterday, killed scores in a fresh attack on Egbura communities in Umaisha, the headquarters of Opanda chiefdom in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State.

The suicide bomber was said to have penetrated security measures put in place in the mosque to gain access but was sighted by members of the communitys vigilante group as she fiddled with the vest strapped to her body and quickly moved to stop her.

Confirming the development, Deputy Director, Public Relations, Theatre Command, Operation Lafiya Dole, Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, said in a statement issued in Maiduguri yesterday: What would have otherwise been a devastating suicide bomb attack on a mosque in Gashua village in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe State has been successfully foiled today by vigilant members of the community.

A female Boko Haram suicide bomber had infiltrated the mosque, while members were about to commence a prayer session but was detected when struggling to detonate a suicide vest strapped to her body. She was quickly restrained by the locals, arrested and handed over to troops at Azare.

Members of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Component of Operation Lafiya Dole at the location have safely defused the suicide vest, while the suicide bomber is currently receiving medical attention due to injuries sustained during her arrest.

Three housewives abducted

Also, barely a week after the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-General Tukur Buratai, gave soldiers stationed in the Birnin-Gwari axis of Kaduna State the marching order to flush out armed bandits that have been terrorising and killing people in the area, three housewives were abducted in Maganda village in the early hours of Saturday.

A top member of Birnin-Gwari Vanguards for Security and Good Governance, who pleaded anonymity, said the armed bandits arrived in the middle of the night to attack the village.

He said: Last night around 1.30 am, some armed bandits invaded Maganda community and started shooting sporadically. After a while, they invaded the residence of Alhaji Adamu Nakwalla and abducted three wives. They later released one of the wives with a telephone number to contact them.

Before the incident, they had sent a warning message to the people in the community that they would come soon.

No life was lost but a young man in the community sustained bullet injury. At the time of the attack, there was neither security post nor security personnel in Maganda. In fact, we have no single police post in the area.

Between January and May, many communities in Birnin Gwari local government of Kaduna State have come under attacks by armed bandits.

Recent media reports indicate that the attackers appear to pick villages at random, as there appears to be no pointer as to what informs their choice.

The casualty rate in all the attacks within less than five months, has equally been alarming, as within this year alone, no less than 162 persons have been shot or stabbed to death, including 11 soldiers who were ambushed and killed.

Gunmen kill scores in Nasarawa

Meanwhile, gunmen yesterday killed scores in a fresh attack on Egbura communities in Umaisha, the headquarters of Opanda chiefdom in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State and also sacked some communities in the area.

The unknown gunmen alleged to be mercenaries were said to have razed several houses in a coordinated attack on the Egbura communities.

A statement issued in Lafia, yesterday, by Egbura National Development Association, ENDA, and signed by the National President and Secretary, Prof. Ibrahim Aguye and Prof. Yusuf Aboki, respectively, alleged that apart from Ugya which has experienced sustained attacks by Bassa mercenaries, surrounding villages such as Kolo, Katakpa and Ogba have also come under attacks on different days.

We are constrained to give the concerned authorities some promising lead that would prove useful on the timeline of their campaigns of carnage and terror which have seen them raiding various Egbura communities of Toto LGA, the statement read.

The leadership of ENDA expressed worry that the sustained attacks had political undertone and further appealed to Governor Al-Makura to take proactive measures to end the ongoing genocide on Egbura communities in the state.

The statement read further: The state government should unmask the masquerades behind the latest crisis which we have every reason to believe, has political undertone.

It should also act to bring those who are hell bent on rubbishing the uncommon feats achieved by the Nasarawa government through ignition of crisis in flash points across the state as we approach the 2019 general elections.

The leadership of ENDA also urged Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency, NASEMA, and National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to come to the aid of the displaced Nasarawa Egbura indigenes from Kolo, Kuwa, Kokoto, Kanyehu, Dausu, Ogba, Ugya, Katakpa currently taking refuge in Umaisha and environs.

It also called on the governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to facilitate the return of all displaced Egbura indigenes from Ogbonka, Ogbaozanyi, Ozugbe, Ahutara, Okanga and Ibiroko Egbura in Bassa LGA of Kogi State seeking refuge in Nasarawa to their ancestral homes.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | APCs FG plans to assassinate me, says Gov Wike

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has alerted Nigerians that the APC Federal Government is plotting to assassinate him in a crowd and claim accidental discharge.

The Governor of Rivers state, Wike

The governor made the revelation during the third year anniversary thanksgiving service of the Wike administration at Living Faith Church in D-Line, Port Harcourt on Sunday.

He said: Intelligence report available to us as at this morning indicate that they are plotting to assassinate me in a crowd and claim it was accidental discharge .

The governor said that the plots of the APC Federal Government and her associates will not intimidate him as he remains committed to the defence of democracy and Rivers State.

He said that the plot will fail, because God will continue to defend him.

He said: The level of conspiracy against Rivers State is unfortunate. Instead of focusing on governance, they focus on how to assassinate me or frame me up.

Governor Wike informed the church, that the APC Federal Government through the Inspector General of Police plotted to plant millions of dollars and AK 47 at his Abuja residence, when the Police sought search warrant from an Abuja court.

He noted that last week the Court ruled that the Police cannot search his Abuja residence, stopping them from their evil plot.

I am not afraid of my residence being searched by the Police, but I know their evil intention, he said.

Governor Wike said that the State Government has come to thank God for his protection in the face of continuous plot by agents of the APC Federal Government.

He said: We are born to win, we are born to reign, we are destined for greatness. While other states are commissioning wheel barrows, we are commissioning infrastructure .

He said despite the declaration by the former governor that his administration will not be able to salaries let alone do projects, his administration has succeeded in delivering outstanding projects.

Rivers State Pastor of Living Faith Church, Pastor Isaac Folaji said thanksgiving engenders growth and blessing.

He said thanksgiving enhances Gods protection and financial multiplication. The cleric noted that as a result of the dedication service, God will bless Rivers State.

The Dedication and Thanksgiving Service to mark the Third Anniversary of the Administration of Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike attracted traditional rulers, prominent leaders of Rivers State and Wife of the Former President Goodluck Jonathan, Dame Patience Jonathan.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Chelsea Owner, Roman Abramovich UK Visa Revoked Due To Russian Connection To Sergei Skripal

Chelseas Russian owner Roman Abramovich has not yet had his visa renewed after it expired last month, it has been reported.

The billionaire, who did not attend yesterdays FA cup final which his team won 1-0, is said to have returned to his homeland and cant now enter Britain.

Sources close to the oligarch said his request for a new visa had not been denied, but UK authorities were taking longer than usual to renew it without offering any explanation.

It comes amid mounting diplomatic tensions between Britain and Russia after former spy Sergei Skripal was poisoned in Salisbury in March.

Britain has accused Russia of being behind the poisoning, saying it was caused by a type of nerve agent known as novichok which was developed in the Soviet Union.

There have been calls for sanctions that would hurt super rich Russian oligarchs who have homes in the UK.

Mr Abramovich has a net worth of 9.3billion, and is the 13th richest man in the UK, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

Two people close to him have told the Financial Times that his investor visa has run out three weeks ago.

Mr Abramovich made his fortune in oil and aluminium following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

He has since embraced a glamorous lifestyle, with vast private yachts, art deals and his ownership of Chelsea, which he bought in 2003. His club beat Manchester United in the FA cup final at Wembley yesterday.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | News | General | Biafra: IPOB Blows Hot, Reveals What Will Happen During Ohanaeze Ndigbo Summit Tomorrow

The Ohanaeze Ndigbo who scheduled tomorrow, May 21, 2018 for its summit in Awka, Anambra State, might encounter some trouble as the Indigenous People of Biafra, have issued threats.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has restated its plan to disrupt the proposed summit on restructuring by the Ohanaeze Ndigbo scheduled for May 21, 2018 at Awka, Anambra State.

The group had given its condition for participation.

Earlier, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, declared that Biafra was not feasible and advised the pro-Biafra group to accept restructuring.

But in a statement on Saturday by its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, IPOB said the world will on Monday in Awka witness battle between good and evil, light versus darkness.

It said: On Monday the 21st of May 2018 at Ekwueme Square in Awka, the long suffering down trodden people of the East will rise up to say enough is enough. Our 50 years of Fulani captivity, aided and abated by Ohanaeze Ndigbo will finally come to an end. All agents of darkness and iniquity with red caps, recruited by the caliphate immediately after the war in 1970 to serve their interest and enslave Igboland, will be exposed.

We know Ohanaeze Ndigbo and their Hausa/Fulani masters have only three options left.

1. To seek to influence the media in Lagos and Abuja to report them favorably. We also know that Aso Rock media compliance and enforcement unit under a certain Brigadier of Arewa extraction has been putting pressure on some media outlets, without much success, to report prepared speeches by Nnia Nwodo and Chukwuma Soludo even if they are not read.

2. We are also aware of their plans to hire some Hausa/Fulani youths from Ebonyi State and Obianos political thugs to attend the event in Ohanaeze Youth Congress OYI uniform to provide them additional security. Dave Umahi, Okezie Ikpeazu and Willie Obiano promised to supply the majority of these street urchins. These hired thugs will be paid a paltry 2,000 Naira each whereas Aso Rock budgeted and gave Ohanaeze Ndigbo 25,000 for each thug they can manage to bus to the event.

3. Their last and final strategy, upon which all their hope rests is to prevent IPOB from getting to the venue or entering Anambra State altogether. Nnia Nwodo is presently in Onitsha not Awka. IPOBIntelligence unit has assured that he will soon be located and his hotel made public.

We are fully aware that Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Igbo governors have secured the assurances of their Fulani masters that army formations in the East would be in Awka to protect them. We expect existing number of roadblocks and checkpoints to be quadrupled. This was the same Nnia Nwodo that made reducing the number of checkpoints in Igboland his top priority. He has made a full u-turn and is the one now begging his Fulani masters to bring their army to occupy his fathers land.

If Ohanaeze Ndigbo is genuinely loved by the people, why would they rely on Hausa/Fulani soldiers and hired thugs to defend them from the same people they claim they are representing. Such hypocritical stance is the reason why Ohanaeze Ndigbo is bad for our people, bad for our survival and bad for generations unborn. They say one thing but do another.

They hope by distorting the news and reporting falsehood they can persuade the masses that they are the authentic mouthpiece of the people. We want to make it clear that it doesnt matter how many Northern Muslim soldiers that come to their rescue. IPOB will break their lines of cordon as we did at Ebonyi and Ekwulobia in 2017. Willie Obiano and Dave Umahi seem to have forgotten what happened at Abakaliki and Ekwulobia. We shall remind them again on Monday.

Each checkpoint we encounter on Monday will be video recorded and streamed live on social media platforms for the world to see what Ohanaeze and their Hausa/Fulani have turned our land into. Whereas other parts of Nigeria have dispensed with military occupation, in Igboland Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Igbo governors have actively encouraged it as a means of holding the people down for their northern masters.

With the active connivance of Ohaneze Ndigbo and South East governors, Igboland is now effectively a Fulani colony where Hausa/Fulani soldiers are encouraged to kill, torture and detain at will. The inevitable brutality and actions of the Fulani military on Monday will confirm that previous massacres, torture, illegal arrests and detention of IPOB Agitators were sanctioned by Ohanaeze Ndigbo and South East governors. Monday is a date with destiny. We pray that journalists should remain neutral and report the events accurately without fear or favour.

Anybody seen with Ohanaeze Ndigbo t-shirt will be regarded as a hired Hausa/Fulani thug and will be dealt with accordingly. In our finest tradition, we tell the world what we are going to do before we do it because we are freedom fighters. Any hired thug that wants to waste his life should join anything called Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youths on Monday.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: GeneralHome | World | Africa | Gukurahundi commission, Mthwakazi radicals find each other

THE National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) which has been at "war" with Matebeleland-based political parties and civil organisations have smoked peace pipe with the activists after the commission bowed down to pressure to include perpetrators of atrocities in the healing processes.

NPRC was established through an act of parliament to deal with issues of national healing and reconciliation. However, it recently encountered stiff resistance in Bulawayo and Matebeleland North after supporters of Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) and members of other pressure groups in the region interrupted its meetings, accusing the commission of being dominated by Shona speaking people among others allegations.

In an interview with New Zimbabwe, the commission's recently appointed chairperson, Retired Justice Selo Masole Nare, said they had since addressed some of the concerns raised by Matebeleland stakeholders.

"We have since rectified some of our mistakes. From now on wards, we are going to involve all stakeholders, the victims and the perpetrators in our programmes. We are also going to have background meetings. For instance, one other area we cannot leave out is the involvement of the chiefs because they know what happened in their areas. They know what the position was and so we are going to be visiting them," said Nare.

He said the commission also recently held a meeting with some political parties in the region.

"Zanu-PF is the only party which did not attend the meeting. All other political parties attended the meeting and they all agreed that we should work together so as to bring finality to issues concerning past atrocities," he said.

Retired Justice Nare said further engagements with political parties have been stalled by the impending elections.

"We want to engage more with political parties but it's a bit tricky as you know there are elections but we are involved in the elections in order to bring peace. If there is an expulsion somewhere and there are problems we sit down with political parties and find out the way forward. We are going to be very busy during the elections," said Nare.

On the disruption of the hearings in Bulawayo, Nare said the commission has since engaged the concerned activists and political parties over the issue.

"I would like to stress that whenever the commission's meetings are at risk of being disturbed, we have the powers to call the police, but in all the incidences in Matabeleland we did not do that. We gave dialogue a change and that worked because we are now working together with those people. Recently Ibhetshu Likazulu members were in Harare and we had a fruitful meeting," said Nare.

Nare was appointed NPRC chairperson in February this year following the death of the commission's former chairperson, Cyril Ndebele in 2016.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: Africacolor coordination and interior design goals



family goals not so much

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Shaking and crying. Beautiful!!!

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her dress looks much better in these photos. i think overall she looked beautiful. personally i would have added a belt to break up the dress, fitted it better in the arms and bust, and worn the hair down and wavy. but i also would have never married prince harry lol. she looked happy with her choices and thats really what matters.



that last photo is stunning.

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i think they did some smoothing of the dress in post

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I love all three but the last one with just the two of them is killing me.

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Lettuce 

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The dress is growing on me. The more pictures I see of it, the more I like it.

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I think the Photoshop in these pics is helping a lot with the irl fit issues. it def looks better here.

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It looks good only in photoshoped pictures lol

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Cute pictures, next time they should have included the homeless people they displaced for the occasion!

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You are killing me on these posts lmaooo, +1000

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Lmfao

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lol

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lmao

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Your comments are my fave in these posts. Lol

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lmaoo

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LOOOOL

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The photo with the kids oh my god so adorable

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I know, my ovaries are screaming over that one.

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omg same, that one is TOO FREAKING CUTE!

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whos kids is these

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Aww the photo with the bridesmaids and page boys is so cute

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The one with the bbs is presh omg. The black and white picture is just gorgeous.

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these look beautiful and idk how that emo kid on far right is but i'm ready to stan

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One of the Mulroney twins, I think.

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The second picture  pic.twitter.com/4olOylV6m2  FHI  (@feeFahifofum) May 19, 2018





Someone said Kate has that "get yo ass" look. Did you guys see this lolSomeone said Kate has that "get yo ass" look.

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I saw someone on Twitter compare her to pennywise in the 2nd picture lmao jesus

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Lmao boy is getting TOLD.

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My mom and dad both had their own "the look." And that's when it was time to stfu and stfd. It hardly had to escalate to: "I will swat your ass in front of all of these people."



One time I accidentally ran the shopping cart up my mom's ankles, she turned around and looked at me like my time had come. I stayed 5 feet behind her the rest of the shopping trip and said nothing on the drive home. She did not beat my ass.

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lmao



ooooooooo someone's in trooooouble

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poor kate. always having to deal w/the kids.

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when i saw that photo on the right i thought it was one of angelina's kids, they look exactly alike there

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george looks way happier here

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I think he is easily overwhelmed by crowds so it makes sense that once he was inside and away from the crowds, he'd look happier.

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AHHHHH

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Lol what the hell

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Jesus.



I just assumed they were pulling a Weekend at Bernies with him because...

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lmao I didn't read your comment before posting mine but thought the same

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Cake looks like the "you chose poorly" nazi from The Last Crusade. Or scary-ass Kane from Poltergeist.

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He looks dead, like they just put his body there and photoshopped some open eyes.

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The first time I saw this cake, I laughed until tears came out... the camera tilting, the judges' faces, this show is fucking priceless

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Well, that's going to haunt my nightmares tonight. via GIPHY

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Why did you have to post this? I died when I watched this episode

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LinkI tried watching this show since everyone's raving about it but couldn't get past the first episode tbh. How many episodes does it take before it gets good? Is it always set in the Far West?

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Well-noted, thank you! IDK why I expected it to be a little Gattaca-esque

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That last scene with Akane in the last episode had me shooook omg



I dont think I've been more disappointed in my feelings for a character than Dolores. I went from rooting for her last season to being very...eh...everytime she appears on screen. Its not even that shes being set up to be a villain or an unlikable person, her story is the least intriguing of the series and everytime she talks it seems really inauthentic and rehearsed (which is why I think shes still not free yet, but it doesnt make her any less disinteresting as a character)

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Agreed. I was so here for Murderous Robot Dolores, but now I'm just bored.

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Mte on Dolores

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same, her storyline is pure filler at this point

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Yeah she has 0 chemistry with Teddy. She had better chemistry with young Will of all people lmao

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Yeah, I think she's stuck in some hybrid Wyatt mind & freedom, whereas Maeve is "truly" free.

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That Akane scene made me cheer/stand up



Dolores storyline has always bored me, since Season 1, Thandie's character was always the one that shook me/kept me hooked

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I agree. Akane and Maeve were amazing in this episode.



This was my fave ep this season but I wish there hadn't been any Dolores.

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That's because Dolores was turned into Wyatt and she's not the character we liked anymore.

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Ikr I was really rooting for Dolores, but now I think she's just mostly Wyatt on top of wanting to be free etc... so she's not Dolores at all anymore as we knew and rooted for her.



It's ALL about Maeve anyway.

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i feel like dolores is following a script (Wyatt) this season lmao

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everytime she talks it seems really inauthentic and rehearsed (which is why I think shes still not free yet,



Evan Rachel Wood is not a good actress. I know she flies off the handle when people point that out, but it's true.

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I kinda know what you mean about Dolores. I went from 'yesssss, kill them all Wyatt/Dolores' to kinda 'meh' about her and her speechifying this season. A lot of vague talking, not a lot of doing or understanding why exactly is she doing what she's doing.

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Totally agreed

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let's just hope that her performance doesn't get nominated

basically give it to Keri Russell

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I skipped most of Dolores' scenes except that last fucked up one with Teddy.

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I have not cared about this season at all. I've only seen the first episode and it barely held my attention.

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The first one was the least interesting imo, stick it out. Episode 4 was really good, probably one of my favorites episodes from both seasons

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I might binge it once they're all done, I just feel like the wait between episodes when I've been so indifferent won't really allow me to get super into it like last season.

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I agree. I saw the first episode and haven't made the effort to watch the rest. Something just seemed off to me.

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Same. I dropped it. Its become way unnecessarily complicated. This season was trying to be clever, brainy show but instead became a tangled boring mess.



I know HBO has already renewed but if viewers drop i wonder if theyll shorten the ep count for next season



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I hope the Shogunworld characters stick around for more than just an episode or two. Kikuchi Rinko is one of my favs. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with Dolores. I can only feel like the slow drag of her plot this season is intentional, because the first season didn't have too much clunky dialogue, and Wood is a good enough actress to deliver better reads if she was supposed to. Even Maeve's storyline, although I enjoy watching it, feels like it's going nowhere important. What is she actually going to accomplish when/if she finds her daughter? Bernard's storyline is the only one I'm really intrigued by.



I still think [ Spoiler (click to open) ] the big twist is that hosts have been swapping brains around and beach!Bernard might not actually be Bernard anymore. I wonder if he's been uploaded with the Arnold personality and that was the second core Ford had Bernard working on. This would also explain why so many of the hosts were found with virgin cores. Those hosts have switched bodies and filled their old body with an empty core. Just my theory. I legit heard the shamisen version of "Paint it Black" start playing, realized what was about to happen, and screeched. That was such a great bit. Not to mention the version of C.R.E.A.M. when Akane was dancing. Great music design this season.I hope the Shogunworld characters stick around for more than just an episode or two. Kikuchi Rinko is one of my favs. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop with Dolores. I can only feel like the slow drag of her plot this season is intentional, because the first season didn't have too much clunky dialogue, and Wood is a good enough actress to deliver better reads if she was supposed to. Even Maeve's storyline, although I enjoy watching it, feels like it's going nowhere important. What is she actually going to accomplish when/if she finds her daughter? Bernard's storyline is the only one I'm really intrigued by.I still think

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I really hope Akane, her Ronin and the Armistice Shogun version stick around for a while, at least Akane.



The Dolores dialogue is definitely a bit clunky and kept very vague in its speechifying.



I still love Maeve, but she's spinning her wheels a bit, trying to get to her daughter.



Bernard's story is definitely the one to watch this season.



I think your theory might be right.

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They have two techs with them, they can bring back Sakura right? I also want to see all the Armistice's now.

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They can bring her back, but I can't help thinking that by letting her die for real, it might lead to Akane's true awakening

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I loved last night's episode.

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There were so many layers to what was going on in that moment and to see two WOC having that moment and it not revolving around a male character slayed me tbh.



exactly!!

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Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

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It's weird but I see some Maeve in that face. Rinko must be mirroring Thandie or they're doing some excellent CGI work.

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I don't watch Westworld yet, but a lot of the YouTube Game of Thrones review channels that I watch also review Westworld, so Sunday I did a YouTube deep dive of Westworld clips to see what it was about. And literally, lit-er-ally, every video featuring Thandie Newton/Maeve had thousands of dislikes. It was the craziest thing. Someone in the comment section said it was a conspiracy because Thandie Newton is an outspoken feminist so men on the internet have been downvoting any video featuring her, but that makes no sense because Evan Rachel Wood is also an outspoken feminist and her videos aren't downvoted.

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it's because:

1. thandie isn't white

2. she's the best part of westworld and is (deservedly) getting more screentime this season and they can't handle it

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This is COMPLETELY ACCURATE.

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Yes, IA. I know ERW is technically the star, but Thandie is seriously the best.

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This is frustratingly accurate. The weird animosity against Maeve, a super compelling character, has irked me to no end.

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What? I had no idea. I just read conspiracies and listen to a few Westworld podcasts and I've never stumbled upon the Maeve hate thankfully. She's my favourite character.

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that's not even in the least surprising tbh

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there's plenty of anti-dolores sentiment, too, but i'm not shocked in the least that racist neckbeards would react to thandie that way

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all i know is reddit bros hate her storyline. they say she isnt interesting, shes too powerful, everything goes perfect for her.



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I think there are some people who serious underestimate how the internet has allowed pockets of like minded women haters and racists to get together. It's where they are still a small fraction of the population, but they are boldly outspoken online and for a decade have been getting better at trolling. They'll target someone and that's all she wrote.



Thandie gets so much hate for being black it's just mind boggling to me. but then i remember how much shit the actress who played Tara on True Blood got. Black actresses in hollywood really have to get a thick skin cause in a large cast, or even a small one, they will be the one who is focused on as where all the problems lie.





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I have no clue whats going on with this show anymore

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i still love everything about this show except Dolores

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these last two episodes have been amazing. i love the concept of the hosts encountering their counterparts in other worlds and being enamoroured by them. i wonder if we'll see more of that in the other worlds they visit.



and lol, poor teddy. i'm intrigued to see what the overwrite of his personality does to him but honestly the dolores parts are so boring now that it's gotten more obvious that she's still "stuck" in her role.

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akane and maeve are everythiiiing. dolores has been weird as hell so far. im glad they are doing something diff with the whole teddy situation, because he is boring as shit.

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Loved the Shogunworld parts. Every time they cut back to Dolores & Teddy I was like ugh can we hurry this up tho.



MAEVE & AKANE FUCKING SHIT UP.



Also loved this from the beginning of the ep:

Sylvester: "Can't you say something to them [the samurai]?"

Felix: "I'm from Hong Kong, asshole!" yaaas Dueling posts! C+P from the other one:Loved the Shogunworld parts. Every time they cut back to Dolores & Teddy I was like ugh can we hurry this up tho.MAEVE & AKANE FUCKING SHIT UP. #nameamoreiconicduo . I also need a gif of Armistice and Hanaryo off in their own corner mesmerized by each other lol.Also loved this from the beginning of the ep:Sylvester: "Can't you say something to them [the samurai]?"Felix: "I'm from Hong Kong, asshole!" yaaas

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felix telling off sylvester was great. hope we get more of that.

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Last night's episode was the first time this season I wasn't bored. That was much more violent than I was expecting.



Dolores' story, though, seems like it's going nowhere. But I can say that about almost all of the plots this season. What is the end game for any of this? Of course there's going to be a twist about the brain core things, but it's probably going to be underwhelming.

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Transportation Assistant Secretary for Railways Mark Tolentino (photo from his Facebook page)

MANILA, Philippines  Transportation Assistant Secretary for Railways Mark Tolentino was the latest to receive President Rodrigo Dutertes corruption ax.

The President dismissed Tolentino for allegedly consulting his sister particularly in matters relating to the Mindanao Railway Project (MRP.)

Presidential Spokesperson Secretary Harry Roque in a press briefing Monday, May 19, reiterated the Presidents stern warning not to get his family members involved in any government transactions.

Wag niyo pong kakausapin ang sinuman sa mga kamag-anak niya, na mayroon pong kahit anong gustong kontrata or appointment sa gobyerno. Pag kinausap ninyo po ang kahit sinong kamag-anak ng president, basehan na po yan para kayo sibakin, Roque said.

(Do not discuss contracts or government posts with any of the Presidents family members. If you talk to any of his relatives for such purposes, it can be used as a ground for your relief.)

In his statements during the weekend, the Chief Executive hinted at firing more public officials with links to corruption including the government corporate counsel and some gaming officials.

Meanwhile, The Department of Transportation (DOTr) in a statement Monday said the agency welcomed the Presidents decision to fire Tolentino while it assured the public that the MRP was on track and on schedule.

Roque said he will announce on Tuesday, May 22, the name of another official whom the President asked to resign.  Rosalie Coz

The post Duterte fires DOTr Asec Tolentino appeared first on UNTV News.BATANGAS, Philippines  Calabarzon Police Regional Special Operations Unit raided the house of a certain Marcial Orbigoso in Barangay Pangao in Lipa City on Monday, May 21.

Authorities seized more than 300 grams of shabu kept inside a vault along with a .45 caliber pistol and other drug paraphernalia.

The confiscated illegal drugs are valued at P2 million.

Calabarzon Regional Director PCSupt. Guillermo Eleazar said, Orbigoso allegedly did the repacking of the illegal substance at his house in Batangas and would send out the items for distribution in Metro Manila.

Orbigoso was previously detained due to drug peddling.

Eleazar said Orbigoso is a high-value target operating in Makati City and Batangas.  UNTV News & Rescue

The post P2-M worth of shabu seized in Lipa City, Batangas appeared first on UNTV News.Bernadette Romulo-Puyat says the department has other important matters to pursue

21 May  No, the Miss Universe Pageant will not be held in the Philippines this year.

As reported on Push, the news was confirmed by the newly-appointed Department of Tourism secretary, Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, who said that there are other concerns that the department needs to address.

"We recently hosted Miss Universe, so maybe some other time. We still need to fix a lot of things," she said.

It was only in January of last year that the country hosted the 2016 Miss Universe Pageant, which saw the crowning of French beauty, Iris Mittenaere.

The pageant later returned to Las Vegas, Nevada in November 2017, where South Africa's Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters was named the winner.

On the other hand, former Miss World-PH Catriona Gray will be representing the country for the upcoming 2018 Miss Universe Pageant.

(Photo Source: Miss Universe Twitter)Alpine ibex. Credit: Reto Barblan, Bergun

Researchers studying the hunting of ibex in Switzerland over the past 40 years have shown how hunts, when tightly monitored, can help maintain animal populations at optimal levels.

The international team of researchers, led by the University of Cambridge and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), studied the hunt of Alpine ibex  a type of wild goat with long, curved horns  in the eastern Swiss canton of Graubunden by examining the horn size of more than 8,000 ibex harvested between 1978 and 2013, to determine whether average horn growth or body weight had changed over the last 40 years.

Their results, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, reveal that unsurprisingly, ibex with longer-than-average horns are more likely to be shot than animals of the same age with shorter horns. However, due to tight controls placed on the hunt by the Swiss authorities, hunters tend to shoot as few animals as possible, to avoid violating the rules and incurring large fines.

Hunting for specific traits can place selective pressure on certain species, resulting in a negative evolutionary response. In their study, the researchers investigated whether the targeting of ibex with large horns would lead to a lower average horn size across the entire population.

They found that while even tightly-managed hunts cannot prevent hunters from targeting longer-horned animals, no long-term changes were found in the horn length of male ibex in Graubunden, which is most likely related to the fact that the numbers of ibex removed from the population by hunters is too small to have an evolutionary effect.

"Our most important finding is that ibex hunting over the last 40 years has not had a negative effect on the constitution of the animals," said WSL's Kurt Bollmann, the study's senior author.

"The good news for hunting and nature conservation is that horn growth in Graubunden's ibex has not reduced over the decades and their average body weight has also remained stable," said Professor Ulf Buntgen from Cambridge's Department of Geography, the study's first author.

"We are happy that the knowledge gained in practice about our ibex herds has now been scientifically proven and that ibex hunting in Graubunden can be described as sustainable," said co-author Hannes Jenny from the Graubunden Hunting and Fishing Authority.

While hunters often select animals based on their age and gender or the quality of the meat and their worthiness as a trophy, the hunting authorities would like to keep the size of individual herds at a level where the surrounding forests can provide them with enough food during the winter. Regardless of these conflicting interests, the most important point from a wildlife biology perspective is that hunting does not negatively affect the wild ibex population in the long term.

The Alpine ibex is a species that was formerly extinct and is now regarded as a major success story for Swiss conservation. Alpine ibex have a long lifespan (17 years on average) and relatively low reproductive performance, so the Swiss hunt is closely monitored to maintain the animal population. In Graubunden, where around 40% of Switzerland's ibex live, each hunter may only bring down one female and one male in a particular age group every 10 years. If a hunter violates this requirement, for example by shooting an older animal with longer horns, they have to pay a fine and the animal is confiscated by the authorities.

"Our results also emphasise the importance of continuous monitoring of hunting practices, especially in regions where hunters can choose animals based on certain traits," said Buntgen.

The researchers are currently developing a more comprehensive dataset, which will compare the evolutionary pressures on ibex in regions where hunting is allowed against regions where it is prohibited.

Explore further Bigger horns equal better genes

More information: Ulf Buntgen et al. Horn growth variation and hunting selection of the Alpine ibex, Journal of Animal Ecology (2018). Journal information: Journal of Animal Ecology Ulf Buntgen et al. Horn growth variation and hunting selection of the Alpine ibex,(2018). DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12839Splendid fairy-wren. Credit: Allison Johnson

Cooperation among different species of birds is common. Some birds build their nests near those of larger, more aggressive species to deter predators, and flocks of mixed species forage for food and defend territories together in alliances that can last for years. In most cases, though, these partnerships are not between specific individuals of the other speciesany bird from the other species will do.

But in a new study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, scientists from the University of Chicago and University of Nebraska show how two different species of Australian fairy-wrens not only recognize individual birds from other species, but also form long-term partnerships that help them forage and defend their shared space as a group.

"Finding that these two species associate was not surprising, as mixed species flocks of birds are observed all over the world," said Allison Johnson, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Nebraska who conducted the study as part of her dissertation research at UChicago. "But when we realized they were sharing territories with specific individuals and responding aggressively only to unknown individuals, we knew this was really unique. It completely changed our research and we knew we had to investigate it."

Variegated fairy-wrens and splendid fairy-wrens are two small songbirds that live in Australia. The males of each species have striking, bright blue feathers that make them popular with bird watchers. Their behavior also makes them an appealing subject for biologists. Both species feed on insects, live in large family groups, and breed during the same time of year. They are also non-migratory, meaning they live in one area for their entire lives, occupying the same eucalyptus scrublands that provide plenty of bushes and trees for cover.

When these territories overlap, the two species interact with each other. They forage together, travel together, and seem to be aware of what the other species is doing. They also help each other defend their territory from rivals. Variegated fairy-wrens will defend their shared territory from both variegated and splendid outsiders; splendid fairy-wrens will do the same, while fending off unfamiliar birds from both species.

"Splendid and variegated fairy-wrens are so similar in their habitat preferences and behavior, we would expect them to act as competitors. Instead, we've found stable, positive relationships between individuals of the two species," said Christina Masco, Ph.D., a graduate student at UChicago and a co-author on the new paper.

Many songbirds can recognize familiar members of their own species on the basis of the unique songs each bird sings. However, in this research the investigators believed this recognition occurred across species. How could they be so certain?

Variegated fairy-wren Credit: Allison Johnson

From 2012-2015, Johnson, Masco, and their former advisor, Stephen Pruett-Jones, Ph.D., associate professor of ecology and evolution at UChicago, studied these species at Brookfield Conservation Park in South Australia. The first unusual observation Johnson made was that when playing a recorded vocalization of one species, the other species would respond and fly in to investigate what was going on.

To follow up on this observation, the researchers monitored both fairy-wren species in the darkness before dawn and captured clear recordings of their signature songs. After sunrise, they broadcast the recorded songs from a speaker to simulate an intrusion by a particular bird into a group's territory. The objective was to see how territory owners reacted to the songs of familiar and unfamiliar members of the other species.

The researchers placed a speaker about 30 meters away from a subject fairy-wren and played the songs of four different individuals: a fairy-wren that occupied the same territory (a co-resident or "friendly" bird), a fairy-wren from an adjacent territory (a neighbor), a fairy-wren from an area five or more territories away (an unknown bird), and a red-capped robin, a common species in the park that doesn't pose a threat to the fairy-wrens (as a control group).

Both splendid and variegated fairy-wrens demonstrated the ability to recognize their co-residents' songs despite the species difference. Socially dominant males of both species responded more aggressively to songs of neighbors and unknown birds of the other fairy-wren species than they did to friendly birds sharing their territory, or to the red-capped robin. When they heard songs from friendly birds, they didn't respond, suggesting they didn't see them as a threat.

By forming and keeping these associations with another species, fairy-wrens can better defend their nests from predators and their territories from rivals. There is also evidence that interacting with the other species has additional benefits besides territorial defense. While the splendid fairy-wrens didn't change their behavior when associating with the other species, the variegated fairy-wrens spent more time foraging, were less vigilant, and had more success raising their young.

Johnson, Masco, and Pruett-Jones believe the fairy-wrens associate with the other species as a form of cooperation. By interacting with other species that share the same territory instead of working against them, these already social species create a larger group to help defend their territory and ward off intruders. In other words, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

"Although our discovery that individuals of different species recognize each other was unexpected, it is likely that something similar occurs whenever species of non-migratory birds live on overlapping territories," Pruett-Jones said. "Recognition facilitates sociality within species, and it follows that it could also facilitate associations between species."

Explore further Wrens eavesdrop on the neighbors

More information: Allison E Johnson et al, Song recognition and heterospecific associations between 2 fairy-wren species (Maluridae), Behavioral Ecology (2018). Journal information: Behavioral Ecology Allison E Johnson et al, Song recognition and heterospecific associations between 2 fairy-wren species (Maluridae),(2018). DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary071Temperature projections based on a climate model. Credit: NOAA

There's a famous saying that "The climate is what you expect; the weather is what you get." As a native Texan moving to New York, I had an idea of what to expect, but was not fully prepared for what I would get. Because New York's climate is drastically different from what I'm used to, every morning before I leave my apartment I religiously check the weather forecast. Very quickly I know if it's going to rain, whether there's a storm brewing off the coast, or if I will need extra layers.

Whereas weather can change dramatically from day to day, the climate means the average conditions over roughly 30 yearshow warm is the region, on average, and how much precipitation does it get in a year? Texas's climate, for example, tends to be warmer for the majority of the year, whereas New York is on average cooler with clearly defined seasons.

Weather and climate are sometimes used interchangeably, but scientists, meteorologists and researchers study and model them differently.

What is a Weather Model?

"Today's weather forecast is partly cloudy with a chance of showers in the late afternoon" This is a familiar weather summary that you have probably heard before from a meteorologist. To make these predictions, meteorologists use weather data and forecast models to determine current and future atmospheric conditions.

Because weather takes place hour by hour, forecast models use current atmospheric and oceanic conditions to predict future weather. The forecast takes into account humidity, temperature, air pressure, wind speed and direction, as well as cloud cover. Geographic location, proximity to water, urban structures, latitude and elevation can also influence the weather you experience.

NASA Dryden meteorologists prepare to launch a weather balloon next to a Sonic Detection And Ranging wind profiling unit. Credit: NASA Dryden / Tom Tshida

Weather models work at resolutions high enough to generate different predictions for neighboring towns, in some cases, but only over short timescales of about two weeks maximum.

What is a Climate Model?

Essentially, climate models are an extension of weather forecasting. But whereas weather models make predictions over specific areas and short timespans, climate models are broader and analyze long timespans. They predict how average conditions will change in a region over the coming decades.

Climate models include more atmospheric, oceanic and land processes than weather models dosuch as ocean circulation and melting glaciers. These models are typically generated from mathematical equations that use thousands of data points to simulate the transfer of energy and water that takes place in climate systems.

Illustration of the three-dimensional grid of a climate model. Credit: Ruddiman

Scientists use climate models to understand complex earth systems. These models allow them to test hypotheses and draw conclusions on past and future climate systems. This can help them determine whether abnormal weather events or storms are a result of changes in climate or just part of the routine climate variation. For example, when predicting tropical cyclones during hurricane season, scientists can use climate models to predict the number of tropical storms that may form off the coast and in what regions they are likely to make landfall.

When creating climate models, scientists use one of three common types of simple climate models: energy balance models, intermediate complexity models, and general circulation models. These models use numbers to simplify the complexities that exist when taking into account all the factors that affect climate, like atmospheric mixing and ocean current.

Energy balance models help to forecast climate changes as a result of Earth's energy budget. This model takes into account surface temperatures from solar energy, albedo or reflectivity, and the natural cooling from the earth emitting heat back out into space. To predict climate, scientists use an equation that represents the amount of energy coming in versus going out, to understand the changes in heat storagefor example, as more heat-absorbing CO2 fills up the atmosphere. Scientists then take this equation and plug it into box models that represent a square of land within a three-dimensional grid, to express climate in a region or even across a continent.

Intermediate complexity models are similar to energy balance models but they include and combine several of Earth's geographical structuresland, oceans, and ice features, for instance. These geographical features allow intermediate complexity models to simulate large-scale climate scenarios such as glacial fluctuations, ocean current shifts, and atmospheric composition changes over long timescales. Intermediate complexity models describe the climate with less spatial and time-specific detail, so they are best used for large-scale and low-frequency variations in the earth's climate system.

This video explaining climate modeling was created by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in collaboration with Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Credit: State of the Planet

General circulation models are the most complex and precise models for understanding climate systems and predicting climate change. These models include information regarding the atmospheric chemistry, land type, carbon cycle, ocean circulation and glacial makeup of the isolated area. This type of model also uses a three-dimensional grid, with each box representing around 100 square kilometers of land, air, or sea, which is better resolution than the typical 200 to 600 kilometers per box. This model is more sophisticated than the energy balance and intermediate complexity models, but it does require a larger amount of computing timeeach simulation could take several weeks to run.

What Can Climate Models Tell Us About the Future and Past?

For many decades, scientists have been collecting data on climate using cores from ice, trees, and coral, as well as carbon dating. From this research they have discovered details about past human activity, temperature changes in our oceans, periods of extreme drought, and much more.

As more data points are collected, they increase the accuracy of existing climate models. This enhances climate forecasting, because past climate data helps to establish a baseline for typical climate systems. From there, researchers establish climate variables that they want to keep the same, like cloud cover, and variables they want to test, like increased carbon dioxide, to evaluate hypotheses about future changes. These could estimate anything from sea level rise to increased temperatures and risk of drought and forest fires.

How Accurate are Climate Models?

An ice core. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Ludovic Brucker

Since the world can't afford to wait decades to measure the accuracy of climate model predictions, scientists test a model's accuracy using past events. If the model accurately predicts past events that we know happened, then it should be pretty good at predicting the future, too. And the more we learn about past and present conditions, the more accurate these models become.

Climate models are complex because of the all the elements that are in flux within Earth's systems. If our atmosphere was like the moon's, climate modeling would be fairly easy because the moon barely has an atmosphere. On Earth, climate scientists must account for temperature fluctuations, wind patterns, ocean currents, land surface characteristics and much more. Because of this, the models always consider some level of uncertainty  but models measuring smaller areas with higher resolutions produce more accurate models. Despite a small amount of uncertainty, scientists find climate models of the 21st century to be pretty accurate because they are based on well-founded physical principles of earth system processes. This basis solidifies the confidence of the scientific community that human emissions are changing the climate, which will impact the entire planet.

Why Are Climate Models Important?

Climate change vulnerability. Credit: Wesleyan University and Columbia University

Understanding past, present and future climate helps us to understand how Earth's systems naturally function. This information, combined with climate models, allows us to determine how both natural and manmade influences have and will impact changes in our climate. These predictions and results can also suggest how to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, and they help decision-makers to prioritize environmental issues based on scientific evidence.

Numerous models have shown that the climate is changing. Increased greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are resulting in positive feedbacks in our climate systems. These positive feedbacks can result in not so positive changes in earth systems, like melting glacial ice, rising ocean temperatures, increasing odds of severe flooding and drought, and climbing surface temperatures.

It is crucial that we continue to collect data and improve models, increasing their accuracy to refining our knowledge of climate and weather. It is also imperative that we recognize the importance of data-driven results and science-backed facts as they influence how communities and policy-makers plan for the future. Climate and weather models both have the ability to advance the way we plan our cities, influence business opportunities, and even how we plan out our day. These models are our best chance at finding ways to mitigate the dangerous effects of climate change.

A climate model predicts future temperatures. This model was developed by several climate modeling research groups, including NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

Provided by Earth Institute, Columbia University

This story is republished courtesy of Earth Institute, Columbia University http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu.The researchers' molecules change shape by the central oxygen atom (shown in red) bending like a hinge. The left and right images show what the shapes of these molecules are when stable. If heated up, they transform into each other via a shape shown in the centre image. Credit: University of Sydney

Scientists have found a new way of joining groups of atoms together into shape-changing moleculesopening up the possibility of a new area of chemistry and the development of countless new drugs, microelectronics and materials with novel characteristics.

Discoveries of new ways to make isomersmolecules made of the same atoms connected together differentlywere last reported in 1961 and before then in 1914.

The discovery of another form of isomerism means a whole new range of materials could be prepared, either with the same functions as existing one, or with properties currently out of reach.

As well as new types of drugs, other potential real-world applications include new materials that can be manipulated to be "switched on or off", polymers with special performance characteristics and possibly new molecular information storage devices.

The findings are published today in Nature Chemistry.

The paper was led by University of Sydney Ph.D. candidate Peter Canfield, working closely with his supervisors Professor Maxwell Crossley, a synthetic organic chemist at the University of Sydney, and Professor Jeffrey Reimers, a theoretical chemist from The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and Shanghai University.

Mr Canfield, who is undertaking his Ph.D. in Sydney's School of Chemistry, said he was excited by the possibilities of what might be achieved stemming from the findings and the team was pursuing commercial applications.

"Proof-of-principle and prototype demonstration could be as early as 30 months or less," Mr Canfield said.

Professor Crossley said: "When you have a new discovery like this, there will be important applications but exactly how and when is not always anticipated at the time."

Professor Reimers said: "Our team's advance sits at the same level of understanding as Louis Pasteur's discovery of chiralitya central feature of most modern molecular science."

Professor Reimers said the mathematics of geometry describes the fundamental ways in which atoms could be combined and hence all possible types of isomers.

"When we looked at this, we noticed a fundamental form which had never been made before," he said.

The team used nanoscale porphyrin scaffolds developed by Professor Crossley to "host" boron "guest" molecules, resulting in isolable compoundsmolecules stable in a bottle at room temperature.

Professor Crossley explains: "Porphyrins are very widely used by nature and by designers to grab and transport molecules and energywe demonstrate new ways of binding guests to make this happen."

State-of-the-art spectroscopy and computational modelling at the National Computational Infrastructure in collaboration with researchers at the Australian National University gave the team confirmation that what they'd synthesised was new.

Professor Reimers concludes: "Now that it is known that isolable isomers can be made in this way, the possibilities of what chemists could make are endless."

Explore further Generation of a stable biradical

More information: Peter J. Canfield et al, A new fundamental type of conformational isomerism, Nature Chemistry (2018). Journal information: Nature Chemistry Peter J. Canfield et al, A new fundamental type of conformational isomerism,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41557-018-0043-6A June 2010 brief cites Professor Holona Ochs research on voter disenfranchisementspecifically a paper she had published in The Policy Studies Journal called Colorblind Policy in Black and White: Racial Consequences of Disenfranchisement Policy. Credit: iStock/Steve Debenport

In March of this year, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee signed the Washington Voting Rights Act into law. The state's Voting Rights Act says that a jurisdiction is in violation of the law "where there is a significant risk members of a protected class do not have an equal opportunity to elect candidates of choice as a result of dilution or abridgement of their rights."

The law was many years in the makingand Holona Ochs, associate professor of political science, was, unknowingly, a key part of the fight.

Och's research on voter disenfranchisement was cited in an early challenge to a previous state law that provided that convicted felons lost the right to vote upon conviction, and did not have that right restored upon release until all fees, restitution or other legal financial obligations were met.

The complainants in the case, known as Farrakhan v. Gregoire, said this was a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because minorities were disproportionately prosecuted and sent to prison, and revoking their right to vote disenfranchised them. Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race, color or membership in one of the language minority groups identified in Section 4(f)(2) of the Act.

A June 2010 brief cites Ochs' research on voter disenfranchisementspecifically a paper she had published in The Policy Studies Journal called "'Colorblind' Policy in Black and White: Racial Consequences of Disenfranchisement Policy." In it she demonstrates "that disenfranchisement laws have a disparate impact on the black community that becomes increasingly disproportionate as disenfranchisement laws increase in severity." She also finds "that disenfranchisement policies have a significant independent effect on voting rights in the black community and do not have a similar effect on white voters." Ochs concludes "that the ability of the black community to achieve adequate representation is substantially diminished as fewer and fewer black qualify for voter registration."

"I essentially demonstrated that the existing research already established racial intent and demonstrated statistically that there is a disparate impact despite the 'colorblind' nature of a given policy," says Ochs.

Farrakhan v. Gregoire moved slowly through the state court system and did not, ultimately, prevail. However, the lawsuit, along with other efforts, set the stage for the voting reform efforts that became the Washington Voter Rights Act.

Now, under the Act, a person may lose the right to vote when convicted of a felony in adult court. This right is restored, however, when a person is no longer under the authority of the Department of Corrections (DOC). A person's right to vote is restored automatically, even if they still owe fines, restitution, or other legal financial obligations (LFOs).

"The makeup of the Washington State Legislature led to the passage of laws built on this case and others," says Ochs. "A statehouse friendly to extending franchise within the current political context saw the opportunity and took it."

Explore further Economic crisis could stop citizens from voting: research

More information: Holona Leanne Ochs. "Colorblind" Policy in Black and White: Racial Consequences of Disenfranchisement Policy, Policy Studies Journal (2006). Holona Leanne Ochs. "Colorblind" Policy in Black and White: Racial Consequences of Disenfranchisement Policy,(2006). DOI: 10.1111/j.1541-0072.2006.00146.xIn almost any field of human activity, people choose optimal options from a great variety of possible alternatives. When designing new devices, products and systems, researchers and engineers always strive to ensure that their systems have the best characteristics and are economically viable. Thus, for example, a new car being developed must be fast, consume a minimum amount of fuel, be reliable and, in addition, it should not be too expensive.

So it comes as no surprise that researchers at the Lobachevsky University are actively involved in the research of models and methods for making optimal decisions when solving complex problems. A team of scientists under Professor Roman Strongin has proposed a large number of approaches to solving global (multi-extremal) optimization problems, including linear programming of the problems of unconditional optimization, problems of nonlinear programming, and many others.

With these approaches, it is possible to solve many problems of optimal decision-making by using some key properties. For example, it is assumed in linear programming problems that all the existing dependencies in the optimization problem are linear. However, existing approaches do not fully cover all possible tasks for making optimal decisions.

According to Professor Victor Gergel, a leading member of the research team at the Lobachevsky University, the distinguishing feature of this class of problems is the assumption of multi-extremality of optimized efficiency criteria, for which the optimality among close variants does not necessarily mean the optimality among all possible alternatives.

"This determines the complexity of global optimization problems: in order to prove the optimality of the chosen option, one must show that this particular option is the best in the whole range of possible solutions," says Victor Gergel.

At an additional level of complexity, it becomes possible to have several simultaneous performance criteria, which is important in practical applications. In fact, how can engineers choose one quality criterion when developing a new car? Most likely, it is possible to specify several individual partial indicators, such as weight, cost, maximum speed, etc. However, the partial efficiency criteria are, as a rule, contradictory, and no available options would be the best in all respects (the fastest car will not be the cheapest).

Therefore, the solution of multicriteria problems is reduced to finding effective compromise options that cannot be improved simultaneously with respect to all the partial criteria. At the same time, it may be necessary in the course of calculations to find several effective solutions. In the extreme case, this may be an entire set of undominated options.

When solving multicriteria optimization problems, the complexity of computations substantially increases when it is necessary to find several (or the entire set of) effective options. Finding even one compromise option requires a significant amount of computations, while the definition of several (or the entire set of) effective options becomes a problem of exceptional computational complexity.

To overcome the computational complexity of multicriteria problems, Professor Strongin's research team proposed a two-fold approach. First, effective global search algorithms developed within the framework of the information-statistical theory of multi-extremal optimization will be used for solving optimization problems. Second, when performing calculations, all the search information received during the calculation will be used to the greatest possible extent. On the whole, the re-use of search information will result in a continuously decreasing amount of calculation when searching for the next effective options.

Computational experiments performed by Lobachevsky University scientists show that the proposed approach makes it possible to reduce more than a hundredfold the amount of required computations when searching for the next effective solution.

A good example of practical application of this approach is the optimized profile of railway wheels. This result was obtained jointly with the colleagues from the Technical University of Delft (the Netherlands).

"Our calculations show that the proposed optimized profile of train wheels provides an increase in the wheel life to 120 thousand km (more than five times compared with the wheel of the original profile), while increasing the maximum permissible speed from 40 m/sec to 60 m/sec," notes Professor Strongin.

Explore further Diagonal methods for expensive global optimization

More information: Victor Gergel et al. Efficient multicriterial optimization based on intensive reuse of search information, Journal of Global Optimization (2018). Victor Gergel et al. Efficient multicriterial optimization based on intensive reuse of search information,(2018). DOI: 10.1007/s10898-018-0624-3

Provided by Lobachevsky UniversityCredit: CC0 Public Domain

A team of physicists from ICTP-Trieste and IQOQI-Innsbruck has come up with a surprisingly simple idea to investigate quantum entanglement of many particles. Instead of digging deep into the properties of quantum wave functions, which are notoriously hard to experimentally access, they propose to realize physical systems governed by the corresponding entanglement Hamiltonians. By doing so, entanglement properties of the original problem of interest become accessible via well-established tools.

Quantum entanglement forms the heart of the second quantum revolution: it is a key characteristic used to understand forms of quantum matter, and a key resource for present and future quantum technologies. Physically, entangled particles cannot be described as individual particles with defined states, but only as a single system. Even when the particles are separated by a large distance, changes in one particle also instantaneously affect the other particle(s). The entanglement of individual particleswhether photons, atoms or moleculesis part of everyday life in the laboratory today. In many-body physics, following the pioneering work of Li and Haldane, entanglement is typically characterized by the so-called entanglement spectrum: it is able to capture essential features of collective quantum phenomena, such as topological order, and at the same time, it allows to quantify the 'quantumness' of a given statethat is, how challenging it is to simply write it down on a classical computer.

Despite its importance, the experimental methods to measure the entanglement spectrum quickly reach their limitsuntil today, these spectra have been measured only in few qubits systems. With an increasing number of particles, this effort becomes hopeless as the complexity of current techniques increases exponentially.

"Today, it is very hard to perform an experiment beyond few particles that allows us to make concrete statements about entanglement spectra," explains Marcello Dalmonte from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. Together with Peter Zoller and Benoit Vermersch at the University of Innsbruck, he has now found a surprisingly simple way to investigate quantum entanglement directly. The physicists turn the concept of quantum simulation upside down by no longer simulating a certain physical system in the quantum simulator, but directly simulating its entanglement Hamiltonian operator, whose spectrum of excitations immediately relates to the entanglement spectrum.

"Instead of simulating a specific quantum problem in the laboratory and then trying to measure the entanglement properties, we propose simply turning the tables and directly realizing the corresponding entanglement Hamiltonian, which gives immediate and simple access to entanglement properties, such as the entanglement spectrum," explains Marcello Dalmonte. "Probing this operator in the lab is conceptually and practically as easy as probing conventional many-body spectra, a well-established lab routine."

Furthermore, there are hardly any limits to this method with regard to the size of the quantum system. This could also allow the investigation of entanglement spectra in many-particle systems, which is notoriously challenging to address with classical computers. Dalmonte, Vermersch and Zoller describe the radically new method in a current paper in Nature Physics and demonstrate its concrete realization on a number of experimental platforms, such as atomic systems, trapped ions and also solid-state systems based on superconducting quantum bits.

Explore further Researchers create a quantum entanglement between two physically separated ultra-cold atomic clouds

More information: M. Dalmonte et al, Quantum simulation and spectroscopy of entanglement Hamiltonians, Nature Physics (2018). Journal information: Nature Physics M. Dalmonte et al, Quantum simulation and spectroscopy of entanglement Hamiltonians,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41567-018-0151-7Reconstruction of the Cambrian predator and stem-lineage euarthropod Anomalocaris canadensis, based on fossils from the Burgess Shale, Canada. Credit: Reconstruction by Natalia Patkiewicz

All the major groups of animals appear in the fossil record for the first time around 540-500 million years agoan event known as the Cambrian Explosionbut new research from the University of Oxford in collaboration with the University of Lausanne suggests that for most animals this 'explosion' was in fact a more gradual process.

The Cambrian Explosion produced the largest and most diverse grouping of animals the Earth has ever seen: the euarthropods. Euarthropoda contains the insects, crustaceans, spiders, trilobites, and a huge diversity of other animal forms alive and extinct. They comprise over 80 percent of all animal species on the planet and are key components of all of Earth's ecosystems, making them the most important group since the dawn of animals over 500 million years ago.

A team based at Oxford University Museum of Natural History and the University of Lausanne carried out the most comprehensive analysis ever made of early fossil euarthropods from every different possible type of fossil preservation. In an article published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences they show that, taken together, the total fossil record shows a gradual radiation of euarthropods during the early Cambrian, 540-500 million years ago.

The new analysis presents a challenge to the two major competing hypotheses about early animal evolution. The first of these suggests a slow, gradual evolution of euarthropods starting 650-600 million years ago, which had been consistent with earlier molecular dating estimates of their origin. The other hypothesis claims the nearly instantaneous appearance of euarthropods 540 million years ago because of highly elevated rates of evolution.

Model of the Cambrian stem lineage euarthropod Peytoia, based on fossils from the Burgess Shale. Top left: Closeup of the mouth parts and frontal appendages. Bottom right: Overall view of the body. Credit: Model and image: E. Horn.

The new research suggests a middle-ground between these two hypotheses, with the origin of euarthropods no earlier than 550 million years ago, corresponding with more recent molecular dating estimates, and with the subsequent diversification taking place over the next 40 million years.

"Each of the major types of fossil evidence has its limitation and they are incomplete in different ways, but when taken together they are mutually illuminating and allow a coherent picture to emerge of the origin and radiation of the euarthropods during the lower to middle Cambrian," explains Professor Allison Daley, who carried out the work at Oxford University Museum of Natural History and at the University of Lausanne. "This indicates that the Cambrian Explosion, rather than being a sudden event, unfolded gradually over the ~40 million years of the lower to middle Cambrian."

The timing of the origin of Euarthropoda is very important as it affects how we view and interpret the evolution of the group. By working out which groups developed first we can trace the evolution of physical characteristics, such as limbs.

Exceptionally preserved soft-bodied fossils of the Cambrian predator and stem-lineage euarthropod Anomalocaris canadensis from the Burgess Shale, Canada.Top left: Frontal appendage showing segmentation similar to modern-day euarthropods. Bottom right: Full body specimen showing one pair of frontal appendages (white arrows) and mouthparts consisting of plates with teeth (black arrow) on the head. Credit: A. Daley

It has been argued that the absence of euarthropods from the Precambrian Period, earlier than around 540 million years ago, is the result of a lack of fossil preservation. But the new comprehensive fossil study suggests that this isn't the case.

"The idea that arthropods are missing from the Precambrian fossil record because of biases in how fossils are preserved can now be rejected," says Dr. Greg Edgecombe FRS from the Natural History Museum, London, who was not involved in the study. "The authors make a very compelling case that the late Precambrian and Cambrian are in fact very similar in terms of how fossils preserve. There is really just one plausible explanationarthropods hadn't yet evolved."

Harriet Drage, a Ph.D. student at Oxford University Department of Zoology and one of the paper's co-authors, says: "When it comes to understanding the early history of life the best source of evidence that we have is the fossil record, which is compelling and very complete around the early to middle Cambrian. It speaks volumes about the origin of euarthropods during an interval of time when fossil preservation was the best it has ever been."

More information: Allison C. Daley el al., "Early fossil record of Euarthropoda and the Cambrian Explosion," PNAS (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Allison C. Daley el al., "Early fossil record of Euarthropoda and the Cambrian Explosion,"(2018). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1719962115Credit: shutterstock.com

A new language is emerging to describe those who would have traditionally been called retired but are increasingly engaging in other forms of activity in later life. New terms for this phase of life include the third age, the encore stage and unretirement. But while some commentators predict a rosy picture of new found freedoms, others focus on problems caused by financial difficulties.

The truth is that our lives in older age vary as much as they do at any other time of our lives. This is in part because how your life shapes up in older age will depend a lot on the path you followed earlier in your life. This is what we found in our recent research that examined the links between individual life histories and later life outcomes through interviews with 50 older men and women.

We found that the aspects of your life that are particularly important to experiences of retirement are your employment and family caring history and your access to resources, particularly financial ones. Also important are your social networks, cultural capital such as education, and your physical and mental health in your younger and middle age.

Access to all these is intertwined. So if a person has access to greater financial resources throughout their lives, they'll also be able to access more social and cultural resources  which helps to maintain physical health. Social networks and education also help to shape careers and enable people to amass greater financial capital. The nature of these links often lead to cumulative advantages or disadvantages, making retirement easier for those in a privileged position and harder for those who start out more disadvantaged. For example, periods of ill health, or family caring responsibilities for a relative, or for children, can change the course of people's lives.

Different trajectories

Our research found that people who have had similar career histories share similar retirement expectations and experiences, but that this relationship is also influenced by other factors such as gender and class. For example, the people we interviewed who had secure professional careers were more likely to look forward to their retirement and experience this as a positive period of their lives.

In contrast, from our research, it was clear that those who had a delayed or interrupted start to their career, for example due to caring responsibilities, felt more hesitant and uncertain about retirement. They also expressed concern about losing their professional identity, and had financial worries that insufficient pension contributions would stop them from sustaining their lifestyles.

People who have followed more precarious or fragmented career paths with periods in and out of work, or in different types of employment, including self-employment, can also face financial instability in retirement. This is because they haven't built up sufficient pension entitlement to enable them to have a comfortable retirement income.

We found that women were particularly vulnerable to this, as they had often had more fragmented career histories and historically had been discouraged from contributing to a work place pension. For example, between 1948 and 1977 the "married woman's stamp" allowed married women to pay a lower rate of national insurance, but didn't give them the same pension entitlements. This meant that some of them had to continue in paid employment, longer than they might have chosen to.

Some women in our sample moved into more professional roles as a result of either retraining or doing a degree after having children. But many of these women still feared that they would face financial hardship in retirement, particularly if they were divorced. That said, our study found that women who worked in administrative employment but have also been very involved in family networks were more optimistic about retirement. They felt it allowed them greater opportunities to spend time with family and friends. In contrast, men who have followed semi-skilled careers were more concerned about identity loss and inactivity in retirement.

Long-term thinking

Our research provides another argument in support of policies that aim to raise people's education and skills throughout the course of their lives in order to improve their opportunities for employment and ultimately their quality of life in older age. Those policies which raise the skills base of a region or country will also have much wider benefits for society.

The more positive attitudes towards retirement we heard from those who maintain strong family and other social networks throughout their careers also highlight the importance of workplace practices that facilitate greater work-life balance. In other words, organisations can support individuals by not demanding so much of their time that they are unable to develop healthy relationships outside work.

Explore further Gender, education and class impacts on retirement and quality of life in older age

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.University of Groningen scientists Dr. Hein Wijma (left) and Prof. Dr. Dick B. Janssen, who used a new computational approach to redesign the aspartase enzyme and convert it to a catalyst for asymmetric hydroamination reactions. Credit: University of Groningen

University of Groningen biotechnologists used a computational method to redesign aspartase and convert it to a catalyst for asymmetric hydroamination reactions. Their colleagues in China scaled up the production of this enzyme and managed to produce kilograms of very pure building blocks for pharmaceuticals and other bioactive compounds. This successful proof of principle study was published in Nature Chemical Biology on 21 May.

Enzymes are natural catalysts that work under mild conditions. They are an attractive alternative to uncatalyzed chemical reactions that often require energy-consuming high temperatures or pressure and may generate toxic side products or use solvents. But there is one problem: The range of reactions catalyzed by enzymes is limited. "That's why a lot of effort is being put into modifying natural enzymes," explains Dick Janssen, Professor of Chemical Biotechnology at the Groningen Biomolecular and Biotechnology Institute.

The classic method to modify enzymes is directed evolution, a mutation-selection sequence in the lab that aims to create enzymes with modified catalytic abilities. But it takes a lot of work to make and test hundreds or thousands of enzyme variants in multiple rounds. It would be much more efficient to make a rational design of the required changes based on information on the enzyme's structure and properties.

But even this is complicated, explains Hein Wijma. He is an expert in molecular design software and did most of the computational work in the study. "Proteins are made of 20 different amino acids. So if you want to change an enzyme in four positions, there are 20 options for each of them. That results in a huge matrix of protein structures." Testing them one by one, even on the computer, takes too long. However, a very fast Monte Carlo search algorithm speeds up the discovery of the right outcome by looking for trends in the enzyme's reactivity.

The broken lines indicate interactions between atoms causing catalysis. The target substrate is shown in orange, and the groups indicated in magenta are varied in the computer to discover mutants that improve conversion. Credit: Hein Wijma/University of Groningen

"In the end, it took a couple of days to perform this search in a dedicated computer cluster at the University of Groningen," says Wijma. But a lot of modelling was needed beforehand. "You have to model the reactive centre, the pockets where the substrate binds, and determine the distance between the amino acids and their relative positions and angles." As the group used one enzyme (aspartase) as a starting point for a number of different reactions, the starting point was always the same. This meant they only had to change the target reaction. Wijma: "If we wanted to make a new modification of aspartase, that would probably just take three months now."

The research paper describes four conversions, all additions of ammonium. Aspartase is a deaminase, so the reaction was reversed. "Catalysis goes both ways, so that is not a major problem," says Janssen. For each conversion, the initial selection by the algorithm produced some 100 promising mutants. These were then checked for obvious errors. Janssen: "In the end, some five to 20 mutants were actually made in the lab and tested to see if they functioned as expected."

The next step was to test successful mutant enzymes in a scaled-up setting. "This work was done by a former Ph.D. student and postdoc from our lab, Bian Wu, who is now an assistant professor in China," says Janssen. "He showed which candidates could produce large quantities of the required product." Substrate conversions of 99 percent with a 99 percent enantioselectivity were achieved in quantities up to a kilogram, meaning that the enzymes predicted by the computation methods appear suitable for use in an industrial setting. "This is real proof of principle that our method of in-silico selection of mutants works for producing useful enzymes," concludes Janssen.

More information: Ruifeng Li et al, Computational redesign of enzymes for regio- and enantioselective hydroamination, Nature Chemical Biology (2018). Journal information: Nature Chemical Biology Ruifeng Li et al, Computational redesign of enzymes for regio- and enantioselective hydroamination,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41589-018-0053-0UNM Researcher Maya Elrick gathers samples on Anticosti Island. Credit: University of New Mexico

For decades, scientists have conducted research centered around the five major mass extinctions that have shaped the world we live in. The extinctions date back more than 450 million years with the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction to the deadliest extinction, the Late Permian extinction 250 million years ago that wiped out over 90 percent of species.

Over the years, scientists have figured out the main causes of the mass extinctions, which include massive volcanic eruptions, global warming, asteroid collisions, and acidic oceans as likely culprits. Other factors sure to play part include methane eruptions and marine anoxic eventswhen oceans lose life-supporting oxygen.

The events that triggered the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction or LOME of marine animals and plants has largely remained a mystery until now. The Ordovician was a dynamic time interval in Earth history that recorded a major increase in marine biologic diversity and a greenhouse-to-icehouse climatic transition. Researchers believe this cooling period, which culminated in the first Phanerozoic glaciation led to the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction.

Now a team of researchers, including Maya Elrick at The University of New Mexico, Elrick's former master's student Rick Bartlett, now earning his doctorate at Louisiana State University, James Wheeley from the University of Birmingham (England) and the University of Ottawa's Andre Desrochers, have deciphered geochemical evidence left behind in marine limestone sediment that suggests this extinction was caused by a period of global cooling that created a global marine anoxic event.

The research, "Abrupt global-ocean anoxia during Late Ordovician-early Silurian detected using uranium isotopes of marine carbonates," was published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It was supported, in part, through a three-year, $680,000 National Science Foundation grant.

"This extinction is the first of the 'big five' extinctions that hit the Earth and our research indicates that it was coincident with the abrupt development of widespread ocean anoxia that lasted for at least 1 million years," said Elrick.

Working with an international crew, Elrick and her team travelled to Anticosti Island in the St. Lawrence seaway of Quebec, Canada where they collected limestone rock samples. The returned samples were analyzed for uranium isotopes using a mass spectrometer housed in the UNM Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Results from the study indicate that abrupt and widespread marine anoxia occurred at the same time 85 percent of marine life went extinct.

Researchers gather samples on Anticosti Island. Credit: University of New Mexico

"These results provided the first evidence for abrupt global ocean anoxia initiating and continuing through peak and waning glacial conditions," Elrick said. "We suggest that the anoxia was driven by global cooling which reorganized large-scale ocean circulation and led to decreased deep-ocean oxygenation and, enhanced nutrient fluxes, which caused phytoplankton blooms and expanded the areas of low oxygen concentrations. These results also provide the first evidence for widespread ocean anoxia initiating and continuing during glacial conditions."

Elrick and Bartlett's research is the first study of this type that uses a geochemical proxy (uranium isotopes) which integrates the entire ocean oxygen concentration. The results agree with what other scientists had been saying before, although the earlier studies were assessing only local oxygen concentrations rather than globally integrated concentrations. Further, Elrick and her team are modeling global ocean oxygen concentrations to evaluate how much of the seafloor went anoxic during the Late Ordovician extinction.

The team compared conditions 450 million years ago to those of today and determined that about there was about a 15 percent increase in anoxic seafloor during the Late Ordovician mass extinction. The modern ocean has less than a half a percent of seafloor that is anoxic (mainly the Black Sea), so a 15 percent increase in seafloor anoxia is quite significant.

"Anticosti Island is the best natural laboratory in the World for studying fossils and sedimentary strata dating from the first mass extinction nearly 445 million years ago. The island is now awaiting recognition at the UNESCO World Heritage program because of its exceptional geology and paleontology," said the University of Ottawa's Andre Desrochers.

Elrick is also studying three of the other 'big five' mass extinctions using uranium isotopes as oxygenation proxy.

"So far each of them have widespread anoxia associated with them, so we are finding that low seawater oxygen concentrations is a major killer," Elrick said

These results for the past 'big five' mass extinctions have implications for the modern extinction our planet is presently experiencing.

"We are warming and acidifying the oceans today and warmer oceans hold less and less oxygen. Some marine organisms can handle the heat and the acidity, but not the lack of oxygen" Elrick said. "All these things are happening today and the results from the Late Ordovician study indicate the potential severity of marine anoxia as an extinction driver for many of the past and ongoing biologic extinction events."

Explore further Studying oxygen, scientists discover clues to recovery from mass extinction

More information: Rick Bartlett el al., "Abrupt global-ocean anoxia during the Late Ordovicianearly Silurian detected using uranium isotopes of marine carbonates," PNAS (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Rick Bartlett el al., "Abrupt global-ocean anoxia during the Late Ordovicianearly Silurian detected using uranium isotopes of marine carbonates,"(2018). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1802438115Today's study, "Why should mitochondria define species?" published as an open-access article in the journal Human Evolution,builds on earlier work by Drs. Stoeckle and Thayer, including an examination of the mitochondrial genetic diversity of humans vs. our closest living and extinct relatives. The amount of color variation within each red box of the Klee diagram illustrates the far greater mitochondrial diversity among chimpanzees and bonobos than among living humans. Credit: The Rockefeller University

Researchers report important new insights into evolution following a study of mitochondrial DNA from about 5 million specimens covering about 100,000 animal species.

Mining "big data" insights from the world's fast-growing genetic databases and reviewing a large literature in evolutionary theory, researchers at The Rockefeller University in New York City and the Biozentrum at the University of Basel in Switzerland, published several conclusions today in the journal Human Evolution. Among them:

In genetic diversity terms, Earth's 7.6 billion humans are anything but special in the animal kingdom. The tiny average genetic difference in mitochondrial sequences between any two individual people on the planet is about the same as the average genetic difference between a pair of the world's house sparrows, pigeons or robins. The typical difference within a species, including humans, is 0.1% or 1 in 1,000 of the "letters" that make up a DNA sequence.

Genetic variationthe average difference in mitochondria DNA between two individuals of the same speciesdoes not increase with population size. Because evolution is relentless, however, the lack of genetic variation offers insights into the timing of a species' emergence and its maintenance.

The mass of evidence supports the hypothesis that most species, be it a bird or a moth or a fish, like modern humans, arose recently and have not had time to develop a lot of genetic diversity. The 0.1% average genetic diversity within humanity today corresponds to the divergence of modern humans as a distinct species about 100,000200,000 years agonot very long in evolutionary terms. The same is likely true of over 90% of species on Earth today.

Genetically the world "is not a blurry place." Each species has its own specific mitochondrial sequence and other members of the same species are identical or tightly similar. The research shows that species are "islands in sequence space" with few intermediate "stepping stones" surviving the evolutionary process.

Among 1st "big data" insights from a growing collection of mitochondrial DNA

"DNA barcoding" is a quick, simple technique to identify species reliably through a short DNA sequence from a particular region of an organism. For animals, the preferred barcode regions are in mitochondriacellular organelles that power all animal life.

The new study, "Why should mitochondria define species?" relies largely on the accumulation of more than 5 million mitochondrial barcodes from more than 100,000 animal species, assembled by scientists worldwide over the past 15 years in the open access GenBank database maintained by the US National Center for Biotechnology Information.

The researchers have made novel use of the collection to examine the range of genetic differences within animal species ranging from bumblebees to birds and reveal surprisingly minute genetic variation within most animal species, and very clear genetic distinction between a given species and all others.

"If a Martian landed on Earth and met a flock of pigeons and a crowd of humans, one would not seem more diverse than the other according to the basic measure of mitochondrial DNA," says Jesse Ausubel, Director of the Program for the Human Environment at The Rockefeller University, where the research was led by Senior Research Associate Mark Stoeckle and Research Associate David Thaler of the University of Basel, Switzerland.

"At a time when humans place so much emphasis on individual and group differences, maybe we should spend more time on the ways in which we resemble one another and the rest of the animal kingdom."

Says Dr. Stoeckle: "Culture, life experience and other things can make people very different but in terms of basic biology, we're like the birds."

The study results represent a surprise given predictions found in textbooks, and based on mathematical models of evolution, that the bigger the population of a species, the greater the genetic variation one expects to find. In fact, the mitochondrial diversity within 7.6 billion humans or 500 million house sparrows or 100,000 sandpipers from around the world is about the same.The paper notes, however, that evolution is relentless, that species are always changing, and, therefore, the degree of variation within a given species offers a clue into how long ago it emerged distinctly -- in other words, the older the species the greater the average genetic variation between its members. Credit: The Rockefeller University

"By determining the genetic variety within species of the animal kingdom, made possible only recently by the burgeoning number of DNA sequences, we've documented the absence of human exceptionalism."

Says. Dr. Thaler: "Our approach combines DNA barcodes, which are broad but not deep, from the entire animal kingdom with more detailed sequence information available for the entire mitochondrial genome of modern humans and a few other species. We analyzed DNA barcode sequences from thousands of modern humans in the same way as those from other animal species."

"One might have thought that, due to their high population numbers and wide geographic distribution, humans might have led to greater genetic diversity than other animal species," he adds. "At least for mitochondrial DNA, humans turn out to be low to average in genetic diversity."

"Experts have interpreted low genetic variation among living humans as a result of our recent expansion from a small population in which a sequence from one mother became the ancestor for all modern human mitochondrial sequences," says Dr. Thaler.

"Our paper strengthens the argument that the low variation in the mitochondrial DNA of modern humans also explains the similar low variation found in over 90% of living animal specieswe all likely originated by similar processes and most animal species are likely young."

Genetic variation does not increase with population

The study results represent a surprise given predictions found in textbooks, and based on mathematical models of evolution, that the bigger the population of a species, the greater the genetic variation one expects to find.

"Is genetic diversity related to the size of the population?" asks Dr. Stoeckle. "The answer is no. The mitochondrial diversity within 7.6 billion humans or 500 million house sparrows or 100,000 sandpipers from around the world is about the same."

The paper notes, however, that evolution is relentless, that species are always changing, and, therefore, the degree of variation within a given species offers a clue into how long ago it emerged distinctlyin other words, the older the species the greater the average genetic variation between its members.

Genetically, 'the world is not a blurry place.' It is hard to find 'intermediates' -- the evolutionary stepping stones between species. The intermediates disappear. The research is a new way to show that species are 'islands in sequence space.' Each species has its own narrow, very specific consensus sequence, just as our phone system has short, unique numeric codes to tell cities and countries apart. Credit: The Rockefeller University

Evolutionary bottlenecks: the fresh new beginning of a species

While asteroids and ice ages have played major roles in evolutionary history, scientists speculate that another great driver may have been the microbial world, notably viruses, which periodically cull populations, leaving behind only those able to survive the deadly challenge.

"Life is fragile, susceptible to reductions in population from ice ages and other forms of environmental change, infections, predation, competition from other species and for limited resources, and interactions among these forces," says Dr. Thaler. Adds Dr. Thaler, "The similar sequence variation in many species suggests that all of animal life experiences pulses of growth and stasis or near extinction on similar time scales."

"Scholars have previously argued that 99% of all animal species that ever lived are now extinct. Our work suggests that most species of animals alive today are like humans, descendants of ancestors who emerged from small populations possibly with near-extinction events within the last few hundred thousand years."

'Islands in sequence space'

Another intriguing insight from the study, says Mr. Ausubel, is that "genetically, the world is not a blurry place. It is hard to find 'intermediates' - the evolutionary stepping stones between species. The intermediates disappear."

Dr. Thaler notes: "Darwin struggled to understand the absence of intermediates and his questions remain fruitful."

"The research is a new way to show that species are 'islands in sequence space.' Each species has its own narrow, very specific consensus sequence, just as our phone system has short, unique numeric codes to tell cities and countries apart."

Adds Dr. Thaler: "If individuals are stars, then species are galaxies. They are compact clusters in the vastness of empty sequence space."

The researchers say that with the bones or teeth of an ancient hominid, like those found in southern France or northern Spain, scientists might shed further light on the rate of evolution of the human species.

"It would be very exciting if over the next few years physical anthropologists and others were able to compare mitochondrial DNA from hominid species over the last 500,000 years," says Dr. Stoeckle.

Explore further Viruses can evolve in parallel in related species

More information: "Why should mitochondria define species?" Human Evolution DOI: 10.14673/HE2018121037 "Why should mitochondria define species?"Two possible explanations for the quantum measurement process: (a) A binary measurement that generates the final outcome in two steps (first ruling out one of the three outcomes, then selecting between the two remaining outcomes), or (b) a ternary measurement that selects among all three outcomes at once. Credit: Hu et al. 2018 American Physical Society

For the first time, physicists have experimentally demonstrated ternaryrather than binaryquantum correlations between entangled objects. The results show that the quantum measurement process cannot be described as a binary process (having two possible outcomes), but rather stronger-than-binary ternary measurements (which have three possible outcomes) should be considered in order to fully understand how the quantum measurement process works.

The physicists, Xiao-Min Hu and coauthors from China, Germany, Spain, and Hungary, have published a paper on the stronger-than-binary correlations in a recent issue of Physical Review Letters.

"We discovered and experimentally verified the existence of genuine ternary measurements," coauthor Matthias Kleinmann at the University of Siegen in Siegen, Germany, and the University of the Basque Country in Bilbao, Spain, told Phys.org. "The experimental conclusions are independent of any underlying theory (here: quantum theory) and establish that ternary measurements are a generic feature of nature."

Before now, stronger-than-binary correlations have been theoretically predicted to exist, but this is the first time that they have been experimentally observed. In their experiments, the researchers entangled two photonic qutrits, each of which has three possible states (0, 1, and 2), instead of just two (0 and 1) as for qubits. They then sent the qutrits to different laboratories where they measured the state of each qutrit, enabling them to determine the strength of the correlations between the two qutrits.

Illustration of the experimental setup for demonstrating ternary correlations. Credit: Hu et al. 2018 American Physical Society

If the quantum measurement process were binary, then measurements could be described as a two-step process in which first one of the three possible measurement outcomes is ruled out by a classical mechanism, and then a quantum binary measurement selects between the two remaining outcomes. In this binary measurement process, the maximum correlation between two entangled objects cannot exceed a certain value.

In their experiments, the researchers demonstrated that the strength of the correlations between the entangled qutrits exceed this maximum value. To do this, they performed a Bell-type experiment in which they showed that the observed correlations violate the maximum inequality for nonsignalling binary correlations with a very high statistical significance, corresponding to 9.3 standard deviations. The results imply that the measurement process in quantum theory cannot be explained by the two-step process with binary measurements. Instead, the measurement process here is genuinely ternary, where the quantum ternary measurement selects between all three of the possible states at once.

Overall, the researchers explain that the observations of stronger-than-binary correlations don't contradict previous experimental evidence of binary correlations, but add new possibilities for how the quantum measurement process works at the most fundamental level.

"Now that we have established the theoretical tools and the experimental methods to understand and create ternary correlations, we aim to proceed in two directions," Kleinmann said. "First, we hope for technological applications (for example, in randomness extraction) and second, we are now using our results as a new basis for a deeper understanding of quantum theory."

Explore further New quantum probability rule offers novel perspective of wave function collapse

More information: More information: Xiao-Min Hu et al. "Observation of Stronger-than-Binary Correlations with Entangled Photonic Qutrits." Physical Review Letters. Journal information: Physical Review Letters More information: Xiao-Min Hu et al. "Observation of Stronger-than-Binary Correlations with Entangled Photonic Qutrits." Physical Review Letters. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.120.180402 , Also at arXiv:1712.06557 [quant-ph]

 2018 Phys.orgA) Modern distribution of the sweet potato family (yellow line) and genus (white line). B) Fossil leaf of Ipomoea meghalayensis. C) Modern leaf of Ipomoea eriocarpa, showing similar size, shape and vein pattern. Credit: Indiana University

Sweet potatoes may seem as American as Thanksgiving, but scientists have long debated whether their plant family originated in the Old or New World. New research by an Indiana University paleobotanist suggests it originated in Asia, and much earlier than previously known.

IU Bloomington emeritus professor David Dilcher and colleagues in India identified 57-milion-year-old leaf fossils from eastern India as being from the morning glory family, which includes sweet potatoes and many other plants. The research suggests the family originated in the late Paleocene epoch in the East Gondwana land mass that became part of Asia.

"I think this will change people's ideas," Dilcher said. "It will be a data point that is picked up and used in other work where researchers are trying to find the time of the evolution of major groups of flowering plants."

Previous fossil evidence had suggested the morning glory family may have originated in North America about 35 million years ago. But molecular analyses had supported the idea that it originated earlier and in the Old World. The new research provides evidence for that conclusion.

The discovery also suggests the morning glory family and the nightshade family, which includes potatoes and tomatoes, diverged earlier than previously thought. Together with the recent, separate discovery of 52-million-year-old nightshade fossils in Argentina, it suggests that morning glories developed in the East and nightshades in the West.

The 17 fossils analyzed in the study are the earliest recorded fossils for both the morning glory family, known as Convolvulaceae, and the order Solanales, which includes morning glories and nightshades. Morning glory fossils are rare because the plants' soft structure was not easily preserved in rocks.

Dilcher's collaborators, Gaurav Srivastava and Rakesh C. Mehrotra of India's Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, discovered the fossils in Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India.

The researchers used microscopic analysis of the shape and structure of the leaves, comparing details of the leaf veins and cells with plants in the genus Ipomoea. Using such analysis to examine evolutionary relationships has been a hallmark of Dilcher's paleobotany research career.

The leaves the researchers studied are in the genus Ipomoea, which includes sweet potato but also hundreds of other plants, most of which don't produce food for humans.

"We don't know that these were sweet potatoes," said Dilcher, emeritus professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and the Department of Biology in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences. "We can't say there were delicious sweet potatoes there. There may have been, or there may not."

The morning glory family is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions and includes about 57 plant genera and 1,880 species. The sweet potato is the world's second most important root crop, and other members of the family are medicinally and culturally significant.

The study will publish online May 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.

Explore further Decoding the genome of the Japanese morning glory

More information: Gaurav Srivastava el al., "Paleocene Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) from India with implications for an East Gondwana origin of Convolvulaceae," PNAS (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Gaurav Srivastava el al., "Paleocene Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) from India with implications for an East Gondwana origin of Convolvulaceae,"(2018). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1800626115Credit: BBEPP

Rehap recently mapped the abundant supply of agroforestry waste in Europe and where it can be most sustainably sourced from. With this knowledge, project studies have been researching the most suitable technique for developing the best protocol for extracting tannins from softwood bark for the development of petrochemical alternatives. Now, it looks like Rehap may have found it.

Recent studies within Rehap have revealed that Europe has significant amounts of straw available from agricultural waste, and bark from forestry waste. This biomass contains natural building blocks such as tannin, lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose, which can be turned into substitutes for petrochemicals in the green building sector.

Having now found where these underutilised residues are, Rehap is in the process of developing an optimised extraction, fractionation and purification protocol for the recovery of tannins from softwood barks. It is also testing the scale-up potential of this process to produce adequate amounts for further project testing.

To do this, Rehap is working closely with the team at Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) in Ghent, Belgium. BBEPP is a flexible and diverse pilot plant for the development and scale-up of new or existing bio-based and sustainable processes to an industrial level. It performs the entire process from the green resources to the final product.

Extracting tannins from bark

In the latest lab-scale trials, Rehap looked at upscaling the hot-water extraction of tannins. Initially, the extraction of tannins from bark was developed by partners VTT, the Technical Research Centre of Finland, and was successfully transferred to the lab at BBEPP, where it has been scaled-up to pilot scale.

In order to ensure that the upscaling process is smooth, the different unit operations (mixing bark with water; heating mixture; cooling mixture; separating bark residue; concentrating tannin liquid) were first scaled to kilograms, before being fine-tuned to see how they performed in order to identify the most suitable options for each unit operation.

The first step involved mixing the bark with water to extract the tannins at 90 C, also called hot water extraction.

After this, different techniques such as filtration, centrifugation (separating the mixture through spinning), decantation (separating mixtures by removing a liquid layer free from precipitate) and sedimentation were each performed and evaluated in order to see how the tannin solution separated from the bark residue after hot water extraction. Decantation combined with centrifugation performed the best and was found to be the most suitable technique.

Finally, the clarified tannin solution was evaporated on a falling film evaporator, an industrial device used to concentrate solutions. This resulted in approximately 150 kg of tannin extract from 4 m of bark, giving a similar output to the process originally developed by VTT. This amount of tannin solution is excellent and should be sufficient for Rehap partners Foresa and Rampf for further modification.

Explore further Adhesives and insulating foams from softwood bark tannins

More information: REHAP - Systemic approach to Reduce Energy demand and CO2 emissions o: REHAP - Systemic approach to Reduce Energy demand and CO2 emissions o: cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/205422_en.htmlOnly about the size of a sesame seed, the samurai wasp has been found in 10 states, including Pennsylvania. Co-evolved with the brown marmorated stink bug in China, Japan, the Koreas and Taiwan, the parasitoid wasp seems to offer the best chance to get invasive stink bug numbers under control. Credit: Penn State

Hillary Peterson is every brown marmorated stink bug's worst nightmare.

The Penn State doctoral degree student does not intend to rest professionally until she and other entomologists devise a way to reduce burgeoning populations of the invasive insect, originally from Asia, which are damaging crops and aggravating people. The goal of their research is to develop biological controls to interfere with the pest's reproduction.

Peterson's discovery of the tiny samurai wasp in Pennsylvania last year has led to an aggressive research project aimed at determining population levels of the parasitoid that inserts its eggs into stink bug egg masses and ultimately destroys them. Co-evolved with the brown marmorated stink bug in China, Japan, the Koreas and Taiwan, the parasitoid wasp seems to offer the best chance to get invasive stink bug numbers under control.

Only about the size of a sesame seed, the samurai wasp has been found in 10 states. Peterson found specimens in southeastern Pennsylvania by putting out yellow sticky cards baited with the stink bug aggregation pheromone in orchards and bordering woods. In the future, entomologists may decide to culture and release samurai wasps where populations of the Asian stink bug are especially high and menacing crops. However, they need to conduct research to learn about the wasp's potential effect on native stink bugs and other ecological risks and rewards to culturing and releasing them.

Finding the samurai wasp was important, noted Peterson, who hails from Brunswick, Maine, and learned she was intrigued by parasitoid wasps as an undergraduate at the University of Maine. That fascination brought her to Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences to join the research group of Greg Krawczyk, extension tree fruit entomologist and research professor, who is on the front lines of the battle against brown marmorated stink bugs at Penn State's Fruit Research and Extension Center in Adams County.

Apple and peach growers in recent years have seen their crops spoiled by brown, marmorated stink bugs to the level that some stone fruit orchards had to be left unharvested due to severe injuries caused by this pest. The economic loss for apple growers was estimated last year to be approximately $35 million because of unmarketability of fruit on the fresh market. Credit: Penn State

"Once the beneficial samurai wasp is found in a wild, natural ecosystem, we can apply to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service for it to not be considered as a quarantined organism," Krawczyk said. "Then, if we want to do research on it or release it to control stink bugs, it is not regarded by USDA as an invasive species. We are not allowed to release an insecteven a beneficial onethat is not here already."

Finding a way to control populations of the brown marmorated stink bug is critical in Pennsylvania, where agriculture is economically vital. The pest first was found in North America near Allentown in the late 1990s but has spread across much of the United States. Its heaviest populations are found in the mid-Atlantic region, centering on southern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia.

In this region, they first gained attention as a nuisance pest due to their tendency to overwinter in homes, but it soon became clear the invasive insect is a serious threat to fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants. Beginning in 2009 and 2010, invasive stink bug populations ramped up in corn and soybean fields, and farmers experienced yield losses.

Apple and peach growers in recent years have seen their crops spoiled to the level that some stone fruit orchards had to be left unharvested due to severe injuries caused by this pest. The economic loss for apple growers was estimated last year to be approximately $35 million because of unmarketability of fruit on the fresh market.

Brown marmorated stink bugs are about three-quarters of an inch long and have a characteristic shield-like shape. They are, of course, brown, but both nymphs and adults can be distinguished from other brown stink bugs by whitish bands on the antennae and legs.

Penn State doctoral student Hillary Peterson crunches numbers in the field, assembling data that indicates whether samurai wasps invaded brown marmorated stink bug egg masses, such as the one shown in the inset, and laid their eggs among the stink bug eggs. She is also searching for signs that native parasitoid wasps found the invasive stink bug eggs and successfully laid their eggs. Ultimately, the wasps could rein in stink bug populations. Credit: Penn State

Adults produce an odor when they are disturbed, accounting for the "stink" in stink bug. This defensive odor is meant to repel predators. Some people find the smell bothersome; others claim it is somewhat pleasant, smelling something like cilantro.

The relationshipbased on chemical ecologybetween stink bugs and parasitoid wasps is fascinating, according to Peterson, who pointed out that there are plenty of native parasitic wasps that long have parasitized native stink bugs. However, whether they will ever be able to adapt fully to finding and parasitizing invasive brown marmorated stink bugs still remains a mystery.

To resolve this question, Peterson will deploy brown marmorated stink bug eggs this summer on index cards and on leaves in southeastern Pennsylvania orchards, and she also will put out some cages with stink bugs in them. "I am trying to do more realistic deployments of eggs to increase the chemical cues that wasps will pick up on because we are interested to see how these native wasps react," she said.

"We found native parasitoids in low numbers on the egg masses that we put out last summer, so they are able to find the brown marmorated stink bug eggs, and they are able to lay their eggs in those eggs," Peterson said. "But sometimes their development is not successful because they have not evolved with these bugs. I hope that native parasitoids will adapt to utilize brown marmorated stink bug eggs, but it could take decades."

Explore further Wasp that kills stink bugs found; could help fruit orchardsIf investors have really been concerned about the threat of a potential trade war between the U.S. and China, the S&P 500 will very likely let us know how concerned they've been about it this week.

That's because investors continually absorb new information about the business prospects for the companies, where changes in the expectations for their future earnings are quickly realized in their stock prices. For trade-dependent industries, those changes in expectations can show up in the form of lowered expectations for future earnings, which would tend to lower the value of their stock, while industries that might materially benefit from the imposition of new or higher tariffs will have raised expectations for their future earnings, which would tend to increase the stock prices of firms in the "protected" industries.

All that is highly relevant going into the fourth week of May 2018 because of news reports that came out over the weekend indicating that a potential breakthrough in trade negotations between the U.S. and China has been made, which would avert the negative impact of tit-for-tat tariffs and other trade sanctions between the world's two largest national trade partners.

Since the impact of a trade war is generally believed to offer greater negatives than positives across the entire U.S. economy, the diminishment of the risk of trade war should generally boost stock prices, which we would see in the S&P 500. Since the news broke over the weekend, when markets were closed, we would anticipate seeing stock prices (and stock price futures) gap significantly upward as investors provide their initial response to the positive news when markets open for trading on Monday, 21 May 2018. The following spaghetti forecast chart shows where stock prices stood at the close of trading on Friday, 18 May 2018.

The better question to ask is how of that positive change will remain at the close of trading, after investors will be flooded with new information about the potential trade deal and whatever other market moving new information comes out during the day.

At present, our spaghetti forecast chart indicates that the S&P 500 is poised where investors would appear to be roughly equally splitting their forward-looking focus between the current quarter of 2018-Q2 and the more distant future quarter of 2019-Q1. If the news of the potential breakthrough in trade negotiations between the U.S. and China holds, and if the risk of a trade war breaking out between the U.S. and China have been greatly weighing on their expectations for the future, it would be reasonable for investors to shift more of their attention on the current quarter of 2018-Q2 in response to this news and send stock prices upward from their current position, where a single-day increase of 3% or more in response to the news would be relatively easy for the market to achieve.

Such a move would also mark a very rare event for the U.S. stock market. For our daily trading records that extend back to 3 January 1950, covering some 17,207 trading days, we count just 104 where the S&P 500 and its predecessor indices closed higher by 3.0% or more, suggesting historical odds of 1 in 165 for such an event, where we have to go back to 26 August 2015 to find the last such occurrence.

Or, it may not change by such an unusually large amount, which will tell us that investors haven't really been all that concerned about the prospects for an economy-damaging trade war between the U.S. and China, where it has only contributed to the regular daily noise of trading in the U.S. stock market.

The cool thing is that we'll find out the answer, either way, perhaps as early as today from the day's news headlines. Speaking of which, here are the major headlines that we made special note of during the past week....

Looking beyond these headlines, Barry Ritholtz listed the positives and negatives for the U.S. economy and markets during the third week of May 2018.

Update 8:15 AM EDT: As expected, pre-market open stock price futures have gapped up, but by 0.6% for the S&P 500.

Update 22 May 2018: By the end of the day, the gain was just a little over 0.5%, with a relatively low level of trading noise throughout the day.May 21, 2018 in Utility (E)

[prMac.com] Odessa, Ukraine - Nektony is proud to announce that, from today, Funter 4.0 is available for download from the Mac App Store. For users who prefer the convenience of getting apps through the App Store, this is the perfect time to download Funter - a freeware app addressed at those who are looking for the simplest way to show and find hidden files on Mac. Apps and web browsers on Mac create lots of unneeded files, which are hidden and might utilize significant disk space. Spotlight does not find such invisible and system files. But Funter allows you to find those hidden files, make them visible and easily operate them.



All you need do to find hidden files is just type the name of the file in the finder field. Funter allows you to choose a folder for search, show all/hidden/unhidden files, forward to file location in Finder, preview files from Funter, or copy, move or delete files using the appropriate buttons. Funter makes it possible to switch file visibility with just one click.



Funter is targeted at all Mac users who want to operate hidden files and folders. It makes it easy to find and clear user, system and browser caches.



Best strengths:

* Search hidden files in hidden folders

* Search files in system folders, bundles and packages

* Switch hidden file visibility with one click

* Operate hidden files



Funter implements an easy method of showing hidden files, and finding hidden and useless files in any location on Mac.



System Requirements:

* macOS 10.13

* 64-bit processor

* 5.2 MB



Pricing and Availability:

Funter 4.0 is Free to download and available worldwide through the Mac App Store in the Utilities category. For more information please contact Alex Cormack.

Nektony is a software development company with a commitment to release functional, stable and efficient applications for iOS and macOS. Our main focus is to help users to optimize Mac performance and keep the HD clean from junk files. Particular attention is paid to app usability and quality. As a result, our highly skilled team creates the most helpful Mac tools for computer geeks. Copyright (C) 2018 Nektony. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, Mac, iOS and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks and registered trademarks mentioned in this press release are the properties of their respective owners.

###Judith Dale has served in many capacities, including the Santa Barbara County 3rd District representative to the Library Advisory Board, the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital Foundation board, and as a former mayor of Buellton.The ocean covers around 70% of the Earths crust. There are thousands of species living in the lakes, rivers, seas, and oceans. Even after discovering thousands of aquatic species, we have still uncovered 5% of the total ocean which means more than 95% of the oceans remain unexplored. This is pretty unsettling because there are a plethora of species of animals and aquatic beings into the depth of the oceans which havent discovered yet. One such nightmarish looking species is of frilled fish. It is a prehistoric dinosaur-era shark with insanely arranged teeth that have been found swimming around the coast of Portugal.

According to the reports, this is a serpentine conglomerate of a deadly looking shark which is touted as the oldest and the creepiest living species on the face of the Earth. It is, however, a question on how these species survived for so long even after their contemporaries died a long ago during the Cretaceous period. The discovery of such a nightmare shark started when a group of scientists hailing from the European Union visited the Atlantic Ocean in November 2017 to scan through the depth of the ocean. Their goal was to minimize the unwanted catches in commercial fishing but instead, they came upon something very unsettling.

According to the scientists, they encountered the rarest creature on the planet which has been around since the breakup of the Pangea millions of years ago. The fish was named as frilled fish due to its fluffy and frilly edges with a stature of six feet tall. Whats unsettling is within its short-snouted head which has more than 300 teeth arranged in 25 rows that make up for a pretty dangerous looking fish in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

It uses its array of teeth to eat fishes, sharks, squids, and octopuses. According to the reports, humans have known about the frilled shark for a long time now. It lives in the depth of the ocean and has seldom made any contact with any human for the last 80 million years or so. It has basic anatomy, however, the biggest question is how this species survived for such a long period after their contemporaries died during the end of Cretaceous period.

Researchers have found staggering beings when they set out on the quest to find these undiscovered species in the depth of the oceans. For instance, back in 2017, Australian museums funded an international team of scientists who captured some creatures from the depth of the ocean i.e. two miles beneath the ocean. The researchers wanted to analyze how these species can live in such a perpetual darkness at the depth of the ocean where the pressure is extremely high and the temperature and living conditions are inhospitable. They discovered few species such as a red crab with thorny spikes, a coffinfish, and others.

So, next time when you visit a beach, beware of floating away from the shore as you dont really know what species might harbor the region. Though there were some instances when beaches saw these never-seen-before creatures such as when hurricane Harvey washed a giant creature with no face in Texas.Crook faces up to 35 years in prison for operating the popular Scan4You counter anti-virus (CAV) website that helped malware authors to test the evasion capabilities of their codes.

Scan4You is a familiar service for malware developers that used it as a counter anti-virus (CAV).

Scan4You allowed vxers to check their malware against as many as 40 antivirus solutions.

Scan4You was probably the largest counter anti-virus website, it went offline in May 2017 after authorities arrested two men in Latvia, the Russian national Jurijs Martisevs (36) (aka Garrik) and Ruslans Bondars (37) (aka Borland).

Both suspects were extradited by the FBI to the United States.

Jurijs Martisevs was traveling to Latvia when he was arrested by authorities and in March he pleaded guilty in a Virginia court to charges of conspiracy and aiding and abetting computer intrusion.

On Wednesday, Bondars was found guilty of conspiracy to violate the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and computer intrusion with intent to cause damage.

Ruslans Bondars helped hackers test and improve the malware they then used to inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in losses on American companies and consumers, said John P. Cronan, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Departments Criminal Division.

Todays verdict should serve as a warning to those who aid and abet criminal hackers: the Criminal Division and our law enforcement partners consider you to be just as culpable as the hackers whose crimes you enableand we will work tirelessly to identify you, prosecute you, and seek stiff sentences that reflect the seriousness of your crimes.

Bondars faces a maximum penalty of 35 years in prison when sentenced on September 21, 2018.

Scan4You was launched in 2009 with the intent to offer a service that helped malware developers to check evasion capabilities of their code.

For a monthly fee, malware authors could upload their samples to the service that test their evasion capabilities against a broad range of anti-virus products.

The service is similar to the legitimate VirusTotal with the difference that Scan4You did not share submissions with the security community.

Scan4you differed from legitimate antivirus scanning services in multiple ways. For example, while legitimate scanning services share data about uploaded files with the antivirus community and notify their users that they will do so, Scan4you instead informed its users that they could upload files anonymously and promised not to share information about the uploaded files with the antivirus community. continues the DoJ.

According to the DoJ, crooks used Scan4Yous services to test the infamous Citadel malware that was used in the cyber attack against the retail giant Target.

Even if Scan4You was taken offline, crooks have other ways to test their malware before spreading them in the wild. Law enforcement must remain vigilant to prevent the growth of other similar services.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs  CAV, Scan4You)

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Share OnMay 21 (Reuters) - China Aerospace International Holdings Ltd:

* JETCOTE INVESTMENTS TRANSFERRED 131.8 MILLION SHARES IN CO, ABOUT 4.27% OF ISSUED SHARE CAPITAL OF COMPANY, TO BURHILL

* SIN KING ENTERPRISES CO, UNIT OF JETCOTE TRANSFERRED 471.9 MILLION SHARES OF ISSUED SHARE CAPITAL OF CO TO BURHILL Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:Airport delays for hundreds of passengers after Chinese business jet skids off runway

A business jet veered off a runway in eastern China on Sunday afternoon, causing 700 passengers to be delayed.

The plane, carrying four people, ended up nearly 70 metres from Yangzhou Taizhou airport runway in Jiangsu province at around 3pm after it attempted to land during pilot training, according to Xinhua.

A video on Weibo, Chinas Twitter, shows the plane skidding to the left before veering back across the tarmac and finally coming to a halt.

A photograph posted below the video shows the aircraft body intact but the landing gear and wings damaged.

Chinese airliner makes emergency landing after cockpit window falls out

The incident caused the fuel tank to burst, reported China News Service, but no passengers were injured.

VIDEO Star Jet Gulfstream G200 Galaxy (B-8129) veered off the runway on landing at Yangzhou Taizhou International Airport, China during a training a flight. No injuries reported (20-MAY-2018). pic.twitter.com/g51mJNZlDb  Air Disasters (@AirCrashMayday) May 20, 2018

It remains unclear what caused the plane to skid off the runway, the airport said in a statement. An investigation is under way.

The airport closed following the incident, resulting in delays for 700 passengers, reported state newspaper Peoples Daily. By 6:30am on Monday, operations had returned to normal, the airport confirmed.

Five miracles airline pilots pulled off that saved hundreds of people

The plane was owned by Shanghai-based Star Jet, which confirmed it was carrying out pilot training at the time. In a statement published on its website, it deeply apologised for the incident and to those it affected.

Yangzhou Taizhou airport opened in 2012 and serves most major Chinese cities and a few other locations in Southeast Asia. In 2015 it received more than 870,000 passengers.

This article Airport delays for hundreds of passengers after Chinese business jet skids off runway first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.Nine suspected traffickers were killed in Bangladesh on Monday in an intensifying crackdown against a "drug menace" that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has likened to the country's war on homegrown Islamic militants. The latest shootings take to 22 the number of alleged traffickers killed since Dhaka last week announced a pushback against the surging trade in methamphetamine and other drugs. Authorities told AFP that five dealers gunned down on Monday were "top regional drug lords". One opened fire at a checkpoint as he sped past on a motorbike, said the Rapid Action Battalion police unit leading the anti-drug offensive. "We were compelled to fire back," RAB operations officer Anwar Hossain said. Four other dealers were killed separately in gang wars, police said. Hundreds of yaba pills -- a popular drug combining caffeine and methamphetamine -- were recovered from the scene of the shootings, police said. Thousands of alleged dealers have been arrested in an aggressive sweep that Hasina said would eradicate drugs with the same success that Bangladesh had curbed violent extremism. "We've contained (Islamist) militancy. Now we've taken an initiative to save the country from this drug menace," the prime minister said Sunday. Muslim-majority Bangladesh has been waging a war against homegrown militancy as Islamist radicals butchered foreigners and secular bloggers in a wave of attacks in recent years. The frequency of assaults has declined following a brazen cafe siege in 2016 that left 22 dead, including 18 foreigners. Since then attention has shifted to drugs -- particularly yaba, which is doing a roaring trade. Bangladesh has been struggling to control a huge surge in yaba crossing its southeastern border from Myanmar, where the cheap pills are manufactured in enormous quantities. Authorities last year seized a record 40 million yaba pills but said an estimated 250-300 million others managed to enter the market. Nine million yaba tablets were seized in less than three months earlier this year, including nearly two million pills discovered in a single haul.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran for two years, has appeared in court to face a new charge, her husband said on Monday. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned to a court in Tehran on Saturday, according to a statement from Richard Ratcliffe, who runs the Free Nazanin campaign group. The charge is for "spreading propaganda against the regime", which she denies, he said. On Sunday, she was allowed to speak to the British ambassador to Tehran, Rob Macaire. "This is the first time that she has been allowed any contact with the embassy in over two years," he said. Contacted by AFP, Britain's foreign ministry said in a statement: "We will continue to approach each case in a way that we judge is most likely to secure the outcome we all want. "Therefore we will not be providing a running commentary on every twist and turn," the statement said. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation -- the media organisation's philanthropic arm -- was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016. She is serving a five-year jail sentence for alleged sedition -- a charge she has always denied. The couple have a three-year-old daughter Gabriella who is being looked after by Zaghari-Ratcliffe's parents in Tehran. She has asked for temporary release from prison next month to celebrate her daughter's fourth birthday. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Iran in December last year to press for Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release on humanitarian grounds.French police have arrested three people after a man was beaten to death in broad daylight by a gang of teenagers in Pau, a town in southern France. A 32-year-old was murdered early on Friday evening in a notorious area of the town by a group of youths, whom witnesses described as being in their early teens and aged 16-17 at most. The victim, who had a history of violent crime and drug dealing, was repeatedly kicked and punched by a group of up to 12 teenagers, and was also beaten with a plastic chair leg and a piece of wood in front of horrified witnesses, local media reported. Pau prosecutor Cecile Gensac confirmed Monday that three people had been arrested over the murder of the victim, a French national born in Burkina Faso in west Africa who had moved from Paris to Pau in recent years. "The man died Friday in the street in an area of Pau after a group attacked him," Gensac told AFP. The housing estate in the Saragosse area of Pau, where the crime took place, is known for its high crime rate and is typical of many deprived, high-immigration urban neighbourhoods in France. But murders committed by minors are rare and the man's death on a grassy public area was widely reported on Monday, with Le Parisien newspaper describing it as a "terrifying lynching." "They're very young: 12, 13, 14 years old. It's a gang around here that smokes weed, that causes problems," one local told La Republique des Pyrenees newspaper. The death came as French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to unveil his long-awaited strategy for tackling the entrenched social problems found in many poor areas in the country's towns and cities. The 40-year-old leader has faced criticism from some associations for failing to put tackling crime, unemployment, poverty and Islamism at the heart of his agenda since his election in May 2017. - 'Doing badly' - Presidential aides have said Macron will avoid announcing a new strategy based on massive increases in public spending. "The aim is not to reinvent grand projects" that are "top-down", an aide told reporters last week, but to "be efficient and succeed in bringing on board locals" to encourage community projects. Macron is likely to insist on his government's record of investing in schools in poor areas, creating a new community police service for crime-hit zones, and economic reforms which he believes will generate more jobs. A host of local lawmakers from the hardest-hit urban areas of France have warned about the problems of crime, poverty and Islamism that blight the lives of local families. The mayor of the gang-plagued region of Seine-Saint-Denis north of Paris published a column at the weekend urging Macron not to miss the opportunity to send a signal about his intentions. "The suburbs are doing badly," wrote Laurent Russier. Ten people were in police custody on Monday in Seine-Saint-Denis after a 41-year-old man was stabbed to death at the weekend in a shop.Iran has called on China to help safeguard the nuclear deal it reached with other major world powers, saying Tehran will resort to other options if its interests are threatened by US sanctions.

The nations ambassador to China Ali Asghar Khaji said Beijing had a positive role to play in upholding the deal, and should boost economic cooperation with Tehran.

He also said the Iranian foreign minister chose Beijing as his first stop on a whirlwind diplomatic tour last week because of Chinas importance to Iran.

We expect other remaining members of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, including China, to help implement and continue this deal, and fulfil their commitment and obligations according to this deal, Khaji said, referring to the plan reached in 2015 that will see Iran significantly reducing its uranium stockpile by 2030 in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

If we could gain these rights and benefits from this deal we will stay in it. If these Iranian rights were not satisfied, and our interests were not reached, we will think about other options, he said in an interview with the South China Morning Post last week, without specifying what the other options were.

The nuclear deal reached between Iran, Germany and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council  China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States  was once seen as a consequential accord that would reshape Middle East politics.

But US President Donald Trump called the agreement a horrible, one-sided deal and announced the US would withdraw, leaving Iran vulnerable to a new wave of sanctions, while companies with business ties to Tehran may face US penalties.

German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported on Sunday that diplomats from Europe, China and Russia are discussing a new accord to offer Iran financial aid to curb its ballistic missile development, in the hope of salvaging the 2015 deal, according to Reuters. The officials will meet in Vienna in the coming week under the leadership of senior European Union diplomat Helga Schmid to discuss the next steps.

Story continues

Last week, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met his counterparts from China and Russia, as well as Britain, France, Germany and the European Union, in a bid to rescue the deal. Despite Washingtons withdrawal, all the other signatory nations have vowed to keep the pact alive.

So with this positive atmosphere, we believe that, and we hope that, we can continue the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action without the United States, Khaji said.

Khaji said Zarif intentionally made Beijing his first destination on the trip, before Moscow and Brussels, because China is Irans top trading partner and No 1 oil and non-oil buyer, as well as major investor. This decision was made because of the importance of China for us, he said. We expect China, as a member of the 5+1, to continue to play its positive role to implement and safeguard the nuclear deal.

Under a separate agreement signed last year, China National Nuclear Corporation was contracted to redesign Irans Arak heavy water reactor so that it will be unable to produce plutonium.

Khaji criticised the US pull-out as totally illegal and signalled to the international community that Washington was not trustworthy. Not only Iranians, but also other nations and countries lose their trust in the United States because of this withdrawal, he said.

The ambassador did not rule out the possibility of renegotiation with the US, or even a new deal, but said Iran would make decisions according to the current situation and would follow up on its legal rights.

China tipped to profit after Donald Trump quits Iran nuclear deal

During Zarifs three-hour meeting with his counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing last Sunday, the Chinese side reaffirmed Chinas commitment to safeguard the agreement and also agreed to expand economic cooperation between the two sides.

Our Chinese friends again reaffirmed their stance against unilateral sanctions and actually pictured the framework of the future cooperation between the two countries on how to expand the relations, Khaji said.

On Thursday, Irans oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh also said state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation was ready to replace Total on a major gas field project in Iran if the French energy giant pulled out.

Washington seeks to forge global coalition against Iran regime, in wake of Trumps nuclear deal pull-out

China has been Irans biggest trading partner and export market for the past 10 years. In 2017, their two-way trade jumped 21 per cent from a year earlier to reach US$37.3 billion, while more than 200,000 trips were made between the two countries.

Iran is also an important part of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative  aiming to boost trade and infrastructure links from Asia to Africa and Europe  because of its strategic location between East and West, just as it was a centre of the ancient Silk Road. Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to join the initiative in 2016, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Tehran.

The bilateral relationship between the two countries has also improved in other areas such as security, Khaji said.

Iran is an observer at the China-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation security bloc, and Xi has invited Iranian President Hassan Rowhani to this years SCO summit in Qingdao next month.

We are positively looking at this invitation, the ambassador said.

Khaji also condemned Israel for causing the deaths last week of more than 60 Palestinians protesting at the Gaza-Israel border over the US moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, saying US and Israeli actions were destabilising the region and it was like putting oil on this fire and escalating tension in the region. One of the important causes of the instability in the Middle East region is the US decision and actions, he said.

This article Irans top envoy to China calls on Beijing to help safeguard nuclear deal first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.

More from South China Morning Post:Nursing students Sahrulniza Abdul Ghani (middle) and Lim Ai Min (right) in the midst of a hands-on practice session at the official opening of MDIS Nursing Practicum Lab on 21 May, 2018. (PHOTO: Wong Casandra/Yahoo News Singapore)

The first dedicated nursing school in Singapores private education sector was launched on Monday (21 May) amid rising demand for healthcare workers.

Targeted at working nurses, the School of Nursing at the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) offers a two-year bachelor degree programme in Science Nursing accredited by the Singapore Nursing Board and awarded by UKs Edinburgh Napier University (ENU). A masters programme will also be launched next year.

Located at MDIS Campus in Stirling Road, the school has 212 students currently and aims to increase the intake to 2,000 students by 2025.

With two intakes per year, the school has just enrolled its third batch for the degree programme this month. The programme is fully conducted by about a dozen members of the ENU faculty on a rotational basis.

While other private schools offer nursing courses, they do not have a school focused on nursing.

With an ageing population and rising incidences of chronic diseases, healthcare needs will increase in demand and complexity, said Dr Eric Kuan, president of the MDIS, in his welcome speech on Monday.

As the demand for skilled nurses in the healthcare industry continues to soar, more hospitals require nurses to hold a bachelors degree, even for entry-level positions, he added.

According to the government, Singapores healthcare sector will need to add about 30,000 workers until 2020. By then, there will be at least 610,000 people above the age of 65.

MDIS also unveiled its Nursing Practicum Lab in conjunction with the schools launch. The self-funded nursing lab, developed at an initial investment of $300,000, will further support the learning and practicum needs of the nurses, said Dr Kuan.

The lab will feature speciality nursing and hospital-grade medical equipment, including four advanced mannequins for students to practice in realistic clinical scenarios.

Over the next year, the school will increase the number of dedicated classrooms and lecture theatres as well as provide a wide range of nursing equipment and specialised hospital tools.

Story continues

Dr Kelvin Wong, Head of the MDIS School of Nursing, noted that the degree programme offered by the school will make it easier for nurses with entry-level qualifications to pursue different and advanced career specialisations.

Lim Ai Min, 26, who holds a diploma in nursing, cited the flexibility of the programmes schedule and schools accessible location as the main reasons for her to choose MDIS over other nursing education options in Singapore.

The Malaysian works at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital and is set to graduate from the programme in May 2020.

I currently work at the ICU department, and in that area, I needed more clinical knowledge. So I would like to enhance my knowledge to carry out care for patients, she added. If possible, I will want to further my studies (after the degree) as well as work.

Sharulniza Abdul Ghani, a 26-year-old Malaysian, found out about the course through a fellow nurse and former classmate.

The diploma holder previously worked at the Singapore General Hospitals renal department as a dialysis nurse and is now at Fresenius Medical Care.

(I want to improve) my knowledge on how to educatepatients and families on improving their health style and lifestyle, said Sharulniza, who graduates in January 2020. Because I specialise in dialysis, I see (first-hand) how costly it is for patients to have the treatment.

Other Singapore stories:

Woman killed by sleep-deprived driver was heading to volunteer work; man jailed 3 months

Two sent to hospital after fire breaks out in unit at Pinnacle@Duxton

COMMENT: Can Singapores elite circle turn around growing social divide?From documents obtained by Illinois Review under FOIA, it appears that Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan (photo right) may have used her office to intimidate specific, faith-based, adoption agencies that legally decline to assist in adoptions for gay or co-habitating heterosexual couples.

The FOIA communications provided by the AG's office, reveal that in October of 2010, Attorney General Madigan notified Lutheran Child and Family Services (LCFS) that a complaint of discrimination had been made against LCFS. As a result, the Attorney General opened an investigation of LCFS and demanded a copy and explanation of their adoption policy.

The documents received by Illinois Review included the actual complaint, which was made against LCFS only by a Lakeview couple. (see below)

However, the FOIA documents from the Attorney General's office seem to show that AG Madigan used this single, specific complaint about LCFS as a basis to simultaneously launch investigations of six other agencies, including Catholic Charities adoption agencies in Rockford, Joliet, Springfield, Peoria, and Southern Illinois, as well as Evangelical Child and Family Services in Wheaton, Illinois.

The Attorney General's letter to each stated that:

"This office received notice that [name of agency] discriminates against Illinois citizens based on religion, marital status and sexual orientation in its provision of adoption and foster care services." (see complete set of letters and documents below)

However, the AG's office received no so such notice regarding these six other adoption agencies; but opened investigations on, and demanded responses from, each none-the-less.

And as a result of these seemingly baseless investigations by the AG's office, all seven agencies have been forced to hire legal counsel and spend precious resources that could be going to help thousands of at-risk children here in Illinois.

Already Catholic Charities of Rockford has shut down its adoption services, which means further burden on the overtaxed state agencies and more kids falling through the cracks. Tomorrow Catholic Charities of Springfield will learn whether a Sangamon District Court will issue an injunction against the Attorney General's office. And despite having responded back in January to the AG's notification, Lutheran Child and Family Services still awaits some response from Attorney General Madigan as to how they specifically violated Illinois' Human Rights Act.

Details and documents of this situation are below:Confidence in Hong Kong police restored after low of 2014 Occupy protests, retiring assistant chief Steve Hui says

Hong Kong police have regained public confidence that was shattered by the 79-day Occupy protests and sank a year later to its lowest level since the 1997 handover, the citys retiring assistant police commissioner said.

Steve Hui Chun-tak pointed to the results of a survey commissioned by the force and conducted by the University of Hong Kong in January and February indicating 79 per cent of 1,029 respondents had confidence in the police, up from 62 per cent in 2015.

This years result is the highest rating in a decade, said Hui, who became well known in the city during the 2014 Occupy sit-ins for giving televised updates on police operations at 4pm press conferences, earning him the nickname four oclock Hui Sir.

Figures show the 2015 rating for the force was the lowest since the citys handover in 1997 from British to Chinese rule.

Enhanced engagement efforts by the force and the launch of an official Facebook page to connect police and the local community had boosted goodwill, Hui explained.

Now there is a very good relationship between police and citizens.

The 31-year veteran of the force, whose last day on the job is Monday, hoped that each and every member would uphold a strong sense of honour and professionalism, their duty to society, and their loyalty to the organisation and its ranks.

Hui also believed that health, optimism, perseverance and enthusiasm were instrumental to facing down challenges and overcoming difficulties.

He joined the force in 1986, but has only taken a total of 4 days of sick leave. Badminton helped keep him healthy and fit, he said.

The 79-day Occupy protests presented the sternest challenge of his career, he recalled, describing the civil disobedience movement across three districts as unprecedented for both police and the public.

The complexity, scale and duration of the incident was unprecedented.

The protests began in September 2014, six months after he had been promoted to the post of chief superintendent and soon after he was appointed the head of the forces public relations branch.

Story continues

As the forces designated spokesman, Hui said his most difficult challenge during the Occupy protests was collecting all related information and giving updates on police efforts to the public through media.

He recalled feeling unhappy and uncomfortable amid unreasonable and impolite accusations against police during the protests.

My motto of try hard, leave no regrets helped me during the long period of hardships

Steve Hui Chun-tak, Hong Kong Police Force

During the Occupy sit-ins, the force drew criticism for using tear gas to try to disperse protesters in a decision that sparked international attention.

My motto of try hard, leave no regrets helped me during the long period of hardships and challenges, Hui said.

Yet he harboured no ill feelings towards people who made fun of his signature catchphrase I will now recap in English, which he uttered at his 4pm press conferences during the protests upon concluding his Chinese-language briefings.

What people think about that has nothing to do with me.

Describing himself as someone who sees the glass half full, he said: I am an optimistic and positive person and always look at things from a positive point of view.

In his career with the force, Hui has been stationed at various police districts and attached to the support, personnel and security sections. He was aide-de-camp to the chief executive from 2007 to 2010, and promoted to assistant commissioner in February 2017.

This article Confidence in Hong Kong police restored after low of 2014 Occupy protests, retiring assistant chief Steve Hui says first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.Were putting the trade war on hold: Steve Mnuchin says US has paused China tariffs following Washington meeting





Punitive US tariffs targeting imports from China are on hold following agreements by high-level Chinese negotiators in Washington to buy more American goods, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

Were putting the trade war on hold, Mnuchin told Fox News.

Right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework agreement on reducing Chinas trade surplus with the US.

Key sticking points remain for US and China on trade

Mnuchin confirmed that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross will lead another round of trade talks in Beijing.

We are immediately going to follow this up with Secretary Ross going there with very hard commitments in agriculture, where we expect to see a very big increase, 35 to 40 per cent increases in agriculture this year alone, Mnuchin said.

In energy, doubling the energy purchases. I think you could see [US]$50-60 billion a year of energy purchases over the next three to five years.

Mnuchins comments addressed scepticism over how meaningful the most recent round of high-level trade talks in Washington were.

A joint statement released Saturday by the White House  touting a consensus reached on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the trade imbalance  did not mention US President Donald Trumps earlier demand for a US$200 billion cut in the deficit by the end of 2020.

China denies rumour it offered to cut trade surplus by US$200 billion

Mnuchin brought that demand to Beijing during the first round of high-level talks two weeks ago, according to a draft framework of the US position.

When pressed for specifics on deficit reduction targets, Mnuchin said he is not going to publicly disclose specific, industry-by-industry targets.

China had a US$375 billion trade surplus with the US in 2017, according to US census data.

The treasury secretary also addressed questions around whether Trumps surprise tweet last week, in which the president pledged to help resolve US sanctions against Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE, meant that Trump was using ZTE as a bargaining chip in trade talks.

Story continues

We didnt agree to any quid pro quo [around ZTE] and Secretary Ross will make sure the enforcement issue is in, but in a way that is good for American companies, Mnuchin said.

Decisions around ZTE sanctions are completely independent of the trade negotiations, he said.

This article Were putting the trade war on hold: Steve Mnuchin says US has paused China tariffs following Washington meeting first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.

More from South China Morning Post:Hong Kong received a major boost to its technology ambitions on Monday with the launch of an AI lab jointly funded by SenseTime, which specialises in large scale facial recognition systems, and the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund.

The lab, with an investment of tens of millions of [HK] dollars, will be fitted out with supercomputers and technology developed by Alibabas DAMO Academy research institute. It will collaborate with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) to roll out a six-month accelerator programme starting September to nurture AI start-ups in the city.

SenseTime had the opportunity, the environment and the talent  there was no reason for us not to succeed, said Tang Xiaoou, the Chinese University of Hong Kong professor who founded SenseTime, which earlier this year became a unicorn with a valuation of more than US$1 billion. Hong Kong now also has the opportunity, the environment and the talent  similarly there is no reason for Hong Kong not to succeed in technology and innovation.

The establishment of the AI Lab comes as Hong Kongs government looks to step up innovation in technology areas like AI, biotechnology and financial technology to prevent the city from falling behind. The governments budget for this year included HK$40 billion for HKSTP to support innovation and technology building. A separate amount of HK$10 billion was earmarked to establish two technology research clusters focusing on health care technology and AI.

Hong Kong must innovate or die, new study warns

Earlier this month, in a potential game changer for Hong Kongs tech industry, the Chinese government announced that local scientists will have greater access to national-level funding once only available to mainland Chinese researchers.

In a new fast track immigration initiative announced by the Hong Kong government this month, companies at two major technology parks will be able to hire IT experts from outside the city and have them working within four weeks.

Story continues

At Mondays launch of the AI lab Hong Kongs leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said these developments have given impetus to the citys innovation industry.

Entrepreneurs with creativity, ideas and vision need capital support and [people with the] experience to guide them to be successful, she said. Over the past three years, the Innovation and Technology Fund has offered more than HK$340 million in subsidies to 83 AI and robotic projects.

Fanny Law Fan Chiu-fun, chairwoman of Hong Kongs Science Park, believes that the AI Lab, together with the fast track immigration initiative, will be able to draw AI talent from the mainland and abroad to Hong Kong.

Worlds most valuable AI start-up SenseTime eyes move into online censorship

The lab will collaborate with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) in the accelerator programme, which will offer funding, relevant technologies, and working space to selected AI start-ups.

In Hong Kong, there are a group of outstanding researchers in universities working on AI and we hope that the AI Lab will serve as an open platform that can give them more scenarios to apply their research, said Cindy Chow, executive director of the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund and an advisory board member of the AI Lab.

Hong Kong has always relied on professional services, financial services and real estate [for economic growth], but Alibaba and SenseTime believe that AI will create new industries and new jobs  to help Hong Kongs economy sustain its competitiveness.

Chow said the lab will also work with corporations to connect researchers with the private sector so they can work together to find AI solutions for commercial use.

The launch of the AI lab and accelerator programme also comes amid intensifying competition between mainland China and the United States for dominance of AI technologies, which are vital to enable an array of emerging applications from talking robots to self-driving cars. China is pouring billions of dollars into its AI efforts. Last week the city of Tianjin said it will establish a 100 billion yuan (US$15.7 billion) fund to speed up development of new generation AI technologies, and in January Chinas capital Beijing announced a plan to build a 13.8 billion yuan AI development park that would house up to 400 enterprises with an estimated annual output of 50 billion yuan.

The Hong Kong AI Labs accelerator programme will begin in September this year, with two intakes annually selecting about six to 10 start-ups each time.

Selected start-ups will receive US$100,000 in funding from the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, a not-for-profit initiative by Alibaba Group, in return for 6 per cent in equity. Any return on investment will be channelled back into the fund to support initiatives that will help bolster AI in the Greater China region.

SenseTime, which has dual-headquarters in Hong Kong and Beijing and specialises in systems that analyse faces and images on an enormous scale, became a unicorn last year and in April received funding from Alibaba and other investors, increasing its valuation to US$3 billion.

Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.

This article Hong Kongs tech ambitions given major boost with AI lab funding first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.Taiwan hopes to bring together representatives from 13 countries from the greater-APAC region to solve humanitys biggest issues

Taiwans Ministry of Science and Technology will join U.S.-based Singularity University this year to hold an international competition for startups in Asia Pacific countries.

Taiwan will host the SingularityU APAC Global Impact Challenge for the first time, as part of an annual rotation around Asia, deputy minister Hsu Yu-chin told a news conference May 14.

The Challenge gives startups a chance to join the decade-old Silicon Valley-based nonprofits incubator program at NASA Research Park in California. Program leaders hope to foster startups that can help people in 13 Asian countries.

The 13 countries are Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The first Global Impact Challenge took place two years ago.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will be a focus this year of the 2018 contest, namely uses of AI to solve critical issues in energy, the environment, food and water. Contest entrants may also consider uses of AI to help disaster resilience, health, and education.

Applications to join the event will remain open through July 9. Judges will first review all applications to determine finalists and at a pitch event August 10 they will pick a winner.

Contest entrants will get exposure to mentors, leaders and resources through workshops and other programs associated with the competition, Hsu said.

The APAC Global Impact Challenge is not just about selecting the winning team, but also about gaining insights from mentors and industry leaders from different countries, Hsu said.

Its a great opportunity for Taiwanese startups to leverage global resources, also for international startups to connect with Taiwanese startup founders and corporate business partners.

Also Read: File sharing company Xunlei launches blockchain ecosystem

Story continues

The SU Venture Incubator Program runs for 10 weeks to help startups develop. Singularity University is not a degree-issuing university but a non-profit organization with an educational aim.

Head start for Taiwan founders

In a boost for local startups, the ministry will establish its own tech incubator, called Taiwan Tech Arena. The arena due to open in Taipei June 5 will help the growth of high-tech companies and link them to markets overseas, according to this press release.

Taiwan Tech Arena will provide guidance to help over 100 startups consolidate their ideas and push them overseas, Hsu said. He said half would be Taiwanese companies and the rest come from overseas.

Also Read: Love, Bonito is an awesome omnichannel brand in Southeast Asia and Co-founder Rachel Lim will be speaking at Echelon about what is next

Taiwan Tech Arena will consult with international incubators and accelerators to assist the 100-plus startups, Hsu added. Those connections would help promote startups internationally. One such partner is French Tech Taiwan, a tech startup accelerator accredited by the French government.



The article Taiwan Government, U.S. NGO Co-Sponsor Contest for Asian Startups first appeared on Business Next.

Copyright: jy23 / 123RF Stock Photo

The post Taiwan government, US NGO co-sponsor contest for Asian startups appeared first on e27.US President Donald Trump on Monday urged China to maintain tight control of its border with North Korea until he signs a denuclearization deal with Kim Jong UN. Trump is scheduled to hold a landmark summit with the North Korean leader June 12 in Singapore, but Pyongyang recently has threatened to pull out over US demands for "unilateral nuclear abandonment." "China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made," Trump tweeted, suggesting China may have eased up on enforcing economic sanctions against Pyongyang. "The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in.", he wrote, adding he wants North Korea to be 'VERY successful,' but only once a deal has been reached on denuclearization," he said. China is North Korea's biggest trade partner, and Trump has called on it repeatedly to press Pyongyang to rein in its nuclear and missile programs. Besides protesting US disarmament demands, North Korea also angrily condemned joint US-South Korean military exercises, and last week pulled out of planned inter-Korean talks. Trump's National Security Advisor John Bolton also has drawn Pyongyang's ire by referring to Libya as a denuclearization model. After giving up Libya's nuclear program in 2003, leader Moamer Kadhafi was killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. North Korea's sudden shift in attitude followed a weeks-long charm offensive that saw Kim Jong Un hold a historic summit in the Demilitarized Zone with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, and meet twice with China's President Xi Jinping. As prospects for the Singapore summit dimmed, Trump offered assurances that if the summit is successful, Kim "will get protections that will be very strong." "He'd be in his country and running his country. His country would be very rich," he told reporters last week.Two suspected drug dealers arrested and HK$40,000 of cocaine seized in Hong Kong hotel raid

Police arrested two suspected drug dealers and seized cocaine worth HK$40,000 (US$5,095) at a hotel in Tin Shui Wai on Saturday.

The two suspects, a man and a woman aged 21 and 23, are local residents in the northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong.

The man is suspected to be linked to triads, according to the Yuen Long special duty squad after an initial investigation.

The operation, under the code name Thunderbolt 18, took place at Harbour Plaza Resort City on 12 Tin Yan Road at around 4pm on Saturday, after the squad was tipped off.

Police also confiscated HK$6,600 (US$841) in cash as well as the 32 grams of cocaine.

The case is still under investigation, police said.

Thunderbolt is a series of joint operations carried out by police in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland Chinas southern province of Guangdong since 2000. The annual operation usually lasts for months and investigates cross-border crimes.

This article Two suspected drug dealers arrested and HK$40,000 of cocaine seized in Hong Kong hotel raid first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.WASHINGTON DC - Heritage Foundation's news source, The Daily Signal, featured a story Monday on how Catholic Charities in Illinois are fighting to regain The Church's ministry to assist children in crisis. From author Kelsey Harkness' story: "Heres What Happened After Liberal Activists Shut Down Catholic Adoption Providers in Illinois":

For the past decade, liberal activists have targeted faith-based adoption agencies if they do not assist same-sex couples who wish to adopt. Through lawsuits and legislation, these activists gave faith-based agencies an ultimatum: Comply with politically correct views on sexuality and marriage and place children with same-sex couples, or shut down. Faced with this dilemma, Steve Roach, executive director of Catholic Charities for the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, closed the foster care and adoption programs he ran in the state. The cost? In an interview with The Daily Signal, Roach estimates that 3,000 children were affected and thousands of foster parents no longer will be part of the system. Now, he advocates passage of the Child Welfare Provider Inclusion Act, federal legislation to prohibit discriminating or taking other adverse action against a child welfare service provider that declines to provide, facilitate, or refer for a service that conflicts with the providers sincerely held religious beliefs. Learn more in the transcript of the interview, which was lightly edited for clarity.

The Daily Signal goes on to share an interview with Mr. Roach that could lead to religious organizations being allowed to offer child placement services once again - despite Illinois' unrelenting anti-religion legislative majority.

Read The Daily Signal story HERE.

If you weren't reading Illinois Review in 2011, we reported on the shocking way in which one complaint made to Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office led to banning Catholic Charities and other religious groups from assisting with Illinois child placement.

IR filed a FOIA from which results showed the manipulation of the system - a story that was purposely ignored and suffocated by Chicago/Illinois mainstream media.One of the big early problems with Obamacare was that insurance companies couldnt make any money off of it. They charged premiums that were too low, enrolled patients that were sicker than expected, and ended up in the red. Facing these losses, some carriers pulled out of the market entirely, leaving many parts of the country with just a single insurer to choose from, and leading to questions about whether the whole law might unravel.

But new data suggests that, in 2017, the market finally stabilized. For every dollar they collected in premiums last year, insurers paid out 82 cents on medical claims on average, according to a recent report by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Thats down from 96 cents in 2016 and $1.03 in 2015. After several years, the remaining insurers figured out how to earn a profit in the individual insurance market, Kaiser Senior Vice President Larry Levitt told me.

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The main reason is fairly simple: Insurers hiked their premiums sharply, pushing them up by 22 percent, while claims only increased by 5 percent. These increases obviously werent ideal for customers who were stuck paying full price. But by pushing premiums high enough that insurers could finally make a buck, this dramatic, one-time adjustment, should have set the market up for much gentler, single-digit price increases in the future.

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But things didnt quite work out that way. Thanks to Donald Trumps decision to stop paying key subsidies to insurers, premiums shot up once again this year. Early evidence suggests theyll rise by double digits once again in 2019 in order for insurers to avoid losing money, largely because Republicans chose to repeal Obamacares individual mandate, which kept insurance prices down to some degree by requiring all adults to obtain coverage. These coming premium increases shouldnt hurt Americans who receive subsidies to buy insurance on the exchanges, since the tax credits cap premiums as a percentage of their income. But middle class families that dont get financial help are going to take a hit, and many could be priced out of the market.

Again, this could have easily been avoided, had Republicans just left the law alone, instead of trying with every ounce of their power to wreck it. For a hot second, Obamacare was working roughly as intended. And now its broken again.This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy.

On Sunday, President Donald Trump launched a new phase in his attack on the Department of Justice and Robert Muellers investigation. He is now going beyond rhetoric: He is apparently preparing to announce, as an official act, a directive to DOJ to inquire into alleged irregularities in the Russia investigation. His stated reason is the belief that the department used an informant to infiltrate his campaign in 2016 in the early stages of what has now become the Mueller inquiry into Trump campaignRussia collusion. As the president goes down this path, he has also collaborated with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes and allied media outlets to disregard strong objections from the FBI and the intelligence community to achieve the outing of an intelligence source whom Trump suspects of this infiltration.

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We have arrived at the point where Trump is testing the theory that he has the unfettered constitutional power to initiate, direct, or conclude any criminal investigation for any reason whateverincluding self-protection. His lawyers have floated this theory from time to time, but, after all, they are his lawyers. A more prominent, presumably independent judgment has come via the airwaves and in print from Alan Dershowitz. The Harvard Law professor emeritus has been everywhere with the message that the charges against Trump are trumped up and that the president has the authority to control the courseand, as he wishes, terminatethe investigation against him. The president has tweeted his approval and welcomed Dershowitz to the White House.

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Dershowitz has gone so far as to write a book to elaborate his views, Trumped Up: How Criminalization of Political Differences Endangers Democracy. When Dershowitz appears as a cable show guest, the hosts often introduce him with a reference to the book. At a New York City event at which Dershowitz appeared along with others in a debate about the Russia matter, the book was handed out, gratis, to the guests. Dershowitz is promoting the book as an explication of his positioncertainly a more extensive presentation of his argument than five-to-seven-minute interviews could ever provide. Now, more than ever, the argument requires close examination, and it seems that in evaluating Dershowitzs case, his written brief on the subject should count for as much as, if not more, than what he has said on TV.

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The first and most puzzling feature of the book is that it is only in minor part dedicated to the issue suggested by the title. Numerous sections dont address the topic at all. Many deal with Middle East policy. A few discuss the challenges to the Trump travel ban, which might well engage Dershowitzs civil libertarian concerns, but do not directly relate to the Mueller investigation or the criminalization of politics. He discusses, among other topics, the Clinton-Sanders primary battle; his objection to the candidacy of Keith Ellison for chairman of the Democratic National Committee; his views on the appointment of Steve Bannon to the White House staff; his reflections on a visit to Cuba; and the importance of shoring up the center in American politics generally and in the Democratic Party in particular. In fact, of the 193 pages in the book, 54only 28 percentdeal in any way with the Trump legal position in the Russian investigation.

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How to account for this continuous diversion from the main point? It could be mostly a case of filling out the book, which is short. It does seem, however, that if Dershowitz is to declare that the legal claims against the president are trumped up, a symptom of the criminalization of American politics, his book by that title might be expected to present some sustained and coherent argumentsomething more than disparate opinion pieces. This is not to be found in this writing.

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It comes as a surprise that on the main pointthat the Russian allegations and Mueller inquiry are symptoms of the criminalization of American politicsDershowitz advances bold propositions in defense of the president, and against the Mueller inquiry, then suddenly retreats. It is almost as if he begins by giving a written version of his TV appearances but, when putting his fingers to the keyboard, the law professor in Dershowitz begins to hedge. He is noted for his table-banging mode of argument, and yet on these issues he pauses to acknowledge, almost as an aside, that maybe nothing is quite as simple as he makes it seem. He tends to try to overcome these hesitations, and still drive home his point about the criminalization of political differences by drawing dubious distinctions and relying on questionable authority.

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Take, for example, Dershowitzs position that a president cannot be charged with obstruction for properly exercising his constitutional authority, as in firing a subordinate. He disputes that a presidents motive is ever subject to judicial inquiry. In other words, the facts, insofar as they bear on motive, dont matter: Presidents can fire law enforcement officials and direct investigations. [M]otive alone should never constitute a crime where the president is taking action within his statutory and constitutional authority, Dershowitz writes, and so no one should doubt that the president could fire the director of the FBI for any reason or no reason. So, if there is clear evidence that the president was motivated exclusively by the aim of protecting himself from prosecution, it is a reason like any other and therefore immune from inquiry in the legal process. The president can do what he did for any reason.

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But it then appears that Dershowitz equivocates. He seems to concede that James Comeys account of the presidents request of him in the Michael Flynn matter that he let this go raises a complex constitutional issue. He writes that the conclusion might well depend on what precisely the president asked the FBI director to do. By the time Dershowitz arrives on the last and final page of his discussion, he decides that on balance, the obstruction case against President Trump is not strong, as a matter of law.

So all of a sudden, what Dershowitz seems to have presented as an absolute principle of constitutional lawthe presidents authority to fire law enforcement officials for any reason, even for a corrupt onehinges on the facts and only favors Trumps position on balance. At one point, Dershowitz dissects Comeys congressional testimony to show that what Trump suggested that the FBI director door not dowith the Flynn case cannot be taken to be a clear case of obstruction. Dershowitz states that Trump certainly acted within his constitutional authority if he merely requested or hoped that Comey stand down. But the reader must wonder: Does the president enjoy complete immunity from judicial inquiry, or does liability turn on the facts? And if the latter, and in the absence of the full facts being pursued by the special counsel, on what basis does Dershowitz claim with such confidence that the allegations against the president are trumped up and that the president had the constitutional authority to order Comey to end the investigation of Flynn.

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Later, Dershowitz continues with this mode of equivocation when he states that it is probably not an indictable offense for the president to have fired the Director of the FBI and/or asked him to let it go with regard to his national security adviser (emphasis is mine). This probably would startle anyone who followed his argument to that point (not to mention those who have heard him put forward these arguments in his public appearances).

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Then there is the matter of the constitutional history on which Dershowitz arrives in concluding that on balance the president did not commit obstruction of justice in the Flynn matter. Dershowitz insists on the significance of historical contextthat other presidents have directed prosecutions, as Thomas Jefferson did in insisting that his attorney general prosecute Aaron Burr for treason. He cites also, vaguely, the fact that President John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson interacted with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

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In neither case does Dershowitz suggest that these presidents engaged in these activities to defend themselves from personal legal liability. It is not even clear what Dershowitz has in mind when referring to Kennedy and Johnsons interactions with Hoover. Nothing in the prerogative of presidents to interact with law enforcement bears on the question of whether they can impede or end an investigation directed against them.

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The Dershowitz treatment of the pardon power is similarly short on sustained argument, internally inconsistent, and long on the questionable use of historical context. Dershowitz has stated elsewhere about pardons what he writes about the question of obstruction: The granting of [a] pardon would not be a crime. I do not believe that engaging in a constitutionally authorized act can ever be the basis of a criminal charge. In his book, he affirms his belief that this power would seem absolute and not subject to constraints either from Congress, the courts or legal ethics.

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But once again, he equivocates: He admits that he is not certain that a president can pardon himself. And this is the reason he gives:

[T]he common law and long accepted rules of legal ethics preclude anyone from being a judge in his or her own case. A president pardoning herself would be engaging in a massive conflict of interest that the public would never accept, just as it didnt accept Nixons firing of the special prosecutor Archibald Cox.

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Here, while Dershowitz is also speaking to the ethics or public-political acceptability of a self-pardon, he is clearly conceding a potential legal limitation, or least a legal question, since he describes the issue as a puzzle to law professors and legal scholars since the Watergate scandal involving Richard Nixon. And he refuses to commit on this fundamental question of whether a president may pardon him or herself. His bottom-line conclusion: [N]obody knows for sure.

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But if a president may not be permitted to pardon himself as judge in his or her own case, the effect of which would be to obstruct an investigation, why should we think he is able to pardon otherswitnesses against himto the same self-protective effect? If he cannot pardon himself, could he pardon his son-in-law or his daughter? Isnt that also a massive conflict of interest? Does the final answer to these queries once more depend on the facts?

Dershowitz does not say. But he relies on President George H.W. Bushs Iran-Contra pardons to contend that it is somehow generally understood that, as Trump has said, the pardon power is complete. Dershowitz has argued elsewhere that while the Iran-Contra pardons shut down an inquiry that may have affected George H.W. Bush, it never occurred to anybody at the time that they may have constituted obstruction. Again, Dershowitzs resort to historical context does not do the work he assigns to it.

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First of all, if Dershowitz chooses to rely heavily on historical context, then he should also acknowledge its complexities and limitations. G.H.W. Bush pardoned former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and others on his way out of office, in December 1992, and no one in the incoming Clinton administration had an appetite for or interest in a fight over the pardons when they were setting up a new government and preparing for their first 100 days. Had Bush won re-election, it is entirely possible that it would have occurred to someonesay, to Democrats in the oppositionthat there was an argument for obstruction. Whats more, Dershowitz is arguing not only that nobody made this allegation at the time of the pardons but that it would never have occurred to anyone to make itwhich is seriously overarguing his point and certainly incorrect.

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More important, the Iran-Contra matter was not an investigation in the first instance into the private wrongdoing of a president or an organizationsuch as the Trump campaignthat he controlled. As far as many Republicans were concerned, what the Democrats characterized as a scandal was, in fact, an institutional conflict between Congress and the executive over the conduct of foreign affairs. So, as Jeffrey Crouch has written, they viewed the pardons as a legitimate end result of a political struggle. To the extent that President Bushs personal legal position was implicated, if at all, that issue arose out of the conduct of the investigation and the question of whether his account of his role as vice president in Iran-Contra squared with evidence that might have surfaced if the inquiry had continued. It was not alleged that Bush stood to gain personally from whatever role he had in lending his support or approval to the Iran-Contra scheme.

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Right or wrong, this view is clearly distinguishable from the facts surrounding the Russia investigation. Republicans who support Trumps position in the matter deny that there was Trump campaign collusion with the Russians in the 2016 election: They never suggest that, had it occurred, it would have been a legitimate strategic choice that Trump and his campaign might have made to win the election. In issuing the pardon in the Iran-Contra matter, President Bush said of the officials in question that they did not profit or seek to profit from their conduct but were caught up in a profoundly troubling development in the political and legal climate of our country: the criminalization of policy differences. By contrast, there is no chance that, if any Trump campaign officials are indicted for coordinating campaign activities with the Russian government, and the president then pardons them, anyone will think to justify this action by appealing to the campaign operatives public spiritedness and defending prosecution of an electoral alliance with the Kremlin as a criminalization of policy differences. Dershowitzs failure to see or acknowledge this distinction is a telling example of what is misguided about the thesis he sketches out, with so broad and undiscriminating a brush, in these pages of his book.

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Dershowitzs focus on criminalization drives him to say in this book, as he has repeatedly stated on air, that he sees no legal basis for the charge of collusion. He grants it could be the basis for impeachment but not for legal prosecution: Even if there was such direct links [or coordination], that would not constitute a crime under current federal law. Nowhere in the book is there any mention of the campaign finance laws, which prohibit foreign nationals from spending funds to influence U.S. elections andof crucial importanceforbid U.S. national solicitation of or support for this spending. Dershowitz is free to argue, if he chooses, that he would not have the law apply in this instance. It is not a defensible choice to ignore the law altogether.

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Without doubt, Dershowitz is a committed civil libertarian, and there is also no question that he believes that his aim is only to call em as I see em from a civil liberties perspective without regard to the political implications of my positions. While writing in defense of Trumps legal position on the Russia-related matters, he is also critical of the president on issues such as his threat to change the libel laws to ease access to the courts to sue the press, as well as the presidents support for a criminal prohibition on flag burning.

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But on the two major issues of the dayaddressing the Russia allegations and outlining the presidents constitutional defense against the Mueller inquiryDershowitz seriously understates the significance of the former and presents a confused and misleading picture of the latter. His constitutional arguments fall short of adequately supporting authority and suffer from deep internal inconsistencies, and he appends his assertions with surprising qualifications that significantly undermine the overall power of his publicly stated positions. These weaknesses are far more clear in his writing than in the oral presentation with which cable television viewers have become familiar.

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To be fair, Dershowitz may be the most visible legal commentator to make sweeping public pronouncements, but he is not the only one, and the same rigor should be expected of those arguing the other side of the case. All engaged scholars have to struggle with political and moral convictions that, consciously or unconsciously, can sway their legal judgments. This is an even greater challenge in addressing the issues raised by the actions, words, and tweets of Donald Trump, whose unprecedented actions, Dershowitz writes, raise unprecedented legal, constitutional, civil liberty, and ethical issues.

Dershowitz has so far not done justice to those issues. Having seized the public stage with his customary panache, he should have to face hard questions about the quality of the case he is putting forward. His book does not supply answers: It only raises more questions about his overall project.

On one level, that project is unexceptionable, even commendable: His chief complaint about intense political conflicts risking the criminalization of differences, which leads him to warn about independent or special counsel inquiries, is fully consistent with a civil liberties commitment. He told Evan Mandery of Politico that he wished to be a public educator on these issues. But Dershowitz has made the choice to go much further and to make inadequately supported and reasoned claims about trumped up allegations against the president and his campaign, and about the failure of Trumps critics to appreciate his constitutional powers and immunities. Ironically, and unfortunately, the charge of trumped up is more true of the presidents and Dershowitzs attacks on the Mueller inquiry and of their constitutional defense of unfettered presidential control of federal law enforcement. And, as we are seeing now, these claims are not without consequence.

More from Just Security:

Getting to the Bottom of the Trump Tower Meeting

Dispelling the NYTs The Daily Podcasts Misconceptions About Muellers OptionsOn Monday, Democrats unveiled an anti-corruption message meant to highlight the kinds of graft and self-dealing weve seen from Donald Trump and other Republican lawmakers. The message echoes Democrats successful campaign in 2006, when they recaptured the House by running against George W. Bush and a host of GOP scandals in Congress. But the new message is still too focused on a broad Washington and not enough on the singular figure of Donald Trump.

Before Mondays announcement, conventional wisdom had it that Democrats should spend less time talking about Trump. Were not going to see [continued success] if we spend our whole time bemoaning the fact that hes there, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota at a conference organized by the Center for American Progress last week. Hes there. And we have to present an alternative. The general idea, suggested by Klobuchar and others, is that voters, already saturated by an unending stream of Trump news, are pining for a message that is not pegged to the polarizing president.

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This is too clever for its own good. Trump is the central issue in American politics, and Democrats should spend more time on him, his administration, and the threat they pose to the country at large. In fact, Democrats can have the best of both worlds, offering their own vision for the country, while tying the presidents agenda to his scandals and his corruption, for a more fulsome portrait of the problems facing American democracy. Without the energy of anti-Trump activism, there is no Democratic path to a House majority. Far from moderating their rhetoric, Democrats should lean in to the fact that Trump and his policies are unpopular.

In Washington, Trumps all-consuming presence has been a problem for Democrats who want to talk policy not the president. On the ground, though, Democratic candidates have ignored Trump to focus on ordinary, kitchen table issues. In Virginia last year, Ralph Northam ran on Medicaid; in Alabama, Doug Jones ran on childrens health care and rural investment; and in Pennsylvania, Conor Lamb ran on labor rights and protecting Social Security.

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But ignoring Trump has a cost.

In the absence of a focused Democratic message against the presidents corruption and profound mismanagement, the public is left with GOP cheerleading (which has ramped up as Republicans tie themselves even closer to the president) and a media that still seeks a scrupulous balance between the two parties. Throw in the occasional show of bipartisanshiplike Democratic votes for the presidents Cabinet and agency nomineesand a growing economy, and youre left with a somewhat favorable environment for Trump, where his job approval has ticked up even as he deals with major scandals and a special counsel investigation.

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The way to reverse this upswing is to bring the focus back to Trump. Democrats dont have to obsess over Stormy Daniels or the Russia scandal; they can leave those stories to the press. Instead, they can raise the salience of corruption, from Trump, his Cabinet, and their Republican allies.

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The material is endless. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has been caught misusing taxpayer funds, taking gifts from lobbyists, and generally using his office as a platform for expensive perks and petty graft. Jared Kushner faces regular scrutiny for his business interests and financial entanglements, from attempted dealings with foreign governments to advantageous loans for the real estate company controlled by his family. And its hard to shake the appearance of outright pay for play from the president himself: Last week, Trump offered assistance to a Chinese telecommunications firmdespite its violation of U.S sanctionsfollowing a massive $500 million investment in the Trump Organization from a Chinese state-owned company.

These controversies are a little esoteric, but its not hard to make them concrete: The self-enrichment we see from Trump and his White House extends to public policy, from upper-income tax cuts that directly enrich Trump and his heirs (as well as dozens of Republican lawmakers) to deregulation that benefits his donors and allies at the expense of ordinary Americans. And all of this runs counter to the presidents explicit promise to drain the swamp. What we see, instead, is a Washington mired in some of the most explicit corruption since the 19th century.

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The goal of this anti-Trump messaging isnt to persuadeits to mobilize. It also gives vulnerable red-state Democrats something to triangulate against; its easier to differentiate oneself from the national party when the latter takes a genuinely forceful, even strident, stance against the president. This, in essence, was the strategy in Alabama, where Doug Jones ran a traditional campaign on bread and butter issues while national media and national Democrats focused on the scandals and antics of his opponent, Roy Moore.

Theres still ground to cover and conflicts to resolve, but Democrats have the broad strokes of a governing agenda, centered on health care, wages, and a significant expansion of public services and guarantees. Let individual candidates focus on this. What the national party should do, instead, is turn its full attention to Trump, without reservation. November 2018 will be a referendum on this president the same way that November 2010 was a judgment on Barack Obama, and in the face of that, the intuitive choicefocus your fire on the unpopular presidentis the right one.The GOPs Don Blankenship nightmare isnt over after all. The West Virginia coal baron announced Monday that he plans to wage a third-party campaign for U.S. Senate after failing to win the Republican nomination earlier this month. While its unclear if he can do so under the states electoral laws, such a campaign would be a major boost to Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, and a major blow to Senate Republicans, who launched a desperate bid to stop Blankenship from becoming their nominee.

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Blankenship says he now plans to run as the nominee of the Constitution Party. But to do so, hell first need to find a way around the states so-called sore loser law that bars a candidate who comes up short in a major-party primary from then switching to a minor party for the general election. In his announcement, Blankenship hinted hed challenge that law in court and, as is his way, suggested the only thing that could stop him was a political conspiracy from his enemies.

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Although the establishment will likely begin their efforts against us by mounting a legal challenge to my candidacy, we are confident thatif challengedour legal position will prevail, absent a politically motivated decision by the courts, said Blankenship, who recently spent a year in prison for his role in a deadly mine disaster. Blankenship claims he was wrongly convicted in that case and held as a political prisoner by the Obama administration.

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Senate Republicans feared, not unreasonably, that if Blankenship became their nominee, hed have spoiled their chances of defeating Manchin, in a state Trump won by more than 40 percentage points. The GOP had originally hoped to ignore the ex-con, and hoped that one of his less controversial opponentsRep. Evan Jenkins or Attorney General Patrick Morriseywould carry the day. But Blankenship emerged as a serious contender, despite his criminal record, by casting himself as a truth-telling outsider willing to take on the Washington establishment. His most frequent target was Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who he attacked in increasingly outrageous ways, including by suggesting he was some sort of drug kingpin and by taking blatantly xenophobic swipes at his Taiwanese-born wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. McConnells allies responded with a covert counterattack, and President Trump ultimately got involved as well.

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Blankenship went on to finish a distant third in this months GOP primary, losing to Morrisey by about 15 points. But Blankenship made it immediately clear that he had no interest in getting behind the GOP nominee. In an open letter to President Trump after the primary, Blankenship warned Morissey would lose in November, and his campaign manager likewise branded him a corrupt carpetbagger. Trump, who had publicly urged his supporters not to vote for Blankenship, reportedly called him after the primary to smooth things over. That effort now appears not to have worked.

If Blankenships name does end up on the November ballot, hed be expected to siphon off a small but potentially significant number of votes from Morrisey. Blankenship won just under 20 percent of votes in the primary, but he has a nearly unlimited amount of money to continue attacking McConnell and Morrisey, in a race where even a few percentage points could be the difference. In short, then, Blankenship could still ruin the GOPs chances in an otherwise winnable Senate race. Indeed, he seems almost determined to do just that.The Supreme Court issued a 54 decision Monday in Epic Systems v. Lewis allowing employers to deprive their workers of their right to sue collectively. Its ruling, written by Justice Neil Gorsuch, blasts a massive hole through postNew Deal labor law, hobbling employees ability to recover in court when their employers underpay them. It is difficult to overstate how devastating Epic Systems is to labor rights in Americaand how far Gorsuch strays from federal law in order to implement his preferred economic policy.

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Epic Systems revolves around a group of employees who sued their employers for wage theft, alleging that they had illegally underpaid them. Each of their individual claims is fairly small and probably not worth the cost of litigation. But taken together, their claims add up to a substantial sum, and so the employees filed a class action on behalf of themselves and others who were similarly wronged. Their employers fought their lawsuits, arguing that the Federal Arbitration Act blocked their claims because the workers had all been forced to sign contracts that waived their right to sue and instead shunted them into one-on-one arbitration. (The arbitration process strongly favors employers.)

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This argument, however, conflicted with a decision by the National Labor Relations Board, the independent agency tasked with implementing federal labor law. In 2012, the NLRB held that the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, or the NLRA, nullifies arbitration clauses in cases like this. Its reasoning was simple. The Federal Arbitration Act declares arbitration agreements valid, irrevocable, and enforceable, except upon such grounds as exist at law. And 10 years after Congress passed the FAA, it passed the NLRA, a signature piece of New Deal legislation that guarantees workers the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. (Emphasis mine.)

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Quite sensibly, the NLRB found that lawsuits designed to collectively enforce workplace rights qualified as concerted activities for the purpose of  mutual aid or protection. It thus found that the FAA must yield to the NLRA when employees file class actions to protect their interests under federal law.

Now, however, the Supreme Court has overturned that interpretation of the law. Gorsuch, the self-proclaimed textualist, rests his conclusion largely on the structure of the NRLA. He insists that class actions do not qualify as concerted activities for workers mutual aid because the NRLA does not expressly mention them. Never mind that the plain text of the statute is designed to safeguard collective rights that Congress didnt list in 1935 but that might arise down the road. Never mind that collective actionthough the courts, if necessaryis precisely the kind of activity that the NLRA was explicitly meant to fortify. To Gorsuch, concerted activities include only activities closely related to organization and collective bargaining, such as picketing. This assertion is based not in the text of the law but in the justices own wishful thinking.

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In one of the most furious dissents of her career, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg tore into the majority for insisting that it was not substitut[ing] its preferred economic policies for those chosen by the peoples representatives. She accused Gorsuch of returning the Supreme Court to the Lochner era, when the justices routinely struck down workers rights under a dubious theory of economic liberty. The edict that employees with wage and hours claims may seek relief only one-by-one, she wrote, does not come from Congress. Instead, it is the result of take-it-or-leave-it labor contracts harking back to the type called yellow dog, and of the readiness of this Court to enforce those unbargained-for agreements. The FAA demands no such suppression of the right of workers to take concerted action for their mutual aid or protection. 

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Gorsuchs opinion in Epic System will have an immediate impact on workers. It effectively legalizes low-level wage theft; Juno Turner, a partner at the workers rights firm Outten & Golden, told me that it gives a free pass for companies to break the law, because employers can now cheat workers with little risk that employees will enforce their rights. The decision was predictablethe Supreme Courts conservatives have already eviscerated the right of consumers to file class actionsbut it is still nothing less than catastrophic for workers across the country.

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There is one glimmer of hope in the aftermath of Epic Systems: The decision will prove to be deeply unpopular, particularly among Democrats. Earlier this year, the progressive group Demand Justice polled likely Democratic voters in 11 states, including swing states like Michigan and North Carolina. It found that 68 percent of respondents believe the Supreme Court is more favorable to the rights of businesses than the rights of workers.

By any objective standard, that conclusion is surely correct. And Democrats overwhelming belief that SCOTUS is biased toward business interests raises the possibility that Democratic politicians may prioritize fixing the courts errors in cases like Epic Systems. If the party retakes Congress, it could easily amend the FAA to undo SCOTUSs damage and clarify that businesses cannot thwart class actions through mandatory arbitration agreements. Until that happens, though, the Supreme Courts conservatives will continue to read the FAAs penumbras and emanations to quash employees access to justice.On Sunday, the New York Times reported that a second Donald Trump Jr. Trump Tower meeting has caught the attention of Robert Muellers investigators. This one, which took place in August of 2016, also had several participants: Erik Prince, the onetime Blackwater head and a confidante of Trump world; George Nader, an emissary for the crown princes of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; and Joel Zamel, an Israeli who claimed to know how to manipulate social mediaand ran a firm that did so with former Israeli intelligence officers. (The first two men were later part of another meeting that has sparked much attention, with a Vladimir Putin ally in the Seychelles.) According to the Times, the meeting was convened primarily to offer help to the Trump team: Zamel offered to use his companys skills to aid Trump, while Nader made clear that his Gulf backers wanted to see the then-candidate succeed. Its unclear where the proposal led and if it is at all connected to the rest of Muellers investigation. However, as the Times also reported, Mueller is not only already looking into Naders role with the United Arab Emirates and its possible assistance to Trumps campaign, but companies connected to Mr. Zamel also have ties to Russia.

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The Times story was written by staffers Mark Mazzetti and David D. Kirkpatrick, as well as Ronen Bergman, a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine, and the author of Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israels Targeted Assassinations. During the course of a recent phone conversation with Bergman, we discussed how we should understand the Times story, if there is more on this to come, and also Israels changing alliances in the Middle East.

Isaac Chotiner: What is the significance of this story?

Ronen Bergman: The significance of the story, I think, is to shed light on one of the main areas of interest to Robert Mueller, a topic that occupied the prosecutors from the DOJ and the FBI investigators throughout the last four months, since January, a topic that is not only about possible Russian meddling in the elections and suspected connections between Russia and the Trump campaign, but a topic that raises the suspicion that other countries may also have offered help to people close to Trump or to the Trump campaign. That part of the investigation has been taking place not just in the United States but also in Israel. The president just tweeted that the story is long and boring. I thought it was too short because there were so many more details about the scope of the interviews the FBI has conducted. There were more details about some of the main characters.

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Are any of the details interesting?

Yeah, they were, but I cannot share them, because I assume that we are going to continue with the coverage. Its not the last one. In any case, these details describe how the investigation took place not just in the United States but also in Israel, and also took much interest in things that may have happened in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

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You mentioned in the story, and you mentioned now, that the Israeli agencies

No, I said that the American investigators had not just worked in the United States but also in Israel. I dont know of an Israeli investigation into the matter. What we wrote is that there was an FBI-DOJ effort to get the contents of some computers of one of the companies that is in the process of liquidation. Because it happened in Israel, that has to happen with the assistance of Israeli police.

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Do you know if the Israeli police were completely willing to do that? Obviously, Trump and Netanyahu are very close, etc.

I dont know, but I know that at the end of the day, the American team was able, as far as I know, to get at least part if not all of what they were trying to get from these computers.

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You mentioned at the beginning that this isnt about Russia meddling in the campaign, but in the story, you also say Russian money may have been involved in some of these entities involving the Emirates. Is there a chance that this actually is about Russia?

What we mention is that they are also looking at possible connections between some of the people mentioned [and] Russia. The main character of this part is George Nader. As far as we understand from our sources, Mr. Nader has an, I would say, profound part in the organization of the meeting in the Seychelles. One of the main questions that the FBI team is asking is, of course, was it or was it not a coincidence that all of these same individuals were present at the same time in the Seychelles?

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How close is cooperation on security and other matters right now between the current Israeli government and the governments of the UAE and Saudi Arabia?

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Well, this topic has been strictly kept secret for a very long time in Israel. I think that the main fear from the Israelis was that if this is published, then these countries would be put in a tight spot. While they are willing to have secret coordination with Israel, they dont want this to be published vis-a-vis the public in their countries and the general mood in the Arab world.

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The first one who really put a lot of emphasis on creating this secret connection was Meir Dagan, the legendary Mossad chief, during the previous decade. It continued with his predecessors, Tamir Pardo and Yossi Cohen. Without giving any of the specifics, let me tell you that many of the successes that are attributed to the Mossad, those that were published and many, many, many that were not published, are thanks to the cooperation between Israeli intelligence and the intelligence services of Sunni countries in the Middle East.

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Netanyahu has made some of these connections public during the last two years, part of his broader political perception. What we have seen during the last few years is more and more news items, more and more public statements from these countries, which are less shy to express their mutual interest with Israel. We have just seen that during the last Israeli bombardment in Syria against Iranian targets, that some countries in the region specifically said, Israel has the right to defend itself. We see a process of more and more cooperation between Israel and moderate Sunni countries in the region.

Not so moderate even.

I mean a country that would be seen from the Israeli point of view as a moderate Sunni country. When I say from the Israeli point of view, moderate in their approach towards Israel. I understand that there are other spheres of politics, including domestic politics, in which Saudi Arabia would not be seen as moderate, but Im talking about from the Israeli point of view or mindset.

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The character in your story, Joel Zamel, the social media specialist, you mentioned that his company employed several Israeli former intelligence officers, and specialized in collecting information and shaping opinion through social media. Do you have a sense of how close he and his company are to the Israeli security establishment?

No, I cannot answer this question. You need to address this to Mr. Zamel. The fact that some of its employees are former Israeli intelligence officers and experts is very, very typical to these companies in Israel, and there are many of them. This is just a given. Its natural that these companies will flourish in the Israeli market, because there are so many people, veterans of Israeli intelligence, coming with knowhow and experience, and will be looking for a job close to their field of expertise. This does not necessarily mean that whatever these companies are doing is coordinated, or approved, or with the involvement of Israeli intelligence.

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Has anything changed in Gaza after an awful week?

Israeli intelligence is under the impression that Hamas is, at least for the time being, not aiming at full-scale escalation. They will be keen to keep the fire, the flames at a certain height, but not too high, because they are under the impression that if this turns to be a further series of demonstrations, and a significant death toll for the Palestinians, Israel would not continue with the situation, and will try to change the balance in hitting Hamas targets in Gaza. This is something Hamas would need to react to. It might lead to a full escalation.

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According to the Israeli understanding of Hamas, Israel believes that Hamas is not looking for full-scale escalation, while aiming at improving the economic and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. They are trying to improve conditions. They are trying to ease the pressure. They are trying to do all these things that would help them manage the crisis in which they have their backs to the wall.* They are not going to full, all-out war.

The Israeli defense establishment and, according to this understanding, Hamas as well, do not want to escalate to full-scale war. But the problem is, when youre trying to contain such a situation while having some of the demonstrations taking place, you dont know. You cannot calculate everything, and that might lead to a much broader confrontation than they are planning on.Mike Pompeo stopped short of calling for regime change in Iran on Mondaybut just short of it. Speaking at the Heritage Foundation in Washington in his first public address as secretary of state, Pompeo laid out an ambitious U.S. strategy for confronting the Islamic Republic, following President Trumps withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and came close to calling for the Iranian people to rise up against their government.

Pompeo vowed that the U.S. would implement the strongest sanctions in history on Iran, now that the agreement is no more, and would work with allies to deter Iranian ambitions throughout the Middle East. While the Obama administration had argued that Irans nuclear program should be addressed separately from other regional conflicts, Pompeo asserted that the two issues are inextricably connected, saying, Irans leaders saw the deal as the starting gun for the march across the Middle East.

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Pompeo said he had hoped that larger issues could be addressed while leaving the nuclear deal in place, but after talking to European partners, he had concluded it was impossible. Thats an odd claim for a secretary of state whos been on the job for less than a month.

In presenting the campaign to deter Iran as a simplistic moral strugglein contrast to the Obama administrations naivete and double-dealingPompeo glossed over some points that complicate the overall picture. He noted the presence of destabilizing Shiite militias in Iraq, without mentioning that they had been fighting on the same side as U.S. forces against ISIS. He attributed full blame for the suffering of Yemeni civilians in the current civil war to Irans support for the Houthis, without noting the massive civilian toll of the ongoing Saudi-led, U.S.-supported air campaign. He didnt explain how it would be possible to implement the strongest sanctions in history without the support of Russia, China, or even the EU. He pointed to Trumps planned meeting with North Koreas Kim Jong-un as evidence of Trumps genuine commitment to diplomacy, without explaining why the administration appears to be heading toward a North Korea deal far less restrictive than the one Iran had agreed to. He also demanded that Iran release the U.S. citizens it is holding in custody, something that has probably gotten less likely since the deal was canceled.

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Pompeo left open the possibility of a new deal, but one based on 12 conditionsincluding a full halt to all uranium enrichment, withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria, and an end to support for groups like Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Shiite militias in Iraqthat the current regime would never support.

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That may be exactly the point: The idea seems to be that the U.S. will simply continue to ramp up the pressure until the regime capitulates. Though Trump would be unlikely to admit it, this is closer to the neoconservative impulses of the George W. Bush administration than the America-first isolationism he has often advocated. Pompeo also distinguished himself from his predecessor, Rex Tillerson, who rarely expressed much interest in democracy or human rights, in devoting much of his address to the Iranian people, saying that The hard grip of repression is all that millions of Iranians have ever known. Pompeo argued that recent economic protests in Iran are evidence of public anger at a regime that reaps a harvest of suffering and death in the Middle East at the expense of its own people.

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He also scoffed at those in the West who consider President Hassan Rouhani and foreign minister Javad Zarif to be moderates or reformers, saying to Iranians, Rouhani and Zarif are your elected leaders. Are they not the most responsible for your economic struggles? Are these two not responsible for wasting Iranian lives throughout the Middle East?

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In a brief question-and-answer postlude with Heritage Foundation President Kay Cole James, Pompeo came even closer to calling for an uprising, saying, At the end of the day, the Iranian people will decide the timeline. At the end of the day, the Iranian people will get to make a choice about their leadership. If they make the decision quickly, that would be wonderful. If they choose not to do so, we will stay hard at this until we achieve the outcomes that I set forward today.

Given that theres almost no chance of Iran meeting the Trump administrations conditions, the hope seems to be that the Iranian people will take matters into their own hands. This is an enormously risky strategy. Many Iranians who are highly critical of their governments policies are also resistant to foreign interference in their domestic politics. The regime already depicts anti-government demonstrations as American-inspired regime-change efforts. Pompeo just endorsed that depiction.On Sunday, President Donald Trump issued a demand that his Justice Department investigate whether his campaign was infiltrated or surveilled by the previous administration. This move carried the potential to bring his long-simmering conflict with his own DOJ to a head, coming after a series of escalating demands by Trumps congressional allies apparently seeking to out a secret intelligence source.

Within hours of Trumps demand, though, it seemed as though the DOJ had backed down, again coming up with a potential compromise solution. On Sunday evening, the department responded to Trumps tweet by expanding an inspector general investigation of the DOJ to include the subject of the presidents tweet.

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According to the Washington Post, the DOJ expanded that IG investigation to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election.

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With the move, the Justice Department appears to be making the calculation that it can appease Trump, while also buying time for the various investigations of the president.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said.

The concession comes after weeks of Trumps allies in Congress pushing to acquire information on a U.S. counterintelligence source who had reportedly approached three members of the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.

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The Justice Department had told House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes that revealing that information could endanger lives and threaten international intelligence partnerships, according to the Posts reporting.

Earlier this month, Nunes Democratic counterpart in that committee, Adam Schiff, told me that he believed Nunes goal was to force Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Rosenstein into an impossible bind in which they would have to give up information that could harm national security, or reject the demands of members of Congress. (Nunes was threating to hold Sessions in contempt of Congress at the time.) This was being done, Schiff argued, in order to lay a predicate for Trump to fire the leaders of the DOJ and ultimately sabotage the Mueller investigation.

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On Monday, Schiff told MSNBCs Andrea Mitchell it certainly looks like a Saturday Night Massacre in slow motion, referencing Richard Nixons series of firings that led to the removal of Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox. We see it in the president ordering an investigation of his own investigators, Schiff continued.

One of Trumps attorneys, Rudy Giuliani, told the Post on Sunday that the presidents questions about the source needed to be cleared up before we even approach the idea of doing an interview. Trump has gone back-and-forth on his willingness to do an interview with Muellers team for months.

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On Friday, the Post revealed that it had uncovered the name of the intelligence source in questiona retired American professorbut was not reporting his name following warnings from U.S. intelligence officials that exposing him could endanger him or his contacts.

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Still, the newspaper published extensive details of the sources interactions with Trump officials, describing meetings with former foreign policy advisers Carter Page and George Papadopoulos, along with Trump campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis.

From the Posts Friday reporting:

In late summer, the professor met with [Clovis] for coffee in Northern Virginia, offering to provide foreign-policy expertise to the Trump effort. In September, he reached out to George Papadopoulos, an unpaid foreign-policy adviser for the campaign, inviting him to London to work on a research paper.

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Page recalled his [July] conversation with the professor as pleasant, if not particularly memorable. It was the first interaction they ever had, he said. The conference was held days after Page had traveled to Russia, where he had delivered a speech at Moscows New Economic School that publicly criticized U.S. foreign policy.

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Page and the FBI informant stayed in touch after the conference, meeting several times in the Washington area, Page said. Page said he did not recall exactly what the two men discussed.

What happens next will largely depend on the aggressiveness of the approach of both Trump and his main congressional allies in the matter, Reps. Nunes, Trey Gowdy, Jim Jordan, and Mark Meadows.

During Mondays swearing-in ceremony at CIA headquarters for Trumps newly confirmed CIA director, Gina Haspel, Nunes was in attendance. Trump thanked Nunes for coming, calling him a very courageous man.

Hes courageous, congressman Devin Nunes, Trump continued. Thank you very much, Devin, for being here. I appreciate it.Another sign of the politicization of all aspects of our culture is the latest Criterion Channel tagline for the 1951 film High Noon: One of the most politically resonant of all Hollywood westerns. Really? Theyre referencing, of course, the screenwriter Carl Foremans brief membership in the Communist Party, which eventually landed him on the industrys blacklist. Fans of the film need not worry, however: This doesnt mean playing Tex Ritters rendition of the films theme song  Do Not Forsake Me, Oh, My Darling  backwards yields  The Internationale  communist anthem.

The Gary Cooper oater has received a political makeover by Glenn Frankel in a book that once again covers the story of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigations into Tinsel Town communism in the late 1940s and early 1950s. No matter whether readers believe that HUAC and the Hollywood studio blacklists it prompted abrogated constitutionally protected free speech and free association (true  to an extent) or agree that subversive activities were commonplace within the movie industry (also true  to an extent), this book (High Noon: The Hollywood Blacklist and the Making of an American Classic, Bloomsbury USA) does little to sway opinions either way.

Frankel falls squarely in the first camp, finding fault with HUAC members, studio heads eager to clean the commies out of Hollywoods closets and anti-communist celebrities such as John Wayne and Ronald Reagan. At the same time he blames the blacklist era for the early demise of actor John Garfield, director Robert Rossen and several others. This is correlation rather than causation and therefore impossible to verify. If so, it wouldnt be difficult to attribute the early deaths of 1950s matinee idols James Dean and Montgomery Clift to the blacklists had either actor ever been summoned by HUAC or belonged to the Communist Party (they didnt, but both men indeed died young). No, instead, Dean was a reckless driver and Clift a chronic abuser of alcohol and other drugs. Likewise, Garfield suffered from a chronic heart condition that may or may not have been aggravated by the blacklists and Rossen conducted an extremely dissolute lifestyle that may or may not have been exacerbated by winding up on the blacklist. Theres simply no way to tell for sure.

More HEREOn the eve of his White House meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, which is itself a prelude to his summit next month with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, its worth recalling President Trumps first stab at global diplomacy.

The event took place around 1990, at a reception in New York, where Trump met Richard Burt, who had just been named President George H.W. Bushs chief negotiator at the U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms Reduction Talks. Trump had wanted the slot himselfeven lobbied for it avidly, to the shock and mirth of manywhen the talks began under President Reagan. Now, meeting the man who got the job, Trump told him how to get a terrific deal: Arrive late at your first session; walk up to your Russian counterpart, who will have been sitting impatiently; look down at him, stick your finger in his chest, and say, Fuck you!

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(Bruce Blair first reported this story in Politico in June 2016. Burt confirmed it to me early this month.)

Burt, a former senior State Department official, managed eventually to wrest a treaty, which cut both sides nuclear arsenals by more than one-third, without taking Trumps advice. Could Trump, whose self-confidence in a setting seems proportional to his cluelessness, believe that some similarly brash tactic might work with Kim?

Trump is sleepwalking into a potentially historic summit with a determined leader who knows what he has and, more importantly, what he wants.

If he once thought so, his sheen of certainty now seems to be eroding. According to the Washington Post, Trump held an under-30-minute phone conversation with Moon on Saturday nightfeeling the chat couldnt wait till their meeting in Washington just three days laterto discuss the unexpected twist in the pre-summit politics with Kim. Mondays New York Times confirms the report and adds that Trump and his aides are panicked that Kim doesnt seem as eager as they thought hed be to make a swift trade of his nuclear weapons for vague promises of economic assistance.

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These aides are also, just now it seems, getting nervous about the fact that their boss has declined to be briefed on the summits issues, preferring to trust his instincts, while Kimaccording to U.S. officials who have met with himis well-versed on the most intricate details of his arsenal and the surrounding geopolitics.

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No one should have been surprised by Kims refusal to give away his sole strategic asset. What put Trump into a tizzy was the Wednesday statement by North Koreas top negotiator, stating that Pyongyang was not interested in the Libya model of disarmament (which Trumps national security adviser John Bolton had publicly proposed) and that the summit, scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, wasnt worth holding unless Washington agreed that the goal should be denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula (not just of North Korea), achieved by phased, synchronous measures (not all at once or with North Korea making its move first, as Trump and his advisers have demanded). This has been Kims position all along, and, by the standards of arms-control accords struck over the decades by other countries, including the United States, its quite reasonable.

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Nor should Kims firm grasp of the issues have come as a shock. Though hes young and a barbaric dictator, hes no idiot; hes been out in the world, having been educated at a Swiss boarding school; he has been the driving force behind his countrys success in assembling a nuclear arsenal. And when it comes to nuclear weapons, studiousness is a family tradition. When his father, Kim Jong-il, met with President Clintons secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, in 2000, to hammer out a possible treaty to bar North Korea from building ballistic missiles, Albrights staff memberswho attended the meetingwere stunned that Kim had mastered every detail and could discuss them without consulting his own aides. (Clintons term ended before a deal could be reached; George W. Bush had no interest in resuming where Albright left off.)

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In short, Trump is sleepwalking into a potentially historic summit with a determined leader who knows what he has and, more importantly, what he wantswhile, until very recently, Trump has shown no awareness that this knowledge is fundamental to diplomacy, to leadership, to making a smart deal.

Maybe Moon will snap Trump out of his torpor when they meet in Washington on Tuesday. Both of them want the summit with Kim to take place and, by some measure, succeedMoon to reduce tensions and promote peace between North and South Korea, Trump to bolster his self-crafted reputation as a deal-maker extraordinaire. Moon has some idea of how to get to a plausible, if modest, accord; Trump has no idea. The question is whether Trump will acknowledge the disparity and let Moon write the script for the reality show in Singapore. If he doesnt, he might as well bang on the table and shout, Fuck you!A border patrol agent detained two U.S. citizens last week for questioning after overhearing them speaking Spanish at a gas station in Montana, according to a video of the incident posted to social media.

The women, Ana Suda, 37, and her friend Mimi Hernandez, had made a midnight run to a gas station in Havre, Montana, on Tuesday to pick up eggs and milk. The two women, who are both Mexican American, spoke briefly in Spanish as they waited in line to pay, according to Suda. A uniformed border patrol agent then came up to them and asked for their identification.

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Maam, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here, and I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here, he says in a video recorded by Suda.

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Suda asked the agent if she and her friend were being racially profiled. It has nothing to do with that, he responds. Its the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store, in a state where its predominantly English-speaking.

Suda said the two were detained for about 35 to 40 minutes, according to KRTV in Great Falls, Montana. My friend, she started crying, Suda told the Washington Post. She didnt stop crying in the truck. And I told her, we are not doing anything wrong.

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Suda told the Post that her 7-year-old daughter, who is bilingual, asked afterward if she could no longer speak Spanish in public. When she saw the video, she was like, Mom, we cant speak Spanish anymore? Suda said. I said No. You be proud. You are smart. You speak two languages.

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She told KRTV that she was shocked to be stopped in Montana, where, she said the people are so nice and she had never encountered any problems with border officials before.

In a statement to the Post, a spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the agency was reviewing the incident to determine if the agent followed protocol. Although most Border Patrol work is conducted in the immediate border area, agents have broad law enforcement authorities and are not limited to a specific geography within the United States, the agency said in the statement. They have the authority to question individuals, make arrests, and take and consider evidence.

Havre, Montana, is not far from the border with Canada, and border control agents have authority within 100 miles of a U.S. border. They cannot stop someone without suspicion of an immigration violation, and they cannot search someone without probable cause.

Suda plans to contact the American Civil Liberties Union to take legal action, according to the Post.This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy.

Donald Trump Jr. has no memory of Rinat Akhmetshin attending the infamous June 9, 2016, Trump Tower meeting, even though he was apparently dressed entirely in pink, and according to at least one attendee, did most of the talking.

Rob Goldstone, the music manager who helped set up the meeting on behalf of his Russian oligarch client, remembers Natalia Veselnitskaya speaking in English, even though everyone else who testified said she spoke in Russian and used an interpreter.

More than one person who attended the meeting told Senate investigators that they remember more Americans in the conference room than has publicly been reported, but they dont remember any details about who these people were.

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These are just a few of the discrepancies in peoples stories that stood out as I made my way through the trove of documents released last week by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The varying tales, along with Donald Trump Jr.s severe lapses in memory and the changing cover-up stories that emerged when the story first broke in July, leave you with the nagging feeling that you still dont have the complete story about what happened in that conference room in Trump Tower that fateful summer before Donald Trump won the election.

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The fact that this meeting even took place remains a stubborn obstacle in President Donald Trumps NO COLLUSION narrative. His son enthusiastically took the meeting after a family acquaintance told him quite clearly that a Russian government lawyer would be able to share with the Trump campaign some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary [Clinton] and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.

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According to everyone who attended the meeting and testified to Congress, thats not exactly what transpired on June 9, 2016. Instead, Veselnitskaya (and Akhmetshin, according to some attendees) discussed the Magnitsky Act, which sanctions Russian officials suspected of human rights abuses; the laws deleterious effect on U.S.-Russian relations, including the halting of U.S. adoptions of Russian children; and a complicated Russian tax evasion scheme where allegedly dirty money made its way into the Democratic National Committees coffers.

Because no specific negative information about Hillary Clinton was offered, everyone said they considered the meeting to be a dud. This raises the question: Why, if the meeting was such a nonevent, couldnt those who attended it be more forthcoming about it when it was first discovered by journalists in the summer of 2017? And why did Kushners lawyers prepare a statement to explain his possible resignation from the administration once they knew the media was about to publish what happened? And why are some of the meetings participants still being so cagey about it?

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Here is what the new documents tell us about some of the basic questions surrounding the meeting.

What did everyone know going into the meeting?

At the request of his client Emin Agalarov, a Russian real estate developer and musician, Rob Goldstone reached out to Trump Jr. via email in early June 2016 about setting up a meeting. To help Trump Jr. find out more about the Hillary info being promised by the Russians, Goldstone tried to facilitate a phone call between Trump Jr. and Agalarov on June 6, 2016. Even though Trump Jr.s phone records show three phone calls between the two men on June 6 and June 7, Trump Jr. was unable to remember whether he actually got Agalarov on the phone and spoke to him.

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I simply dont remember, he told Senate investigators.

He also couldnt remember whether he spoke to Paul Manafort or Jared Kushner in any detail about the meeting beforehand, and if he did, what he had told them about it. His first and only communication to them, according to him, was an email that said, Meeting got moved to 4:00 tomorrow at my offices, an unlikely first communication.

While Kushner has testified that he never read the forwarded email chain in its entirety, even the GOP-majority report from the House Intelligence Committee said that Kushner, Trump Jr., and Manafort attended the meeting where they expected to receive  derogatory information on candidate Clinton from Russian sources.

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Trump Jr. did say with certainty that he did not tell his father about it. However, the documents shed light on a mysterious call that took place between Trump Jr. and a blocked number right in between his calls with Agalarov on June 6. Of course, Trump Jr. didnt recall with whom he spoke. When asked whether his father has a blocked number, Trump Jr. said, I dont know. As the Washington Posts Philip Bump reported, former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski testified that Donald Trumps residence has a blocked phone number.

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Who was at the meeting?

When the story about the meeting first broke in the press in July 2017, there was lots of confusion about how many people attended it and who they were. The Trump team wasnt very forthcoming.

Heres who we know attended the meeting: Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, Rob Goldstone, Natalia Veselnitskaya, Irakly (Ike) Kaveladze, Rinat Akhmetshin, and Anatoli Samochornov.

Samochornov was apparently there as Veselnitskayas translator. Goldstone and Kaveladze were both there on behalf of the Agalarovs (Emin and his Russian oligarch father, Aras). Kaveladze had flown in that morning from Los Angeles just to attend the meeting and a lunch with Veselnitskaya that preceded it. Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer, the one described in Goldstones original email to Trump Jr. She has since told NBC News that she was an informant for the Russian government. Akhmetshin is a lobbyist and consultant, working with Veselnitskaya to undo the Magnitsky Act, who lives and works in Washington. He is believed by some to have ties to Russian intelligence.

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Trump Jr. had no recollection of Akhmetshin being in the room on June 9.

But, according to Kaveladze, Akhmetshin would have been difficult to forget. The thing that surprised me was how Mr. Akhmetshin was dressed for the meeting, he told the Senate investigators. He was dressed in pinkpink jeans with like holes on the knees, and a pink T-shirt. So I thought it was highly inappropriate, but, yeah, I was certainly shocked to see him dressed like that.

According to Akhmetshin, the only reason he was dressed so inappropriately was because he had been invited to the Trump Tower meeting earlier that day by Veselnitskaya.

Kushner has testified to Congress that he arrived late to the meeting and left early, a version of events a few participants also remembered. But Goldstone and Kaveladze both remember Kushner being there the whole time.

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Samochornov and Akhmetshin also remember there being even more people in the room, sitting on Kushners side of the table.

For some reason it felt like there were more people there on the opposite side, Akhmetshin told the committee. It wasnt just Kushner and Trump. So theres some other like American faces.

Almost everyone told the same story about Manafort: He stayed the whole time and didnt look up from his phone. Some perceived him as completely disinterested in the meeting, while others thought he could be taking notes.

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Goldstone testified that security in the Trump Tower lobby didnt bother checking anyone other than him.

What did they talk about at the meeting? Who did the talking?

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The participants, for the most part, told a similar story about the topics covered at the meeting. But they dont seem to agree on who did most of the talking.

Trump Jr. only remembered Veselnitskaya droning on and on about the Magnitsky Act and adoptions, quickly losing his interest. Goldstones version of events tracks closely with Trump Jr.s, but he remembered Kushner getting agitated halfway through and saying to Veselnitskaya something like, Can you focus? I have no idea what youre talking about. But others remember Kushner saying nothing.

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Goldstone testified that Kaveladze and Akhmetshin didnt say a word. He also thought Veselnitskaya spoke in English at the meeting, when everyone else testified that she definitely spoke Russian, relying on her interpreter, Samochornov.

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According to Samochornov, Veselnitskaya didnt speak much at the meeting. He said she might have spoken for three to four minutes about the tax evasion scheme and illicit money allegedly going to the DNC. According to the interpreter, it was Akhmetshina man Trump Jr. has no recollection ofwho did the bulk of the talking.

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Akhmetshin and Kaveladze both said that while Veselnitskaya was speaking about the allegedly dirty DNC money, Trump Jr. interrupted and said, So can you show us how does this money go to Hillary? At which point Veselnitskaya told him something like: Youll have to do that research yourself. Im giving you the jumping off point to do your own digging.

Akhmetshin says he interrupted at the very end to save Veselnitskaya from boring everyone and spoke for about 90 seconds.

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Manaforts notes, taken during the meeting, also provide a few cryptic clues as to what was discussed. References to Cyprus, Active sponsors of RNC, and Cheney stand out as they were not emphasized or noted in other peoples stories, but that doesnt mean they couldnt fit into the Magnitsky Act/Bill Browder narrative that Veselnitskaya was supposedly pushing.

Kaveladze said he remembers Akhmetshin approaching Manafort before the meeting started and saying something like: We know each other from before. (For more on their background, read this New York Times report.)

But no one else remembered this happening, including Akhmetshin, who told the Senate committee that he didnt recognize Manafort and didnt speak to him.

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A few weeks later, in an email to Dan Scavino, director of social media for the Trump campaign, Goldstone wrote, Dan, I am following up an email a while back, something I had mentioned to Don and Paul Manafort during a meeting recently  Goldstone goes on to tell Scavino about a proposal to launch a Donald Trump promotional page on a Russian social media outlet.

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When asked by Senate investigators whether Goldstone actually discussed this proposal during the meeting, as his email suggests, he says no, he brought it up on the way out the door, once the meeting was over. No other participants seem to have witnessed this exchange. Trump Jr. said he did not recall discussing this with Goldstone at the meeting.

Goldstone was asked by Senate investigators whether he perceived anything as being evidence of collusion during the meeting. Goldstone said, No. When asked what would constitute collusion, Goldstone said he wasnt sure.

If I heard the word, dah, dah, dah, colluded with Russia, then I would expect that that was collusion. But I didnt hear anything like that, he said.

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To which a Senate staffer replied, So anything short of hearing the words collusion or colluded with Russia would not constitute collusion in your mind?

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Correct, Goldstone said.

According to almost everyones accounts, the meeting ended when Trump Jr. brought it to a close, essentially saying to the guests: Come back to us when we win, and well see if we can do anything about the Magnitsky Act.

Trump Jr., Kushner, and the Russians all said they perceived the meeting to be less than successful.

What happened after the meeting?

Some of the participants went to get a drink at a bar in Trump Tower. Later, they went to see a show in New York City.

The next day, Goldstone emailed Donald Trumps personal secretary, Rhona Graff, asking how he could deliver a sizable birthday gift to Trump from Emin and Aras Agalarov. It was an expensive painting that came with a note. Graff explained the procedure for deliveries at Trump Tower in a responding email.

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Toward the end of June, Goldstone emailed Dan Scavino (copying Graff and Trump Jr.) about the Russian social media idea (mentioned above), saying he talked about it with Manafort and Trump Jr. at the meeting.

On June 14, 2016, Goldstone emailed Kaveladze, saying, Top story right now seems eerily weird, based on our Trump meeting last week with the Russian lawyers, etc, and he included an image of a CNN story whose headline read: Russian Hackers Stole Dems Trump Files, Firm Says.

On Nov. 28, Kaveladze emailed Goldstone to say Aras Agalarov wanted to set up another meeting with the Trumps. Goldstone then emailed Graff, saying Agalarov had asked him to pass on a document. The attachment was about the Magnitsky Act.

Trump Jr. testified there was no follow-up to the meeting of which he was aware.

More from Just Security:

Crime or Slime: Making Sense of Michael Cohens Shell Company

Dispelling the NYTs The Daily Podcasts Misconceptions About Muellers OptionsIn the early hours of a frigid February morning in 1992, the former Soviet Unions Uzinskaya strategic nuclear bomber base committed a previously unthinkable act. Despite a deal to keep the recently dead USSRs orphaned nuclear weapons under Russias operational control, a regiment of tanker pilots had mutinied against Moscow and declared loyalty to Ukraine, refusing an order to fly their planes to Russia without Kievs knowledge

After hydroplaning twice on melted snow and blowing a tire on the two-hour drive from Kiev to the town of Uzin, our group of Western journalists hoped at most to collect quotes at the entrance of the rebellious base. But instead of watchtowers, dogs, and other menacing defenses, only one lone and very young recruit was guarding the gate. For some reason, he let us in.

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Once the Soviet Unions second republic, Ukraine hosted thousands of nuclear weapons on its soil and emerged from the Communist empires rubble with the worlds third largest nuclear arsenal. Somewhere beyond the snow-covered pine forests surrounding us, the sprawling grounds were home to strategic Tu-95 Bear bombers, nuclear gravity bombs, and cruise missiles with navigation systems once aimed for American cities.

We were probably the only foreigners to ever drive unescorted through a just barely formerly Sovietbut still active-dutystrategic nuclear base. When we arrived at the headquarters asking to see the mutinous pilots, they put us in a bare room to wait. A pimply lieutenant came in every half-hour to lie that the officers were busy, werent there, were long gone, and had never been there to begin with. Also, could we please leave? We finally did after three hours, accidentally catching the renegades on their way out, before returning to Kiev with the exciting Uzin dateline for our articles.

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Theres an impression that as soon as we disarm, the West will lose all interest in us.  Anonymous Ukraine official, in 1992

Although the story seemed on the verge of escalating into a terrifying, real-life thriller about loose nukes, the issues were later resolved. Russia eventually bought the Bear bombers, like the one that recently buzzed Alaska. That could summarize the story of Ukraines post-Soviet nuclear disarmamentpotentially terrifying but peaceful in the endthat is, at least for two decades. It also took two very tense years of threats and unrelenting pressure that placed Kiev in a vise between Washington and Moscow.

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As the planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un approaches, North Korean officials have taken offense at U.S. national security adviser John Boltons suggestion that denuclearization should follow the Libya model, meaning North Korea would disarm all at once in exchange of concessions. The controversy is understandable: Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi was toppled and killed several years after giving up his nuclear weapons program. But the North Koreans may also have another precedent in mind, and one with equally disquieting lessons: Ukraine was a country that actually had nuclear weapons, and gave them away for security guarantees that proved illusory.

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Theres an impression that as soon as we disarm, the West will lose all interest in us. Those words could be on Kim Jong-uns mind as he contemplates his next move after offering to denuclearize in exchange for security guarantees from the United States. But they came from a Ukrainian official in 1992, when Kiev also wanted to denuclearize in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S.

More than 4,000 nuclear bombs of sundry shapes and sizes then littered the ex-Soviet republic, totaling more than the British, Chinese, and French arsenals combined. Russias defense ministry quickly whisked the most portable weapons out, with little say from Ukrainelike it tried with the Uzin planes. But the 1,240 warheads deployed on 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles were harder to snatch. The ICBMs could only be fired from Moscow and were aimed toward the West, but their simple presence in Ukraine turned into a potent political weapon in winning attention from the Bush administration, which initially said it wouldnt even recognize the independent country.

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How well the inexperienced Ukrainian government wielded that negotiating power is debatable, especially now. Led by President Leonid Kravchuk, the doves wanted to disarm as quickly as possible. But you cant just switch off on an ICBM. It takes time, care, and money to do it safely. Aside from deadly liquid fuel in older missiles, removing warheads required electronic dummy replacements for the systems to work safely, and those were in short supply.

A few hotheads aside, the hawks also wanted to disarm, but they wanted compensation, financial help for disarmament, and, perhaps most importantly, security guarantees.

Meanwhile, U.S. President George H.W. Bushs attention was focused almost entirely on getting the former Soviet states to ratify START, which was aimed at reducing delivery systems but didnt address the warheads, the destruction of which would be more difficult to verify. The Americans left the question of warheads up to Russia, designating it the sole official nuclear heir to the Soviet Union.

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Despite physical control of these warheads, Ukraine had no access to the physics packagethe euphemism for nuclear bombinside the weapons. So while Kiev demanded to be recognized as the weapons owner and balked at START, only Russia could actually maintain the warheads and it refused to do so.

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Ukraine did have some leverage. Its factories built and maintained all of Russias top-of-the-line, 10-warhead SS-24 Scalpel ICBMs. Its physical access to the warheads also meantat least theoreticallyit could expose Russias top secret nuclear design secrets to Washington. But Kravchuk, afraid of alienating Moscow or the West, refused to play that kind of hardball.

However, this was also when Boris Yeltsin was firing tanks on the Russian Parliament, fomenting separatism in Transdniestria, fighting separatism in Chechnya, and installing a puppet independent republic in Ukrainian Crimea. (That was the first time.) Washingtons blithe expectation that Ukraine would simply surrender the warheads to such an aggressive Moscow provoked increasing incredulity in Kiev. (Belarus and Kazakhstan inherited vastly smaller arsenals and followed Ukraines lead.)

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Hindsight looks different when fighting a nuclear power hell-bent on destroying your country.

When Moscow demanded physical control of the warheads and threatened an invasion to take it, Washingtons silence was taken as assent in Kiev. A U.S. diplomat told me the Bush administration probably didnt even mind if Ukraine became a part of Russia again. Even Ukrainian doves began complaining that there seemed to be little recognition of the fragile countrys legitimate national security concerns.

Bill Clinton continued pressuring Ukraine on START and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but neither could pass in Ukraines Parliament. Perhaps coincidentally, North Koreaalso orphaned after the USSRs demiseannounced its own withdrawal from the NPT and won much-needed American attention before changing its mind again, at least for a while. Soon afterward, Washington finally inserted itself into the warhead dispute between Kiev and Moscow, brokering a tripartite deal exchanging the warheads for money and nuclear-reactor fuel. Financially, it was an excellent deal for Ukraine.

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But the hawks insisted on binding security guarantees that Washington refused to consider, and Russiawell, Russia was why they were needed. So Kravchuk sidestepped his recalcitrant Parliamentlike President Barack Obama did with the Iran nuclear dealand agreed to much weaker security assurances. In the Budapest Memorandum of 1994, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom agreed to respect Ukraines territorial integrity and not use nuclear weapons against it. But it didnt bind them to defend Ukraineor do anythingif the country was invaded.

Kiev also destroyed its ICBM silos, keeping one to make into a museum, complete with a real underground command post, decorated with a list of spartan Soviet food rations on the wall. Outdoors, the destroyed silo is filled with rubble and surrounded by engines, dummy warheads and missiles, and other weapons parts exhibited on the lawn. It should have been dark and disturbing when I visited in 2006. Nuclear-war fears had dogged my Cold War childhood.

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But a decade had passed since Ukraine delivered its last warhead to Russia. George W. Bush had looked into Putins soul and found Russian support after 9/11. Armageddon seemed distant on a beautiful sunny day in June, with the ICBM detritus like archaeological artifacts from an ancient time when war in Europe still seemed possible. Even the arsenals that remained seemed anachronistic when the geopolitical order rested on the same rules of international law. It was before Putin tested that system with the 2008 invasion of Georgia and then broke it in 2014 in Ukraine.

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Reasonable minds can differ on the wisdom of the Obama administrations response to Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea and stealth invasion of eastern Ukraine. The Budapest Memorandum imposed no binding legal commitments, but it did create political obligationslike the Iranian nuclear dealand Obama deserves credit for pushing Europe to impose sanctions on Russia and significantly increasing financial and technical aid to Ukraine.

But his reluctance to sell lethal weaponry to Kiev, despite rare bipartisan approval, had many in Ukraine feeling betrayed and regretting the disarmament decisions of the early 1990s.

Hindsight looks different when fighting a nuclear power hell-bent on destroying your country. Perhaps it also influenced Pyongyang as it sped up its nuclear program. But the crossed messages from the Trump administrationdelivering Javelins to Ukraine but backing out of the Iran nuclear dealwill surely give North Korea even less reason to trust Americas word.A coalition of eight progressive advocacy groups launched a digital ad campaign on Monday calling on the Federal Trade Commission to, among other things, break up Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp into separate, competing companies.

The Freedom from Facebook campaign has a six-figure budget, according to Axios, and will run ads with messages like Facebook keeps violating your privacy. Break it up. on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The coalition is also collecting signatures for a petition to the FTC asking it to split up Facebook, ensure that users on different social media platforms can communicate with each other, and enact stronger privacy regulations.

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There are a broad range of activist groups represented in the coalition, as Axios points out. Some, like the Open Markets Institute, have a specific focus on antitrust issues. Others, like MoveOn Civic Action, organize for a variety of progressive causes. And a couple of the groupsJewish Voice for Peace and MPower Change Muslim Grassroots Movementare involved in minority advocacy.

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It appears that the campaigns primary focus is to spotlight the allegedly sprawling consequences of Facebooks monopoly, such as social media addiction and the companys influence over news circulation. Privacy is also an integral part of the campaign; the coalition has released a step-by-step guide instructing users on how to block Facebook from profiting from all the information it collects about you, your family, and your friends.

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Kevin Carty, a reporter and researcher at the Open Markets Institute, said that the campaign is less focused on bringing a particular legal accusation against Facebook and instead more interested in drawing attention to possible violations that should be examined more closely. For example, Carty said, there is an argument to be made about whether Facebook is breaking the Sherman Antitrust Act by attaining a monopoly, or near monopoly, on the social media market through its various acquisitions. However, the campaign itself is not bringing a suit against Facebook, but rather pushing lawyers to do so.

I could tell you things that look like attempted monopolization to us that we think are potentially liable under the antitrust laws, but that is still for the FTC and the DOJ to make the determination. Were just trying to give evidence that they should look at, said Carty. Its not quite for us to make the determination as to exactly what law or part of the law Facebook violated.

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The issue of Facebooks impact on competition in the tech industry came up in a few questions from lawmakers during CEO Mark Zuckerbergs congressional testimony in April. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, for example, asked Zuckerberg what his companys biggest competitor was. The CEO claimed that Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Google overlap with Facebook in different ways. When Graham then asked if Facebook is a monopoly, Zuckerberg replied, It certainly doesnt feel like that to me.

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An FTC spokesperson declined to comment on the campaign. A Facebook spokesperson sent a statement to Slate:

Facebook is in a competitive environment where people use our apps at the same time they use free services offered by many others. The average person uses eight different apps to communicate and stay connected. People use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger because they find them valuable, and weve been able to better fight spam and abuse and build new features much faster by working under one roof. We support smart privacy regulation and efforts that make it easier for people to take their data to competing services. But rather than wait, weve simplified our privacy controls and introduced new ways for people to access and delete their data, or to take their data with them.

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An FTC breakup of Facebook would be highly unusual but not technically unprecedented, said Seth Bloom, who formerly served as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Antitrust Subcommittee. In 1982, the FTC moved to spin off local telephone services provided by the Bell operating companies from AT&T. Yet in that case, the Justice Department had brought charges against AT&T, accusing it of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act by improperly using its monopoly profits.

The real question with Facebook is whether its an antitrust story, Bloom told Slate. He noted that there would need to be evidence that Facebook has in fact violated a specific antitrust law. Bloom added, Just to be big is not bad. That doesnt give you cause to break it up.Heres a doozy of a birth story: In an 1830 issue of the Western Journal of Medical and Physical Sciences, Dr. John L. Richmond describes an impromptu surgery he performed in rural Ohio. Richmond had made his way through a storm to a bleak home, with its dirt floor and gaping crevices in the logs that constituted walls. He found a woman who had been in labor for hours, but each contraction was followed by general convulsions and alarming faintings. He dosed her with laudanum and sulphuric ether, which helped with the fits, but he could not figure out why her labor wasnt progressing.

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Richmond told the woman, the midwives who had been attending her prior to his arrival, and the friends and family watching and worrying that only a cesarean section would give the patient and the baby any chance to survive. Feeling a deep and solemn sense of my responsibility, with only a case of common pocket instruments, Richmond made the incision. The womans friends, Jacqueline Wolf writes in her absorbing new book, Cesarean Section: An American History of Risk, Technology, and Consequence, helped by holding blankets in front of candles to prevent the howling wind from leaving the surgical scene in total darkness.

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Richmond couldnt pull the baby out through his incision and ended up fishing around in the womans uterus, looking for the feet. The mother begged him to stop, Wolf writes. She couldnt endure the pain. The doctor referred to the medical ethics of that time and place, and made a horrifying decision. Reminding himself that a childless mother is better [off] than a motherless child,  Wolf writes, Richmond altered course and proceeded to remove the fetus, in pieces, from the wound in the mothers abdomen. The mother survived and went back to work 24 days after the surgery. After she healed, Richmond examined her thoroughly and discovered an abnormally shallow vagina with no discernable cervical opening, Wolf reports. Richmonds story is the first published account of a C-section performed in the United States.

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It was a last resort, only after drastic interventions that could include the use of forceps or the execution of a craniotomy, in which the doctor would collapse a babys skull in order to extract it from the woman and save her life.

C-sections remained extremely rare throughout the 19th century. Even after the mid-20th-century advent of antibiotics and blood transfusions, which rendered the surgery much safer, the national rate of C-sections remained low. Then, the procedure exploded. Between 1965 and 1987, it rose 455 percent. Today, despite the work of the birth-reform movement of the 70s and 80s, 1 in 3 babies are still delivered by C-section. Thats twice the recommendation set by the World Health Organization, which states that a 1015 percent rate is the ideal, since a rate higher than that has been assessed to have no effect on mortality rates, even as it pushes up medical costs and increases other risks for both mother and baby. Wolfs book explains how we got here, taking a long, historically informed view of a modern problem. Its an activist text, committed to the proposition that our C-section rate is dangerously high, but its also plainly excellent in its account of how medical and cultural factors combined to get us to this point.

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Nineteenth-century medical texts counseled physicians to refrain from interfering with the birth process. Births were mostly attended by midwives. When a doctor had to come in, like Richmond, they worked under the assumption that it was more important to save the womans life than the babys. As a pregnant woman is prone to hemorrhage, the surgery was perceived as far too dangerous to undertake lightly. It was a last resort, only after drastic interventions that could include the use of forceps or the execution of a craniotomy, in which the doctor would collapse a babys skull in order to extract it from the woman and save her life. The section of Wolfs book that covers craniotomy is very difficult to read, but as an illustration of how medical priorities around women and babies have changed over the past two centuries, its vividness is unrivaled.

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Given that many doctors shied from C-sections because of the value they placed on the mothers life, it makes a terrible kind of sense that many 19th-century cesarean patients were enslaved women, whose owners, performing their own calculations as to the relative value of woman and baby, gave consent to the surgery. Wolf cites an 1863 case in Arkansas in which the slave owner asked the doctor to remove the patients ovaries after a second cesarean, to prevent her from getting pregnant again: The child survived the birth; the mother died 10 days later of peritonitis. Another slaveholder celebrated a successful cesarean by setting the baby, named Cesarinne, free.

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Wolfs chapter on the 19th-century record draws from the data left behind by Robert P. Harris, a Philadelphia physician who became a medical statistician. Harris took an interest in the C-section surgery and solicited accounts from doctors who had performed them. His accounts appear to be inviolable, Wolf writes. After receiving the initial description of a surgery, he followed up by contacting witnesses and the patient, if she had survived, for corroboration. A majority of the cases Harris documented were black patients; 20 percent of surgeries occurred in cases where the women were (in his description) dwarfs.

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Though curious about the surgerys possibilities, Harris was no cesarean booster. He found a 52 percent death rate in his records. He also collected stories of situations in which women had been gored by cattle and forced to deliver their babies through the gaping wound, as Wolf memorably explains. He found nine, and noted that of those situations, the rate of survival of the women and children involved actually exceeded that of the C-sections performed in New York state before the late 1880s. There is a far better showing for the cow-horn than the knife, he observed.

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Doctors became increasingly concerned about infants in the early 20th century, when progressive activists took on the cause of reducing infant mortality rates and pressed the federal government to take an interest in childrens health. Two (male) obstetricians helmed opposing sides in the debate over several years, as the surgerys rate rose slightly but not dramatically. J. Whitridge Williams, head of the department of obstetrics at Johns Hopkins and head of the non-operators, made his case against the procedure in 1926, arguing, Any one with two hands and a few instruments can do a cesarean section  It frequently requires great intelligence not to do it. (Williams generally advocated that doctors should do as little as possible while attending a birth.) Joseph DeLee, an influential Chicago obstetrician and a prominent operator, argued for more intervention in birth, famously writing in a 1920 article, So frequent are these bad effects [of labor] that I often wonder whether nature did not deliberately intend women to be used up in the process of reproduction, in a manner analogous to that of salmon, which dies after spawning.

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In his actual practice, Wolf points out, DeLee was more likely to let poor women labor naturally and to apply complex, prophylactic techniques to service the wealthy. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, a 40-year-old first-time mother, traveled to Chicago to consult with him and asked him for an elective cesarean. DeLee told Williams in a letter that he was thinking of doing it, because he had begun to practice a new European-style incision for the operationthe low transverse incision thats still standard in 2018 and that makes uterine rupture less likely in subsequent births. Eventually, Longworth had a vaginal birth, though not without medical intervention; DeLee administered ether, performed an episiotomy, used forceps, and removed her placenta manually.

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You cant find a clean assignment of blame for the high C-section rate in Wolfs argument, but the advent of electronic fetal monitoring is a watershed in this narrative.

In the midcentury period, public opinion on the surgery shifted, albeit slowly. There was a 25-year gap between the simultaneous advent of widely available antibiotics and safe blood transfusions, and the 70s-era increase in the C-section rate. Wolf uses the two births of John F. Kennedy Jr. and his brother Patrick, in 1960 and 1963, to show how mixed public opinion was on the surgery during this transitional time. Jackie Kennedy already had a fraught reproductive history: a miscarriage in 1955, a C-section to deliver a stillborn daughter (Arabella) in 1956, and a daughter, Caroline, born by C-section in 1957. After John-John was born by C-section in 1960, Americans celebrated, ignorant of the risks for an infant born more than four weeks prematurely. John-John survived. But when Patrick, also born via cesarean, died in 1963 after just 39 hours of life, newspaper coverage associated the death with his C-section, not his prematurity. (Hyaline membrane disease, the cause of his death, was not yet well understood.) To some people, Wolf writes, the cesarean was a heroic effort that preserved life and healthfor others, a cesarean was a macabre surgery associated more with death than life. For Wolf, the story of John-John and Patrick shows how cultural factors may have upped the rate of C-sections in the 60s and especially the 70s.

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In the 50s and 60s, diagnostic tools to help physicians assess the health of fetuses and neonates, including the Friedman curve, the Bishop score, and the Apgar score, heightened obstetricians perception of the risks of childbirth, Wolf writes. In her eyes, these tools were widely misused. Emanuel Friedman acknowledged that his curve, which he first described in a 1954 article as a means of assessing whether the length and pace of a womans labor were normal, was not the final word on the subject, since many of the labors he observed were of women who had been sedated, treated with synthetic oxytocin (Pitocin), or anesthetized. But even though Friedman himself realized that labors varied, by the early 1960s, Wolf writes, American physicians had adopted the Friedman curve for use at every birth. Edward Bishops 1964 Bishop score, assessing five cervical and pelvic characteristics in late pregnancy, was meant to help physicians decide when to induce labor with Pitocin, which was first made available in the 1950s. Later, obstetricians Wolf interviewed believed that the score had normalized induction, and with the increasing number of induced labors, cesarean surgery not only became more likely, it became more acceptable. The Apgar score (1952), developed by Virginia Apgar, an anesthesiologist who was concerned about the effects of analgesics and anesthetics on neonates and intended to measure a newborns physical condition, prompted a focus on perfection that, Wolf argues, contributed to medical and public complacency toward the burgeoning cesarean rate.

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You cant find a clean assignment of blame for the high C-section rate in Wolfs argument, but the advent of electronic fetal monitoring, or EFM, is a watershed in this narrative. The rush to perform a cesarean based on doctors interpretations of monitor strips profoundly altered the birth experience, Wolf writes. She interviews Carol (a pseudonym), who, at 20 years old in 1976, came to the hospital in spontaneous labor. There, medical personnel reviewed a fetal monitor strip and found its offering dire. They said I had to make a decision because they said either that I would die, or my baby would die, or both of us would die, if I didnt have a cesarean  They said her heart was in distress, Carol tells Wolf. She consented to the C-section, despite having serious misgivings. The baby survived, but when interviewed 28 years later, Carol was not convinced the surgery had been necessary.

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Even after the first randomized, controlled trial of EFM, published in 1976, showed that outcomes for labor in high-risk women monitored by an EFM and similar women screened with a fetal stethoscope differed only in that the first group experienced a higher rate of C-sections, doctors continued to use them; indeed, Wolf writes, most doctors had become uneasy attending a birth without the information the device provided. And in the 1980s, lawyers began to use evidence from EFM readings in seeking malpractice settlements for birth injury, which further encouraged doctors to go for the just in case C-section.

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The birth-reform movement of the 70s and 80s was an offshoot of second-wave feminism that fought for women to be allowed power over their own birth experiencesto have the right to give birth at home, to refuse interventions like induction, anesthesia, and episiotomy at hospitals, and to have access to nurse midwives and amenities like birthing tubs. (This set of commitments will sound familiar to anyone whos read Ina May Gaskins Spiritual Midwifery, a document of the natural-birth movement first published in 1975.) In an accident of history, Wolf argues, the jump in the C-section rate happened at just the wrong time for the surgery to be one of the targets of these reformers. The most precipitous increase in the surgery, between 1970 and 1985, paralleled a portion of the peak militancy, and greatest successes, of birth reformers, Wolf writes. But the movement didnt focus on C-sections initially, and its core momentum dissipated just as the C-section rate became an object of public concern. By the mid-1980s, Wolf explains, the changes wrought by the birth reform movement proved to be more cosmetic than systemic. This would be why we are now allowed to have loved ones in the room with us while giving birth, but the C-section rate remains too high.

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If I have any fault to find with Wolfs excellent book, its this: I think some women may feel no trepidation or qualms at all about the surgery.

So, here we are, living with our 1 in 3 rate. C-sections are so common as to be unremarkable now. Of course, they are often necessary, but even in our modern age, they still have consequences. Some women recover easily from the surgery; others find the first weeks of their new babys life to be difficult and painful. Mothers who have C-sections may react poorly to the necessary anesthesia, are more prone to develop postpartum blood clots and infections, and may experience placenta accreta in future pregnancies. As for the baby, studies have found that children born by C-section have higher rates of obesity, asthma, and diabetesthough whats causing these correlations is not yet understood.

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Birth is, of course, a deeply personal experience, the sort that you dont quite understand until it happens to you. And indeed, you might not even know that this country has a high rate of C-sections until you have one. When I had an unplanned C-section in 2017, I had no misgivings about it whatsoever. (I had also been in labor for a day and a half, which influenced my perspective.) If I have any fault to find with Wolfs excellent book, its this: I think some women may feel no trepidation or qualms at all about the surgery. Some may find the prospect of a scheduled C-section downright preferable, even considering the riskslike writer Meaghan OConnell, who recently wrote about the relief of scheduling a second C-section after a very stressful first birth experience, for the Cut.

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And then, for some women who are in labor already, an unplanned C-section might look like a clean, medical way to guarantee an outcome that seems likely to be good. Many women fill out birth plans detailing all of the choices they want to make in labor, then are faced with deciding whether to stick to them as their doctors advice changes, often while theyre having an experience that tests limits of their endurance. For some of those women, the C-section offers the right solution, and they dont regret it. Not every C-section of borderline necessity turns out to be bad for the woman who has itand we should take those experiences into consideration here as well.

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But given the increasing awareness that we may be overusing the surgery, the question iswhats the average woman whos trying to avoid an unnecessary C do? How can pregnant people approach the prospect in 2018? Chavi Eve Karkowsky, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist based in New York City (and sometime writer for Slate), told me that patients should evaluate whatever data they can find about their hospitals C-section rates. A lot of people dont realize, theyll pick their doctor, but youre committing to a hospital, she said. And the hospital has all sorts of baggage and protocols and culture you really might not know about. Were coming to understand that institutional culture and institutional numbers do vary. (Wolf would agree; the call to action at the end of her book recommends that hospitals should be required to make their C-section rates public as well as information about the kinds of diagnoses that have led to surgeries in the past.)

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Make your priorities for vaginal birth known to your provider, Karkowsky said, and look for some clue as to whether the doctor youve chosen has an evidence-based practice. How to ask this question, without being rude or confrontational? The discussion of any decisions should come with at least some mention of scientific literature, studies, experiments, what we know, and what we dont know, she said. It should always be modified to fit the individual experience, but a doctor who is evidence-based will bring you that evidence.

Evidence, data, word-of-mouth. Of course, pregnant people have enough research to do without adding another book to the pile, so instead of pushing Wolfs history on them, Ill recommend that everyone read it. The more we know about how we got here, the better.Stop me if youve heard this before: A giant company that relies on users to trust it with some of their most intimate personal data turns out to have been abusing that trust by passing that data on to shady third parties. And not just occasionally, but casually, and as a matter of course, on a massive scale.

The practice makes headlines only when it inevitably turns out that those third parties were quietly using the data in unauthorized and disturbing ways. And it comes to light not because the giant company discloses it but due to a leak on the third parties end.

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Thats a rough sketch of Facebooks infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal. But it applies equally to a new privacy scandal thats getting far less attentioneven though it potentially affects more people, involves more sensitive data, and has yet to be seriously addressed or resolved. Oh, and theres no way to opt out of the data collection in question.

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The story involves the real-time location-tracking data that the four largest U.S. wireless carriers collect on everyone with a mobile device. Basically, they know roughly where you are at all times, even if you dont have your GPS turned on, based on the regular interactions between your phone and nearby cell towers. The carriers arent supposed to share that information without your consent.

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But the New York Times reported earlier this month that a company called Securus Technologies was offering a service that allowed users to track peoples whereabouts in real time, using data obtained from the wireless companies through a pair of intermediaries. The Times reported that a Missouri sheriff had been using the service to keep tabs on 11 people, including fellow officers and a judge, without their knowledge and without a warrant. Hes now facing state and federal charges.

Almost anyone could have used LocationSmarts site to find the location of almost anyone else, at any time, instantly.

Thats just the beginning. Motherboard reported last week that Securus had been hacked, with the credentials of 2,800 authorized users stolen, most or all of them presumably working in law enforcement or at prisons. (Securus main business involves helping prisons crack down on inmates cellphone use.) Its a safe bet that some of those users had access to the same location-tracking tools that the Missouri sheriff abused.

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So how was Securus getting all that data on the locations of mobile-phone users across the country? We learned more last week, when ZDNet confirmed that one key intermediary was a firm called LocationSmart. The big U.S. wireless carriersAT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobilewere all working with LocationSmart, sending their users location data to the firm so that it could triangulate their whereabouts more precisely using multiple providers cell towers. It seems no one can opt out of this form of tracking, because the carriers rely on it to provide their service.

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It gets worse. A Carnegie Mellon researcher poking around on LocationSmarts website found that he could use a free trial service to instantly pinpoint the location of, well, just about anyone with a mobile phone and wireless service from one of those major carriers. He did this without any permission or credentials, let alone a warrant.

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In other words, almost anyone could have used LocationSmarts site to find the location of almost anyone else, at any time. LocationSmart subsequently shut down the service and told security blogger Brian Krebs that the vulnerability had not been exploited before Robert Xiao, the Carnegie Mellon researcher, did so. Of course, weve heard companies make similar claims before that turned out not to be true. (Krebs story is the one to read if you want to get the fullest possible picture.)

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Regardless, the takeaway is that major wireless carriers have for years been carelessly allowing their users location data to be exposed in all kinds of unauthorized and scary ways. Its analogous to how Facebook allowed users to sign away not only their own data but their friends data to third-party app developers up until 2015, a practice that allowed leaks to firms like Cambridge Analytica. Except the wireless companies are still doing it, and as of Monday, Ars Technica has reported that not one had expressly pledged to stop working with LocationSmart.

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Sen. Ron Wyden, the tech-savvy Oregon Democrat, has reacted furiously, sending a May 8 letter to the FCC demanding an investigation of Securus and letters to the wireless carriers calling on them to secure users location data. He gave a further statement to Krebs on Thursday, in response to the LocationSmart leak. The statement is worth reading in full, because it forcefully articulates whats at stake here:

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This leak, coming only days after the lax security at Securus was exposed, demonstrates how little companies throughout the wireless ecosystem value Americans security. It represents a clear and present danger, not just to privacy but to the financial and personal security of every American family. Because they value profits above the privacy and safety of the Americans whose locations they traffic in, the wireless carriers and LocationSmart appear to have allowed nearly any hacker with a basic knowledge of websites to track the location of any American with a cell phone. The threats to Americans security are gravea hacker could have used this site to know when you were in your house so they would know when to rob it. A predator could have tracked your childs cell phone to know when they were alone. The dangers from LocationSmart and other companies are limitless. If the FCC refuses to act after this revelation then future crimes against Americans will be [on] the commissioners heads.

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You might think that the major wireless carriers would be facing intense pressure to account for their lax handling of customers data. You might think the story would be all over newspapers front pages and cable news. You might think their CEOs would be hounded by the media, as Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg was after the Cambridge Analytica story broke. You might think theyd be dragooned into testifying before Congress.

You might think that, if you expected a reaction commensurate to the one that accompanied the Cambridge Analytica revelations. And its conceivable that it will still happen. But so far, there has been none of that. The FCC told Ars Technica on Friday afternoon that its taking preliminary steps to look into the matter. Thats all the action weve seen so far from the government.

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The reaction from the mainstream media and the public has been as muted as the reaction to Cambridge Analytica was explosive. Even tech sites have devoted relatively little coverage to the story. (Slate hasnt covered it either, until now.) Why might that be?

I have a theoryone that started as a hypothesis early on in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Its that the outrage over the Cambridge Analytica story was never primarily about users privacy or about Facebooks mishandling of users data. It was about how that data was then usedpurportedly, to help elect Donald Trump.

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Whether or not peoples Facebook data was in fact instrumental in Trumps election is far from clear. (The now-defunct Cambridge Analytica denied that it used the cache of data on up to 87 million Facebook users in its work for Trump, and critics of the firm have questioned whether the firms methods were sophisticated enough for the data to be of much value anyway.) But even the suggestion that it might have been used in such a way was enough to turn an otherwise run-of-the-mill privacy scandal into top national and even global news, rocking the political world as well as the more insular tech world.

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Privacy abuses and slip-ups by major tech companies have become so numerous, and the prospect of containing them seems so hopeless, that the public and much of the media have become nearly numb to them. My data was hacked? So it goes. It may have been used in unauthorized ways by unspecified parties? Cest la vie. But the idea that my data was hacked to help elect Donald Trump? That was what elevated the Cambridge Analytica story and got people to care about things, like privacy policies and developer permissions, that they had long taken for granted.

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What the LocationSmart scandal lacks is not import, nor the potential for serious harm, but a link to some divisive political issue or societal outrage sufficient enough to generate visceral anger from people who arent privacy wonks.

None of this is to minimize the seriousness of Facebooks breach of user trust. I point it out merely to observe (with some disappointment) that digital privacy, per se, remains a back-burner issue for most people even in our postCambridge Analytica landscape. And as long as it remains thus for the media and the public, it will remain thus for Congressand for all the giant companies that know far too much about us, and have far too little incentive to guard that knowledge from those who would use it against us.Washington Post reporter outraged that journalists phone was seized by Slovak police

The US daily says that seizing her phone was merely the latest attempt by Slovak authorities to harass those close to a reporter who was killed for doing his job.

The Czech investigative journalist Pavla Holcova, close collaborator of murdered journalist Jan Kuciak, was invited to a hearing on May 15 by the National Criminal Agency (NAKA). The two journalists worked together on an unfinished story about the activities of the Italian mafia in eastern Slovakia, the Sme daily wrote.

She thought it would be a friendly conversation to help their investigation into the murder but when she arrived at the police station, the conversation turned into a hostile interrogation, as she described for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

Following the hearing, the police seized Holcovas mobile phone, including the SIM card. The investigators claimed that her electronic communications could help reveal the murderer. However, the explanation was vague, according to Sme.

The Special Prosecutor's Office claims not to have broken into the data in her smartphone, but the US daily the Washington Post sees this as threatening to her and to the work of investigative journalists more generally.

Meanwhile, Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who knows Holcova in person, slammed the Slovak police and prosecution bodies, as well as the state of freedom of the media in the country as a whole. The US reporter himself spent 544 days in a Tehran prison when reporting for the Washington Post.

Personal encounter

I met Holcova last week; she and I were part of a panel discussion in Washington entitled A Deadly Calling, organized by the Helsinki Commission and designed to raise awareness of and address the assassinations of two investigative journalists in the European Union: Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta last October, and Kuciak in Slovakia this February, Rezaian explains in his piece.

The panel included Caruana Galizias son, Matthew  himself a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter  and Holcova, who worked closely with Kuciak to report on official corruption and the Slovakian governments ties with organized crime. It was this reporting that, many believe, prompted the murders of Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, the Washington Post article continues.

Our panel  which also included Robert Mahoney of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a watchdog group that tracks attacks on press freedom  offered an unvarnished look at the rising threats to freedom of expression around the world, Rezaian wrote.

How have the investigative bodies erred?

Experts in Slovakia have expressed the opinion for Sme that the authorities should only be able to use information from Holcovas phone that has to do with Kuciaks murder. They should not be allowed to examine her whole phone and email communications. Sme also wrote that the way in which Holcova handed over her smartphone was strange and it is questionable as to what extent it was voluntary, as the Special Prosecutor's Office insists. Even if it is deemed voluntary, this does not mean that investigative bodies can search through her whole phone, including the archived documents.

Read also:

Read also: Police seized the mobile phone of Kuciaks colleague, without explanation Read more

Rezaian contacted Holcova while reporting on the story but had to conduct the whole communication via email as her phone had not been returned to her as of May 15. He is calling on the Slovak authorities to give it back to her and let her work freely without any restrictions.

21. May 2018 at 13:34 | Compiled by Spectator staffDrax Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and supply of electricity in the United Kingdom. The company operates through three segments: Generation, Customers, and, Pellet Production. It produces low carbon and renewable electricity; and provides system support services to the electricity grid. The company owns and operates Drax Power Station that produces electricity from biomass and coal with an installed capacity of 3,906 megawatts (MW) located in Selby, North Yorkshire; Cruachan Power Station, a pumped hydro storage station, with an installed capacity of 440 MW located in Argyll and Bute, western Scotland; and Lanark and Galloway hydro-electric power stations with an installed capacity of 126 MW located in southwest Scotland. It also owns and operates combined cycle gas turbine power stations, including Damhead Creek power station with an installed capacity of 805 MW; Rye House power station with an installed capacity of 715 MW; Shoreham power station with an installed capacity of 420 MW; and Blackburn power station with an installed capacity of 60 MW located in England. In addition, the company owns and operates Daldowie fuel plant that processes sludge from a wastewater treatment plant and converts it into dry and low-odour fuel pellets. Further, it manufactures and sells compressed wood pellets for use in electricity production; supplies and manages electricity and gas for large industrial and commercial sector customers, as well as small businesses; and provides debt recovery services. Drax Group plc was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Selby, the United Kingdom.

Read MoreWASHINGTON - Lyons' company Atlas Tool Works has booked as much work in the first quarter of 2018 as they did in the entire year of 2017, the company's chief alignment office Zach Mottl - a 4th generation owner - testified before Congressman Peter Roskam's House Committee last week.

The rocketing business prospect is due partially to the Republicans' tax reform passed last year, he said.

That is despite no Democrat support and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi saying the result was crumbs.

Congressman Roskam asked Mottl to repeat ...The following companies are subsidiares of Anthem: 1-800 Contacts, AIM Specialty Health, AMERIGROUP Community Care of New Mexico Inc., AMERIGROUP Corporation, AMERIGROUP Maryland Inc., AMERIGROUP New Jersey Inc., AMERIGROUP Ohio Inc., AMERIGROUP Tennessee Inc., AMERIGROUP Texas Inc., AMERIGROUP Washington Inc., AMGP Georgia Managed Care Company Inc., ATH Holding Company LLC, America's 1st Choice of South Carolina Inc., America's Health Management Services Inc., American Imaging Management Inc., Americas 1st Choice, Amerigroup, Amerigroup Delaware Inc., Amerigroup District of Columbia Inc., Amerigroup Health Plan of Louisiana Inc., Amerigroup IPA of New York LLC, Amerigroup Insurance Company, Amerigroup Iowa Inc., Amerigroup Kansas Inc., Amerigroup Mississippi Inc., Amerigroup Oklahoma Inc., Amerigroup Partnership Plan LLC, Amerigroup Pennsylvania Inc., Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company, Anthem Financial Inc., Anthem Health Plans Inc., Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky Inc., Anthem Health Plans of Maine Inc., Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire Inc., Anthem Health Plans of Virginia Inc., Anthem Holding Corp., Anthem Innovation Israel Ltd., Anthem Insurance Companies Inc., Anthem Kentucky Managed Care Plan Inc., Anthem Life & Disability Insurance Company, Anthem Life Insurance Company, Anthem Partnership Holding Company LLC, Anthem Services Company LLC, Anthem Southeast Inc., Anthem UM Services Inc., Anthem Workers' Compensation LLC, Applied Pathways LLC, Arcus Enterprises Inc., Aspire Health Inc., Aspire Healthcare Corp, Associated Group Inc., Beacon Health Options, Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia Inc., Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin, Blue Cross of California, Blue Cross of California Partnership Plan Inc., CareMarket Inc., CareMore Health Plan, CareMore Health Plan of Arizona Inc., CareMore Health Plan of Nevada, CareMore Health Plan of Texas Inc., CareMore Health System, CareMore LLC, Cerulean Companies Inc., Claim Management Services Inc., Community Care Health Plan of Louisiana Inc., Community Care Health Plan of Nevada Inc., Community Insurance Company, Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation, Crossroads Acquisition Corp., DBG Holdings Inc., DeCare Analytics LLC, DeCare Dental Health International LLC, DeCare Dental Insurance Ireland Ltd., DeCare Dental LLC, DeCare Dental Networks LLC, DeCare Operations Ireland Limited, Delivery Network LLC, Designated Agent Company Inc., EHC Benefits Agency Inc., EasyScripts Cutler Bay LLC, EasyScripts Hialeah LLC, EasyScripts LLC, EasyScripts Westchester LLC, Empire HealthChoice Assurance Inc., Empire HealthChoice HMO Inc., Federal Government Solutions LLC, Freedom Health Inc., Global TPA LLC, Golden West Health Plan Inc., Greater Georgia Life Insurance Company, HEP AP Holdings Inc., HMO Colorado Inc., HMO Missouri Inc., Health Core Inc., Health Management Corporation, Health Ventures Partner L.L.C., HealthKeepers Inc., HealthLink HMO Inc., HealthLink Inc., HealthLink Insurance Company, HealthPlus HP LLC, HealthSun Health Plans, HealthSun Health Plans Inc., HealthSun Holdings LLC, HealthSun Management LLC, HealthSun Physicians Network I LLC, HealthSun Physicians Network LLC, Healthy Alliance Life Insurance Company, Highland Acquisition Holdings LLC, Highland Holdco Inc., Highland Intermediate Holdings LLC, Highland Investor Holdings LLC, Imaging Management Holdings LLC, IngenioRx Inc., Legato Health Technologies LLP, Legato Health Technologies Philippines Inc., Legato Holdings I Inc., Legato Holdings II LLC, Living Complete Technologies Inc., Matthew Thornton Health Plan Inc., Memphis Supportive Care Partnership LLC, Meridian Resource Company LLC, Missouri Care Incorporated, NGS Federal LLC, Nash Holding Company LLC, National Government Services Inc., New England Research Institutes Inc., Optimum Healthcare Inc., Park Square Holdings Inc., Park Square I Inc., Park Square II Inc., Pasteur Medical Bird Road LLC, Pasteur Medical Center LLC, Pasteur Medical Cutler Bay LLC, Pasteur Medical Group LLC, Pasteur Medical Hialeah Gardens LLC, Pasteur Medical Holdings LLC, Pasteur Medical Kendall LLC, Pasteur Medical Management LLC, Pasteur Medical Miami Gardens LLC, Pasteur Medical North Miami Beach LLC, Pasteur Medical Partners LLC, Resolution Health Inc, Resolution Health Inc., RightCHOICE Managed Care Inc., Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service Inc., SellCore Inc., Simply Healthcare Holdings, Simply Healthcare Plans Inc., Southeast Services Inc., State Sponsored DM Services Inc., The Anthem Companies Inc., The Anthem Companies of California Inc., TrustSolutions LLC, UNICARE Health Plan of West Virginia Inc., UNICARE Illinois Services Inc., UNICARE National Services Inc., UniCare Life & Health Insurance Company, UniCare Specialty Services Inc., Valus Inc., WPMI LLC, WellCare of Nebraska Inc., WellPoint Acquisition LLC, WellPoint California Services Inc., WellPoint Dental Services Inc., WellPoint Health Solutions Inc., WellPoint Holding Corp., WellPoint Information Technology Services Inc., WellPoint Insurance Services Inc., WellPoint Military Care Corporation, Wellmax Health Medical Centers LLC, Wellmax Health Physicians Network LLC, and Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Company.Vedanta Ltd. is a natural resource company, which engages in the exploration, extraction, and processing of minerals, oil, and gas properties. It operates through the following segments: Copper, Aluminum, Iron Ore, Power, and Oil & Gas. The Copper segment focuses in custom smelting and also include a copper smelter, a refinery, a phosphoric acid plant, a sulphuric acid plant, a copper rod plant, and three captive power plants. The Aluminum segment comprises refinery and a captive power plant at Lanjigarh and a smelter, a thermal coal based captive power facility at Jharsuguda both situated in the State of Odisha in India. The Iron Ore segment explores, mines, and processes iron ore, pig iron, and metallurgical coke. The Power segment consists 600 MW thermal coal-based commercial power facility at Jharsuguda in the State of Odisha in Eastern India. The Oil and Gas segment involves in the exploration and development and production of oil and gas. The company was founded by Dwarka Prasad Agarwal on June 25, 1965 and is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

Read MoreAdam fielded questions from audience members. Following is information gleamed from Adam's responses:

America can't be made great again until government is made accountable again.

The party out of power routinely says it is going to drain the swamp.

Legislators love and support their favorite project as in eye toward their re-election.

Farm subsidies are flowing to urban area where there isn't any farming being done. Farrakhan received $100,000 in Farm Subsidy at his Chicago home.

SBA (Small Business Administration) lending went to swim clubs. Not that swim clubs shouldn't exist, but we shouldn't be subsidizing them either.

In funding by the National Endowment of Art, a large percentage of its funding goes to two well-healed art museums, one of which is the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ivy league colleges, which already have large endowment, still receive federal payment with taxpayers' money.

As a reminder that we are in danger of losing what our Founding Fathers set forth in 1788 with the ratification of our Constitution, when keeping in mind the number of years republics have been able to survive throughout history, this famous story and quote by Benjamin Franklin was cited:

At the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Benjamin Franklin was queried by a woman as he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation: "Well, Doctor, what have we got -- a Republic or a Monarchy?" To which Benjamin Franklin replied, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

In closing, Adam Andrzejewski offered these words of encouragement:

The people of Poland had stronger values than the Communists, but we have stronger principles and stronger values.

About Adam Andrzejewski

Before dedicating his life to public service, Adam co-founded HomePages Directories, a $20 million publishing company (1997-2007). His works have been featured on Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Real Clear Politics, NBC News, FOX News, CNN, and many other prominent news platforms across America.

Recently, Andrzejewski spoke at Harvard Law School, Georgetown Law School, and the Columbia School of Journalism. Last September, Adam was a guest on Brian Lambs hour-long C-SPAN Q&A program. As a contributor at Forbes, Adams editorials have received 2 million unique views.Issues of concern to people who live in the west: property rights, water rights, endangered species, livestock grazing, energy production, wilderness and western agriculture. Plus a few items on western history, western literature and the sport of rodeo... Frank DuBois served as the NM Secretary of Agriculture from 1988 to 2003. DuBois is a former legislative assistant to a U.S. Senator, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Interior, and is the founder of the DuBois Rodeo Scholarship.ABC News (ORANGEBURG, S.C.) -- One escaped inmate was caught Sunday, but two inmates -- both charged with murder -- are still on the loose after breaking out of a South Carolina prison late Saturday.



The three inmates escaped from Orangeburg County Detention Center in Orangeburg, South Carolina, just before 10 p.m. Saturday after overpowering a correctional officer, according to the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office said it was still investigating whether the trio had help.



Christopher Boltin, who had been jailed on charges of carjacking and possession of stolen vehicle, was caught Sunday evening, according to officials.



Boltin, 27, was arrested in Lexington County, South Carolina, about an hour north of the prison after being alerted by Orangeburg County Sheriff's that he "had contacts in that jurisdiction.



"Christopher Boltin was taken into custody in Lexington County by sheriff's deputies in that jurisdiction," Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said. "He will be returned to Orangeburg and put back in jail to await his court hearing. We will now focus on the remaining two at large."



The two men at large, Tyshon Demontrea Johnson, 27, and Curtis Ray Green, 20, were both charged with murder in separate incidents, according to the sheriff's office.



"We know that these individuals are dangerous, we hope theyre not armed at this time, but we just advise people to be vigilant," said Ravenell.







Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.Michel Reis, jazz pianist and composer, is a busy man; a Luxembourger who spends a fair bit of time living in New York too. Travelling, composing and performing across continents is all part of the job. And hes exceptional at it.

Home from Home he says about New York, and all the more because, as it happens, a delegation from Luxembourg arrived that day to support the Art2Cure event.

Cocooned in the cosy cellar of Cornelia Street Cafe, in Greenwich Village New York, sits Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, his husband Gauthier Destenay, HRH Prince Guillaume and HRH Countess Stephanie, along with many others coming to support Michels music.

Michel plays with a number of groups but this trio includes Aidan ODonnell on (double) bass and Colin Stranahan on drums. Why did Aidan move to New York from Glasgow a decade ago?

For the music. New York is probably the best city in the world for jazz."

Robin Hirsch, the ebullient founder of Cornelia Street Cafe, welcomed us all with some anecdotes from the venue whilst people order cocktails and food. Its a feat of 3D spatial dexterity as to how the piano, drum kit and bass fit on the small stage.

Michel and his trio treated us to a diverse spread from his life as a composer and pianist. His style is lyrical and fluid; Aidan and Colin attuned to where they support the solo lines.

Michels compositions range from beautiful treble lines in the right hand which fly across the width of the piano keyboard, to the more staccato nature of a rhythmic jazz, where Aidan and Colins improvisations come to the fore. From pastoral to almost pizzicato playing, it was a wonderful evening of music.

The finishing touch was Robin Hirsch opening up some Cornelia Street wine, the white pressed with my right foot, the red pressed with my left foot, and so the night continued.Vietnams GDP in the first quarter of this year expanded at the fastest pace in ten years, but it does not mean good news for the country, the government said in a report released on Monday.

The countrys GDP growth reached 7.38 percent in the first three months of 2018, the best first-quarter performance since 2008, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said, citing the government report, as he addressed the opening of the fifth session of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi.

The robust growth is driven by all three major sectors, agro-forestry-fishery, industry and construction, and services, he elaborated.

Particularly, the agro-forestry-fishery grew by 4.05 percent in the first quarter of this year from a year earlier, doubling the 2.08 percent growth in the same period last year.

The industry and construction sector also expanded by 9.7 percent, compared to 4.48 percent in Q1/2017. The services sector slightly grew by 6.7 percent, up 0.34 percent.

However, the deputy premier took this achievement with caution, underling that growth is anticipated to fall gradually in the next quarters of the year.

Deputy PM frankly pointed out that the strong Q1/2018 performance is mainly because the growth in the first quarter of 2017 was too modest, only 5.15 percent.

Contrary to last year, when Samsung Vietnam and Formosa, the operator of a steel mill in the north-central province of Ha Tinh greatly contributed in the countrys exports, particularly in May and July, Vietnam lacks such driving forces for economic breakthroughs in the last three quarters of 2018, he added.

The deputy prime minister pointed out that many sectors will face bigger difficulties compared to 2017.

For instance, he said, the mining sector is expected to reduce production, with crude oil output expected to decrease by 2 million metric tons.

Scheduled cuts on import tariffs for some commodities from ASEAN countries can also cast a shadow on Vietnams economy growth in 2018, according to the deputy prime minister.

The government therefore put high expectations on the processing and manufacturing industry to be the main driving force for growth, capable of creating a breakthrough in the overall development of the economy.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!A young Vietnamese university student has come up with a tracking device to help parents stay away from their worst nightmare  having their children kidnapped, abused, or get lost.

Le Van Day, an aspiring engineer-to-be from Bach Khoa University in the central city of Da Nang, has combined his ingenuity with cutting edge navigation technology to make his anti-kidnapping device.

Day told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that recent media reports about kidnapping or child abuse have truly sent chill down his spine.

But it was the horrendous case of Nhat Linh, a ten-year-old Vietnamese girl who was kidnapped and murdered in Japan, that snapped the righteous inventor into action, he said.

The original idea involved placing a tracking device on the wristwatch or backpack of children, but Day finally chose to stick it on their shoes, which supposedly go with the kids all the time.

But it is not an easy task. The device must be small, compact, yet firm at the same time to fit for installation under the shoes soles.

The device consists of a processor, a GPS tracking chip, and a mobile SIM card.

The device will send its location and warnings, if necessary, to the designated mobile phone number every 45 minutes.

Parents can simply send a text message to the device to receive its current location at any given time. In case there is no connection, it will record the last GPS position.

Besides the camouflage effect, shoes are pretty convenient for add-ons, Day said.

An emergency button is secretly installed on the inner side of one shoe, and the children only need to use the other foot to kick into this three times in a row to trigger the alarm mode, which sends an SOS message to their parents.

Parents can also have better control of their children by calling to the SIM card installed in the device. The shoes will automatically pick up the call in recording mode, allowing the caller to know about the surroundings and activities of the kids.

Day said the newest version of his device can run for 15 hours straight from a two-hour charge.

From lab to life

Pham Thi Phuong, a parent struggling with two energetic primary school students, said she will buy the device the moment it is put on sale.

With the device on, of course I shall be more relieved and relaxed, knowing where my children are and which environment they are in, Phuong explained.

Because of its high applicability, the device got Day a prize in the school-level scientific research award.

But the creator admitted that to actually start commercial production for the device remains far-fetched.

While the device is smart enough, the bigger challenge is to reduce its size while retaining all the crucial features, including wireless charge, he said.

Dr. Nguyen Danh Ngoc, from the machinery department of the Bach Khoa Da Nang University, holds Days invention in high regard, expressing his belief that the product will soon be able to enter the market.

He commended Day for his inventiveness, self-study efforts, and unwavering passion for science.

Day is highly adept at machinery, and is very attentive to knowledge and details alike, Ngoc said.

Many other students have taken after him and sought his guidance, considering him a bright example to follow.

With many inventions and awards lining up his shelf, Day earns the nickname award-hunter of his machinery department, having won several contests and competitions at both university- and city-levels. In 2017, his Simple watch, a navigation and health checking gadget designed for the elderly, won the top prize of FameLab, a world's leading science communication competition held by the British Council. Ever since his freshman year, Day has created numerous agricultural machines, such as the seed drill, pepper processing line and cereal drier. Some of these devices have even been purchased by local businesses, endorsing the young inventor to brace on with his passion. Day has also turned his humble 20-square-meter rental room into a science-techno hub open to all who share his ideals.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!Vietnams National Assembly (NA) commenced its fifth session in Hanoi on Monday morning, with lawmakers expected to review and approve a total of eight draft laws.

The legislative body will spend 60 percent of the sitting, scheduled to run from May 21 to June 15, on law making work, involving considering and approving eight draft laws and one resolution.

The draft laws to be passed are the Law on Denunciation (revised), Law on Special Administrative and Economic Units, Law on Measurement and Maps, Law on Competition (revised), Law on Cyber Security, Law on National Defense (revised), Law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the law on physical activity and sports, and Law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the law on planning.

They are also expected to adopt the resolution on the NAs supervision program and the establishment of a specialized supervision group in 2019.

Some other bills in such fields as corruption prevention, public security, education, and agriculture will also be tabled for discussion.

The NA is anticipated to devote a day to assessing the implementation of policies and laws on management and use of state capital and asset at enterprises, and equalization of state-owned enterprises during the 2011-16 period.

About three days will be reserved for question and answer activity, with a focus on face-to-face debate.

Each NA deputy is given one minute to put question, and after three questions, the Cabinet member has three minutes to make the answer.

Held twice a year, the National Assembly sessions play a significant role in legislators decision making with regard to issues crucial to the country.

The previous meeting of the legislative body was convened in the capital from October 23 to November 25.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!A Vietnamese woman has been caught on camera physically abusing young children at a childcare center run by herself in the central city of Da Nang.

A video clip and several photos depicting the violence at a daycare facility on Thai Thi Boi Street in Chinh Gian Ward, Thanh Khe District were posted on social media on Monday morning, infuriating many viewers.

In the 22-second footage, the woman is seen feeding a young boy who was lying shirtless on the floor.

She started hitting the kid on his face as he refused to eat.

In one of the photos, the same woman is pictured grabbing a child by his face and lifting him up.

The Office of Education and Training in Thanh Khe District has carried out an inspection of the center on the same morning.

The facility was then shut down, and the young children were returned to their parents.

Police officers are collecting statements from those involved.

The center is owned by Dinh Thi Hong, 46, vice-chairman of the Chinh Gian Peoples Committee Ngo Chinh Cong said.

According to the official, Hong admitted she was the woman in the video clip and photos, adding that the incident occurred in mid-April.

The violence was filmed by one attendant of the daycare, who later quit her job, he added.

The center has a legitimate license, Cong continued, adding that the most recent inspection of the facility was conducted earlier this year.

A woman at a daycare center in Da Nang lifts a child by grabbing his head in this photo uploaded to social media.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!Entries have now opened all Television and Online categories for the 8th AACTA Awards.

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts has also confirmed dedicated television branches aligned to a genre will replace the bulk of the television juries. Previously, the television categories were each judged by a Jury of 7-9 AACTA members who created a shortlist which was then discussed at a meeting with all jurors.

The new model now consults the entirety of the respective Branch, numbering 50  100 members each, who will view all of the entries and provide their preferential votes.

We believe the new branch voting system will achieve a more inclusive approach to the determination of our television nominees and winners, said AFI | AACTA CEO Damian Trewhella.

The establishment of our Documentary Branch last year was well-received by industry and saw an exponential increase in the number of people involved in the peer review process. We are looking forward to engaging with and involving the diverse practitioners of the Australian television community in the AACTA Awards process this year.

AACTA welcomes new members with relevant television experience to apply and play an important role in determining Australias best and brightest in the field of television. All Television Branch members will have access to entered productions through AACTAs online streaming service, AACTA TV.

aacta.org/aacta-awards/entries/

TV Tonight is a partner of the AACTA Awards.On Tuesday Dateline tackles Irelands Abortion Debate and asks whether the majority Catholic country will vote to legalise abortion?

Ireland, a majority Catholic country, is one of the few places in Europe where abortion is illegal, even in cases of rape or severe foetal abnormality.

Now, the country is heading to the polls in a landmark referendum on May 25 that could finally overturn its abortion laws.

This Tuesday, Dateline reporter Shaunagh Connaire goes to the heart of the referendum to meet women and families from both sides of the bitterly divisive debate.

Enshrined in its constitution is the protection of the unborns right to life  but at what cost?

Hitting the streets of Waterford, Shaunagh meets a new generation of young, grassroots campaigners called the Youth Defence who are fighting hard to keep Ireland abortion free.

This is a human rights issue, explains Christina Darcy, a trainee teacher. We have constitutional protection of the unborn, like an equal right to life for the mother and the baby. Why would we take that out of our constitution?

But across the border in Manchester, Shaunagh meets Irish women being pushed to extremes.

In 2016, 3,265 Irish women travelled to the UK to get an abortion. Due to the expense, and lack of local support, most make the trip in one day, risking their health in the process.

I was given a card with a number on it in order to protect your identity, says one such woman Cathy, who paid 400 for her surgical abortion in a Manchester clinic.

Youre just a number for the day. Its really heartbreaking to know that you are almost being exported; that this country doesnt want to know about your problems or your issues.

Abortion is banned unless a pregnant woman is about to die and any woman who has one  even in cases of rape or if the foetus is unviable  faces up to 14 years in jail.

Back in Dublin, Shaunagh meets mum and Pro Choice campaigner Claire Cullen who reveals the trauma of being forced to continue her pregnancy until her baby died. At 22 weeks, she found out her daughter had an abnormality and would die in the womb but couldnt access an abortion.

I had a routine to check if she was dead yet. When I went out, people would say things like, Congratulations, when are you due? Do you know what youre having?

I didnt want her to die but I had no choice, she was going to die. I needed it to be over so I could cope, so I could go on, so I could mourn, so I wasnt so afraid all the time.

Pro-life campaigners argue other childrens lives would be threatened if abortion is legalised.

Thomas and his wife, Lisa, both believe their daughter, who has a severe disability, would not have been born without constitutional protections for the unborn.

About 80% of Irish people say theyre Catholic, but theyve defied the church in other referendums like gay marriage. Will they now follow suit and vote yes to its most sensitive question yet?

Tuesday 22 May at 9.30pm on SBS.TV loves dystopian dramas lately. The latest is a modern reworking of Ray Bradburys sci-fi classic Fahrenheit 451.

Last adapted for the screen in 1966 as a film by French writer / director Francois Truffaut, the new version is produced by HBO and is set in the future in Cleveland.

Guy Montag (Michael B. Jordan) is a rig-fit fireman, trained military-like within an inch of his life by his ruthless Fire Captain Beatty (Michael Shannon).

Civilisation reeks of big brother-like controlling. A Google Home-like device, known as Yuxie assists with Montags every domestic whim, including reminding him to take his daily-dose of eye-drops, but monitors his every move. City towers which double as giant video billboards remind citizens if they See something, say something.

The fire department, which makes celebrities of its force, has social media followers who watch them Live in action via camera. But Bradburys key concept in his work ensures that instead of the firemen extinguishing fires, they start them, buy burning books which are full of political ideas, anarchy, propaganda and anti-social material.

Underground novels by Hemmingway, Kafka, Melville, Swift, Oscar Wilde, and even Mein Kampf and Harry Potter are considered graffiti and burned, to ensure we must be made equal by the fire. As a result, history is rewritten and fake news abounds.

But at one fire raid Montag encounters an Eel, a rebel harbouring a secret library, who self-immolates with books strapped to her body like a suicide bomber. After Montag steals a book for secret investigation, he encounters the Eel network and the alluring Clarisse McClellan (Sofia Boutella).

Montag soon finds himself caught in the crossfire, with his doubts and emotions wrapped up in Clarisse, and his training and servitude to Captain Beatty. There are also flashbacks to him as a young boy with his father, to a time of love, imagination and hope.

Jordan has all the muscle needed for this action film under director Ramin Bahrani and plenty of charisma. But this detour gets caught up in uncontrolled testosterone at the expense of its inherent message. As a reinvention it isnt clear why the firemen are just that -all men- with Jordan sometimes feeling like a sole African-American in a sea of angry white men.

Shannon may be effective as the villain of the piece, if not particularly a villain we love to hate. The Eels, meanwhile, spend too much time in a hypnotic-like state reminiscent of early Leftovers episodes. If reading books makes one this dull and lifeless, pass me the matches now.

As it builds to an unsatisfying burning crescendo, never really addressing the utopia it seeks, it all feels like the journey has not been worth the destination. Perhaps we should put this one down as a vanity project, given Jordan is an executive producer.

Try watching the original film or grab some popcorn and a DVD of The Towering Inferno.

Fahrenheit 451 airs 9:30pm Monday on Showcase.

Updated.Essie Davis and the cast of Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries are reuniting for the feature film Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears.

Production will finally get underway in Morocco and Melbourne in October, answering the prayers of thousands of global fans who had campaigned for the return of the exquisite sleuth and a successful crowdsourcing fund.

Essie Davis returns, joined by Nathan Page as Detective Inspector Jack Robinson, Miriam Margolyes as Aunt Prudence and Ashleigh Cummings as her loyal assistant and maid Dorothy Dot Collins.

Deb Cox returns as writer, and co-executive producer with Fiona Eagger from Every Cloud Productions. Eagger and Lucy Maclaren are also co-producing. The film will be directed by Tony Tilse, set-up director on the television series.

Cox says the tale, spanning from London to British Palestine, promises a ride full of twists and turns as Phrynes Middle Eastern adventures find her hunting for missing treasure, racing the clock on an apocalyptic ancient curse  and still finding time for romantic dalliance  in the sweeping deserts and sumptuous mansions of this exotic big screen production.

Fiona Eagger said: Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears will have the witty intrigue of Indiana Jones, the opulent style of a Merchant Ivory Production, and the feminist fun of Thelma and Louise. The legions of Miss Fisher fans from around the world have been eagerly waiting for news of Phrynes next grand adventure. We are thrilled that she will be taking the leap to the big screen and with this fabulous new international murder mystery story.

Sally Caplan, Head of Production at Screen Australia, said: The Miss Fisher TV series has had extraordinary success with international sales in over 170 territories and is testament that strong female characters resonate with audiences. Every Cloud have smartly leveraged this fan base into crowd-funding for the film, and assembled the same creative team to expertly deliver a big screen chapter of the adventures of Miss Fisher with excellent commercial prospects.

Victorian Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley said: This year is shaping up to be a bumper year for Victorias screen sector and Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears is part of an impressive slate of local productions that will go on to screen across the globe. The 2018-19 Budget includes $8.4 million to ensure our state continues to be a destination of choice for productions of all sizes and secure a strong pipeline of work for the 11,500 Victorians employed across our screen industry.

Joel Pearlman, co-CEO of Roadshow Films, said: We are incredibly excited to be working with Fiona, Deb, Tony and this incredible team to bring Miss Fisher to the screen. Phryne Fisher has become a much loved and iconic modern day heroine in a classical world and her leap to the big screen is already anticipated by the huge audience that has grown to love this character. Roadshow films cant wait to be part of the next iteration of her journey.

A release date is yet to be confirmed.

The film opens with the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher rescuing Shirin Abbas, a young Bedouin woman, who has been thrown into jail in British Mandated Palestine, for making trouble at a time of colonial unrest. After a perilous escape from Jerusalem, she rejoins Shirin as a fellow guest in the home of Lord and Lady Lofthouse, for the London season and she pledges to help her right a wrong and discover the truth about the Crypt of Tears  an ancient crypt rumoured to lie somewhere beneath the rolling sands of the Negev Desert.Jessica Mauboys purple sequinned dress in the Eurovision Song Contest has been voted second-worst outfit according to Belgian website Songfestival.

The Barbara Dex Award, named after Belgians 1993 entrant, has gone to Macedonian duo Eye Cue (pictured below).

As Wiwibloggs notes:

Marija started her performance in a thigh-skimming pink outfit with an open back. It was so loose and ill-fitting that most press assumed she would have it tailored following her first rehearsal. She did not.

Halfway through the performance she removed the covering to reveal a grey shorts and top co-ord which featured pink embellishments and a very strange motif on her chest. It appeared as if she had two large eyes sewn on to her cleavage.

Australias Jessica Mauboy was cruelly described by historian John Kennedy OConnor as looking like shed escaped from Wentworth and been let on stage. It was dreadful. She was describing herself in the media as Australias Beyonce. Clearly shes never seen Beyonce.

Harsh!

TV Tonight readers were critical of our staging but nodded to politics as a key reason for our low vote.

Barbara Dex Award Winner 2018: The Top 5

FYR Macedonia  Eye Cue

Australia  Jessica Mauboy

Belgium  Sennek

Montenegro  Vanja Radovanovic

Israel  Netta

Why did Australia score so low in Eurovision televoting? The singer

The song

The staging

Europe doesn't want Australia in Eurovision

Europe doesn't want Eurovision being staged in Australia

We lack neighbours to vote for us

Other

Not sure View Results

The second documentary to screen as part of SBS showcase Untold Australia is Outback Rabbis, which follows a pair of Rabbis and their wives on a mission to bring Jews together in remote locations.

Outback Rabbis

Ultra-Orthodox Chassidic Rabbis hit the Aussie bush on a road trip like no other. Dressed in their traditional black suits and fedora hats, the Outback Rabbis embark on a journey filled with surprising and emotional encounters with Aussie outback characters. Leaving the comfort of city life, the two Rabbis and their families head into the heart of Australia and travel the country in a campervan emblazoned with their Jewish mission, rattling into remote Aussie towns in their search for lost Jews. From lush islands and rainforest in North Queensland to Uluru and the Red Centre, this often humorous and touching documentary travels to some of the most spectacular sights in Australia discovering the hidden world of the Australian Jewish community in the bush.

8:30pm Wednesday on SBS.FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Alexis TsipraS arrives for the Party of the European Socialists (PES) preparatory meeting of heads of government and party leaders in Sofia, Bulgaria, May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece and its foreign creditors agreed that the country will meet its fiscal targets in the coming years and there will be no fiscal gap in 2018 and 2019, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told his cabinet on Monday.

Athens and representatives from its European and International Monetary Fund creditors reached an initial agreement on Saturday on the country's reform progress under its final bailout review. Greece's current bailout ends in August.

"All parties' estimates coincide that Greece will meet its fiscal targets in the coming years," Tsipras said before presenting a four-year strategy for the post-bailout period.

"It was confirmed that there will be no fiscal gap in 2018 and 2019."

Euro zone finance ministers are expected to discuss Greece's progress in June.

Tsipras, whose term ends next year, reiterated that Athens is expected to increase social spending in 2019 and cut taxes in 2020, as agreed with its lenders. Athens and its lenders are still negotiating post-bailout debt relief measures, he said.

Greece has received about 260 billion euros (228 billion pounds) in emergency loans since 2010 in exchange for painful cuts and unpopular reforms. The money has kept it afloat but has also increased its debt, which now stands at 180 percent of GDP.

The leftist premier said that reinstating collective bargaining on wages, increasing the minimum wage and cracking down on unregistered work would be among his top priorities in the next three years.

"It's not only the need to finish with the institution of underpaid work. Increasing wages will also help increase private consumption and expand economic activity," he said adding that young Greeks were hurt the most during the crisis and need not only more but also better jobs.

(Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by Andrew Heavens)FILE PHOTO - Showa Shell Sekiyu's logo is seen at its gas station in Tokyo, Japan, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File Photo

ALMATY (Reuters) - Russia's Rosneft <ROSN.MM> has quit Eurasia, an early-stage oil exploration project in Kazakhstan, while Shell <RDSa.L> has joined it, an executive of the Kazakh company involved in the project said on Monday.

The Eurasia project focuses on exploring a geological area known as the Caspian Depression in western Kazakhstan by drilling ultra-deep wells of up to 15 kilometres.

Kazakhstan has estimated that the untapped lower levels of the geological structure could hold up to 60 billion tonnes of oil. The initial stage of exploration, including the drilling of the first well, could cost $500 million (372.3 million pounds).

Six companies, including Kazakh national energy firm KazMunayGaz <KMGZ.KZ>, Azerbaijan's SOCAR, Italy's ENI <ENI.MI>, China's CNPC and U.S. geological services group NEOS, signed up for the project last year.

But Rosneft, which also signed the memorandum, told the Kazakh government it was quitting the project, Alexander Denyakin, chief executive of KMG-Eurasia, a subsidiary of KazMunayGaz <KMGZ.KZ>, told Reuters.

Rosneft declined to comment on the matter on Monday.

At the same time, Shell is joining the project, which will remain open to new participants until the end of this year, Denyakin said. Shell's Kazakh office could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Due to its technological complexity Eurasia could cost more than Kashagan, a giant offshore field in the Caspian on which investors have spent over $50 billion.

(Reporting by Mariya Gordeyeva; Additional reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Louise Heavens)FILE PHOTO: People hold up pictures of assassinated anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia during a vigil and demonstration marking seven months since her murder in a car bomb, at her makeshift memorial outside the Courts of Justice in Valletta, Malta May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi/File Photo

Thomson Reuters

VALLETTA (Reuters) - A Maltese court on Monday dismissed an attempt by one of the suspects in the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia to stop an FBI team testifying in pre-trial proceedings.

Galizia, an anti-corruption blogger, was killed by a car bomb last October. The bomb is believed to have been triggered by a signal from a mobile phone and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been helping Maltese authorities to solve the case.

Three people have been charged with carrying out the murder but police have not identified who ordered it. The three people deny the charges.

One of the three, Alfred Degiorgio, tried to have the FBI barred from giving evidence in the case on the grounds that it has worked with a court-appointed Maltese IT expert, Martin Bajada, who has a historic conviction for theft and fraud.

"Dr Bajada should never have been appointed in the first place and should never have been allowed to work alongside the FBI experts," a lawyer for Degiorgio said, adding that his client's rights would be prejudiced if the foreign experts were allowed to testify.

In her ruling, Judge Lorraine Schembri Orland described Degiorgio's attempt to stop the FBI from giving evidence as "frivolous and vexatious".

Maurizio Cordina, a lawyer representing Malta's Attorney General, said the case was "a desperate maneuver by Mr Degiorgio to delay, if not block" the trial, adding that Bajada had simply gathered evidence and had not worked with the FBI.

The case against Degiorgio is built mostly around intercepts of mobile phone data compiled by the FBI and Bajada.

The FBI is due to give evidence in the case on Tuesday.

The Times of Malta reported that Bajada pleaded guilty in 1993 in a London court to charges of theft and fraud and received a two-year suspended sentence.

(Reporting by Chris Scicluna; Editing by Gareth Jones)

See Also:CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian television series being shown during the Muslim month of Ramadan has angered neighboring Sudan, prompting Khartoum to lodge an official complaint with Cairo.

The series, titled Abu Omar al-Masri, revolves around an Egyptian Islamist associate of al Qaeda leader and founder Osama bin Laden, who had lived in Sudan in the 1990s before he relocated to Afghanistan after Khartoum expelled him.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry accused the Egyptian makers of the series of "trying to create and consecrate a negative stereotype image that attributes the charge of terrorism to some Egyptian citizens residing in or visiting Sudan".

The ministry said it had summoned the Egyptian ambassador in Khartoum on May 16 and lodged an official protest.

"The foreign ministry calls on Egyptian authorities to take an appropriate decision that will put an end to the attempt by some to meddle in the interests and gains of the two sisterly countries," the statement said.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry made no response to the statement, but one television channel said the series was based on the "imagination of its author" and did not include any scene against the government, state or people of Sudan.

"The makers of the series realise well the role of art in bringing people closer, rather than creating a crisis against them," the statement from ON TV said.

Relations between Egypt and Sudan, long strained by a dispute over a patch of Red Sea territory, have deteriorated further over perceived support by Khartoum for an Ethiopian dam, which Cairo says will reduce waters that run to its fields and reservoirs from Ethiopias highlands via Sudan.

(Reporting by Khalid Abdelaziz and Sameh El Khatib, editing by Sami Aboudi and Dale Hudson)

See Also:Sky News

Searing hot boulders the size of three-storey buildings have flowed down the side of a volcano in the Canary Islands as a string of tremors shook the ground three weeks after it erupted. The accompanying river of scorching magma, reaching temperatures of up to 1,240C (2,264F), also destroyed the last few properties that remained standing in the village of Todoque on La Palma, according to scientists. Explaining the latest activity, Spain's National Security Department wrote on Twitter: "The collapse of the northern flank of the... volcano has caused the release of large blocks of material and the appearance of new flows that run through areas already evacuated."Katy Perry wasnt sugarcoating anything during the penultimate episode of American Idol on Sunday night, when the top three sang their hearts out to become the 16th Idol.

In the first round of the competition, Caleb Lee Hutchinson, Gabby Barrett, and Maddie Poppe sang their brand-new singles. The judges werent impressed, however, sensing overall discomfort from the contestants.

After Hutchinsons performance of Johnny Cash Heart, Perry stated, You have to make me a believer, and I didnt feel like a believer. I felt like that was actually your weakest performance Ive ever seen. Barrett also faced harsh criticism after performing her new single, Rivers Deep. The judges told her that she needed to learn how to pick a song that doesnt just work in a studio but can work on stage and in front of a live audience, who may not be familiar with the piece.

Poppe was the only contestant of the three not getting negative feedback from her first performance, which was of Going Going Gone. But it wasnt the most exciting feedback, either. Luke Bryan told Poppe, So, Maddie, in my opinion, you felt the most comfortable that weve seen out here thus far. Good job on that. I could relax watching you. So, finally, I can relax a little bit and take a breath. But way to come out here and deliver a solid performance. The first round may have been a rough start for the contestants, but  luckily  by round two they had gotten their groove back.

Following the second round, in which each of the top three gave an encore performance of their favorite song from the competition this season, Perry told host Ryan Seacrest, The first round  was a disaster. And the second round, I thought they got their confidence back, and Im ready to see them, Im ready to see why they made it the top three in this last round.

Sure enough, by the third round, the top three were totally back in their element. Especially Barrett, who did Journeys Dont Stop Believin' and got a special surprise visit from Steve Perry in the audience. It was the most amazing version Ive ever heard. Swear, it was beautiful. Just beautiful, Steve Perry told an elated Barrett.

Story continues

However, it was Poppe, the only contestant the judges praised in all three rounds, who ultimately won Katy Perrys vote. In fact, following her final performance of Fleetwood Macs Landslide, Perry immediately took to her phone, saying simply, Im voting for you.

The American Idol finale airs Monday, May 21, at 8 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of American Idol for free on Yahoo View.

Check out Carrie Underwood returning to her old stomping grounds on Idol:

Read more from Yahoo! Entertainment:

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.Seafood consumption is both a love and a necessity for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. And its supply is a key part of maintaining food security for the whole planet. But during a time of rapid population growth and increasing demand, stocks of wild fish and invertebrates (such as mussels and prawns) are declining.

The problem is that policies and plans designed to make sure there are enough fish and invertebrates almost exclusively target fishing activity. But we also need to protect the critical habitats that are essential for the sustainability of these stocks and fisheries.

Most species that are fished require more than a single habitat to live and thrive. Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), for example, spends its adult life shoaling in deep water where it lives, feeds and spawns. But juveniles require more stable habitat such as seagrass meadows. So, if we want to manage fish and invertebrate stocks for sustainability reasons, it is essential to protect the supporting habitats of targeted species.

Seagrass meadows are just one of these critical habitats. These large areas of marine flowering plants are abundant in shallow seas on all continents except Antarctica. They support biodiversity and in turn the productivity of the worlds fisheries. As seagrass meadows occur from the intertidal  the area exposed by the daily ebb of the tide  to about a depth of 60 metres in clear waters, they are an easily exploitable fishing habitat.

Though it is clear that seagrasses are a vital part of ocean ecosystems, until now, there has been no information on the role that meadows play in supporting the productivity of world fisheries. But we have now published the first quantitative global evidence on the significant roles that seagrasses play.

Habitats and fisheries

Nursery grounds in seagrass meadows are a safer, less exposed, environment for eggs to be laid and young animals to find food and protection from predators as they grow. The very fact that they are there means that there are places for commercial fish stocks such as tiger prawns, conch, Atlantic cod and white spotted spinefoot to be caught by global fisheries. In fact, a fifth of the worlds most landed fish  including Atlantic cod and Walleye pollock  benefit from the persistence of extensive seagrass meadows.

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But it is not just large-scale fishing industries that benefit from the presence of seagrass meadows. As they are an easily accessible fishing ground, small scale artisanal and subsistence fisheries around the world also use them.

Seagrass is also essential for communities that take part in gleaning  fishing for invertebrates such as sea cucumbers in water that is shallow enough to walk in. This is often done by women and children, and provides a source of essential protein and income for some of the most vulnerable people in tropical coastal communities. It is a common and increasingly visible activity, but it is not usually included in fishery statistics and rarely considered in resource management strategies.

And the benefits of seagrasses dont only lie in the meadows themselves, their presence supports nearby fishing areas, as well as deep water habitats. They do this by creating expansive areas rich in fauna, from which there are vast quantities of living material, organic matter and associated animal biomass that supports other fisheries. Seagrasses also promote the health of connected habitats (like coral reefs), and have the capacity to support whole food webs in deep sea fisheries.

The coastal distribution of seagrass means that it is vulnerable to a multitude of threats from both land and sea. These include land runoff, coastal development, boat damage and trawling. On a global scale, seagrass is rapidly declining, and when seagrass is lost associated fisheries and their stocks are likely to become compromised with profound and negative economic consequences.

The importance of seagrass meadows for fisheries productivity and hence food security is not reflected by the policies currently in place. These are urgently needed to continue enjoying the benefits that healthy and productive seagrass meadows provide.

Fisheries management must be broadened from just targeting fishing activity to also targeting the habitats on which fisheries depend. Awareness of the role of seagrass in global fisheries production  and, so, food security  must be central to any policy, and major manageable threats to seagrass, such as declining water quality, must be dealt with.

Seagrass can be a resilient and supportive habitat  but only if we take action to continue to enjoy the benefits it provides.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

The Conversation

Leanne Cullen-Unsworth is co-director of the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass

Lina Mtwana Nordlund receives funding from The Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Plannings. Dr Nordlund is the treasurer of the World Seagrass Association, and coordinator of the Indo-Pacific Seagrass Network.

Richard K.F. Unsworth is a founding director of the marine conservation charity Project Seagrass.The Tesco Express in Oldham where the incident happened (Picture: Google)

A man has died at a Tesco Express supermarket after threats were reportedly made to staff.

The man, who was in his 30s, died at the scene on Ashton Road in Oldham.

Police were called to the supermarket at about 10.20pm on Sunday after reports of threats being made to staff.

Greater Manchester Police said: Shortly before 10.20pm on Sunday, May 20, 2018, police received a report that threats were being made to staff at Tesco Express on Ashton Road in Oldham.

Officers attended and further emergency services were requested.

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A short while later, a man in his 30s sadly died at the scene.

The force has referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

A spokesperson for Tesco said: Were aware of the tragic incident at our Oldham Ashton Express and are assisting police with their enquiries.

The store remains closed at this time.The man was shot dead in Dublin as police searched for missing woman Jastine Valdez (Twitter/PA)

The search for a missing 24-year-old woman continues following the death of a man during a shooting involving police in Dublin.

Jastine Valdez, from Enniskerry in the county but originally from the Philippines and studying in Ireland, was last seen when she left her home on Saturday afternoon.

Following reports of a woman being forced into a car in Co Wicklow, Gardai said they interacted with the driver of a vehicle, thought to be aged 40, at around 8pm on Sunday evening in the Cherrywood business district in the south of the Irish capital and fired a weapon.

A Garda statement said: Gardai investigating the disappearance of Jastine Valdez interacted with the driver of a vehicle at approximately 8pm this evening the 20th May 2018 in the Cherrywood area of Dublin.

An official Garda firearm was discharged.

Scene from Cherrywood Business Park following shots fired in search for Jastine Valdez pic.twitter.com/qoI5s5QB84  James McNamara (@jimmymacRTE) May 20, 2018

Extraordinary incident unfolding tonight at Cherrywood in hunt for Jastine Valdez. Shots fired near Luas station. Jastine still missing. pic.twitter.com/eSpYYX3OrY  Nicola Tallant (@nicolatallantsw) May 20, 2018

A Garda helicopter, cars, support units, and ambulances were at the scene of the shooting at the business park.

The force is still searching for Ms Valdez.

A police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsmans Commission, is investigating the shooting and confirmed that the man had died.

Irish broadcaster RTE said the dead man was armed with a knife and was a father-of-two from the Wicklow area.

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Photographer Peter Varga said the scene was under armed guard.

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He said: It is a huge car park between the Dell building and the Luas track, there is a huge space.

I also saw some people obviously in shock coming out of the scene with one policeman.

The people were in shock and crying, there were four males and one female.

Emergency services congregated at the scene following the shooting (PA)

Emergency services next to a Nissan Qashqai (centre) at a business park in Cherrywood (PA)

Mr Varga said a vehicle police had been pursuing, a Nissan Qashqai, was abandoned at the scene of the shooting with its windows down.

A manhunt had been under way for the man whom Gardai were told was seen forcing Ms Valdez into his car in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.

Earlier, the Garda said it was extremely concerned for Ms Valdezs safety.

A Garda statement said she normally regularly contacted her family using social media.

The scene in Cherrywood where a suspect in his 40s has been shot during an operation in the search for abducted Jastine Valdez pic.twitter.com/2KY60oHSdV  Robin Schiller (@11SchillRob) May 20, 2018

#Garda statement on incident in Cherrywood tonight as part of search for Jastine Valdez. pic.twitter.com/IKKyDDjpaa  Michael OToole (@mickthehack) May 20, 2018

Gardai told RTE she was on her way home to Enniskerry when the suspected abduction happened.

They added: We are looking at that at the moment, trying to clarify her last movements on CCTV and taking statements from witnesses.

We have a large investigation team working on it.

Jastine is around 5ft, of slight build with long black hair and brown eyes. When last seen she was wearing a dark coloured jacket, white T-shirt, grey leggings and runners.The two men were attacked by a cougar while biking (File picture: Rex)

Two mountain bikers have been attacked by a cougar near Seattle, leaving one dead and the other injured.

Friends SJ Brooks, 32, and Isaac Sederbaum, 31, were attacked by the animal during a morning ride on a trail in Washington State on Saturday.

Mr Brooks was killed in the attack, while Mr Sederbaum was flown to hospital where he is said to be in a stable condition.

Authorities said the pair did everything right in the situation but the cougar continued with its attack.

After the attack, the cougar was found up a tree near the dead mans body, where agents for the states Fish and Wildlife police shot and killed it.

Authorities say the cougar initially attacked him before running away. Moments later, it returned with deadly results.

When initially faced with the animal, the pair shouted and tried to scare it away. When it charged, one of the men hit the cougar with his bike, causing it to run off.

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But the cougar then returned to continue its attack, biting one biker, Mr Sederbaum, on the head and shaking him. When the second cyclist, Mr Brooks, ran, the animal dropped the first victim and pounced on him, killing him and dragging his body back to its den.

They did everything they were supposed to do, said Sgt. Ryan Abbott of the King County Sheriffs Office.

But something was wrong with this cougar.

The attack happened on North Bend, in the Cascade Mountain foothills 30 miles east of Seattle.

Officials said the animal was underweight  about 100lbs (45kg)  when a typical three-year-old cougar would weight up to 180lbs (81kg).

Authorities said the cougar was underweight (File picture: Rex)

He jumped the first victim and attacked him, said Sgt Abbott,

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The second victim turned and started to run away. The cougar saw that and went after the second victim. The first victim saw his friend being pulled by the cougar. He got on his bike and started to bike away.

The injured man rode for about two miles before getting mobile phone coverage and calling 911.

Sgt Abbott said when rescuers arrived it took them about 30 minutes to locate the second victim, who was dead with the cougar standing on top of him.

The deputies shot at him and spooked him, and he ran off, he said.

It took several hours before authorities found the cougar up a tree 50 to 200 yards away and killed it.

While the cougar was being hunted, rescuers had to wait to retrieve the dead mans body.

Rich Beausoleil, the states bear and cougar specialist, said it was only the second fatality in the state in the last 94 years. But its one too many, he said.

Cougars, also known as mountain lions and pumas, are a protected species. Each year, the state allows 250 cougars to be hunted and killed in 50 designated zones.HAVANA (AP)  The Mexican charter company whose plane crashed in Havana, killing 110 people, has been the subject of two serious complaints about its crews' performance over the last decade, according to authorities in Guyana and a retired pilot for Cuba's national airline.

The plane was barred from Guyanese airspace last year after authorities discovered that its crew had been allowing dangerous overloading of luggage on flights to Cuba, Guyanese Civil Aviation Director Capt. Egbert Field told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The plane and crew were being rented from Mexico City-based Damojh airlines by EasySky, a Honduras-based low-cost airline. Cuba's national carrier, Cubana de Aviacion, was renting the Boeing 737 and crew in a similar arrangement known as a "wet lease" before the aircraft veered on takeoff to the eastern Cuban city of Holguin and crashed into a field just after noon Friday, according to Mexican aviation authorities.

A Damojh employee in Mexico City declined to comment, saying the company would be communicating only through written statements. Mexican authorities said Damojh had permits needed to lease its aircraft and had passed a November 2017 verification of its maintenance program.

Cuban Transportation Minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez told reporters Saturday afternoon that Cubana had been renting the plane for about a month under an arrangement in which the Mexican company was entirely responsible for maintenance of the aircraft. Armando Daniel Lopez, president of Cuba's Institute of Civil Aviation, told the AP that Cuban authorities had not received any complaints about the plane in that month. He declined to comment further.

Yzquierdo said it was routine for Cuba to rent planes under a variety of arrangements because of what he described as the country's inability to purchase its own aircraft due to the U.S. trade embargo on the island. Cuba has been able to buy planes produced in other countries, including France and Ukraine, but has pulled many from service due to maintenance problems and other issues.

Story continues

Yzquierdo said the jet's "black box" voice recorder had been recovered.

Eyewitness and private salon owner Rocio Martinez said she heard a strange noise and looked up to see the plane with a turbine on fire.

"It had an engine on fire, in flames, it was falling toward the ground," Martinez said, adding that the plane veered into the field where it crashed, avoiding potential fatalities in a nearby residential area.

Field told AP that the Boeing 737 with tail number XA-UHZ had been flying four routes a week between Georgetown, Guyana, and Havana starting in October 2016. Cubans do not need visas to travel to Guyana, and the route was popular with Cubans working as "mules" to bring suitcases crammed with goods back home to the island, where virtually all consumer products are scarce and more expensive than in most other countries.

After Easy Sky canceled a series of flights in spring 2017, leaving hundreds of Cubans stranded at Guyana's main airport, authorities began inspecting the plane and discovered that crews were loading excessive amounts of baggage, leading to concerns the aircraft could be dangerously overburdened and unbalanced. In one instance, Guyanese authorities discovered suitcases stored in the plane's toilet.

"This is the same plane and tail number," Guyanese Infrastructure Minister David Patterson said. He and other Guyanese authorities said they did not immediately know if the crew suspended last May was the same one that died in Friday's crash. Damojh operates three Boeing 737s, two 737-300s and the 737-201 that crashed Friday, according to Mexican officials.

Ovidio Martinez Lopez, a pilot for Cubana for over 40 years until he retired six years ago, wrote in a post on Facebook that a plane rented from the Mexican company by Cubana briefly dropped off radar while over the city of Santa Clara in 2010 or 2011, triggering an immediate response by Cuban aviation security officials. As a result, Cuban officials suspended a captain and co-pilot for "serious technical knowledge issues," and Cuba's Aviation Security authority issued a formal recommendation that Cubana stop renting planes and crews from Damojh, Martinez wrote.

"They are many flight attendants and security personnel who refused to fly with this airline," Martinez wrote. "On this occasion, the recommendation was overlooked and they rented from them again."

Contacted by AP in Havana, Martinez confirmed his Facebook account but declined to comment further.

Mexican officials said the Boeing 737-201 was built in 1979.

In November 2010 a Global Air flight originating in Mexico City made an emergency landing in Puerto Vallarta because its front landing gear did not deploy. The fire was quickly extinguished, and none of the 104 people aboard were injured. That plane was a 737 first put into service in 1975.

Mexican aviation authorities said a team of experts would fly to Cuba on Saturday to take part in the investigation.

____

Associated Press writers Andrea Rodriguez in Havana and Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.

See Also:A Cambridge University professor has been named as the FBIs informant in their probe into alleged collaboration between Donald Trumps presidential campaign team and Russia.

Stefan Halper has been identified by multiple media outlets as the source tasked by the FBI with collecting information about the Russian connections of Trump campaign officials Carter Page and George Papadopoulos.

Halper has been dragged into the center of the battle between the Trump administration and the FBI over the Russia probe, with Trump alleging that the Obama administration planted a mole in his campaign to derail his presidential bid, and U.S. government officials denying that the source was part of the campaign and its use of the informant was not improper.

Trending: Trump Could Be 'Walking Into A Trap' With Mueller Interview, Giuliani Warns

Top GOP officials have reportedly been pushing for the FBI to name the source, who the New York Times reported Friday is an American academic who teaches in Britain.

Halper, 73, was reportedly chosen as an informant because of his connections with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, who was indicted by Robert Muellers probe into Russian collusion for money laundering and bank fraud. (Manafort denies the charges.)

GettyImages-2863728

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A U.S. citizen with doctorates from Oxford and Cambridge, Halper served in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations before becoming a fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he is a Senior Fellow of the Centre of International Studies.

He was also a consultant on Russia and China policy issues to an internal Pentagon think tank known as the Office of Net Assessment, according to public records cited by NBC News.

In the 1980s, he was reportedly involved in a spying operation for the Reagan campaign that involved agents passing classified foreign policy documents from the Carter White House to the Republican candidate's team.

Story continues

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Halper reportedly flew Trump foreign policy aide Papadopoulos to London and quizzed him on alleged Russian efforts to boost the Trump campaign and undermine Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton.

Page told NBC that he met with Halper and did not find his encounters with the academic concerning. Papadopoulos has not commented publicly on the reports, though sources close to him told the network that Papadopoulos had met with Halper in 2016.

Halper has not responded to a request for comment from Newsweek.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekCASABLANCA, Morocco (Reuters) - More than 10,000 Moroccans chanting "Death to Israel" took to the streets of Casablanca on Sunday to protest against the U.S. decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

The marchers carried Palestinian flags and placards that read "Al Quds (Jerusalem) Palestine's eternal capital". Most appeared to be Islamists, with women wearing headscarves and marching separately from men.

The United States opened its embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, moving it from Tel Aviv, a move that reversed decades of U.S. policy and delighted Israel and infuriated Palestinians.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest obstacles to forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who with broad international backing want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as their capital.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it annexed after the 1967 conflict, as its capital. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has said the city's final borders should be decided by the parties.

On the day the United States opened its new embassy, Israeli troops killed 60 Palestinian demonstrators near the border in Gaza. Israel says the violence was incited by Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza. Hamas denies blame.

The Casablanca protest had been called by a coalition of four parties including the Islamist opposition group al-Adl Wal Ihsan which is seen as Morocco's most powerful opposition group in terms of rallying supporters on the street.

(Reporting by Ahmed ElJechtimi and Youssef Boudlal, Editing by Ulf Laessing, William Maclean)Pro-Palestinian protesters lie on the ground as they take part in a demonstration organized by Al Adl wal Ihsane, a Moroccan Islamist association, in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Casablanca, Morocco May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal

Thomson Reuters

CASABLANCA, Morocco (Reuters) - More than 10,000 Moroccans chanting "Death to Israel" took to the streets of Casablanca on Sunday to protest against the U.S. decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

The marchers carried Palestinian flags and placards that read "Al Quds (Jerusalem) Palestine's eternal capital". Most appeared to be Islamists, with women wearing headscarves and marching separately from men.

The United States opened its embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, moving it from Tel Aviv, a move that reversed decades of U.S. policy and delighted Israel and infuriated Palestinians.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest obstacles to forging a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who with broad international backing want East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war, as their capital.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it annexed after the 1967 conflict, as its capital. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has said the city's final borders should be decided by the parties.

On the day the United States opened its new embassy, Israeli troops killed 60 Palestinian demonstrators near the border in Gaza. Israel says the violence was incited by Hamas, the Islamist group that runs Gaza. Hamas denies blame.

The Casablanca protest had been called by a coalition of four parties including the Islamist opposition group al-Adl Wal Ihsan which is seen as Morocco's most powerful opposition group in terms of rallying supporters on the street.

(Reporting by Ahmed ElJechtimi and Youssef Boudlal, Editing by Ulf Laessing, William Maclean)

See Also:In April, the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA) had asked the countrys revenue authorities to declare tax holiday for next seven to ten years for the tanning sector, as well as an import tariff exemption on 31 different chemicals for leather.An Afghan security guard stands while supply trucks carrying containers for export line at the Customhouse in Jalalabad, Afghanistan May 14, 2018. REUTERS/ Parwiz

Thomson Reuters

By Jonathan Landay and Rupam Jain

WASHINGTON/KABUL (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear accord and re-impose sanctions on Tehran threatens to derail a project to help build Afghanistan's economy, endangering a key goal of the U.S. strategy to end America's longest war.

The Indian-backed Chabahar port complex in Iran is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan that could potentially open the way for millions of dollars in trade and cut its dependence on Pakistan, its sometimes-hostile neighbor.

Building Afghanistan's economy would also slash Kabul's dependence on foreign aid and put a major dent in the illicit opium trade, the Taliban's main revenue source.

But Trump's decision to re-impose sanctions on Iran and penalize financial institutions for doing business with Tehran is clouding Chabahar's viability as banks, nervous they could be hit with crippling penalties, pull back from financing.

"President Trump's decision has brought us back to the drawing board and we will have to renegotiate terms and conditions on using Chabahar," a senior Indian diplomat said. "It is a route that can change the way India-Iran-Afghanistan do business, but for now everything is in a state of uncertainty."

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Launched in 2016, the joint Iran-India-Afghanistan Chabahar project already was facing holdups. It has yet to see significant traffic apart from some containers of donated wheat from India, and the first shipments of Afghan dried fruit to India are not expected before July.

At least three contracts to build infrastructure at the port now have been delayed, with two Chinese companies and a Finnish group left hanging while bankers seek clarity from Washington before approving guarantees, a person close to the project said.

In addition, Afghan traders, who were hoping for an alternative to Pakistan's port of Karachi, now find themselves cut off from funding and forced to rely on the traditional hawala money transfer system, which is insufficient on its own to transform an economy. Hawala is a trust-based system commonly used in Afghanistan that involves the movement of funds between agents in different countries.

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"We know our correspondent banks would not let us pay for imports coming through that port," said a senior executive at one major Afghan lender.

Chabahar is among a number of projects of transport and energy networks projects designed to boost Afghanistan's trade and lay the foundations for a mining industry capable of exploiting its billions of dollars in untapped mineral reserves.

Bypassing the border with Pakistan, which last year was closed for some 50 days over various disputes, Chabahar is seen as a way for Afghanistan to consolidate its relationships with India and other regional powers.

"The only way to get India more involved" in Afghanistan's economic development "is through Chabahar," said Barnett Rubin, an expert with New York University's Center for International Cooperation and a former adviser to the State Department and the United Nations. "Our Iran policy is headed for a train wreck with our Afghanistan policy."

FOREIGN AID

Some 17 years after the U.S.-led invasion to oust the Taliban from power, Afghanistan remains one of the world's poorest countries, highly dependent on foreign aid.

Apart from illegal opium exports estimated at some $2 billion by the International Monetary Fund, its main products are dried and fresh fruits, and carpets, none of which amount to more than a fraction of the value of the drugs trade.

Initially Afghanistan would export agricultural produce  such as pomegranates and grapes - through Chabahar, utilizing a section of a road India paid for and then an extension to the Iranian border that New Delhi built, experts said.

Eventually, those exports could expand to mineral resources, something Trump has expressed an interest in gaining for U.S. firms. For India, this would mean using a planned railroad to Chabahar to export iron ore from two tracts at the Hajigak iron mine in central Afghanistan that it won the rights to exploit, the experts said.

"The economic piece is really important to get a glimmer of hope for Afghanistan to move beyond a land-locked, poppy-based economy. We are now shooting that in the head," said Thomas Lynch, a National Defense University expert and a former U.S. Army officer who advised the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on South Asia policy.

"There is no other legitimate and reliable way to do that. You can't do it by air, you can't do it through Pakistan because they just extort for everything they do," said Lynch. "The lifeline runs through Chabahar."

In addition, by hindering the development of Chabahar, the United States will leave Afghanistan dependent on Pakistan, historically its main trade partner and outlet to the world.

That would undermine another Trump goal of pressuring Islamabad to shutter Afghan insurgent sanctuaries on its side of the border and force the militants into peace talks.

Afghan officials have lobbied hard for exemptions to the sanctions for Afghan companies operating though Chabahar without success and are waiting for clarity from Washington.

"Now the uncertainty is that we don't know what's going to happen with Chabahar," said Atiqullah Nusrat, Chief Executive of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "We haven't heard anything so we have to wait and see what happens."

(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie in KABUL and Nidhi Verma in NEW DELHI; Editing by Philip McClellan)

See Also:Wolf-whistling could soon result in a hefty fine in France (Picture: Rex)

Men in France who wolf-whistle at women on the street could soon be fined up to 656 under new laws.

Wolf-whistling would be banned on French streets under new legislation that has just been approved by parliament.

The new laws will now go to the Senate for further debate, but if ratified, wolf-whistling would be made illegal.

Frances National Assembly voted in favour of the new laws as the countrys president Emmanuel Macron attempts to combat sexual violence.

Under the legislation, on-the-spot fines could be issued for wolf-whistling, cat-calling and lecherous behaviour.

Mr Macron said the goal is to ensure women are not afraid to be outside.

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The law covers anything that infringes the freedom of movement of women in public spaces and undermines self-esteem and the right to security.

Anyone found to use comments, behaviour or pressure of a sexist or sexual character that is degrading, humiliating, intimidating, hostile or offensive could be fined.

When first proposed last year, penalties for such behaviour were originally going to be about 80, but that would now be merely the minimum fine, with a maximum of 656.

Fines of up to 656 could be issued (Picture: PA)

The laws were ushered through the National Assembly by Frances secretary of state for equality, Marlene Schiappa.

She said last year: Its that moment when a man is walking behind a woman, talking to her, and the woman can do nothing, because shes alone.

She doesnt scream for help, because she thinks, Its not that bad, Ill walk, Ill escape.

Men feel its acceptable: theyre being the French lover Its not a big deal, were only having fun. And we say, No.Following a period of inactivity, AIM-quoted oil explorer 88 Energy was scheduled to recommence testing at its second Alaskan drilling project on 11 June.

88 has begun site clearance works Icewine#2, removing snow and ice from the Franklin Bluffs gravel pad to enable access to the wellhead where pressure gauges will be retrieved from downhole for data analysis to determine if any reservoir degradation could be observed, something that could require "remedial action".

Test equipment will be mobilized to the site ahead of the scheduled 10-to-14-day flow testing programme set to take place on 11 June.

Elsewhere, 88's recently acquired 3D seismic results at both Project Icewine and its Yukon Gold leases were said to be "progressing as per schedule", with results of both expected to be received by the end of 2018.

Dave Wall, 88 Energy's managing director, said, "The team remains busy on several fronts; however, focus is now clearly on the imminent recommencement of production testing at the Icewine#2 well."

As of 0930 BST, 88 Energy shares had collected 2.99% to 2.39p.Buy-and-build construction materials group SigmaRoc delivered a solid set of results for its first year of trading profit as it successfully executed upon its strategy of extracting incremental value from acquisitions.

Underlying sales at the AIM-listed outfit printed at 27.1m over the twelve months to 31 December, with pre-tax profits hitting 2.6m, compared to a loss of 2.4m for 2016.

Earnings per share swung to a 2p profit from the 1.4p loss posted a year earlier and EBITDA swung 329% to sit 5.5m into the green.

The firm exceeded several of its targeted improvements while establishing a platform for growth that led to a 37% uplift in EBITDA from its Channel Islands cluster.

Sigmaroc made an opening move in the UK during the second half of 2017 with its acquisition of Allen Concrete in October 2017 and Poundfield Products in December 2017, presenting further opportunities for the group.

Cash balances soared 3,400% to 7m.

"I am pleased to report a strong year in 2017 where we were able to exceed our expectations and build a solid platform from which to continue to deliver on our growth strategy," executive chairman David Barrett said.

Max Vermorken, Sigmaroc's chief executive, added, "Our strategy is performing well, having completed the first four months of 2018 with Group sales on target. The upward revaluation of our Channel Islands fixed assets, together with the freehold land in our UK precast cluster, shows the strong asset backing underpinning our business. This provides a strong platform from which to grow and we look forward to further development in 2018."

"In our view, SigmaRoc remains one of the few acquirers of scale in Europe. The potential to purchase assets at 7-9x EBITDA and extract c20% in synergies should result in compelling returns to investors," analysts at Berenberg said following the results.

Berenberg stuck by its 'buy' recommendation and 105p target price for the shares.

"With the shares trading at a 40% EV/EBITDA discount to the sector, we think they represent good value, and we expect strong performance as this relatively new company develops a track record of delivering on its plans."

As of 1100 BST, Sigmaroc shares had gained 3.36% to 39.59p.The EU must work harder to preserve its oil trade with Iran following the United States' withdrawal from 2015 international nuclear pact, Irans foreign minister told the EUs energy chief on Sunday.

Miguel Arias Canete, European Commissioner for energy and climate, said the Iranian government want the EU to consider making direct euro-denominated payments for Iranian oil to Irans central bank with a view to avoiding the US financial system altogether.

According to Irans state news agency IRNA, foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Arias Canete: "With the withdrawal of America [...] the European political support for the accord is not sufficient."

The terms of the deal saw Iran agreeing to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of most Western sanctions.

EU leaders have been coming to terms with the difficult task of ensuring sufficient investment and diplomacy to keep the agreement viable and in place but several large European companies last week suggested their activities in Iran would end or be curtailed because the US stance on the nation.

"We have to preserve this agreement so we dont have to negotiate a new agreement," Arias Canete told journalists after two days of meetings with Iranian officials in Tehran. "Our message is very clear. This is a nuclear agreement that works."

President Trump, however, has been vociferous in his criticism of the accords and pulled the United States out of the deal on 8 May despite huge international pressure to remain.

The Trump administration is now expected to impose sanctions after the expiry of 90 and 180 day wind-down periods, including sanctions aimed at Irans oil sector and transactions with the countrys central bank.Nicolas Maduro has been re-elected to a second six-year term in office as President of crisis-ridden Venezuela.

The successor to Manuel Chavez garnered 5,823,726 of the ballots in the country's general election on Sunday.

However, the results were marred by the lowest voter turnout in the country's history, with less than half the population having taken part (46.1%), and by multiple allegations of electoral fraud, including by various foreign governments.

Opposition leader Henri Falcon announced his party harboured serious reservations about the legitimacy of the results and requested new elections, pointing to multiple irregularities.

The election "without any doubt lacks legitimacy and we categorically refuse to recognise this process," Falcon told supporters minutes before the results were announced.

Among the irregularities reported were red tents near polling stations urging poor Venezuelans to scan their state-issued "fatherland cards" to win a "prize" as promised by Maduro, including boxes containing food rations and money vouchers.

Maduro addressed a festive crowd of supporters after the results were announced, saying: "We will be the most powerful and largest political force in Venezuela for a long time. It doesn't faze me when they say I'm a dictator."

The US government declared the Sunday vote a "sham", threatening sanctions against Venezuela's oil sector, which is already mired deep in its own problems, including from alleged corruption, mismanagement and a lack of appropriate funding.

Other countries, including Chile and neighbouring Panama also refused to recognise the results as legitimate, complaining that the vote had not met the minimum standards expected of a true democracy.

Despite the electoral result, which would likely prolong the dire situation in the country, as of 1545 BST front month Brent crude oil futures were higher by just 0.064% to $78.56 a barrel on the ICE.Worries about the political situation in Italy weighed on investor sentiment on the Continent, offsetting some of the boost from the apparent progress made by China and the US on trade talks at the weekend.

Linked to the latter, investors were also monitoring fresh gains in the US dollar, which were exerting a large drag on emerging market currencies, especially Turkey's lira, which at the start of the week lost another 2% against the Greenback.

Italy's two main anti-establishment parties on Monday chose Florentine law professor Giuseppe Conte as their candidate for the post of Prime Minister, communicating it - together with a 57 page 'contract' between the two parties - to the Republic's president, Sergio Mattarella.

Under the country's Constitution, Mattarella could block Conte's nomination. The professor, a political novice, would also have to pass a vote of confidence in both chambers of the parliament in Rome.

The benchmark Stoxx 600 did advance 0.30% or 1.20 points to 395.87, alongside a 0.41% or 23.0 point rise on the Cac-40 to 5,63751.

However, Milan's FTSE Mibtel fell 1.52% or 357.27 points to 23,092.38, while Spain's Ibex 35 turned around to trade down by 0.45% or 45.90 points to 10,066.50.

Some analysts, such as those at UniCredit Bank, believed there were sufficient 'checks and balances' built into Italy's parliamentary system to avoid any policy measures - in the short-term - that might undermine the sustainability of the country's debt pile.

On Sunday, UniCredit's Erik F. Nielsen told clients: "If I'm right on that, we may already have seen most of the Italian market weakness. For the medium- to longer term, I'll be looking to assess whether measures are taken to (hopefully positively) impact trend growth."

But other observers were considerably more cautious. Indeed, in a radio interview France's finance minister said Italy back tracking on its fiscal commitments and bank recapitalisation plans might undermine the stability of the entire single currency area.

The result was to be seen in Italy's risk premium, which bloated to 187 basis points, versus 165 at Friday's close and 174 earlier on Monday.

European Central Bank governing council member Ewald Nowotny echoed those French concerns, to a degree.

According to Reuters, on Monday Nowotny said "I hope that the practice will be a much wiser approach than what is here today from the newspapers."

Meanwhile, and on the global trade front, following two days of negotiations, and after having agreed on a framework to reduce tensions, at the weekend US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said the Trump administration had placed its threat of tariffs on Chinese goods "on hold".

No numerical target for reducing the US bilateral trade deficit was announced, although Chinese officials said one had been agreed.

Markets appeared to greet news of a deal, pushing the US dollar higher, although that in turn was adding to the pain for some emerging markets, such as Turkey, whose currency, the lira, was falling by another 2.08% to 4.5853 versus the Greenback.

In the corporate space, France's EdF was negotiating the sale of a 49% stake in a portfolio of UK wind farms in a transaction that may be worth 600m, the FT reported.Worries about the political situation in Italy are eroding earlier gains for stocks on the Continent, despite apparent progress in trade talks between China and the US at the weekend.

Linked to the latter, investors were also monitoring fresh gains in the US dollar, which were exerting a large drag on emerging market currencies.

On Sunday, Italy's two main anti-establishment parties decided on their choice for Prime Minister and were set to communicate it - together with a 57 page 'contract' between the two parties - to the Republic's president, Sergio Mattarella, who under the country's Constitution had the final say on the matter, later in the day.

As of 1246 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was ahead by 0.22% or 0.88 points at 395.55, alongside a 0.47% or 26.17 point advance on the Cac-40 to 5,640.68.

In parallel, Milan's FTSE Mibtel was declining by 0.85% or 198.77 points to 23,248.55, while Spain's Ibex 35 had turned around to trade down by 0.13% or 13.40 points to 10,101.30.

Some analysts, such as those at UniCredit Bank, believed there were sufficient 'checks and balances' built into Italy's parliamentary system to avoid any policy measures - in the short-term - that might undermine the sustainability of the country's debt pile.

On Sunday, UniCredit's Erik F. Nielsen told clients: "If I'm right on that, we may already have seen most of the Italian market weakness. For the medium- to longer term, I'll be looking to assess whether measures are taken to (hopefully positively) impact trend growth."

But other observers were considerably more critical. Indeed, in a radio interview France's finance minister said Italy back tracking on its fiscal commitments and bank recapitalisation plans might undermine the stability of the entire single currency area.

The result was to be seen in Italy's risk premium, which had bloated to 174 basis points, versus 165 at Friday's close.

European Central Bank governing council member Ewald Nowotny echoed those concerns, to a degree.

According to Reuters, on Monday Nowotny said "I hope that the practice will be a much wiser approach than what is here today from the newspapers."

Meanwhile, and on the global trade front, following two days of negotiations, and after having agreed on a framework to reduce tensions, at the weekend US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin said the Trump administration had placed its threat of tariffs on Chinese goods "on hold".

No numerical target for reducing the US bilateral trade deficit was announced, although Chinese officials said one had been agreed.

Markets appeared to greet news of a deal, pushing the US dollar higher, although that in turn was adding to the pain for some emerging markets, such as Turkey, whose currency, the lira, was falling by another 2.08% to 4.5853 versus the Greenback.

In the corporate space, France's EdF was negotiating the sale of a 49% stake in a portfolio of UK wind farms in a transaction that may be worth 600m, the FT reported.A committee of MPs are calling for a clampdown of Russian money laundering through the City of Londons financial institutions, arguing that it could potentially put national security at risk.

Such activities also damage the governments efforts to take a tough stance against Russias aggressive international relationships, the lawmakers argued.

A report released on Monday by UK members of parliament said London was being used to hide dirty money from Russia and its allies by making use of London's markets while being sanctioned elsewhere.

"The scale of damage that this dirty money can do to UK foreign policy interests dwarfs the benefit of Russian transaction in the City," said the report.

The report also said allowing "kleptocrats and human rights abusers to use the City of London to launder their ill-gotten funds to circumvent sanctions," could damage national security.

The chairman of the committee that carried out the report, Tom Tugendhat wrote in the Sunday Times: "The UKs lethargic response is being taken as proof that we dont dare stop them. Londons markets are enabled the Kremlins efforts."

Security and economic crime minister Ben Wallace said the UK is "determined to drive dirty money and the money launderers out".

"We will use all the powers we have, including the new powers in the Criminal Finance Act, to clamp down on those that threaten our security," he said.

In the report, the committee suggests that the UK should work with other nations to prohibit the purchase of sovereign bonds in which a sanctioned entity has acted as a book runner.

The committee also calls for a strengthening of sanctions against individuals connected to hostile regimes and relieving the sanctions once Russia's behaviour has changed.Ocado's chief executive Tim Steiner was all over the weekend newspapers after last week's landmark deal with US grocery group Kroger and the shares were given a boost on Monday by BofA Merrill Lynch as analysts lifted their target price on the online grocer to 1,020p and reiterated their 'buy' recommendation. By selling its online grocery solution, Ocado proved it developed a credible and profitable alternative to Amazons threat, said Merrill. With almost no competition, we see further potential for Ocado Smart Platform solution.

This was in contrast to the Inside the City investment column in the Sunday Times, however, which felt Ocados big deal "may not deliver" and said it was time to take profits. Elsewhere, it was noted that Ocado has moved into the top 100 largest companies in the FTSE 350 in market cap terms, overtaking Marks & Spencer among others.

After its profit warning last week, Crest Nicholson was rebuilding. Broker Shore Capital said the impact of cost pressures for Crest was a reduction in EPS and DPS of circa 12% across all forecast periods, which has been broadly equal to the drop in the share price.

"In hindsight, we see that the Crest share price had been discounting a negative event (reflected in a year of share price weakness) and we have long been concerned about the impact of weak pricing on sector profitability. Now that bad news has crystallised and believing the issues will spread to the whole sector, we can see no reason for so large a discount to the peer group," ShoreCap analysts said, lowering fair value to 505p from 540p and retaining its 'buy' stance.

Cranswick shares were lifted a day ahead of final results from the meat packing group. Broker Numis forecast sales growth of 17.5% to 1463m, ahead of the consensus forecast of 1447m, driven by new business wins.

Analysts at Numis anticipate the fall in pig price during the second half and ongoing operational efficiencies will have contributed to a 17 basis point improvement in adjusted operating margins to 6.28%, driving a 21% increase in adjusted PBT to 91.4m and 20% EPS growth to 144.5p versus the consensus 141.7p.

"We expect the focus of questions to be on the progress of its current investments, and in particular the new Continental Products site in Bury, Lancs and the new poultry operations in Suffolk. In addition, we expect there will be some discussion of the potential opportunities and threats being created by consolidation in UK grocery retail."

FTSE 250 - Risers

Ocado Group (OCDO) 873.80p 9.23%

Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 443.60p 5.22%

Herald Investment Trust (HRI) 1,330.00p 3.91%

Ascential (ASCL) 424.40p 3.56%

Computacenter (CCC) 1,350.00p 3.37%

Cranswick (CWK) 3,154.00p 2.74%

Sirius Minerals (SXX) 33.82p 2.68%

Purecircle Limited (DI) (PURE) 351.00p 2.63%

Hochschild Mining (HOC) 218.90p 2.53%

Indivior (INDV) 469.60p 2.47%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Sophos Group (SOPH) 575.00p -3.60%

Rank Group (RNK) 156.38p -3.23%

Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 125.00p -3.03%

Telecom Plus (TEP) 1,036.00p -3.00%

Capita (CPI) 136.65p -2.67%

Babcock International Group (BAB) 753.40p -2.46%

Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 6,000.00p -2.12%

McCarthy & Stone (MCS) 131.80p -2.01%

Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 589.00p -2.00%

Softcat (SCT) 658.00p -1.79%It has happened again. In Santa Fe, Texas yesterday morning (May 18) around 7:30 AM CT, a gunman armed with a shotgun and revolver opened fire in Santa Fe High School. His deadly rampage was reported first by students who heard gunshots and called their parents as well as 911. Police and paramedics responded quickly, as teachers ushered students outside the school. By 9:00 AM CT, the shooter, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, had surrendered, and 10 people lay dead. There were warning signs, such as the shooter posting an image of a t-shirt emblazoned with the words "born to kill" online.

The profile is typical of school shooters; that of a young man consumed by rage, lashing out at innocent victims, somehow justified in his own mind. A report by ABC News provided much of the information and quotes used in this article.

Texas governor and the president speak out

This is the third school shooting in the state in three years. In the immediate aftermath, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott had some words for the press; "It's time in Texas that we take action, to step up and make sure this tragedy is never repeated again in the history of Texas. Beginning immediately, I will be working with members of the Texas legislature, and communities all across the state of Texas on swift solutions to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again." President Donald Trump also spoke out on the school shooting in Santa Fe; "This has been going on too long in our country.

Too many years, too many decades now. We grieve for the loss of life. Everyone must work together at every level of government to keep our children safe."

No end in sight

Politicians often make statements that indicate an intention to reduce gun violence, but any attempt to keep guns out of the hands of angry children and unhinged criminals will run afoul of the gun lobby.

The leading arms dealer in the US is the National Rifle Association, and that organization is a mega-donor to politicians who march lockstep with its agenda. The NRA's power to enforce the policies of easy gun access, combined with the American citizens' love of firearms and shiny barrels, will ensure many gun deaths in years to come, with no concerted effort among lawmakers to curb them.

According to ABC News, the number of American students who have been killed by school shooters has far surpassed the number of those killed during active duty military service in the last five months.

It's a sad day when going to high school puts you at greater risk of being shot than joining the army, but that's modern America. The perpetrator in the Sante Fe shooting has been charged with capital murder. As a minor, he will not be subject to the death penalty. He is being held without bail by authorities.Recently NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine conducted a televised town hall during which he took questions from space agency employees about a variety of subjects, ranging from the return to the moon program to the need of diversity in the workforce to the necessity of holding down the costs of projects such as the James Webb Space Telescope. However, virtually every media account of the town hall focused on one answer to a particular question.

Bridenstine gets his mind right on climate change

Naturally, the question was about climate change. Bridenstine, who expressed some skepticism about the subject when he was a member of Congress from Oklahoma, revised and extended his previous remarks.

He expressed the belief that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, that human civilization is pumping a lot of it into the atmosphere, and thus that climate change is real.

Bridenstine had already expressed this view during the hearings on his confirmation before the Senate Commerce Committee back in November. His revised view did not impress his opponents, notably Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Florida, who unsuccessfully sought to derail his nomination. In any case, the media acted surprised. A periodical called Earther cheekily announced, Jim Bridenstine, welcome to the Resistance. The headline was odd, considering that the administrator was appointed by the president and is carrying out his policies.

In fact, Bridenstine expressed the view that many climate change skeptics, even the famed and renowned climatologist Dr. Judith Curry (who would make a great climate science chief at NASA, just saying) has conceded. Curry, who is one of the worlds leading experts on the subject, has pointed out in a recent paper that the sensitivity of climate to CO2 is not as great as some of the computer models suggest.

Besides, the phenomenon tends to be canceled out by the output of the sun, volcanic eruptions, and ocean currents.

Bridenstine did not express an opinion about possible climate change policies, such as carbon taxes, subsidies for renewable energy, or bans on fossil fuels. Saying that climate change is real or not is not controversial so long as the opinion does not have a harsh impact on ordinary people.

Bridenstine, the great communicator

It should be noted that Bridenstine has engaged in personal communications more extensively than any previous NASA chief. He has an active Twitter account, and the town hall was almost unprecedented. Partly this is derived from his experience as an elected official. Partly Bridenstines outreach efforts stem from the necessity to sell NASAs programs steadily and relentlessly. Because of these efforts, the wisdom of his appointment has been bolstered.With 19 kids, it's amazing how Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are able to make each one feel special! On Thursday, the parents greeted their daughter Jill on her 27th birthday with an entire album on the family's official Facebook account dedicated just to her.

The greeting came with a sweet caption, possibly written by mom Michelle: "Happy Birthday, Jilly Muffin! Wow, what an incredible lady you are!" The photos were mostly old pictures of "Jilly Muffin" with her Duggar siblings. It also included a more recent picture of Jill Duggar, husband Derick Dillard, and their two sons.

Jill Duggar, born on May 17, 1991, is Jim Bob and Michelle's fourth child and second daughter. Duggar fans have seen her grow up as a child in "19 Kids and Counting," to a young wife and mom in "Counting On."

Derick's PDA-filled tribute

Of course, Derick Dillard did not forget to post his own birthday message for his wife. On Instagram, Derick posted a picture of him and Jill kissing on the lips. While the Duggar son-in-law has never been shy to show his affections for his wife in public, what fans noticed was Derick's message.

"Happy birthday to my wifey," the former reality star wrote. "God has blessed me beyond measure to give me you as a wife and as a mother to our boys. I fall more in love with you every day!"

Interestingly, Derick called Jill his "wifey." The last time he used this in a caption, the former "Counting On" star received a huge backlash from Duggar critics who called Derick "sexist and misogynist." According to In Touch, a lot of people thought that "wifey" was a derogatory word to call one's life partner.

However, it is important to consider that for Derick, "wifey" may just be an innocent term of endearment.

Jill's sisters skip her birthday

Meanwhile, Jill's sisters who are active on social media--Jessa, Jinger, and Joy-Anna--seemed to have failed to greet her on her special day. Jessa's most recent IG post was her sweet Mother's Day greeting for Michelle Duggar.

Joy-Anna shares an account with her husband, who may not have remembered Jill's birthday in time for a public greeting.

Interestingly, Jinger posted two new photos on her Instagram on the day of her sister Jill's birthday. In one, she shared a baby bump selfie as she entered her 31st week of pregnancy. In another, Jinger posted a throwback photo of her and Jessa, referring to her sister as her "bestie."

Jessa, Jinger, and Joy-Anna still appear on the Duggar family's long-running reality show, "Counting On." Last year, TLC announced that the network decided to cut ties with Derick Dillard after his Twitter rants against another reality show, "I Am Jazz," for its transgender-driven theme.

Derick later stated that he quit the show and wasn't fired, as TLC implied. The Christian minister also confirmed that his wife Jill and sons will no longer be a part of "Counting On" moving forward.

Duggar fans! What did you think of Derick Dillard's birthday tribute for Jill? Are you surprised to learn that Jill's sisters did not greet her in public? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!Chinas announcement comes as top officials from both countries meet in the US in an effort to ease a trade war before further escalation between the worlds strongest economies. Chinas announcement that it is putting an end to an investigation, which hindered a trade worth more than $1 billion last year, came after officials from the US announced Chinas offer of a package to cut down the United States trade deficit by approximately $200 billion. The Commerce Ministry of China said the anti-dumping probe on imports of sorghum came about as a result of the widespread effect on consumers, and the consideration of public interest.

The announcement of Chinas offer and the increased purchase of American goods came two days after the two countries talked trade in Washington, focusing on resolving tariff threats. Still, it is not clear how the total value will be determined. Most of the information presented in this article comes from reports by CNBC.

Beneficiaries of the Chinese offer

Aircraft maker Boeing would be one of the major beneficiaries of such an offer to cut down the trade deficit if the US president were to accept it. Boeing is considered the largest exporter, with a quarter of its commercial aircraft sold to Chinese customers. Goods including sorghum, pork, nuts, wine, and fruit, might be included in the package of elimination of Chinese tariffs on $4 million worth of the United States farm products.

The White House claimed that the United States officials have conveyed the US presidents objectives for the trading relationship between the two countries. Still, getting a $200 billion worth of reduction of the trade deficit will need a great change in the composition of trade between China and the US. The deficit of the of the United States goods was $375 billion last year.

Soybeans and aircraft were the biggest United States exports to China. Last year, aircraft exports were at $16 billion, while soybeans were at $12 billion.

Sorghum dumping probe

Last year, the United States shipped over four million tons of sorghum to China for the bulk of the countrys consumption of sorghum used for livestock and Chinese liquor.

In April, Beijing forced the United States sorghum exporters to put a 178.6 percent deposit on the value of the grain shipments to China after launching an investigation after Trumps imposition of tariffs on imports of washing machines and solar panels. Ole Houe, director at brokerage IKON Commodities, said China has taught the United States a lesson and showed its ability to hurt American exports, and now China is showing goodwill by halting the anti-dumping probe into sorghum imports. Still, the United States doesnt have enough sorghum to export as the next crop will be harvested in August. Agreeing to a deal focused on the reduction of the trade deficit would weaken Trumps objective of putting pressure on China to end policies that he says are misappropriating the United States technology.Resolute Forest Products Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates in the forest products industry in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Market Pulp, Tissue, Wood Products, and Paper. The Market Pulp segment offers virgin and recycled bleached kraft pulp, which is used to make a range of consumer products, including tissue, packaging, specialty paper products, diapers, and other absorbent products. The Tissue segment provides various tissue products, such as recycled and virgin paper products for the away-from-home and retail markets; and sells parent rolls. The Wood Products segment produces construction-grade and spruce-pine-fir lumber products, wood chips, bed frame components, finger joints, and furring strips for pulp and paper mills, as well as I-joists for the construction industry. The Paper segment offers newsprint to newspaper publishers, as well as to commercial printers for a range of uses comprising inserts and flyers. This segment also provides various uncoated mechanical papers, including supercalendered and white papers, as well as uncoated freesheet papers to commercial printers, direct mailers, publishers, catalogers, and retailers. Its specialty papers are used in books, retail inserts, direct mail, coupons, magazines, catalogs, bags, and other commercial printing applications. This segment sells specialty papers to commercial printers, direct mailers, publishers, catalogers, and retailers. The company also produces electricity at six cogeneration facilities and seven hydroelectric dams. Resolute Forest Products Inc. is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

Read Moreby Shadab Zeest Hashmi

My earliest encounter with English poetry drew a subliminal connection with the Irish poets, a connection I could not easily pinpoint as a student of literature in Lahore, Pakistan, but one that re-emerged with striking clarity on my first visit to Ireland. Seeing fragments of poetry adorning hotel walls, ceilings of pubs and elevators in Dublin, I was reminded of verses of Urdu poetry on the television screen, and verses, (often sentimental or humorous ones) painted on trucks and rickshaws back when I was growing up in Pakistan. Poetry in Urdu as well as the other (provincial) languages written, recited, repeated as part of ordinary speech is a dominant part of Pakistani culture as it is of Ireland, though Pakistan has yet to produce a Nobel laureate in Literature, as opposed to Ireland whose literary laurels, both in quantity and level of prestige, are an embarrassment of riches.

While in Dublin, I came across references to the Irish movement of Independence multiple times a day; reminders of freedom from British rule punctuate the city as landmarks and shapes its psyche. The historical moment of gaining sovereignty is key not only as a constantly (and proudly) visited chapter in mainstream culture, but also as a moment that hearkens back to the nations great literary figures who played a pivotal role in achieving independence a scenario all too familiar to someone from Pakistan, a country whose nationhood was first suggested by a poet. The timeline of the struggle for independence from British rule is the same (late 19thearly 20th century) for the Indo-Pak subcontinent and Ireland, as is the fact that the movement included a milieu of writers among the leaders. It is the partition of Pakistan from India and the defining and defending of a new identity that Pakistan has in common with Ireland, the anti-partition camp in the larger political conversation notwithstanding.

David Aberbach, in his analysis of some of the most influential poets who wrote against British Imperialism, says: The British empire set off an explosion of poetry, in English and native languages, particularly in India, Africa and the Middle East. This poetry  largely neglected in the scholarship on nationalism  was often revolutionary both aesthetically and politically, expressing a spirit of cultural independence. Attacks on England and the empire are common not just in native colonial poetry but also in poetry of the British isles. Some of the poets included in this work are: Tagore of India, Yeats of Ireland, and Iqbal of Pakistan.

Besides the historical and political role that poetry has played in the foundation of the two countries, I have discovered quite a few other aspects having to do with aesthetics that offer clues to why, as a diaspora poet in the US, I have found myself gravitating to the same Irish poets I took an immediate liking to in my young days a connection reaffirmed in recent years by the Kashmiri-American poet Rafiq Kathwari (winner of the Patrick Kavanaugh Prize who has a home in Dublin as well as New York), and remarkably reinforced by the Irish poet and editor Peter ONeill thanks to whom I have been able to engage afresh with Irish poetry in a fuller, deeper and clearer way.

Peters own work is infused with a powerful sense of history, not only in the wider context of literary and cultural tradition, geopolitics, and aesthetic modes, but the local history of his coastal hometown of Skerries, a suburb of Dublin, where he moved after spending many years in France. His deep engagement with history entails everything from his interest in sites of antiquity in Skerries, its history over the centuries, and its contemporary literary scene. In a blog post, Peter writes: I dont know what it is about this particular part of the world, but since I moved here with my family in 2009 I have been writing like a fool. Here are some lines from his poem The Local.

The Local

Under the suspended lamps like manifold moons

the all-encompassing locality hits you like the sharp slap

of an unintentional elbow to the face.

Here,

conversations shift like the breeze.

Once opened,

rows of solid entities

may cause the further assessment

of the transience of all matter.

Fiddle and banjo pull to the strains of a singular life.

And the sole measure of certitude are the pints,

on that everyone is agreed.

Peters first book, Sker (Lapwing Press) is named after Skerries he has been curating a reading series at the Gladstone Inn in Skerries, a series that has brought together many illustrious poets and generated a wonderful anthology edited by Peter himself. It was my conversation with Peter at the Gladstone Inn (where he had invited me to share poems), and reading his poems as well as the selections in The Gladstone Inn Anthology that have acted as a catalyst in my understanding of what drew me to Irish poetry in my earliest experience as a reader and writer. The commonalities between the Irish and Pakistani culture and history as pertaining to poetry are mindboggling, considering the absence of geographic and cultural proximity.

Among the instances of stylistic and thematic parallels I have come across in the anthology, I note a hunger for identity which is expressed through the love/praise of the land, its legends, its folklore, its ancient history, landscape, weather, minutia of everyday life, often the grand and the exquisite juxtaposed with the banal; I also see concerns of religion as a binding or a severing force for culturenuances of faith and spirituality being at odds with the tribal/exclusivist aspects of religion, the fine line which only the poets can draw in a way that is powerful enough to make an impact: needless to say the distinction is of urgent importance in todays political climate. Here are some beautiful lines by Peter ONeill:

The clocks on the shelves announce tedium with a tick

and all manner of danger with a tock.

We are always, despite ourselves, in the realm of the divine.

Some of the gestures that are markedly aware of the collective may be labeled anti-modern or nationalistic, but in my view, a post-colonial search for (and crafting of) cultural identity, especially if approached in a richly varied, deeply aware manner is quite likely to make a promising future.

What I find most appealing about this anthology, stylistically speaking, is its bold lyricism, untouched by self-consciousness and anxiety. I read Yeatss book of Irish folk and fairy tales after reading the Gladstone Inn Anthology and wondered if the deep-seated conviction in the imagination makes for the stunningly powerful and confident lyricism of these poems; does it liberate the spirit so that the confines of craft come across as elegantly seamless? Is it this sense of empowerment that stems from owning the imagination not just as an individual writer but as a culture, a force that fine-tunes intuition and enhances the faculty for spontaneity and ease with language?

Here is one of my favorite poems by Peter ONeill:

Tenth Wedding Anniversary

For Alessia

Salvador Dali, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Luis Bunuel

Have just left Port Lligat, they were last seen entering

Porto Palma on a Steinway pulled by a couple of albino

Donkey, who in turn were being led by two Catalan priests.

The sea on which they sailed was the colour of black flint,

And upon the beach a wedding ceremony was being held;

The groom was dressed as the bride, the bride the groom.

She held in her left hand a statue signifying the origin of all patriarchs.

The groom, meanwhile, held a scissors,

And the President of the Municipal Association

Was inviting him to cut the ribbon of all ribbons.

When he did, the seas tides convulsed

And became pure Cannonau, which was later served

Up to them by the local fishermen in clam shells served with garlic.by Misha Lepetic

The piano aint got no wrong notes.

~ Thelonious Monk

Its with a certain pleasure that I can recall the exact moment I was seduced by the musical avant-garde. It was in the fourth grade, in a public elementary school somewhere in New Jersey. Our music teacher, Mrs. Jones, would visit the classroom several times a week, accompanied by an ancient record player and a stack of LPs. You could always tell when she was coming down the hall because the wheels of the cart had a particularly squeak-squeak-wheeze pattern. However, such a Cageian sensibility was not the occasion of my epiphany. Im also not sure if fourth-graders are allowed to have epiphanies, or, which is likelier, if they are not having them on a daily basis.

Rather, it was a record that she cued up for us one day: Henry Cowells The Banshee, originally composed in 1925. Originating in Irish folklore, the banshee is a female spirit whose keening announces the imminent death of a family member. Cowell sought to evoke the supernatural terror such an encounter might elicit by creating a composition for piano where no keys are actually depressed  instead, the performer plucks and rakes the strings of the piano directly. With the damper pedal pressed down, the tones so generated are freely sustained, and the adjoining wires ring out in consonant vibration, creating a rich set of overtone resonances that add to the unearthly textures that hang in the air. My fourth-grade self was transfixed, and although I cant remember anything else we did in Mrs. Joness class, that occasion remains in my memory with an almost crystalline clarity.

Cowells piece was perhaps the first that entirely press-ganged the piano into such unusual service, and composers have since developed all manner of techniques that loosely fall under the monikers of prepared and extended piano. Cowells is an example of extended technique, while prepared piano generally involves placing objects directly on a string to modify the timbre when the string is sounded. These objects can include pieces of paper, rubber erasers, coins and even kitchen cutlery (suffice to say that concert hall managers are not keen on much of the prepared piano repertory, since they believe these objects and the oils from performers hands abrade and oxidize the wires).

John Cages works are probably the best known in the prepared piano repertory, such as it is, and the innovation itself is a good example of invention being the mother of necessity: in 1940, Cage had been mostly writing for percussion, and was working on a score for a dance performance by Syvilla Fort. While the hall did not have room for a percussion ensemble, it did have a grand piano. Cage, once a student of Cowells, eventually realized that, by treating the strings with all manner of objects, he could place in the hands of a single pianist the equivalent of an entire percussion orchestra.

A particularly representative example of this is his Three Dances For Two Prepared Pianos, which clearly evinces an almost gamelan-like quality. Cage wrote consistently within this idiom from about 1940 to the mid-1950s. Most of the pieces are short and playful, even mischevious; their brevity has a Satie-like quality. However, the technique, while compelling, is inherently limited, because the timbres so produced are always percussive in nature. Practitioners of the extended technique have managed to coax a much broader sonic palette from the piano.

*

Fast forward about fifteen years from the fourth grade: I am in a used music shop in San Francisco, where I pick up a CD of two of Stephen Scotts compositions: Minervas Web/The Tears Of Niobe. I had no idea who Scott was, but I was immediately taken by the description  for grand piano bowed and plucked by ten musicians  and the photograph of said musicians, reverently poised over the soundboard of a grand piano stripped of its lid, the light pouring upwards, as if Caravaggio had decided this to be a worthy subject for a painting.

The sounds that Scott scrupulously draws out of the piano demostrate the breadth of extended technique. Working from a single instrument, the performers elicit an astonishing range of sound. For example, Minervas Web is a gradual coalescence of violins, cellos, clarinets, bass clarinets and oboes, all delineated with an exacting ear. The piece has a gorgeous, limpid quality that evokes a Philip Glass-style minimalism, but, because it is born out of a single instrument and its attendant acoustics, also has a commingled, organic quality that seems to transcend ensemble playing.

In this live recording of Entrada you can see the performers at work. As the composition progresses, the palette encompasses drums, harpsichords, tanpura and even, to my ears, the lute as played in Arabic and North African music. In a sense, Scotts extended technique is not unlike tasting the flavor of other foods in a glass of well-made wine. It may take a moment to find the grapefruit in that sip of sauvignon blanc, but once you have identified it as such, it becomes an integral, unignorable part of that particular bottle. And yet, the wine is still only made of grapes, and the piano is still just that. Such are the pleasures of deception.

*

The introduction of electronic possibilities has extended the range and character of the piano even further. The mixing of acoustic and electronic sounds, as well as the possibilities offered by effects, both real time and in the studio, as well as careful editing, have opened up vast new landscapes that musicians will continue to explore for many years. For example, consider Zodiac Antique, a piece composed in 1991 by the Romanian composer Ana-Maria Avram, a proponent of the so-called Hyper-Spectralist school. In it, she draws on techniques first outlined in Cowells Banshee but pairs the steely sheen created by raking the open strings of the piano with tape-based drones. These drones lend a stability to the kinetics of plucking and swiping, creating a delicately suspended atmosphere of suspense and dread. Interestingly enough, this electroacoustic tendency makes the music available for further dialog with more contemporary musicians: a fragment of Zodiac can be heard at the beginning of electronic producer Rroses 2012 mix for the Resident Advisor series.

In fact, electronic producers have flocked to the piano as an irresistible resource for manipulation, mangling and general plunder. Some, like seminal producer Aphex Twin, have re-engaged the prepared piano tradition: Jynweythek Ylow, from the 2001 album Drukqs, is a direct descendant of Cages approach. Robert Worby recounts the origins of this re-visitation:

[Aphex Twins] music was being played along with the usual fabulous eclectic mix that [the BBCs Mixing It] offers every Sunday night. One of Cages prepared piano pieces was played and Mr Aphexs ears were drawn to the extraordinary sounds. He enquired about the prepared piano and how it was all done. Many other techno artists would have probably prepared a piano and sampled some of the sounds, but not Richard James, he knew this simply wouldnt work and that any results of this process would be crass. He bought a grand piano that can be played by computer. Its called a Diskclavier and its made by Yamaha. Its exactly like a straightforward grand piano but the keys can be controlled by a computer via MIDI  the musical instrument digital interface. Richard James cannot read conventional musical notation and he cannot play a keyboard so, in order to make the piano and prepared piano pieces that appear on Drukqs he prepared his Diskclavier according to the principles established by John Cage and programmed the playing using a computer.

(Its worth a brief detour to mention that this act of automation is not without precedent. Yamahas Diskclavier is a modern reincarnation of various varieties of self-playing pianos, also known as player pianos or pianolas, whose development was well underway by the mid to late 19th century. The craze for these instruments, while substantial, peaked by 1930. Nevertheless, the avant-garde finds its own uses for things, and composer Conlon Nancarrow would go on to write more than 50 studies for player piano, starting in 1948 and only concluding in 1992. Nancarrow wrote for pianola because his compositions were too demanding for human performers. They have a certain relentless, manic exuberance to them (see, for example, Study No. 37), which in turn has provided inspiration for todays producers. Veteran techno producer Thomas Brinkmann dedicated his merciless 2016 album A 1000 Keys to Nancarrow, and the latters influence on tracks such as LHR is immediately apparent.)

*

While electronics can completely dominate the production of sound, creating performances that no human could possibly manage on their own, some musicians are using technology to augment their playing. Consider Norwegian pianist Kjetil Husebs Piano Transformed, from the eponymous 2017 album. Huseb plays the piano but its sounds are then fed into electronics that heavily process the source material, creating a sort of diaphanous context that is at once part of and completely independent of the more conventional sounds to which we are accustomed.

Still other producers have turned to the piano as source material, and chosen to extend its sounds and capabilities completely within the context of the studio. The first track on Russian producer COHs Strings double CD, Piano Tranquilo, is made up entirely of manipulated samples of a Yamaha grand piano recorded in 2001 by COH, aka Ivan Pavlov. While there is no evidence of either extended or prepared technique, as would have been understood by Cowell or Cage, Pavlov sucks the recordings into the digital ether, where he distends their duration so that the notes seem to quiver and wink in and out of existence. The usual attack and decay of a note played on the keyboard is smeared and wrinkled, although the sonority of the piano itself remains carefully preserved and remarkably consistent. It is as if the piano has been decomposed into its ethereal, tremulous counterpart, an instrument whose notes are made of fireflies on a summers evening.

Finally, Erik Satie is, unsuprisingly, a darling of the post-piano crowd. Who can resist those open, plangent harmonies? And you could drive a truck through the spaces that Satie creates in his Gnossiennes and Gymnopedies. The possibilities for reinterpretation are irresistible. For one, Mexican producer Murcof, in collaboration with pianist Vanessa Wagner, takes things to an extreme with his interpretation of Saties Gnossienne No.3. Murcof bullies the piano, forcing it in and out of focus, and subjecting it to gestures of deep distortion. At certain points the piano-ness is utterly wiped out, but then somehow returns. It is as if the music is drowning in the waves of some post-apocalyptic world, not quite managing to stay afloat, but not quite ready to sink yet, either.

Ill end with an interpretation of another Satie piece, Gymnopedie No.1. Executed by the Brooklyn producer Hey Exit, it is a masterpiece of conceptual simplicity. Hey Exit does not play the piece, but rather takes every recording he could find  about 60, if I recall correctly  and layers them so that all the recordings converge at their common midpoint. This creates a fantastic, shimmering effect, replete with an organic randomness that throws a completely new light on what is usually an overplayed piece (the long version, which stretches the original to five times its length, is even better). Add to this the stimulating thought that what we are actually listening to are the palimpsests of dozens of pianists, performing the same piece across a span of decades, and one can truly appreciate the staying power of a single instrument.by Jonathan Kujawa

Meaningless! Meaningless!

says the Teacher.

Utterly meaningless!

Everything is meaningless.

 Ecclesiastes 1:2

This spring I taught one of my favorite classes. Officially, it goes by the name of Discrete Math and covers various standard topics: sets, functions, basic logic, modular arithmetic, counting problems, graph theory, etc. Unofficially, it is our departments boot camp for people who want to take advanced math classes.

Up through high school math, and even in most freshman and sophomore math classes, the goal of a math class is for students to be able to use standard tools to solve standard questions. We are teaching students to distinguish between a screw and a nail, and to know to twist one with a screwdriver and hit the other with a hammer. Most problems and techniques are chosen more for teachability and testability, than for being interesting or useful. What matters is The Answer. It is right or wrong, and its right because someone said so. We shouldnt blame the teachers for this state of affairs. They suffer as much as anyone under our educational system.

But math is meant to be a creative, human activity. In Discrete Math our students are deprogrammed of their twelve years of bad math education. I teach it using a slow version of the Socratic method, sometimes called Inquiry-Based Learning. Students are given a well-chosen series of problems to solve, but many are ambiguous or open-ended. They collaborate, share ideas, present written and oral solutions, and they critique each others work. For students used to being force-fed, Clockwork Orange style, its liberating, exciting, exhilarating, and terrifying all at once.

The first challenge is to get the students to deeply internalize the fact that words have meaning. If were going to talk about even numbers, then wed better all agree on which numbers are even. Is 104 even? How about -2, or 0, or ?

Worse, they discover there are no God-given definitions in mathematics. Students are always a bit shocked to realize it was people just like them who came up with the math they take for granted. Even the equals sign was invented by someone, after all. Definitions can be contentious.

What is a prime number? Should 1 be called prime? After all, it is only divisible by 1 and itself  the usual definition of a prime number. For centuries there was real debate over the primeness of 1. For years, some mathematicians considered 1 prime and some didnt. Which worked okay as long as people made sure to say explicitly which school they followed. It wasnt until the early twentieth century when there was finally a consensus that there are very good reasons to exclude 1 from the prime numbers.

It is up to us to decide and be explicit about the meaning of our words. This is wickedly difficult in the real world. On the very first day of Discrete Math, one of the problems I give is a classic from philosophy [1]. I ask the students to work in groups and come to a consensus definition of the word table. I explain we are looking for a definition which will precisely identify all the tables of the world. Every table should fit the definition and every non-table should be excluded. No matter how intricate, their definitions inevitably fail. From legless mid-century modern tables and repurposed wooden chests, to stools and trampolines, other students always find ways for the proposed definitions to fail.

In mathematics, weve adopted the Humpty Dumpty philosophy:

When I use a word, Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, it means just what I choose it to mean  neither more nor less.

 Alice in WonderlandSaturday storms include small tornadoes, rainfall record

There was a report to the NWS of 3.81 inches near Strandberg in Grant County and another of 3.4 inches of rain in Milbank.Over the past 25 years, I have taught business classes including economics, international management and marketing at various universities.

Many a student have expressed skepticism and doubt about ethics in business. I always tell him/her that while there might be a few dishonest businesspeople, the majority are honest, or they dont stay in business too long.

Its true that in business, contracts are executed that offer some protection when dealing with another party. However, there has to be some semblance of trust between the parties agreeing to a deal that each will carry through with the agreement.

Witnessing the U.S. recent withdrawal of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear agreement, makes me wonder how the rest of the world views and will trust the U.S. in the future.

The objective of the JCPOA was to rein in Irans drive to develop nuclear weapons, thus reducing the threat to its neighbors in the region. The deal was reached in July of 2015 and signed by Iran, the U.S., France, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. The last five countries are permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The Obama administration represented the U.S. at the negotiating table, and the negotiations were often difficult and controversial. However, the U.S. decided that it was in our nations best interest to agree to the plan.

Not even three years later, President Trump called the JCPOA, the worst agreement ever, and withdrew the U.S. participation, intimating that a better plan might be able to be negotiated. The signatories to the agreement are determined to carry on without U.S. participation and have been in talks to discuss the future.

Many Americans did not support the U.S. entering into the agreement, due to suspicion of Iran and the benefits it would accrue by decreased sanctions that were part of the carrot for that country to agree to the JCPOA. However, the U.S. agreed to this treaty, and it was executed. Now, we have changed our minds and left our partners twisting in the wind. This is exactly the opposite of how I tell my business students that an honest businessperson with integrity would behave when party to an agreement.

As the North American Free Trade Agreement continues to be renegotiated between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, I cant help but wonder if our neighbors think they are negotiating in vain with a country that might agree to a reworked NAFTA but in a year decide that it doesnt want to keep its agreement anymore. Multilateral agreements such as JCPOA and NAFTA take a tremendous amount of preparation and energy. They also require the participants to trust that if points are negotiated, they are respected and honored. Otherwise, what good is it to expend the effort to negotiate with a party that you ultimately feel will not honor their end of the bargain?

The U.S. and Iran have had a rocky relationship since the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the formation of Iran as a republic. It is understandable that the U.S. and Iran suffer a lack of trust of each other. However, this is precisely why other major political powers were negotiators and signatories to the JCPOA. And it wasnt just Western allies that were on one side of the negotiating table and Iran on the other. China and Russia, world powers more friendly to Iran than the other signatories, decided that a denuclearized Iran was in their best interests also, and therefore signed the agreement. While the JCPOA was signed by President Barack Obama, and it may be argued that his policies were significantly different than President Donald Trumps, I doubt that the world views the JCPOA as having been signed or withdrawn by a U.S. president. Rather, it is viewed as having been signed and withdrawn by the United States of America.

The U.S. pullout of the JCPOA stands to make our country less trustworthy to the world in the future if other agreements, primarily trade agreements, are negotiated and signed. However, this may be the intent of the Trump administration to signal to the world that America First can be used to unravel or pull out of agreements in which the U.S. is a party. This may make future trade agreements impossible to negotiate, and this might be the underlying objective. When, or maybe if, NAFTA finally is renegotiated and signed, will our allies be wondering whether it is worth the paper on which it is printed?

Jerry Pacheco is the executive director of the International Business Accelerator, a nonprofit trade counseling program of the New Mexico Small Business Development Centers Network. He can be reached at 575-589-2200 or at jerry@nmiba.com.NEW YORK  April Oury started her physical therapy practice 14 years ago wanting to give all aspects of her business the same focus and attention to detail she gave patients  even when it came to choosing paint colors or an internet provider.

She wouldnt do it that way again. There was not enough time in the day or the workweek to put that kind of effort into every single thing, says Oury, owner of eight Body Gears physical therapy centers in the Chicago area, San Diego and Clayton, Mo.

Probably every small-business owner would handle some things differently the next time. Learning from experience is part of starting and running a business, and the list of things owners wish they could do over is likely endless.

Oury gave up her drive for ultra-perfection when she realized it prevented her from getting things done. While she fixated on the details of a marketing brochure, I missed all those opportunities to pass out a brochure because I didnt have it in my hands.

What others would change if they had the chance:

Whats in a name?

Andy Curry came up with what he thought was a unique name, WallaZoom, for an app he created over a year ago to help shoppers find local retailers. When he went to trademark it four months ago, he learned it was in the process of being trademarked by someone else. He hadnt checked beforehand.

I didnt think there would be a chance of anyone else using that name in the trademark category of advertising and marketing, says Curry, whos located in Colorado Springs, Colo. He still hopes to get the name, but also has backups in case he cant.

Selling themselves short

Jill Caren charged her web design clients a flat fee of $1,500 no matter how much work she did or how complex it was. She ended up working too many hours and not making enough money.

I learned the hard way that low pricing is not the way to get quality business, says Caren, owner of 2 Dogs Media, based in Marlboro, N.J. Her low prices tended to attract clients who were difficult and disrespectful. When she started charging based on what each job required, she got to spend more time with her family and got clients who appreciated her more.

Yungi Chu thought hed sell more headsets and make more money by offering cheaper models and undercutting competitors. Six months after starting HeadSetPlus.com in 2003, he found he had very little profit: $2 a headset, and often just $100 a week. He decided to raise prices and sell well-known brands. Sales picked up quickly.

I found customers dont mind paying more for better service, better products, says Chu, whos based in Redwood City, Calif.

Taking few risks

Vladimir Gendelman worried about running out of money when he started his printing business in 2003. He had $50,000 in credit, but for five years he built Company Folders very slowly. Revenue was under $20,000 the first two years. It accelerated gradually and by 2008 reached $525,000.

If I could do it all again, I would spend the money faster so that I could create a better baseline to generate revenue sooner, says Gendelman, whose company is based in Pontiac, Mich. This means everything from building my website faster to hiring my first employee, which is something I waited five years to do instead of making that hire right away.

Who is your customer?

BeenVerified.com, which helps people carry out background checks, didnt do any market research or come up with a plan to target specific customers. Its marketing campaigns advertised the websites features, not how it could benefit users. Over the first two years, it had barely any revenue, co-founder Ross Cohen says.

You end up marketing this broad message and we found we were really talking to nobody, says Cohen, whose company is based in New York. After BeenVerified.com began explaining how it could help users, the company went from annual revenue of a few hundred thousand dollars to $15 million in two years.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico is one of the poorest states in the nation, and dealing with scarcity is a reality for many public and private organizations. How does this dynamic affect the culture of an institution, and what lessons can be gleaned from those who create success when additional resources are unavailable?

The Journal sat down with Rebecca Avitia, executive director of the National Hispanic Cultural Center, who spoke at the New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry last year on scarcity and what managers can do to counteract its effects. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: Tell me about your upbringing. Did it impact the way you think about scarcity?

A: I was born and raised in Albuquerque, and my parents are Puerto Rican, so there was always the culture around me and then the culture my parents brought with them. I would always be struck when I talked to the family in Puerto Rico that there was this idea of I have more than I need, so let me give some to you before youve even asked. Whereas in New Mexico, theres that dance we do where when we introduce ourselves, we immediately date our presence here. We will often begin with I was born and raised here or I moved here when I was 15 so we give ourselves a claim to the resources.

Q: Fast-forward to taking your position at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. From your speech, it sounded like there was very much a scarcity mindset when you arrived. What did that look like?

A: When I first started (in 2014), I was the 12th executive director in 14 years. There had not been consistent or sustained leadership, and as a result, there hadnt been a continuous advocate for the budget, for private fundraising or drawing on collaborations. That amplified the scarcity we already have in New Mexico with limited public funding and private dollars. What I immediately noticed is that everyone really hoarded what resources they had. The first thing was to just call it out and put it on the table, and say, you know, I notice there are two exhibit prep rooms and we dont have enough resources to stock one of them; maybe we should consolidate them. Just calling out what was happening had a really dramatic impact for many people.

Q: Objectively, it makes sense to call that out, but sometimes when youre inside an institution its hard to think objectively. So how did you know to do that?

A: The analogy (that is) culturally resonant for me is a kitchen, lets say one in your mothers home. My mom could cook for a certain number of people, but if she had more help in the kitchen, we could cook for a whole lot more  but only if it functioned in a particular way. (If) I arrive at my moms house, and I notice that the tortilla on the comal (is) burning, I would just go and flip it. I wouldnt ask, Can I flip the tortilla? I taste the soup, and if it needs salt, I add salt. That dynamic is immediately destroyed in the kitchen of someone who is really controlling. You ask, How can I help? and they say, No, no, its fine, just sit down. It screeches to a halt and it goes so much slower. So my thought process was to come in here and create, you know, my moms kitchen. So that everyone here was functioning in a way where they felt empowered, they knew what the soup was supposed to taste like. Instead of saying to our custodial staff, Set it up this way, we say, Why dont you come and see the way the event works so that you can understand why were setting it up this way? And then, of course, the next time, when they know something about the event, they tweak it without anyone having to tell them how to set it up.

Q: Tell me about this idea from your speech of creating little pockets of abundance where you can.

A: In places where theres scarcity, success becomes disconnected with merit. So you succeed because you know the person, or because youre the loudest, or the most manipulative, but not because of the merit. When I (first arrived at the NHCC), I was really struck by the fact that our education program, which had only 1  employees, was creating the second-highest number of programs. So I thought, well, I need to indicate that there is some connection between success and merit, so I am going to prioritize some of my fundraising efforts to support this group.  In many ways it also relieved the tension for me, because instead of having some secret formula about how I was deciding to prioritize things, it was really defendable.

Q: What did it mean to apply that rubric to yourself as well?

A: I started these coffees that were once a month, where artists were invited to come and have coffee with me and the head of our performing arts program, our visual arts director and our curator. The idea being: Lets take away the unknown of how we select artists for exhibits and performers for performances. But we had people who already knew us coming to it. I realized that Im taking up all of these peoples time, and were not even reaching the folks who arent comfortable coming to us, so this is clearly not the right approach. Its really important to say, My bad, that was a bad decision. Lets think about what the lessons are that we can learn from my bad decision. And then other people start being willing to come forward and talk about their own mistakes, which is really important when you dont have a lot of resources.

Q: What other steps did you take to tie merit to success?

A: In the private sector, you have the freedom to terminate certain people and hire new people. But there can sometimes be a false sense that if you just change the people then its all going to get better. Whats been really neat (at the NHCC) is that weve changed as an organization without changing the people. What Ive really been pleasantly surprised by is that when you make clear that 100 percent is expected of everyone, people who are unwilling to give 100 percent know that and they sort of self-select themselves out. We have this dynamic of Please can I work more? Because I now understand how what I do impacts what the center does, and I understand how what the center does impacts the community, and Im way too bought into that pipeline to just walk away from it at 5 oclock. Our strategic planning process involved every single person at our organization, including our groundskeepers, our custodial crew and our security guards. As a result, it really shifted from being a pretty document for leadership to use to (being) in our blood.

Q: What would you say to a business owner in the private sector who is dealing with some of the byproducts of the scarcity mindset?

A: They really need to sit down and think about how theyre contributing to it. I think its worth asking everyone at an organization, Do you believe that merit is tied to success here? And really, honestly being willing to listen to the people who say no. Also, my first year, I met with every employee and I asked them, What is your Christmas morning moment? Or whatever holiday you celebrate where there are lots of presents. What makes you really excited? And then, conversely, what is the day where youd be totally fine with a snow day?  So then, after all of these meetings and all of my notes on this, I went through all of the job duties, and I figured out how I could take out as much of the snow day stuff from people and put in as much of that Christmas morning stuff. You cant do it all, but theres still plenty that can be done.  When we implemented it, that was when our productivity as an organization jumped the fastest. My first year, we went from 175,000 visitors to 225,000 visitors, and then we went to 280,000. The way I think about it is, yeah, I may have been given these cards, but I decide what game were playing, so, change, its Go Fish, I win.WASHINGTON  The most offensive and corrosive idea in our politics today is that some Americans are more real than others. Dont you dare buy it.

Republicans are cynically peddling this un-American conceit. Real Americans elected and continue to support President Trump, they claim, in defiance of snooty coastal elites who are hopelessly out of touch with the country. Its a total crock, and shame on those using it for political gain.

The whole point of democracy is that every citizens voice is supposed to have equal weight  even voices in favor of fair and compassionate immigration policy, universal health care, fighting racism, promoting gender equality, enshrining LGBT rights and other progressive causes. There is no need to be tentative about these views for fear they somehow make you, I suppose, unreal. They do not.

Nor does living within some arbitrary distance of an ocean, having a college education or preferring big-city life deprive anyone of standing as an American. A third-generation Kentucky coal miner and a goateed Brooklyn barista should have equal say in charting the course of the nation.

The miner and the barista dont actually have equal say, because of the way the Electoral College works, but lets leave that aside. What Im talking about is the perceived legitimacy of their political views. The notion has taken hold that since the miner is a real American, his views must therefore be more authentic  and the barista, if he does not share or accede to those views, is out of touch.

With world-class hypocrisy, Republican officeholders and activists are selling this load of bull while themselves, by and large, are coastal elites.

One recent illustration: No group is supposedly more elitist and clueless than the so-called mainstream media. At the medias biggest social event of the year, last months White House Correspondents Association dinner, comedian Michelle Wolf made some biting jokes about the Trump administration. Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, and his wife Mercedes, the White House director of strategic communications, conspicuously stood up and walked out.

Its why America hates the out-of-touch leftist media elite, Mercedes Schlapp harrumphed on Twitter. She sent the tweet while she and her husband were in a limousine, on their way to a glittering after-party thrown each year by NBC.

I know the Schlapps. They are nice people, when not engaged in demagoguery. They live in the Washington area, as I do; they recently purchased a $3 million home, as I certainly did not. Both have advanced college degrees. Matt Schlapp was a top lobbyist for Koch Industries before taking over at the ACU. The couple also founded their own public relations and lobbying firm. How are they anything but elite, according to the false dichotomy they espouse? Why are they any more qualified to speak for ostensibly real Americans than the journalists they haughtily deride, virtually all of whom are far less affluent?

To put icing on the cake, Mercedes Schlapp reportedly said at a recent White House meeting that I stand with Kelly Sadler  referring to the White House aide who said of Sen. John McCains opposition to CIA nominee Gina Haspel that it doesnt matter, hes dying anyway. Schlapp is awfully selective about what she finds offensive.

Think for a moment about how ridiculous this whole thing is. President Trump is a billionaire who started life as a millionaire, his father having been a wealthy developer. His Cabinet is a coven of plutocrats. His administrations most consequential achievement thus far is a tax cut that showers corporations and wealthy citizens with lavish benefits, leaving just peanuts for the middle and working classes. The administration is also waging a relentless campaign to punish immigrants and the poor, apparently for existing.

But Trump cleverly uses cultural, racial and geographical markers to define who is real and who is not. And the Republican Party, to its eternal shame, has decided to go along.

Enough. Its time to call out this ugly charade for what it is. Yes, it matters a great deal what people think in small-town Pennsylvania or rural Texas. But it matters just as much what people think in the rebuilding inner cores and thriving suburbs of our major cities, even if those cities happen to be on or near a coast.

Progressives have to speak to those left behind by wrenching economic and social change. But our voices are as authentic, and as worthy, as anyone elses. I am a real American, too. Deal with it.

Robinsons columns, including those not published in the Journal, can be read at abqjournal.com/opinion  look for the syndicated columnist link. E-mail: eugenerobinson@washpost.com; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.These are the Journals recommendations in the contested Republican and Democratic 2nd Congressional District primaries. Six candidates are vying for the seat being vacated by Republican Steve Pearce, who is running for governor. Its a sprawling district that encompasses southern New Mexico, including Los Lunas, Las Cruces and part of southern Bernalillo County. The rural district stretches from the Arizona to the Texas state line and south to the Mexican border. Four Republicans and two Democrats are running in their respective June 5 primaries. The two candidates who prevail in those races will face off in the November general election.

For complete election coverage, including previous endorsements, profiles and candidate questionnaires, go to ABQJournal.com and click on the Voter Guide tab.

2nd Congressional District

Monty Newman  Republican

Monty Newman is an unapologetically conservative candidate who supports much of President Donald Trumps agenda, including securing our nations borders, giving priority to legal immigrants who possess the skills that will make our country even better and pressuring China to ensure that American businesses and workers are treated fairly. His top priorities include promoting a strong military and creating jobs and economic prosperity and an opportunity for young people to stay in this state.

And while we dont agree with him on all issues  such as his opposition to citizenship for Dreamers, those immigrants brought to this country illegally as children, and his reluctance to support common-sense gun-control measures  we recognize hes the type of candidate who is going to roll up his sleeves and work hard for our state.

We must grow and diversify our economy while protecting our labs and military bases, Newman says.

Newman is a fiscal conservative who is concerned about our nations spiraling federal deficit. While he likes the tax cuts Congress and the president passed last year, he says he wouldnt have voted for the bill because it wasnt fiscally responsible  the tax cuts werent offset by spending cuts.

Newmans background makes him a good choice for this position; he knows his district. He has owned and operated a small real estate business for more than 30 years, is a former mayor of Hobbs, past chairman of the state Republican Party, former vice president with the National Association of Realtors, is a former Hobbs city commissioner, and has served on various boards, including the New Mexico Junior College Board of Trustees, the Board of Trustees for the University of the Southwest, the Economic Development Association of Lea County and the Eddy-Lea County Energy Alliance.

The Journal endorses Monty Newman in the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary.

2nd Congressional District

Xochitl Torres Small  Democrat

Las Cruces native Xochitl Torres Small is a water attorney and former staffer for Sen. Tom Udall who says Washington, D.C., needs someone who will fight for rural communities. She says investments are needed in rural communities and smaller cities to support private-sector jobs. But, she notes, economic growth depends on a ready and skilled workforce, 21st Century infrastructure, collaboration and working with entrepreneurs and local leaders to capitalize on community assets. Torres Small says the federal government should play a role in supporting each of those components.

On border security and immigration, she recognizes the cost we bear because of our nations broken immigration system. And while she opposes President Trumps border wall, calling it ineffective and an inefficient use of resources, she acknowledges we need to secure the border.

I believe we need to support and fund proven, effective security measures as well as increased technology and surveillance along the border to better allow agents to identify activity and respond in a timely manner, she says.

She wants comprehensive immigration reform that includes protections for people brought to this country illegally as children. But she wisely understands reforms should also include permits for those simply wanting to come to the U.S. to work, particularly in industries that need workers, such as agriculture. She supports maintaining current U.S. policy that favors family reunification and says reforms should include a meaningful pathway to citizenship for qualified applicants.

Torres Small also supports common-sense gun-safety measures, including a requirement for comprehensive background checks for all gun sales. Her other priorities include improving rural schools, access to health care and reducing the brain drain.

The Journal endorses Xochitl Torres Small in the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.I-40, COORS AND NOW UNSER CONSTRUCTION? Cyndi Silva emails, I see signs for work starting (today) on Unser near Interstate 40. What is the scope and planned duration? This is going to be a nightmare. Eastbound I-40 with road work and two lanes closed, and work on Blake and Coors, already detour to Unser. Why cant project people look at these projects and schedule accordingly to prevent severe backups? So annoying.

FIRST UNSER: Johnny Chandler, public information coordinator for Albuquerques Department of Municipal Development, says, A full reconstruction at the Unser and Central intersection will start on May 21 (today). This project will address some much-needed concerns at that intersection. Those updates include ADA improvements at all four corners, roadway widening, adding bike lanes, a new multi-use trail and sidewalks. The contractor is required to keep at least one lane open in each direction at all times.

The $5.9 million reconstruction is scheduled to be completed by summer of 2019 and will bring some much-needed relief for motorists as well as some nice upgrades for pedestrians and cyclists, Chandler adds. Motorists should plan some extra time for their commute during this project.

As for coordination, Chandler says DMD is constantly in contact with the New Mexico Department of Transportation and does our best to separate road projects to minimize driver inconvenience.

THEN I-40: NMDOT is in charge of this $9.4 million I-40 project, which is concrete repair east- and westbound between N.M. 45 (Coors) and the Big I, according to a news release. Work is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5:30 a.m. Sunday through Friday, and the NMDOT website says it will run through the summer of 2019. During this phase of the work, the news release cautions I-40 eastbound will have various lane and shoulder restrictions in place.

THEN COORS: Cyndi also asks, When is the Blake and Coors project planned for completion? I see Blake project approaching Unser. Is this also going to affect Unser traffic eventually? Is there a website to access for all these projects?

NMDOT is also in charge of this project, and according to a news release the work on north- and southbound Coors is for utility and infrastructure improvements. It is scheduled to run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sept. 30.

City projects are listed at cabq.gov; state projects at nmroads.com and dot.state.nm.us. The Albuquerque-metro area is NMDOT District 3.

RIO BRAVO/I-25 BRIDGE GOING AWAY: Kimberly Gallegos, who handles info for NMDOT District 3, also has an update on this long-awaited interchange rebuild.

She says in a news release: Eastbound Rio Bravo will be completely closed between Broadway and University Boulevard from 8 p.m.-5 a.m. each evening (tonight) through Thursday so that crews can demolish the southbound I-25 bridge over Rio Bravo.

The southbound I-25 exit at Rio Bravo will remain open, and motorists will be able to head west on Rio Bravo toward Broadway. However, westbound Rio Bravo will be closed at the bridge, so motorists east of the bridge will be able to enter northbound I-25 using the on-ramp and head to Gibson Boulevard to access westbound Rio Bravo via southbound Broadway.

The northbound I-25 entrance ramp will not be accessible to traffic heading eastbound on Rio Bravo. Motorists will be able to access northbound I-25 by heading north on Broadway to Gibson.

As always, speed limits are reduced in the construction zone. Motorists are encouraged to give themselves extra time to reach their destination, watch for construction signs and use extra caution when traveling through the area.

Editorial page editor DVal Westphal tackles commuter issues for the metro area on Mondays. Reach her at 823-3858; dwestphal@abqjournal.com; or P.O. Drawer J, Albuquerque, N.M. 87103.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The three Democrats running for governor all called Sunday for a change in New Mexicos direction but took aim at one anothers credentials in an occasionally testy debate that touched on poverty, crime, marijuana and the well-being of children.

During the hourlong debate, Jeff Apodaca and Joseph Cervantes both asked pointed questions of Michelle Lujan Grisham, the perceived front-runner, about profits from a health care consulting company she co-founded and the circumstances of her resignation as Department of Health secretary under then-Gov. Bill Richardson in 2007.

But Lujan Grisham fought back, asking both of her Democratic rivals why they allegedly have not paid health care coverage and given other benefits to their campaign staffers.

The live debate, sponsored by KOAT-TV and the Journal, was the first televised debate between the Democrats running for governor and took place with just over two weeks left before the June 5 primary election.

Apodaca, a former Albuquerque media executive whose father, Jerry Apodaca, was New Mexicos governor in the 1970s, sought to portray himself as a political outsider who would bring new ideas and energy to the Governors Office.

All that 50 years of experience sitting next to me, hows that working? Apodaca quipped at one point during the debate, referring to the combined tenure of his two rivals in state government, the Legislature and Congress.

But Lujan Grisham and Cervantes both suggested that Apodacas policy ideas lacked necessary detail, including his proposal to make New Mexico the ninth state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana use and tax its sales.

Lujan Grisham, a three-term congresswoman who is giving up her Albuquerque-area congressional seat to run for governor, said she also supports the idea, but only if safeguards are built into the law to address workplace issues and keeping marijuana products out of childrens hands.

Im not wishy-washy; I know what the challenges are, she said.

Since entering the race in December 2016, Lujan Grisham has used her broad network of connections to outraise her Democratic rivals and secure endorsements from key labor unions.

However, her opponents havent backed down, as Cervantes has given more than $2 million in personal loans to his campaign in recent months and has used the money to launch TV ads targeting Lujan Grisham.

And Apodaca, while trailing in the money race, has campaigned aggressively and maintained an active social media presence, including holding weekly virtual town hall meetings.

During Sundays debate, Lujan Grisham cited her 16-year run as a state Cabinet secretary  under three different governors  as evidence of her readiness to be governor, and she touted her work in Congress on legislation that would protect certain young immigrants from deportation and provide a pathway to citizenship.

We should become not just the state of enchantment, but the state of opportunity, she said.

On the issue of immigration, Cervantes, a state senator who hails from a prominent southern New Mexico farming family, said he joined protesters when Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently traveled to Las Cruces, and he described President Donald Trump as having an anti-immigrant administration.

I will not allow our state employees or resources to do Washingtons job, said Cervantes, who has served in the Legislature since 2002.

That answer appeared to put Cervantes at odds with Apodaca, who said being labeled a sanctuary state would hurt New Mexico in the long run.

Meanwhile, the candidates took turns blasting Gov. Susana Martinezs administration for its approach to preventing crimes against children, after being asked by a moderator about the latest case to send shock waves through New Mexico  that of a 7-year-old Albuquerque girl who the Attorney Generals Office has said was sex-trafficked by her close relatives.

Both Lujan Grisham and Apodaca cited high employee vacancy rates and recent unspent funds by the state Children, Youth and Families Department, while Cervantes lamented a lack of leadership and accountability in the Martinez administration.

Martinez, the states two-term Republican governor, is barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office and will step down at the end of this year.

The lone Republican in the race to succeed her is Steve Pearce, who is also giving up his congressional seat to run for governor. Because he is unopposed in the primary election, Pearce did not take part in Sundays debate.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

At Princeton Place in Albuquerque, an unsupervised resident wandered outside the facility and was struck and killed by a vehicle, according to a 2016 federal report.

At Casa Real in Santa Fe, inspectors said in a 2016 report that eight residents were not given insulin on the schedule ordered by their doctor.

Still another report states that at Sierra Health Care Center in Truth or Consequences, a resident told inspectors in 2017 he was left unattended for hours until his colostomy bag began to leak.

I had to hold (feces) in my hand, said the individual, according to the report. I finally started yelling.  I would like to get the care I feel I deserve.

Such issues are among more than 2,217 infractions reported in New Mexico-based nursing homes in recent years, as shown by reports filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Princeton Place, Casa Real, and Sierra Health Care Center did not respond to requests for comment.

Nearly all the nursing homes in the state are Medicare- or Medicaid-certified. Reported infractions range from the relatively minor (failing to give adequate notice before switching roommates, not promptly delivering mail) to the potentially deadly (improper fire safety precautions, abuse of residents).

Of those 2,217 reported deficiencies, 115 are considered serious: rated a J, K or L on a severity scale of A to L, meaning that the problem creates an immediate jeopardy to resident health or safety.

An analysis by the investigative journalism organization ProPublica showed that of 74 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified homes located in New Mexico, inspectors reported serious deficiencies in 36 of them between 2015 and April 2018.

By that measure, New Mexico is the worst in the nation for serious deficiencies on a per-nursing-home basis, according to the analysis.

Nursing homes here have been fined $2.42 million between 2015 and April 2018 and had their Medicare and Medicaid payments suspended for compliance issues 44 times over the same time period.

A spokesman for the New Mexico Department of Healths Division of Health Improvement said in a statement that the department take(s) seriously our role to protect New Mexicos elderly population. There were 5,749 nursing home residents in New Mexico as of 2016, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The spokesman said the state conducts inspections of nursing homes every 12 to 15 months or when a complaint is received; the findings are then reported to CMS, which determines penalties and actions.

Very concerned

The way some penalties are applied is likely to change soon.

As part of a Trump administration effort to relax regulations in the sector, CMS has announced it is changing an Obama-era rule. The shift will result in smaller fines for noncompliant nursing homes.

The changes have been criticized by advocates for the elderly and hailed by the industry, which argues the rules are burdensome and mean caretakers spend less time with their patients and more time on paperwork.

The industry association that represents nursing home in New Mexico claims that, in several respects, nursing homes here outperform the national average.

Jason Espinoza, the New Mexico Health Care Associations executive director, said in a statement that New Mexico does very well in eliminating physical restraint usage, reducing the use of antipsychotics and managing (urinary tract infections) through our infection control efforts. He also said the association has a registered nurse on staff dedicated to working with individual facilities on quality improvement, among other initiatives focused on addressing deficiencies.

Still, a spokesman for the New Mexico Attorney Generals Office said in an email that the agency is very concerned about the status of resident care in the state.

The office is pursuing a civil case against two nursing home operators, Preferred Care and Cathedral Rock, who are accused of failing to provide basic services on a regular basis to residents at seven nursing homes in the state.

The AGs Office spokesman said litigation is meant to be a deterrent against other current operators that are not providing adequate nursing home care.

Preferred Care and Cathedral Rock did not respond to requests for comment.

But Michael Parks, an attorney with the Albuquerque-based Senior Citizens Law Office, said that while regulators have long recognized problems within the nursing home system, they are forced to reckon with the reality of what closing any of those facilities would mean.

In my judgment, there has long been a tension between some enforcement activities and the need to place patients in facilities, Parks said.

Its a tension, he said, that is only likely to get worse as the states population continues to age and the need for those facilities grows.

In addition to enforcement actions available to the AGs Office, the state Department of Health can revoke a nursing homes license.

By 2030, New Mexico will have the fourth-largest population in the country of people age 65 or older as a percentage of the overall population, according to a 2016 Legislative Finance Committee report.

A shifting landscape

In that report, the committee identifies several factors behind quality of care issues in New Mexico nursing homes, an issue it characterized then as a growing concern.

Specifically, the report notes that Medicaid has increasingly covered home- and community-based care options, leading to fewer nursing home residents with higher  and more expensive  needs. As a result, nursing home revenues are declining, and Medicaid and other patient revenues havent offset the rising costs of caring for more expensive residents, according to the report.

As of 2016, New Mexico nursing homes were also providing fewer overall staffing hours per resident compared to the national average and that of neighboring states. Higher staffing levels are correlated with better quality of care, according to the report.

Among recommendations made by the committee: Adjust the states Medicaid reimbursement system to account for changes in resident needs, and more closely track indicators like serious deficiencies and staffing levels.

A New Mexico Human Services Department spokeswoman said that after the legislative report was published, the agency met with the New Mexico Health Care Association and performed an analysis on the impact of a transition to a different reimbursement model, one that would weight more heavily the resource-intensive nature of caring for todays nursing home residents.

After considerable research, the department decided that it wasnt fiscally possible, said the spokeswoman in a statement.

However, she said the agency is working with managed care organizations to find ways to reward outstanding nursing homes, what she described as a key goal for the states Medicaid program, Centennial Care.

The department also implemented a 2.7 percent funding increase in the daily Medicaid reimbursement rate for nursing facilities in January, and in July they will get an additional increase of 1.84 percent.

A Department of Health spokesman said the agency has created a strategic plan focused on improvements in the areas that will have the greatest impact on the health priorities in New Mexico.

In an effort to improve Vida Encantada Nursing & Rehab in Las Vegas, N.M., Harvey Pelovsky, managing partner of parent company Rim Country Health, said the facility has dramatically changed many parts of its operation in recent years, including increasing staffing levels.

Vida Encantada has been cited by inspectors for 61 deficiencies since 2015, accord to federal data. And while Pelovsky said hes confident those changes will mean better inspection reports in the future for the facility, he said systemwide reform will likely require a shift in state policy.

Id encourage people to educate themselves on the reimbursement issues, and educate their state legislators, he said. Nursing homes are an important part of the continuum of care. They shouldnt be the weakest link.

Four highly penalized

New Mexico nursing homes

Data based on reports filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services between 2015 and April 2018 compiled by the investigative journalism organization ProPublica.

Name: Casa Arena Blanca Nursing Center

Location: Alamogordo

Among highest in state for: Serious deficiencies (nine). Inspectors have also found 67 total deficiencies at Casa Arena Blanca since 2015.

Response: Though our facility has experienced challenges in the past, we are taking necessary steps to address them, Jeffrey Adisam, Casa Arena Blancas administrator said in a statement. Everyone associated with our facility remains committed to providing the highest level of compassion and care to our residents, and we look forward to improved surveys in the future.

Name: Casa Real

Location: Santa Fe

Among highest in state for: Total deficiencies (101). Of those, inspectors found five serious deficiencies. The home was hit with $122,867 in fines and three payment suspensions from Medicaid or Medicare in the past three years. It is also a special focus facility, a federal designation given to nursing homes that have a history of serious quality issues. Casa Real is listed in a recent CMS report as a facility that has shown improvement.

Response: Casa Real directed a request for comment to its parent, Texas-based Preferred Care Group. Preferred Care did not respond to a request for comment.

Name: Good Samaritan Society  Manzano Del Sol

Location: Albuquerque

Among highest in state for: Fines ($220,214). Manzano Del Sol has also had two payment suspensions since 2015.

Response: A spokesman for the facilitys parent company, Good Samaritan Society, said in a statement that Manzano Del Sol is committed to addressing issues raised by the New Mexico Department of Health surveys. He also noted the nursing home recently received an award as part of a national program that sets specific, measurable targets to further improve quality of care in Americas skilled nursing centers and assisted living communities.

Name: Mission Arch Center

Location: Roswell

Among highest in state for: Payment suspensions (four). Mission Arch Center has also been fined $177,077 and was cited for seven serious deficiencies in the past three years.

Response: A Mission Arch Center spokeswoman said the facility is committed to providing high-quality care to our patients and residents and supports the mission and quality initiatives of the New Mexico Health Care Association, of which it is a member.

What you can do

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services Nursing Home Compare website (www.medicare.gov/nursinghomecompare) has detailed information about Medicare- and Medicaid-certified facilities.

ProPublicas Nursing Home Inspect (projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes/) allows users to search through federal inspection reports by location, nursing home name, or search term.

Michael Parks, an attorney with the Albuquerque-based Senior Citizens Law Office, says theres no replacement for an on-site visit. Everyone says, See how it smells, but its true, he said. He also said witnessing something like a group of residents slumped over in their wheelchairs could speak to an overuse of medications to keep an individual docile, or possibly other abuse.

To register a complaint about a nursing home, contact the states long-term care ombudsman. The number is 1-866-842-9230 in Albuquerque and northwestern New Mexico; 1-866-451-2901 in Santa Fe and northeastern New Mexico; and 1-800-762-8690 in Las Cruces, Roswell and southern New Mexico.



WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court will hear Oklahomas plea to reinstate the murder conviction and death sentence of an American Indian.

The justices on Monday said they will review an appellate ruling that overturned the conviction and sentence of Patrick Dwayne Murphy. He claimed he should have been tried in federal, not state, court because he is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and the crime occurred in Indian territory.

The federal appeals court in Denver determined that the victims body was found within the tribes historical boundaries that take in several Oklahoma counties, and include much of the city of Tulsa. The court said the Creek Nation reservation existed before Oklahoma achieved statehood and was never formally deprived of its official status, or disestablished, by Congress.

The Trump administration, in a rare uninvited Supreme Court filing, said in support of Oklahomas appeal that the issue has wide-ranging and serious implications for law enforcement. In Tulsa, with a population of 950,000 people, and eight counties in eastern Oklahoma, most crimes by or against Indians would have to be prosecuted in federal courts if the appellate ruling is upheld, the administration said.

The vast majority of crimes are handled by local and state authorities.

In 2017, federal prosecutors in the region brought just three indictments for serious crimes because they involved Indian country, the administration said. That number could increase to more than 500 indictments a year, the administration estimated.

A jury in McIntosh County, about 80 miles southeast of Tulsa, found Murphy guilty of the 1999 murder of George Jacobs and a judge sentenced him to death. Prosecutors said he had confessed to killing Jacobs when he was arrested.

Lawyers for Murphy had urged the justices to leave the appellate ruling undisturbed. They argued that the appeals court correctly applied Supreme Court precedents dealing with the disestablishment of Indian reservations. They also said the claims of mass disruption of the criminal justice system were overstated.

The case, Royal v. Murphy, 17-1107, will be argued in the fall. Justice Neil Gorsuch is not taking part in the courts review because he dealt with the case while a member of the appeals court.Corrugated Synergies International, based in Renton, Wash., is expanding to Santa Teresa and bringing with it 120 manufacturing jobs.

The company will invest more than $31 million in infrastructure, production equipment and renovation of its new Santa Teresa facility to print corrugated cardboard, according to a news release from the governors office.

The company is calling its New Mexico operation Visual Impact Preprint, LLC. It chose New Mexico for expansion over Nevada and Texas, after Gov. Susana Martinez and members of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance visited its corporate headquarters, the news release said.

It really is a big win for us, said Jerry Pacheco, president and CEO of the Border Industrial Association based in Santa Teresa. This is a deal we have worked on  its going on four years now.

Corrugated Synergies will receive up to $1 million in state Local Economic Development Act funds.

We are proud to be making a long-term investment in New Mexico by placing our newest manufacturing facility in Santa Teresa, said John Perullo, company CEO and president.

The operation will digitally print corrugated sheets at the plant, Perullo told the Journal. It will export to Mexico and may import some materials from there.

Not only can it help increase our exports to Mexico, its also going to help supply our local industrial base, Pacheco said.

Davin Lopez, president & CEO of the Mesilla Valley alliance, said the expansion provides further evidence that the Santa Teresa area is now recognized as a premiere location for manufacturing and international trade in the United States.EVANSTON, Ill.  A former Catholic priest has been charged with sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy in a suburban Chicago hotel in 2001 after police reopened an investigation that had been dormant for more than a decade.

Fifty-six-year-old Kenneth Lewis of Arvada, Colo., is charged with felony criminal predatory sexual assault. He posted bail after a court hearing in Chicago on Saturday.

Evanston Police Commander Ryan Glew says the alleged assault occurred when the then-priest accompanied the boy and his family on a trip from Tulsa, Okla., to Evanston. He says the family reported the incident in 2004 but prosecutors declined to charge Lewis. He says an Evanston detective reopened the investigation last fall and an arrest warrant was issued for Lewis. He says Lewis left the priesthood in 2007.Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

Gov. Susana Martinez dined Monday evening with President Donald Trump and four other GOP governors at the White House.

On the menu?

A discussion about immigration and border security, hot-button issues that have made allies of Trump and Martinez after back-and-forth criticism of one another during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Martinez has been on the East Coast for political meetings since last week, and she traveled from New York to Washington, D.C., to attend Mondays dinner at the White House, said Emilee Cantrell, a spokeswoman for the governor.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster were the other governors who attended the dinner, according to CBS News. All are Republicans.

Martinez, the states two-term Republican governor, has heeded Trumps recent call to deploy National Guard members to the Mexican border to assist federal Border Patrol agents.

Under Martinezs instructions, about 60 New Mexico National Guard members are serving in a support role on the border, helping with vehicle maintenance and taking care of horses used by Border Patrol agents on mounted patrols in rugged desert terrain.

Eventually, up to 150 state National Guard members could be deployed on the mission, though law enforcement officers who are Guard members have been exempted.

The protection of our border is everything to make sure Americans are safe, Martinez said during a news conference last month while touring the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station.

We do not want the illegal trafficking of drugs and sex trafficking that takes place and comes through the border, and then impacts the cities in the northern part of New Mexico, the governor also said.

The dinner also reportedly included a discussion of sanctuary cities, as the Trump administration has vowed to withhold resources from cities that dont cooperate with federal authorities.

But some New Mexico cities havent been swayed by the threat, with both Santa Fe and Albuquerque refusing to allow local law enforcement to assist federal agents on immigration enforcement.

The issue of border security has also come up in New Mexicos 2018 gubernatorial race, as Martinez is barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office and will step down at the end of this year. Some candidates and other prominent New Mexico officials have been critical of Trumps call for National Guard troops at the border.HOOD RIVER, Ore.  A teenager who started a major wildfire in the scenic Columbia River Gorge in Oregon has been ordered to pay restitution for at least the next decade, though its unlikely the boy will ever cover his nearly $37 million bill.

The Oregonian reports that Hood River County Circuit Judge John A. Olson issued the opinion on Monday, awarding the restitution totaling $36,618,330.24 to cover the costs of firefighting, repair and restoration to the gorge and damage to homes. Victims include the U.S. Forest Service and Oregon Department of Transportation.

The 15-year-old from Vancouver, Washington, earlier this year acknowledged wrongdoing and said he threw two fireworks in Eagle Creek Canyon on Sept. 2 when flames spread quickly. The fire caused evacuations, an extended shutdown of a major interstate highway and devastation to a major outdoor tourist attraction.

The judges order notes that the boy can set up a payment plan, though payments can be halted after 10 years as long as he complies, completes probation and doesnt commit other crimes.

At a hearing last week, the boys lawyer urged for a reasonable and rational penalty, calling the $37 million sought an absurd amount for the child. The restitution is solely the responsibility of the teen, and not his parents, who came to the U.S. from Ukraine.

Olson called it an extraordinary amount and then deferred on a separate restitution order because he wanted more time to review the case. The judge said the largest figure he could find for prior juvenile restitution cases in Oregon was $114,000.

The teen in February pleaded guilty to reckless burning of public and private property and other charges. Olson sentenced him to community service and probation, and the boy had to write more than 150 letters of apology to those affected by the fire that burned 75 square miles (194 square kilometers).

The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area attracts more than 3 million tourists a year and holds North Americas largest concentration of waterfalls. The fast-moving blaze ravaged popular hiking trails and marred stunning vistas.

State law allows the Oregon Department of Revenue to garnishee the teens bank accounts or paychecks. If hes due refunds on his tax returns, the state could take those. If he wins the lottery, the state also could collect all of his winnings.

Anger at the boy was so intense that authorities withheld his name to protect his safety. Hes listed in court papers as A.B.

___

Information from: The Oregonian/OregonLive, http://www.oregonlive.comNew York Festivals International Advertising Awards competition celebrated the 2018 award-winners at the New York Show gala held on May 17 at the renowned Jazz at Lincoln Centers Frederick P. Rose Hall in New York City.

The annual event celebrating the Worlds Best Advertising was hosted by actress and TV personality, Debi Mazar, and kicked off with a cocktail reception followed by the awards ceremony and an after-party to honour trophy-winners. The spotlight was on the 2018 award-winners as they celebrated with advertising creatives, Executive/ Grand Jury members, press and guests from around the globe.

The 2018 Executive Jury of Global and Chief Creative Officers, in addition to NYFs Film Craft Executive Jury, comprised of some of the most creative, technically advanced filmmakers in the industry today, selected the Worlds Best Advertising award winners from the Shortlist chosen by the NYFs 300+ Grand Jury members. The combined 2018 Executive Juries deliberated and awarded Best of Show, 9 prestigious Grand Prize Awards, 76 First Prize Awards, 111 Second Prize Awards, and 216 Third Prize Awards.

The coveted 2018 Best of Show Award was awarded to Fearless Girl McCann New York for client State Street Global Advisors SHE fund, an investment fund for companies with more women in leadership. The statue of a fearless young girl standing up to Wall Streets Charging Bull became a symbol of female empowerment, the icon of International Womens Day, a piece of city art, and a social media phenomenon. People across the world emulated her stance as an expression of personal empowerment. Fearless Girl was in the winners circle taking home 3 Grand Trophies and an impressive 9 First Prize Awards.

We are thrilled that Fearless Girl had caught the worlds attention and that gender diversity in the corporate world had a visible champion, said Devika Bulchandani, President of McCann New York. To be recognised by your peers for the continued impact she is having with the Best of Show honours is exhilarating and humbling.

Procter & Gamble Corporation, the American multi-national consumer goods corporation, was recognised with the New York Festivals 2018 Brand of the Year Award for their commitment to creativity and innovation. Saatchi & Saatchi New Yorks Its a Tide Ad Campaign, for client Procter & Gamble, earned 2 distinguished Grand Awards and 4 First Prize Awards.

McCann Worldgroup was in the spotlight; the network was honoured with the title of 2018 Network of the Year. The prestigious award is presented to the agency network that achieves the most awards and produces the finest caliber of work. The network earned, along with the 2018 Best of Show and 3 Grand Awards, a staggering 18 First Prize Awards, 19 Second Prize Awards, 21 Third Prize Awards, and 96 Finalist Certificates.

We cant thank our clients enough for partnering with us on brave ideas that end up having a huge impact on culture. Winning Network of the Year is a huge honour, especially with so many other agencies and networks doing incredible things. It is a testament to the resiliency of the people of McCann Worldgroup, all around the world, said Rob Reilly, Global Creative Chairman, McCann Worldgroup.

The Regional Agency of the Year Award is awarded to an advertising agency that earns the highest score for entries in all competitions across all mediums. The 2018 Regional Agency of the Year Awards honour the following agencies: Europe - Jung von Matt, Germany; North America - McCann New York; South American - AlmapBBDO Publicidade e Comunicacao LTDA, Brazil; Mena - FP7 Egypt and Asia Pacific - Cheil, Hong Kong.

The Independent Agency of the Year, based on total points earned, is given to the non-networked agency that obtains the highest score for entries in all competitions across all mediums, irrespective of whether these have been entered by the agency or another party. Jung von Matt, Germany is the 2018 Independent Agency of the Year.

It is a big honour for Jung von Matt to win the prize of Independent Agency of the Year of the New York Festivals and we welcome this in particular as it strengthens again the non-networked-agencies. In addition, we are very delighted, that it is a joint achievement of various Jung von Matt agencies in various locations for different clients, said Doerte Spengler-Aherns, Chief Creative Officer, Jung Von Matt /SAGA Germany.

The Film Production Company of the Year Award is based on total points scored, irrespective of whether these have been entered by the production company, advertising agency, or another third party. The 2018 Film Production Company of the Year Award goes to Rattling Stick for their award-winning work for Saatchi & Saatchi New Yorks Its A Tide Ad Campaign.

Its an honour to be recognised by New York Festivals as Production Company of the Year for Its a Tide Ad. On behalf of Rattling Stick and Traktor, a huge thanks to Saatchi NY and P&G for the opportunity and collaborative efforts that created a transcendent campaign. Every day we strive to elevate the ideas that come our way and its truly special when all of the components come together as perfectly as they did for Tide, said Jeff Shupe, Executive Producer, Rattling Stick, Santa Monica & London.

New York Festivals honoured two of New York Citys iconic theatre organisations  The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing  with the New York Festivals Lifetime Achievement Award. Their commitment to fostering awareness of the theatre industry and their co-sponsorship of the Tony Awards, theatres highest honour, make them deserving recipients of this distinguished award. Heather Hitchens, President & CEO of the American Theatre Wing and Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League accepted.

The 2018 Executive Jury awarded the following prominent agencies with Grand Awards for their exceptional entries:

Activation & Engagement: McCann New York, USA Fearless Girl State Street Global Advisors.

Avant-Garde: McCann New York, USA Fearless Girl State Street Global Advisors.

Direct & Collateral: FF Paris, France Libe des refugies Liberation.

Film  Cinema/ Online/ TV: Saatchi & Saatchi New York, USA Its a Tide Ad Campaign Procter & Gamble - Tide.

Integrated: Colenso BBDO Auckland, New Zealand, The Child Replacement Programme Mars / Pedigree.

Media: Saatchi & Saatchi New York, USA Its a Tide Ad Campaign Procter & Gamble - Tide.

Outdoor/ Out of Home Marketing: McCann New York, USA Fearless Girl State Street Global Advisors.

Print: Akestam Holst NOA Stockholm, Sweden IKEA Pee Ad IKEA Sweden.

Public Service Announcement/ Communications: FF Paris, France Libe des refugies Liberation.

New York Festivals, in partnership with the United Nations Department of Public Information, appoints a UN panel to select public service work that exemplifies the aims and ideals of the United Nations. The 2018 UNDPI Jury honoured the following entries: Jung von Matt AG Germany The Gender Pay Gap Experiment for Terre Des Femmes earned the UNDPI First Prize Award; Kolle Rebbe GmbH Germany Misereor Micro Meals for Bisch fliches Hilfswerk MISEREOR e. V. was awarded the UNDPI Second Prize Award; and Grey Germany Open your eyes for Terre Des Femmes was honoured with the UNDPI Third Prize Award.

For More Stories Visit Here.Aiken woman to pay more than 600k in restitution for embezzlement An Aiken woman who was sentenced to 27 months in prison for embezzlement was ordered to pay restitution and forfeit certain property.

An Aiken woman was sentenced to 27 months in prison for embezzlement by a bank officer, according to a release from the United States Attorney for South Carolina.

Carrie B. Caldwell, 40, was a branch manager for Regions Bank in Aiken, according to information presented during her guilty plea and sentencing.

During her employment, Caldwell embezzled more than $600,000 from the bank and was stealing from dormant bank accounts to evade detection, according to the release. The money was used to pay for "travel, a boat and other luxury items," according to the release.

Caldwell was sentenced for embezzlement by a bank officer and filing false tax returns.

Caldwell also failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars as income to the Internal Revenue Service.

"The role of IRS, Criminal Investigation becomes even more important in embezzlement and fraud cases due to the complex financial transactions that must be unraveled," said Matthew D. Line, acting special agent in charge of the Charlotte Field Office, in the release. "Those who cheat taxpayers by hiding their income and abuse their positions to enrich themselves at the expense of others will be held accountable."

The IRS worked with the Aiken Department of Public Safety and the United States Secret Service to investigate the case; the case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney T. DeWayne Pearson, according to the release.

ICYMI: Top 10 Stories of May 2018 Here are Aiken Standard's top 10 stories from the month of May, including everything from crime to seafood.Would you like to receive breaking news notifications from The Post and Courier?

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Please enable notifications in your browser and reload the page.CAIRO  "Yomeddine" (Judgment Day), an Egyptian tragicomedy about discrimination and friendship, left the 71st Cannes International Festival with the Francois Chalais Prize May 18, marking an unexpected success for a debut film with a small budget and no stars. The award is the first for an Egyptian film in the international festival in nearly two decades.

"Yomeddine," by young director AB Shawky, was also nominated for a Palme dOr award, but lost to Shoplifters by Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda.

Many Egyptian films have been nominated for the Palme dOr, including 2012's After the Battle, a drama on the Arab Spring by director Yousry Nasrallah. It lost to Amour, Michael Hanekes moving story of love and death. In 2016, Mohamed Diab's thriller Clash was the only Egyptian film to be screened as part of the Un Certain Regard division. No Egyptian films were featured in Cannes in 2017.

Yomeddine, a compelling tale of cruelty and kindness, tells the story of Bashay, who grew up in a leper colony. Though he has recovered, he has major scars on his face, hands and feet. After the death of his wife, who suffered from leprosy as well, Bashay decides to set on a journey across Egypt with his Nubian friend Obama. His aim is to unite with his family in the Qena governorate who had abandoned him because of his illness.

Bashays journey offers insights into Egypts outlook toward marginalized people  both Bashay and his dark-skinned friend. It is the first feature film for Shawky, who said the plot was based on his short documentary about the Abu Zaabal leper colony made 10 years ago. Colony showed the suffering of the lepers, the majority of whom, like Bashay, scavenge for sellable items in the dump for a living.

Bashay is played by Rady Gamal, who himself had leprosy and is not a professional actor. Ahmed Abdelhafiz, who portrays Obama, is another newcomer. The movie also features Mohammed Abel Azim, who was in Clash; Osama Abdallah from Wedding Song, a TV series based on Naguib Mahfouz novel of the same name; Shahira Fahmi from the Farthest Neighbor TV series; and Shahab Ibrahim, one of Egypt's most famous dwarf actors, who occupies an important space in Egyptian cinema and is a popular voice actor for animated feature films.

Mohamed Hefzy, an independent Egyptian film producer, told Al-Monitor that the amateur spirit was precisely what made the film a success. Hefzy joined the crew of Yomeddine as an associate producer after he saw a first cut. He funded the production of a second version, the editing and the distribution of the movie.

The production "didn't require big funds," he said. "It was a unique experience, starting with the newcomer actors, the filmmaker and the Argentinian cinematographer Federico Cesca. He added that he believes professional producers should embrace amateurs and efforts like Yomeddine.

Reactions have been positive and encouraging. Egyptian film critic Nesreen Allam who attended Cannes wrote on Facebook that Turkish director and screenwriter Nuri Bilge Ceylan saw Shawkys Yomeddine and was very impressed. The film has also attracted international attention.

Egyptian critic and professor at the Higher Institute of Cinema Tareq al-Shennawi, who saw the film during a special screening at the Egyptian Film Critics Association May 13, told Al-Monitor, The film was a great success because it is a unique experience as the acting was not contrived rather very spontaneous and natural.

Shennawi believes that Shawky made great casting choices. He chose a nonprofessional, Rady Gamal, who actually suffered from leprosy to play the lead character. Gamal had experienced firsthand the suffering of the people in the colony and was, with the help of Shawky, able to accurately convey the message to the viewers.As Iran and Europe scramble to save the Iranian nuclear deal, the EUs commissioner for energy and climate traveled to Iran to meet with Iranian officials. Miguel Arias Canete tweeted a picture of his meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and wrote about the need to defend and fully implement" the Iran deal. He added that Europe is committed to protecting EU investments and boosting EU-Iran trade relations.

Canete also met with other Iranian officials. During a press conference with Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization, Canete said that as long as Iran remains committed to the JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Europe will remain committed as well. Salehi had suggested that Iran could return to the 20% enrichment of the pre-deal levels if Europe was not able to remain in the nuclear deal. During another meeting, Canete and Irans oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, discussed the issue of continuing Irans oil exports in the face of renewed US sanctions.

While Zarif has been meeting with European officials in an attempt to save the nuclear deal, he has been battling domestic rivals at home. During a closed-door session in parliament, Zarif updated members of parliament on guarantees from Europe given the US exit from the deal. On negotiations between Europe and Iran, according to Iranian parliamentarian Mohammad Reza Rezaei Kochi, Zarif described the nuclear deal as a person close to death in the ICU and under difficult conditions.

Kochi added that the main issue on whether European political leaders could deliver on their promises to keep European companies invested in Iran has more to do with the relationship between European companies and their governments. Kochi said that many of the European companies are private entities and have shareholders in the United States. Thus, it remains to be seen whether they would take direction from their own governments or instead side with US policies.

Parliamentarian Ali Motahari said that Zarifs negotiations with Europe were positive, but that everything depends on the next two, three weeks. Motahari added that one of the major discussions that took place at a closed-door session at the Iranian parliament was a bill regarding the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering, a Paris-based group that tracks money laundering. According to Motahari, problems with the bill regarding the task force were resolved between parliament, the supreme leader's office and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani. The bill seeks to implement reforms that would lead to Iran's removal from a black list of countries that are monitored by the task force.

While Iranian officials from the administration are pinning their hopes on Europe, conservative Iranian officials are mostly convinced that the nuclear deal is dead. In an interview with Fars News, Iranian parliamentarian Mohammad Dehghan said the United States wants three things from Iran, which Europe also wants: Irans nuclear program limited permanently, Irans missile capabilities limited and Iran to pull back on its regional influence. Dehghan said that Europe wants the same things, and that the United States and Europe are essentially playing a game of good cop-bad cop with Iran.The US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has been received negatively by much of the international community, with the exception of Israel and some Arab states.

In Iran, elites are divided about how to respond, with the administration of President Hassan Rouhani pursuing dialogue with Europe to gain practical guarantees that promises dividends of the deal will materialize. Meanwhile, other political figures are urging a prompt reciprocal withdrawal from the accord. As for ordinary Iranians, "gloom" appears to be the word of the day.

In his May 8 deal withdrawal announcement, President Donald Trump addressed the long suffering people of Iran, characterizing his policy toward the Islamic Republic as one that benefits all of Iran. He concluded his remarks by saying that the future of Iran belongs to its people. A similar sentiment was echoed in Secretary of State Mike Pompeos May 21 outlining of the new US strategy toward Iran.

Among ordinary Iranians, there now seems to be a shared sense of distress, frustration and anger. These sentiments are clear whether at friendly gatherings, family visits, chats during taxi rides or heated dialogues among colleagues.

Sepideh Pourakbar, a young mother who works from home in the city of Karaj, 20 miles west of the capital Tehran, bitterly laughed off Trumps remarks, telling Al-Monitor, Future? What future? Does he really care about us? I cannot believe that. My heart sank the very night I heard Mr. Trumps speech. I knew nothing good would come of it.

Young Iranians do not disagree with the notion of being in charge of their fates. I do believe that the people of Iran are in charge of their future and are assets to their country, said Amirhossein Andalibi, a software engineer who works at a startup in Tehran. We need equipment, software and hardware to work on applications or sites, for the sake of the countrys development. But much of what we are looking for cannot be found here due to the sanctions in place.

For some, the impact of the reimposition of US sanctions is even more imminent. Forough Mahmoudi Darvish speaks up about her worries of not being able to find the medicine she needs for her scleroderma, an autoimmune disease. The US embargo on Iran does not include medicine, medical devices, food and certain agricultural commodities. But Iranian markets, still reeling from the sanctions imposed prior to the implementation of the nuclear deal, appear frozen as businesses contemplate how to best proceed amid the uncertainty.

I have to take mycophenolic acid pills sold under the brand name Suprimon. With the recent tensions and the surging exchange rate, pharmacies seem to be withholding the drugs because they dont know at what rate they should be sold, she told Al-Monitor.

Although Darvish sees mismanagement and corruption as the direct cause of her predicament, she told Al-Monitor that she also believes the situation is an indirect outcome of US sanctions and the fear of an upcoming war. Only the salespeople might benefit from this situation.

But putting certain well-connected elites aside, small business owners do not appear to be beneficiaries of the present situation. Pouya Khajenasir, a 22-year-old who works in a clothing shop in the city of Qazvin, just over two hours drive northwest of Tehran, said his sales have dropped dramatically. I know things are about to get worse with this new fiasco, he told Al-Monitor.

Meanwhile, many Iranians continue to opt for emigration as a way out. Mona Borhani, an English teacher, said, Its everyone nowadays. People seem to have gotten stuck in a state of frenzy to leave the country.

In 2015, officials put the number of documented Iranians living abroad at 4 million, including 70,000 students. But the precise number of expatriate Iranians is almost impossible to track. Borhani told Al-Monitor that the emigration frenzy" is no longer about work or study opportunities, saying, "People are ready to leave all they have behind to get out.

Despite the preference for emigration among many Iranians, moving abroad or even visiting foreign destinations has become much more difficult due to the devaluation of the Iranian currency. Amid reports in conservative media about officials who either hold dual nationality or residency abroad, Pourakbar, whose son, Radin, is 3 years old, sees emigration as a far-fetched prospect for her. I wish I had emigrated before  not so sure I can afford that right now. My son deserves to live a happy life and have a good future; it now seems like a dream.

Mahyar Salehinia, a musician with the rock band Piclavier, said the shift in US policy toward Iran could end his career in a domino effect. He told Al-Monitor, The hard-liners are likely to take it out on us and tighten their grip. I cant remember the last time they went easy on anyone. They would hold their ground even harder.

While some Iranians say Trump has shown his populist tendencies, Navid Yousefian, a tourism entrepreneur, said the US presidents motive is about far more than fulfilling campaign promises.

In the last few months, we have been witnessing the most democratic and radical street politics after the [1979] Islamic Revolution, he told Al-Monitor, referring to the recent string of labor strikes, worker protests and women voicing their dissent toward the mandatory dress code as bottom-up activities. In this equation, Yousefian said Trump is not the only one to blame for the apparent US obliviousness to the consequences of its actions, hinting at American awareness of the strengthening of Iranian hard-liners.

As such, ordinary Iranians do not appear to sense bright prospects ahead. The common sentiment is not strong support for the Islamic Republic. But it is nonetheless a foregone conclusion that people will grow more dependent on the state and state-owned businesses, as well as state-sponsored education, culture and values. The outcome of these dynamics, which are not new in Iran, is predictable: a tired polity and toughened policy.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized in the West Bank city of Ramallah and was unable to attend the May 18 Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit in Istanbul. The host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was thus obliged to tell Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah what he had planned to tell Abbas: that the Palestinian Authority (PA) must take an active part in saving the Gaza Strip.

Erdogan is considered a patron of Hamas. He has in the past hosted a Hamas branch office established in Istanbul by the deputy head of its political bureau, Saleh al-Arouri. The office was shut down in keeping with Israels demands as part of an Israeli-Turkish reconciliation deal signed in June 2016. Arouri moved his activities to Beirut, but a source in the PA told Al-Monitor that he often travels to Istanbul, stopping off there on the way to various destinations, especially to Tehran.

Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas political bureau, delivered a sermon May 18 in a Gaza mosque that attests to the importance his group attaches to reconciliation with the PA. This is the most appropriate time for reconciliation among all the Palestinian factions, and we are ready to take serious steps, he said. Haniyeh did not say whether these steps include a willingness to disarm, in accordance with the demand by Fatah, the main component of the PA, as a prerequisite for reconciliation.

Shortly after he spoke, representatives of more than 40 Muslim states met for the extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation convened by Turkey. It was organized hurriedly, ostensibly to convey Muslim unity from Istanbul in the face of the May 14 US Embassy move to Jerusalem. In fact, the conference was intended to position Erdogan as the leader of the Muslim world at the expense of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

This is not the first time Erdogan has directed harsh rhetoric against Israel over its 11-year blockade of the Gaza Strip and expressed unconditional support for Hamas. He did so during all of Israels clashes with Hamas over the past decade. He stormed out of a speech by late Israeli President Shimon Peres in 2009 in Davos, Switzerland, and he adopted harsh language the following year over the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla that set off from Turkey to breach the Gaza blockade. He unleashed a broadside after the summer 2014 Israel-Gaza war known as Operation Protective Edge and, despite the reconciliation agreement between the two countries, attacked Israel heatedly over the recent Gaza border clashes. Erdogan has repeatedly sought to portray himself as the savior of the besieged Gaza enclave, and Haniyeh often refers to him as beloved, dear brother.

Egypt treats Hamas with suspicion and undertakes goodwill gestures toward the organization only as a reward for good behavior, most recently opening the Rafah border crossing from Gaza in return for its agreement to stop the violent demonstrations along the Israel border. Erdogan adopts a different approach, supporting Hamas almost unconditionally. He seeks to unite the Muslim states around him to save the people of Gaza and stabilize Hamas control of the Strip. However, like Sisi, Erdogan understands that Gazas problems cannot be resolved absent a reconciliation with Fatah.

A PA official told Al-Monitor that the Turks have in the past tried to engage in mediation between the two main Palestinian factions behind Egypts back, but Abbas rejected these efforts. In Istanbul on May 18, Hamdallah was rebuked for Abbas refusal to promote reconciliation, which, according to the Turks, would benefit the Palestinian people and the brothers besieged in Gaza. Abbas views Erdogan as biased in Hamas favor, especially given Turkeys ongoing ties with Arouri, and is unwilling to cooperate with Turkeys moves, for now.

Why does Erdogan believe he can bring Abbas around after Egypt failed? How can he portray himself to Abbas as an honest broker given that throughout the crisis between the two groups that started over a decade ago he always expressed unreserved support for Hamas? And how will he be able to persuade Abbas to set aside his demand for Hamas to disarm and to hand over control of Gaza to the PA?

The events of recent weeks have handed Erdogan two arguments that he believes will convince top PA figures to trust his leadership and accept the path he is proposing as an alternative to Egypts. The first argument is that while Cairo barely spoke out against the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Erdogan led an inter-Arab campaign on the issue and did not hesitate to confront President Donald Trump over his decision. Erdogan promises Abbas to unite all the Muslim states in the world around the PAs right to Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. At the Istanbul summit, Erdogan called on participants to support the Palestinians and to continue to oppose the US Embassy move, even after its formal May 14 inauguration.

The second argument conveyed to Hamdallah in Istanbul is that Hamas resistance policy proved itself at the recent Gaza-Israel border fence incidents as the only weapon protecting Palestinians from Israeli aggression.

Turkey is proposing that Hamas and Fatah move forward with their reconciliation and set aside the weapons issue for future discussion once trust between them is restored, at which point the armed wings of the various Palestinian organizations will come together to form a united Palestinian peoples army.

The rivalry between Turkey and Egypt is no secret. It re-emerged in recent days when Cairo rejected Ankaras request to approve the landing of a plane to evacuate wounded Palestinians from Gaza to Turkish hospitals.

Haniyeh can continue praising Turkey for its firm stand alongside Hamas and referring to it as sister-nation of the Palestinian, but he, too, knows that as long as Egypt controls Gazas lifeline  the Rafah crossing  any arrangement and agreement requires Cairos imprimatur. This is doubly true when it comes to a Palestinian reconciliation move that could strengthen Sisis rival, Erdogan.Jordans Islamists were stunned when they lost control of one of the kingdoms largest professional unions for the first time in more than 25 years. On May 4, the Islamists list, Injaz ("accomplishment" in Arabic), failed to win a majority of seats in the Engineers Association, while the centrist civil coalition Numou ("Growth") clinched six of the 10 seats on the association's council, including the posts of president and deputy. The Islamists' loss is more than symbolic, perhaps pointing to a shift in Jordanian voters' mindset.

For decades, Islamist candidates have competed against a leftist coalition of nationalists, Baathists and members of the Palestinian Fatah movement for control of major professional unions in Jordan. Since the mid-1990s, the Islamists, associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, had controlled the Engineers Associations council and most of its branches.

The Engineers Association, established in 1948, has 22 branches across the kingdom. It elected its first council in 1958, and by the end of last year counted 146,460 members, making it the second largest union in Jordan after the Teachers Syndicate. In addition to providing training and various services to its members, the association also plays a political role. For example, its Anti-Normalization Committee, which opposes full diplomatic and economic relations with Israel, is one of the most influential groups in the country, as is its Palestine Committee. These committees frequently stage demonstrations and sit-ins to protest Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories, coordinating activities with other professional unions.

When Jordan banned political parties in 1957 following regional and domestic turmoil, professional associations emerged as key political actors. Parliamentary democracy, with political parties recognized by the state, only resumed in 1989. By that time, professional associations had become so entrenched in political life that newly forming political parties, with the exception of the Muslim Brotherhoods Islamic Action Front (IAF), had a tough time luring voters.

Between the 1993 legislative elections and the most recent vote in 2016, the IAF was the only political party able to influence outcomes, like forcing the government to amend the controversial single-vote election law. Even when it boycotted the 1997 and 2010 elections to protest the election law, it remained the only relevant opposition bloc.

In the past few years, however, the Muslim Brotherhood has been weakened by splintering and divisions stemming from internal disputes and government pressure. In the 2016 elections, the IAF formed an alliance with nationalist candidates to broaden its appeal. It won 16 seats, but its performance in the legislature has been controversial and disappointing for many of its supporters. This may explain this months loss at the Engineers Association elections.

Oraib al-Rintawi, head of the Amman-based Jerusalem Center for Political Studies, believes it is too early to tell whether political Islam is in retreat in Jordan. We have not yet entered the post-political Islam era, and we will not have a [full] democratic life without the participation of the Islamists, he told Al-Monitor.

The Islamists need to adopt democratic values and incorporate them into their discourse, Rintawi went on. They need to boycott and denounce takfiri thinking and move toward the center.

Rintawi believes civil society movements shouldn't yet celebrate victory, but some disagree. Former Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher, a founder of the Civil Coalition Party, wrote May 9 in the daily Al-Ghad, The real outcome of the [Engineers Association] elections is that a genuine civil current is emerging in Jordan.

Muasher pointed to the success of candidates who ran on civil platforms in Ammans Third District in the 2016 legislative elections. Despite heavy opposition to this current from various sides, accusing it of being against religion and with a sectarian agenda, it was able to dislodge the Islamists from one of their strongholds, he said.

Khaled Ramadan, who successfully ran on a civil platform in 2016, told Al-Monitor why he thought the Islamists had lost control of the association: Because of their narrow party line view, which is exclusionist and unable to face the challenges, while the Numou list believes in pluralism, inclusion and equality. Ramadan added, This is the future, and when you consider that the associations members will reach a quarter of a million in four years, you can imagine how they will influence all aspects of life in the country.

The controversial reaction to the Engineers Association vote by an Islamist deputy, Saud Abu Mahfouz, underlined the criticism of the Islamists exclusionist and anti-democratic beliefs. He issued a statement blaming Injaz's loss on the mobilization of leftists, secularists, liberals, nationalists, Nasserites, Baathists, Freemasons, atheists and gays in addition to government agencies. The Numou coalition immediately denounced him and a number of association members threatened to sue him for libel.

Ad-Dustour columnist Hussein al-Rawashdeh, who writes about Islamist movements in Jordan, does not find the Islamists' loss surprising. Internal bickering inside the movement and its failure to meet current challenges have alienated their supporters, especially the youth, he told Al-Monitor. Unless the Islamists change their discourse and become more inclusive, they will be punished. But if they do and adopt a progressive national program, then they might still make a comeback.MOSUL, Iraq  For the first time since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, a Shiite coalition has won in Mosul. According to the final election results announced May. 19, The Nasr Coalition won seven seats, followed by six for the Kurdish Democratic Party and four for al-Wataniya. The majority of the local candidates on Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's list are actually Sunnis, and its head is former Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, an aeronautical engineer originally from Mosul.

The Nasr Coalition got the [plurality] in Mosul because it was under Khaled al-Obeidi, who has the respect of the people in Mosul, Faisal Jeber, a commander in Mosuls Tribal Mobilization Forces, told Al-Monitor. The former governor of Ninevah, Atheel al-Nujaifi, didnt have a good relationship with the government in Baghdad. Mosuls people are pragmatic, and they understood they need to cooperate with Baghdad. They expect the government to rebuild their city and to be treated as Iraqi citizens, not as Saddamists who deserve to be punished because they are Sunnis.

Like other Iraqis, Mosulians were less than enthusiastic about the election. I dont feel any enthusiasm going to vote or any hope for change, Badia Almahal, a teacher at a primary school in Mosul, told Al-Monitor on her way to her East Mosul polling station to vote for the Sunni al-Wataniya Alliance. She is a mother of two and her husband Mohammad H., who asked that Al-Monitor not relay his family name, is an engineer. Almahal spent most of her time at home when the Islamic State's (IS) self-styled caliphate imposed its rule on the second largest city in Iraq, and her husband opened a temporary electronics repair shop to bring in some income for the family. The governments that have ruled Iraq in the last 15 years are responsible for IS takeover and the destruction of our beloved city, Almahal said. How could we trust them?

Many Iraqi voters stayed at home, with a low national turnout of only 44.52% across Iraq. The national results show the Sairoon Alliance, an alliance between the Sadrist Movement and the Iraqi Communist Party, in first place, with the Nasr Coalition coming in second.

Before election day was over and in the days after, children walked the streets and men drove small vans around, busy collecting the metal frames of the countless electoral posters in the city, already putting the election behind them, ready to recycle the material. The results had been expected.

It was clear that after Abadi's military campaign in Mosul, defeating IS, and after his announcement last July, Abadi a chance to be successful, Laura Silvia Battaglia, a journalist following the electoral processes in Iraq since 2010, told Al-Monitor. In a Sunni-Arab area, where people also perceive hostility from the Kurds that increased during the war against IS, Mosulians didnt have many options left. It was not possible for them to support former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's coalition or other Shiite parties, in particular not [al-Fateh], the [Popular Mobilization Units], which treated Mosulians during the Battle of Mosul with the same violence as IS. Abadi is still considered the moderate candidate among the experienced politicians. On the other hand, it should be taken in consideration that the last members of the Baath Party disappeared from the public political debate, Battaglia added, even if they are the closest to Mosulians in sectarian, tribal and cultural terms, in political Saddam-related past policies.

But the biggest worry for many of Mosuls citizens is the future of its reconstruction, which is still uncertain. Mohammad H., the engineer, believes that Iraq's corrupted central government is already impeding the reconstruction process. Mosul is today a big source of new investments and enrichment for corrupt politics, so I dont see the near future being positive for my city. I will not do my work if I cannot do it honestly.

Layla Salih, a candidate for Al-Nahej Democratic Party, an independent party born a few months before the elections whose founder is Nawfal al-Akoub, the current governor of Ninevah province, has regularly visited the Old City since the end of the battle, keeping an eye on what was left miraculously intact. On election day, she moved between three polling stations in very poor neighborhoods, such as al-Mamoon and al-Sumud in West Mosul.

As a Baghdad University graduate in 1999 in archaeology and protection of antiquities, one of my priorities of the near future is to rebuild the western part and the Old City, Salih told Al-Monitor. She hoped to take one of the eight parliamentary seats reserved for women from Ninevah province. This year there were 215 women candidates in the province, which is a lot compared to the 19 of the last 2014s elections, she said. According to Iraqi law, 25% of parliament members must be women, but Salih will not be one of them at this time.

The next provincial elections will be in November, the date still unset. The Nasr Coalition will not win again, especially if they dont keep their promises to rebuild Mosul, said Kareem Rasheed, a media producer based in Erbil who is originally from Mosuls Karama neighborhood. Depending on the negotiations made to form the new government, Jeber has a prediction for the next provincial elections: If the Nasr Coalition forms an alliance with Fateh to form the government, a lot of Sunnis will pull out and will not trust a Shia coalition anymore.Secretary of State Mike Pompeos call for US allies to get tougher on Iran could cause further fissures in an embattled Gulf alliance already shaken by the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar.

In his first major foreign policy address today, just two weeks after President Donald Trump pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the former CIA director called out all six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by name to rally around renewed US sanctions on Tehran.

The effort could pit anti-Iran aligned Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain against Qatar, Kuwait and Oman, which favor a less confrontational approach to their powerful neighbor. The unveiling of the new US strategy comes even as the State Department pursues a meeting of the GCC bloc to patch up the nearly year-old Saudi-led embargo of Qatar over its ties to Iran and Islamist groups.

Pompeo acknowledged Monday that US partners would face financial pressures from the reimposition of US sanctions on Tehran.

Any time sanctions are put in place, countries have to give up economic activity, Pompeo said in a speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation. Everyone is going to have to participate in this.

Pompeo said the United States would end sanctions if Tehran meets at least a dozen conditions, including complying with inspections on its nuclear program, halting support for proxies in Syria, Yemen and Lebanon and releasing US prisoners. A Defense Department spokesperson said at a briefing that the Pentagon is still assessing whether to take any new steps to counter Irans influence after Pompeos remarks.

Yet the Trump administration has also sought to resolve the dispute concerning Qatar, where the United States has its largest military base in the region  an effort that could be disrupted by the new turn on Iran. On Monday, Pompeos deputy John Sullivan emphasized the United States desire to resolve the Gulf dispute in a meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, and pushed for a September GCC meeting on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina.

The Gulf alliance appeared to come undone last year, when only high-level Kuwaiti and Qatari diplomats showed up for a meeting in November. And efforts to hold a Camp David-style summit of the GCC stalled when Trump fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a surprise tweet.

Experts say Pompeos speech is a sign that the United States is moving ahead with a policy to hold Iran in check, whether the GCC can patch things up or not.

The GCC doesnt exist anymore, said Theodore Karasik, a senior adviser to Gulf State Analytics, a Washington-based consulting firm. That is not in the picture here. What is in the picture is that there are Gulf states divided amongst themselves.

Though Saudi Arabia has sought a stronger US policy to counter Tehran as it faces an uptick in Scud missile attacks from Iran-backed Houthi rebels along its southern border in Yemen, other US allies in the region stand to lose from stronger sanctions.

The emirate of Dubai is a top importer of Iranian goods, both legally and illegally, with trade jumping from $2 billion to $7 billion from 2016 to 2017, according to the International Monetary Fund. Qatar splits the worlds largest natural gas field with Iran. Kuwait sought to patch up Dohas relationship with Saudi Arabia in November. And in Oman, which served as a back channel for US-Iranian talks that paved the way for the nuclear deal, the northern port of Sohar has become a go-between for Qatar during the blockade and is now set to become a major thoroughfare for Iranian shipping.

A united GCC front alone is just window dressing, a Washington-based foreign policy expert told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. There is an ideological difference about how they treat Iran.

But others think Pompeos expansive demands of Iran arent realistic given Gulf countries extensive ties to Tehran.

Pompeos speech was essentially saying to Iran, roll over and play dead, Karen Young, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, told Al-Monitor. It leaves very little room for a face-saving reaction or any sort of exercise of Iranian foreign policy.TUNIS, Tunisia  Tunisias Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research signed an agreement with elementary school teachers to increase the wage awarded to substitute teachers in elementary education so it is equal to the wage awarded to their counterparts in secondary education. Following the signing of this agreement on May 8, teachers called off a strike that was scheduled for May 9-10 across all elementary schools in the country.

Meanwhile, the Syndicate of University Teachers and Researchers, affiliated with the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), decided May 5 to keep refraining from drafting the exam subjects of the first and second semesters despite an agreement reached March 12 with Tunisias Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research that led to the approval of a number of pedagogical and social privileges for university professors.

While university professors have been on strike since January and are calling for the implementation of a salary scale, Noureddine el-Salmi, the deputy minister of higher education and scientific research, said in a statement to Tunis Afrique Presse May 15 that presidents of universities would charge a committee of professors to prepare the needed exam subjects instead of the striking professors.

Also, the Ministry of Health responded to all of the demands of the Tunisian Organization of Young Doctors, a trade union organization, in accordance with a March 24 agreement between the parties.

The organization had started a protest March 5 against the failure of the Ministry of Health to meet a number of their demands, which include the swift issuance of a government order concerning the special statute of in-house and resident doctors.

These developments come at a time when several parties, such as the ruling Nidaa Tunis and the opposition Afek Tounes, are accusing the UGTT of working as a political party that protects the interests of certain political parties while disrupting the interest of the country.

Trade unions affiliated with the UGTT had raised Jan. 14 the bar of their demands as they called for higher salaries and wages, and better benefits.

Ibrahim al-Omri, a professor of political science at Tunis El Manar University, told Al-Monitor that the Tunisian government is working for the UGTTs benefit and is obliged to respond to its demands after the UGTT was granted several ministerial portfolios.

Former Minister of Public Functions Abid Briki is one of the most prominent UGTT leaders who filled a ministerial post, and Mohammed al-Trabolsi, a UGTT leader, was appointed minister of social affairs in August 2016.

Omri said that the tough economic situation plaguing Tunisia has weakened the state and led trade unions to overpower it. He added that after it was granted ministerial posts, the UGTT dominated political life and became active at the political level, and not only at the unionist and social levels.

Boualie Moubaraki, the assistant secretary-general of the UGTT for management and financial affairs, told Al-Monitor that the UGTT played its national role in light of the ruling parties poor management of public affairs.

He said that the UGTT is not looking to achieve any political or partisan gains, and noted that the accusations whereby the UGTT is domineering the state and imposing its authority are false and unfounded.

The UGTT decided May 8 to suspend the membership of trade unionists working at the two state-owned railway and navigation companies due to their disruption of the work activity of these companies and the random strikes they organized against the delayed payment of wages and the lack of the necessary work equipment.

Sami al-Tahiri, the assistant secretary-general of the UGTT for media and publication affairs, said in a statement to the states Assabah News May 8 that the membership suspension decision came against the backdrop of the employees repeated and uncoordinated decisions to stop working. These decisions, he said, harmed the interests of both the state institutions and the citizens. He stressed the UGTTs rejection of random decisions to stop working.

In a speech on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Internal Security Forces Day held at the Ministry of the Interior on April 18, Minister of Justice Ghazi al-Jaribi confirmed the need to fight laxity, respect the law and protect public order and national security because in an atmosphere of laxity, it is impossible to guarantee the sustainability of a democracy. He called for respecting the stature of both the state and the law.

Assistant General Secretary of the Secondary Education Union Fakhri al-Sumaiti told Al-Monitor that having trade unions is necessary to defend workers, as the state has burdened them with price increases. Oil prices were increased April 1, while prices of medicines were increased Jan. 3.

The state is headed toward impoverishing the middle class, which has been eroded due to bad economic choices exemplified by the rise in commodity prices and the sale of state institutions to the private sector, he said.

Sumaiti noted that trade unions did not ask for the impossible. They only asked, he said, for the good management of the economic situation, for improving the financial conditions of workers and for holding both senior officials and smugglers to account.

Fatima el-Massadi, member of parliament for Nidaa Tunis, told Al-Monitor that the unions affiliated with the UGTT have domineered the state through the weak state institutions produced by the "troika" government, a government coalition that ruled Tunisia between Nov. 22, 2011, and Nov. 20, 2014.

Massadi said that the UGTT is trying to exploit the weakness of the state in order to become the first force in the country, and that this is harming the Tunisian economy.It all started April 21, with news of the Manifesto against the New Anti-Semitism. The declaration, written by Philippe Val, former director of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, was signed by more than 250 intellectuals, artists and politicians, including former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. The manifesto  which calls on theologians to delete Quranic verses that suggest the killing and punishment of Christians, Jews and non-believers  generated strong reactions among Muslims. Although the text does not explain how, the idea was that the abrogation of these parts of the Quran would lead to French-style Islam. Muslims in France and around the world reacted to the request by attempting to explain the verses within their historical contexts and dismissed the idea of removing sections as unacceptable.

Turkish reaction to the declaration came May 6, when Omer Celik, minister of EU affairs and chief negotiator for Turkish accession to the EU, posted a series of tweets in Turkish and in English criticizing the manifesto. He claimed the signatories of the document have an ideological affinity with the Islamic State. Turkish presidency spokesman Ibrahim Kalin posted two tweets, the first explaining the declaration and the second stating his view that the Quran cannot be altered and that if the West wants to solve the problem of anti-Semitism, the West should look at itself because the problem originated in Europe.

One of the strongest reactions came from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. At the May 8 parliamentary meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdogan delivered an angry speech not only against the declaration and its signatories, but also aimed at France and the West generally, calling them despicable. To his nonstop cheering fans, the president said:

An impertinent group appeared in France the other day and issued a declaration asking for some verses to be removed from the Quran. It is so obvious that those who say that have no idea what the Quran is, but have they ever read their own book, the Bible? Or the Torah? Or Psalms? If they had read it, they would probably want the Bible to be banned as well. But they never have such a problem. The more we warn Western countries about hostility to Islam, hostility to Turks, xenophobia and racism, the more we get a bad reputation. Hey the West! Look!  The more you attack our holy book, we will not attack yours. But we will knock you down. Who are you to attack our holy scriptures? We know how despicable you are.

Pro-AKP media and commentators promptly joined in, lashing out at France and positioning Erdogan as the protector of Islam. Also, on May 10, the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YOK) announced that 16 new university faculties of French language and literature will not be accepting students. The 19 existing departments will continue with enrollments. News outlets reported that the council justified its decision not simply in response to the manifesto, but also on the basis of reciprocity  that is, the claim that there are no Turkish language and literature studies in France  plus the assertion that the market does not need more graduates from French language departments. The council also announced a ban on establishing additional France language and literature departments.

Frustrated AKP opponents reacted strongly to the councils action. For example, Sinan Ogan, a former lawmaker from the Nationalist Action Party, tweeted that if Erdogan were actually serious about retaliating against the manifesto as well as French support of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party, he should cancel the agreement he signed with France to buy 25 Airbus planes. Indeed, Erdogan had lashed out at the French government for its support of the Syrian Kurds in March, but then shifted his focus to defending Islam. A sociology professor at a government university told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, Erdogan needs some of the Kurdish vote, so we are witnessing him slowly easing out of ultra-nationalistic rhetoric and into a more Islamist one, struggling to embrace the Kurds.

Opposition members also pointed to the inaccuracy of the allegation that there are no Turkish language departments in France. In fact, such departments were founded as early as 1795.

A French diplomatic source told Al-Monitor by email, In Turkey, Francophonie is historically present in education, with a network of around 15 bilingual schools, among them the prestigious Galatasaray High School, whose 150th anniversary is being celebrated this year. Galatasaray University is a Francophone Turkish university and the Institut Francais de Turquie, the language and cultural center under the umbrella of the embassy, is active in Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. Turkish language and Turkish studies are also developed in France. Departments exist in such important higher education institutions as the National Institute for Languages and Oriental Civilizations in Paris, University of Lyon, University of Aix-Marseille and University of Strasbourg. The Turkish language is also taught to 17,000 pupils in the French education system through the ELCO program. ELCO  Enseignements langues et cultures d'origine, or Teaching of Language and Culture of Origin  was founded in the 1970s to educate immigrants in their native tongues alongside their French educations.

On May 14, the Islamist daily Yeni Akit took things a step further, calling for a ban on French literature, music and cinema under the headline YOKs Slap to France. Ibrahim Kiras, senior editor of Karar, a newspaper founded by formerly pro-AKP journalists, shared a photo of the headline and asked whether the government employees who made false statements would be held to account given that the allegations about the Turkish language not being taught in France were false.

Despite the efforts by the government and its media supporters, the public did not buy into the outrage over the manifesto. Conversations with Islamists and conservatives pointed to three reasons. First, Turkish citizens have become desensitized to Erdogans outbursts. One senior bureaucrat told Al-Monitor, The manifesto is Islamophobic, but we [the AKP] have failed to punish our own for ridiculing verses from the Quran. How can we throw stones at non-Muslims?

Second, the public feels that angry and hateful rhetoric against the West does not benefit them. A member of a prominent Muslim nongovernmental organization took Erdogan to task, telling Al-Monitor, Scolding the West and calling them names have lost their impact when you [still] go visit these countries and keep playing by their systems. There is no proper policy behind Erdogans anger. We have not forgot how he distanced himself from the Mavi Marmara [Gaza] flotilla victims by saying, Whom did they ask before they departed? The suggestion that what happened to those on the flotilla was their fault galled Turks.

Third, the governments refusal to accept new students into French language departments coupled with the false assertion of reciprocity were viewed as counterproductive. Almost 2.5 million students are preparing for the University Entrance Exam in Turkey this year. Fewer than 500,000 will be accepted into four-year colleges. Hence, announcing the closure of departments is not the kind of news that will lead to citizens rejoicing. A number of social media postings said the AKPs response serves only to punish its own people, validating the Turkish saying that rancid vinegar damages its own barrel.Alabama has gotten national attention for its international trade relations.

The Alabama Department of Commerce today received the President's "E" Award for Export Service, the highest recognition for contributing to the expansion of U.S. exports.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today presented the award to representatives of the state commerce department, following a year when Alabama exported a record $21.7 billion in goods and services to 189 foreign countries.

"The department's contributions to the export growth of Alabama companies through international trade missions were also particularly notable," Ross said. "The Alabama Department of Commerce's achievements have undoubtedly contributed to national export efforts that support the U.S. economy and create American jobs."

Alabama exports are up 50 percent over the last decade. Alabama Commerce Secretary Greg Canfield said receiving the recognition is a great honor.

"Alabama companies are creating good-paying jobs as a result of exporting their products throughout the world, and exports of goods and services continue to be an economic engine that spurs job creation and economic investment," he said.

Hilda Lockhart, director of Commerce's Office of International Trade, and Beau Lore, an international trade specialist in the Office of International Trade, attended a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Herbert C. Hoover building in Washington D.C., to receive the award.

Lockhart said some of the credit should go to Export Alabama Alliance, which works to help Alabama companies expand around the globe.

"The Alabama International Trade program has proven to be a tremendous resource for the state's small and medium-sized companies," Lockhart said in a statement. "Assisting them in finding international markets for Alabama-made products is the key to growing exports and jobs at home. Receiving this prestigious award validates the hard work that all members of the Export Alabama Alliance have accomplished since it was formed in 2004."

There were 43 U.S. companies and organizations this year receiving the President's "E" Award. Nominations come through the U.S. Commercial Service, part of the department's International Trade Administration (ITA).Nearly 600 machinists voted over the weekend to accept a new offer from United Launch Alliance and end a two-week strike against the company's large rocket assembly plant in Decatur.

The strike, which also affected ULA operations in California and Cape Canaveral, Fla., brought workers protections against subcontracting and new work travel rules, according to the machinist union.

ULA workers in California and Alabama build the company's Atlas and Delta rockets used to lift government and commercial satellites into space. Machinists in Florida support rocket launches. The new agreement will protect all of that work for the next four years.

"Although monetary concerns were of much less significance to this group of workers in deciding to strike," the union said, "many are encouraged that the machinists have been able to negotiate a four-year agreement with a 3 percent general wage increase in the last year."

Reports say the primary issue in the negotiations was travel. Teams of machinists often move between California, Decatur and Florida to support launches and could be away from home for up to 30 days. The new contract provides a minimum of 14 days between deployments, reports said."Snotgirl" heroine Lottie Person is the Schrodinger's cat of relatability: As an elite fashion blogger, she's in the stratosphere of hip. As a congested millennial struggling to keep up with everyone else on social media, she's full of self-doubt, insecurity and nagging sense that too many people are cooler/better/more popular than she is. And if that's not enough, there's a surprising amount of blood in an otherwise bright and bouncy book -- and a profound sense that Lottie herself may not always understand what's going on.

"Snotgirl: California Screaming," cover

In advance of the publication of the series' second collection ("Snotgirl: California Screaming," out this week in comic shops and next week in other bookstores), I chatted via email with writer Bryan Lee O'Malley and artist Leslie Hung on Lottie's second arc, what the pair has learned in 10 issues and where the series is going from here.

For readers completely new to the series, what should they know? Why should they pick up the second volume?

O'Malley: "Snotgirl" is a comedy of manners for the social media age, but it's also a supernatural horror detective thriller. It's like if Jane Austen and Alfred Hitchcock came back -- as ghosts -- to collaborate on a comic in 2018.

With two arcs under your belts, what has the experience been like working together and creating in the world of "Snotgirl"? What have been some of the big surprises along the way?

"Snotgirl" #8, cover

O'Malley: I always thought Leslie was in this to draw girls, but then I gave her a chapter with barely any girls to draw, and it ended up being one of her favorite issues. [Will's note: This is in reference to issue #8, "The Boys Issue." It is full of boys.] The most surprising plot arc for me was Charlene, Lottie's former stalker. Even though she's not really a main character, I like the way her storyline reflects back on Lottie.

The series changed to a bimonthly schedule for the second arc. What did that extra time do for each of you?

O'Malley: We've barely been able to catch our breath, so, I don't know.

Hung: We're perfectionists.

Bryan, the last time we corresponded, you said Lottie and Caroline's "strange relationship" would be the "main focus" of the second arc but that you were also hoping to look at other characters as well. Narratively, did the arc play out as you expected or were there some surprises in what you eventually decided to explore?

O'Malley: A lot of things clicked for me in chapter 7, where Charlene wakes up and the girls go on a road trip. We start leaving Lottie's viewpoint and looking into other people's lives, which may come as a relief after being stuck in Lottie's head for a while. Lottie is our focus, but it's really a story about this whole constellation of characters.

Ultimately, they all just want to be loved and seen.

Last time, you also spoke about "trying to find some emotional reality in a group of characters who some would write off as shallow or fake." Where do you feel like you most accomplished that in the second arc?

O'Malley: Lottie and Meg reluctantly opening up to each other feels like the most human moment in this arc, but I'm also really pleased with the fact that we got to introduce a ghost who misses her phone and Rihanna more than her friends and family. It's a lot of fun working on a series with that kind of flexibility. I hope we can keep it up!

And Leslie, you've started a podcast since our first chat -- how did "Salt and Honey" come together, and what do you hope to do with it?

Hung: With "Salt and Honey," [comic artist and write Slone Leong] and I wanted to be able to talk about comics and storytelling candidly. The topics we cover are usually what we would end up talking about when we were able to meet up, so it's really great to be able to have a designated space for us to talk about popular media.

How do your "Snotgirl" sketches -- the ones that pop up at the end of many issues -- start? Which one is your favorite?

Hung: I'm often just trying to figure out what the characters would be wearing, or if I'm just trying to get back into the habit of drawing certain characters for certain issues, I'll draw them a few times. Most of my favorite sketches are the ones that I decide to do on the fly, and the one I remember from the most recent arc is a marker drawing of Caroline smoking.

Colorist Rachael Cohen is new to the series starting with this arc -- what was it like working with her, and what was some of her work you liked the most?

Hung: I've been friends with Rachael for a couple of years, and working with her has been a privilege, especially with how willing she is to go along with my direction. There's a lot of trust that goes into making every part of this book, and I think she's been able to go along with the flow really skillfully.

"Snotgirl: California Screaming," Barnes & Noble exclusive cover

Looking at character development for a moment, Bryan, how has Lottie changed over the first 10 issues? What are the main challenges facing her in the second arc?

O'Malley: Lottie is such an inward character that almost everything is outside her comfort zone. In volume 2 there are all these moments when she's called upon to be kind and nurturing -- trying to cheer up Caroline when she's moody, dealing with sensitive fans, being there for Meg. Empathy isn't Lottie's strong suit, so I hope the readers really feel it when she has those moments of connection and positivity.

Leslie, how would you describe the overall aesthetics of the series, and did that shift or change at all in the second arc? What are some of the visual storytelling moments that stick out to you in this volume?

Hung: I wanted to capture something that is specific to Los Angeles, but also a bit of a fantasy version of the city. I don't think that the aesthetic has changed very much from the first arc, but I also think that the book is looking better than ever. There are a lot more quiet moments in the past couple of issues in this arc, which are some of my favorites. They're often quiet not in the way that is meditative, but weirdly tense. I like that about how the series is evolving, because while visually it may provide a bit of a break to the readers, these moments often bring up a lot more questions as well.

"Snotgirl" #9, interior

What is there to look forward to in the third arc?

O'Malley: Lottie's roller-coaster relationship with Caroline keeps lurching forward, plus we've got a wedding to plan, a cop in trouble with his chief, a new business venture, a coming out story, not to mention all the bloody murder and hallucinations.

Hung: At this point a few of the characters have had their lives turned completely upside down, which helps generate both drama and comedy.

When this series is put to bed, what do you hope to have accomplished?

O'Malley: I just hope it feels like a snapshot of this moment in our culture. "Snotgirl" is incoherent, self-obsessed, meme-saturated, off-putting and gross, but really, it just wants to be loved.

"Snotgirl: California Screaming," from writer Bryan O'Malley, artist Leslie Hung and Image Comics, goes on sale in comic shops Wednesday and other retailers on May 29.Authorities are searching for a 61-year-old inmate who escaped custody Monday morning, wearing only boxers.

David Curtis Wood escaped from the Hamilton Aged and Infirmed facility about 8:15 a.m., according to the Alabama Department of Customs. The circumstances surrounding his getaway from the minimum-security facility weren't immediately available.

Wood is believed to have on no clothes and no shoes, authorities said. He was last seen to be in a pair of state-issued white boxers. He is serving a life sentence for a 1994 conviction of first-degree burglary in Mobile county.

He is described as a white male, 6-feet, 3-inches and weighing 160 pounds. He has brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with information on his whereabout is asked to call ADOC at 1-800-831-8825.An east Birmingham man serving 20 years in prison for attempted murder and robbery is under investigation after he posted a disturbing video to Facebook Monday - from prison.

The 26-year-old St. Clair County Correctional Facility inmate posted the video showing him holding what appears to be a piece of wood or some other blunt force object and a second inmate holding a large knife. They are ordering an older inmate to "lay down. "

"You're going to take three licks...bend your (expletive) over,'' he says on the video.

He got two licks in before the older inmate lunged forward and fought back. The inmate removed the video from Facebook and then posted a Facebook Live video trying to defend his actions when viewers told him he was wrong for the attack.

Alabama Department of Corrections spokesman Bob Horton said prison officials are aware of the attack and are investigating. There were no serious injuries reported.

Horton said the inmates will be moved to separate areas of the facility. Officials are conducting an inspection of the housing area for weapons and will take appropriate disciplinary actions.

The inmate who posted the video pleaded guilty in Jefferson County to attempted murder in 2011 for the shooting of another man with a pistol. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

That same year he also pleaded guilty to four counts of robbery after he and three others were arrested in western Birmingham. That robbery happened at 1:55 a.m. on July 6, 2011 in the 1800 block of Fulton Avenue. Police at the time said the four suspects pulled up alongside a vehicle carrying four women and forced them, at gunpoint, to the side of the road. They took money and other unknown items from the four women but didn't harm them. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison with four years to serve in those cases.

Court records show the inmate was disciplined just last year after being found guilty for having a cell phone in prison. He received 30 days of disciplinary segregation, loss of canteen and telephone privileges for 45 days and loss of visiting privileges for 180 days.

ADOC last year said it has increased inspections and searches and was in the process of installing new body scanners in its facilities for finding and detecting contraband. The department has also considered trained canine units as an option for interdicting the contraband phones.

To further address the problem at the national level, ADOC Commissioner Jeff Dunn and corrections directors from other states met with FCC officials in Washington in March to weigh technologies that could one day render them ineffective inside prisons.

Dunn said ADOC has made it a top priority to eliminate corruption and find solutions for making contraband cellphones inoperable inside state prisons. In 2016, ADOC seized more than 3,500 illegal cellphones and made over 70 contraband arrests.

A 2017 story by NBC News said Alabama is in the Top 10 of states with problems of inmates having cell phones in lockup. The report said devices snuck in by visitors or prison staff are a problem at lockups across the nation, but a review of data from 44 states shows that nine of the 10 states with the highest cellphone seizure rates are in the South.

In South Carolina, prison officers have found and taken one phone for every three inmates, the highest rate in the country. In Oklahoma, it's one phone for every six prisoners, the nation's second-highest rate. Other states in the top 10 are Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida and Arkansas and Louisiana; the only one outside the region was California. NBC based its rankings on data provided by the state corrections departments.More than 1,000 people from across the country and world will converge on Birmingham this week for the 43rd annual Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) conference.

This is the third time the Magic City has hosted the four-day conference focused on networking and bringing ideas together, said Felicia Mitchell, co-coordinator of the 2018 Birmingham NUSA. The event is expected to have an economic impact of $785,000 on Birmingham and generate about 757 hotel nights.

About 100 city of Birmingham employees will volunteer at the May 23-26 conference that will take place at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel. Local shops and businesses will also be exhibitors at the event.

Conference attendees are expected to primarily stay at the Sheraton, Westin, Tutwiler and Elyton hotels downtown, and the Doubletree Hotel in Five Points South.

Mitchell said conference attendees are coming from 33 states and other countries like Japan and Nigeria. All of Birmingham's neighborhood officials also are invited to attend.

"It is a big deal for Birmingham because with our new administration this is one of the best starts for our mayor who is all about neighborhoods and revitalization," she said. "NUSA is about revitalization, neighborhood and community. To have the support from Mayor (Randall) Woodfin is amazing."

The conference will feature more than 60 workshops, designed to show attendees what neighborhoods are doing across the nation, region and in Birmingham. The topics include: connecting clients to community mental health resources; stabilizing neighborhoods; promoting affordable homes; reinventing law enforcement; drugs and crime in the community; and living in welcoming, diverse neighborhoods.

The award for the best neighborhood revitalization of the year will be presented on Friday. Woodlawn is one of four finalists.

Conference keynote speakers are: Michael Moore, senior pastor of Faith Chapel, who leads a non-denominational congregation of thousands in Birmingham. He is the founder of Mike Moore Ministries, the outreach arm of Faith Chapel;

Dr. Max Michael helped create Congregations for Public Health, a not-for-profit organization of six African-American churches in Birmingham whose mission is to address public health issues in a one-mile radius surrounding each church. He established the Community Health Innovation Awards, which encourages local community-based organizations to apply for a grant that requires participation in innovation and grant writing workshops;

Dennis Harris, the central outreach director and staff pastor at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham. He oversees the church's Dream Center Ministries and Disaster Response.

Brownville Heights Neighborhood Association President Harry Gidden will attend his 29th conference this year.

"When I first started -- it's been a long time since 1989 -- you get a chance to meet a lot of people from different states and different cities," he said. "It gives you an opportunity to meet diverse people and to learn new ideas on how to be a strong community."

Gidden said Birmingham residents can learn a lot from hearing about what other cities and neighborhoods are doing. This year, he said, he is concerned about crime, and wants to learn more about what Birmingham can do to reduce acts of violence.

Overall, Gidden said the 2018 conference will showcase Birmingham, and how it has progressed since the 1960s. "It will show the nation that Birmingham is on the rise," he said.

Prior to the conference, tours of several points of interest in Birmingham will take place, including the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, the museums of Birmingham, and the Crestwood, Norwood, Brownsville, Roebuck Springs and Ensley neighborhoods

A highlight of the conference will be the mayoral panel on Thursday featuring Woodfin; Jackson, Miss. Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba; and New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.

At the panel, titled "Rebirth, Recreate, Revitalize: How New Leaders are Re-energizing Neighborhood Pride in the South," the newly-elected mayors will share their thoughts on what is takes to recharge communities to bring about change beyond their city borders.

This year's event will also feature the inaugural NUSA youth conference. This conference is for young people ages 13 to 18 who are involved in student government or want to learn more about local government.

"It is our hope that by the time they leave this conference they will not only learn about what city government is, they will have the energy and drive to be involved," said Arron Jackson, conference co-coordinator, who also serves as program manager in the Birmingham Division of Youth Services.

Youth conference attendees will hear from Woodfin and City Council President Pro Tem Jay Roberson. They will also have the chance to network and hold a mock election.

Registration for the youth conference is open through Tuesday.

For more information, on the NUSA conference and to register for the youth conference click here.A 27-year-old Blount County man has been found guilty of capital murder in the 2015 hatchet slaying of another man.

A jury on Monday returned the verdict against Justin MacNeill. He was convicted of two counts of capital murder in the killing of 51-year-old Myron Brian Beavers, whose truck and debit card were stolen during the attack, said District Attorney Pamela Casey.

The verdict was read about 9 a.m. after seven days of trial. Deliberations began on Friday. MacNeill was sentenced to life in prison without parole, a sentence the victim's family supported.

"We are pleased with the verdict of the jury. This was a difficult case to hear due to the horrific manner of death,'' Casey said. "I appreciate the work of Investigator Lynn Chambless and Investigator Fred Cochran of the Blount County Sheriff's Office."

MacNeill was one of two people charged in Beavers' death. Clifton Ridgeway, 24, has not yet gone to trial.

MacNeill was captured before authorities even knew a murder had happened. Authorities said they were alerted to the killing after capturing MacNeill and two others during a 10-mile police pursuit Wednesday on Interstate 59.

It all began when an Alabama state trooper working the I-59 construction zone in Etowah County spotted a woman running in traffic. He tried to catch her, but lost sight of her. While he was looking for her, another motorist told the trooper that a brown pickup truck had sideswiped a vehicle and fled the scene. The trooper then found the brown truck and attempted a traffic stop. The two men inside refused to pull over, and the chase was on. The men were finally taken into custody near the rest area at mile marker 169 in St. Clair County after a second deputy deployed spike strips in the roadway.

"We definitely didn't know what we were getting into," Senior Trooper Chuck Daniel told AL.com in 2015. "One of the passengers in the truck made a spontaneous statement about a body in Blount County, and we alerted the Blount County Sheriff's Office. They found the body."

Court records show MacNeill's passenger - Ridgeway - told lawmen at the stop that MacNeill had killed a man in Blountsville. He said he and MacNeill had spent the night at Beavers' house, and said he was awakened by a fight between Beavers and MacNeill.

The fight, Casey said, was over money that MacNeill had stolen from Beavers. MacNeill hit Beavers over the head with the hatchet multiple times, and then told Ridgeway to get in the truck with him.

Troopers returned to the construction zone and located the woman who had previously been seen running in traffic. She had been in the truck with the two men, and she was also taken into custody.

Casey said the two men and the woman were taken to the Blount County Sheriff's Office once they learned of the homicide. MacNeill had stolen $263 from Beavers, as well as his Cadence Bank debit card.

Investigators went to Beavers' home at 211 College Street and found him dead inside under bed. He died from blunt force injuries to the head.

Formal warrants against MacNeill were then obtained, charging him with capital murder-robbery and capital murder-burglary. Casey said MacNeill was in possession of Beavers' 1989 pickup truck and his debit card at the time of his arrest. Authorities said MacNeill stole the truck by using a screwdriver to start the ignition.

According to court records filed in the case, investigators found the hatchet under the kitchen sink at Beavers' home.

After being read his rights, MacNeill admitted to the killing. MacNeill, who was self-employed at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty to theft of property in Blount County in 2014 stemming from a case two years earlier. He was sentenced to three years in the Blount County Community Corrections program.

In January 2016, MacNeill escaped from the Blount County Correctional Facility. Authorities said he was last seen by jail personnel at around 5:10 p.m. that Saturday. Authorities said he kicked in the fire door at the jail and then jumping a fence using a ladder that had been left there as part of work being done at the jail. He was recaptured early the following morning after a police chase. He was charged with felony escape in that case.Josalyn Evans is serving 20 years for murder.

The murder conviction for a Birmingham woman who shot and killed another woman in an Inglenook street two years ago will stand.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall on Monday announced the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of 37-year-old Josalyn Nicole Evans. The convict was four months pregnant on Feb. 12, 2016 when she shot and killed 24-year-old Ieshia Mayhand in broad daylight on Brittain Street.

Mayhand, who had an 8-month-old baby, was pronounced dead on the scene. Evans was still on the scene when police arrived and was taken into custody. Dozens of onlookers gathered at the scene that day, including the victim's mother and other family members. They were visibly distraught and emotional but declined to comment.

Authorities said the shooting stemmed from a dispute between the two women over a man. Marshall said Patrick Lewis had a previous relationship with Mayhand and was the father of her baby.

At the time of the murder, Lewis was then in a dating relationship with Evans. On that that, Mayhand went to Evans' house looking for Lewis to ask him for money for diapers for the baby.

Evans opened the door and immediately became confrontation with Mayhand, who then left the porch and went out to the yard. Evans got a piston and followed Mayhand. As Mayhand was leaving, Evans shot her twice, with one of those bullets striking her in the head and killing her.

At trial, Evans' attorney said Mayhand was aggressive, violent, vulgar, and threatening towards Evans. He said Mayhand was angry that Evans was pregnant with Lewis' baby and was "looking for trouble." He claimed Evans, who was at her home and on her own property, shot Mayhand out of self-defense.

Evans was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. She appealed her conviction and sentence, but the conviction was affirmed on Friday.Years before Most Rev. Michael Curry captured the world's attention with his sermon at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the current head of the Episcopal Church inspired a crowd attending a civil rights event in Alabama.

Curry, the 27th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church and first black bishop to lead a Southern diocese, was in Alabama in 2015 for the dedication of a marker to Jonathan Myrick Daniels, an Episcopalian seminarian who was killed in Hayneville, Alabama on Aug. 20, 1965. Daniels died after being shot as he shielded black teenager Ruby Sales from a gunman.

Curry spoke at the Lowndes County Courthouse for the 50th anniversary commemoration for Daniels, speaking from the same place where the man who killed the 26-year-old seminarian was tried and acquitted.

"It is not enough to enough simply to commemorate what they did," Curry said about those who played a role in the civil rights movement. "We must now be consecrated to the work that we must do.

"If human beings ever harness the power of love, it will be the second time in history that humanity discovers fire," he continued in a passionate 30-minute sermon. "We are here because Jonathan Daniels discovered fire. Martin Luther King discovered fire. And now we must pass that torch to a new generation."

Curry's ties to Alabama go back generations. In his 2015 autobiography, "Songs My Grandma Sang," he said his family descended from slaves and sharecroppers in Alabama and North Carolina.A Baldwin County grand jury has ruled unanimously that Fairhope police officers were justified in using lethal force in an October encounter.

Officers fatally shot Sanders Surber, 32, of Martinsville, Va., after an Oct. 27 chase that involved a home invasion, two wrecks and an armed confrontation.

Sanders Surber (BCSO)

"We unanimously find that officers with the Fairhope Police Department were acting within the scope of their duties and training, and that the use of deadly force by officers to protect themselves and numerous others present from an apparent deadly threat was entirely justified," says a grand jury report dated May 1.

Baldwin County District Attorney Bob Wilters said in the days after the encounter that multiple investigations were under way, by agencies including the Fairhope Police Department, the Alabama Law Enforcement Association and a Baldwin County Major Crimes Unit.

On Monday, Wilters said he thought the grand jury report "will close the book on the case." Additional information may be presented at a press conference planned for Tuesday, he said.

The incident began with a report of two suspicious men looking into vehicles at a Walmart on the afternoon of Oct. 27. Officers detained 27-year-old Jesse Harris of Martinsville, Va., at the scene; Surber fled in a vehicle.

After wrecking the car, Surber fled into a neighborhood and broke into a home where a woman was babysitting three young children. Officials said he threated the babysitter with a gun to get her keys and then fled in her car. He was again spotted by officers and eventually wrecked that car as well.

Baldwin County Sheriff Huey Mack said that after the second wreck Surber emerged from the car armed with a shotgun, and two officers opened fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Surber later was found to have active warrants in Virginia for armed robbery and auto theft.

According to the grand jury report, the case was one of 405 considered, resulting in 252 indictments. The report states that the grand jury "received extensive testimony and reviewed evidence" related to Surber's death.Hurricane forecasters will have their eyes on the Gulf of Mexico this week.

Computer models for days have been suggesting there could be activity there later this week, and now the National Hurricane Center has officially come on board as well.

The hurricane center said that as of Monday evening a broad area of low pressure had formed over the northwestern Caribbean a few hundred miles east of Belize. Rain and storms associated with it and an upper-level low stretch from the northwest Caribbean to Cuba to the Florida Peninsula.

That low has the potential to develop into something more later this week -- just in time for the Memorial Day weekend.

Forecasters on Monday evening raised the chances of development from 20 percent to 40 percent and said gradual intensification will be possible later this week when the system is in the central or eastern Gulf.

Could it be a tropical storm? A subtropical storm? Forecasters weren't saying as of Monday evening. Only that it had potential to develop.

But it is guaranteed to bring rain, some of it heavy, to areas on the Florida Peninsula this week.

That rain could move northward and affect the northern Gulf Coast over the weekend as well.

The National Weather Service in Mobile said on Monday it will be closely watching the system this week.

"There is still plenty of spread on the ultimate development and track" of this disturbance, the weather service said in its Monday forecast discussion.

Development or not, it will bring scattered to numerous showers and storms to the Alabama Gulf coast through the weekend. It will also churn up the surf and raise the risk of rip currents.

It could also raise the risk of flash flooding. "We will need to closely monitor for potential heavy rainfall impacts," later this week, forecasters said.

A system has to have a closed center of circulation and winds of at least 39 mph to be considered a tropical storm and get a name.

The first name on this year's storm list is Alberto.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts on June 1.By Louis Jacobson for PolitiFact

It's not every day that a hearing of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee goes viral, but that's what happened on May 16, 2018, when a Republican lawmaker questioned aspects of climate change.

The most frequently shared exchange from the hearing involved Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and a witness, Phil Duffy, the president and executive director of the Woods Hole Research Center. At one point, Brooks suggested that England's White Cliffs of Dover and the California coastline are continually eaten away by erosion, perhaps driving a rise in sea levels that scientists ordinarily blame on melting ice.

Others have debunked the idea that cliff erosion or sediment release from rivers constitutes a significant factor in sea level rise. (Philip Bump at the Washington Postestimated the current annual sea level increase of 3.3 millimeters would require, every year, "a volume of earth equivalent to taking the top five inches of every one of the United States' 9.1 million square miles of land area and using it to coat the bottom of the world's oceans.") So we won't go over the same territory.

Instead, we decided to look at another comment from Brooks' exchange with Duffy:

Brooks: "Would it surprise you to know that if global temperatures rise, assuming for the moment that they do, that that actually increases the amount of ice that is collected on Antarctica?"

Duffy: "That's not true, sir."

Brooks: "I made a trip down to Antarctica and met with National Science Foundation scientists, and they all agreed with global warming, and they emphasize that you're going to have an increase in the amount of ice in Antarctica because of global warming....

"Do you understand that as temperatures rise, more moisture is contained in the atmosphere and then that moisture in Antarctica collects on land, and it takes hundreds and hundreds of years for that ice that is deposited on Antarctica to actually ever reach the shoreline where it touches the oceans where it can affect in some way sea level increases?"

Is it true, as Brooks said, that "you're going to have an increase in the amount of ice in Antarctica because of global warming"?

In a statement to PolitiFact, Brooks reiterated what he said he learned from the scientists in Antarctica, including those who believe that global warming is real. The increase in interior ice, he said the scientists told him, should "offset the loss of Antarctic sea ice, Arctic sea ice, and whatever melting occurs in places like Greenland." (Read Brooks' full statement here,)

However, more than a dozen scientists told PolitiFact that while Brooks is correctly describing one part of the complicated interplay around Antarctic climate change, whatever ice gains materialize from this process are almost certain to be overwhelmed by melting ice that he's overlooking.

What Brooks said "is like talking about the money in your bank account by only looking at deposits and ignoring withdrawals," said Gary T. Mitchum, a professor and associate dean at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science. "It's just flawed. I sure wish I could get away with this at my bank."

Why Antarctica might see an increase in ice

How could ice increase due to global warming? It stems from the tendency for a warmer climate to produce more precipitation. In the context of Antarctica, this means increased amounts of frozen precipitation.

"On the whole, the amount of precipitation increases in the coldest climates as they warm," said John Nielsen-Gammon, a Texas A&M University atmospheric sciences professor. "This comes about because the amount of moisture the atmosphere can hold -- and thus deliver as snow -- increases dramatically as the temperature warms."

In fact, there's already evidence of this occurring in certain parts of Antarctica. One paper documenting this was written by Jay Zwally, a glaciologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 2015. He found significant increases in ice in eastern Antarctica.

Zwally is considered a credible scientist, but other scientists said his methodology in the study is not foolproof. Critics suggest that much of the increase Zwally measured may be coming from additional snow rather than ice. Because ice contains more water than snow does, an increase in snow rather than ice would mean that Antarctica isn't taking as much water out of circulation as the paper suggests.

Indeed, a study using a different method, headed by Alba Martin-Espanol of the University of Bristol in England, concluded that the ice gains in eastern Antarctica were only about one-third as large as Zwally had found.

Why that added ice may not matter much

An even more important point is that any ice gains need to be measured against losses elsewhere. To look only at the ice gains, as Brooks did, amounts to cherry picking.

"The important thing for science and policy is whether there's a net gain or loss of ice on Antarctica" from all sources, Nielsen-Gammon said.

Scientists we checked with agreed that, while Antarctica's increased banking of water through precipitation is a real phenomenon, it pales in comparison with the amount of water being lost through melting. Basically, the continent may be adding ice in one place, but it's losing a larger amount elsewhere due to melting, evaporation, or glaciers falling into the sea.

"Rep. Brooks is correct that one may expect an increase in precipitation in a warmer climate," said Justin C. Burton, a physicist at Emory University. "However, this is a small feedback effect compared to melting from a warmer climate, and especially a warmer ocean."

For the past few decades, most scientific studies have shown that the net change in ice has produced shrinkage overall, not expansion, said Ted Scambos, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado.

In western Antarctica, Scientific American has reported, "the floating platforms of ice that ring the coast are thinning, glaciers are surging toward the sea, meltwater is flowing across the surface, fast-growing moss is turning the once shimmering landscape green, and a massive iceberg the size of Delaware broke off into the ocean in July of 2017."

"The near unanimous view is that the net effect, by a pretty big margin, would be melting," said John Reilly, co-director of the joint program on the science and policy of global change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The fear, he said, is that ice "will break loose and float out, raising sea level and in turn reduce the friction holding back ice on shore, which will then flow faster into the ocean."

Given this degree of melting, Scambos said, the likeliest impact from the increased snowfall that Brooks is pointing to would be to "slow the pace of ice loss slightly," Scambos said. "Greenland, which is somewhat more impacted by climate change, has not shown enough increase in precipitation to offset the very large peripheral losses in the past few decades."

Even beyond melting, sea level is increasing as the temperature warms because when water gets warmer, it expands.

It's worth noting that the net change in sea level has zig-zagged a bit. In 2011, for instance, it fell, prompting some to suggest an end to the problem. However, sea levels soon started rising again. Such blips are "common," said Gary Griggs, an earth sciences professor at the University of California-Santa Cruz. "There are year to year variations, but the overall trend is clear."

All told, "the vast majority of scientists agree that a warming climate will most certainly lead to a net ice loss from Antarctica," Burton said. "The question is really how much and how fast?"

Our ruling

Brooks said, "You're going to have an increase in the amount of ice in Antarctica because of global warming."

Scientists agree that parts of Antarctica may already be seeing higher levels of frozen precipitation due to global warming. However, focusing on this increase amounts to cherry-picking, because the same higher temperatures also mean faster melting of existing Antarctic ice. On balance, scientists expect the amount of ice lost from added melting to be much higher than the amount of ice added from greater precipitation.

The statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression, so we rate it Mostly False.

PolitiFact is collaborating with AL.com journalists to bring its Pulitzer Prize-winning, fact-checking services to Alabama, thanks to a grant from the Knight Foundation.The Obamas have inked a deal with Netflix.

The former president and first lady will be producing films and series for the streaming service, including both scripted and unscripted programs. The multi-year deal was announced in a tweet.

Financial terms of the agreement were not announced.

President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series for Netflix, potentially including scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries, and features.  Netflix US (@netflix) May 21, 2018

The New York Times first reported news of a potential deal in March.

"President and Mrs. Obama have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire," Eric Schultz, an Obama senior adviser, said at the time.

"Throughout their lives, they have lifted up stories of people whose efforts to make a difference are quietly changing the world for the better. As they consider their future personal plans, they continue to explore new ways to help others tell and share their stories," he added.

The Obama content will be produced by Higher Ground Productions.

In his statement, former president Obama said he looked forward to sharing the stories of many them met while in office.

"Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix - we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world," he said.

Michelle Obama added: "Barack and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others. Netflix's unparalleled service is a natural fit for the kinds of stories we want to share, and we look forward to starting this exciting new partnership."A principal at a New Jersey high school has apologized for prom tickets that contained a line urging students to "party like it's 1776."

In a letter posted to Twitter Friday, Cherry Hill East High School Principal Dennis Perry said he was "writing to apologize for the hurt feeling this reference caused for members of our school family."

"It was insensitive and irresponsible not to appreciate that not all communities can celebrate what like was like in 1776," Perry wrote. "I especially apologize to our African American students whom I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording."

Perry said the school will be reprinting redesigned commemorative prom tickets that will be distributed at the dance and that in the future, "safe guards will be added to ensure that a diverse group of people view all information before it is distributed to the school."

The prom is planned for the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Please read this letter of apology to the East Community. pic.twitter.com/BnokMF0n9Q  Dr. Dennis Perry (@drperryateast) May 18, 2018

According to The Courier Post, black students represent 6.2 percent of East's student body, compared to 62.2. percent for whites and 22.4 percent for Asians. Slightly less than 6 percent of students are Hispanic.A former Mobile County sheriff's lieutenant charged with rape and sex abuse has a trial date, and his defense on Monday fended off an attempt to block contact with his minor son.

Paul Stephen Bailey was indicted earlier this month on charges of sexual abuse, sodomy and rape of one female who was between ages 12 and 18 for most of the alleged acts, and the sexual abuse of another female in the same age range. Last week the Mobile County Sheriff's Office announced that he had been fired.

Bailey appeared in court Monday for a hearing on a motion pertaining to his bond. Assistant District Attorney Tandice Hogan said that information in the case led investigators to think it might be best for Bailey to be barred from contact with his son as a condition of his bond. He has been barred from having any contact with the alleged victims and is subject to electronic monitoring to ensure that he complies.

Hogan said that the two female victims were family members, one of whom had told at least one relative of the abuse early on. Hogan said the relative or relatives had done nothing to protect them as the abuse continued. The alleged abuse occurred between 2002 and 2010, but only came to light when the victims, now adults, went directly to law enforcement, Hogan said.

Hogan said that raised the possibility that if Bailey did harm his son, family members might fail to act.

Defense attorney Dennis Knizley said the relationship between Bailey and his ex-wife, the mother of his son, had been "stormy." But there is nothing in the record to suggest Bailey has posed any threat to his son, he said.

Despite a custody agreement that gives Bailey relatively limited visitation with his teenage son, Knizley said, the son normally spends most of his time with his father and the two have a close relationship. Impeding that would be "devastating to himself and his son," he said.

"I don't see how that's going to help the safety of the community," Knizley said.

Bailey did not testify at the hearing. His son was not present, and no testimony as to his son's view of the situation was presented. Presiding Circuit Court Judge John Lockett said he hadn't heard enough to disrupt an existing custody situation. "At this point in time I'm not inclined to change any of the bond conditions that have been set," he said.

Knizley had expressed a desire to challenge the requirement for electronic monitoring. Lockett said that could potentially be addressed at a future hearing. After some discussion, he set a trial date for Dec. 3.

The potential involvement of the Alabama Department of Human Resources was left unknown. Hogan and a State Bureau of Investigations agent said they thought DHR was involved, but didn't know to what extent. No DHR representative was on hand for Monday's hearing.

Knizley said that "DHR has an avenue" to raise any concerns it has about the son's welfare.

After the hearing, Hogan said that the question of the son's custody arrangements could "potentially" come back before the court depending on DHR involvement.Through the year, AL.com journalists will be reporting stories inspired by "The Many," a Facebook group created by journalism organization Spaceship Media, and launched in partnership with AL.com. Our stories will detail how these conservative, independent and liberal Alabama women are exploring local and national issues together and with women from around the country.

Some women in Alabama have a hard time identifying with #metoo, a movement they feel often doesn't leave space for conservative women's voices.

Elizabeth Sheth of Huntsville is one of two women engineers in her office, a mother of three, and a conservative Christian. She thinks the #metoo movement is important, but believes it sometimes goes too far, shaming all men. Sheth said the movement does not give women enough credit when it comes to personal responsibility.

"[The movement] should also include what women can do [to prevent assault]," Sheth said, but stopped herself. "You can't say that without victim shaming."

Sheth said she supports women's efforts to speak out, but finds #metoo hard to talk about without getting shamed for bringing up a woman's responsibility to defend themselves before raising a red flag to the media.

Nancy K, who asked AL.com not to use her last name because of employment concerns, is a small business owner and conservative Christian in Mobile. She said it's hard to get behind #metoo and women's rights movements when some women who have the floor use vulgar language and imagery. She said it's important to speak out against physical sexual assault, but that verbal abuse should not be lumped into the #metoo movement. Nancy's Christian upbringing affects how she reacts to women who encounter sexual harassment.

"As a Christian, God closes one door and opens another. If i'm being harassed then he has another plan for me, and I have to go on faith and move in that direction," Nancy said. "But I understand not all women believe that."

A #metoo leader in Alabama

Tina Johnson who spoke out against Roy Moore for allegedly assaulting her in 1991, along with the other women, became Alabama's unofficial #metoo rallying cry

Johnson said she grew up in a conservative, Bible-believing household. She was taught to "hear no evil, see no evil" when it came to sexual misconduct. Discussing sexual behavior was "not an appropriate conversation."

Growing up, she was encouraged by her church and family to hold men in high regard, and to "submit" to the men in her life.

After Johnson spoke out, she was chastised in her community. Two months later, her house was destroyed by fire. Last month, Moore sued her and two of the other accusers, alleging they were part of a political conspiracy.

"People want to know why we don't speak up, but I'm going to tell you I am living proof," Johnson said. "I have been through hell and back."

Despite multiple women speaking publicly about alleged sexual assault at the hands of Moore, 68 percent of white women voted for him in the Senate election against Doug Jones. Eighty percent of white evangelicals voted for Moore.

"The cost of believing [the women] was so politically high, many on the right refused to admit what was right in front of them," Dana McCain, a conservative faith and politics columnist said. "It was a sort of intellectual dishonesty that kept us from doing what we needed to do."

McCain said voters on both ends of the spectrum often turn a blind eye to what doesn't fit into either parties' narrative, or "inconvenient truths."

"We categorize certain movements or ideas based on who is involved. We have to judge ideas on their merits," McCain said.

Brushed aside but not giving up

Lauren Peabody, a Tuscaloosa mom of two, found solidarity when women around the world began to speak out about their experiences with sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Her own stories of abuse in the workplace were brushed aside my management and human resources when they happened, but the #metoo movement gave her space to speak up again.

At Peabody's first job in college, developing film, she spoke up when a man she worked with began making copies of photos of women to take home. Her boss rebuked her concern, and Peabody was fired.

At 25, she was sexually harassed on multiple occasions by her store manager at a corporate pawn shop. She asked for direction from her human resources department, but after an investigation, they claimed she had "warranted the attention."

"I was recently a single mom. I have to stay [at that job]. I have to pay my bills. I can't leave," Peabody said. "I took a leave of absence and he harassed me until the very last day of my employment."

Today, Peabody works for two women-owned companies, a conscious decision she made in an effort to avoid sexual harassment in the workplace.

"Alabama's belief system is based on the Bible, whether we're Christian or not," she said. "We look up to men of power; congressmen, police officers, pastors. They have this moral code and they fit that idol that we made them out to be."

Peabody said she doesn't think anything has changed since the #metoo movement touched Alabama after Roy Moore's defeat by Jones in December 2017.

But Johnson said the cause is worth it for Alabama women to continue speaking out against sexual abuse and sexual harassment.

"Just don't give up. It's worth the fight," Johnson said.

If you are interested in joining The Many go to: http://spaceshipmedia.org/the-many.Indian PM traveled to Sochi to hold talks with Russias Putin, with geopolitical issues on the agenda of summit.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi as part of an informal summit between the two countries.

Russia is Indias old-time friend. We share long-standing historical ties, and Mr. President is my personal friend and a friend of India, Modi said at the meeting, aimed at underscoring close ties.

For the past four years, you and I stood side by side in the bilateral format and on the international stage I am very glad that it was so, Modi told Putin.

The Russian president reciprocated with similar sentiments, stressing the important role the two countries play in maintaining global stability.

Last year, our trade saw a significant increase, adding another 17 percent since the beginning of this year, Putin said.

Major international issues were the focus of the talks between the two leaders.

The main driver of this meeting is the geopolitical environment prevailing today, PS Raghavan, chief of Indias national security advisory board, told Al Jazeera.

The primary purpose of Modis Russia trip would be to discuss the evolving geopolitical situation and to understand each others perspective  to be able to see how we can both deal with situations in common interest, said Raghavan, who was also a former Indian envoy to Russia.

Relationship characterised by deep trust, mutual respect and immense goodwill! Russian President #Putin warmly welcomed PM @narendramodi at Bocharev Creek in #Sochi ahead of the delegation-level talks. pic.twitter.com/dOKaHE61VV  Anurag Srivastava (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

New Delhis overtures towards Moscow come at a time when India is facing the heat of a US trade war through hefty import tariffs.

The aggressive new approach towards Iran adopted by the administration of US President Donald Trump is also upsetting Indias carefully laid plans in Tehran, including operations at a strategic port in which India has pledged to invest $500m.

Reinvigorating ties

Earlier this month, Modi sent his top emissaries to Russia in what analysts say are moves aimed at reinvigorating ties with a traditional ally after a brief period of coolness.

Top Indian officials were sent to Moscow ahead of Modis trip. This included a three-day trip by Indias Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last month.

Indias National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale also held talks with top Russian officials, NSA Nikolai Pathrushev and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on May 10.

The Moscow-New Delhi ties were never hostage to a third country despite the perception to the contrary, said Nitin Gokhale, a national security analyst based in New Delhi.

We would like to continue with our partnerships with both Russia and Iran. And we would like to do so by not impacting our partnership with the US PS Raghavan, Chief of National Security Advisory Board

What New Delhi is essentially doing is to reaffirm the long-standing robust relationship between the two and continue to support each other on crucial geopolitical matters like Iran and BRICS [an association of five emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa].

The meetings between Indian and Russian officials are aimed at reaffirming an old partnership even as geopolitical realities in the region are changing again.

As the right-wing government of Prime Minister Modi pursued closer ties with Washington since it came to power in 2014, relations between India and Russia had taken a back-seat.

Trumps America-first policy

A report in Russian business daily, Kommersant, in November last year said Moscow was miffed with India reportedly allowing US forces access to a Russian-built nuclear-powered submarine that is currently on lease to the Indian navy. The report quoted Russian officials considering these as unfriendly acts towards Russia.

The last thing Moscow wants to do is to alienate India now, even though Indias participation in certain military exercises with the US was certainly received without much joy in Moscow, Dmitry Babich, a Russian political analyst based in Moscow, told Al Jazeera.

So, even though Moscow may have felt bitter about Modis rapprochement with the US, Russian officials never made any remarks that could be interpreted in India as hostile or even critical, he said.

Russia is seeking new partners but Russia does not want to lose old ones, he added.

Moscow has long been the main supplier of military equipment to India, but in recent years, New Delhi has been inching towards the US and Israel for weapons supply.

But with Trumps America-first policy  as part of which the US has slapped new trade tariffs affecting Indian and Chinese firms, New Delhi is working to improve its relations with Russia and China.

In April, Indian Defence Minister Sitharaman, in an address at a security conference in Moscow said, Russia has re-established its role and influence in global strategic and defence matters.

India is friends with and trades extensively with Russia and Iran that are currently facing American sanctions.

New Delhi, one of the biggest buyers of Iranian crude, will have to find measures to nullify the effect of US sanctions on Iran, which would certainly be high on the agenda of talks between Modi and Putin, experts say.

India-Russia ties

India is also battling to avoid a law the US government signed last year imposing sanctions on those who do business with Russias military and intelligence sectors.

The law known as the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) threatens to impinge on Indias massive defence trade with Russia.

Russian military hardware accounted for 62 percent of Indias total weapons imports during the past five years, the Stockholm Peace Research Institute said in a report this year.

India is also in talks with Russia to buy five S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems, the Interfax news agency reported, a possible deal that could face rough weather under the new US sanctions.

The top adviser to the Indian government said India will defend its trade interests with both Russia and Iran.

We have a very extensive energy and defence relationship with Russia. Its not a tap, which you can switch off. Russia still has the lions share in our defence imports as compared to the US, Raghavan told Al Jazeera.

Washington will have to take this into account, he argued.

Indias relations with the US have also been hit by trade frictions. New Delhi is still waiting for an exemption from higher tariffs on steel and aluminum imports announced by the Trump administration.

The US is also imposing tougher visa rules that targets Indias information technology industry.

New Delhi-Beijing thaw

Daniel Chirot, Professor of International Studies at the University of Washington, said the Trump administration believes it can bully other countries into acceding to its demands, even if those are often mistaken.

The Trump administration is oblivious to the harm it is doing to relations with friendly allies, Chirot told Al Jazeera.

These irritants in the Indo-US relationship could fuel some rethink in Indian foreign policy, according to analysts.

Some signs of this are already visible  the trips to Russia from key Modi aides as well as an olive branch to neighbouring China.

The New Delhi-Beijing thaw is a bilateral necessity again because of a fluid global order, national security analyst Gokhale told Al Jazeera.

The Indian prime minister flew to China to hold informal talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month after a border standoff last year. The trip showed that Delhi has essentially entered the shadow trade war between the US and China on Chinas side, wrote Mihir Sharma, senior fellow at the Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

Both these informal outreach trips of the Indian prime minister  earlier to China and now to Russia  are part of the flurry of consultations between world leaders to discuss this geopolitical environment that exists today, said Indian government adviser Raghavan.

We are witness to a very acrimonious standoff between the US and Russia which has gone on to levels that didnt prevail even during the Cold War. These anti-Russia sanctions have an extra-territorial applicability  this draws in everybody, he said.

There are decisions that countries take in their national interest. It is your business in protection of your national interest to see whether you can change, amend it, work around it, he added referring to the US sanctions.

On Monday, Modi tweeted to say he was confident talks with Putin would boost the special ties between the two countries.

Deepening Russian and Indian economic ties stretch back to the Soviet era. Last year was witness to the biggest foreign acquisition ever in India  Russian oil major Rosneft closed their $12.9bn purchase of Indian refiner Essar Oil.

Strategically, Russia has facilitated Indias membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and endorsed Indias long-held demand for a permanent seat at the UN Security Council. Moscow is also pushing for Indias entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a club of countries controlling access to sensitive nuclear technology.

The Chief of Indias National Security Advisory Board, Raghavan, however, said India would continue to walk a tightrope between Moscow and Washington.

We would like to continue with our partnerships with both Russia and Iran. And we would like to do so by not impacting our partnership with the US, he said.Siraj Khan was forcibly removed from India after 24 years, despite marrying an Indian woman and raising a family.

Mumbai, India  Twenty-four years after he left his home in Pakistan, Siraj Khan, 34, was forcibly returned to Mansehra  in the countrys Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region  on March 10.

Khan was detained on December 5, 2017, by Indian authorities because he didnt have proper immigration documents.

His childhood home had changed. The 2005 earthquake had wiped out the ageing structures, making room for new unrecognisable ones.

Khans father died after years of waiting to embrace his son after he vanished. His mother, meanwhile, suffered a psychological breakdown. But the family reunion, which should have been joyous, was incomplete. Khan was compelled to leave his wife and children behind in Mumbai, India.

After spending three months in illegal detention at a Mumbai police station, the cops packed me off to Pakistan without a notice, he told Al Jazeera.

They made me board a train, and 16 hours later, when we reached Delhi, I was told I was being deported. In an instant, I went to pieces.

With Khans deportation, his 39-year-old Indian wife Sajida was left alone in Mumbai to fend for her three children. Educated only until grade nine, she has taken to bracelet-making and earns $1.50 a day. Most of the money, she said, is spent on food.

Bundled off

Since bus fare is unaffordable, her children  Zara, 12, and twin sons Inayat and Ejaz, 7  walk 3km to school every day.

Even as our plea for my husbands Indian citizenship and for a stay against his deportation is pending, he was bundled off to Pakistan. He has lived in India for 24 years, built a life here as a lawful citizen. Doesnt that count for anything? asked Sajida.

Sajida and her two sons [Puja Changoiwala/Al Jazeera]

And what about us? she continued, seated on the only piece of furniture in her small home as her sons placed their tiny hands on her shoulders to comfort her.

Abbu [father] has promised hell return soon, Inayat insisted.

Khan, who worked as a waiter with a Mumbai-based caterer before his arrest, accidentally entered India when he was 10. Afraid of a beating from his father over a failed exam, he fled home and boarded the Samjhauta Express  unaware the train would bring him to Indias capital, New Delhi.

A family noticed him sobbing on the railway platform and took him home. After three months of trying to identify his kin, they gave him some money, and he went off on his own.

He lived off Delhi streets thereafter, doing odd jobs for a living  sweeping, washing utensils. Around three years later, he was picked up as a runaway child and lodged in a childrens shelter in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

He spent two years there till a wall of the shelter collapsed, and he was among 40 teenagers to flee. Thereafter, he came to Mumbai, Sajida explained.

Starting a family

Doing low-paid work in Mumbai, Khan rented a room in the citys eastern suburbs  where the family still lives. Through a neighbour, he met Sajida and married her in 2005.

With his monthly earnings of $161, the couple had a difficult, but peaceful life until 2009, when Khan tried to take his family to Pakistan for Eid al-Fitr.

After immigration authorities learned he was not an Indian citizen, Khan was charged under The Foreigners Act, 1946 for staying in India illegally.

He was kept in police custody for two months. At the time, I was six months pregnant with my daughter. When Id visit my husband at the police station, cops would tell me to let go of him or else Id be jailed as well, and my child would be born behind bars, said Sajida.

In 2014, Khan was convicted of illegally staying in India and imprisoned for six months pending deportation.

Sajida then filed a plea with Mumbais high court calling for a stay of his removal. The court accepted her appeal, noting Khans application seeking Indian citizenship was still before the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. Despite the ruling, Khan was deported last month.

Legal right

According to his supporters, he is legally entitled to remain in the country.

As per The Citizenship Act, 1955, any foreigner who has married an Indian and lived in India for seven years can avail citizenship. We sent an application under this rule to the central government in 2014. But there has been no response despite follow-ups, said activist Imran Khan, 36, who has been helping the family.

Sajida filed a new petition with the high court seeking her husbands return. It stated in Khans absence his family in India will be forced to starve.

Indian authorities, however, said theyre only following the rules.

Khan may deserve Indian citizenship on humanitarian grounds, but were only following the law, said Bhagwat Bansod, senior Mumbai police inspector, who oversaw Khans return to Pakistan.

His deportation was facilitated following orders from the central government.

Khan, meanwhile, said he only wants to be with his family.

Had I been an influential man, politicians would be at my home, finalising my Indian citizenship over a cup of tea. But Im not that privileged. All I want is to live with my family  in India or Pakistan, he said.The attempt of the Sudanese president to engage with rival regional interests in a bid to stay in power might fail.

Sudans political crisis is sliding into a dangerous phase. Its economy is on the verge of collapse. The price of food and other basic commodities is rising by the day, worsening living conditions for ordinary Sudanese and stirring growing discontent in the country.

The economic problems are compounded by a severe fuel crisis that has nearly paralysed the country and which the government is unable to solve. Some high-ranking officials have admitted that Sudan is virtually bankrupt. Many believe that, if the economic crisis continues on such a scale, the country will implode.

Amid this impending disaster, President Omar al-Bashir continues to insist on running again in the 2020presidential elections, worried about his two arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

To ensure the survival of his presidency, he has been playing a complex foreign policy game, balancing between different regional interests and rivalries. There are indications, however, that pressure on him to choose sides is increasing, and his balancing act might fail.

Seeking a US approval, playing the Russia card

In October 2017, the US lifted most of the economic sanctions that had been imposed on Sudan for nearly two decades. Sudan has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism since 1997.

Next month, Sudan and the US will start the next phase of the five-track engagement plan that involves negotiations over the removal of Sudan from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. Khartoum is hoping to get rid of the remaining US sanctions, including the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act of 2006, as a prelude to seeking debt relief and fully normalising relations with the US.





The European Union is also accelerating its rapprochement with the Sudanese regime. Sudan has received millions of euros from the EU to curb migration from Africa to Europe.

Nevertheless, al-Bashir appears to be very suspicious of US intentions. Last year, reports circulated that the US had sent a message to al-Bashir telling him not to run in the 2020 elections  something the Sudanese foreign ministry denied.

Al-Bashir was incensed when then-US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan did not meet him during his visit to Khartoum in mid-November 2017. Al-Bashir suspects that there is a clique within his regime that has reached an understanding with the US regarding his future in power.

Consequently, he has taken steps to dismantle this so-called US clique by removing his foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, the director-general of the National Intelligence and Security, Mohamed Atta, and Army Chief of Staff, General Emad al-Din Adawi from their respective roles.

Al-Bashir has also recently replaced many senior officials in the ruling National Congress Party and has just reshuffled his cabinet to further consolidate his power before the 2020 elections.

Hoping to attract some attention in Washington, al-Bashir decided to pay a visit to Russia in December 2017. During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he expressed support for Russias position in the Middle East, particularly in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, and denounced US interference in the region.

Al-Bashir even asked Putin for protection against US aggression and invited Russia to establish a military base on the Red Sea. His remarks, which came just weeks after the lifting of US sanctions, were widely seen as a message of defiance to Washington.

Playing Gulf games in times of crisis

At the regional level, Bashir is trying to manage a delicate balance in relations with competing regional players. When Turkish President Erdogan visited Sudan in January, he and Bashir signed more than a dozen agreements to boost bilateral economic ties, including a deal to lease the Red Sea island of Suakin to Turkey.

Ankara and Khartoum agreed that Turkish investors would rebuild Suakins historical sites, develop the island as a tourist attraction and create a transit point for Muslim pilgrims crossing the Red Sea to reach the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

In March, Sudan signed a further $4bn deal with Qatar to develop Suakin as Sudans second biggest port on the Red Sea. Qatars investment in Sudan already amounts to more than $2bn and expected to rise in the near future.

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These deals have sparked speculation about a potentially significant shift in Sudans regional alliances. Al-Bashirs moves to bring Qatar and Turkey to the Red Sea are no doubt viewed with concern by the axis of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and others who accuse both Qatar and Turkey of sponsoring the Muslim Brotherhood.

Al-Bashir had previously sought to win over Saudi Arabia and the UAE for financial and diplomatic gains by moving quickly to sever diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 and sending thousands of Sudanese soldiers to fight with the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis in Yemen.

When the Gulf crisis broke out last year, Bashir tried to stay neutral, deciding not to back the Saudi-led blockade against Qatar. However, earlier this month, media reports circulated in Sudan that Saudi Arabia and the UAE had presented al-Bashir with a set of tough conditions for continuing their financial and diplomatic support, including severing ties with Turkey and Qatar. The government was quick to deny these rumours, saying that no party is applying pressure on the government.

However, there have been other signs of tensions. On May 2, Sudans defence minister told parliament that the government was re-evaluating its role in the war in Yemen, with a decision on Sudans continued participation expected soon. There are reports that hundreds of Sudanese soldiers have died and thousands have been wounded in Yemen.

Khartoums continued participation in the Yemeni war has been questioned by members of the Sudanese parliament, as well as pro-government newspapers and writers. There has also been growing criticism of Saudi Arabia and the UAE for not helping Sudan to resolve its acute fuel shortage.

Comparisons have been drawn with the substantial financial support given to Egypt by the two Gulf countries despite the fact that Egyptian President Abel Fattah el-Sisi has not sent troops to fight in Yemen.

Despite these criticisms, it is possible that the talk of withdrawal from Yemen is not genuine and is meant to pressure Saudi Arabia and the UAE into helping Sudan to resolve its economic crisis. Hence, Sudan is expected to keep its troops in Yemen for the time being to ensure continued leverage.

Whatever the case, it seems that al-Bashirs ability to play rival regional and international actors off against each other is diminishing, as some key players are telling Sudan you are either with us or against us.

In the end, his tactics of manipulating competing regional and international alliances are actually damaging to Sudans national interests. They are turning the country into a battlefield for rival powers.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.After Santa Fe, we must be honest with ourselves about the role violence plays in our politics.

In the aftermath of the Santa Fe High School shooting, Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick blamed such attacks on gun owners who dont lock up their guns, and on the design of schools which have too many entrances and exits.

While licensed gun holders should certainly take care to safely lock up their guns, that does not address the larger issue of gun ownership, nor does it address our US culture that, whether we admit it or not, has become desensitised to these mass shootings. Furthermore, blaming building design for this shooting is just one more way US officials are evading their very real responsibility to do more to stop such attacks.

Of course, as usual, that wasnt the only ridiculous excuse given for the latest attack. Former NYPD and FDNY Commissioner, Howard Safir, called into Fox News as a guest to blame the Common Core curriculum, which he claimed takes emotionally disturbed kids and learning disabled kids and mainstreams them into the general population of students. Aside from the inhumanity and inaccuracy of such a declaration, in 2013, Texas outlawed implementing Common Core standards in public school assessments.

As someone who does not identify as a Republican or Democrat, or as a liberal or a conservative, it gets old watching the policy debate after a school shooting divide itself into two camps: those defending the Second Amendment right to bear arms, and those calling for stricter gun control laws that would make it more difficult for citizens to own assault rifles. As I see it, the bigger problem lies with the former group, which tries to blame everything but guns for these attacks, and paints the latter group as bleeding heart liberals, even smearing the very children who have lived through these attacks.

After every shooting, it is difficult to try to reconcile between policy formulation and review, and between the pain of not only the students, but also their families, teachers and community members who will now forever associate their high school with senseless violence. It is almost impossible to muster the words needed to process why this keeps happening without causing further pain to the community suffering such loss. But if theres one thing I know, it is that thoughts and prayers, closing off entrances, arming teachers, or blaming this violence solely on mental illness, will not suffice in our collective search for a solution.

What happened to humanity?

It sounds naive, but the reality is that any policy debate about mass shootings shouldnt centre only on the desire to own weapons, or only on our gun control laws.

If we focus only on the type of weapons being used, we will miss the question of the sanctity of human life that should not be, but is always absent from these debates.





In fact, the shooter in this latest attack did not just use guns in his attack: he also planted bombs. Thus, in this cycle of violence, the larger policy question cannot be just debating controlling the methods by which Americans are killing one another, but going a step further to analyse what exactly prompts young Americans to believe that they are entitled to take a fellow humans life.

Yes, we cannot anticipate who is capable of killing fellow human beings. We cannot comprehend the evil it takes to kill. However, I remember being in high school, watching the coverage of the Columbine shootings and being scared to my core that people my age not only had access to these weapons, but also the arrogance to believe they had a right to take other peoples lives.

As Americans, we must be honest with ourselves when debating mass shootings and violence. We must be cognisant of the violence ingrained in our policies, both foreign and domestic.

Whether we approach the Second Amendment with an individual or collective lens, the centuries-old amendment itself is evidence that the ability to perpetrate violence against one another is not a new policy debate.

Terrorism definitions are not a solution

After this latest school shooting, I again saw people rushing to point out the double standards in coverage and in law enforcement reactions. Some argued that had the shooter been a person of colour, he wouldnt have been captured alive. Others argued that the shooting would have been labelled an act of terrorism had the shooter been non-white or named Ahmad.

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While these double standards are honest assessments of our medias inconsistencies in coverage, the reality is that even if we categorise these attacks as terrorism, our anti-terror policies are an epic failure as well.

They have resulted in our nation killing hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people overseas, with no end to terrorism (domestic or foreign) in sight.

In other words, whether we label mass shootings as terrorism or not, the outcome is the same: we have no effective policies in place that will stop this type of violence.

And honestly, whether as a human being or as a policy analyst, I recognise that our social fabric needs to face our violent past and present with brutal honesty before we can even attempt to formulate effective policies engrained in the sanctity of human life rather than in our own interests and desires.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.C J Polychroniou is a political economist/political scientist who has taught and worked in Europe and the US.

This week, 50 years ago, France was going through the biggest labour strike in its history. Two-thirds of its labour force were out in the streets demanding better working conditions. Workers had taken control of factories, set up barricades, organised sit-ins and fought off attempts by the police to disperse them. Thousands of students who had rebelled against conservative university administrations had also joined them.

By the end of the week, French President Charles de Gaulle would disappear from Paris, seeking support from the French army for a military intervention against the strikers.

Tanks, however, would not roll down the streets of Paris that year. De Gaulle would decide instead to dissolve the parliament and call for general elections. Although the crisis would subside by June, the events of May would have a major ripple effect in space and time.

Today, 50 years later, we can honestly say that what happened in May 1968  from Paris to Prague, and from Mexico to Madrid  was the most significant political development that took place in the West during this tumultuous decade.

The 1960s witnessed the emergence of the second chapter of the civil rights movement in the US, the re-radicalisation of the labour force throughout Western Europe, womens rights, and gay rights. But the political scene in the 1960s was marked above all else by the Vietnam War and the protests of 1968 against political elites, authoritarianism, and the bureaucratisation of everyday life.

They were spontaneous, explosive protests of rebellious spirits that changed fundamentally the political, social and cultural landscape of entire nations, although no revolution ever occurred

The May 68 protests had the most dramatic impact in the country that had experienced one of the greatest social upheavals in western history, the French Revolution.

And it all started, as most challenges to the status quo do, by the youth.

French students who came of age with politics and philosophy normalising resistance and personal responsibility (Jean-Paul Sartres existentialist-Marxism reigned supreme throughout the 1960s) rebelled against a highly traditional and even archaic educational system, but their protests soon developed into a fight against the capitalist system and the whole bourgeois model, resting on a patriarchal-authoritarian sexual order came under attack.

The student protests in France actually started in 1967, at Nanterre University, against restrictions that prevented male students from visiting female colleagues at their dorm.





A series of events that followed in the first months of 1968, including the arrest of several students over the explosion of an American Express office in central Paris, helped to further radicalise the youth. The protests spread to other universities after Nanterre University was shut down by its dean in a desperate attempt to prevent the further escalation of protests.

When the Sorbonne was also closed following clashes between students and police, a major march was scheduled for May 10 which led to the Night of the Barricades.

What followed is well-traversed territory by journalists and historians alike.

Thousands of students clashed in the early hours of May 11, with hundreds of riot police who used tear gas and beat students with truncheons. By the time the sun came up, hundreds of students had been hospitalised and some 500 had been arrested.

By then, the battle was not merely over sexual repression and educational reform. It was about a demand for deep social transformation and that demand was accompanied by inexorable anger over the hypocrisy of a conservative, authoritarian system, the legacy of the Algerian independence war, and, yes, even the legacy of collaboration with the Nazis during World War II.

The French student protests of May 1968 were indeed about producing a national catharsis in the context of a rapidly changing world.

As such, the slogan that best captures the spirit of the May 1968 protests was the one that first appeared mainly on the walls of Paris and read as follows: Be realistic, demand the impossible.

A few days after the Night of the Barricades, millions of workers walked off their job and joined the nation-wide strike. The French Communist Party and its allied labour union organisation, the Confederation Generale du Travail, did their best to keep workers apart from students and to block any potential path to a revolution.

Indeed, like all potential revolutions, this one was also betrayed from within.

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To the surprise of many at the time, the May 1968 protests ended in early June when the trade unions accepted a government deal which included generous wage hikes and a shorter work week. Soon afterwards, the student protests also fizzled out.

Nonetheless, the May 1968 protests changed France in fundamental ways.

For starters, the rage behind the protests led to an end of Gaullism, a highly conservative, state-oriented ideology, and converted the country into an open, tolerant and secular society.

Thanks to the spirit and the aims of the May 68 protests, women became socially liberated (before, French women could not even wear pants at work and had to have a husbands permission to open a bank account), while worker militancy secured better conditions of life and work.

It is of little surprise therefore that conservative political leaders in France (and elsewhere) continue to this day to blame the legacy of May 1968 for the overthrow of conservative norms and values.

This spirit of change and openness, however, has not really survived to present times. Todays France has turned inward, resisting change and embracing xenophobia. French democracy has plunged into crisis.

Students and workers remain politically active, but they lack the rage of their predecessors and are in need of a new vision for the future.

Does this mean then that the legacy of May 1968, like that of the Bolshevik revolution of 1917, is now just a memory? Perhaps. But the course of history has fooled us before, and it can fool us again.

In a world of dire need for radical change and social justice, the May revolts of 1968 could still become a source of inspiration. All that it takes is a new generation of rebellious spirit, bold enough to say Be realistic, demand the impossible!

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.Three Pheu Thai members charged with sedition, five others for violating political ban after criticising the military.

Eight senior members of Thailands biggest political party, which ruled the country until a coup four years ago, have been charged for criticising the military government.

Pheu Thai party members  Watana Muangsook, Chaturon Chaisang and Chusak Sirinil  were all charged with sedition on Monday, after a news conference held last week at the partys headquarters in Bangkok, outlining what they believe are failings of the military government.

Five others were charged with violating a government ban on political activities.

Sedition is clearly the more serious of the charges, and if they are found guilty of that offence, they could be jailed for up to seven years, Al Jazeeras Wayne Hay, reporting from the capital, said.

The charges were read out at a Bangkok police station after the military, which has been in power since 2014, filed a complaint on Thursday.

Pheu Thai had denied that Thursdays meeting was a political gathering, which the military has banned in the country.

Chusak Sirinil, head of the partys legal team, also threatened to take counter legal action, if there was an unreasonable charge.

During its news conference, which was broadcast live on Facebook, Pheu Thai party figures slammed the military for failing to restore democracy by repeatedly postponing the general elections  now set for February 2019.

Protests planned

Tuesday will mark four years since Thailands military seized power following a coup in May 2014.

Protesters are expected to march onto the Government House in Bangkok to try to pressure the army to hand power back to a civilian administration.





The ultimate goal is to have free and fair elections as early as possible because the longer that takes the more opportunities for the junta (military government) to prolong their power as planned after the election, Nuttha Mahatana, protest leader, told Al Jazeera.

There are also fears of further implications and protests if those charged on Monday are eventually convicted.

The Pheu Thai party could be dissolved if they are found guilty, said Al Jazeeras Hay.

Given that this is the largest political party in Thailand  going by recent election results, certainly the most popular political party  that may be a step too far for the military government in terms of the reaction that it could create from the supporters of the party, he added.

The military government has faced a growing number of public protests in recent months, including a pro-democracy demonstration in Bangkok in March, demanding the military withdraw support for the ruling generals.

Last month, in one of the largest protests since the coup, more than 1,000 people defied the military ban on public gatherings and demonstrated in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai against the building of a government luxury housing project on forested land.Australia: Government refuses to ban live shipments during summer

Animal welfare groups are angry at the governments refusal after thousands of sheep died while being transported between Australia and the Middle East.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe appeared in court without a lawyer to face charge of spreading propaganda, her husband says.

A British-Iranian woman imprisoned in Iran has appeared in court to face a new charge of spreading propaganda against the government, according to her husband.

In a statement sent to Al Jazeera on Monday, Richard Ratcliffe said his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, denied the latest charge after being summoned to a court in the capital, Tehran, on Saturday.





Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a charity worker with the Thompson Reuters Foundation, is already serving a five-year jail term in Tehrans Evin Prison, after being convicted in 2016 for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Iranian government  allegations that she had vehemently denied.

Mizan, the news agency of Irans judiciary, also reported the hearing.

To Zaghari-Ratcliffe and her family, the new case is seen as a ploy to delay her release on parole, which has already been reportedly approved by the head of the prison.

According to a press statement issued by the Free Nazanin campaign group, she appeared in court without her lawyer present.

She was reportedly ordered to find a new lawyer within 10 days after the judge barred the existing one from entering the courtroom as he was not allowed to represent her on security cases.

During her court appearance, she was shown a file containing photos and press coverage of her detention, among other documents.

While she was not allowed to read it in detail, from that quick view she understood she was being prosecuted again with the same material that had been exaggerated and used to justify her first trial, the statement read.

Appeal for clemency

At the courtroom, Zaghari-Ratcliffe told the judge, identified as Abolghassem Salavati, that she had never been involved in overthrowing the regime.





I do think the government here needs to reform, but I have never been involved in any attempts to change the regime. I have my red lines with some of the political groups who want to be an alternative. I do not want to overthrow the regime, the statement quoted her as saying.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe had relayed the details of her appearance in court to her family and the new British Ambassador to Iran Robert Macaire, whom she met for 20 minutes on Sunday.

It was the first time she was allowed to contact the embassy in more than two years.

During her conversation with Macaire, she pleaded that he and the UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visit her in prison.

She also asked that the UK government file a formal diplomatic note protesting against the new charge against her, the Free Nazanin Campaign statement said.

The case presents another challenge for the British government, which has a long but complicated relationship with the Iranian government.

At Saturdays hearing, Zaghari-Ratcliffe appealed to the judge that she be granted temporary freedom to spend time with her daughter, who is turning four in June.

There is something called clemency. Give me that for the sake of my baby, Zaghari-Ratcliffe told the judge, according to the campaign groups statement.

The judge reportedly responded: Given your words, I will do my best to address your case quickly. We will attend to it on a priority basis, and I will talk to the prosecutor.Colombia dam: Residents say government ignored repeated warnings

Residents of the 12 villages threatened by a possible dam collapse are angry because their repeated warnings to the government about the project were ignored.Health staff working in the epicentre of the current outbreak are first to receive the immunisation, DRC officials say.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has launched an Ebola vaccination programme in a bid to stop the latest outbreak of the deadly viral disease from spreading.

The first wave of immunisations targetted healthcare staff in the northwest of the country who have had direct or indirect contact with infected patients, the DRC government said on Monday.

Alarm bells sounded last week after the outbreak, previously reported in a remote rural area of the country, notched up its first confirmed case in Mbandaka, a city of 1.2 million people, where three subsequent cases have been confirmed.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has dispatched 35 immunisation experts, including 16 mobilised during the last deadly outbreak in West Africa, which began in 2013. The rest of the team is made up of newly trained staff from the DRC.

More than 7,500 doses of the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine have been deployed in the effort, which is being funded by a variety of international organisations.

Vaccination will be key to controlling this outbreak, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, said in a statement on Monday.

A DRC government spokesperson said that additional donors had promised 300,000 doses of the vaccine, around 5,400 of which have already been received.

Along with frontline healthcare workers, family members and others who may have come in contact with the disease, including laboratory workers, surveillance teams and people responsible for burials will also receive the vaccine.

The programme attempts to control an outbreak by vaccinating and monitoring a ring of people around each infected individual.

Teams in the DRC are searching for those who may require the vaccine, with more than 600 people having been identified so far.

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While the vaccine is yet to be licensed, the WHO has secured special permissions to use it in response to this outbreak.

In a 2015 trial in Guinea, the vaccine was shown to be highly effective against Ebola, with no cases recorded nine days or more after the vaccination among the 5,837 people who received the vaccine.

Vaccination is essential in efforts to combat Ebola, which had no proven cure. The average fatality rate among those infected is about 50 percent, according to WHO.

The virus killed more than 11,300 people in West Africa from 2013 to 2016 as it swept through Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Meanwhile on Monday, Oly Ilunga, DRCs health minister, said a nurse has died from Ebola in Bikoro, the rural northwestern town where the outbreak began.

The nurses death brings the death toll to 27.

Despite concern around the outbreak, WHO said on Friday that it is not a global health emergency. For this classification to be given, a health crisis must threaten other countries via the international spread of disease, be serious, unusual or unexpected and require immediate international action for containment.The US Department of Justice has said it will investigate whether the FBI spied on Donald Trumps presidential campaign for political motives, following the US presidents call for an inquiry.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement late on Sunday.

Trump had demanded that the Justice Department look into possible infiltration or surveillance by the FBI or the DOJ itself of his 2016 campaign, stressing that it was essential to probe if someone from his predecessor Barack Obamas administration had ordered such a request.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!, the US president said on Twitter on Sunday morning.

The probe comes amid an ongoing investigation, headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, into alleged collusion between the Russian government and Trumps 2016 election campaign.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

In a series of tweets on Sunday, Trump criticised Muellers investigation, calling it a witch-hunt and asserting that it had not found any collusion with Russia.

No evidence

On May 17, Mueller was appointed by the US Justice Department to look into possible Russian interference into the 2016 US elections, which Trump won.

So far, the Mueller team has indicted a total of 22 people and companies.





Bruce Fein, a former US associate deputy attorney general, says there are valid reasons for the Russian investigation as too many people from Trumps campaign team associated with foreign officials.

He told Al Jazeera that Trumps suggestion that the FBI targeted his campaign because of hostility towards his political ambitions would be a real problem.

We dont have any evidence at present that suggests that the FBI actually infiltrated the campaign under false pretences, had somebody working for Trump and had access into getting confidential communication that wouldnt have been obtained if they werent part of the campaign itself, said Fein, speaking from Washington, DC.

Last year, the Republican president also accused Obama of tapping his phones during the late stages of the election campaign but offered no evidence to support the allegation.

Hes so reckless in his allegations that you cant even sift the wheat from the chaff, said Fein.

In November 2016, Trump defeated rival Hillary Clinton in an election tainted by an email scandal, following claims that the Democratic candidate used her private server while she was secretary of state.Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said the world would not accept US unilateralism just hours after Washington laid out a series of tough demands to be included in a potential new nuclear treaty with Iran.

In remarks carried by Irans ILNA news agency on Monday, Rouhani said the era of the United States making decisions for the rest of the world was over.

Countries are independent  We will continue our path with the support of our nation, Rouhani said.

Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?

Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump defied efforts by European allies and announced Washingtons withdrawal from a landmark multinational pact, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed with Iran in 2015 and a decision to impose harsh sanctions on Tehran.

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In announcing the new US strategy towards Iran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday warned that Washington will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime unless it complied with a list of 12 conditions, which must be met before any new deal can be reached.

The demands include giving the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) a full account of the countrys former nuclear military programme, withdrawing its forces from Syria and ending what Pompeo described as Irans threatening behaviour towards its neighbours.

Also responding to Pompeo, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif accused the US of a regression to old habits, saying Washingtons diplomatic efforts were a sham.

It repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards. Iran, meanwhile, is working with partners for post-US JCPOA solutions, Zarif said in a tweet on Monday.

US diplomacy sham is merely a regression to old habits: imprisoned by delusions & failed policiesdictated by corrupt Special Interestit repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards. Iran, meanwhile, is working with partners for post-US JCPOA solutions.  Javad Zarif (@JZarif) May 21, 2018

Political analyst Jamal Abdi said the US knew that Iran could never agree with such demands.

[Its a] smokescreen of We want to handle this diplomatically, but I think this is all about paving a path towards confronting Iran militarily  whether thats through covert action or an overt escalation in the region.

Pompeos comments were welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said the demands amounted to the only policy that could ultimately guarantee the security of the Middle East.

We call on the entire international community to join this American position, Netanyahu said on Monday.

Anwar Gargash, the United Arab Emirates minister of state for foreign affairs, also said Washington was taking the correct stance on Iran.

Uniting [our] efforts is the correct path for Iran to realize the futility of its incursions and expansionism  The Pompeo strategy requires wisdom and a change of the Iranian compass, Gargash said in a tweet on Monday.

EU diplomacy

Under the 2015 deal with six world powers  China, France, Russia, the UK, the US and Germany, as well as the European Union  Iran scaled back its enrichment of uranium and vowed not to pursue nuclear weapons in exchange for sanctions relief.





The IAEA repeatedly confirmed that Tehran has been meeting its nuclear commitments enshrined in the deal fully.

The spat comes after several European companies expressed concern about continuing business with Iran following the US exit, raising further doubts about the viability of the deal.

Danish shipping giant Maersk Tankers, German insurer Allianz and Italian steel manufacturer Danieli have all announced plans to halt, or wind down altogether, operations in the country.

French energy giant Total has also warned it will pull out of a multibillion-dollar project to develop Irans vast South Pars gas field unless granted a waiver by US authorities.

Despite recent efforts from EU leaders to safeguard the 2015 deal, Zarif has accused the bloc of not doing enough to preserve its future, saying it needs to take more practical strides and increase its investments in Iran if it is to continue its economic cooperation with the Islamic Republic [Iran].

Jumbo negotiation

Reacting to Pompeos comments, Boris Johnson  foreign secretary of the UK, which is party to the 2015 nuclear deal  said the jumbo negotiation sought by Washington would be extremely difficult to achieve within a reasonable timetable.

I think in the end, we will get back to the kind of additions to the JCPOA that we initially envisaged  but it may take a long time, Johnson said on Monday before a G20 foreign ministers summit in Argentina, at which discussions about the nuclear deal are expected to take place.

Britain has vowed to honour the 2015 agreement, which Johnson said had protected the world from an Iranian nuclear bomb, and in return [given] the Iranians some recognisable economic benefits.

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Federica Mogherini, the European Unions foreign policy chief, told reporters later on Monday there is no alternative to the deal.

On Thursday, the European Commission said it would launch the process of activating a law that bans European companies and courts from complying with US sanctions against Iran.

Jean Claude Juncker, the commissions president, said it has a duty to protect European companies from Washingtons punitive fiscal measures.

The options being considered by the bloc to keep Tehran in the nuclear deal reportedly include new credit lines, increased energy cooperation and implementing EU laws to block European firms from caving in to US sanctions.

EU trade with Iran has increased dramatically since the sanctions on its economy were lifted as part of the 2015 deal.

Last year, trade between the bloc and Iran totalled over 20bn euro ($23.5bn), with most exports being machinery and transport goods and the majority of imports being energy-related products.Life in Gaza: Palestinians struggle to survive

In the midst of the economic struggle to survive, Palestinians in Gaza are dealing with a mental health crisis as new traumas compound old ones.President of Palestinian Authority expected to stay several more days in hospital, official says after visiting him.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is suffering from pneumonia but his condition is improving, according to officials who visited him in hospital.

Ahmad Tibi, an Arab member of the Knesset, said on Monday that he paid a visit to the 82-year-old leader at a hospital in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

He suffers from pneumonia and is treated with antibiotics, Tibi, who is also a doctor, wrote on Twitter.

Noting that Abbass condition had markedly improved, Tibi added: He will spend several more days in the hospital. We discussed several political issues.

Abbas was hospitalised on Sunday with a high fever, his third admission in a week.

Appearing on official media, Saed Sarahna, the head of the Istishari Arab Hospital, said Abbas had an infection in his right lung.

He was given the necessary treatment and is now recovering, Sarahna said.

Very good health

Pictures of Abbas walking around the wards and reading a newspaper were also published, in an apparent attempt to calm speculation that his condition was critical.

Official media said he had spoken to a number of regional politicians to assure them of his health.

Senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat spent several hours with Abbas on Monday and said he was in very good health.

Hes recovering and doctors expect him to leave the hospital within the coming two days, Erekat said.

Abbas underwent minor ear surgery on Tuesday and was released a few hours later and admitted to hospital briefly again on Friday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

A heavy smoker, Abbas has a long history of health issues, ranging from heart trouble to a bout with prostate cancer a decade ago.

He has not designated a successor, and the Palestinians have not held presidential elections since 2005 because of the split between Abbas Fatah party and Hamas, which rules Gaza.A court in Malta has rejected a request that would have prevented FBI agents from testifying in pre-trial proceedings in the murder case of a prominent investigative journalist.

Judge Lorraine Schembri Orland dismissed on Monday an attempt by Alfred Degiorgio  who, along with two others, is accused of killing Daphne Caruana Galizia  to stop the FBI from giving evidence in the case.

Caruana Galizia was killed on October 16 after a bomb exploded in her car as she drove away from her home in Mosta, a small town outside the capital, Valletta. She was 53.

American FBI agents along with Dutch forensic experts have been helping Maltese authorities to solve the case.

Degiorgios lawyer argued that his clients rights would be prejudiced if foreign experts were allowed to testify because they had worked with Martin Bajada, a court-appointed information-technology expert who was convicted of theft and fraud in the 1990s.

Dr Bajada should never have been appointed in the first place and should never have been allowed to work alongside the FBI experts, Degiorgios lawyer said.





In her ruling on Monday, Judge Schembri Orland said: Apart from the fact that the public nature of the judicial process is in itself a guarantee of a fair hearing, this complaint has nothing to do with the context of this case and is therefore simply frivolous and vexatious.

There is nothing in the request that induces this court to conclude that there is an imminent risk that the investigators are not going to testify on the data they gathered and give their conclusions and evaluations.

Caruana Galizias death sent shockwaves throughout the small island country and prompted international condemnation.

She was well-known for her popular blog, Running Commentary, where she highlighted alleged high-level corruption by politicians across party lines.

Caruana Galizia also covered criminal gangs and drug trafficking and was responsible for exposing Maltas links with the so-called Panama Papers document leak.

The FBI is due to give evidence in the case on Tuesday.Has a Trump Middle East doctrine emerged?

ByParaguay is the second country to follow the US in moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Paraguay has opened its Israel embassy in Jerusalem, the second country to follow the United States in making the politically sensitive move from Tel Aviv.

Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the inauguration ceremony on Monday.

The US relocated its embassy to Jerusalem a week ago, drawing Palestinian and international anger. Its move was followed by Guatemala on Wednesday.

Palestinian leaders see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and have said that US President Donald Trumps move disqualifies Washingtons as a peace mediator.

Previous US presidents, as well as nearly every other country, refrained from opening embassies in Jerusalem, arguing that the citys final status should first be resolved through Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Later on Monday, Saeb Erekat, secretary general of the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), condemned the opening of the Paraguayan embassy in Jerusalem.

We have witnessed today how the Paraguayan president is an irresponsible political leader by defying international law and the achievement of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, he said in a statement.

Erekat also called the Arab world to boycott countries that relocate their embassies to Jerusalem.Army and its allies have battled for weeks to recapture tiny ISIL-held enclave in south of Damascus.

Syrias army has pushed the last ISIL fighters out of the al-Hajar al-Aswad district south of Damascus, Syrian state TV said on Monday.

The Syrian army and its allies have been battling Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) fighters for weeks to recapture a tiny enclave in al-Hajar al-Aswad and the adjacent Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, the last area outside government control in or around the capital.

State TV broadcast footage of the shattered area and said air strikes were targeting the last terrorist remnants in the area after reporting earlier that a temporary humanitarian ceasefire had been in place since Sunday night.

On Sunday, activists said fighters had begun withdrawing from the area towards ISIL-controlled territory in eastern Syria under a ceasefire deal, but state media said fighting continued.

The armed group had controlled the tiny pocket in south Damascus and two besieged desert areas in eastern Syria, while another armed group that has pledged loyalty to it holds a small enclave in the southwest.

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Yarmouk was the largest Palestinian camp in Syria and was put under crippling government siege in 2012  making it one of the longest besiegements of Syrias war.

During the siege, its 160,000-strong population dwindled to just several hundred people.

Last year, ISIL fighters and relatives were evacuated from an area on the Lebanese-Syrian border under a deal between IS on one side, and Syrian government and its powerful Lebanese ally Hezbollah on the other.

The Damascus government was fiercely criticised over the agreement, which also enraged the US-led coalition carrying out air strikes against ISIL in Syria since 2014.

The coalition sent airplanes to shadow last years convoy, conducting bombing raids to block it from reaching ISIL-held territory.

Before launching its anti-ISIL push in Yarmouk, Syrias government managed to clear out other rebels from the area with military drives and evacuation deals.

Since the start of Syrias war, more than 465,000 Syrians have been killed in the fighting, over a million injured, and over 12 million  half the countrys prewar population  have been displaced.Thai coup anniversary: Protests expected against military

Growing frustration with military rule is expected to lead to street protests, in spite of strict laws imposed by the government.President Pierre Nkurunziza could now run for two more terms after vote decried by opposition as foregone conclusion.

Voters in Burundi have backed constitutional amendments that coud potentially allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to stay in office until 2034 as well as boost his powers.

Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye, election commission chief, said 73 percent of voters had voted Yes in the referendum to change the constitution, including whether the current five-year-presidential terms will be increased to seven years. No change to the limit of two terms in office was proposed.

Nineteen percent voted No, with a turnout of 96 percent. More than five million people had registered to vote in the referendum on May 17, according to officials

The new document also scraps one of the countrys two constitutionally enshrined vice presidents and shift a number of powers away from the government to the president.

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Before the vote, the opposition had decried it as an undemocratic foregone conclusion.

On Saturday, Agathon Rwasa, head of the Amizero yAbarundi bloc and one of the few opposition leaders still in the country, alleged that government forces had arrested perceived opponents ahead of the ballot and threatened to assassinate those who voted against amending the constitution.

We will not accept the outcome of this referendum because it is a fantasy, he said.

Challenge in court

In an interview with Al Jazeera before the announcement of the result, Rwasa said there was clear proof of rigging.

In many polling stations many administratives could go in with some ballot papers which were either filled or to be filled, Rwasa said.

Many more had about 15 bags and even more. I just mentioned the case in the polling station where, according to the electoral vote, no polling bureau could go beyond 500 people.





But [for] this one, they registered more than 600 votes. What does it mean if this is not a proof of rigging? Rwasa asked.

Al Jazeeras Catherine Soi, reporting from the capital, Bujumbura, said that Rwasa plans to file a petition in court within three days. The constitutional court has another eight days to listen to the petition and make a ruling.

Soi said than even Rwasa does not appear to be confident about getting justice through the court system, he still plans to file the petition to make a statement and show that the opposition is unhappy with these results, that this was a sham and there were a lot of irregularities, Soi said.

The opposition are really upset, saying that this is really a way for the president to try to hang onto power, she added.

Widespread abuse, fear and pressure

Before the vote, human rights groups said the campaign period had been marked by intimidation and abuse.

And after the ballot, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said at least 15 people opposing the referendum had been killed, while six others were raped and eight abducted.

The full scale of abuse is likely significantly higher, HRW said on Friday, with many victims and witnesses unwilling or unable to report abuses.

Ida Sawyer, HRWs central Africa director, said the vote had taken place amid widespread abuse, fear and pressure  a climate that is clearly not conducive to free choice.

But Willy Nyamitwe, Nkurunzizas presidential spokesman, praised the peace in which the ballot was held.

Political and security crisis

The referendum came three years after Nkurunziza won a controversial third term as president during a 2015 election, which was boycotted by the opposition.

Nkurunziza first came to power in 2005, five years after the signing of a nationwide peace deal known as the Arusha Accords, which paved the way for the ending of a 12-year-long civil war that saw more than 300,000 people killed.

According to a provision in the peace deal, no leader could serve more than two five-year terms.

But in early 2015, Nkurunziza claimed it was legal for him to run in the elections because for his first term he had been appointed to the presidency by parliament  as opposed to being voted in.

A political crisis ensued, with the opposition calling Nkurunzizas bid unconstitutional. An attempted coup was quashed, while a crackdown on anti-government protests resulted in the killing of at least 1,200 people.

More than 400,000 others, including opposition leaders, fled the country.

As well as allowing Nkurunziza to prolong his rule, the approved changes to Burundis constitution also allow the revision of ethnic quotas currently protected under the accords.On International Day of the Disappeared, experts describe the plight of those who have gone missing and their families."Islamophobic Muslims"? Such is the surreal conclusion of the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (IPSU)'s 2018 American Muslim Poll, which was presented before about forty at Washington, D.C.'s National Press Club on May 1. This piece of propaganda attempts to downplay uncomfortable realities recognized by American Muslims themselves.

Advising the report's authors was Islamism apologist John Esposito, founding director of Georgetown University's Saudi-funded Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), ISPU's partner in the study. The ACMCU's "Islamophobia"-fighting Bridge Initiative funded the survey and its new "Islamophobia Index." Bridge Initiative senior research fellow Arsalan Iftikhar, formerly of the Hamas-derived Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), attended the panel event, as did Imad-ad-Dean Ahmad, the CATO Institute's "libertarian for sharia."

ISPU director of research and Esposito protege Dalia Mogahed entered the realm of sheer fantasy in discussing the report's findings on Muslims and violence. She highlighted the report's outdated, ludicrous claim that "[m]ost American terrorist fatalities are at the hands of white supremacists." America's steady death toll from jihadists has clearly refuted this canard.

Mogahed offered a flagrantly misleading assessment of the poll statement "Most Muslims living in the United States are more prone to violence than other people." She fretted over this claim receiving high approval from Muslims themselves (18 percent agreeing), surpassed only by white evangelicals at 23 percent, while the general public averaged 13 percent. The report baselessly attributes such welcome self-criticism to media "dehumanization of Muslims," resulting in "internalized stigmatization" and the aforementioned "Islamophobic Muslims."

Similarly, the report claims absurdly that "like everyone else, American Muslims are getting their perception of Muslims and violence from the media, not personal experience." Mogahed embraced this thesis without any acknowledgment that radical mosque sermons, local jihadists gone abroad to fight, and conflicts throughout the Middle East might influence American Muslims. These and other possible factors obviate the report's equally irrational claim that "[s]ince there are several million American Muslims, the probability that a member of the community actually knows someone personally involved in violence is next to zero."

Mogahed ignored inconvenient survey results. "I believe my faith community is more prone to negative behavior than other faith communities" received 30 percent approval from American Muslims but only 11 percent from the general public. Likewise, 8 percent of Muslims, as opposed to 6 percent in the general public, approved of the statement "Most Muslims living in the United States are less civilized than other people." Both 12 percent of Muslims and the general public agreed with the statement "Most Muslims living in the United States are hostile to the United States."

These findings contradict the report's more positive claims. "Muslims tended to rate the community more positively on topics that can be assessed from personal experience (such as whether or not Muslims discriminate against women or are hostile to the U.S.)," the report states. The results showing Muslims embracing women's equality raise questions over whether Muslims see matters like polygamy as a form of "less civilized" or "negative behavior."

Additionally, some of the survey questions presuppose anti-Muslim animus. In discussing questions that focus on a "ban on visas to Muslims wanting to enter the United States," Mogahed noted that the report recognizes this proposal as a "stronger variant of the proposed legislation" under President Donald Trump. Similarly, the survey asks about views on a "surveillance program targeting mosques in the US," a broad statement that omits the radical mosques the public might want surveilled.

Mogahed's fellow panelists raised no such concerns, but rather, like Georgetown University adjunct professor Mehdi Hasan, decried an "ongoing casual normalization of Islamophobia at the highest levels of U.S. politics and the media." He focused on Trump's recent appointments of John Bolton and Mike Pompeo as national security adviser and secretary of state, respectively. Both "are card-carrying Islamophobes" he maintained, citing groups like the leftist slander machine Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Even worse, Hasan compared Pompeo to an "open anti-Semite or Holocaust denier."

Esposito also bashed Pompeo, stating arrogantly that "even trying to figure it out how he made it to the CIA is incredible." People from Pompeo's home state of Kansas allegedly told Esposito that the new secretary of state "is to the right of Attila [the] Hun." Meanwhile, Esposito had "no doubt" that any Trump impeachment would cause street violence among white supremacist groups.

White supremacists also dominated the thinking of the George Soros-supported religious left leader Jim Wallis, who defamed Christian conservatives as racists with no credible political views. In the 1980s, "Republican far-right operatives whose movement was steeped in racism ... took over the white evangelical world" and created the "religious right." Likewise, Trump "objectively is antithetical to the ethics of Jesus Christ," Wallis declared.

ISPU's flawed report nevertheless documents American Muslims raising alarms about disturbing trends within their own community. Yet, true to form, Esposito, Mogahed, and the other panelists purposefully buried the lede in order to promote the victimology of "Islamophobia." While Hasan praised ISPU's report as a counter to a "post-truth, alternative fact era," other commentators have already dismissed this poll, noting Esposito's and Mogahed's past attempts to skew statistics to support their apologias for Islamism. Both the poll and the panelists' efforts to spin it are typical of the politicized, biased world of Middle East studies, where intellectually corrupt scholarship is common currency.

Andrew E. Harrod is a Campus Watch fellow, freelance researcher, and writer who holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and a J.D. from George Washington University Law School. He is a fellow with the Lawfare Project. Follow him on Twitter at @AEHarrod.

Image: Flapane via Wikimedia Commons."Don't let's be beastly to the Germans. Their Bach is really far worse than their bite," sang Noel Coward in his song written in war-torn Britain in 1943. His parody, a personal favorite of Winston Churchill, was directed against those who took what he thought was a too tolerant view of Britain's "enemies." The complex problem of Germany is illustrated by the fact that the song, after being initially played on the BBC, was quickly withdrawn.

In his speech on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10, 1986, Elie Wiesel commented, "We must always take sides. Silence encourages the tormentor, not the tormented." Germany has been haunted by both the actions and the silence of citizens in its 20th-century history. Is Germany to be seen as cruel and barbaric, typified by the Nazi regime and the brutalities of the communist Stasi tyranny in East Germany, or as the land of civility, creativity, philosophy, and music?

The controversial issues remain: what did Germans know of the terror, the discrimination, and the Holocaust by Nazi Germany? Did they approve, oppose, or remain silent?

For 70 years, a variety of answers have been given by analysts, politicians , and others on these issues. On January 25, 2005, Gerhard Schroder, then-German chancellor, expressed his shame that ordinary Germans were responsible for the Holocaust. The Nazi ideology was carried out by people. The memory of Nazi genocide is part of German national identity, and Germans have a moral obligation to remember the crimes and to remain vigilant so that the horrors of Auschwitz are never repeated. Three years later, in January 2006, the Deutsche Bahn, Germany's state rail company, admitted its central role in the Holocaust by transporting millions to their death in extermination camps, even charging adults and children over four a fee to do so.

The predicament of an ordinary person caught up in extraordinary circumstances is exemplified in Germany in an influential 1993 book, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution by Christopher Browning, with its account of average, middle-aged policemen, not committed Nazis or fanatics, who became cold-blooded killers of 38,000 Jews in Poland. The members had a choice of whether to carry out orders to massacre the Jews and participate in the Holocaust. Only 15 of the 500 in the battalion refused to do so.

Twenty-five years later, the issue of individual decisions and the disruptions of the lives of citizens in Germany is the subject of Broken Lives: How Ordinary Germans Experienced the 20th Century (Princeton University Press, 2018) by Konrad H. Jarausch, a German-born professor at the University of North Carolina. Not a history from above, his work is based on autobiographies and memoirs of a cohort of people born in the 1920s who became adults during the Nazi regime and lived to see the reunification of the country and the political and economic recovery in present-day democratic Germany. "The ordinary people" include people from all social classes, from various geographical regions, and from different religious perspectives, struggling to lead normal lives in a setting of forces threatening death and destruction.

The autobiographies blend experiences and memories, selective, biased, and incomplete, yet engrossing in showing how earlier experiences are remembered and reflecting the human drama of the German 20th century. Jarausch weaves in his comments on these stories and his own lucid and objective analysis of historical events, from Imperial Germany through Weimar, the Nazi regime, and the communist German Democratic Republic, and on the present Federal Republic of Germany.

As the title of the book suggests, Germans overwhelmingly experienced broken lives, a mixture of suffering and happiness, in the 20th century. In their narratives, the central vortex is the Nazi dictatorship, World War II, and the Holocaust. All disclaim any personal responsibility. They tell of terror at home and at the military front, life in bomb shelters, mass rape, flight and expulsion due to German aggression. They express a variety of points of view: some were apolitical; some knew nothing of the atrocities or of the number and purpose of concentration camps; some were " intellectual resisters"; some spoke warmly of fun and games in the Hitler Jugend but also of misplaced idealism. Many were patriotic and took pride in the initial German military victories, but as the war dragged on, especially after Stalingrad, they began to question the purpose of "Hitler's war." Those who lived in the communist GDR defended socialism as an ideal while critical of the practices of the regime.

Yet the crux of these versions of "communicative memory," trying to make sense of personal fate, is largely apologetic. There are tales of common suffering and of both physical and psychological difficulties. They focus mainly on German victimhood but fail to fully describe Nazi crimes. The world has heard that song before; it's from an old familiar score.

The stories tend to resort to standard excuses or explanations of Nazi behavior: the unfair treatment of Germany by the Allies after World War I, the "shameful" Versailles Treaty, the humiliation of the country, the considerable unemployment, the loss of territory in and beyond Europe, the ineffective and changing governments in Weimar, and the "stab in the back" that was responsible for Germany's defeat in World War I. Above all, the stories make a distinction between Nazi leaders who were the perpetrators and those who followed orders and did not act out of personal motivation.

In the range of stated reactions to the Nazi regime and the issue of nationhood, some narratives express contrition for the tellers' behavior, but the one most difficult to find is that of any expressed dedication or fanatical support for the Nazis. Some accepted the Goebbels propaganda that the concentration camps were corrective institutions or for self-defense. Others confessed ignorance because of the supposed secrecy surrounding the atrocities.

This memory culture of victimization persisted for some time in the postwar period. It lessened for a number of reasons. This was partly due to the anti-Nazi record and stance of postwar politicians, starting with federal chancellor Konrad Adenauer and President Theodor Heuss. It was partly the result of revelations of the Holocaust in court cases  in Ulm in 1959, when ten members of the Gestapo were convicted of the murders of 5,000 Jews in West Lithuania, and in the series of trials in Frankfurt, 1963-65, of 22 S.S. charged with their role in crimes in Auschwitz-Birkenau and sub-camps. The change was partly influenced by critical media, TV series, and literature, like that of Peter Weiss and Gunter Grass.

It remains true that Nazi crimes were rarely mentioned in the 1950s. Only 789 of the 6,500 who were S.S. officials at Auschwitz were ever brought to trial, and those who were convicted usually got light sentences or were not sentenced. The German judiciary was slow to punish those directly involved in the Holocaust. One legal problem is that the offenders had to be linked to specific murders.

Jarausch concludes that from the perspective of ordinary people, German history in the 20th century reveals a shift from catastrophe to civility. If Germans are still troubled by memories or allegations of individual and collective responsibility, today they are chastened. One hopes this optimistic picture is and will remain correct, but the increase in anti-Semitism in recent years in the country suggests caution, since detours may lie ahead.

Image: Heinz Bunse via Flickr.Oh, what a tangled web we weave... when first we practice to deceive.

This quote is attributed to Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish historian and novelist. Too bad he wasnt available for a sermon at the royal wedding this past weekend, rather than social justice preacher Bishop Michael Curry. The House of Windsor certainly wove a tangled web over the decades.

The Deep State has been weaving its own tangled web of Russian collusion for the past two years beginning with Russia supposedly hacking the 2016 election, creating the electoral outcome they desired. It has since morphed into Trump colluding with the Russians, despite zero proof on the one-year anniversary of Special Counsel Robert Muellers free-for-all investigation by his merry band of partisan Democrats.

Its now to the point that Muellers team is investigating anyone in Trumps circle who ever ate a bowl of borscht or drank a sip of Russian vodka. At a time when this couldnt get any more ridiculous, look no further than the Washington Post for a version of can you top this?

A few days ago, the WaPo published an opinion piece entitled, The FBI didnt use an informant to go after Trump. They used one to protect him.

Sure, they did. I cant wait to read from the WaPo how Iran wants nukes to protect Israel or that that sanctuary cities are for the protection of legal, law-abiding residents of those cities.

The Trump piece was written by Asha Rangappa, a former FBI agent and Yale graduate. Thats two strikes against her already. The Clintons are Yale graduates and James Comey is a former FBI agent. I rest my case.

Her piece comes on the heels of revelations that the FBI had an informant spying on Trumps 2016 presidential campaign. Remember that Watergate was about a bungled burglary of DNC headquarters. Having a mole within the DNC would have been beyond Nixons wildest dreams. Yet this is just what the FBI did to Trump.

Former Agent Rangappa knows better however, As a former FBI counterintelligence agent, I know what Trump apparently does not: Counterintelligence investigations have a different purpose than their criminal counterparts. Then why was a special counsel appointed? Their mandate is to investigate crimes, not perform counterintelligence. She did not explain this glaring contradiction.

Why was the FBI spying on an opposition candidate? As reported by the NY Times, The FBI had already identified at least four members of the Trump campaign with significant ties to or contacts with Russian intelligence. Really? In fact, an FBI operative invited a low-level Trump campaign volunteer to London, paid him for his trip, then fed him bogus information about the Russians hacking Hillary Clintons email.

When the volunteer later had a bit too much to drink and repeated what he had been told by the FBI operative to an Australian ambassador and Clinton Foundation donor, that apparently started the FBI investigation. Rush Limbaugh gave a detailed summary of how this played out.

Rangappa justifies this by criticizing, Accusations that the FBI was spying on the Trump campaign -- rather than spying on foreign spies. Which in fact is exactly what the FBI was doing. In all of these stories, why arent any Russians mentioned? It seems that only Trump campaign aides -- Papadopoulos, Page, and Manafort -- are the ones being investigated. It sure seems as if the FBI was spying only on the Trump campaign, not on any Russians.

Does the FBI investigate organized crime by spying on ordinary citizens not connected to the criminal enterprises? Rather than investigating the actual criminals? That is what we are being told.

The exception being one of the Russian companies indicted by Team Mueller that didnt even exist as a company at the time of alleged criminal activity. Another Russian company is ready to defend itself against Muellers indictment, catching Mueller and his team flatfooted and unprepared for discovery and a trial. Special Counsel or Keystone Cops?

Rangappa concludes that Trump, Should be glad to know that the FBI appears to have been trying to thwart a hostile countrys efforts to infiltrate his campaign. Sure thing.

They are protecting Trump by indicting his associates, squeezing them to rat out Trump, leaking to the media, withholding exculpatory evidence, and so on. This must be 15-dimensional chess that the FBI is playing, thwarting the Russians by spying on the Trump campaign, transition, and administration, trying first to prevent his election, then cripple his transition, and when both of those attempts failed, destroy his presidency, all under the guise of protecting him.

Trump is hitting back, and hard, using his weapon of choice, Twitter.

What the former FBI agent doesnt realize is that she inadvertently gave Trump the green light to do the same to his 2020 electoral opponent. Trump can use his FBI, CIA, and DOJ to protect his Democrat opponent by inserting a spy into their campaign.

It would be easy enough to do. Bernie Sanders spent his honeymoon in the Soviet Union, providing justification to allege Russian collusion and influence. Hillary Clinton and her husband received plenty of money from the Russian government, again a good reason to investigate if the Russians are meddling in her campaign. Joe Bidens son made a billion-dollar deal with China after Joe took a trip there, so China may be meddling in Joes presidential campaign.

If any of these three run for president in 2020, using former FBI Agent Rangappas reasoning, Trumps FBI has a legal and ethical duty to spy on their campaigns, to protect the campaign, not undermine it.

See what a tangled web the deep state is weaving? They have handed Trump the keys to the kingdom, providing precedent and justification to do to his next opponent what was done to him and his campaign. And future presidential campaigns as well. The Banana States of America.

All because of Obama and his administrations tangled web and practice to deceive.

Brian C Joondeph, MD, MPS, a Denver based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.We live in a society in which addiction to one vice or another is a persistent problem that seems immune to cure. The most dangerous addiction is not drugs or pornography or drugs or sex, but victimhood. The Orwellian disintegration of language has created the impression that there is something ennobling or virtuous in being a victim. Martyrs are virtuous and noble, but victims are just as likely to be bad as good.

That is a relatively minor concern. Much more serious is crowning whole classes of people as "victims" and insisting that this notional victimhood entitles them to special consideration from society. The evil this creates dwarfs any imagined harm done to these groups of people. Indeed, every great evil of our time has been done in the name of that horrific monstrosity "social justice" on behalf of presumed groups of victims.

All social justice is, of course, pure injustice, because all justice is individual and personal. So tipping the scales of justice in favor of women or blacks is always wicked and vile, because it encourages immorality by the official "victims," and it punishes the innocent and the guilty in the official "victimizer" groups. No one judged by the standards of the grisly horror of social justice has any incentive to behave properly.

Even worse, victimhood addiction reduces the official "victims" to a whimpering puddle of protoplasm that increasingly over time blames all its problems on more and more sinister phantasms of ogres and constructs its arguments into sillier and more pathetic grievances. If tomorrow these official "victims" were told that the problems related to their imagined victimhood had been solved, they would be forced to look in horror at the life they had made for themselves, so utterly dependent upon eternal and immutable victimhood.

Just as bad, the crutch of victimhood must be supported by a vast array of well paid cadres whose whole economic livelihood depends upon never permitting the "victims" into confidence, happiness, and self-reliance.

These cadres cannot even permit themselves privately to grasp the crippling effects of their "advocacy," and they can never, ever grasp the despicable treatment they insist be meted out to official "victimizer" classes, because the numbers of human lives they destroy this way and the pain they cause by their "advocacy, education, empowerment"...blah, blah, blah, is truly monstrous. This increasingly drives so-called academic research and government statistics, which are generated with no real controls or scrutiny as long as they perpetuate the particular victimhood in question.

Does this sound extreme? Consider the political movement most passionately dedicated to protecting official "victims" and punishing official "victimizers": the National Socialist German Workers Party. Hitler and virtually all the Nazi leaders spoke often and passionately about the victimization of the German people by the Allied Powers, by the Bolsheviks, and most of all by the Jews.

Hitler was said to have wept for the cause of "social justice." This Nazi victimhood addiction morphed into greater and greater nightmares, culminating in the Holocaust. Mussolini was just as closely tied to social justice as Hitler but with the important difference that Mussolini had only a vague and amorphous "victimizing" class, the "rich," and fascists were not remotely as heinous as the Nazis. Stalin made kulaks the victimizers of less successful farmers, leading to the Holodomor, which claimed an estimated 7 million lives.

The more innocents the Nazis and Soviets murdered, the more deeply invested both these totalitarian regimes became in the holiness of their social justice jihads. Indeed, the more innocents are murdered, the more pressing the need to find other groups to fill the role of official "victimizers."

Is there a cure for victimhood addiction? Nearly all of us have loved ones consumed by this addiction, so we ought to fondly hope that a real cure exists, but it is hard to see how the petulant and infantile brats raised on the noxious milk of social justice and official victimhood could ever be persuaded to see the radical treatment needed for that cure.

This particular emotional and cognitive heroin is a habit harder to break than anything we can imagine. Withdrawal back into the real world, in which men and women, whites and blacks, rich and poor are judged based upon individual worth must be awful, but the soul-destroying addiction of victimhood is worse.

Image: Eye-designs via Wikimedia Commons.A few months back, a friend shared a video on social media showing the frightening practice of "bride-napping." It is still popular in various parts of the world, particularly in the former Soviet republics of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The friend's post included a tagline about how men kidnap women in many parts of the world and force them to marry.

As I watched the video, it struck me that men alone were not engaged in the entrapment. Female relatives actively assisted the "grooms." The men would grab the women, and then a mob of female relatives would hold her hostage in a room to force her into the ceremony through a chaotic mix of threats and sweet, cajoling voices.

A Western feminist might argue that the women do this under male pressure. But why presume that a groom's mother, eager for a daughter-in-law to take over the housework and provide her with grandchildren in her old age, would not encourage her son? After all, in Kyrgyzstan, the abductor's grandmothers invoke a curse on the bride if she rejects him. In the words of one abducted bride, "I couldn't leave also because if his two grandmothers cursed me, I could never get married again."

When discussing female oppression throughout the world, Westerners rarely discuss the role that women, particularly older women, play in "perpetuating patriarchy." Western feminists speak as though females are devoid of personal agency. Such a way of thinking denies reality and leads to wasteful and ineffective "solutions" to real-world problems.

Perhaps one of the best examples of such waste is in the fight against female genital mutilation. In African cultures, the grandmothers of the community enforce the practice and shame children or grandchildren who resist. Even when men protest, the women override them. In the 1980s, celebrity supermodel Iman described how her grandmother forced her to be cut in Somalia against her father's wishes. A notorious historical case of women overriding male attempts to ban the practice came out of the Meru tribe of Kenya in the 1950s. When male elders of the tribe banned female genital mutilation in 1956, the women of the village grabbed their own razors and cut themselves.

Prominent African women have justified FGM on matriarchal grounds. Dr. Fuambai Ahmadu, a University of Chicago fellow from Sierra Leone, argues that African women who embrace FGM "embrace the legitimacy of female authority and particularly the authority of their mothers and grandmothers."

Yet for too long, feminists, with notable exceptions such as Germaine Greer, failed to acknowledge the anthropology of this practice. NGOs wasted money on futile efforts that insufficiently addressed its cultural roots.

The role of women in perpetuating customs of this type can be seen throughout history, from foot-binding to ancient systems of concubinage and polygamy. Therefore, we should not be surprised that a higher number of female than male Muslims in France favor a full-face covering for women. Nor is it shocking when a modern British female academic argues for legal recognition of polygamy. Polygamy is disastrous for children, but it does enable mothers to be the more exclusive object of their children's affection. Freud could have a field day analyzing a polygamous household.

Khaled Hosseini's novel about polygamy in Afghanistan, A Thousand Splendid Suns, imagines an ending where the two wives in the polygamous union work together to fight back against the home's patriarch. Hosseini probably hopes that if women could unite and gain more societal power, polygamy would be a thing of the past. Actually, women in polygamous societies do find a way to gain more power, but it's often by doing things like killing another wife's children.

A more accurate rendering of how women interact in polygamous communities is found in the classic Chinese film Raise the Red Lantern. It is a journey through intense psychological realism as concubines plot different ways to undermine or eliminate their rivals. Any woman who survived the seventh grade will recognize the female character who most successfully destroys the others. If you do not have time to watch a film, then just go back to the Old Testament and read about Sarah and Hagar.

Why do few female scholars publicly discuss female-on-female oppression? Perhaps they worry that acknowledging our internal battles would reduce our power. But women need not fear such a loss. From the perspective of evolutionary biology, female power is innately secure. Boys are emotionally tied to women from the womb. The last word of dying soldiers on battlefields is usually some variation of "mommy." If activists really want to overturn patriarchal structures, it would probably be more useful to look at how enmeshed the relationship is between mothers and sons in a particular culture than to look at men alone. (This is especially true in the aforementioned polygamous societies, where the father is a more distant figure and the relationship between mother and son is more deeply entwined.)

Furthermore, women have a determinative influence on social structures because we are the gatekeepers of sex. Men must ultimately meet female societal expectations if they are to hope to have a mate.

Yet few female voices want to delve into the ways women wield power in misogynistic systems. Rare Western writers like Phyllis Chesler, author of the classic Women's Inhumanity to Women, bluntly acknowledge it. Chesler acknowledges it because she survived tyranny as a new bride in Afghanistan, including manipulation at the hands of her female in-laws.

The Western world is not immune from the reality of women oppressing women. Recently in The Atlantic, writer Olga Khazan dared to broach the question of why some powerful women bully rather than encourage other women within corporate structures. Khazan admitted that even asking such a question appalled a number of the women she spoke to. Yet to address oppression in any cultural context, we need to talk about the ways in which older or more influential women uphold practices that are harmful to younger ones.

Looking globally, we cannot ignore matriarchal control within the domestic cultural sphere. For example, Westerners too often assume that a woman is under the rule of her husband when she marries in a "male-dominated" society. It's more complicated than that. Often, she is under the rule of the husband and the mother-in-law. The mother-in-law's authoritarianism can be more controlling than the husband's. In addition, the husband is deeply susceptible to the emotional rule of his mother. If he allows his wife more freedom, he faces intense maternal guilt.

A true test of whether a society is authentically open to positive change lies not merely in whether men are willing to accept or embrace female advancement, but whether older women are, too.

A fine example of such potential for positive reform could be seen during last year's protests in Iran. Protest footage included video of both young and elderly women in the chador, publicly showing solidarity with women who chose to take off their hijabs.

If such footage is reflective of what is really happening behind the scenes in Persian culture, there may be hope for Iran. And if anybody were to actively engage the question in other cultural contexts, we could likely find other places to feel optimistic. If not, at least we could honestly address causes of female subjugation by taking into account the behavior of both sexes.Back in December 1972, Nicaragua was hit by a horrible earthquake. It killed 10,000 people, devastated villages, and may have been the beginning of the end of Somoza's reign. The damage exposed the corruption and inefficiencies of the regime.

A couple of days ago, an air crash in Cuba killed 100 people and exposed some serious problems in the Castro regime.

My good Cuban friend, Dr. Carlos Eire, brought this item to my attention:

Cuba's problems have gotten so bad that, a few weeks ago, the country grounded most of its domestic flights because of safety concerns over its fleet. To continue flying, officials have been forced to lease planes from foreign outfits that sometimes use decades-old planes, like the one that crashed and burned right after takeoff on Friday, killing nearly everyone on board. The old Boeing 737 had been leased to Cubana de Aviacion, the state airline, by a relatively unknown Mexican company with just three aircraft in its fleet. Some aviation industry analysts were taken aback at the plane's advanced age. "That's one of the oldest passenger jets I have heard of that is still in service," said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of the Teal Group, an aviation and aerospace consulting company in Fairfax, Va. "Whether the airline is going to survive is an open question," said George Farinas, a retired Delta pilot who works as a civil aviation inspector and is writing a book about the history of Cubana de Aviacion. "They are in a major crisis right now."

No kidding.

Let me add a couple of personal references.

A few years ago, I was in Mexico for Christmas and met a man who flew commercial flights. He told me that many Mexicans refuse to work for "Cubana," the once private airline and now another state company. He said Cuba is not up to date on maintenance.

Just yesterday, a Canadian friend, who is familiar with Cuba, told me it's the end of tourism. "What foreigner is going to fly on a Cuban domestic flight?" he said.

We don't want to politicize a terrible tragedy, and we pray for the families. Nevertheless, there is a legitimate question: can Cuba maintain commercial flights? The answer is, not well enough to get on a plane.

Update (hat tip: Bryan Demko) from ABC News:

The Mexican charter company whose 39-year-old plane crashed in Havana had been the subject of two serious complaints about its crews' performance over the last decade, according to authorities in Guyana and a retired pilot for Cuba's national airline. Mexico's government said late Saturday that its National Civil Aviation Authority will carry out an operational audit of Damojh airlines to see if its "current operating conditions continue meeting regulations" and to help collect information for the investigation into Friday's crash in Cuba that left 110 dead. The plane that crashed, a Boeing 737, was barred from Guyanese airspace last year after authorities discovered that its crew had been allowing dangerous overloading of luggage on flights to Cuba, Guyanese Civil Aviation Director Capt. Egbert Field told The Associated Press on Saturday. The plane and crew were being rented from Mexico City-based Damojh by EasySky, a Honduras-based low-cost airline. Cuba's national carrier, Cubana de Aviacion, was also renting the plane and crew in a similar arrangement known as a "wet lease" before the aircraft veered on takeoff to the eastern Cuban city of Holguin and crashed into a field just after noon Friday, according to Mexican aviation authorities.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.Chaos and instability are more or less the normal state of affairs when it comes to Italy's national government. But the formation of a new government expected today, two months after voters handed more than 50% of the vote to two populist parties (Five Star and The League) promises more strife and uncertainty than usual. Now the European Union faces the probability of defiance by a major member-state.

Ishan Tharoor writes in the Washington Post:

Germany, the dominant economic power of the E.U., has been insisting on enforcement of quotas for member-states to accept immigrants, sparking resistance from four members admitted from the former Soviet sphere, called the Visegrad Group: the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary. Now a Western large economy, one of the founding members of the E.U., and one on the frontlines of immigrant intake, may defy the German-imposed mandate. The two parties in the populist coalition have:

... a plan to carry out mass deportations of illegal migrants [sic] and scale back Italy's efforts to rescue those attempting the perilous sea journey from North Africa. For Salvini and the League, it's simply part of their ultranationalist, far-right politics. But for the Five Star Movement, as di Maio told Today's WorldView last year, it serves as a wake-up call to the European Union, which they argue has not done enough to support Italy on migration.

Other plans of the populists, in the economic sphere, also spell trouble for the E.U., and probably for Italy, too:

Their proposed reforms include a guaranteed monthly income of close to $1,000 for poor families, tax cuts and a push against E.U.-mandated austerity measures. But it's not clear where the money for these programs will come from, and European officials fear that tens of billions of euros in additional spending could lead to a potentially catastrophic new sovereign debt crisis on the Mediterranean.

Financial markets are not amused, as the AP reports:

The prospect of a 5-Star-League government weighed heavily on markets and on Italy's European allies. The cost of borrowing to fund Italy's persistently high public debt rose to the highest levels in nine months and the Milan stock market was trading down 2 percent. France's economics minister has already sounded an alarm that the eurozone's financial stability could be threatened if a populist government blows Italy's deficit commitments. "If the new government takes the risk of not respecting its commitments on debt, the deficit, but also on consolidation of banks, then the entire financial stability of the eurozone will be threatened," Bruno Le Maire told the Cnews television channel Sunday.

There is no way that Italy can afford such generous handouts, and no matter the agenda of the new government, the money will not appear magically. I suspect that this means that immigration planks of their platform will be emphasized even more, leading to a well deserved crisis for the Brussels hegemons who impose demographic transformation on unwilling member-states.

All of this means further strife, and further chaos for the E.U., just as Brexit implementation becomes serious.

It couldn't happen to a more deserving group of autocrats.Rumors about Speaker Paul Ryan being replaced have been circulating in Washington for months. The recent failure of the House to pass a farm bill and a outright revolt by moderates who are threatening to bring DACA legislation to the floor over Ryan's objection have given some credence to the speculation.

Might Ryan throw in the towel before the end of the year and retire from Congress?

Weekly Standard:

Top Republicans in Congress and the White House have in recent days entertained a plan to push House Speaker Paul Ryan out of his post over the summer, in an effort to clear the way for his presumed successor, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, to assume the speakership. A source involved in the conversations and who has discussed the idea with President Donald Trump told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that Trump believes there is merit to the plan, but has not formed a final position. McCarthy has been weighing the effort alongside a small group of trusted advisers, considering the pros and cons of forcing Ryan's hand, and debating the best time to launch the effort. As of last week he had not spoken to Ryan about the idea, the source said. Proponents say that the benefits are twofold. It would trigger a vote to replace Ryan, giving McCarthy an opening to become speaker of the House  that is, if he can avoid crashing and burning on takeoff like he did in 2015. But it would also force Democrats to cast votes for  or against  Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a favorite target of Republican campaign strategists, to be speaker. That vote could then be used against vulnerable Democrats during the height of campaign season, the source said. Under the plan, Ryan would step down from his post as speaker prematurely but would remain a member of Congress until his term ends in January 2019. The prospect of Ryan's right-hand man amping up the pressure for him to leave sooner portends a significant shift in the power dynamics of the chamber. A spokesperson for Ryan declined to comment. McCarthy responded in a statement provided to TWS: "Completely untrue. Paul has my total support. Together we are completely focused on our agenda and traveling the country to take our unified message and action to the voters in November."

The report rings true, but how much substance is really there? If Trump signs on to the effort, Ryan can pretty much punch his ticket for home. But I'm sure there are plenty of people urging caution on the president. Unless Trump gets some pretty strong indications that McCarthy would win, he won't put himself on a limb to support him.

Ryan still has some powerful friends in Washington, and as we all know from watching Game of Thrones, "When you strike at a king, you must kill him." Trump would have to be damn sure that a McCarthy effort to unseat Ryan would have a good chance of success before he signed on.

Ryan knows he's outlived his stay. But while he has already said he supports McCarthy as a replacement next term, that might not translate into a win for McCarthy before the end of the year. This is especially true if others like Rep. Steve Scalise mount a challenge to McCarthy from the right. Scalise probably couldn't win, but he could pull enough votes from McCarthy to hand him a humiliating defeat.

Ryan may chuck it all anyway and avoid a ruinous intraparty scrum before the mid terms. But he's not going to slink away. If a way can be found where he leaves with his dignity intact, he just might take it.Parents of students at an elite New York City public school are outraged over a student's request over the school's P.A. system for a moment of silence to remember Hamas members killed in an attack on Israel's border last week.

New York Post:

The school-wide announcement Tuesday stunned some students and has outraged parents who question why the school is entering into the divisive Palestinian-Israeli conflict with what they see as an anti-Jewish bent. "I am extremely upset because I did not send my child to a New York City public school to pray for Hamas operatives," said one father, who is Jewish. Violence erupted along Israel's border with Gaza Monday on the same day as the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. A Hamas leader said two days later that 50 of the 62 people killed belonged to the militant Islamic group which rules Gaza, and the rest were "from the people." The US, which has labeled Hamas a terrorist organization, has stood by Israel in the wake of the killings and criticism of the Israeli response. "I just don't think any school should be promoting a moment of silence for terrorists. What if it was Islamic terrorists in ISIS?" said one student's mother, who is Jewish. "No school would be having that over the loudspeaker."

No one can be that ignorant, can he? Hamas admitted that 50 of the dead were members of the terrorist group.

Hamas official, Dr. Salah Al-Bardawil is clear about terrorist involvement in the riots pic.twitter.com/p5My6JGQRr  IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) May 16, 2018

"As a Jewish student, I could see a lot of my Jewish friends get very weird when the moment of silence started," Sophie Steinberg, a junior from Brooklyn, said about Tuesday's tribute. "They don't know how to feel. They don't know how to fit into all of this." Steinberg said the contemplative moment was not out of place at Beacon. "I think that's Beacon's nature  to not be divisive but to bring up the things that no one wants to talk about," she said.

The principal at the school, Ruth Lacy, has refused all comment to the media and refuses to explain how a student was allowed to commandeer the P.A. system for the purpose of honoring terrorists.

She has also been unresponsive to parents' queries about the incident.

Maybe she hopes it will all go away if she ignores it. Who knows? She might have even put the student up to it. Anything is possible when a dedicated leftist is placed in a position where he can influence young minds.

I know what my reaction would have been: I would have immediately called for the principal's resignation and suspended the student who made the rancid announcement.

Instead, the teacher is likely to be celebrated on the left, and the kid who called for a moment of silence to feel sorry for 50 dead terrorists will become a hero.Not everyone from the Parkland school shooting is an activist for gun control. Kyle Kashuv, in fact, is adamant that the Second Amendment is not the problem; government failure is. He's defying a blue wave to get that word out.

At an American Freedom Alliance conference on guns and school shooting yesterday in Los Angeles, Kashuv, the bright kid who defied the media "narrative" about gun control, came out in favor of the Second Amendment and has begun organizing for it, urging conservatives to fight the moves to grab guns and sway young voters in thrall to leftist blather as a result of the killings.

"Already we know the government can't do its job," he said, pointing out that it failed to protect students with its existing gun laws and safety regulations. "We already see that more government would mean overreach."

The problem isn't a lack of gun laws, he said, but useless government moves in the name of "protecting" children in the name of school safety. Government failures  from cowardly cops to misspent safety money, to bad policy on the ground that drove kids into the line of gunfire to corruption  were all part of this pattern of failure. "Had the government done its job on Feb. 14, this wouldn't have happened."

It's why more gun control is such a bad idea. Government failures absolutely happened at Parkland, and more gun control would do zilch to fix that. "So why allow more power to government?"

"We need to hold the government accountable for its failures," he said.

Things aren't helped by the press reporting just one side of the issue, Kashuv said, where the mainstream media "piggybacked on the gun control issue." He said he had to actually call up Fox News to tell network there was more than one point of view among the Parkland students because the press coverage was so blanket-skewed in favor of the gun control argument. He didn't say so, but, obviously, that's why the likes of far-left David Hogg and his coevals got a lot of left-wing and Hollywood activist money and managed to get the spotlight.

Unfortunately, this kind of coverage meant not all the facts got out, not even among the students, Kashuv said.

The biggest problem with many young people, including some of his own classmates, was not that they were stupid or evil, but that they were sheltered.

"To be specific, many kids live in a bubble," he said, citing Parkland's own gated-community set-up and low experience with crime and social disintegration that necessitate measures for self-protection elsewhere in much of America. "Not every community is as safe as Parkland," he said. That bubble made many vulnerable to what he called the "fake news media" and the one-sided story the media were putting out. And the problem went well beyond Parkland.

Kashuv wasn't utterly dejected about the situation, but there was the news item that ran yesterday in the New York Times, showing that voter registration among young people has risen sharply, and it skews in favor of the Democrats. I asked him about it, and he said it did make the battle for supporters of the Second Amendment harder. Some young people "are simply not informed," he said, and that means his effort to counter this blue wave among them will have to focus on facts.

"The older people get, the more educated," which would work in the organizing's favor. "We have known about the problems of school safety since 1999," he said, in reference to the Columbine school shooting. "It's been in the spotlight" repeatedly that the government failed to protect, he said. Yet "you can't get that [knowledge and perspective] from a high school experience."

There were bright spots: Kashuv cited the sharp rise in National Rifle Association memberships as one example and had a few others. Another recent poll showed that Millennials are drifting away from Democrats in general as they grow older and more experienced. Kashuv knows of those who share his point of view already, but many tend to keep quiet out of fear.

In any case, it isn't stopping him.

"Much as we laugh at the left, we have to fight and push for legislation," Kashuv said. School safety, rather than targeting gun ownership, is the real issue. He emphasized that with all government failures around school shootings piling up, the time is short.The left media are totally overwhelmed with the royal wedding in Great Britain, and with the "astounding" fact that Meghan Markle is half-black. Here are some of the "breathtaking" quotes:

"Ms. Markle will be known as Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex." "She's American, divorced, three years older than Harry, had a high-profile career and is biracial."

Is it really such a big deal? As in countless times in the past, leftists are contradicting themselves, this time by disproportionately hailing this "meaningful" issue like an awe-inspiring triumph.

Their usual rhetoric claims nonstop discrimination of blacks at any level of society. Unfortunately, racial, religious, and ethnic prejudices do exist. These biases have greatly diminished during the last decades, especially the racial ones, but they're not eradicated completely from the society and seem to stay put in the foreseeable future. Narrow-minded people in each racial group dislike other human beings who look or speak differently. But in most cases, these bigoted people are in the minority. Neither in America nor in Great Britain does there exist any form of racial or ethnic discrimination at the workplace, either private or governmental. When a rare occurrence of this bias is uncovered  which is easy and swift in our age of social media  the most severe punishment is inevitable.

Whatever the reality, the left constantly needs to keep blacks agitated about something. It could be slavery, which was abolished six generations back. Or it could be police brutality directed exclusively against "minorities," regardless of the fact that quite a significant percentage of police officers come from minorities themselves. Or about not enough blacks at the top management tier of major S&P 500 corporations. That's how the left tries to keep up its electorate. And that's how leftists work up lucrative benefits for themselves  by making money in liberal media and in numerous "human rights" organizations. The left needs some groups to stay "underprivileged" so the liberal "talking heads" and quasi-scientific "diversity experts" can justify their own existence.

In this day and age, interracial and especially inter-ethnic couples should not surprise anyone in his right mind. In fact, one in six Americans intermarries across racial and ethnic "borders." Additionally, America had two terms of a biracial president, the one many called the "first black president." The positions of secretary of state, U.S. attorney general, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the ambassador to U.N., and many others have been occupied by blacks. It's not only good; it's normal. That's how it's supposed to be.

Taking his turn, Al Sharpton has stated that because of this wedding, "white parents are losing control over own their children [sic!]" and that Meghan Markle "will give young girls a role model to look up to," the same as Michelle Obama.

Meghan Markle, as beautiful and charming a lady as she is, could hardly serve as a good role model for black youth, because what are her real achievements (besides the fact that she excelled in attracting the attention of Prince Harry)? What did Michelle Obama really achieve besides being a first lady? Does it mean that maritally, or sexually, is the only way the left wants blacks to succeed?President Trump plans to cut off funding to the International Space Station by 2025. Many people do not even know there is an International Space Station, because it is so rarely in the news, but it has cost more than $100 billion to build and support.

What follows is a complete list of the most important discoveries of the space station over the past 20 years:

...

...

...

The space station is another example of welfare for NASA. It provides nothing to America, using taxpayer money to provide welfare for scientists and engineers to be tremendously unproductive.

NASA scientists see it differently. That's because they are addicted to space porn: any time an image or data comes from outer space, no matter how irrelevant, astronomers experience physical arousal. And unfortunately, they want us to pay for it. It's like paying for drug addicts.

We are always told that the space station is doing important work. Look, rats float in space! Screws rotate clockwise twice as often as they rotate counterclockwise! Why do they do that? We need to fund another space station for 20 years to find out!

The Trump administration in February proposed ending direct U.S. government support of the space station in 2025, prompting debate and discussion over whether commercial industry can make a business of building and operating orbiting research facilities staffed by astronauts.

Why is that relevant? If it's economical, they will do it; and if it's uneconomical, it won't get done. What's wrong with that?

Paul Martin, NASA's inspector general, told the Senate's Subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness on Wednesday that it is unlikely a commercial operator could wholly take over the space station's annual budget by 2025.

Why is the amount that the government arbitrarily decides to spend a benchmark of how much private industry "must" spend? Why not let private industry spend as much or as little as it wishes?

The space program is very much like global warming: we are told that it is extremely important and not allowed to examine or question its value to society.

Another example: Did you know we just spent nearly a billion dollars to send a probe to Mars  to study earthquakes? Astronomers, always needing a fix of new space porn, will tell us how important it is, how learning about earthquakes on Mars will tell us about earthquakes on Earth. If we want to learn more about earthquakes on Earth, why not study them on Earth?

President Trump is 100% right to terminate this bloated welfare office in the sky. It's only a pity that he has put the decision off to 2025.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com.Starving, socialist Venezuela has held another "election." Like every single election there I have followed, since around 2004, it was a fraudy affair.

According to the Associated Press:

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is celebrating his re-election in an energized speech inviting his defeated challengers to join him for a dialogue about the country's future. Maduro spoke late Sunday to a crowd of cheering supporters at Venezuela's presidential palace in the capital of Caracas. Election officials say he won nearly 68 percent of the votes, beating nearest challenger Henri Falcon by more than 40 points. The election gives Maduro a second six-year term amid the oil-rich country's deepening economic crisis that has many Venezuelans struggling to afford food and medicine.

File under "barf alert."

Yes, it's another fraudy election. This one, though, stood out. The ruling socialists this time didn't even try to make it seem legitimate, not in the least. They threw in jail or else disqualified every potential candidate except their own in a hastily announced vote. The opposition mostly held together in boycotting the vote, while a little quisling named Henri Falcon ran to make it all look capiche. There were no election observers (probably because they couldn't get any, not even Jimmy Carter, who's been servicing them on that for years). Even their tainted voting machine company, Smartmatic, pulled out, not wanting to be associated with this one. Most of the country's neighbors pre-announced that the election was garbage and they wouldn't recognize it. The U.S. refused to give it the time of day.

If there was ever a case for the textbooks on how to run a fraudy election, well, here we have it.

The new question is what to do about it. The international community, even the United Nations, has condemned the fraud and ought to sanction the country right out the gate for its gross mockery of democracy, but the U.N. won't do that.

The U.S., however, still has a few cards to play.

Up until now, the U.S. has avoided wholesale sanctions on that hellhole because of the sense that the country would starve and there would be a humanitarian catastrophe. It wasn't that we needed their oil. The fracking revolution has made them buyers of our oil, actually. Yet we were being big about it, thinking of the humanitarian implications, despite our loathing the socialist regime.

Well, a humanitarian disaster happened anyway, without U.S. sanctions, so the only thing sanctions would do now is take money out of the hands of the ruling Chavista elites.

Analysts are now propounding the idea, and some think it will happen, such as this one here:

The U.S. is almost certainly preparing to impose targeted crude sanctions against Venezuela, analysts told CNBC on Monday, in a move likely to constitute a "devastating" blow for the oil-dependent state. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro won re-election to another six-year term on Sunday, despite widespread anger over the South American country's crushing economic and social crises. The vote was marred by low voter turnout, allegations of vote-rigging and an opposition boycott. "The next step is sanctions against the oil sector," Diego Moya-Ocampos, principal political analyst for Latin America at IHS Markit, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Monday. "This is crucial because (Venezuela's) oil sector represents 25 percent of GDP (gross domestic product), 50 percent of fiscal revenues and 97 percent of revenue from foreign exchange So, obviously, sanctions on the oil sector in Venezuela will be a game changer."

It couldn't happen soon enough. This regime has been starving its own people, taking the international community for a ride, dealing drugs, supporting terrorists, consorting with regional troublemakers such as Iran and Russia, and generally making itself a plague on the hemisphere. How wonderful it would all be without them and their creepy Cuban masters running most of their government.

Slam them hard with sanctions, President Trump. Tin-pot regimes everywhere will take note, and the effect will reverberate. These revolting, despicable, starvation-creating socialists have had it coming for years.Bank of America is now rolling out its artificial intelligence-powered financial assistant Erica, the company said several days back, having signaled the deployment will be completed by the end of the month after starting earlier this spring. The solution is set to become available to the institutions 25 million mobile customers located in the states highlighted on the map seen below. Erica is touted as being the ultimate digital helper for finances, having been programmed to allow for simple transaction history searches spanning all of ones accounts, with Bank of America also allowing the assistant to lock and unlock debit cards when requested.

Asking the assistant to transfer money between your accounts or send it to someone else with the Zelle service is also possible, as is using the AI tool to schedule payments and generate an up-to-date summary of unpaid bills. Erica can also help users stay aware of their credit scores and any changes to the thereof, in addition to having the ability to teach people good money management practices by sourcing one of Bank of Americas existing platforms  Better Money Habits. The assistant can also be asked to make an appointment with one of the institutions financial specialists and currently has access to a database of approximately 25,000 such professionals across the United States. Erica can help users find a nearby bank, ATM, or any routing number as well.

The release of Bank of Americas AI assistant is yet another step in the companys long-term technology strategy that already saw it experiment with a broad range of solutions spanning various industry segments in recent times. Being powered by machine learning technologies, Erica should get better at answering queries the more its used. The AI assistant first started rolling out to users in March and its national-level deployment is now nearing completion, with Bank of America promising more features  including debit and credit card management support  will be added to the mobile app in the coming months.The Bitcoin network consumes at least 2.6 gigawatts of electricity, nearly as much as Ireland does with its population of 4.7 million, according to a new study authored by analyst Alex de Vries. The report predicts that the energy footprint of the worlds most popular cryptocurrency will reach 7.7GW by the end of the year, thus amounting to close to 0.5-percent of the global electricity needs. The Bitcoin network is now consuming 67TWh of energy on a yearly basis, up from 32TWh estimated by the same author in December.

The figures themselves are speculative to a degree as the decentralized nature of the blockchain technology behind Bitcoin eliminates the possibility of taking highly accurate measurements, according to the author. The estimates are hence largely derived from the computing capabilities of the Bitcoin network, though the fact that miners around the world are opting for highly diversified rigs makes direct conversions of processing power to energy consumption impossible. Mr. de Vries hence opted for the most conservative method and assumed every miner on the planet is using the most efficient rig available  the Antminer S9. Given how thats verifiably not the case, the actual energy footprint of the Bitcoin network is understood to be much higher and may even surpass a single percentage point of all energy consumption on the planet by early 2019.

The new figures underline concerns about the viability of mining Bitcoin as a business endeavor, with many critics maintaining that doing so remains nothing short of a gamble. The currency is still enjoying support from some high-profile industry veterans such as Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, whereas a significant portion of the technology industry is presently exploring the blockchain segment in general, even if they arent certain or even optimistic about the long-term prospects of Bitcoin itself. Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are just some of the names that have already confirmed theyre pursuing new use cases for digital public ledgers, i.e. blockchain solutions.The EU Parliament hearing that Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg is set to attend tomorrow will be live-streamed following significant backlash from the general public and privacy advocates that emerged after lawmakers on the Old Continent said the questioning will be private last week. Two days later, the multi-billionaire will also be interviewed on the stage of the Viva Technology conference in Paris. European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said Monday the broadcast has been agreed following a dialogue with Facebook, adding that the hearing is meant to take place from 6:15 PM to 19:30 PM CET.

Both the parliamentary hearing and the subsequent interview in Paris will center on the Cambridge Analytica scandal and privacy breaches that followed, raising concerns about how Facebook can be misused and abused by third parties interested in violating peoples privacy for profit and other goals. Mr. Zuckerberg already attended two congressional hearings over the matter in the United States, having been questioned by stateside lawmakers over two days for nearly ten hours in total in mid-April. The European hearing is expected to be much less friendly than the one held in his home country that revealed precious little about the manner in which Facebook operates and how it intends to combat misuse attempts on its platform, outside of what was already known.

Legislators in the United Kingdom also attempted organizing an audience over the matter with the Facebook CEO, having even threatened a formal summons, but are now more likely to only have their questions answered via a conference call. The Tuesday hearing will be broadcast through the European Parliaments website, unlike the two U.S. ones which were streamed via YouTube, Mr. Tajani said. The issue of Brexit may also be raised during the questioning in regards to some alleged misinformation campaigns organized on Facebook during the historic 2016 referendum. Facebook is presently probing all third-party apps on its platform for potential privacy abuses and has already suspended over 200 of them since the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke in late March. The companys stock largely recovered from that episode and is presently on course to regain its all-time high of $190 in the coming weeks.Social giant Facebook will be working together with mobile network expert Qualcomm to create a high-speed network on the 60GHz spectrum band in select urban areas, the chipmaker said Monday. The pair will be utilizing Terragraph, a technology developed by Facebook that uses otherwise underutilized spectrum in the 60GHz band in conjunction with a large number of fixed nodes that cover a very small area each. These nodes are stitched together to create a far-reaching urban network that runs at multi-gigabit speeds and mostly matches wired networks in stability, all while being cheaper, easier, and faster to roll out than comparable options.

Most spectrum in the 60GHz range is unlicensed right now, and Qualcomm and Facebook are basing their system on that fact. Essentially, theyre going to use 802.11ay pre-commercial equipment from Qualcomm, using it to build out a network as a sort of test bed before the equipment gets into the hands of consumers and businesses. These will be used in conjunction with WiGig components that are cheap and easy to find in order to cheaply and easily propagate a full-spectrum 60GHz network spread across a wide area. This will allow networking entities like IoT companies and internet service providers to utilize a wide-range mmWave network that resembles the small cell 5G deployment that most wireless companies are planning, but on a much larger scale and using different spectrum.

The two companies are expected to start trials of the new networks in 2019 but have yet to announce exactly where they plan to concentrate their experimental deployment. Representatives from both companies are saying that Facebook and Qualcomm providing and managing consumer access isnt the goal here. Instead, the companies are looking to increase urban broadband penetration and thus competition, and also ease new 802.11ay and 802.11ad solutions into the market. These planned networks will also make it easier for network providers to tackle whats called last-mile delivery, managing the connection between the nearest tower or node and end users who will be browsing, gaming, working, and streaming content via the said network. These goals also have the potential to make serious money for Facebook and Qualcomm at little upfront cost and with extremely low risk, while saving operators money they would have otherwise had to invest in building their own last-mile solutions.Huawei will soon be launching a massive mobile technology breakthrough, Chinese outlet iFeng reports, citing industry insiders and confirmation from Richard Yu, the Chief Executive Officer of the firms consumer electronics group. Mr. Yu reportedly referred to the upcoming advancement as very scary in a positive sense, whereas Chinese sources believe its importance is at least on par with the triple-camera setup of the P20 Pro Android flagship, if not greater. What the upcoming technology exactly entails remains unknown, as does the nature of the solution itself; besides saying its designed for smartphones, sources werent able to clarify whether the breakthrough is meant to be delivered in the form of new hardware, software, or both.

Earlier this year, insiders claimed Huawei is developing its own operating system as a backup plan in case it ever decides to drop Android or is forced to give up on it like ZTE recently was, if only temporarily. The company denied those allegations when Chinese media inquired about the matter, having maintained it remains committed to Googles mobile ecosystem. The latest report claims Huaweis tech breakthrough may first debut inside an Honor smartphone in the second half of the year but refrains from concrete speculation.

Huawei has been focusing on two main tech fields in recent years, at least as far as its smartphones are concerned  photography and artificial intelligence. Last year, the firm debuted the worlds first chip with a dedicated neural processing unit solely meant to fuel machine learning and related AI applications, having followed up on that achievement this year with the aforementioned P20 Pro, an Android flagship with three rear cameras. Provided the Shenzhen-based manufacturer follows the same milestone pattern in the immediate future, its next major advancement in the mobile space should once again be related to AI. The P20 Pro is already heavily focused on AI but most of its applications of the thereof have already been available on the Mate 10 series since late 2017. Huaweis next high-end offering is expected to be announced in the form of the Mate 20 lineup this fall.No wires, no setup, just easy, standalone roomscale VR

As the worlds first completely standalone VR headset with inside-out tracking, the Lenovo Mirage Solo aims to bring you into the world of virtual reality without the need for wires, phones, expensive PCs or any kind of setup at all. Utilizing the existing Google Daydream VR platform and over 350 titles, the Mirago Solo is launching with 70 titles that support Lenovos WorldSense technology to further immerse you in the VR world, but at $399 its certainly not the cheapest entry fee in the world. Is it worth the cost?

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Specs and Whats In the Box

Lenovos Mirage Solo is a completely standalone VR headset that requires nothing external to function. As such, all youll find in the box is the Mirage Solo headset, a standard Daydream motion controller, USB Type-C cable and a charging brick to plug into a power outlet. The same USB Type-C cable charges both the controller and headset. As the Mirage Solo is a completely standalone VR headset, its powered by similar components to what youll find in a smartphone. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC and 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM power the phone, while a 4,000mAh battery keeps things going for hours. 64GB of UFS-grade storage is included, and a microSD card slot can be found on the side for expandable storage with support for up to 256GB size cards.

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On the front is a Lite-On 6BF 11238 dual camera system, which powers the WorldSense module, and an occupancy sensor can be found on the inner part of the headset, just above the lenses. These lenses are Fresnel-Aspheric with a 110-degree FOV, and behind them is a 5.5-inch quad-HD (2560 x 1440, 534 PPI) IPS LCD panel with RGB stripe pixel structure, 70% color gamut reproduction and 75Hz refresh rate. The headset measures 204.01 mm x 269.5 mm x 179.86 mm and weighs 645 grams. Ports include a 3.5mm audio jack and a USB Type-C port, as well as 2 microphones for audio recording, but no speakers at all. Daydream OS runs the show, atop Android 8.0 Oreo.

Headset and Tracking

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Lenovos design language is most similar to the Playstation VR headset, with a large, separated forehead pad above the face pads, which connects to the single large ring headstrap. This head strap is a rigid plastic with padding in front and back, and its circumference is adjusted by twisting the knob at the back. The main head unit sits on the face via one large face pad that goes all the way around the face, with pads that fit snugly around the nose as well. I found these nose pads to be a bit too tight for comfort personally, but the extra tight seal around this part of the face means theres absolutely zero light leakage from the outside world, unlike basically any other VR headset out there. The headset is able to slide either inward or out from your face by pressing the button on the underside of the headset, allowing room for glasses, or just different face types in general.

Vents are located up top, and keep the lenses from fogging while playing, as well as giving facial skin a way to actually breathe. Most VR headsets dont feature such vents, which give the Mirage Solo a significant advantage when it comes to comfort. The USB Type-C port and microSD card trays sit on the left side of the headset, while the power/sleep button, separated volume up and down buttons, and 3.5mm headset jack are on the right side. An occupancy sensor is located inside the headset, which automatically detects the presence of a face and will wake the unit up or put it to sleep depending on what it detects.

On the front sits a pair of Lite-On 6BF 11238 cameras, which operate together as the WorldSense tracking camera. This pair of cameras is able to detect depth thanks to the distance between the sensors, much like our eyes, and is able to track your physical location in the room. This translates to actual movement within virtual space without the need for external cameras or other sensors, as have been needed for any kind of roomscale tracking since the beginning of VR. This type of tracking is also known as inside-out tracking since the headset is able to see out into the world and completely track your physical head movements 1:1. This represents a significant step forward for VR headsets, as it enables fully natural movement without any kind of restriction, and doesnt require any sort of setup ahead of time either.

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Chaperone boundaries are automatically setup, so theres no need to talk around the room and draw any boundaries, but by default, this makes them a fairly small circumference. Walk approximately 2ft in any direction and youll find the screen fades slowly to black, letting you know that youve crossed said virtual boundary and should step back to your starting point. Its a reasonable amount of movement for anything thats available on the store right now, and we presume that Google will allow developers to tweak this distance, depending on the individual game design. There arent any tools to draw a specific area in the room, and its not likely the WorldSense cameras are designed for such specific boundaries anyway, more of a loose distance from the starting point rather than how the Vive or Oculus Rift chaperone boundaries work.

Whats rather telling is that these 2ft boundaries are just the default setting; going into Developer options gives users the ability to turn off the warning completely, meaning you can venture throughout the virtual world to your hearts delight, but there will be nothing to stop you from running into a wall or errant piece of furniture, of course. Movement is registered at 75 frames per second, meaning ultra smooth and precise body movement makes it feel like youre actually in the virtual world, moving naturally and precisely without feeling restricted in the way all other mobile VR headsets do.

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Display and Lenses

Lenovo has opted for an IPS LCD display on the Mirage Solo, a decision we certainly put into question when it was announced, as all VR headsets weve used so far with LCD displays exhibit terrible blurriness and other issues that dont play well with VR paradigms. What Lenovo has delivered, however, is a display that is sharper than almost any other VR display out there, all while maintaining the low pixel persistence required to keep motion sickness down in VR. The biggest tradeoff here seems to be in pure contrast and color saturation, of which LCDs typically struggle with anyway, so this isnt much of a surprise considering how the technology works.

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The display is utilizing an RGB stripe instead of a pentile matrix, which means the display is 100% of the actual resolution, rather than 20-30% less as a pentile display would be. In the VR world, this translates into a massive difference, as 20-30% more effective pixels means clearer visuals all around, especially when it comes to reading text. Background details are clearly visible, text is crisp and clean, and overall this is one of the absolute best displays in the mobile world for VR purposes. The downside again is contrast and saturation levels, and the screen also only reproduces 70% color gamut, so in the end, it can look a bit washed out, but its super sharp and clear.

Lenovo has opted for Fresnel-Aspheric lenses, similar to what we see in the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets on the PC. Many enthusiasts had issue with the Fresnel lenses used on these headsets at launch because they introduce a bit of light bleed into the image, also known as God rays, which appear as glowing or fogging in extra bright sections of the image. While this is certainly still true of the lenses in the Mirage Solo, the advantages of Fresnel lenses are far too many when compared to the disadvantages when weighing them for the purposes of a head-mounted display (HMD). Fresnel lenses are considerably more compact, lighter, and cheaper, all of which are three incredibly important factors in VR.

Fresnel lenses can also have the advantage of creating a wider sweet spot for the display, which is the area that features the clearest imagery without any sort of noticeable distortion. Lenses always have a bit of distortion near their edges, and the ribbing and layering of Fresnel lenses help cut down on these effects, and others, and produce an image thats usually cleaner and clearer in most circumstances when placing them up against a display. As the pixel structure of this display is RGB stripe display at quad-HD resolution, pixel structure isnt very visible at all, leading to an almost imperceivable screen door effect.

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Like other Daydream headsets, the Mirage Solo has no adjustment for focal length or interpupillary distance (IPD). Google appears to have chosen automatic methods for adjusting these sorts of things, but its hard to tell whether or not they truly are universal methods of adjustment, or if itll cause some people headaches. Having the incorrect IPD will certainly cause headaches, as eyes have to cross to see the image properly, but there are a number of automatic corrective settings enabled by default that appear to help.

Toggling these options in Developer Options proved a clear difference for myself, personally. Without lens/distortion correction enabled, I got a headache within minutes of using the headset and had to take a break for some time. Re-enabling this option fixed it completely, and Googles use of Asynchronous Reprojection and Asynchronous Timewarp most certainly have a positive effect on visual comfort. There is a slight gap for glasses, which can be adjusted with the button on the bottom, helping those that require corrective lenses to better see the VR world.

Controller

Theres absolutely nothing new about the Daydream controller that ships with the Lenovo Mirage Solo, and thats the biggest problem with the package as a whole. While the Daydream controller isnt bad, per say, it feels very dated, especially when pairing it with the Mirage Solo. The main reason here isnt its limited functionality, rather its limited range of movement. The Daydream controller only moves on 3 axis, versus the 6 degrees of freedom provided by the headset. The result is a controller that never feels like its in the right place, as its effectively virtually tethered to your physical location rather than floating on its own like a proper motion controller would.

The most obvious reason for this limitation is the lack of external sensors to actually see the controller itself, as you would have on an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive, for instance. Without this, the controller has to rely on the built-in sensors, and since its not large enough to have its own camera system like the Mirage Solo headset does, its basically stuck with a 3-axis system. As a result, youll find it basically behaves like a Wii remote, which is likely something just about everyone has used at this point in time, so its best for games where you point at things to click, or hold items like a gun or a firehose, for example. Games and apps that require more precise movements or more intricate movements will suffer from the controllers inability to move in a more natural fashion.

The thing thats likely the most jarring is the controllers inability to move like the headset, resulting in a bit of a strange dichotomy of movement styles between the two. While you can move the headset exactly the way you would move your head in real life, the controller still feels very much like a video game controller, with the limitations that technology can sometimes place upon more natural human movements. Design is the same as before, since its the exact same controller, and features just a few buttons on its body. On the side are the ingenious volume buttons, which allow quick adjustment to volume levels, and on the front are two centered buttons, placed one above the other; a concave home button, and a convex action button.

Located above these two buttons is a circular touchpad, which also clicks in and acts as a traditional directional pad would on a video game controller. The touchpad effectively gives the controller nearly infinite number of ways to interact with the virtual world, although a trigger or additional button underneath would certainly help with to give the index finger something else to do, similar to how Samsungs latest Gear VR controller is designed. On a positive note, its a very ambidextrous controller, so both lefties and righties will have no trouble with its design.

Interface and Setup

One of the most impressive parts of the Lenovo Mirage Solo is its distinct lack of need to be set up. This headset is designed for ease and quick play, and its obvious from the moment you power it on. With a quick first boot-up in seconds, the Mirage Solo is ready to go at a moments notice, as everything is done completely within the headset itself. No need to pair it with your phone or sign into your account somewhere else just to get it going. Youll need a Google account to be able to access the Play Store, and from here youll be able to download over 350 titles including games and apps for the Daydream platform. Once you sign into your Google account, the Daydream dashboard presents itself, with a quick tutorial the first time you start it up. The interactive tutorial covers all the basics of navigation and movement, which are all as natural as you would expect.

On the main screen youll find a set of tiles, all grouped around checking out new and featured experiences from the Play Store. These sections can be navigated through via a swipe on the controllers touchpad, and pages are navigated either by clicking in and dragging (like a book page) or just clicking the arrows on the side of the pages. Much of this navigation is similar to the channels layout that Nintendo used on the Wii and will feel immediately familiar to anyone whos used to that interface. Youll find the library of installed titles down below, with this same grid-like interface of tiled thumbnails.

The biggest problem with the interface is finding exactly what youd purchased on the Play Store, and then installing those titles. There appears to be no place at all to check purchase history, or whats already on your account and ready to install. Scrolling through the loosely organized titles on the Play Store will show the usual purchased status on each app or games title card, but its still more work than should be needed for such a necessary task. The general organization of Daydream apps on the Play Store is also pretty terrible, as there are a handful of general categories for types of experiences, and a search if you know the specific name, but no easy way of listing all apps available, or more granular categories at large.

The Mirage Solo offers far more VR-specific options than any other Daydream-enabled device out there does, as its a fully-VR compliant skin of Android and only operates in the VR space. As such it presents options that arent available on other platforms, specifically because they are all system-level functions. Screenshots and video recordings are a quick button press away, by pressing two buttons in combination with each other to take a screenshot (home + volume down), or record a video (home + volume up). Youll also find all sorts of performance monitoring tools and comfort adjustments within settings, and of course the ability to toggle things like forced 6DoF in all titles within Developer Options.

Comfort, Performance and Battery Life

While Lenovos Mirage Solo remains one of the heaviest VR headsets around, the head strap design generally helps mitigate that weight onto the back of the cranium. The biggest issues are going to come in the form of the pads around the nose, which often felt like they were squishing mine a little too much for comfort, and the inability to adjust interpupillary distance (IPD) could certainly cause headaches if you dont fall within a certain percentile range of folks whose eyes measure a specific distance apart. Theres at least space in here for folks with glasses, which certainly adds to comfort for people who need corrective lenses, and could also help for different sized faces.

The biggest issue with the headset isnt lack of comfort on the head though, its the fact that this isnt a very portable design, despite being a standalone headset thats obviously geared towards portability in some way. The rigid plastic head strap doesnt fold or bend in any way, so the HMD is always the same size no matter what. On top of this, the forehead pad extends the height of the HMD to a point where it doesnt fit very well in most bags, leaving few ways of safely carting it around. On top of this, theres nowhere to store the controller on the headset, meaning youll also need to remember to bring the controller and keep it safely tucked away. Its easily the weakest part of the design as a whole and makes it difficult to recommend as a portable headset in any way.

Another weak point in the design is the inability to remove the padding anywhere on the headset, which certainly calls into question the sanitation of the headset after prolonged use. This problem becomes an even bigger one if you so decide to share the headset with another individual, especially if they are prone to sweating a lot. While there arent a lot of Daydream games that require physical exertion to the point of heavy sweating, as there are in the PC VR realm, its still going to be an issue to one degree or another. On the positive, however, is the inclusion of a ventilation system at the top of the headset. Most VR HMDs dont feature this sort of ventilation, which causes the lenses to get easily fogged. Fogging did happen from time to time after initially putting the headset on, but it was much less severe and didnt happen more than once after being wiped off.

As this is a standalone headset and doesnt require plugs or cords at all, battery life is certainly something of a concern if youre planning on using it for any length of time, or taking it somewhere to use. With a sizable 4,000mAh battery, which is around 30% larger than the average flagship smartphones battery, and sporting hardware thats basically identical to the average flagship smartphone, you should expect some excellent battery life out of the Mirage Solo in any case. Couple this with the fact that the Mirage Solo doesnt have a cell radio inside, which is something of a battery hog in phones, and you can expect several hours of play before needing to recharge it.

On average we saw the battery life rate around 6 hours of constant play time, and thats likely to differ a bit depending on how its used. The Mirage Solo is also designed to be a quick pick-up and put-down headset, so it automatically goes into standby the instant its taken off the head, thanks to the occupancy sensor inside of the headset. Standby time is beyond stellar, with several days of standby time with little to no battery drain at all since the headset doesnt need to constantly ping servers for connectivity or grab messages and other notifications the way a phone would. Its easy to set it and forget it, taking it off as needed and popping it on your head, with a wake-up time in just 3-4 seconds on average, bringing you back into the action nearly instantly after youve taken a break, even if that break lasted quite a few days. A USB type-C port is found on the side and will fast charge the headset, with about 2 hours or so to fully charge it from empty when using the charger that ships with the Mirage Solo.

Folks who typically find themselves getting motion sick in VR might be pleasantly surprised at how smooth the Mirage Solo and Daydream are able to make mobile VR feel, although the experience here isnt going to be quite as smooth as youll get on a Playstation VR on a PS4, or an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift on a PC. the 75Hz refresh rate of the display brings about the highest refresh rate in mobile VR, and Lenovo has paid special attention to the viewers refresh rate to ensure movements always stay at 75 frames per second, even if the actual content is rendered at a lower rate. At its lowest point in our testing, a few graphically intense games would drop down to around 45 frames per second for split-second intervals, but usually kept above 55FPS most of the time. The resulting look is that of choppier animations or models skipping around on screen a bit, rather than the viewer framerate dropping and causing motion sickness.

The Good

Comfortable design

Great battery life

Ultra easy to use

Sharp, crystal clear display

Extremely convenient auto sleep and wake feature

Little setup and no configuration needed at all

Completely wireless and standalone

Movement accuracy is amazing

75Hz display is very comfortable on the eyes

The Bad

Pricey

Not very portable

Controller is very limiting

Daydream is still very basic in content and functionality

Final Thoughts

Lenovo has built an incredibly compelling VR HMD in the Mirage Solo; one thats not only completely standalone and doesnt require any console, PC or smartphone to hook up to, but also one that supports full 6 degrees of freedom movement. The caveat comes in three big places; its likely more expensive than some people will want to spend, isnt very portable despite the standalone nature, and has a controller thats very limited in its functionality. None of these issues keep it from being a good product overall, but at least one of them is enough to break the deal for many people, regardless of its ability to provide an incredible experience. That last part is really the shame of it too because whats here is an incredible, easy experience that anyone can pick up and play without any need for configuration or another expensive gadget to pair it with.

Its one of the most affordable ways to get into VR, and offers significantly enhanced functionality and horsepower over the other major standalone headset, the Oculus Go. Googles Daydream platform, although it has come a long way in terms of content and features, is still quite a bit behind Oculus in both ways, and while Google has been constantly adding more quality of life features to Daydream, youre going to get a more full-featured software experience and larger content library on that platform. Is the better tech itself worth that tradeoff? Probably not at this price, but the Mirage Solo is ultimately an incredible look at what the very near future of portable VR headsets will look like, and how good the experience can be.After its debut in Brazil last month, the Moto G6 series is all set to launch in India. The Lenovo-owned brand has confirmed to launch its mid-range series early next month on June 4. Earlier today, a page dedicated to the Moto G6 lineup went live on Amazon Indias website to provide this launch date. It is a usual Amazon.in pre-launch product page that lets the interested buyers drop their email address to receive an update when the Moto G6 series goes on sale while also briefly mentioning about the phones design and internals. The company was earlier rumored to launch the 2018 G lineup in the Indian market on May 21 but Motorola stated otherwise only to later confirm its launch by early June.

Of the entire Moto G6 family of smartphones consisting of three mid-range devices, only two models have been announced to debut in India  the Moto G6 and the Moto G6 Play. All the marketing material released by Motorola India mentions only these two phones while the Moto G6 Plus is out of the scene. The smartphone maker started teasing their launch last week across its social media channels and that teaser video too mentioned only the two lower-end devices of the three. Though not officially confirmed, it still remains to be a possibility that the company may bring the Plus variant to India sometime in the following weeks. Back in April, Motorola announced the latest additions to its mid-range G line of smartphones at an event in Brazil together with the entry-level E-series handsets. Yet again, there is no official word on whether the new E-series phones will debut in the South Asian market at the June 4 event or not.

Despite being the lowest-end G6 smartphone, the Moto G6 Play features a massive 4,000mAh battery which is expected to offer an outstanding battery life, considering the phones entry-level specs. The G6 lineup is the first in Motorolas portfolio to get a tall display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and thin bezels. Both the Android phones have a glass-sandwich design and come pre-installed with Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. Being a more affordable device, the Play model has an HD+ display and a single rear-placed camera, while the Moto G6 includes an FullHD+ display and a dual-camera setup on its back. Motorola is expected to announce their retail pricing for the Indian market on June 4 itself.A Samsung-hosted summit of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) that started earlier today in Busan, South Korea, is meant to finalize the phase-one 5G standard set to serve as the backbone of the initial commercial implementation of the next wireless connectivity solutions. The working group(s) will be meeting on a daily basis until Friday, with approximately 1,500 representatives of the worlds telecom giants, smartphone vendors, infrastructure manufacturers, and chipmakers attending the gathering. Qualcomm, Verizon, and AT&T are among the parties confirmed to be present at the summit, together with the largest mobile service providers in the Far Eastern Country  KT, SK Telecom, and NTT Docomo.

5G terminal conformance testing methods and the standard itself will both be confirmed at the event, with the summit consisting of five working groups in total. The team chaired by Samsung will be dedicated to defining radio performance prerequisites for base stations and terminals seeking 5G-ready certification, the Seoul-based original equipment manufacturer said. The summit is meant to better define the Release 15 standard announced in December as part of 3GPPs Lisbon, Portugal-based meeting which saw the consortium finalize the first non-standalone specification for the deployment of the fifth generation of wireless networks. The same configuration was used for a wide variety of experimental deployments in the meantime, including technologies showcased at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in late winter.

The new standard meant to be defined as part of the latest gathering will be confirmed and published in June, around the time South Korea starts its 5G spectrum auction. The Far Eastern country is expected to commercialize the next generation of wireless connectivity by early 2019, together with the four largest wireless carriers in the United States. Widespread deployment efforts still arent expected to begin prior to 2020, whereas the first 5G-enabled (Android) smartphones are still almost a year away from their commercial release, according to latest predictions outlined by numerous industry watchers. Samsung will be assisting Verizon in launching a 5G fixed wireless access service in the second half of this year.Xiaomis CEO, Lei Jun, has just confirmed that the Mi Max 3 phablet will be announced in July. Lei Jun confirmed this info via Weibo (Chinese social network), as he was responding to a question by one of the consumers. Some rumors suggested that the Mi Max 3 may arrive during Xiaomis upcoming Shenzhen event, as the Mi Max 2 launched in May last year, but thats not going to happen.

The Xiaomi Mi Max 3 will be the companys third-gen mid-range phablet, and as the first two were quite successful, Xiaomi has opted to introduce the third one as well. During the companys Shenzhen event, which Lei Jun confirmed will be hosted before the end of this month, Xiaomi is expected to launch the Xiaomi Mi 7, 8th anniversary smartphone, and the Mi Band 3. Lei Jun had confirmed recently that the company is planning to drop several products during that event, while Xiaomi already teased the arrival of the Mi Band 3. The Xiaomi Mi 7 and 8th anniversary smartphone have been leaking for quite some time now, so those two phones will probably make an appearance as well. Now, as far as the Mi Max 3 is concerned, that device is expected to ship with noticeably thinner bezels than its predecessor, as both the Mi Max and Mi Max 2 sport really thick bezels, and a set of capacitive buttons below the display. Well, Xiaomi is expected to change the Mi Max 3s design, as the phone will probably resemble the Redmi 5 Plus / Redmi Note 5, at least to an extent.

The Xiaomi Mi Max 3 will almost certainly ship with a rear-facing fingerprint scanner, while the phone will utilize on-screen buttons. The device will be made out of metal, almost certainly, and it will be fueled by a chip from Qualcomms Snapdragon 600 series, at least that was the case thus far. The Mi Max 3 is expected to sport a really large display, its predecessor shipped with a 6.4-inch panel, but considering that the Mi Max 3 will sport thinner bezels, it is possible that Xiaomi opts to include an even larger display in the Mi Max 3, a 6.5 or 6.6-inch display, maybe, though were only guessing at this point.A couple of days ago, Xiaomis CEO, Lei Jun, confirmed that the company plans to release several new products during its upcoming Shenzhen event, and he just confirmed that the event will be hosted before the end of this month. Now, rumors are suggesting that the company may host this event on May 31, and judging by Lei Juns comments, that is one of the options, and considering that the event will be hosted before the end of the month, Xiaomi will almost certainly announce an exact date in the near future.

Now, the company had recently announced that this Shenzhen event is coming, and judging by rumors, Xiaomi will announce the Mi 7, 8th anniversary smartphone, and the Mi Band 3. Xiaomi had already teased the arrival of the Mi Band 3, while the other two phones leaked several times now, but Xiaomi did not share a single teaser regarding those two smartphones. The 8th anniversary smartphone is rumored to include 3D facial scanning, similar to the one utilized by Apple in the iPhone X, while the Mi 7 will be the companys new flagship, and it will sport a notch if rumors are to be believed. Both of those devices are expected to ship with high-end specs, but only specs of the Mi 7 leaked thus far. The Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to sport a 5.45-inch fullHD+ display, according to rumors, while the device will ship with 6GB or 8GB of RAM on the inside, both versions are a possibility, actually. Qualcomms Snapdragon 845 64-bit octa-core SoC will fuel the phone, while Android Oreo will come pre-installed on it, with Xiaomis MIUI 9 skin. The Mi 7 will sport really thin bezels, and its display will almost certainly feature rounded corners.

The Xiaomi Mi 7 will join the likes of the Mi MIX 2S as the companys flagship smartphone, and the 8th anniversary smartphone is rumored to do the same, even though we dont really have any details when it comes to that smartphone, other than the fact it will sport iPhone X-esque facial scanning. It remains to be seen if Xiaomi will introduce all three of the aforementioned devices during its Shenzhen event, but it sure seems like it, as not only rumors are saying so, but the companys tagline for the event more or less confirmed that this will be its biggest event of the year.Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.To address a clear gap in the legal services market, a Melbourne boutique firm has launched a new food and beverages division.

Melbourne-based KHQ Lawyers launched the new division last week to offer an experienced, industry-tailored approach, it said. The division covers product labelling, marketing and commercial, and regulatory advice, as well as a full complement of commercial services.

The firm has serviced food and beverage industry clients in both Australia and New Zealand for more than a decade, but the need to launch a new division for the sector has become apparent, senior lawyer Amelia Edwards said. It had become critically important to provide a bespoke service offering as the industry has become increasingly competitive and highly regulated, she said.The obsession the Japanese have with the character has even engulfed public officials and companies. The latest to succumb to the Sanrio perpetual 3rd-grade student charm is transportation company West Japan Railway, which on June 30 will begin using a very special train.Part of the 500 series, the Hello Kitty shinkansen bullet train would link the Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka Prefecture to Hakata in Fukuoka Prefecture. And to be true to the character it celebrates, it will be mostly pink.According to Japan Times , the Hello Kitty trains interior has tons of pink accents, as well as images of the Kitty all over the place. Even a themed photo booth would be fitted for all those wanting and willing to remember the ride in the special train.Most of the cars of the train have names and will serve various functions. The first car of the train will be called Hello! Plaza and will have no passenger seats.It will be used instead to promote various parts of Japan through different interiors, starting with the Shimane and Tottori prefectures from inauguration date to September 30. Other regions will follow.For those waiting for the train, its arrival would be announced not with the usual jingle letting travelers know a train is incoming, but with the Hello Kitty theme song.Those willing to reserve a ticket for the train will be met on the companys website with a pink background and all sorts of ribbons attached here and there.The photos of the train which have surfaced on Twitter mostly show the interior of the Hello Kitty. The company that created it says official pics of the rig would be released closer to the launch date.As announced countless times before, this years climb would be completed by Volkswagen in an electric car. Called the I.D. R , the vehicle aims to defeat the existing record for electric vehicles of 8:57.188, set two years ago by Rhys Millen.To do that, the car will use two electric motors that give it naught to sixty-two acceleration of only 2.25 seconds, a bit faster than Formula 1 and Formula E cars. 680 horsepower and a torque of 650 Nm are meant to insure its success on the 156 turns spread over a 12.42 miles (20 km) distance.Not using a combustion engine, the I.D. R Pikes Peak will be capable of maintaining constant power as it climbs to the top.But power is not all a car needs to do a successful climb. Aerodynamics had to be taken into account as well, perhaps more than anything.Volkswagen says it tested several different half-size scale models of the I.D. R before setlting on the current configuration, which features a huge rear wing. For the full-size chassis, Volkswagen claims to have used around 2,000 3D-printed parts.The rear wing is supposed to compensate for the 35 percent of downforce loss compared to a racetrack at sea level.For this reason, we concentrated mainly on achieving optimal cornering speeds, said Francois-Xavier Demaison, Volkswagen Motorsport technical director.The entire chassis is designed to generate as much downforce as possible, without causing too much aerodynamic drag,When going for the new record on June 24, the I.D. R would be driven by Le Mans winner Romain Dumas.For those that have reserved and patiently waited for Mitsubishi's latest seven-seater, we have some good news for you. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) has officially announced that the first batch of units of the Xpander is now in the country.

Recently arriving at the Bauan International Port in Batangas, MMPC stated that customer deliveries of the Xpander will commence by the end of May 2018. With over 3,800 paid bookings received by the end of April 2018, the company said that they are both overwhelemed and glad of the market's perception of the Xpander.

With the all-new Xpander's class-leading features and with its very competitive pricing, we are looking at the great success of this model. We thank the Filipinos for their warm market acceptance and we hope to have the same success that this model is currently reaping in Indonesia, said Mutsuhiro Oshikiri, president and CEO of MMPC.

In review, the all-new Xpander is produced at the company's Krama Yudha facility in Bekasi, Indonesia. Inaugurated more than a year ago, the Indonesian plant is capable of producing 160,000 vehicles annually with the Xpander comprising 50-percent of production. The company expects that they will be exporting 30,000 units of the Xpander within the year alone.

With supply units expected to stabilize in the coming weeks, Mitsubishi hopes that they will be able to export more units in ASEAN. To date, domestic sales of the Xpander in Indonesia have exceeded 66,000 units. This resulted in Mitsubishi planning to increase production to 10,000 units a month to meet both domestic and export demands beginning in July.Although the pilot shortage has mainly manifested in regional flight cancellations in the U.S., the largest Persian Gulf carrier, Emirates, is reportedly ready to park 18 percent of its fleet. Airline Geeks says Emirates will also reduce pilot staffing on long-haul flights and that its deployment of pilots might be part of the reason its having trouble attracting them. The website says the airline will idle 36 Boeing 777s and 10 A380s by July and its cut the frequency of flights to some destinations and eliminated flights to others.

The site reports Emirates pilots are well paid but Chinese airlines are offering signing bonuses of up to $300,000 and allowing pilots to commute to work from anywhere in the world. Working conditions at Emirates are also part of the problem. Emirates pilots work 90 hours a month and the crew rest requirements of its aviation regulators in the United Arab Emirates are more lax than in most countries. That means the airline will be able to start staffing 12-hour and longer flights with three pilots instead of four. Plans are to operate three-pilot crews to Rio de Janeiro, Boston, Sydney, Sao Paulo, New York and Melbourne starting July 1. Pilots also reportedly dont like the work schedule. Most flights leave between midnight and 4 a.m., meaning their circadian rhythms are frequently out of whack.Tens of thousands of asylum-seekers have left the U.S. for Canada over the past year, as the Trump administration continues to impose and threaten stricter immigration policies, and many are now working north of the border, the Washington Post reports.

Why it matters: Canada is trying to use the unprecedented wave of border crossings to its advantage. The tactic seems to be somewhat successful, a labor ministry official told the Post, with 55% of asylum seekers quitting Quebec's social support program by the end of last year.

How it works: Asylum seekers wait an average of 19 months for a hearing in Canada, according to the Post. But the Canadian federal government recently decreased the wait time for work permits to just three weeks, and made it easier to move new immigrants to more rural parts of the country that have labor shortages.

Worth noting: Just 10% of the irregular border crossers in Canada are expected to meet refugee criteria, according to federal government officials.

Go deeper: The North American battle for Silicon Valley's tech talent.Giuseppe Conte, a law professor with no political experience, has been nominated by Italy's populist coalition-in-waiting to be the next prime minister. Luigi Di Maio, leader of Italys anti-establishment Five Star Movement, met with President Sergio Materella and proposed Conte for the role.

The big picture: The Five Star Movement and the League are on the verge of forming the next Italian government after a shocking result in last march's election. The markets have been rallying against Italian bonds in fear that the new government's policies will deepen Italy's fiscal crisis and harm relations with the European Union.President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of Venezuelas presidential election on Sunday with 68% of the vote. Although the main opposition parties boycotted the election, the two opposition candidates who participated came in at 21% and 11%. Maduro will serve another 6-year term after an election characterized by low turnout  46% compared to 80% in the previous race  and widespread allegations of fraud.

Why it matters: Although Sundays outcome is a far cry from the landslide victories of Maduros predecessor, Hugo Chavez, the countrys economic mismanagement and steady march toward authoritarianism are bound to continue.

What's in store for the country after Maduros re-election:

With generalized irregularities before and on election day, Venezuela will remain a competitive authoritarian regime  one where elections are held but the results are predetermined. The economic emergency will likely grow more dire, fueling a vicious cycle. The government corruption and mismanagement that contributed to hyperinflation, soaring violent crime, widespread poverty and the unprecedented exodus of Venezuelans will get worse as conditions deteriorate. Although the recent increase in oil prices has eased some of the financial strain on government coffers, the disarray of Venezuelas oil industry will prevent higher prices from translating into a palpable improvement in living conditions. With a

37% production decline since 2015, the governments inability to preserve its main source of hard currency suggests a slow but steady collapse of the state.

The big picture: As in 2005, boycotting elections has accomplished little for the opposition. To challenge Maduro in the future, the opposition will have to rally behind a common candidate, as in 2013, when Henrique Capriles lost to Maduro by only 1.5% of the vote.

Gustavo Flores-Macias is an associate professor of government at Cornell University.By Trend

The Baku - Tbilisi  Kars (BTK) railway route will provide an economic boost for the development of the region, Bulgarian Transport Ministry told Trend.

"Our country aim to provide suitable land and sea routes to serve the Euro-Asian traffic from the new railway corridor. Our analyzes show that construction of a railway line along the Baku - Tbilisi - Kars route as part of the Silk Road will offer an alternative to the route through Russia and will provide an economic boost for the development of the region," said the ministry.

The new link is expected to reduce the travel time between China and Europe with about 15 days, which is more than twice as fast compared to the sea route and at the half of the cost of air transport, according to the Bulgarian Transport Ministry.

"In this connection, the Bulgarian side participated actively in the discussions on the new project of the multimodal transport corridor "Persian Gulf - Black Sea". The cooperation of the parties on the Persian Gulf - Black Sea Corridor would contribute to the development of transport links between Asia and Europe and to the establishment of effective trade routes between the European Union countries, including Bulgaria, to Iran. Our country has a strategic geographic location and has the potential to become a transport hub for Europe. With the realization of all priority transport directions and projects, Bulgaria will become Asia's most direct route to Europe," said the ministry.

The official opening ceremony of the BTK railway was held in Baku Oct. 30, 2017. The BTK railway was constructed on the basis a Georgian-Azerbaijani-Turkish intergovernmental agreement.

The railways peak capacity will be 17 million tons of cargo per year. At an initial stage, this figure will be one million passengers and 6.5 million tons of cargo.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijan invites U.S. companies to invest in the non-oil sector of the economy, Azerbaijan's Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Elmir Valizade said.

He made the remarks at the panel discussion on investment and trade, held within the Trans-Caspian Forum in Washington on May 17-18.

Azerbaijan has improved its position in the leading international business ratings, and new opportunities for cooperation in the non-oil sector have been created for U.S. companies, including in transport and logistics, high technology, infrastructure, industry and other fields, said Valizade.

The deputy minister further spoke about the state policy in trade, transport and transit spheres in Azerbaijan, and informed in detail about the reforms recently carried out in the country under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev and the results achieved.

Brian McFeeters, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, in turn, expressed his country's support for the Trans-Caspian corridor, which is an important component of the modern Silk Road.

He stressed the important role of the corridor in the implementation of cargo transportation from East to West, and emphasized that the U.S. is interested in becoming a partner in this.

McFeeters further said that the countries of the region are implementing important infrastructure projects in the development of the corridor, and also noted the importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which was put into operation last year.

The U.S. is ready to cooperate closely with the countries of the region in this direction, he said, adding that he intends to visit the region in the near future.

Representatives of the state and companies spoke at the four panels organized within the Trans-Caspian forum: on technology and innovation, business and investment conditions, opportunities for sea, rail and air transport in the countries of the Trans-Caspian corridor, and on the transformation of the region into a global center in terms of energy and security.

In general, the event was attended by more than 200 representatives of government agencies, academic organizations, business and political circles of the U.S. and the diplomatic corps. The forum was held under the joint organization of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has more than 3 million members, and the Caspian Policy Center.

The U.S. and Azerbaijan established diplomatic relations in 1992 following the latter's independence from the Soviet Union. Last year, the trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $781.78 million, according to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee.

Presently, the countries work together to promote European energy security, expand trade and investment, and combat terrorism and transnational threats. The U.S. companies are actively involved in a number of projects in Azerbaijan, including the development of Caspian hydrocarbons in the offshore Azerbaijani oilfields.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzAzercell Telecom, the leading mobile operator of Azerbaijan, has represented the country at the next international exhibition.

The company joined XXV International Exhibition on Information and Communication Technologies TIBO-2018 under the auspices of the Ministry of Transportation, Communication and High Technologies in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. During the exhibition, Azercell introduced its latest innovative solutions, 3G and 4G technologies, M2M services for corporates, as well as Virtual ATS, allowing the companies to connect their mobile and fixed devices to a single network. Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov and other officials visited Azerbaijans national pavilion during the VIP tour of the exhibition and familiarized themselves with the innovations of our country in ICT field.

TIBO is considered a global platform for the exchange of new achievements and best practices in the field of information technologies. Over 100 companies from 15 countries participated at the exhibition TIBO-2018. The event received more than 18,000 visitors  mainly representatives of governmental sector, scientific-research and educational institutions, as well as companies with various ownership structures and industrial focus.

For more information, please contact [email protected]

The leader of the mobile communication industry, the largest taxpayer and the biggest investor of the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996. With 48% share of Azerbaijans mobile telecom market Azercells network covers 80% of the territory (excluding 20% of the occupied territories) and 99.8% of population of the country.

Currently, 4.5 million subscribers choose Azercell services. Azercell has pioneered an important number of innovations in Azerbaijan, including GSM technology, advance payment system, mobile internet services, Metro coverage, 24/7 call centre service, 7 day/week Front Office service, M2M services, one-stop-shopping approach Azercell Express offices, mobile customer services, Online Customer Care and Social Media Customer Care services, mobile e-signature service ASAN Imza etc.

Azercell deployed first 4G  LTE services in Azerbaijan in 2012. According to the results of mobile network quality and wireless coverage mapping surveys by international systems, Azercells network demonstrated the best results among the mobile operators of Azerbaijan. Azercell is the only company in Azerbaijan and CIS region which has been awarded Gold Certificate of International Investors in People Standard.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan Fashion Week 2018 showcases the best in local and international fashion.

The second day of fashion week brought even more interesting collections.

AFW showrooms were available for the guests.

Before the show, fashion lovers had a chance to talk with designers, learn about the latest fashion trends, discover new names and find something special for their wardrobe.

The second day of fashion Week was opened by Astrakhan designer Elena Tkacheva, Trend Life reported. The designer presented her collection in Baku as part of an agreement signed between Azerbaijan Fashion Week and Caspian Fashion Week.

Her children fashion collection "Mini" includes long pastel dresses with puff sleeves. The audience cheered the young models of Kiddos modeling agency.

The transition to the "adult" fashion was smooth thanks to the demonstration of the Kazakhstani brand MakhaAim who demonstrated mother and daughter matching dresses. The collection was distinguished by interesting colors combinations as well as shiny and matte fabrics.

One of the headliners of the seventh season of Azerbaijan Fashion Week, famous Moroccan designer Karim Tassi conquered the audience with his elegant collection inspired the East and the European fashion schools. The designer masterly skillfully combined male and female looks, couture and pret-a-porte.

For the second consecutive season, local brand GM Fashion Lab surprised fashionistas with the original cut of evening dresses. And if last season they were particularly successful in black dresses, this time the color palette was much wider.

The love of the brand's founders, sisters Gunay and Mehriban, to the brilliant flowing fabrics has become the reason for creating interesting evening dresses, which, no doubt, will please all those who like to be in the spotlight.

Kazakhstan designer Gulnaz Alkenova showcased pastel dresses at the fashion show.

If you're into wearing a lot of pastels and various shades of pink, blue this is what you are looking for. Stylish fashion details coupled with Swarovski crystals added dazzling sparkle to the collection.

Kazakhstan brand of men's clothing Revoltant Hommes added some brutality. The original sport looks, which opened the show, smoothly passed into kimono gowns with leather inserts, inspired by the East. The top stylist Fuad Hajiyev, who is participating for the first time as a model within Azerbaijan Fashion Week, became the real star of the show and was greeted with a storm of applause.

Within the second day of the show, Di brand founder, local designer Dinara Amrakhova, presented her collection at Azerbaijan Fashion Week for the first time. The collection featured brand's logo-butterfly. The designer presented a wide range of different models - from evening gowns to pantsuits with corsets.

MEEAMEE brand founder, local designer Medina Zalova left from her earlier ethnic style and showed sport collection.

Parcha brand closed the second day of Azerbaijan Fashion Week 2018. Notably, the founder of the brand, local designer Aysel Sadigova had prevails won the contest held by AFW in one of last seasons, and was trained at the European Design Institute. Sheshowcased her first capsule collection at Azerbaijan Fashion Week. This year Aysel Sadigova delighted fashion lover with the full collection.

The clothing line differed from all that was shown earlier, in style, silhouette and linen fabrics.

After the end of the fashion shows, AFW guests and participants enjoyed after-party, which was held in Space Hall with the support of one of the partners of the event - Martini Vermouth.

AFW is co-organized by Fashion Consulting Group and Azerbaijan Fashion Council. The event is supported by the French Embassy in Azerbaijan.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.az , Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan's honored art worker and famous fashion designer Fakhriya Khalafova has put on display her collection at Azerbaijan Fashion Week 2018.

Khalafova was inspired by pomegranate, known as Azerbaijan's national symbol. Pomegranate continues to be a motif often found in national fine arts and culture.

The dresses in second collection were created from the unique Uzbek silks. Brightness and ethnic motives of Uzbek fabrics inspired her for a new creative experiment.

The traditional Uzbek fabrics made with the use of ikat technology have become extremely popular in fashion industry.

The runway show featured music performed national folk sings on balaban performed by acclaimed musician Alihan Samadov.

Azerbaijan Fashion Week 2018 took place in Fairmont Baku Flame Towers on May 19. The runway show was timed to the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

The fashion show featured a series of fashion shows with the participation of such famous designers as Fakhriya Khalafova, Diana Ahadpur-Kengerli, as well as Alex Chzhen, Yerlan Zholdasbek, Makhaim, Mak Mari and many others who present new fashion collections Autumn- winter 2018/19.

Besides fashion shows, AFW showrooms were available for the guests. Fashion lovers had a chance to talk with designers, learn about the latest fashion trends, discover new names and find something special for their wardrobe.

Azerbaijan Fashion Week is held twice a year: in May and November. The main goal is to popularize the growing fashion industry in Azerbaijan and create conditions for demonstrating the work of talented designers.

Media partners of the event are Azernews.az ,Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az.

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan Carpet Museum celebrated the International Museum Day on May 18.

An interactive installation called "Weave your thread" was presented to museum visitors, Trend Life reported.

The event was attended by prominent public figures, representatives of culture and science, diplomatic missions, etc.

Addressing the event, museum director, Chairman of ICOM National Committee Azerbaijan, Ph.D. in art criticism Shirin Melikova said every visitor have a chance to weave a carpet as part of the project.

Three frame-machines for weaving the pile-less carpet "zili" were set in the foyer.

The coils of multi-colored threads are strengthened on the frames. Each visitor can weave one or more thread-rows into a future lint-free carpet, choosing the colors. The museum workers are always ready to assist and visually show the way in which carpets of the "zili" type are woven. Thus, this installation is not only a constantly changing art object, but also a tool for a master class designed for a very wide audience.

"Training of visitors to carpet weaving on the example of this complex and beautiful technique of a lint-free carpet is the first interactive experience of this kind in the museum sphere of Azerbaijan. Installation "Wrap your thread" helps the visitor to be not only a spectator, but also a participant in the process of creating a carpet in co-authorship with others. Unlike the work on the finished sketch, here the result of the work is unpredictable - it depends on the imagination of many people," said Shirin Melikova.

Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Abulfas Garayev congratulated the museum community on this remarkable day and stressed that the state pays special attention and care to the development of the museum sphere, important national and international projects are being implemented.

National museums, reflecting the history of Azerbaijan people from ancient times to the present and the way of development of its culture, play an important role in protecting and propagating the rich cultural heritage in country. Today a wide network of national museums covers all country's regions.

The director of the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan, academician Naila Velihanli and the Head of the Department of Icherisheher the State Historical and Architectural Reserve Asgar Alakbarov congratulated the museum community.

ICOM Council Azerbaijan members, Naila Velikhanli, the director of the National Art Museum,Honored Artist, Professor Chingiz Farzaliyev, the member of the council of two international committees, the director of the State Museum of Musical Culture, Alla Bayramova were awarded with diplomas for their activities in the committee.

Every year since 1977 the worldwide community of museums has celebrated the International Museum Day on May 18. Participation in International Museum Day is growing among museums all over the world. In 2017, more than 36,000 museums participated in the event in some 157 countries.

The theme chosen for 2018 is "Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics".

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Rashid Shirinov

The new comprehensive partnership agreement between the European Union (EU) and Azerbaijan is expected to be ready for signing in the first half of 2019, according to Javanshir Feyziyev, co-chair of the EU-Azerbaijan Parliamentary Cooperation Committee (PCC).

The negotiators on the new comprehensive agreement between the EU and Azerbaijan are present in each PCC meeting to inform us about the current situation on talks, he said in an interview with EurActiv.

The co-chair added that the new agreement is supposed to cover all political, economic, social and cultural sides of the EU-Azerbaijan relations, including trade and investment, human rights and rule of law, education, environment and other sectoral cooperation, including in energy and transport.

There is no time restriction, but the negotiators are really making all their efforts to accelerate the process. We believe the governments will be able to finalize talks by the end of this year and a new agreement to be ready for signing in the first half of 2019, Feyziyev said.

In November 2016, the European Council adopted a mandate for the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to negotiate, on behalf of the EU and its member states, a comprehensive agreement with Azerbaijan.

The new agreement should replace the 1996 partnership and cooperation agreement and should better take account of the shared objectives and challenges the EU and Azerbaijan face today. The agreement will follow the principles endorsed in the 2015 review of the European Neighborhood Policy and will offer a renewed basis for political dialogue and mutually beneficial cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan.

In the interview, Feyziyev also noted that as the biggest political power of the continent, the EU must be able to contribute to a peaceful solution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Azerbaijan expects from the EU a transparent, fair and honest approach toward the situation and contribution to a solution of the conflict in accordance with international norms and principles, within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the PCC co-chair said.

He also emphasized that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict keeps the entire region from development.

The 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.

Until now, Armenia controls fifth part of Azerbaijans territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

The conflicts faced by Azerbaijan and Serbia must be resolved in line with the norms and principles of international law and territorial integrity of the two countries, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said May 21 in Baku while making press statements together with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

Mr. President, first of all, I once again cordially welcome you to Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev told Vucic. We attach great importance to your visit. I am sure the results of the visit will open up new opportunities for the development of the Serbia-Azerbaijan friendship and strategic partnership ties.

We are strategic partners and among the documents signed today was the Joint Action Plan for the Strategic Partnership," the president said. "This is a very voluminous and important document. The document reflects all important issues related to our further cooperation. We constantly support each other at international organizations. We support each other in all important issues.

We always support each other at all international organizations in the issues related to the territorial integrity, sovereignty, inviolability of the borders of our countries, he said. The conflicts that we have faced must be resolved in accordance with the norms and principles of international law, within the territorial integrity of our countries. The conflicts must be resolved within the corresponding resolutions of the UN Security Council. In this issue, we always render and will render mutual support to each other."

President Aliyev stressed that among the issues discussed today, economic cooperation has a special place.

"We highly appreciate the steps taken in this direction. However, we are absolutely sure that the existing trade turnover does not reflect our economic potential. There is a growth, but absolute indicators are still very low. That is why, I am sure the issues that have been discussed and are to be discussed during the visit will lead to an increase in the turnover in the future. There are good opportunities for that," the president noted.

President Aliyev further assessed prospects for cooperation in the energy sector as encouraging.

"This issue is reflected in the signed Action Plan, he said. Azerbaijan is an initiator and an active participant of giant energy projects. The Southern Gas Corridor Project has a special place among them.

In the next days, we will celebrate the completion of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 project, the president said. TANAP gas pipeline is to be commissioned the next month. Thus, the main projects of the Southern Gas Corridor will be completed."

This is Azerbaijan's another contribution to energy security, President Aliyev said. This big energy project has had a positive impact on the settlement of issues of broad international cooperation. Presently, cooperation in the energy sector in our region is rising to a new level."

The president reminded that the ceremony of launching the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was held in Baku in October 2017.

"The railway is also of great importance, he said. Asia and Europe will be connected through Azerbaijan and other countries thanks to the beginning of the operation of the railway. This is the shortest way from Asia to Europe and back. Cargoes are already being sent via this railway and the volume of cargo will grow.

Of course, we also see Serbia as an active participant of this railway, he added. I think that our relevant structures can already begin negotiations on this issue for us to be able to increase the freight traffic. Thus, energy and transport projects being implemented upon the initiative of our country open up new possibilities for broad cooperation. This will give a momentum to the development of tourism, increase bilateral trade turnover and thus enhance stability, ensure security in our region, in the Eurasian area."

President Aliyev added that the humanitarian sphere has a very important place in the relations between Serbia and Azerbaijan.

"Mr. President, I know that you will participate in the opening ceremony of the Center for Serbian Language and Culture at the Azerbaijan University of Languages, he said. I am sure that you know and you will see that Azerbaijan has a great interest, great respect for your people, culture, literature of your people. The ties in the humanitarian sphere have an important place in the development of relations between the peoples.

I think the mutual development of the tourism sector will bring income to our countries, people will get to know each other better, they will become friends, just like our countries," the president said. "Our countries are friendly countries. As I have noted they are strategic partners. I am sure that after the visit our relations will get a new impetus, new dynamics for Serbia and Azerbaijan to act as the countries constantly supporting each other, helping each other.

We appreciate the policy being carried out by you in your country, he said. You protect the independent policy of Serbia, rule your country confidently. People support you greatly. Your policy is appreciated by the Serbian people. We, as your friends, rejoice at this. We are sure that the Serbia-Azerbaijan relations will continue to have an important place in your agenda.

Relations with Serbia are very important for us, the president said. I am sure there are all opportunities, conditions for the successful development of these ties in the future. The main thing is that there is a very strong joint will. I think that in the next years we will live upon these desires, develop the Serbia-Azerbaijan ties. Thank you.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

Radar stations of Azerbaijan's Air Defense Forces monitor all aircraft moving in the country's airspace, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a message on May 21.

The ministry stated that Armenian media reports related to alleged use of tactical and military aircraft during the exercises of the Armenian Armed Forces in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is exaggerated and intended for Armenian audience.

"During the exercises on May 16 and 17, only Mi-24 helicopters and two Su-25 aircraft of the Armenian Armed Forces were used," according to the ministry.

The ministry reported that the helicopters took off from the Erebuni airport and flew in the direction of Vardenis-Zod and back.

"The planes performed flight in the direction of Sisian from the Gyumri airport in Armenia and landed at the Erebuni airport. The radar stations of Azerbaijan's Air Defense Forces monitor all aircraft moving in the airspace of our country. The information on routes of their flight is immediately automatically transferred to the command post of the Air Force," the ministry said.

The ministry stressed that the Air Defense Forces of Azerbaijan, using modern weapons systems, are capable of destroying any air targets violating the country's air borders.

"We once again urge not to succumb to such information provocations of the enemy," the ministry said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Kamila Aliyeva

The OPEC deal on oil production cuts may be extended beyond 2018 if the participating countries consider that the market has not yet been rebalanced, Head of Economic Research at Sogefi Group and expert in energy policy Luis Colasante said in an interview with Azernews.

He was commenting on whether the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) chooses to continue with the same strategy fixed at the end of 2016 following the expiration of the current agreement.

OPEC is not feeling pressure to start winding down the production cuts despite oil prices continue their strong rally with a crude oil price of Brent above $80 a barrel, he said.

OPEC sees the price spike as a short-term change driven by geopolitical concerns rather than the fundamentals of a much tighter oil market, according to the expert.

The geopolitics has taken over the oil market, pushing crude oil prices up to three-year highs, he noted.

The market price will continue to increase if Venezuela production continues to collapse. In two years the countrys production decreased from 2.4 to 1.4 million barrels per day, due to poor management of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA combined with U.S sanctions and legal actions from some oil and gas companies as ConocoPhillips which presses forward on recouping $2 billion from Venezuela, Colasante added.

The experts forecast for Venezuelan production is 1 - 1.2 million barrels per day at the end of 2018 and 900,000 - for 2019.

With this scenario, the OPEC members will not have to make a significant effort to cut production, because due to production loss in Venezuela and Iran, after U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the global nuclear accord with the country last week, the crude oil price will continue to increase, perhaps, hitting the $90 a barrel in the coming months, he said.

All OPEC members are satisfied with the benefits of higher crude prices, according to the expert.

In my updated forecast, I calculated that Iran could decrease its production to 560,000  700,000 barrels per day at the end of 2018. Iranian government was asking Chinese oil traders to maintain imports after U.S. sanctions, he added.

Until today Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates havent increased their production in response to Venezuelas collapsing output, because they prefer crude oil prices to be kept at a high level, Colasante noted.

In addition, Saudi Arabia, OPECs largest oil producer, will continue to push the oil prices to a level of $90-100 a barrel, according to the expert.

He named two reasons for that: first, the country wants to increase the value of a possible IPO and, secondly, to balance its budget.

Currently, Saudi Arabia is looking to raise $100 billion either later this year or in early 2019 by selling 5 percent of the state energy giant, Saudi Aramco, which is believed to be worth $2 trillion.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.

Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017.

OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

Meanwhile, the prices for black gold hit $80 a barrel on Thursday, May 17, for the first time since November 2014 on concerns Iranian exports could fall, reducing supply in an already tightening market.

On May 18, the price of a barrel of Azeri Light crude oil increased by $2.21 to stand at $81.03.

The prospects of a sharp drop in Iranian oil exports in the coming months due to renewed U.S. sanctions following President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from an international nuclear deal with Tehran has lifted oil prices in recent weeks.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Sara Israfilbayova

The first raw materials for the STAR refinery of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan SOCAR, being built in the region of Aliaga of Izmir (Turkey), will be transported from Azerbaijan.

CEO of STAR Rafineri A.S Mesut Ilter said that the first oil cargo for STAR will be delivered from Azerbaijan by the end of June this year, the relevant agreement has already been signed.

The Director General noted that the installation of crude oil will be initially launched in the third week of July.

The plant will be commissioned in early October, and the total spent amount will be $ 6.3 billion, he said, adding to date, 99.1 percent of physical works have been completed.

STAR Refinery will meet more than 25 percent of the processed oil products need of Turkey upon its startup. Certified with the first investment incentive granted by Turkey, STAR Refinery will eventually reduce the foreign-dependency of the country.

STAR Refinery, foundation of which was laid in 2011, is currently under construction on a 2,400-hectare site on Aliaga Peninsula. With a crude oil processing capacity of 10 million tons, STAR Refinery is underway as the most critical component of SOCAR Turkeys integrated energy solutions and value chain.

STAR Refinery will be put into service with a total investment of $5.6 billion. The construction of the Refinery is undertaken by a multinational consortium, comprised of Tecnicas Reunidas (Spain), Saipem (Italy), GS Engineering (South Korea) and ITOCHU (Japan).

The plant will annually produce 1.6 million tons of naphtha, 5 million tons of diesel fuel, 1.6 million tons of jet fuel, 300,000 tons of liquefied petroleum gas and 1 million tons of raw materials for petrochemical production.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

Tehrans police forces have dismantled three drug-trafficking bands in the Iranian capital city.

Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi, the provincial police chief, said that Tehran police forces have annihilated three big drug trafficking bands during the widespread operations carried out in the last 72 hours, ISNA news agency reported May 20.

The police forces seized over one ton of various drugs including morphine, opium, hashish and heroin from the smugglers, he said, adding that 15 members of the groups were arrested in the operations.

The police commander said that the smugglers had imported the narcotics from the countrys southeastern borders in Sistan and Baluchestan province and had carried the cargo to the suburbs of Tehran, were identified and arrested by security forces.

In similar development Irans police seized over 2,757 kilograms of drugs in armed clashes with smugglers in province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

The police forces arrested five smugglers in the clashes, the deputy police commander of Sistan and Baluchestan province, Ahmad Taheri said May 20.

The police forces also seized two AK-47 and two hunting guns from the smugglers, Taheri said.

Iran sits on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, as well as the Persian Gulf states. The Islamic Republic shares about 900 kilometers of common border with Afghanistan, over which 74 percent of opium is smuggled.

The fight against drug trafficking annually costs Iran about $1 billion, according to the official estimates.

According to the statistics, there are about two million drug users in Iran.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

France is looking to see if the European Union could compensate European companies that might face US sanctions for doing business with Iran, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday, according to Reuters.

Le Maire referred to EU rules dating back to 1996 which he said could allow the EU to intervene to protect European firms against any sanctions imposed by the United States, adding that France wanted the EU to toughen its stance in this area.

In 1996, when the United States tried to penalize foreign companies trading with Cuba, the EU forced Washington to back down by threatening retaliatory sanctions.

Are we going to allow the United States to be the economic policeman of the world? The answer is no, Le Maire told C News TV and Europe 1 radio on Sunday.

Strengthening that 1996 rule ... would allow us to take charge ourselves of the cost of any potential sanctions paid by firms, which could therefore be paid for on their behalf by the European Union, added Le Maire.

European companies conducting business in Iran face US sanctions after President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

The 2015 agreement, worked out by the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, China and Iran, lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear program. The pact was designed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.

The other signatories have indicated that they hope to salvage the nuclear deal.

Le Maire said European companies looking to invest abroad, such as in Iran, could aim to get financing from within Europe, rather than via US dollars or US banks.

EU leaders have pledged to try to keep Irans oil trade and investment flowing but admitted it will not be easy to do so. Irans foreign minister told the EUs energy chief on Sunday that the 28-country bloc was not doing enough to preserve the benefits for Iran from the 2015 pact.

On May 16, French energy giant Total (TOTF.PA) joined other European companies in signaling a possible exit from Iran in light of Trumps decision.

There might be some element of arbitration for the European companies in Iran, but ultimately nobody will want to get on the wrong side of US sanctions, said Lorne Baring, chief investment officer at fund management firm B Capital SA.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran further increases the degree of confrontation between the two countries in the region, and Iraq is not an exception.

After the parliamentary elections in Iraq have taken place this week, and the appearance of new figures in the political scene, the balance of power will change one way or another.

The election of the new government and the Prime Minister give rise to both fear and hope, depending on what policy the new authorities of the country will pursue. Tehran has a strategic aim to maintain its strong influence in Iraq, while Washington has a chance to break the so-called Shiite arc or Iranian land bridge  call it as you like.

Three parties have been so far leading in the polls to gain the majority of seats in the Parliament: Sadrist movement with about 55 seats, Victory alliance led by outgoing Prime-Minister al-Abadi with 51, and pro-Iranian Fatah alliance headed by Hadi al-Amiri with 50.

It is clear that none of the parties or movements cannot solely form the next government and will therefore need to create coalitions to gain the majority in Parliament and the future Cabinet. That is, the intrigue is still ahead.

When paying a visit to Iraq in mid-February, Ali Akbar Velayati, Iran Supreme Leaders adviser on international affairs, made statements on the then forthcoming parliament elections, which caused a negative reaction among the Iraqi political circles. We will not allow liberals and communists to govern in Iraq, Velayati then said.

He was referring to the alliance between the Sadrist movement and the Iraqi Communist Party  the same alliance, which is now leading the electoral race.

However, the same Velayati said a couple of days ago that the elections were very successful, and congratulated the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people.

By the way, why has such a seemingly incredible alliance between Shi'ite clergymen and Communists become possible, given the polar ideologies? As many analysts believe, the ground of the alliance is a purely pragmatic approach for the sake of the states survival: the eradication of corruption devouring the remnants of the Iraqi statehood, the creation of a technocratic government that will deal with the post-war reconstruction of the country, the rejection of sectarian strife and the preservation of the secular system in the country, as well as an independent state policy.

Moqtada al-Sadr as the leader of the faction of the majority will most likely have the final say in choosing the new Prime Minister.

Sadr is a Shiite cleric  a fact that is congenial to Iran, but at the same time he is a nationalist and an ardent supporter of Arab identity  another fact, which is welcomed by Saudi Arabia. He had armed clashes with the US, but that was long ago, in 2004, and much has changed in Iraq and the region since then.

We have a good relationship  bless you  with the Government of Iraq, and we believe that we will continue to do that, said Heather Nauert, the spokesperson for the US state department at a press briefing in Washington commenting on recently held elections.

Responding to a question whether the US feels comfortable that the leading two party lists include people who were opposed to the United States presence in Iraq up to 2011, she said: We are very well aware of Moqtada al-Sadr and his background and his positions now.

Many are guessing now what policy the new Iraqi power is going to pursue, oversimplifying it to a mere choice between pro-American and pro-Iranian courses.

But in fact some preliminary details have been just revealed, which helps to explain whats happening.

The Iranian Tasnim agency quotes Moktada al-Sadr, who announced after the preliminary results of the elections that he plans to create a coalition with Ammar Hakim and Ayad Allawi to form a technocratic government in the country.

He also said that the country should move towards reforms and the formation of a new generation in Iraq.

As a future Prime Minister, he sees Ali Dawai Lazem, who has been a two-term incumbent Governor of the province of Maysan. He is very popular among Iraqis because of his simplicity to communicate and practical activities in the implementation of infrastructure and public services projects in the province.

The post-war reconstruction of Iraq requires about $ 88 billion. Despite the fact that Iraq is the worlds third largest oil exporter and gets significant revenues from that, the country will hardly be able to accomplish the task on its own.

The main argument for winning hearts and minds of both the Iraqi authorities and the Iraqi street will be technical and financial assistance in the post-war economic recovery process and investment in the Iraqi economy. And here the chances of Saudi Arabia and its Western allies look stronger.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAzBy Trend

Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Timur Suleymanov described Iran as the most economical route for his countrys exports.



"The geographical position of Iran and Kazakhstans lack of access to the high seas have turned Iran to the most economical route for Kazakhstans exports," Suleymanov said on May 19 during a meeting with Iran's Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari in Astana.



Iran has a long record in the fields of science and research, he added, stressing that the two nations could boost their cooperation in the sectors of science and education, Fars news agency reported.



The Iranian minister, for his part, stressed the need for enhanced ties between the two sides in the various fields, particularly banking and economic industries.



Shariatmadari has travelled to Astana to participate in the Astana Economic Forum, Eurasias leading conference on economic matters, underway in the Kazakh capital.



The eleventh Astana Economic Forum kicked off in the Kazakh capital on May 17, welcoming 5,000 participants from 111 countries and more than 500 speakers, including former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former French President Francois Hollande and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Organized in Astana since 2008, this years event focuses on global trends and challenges.



The event will come to an end on May 19.

---Given a prepared and ready workforce, the company then needs strong business-continuity planning and smart, well-understood processes to secure company assets and keep operations running with minimal downtime when disaster strikes.

The better prepared companies are in an industry sector, the better the sector will be positioned to respond in an emergency and the more valuable it will become as a partner to government and society in meeting the challenges of disasters and recovery. Furthermore, when companies in, for example, energy, communications, logistics, health, infrastructure, and consumer goods come back online quickly, the total economic and social impact of a disaster is smaller.

In addition, companies can contribute beyond their own sector at the societal level to support operations nationally, regionally, or even globally. For example, logistics companies may transport emergency supplies to affected areas, or telecommunications companies may exploit their communications network to send emergency messages. (See "Lessons from Fiji.")

Lessons from Fiji When businesses develop strong private-sector networks, they can mount a much faster and more effective response in a crisis. In February 2016, a Category 5 tropical cyclone ravaged the South Pacific island nation of Fiji. When disaster struck, companies provided support, but most of their contributions were not coordinated with government or humanitarian partners. Nonetheless, the response showed the potential of the private sector and enabled important partnerships to be formed. For example, many of the islands in Fiji are very remote, so its difficult to assess damage and disseminate important information. The two major Fijian telecommunications companies, Digicel and Vodafone, partnered with the government of Fiji to send SMS alerts and provide assistance to farmers and other residents in remote areas. The disaster also motivated companies to establish the Fiji Business Disaster Resilience Council, which coordinates its efforts with government, humanitarian, and development actors. The council now includes businesses from multiple sectors and of various sizes, which meet monthly to share best practices and lessons learned to improve their preparedness and response.

Why Participate in a Network?

Companies gain a number of benefits from participating in private-sector networks. It is smart business.

Resilience. By participating in a network, companies can gain access to specialized resources that allow them to identify business risk before disaster strikes, which strengthens their ability to be better prepared and rebound after a crisis. Networks also allow businesses to access training in disaster preparedness, business continuity, and areas of risk to help strengthen internal operations. A strong and healthy business speeds the path to economic recovery and builds resilience in the areas in which it operates.

By participating in a network, companies can gain access to specialized resources that allow them to identify business risk before disaster strikes, which strengthens their ability to be better prepared and rebound after a crisis. Networks also allow businesses to access training in disaster preparedness, business continuity, and areas of risk to help strengthen internal operations. A strong and healthy business speeds the path to economic recovery and builds resilience in the areas in which it operates. A Stronger Collective Voice and a Seat at the Table. Businesses involved in private-sector networks can advocate collectively so that their interests and capabilities are understood by humanitarian actors and included in the broader disaster preparedness and response planning and activities. They gain the opportunity to contribute to key decision-making processes and to access the most accurate, up-to-date information about disaster risks and priorities.

Businesses involved in private-sector networks can advocate collectively so that their interests and capabilities are understood by humanitarian actors and included in the broader disaster preparedness and response planning and activities. They gain the opportunity to contribute to key decision-making processes and to access the most accurate, up-to-date information about disaster risks and priorities. Effectiveness. By engaging in a coordinated network and taking advantage of local knowledge, private-sector organizations can target interventions in the right areas, aggregate and scale operations for greater impact, and reduce the risk of duplication or gaps in coverage. Governments and humanitarian coordinators can engage with the network as a whole, rather than with individual companies, allowing for better coordination. Local assets and resourcesas opposed to imported aidalso tend to be more cost effective and beneficial to the local economy.

By engaging in a coordinated network and taking advantage of local knowledge, private-sector organizations can target interventions in the right areas, aggregate and scale operations for greater impact, and reduce the risk of duplication or gaps in coverage. Governments and humanitarian coordinators can engage with the network as a whole, rather than with individual companies, allowing for better coordination. Local assets and resourcesas opposed to imported aidalso tend to be more cost effective and beneficial to the local economy. Speed and Coverage. By participating in networks, local companies that operate throughout a country or region can help track an ongoing response, identify urgent needs, and target their strategy accordingly. Private-sector actors can improve humanitarian response times, particularly by exploiting existing capabilities in logistics, transport, or telecommunications.

By participating in networks, local companies that operate throughout a country or region can help track an ongoing response, identify urgent needs, and target their strategy accordingly. Private-sector actors can improve humanitarian response times, particularly by exploiting existing capabilities in logistics, transport, or telecommunications. Innovation on a Broad Scale. By linking private-sector actors in industries essential to crisis relief efforts (such as logistics, communications, and health care) and by benefiting from lessons learned across the network, networks can help ensure that the most innovative and effective products and services are used to improve disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.

The Role of Private-Sector Networks

Private companies and public-private partnerships can bring unique value to prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. On the basis of BCGs experience supporting the response to the Ebola crisis in 201415 (as well as other humanitarian response efforts), we identified a variety of contributions that private-sector companies can make, whether they are in-country operators, companies with expert capabilities, or companies that incorporate humanitarian response into their overall social impact strategy.

During the Ebola crisis, we found that a lack of organization or structure reduced the private sectors speed and effectiveness. One exception was the self-organized Ebola Private Sector Mobilization Group, which included more than 80 companies in Africa. EPSMG allowed organizations to share information and best practices related to Ebola response and provided a single point of contact to interact with the private sector. However, even this group developed organically after the crisis began. It required time and energy to establish at a time when rapid action was critical. This real-life example illustrates the importance of establishing in advance well-prepared private-sector networks in high-risk locations.

Broadly speaking, there are four primary roles that private-sector networks can play in disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery.

Coordinating Private-Sector Efforts. Networks can serve as a central coordination point for the private sector, connecting companies to national and international disaster management structures in order to facilitate efforts and initiatives before, during, and after emergencies.

In 2009, after a massive flood caused by a typhoon devastated metropolitan Manila, the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation was formed. Established to mobilize the private sector and create a critical link to government agencies, civil society groups, and local government units, the organization now provides a national platform for disaster management, preparedness, response, and recovery. By defining the roles and responsibilities of the private sector and organizing members into eight clusters (infrastructure; logistics; water and sanitation; emergency supplies [food and nonfood]; power, fuel, and energy; finance and insurance; health and emergency services; and search and rescue), the network aims to improve the effectiveness of members contributions. It has grown to encompass more than 80 members, including major multinational enterprises, such as UPS, Shell, and Coca-Cola, as well as high-profile local companies, such as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company.

Coordinating Efforts Among Industry-Specific Actors. Private-sector networks play a critical role in organizing their members to address industry-specific issues. The network can assign lead organizations, develop relevant resources and materials, broker charters and agreements among industry members to act collectively, and link companies to government and humanitarian actors closely linked to their industry. Networks can facilitate negotiation of long-term agreements that specify the capabilities and resources each company will provide and the role it will play in an emergency.

Madagascars Private Sector Humanitarian Platform began with a single telecommunications company, Telma, and has since grown to include more than 100 members. The network is included in the national contingency plan and organized into eight core industry groups, which are linked to local government ministries, humanitarian aid agencies, and civil society organizations. The eight groups are the following:

Water and sanitation (linked to the Ministry of Water and to UNICEF)

Education (linked to the Ministry of Education and to UNICEF)

Shelter (linked to the Ministry of Land Management and to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies)

Logistics and telecommunications (linked to the Ministry of Road Management and to the World Food Programme [WFP])

Nutrition (linked to the National Office of Nutrition and to UNICEF)

Security (linked to the Ministry of Population, Social Protection and Promotion of Women, and to Catholic Relief Services)

Health (linked to the Ministry of Health and to the World Health Organization)

Food security and livelihood (linked to the Ministry of Agriculture and to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and WFP)

Some companies also serve as regional liaisons to coordinate the actions in each region.

Networks can organize their members around themes that are based on current needs specific to the region. Themes may include, for example, refugees and displaced populations, election preparedness, water and sanitation, or hurricane preparedness.

Building Business Resilience. Private-sector networks can offer their members and their suppliers (especially micro, small, and medium-sized companies) training and information on disaster risk management and business continuity planning. This information helps companies strengthen their own resilience by protecting their employees, safeguarding their assets, and minimizing downtime in the event of a crisis.

The UPS Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Center, and the Corporate Social Responsibility Association of Turkey jointly developed a disaster preparedness initiative in Turkey called Saglam KOBI. Geared toward small and medium-sized businesses, which might otherwise not have access to this kind of training, the network teaches members how to protect their value chains and anticipate risks within their sector and industry. Members can also prepare an emergency action plan using the networks online Disaster Resilient Business Toolkit, a resource that lets companies systematically address risk factors across all aspects of their business. With UPS Foundation support, this material was further developed in Mexico and is being replicated in other countries.

Facilitating Information Sharing. Networks can also collect and disseminate information and best practices among members and networks before, during, or after a disaster.

In 2007, the Alliance for Risk Management and Business Continuity (AGERCA) was created in Haiti to ensure that the private sector had a platform to provide emergency support in a crisis. Working hand in hand with Haitis National System of Disaster Risk Management, AGERCA hosts regular conferences on topics related to disaster recovery management, promoting a safer work environment, and developing evacuation plans. The network also maintains a web portal that will in the future provide risk data, sorted by specific location within the country.

Many networks vary in their focus, depending on their capacity and members immediate needs. Some concentrate more on disaster risk-reduction training and emergency preparedness, while others emphasize how best to facilitate public-private collaboration in the aftermath of a crisis. However, the private sector has expressed the need for holistic engagement across different stages.

What Makes a Private-Sector Network Successful?

The UNs Connecting Business initiative (CBi) and BCG teamed up to try to understand what makes private-sector networks successful. Through an analysis of existing networks, we identified six principal elements that make private-sector networks successful, and seven primary resources that organizations can offer to strengthen disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. These 13 metrics can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of private-sector networks. (See Exhibit 2.)Official Oregon Coast / Washington Coast Lewis and Clark Guide - Corps of Discovery, Sacegawea

Updated 12/24/2012

Seaside and Tillamook Head

SAUVIE ISLAND. Just north of Portland's grand St. John's Bridge, along Highway 30, you'll find this enormous park. The Corps of Discovery explored this island a little as they came down the Columbia. It holds the distinction of being the only L&C site that has a nude beach.

COLUMBIA COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY MUSEUM. Learn about the Corps' campsite and activities along the Columbia. 511 E Bridge Street, Vernonia. 503-429-3713.

PRESCOTT BEACH COUNTY PARK. The Corps spent the night near here on Nov. 5, 1805, just upstream from present-day Rainier - and about a mile from St. Helens. Their campsite of November 6, 1805, was near Cape Horn in Wahkiakum County, Washington.

JULIA BULTER HANSEN NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. On the Washington side, Lewis & Clark notated scientific descriptions of various wildlife here. On Highway 4, in Cathlamet, Washington.

ASTORIA AND ASTORIA COLUMN. There are no actual Lewis & Clark sites in this charming and ultra-atmospheric town, but it's full of numerous other time-traveling opportunities. The Astoria Column has a mural that talks about the Corps' time here, and the hill it resides on is also the birthplace of cable TV. There are several historical museums that delve into Lewis & Clark history and loads of Victorian mansions. www.oldoregon.com.





MEGLER REST AREA. The Corps was trapped here by a winter storm for five miserable days in late November of 1805, nicknamed Clark's Dismal Nitch. Highway 401, Washington Coast.

STATION CAMP. This park, near Chinook, Washington, was where they settled down to camp and spotted the ocean for the first time - or so they thought - with Clark writing "Ocian in view! O! the joy" on November 7. In fact, what they were seeing was the limitless horizon, unbounded by any more bends in the river. The ocean was still 20 miles away. This was also where the famous vote was taken later in November - the first to include votes by a woman and a black man.





FORT COLUMBIA STATE PARK and CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT. Lewis was the first to romp around and up this headland and spot the ocean. Later, on November 18, Clark and a handful of men come here and actually spotted the ocean for the first time. Clark carves his name next to Lewis' on a tree. Highway 101, Chinook, Washington.

ILWACO HERITAGE MUSEUM. An interpretive center with loads of L&C information. Ilwaco, Washington.





FORT CLATSOP NATIONAL MEMORIAL. Just south of Astoria, this is where the Corps established winter camp from December 1805 to March 1806. The replica of the fort burned down in the mid-2000's, but has since been rebuilt. The visitor center is still growing and providing a wealth of information - not to mention the living history programs during the summer. Of the 112 days they stayed here, only 12 were without rain. Off Highway 101, east of Warrenton.





SEASIDE SALT WORKS. From January to February 1806, one group from the Corps went to the beaches of Seaside and boiled sea water for salt. The site is considered to be the exact spot by historians. Look for Lewis & Clark Way to find the replica of the boiling structure. Seaside. Take the Virtual Tour of Seaside, Oregon.





TILLAMOOK HEAD. Clark and a party of 13 meandered over the headland to check out a beached whale in Cannon Beach. Clark flowered over one viewpoint here in his journals, blessed with clear, sunny weather. There is a monument to him along this six-mile trail to Cannon Beach. Take the Virtual Tour of Seaside, Oregon.





ECOLA STATE PARK. Wander the same trail as Clark, his men and Sacagawea on their way to the creek and the beached whale. Incredible views are to be had here. Cannon Beach. Take the Virtual Tour of Cannon Beach.

LES SHIRLEY PARK. At the northern end of Cannon Beach, just north of downtown and the bridge, you'll find this park commemorating the spot with the beached whale - which was on the north side of Ecola Creek. It's considered to be the southernmost point the Corps traveled. Take the Virtual Tour of Cannon Beach.





WHALE PARK. A gazebo-like structure at the entrance to downtown Cannon Beach, close to the beach, features a whale sculpture, commemorating the whale on the other side of the creek. Take the Virtual Tour of Cannon Beach.





NEHALEM BAY. Or did the Corps of Discovery stop at Cannon Beach? There is a rogue (and convincing) theory Clark and the 13 came to 45 miles south of Fort Clatsop and not 25 miles, which would've brought them to the mouth of the Nehalem Bay. Come explore this stunning area and check out the insistence of the natives they were the Corps' last stop. This is only one theory, and the vast majority of historians do not buy into it. Still, even if you don't believe - it's a stunning place to light the fires of imagination. Take the Virtual Tour of Nehalem Bay, Manzanita.

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Oregon Coast Blogs: Travel Adventures, Shopping on the Oregon Coast, Nature, Beach Whimsy and Oregon Coast Real Estate Advice

Oregon Coast Adventures - by staff

Vote for Your Favorite Oregon Coast Lodging - Or Favorite Lodging Photo Here Yachats lodging, Newport lodging, Lincoln City lodging, Seaside lodging, Cannon Beach lodging, Oceanside lodging, Pacific City lodging, Manzanita lodging, Rockaway Beach lodging, Wheeler lodging, Depoe Bay lodging

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The latest discounts and deals out of Cannon Beach, on the N. Oregon coast. Check back frequently

A Guide to Manzanita, Oregon Vacation Rentals, N. Coast

Manzanita vacation rentals and those in the Nehalem Bay area reflect a vibrant sense of the beachy and retro. Manzanita lodging. Rockaway lodging

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Secret Beach Near Arch Cape Tunnel, North Oregon Coast It's nicknamed "Magic Rocks Beach" because of layers of large cobblestones that make interesting noises

Oregon Coast Cleanup Finds Plenty of Wacky and Disturbing Oddities and plenty of plastics were picked up from the beaches

Oregon Coast Restaurant Moment: Stunning Views at Tidal Raves, Depoe Bay You may see whales cavorting with their young

Oregon Coast Virtual Tour, Cannon Beach - Mushroom-like Blob at Hug Point Tour Hug Point and its myriad of details

Surreal Science of the Oregon Coast: a Look Back at Spring's Strange News Mother Nature can be a real crazy person on the beach

Glowing Sand, Extreme Low Tides Hit Oregon Coast; Ethereal Shot of Astoria More to come on these wild conditions later today

Mystical Spot Along Yachats Bay - Oregon Coast Virtual Tour A bit of Lord of the Rings in Yachats, Oregon coast

Viewpoints of Ecola State Park: Tillamook Head Lighthouse New photo added to Cannon Beach, Oregon Coast Virtual Tour

UFO Spotted in Seaside, Oregon Coast Some visitors come farther than others to the Oregon coast

Oregon Coast Right Now: Depoe Bay at Dusk Dusk can make the town look a bit like a bunch of Christmas lights

Oregon Coast Summer Fun - Oregon Coast Summer Preview Much awaits on the Oregon coast for the summer months, with events, fun and nature at her most interesting

180 Miles of Oregon Coast in Four Minutes Video: Zip up the coast, south to north (from Florence to the very tip of NW Oregon), in just over four minutes.

Video: Newport Glimpses, Oregon Coast A brief guided tour of Nye Beach, mysterious Jump-Off Joe rock structure, Newport's beaches, the bayfront

Video Tour of Manzanita, North Oregon Coast - from BeachConnection.net A video tour of Manzanita, on the north Oregon coast

Sneaky Oregon Coast Restaurant Reviews: Pelican Pub & Brewery Three stars out of five: Perhaps stick with simpler dishes and keep the expectations down a bit, or be prepared to have an excellent meal with some disappointing aspects.

Oregon Coast Safety Tips: Spotting Dangerous Waves They are sneaker waves of the Oregon coast - the biggest possible curse to tourism officials in the state

Sneaky Oregon Coast Restaurant Reviews An ongoing series of clandestine visitations by two writers on the Oregon coast (who will remain anonymous) to various beachy places to munch.

Restaurants, Dining in Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Wheeler, Nehalem It's here where youll find long-standing gems that seem timeless and classic, yet often cutting-edge in the culinary fireworks.

Oregon Coast Tour: Florence, Oregon's Gazebo Park, Old Town This cozy little park is perfect for a romantic interlude along Florence's Bayfront, after dark, as the lights of Old Town glitter softly on the river

Neskowin's Mysteries: Oregon Coast Virtual Tour, Lincoln City / Inland 101. Secret spots of Neskowin, more mysteries and prolliferation of shells on this atmospheric beach.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse and its Lore - Newport, Oregon Coast Virtual Tour Ghost tales of the Newport, Oregon landmark busted, but other scary tales remain

Neskowin and Ghost Forest Stump on Oregon Coast Another highlight here is the freaky 2,000-year-old stumps - nicknamed the "ghost forest."

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Forbidden Cliffs Virtual Tour - Oregon Coast, near Nehalem Bay It is one of the stranger and more startlingly beautiful places on all of Oregon's Coast.

Waldport & Seal Rock Virtual Tour - On the Oregon Coast Photos and details around Waldport, Alsea Bay, Seal Rock and surrounding beaches

Oregon Coast Virtual Tour: Mystical Spot Along Yachats Bay With a touch of Tolkiens Middle Earth, this little Oregon Coast spot classifies as a bonafide nook or cranny with an ethereal slant.

Neptune State Park, between Florence and Yachats - Oregon Coast Virtual Tour. It's lodged in the middle of forestland and rather easy to drive past if youre not looking carefully.

Odd Objects on Smelt Sands Beach: Yachats, Oregon Coast This oddly shaped structure resembles either a sea faring vessel or a space faring one - its hard to distinguish at times.

Rocky Delights - Secret Views: Newport, Oregon Virtual Tour, Oregon Coast HIdden delights of Yaquina Head in Newport, on the Oregon Coast

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Oregon Coast Travel: Legendary Lodgings of Waldport and Seal Rock South Beach, Waldport and Seal Rock cloister dozens of mesmerizing places to stay

Oregon Coast Summer Fun - Oregon Coast Summer Preview

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Southern End of Cannon Beach - Two Views, Oregon Coast Virtual Tour Explore the hidden southern end of this north Oregon coast hotspot

Yaquina Head, Newport - Looking down on the Oregon coast headland A look at hidden spots on the massive headland in Newport, Oregon

Oregon Coast Travel Tips: Hotels, Motels of Cannon Beach The hotels and motels of Cannon Beach - and the hotels and motels of towns nearby - reflect that atmospheric vibe, with intoxicating architecture and style.

A Different Look At Lincoln City, Oregon Lodging - Oregon Coast There are more lodgings in this town than any other along the entire Oregon coast, boasting something like 400.

Seaside, Oregon Unusual - Northern Beaches at Night Oregon Coast virtual tour, surreal night scene of the northern beaches of Seaside

Secret Beach Spot Near Neskowin - Oregon Coast, Lincoln City Virtual Tour This hidden Oregon coast wonder sits between Neskowin and Pacific City, just north of Lincoln City

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Oregon Coast Valentines and Romance - Romantic Winter on the Oregon Coast A guide to all things romantic for that cuddly holiday of Valentine's Day on the Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast Winery is Haunted, say Ghost Researchers A group of ghost hunters visited in the fall and believe the Oregon coast legend has more than wine spirits floating about

North Oregon Coast Town Recovers from Storm Drama Jenny Maxwell describes the palpable relief of people heading to their first Monday morning workday since the end of the north Oregon coast blackout

Memorable Novembers on the Oregon Coast When November rolls around, it always bring me back to some of the more eventful times I've had goofing around the coast

Another Crazed Romp Through a Myriad of Oregon Coast Bars More odd tales from up and down the coastline, a place where David Lynch had to have been inspired by - part 2 of the Bizarre Bar Tales of the Coast story

Bizarre Bar Tales of the Oregon Coast, Part 1 After the sun slides down below the horizon, it's when this region shows its true colors

VIDEO: Manic Tour Guide: Oregon Coast Zombies, Wacky Weather, Ghosts and Glowing Sand In search of zombie whales, ghosts on the coast, glowing sand, the green flash at sunset, and strange, alien bar life

Quaint Motel Gives Glimpse Into Oregon Coast Treasures, Past Whistling Winds in Lincoln City has quite a hilarious, even seedy history

Oregon Coast Weekend of Weird Weather, the Muse and Meanderings Late July meant some unusual conditions, finds and wacky fun

Three Days, 130 Miles of Oregon Coast Fourth of July Shindigs From Newport to Seaside, various kinds of celebrations lit up the area - in plenty of pictures

Beating the Breakup Blues with the Oregon Coast A small guide for the broken-hearted, or whatever loss may ail your soul

Oregon Coast Travel Blog: Walking a Ghost Town Bayocean was once a thriving resort that eventually tumbled into the sea

An Oregon Adventure On 100 Miles of Wild Coast From TV crews, crazed drunks and big festivals to more discoveries

It's Balmy on the Oregon Coast, So Where the Hell Are All the Tourists A journey through the mistakes of weatherforecasters, geologic time, half the central coast and some serious drunken sojourns as well

Into the Mists and Mysteries of the Oregon Coast February means all kinds of weather, conditions and surprises on over 100 miles of coastline

Word Spreads About N. Oregon Coast Mystical Legend The slightly paranormal Wheeler Moment is getting around

Weird and Wild on the Oregon Coast: My Own Personal X-Files How does a person get started on chasing paranormal stories about the coast? Here's how.

Rare Oregon Coast Snow Dazzles Tourists, Locals Many enjoyed a day off from school, at least as many complained about the cold  but mostly people were amazed

Oregon Attractions: Up and Away on a Coastal Copter Ride Seaside Helicopters is an upward rush of fun

A Research Expedition on Oregon Beaches One research trip turned into an intensive journey of discovery

Second Summer Rears Its Pretty Head on Oregon Coast The legend has arrived, bringing warm weather and some natural oddities

Oregon Coast Travel Blog: Beginnings of the Other Summer 2nd Summer is off to a slow start, but stunning surprises remain

Cushy Nights, Stunning Days at Oregon Coast Resort Newport's Embarcadero is pure eye candy and bundles of fun

Stranded on the Oregon Coast: Another Snow Storm Tale There's few pleasures like getting stuck on the coast when ice won't let you go home

A Stunning Oregon Coast Hotel, Ghosts and Talk Show Hosts Newport's Starfish Point is exquisite, romantic and the kind of place where tales come from

Digging Into Oregon Coast Sentinels Brings More Ghosts to Light Researching the ghost tales can conjure even more spirits

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Oregon Coast Shopping - by Peg Miller

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Oregon Coast Beach Whimsy - by Guy DiTorrice

Guy DiTorrice is the former head of the Oregon Coast Visitors Association and formerly gave fossil tours of central coast beaches as "Oregon Fossil Guy"

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Shoreline Secrets, and Other Tidbits of Oregon's Coast Guy DiTorrice gives away the BIG secret every tourist wants to get his hands on

Post-Winter Wonders of Oregon Coast: More Agates Weather and surf push stuff onshore while they take off sand, revealing treasures in rock

Oregon Coast Real Estate Advice - by David Timme

Oregon Coast Real Estate Watch: Finding Oceanfront Property A number of spots meeting the beachfront criteria are still availableDining, Restaurants in Yachats

Updated Weekly

Inside the Adobe Restaurant and Lounge, Yachats

(Yachats, Oregon) - Take a tiny bit of time wandering this tiny bit of a town and it wont take long to become entranced. Yachats may not seem like much on the surface, but a few lingered moments at the wild, rocky shoreline quickly reveal that nature is going bonkers in an astonishing way. With no real sandy beaches to speak of, the waves are forced to slam against these massive basalt structures, then exploding with eye-pleasing regularity.

Its also easier to work up an appetite here, because walking these large labyrinths is a tad bit more work than the usual sandy strand. That, mixed with the ocean air, seems to beg for respite at a nearby restaurant a little sooner than your average walk. Luckily, Yachats has lots of dining pleasures stuffed into its petite borders. Seafood, of course, abounds in plentiful numbers, as well as chicken, burgers and plenty of breakfast possibilities. Some of these spots offer oceanfront dining too  which is a particular positive along this wild and wooly shoreline.

Adobe Restaurant and Lounge. Views of the areas dramatic ocean are available from every seat, as the waves pound the rocky terraces of Yachats with wild abandon. Its a constant  but free  show. Inside, the warm woody decor offers an atmosphere thats at once upscale and yet comforting and laidback.

Breakfast goes from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday, while it goes until 2 p.m. on Sundays for an extra dose of kicking back, beach-style. Many items, such as the French toast selections are about $8.50, which can include an intriguing set of toppings such as applesauce, ham, bacon, links, cinnamon butter or cheese sauce, orange cream or raspberry syrup. There are many varieties of waffles, biscuits and gravy, eggs done with a Mexican flair, or with oysters, diced ham, mushrooms and even grilled top sirloin. Other egg dishes include Eggs Benedict with lots of cheeses, Huevos Rancheros or eggs New York. Omelets come with seafood such as Oregon bay shrimp, smoked salmon or crab for around $10. Look for more extravagant stuff like an open faced frittata, steak fajita omelet, Spanish omelet, ham n cheese omelet, or sliced mushroom n cheese  all around $8.50.

Lunch includes lots of salads with chicken, crag, salmon or just veggies. Look for entrees like their Indonesian-flavored grilled with coconut and sweet and sour sauce, sauteed fish, fish n chips, club steak, crab cakes clam strips, chicken strips or pastas  all around $10. Theres a hefty selection of burgers and sandwiches that include barbecue sauces, grilled turkey, crab melt, shrimp melt, a Reuben or spicy varieties.

For dinner, start off with appetizers around $8, which include fresh oysters, escargots in burgundy, stuffed mushroom caps or a fruit and cheese plate $8. There are clam chowders and other soups. Seafood entrees are $17 - $24, such as grilled local oysters rolled in bread crumbs, fettuccine with bay shrimp, scallops and crab; a smoked salmon fettuccine; scampi al ferri, stir fried shrimp, shrimp in a corn tortilla (Mexican style), a large crab pot in various cheeses and a massive captains platter.

Numerous vegetarian specialties are also available.



Theres lots of chicken and beef, including pepper steak, filet mignon, New York steak, chicken teriyaki, stir-fry chicken and a seven-ounce chicken breast baked or broiled ($18 - $27).

There are early bird specials from 5 to 6 p.m. 1555 Hwy 101. Yachats, Oregon. 800-522-3623. (541) 547-3141. www.adoberesort.com/dining.htm

Restaurant Moment from Yachats  Extraordinary Views

Oregon Coast Dining Moment: Heidi's in Yachats It's small, it's charming, and it's wowing. Taking in pasta - or any dish from a local restaurant - on the overlooks above the surf is one of life's most sublime pleasures. The view at Yachats and the rocky areas near the surf provide some of the best dining, picnicking possibilities on the entire coast. And if the weather is crummy - even better: watch the wild show from the warmth of your car. All about Heidi's Restaurant in Yachats - more here.....

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Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.netUpdated Weekly

List of Oregon Coast Oceanfront Lodging, Hotels, Rentals - Best of Oregon Coast Oceanfront Lodging, Hotels, Rentals

For those looking for that oceanfront experience, youll find them in towns like Seaside, Cannon Beach, Arch Cape, Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Oceanside, Pacific City, Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Newport, Waldport and Yachats. Heres a guide to some of the favorites and famous ones, what many consider the best in oceanfront lodging.

But don't forget the lodgings close to the ocean - there's plenty near the sea. A separate listing for that is here: lodging close to beach, ocean

Full Oregon Coast Lodging listings here.

General Oregon Coast

Oregon Beach Vacations. Over 200 homes available as vacation rentals all over the coast: Seaside, Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Rockaway, Pacific City, Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, Newport and Florence. Offices in Lincoln City and Cannon Beach. 1-800-723-2383. www.oregonbeachvacations.com

Oceanfront in Seaside:

Beach House Vacation Rentals, Inc. Over 100 between Seaside and Warrenton. Highway 101. Seaside, Oregon. 1-800-995-2796. www.beachhouse1.com.





Seashore Inn. 60 North Promenade, Seaside, Oregon. 503.738.6368. 888.738.6368. www.seashoreinnor.com/

Oceanfront in Cannon Beach, Arch Cape:

Beachcomber Vacation Homes, Cannon Beach. Numerous vacation rentals, including Falcon Cove and Arch Cape. 115 Sunset Blvd. 855-219-4758. 503-436-4500. Website.

Cannon Beach Vacation Rentals. 60 vacation homes to choose from, all in Cannon Beach or Arch Cape. 164 Sunset. Cannon Beach, Oregon. 503-436-0940. 866-436-0940. www.visitcb.com

Tolovana Inn. 800-333-8890. 3400 S. Hemlock Street Cannon Beach, Oregon. www.TolovanaInn.com

Schooners Cove Inn. All oceanfront rooms and suites w/ remodeled kitchens and bathrooms. 188 North Larch Street. Cannon Beach, Oregon. (800) 843-0128. www.schoonerscove.com.



Oceanfront in Manzanita:

Beach Break Vacation Rentals, LLC. Rental houses in Manzanita, along Nehalem River, Falcon Cove, Neahkahnie Mountain, Rockaway Beach, down to Cape Meares. Office in Nehalem, on 101. 503-368-3865. 877-655-0623. www.beach-break.com

Sunset Vacation Rentals. 70 homes inn Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Nedonna Beach and the secretive Falcon Cove. 186 Laneda Ave., Manzanita, Oregon. 503-368-7969. 800-883-7784. www.ssvr.com.

Ocean Inn. 32 Laneda Ave. Manzanita, Oregon. 503-368-7701. 866-368-7701. www.oceaninnatmanzanita.com.



Oceanfront in Rockaway Beach:

Tradewinds Motel, Rockaway Beach. 523 N. Pacific St., Rockaway Beach. (503) 355-2112 - 1-800-824-0938. www.tradewinds-motel.com







Sunset Vacation Rentals in Rockaway. About 70 homes to choose from in north Oregon coast hotspots like Manzanita, Neah-Kah-Nie, Rockaway Beach, Nedonna Beach and the secretive Falcon Cove.. 503-368-7969. 800-883-7784. www.ssvr.com.

Oceanfront in Oceanside, Netarts:

Oceanfront Rentals in Oceanside. Three bedrooms in one magical cottage on Oceansides beach. Oceanside, Oregon. 1-800-723-2383 WEBSITE here

Oceanfront in Pacific City, Tierra Del Mar:

The Inn at Cape Kiwanda. 33105 Cape Kiwanda Dr. Pacific City, Oregon. 888-965-7001 www.InnAtCapeKiwanda.com





Headlands Lodge, Spa and Rentals. Upscale beachfront rentals and hotel. Pacific City. 888-965-7000. Headlands Website here

Open Nest Vacation Rentals. Dozens of vacation homes - two beachfront. 1-877-549-2632 or 503-965-5776. Shorepine Drive, Pacific City, Oregon. Book online - Open Nest Website

Oceanfront in Lincoln City:



Coho Oceanfront Lodge. Upscale, luxury hotel w/ some pet friendly. 1635 Northwest Harbor Ave. Lincoln City. 800 848 7006. www.thecoholodge.com.

D Sands Condominium Motel, Lincoln City. 171 S.W. Highway 101. 800-527-3925. www.dsandsmotel.com

Inn at Spanish Head. All oceanfront rooms - nestled against a rugged cliffside. 4009 SW Highway 101. Lincoln City, Oregon. 1-800-452-8127 or 541-996-2161. www.spanishhead.com

A1 Beach Rentals, Lincoln City. Lincoln City, Oregon. 1-(503)-232-5984. www.a1beachrentals.com.







Inn at Lincoln City. Directly across the street from D River Wayside. 1091 SE 1st Street. Lincoln City, Oregon. (541) 996-4400. Website here.

Sea Horse Oceanfront Lodging. High panoramic beach views from oceanfront rooms. 1301 NW 21st Street, Lincoln City, Oregon 97367. Toll Free 800-662-2101 or 541-994-2101. www.seahorsemotel.com

Keystone Vacation Rentals. Luxury oceanfront condos. Depoe Bay and Lincoln City. (503) 443-1414). www.KeystoneVacationsOregon.com

Looking Glass Inn. In Taft District, across from Siletz Bay. Cape Code-style inn. 861 SW 51st Ave. Lincoln City, Oregon. 800-843-4940. www.lookingglass-inn.com

Pelican Shores Inn. Every room a fabulous view. 2645 NW Inlet Ave. 800-705-5505. www.pelicanshores.com

The Shearwater Inn, Hotel - Upscale hotel, wonderful ocean views. . 120 NW Inlet Court. Lincoln City, Oregon.(541) 994-4121. 800-869-8069. www.theshearwaterinn.com

Ocean Terrace Condominiums. Luxury condo-style rooms. 4229 SW Beach Ave. Lincoln City, Oregon. (541) 996-3623. www.oceanterrace.com





Ester Lee Motel. 3803 S.W. Hwy. 101, Lincoln City, Oregon. 541-996-3606. www.esterlee.com/

Oceanfront in Depoe Bay:

Keystone Vacation Rentals. Luxury oceanfront condos. Depoe Bay and Lincoln City. (503) 443-1414). www.KeystoneVacationsOregon.com

An Ocean Paradise Whales Rendezvous, Depoe Bay. Two oceanfront suites for a romantic getaway: . 147 N. Highway 101. Depoe Bay (15 mins from Newport, Oregon). 541-765-3455. Website here.

Oceanfront in Newport, Oregon

Inn at Nye Beach. Stunning views of Nye Beach. 729 NW Coast St. Newport, Oregon. 541.265.2477. 800.480.2477. www.innatnyebeach.com

Agate Beach Motel. 10 beachfront units. 175 NW Gilbert Way. Newport, Oregon (half hour drive from Lincoln City). 541-265-8746. www.agatebeachmotel.com

Nye Beach Condos & Cottages. Adorable cottages with a somewhat historic vibe to sleek, modern units  all with ocean views or at least a quick beach access. 24-hour access to staff. 729 NW Coast St. Newport, Oregon. 541.265.2477. Adorable cottages with a somewhat historic vibe to sleek, modern units  all with ocean views or at least a quick beach access. 24-hour access to staff. 729 NW Coast St. Newport, Oregon. 541.265.2477. Website here

Oceanfront in Waldport, Florence, Yachats:

See Oregon Beach Vacations 800-723-2383. www.oregonbeachvacations.com

Oregon Coast Lodgings, Rentals Near the Ocean or on the BayDining, Restaurants in Manzanita, Nehalem, Rockaway Beach - N. Oregon Coast

Updated Weekly

(Manzanita, Oregon) - Oregon's north coast presents some of the best restaurants and dining possibilities along the entire shoreline. It's here where youll find long-standing gems that seem timeless and classic, yet often cutting-edge in their culinary fireworks.

It's no secret that in the Nehalem Bay area, you have to be among the best to remain in business during those often-lonely winter months where tourists can be few and far between. So those that have weathered the years do so because they are exceptional, competing with the best Portland can provide, and thus often thrive during the off-seasons.

Nehalem Bay consists of the towns of Wheeler, Nehalem and Manzanita, with Rockaway Beach on the outskirts. A 15-minute drive from Manzanita will land you in Cannon Beach, where numerous scrumptious possibilities reside, as well as down south just beyond Tillamook Bay.

There are also options here to order food online while on the Oregon coast.

For a complete list of dining possibilities on the Oregon coast, see the Oregon Coast Restaurant Dining Guide

MacGregor's A Whiskey Bar, Manzanita, is an upscale, intimate cocktail lounge in the heart of Manzanita, Oregon. Their mixologists can whip up anything you desire, though the focus is obviously on whiskey - MacGregor's has over 200 bottles of brown liquor. Reading and drinking have always gone hand-in-hand, so it only made sense for literary agent Chip MacGregor and writer Holly Lorincz-MacGregor to open the bar three years ago; Chip will happily talk to customers about the amazing top shelf. They also offer great food, beer, wine, and a variety of liquors, starting at moderate prices. If youre in the mood for a tasting adventure, they have pre-set and custom flights available, like the Oregon Bourbon flight or the Japanese Whisky flight, or maybe a tequila or rum flight. Coastal nights and MacGregor's front porch firepits make for the perfect setting when youre in the mood for a wee dram. 387 Laneda Avenue. 503-368-2447. Website here.





San Dune Pub. With a historical, even slight maritime vibe, the San Dune Pub is a classy staple among locals, regulars and tourists alike. There is nothing typical about this place, it's all about the food. Known for their exceptional burgers, they create a menu that suites every palate. Homemade salad dressings, sauces, and desserts are amazing. Appetizers in the $3 - $9 range include hummus as well as the usual. Other highlights: Fresh Willapa Bay Oysters and Seafood Bisque (weekends only). Plenty of burgers in varied incarnations like chili, bacon, cheese, teriyaki, BBQ, chipotle, veggie or chicken; lots of seafood possibilities. Wraps and ciabatta sandwiches around $8 include chicken, Caesar, pesto, turkey and bacon/swiss, among others. Soups and salads abound. Less than ten minutes from the surfing paradise of Short Sands; legendary live music hotspot. 17 beers, large wine selection, full service bar. 127 Laneda Ave., Manzanita, Oregon. 503-368-5080. www.sandunepub.com (burgers, seafood, chicken, tacos, lunch, dinner)

Restaurants Near the Nehalem Bay Area (Cannon Beach, Tillamook, Pacific City)

Cannon Beach Fultano's Pizza. Serious gourmet Italian at a family price. They deliver to local hotels, and they feature slices for lunch. Also you can order online. There's a special thin crust recipe that's especially tasty, crunchy and yet still tender in a way that manages to combine both those latter qualities seamlessly. Gourmet varieties like the Margherita (garlic and herb olive oil, three cheeses, red onion and more), a Greek-themed specialty, a Goat Cheese pizza, and specialties with Teriyaki Chicken, Linguica, BBQ Chicken and a variety of seafood selections. One item features a distinctive sausage with mashed grapes for the sauce, providing a subtle, sweet tang. The sausage is spicy and zippy, making a nice balance to the slight sweetness. One must-try is their pasta (about $10). They have a homemade tomato sauce that stacks up against anything Europe could dish out. 200 N. Hemlock and Second Street, Cannon Beach Oregon.. www.CBfultanos.com (503) 436-9717. Family dining Cannon Beach, pizza

Meridian Restaurant & Bar - 60 mins from Wheeler. A soaring ceiling with hardwood exposed native wooden beams gives way to tall windows that provide a stunning ocean view. The centerpiece to this dreamy atmosphere is a towering fireplace that doubles the cozy yet shimmering, seamless ambiance. The other centerpiece is the catch of the day and seafood thats already become famous. All dishes sourced from Northwest farms, most entrees are $20 to $30, some up around $45. The menu changes periodically, but a sampling of approaches includes: A smoked, black cod with pickled mustard seed, grilled cauliflower steak in a burnt carrot mole, abalone with mushrooms, or a rockfish rapini that graced with wasabi, Cara Cara orange and hot honey. Innovative breakfasts take on delights like hash pork confit or eggs benedict. Brunch and lunch menu features burgers, crab cakes, plenty of seafood and salad options. 33000 Cape Kiwanda Dr. Pacific City (35 mins from Wheeler, Oregon). 503.483.3000. Meridian Restaurant website.

MacGregor's Whiskey Bar, Cannon Beach. Searching for a crackling fireplace and something good to warm your insides? Cozy cabin walls, sharing a building with the historic Morriss Fireside Lodge. One of the largest selection of whiskeys on the coast  including over 200 brown liquors and a top shelf that will make you grin  but they also offer a full bar, incredible craft cocktails, beer, wine, and unique foods Recently moved to a larger space: 100 E 2ND St. Cannon Beach, Oregon. 503-436-0322 and 503-436-2917 for the Cannon Beach Restaurant. Website here.

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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permittedRestaurants in Pacific City, Oceanside, Netarts - Oregon Coast Dining Guide

Updated Weekly

The Pelican Pub and Brewery in Pacific City

(Pacific City, Oregon) - Dining along the Three Capes Loop means jaw-dropping views in little towns like Neskowin, Pacific City, Netarts and Oceanside. The restaurants here are few and far between, and merely a handful, but their menus boast a wide variety of culinary possibilities. One is actually a tiny B&B that serves up some awe-inspiring grub for guests, while others are legendary beachfront eateries that can even come with famed microbrews.

Youll find them in diverse little burghs like Pacific City, Oceanside, Tillamook Bay and even Rockaway Beach, and some are often known for their family atmospheres as well as accommodating grown ups in happy ways.

Meridian Restaurant & Bar, Pacific City. A soaring ceiling with hardwood exposed native wooden beams gives way to tall windows that provide a stunning ocean view. The centerpiece to this dreamy atmosphere is a towering fireplace that doubles the cozy yet shimmering, seamless ambiance. The other centerpiece is the catch of the day and seafood thats already become famous. All dishes sourced from Northwest farms, most entrees are $20 to $30, some up around $45. The menu changes periodically, but a sampling of approaches includes: A smoked, black cod with pickled mustard seed, grilled cauliflower steak in a burnt carrot mole, abalone with mushrooms, or a rockfish rapini that graced with wasabi, Cara Cara orange and hot honey. Innovative breakfasts take on delights like hash pork confit or eggs benedict. Brunch and lunch menu features burgers, crab cakes, plenty of seafood and salad options. 33000 Cape Kiwanda Dr. Pacific City, Oregon. 503.483.3000. Meridian Restaurant website.

Pelican Pub & Brewery. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and microbrews  all in a family restaurant with an amazing ocean view. It all begins with breakfast (generally around $10), that includes a large menu of egg concoctions, omelets, pancakes and surprises like breakfast burritos and benedict a la Florentine. Lunch ($9 - $11) has bundles of salads, seafood, chowder, sandwiches, fish and chips, and interesting morsels like wings, calamari, bangers and mash and even shark. Plenty of pizzas dominate. Amidst the usual toppings you can find chicken, spinach or even a barbecue sauce. Calzones as well. Dinner ($10 - $20) brings a fancier slant to the gourmet vibe, including salmon, beef brisket, prime rib, beef medallions, chicken and other seafood specialties dishes. Many pastas and a kids menu rounds out the culinary action. 33180 Cape Kiwanda Drive.

Pacific City, Oregon. 503-965-7007. www.pelicanbrewery.com.

Sandlake Country Inn. While not a restaurant per se, Sandlake Country Inn provides some stunning breakfast possibilities for those who are guests. Lovely, four-course gourmet breakfasts are served in the morning. A continental breakfast is also available. For the romancers, theres a special cheese fondue for two available. It contains cheese fondue, cubed artisan bread from a local bakery and sliced Oregon apples ($35). Relaxation and romance are the keys at this cozy B&B secret, hidden away in a country setting, along the Three Capes Scenic Loop, approximately one mile from the ocean and just ten minutes from Pacific City. The first certified green B&B on the Oregon coast: this historic landmark was even built from salvaged bridge timbers in 1894 from the shipwrecked Struan. 8505 Galloway Rd. Pacific City, Oregon. www.sandlakecountryinn.com. 877-726-3525. 503-965-6745.

Pelican Tillamook Tap Room. Inside a soaring family-friendly facility, you are dining with a view of the tap room, where much of the Pelican Brewery action happens. Deep in the heart of inland Highway 101 and the area's green, rolling hills, about 12 miles from the beaches. Indulge in a more downhome version of the Pelican's favorite cuisine, with specialties for kids as well. Start with appetizers like fries, a hummus based on their beer that comes veggies and chips, oyster shooters or fried cheese curds. Big sandwiches and burgers on tap such as various burgers, including one very spicy one with chipotle and fried jalapenos. Take to the ocean with the oyster basket (local Netarts oysters) or their famed fish and chips. A scrumptious Reuben is literally piled high with corned beef, while the elk burger will intrigue you. 1708 First Street. Tillamook, Oregon. 503-842-7007. Website here

Dining, Restaurants Near Pacific City and Oceanside

Fathoms Restaurant. Youll indulge in culinary excellence with one of the more breathtaking on the entire coast, several stories above the surf. Breakfast boasts various griddle classics like pancakes, waffles, French toast to pigs in a blanket (around $7), along with a large array of omelets in the worlds of seafood, veggies and meats (around $10 - $13), or build your own. A choice of more elaborate breakfast skillet dishes is available too. For lunch youll find an abundance of seafood specialties, pastas, salads and sandwiches. At dinner, steaks, clams, fish, chorizo, pastas and dozens of intricate, gourmet dishes grace the menu, made with extravagant flair and creativity, often in the $20 - $30 range. Find delicacies like Surf n Turf, Blackened Ahi, Wild Mushroom Risotto, Lobster Tails and chicken dishes, featuring interesting additions like stuffed mushrooms or Thai-influenced aspects, all creating the many layers of delirium. 4009 SW Highway 101. Lincoln City, Oregon. 541-994-1601 or 800-452-8127. www.spanishhead.com/site/restaurant.html (About 30 minutes from Pacific City, Oregon; about 50 minutes from Oceanside)

San Dune Pub. A historical, even slight maritime vibe; a classy staple among locals and tourists alike. Homemade salad dressings, sauces, and desserts. Appetizers in the $3 - $9 range include hummus. Plenty of burgers in varied incarnations like chili, bacon, cheese, teriyaki, BBQ, chipotle, veggie or chicken; lots of seafood possibilities. Wraps and ciabatta sandwiches around $8. Ten minutes from surfing paradise of Short Sands; legendary live music hotspot. 17 beers, large wine selection, full bar. 127 Laneda Ave., Manzanita (25 mins from Tillamook, 45 mins from Oceanside, Oregon). 503-368-5080. www.sandunepub.com

MacGregor's A Whiskey Bar, Manzanita upscale, intimate cocktail lounge in the heart of Manzanita. Mixologists can whip up anything you desire, though the focus is obviously on whiskey - MacGregor's has over 200 bottles of brown liquor. Great food, beer, wine, and a variety of liquors, starting at moderate prices. Tasting adventures: they have pre-set and custom flights available, like the Oregon Bourbon flight or the Japanese Whisky flight, or maybe a tequila or rum flight. Coastal nights and MacGregor's front porch firepits make for the perfect setting for a wee dram. 387 Laneda Avenue. 503-368-2447. Website here.

Also: Oregon Coast Seafood Restaurant Guide -Dining In Depoe Bay: Restaurants in Depoe Bay

Updated Monthly

(Depoe Bay, Oregon)  When it comes to food and wine, even tiny Depoe Bay has a distinctive take on dining. Even if a restaurant there isnt overlooking the water directly, on the western side of the road, its still looking out over the water.

A few stunning upscale examples of cuisine dominate here, but there are eateries for every taste and budget crammed into this diminutive burgh. There is at least one outstanding wine retailer, which augments any dining experience. Nearby, within a 15-minute drive, lay other food and drink standouts whose grub will stick to your ribs on your coastal jaunt  and often stay embedded in your memory.

Tidal Raves. Upscale yet casual dining, with massive windows to a raging surf that often provides views of cavorting whales and their young. Tidal Raves specializes in seafood and more. Varied menu caters to different tastes and budgets. Appetizers include much seafood as well as a goat cheese tart; lots of salads. Smaller items: Halibut tacos, green curry halibut, flat iron steak, fish n chips or a hearty cioppino are about $12. Dinner entrees include seared sea scallops, salmon or rib eye char grilled, crab casserole, Thai-spiced barbecued shrimp or a fancy pasta with various seafood (around $20). Breaded halibut or pacific cod, tiger shrimp with grape tomatoes and mushrooms, char grilled top sirloin, panko breaded razor clams or a wild salmon and shrimp with basil salsa  all around $20. Nice details like crab cakes that come with Basmati pilaf; some dishes available Cajun-style or Asian. Lunch menu features some of the same but smaller and less cost. Fanciful homemade desserts. Now includes an upscale bar. 279 NW Hwy 101. Depoe Bay, Oregon. 541-765-2995. www.tidalraves.com

Sirens Oceanfront Restaurant & Bar. Part of the Surfrider Resort, here you get to dine to the sight of waves crashing below at Fogarty Beach. Dont be surprised to spot a whale. An abundance of seafood and American family friendly foods are the backdrop to one of the best restaurant views on the entire coastline. Special event nights such as Prime Rib or Wine Wednesdays feature fun, enticing aspects of Sirens. Breakfasts are bold and savory here, followed by lunches with many seafood options. For lunch and dinner, side dishes include steamer clams, calamari, jalapeno poppers and more for $8 - $15. Burgers come on toasted brioch bun, and lunch features goodies like fish tacos, halibut fish n chips, cod fish n chips, grilled salmon, more. For dinner, highlights include a cioppino, Surf n Turf, crab mac n cheese, blacked shrimp fettucine alfredo, ribeye steak, grilled clams and more ($19 - $26). Takeout options. 3115 N.W. Highway 101, Depoe Bay, Oregon. (541)-764-2311. https://www.sirensoceanfrontrestaurant.com/

Baywalk Cafe. Along the bustling bay front and bridge of Depoe Bay, its a cozy charmer of homemade deliciousness. No dish is over $8. Legendary clam chowder made from scratch daily - and gluten-free. Settle down to a variety of fish n chips to a view of the ocean, including clam strips and shrimp choices (around $7). Chicken nuggets, chicken strips and a fried chicken sandwich also around $7. Burgers include cheeseburger or a massive chili and cheese burger or veggie burger - a la carte $4.50 or around $7 with fries. Six-inch hoagie roll sandwiches come with chips, choice of cheeses: ham, pulled pork, turkey, tuna, roast beef or grilled cheese around $6. Garlic fries, cheese fries, chili cheese fries and beer batter onion rings under $3. Small pizzas, taquitos, nachos, egg rolls, even hot dogs - all under $5. Plenty of coffee and espresso selections. 16 flavors of Tillamook ice cream ($1.75 - $5.50). Milkshakes too. Wi-fi. 16 S Highway 101, Depoe Bay, Oregon. (541) 765-7674.

Dining Near Depoe Bay

Fathoms Restaurant. Breathtaking views, several stories above the surf. Breakfast: various griddle classics like pancakes, waffles, French toast to pigs in a blanket around $7, along with a large array of omelets around $10 - $13. Plenty of seafood specialties, pastas, salads and sandwiches for lunch. At dinner: steaks, clams, fish, chorizo, pastas and dozens of intricate, gourmet dishes, often in the $20 - $30 range. 4009 SW Highway 101. Lincoln City (just north of Depoe Bay, Oregon). 541-994-1601 or 800-452-8127. www.spanishhead.com/site/restaurant.html (Fine dining, family, lounge)

Pacific City:

Meridian Restaurant & Bar, 50 mins from Depoe Bay. A soaring ceiling with hardwood exposed native wooden beams gives way to tall windows that provide a stunning ocean view. The centerpiece to this dreamy atmosphere is a towering fireplace that doubles the cozy yet shimmering, seamless ambiance. The other centerpiece is the catch of the day and seafood thats already become famous. All dishes sourced from Northwest farms, most entrees are $20 to $30, some up around $45. The menu changes periodically, but a sampling of approaches includes: A smoked, black cod with pickled mustard seed, grilled cauliflower steak in a burnt carrot mole, abalone with mushrooms, or a rockfish rapini that graced with wasabi, Cara Cara orange and hot honey. Innovative breakfasts take on delights like hash pork confit or eggs benedict. Brunch and lunch menu features burgers, crab cakes, plenty of seafood and salad options. 33000 Cape Kiwanda Dr. Pacific City (30 mins from Lincoln City, Oregon). 503.483.3000. Meridian Restaurant website.

Also: Oregon Coast Seafood Restaurant Guide -

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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permittedOregon Coast Lighthouses at a Glance

Published 09/30/2011

(Oregon Coast)  A list of Oregon coast lighthouses and some supplemental information. Search here for latest news on these lighthouses or further information. (From the upper half of the coastline only - more do exist south). See the virtual tour links provided for deeper details on the lighthouses.

Heceta Head Lighthouse, near Florence (above).

It stands 56 feet high on a 200-foot-high cliff, and is considered among the world's most photographed lighthouses. Construction on the Heceta Head Lighthouse started in 1892, firing up about two years later. It's visible some 21 miles out to sea.

The first-order Fresnel lens was made by Chance Brothers of the Birmingham area, who only manufactured two other lights in the U.S. That original lens still remains, with eight prisms and a total of 392 pieces that are two inches thick. A total of 12 lighthouse lenses were made in England and brought here, but apparently the Heceta Head Lightouse is the only one of them left that is first-order. You can visit year round, but it is dependent on weather and staffing.





Yaquina Head Lighthouse, Newport. On the tip of three-mile-long Yaquina Head sits the big one, standing at 93 feet tall. It is Oregon's oldest and tallest, first fired up in 1873, sometime after the name of the headland was finally switched from Cape Foulweather to Yaquina Head (and the cape ten miles up the road received that name).

The keeper's quarters here were built in 1873 but demolished in 1984. There are 114 steps up to the very top, which guides let you briefly peek into.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse in Newport. The second light in town is actually now simply a big home open to the public. It only existed as a lighthouse in the 1880's for three years, then shut down when the larger light to the north was built on the headland. After its shut down, and sat abandoned, sinking into greater and greater disrepair until some locals began rescuing it in the mid 20th century.

Now, you can tour the quarters and see how people lived (and dressed) back then as volunteers give you tours of the stately residence. (541) 265-3100.

Cape Meares Lighthouse. Just around the corner from Oceanside, it's the shortest on the Oregon coast, standing at a stumpy 38 feet high. The cliff is a few hundred feet high, however, making it the highest standing Oregon lighthouse in the end.

Back in 1890, it was constructed of bricks that were made right on the spot, along with iron plates that had to be hauled by wagon from Portland over the bumpy terrain of the coast range. The first order Fresnel lens was imported from Paris, France, shipped around Cape Horn, up the west coast to Cape Meares and then brought up 217 feet from a boat below the cliff by a wooden crane.

It's open to the public April through October.

Tillamook Rock Lighthouse, between Cannon Beach and Seaside. It's the only lighthouse in Oregon completely not accessible because it sits about a mile offshore.

It's been nicknamed Terrible Tilly because of the adverse conditions crews had to endure on this remote rock.

The lighthouse went into service in 1881, manned by four people at a time, stuck there for months. A giant winch was used to bring supplies and personnel from visiting ships to the rock, which was a dangerous and unwieldy endeavor under even the best conditions.

Living on the rock meant being regularly attacked by enormous storms. Having boulders and logs tossed through glass was not an irregular occurrence. One tale has a giant bird slamming into the glass around the holidays - when the men aboard were running low on supplies. So, they turned the ill-fated winged beast into a holiday feast.

The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1957.

On the southern Oregon coast, you'll find other lighthouses. The list includes: Umpqua River Light in Winchester Bay, Cape Arago Lighthouse in Coos Bay, the Coquille River Lighthouse in Bandon, and the Cape Blanco Lighthouse in Port Orford. Oregon Coast Lodging in these areas - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

Coastal Spotlight



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All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted29th annual "Winter Weather Forecast Conference" online on Saturday, October 23. South coast events, Florence events, Newport events, Lincoln City events, Manzanita events, Seaside events

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Every beach and attraction in the Coos Bay, Charleston, North Bend area. Travel tips

From North to South: Intriguing, Even Obscure Oregon Coast Adventures

From Brookings to near Yachats, to the tiny town of Oceanside, sometimes out of the way is the only way. Travel tips, kids

Best Weather of the Year for Oregon, Washington Coast in Sept., Oct

Warmest conditions, bluest skies and least amount of winds than at any other time of year. travel tips

Oregon Coast Labor Weekend Travel Advice 2020: A Bit Darker This Year

This time around you have a recipe for a somewhat unpleasant coastal experience. Weather, travel tips

The Twists, Turns of One Nocturnal Oregon Coast Experience

As night descends on the Oregon coast, it becomes an entirely different world. Manzanita, Cannon Beach, travel tips

N. Oregon Coast Overcrowding, Trash, Parking Cause State Officials Take Action

Overwhelming trash, out-of-control parking issues and visitors being surly and not wearing masks. Sciences, travel tips

Like Day and Night on Oregon Coast: Two Different Sides of Depoe Bay, Silver ...

The overlooks near Cannon Beach and the little town down south have intriguing, different looks. Travel tips, Newport, Depoe Bay events, Cannon Beach

Newport's Oregon Coast Aquarium to Open Up After Five-Month Closure

August 10 it will finally open back up with five outdoor exhibits. Travel tips. Hotels

Those Tiny Places on Oregon Coast You Might've Missed: Florence, Manzanita, W...

The sites and delights you can accidentally drive past far outnumber the stuff you see. Travel tips

From Dramatic Chaos to Labyrinth Beaches: Around Yachats, Oregon Coast; Video

It's a little like 20 miles of hidden spots from here to Florence. Travel tips, kidsOther Advisories from Oregon Beaches

29th annual "Winter Weather Forecast Conference" online on Saturday, October 23. South coast events, Florence events, Newport events, Lincoln City events, Manzanita events, Seaside events

Softer Grains of Newport Hide Historic and Science Mysteries of Oregon Coast

Wandering this iconic tract makes for discoveries, hosting oddities. Travel tips, kids

Beached Sailboat on N. Oregon Coast: Two Bodies Found

A sailboat was found stranded in the sand near Nedonna Beach. Weather, history

Changing Oceans Talk; Help Needed for Marine Debris Survey on Oregon Coast

More ways of learning about the beaches and helping them out appear on Oct 13. Marine sciences. South coast events, Florence events, Newport events, Lincoln City events, Manzanita events, Seaside events

Sneaker Waves More Common on Oregon / Washington Coast Than Rest of U.S.

Sneaker waves occur more often here than most U.S. places, but there's a twist. Marine sciences

From Dramatic Cliffs to Soft Sands in Seconds Along One Oregon Coast Chunk

Between Yachats and Florence, some 20 miles or so, it's one of the more impressive stretches.

Encountering 'Magic Rocks Beaches' on Oregon Coast: Science of Why

A rather loud clacking, clicking noise comes from the rocks. Sciences

Online Talk Looks at Future of Oregon Coast, Examines Dramatic Past Events

Kim McCoy will talk on 'The Future of the Shore' on October 6. Florence events, Newport events, Lincoln City events, Manzanita events, Seaside events

Secret Beach is Ironically Famous on South Oregon Coast | Video

Secret Beach (near Brookings) walks an interesting line

Famed Circles in the Sand Back on Central Oregon Coast

Florence Circles in the Sand beach art event returns on October 16. Florence events

How Witnessing the Strange on Oregon Coast Can Change You Forever

How a set of weird discoveries led to real science finds. Travel tips, sciences

Year's Razor Clamming Closure Ends for N. Oregon Coast's Clatsop Beach

Nothing but good news for razor clam enthusiasts this week as two areas open back up. Sciences

Razor Clamming Reopens on Bulk of Oregon Coast

From the south coast up through parts of the north coast. SciencesOregon Coast Frequently Asked Questions - Oregon Coast FAQ's

Updated Weekly





(Oregon Coast)  Nature, beaches, wildlife, creatures, places to eat, places to stay, things to see and do and lots more. These are the oft-asked questions about the region, and you will get a hefty overview of everything you ever wanted to know about this shoreline. More questions and answers will be added periodically. (or Ask an Oregon Coast Question here)

Also, keep in mind many of your questions may be answered in the column just to the right, with all the lodging, dining, weather and events links.

You'll find answers regarding:

Lodging

Dining

Beaches, Maps

Beach Safety

Swimming

Driving on Beaches

Bonfires

Pets - Pet safety

Tides

Kids

Traffic alerts

Mileage, Directions

Attractions



Where can I find lodging on the Oregon coast? Vacation rentals on the Oregon coast? It all depends on where you're heading. You can find Oregon coast lodging listings here, including a format for smartphones. Oregon coast vacation rentals are listed. Links to larger, more detailed listings for each of the areas are found there. There are categories for pet friendly lodgings and oceanfront lodgings as well. Or you can search for what amenities you want here.

Where can I find a large, comprehensive list of lodging? The Oregon Coast Lodging Comprensive Guide does just that.

Where can find places to to eat on the coast? The Oregon coast restaurant dining guide will help you narrow that down, including some links to the latest restaurant news and reviews.

What are the best beaches on the Oregon coast? Now that's a tricky question, and it all depends on what you prefer. Do you like sandy, soft beaches? Ones that go on for miles and miles? Or do you like some rocky spots of interest in between? Do you perhaps prefer purely rocky spots with lots of tide pools and wild wave drama? See the virutal tours at right for further information.

Heading north to south, really sandy beaches include Warrenton and Gearhart, most of Seaside, and most of Cannon Beach, the towns of Manzanita, Rockaway Beach, Pacific City, parts of Oceanside, Lincoln City, Gleneden Beach, Waldport, most of Newport, and some areas just north of Yachats.

Those with mixed sand and rocky attractions include just south of Cannon Beach, Oceanside, parts of Pacific City, parts of Newport, and the 20-mile stretch between Yachats and Florence. Purely rocky areas include Yachats, Depoe Bay and some spots just north of Manzanita.

It's best to follow those links to the virtual tours of each area to get a better overview.

Oregon Coast Beach Safety - what is dangerous on the Oregon coast? See the Oregon Coast Beach Safety Articles, Updates section for a vast array of tips, including swimming on the coast, pet safety, driving on the beaches or even any beach closures and health alerts, if any. Or the Oregon State Parks Beach Safety Guide

Can You Swim on the Oregon Coast?

Can I Drive on Oregon Coast Beaches? Rules, Regulations for Cars, Vehicles

What is there to do? You're kidding, right? The question should be what ISN'T there to do? Beaches and all the obvious means of fun (like walking, sandcastles, kites, wading, etc) abound, and rocky areas provide crazy wave action. But if you love fine dining, attractions for kids, live music, wine tasting and shopping  it's all there. You may find the Atypical Things To Do on the Oregon Coast particularly illuminating, however.

What is there to do for kids on the Oregon coast? Every area is different. See Oregon Coast for Kids, Children: Family Attractions, Beaches Guide

Where can I find updated weather? Constantly updated weather forecasts, conditions and alerts are at Oregon Coast Weather. From there, follow links to individual cities for even more information, including tide tables and any weather alerts from National Weather Service.

How do I know if there's a traffic problem in the coast range or on Highway 101? Oregon Coast Traffic Conditions has all this up-to-the-minute info and even more.

Where can we see whales on the Oregon coast? Probably the best place year-round is the Whale Watch Center in Depoe Bay, as they have people there to help you see them. But they can be spotted from anywhere, though it depends on weather and sea conditions. They are more easily seen from high vantage points.

Also, Depoe Bay does tend to have a better vantage point to the year-round whales that tend to linger, and there does seem to be a bit more of them there and just south of Depoe Bay. See the Tips for Spotting Whales and the Oregon Coast Whales page, which features lots of general guides and news about local whales.

When can I see whales on the Oregon coast? More tend to be spotted on the great migration months of December into January, and then March through June. More importantly, however, are general conditions. Whales get hidden by large waves and rain with fog, so calm seas are a big plus. State officials say head to a high spot, bring binoculars and plenty of patience.

Again, much more is at the Tips for Spotting Whales and the Oregon Coast Whales page.

Maps of Oregon Coast? If you're looking for a general map of the area, see Oregon coast map and mileage page. Maps for individual areas  with tons of details about them, including milepost information  are at the virtual tours. For Clatsop County there are the Astoria, Warrenton, Gearhart Virtual Tour, Map; the Seaside Virtual Tour, Map; the Cannon Beach/Arch Cape Virtual Tour, Map. In Tillamook County, it's the Rockaway Beach, Manzanita, Nehalem Bay Virtual Tour Map; the Tillamook Bay virtual tour and map; the Three Capes Virtual Tour and Map for Oceanside, Netarts and Pacific City. On the central coast and for Lincoln County, there's the Lincoln City and Neskowin Virtual Tour, Map; the Depoe Bay and Gleneden Beach Virtual Tour and Map; the Newport Virtual Tour and Map; the Waldport, Seal Rock Tour and Map; and the Yachats Virtual Tour and Map. Also see the Upper Lane County virtual tour and map for those hidden beaches south of there.

What about beach bonfires on the Oregon coast? Camping on beaches of the Oregon coast? What are the rules for dogs? What if I run out of gas? See the Surprising Unknown Rules of the Oregon coast for these answers, including some rules about a few lodgings that aren't always talked about.

Where can I find a guide to Oregon coast beaches? Again, your best bets for a serious overview are the virtual tours listed above, which provide you a quick glance what these beaches and towns look like, and then you can click on the individual tour stops to see more. There are literally hundreds of photos between all the tours.

Beyond the virtual tours, there are complete guides to some beach areas which list every beach access. See the Seaside Complete Guide, Cannon Beach Complete Guide, Lincoln City Complete Guide and the Waldport, Seal Rock Complete Guide.

What is Sea Foam on the Coast? The short answer is a form of phytoplankton, more or less.And no, it's not pollution. It's a good thing. More at Oregon Coast Science Experts: What is Sea Foam?

Oregon Coast Tsunami Debris Questions: What are the Red Bulbs?

What are these Creatures I Found on Oregon Coast? See the Oregon coast science section to answer questions about creatures found on beaches.

Where Can i Find a List of Attractions on the Oregon coast? Oregon Coast Attractions, Spas lists the manmade attractions and the natural attractions.

How Do We Report Tsunami Debris on the Oregon coast? Tsunami Debris News from Oregon Coast - How to Report Debris

When is the Next Glass Float Ball Drop in Lincoln City?

Search over 7,000 Pages for Oregon coast subjects, articles or lodging... Web www.beachconnection.net

More Oregon Coast Frequently Asked QuestionsOregon Coast Outdoor Guide - At a Glance

Published 05/01/2011

Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Warrenton

(Oregon Coast) - Long walks on the beach, playing in the sand or bouncing around the many rocky slabs that comprise chunks of this area are the big attraction to the Oregon coast. But theres also crabbing, clamming, hiking, boating, kayaking, whale watching and other activities that make for a complete visit.

If you've ever needed a quick reference guide to the outdoors for the Oregon coast  this would be it. Follow the links to further information and details.

Astoria/Warrenton Area: see the Astoria Virtual Tour and do a search on Astoria/Warrenton articles. Astoria itself has no beaches as its on the mouth of the Columbia. But there are numerous lakes and outdoor attractions here, as well as many riverside beaches.

The beach starts at Warrenton, where youll find more enormous lakes, the Wreck of the Peter Iredale and a bundle of civil war-era fortress attractions. The south jetty is a spectacular beach spot and viewpoint. Soft, sandy beaches continue down for 15 miles or so.

Seaside, Oregon and its upscale little brother Gearhart are comprised of mostly soft, sandy beach spots. Take the Seaside, Oregon Virtual Tour or the Complete Guide to Seaside for a complete list of all beach accesses there.

Cannon Beach comes up next, where Haystack Rock and miles of pristine beaches lay.

The northern end features landmarks like Ecola State Park, a heap of hiking trails and the surfing hotspot of Indian Beach. South of town, the beaches meander beneath high cliffs, the rocks-meets-sand beaches of Arch Cape, and major hiking drama around Cape Falcon. Theres more at the Cannon Beach Virtual Tour and the Cannon Beach, Oregon Complete Guide, which lists all beach access.

The Manzanita area begins with Neahkahnie Mountain, its stunning overlooks and miles of trails to the top of the mountain. The sandy stretch of Manzanita gives way to the Nehalem Bay and all its outdoor activities, such as clamming, fishing, boating and more. Then Rockaway Beach continues southward with seven more miles of strand. Theres more at the Nehalem Bay Virtual tour.

Barview begins the next stretch, the northern part of Tillamook Bay. There, Garibaldi, Bay City, Tillamook and Bay Ocean provide all sorts of boat ramps, fishing guide tours and more. See the Tillamook Bay Virtual Tour.

The Three Capes Loop is 25 miles of amazing, often clandestine beaches and cliff viewpoints. There, Cape Meares, Oceanside, Netarts, Cape Lookout, Tierra Del Mar, Pacific City and Cape Kiwanda create a great variety of things to do. Miles and miles of hiking trails snake throughout the area. There is the Three Capes Virtual Tour that tells more, as well as the Three Capes Complete Guide, which outlines every beach access.

Just south of there, you get to the stunning and secretive beaches of Neskowin, and 15-minute drive from there will get you into Lincoln City. The town is about ten miles of meandering, beachy fun, which includes a glorious bay and a huge array of beachcombing possibilities. See the Lincoln City Virtual Tour or the Lincoln City, Oregon Complete Guide.

Depoe Bay is the next little town, although theres plenty to do along the stretches of sand at Gleneden Beach and Lincoln Beach, where it suddenly turns into the rocky cliff areas that the little town is known for. The bay here is chock full of fishing and whale watch guide boats. Just south of town are many high vantage points, like Cape Foulweather, with a mix of rocky platforms and low beaches. See the Depoe Bay Virtual Tour.

Newport features miles and miles of beaches again, many of them surfing hotspots. Yaquina Head is huge for hiking. Fishing, clamming and other activities are big at Yaquina Bay, and then the area becomes the sandy stretch known as South Beach. See the Newport Virtual Tour.

Waldport and Seal Rock are just south of town, with more of a mix of stunning rock climbing possibilities and long walks on the beach. This is where the Oregon coast starts to get filled with secret spots. The Waldport  Seal Rock Virtual Tour and the Waldport  Seal Rock Complete Guide will show you more, including all beach access.

At Yachats, the landscape turns from sand to surfaces made of rocky basalt, and these massive, craggy structures dominate. Theres the 804 Trail here  which is handicap accessible  and other hidden beaches, towering viewpoints and long walk possibilities like Cape Perpetua, the Devils Churn and a stellar chunk of the Oregon Coast Trail. See the Yachats Virtual Tour for details.

Between here and Florence sits 25 miles of unforgettable beaches, hiking trails and natural wonders. See the Upper Lane County Virtual Tour for details and photographs.

Then to Florence, where the river that heads to the sea is the center of life, and surfing, sandboarding, boating and hiking happen along miles and miles of trails, lakes and huge sand dunes. See the Florence, Oregon Virtual Tour.

Below: a cave near Florence, just beneath the Heceta Head Lighthouse.

More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....More ways of learning about the beaches and helping them out appear on Oct 13. Marine sciences. South coast events, Florence events, Newport events, Lincoln City events, Manzanita events, Seaside events

Possible 'Tsunami Debris' Boat on Oregon Coast Presents Mysteries

A month after being discovered at Waldport, a wayward boat is a puzzle still. Marine sciences

Apparent SpaceX Rocket Debris Found on Oregon Coast

Found at Waldport: what appears to be charred debris from the Falcon X rocket. Astrononmy, Sciences

Fireball Debris Over Oregon Coast, Washington, Canada Was SpaceX Rocket

Documented on the Oregon coast, northern California, Idaho, Washington and even in southern Canada. Astronomy, sciences, weather

Quirky Pyrosomes Found Again on Oregon Coast, Mostly South

King tides brought in a multitude of debris and small creatures. Sciences

Officials: No Fireworks on Oregon Beaches; Washington Coast Rules, Concerns

All types are illegal on Oregon beaches, on the Washington coast there is a worry of plastic debris

Debris Art Project Tours Oregon Coast; Free Fishing Day in Hebo

Fishing fun near Pacific City; an intriguing way of dealing with marine garbage

An Array of Sudden, Wild Beach Finds on N. Oregon Coast: the 'Ocean Burp'

A massive debris field of wild, weird and fun stuff from the deep called an ocean burp. SciencesAtypical Things To Do on the Oregon Coast - Attractions, Sightseeing

Large List of Oregon Coast Attractions and Spas

(Oregon Coast)  Another guide to things to do on the Oregon coast: build sandcastles, fly kites, walk on the beach, look for agates and drain your brain with more insipid suggestions that are so obvious you feel as you've lost a few handfuls of IQ points. (See the Virtual Tours in the righthand column for more Oregon Coast Things to Do and See)

Major DUH fest! Oregon Coast Beach Connection will not insult your intelligence. This isnt that kind of guide to things to do. You already know what things there are to do on the beaches. Thats why youre heading there, or thinking about it, anyway.

Lurking around each and every corner of Oregons coastline are loads of things in the out of the ordinary category. Theres much to see or experience that many miss or dont even think about - things that arent so obvious, and thus often a much richer moment and memory to be had.

In every little beach town - or within a short drive away  there's something unusual to see, something more than just a tad out of the ordinary. You too can have a bit of the Lewis & Clark spirit in you and explore some of the area's insanely cool places. Also here: Large List of Oregon Coast Attractions and Spas

Hint: click on the links provided here to take you to more detailed information about that particular area.

Like in the bustling tourist town of Seaside, where it seems its almost impossible to get away from the crowds - even on the beaches. But head to the last beach access before the river, about a quarter mile away, and youll discover the richest depository of unbroken sand dollars on the entire coast. The reasons for this vary, and it depends on the time of year. But it has a lot to do with the fact this area is often ignored by tourists, and thus not picked over. The reefs here are especially rich in sand dollars because of certain oceanic conditions and heavy nutrients provided by the Necanicum River and the Columbia River up north.





The southern accesses of Gearhart  on the other side of the Necanicum  are also quite flush with the finds.





Cannon Beach has a hidden hiking trail and beach that shouldnt be missed if possible. Crescent Beach is the clandestine stretch of sand you see from the tops of Ecola State Park and its famous views. It lies on the other side of a small headland you see poking out into the water from downtown Cannon Beach. In the middle of this secretive strand is a rugged, rather prehistoric looking chunk of sandstone sitting by itself. Its only accessible by a mile-long hike that begins along the road going into Ecola State Park.Occasionally, extreme low tides allow entrance from the Cannon Beach downtown area  but you have to watch that very closely or youre in for more than a miles trek back to civilization.

Manzanita sits about 15 miles south of Cannon Beach, with mysterious Neahkahnie Mountain looming above it. Just north of town are a handful of the coasts most amazing viewpoints: long basalt rock walls overlooking vast ocean vistas a few hundred feet above the deep blue. Those are amazing enough on their own and shouldnt be missed. For the more rugged explorer  and this is a dangerous spot so dont head here in slippery weather  there are some weird, hidden treasures just north of these viewpoints that will leave you speechless.

Wild, even freakish, craggy rock structures here look like something from the old "Planet of the Apes" movies, with a post-apocalyptic feel thats awe-inspiring and tingly.





Rockaway Beach seems a rather cut and dried stretch of sand, about seven miles worth of it. But at the northern end, Manhattan Beach cloisters the rather remarkable jetty. Climbing on this one isnt always a bad idea, like other jetties on the coast, where big waves smack with injurious regularity. Its calmer than most  usually. So it is rather fun to amble around these enormous boulders and gawk at the diminutive bay mouth of the Nehalem Bay.





Heading further southward, you encounter the Tillamoook, just a few miles outside of Rockaway. At its other send begins a nearly endless cavalcade of fun crammed into 25 miles, known as the Three Capes Loop. Highway 101 veers inland for a while, while the Loop continues on a winding, often white-knuckled drive that skirts the craggy rocks and rugged beaches of this area.

Theres the eight-mile-long Bayocean Spit, which is devoid of almost any human presence, but interestingly enough was once host to a burgeoning resort that is now completely gone. Cape Meares sits nearby, with its stubby little lighthouse and the oddball Octopus Tree  a gargantuan organism that with a candelabra shape that until the '90s boasted eight great limbs.

Down the road is quirky and surprising Oceanside, with its myriad of natural delights, including a freaky tunnel going through a massive cliff, exiting to an incredible beach of secret tidbits. Netarts is about two miles away, with its strangely calm bay waters lazily lapping at the sand.





The enormous Cape Lookout provides a five-mile hike of insane views, as well as a plaque commemorating where a WWII bomber slammed into the headland back in the '40s. A few miles away, theres Cape Lookout State Park and its long stretch of natural wonders. A ways south of there, Pacific City boasts the labyrinth of high altitude fun known Cape Kiwanda, with some parts covered in pock-marked surreal-scapes that look like another planet. But very interesting, even secret beach sits a mile north of town down an unmarked one-lane road, where basalt columns emerge at low tide, resembling ancient Greek ruins.

About 30 minutes away from Pacific City is the tourism hub of Lincoln City, with its plenty of obvious delights. But in between is the serene and sometimes surreal village of Neskowin, with its ghost forest (remnants of a 2000-year-old forest that was hidden in the sand for millennia), and the unusual Proposal Rock. Theres a path here that you can walk around to explore this mini-forest on top of a basalt blob. Not your average day at the beach in this tiny place.

Cascade Head is also here, home to miles and miles of rugged hiking trails and hundreds of moments of uncivilized discoveries.





Between Lincoln City and Newport sits Depoe Bay, where exploring the towns oceanside storefronts may result in seeing a massive display of water shooting thirty feet into the air, and maybe getting you a little soaked (even if youre across the street and down a ways).

The central coast capitol of fun is largely regarded as Newport, with tons of touristy activities to engage in. But to explore something a little different, check out the remnants of a condo at the Jump-Off Joe rock structure, found in Nye Beach, at the end of SW 11th St. Its a bit like a castle ruin here, and almost as spooky. But being able to traverse a small ledge that juts out above the stand, about 50 feet high, is one of the towns truly engaging experiences.





Between Newport and Waldport, youll find the rocky jumble of Seal Rock, a bit like a maze of fascinating basalt wonders. There are also numerous hidden beaches along this stretch, found at unmarked accesses and gravel pull-offs, especially between Seal Rock and Newport's South Beach area.

Just south of Yachats, its 25 miles of pure, pristine beaches and concealed spots, until you reach the slightly exploding town of Florence. Its possible to not encounter a beach access for miles, but once you do, you can sometimes walk for several miles along completely unpopulated and unknown stretches of sand.

Once youre in Florence, one of its more unusual features is the garden of insect-eating pitcher plants at the north end of town. They sit quietly and wait for bugs to get caught in their pretty colors, then slowly digest them. Yum. Look for the signs to the Darlingtonia Gardens.

Florence is, of course, gateway to the 40 miles of immaculate lakes and towering sand dunes known as the National Dunes Recreational Area. Something else unusual to do: sandboarding. Its a new sport that's pretty much been given birth to in this place, where people essentially use a kind of snowboard to zip down the dunes. Its also become popular at the lofty dune at Cape Kiwanda.



Updated Weekly

A Guide to Oregon Coast Seafood Restaurants, Dining

(Oregon Coast) - For many, it's half the reason to head to the Oregon coast. For others, it's simply a requirement of being an Oregonian: indulging in the seafood, the fish 'n' chips, and of course, the chowder.

Some of the best of Oregon coast seafood restaurants are represented here  the places to chow down on chowder and other former ocean dwellers, often while staring at the waves and the place your dish came from. From family friendly to upper crust upscale, this is where to start when you get those hunger pangs after bounding around the beach.

For a full list of Oregon coast restaurants, menus, and items other than seafood....

Cannon Beach. The very family-oriented Cannon Beach Fultano's Pizza feeds your need for fishies with pizzas. Shrimp pizzas feature mushrooms and olives, a shrimp margherita with garlic and herb infused olive oil topped with a three-cheese blend, roma tomatoes, fresh garlic, red onions and fresh basil. The Seafood pesto pizza has a pesto sauce with shrimp and baby clams. You can also put anchovies or smoked oysters on your pizzas. 200 N. Hemlock and Second Street. www.CBfultanos.com (503) 436-9717.

Pelican Brewing Company Cannon Beach. Appetizers include Smoked Oyster Bruschetta features brined, smoked oysters served with spent-grain bread crostini, aioli, oven-roasted tomato and arugula; Smoked Chicken Lettuce Wraps in a spicy Asian BBQ sauce and rice noodles; salmon cured in one of their beers; or a towering plate of onion rings and other unique specialties. An interesting variety of flatbreads with seafoods or sausage are around $15. Heartier full plate dishes are $13 to $25 and include fish and chips, a smoked half chicken, mac n' cheese, a malt crusted salmon, Pacific NW Cioppino (a spicy broth with prawns, clams, Dungeness crab, fresh fish), a Sweet Potato Quinoa Cake, or fish tacos marinated and served with a spicy Baja sauce. There's even a 14-Hour Slow Smoked Tri-Tip. Many sandwiches and burgers round out the main courses, often including a cured salmon and BLT wrap, a burger with cajun sauce and poblano chili, and other incarnations. Salads, soups and chowder - along with many desserts - round out the offerings. 1371 S. Hemlock Street. Cannon Beach, Oregon. 503-908-3377. http://pelicanbrewing.com/pubs/cannon-beach/

More Cannon Beach Dining, Restaurants Seafood

More Seaside Dining, Restaurants Seafood

Manzanita. At the San Dune Pub in Manzanita, everything is around $10 for their seafood menu. Their fish tacos are rather legendary, and come in sets of two. There are also shrimp tacos. There is the clam strips platter, a phat fish 'n' chips the famed fish burger, oyster burger or an oyster Po' boy sandwich. Don't forget prawn cocktails or the calamari that comes with a chipotle mayo. 127 Laneda Ave., Manzanita, Oregon. 503-368-5080. www.sandunepub.com

More Manzanita Dining, Restaurants Seafood

More Nehalem, Wheeler Dining, Restaurants Seafood

Pelican Tillamook Tap Room. Inside a soaring family-friendly facility, you are dining with a view of the tap room, where much of the Pelican Brewery action happens. Deep in the heart of inland Highway 101 and the area's green, rolling hills, about 12 miles from the beaches. Indulge in a more downhome version of the Pelican's favorite cuisine, with specialties for kids as well. Start with appetizers like fries, a hummus based on their beer that comes veggies and chips, oyster shooters or fried cheese curds. Big sandwiches and burgers on tap such as various burgers, including one very spicy one with chipotle and fried jalapenos. Take to the ocean with the oyster basket (local Netarts oysters) or their famed fish and chips. A scrumptious Reuben is literally piled high with corned beef, while the elk burger will intrigue you. 1708 First Street. Tillamook, Oregon. 503-842-7007. Website here

More Bay City, Tillamook Dining, Restaurants Seafood

Meridian Restaurant & Bar, Pacific City. A soaring ceiling with hardwood exposed native wooden beams gives way to tall windows that provide a stunning ocean view. The centerpiece to this dreamy atmosphere is a towering fireplace that doubles the cozy yet shimmering, seamless ambiance. The other centerpiece is the catch of the day and seafood thats already become famous. All dishes sourced from Northwest farms, most entrees are $20 to $30, some up around $45. The menu changes periodically, but a sampling of approaches includes: A smoked, black cod with pickled mustard seed, grilled cauliflower steak in a burnt carrot mole, abalone with mushrooms, or a rockfish rapini that graced with wasabi, Cara Cara orange and hot honey. Innovative breakfasts take on delights like hash pork confit or eggs benedict. Brunch and lunch menu features burgers, crab cakes, plenty of seafood and salad options. 33000 Cape Kiwanda Dr. Pacific City, Oregon. 503.483.3000. Meridian Restaurant website.

Pelican Brewing Pacific City. At the scenic and family-friendly Pelican Pub and Brewery, you get a free show with your meal. The waves are startling, and you can watch the action of Pacific City boaters and surfers.

For dinner, starters include crab cakes, calamari and a bay shrimp martini (around $10 or less). Seafood pastas include smoky linguine with clams that has garlic, fennel and proscuitto ham with manila clams; a seafood mac 'n' cheese with sauteed bay scallops shrimp, pepper bacon and fresh spinach; an oyster Po' Boy with oysters dipped in their famed beer batter; steak and seafood with shrimp and scallops; a grilled yellowfin tuna, pan fried oysters; or a pan-seared Pacific Rockfish with Kiwanda Cream Ale tomato and caper sauce. Check out the malt encrusted salmon and a massive bouillabaisse that hosts two kinds of shrimp, local Dungeness crab, calamari and other klinds of fish in a saffron-fennel broth. The crab crusted Mahi-Mahi is draped in local crab and a citrus beer blanc.

Pizzas can have seafood as well, like the smoky scallop. Their dinner menu ranges from $12 to $25.

That's just dinner. There's plenty for lunch that's less expensive, and some of their breakfast items boast seafood. 33180 Cape Kiwanda Drive. Pacific City, Oregon. 503-965-7007. www.pelicanbrewery.com.

More Pacific City, Oceanside Dining, Restaurants Seafood

Lincoln City. The Inn at Spanish Head's Fathoms Restaurant provides one awe-inspiring ocean view along with a huge menu of seafood. Appetizers (around $10) include Seafood Cocktails Jumbo Prawn, Dungeness Crab, Cumin and Coriander Fried Calamari, or crab cakes with Asian mustard.

The steamed clams comes with one pound of Manila Clams simmered in garlic, herbs and white wine, or the surf and turf dish includes one massive steak and an Australian lobster tail ($43).

In the $15 - $25 range is salmon (grilled, poached or blackened) in an orange chipotle glaze, crab stuffed halibut in a Bearnaise sauce, blackened ahi tuna, battered halibut served with mango pineapple salsa or tartar sauce, a Coconut and Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut with a Thai peanut sauce, and a seared ahi tuna with a mango pineapple salsa. 4009 SW Highway 101. Lincoln City, Oregon. 541-994-1601 or 800-452-8127. www.spanishhead.com /site/restaurant.html

More Lincoln City Dining, Restaurants Seafood

Depoe Bay. In Depoe Bay, a splendid view of the ocean gives way to stunning seafood at the famous Tidal Raves. Start off with a Crisp Calamari quick fried in cornmeal and rice flour, served with cilantro-lime dip, maybe Manila clams in a dry white wine sauce, Dungeness crab, various seafood cocktails, or a Pacific Oyster Basket that's either pan fried or panko fried (all between $6 - $13).

Salads come with shrimp or a massive Pacific Oyster stew.

Dinner entrees (from $17 to $20) boast a green curry halibut with steamed peanut rice, lots of fish 'n' chips. Seared Sea Scallops on potato hash studded with sun dried tomato, bacon. and smoked tomato glaze, a Char Grilled Wild Salmon with crab risotto and vodka sauce, Dungeness Crab Casserole or that massive and famous Cioppino that's stuffed with clams, shrimp, crab and fish in a tomato-herb broth.

There's a Thai Barbequed Shrimp with an exotic curry, a linguine tossed with clams, crab, shrimp and fin fish in a choise of sauces, an herb crusted Pacific snapper with shrimp-caper sauce and smoked salmon potato cake or the coconut shrimp with a Saigon slaw and ginger-orange sauce. 279 NW Hwy 101. Depoe Bay, Oregon. 541-765-2995. www.tidalraves.com

More Depoe Bay Dining, Restaurants Seafood

More Newport, Oregon Dining, Restaurants Seafood

Yachats. The Adobe Restaurant boasts an impressive view of the consistently crazed waves of Yachats. You could almost imagine those yummy critters hopping straight out of the surf and onto your plate. Appetizers include oysters in a red sauce, breaded calamari rings, steamed clams with garlic bread or shrimp or crabmeat cocktail. Salads are famous for their seafood nirvana. There's New England clam chowder. Entrees ($17 - $20) have Yaquina Bay oyster rolled in bread crumbs in various forms; seafood fettuccine with sauteed bay shrimp, baby scallops and Dungeness crab in a garlic cream sauce; a smoked salmon fettuccine; scampi al ferri; beer battered jumbo prawns; a shrimp stir fry in fresh veggies and butter; a corn tortilla filled with Oregon shrimp; scallops sauteed and breaded in a white Tarragon sauce; a pot of baked crab in a shallot cream sauce or a Captain's Platter with numerous former ocean dwellers, including the catch of the day. 1555 Hwy 101. Yachats, Oregon. 800-522-3623. (541) 547-3141. www.adoberesort.com/dining.htm

More Yachats Dining, Restaurants Seafood. Find rental homes in Astoria, Seaside and Cannon Beach, as well as many other places on the coast. Over 100 homes available as vacation rentals  all quite distinctive and carefully selected to be special. Find them all over the north coast and central coast, with a new Cannon Beach office. Also in Yachats, Waldport, Newport, Nye Beach, Otter Rock, Depoe Bay, Gleneden Beach, Lincoln Beach, Lincoln City, Neskowin, Pacific City, Tierra Del Mar and Rockaway Beach, Seaside and more. Offices in Lincoln City and Cannon Beach. 1-800-723-2383. www.oregonbeachvacations.com

Clementine's Bed and Breakfast ' Astoria. An engaging historic experience, topped off by fine foods. There's even a vacation rental available next door. A stately Victorian where each room is stylishly decorated in a mix of Asian and European furnishings, with flowers from their private garden. All rooms have private baths, luxury linens and some with fireplaces or Jacuzzi tubs. Views of Columbia River, mountains or city. Guests can meet others in the common area in the afternoon for complimentary beverages. Free wi-fi, cable TV. Large open gourmet kitchen area where breakfast is a multi-course event. Next door is the historic 1852 Job Ross vacation rental, which was used as a Moose Temple lodge and a Mormon church over the decades. Sleeps 4 to 6. Kitchen, many historic amenities, multiple bedrooms, bath. Free parking. 847 Exchange Street. Astoria, Oregon. 503-325-2005. WebsiteBlog Posts from Lincoln City, Oregon, Travel Info

Lincoln City, Central Oregon Coast - Latest Local News, Updates Lincoln City, Central Oregon Coast - Latest Local News, Updates, Lincoln City Travel news, various news from around the Lincoln City area

Lincoln City, Oregon Vacation Guide, Central Coast Sightseeing Suggestions A good seven miles of pristine sands and a variety of attractions make Lincoln City a powerhouse vacation destination for the central Oregon coast

Take the Virtual Tour of Lincoln City on the Central Oregon Coast Extreme Details of Lincoln City Sights, Travel Info and Hundreds of Lincoln City Photos

Recent Delights Out of Lincoln City, Oregon Coast Recent photographic posts from Lincoln City, some of which were taken earlier this month - including Siletz Bay at night, major beach foam, ethereal Taft, Nelscott District and stormy waves.

Cajoling Colors and Beauty of Siletz Bay, Lincoln City, Oregon Coast Lincoln City's Siletz Bay is a tourism magnet on the Oregon coast, and for good reason. The centerpoint to the town's Taft district, it's a calm bit of watery repose when the rest of the waves just around the corner can be raging and wild.

Photo Essay: Delicious Little Secrets of Lincoln City, Oregon Coast It's difficult to find yourself completely alone - but some places are a bit out of the way and increase your chances of being the sole soul taking a stroll.

Lincoln City's Roads End Neighborhood - a Photo Exploration The Roads End district of Lincoln City is where the road does indeed end - and so do the city limits

Lincoln City, Oregon Explorations: Photos of Lulling Sands and Waves The central Oregon coast town of Lincoln City always shows its prettiest sides, no matter the conditions or weather

Lincoln City, Oregon: A Quick Exploration Wander this part of the central Oregon coast just briefly and you'll quickly become amazed by the pristine quality of its beaches. Lincoln City has about seven miles of it, and in spite of constantly well-traveled state  it's like the highest draw on the Oregon coast  it remains remarkably pure and clean

Exploring the Central Oregon Coast: Different Ways to Look at Lincoln City So much Lincoln City, so little time. The central Oregon coast hotspot is seven miles of pristine beaches and quite the magnet for all kinds of fun. A huge variety of other attractions than the sand make it so, but really it's the beaches that are the real star of this show. Nature is ultimately what matters here, and there are some amazing things to see if you take the time to check it out in some not-so-usual ways.

Lincoln City's Roads End Beaches Full of Surprises The Roads End area of Lincoln City is at the very northern edge of town, jutting right up against the headland that often gets mistaken for Cascade HeadAs schools across Southeast Texas opened Monday for the first time since a 17-year-old gunman opened fire at Santa Fe High School on Friday, killing 10 and wounding 13 others, a number of local administrators announced plans to beef up security.

The Hamshire-Fannett school district wrote in a social media post that it would increase the police presence at its campuses through the remainder of the school year, which ends on June 7.

> > RELATED: Here's what we know about the Santa Fe victims so far

Additionally, the district said its school board "has begun discussions regarding concealed carry by trained staff and will continue those discussion at its May meeting and over the summer."

If approved, Hamshire-Fannett would join at least three other districts in Southeast Texas  Orangefield, High Island and West Hardin  that allows staff to conceal carry on campuses.

On Friday, Hamshire-Fannett and five other Jefferson County school districts released a joint statement in light of the Sante Fe shooting, saying "safety is our top priority."

Administrators from Beaumont, Nederland, Hamshire-Fannett, Port Arthur, Port Neches-Groves and Sabine Pass ISDs said the statement was intended "to outline what we have in place to reassure our students that their school is a safe and nurturing place to learn and grow."

The districts said they would provide counselors, teachers and administrators this week to students who want to discuss the shooting. The six districts "are also keeping an eye out for children who may be having a hard time but not necessarily seeking assistance," the statement said.

> > MORE: Claims of bullying surface as Santa Fe community mourns mass shooting

The districts "have an emergency plan in place, including a crisis team," and follow guidelines from the Texas State School Safety Center, the statement said. "Regularly scheduled safety meetings and drills are conducted at the campus and district levels, and staff and administration actively monitor campuses."

The districts said "communication is paramount to any safety and prevention plan." They urged parents to talk to their children about "any concerns," and said they plan to remind students "that if they see something or hear something that is of concern, to notify an adult immediately."

The statement said the districts wanted parents to "ensure their students understand that even joking about school violence leads to an immediate and swift investigation of the threat."

Eleven Southeast Texas districts reported threats or suspected weapons on campus this spring after the deadly Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, though most were determined to be hoaxes.

> > UPDATE FROM SANTA FE: Explosives were functional, authorities say

Like Hamshire-Fannett, Spurger ISD has increased the police presence on its campuses, according to superintendent Kendall Smith.

"To see innocents being gunned down, unarmed innocent (people), is just sickening to my stomach," Smith said. "I don't know how else to explain it."

Smith said the district intends to install new locks on classroom doors and an electronic buzz-in door system before the start of the new school year, which begins Aug. 16.

"If there is someone out there that may want to or consider, realize we're not going to be an easy target," said Smith.

All Spurger classrooms will have a "secondary door system," similar to a hotel room, according to Smith.

An aluminum bracket attached to either the door frame or concrete will "act as a secondary lock," Smith said. "...Even if they bust the glass out, the door's not moving," he said.

Smith said he hopes increased security measures will "act as a deterrent" to potential school attacks.

"We're just being proactive, just assuring parents that we are addressing the issues," he said.

LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.com

PSuy@BeaumontEnterprise.comLUFKIN A Jasper family convicted of taking more than $1 million of hurricane relief money for their personal use will all serve prison time but received leniency at sentencing after a federal judge agreed Tuesday that the situation was "exceptional."

Walter Diggles, 66, former executive director of the Deep East Texas Council of Governments, was sentenced to nine years in federal prison. He was convicted in August 2017 of 16 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and theft.

His wife, Rosie, and daughter, Anita, each were sentenced to 4 years and 6 months in prison. A jury found Rosie Diggles, 64, guilty on 14 counts of fraud and money-laundering. Anita Diggles, 42, was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

As he left the courthouse, Walter Diggles said the family plans to appeal their convictions immediately to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. "We're going to do good, by the grace of God," he said.

Between 2006 and 2012, the family overcharged the government for services provided with federal funds intended for hurricane relief and recovery, prosecutors said. The money was funneled through DETCOG to the Deep East Texas Foundation, which Walter Diggles founded and oversaw, to The Lighthouse Church, where he was pastor and supervisor.

They submitted reimbursement requests for federal funds at rates far higher than their actual costs for hurricane relief programs, according to trial evidence.

FBI Special Agent David Goodson testified Tuesday that for some services, they requested and received $144 per hour when the actual rates were between $8 and $25 per hour.

The FBI calculated the amount of money "lost" through transfers to the church's accounts at more than $1.3 million of the total $4.3 million that the Foundation received from DETCOG. All three faced maximum sentences of 20 years in prison, but Judge Ron Clark ruled Tuesday in the Eastern

District of Texas court in Lufkin that they should receive lower sentences after hearing arguments from their lawyers and receiving more than 40 letters in support of the family.

He received "far more (letters) than almost anything I've ever seen," from a "wide variety of people," including elected officials, pastors and people that the family helped in the past, Clark said. About two dozen supporters of the family filled the courtroom Tuesday.

Walter received the longest sentence "in recognition of relative culpability," Clark said, because he was in the position of power over all three organizations and the family's scheme.

"This wasn't a one-off circumstance, it went on for year after year," he said. Federal guidelines recommended a sentence of between 9 years and 11 years and 3 months.

Clark ordered the lower end of the punishment range after considering the "nature and circumstances" of the defendant, which he said were, "for the most part, stellar."

Walter's attorney, Ryan Gertz, argued repeatedly that there is no evidence the money was taken for personal use and said it was put back into church and foundation initiatives.

The government "spent an astronomical part of our money to investigate people who were helping other people, the poor and the downtrodden," he said.

Bobby Mims, who represented Rosie Diggles, and James Makin, who represented Anita Diggles, asked the court for sentences below the federal guidelines, calling the situation "exceptional."

Declaring that the "variances are warranted," Clark granted both requests.

Rosie Diggles' "obviously exemplary" work with the church and as a teacher, along with the community support, made the decision "very, very hard," Clark said. Her sentence was nine months shorter than the recommended minimum.

U.S. Attorney Tom Gibson objected to Rosie Diggles' sentence. He argued repeatedly that charitable or other work was not relevant to determining a sentence for the crimes.

Anita Diggles, who prepared the fraudulent reimbursement packets that were submitted to DETCOG, according to trial evidence, received the same sentence as her mother and will likely serve her time at the same prison.

She was involved in a "key factor of the scheme," Clark said. He shortened her sentence from the recommended minimum by three months.

The sentences took into consideration an effort to deter future crimes and to hold the family accountable for taking taxpayers' money, he said.



Clark will recommend that Walter Diggles be sent to the federal prison in Beaumont and Anita and Rosie to the women's unit in Houston, honoring their requests to make it easier for family and friends to visit, he said.

The Bureau of Prisons will determine to which prisons they'll be sent. They must report by July 10 unless they appeal and the court receives all documents in time. Gertz said on Tuesday that it's doubtful the formal appeal will be in before July 10.

Walter Diggles was ordered to pay a total of $1,326,049.91 in restitution. Anita and Rosie are responsible for $971,143.57 of that restitution. The government can seize their property if it is unable to recover the money in cash or other assets.

The family filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in January.

Prosecutors declined to comment after the sentencing.

"The defendants stole from the taxpayers, and these kinds of frauds take money away from real people  disaster victims," Joseph Brown, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, said in a statement. "This was an appropriate sentence, and hopefully it will help deter some of this type of behavior the next time."

LTeitz@BeauappemontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/LizTeitzThe former treasurer of the Lumberton Mighty Raider Band Booster Club pleaded guilty to stealing from the organization Monday morning.

A jury will be selected this morning to determine Helen Cox's sentence.In a 5-4 decision led by the conservative justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, Epic came out victorious in a case involving individual employee arbitration decided May 21.

The Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis case, which was argued in October 2017, consolidated with two others in the Supreme Court  National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA and Ernst & Young LLP v. Morris. Writing the majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch sided with the employers.

The case involved Jacob Lewis, a former technical writer at Epic, who alleged the Verona, Wis.-based EHR vendor violated federal and state law by neglecting to pay him and other technical writers overtime pay. However, Epic employees waived the right to participate in any class, collective or representative proceeding when they signed an employment agreement stating wages and working hours could only be discussed through individual arbitration.

Epic and its two co-petitioners argued their individual arbitration contracts do not violate the 1935 National Labor Relations Act and are legal under the Federal Arbitration Act  and the majority of the Supreme Court agreed.

The Court's decision established that companies have a right to resolve labor and wage disputes individually and use arbitration clauses to bar employees from joining together in class action lawsuits against their employer.

In his opinion, Mr. Gorsuch stated the 1925 Federal Arbitration Act predates the NLRA, and therefore, employees who sign arbitration agreements have to do so individually.

"The policy may be debatable but the law is clear: Congress has instructed that arbitration agreements like those before us must be enforced as written," Gorsuch wrote. "While Congress is of course always free to amend this judgment, we see nothing suggesting it did so in the NLRA  much less that it manifested a clear intention to displace the Arbitration Act."

Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, however, disagreed. She wrote a dissenting opinion that called on Congress to "urgently  correct the court's elevation of the Arbitration Act over workers' rights to act in concert." She adds the Court's decision will create "huge under-enforcement of federal and state statutes designed to advance the well-being of vulnerable workers."

In a statement to Becker's Hospital Review, Epic Founder and CEO Judy Faulkner said, "It is important that employers protect an employees' right to file complaints, while also providing for a fair forum in which those grievances are addressed. When it comes to grievances regarding wages and hours, we believe individual arbitration agreements strike that reasonable balance and are pleased with the court's decision in support of this."

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In a shareholders meeting one day after Cerner signed a $10 billion, 10-year deal to be the Veterans Affairs Department's new EHR vendor, Cerner President Zane Burke suggested reports that disparaged its work for the U.S. Defense Department were "fake news" that may have involved "one of our competitors," The Kansas City Star reports.

In June 2017, VA announced Cerner would overhaul its legacy EHR and place the agency on the same health records system as the DOD, which began its transition to the North Kansas City-based vendor in February 2017.

It took VA nearly one year to sign the contract, after a number of concerns delayed the award. The latest snag in the process involved an April 30 Pentagon report that found Cerner to be "neither operationally effective nor operationally suitable" at the agency's first three pilot sites.

But Mr. Burke struck back, defending Cerner's project with the DOD.

"I have learned the term fake news, a little bit," Mr. Burke said, according to the Star. "On one side, there's been some concern about some of the delivery on the Department of Defense side. I'll tell you that's gone incredibly well overall. There were some known elements up front as we rolled out the first three sites. The plan always was to come back and do a remediation of those three sites, do an evaluation and make things better."

Mr. Burke said he believes a competitor may be involved in the negative report's dissemination, but he didn't name a company.

"If you had an ax to grind with us and wanted to perhaps keep us from getting to a Veterans contract, and you're one of our competitors, you might want to use some information negatively. There was some negative information out there," Mr. Burke said.

Cerner's most-well-known competitor, Epic, declined to comment on the Star report, but Epic's founder and CEO Judy Faulkner previously stated her company does not plan to challenge the VA's choice. "We've never challenged anything," Ms. Faulkner said in March. "We don't do that. We feel it's the customer's right to pick whatever they want."

An Epic spokesperson provided the following statement to Becker's Hospital Review. "Epic was not involved in publicizing the DOD report calling Cerner's MHS Genesis project, "neither operationally effective, nor operationally suitable." We would suggest that instead of dismissing these concerns as "fake news," Cerner help its users by fixing the problems outlined in the report."

Editor's note: This article was updated May 21, 2018 at 3:41 p.m. to include a statement from Epic.

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St. Louis-based Ascension saw revenues and operating income decline in the first nine months of fiscal year 2018.

Ascension reported revenues of $17.08 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2018, down slightly from revenues of $17.15 billion in the same period a year earlier. The decline in revenues was largely attributable to the sale of Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, Wis., at the end of June 2017 and the divestiture of Door County Hospital in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., in October 2016, Ascension said in recently released financial documents. On a same-facility basis, operating revenue increased by $37.2 million year over year.

Ascension said a drop in inpatient volumes in the first nine months of the current fiscal year was partially attributable to the hospital divestitures. Inpatient admissions, observation days and emergency room visits decreased 3.1 percent, 1.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, year over year in the first nine months of fiscal year 2018. However, outpatient volumes grew year over year primarily due to a 3.8 percent increase in physician office and clinic visits.

The health system kept expenses in check in the first nine months of fiscal 2018. Ascension said expenses climbed 2.4 percent year over year. The health system's uncompensated care, which includes the cost of providing care to low-income patients and other community benefit programs, increased 14.9 percent year over year.

Ascension saw net impairment, restructuring and one-time losses increase from $107.6 million during the nine months ended March 31, 2017, to $124.6 million in the same period of fiscal year 2018. The losses in the first nine months of the current fiscal year were primarily due to $12.6 million in expenses associated with the implementation of an enterprise resource planning system; one-time termination and other restructuring expenses of $57.2 million; and other nonrecurring expenses, such as software implementations, of $54.8 million.

Ascension ended the first nine months of fiscal year 2018 with operating income of $281.8 million, down 62.4 percent from operating income of $749.3 million in the same period of the year prior.

After factoring in strong investment returns, Ascension posted net income of $1.7 billion in the nine months ended March 31, up from $1.5 billion in the same period a year earlier.

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Pennsylvania hospital discloses Medicare billing violationsCalifornia's children's hospitals are seeking financial help from taxpayers via a proposed $1.5 billion bond measure, according to a California Healthline report.

Here are five things to know.

1. The California Children's Hospital Association proposed the bond measure.

2. With the $1.5 billion, the state's children's hospitals hope to upgrade their infrastructure and equipment as they work to address increased demand for services and keep pace with medical care progress, according to the report.

3. The children's hospitals, which include eight private nonprofits and five University of California facilities, hope to get the issue before voters in November. They already submitted 643,000 signatures to county election offices to try to do so, reports California Healthline. A decision by the state on whether to call a vote on the bond is expected by the end of June.

4. David Wolfe, a legislative director with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, expressed concerns about the initiative, saying private donations or the state general fund, rather than bonds with added interest, could be used to pay for hospital renovations, according to the report. Supporters, meanwhile, argue the money for construction and equipment is worthwhile, the report states.

5. California voters have approved bonds for children's hospitals before. According to the report, they approved $750 million in 2004 and $980 million in 2008.

Read the full California Healthline report here.

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Inspector general: Billing, clerical errors cost Cook County Health and Hospitals System $165MSUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y., has placed Sergio Garcia, its chief of staff, on leave after a report from the Albany Times-Union revealed he had fabricated multiple stories about his past, including a tale of an escaped car bombing in Afghanistan, according to Syracuse.com.

Mr. Garcia claims to have been part of a 2011 convoy in Afghanistan that was bombed, leading to multiple deaths, though the Albany Times-Union report debunked that claim. The newspaper also proved Mr. Garcia's claims of being directly hired to the U.S. State Department by former Secretary of State Colin Powell, his friendship with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and his presence in the White House during the Sept. 11 attacks were all false. Records show Mr. Garcia did not begin working for the U.S. government until 2004.

Mr. Garcia also was charged with embezzlement and falsifying bank records while working for a La Mesa, Calif., bank in 1998,according to the Times-Union. He allegedly took $560 from customer accounts, and the case was dismissed after he completed 100 hours of community service. Mr. Garcia was hired by Upstate Medical University in 2017 to oversee the office of its president, Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD.

"We are aware of the disturbing and troubling allegations made against Upstate Medical University's chief of staff and are reviewing this matter," Upstate Medical University stated, according to Syracuse.com. "The allegations are contradictory to Upstate's shared values of being open and honest. While this matter is under review, Sergio Garcia has been placed on leave. Upstate will conduct its review in a timely and decisive manner."

Upstate Medical University has recently come under scrutiny for allegedly paying its former CEO John McCabe, MD, $665,000 to "disappear."

Update: Mr. Garcia has resigned from his role as chief of staff, according to Syracuse.comLos Angeles-based University of Southern California is under fire for failing to report George Tyndall, MD, a gynecologist at the university's health center, to the state's medical board after receiving scores of complaints from current and former students claiming he regularly directed inappropriate and sexual comments toward them, according to The New York Times.

Here are seven things to know about the situation.

1. Dr. Tyndall continued to see thousands of patients as the university health center's primary gynecologist until he was suspended in 2016 after a nurse's complaint to the campus rape crisis center. He was forced out of USC in 2017 following a university investigation. However, the university reportedly received allegations of sexual harassment against Dr. Tyndall dating back to the 1990s, but did not make the allegations known to the Medical Board of California until after the university was approached by The Los Angeles Times for an investigation published May 16.

2. Hospitals and clinics are required under California state law to notify the medical board if they suspend or terminate physicians. Officials said they did not report the allegations or the findings of their internal investigation into Dr. Tyndall to the medical board because the findings constituted a personnel matter and there is no legal obligation for them to notify the state oversight board, which investigates physicians accused of misconduct, according to The New York Times.

3. USC officials told The New York Times they have received more than 100 complaints regarding Dr. Tyndall since officials notified 350,000-plus students and alumni in an email May 15 of resources they can use to report abuse or complaints regarding Dr. Tyndall. Officials said half the complaints they received were anonymous and involved comments Dr. Tyndall allegedly made during patients' examinations.

4. The New York Times interviewed at least four women who said they were treated by Dr. Tyndall, who claimed he made sexual comments about their bodies that made them feel uncomfortable. One former patient said Dr. Tyndall showed her photographs of other women's genitals, claiming they were part of a research project, according to the report. Another former patient said he pulled out her tampon without explanation and "held it up for a very, very long time," the report states.

5. Several staff members also accused Dr. Tyndall of targeting students from China, many of whom were seeing a gynecologist for the first time. The Consulate General of The People's Republic of China in Los Angeles released a statement May 17 expressing "serious concerns" about the case.

"We ask the USC authorities to deal with the case in a serious manner, conduct an immediate investigation and take concrete measures to protect the Chinese students and scholars on campus from being harmed. The consulate has all along attached great importance to the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens overseas, including Chinese students and scholars," the statement reads.

6. Following the publication of The Los Angeles Times' investigation earlier this week, USC accused Dr. Tyndall of behavior and comments that "were completely unacceptable and a violation of our values," according to The New York Times. Dr. Tyndall declined to comment to The New York Times, but denied any wrongdoing to The Los Angeles Times.

7. The scandal comes less than a year after The Los Angeles Times published reports about former Keck School of Medicine at USC Dean Carmen Puliafito, MD, who was accused of misusing drugs on campus. He was replaced by Rohit Varma, MD, who stepped down from the position after reports surfaced he had settled a sexual harassment case with a former researcher.

To access The New York Times report, click here.Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare and KKR & Co., a New York City-based private equity firm, have teamed up to make an offer for Nashville-based physician services provider Envision Healthcare, sources told Reuters.

HCA wants to take over Envision's AmSurg ambulatory surgery division, and KKR would take over the remainder of Envision's business, sources told Reuters.

Envision, which has a market capitalization of $5.1 billion and $4.6 billion of long-term debt, has requested potential acquirers submit final offers later this month. The company announced it was exploring several strategic alternatives in 2017.

KKR isn't the only private equity firm interested in acquiring Envision. Sources told Reuters a consortium of Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group and San Francisco-based TPG Global are submitting bids for the company.

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ProMedica to acquire nursing home chain  creating $7B health networkDetroit Medical Center, which is owned by Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, entered into a definitive agreement to sell its outpatient and retail pharmacy business to Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreens as part of its pharmacy reorganization plan, according to Crain's Detroit Business.

A DMC spokesperson confirmed the partnership in a May 18 statement to Becker's Hospital Review.

"The Detroit Medical Center has reached a definitive agreement with Walgreens regarding the sale of our retail, outpatient pharmacies. Walgreens, a trusted care provider in the community, delivering cost-effective pharmacy, health and wellness services, shares our commitment to serving the people of Detroit," the spokesperson said.

The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

In an email to employees obtained by Crain's, DMC CEO Tony Tedeschi, MD, said officials expect to complete the transition by August.

All DMC pharmacy employees will have the opportunity to interview for positions with Walgreens, either at DMC retail pharmacies or other Walgreens locations in the Detroit area, or at DMC, officials said. Following completion of the deal, Walgreens will consolidate certain pharmacy locations and rebrand others to the Walgreens brand.

A spokesperson for Walgreens also confirmed the agreement to Becker's May 18, stating, "We look forward to continuing to work with DMC's medical team as we focus on improved health outcomes through personalized support, patient engagement and expert care."Since a former nurse at Tyler, Texas-based Louis and Peaches Owen Heart Hospital and Christus Mother Frances Hospital-Tyler was arrested April 10 and charged with murder in a patient's death, a hospital tip line created during the investigation has received over 200 calls, according to the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

Christus Mother Frances Hospital created the tip line after the former nurse, William George Davis, was arrested and charged in the August 2017 death of a 47-year-old patient. The patient had been recovering from a heart procedure at the hospital.

In incidents dating to June 2017, Mr. Davis also is suspected of harming at least six other patients, including a patient who died, according to an arrest affidavit in the case cited by the Telegraph.

The phone number has fielded more than 200 calls since its launch, hospital officials told the Telegraph. Officials did not disclose details about the calls, citing the ongoing investigation.

After Mr. Davis' arrest, several Texas law firms said they would pursue legal action related to the case.

Mr. Davis had worked for Christus Mother Frances Hospital for five years before being terminated Feb. 15, about a week after hospital officials voiced their concerns to police.

Mr. Davis has been jailed on a $2 million bond since his arrest.Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Healthcare recently formed a joint venture, known as Homespire, with Minneapolis-based home health provider Lifesprk.

Here are five reasons why Intermountain is tapping into a home health provider with expertise in a market 1,400-plus miles away.

1. Beginning May 1, Salt Lake City-based patients could begin receiving private-pay home care, like nonmedical services that are necessary for daily living, under Homespire. The JV plans to expand its services throughout Utah during the next year.

2. Utah is on the brink of doubling its senior population in the next 25 years. To cut healthcare costs and rehospitalization among this population, Intermountain eyed Lifesprk, which experienced success in a senior-heavy market. The company has seen revenue climb 20 percent annually, and about 75 percent of Lifesprk's revenue is private pay, the home health provider's CEO Joel Theisen told Home Health Care News.

3. Kim Henrichsen, MSN, RN, senior vice president of clinical operations and chief nursing executive for Intermountain, said, "Lifesprk, which is a 14-year-old company that's served more than 14,000 clients in Minnesota, has a proven model that delivers on our mutual vision of enabling seniors to remain in their homes longer by living healthy, independent lives."

4. The Homespire JV will copy Lifesprk's care model, which teams each patient with a registered nurse who offers 24/7 on-call care. Under the model, Lifesprk reduced emergency room visits by 47.8 percent and docked hospital visits by 56.8 percent.

5. While Homespire is only about a month into operations, the JV said it has lowered care costs by $2,500 a month, according to HHCN.After a systemwide computer network outage hit Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health May 14, two nurses at Sacramento-based Sutter Medical Center claim some patients were admitted May 15, after the outage, despite the hospital not having critical patient information, according to The Sacramento Bee.

In response to the outage, Sutter CEO Sarah Krevans praised the patience, commitment and thoroughness of Sutter Health employees in a video message, saying, "all of this helped to ensure the continuity of high-quality, safe patient care."

"We will be reviewing every aspect of this event and taking seriously every recommendation for improvement," Ms. Krevans said. "I also want to hear from all of you. I want to know what happened where you work."

Two Sutter Medical Center nurses spoke with the Bee anonymously out of fear of reprisal from their employer. The nurses expressed concerns about some patients being admitted for elective surgeries after the network outage despite issues with hospital resources and important patient information.

For example, the surgical team needs computer access to a patient's history and proof of physical completed within the last 30 days to receive physician certification on the date of surgery, a surgical nurse told the Bee. Although patients arrived for surgeries with their histories and physicals on paper, the papers failed to include the physician's certification that the patient's condition had not changed before the surgery date, the nurse said.

The medical team relies on those documents if something goes wrong during a surgery. "Other Sutter hospitals canceled elective surgeries," the nurse said. "Why did Sutter Medical Center feel like they needed to do elective surgeries?"

In response to this issue, Rick Harrell, Sutter Medical Center assistant administrator for surgical services told the Bee the facility stopped accepting patients in all units at some point May 15 until the staff could confirm whether they could safely care for patients admitted to the hospital.

Administrators relied on nurses in each department to determine whether they could admit more patients, Mr. Harrell said. Even in routine situations, management will check in with surgeons to assess whether procedures can continue as scheduled, Mr. Harrell said. The hospital conducted that same evaluation with surgeons as they looked at 50 or so elective surgeries scheduled May 15, he said.

Surgeons said they felt comfortable with the information they had to go ahead with all but 12 procedures, Mr. Harrell said. While nurses may have been unable to find documents, staff obtained all the necessary approvals from physicians prior to the elective surgeries, he said.

"We test for disaster internally, including our information systems, as well as we do it with other hospitals regionally, with the EMS employees, etc., " Mr. Harrell said. "We're prepared to support the community safely 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."Philadelphia-based Rothman Institute partnered with Independence Blue Cross, according to Philly.com.

Here are four insights.

1. The partnership makes Rothman Institute the first large, independent physician group to affiliate with Independence Blue Cross' health networks model.

2. For the next five years, Rothman Institute and Independence Blue Cross will expand bundled payment arrangements.

3. Independence Blue Cross is designed to encourage collaboration between hospitals and physicians who provided services to Independence insurers.

4. The University of Pennsylvania Health System and Jefferson Health, both in Philadelphia, have signed agreements with Independence Blue Cross.Before cars ruled the road in Northern Ireland, the eyecatching Italian Vespa scooter was one of the more popular modes of transport in Northern Ireland.

The Ulster Vespa club was formed in December 1954 and prospered for over 10 years before the increasingly affordable car overtook it.

Reformed in the 1980s, the club will soon be helping to host Ireland's largest gathering of Vespas in Belfast, with over 2,500 arriving from all over Europe, including participants from as far away as Australia and Canada.

Taking place on June 14 on the Titanic Slipways, the Ulster Vespa Club has invited many of the original members to join in the celebrations.

Ricky Darrah (50) from Belfast is a founding member of the UVC's current incarnation and a keen historian of the local movement.

"We're looking for old photographs of that time. The Vespas were really ingrained into peoples' lives during that era and it was something to be proud of to be mobile like that," he said.

"We'll have a mass ride-out to Carrickfergus Castle on June 14, so that's what I really want to get the original members down. Just to be part of it, they don't necessarily have to get on a Vespa."

Mr Darrah has encouraged any original members to share their memories and to get in touch on 07368 304875.Northern Ireland's natural gas pipeline should be extended to the seaside town of Whitehead without any further delay, the Utility Regulator has heard.

The regulator, led by Jenny Pyper, has been urged to make an "early and positive decision" to approve the extension.

Natural gas has been available in parts of Northern Ireland for 21 years since the Scottish pipeline came ashore at Ballylumford, but Whitehead -which is just seven miles away - was bypassed.

Now Phoenix Natural Gas has applied for an extension to bring its network to Whitehead.

Ulster Unionist East Antrim MLA John Stewart said: "I warmly welcome the fact that Phoenix Natural Gas has made an application for a licence extension to extend their existing gas network to include Whitehead.

"It is now in the hands of the Utility Regulator to assess its economic viability and give the green light to go. I am urging Jenny Pyper to make an early and a positive decision on this.

"In recent times, we have witnessed the extension of the natural gas pipeline to much smaller towns than Whitehead in the south and west of Northern Ireland.

"Yet for 21 years the raw material has been flowing in to Northern Ireland from the Scottish pipeline which comes ashore only a few miles away at Ballylumford."

He added: "There have been false dawns before, but this time there needs to be delivery.

"I have met and have been corresponding with the Utility Regulator and Phoenix Natural Gas about this for months, and am convinced about the good intentions of all concerned."The latest and final member of Hyundai's i30 range has just taken to the streets of Northern Ireland - and you won't miss its striking, bold design.

The clue's in the name - the i30 Fastback.

In an era of crossovers and SUV models the fastback is a rare beast and it's a bold move on the part of Hyundai to launch one.

But there's no denying that while the i30 hatchback and estate are best-selling models the new Fastback is the sexiest model.

Long, flowing lines, lowered roof, a perky rear end and wraparound tail lights give it a curious yet unforgettable look.

Stretching the body by 115mm over the hatch gives added legroom and increases the boot space by 50 litres, boosting it to 450, but the 25mm roof reduction will be felt by larger passengers, especially in the middle.

The view from the rear window is also restricted, though a colour reversing camera with guidelines more than compensates.

However, the big surprise comes from under the bonnet, where a peppy 1.0-litre, three-cylinder, turbo-charged petrol engine generates a sprightly 118bhp. Thanks to the lower chassis (5mm), stiffer suspension and more taut steering, the ride and handling are much improved over the standard hatchback and it behaved impeccably on more challenging twisty roads.

The steering is an absolute joy, and the level of feedback from the front wheels, especially under heavy acceleration, is second to none.

There's a nice little rasp from the three-pot at higher revs, and on the motorway it cruises effortlessly. It's quite frugal on fuel too, returning a not-too-shabby 50mpg.

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There's also a 138bhp 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine and a six-speed manual gearbox (a seven-speed DCT is available as an option).

That motor is best described as 'sufficient'; its 242Nm of torque kicks in somewhere around 2,000rpm, and it'll rev quite happily to well beyond 4,000rpm if you ask it to.

But in practice, you'll end up shifting up sooner than that, enjoying brisk progress instead of chasing after the claimed 0-62mph time of 9.2 seconds.

Just think of it as comfortable, not rapid, and you'll be on the money.

The cabin layout could have been more adventurous but it does have a quality feel - although there are no USB ports in the rear.

On the upside, a little bird tells me that the blistering N version is in the pipeline, with the bonkers 2.0-litre twin turbo power plant with 271bhp.

The biggest lure of all is the price, which starts at 20,310.

Like the rest of the i30 range, the Fastback benefits from a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty that few rivals can match.

The ownership package includes five years of free annual 'check-ups' and five years of breakdown cover.

Safety-wise, every i30 Fastback comes with hill start assist, tyre pressure monitoring, automatic emergency braking and lane departure technology. Step up to Premium trim and technology such as blind spot monitoring and cross-traffic systems are included, too.

In a way, it's a compliment to Hyundai's developing boldness that identifying likely buyers for the i30 Fastback is a little difficult. It's more dynamic than the hatchback sibling, but unlikely to appeal to those seeking a really sporty coupe.

Yet, there is a decent amount of appeal here: it's practical, decent to drive, well built and well priced compared with the hatch version. In the same way the Audi A3 Sportback has found itself an audience, those seeking a slightly alternate family car would find plenty of positives here.Pictured fans Sarah Brady with her brother Neill Brady from Newtownabbey

Pictured fans Brit Rea (L) and with her sister in law Ashlee Rea

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Northern Ireland rockers Snow Patrol return to the Belfast stage for an intimate gig at the Ulster Hall on Sunday, May 20. (Liam McBurney)

Snow Patrol have made a triumphant return to the Belfast stage with a sold out gig at the Ulster Hall.

The band hailed the intimate show as an "incredible night" as they performed a set of their classic hits as well as music from their new album Wildness.

Following the gig, the band posted a picture of the night on to their Instagram account, captioning the image: "Belfast!!! What an incredible night. We love you."

Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Johnny McDaid, and Jonny Quinn have returned to the music scene in recent months with the release of their new album.

To mark their first record in six years Snow Patrol announced a number of Irish dates, including shows in Derry, Cork, Galway, Wexford and Dublin.

>>Take a look through our gallery of pics above from Snow Patrol's Ulster Hall gig<<Donald Trump has recommended Northern Ireland actress Roma Downey's new book to his millions of followers.

Box Of Butterflies by the Londonderry woman is one of only seven books that the US President has cited on his Twitter account as essential reading in what some American commentators have unofficially labelled 'The Donald's Book Club'.

Downey, also a successful producer, is one of only 46 people who Trump follows on the social media site, although he has nearly 52 million followers.

The title of the devout Christian's latest publication is a reference to her days as a young girl growing up in the Bogside in Derry, when she regarded the appearance of butterflies as a reminder of God's presence.

In the deeply personal, semi-autobiographical book, California-based Roma (58) shares stories from her life alongside inspiring quotes, poems, scripture and artwork.

Trump has been a friend of Downey's since he collaborated with her husband Mark Burnett in the US version of The Apprentice.

The controversial leader, however, is not expected to have the New York Times bestseller on his essential reading list, despite the strong endorsement of the wealthy mother-of-three, who first found fame in America as the star of TV series Touched By An Angel.

Indeed, there are deep suspicions within the US media that the 71-year-old rarely reads anything - including paperwork seen as essential to his role as President.

Last year the New York Times reported that the volatile tycoon had told his staff to keep White House policy documents to a single page with lots of graphics and maps.

And, when asked on Fox News about the last book he actually read from cover to cover, Trump replied: "It's been so long, because now I read passages. I read areas ... I read chapters; I would love to sit down and read a book, but I just don't have the time any more."

While promoting her new book, Downey described herself "as a girl whose childhood essentially ended at age 10 with the death of my home-maker mother Maureen, who suffered a heart attack aged just 48".

Her twice-widowed father Patrick, a mortgage adviser, passed away 10 years later.

"The trauma of losing my mother at such a young age totally shaped the woman I became," she said.

Such trauma is how one's character develops, she added, for the choice is to "lie down under it or step up and endure".

She added: "The book is, in part, a letter to mothers and mothers-to-be on how not to be overcome. Everyone is going to be touched by suffering."Brave stance: Dame Barbara Windsor and her husband Scott Mitchell, who recently announced that his wife has Alzheimer's disease

Dame Barbara Windsor is said to be thrilled that speaking out about having Alzheimers Disease is helping people. The former EastEnders actress, who is 80, first learned she had the disease in 2014, but kept it a secret until now.

In an emotional interview, her husband Scott Mitchell revealed details of her illness because of rumours in showbusiness circles about her deteriorating health.

While everyone has the right to make that personal choice, too many people living with dementia face the condition alone and feel excluded from society.

This week is Dementia Action Week and organisations and individuals throughout the UK are taking steps to improve the lives of people affected by dementia.

Northern Ireland man Davie McElhinney has made the decision to take a stand by speaking up and taking action.

Davie, from Fermanagh, was only 54 when he was given his devastating diagnosis last May.

He had been experiencing regular forgetfulness and believes he was in denial for some time before finally going to the doctor.

Davie, a retired civil servant, is married to Alison and has a daughter aged 21 and a son, 25. The family lives just outside Enniskillen.

He says: A few years before my diagnosis things were beginning to happen which my family were noticing more than I was.

My wife began to really notice that I was doing strange things which were less obvious to me.

I lost my car in the Asda car park and at the hospital, and thought it had been stolen. I was doing things like putting sugar in the fridge instead of the cupboard and losing keys and tools.

I was forgetful, I was forgetting where to put things back, in my own home and workshop. This should be second nature to me, but I was forgetting.

The turning point for Davie was a day when he forgot about an event his daughter was having at school. He was so upset about missing it that he decided to go to the doctor.

He said: When I look back now I was really in denial, about what was happening to me and what was going on.

At the age of 54 it never even crossed my mind that I could be living with dementia. I honestly believed I was developing a brain tumour and I was keeping all of this to myself, I was scared.

In hindsight, keeping it to myself was no good. There was a big pressure on me to hide what was happening, from my family and the community.

After an initial test by his GP that indicated something may be wrong, Davie was referred to the memory clinic.

When I got my letter to attend, I didnt show it to my wife or family, I didnt want them to be upset, or to worry that this could be more sinister.

He then had an MRI scan and a CT scan and it was an appointment with a consultant psychiatrist in May last year, some six months after seeing the memory nurse, that he was given the news that he had dementia.

Although he was very worried by this stage, dementia was the last thing on his mind  because of his age.

I just didnt make the connection, he says. Arriving at the hospital I was convinced I was going to be told I had a brain tumour. I was shocked and numbed when I was told you have early onset dementia.

It was such a blur. It is a day I will never forget. It was the day that my world fell apart.

My wife and I left the hospital room in total shock  I was unable to speak, and my head was in turmoil.

I had just been told I had dementia. I was numb, I thought my life was over, I thought I had months to live.

Like most people, a distressed Davie turned to Google to find out more about the condition. What he read frightened him even more.

He says: My wife and I had so many questions.

We didnt get to chat to anyone following the diagnosis as it was a Friday. I then spent most of the weekend Googling what I had, what was going to happen to me, self-diagnosing, and this was a complete disaster.

I was very angry, in complete denial and did not want to accept my diagnosis. I became very introverted and depressed and could only think of the worst. I knew people who were living with dementia, but in the advanced stages and this also scared me.

I told my children I had dementia, I told them this and no more. I didnt know anything else, apart from the things Id read on the internet which were not good.

The sadness began to kick in, as I started to think about all the things I might never get to see, like my daughters graduation this year.

Then, Davie was visited at home by a community psychiatric nurse (CPN) who initially was able to reassure both him and his wife that he was very lucky as hed been diagnosed early.

I now know this is very important, he says.

However the fear was crippling for the first few months following his diagnosis despite weekly visits from the nurse who was a great support.

He says: I was terrified of the implications for my future, what would happen to my family and children.

Little things really began to scare me, like missing out on my children getting married, milestones that most people in their 50s never give a second thought too, like seeing grandchildren.

The fear and anxiety about my future kicked in, things like, paying for care later, can I afford this, and will I need it?

The words of the consultant the day I was diagnosed rung very loudly in my head: Get your affairs in order. I was so panicked that I was going to die.

Davie says he had hit rock bottom  due to a combination of medication changes and fear of the future  when on the advice of his CPN he contacted the local support group Dementia NI.

Dementia NI is a membership organisation specifically for people living with dementia. It was set up by five people living with dementia, who wanted to ensure that the voice of those living with the disease was at the core of policy, practice and service delivery across Northern Ireland.

The charity has established Dementia Empowerment Groups throughout Northern Ireland to provide a place for people to come together, share experiences, reflect and provide peer support.

It was in November 2017 that Davie first made contact with the charity.

He says: It was the best call I ever made. I was quite emotional, everything just spilled out.

The local empowerment officer, Paula, contacted me and invited me along to their next meeting in Irvinestown.

I was very nervous and didnt know what to expect but as soon as I walked into the room I was immediately put at ease.

Two people introduced themselves  they had also received a diagnosis of dementia and they put me right at ease.

I got so much out of that first meeting and I finally realised I was not alone anymore. We had our Christmas dinner and I met one of the founding members of Dementia NI, John, who also lives with dementia.

I spoke to John briefly that day, and from our chat I knew my life was not over and that I had so much life ahead of me.

John is an inspiration to me and he gives me the power to carry on.

Davie leant that living with dementia does not have to be negative.

His life has changed dramatically since joining the group.

Through the charity he has been helping deliver awareness sessions to students, care workers, the public and anyone who wants to know about dementia.

He is more active and has started exercising with a personal trainer and has taken up swimming.

He says: I do puzzles daily with varying degrees of success, but nonetheless I do them. It is all about keeping the brain as active as possible.

I have met some incredible people all living with dementia, normal people getting on with their lives and making the very best of it.

I really believe Dementia NI has saved my life.

I am no longer angry and in light of Dementia Action Week and joining the local Empowerment Group in Irvinestown I have now made it my goal to make things better for people living with dementia.

He has also found a new focus and wants to change the way people are diagnosed with dementia.

He says: Following our own experience, my wife and I discussed how important it is that there is a trained nurse available outside the consultants room.

We went home feeling so lost, so numb and had so many questions.

Had there been a nurse there we could have had our minds put at ease and been able to ask questions instead of spending the whole weekend on Google.

I am trying to make sure this available for everyone, so they dont have to feel the way we did.

And he adds: Understanding my illness has left me better able to face it head on. I now take it day at a time.

I dont think about yesterday and tomorrow has not happened yet. I live in the moment and set myself one goal to complete every day.

I initially struggled with telling people and wanted to hide my dementia.

That was holding me back and it was becoming a great burden, so I decided to tell my friends and my parents. This was a very big thing, but I felt a great relief and I didnt have to live a lie anymore.

I would urge anyone who suspects memory problems or other symptoms to go to your GP. It may not be dementia, but its better to have it checked out.

And yes, I am going to my lovely daughters graduation later this summer and I am really looking forward to it.

I have plenty more milestones to see.

To receive more information, provide feedback or make a donation visit Dementia NI at www.dementiani.orgThe border issue is still a major talking point in the Brexit debate

Northern Ireland would vote more strongly to remain in the EU if there was another Brexit poll, a study has suggested.

A total of 69% would favour Remain if there was another referendum compared to 56% at the vote two years ago, the UK In A Changing Europe project said.

Catholics were much more likely to support a united Ireland if there was a "hard exit" in which the UK left the customs union and single market.

The Irish border is one of the most vexed questions facing negotiators who aim to strike a deal by the autumn ahead of the UK's withdrawal from the EU next year.

Brendan O'Leary, Lauder Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, who also holds a visiting position at Queen's University Belfast, said: "Our results show that if there was another referendum, people in Northern Ireland would vote more strongly to remain in the EU.

"The proportion wanting to Remain has risen since the 2016 referendum as more people have become aware of the possible costs and inconveniences of leaving the EU, as citizens and as employees or employers."

The survey was carried out for the Economic and Social Research Council, which is funding the UK in a Changing Europe project.

Survey findings included:

- Catholics were much more likely to support a united Ireland if there was a hard Brexit in which the UK left the customs union and single market.

- 28% of Catholics would vote for a united Ireland if the UK changed its mind and remained in the EU while 53% of Catholics would vote for a united Ireland if there was a hard exit in which the UK left the customs union and single market.

- One in five Catholics found the possible use of cameras at the Irish border "almost impossible to accept" and nearly one in 10 Catholics (9%) would support cameras being vandalised.

- There were strong expectations that protests against checks at the Irish border or between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would quickly become violent.

- There was substantial support for a Brexit that would largely eliminate the need for any North-South or East-West border checks, namely for the UK as a whole to remain in the customs union and single market.

- 61% of the population favoured the UK as a whole remaining in the customs union and single market.

Meanwhile, a separate poll has suggested that most people in Northern Ireland support the Union - around 60% - but the same number also believe that Brexit makes the break-up of the UK more likely.

A clear majority of people in the UK are in favour of the Union in its current form - including 59% in Northern Ireland, according to the the ICM poll. Only 23% of those questioned in Northern Ireland were 'against' the Union.

As think tank Policy Exchange hosts a major conference on the future of the Union, it revealed the results of a survey that suggested British identity is robust. DUP leader Arlene Foster is among those set to speak at Brexit vs the Union: A False Choice? in London.

The ICM poll also asked respondents "if there were a general election held tomorrow, which party would you vote for?"

Some 27% said they would vote DUP, 22% would vote Sinn Fein, 11% for SDLP and three per cent for 'others'. Four per cent would not vote and 10% did not know.

A clear majority of people in the UK say their support for the Union has remained constant or has risen in recent years - 78% in England, 60% in Scotland, 69% in Wales, 70% in Northern Ireland, the poll indicated.

However, there is concern across all nations - particularly in Northern Ireland - about the impact of Brexit on the Union.

Some 58% of people in England, 59% in Scotland, 54% in Wales and 60% in Northern Ireland believe that Brexit has made the break-up of the UK more likely.

And few people in Northern Ireland appear to believe that the Union will last in the long term. While 63% believe it will still exist in 10 years time, only 28% believe it will be around in 50 years time - and only 22% think it will survive another century.The sister of a Disappeared victim of the Troubles has told how she defied a republican death threat to search for his remains.

Anne Morgan reflected on her 32-year quest to find her brother Seamus Ruddy, at a victim-focused event in Belfast.

Mr Ruddy, 32, from Newry, Co Down, was found buried in woodland at Pont-de-l'Arche, near Rouen in northern France, in May last year - three decades after he vanished.

The teacher was abducted in Paris in 1985 by republican paramilitary group the INLA (Irish National Liberation Army).

He was a former member of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) - the political wing of the INLA - and it is believed he was murdered and secretly buried amid a dispute with INLA members about an arms dump.

Mrs Morgan told an audience gathered to hear the stories of victims of the conflict that, in the months after her brother's disappearance, a bag containing his clothes was found in the River Seine at Rouen.

She was asked by a French magistrate to travel over to identify the items, one of which was a top with two suspected bullet holes in the hood.

"We decided we would go," she said.

"Before we went we thought we'd ask the INLA, could they let us go. To this day I don't really know why we done that, but we did. In 1985 it was a totally different set-up than now.

"They told us if we went to Paris, a fella pointed at me and said, 'If you go to Paris you are dead and all of your family are under threat', and he said, 'You are not allowed to go to the media'.

"At that meeting I just said, 'I am looking for my brother and I will be going to Paris'.

"And myself and another brother, Sean, we did go to Paris and we did identify the clothes."

Mrs Morgan stressed how important it had been to finally find her brother's body last year.

"He's now around us and he's not so far away and it's just been so important to actually find and bring him home," she said.

"I think sometimes people don't realise how important a funeral is. After three days we bury our dead but we had to wait 32 years for this, and it's just been an awful, awful long journey."

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Three of the 16 Disappeared victims - Columba McVeigh, Joe Lynskey and Robert Nairac - are still to be recovered.

Another relative who addressed Monday's event, hosted by Queen's University academic Professor John Barry, was the mother of Paul Quinn.

Mr Quinn was found beaten at farm buildings in Tullycoora, near Castleblayney, in October 2007.

His family said he had been involved in a dispute with individual IRA members, though Sinn Fein has always denied the involvement of republicans.

His mother Breege Quinn broke down as she recalled what the doctor said to her when he died in hospital.

"They took him into the shed, they tied him up and they broke every bone in his body," she said.

"Half his ear was hanging off, bones were sticking out and whenever they left they sprayed the place with disinfectant.

"The doctor came out and shook our hands and said, 'they left nothing to fix, they left nothing to fix'."

Mrs Quinn said she sees people she believes were involved in the murder on a daily basis.

"We are here still fighting to get justice for Paul and it's a very, very hard road," she added.

Raymond McCord, whose son Raymond McCord Jnr was beaten to death by an Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) gang in 1997, also recounted his story.

The killing has long been mired in controversy amid claims that loyalists who were also working as police agents were involved.

There have been further allegations that police handlers were informed of the plan to kill Mr McCord but did not prevent it.

His father told the event: "My agenda is very simple - to get truth and justice for my son.

"He's dead because of collusion and people continue to be allowed to get away with it. We shouldn't need to be doing this today. The killers - so-called loyalists or so-called republicans - they should be in prison.

"Whoever has been murdered in this country, by paramilitaries or security forces, they should be charged with it and locked up for good."Sinn Fein MLA Mairtin O Muelloir has accused DUP leader Arlene Foster of the "same old arrogance" after she called nationalism "narrow and exclusive" during a speech in England.

Mrs Foster gave a wide-ranging speech at a Policy Exchange event titled "The Union and Unionism" in London on Monday morning.

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She told the crowd that unionism was inclusive in comparison with nationalism.

"Unionism is at its best when it is confident, outward looking and welcoming. We must move forward with confidence," Mrs Foster said.

"Citizenship and rights are essentially unionist issues. They are issues we should set out to reclaim. Nationalism is by its nature narrow and exclusive. Being a Unionist is the opposite. Unionism stands for pluralism and multi-culturism. We are inclusive and welcome all.

"Confident unionism can capture the diversity that nationalism cannot. It transcends nationalism, and allows individuals to express the cultural values or identity they wish.

The surest way to cement the Union is for Northern Ireland to be open and provide a successful environment in which to live and work. A Northern Ireland which embraces differing cultures and where minorities feel valued - is one that few will choose to abandon."

The DUP leader reitereated her party's commitment to Brexit and stressed that there was no desire for a hard border in Ireland.

"We voted in the referendum as one nation. We must implement that decision and leave as one nation. Again, Northern Ireland is a central element to that debate. But unionists, throughout the country - those who voted remain and leave  accept that we must exit the EU in a way that causes no damage to the economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom, the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA said.

"And as a unionist I see no logic or rationale for a hard border being created between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Indeed we do not want to see that at all.

"The only people stirring up myths of border checkpoints are those who are committed to unpicking the Union. They seek to use such imagery to advance and build support for their long-term political objective. They will not succeed."

Describing her speech as a missed opportunity, South Belfast MLA O Muelloir said Arlene Foster had produced no new thinking but more of the same old arrogance.

Unfortunately, this much-trumpeted speech from Arlene Foster has failed to provide any indication that the DUP is prepared to end its blockage of the power-sharing institutions," the Sinn Fein MLA said.

In her speech, Arlene Foster accused nationalism of being narrow and exclusive while lauding unionism as standing for pluralism and multi-culturalism.

Quite apart from the arrogance of dismissing the entire nationalist population in this way, Arlene Fosters comments quite simply dont stack up to the reality.

Where is the multi-culturalism for Gaelic speakers who are still being denied equal language rights by the DUP?

Where is the pluralism for the members of our LGBT community who are still being denied marriage equality by the DUP?," Mr O Muelloir asked.A Sinn Fein MLA has expressed his frustration after another attack on Irish language signs in Co Tyrone.

Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA Colm Gildernew has slammed those responsible for vandalising Irish language road signage on the Killyliss Road, Dungannon and Annaghroe, Caledon over the weekend.

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It is the second attack on Irish language signs in the area this month.

This is the latest in a series of attacks on Irish language road signs across South Tyrone. There is no excuse for this type of vandalism and it cannot be tolerated," the Sinn Fein MLA said.

Signage is often subject to a rigorous community process prior to erection, therefore, these attacks fly in the face of people's consent.

The vandalism of these signs and others in the borough forms part of a campaign of intolerance against the Irish language in recent months in the area, and should be condemned by all.

Mr Gildernew said unionist politicians should intervene to stop the attacks.

There is a need for some in political unionism in particular to show leadership on this issue.

Unfortunately, this is indicative of the attitude of some in society who show a complete disregard and lack of respect for the Irish identity and further focus the need for protection of Irish Language rights through legislation.

I have reported these attacks to the PSNI and I am appealing to anyone with information to bring it forward so those responsible can be held to account for these disgraceful crimes.Brexit Secretary David Davis made another unannounced visit to Northern Ireland yesterday - and met people concerned about leaving the European Union.

His department said he had returned as part of a "fact-finding" mission alongside Secretary of State Karen Bradley and Business Secretary Greg Clark.

It did not say where he visited, only that he met with representatives from the freight industry, cross-border business and community stakeholders "to further explore how the highly-streamlined customs model could address the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland".

The SDLP said it came as no surprise to hear about the visit through news reports.

"It is clear for everyone to see Mr Davis doesn't want to engage with politicians who will put the hard questions to him on his Government's failure to protect the interests of citizens here," the party said.

"Mr Davis would clearly rather sneak about and bury his head in the sand while taking his political lead on the politics of this island from only the DUP.

"Our door is open when the Tory politician decides he actually wants to be responsible and step up to engage at a political level across the political spectrum here."

However, DUP MP Ian Paisley accused the SDLP of sour grapes.

"It was so secret he met with a dozen senior business people and organisations in NI," he tweeted.

"The SDLP feel left out because they have nothing positive to contribute. The Government is going over the heads of the SDLP to the people and the SDLP don't like it."

Sinn Fein MP Orfhlaith Begley said that the proposals being put forward by Mr Davis "on so-called technological solutions on the border are nothing more than rehashed versions of proposals put forward last August which were dismissed by the EU as fantasy and nonsense".

"The clock is ticking and the British Government need to stop wasting time on unworkable notions and deal with the option already on the table for avoiding physical infrastructure at the border through the North remaining in the customs union and single market," she said.

"Rather than sneaking in and out of the North again and meeting behind closed doors, Tory ministers should listen to the views of the people of the North who clearly reject the Tory Brexit and want to remain in the single market and customs union."

Later pictures were issued to the media of Mr Davis meeting with business representatives at Stormont. Businesses represented included the MJM Group, Diageo and NuPrint.

Derry City and Strabane Council was represented, along with the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce.

The Freight Association, WS Dennison, Surefreight and BP McKeefrey also attended the meeting with the ministers.

The Department for Exiting the EU said the visit was part of the 'max fac' working group exploring potential future customs arrangements, focusing on using technology to overcome the difficulties around what will become a land border with the EU as well as maintaining the pledges made by Government of avoiding having additional infrastructure.

The department said in a statement: "The Prime Minister has tasked two working groups from the European Union Exit and Trade (Strategy and Negotiations) sub-committee with exploring further the two possible future customs arrangements the UK Government have set out."

Mrs Bradley said the meeting with stakeholders had been "constructive".

"Throughout our conversations, we focused on how any future arrangements could meet the three clear objectives we have set: to allow trade in goods and services to be as frictionless as possible with the EU; to have an independent trade policy; and, crucially, to uphold the commitments we have made to the people of Northern Ireland," she said.

"That means no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, as well as maintaining the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK.

"And we will keep those at the forefront of our minds as our work continues."

Mr Davis has previously faced criticism for not announcing his visit in advance of his visit to the border in April.

At the time, his department apologised for what it described as a "administrative oversight" in not notifying Sinn Fein MP Mickey Brady of the visit, as is normal procedure.Charlotte Caldwell and her autistic son Billy, who relies on cannabis oil

The mother of a severely epileptic Co Tyrone boy has said the Government "have signed his death warrant" after halting his prescription for medicinal cannabis.

Billy Caldwell (11) from Castlederg used to suffer up to 100 seizures a day before 2016 when he began treatment with cannabis oil in the US, where medical marijuana is legal.

After a tireless campaign from his mother Charlotte, Billy became the first person in the UK to receive a prescription when his local GP Brendan O'Hare began writing scripts.

This was halted when the family doctor was summoned to the Home Office and told to desist.

Ms Caldwell has since travelled to London to meet MPs speaking at a conference on medicinal cannabis.

"We're just lost for words and absolutely devastated. The cannabis oil Billy was on was giving him an amazing quality of life and was controlling his seizures," she said.

"Without that, the Government have signed his death warrant because the seizures will return without the medicine."

Billy's current supply of medicine runs out in just three weeks, after which the family say they are at a loss at what to do next.

"We're taking it one day at a time now, I've travelled to London and we're appealing to the individual who signed Billy's death warrant to come forward," said Ms Caldwell.

The family have had the support of all the main political parties in Northern Ireland, but she said the DUP withdrew its support in recent weeks.

Jim Shannon is the DUP's health spokesman at Westminster and insisted the party was still committed to making prescribed cannabis legal, but said there was still a complicated legal process that had to be completed.

Mr Shannon has been in contact with the family of Sophia Gibson (6) from Newtownards, who also suffers from a rare form of epilepsy.

Her parents Darren and Danielle travelled to Holland last month to get the cannabis oil she needs.

"I've met the Home Office Minister Nick Hurd on this. He's sympathetic to the case but he's told us there's a process they have to go through," said Mr Shannon.

"The Home Office need to give us the go-ahead, so I'm still confident if we can get a strong medical voice to support us we can go ahead. It's still at an early stage so, to be honest, I don't see it going ahead right away, but I am confident that we will end up with cannabis oil available for all who need it."

In a statement, the Caldwell family said it believed "the Home Office are determined not to open the floodgates on this".

In England the family of Alfie Dingley, a six-year-old boy with epilepsy, have been engaged in a similar battle to legalise the medication through the courts.

Billy's family statement said the Home Office was trying to create a bespoke solution for Alfie without setting a precedent.

It added: "The Home Office have been trying to get off the hook for months with Dingley by coming up with a solution for him."

SDLP Foyle Stormont Assembly Member Mark H Durkan said: "I am appalled that the Home Office have reacted so heavy-handedly to a very sensitive and high profile case.

"It has been clear from the start that Billy's GP has issued this treatment in good faith to save a young boy's life, not to open the floodgates to inappropriate drug use."

"Medical professionals sign a Hippocratic Oath to ensure patients get the care they need, and this action by bureaucrats has undermined that oath," Mr Durkan added.A former patient of the consultant at the centre of Northern Ireland's biggest patients recall says she doesn't want any compensation from the Belfast Health Trust - she just wants her neurologist back.

Rhonda O'Neill (44) from Magherafelt is now footing her own bill to travel to London to get the specialist treatment she needs for a rare condition - autonomic neuropathy - which results in her organs not working properly.

Last week the Belfast Trust issued an apology for how the recall has been handled and said a compensation scheme was being considered for the 3,200 patients affected.

But Rhonda says that any offer, which would still have to be passed at Stormont, will make little difference to her and many others who have been left without the consultant they trusted and had complete faith in.

"What am I going to do with compensation if I don't have my health?" she said. "The only thing I want is to be a patient of Dr Watt again.

"I know the Belfast Trust are in an awful position given what's been going on over the past few weeks, but it's my health, and the health of many others, that is now the main problem.

"The past year has been dreadful for me. I last saw Dr Watt on June 14 and since then I've had no point of contact. I've had to make arrangements myself.

"And I'm not really sure how to take any apology that's been issued. In truth, while appreciated, any apology doesn't make my situation any better.

"In fact, it would be lovely to see the Belfast Trust issuing an apology to Dr Watt over how this has been handled from start to finish, how his name has been released and how he has suffered as a result.

"He dedicated his life to neurology and gave everything to me. He's always been such a humble man but so positive as well."

Rhonda said there had been many times over the past eight years when she had felt like giving up.

"I would get one health issue sorted but there's always been another waiting just around the corner. But he's always been there for me. The treatment I've received from him has been nothing but exceptional," she said.

"Dr Watt was able to diagnose me with a very rare condition. It's extremely hard to diagnose and extremely hard to treat, but the care I've been given has been second to none.

"Before seeing Dr Watt I had been wrongly diagnosed on two occasions by other consultants, but they have not been named by me and will never be. In fact the first neurology consultant I saw told me I would never have any other symptoms. That was wrong. Are they under any sort of investigation? No. Will they ever be? I doubt it. Do I want them to be? No.

"And I'm sure that's happened to so many others. How many doctors will now be looking over their shoulders every time they make a diagnosis if this is what could potentially happen to them?"

Rhonda now has to travel outside Northern Ireland for treatment.

"For the past year, since Dr Watt hasn't been working, I've had to go to London to receive the treatment I need. I've been over there six times to see different specialists and each time there's been nothing but praise for Dr Watt and what he was doing for me.

"This week alone I'll be in Coleraine, then the RVH to see different specialists, and that's on top of the trips over to London. Before all of this I had one doctor who looked after everything."

Patients are continuing to attend recall meetings with the Belfast Trust, but Rhonda is concerned that many already ill patients are being unnecessarily subjected to investigations they don't require.

"I've yet to hear from anyone who didn't have their diagnosis from Dr Watt confirmed," she said.

Around 3,200 public and private former patients of the Belfast-based neurologist have been initially earmarked for review and others may be brought into the major probe.

A series of investigations, including an independent inquiry led by a barrister, have been established following concerns about work by the consultant.

In a statement, the Belfast Trust said it "recognises this is a very difficult situation for everyone involved; for all of Dr Watt's patient's and for everyone who knows him".

"We are sorry for the distress it has caused but recalling patients is not a decision we took lightly and it was based on independent and expert advice. The purpose of the recall is to assure our patients, their families and ourselves that each patient is receiving the best possible care," it said.

"The department will be examining options for a potential redress scheme for patients found to have suffered adverse impacts from inappropriate or incorrect diagnoses. It is right and proper that consideration is given to redress; patients have been let down and the health and social care system must acknowledge that. A final decision on redress arrangements will ultimately rest with ministers."Megan Ingram with floristry lecturer Anne Marie Grant at the Balmoral Show. Megan is a finalist in the Young Florist of the Year at the Chelsea Flower Show, preperations for which continued yesterday

Three florists from Northern Ireland have been beavering away in London all weekend with secateurs as they prepare to take part in the finals of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show today.

The students from CAFRE Greenmount were putting the final touches to their floral flights of fancy in the Great Pavilion at the UK's premier horticultural event.

Megan Ingram (18) from Belfast and Clare McAuley (23) from Comber are finalists in the Young Florist of the Year competition, while Anne Kirkwood (35) from Londonderry is contending for the Florist of the Year title.

This year's theme - fittingly, given the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle on Satuday - is A Spring Wedding, and competitors have to construct a floral throne that will go on display in the Great Pavilion.

Earlier this week Megan took a day away from the frantic preparations to visit the Balmoral Show while she waited for the flowers to arrive. "I'm here for the horses!" she said.

CAFRE Greenmount floristry lecturer Anne Marie Grant explained: "We would have our local heats throughout the whole of the UK and we host one of them at Greenmount.

"From all the heats the top 16 best designs are chosen to go through to the final at Chelsea.

"We don't normally have as many finalists, but over the last 10 years we've had a finalist every year in one of the categories, whether it was a current student or past student.

"They've been constructing the thrones and planning how to do it, and then you go over to make it and put it in place.

"Once you get there you have four hours to finish it off in order to make it look gorgeous."

Megan certainly has the pedigree as a third generation florist.

Her granny founded Alexander Florists in Belfast and was followed into the business by Megan's father. Now she has followed suit.

She wasn't allowed to say too much about her design, but said she had been inspired by an opulent tapestry look.

"I wanted to make it look like it was plumped-up cushions that you could sit on and it would be comfortable," she explained.

"I am using my favourite flowers - a mixture of roses, freesia and eustonia."

The flowers were due to arrive late last week to be conditioned and prepared before the trip to London at the weekend on the overnight boat.

"To keep them nice and fresh, we're buying them at the last minute, then we'll be driving down to London and constructing our designs," she added.

"We'll be setting them up in the Great Pavilion on Sunday night for judging on Monday morning."

While Megan was too focused to think about celebrity spotting, there is one TV chef she's a fan of.

She conceded: "I'm looking forward to seeing Mary Berry."It might be a quiet fishing town at the foot of the Mournes - but at least two billion TV viewers who saw the royal wedding have now heard of Kilkeel.

A short drive from stunning mountain views and the Silent Valley reservoir, the streets of the Co Down town were largely empty yesterday after the excitement of Prince Harry and Meghan's nuptials - now the Baron and Baroness of Kilkeel.

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Already local business owners said they had high hopes the association with the two - who will be mainly known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - would put them on the tourism map.

The anticipation of a royal visit in the near future is already building with reports circulating that the newlyweds will embark on a 'mini-moon' to Ireland.

Samuel Hamilton owns the Kilmorey Arms Hotel, an establishment that is no stranger to international dignitaries, with both Churchill and Eisenhower staying there during the war years.

"I was in absolute shock when I heard on Saturday," he said.

"I had to ask my wife if there was another Kilkeel.

"I think we've sadly been neglected by the tourist board in this part of the world, so this is one of the things we hope will give Kilkeel and the Mourne area a bit more vibrancy and bring people to the area."

Prince Charles previously visited Kilkeel harbour last year, but Mr Hamilton said a royal visit from Harry and Meghan would make history.

"I'm glad an invite has been tabled at the council because we would welcome them with open arms and accommodate them in every way we can," he said.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Rick Findler/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Rick Findler/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

"It would be great to have them in Kilkeel. The whole Mourne area has so much to offer but the north coast seems to get all the publicity and we've missed out big time."

Across the road sits an attractive art shop and cafe, Made in Mourne, which also functions as a not-for-profit social enterprise providing a workspace for local creative talent.

Managing director Jenna Stevenson said she hoped young entrepreneurs would seize the opportunity.

"We are isolated in a rural and coastal area so it is good to have that exposure to be able to put us on the world map," she said.

"Nobody would have known about us otherwise, now people from all over the world will be googling Kilkeel.

"We realised there wasn't a lot of content online so we very quickly put together a blog showcasing the region."

She continued: "We'd love to give them a tour here, especially with Meghan being so outspoken on empowering women.

"We are 90% female entrepreneurs in this space, so it would be lovely to show her everything we have going on.

"Since I started my own business I've been running up and down the road for networking opportunities.

"That's hard work when you're a young mum and wife, so I felt I had to give up growing my business. But this has given me, and other women, a chance to showcase our work on a global platform."

A short walk from the town centre reveals the captivating sight of Kilkeel harbour, which boasts the largest fishing fleet in Northern Ireland.

Admiring the view, and taking the time for an ice cream, was Shelagh Roberts.

"I thought it was fabulous, I'm amazed that they even knew where Kilkeel was," she said.

"But I think it's very nice and great for the area. It's such a beautiful part of the world with the mountains of Mourne flowing down to the sea and my own hometown of Rostrevor just around the corner."

Glued to the television like so many on Saturday, she said: "I loved the dress, the day was fabulous because the sun was shining and it was lovely, bright and glorious for the happy couple.

"It would be so good for the area if Harry and Meghan visited. They're young, happy and in love so what more would you need to bring a ray of sunshine to the area?"

Ulster Unionist councillor Jill McAuley said it was a "very proud moment" for Kilkeel.

"It's one we share with the rest of the community in the kingdom of Mourne. Hopefully, we'll be seeing the Baron and Baroness here very soon.

"If they did come they could see the natural beauty of Mourne and south Down that is very unique," she said.

"There's Silent Valley, the beautiful coastal drive from Newcastle to Kilkeel and the higher road in the Mournes just to begin with.

"It really is just a massive tourism opportunity for us, we have a tourism strategy in place and that will now become a huge priority for our council."

The DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson added that he was "thrilled" Prince Harry was named as Baron Kilkeel.

"The folk in my native Mourne will be over the moon," he said.

"A truly historic day for Kilkeel."DUP MP Sammy Wilson has said that a new poll showing that only 21% of people in Northern Ireland would vote for a united Ireland is "little comfort for republicans".

An academics poll by Ipsos MORI found that just 21.1% of people in Northern Ireland would vote for Irish unity after the UK leaves the EU.

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The poll, commissioned by Queens University Belfast, showed that not even half of Catholics living in Northern Ireland would vote for a united Ireland, with 42.6% in favour and 26% undecided.

A second poll by the UK In A Changing Europe Project showed that 69% would favour Remain if there was another referendum compared to 56% at the vote two years ago.

It said Catholics were much more likely to support a united Ireland if there was a "hard exit" in which the UK left the customs union and single market and that only one in five Catholics found the possible use of cameras at the Irish border "almost impossible to accept" and nearly one in 10 Catholics (9%) would support cameras being vandalised.

However, there are serious concerns in Northern Ireland about the impact of Brexit on the Union.

60% of people in Northern Ireland believe that Brexit has made the break-up of the UK more likely.

And few people in Northern Ireland appear to believe that the Union will last in the long term. While 63% believe it will still exist in 10 years time, only 28% believe it will be around in 50 years time - and only 22% think it will survive another century.

East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson claimed the results of the polls "provide little comfort for republicans whilst supporting the DUPs opposition to barriers to trade between Northern Ireland and both the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain."

There is no comfort for SF in the opinion poll published today. Any republican trying to spin this as a success story is grasping at straws," Mr Wilson said.

"Just 10% of people say Sinn Fein is doing a good job of representing them. Only 21% would vote for a United Ireland. Only 24% would support Sinn Feins special status scheme of moving the border to the Irish Sea as we Exit the EU. In contrast, there is clear support for the DUPs position that we should not cut ourselves off from our nearest neighbours in the Irish Republic, or have a border down the Irish Sea.

"Then less than 20% agree with Sinn Fein that there cant be a technology solution to the border post-Brexit."

Mr Wilson said the poll gave voters little choice on Brexit issues.

"Not even Gerry Adams could spin this poll as a good result for Sinn Fein," the East Antrim MP said.

"All these results are despite some leading questions and pejorative language in the questions. On the questions about the Single Market and the Customs Union, the interviewee effectively has a gun held to their head.

"They can support continued single market and customs union membership or they can opt for and effective Armageddon. The poll paints the alternative to the single market and customs union as army check points, 30 minute queues at the border and passport checks.

"Faced with such a black and white choice and one blood-curding scenario it is little wonder people would opt for the outcome which seems best."

The DUP MP said that practical solutions could be found to concerns around Brexit.

"There is a way to implement the result of the referendum and avoid the type of border that remainers like to paint," Mr Wilson said.

"To get there requires the EU and Republic of Ireland to work pragmatically. They need to be prepared to use technology and administrative solutions which will and can facilitate trade as well as those who will want to go about their normal life as they live along the border.

Sinn Fein's Mairtin O Muilleoir rejected Mr Wilson's comments.

"The ground is shifting in the north, not only among nationalists but in the unionist community too," the South Belfast MLA said.

"Even the British Prime Minister knows there is growing support for Irish unity and civic unionists are engaging with Irish officials about the form and shape of a new Ireland.

"There is also intense public opposition to physical infrastructure, to checks and to controls and its no surprise that an increasing number of people now want to remain in the EU - which is reported to have risen from 56% to 69%.

"Given that EU leaders have also dismissed Britains infrastructure proposals as a fantasy island unicorn model, clearly they are not impressed either."A man charged with murdering his uncle at their remote Co Antrim home had soup and went to bed after allegedly inflicting the fatal blows, the High Court heard today.

Marek Sinko told police he struck Eugeniusz Sinko in a "brutal" fight over money and a missing bottle of vodka, at one point instructing the victim: "Get up and serve like a man."

New details emerged as the Public Prosecution Service failed in an appeal against bail being granted to the 36-year-old accused.

Eugeniusz Sinko, 53, was found dead in a yard outside the cottage shared by the two Polish nationals at Townhill Road, Rasharkin last October.

His body was partially clothed, which a Crown lawyer claimed that was consistent with him having been dragged outside.

A post mortem confirmed the cause of death was a traumatic brain injury.

The court heard Marek Sinko had been arrested at the time, telling police he punched his uncle five times to the face after a row broke out.

But prosecution counsel Kate McKay said more than 60 injuries were discovered on the victim's body - some likely to have been caused by kicks.

Based on the accused's own account, she contended that the two men had a history of heavy drinking and bouts of violence.

On the night of the alleged murder they were said to have argued and fought again over the missing vodka and money.

Marek Sinko claimed he struck his uncle with "powerful" punches as he sat in the kitchen, knocking him against a cupboard.

"He stated that he told him 'Get up and serve like a man'," Mrs McKay told the court.

According to the defendant he went outside for a smoke at one point, and then saw the older man bare-chested and trying to wash at a tap.

He claimed that he went back inside, got himself a bowl of soup and went to bed. When he got up the following day he allegedly found his uncle lying dead.

Mrs McKay continued: "He said he tried chest pumps, but he (Eugeniusz Sinko) was stone cold."

She argued that the victim could not have gone by himself to the outside tap because he would have been unconscious within minutes from the injuries sustained inside the property.

Defence barrister Stephen Law insisted his client still has the support of relatives in Poland over what he described as a "family tragedy".

Counsel also stressed that information about what happened was supplied to police by the accused.

Prosecutors were challenging a Magistrates' Court decision to grant bail, arguing the Marek Sinko could flee if released.

But Mr Justice Burgess refused the appeal after pointing out that he has breached no terms since first questioned seven months ago.

He said: "I'm happy to agree with the conclusions reached by the district judge, but I will add one extra condition - he's not to leave Northern Ireland without first getting the consent of the PSNI."Srinagar, May 21: Four girls sustained bullet injuries after Indian Army soldiers opened fire on people when villagers refused to participate in an Iftaar party of Army and protested against it in Shopian district on Monday evening.

The incident took place at DK Pora, village of the district.

An army party came to DK Pora village to organize an Iftaar party but people not only refused to attend it but also threw whatever eatables they had brought with them, witnesses said.

Locals said, We told Army party politely that we dont need their Iftar party but they didnt left the village.

Reports said that later villagers staged protest against the Army and in response soldiers fired on people resulting in injuries to four girls.

Hospital sources told media that one 14 year old girl Aqsa Jan has been referred to Srinagar for advanced treatment. His condition is critical.A mechanic allegedly bit his girlfriend and knocked her tooth out before seizing control of her car, the High Court heard today.

Joshua Dowd is accused of attacking the woman and hijacking the vehicle during a journey in north Belfast.

Prosecutors also claimed the 25-year-old swung a set of bathroom scales at his mother in a separate incident.

Dowd, currently of no fixed abode, faces a series of charges over the two alleged attacks earlier this year.

He was refused bail due to potential re-offending.

The court heard Dowd encountered police dealing with an unrelated incident in the city on March 11, claimed he had just assaulted his partner and stated: "I knocked her tooth out."

Officers went to the woman's home and noticed she had a tooth missing along with significant facial bruising.

She claimed Dowd had arrived earlier, got into a car alongside her and screamed at her to drive, according to Crown lawyer Natalie Pinkerton.

They travelled together for a period before he allegedly started to punch and bite her face.

When the car stopped he got out, kicked and dragged her across to the passenger's side and then got behind the wheel, it was claimed.

The woman confirmed that she had not given him permission to drive the vehicle.

In a separate incident on February 10 he allegedly brandished bathroom scales and a storage box at his mother and tried to punch his stepfather before being thrown out of their home.

Dowd faces charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, hijacking, common assault, criminal damage and assaulting police.

John O'Connor, defending, contended that his client could be released from custody and excluded from entering north Belfast.

He told the court Dowd's job as a car valet and mechanic is still available.

But denying bail, Mrs Justice Keegan held there was a "high risk of re-offending"A Northern Ireland couple who married at the same time as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex went to great lengths to ensure the royal wedding stole none of their thunder.

Londonderry bride Melissa Kelpie (33) married her own prince Shaun Rabbett (33) at St Patrick's Church in Pennyburn on Saturday as Harry and Meghan were saying their vows at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.

And the couple went all out to ensure their day rivalled the glitz and glam of the royal affair.

Melissa was ferried from her Ballyarnett home to the church service in a stunning carriage led by two white horses and attended to by three footmen. And the bride, aware that she was sharing her day with another bride in London, wore a huge diamond encrusted crown to ensure she shone just as brightly as the 'Princess of Derry'.

"We had this date booked for over two years and were over the Moon when we heard they had booked today for their wedding also," she said.

"It's a very special day for them and for us. And it's made all the more special because of our little baby girl Faith, our miracle IVF baby, who is our flower girl today. We called her Faith after all the prayers we had to say for her over the years. To have her here with us is just beautiful.

"We might not have kings and queens at our wedding, but our family are all royalty and we're delighted they can all be here to celebrate with us."

And Melissa says that she was adamant that the royal wedding was not going to steal any of her thunder.

"We travelled in style, my husband and I," she said. "We hired the horse-drawn carriage which was lovely to arrive at the church in. I also had my beautiful, big, high diamond crown. I love my diamonds, my glitz and glam. We gave Meghan and Harry a run for their money and I felt like a real princess today.

"We obviously didn't get to see the royal wedding live as it was on at the same time as our own, but I got someone to record it for me so I'll be able to watch it later if I get a chance."

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Rick Findler/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Rick Findler/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, leaving Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House, hosted by the Prince of Wales. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday May 19, 2018. See PA story ROYAL Wedding. Photo credit should read: Steve Parsons/PA WireIn April 2001, after being knocked down by a car in Spain - which left me paralysed from the neck down, ventilator dependent and in a wheelchair - I was flown home to Belfast.

For the next year, I was cared for at the Royal Belfast Victoria Hospital by Dr Robert Taylor and his team. In the wake of the Hyponatraemia Inquiry, I do not want to ignore the deaths of the children who died.

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It is very sad and the pain the families must be feeling cannot be alleviated by anyone.

However, the care which I, and others, have received from Bob Taylor has been wonderful, as was shown by the many messages I received last Monday.

"Bob is a golden light for so many of us," said one local disability advocate.

"Bob - affectionately known by us as Saint Bob - saved my life, and then he gave me a quality of life no other doctor would.

"I owe Dr Bob my life!"

Like the person who gave this quote, I too, owe Bob my life.

He reactivated my lungs three times, hence saving my life, and then fought to get me home.

He, and his small team of doctors, nurses and technicians, had spent the decade prior to my accident setting up a system of home ventilation across the province.

This was done outside their contracted hours and with no payment.

It was their expertise and dedication that let me become the first person with my injury in Great Britain and Ireland to live at home.

In August of this year, I will have been home for 16 years.

"He set up the air ambulance and without this a lot of children would not be here," said another person in reply to a post I made on social media about the opening article of last Monday's Belfast Telegraph.

I will say again how the deaths of the children lost and the pain felt by their parents is awful, but it has to be understood how many children now with the same illnesses could survive.

While the 1990s is not many years ago, it is as far as medical science and technology is concerned.

In recent months, doctors and nurses working within Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU) have received very bad press, and not only in the case of tragic stories such as loss of life.

They work under very stressful conditions, and are not paid or in some cases, respected enough either.

Unfortunately, the stress and disrespect doctors are faced with could prevent parents from placing their trust in medical experts and from even seeking their help in the first place.

I was in the position to witness this dedication at first hand during my year in PICU and in the years following.

Another friend has said: "Bob is genuinely one of the most fantastic doctors ever put on this earth."

And considering how many people he saved, as well as those he tried his best with, in my opinion this is true.

Throughout the last few years when I've had a few spotlights in the media, and even now as I move into adult care, Dr Bob has continued to support me.

He looked after me with everything he could.

Someone said that "he made a mistake - and unfortunately it cost a life. But (this) should not distinguish the life saving, excellent care he has given to so many here".

In relation to this quote, I agree Bob made a mistake, but we shouldn't ignore those he saved.

Dr Bob - my hero, my saviour.A teenager who defied the odds after she was severely injured in a hit-and-run aged just three has defended a doctor who was criticised in the Hyponatraemia Inquiry report as "my hero, my saviour".

Phoebe Lyle from Bangor spoke out after the Belfast Telegraph revealed that Dr Robert Taylor had received almost 550,000 through the Clinical Excellence Award (CEA) scheme since 2001.

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Only 10 hospital doctors in Northern Ireland receive such an award, which is received for outstanding contributions to the NHS.

Dr Taylor was found to have "made fatal errors" in his treatment of Adam Strain (4), one of five children whose deaths were investigated in the public inquiry.

But 19-year-old Phoebe credits Dr Taylor with her remarkable progress, and said his mistake should not be allowed to detract from his years of work with patients who owe him their lives.

Writing in today's Belfast Telegraph, the broadcast journalism student at Belfast Metropolitan College said she owed her life to Dr Taylor, and that's why she felt moved to defend him.

She added: "I agree Bob made a mistake, but we shouldn't ignore those he saved. Dr Bob - my hero, my saviour."

A successful filmmaker who hopes to have a career in the media, Phoebe added: "He reactivated my lungs three times, hence saving my life, and then fought to get me home."

When she was just three Phoebe was not expected to survive after being severely injured in the hit-and-run while on holiday with her family in Spain.

She was hurled 40 feet in the air and landed on her head, sustaining severe injuries to her spinal cord.

She spent three weeks in a coma in Spain and was still not fully conscious when transferred to the intensive care unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

It was at the hospital that she came under the care of Dr Taylor.Two men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a German backpacker in Co Antrim in 1988.

Inga Maria Hauser was found dead in Ballypatrick Forest after going missing when she arrived in Northern Ireland from Scotland.

She had last been seen on a ferry from Scotland 14 days earlier.

The PSNI recently appealed for new information in the case and travelled to Scotland in an attempt to gather evidence.

They said that they were "getting closer" to identifying suspects in the case.

The two men, aged 58 and 61, were arrested in the Loughguile area of County Antrim early on Monday morning and are currently being interviewed by detectives.

Please God the arrest of 2 men in connection with the murder of Inga-Maria Hauser is significant. I believe it is and my thoughts are with the German family of this beautiful incredibly talented young girl who was brutally murdered and died defending her honour.  John Dallat (@johndallat) May 21, 2018

Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray renewed his appeal for information in relation to the killing.

If there are any witnesses still out there with any further information which might help police then I would ask them to come forward now and speak to detectives," he said.

Even if there are people who know what happened but have stayed silent out of friendship or family loyalty, it is still not too late to come forward and tell us what you know.

Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Inga Maria Hauser Inga Maria Hauser murder Press Association Images Red roses are placed at scene where body of Inga Maria Hauser was found / Facebook

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Failure to do so can be a criminal offence in itself and surely it would be better to come to police and discuss what happened rather than take the risk we will come to you.

If you have information call 101 and ask to speak to Serious Crime Branch detectives in Maydown.

East Londonderry SDLP MLA John Dallat said that the arrests are significant.

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This is the first time the police have announced the arrest of anyone in connection with the brutal murder of Inga Maria Hauser," Mr Dallat said.

As we speak, no-one has been charged or convicted of this dreadful crime, so we must hope that this development will lead to justice for the Hauser Family and that they will be able to begin to have closure.

Inga Maria wasnt simply a backpacker. She was the child of Josef and Almut Hauser whose lives were devastated by the news that their beautiful and highly talented daughter was found by a sheep farmer in Ballypatrick Forest eleven days after her body was dumped there. The Hauser family deserve justice for their daughter and I am grateful to the police for keeping this case open.Stephen Murney of Saoradh at yesterday's commemoration for IRA hunger striker Raymond McCreesh in Newry

Protestant victims' campaigner Willie Frazer was attacked close to a play park in Newry the day before he and relatives of the 10 men murdered at Kingsmill were due to stage a protest during a memorial event to Raymond McCreesh.

Stones and eggs were thrown at his car during the incident on Saturday.

The counter-demonstration at the park named after the IRA hunger striker was then cancelled.

Mr Frazer had planned to lead the protest at an event organised by dissident republican group Saoradh to mark the 37th anniversary of McCreesh's death in the Maze Prison.

But he called off the demonstration over fears for the safety of those attending.

McCreesh was caught in possession of a gun used in the 1976 massacre at Kingsmill.

Mr Frazer said: "Stones and eggs were thrown at my car on Saturday evening.

"We had wanted to make our disgust known at the glorification of an IRA killer on Newry, Mourne and Down District Council property.

"But there were real concerns for the safety of elderly people and young families, given the attack on myself on Saturday.

"I refused to put them in any sort of position where they might be threatened with violence, but this issue is not going to go away."

He said he will now contact the Equality Commission to question the reaction of the council to the staging of the commemoration, which he said had not received permission.

"As soon as the council were notified that Saoradh had planned this event they should have reacted but they refused to make any sort of comment. Instead it was only after repeated pressure that they issued any sort of statement at all," he added.

A statement from the council on Friday said: "Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has not received any request seeking permission to use council land for this upcoming gathering. Raymond McCreesh Park is a council play park."

However, Stephen Murney of Saoradh claimed it did not need the council's go-ahead.

"We have not asked permission from Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (or anyone else for that matter) because we are not obliged to," he told Newry.ie.

"Raymond McCreesh Park is a public park.

"It is owned by the people, it belongs to the public and the people are proud to have it named after Raymond McCreesh.

"Such gatherings do not need to seek permission.

"Over the years there have been several commemorations and vigils held in Ray McCreesh Park organised by various groups."

Last week Colin Worton, whose brother Kenneth died at Kingsmill, said it "beggared belief" that anyone could look up to McCreesh.

"It's more added insults - they are treating him as a hero, but he was anything but a hero," he said.

"How can you take a mass murderer as a hero?

"We even still have some republicans who don't believe the IRA carried out the Kingsmill massacre.

"It's been proven that they did, but many republicans still don't want to acknowledge that it was the IRA because it was such a heinous crime carried out in the name of republicanism."

Mr Worton accused republicans of double standards, referring to recent complaints from two Sinn Fein MPs about SAS flags flying in Loughgall on the anniversary of the 1987 ambush in which British special forces killed eight IRA men as they attempted to blow up the village's RUC station.

Meanwhile, on Twitter later on Saturday evening Mr Murney referred to the attack on Mr Frazer's car.

"Willie Frazer had a 'cracking time' in Newry tonight," he tweeted.

"At the time he was stoking sectarian tensions ahead of tomorrow's commemoration to honour Raymond McCreesh.

"Glad to see he was sent on his way."A backstop option keeping the UK aligned with the EUs Customs Union after Brexit represents the bottom line to safeguard stability, pro-Remain parties in Northern Ireland have said in a rare joint statement.

The proposal was drawn up to avoid a hard Irish border if the EU and UK cannot agree a deal before next years withdrawal.

The backstop would mean the UK matching EU customs duties to avoid checks on goods passing between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

SDLP Brexit Spokesperson @ClaireHanna : Dublin & Brussels are working hard to limit damage of Brexit, but only UK Gov can opt to stay in Customs Union & Single Market, which is the only way to ensure no borders anywhere in these islands. We need to aim higher than the backstop pic.twitter.com/ZzsHFI9yj0  Social Democratic and Labour Party (@SDLPlive) May 14, 2018

A joint statement by Sinn Fein and several smaller parties opposed to Brexit said: The political parties in the Northern Ireland Assembly wish to reaffirm our common position that we cannot withstand exclusion from the single market or customs union.

That the protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all of its parts, including North/South and East/West co-operation is critical to maintaining relationships within, and between these islands.

That the backstop agreed by both the British Government and the EU27 is the bottom line in order to safeguard our political and economic stability now and for the future.

The main unionist parties, including the DUP whose 10 pro-Brexit MPs are propping up Theresa Mays Government, did not sign the declaration.

Mrs Mays favoured option is a customs partnership whereby the UK would collect tariffs set by the EU customs union on goods coming into the UK.

She faces serious opposition from Brexiteer members of her own Government who back a model relying on technology and advance customs checks to minimise impediments at the frontier.

The EU has expressed doubts about both options.

The Northern Ireland political parties statement added: Sinn Fein, Green Party (cross-community), Alliance (cross-community) and the Social Democratic and Labour Party all share the common position that we should stay within both the single market and customs union and that there should be no hard border on the island of Ireland or between the two islands.

This is critical to protecting investment, jobs, trade and the hard-won peace.An Army officer accused of killing a young soldier during a live ammunition training exercise was the pick of his fellow platoon commanders, a court martial has heard.

Captain Jonathan Price, 32, is charged with the manslaughter by gross negligence of Ranger Michael Maguire, 21, through his failure to set up and supervise a safe exercise.

Rgr Maguire, of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, was fatally shot in the head after coming under machine gun fire during the exercise at the Castlemartin Training Area in Pembrokeshire in May 2012.

Also facing court martial are Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bell, 45, who at the time was the commanding officer of C Company, and Staff Sergeant Stuart Pankhurst, 40, who are both accused of negligently performing a duty.

They are accused of having had a total disregard for the safety of their men.

The court in Bulford, Wiltshire, has previously heard that soldiers on one range were firing directly at those on the neighbouring range, who were about 1km away and would have been visible.

Giving evidence, Major Graham Muir who, until December 2011, had been second in command of C Company, said: If I had handpicked someone to take over from me, he (Capt Price) would have been the one.

He was the pick of the platoon commanders that we had in the company at the time.

Asked about working with Lt Col Bell in C Company, Maj Muir said: From a personal point of view during the short time I was his second in command I felt I learned a lot.

The court also heard that Capt Price had passed infantry training courses to run live firing ranges but his report noted he required increasing levels of supervision for planning exercises.

Brigadier Colin Weir, who at the time of Rgr Maguires death was the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, said he did not see the report on Capt Price.

There were no concerns raised, Brig Weir told the court.

I would have given appropriate advice to the company commander. I would have been surprised that I had not seen it and I would be interested to know why I had not seen it.

A report such as this is important in terms of a young officers career development. I would have expected his company commander to go to the Infantry Battle School or the battalion second in command in order to get to see the report.

Brig Weir confirmed he had ordered Lt Col Bell to attend training with 16 Air Assault Brigade rather than attend the exercise at Castlemartin.

Nadim Bashir, defending Lt Col Bell, suggested to Brig Weir that his client had told him that Capt Price would be running the range and would be assisted by a company sergeant major.

It was a very long time ago and I have no recollection of it, Brig Weir replied.

Mr Bashir asked: I am going to suggest that you repeated the point that the platoon commanders could crack on with it.

Brig Weir replied: Thats not the sort of language I would use.

The prosecution allege Capt Price failed to attend a recce of the range when preparing a Range Action Safety Plan (Rasp), that he placed targets too close together and he failed to deconflict the two exercises.

Lt Col Bell, the senior planning officer, is accused of failing to review or counter-sign the Rasp produced by Capt Price and failing to supervise or support him.

Staff Sgt Pankhurst, who was supervising the exercise involving Rgr Maguire on Range 10A, is accused of failing to express any caution or concern despite having attended the recce and having knowledge of the extent of the adjacent shooting on Range 10B.

Rgr Maguire, from County Cork, Ireland, was shot in the forehead and killed. He had joined the battalion in May 2010 and had completed a tour of Afghanistan.

All three defendants deny the charges and the trial before a board of seven senior officers continues.28 years on, survivors remember every bit of gory incident as if it happened yesterday

Srinagar. Amy 21: Twenty-eight years on and the survivors of Kashmirs one of the deadliest massacres of May 21, 1990 at Hawal in downtown Srinagar, still vividly remember what happened on that fateful day.

For those who survived thousands of bullets fired by the paramilitary CRPF on the funeral procession of Mirwaiz Moulana Muhammad Farooq, memories of the carnage will not fade ever. The survivors even remember the name of the CRPF commandant posted at Hawal, who ordered his troops to open the fire.

It was a mayhem, recalls advocate Nazir Ahmed Baba, one of the survivors of Hawal massacre. I remember everything that happened on that date. Perhaps, the decision to allow funeral procession of the Mirwaiz was not communicated to the CRPF camp at Hawal. Bullets rained in all directions and dead fell like the apples fall from the trees when they are ripe.

Nazir, a resident of Hawal, said paramilitary CRPF men had blocked all the roads and even the lanes and the bylanes. The only option with us was to ferry the dead and injured on the handcarts. Some were taken to the SMHS and those seriously injured to the SKIMS, Soura, he recalls.

For Nazir, the haunting memories that pushed him into depression for few years would fade only when he would be laid to rest in his grave.

The body of Mirwaiz Farooq was being taken from the SKIMS Soura to Mirwaiz Manzil, Rajouri Kadal by a huge procession. Thousands of people had assembled at the SKIMS, to have last glimpse of the Mirwaiz. When the procession reached Hawal area of old Srinagar along with the body of Mirwaiz, the paramilitary personnel stationed in a camp at Islamia College trained their machine guns at the peaceful procession.

And then it was havoc, says Nazir. I could see multiple bullets hitting people in their head, stomach, arms and they were falling flat on the ground. Even those shouldering the coffin of the Mirwaiz also sustained bullet injuries. As one was hit by bullets another shouldered the coffin.

Despite bullets raining in from all directions, Nazir says, people didnt allow the coffin of the Mirwaiz to fell on the ground. The ever haunting memories of May 21, 1990, continue to disturb this old city resident, even after passage of 28 years. I remember the massacre as if it happened yesterday, he says.

Over 60 civilians were killed and more than 200 injured at Hawal on that day. J&K was under unpopular rule of the then Governor Jagmohan.

When people find nothing except the handcarts to ferry the dead and injured, I went to my house and took out my vehicle, he says.

I pulled one of the injured who was hit by a bullet in his belly and rushed towards the SKIMS, but he succumbed on way. I drove back to the spot and started shifting other injured to the hospital.

Farooq Ahmed, another survivor of the massacre vouches that there was no provocation from the procession carrying the Mirwaizs body.

For a moment, I thought I am dead as a bullet had hit me in my right hand and one of my fingers was hanging by just a vein. I fell down and when I opened my eyes, I found people in a pool of blood lying around me, Farooq says as tears well up in his eyes. He says hundreds were injured including children, women and elderly.

An elderly man from Hawal, wishing not to be named as he feared reprisal from the forces, says memories of Hawal massacre can never lose colour. Forces didnt even spare the dead and trampled over them, he says amid sobs. He rues that even after 28 years there is no headway in the probe into the incident.

Witnesses assert that later the body of Mirwaiz was taken through lanes and bylanes to Mirwaiz Manzil Rajouri Kadal. A memorial has also been established at Hawal in old Srinagar outside Islamia College, in memory of martyrs of Hawal with the names of victims carved on it.

The then Governor had announced a time-bound inquiry into the massacre within a period of two months. However, in reply to an RTI application in 2013, the then divisional commissioner Kashmir had stated that a criminal case vide FIR 35/1990 was registered into the incident at Nowhatta police station.

However, there is no information with the department as to whether there was any inquiry, judicial or magisterial, ordered by the government, he had stated.

On a petition by a human rights activist, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) in 2014 ordered time bound inquiry into the massacre and sought a report from the government within two months.

Despite various communications addressed to the DGP, divisional commissioner Kashmir and also from secretary of the commission, authorities are unmoved. In view of the insensitive approach of the authorities, the commission is left with no option but to entrust the inquiry to the investigating wing of this commission, the SHRC had stated.

In December 2017, the investigation wing of the SHRC found that the CRPF had identified 15 of its officers and personnel for indiscriminate firing that killed 35 civilians at Hawal in 1990. The SHRC investigation, however, could not ascertain if any action was taken against these CRPF officers and personnel.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Chairman Hurriyat Conference (M) Mirwaiz Umar Farooq said: We remember Hawal massacre as another painful memory of that tragic day. Justice can be delivered anytime but going by the history of the massacres inflicted on us over the past 30 years, it looks very unlikely.

Courtesy: GKThe suspect in the abduction of Jastine Valdez was shot dead by gardai during an operation in south Dublin last night as a major search for the missing woman continued.

A massive manhunt was carried out for the 40-year-old married father-of-two from Bray after the 24-year-old student was abducted on a roadway in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday evening.

The large-scale investigation was carried out throughout yesterday until shortly after 8pm, when Mark Hennessy was located at a car park in Cherrywood.

It is understood that a stand-off ensued between the suspect and gardai, during which he produced a weapon, believed to be a knife. He was then shot by a detective.

Jastine had still not been located last night by investigating gardai as concerns mounted for the young woman.

Detectives believe that Hennessy abducted Ms Valdez in a random attack. He was not previously known to police and had no connections to the victim.

"This appears to be a random abduction and there were no obvious connections between him and the missing woman," a source said.

"Gardai investigating the disappearance of Ms Valdez interacted with the driver of a vehicle at approximately 8pm on May 20, 2018 in the Cherrywood area of Dublin.

"An official Garda firearm was discharged. The incident has been referred to GSOC as per protocol," a Garda spokesperson said.

Jastine and her parents, who are from the Phillippines, have been living in Ireland for the past three years.

A student at Tallaght IT, Jastine had got off a bus in Enniskerry on Saturday evening and was walking home along Kilcroney Road, near the Powerscourt estate, when a Qashqai pulled alongside. The driver assaulted her, pulled her into the vehicle and then drove off at high speed.

A woman and her young family spotted the incident as they walked home at 6.30pm and alerted the police.Irelands Health Minister Simon Harris has said it is frightening that unless citizens vote to liberalise the countrys strict abortion laws, women will continue to face the threat of jail for terminating a pregnancy.

Mr Harris said that, as long as an amendment which gives equal right to life of the woman and the unborn remains in the Constitution, a penalty was legally required.

Thats quite frightening, he said. People who are going to go out to vote on Friday need to know that.

In Offaly today canvassing for a YES vote on Friday. Brilliant turnout of canvassers including @campaignforleo & many Cabinet and Parliamentary Party colleagues. Delighted to meet the super @ArcOffaly - doing great work on the ground #togetherforyes pic.twitter.com/kXYKWRwDsq  Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) May 20, 2018

He added: I dont give instructions to doctors to call the police but it shouldnt take away from the reality.

Mr Harris made the comments as the masters of two of the countrys main maternity hospitals called for a Yes vote in Fridays referendum.

Citizens are being asked whether they want to remove the Eighth Amendment, which gives equal right to life to the mother and the unborn, and replace it with wording to allow for parliament to legislate for the termination of pregnancies.

If passed, it would see the Government legislate for abortions for up to 12 weeks of pregnancy without restriction.

Currently, terminations are only allowed in the Irish Republic when the life of the mother is at risk, including from suicide, and the maximum penalty for accessing an illegal abortion is 14 years in prison.

Rotunda master Professor Fergal Malone and Holles Street master Dr Rhona Mahony said the threat of the custodial sentence for ending a pregnancy was driving women out of the countrys healthcare system.

They said doctors hands were tied trying to care for women under the current legislation where there has to be a risk to the life of the woman before a termination can be carried out.

We do have to wait until theres a real and substantial risk not to her health but to her life, said Professor Malone.

That ties our hands.

Expand Close No campaigners at a rally in Merrion Square, Dublin (Niall Carson/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Dr Mahony said: Its too high a bar. It is unacceptable, doctors need flexibility and women need flexibility to make sound clinical decisions so that we are never at the juncture where someone might actually die  thats total unacceptable to me as a doctor.

She added: A bar that requires women to be dying or at serious risk of dying is not an acceptable bar in 21st-century medicine.

Prof Malone and Dr Mahony said they were very concerned about patients sourcing abortion pills from the internet.

About 1,500 women a year are taking medications to procure an abortion, Professor Malone said, and of them about 2% or 3% will run into medical complications.

Dr Mahony said women who had taken these pills and were feeling unwell should seek help.

We are not policemen, she said. We are doctors and we will care for you.

Former taoiseach John Bruton told RTE Radio One that Ireland should be trying to minimise the number of abortions that Irish women have, not changing laws so that women can have them.

When an abortion takes place youre ending the life of a little girl or a little boy who is not going to be allowed to be born thats ending a life, Mr Bruton said.

Its irreversible and we want to reduce that, he said, adding it was not possible to eliminate it completely given people are free to travel to Britain.

He said that he feared more Irish women would opt to have a termination if the referendum were passed.

The number of people who will opt to have abortion if its freely available here in this country without travelling will be far more than there would be if they have to travel, he said.

In the process of them making the decision of having to travel lives are being saved.Northern Ireland would vote more strongly to remain in the EU if there was another Brexit poll, a study suggested.

A total of 69% would favour Remain if there was another referendum compared to 56% at the two years ago, the UK in a Changing Europe project said.

Catholics were much more likely to support a united Ireland if there was a hard exit in which the UK left the customs union and single market.

The Irish border is one of the most vexed questions facing negotiators who aim to strike a deal by the autumn ahead of the UKs withdrawal from the EU next year.

Our results show that if there was another referendum, people in Northern Ireland would vote more strongly to remain in the EUBrendan O'Leary

Brendan OLeary, Lauder Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, who also holds a visiting position at Queens University Belfast (QUB), said: Our results show that if there was another referendum, people in Northern Ireland would vote more strongly to remain in the EU.

The proportion wanting to Remain has risen since the 2016 referendum as more people have become aware of the possible costs and inconveniences of leaving the EU, as citizens and as employees or employers.

The survey was carried out for the Economic and Social Research Council which is funding the UK in a Changing Europe project.

It said it provided an authoritative, non-partisan and impartial reference point for those looking for information, insights and analysis about UK-EU relations that stands aside from politics surrounding the debate.

Findings from the survey included:

 Catholics were much more likely to support a united Ireland if there was a hard exit in which the UK left the customs union and single market.

 28% of Catholics would vote for a united Ireland if the UK changed its mind and remained in the EU while 53% of Catholics would vote for a united Ireland if there was a hard exit in which the UK left the customs union and single market.

 One in five Catholics found the possible use of cameras at the Irish border almost impossible to accept and nearly one in 10 Catholics (9%) would support cameras being vandalised.

 There were strong expectations that protests against checks at the Irish border or between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK would quickly become violent.

 There was substantial support for a Brexit that would largely eliminate the need for any North-South or East-West border checks, namely for the UK as a whole to remain in the customs union and single market.

 61% of the population favoured the UK as a whole remaining in the customs union and single market.

What may surprise people is the extent to which Catholics oppose all borders within these islands.John Garry

Principal investigator John Garry, Professor of Political Behaviour at QUB, said: We find Catholics and Protestants most prefer the option that would avoid the need for any new barriers on borders.

Either in the Irish Sea or across Ireland. They want the UK as a whole to stay in the customs union and single market.

He added: However, what may surprise people is the extent to which Catholics oppose all borders within these islands.The parents of an Indian dentist who died in the Republic of Ireland after she was refused a termination have called for a yes vote in next week's abortion referendum.

Savita Halappanavar suffered septic shock after she was denied the procedure while she was miscarrying because a foetal heartbeat was present.

Her case sparked a landmark change in the law.

Her father Andanappa Yalagi said he strongly felt "that the younger daughters of Ireland should not have the fate of Savita".

"I hope that people in Ireland will remember the fate of our daughter Savita on the day of the referendum and vote Yes so that what happened to us won't happen to any families," he said.

"And by doing this you will be paying a great debt to the departed soul."

Mrs Halappanavar, who was 31, was 17 weeks pregnant when she was admitted to hospital in October 2012.

Her death, five days after she was refused a termination, sparked widespread public debate which eventually forced a controversial change in abortion legislation, allowing the procedure where a woman's life was endangered.

Mr Yalagi added: "No family in future should have to undergo what we have gone through - the worry and sorrow that's still persistent in our hearts even after some six years.

"The life that Savita had, she had a very long life to lead, but it was cut down mercilessly, dead."

Several reports into the care Mrs Halappanavar received, particularly as her condition worsened, identified multiple shortcomings.

An inquest returned a verdict of medical misadventure while two major reports found medics in the Galway hospital missed several early opportunities to terminate her pregnancy on health grounds and unacceptable clinical practice.

On Friday, Ireland goes to the polls for a referendum on repealing the eighth amendment of the Irish constitution which decrees that the life of baby and mother are equal.

In effect, this ensures some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 allows for abortion when there is a real and substantial risk to a woman's life - including the threat of suicide.

But it still prohibits termination in cases of rape, incest, inevitable miscarriage and fatal foetal abnormality.

Draft laws set to be enacted if the eighth amendment is repealed mean abortion would be freely available up to 12 weeks and, in exceptional cases, between 12 and 24.Detectives are continuing to search for a woman feared abducted in Ireland after police shot dead a suspect in her disappearance.

Jastine Valdez, 24, from Enniskerry in Co Wicklow, was last seen being bundled into a Nissan Qashqai SUV near her home on Saturday evening.

The suspect was shot dead by an officer in a confrontation on Sunday evening after gardai traced the vehicle to the Cherrywood business district south of Dublin.

Expand Close Emergency services next to a Nissan Qashqai at a business park in the Cherrywood area of Dublin (Peter Varga/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Emergency services next to a Nissan Qashqai at a business park in the Cherrywood area of Dublin (Peter Varga/PA)

The R760 road on the outskirts of Enniskerry remained cordoned off by gardai on Monday afternoon as residents spoke of their shock at Ms Valdezs disappearance.

Bernard Cawley, 57, from Executive Dry Cleaners, said she had been a regular customer.

Shes very, very friendly, always smiling and laughing, he said.

Shes a lovely girl and always brings a smile to your face.

Everyone is absolutely in shock and devastated by whats happened.

The main thing for everyone in the village now is to hope she is found safe and well.

Expand Close Gardai on the R760 in Enniskerry, County Wicklow, where they are investigating the suspected abduction of Jastine Valdez (Eleanor Barlow/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Sandra Archer, who runs a clothes shop in the village, said: This area is so quiet normally, people leave their doors unlocked because there is no crime.

Im just shocked.

The man who was killed has been named locally as 40 year-old Mark Hennessy, from Bray, in Co Wicklow.

Irelands police watchdog, the Garda Siochana Ombudsmans Commission, is investigating the shooting.

No trace of Ms Valdez, an accountancy student originally from the Philippines, has been found.

Gardai have said they are extremely concerned for her safety.

She was walking home along the Kilcrony road in Enniskerry at around 6.15pm on Saturday when she was attacked and abducted.

PLEASE RETWEET



Disappearance of Jastine Valdez, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow.



Gardai in Bray are appealing for information following the disappearance of a 24-year-old woman from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.



For more infor see: https://t.co/mEKvjBTWjD pic.twitter.com/9pv6ASFppo  Garda Info (@gardainfo) May 20, 2018

Gardai renewed their appeal for information on Monday morning.

Ms Valdez is described is being around 5ft and of slight build, with long black hair and brown eyes.

When last seen she was wearing a dark-coloured jacket, white T-shirt, grey leggings and running shoes.

A Garda spokeswoman said: Gardai are particularly appealing for information on, or sightings and movement of, a black Nissan Qashqai registration 171 D 20419 between 5pm on the Saturday the 19th May and 8pm on Sunday May 20th.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bray Garda Station 01-6665300 the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.Commuters faced disruption during Monday mornings rush-hour as trains were cancelled amid the largest timetable change across Britain for decades.

Every train run by the UKs busiest franchise, Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR)  which consists of Southern, Thameslink, Great Northern and Gatwick Express  was rescheduled from Sunday.

The firm had warned that services could be disrupted as the new timetable was introduced, leaving some passengers frustrated on the first day.

And there was more confusion for travellers on the second day of the new timetable on Monday, with many complaining their services had been cancelled.

It's complicated to explain but with the new timetable being introduced we have a lot of staff and stock in the wrong places. Some services have been altered/cancelled as a result whilst Control work to get everything in the right place. ^Nat  Thameslink (@TLRailUK) May 21, 2018

As several people aired their frustration on social media, the train operators said the disruption was due to a short-term planning amendment.

When one Twitter user asked what this meant, the Thameslink account replied: With the new timetable being introduced we have a lot of staff and stock in the wrong places. Some services have been altered/cancelled as a result whilst Control work to get everything in the right place.

Great Northern told one customer trains could be altered for the next few weeks whilst getting everything into place.

One Twitter user posted: 2nd day on the new timetable and the second consecutive time my train has been cancelled. 06:29 RDH to LDB delayed but will be cancelled as the 06:11. Going well.

Another said: So @GNRailUK have been badgering us for weeks about the timetable changes. Obligingly, I get up and out earlier to catch altered train and oh look. Cancelled. As is the one prior. Bravo @GNRailUK

A GTR spokesman said on Sunday: We are introducing the biggest change to rail timetables in a generation and, as we have been informing passengers, we expect some disruption to services in the initial stages.

This is a significant logistical challenge as we make rolling incremental changes across more than 3,000 daily services.

We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused during the initial stages of the timetable change.

The improvements we are making will lead to a significant boost in capacity with a 135 increase in services across the GTR network immediately.

First working day of the new timetable and what a surprise, the train is cancelled. Off to a great start @GNRailUK #shambles pic.twitter.com/v41wqqSYgA  Rob Howard (@robhoward505) May 21, 2018

More than four million trains across Britain were rescheduled from Sunday in the largest timetable change in living memory.

The number of alterations is seven times larger than normal due to the introduction of new trains and services following billions of pounds of investment.

The shake-up is designed to increase overall frequencies and reliability, but some passengers will find their regular journeys are no longer possible.

The new GTR timetable was developed from scratch and was designed to tackle existing issues by extending stop times at busier stations and increasing turnaround times at destination stations.

Really looking forward to getting into Cambridge at some point today. Arrived 6:20 at SVG to get a ticket with plenty of time to get the 6:38. No wait, delayed by 20 min. And the 7:03 semi-fast SVG to CBG? Cancelled due to an operational incident. Great 1st day on a new rail plan  l.i.am   (@librarliam) May 21, 2018

Many of the timetable changes are a result of the 7 billion invested in the Thameslink programme in the South East, including rebuilding London Bridge station, new trains and track improvements.

There will be almost 400 additional GTR trains every day.

Some passengers in a number of locations complained they will be served with fewer or slower services, including in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Kent, East Sussex and Surrey, where many people pay several thousand pounds for annual season tickets to London.

Rail, Maritime and Transport union general secretary Mick Cash said: The union is picking up reports from both Northern and GTR of a hopeless lack of planning, combined with a shortage of crew and fleet, which has reduced the Monday morning journey to a nightmare for many passengers.

It is our members dealing with the anger at the sharp end, not the well-paid top brass from Arriva and Govia who are responsible for this Meltdown Monday on our railways.

Both of these companies have sought to compromise safety and access by hacking back on critical staff and it is no surprise to RMT that they cant be trusted with the massive logistical challenges of bringing in new timetables.

Frankly I wouldnt trust the private train operators to run a bath, let alone our vital rail routes. After Virgin/Stagecoach were kicked off the East Coast last week, its time for the rest of these racketeers to be sent packing as well and for our railways to be run by the public sector as a public service.

Robert Nisbet, regional director at the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the rail industry, said: Wed like to thank customers for bearing with us as we introduce the biggest timetable change in a generation.

In the long-term these changes will see customers in many parts of the country benefit from more and faster services, better connecting communities and boosting the economy.

Retiming over 100,000 services is a huge operational challenge.

Were working together to deliver the best possible service but continue to advise customers to check their train times before they travel.Charges against Barclays relating to its emergency fundraising from Qatar at the height of the financial crisis have been dismissed.

The Serious Fraud Office had sought to prosecute the lender for two offences of conspiring to commit fraud by false representations regarding advisory services agreements with Qatar Holding in 2008.

In addition, there was one alleged offence of unlawful financial assistance in relation to a 3 billion US dollar (2.4 billion) loan provided by Barclays to the State of Qatar in the same year.

But Southwark Crown Court in London dismissed all charges on Monday.

The bank said in a stock market announcement: Barclays announces that the Crown Court has today dismissed all charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office against Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC regarding matters which arose in the context of Barclays capital raisings in 2008.

However, Barclays warned that the SFO is likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to a High Court judge to recommence proceedings via a new indictment of the same charges.

Shares in Barclays rose 1% following the news.

Last year, the SFO brought charges of conspiracy to commit fraud against the bank itself, ex-chief executive John Varley and other top executives Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath after a five-year investigation into the events surrounding its cash call in 2008.

They were the first criminal charges to be brought in the UK against a bank and its former executives for activities during the financial crisis.

The charges related to the banks emergency fundraising from Qatari investors as Barclays sought to avoid a government bailout amid the banking sector meltdown.

Qatari investors  the state-backed Qatar Holding and Challenger Universal  pumped 6.1 billion into Barclays during two fundraisings in June and October 2008.

In November that year, Barclays agreed to issue a 3 billion US dollar (2.4 billion) loan made available to the State of Qatar.

The bank, Mr Varley, Mr Jenkins, and their two former colleagues, Mr Kalaris and Mr Boath, were all charged with conspiracy to commit fraud over the June 2008 fundraising.

The bank, Mr Varley and Mr Jenkins faced the same charge relating to the second fundraising in October 2008, while they were been charged with providing unlawful financial assistance.

The individuals are still facing charges as Mondays dismissal relates only to Barclays as a corporate entity.The scene close to where the incident occurred (@sam_linnett/PA)

A man has been stabbed to death on a busy street in broad daylight in north London.

The victim, who has not yet been named, died in Upper Street, Islington, at around 6.30pm on Monday.

A cordon was put in place along the road, which is lined with high-end shops and restaurants.

Islington councillor Paul Convery described the attack as horrifying.

He tweeted: Shocking incident on Upper Street right now outside Town Hall. Reported that man fatally stabbed.

Police have launched an investigation but no arrests have yet been made.

Shocking incident on Upper Street right now outside Town Hall. Reported that man fatally stabbed. Upper St cordoned off. This is a horrifying escalation of gang related violence.  Paul Convery (@Paul_Convery) May 21, 2018

Officers are appealing for anyone with information to contact the Metropolitan Police.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: I remain in close contact with @metpoliceuk, the local MP and Leader of the Council following a fatal stabbing in Islington this evening.

This is being investigated by officers and my thoughts are with the victims family.Britain is prepared to pay for access to the European nuclear organisation Euratom after Brexit, provided the country gets a suitable level of influence within it, Theresa May said.

The Prime Minister said maintaining a deep science partnership with the EU after the UK leaves in 2019 was in the interest of both Britain and the trading bloc.

In a speech at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, she said she was willing to discuss a deal with the EU as soon as possible over access to the agency, which Britain has been a member of since 1973.

She also signalled that current immigration rules for foreign students at British universities would remain in place post Brexit, saying the UK will always be open to the brightest and the best researchers to come and make their valued contribution.

Such an association would involve an appropriate UK financial contribution, which we would willingly makeTheresa May

Mrs May said: The United Kingdom would like the option to fully associate ourselves with the excellence-based European science and innovation programme, including the successor to Horizon 2020 and Euratom R&T.

It is in the mutual interest of the UK and the EU that we should do so.

Of course such as association would involve an appropriate UK financial contribution, which we would willingly make. In return we would look to maintain a suitable level of influence in line with that contribution and the benefits we bring.

The UK is ready to discuss these details with the (European) Commission as soon as possible.

WATCH LIVE: PM @Theresa_May unveils a new strategy @JodrellBank to ensure the UK remains a world leader in science  https://t.co/lY7sPX714c  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) May 21, 2018

Euratom, formally the European Atomic Energy Community, is responsible for regulating the nuclear industry across the continent, disposing of waste, safeguarding the transport of nuclear materials, the mobility of workers in the sector, as well as nuclear research and development.

The organisation has been responsible for nuclear safety and security in Europe since 1957.

But Brexit legislation to leave the EU also means withdrawal from Euratom, a separate legal entity governed by EU institutions, because under the European Union Act 2008 the term EU includes Euratom.

Withdrawal from Euratom was announced in notes accompanying the bill to trigger Article 50 in January 2017.

At the time, broadcaster and physicist Brian Cox condemned a decision as parochial idiocy.

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The desire to align the UK with Euratom was welcomed by businesses and trade unions.

Sue Ferns, senior deputy general secretary of the Prospect trade union, welcomed the announcement but said questions remained.

She said: Firstly, how do they intend to turn the Prime Ministers warm words on the contribution of EU scientists to the UK into concrete reassurances for the short term and eventually into a migration system that continues to allow the free exchange of people and knowledge across the continent?

And on Euratom, if the Government can accept that an association for R&D is advantageous to the UK, why do they continue to insist that such an association is legally impossible in other areas, for example nuclear safeguards?

Stephen Phipson, chief executive of manufacturers organisation EEF, added: This clear commitment from the Prime Minister should provide reassurance to current programme participants negotiating their involvement in the next framework programme.US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has threatened Iran with the strongest sanctions in history as he issued demands that he said should be included in a nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal.

Following US president Donald Trumps withdrawal from the 2015 deal, America will ensure Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon, ever, Mr Pompeo said.

As he called for a better agreement to constrain Irans activities, he said the US would apply unprecedented financial pressure to bring Tehran back to the table.

These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete, Mr Pompeo said at the conservative Heritage Foundation, in his first major policy speech since taking over as the top US diplomat.

We ask the Iranian people: do you want your country to be known as a co-conspirator with #Hizballah, #Hamas, #Taliban, and #alQaeda? The United States says you deserve better.  Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 21, 2018

Mr Pompeos list of 12 requirements included many that Iran is highly unlikely to consider.

He said Iran must stop enrichment of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the 2015 deal.

Iran must also allow nuclear unqualified access to all sites throughout the country, Mr Pompeo said, alluding to military sites that were off-limits under the 2015 deal except under specific circumstances. To that end, he also said Iran must declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon, reopening an issue that the UNs International Atomic Energy Agency has already deemed a closed matter.

.@SecPompeo: @POTUS withdrew from the deal for a simple reason: it failed to guarantee the safety of the American people from the risks created by the leaders of the Islamic Republic of #Iran. #PompeoAtHeritage pic.twitter.com/lSzYDn8CUc  Department of State (@StateDept) May 21, 2018

Mr Pompeo also demanded that Iran cease a range of activities throughout the Middle East that have long drawn the ire of the US and its allies. He said Iran must end support for Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, withdraw all forces from Syria, halt support for its ally Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel.

Iran must also release all US citizens missing in Iran or being held on spurious charges, he said.

At the same time, Mr Pompeo offered Iran a series of dramatic potential US concessions if it agrees to make major changes.

Under a new agreement, the US would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore full diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran, and even support the modernisation of its economy, Mr Pompeo said.

.@SecPompeo: #JCPOA put world at risk b/c of its fatal flaws. The weak sunset provisions of JCPOA merely delayed #Irans nuclear weapons capability. After countdown clock ran out on the deals sunset provisions, Iran would be free for a quick sprint to the bomb. #PompeoAtHeritage pic.twitter.com/zn2N8tB287  Department of State (@StateDept) May 21, 2018

It is Americas hope that our labours toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran, he added.

Mr Pompeos speech came after Mr Trump earlier this month infuriated US allies in Europe by withdrawing from the 2015 deal brokered by Barack Obama, Iran and world powers. Europeans allies had pleaded with Mr Trump not to scuttle that deal and are now scrambling to keep the deal alive even without the US

But the Trump administration has held out hope that those same allies will put aside that frustration and work with the US to ramp pressure back up on Iran through sanctions in a bid to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table for a stronger deal.Bomb goes off at Ward Chair's house, two injured

An unidentified group detonated a bomb at the house of Bhim Poudel in Damak-7 on Sunday night. Poudel is the Ward Chairperson of the Damak Municipality Ward Number 7.Palestinian protesters run for cover from teargas fired by Israeli forces near Gaza border

Among the uglier manifestations of the new Labour establishment is a hatred of Israel so profound as to be indistinguishable from pathological anti-Semitism.

On Twitter, where hysteria and the herd mentality often dominate, Nora Mulready - who resigned from the party she loved over the Corbynites' extremism - demonstrates a rare combination of emotion and reason.

She has a great deal of courage too: defending Israel is not for the faint-hearted.

No one should forget, she says, "the unfathomable evil of the death camps and the Holocaust".

Yes, she says, to all those who downplay the unique suffering of the Jews, "gay people, communists, and Gypsies were victims of these camps, but the most bitter hatred of the Nazi regime was reserved, as we all know, for the Jews".

And so it was, yet that does not stop shrieking voices today comparing actions taken in self-defence by a vulnerable little state being compared to the Nazi conspiracy to murder every Jew they could get their evil hands on.

They might, suggests Ms Mulready, reflect on a "specific lesson learnt by Jewish people in the 20th century - six millions Jews were slaughtered, and no one came to help them".

She begs the enemies of Israel to imagine how they'd feel if within living memory their ancestors had been "burned to ashes, hanged, murdered" in their millions.

Would they not ensure that could never, ever happen again?

Many of the new Left have become unthinking supporters of Arab terror groups who openly admit they want to wipe out the state and its inhabitants.

I have a recurring nightmare that one day we will wake up to find Israel has been eradicated by a nuclear weapon and the West, as it did in the 1940s, is wringing its hands and saying "how did we let this happen?" as Hezbollah, Hamas, ISIS and all the other brainwashed Jew-haters dance for joy in the streets.

Last week there was a great deal of lazy, ill-informed and bigoted blaming of Israel for the deaths of Gaza rioters.

Can we just remember some relevant facts?

Israel is a legitimate, successful state which from its foundation has just wanted to be left in peace.

Yes, like millions of others at this time, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were dispossessed, but it was the intransigence of their leaders that ensured that there was no compromise deal that would have been in everyone's interests.

Arab states who took in Palestinian refugees have kept them festering in increasingly overcrowded camps where they are promised that some day they will return to their homeland.

Periodically, Israel is attacked by some neighbours who become more bitter and resentful every time they are defeated.

Although few Israelis want more territory, after every invasion, for security reasons, they occupy more land.

Gaza had around 280,000 inhabitants in 1948 and now has close to two million.

In 2005 Israel packed up and left, but two years later Hamas violently seized control from Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah and uses its resources to dig attack tunnels, fire thousands of rockets at Israel and inculcate hatred in every new generation.

Less than a fortnight ago Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar incited a mass attack on Israel. "What's the problem with hundreds of thousands breaking through a fence?" he asked.

Since then tens of thousands of men, women and children - whose leaders regard them as cannon fodder - have tried to break through the barriers, often with the help of weapons like bolt-cutters, guns, knives and Molotov terror kites.

The objective of Hamas has been to abduct and kill any Israelis they can get access to.

The objective of the Israeli army has been to stop them doing so.

Rubber bullets and water cannon don't work at long range so the final line of defence had to be guns.

Of the 62 Gazans killed during this round of protests, 50 were Hamas terrorists and three Islamic Jihad.

This is a matter of survival.

Though not uncritical of Israel, like Ms Mulready I believe Jews are entitled to their homeland and have the right to protect the state and its people against those who would destroy it.

And like her, too, I hope a once decent party recovers its soul.Northern Ireland is enjoying relative peace and a growing number of people see being part of the United Kingdom as the best way forward.

England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all have unique qualities and different emphasis but we are stronger together than any individual part standing alone.

I have travelled here from my home in County Fermanagh.

Fermanagh is as far west as you can get in Northern Ireland. It is on the edge of the United Kingdom.

We might have different accents and there might be a bit less hustle and bustle than London but Fermanagh is every bit as integral a part of the Union as our nations capital.

I was born in County Fermanagh. I often walked across the Irish border - it was three miles away.

During the early years of my life, just as Northern Ireland was on the edge of the Union geographically, it often felt that it was also hanging over the edge politically and constitutionally.

As a child, I observed my parents unionism. Their loyalty was to the United Kingdom.

Our home was a household where loyalty and allegiance were to the fore.

My father served Queen and country as a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. Being proud to put that uniform on and defend democracy against terror saw him shot at the door of our family home by the IRA.

I remember my father crawling into our kitchen with the blood streaming from his head. I didnt fully understand the Troubles at that time but I realised that the enemies of the Union had tried to kill my dad.

A moment like that often has the capacity to shape a childs thinking growing up.

Like thousands and thousands and thousands of people across Northern Ireland during the Troubles, I was determined that no bullet or bomb would dampen our loyalty, our unionism or our Britishness.

Yet the relationship between Unionism in Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom has at times been strained. Northern Irelands Unionists will have been considered down the years, and perhaps still so by some today, as being hard to understand or relate to.

But if we appeared a little different, there were understandable reasons. Unionists felt little loved and saw dangers at every turn. Everyone seemed out to get them.

Some in the Irish Republic.

Some of their own neighbours in their hometowns and villages.

International opinion too was perceived to be against Unionism and some in North America in particularly.

And multiple Westminster Governments. When our Government acted against our interests and over our heads, it was those hurts that often ran the deepest.

Our relationship I believe has developed and matured over the years, often through the experience of difficult times.

Today Northern Ireland is a world apart from the years of the Troubles and the dark years of sectarian terrorism.

We have come far and yet we have a further journey to travel.

Unionists want to take the next steps on that journey.

Politically the Democratic Unionist Party, now the main party of Unionism in Northern Ireland, is playing its part in ensuring the national government is able to govern at this most crucial time in the history of the United Kingdom.

We have been able to use our influence at Westminster to make a difference to the lives of people in every part of Northern Ireland. But we have also demonstrated that our priority is to help bring stability and sensible Government to our nation.

Our Confidence and Supply Agreement with the Conservative and Unionist Party was about much more than Northern Ireland.

We ensured that pensioners in every part of the country have the security of knowing that the triple lock on pensions is safe and that the winter fuel payment will remain universal.

We have also held the Government to its commitment on maintaining defence spending at the 2% of GDP NATO target.

For us our unionism doesn't end at the Irish Sea. We are bringing that same philosophy of doing whats in our nations best interests to the other challenges that the United Kingdom faces over the course of the current Parliament.

In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

We voted in the referendum as one nation. We must implement that decision and leave as one nation. Again, Northern Ireland is a central element to that debate. But unionists, throughout the country - those who voted remain and leave  accept that we must exit the EU in a way that causes no damage to the economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom.

In particular, the Prime Minister has been categorical on this matter. We will NOT support any Withdrawal Agreement that creates, through a legal protocol, a new regulatory border down the Irish Sea that acts as an impediment to Northern Ireland businesses trading with Great Britain or Great Britain businesses trading into Northern Ireland.

This red line is grounded not only in constitutional reality but also in good economic sense.

There is little doubt that delivering on the referendum result is perhaps the most substantial and complex process the Government and Parliament has undertaken in recent times.

We want to maximise the opportunities that will flow from our exit of the EU.

We want to see more flexibility for locally elected Ministers to set policies that work for our regions.

And as a unionist I see no logic or rationale for a hard border being created between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Indeed we do not want to see that at all.

The only people stirring up myths of border checkpoints are those who are committed to unpicking the Union. They seek to use such imagery to advance and build support for their long-term political objective. They will not succeed.

Some have sought to use the UK exit from the EU as a means to foment division in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland is transformed, and while we should never be complacent that prevailing feeling of constantly being under siege is no longer the case.

Unionism is at its best when it is confident, outward looking and welcoming. We must move forward with confidence.

Citizenship and rights are essentially unionist issues. They are issues we should set out to reclaim. Nationalism is by its nature narrow and exclusive. Being a Unionist is the opposite. Unionism stands for pluralism and multi-culturism. We are inclusive and welcome all.

Confident unionism can capture the diversity that nationalism cannot. It transcends nationalism, and allows individuals to express the cultural values or identity they wish.

The surest way to cement the Union is for Northern Ireland to be open and provide a successful environment in which to live and work. A Northern Ireland which embraces differing cultures and where minorities feel valued - is one that few will choose to abandon.

I want to be a leader who reaches out to promote the value - AND the values - of the Union.

23 years ago, I penned the foreword for a booklet entitled Selling Unionism Home and Away. It included articles from a number of eminent contributors including some speaking at todays event. I have always been seized by the importance of making the positive case for the Union.

By todays standards the United Kingdom is not a large country in population terms but our influence extends to every part of the globe. The Union has brought safety, stability, security and success for all of us. And in an ever-changing world with challenge and uncertainty everywhere, that safety, security, stability and success has never been more crucial.

We have faced great challenges before. External, even existential threats. But we overcame them. And we were able to, because we stood together against those threats as one.

I am hugely proud to be British. To be part of this Union that has endured for centuries. For my culture, heritage and identity to be British.

But our Britishness is about much more than the passport we hold. It cannot and should not be reduced down to a name or a badge. It is about a shared history going back generations. Pride in a United Kingdom which ended the slave trade, was the home of the industrial revolution and which founded the welfare state.

It is about a shared cultural experience which encompasses the newspapers we read, the television we watch and the sporting teams we support.

A global history manifested through the Commonwealth, something that will receive renewed focus and attention as the UK leaves the European Union.

It is about the institutions we cherish  like the National Health Service  which is the envy of others.

It is about a pride in our role for good in the world, not just two World Wars and the struggle against communism in the past, but the battle for freedom and democracy today.

What knits us together isnt a common political creed, one religion or the same skin colour.

We are bound together by a set of common values. Values like democracy, freedom, and respect for the rule of law and tolerance for others.

For us, these things do not need to be codified in a written constitution. They are the beating heart of who we are as a society and what makes us British.

Our democratic system has stood the test of time over centuries. Westminster remains an inspiration for fledgling democracies everywhere.

And the Union has allowed people from all of its parts  including Northern Ireland  to make a contribution political, economic and cultural life that otherwise they might not have been able to.

I know that some see Northern Irelands relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom as one of more take than give.

Certainly, in an economic and financial sense, the United Kingdom has allowed the sharing of wealth and prosperity, not just between people but across our entire country and Northern Ireland has been a huge beneficiary of that.

My belief in, and support for, the United Kingdom does not depend upon the economic arguments, though there can be no doubt that it is overwhelmingly the case that we are all economically better together than apart. It would defy logic to decouple Northern Ireland from, what is today, the fifth largest economy in the world.

Northern Irelands people and businesses pay into the Exchequer like their counterparts in every part of the Kingdom. But our contribution to the Union cannot simply be measured in pounds and pence alone.

It is measured in the blood sacrifice at the Somme and Messines and across Flanders fields during the Great War. In the leadership on the battlefield of great leaders like Montgomery and Alanbrooke. And in the engineering excellence of the men and women of Belfast who built the ships and planes that helped win the Second World War.

It is measured in the enrichment of our cultural life made by writers like C. S. Lewis and Seamus Heaney.

It is measured in the contribution of our eminent scientists. People like Lord Kelvin  the founder of modern physics  and Jocelyn Bell Burnell who discovered pulsars.

And it is measured in the industry and innovation of our entrepreneurs. Our modern day industrialists such as William Wright whose company Wrightbus manufacture 1 in 3 of Londons famous red buses and Peter Fitzgerald whose life sciences company Randox makes 1 in 10 of the worlds cholesterol tests.

One of the keys to the success of our Union is that Northern Ireland  like Scotland and Wales  can exert an influence, can have a voice and can play a valuable role well beyond our own smaller size would otherwise merit.

The overwhelming majority of people in Northern Ireland understand and appreciate that they are better off being part of the United Kingdom. They also understand and greatly appreciate the incomparable contribution that the rest of the UK makes to Northern Ireland.

I am immensely proud of our shared history. But, equally, I am optimistic and excited about our future together. The great thing about our nation is that it has not remained rigid, unable or unwilling to change. The United Kingdom has exhibited an ability to adapt.

But what has been fixed firm are those principles, those common values of democracy, freedom and tolerance.

The United Kingdom of 2018 is a very different place to the one of 1801 or 1707. And in no more obvious a way than in how we are governed. We were brought together in political union yet, today, the four constituent parts of our Kingdom have devolved institutions with very different political complexions.

As many of you may know, Northern Ireland has been without a devolved government for over a year. The reasons for its collapse are many and complex, but the range of cultural and other issues can and will be resolved.

I am determined to ensure that is the case in the time ahead.

Our Union of the nations of the United Kingdom has been one of the most successful in the history of nations. If we are to continue to thrive and work together we need to continue to make the case for that, whether in Northern Ireland, or Scotland or indeed England and Wales. Our people need reminded of the benefits of, and the values that shape our nation.

For our part we will continue to make that case and argue for policies that grow our economy, reward ambition and aspiration, and benefit individuals who work hard so they see real reward for their labours.

Over the next decade the United Kingdom has the opportunity to reassert itself on the global stage and together we can achieve great things in the years ahead.Protesters call on the Philippine government to end its subservience to China, during a rally in Manila, May 1, 2018.

The Philippines says it is closely monitoring developments in the disputed South China Sea region, but believes China posed no threat despite fresh intelligence reports that Beijing has landed nuclear-capable jets on an island it occupies.

Beijing set off international concerns about regional security after it landed long-range bomber planes such as the H-6K, which is capable of carrying air-launched cruise missiles, on one of its occupied islands for the first time as part of training exercises last week.

We are taking the appropriate diplomatic action necessary to protect our claims and will continue to do so in the future, Manilas Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Monday.

We reiterate our commitment to protect every single inch of our territory and areas which we have sovereign rights over, it said, adding that it had remained silent over the issue at the weekend because it was not its policy to publicize every action it takes regarding the West Philippine Sea, also known as the South China Sea.

It said by keeping silent and working behind the scenes, the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has in fact gained much and was working silently to advance its cause more.

Moving forward, we are taking a different approach to avoid any drawbacks and challenges, it said, without elaborating.

Calls to the foreign department were not immediately returned, but Dutertes spokesman, Harry Roque, said there appeared no independent verification of the report of the Chinese nuclear-capable bombers, despite official tweets by the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force about the development

The think-tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) said it had monitored the bombers landing on a Chinese-occupied island in the region. The Philippines, it said, falls within a 1,000-nautical mile radius capability of the bombers.

Firstly, we have no independent verification of that, Roque told reporters in Manila. But nonetheless, we take note of the reports that appeared and we express our serious concerns anew on its impact on constructive efforts to maintain peace and stability in the region.

Southeast Asian countries have already called for non-militarization of the area and for all claimants to exercise self-restraint to avoid complicating the situation, he said.

The reports on the Chinese bombers came shortly after AMTI, which watches developments in the region, also said that China had reportedly installed anti-ship cruise missile and surface-to-air missile systems on three islands in the Spratlys, a disputed group of atolls and isles in the South China Sea. The mineral-rich region is also contested by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

AMTI had also published satellite photos of Chinese military intelligence aircraft in one of the islands that Beijing controls.

The Philippines, Roque said, reaffirms the need to enhance mutual trust and confidence, avoid actions that would escalate tensions.

We will bring this issue again in the bilateral mechanism that we have agreed upon with China, Roque said.

Members of a bilateral panel meet twice a year, Roque said, explaining that he was told that there would be a scheduled meeting for the second quarter, possibly in June.

So, the matter will be brought up in the bilateral mechanism that we have established on the West Philippine Sea specifically with China, he said.

However, while the government views the issue with very serious concern, Roque said it was confident that China posed no immediate security threat.

The President does not see any immediate threat. As I said, we do not consider China to be a threat to our security right now because of our new-found friendship with China, he said.

Since becoming president in 2016, Duterte has made it a point to appease Beijing, which has been angered by a ruling of an international arbitration court favoring the Philippines.

The previous administration of Benigno Aquino had taken China to court after its ships encroached in the Scarborough Shoal, which lies in the Philippines exclusive economic zone. After three years, the court ruled in favor of Manila in July 2016, when Duterte was already the president.

China, however, refused to comply with the decision by the Permanent Court of Arbitration and continued with its island-building activities in the region.

Last week, Duterte reiterated that the Philippines was in no position to challenge Beijing, explaining that its weak military could easily be defeated if Manila went to war with China over the islands.

What will we arm ourselves with if theres a war? he said, according to a statement released by the presidential palace on Sunday. Will we resort to slapping each other?

But critics said that the Philippines win in the tribunal was already a diplomatic victory for the country, in the face of Chinese aggression.

The Duterte administration, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, has been giving us the same rhetoric  they will confirm and study the reports, said Rep. Gary Alejano, a former Marine captain. While they are insisting that there have been diplomatic actions, the result that we are seeing on the ground is an emboldened China pushing our limits.

He said the Philippines was becoming a liability to other claimant nations and neighboring states.

The Duterte administration has compromised the security of the entire region with its silence over Chinas expansionism, he said.A military armored personnel carrier is deployed near Pantao Ragat town in the southern Philippine province of Lanao del Norte after a deadly clan war left four people dead, May 20, 2018.

At least six people, two of them policemen, were killed and several others wounded in separate clashes involving families locked in clan wars in the southern Philippines, authorities said Monday.

Heavily armed men ambushed a two-vehicle convoy of Mayor Lacson Lantud of Pantao Ragat in Lanao del Norte Sunday, leaving four of his companions dead, according to Lt. Col. Bernie Taquiban, commander of the 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion.

The mayor was en route to inspect an infrastructure project when they were waylaid by unidentified gunmen in the remote village of Cabasagan, Taquiban told reporters.

Among those killed were two police officers detailed with Lantuds security, the military said. The mayor escaped unharmed.

We have suspects and we are looking into the angle and motive of family feud, local police chief Recto Iwangon said.

Further to the south, in the archipelago of Sulu, two people were killed and 10 wounded in fighting between warring clans.

Army Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Joint Task Force Sulu, said the firefight erupted Sunday evening between the group of Maimbung Vice Mayor Musjasan Pando and Imal Matarol, a local political rival.

Sobejana said they were investigating the incident that resulted in the death of Maming Mudjasan, a former rebel commander, and a man named Jubilun Sampu.

We have deployed troops in the area to prevent escalation of the fighting, he said.

In the Philippines, particularly in predominantly Muslim areas of Mindanao island, it is not unusual for families to settle differences through clan wars or rido. Hostilities could last for decades until a peace pact is signed by the protagonists, usually through mediation by religious leaders and cash payment.

Political rivalries, ancestral land claims, disputes on local fiefdoms, as well as election-related feuds, often spur clan wars in Mindanao, the countrys mineral-rich southern third that has been locked into a cycle of violence for years. The island, which lies near the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, has also been saddled by decades of local insurgencies and separatist movements.

Richel Umel from Iligan City contributed to this report.Emerging Nepal gets LoI to set up infra bank

Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) on Sunday issued a Letter of Intent (LoI) to Emerging Nepal to establish Infrastructure Development Bank (IDB) which will focus on financing mega infrastructure projects.I grew up in Bowling Green, so I was a townie and a student of the University, Hoskins said. Our family moved here because my dad took a job at BGSU. He was on the faculty here and he was invited to come here by the president at the time, William Jerome, and Bill Schmeltz, the dean of the College of Business, to create one of the first dedicated international business programs in the United States.

Dr. William R. Hoskins, professor emeritus of marketing, taught at BGSU from 1965 to 1984.

My dad was one of the four founders of the Academy of International Business, the biggest faculty organization in the world for academics who are interested in international business. This was the early 60s, and the U.S. was not at all geared up for globalization.

The younger Hoskins developed some of his viewpoints from growing up in an international household.

My father built the international business programs, my mothers German, he said. The international students were at our house all the time.

He then traveled overseas and lived outside of the United States for 15 years before settling in Austin, Texas.

I ended up in computers, Hoskins said. Im a serial entrepreneur. I started my first software company at age 27 in the Middle East and then grew and sold a succession of software companies, the last couple in Austin. I caught that whole software boom in the software industry, and its been a really good career for me.

Hoskins, who earned a bachelors degree in business administration/finance from BGSU, is the chief technology officer of Actian Analytics Platform, a subsidiary of the Actian Corp. Previously, he was chief technology officer and general manager of Pervasive Softwares Integration Products.

For Hoskins, all roads eventually led back to Bowling Green.

It happens in life, you drift away from what you did before, he said. I came back to Bowling Green for the first time in the mid 90s for my high school reunion and reconnected with some friends and started coming back for the reunions more regularly. At one of the reunions, I was talking to one of my classmates from high school, Mike Marsh, and he was on the Board of Trustees at BGSU at the time. Hes now still heavily involved at the University. He had been a good friend of mine in high school and actually lived across the street from me growing up.

Hoskins talked with Marsh about getting involved with BGSU, which led to a meeting with the then-new dean of the business college, Dr. Rodney Rogers.

I met the dean for a coffee at the Starbucks on Wooster Street, and we ended up having this fascinating back-and-forth conversation for two hours, he said. He really reignited my interest in what was going on at BGSU. By that point in time, I had sold a couple of businesses and was in a position to help a little bit.

That conversation inspired Hoskins to make some gifts to the College of Business for an education-abroad program.

My dad had built up the international business programs in the College of Business, and they had atrophied somewhat with his departure, Hoskins said. I thought we could reenergize the programs, so I gave some money to study-abroad scholarships in the college, and it started running again with the help of the faculty members. The study-abroad program is back running at full speed now, and the students are heading off in every direction.

In addition to the Hoskins Global Scholars Fund, his long history of generous support to the University includes establishing the Hoskins Faculty Leadership and Innovation Award, the Hoskins Study Abroad Student Award and the Hoskins Study Abroad Faculty Award.

Since his reconnection with the University, Hoskins has collaborated with BGSU entrepreneurship programs, and was inducted into BGSUs Entrepreneurial Leadership Hall of Fame in 2009. He was selected as one of BGSUs 100 Most Prominent Alumni as part of the Universitys Centennial celebration and received the Alumni Association Accomplished Graduate Award from the College of Business. His support has earned him membership in The Presidents Club.

Around the time Dr. Mary Ellen Mazey was named president and Rogers was named provost at BGSU, in 2011, Hoskins started thinking about larger contributions, including support for the renovation

of University Hall, where International Programs and Partnerships is located.

Rodney and I had grown pretty close by this time, and President Mazey was really a ball of energy, he said. We talked about a larger series of gifts, and I got involved with the Foundation and started making larger annual gifts for a program that was kind of the early version of what we are endowing now.

You do a study abroad, and it ends up being life changing for a lot of people. The Hoskins Global Scholars idea was, Why dont we try to identify here at Bowling Green some of the key players, both students and faculty, and see if we can fund a little international spark and passion in our lives? This has been an evolution from helping study abroad programs for the first five or six years to building a University-wide Hoskins Global Scholarship program.

The Hoskins Global Scholar Fund was done on an annual basis, but there wasnt a committed giving plan. I was impressed with Bowling Green, Mary Ellens energy and Rodneys dedication to the University, and I thought this would be a nice thing to endow permanently at BGSU.

Wherever she is and whatever shes doing, Angel Alls-Hall is engaged and assisting her community.

A senior Honors College student majoring in international business, Alls-Hall has served as a Bowling Green State University Civic Action Leader for the past three years, connecting thousands of students to community partners and helping make it possible for them to serve their communities and develop their civic skills, knowledge and values.

Alls-Hall was one of 12 Ohio students selected this year as recipients of the annual Charles J. Ping Student Service Award. The award recognizes and honors outstanding leadership and contributions to community service or service-learning on students campuses and within their communities. It is given by Ohio Campus Compact, part of a national organization committed to furthering the civic purposes of higher education, and identifies recipients as examples of civic leadership.

These students represent the next generation of civic leaders and problem solvers, the announcement of the winners said. The award is named in honor of Charles J. Ping, who served as president of Ohio University from 1975-94. An early supporter and board member of Ohio Campus Compact, Ping has been a tireless advocate for campus-community partnerships and increased opportunities for students to become active and engaged citizens.

BGSU celebrated Alls-Halls award and her contributions during the annual Applauding Excellence Awards ceremony April 26.

She was nominated by BGSU President Rogers Rogers, with support from the Center for Civic and Community Engagement, home of the Civic Actions Leaders program.

Whether as a Civic Action Leader, the community service chair for her academic fraternity, or as a committed volunteer in her home community of Detroit, Angel has been an active student leader, an excellent mobilizer, and she has helped BGSU build more capacity for community engagement, Rogers said.Commencement had a special meaning for eCampus student Dustin Absher, who was the first student to enroll in Bowling Green State University's Air University Associate to Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC) program.

The online program allows certain Community College of the Air Force graduates to finish their bachelor degree at BGSU. Absher earned a degree in the management and technology program, one of three approved AU-ABC programs at BGSU.

Absher, an Alaska native, made the decision to serve in the United States Air Force directly after high school. Today, he has spent nearly 22 years in uniform.

I love what I do every day," he said. "I have traveled the world and found myself in many different jobs."

While deployed in Iraq, Absher completed an Air Force associate degree. He began looking for his next challenge and decided on BGSU. Halfway around the world, he had remembered thinking BGSU was a perfect fit for him after a phone conversation with an adviser in the technology department.

Enrolling in fall 2009, Absher's degree was highly anticipated. Nine years pursing an undergraduate degree may seem unrealistic for some, but Absher chose to prioritize family.

Ive had to overcome military moves and deployments that always seem to come with military life, but the biggest challenge was ensuring I was always there for my kids, Absher said. I basically took one or two classes at a time and put parenting first.

Commencement was Abshers first time on campus.

I had vision of what the University looked like in my head but finally put that image into reality, he said.

Much like the Air Force, Abshers experience at BGSU has taught him valuable life lessons. He encourages future students to remain persistent because life will throw you a lot of curveballs along the way.

During a few different periods while attending college, I had to step back and focus on different events in my life," he said. "However, when I returned I was really energized and even more excited to get back to class.

Following commencement, Absher plans to start a small ice-cream business with his wife.

He also proposed to conduct symposiums across India and invite research institutions to know their regulatory challenges. The regulator will reach out to research and innovation centres by disseminating information about the regulatory requirements for commercialization of their products.

The Drugs Controller General of India, S. Eswara Reddy has announced that he plans to come out with vaccine specific regulatory policy and a manual for regulatory requirements for commercialization of new drug and how to conduct clinical trials in India.

Speaking at a symposium on research and development of vaccines: issues, challenges and opportunities organized by PC2 Scientific Services, a strategic and technical consulting company in association with Federation of Asian Biotech Associations (FABA) and CR RAO AIMSCS at University of Hyderabad, he said that since pneumococcal is one of the majority vaccines, they would first come out with a policy to facilitate introducing indigenously-produced vaccines. He further listed out the steps being taken by his organization to promote innovation through transparent system and regulatory changes.

He also proposed to conduct symposiums across India and invite research institutions to know their regulatory challenges. The regulator will reach out to research and innovation centres by disseminating information about the regulatory requirements for commercialization of their products.

Reddy underlined the need to communicate to media the facts about the deaths due to clinical trials. He told the gathering that media gives a wrong projection about the number of deaths.

He said that although media reports that during last 7-8 years, 25,000 patients died during clinical trials in India, the fact is that only 5 percent of these deaths are actually due to clinical trials. "For example, during clinical trials related to cancer, patients who are already in terminal stage die. The death of such patients is not due to clinical trials," he said.

With the drug developers and researchers raising concern about the restrictions on import of animal models, the Drug Controller General hoped that the Union Environment and Forests Ministry would look into the issue.

He said the import of animals was restricted by the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) guidelines and suggested that the innovators, industry and regulator make a joint representation on the issue.

Some participants spoke how the researchers were forced to go abroad because of non-availability of such animals in the country for studies and the restrictions on the import. Reddy said the issues was relating in the country losing its credibility and the forex reserves.

Manuel Elkin Patarroyo, the malaria vaccine scientist from Columbia, was the keynote speaker. The symposium was attended by delegates from scientific research & academic and industry both from India and abroad.

Dr. Dasari V Ravi Kumar, Director of PC2 Scientific Services, pointed out that Hyderabad is producing about 33 per cent of global vaccines dosages and 35 per cent to the pharmaceutical production in the country.Employees at Rukum's rural municipality deprived of pay for nine months

Employees at Putha Uttarganga Rural Municipality of Rukum East have complained of deprivation of remunerations for the past nine months.Govt rejects Province 2 CMs US visit request

The federal government has rejected Province 2 Chief Minister Lal Babu Rauts visit to The United States.Ryanair has booked a solid increase in full-year profits, but warned that rising oil prices could take the gloss off its performance over the next 12 months.

The budget carrier saw a 10% rise in post-tax profit to 1.45bn in the 12 months to March 31, while revenue jumped 8% to 7.15bn.

Passenger numbers were also up, jumping 9% to 130.3m on the back of falling average air fares, which were down 3% to 39.40.

The solid figures came despite what Ryanair described as a "rostering management failure", when it was forced to cancel flights after mismanaging pilots' annual leave.

The September debacle, which affected 700,000 passengers, came alongside pilot strike action.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary said: "We are pleased to report a 10% increase in profits, with an unchanged net margin of 20%, despite a 3% cut in air fares, during a year of overcapacity in Europe, leading to a weaker fare environment, rising fuel prices, and the recovery from our September 2017 rostering management failure."

However, the chief executive also struck a cautious tone over the airline's prospects for the coming financial year, pointing to higher oil prices and Brexit.

Ryanair expects unit costs over the next year to rise by 9% following the surge in oil prices, which have risen to $80 per barrel. It will add more than 400m to the group's costs.

Staff costs will rise by almost 200m.

The net result will be a fall in profits to between 1.25bn and 1.35bn, Ryanair said.

On Brexit, the Irish carrier again said it continues to plan for a hard Brexit in March 2019.

In that scenario, UK shareholders will be treated as non-EU and this could "potentially affect Ryanair's licensing and flight rights".

As a result, Ryanair intends to "restrict the voting rights of all non-EU shareholders in the event of a hard Brexit", in order to ensure it is majority-owned and controlled by EU shareholders at all times.

"This would result in non-EU shareholders not being able to vote on shareholder resolutions. In the meantime, we have applied for a UK AOC which we hope to receive before the end of 2018," the firm added.

- PAHome Minister says govt will take strong action against slowpoke contractors

Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa has said that the government will no longer be a mute spectator as contractors fail to complete development works on time and indulge themselves in malpractices.Employers representative body Ibec has warned tough employment regulations could hinder the growth of new economy jobs by increasing red tape, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Ibecs top employment lawyer, Rhona Murphy, has been warning of a squeeze on employer flexibility, one that is being applied in Leinster House, and from Brussels.

She is concerned at the way private members bills have been gaining traction during the current Dail, arguing that many of these proposals are totally unrealistic. Of particular interest to her is the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2017 which seeks to crack down on the phenomenon of bogus self-employment, creating two new categories: the false self employed worker, and the fully dependent self-employed worker.

Also in this space is the Protection of Employment (Measures to counter False Self Employment ) Bill 2018.

Who comes up with such clunky titles for new laws?, you may well ask.

In Ibecs view, the act is part of a broader narrative generally hostile to independent contractor arrangements.

The employers representative points also to proposed legislation dealing with the use of zero hours and low hours contracts contained in the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017.

It lists a total of 14 pieces of legislation, recently enacted or still in Bill form in the employment space.

A number appear esoteric such as the Arts (Dignity at Work) (Amendment) Bill 2018.

Ms Murphy fears that the regulators are adopting an oversimplified, blunt approach and that common law tests which have stood the test of time face being eroded. In some instances, those running businesses adjudged to have wrongly treated employees as self employed could even be faced with criminal sanctions.

She takes issue with the proposed EU directive on transparent and predictable working conditions which introduces a European-wide definition of worker. Ms Murphy argues that the directive, if implemented in its current form by member states, could have a much wider impact on commercial arrangements between individuals than anticipated.

A lawyer who works for more than eight hours in a week for a client could, she argues, become an employee of that client, with certain rights, under the Directive.

Ms Murphys broader point is that many independent contractors wish to operate that arrangement for personal, financial and career reasons. The economy and society is evolving in the direction of portfolio working. The legislators run the risk of jeopardising such arrangements.

Former employment minister and union official, Senator Ged Nash has a rather different perspective.

Four years ago, while in office, he commissioned a University of Limerick study into the prevalence of so called zero hour and other low hour contracts. It found that zero-hour contracts  prevalent in the UK  are not common here, but that a variant, if and when contracts are.

In the case of zero-hour contracts, there are no guarantees of work, but employees are contractually obliged to be available when required by the employer. In the case of if and when contracts, the employee enjoys no guarantees, but is not under any legal obligation in the relationship.

The Organisation of Working Time Act provides an entitlement to payment for workers effectively on call. This explains why zero-hour contracts are less prevalent here. The UL study identified as high level of atypical and part time working in Ireland.

Between 1998 and 2014, the percentage of part-time workers rose from 17.7% to more than 24%, while the percentage working on Sundays jumped from 10% to over 17%. Many are migrants, some not well organised and with little

clout or

awareness of their rights.

Mr Nash believes that the proportion of such vulnerable workers has not fallen despite a labour market recovery marked by a strong increase in the number of available full-time posts.

In a buoyant labour market, dark shadows still loom.

Examples include couriers, food delivery workers as well as the acting, media and construction sectors.

The problem of bogus self employed  where people, effectively on the payroll and operating to instruction, are, in effect, forced to operate as independent contractors  has grown as employers have tried to rein in their costs. The legislators have begun to respond while some organisations such as RTE and other media entities have been called to account.

RTE, for example, is reviewing the status of 472 people employed under contracts for service.

A key piece of law is now in the stocks. It aims to better protect those such as freelance journalists and voice actors who have been hindered by dubious competition rules from organising together to improve pay and conditions. Such a bill was introduced around a decade ago by President Higgins when he was still a TD.

Recently, Senator Ivana Bacik introduced a bill on bogus self employment which is now at a well advanced stage. The bill could alter employment relations across a wide range of sectors including aviation, IT, agriculture, logistics, and transport.

The Department of Social Protection is on the case, increasingly concerned at the revenue implications of bogus self employment with responsibility for the support of low-paid workers being passed onto the taxpayer and with tax revenues being lost. Ibec warns against measures that could hinder the growth of new economy jobs while increasing red tape.

The unions are concerned at what they view as the softly softly approach to employers riding roughshod over employee rights.

The Department of Social Protection is focusing on information campaigns.

Mr Nash argues that this, while welcome, is not enough. The low hours lack of notice culture has become embedded leaving many, particularly younger women with care responsibilities in a very difficult situation. He views the spread of if and when contracts and of hybrid alternatives, where workers receive minimal guarantees of hours, as insidious and he is seeking a tightening in a Government Bill already in train.

The gap between Ibec and the unions may be less wide than appears at first sight. Ms Murphy concedes that there are rogue employers out there and that by allowing such activities, decent employers are penalised.

Mr Nash accepts that restrictions should not be placed on the new economy.

Arguably, the authorities should target the miscreants while laying off on plans for yet more form filling and checks while accepting that many independent contractors, including carers as well as IT experts and professionals, are keen on flexibility.

The department should work more closely with training providers and legitimate employers as well as union officials and NGOs on the ground to boost the skill levels of vulnerable part timers, many of whom lack basic skills, particularly in English. This could provide a win for both sides as the quality and productivity of the labour force is boosted.

The authorities should then train their weapons on the minority of employers who act abusively while promoting what amounts to tax evasion and a defrauding of the welfare system. Tracking such people down requires energy and persistence, along with a correct deployment of resources.Approximately 3,500 people from over 120 countries will become Irish citizens today in three ceremonies in Co Kerry.

The occasion in Killarney will be the first staging of large-scale citizenship ceremonies outside of Dublin.Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating the murder of a German backpacker in Northern Ireland 30 years ago.

The body of Munich teenager Inga Maria Hauser was found dumped in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest, outside Ballycastle, Co Antrim, 14 days after she was last seen alive on a ferry from Scotland.

The 18-year-olds death in April 1988 remains one of the regions most high-profile unsolved murders.

Detectives from PSNI Serious Crime Branch investigating the murder of Inga Maria Hauser 30 years ago have arrested two men on suspicion of her murder pic.twitter.com/7UHsaJjYPg  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) May 21, 2018

The two suspects, aged 58 and 61, were held in the Loughguile area of Co Antrim early on Monday morning.

The arrests come weeks after a much-publicised series of appeals to mark the 30th anniversary of the murder.

In April, detectives said they believed a number of people may have been involved either directly in the murder or in the subsequent cover-up, and said they only need fractional pieces of evidence to bring the chief suspects to justice.

The body of German backpacker Inga Maria Hauser was found in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest 14 days after she was last seen alive on a ferry from Scotland (PSNI/PA)

A number of years ago, in one of the largest DNA screenings ever undertaken in the UK, 2,000 samples failed to produce a definitive match.

Prior to her death, Ms Hauser had travelled through England and Scotland and, according to diary entries, intended to travel south to Dublin when she docked at Larne, Co Antrim.

But for reasons as yet unexplained, she ended up going in the opposite direction and was found dead in remote woodland two weeks later.

It is understood the IRA carried out its own investigation into the killing 30 years ago.

It is believed republican paramilitaries had considered passing information about the alleged murderer to the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) at the height of the Troubles, but did not follow through.

PSNI Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray at the Cairnryan Ferry Terminal in Dumfries and Galloway on the 30th anniversary of Inga Maria Hausers murder (Jane Barlow/PA)

If there are any witnesses still out there with any further information which might help police then I would ask them to come forward now and speak to detectives, he said.

Even if there are people who know what happened but have stayed silent out of friendship or family loyalty, it is still not too late to come forward and tell us what you know.

Failure to do so can be a criminal offence in itself and surely it would be better to come to police and discuss what happened rather than take the risk we will come to you.

The two men are being questioned by detectives.

- Press AssociationGardai have renewed an appeal for the public's help in tracing a missing 14-year-old from Dublin.

Jamie Walsh was last seen in Tallaght on Saturday, May 12 at 11pm.Gardai in Dublin have seized 45,000 of heroin in two searches in Dublin.

Officers from the Ronanstown Drugs Unit discovered the drugs during an operation in the Balgaddy area today as part of an on going operation into the sale and supply of controlled substances.Update 6.45pm: An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said the current and former Attorneys General advised that it would not be possible to leave the 8th Amendment in place while legislating for terminations in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities and pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest.

In an interview this evening with Today's FM Last Word with Matt Cooper, the Taoiseach said: "We can't (do that). What the 8th Amendment says is that the right to life of the unborn, even one or two days after conception, is equal to that of (the pregnant woman), and because of that, any ending of the foetal life is a form of homicide.

"The advice from the Attorney General was that because the 8th Amendment puts the right to life of the unborn on the same level as the right to life of the pregnant woman, the penalty (for terminating the pregnancy) had to be the same as if you were killing (the pregnant woman)."

He added it was not possible to say there would never be a prosecution based on the 8th Amendment, as it is currently worded. Penalties are up to 14 years in jail.

Earlier:

The Government could have dealt with the so called 'hard cases' in the abortion debate without raising the spectre of abortion on demand, according to Sinn Fein's Peadar Toibin.

Mr Toibin said the government has got their proposals for abortion all wrong and says the repeal of the 8th Amendment would needlessly remove all rights for the unborn from the constitution.

Mr Toibin urged the electorate not to lose sight of the fact that the hard cases of rape and fatal foetal abnormality make up a very small amount of the total number of abortions being carried out today.

The Sinn Fein TD said there should have been a different approach to deal with these hard cases.

"If Simon Harris was real about trying to develop legislation around those individuals with life limiting conditions and those who suffered rape then he could easily have brought about a constitutional amendment, and still could, which would allow for that to happen without leading for situation where 98% of those children being aborted will be healthy babies.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Simon Harris has said it is "frightening" that unless citizens vote to liberalise the country's strict abortion laws, women will continue to face the threat of jail for terminating a pregnancy.

Mr Harris said that, as long as an amendment which gives equal right to life of the woman and the unborn remains in the Constitution, a penalty was legally required.

"That's quite frightening," he said. "People who are going to go out to vote on Friday need to know that."

He added: "I don't give instructions to doctors to call the police... but it shouldn't take away from the reality."

Mr Harris went on to criticise the Catholic Church for their views on social issues.

He said the church has been wrong during a number of previous campaigns including divorce and the introduction of contraception and hit out at sermons from the pulpit at events where there's children present

"The Church are entitled to their views, absolutely... but they should also expect to be scrutinsed on their record in terms of the views they have had on other issues."

Minister Simon Harris says what happened with @JohnHalligan is disappointing. Says church are entitled to their view but abortion debate should be left out of ceremonies like Communions and Confirmations pic.twitter.com/Td8LtleOW0  Sean Defoe (@SeanDefoe) May 21, 2018

In a statement released today, however, Bishop Ray Browne of Kerry said he had been heartened by the positive response to his own Pastoral Message and thanked all those who were "debating and discussing the issue gently, respectfully and sensitively".

He went on: "If the Referendum is passed the governments proposed legislation is extreme. I believe it will introduce a system similar to Britain where many claim that 90% of babies aborted are healthy babies.

"I am voting NO next Friday. I encourage, you to do the same. Please pray that the people of our country will choose to vote NO, thus honouring and defending the life of every unborn child.

"I conclude with the words of Pope Francis: 'No alleged right to ones own body can justify a decision to terminate the life of an innocent child growing in the mothers womb.'"

- Digital Desk & Press AssociationBy Declan Brennan

Three men have been convicted of kidnapping a family at gunpoint and carrying out a 2.28 million cash-in-transit van robbery 13 years ago.

After nearly 16 hours of deliberations, the jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court convicted Mark Farrelly (47), Christopher Corcoran (70) and David Byrne (45) of being part of the armed gang that took Marie Richardson and her two young sons from their Dublin home on March 13, 2005.

The gang forced Securicor van driver Paul Richardson to go to work the next day while his family were held at gunpoint in the Dublin mountains.

The jury will return tomorrow morning to continue deliberations in the case of Niall Byrne (36). Mr Byrne worked for Securicor at the time of the robbery and the State allege he was the gangs's inside man.

Judge Melanie Greally told the jury they can now return a "majority verdict", meaning a verdict on which ten or more jurors agree.

Farrelly of Moatview Court, Priorswood, Coolock, Corcoran of Rosedale, Raheny, Dublin, Niall Byrne of Crumlin Road Flats, Dublin and David Byrne of Old Brazil Way, Knocksedan, Swords, pleaded not guilty to robbing Mr Richardson and Securicor of 2.28 million on March 14, 2005 and to the false imprisonment of the Richardson family at their home at Ashcroft, Raheny on March 13 and 14, 2005.

The trial began last January before a specially enlarged jury of 15. Three jurors were discharged due to personal commitments and 12 jurors are now deliberating on the evidence.

During the trial, the jury heard how on the night of Sunday, March 13, 2005 armed men burst into the Richardson's family home.

Christopher Corcoran

The men were wearing boiler suits and balaclavas and had a box with them. They removed guns, including a sub-machine gun, from this box and told the family to co-operate.

The gang told Mr Richardson to go to work, collect the cash and drop it off in a car park. He was told that his family would be released if he did this.

The jury heard that Ian Richardson, who was a teenager at the time, had a panic attack and this caused some trauma for his parents and panic among the kidnappers.

The gang took Polaroid photographs of the family flanked by two armed men and they gave these to Mr Richardson to help him convince his work colleagues to co-operate with the gang's plans.

Some members of the gang then loaded Marie Richardson and her sons into the back of a Jeep and drove them across the city and into the Wicklow mountains, the court heard.

David Byrne

The gang held the family in the back of the van overnight. The next morning they marched the family up into a nearby woods and used cable ties to tie them up and then left them.

During this time, Mr Richardson drove to work and collected the cash for his day's job. He then drove to the Angler's Rest pub in Dublin's Strawberry Beds and dropped the cash in the pub's car park.

Victims Paul Richardson and his wife, Marie

His instructions were then to drive west along the N4 until the kidnappers contacted him to say his family had being released.

This call never came and Mr Richardson became increasingly anxious and began to experience chest pains. His colleagues forced him to stop the van and they raised the alarm.

By this stage, Mrs Richardson and her sons had managed to free themselves from the cable ties using a penknife. They walked down the woods and met a forest ranger who raised the alarm.

The garda investigation began with the knowledge that during the night, kidnappers had allowed a call between Mrs Richardson in the mountains and Mr Richardson in Raheny. Gardai examined mobile phone activity in the remote mountain area at that time and identified two mobile numbers.

Gardai looked at all other mobile phone numbers these two mobile phones had contacted and built up a network of between eight or nine mobile numbers used at times and locations relevant to the offences, prosecution counsel Dominic McGinn SC said during the trial.

It was the State's case that these numbers are inextricably linked to the robbery and that the four accused were using some of these phone numbers. He said other people were also involved but that these people were not before the court.

The State alleged that Farrelly was the mastermind of the gang and his phone was used to co-ordinate the movements of the various gang members.

Mark Farrelly

Corcoran was alleged to have been a scout during the kidnap, driving ahead of the Jeep to make sure nobody interrupted the progress of the kidnap.

David Byrne was alleged to have been one of the two men who was in the Jeep that brought the Richardsons into the mountains.

The investigation initially focused on any mobile phone activity in the remote mountain area on the night. Gardai identified two mobile numbers they believed were used by the gang.

From analysing the records of these two numbers they built up a network of nine mobile phones which the State alleges were used by the various raiders.

The prosecution evidence then focused on linking some of these numbers to the defendants. The jury heard that other people were also involved but that these people were not before the court.LoveBoth have called on the Government to ban online ads for abortion pills.

They say Simon Harris's concern about the pills is hypocritical as he could have done something about them as Health Minister.

Illegal abortion pills are widely available online and this was one of the main arguments that led to the Government accepting proposals to allow abortion without restriction for up to 12 weeks into pregnancy.

The figures are not absolutely clear but a best guess based on data from abortion pill providers suggests around 2,000 Irish women ordered them online in 2016.

It is known that more than 500 of those were seized before they arrived.

Dr Berry Kiely from the Pro-Life Campaign says advertising them to women should be banned.

Dr Kiely said: "You ban the ads. If Google can ban our ads, surely they can ban those ads as well.

"I mean I think it's an issue that needs to be tackled at European level."

Illegally procuring an abortion in Ireland via pills comes with a punishment of a fine or a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Master of the National Maternity Hospital Rhona Mahony says that threat pushes women out of healthcare if they have trouble with the pills

Dr Mahony said: "There are lots of different types of incarcerations, it's not just necessarily about locking women up, it's the threat of the custodial sentence that's driving women out of out healthcare system."

To date no one has ever been prosecuted under the law for taking an abortion pill.

Spokespeople for Love Both refused to say if they think the potential 14-year sentence should be changed.Anil Giri is a reporter covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for a decade-and-a-half, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets.Revenue Officers at Cork Airport seized 60,000 in cash when they searched a man travelling to Gdansk in Poland yesterday morning.

They suspected the money to be the proceeds of crime and they found the cash hidden in a suitcase with the help of Revenue Detector Dog, Eva.Update 9.49pm: Gardai have found a note in the car of Mark Hennessy, the man they had been looking for in connection with Jastine Valdez's disappearance.

Paul Reynolds, reporter with RTE news, said tonight that officers are examining the note which was found in Mr Hennessy's black Nissan Qashqai - registration number 171 D 20419.

Mr Hennessy was shot dead by an officer in a confrontation last night after gardai traced the vehicle to the Cherrywood business district south of Dublin.

Update 8.14pm: This evening Gardai in Bray investigating the disappearance of Jastine Valdez have made another appeal for help from the public.

They are appealing to anyone who was in the vicinity of Puck's Castle Lane, Murphy's Lane or using Carrickgollogan Forest Recreation Area, or anyone who was in the vicinity of the Lead Mines in Kiltiernan from Saturday 19 May at 6pm to Sunday 20 May at 8pm who may have seen anything suspicious, to come forward.

Prayer services have taken place around the country following the disappearance of Jastine Valdez. In Bray, around 200 people attended a candlelight vigil and offered prayers to her family pic.twitter.com/LEdQK5J7kb  RTE News (@rtenews) May 21, 2018

In particular they want to speak to anyone who saw a Black Nissan Qashqai - registration number 171 D 20419.

Also hillwalkers, cyclists or anyone who may have driven through these locations and may have dashcam footage during this time-frame are urged to contact Bray Garda Station on 01-6665300, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station.

Preliminary PM just finished at scene in Rathmichael where body of a woman was found. Still not formally identified, but gardai believe it is #JastineValdez . Body will be removed before dark for full PM in morning in city morgue #IEstaff  Cormac O'Keeffe (@CormacJOKeeffe) May 21, 2018

The body has been removed from the scene for a post mortem examination tomorrow to establish the cause and time of death.

Update 3.35pm: Gardai searching for missing woman Jastine Valdez have found a body.

The identity of the body, which Gardai said was found in the Puck's Castle area, has yet to be established.

The body was found when a member of the search team cut away some branches within an area of thick gorse around 50 metres in from the road.

They also recovered clothing and personal items and the area is difficult to access which may delay the recovery operation.

Gardai pictured at the scene at Puck's Castle, Rathmichael, Co. Dublin, today. Pic: Collins

The State Pathologist and the Garda Technical Bureau have been called in.

The search was focused around a disused golf course at Puck's Castle, which is not far from where Ms Valdez's purse was found this morning.

A Garda spokesperson said: "The body has not been formally identified.

"Gardai wish to appeal for privacy for the Valdez family at this time.

"Gardai wish to thank the public, the media, the Defence Forces and Civil Defence for their assistance in this investigation."

Update 11.40am: Gardai searching for missing student Jastine Valdez find her purse

Gardai searching for missing student Jastine Valdez have found her purse in Rathmichael in South Dublin.

The 24-year-olds ID was inside it.

Jastine has not been seen since she was bundled into a car on Saturday evening near Enniskerry.

A father of two suspected to be involved in the abduction was shot dead by gardai in Cherrywood last night.

It is understood gardai are now focusing their efforts on an area in Rathmichael after studying the software in the suspects car.

It is about a 10 to 15 minute drive from where Jastine was abducted.

Search teams are also searching an area known as the 'Scalp' and a walk on Killiney Hill has been cordoned off.

It is believed the abduction was completely random and she did not know the man involved.

Gardai searching an area in Rathmichael in south Co Dublin as the search continues for missing Jastine Valdez pic.twitter.com/J4143du233  RTE News (@rtenews) May 21, 2018

Meanwhile, gardai have issued a new appeal on Monday afternoon in relation to the search for Ms Valdez.

They are looking to speak to any one who may have observed suspicious activity in the area of Puckscastle Lane and Kiltiernan Lead Mines, Rathmichael between 6pm on Saturday May 19 and 8pm on Sunday May 20.

Anyone with information, however insignificant should contact Bray Garda Station on 01 6665300, Garda Confidential Line 1 800 666 111 or any garda station.

Dozens of gardai, members of the Defence Forces, civil defence and sniffer dogs are now undertaking a major operation in a wooded area in the Rathmichael. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

- Digital Desk

Update 10.10am: Gardai focusing search for Jastine Valdez in south county Dublin after suspect shot dead

Gardai are concentrating their search for Jastine Valdez on an area in south county Dublin this morning.

Officers are focusing on Rathmichael - the army and civil defence forces are assisting.

Earlier a renewed appeal was issued for information on the car linked to the abduction.

24-year-old Jastine Valdez was bundled into a car on Saturday outside Enniskerry in Wicklow.

A suspect was shot dead by an officer in a confrontation on Sunday evening after gardai traced the vehicle to the Cherrywood business district south of Dublin.

Jastine Valdez

The man killed has been named locally as 40-year-old Mark Hennessy, from Bray, in Co Wicklow.

Detectives want to hear from anyone who saw a black Nissan Qashqai with the reg 171 D 20419 between 5pm on the Saturday and 8pm on Sunday

Archdeacon Ricky Rountree is the Church of Ireland Archdeacon of Glendalough whose church St Patrick's is next to the scene of the abduction.

He says locals are very disturbed.

"People are just very shocked at the moment," said the Archdeacon.

"Young women that I've spoken to yesterday are quite traumatised by it in terms of thinking of the times that very often they would be walking that road.

"Because it is a very safe area - a lot of cyclists, a lot of walkers."

- Digital Desk

Update 9.35am: Search for missing woman continues after suspect shot dead

Detectives are continuing to search for a woman feared abducted in Ireland after gardai shot dead a suspect in her disappearance.

Jastine Valdez, 24, from Enniskerry in Co Wicklow, was last seen being bundled into a Nissan Qashqai SUV near her home on Saturday evening.

The suspect was shot dead by an officer in a confrontation on Sunday evening after gardai traced the vehicle to the Cherrywood business district south of Dublin.

The man killed has been named locally as 40 year-old Mark Hennessy, from Bray, in Co Wicklow.

Mark Hennessy

The Garda Siochana Ombudsmans Commission is investigating the shooting.

No trace of Ms Valdez, an accountancy student originally from the Philippines, has been found.

Gardai have said they are extremely concerned for her safety.

She was walking home along the Kilcrony road in Enniskerry at around 6.15pm on Saturday when she was attacked and abducted.

Gardai renewed their appeal for information on Monday morning.

Ms Valdez is described is being around 5ft, of slight build with long black hair and brown eyes.

PLEASE RETWEET



Disappearance of Jastine Valdez, Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow.



Gardai in Bray are appealing for information following the disappearance of a 24-year-old woman from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.



For more infor see: https://t.co/mEKvjBTWjD pic.twitter.com/9pv6ASFppo  Garda Info (@gardainfo) May 20, 2018

When last seen she was wearing a dark coloured jacket, white T-shirt, grey leggings and running shoes.

A Garda spokeswoman said: Gardai are particularly appealing for information on, or sightings and movement of, a black Nissan Qashqai registration 171 D 20419 between 5pm on the Saturday the 19th May and 8pm on Sunday May 20th.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Bray Garda Station 01-6665300 the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any garda station.

- Press Association

Earlier: Kidnap suspect killed after massive manhunt but victim is still missing

By Cormac O'Keeffe

Gardai were last night still searching for a woman after they fatally shot her abductor after a massive manhunt in south Dublin.

Armed local detectives confronted the man after he brandished a knife in the Cherrywood area and reportedly threatened people.

But there was no sign of kidnap victim Jastine Valdez, 24, and officers were desperately trying to piece together sightings of the vehicle used in the abduction of the Filipino student to aid their search.

She was bundled into the boot of a jeep as she was walking in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, where she lives with her parents, at around 6.15pm on Saturday.

Gardai have urged people who saw the car, a black Nissan Qashqai, registration 171 D 20419, from 5pm on Saturday until 8pm last night to contact them.

Her abductor was named locally as Mark Hennessy, in his early 40s, from Woodbook Lawn, Bray, Co Wicklow.

He was married with two small children. He is understood to have taken his wifes car at 5pm, only to say he was going out socialising.

Sources said he was a building sub-contractor and was doing quite well and that, from talking to family members, there were no signs of major issues with him.

After a day of searching for the car, local detectives were called to the Brides Glen Luas Stop and local business park at Cherrywood, where they found the Qashqai and spotted a man with a knife.

In a statement, the Garda Press Office said: Gardai investigating the disappearance of Jastine Valdez interacted with the driver of a vehicle at approximately 8pm in the Cherrywood area of Dublin. An official Garda firearm was discharged.

Gardai have located a 171 D Nissan Qashqui they had earlier appealed for at the scene of the shooting.

Gardai continue to appeal for Jastine Valdez and also for anyone who may have seen the movements of the 171 D Nissan Qashqai since yesterday to 8pm, 20 May, 2018.

It is thought Mr Hennessy was shot a number of times.

The terrifying events unfolded after Ms Valdez was bundled into the boot of a car in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday.

An eyewitness rang gardai, and gardai received a second report about an hour later by another witness who saw a woman in a distressed state in the back of a vehicle.

A massive search operation was put in place and, at 11.20pm on Saturday, Ms Valdezs parents reported that their daughter, a student who has been in Ireland for three years, was missing.

Gardai quickly linked her disappearance and the reported abduction.

They initially received slightly different descriptions of the vehicle, but by around 5pm were able to confirm its full registration.

Gardai believe she did not know her abductor.

On Sunday morning, they searched the reported site of the abduction and found Ms Valdezs mobile phone.

Gardai identified the registered owner of the black Nissan Qashqai and called to her home. They learned her husband had taken the car.

Earlier yesterday, Supt Paul Hogan, of Bray Garda Station, had urged people not to approach the car if they spotted it, but to ring 999 or 112.

He said they were extremely concerned for Ms Valdezs safety.

Bray Garda Station 01-6665300; the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.

- Irish ExaminerFresh from a historic deal on the future of An Post - Ireland's Postmasters are telling Ireland to 'use it or lose it'.

The Irish Postmaster's Union is calling for a long-term commitment that Social Welfare payments will continue to be made through Post Offices.Townlands Carnivals hidden jewel, the Sibin Stage, returns to the atmospheric and magical woods of Rusheen Farm Estate this summer.

The festival takes place in Co Cork from July 20  22.

The music on the Sibin Stage is very much in tune with its surroundings and habitat; evoking backwoods parties with amazing organic music, folky fun, designed and to be enjoyed with inhibition and abandon, the organisers say.

The Latchikos are the very originators of Gyp-Hop (Gaelic gypsy hip-hop); blending a raw mix of virtuoso violin, spoken word, and raw driving Gaelic beats.

Combined with the Carny Villains - a six piece theatrical band from Bristol known for their raucous blend of stomping swing, ska and Balkan-style folk  these two will set the tone for what the Sibin Stage is all about over the weekends festivities.

For a dusky evening in the woods will be Katie Kims dark and atmospherically drenched ballads.

New stylings and contemporary Irish trad will be well represented by the likes of Torcan and Cula Bula, while alt-roots and blues merchants One Horse Pony and The No Showband will keep things stomping through the night, complemented by the excellent Cork City Samba Band.

Newcomers Laurie Shaw, Lowli, and Sarah Beth join Searching for Apollo, Strange Weather, Rob Walsh and the Panik Attacks, Galway Street Club, DBize and Pogueology to complete a diverse Sibin bill, for one of this summers surprise festival packages.

Already announced for Townlands Carnivals biggest adventure to date are Sister Sledge, Leftfield (DJ set), King Kong Company, Kila, Mungos Hi-Fi ft Solo Banton, Bantum, Orchid Collective, Cian Finn and lots more.

Weekend Tickets are now on sale at 125 from www.townlandscarnival.comChina's government has said it cannot guarantee that renewed trade tension with Washington can be avoided after US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin declared a temporary truce in a spiralling dispute that prompted worries of a chilling of global commerce.

Mr Mnuchin said the two sides were "putting the trade war on hold" following an announcement Beijing would "significantly increase" purchases of American farm goods, energy and other products and services.

But the two sides gave no indication of how much progress they had made towards ending the dispute over US complaints about market access and technology policy.

Mr Mnuchin's comments showed both sides hope to avoid a "trade war", Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.

However, he added: "Given the increasing interaction between the two countries, we cannot assure you they will not encounter more frictions or disputes in the future."

US president Donald Trump has threatened to raise import duties on Chinese goods worth up to 150 billion dollars (127 billion) in response to complaints Beijing steals or pressures foreign companies to hand over technology in exchange for market access.

Chinese leaders issued their own 50 billion dollar (42 billion) list of US goods for possible retaliation.

Moments ago: Treasury Secretary Mnuchin tells @SquawkCNBC that this is a trade "dispute" that the U.S. is in with China, "it never was a trade war"https://t.co/uH3OSpWHmW pic.twitter.com/hPCFIo8w4V  CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) May 21, 2018

The strains in the world's biggest trading relationship prompted fears other governments might respond by raising import barriers, chilling global commerce and economic growth.

Mr Trump is pushing for Beijing to discard or scale back ambitious technology and industrial development plans Washington complains will hamper market access and hurt foreign competitors.

Business chiefs and economists say Communist leaders who see their development model as a success are unlikely to agree to more than minor changes.

The two countries made no mention of those underlying American complaints. Mr Mnuchin said talks made "meaningful progress", but gave no indication of how close they might be to an overall settlement.

The truce is likely to be only temporary due to unresolved "structural issues" between China and the United States, said Shi Yinhong, director of the Centre for American Studies at Renmin University in Beijing.

Met with Vice Premier Liu He and the Chinese trade delegation @USTreasury today with @CommerceGov @USTradeRep. We held important discussions on rebalancing the U.S.-China trade relationship. pic.twitter.com/r0R1w2p2eR  Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) May 18, 2018

"I don't think the truce will last very long," Shi said. "The antagonism in trade will ebb and flow in China-US relations in the long term."

Mr Lu, the Chinese spokesman, said Beijing wants to preserve a relationship that benefits both sides.

He said: "If the two governments can reach an agreement which is acceptable to both sides, the two governments should certainly abide by it.

"We believe this result will be welcomed by the peoples and business communities in the two countries, and the international community."

Big risk factors include whether China will take action fast enough on its trade surplus and whether the two sides can establish a dialogue to discuss structural issues, said Jacob Parker, vice president for China operations of the US-China Business Council.

PA & Digital DeskKingfisher beers launched in Nepal

United Breweries Limited, one of the leading beer companies in Asia, in association with Yeti Brewery, has announced the launch of their flagship brands, Kingfisher Premium and Kingfisher Strong in Nepal.The Palestinian president's condition has seen a "clear improvement" after he was taken to hospital with a fever, a politician has said.

Mahmoud Abbas was taken to hospital on Sunday with a fever, just days after undergoing ear surgery.

The 83-year-old leader has endured a series of recent health scares which have revived anxiety over a potentially chaotic, and even bloody, succession battle that could further weaken the Palestinian cause.

Ahmad Tibi, an Arab politician in Israel's parliament with close ties to Mr Abbas, told Israeli Army Radio that he could be discharged as early as Tuesday.

He did not elaborate on Mr Abbas's condition nor say why he thought he was expected to be released.

Palestinian officials had said on Sunday that Mr Abbas has pneumonia and was on a respirator, receiving antibiotics intravenously.

They said he was conscious and lucid.

Mr Abbas, who is a heavy smoker and overweight, has a long history of health issues, ranging from heart trouble to a bout with prostate cancer a decade ago.

The condition of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who was hospitalised for a third time in a week, is reassuring and his tests are normal, the director of the hospital treating him says pic.twitter.com/uZ554DCYFV  TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) May 20, 2018

Two years ago, he underwent an emergency heart procedure after suffering exhaustion and chest pains.

More recently, a cardiologist moved into the presidential compound in Ramallah to monitor the longtime leader after a mysterious hospital visit in the United States, following Mr Abbas's address to the United Nations Security Council in which he appeared weak.

Mr Abbas, who insists he is fine, has refused to designate a successor.

But after more than a decade of avoiding discussion of the post-Abbas era, Palestinian officials acknowledge that they are concerned, and potential successors are quietly jockeying for position.

Mr Abbas took over as a caretaker leader following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in 2004, and was elected for what was supposed to be a five-year term the following year.

He has remained in firm control since then, governing parts of the West Bank, while a political split with rival Hamas - the Palestinian militant group that in 2007 seized the Gaza Strip - has prevented new elections.

PATelstras month has gone from bad to worse, with customers threatening to switch to rival providers after a national mobile outage on Monday, marking the third major network problem in May.

A fortnight after a suspected lightning strike on a Telstra cable took out the national triple zero emergency line, customers were left unable to call out or connect to the internet on their devices for several hours on Monday. Telstra has not confirmed what caused the outage.

An outage for Telstra's mobile customers marks the third major outage in May for the telco. Credit:James Davies

Australia's largest telecommunications company reported another issue, on May 1, when customers across the country faced an outage for National Broadband Network and 4G services.

Aussie Outages' live outage map, which shows complaints about network problems across all major capital cities, recorded more than 10,000 incidences on Monday morning, with hundreds of people taking to social media to report their inability to call out. Triple zero services were not affected by this outage and not all mobile customers were affected.The scrutiny on the nation's $170 billion franchising industry is set to intensify as lending to the troubled sector is examined this week at the banking royal commission.

Franchising has already been under the spotlight after a series of scandals led to the establishment of a parlimentary inquiry, which is still underway.

Commissioner Kenneth Hayne has commenced the third round of hearings for the financial services royal commission. Credit:Eddie Jim

The royal commission started two weeks of hearings in Melbourne on Monday considering small businesses and counsel assisting the commission, Michael Hodge, said several franchisees would appear before it.

"A number of case studies that we will deal with in the following two weeks deal with or involve

franchises," he said.One of the nation's most respected tech entrepreneurs and investors has welcomed signs of a political breakthrough on corporate taxes, saying there is "absolutely no reason" why internet giants such as Google shouldn't pay more tax in Australia.

Fairfax Media this week reported that a 'digital tax' on tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Uber could persuade Senate crossbenchers to support the Turnbull Government's broader corporate tax reduction package.

Paul Bassat, a co-founder of $7 billon valued online job search portal Seek, who currently runs Melbourne based tech investment fund Square Peg Capital, said that while on the one hand, he believes company taxes in general must be lowered, multinational internet giants should also pay more tax.

Seek co-founder Paul Bassat thinks multinationals should pay more tax.

On corporate tax, there is a lot of debate about whether it is fair [to cut it] or not, but we have to be pragmatic," he told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Lebanese-born artist Khaled Sabsabi has had enough.

He's had enough of the conflict that killed family members in Tripoli and enough of the way he was treated when he first arrived in Auburn in 1977. As the only Muslim in his class he was pinned down while students extinguished cigarettes on his arms.

Artist Khaled Sabsabi in front of his giant mosaic video work Syria. Credit:Christopher Pearce

And he has had enough of the climate of manufactured fear and dread directed towards his family after September 11, 2001, and the so-called "war on terror".

Sabsabi is among a collective of 16 Islamic artists who have joined together to produce at show called Enough  or "Khalas" in Arabic  at the UNSW Gallery in Paddington.Italian actress Asia Argento, who has accused movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, has told the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival there were abusers in the audience who had yet to be outed.

Argento, one of the women quoted in Ronan Farrow's New Yorker article last October, said Weinstein raped her during the Cannes festival in 1997 when she was 21.

Weinstein has denied allegations of non-consensual sex, and a lawyer representing him said that Argento's claims were completely false. Argento's London-based agent, Steve Kenis, was not immediately available to provide further details.Med centre, VLN operators booked for overcharging Malaysia-bound workers

Following its order to scrap additional fees being imposed on Malaysia-bound Nepali workers, the government has launched a massive crackdown on those involved in charging workers hefty fees under various headings.Victoria has snapped up the theatre industry's controversial annual awards just months after letting the Logies slip through its fingers.

The Andrews government has dipped into its $60 million annual events honeypot in order to steal the Helpmann Awards from Sydney.

The annual ceremony recognises the best-of-the-best in Australia's live performance industries  including musical theatre, dance, opera, cabaret, comedy and live music.

Last year's awards were criticised heavily over a lack of representation for Australian creatives and productions in the music theatre categories.There have been at least half-a-dozen iterations of the "Messy Meghan Bun" so far, including Saturday night's charmingly "undone" up-do, a nicely judged contrast with Serge Normant's magnificent, tiara-friendly structure for the wedding ceremony and breakfast.

The stylist responsible for Meghan's evening wedding-party hair was George Northwood, a 39-year-old superstar of the hairdressing world. Eleven years ago, he began chipping away at the ends of his friend Alexa Chung's long tresses, ultimately shaping them into a "bed-head bob" that became one of the most-googled haircuts of the century. At the height of the Chung hair frenzy, he was seeing 18 clients a day and got RSI in his thumbs.

The newly married Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their way to the "reception". Credit:PA

And here's the thing: since the Messy Bun debuted in January, when Harry and Meghan visited a Brixton radio station (the acme of royal style dilemmas: how to look dignified but down with the people), it has become the most searched-for hair term on Pinterest. So the fact she incorporated it into the wedding day may be some kind of statement of intent.

When I catch up with Northwood, he is far too discreet to tell me whether he has been behind Meghan's previous Messy Buns - but I'd be amazed if he wasn't. They bear all his hallmarks: centre parting, a few strategically dislodged strands to frame the cheekbones, faintly tongued, they look as though the breeze was responsible; a light gauze of Sam McKnight hairspray, and backcombing only nerds would notice - not to create a helmet but to give the head a flattering upward tilt and make the neck look longer.

It seems simple but is steeped in skill, featuring a repertoire of increasingly twisty chignons, from the "did-she-do-it-herself?" to "pulling-out-the-stops".

Meghan's choice of Northwood, an engaging, dimple-cheeked Londoner (he was brought up in Bedfordshire but lives in Queen's Park, west London), for her party hair is telling.

Her new sister-in-law was a regular, even in her 20s, at Richard Ward, an upholder of big, bouncy, Mayfair blow-dries.Staff in the for-profit nursing homes run by Japara Healthcare have been ordered not to look in on residents overnight because making sure they are still breathing, or have not fallen out of bed, is "not a valid reason to check".

The new policy, which the company calls "Respecting Night Time for Residents - Etiquette Guidelines," describes the change as part of a "no wake" initiative.

Bev Myers' mother fell out of bed during the night at a nursing home (not owned by Japara) and suffered terrible injuries to her arm, but was not found for some time. Credit:Penny Stephens

But the nursing union's assistant secretary, Paul Gilbert, describes it as a thinly veiled excuse to reduce staff in Japara's nursing homes.

The new policy for the company, which runs 44 homes nationally, says that, "the entering of residents' rooms and or the visual 'checking' of residents on a periodic basis without an obvious and specific care need will not take place.In case you missed it, a large, good news event occurred on the weekend. And, when there is a large good news event (or, at least, a large not bad news event), the meme mill starts a-turning.

Surprise that special person in your life with a 3pm feed tag or DM slide featuring some of the best meme content from this weekend's royal wedding.

The reaction memes

Move over, Homer Simpson backing up into the bush. The royal wedding has given us a whole new set of pictures and GIFs at which we may remark: "it me."

The overly excited pageboyWhen is terrorism not terrorism? When its committed by white men.

Another boy, not yet even a man, has committed an act of terrorism against American children. Seventeen-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis took guns and amateur attempts at explosive devices into a Texas high school on Friday.

He killed 10 people and injured another 10. Today, media outlets all over the world are reporting the shooting was provoked by a girl who rejected him.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis has confessed to the shootings. Credit:Galveston County Sheriff's Office

There have been 22 school shootings in America this year, killing 40 people and injuring many more. According to the Centre for Disease Control, over 440,000 Americans were killed by guns between 2001 and 2014. During that time 3,412 Americans died in what were defined as acts of terrorism including the 2,990 people killed in September 11 attacks and 369 Americans killed overseas.Head to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve on Saturday afternoon for a ranger-led walk to learn about the critters of the Eucalypt Forest, including the adorable potoroos. The walk leaves at 2pm and goes for 45 minutes. No bookings required, and the walk is included in the entry fee to the park. The walk will also get back in time for the koalas in the canopy talk, where you can learn about the marsupials and try and spot a few in the forest. For more see tidbinbilla.act.gov.au.

5. PEPPA PIG

The loveable Peppa Pig is in town this weekend, returning with a new show filled with life-size puppets and plenty of music and sing-along songs. It's on at Canberra Theatre Centre on Saturday at noon, 2pm and 4pm, and Sunday at 10am and noon. Suitable for all ages. Tickets at canberratheatrecentre.com.au.Canberra, it's time to download yet another rideshare app to your phone.

Just days after the announcement that Australian all-female rideshare service Shebah is now available in Canberra, a third rideshare service is launching in the capital.

John Burge is a driver for the new rideshare service Ola. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

Say hola to Ola, one of the world's largest ridesharing companies, founded in India in 2011. The service is being rolled out to capital cities across Australia in 2018 and officially launches in Canberra on Tuesday.

A team of Ola drivers is already sitting by their mobile phones, ready to collect ACT travellers.National Zoo and Aquarium zookeeper Brendan Sheean will be keeping a close eye on the zoo's two Goodfellow's tree kangaroos for any signs of flirting between the pair.

As part of the zoo's regional breeding program for endangered species, eight-year-old Simbu was relocated from Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast three weeks ago to hopefully be paired with nine-year-old girl, Oumak.

Simbu the tree kangaroo settles in at the National Zoo and Aquarium after being moved to Canberra to breed.

Mr Sheean said the matchmaking process between tree kangaroos was not a simple task.

"Tree kangaroos are not as easy to breed as most other kangaroos and that's because the girl only fancies the boy for three days out of every 55 days," he said.Almost 20 per cent of Canberra public schools are full or almost full, while others have just a third of the students they could accommodate, new government data shows.

For the first time, the ACT has included capacity figures in its annual school census report, revealing an uneven spread of enrolments in both north and south.

While 15 schools were close to bursting at between 102 and 90 per cent capacity as of February, a dozen others were less than half full.

A school's capacity is now measured on a "case by case basis" after a review earlier this year, according to a spokeswoman for the education directorate. While the figure may still include some specialist rooms such as science spaces alongside traditional classrooms, other areas like kitchens and art rooms that would cost too much to convert were no longer counted in capacity for primary schools.Milly Gerstle remembers the first time: she was in year four, walking home from ballet class in the quiet suburb of Northwood on Sydney's lower north shore. It was a Wednesday afternoon. Milly was still wearing her leotard, something the 10-year-old later chided herself for.

Sixteen-year-old Milly Gerstle, 21-year-old Kripa Krithivasan and Ginette Villasmil, 23, have contributed to Plan International's map of Sydney street harassment locations. Credit:James Alcock

One street away from home, a carload of young men pulled up beside her and began wolf-whistling and yelling obscenities. She ran away and made it home safe, but the moment has stayed with her  even after experiencing many more incidents of harassment in the years following.

"I didn't understand what I had done wrong," she says. "I was walking home in my leotard, and I remember consciously thinking, 'Oh I was wearing my leotard, I shouldn't have done that, that was stupid'."

Milly, 16, is one of hundreds of young women who have contributed over the past month to an interactive map created by Plan International, marking more than 2600 locations of incidents of harassment across Sydney.Migrant hiring regulation to take time for complete enforcement

The governments new directive that requires employers and recruiting agencies to get approvals of their labour demands letters from Nepali foreign missions based in host countries is likely to take some time for complete enforcement.Sydney ranked 10th in the world for perceptions of the city. But when all performance benchmarks were taken into account, the city dropped to 15th. Sydneys strengths were found to be a quality education sector, high liveability, and a quality international brand. Sydney was found to be a "contender city" on the cusp of being a global leader, ranking in the second tier of cities including San Francisco, Boston, Toronto and Madrid. Grattan Institute transport program director Marion Terrill said the data correlates to Marchetti's constant, which found that across different geography and time most people are not willing to spend more than about 30-35 minutes per day each way to go to work.

"Most people are not travelling all that far for work and that's why commute times are not that bad on average," Ms Terrill said. Loading However, Sydneys congestion is "highly variable" and with about 14 per cent of jobs located in the CBD most people have to travel "all over the place" for work, she said. "People are talking about congestion charging [that] allows us to spread the peak out more and encourages people to save money if they don't need to take a trip in peak hour," Ms Terrill said. "When cities grow fast and people feel the impact of that, pricing can be a very powerful tool for enabling us to get more out of the infrastructure we've already got."

Professor Greaves said buses, trains and roads were struggling with population growth in peak hours and questioned whether enough public transport capacity has been added to stations where new residential developments have been built. "If we're going to get a meaningful mass of people to switch from car to public transport it is an issue we've got to think about - is public transport capacity able to cope? "People are weighing up the quality of the journey, on the trains and the buses it's become more of an issue as theyve become more crowded and people may weigh up taking an Uber to work or driving again. Everything we do to aid commuting can be compromised by high population growth."

The report warned the discrepancy between perception and on-the-ground performance is a risk for Sydney, and other cities. The research has found that Sydney is perceived globally as being a top-10 city, so our brand is strong, yet when looking at performance across key benchmarks, our performance is not ranked as highly, Property Council NSW executive director Jane Fitzgerald said. There was a similar discrepancy between brand reputation and overall benchmark performance in each one of Australias five major cities. The report compares Australias cities against Canadas, Scandinavias, Germanys and south-west USs largest cities and Asias most innovative cities. The report also was critical of urban governance across the Sydney basin.An elderly Sydney philanthropist has been accused of indecently assaulting two women he employed as his full-time carers at his eastern suburbs home.

Two women have accused Aron Kleinlehrer, 96, of indecently assaulting them when they worked as his full-time carers. Credit:Facebook

Lawyers for Aron Kleinlehrer, 96, said he would be assessed for his fitness to face a hearing on multiple charges of aggravated indecent assault when his case was mentioned at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday.

Mr Kleinlehrer had been excused from attending. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Court documents allege Mr Kleinlehrer inappropriately touched one of the women, 32, on her breasts, buttocks and genitals on three separate occasions last April and May.A Filipino woman who has called Brisbane home for more than decade is fighting to keep her family together as she faces imminent deportation.

Bernadette Romulo has spent the past five months trying to appeal the federal governments decision to deport her, which would tear her away from her eight-year-old son, Giro.

Brisbane-based Bernadette Romulo and her son Giro.

The young boy was born in Australia and can not leave the country due to partial custody arrangements with his father.

Ms Romulo arrived in Australia in 2006 on a 457 visa with her first husband and two daughters, now aged 12 and 13, before their marriage failed.A man has been jailed for 12 years after killing a woman when he rammed a car into mourners at his wife's funeral in far north Queensland.

Garry Paul Hudson, 57, was found guilty last week in the Cairns Supreme Court of the manslaughter of 48-year-old Delanne Zingle, 48, when he ploughed into a house full of mourners after a dispute over the funeral location.

He was sentenced on Monday and also banned for life from driving.

AAPDimitrious Gargasoulas.

Accused Bourke Street killer Dimitrious Gargasoulas is set to appear before a jury within a month, to determine whether he is fit to stand trial.

The Supreme Court heard on Monday that because of Mr Gargasoulas' mental health, there was a substantial question over whether he could stand trial on six counts of murder and other charges, in that he allegedly deliberately drove into dozens of pedestrians in central Melbourne on January 20 last year.

Prosecutors and Mr Gargasoulas lawyers agree the 28-year-old has schizophrenia and that his mental health condition might affect his fitness to enter a plea and take part in a criminal trial.

It will now be up to a jury to rule on his mental health and decide whether he is fit to enter a plea and stand in a criminal trial. That jury is set to be selected on June 12 and sit for up to five days, to listen to the evidence of three medical experts.In an emotive post on Facebook which has been shared more than 6000 times, Ms Heaney described the "dark side" of the everyday dangers paramedics face. Ms Heaney, who has been a paramedic for four years, said within the first few months of working in the job she was verbally abused, spat on and threatened numerous times. "I thought it was just part of the job," she wrote on Facebook. "It wasn't until I was physically attacked that I truly realised the dark side of working the streets." Ms Heaney detailed an incident a year ago where she arrived to assist a intoxicated patient lying in the middle of the road in Tarneit only to discover it was a "trap" and the patient was waiting there with a knife.

"The patient jumped up and started charging us trying to punch me in the face," she wrote. "I feared for my partner as she had small children at home ... We hid in the truck whilst the person banged and kicked all the panels on the unit to get to us, jumping on the bonnet every time we tried to escape." Ms Heaney said the person was never charged for the attack. "This is just one of the many stories of violence we face in our workplace which is happening more frequently," she wrote. "That is why proper laws in place is so important to me and my colleagues so that it acts as a deterrent." Following the incident, Ms Heaney said she now assesses the exit points every time she turns up to a similar scene.

Police Minister Lisa Neville said the government would ensure emergency service workers were protected by toughening laws. She said loopholes would be tightened so that anyone who injures a police officer, paramedic or other emergency services worker would face jail. When asked if mental incapacity would qualify as a special exemption to jail time, Ms Neville said cabinet would have a full discussion about the issue on Monday afternoon. Victorian Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said the problem of attacks on police officers was getting worse. Theres a complete lack of respect for our members out there. Were seeing that grow, he said. Its a real issue thats confronting us as a society.

The issue reignited last week when two women who were sentenced to jail last year after being found guilty of assaulting paramedics were released on appeal. Amanda Warren and Caris Underwood, who in 2016 attacked two paramedics in Reservoir after a day-long binge on bourbon, champagne and cannabis, were last year jailed by a magistrate for eight months and four months respectively. But the pair immediately appealed against their sentences, and last week County Court judge Barbara Cotterell upheld the challenges and quashed the prison terms. Judge Cotterell ruled the pair had made "enormous" efforts to turn their lives around after "appalling" childhoods and battles with drug, alcohol and mental-health problems. She also found both women were probably mentally impaired when they attacked Paramedic Paul Judd and his colleague Chenaye Bentley on March 31, 2016. Mr Judd suffered multiple injuries, including fractures in his foot and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after the attack. He has not been able to return to work.

A change.org petition was created calling for Underwood and Warren to "face the consequences of the crime they have committed". About 20,000 people have signed it. The government announced last week it would toughen laws on assaulting an emergency services worker. Opposition attorney-general John Pesutto said sob stories including traumatic childhoods should not be used as excuses for attacking workers trying to help others. He said exemptions to jail time were supposed to be exceptional, genuine and rare. And yet theyre used in every single case, he said.One patch of river red gums has emerged in the 2018 Great Cocky Count as night refuge for 334 cockatoos, including 90 fledglings. While results of the Count are still being collated, in the context of last years count this places the roost as the fourth largest in the Perth-Peel region for forest red-tailed black cockatoos. This proposal must be now assessed by the federal government because of its potential impact on the species, and is fiercely opposed by the local community. The EPA had the chance to make a formal assessment of the early stages of rezoning in 2016, but decided not to. Ms Tauss said clearing it would increase the birds vulnerability, forcing them to fly further through Perth for already scant food.

Locals counting cockies at the roost. She said the process so far had shocked and saddened her. My family lived nearby for over 60 years. Some of my first memories as a child in this district were of huge flocks of black cockatoos, wildflowers, and wetlands, she said. I am one of many graduates of UWA who fell in love with our native plants on student excursions to the Brixton St Wetlands, and have studied them ever since. The EPA told WAtoday it was only after it decided not to assess that the number of forest red-tails greatly increased, and began to roost as well as feed there; and that the emergence of the roost had now triggered discussions with the developer.

A spokesman for Linc Property said the developer had created a conservation strategy for the roost, designing its development to maintain 70 per cent of the trees, and delaying completion of the plans until after the Great Cocky Count. Long term it would reshape the roost by planting 60 extra trees, making it slightly larger than before, and the water management plan would give the river red gums greater access to water. The forest red-tailed black cockatoo. Credit:Shannon Morris The strategy included using all parts of the development, such as roads and vegetated drainage swales, to host specific tree plantings to provide food and flight paths. It would also help plant more than 500 trees over several hectares of the nearby wetlands within 20 years.

Ongoing scientific monitoring of the roost had been proposed, along with funding to assist university and WA Museum researchers. This proposal would be referred to the federal government as legally required. Gosnells chief executive Ian Cowie said it was vitally important to the council that development accord with legal requirements. The emerging issue of the black cockatoo roost and foraging habitat is complicated and potentially far reaching, he said. The scientific and local communities say the planning system let them down in allowing nearby foraging habitat to be cleared.

7ha feeding habitat already cleared; no EPA assessment or federal referral Ms Tauss said Linc clearing 7 hectares of foraging habitat in Precinct 3A already showed system failure. Her environmental consultancy Tauss and Associates originally surveyed the vegetation there for the City of Gosnells in 2010. It reported 7 hectares of prime black cockatoo foraging, roosting and potential nesting habitat, as well as threatened ecological communities downstream.

A separate consultant also prepared a black cockatoo survey for the city in 2012, identifying roosting sites, a nesting hollow and extensive black cockatoo feeding activity. The appendices to their report also showed 7 hectares of total habitat, Ms Tauss said. This habitat did not contain significant native understorey plants and was technically classed as being in degraded condition with regard to flora composition, but its significance as quality cockatoo habitat was due to the many mature healthy marri trees producing heavy fruit crops. Commonwealth referral criteria states that what is degraded in terms of flora biodiversity can remain highly significant cockatoo habitat. Quality should be assessed as it pertains specifically to black cockatoo use of the habitat. For example, the condition of the understorey is a standard component of most ecological habitat quality surveys but is of limited relevance to considerations for some black cockatoos, particularly in relation to breeding habitat, Ms Tauss said.

But the states Environmental Protection Authority deemed the rezoning did not warrant its formal assessment. River red gums are not native, but still perform important functions for the cockies. It gave informal advice to the city to manage environmental matters through the planning system, and reminded the developer of its obligation to refer any proposal impacting more than a hectare of black cockatoo habitat to the federal government. It recommended retention of as much native vegetation as possible, particularly foraging, nesting and roosting habitat. Ms Tauss said the EPA made a big mistake in not making a formal assessment.

It was clear from previous consultant reports to the City of Gosnells that precinct 3A and areas downstream from the changes proposed in precinct 3A contained significant conservation values that would be significantly impacted, she said. These were all available to the EPA at the time. The EPA was clearly out of line. There was factor upon factor pushing them towards formal assessment. To give them credit its a very complicated situation. The various precincts have been presented to the EPA for assessment by the City of Gosnells in a piecemeal approach, precinct by precinct, making it hard both for the public to follow the paper trail and possibly for the EPA, in its under-resourced state, to do a technically valid assessment. One of several declared rare flora species within the Greater Brixton Street Wetlands. Credit:University of WA Professor Hans Lambers She said the decision not to formally assess had meant the proposal could slip through without the public noticing or being consulted.

After the EPAs decision, the WA Planning Commission did not impose environmental controls. The City of Gosnells signalled at the time these would be addressed with individual precinct plans. The plan for Precinct 3A was approved last year, but did not prevent the clearing of the foraging habitat. The EPA told WAtoday it did not consider this significant, being itwas degraded vegetation of both native and introduced tree species, spread over an area of more than 50 hectares. Linc Propertys spokesman said its own environmental consultant had recommended no federal referral was necessary to clear the scattered foraging habitat. This advice had been peer-reviewed. Brixton Street Wetlands contains one of four remaining known populations anywhere of the carnivorous rainbow plant.

Progress marches on The next two precincts to be rezoned are Precinct 2 and 3B. Despite their dull names, they are high-stakes areas, directly adjoining the wetlands and containing threatened flora. Thats where the damage can really be done, Ms Tauss said. It will be disastrous for the environment if those are allowed to go through in the same way as 3A has done, without the opportunity for formal public comment. By the time of the first token community forum held by the City of Gosnells in mid 2017 to discuss Precinct 3A ... it was already too late for the public to comment as the crucial EPA and WAPC approvals had already gone through behind closed doors in 2016, with no appeals allowed.

The EPA stated it was aware of the threatened flora, the wetland and Yule Brook in these precincts and had requested further information before deciding on whether to make a formal assessment. Gosnells chief executive Ian Cowie said the council was aware of the high level of community interest and was holding off on its application pending further public consultation. Impact on Perths most precious wetland remains unknown The Greater Brixton Street Wetlands is regarded as the most complex and sensitive area remaining on the Swan Coastal Plain, hosting numerous scientists visiting from overseas. One of the Clay Pans flowers loved by a miniscule, critically endangered native bee. Credit:Dr Hongtao Zhong

It is home to more than 21 per cent of Perths entire floral biodiversity and is on the Register of the National Estate. Ms Tauss said virtually all native vegetation left in the area belonged to one of four nationally listed threatened plant communities, the major one being the critically endangered Clay Pans of the Swan Coastal Plain. These are home to more carnivorous plant species than can be found in the whole of Europe, including one of only four remaining populations anywhere of the carnivorous "rainbow plant"; 11 listed threatened flora; and the critically endangered native bee Leioproctus douglasiellus. These look like a muddy dustbowl in summer but in winter they become shallow standing water. As rainfall begins they become a fairyland of enormous biodiversity: carnivorous plants, trigger plants, native daisies, and all sorts of little other plants and native insects found only in the clay pans, Ms Tauss said. Three of the threatened flora species in the greater wetlands, including the tiny Mulla Mulla, which Ms Tauss rediscovered there in 2010 after they were thought extinct for 160 years, are not found anywhere else.

There has still been no holistic assessment of how the total planned industrial development will affect the central wetland. The WA Planning Commission seems not to have the time or appetite to do anything but rubber stamp it and say well look at it further down the process. The EPA also says well deal with it later in the planning system. Once the land is rezoned to industrial the value grows, Ms Tauss said. This process is undemocratic, un-transparent and just totally developer driven. Save the Brixton Street Wetlands Community Alliance held a protest breakfast recently to raise awareness. Gosnells chief executive Ian Cowie said the draft structure plan included proposed minimum 50-metre buffer zones around environmental assets, consistent with industry standards. The draft continued to evolve and the ultimate buffer distance would be determined by state agencies.

Conservation Council of WA director Piers Verstegen said groups such as the Save Brixton Street Wetlands Community Alliance Loading were Perths eyes and ears on the ground. This is yet another case where the local community is essential in holding developers and governments to account, he said.Two teenage boys have been charged over a serious assault on a 40-year-old man in Cannington.

Kensington detectives allege the boys, aged 15 and 17, assaulted the man after getting off the Armadale line train at Cannington train station just after 7pm on Sunday evening.

The man was sitting on a bench when the boys approached him, and police claim the teenagers punched the man in the head multiple times before he fell to the ground and was assaulted further.

The boys fled the scene, but were caught by Public Transport Authority officers soon after, while the man was taken to Fiona Stanley Hospital for treatment.

A 15-year-old Gosnells boy has been charged with committing an act or omission causing bodily harm, while a 17-year-old Armadale boy was charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.A Western Australian has paid over $2000 for a heavily-discounted outboard motor only for the product to never arrive.

Consumer Protection WA has issued a warning against the website suzukioutboarding.com.au, after it was discovered the company had set up a fake website by using an Australian business ABN in order to scam unsuspecting boat owners.

It is hard to enforce the Australian Consumer Law if an online business is overseas. Credit:Suzuki

The website has since been taken down, but Consumer Protection said they had received reports from two Western Australians in regards to the scam.

It's understood anyone who ordered from the site should not expect their goods to arrive, after one person said they had lost $2430 after paying for the outboard motor via bank transfer.In another major setback for the Victorian Greens, the influential Electrical Trades Union will pull its financial support for the Federal MP for Melbourne and formally rejoin the Labor Party.

The ETU's Victorian branch walked out on Labor in 2010 over the then Rudd government's refusal to dismantle the industry watchdog the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC).

ETU Victorian State secretary Troy Gray Credit:Penny Stephens

ETU Victorian secretary Troy Gray told The Age that the Bill Shorten-led Labor Opposition's pledge to abolish the watchdog had been enough to swing his union back to the party and as well as a push to change industrial laws.

Our members have had a look at it, and they want a seat at the table to keep Labor on track to deal with all these issues - nows the time to be inside the tent making change. Its now or never to tackle inequality and change the broken rules, ETU Victoria secretary Troy Gray said.Mishra gets lifetime award from PATA

Basant Raj Mishra, executive chairman of Temple Tiger Group of Companies, has been conferred with a Life Membership Award by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) during the PATA annual summit 2018 held in South Korea last Friday.The Turnbull government's chief negotiator on company tax cuts has hit out at Pauline Hanson's "disappointing" backflip, but insists the government will not abandon its increasingly troubled plan.

After initially opposing the tax cuts for big businesses, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson backed the full package earlier this year but has now shifted again, branding the government's proposals "not good enough".

Senator Hanson told News Corp "the people in general don't want it" and criticised the long-term phase-in of the tax cuts.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann speaks after Pauline Hanson withdrew her support for the company tax cuts. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"The whole fact is, if they're serious about this, then start doing something about it now  This government is talking about it six or eight years down the track. Well, that's not good enough," she said.New Labor MP Ged Kearney has vowed to change her party's policies on asylum seekers and fight back against the "racist dog whistling" she says has been unleashed against refugees in Australia.

The former union boss and now first-term MP used her maiden speech to foreshadow a major stoush on refugee policy at Labor's upcoming national conference, where party policy is set.

Ms Kearney said Australia's approach to refugees since 2001 had descended into the "shameful policy of indefinite detention on Manus and Nauru", which should end and never be repeated.

"Racist dog whistling has demonised and vilified a community that has everything to give to Australia - and the sacrifice of this human potential has been made solely for political gain," she told the chamber on Monday.Billionaire Kerry Stokes has weighed into the debate around the ACT's new federal electorate, vigorously defending the proposed name of Bean.

Mr Stokes is chairman of the Australian War Memorial, the creation of which was driven by war historian and journalist Charles Bean in the wake of World War One.

Chairman of the Australian War Memorial Kerry Stokes has defended naming the ACT's new electorate after Charles Bean. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The Australian Electoral Commission announced the proposed redistribution of the ACT's federal electorates in April, including new boundaries to accommodate a third electorate, and the name of Bean to be added to the existing names of Fenner and Canberra.

In the first round of objections submitted to the commission, around 70 objections were received, most of which centred on the name Bean, and its subject's campaign against the ascension of Sir John Monash through Australia's military ranks during World War One.Pauline Hanson has sensationally reneged on her promise to support a company tax cut in a move that likely scuttles Malcolm Turnbull's beleaguered policy once and for all.

Labor pounced on One Nation's stunning backflip and said it showed Senator Hanson could not be trusted - even though her latest position is in line with the opposition's.

The government wants to cut the company tax rate from 30 per cent to 25 per cent but has struggled to find support in the Senate. It had been thrown a lifeline in March when Senator Hanson revoked her initial opposition to the plan, in exchange for a $60 million apprenticeship plan.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, who has been negotiating with the crossbench, had been hopeful of clinching two more votes needed, especially after announcing a widely-welcomed new tax on the digital giants like Google and Facebook.We'll wrap up today's blog there.

To summarise the day's events:

A lot of attention on live exports. Maverick Liberals are persisting with a private member's bill to phase out the trade. But its future is very uncertain. The government is unlikely to allow the bill to go to a vote and the MPs say they are not willing to team up with Labor and crossbenchers to seize control of the House of Representatives and force a vote.

The Coalition is criticising AGL for its rejection of Alinta's offer to buy the Liddell coal-fired power station.

Julie Bishop and Steven Ciobo have been trying to mend fences with China. Bishop has been talking with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at a meeting in Argentina and Ciobo has just returned from a trip to Shanghai.

and have been trying to mend fences with China. Bishop has been talking with Chinese counterpart at a meeting in Argentina and Ciobo has just returned from a trip to Shanghai. Officials revealed that 250 people who attended the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games as athletes and in other associated roles have stayed in Australia. 205 have applied for other visas and are considered lawful. 50 have made no contact with the government and are considered to be in Australia illegally.

We still do not know when the "super Saturday" of five byelections will be. Speaker Tony Smith hopes to provide an update later this week.

My name is Fergus Hunter. Photos today have been from Alex Ellinghausen and Dominic Lorrimer.

You can find me on Facebook and Twitter. And feel free to send me your feedback and hot tips at fergus.hunter@fairfaxmedia.com.au.

See you in the morning.London: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have thanked the well-wishers who took part in their marriage celebrations as they released three official wedding pictures.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, who wed on Saturday during a moving ceremony that reflected the diversity of modern Britain, are said to be feeling "so lucky" to have shared their big day with the thousands gathered in Windsor.

In one of the wedding photos, taken by Alexi Lubomirski, Harry and Meghan are pictured with the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the bride's mother Doria Ragland and the young bridesmaids and pageboys, including Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, centre, in Windsor Castle with (from left, back row) Jasper Dyer, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Doria Ragland, Prince William; (centre row) Brian Mulroney, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Rylan Litt, John Mulroney; (front row) Ivy Mulroney, Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren, Remi Litt. Credit:Alexi Lubomirski/Kensington Palace

A second image shows the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they now are known, just with the children."There have already been two journalists killed by the Mafia inside the European Union, both investigating Mafia stories and stories that domestic governments were not looking into," said Pauline Ades-Mevel, who is responsible for the European desk at Reporters Without Borders, an advocacy group for press freedom. Loading "Italy is historically the country that has felt the Mafia the most, and has a dozen of journalists under 24-hour police protection," Ades-Mevel said. "That doesn't happen in other countries." Among those journalists is Lirio Abbate, a Mafia expert with the magazine L'Espresso, who has been under protection for 11 years, since police thwarted a bomb attack in front of his house in Palermo. Federica Angeli, a reporter with La Repubblica, and her family have been under police escort for five years. And Roberto Saviano, the author of Gomorrah, a best-selling book, movie and TV series about the Neapolitan crime syndicate, has been under escort since 2006. For Borrometi, it took just a year of reporting on the secret businesses and clandestine political ties of the Mafia in south-eastern Sicily for his independent news website, La Spia (The Spy), before criminals menaced him. In five years, he got hundreds of death threats from local mobsters.

Borrometi, who trained as a lawyer, started writing for local papers when he was 17, inspired by a Sicilian investigative reporter, Giovanni Spampinato, who was killed by the Mafia in the 1970s. He started his own website five years ago. His first investigation, on Mafia infiltrations among top officials in the town of Scicli, contributed to the government's decision to dissolve City Hall. His articles pull no punches. They detail the connections between political powers and the mob, naming names, and accompanied by photographs. "People need to know who they are when they meet them at the bar," he said. At first, his articles prompted vandalism against him and late night phone calls. But things got physical after he began writing a series of stories that showed how Sicily's largest fruit and vegetable market was controlled by mobsters. He was feeding his dog outside his country home, when two men jumped him, grabbed his right arm, and twisted it behind his back until his shoulder muscles tore in three places.

"The only words the attackers told me that day were, 'Mind your own business,' or 'This is only the first warning,' or a Sicilian, less polite, version of it," Borrometi recalled. Almost five years later, he still can't move his shoulder properly. That didn't stop him from continuing to report on the Mafia and taking a number of the Mafiosi who threatened him to court. One night, after a fire attack almost burned down his apartment, police decided to put him under full-time protection. The Mafia wasn't cowed. "We'll cut your head off, even inside a police station," the local Mafia boss said in a public post on social media.

His reporting  and police investigations  have by now exposed a wider network of Mafia affiliates who move produce from the fruit and vegetable market in Vittoria, Sicily, to the rest of Italy and Europe, in affiliation with other criminal groups. He found out that one of the companies growing the famed Pachino tomato, a special cherry tomato certified by Italy's Agriculture Ministry, was owned by the sons of two prominent mobsters. One of them had spent more than two decades in jail for Mafia ties, and was now working for his son's company. The news spread, and the ministry took notice and cut the company off from the list of businesses that can sell Pachino tomatoes. Not only did the mobsters feel under attack by a reporter, they were out millions of euros in lost revenue. Last month, the mobsters decided to scale up their threats. Police say they intercepted a Sicilian mobster while he was discussing a plot with his sons to kill Borrometi with a car bomb. "We need a 'firework' like those in the 1990s, when one couldn't even walk on the streets," said the man, who was caught on a police wiretap. "A death every once in a while is useful, so that all the whippersnappers calm down a little."And despite the tea-party rallying cry that Americans were taxed enough already, the recent Republican tax cut was deeply unpopular. What is popular: the Democratic plan to raise taxes on wealthier Americans, which more than three-quarters of Americans support.

Democrats need to have a popular platform, because out-of-control Republican gerrymandering means they will have to win the popular vote in 2018 by as much as 11 points in order to win the majority of House seats. And the rash of voter restriction laws passed in the past decade make that even more of an uphill climb.

There is one tea-party problem the Democrats will face, even with their popular agenda. Should they win majorities in Congress, they will still have to govern. And even without the Republicans' dysfunctional coalition dynamics, that is still a tall order. For one, until 2021 the White House will be under Republican control, meaning the president will have the ability to veto any legislation that passes through Congress. But even passing something through Congress will be difficult, as routine filibuster motions have made it so that laws that should require a bare majority now need 60 votes to pass.

Add in a cut-throat partisanship that makes it unlikely any Republicans will crossover to vote for compromise measures, and the Democrats will need to have a strict party unity that can be difficult to manage in a diverse coalition (though Nancy Pelosi managed it in her time as Speaker from 2007 to 2011  one reason she might return as speaker if Democrats win a majority, despite progressive opposition to her).

A blue wave is not inevitable. But the challenges Democrats face are often misdiagnosed as media outlets look to make the story of the election one of process and dysfunction rather than the fairly straightforward story of a party with a popular agenda against an unpopular president looking to overcome some structural challenges. It's a less sexy story, but a far more accurate one.The Sunday lunch rush was underway at the Surf and Turf Lodge in Bessemer City, North Carolina. Inside the eatery's rustic interior of wooden plank walls, Roger Self, a former police officer turned private investigator, was eating appetisers with his family.

Around noon, the 62-year-old got up from the table. The family believed he was just using the bathroom, the Gaston Gazette later reported.

Moments later, waiter Brandon Wilson was heading to check on the table when a sound shattered the dining room.

"I saw a white Jeep just fly past my face," Wilson told the Gazette. "It was so unreal. I saw chairs and tables and cups just flying everywhere. It just sounded like a tornado."New Haven: Hillary Clinton returned to Yale University this weekend, warning the graduating class of the "tumultuous times" that await them and using the school's tradition of over-the-top headwear at the event to rib President Donald Trump with her own unusual hat: a Russian fur cap.

Hillary Clinton holds up a Russian fur hat, an ushanka, with a Soviet era hammer and sickle emblem, to the Yale College class of 2018 during her Class Day address at Yale University Credit:AP

The audience laughed as she said, "If you can't beat them, join them."

Clinton says she's concerned about the country's political polarisation but believes the current crop of graduates is prepared to rise to the challenge.

Clinton delivered her address at Yale's Class Day, celebrated the Sunday before degrees are handed out.NA hands over track to north

After opening the track for the Mailung-Syaphrubesi section of the shortest India-Nepal-China overland route, the Nepal Army has handed over the 17 km stretch to the government.Santa Fe, Texas: In his 23-year career on the Houston police force, patrolling rough neighbourhoods and working investigations, Officer John Barnes never had to fire his gun in a confrontation, his stepfather said.

But on Friday, four months into his new job on the force that serves the Santa Fe Independent School District, gunshots erupted in the hallways and classrooms of the high school where Barnes was working.

He and the force's assistant chief ran toward the noise, and as Barnes confronted the 17-year-old gunman, he took a shotgun blast to his right arm. His gun was out and his arm was extended, family members said, but it was not clear whether he had fired.

As he lay bleeding on the floor of the school, Barnes urged the other officer to leave him behind and see to the students, according to his stepfather, Ronald Hatchett. The other officer later returned and tied a tourniquet around Barnes' arm.Latest News CBA launches new digital lending product New product for SMEs seeks to break down barrier of property collateral

Data expert explains how Byrons property market has exploded Near 30% rise in some areas, double digit across the board  inside the Aussie property boom

As more Australians borrow against alternative forms of income, brokers are being challenged to source alternative lenders capable of meeting demand. Three major non-banks discuss the trend

PEPPER MONEY

NON-STANDARD INCOME

The way Australians work has reall changed over the last 20 years. More people are working for themselves, doing more than one job, or working different sorts of hours.

The ABS says 17% of Aussies are self-employed, with around one million being independent contractors. And we don't all do a 40-hour week; nearly a third of us work part-time. That's why proof of standard income is often something many customers don't have when it comes to applying for a home loan.

Lending to a customer with non-standard income has been around for many years, but in recent times the big banks appetite for this type of lending has been reducing  right at the time that the number of people earning non-standard income is surging. We all have a friend who is self-employed and doing their best to get ahead, or know a family who have their rental property on Airbnb.

Research carried out by Pepper Money last year showed that more than a quarter (26%) of Aussies surveyed were turned down for a loan because they were either self-employed or worked part-time.

At Pepper, we believe that everyone deserves a fair go, not just a PAYG earner. Thats why well consider different sources of income when evaluating loan applications. That may include income from part-time employment, rental income, regular government payments, and allowances like Centrelink payments, child support payments or pensions.

The opportunity

When thinking about where the opportunities lie, its important to consider if the industrys definition of non-standard income needs to change. We all know that the definition of prime lending has altered over time and the industry has accepted the inclusion of near prime as a category. But have we acknowledged that what we accept as a customers primary source of income in support of a home loan application may need to change?

Our research found that 42% of Australians dont feel as if their financial institution understands their needs and financial goals

With more people earning or receiving alternative forms of income, we know that the growth in this type of lending will only continue  and the big banks appetite for anything outside of the norm is diminishing. Thats a lot of people potentially missing out on receiving home loan finance.

The question for the industry is: are we keeping up with the changing dynamics and needs of the common Australian? Our research found that 42% of Australians dont feel as if their financial institution understands their needs and financial goals. They also feel that their financial institution doesnt fully understand their real-life situation.

Broker impact

Lots of brokers shy away from customers with non-standard income, but they shouldnt. In future, they may be missing out on a lot of new business. Thats why Pepper Money made it even easier for brokers to help their customers through its unique tool, the Pepper Product Selector. It takes all the hard work out of searching for and identifying the right product and can be utilised specifically for borrowers with non-standard income.

Were not just talking self-employed borrowers. While there are few statistics on this phenomenon in Australia, last year US television network CNBC found that employment in the gig economy characterised by temporary jobs and part-time contracts  was growing far faster than traditional payroll employment. That scenario could easily play out in Australia too.

BLUESTONE MORTGAGES

SME AND SELF-EMPLOYED LENDING

Since our inception in 2001, Bluestone Mortgages has actively provided alternative financial solutions to self-employed and credit-impaired borrowers. This strategy actualised an existing opportunity to provide otherwise unavailable products that directly meet the needs of two core groups. At this point, the company also focused its vision on an emerging sector: SMEs.

SMEs are the engine room of the Australian economy and equate to 69% of the workforce. This is a sizeable and often underserved market segment, representing a significant and ongoing opportunity. Brokers who embrace SMEs tap into the most powerful economic voice in Australia.

Since the year 2000, Bluestone Mortgages has originated more than $7.8bn worth of loans, helping more than 49,000 customers. Today Bluestone retains its stronghold as a leading provider of financial solutions for the self-employed. Our volumes of self-employed borrowers are at an all-time high, comprising 59% of total business, which represents a 76% year-on-year rise.

The opportunity

The ripple effect as the big banks tighten controls has resulted in a constant stream of self-employed borrowers being driven to non-bank lenders that cater specifically to the segment. This movement is being compounded by an increasing volume of borrowers who are also being classified as credit-impaired due to the restricted lending criteria. The increasing demand correlates with immediate opportunity for brokers to be solution providers to a growing swell of borrowers. This is particularly pertinent at a time of growing pressure on the industry to provide recommendations that genuinely address a clients circumstances.

We also suggest brokers develop relationships with accountants, particularly those with small-business clients, who can help them assess the options

And theres another long-term benefit to helping small businesses solve their problems: clients who need specialist help tend to remain loyal to the broker who helped them  even when they become mainstream borrowers.

If you have taken the time to understand their needs, and not just with their home loan, you can become a one-stop shop helping them with everything from asset finance to short-term finance, business funding, lines of credit, commercial property loans and/or insurance. Further, if you can successfully position yourself as a broker with a deep knowledge of the specialist lending market, other brokers will pass off their more difficult clients to you  to your benefit. We also suggest brokers develop relationships with accountants, particularly those with small-business clients, who can help them assess the options.

Broker impact

One of the biggest threats for brokers is being a one-trick pony. Embracing diversification continues to be important for brokers to strengthen their offering and get a competitive edge in an increasingly saturated market. Its also a crucial tool that helps deepen client relationships and enhance a brokers advisory capacity.

The SME landscape will continue to evolve and mature, which is expected to correlate with a market that is increasingly receptive to alternative financial solutions. This represents significant and sizeable opportunities for brokers to meet the growing demand for specialist lending, and those who embrace this segment will be in a much more robust position than those reliant on a linear residential portfolio.

As the SME market continues to expand, demand for specialist lending and near-prime products will increase. Simultaneously, the uptake of alternative lending solutions will continue to rise as the big banks tighten control and knock back more and more borrowers who would have previously been issued prime loans. So in short, the opportunity will continue to evolve as both the climate and SME sector continue to flourish.

LIBERTY FINANCIAL

SELF-INVESTMENT

Over the last three to four years, we have seen increased interest from brokers in professional development days, in addition to high attendance levels at lending seminars and other specialist education events. This indicates a significant shift among brokers in the marketplace towards self-development, professional education and continued learning.

The fact is, brokers are realising that they must invest in themselves, their knowledge and their product base, but above all they must invest in their personal brand in order to generate a steady stream of business.

This isnt simply about being more innovative, but about creating relevance. If brokers are not investing in themselves and their business, both will quickly lose their momentum

Today, through social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook its possible for brokers to tell their existing clients, potential future clients and also their peers about the things they stand for, believe in and are motivated by. This unparalleled reach allows brokers to develop their network online as well as off and to broaden their scope of work. Crucially, once a point of critical mass has been achieved, a growing online network positions the broker as a person of interest in other networks, and they can therefore attract better referrals.

The opportunity

At Liberty Financial, an innovative and flexible approach to finance has allowed us to help more than 270,000 customers by advancing over $25bn in funds. However, most consumers are very time-poor: they need personal loans, home loans, car loans and other products and are very happy to engage with a person who can help them obtain that finance. This deepens the relationship between the broker and consumer, and the next step is for brokers to work on generating repeat business from these clients. Today we see customers who took out their home loan a year ago and havent heard from their broker since. Brokers need to have a deeper understanding of their clients financial needs in order to meet them, and this is dependent on education, as well as the positioning of that all-important personal brand.

This isnt simply about being more innovative, but about creating relevance. If brokers are not investing in themselves and their business, both will quickly lose their momentum.

Broker impact

People have a preconceived notion that certain loan products are difficult to process and sell, but its time to bust that myth. When a broker lodges their first loan application its a difficult process, but by the time they have done 10 its much easier. Its time to realise that different doesnt necessarily mean difficult  once everything is stripped away, the only thing that changes between loan products is the asset.

As brokers embrace this trend, they are showing the world  online, offline, client, lender or otherwise  that they are investing in their own professional development. The lender can observe how the broker is building their skills, business and client base, and this in itself is attractive to them, often inspiring them to support further investment in the best brokers.

Lenders, like everyone else, want the best possible outcomes for borrowers and will therefore back the brokers who pursue these.

The key takeaway is that self-investment allows a broker to broaden their product suite. They can provide more services to the customer and generate greater engagement with them, much to the benefit of all involved.Latest News CBA launches new digital lending product New product for SMEs seeks to break down barrier of property collateral

Data expert explains how Byrons property market has exploded Near 30% rise in some areas, double digit across the board  inside the Aussie property boom

With less than three months to go until National Finance Brokers Day (NFBD) organisers are pushing out information to consumers.

Founder Dino Pacella has given five tips to picking a good broker, stressing the importance of building a good relationship.

Now in its third year, NFBD will take place on 15 August in Sydney. The aim of the day is not only to promote the benefits of using a broker, but also the human element between a broker and a consumer.

The The 5 secrets to finding a great Finance Broker list focuses heavily on the relationship brokers build.

Speaking to Australian Broker, Pacella said that brokers need to make sure their clients feel confident at such an important time.

Ask around and use social media

The first item on the list encourages customers to seek recommendations and look at social media for more information.

Pacella said, Its critical for a broker to build the business on that basis. If brokers go and potentially build that relationship and have the ability and skill level to ask for a referral based on the service they provided, it gives them another touch point to contact the client.

Use my broker barometer

The second point tells consumers to ask questions like: what is the brokers specialty? What lenders do they like using and why? Whats their number one tip on helping you repay your loan fastest?

Pacella added, Its important for the customer to get that level of confidence on who theyre going to be doing business with and lets face it doing this lending its a serious transaction, so the customer wants to feel theyre in capable and trustworthy hands.

So from a brokers perspective, its I want to show you that I am an expert in that field and youve come to the right person to be able to assist in what you need to get done and cross it over the line.

Are they invested in you?

Thirdly, Pacella tells customers to really consider how invested their broker is. He tells brokers its not just about sending a simple happy birthday text anymore.

Its about knowing the customer and knowing everything about the customer beyond just what they want on that application, he added.

Its knowing the customer wants to buy their first home, that theyre planning to have a family in the next 12 months, one applicant might be up for a promotion and when he gets that promotion they might be looking at getting an investment property . It gets you into their lives, so whenever they do one of those things they say Ive already spoken to my broker about that, he or she already knows what I want to do, Ill give them a call and well just run with the discussion.

Youre becoming part of their life, not just a part of their transaction.

Do your due diligence

He also tells them to be diligent and to make sure their broker is licenced and part of an industry body, as well as ask about their latest success.

He said, Again its their level of confidence, to make sure that brokers licenced, that the stuff theyve researched up on, that that broker can do that and can deliver it. Particularly around ethical standards they want to ensure that the broker theyre doing business with on that serious transaction has all the qualifications and has ticked all the boxes and that they can actually do business as they say they would.

I dont think brokers take out their certificates, but its about that level of confidence that theyre dealing with an industry professional.

Go with your gut

Lastly, he tells the customer to go with your gut, saying there needs to be a rapport and they should feel that the broker can answer all their concerns.

To brokers he said, Its ensuring everything you do youre transparent with the customer, so if youve gone out and youve spoken to 10 BDMs to get the right response, let your customer know that. Dont be afraid to inform them about the amount of work that youve done and tell them youre doing that because youre placing them at the centre of everything you do.

Brokers need to have a clear outline in regards to a communication strategy with their clients from start to finish and beyond. So its not just off the whim there are consistent updates with what is happening with their application and then theres a consistent play or strategy that they use post settlement.

Its a confidence equals trust thing. Without that trust youre not going to do business with the person, youre not going to click with that person and youre not going to have that level of confidence that allows you to move forward.

You can view the original list here.

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Plans underway for National Finance Broker's Day 2018

Major bank creates role for customer focusLatest News CBA launches new digital lending product New product for SMEs seeks to break down barrier of property collateral

Data expert explains how Byrons property market has exploded Near 30% rise in some areas, double digit across the board  inside the Aussie property boom

An online business lender is aiming to raise around $146million through an initial public offering (IPO).

Prospa is expected to list the ASX on 6 June, offering shares at an offer price of $3.64 per share. The IPO was lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The majority of funds raised in the IPO will be used to fund growth in Prospas existing business model and for investing in new product categories and expansion into New Zealand.

While there will be no general public offering of shares, offers will include:

An institutional offer, which consists of an offer to Institutional Investors in Australia and certain other geographies

A Retail Offer, consisting of the: Broker Firm Offer, which is open to Australian retail clients and sophisticated New Zealand retail clients of Macquarie Equities, Crestone and JBWere; and Priority Offer, which is open to investors chosen by the Company; and

An Employee Offer, which is open to eligible Prospa employees.

The IPO will see long-term, London based venture capital investor Entree Capital support the offer to maintain its 34% stake in the company.

In addition, Australian based venture capital investors Airtree has invested an additional $3m giving it a stake in the company of 8.4%, whilst SquarePeg has invested an additional $10m, increasing their holding from 3.2% to 4.4%.

Chairman Greg Ruddock said on behalf of the Prospa Board that he was pleased to offer the opportunity to become a shareholder in the company.

He added, Prospa has flourished by offering fast, flexible loans to Australian small businesses that have historically been underserved by traditional banks. Since inception, Prospa has strategically invested in the two most important parts of our business, people and technology. This offer marks another stage of growth for the company, as we look to expand into new geographies and products.

Co-CEO Greg Moshal said, From the very beginning, Prospa has set out to be the market leader at what we do, lending to small businesses. And we have done this by obsessing about our customers and finding new ways to improve their chance of success by designing outstanding new customer solutions. Prospas success has been the result of a group of smart, talented and passionate people uniting around a common mission to change the way small businesses experience finance.

Co-CEO Beau Bertoli added, We started Prospa in 2012 because it was clear to us there had to be a better way. As first mover in a nascent market, Prospa has led the way in enabling small businesses to succeed. Listed life marks another milestone in our growth, however our approach to business wont change. We are relentlessly looking for a better way to operate, continuously innovating our products and business model and using data to make great decisions and better manage risk.

Post-IPO, Airtree and SquarePeg will be escrowed to the end of the forecast period.

Entree Capital and Prospas co-founders Greg Moshal and Beau Bertoli, chairman Greg Ruddock and non-executive director, Avi Eyal (co-founder and Managing Partner of Entree Capital) will be escrowed until the release of Prospas FY19 full year audited results.

Earlier this year Prospa confirmed the appointment of Greg Ruddock to the role of chairman of the board, and Gail Pemberton AO and Fiona Trafford-Walker as independent non-executive directors.

Related stories:

Mortgage marketplace seeks up to $5mSign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC

Nerd is the Word!

The Bushwick creator of a clothing line and magazine for geeky girls will launch a new monthly meet-up for ladies of a nerdy persuasion on May 26. The Sartorial Geek Happy Hour, happening at Word bookstore, is exactly the kind of in-person get-together that Jordan Ellis was looking for when she launched her brand, Jordandene, in 2011.

Through having the clothing company, weve gotten to meet so many cool and interesting people in the community, but it was kind of frustrating that we didnt have a way to share any of the stories of the cool people we had met, said Ellis. We wanted to do something that expanded the community aspect of the business that we loved so much.

Elliss quarterly magazine, also called The Sartorial Geek, is another way to reach out to the under-served nerdy girl community. The first issue, which launched in March  $5 in print, $1.99 online, free for Jordandenes email subscribers  features a profile on Brooklyn designer Allison Cimino, who created a line of Black Pantherthemed jewelry, and a review of Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre. Ellis said the contributors are focused on telling stories that may be otherwise ignored.

We really are interested in covering stories that may not have a platform to be covered otherwise, she said. Our fall issue is going to be about science and sci-fi  I want to talk to people behind the scenes who work at different space programs or even science teachers who dont necessarily have articles written about them.

Each of the monthly events at Word will complement the magazines coverage of nerd culture, starting with first party on May 26, which will double as a memorial for the fallen superheroes of Avengers: Infinity War  the latest nerdy pop culture sensation. The night will feature gift bags and alcoholic shots named after Avengers antagonist Thanoss tears, Ellis said.

Were having sort of a recap and a celebration  we lost some characters in the movie, so its sort of to honor them, she said. I think [future events] will be tied to something in the geeky community  it might not necessarily be a movie, but itll be something relevant and nerdy.

The Sartorial Geek Happy Hour at Word Bookstore (126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, www.wordb ookst ores.com ). May 26 at 7 pm. $12 ($10 in advance).Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC

Jews and Muslims broke Halal and Kosher bread together at an interfaith dinner for iftar  the nightly meal during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan  on Thursday. One Midwood attendee of the event said such displays of coexistence are extra important now considering tensions between the two groups in the Middle East.

If ever time people come together as Americans and Brooklynites, this is the time, said Benjamin W Schaeffer. When people interact can appreciate those shared values.

The Kings Bay Y, a Jewish community center in Sheepshead Bay, hosted the May 17 event in partnership with the Turkish Cultural Center of Brooklyn  also in Sheepshead Bay. Kosher and Halal food was available, students played music, and an imam educated the audience on Ramadan, when Muslims fast while the sun is out. The meal was open to people of all faiths.

The dinner is part of a youth program the Y coordinates for Jewish and Muslim students, where they learn about each others religions. The educational talks by rabbis and imams, coupled with fun get-togethers like the iftar, help Jews and Muslims grow closer in southern Brooklyn, no matter what happens in the rest of the world, according to the director of teen services at the Kings Bay Y.

Many issues set Muslims and Jews apart. This event shows were still united, said Tomer Kornfeld. It was imperative to have.

The community center has hosted the iftar since 2013. Its interfaith program includes Muslim students from the Brooklyn Amity School, which has a large Turkish-American population, and Jewish students who are part of the Kings Bay Y. One Amity 12th grader said such interfaith meet-ups taught her that the two Abrahamic traditions arent so different.

I learned a lot about Judaism that I didnt before, said Nihal Catkal. There are a lot of similarities between the two.Sign up for our PoliticsNY newsletter for the latest coverage and to stay informed about the 2021 elections in your district and across NYC

Talk about a clean break.

Park Slopes historic Fourth Avenue bathhouse belongs to a new owner, after the developer that spent more than $12 million to buy and renovate the landmarked structure off-loaded it for a cool $10 million  money it will reinvest in projects elsewhere in the neighborhood, where the builder is finishing work on a residential tower next door to the old baths.

Park Slope and Gowanus are two very strong neighborhoods that are showing growth in the rental market, said Greystone Development bigwig Cian Hamill.

And although Greystone spent roughly $2 million more to purchase and fix up the Brooklyn Lyceum than it raked in from the recent sale, Hamill said the extra costs to flip the leaky old facility were worth every penny, because buying it allowed the developer to freely transfer air-rights above the Lyceum to its neighbor at 225 Fourth Ave., where the builder is erecting a 13-story, 63-unit rental complex that it expects to open this fall.

We initially purchased the property with the vacant lot in mind, and were able to secure the air rights to 225, he said. Overall it was a very successful investment for us.

In 2014, the developer paid $7.6 million to purchase the neo-classical Lyceum that opened back in 1910 as Public Bath No. 7, where residents of nearby tenement buildings could freshen up until indoor plumbing arrived at their complexes later that century.

Greystone then pumped an additional $5 million into the once-decrepit bathhouses three-year renovation  a restoration that private preservationists at the New York Landmarks Conservancy recognized with a Lucy G. Moses Award for excellence in preservation earlier this month, more than 30 years after the agency designated the baths as a landmark in 1984.

Hamill refused to say who scooped up the property, but documents filed with the citys Finance Department listed the buyer as a limited-liability corporation called 227 Lyceum.

The buildings current tenant, gym Blink Fitness  which signed a long-term lease for the space following its renovation  wont be affected by the sale, however, according to Hammill, who said the sweat spot will simply pay its rent to the new landlord until its lease expires in 2033.

And Greystones high-rise at 225 Fourth Ave. isnt the only new tower in the works on the thoroughfare  another condo complex going up nearby at 269 Fourth Ave. will stand 12-stories tall when builder New Empire Real Estate Development completes the jagged, Tetris-block-like structure sometime late next year.The popular perception is that Flipkart has ruled the roost in India, at least in recent times. The much-talked about mega deal with Walmart presumably gave it an even bigger advantage over Amazon. But a recent Citi Research report reportedly pegged Amazon India's market share at 30 per cent - the same as the Bangalore-based company - and valued it at $16 billion. Of course, the recent Walmart acquisition of Flipkart valued the latter much higher at $20-22 billion.

According to media reports, the Citi Research note added that "We believe the India e-commerce market will grow at a 21 per cent CAGR over the next 10 years to $202 billion, that Amazon could capture 35 per cent of this market and that the company could generate more than $10 billion in revenue and nearly $1.5 billion in FCF (free cash flow) by 2027." The report's authors Mark May and Hao Yan added that it is poised to grow at 23 per cent annually until 2027, taking Amazon India to $70 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) and $11 billion in revenue.

The duo, according to The Economic Times, used a discounted cash flow model to arrive at Amazon India's valuation and the numbers don't take into account its growing cloud business here, which has been valued separately. "Most of the value of Amazon right now comes from the dominant retail position in North America and AWS business. Right now, India is very marginal. But these companies are here today because they know in 5-10 years, India will be a big economy where they need market share," Rahul Chowdhri, a partner at venture capital firm Stellaris, told the daily.

Amazon India's current GMV is estimated to be around $5 billion, while Flipkart and its subsidiary Myntra recorded GMV of $7.5 billion in the last fiscal. But Jeff Bezos' India arm fully intends to aggressively play catch up. According to Forbes, the authors also pointed out that "Amazon's founder and CEO Jeff Bezos had mentioned last year that he learned a key lesson in China that he does not plan to repeat in India - not being aggressive enough, and not investing enough."

To remind you, Bezos has already announced a $5 billion war chest for India. Then, in his latest annual letter to shareholders, Amazon's head listed India among the company's "recent milestones" saying that "Amazon.in is the fastest growing marketplace in India and the most visited site on both desktop and mobile". He also mentioned that Prime added more members in India in its first year than any previous geography in Amazon's history. Incidentally, 13 years post-launch, Prime members globally now exceed 100 million.

The same bullish attitude on India was reiterated on an earnings call after announcing the results. "We'll continue to invest in India where we're seeing great progress with both sellers and also customers. And we like the momentum we've seen there," said Brian Olsavsky, the company's CFO, adding, "We're adding local content in India, video content. We're also adding other benefits, Prime benefits. We're rolling out devices there, and we're seeing Indian developers developing skills for Alexa."

So the bottomline is that the fact that Amazon India is yet to post a profit - on the contrary, Amazon's international business posted a 29 per cent jump in losses in the quarter ended March, most due to India - isn't going to scare it away.

In fact, last month it announced plans to set up five more warehouses in as many cities, including Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Mumbai, in order to strengthen its delivery capabilities and take on Flipkart. With this new addition, Amazon will have 67 fulfilment centres in 13 states, with a total storage capacity of over 20 million cubic feet, it said in a statement. These FCs are scheduled to be fully operational before the festive season of 2018.

With pundits plotting India as one of the world's fastest growing e-commerce markets, you can safely expect the fight for this red-hot pie to get even more aggressive here on. Apart from arch rivals Amazon India and now Walmart-controlled Flipkart, there's Paytm E-commerce Pvt Ltd. The relatively new entrant is not to be taken lightly since it is backed by China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and the buzz is that SoftBank is considering investing as much as $3 billion more in it.

And customers can look forward to even more discounts and promotions thanks to this rapidly-unfolding three-way race.NEA warns of fine if power line project delayed

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has warned the contractor for the Solu Corridor transmission line project that it is liable to pay a fine if the power line and substation are not completed within the stipulated time.The extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of Fortis shareholders called on February 22 will be a dud affair since the meeting was called to eject four directors from the board of the company, three of whom have already resigned. East Bridge Capital and National Westminster Bank which hold 12.04 per cent of the company's equity had requisitioned the EGM to remove 4 directors -- Brian Tempest, Lt Gen Tejinder S Shergill, Harpal Singh and Sabina Vaisoha.

The EGM will also not discuss the most critical issue of which of the four bids for Fortis to accept because that's not in the agenda of the meeting. Instead, it will only approve the appointment of the three new directors-Suvalaxmi Chakraborty, Ravi Rajagopal and Indrajit Banerjee.

Fortis' largest shareholder, Yes Bank, has asked the board to consider all the bids (binding as well as non-binding) despite the board recommending the Munjal-Burman offer. However, that's not on the EGM agenda. It will need to be decided by the new board. The newly constituted board's meeting is expected after the EGM on Tuesday. Another shareholders' meeting will need to be called to approve whichever bid the new board recommends.

Lt Gen Tejinder S Shergill, Harpal Singh and Sabina Vaisoha tendered their resignations a day before the board meeting at the Air Force Auditorium in New Delhi on Tuesday. The fourth Brian Tempest is the chairman of the board and will continue for now. Industry observers believe shareholders may not insist on Tempest's ejection since he's considered a professional.

While Shergill said he was resigning as there were sufficient members on the board, both Harpal Singh and Vaisoha said they were resigning due to shareholders' disapproval to their continuation on the board.

These four board members had submitted an open letter earlier this month explaining their decisions and justifying them asking shareholders to take an informed call during the May 22 EGM. They were all appointed by promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh. While Harpal Singh is Malvinder's father-in-law; Tempest is former CEO of Ranbaxy Laboratories, the company that was sold to Japan's Daiichi Sankyo in 2008; Shergill is a member of the board of other group companies and Vaisoha is a Singh family friend.

However, since the Singh family had lost control of the shareholding of the company once bankers invoked their shares pledged against the loans taken, shareholders have been demanding reconstitution of the board of directors.

On May 14, Manipal-TPG revised their offer for Fortis to Rs 180 per share from its earlier offer of Rs 160 apiece, which is 8 per cent higher than the current winner Munjal-Burman combine. This would require investing Rs 2,100 crore into Fortis as against Munjal-Burman's proposal of Rs 1,800 crore.

On May 17, IHH sent a letter to the Fortis board that it is "strongly committed" to participate in the bid for Fortis and keen to understand what the board planned to do in wake of Manipal-TPG's revised offer. "If there is indeed a new bid process that the Board is proposing to initiate, we would like to participate in such a process and request that we be kept informed of any developments regarding the same," said IHH Healthcare MD and CEO Tan See Leng, adding that the company has extended the acceptance period of its "enhanced revised" bid to May 29. IHH will invest Rs 650 crore into Fortis right away at Rs 175 per share, followed by another Rs 3,350 crore after a week's due diligence.

Earlier, the board of Fortis had recommended the bid formed by a consortium of Sunil Kant Munjal of Hero Enterprises and the Burman family of the Dabur group. They proposed immediate equity infusion of Rs 800 crore in Fortis at Rs 167 per share through a preferential allotment, besides another Rs 1,000 crore through a preferential issue of warrants at Rs 176 apiece.

The fourth bid is from KKR- backed Radiant Life Care at Rs 165 per share. Radiant Life Care Pvt. Ltd, a hospital chain backed by private equity major Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., or KKR, also raised the pitch after entering the race for the hospital chain with a binding proposal to buy Fortis Mulund for Rs 1,200 crore without any due diligence. The move, it said, would provide immediate liquidity of Rs 680 crore to Fortis. Radiant plans to demerge Fortis' hospital business and buy a 26% stake in the new entity, which will exclude SRL.

Also read: Another twist in Fortis sale? Yes Bank tells board to consider all offersThe private wealth of Indians shot up 25 per cent between 2016 and 2017, taking the country to the sixth spot among the world top 10 wealthiest countries - one rank higher than in 2016. If you think that's impressive, consider this: Between 2017 and 2027, India's wealth is projected to grow by a whopping 200 per cent, the fastest rate among the wealthiest nations. In the bargain, the AfrAsia Bank Global Wealth Migration Review 2018 sees India's wealth ballooning from $8,230 billion to $24,691 billion within a decade to make it the fourth wealthiest nation. The country has already posted a 160 per cent increase in private wealth in the past decade.

According to the report, the United States is currently the wealthiest country in the world with a total wealth of $62,584 billion, followed by China ($24,803 billion) and Japan ($19,522 billion). And a decade on, they will continue to rule the roost, but the wealth will multiply far slower than in India. Total wealth in the report refers to the private wealth held by all the individuals living in each country, including all their assets (property, cash, equities, business interests) less any liabilities. But government funds have been excluded.

Globally, the total private wealth held worldwide amounts to around $215 trillion and there are around 15.2 million high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in the world, each with net assets of $1 million or more. India is home to 330,400 HNWIs and 20,730 multi-millionaires (individuals with $10 million or more in net assets). In fact, it ranks seven out of the top 10 countries with the most multi-millionaires.

India fares even better when it comes to producing billionaires, individuals with $1 billion or more in net assets. India is home to 119 billionaires, the highest in the world after the US (737 billionaires) and China (249). Things are only likely to accelerate here on, if the country's expanding unicorn club is anything to go by.

According to AfrAsia Bank, a large number of entrepreneurs is not the only factor that will fuel wealth multiplication in India. A good educational system and a robust outlook for IT, business process outsourcing, real estate, healthcare and media sectors are expected to play a significant role, too.

The reports added that the top 10 cities to look out for in the coming decade are Colombo, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai - already the world 12th wealthiest city with total wealth pegged at $950 billion - Delhi, Kolkata, Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Hangzhou (China) and Port Louis (Mauritius). Noted how India hogs the list?

"The big 7 wealth markets in Asia (also known as the "Asia7") are all expected to perform well in terms of wealth growth over the next 10 years [see table]. We expect co-operation and trade between these 7 countries to accelerate going forward, allowing them to surpass Europe to become the most powerful alliance of countries in the world," said the report.

But the report also put the spotlight on inequality spawned by the massive wealth creation worldwide. In India, HNWIs account for 48 per cent of the country's wealth. "If HNWIs control over 40 per cent of a country's wealth then there is very little space for a meaningful middle class. Ideally the ratio should be less than 30 per cent," said the report. The most unequal countries in the world are Saudi Arabia (HNWIs holding 60 per cent of the country's wealth), Russia (58 per cent), Nigeria (56 per cent), Brazil (53 per cent) and Turkey (52 per cent). Even China fares better than India in this context with its HNWIs accounting for 40 per cent of its wealth. In contrast, Japan (23 per cent) is the most equal country in the world.

Other countries in the top 10 wealthiest list currently includes the UK ($9,919 billion), Germany ($9,660 billion), Australia ($6,142 billion), Canada ($6,393 billion), France ($6,649 billion) and Italy ($4,276 billion). Over the next 10 years, Australia is expected to overtake Canada and gain significant ground on Germany and the UK.

Global wealth is expected to rise by 50 per cent over the next decade, reaching $321 trillion by 2027. Clearly, Generation Z - those born after 1995 - is in for a really good ride.

With PTI inputsThe Maharashtra government is likely to knock at the door of World Bank again for the credit capital to fund its ambitious projects, especially after farm loan waiver dented the state's exchequer. The Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis-led delegation plans to visit Washington to meet the World Bank president for seeking financial aid for agriculture and solar energy projects, reported Mumbai Mirror. According to sources, the state government is also facing financial constraints in funding projects like urban transport and smart cities.

In March 2017, the World Bank proposed a financial assistance of $1 billion to Maharashtra in critical projects related to urban transport, smart cities, renewable energy and separate agriculture feeder in two to three years, in addition to the climate-resilient agriculture practices. The World Bank Board of Executive Directors, in February, approved a $420 million project to increase climate resilience in agriculture for small and marginal farmers and the final agreement was signed in April. The project is expected to benefit over 25 million people spread over 5,142 villages across 15 most climate vulnerable districts of Marathwada and Vidarbha regions.

The credit shortage of Maharashtra is primarily because of the Rs 34,000 crore farm loan waiver announced last year following high number of farmer suicides and agitations across the state. Thanks to the one-time waiver of Rs 16,703.59 crore that benefited more than 35 lakh farmers, the revenue deficit increased by 74 per cent to Rs 14,843 crore in the last financial year from Rs 8,536 crore in 2016-17. It is projected to increase by another 4 per cent to Rs 15,375 crores in 2018-19 as the government estimates to write off Rs 10,141.52 crore loans. The reports say that the state's finances will take further hit when the government implements the Seventh Pay Commission for employees. The Maharashtra government in March informed, the state Legislative Council that the Seventh Pay Commission arrears will be paid to its employees this year, and the move will put a burden of Rs 21,500 crore on the state exchequer.

When World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva visited Mumbai in March 2017, she said that the five core areas where the World Bank and the state would work include road connectivity, climate resilient agriculture, smart cities, renewable energy and separate agriculture feeder. The CEO had expressed her keenness to provide assistance in railway projects such as Mumbai Urban Transport (MUTP) 3, which requires Rs 10,085 crore investment and the central government allocated just Rs 519 crore in the last union budget.

Another World Bank project which is under implementation is Maharashtra Agricultural Competitiveness Project. In 2010, World Bank approved $100 million non-interest bearing credit to increase the productivity, profitability, and market access of the farming community in Maharashtra. The project aims to strengthen farmers' capacity through technical knowledge, market intelligence, and market networks to support diversification and intensification of agriculture production in responding to market demand. The project is expected to be concluded this year.

Maharashtra is the most affluent state in the country, both in terms of gross state domestic product (GSDP) and per capita income. According to the 2017-18 estimates, Maharashtra is expected to grow to $390 billion economy, followed by Uttar Pradesh ($225 billion), Tamil Nadu ($210 billion), Karnataka ($200 billion) and Gujarat ($199 billion). Maharashtra's 2016-17 per capita income of Rs 1,64,757 (at current prices) exceeds the country's per capita income of Rs 1,03,870 by almost 60 per cent. CM Fadnavis at the Make in Maharashtra summit in February said that he wants to catapult the state economy to $1 trillion by 2025.There is no question in the minds of the international community that steel consumption is bound to grow in India, for it is clear that the present generation already demands a better quality of life and the next generation certainly will. This is because the level of consumption of steel is known to be one of the key indices for measuring the quality of life.

Favourable outlook for steel consumption

After almost a decade of limping growth, the significant recovery of the global economy as well as that of the Global Steel Industry in 2017 also points to a favourable outlook for the Indian steel industry. While global production of crude steel at 1,691 million tonne (MT) noted a growth of 5.3 per cent in 2017 over the previous year, the estimated steel consumption rose to 1,622 MT. The latest Internal Monetary Fund projection has estimated the global economy is slated to grow at 3.9 per cent in 2018, and India's GDP is to move up by 7.4 per cent in 2018 as compared to 6.7 per cent in the previous year. The continued growth in GDP in India, in fact, indicates that major steel consuming segments such as construction, real estate/housing, capital goods/machinery, consumer goods, automobiles and energy sector shall benefit.

The housing and construction sector, where major chunk of steel is consumed, shall get a boost with increase in per capita incomes and social sector schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna-Housing for All, Sardar Patel Urban Housing Mission, 100 Smart Cities Mission (by 2022), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna, Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small & Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), Bharatmala project, 24x7 Power for All initiative (by 2019), Development of Industrial Corridors & National Investment & Manufacturing Zones, 75,000 MW Clean-Energy initiative (by 2022) and many others.

In a nutshell, with the increasing thrust on the "Make-in-India" vision by the Indian Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Indian steel industry itself will grow and will be in a position to supply the required quantities and grades of steel much needed by the end-users. This also given the fact that the per capita finished steel consumption remains at a dismal 60 kgs, in contrast with the world average of around 220 kgs. The recently formed Global Forum on Excess Steel Capacity has acknowledged India's capacity expansion of steel as a function of growing consumption in the domestic market.

Looming threat of imports, like in the past

In spite of clear signals of recovery today, it is important to keep in mind challenges of the past that plagued the industry. Over the past few years, the global steel industry has been reeling under the pressure of overcapacities, especially on account of those existing in China. With the growth in steel consumption slowing down in China in recent times, the Chinese steel producers have had no option but to rely on exports. This in turn has had an impact on high growth centres of steel consumption in "steel-non-mature" nations such as India. Additionally, depreciation of major currencies has led to a spurt in export by several countries like Russia and Ukraine. It was for these reasons that India saw an influx of imports beginning 2014-15 from several countries, including China. The surge in imports impacted the sentiment of the domestic steel market, with declining capacity utilisation rates of both the primary and secondary steel players. Additionally, erosion of margins, coupled with sluggish demand growth, made the Indian steel investors wary of returns on their investment. However, the Government of India came out proactively to provide a level playing field to Indian companies through imposition of anti-dumping and safeguard duties as well as minimum import prices, wherever injury to the industry was noteworthy.

Given the recent imposition of tariffs by the United States as an outcome Section 232 investigation of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the "steel-mature" countries like China, Japan, South Korea, etc. will look at India with immense interest. The Indian Steel Association has continued to highlight the long term distortions that such high level of cheap imports bring into the domestic market. Under the new global circumstances that pervade the trade scenario, imposition of Quality Control Order(s) is a step in the right direction by the Ministry of Steel to control imports of seconds and defectives into India, which jeopardise the safety of the Indian end-consumer.

Current challenges

The Indian Steel Industry continues to grapple with uncertainties pertaining to the availability and consistent supplies of raw materials i.e. both coal and iron ore still remain a challenge, with recent closure of mines in Goa adding to the woes of the industry. Even though the marked shift from an allocation process to an auction process of getting mining blocks has brought about considerable transparency; issues pertaining to transport logistics from the mining areas need to be sorted out to mitigate lag in evacuation of iron ore, coal and other minerals. Indian Steel Association has identified that "handholding" from the various state governments in such matters is very essential and has embarked upon bringing such issues to the attention of state government authorities, beginning with Odisha. Additionally, the resolution process of debt ridden steel companies currently underway at the NCLT shall necessitate a marked change in the structure of the industry.

Stress on investments and capacity addition by Indian steel companies

In spite of the threat of imports, Indian steel enterprises invested hugely into modernisation and expansion of their existing units as well as green-field plants to build a world class, cost competitive, environment-friendly and socially responsible industry. This is in line with the objectives of the National Steel Policy 2017 to increase the Per Capita Steel Consumption to 160 Kgs by 2030-31 from the current 60 kgs. This will necessitate a steel capacity of the tune of 300 MTPA from the current 128 MTPA. The Indian steel industry is fully geared for this, alongside stressing on remaining competitive. This can be substantiated from the fact that as per the list of 'World Class Steel Makers in the World' released by World Steel Dynamics in June 2017, 36 steel makers were classified as World Class Steel Makers out of more than 250 large steel makers in the world. Within the list of 36, six Steel Makers from India namely JSW Steel, SAIL, Tata Steel, JSPL, RINL & Essar Steel qualified as World Class. The steel industry is capable of achieving much more alongside contributing to public cause, as an increasingly enabling policy environment is provided by the Government.

(The writer is Secretary General, Indian Steel Association)New Delhi, May 20 (PTI) Noting that the world is at a critical stage in combatting climate change, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said today that the response of the developed nations to tackle the issue is still "not adequate".

He said this in his intervention at the 26th BASIC Ministerial Meeting of Environment Ministers in Durban. The grouping is a bloc of four countries - Brazil, South Africa, India and China - formed by an agreement on November 28, 2009.

"We are at a very critical stage, both in our efforts to combat climate change and in negotiations. There is an evident need for greater action and we find that the response of the developed countries is still not adequate," Vardhan said.

He stressed that developed nations take the lead in terms of mitigation and providing means of implementation to developing countries.

"While we talk about our actions, it is equally important to emphasise that the ambition of the developing countries needs to be supported and sustained, predictable and adequate finance, technology and capacity-building support to be provided by the developed countries," the minister said.

He told his counterparts from BASIC countries and Michal Kurtyka of Poland, who will take over as next president of Conference of Parties (COP-24), that India has shown the vision and the political will to act.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modis vision is to ensure sustainable development while protecting the most vulnerable from the effects of climate change.

Later at a press conference, Vardhan said the BASIC group has decided to preserve the integrity of the historic Paris Agreement, including the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and equity.

Vardhan reiterated his appeal for joint efforts to create a societal movement in combating climate change through "Green Good Deeds". PTI TDS san ABH ABHA British court has dismissed charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) against Barclays over its 2008 capital raising, the bank said on Monday, suspending for now the threat of regulatory sanctions on its business operations.

The SFO was however not prepared to let the case drop.

"We are likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to the High Court," an SFO spokesman said. It was not clear when that application would be heard.

Barclays denied the SFO's allegation that a $3 billion loan it made to Qatar in November 2008 was connected with a Qatari investment in the British bank which ultimately helped it avoid a British government rescue during the financial crisis, unlike its rivals Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland.

An end to the SFO's case against Barclays and its operating subsidiary would remove the biggest remaining legal headache facing Barclays over its conduct during the financial crisis.

The collapse of one of its most high-profile corporate prosecutions would also represent a major setback for the SFO, with the prosecutor's office under fire from politicians in recent years.

Qatar, which is a major investor in Britain, has not been accused of wrongdoing itself, but public companies in Britain are normally prohibited from lending money for the purchase of their own shares, known as "financial assistance."

The SFO had been pursuing charges that Barclays unlawfully received such financial assistance, and that it had conspired with former senior executives to commit fraud over two so-called 'advisory'.

Even if the SFO were to fail in its efforts to reinstate the charges, Barclays still faces other legal and regulatory problems related to the 2008 fundraising.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the advisory services agreements.

Separately four former Barclays bankers face a charge of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation when they negotiated a capital injection for the bank from Qatar, in a trial due to start next January.

The four are former chief executive John Varley, and senior executives Roger Jenkins, Tom Kalaris and Richard Boath.

Barclays said the dismissal of the charges against itself should not be taken to have any bearing on whether other people may have committed a criminal offense.

Lawyers representing Boath and Jenkins declined to comment, while lawyers for the other two did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

British businesswoman Amanda Staveley has a separate $1 billion civil lawsuit against Barclaysover the same fundraising.

Staveley's private equity group PCP Capital Partners is claiming damages for alleged fraudulent misrepresentation in a row over whether Barclays offered Qatar and Abu Dhabi investors the same deal terms for participating in a fundraising in 2008.

Barclays has called the PCP lawsuit "misconceived." Staveley declined to comment. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ieChina is the worlds largest bauxite consumer but relies on imports to meet half of its demand. Photo: VCG

Chinas leading state-owned aluminum producer moved to further tap massive reserves of bauxite in Western Africa to secure a supply of the raw material for the aluminum.

Aluminum Corp. of China (Chalco), the Shanghai-listed arm of state-owned metal giant Chinalco, said late last week that the company plans to invest $164 million in cash in the Boffa bauxite project in Guinea. Total investment in the project will reach $706 million. Chalco didnt explain the source of the rest of the investment.

China is the worlds largest consumer of bauxite and relies on imports to meet half of its demand for the mineral. In 2017, Guinea exported 27.6 million tons of bauxite to China to become the largest supplier of the mineral for Chinese buyers, customs data showed.

Chalco has stepped up its investment in overseas bauxite mines to secure supply. The company currently holds stakes in bauxite projects in Indonesia and Laos while eyeing more investments in other countries, said President Lu Dongliang late last year.

Sources from Chalco told Caixin that the planned investment in the Boffa project marks the materialization of a bauxite development agreement signed by Chinalco and the Guinea government in October 2016.

The Boffa mine is estimated to have at least 736 million tons of bauxite reserves. Chalco said its investment will involve construction of mining, port and transportation facilities.

A Chalco executive said the Boffa project is part of the companys strategy to expand its access to upstream material supplies. At the end of March, Chalco had access to 710 million tons of bauxite reserves in China, meeting half of its production demands.

Guinea has the worlds largest bauxite deposit with proved reserves of 7.4 billion tons, or 25% of the global total, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Most of the countrys bauxite reserves have remained untapped because of a lack of capital and technology.

In recent years, Chinese miners have followed U.S. and Russian rivals to tap the bauxite resources of the western African country. In addition to Chalco, a number of Chinese companies including State Power Investment Corp., TBEA Co. and privately owned Shandong Weiqiao Group have taken interests in bauxite mines in Guinea.

Chalco has invested in Guinea since 2012 when it partnered with Rio Tinto to develop the Simandou iron ore project. As of March, Chalco holds almost 40% of the Simandou project.

Contact reporter Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)Prez presents govt policies, programmes

President Bidya Devi Bhandari will present the governments policies and programmes for the upcoming fiscal year (2018/19) in a joint meeting of the Federal Parliament (House of Representatives and National Assembly) at 4pm on Monday.Edmonton, Alberta, May 18, 2018The governments of Canada and Alberta recognize the importance of investing in infrastructure that encourages learning, promotes inclusivity and improves community connections.

Today, the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable Shaye Anderson, Alberta Minister of Municipal Affairs, were joined by Pilar Martinez, Chief Executive Officer of the Edmonton Public Library (EPL), to announce $4 million in joint federal-provincial funding for the revitalization of the Stanley A. Milner Library in downtown Edmonton.

The work being funded is part of the overall library project currently under way and includes structural, mechanical and electrical upgrades, the addition of community meeting rooms, event space, and improvements to make accessing the library easier.

This project will bring Edmontonians a leading-edge community learning resource equipped to meet the growing and changing needs of users for years to come.

whats-on, music-theatre-arts

Dancing With My Spirit. Archie Roach & Tiddas. The Playhouse, Canberra Theatre Centre.Sunday, May 27, 8pm. Tickets $50-$75. BAD APPLES MUSIC HOUSE PARTY, featuring Briggs, Birdz, Omar Musa, Nooky, Alice Skye, Tasman Keith, Kobie Dee, and Hosted by Hau (Triple J). 9.30pm till late. $30. The Canberra Theatre Centre Bar. canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 62752700. Starting this year, the ACT will observe a public holiday honouring the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum on May 28. The night before will be a couple of celebratory musical events at The Canberra Theatre Centre. The chief executive officer of Reconciliation Australia, Karen Mundine, says, "We're really excited that this National Reconciliation Week, we will start the week with a public holiday to celebrate and acknowledge reconciliation in our modern society." The ACT is the first jurisdiction to declare the day a public holiday and Mundine says, "We're certainly applauding the ACT for leading the way, being the first." She says this year's theme for reconcilation is "Don't keep history a mystery" and hopes there will be progress on the key five aspects of race relations: equality and equity, individual integrity, unity, and historical acceptance. The 1967 referendum - which received overwhelming support from the Australian population, with a 90.77 per cent "Yes" vote - led to constitutional amendments to include Aboriginal people in the census and allow the Commonwealth to create laws for them. It did not give Aboriginal people the right to vote (this had been introduced in 1962) or citizenship (most of the specific federal and state laws discriminating against them had already been repealed by this time). Indigenous music legend Archie Roach says it's a significant year, being the 10th anniversary of former prime minister Kevin Rudd's Apology to the Stolen Generations as well as this marking of the 1967 referendum. "It's great," he says. He's also pleased about the Reconciliation Day holiday being first established in Canberra, "the seat of the government" and is looking forward to performing with Tiddas the night before. "It should be great." They'll be promoting a new album, Dancing With My Spirit, based on demos they recorded together two decades ago. Among the songs to be performed are A Child Was Born Here, Dancing Shoes and Dancing With My Spirit. In a career spanning three decades, Roach says he's always loved Canberra. "I have family there ... my nephew and his family," he says. "I've got to get up there as often as I can." For him, it's not just about the government, but about the people, and a great place to rest between performances. But it doesn't sound like he'll be getting too much rest for a while, being on tour around Australia with his album.

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Expectant mother Sam Lawry is sick of being told she's "eating for two". The Canberra midwife is 22 weeks pregnant with her first child and very aware of the risks of gaining too much weight before childbirth. But new research from the University of Canberra has de-bunked the common perception that pregnancy is a trigger for long-term weight gain in women. The findings, contradicting years of previous study, surprised even lead author Professor Deborah Davis. "It was a shock because what we experience as women seems to be...you've got two kids but you also have an extra 10 kilos hanging around," Professor Davis said. "We blame babies for our pelvic floors and the like, but it seems we can't blame them for this." The study, which sampled more than 8000 Australian women over a 16-year-period, found the two factors that put women most at risk of weight gain were depression and not having a paid job, regardless of income. Women who had had five babies or more were significantly heavier than other women in the study but, once factors such as education and socioeconomic status were taken into consideration, Professor Davis said the difference was not statistically significant. While all women in the study did gradually put on a few kilos over time, a university education and high levels of exercise were strong protective factors against long-term weight gain. The link between obesity and depression was also very clear, but Professor Davis said it was still not certain if depression led to weight gain or if weight gain caused depression. "Women and healthcare providers should be made aware of the risks," she said. Ms Lawry said she felt "relieved" by the study, which was recently published in the clinical Obesity journal, but sometimes found it hard to broach the subject of weight with her patients. "It's a really touchy subject, women are under so much pressure to get back to their pre-baby body," she said. "I know I've felt it, it's something I see a lot of women struggle with. They're either really on top of what they've gained or they don't want to know." Professor Davis said, while the link to obesity had now been disproved, pregnancy was still an ideal time to talk to women about weight, as their focus shifted onto their own health. In February, a study found Australia's obesity crisis was hitting maternity wards, with a significant proportion of serious pregnancy complications and trauma caused by womens excess weight. Professor Davis said she hoped women would feel reassured by her latest study's results. "Having babies is a healthy thing to do and it doesn't have to impact on your weight," she said. The researcher, who was recently appointed chair of the International Confederation of Midwives Research Standing Committee, is now developing an app to help women track their weight and nutrition during pregnancy. "A woman only needs to eat about an extra banana [or two] a day to make a baby," Professor Davis said. "It's amazing what our bodies can do on only 300 calories."

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Susan Hutchinson was never shy of an adventure, from climbing volcanos in Rwanda to joining the army reserves. She now uses a mobility scooter to get around, can only work 10 hours a week on her PHD and relies on other people to help with everyday tasks like vacuuming. She has Myalgic Encephalomyelitis - commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome - and says there is poor recognition of the disease among medical professionals and the government. Ms Hutchinson is currently battling to be approved for the NDIS but has been told she is "insufficiently incapacitated". She has been left without the support she was eligible for before the NDIS rollout. Ms Hutchinson receives a disability pension -which leaves her with little once her rent is paid - but was without income for six months while Centrelink decided whether she should be given the allowance. The process has her at her wits end. The condition has been extremely debilitating for me, its completely changed my life, Ms Hutchinson said. I have to ration my reading, I ration the number of times I go up and down these stairs. I wear noise cancelling head phones all the time. There is a lot of construction work going on around my house at the moment, which is very problematic for me - my body literally shuts down. She has applied on two separate occasions for the NDIS and was rejected both times. Her case in now before the administrative appeals tribunal. I have found the process to be unreasonably burdensome, she said. I need help, we were told no one would be worse off under the NDIS and I am worse off. Canberra high school student Celeste Flowers, 17, has also been diagnosed with the condition. She works hard to keep up with her studies but said without the support of her mother she would struggle. Spending a few hours doing schoolwork or going to the movies with her friends can mean hours recovering in bed or on the couch. Celeste is frustrated by the outdated medical advice she has been given and is forced to travel to Sydney to see some of the few doctors with experience treating the condition. She was previously treated with the commonly prescribed graded exercise treatment, which she said resulted in extreme exhaustion and worsening neurological symptoms. While the treatment is commonly prescribed by GPs and recommended by the Royal College of General Practitioners, some say it is detrimental. CEO of Emerge Australia Heidi Nicholl said the condition was often misunderstood by health professionals and the community. Contrary to popular belief, ME/CFS is not about being tired", she said. It is as serious disabling multi-systemic illness that affects an estimated 0.4-1 per cent of Australians. It has been classified as a neurological disorder by the World Health Organisation since 1969. Advocacy group #MEAction Network Australia has called on the Federal Government to increase funding and awareness of the disease. Few health professionals are up to date on the ME/CFS research, a spokeswoman said. This means that people with the condition have difficulty accessing appropriate medical care. Health professionals, patients and their supporters need treatment guidelines, which reflect the current understanding of the condition. There is little or no training in ME/CFS for health professionals. The science is evolving rapidly, and many health professionals hold outdated views on the nature and treatment of the illness. Australia needs appropriate training for health professionals included in undergraduate degrees.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/f6bedc3f-6f36-4df1-b9c4-854a3fe092d8/r0_271_5338_3287_w1200_h678_fmax.jpgnews, act-politics

A Canberra community support organisation will receive "more certainty than we've had in many, many years" in the upcoming ACT budget. The government will provide Self Help Organisations United Together with $469,000 over four years to enable the Canberra not-for-profit to continue to provide other community sector groups with infrastructure and administrative and governance support. Self Help Organisations United Together - or SHOUT - looked likely to close last year due to a gap in funding caused by the transition to the NDIS. After a hard-fought public campaign, the ACT government handed SHOUT $70,000 to recalibrate and prove its long-term sustainability. Community Services and Social Inclusion Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the government's upcoming investment would provide certainty to SHOUT, "recognising its value as core social infrastructure and ensuring the service remains part of our community for the years ahead". "As our city grows, backing local community organisations is critical to ensuring Canberra remains a supportive and inclusive community that doesnt leave anyone behind," she said. Welcoming the announcement, SHOUT board member Rebecca Davey said the organisation had actually grown since last year's uncertainty. Thirteen health and disability organisations now use SHOUT's Pearce office as their headquarters while dozens more use the service for governance training or administration support. Beneficiaries include the ACT Down Syndrome Association, the Canberra Region Kidney Support Group and Bosom Buddies. Ms Davey said: This money means that we are stable now for the next four years. It means that everyone that we work with now has certainty for the next four years and that is more certainty than we have had in many, many years." But Ms Davey said an unfortunate side effect of last year's uncertainty was the loss of two staff, who had "gone through a horrendous period". "We had invited them to stay but their jobs did have to change quite a lot, so they chose to leave," she said. "We completely understand that - they have given the community a lot of support." Ms Davey paid tribute to Ms Stephen-Smith and the Canberrans who rallied behind SHOUT in 2017. We would really like to thank the Canberra community who supported us while we were going through a rough time last year and the people that really came out and [The Canberra Times]," she said. The ACT budget will be handed down on June 5.

/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/silverstone-ct-migration/e01f7188-3f65-4cf2-a578-3b890417e5d3/r0_108_2000_1238_w1200_h678_fmax.jpgSub-inspector under probe in driving test bribery case

A police sub-inspector at the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division is under investigation for taking bribes and passing people in driving test.Every year, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will close the window of the online application process for the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) Assistant Commandant (AC) in the month of May. The recruitment notification is released for the post of Assistant Commandant (Group A) in the CAPF. The applicants are also invited for the Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB).

The Commission will conduct the written examination and physical efficiency test to select the candidates. The written examination consist of two papers. If you are one amongst the aspirants, you should also prepare meticulously for the written examination along with physical efficiency test and medical standards tests. With only over ten weeks left for the examination, here are the preparation tips for the CAPF Assistant Commandant written examination.

5 Common Mistakes To Avoid To Ace UPSC Civil Services

Know About The Exam

The CAPF Assistant Commandant written exam consists of two papers namely, General Ability and Intelligence (Paper I) and General Studies, Essay and Comprehension (Paper II). The Paper I will be of objective type and there will be penalty for every wrong answer. While coming to the Paper II, candidates have to answer the essay and comprehension questions. The Paper I and Paper II will be conducted for 250 and 200 marks respectively.

The qualifying marks for the each paper will be fixed by the commission. Aspirants have to remember that the Paper I will be evaluated first and evaluation of Paper II will be done only for those candidates who obtain the minimum qualifying marks in Paper I.

Assess The Exam Syllabus

Aspirants have to put in more efforts for Paper I in order to get the evaluation status for Paper II. The syllabus of both the papers are explained in the official notification. Aspirants are suggested to visit the official website to know about the exam. While reading about the exam, we suggest candidates to solve the previous years' question papers to know the format of the questions which will make the preparation easy.

Prepare Based On Weightage

The competitive exam should be prepare strategically. Preparing based on the weightage is a good idea. The polity and question related to defence has the high weightage. More than 15 questions are expected on the geography and science. At least seven questions on the environment and economy.

How To Prepare For UPSC CAPF Interview

Paper I: General Ability and Intelligence Preparation Tips

General Mental Ability: The questions will be based on the logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude including numerical ability and data interpretation. Aspirants should be strong in the simplifications and data solving to score well in this section.

The questions will be based on the logical reasoning, quantitative aptitude including numerical ability and data interpretation. Aspirants should be strong in the simplifications and data solving to score well in this section. General Science: This section usually tests the candidate's day-to-day observation in the areas such as biotechnology and environmental. Increase your scientific knowledge and be strong with the developments of day-to-day observation.

This section usually tests the candidate's day-to-day observation in the areas such as biotechnology and environmental. Increase your scientific knowledge and be strong with the developments of day-to-day observation. Current Events: The current affairs of both national and international nature are important. The important areas in this section are culture, music, arts, literature, sports, governance, societal and developmental issues, industry, business and globalisation.

The current affairs of both national and international nature are important. The important areas in this section are culture, music, arts, literature, sports, governance, societal and developmental issues, industry, business and globalisation. Indian Polity and Economy: Aspirants should be familiar with the political system along with the Constitution of India, social systems and public administration. The economic development in India is very important in this section. One should also be familiar with the regional and international security issues besides human rights.

Aspirants should be familiar with the political system along with the Constitution of India, social systems and public administration. The economic development in India is very important in this section. One should also be familiar with the regional and international security issues besides human rights. History of India: The focus should be more on the growth of nationalism and freedom movement. And be strong in the social, economic and political aspects in the history.

The focus should be more on the growth of nationalism and freedom movement. And be strong in the social, economic and political aspects in the history. Indian and World Geography: This test the candidate's knowledge in the physical, social and economic geography of both India and the world. Aspirants are advised to read the NCERT textbooks to gain good conceptual knowledge in simple language.

Paper II: General Studies, Essay and Comprehension Preparation Tips

The essay is an important area to score well in this paper.

The important topics for the essay questions are freedom struggle, geography, polity and economy, knowledge of security and human rights issues, and analytical ability.

One has to develop the English language proficiency because the questions will be on the precis writing and comprehension.

Improve your vocabulary and grammar with newspaper reading, which also helps in the current affairs.

There is no need to panic about this paper, though it is focused more on the language testing.

A simple grammar with analytical skills will make you safe in the exam.

Also Read: Last-minute Tips To Crack Mathematics In UPSC NDA & NAThe results of the Bihar Police Sub-ordinate Services Commission Excise Sub-Inspector main exam has been declared. The registration number of successful candidates are out in some newspapers. The results are yet to be released on the official website. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 39000. The last date to apply for the government job was June 30, 2018.

BPSC Recruitment 2018 For Lecturers

Bihar Police Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Post Excise Sub-Inspector Organisation Bihar Police Sub-ordinate Services Commission Educational Qualification Graduation from a recognised university Age Limit 20 to 37 years Skills Required Physical fitness Salary Scale INR 9300 to INR 39000 Job Location Bihar Industry Police Experience Freshers can apply Application Start Date May 22, 2018 Application End Date June 30, 2018

Also Read: BPCL Recruitment 2018 For 90 Assistants: Earn Up To INR 35400

How To Apply For Bihar Police Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for Bihar Police Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the Bihar Police department official website.

Step 2: Click on the application link for Bihar police recruitment. (The link will be active from tomorrow)

Step 3: The application form will be displayed on the screen.

Step 4: Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 5: Click Submit and complete the registration process.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) has released an employment notification calling out for aspirants to apply for the post of Medical Officer. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 45000. The last date to apply for the government job is June 4, 2018.

SSC Recruitment 2018 For Accountants

MPSC Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Post Medical Officer Organisation Manipur Public Service Commission (MPSC) Educational Qualification Recognised medical qualification and must be registered with MCI Age Limit 21 to 38 years Skills Required Knowledge of Manipuri Salary Scale INR 9300 to INR 45000 Job Location Manipur Industry Civil services Experience Freshers can apply Application Start Date May 19, 2018 Application End Date June 4, 2018

Also Read: Railway Recruitment 2018: RPF Is Hiring 1120 Sub-Inspectors

How To Apply For MPSC Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for MPSC Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the MPSC official website.

Step 2: Click on the Sign Up tab on the home page for one time registration.

Step 3: The registration form will be displayed on the screen. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 4: Click on the checkbox that reads, I'm not a robot.

Step 5: Click Submit and complete the registration process.

Step 6: Go back to the home page and click on the link that reads, Manipur Health Services Grade IV (Medical Officer).

Step 7: Above the list of notifications, click on the button that reads, Login to apply.

Step 8: The login screen will open. Enter your credentials in the fields provided.

Step 9: Click Login and complete the application process.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has released an employment notification calling out for aspirants to apply for the post of Diploma Engineer. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 34500 per month. The last date to apply for the government job is June 4, 2018.

Railway Recruitment 2018: RPF Is Hiring 1120 Sub-Inspectors

NTPC Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Post Diploma Engineer Organisation

National Thermal Power Corporation Limited Educational Qualification Diploma in electrical, mechanical or electronics and instrumentation engineering Age Limit 25 years Skills Required Aptitude and technical skills Salary Scale INR 15500 to INR 34500

Job Location Hyderabad Industry Engineering Experience Freshers can apply Application Start Date May 19, 2018 Application End Date June 4, 2018

Also Read: IOCL Recruitment 2018 For Junior Operators

How To Apply For NTPC Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for NTPC Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the NTPC official website.

Step 2: The list of advertisements will be displayed on the screen.

Step 3: Click on the link that reads, Rectt. of Diploma Trainees 2018 in ELectrical,Mechanical and C&I (Electronics/Instrumentation) for SRHQ (Kudgi, Karnataka).

Step 4: The details of the registration will be displayed on the screen. Read it.

Step 5: Select your region and discipline from the drop-down list box.

Step 6: Click Proceed.

Step 7: The registration form will be displayed on the screen. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 8: Upload your photograph and signature.

Step 9: Click Preview and follow the subsequent pages to complete the registration process.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.Railway Protection Force (RPF) under Ministry of Railways has released an employment notification calling out for aspirants to apply for the post of Sub-Inspector. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 35400. The last date to apply for the government job is June 30, 2018.

Railway Jobs 2018: Apply For Western Railway Recruitment

RPF Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Post Sub-Inspector Organisation Railway Protection Force Educational Qualification Graduate from a recognised university Age Limit 20 to 25 years Skills Required Physical fitness Salary Scale INR 35400 Job Location India Industry Railways Experience Not required Selection Process Computer Based Test, Physical Measurement Test and Physical Efficiency Test Application Start Date June 1, 2018 Application End Date June 30, 2018

Also Read: Railway Recruitment 2018: Apply For Manager Posts in Gujarat Metro Rail

How To Apply For RPF Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for RPF Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the RPF official website.

Step 2: The important dates will be displayed on the screen. Read them carefully.

Step 3: Click on the application link that will be active from June 1, 2018.

Step 4: The application form will be displayed on the screen. Enter your credentials in the fields provided.

Step 5: Submit the form and complete the registration process.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) is likely to release the RBSE class 12 board exam results. According to official sources, the results are likely to be declared on May 23, 2018. As per the RBSE Director G K Mathur, the results have been processed and will be announced in the first half of this week.

7 Things To Do After Board Exams

How To Check The RBSE Class 12 Results 2018

In order to check the RBSE Class 12 Results 2018, follow the steps given here:

Step 1: Log on to the RBSE official website rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in or rajresults.nic.in

Step 2: Click on the results link.

Step 3: A login form will appear on the screen.

Step 4: Enter your credentials and submit.

Step 5: Your result will be displayed on the screen.

Step 6: Check your result and save it to your computer.

Step 7: Take a printout of the result page. It can be used as a provisional marksheet during admissions.

The result will also be available in third party websites such as indiaresults.com. There is also a facility made available for receiving it through SMS. The Rajasthan class 12 exams 2018 started on March 8 and ended on April 2. Around one lakh students wrote the exam this year.

About RBSE

The Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) was established in Jaipur on December 4, 1957, and was shifted to Ajmer in 1961. The Board works for the promotion and development of secondary education in the state.Photo: The Canadian Press

The Mexican charter company whose 39-year-old plane crashed in Havana had been the subject of two serious complaints about its crews' performance over the last decade, according to authorities in Guyana and a retired pilot for Cuba's national airline.

Mexico's government said late Saturday that its National Civil Aviation Authority will carry out an operational audit of Damojh airlines to see if its "current operating conditions continue meeting regulations" and to help collect information for the investigation into Friday's crash in Cuba that left 110 dead.

The plane that crashed, a Boeing 737, was barred from Guyanese airspace last year after authorities discovered that its crew had been allowing dangerous overloading of luggage on flights to Cuba, Guyanese Civil Aviation Director Capt. Egbert Field told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The plane and crew were being rented from Mexico City-based Damojh by EasySky, a Honduras-based low-cost airline. Cuba's national carrier, Cubana de Aviacion, was also renting the plane and crew in a similar arrangement known as a "wet lease" before the aircraft veered on takeoff to the eastern Cuban city of Holguin and crashed into a field just after noon Friday, according to Mexican aviation authorities.

A Damojh employee in Mexico City declined to comment, saying the company would be communicating only through written statements. Mexican authorities said Damojh had permits needed to lease its aircraft and had passed a November 2017 verification of its maintenance program. They announced a new audit late Saturday.

Cuban Transportation Minister Adel Yzquierdo Rodriguez told reporters Saturday afternoon that Cubana had been renting the plane for less than a month under an arrangement in which the Mexican company was entirely responsible for maintenance of the aircraft. Armando Daniel Lopez, president of Cuba's Institute of Civil Aviation, told the AP that Cuban authorities had not received any complaints about the plane in that month. He declined to comment further.

Yzquierdo said it was routine for Cuba to rent planes under a variety of arrangements because of what he described as the country's inability to purchase its own aircraft due to the U.S. trade embargo on the island. Cuba has been able to buy planes produced in other countries, including France and Ukraine, but has pulled many from service due to maintenance problems and other issues.

"It's normal for us to rent planes," he said. "Why? Because it's convenient and because of the problem of the blockade that we have. Sometimes we can't buy the planes that we need, and we need to rent them."

He said that with Damojh, "the formula here is that they take care of the maintenance of the aircraft. That's their responsibility."

He said Cuba didn't have pilots certified to fly the Boeing, so it had hired the Mexican crew with the expectation that they were fully trained and certified by the proper authorities.

Yzquierdo also said the jet's "black box" voice recorder had been recovered and that Cuban officials had granted a U.S. request for investigators from Boeing to travel to the island.

Eyewitness and private salon owner Rocio Martinez said she heard a strange noise and looked up to see the plane with a turbine on fire.

"It had an engine on fire, in flames, it was falling toward the ground," Martinez said, adding that the plane veered into the field where it crashed, avoiding potential fatalities in a nearby residential area.

Field told AP that the Boeing 737 with tail number XA-UHZ had been flying four routes a week between Georgetown, Guyana, and Havana starting in October 2016. Cubans do not need visas to travel to Guyana, and the route was popular with Cubans working as "mules" to bring suitcases crammed with goods back home to the island, where virtually all consumer products are scarce and more expensive than in most other countries.

After Easy Sky cancelled a series of flights in spring 2017, leaving hundreds of Cubans stranded at Guyana's main airport, authorities began inspecting the plane and discovered that crews were loading excessive amounts of baggage, leading to concerns the aircraft could be dangerously overburdened and unbalanced. In one instance, Guyanese authorities discovered suitcases stored in the plane's toilet.

"This is the same plane and tail number," Guyanese Infrastructure Minister David Patterson said. He and other Guyanese authorities said they did not immediately know if the crew suspended last May was the same one that died in Friday's crash. Damojh operates three Boeing 737s, two 737-300s and the 737-201 that crashed Friday, according to Mexican officials.

Ovidio Martinez Lopez, a pilot for Cubana for over 40 years until he retired six years ago, wrote in a post on Facebook that a plane rented from the Mexican company by Cubana briefly dropped off radar while over the city of Santa Clara in 2010 or 2011, triggering an immediate response by Cuban aviation security officials. As a result, Cuban officials suspended a captain and co-pilot for "serious technical knowledge issues," and Cuba's Aviation Security authority issued a formal recommendation that Cubana stop renting planes and crews from Damojh, Martinez wrote.

"They are many flight attendants and security personnel who refused to fly with this airline," Martinez wrote. "On this occasion, the recommendation was overlooked and they rented from them again."

Contacted by AP in Havana, Martinez confirmed his Facebook account but declined to comment further.

Mexican officials said the Boeing 737-201 was built in 1979.

Mexican aviation authorities said a team of experts would fly to Cuba on Saturday to take part in the investigation.

____

Associated Press writers Andrea Rodriguez in Havana and Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.The unification is not for political gains but for a prosperous Nepal

Eight months after the initial agreement between the Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist Leninist United (CPN-UML) and the CPN (Maoist Centre) on a party unity, the two ruling left parties have sealed the merger.Paint was waxed to a high sheen and chrome glistened in the sunlight as hundreds of collector cars and trucks lined the Peachland waterfront, Sunday.

Thousands of people crowded Beach Avenue for the annual World of Wheels show and shine.

Check out these galleries of some of our favourites. And don't miss more coverage with video tomorrow morning.Mago Coutinho will display Wonderful Next to Poliana Abrita NS Thaddeus Schmidt He will be the new presenter of Brazil...Martin Brydon to step down as CEO of Adelaide Brighton

21 May 2018

Martin Brydon, CEO of Adelaide Brighton, has announced plans to retire later this year after four years in the position. Mr Brydon will stay with the company until a new chief executive is found, according to a statement made to the ASX.



"Its time and Im very comfortable with my decision to move to retirement phase, which will be over a period of time  could be six months depending on how the search goes," said Mr Brydon.



The formal search process to fill the position will begin immediately, with the company considering both internal and external candidates.

Published underWith the eruption of Hawaiis Kilauea volcano, travelers are wondering whether its still safe to travel to the Big Island. Read on for a closer look at the damage the volcano has already caused, why cruise ships are altering their stops in Hawaii, and what travel companies are saying about the safety of the island (page 6).

1. President Donald Trump declared the Big Island a disaster area

On May 11, 2018, President Donald Trump declared the Big Island a disaster area. Such a declaration allows for federal financial assistance for state and local governments to work on repairing things, such as roads, parks, schools, and water pipelines.The declaration also authorizes the Hawaii National Guard to get involved.

The Hawaii National Guard has prepared to use ground convoys and even helicopters to pluck hundreds of residents out of danger if necessary, reports CNBC.

Next: Airplanes are in danger.

2. The volcano is dangerous for planes flying overhead

Because the volcano is still erupting, its been deemed unsafe for planes flying over the active site. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory changed the aviation color code to red to warn pilots. A code red means an eruption could or has occurred that would be hazardous to air travel.

The eruption isnt just dangerous to people on the ground anymore. It could also bring down planes, says The Verge.

Next: Hawaii has had a rough spring.

3. Hawaii cant catch a break

In April 2018, Kauai experienced major flooding that hugely affected local lives. In early May, the Kilauea volcano began erupting, sending 2,200 degree (1,200 degree Celsius) lava bursting through cracks into peoples backyards in the Leilani Estates neighborhood, according to the Chicago Tribune. To top it all off, as the magma shifted underground, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake shook the Big Island.

Next: If you want to cancel your Hawaiian vacation, you might be in luck.

4. Some airlines are offering waivers

Hawaiian vacations arent exactly cheap. Some travelers feel theyd rather reschedule their vacation for a later date, when things have cooled down a bit. And a few airlines have offered waivers for travelers who would rather not travel to Hawaii at this time. United, American, and Hawaiian airlines have all offered travelers the option to reschedule.

Next: These cruise ships are changing their routes.

5. Some cruise ships are skipping the Big Island

Princess Cruises recently announced it would be skipping its scheduled stop at the Big Island and would instead spend the day at sea, according to USA Today. The announcement came just a couple days after Norwegian Cruise Lines 2,138-passenger Pride of America decided to pass on its stop at a port near the volcano. And Royal Caribbeans 2,143-passenger Radiance of Seas had the same idea.

The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority, Princess said in a statement on the canceled port call.

Next: Travel companies say Hawaiian trips are still safe for this reason.

6. Travel companies say visiting the Big Island is still safe

Despite everything thats happening on the Big Island, Hawaii Tourism Authority insists traveling to the island is still safe. Though the volcano is affecting a large amount of local lives, the eruption site only takes up a small fraction of the island.

Id fly there today, Jim Bendt, CEO of Pique Travel Design, tells CNBC. Big Island is over 4,000 square miles. The area of the latest eruption covers 10 square miles. Travelers should have no worries visiting.

Next: If youre visiting the Big Island, definitely dont go to this tourist destination.

7. But you will have to alter your vacation itinerary

Though most of the resorts on the island are far away from the volcano, visitors may still need to tweak some of the activities they had planned for their time on the island. If you were planning on visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, for example, you wont be able to any time soon.

Most of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the largest national park and a major tourist attraction, closed due to the unpredictability of ash fall, reports CNBC.

Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!While Donald Trump is striving to reach some common ground with China, the countrys military has been ramping up in recent years, causing it to be a greater threat to the U.S. Read on for a closer look at how Xi Jinpings military stacks up to Trumps.

1. The Chinese military is growing

In recent years more than ever, the Chinese military is growing. Its focused more on managing its rank-and-file, which, Newsweek notes, could one day pose a larger risk to U.S. interests in Asia.

The range and capabilities of Chinese air and sea defenses have continued to grow, making U.S. forward-basing more vulnerable and the direct defense of U.S. interests in the region potentially more costly, says a 2017 October report by the RAND Corporation, a California-based think tank that does research and analysis on behalf of the U.S. military.

Next: Chinas military is now overseas.

2. China just opened its first overseas military base

China also recently opened its first overseas military base in October. The base is located in Djibouti, a small African country. According to Newsweek, China also currently has more ballistic missiles for nuclear missions than ever before.

Next: Chinas spending more on their military in recent years.

3. Theyre increasing their military spending

The U.S. has always spent more on their military than China, but Chinas started to up its spending. From 2005  20014, Beijing grew its military budget by an average of 9.5 percent each year. They spent their money on modern fighter aircrafts and quieter submarines, among other things.

Next: China has a much bigger population.

4. China greatly outnumbers the U.S.

Though the U.S. spends more on their military, Chinas population hugely outnumbers the U.S. population.

China counts more than 2.3 million active service members, and another 1.1 million in reserves and military police, or the largest ground force in the world. Thats down from more than 3 million in active service in 1992, reports Newsweek. The U.S. has about 1.4 million active service members.

Next: The U.S. has had more practice.

5. The U.S. is used to fighting wars

The U.S. has been involved in wars for decades without stopping. China, on the other had, hasnt participated in a large-scale war since 1979 (Vietnam). Additionally, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service, China doesnt have military allies to back up its ambitions.

Next: The U.S. has more vessels and jets.

6. The U.S. has the bigger navy

Between the two, the U.S. has the far bigger navy. The U.S. has 500 vessels and China has 300 warships. The U.S. also beats China when it comes to their air forces as well. The U.S. has 2,800 jets, while China has 1,500. The two countries are ranked first and second in the world for jet fighter fleets.

Next: Neither countries are expected to actually use their nuclear weapons.

7. Chinas not likely to use nuclear weapons

According to the RAND Corporation report mention previously, China (as well as the U.S.) isnt likely to use nuclear weapons. Neither the United States nor China is likely to employ nuclear weapons, but even an initially localized conflict could quickly spread into the economic, cyber, and space realms, doing considerable damage to both sides, reads the report.

Check out The Cheat Sheet on Facebook!121st Bell Game was a return to normalcy

More than just a game, this year's Bell Game represented a return to normalcy after more than a year impacted by the pandemic.TIA to remain open 21 hours a day from today

Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) will remain open 21 hours a day from Monday as it extends its opening hours by 2 hours 30 minutes due to a sharp growth in air passenger traffic, airport authorities said.A large white cross that had stood on state property in Michigan for nearly 70 years has been removed after the Michigan Association of Civil Rights filed a complaint.

According to The Christian Post, the cross had stood on Sackrider Hill in the Waterloo Recreation Area in Jackson County since 1950. It is owned by the Grass Lake Ministerial Association, which will be helping remove it to a permanent location.

John Pepin, deputy public information officer for Michigans Department of Natural Resources (DNR), explained what happened:

"Basically, it came down to, there was a cross that we didn't own that was on land that we did own. We worked with the people that owned the cross and they voted to support removing it to a permanent location."

While the Michigan Association of Civil Rights spearheaded the process to remove the cross from state land, other groups were in favor of allowing it to stay.

Grassroots Jackson, a Michigan volunteer group, even started a petition, urging the Michigan DNR to reject the complaint about the cross.

In the petition, Grassroots Jackson called the cross historic, and referenced a 1992 decision by the DNR that allowed the cross to stay.

The group was ultimately unsuccessful in their petition, however, when the cross was removed this week.

Publication date: May 21, 2018In 2020, we were the church on our heels. A global pandemic shut down much of our world. But the church has been on the move since it was birthed; it will continue to be on the move until God makes all things new.A group of Cuban church leaders died in a plane crash Friday on the way home from a denominational retreat in Havana.

The ten married couples, several of them co-pastors, from Holguin in East Cuba, had spent three days at a Nazarene seminary in the islands capital. They sang and prayed together on the bus back to Jose Marti International Airport to catch their return flight, Cuba Church of the Nazarene President Leonel Lopez told Nazarene Communications Network (NCN) News.

But they never made it back home. The 20 pastors were among more than 100 people killed when their Boeing 737 airplane crashed shortly after takeoff from Havana around noon on Friday. Just three survivors remain. Its the deadliest aviation accident in Cuba in three decades.

In this moment of anguish and pain, we ask for your prayers and help to be able to get through this situation together, said Lopez.

Among the casualties were the Nazarene Missions International district president and district office secretary and treasurer, NCN News confirmed. The Nazarene victims leave behind eight children between the ages of 7 and 16, and several of the couples also had adult children.

This has been a difficult time for the Church of the Nazarene, but in these times of difficulties and adversities we know that God is still in control, said Carlos Saenz, regional director for the Church of the Nazarene Mesoamerica, which dates back more than 70 years in Cuba.

The cause of the crash is still unknown, although the plane was nearly 40 years old and reportedly in poor condition. It had been rented from a Mexican owner and flown by the Mexican airline Global Air.

We pray to the Lord to fortify the hearts of the families of our fallen brothers and sisters and as well the entire Church of the Nazarene, not only in Cuba but in every place that it's found, said the Aliazana Evangelical Latina (AEL) in a statement. Among the countrys growing evangelical population, more than 9,000 Cubans belong to about 100 Nazarene congregations on the island.

Our Council of Churches joins the greater Cuban community in grieving today the profound loss of human life and asks for prayer for the three survivors that are in critical condition and have been hospitalized, said the Consejo de Iglesias in a statement.

While church and state have come in conflict in Cuba, Christianity there has been undergoing an improbable and impressive revival, as CT has reported. At the time of Fidel Castros death in 2016, the Protestant population had grown to more than 5 percent.Hanna Mahers wife is nine months pregnant, due any day now, with only four hours of daily electricity. Her two older boys scurry about in the dark, kept ignorant by parents about the dead at the border.

But it is hard to be ignorant in Gaza.

A Norwegian charity estimates 56 percent of children in the Palestinian territory suffer from traumatic nightmares. Suicide, rarely seen culturally, is a growing concern. Maher, an Egyptian-born Baptist pastor, says some at the border see death as the best option.

Two million people are squeezed into a coastal strip roughly the size of Philadelphia. Exit is severely restricted on one side by Israel. The waiting list into Egypt is 40,000 names long.

Unemployment is over 40 percent. Clean drinking water is hard to come by. And on May 14, as tens of thousands massed near a chain link fence demonstrating for their Right to Return, Israeli snipers picked off dozens.

Monday was a hard day. But at least it is quiet now, Maher said. It has been bad for years. But conditions now are the worst I have seen.

Maher went to Gaza in 2011, and married his local Palestinian wife a year later. His congregation is the strips only evangelical church, with about 60 regular members. Overall, Gazas Christian population is about 1,000, mostly Greek Orthodox; in the last 10 years, it has declined by a third.

Maher provides food aid to about 120 families. His marriage preparation classes are a crash course in how to nurture a family amid poverty.

And he says local Christians are critical of just about everyone.

They did not go to the protests, seen as a Hamas initiative. The Palestinian Authority hasnt paid salaries in months, trying to pressure Hamas. And Israel, says Maher, only lets in enough goods to keep people alive.

But being critical, Christians still try to speak. They oppose the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem. They demand the UN-mandated right to return to Israel for Palestinian refugees.

And they call out, says Maher, Where is the world community?

The answer: debating who is to blame.

The Europe Union asks for an independent inquiry. The 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation wants a protection force. The US praises Israeli restraint.

But 60 miles northeast toward Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Gaza violence also divides Israeli and Palestinian Christians.

What is happening in Gaza is a human disaster of epic proportions, said Lisa Loden, a Messianic Jew and co-chair of the Lausanne Initiative on Reconciliation in Israel-Palestine.

Israel is not entirely responsible for this situation. But she bears much of the responsibility for the ongoing suffering of Gaza and her people.

Loden views the US embassy move as an impediment to peace, and believes the Gaza protests were a peaceful initiative only later joined by Hamas.

It is hard to control the handful who had weapons and tried to cross the border, she said, but the Israeli response was disproportionate. Beyond the dozens killed, thousands were injured.

The context is important, Loden believes. The people of Gaza have lost hope and are acting out of desperation.

Her views are shared by a small minority within the Messianic Jewish community, Loden freely admits. Far more common are those of David Friedman, rabbi and former dean of King of Kings College in Jerusalem.

This media ploy is inhumane, he said. It knowingly involved Hamas operatives and sympathizers getting killed while obeying orders to storm Israels borders.

No country in the world would allow this to occur.

Hamas leaders have stated that most of the dead are their members, and that they encouraged crossing the border. They could have launched rockets, but wished a propaganda victory to focus on Gaza suffering rather than the embassy opening.

Friedman believes the widespread suffering is a result of Hamas mismanagement. But in addition to this US-designated terrorist entity to the southwest, Israel faces Iran and Hezbollah entrenching themselves on its northeast border with Syria.

Israel is the underdog nation, surrounded by a sea of jihadist-inspired hatred, he said. Her anti-Semitic enemies will try to use any event to attack the worlds only Jewish state.

Meanwhile, he said, the embassy move harms no one. It even makes an easier commute for American diplomats and their employees, including Palestinians.

Is the reality somewhere in-between?

Already two narratives have developed about what happened, so reconciliation becomes more difficult, said Salim Munayer. The polarization has hit us very hard.

Munayer is head of the Musalaha reconciliation ministry in Jerusalem. Like many, he has his personal views on recent events.

The US embassy move adds pain to the insult. Gaza is hardly livable for human beings. Hamas motivated protests, but Israel had a lethal reaction.

He also says it is incorrect to speak of a border. Israel has never defined its formal border with the Gaza Strip, over which it has effective control, save for the Egyptian outlet.

But as Messianic Jews and Palestinian Christians air their opinions on Facebook, he said, fewer and fewer leaders or laypeople are meeting face-to-face.

Some still try, while others come together to pray. But those engaged in actual dialogue on the issues are in decline.

The majority stay in their ethno-religious categories, Munayer said. But at the same time, he is newly swamped by Jewish groups (non-Messianic) asking for help to meet Palestinians.

The political and religious sides are very discouraging. But the grassroots are proving a real change.

Loden, from her Lausanne perspective, agrees with the negative assessment.

The stresses of life for the faith communities of Israel-Palestine do not lend themselves to a focus on reconciliation, she said. Security and justice alternate in primacy.

There are only a few who pursue unity within the body of Messiah.

But as Loden represents a tiny minority of Messianic Jews, Friedman also participates in reconciliation groups with a tiny minority of evangelical Arabs who are dedicated to Israel.

I cry for the Palestinian children in Gaza, who are victims of their radicalized leaders, said Mokhtar Essid, a Tunisian convert to Christianity and now leader of Cornerstone, a Netherlands-based ministry focused on Arab believers in the Middle East and North Africa.

At the same time, I am happy and grateful. That Israel exists is a wonder of God.

Living in Holland, Essid is happy to speak publicly. Friedman says that not many Arab Christians are, fearing the anger of their communities.

Whoever opposes the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem opposes the will of God, said Y. H., pastor of a Lebanese congregation in northern Israel. Requesting anonymity, he said recent events are actually bringing his reconciliation community closer together.

Those who deeply study the word of God and seek its profound truth are usually very few, he said. I rejoice to be one of them.

Back in Gaza, Maher worries about the cyclical effect. The peaceful protester at the border had no idea the man standing nearby was from Hamas; he just knows his neighbor is now dead.

The anger grows, said Maher, and the cycle begins again.

Munayer warns similarly. Many of the wounded were shot in the knees.

This will not be forgotten, he said, but will become another historical landmark of memory.

With a different focus, Friedman also recognizes the impact.

Most of us have lost hope in a two-state solution, due mostly to [Palestinian Authority] insincerity, he said.

Yet all three within their contexts are seeking reconciliation in different ways, whether dialogue among leaders or among ordinary citizens. Perhaps the plea of Loden can apply to all.

With so much death and suffering, she said, we choose to live together in the shadow of the cross, rather than in the shadow of deathhowever much it lengthens over our land.

Correction: This story has been updated to clarify that Friedman was referring to insincerity by the Palestinian Authority, not Palestinians in general.Email Whatsapp Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment

In the 1930s and 40s, six million Jews perished at the hands of the Nazis. But amazingly, this would be news to many among us.

Just about the only unequivocal example of evil most Americans can agree on are the Nazis. It's why what's known as "Godwin's Law" holds that the longer an online argument about some issue goes on, the more likely it is that someone is going to invoke Adolf Hitler: We all agree that being like Hitler is bad.

But as a disturbing new report suggests, an increasing percentage of Americans don't really know why Hitler and his henchmen are considered to be evil incarnate.

A study conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, or "Claims Conference" for short, found that forty-one percent of all respondents, and two-thirds of millennials, could not correctly identify Auschwitz. Not surprisingly, 45 percent couldn't name a single concentration camp.

Only half knew that six million Jews perished in the Holocaust. One-third put the number murdered at two million or less. Even worse, "Twenty-two percent of millennials in the poll said they haven't heard of the Holocaust or are not sure whether they've heard of it." Paradoxically, nearly three-in-five of those interviewed "believe the Holocaust could happen again and half think it could happen in the United States." Given the overall level of ignorance about the Holocaust itself, it's not clear what they're basing their opinions on.

The head of the Claims Conference, Julius Berman, told the Times of Israel that, "We are alarmed that today's generation lacks some of the basic knowledge about these atrocities." The Conference's vice-president added that "there remain troubling gaps in Holocaust awareness while survivors are still with us; imagine when there are no longer survivors here to tell their stories."

What makes this report especially troubling is that there has been a rise in anti-Semitism both in the United States and, especially, abroad. While anti-Semitism is, in the words of historian Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, "The Devil That Never Dies," it was, for a while at least, driven mostly underground by the Third Reich's crimes against the Jews of Europe.

Now, to paraphrase the book of Exodus, a generation has arisen that knows not Auschwitz. On the left, criticism of Israeli policy, some of which is arguably warranted, has fostered alliances with loathsome anti-Semites, Hamas, and Holocaust deniers. One prominent left-wing British politician even called Hitler a "Zionist."

I wish I were making that up.

On the right, ask any prominent Jewish commentator about how quickly his or her comment boxes fill up with anti-Semitic bile. Sometimes, you don't even have to be Jewish: David French of the National Review, who is an Evangelical Christian, was subjected to pictures of his seven-year-old daughter in a gas chamber.

On a personal note, when my father was a teenager, German troops massacred thousands of their former Italian allies on his home island of Cephalonia in Greece.

The Spanish philosopher George Santayana famously wrote that "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Growing up, especially in the New York area, I can't imagine that people could ever forget the lessons of World War II and the Holocaust, much less not know what Auschwitz is.

Well, it appears that people not only have forgotten the past, they never bothered to learn about it in the first place.

It's an ignorance that leaves us, effectively, without a Devil, which makes it as dangerous as it is inexcusable.

Originally posted at Breakpoint.home World All of Chile's bishops submit resignation to pope over sex abuse scandal

All 34 Chilean bishops have reportedly offered to resign on Friday following the recent emergency talks with Pope Francis over their failure to investigate sexual abuse allegations.

According to The Guardian, 31 active and three retired bishops signed a letter of resignation on Friday after the three-day emergency summit in Rome.

In a 10-page letter to the bishops, the pontiff reportedly castigated the bishops for protecting abusive priests in their dioceses. The document, which was leaked to the Chilean media, also accused the church officials of destroying evidence related sex abuse cases committed by priests.

A separate letter released by the Vatican urged the bishops to move in the direction of "a prophetic Church, capable of putting at the center what's important: service to her Lord in the hungry, the imprisoned, the migrant, the abused."

In the resignation letter, the Chilean bishops asked forgiveness from the victims, as well as the pope and the country for "the serious errors and omissions we have committed."

"Thank you to the victims, for their perseverance and their bravery, despite the enormous personal spiritual, social, and family difficulties they've had to face so many times, amidst the incomprehension and the attacks from the ecclesial community itself," the bishops said in the joint statement, according to Church Militant.

The resignation of the bishops appears to stem from the numerous cases against Fr. Fernando Karadima, who was found guilty in a Vatican investigation of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s.

Karadima has been sentenced to a lifetime of "penance and prayer," but has managed to avoid criminal prosecution because the judge had ruled that it had taken too long before his crime had been brought to light.

Bishop Juan Barros, a protege of Karadima, has been accused of covering up the abuses by the senior priest.

Juan Carlos Cruz, one of the abuse victims, has alleged that Barros was present when he was abused by Karadima when he was a boy. The victim contended that Barros had done nothing to stop the abuse.

Barros, who was appointed by Pope Francis as a bishop in 2015, was one of the church officials who signed the resignation letter on Friday, according to France 24.

The pontiff had drawn outrage when he had said that the accusations against Barros amounted to "slander," and insisted that there was "not one single piece of proof" that the bishop covered up for Karadima.

Francis later issued an apology and called for a formal investigation into the scandal. After receiving a report on the findings, the pope admitted in a letter to the bishops that he had committed "serious mistakes" in dealing with the issue.

"I fell into serious errors in the evaluation and perception of the situation, due especially to the lack of true and balanced information," the pope stated, according to France 24.Traffic police get tough on rule violators

The Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) has initiated action against the traffic law violators after receiving a high number of complaints on its hotline number.70-year-old cross in public park comes down following complaint from civil rights group

A large white cross that has been on display on top of the hill in Jackson County, Michigan since 1950 has been removed following a complaint from the Michigan Association of Civil Rights Activists (MACRA).

The Grass Lake Ministerial Association, which owns the cross, holds a permit to erect the display at the top of Sackrider Hill in the Waterloo Recreation Area, but the group agreed to take it down on May 14 following a meeting with officials from the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

"Basically, it came down to, there was a cross that we didn't own that was on land that we did own," said DNR deputy public information officer John Pepin, according to MLive.

"We worked with the people that owned the cross and they voted to support removing it to a permanent location," he added.

According to Christian News Network, the cross drew complaints from local residents back in the 1990s after a photograph of the monument appeared in a local newspaper. The residents argued that the display violated the separation of church and state, but the cross remained on top of the hill after a probe concluded that no constitutional violation was committed.

A new complaint was recently filed by MACRA, which claimed that they were approached by a lifelong resident of the area who opposed the display of the cross on publicly owned land.

MACRA Co-Founder Mitch Kahle commended the DNR for its decision to remove the cross. "We are pleased with the DNR's action to remove the cross without further controversy," said Kahle in a press release, according to MLive.

"Obviously the park manager made a mistake by issuing the permit in 1992, but the DNR's action today corrects the problem," Kahle went on to say.

The Grass Lake Ministerial Association has been holding Easter services at the area since 1938. The group had brought a temporary cross each year until a permanent one was installed in 1950, according to MLive.

Pepin noted that the cross was stolen back in 1968, but was replaced that same year. The monument was later moved to a different location in the Waterloo Recreation Area in 1992.

A special-use permit will be granted to the Grass Lake Ministerial Association so that it can continue holding Easter services at the recreation area and bring a temporary cross, Pepin said.

In March, a group called Grassroots Jackson launched a petition to "save the Jackson cross." Representatives of the group have stated that the online petition has drawn more than 3,500 signatures.

"The cross is a recognized landmark, has been a meaningful place for people to gather throughout history, and is part of many residents' personal memories. Rather than let one voice tear it down, thousands are speaking up," said Grassroots Jackson member Billie Dawson at the time, according to MLive.Catholics substantially more opposed to Northern Ireland border checks that Protestants

Opposition to border checks on the Northern Irish border is substantially higher among Catholics than Protestants, new research reveals, with one in 10 Catholics backing illegal protests.

It comes as Theresa May faces a feud in her Cabinet over plans for a customs partnership after the UK leaves the EU. Under one proposed model, known as 'maximum facilitation', some form of border checks would be required on or near the border between the Republic of Ireland and the North.

There is strong opposition to such checks on the north-south border and also the east-west border between Ireland and mainland Britain, a report published today by academics from Queen's University Belfast found.

'There are strong expectations that protests against either North-South or East-West border checks would quickly deteriorate into violence,' the report says.

One in five Catholics find the muted option of camera-based border technology 'almost impossible to accept'. This rises to 72 per cent who would find British soldiers manning checkpoints 'almost impossible to accept.'

Over a fifth of Catholics would support protesters blocking traffic and nearly one in 10 Catholics would support cameras being vandalised. One in 10 Sinn Fein supporters would support border infrastructure or installations being attacked.

The option of the UK as a whole remaining in the customs union and the single market is preferred by 61 per cent of Catholics (including 68 per cent of Sinn Fein voters), and 62 per cent of Protestants (including 58 per cent of DUP voters).

Following on from fears that Brexit could split the United Kingdom, forcing a referendum either on Scottish independence or Irish unification, the survey revealed there is substantial support among Catholics for the idea of having a referendum on a united Ireland (68 per cent in favour compared to just 29 per cent of Protestants in favour) once the UK has left the EU.

It comes after Christian Today reported that the border issue may have scuppered chances of a historic trip to the north by Pope Francis when he visits Ireland in August. Many in the region and elsewhere had hoped that the pope would visit Northern Ireland, deemed too sensitive back in 1979 when John Paul II came to the Republic. But there was no mention of the North in the official announcement of the trip in March.

One senior Vatican source told CT's James Macintyre of the issue last year, when the trip was being planned: 'It complicates things quite a bit'.

This is because the concept of a divided Ireland is anyway controversial, especially among Catholics, and a visit by the pope at a time of political uncertainty and unrest could be seen as an endorsement, however faint, of the concept of that divisive, hard border.Cuba plane crash: 10 priests and their wives among the dead, 3 survivors in critical condition

Twenty priests were among the dead in a plane crash in Cuba last Friday and over a hundred people reportedly perished, while three survivors are still in critical condition at the hospital.

Cuba's Transportation Minister Adel Yzquierdo confirmed that one of the blackboxes from the crash site had been retrieved. Yzquierdo also stated that the death count was at 110.

"On that plane were 10 couples of pastors. 20 people," Maite Quesada of the Cuban Council of Churches told the press. They were from the Nazarene Church and were returning to their hometowns after a summit with other pastors in Havana.

Witnesses said they saw the aircraft, a Boeing 737, take off the ground just before noontime but it suddenly plunged towards an unpopulated site between San Antonio de las Vegas and Boyeros.

"The only thing we heard, when we were checking in, an explosion, the lights went out in the airport and we looked out and saw black smoke rising and they told us a plane had crashed," witness Brian Horanbuena, a tourist from Argentina, detailed an account to reporters.

Friday's crash has been deemed the worst air disaster in Cuba's history since 1989, according to reports. National carrier Cubana de Aviacion apparently leased the aircraft from Aerolineas Damojh, a Mexican company. Investigations showed that Damojh had two previous performance complaints in the last decade.

Meanwhile, rescuers found three female survivors from the Cubana Flight 972 crash site but they remain in critical condition at the hospital.

Cubana Flight 972 had six crewmembers and at least five foreigners on board. The rest of the passengers were Cubans.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis expressed his condolences to Cuba in a telegram sent to Bishop Dionisio Guillermo Garcia Ibanez. He said he's praying for "spiritual serenity of Christian hope" for the families in mourning.Parents re-start lawsuit claiming church traumatized their child in a 'forced baptism'

The parents of an 11-year-old boy who was allegedly forced into baptism is once again going after the church that they say traumatized their child.

Gregg and April DeFibaugh, who do not believe in God, have refiled a lawsuit against the Morning Star Friends Church and some of its members in a Ohio state court. The 16-page document outlined the same complaints that the family filed originally in 2017, which the federal court dismissed that same year.

The boy, referred to only as "V" in the court documents, joined a church picnic in August 2016 through the mentorship program of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Northeast Ohio. His parents apparently advised the program that the boy must not be made to participate in any religious activities.

His guardians and mentors Margaret Vaughan and David Guarnera, who are members of the church, however, allegedly disregarded the parents' instructions, according to the American Atheist. V, who has a disability due to brain damage, was apparently dipped under water during a baptism ceremony that his parents claim resulted in extreme emotional distress and anxiety.

Geauga County Maple Leaf got hold of the video of the baptism, which has been posted online.

The parents reported Vaughan and Guarnera to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and the local police. The DeFibaughs also sought legal help from American Atheist, which filed the lawsuit on their behalf last March 2017. They alleged that the mentors betrayed the parents' trust, aside from harming their child.

However, in October 2017, federal judge Patricia Gaughan dismissed the lawsuit because it failed to show how the defendants violated the parents' religious freedom. The DeFibaughs and American Atheists refiled as a civil case in the state court this March.

"It is unfortunate and disappointing that this matter is again filed by this family," Vaugh stated in email to Geauga County Maple Leaf. "The family contends that there was some conspiracy to cause damages to them," she added. "The Federal Court already ruled that there was no conspiracy and that the claims could not be pursued against the defendants."Pope Francis tells gay abuse victim: 'God loves you just the way you are'

A victim of clerical sex abuse has said Pope Francis told him God made him gay, that his sexuality 'does not matter' and that God and the pope love him as he is.

Juan Carlos Cruz revealed what he said were details of the private conversation he had with Francis last week about the abuse he suffered at the hands of a prominent Chilean priest, Fernando Karadima.

After his sexuality came up in conversation, the pope reportedly told him: 'Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like that and loves you like this and I don't care. The pope loves you like this. You have to be happy with who you are.'

Greg Burke, the papal spokesman, declined to comment on the exchanges.

Experts agreed that if true, the comments are the most positive about homosexuality by any pope.

However, this is not the first time Francis has been seen to be conciliatory towards gay people. In 2013, he told reporters: 'If someone is gay and is looking for the Lord, who am I to judge him? You should not discriminate against or marginalise these people.'

Cruz told El Pais that the subject of homosexuality came up in conversation with Francis because some of Chile's bishops had sought to portray him as a pervert who was lying about the abuse.

Karadima, now 87, was found guilty by the Vatican of sexually assaulting children in 2011. He was barred from clerical duties and sentenced to a lifetime of 'penance and prayer'.

Details of the exchange between Cruz and Francis came after all of Chile's 34 Catholic bishops offered the pope their resignation over a sex abuse and cover-up scandal that has rocked the country's churches.

It is not yet clear whether the pope has accepted their offer to step down. The mass resignation came after a Vatican investigation into the role of Bishop Juan Barros, who was appointed by the pope in 2015 and who is alleged to have covered up the abuse of Karadima.

Cruz said the pope had personally apologised to him for the abuse he suffered.

'I was thrilled that he took what we talked about so seriously,' he added. 'I felt the visit was not just a matter of protocol, of public relations.'The Royal wedding: How it distorted the gospel for the whole world

It was a great occasion. One of those public spectacles that the British seem to do so well. Such joy. Good weather. Great music. An interesting sermon. Two people in love. What's not to like?

Even here in Australia the Royal wedding hysteria was palpable. TV stations sent over full crews to London, parties were held in restaurants and even the Christian conference at which I was speaking had a late night session where people could watch the joyful event.

Back in the UK churches from Stornoway to Southampton helped host screenings and parties. It seemed that, apart from a few curmudgeonly old-style republicans, everyone was on board.

The wedding itself was in many ways wonderful. My colleague Mark Woods has written an excellent and positive Christian perspective on the nuptials. There was much that was good and joyful about the whole occasion. Perhaps for me I was most moved by Prince Harry's face and the memory of him as a 12-year-old boy walking behind his mother's coffin. After what The Sun called 'a VERY modern service' and and what they called an 'eccentric' sermon from Bishop Michael Curry, many Christians were pretty excited as what they saw as a great gospel opportunity, if not occasion.

But as I have reflected on the whole occasion over the weekend, and at the risk of losing my prospective knighthood and my invitation to Lambeth palace, I want to suggest an alternative point of view.

The press: This was a worldwide media event. Many millions of people in the UK were totally absorbed by it, but many millions were not. This was a very British event, but I wonder if it were even more a world media event. I suspect there was more interest in America than in Scotland. Royal weddings are tailor-made for the 'Hello', 24/7 news, soundbite era.

The patronage and privilege: Although it was entitled 'the people's wedding', let's not kid ourselves; this was primarily for the privileged. The cameras focused so much on the celebrities (just how many times did we need to see Mr and Mrs Clooney?) that we didn't really notice the other wealthy and entitled people gathering. This was royalty meeting celebrity. The Queen of the UK meets Oprah, the Queen of Media. A very modern wedding, indeed, celebrating wealth, meaningless truisms and the joy of the privileged and powerful. And if you don't agree it was the most loving wonderful thing, you are a heretic. The symbolism of the beggars being cleared from the streets of Windsor to make way for the royal carriages is not without impact.

The patriotism and pomp: It was a patriotic occasion and no one does pomp as impressively as the British. It certainly adds to the colour and variety of our world.

The preaching: In one sense the sermon was wonderful. Bishop Curry was passionate, articulate, humorous and he even mentioned Jesus, the Bible and the love of God (55 times!). And people loved it. Piers Morgan tweeted: 'Wow. Still reeling from Rev Curry. What a moment. What a guy!' Ed Miliband  'Rev Michael Curry could almost make me a believer.' As predicted on Christian Today, it seems as though the British really did fall in love with the loveable bishop. And it wasn't just the public, nor the liberal Christians and LGBT activists who loved him. Those of a more conservative bent were quick to join in. The conservative blogger Archbishop Cranmer tweeted: 'When the Church is liberated from staid sermons and formulaic motions to spontaneous expressions of joy and heart-bursting love, the world sits up and listens. God bless you, @BishopCurry, for proclaiming the love of Christ so passionately to two billion people.' Many other conservative evangelicals from Krish Kandiah to Amy Orr-Ewing, from Scottish Free Church Presbyterians to Sydney Anglicans were equally commendatory. It was, and is, as many pointed out, an opportunity to talk about Jesus and to share the Gospel. So what's the problem?

There are some people who objected to the showmanship of the whole sermon, feeling that it kind of took over and took away from the dignity of the occasion. The cameras showed the somewhat bemused contempt that some of the royals seemed to have for the message. Personally that was not my problem.

My first difficulty is that everyone loved it. It was so post-modern that everyone could take their own meaning from it. Atheist, agnostic, or Christian  it didn't matter. You could take that sermon 'all you need is love' and quote it in support of your own views. So I read of those who argued that the good bishop was the LGBT champion; the Guardian saw him as the champion of 'blackness' (why this continual obsession with skin colour? Have we not grown out of that?); I even saw someone tweeting that this was the man who could save us from Brexit! Some just heard two young people being given advice about love and many evangelicals heard it as a clear presentation of the gospel (although I suspect no one else did). We hear what we want to hear. When the Guardian, the Daily Mail, Pink News and evangelicals are all praising you, either revival has broken out or there is something very wrong.

Mind you not all evangelicals loved it. The Queen's former chaplain Gavin Ashenden for example was not impressed and wrote this excellent review.

It was self-contradictory. The service was wonderfully orthodox. We were told that marriage is 'a solemn, public and life-long covenant between a man and a woman, declared and celebrated in the presence of God and before witnesses'. But Bishop Curry does not believe that. Not only does he believe in same-sex marriage, but he has led the American Episcopal Church to go against the rest of the Anglican Communion (including the archbishop of Canterbury) so that it is now in the process of removing references to procreation and husband and wife so that the marriage ceremony can be non gender-specific. This was a traditional ceremony conducted by a man who seeks to undermine the theology, liturgy and practice of that ceremony.

It was too conventional. In a fascinating interview afterwards with the archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Curry it was stated that the sermon was 'unconventional'. In one sense it was, in another it was the most conventional sermon you will hear in that it reflected the values and conventions of our culture. It was a little amusing to see two men dressed in the traditional garb of their powerful positions talking about being 'unconventional'. If Michael Curry had dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and preached the gospel  that would have been unconventional!

It was not the gospel. This for me is by far the most important thing. And yet many evangelicals will be utterly puzzled at the statement that this was not the gospel. He mentioned Jesus, the cross and the love of God as the basis for everything. Is that not the gospel? No, it's not. Because it all depends on what we mean by the words 'love', 'Jesus', 'God' and 'gospel'.

Bishop Curry rightly cited 1 John 4:8, 'God is love'. And he spoke of the power of that love. But, and this is easily done, he soon slipped into 'love is God'  'any form of love' (again without defining what love is). Even when he mentioned Jesus' death as a sacrifice he did so in much the way as we would mention soldiers in war 'sacrificing' their lives. Jesus's death was an example of love. He did not speak of it in the way that John does  as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

John speaks a great deal about sin, the danger of false teachers (anti-Christs), that love for God is not some amorphous feeling but is rather seen in obeying his commands and the fact that the world hates Christ and his teaching. Bishop Curry ignored all of that and spoke as though the Bible was just saying all we need to do is love one another and live lives of love so that we will live in Nirvana. He didn't mention that we can't do this without Christ. The gospel is not that we need to follow Christ as the most perfect example of 'love'. It's rather that we need forgivenss for our sins and that we cannot love without Christ. If he dared to say what John says, I suspect the reaction to his message would have been somewhat different.

As one atheist tweeted: 'I admired his enthusiasm but, humans are perfectly capable of expressing this level of emotion and love without any of the 100's of gods invented over the years.' And that is precisely the message that the world took from it. You don't need God. All you need is love. And you are perfectly capable of love. The redemptive power of love in his message was not about the redemptive power of the cross, but rather the redemptive power of any love. Equating my love for my wife, children, friends, society, self with the redemptive love of Christ, takes away from the power of the cross. We preach salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, through the cross of Christ. We don't preach salvation through our own redemptive love copying that of Christ.

I don't deny that God could use this sermon to reach people. A sovereign God, who has used a donkey and a pagan king in the past, can surely use even the smatterings of his word that were part of the bishop's sermon. But we need to be realistic. Nobody heard the gospel  except those who already knew it. Nobody (except evangelicals) is talking about Christ  they are all talking about Bishop Michael Curry and Meghan's dress. The evangelical response in grasping at the crumbs from the bishop's table shows how desperate we have become  and how wedded we are to our own culture. We are not walking on the water of our culture. We are drowning in it. Little wonder that we are so wet and ineffective.

Let me stress the importance of this another way. The cameras lingered a lot on the Clooneys, Oprah and the Beckhams. What struck me was the haunted, sad and lonely look on Victoria Beckham's face. I have no idea what was going on  but I know this. Whatever the problem, the cure is the good news of Jesus Christ. It's such a shame that she did not hear it.

David Robertson is associate director of Solas CPC in Dundee and minister at St Peter's Free Church. Follow him on Twitter @TheWeeFlea10 things to know about the photography of Stephen Shore

A guide to the photographer who sold his first images to MoMA at the age of 14, and who is now, in his eighth decade, reaching a new audience with his Instagram account. Illustrated with works from a dedicated online sale, 22-30 May

1

Stephen Shore was a prodigy  although not in the classroom

Born in 1947 in Manhattan, Stephen Shore is an only child; his parents ran a handbag business. His introduction to photography came very early on  he received his first darkroom kit, a gift from his uncle, when he was just six years old.

As Shore would later tell The Wall Street Journal, school was never a top priority. Im sure my parents had hopes and dreams for me that I would graduate high school and go to college, but I think it was clear that this was just so interesting, he said of his burgeoning photographic career.

2

Shores work was acquired by MoMA when he was a teenager



At the age of just 14, he sold three of his photographs to the Museum of Modern Art, encouraged by Edward Steichen, the museums former Photographs director, and John Szarkowski, who had taken over from Steichen.

When he was 24, he had his first solo show at the Metropolitan Museum.

3

While still a teenager, Shore fell in with Andy Warhol and the Factory

When he was 17, Shore befriended Andy Warhol. For the next two years the Pop artist and the Factory scene would be Shores primary subject. I saw Andy making aesthetic decisions, he recalls in his book, Factory: Andy Warhol. It wasnt anything he ever said to me. I saw these decisions happening over and over again. It awakened my sense of aesthetic thought.

4

Stephen Shore experimented with a wide range of cameras and mediums

Over the course of his career, Shore has worked with everything from a Mick-A-Matic  a plastic camera shaped like Mickey Mouse  and other inexpensive automatic cameras, to a handheld 35-millimetre camera and large-format cameras.

In the 1970s he turned to colour, before returning to black and white in the 1990s. In the 2000s he embraced digital photography and printing, as well as social media.

5

As well as looking to the past, Stephen Shore drew from his contemporaries



Key influences included 19th-century French photographer Eugene Atget, and American masters Timothy OSullivan and Walker Evans. But he did not exclusively look to the past. Central to Shores artistic development was his discovery of the work of his contemporary Ed Ruscha, particularly his photobooks unaccompanied by text, including the photobook Every Building on the Sunset Strip.

It was at a loft in Soho in 1967 or 68, said Shore of the moment he first encountered Ruschas work. The curator Kasper Koenig said, I have something to show you, and he unfolded the book on the floor, and I immediately went to Wittenborn bookstore and bought all of Ruschas books, which I still have. Shore was immediately drawn to Ruschas eschewing of perfectly planned and posed shots in favour of the conceptual  the ideas behind the images. From the late 1960s, Shore began to experiment with conceptual techniques himself. For a 2017 book, Stephen Shore: Selected Works, 1973-1981, Ruscha returned the favour, making a selection of some of his favourite images from Shores varied career. Looking at one picture you could hear a pin drop. Another would roar with noise and yet another would hum along quite ordinary-like, he said.

6

Stephen Shore was central to the New Topographics movement

In the 1970s Shore began to travel the United States, capturing America in all its mundane, unglamorous sprawl.

He became a pioneering figure in a movement known as New Topographics, whose adherents (including photographers Lewis Baltz, Robert Adams and Nicholas Nixon) took an interest in urban landscapes and compositions found within the imagery of the everyday. I wanted pictures that felt as natural as speaking, Shore has said.

7

Stephen Shores work was disdained by the great Ansel Adams

In this decade, Shore produced his two most popular series, American Surfaces and Uncommon Places. With Uncommon Places, he would recall decades later, I was interested more in the ordinary, of things not happening in your life. I wanted to be visually aware as I went through the day. I started photographing everyone I met, every meal, every toilet, every bed I slept in, the streets I walked on, the towns I visited. Indeed, the images in Uncommon Places  motel beds, street signs, gas stations and main streets  highlight Shores status as a traveller.

This focus was initially derided by an older generation of artists such as Ansel Adams who lauded the elevated, sublime beauty of nature. Eventually though, Shores aesthetic of the banal began to gain acceptance.

8

Shores use of colour went against the grain

Both American Surfaces and Uncommon Places were  controversially  shot in colour. In the 1970s, the medium of colour photography, far from being considered a fine art, was associated with the common family snapshot, pop culture, commercialism and kitsch. Shores decision to work in colour was a purposeful and deliberate choice, serving to underline the mundane qualities of his subject matter.

9

As an academic, Stephen Shore stresses the fundamentals

Since 1982, Shore has served as the director of the photography programme at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. Students are expected to learn the fundamentals of photography: darkroom skills and an appreciation of the history of the medium, even as Shore himself has fully embraced its new directions (he has become a keen Instagrammer).

10

Interest in Stephen Shores work is at a high pointTaco Cabana has opened a second location in Katy.

The new 3,644-square-foot restaurant at 24611 Katy Freeway, near Katy Fort Bend Road, has seating for 68 inside and another 28 on the outdoor patio.

"We first joined this community back in 1994, so we're very excited to grow our presence here. This new location will be our largest restaurant in Katy yet," Taco Cabana president Chuck Locke said in an announcement.

RELATED: Taco Cabana opens in Baytown

"We invite the community to explore a variety of Latin-inspired flavors with us this year, starting with the launch of our new USDA Choice Flame-Grilled Steak Fajitas."

A grand opening fiesta will be June 2.

Taco Cabana, a subsidiary of Fiesta Restaurant Group, has 44 locations in the Houston area.Austin-based Twin Liquors will open in Kingwood Marketplace on Wednesday. The 3,500-square-foot store represents the chain's fourth location in the Houston area.

The store, announced more than a year ago, joins the H-E-B-anchored center at Kingwood Drive and West Lake Houston Parkway in Kingwood. Co-owners David Jabour and Margaret Jabour will hold a grand opening at 3 p.m. at 4505 Kingwood Drive, #180. Events, specials and giveaways will take place throughout the weekend.1. Yes. The medical data shows it will be beneficial to get one. The sooner the better.

2. Yes. Theres no rush, but I plan to get one sometime in the next few months.

3. No. Im not sold on the need for a booster. Besides, the case numbers are falliing.

4. No. I havent been vaccinated for COVID-19, and I dont plan to get the booster, either.

5. Unsure. It may be smart to wait and see how beneficial the booster shots prove to be.

Vote

View ResultsOver the past few years, energy executives, analysts and oil ministers fretted about low oil prices. Now, with prices holding above $70 for U.S. crude, they shifted their focus to the potential impact of rising oil prices on global demand.

Oil prices jumped after the Trump Administration scuttled the Iran nuclear deal earlier this month and planned new sanctions to squeeze the Islamic Republics crude exports. With the peak driving season here, Dan Yergin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 1990s The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power, predicted in a CNBC interview that U.S. prices could hit $85 this summer.

Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of French oil major Total said he wouldnt be shocked if oil hit $100 a barrel this year, according to Bloomberg.

While rising oil prices would undoubtedly boost Houstons economy, it could have some domestic drawbacks. American drivers are sensitive to higher prices at the pump, and eventually will find ways to cut back gasoline consumption.

Dharmendra Pradhan, Indias petroleum minister, tweeted that he warned Saudi energy minister Khalid Al-Falih that the jump in international oil prices to more than $80 a barrel could have a negative impact on consumers and the Indian economy. India accounts for about 5 percent of the worlds oil demand, and the minister has said higher gas prices are pinching consumption.

The International Energy Agency, a Paris group advising energy importing countries, revised its outlook for global demand in 2018 from 1.5 million barrels a day to 1.4 million this week because of rising prices.

Irans oil exports sank by 1.2 million barrels a day after the U.S. and other western powers imposed sanctions six years ago. And in crisis-ridden Venezuela, oil production could continue to sink, providing more support for prices. In April, the OPEC nations output clocked in 550,000 barrels a day lower than the output cap it set in Vienna in late 2016.

In Venezuela, the pace of decline of oil production is accelerating and by the end of this year output could have fallen by several hundred thousand barrels a day, the IEA said a report last week. The potential double supply shortfall represented by Iran and Venezuela could present a major challenge for producers to fend off sharp price rises.

Until a few years ago, climbing oil prices only represented a headwind for the U.S. economy as higher energy costs sucked money from consumers that they could have spent on other goods and services. That money mostly flowed to OPEC and other international producers.

These days, however, economists are split on the impact of higher oil prices on U.S. economy. On the one hand, rising fuel prices could persuade drivers to avoid the roads. On the other, the United States has become a major oil exporter, which brings more money into the country.

The IEA said its still confident that the worlds demand growth remains strong at a projected 99.2 million barrels a day this year. Still, the IEA said, the fact is that crude oil prices have risen by nearly 75 percent since June 2017. It would be extraordinary if such a large jump did not affect demand growth.

collin.eaton@chron.com

twitter.com/CollinEatonHCsshepard/Getty Images

A University of Houston student was assaulted on campus Sunday afternoon by a man who fled in her car, university police said.

The assault and carjacking happened about 4 p.m., according to an alert sent out Sunday to UH students and employees.Today is Tuesday, May 22, the 142nd day of 2018. There are 223 days left in the year.

Todays highlight in history:

On May 22, 1968, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, sank in the Atlantic Ocean. (The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.)

On this date:

1761: The first American life insurance policy was issued in Philadelphia to the Rev. Francis Allison, whose premium was six pounds per year.

1868: A major train robbery took place near Marshfield, Indiana, as members of the Reno gang made off with $96,000 in loot.

1913: The American Cancer Society was founded in New York under its original name, the American Society for the Control of Cancer.

1939: The foreign ministers of Germany and Italy, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Galeazzo Ciano, signed a Pact of Steel committing the two countries to a military alliance.

1947: The Truman Doctrine was enacted as Congress appropriated military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey.

1960: An earthquake of magnitude 9.5, the strongest ever measured, struck southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.

1969: The lunar module of Apollo 10, with Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene Cernan aboard, flew to within nine miles of the moons surface in a dress rehearsal for the first lunar landing.

1972: President Richard Nixon began a visit to the Soviet Union, during which he and Kremlin leaders signed the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The island nation of Ceylon became the republic of Sri Lanka.

1981: Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe was convicted in London of murdering 13 women and was sentenced to life in prison.

1992: After a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBCs Tonight Show for the final time (Jay Leno took over as host three days later).

1998: A federal judge ruled that Secret Service agents could be compelled to testify before the grand jury in the Monica Lewinsky investigation. Voters in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland turned out to cast ballots giving resounding approval to a Northern Ireland peace accord.

2011: A tornado devastated Joplin, Mo., with winds up to 250 mph, claiming at least 159 lives and destroying about 8,000 homes and businesses.

2008: A Texas appeals court said the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist groups ranch the previous month; the children were returned to their parents. Britains Conservative Party won a special election that was viewed as a rebuke to Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Gordon Brown.

2013: Lois Lerner, an Internal Revenue Service supervisor whose agents had targeted conservative groups, swore to a House committee she did nothing wrong, then refused to answer further questions, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself. In a brutal daylight attack in London, two al-Qaida-inspired extremists with butcher knives hacked to death an off-duty British soldier, Lee Rigby, before police wounded them in a shootout. (The attackers were later sentenced to prison.)

2017: A suicide bomber set off an improvised explosive device that killed 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. In a historic gesture, President Donald Trump solemnly placed a note in the ancient stones of Jerusalems Western Wall. Ford Motor Co. announced it was replacing CEO Mark Fields. Actress Dina Merrill, 93, died at her home in East Hampton, New York.A small handful of Santa Fe High School students stood in silence with members of the community and 16 comfort dogs on a cloudy Monday morning, surrounding 10 white crosses with red hearts displayed in front of the school honoring each of the victims of Friday's shooting.

Gov. Greg Abbott called for the statewide moment of silence at 10 a.m. on Monday in remembrance of the victims, families, and first responders from the tragedy at Santa Fe High School.

The high school will remain closed until Wednesday. A previously scheduled Santa Fe ISD School Board Meeting scheduled for Monday night has been postponed until a new date can be determined.

During the moment of silence, some huddled in prayer. Others bowed their heads solemnly. One student and her mother laid their hands on the memorial cross for Cynthia Tisdale, a beloved substitute teacher who was killed in the shooting.

Each cross had a red heart on the front with the name of each victim written on the cross' horizontal bar. At the conclusion of the moment of silence, the few students at the school -- identified by the green and white school T-shirts they were wearing -- helped lay flowers and photos at the foot of each cross.

"It's a start," said Alex Cravey, 16, a junior at Santa Fe High School, said of the moment of silence. Cravey said she probably would not return to the school once it reopened on Wednesday. "There's no way we're ever going to be able to heal from this."

The comfort dogs, all golden retrievers, were provided by Lutheran Church Charities. The dogs laid quietly on the grass as some students and community members went over and pet them. The charity was invited by a local Santa Fe church, Gloria Day Lutheran Church, to serve the community in their time of need. The dogs were provided by several different states the charity partners with, coming from as far as Massachusetts, Indiana, and Illinois to soothe the Santa Fe community.

"We've been working in the family assistance center," said Richard Martin, the director of deployments for Lutheran Church Charities. "Schools are closed right now but we've been meeting with a lot of the kids at the vigils that have been planned and held and continue to meet countless families out here today."

James Otto, who graduated from Santa Fe High School in 2011, was among the community members who showed up at the high school on Monday to help lay down bouquets of flowers at the foot of these memorials, driving from an earlier vigil for the victims in League City to lend a hand.

Otto said he was still processing that something like this could happen to a small town where not a day goes by without seeing a familiar face.

"Santa Fe is barely a blip on anybody's radar, we're a small town everybody knows everybody," Otto said. "The [shooter] who did this, I just saw him a week ago at a restaurant up in Webster. We've seen him at the grocery store. He looks like just anybody."

Nova Tull, 15, a student at Santa Fe, said she was unsure of whether she would return to school when it reopens on Wednesday. She came on Monday to honor the memory of her friend, Chris Stone, who was killed on Friday.

"He definitely was a hero, always looking out for other people and always there for everybody," Tull said. "He wasn't mean to anyone. He was not a bullying person, he was always happy and laughing and funny. I only knew him this year and he was a great friend."

Tull added that now was not the time to discuss how to solve what appears to be a growing epidemic of school violence across the country.

"We just need time to heal and be with each other."

Santa Fe school district representatives and local elected officials will hold a press conference on 4 p.m. on Monday. A spokesman for Galveston County Judge Mark Henry said the main focus of the press conference will be "steps we're taking to bring closure to the community and resume normalcy."

Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.comMay 7

At 2:59 a.m., Officer Barrientos was dispatched to a welfare check of a driver inside a vehicle in the 5700 block of Newcastle. Ofc. Barrientos arrived on scene and observed a female driver asleep in the driver seat while the vehicle was on and in drive. Ofc. Barrientos placed the driver in custody for driving while intoxicated.

At 1:24 a.m., Officer Schwausch was patrolling the 6100 block of IH 610 SB when he observed a black GMC Sierra speeding 84 mph in a 60 mph zone. Officer Schwausch initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and further investigation found the driver to be driving while intoxicated. The suspect was subsequently charged and placed into custody without incident.

At 8:54 a.m., Officer Vorhees conducted a traffic stop on a gray Ford Mustang in the 4600 block of Bellaire Boulevard. The driver was subsequently found to be operating a motor vehicle while his Texas Drivers License was currently under suspension. The driver was placed in custody and transported to the Bellaire Jail and booked for driving while license suspended / enhanced.

At 11:18 a.m., Officer C. Barber responded to the 4600 block of Maple Street regarding a burglary of a motor vehicle. The suspect stole a handgun from an unsecured pickup truck.

May 8

At 12:21 a.m., Officer Schwausch and Officer Younger were patrolling the 6700 block of Atwell Drive when they observed a black Chevrolet Impala fail to maintain a single lane. Officer Schwausch initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and further investigation, found the driver to be driving while intoxicated. The suspect was subsequently charged and placed into custody without incident. The passenger of the vehicle was found to be in possession of a set of illegal fighting knuckles. During the booking process, the passenger suspect became combative and uncooperative. The passenger suspect was charged with unlawful carry of a weapon and interfering with public servant duties.

At 7:06 a.m., Officer Trujillo was dispatched the 100 block of Pamellia Drive in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle call. Upon arrival he spoke to the victim who advised an unknown person(s) broke out the rear window and removed items from his vehicle without his permission.

At 9:55 a.m., Officer Andrade was dispatched to the Bellaire Police Department Lobby to meet with a reportee in reference to a burglary of motor vehicle in the 5000 block of Holly Street. Officer Andrade met with the reportee who stated sometime between 3:15 p.m. May 4 and May 6, an unknown suspect entered his unlocked vehicle parked in the 5000 block of Holly Street, and stole a black backpack.

At 12:32 p.m., Officer D.Rocha initiated a traffic stop on a white Chevrolet van for defective equipment in the 5700 block of Evergreen Street. The driver was subsequently found to have a Texas drivers license that showed to be currently suspended. The driver was arrested and charged with driving while license suspended / enhanced.

At 3:37 p.m., Officer Delgado was dispatched to the 6700 block of North First Street in regards to a motor vehicle accident. The driver of a 2005 Infiniti was unable to provide her Texas Driver License or any proof of financial responsibility. Through computer inquiry the driver was found to have an ineligible license and unconfirmed insurance. The driver was placed in custody for driving while license invalid enhanced and transported to the Bellaire Police Department Jail for booking and processing.

May 9

At 1 p.m., Officer Carson was dispatched to 5909 West Loop South in regards to a criminal mischief. The unknown suspect used an unknown tool to break the back left passenger window. The suspect entered the vehicle but no items were taken.

At 4:30 a.m., Officers Quimby, Clisham, Barrientos, and Sergeant Hollie were dispatched to a theft in progress at 5300 Pine St. Officers were advised a male subject was loading wood into a truck, which was inside the gated constructions site. Upon arrival at approximately 0431 hours, the suspect was gone; however, the suspect vehicle was still on location. Officers checked the area, but were unable to locate the suspect. The vehicle was towed and a hold placed on the vehicle by Officer Quimby.

May 10

At 10:15 p.m., Officer Marcotte initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle for not having headlamps on when required in the 5800 block of Bissonnet. The driver was found to have no valid identification and was arrested on traffic charges. A counterfeit Alien Resident card was located in the driver's possession and she was charged with felony forgery of a government instrument.

May 11

At 10:21 a.m., Officer C. Barber responded to the 4900 block of Maple Street regarding a burglary of the motor vehicle. The suspect broke out the driver side back window and stole a bag with various contents.

At 11:50 a.m., Officer Vorhees was dispatched to 5308 Bellaire Blvd. to meet with the reportee in reference to a burglary of a motor vehicle. The reportee stated an unknown suspect entered his unlocked vehicle, pried the glove box open and stole two envelopes with money.

May 12

At 8:37 a.m., Officer M. Santillanes was dispatched to the 4800 block of Palmetto Street in reference to an identity theft call. Upon arrival Officer M. Santillanes met with the victim who advised an unknown suspect stole his credit card information and made several unauthorized charges on his account. Officer Santillanes completed an identity theft report.

May 13

At 5:06 a.m., Officer Schwausch was on patrol in the 800 block of N. Third Street when he observed a white bicycle lying in the street. Officer Schwausch stopped and observed a white Honda van parked in the 800 block of North Third Street with the rear driver side sliding door open. Officer Schwausch then observed a black male rummaging through the vehicle. When Officer Schwausch attempted to make contact with the male, he fled on foot. The suspect was found by Corporal Porter and Officer Ortega. The suspect continued to flee on foot from Officers and was subsequently tased and placed into custody by Officer Ortega. A handgun was found on the suspects person after being arrested. The suspect was charged with burglary of a motor vehicle with 2 priors, evading on foot, and felon in possession of a weapon. The suspect was linked to other burglaries and a theft that occurred on 05/13/2018 and subsequently charged with theft of a firearm.

At 8:20 a.m., Officer Carson was dispatched to 800 block of Holton Street in regards to burglary of motor vehicle. The victim advised backpack, perfume, shipping bag and other miscellaneous items were taken from inside the vehicle. The suspect in this case was caught earlier on this date.

At 5 a.m., Officer Schwausch apprehended a suspect for burglary of motor vehicles, evading and felon in possession of a firearm in the 4900 block of Elm Street. One of the vehicles had a Sig Sauer .380 handgun taken from the trucks cab. On May 13 at about 9:30 a.m., Officer C. Barber, also a duly sworn peace officer for the City of Bellaire, responded to the above address regarding a burglary of a motor vehicle where the suspect stole a Sig Sauer .380 handgun. When a comparison was made, the serial number of the stolen gun matched the gun found on the suspect.

At 9 a.m., Officer Carson was dispatched to 800 block of Holten Street in regards to burglary of motor vehicle. The victim advised his Apple Nano and Shuffle were taken from inside the vehicle. The suspect in this case was arrested earlier on this date.

At 5:20 p.m., Officer Delgado was dispatched to the 5000 block of Wedgewood Drive in reference to a theft. Upon arrival Officer Delgado made contact with the victim who stated an unknown suspect(s) entered the victims backyard and stole his property.Ray Fisher / Royal Dutch Shell

BP has signed a long-term agreement to purchase liquefied natural gas from Venture Global LNG once it opens its export facility in Calcasieu Pass, LA.

Under the 20-year agreement, BP will purchase 2 million metric tons of LNG annually upon completion of the export facility, which is slated to begin operation in 2022. The facility, expected to export 10 million metric tons of LNG a year at full capacity, is under construction on a 1,000-acre site at the intersection of the Calcasieu Ship Channel and the Gulf of Mexico.The new Position 6 trustee on the Katy Independent School District board hopes she and the winner of the other open seat in this years election may be able to bring a fresh perspective to the controversy over the bullying allegations against now-outgoing superintendent Lance Hindt and his $750,000 buyout package.

We didnt have a dog in the fight, said Susan Gesoff, who received 3,324 votes out of 5,506 that were cast.

Gesoff, an engineer with BP and former Katy ISD science and social studies teacher, said board members, as elected representatives, should help facilitate dialogue with citizens who are concerned about issues of importance to them.

Its important that we learn something from this, Gesoff said. We have to try to learn something as a board, as a district and as a community going forward.

New Position 7 trustee Dawn Champagne said she believes the uproar will be shortlived and eventually subside.

We just have to get back to our lives and the business of running this district, Champagne said. We cant go back and change it. All we can do is go forward and learn from it - and not make similar mistakes.

Champagne received 3,025 votes out of 5,654 that were cast in the Position 7 trustee race.

Im very excited about winning. I felt like I got the endorsement of the community, said Champagne, who has volunteered with a wide-variety of school-related activities over the years.

The new Katy ISD trustees will receiving training next month from the Texas Association of School Boards on their duties.

Im really looking forward to that, Gesoff said.

As a former Katy ISD educator for six years, Gesoff said shes also looking forward to having input on policy-making within the district.

In general, my focus is on academics and the teachers are on the front lines of academics, she said. I think we absolutely have fabulous teachers and fabulous academic programs.

While she said she can see both sides of the quarrel, Champagne characterized herself as a big fan of Lance Hindt. She said his replacement as superintendent would do well to emulate his relationship with the rank-and-file at Katy ISD.

Someone with the personality of Dr. Hindt would be good - somebody who is engaging and enthusiastic as Dr. Hindt was and is about his staff, she said. He made the teachers happy and when the teachers are happy, the kids are happy and the parents are happy.

Although they had won their respective elections, Gesoff and Champagne werent yet privy to the behind-the-scenes decisions from the trustees that resulted in Hindts amended contract - and the $750,000 he will receive after leaving the position on Jan. 1, 2019.

Id hate to judge or comment when I wasnt there. But, I have a list of questions Id like the answers to, Gesoff said. He resigned but were paying him like we terminated him.

Champagne also noted she wasnt yet part of the board when the decision was made about Hindts amended contract.

I dont know all of the details about that. I cant wait to find out, she said.

If she had her wish, Hindt would remain in his position as the Katy ISD superintendent so the district can continue to move forward, Champagne said.

Id like for the focus to get back on the children and away from the adults, she said.

mike.glenn@chron.comExperts say action is needed to reduce the amount of fecal material in two waterways that feed into Lake Houston, a major water supplier for the Houston area.

The West Fork San Jacinto River and parts of Lake Creek have fallen short of Texas water quality standards for some years now, according to Justin Bower, senior planner of community and environmental planning for the Houston-Galveston Area Council.

This essentially means something has to happen, Bower said. Some action needs to be taken.

Bower is project manager for an effort called the West Fork Watersheds Partnership  an entity that comprises many local stakeholders, including governmental entities, businesses and individuals  whose focus is on finding solutions to the water quality concerns in the West Fork and Lake Creek.

Limiting the amount of fecal material in the waters content to meet the state standard is a main goal of the WPP, according to Bower.

Essentially, Lake Houston and Lake Conroe are water supply reservoirs, Bower said. Lake Houston is one of the primary surface suppliers for a lot of the Houston area and Lake Conroe is managed by the SJRA and one of their primary roles is surface water supply. So, the waterway serves as a conduit between those two areas.

A draft of their plan to improve water quality in these watersheds  The West Fork San Jacinto River and Lake Creek Watershed Protection Plan (WPP)  was released the week of May 14.

Over the next six months, implementation will likely focus on identifying simple, low-cost solutions to reduce pollutants, such as installing pet waste stations in public areas that do not already have them. Pet waste, Bower said, is an appreciable source of fecal waste in the watershed.

In the early years of implementation, Bower said a focus would be on fixing septic systems because human waste is dangerous to health. Failing septic systems is one of the biggest cost-drivers anticipated in this watershed project.

Fecal waste is the primary concern, but it does not come from one single source.

Its a mix of wildlife and livestock and human waste, Bower said. It makes it challenging and we have to address a lot of different sources, but it also gives us a lot of flexibility. We dont have to focus only on septic systems. If there are opportunities to jump on a program that someones doing with feral hogs and maybe supplement some of that, we can do that.

There are too many unknowns as far individual project costs and funding sources to give an accurate total cost estimate for implementation of the WPP in its entirety, however Bower said it is safe to say the projects costs will be in the millions.

This is a collective funding from a lot of different sources  its not going through a central entity, Bower said. Its a combination of all the efforts that are taking place. Even things that arent being paid for under the project that still go into that effort and are part of the recommendation.

The West Fork Watersheds Partnership stakeholders collaborated for the past year-and-a-half, providing their input for the WPP, which was developed by H-GAC on behalf of the partnership.

The project area spans the watershed for the West Fork between Lake Conroe and the confluence with Spring Creek, right above Lake Houston. It includes everything upstream of that confluence, including Lake Creek, which is the primary northern tributary to the West Fork.

State water quality standards are based on waterway use, which includes recreational use, and the waterways addressed in this WPP constitute a public water supply, explained Bower.

The Bayou Land Conservancy is a project stakeholder focused on watersheds feeding into Lake Houston, explained Jill Boullion, executive director of the BLC.

(Lake Houston) is a vital source of drinking water for millions in the region, Boullion said. The West Fork, and Lake Creek, are the streams of highest interest to us within that broader focus area.

David Parkhill, director of Raw Water Enterprise for the San Jacinto River Authority  which is one of the stakeholders  said the water quality should be improved, even if the water in the watershed is generally of good quality.

The continued growth and urbanization in this area definitely creates concerns for the future maintenance of the water quality, Parkhill said. We recognize the challenges that we must deal with regarding water quality in this region and this planning effort will undoubtedly benefit all of us who are engaged in protecting and enhancing the current water resources.

The target date of completing the project goals outlined in the WPP draft is 2030, but Bower said the plan will be reviewed and altered as implementation progresses.

The areas along those watersheds need attention sooner than later, explained Bower. One of the main challenges this project faces is the rapid development in the area.

Sometimes success in the early years is not a reduction in pollutants; its a reduction in the increase of pollutants  slowing down the increase a little, Bower said. So, 2030s our goal date, but weve got a lot of stuff pegged to happen between now and then and were constantly revising what were saying were going to do.

Now that the WPP draft has been sent out to stakeholders, there will be a review and comment period. Bower anticipates revisions will be necessary before arriving at the document that will be submitted for review to the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality. Any additional needed changes will be made to the document, which is then submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency where the document undergoes another review process before the plan is approved.

After a WPP is approved, he said usually that opens the doors to explore options for further funding from a variety of sources. Costs of implementation can come from grants, local partners, private foundations and other available resources.

But, were probably a couple months out from EPA and TCEQ really weighing in, but in the meantime were continuing to meet and were continuing to start getting some implementation on the ground, Bower said.

According to Bower, up to this point a grant from the TCEQ covers a majority of the costs associated with the WPP development through a Clean Water Act 319(h) program. The TCEQ grant was approximately $450,000. Approximately half went to the San Jacinto River project so far, while other portions have gone to preliminary work being done on Spring and Cypress Creek.

Bower said the project to this point has been carried out efficiently, so they are talking with the TCEQ about extending the project for another year without any additional cost. This would allow HGAC to guide the first year of implementation as the regional facilitator.

Bowers best projection as of now is that there will be about $80,000 for fiscal year 2019 to fund staff time, meetings and some early implementation tasks that will most likely focus on education and outreach efforts.

We havent confirmed any of that with the TCEQ yet, Bower said. Were still working with them to amend our contract.

The HGAC will continue being involved in one form or another, explained Bower. However, at the end of the day, Bower said this Watershed Protection Plan is locally-driven.

This is not HGACs plan, its not TCEQs plan  its the Watershed Partnerships Plan, Bower said. From day one its their implementation and their plan and its our job to try to clear as many hurdles and get as many resources as we can.

mfeuk@hcnonline.comRay Schultz, chief of the Memorial Villages Police Department, sat down to discuss how his department handled Hurricane Harvey and how it is preparing for this years hurricane season in the first of a two-part series. Hurricane season runs June 1-Nov. 30.

Schultz has been police chief for the cities of Bunker Hill Village, Hunters Creek Village and Piney Point Village for nearly 14 months. He said much of his staff had not experienced a hurricane together, so Harvey forced them to grow and adapt as a team.

The area hadnt had to experience a devastating hurricane like we did with Harvey, so it was a learning experience for everyone in the department. Theres been quite a bit of change over the last six years, so many of the employees had never been through a hurricane together, he said. We all learned together how to deal with the initial impact of the storm, and of course, Harvey was unique in the fact that for us, it was a 17-day event.

Schultz said the three villages had about 70 properties with significant water damage, and the police department did 92 rescues, helped by the fire department who did roughly 200 rescues. But much of impact in the communities, he said, was felt after the initial flood, when thousands of cars inched along through the villages trying to navigate the Houston area that had many bridge and road closures.

It was three and a half or four days of flooding and water levels, but then we had 11 or 12 days of traffic because some of the first bridge crossings to open across Buffalo Bayou were right here in the villages. So we went from a couple thousand cars a day to 100,000-plus cars a day. We became a traffic gridlockI guess would probably be the easiest way to say itfor about 14 hours a day, Schultz said.

The South Piney Point bridge was the first bridge over Buffalo Bayou to open after the storm, and Schultz said his department tried to keep it clear so first responders and supplies could get through to where they were needed. He said the elevated traffic levels continued throughout the villages until the Gessner bridge finally opened several days later.

Schultz said the officers also had to protect property after the flooding because while looting was not an issue, pickers would come into the villages looking for flooded homes where items and materials were discarded and wander onto peoples property.

One of Schultz focus areas has been improving communications with residents it serves, and he said the departments V-LINC system helped to relay vital information on a daily basis during and following the hurricane. Such messages advised residents to get out, do their shopping and run errands like picking up their prescriptions early in the morning so they could avoid spending unnecessary hours in traffic. Schultz said some people later thanked him for sharing the advice and sparing them the additional stress.

Schultz said his department did very well at everything he gave them and that his officers were even able to help neighbors outside of the villages.

We were involved the first couple of days in direct rescue, getting people out of the houses. We ended up doing a lot of those in areas just outside of our jurisdiction that were in Houston proper, he said. Houston didnt have the immediate resources. We did. So as we got our residents out, we were able to assist Houston.

During the storm, first responders, national guardsmen and other emergency workers unknowingly contaminated the carpet of the MVPD building by wearing rubber boots that had been in flood waters inside. Therefore, Schultz said in order to protect the newly installed tile flooring in future events, the department will only allow rubber boots to be worn inside during future floods if they have been properly decontaminated with a bleach solution.

For this years hurricane season, Schultz said his department has tried to improve by already having all its supplies like waders, rubber boots, PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] and vehicles inventoried and ready. He also said the department is now better equipped to house its officers, dispatchers and support staff for another major event so they can more efficiently work 12-hour on, 12-hour off shifts.

All of our staff commutes into Memorial Villages. We have folks that live 30 miles away. Obviously, as traffic becomes a problem, we have to house them here, Schultz said. So thats one of the main lessons we learned it to be able to house all our folks. We have to house two shifts, and we have to house men and women, police officers and dispatchers.

tracy.maness@hcnonline.comIts a great day for kids when the Curiosity Cruiser rolls into their community. A mobile library, the Curiosity Cruiser is a joint effort between the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation and the Harris County Public Library to boost literacy and access to books for kids.

The Curiosity Cruiser brings books and other activities to kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. The cruiser travels to schools, community centers, parks, gyms, daycare centers and more.

According to Julie Baker Finck, president for the Barbara Bush Houston Literacy Foundation, Members of the Ladies for Literacy Guild within the foundation wanted to provide more economically disadvantaged children in Houston access to books in their homes and rich learning experiences beyond school walls.

They were disheartened that many school libraries have collections that are out of date and no librarian leading them. In addition, they recognized that low-income families face barriers to visiting a brick-and-mortar public libraries, Baker Finck said.

The foundation and the library collaborated and fundraised money to design the Curiosity Cruiser, which is a custom-made library on wheels, complete with its own two reading superheroes, Owlbotron and Northtale.

Owlbotron was a struggling student and was even bullied by his peers. When he meets Northtale, a very smart librarian, she guides him to reach his potential through introduction to a special book.

Owlbotron discovered that through the power of a book, he can change the world. Now the two are a team that travel in and around the city to give children the power of reading, Brian Kehinde, Mobile Outreach Specialist for the Curiosity Cruiser, said.

For approximately an hour to ninety minutes, the Cruiser Team conducts fun, engaging, age-tailored storytime activities. Owlbotron and Northtale are onboard regularly.

Its a state of the art vehicle, similar to a science lab, where children can tinker with 3-D Printers and experiment with robotics, Lisa Blackwell, Mobile Outreach Specialist for the Curiosity Cruiser said.

The Cruiser programs provide children a wide variety of fun, hands-on activities that promote, enhance and emphasize STREAM-related activities: Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Art and Math. Some program examples include LEGO robotics, learning about circuits with Makey activities, or creating individual art work or writing.

We vary the activities based on the location we are visiting. We read books with the children and use activities to explore their creativity, Linda Stevens, division manager of Programs, Partnerships and Outreach, Harris County Public Library said.

Kids and adults are excited when they see the Curiosity Cruiser. Theyve never seen anything like it before. Many children select a book, sit down and begin perusing or reading the book immediately. Every time this happens, we recognize that our return on investment will be reaped untold times, Baker Finck said.

Upcoming this summer, the Cruiser is partnering with several apartment communities throughout Houston to bring the Summer Reading Program to residents. They will also be at the Houston Food Bank on June 5 to celebrate the start of their summer Kids Cafe and at the Parker Williams and Barbara Bush libraries to be part of the summer reading kickoff festivities.

Harris County has millions of people, so the Cruiser will use every tool it has at its disposal to reach patrons with essential library services, Edward Melton, Library Director, Harris County Public Library said.

Anyone can request a visit from the Curiosity Cruiser at www.curiositycruiser.com. Priority is given to communities in need and visits are based upon availability.

People can support the Curiosity Cruiser in three ways: by donating new or like-new books during the annual community book drive in March; making a tax-deductible monetary donation at CuriosityCruiser.com; or becoming a member of the Ladies for Literacy Guild at BushHoustonLiteracy.org.

rebecca.hazen@chron.comThe Moore Elementary school that principal Patricia Myers returned to after Hurricane Harvey struck Houston was completely different from the one she left a week earlier.

And now, shes only a couple months away from seeing the campus completely transformed. The renovations at Moore Elementary, 13734 Lakewood Forest, will be completed while she and her staff are away on summer vacation.

Its going to be beautiful, Myers said.

Still, she can clearly remember visiting the school after the storm to assess the damage.

When she arrived, crews had already started demolishing the interior.

There was still standing water inside, Myers said. It was devastating. The building always looked so beautiful, so welcoming, so ready to go. To see it like this was heartbreaking - and it was heartbreaking for the teachers too.

She had been working in the neighborhood to coordinate rescues from high water after the storm. Families were escaping from the second and third floors of nearby apartments.

In the back of her mind, she thought of Moore and pictured what could be happening on campus.

I just knew, she said. I knew the school was going to take on water.

Seeing the damage in person was gut wrenching. Still, Myers was resolved to move forward.

Youve got students who lost everything, and staff members who lost everything, she said. In a situation like this, you just have to take it one day at a time.

A year-long journey of repair and renovation, struggle and endurance had begun.

The Cy-Fair Independent School District sprung into action, Myers said.

The district has great leadership, and they had a plan, she said.

Chief operations officer Roy Sprague offered Moore an empty campus where they could temporarily set-up shop. Matzke Elementary had moved to a new home at 10002 Mills Rd, leaving its old campus at 13102 Jones Rd vacant.

Two weeks after the storm, teachers headed to the former Matzke site to start setting up their classrooms.

Within a couple of hours, there were hundreds of people there bringing in supplies and decorating classrooms, Myers said. Other teachers were there helping my teachers, who were still shell-shocked.

Principals from around the district had organized a drive for school supplies, she added.

It was tough, but we never felt like we were alone, she said. They took good care of us.

The teachers went back to work in their classrooms, and Sprague and his team began renovations at Moore.

Weve had to gut the inside of the building and rebuild it completely, Sprague said.

To save time, he was able to recycle a design from Adam Elementary School to update the interior of the building.

At the same time, the district decided to move forward on renovations slated for Moore as part of the 2014 bond, including a kitchen addition.

In the end, Sprague said Moore will be completed remodeled, with new walls, flooring, paint and mechanical systems.

The only thing remaining is the exterior brick and weve added some new windows to that, he said.

The front entry will also be modified and a canopy added for shaded student drop-off. Administrative office space will be added to the front as well.

Flood mitigation work was part of the project, Sprague added. The campus will gain an additional detention pond, and the parking lot will be lowered to hold water if needed.

The school will receive all new furniture, library books and computers, Sprague added.

Everything will be complete in time for the next school year. Weve been in a crunch, Sprague said. It will be tight, but were going to make it in time.

Myers said its hard to believe that she will be moving her staff back into Moore in the fall. Were gradually getting into the fun and exciting part, she said. I cant wait to get into that new building.

While the whole experience has been traumatic, Myers said its had a few positive results.

We didnt just survive, she said. We decided were not going to just trudge through this year. Were going to do the same thing we always do, just in a different building. A school isnt really about the building, its about the people inside.

Myers said teachers, parents, students and volunteers banded together in the aftermath of the storm to make this past school year a success.

Its really brought us together, she said. Were stronger for it.Seven Houston-area schools were threatened with guns Monday morning, less than three days after a 17-year-old gunman opened fire at Santa Fe High School, killing 10 and wounding 13.

A student at League City Intermediate in Clear Creek ISD, located less than 15 miles from Santa Fe High, brought an unloaded gun with him to school Monday morning. He was arrested and transported to a juvenile detention facility, according to school district officials.

In Cleveland ISD, a student brought a plastic replica of a Beretta 9mm Semi-automatic pistol to Eastside Elementary School and showed it to classmates. The replica fired pellets and had functional "red-dot" laser affixed beneath the barrel, according to Cleveland ISD Police Chief Rex Evans.

A Friendswood Junior High eighth grader was taken into custody Monday afternoon and charged with making a terroristic threat, a third degree felony, according to the Friendswood Police Department.

The Houston Police Department received a report at about 12:35 p.m. that someone had called YES Prep West on Harwin Drive and threatened to shoot at the location, said Jodi Silva, an HPD spokeswoman. The department sent an officer out to investigate, and YES Prep Spokeswoman Chanelle Figueroa said HPD determined there was no credible threat.

At La Marque High School in Texas City ISD, which is about 10 miles east of Santa Fe High, a male student texted someone and asked that they come to the school to bring him a gun.

Law enforcement K9 units swept through Crosby High School after officials discovered a threat scrawled in a men's restroom.

In Huffman ISD, about 30 miles northeast of Houston, officials said a Hargrave High School student had a gun in his backpack while on-campus Monday morning, intending to harm himself. District staff took the student into custody at about 11:45 a.m. after receiving a tip from fellow students. Huffman ISD spokeswoman Shirley Dupree said she could not immediately comment on whether the gun was loaded.

"There's no indication at this time that he intended to harm anyone else," Dupree said.

Schools across Houston were already on heightened alert Monday morning as students returned to classes for the first time since the Santa Fe High School shooting left the rural suburban community reeling on Friday.

Throughout the region, superintendents and administrative leaders told parents that they were once again reviewing security plans, considering facilities upgrades and conducting drills to prepare for active shooters.

In Crosby ISD, which serves a similarly-sized student population as Santa Fe ISD, Interim Superintendent Kirk Lewis said staff members have participated in multiple training sessions since the February shooting in Parkland, Florida. Now, the drills will extend to students, Lewis wrote in a letter to parents.

READ ALSO: As parents fret about school safety, districts beef up security in wake of Santa Fe shootings

It is important for our district and campus teams to know how to quickly evaluate a situation and appropriately respond to it, Lewis wrote. Our initial training has been focused on preparing our people. Our training and drills will extend to students at an age appropriate level in the days to come.

In Tomball ISD, Superintendent Martha Salazar-Zamora wrote to parents that Tomball Police Department officers presence at junior high and high schools will increase for the remainder of the school year. The district has also reached out to the Texas School Safety Center, the Houston Police Departments SWAT teams and others to conduct a security review.

As part of Tomabll ISDs serious and unwavering commitment to safety, we are again reviewing our campus security measures, including secured access points such as doors and gates, as well as devices such as cameras and policies related to visitors and events, Salazar-Zamora wrote.

RELATED: Police, school districts see increase in threats after Florida shooting

Schools closer to Santa Fe High School made similar vows.

Clear Creek ISD, which shares a border with Santa Fe ISD, will increase "police visibility" through the end of the year, wrote Superintendent Greg Smith. Dickinson ISD pledged additional officers would be stationed at its schools and staff would update the districts safety plans.

Angleton ISD Superintendent Pat Montgomery wrote more officers would patrol the districts eight regular campuses.

We do not believe that there is anything to be concerned about or wrong, Montgomery wrote, we just want to make sure you feel safe sending your child to school and that our students and staff feel safe coming to school.

READ ALSO: Worried Houston-area school officials beef up security after Florida shooting

Houston education and law enforcement officials already had pledged to beef up security measures after the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, left 17 dead and 14 injured.

Harris County Precinct 4 Constable Mark Herman instructed his deputies to perform daily check-ins with schools in Cypress-Fairbanks, Klein, Humble, Spring and Tomball ISDs. Houston ISD asked principals to review active shooter plans and coordinate with local law enforcement agencies.

Most schools have been quietly beefing up security since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 as well.

At Cy-Fair ISD, police officers are stationed at each of the district's high schools, and one is assigned to each middle school. The police department's patrol unit checks in with the district's elementary schools regularly. Every few months, students, staff members and police officers train for worst-case scenarios: severe weather, campus intruders, active shooters and violent crime nearby.A Houston baggage handler pleaded guilty Monday to stealing the service guns of three Washington state police officers who had checked their weapons when they boarded a flight in Houston to return home, according to the Justice Department.

Mack Stewart, 22, entered a guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina Bryan, and admitted he stole the weapons on Oct. 4, 2017 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport . The firearms were stolen from luggage checked on a United Airlines flight boarded by a trio of officers from Bellevue, Washington.Some explosives found in connection to the Santa Fe High School mass shooting that killed 10 Friday were functional -- a revelation that could result in federal charges against 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, authorities said Sunday.

Early reports indicated that bomb materials -- CO2 canisters wrapped with duct tape -- were non-operational. Testing by experts concluded that at least some of them were functional, officials said.

Explosives were reportedly found at the high school, at the teen's home and in a vehicle. Officials did not say where the functional devices were found.

Federal agents are continuing to investigate the shooting and test evidence, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The Justice Department is considering filing additional charges against Pagourtzis, who is facing charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer.

Because he is only 17 he is not eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without parole. If convicted on the state charges, Pagourtzis could theoretically be eligible for parole in 40 years.

Federal law enforcement could submit separate federal charges if the evidence indicates that the materials that went into making the devices were purchased using a credit or debit card or online and the transactions crossed state lines.

Santa Fe ISD warned community members to avoid suspicious items Friday.

"There have been explosives devices found in the high school and surrounding areas adjacent to the high school," Santa Fe ISD tweeted around noon on Friday. "Because of the threat of explosive items, community members should be on the look-out for suspicious packages and anything that looks out of place."

Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and send her email at gabrielle.banks@chron.com.Initial local responses to Fridays shooting at Santa Fe High School included concern about how prepared Pearland ISD schools would be if faced with a similar threat, announcement of plans for more police presence on campuses and a students calls for action by voters.

In a Facebook post, Pearland ISD trustee Crystal Carbone sought to reassure residents that the district is taking steps in the aftermath of the shooting, in which 10 people were killed and 13 injured.

Please know Pearland ISD understands your concerns and we are working with Pearland (police department) to ensure increased police presence at all campuses for the remainder of the school year, she wrote.

Trustee Sean Murphy said in an email, I believe we are going to look at current measures and what additional measures we can take. We must look at all options. This a top priority for the myself and the district. I personally would like to more of the bond savings to go towards security and safety. This was a top priority on our bond package.

Pearland ISDs Facebook page included a statement the day of the shooting that mentioned that all school employees and administration officials recently participated in Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events training led by the Pearland Police Department.

One of the most important safety measures we as a District and community can take is being vigilant and reporting any suspicious behaviors or issues of potential concern. We encourage the reporting of suspected dangers to the appropriate authorities, the statement said.

Rosy Murphy, 18, was among the students at Houston area schools who joined a national event in which students walked out of class to advocate gun safety in the aftermath of the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. that killed 17 people. Murphy, who is not related to Sean Murphy, organized the protest in April at Pearland High School, coordinating her plans with teachers and administrators and passing out voter registration cards.

Nothing will change, Murphy said Friday, if we dont vote.

Murphy said she struggles to find hopeful signs. The question, she said was not if another shooting will happen at a school, but when.

I was kind of just counting down the days until there was a school shooting close to home because its inevitable, she said. Is it going to take a school shooting in every town for everyone to change their minds?

Some parents in Fort Bend ISD, which includes schools that serve a part of Shadow Creek Ranch, worried that portable classroom buildings, with thin metal siding, would be easily pierced by bullets.One day after a fiery explosion at a Pasadena plastics plant injured 21 people, attorneys for a badly burned worker filed a $1 million lawsuit against Kuraray American Eval, accusing the multi-national company of gross negligence, failure to read safety policies and neglecting to create safety guidelines.

Workers doing welding and pipefitting work caused the explosion just after 10 a.m. Saturday, the suit alleges. As a team tinkered on an insulation tower, a safety release valve failed and caused an over-pressurization in the piping, which sparked the explosion and sent a fireball into the sky.

Eduardo Rodriguez was working on top of a scaffold at the time. He ended up badly burned and was forced to jump 25 feet down to the ground, the suit alleges.

Now, Houston attorney Anthony Buzbee is representing Rodriguez in a claim filed over the weekend in Harris County court.

The suit repeatedly dings Kuraray for allegedly failing to create a safe work environment and overlooking safety considerations that increased risks.

"Defendants had actual subjective awareness of the risk involved, but nevertheless proceeded in conscious indifference to the rights, safety, and/or welfare of others, including Plaintiff," the suit alleges.

"Defendants knew or should have known of the risk associated with using incorrect, insufficient, or defective piping and valves for this job."

The legal claim asks for money to cover medical expenses, attorney fees, interest and more.

A representative for Kuraray did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Crews quickly doused the Saturday morning blaze, and company officials stressed that it didn't result in any environmental releases.

None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, though two people were flown to hospitals with burns.

"We send our thoughts and prayers to those who were injured and impacted by today's incident," said Eric Bass, EVAL plant manager said Saturday. "Our team is committed to determining the cause of the incident."

The EVAL plant opened in 1986. It's now the world's largest ethylene vinyl alcohol plant, capable of producing 47,000 tons annually. There are four production lines on site.

In 2016, the company opened its third and largest local facility in the Bayport area. That plant employs about 100 people and produces polyvinyl alcohol for paper, textiles and other uses.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Chemical Safety Board records show no past violations at the site.

Company officials said it would take at least a couple days to assess the damage and determine when operations can resume.

Katherine Blunt contributed to this report.One person was injured in a crash involving a fire truck early Monday morning, Houston police said.

The crash was reported around 2 a.m. on the Southwest Freeway at Hillcroft. Police cleared the scene around 5 a.m.

KTRK reported that the crash happened after a suspected drunken driver hit another car, causing it to hit the back of a fire truck on the highway. The driver in the second car was pinned under the fire truck, according to KTRK.

The extent of that drivers injuries is unknown, but they are expected to survive, police said.A 2-year-old boy is in critical but stable condition after he was shot in southeast Houston on Sunday, police said.

The shooting happened around 11 p.m. in the 10900 block of Telephone Road, just north of the South Sam Houston Parkway.Sabika Sheikh wanted to be a diplomat when she grew up.

The 17-year-old dreamed of bringing cultures together and planned to devote her life to helping people understand each other. She was, her closest friend said, the most beautiful, loving person Ive ever met.

Sabika, an exchange student at Santa Fe High School, died Friday, one of 10 shot down by a gunman at the school just a month before her scheduled return to her home in Karachi, Pakistan.

To honor Sabikas memory, more than 2,000 people crowded together Sunday for funeral prayers at the Masjid Al-Sabireen mosque, the Brand Lane Islamic Center in Stafford.

Mourners came from Stafford, Houston, Missouri City and beyond. Families from Santa Fe blended with locals in a packed crowd of Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths. When the mosques indoor spaces filled up, people shed their shoes and kneeled in the grass and on the mosques cement walkways, even though a steamy rain had started to fall.

They came together to honor the girls life before her remains are returned to her parents in Pakistan.

We cannot allow (Sabikas) life to have been in vain, said U.S. Rep. Al Green, who joined Mayor Sylvester Turner and U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in speaking at the service.

A handful of yellow carnations, still wrapped in plastic, lay across the dais as he spoke.

Turner spoke about Sabikas desire to work in diplomacy.

Shell continue to be a diplomat, the mayor said. Because even in her death, shes building relationships between Pakistan and the United States.

The girls parents will not travel to the United States; instead, her remains will be transported back to Pakistan via Turkish Airlines.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old junior at the high school, has been charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer.

No more

M.J. Khan, president of the Islamic Society of Greater Houston, issued a direct challenge to the high school kids in the audience, urging them to follow the path of the teen survivors of the Feb. 14 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, who have spoken out nationally for gun control.

Dont look at Austin and Washington to solve your problems, he said. You must solve your problems yourselves. Take the lead from the students in Florida. They stood up and they said, No more.

We just lost 10 innocent, beautiful lives, Khan said. We must also say, No more.

Turner said Sabika deserved to be protected from gunfire in her school, as did the other students, teachers and staff.

She was one of our children as well, Turner said, calling for immediate action to make sure our schools are as safe as our airports and our government buildings.

He urged state and national legislators to get to work passing legislation to make schools safer.

We have to put into place practical, reasonable gun laws to protect our children, Turner said. There comes a time when you have to stand up and put those prayers to work.

Jackson Lee echoed the need for lawmakers to better protect children.

We mourn, but let us honor by action, she said.

Most precious gift

Members of Sabikas American host family spoke about the impact the young exchange student had on their lives in a short few months.

Jason and Joleen Cogburn had six children already, but they welcomed Sabika into their home as part of the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study program, which brought her from Karachi to Santa Fe for a school year.

Joleen Cogburn fought back tears as she recalled how Sabika had decorated her room entirely in Pakistan, including a Pakistani flag.

On Mothers Day, Sabika gave her host mother a prayer shawl handmade in her home country. Just a week later, Joleen Cogburn wore it to cover her head inside the mosque as she remembered Sabikas life.

She wanted to be a part of what we did, and we wanted to be a part of what she did, Jason Cogburn said. When Sabika began fasting last week for Ramadan, he said, the whole family started fasting along with her.

She would have returned home in time for Eid, the festival that marks the end of Ramadan.

Sabika was closest, perhaps, to the Cogburns daughter Jaelyn, who started attending Santa Fe High this fall after years of homeschooling. She didnt know anyone when she got to school, and neither did Sabika. They became fast friends.

When his daughter made her first friend at school,little did we know she would come from a different culture, from a different place halfway around the world, Jason Cogburn said.

We had no idea what God was going to send us, he said. But he sent us one of the most precious gifts Ive ever had in my life.

Jaelyn Cogburn said Sabika was her best friend.

She was so loyal to her faith and her country, Jaelyn said tearfully. She loved her family and she couldnt wait to see them. And she loved us. She was the most amazing person Ive ever met, and I will always miss her.Johnson Space Center's acting deputy director has been tapped for a leadership position at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Melanie Saunders will assume the role of acting deputy associate administrator, the second-highest ranking civil servant position within the agency, starting June 10. She will replace Krista Paquin, who is retiring at the end of May.

The job change was announced Monday afternoon by agency Administrator Jim Bridenstine, along with the appointment of Steve Jurczyk as associate administrator. Saunders will report to Jurczyk.

"I am honored and excited about my new role and looking forward to finding innovative ways to contribute to broader NASA initiatives," Saunders said in a statement. "We have the most amazing team at NASA and I feel so fortunate to have served in a leadership role at Johnson Space Center for so long."

Saunders joined NASA in 1994, where she negotiated international agreements for the International Space Station Program. She worked primarily in the space station program office before being named Johnson's associate director.

RELATED STORY: First Latina in space retires from Johnson Space Center, leaves legacy of inclusion, equality in wake

Then in February, Johnson center director Ellen Ochoa -- who is retiring Friday after 30 years -- appointed Saunders as acting deputy director. Saunders previously told the Houston Chronicle she wanted Ochoa's job, but Mark Geyer, an Indiana native who has been with NASA for about 28 years, was named Ochoa's replacement last week.

"I want to thank Steve for stepping up to the plate as acting associate administrator these past months, and look forward to his counsel going forward," Bridenstine said in a statement. "I also want to thank Krista for her distinguished service to NASA and welcome Melanie to Headquarters. The agency has greatly benefited from the talents of all these dedicated civil servants."

A Johnson spokesman said Monday that Saunders is expected to return to the Houston center when a permanent deputy associate administrator is picked.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.After a gunman killed 10 at Santa Fe High School on Friday, retired astronaut Mark Kelly said he thinks Texas should pass a law requiring parents to lock up their firearms.

"This kid was 17 years old, he shouldn't have access," Kelly said in an interview on Fox News on Sunday, referring to the Santa Fe student charged in the shooting.

"In states with less gun violence, they have stronger laws."

Kelly has been an outspoken advocate of gun violence prevention since his wife, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, was shot in 2011 while meeting with constituents in Arizona. He and Giffords started an organization to further their cause.

But Friday's shooting just north of Galveston hit especially close to home for Kelly.

"I lived 10 miles from that school for 15 years," Kelly said. "These kids have a right to be angry about this."

All individuals tapped by NASA as astronauts live and train in Houston during their tenure. The city's Johnson Space Center is the space agency's human space flight hub.

Kelly's first trip to space was in 2011, aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavor. He flew on three other space shuttle missions during his career before retiring in 2011. His brother, Scott Kelly, also is an astronaut and recently spent an entire year on the International Space Station.

Kelly said during the interview that he owns eight firearms but always locks them up -- even though his two daughters are grown.

"If I did [have children in the house], I would even double down on that," Kelly said. "There are things that work."

Kelly also believes that schools need to be hardened, he said during the interview, to prevent people from coming in schools with firearms, while also making sure "irresponsible" people cannot get their hands on guns.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.AUSTIN  Pressure is mounting for Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session on school safety as the governor launches a three-day roundtable discussion Tuesday about how to better protect students after 10 Texas high schoolers and teachers were shot to death at Santa Fe High School.

Politicians from both parties called on the governor to order the Legislature into a special session to address school safety as soon as possible instead of waiting until the 2019 legislative session, tapping national momentum for attacking a decades-long rash of school shootings that are happening more often  and now, close to home.

"These school shootings are happening with increasing frequency and are senseless tragedies that we must eradicate. The time to act is now, for not only our children's safety, but for the peace of mind of all Texans by restoring their confidence in our duty to protect them," Rep. Byron Cook, a Republican from north of Waco, wrote in a letter to Abbott Monday.

"The time to act is now," Rep. Jason Villalba, a Dallas Republican, said on Twitter before sending the governor his own plea for a special session. "We have only 90 days until the 2018-2019 school year begins. I do not denigrate the power of prayer, but this is the season of action."

Democratic candidate for governor Andrew White and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Chris Turner of Grand Prairie also called on the governor to summon lawmakers back to Austin.

"While discussions to generate consensus are welcome, we believe we also have a responsibility to act immediately to prevent an increase of gun deaths and to prevent the loss of more life in Texas," said Turner, who asked the governor to consider 16 gun bills, largely punishing people for carrying guns in certain places frequented by children or making it harder for certain people with a troublesome past from buying firearms.

A spokesman for Abbott did not respond to requests for comment.

The roundtable discussions come less than a week after Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, opened fire in Santa Fe High School, leaving a trail of carnage in the blue-collar town 30 miles south of Houston. Pagourtzis, who was reportedly bullied, killed 10 people and injured another 13 people Friday with his father's revolver and shotgun.

It was a little more than six months ago that Abbott was offering condolences to the people of Sutherland Springs after another mass shooting. In the massacre at a church near San Antonio, 23 were killed and 20 injured during when a 26-year-old man who previously served in the Air Force went on a rampage, shooting congregants at point-blank range after months of arguing with his mother-in-law.

Abbott's roundtable discussion on school safety begins Tuesday with a 23-member cadre mostly of government officials and leaders in law enforcement, plus five school district superintendents, a high school principal and an architect. The meeting is largely closed to the public. Attendees on other days are expected to include victims from Santa Fe and Sutherland Springs, as well as gun rights activists and people involved in education.

There's so far little consensus on how to prevent school shootings.

Abbott is entertaining ideas to speed up background checks, find strategies to keep guns out of the hands of people who are dangerous, beef up security at schools and pay attention to the links between mental illness and gun violence.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Houston Republican, said he wants to explore limiting entrances to school buildings and encouraged parents to safely store their guns. He also caught heat for contending that school violence is an outgrowth of violent video games and movies, abortion, the breakup of families and cultural devaluing of life. He has also advocated for arming teachers, which is already allowed in Texas.

Rania Mankarious, Crime Stoppers of Houston CEO, has some of her own ideas, like trying to scale up it's program that offers a free and anonymous hotline students can use to call in tips about fellow students who plan on bringing a gun to school or otherwise hurting people. The program, which also includes educating students and adults about school safety, has helped remove nearly 300 weapons from Houston-area schools before they could be used against kids, she said.

"At the end of the day, these kids are the first line of intelligence, and unfortunately the first line of defense and the first targets," she said. "We've got to stop politicizing this, we've got to stop wasting time because another school shooting will happen."

Mike Ward contributed to this report.

Andrea Zelinski covers politics for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com.Artificial intelligence (AI) shifts the computing paradigm from rule-based programming to an outcome-based approach. It allows processes to operate at scale, reducing the number of human processing errors, and inventing new ways of solving problems. AlphaGo inspired Go players to try new strategies after experts had been using the same opening moves for 3,000 years. As adoption increases, AI will enable organizations to unlock the last mile that traditional automation could not address. But as more enterprises entrust AI to make decisions on their behalf, governance becomes super critical.

In a recent Genpact survey of C-suite and other senior executives, 63 percent say that it is important or critical to be able to trace the reasoning path of an AI-enabled machine, and this number jumps to 88 percent of respondents at companies that are leaders in AI. Genpact also works with Fortune 500 companies in regulated markets, and these clients see traceability becoming a key requirement before they will consider putting AI to use.

Prepare for increasing regulatory scrutiny

The recent spotlight on the misuse of social media data by the UK-based consulting firm Cambridge Analytica has awakened enterprises to the need for higher regulatory governance. In addition, the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which goes live on May 25, is one of many new requirements to come that will look to address governance of data and AI. Among other areas, as mentioned in article 22 of the regulation, the data subject shall have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning him or her or similarly significantly affects him or her. This could become critical in situations where a person is denied a loan or a job opportunity. Similarly, New York Citys recent algorithmic decision-making transparency legislation shows that regulatory scrutiny also is increasing in the United States. In this climate, enterprises will find it difficult to embrace black box AI.

Look to traceable AI technologies

Some technologies are mature enough to deliver traceability today. When dealing with text or numbers, enterprises can look towards computational linguistics, where users can easily follow the reasoning path and pinpoint what word or data point that led the machine to its decision. For instance, if a third-party logistics vendor agreed to charge 15 cents per mile, but the invoice shows that it is charging 18 cents per mile, the machine can use context to extract the price in the invoice, the price agreed upon in the contract, and point to the discrepancy. Users can see the documents side by side to determine if the machine is correct. The key is keeping track of where the defining attributes for a decision come from, and bringing out the underlying information in a way that is easily to visualize.

Surface the reasoning path

Another way to achieve traceability is to explain the drivers and reasoning path that went into the algorithm. The lead scoring function in Salesforces Sales Cloud Einstein product provides direct insight into how it determined the score for a sales lead, so a companys sales team can understand how the Einstein machine predicted that a specific lead will convert into an opportunity.

Computational linguistics also has an embedded reasoning path logic that can be externalized for the technologys end users. For instance, in a loan approval process, there are multiple steps that the system needs to take to process an application. If an application is denied in an automated AI-based loan application, the loan officer should be able to trace the decision back to the specific step where the denial occurred, and more importantly, explain the AIs decision at this specific step.

So, rather than just deny a loan, which can drive poor customer experience and trigger compliance concerns, enterprises can articulate the reasoning path to consumers to explain why a decision was made. With traceability, if an auditor requests documentation, or a customer has an inquiry, or another potential problem arises, companies can know exactly where and how the system came to its decision, rather than be left in the dark because the decision and reasoning is locked away in a black box.

Engineer the data for best use of AI

The key is to fully understand the datas behavior. It is not just about implementing AI algorithms; it is about building them with effective data engineering in the first place. Best practices include documenting assumptions around completeness of the data, addressing data biases, and reviewing new rules identified by the machine before implementing. If machine learning is being used to identify anomalies, companies can put checks and balances in place to manually test and determine if the results make sense. When designing and testing AI, it also is important to have humans with detailed understanding of the processes and industry domain issues.

Explainable AI accelerates AI adoption

Traceability also addresses several challenges in AIs implementation. First, it focuses on the quality in new emerging applications of this advanced technology. Second, in the evolution of human and machine interactions, traceability makes answers more understandable by humans, and helps drive AIs adoption and related change management necessary for successful implementations. Third, it helps drive compliance in regulated industries such as life sciences, healthcare, and financial services.

Traceability exists in some more mature AI applications like computational linguistics. In other emerging technologies that are less mature, the so-called black box problem still tends to appear. This mostly occurs in the context of deep neural networks, machine learning algorithms that are used for image recognition, or natural language processing involving massive data sets. Because the deep neural network is established through multiple correlations of these massive data sets, it is hard to know why it came to a particular conclusion, for now. Companies need a more comprehensive governance structure, especially with these advanced technologies like neural networks that do not permit traceability.

Overall, traceability allows companies to better understand the entire reasoning process, and builds trust with AI implementations, which can help businesses, the workforce, and customers better embrace AI. As the rest of the AI landscape matures, we would like to see similar reasoning paths become available across other AI-enabled technologies.When it was noted that the carry-on bags of multiple airline passengers traveling from Minneapolis to Somalia contained millions of dollars in cash, on a regular basis, law enforcement was naturally curious to know where the money came from and where it was going. It soon emerged that millions of taxpayer dollars, and possibly much more, had been stolen through a massive scam of Minnesotas social-services sector, specifically through fraudulent daycare claims. To make matters worse, the money appears to have wound up in areas of Somalia controlled by al-Shabab, the Islamic jihadist group responsible for numerous terrorist outrages.

Starting in the 1990s, the State Department directed thousands of refugees from Somalias civil war to Minnesota, which is now home to the largest population of Somalis outside Somalia itself. As the Washington Times noted in 2015, in Minnesota, these refugees can take advantage of some of Americas most generous welfare and charity programs. Professor Ahmed Samatar of Macalester College in St. Paul observed, Minnesota is exceptional in so many ways but its the closest thing in the United States to a true social democratic state. A high-trust, traditionally homogenous community with a deep civil society marked by thrift, industriousness, and openness, Minnesota seemed like the ideal place to locate an indigent Somali population now estimated at 100,000.

Public discussion of the resulting contradictions has been limited, to say the least. Minnesota governor Mark Dayton has sought to stifle public discussion with tired imputations of bigotry and intolerance. Indeed, he advised native Minnesotans with qualms about immigrant resettlement to move out. If you are that intolerant, if you are that much of a racist or a bigot, then find another state, he said. Find a state where the minority population is 1 percent or whatever. Its not that in Minnesota. Dayton also made an economic argument that did not exactly fit the case of Third World immigrants who are themselves heavy consumers of welfare benefits. Our economy cannot expand based on white, B+, Minnesota-born citizens. We dont have enough, he said. A trust-fund baby himself, Dayton was engaging in a classic case of projection. It was certainly not an invitation to debate.

A September 2015 report of the House Homeland Security Committee task force on combating terrorist and foreign-fighter travel revealed that Minnesota led all states in contributing foreign fighters to ISIS. Reviewing the public cases of 58 Americans who joined or attempted to join ISIS, the task force found that 26 percent of them came from Minnesota. Somali Minnesotans occasionally appear in the headlines as Minnesota men who have taken up terrorist jihad. In 2015, ten such Minnesota men were charged with seeking to join ISIS in Syria; six pleaded guilty, and three were convicted in June 2016 (one is presumed dead in Syria).

Attending the trial of the three who contested the charges against them, I found that these Minnesota men gave the outward appearance of American assimilation, even thoughas became apparent in the recordings introduced into evidencethey all hated the United States. They were young, educated, and bilingual. They moved into and out of the workforce at will. The FBIs Somali informant worked on the tarmac at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, de-icing planes along with one of the convicted co-conspirators. At one time, all three of the men on trial worked at a local UPS facility in a leafy St. Paul suburb, where they enjoyed watching ISIS videos during their breaks.

I found that they were sophisticated users of social-welfare benefits. Two of four Somali-Minnesotans intercepted at JFK airport in New York en route to Syria had used federal financial-aid funds to finance their travel; one of the defendants even financed one of his planned trips to Syria with a $5,000 debit-card withdrawal on his student-loan account. The daycare case also demonstrates savvy insight into the opportunities to take advantage of the quasi-governmental American social-services apparatus. Ten daycare centers are under investigation for fraud, and dozens more are suspected. Search warrants show that each of these daycare centers has received several million dollars in child-care assistance funds. According to public records and government sources, most are owned by Somali immigrants.

The case of Fozia Ali, recently sworn in as a member of the park board of an upscale Twin Cities suburb, is illustrative. Alis daycare center in south Minneapolis was suspected of billing the government for more than $1 million of bogus child-care services. According to Special Agent Craig Lisher, the FBI found records that she was collecting a significant amount of money for a much larger number of children than were actually attending the center. Alis case also had an international component. We are aware that some of the funds went overseas, what she was cashing out, money from the business, Lisher noted. He declined to specify the purpose to which the funds were put.

Ali used a phone app to register charges to the Minnesota state government while she stayed at an $800-per-night hotel in Nairobi. She pleaded guilty in March to charges of wire fraud and is serving time in federal prison. But the scam goes well beyond Ali. Though the total loss to the states $248 million daycare program remains to be determined, we have a serious case of deceit, obviously. But the real damage, harder to measure, is likely to be to the high-trust values of Minnesota, where newcomers can dupe the natives so easily.

Photo: Fibonacci BlueWith the House of Representatives rejection of a $867 billion farm bill last week, efforts to reform the federal Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), commonly known as food stamps, have run aground, at least for now. Conservative House Republicans backed the proposal, which tied aid to work or training requirements for able-bodied peoplea principle that enjoys broad support from voters across the political spectrum. The liberal Left, however, opposes and often derides work requirements for welfare and other forms of assistance, seeing such conditions as arbitrary and cruel.

New York Times economic columnist Eduardo Porter expressed his opposition to the plan in a column that reads like a screed against the American Dream. Encouraging poor people to get jobs as a condition of receiving aid, contends Porter, perpetuates a myth that ending dependency is the key to getting out of poverty. He cites the example of a poor single mother on welfare who cant pay her bills and drinks lots of beer. When she is forced off welfare and gets a job, he says, she still cant pay her bills and still drinks lots of beer.

Porter claims that the welfare reform of the 1990s had no net effect on the lives of poor women because their earnings from work were canceled out by the loss of welfare benefits. So whats the point of making poor people work? From this perspective, work requirements are just a Washington boondoggle intended to harass and inconvenience the poor. But welfare reform saw aid rolls drop by 60 percent in a decade, following decades of rising dependency. Senator Patrick Moynihan predicted that women and children would starve in the streets; like Porter, he saw work requirements as mean-spirited. But history proved him wrong.

Porter undoes his own argument when he acknowledges that the earned-income tax credit has done a great job not only in drawing single mothers into the workforce but in improving their incomes, as well as delivering additional benefits to the children. The EITC is a wealth-transfer program that supplements low incomes; its success is built on encouraging people to join the workforce. The main problem with Porters positionand others like itis that it views people strictly as inputs in an economic calculus: if someone makes as much money from welfare as from a job, why bother encouraging them to work? Commentators opposing work requirements fail to recognize how work plays a restorative and central role in an individuals sense of self. Yes, some people prefer to be idle and sponge off the government, but most find dependency depressing. The creation in the 1960s of a massive welfare state, based on the assumption that direct handouts were the key to managing poverty, damaged multiple generations of Americans and created a massive underclass.

Work is transformative, and not just in the values-based, spiritual sense that liberals like to mock, but also practically. People on welfare who are given a jobany jobgain a sense of possibility that enables them to start getting the rest of their lives in order. Just as nothing succeeds like success, dependency begets more dependency; long-term idleness can create psychological and physical impairments to finding employment. Instead of attacking work as a way to punish people dependent on government, it should be seen as a vehicle for becoming an adult member of societya citizen in full.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesAs of Monday morning, Gina Haspel is director of the CIA, replacing Mike Pompeo, despite her history of participation in the agencys torture program. Its hard to imagine such a smooth path through the nomination process without the unusual and full-throated support of the agencywhich, since Pompeos move to the State Department in April, Haspel herself has run as acting director.

The New York Times Adam Goldman and Matthew Rosenberg compared Haspels institutional promotion to one of the covert agencys many efforts to put its thumb on the scales in foreign politics, and The Washington Posts Erik Wemple observed that the sudden preponderance of former CIA employees on television repudiating years-old reporting and clarifying sections of various memoirs was, to say the least, not especially timely except where Haspels nomination was concerned. On March 22, The Wall Street Journals Nancy A. Youssef, who reported the CIAs initial, minimal disclosures about Haspel, noted with palpable frustration that because Haspel has been scrupulous about leaving no trace of her life in the CIAs clandestine service, it falls to the agency to share something about her and her interests.

From archives: NYT reporters thought about media coverage of mass shootings goes viral

It also fell to the agency to push back strategically on unflattering stories about Haspel, to provide unfiltered hagiography of its director-to-be on Twitter, and to recast the nomination of someone a former CIA lawyer described as central to the agencys program of kidnapping and needless brutalizationwhich she also likely pushed to reauthorize, and subsequently helped to cover upas an upbeat story of girl-powered stick-to-itiveness.

Haspels nomination was announced by President Trump on Twitter on March 13; the day after, Haspel received a helping hand from James Mitchell, the Air Force veteran and psychologist who, with colleague Bruce Jessen, received $81 million from the CIA to design the CIA torture program. I think shes a great choice for the president, Mitchell told Fox Business Networks Elizabeth McDonald. More substantively, he told McDonald that Haspel was not the [chief of base] that I was talking about in his book Enhanced Interrogation: Inside the Minds and Motives of the Islamic Terrorists Trying To Destroy America, in a passage where he describes an unnamed CIA leader apparently enjoying the torture of detainee Abu Zubaydah, who was mistreated beyond even the guidelines set forth in the notorious torture memos.

That passage had been key to a blockbuster ProPublica story about Haspel; the outlet published a correction to the nearly 13-month-old article the following day. The CIA had given a statement of blanket pushback to the piece when it was first writtenwhich ProPublica reportedbut they had not identified any specific errors, a tactic beloved of publicists responding to a critical story that is materially true. Stephen Engelberg, ProPublicas editor-in-chief, who penned the laudably thorough and introspective correction, emphasizes to CJR that he preferred the story right rather than wrong, but also says that in terms of the timing, he was struck by how many people came forward to support the Haspel nomination. There was an upwelling of opinion on her that was positive. People who are not that easy to get to seemed to be on cable television.

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Haspel was effective at the clandestine part of clandestine service: When the strategic declassification of information about Haspel made its way from the House of Representatives to Youssefs piece, the most colorful takeaway from a 33-year career that includes work at and eventual oversight of a secret black site prison in Thailand where two prisoners were tortured is that Haspel has a life-size cutout of Johnny Cash in her office.

ICYMI: Fired editor claims efforts to suppress coverage

The day after Youssefs story ran, the agency tweetstormed more breathless tidbits: While working in a library on an Army base in Massachusetts, Haspel came to understand that CIA was a place where women could serve doing clandestine work around the world. In her words, the CIA delivered an overseas adventure where I could put my love of foreign languages to use. During that adventure, Haspel says she felt the initial shock of witnessing grinding poverty & the excitement of carrying out a clandestine mission amid billboards plastered with Marxist-Leninist slogans, according to the agencys PR feed. The contrast with the agencys response to Mike Pompeos nomination is striking: the @CIA account first mentions his name on February 2, 2017, noting that Trump has named Haspel the agencys deputy director and linking to a press release filled with praise for the her.

People who are not that easy to get to seemed to be on cable television.

Stephen Engelberg

In her confirmation hearing, Haspel herself pushed back on an April 18 story about her role in charge of the torture program. That story, by the Daily Beasts Spencer Ackerman, used as one source the book Company Man by former CIA lawyer John Rizzo, who affirmed the books truthfulness in an email before Ackerman published. Rizzo only emailed Ackerman to retract the claim in his four-year-old memoir a day after the Beast story ran. (Disclosure: Ackerman and I worked closely together at the Guardian and I consider him a good friend. He is also one of the least wrong reporters I have ever met.)

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Haspel said Rizzo had issued a correction, an odd turn of phrase to describe the words of a source, rather than a reporter, and it might easily have been misheard to mean something entirely different. Similarly, she referred the senator questioning her about it, Dianne Feinstein, to a story by The Washington Posts Wemple about the Beasts refusal to retract or correct the story; Wemple published an annoyed follow-up slamming the director for misrepresenting his column.

The pro-Haspel campaign was not limited to former CIA agents or contractors who might have simply decided to all wish her well at once: The agency declassified a report by its internal watchdog clearing her in the destruction of the tapes of the agencys victims being tortured, broken by CBS on April 20. As with Haspels misleading construction in her confirmation hearing, close reading is necessary: The report did not clear her of the tapes destruction; there is no debate over whether or not Haspel wrote the cable ordering the tapes destroyed. The report only observes that she herself was just following orders, and that is good enough for the CIA. It does not address whether she edited herself out of the tapes in 2002, a question raised by independent national security writer Marcy Wheeler.

I find it really conspicuous that they went so hard to adjust what has been written about Haspel, however circuitously, over a matter of years, in a matter convivial to her nomination, Ackerman tells CJR. Its something that doesnt occur outside of a basic fact, which is that the CIA has exclusive control over the historical record here.

And the CIA has been controlled by Haspel during much of this unusual exercise of that control. Feinstein asked Haspel twice whether she would recuse herself from oversight of declassification of her own recordin written responses, she refused to say that she would do so. So if further information makes its way to the press about Haspel from official channels the CIA, it willagainbe through Haspel herself.

The Cipher Brief, an agency-friendly intelligence news site, wrote in its Friday newsletter that longtime CIA spokesman Dean Boyd would leave the CIA for the National Counterintelligence Security Center. The reporter tried to pry a little more intel out of the Office of Public Affairs, but they were all busy celebrating news that Gina Haspel had been confirmed as CIA Director.

The CIA did not respond to questions submitted through its website by press time.

This article has been corrected to clarify the date Haspels tenure as CIA director began

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Sam Thielman is the former Tow editor at the Columbia Journalism Review, and a reporter and critic based in New York. He is the creator, with film critic Alissa Wilkinson, of Young Adult Movie Ministry, a podcast about Christianity and movies, and his writing has been featured in The Guardian, Talking Points Memo, and Variety, among others.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- William T. Jones Jr. took less than a minute to plot and carry out the execution-style shooting of a uniformed Salvation Army worker he didn't know last December, then spent the next four minutes telling a witness why he did it.

"F--k Trump," the 27-year-old screamed in the nearly four-minute video shot by a witness. "They're going to kill us all."

The video panned from Jones, who for several minutes lay on the ground with his hands behind his back before he hopped up and declared that "LeBron [James] said we have to unite," to the body of Jared Plesec, whose life Jones had taken moments earlier with a Ruger 9mm.

"A life for a life," Jones screamed, wide-eyed and fueled by adrenaline. "I did it fo y'all, man."

The video gave for the first time a window into the circumstances behind the death of Plesec, a 21-year-old Collinwood resident who dedicated himself to the Salvation Army and to preaching Gospel, and a subsequent crime spree in which Jones carjacked and shot his way across the Cleveland and into the west suburbs.

"It was 63 minutes of mayhem," Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Blaise Thomas said.

Jones was sentenced Monday to life in prison with no chance at parole, plus an additional 154 years after he pleaded guilty last month to stave off the chance that prosecutors would seek the death penalty.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said in an emailed statement that the sentence was "fitting."

"The murder of Jared Plesec and subsequent crime spree has impacted numerous families and communities throughout this county," O'Malley said.

Jones offered a one-sentence apology to members of Plesec's family, before he invoked the deaths of Tamir Rice, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams by Cleveland police, and Trayvon Martin in Florida by George Zimmerman.

"It just seems, when a white life takes a black life, it's justified," Jones said, reading from a prepared statement. "Today you seek justice. I can't help but wonder, if the shoe was on the other foot, would it be justified instead?"

The Dec. 2 shooting was captured by surveillance cameras inside the Euclid Beach Villa apartment complex on East 156th Street near Lakeshore Boulevard.

Plesec, a 21-year-old youth worker at the Salvation Army Temple Corps Community Center in Collinwood, stopped to talk to a man in the lobby as he was on his way to collect money for the charity.

Plesec struck up a conversation with a resident about alcoholism and sin. Jones walked up to the pair and asked if they were "talking about Jesus," Thomas said, quoting the other man who was later interviewed by Cleveland police homicide detectives.

Surveillance cameras recorded the interaction in which Jones listened for several minutes before he walked away. The video, played in court Monday, showed Jones walk around the lobby and check down hallways to make sure no one was around.

He pulled the Ruger from his waistband, walked up to Plesec, pointed it at the 21-year-old's temple and fired a single shot.

Within minutes, another resident came in the door and stumbled upon the scene. She pulled out her phone and started broadcasting a Facebook Live video, which captured Jones's statements.

Thomas said that, while many people could see the video as portraying someone in the grips of a mental health episode or high on psychotic drugs, Jones has never been diagnosed with any mental illness and blood samples taken from Jones after his arrest tested positive only for trace amounts of marijuana.

Jones scampered from the building when he saw an ambulance approach, and launched a crime spree that saw him shoot at a man and carjack a woman at a Collinwood gas station; carjack a man at the East 72nd Street Marina; and open fire on a group of joggers gathered at the parking area at the Emerald Necklace Marina in the Cleveland Metroparks Rocky River Reservation in Lakewood.

One of the four bullets he fired at the group struck Angela Altier in the thigh and severed her femoral artery. If it weren't for a Rocky River police officer, Altier would have likely bled to death in the grass, Thomas said.

Jones made his way to Lakewood where he stole a truck from a Sloan Avenue construction site and carjacked a woman at a Gold Coast apartment building on Edgewater Drive.

He drove into a nearby parking garage and, as officers closed on him, burst the car through the doors. He was ultimately caught when a Lakewood police SUV rammed the front of the last car he stole.

Body camera video showed Jones handcuffed on the ground as police searched him and demanded where his gun was.

"I don't have a gun," Jones screamed. "Just don't kill me."

Cleveland City Councilman Michael Polensek, who said he knew Plesec and whose ward includes the apartment building where he was shot, told Gall that he believed that Plesec's death was a hate crime and that Plesec was targeted because Jones believed he was either in the military or a police officer.

"Why would you snuff out this young man's life who meant so much to our community for no reason at all?" Polensek said.

Every person that Jones inflicted violence on was white, save for a Adam Kim, an Asian-American man whose car Jones sent three bullets into as Kim and his partner were driving to get a cup of coffee.

When Jones approached a black man in an attempted carjacking, Thomas said Jones didn't point the gun at the man, and said "I don't want to have to hurt you."

Jones began his statement by declaring to Gall that he was not racist. The statement prompted groans from Plesec's family members.

"Do black lives really matter, or are just not as important as others?" he finished.

Gall responded to Jones's comments with "All lives matter."

"To attempt to try to justify the taking of Jared's life is really incomprehensible to me," Gall said before imposing the sentence.

As court security officers led Jones out of the courtroom, Plesec's family broke out into a soft round of applause and called out.

"Justice for Jared," they said.

To comment on this story, please visit Monday's crime and courts comments page.Jones just read from a statement invoking Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams, saying that black lives are valued less than white lives because police officers were not charged in their deaths but prosecutors considered seeking the death penalty against him. Plesec's family was very upset at this and a deputy had to tell them to keep their emotions inward.

Cory ShafferBEACHWOOD, Ohio - Bomba Tacos & Rum is holding a job fair for its restaurant scheduled to open in Beachwood this summer.

The job fair will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, at La Place in center court. For those who cannot make it, there will be an on-site hiring center on the upper level of La Place beginning Tuesday, June 5. It will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays through July. A rep for Paladar Restaurant Group, though, encourages anyone interested to begin the application process online.

The restaurant needs to fill 100 full- and part-time positions in management and as servers, bartenders, hosts, line cooks, prep cooks and others.

The restaurant will be located at 2101 Richmond Road at the southeast corner of Cedar and Richmond roads.

Bomba has restaurants at 19880 Detroit Road in Rocky River and 3900 Medina Road, Akron.FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio - Gilles-Sweet Elementary, Lewis F. Mayer Middle School, and Fairview High School were recently named 2017-2018 Cleveland Clinic Banner Schools. The award recognizes each building's success in leveraging community resources to advance student learning.

"I'm very proud," Fairview Park City Schools Superintendent Bill Wagner said. "Considering Fairview Park City Schools is a close partner with the Cleveland Clinic and Fairview Hospital, this means a lot to us.

"To receive this kind of recognition from them is significant to us, because we work very hard to establish and maintain those working relationships."

The Cleveland Clinic Civic Education Department offers programs designed to promote health and wellness, academic achievement and career preparedness for students in grades kindergarten through 12.

Gilles-Sweet Elementary implemented the Cleveland Clinic Civic Education Department's Dangerous Decibels program, which promotes the importance of hearing protection.

Lewis F. Mayer Middle School employed Adventures in Health Science and Medicine and eXpressions. The former promotes learning about health science and medical professions to middle school students, while the latter is an educational initiative that engages middle and high school students with the creative exploration of science and medicine.

Fairview High School also implemented eXpressions.

"One of the things that we're trying to do is dramatically expand our promotion of health and wellness in combination with academic achievement and our career preparedness for our students," Wagner said.

Considering the Fairview Park City Schools' commitment to 21st century learning, having three of its buildings named 2017-2018 Cleveland Clinic Banner Schools affirms the district is on the right path.

"We're most definitely a STEAM district and that 'A' represents the infusion of the arts in our academic work," Wagner said. "We have an incredibly strong arts program, so that's a critical part to a lot of this STEM work.

"We're constantly trying to expand the power and impact of the student work and make it more connected to real life outside of the school."FAIRVIEW PARK, Ohio - More than 18 months after residents approved a $35.2 million permanent improvement project, Fairview Park City Schools is about to start construction.

The nearly two-year project includes renovations at Fairview High School and Mayer Middle School, as well as updates at Parkview Early Education Center and Gilles-Sweet Elementary.

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Middle School courtyard. Fairview Park City Schools Superintendent Bill Wagner said the project has been a long time coming.

"The groundbreaking ceremony will have Mayor Patton, Board of Education members, principals, architects, designers and engineers," Wagner said. "It'll be an exciting time."

Work has already begun on the design of the Parkview Early Education Center building with construction scheduled to begin next year. In a related move, the district recently decided to move up the expansion of Gilles-Sweet Elementary.

"We're looking to do our parking lot expansion at Gilles-Sweet Elementary a year early to help facilitate some of the work at Parkview," Wagner said.

"That decision was made in the past couple of months because next summer is when the Parkview Early Education Center, which runs all year long, will have the majority of its renovation."

The Superintendent said the district will have to relocate its Parkview Early Education Center summer programs to Gilles-Sweet Elementary. The completed parking lot expansion will make the process smooth.

Something else taking place next summer is a longer break than normal, which Wagner said is just a one-time occurrence.

"It seems everybody is aware of that," Wagner said. "It means longer summers for kids actually, and I haven't heard too many complaints about that. Students will return Aug. 22 of this year, but they'll get out May 23, 2019 because we're compressing the school year with spring break being only Good Friday and the Monday after Easter. That allows for an extended 2019 summer because the kids won't come back until after Labor Day.

"That's phase 3 of our project at the High School and Middle School where we will be doing a significant amount of demolition in the middle of the building, including our current cafeteria area and maintenance area. That will take some time. We want to get that done before kids return to school."

Currently optimism reigns about the project, which is starting on time and under budget. Once the work is completed, the Fairview Park City Schools should be in good shape for 21st century learning in 21st century buildings.

"Other than just regular maintenance, I certainly hope so," Wagner said. "Our goal is to finish the entire project at all three sites by February 2020."AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron boy was hospitalized early Sunday morning after he was shot by his cousin, police said.

The 8-year-old boy was shot in the abdomen about 1 a.m. Sunday in the 1200 block of Marcy Street by his 9-year-old cousin, Akron police said.

The boy was rushed to Akron Children's Hospital where he was listed in critical condition as of Monday morning, authorities said.

Investigators said the 9-year-old boy went into the kitchen to look for snacks when he opened a cupboard and found the handgun. He then pointed the gun at the younger boy and shot him, police said.

A 14-year-old, who was inside the house at the time of the shooting, heard the shot, came downstairs and ran outside to ask for someone to call 911.

The shooting remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.

If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section.CLEVELAND, Ohio - City Council on Monday approved a plan to replace 61,000 street lights with brighter, more cost-effective LED lighting and clear the way to mount surveillance cameras atop thousands of utility poles.

The work will cost millions to complete. But Mayor Frank Jackson has said it's worth the expense because of the potential for improving safety and enhancing policing in neighborhoods.

"We can project a better quality of life," he said in a recent interview.

What's the plan?

The two ordinances -- approved unanimously by City Council -- allow the administration to hire companies to erect the cameras and the new lights.

The city already has sought bids on the street lights and expects that work will cost about $25 million.

The new lights will be brighter, require less maintenance and last longer, Cleveland Public Power Commissioner told City Council's Finance Committee on Monday.

Converting the street lights will take about 18 months. That work could be underway before the end of summer. Cleveland Utilities Director Robert Davis said the work will move from ward to ward, starting with one on each side of the river.

The city doesn't have cost estimates yet for the cameras. The ordinance before council approves up to $400,000 be spent on an initial phase. That will involve fewer than 1,000 cameras, the city has said.

They won't be posted on all light poles, all of which are owned by the city, but will be placed strategically around the city. Jackson has said he wants to start with a 1,000-foot radius around each of the city's recreation centers and major parks.

What makes the project high tech?

Interactive technology built into the lights will allow Cleveland Public Power to closely monitor the system. Alerts from the system, such as when a light goes out, will allow for more efficient maintenance.

The city will have the ability to remotely dim the lights when they are too bright in an area or turn up the brightness when more light is needed, such as for a crime situation.

The cameras will feed real-time video images directly to the police Emergency Operations Center and to the district police headquarters.

In addition to areas by rec centers, the cameras will also be erected in hot spots around the city and at major intersections.

How will it boost safety?

The better lighting will allow for better monitoring. And with cameras covering high-traffic areas and hot spots, police will be able to respond more quickly to trouble.

The LED lights allow cameras to capture more accurate colors than the current street lights, Henderson said.

And the cameras will be able to produce high-grade images, Council President Kevin Kelley said after the Finance Committee meeting.

That means police will be able to obtain better descriptions of crime suspects, including attire.

Here are some benefits the city previously has cited:

If a neighborhood is holding a street festival, the lights could be adjusted to provide greater illumination to the evening event, increasing visibility at the event.

If police get a call of a disturbance, the lights could be raised at that site allowing for better monitoring of the cameras and provide greater visibility for police arriving at the scene.

If police are investigating a crime or an accident, the lights could be turned up at the crime scene.

The high tech light fixtures have the capability of handling dozens of different applications, such as making WIFI available to a neighborhood or monitoring air quality or listening for gun shots.

Kelley said those applications may be looked at down the road, but initially the city wants to get the lights up and the cameras posted to bolster security.

Follow me on Facebook.CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The number of deaths attributed to heroin and other opioids dropped in recent months in what medical and law enforcement officials say is the first sign of optimism that the fight against the deadly opioid epidemic might be working.

The decline comes after eight years where deaths climbed dramatically, caused by the wide availability of pain pills, heroin abuse and the emergence of synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

The drop in deaths began near the end of 2017, according to medical examiner records from the three of the hardest hit counties in Northeast Ohio.

Cuyahoga County had 98 overdose deaths attributed to opioids in the final three months of 2017. This came after the county averaged about 50 a month in the previous nine months of the year.

The first four months of 2018 saw 137 deaths, compared to 192 through during the same period in 2017 and 139 in 2016. In Cleveland, there were 64 deaths in the first three months of 2018 compared with 82 in 2017.

In two other counties viewed as bellwether areas by public officials, the decrease was more dramatic.

Summit County, the second largest county in the region, recorded 21 deaths in the first three months of 2018, compared to 58 in the same period of 2017, according to medical examiner records. The slowdown began there in November, when only five people died from opiate overdoses. The county used to see at least 20 deaths for most months, but the count has not hit double-digits in any of the first three months of 2018.

"We were just throwing everything at the wall to see what stuck when the bubble burst, but now we're able to be more intentional about the work we do so we know where to put our resources," Greta Johnson, the chief of staff for Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro said.

Trumbull County, located about 50 miles east of Cleveland, is where officials have seen the highest rate of per capita opiate deaths in the Northeast Ohio. The number there dropped by almost half in 2018. There were 46 deaths between January-April 2017, and 21 in the same time frame this year.

Officials attribute the slowdown to at least five things:

The widespread availability of the heroin overdose antidote naloxone

A 28 percent decrease in Ohio doctors prescribing opiates across from 2012 to 2017

A massive public awareness campaign

Law enforcement's response, which includes siphoning off drug supply networks and prosecuting dealers whose buyers die from overdosing

Drug dealers are cutting less of the powerful synthetic opioids fentanyl or carfentanil into heroin and cocaine, to avoid prosecution for users' deaths

Law enforcement officials offered one other grim explanation -- that so many people have died from opioid abuse, that the rate of death slowed down on its own.

"This isn't a victory lap," said U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman, Northeast Ohio's federal prosecutor who hosts monthly meetings on the opioid crisis with officials from the area hospitals, police and other officials battling the epidemic. "But it's a trend that's got enough time behind it that there's definitely something going on here. "

Widespread naloxone availability key

Public health officials, hospital administrators and law enforcement officials all pointed to the wide availability of naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, as the most important factor in the slowing death rates.

Most police officers, emergency medical technicians and firefighters carry it with them at all times and are able to revive people who overdosed, saving countless lives, officials said.

A public health initiative led by officials at the state, county and city levels has made naloxone available over the counter. MetroHealth gives its patients the antidote when they leave the emergency room after treatment for an overdose.

Cleveland police in 2014 established the Heroin Involved Death Investigations team that consists of seven full-time detectives. The team averaged about 20 calls to death scenes and 108 non-fatal overdose scenes per month in 2017. That decreased in the first four months to about 16 calls for fatal overdoses, and fewer than 50 visits to non-fatal overdose scenes, Cleveland Police Commander Gary Gingell said.

The drop coincided with an increase in the naloxone kits distributed by MetroHealth's ProjectDawn initiative, which began in 2013.

"When you look at the number of reported uses in ProjectDawn, there's definitely a correlation between the administration of those kits and the reduction in overall overdoses and fatal overdoses more significantly," Herdman said.

Dr. Joan Papp, who leads ProjectDawn, said the hospital gave out 376 kits the first year. That number soared to 2,719 in 2017. They are on pace this year to distribute 3,993, she said.

Getting overdose victims into treatment

Officials also said they had initially struggled to get people who overdosed access to treatment. Papp said people are typically more willing to commit to treatment immediately following an overdose.

In 2017, Cleveland police's HIDI team partnered with a few area detox organizations to find addicts a place to immediately start on their path to recovery.

Few took advantage of the opportunity. Of the 1,300 overdose victims the team encountered, about 50 took up the offer, Gingell said. That was most likely because people didn't want police officers involved in their daily lives.

Gingell took the problem to Papp. Papp said they started a ground-breaking approach in December only used by a handful of hospitals across the country.

The hospital partnered with Ascent ED, which supplies peer-support counselors stationed at the hospital at all hours of the day. The program is with funds distributed by the Cuyahoga County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services board, which is in charge of distributing money from the $6.3 billion 21st Century Cures Act that Congress passed in 2016.

The 12 peer-support counselors go directly to the bedsides of people who overdose at the hospital. They make their first contact usually within a half-hour after the patient agrees to speak with the state-certified counselors, who are also recovering addicts.

The peer supporter talks with the patient, sometimes for hours, and tries to convince them to seek treatment. If they accept, the emergency doctors perform an addiction assessment and make recommendations on whether the person could better benefit from medication-assisted treatment or some form of in-patient treatment.

The hospital prescribes medication, including suboxone and buprenorphine, gives the user naloxone, and, if the patient wants to go to a treatment facility, the peer supporters order them an Uber and ride with them to the whatever treatment center has open beds.

Papp said when the program started in December she would have considered it a success to get 6 percent of overdose patients to agree to go directly to a facility. Of the 600 patients so far this year, 150 have agreed to get treatment, a success rate of 25 percent.

"It's important because once they step out of the emergency department, all of those temptations come back," Papp said. "If there isn't someone with them kind of holding their hands, and reassuring them and getting them through the front door of the next provider, there's always a risk that the connection lost and all that work is out the window. That's really important."

Gingell, the police commander, said he'd like to see that program expand to all of the area's hospitals. Papp said she's floated the idea to representatives of other hospital systems during their monthly meetings. She said they've been receptive thus far, but are looking for ways to pay for the program.

Looking forward

Herdman said prosecuting cases and disrupting drug distribution networks remain high on his to-do list for curbing the crisis. He also said keeping an eye on the rising number of methamphetamine overdoses is on his radar, with the possibility that some opiate users are transitioning to meth use.

He and other officials also said that more data sharing should be paramount looking to the future. Officers in Cleveland's law enforcement community, including the city and surrounding suburbs, created a database that they, along with DEA agents, use to analyze trends.

But Herdman wants to see more data sharing between non-law enforcement agencies, hospitals and private entities dealing with the crisis. Herdman said difficulties arise because of people's privacy rights. Hospitals can only give out certain information on patients. He said he'd like to see a discussion about sharing more data so law enforcement and public health officials can respond more quickly to a spike in overdoses.

That poses problems. Hospitals are prohibited from divulging specific information regarding patients under federal law. Herdman said he'd like for hospitals to be able to tell law enforcement when there are spikes in overdoses so investigators are able to jump on the problem quickly and avoid deaths from bad batches of drugs. He stressed that if that were the case, that no one who suffered from an overdose would be arrested for drug possession.

He said too often, officials learn of bad batches of heroin or cocaine laced with fentanyl only after a cluster of people die and their blood work is tested by county medical examiners. By then it's too late. Herdman said he'd like to be able to alert both the public and law enforcement of bad batches of drugs in real-time, instead of after-the-fact.

"That's really the one area that's beyond my power to do anything about it, but I want to be part of the conversation about having thoughtful sharing of data that allows all of us to target our resources," Herdman said. "Everything is kind of siloed right now. There have been really good attempts to break through some of those barriers, but it hasn't been done in a way that is really going to put us where we need to be to address the crisis. So we're going to keep working on that."

Officials agreed that naloxone availability remains most important and that widespread use of peer-support networks could be vital to getting people into treatment and keeping people alive. The availability of treatment options is also something Papp said she'd like to see.

She also said that more area health-care providers need to be able to prescribe medication that helps opiate addicts, like suboxone and buprenorphine. To do so, those providers need specialized training and a special license from the DEA. MetroHealth hosts training for the license and Papp said she's seen about 75 new providers have come in for training recently.

Papp said above all, they've learned that a comprehensive approach is the one thing that might help consistently chip away at the crisis.

"If we focus on one area and not the others we're not going to solve this epidemic," she said. "Safe prescribing, harm reduction with naloxone and increased access to treatment. I would stress all three of those things need to be there and collaborating with your partners and peers in the community. None of us are going to fix this alone."DAYTON, Ohio -- A 62-year-old woman was killed Saturday when she was shot as she walked by a home targeted in a drive-by shooting, reports say.

The Montgomery County Coroner's Office on Sunday identified the victim as Sherrell Wheatley of Dayton, the Dayton Daily News reports.

Wheatley was found wounded at about 6 p.m. Saturday, according to WDTN Channel 2. She died at Miami Valley Hospital.

Dayton police Sgt. Creigee Coleman tells the Daily News a male passenger in a vehicle, believed to be a silver Ford Taurus, fired five to six shots at the home when Wheatley was hit.

"Now this is a situation where a person was indiscriminately firing a weapon, a large-caliber weapon from what I've been told, at a house and a person who was innocent just happened to be walking by and got hit by a bullet that has no eyes," Coleman tells the Daily News.

No arrests have been made and the shooting remains under investigation.

If you'd like to comment on this post, please visit the cleveland.com crime and courts comments section.COLUMBUS, Ohio--Republican Melanie Leneghan says she may seek a vote recount or contest the results of rival Troy Balderson's 12th Congressional District narrow primary win earlier this month.

Leneghan lost the May 8 primary to Balderson by 653 votes - less than 1 percent of the votes cast, according to unofficial totals. She told Capitol Letter, cleveland.com's daily Statehouse newsletter, on Monday that while she hasn't heard of any fraud or problems with the election, she was "surprised" that Balderson won his home county of Muskingum County by nearly 68 percentage points, or about 3,500 votes.

"We just think that that's a very significant differential - certainly possible, but not in trend with the rest of the district at all," said Leneghan, who noted that Muskingum County used paper ballots.

Leneghan said her campaign will wait for elections officials in the central Ohio district to finish counting provisional and absentee votes before deciding whether to file a challenge. County boards of elections have until May 29 to finalize their vote totals; Leneghan has five days after the vote is certified to file a challenge.

Under Ohio law, an automatic recount only takes place if the margin of victory is within 0.5 percent of the total votes cast - or 340 votes of the 67,847 votes cast in the 12th District GOP primary.

Requesting a recount could be pricey for Leneghan: unless the vote totals are found to be off by at least 4 percent, she (or her campaign) would have to pay up to $55 for each precinct she wants recounted -- and there are 68 precincts in Muskingum County alone.

Leneghan, a Liberty Township trustee in Delaware County, said calling for a recount or contesting the election is "not a sour grapes thing," but rather would be done "out of respect for the voters, to make sure that their votes were counted and counted properly."

One reason she's considering taking action, she said, is because she said Balderson's campaign made a robocall the weekend before the primary featuring a woman calling herself "Melanie from Delaware County" who urged listeners to vote for Balderson.

Such actions, she said, show that Balderson is capable of "anything."

Asked about Leneghan's potential challenge, Balderson campaign spokesman Brad Shattuck said, "We're fully confident that the election will be upheld." Shattuck declined to comment when asked about the robocall.

Balderson and Leneghan were the top two vote-getters in a crowded nine-way Republican primary to succeed Republican Pat Tiberi, who stepped down in January. The contest was seen as a proxy war between Tiberi and other establishment Republicans (who backed Balderson) and Freedom Caucus members such as U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (who supported Leneghan).

In the May 8 primary, Republicans voted on a nominee for both the Aug. 7 special election and the Nov. 6 general election. Democrats nominated Franklin County Recorder Danny O'Connor for both races.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Advocates for more restrictions on Ohio's payday lenders are still pushing a constitutional amendment as state lawmakers debate how to rein in predatory lenders.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Monday certified a petition summary of the "Short-Term Loan Consumer Protection Amendment" as a a "fair and truthful" summary of the proposed measure. The effort now goes to the Ohio Ballot Board, which will decide whether the proposal is one or multiple ballot issues.

After it clears the Ballot Board, supporters can begin collecting the 305,591 signatures of Ohio registered voters to put the measure on a statewide ballot. The deadline for the November ballot is July 4.

The measure is backed by Ohioans for Payday Loan Reform, a coalition of faith-based groups and advocates for low-income Ohioans. The amendment would enforce the 28 percent annual percentage rate for the loans, limit interest and fees to no more than 50 percent of the original amount borrowed and prohibit penalties for repaying the loan early.

Meanwhile, legislation to enforce the state's annual percentage rate cap on short-term lenders is poised to pass the Ohio House this week, after several delays and behind-the-scenes efforts to reach a compromise between lenders and advocates. The Ohio Consumer Lending Association, which represents payday lenders, says the bill, House Bill 123, would eliminate services that cater to Ohioans that banks and other institutions won't help.

The bill was slated for a vote last week, but current House leaders say they cannot vote on legislation until they select a new House speaker. Former House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger resigned in April after reports the FBI was looking into a trip Rosenberger took last year to London. The trip was sponsored by conservative group GOPAC Educational Fund and also attended by lobbyists for the short-term loan industry.

House Republicans plan to choose a new speaker Tuesday and vote on several bills Wednesday.CLEVELAND, Ohio - Nina Turner, president of Our Revolution, is under fire from critics who feel like she is using the group for her own political gain.

Turner, a former Ohio state senator who rose to national prominence in the group after being a vocal supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential run, has since fallen out of favor with some Our Revolution board members who think Turner is using the group as a personal springboard to higher office, Politico reports.

Among several reasons given in the Politico piece by insiders were the group's lack of support for Hispanic candidates, sluggish fundraising despite having Sanders' coveted 2016 presidential campaign email list and Turner's attempt to install Tezlyn Figaro, her personal consultant, as chief of staff for the group.

Turner and the Our Revolution endorsement process were also criticized by several candidates in the Politico story, including state Sen. Joe Schiavoni, a Democrat from Boardman, Ohio. Schiavoni told Politico he actively went to meetings and sought the group's support.

But Our Revolution endorsed former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a friend of Turner's. Turner was also close with Kucinich's running mate, Akron City Councilwoman Tara Samples.

While Our Revolution endorsed Kucinich, Sanders notably stayed out of the race. Kucinich lost the primary handily.

Turner declined to say whether she was considering running for higher office at some point, with board members telling Politico that Turner was mulling a run for president in 2020 if Sanders did not run.

After the piece published, Turner took to Twitter to retweet notes of support. Some described the Politico story as a hit piece, including Our Revolution founding member James Zogby.

1/3Im a founding board member of @OurRevolution (OR). This @politico piece doesnt describe the group I know. It is a hit piece fueled a few disgruntled souls out to harm @ninaturner. In a short time, OR has established itself as a leading progressive political org... pic.twitter.com/SrkIOlCNKF  James J. Zogby (@jjz1600) May 21, 2018

Figaro also took to Twitter to voice her displeasure with the piece.

(2) @ConsultCatalina @LucyFlores

#1 I have over 15 yrs of political ORGANIZING exp working on WINNING DEM CAMPAIGNS not to mention organizing on the Sanders 2016 campaign #2 I have 15 yrs of AWARD WINNING hr STAFFING exp employing 300 ppl on my own #3 I have NEVER praised Trump  Tezlyn Figaro (@TezlynFigaro) May 21, 2018

Read the Politico piece here.PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The Cuyahoga County OVI Task Force kicked off its participation in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Click It or Ticket initiative May 17 in Parma Heights.

"The Parma Heights Police Department has often been recognized for its efforts in seat belt safety assisted through partnerships with businesses, schools and churches," Parma Heights Police Department Sgt. Michael Luzniak said. "Because of this, it made a lot of sense to host the kickoff event in Parma Heights."

Promoting seat belt education and enforcement, the Click It or Ticket program runs May 21 through June 3. The recent event attracted roughly two dozen of the 34 Cuyahoga County OVI Task Force police departments participating this year to Parma Heights. That list also includes the Cuyahoga County Sheriff's Office and the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

"This organization every year tries to be creative and come up with some type of a public awareness campaign," Parma Mayor Michael P. Byrne said. "This year, they're going to be passing out what they refer to as Golden Tickets to vehicle occupants who are found wearing seat belts."

Click It or Ticket officers in the area will have 1,000 Golden Tickets that will be issued to community members caught buckling up. Included will be a coupon for either a free Dairy Queen Blizzard or a free medium hot or iced coffee or donut from Dunkin' Donuts.

"The Golden Ticket campaign is all about positive reinforcement for a proven life-saving habit," Cuyahoga County Safe Communities Coordinator Rachel Farinelli said in a press release. "We also hope to start the conversation about the importance of seat belt use among friends and family members with this creative approach."

Luzniak said Click It or Ticket's impact in Parma Heights is significant. From 2014 to 2017, 91 percent of crashes included occupants wearing seat belts. That's compared to 2016 data with Ohio's seat belt-usage rate of 83.8 percent and Cuyahoga County's 66.7 percent.

"There is a direct correlation between seat belt usage and staying safe in a crash," Luzniak said. "Today, people are spending a great deal of their time and money on products they hope will lead to safer, healthier and longer lives.

"However, when it comes down to it, one of the cheapest and easiest products a person can use to help accomplish these things is their seat belt," he said.

In addition to its participation in Click It or Ticket, Luzniak said the Parma Heights Police Department, through work with the Cuyahoga County OVI Task Force and the Greater Cleveland Safe Kids/Safe Communities Coalition, educates children and young adults through its annual mock crash at Valley Forge High School during prom season, as well as Safety Town in the summer and Safe Kids Teen Driving ROADeo in the late spring.

Luzniak said bringing the Cuyahoga County OVI Task Force to Parma Heights was memorable.

"Hosting any Task Force meeting is always special," Luzniak said. "However, hosting the Click It or Ticket kickoff event is even more significant because of the message it conveys and hopefully the lives that can be saved and injuries that can be prevented."SEVEN HILLS, Ohio -- Charged with attempted dereliction of duty, former City Council president Matt Trafis' pre-trial hearing date May 15 resulted in Parma Municipal Court Judge Timothy P. Gilligan denying Attorney Adam M. VanHo's motion to dismiss.

"The judge said the issue was premature," VanHo said. "He said it's a trial issue, so what we did was set up another pre-trial hearing. If they don't dismiss it, then I'm going to ask a jury to decide.

"I don't care if he's a public official. He made a public records request. It was crystal clear that's what he was doing and that's not illegal. They're trying to set him to a higher standard. It's a political case. That's all this is," VanHo said.

The attempted dereliction of duty charge stems from an Oct. 25 public records request when Trafis, then City Council president, asked the city's Finance Department about a potential tax delinquency notice sent to Pat Elliott, who at the time was a political opponent seeking a seat on City Council.

Elliott was elected to City Council as a council member at-large, while Trafis was voted out of office.

Appointed as special prosecutor for the Trafis case is Mark Cicero, who currently handles prosecutions for five eastern Cuyahoga County communities.

"The motion to dismiss was summarily denied by the court," Cicero said. "It was completely inappropriate."

Cicero has a history prosecuting Trafis. In 2016, Trafis was charged with dereliction of duty and obtaining confidential information related to releasing confidential information about Longbow Research during a public meeting.

As part of a first-offender program, Parma Municipal Court Judge Kenneth Spanagel dismissed the charges after Trafis completed 50 hours of community service, wrote a letter of apology to Longbow Research for releasing its confidential tax information during a caucus, and paid a $150 fine and court costs.

"He illegally obtained Longbow's confidential taxpayer information and, during an open session of council, began discussing it," Cicero said. "Prior to that incident, he had been warned about 18 months earlier by the former Seven Hills finance director in writing that he was not entitled to any confidential taxpayer information.

"The sum and substance of what Mr. Trafis allegedly did in this instance is that he once again attempted to obtain confidential taxpayer information. It is political, because the information Mr. Trafis attempted to obtain about his opponent came two weeks before the election," Cicero said.

The pre-trial date for the case is set for July 3.A high profile data scandal involving allegations over the misuse of Facebook data by consultancy Cambridge Analytica led to greater scrutiny on the regulation of social media platforms earlier this year.

Others have also sounded off on the need for regulation due to the pervasiveness of fake news.

The cryptocurrency space has also come under greater regulatory scrutiny amid growth in the size of the market.

Development in regulation has largely been country-specific, with regulatory bodies around the world differing in opinion on how to tackle the space.

Banking industry regulations, meanwhile, could return to the spotlight, with the U.S. House of Representatives possibly voting on a Senate-passed bill that would ease Dodd-Frank requirements on banks.Clinton  a graduate of Yale Law  spoke to students as part of a weekend-long schedule of events leading up to Monday's official commencement ceremony. Throughout the speech, she lightly joked about Facebook's data breach scanda l , the WikiLeaks release of her emails and Russian election meddling.

"If any group were ever prepared to rise to the occasion, it is you, the Class of 2018. You've already demonstrated the character and courage that will help you navigate this tumultuous moment," the 2016 Democratic nominee told Yale seniors in an inspirational, and often times political, speech. "And most of all, you've demonstrated resilience."

Hillary Clinton appeared before Yale University's graduating class on Sunday, and delivered a speech in which she praised students for their resilience in the face of tough times.

Following Yale Class Day tradition, all attendees wore hats and headgear of their choice, oftentimes lighthearted: Clinton went with a Russian-inspired hat, likely a nod to the ongoing debate over Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

"Look, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, " she joked.



Clinton continued: "We're living at a time when fundamental rights, civic virtues, freedom of the press, even facts and reason, are under assault like never before. But we are also witnessing an era of new moral conviction, civic engagement and a sense of devotion to our democracy and country."

The former U.S. Secretary of State also touched on issues Americans are still grappling with, including the mounting number of school shootings. She noted several instances in which Yale students were subject to discrimination, including a student whose father was deported and a black student who was confronted by police for sleeping on campus.

"As hard as it is, this is a moment to reach across divides of race, class and politics," Clinton said. "To try to see the world through the eyes of people very different from ourselves and to return to rational debate, to find a way to disagree without being disagreeable, to try to recapture a sense of community and common humanity."

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Clinton, a graduate of Yale Law School, also served as Yale's Class Day speaker in 2001 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree during the 2009 commencement.

Echoing a message of persistence she shared last year with the Wellesley College class of 2017, Clinton noted a lesson she learned in the months after losing the 2016 presidential election to president Donald Trump.

"Everyone gets knocked down, what matters is whether you get up and keep going," Clinton said. "This may be hard for a group of Yale soon-to-be graduates to accept, but yes, you will make mistakes in life, you will even fail, it happens to all of us no matter how qualified and capable we are. Take it from me."

Ultimately, Clinton said the graduating students "need to be ready to lose some fights," but also hold tight to the resilience they have developed.

"This is a battle hardened to hope, tempered by loss and clear-eyed about the stakes. We are standing up to policies that hurt people. We're standing up for all people being treated with dignity," Clinton said."The fact that some days it is so hard to keep at it, just makes it that much more remarkable that so many of us are in fact keeping at it."

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Don't miss:If you dream of becoming the next Jeff Bezos, or simply fancy yourself as a side-hustler, but worry you lack the cash; fret not  it needn't cost you the world. In fact, one of the most effective ways to get your idea off the ground could be with a free hack: testing out products on social media. It's a tool used by Supernova, which, despite enjoying runaway success with its beauty lines SkinnyMint, Sand & Sky and BodyBoss, still rates the frugal, start-up strategy among the best. Supernova is what's known as an incubator, meaning it uses industry insights to identify demand for new products, and then assembles a team to create them and bring them to market. However, when testing out those new ideas, the business doesn't spend a penny on building prototypes, Supernova's co-founder Emily Hamilton told CNBC Make It. Instead, it uses Photoshop to create mock up images, then shares them on Instagram and gauge customer interest.

Only once the company has identified demand  for instance, through customer requests  does it invest money in creating the product, said Hamilton. "People can sign up to register their interest in a particular product and then we know whether it's worth pursuing," Hamilton explained. "It's something we've done from the beginning," she continued, referring to the launch of its first line, SkinnyMint, in 2014. The tactic is a far cry from the product development methods of old and those typically still used by more established brands with bigger budgets.

Emily Hamilton, co-founder of Supernova Supernova

In an interview with CNBC's Adam Shaw last month, L'Oreal's operations chief digital officer, Stephane Lannuzel, said the company was leveraging new technologies to improve its processes. Rather than using free methods, though, L'Oreal is investing heavily in 3-D printing to cut down the time required to bring products to market. Last year, the cosmetics giant used the technology to create more than 15,000 prototypes. However, Hamilton said that trialing products on social media goes beyond simply providing a cheap fix for cash-strapped start-ups. It also give an insight into customer demands that goes beyond traditional methods. "Ultimately, you want to know that the product is going to sell," noted Hamilton. "Big corporates can invest a lot of money in focus groups and things. But if you don't have the money, you can go to social media and get real feedback  and it's also more likely to be genuine feedback." Having that direct line of communication with consumers has also made it easier for entrepreneurs to identify new opportunities, according to Hamilton.

Beauty brands including SkinnyMint, Sand & Sky and Coco & Eve are showcased in Supernova's Singapore HQ Supernova

"There's a huge market for product discovery these days, so we're creating niche brands that really appeal to the consumer," she said. "Social media gives you that opportunity to see what other people are saying." Hamilton is not alone in using social media for inspiration. Fellow Australians Alex Tomic and Nik Mirkovic built their now-$40 million teeth whitening brand HiSmile on the back of a trend they identified on Instagram. Like Hamilton, the duo relied largely on social media and influencers like Kylie Jenner to promote their brand and build a following. More established brands are also cottoning on to the new opportunities social media creates for product innovation. For instance, U.S. clothing line J. Crew recently experimented with polling customers on new products using Instagram Stories. It presented two different colored jumpers and asked viewers to vote on which one it should create.

Screenshot of an Instagram Stories poll conducted by U.S. clothing brand J. Crew J. Crew | Instagrambln@

* Revised proposal up 4.6 pct from previous offer

* Is conditional on additional hedging of oil-linked output

* A successful bid would be biggest takeover of Aus oil gas firm (Adds details on offer, recent oil prices)

May 21 (Reuters) - Australia's Santos Ltd on Monday said it had received an improved $10.84 billion offer from U.S.-based suitor Harbour Energy, a proposal that comes at a time when oil prices are at their highest since late 2014.

The new offer is equivalent to A$6.95 a share at an exchange rate of 75 U.S. cents to 1 Australian dollar, and is at an 11.2-percent premium to the last close of Santos shares on Friday.

A successful bid would mark the biggest takeover of an Australian oil and gas producer.

The revised proposal, up 4.6 percent from an earlier offer, is conditional on Santos undertaking additional hedging of oil-linked production in 2018 of about 30 percent and changes to hedging in 2019, Santos said in a statement.

Harbor said the offer price would be increased to a U.S. dollar amount equivalent to A$7.00 per share if Santos agreed to hedge 30 percent of oil-linked production in 2020.

The requirement for Adelaide-based Santos to step up its hedging is tied to securing funding for the deal, as Harbour will be taking on a lot of debt for the acquisition on top of Santos' existing net debt of around $2.5 billion. Hedging would ensure cash flows needed to pay down debt, protecting the company from oil price volatility.

Oil prices have risen about 17 percent since Santos received Harbour's $4.98 per share offer in April.

Independent directors of Santos will consider the revised Harbour proposal, the company said. (Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Sonali Paul; editing by Richard Pullin)Of the CEOs who lead the companies that make up the 2018 Fortune 500 list, out today, just 24 are women. That number is down 25 percent from last year's record-breaking 32 female CEOs, the highest share of women since the Fortune's first 500 list in 1955. While women were at the helm of 6.4 percent of the companies on 2017's list, that number is now down to 4.8 percent. The biggest reason for this drop, according to Fortune, is that more than a third of Fortune 500 female CEOs resigned in the past year. That includes several 500 veterans, like Campbell Soup Co.'s Denise Morrison, Hewlett Packard's Meg Whitman, Mondelez's Irene Rosenfeld and Avon's Sheri McCoy.

Newbies Margaret Georgiadis and Shira Goodman, of Mattel and Staples, also left their posts, each having served for less than two years. Four new female CEOs do join the ranks: Ulta Beauty's Mary Dillon, Kohl's Michelle Gass, Yum China's Joey Wat and Anthem's Gail Boudreaux. This year is Ulta's first on the list, while the other three CEOs were recently appointed. Although the Fortune 500 list has been released annually for the last 63 years, it wasn't until 1998 that Fortune began noting executives' gender. Since then, the magazine noted that the percentage of female CEOs has generally increased, with several dips after 2011. Below, you can see the percentage of women who made up each year's Fortune 500 list since 1995 through today.Last month, two black men who went to a Starbucks in Philadelphia and did not buy anything were denied use of the restroom and asked to leave.

Then an employee called the police and the men were arrested, prompting protests, boycotts and accusations of racism.

Now, Starbucks has changed its policy.

On Saturday the company announced that "any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase."

More from The New York Times:

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It added that employees should follow established procedures for "addressing disruptive behaviors," and call 911 in the case of "immediate danger or threat" to employees or customers.

Previously it might have fallen to store managers to decide whether people could sit or use the restroom without buying anything, The Associated Press reported.

"This is now an established policy for consistency across all of our U.S. company operated stores," Haley Drage, a Starbucks spokeswoman, said on Sunday.

The men who were arrested in Philadelphia, Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, were waiting for another man, Andrew Yaffe, who is white, for a business meeting on April 12 when the officers arrived. Their arrest was captured in video footage that has been viewed millions of times on social media.

"What did they get called for?" Mr. Yaffe asked in the video, referring to the police. "Because there are two black guys sitting here meeting me?"

Starbucks did not press charges and the men were released hours later.

Melissa DePino tweet

After protests erupted, Starbucks apologized and Kevin R. Johnson, the company's chief executive, released a statement in which he called the arrests a "reprehensible outcome." The employee who called the police was fired.

tarbucks also announced that it would close its stores in the United States on May 29 to give anti-bias training to 175,000 employees.

The company said it had reached a "confidential financial settlement" with Mr. Nelson and Mr. Robinson. The men also reached an agreement with Philadelphia: Each accepted a symbolic $1 and agreed that the city would spend $200,000 to help young entrepreneurs.

"Since the incident in our Philadelphia store in April and the events that followed, we have committed to our partners that we would be evaluating our existing policies and practices to ensure they are clear," Ms. Drage said.

She called the new policy "a part of that commitment."American Airlines flight attendants, still working through a uniform crisis that dates to September 2016, are up in arms over a major retrofit project now getting underway dubbed Project Oasis.

In a nutshell, it's a project to retrofit nearly 200 Boeing (NYSE: BA) 737-800 aircraft in American's fleet to match the configuration of the much-newer Boeing 737 MAX planes that AA has only just begun to introduce into its fleet.

American has eight MAXs in service now  being flown primarily between New York City and Miami. None operates currently on flights from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, though AA is expected to have 20 in service by the end of 2018.

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The MAX is said to be more efficient with a different kind of jet engine. But AA flight attendants who have worked on the new plane are no fans of the MAX cabin configuration  hence the concern that some 200 of the Boeing 737-800s will within the next two years be revamped to mirror AA's MAX layout.

AA flight attendants don't like several aspects of the MAX layout, but the biggest point of contention is the lavatories. At a recent crew meeting with AA CEO Doug Parker presiding, a LaGuardia Airport-based flight attendant was brutally blunt about the lavs, noting "You can't get in them."

Additionally, the doors on the two lavatories in the rear of the cabin in particular have proved troublesome. According to the same flight attendant speaking to Parker, the doors are so close to each other that they often lock when two passengers exit, creating headaches for FAs trying to navigate around the galley in close proximity to the lavs.

The Chicago Business Journal obtained an audio tape of the crew meeting with Parker, who certainly listened to what the flight attendant had to say. He also countered that the feedback about the plane has been positive from passengers flying on the MAX between New York and Miami  and they are a demanding lot, Parker said.

By the end of the discussion, Parker did concede that the "slimline" design of the lavs on the MAX makes them smaller, which enables AA to fit more revenue-generating seats on the MAX.

By extension, that also would mean more seats on the 200 or so Boeing 737-800s that are about to be reconfigured.

Per diagrams included in a Project Oasis management memo obtained by the Chicago Business Journal, the reconfigured Boeing 737-800s will have 16 first-class cabin seats with a 37-inch seat pitch, down from a 39- to 40-inch pitch in the current Boeing 737-800 configuration.

The retrofitted 737s will have 30 main cabin extra seats with 33 inches of pitch, down from 34 in the existing 737-800 model configuration. There will be 126 regular economy seats with a 30-inch pitch, down from 31 inches in existing layout.

Altogether, when the Boeing 737-800 planes are retrofitted, they will hold 172 passengers compared to 160 in the existing configuration.

A spokeswoman for American insisted the new seats, which one flight attendant source called "cheap," offer more legroom despite having less seat pitch. Still, when all the reconfiguring is done in two years, some AA flight attendants worry AA customers will not be any more pleased about the layout than they are.

"Simply put, American is becoming America West," said one FA source, referring to the low-cost airline that Parker ran before AW merged with U.S. Airways, which in turn merged with American Airlines to become the world's largest airline.O'FALLON, Mo.  In a windowless bunker here, a wall of monitors tracked incoming attacks  267,322 in the last 24 hours, according to one hovering dial, or about three every second  as a dozen analysts stared at screens filled with snippets of computer code.

Pacing around, overseeing the stream of warnings, was a former Delta Force soldier who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan before shifting to a new enemy: cyberthieves.

"This is not that different from terrorists and drug cartels," Matt Nyman, the command center's creator, said as he surveyed his squadron of Mastercard employees. "Fundamentally, threat networks operate in similar ways."

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Germany acts to tame Facebook, learning from its own history of hate

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Cybercrime is one of the world's fastest-growing and most lucrative industries. At least $445 billion was lost last year, up around 30 percent from just three years earlier, a global economic study found, and the Treasury Department recently designated cyberattacks as one of the greatest risks to the American financial sector. For banks and payment companies, the fight feels like a war  and they're responding with an increasingly militarized approach.

Former government cyberspies, soldiers and counterintelligence officials now dominate the top ranks of banks' security teams. They've brought to their new jobs the tools and techniques used for national defense: combat exercises, intelligence hubs modeled on those used in counterterrorism work and threat analysts who monitor the internet's shadowy corners.

At Mastercard, Mr. Nyman oversees the company's new fusion center, a term borrowed from the Department of Homeland Security. After the attacks of Sept. 11, the agency set up scores of fusion centers to coordinate federal, state and local intelligence-gathering. The approach spread throughout the government, with the centers used to fight disease outbreaks, wildfires and sex trafficking.

Then banks grabbed the playbook. At least a dozen of them, from giants like Citigroup and Wells Fargo to regional players such as Bank of the West, have opened fusion centers in recent years, and more are in the works. Fifth Third Bank is building one in its Cincinnati headquarters, and Visa, which created its first two years ago in Virginia, is developing two more, in Britain and Singapore. Having their own intelligence hives, the banks hope, will help them better detect patterns in all the data they amass.

The centers also have a symbolic purpose. Having a literal war room reinforces the new reality. Fending off thieves has always been a priority  it's why banks build vaults  but the arms race has escalated rapidly.

Cybersecurity has, for many financial company chiefs, become their biggest fear, eclipsing issues like regulation and the economy.

Alfred F. Kelly Jr., Visa's chief executive, is "completely paranoid" about the subject, he told investors at a conference in March. Bank of America's Brian T. Moynihan said his cybersecurity team is "the only place in the company that doesn't have a budget constraint." (The bank's chief operations and technology officer said it is spending about $600 million this year.)

The military sharpens soldiers' skills with large-scale combat drills like Jade Helm and Foal Eagle, which send troops into the field to test their tactics and weaponry. The financial sector created its own version: Quantum Dawn, a biennial simulation of a catastrophic cyberstrike.

In the latest exercise last November, 900 participants from 50 banks, regulators and law enforcement agencies role-played their response to an industrywide infestation of malicious malware that first corrupted, and then entirely blocked, all outgoing payments from the banks. Throughout the two-day test, the organizers lobbed in new threats every few hours, like denial-of-service attacks that knocked the banks' websites offline.

The first Quantum Dawn, back in 2011, was a lower-key gathering. Participants huddled in a conference room to talk through a mock attack that shut down stock trading. Now, it's a live-fire drill. Each bank spends months in advance re-creating its internal technology on an isolated test network, a so-called cyber range, so that its employees can fight with their actual tools and software. The company that runs their virtual battlefield, SimSpace, is a Defense Department contractor.

Sometimes, the tests expose important gaps.

A series of smaller cyber drills coordinated by the Treasury Department, called the Hamilton Series, raised an alarm three years ago. An attack on Sony, attributed to North Korea, had recently exposed sensitive company emails and data, and, in its wake, demolished huge swaths of Sony's internet network.The company announced Monday that the former first couple have signed a multiyear agreement to produce films and series for Netflix. The deal can include scripted and unscripted series, as well as documentaries and features. The content will be produced by Higher Ground Productions.

"One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience," the former president said in a statement. "That's why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix  we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world."

Obama previously appeared on Netflix's "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman."

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement the Obamas "are uniquely positioned to discover and highlight stories of people who make a difference in their communities and strive to change the world for the better." A New York Times report in March said Obama's projects are not intended to address President Donald Trump or conservatives. Instead, it would focus on inspirational content.Shiller, best known for warning about the housing and dot-com bubbles, pointed to the early 19th century, when merchants tried to replace the gold standard with "time money." The "Cincinnati Time Store" for example sold merchandise in units of work and closed just three years after it launched. One hundred years later during the Great Depression, economist John Pease Norton proposed a dollar by electricity, which also failed to catch on.

Enthusiasm around the thousands of existing cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin , remains strong despite warnings from investors such as Warren Buffett that they're worthless. That mania and attempts to launch new units of money have existed in different forms since the 1800s, Shiller said.

Cryptocurrencies mirror some of the most famous failed currency experiments throughout history, according to Nobel-winning economist Robert Shiller.

"Each of these monetary innovations has been coupled with a unique technological story," Shiller wrote in a blog post Monday. "But, more fundamentally, all are connected with a deep yearning for some kind of revolution in society."

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are no different, he said. They were introduced by a community of entrepreneurs who, as Shiller put it, "hold themselves above national governments, which are viewed as the drivers of a long train of inequality and war."

The mania around bitcoin today is also due in part to its mystery, the Yale University professor said.

"Practically no one, outside of computer science departments, can explain how cryptocurrencies work, and that mystery creates an aura of exclusivity, gives the new money glamour, and fills devotees with revolutionary zeal," Shiller said. "None of this is new, and, as with past monetary innovations, a seemingly compelling story may not be enough."

The height of the public's fascination was also undoubtedly tied to bitcoin's meteoric rise in price. The world's first cryptocurrency rose to near $20,000 last year before losing roughly half of its value in the first quarter of 2018.

Here is the full post by Shiller.A worker fits parts to the underside of a raised Hyundai Accent car at a vehicle assembly plant in Lagos, Nigeria, on February 17, 2016. George Osodi | Bloomberg

China has funneled billions of dollars into aid, loans and business deals on the African continent in recent years. But as ties continue to strengthen, a former Nigerian finance minister has warned that Beijing-style economic governance will not work for Africa. "China has been very helpful," particularly with building much-needed infrastructure in Africa, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a two-time former finance minister in Nigeria, told CNBC on Wednesday. But while less economically advanced countries may wish to emulate China's economic success, the Chinese approach of state-led development would prove unsuccessful for the majority of Africa, she said. "In most African countries, it has been shown that state-led growth  pure state-led growth  has really not worked," Okonjo-Iweala said, citing the example of Nigeria's "vibrant private sector."

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former finance minister of Nigeria and new WTO chief. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

In her view, the Nigerian government, through state-owned enterprises, has not shown itself capable of managing its manufacturing and heavier industries, for example. Corruption could result from increased government intervention in business, Okonjo-Iweala said. "Some of our governments, when they get into direct provision of jobs and services  that's where corruption creeps in because it's not well-handled, the institutions of state are not strong enough, the checks and balances are not strong." Okonjo-Iweala served as Nigeria's finance minister twice, from 2003-2006 and most recently during 2011-2015 under previous President Goodluck Jonathan. She is a former director at the World Bank and is currently an adviser at the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank.

Where China-style economic management has worked

Nonetheless, one African country known for its economic partnership with China is Ethiopia. Infrastructure, as well as industrial parks to boost the manufacturing sector, have been built as part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar spending plan to resurrect ancient trading routes centered on China.

People working on an assembly line at Huajian shoe factory in Dukem, Ethiopia, on April 19, 2012. Jenny Vaughan | AFP | Getty Images

Ethiopia, an East African country that has seen double-digit gross domestic product (GDP) growth as recently as 2017, has echoed China's state-led development style. This approach "will only work in countries where the power is highly centralized," Anna Rosenberg, research director at emerging market advisory firm Frontier Strategy Group, told CNBC on Friday. Besides Ethiopia, she cited Mozambique and Rwanda as suitable examples. Nigeria's entrepreneurial society was less conducive to China-style economic management, she said. History could also play a role, Rosenberg suggested. While Cold War allegiances to the Soviet Union may be present in some African countries, Nigeria, by contrast, is a former British colony and therefore more espoused to a free market system.

China's strategic partner

"I think China sees Africa as a strategic continent that it wants to be a partner with," Okonjo-Iweala said. "Africa does have the natural resources that China lacks in many ways." But, she added that in her view, this partnership extends beyond pure economic deals. "I believe strongly there is overarching political and soft power that is involved."

For Okonjo-Iweala, it is important to demonstrate the fruits of African business deals with China to the public. She described Beijing-funded new airport terminals in the Nigerian capital Abuja as an example of this because "people will be able to see them, and witness them, and know that the money went into something concrete." Last week, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reported that Nigeria had signed a deal with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation to build a railway from its economic hub Lagos to Kano, a commercial hotspot in the north of the country. African countries must enter business deals with China "with our eyes open," Okonjo-Iweala said, to capitalize on its manufacturing expertise and technological development. Africa is in the process of expanding its manufacturing sector in an attempt to bolster economic development. Nigeria, as part of an attempt to wean itself off oil dependence, has grown its manufacturing base from just 2.5 percent of value added to GDP in 2009 to 8.8 percent in 2016, according to the World Bank. But with regards to regulating Africa-China business deals, "we are absolutely not there," Okonjo-Iweala said, although she added that this varied between African countries. Providing that fair and transparent agreements are drawn up, "we can work with China  why not?"President Trump praised Gina Haspel as the seventh director of the Central Intelligence Agency at a swearing-in ceremony on Monday, just hours after accusing the fifth director of the CIA director of disgracing the office and engaging in a "political hit job" against him.

In comments less than three hours apart, Trump lamented what he said was the destruction of faith in the intelligence community, and called the CIA "the most elite intelligence professionals on the planet Earth."

That juxtaposition highlights Trump's uneasy relationship with intelligence agencies, which serve as the president's eyes and ears around the world but are also investigating Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election that Trump won.

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President Trump says he will demand Justice Department probe into FBI's use of informant

Supreme Court backs employers over workers in first of two major labor cases

On Twitter Sunday, Trump ordered an investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his campaign to spy on him, leading to the now wide-ranging investigation into whether the campaign colluded with Russian agents to influence the election. Then on Monday, he accused former CIA director John Brennan of being "the genesis of this whole debacle."

"John Brennan is panicking," Trump tweeted Monday, quoting conservative radio host Dan Bongino. "He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community. He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of American's faith in the Intelligence Community and in some people at the FBI."

Trump has accused Brennan  now an MSNBC commentator who's been critical of Trump on a wide range of issues  of being among "the biggest liars and leakers" in Washington. Also on Trump's liars and leakers list: Former FBI director James Comey, whom he fired for not exonerating him in the Russia probe, and former director of national intelligence James Clapper.

Trump and his conservative allies have stepped up their counteroffensive against the FBI and CIA in recent months as Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigates the Russian question. Trump has maintained there was no collusion, and has alleged  without providing eviden

ce  that the Obama administration initiated the investigation for political purposes.

The Justice Department referred that question to its inspector general Sunday after Trump demanded an investigation via Twitter.

But as he presided over Haspel's initiation ceremony at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., Trump gave few hints of his problems with the FBI and CIA.

He praised House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes  one of a number of House GOP leaders pushing for the FBI to reveal its sources in the investigation into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russian agents  as "a very courageous man."

But he saved most of his praise for Haspel, who becomes the first woman to lead the nation's most prominent spy agency.

"Our enemies will take note: Gina is tough, Gina is strong, and when it comes to defending America, Gina will never ever back down," Trump said. "The exceptional men and women of this agency deserve exceptional leadership, and in Gina Haspel that is exactly what you are getting."

The swearing-in ceremony came four days after the Senate ended a weeks-long confirmation battle by approving her in a 54-45 vote.

Haspel, a 61-year-old career intelligence officer who has spent most of her time undercover, oversaw a secret "black site" in Thailand where suspected terrorists were subjected to waterboarding. In 2005, she also wrote an order at her supervisor's request to destroy 92 videotapes of the torture techniques.

Among the stops in her 33-year resume at the agency  mostly undercover  was a stint overseeing U.S. spies in Russia in the 1990s. In her testimony this month, Haspel gave a three-word response when Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, asked whether she agreed with the 2016 intelligence report finding that Russians interfered in the presidential campaign.

"Senator, I do," she said.The FTSE 100 closed provisionally up by 1 percent and the CAC 40 in Paris was higher by 0.4 percent. The former hit a fresh intraday record high Monday. Meanwhile, the main Italian index fell 1.5 percent on political news. German and other European markets were closed for a public holiday.

Market sentiment was driven by trade news and political events in Italy. Fears over a trade war between the U.S. and China eased after comments from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that both countries are putting the trade war "on hold" as they tried to reach a compromise. On Wall Street, stocks traded sharply higher amid the alleviation of trade tensions.

Political instability in Italy seems to be coming to an end with a power-sharing agreement between the left-wing Five Star Movement and the right-wing Lega. Both parties are due to present their deal to the country's president later on Monday. However, such a government could raise concerns across the euro zone due to planned higher spending. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire warned Sunday that Rome needs to respect European spending rules, according to the Financial Times.The president asked, and the Justice Department appeared to deliver. President Donald Trump on Sunday demanded a review regarding the use of an alleged FBI informant targeting members of the Trump campaign. Within hours, the Justice Department referred the matter to its internal watchdog, the Office of the Inspector General, for investigation. Trump's pointed demand to the executive agency seems to break years of precedent, experts told CNBC. But the Justice Department's quick response, while at first glance appearing to validate the president's wish, could indicate a more pragmatic move from a department whose leaders' jobs have been regularly threatened. Presidents have historically taken care not to make specific investigative requests of their Justice Departments, said Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas School of Law professor specializing in national security issues. Doing so could create the appearance that the investigations are being done for political reasons.

'The single least-appropriate instance'

But Trump's demand, which followed his unsubstantiated claim that an informant had been "implanted, for political purposes" into his campaign, goes even further, Vladeck said. "In this context, it's not just a political decision. It's a political decision to investigate the people that are investigating him," Vladeck said in an interview. "Even if it was ever appropriate, this seems to be the single least-appropriate instance." Eric Columbus, who was senior counsel to deputy attorneys general during the Obama administration from 2009 to 2014, agreed with Vladeck's assessment of Trump's demand. "It's not normal," Columbus said. "I'm hard-pressed to think of instances before this presidency where the president informs the Department of Justice to do something so specific." On Friday, The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the alleged FBI informant was sent to talk to some of candidate Trump's campaign advisors, including former policy aides Carter Page and George Papadopoulos. The informant also looked into other campaign associates such as Michael Flynn, who would become Trump's first national security advisor, and former campaign chief Paul Manafort, the Times reported. Trump tweeted earlier Friday that if the reports of an informant in his campaign are true, it would constitute the "all time biggest political scandal!" Trump tweet 2 Two days later, the president took to Twitter to demand an investigation into whether his campaign had been monitored "for political purposes." Trump tweet By Sunday evening, the Justice Department confirmed that it had referred the matter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz, folding Trump's demanded inquiry into a probe of the FBI's acquisition of warrants to monitor Page during the campaign. "The Department has asked the Inspector General to expand the ongoing review of the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election," a Justice Department representative told CNBC. ABC News, meanwhile, reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray would head to the White House on Monday afternoon. The president's demand would be part of the conversation, according to ABC. ABC Karl tweet NBC News confirmed that Trump would indeed meet with the two law enforcement officials, although a White House representative said that the meeting was scheduled before the president's weekend tweets. The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Twists, turns and a 'savvy move'

The warrant on Page, who stepped away from the Trump campaign in September 2016, was a major focus of a memo drafted by the House Intelligence Committee's Republican majority that became a rallying cry for critics of the Justice Department's actions. That memo said that a dossier  which alleged salacious connections between Trump, his associates and Russia  "formed an essential part" of the basis for launching a surveillance case against Page. A rebuttal from the highly partisan committee's Democratic minority countered that Page was on the FBI's radar long before the dossier surfaced. Horowitz began his investigation of the FISA warrants in March. Shortly after Trump tweeted his demand, Rosenstein said in a statement that, "If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action." Columbus considered the response to be "a savvy move by Rosenstein" to refer the matter to the inspector general. The deputy attorney general, who made the recommendation to appoint special counsel Robert Mueller after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia probe, has long been a target of Trump's ire. "Rosenstein bends but doesn't break," Columbus said. If his survival requires "making concessions to Trump that are less important than preserving Mueller's independence, then Rosenstein has shown that he is willing to do so." Vladeck described the calculation in similar terms. "Referring to the inspector general was a savvy effort by Rosenstein to try to defuse the situation," Vladeck said, "rather than challenge the president or do his bidding." He added: "The inspector general's job is to police the DOJ, and so this is exactly right for them." Trump has also demonstrated mixed feelings about the internal watchdog in the past. When former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was accused of making misleading statements to investigators regarding his leak of information to a reporter, Trump seized on the report as proof that McCabe "LIED! LIED! LIED!" Trump tweet 3 However, he complained in February that Horowitz was "an Obama guy" who lacked prosecutorial power in investigating "potentially massive FISA abuse." Trump tweet 4

'A critical error'

To be sure, some see Rosenstein's snap decision as a misstep. Assenting to Trump's request so quickly was "a critical error," said Claire Finkelstein, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law. The president's lawyers, out of concern for the special counsel's interest in the potential obstruction of justice, may have dissuaded Trump from pursuing this line of attack of their own accord, Finkelstein said. Instead, it looked as though Rosenstein "jumped the gun in an effort to try and look nonpartisan in his approach," she said. Finkelstein said it's possible Rosenstein's action was based on his concern with the DOJ's appearance of impartiality. But in an effort to maintain that natural image, she said, "he may have created more problems for the Justice Department than he needed to."

WATCH: WH demands DOJ investigate FBI tacticsThe U.S. Federal Communications Commission said on Friday it was referring reports that a website flaw could have allowed the location of mobile phone customers to be tracked to its enforcement bureau to investigate.

A security researcher said earlier this week that data from LocationSmart, a California-based tech firm, could have been used to track AT&T, Verizon Communications, Sprint, and T-Mobile US mobile consumers within a few hundred yards of their location and without their consent.

Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, on Friday had urged the FCC to investigate, saying on Twitter that a "hacker could have used this site to know when you were in your house so they would know when to rob it. A predator could have tracked your child's cell phone to know when they were alone."

He later praised the FCC decision to investigate, as first reported by Reuters.

"I urge the FCC expand the scope of this investigation, and to more broadly probe the practice of third parties buying real-time location data on Americans, Wyden said.

Robert Xiao, a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University, said a flaw in a demo tool from LocationSmart could have been used to track anyone.

LocationSmart spokeswoman Brenda Schafer said on Friday the vulnerability "has been resolved and the demo has been disabled."

Prior to Xiao's efforts, which included locating up to two dozen users, Schafer said the company believes no one else exploited the vulnerability.

The company is committed to "continuous improvement of its information privacy and security measures," she said.

Last week, the New York Times reported that the former sheriff of Mississippi County, Missouri, used Securus Technologies to track mobile phones  including those of other police officers  without court orders, citing charges filed against him.

Several published reports said Securus is getting its data through an intermediary of LocationSmart.

Verizon spokesman Rich Young said Friday the company has "taken steps to ensure that Securus can no longer access location information about Verizon Wireless customers." He added the company has "initiated a review of this entire issue."

AT&T spokesman Mike Balmoris said the company does not "permit sharing of location information without customer consent or a demand from law enforcement. If we learn that a vendor does not adhere to our policy we will take appropriate action."

Sprint said it is conducting an internal review of the issue. T-Mobile US did not immediately comment.

Securus said later on Friday that access to location-based services "data has been disabled for the time being," out of an abundance of caution and in light of ongoing discussions with partners.

The company also said it has "no direct business relationship with LocationSmart," adding it is ready to work with law enforcement and vendors to reinstate the service as soon as possible.

Last week Wyden said that Securus, a major provider of correctional facility telephone services, was purchasing real-time location information from carriers and providing information "via a self-service web portal for nothing more than the legal equivalent of a pinky promise."

Wyden wrote all four of the U.S. major mobile carriers, saying the practice "exposes millions of Americans to potential abuse and unchecked surveillance by the government."U.S. regional bank Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to buy smaller rival MB Financial in a stock-and-cash deal valued at about $4.7 billion as it looks to expand in Chicago and broaden its middle market customer base.

A windfall from last year's Republican tax overhaul has encouraged more investment among mid-sized U.S. lenders and banks are also hopeful that legislative moves to roll back some rules on capital requirements will free up more cash.

That runs contrary to the several years of minimal merger activity in the sector due to stricter rules brought in after the 2008 financial crisis which effectively put limits on expansion.

As part of the deal announced on Monday, each MB Financial shareholder will get $54.20, comprising 1.45 shares of Fifth Third common stock and $5.54 in cash, a 24 percent premium to MB Financial's last close.

The merger with Chicago-based MB Financial will result in the combined entity having a total Chicago deposit market share of 6.5 percent, ranking it fourth in total deposits among the nearly 200 banks in the marketplace, Fifth Third said.

Fifth Third Bank, which operates 1,300 branches and 2,600 ATMs across 12 states, said the deal is expected to reduce its regulatory common equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio by about 45 basis points.

Fifth Third also said once the deal closes, two members of MB Financial's board of directors were expected to join the Fifth Third Bancorp board.

Citi served as financial adviser to Fifth Third, while Sandler ONeill + Partners advised MB Financial.Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani's claim that special counsel Robert Mueller is hoping to end his investigation into whether the president obstructed justice in the Russia probe by Sept. 1 is "entirely made up," a new report says.

A U.S. official familiar with the case said Giuliani's assertion in a New York Times article on Sunday about Mueller's supposed target date was "another apparent effort to pressure the special counsel to hasten the end of his work," Reuters reported.

"He'll wrap it up when he thinks he's turned every rock," the unidentified source said, referring to Mueller's inquiry into possible obstruction by President Donald Trump into the question of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

"And when that is will depend on how cooperative witnesses, persons of interest and maybe even some targets are, if any of those emerge and on what new evidence he finds."

The source added that Mueller's investigation into possible obstruction  which is just one facet of his ongoing probe  will not end based on "some arbitrary, first-of-the-month deadline on of the president's attorneys cooks up."

The source's comments to Reuters came a day after Giuliani was quoted in the Times as saying that Mueller's office told him about two weeks ago that it hopes to finish the obstruction investigation by Sept. 1.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller's office, declined to comment when asked about the reports by CNBC.

Jay Sekulow, another lawyer for Trump, could not immediately be reached for comment by CNBC.

Since being hired by Trump in April, Giuliani has been an outspoken defender of the president. He has pushed to end to Mueller's inquiry into the president; he's said that the special counsel's office has told him it cannot criminally charge Trump; and he has insisted on a series of conditions for any interview Trump may give the special counsel.

Giuliani and Trump strongly deny that the president has obstructed the probe into Russian interference in the American election.

On Sunday, Trump unleashed an angry tweetstorm over the Mueller inquiry, referring to it yet again as a "witch hunt," and demanding that the Justice Department investigate whether the department and FBI "infiltrated and surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes."

Trump fired James Comey last year after the president suggested that the then FBI director drop an investigation into Trump's first national security advisor, Michael Flynn.

Trump has said that when he decided to fire Comey "I said to myself, I said, 'You know this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.' "

Giuliani recently said that Trump fired Comey because the FBI director "would not  among other things  say that he [Trump] wasn't a target of the investigation."

Mueller was appointed a year ago, May 17, 2017, as special counsel to investigate the Russian operation on the heels of Comey's firing.

Flynn since has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his postelection contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States. He is now cooperating with Mueller, who brought the charge against him.Energy will play a major role in a breakthrough in trade talks between the Trump administration and its Chinese counterparts, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC on Monday. U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators agreed this weekend to put on hold tariffs that they have threatened against one another, after China agreed to purchase more American goods. The concession could move the needle on one of President Donald Trump's major goals: reducing the U.S. trade deficit with China. To be sure, some economists have flagged challenges to increasing exports to China, from Beijing's ability to facilitate the imports to American farmers and manufacturers producing at or near full capacity. However, oil and natural gas production is one area of the U.S. economy that is indeed booming. Meanwhile, China, the engine of the global economy, is hungry for more fossil fuels as more drivers take to the nation's roads and the government seeks to generate more electric power from cleaner-burning natural gas.

The Eagle Ford crude oil tanker sails out of the the NuStar Energy dock at the Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016. Eddie Seal | Bloomberg | Getty Images

"In energy, I think there's a massive opportunity for the U.S. to become a major supplier of energy to China," Mnuchin told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday. "They have incredible amounts of demand at these prices for our shale and our liquid natural gas." "I think we can easily get about $40 or $50 billion of energy, and if we can produce and send more with infrastructure, they can even take more," he said. That would be an ambitious target. U.S. oil and gas exports to China were worth $4.3 billion in 2017, according to Reuters. The United States is already doing brisk trade with China, which has emerged as one of the largest purchasers of U.S. oil since the Obama administration reached a compromise with Congress to lift a 40-year export ban on raw crude. "As the U.S. crude export trade evolves we're seeing a growing trend of [very large crude carriers] being loaded, so that percentage of total exports is around 40-50 percent around any given month and the vast majority of those are heading to China," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at tanker tracking firm ClipperData.

The shale oil Mnuchin mentioned is extracted using advanced technology to free oil and natural gas from tight rock formations in places like western Texas, the Appalachian region and North Dakota. Oil output from shale fields is soon projected to rise above 7 million barrels a day and has boosted total U.S. production to about 10.7 million barrels a day, according to preliminary government figures. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects the United States will average 11.9 million barrels a day next year, surpassing No. 1 producer Russia. The boom in oil production from western Texas has created bottlenecks in the region, causing prices for regional crude to fall as drillers struggle to get their product to market. Consequently, that oil is now trading at a big discount to international benchmark , making it attractive to foreign buyers. "When you have a Brent crude price at $80 and when you have a WTI Midland price at close to $20 below that, that's only going to incentivize more crude oil exports leaving the United States and the growing trend of large vessels heading to Asia, and particularly China," Smith said. Mnuchin made clear on Monday that the trade will occur between companies, and it will have to be in the interest of both Chinese and U.S. firms. China has historically used its leverage as the world's second-largest oil consumer to influence crude prices, taking advantage of discounts among different grades of crude from around the world. However, the type of light, sweet crude that comes from shale is ideal for many Chinese refineries. The Trump administration has already made progress opening the Chinese market to U.S. natural gas exporters. A year ago, the U.S. Commerce Department reached an agreement with Chinese authorities that allowed state-owned companies to negotiate long-term contracts with U.S. natural gas exporters, something Beijing had been hesitant to do.One analyst says "there's zero empirical evidence" that Google acts as a monopoly and does real harm, even though "60 Minutes" put the search engine back in the antitrust crosshairs.

"We need to be extraordinarily careful before we think about heavily regulating them  breaking them up," James Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute told CNBC's "Closing Bell" Monday. "There needs to be an actual theory of harm. We're not going to go after the companies just because they're very successful or they're very big."

CBS's "60 Minutes" ran a segment Sunday night on Google's unparalleled power in search, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the Justice Department needs to seriously look at the issue of tech monopolies.

But Google itself is afraid of competition  from giants like Amazon or from smaller start-ups, Pethokoukis said. As a result, the search giant spends "tens and hundreds of billions of dollars a year on R&D," he said.

"That is not the behavior of some dominant forever monopoly who is squelching innovation," Pethokoukis said. "All I hear is an anecdote here and anecdote there. I don't actually hear an actual portfolio of evidence that would lead me to believe that there's an actual problem here."

Critics have long argued that Google squelches innovation by demoting competitors in Google's algorithmic search results. And of course, Google's ad-supported business model has come under pressure in recent months amid growing concerns about user privacy.

Google says it does not make changes to its algorithm to disadvantage competitors and that its "responsibility is to deliver the best results possible to our users, not specific placements for sites within our results. We understand that those sites whose ranking falls will be unhappy and may complain publicly."

The antitrust case isn't borne out, according to Pethokoukis.

"The activists have been unable to prove that [Google is bad for consumers], so they're trying to create different theories  it's squelching innovation, for which there's no empirical data; that it's bad for democracy; that it's bad for [equality]; that they're hijacking our brain stems because they're addictive," Pethokoukis said. "If there's no theory of harm, maybe we need to hit the pause button here."Italy's Five Star Movement (M5S) and Lega party have proposed a professor called Giuseppe Conte as the country's next prime minister  but hardly anyone has heard of him. M5S and Lega's leaders, Luigi Di Maio and Matteo Salvini, agreed to nominate private law professor Giuseppe Conte and he'll also be the leader of a coalition government made up of the two parties. The two politicians presented their choice to Italian President Sergio Mattarella Monday but the head of state is not obliged to accept the nomination and the search for a leader could continue. For now, Mattarella has summoned the speakers of Italy's bicameral parliament for further talks. Relatively unknown in political and public life, even Italian newspapers are publishing profiles and biographies on the professor to give the country's voters the lowdown  many of whom are asking, "Who is Giuseppe Conte?" "Who's ever heard of him?," Carlo Arrighi, an ice-cream maker in central Rome, said, according to a Reuters report, echoing other sentiments on social media. "It would have been better if they had chosen someone who was elected." The 54-year-old comes from the region of Puglia in southeast Italy and graduated from La Sapienza University in Rome after studying law, before "perfecting" his studies at places like Yale, Duquesne, the International Kultur Institut in Vienna, La Sorbonne in France, Cambridge and New York University, according to a profile page. But the Corriere della Sera newspaper stated that while Conte has "a very long curriculum (vitae)" he doesn't "have a clue about politics." The newspaper did concede that Conte "is certainly a technician" and has experience in business and administrative, financial and civil law. La Stampa newspaper added that he has been the director of "numerous legal journals."

Pasquale Tridico, member of Five Stars Movement, attends the presentation of would-be cabinet in case of election victory on March 1, 2018 in Rome, Italy. Italy is set to hold a general election to form a new parliament and government on March 4, 2018.(Photo by Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images) Alessandra Benedetti - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

In addition, the paper noted that Conte is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Italian Notary Foundation, was a part of the Board of the Italian Space Agency and in 2013 the Parliament appointed him as a member of the Board of Directors of Administrative Justice. Meanwhile, La Repubblica newspaper noted that Conte's CV states that he is also an expert on "managing large companies in crisis," which the paper noted "will be useful in events such as Ilva or Alitalia." Ilva is an Italian steel company going through a pollution scandal and Alitalia is national airline that recently went bankrupt. Conte has taught extensively in Italy and currently lectures in private law at universities in Florence and Bologna.

A friend of M5S

Conte's name was initially flagged up by M5S just ahead of the election in March when the movement's leader, Di Maio, stated that the professor would be nominated as minister for public administration and simplification (a ministry charged with simplifying laws and regulations) in any M5S-led administration. During the election campaign, Di Maio had called Conte a "sburocratizzatore"  akin to a "de-bureaucratizer"  while Conte himself declared during the campaign that Italy needs to "abolish useless laws" (he said there were more than the 400 indicated by Di Maio) and that Italy's anti-corruption laws need to be strengthened. He also stated that reforms to transform poorly-performing schools must be introduced. Ahead of the election, Di Maio denied that a cabinet featuring experts and academics like Conte (and other professors then tipped to lead various ministries) would represent a technocratic cabinet, arguing instead that people like Conte "know what they are talking about," Reuters reported.

Now, with M5S' all-but certain coalition with the Lega party, Di Maio and Salvini presented Conte as their candidate for prime minister, as well as a proposed cabinet formed of M5S and Lega ministers, on Monday. Remarking on the presentation of Conte's name to the president for consideration, the leader of the anti-immigrant, euroskeptic Lega party, said the party was ready to govern. "We are ready. We have given our name, we have made clear the team and the project for the country," he told reporters. "The government of which we play a part wants to make Italy grow, to increase jobs. We want to bring back companies to invest in Italy. We want jobs to become more stable." Meanwhile Di Maio said the government would be political rather than technocratic. "It will be a government that puts at the center political questions. Maybe I want to say also at an international level, let us get to work first and then criticize us. You have every right to do so, but let us start first," he said. The party leaders are expected to take senior positions in the government with Salvini seen as becoming interior minister and Di Maio minister for economic development or labor. The economy ministry would reportedly go to Giancarlo Giorgetti. Critics fear that Conte could merely become a spokesman for Salvini and Di Maio  whose relationship in politics and ambitious party pledges have yet to be tried and tested.

Inconclusive election in MarchCombating dirty money being laundered in the capital by Russians "should be a major U.K. foreign policy priority."

View of the City of London at dusk Martin Keene/PA Images via Getty Images

London is being used as a "base for the corrupt assets" of individuals linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin, the U.K.'s foreign affairs committee said in a report published Monday. "The use of London as a base for the corrupt assets of Kremlin-connected individuals is now clearly linked to a wider Russian strategy and has implications for our national security," the report, "Moscow's Gold: Russian Corruption in the U.K.," said. It said that combating dirty money being laundered in the capital by Russians "should be a major U.K. foreign policy priority." The assets "stored and laundered in London, both directly and indirectly, support President Putin's campaign to subvert the international rules-based system, undermine our allies, and erode the mutually-reinforcing international networks that support U.K. foreign policy," the committee said. However, it said that the U.K. was itself guilty of "turning a blind eye to London's role in hiding the proceeds of Kremlin-connected corruption." This risked "signaling that the U.K. is not serious about confronting the full spectrum of President Putin's offensive measures." Instead, the report insisted that Downing Street needed to set out a more "coherent and pro-active strategy on Russia," led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and co-ordinated across the whole of government, "that clearly links together the diplomatic, military and financial tools that the U.K. can use to counter Russian state aggression."

London 'laundromat'

That London is a home for dirty money won't surprise many, with the city well-known as a home for Russia's wealthy ex-pat community, including oligarchs and businessmen. The large number of Russians in the city has earned it the nickname "Londongrad," and speculation over the source of that affluence. The foreign affairs committee said the city was like a "laundromat" for Russia's corrupt assets. Tasked with examining what action the British government could take against the proceeds of Russian corruption being funneled into the country, the committee made several recommendations that it said could strengthen anti-money laundering strategies. These included strengthening sanctions against individuals closely connected to hostile regimes, where appropriate, and linking sanctions relief to changes in Russia's behavior. It also called for accelerated legislation to establish a register of ownership for overseas companies that could expose individuals who purchase U.K. property through offshore shell companies, disguising their identities and the "potentially corrupt" sources of their funding. Most of all, the committee said that the U.K.'s current sanctions regime against Russia, could be strengthened in order to put more pressure on the Kremlin to "to change its aggressive and destabilizing behavior." Timothy Ash, a senior emerging markets strategist at Bluebay Asset Management, told CNBC that there will questions as to what the U.K. can do, without coordination with the U.S. and European allies. "That said, I think most people would accept there is considerable scope for the U.K. to tighten the regulatory environment around capital inflows, including perhaps tightening KYC ('know your customer' rules) around such entities. The rules/regulations are arguably already in place, they just need to be policed with more vigor," Ash said. The committee said that anti-corruption legislation  the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill  that is currently entering the final stages of its passage through parliament was an important opportunity to assess "the strengths and weaknesses of our existing sanctions regime, and to ensure that sanctions remain an effective part of the U.K.'s foreign policy toolkit." The foreign affairs committee, which is made up of a select group of members of the U.K. parliament, said that the size of London's financial markets and their importance to Russian investors "gives the U.K. considerable leverage over the Kremlin," and that the government should work with the EU and U.S. "to prohibit the purchase of bonds in which a sanctioned entity has acted as book-runner. It should also seek EU agreement to bar the European clearing houses from making available Russian sovereign debt."

Business as usualFacebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has agreed for his meeting with European officials Tuesday to be livestreamed.

Antonio Tajani, president of the European Parliament, said on Twitter Monday he had personally raised the possibility of webcasting the meeting with Zuckerberg.

"I am glad to announce that (Zuckerberg) has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens," Tajani said.

The development comes after EU parliamentarians raised concerns over the fact that the meeting was going to be held behind closed doors.

"We're looking forward to the meeting and happy for it to be livestreamed," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.

Talk of regulation for tech firms like Facebook has increased since reports first surfaced earlier this year claiming Facebook allowed the data of tens of millions to be harvested by controversial data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook has said that 87 million users may have had their data improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge Analytica briefly worked for President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, but it maintains that data was not used during the vote. The company shut down earlier this month and has since filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States.

Politicians in the continent and the U.S. alike have voiced concerns over the way Facebook could have been used as a platform for misinformation to sway the results of elections.

Zuckerberg faced a grilling in U.S. Congress last month but the Facebook co-founder has denied a request to testify in the U.K.

In Europe, a law that threatens to fine firms up to 4 percent of their global annual turnover if they fail to comply comes into force on Friday.

Zuckerberg's meeting with EU representatives is set to take place on Tuesday from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., ET.Microsoft has bought Semantic Machines, an artificial intelligence start-up, as it looks to boost its efforts in developing conversational AI.

Berkeley, California-based Semantic's approach to AI is using machine learning to add context to conversations with chatbots. This means taking information received by AI and applying it to future dialogue.

The firm's speech recognition team previously led automatic speech recognition development for Apple's personal assistant Siri.

In its announcement Monday, Microsoft did not disclose any financial details of the acquisition.

Big players are trying to make their personal assistants more human-like. Amazon has said it is aiming to give Alexa a "memory" and add more context to conversations, while Google demonstrated a chat between a hairdresser and a human-like version of its assistant that booked an appointment on behalf of someone else.

"With the acquisition of Semantic Machines, we will establish a conversational AI center of excellence in Berkeley to push forward the boundaries of what is possible in language interfaces," David Ku, chief technology officer at Microsoft AI and Research, said in a blog post.

"Combining Semantic Machines' technology with Microsoft's own AI advances, we aim to deliver powerful, natural and more productive user experiences that will take conversational computing to a new level."

AI-powered personal assistants are core to voice-activated speakers like Amazon's Echo and Google's Home. Microsoft hasn't built its own smart speaker but partnered with audio firm Harman Kardon in 2016 to integrate its Cortana assistant with a smart speaker called Invoke.President Donald Trump could consider a "skinny NAFTA" overhaul that would not require congressional approval, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told CNBC on Monday.

But for now, Mnuchin said in a "Squawk Box" interview, "We're focused on a new NAFTA that would go through Congress."

Since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement was originally passed by Congress, any major reworking of the deal would need reratification.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has been "very focused on NAFTA," Mnuchin said. "As he's said, there are still some very significant open issues."

Mnuchin said he spoke with the finance ministers of Mexico and Canada last week, adding, "there is a desire on all three parties to try to get a deal done."Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin put a positive face on the state of U.S.-China trade negotiations, saying Monday the talks so far already have yielded tangible benefits.

"I think we've made very meaningful progress," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "Now it's up to both of us to make sure that we can implement it."

His comments come amid a back-and-forth tussle between the two countries over the state of trade, a key issue that President Donald Trump has vowed to resolve. Administration officials have been meeting and negotiating with their Chinese counterparts over myriad issues, including but not limited to technology, agricultural and energy products.

The two sides have backed off on threatened tariffs over dozens of products, though Mnuchin said that if China doesn't follow through on its pledges, the duties will be imposed.

"If things aren't fixed and we don't get what we want, the president can always put the tariffs back on," he said.

The latest developments saw the U.S. walk away with a pledge from China to import more U.S. goods, though without specific parameters set. Over the weekend, Mnuchin said a trade war has been put "on hold."

Still, Mnuchin said investors should view the talks as a victory for the American side.

"We came away with a very comprehensive framework agreement that needs to be implemented, but has lots of different aspects," he said. Asked by CNBC's Becky Quick whether investors should view his comments over the weekend that a trade war has been put on hold as a glass half-full or half-empty scenario, Mnuchin said, "It's completely half-full."

What's left now will be the mechanics.

Mnuchin said the recent talks will serve as a framework now for companies to negotiate privately. He expressed particular enthusiasm regarding energy, estimating that U.S. companies likely can sell $40 billion to $50 billion to companies in China.

He added that one of the main concerns from Chinese officials was simply the ability of the U.S. to deliver the goods that China wants.

"This should be very, very good for U.S economic growth," Mnuchin said. "You combine this with tax cuts and I think we're looking at very strong GDP growth for the rest of the year."

Financial markets have been nervous over the prospect of a trade war between the two nations that could turn global. Mnuchin's weekend comments appeared to assuage traders, and the stock market is likely to open sharply higher Monday on Wall Street.Aaron Traywick, Ascendance Biomedical Source: Ascendance Biomedical

People who knew Aaron Traywick, the biohacker who died last month at a spa in Washington, D.C., were initially suspicious about the circumstances of his death. David Ishee, a researcher for Mr. Traywicks company, Ascendance Biomedical, said his first thought upon hearing that Mr. Traywicks body had been discovered in a sensory deprivation tank was that he had faked it and run off with his clients money. Tristan Roberts, another biohacker who worked with Ascendance, thought the same thing. Maybe the body was just a very convincing clone, he joked. Kelly Martin, who helped found Ascendance Biomedical, had a different theory, one that hinted at a conspiracy. Theres speculation, if you watch Aarons last video, that he was going to provide disruptive technology that would upend Big Pharma, she said. He said that we were close to coming up with something that was pretty revolutionary. More from The New York Times:

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U.K. vs. U.S.: How much of your personal data can you get? The police do not suspect foul play and the cause of the death is unknown. Edwina Rogers, Mr. Traywicks adoptive cousin, said a police detective told her that he found the drug ketamine in his pants pocket. She thought it likely that he had taken the drug, lost consciousness in the tank and drowned.

There Were Big Promises

In the span of two years, Aaron Traywick, who was 28 when he died, went from a virtual unknown to a notorious personality in the biohacking community. At the time of his death, he was estranged from many of his closest collaborators. He had remained close with his adoptive family, though they knew little about his work. His mother, Rita Traywick, was completely blindsided by the news. He was fine, we saw him in April, she said. Talkative and proud of the work that he was doing. But Ms. Traywick, 70, said she barely understood his work. He would tell us these things, and I would stand there and say, thats great, were proud of you, and I couldnt understand a thing he was saying to tell you the truth. Biohackers in general aim to augment their bodies in the hopes of gaining enhanced abilities. Those who work with the kinds of compounds that Mr. Traywick did often experiment on themselves so as not to break any of the laws that regulate health care. Mr. Traywicks company was founded in 2016 to provide funding, lab equipment and distribution to these D.I.Y. citizen-scientists. He seemed dedicated to investing in experimental compounds  formulas that would eventually be meant to treat diseases  that few others would touch. Until several months ago, the company was viewed by many biohackers as a potentially groundbreaking venue for invention. But Mr. Traywick proved to be secretive and aggressive. He kept the people he worked with away from one another, ensuring that he was the only person at his company with all the information. He tried to gain financial control over his collaborators inventions, and to sell them before they were fully tested. Rich Lee, who created a vibrating penile implant called the Lovetron 9000, recalled that Mr. Traywick wanted to own 75 percent of profits made from sales of his device in exchange for funding. He said Mr. Traywick offered to pay him only $5,000 and was insistent that Mr. Lee presell the implant before it was finished and tested. I was left with a bad taste in my mouth, Mr. Lee said. He did seem to promise anything to everyone who was looking for something, said Mr. Roberts, the Ascendance contractor. He was actually developing some of the things he was saying he was developing. On the other hand, it did seem like he would take any money that people handed him with no regard for executing. By the time Mr. Traywick died, biohackers, researchers and engineers he had recruited had soured on his approach to the business. Walt Crompton, an engineer and life extension enthusiast who worked as a contractor for Boston Scientific and other medical device manufacturers, started doing research for the company in the fall of 2016. I was allegedly a co-founder, Mr. Crompton said. At first there were big promises of equity sharing and so on but those things never materialized. Shortly after Mr. Traywicks death, Mr. Crompton wrote an email to a friend about his ambivalence. He said that while the Ascendance founders behavior had convinced him to leave the company, he found himself kicking the dirt, though, expecting that Aaron would go on to be rich and famous, while so many great contributors will not, precisely because of the way he elbows his way to the front of the line. Still, he wrote: For me, it was enough that at least he was breaking through the frustrating inertia of our rejuvenation biotechnology movement. At age 65, and feeling the degenerative burn more and more, FDA timelines are just not good enough. Celebrating the heroism of "bio-hackers" comes easy. Funny, though, how his death has created a reactionary stir about bio-hacking, when, from all appearances, there was ZERO bio-hacking factors leading to his fall  Kinda like how a fringe anarchist assassinating the Archduke triggered WWI. Such is politics! We cannot expect logic and mercy to be primary forces in that realm.

He Had Delusions

Ascendance Biomedical was formed in the spring of 2016, not long before Mr. Traywick, then 26, was forced out of his adoptive cousins nonprofit, the Global Healthspan Policy Institute. The cousin, Edwina Rogers, is a lobbyist and former economic adviser to the George W. Bush White House. She was also the founding executive director of the Secular Policy Institute, an organization that promotes the separation of religion and public policy, and is the chief executive of the Center for Prison Reform. She did not know Mr. Traywick very well before she hired him. He had been adopted by her Aunt Rita and Uncle James so she would see him over the holidays, growing up. But he gave her a call after he graduated from college to ask for career advice. She asked him what he was interested in, and one of the topics, life extension, was a passion she shared. Ms. Rogers was interested in starting another organization dedicated to expanding healthy human lifetimes. So in January 2016, she founded the Global Healthspan Policy Institute and installed her cousin as the chief operating officer. She also allowed him to move into the house she shared with her husband in Washington, D.C., a decision they would later regret. Three weeks into his stay, Mr. Traywick told Mr. Neimeyer that after college, he had lived in a tantric sex house in Colorado and began to talk about his experience there. The discussion was disturbing, Mr. Neimeyer said. He had delusions that women wanted him, Mr. Neimeyer said. Hed be talking with them and promising them meetings with senators. He said that at one point Mr. Traywick referred to the women he slept with as my skanks. He had a smooth-talking game, but beneath that thin veneer, he had a seething caldron of animosity and predation, Mr. Neimeyer said. The couple also began to realize that Mr. Traywick was lying to them. He intercepted professional correspondence that was meant for Ms. Rogers, and at least once, accepted an airplane ticket and a conference invitation on her behalf. One night in late March, when Mr. Neimeyer was out of town, Mr. Traywick attempted to force his way into Ms. Rogerss bedroom at 2 in the morning. Shortly thereafter, the family moved him into a new apartment. We were so desperate that we went and rented a place for him, Ms. Rogers said. They told him: This is your new home. Youre not welcome in ours. Several months later, Ms. Rogers terminated Mr. Traywicks employment. You have moved aggressively, unprofessionally, and incorrigibly against the directives that we have been giving you, demonstrating vividly your commitment to insubordination and unmanageability, she wrote to him in an email on July 17, 2016. Aaron promised that he would work very hard and be a serious understudy, she said. He talked about a variety of experience he had but it was all smoke and mirrors. Mr. Traywick continued to tell people he was employed at the nonprofit for another year.

Kind of Revolutionary

One of the ways Mr. Traywick convinced people to work with him  or to buy what he was selling  was the persona he affected. He used his brief experience working for his cousin to represent himself as a moneyed veteran of Capitol Hill, knowledgeable about health care policy and the structural limitations placed on researchers by the Food and Drug Administration. He had already contacted dozens if not hundreds of people to talk about experimental ways to improve the human body. A group of individuals began to coalesce around him. Among them were a Dutch futurist named Demian Zivkovic, a British geneticist named Matt Johnstone, and a marketer from Oshkosh, Wis., Kelly Martin. Ms. Martin, 39, said she began to speak to Mr. Traywick online between late 2015 and early 2016. She saw her new contact as a radical thinker on the order of Steve Jobs. His ideas were kind of revolutionary, she said. Mr. Traywick encouraged this view of himself. In interviews and public appearances, he compared himself to Jonas Salk or Louis Pasteur, bold experimenters who pioneered lifesaving technology. Through Ascendance, he helped bring an experimental fertility treatment called Inovium to the United States. (Ms. Martin estimated that Ascendance had between 40 and 50 clients to whom it was selling infertility drugs. She said she did not know how much they were paying.) Mr. Traywick also sponsored an experimental gene therapy meant to treat H.I.V. that was also being tested by the National Institutes of Health. Mr. Roberts, his collaborator, eventually took that treatment. Gennady Stolyarov II, the chairman of the United States Transhumanist Party, a political organization with close to 880 members that supports life extension through science and technology, had been corresponding with Mr. Traywick since November 2015. He definitely shared a lot of our values, Mr. Stolyarov said. I think Mr. Traywick was sincere about what he was doing. I dont think he was trying to scam anyone or mislead anyone.

No One Was Doing This Stuff

In October 2017, Mr. Traywick hit the mainstream press for the first time and Mr. Roberts became Ascendance Biomedicals first public guinea pig. Sitting on a couch next to Mr. Traywick and another hacker, Mr. Roberts, who was diagnosed with H.I.V. in 2010, injected himself with an experimental gene therapy that was meant to treat the disease. They were filmed by an independent journalist, Ford Fischer, who broadcast the injection on Facebook Live. Josiah Zayner, a prominent biohacker who that month had injected himself with modified DNA in an effort to enlarge his muscles, happened to be surfing Facebook at the moment that the live stream began. He was impressed. At the time no one was doing this stuff except me and one or two other people out on the fringes, Mr. Zayner said. I think they were excited to be presenting the concept almost as much as they were to see the results from it, Mr. Fischer, the documentarian, said. Aaron had some really large notions of what could be done with this stuff in the future. He felt like this was the first step in being able to change the world. The injection prompted media attention. And it caused a stir within the biohacking community. I remember I just started contacting all these people I knew, Mr. Zayner said. Telling them youve got to check this out. After that it was kind of disappointing. Tristan, his viral load went up instead of going down. The treatment didnt really work. Accredited scientists were also skeptical. Mark Connors, who led the team that discovered the antibody Mr. Roberts had injected, told the BBC: These seem like very smart young men and they have command of some of the facts, but not all the facts.

Ascendance Bio Are Not Legit

With the October injection, Mr. Traywick gained a measure of fame. He wanted to keep the momentum going so, several months later, he planned another stunt. This time no one, including his closest collaborators, knew exactly what he had in mind. He reached out to the organizers of BDYHAX, a three-day body hacking conference to be held in Austin in February. He told them he wanted to do a live test of what he billed as an experimental vaccine for herpes. But the injection he had planned to take was not ready in time. On Feb. 4, Mr. Traywick took the stage at the convention and told the audience that Ascendance Biomedical had developed a vaccine to cure herpes. He also announced that the companys technology could be used to address a panoply of genetic diseases. Interested people were told to simply get in touch with Ascendance. He dismissed an audience question about whether the procedure had undergone formal ethical oversight (no), and announced to the room that he had been diagnosed with herpes five years prior. Then, he took off his pants and injected himself. Nobody knew what he injected, Mr. Zayner said. He was trying to market this thing as a cure for herpes. Hes trying to promote and sell what he calls a cure and he doesnt even know what it is that he used. Mr. Zayner also said as much on Facebook. The idea that any scientist, biohacker or not, has created a cure for a disease with no testing and no data is more ridiculous than believing jet fuel melts steel beams, he wrote. Ascendance Bio are not legit in any measure.

Shame and Emotional Distress

The stunt in Austin set off a mutiny. Tristan Roberts and the others who had been working as contractors for Ascendance in the lead-up to the October and February injections met in Jacksonville, Fla. There, they confronted Mr. Traywick for exaggerating Ascendances accomplishments and for not paying them what he had promised. They were also frustrated to discover that he had invited several film crews to Jacksonville to witness Mr. Roberts take another round of experimental H.I.V. therapy. But Mr. Roberts knew the compound wasnt ready, and wouldnt inject it. A confrontation unfolded between the collaborators, some of which was caught by a camera crew from Vice. Mr. Traywick seized the key to the Jacksonville laboratory and had the locks changed. Most of the team left Florida dispirited. Mr. Roberts said that he would not work with Aaron again after that. Mr. Traywick told a journalist at Gizmodo, Kristen V. Brown, who reported on the fight, that he had fired his collaborators. I love those guys and I want us to move forward together, and they have made it very difficult, he told her. The other biohackers told her they had quit. A month later, Mr. Traywick filed suit in federal court. Acting as his own lawyer, he said that Mr. Zayners Facebook post and Ms. Browns article had profoundly impacted his personal and professional life and his business interests. He said they had caused him and his company to suffer significant harm, including financial losses, damage to their reputation, humiliation, embarrassment, mental suffering, shame and emotional distress. These damages are ongoing in nature and will continue to be suffered in the future, the lawsuit said. It was dismissed on April 23. Six days later, Mr. Traywicks body was found.

Death Is WrongA deadly virus described by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having the potential of becoming the next deadly major outbreak has killed nine people in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

State health officials confirmed that three people had contracted the Nipah virus within the past fortnight. The first death was reported to government officials on Saturday.

The Nipah virus claimed the life of a nursing assistant Monday who had treated a patient who had died of the disease, according to local media.

Chief minister of Kerala, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, said Monday that India's government is closely monitoring the spread of the virus.

"Health department is doing everything possible to save the lives of the infected & prevent the advance of virus," said Vijayan in a statement on Twitter.

"Private hospitals have been instructed to not deny treatment for anyone suffering from fever."

A spokesperson for the WHO was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Nipah can be transmitted from animals to humans and human-to-human contact. The disease can emerge from fruit bats and infect domesticated animals such as pigs.

The first recorded outbreak was in Malaysia in 1998 with over 600 cases of nipah documented since.

Cases were recorded in Bangladesh in 2004 when infected date palm sap contaminated by fruit bats had been consumed.

Drowsiness, mental confusion and respiratory problems are some symptoms of the nipah virus.

There is currently no vaccine for the disease.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo makes his first public address at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC on May 21, 2018.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo drew parallels Monday between the Iran nuclear deal and the one the U.S. hopes to craft with North Korea next month.

In his first public address since becoming America's top diplomat, Pompeo described the growing ballistic missile and nuclear weapons threats of rogue regimes like Tehran and Pyongyang.

He went on to defend President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and lauded the upcoming talks between the U.S. and North Korea in Singapore.

"Our willingness to meet with Kim Jong Un underscores the Trump administration's commitment to diplomacy and helps solve the greatest challenges even with our staunchest adversaries," Pompeo said during his opening remarks at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "That willingness has been accompanied by a painful pressure campaign and reflects our commitment to resolve this challenge forever."

Pompeo, who spoke for a little over half an hour before departing to assist in the swearing-in ceremony of his CIA successor, Gina Haspel, said the U.S. would impose the "strongest sanctions in history" on Iran for its malign activities.Mike Pompeo ripped into Iran on Monday during his first major speech as secretary of State  and on the heels of President Donald Trump's decision to tear up an Obama-era nuclear deal with the Middle Eastern nation.

In the aftermath of the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, Pompeo demanded major changes from Iran and said America will not allow the country to develop a nuclear weapon: "Not now, not ever."

Pompeo discussed the Trump administration's plans for dealing with Iran after the president's withdrawal of the U.S. from a nuclear deal struck by President Barack Obama's administration, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

He threatened even tougher sanctions against Iran. Sanctions that had been lifted under the agreement are due to go back into effect, and they are expected to pressure an already shaky economy.

"This is just the beginning. The sting of sanctions will be painful," Pompeo said before a packed house at the conservative Heritage Foundation. "These will be the strongest sanctions in history when complete."

Among other demands, Pompeo said Iran must stop developing ballistic missiles, release Americans who are being held in prisons in the country, and stop support of militant and terrorist groups in the Middle East and beyond. He also called for a ban on a heavy-water reactor, which is the most basic way to develop nuclear energy.

"Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East," Pompeo said.

While threatening heavy consequences for Iran's economy if the country does pursue nuclear weapons, he also reached out to the Iranian people  painting a picture of a corrupt regime that steals from its people while boosting international terrorist groups.

"Is this what you want your country to be known for?" Pompeo asked, referring to Iranian support for groups such as Hezbollah. "The United States believes you deserve better."

Pompeo also offered potential benefits to Iranians: "Unlike the previous administration, we are looking for outcomes that benefit the Iranian people, not just the regime."

The secretary of State also used the administration's ongoing negotiations with North Korea as a model for a new agreement with Iran, saying it demonstrates a commitment to diplomacy against even the biggest adversaries of the U.S.

Pompeo is a former GOP congressman who previously was director of the Central Intelligence Agency under Trump.* Soybeans rally as U.S.-China trade tensions ease

* Record Brazilian crop limits upside for U.S. soybeans (Adds quotes, updates prices)

LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - Chicago grain and oilseed prices were higher on Monday after Washington and Beijing agreed to drop tariff threats, easing fears about demand for U.S. shipments to China.

Dealers said gains were tempered by a strong dollar with the U.S currency climbing to a five-month high.

The U.S. trade war with China is "on hold" after the world's largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

"Such a truce is likely to alleviate concerns over the U.S. grains exports to China in the short term," ING said in a market update, adding that the news had contributed to a rise in soybean prices on Monday.

The most-active Chicago Board of Trade soybean contract was up 1.7 percent at $10.15 a bushel at 0951 GMT.

In April, China proposed a 25 percent tariff on U.S. soybeans as part of its response to Washington's plans to impose tariffs on a range of Chinese products.

But the upside in U.S. soybean prices is limited.

"Easing of trade war tensions between the U.S. and China are supporting agricultural markets," said Phin Ziebell, agribusiness economist at National Australia Bank. "However, Brazilian soybeans are getting competitive and they have a record crop to sell, so the upside for U.S. beans is limited."

Orders for nearly 1 million tonnes of U.S. soybean exports were canceled last week, according to U.S. government data released on Friday, as cheap supplies from Brazil made U.S. cargoes less attractive to buyers.

CBOT corn climbed 0.8 percent to $4.05-3/4 a bushel and CBOT wheat rose 0.5 percent to $5.21-1/4 a bushel. Earlier in the session, both markets climbed to their highest since May 4.

Wheat also drew support as dry conditions are set to linger across the U.S. Plains, threatening further damage to an already-parched crop.

"The weather worries are gathering for wheat," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Tobin Gorey said. "U.S. problems are well known but the market now has concerns about Australia, the EU and parts of the Black Sea."

December wheat futures on Paris-based Euronext rose 0.4 percent at 180 euros a tonne. (Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore and Colin Packham in Sydney Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Edmund Blair)MOSCOW, May 21 (Reuters) - The Russian central bank will inject an extra 18 billion roubles ($288.18 million) into Otkritie Group, which it rescued last year, to keep afloat three pension funds run by what was once Russia's largest private lender, sources told Reuters.

Since last year, Russia has bailed out several major banks hit by an economic recession and a steep depreciation of the rouble after Western countries imposed sanctions over Moscow's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and other infractions.

The Bank of Russia rescued Otkritie, B&N Bank and Promsvyazbank in 2017. It said it planned to merge Otkritie and B&N to sell later, while turning PSB into a bank to serve the country's defense sector.

The central bank has already channeled 42 billion roubles into three non-state pension funds -- Lukoil-Garant, NPF Elektroenergetiki and NPF RGS -- that are part of Otkritie Group. That money was earmarked for future pension payouts, according to the funds' financial reports.

Otkritie's new chief executive Mikhail Zadornov said in February that further funding had been promised to improve the pension funds' capital.

The same three funds are now set to receive another 18 billion roubles from the central bank's Banking Sector Consolidation Fund, Otkritie's supervisory board said in a document seen by Reuters.

The three funds will receive aid from their shareholder, that is Otkritie, the bank's press office said without revealing the size of the financial support.

A person close to Otkritie's management said the money would come from the central bank to Otkritie, which would in turn channel the money to the pension funds.

The central bank, which oversees and regulates banks and pension funds, did not reply to a request for comment.

The new financial aid will be used to replace non-performing assets held by the pension funds, Otkritie's press office said.

At end-2017, around 5 percent of assets held by Otkritie's pension funds were non-performing, the press office for the three funds said.

Given that the three non-state pension funds had more than 600 billion roubles in assets as of January 2018, the size of non-performing assets could be close to 30 billion roubles.

Yuri Nogin, an analyst at Russia's ACRA rating agency, said those non-performing assets could be securities issued by companies that have not defaulted yet but are expected to ask for their debt to be restructured.

According to his estimates, the 18 billion roubles could be enough to solve any issues regarding non-performing assets held by the pension funds.

($1 = 62.4613 roubles) (Writing by Andrey Ostroukh Editing by Catherine Evans)* U.S. and China drop tariff threats

* Oil markets tight on OPEC cuts, looming U.S. sanctions vs Iran

* Plunging output in Venezuela also supporting market (Recasts, changes headline, adds comments; changes dateline to NEW YORK, previously LONDON)

NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - Crude prices strengthened on Monday, reversing course as geopolitical tensions continued to support the market and a trade war between the U.S. and China was declared "on hold."

Geopolitical concerns that U.S. sanctions on Iran could curb the country's crude exports have led crude prices to trade higher in recent weeks, and the market is now weighing the possibility of additional sanctions on Venezuela following the country's presidential election.

Brent crude futures gained 23 cents to trade at $78.74 by 11:22 a.m. EDT 1/81522 GMT 3/8, having retreated to $78.10 earlier in the session. U.S. crude futures were up 56 cents at $71.84.

Brent pushed past $80 a barrel last week for the first time since 2014, and the market may again try to clear that hurdle, said Gene McGillian, Vice President of Research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

"It seems as if the pull backs are just short-term profit taking and we will see whether people are going to be willing to drive the market through $80 again," he said.

The strength came as U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remarks on Iran strategy showed that the United State was after regime change in the Islamic Republic, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday.

Venezuela's socialist President Nicolas Maduro faced widespread international condemnation on Monday after his re-election in a weekend vote his critics denounced as a farce cementing autocracy in the crisis-stricken oil producer.

The United States is actively considering oil sanctions on OPEC member Venezuela, where output has dropped by a third in two years to its lowest in decades.

"The specter of U.S. oil sanctions on the embattled Latin American producer now looms large as Washington strives to tighten the financial noose," PVM Oil Associates strategist Stephen Brennock said in a note.

A possible U.S. trade war with China is "on hold" after the world's two largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday, giving global markets a lift in early Monday trade.

Stabilizing trade relations between the countries could boost oil demand, Tradition's McGillian said.

Rising output from U.S. shale and key OPEC producers could end the rally, BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley told Reuters. Dudley said he expected a flood of U.S. shale and a possible reopening of OPEC taps to cool oil markets after crude rose above $80 a barrel last week.

Dudley said he saw oil prices falling to between $50 and $65 because of surging shale output and OPEC's capacity to boost production to cover a potential shortfall in Iranian supplies owing to U.S. sanctions.

The energy ministers of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates last week voiced concern about recent oil market volatility and plan to meet Russian counterpart Alexander Novak in St Petersburg to continue consultations.

"It's worth watching St Petersburg at the end of this week. That could provide the key input for the next few weeks," said Petromatrix strategist Olivier Jakob.

Fund managers cut their holdings of U.S. crude to the lowest level this year, according to data from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission on Friday. (Additional reporting by Amanda Cooper in London and Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by David Goodman and Diane Craft)Russian President Vladimir Putin bragged earlier this year that his country had a new nuclear-powered missile with unlimited range  but it has yet to perform a successful test over multiple attempts, according to sources with direct knowledge of a U.S. intelligence report on the weapons program.

The cruise missile was tested four times between November and February, each resulting in a crash, according to sources who spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity.

The U.S. assessed that the longest test flight lasted just more than two minutes, with the missile flying 22 miles before losing control and crashing. The shortest test lasted four seconds and flew for five miles.

One report, according to the sources, did not mention health or environmental risks posed by damages to the missile's nuclear reactor.

The weapon, which has been in development since the early 2000s, is believed to use a gasoline-powered engine for takeoff before switching to a nuclear-powered one for flight, sources explained to CNBC.

The tests apparently showed that the nuclear-powered heart of the cruise missile failed to initiate and, therefore, the weapon was unable to achieve the indefinite flight Putin had boasted about.The chief of budget airline Ryanair said Monday he fully expects some of his European rivals to file for bankruptcy over the coming months.

The Irish airline warned that elevated oil prices  and consequently fuel costs  would probably cause some of its regional peers to go bust in early 2019. A dramatic upswing in crude futures over the past 12 months has weighed on the industry, at a time when major airlines are being forced to adapt to a much more competitive marketplace.

"Clearly $80 a barrel oil is going to bring casualties in Europe this winter," Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Monday.

"Oil is going to be a driver but I think it will be a driver of change to the competition landscape in Europe. Some of those airlines who couldn't make money when oil was at $40 a barrel last year, I don't think will survive this winter if oil remains up at these elevated levels," he added.

Brent crude futures traded near multi-year highs at $79.16 a barrel on Monday morning, up 0.8 percent, while WTI stood at $71.81 a barrel, 0.7 percent higher."Although the international task force's work is far from complete, my suspicions have already been confirmed: The market for cryptocurrency investments is saturated with fraud, and our work is only revealing the tip of the iceberg," said Joseph Rotunda, director of enforcement at the Texas State Securities Board.

More than 40 state and provincial watchdogs are participating in "Operation Crypto-Sweep," which has triggered at least 70 investigations so far. The coordinated effort, first reported by The Washington Post , focuses on a cryptocurrency fundraising process known as initial coin offerings, as well as other "investment schemes."

Regulators in the U.S. and Canada are launching a widespread crackdown on some cryptocurrency investment schemes, members of the North American Securities Administrators Association said Monday.

Earlier in May, Texas regulators sent a warning letter to U.K.- based BTCrush saying it was violating securities laws and misleading investors through its marketing. The company published videos showing the interior and workings of what it said was three fully operating mining farms. State regulators said the videos were actually sourced from publicly available stock footage.

The Texas regulator also took action against Wind Wide Coin, which used pictures of celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Prince Charles to advertise its cryptocurrency.

"Promoters also know that anyone can be anyone and say anything about anything on the internet," Rotunda said. "Not surprisingly, they are also manipulating photographs, media, testimonials and other online information to deceive the public into believing their claims."

The crackdown comes amid growing attention in the U.S. to cryptocurrency scams, including by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The SEC has brought several fraud cases against operators of initial coin offerings and last week launched a website to help investors recognize scams.

Massachusetts regulators are also participating in the crackdown.

William Francis Galvin, the state's secretary of the commonwealth, said NASAA's task force found roughly 30,000 crypto-related domain name registrations, many of which appeared in late 2017 as the price of bitcoin neared $20,000.

"Not every ICO or cryptocurrency-related investment is fraudulent, but we urge investors to approach any initial coin offering or cryptocurrency-related investment product with extreme caution," Galvin said in a statement. "Fraudulent activity involving ICOs and cryptocurrency-related investment products is a serious threat to Massachusetts investors."Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:

Alphabet  Alphabet's Google operation was the subject of a piece in last night's episode of "60 Minutes," highlighting the company's power and airing comments from critics who say Google is stifling competition.

General Electric  GE will merge its transportation business with rail industry equipment maker Wabtec, in a deal worth $10 billion net of tax benefits.

MB Financial  The Chicago-based bank operator agreed to be bought by Fifth Third Bancorp in a $4.7 billion cash and stock deal, worth $54.20 per share. That represents a 24 percent premium over Friday's closing price for MB Financial.

Tesla  The automaker is the subject of two recommendation from proxy adviser ISS, which said shareholders should vote against directors Antonio Gracias and James Murdoch, and vote for a proposal to separate the chairman and CEO roles. Both jobs are currently held by Elon Musk. Separately, Berenberg raised its price target on Tesla stock to $500, saying a gross margin above 25 percent for the Model 3 is "comfortably achievable."

21st Century Fox  The company won dismissal of a lawsuit by former Fox News anchor Andrea Tantaros which had accused the company of spying on her in retaliation for sexual harassment accusations.

Envision Healthcare  Envision is a takeover target of a joint effort from hospital operator HCA and private equity firm KKR, according to Reuters. Envision is a provider of services to physicians.

Pinnacle Foods  The food maker has hired Evercore Partners to explore strategic alternatives, according to a New York Post report. The paper notes that Pinnacle has been facing pressure from activist investor Jana Partners to merge with ConAgra Brands.

Middleby  Middleby is buying Taylor Co. from United Technologies for $1 billion in cash. Middleby is best known for commercial kitchen equipment, while Taylor makes ice cream and frozen drink machines.

Xerox  Japan's Fujifilm remains set on buying Xerox despite the cancellation by Xerox of their planned merger deal, according to the Nikkei news service. However, Fujifilm is reportedly refusing to negotiate with major Xerox shareholders Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason.

Athenahealth  The company should hold a formal sale process, according to shareholder Janus Henderson. That firm holds an 11.9 percent stake in the provider of cloud-based medical business services and made its wishes known in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

IHS Markit  The financial analytics company is buying Ipreo from private-equity funds managed by Blackstone and Goldman Sachs for $1.855 billion. Ipreo is a provider of financial services solutions and data.

Campbell Soup  The stock was downgraded to "underperform" from "neutral" at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, based on 2018 being a transition year under an interim CEO who will be initiating an extensive strategic review.

Snap  Snap was upgraded to "neutral" from "sell" at MoffettNathanson, which said the risk/reward profile is now balanced with the stock having fallen by about half since the "sell" recommendation was first made more than a year ago. The firm did call Snap's life as a public company "nothing short of an unmitigated disaster."The European Union's efforts to protect Iran's benefits from the 2015 nuclear deal after the U.S. pull-out are not enough, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday.

"With the withdrawal of America... the European political support for the accord is not sufficient," Zarif told Miguel Arias Canete, EU commissioner for energy and climate, during a meeting in Tehran.

European leaders have been scrambling to save the deal after the Donald Trump administration announced its withdrawal on May 8. Formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the agreement was additionally signed by France, Germany, the U.K., Russia and China and lifted most economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions to its nuclear program.

Despite the signatories' broad disagreement with the White House's decision, and pledges to continue upholding the deal that they argue has worked in containing Tehran's nuclear activities, the imposition of sweeping U.S. sanctions makes this a challenging and unlikely feat. The U.S. Treasury is set to re-impose prior sanctions after a 90 or 180-day wind-down period, dependent on the sector, with particularly significant sanctions targeting Iran's oil industry and transactions with its central bank.

European companies with significant investments or plans in Iran have now suggesting withdrawing for fear of facing U.S. penalties, including French oil giant Total and auto manufacturer Peugeot, who have said they will pull their activities from the country if they cannot obtain U.S. sanctions waivers.

"The announcement of the possible withdrawal by major European companies from their cooperation with Iran is not consistent with the European Union's commitment to implementing (the nuclear deal)," Zarif was quoted as saying Sunday.Terry Morrison of Earlham, Iowa, watches as soybeans are loaded into his trailer at the Heartland Co-op, Thursday, April 5, 2018, in Redfield, Iowa.

"We estimate a potential increase of US$60-90bn in Chinese purchases of US goods, with a rise in agriculture imports (particularly beef) in the near term," Morgan Stanley Economist Robin Xing, Strategist Michael Zezas and their team said in a note Sunday.

Over the weekend, the two countries issued a joint statement stating that both "agreed on meaningful increases in United States agriculture and energy exports," bringing temporary relief to a heated trade dispute. While analysts said the agreement isn't specific enough to have immediate economic impact, some noted key areas in which American farmers would likely benefit.

American beef, corn and soybeans could benefit the most from the latest trade agreements between the U.S. and China.

China reopened its market to U.S. beef in June 2017 for the first time in 14 years after negotiations earlier in the year between the Trump administration and Beijing. Chinese imports of beef globally increased more than nine-fold between 2012 and 2016, to $2.5 billion, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"Once [our Chinese distributors] get it they can't sell it fast enough. We can't supply them with enough beef right now," said Kent Bacus, director of international trade at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Beef accounts for six specific items on China's list of 106 U.S. goods that Beijing announced additional tariffs on in early April, in retaliation against the Trump administration's proposed tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. Other items on the list include soybeans, corn and wheat.

China has "agriculture products on there to get attention and to inflict pain on key constituencies in the U.S.," said Gregory Husisian, chair of the international trade & national security group at Foley & Lardner.

As a result, he expects the items targeted by Beijing will be the Trump administration's focus in negotiating details on trade with Beijing.

Agriculture overall is strategically a key area for Beijing to work with the U.S. China is the second largest destination for U.S. agriculture exports, at $19.6 billion in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service.

It's an area in which "China can quickly show results," Husisian said. "They could just shift purchases from Europe or other countries fairly easily. From their perspective it represents one that doesn't really require them to do that much."

China has made some concessions on agriculture already. Beijing said Friday it was ending an investigation into imports of U.S. sorghum. The probe had effectively halted trade worth roughly $1.1 billion in 2017.

Further agreements on U.S. agriculture exports will need similar specifics on product type and amount for a deal to be economically effective, analysts said.

Even in the growing beef market, Bacus said Chinese restrictions on imports of the meat injected with hormones or fed "beta-agonists" makes it difficult for U.S. exporters. "We are not anywhere close to reaching our potential in that market," Bacus said.

President Donald Trump does appear focused on improving the trade environment for U.S. agriculture. He focused two of his tweets Monday on the weekend trade deal on the industry: "Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce," Trump tweeted.

"There's a relief for American farmers here because we were headed towards a situation where the Chinese were going to block imports of U.S. goods," said Derek Scissors, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and chief economist at the China Beige Book. However, the latest developments are just "a restoration of the status quo."

"If you're playing defense, you're trying to protect the soybean trade. If you're playing offense" you will name a particular product, Scissors said. "The test is whether we're going to get specific goods being mentioned."The United States will not rule out tariffs on China as a "negotiating" or "enforcement" tool, despite "progress" made last week during talks with Beijing, Larry Kudlow, President Donald Trump's top economic advisor, said Monday.

On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the world's two largest economies "are putting the trade war on hold" as they try to cement and implement the framework of an agreement addressing trade imbalances. The potential deal would involve China lowering its trade barriers and the U.S. exporting more goods such as agricultural and energy commodities.

In tweets Monday morning, Trump said China "has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products." He separately wrote that barriers and tariffs would "come down" for the "first time."

Trump tweet: China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products - would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!

Trump tweet: On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time.

The tentative deal  the specific details of which remain unclear  would reduce trade tensions and avoid tariffs that threatened to damage the world's two largest economies. However, Kudlow stressed Monday that the U.S. would not take tariffs off the table entirely amid ongoing negotiations.

"Tariffs are suspended right now, as per Mr. Mnuchin. That's a good thing," the director of the National Economic Council told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." "But you cannot remove tariffs as a negotiating tool or an enforcement tool from this process. You cannot do that. And therefore, I don't think we're saying tariffs are over. Far from it."Peter Navarro, one of President Donald Trump's top trade advisors, recommended a man identified by some news outlets as an FBI informant for a top Trump administration job, Axios reported Monday.

Navarro floated Stefan Halper's name for unidentified ambassadorships in Asia, according to the news outlet. Navarro, a harsh critic of China, knew Halper, an academic with a focus on China, from his previous research.

CNBC and NBC News have not independently confirmed reporting in multiple new outlets identifying Halper as an FBI informant. Still, the headlines come at an inopportune time for Navarro, who already is embroiled in workplace controversy after clashing with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin over trade talks with China.

The report will do little to help the trade advisor with Trump, who has raged on Twitter about finding out whether the FBI and Justice Department monitored his campaign. On Monday, the Justice Department asked its internal watchdog to expand an investigation into the methods used to investigate the Trump campaign.

A White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the Axos report.

Read the full Axios report here.Trump met Monday spoke with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein , FBI Director Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats , according to the White House.

The meeting came a day after Trump demanded the Justice Department investigate whether it and the FBI infiltrated the Trump campaign "for political purposes."

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has been asking for documents from the FBI about a source who told the FBI about conversations he had with Trump campaign operatives in 2016.

Participants at that session with Trump also agreed that White House chief of staff John Kelly will "immediately set up a meeting with the FBI," Department of Justice, and the director of national intelligence, "together with Congressional leaders to review highly classified and other information they have requested," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

A meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday ended with the Justice Department asking its internal watchdog to expand an existing probe into any "irregularities" in the "tactics" used by both the department and the FBI in investigating the Trump campaign, the White House said.

FBI Director Christopher Wray arrives at the West Wing of the White House for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats on FBI investigations into the 2016 Trump presidential campaign at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 21, 2018.

"Based on the meeting with the President, the Department of Justice has asked the Inspector General to expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's or the Department of Justice's tactics concerning the Trump Campaign," Sanders said.

The sit-down had been scheduled last week.

But the session came less than 24 hours after the Justice Department asked its Office of the Inspector General to investigate whether there were improprieties in the use of an alleged FBI source who provided authorities with information about several Trump campaign operatives.

Trump called for the Justice Department to investigate agency officials amid a blistering series of tweets on Sunday morning.

He said he wanted Justice to "look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!"

Tweet

After the president's tirade, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said, "The Department has asked the Inspector General to expand the ongoing review of the FISA application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election."

"As always, the Inspector General will consult with the appropriate U.S. Attorney if there is any evidence of potential criminal conduct."

FISA refers to "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act." The FBI obtained a warrant from a federal judge on the FISA court to surveil Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, in 2016.

Rosenstein said Sunday, "If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action."

Trump has been angry since last year about an ongoing probe into his campaign by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is also investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The president has repeatedly called that investigation a "witch hunt." And he has suggested that the FBI had improperly surveilled his campaign while letting his opponent, Hillary Clinton, off of the hook for a probe related to her use of a private email server while secretary of State.

Tweet

Trump's ire on Sunday seems to have been ignited by a New York Times article on Saturday that revealed the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., three months before the election had met with an emissary for two rich Arab princes, an Israeli social media expert and a Republican, who were offering to help the Trump campaign.

TweetSunday that a looming trade war was "on hold" as the world's two largest economies work toward reducing the U.S.-China trade deficit.

Triumphant tones coming from the White House over the weekend are inconsequential, Moody's chief economist said Monday, deflating hopes that the U.S. is gaining major ground in its negotiations with China aimed at averting a trade war. "I think it's a lose-lose. There are no winners here," Mark Zandi told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Monday. "This is face-saving, because clearly they're not going come to terms on anything  at least, not in the near-team." Zandi was referring to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin's announcement Sunday that a looming trade war was "on hold" as the world's two largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats and discuss parameters for a wider trade agreement. China consented to continue discussing measures under which it would purchase more U.S. products in order to reduce the $335 billion annual trade deficit between the two, but no specific dollar number was put forward. Zandi pointed to this as evidence that neither Washington nor Beijing had a plan, nor did either know what it specifically was they wanted from the ongoing talks. "When you get right down to it, what exactly are they going to do? Are they going lower the Chinese-U.S. bilateral trade deficit? It's just not going to happen. They're kicking it down the road because they really don't know what they want," Zandi said.

'A silly debate argument'

President Donald Trump had initially set out a demand that China close its trade surplus by $200 billion, to which Beijing has not acquiesced. Zandi criticized this figure, noting that U.S. exports to China are currently $150 billion annually, and that it doesn't have the capacity to produce and export that scale of increase in goods to China. "What's that going to buy? For $200 billion?" the economist asked. "We don't want to sell them technology, where our comparative advantage is, so we're going to sell them $200 billion more of what? Soybeans? Boeing aircraft?" Trade experts have argued that Chinese demand for these U.S. products will not sufficiently increase to the point where it would need to purchase such a volume of American goods.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (R) is seen as he and a U.S. delegation for trade talks with China arrive at a hotel in Beijing, China May 3, 2018. Jason Lee | Reuters

Zandi added that the discussions should have instead been focused on structural issues like intellectual property (IP) protection for investors, echoing the sentiment of many economists that the trade deficit figure should not be the focus of the U.S.-China trade relationship. "America wants the Chinese to buy $200 billion more of what America produces, but it's neither here nor there when it comes to protecting IP rights, which is really what we should be focused on here," he said. "I think it's a silly debate argument that is going to end up nowhere." Other experts have warned that a deal with China focused on a dollar figure for trade is not a sustainable solution in the long term. Frank Lavin, a former U.S. under-secretary of commerce for international trade, told CNBC on Monday that a narrow focus on the trade imbalance misses the more pertinent issues at hand. "If they (China) give you a check, watch out. They're sort of buying you off and getting you just to go away for that money, so be careful of that," Lavin said. "I'd say focus more on structural changes, getting market opening, fair treatment, level playing field, IP (intellectual property) issues, investment protection." Tweet U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer made this point Sunday, saying in a statement: "Real structural change is necessary. Nothing less than the future of tens of millions of American jobs is at stake."

'Fruitful and efficient'

Administration officials, meanwhile, touted the progress as a positive for the U.S., and markets have reacted positively to the news. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He described the talks as "pragmatic, fruitful and efficient," a marked shift from more negative sentiment earlier in the week that led Trump to say Thursday that he "doubted" the trade negotiations would succeed. A joint statement from the weekend's meetings said: "To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services." The purchase increases are said to be predominantly in the agricultural and energy sectors. Talks between U.S. and Chinese officials have been underway in recent weeks following a rapid escalation in tensions between the two economic powerhouses. Trump has long criticized China's growing trade surplus with the U.S., and in March set off a trade spat by proposing import tariffs on a number of Chinese goods. The move set off a tit-for-tat dispute with a series of threats from each country that proposed hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tariffs on each other's goods, sparking fears of a global trade war.

WATCH: This trade deal may be what Trump needs to take on ChinaPresident Donald Trump's administration should focus on pushing for structural changes in China, rather than on the massive trade imbalance between the world's two largest economies, a former U.S. government official said Monday. "I'd say focus more on structural changes, getting market opening, fair treatment, level playing field, IP (intellectual property) issues, investment protection. Focus on those kind of issues that will allow you to sell on market terms," said Frank Lavin, who was formerly U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for international trade. Lavin said the U.S. administration should be wary of getting a deal from Beijing that would only be a short-term solution. "If they give you a check, watch out. They're sort of buying you off and getting you just to go away for that money, so be careful of that," Lavin said. Lavin's comments came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that the world's two largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement. On Saturday, Beijing and Washington said they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States to close its trade deficit with the U.S., which was $375 billion in 2017. During an initial round of talks this month in Beijing, Washington demanded that China reduce its trade surplus by $200 billion, Reuters reported. No dollar figure was cited in the countries' joint statement on Saturday.

Trump "made a mistake anchoring negotiations on that number," said Lavin, who is currently the chairman of Export Now, a business consultancy. He was formerly also U.S. ambassador to Singapore under the George W. Bush administration. "Because demand in China for U.S. food isn't going to double in a year, demand for Boeings isn't going to double in a year, and U.S. productive capacity can't double in a year either," Lavin told CNBC's "Street Signs." The top U.S. trade official, Robert Lighthizer, said that getting China to open its market to more U.S. exports was significant, but that it was far more important for the United States to resolve issues with China, such as forced technology transfers and cyber theft. "Real structural change is necessary. Nothing less than the future of tens of millions of American jobs is at stake," U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer said in a statement on Sunday. Many of Trump's complaints about China are valid, Lavin added. Even though the Chinese economy has been gradually opening up over the past two decades, "the openings in China have not kept pace with the economic growth of China and with the benefits China has gotten from the rest of the world being more open," he said.

'Baby steps' more likely than North Korea denuclearization

Amid uncertainties over whether a high-profile meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will eventually take place in Singapore, Lavin said it is likely to happen.The number of initial coin offerings, or ICOs, has skyrocketed in the past two years as more companies flock to the new and controversial way to raise capital.

In an ICO, companies create a digital token or coin, then sell it to investors in exchange for cash or more commonly, cryptocurrency, usually bitcoin or ether.

Despite increasing scrutiny from regulators around the world, blockchain research firm Smith + Crown told CNBC that funds raised through ICOs are increasing quickly.

About $6.6 billion was raised through 217 ICO sales for the first quarter of this year, a 65 percent increase from the $3.9 billion raised in the last quarter of 2017.

Cryptocurrencies are underpinned by the blockchain technology, which is why at one time, ICOs were carried out mostly by blockchain start-ups.

But many other types of companies are flocking to ICOs today, even if those firms do not have or require the use of the blockchain.

A significant proportion of ICOs show signs of fraud. In a review of 1,450 digital coin offerings, the Wall Street Journal found that about 19 per cent of these ICOs, which had raised about $1 billion in total, raised red flags that included "plagiarized investor documents, promises of guaranteed returns and missing or fake executive teams."President Donald Trump's administration may be considering easing penalties on Chinese phone maker ZTE amid broader trade negotiations, but White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow insisted Monday the company won't get off "scot-free."

"They broke the law on several occasions after being warned," Kudlow said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

Kudlow said the "remedy" for ZTE's behavior could include "significant fines, very severe compliance measures, a new board of directors, a new management team."

"Nobody should assume that there's going to be a penalty-free change here, believe me," Kudlow said. "They're not going to get off scot-free."

The U.S. Commerce Department last month banned American companies from selling to ZTE for seven years after ZTE was caught illegally shipping U.S. goods to Iran and North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions. But in a stunning reversal, Trump this month announced that the decision had cost "too many jobs in China," and he pledged to get the firm back in business.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that he and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross were asked by Trump "look into it," but that Trump didn't dictate any terms. Mnuchin added that the enforcement of the ban wasn't meant to put the company out of business, and that any changes being considered would support U.S. national security.

"Not a surprise President Xi asked President Trump to look into ZTE," Mnuchin told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday, referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping. "It's no different than when President Trump calls up world leaders on behalf of American companies all the time."

In contrast to his advisers, Trump has acknowledged a link between the ZTE dispute and trade talks, most recently by backpedaling sanctions against ZTE.

@realDonaldTrump tweet

China reportedly would not continue trade talks unless Washington agreed to ease sanctions on ZTE.

Top White House officials, including Kudlow, continue to insist ZTE is a separate issue. Mnuchin said on Monday that the story had been "misreported."

"As we are all saying  Secretary Ross...Secretary Mnuchin, myself and others  this is primarily an enforcement issue," Kudlow said.

"Even though President Trump wants to help President Xi, in the middle of trade talks, and just as importantly if not more so, in the middle of the Korean Peninsula talks...we can't drop our rule of law," Kudlow added.

ZTE did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.A sign displaying the price of gasoline per gallon is seen at a Mobil gas station in Miami.



Oil prices jumped after President Trump scuttled the Iranian nuclear deal, pushing gas prices higher. Will pump prices pummel your driving budget this summer  and thereafter?

My research says no. Oil's budget-bashing potential went the way of the eight-track. Recent price wiggles won't last. Why?

Americans routinely fear higher oil. Memories of disco-era oil shocks, gas lines and stagflation loom large, passed on as lore from my generation to our kids. Back then, the Middle East dominated oil, given OPEC's embargo pricing power.

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But those days are dead.

Iran isn't really crucial now. It produces about 4.5 million barrels of oil a day, exporting just 2.5 million barrels. U.S. crude production is now 10.5 million barrels a day and should reach 11.9 million barrels next year.

Saudi Arabia has promised to help some, too. We and they more than offset the 1 million barrels-a-day reduction in Iranian exports officials expect from the return of sanctions. But realistically, Iran will export as much as before. As detailed in my April 15 column, single-country sanctions never bite. Companies work around them, diverting shipments through third parties for a minor brokerage commission mark-up. The only real change is altered shipping routes. Iran sells most of its oil to China, which is unaffected by these sanctions.

To see how trivial Iran is for oil, note 2012 to 2016, when Western sanctions blocked Iranian oil exports to America and Europe. Oil prices plunged from more than $100 a barrel to $26 in January 2016. Perversely, in 2016, when Iran restarted exporting to Europe, prices rose. But other forces were dominating the market by then.

Which ones? The U.S. technology revolution in oil shale, hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking), horizontal drilling and more. When those Iranian sanctions took full effect in July 2012, America produced just 6.3 million barrels a day of crude. By 2016 we were at 9.2 million barrels a day  a bigger increase than Iran's total exports. That surge helps explain global production's jump from 76 million barrels a day to 81.5 million in the same period, creating a global glut.

In February 2016, with oil prices low, producers started cutting back because their profits were smaller. They mothballed rigs and slashed investment in new wells. Meanwhile, OPEC and Russia mostly stuck to their much-ballyhooed output cuts. Slower-growing supply and healthy global demand helped oil prices bounce back up.

But that shift has gone too far, and the new trends driving the oil market are eye-popping. U.S. production rose in 2017. This year, new exploration rigs are operating 100%. Extraction technology keeps improving, cutting costs. Some oil fields are now profitable below $40 a barrel. Pumping at today's $70 price produces premium profits. Capacity will gush. As this technology evolves, it starts rippling overseas, goosing output and capping crude prices.

Still, don't expect gasoline prices to get too low. They're less variable than oil. Depending on the state, taxes are between 10.7% (Alabama) and 25.5% (Pennsylvania) of the per gallon price of regular gas. The average is about 16%, or 53.7 cents a gallon. Those taxes remain stable despite oil's gyrations.

Another factor is supply bottlenecks  especially in West Texas, where pipelines to Gulf Coast refiners are backing up. It will be tough to provide dirt-cheap gas everywhere without expanding capacity. Another irony: These regional bottlenecks create incentives for producers to drill more in North Dakota and Oklahoma, where similar bottlenecks in 2012 inspired pipeline bonanzas. Even more oil production will come there.

Even so, gas prices should be OK for your 2018 vacation budget. The U.S. has the world's greatest natural geography and low-cost vacation destinations. So enjoy them while Goldilocks reigns over our economy (see my May 6 column on that topic) and tune out the geopolitical noise. If you've never driven to Yellowstone, you really do owe it to yourself and your family.Such is the backdrop for the creation of the METIS project in 2014, by Total Exploration & Production's R&D teams. The idea was to capture high-quality images of foothills by releasing DARTs from drones. These wireless dart-shaped projectiles, equipped with geophysical sensors, communicate with relay antennas to transmit and process seismic data that is being measured in real time. It makes data acquisition fast and more affordable.

It was the first time anyone had ever come up with this disruptive idea for exploration. Florent Bertini, earth imaging R&D program manager at Total, describes it as "somewhat counterintuitive." "METIS is trying to position the company in the onshore, during a period of low oil prices, to produce resources cheaply and efficiently," he said. It took time for the idea to make headway, technologically and culturally. Especially given that specifications call for the smallest achievable environmental impact, using as many biodegradable materials as possible  even for the batteries.

A team up for the challenge came together. Total worked with partners such as Wireless Seismic and Geokinetics to acquire and process seismic data wirelessly and RPS for drones. It wanted to prove that the concept was viable under real-world conditions, fast. A small-scale pilot was scheduled in Papua New Guinea for end-2017. "The worst imaginable environment for acquiring seismic data," according to Bill Pramik, METIS project manager at Wireless Seismic. But "this is the environment in which the METIS concept showed that it really is an economical solution for highly complex acquisition." The site's climate and geological conditions are, in fact, daunting. The humidity, heat, rain, snakes and leeches put people and equipment to the test, in a place where nature has ceded none of its power.

Bruno Pagliccia, METIS seismic operations & pilot leader at Total, responsible for conducting the pilot, was up to the challenge, which involved "assembling the various building blocks of the project  DARTs, drone, communication systems  which were developed separately but are required to work together."

The test was successful. For six weeks, including three weeks of preparation, up to 55 people put in 25,000 hours of work at the Antelope-3 site. Around 60 DARTs were launched from a drone that took precise aim at so-called sky holes, the openings in the canopy often found between tree crowns. With a 90 percent success rate for ground penetration, "It works!," says Bruno Pagliccia. "The project is realistic and can be implemented, even though there's still a lot of work to do to deploy it across wider areas." That's because the trial brought unexpected problems to light. "Flying in lithium batteries by plane turned out to be more complicated than we expected," remembers the team leader. Aerial restrictions are severe. Plus, local nature wasn't kind to the electronic equipment. The DARTs sometimes sank too deeply into damp soil softened by the humid air, making communication with the antennas difficult.

Safety, a core Total value, was central to the pilot's execution. "We set up a 20-hectare safety clearance zone, sealing off the perimeter by means of patrols that made sure no one accidentally wandered into the area. In addition, our drones had infrared thermal imaging and optical cameras, to drop the DARTs safely." There were no incidents during the pilot.About this series

Being born in Columbia is its own albatross, casting natives further away from the American dream than almost anywhere else in the state, not to mention the country.

We're taking a look as this "opportunity gap" and how it plays out in education, criminal justice, employment, health care and housing.The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission formWere going to hear lots about embedded vision product development during the Embedded Vision Summit, but the first announcement may have implications for Apple's machine learning systems.

Apple and embedded vision

We know Apple is interested in embedded vision and machine learning following its acquisition of PrimeSense and introduction of ARKit.

We also know this because it has already placed embedded vision solutions such as scenes and items recognition within the Photos app.

[ Further reading: AI and speech advances bring virtual assistants to work ]

Given that we keep hearing that Apples machine learning teams have convinced the company to let them work with their peers as they develop next-generation machine learning technologies for its products, a new initiative from the Khronos Group may  or may not  turn out to be significant.

The Khronos Group is a non-profit industry group dedicated to creating and curating open standards to enable graphics, rich media and parallel computation across numerous platforms and devices.

Apple does not control the group, which also includes many of its biggest competitors, but it does have a seat on the company board.

That seat is currently occupied by Geoff Stahl, Apples director of games and graphics software engineering. Stahl is responsible for putting advanced games and graphics technology inside Apples products, according to his bio.

Lets work together

The Khronos Group today announced its engagement of Au-Zone Technologies to enable NNEF (Neural Network Exchange Format) standard files to be used with leading machine-learning training frameworks. It follows the groups introduction of new open-source tools to port Vulkan applications to Apple's platforms earlier this year.

The goal of NNEF is to enable data scientists and engineers to easily transfer trained networks from their chosen training framework into a wide variety of inference engines, the description reads.

The meaning seems to be that the move is going to help developers create machine intelligence solutions for embedded vision systems that work across different platforms. (Its similar to the ONNX standard, with differences explained here.)

Thats important to developers on every platform, particularly for Apple as it ramps up its machine learning investments.

We dont know if Apple will be taking part in the newly announced Khronos initiative, but it seems reasonable to imagine its experts will at least take a look at it. Though history shows its love of proprietary solutions means it chose to adopt its own Metal graphics format above OpenGL.

What happens next?

Theres a relatively famous Dr. Who moment in which the Tenth Doctor (played by David Tennant) talks about Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff, and thats about as accurate as anyone can really be when talking about the potential impact of machine intelligence across billions of devices, which is whats being discussed here.

In Apples case, you can imagine these technologies working hand-in-glove with the Photos app to deliver more accurate information about the people, places, and moods of items in photographs, and that kind of information will likely also be made available to third-party developers.

After all, if your iPhone can recognize items in a photograph you take, surely it can also detect similar information simply by pointing your camera wherever you happen to be, so instant sign translation engines could one day become an iOS feature.

The next inevitable step will surely be to enable the machine learning systems inside smartphones to read your emotions to provide useful recommendations and/or respond to requests made using gestures such as eye contact and head movement, alongside more conventional touch and speech-based navigation.

Such technologies most certainly match Apples steady progress to creating alternative user interfaces for different families of computational project, and very definitely they have implications within its industry-leading accessibility technologies.

One of the bigger limitations Apple has faced in developing effective AI has been its lack of access to as rich an information stack as some competitors hold.

The idea that using NNEF may enable it to harness additional data sets to supplement its own  and all while maintaining customer privacy  could turn out quite significant on the companys road ahead. That's assuming the company decides to change its habits and work a little more closely with others on this part of its mission to make Siri smarter.

Google+? If you use social media and happen to be a Google+ user, why not join AppleHolic's Kool Aid Corner community and get involved with the conversation as we pursue the spirit of the New Model Apple?

Got a story? Please drop me a line via Twitter and let me know. I'd like it if you chose to follow me there so I can let you know about new articles I publish and reports I find.Mays speech on science  the UKs ingenuity and creativity will be what drives our progress as a nation

This is the full text of Theresa Mays speech on science and the industrial strategy, delivered today at Jodrell Bank.

Jodrell Bank was established in 1945, in a Britain rebuilding in the aftermath of the Second World War.

Motors from the gun turrets of battleships were built into the machinery used to rotate the dish of the awesome Lovell Telescope behind me.

The first scientists to use it were continuing research into radar which had begun in wartime, with the purpose of defeating our enemies, but which they continued in peacetime, to extend human knowledge.

Memories were fresh of the destruction that had been wreaked through what Winston Churchill called the lights of perverted science.

But stronger than the doubts about technological change was a faith in the potential of scientific inquiry to overcome the great challenges of their time  want, disease, ignorance and squalor  and to light the path to a better future. They were men and women who stood at the threshold of a new age.

Their grandparents lit their homes with oil lamps and travelled by horse and cart, but they would live to see jet travel and space flight.

Jodrell Bank is an icon of the United Kingdoms tradition of scientific achievement and is today at the cutting edge of 21st century discovery.

And as I look towards the future, that spirit of scientific inquiry, and its power to shape a better tomorrow, is at the heart of my vision.

Because the world today stands at the threshold of a new technological age as exciting as any in our past.

Great changes in how we live, how we work, how businesses trade will reshape our economy and transform our society in the years ahead.

This technological revolution presents huge opportunities for countries with the means to seize them.

And Britain is in pole position to do just that.

We are ranked first in the world for research into the defining technologies of the next decade, from genomics and synthetic biology, to robotics and satellites.

With one per cent of the worlds population, we are home to 12 of the top 100 universities.

And London is Europes leading tech start-up cluster, attracting more venture capital investment than any other city.

But this success is not automatic.

We are at the forefront of scientific invention because we embrace change and use regulation not to stifle but to stimulate an environment for creativity.

We have great universities because we have strengthened historic institutions and nurtured new intellectual powerhouses with public investment.

Britains businesses can take on the world because they have access to a skilled workforce and modern infrastructure.

Key to our success has been the combination of individual ingenuity and ambition with government action to invest in the future.

UK global leadership in science and innovation is one of this countrys greatest assets.

For Centuries Britain has been a cradle of scientific achievement.

William Harveys discovery that blood circulates around the body provided the basis for modern physiology and lead directly to every great medical advance of the last 400 years.

Isaac Newtons establishment of the laws of motion, optics and gravitation defined the parameters of physics and laid the foundations on which modern science rests.

Michael Faradays discovery of electromagnetic induction unlocked the potential of electricity to light up the world and power the modern age.

Every day, we benefit from the work of generations of British scientists and engineers.

Every time we use a computer or go online, we benefit from the genius of Alan Turing and the foresight of Sir Tim Berners-Lee.

Every journey in an airliner is powered by the turbo-jet technology pioneered by Frank Whittle.

Every day my life and the lives of millions of people around the world are made infinitely better because of the ground-breaking work on the structure of insulin by Dorothy Hodgkin.

Each of these scientists and inventors has an inspiring story of human achievement borne of hours of patient labour from which we all reap the rewards.

Contemporary British science is just as inspiring.

Developing gene therapies to treat  and even cure  diseases that until now have been beyond us.

Creating new materials like graphene that open-up opportunities across industry and medicine  from lighter display screens to synthetic bone tissue.

Producing CT and MRI scanners to provide new ways of seeing inside the body to diagnose disease and target treatments.

Scientific research is a noble pursuit and a public good  whether or not it leads directly to a commercial application.

But when a discovery does have the potential to create or transform an industrial sector, time and again British entrepreneurs have been the first to capitalise on it.

In the 18th century, Stoke-on-Trent became the ceramics capital of the world after Josiah Wedgewood industrialised the manufacture of pottery.

In the 19th century, George Stephenson made Newcastle the first city anywhere to export railway locomotives.

In the 20th century, Arthur Pilkington made St Helens the global centre of innovation in glassmaking.

The great towns and cities of Britain grew up as global centres of innovative production.

However, the nature of innovation and progress is that new technology inevitably replaces old.

And in the 21st century, some parts of the country that once thrived because of innovation and technology have seen the jobs and opportunities of the past fall away.

But in others we have seen Britains capacity for invention and reinvention create twenty-first century success stories. Cardiff has gone from exporting coal to pioneering in semiconductors; Dundee from jute to computer gaming; Hull from whaling to wind-turbines.

Our challenge as a nation, and my determination as Prime Minister, is not just to lead the world in the 4th industrial revolution  but to ensure that every part of our country powers that success.

That is what our modern Industrial Strategy is all about.

Investing in science and research to keep us at the forefront of new technologies and the benefits they bring.

Nurturing the talent of tomorrow  through more outstanding schools, world-leading universities and the technical skills that will drive our economy.

And transforming the places where people live and work  the places where ideas and inspiration are born  by backing businesses and building infrastructure not just in London and the South East but across every part of our country.

Government has always had a crucial role in supporting scientific research and the technological advancements that flow from it

from the founding of the learned societies under royal patronage in the seventeenth century to the expansion of state-funded research in universities through the twentieth century.

In the last few years, Government support has helped create new landmark institutions, like the Francis Crick Institute  Europes biomedical research facility  and the Aerospace Technology Institute in Bedford  leading on research and technology in the aerospace sector.

And in the Industrial Strategy, we have made a commitment to take our support for UK science and technology to another level.

7 billion in new public funding for science, research and innovation: the largest increase for 40 years.

But to truly succeed we will go even further.

As a Government, we have set the goal of research and development investment reaching 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027  more than ever before.

That could translate to an additional 80 billion investment in the ideas of the future over the next decade.

But even that figure fails to capture the scale of the possibility this will create.

Because science and technology have a dynamic relationship.

The scientific breakthroughs of today will lead to technological advances which themselves open the door to further scientific discovery, the likes of which are beyond our imagination.

And it wont just be public funding  our R&D target covers the combined power of Government and business alike.

That is what the Industrial Strategy is all about  not just the state spending money but using smart public investment to harness private funding. Not Government running enterprise, but a strategic state using its power and influence to create the right conditions to allow us to thrive in the long term.

A strategic approach means ensuring we have an education system that gives young people the skills they need to contribute to the economy of the future.

That means more free schools and academies providing great school places, a curriculum that sets the highest standards, and proper support for our teachers to deliver it

It means more rigorous science GCSEs preparing young people better for further study and work, and more young people going on to do sciences at A-level.

And to attract talented science graduates into the teaching profession, we are offering tax-free bursaries worth up to 26,000 in priority subjects.

And it means going even further in the future.

Transforming technical education with new high-quality T-levels that are every bit as good as A-levels.

New Institutes of Technology to provide higher-level education and training.

And a national re-training scheme to help workers of all ages adapt their skills to the jobs of tomorrow.

This is action from a strategic state to drive policy changes that will benefit our economy, our society and the individuals we serve.

And its not just in education.

A strategic approach means renewing and extending our infrastructure with faster trains, bigger stations, better road connections; delivering next generation mobile and broadband connections, with faster speeds and better coverage; ensuring we have the right regulation, modern employment standards, effective corporate governance rules.

It means Government doing what only it can do: fixing the essential foundations of our economy.

That allows researchers, innovators and businesses to do what only they can do: generate and develop the great ideas, products and services that create jobs and produce growth.

And if we do this  if we get the essentials of our economy right  we can focus our talents and ambition on seizing the opportunities of the future.

We cannot predict the future or guess what technological or scientific breakthroughs might lie just around the corner. But we can observe the long-term trends that are shaping change in our world today and which will drive and demand innovation in the years ahead.

We know that artificial intelligence and the big data revolution is transforming business models and employment practices across all sectors of the economy  especially in services, which are so important to our country.

We can see that a rising global population and ever-increasing urbanisation, combined with new transport technologies, are driving profound changes in how we move people and goods around our cities and countries.

We know that our society here in the UK, and in other developed countries around the world, is getting older  creating new demands and opportunities.

And the international determination to address climate change and deliver clean growth in the future is one of the facts of our time  and one of the greatest industrial opportunities of all time.

The modern Industrial Strategy identifies these four Grand Challenges as the areas of enormous potential for the UK economy.

By channelling our efforts into meeting them  building on our strengths in science, innovation, and commerce  we can develop technologies to export around the world, we can grow whole new industries that bring good jobs across the UK, and we can achieve tangible social improvements for everyone in our society.

From John Harrisons development of the marine chronometer, to the sequencing of the human genome and treatments to tackle the AIDS crisis, we have seen throughout our history that setting ambitious and clearly-defined missions motivates human endeavour.

There is huge potential in a missions-based approach to drive faster solutions  and it is an approach being pioneered here in the UK, by University College Londons Commission on Mission-Oriented Industrial Strategy.

So today I am setting the first four missions of our Industrial Strategy  one in each Grand Challenge.

If they are to be meaningful, they must be ambitious and stretching.

That means that our success in them cannot be guaranteed.

But I believe that by setting a high ambition, we can achieve more than we otherwise would.

So these are the missions I am setting today.

First, as part of the AI and Data Grand Challenge, the United Kingdom will use data, artificial intelligence and innovation to transform the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and dementia by 2030.

Late diagnosis of otherwise treatable illnesses is one of the biggest causes of avoidable deaths.

And the development of smart technologies to analyse great quantities of data quickly and with a higher degree of accuracy than is possible by human beings opens up a whole new field of medical research and gives us a new weapon in our armoury in the fight against disease.

In cancer, our ambition is that within 15 years we will be able to diagnose at a much earlier stage the lung, bowel, prostate or ovarian cancer of at least 50,000 more people a year.

Combined with the great treatment and care provided by our NHS, that will mean every year 22,000 fewer people will die within five years of their diagnosis compared to today.

We will work with industry and the medical research community to announce specific ambitions in a range of other disease areas over the coming weeks and months.

Achieving this mission will not only save thousands of lives.

It will incubate a whole new industry around AI-in-healthcare, creating high-skilled science jobs across the country, drawing on existing centres of excellence in places like Edinburgh, Oxford and Leeds  and helping to grow new ones.

Second, through our healthy ageing grand challenge, we will ensure that people can enjoy five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035, whilst narrowing the gap between the experience of the richest and poorest.

We are living longer lives because of medical advances, better drugs, healthier lifestyles, and safer workplaces.

It is a sign of our success, of our progress as a society, and is to be celebrated.

But as we extend the years of our life, we should also work harder to increase quality of life in our later years.

That should not just be the preserve of the wealthy  everyone, of every background and income level, has the right to enjoy a happy and active retirement.

We can do that by supporting more people to stay happy, healthy and independent in their own homes for longer, instead of going into hospital.

It will take a collective effort to achieve this.

Employers can help, by meeting the needs of people who have caring responsibilities and by doing more to support older people to contribute in the workplace  and enjoy the emotional and physical benefits of having a job if they want one.

Businesses can contribute, and benefit, by supplying the needs of a growing market.

Innovative and well-designed products and services  from housing adaptations that make our homes safer for older people to live in, to smart technologies that help people continue to enjoy life if they have a health condition.

These innovations can also be exported to a rapidly growing market around the world.

And we can all play our part  by making healthier lifestyle choices ourselves, and by supporting our friends and neighbours as they get older.

We can build a stronger society, where more people can contribute their talents for longer and fewer people face loneliness and isolation.

Third, in the future of mobility grand challenge, we have a mission to put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero emission vehicles and for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040.

Technology is revolutionising how we power vehicles, how they are driven, how we navigate and how we access information about public transport.

Britain led the world into the railway age. We pioneered jet air travel.

By putting the UK at the forefront of the 21stt century transport revolution, we can ensure our automotive sector  one of our greatest success stories  continues to thrive and create good jobs across the country.

We can make our towns and cities cleaner, safer and more productive places to live and work. We can set a global standard for managing technological change to maximise economic and environmental benefits.

We will work with industry to achieve this ambition, and share the benefits this opportunity presents.

And fourth, in the clean growth grand challenge, we will use new technologies and modern construction practices to at least halve the energy usage of new buildings by 2030.

Heating and powering buildings accounts for 40 per cent of our total energy usage.

By making our buildings more energy efficient and embracing smart technologies, we can slash household energy bills, reduce demand for energy, and meet our targets for carbon reduction.

By halving the energy use of new buildings  both commercial and residential  we could reduce the energy bills for their occupants by as much as 50 per cent.

And we will aim to halve the costs of reaching the same standard in existing buildings too.

Meeting this challenge will drive innovation and higher standards in the construction sector, helping it to meet our ambitious homebuilding targets and providing more jobs and opportunity to millions of workers across the country.

It will be a catalyst for new technologies and more productive methods, which can be exported to a large and growing global market for clean technologies.

These four missions are just the beginning  and in setting further missions across the four grand challenge areas, we will work closely with businesses and sectors.

In each one of these four missions, scientific and technological innovations have the potential to create jobs, drive economic growth across the country and deliver tangible improvements for everyone in our country.

This represents a level of ambition every bit as high as that which created Jodrell Bank and rebuilt Britain in 1945.

We live in a different world today. Our economy is more globalised. Our strengths are in services, as well as in manufacturing. Our population is older. And the Industrial Strategy sets its sights on our future, not our past.

As we look towards that new future for the UK outside of the European Union, the UKs ingenuity and creativity will be what drives our progress as a nation. William Wordsworth described the statue of Sir Isaac Newton that stands in the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge as being the marble index of a mind forever voyaging through strange seas of thought, alone.

That romantic image belies the truth that the essence of scientific progress is not private contemplation, but collaboration.

Nothing is achieved in isolation and it is only through co-operation that advances are made.

Every great British scientist could only reach new frontiers of invention because they built on the work of others, exchanged ideas with their contemporaries and participated in an international community of discovery.

William Harvey learned medicine at the University of Padua.

The first secretary of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, was an immigrant from Germany.

The discovery of DNA in Cambridge was the work of an Englishman, Francis Crick; an American, James Watson; a born New Zealander, Maurice Wilkins; and a descendent of Jewish immigrants from Poland, Rosalind Franklin.

Indeed Newton himself put it best when he wrote that, if I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

Science is an international enterprise and discoveries know no borders.

The United Kingdom today is at the centre of a web of international collaboration.

Our immigration system supports this, with no cap on the number of the students who can come to our universities, and thousands coming every year, learning from some of the finest academics and contributing to the success of some of the best universities in the world.

Indeed, since 2010 the number of overseas students coming to study at UK universities has increased by almost a quarter.

The UK will always be open to the brightest and the best researchers to come and make their valued contribution.

And today over half of the UKs resident researcher population were born overseas.

When we leave the European Union, I will ensure that does not change.

Indeed the Britain we build together in the decades ahead must be one in which scientific collaboration and the free exchange of ideas is increased and extended, both between the UK and the European Union and with partners around the world.

I know how deeply British Scientists value their collaboration with colleagues in other countries through EU-organised programmes.

And the contribution which UK science makes to those programmes is immense.

I have already said that I want the UK to have a deep science partnership with the European Union, because this is in the interests of scientists and industry right across Europe.

And today I want to spell out that commitment even more clearly.

The United Kingdom would like the option to fully associate ourselves with the excellence-based European science and innovation programmes  including the successor to Horizon 2020 and Euratom R&T.

It is in the mutual interest of the UK and the EU that we should do so.

Of course such an association would involve an appropriate UK financial contribution, which we would willingly make. In return, we would look to maintain a suitable level of influence in line with that contribution and the benefits we bring.

The UK is ready to discuss these details with the Commission as soon as possible.

What I have set out today  unprecedented investment into science and research; four missions to drive businesses, academia, and government to meet the Grand Challenges of our time; and a clear commitment to extend our international collaboration after Brexit  build a positive vision for our countrys future.

An open and innovative economy.

The best place to start and grow a high-tech business.

An outward-looking country, open to talent and ideas from around the world.

A global centre for scientific discovery and creativity, where progress is driven by an optimism about the possibilities technological change can bring.

There is no escaping the complexity of the challenge, but there should be no mistaking the scale of the opportunity before us either.

The world is about to change  and is indeed already changing  at a remarkable pace.

Technologies with the potential to transform our society will come of age in the years ahead.

This is an exciting time to be alive  and rich in possibility for the curious, the inventive and the determined: the children in schools today studying STEM subjects in record numbers thanks to our education reforms.

The undergraduates from an ever more diverse set of backgrounds now embarking on higher studies.

The aspiring engineers and skilled workers who will benefit from our reforms to technical education over the coming years.

The young researchers from around the world, starting their careers working in British laboratories.

All have the chance to be part of one of the most exciting periods of discovery the world has ever known.

Amongst their number will be names to be inscribed alongside the greatest figures of the past on the honour roll of scientific achievement.

And together, we can continue a tradition of innovation that will extend our horizons and transform our lives.Daniel Coughlan is a teacher in West Sussex.

In England the month of May, with its Morris dancing, is a time when people risk looking nuts. Thirty years ago today Margaret Thatcher was north of the border doing the very same. Not dancing with sticks but something even more disturbing: she was doing God in public, and with bells on.

In what became known as the Sermon on the Mound, her address to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Thatcher explicitly spelt out her Judaeo-Christian worldview. She stands out in modern British politics in how she consistently and publicly witnessed to a firm faith in God.

All Prime Ministers since Macmillan have professed a personal belief in God. Yet one of the most devout, Tony Blair, confessed in 2007  the year he left Downing Street  to keeping his faith quiet. He explained, you talk about it [faith] in our system and, frankly, people do think youre a nutter. This is a sad indictment of the British political scene.

Politicians are still permitted to have had a religious upbringing, and even to maintain religious customs. Theresa May could happily launch her Conservative leadership bid as the vicars daughter, and as Prime Minster reveal that she was giving up crisps for Lent. But many voters seem uncomfortable with a politician drawing upon a belief in God.

Yet all belief systems have a God in that they demand some ultimate rationale or have some final concern: it might be the sovereignty of pleasure and pain, or economic equality, rather than a loving creator who invites our friendship. In a democracy the latter idea should not receive any special treatment. It can compete  like all ideas  on its merits. But it should not be silenced.

The silencing of faith in public life reflects a range of anti-religious prejudices: faith as inherently unreasonable, antithetical to freedom, socially divisive, or unconcerned with material prosperity. Thatchers example challenges such stereotypes.

In 1988 Thatcher unashamedly spoke of things theological. She referred to Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God who chose to lay down His life that our sins may be forgiven, and how if we open our hearts to God, He has promised to work within us. She confidently presented her faith as true but she did not ask anyone to take her word for it.

Later that same year, David Frost quizzed Thatcher in some depth, asking do you believe there is a God or do you know there is a God? She retorted, Believing there is a God is knowing there is a God. She appealed to matters such as the existence of conscience and the notion of fundamental human rights to support her surety. She even sought to account for the problem of evil and suffering.

Thatcher was no theologian but she was theologically engaged and engaging. She spoke of her favourite biblical texts  psalms 139 and 46  and interpreted their central message for political life, that each and every person matters. Frost hailed her comments as wonderful and superb. He was no Paxman, but then again Thatcher was no Blair. She was willing and able to argue for her foundational belief.

Thatcher had spoken about her faith for years. In 1987, she told John Humphrys on Today, The fundamental reason of being on this earth is so to improve your character that you are fit for the next world. Before becoming Prime Minister, in a 1978 speech at St Lawrence Jewry, she had related this same theme to public policy: politics is about establishing the conditions in which men and women can best use their fleeting lives in this world to prepare themselves for the next.

Few believing politicians, let alone aspiring Prime Ministers, would speak thus today. But the difference is explained not just by our antagonistic times, but that Thatcher had confidence in her religious beliefs: that they were not only well-founded, but, being so, they could positively contribute to political life.

Central to Thatchers Christian faith, as expressed to the General Assembly, was that man was endowed by God with the fundamental right to choose. As she explained in 1978, my own faith in freedom does not rest in the last resort on utilitarian arguments. Her drive towards a free and responsible society  with all the social and economic fruits it promised  had theological roots.

Thatchers faith also motivated her deep  and often wilfully overlooked  commitment to social justice. In 1978, she recalled the Pauline notion of the Body of Christ and commented, From this we learn our interdependence, and the great truth that we do not achieve happiness or salvation in isolation from each other but as members of Society. In Scotland she recalled the governments concern to have laws to provide for health and education, pensions for the elderly, succour for the sick and disabled.

Thatchers faith was far from religiously or culturally divisive. She reflected that one of the great principles of our Judaic-Christian inheritance is tolerance and explained that there was absolutely nothing incompatible betweenour desire to maintain the essence of our own identity and equality under the law, of proper respect and of open friendship. Other religious faiths of today might be different, but they  like atheistic totalitarian projects before them  will struggle to compete in our democracy.

Rather than being down on material wealth Thatcher professed how, abundance rather than poverty has a legitimacy which derives from the very nature of Creation. She reminded the General Assembly that it was not the creation of wealth that was wrong but love of money for its own sake. Material wealth, like social harmony and freedom, were not in any danger from Thatchers faith-filled politics. They were secured by it.

The modern-day closeting of politicians with religious faith not only reflects a range of anti-religious prejudices but it risks impoverishing public life. Thatchers public engagement with theology serves as a challenge both to those who unfairly dismiss religious faith, and those politicians of faith that acquiesce to such prejudice. The exclusion of religion from public discourse risks losing its important public benefit.

In 1978, writing in the Daily Telegraph, Thatcher warned those who shared her politics about abandoning Britains faith heritage. She observed:

there are loyal supporters of the Conservative cause today who would describe themselves as agnostic humanists. To my mind, such people are living recklessly on the dwindling spiritual capital of our Christian culture. I do not believe that even the free and ordered society which as a party we are trying to foster can satisfy the deepest human needs, for this is beyond the scope of politics. I do not think that even this society will be able to sustain itself unless it keeps its religious foundations in good repair.

If Thatchers prophecy proves right, if the political fruits of the Christian faith wither without nurturing their theological roots, future generations might well wonder at our modern disdain for faith in politics. If religious faith is not given space in our public discourse, in another 30 years, it is we that might look extremely foolish.Nicky Morgan is Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, a former Education Secretary, and MP for Loughborough.

Didnt they look happy; We wish them a lifetime of happiness, or It was such a happy day  all fitting descriptions of the wedding of the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex and, no doubt, of many other weddings which took place this weekend.

What does a new parent wish most for their tiny, precious bundle of joy? That they should, above all, be happy. So what is happiness and why do we all search for it so hard? How do we know when weve found it, and what do we need to have to secure it?

And if we can agree that it is an experience that we all want to share and create for others, how is British politics doing at fostering it in our nations collective psyche at the moment?

Last week, I attended the launch of the Centre for Policy Studies new publication New Blue: Ideas for a new generation. Tonight sees the launch of Onward, backed by Ruth Davidson and led by Will Tanner and my fellow Leicestershire MP, Neil OBrien. In early May, Bright Blue published their Burning Injustices paper, and the Resolution Foundation launched the conclusion of their Intergenerational Commissions work.

At their heart, I am sure that all these think tanks want to help people in the UK to live happier and more prosperous lives. I keep thinking about the words of the former New Zealand Prime Minister, Norman Kirk, who said that people dont want much  just someone to love, somewhere to live, somewhere to work and something to hope for. A bit like Harold Macmillans entreaty to the head of the Conservative Research Department in 1957, asking him if he could just write down what the middle classes wanted, and then he would do his best to give it to them.

Undoubtedly, having a secure place to call home is a key part of this search for happiness and contentment. It is why Ruth highlighted this as an early focus for Onward in her excellent Guardian article last week. And it is why the Government has made such a priority of building more homes and solving the housing crisis  although with this aim come challenges for existing residents which I will highlight in a brief debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday.

The abundance of ideas from Ownward, Freer, the CPS, Policy Exchange, Bright Blue and other centre-right think tanks shows how vigorous the debate is and continues to be about the kind of country we want and how we are going to get there. But it is notable that the debate is happening amongst the think tanks and those writing for them, and not visibly within Government.

Of course, this is partially down to the Brexit bandwith problem. But we shouldnt overlook the joint letter on fixed odds betting terminals, signed by Conservative MPs on very different sides of the Brexit debate recently, and coordinated by my fellow ConservativeHome columnist, Iain Duncan Smith. The letter and the issue help prove that it is more than possible to work together when a pressing social need presents itself.

There are many other domestic issues where this is true, too. It is why I hope the Government will consider setting up a domestic policy cabinet sub-committee which can get on with examining and approving policy ideas and announcements to tackle pressing domestic issues, while the Prime Minister and others are inevitably focused on negotiations with the EU.

If the somewhere to live is already being addressed, the somewhere to work is represented by the continuing impressive employment numbers, and if the Government cant do much about someone to love then the Conservative Party needs to work on the something to hope for.

When did we last hear about the British Dream which the Prime Minister spoke about during her Party Conference speech last year? Even if the ideas to turn this into a reality are generated from outside the Party via the think tanks, we can only hope that the Number 10 Policy Unit are ready to be specific about something to hope for which makes us all happier sooner rather than later.Given Theresa Mays apparent shift from planning for a hardish Brexit to a softer one  we described what has happened in detail yesterday  you may wonder why Leave-backing Conservative MPs are not in open revolt and planning a leadership challenge. We cited a number of reasons and theyre worth exploring more fully.

First, this change has happened without some of those Tory MPs appearing to notice it. The EU gave ground to the Prime Minister in Decembers agreement over money and the role of the European Court of Justice. Seven out of ten of our party member panel approved of it. Many Brexiteer MPs assumed at the time that the backstop arrangement over the UK-Ireland border, one reading of which would see Britain bound to the rules of the Customs Union and Single Market for manufactures and agriculture, would never kick in.

The Chequers Summit agreement earlier this year, which foresees a high degree of regulatory alignment in some cases; the transition arrangements (with no repatriation of powers over fisheries during it, and no change to free movement either); the Prime Ministers attachment to a customs partnership; the likelihood of staying in the Customs union for longer, because systems required to leave it apparently wont be ready for 2021; last weeks agreement on the backstop  all these various climbdowns, shifts and clarifications have come one at a time, and some Tory MPs dont seem to have noticed that, taken together, they look a lot like Norway Minus.

Second, not all Leave-supporting Tory MPs are opposed to such an EEA-lite settlement in any case. The best part of 80 plus of them are on the European Research Groups mailing list. But not all are agreed on the best negotiation outcome for the UK. Furthermore, there are a further 50 or so Conservative MPs who backed Leave in the referendum and are not ERG members. Some in both camps would be prepared to settle for full EEA membership for Britain in any event.

Third, there seems to be little appetite for a leadership change. Half our panel  and, as far as we can see, most Conservative MPs  want Theresa May replaced by the time of the next election. But a change in Number Ten wouldnt alter the balance of forces in the Commons, where there is no majority for the WTO option (though there may just be one for quitting the Customs Union). Furthermore, a botched challenge might reinforce the Prime Ministers authority. This is giving some of her critics pause for thought.

Fourth, there is a natural reluctance to do anything that might bring Jeremy Corbyn nearer Downing Street. The point is so obvious as not to need stressing. It is felt particularly by Conservative MPs who are less gripped by the Brexit outcome than, say, Jacob Rees-Mogg or Anna Soubry, and feel that the whole business is doing nothing for the Party other than creating and widening splits. Their cry is: a plague on both your houses. This is felt especially stronger by MPs holding marginal seats.

Finally, very many Tory MPs, not all of them Leavers, are waiting for Brexit Day. Look, some of them say, when asked about their thinking, we know that the policy isnt going in the direction we hoped. We appreciate that Brexit will be less than clean. But the priority must be to get to March 29 intact. Lets get the EU Withdrawal Bill through  and get out of the EU. Better to have another push for the sort of Brexit we want from the outside rather than the inside. And next summer marks the best time for a leadership change.

This thinking begs some questions. For a start, there is a chance that the Brexit negotiations collapse, or that May cant get a Commons majority for a deal, and that a panicked Parliament then seeks to suspend the Article 50 process. Our judgement for better or worse is that the odds against that outcome are very long. Its more likely that in circumstances that Parliament would seek the equivalent of an emergency transition arrangement while a general election took place.

None the less, one can see the attraction of the case. Get out as soon as possible. And then push for a fuller Brexit later  from outside. This argument will have its attractions for Brexit-backing Cabinet Ministers who dont want to resign. Some supporters of Michael Gove are making it. It would be surprising if senior Leave-supporting staff in Downing Street, such as Robbie Gibb and Stephen Parkinson, dont hold it (though they wouldnt, of course, want a leadership change).

And there is always the human instinct to believe that everything will be all right on the night. We will get a fully-fledged trade deal before next March  or something very close to one, anyway. The backstop will never kick in. We will leave the Common External Tariff. Ireland and the EU will back down on full regulatory alignment. All shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well. Were on our way, on our way. / To the Brexit, were on our Way. / How we get there we dont know, how we get there we dont care. / All we know is that were on our wayMachine learning for engineers

This challenge is addressed by operational machine learning systems ready for use by industrial SMEs. SMEs can feed existing multivariate time-series data generated by operations into the machine learning system and based its outputs determine a course of action. The approach is effective because:

SMEs retain both the control and visibility needed to drive improvements.

SMEs are in the best position to determine the corrective action to take.

Identifying the use case and verifying the results within an operations team delivers quick time to value.

An example of such an approach is shown in Figure 2. Time-series data can come from a variety of sources and be provided as a real-time data stream to the machine learning system, which in turn analyzes the data to predictions on the equipment, system, or process state based on conditions the SMEs have trained it to find.

What is unique, and why its referred to as a data scientist in a box, are three key capabilities built into the system:

1. Unsupervised feature learning: Insights in time-series data come from multivariate trends or patterns, reviewed forensically to understand past system behavior. Patterns are often hard to describe and must be learned based on signals across data sources. Traditional analytics are unable to effectively learn or recognize time-series patterns. Feature learning autonomously discovers patterns hidden in time-series data, including patterns that go undetected by human observation. Once the patterns are discovered, machine learning can be applied.

2. Machine learning and predictions: This approach doesnt just recognize defined patterns, but identifies new ones, correlating the patterns to operational events. From that point, an industrial SME can label those that correspond to known conditions such as a fault or downtime using the systems log data. An SME can select from other consistent patterns preceding the fault condition and label it as a precursor event (see Figure 3). The precursor event can be an early warning or prediction likely to appear prior to the fault condition occurring.

3. Explanation: Most artificial intelligence and deep learning techniques cant explain how they derive a prediction. Data scientists must interpret the model and resulting analyses. In comparison, the data scientist in a box approach determines which data signals the prediction requires and how much each signal contributed. This is a valuable insight for the sake of credibility and for guidance in determining root cause.

Applications across industries

Since machine learning discovers patterns in available time-series data, it doesnt require developing mathematical models of physical systems or for suppliers having deep industrial domain expertise. In process operations, consistent, on-spec quality with profitable yields requires insight into real-time process conditions-a step beyond merely maintaining equipment. The time-series data controlling, or produced by, these processes defines the process health, estimates quality output, and reflects process yield. Machine learning delivers the insight to optimize outcomes and avoid machine failures.

Dealing with multivariate time-series data seems complex, but machine learning addresses much of that complexity With ready to use operational machine learning, historical data can be selected, patterns discovered, and models built and verified-eliminating the need for a data scientist or third party consultants and thus significantly reducing costs. Putting machine learning in SMEs hands delivers time to value, from identifying use cases to verifying results, because the process resides within the operations team. This approach delivers substantial improvements in asset performance, throughput, operator safety, and product quality.

Four steps for getting started with machine learning

1. Identify a use case and ask:

What is the specific problem you are trying to solve?

What approaches have you tried to solve this problem?

What is the cost of doing nothing?

2. Assess your readiness by asking:

Do you collect and archive time series data?

Do you have a data historian?

Have you prioritized your signals or have a hypothesis on where to look?

Have you defined evaluation criteria for success?

3. Implement a pilot by:

Provide a dataset for evaluation (for training the model)

Take the product training

Label the known events identified by the model.

4. Operationalize the pilot results by:

Validate the precursor events and alerts identified by the model

Assess models performance to reliably predict events and provide timely alerts

Incorporate predictive analytics into work processes and organizational plans.

Sanket Amberkar is senior vice president at Falkonry.UNITED COUNTIES of SD&G, Ontario  The United Counties of SD&G warned the public on Monday, May 14 that their residents might be affected by the looming strike in Cornwall.

City of Cornwall employees who are members of various local chapters of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) have threatened to strike on May 17.

The strike would affect indoor workers, outdoor workers, library employees and paramedics.

Due to their essential service agreements, paramedics would not be able to strike fully, but they will be working on a reduced schedule. In Cornwall there are usually nine ambulances covering the area, under strike conditions, that would be reduced to three.

For the duration of any labour disruption, the assistance of the public is needed to ensure those that truly require emergency services have them available, the United Counties said in a media release. Please call 911 for ambulance assistance if it is needed for severe emergencies such as shortness of breath, chest pain, major traumatic injury or having suffered a period of unconsciousness. If possible, please have someone drive you to your clinic, doctors office or emergency department for all other medical issues.

Other services affected include Social & Housing Services, Child Care, Ontario Works and the Ontario Renovates, Social Housing (Registry) & Rent Supplement Program.

During the strike, the Winchester satellite office for Cornwall Social & Housing Services will be closed, Child Care applications will have to be made in person at the Cornwall office, Ontario Works applicants are being asked to apply online or by calling 613-933-6282 ext. 3205.

Inside workers have reached the same impasse faced by all other city workers, said Keith Sandford, CUPE National Representative in an earlier CUPE media statement. We need to see some movement at the bargaining table if we are going to avoid a city-wide work stoppage. Were ready to work hard in negotiations, but were also preparing for a strike as necessary.Tyler Technologies' newest product, Socrata Connected Government Cloud, wants to help cities, towns, and states run more efficiently, by unshackling the troves of data that they amass each year but keep locked inside old systems.

You cant do anything with data if data is in silos, or if every answer to every question is in 100 different spreadsheets, and you dont even know which one to use for your analysis, Saf Rabah, VP of Product Strategy at Tyler Technologies, Data and Insights Division told CRN. The most foundational thing that were doing is saying, OK, cool. Silos exist. It may be a fact of life, but we can bring the data from all of these silos, automate the flow, enrich that data, fix the quality, as it gets to the cloud, and have a single source of truth for the organization."

Tyler, No. 44 on the CRN SP500, has 15,000 clients in schools, courthouses, and municipal government in all 50 states, as well as in Canada and Australia. It completed the purchase of Socrata in the first quarter of this year. The Utah Department of Transportation is one of the early adopters of this new product, which Rabah said let them see their world in the data.

What the Socrata Connected Government Cloud did in the state of Utah is connect data from the three different systems where the answers are, so now we have the data, and create different ways of looking at it, dashboards, visualizations, reports, sometimes just numbers, so that when the team gets together theyre seeing their world in the data, Rabah said. Theyre seeing answers come from multiple places, and present them with the things that are actionable.

Shane Marshall, Utahs deputy director of transportation, told CRN that the technology gives lawmakers and the public immediate access to live data and lets taxpayers see how their money is being spent.

We just didnt have the technology before. Now we can see the bigger picture across the whole organization, Marshall said. So were able to tell the public, the legislature, when they give us a billion dollars, heres what you get with it, here are the outcomes with it. Were able to show the public what theyre getting with their money.

He said the product has cost the state between $500,000 and $700,000, which he said has been money well spent.

You make one good decision on a paving project at the right time you save all of that money, plus more, and thats just on one decision, so every time you can make these good, data-driven decisions you end up really saving tax payer money, he said. You dont have to be a data scientist to mine data anymore.

Tylers purchase of Socrata allows the product to expand across jurisdictional boundaries that have previously limited the exchange of information that could otherwise be used to solve problems such as traffic congestion, Rabah said.

We want to put this in the hands of as many government organizations as possible," he said.Intel on Monday acknowledged a new variant of the Spectre and Meltdown security flaws found in its processors and those made by other companies.

Similar to the Spectre and Meltdown side-channel exploits that were disclosed by Google Project Zero in January, Variant 4 uses speculative execution to potentially expose sensitive data, in this case through a web browser, wrote Leslie Culbertson, executive vice president and general manager of Intel's product assurance and security group, in a post on Intel's website.The exploit was jointly disclosed by Google Project Zero and Microsoft, she said.

The new vulnerability, however, is addressed by an update that was issued earlier this year for the Meltdown exploit in most leading browsers, including Google Chrome, Culbertson said. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company is also planning to release a microcode update as an additional mitigation, which has already been received by system manufacturers and system software vendors.

The patch could have a 2-8 percent hit on performance if enabled, according to an Intel analysis of client and server test systems. The company said the update will be turned off by default for customers and that most system software vendors are expected to do the same. The patch will also address the Variant 3a vulnerability, which was previously disclosed by Arm in January.

"Protecting our customers data and ensuring the security of our products remain critical priorities for me and everyone at Intel," Culbertson said. "Research into side-channel security methods will continue and likewise, we will continue to collaborate with industry partners to provide customers the protections they need. Indeed, we are confident that we will be able to develop mitigations for Intel products for any future side-channel issues."

Bob Venero, CEO of Holbrook, N.Y.-based solution provider Future Tech, No. 119 on the CRN Solution Provider 500, said the new Spectre Meltdown variant, raises the issue about when exactly the Spectre and Meltdown security holes will be fixed once and for all.

"The big concern is when does this end as researchers continue to pound at Spectre and Meltdown?" asked Venero. "Security researchers in my mind are giving cyber terrorists the time and the information they need to potentially exploit Spectre and Meltdown."

Future Tech is currently doing weekly calls on Spectre and Meltdown mitigation with its top customers. "We are going through this week to week with our customers and Intel regarding what needs to be done with browsers, systems and firmware," said Venero. "This is a very time, labor and resource intensive activity. Where does this end? We need closure on this so we can focus more with our customers on business productivity rather than remediation."

Venero said he is "cautiously optimistic" and "fearful" at the same time that at some point a hacker will exploit the Spectre and Meltdown security holes.

Kent Tibbils, vice president of marketing of Fremont, Calif.-based ASI Corp., said Intel's new disclosure shows that the company is learning to respond faster and coordinate with different parties to stay on top of emerging vulnerabilities.

"It seems like this time they were out in front of it, unlike last time when they were caught behind," he said.

Ric Opal, vice president at Oak Brook, Ill.-based SWC Technology Partners, said the latest vulnerability again showcases the value that partners with well-defined managed services offerings around security can bring to customers.

The best defense is good hygiene  not only patching, but governance, risk evaluation and other practices.

"If you're just constantly doing what you need to do, and you have governance around that and a great security program, then although we cannot predict what's going to happen tomorrow, we can certainly reduce any given customer's exposure to what might be coming," Opal said.

The latest threat illustrates that point  the patch for Variant 1, aka Spectre, mitigates Variant 4.

But IT teams are already doing more with less, and struggle to stay current in an environment where "innovations are coming rapidly, threats are coming even more rapidly."

That creates an opportunity for partners like SWC, which offers a proactive detection service called Managed Threat Defense.

"You need a few more hands to help do that, why not rely on the channel to do that," Opal said.

Additional reporting by Steve Burke and Joseph Tsidulko.Activist investor and Michael Dell-nemesis Carl Icahn told CNBC on Monday that he owns hundreds of millions of dollars of VMware stock, including shares of the Dell tracking stock for the virtualization business, and wishes he had bought more.

Icahn said in an interview on the business network that when considering Dell's $42 billion debt load, an amount that would be "a lot for a third-world country, yet alone, Michael Dell," that it's clear Dell will have to do "some type of merger with VMware."

Dell has been exploring potential routes to a merger with the virtualization software company of which it owns 82 percent, including through a reverse merger that would allow it to reemerge quickly as a public company.

[Related: Partners Anxiously Anticipating Decision On Dell VMware Reverse Merger]

Icahn's position sets him up for another clash with Michael Dell, who described Icahn at a Channel Company event four years ago as "a very bad guy" after a 2013 dispute around privatizing Dell Technologies.

"We're right there against Dell again. Maybe," Icahn told CNBC, adding he hoped the two wouldn't repeat another shareholder battle.

"I hope he does the right thing and he pays a fair price for it," Icahn said in regard to Dell acquiring VMware.

CNBC had reported on Icahn's position in VMware last month. In Monday's interview, Icahn revealed for the first time he was buying VMware not only through its publicly traded shares, but also through tracking stock Dell has issued that's pegged to the performance of VMware.

About half of Dell's equity in VMware is traded through that tracking stock.

Icahn said he wishes he obtained a "bigger position than I have" in VMware, but the stock "got away from me."

But he confirmed ownership of "a sizeable position" to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Last week, Dell told federal regulators it was evaluating several potential routes to a merger with VMware.

In that SEC disclosure, Dell said it was soliciting input from investors in the tracking stock linked to the VMware business to gauge their interest in substituting those shares with complete shares of Dell.

Dell took on its massive debt in 2016 to acquire EMCthe deal that also gave it a controlling interest in VMware.

Dell is now considering several options that could help it pay down that debt.

They include a conversion of Dell's VMware tracking stock to Dell common shares, a reverse merger, an IPO, or no action at all.

In an online poll CRN conducted, an overwhelming number of respondents said, of those four options, they would prefer Dell do nothing to bring the companies together.

A Dell spokesperson told CRN the company had no comment on Icahn's statements. VMware also offered no comment.

At the 2014 Best of Breed Conference, Michael Dell told an audience of several hundred of the country's top solution providers that Icahn "lies" and has "no ethical boundaries."

"He will say anything, do anything. I have no time for him," Dell said at that event.The 2018 "Fortune 500" list of the top companies in the United States has been released, and Connecticut businesses are well-represented in the annual rankings.

Connecticut ranks first among the six New England states. Massachusetts, with 12 companies in the top 500 placed second, and Rhode Island, with four, occupies the third spot. Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont each have no companies. Overall, Connecticut's 16 companies within the top 500 ties it with Michigan for 12th in the country. New York leads with 58.The seeds were sown for Ted Kennedy Jr.s exit from the Connecticut state Senate back in 2015 when he was not yet through his first year in office. But he didnt know it yet.

Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump had already dubbed U.S. Sen. John McCain a loser for being captured in Vietnam and had long since called Mexican immigrants rapists when he mocked a disabled news reporter with arm gestures, then lied and said he had not done it.

To me it was obvious, Kennedy said in his Capitol office in Hartford last week, recalling Trumps cruel gesture a year before the presidential election. People in the disabled community were horrified.

Kennedy, a Branford Democrat, was  and is  a member of that vast and diverse community of 54 million people, having lost his right leg to cancer at age 12. The Americans with Disabilities Act, co-introduced by his father, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., had passed 25 years earlier.

The younger Kennedy was also a longtime board member of the American Association of People with Disabilities, a membership and advocacy group thats a sort of umbrella for the 200 or so associations related to disabilities.

Then a year later, When Donald Trump got elected, the assault on the rights of people with disabilities began, Kennedy said. We didnt really know how bad it could conceivably get. The disability community was hoping that he would continue the course of bipartisan progress on disability rights.

Thats a long bipartisan tradition, with President George H.W. Bush signing the ADA.

The phone started ringing, and Kennedy knew he had to step in. He became chairman of AAPD in mid-2017 and said earlier this year he will not seek re-election so he can spend more time in his AAPD role.

I couldnt watch 30 years of my work go down the drain. Thats why I decided to focus now on the disability rights movement, said Kennedy, a lawyer at Epstein Becker & Green, a national health care and life sciences firm with offices in Stamford.

Theres not that many people who have the experience that I have and the relationships that I have.

Disability Index

AAPD is stepping up an effort that started a few years ago, working with corporations on engagement with, and equal treatment of, disabled people  as employees, customers and vendors.

The centerpiece is a measure, called the Disability Equality Index, with 200 corporations participating so far  well behind the number that take part in index measures for gay rights and environmental stewardship, to name two of many in corporate life.

My goal is to work with 2,000 companies, Kennedy said, and he knows his famous name opens doors with CEOs, not to mention foundation heads and major portfolio managers such as state treasurers and members of Congress, especially the U.S. Senate.

They will take a meeting with me and ultimately I have to make the pitch and it has to make sense, he said, but at least I can get their attention and thats a huge value.

In the state Senate, he jumped in as co-chairman of the environment committee starting in 2015, passing, by his count, 70 bills, some very significant.

His new role is not exactly an exit from politics. The issues Im involved in are campaigns in and of themselves. The mission is not, however, about passing or even upholding laws  as Trumps despicable behavior showed.

The biggest challenge is cultural attitudes and stereotypes. And here you have a candidate of a major party mocking a reporter with a disability, making fun, Kennedy said. It just was such a sad day.

Assaults on many fronts

Armed with documents and a memory girded by purpose, Kennedy ticks off a list of ways the Trump administration  and conservative House Republicans  have eroded ADA and more broadly, the rights and services available to disabled people: in the thousands of pages of regulations by federal agencies that put in place the laws; in funding for key positions, for example, 40 lawyers in the Department of Justice enforcing the ADA under previous administrations, now down to four.

On the health care front, where, obviously, disabled people have a massive interest, Trumps assaults on Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare  especially loosening the rule requiring insurers to cover anyone with a pre-existing medical condition  are eroding progress, Kennedy and others say.

In the recent tax reform act, where one proposal  which failed  would have eliminated medical expense deductions. In fair housing discrimination enforcement and in special education at Betsy Devoss Department of Education.

The list goes on and on, Kennedy said. Hes part of what Time Magazine called a new wave of activism by diablaed people, sparked by the rollbacks.

The worst: This month as the legislative session wound down, he showed me Trumps tweet calling for immigration policies to block disabled people  as the Department of Homeland Security changed rukes to make it harder for disabled foreigners to get into the United States.

S&P 500 to the rescue

Corporate America has advanced social causes many times before with issues such as gay rights, desegregation and access to health care. Now, with unemployment under 4 percent, the time seems right for the sort of expansion of equality for disabled people that Kennedy is undertaking.

Theres a war for talent and getting the best talent means being relevant, said Mark Boxer, executive vice president and global chief information office at Cigna, based in Bloomfield.

Cigna is one of about 68 companies at the 100 percent rating in last years index  the list will grow sharply when this years list comes out in July  and hes the sponsor for an active affinity group of disabled people at the health insurer.

I took up the challenge about two decades ago and Cigna is in many ways a leader. We want to be the employer of choice, Boxer said, and we want to make sure that we are highly sensitized.

Theres a business imperative of course, as Cigna not only employs more than 40,000 people  the number who are disabled is not available  but also covers more than 15 million people with disability insurance.

Kennedy sees a virtuous cycle as companies join the movement. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, whose son has cerebral palsy, has committed $25 million to develop artificial intelligence tools for certain disabilities, among other efforts. He wants to make disability inclusion the signature issue of Microsoft, Kennedy said.

And in Stamford, Margaret Keane, CEO of Synchrony Financial, appeared on Bloomberg TV speaking passionately about the issue. We want to create a company that really is diverse and inclusive, she said.

Kennedys envisions CEOs asking their lieutenants why the hell their company isnt on that list along with competitors; his favorite example is airlines, as the three big carriers are 100 percent scorers on the index.

The trains leaving the station, they dont want to be left behind, he said.

And hes talking with pension funds and other investors as part of the movement toward socially responsible investing.

Political mission

With so many types of mental and physical disabilities and so many levels of ability and disability, it may be hard to see disabled people as an affinity group, or having much in common with one another. Kennedy rebuffs that skepticism and says the connection is in attitudes.

He cites a Gallup poll showing common experiences of people with many types of disabilities.

Politics is an assumed pursuit for the Kennedys, so much that Ted Jr., 56, said in his farewell to the Senate that his father had been desperate for him to run.

In a voice thats growing to resemble his fathers as he grows older, with a look to match, he quickly poijted out that advocacy for people with disabilities is also a family-wide pursuit. His aunt, Eunice Shriver, co-founded the Special Olympics 50 years ago and the Kennedys will celebrate that in Chicago this summer.

Will he run for office again someday? Maybe.

Im very proud of my family legacy but I know Im a different person than my father and my uncles, he said. Im in a way fortunate because my circumstances as a bone cancer survivor and losing my leg, little did I know that that would direct me to my mission in life.

A lot of people never find out what their lifes mission isI didnt feel happy at the time. But in retrospect, it was the defining moment of my life.

dhaar@hearstmediact.comMore than 100 movie buffs gathered at the Avon Theatre in Stamford for a screening of the 1947 film noir classic Out of the Past, starring Connecticut native Robert Mitchum.

The event was co-sponsored by Hearsts Movie & A Martini film club and presided over by Michael Kovner, of Greenwich, who is an expert on the crime thriller genre popular in the years during World War II and the decade that followed.

Kovners day job is vice president and managing director of the Brown Harris Stevens real estate firm in New York City, but he has been studying film noir since he saw The Maltese Falcon (1941) as a young man.

Although the 1940s and 1950s are thought of as a particularly optimistic time in America, Kovner pointed out that these thrillers about morally dubious men and women  who often double-cross each other  found great favor with audiences.

The Greenwich film historian hatched the idea of a regular series at the Avon five years ago and has developed an audience for these tough-minded, black-and-white melodramas. Films in the genre spanned A-budget major studio releases such as Double Indemnity (1944) and B-movie classics like Gun Crazy (1949). Kovner said none of these pictures were labeled film noir by American critics and moviegoers when they were released. The movies were enjoyed but not revered until French film critics of the 1950s created the genre label.

They are full of shadows and the stories are very dark, Kovner told the audience.

Out of the Past has become one of the most popular film noir thrillers because it contains a star-making performance by Mitchum as a man who has tried to escape his past by running a gas station in the California town of Bridgeport (a nod to the actors Connecticut place of birth). He gets pulled back into the criminal underworld by an old associate  a gang boss played by Kirk Douglas in one of his early film performances.

Douglas wants Mitchum to go to Mexico to bring back a girlfriend (Jane Greer) he says has run off with $40,000 of his money. Mitchum does as he is asked, but falls for the woman, causing grievous complications.

Theres really not one decent person in the movie. They are all absolutely rotten, Kovner said, smiling, citing one of the hallmarks of film noir.

This was Robert Mitchums first big role after The Story of G.I. Joe, he said of the 1945 drama that contained the actors first noticeable role (for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod). Part of the fun of Out of the Past is watching Douglas and Mitchum competing as hot young actors for dominance in their scenes together.

Greer never achieved long-lasting movie stardom  she shifted to television in the 1950s  but she helped create a femme fatale mold that would later launch the careers of actresses Kathleen Turner and Sharon Stone in the neo-noir movies Body Heat (1981) and Basic Instinct (1992).

Director Jacques Tourneur told her to play the first half as a good girl and the second half as a bad girl. She is a femme fatale, but plays her like a girl next door who shoots people. Forty-thousand dollars is still a lot of money now, he said of the cash Greer takes from Douglas, but in todays dollars, it would be a half-million.

Kovner said the key role of The Kid, who assists Mitchum at the gas station and, later, in his battle with the gangsters, was played by child star Dickie Moore, who would later live in Fairfield County for many years with his movie star wife Jane Powell. Moore died in Wilton in 2015 at the age of 89, one of the last actors who had appeared in silent movies.

Kovners said Out of the Past is a perfect storm of cast and dialogue.

The picture is packed with such juicy gems as Youre no good and neither am I. Thats why were made for each other.

jmeyers@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @joesviewThe battle over bragging rights to the primary setting of F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby should be heating up this summer.

Many Fitzgerald scholars claim the town of Great Neck on Long Island, N.Y., inspired the fictional setting of West Egg, where the protagonist Nick Carraway first encounters the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby in the classic novel, but writer Richard Webb Jr. and filmmaker Robert Steven Williams, who both live in Westport, are making a strong case for Westport in a book that will be published June 26 and a documentary to be shown on Connecticut Public Television in the fall.

Boats Against the Current (Prospecta Press, $40) is a lavishly illustrated coffee table book subtitled, The Honeymoon Summer of Scott and Zelda: Westport, Connecticut 1920, that puts forth a theory that the time the couple spent in a cottage on Compo Road South inspired key elements of the masterpiece that would be published five years later. (The books title comes from one of the last lines in The Great Gatsby.)

I think weve proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that part of Gatsby was inspired by the physical geography of Westport, Webb says of the proximity of the Fitzgerald honeymoon cottage to the mansion of millionaire businessman Frederick E. Lewis. The set-up was strikingly similar to that of Carraways summer rental being in the shadow of the Gatsby estate in the novel.

Lewis threw celebrity-packed parties on his property that were much like the ones Gatsby organized, with guests ranging from magician Harry Houdini, to great stage stars of the day, such as Ina Claire, who was Fitzgeralds favorite actress.

The Lewis parties, like the Gatsby parties, were not just social gatherings, they were spectacles, Webb writes, adding that unlike Gatsby, Lewis was a legitimate businessman.

The Broadway producer David Belasco, a frequent Lewis guest, turns up in a party scene in The Great Gatsby in unfictionalized form.

The groundwork for the book and film project was laid by a New Yorker article Barbara Probst Solomon wrote in 1993 that explored the Fitzgeralds connection to Westport. Solomon grew up on Westports Compo Beach and became fascinated by the way it resembled West Egg. Literary scholars were so committed to the Great Neck connection, however, that Solomons article had little lasting impact on the debate.

When a Great Neck house (purported to be the Gatsby mansion) went on sale, it generated international press, Webb says. But over the years, 25 houses there have been sold as the Gatsby house. When the Westport (honeymoon cottage) was sold, there was nothing in the press. Its a giant blind spot.

In the book, Webb and Williams make their six-year investigation part of the story, as they gathered material and did on-camera interviews with Solomon, various Fitzgerald descendants and Connecticut actor Sam Waterston, who played Nick Carraway in the 1974 film version of The Great Gatsby, starring Robert Redford.

We had to be patient. With something like this, it takes time to earn trust, Webb says of meeting with Fitzgerald scholars. Here, Robert and I started showing up at Fitzgerald conferences and they were right to ask: Who are these guys? Whats their angle? It took years, but we were willing to put the time in. And we were always respectful to Scott and Zelda.

A big part of the fun in reading the book are the digressions, as Webb includes sidebars on people and places encountered during the research.

The Great Gatsby wouldnt be the first time Fitzgerald fictionalized Westport in a novel. The 1922 book The Beautiful and the Damned, which the writer was working on during his honeymoon, draws on the town for its Connecticut locations.

Webb hopes that events for the book this summer and the airing of the companion film in the fall, will spur discussion of the Fitzgerald/Westport connection locally and then nationally. Although the house at Compo Beach has always been privately owned  Webb guards the privacy of the current owners in his book  the author would like to see it protected and turned into a Fitzgerald Center at some point. The people who own the house now love it; they are real caretakers, Webb says.

The writer also wants to shine a light on Westports role in American literary history. In one section of the book, he explores the days when notable authors like Sinclair Lewis bought second homes there, and famous residents included J.D. Salinger, who wrote The Catcher in the Rye in Westport, and Sloan Wilson, whose The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit depicted the town after World War II (key scenes in the 1956 film version were shot there).

As hard as it might be to believe now, Westport was viewed as a bohemian enclave when the Fitzgeralds honeymooned there. It was called a rural Greenwich Village and one writer observed that orgies are as common on Compo Beach as sunsets.

And they werent talking about skinny-dipping, the writer says, laughing. They were real orgies.

jmeyers@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @joesviewBRIDGEPORT  State elections watchdogs are investigating accusations Dennis Bradley, a school board member running for state Senate, offered a Stratford mayoral candidate a $5,000 contribution in return for a position with the town.

Bradley is hoping to succeed retiring state Sen. Edwin Gomes representing the 23rd Senate District, which includes parts of Bridgeport and Stratford.

According to screen shots of the alleged Oct. 4, 2017 text exchange, included in a complaint filed in late April with the state Elections Enforcement Commission, Bradley was rebuffed by mayoral contender Stephanie Philips and her supporters Shawn Sequeira and Emma Brooks.

I need everyone to affirm that we are on board and Shawn can pick up the checks tomorrow, Bradley allegedly wrote all three. Looking forward for the big win.

Dennis, this group text is very inappropriate and I am surprised you would handle yourself in this manner. I will not comment further, Philips apparently responded.

Philips campaign finance reports also do not list any money from Bradley.

Bradley told Hearst Connecticut Media he did not recall the texts: Never have I said that to Stephanie. Nor do I do politics that way.

He also said the texts are being taken out of context.

Its clearly slanting words and mincing words to paint this illusion Dennis Bradley is doing something that is wrong, Bradley said.

Bradley, an attorney, further argued that not only would he not break the law, but it would make no sense to have a text exchange suggesting something illegal with a law enforcement officer. Sequeira is Sheltons police chief.

Sequeira, according to the complaint, allegedly responded to Bradleys texts: Rest. You need a serious discussion.

The elections complaint was filed by Aaron Turner, a former aide to Gomes. Bradley and Turner are competing for the Democratic Partys nomination to run for the vacant 23rd District seat at Wednesdays convention in Bridgeport. The complaint was first released to the public by the elections commission late last week.

Turner told Hearst that after receiving the screen shots of the alleged text exchange, his campaign sought legal advice and decided to turn over the information to the state: It was determined things look fishy here  the amount of money offered in exchange for something, by a sitting public official.

According to the text screen shots, Bradley on Oct. 4 allegedly wrote Philips, Sequeira and Brooks: Publicly committing $5,000 tomorrow. In exchange I need the following.

That in exchange list included a handful of items, some of which would help the Bridgeport-based Bradleys name recognition among Stratford voters: Philips endorsement of Bradleys Senate bid; adding my boy Tran (Stratford council candidate Bieu Tran) to Philips campaign literature; and Philips hiring of Bradley, should she be elected mayor, to a position that allows me to have people know my name.

More Information Dennis Bradley's alleged texted requests to Stephanie Philips in exchange for a $5,000 campaign contribution. Errors not corrected: "1. Your endorsement and support for state sen. 2018 (Bc guys it's the right thing and I'm working hard at it.)" "2. Putting my boy Tran on your lit pieces (Helps you Steph cuz that district is tough and he is the right man for the job)." "3. A position that allows me to have people know my name when you become mayor. (Don't need big money just access to the people)." "4. I want to walk the south end with Stephine." See More Collapse

Dont need big money, Bradley allegedly wrote. Just access to the people.

Lastly Bradley allegedly sought to join Philips when she campaigned in Stratfords South End.

Besides being scolded by Philips and Sequeira, Bradley was also rejected by Brooks, who allegedly texted back: I want no part of this either.

Philips and Brooks declined to comment for this story based on advice they received from the state Elections Enforcement Commission. Sequeira could not be reached for comment.

However a source familiar with Philips campaign said she did not engage any further with Bradley.

Its obviously, from Aarons side, a desperate attempt to try to defame me, Bradley said of the elections complaint. I know the good people of Bridgeport and Stratford who have seen my good deeds, the help I give, are going to say, This is just not accurate.BRIDGEPORT  Graduates were encouraged to be the force for positive change at a packed commencement ceremony for Western Connecticut State University students on Sunday morning.

About 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students and thousands of family members filled the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport for the celebration.

Jane McBride Gates, the provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs, applauded the graduates for all they had achieved as students.

You dreamed big, she said. You worked hard with your faculty mentors and you made your dream become a reality.

WCSU President John Clark asked students to show gratitude for their parents and other family members, asking them at the start of the ceremony to wave to their loved ones, who cheered back at them.

The university conferred 1,211 degrees Sunday  10 associate degrees, 1,059 bachelors degrees, 133 masters degrees and nine doctorate of education degrees.

Many students decorated their caps with their favorite sayings or drawings. Meanwhile, loved ones carried flowers and one family held a Congrats Class of 2018 poster. One parent wore a Proud Mom T-shirt with a photo of her daughter in her cap and gown.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., praised the university for its faculty and the students for their passion and energy.

He urged the graduates to work toward creating a world where college is debt free, women are paid equally for their work, veterans receive the best health care and immigrants do not face discrimination.

I know you will help in addressing these issues because what WestConn has done is to instill the love of others and giving back to our great nation, Blumenthal said.

This was the message William McGurk, of the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education, gave, as well.

Now is the time for each of you to make a positive difference, a positive difference in your career, your family, your life, your community, he said.

Can we count on you? McGurk asked.

Students cheered.

Can we count on you? he repeated. I cant hear you. Can we count on you?

The cheers and applause grew louder.

And Abigail Lynch, the student speaker who earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing, said they could and would be counted on.

It is our responsibility as the upcoming generation to help others, give back to the community and make a change, Lynch said. Now more than ever the world needs us, whether you are an accountant, a politician, a teacher, a biochemist, a nurse, a musician. It doesnt matter, the world is dependent on us to be the change.

After all, the universitys faculty and staff have given them the tools to do so, Lynch said.

We are prepared and the world is waiting, she said. Whatever you do in this world, do it with a passion and a fire in your heart. Just please remember, your education and your accomplishments do not matter, if you fail to treat the people around you with kindness, love and compassion.

Lynch was a Kathwari Honors Program merit scholar, member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Nursing Honors Society and several other organizations. She also worked full-time as a student nurse associate at Danbury Hospital.

She reflected on her freshman year, describing how she had thought she would just need to get through four more years of learning. But, she has since realized she will be learning forever.

You are never done learning and you can always use your education to help others, Lynch said. Never stop asking why, demand answers and, better yet, be the one to answer those questions because we are responsible for creating a world where education never stops.Griffin Hospital recently hosted its 32nd Annual Nurse Day Celebration to honor its more than 350 staff nurses and present awards to those nurses who provided exceptional care during the year.

Tammy Brown, of Naugatuck, Katy Christian, of Trumbull, and Kaila Parkins, of Orange, were named 2018 Nightingale Award for Excellence in Nursing winners.

Originally developed by the Visiting Nurse Association of South Central Connecticut, the Nightingale Award celebrates outstanding nurses and elevates the nursing profession. The goals of the Nightingale Award program are to encourage retention, inspire future nurses, focus public attention and recognize the breadth and scope of nursing practice at the local level.

Parkins also received the Outstanding Nurse of the Year Award for her commitment to mentoring fellow nurses, being vigilant about patient safety, and for providing person-centered care.

As a nurse for 10 years on Griffins inpatient floors, Parkins has trained more than 30 new nurses, instilling her strong critical thinking skills and excellent bedside manner. She often assumes the charge nurse role when needed, and her attention to detail and clear communication make her a respected team member for nurses and the hospital medical staff.

She has been named Griffins Employee of the Month several times, is a member of Griffins Nursing Performance Improvement Committee, and has assisted with multiple quality audits and care improvement projects.

Kaila is an informal leader, excellent clinician, patient advocate and an asset to her unit, said Griffin Hospital Vice President of Patient Care Barbara Stumpo in a news release. Her attention to detail, responsiveness and accountability are unparalleled. She is the personification of high reliability.BRIDGEPORT - Two mothers were arrested after police said they got into a fight at their childrens school over their children fighting.

Markesha Trowell, 26, of Palisade Avenue, was charged with third-degree assault and breach of peace and Francine Zayas, 28, of Highland Avenue, was charged with breach of peace. Both were released on written promises to appear in court.Shelton Police photo

SHELTON  A Shelton High School student was arrested Monday morning after being found with a BB gun in her possession, police and school officials said.

It was brought to the administrations attention that the student, 18-year-old Destiny Ryan, might have a weapon after students reported she was showing off what appeared to be a semi-automatic handgun in the girls restroom, according to a statement from Detective Richard Bango.UConn President Susan Herbst is leaving the helm of the states flagship university in a year but not the institution, it was announced Monday.

Herbst says she will return to teaching and on the UConn Stamford campus.

The announcement comes with one year left on Herbsts lucrative contract and less than a year before there is a new governor in the state.

It gives university officials a full year to find a replacement. The wheels appear to be well in motion.

In a written statement, UConn Board Chairman Thomas Kruger said he is poised to appoint a broad-based committee this summer to begin a national search for UConns 16th president.

The committee will include faculty, staff, students, alumni, and trustees. Kruger will be its chair.

Kruger said he expects that a pool of candidates will be built over the summer months, with initial interviews taking place in the fall, followed by a second round of interviews and a final candidate picked by the end of 2018 or early in 2019. UConns 16th president will begin next summer once Herbst steps down.

Based on the timeline, the board will seek the support of both the outgoing and incoming governor, as the governor serves as an ex-officio head of the trustees.

Lawrence D. McHugh, who served as board chair from 2009 through 2017 said hiring Herbst is one of the most important and far-reaching decisions the board made.

Her contributions have been powerful and lasting, he said in a written statement. She will be missed - and a tough act to follow.

While Herbst built the universitys enrollment and stature, she also clashed in recent year with lawmakers who have been chipping away at its contribution to the university.

During the state budget crisis in 2017, Herbst went on the offensive saying a Republican plan to slash the UConn budget would decimate the states flagship university.

Senate Republican President Pro Tempore Len Fasano, R-North Haven, fired back, saying Herbst should resign if the cuts suggested led to a branch closing.

Over the years, President Herbst has shown an inability to properly manage UConns finances, Fasano said at the time.

Fasano could not immediately be reached on Monday for comment.

Herbst is said to be away and was not available on Monday for comment.

In a message sent to the university community, Herbst she called it the right time for her and said despite financial struggles because of the state budget, the university has become a stronger, better university.

UConn is among the finest research universities in the United States and the pride of the state of Connecticut, as it should be, Herbst wrote.

Through Stephanie Reitz, a university spokeswoman, Herbst indicated that the decision to step down was completely voluntary.

She chose this time to announce her decision so UConn could launch the search and select the next president before she leaves, Reitz said.

Herbst, Reitz added, will return to teaching political science at UConns Stamford campus.

The growth of the Stamford campus is on a long list of accomplishments, Herbst has compiled. In the fall of 2017 Stamford campus added a student residence hall, the only regional campus to do so. Also last fall, the Hartford campus moved to downtown from West Hartford.

Overall enrollment has grown in the past seven years from 29.517 in 2010 to 32,027 last fall.

Herbst also led major capitol state investments in UConn, including Bioscience Connecticut, a $864 million initiative at UConn Health that allowed expansion and space for business incubators.

Being able to lead this outstanding institution has been one of the great honors and privileges of my life, she also said in the message.

Herbst became UConns 15th and first woman president in December 2010. Her appointment had the support of both outgoing Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell and incoming Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Malloy, in a statement, praised Herbst as someone who has been a transformative and visionary president.

Although well all be sad to see her go next year, she has left an indelible mark on the UConn community, and our state as a whole, Malloy said.

The UConns Board of Trustees last voted to extend President Herbsts contract for five years in 2014 giving her a package that started with a $585,000 salary that would increase by 5 percent annually, an annual $40,000 performance bonus, $80,000 in deferred compensation for each year of the contract, and a $38,000 supplemental retirement plan. There were also two retention incentives included in the package, including $75,000 for serving until June 30, 2019.

In a statement, State Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton thanked Herbst for giving the state time to plan for a replacement.

"... because the candidates for governor and legislative seats, as well as the current UConn faculty, staff, and students, need to be thinking about the policies they would like to see implemented at UConn, and the type of person who would be best suited to the job, Lavielle wrote in an email.Ping-pong tables. Free snacks. Open floor plans. For years, these benefits have been highly sought after by employers and employees alike. But while fun, these perks have little impact on employees' lives.

Related: The 4 Tax-Exempt Benefits Your Employees Want Most

To stand out, employers need to offer more meaningful benefits. In fact, in a January 2017 Society for Human Resource Management survey, the 3,227 HR professionals polled indicated that 32 percent of their organizations were increasing the benefits they offer, to better compete for talent.

Fortunately, there are countless new employee benefits available. Thanks to the HR tech boom in recent years, employers can support nearly every important aspect of employees' lives.

Health concierge services

Even with health insurance, many employees still feel stress about their and their family members' health. They worry about unforeseen costs if they're injured. They debate whether a cold is bad enough to take time off to see a doctor. Not to mention the various health questions and concerns that pop up during their day-to-day. lives

This is where health concierge services come in. These are platforms that connect employees with healthcare resources.

For example, my company uses New York City-based Sherpaa. It allows my employees to ask doctors questions via a mobile platform. The doctor then provides the best course of action, whether that be a simple prescription or a recommendation to go to the nearest urgent care facility.

Toronto-based digital health and wellness platform League is another great option for health concierge services. League's own employees use the platform and have seen the positive effects the services have on their lives.

"[The platform] leads to time savings and reduces the stress of dealing with logistics to get to a primary care doctor," Michael Serbinis, founder and CEO, told me via email.

When researching health concierge services, focus on ease of use. Most people are unfamiliar with healthcare terms, so if an employee is unable to find the information he or she needs, or understand the provided resources, the benefit will have little value.

Credit card points

Most businesses have company credit cards. But New York-based brand communications agency INVNT has found a way to use the points earned on those cards to benefit employees.

According to co-founder and COO Kristina McCoobery, employees receive a company credit card. Any points that accumulate from their business purchases are theirs to redeem however they want. This provides employees with more financial freedom.

"We've had team members who have taken vacations, traveled home to see family members, purchased plasma screen TVs and bought clothes," McCoobery said in an email.

Looking to do something similar? Designate a space in the office where employees can share what they're saving points for. They can hang pictures of destinations they want to visit or items they want to buy. Then, they can track how close they are to reaching their goal. This will keep them motivated and remind them of how this benefit will pay off.

"Study abroad"

Traveling enriches people's lives, but it doesn't provide the same experience as actually living and working in another country. This is why some companies have created exchange programs like the one at marketing and PR firm MWWPR.

MWWPR employees apply for a chance to spend two weeks, all-expenses-paid, in any of the company's eight offices.

Related: How Tech Companies can Opt for Employee Benefits at their Fingertips

"Exchangers support local client teams in the market they're visiting and participate in social events outside the office," Gina Cherwin, executive vice president and chief people officer of the New York City office, said in an email.

Another company, San Francisco-based automated expense management platform Expensify, flies the entire company abroad once a year. The team then spends the next month working and exploring together.

Admittedly, these are big expenses for a small startup to take on. But there are ways to offer such perks on a smaller scale.

For instance, if an employee is going on a business trip out of state, see if anyone on the team has friends or family members in the area who would be willing to show the employee around town. The location might not be another country, but you can help provide the employee a better experience than sitting in a business class hotel room the entire trip.

Sleep assistance

A well-rested employee is a happy and productive employee. Unfortunately, many people struggle to consistently get a good night's sleep. In fact, a March 2016 CareerBuilder survey of more than 3,200 workers found that 58 percent of respondents didn't believe that they were getting enough sleep. Sixty-one percent said a lack of sleep even hurt their work.

This is why benefits that help employees get a good night's rest make a real difference. For example, San Francisco-based sleep aid app Nightly helps people deal with insomnia, nightmares and other sleep disorders.

"The analysis of the first 15,000 nights slept with Nightly indicates that the app reduced the incidence of nighttime awakenings in nearly half the cases, and the occurrence of bad dreams in 85 percent," co-founder and CEO Lukasz Mlodyszewski said on the company's website.

Related: Employee Demand Makes Voluntary Benefits Mandatory for Employers

Another affordable option might be creating a nap room in the office. Put a cot in an unused conference room, and allow employees to sign up for short cat naps during the week. This will give them a chance to rest their minds and return to their desks refreshed.

Related:



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reservedPORTLAND  Megan Kasperowski from Brownstone Intermediate School was recently elected by 5th graders statewide as the 2018 Connecticuts Kid Governor.

Megans platform, Stronger Than Cancer: Lifting Spirits & Changing Lives, focuses on helping people who have cancer and raising awareness of the disease, according to a press release.

Last week, Megan launched her statewide Stronger Than Cancer fundraiser, which will raise money to hire entertainers to visit and cheer up kids with cancer at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Connecticut Childrens Medical Center. Her goal is to raise $1,000 through school fundraisers and online donations, the release continued.

Her video and resources can be viewed at CT.KidGovernor.org.

Megan has spent several months planning this fundraiser and is eager to raise money to cheer up those suffering with cancer, according to the release. No matter how big or small the amount, every penny helps. Remember everyone has a voice, and that together we are stronger than cancer, she said in a prepared statement.

Schools were encouraged to hold Hat Day fundraisers May 18 during which every student or staff member who brought in $1 or more could wear a hat and receive an official Stronger Than Cancer wristband in June. A statewide Stronger Than Cancer Hat Day poster design contest was held to promote Hat Day and more than 60 students submitted designs, the release said.

The winning posters were created by Isabel Schiavo from Thomaston Center School in Thomaston (first), Emily Bernard from Brownstone Intermediate School (second) and Katie Laverty from Brownstone Intermediate School (third).

Community members can also donate to CTKG Megans fundraiser via the CTKG website or by texting CTKGMEGAN to 1-844-544-7171. Already, $400 has been raised toward the $1,000 goal.

Schools must order their wristbands by Wednesday. Community members can continue to donate through the summer.

Kid Governor is a national award-winning civics program created by the Connecticut Public Affairs Network. It teaches fifth-grade students about state government, voting, and the importance of civic engagement through authentic statewide elections. Schools or districts interested in participating in the fall 2018 Statewide Election for the next CTKG can find more information at CT.KidGovernor.org or by following the program on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @CTKidGovernor.For the past year, a global network of Chicken Littles has warned that the sky will fall on May 25, 2018, when the EUs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) takes effect.

We think they need to look at the big picture. The sky isnt falling. Far from it, in fact. May 25 presents a new day and a new era for U.S. business. Instead of worrying about whether you have to comply, focus instead on the many benefits of complying with gusto.

Because even if this new regulation doesnt force you to change the way you treat personal data, consumers and strategically minded competitors will. Once they have the ability to choose between a company thats committed to protecting their data and one thats doing as little as possible to squeak by, the businesses that treat GDPR compliance as a competitive advantage will come out on top.

Here are a few of the GDPR benefits organizations can look forward to:

Trust

Consumers arent as naive as those of us in technology and digital governance sometimes think. They know data security is a concern, and they have little patience for companies that mishandle data, as one report made clear:

75 percent of respondents said they would stop doing business with a company that suffered a breach because the board hadnt made data security a priority.

76 percent said they would stop doing business with a company that was negligent in handling data.

59 percent said they would take legal action if their stolen data was used for criminal purposes.

If you need more evidence of how passionate consumers are about data privacy, look at what happened to Facebooks stock after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. That also sparked the #DeleteFacebook movement, a rallying cry for Facebook users to delete their accounts. Its had an impact: Facebook pages for Tesla and SpaceX have been deleted, while Mozilla and some other companies pulled advertising.

The pushback wont stop with Facebook. Awareness is increasing every day, as consumers inboxes fill up with notifications from companies updating their privacy policies.

Related: A 'Wait and See' Approach for GDPR Is Going to Be Pricey for U.S. Organizations Doing Business With the E.U.

Better data management

The GDPR gives consumers the right to review their data, correct any mistakes, restrict processing of their data and even have their data deleted. According to one survey, 82 percent of EU citizens plan to exercise those rights.

That sounds like a lot of work, so why is it a good thing?

Giving customers the right to correct information means your data will be more accurate -- so your forecasting, marketing and other related activities will be more accurate, too. You may have less data, but it will have a higher ROI.

Collecting data on an opt-in model means that your marketing messages will be going only to customers who really want to hear from you, reducing your costs for services that charge by the user.

The need to meet GDPR requirements can justify making room in the budget for technology upgrades.

Giving consumers the opportunity to correct their data is also another way to inspire trust. If they believe you care about the accuracy of your data, theyll be more likely to trust you with it.

Related: Facebook's Data Scandal and Europe's New Data Privacy Rule Have Massive Implications for U.S. Entrepreneurs

Strategic alignment

Because todays business models so easily criss-cross national boundaries, even U.S. organizations will need to review their data collection and management practices and provide a justifiable reason for needing each piece of data. Thats a great opportunity to engage in some important conversations about how well your digital practices align with your organizational strategy. In particular, its an opportunity to ferret out practices that are no longer relevant -- you just do them out of habit:

More data means more risk. Every piece of data you collect, store or process becomes a liability if you suffer a breach. Why take the risk for data you dont need?

For many businesses, customer data is stored not only in databases, but in spreadsheets, emails, etc. -- and, often, in multiple copies of each. Collecting and storing less data makes it easier to meet GDPR requirements for being able to tell customers what data you have, where its located, who has access to it and how its used. But it also streamlines your processes, eliminating rework and making data easier to find and work with.

While some organizations may choose to pull out of European markets hoping that they can avoid the costs of compliance, we think that approach is short-sighted. We hope that the conversations businesses will necessarily have around GDPR compliance -- on both sides of the pond -- will lead them to embrace the concept of data privacy as part of their corporate identity. We urge organizations not to see it as a matter of compliance alone, but as an opportunity to transform their approach to customer data for all the right reasons.

Related: Making Your Data Unreadable to Whoever Steals It Might Be the Only Way to Keep It Safe

GDPR compliance is a competitive advantage

Few consumers need a law to tell them that having more control over their data is a good thing. But awareness of the GDPR will increase as businesses send out updated privacy notifications and news feeds fill up with apocalyptic headlines like GDPR Doomsday!

And that means that consumer expectations will change, too. If they know there are things you can do to protect their data and to give them more control over it, and you choose not to, thats going to hurt you. Here are a couple of ways the GDPR will change consumer expectations:

Consumers will understand the true value of their data. The pearl of wisdom that says Theres no such thing as a free lunch has been updated for the 21st century: If youre not paying for the product, you are the product.

Today, though, many consumers dont think about that. They know Facebook and Gmail are free to use, but they often dont stop to think about where the money to run the company comes from. The GDPR (and the media hoopla surrounding it) is going to be a wake-up call to the fact that the bulk of Facebooks revenue comes from ads. And that the reason people buy Facebooks ads is because all of the data Facebook has on its users -- information gleaned from posts, likes, shares, friends lists, etc. -- allows buyers to target their ads with extreme precision.

You can also expect consumers to wake up to the fact that even services they pay for -- from their ISP providers to their favorite retailers -- fully understand the value of the data theyve been collecting. Some use it to market their services; others sell it. EIther way, consumers will soon realize that businesses see their data as a capital asset. And theyll be able to make informed decisions as to what theyre willing to trade in exchange.

Related: Facebook to End Targeted Ads Built with 3rd-Party Data Mining

Having more choices. Today, customers often have to make a take it or leave it choice when it comes to handing over their data for the privilege of using a website or app. After the GDPR, businesses that want to be competitive will have to give consumers more options, possibly with varying combinations of pricing and data sharing. The winners will be the ones that give consumers the most value from the exchange.

Moreover, the GDPR mandates that your data be portable. That knocks down exit barriers. If a consumer wants to switch service providers, all they have to do is ask you for a copy of their data in a portable format, which they can then pass on to their new provider.

If the sky falls thanks to the GDPR, it wont happen on May 25. It will happen months or weeks later, when consumers realize that they have a choice between businesses that think theyre entitled to do as they wish with customer data and those that see data privacy as both a human right and a competitive advantage. Which one do you want to be?

Related:

The Very Strong Business Case for Complying With the World's Toughest Data Protection Regulation

What the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Data Leak Teaches us About Ethics And Privacy

12 Simple Things You Can Do to Be More Secure Online



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reservedThe NCUA Call Report aims to measure and identify risks and potential red flags at your credit union. But the report and instructions for filling it out are, in some cases, as clear as mud, says Kevin Durrance, CEO of Texans Credit Union in Richardson, Texas.

Certain line items in the call report and related instructions cause problems for many credit union chief financial officers (CFOs), says Durrance, who addressed the 2018 CUNA CFO Council Conference Sunday in Austin, Texas.

He cites several NCUA Call Report pain points:

 Call report instructions. Read the call report instructions from front to back every year, Durrance advises. NCUA will change things in the instructions without citing them on the change report. They dont tell you that. Always look for changes to the instructions and forms.Federal credit unions ask about preemption from time to time, and weve blogged on the topic more generally in the past. A recent appellate case out of the Ninth Circuit has some FCUs asking questions about state laws that require payment of interest on mortgage escrow accounts.

As a starting point, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals encompasses Alaska, Arizona, California, and Hawaii. Opinions out of this court influence litigation outcomes in these states, but may also be persuasive to judges considering similar issues in other jurisdictions. Recently, this court heard a case called Lusnak v. Bank of America, heres a highly abridged version.

A consumer sued the bank for not paying interest on mortgage escrow accounts as required by California state law. The bank argued that the National Bank Act preempted the state law, and thus as an institution chartered under this act, the state law did not apply. The court disagreed, in part on the nuances of the specific preemption provision, and in part because of section 1639d(g)(3) of the Truth in Lending Act which states:For Subscribers What we learned: Windber tested; Berlin's bright future; Hemminger leads way; Shirley making plays

A look at what we learned in Week 7 of the high school football season. Windber gets test. Berlin will be good for a while. Somerset senior leading way. Township QB is playmaker.Killeen, TX (76540)

Today

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low around 60F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms during the evening will give way to partly cloudy skies after midnight. A few storms may be severe. Low around 60F. Winds WSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 60%.India today, seventy years after Independence, is facing a situation where some of the fundamental features of democracy are under serious threat. The threat emanates from the ideological orientation of the present prime minister and of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. There are two aspects of this ideology that need to be noted here. One is the assertion that India is a country of the Hindus and that the true future of India lies in making a Hindu Rashtra. Other religious groups  Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains and so on  will have to live in India on terms determined and dictated by the Hindus, the people who can project what is truly Indian.

These views are not confined to the world of ideas. They have become a part of the grim reality of the daily lives of ordinary people, who have become perpetrators of intimidation and violence, as well as its victims. Ordinary individuals pursuing their trade and professions have begun to group themselves in localities to preserve and protect what they think, following the Sangh Parivar, as Hindu and truly Indian. Perceived threats to this Hindu India are then made targets of violence. The targets are always ordinary Muslims, who are attacked and lynched.

In the name of Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra, the rule of law is made to disappear and mob violence prevails. And because perpetrators of this kind of violence are always supporters of the ruling political dispensation, the police become bystanders and no action is taken against the inciters and the executors of violence. Lynching and mob violence, on the rise in many parts of India, began almost as soon as Narendra Modi came to power. In 2016, a student was arrested from Jawaharlal Nehru University and was beaten up by lawyers while the police remained passive bystanders. None of the offenders  those who took the law into their own hands  was charged or arrested.

Since then the list of such incidents has grown at an alarming rate. And increasingly, almost always, the victims of the violence are Muslims who are suspected of eating beef, selling beef and so on. The actual reason is that they are Muslims and therefore are seen as enemies. Bigotry nurtured by a political ideology has made people, as it always does, blind and intolerant. There is one associated feature of this violence to which attention needs to be drawn. In every case, the prime minister and his close associates and leaders of the Sangh Parivar have failed to or refused to condemn the violence. Murder in the name of Hindu Rashtra is fast becoming a way of life in democratic India.

These events, where supporters of the Sangh Parivar in parts of India have used violence, boasted about using violence and incited violence, reveal an ominous political trend in India. It is significant that there are groups of people, supported by political leaders, who are unashamed  on the contrary proud  of their use and advocacy of violence against individuals and groups who do not share their views.

Twilight Falls On Liberalism; by Rudrangshu Mukherjee; Aleph Book Company

The counterpart of this kind of exhibition of intolerance of dissent is authoritarianism. A political party and its various wings, because they enjoy a popular mandate, are assuming that they have the right to impose their views on people who disagree with them.

The first step is to label the dissenters with epithets that incite passion  anti-national, Maoists, terrorists, perpetrators of sedition, beef eaters are some of the common labels being used for anyone who dares to criticise. These epithets are then being used as an excuse for state action  arrests, humiliation, denial of bail. The state action is being bolstered by actions of party cadre and party loyalists who are rushing in to harangue, abuse and beat up so called offenders. The abuse continues on social media. An ambience of terror and intimidation is thus generated.

Muslims are assumed to be anti-Indian/Hindu.

The targets of this terror are two predictable groups. One is made up of the secular, anti-Hindutva, pro-democratic sections of the population; Indias most endangered species  the secular intelligentsia. What is also alarming is that attacks against this group are tapping into a pool of public opinion which believes that India should be a strong state, that tolerance is not a virtue, that nationalism is an unalloyed virtue, and that universities should have no autonomy.

And in the second group are Muslims who, it is averred, should be taught a lesson for no other reason save that from 1206 to the coming of British rule Muslim dynasties ruled India. Muslims are assumed to be anti-Indian/Hindu. It would be simplistic and erroneous to believe that only the ignorant and the obscurantists hold such outlandish views. These views are held by educated people, seen and heard in clubs and cocktail parties, people whom one would expect to be upholders of the rule of law and the Indian Constitution. This pool of support and the popular mandate provide the sanction for the slide towards authoritarianism.

It might be asked: how there can be a slide towards authoritarianism when Parliament still exists and is functioning to the extent that the Opposition is voicing its concern on the floors of the two Houses of Parliament?

The authoritarianism is manifest in a different, but not an irrelevant, theatre. This is at the street level  the way supporters and party loyalists are mobilising themselves to suppress dissent and the articulation of criticism. They are also choosing their own ways of punishing those who differ with them  smearing them with ink, humiliating them, beating them up, lynching them and so on. In other words, through mob violence.

This is not to suggest that Modi is ordering or directing the violence, the intolerance and the suppression of dissent.

These are acts akin to those the Stormtroopers and the Hitler Youth carried out in Nazi Germany. What is decisive here is not the rule of law, not democracy and certainly not the Constitution, but the brutal use of muscle power to impose one particular ideological view  Hindutva. Such actions have the consent of ideological and the political leaders.

****

This is not to suggest that Modi is ordering or directing the violence, the intolerance and the suppression of dissent. He does not need to. His supporters are second-guessing him and carrying out actions that they know will win his approval. Modi does not need to implement his own ideological agenda; there are people  many of them physically far away from him, ordinary cadre of the Sangh Parivar  who are doing that job of implementation and doing it mercilessly. They are working towards Hindutva and therefore towards Modis core beliefs.

The emergence of Narendra Modi as the undisputed and the unchallenged leader of the BJP has brought greater clarity to the ideological aims of the Sangh Parivar. The velvet glove of moderate Hindutva has been removed to reveal the mailed fist. This ideological direction has no particular respect for, and interest in, preserving the fabric of the Constitution, the principles of parliamentary democracy and the features of a cabinet form of government.

Modi, much like Indira Gandhi in her prime in the early 1970s, has fashioned a personalised form of governance by eroding all forms of collective decision-making. Everyone at every level of political power knows where the real power lies  with the prime minister, and its implementation resides in the hands of a few handpicked bureaucrats in the prime ministers office.

The politics of religious hatred at the street level created by a pernicious ideology that sees Muslims as enemies and anti-Indian, the pandering to this kind of hatred by political leaders, the growing spirit of irrationality in the intellectual space, the diminishing of dissent of all forms, the creeping erosion of democratic and civil society institutions and the deification of the prime minister  all these features are not only threats to democracy, but also to all forms of civilised existence. They define a form of rule in which only hatred and brutality will prevail. These features came together in Europe in the 1930s to create a form of rule which caused the eclipse of liberalism.

(Excerpted with the permission of Aleph Book Company)

Also read: On his birthday, my ode to Ruskin BondInaugurating the Kishanganga hydroelectric project in Srinagar on May 19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that rapid development was the only solution to the Kashmir problem.

Jammu & Kashmir is going to get development projects worth Rs. 25,000 crore. These projects will have a positive impact on the people of the state: PM Modi in #Leh. pic.twitter.com/m0aw7nAMCV  ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2018

Speaking at a function organised at the Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), Modi said, "Every issue, every conflict has only one solution  development, development and only development."

By repeatedly stressing on infrastructure development and not referring to the core issue of Kashmir's political aspirations and even political confusion, Modi is missing the bus.

Earlier this month, a part of Kashmir's longest flyover in Srinagar was thrown open to the public. Of the 2.5-km-long flyover from Jahangir Chowk to Rambagh, the first phase of 1.56km between Amarsingh College road and Barzulla in Srinagar was opened for traffic. The flyover is admittedly a major development project in Kashmir and was also much-awaited. This infrastructural relief for the public, however, cannot be imagined to have resolved the Kashmir dispute in any way.

During his speech in Srinagar, Modi urged the youth to shun violence, whether in the form of militancy or stone-pelting, and join the mainstream. The message is right, but the government will have to chart out a cohesive, effective policy to get the youth back from the path of violence and rehabilitate them.

The prime minister said he has the niti (strategy), niyat (intention) and also the boldness to take strong nirnay (decision) on Kashmir. Indeed, backed by the huge mandate of the people, Modi is the strongest political leader India has seen in many decades. Large sections of Kashmir are waiting for the prime minister to walk the talk, and take the bold decisions that are so urgently needed to proactively address the Kashmir issue.

PM Modi's Kashmir advisers should inform him that development is good, but secondary. Speaking at the SKICC function in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti for the first time publicly sought the support of the prime minister for the implementation of the PDP-BJP "Agenda of Alliance".

In her address at SKICC, Mehbooba quoted her father, late J&K CM Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Mufti had said that even if the roads in Kashmir were made of gold and the drains of silver it would all go in vain even if one person was hurt.

Some key components of the Agenda of Alliance is dialogue at external (with Pakistan) and internal (with separatists) levels to find a solution to the Kashmir problem, the return of two NHPC-owned power projects to the state, demilitarisation and revocation of AFSPA.

Army chief Bipin Rawat recently admitted that the Kashmir problem does not have a military solution. It is time for New Delhi to acknowledge that Kashmir is a political problem, and has to be resolved at the political level.

Modi's message for Kashmir underlined at the conference was largely correct. He strongly urged the youth to return to the mainstream. He called upon all those with any grievance in Kashmir to speak to the Centre's special representative, Dineshwar Sharma.

But the core issue is that Kashmir needs a strong policy for dialogue. Speaking in Srinagar, Modi said that former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was a "fan" of Kashmiriyat, and he himself is a murid (committed disciple) of the same Kashmiriyat.

Modi has admitted that he has the will and the strength to take bold decisions. His words will carry meaning for Kashmir only if he comes up with a bold policy initiative for the beleaguered Valley.

Prime Minister Modi has compared himself with Vajpayee. Vajpayee had the statesmanship and the vision to engage in dialogue with the Kashmiri separatists, and also with Pakistan's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and former president Pervez Musharraf.

Modi must take these two most significant components from Vajpayee's Kashmir policy to resolve the dispute which is bleeding not just Kashmir, but India as well.

Also read: When Mulayam met Adityanath with 'secret' plan to save his official bungalowAgrium Inc is a Canada-based global producer and distributor of agricultural products, services and solutions. The Company produces nitrogen, potash and phosphate fertilizers, with a combined wholesale nutrient capacity of approximately 11 million tones. Agrium Inc supplies main products and services directly to growers, including crop nutrients, crop protection, seed, as well as agronomic and application services. The Company's retail-distribution has a network of approximately 1,500 facilities and over 3,300 crop consultants who provide advice and products to crop growers. The Company operates under the following segments: Retail and Wholesale. Its Retail segment distributes crop nutrients, crop protection products, seed and merchandise and provides financial and other services directly to growers through a network of farm centers in North America and Internationally. Its Wholesale segment produces, markets and distributes crop nutrients and industrial products.

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Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal  Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V..Covestro AG develops, produces, and markets polymer materials for various industries. The company operates in three segments: Polyurethanes; Polycarbonates; and Coatings, Adhesives, Specialties (CAS). The Polyurethanes segment develops, produces, and markets chemical precursors, such as diphenylmethane diisocyanate, toluene diisocyanate, and polyether polyol, which are used primarily in the furniture, construction, and automotive industries. The Polycarbonates segment provides high-performance plastic polycarbonates in the form of granules, composite materials, and semi-finished products for use in the automotive, construction, electrical and electronic, medical technology, and lighting industries. The CAS segment offers precursors for coatings, adhesives, and sealants, as well as specialties. This segment also provides polymer materials and aqueous dispersions for use in automotive and transportation, infrastructure and construction, wood processing, and furniture applications. The company markets its products through trading houses and distributors. It operates in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, the United States, Canada, and the People's Republic of China. The company was founded in 1863 and is headquartered in Leverkusen, Germany.

Read MoreCYBG PLC, through its subsidiaries, provides retail and business banking products and services to individuals and businesses under the Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank, B, and Virgin Money brands in the United Kingdom. It operates through SME Banking and Retail Banking segments. The SME Banking segment offers a range of banking products and services, including business current accounts; and secured and unsecured term loans, business overdrafts, and invoice and asset financing products and services. It also provides international trade services, such as import loans, export loans, documentary collections, currency guarantees, and letters of credit for securing trade; and current account facilities comprising debit cards, cheque books, regular statements, direct debits, and standing orders, as well as day to day and online banking services. This segment serves business customers in the small business, commercial, corporate, and structured finance markets. The Retail Banking segment offers personal current accounts, savings accounts, and term deposits; occupied mortgage loans and BTL loans, unsecured personal loans, and overdrafts, as well as credit card products; and insurance and investment products. The company was founded in 1838 and is based in Leeds, the United Kingdom.

Read MorePotash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. (PCS) is a fertilizer producer producing a range of primary crop nutrients, such as potash, nitrogen and phosphate. The Company operates through three segments: potash, nitrogen and phosphate. As of December 31, 2016, it owned and operated five potash operations in Saskatchewan and owned one in New Brunswick. Its nitrogen operations involve the production of nitrogen fertilizers and nitrogen feed and industrial products, including ammonia, urea, nitrogen solutions, ammonium nitrate and nitric acid. It has nitrogen facilities in Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio and Trinidad. Its phosphate operations include the manufacture and sale of solid and liquid phosphate fertilizers, phosphate feed and industrial acid, which is used in food products and industrial processes. It has phosphate mines and mineral processing plant complexes in Florida and North Carolina. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had four phosphate feed plants in the United States.

Read MoreGenworth Financial, Inc. is a financial services company, which engages in the provision of insurance, wealth management, investment and financial solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Mortgage Insurance, Australia Mortgage Insurance, U.S. Life Insurance, and Runoff. The U.S. Mortgage Insurance segment offers mortgage insurance products predominantly insuring prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans. The Australia Mortgage Insurance segment offers flow mortgage insurance and selectively provides bulk mortgage insurance that aids in the sale of mortgages to the capital markets and helps lenders manage capital and risk. The U.S. Life Insurance segment offers long-term care insurance products as well as service traditional life insurance and fixed annuity products in the United States. The Runoff segment includes the results of non-strategic products which are no longer actively sold but continue to service its existing blocks of business. Its non-strategic products primarily include variable annuity, variable life insurance, institutional, corporate-owned life insurance and other accident and health insurance products. The company was fo

Read MoreMettler-Toledo International, Inc. is a supplier of precision instruments and services. The firm manufactures weighing instruments for use in laboratory, industrial, packaging, logistics, and food retailing applications. It also manufactures several related analytical instruments and provides automated chemistry solutions used in drug and chemical compound discovery and development; and also, metal detection and other end-of-line inspection systems used in production and packaging and provides solutions for use in certain process analytics applications. Its operations are conducted by the following segments: U. S. Operations, Swiss Operations, Western European Operations, Chinese Operations and Other. The U.S. Operations segment represents certain of the company's marketing and producing organizations located in the United States. The Swiss Operations segment includes marketing and producing organizations located in Switzerland, as well as extensive R&D operations that are responsible for the development, production, and marketing of precision instruments, including weighing, analytical, and measurement technologies for use in a variety of industrial and laboratory applications. Th

Read MoreReinsurance Group of America, Inc. is a holding company, which engages in the provision of traditional and non-traditional life and health reinsurance products. It operates through the following segments: U.S. and Latin America; Canada; Europe, Middle East, and Africa; Asia Pacific; and Corporate and Other. The U.S. and Latin America segment markets individual and group life and health reinsurance to domestic clients for a variety of products through yearly renewable term agreements, coinsurance, and modified coinsurance. The Canada segment offers individual life reinsurance, and to a lesser extent creditor, group life and health, critical illness and disability reinsurance, through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements. The Europe, Middle East, and Africa segment serves individual and group life and health products through yearly renewable term and coinsurance agreements, reinsurance of critical illness coverage that provides a benefit in the event of the diagnosis of a pre-defined critical illness and underwritten annuities. The Asia Pacific segment comprises individual and group life and health reinsurance, critical illness coverage, disability, and superannuation thr

Read MoreGrand City Properties S.A. engages in the residential real estate business in Germany, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company invests in, manages, and rents real estate properties in North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin; metropolitan regions of Dresden, Leipzig, and Halle; and the cities in the north of Germany, Bremen, Hamburg, and Hannover, as well as other urban centers, such as Nuremberg, Munch, Mannheim, Frankfurt, and London. Grand City Properties S.A. was founded in 2004 and is based in Luxembourg.

Read More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.Norbord Inc. manufactures and sells wood-based panels for retail chains, contractor supply yards, and industrial manufacturers primarily in North America and Europe. The company offers oriented strand boards for use in sheathing, flooring, and roofing in home construction applications; particleboards that are used in flooring and other construction applications; and medium density fiberboards for use in cabinet doors, moldings, and interior wall paneling applications, as well as related value-added products for use in the construction of new homes, and renovation and repair of existing structures. It markets its products under the Durastrand pointSIX, Pinnacle, Stabledge, TruFlor pointSIX and TruFlor, Rimboard, SteadiTred, QuakeZone, Tallwall, Trubord and Windstorm, SolarBord, TruDeck, StableDec, SterlingOSB, Caberwood MDF, Conti, and Caberboard brand names. The company was formerly known as Nexfor Inc. and changed its name to Norbord Inc. in June 2004. Norbord Inc. was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Tenet Healthcare: 1 Subsidiaries of this entity in which Tenet Healthcare Corporation directly and indirectly held a 95% ownership interest at December 31 2020 are set forth in the table below., 25 East Same Day Surgery L.L.C., 300 PBL Development LLC, 45th Street MOB LLC, 601 N 30th Street I L.L.C., 601 N 30th Street II L.L.C., 601 N 30th Street III Inc., AHM Acquisition Co. Inc., AIG Holdings LLC, AIGB Global LLC, AIGB Group Inc., AIGB Holdings Inc., AIGB Management Services LLC, AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #1 L.L.C., AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #2 L.L.C., AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #3 L.L.C., AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #4 L.L.C., AMC/North Fulton Urgent Care #5 L.L.C., AMI Information Systems Group Inc., AMI/HTI Tarzana Encino Joint Venture, APN, ARC Worcester Center L.P., ASC Old Co. LP, ASC of New Jersey LLC, ASJH Joint Venture LLC, Abrazo Health Network EP Clinical Services LLC, Abrazo Surgical Outpatient Center LLC, Advanced Ambulatory Surgical Care L.P., Advanced Center for Surgery  Vero Beach LLC, Advanced Regional Surgery Center LLC, Advanced Surgery Center of Metairie LLC, Advanced Surgery Center of Sarasota LLC, Advanced Surgery Center of Tampa LLC, Advanced Surgical Care of St Louis LLC, Advanced Surgical Concepts LLC, Advantage Health Care Management Company LLC, Advantage Health Network Inc., AdventHealth Surgery Center Celebration LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Center Mills Park LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Center Wellswood LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Center Winter Garden LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Centers Central Florida LLC, AdventHealth Surgery Centers West Florida LLC, Adventist Midwest Health/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Alabama Cardiovascular Associates L.L.C., Alabama Digestive Health Endoscopy Center L.L.C., Alabama Hand and Sports Medicine L.L.C., Alamo Heights Surgicare L.P., All Star MOB LLC, Allegian Insurance Company, Alliance Surgery Birmingham LLC, Alliance Surgery Inc., Alvarado Hospital Medical Center Inc., Ambulatory Surgical Associates LLC, Ambulatory Surgical Center of Somerville LLC, American Institute of Gastric Banding Ltd., American Institute of Gastric Banding Phoenix Limited Partnership, American Medical (Central) Inc., Amisub (Heights) Inc., Amisub (Hilton Head) Inc., Amisub (North Ridge Hospital) Inc., Amisub (SFH) Inc., Amisub (Twelve Oaks) Inc., Amisub of California Inc., Amisub of North Carolina Inc., Amisub of South Carolina Inc., Amisub of Texas Inc., Anaheim Hills Medical Imaging L.L.C., Anaheim MRI Holding Inc., Anesthesia Partners of Gallatin LLC, Arizona Care Network  Next L.L.C., Arizona Health Partners LLC, Arlington Orthopedic and Spine Hospital LLC, Arrowhead Endoscopy and Pain Management Center LLC, Asia Outsourcing US Inc., Aspen Healthcare, Atlanta Medical Center Inc., Atlanta Medical Center Interventional Neurology Associates L.L.C., Atlanta Medical Center Neurosurgical & Spine Specialists L.L.C., Atlanta Medical Center Physician Group L.L.C., Atlantic Coast Surgical Suites LLC, Atlantic Health-USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Avita/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., BBH BMC LLC, BBH CBMC LLC, BBH DevelopmentCo LLC, BBH Imaging Jasper LLC, BBH NP Clinicians Inc., BBH PBMC LLC, BBH SBMC LLC, BBH WBMC LLC, BCDC EmployeeCO LLC, BHC-Talladega Pediatrics LLC, BHS Accountable Care LLC, BHS Affinity LLC, BHS Integrated Physician Partners LLC, BHS Physician Performance Network LLC, BHS Physicians Alliance for ACE LLC, BHS Physicians Network Inc., BHS Specialty Network Inc., BT East Dallas JV LLP, BW Cardiology LLC, BW Cyberknife LLC, BW Hand Practice LLC, BW Office Buildings LLC, BW Parking Decks LLC, BW Physician Practices LLC, BW Retail Pharmacy LLC, BW Sports Practice LLC, Bagley Holdings LLC, Baptist Accountable Care LLC, Baptist Diagnostics LLC, Baptist Health Centers LLC, Baptist Physician Alliance ACO LLC, Baptist Physician Alliance LLC, Baptist Plaza Surgicare L.P., Baptist Surgery Center L.P., Baptist Womens Health Center LLC, Baptist/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Bartlett ASC LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Baylor Plano LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Blue Star LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Granbury LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Mansfield LLC, Baylor Surgicare at North Dallas LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Plano LLC, Baylor Surgicare at Plano Parkway LLC, Bear Creek Surgery Center LLC, Beaumont Surgical Affiliates Ltd., Bellaire Outpatient Surgery Center L.L.P., Berkshire Eye LLC, Bloomington ASC LLC, Blue Ridge/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Bluffton Okatie Primary Care L.L.C., Bluffton Okatie Surgery Center L.L.C., Bon Secours Surgery Center at Harbour View LLC, Bon Secours Surgery Center at Virginia Beach LLC, Bozeman Health/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Bozeman MOB LLC, Briarcliff Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Bristol Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Broad River Primary Care L.L.C., Brookwood - Maternal Fetal Medicine L.L.C., Brookwood Ancillary Holdings Inc., Brookwood Baptist Health 1 LLC, Brookwood Baptist Health 2 LLC, Brookwood Baptist Health 3 LLC, Brookwood Baptist Imaging LLC, Brookwood Center Development Corporation, Brookwood Development Inc., Brookwood Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, Brookwood Garages L.L.C., Brookwood Health Services Inc., Brookwood Home Health LLC, Brookwood Occupational Health Clinic L.L.C., Brookwood Parking Associates Ltd., Brookwood Primary Care - Homewood L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care - Inverness L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care - Mountain Brook L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care - Oak Mountain L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care - Vestavia L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care Cahaba Heights L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care Hoover L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Care The Narrows L.L.C., Brookwood Primary Network Care Inc., Brookwood Specialty Care - Endocrinology L.L.C., Brookwood Sports and Orthopedics L.L.C., Brookwood Womens Care L.L.C., Brookwood Womens Diagnostic Center LLC, C7 Technologies LLC, CGH Hospital Ltd., CHIC/USP Surgery Centers LLC, CHN Holdings LLC, CHRISTUS Cabrini Surgery Center L.L.C., CHVI Tucson Holdings LLC, CML-Chicago Market Labs Inc., CRNAs of Michigan, CS/USP General Partner LLC, CS/USP Surgery Centers LP, California Joint & Spine LLC, Camp Creek Urgent Care L.L.C., Camp Lowell Surgery Center L.L.C., Captive Insurance Services Inc., Cardiology Physicians Associates L.L.C., Cardiology Physicians Corporation L.L.C., Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Associates L.L.C., Cardiovascular Clinical Excellence at Sierra Providence LLC, CareSpot of Austin LLC, CareSpot of Memphis LLC, CareSpot of Orlando/HSI Urgent Care LLC, Carmel Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Carondelet St. Marys-Northwest L.L.C., Cascade Spine Center LLC, Castle Rock Surgery Center LLC, Catawba-Piedmont Cardiothoracic Surgery L.L.C., Cedar Hill Primary Care L.L.C., Cedar Park Surgery Center L.L.P., Centennial ASC LLC, Center for Advanced Research Excellence L.L.C., Center for the Urban Child Inc., Central California Healthcare Holdings LLC, Central Carolina Physicians - Sandhills L.L.C., Central Carolina-IMA L.L.C., Central Jersey Surgery Center LLC, Central Texas Corridor Hospital Company LLC, Central Valley Quality Alliance LLC, Central Virginia Surgi-Center L.P., Centura Ventures Surgery Centers LLC, Centura/USP Colorado Springs Surgery Centers L.L.C., Chalon Living Inc., Chandler Endoscopy Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Charlotte Endoscopic Surgery Center LLC, Chattanooga Pain Management Center LLC, Chesterfield Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Chesterfield Anesthesia Associates of Missouri LLC, Chico Surgery Center L.P., Childrens Hospital of Michigan Premier Network Inc., Citrus Heights ASC RE LLC, Clarkston ASC Partners LLC, Clarksville Surgery Center LLC, Coast Healthcare Management LLC, Coast Surgery Center L.P., Coastal Carolina Medical Center, Coastal Carolina Medical Center Inc., Coastal Carolina Physician Practices LLC, Coastal Carolina Pro Fee Billing L.L.C., Coastal Endo LLC, Colorado GI Centers LLC, Commonwealth Continental Health Care Inc., Community Connection Health Plan Inc., Community Hospital LLC, Community Hospital of Los Gatos Inc., Conifer Care Continuum Solutions LLC, Conifer Ethics and Compliance Inc., Conifer Global Business Center Inc., Conifer Global Holdings Inc., Conifer Health Solutions LLC, Conifer Holdings Inc., Conifer Patient Communications LLC, Conifer Physician Services Holdings Inc., Conifer Physician Services Inc., Conifer Revenue Cycle Solutions LLC, Conifer Value-Based Care LLC, Conroe Surgery Center 2 LLC, Coral Gables Hospital Inc., Coral Ridge Outpatient Center LLC, Corpus Christi Surgicare Ltd., Covenant/USP Surgery Centers LLC, CreAtiv Management Company Inc., Creekwood Investors LLC, Creekwood Surgery Center L.P., Crown Point Surgery Center LLC, DH/USP SJOSC Investment Company L.L.C., DH/USP Sacramento Pain GP LLC, DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital Premier Clinical Co-Management Services LLC, DMC Education & Research, DMC Harper University Hospital Premier Clinical Co-Management Services LLC, DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital Premier Clinical Management Services LLC, DMC Imaging L.L.C., Dallas Surgical Partners LLC, DeTar/USP Surgery Center LLC, Delray Beach ASC LLC, Delray Medical Center Inc., Delray Medical Physician Services L.L.C., Denton Surgicare Partners Ltd., Denton Surgicare Real Estate Ltd., Denville Surgery Center LLC, Des Peres Physician Network LLC, Desert Cove MOB LLC, Desert Regional Medical Center Inc., Desert Ridge Outpatient Surgery LLC, Desoto Surgicare Partners Ltd., Destin ASC RE LLC, Destin Surgery Center LLC, Detroit Education & Research, DigitalMed Inc., Dignity/Abrazo Health Network LLC, Dignity/USP Folsom GP LLC, Dignity/USP Grass Valley GP LLC, Dignity/USP Las Vegas Surgery Centers LLC, Dignity/USP Metro Surgery Center LLC, Dignity/USP NorCal Surgery Centers LLC, Dignity/USP Phoenix Surgery Centers II LLC, Dignity/USP Phoenix Surgery Centers LLC, Dignity/USP Redding GP LLC, Dignity/USP Roseville GP LLC, Dignity/USP/John Muir East Bay Surgery Centers LLC, Doctors Hospital of Manteca Inc., Doctors Medical Center Neurosciences Clinical Co-Management LLC, Doctors Medical Center Orthopedics Clinical Co-Management LLC, Doctors Medical Center of Modesto Inc., Doctors Outpatient Center for Surgery LLC, Doctors Outpatient Surgery Center of Jupiter L.L.C., EPHC Inc., EPIC ASC LLC, East Atlanta Endoscopy Centers LLC, East Cobb Urgent Care LLC, East Cooper Coastal Family Physicians L.L.C., East Cooper Community Hospital Inc., East Cooper Hyperbarics L.L.C., East Cooper OB/GYN L.L.C., East Cooper Physician Network LLC, East Cooper Primary Care Physicians L.L.C., East Portland Surgery Center LLC, East West Surgery Center L.P., Eastgate Building Center L.L.C., Effingham Surgical Partners LLC, Einstein Montgomery Surgery Center LLC, Einstein/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., El Mirador Surgery Center L.L.C., El Paso Center for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy LLC, El Paso Day Surgery LLC, El Paso Urology Surgery Center Curie LLC, Emanate/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Emanuel Medical Center, Emerson Surgery Center LLC, Encinitas Endoscopy Center LLC, Endoscopy Center of Hackensack LLC, Endoscopy Center of South Sacramento LLC, Endoscopy Consultants LLC, European Surgical Partners Ltd., Eye Center of Nashville UAP LLC, Eye Surgery Center of Nashville LLC, FMC Medical Inc., FMCC Network Contracting L.L.C., FPN  Frisco Physicians Network, FREH Real Estate L.L.C., FRS Imaging Services L.L.C., FSC Hospital LLC, FSH IT Services LP, First Choice Physician Partners, Flatirons Surgery Center LLC, Folsom Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Fort Bend Clinical Services Inc., Fort Worth Hospital Real Estate LP, Fort Worth Surgicare Partners Ltd., Foundation Bariatric Hospital of San Antonio LLC, Foundation San Antonio Borrower Sub LLC, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Fountain Valley Surgery Center LLC, Franklin Endo UAP LLC, Franklin Endoscopy Center LLC, Fresno Surgery Center L.P., Frisco Medical Center L.L.P., Frontenac Ambulatory Surgery & Spine Care Center L.P., Frye Regional Medical Center Inc., FryeCare Boone L.L.C., FryeCare Morganton L.L.C., FryeCare Physicians L.L.C., FryeCare Valdese L.L.C., FryeCare Watauga L.L.C., FryeCare Womens Services L.L.C., GCSA Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Gamma Surgery Center LLC, Gardendale Surgical Associates LLC, Garland Surgicare Partners Ltd., Gastric Health Institute L.L.C., Genesis ASC Partners LLC, Geneva Surgical Suites LLC, Georgia Endoscopy Center LLC, Georgia Gifts From Grace L.L.C., Georgia Musculoskeletal Network Inc., Georgia North Fulton Healthcare Associates L.L.C., Georgia Northside Ear Nose and Throat L.L.C., Georgia Physicians of Cardiology L.L.C., Georgia Spectrum Neurosurgical Specialists L.L.C., Georgia Spine Surgery Center LLC, Glen Echo Surgery Center LLC, Golden Ridge ASC LLC, Good Samaritan Medical Center Inc., Good Samaritan Surgery L.L.C., Grapevine Surgicare Partners Ltd., Grass Valley Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Graystone Family Healthcare - Tenet North Carolina L.L.C., Great Lakes Surgical Suites LLC, Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises, Greater Northwest Houston Enterprises, Greenville Physicians Surgery Center LLP, Greenwood ASC LLC, Greystone Internal Medicine - Brookwood L.L.C., Gulf Coast Community Hospital Inc., HCH Tucson Holdings LLC, HCN Emerus Management Sub LLC, HCN Emerus Texas LLC, HCN Laboratories Inc., HCN Physicians Inc., HCN Sunnyvale Holdings LLC, HCN Surgery Center Holdings Inc., HDMC Holdings L.L.C., HMA/Solantic Joint Venture LLC, HMH-USP Surgery Centers LLC, HMHP/USP Surgery Centers LLC, HNMC Inc., HNW GP Inc., HNW LP Inc., HPI Holdings LLC, HPI North LLC, HPI Physicians LLC, HSRM International Inc., HSS Palm Beach Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, HSS/USP Surgery Center LLC, HUG Services Inc., HUMC/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Hacienda Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Hagerstown Surgery Center LLC, Hardeeville Medical Group L.L.C., Hardeeville Primary Care L.L.C., Harlingen Physician Network Inc., Harper-Hutzel AHP Services Inc., Harvard Park Surgery Center LLC, Haymarket Surgery Center LLC, Hazelwood Endoscopy Center LLC, Health & Wellness Surgery Center L.P., Health Horizons of Kansas City Inc., Health Horizons of Murfreesboro Inc., Health Horizons/Piedmont Joint Venture LLC, Health Services CFMC Inc., Health Services HNMC Inc., Health Services Network Care Inc., Health Services Network Hospitals Inc., Health Services Network Texas Inc., HealthCorp Network Inc., Healthcare Compliance LLC, Healthcare Network Alabama Inc., Healthcare Network CFMC Inc., Healthcare Network DPH Inc., Healthcare Network Georgia Inc., Healthcare Network Holdings Inc., Healthcare Network Hospitals (Dallas) Inc., Healthcare Network Hospitals Inc., Healthcare Network Louisiana Inc., Healthcare Network Missouri Inc., Healthcare Network North Carolina Inc., Healthcare Network South Carolina Inc., Healthcare Network Tennessee Inc., Healthcare Network Texas Inc., Healthcare Partners Investments LLC, Healthmark Partners Inc., Healthpoint of North Carolina L.L.C., Heart and Vascular Institute of Michigan, Heritage Park Surgical Hospital LLC, Hershey Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Hialeah Hospital Inc., Hialeah Real Properties Inc., Hickory Family Practice Associates - Tenet North Carolina L.L.C., Hill Country ASC Partners LLC, Hill Country Surgery Center LLC, Hilton Head Health System L.P., Hilton Head Regional Healthcare L.L.C., Hilton Head Regional OB/GYN Partners L.L.C., Hilton Head Regional Physician Network LLC, Hilton Head Regional Physician Network  Georgia L.L.C., Hinsdale Surgical Center LLC, Hitchcock State Street Real Estate Inc., Holston Valley Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Holy Cross Hospital Inc., Home Health Partners of San Antonio LLC, Hoover Doctors Group Inc., Hoover Land LLC, Horizon Ridge Surgery Center LLC, Hospital Development of West Phoenix Inc., Hospital RCM Services LLC, Hospital Underwriting Group Inc., Houston Northwest Partners Ltd., Houston PSC L.P., Houston Specialty Hospital Inc., Houston Sunrise Investors Inc., Hyde Park Surgery Center LLC, ICNU Rockford LLC, Imaging Center at Baxter Village L.L.C., InforMed Insurance Services LLC, Integris/USP Health Ventures LLC, International Health and Wellness Inc., Irving-Coppell Surgical Hospital L.L.P., JFK Memorial Hospital Inc., JFP UAP Sugarland LLC, Jackson Surgical Center LLC, Jacksonville Endoscopy Centers LLC, Journey Home Healthcare of San Antonio LLC, KHS Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, KHS/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Kingsport Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Laguna Medical Systems Inc., Lake Endoscopy Center LLC, Lake Health Care Facilities Inc., Lake Lansing ASC Partners LLC, Lake Surgical Hospital Slidell LLC, LakeFront Medical Associates LLC, Lakewood Regional Medical Center Inc., Lakewood Surgery Center LLC, Lancaster Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Lansing ASC Partners LLC, Lawrenceville Surgery Center L.L.C., Lebanon Endoscopy Center LLC, Legacy Warren Partners L.P., Legacy/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Leonardtown Surgery Center LLC, Liberty Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Lifemark Hospitals Inc., Lifemark Hospitals of Florida Inc., Lifemark Hospitals of Louisiana Inc., Lone Star Endoscopy Center LLC, Longleaf Surgery Center LLC, Los Alamitos Medical Center Inc., Lubbock ASC Holding Co LLC, MASC Partners LLC, MCSH Real Estate Investors Ltd., MH Memorial City Surgery LLC, MH/USP Bay Area LLC, MH/USP Brazoria LLC, MH/USP Kingsland LLC, MH/USP Kingwood LLC, MH/USP Kirby LLC, MH/USP Main Street LLC, MH/USP North Freeway LLC, MH/USP North Houston LLC, MH/USP Richmond LLC, MH/USP Sugar Land LLC, MH/USP TMC Endoscopy LLC, MH/USP West Houston L.L.C., MH/USP Woodlands Parkway LLC, MSH Partners LLC, MSV Health/USP Surgery Centers LLC, MVH/USP Surgery Centers LLC, MacNeal Management Services Inc., MacNeal Medical Records Inc., MacNeal Physicians Group LLC, Magnetic Resonance Imaging of San Luis Obispo Inc., Magnolia Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Manchester Ambulatory Surgery Center LP, Maple Lawn Surgery Center LLC, Marion Surgery Center LLC, Mary Immaculate Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Mason Ridge Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Mayfield Spine Surgery Center LLC, McLaren ASC of Flint LLC, Meadowcrest Hospital LLC, Medical House Staffing LLC, Medical Park Tower Surgery Center LLC, Medplex Outpatient Medical Centers Inc., Medplex Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Memorial Hermann Bay Area Endoscopy Center LLC, Memorial Hermann Endoscopy & Surgery Center North Houston L.L.C., Memorial Hermann Endoscopy Center North Freeway LLC, Memorial Hermann Specialty Hospital Kingwood L.L.C., Memorial Hermann Sugar Land Surgical Hospital L.L.P., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Brazoria LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Cypress LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Katy LLP, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Kingsland L.L.C., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Kirby LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Main Street LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Memorial City L.L.C., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Northwest LLP, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Pinecroft LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Preston Road Ltd., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Richmond LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Southwest L.L.P., Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Sugar Land LLP, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Texas Medical Center LLP, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center Woodlands Parkway LLC, Memorial Hermann Surgery Center  The Woodlands LLP, Memorial Hermann Texas International Endoscopy Center LLC, Memorial Hermann West Houston Surgery Center LLC, Memorial Hermann/USP Surgery Centers II L.P., Memorial Hermann/USP Surgery Centers III LLP, Memorial Hermann/USP Surgery Centers IV LLP, Memorial Surgery Center LLC, Memphis Urgent Care #1 L.L.C., Memphis Urgent Care #2 L.L.C., Merced Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Mercy/USP Health Ventures L.L.C., Metro Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Metro Surgery Center LLC, MetroWest HomeCare & Hospice LLC, Metrocrest Surgery Center L.P., Metropolitan New Jersey LLC, Michigan ASC Partners L.L.C., Michigan Pioneer ACO LLC, Michigan Regional Imaging LLC, Mid Rivers Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Mid State Endo UAP LLC, Mid-State Endoscopy Center LLC, Mid-TSC Development LP, Middle Tennessee Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Midland Memorial/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Midland Texas Surgical Center LLC, Midwest Digestive Health Center LLC, Midwest Pharmacies Inc., Midwest Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Millennium Surgical Center LLC, Mobile Imaging Management LLC, Mobile Technology Management LLC, Modesto Radiology Imaging Inc., Monocacy Surgery Center LLC, Mountain Empire Surgery Center L.P., Munster Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Murdock Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, NHSC Holdings LLC, NICH GP Holdings LLC, NKCH/USP Briarcliff GP LLC, NKCH/USP Liberty GP LLC, NKCH/USP Surgery Centers II L.L.C., NKCH/USP Surgery Centers LLC, NMC Lessor L.P., NMC Surgery Center L.P., NME Headquarters Inc., NME Properties Corp., NME Properties Inc., NME Property Holding Co. Inc., NME Psychiatric Hospitals Inc., NME Rehabilitation Properties Inc., NSCH GP Holdings LLC, NSCH/USP Desert Surgery Centers L.L.C., NUCH of Georgia L.L.C., NUCH of Massachusetts LLC, NUCH of Michigan Inc., NUCH of Texas, Nacogdoches ASC-LP Inc., Name of Entity, National ASC Inc., National Ancillary Inc., National Diagnostic Imaging Centers Inc., National HHC Inc., National Home Health Holdings Inc., National ICN Inc., National Imaging Center Holdings Inc., National Medical Services II Inc., National Outpatient Services Holdings Inc., National Surgery Center Holdings Inc., National Urgent Care Holdings Inc., National Urgent Care Inc., Network Management Associates Inc., New Dimensions LLC, New England Physician Performance Network LLC, New H Acute Inc., New Horizons Surgery Center LLC, New Medical Horizons II Ltd., New Mexico Orthopaedic Surgery Center LLC, New Salem ASC RE LLC, Newhope Imaging Center Inc., North Anaheim Surgery Center LLC, North Atlantic Surgical Suites LLC, North Campus Surgery Center LLC, North Carolina Community Family Medicine L.L.C., North Central Surgical Center L.L.P., North Denver Musculoskeletal Surgical Partners LLC, North Fulton Cardiovascular Medicine L.L.C., North Fulton Hospitalist Group L.L.C., North Fulton Medical Center Inc., North Fulton Primary Care - Willeo Rd. L.L.C., North Fulton Primary Care - Windward Parkway L.L.C., North Fulton Primary Care - Wylie Bridge L.L.C., North Fulton Primary Care Associates L.L.C., North Fulton Pulmonary Specialists L.L.C., North Fulton Womens Consultants L.L.C., North Garland Surgery Center L.L.P., North Haven Surgery Center LLC, North Miami Medical Center Ltd., North Shore Medical Billing Center L.L.C., North Shore Medical Center Inc., North Shore Same Day Surgery L.L.C., North Shore Surgical Suites LLC, North State Surgery Centers L.P., NorthPointe Surgical Suites LLC, NorthShore/USP Surgery Centers II L.L.C., Northern Monmouth Regional Surgery Center L.L.C., Northridge ASC RE LLC, Northridge Surgery Center L.P., Northwest Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Georgia Orthopaedic Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Regional ASC LLC, Northwest Regional Surgery Center LLC, Northwest Surgery Center LLP, Northwest Surgery Center Ltd., Novant Health/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Novant/UVA/USP Surgery Centers LLC, OCOMS Imaging LLC, OCOMS Professional Services LLC, OLOL/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Okatie Surgical Partners L.L.C., Oklahoma Center for Orthopedic and Multi-Specialty Surgery LLC, Old Tesson Surgery Center L.P., Olive Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Olive Branch Urgent Care #1 LLC, Ophthalmology Anesthesia Services LLC, Ophthalmology Surgery Center of Orlando LLC, Optimum Spine Center LLC, OrNda Healthcorp, OrNda Hospital Corporation, Orlando Health/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., OrthoArizona Surgery Center Gilbert LLC, OrthoLink ASC Corporation, OrthoLink Physicians Corporation, OrthoLink Radiology Services Corporation, OrthoLink/ Georgia ASC Inc., OrthoLink/Baptist ASC LLC, OrthoLink/New Mexico ASC Inc., Orthopedic Associates of the Lowcountry L.L.C., Orthopedic South Surgical Partners LLC, Orthopedic and Surgical Specialty Company LLC, PAHS/USP Surgery Centers LLC, PDN L.L.C., PHPS Inc., PHPS-CHM Acquisition Inc., PHS/USP Health Ventures LLC, PM CyFair Land Partners LLC, PMC Physician Network L.L.C., PPRE LLC, PSS Patient Solution Services LLC, Pacific Endo-Surgical Center L.P., Pacific Endoscopy and Surgery Center LLC, Pain Diagnostic and Treatment Center L.P., Paley Institute Global LLC, Palm Beach Gardens Community Hospital Inc., Palm Beach International Surgery Center LLC, Palm Valley Medical Center Campus Association, Palos Health Surgery Center LLC, Paramus Endoscopy LLC, Park Cities Surgery Center LLC, Park Plaza Hospital Billing Center L.L.C., ParkCreek ASC LLC, Parkway Recovery Care Center LLC, Parkwest Surgery Center L.P., Patient Partners LLC, Peak Gastroenterology ASC LLC, Pediatric Surgery Center  Odessa LLC, Pediatric Surgery Centers LLC, Physician Performance Network L.L.C., Physician Performance Network of Arizona LLC, Physician Performance Network of Detroit, Physician Performance Network of South Carolina LLC, Physician Performance Network of Tucson LLC, Physicians Performance Network of Houston, Physicians Performance Network of North Texas, Physicians Surgery Center at Good Samaritan LLC, Physicians Surgery Center of Tempe LLC, Physicians Surgical Center of Ft. Worth LLP, Physicians Surgery Center of Chattanooga L.L.C., Physicians Surgery Center of Knoxville LLC, Piccard Surgery Center LLC, Piedmont ASC LLC, Piedmont Behavioral Medicine Associates LLC, Piedmont Cardiovascular Physicians L.L.C., Piedmont Carolina OB/GYN of York County L.L.C., Piedmont Carolina Vascular Surgery L.L.C., Piedmont East Urgent Care Center L.L.C., Piedmont Express Care at Sutton Road L.L.C., Piedmont Family Practice at Baxter Village L.L.C., Piedmont Family Practice at Rock Hill L.L.C., Piedmont Family Practice at Tega Cay L.L.C., Piedmont General Surgery Associates L.L.C., Piedmont Internal Medicine at Baxter Village L.L.C., Piedmont Physician Network LLC, Piedmont Pulmonology L.L.C., Piedmont Surgical Specialists L.L.C., Piedmont Urgent Care Center at Baxter Village L.L.C., Piedmont Urgent Care and Industrial Health Centers Inc., Piedmont/Carolinas Radiation Therapy LLC, Placentia-Linda Hospital Inc., Pleasanton Diagnostic Imaging Inc., Point of Rocks Surgery Center LLC, Practice Partners Management L.P., Premier ACO Physicians Network LLC, Premier ASC LLC, Premier Adult and Childrens Surgery Center LLC, Premier Endoscopy ASC LLC, Premier Health Plan Services Inc., Premier Medical Specialists L.L.C., Prince William Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Professional Anesthesia Services LLC, Professional Liability Insurance Company, Pros Temporary Staffing Inc., Providence/UCLA/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Providence/USP Santa Clarita GP LLC, Providence/USP South Bay Surgery Centers L.L.C., Providence/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Pueblo Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, R.H.S.C. El Paso Inc., RE Plano Med Inc., RHC Parkway Inc., RLC LLC, Reading Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Reading Endoscopy Center LLC, Reagan Street Surgery Center LLC, Redmond Surgery Center LLC, Renaissance Surgery Center LLC, Republic Health Corporation of Rockwall County, Resolute Health Physicians Network Inc., Resolute Hospital Company LLC, Resurgens East Surgery Center LLC, Resurgens Fayette Surgery Center LLC, Resurgens Surgery Center LLC, Rheumatology Associates of Atlanta Medical Center L.L.C., Richmond ASC Leasing Company LLC, Rio Grande Valley Indigent Health Care Corporation, River North Same Day Surgery L.L.C., Riverside Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Rock Bridge Surgical Institute L.L.C., Rock Hill Surgery Center LLC, Rockwall Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.P., Rocky Mountain Endoscopy Centers LLC, Roseville Surgery Center L.P., Roswell Surgery Center L.L.C., SCNRE LLC, SFMP Inc., SFMPE - Crittenden L.L.C., SL-HLC Inc., SLH Physicians L.L.C., SLH Vista Inc., SLPA ACO LLC, SLUH Anesthesia Physicians L.L.C., SMSJ Imaging Company LLC, SMSJ Tucson Holdings LLC, SPC at the Star LLC, SRRMC Management Inc., SSI Holdings Inc., Sacramento Midtown Endoscopy Center LLC, Safety Harbor ASC Company LLC, Saint Agnes/Dignity/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Saint Agnes/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Saint Francis Cardiology Associates L.L.C., Saint Francis Cardiovascular Surgery L.L.C., Saint Francis Center for Surgical Weight Loss L.L.C., Saint Francis Hospital Billing Center L.L.C., Saint Francis Hospital Medicare ACO LLC, Saint Francis Hospital Pro Fee Billing L.L.C., Saint Francis Hospital-Bartlett Inc., Saint Francis Medical Partners East L.L.C., Saint Francis Medical Partners General Surgery L.L.C., Saint Francis Physician Network LLC, Saint Francis Quality Alliance LLC, Saint Francis Surgery Center L.L.C., Saint Francis Surgical Associates L.L.C., Saint Francis-Arkansas Physician Network LLC, Saint Francis-Bartlett Physician Network LLC, Saint Thomas Campus Surgicare L.P., Saint Thomas Surgery Center New Salem LLC, Saint Thomas/USP Surgery Centers II L.L.C., Saint Thomas/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Saint Thomas/USP  Baptist Plaza L.L.C., Saint Vincent Physician Services Inc., Salmon Surgery Center LLC, Same Day Management L.L.C., Same Day SC of Central NJ LLC, Same Day Surgery L.L.C., San Antonio Endoscopy L.P., San Fernando Valley Surgery Center L.P., San Gabriel Valley Surgical Center L.P., San Martin Surgery Center LLC, San Ramon ASC L. P., San Ramon Ambulatory Care LLC, San Ramon Network Joint Venture LLC, San Ramon Regional Medical Center LLC, San Ramon Surgery Center L.L.C., Santa Barbara Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Santa Clarita Surgery Center L.P., Savannah Endoscopy Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Schertz Surgery Center LLC, Scripps Encinitas Surgery Center LLC, Scripps/USP Surgery Centers L.L.C., Seaside Surgery Center LLC, Shands/Solantic Joint Venture LLC, Shelby Baptist Affinity LLC, Shelby Baptist Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Shore Outpatient Surgicenter L.L.C., Shoreline Real Estate Partnership LLP, Shoreline Surgery Center LLP, Shrewsbury Surgery Center LLC, Sierra Pacific Surgery Center LLC, Sierra Providence Health Network Inc., Sierra Providence Healthcare Enterprises, Sierra Vista Hospital Inc., Silicon Valley Outpatient Surgery Centers LLC, Silver Cross Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Silver Cross/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Sinai-Grace Premier Clinical Management Services LLC, Siouxland Surgery Center Limited Liability Partnership, Solantic Corporation, Solantic Development LLC, Solantic Holdings Corporation, Solantic of Jacksonville LLC, Solantic of Orlando LLC, Solantic/South Florida LLC, South Carolina East Cooper Surgical Specialists L.L.C., South Carolina Health Services Inc., South Carolina SeWee Family Medicine L.L.C., South County Outpatient Endoscopy Services L.P., South Denver Musculoskeletal Surgical Partners LLC, South Florida Ambulatory Surgical Center LLC, South Fulton Health Care Centers Inc., SouthCare Physicians Group Neurology L.L.C., SouthCare Physicians Group Obstetrics & Gynecology L.L.C., Southeast Ohio Surgical Suites LLC, Southern Orthopedics and Sports Medicine L.L.C., Southern States Physician Operations Inc., Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., Southwest Childrens Hospital LLC, Southwest Endoscopy LLC, Southwest Orthopedic and Spine Hospital LLC, Southwest Orthopedic and Spine Hospital Real Estate LLC, Southwestern Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Spalding Regional Medical Center Inc., Spalding Regional OB/GYN L.L.C., Spalding Regional Physician Services L.L.C., Specialty Surgery Center of Fort Worth L.P., Specialty Surgicenters Inc., Spinal Diagnostics and Treatment Centers L.L.C., Spine & Joint Physician Associates, Springfield Service Holding Corporation, St. Augustine Endoscopy Center LLC, St. Christophers Pediatric Urgent Care Center - Allentown L.L.C, St. Josephs Hospital Surgical Co-Management LLC, St. Josephs Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, St. Josephs Surgery Center L.P., St. Louis Physician Alliance LLC, St. Louis Surgical Center LLC, St. Louis Urology Center LLC, St. Lukes/USP Surgery Centers LLC, St. Marys Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, St. Marys Hospital Cardiovascular Co-Management LLC, St. Marys Hospital Surgical Co-Management LLC, St. Marys Levee Company LLC, St. Marys Medical Center Inc., St. Vincent Health/USP LLC, St. Vincent/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Stockton Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Subsidiaries of USPI Holding Company Inc., Suburban Endoscopy Center LLC, Summit View Surgery Center LLC, Sun View Imaging L.L.C., Sunrise Medical Group I L.L.C., Sunrise Medical Group II L.L.C., Sunrise Medical Group IV L.L.C., SurgCenter Camelback LLC, SurgCenter Northeast LLC, SurgCenter Pinellas LLC, SurgCenter Tucson LLC, SurgCenter at Paradise Valley LLC, SurgCenter of Deer Valley LLC, SurgCenter of Glen Burnie LLC, SurgCenter of Palm Beach Gardens LLC, SurgCenter of Plano LLC, SurgCenter of Southern Maryland LLC, SurgCenter of St. Lucie LLC, SurgCenter of White Marsh LLC, Surgery Affiliate of El Paso LLC, Surgery Center at Mount Pleasant LLC, Surgery Center at University Park LLC, Surgery Center of Atlanta LLC, Surgery Center of Canfield LLC, Surgery Center of Columbia L.P., Surgery Center of Coral Gables LLC, Surgery Center of Okeechobee LLC, Surgery Center of Pembroke Pines L.L.C., Surgery Center of Peoria L.L.C., Surgery Center of Richardson Physician Partnership L.P., Surgery Center of Santa Barbara LLC, Surgery Center of Scottsdale LLC, Surgery Center of Tempe Real Estate II L.L.C., Surgery Center of Tempe Real Estate L.L.C., Surgery Centers of America II L.L.C., Surgery Centre of SW Florida LLC, Surgical & Bariatric Associates of Atlanta Medical Center L.L.C., Surgical Clinical Excellence at Desert Regional LLC, Surgical Elite of Avondale L.L.C., Surgical Health Partners LLC, Surgical Institute Management LLC, Surgical Institute of Reading LLC, Surgical Specialists at Princeton LLC, Surgicare of Miramar L.L.C., Surginet Inc., Surgis Inc., Surgis Management Services Inc., Surgis of Chico Inc., Surgis of Phoenix Inc., Surgis of Redding Inc., Surgis of Victoria Inc., Sutton Road Pediatrics L.L.C., Sylvan Grove Hospital Inc., TENN SM LLC, TFPS IV L.L.C., TH Healthcare Ltd., TH International Services Florida LLC, THV Park Cities LLC, THVG Arlington GP LLC, THVG Bariatric GP LLC, THVG Bariatric L.L.C., THVG Bedford GP LLC, THVG Bellaire GP LLC, THVG DSP GP LLC, THVG DeSoto GP LLC, THVG Denton GP LLC, THVG Fort Worth GP LLC, THVG Frisco GP LLC, THVG Garland GP LLC, THVG Grapevine GP LLC, THVG Irving-Coppell GP LLC, THVG Lewisville GP LLC, THVG North Garland GP LLC, THVG Park Cities/Trophy Club GP LLC, THVG Rockwall 2 GP LLC, THVG Valley View GP LLC, TLC ASC LLC, TMC Holding Company LLC, TOPS Specialty Hospital Ltd., TPG Hospital LLC, TPR Practice Management LLC, TPS VI of PA L.L.C., TRMC Holdings LLC, TSPE LLC, Tamarac Surgery Center LLC, Tempe New Day Surgery Center LP, Templeton Imaging Inc., Tenet Business Services Corporation, Tenet California Inc., Tenet Central Carolina Physicians Inc., Tenet EKG Inc., Tenet El Paso Ltd., Tenet Employment Inc., Tenet Finance Corp., Tenet Florida Inc., Tenet Florida Physician Services II L.L.C., Tenet Florida Physician Services III L.L.C., Tenet Florida Physician Services L.L.C., Tenet Fort Mill Inc., Tenet Global Business Center Inc., Tenet HealthSystem Bucks County L.L.C., Tenet HealthSystem Graduate L.L.C., Tenet HealthSystem Hahnemann L.L.C., Tenet HealthSystem Medical Inc., Tenet HealthSystem Nacogdoches ASC GP Inc., Tenet HealthSystem Philadelphia Inc., Tenet HealthSystem Roxborough LLC, Tenet HealthSystem St. Christophers Hospital for Children L.L.C., Tenet Hilton Head Heart L.L.C., Tenet Hospitals Limited, Tenet Network Management Inc., Tenet Patient Safety Organization LLC, Tenet Physician Resources LLC, Tenet Physician Services - Hilton Head Inc., Tenet Rehab Piedmont Inc., Tenet Relocation Services L.L.C., Tenet SC East Cooper Hospitalists L.L.C., Tenet South Carolina Gastrointestinal Surgical Specialists L.L.C., Tenet South Carolina Island Medical L.L.C., Tenet South Carolina Lowcountry OB/GYN L.L.C., Tenet South Carolina Mt. Pleasant OB/GYN L.L.C., Tenet Unifour Urgent Care Center L.L.C., Tenet Ventures Inc., TenetCare Frisco Inc., Terre Haute Surgical Center LLC, Teton Outpatient Services LLC, Texan Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Texas Endoscopy Centers LLC, Texas Health Venture Arlington Hospital LLC, Texas Health Venture Baylor Plano LLC, Texas Health Venture Carrollton LLC, Texas Health Venture Centennial LLC, Texas Health Venture Ennis LLC, Texas Health Venture Fort Worth L.L.C., Texas Health Venture Granbury LLC, Texas Health Venture Heritage Park LLC, Texas Health Venture Keller LLC, Texas Health Venture Las Colinas LLC, Texas Health Venture Mansfield LLC, Texas Health Venture Plano Endo LLC, Texas Health Venture Plano LLC, Texas Health Venture Plano Parkway LLC, Texas Health Venture Texas Spine LLC, Texas Health Ventures Group L.L.C., Texas Orthopedics Surgery Center LLC, Texas Regional Medical Center LLC, Texas Regional Medical in Sunnyvale, Texas Spine and Joint Hospital LLC, The 6300 West Roosevelt Partnership, The Ambulatory Surgical Center of St. Louis L.P., The Healthcare Insurance Corporation, The Healthcare Underwriting Company a Risk Retention Group, The Huron Corporation, The Outpatient Center LLC, The Southeastern Spine Institute Ambulatory Surgery Center L.L.C., The Surgery Center at Jensen Beach LLC, The Surgery Center at Williamson LLC, The Tresanti Surgical Center LLC, Theda Oaks Gastroenterology & Endoscopy Center LLC, Titan Health Corporation, Titan Health of Chattanooga Inc., Titan Health of Hershey Inc., Titan Health of Mount Laurel LLC, Titan Health of North Haven Inc., Titan Health of Pittsburgh Inc., Titan Health of Pleasant Hills Inc., Titan Health of Princeton Inc., Titan Health of Sacramento Inc., Titan Health of Saginaw Inc., Titan Health of Titusville Inc., Titan Health of West Penn Inc., Titan Health of Westminster Inc., Titan Management Corporation, Titusville Center for Surgical Excellence LLC, Toms River Surgery Center L.L.C., Total Joint Center of the Northland LLC, Tower Road Real Estate LLC, Tower/USP Surgery Centers LLC, Treasure Coast ASC LLC, Trophy Club Medical Center L.P., True Medical Weight Loss L.P., True Medical Wellness LP, True Results Georgia Inc., True Results HoldCo LLC, True Results Missouri LLC, Tucson Digestive Institute LLC, Tucson Hospital Holdings Inc., Tucson Physician Group Holdings LLC, Turlock Imaging Services LLC, Turlock Land Company LLC, Tuscan Surgery Center at Las Colinas LLC, Twin Cities Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Twin Cities Community Hospital Inc., UAP Las Colinas Endo LLC, UAP Lebanon Endo LLC, UAP Nashville Endoscopy LLC, UAP Scopes LLC, UAP of Arizona Inc., UAP of California Inc., UAP of Missouri Inc., UAP of New Jersey Inc., UAP of Oklahoma Inc., UAP of Tennessee Inc., UAP of Texas Inc., UCC Tucson Holdings LLC, UMC Surgery Center Lubbock LLC, UMC-USP Surgery Centers LLC, USC/Norris Cancer Hospital, USP 12th Ave Real Estate Inc., USP Acquisition Corporation, USP Alexandria Inc., USP Assurance Company, USP Athens Inc., USP Atlanta Inc., USP Austin Inc., USP Bariatric LLC, USP Beaumont Inc., USP Bergen Inc., USP Bloomington Inc., USP Bridgeton Inc., USP Cedar Park Inc., USP Chesterfield Inc., USP Chicago Inc., USP Cincinnati Inc., USP Coast Inc., USP Columbia Inc., USP Connecticut Inc., USP Corpus Christi Inc., USP Creve Coeur Inc., USP Denver Inc., USP Des Peres Inc., USP Destin Inc., USP Domestic Holdings Inc., USP Effingham Inc., USP Encinitas Endoscopy Inc., USP Fenton Inc., USP Festus Inc., USP Florissant Inc., USP Fort Lauderdale Inc., USP Fort Worth Hospital Real Estate Inc., USP Fredericksburg Inc., USP Fresno Inc., USP Frontenac Inc., USP Gateway Inc., USP HMH Surgery Center at Shore LLC, USP Harbour View Inc., USP Houston Inc., USP Indiana Inc., USP International Holdings Inc., USP Jersey City Inc., USP Kansas City Inc., USP Knoxville Inc., USP Little Rock Inc., USP Long Island Inc., USP Louisiana Inc., USP Lubbock Inc., USP Maryland Inc., USP Mason Ridge Inc., USP Mattis Inc., USP Michigan Inc., USP Midland Inc., USP Midland Real Estate Inc., USP Midwest Inc., USP Mission Hills Inc., USP Montana Inc., USP Morris Inc., USP Mt. Vernon Inc., USP Nevada Holdings LLC, USP Nevada Inc., USP New Hampshire Inc., USP New Jersey Inc., USP Newport News Inc., USP North Carolina Inc., USP North Kansas City Inc., USP North Texas Inc., USP Northwest Arkansas Inc., USP OKC Inc., USP OKC Manager Inc., USP Office Parkway Inc., USP Ohio RE Inc., USP Oklahoma Inc., USP Olive Inc., USP Orlando Inc., USP Philadelphia Inc., USP Phoenix Inc., USP Portland Inc., USP Reading Inc., USP Richmond II Inc., USP Richmond Inc., USP Sacramento Inc., USP San Antonio Inc., USP Santa Barbara Surgery Centers Inc., USP Securities Corporation, USP Silver Cross Inc., USP Siouxland Inc., USP Somerset Inc., USP South Carolina Inc., USP Southlake RE Inc., USP St. Louis Inc., USP St. Louis Urology Inc., USP St. Peters Inc., USP Sunset Hills Inc., USP TJ STL Inc., USP Tennessee Inc., USP Texas Air L.L.C., USP Texas L.P., USP Torrance Inc., USP Tucson Inc., USP Turnersville Inc., USP Virginia Beach Inc., USP Washington Inc., USP Waxahachie Management L.L.C., USP Webster Groves Inc., USP West Covina Inc., USP Westwood Inc., USP Winter Park Inc., USP Wisconsin Inc., USP-HMH Surgery Center at Central Jersey LLC, USP/Carondelet Tucson Surgery Centers LLC, USP/SOS Joint Venture LLC, USPI Group Holdings Inc., USPI Holding Company Inc.1, USPI Holdings Inc., USPI Physician Strategy Group LLC, USPI San Diego Inc., USPI Stockton Inc., USPI Surgical Services Inc., Ulysses True Results NewCo LLC, Underwood Surgery Center LLC, United Anesthesia Partners Inc., United Real Estate Development Inc., United Real Estate Holdings Inc., United Surgical Partners Holdings Inc., United Surgical Partners International, United Surgical Partners International Inc., Universal Medical Care Center L.L.C., University Surgery Center Ltd., University Surgical Partners of Dallas L.L.P., Upper Bay Surgery Center LLC, Upper Cumberland Physicians Surgery Center LLC, Urgent Care Centers of Arizona LLC, Utica ASC Partners LLC, Utica/USP Tulsa L.L.C., VB Brownsville LTACH LLC, VBOA ASC GP LLC, VBOA ASC Partners L.L.C., VHM Services Inc., VHS Acquisition Corporation, VHS Acquisition Partnership Number 1 L.P, VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 1 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 11 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 12 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 3 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 4 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 5 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 6 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 7 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 8 Inc., VHS Acquisition Subsidiary Number 9 Inc., VHS Arizona Heart Institute Inc., VHS Brownsville Hospital Company LLC, VHS Chicago Market Procurement LLC, VHS Childrens Hospital of Michigan Inc., VHS Detroit Businesses Inc., VHS Detroit Receiving Hospital Inc., VHS Detroit Ventures Inc., VHS Harlingen Hospital Company LLC, VHS Harper-Hutzel Hospital Inc., VHS Holding Company Inc., VHS Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital Inc., VHS Imaging Centers Inc., VHS New England Holding Company I Inc., VHS Outpatient Clinics Inc., VHS Phoenix Health Plan Inc., VHS Physicians of Michigan, VHS Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan Inc., VHS San Antonio Imaging Partners L.P., VHS San Antonio Partners LLC, VHS Sinai-Grace Hospital Inc., VHS University Laboratories Inc., VHS Valley Health System LLC, VHS Valley Holdings LLC, VHS Valley Management Company Inc., VHS West Suburban Medical Center Inc., VHS Westlake Hospital Inc., VHS of Anaheim Inc., VHS of Arrowhead Inc., VHS of Huntington Beach Inc., VHS of Illinois Inc., VHS of Michigan Inc., VHS of Michigan Staffing Inc., VHS of Orange County Inc., VHS of Phoenix Inc., VHS of South Phoenix Inc., Valley Baptist Lab Services LLC, Valley Baptist Physician Performance Network, Valley Baptist Realty Company LLC, Valley Baptist Wellness Center LLC, Valley Health Care Network, Vanguard ASC LLC, Vanguard Health Financial Company LLC, Vanguard Health Holding Company I LLC, Vanguard Health Holding Company II LLC, Vanguard Health Management Inc., Vanguard Health Systems, Vanguard Health Systems Inc., Vanguard Holding Company I Inc., Vanguard Holding Company II Inc., Vanguard Medical Specialists LLC, Vanguard Physician Services LLC, Ventana Surgical Center LLC, Veroscan Inc., Victoria Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Virtua-USP Princeton LLC, WHASA L.C., Walker Baptist Affinity LLC, Walker Street Imaging Care Inc., Warner Park Surgery Center LLC, Watermark Physician Services Inc., Webster Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Wellington Endo LLC, Wellstar/USP Joint Venture I LLC, Wellstar/USP Joint Venture II LLC, West Boca Health Services L.L.C., West Boca Medical Center Inc., West Boynton Urgent Care L.L.C., West Bozeman Surgery Center LLC, West Palm Healthcare Real Estate Inc., West Suburban Radiation Therapy Center LLC, Westgate Surgery Center LLC, Westlake Hospital LLC, Westlawn Surgery Center LLC, Westminster Surgery Center LLC, Westminster Surgery Centers LLC, White Fence Surgical Suites LLC, Willamette Spine Center Ambulatory Surgery LLC, Wilmington Endoscopy Center LLC, Wilshire Rental Corp., Winter Haven Ambulatory Surgical Center L.L.C., Wisconsin Specialty Surgery Center LLC, Wymark Surgery Center LLC, and YNHHSC/USP Surgery Centers LLC.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. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. 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. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. 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Ltd., Invitrogen Argentina SA, Invitrogen BioServices India Private Limited, Invitrogen Europe Limited, Invitrogen Finance Corp., Invitrogen Holdings LLC, Invitrogen Holdings Ltd., Invitrogen Hong Kong Limited, Invitrogen IP Holdings Inc., Invitrogen Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Ion Torrent Systems Inc., Ionalytics Corporation, JSC Thermo Fisher Scientific, Jouan LLC, Jouan Limited, Jouan SA, Kendro Containment & Services Limited, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd, Kettlebrook Insurance Co. ltd., Keystone Scientific, KonTEM GmbH, Kyle Jordan Investments LLC, LIFE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, LTC Tech South Africa PTY Ltd., La-Pha-Pack GmbH, Lab Vision (UK) Limited, Lab Vision Corporation, Lab-Chrom-Pack LLC, Lab-Line Instruments Inc., Labomex MBP S. de R. L. 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. Limited, Oxoid Company, Oxoid Deutschland GmbH, Oxoid Holding SAS, Oxoid Holdings Limited, Oxoid Inc., Oxoid International Limited, Oxoid Investments GmbH, Oxoid Limited, Oxoid N.V., Oxoid New Zealand Limited, Oxoid Pension Trustees Limited, Oxoid Senior Holdings Limited, Oxoid UKH LLC, PAX - DSI Acquisition LLC, PE AG, Pacific Rim Far East Industries LLC, Pacific Rim Investment LLC, Panomics L.L.C., Panomics S.R.L., Patheon, Patheon API Inc., Patheon API Manufacturing Inc., Patheon API Services Inc., Patheon Austria GmbH & Co KG, Patheon B.V., Patheon Banner U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon Biologics (NJ) LLC, Patheon Biologics Australia Pty Ltd, Patheon Biologics B.V., Patheon Biologics LLC, Patheon Calculus Merger LLC, Patheon Cooperatief U.A., Patheon Development Services Inc., Patheon Finance LLC, Patheon France SAS, Patheon Holdings B.V., Patheon Holdings I B.V., Patheon Holdings II B.V., Patheon Holdings SAS, Patheon I B.V., Patheon I Holding GmbH, Patheon Inc., Patheon International AG, Patheon Italia S.p.A., Patheon KK, Patheon Life Science Products International GmbH, Patheon Manufacturing Services LLC, Patheon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Patheon Pharmaceuticals Services Inc., Patheon Puerto Rico Acquisitions Corporation, Patheon Puerto Rico Inc., Patheon Regensburg GmbH, Patheon Softgels B.V., Patheon Softgels Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings Inc., Patheon U.S. Holdings LLC, Patheon UK Limited, Patheon UK Pension Trustees Limited, Pelican Acquisition Corporation, Perbio Science (Canada) Company, Perbio Science AB, Perbio Science BVBA, Perbio Science France SAS, Perbio Science Inc., Perbio Science International Netherlands B.V., Perbio Science Invest AB, Perbio Science Nederland B.V., Perbio Science Projekt AB, Perbio Science Sweden Holdings AB, Perbio Science Switzerland SA, Perbio Science UK Limited, Phadia AB, Phadia Diagnosticos Ltda, Phadia GmbH, Phadia Holding AB, Phadia International Holdings C.V., Phadia Korea Co. Ltd, Phadia Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Phadia Malta Holdings Limited, Phadia Oy, Phadia Real Property AB, Phadia Sweden AB, Phadia Taiwan Inc., Phadia US Inc., Phadia s.r.o., Pharmacaps Mexicana SA de CV, Phenom-World B.V., Phenom-World Holding B.V, Phenom-World Innovations B.V., Phinotex, Pierce Biotechnology Inc., Pierce Milwaukee Holding Corp., Pierce Milwaukee Inc., Polychromix, Power Sweden Holdings I AB, Power Sweden Holdings II AB, Power Sweden Holdings III Aktiebolag, Princeton Gamma-Tech Instruments LLC, Princeton Security Technologies, Prionics AG, Prionics Asia Ltd., Prionics Deutschland GmbH, Prionics France SAS, Prionics Italia S.r.l., Prionics Lelystad B.V., Prionics USA Inc., Priority Air Express LLC, Priority Air Express Pte. Ltd., Priority Air Express UK Limited, Priority Air Holdings Corp, Priority Solutions International, Promedica Pty Limited, Proxeon, Proxeon Biosystems ApS, Qiagen, REP GBP I-B Blocker Inc., Raymond A Lamb Limited, Remel Europe Limited, Remel Inc., Richard-Allan Scientific Company, Robbins Scientific LLC, Robocon Labor- und Industrieroboter Gesellschaft m.b.H, Rupprecht and Patashnick, Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P), Russell pH Limited, S.C.I. du 10 rue Dugay Trouin, SCI Inno 92, STC Bio Manufacturing Inc., Samco Scientific (Monterrey) LLC, Samco Scientific LLC, Saroph Sweden AB, Schantz Road LLC, Seradyn Inc., Shanghai Life Technologies Biotechnology Co. Limited, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (C-I) Trading Co. Ltd, Shanghai Thermo Fisher (S) Trading Co. Ltd, Southern Trials (Pty) Ltd., Specialty (SMI) Inc., Spectra-Physics AB, Spectra-Physics Holdings Limited, Spectra-Physics Holdings USA LLC, Spectronex, Staten Island Cogeneration Corporation, Sterilin Limited, Stokes Bio Ltd., Sweden DIA (Sweden) AB, SwissAnalytic Group GmbH, Systems Manufacturing Corporation, TFLP LLC, TFS Breda B.V., TFS LLC, TFS Singapore HK Limited, TFSL Financing GP LLC, TFSL Senior GP Holdings 2 LLC, TK Partnership, TKA Wasseraufbereitungssysteme, TMOI Inc., TPI Real Estate Holdings LLC, TSP Holdings I LLC, TWX LLC, Technology Design Solutions Pty Ltd, Thermedics Detection de Argentina S.R.L, Thermo Allen Coding Limited, Thermo Asset Management Services Inc., Thermo BioAnalysis LLC, Thermo BioAnalysis Limited, Thermo BioSciences Holdings LLC, Thermo CIDTEC, Thermo CRS Holdings Ltd., Thermo CRS Ltd., Thermo Cambridge Limited, Thermo Cayman Holdings Ltd., Thermo Corporation, Thermo DMA Inc., Thermo Detection de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Thermo Dutch Holdings Limited Partnership, Thermo EGS Gauging LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings I LLC, Thermo Eberline Holdings II LLC, Thermo Eberline LLC, Thermo Electron (Calgary) Limited, Thermo Electron (Chile) S.p.A., Thermo Electron (Karlsruhe) GmbH, Thermo Electron (Management Services) Limited, Thermo Electron (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Electron A/S, Thermo Electron Australia Pty Limited, Thermo Electron Export Inc., Thermo Electron Holdings SAS, Thermo Electron Industries, Thermo Electron LED GmbH, Thermo Electron LED S.A.S., Thermo Electron Limited, Thermo Electron Manufacturing Limited, Thermo Electron Metallurgical Services Inc., Thermo Electron North America LLC, Thermo Electron Pension Trust GmbH, Thermo Electron Puerto Rico Inc., Thermo Electron SAS, Thermo Electron Scientific Instruments LLC, Thermo Electron Sweden AB, Thermo Electron Sweden Forvaltning AB, Thermo Electron Weighing & Inspection Limited, Thermo Elemental Limited, Thermo Environmental Instruments LLC, Thermo Fast U.K. Limited, Thermo Finland Holdings LLC, Thermo Finland Holdings MT1 B.V., Thermo Finland Holdings MT2 B.V., Thermo Finnigan LLC, Thermo Finnigan Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher (CN) Malta Holdings Limited, Thermo Fisher (CN-I) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (CN-II) Luxembourg LLC, Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings I Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Cayman) Holdings II Ltd., Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings 2) LLC, Thermo Fisher (Finland Holdings) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) II Limited, Thermo Fisher (Gibraltar) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Heysham) Limited, Thermo Fisher (Kandel) GmbH, Thermo Fisher CHK Holding LLC, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust, Thermo Fisher China Business Trust II, Thermo Fisher Costa Rica Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Thermo Fisher Cyprus Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Detection Mexico LLC, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics (Ireland) Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AB, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AG, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics AS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Aps, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Austria GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics B.V., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics GmbH, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics K.K., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Limited, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics NV, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.L.U., Thermo Fisher Diagnostics S.p.A. , Thermo Fisher Diagnostics SAS, Thermo Fisher Diagnostics Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Thermo Fisher Eurobonds Ltd., Thermo Fisher Financial Services Inc., Thermo Fisher GP LLC, Thermo Fisher German Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Germany B.V., Thermo Fisher India Divestco Private Limited, Thermo Fisher India Holding B.V., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings Inc., Thermo Fisher Insurance Holdings LLC, Thermo Fisher Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Thermo Fisher Israel Ltd., Thermo Fisher Production et Services SAS, Thermo Fisher Project Cyprus LLC, Thermo Fisher Re Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Asheville) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Australia) C.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Barbados) Holdings Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Breda) Holding BV, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Bremen) GmbH, Thermo Fisher Scientific (CN) Limited Partnership, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Co. Ltd., Thermo Fisher Scientific (China) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (China-HK) Holding Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (DE) Holding S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Ecublens) SARL, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance I) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance II) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Finance III) S.a.r.l., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Fuji) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Holding II) B.V. & Co. KG, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Hong Kong) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) B.V., Thermo Fisher Scientific (IVGN) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Johannesburg) (Proprietary) Limited, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mexico City) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Milwaukee) LLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific (Mississauga) Inc., Thermo Fisher Scientific (Monterrey) S. De R.L. 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.Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.The following companies are subsidiares of General Dynamics: 42SIX LLC, ARMA Global Corporation, Advanced Technical Products, Aeromil (Australia) Pty Ltd, Aeromil Aircraft Engineering Pty Ltd, Aeromil Aviation Services Pty Ltd, Aeromil IT Services Pty Ltd, Aeromil Marine Pty Ltd, Aeromil Pacific Pty Ltd, American Overseas Marine Company LLC, Anteon International Corporation, Applied Physical Sciences, Applied Physical Sciences Corp., Ascend Intelligence, Australian Avionics Pty Ltd, Autonomic Resources LLC, Avion Logistics Limited, Avjet Corporation, AxleTech International, Axsys, BATH IRON WORKS CORPORATION, BP-HP Pte Limited, Bath Iron Works, Bath Iron Works Australia Corporation, Bath Iron Works Canada LLC, Bluefin Robotics Corporation, Blueprint Technologies Inc., Braintree I Maritime Corp., Braintree II Maritime Corp., Braintree III Maritime Corp., Braintree IV Maritime Corp., Braintree V Maritime Corp., Buccaneer Computer Systems & Service Inc., CSC Computer Sciences Venezuela S.A., CSRA, CSRA (Costa Rica) S.A., CSRA (Guyana) Inc., CSRA (Middle East) LLC, CSRA Argentina S.R.L., CSRA BH d.o.o., CSRA Bahamas Limited, CSRA Bahrain S.P.C., CSRA Belgium SPRL, CSRA Bolivia S.R.L., CSRA Brazil Servicos de Tecnologia Ltda., CSRA Canada Inc., CSRA Caribbean Inc., CSRA Chile SpA, CSRA Colombia SAS, CSRA Commerce 2010 LLC, CSRA Consular Services Holding Company LLC, CSRA Consular Services Inc., CSRA France SARL, CSRA Guatemala Solutions Sociedad Anonima, CSRA Honduras Sociedad Anonima, CSRA Inc., CSRA Information Systems LLC, CSRA Information Technology Spain SL, CSRA Ireland Limited, CSRA Italy S.R.L, CSRA Kosovo L.L.C., CSRA LATAM LLC, CSRA LLC, CSRA Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., CSRA Netherlands B.V., CSRA Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CSRA Panama Inc., CSRA Peru S.R.L., CSRA Senegal SARL, CSRA South Africa (Pty) Ltd, CSRA State and Local Solutions LLC, CSRA Systems & Solutions LLC, CSRA Trinidad & Tobago Limited, CSRA Turkey Bilisim Teknolojileri Limited Sirketi, CSRA Uruguay S.R.L, CSRA Visa Services Israel Ltd., CSRAIT - Information Services Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Centauri Solutions LLC, Command System, Computing Devices International, Concord I Maritime Corporation, Concord II Maritime Corporation, Concord III Maritime Corporation, Concord IV Maritime Corporation, Concord V Maritime Corporation, Convair Aircraft Corporation, Convair Corporation, Creative Technology, Customer Services Ecuador CSRA S.A., Devcor, Diamond Fortress Technologies, DynPort Vaccine Company LLC, EB Groton Engineering Inc., EBV Explosives Environmental, ELCS-CZ s.r.o., Eagle Enterprise Inc., Earl Industries - Ship Repair and Coatings Division, Ebv Explosives Environmental Company, Electric Boat - Australia LLC, Electric Boat - UK LLC, Electric Boat Canada LLC, Electric Boat Corporation, Electric Boat France LLC, Electrocom Inc., Engineering Technology, Expro Finance Inc., FBD Fahrzeug und Bremsendienst GmbH, FC Business Systems, Fidelis Cybersecurity, Force Protection, Force Protection Europe Limited, Force Protection Inc., ForeSight Technology Services LLC, Freeman United Coal Mining Company LLC, GD Brazil Holdings LLC, GD European Land Systems - Steyr GmbH, GD European Land Systems Holding GmbH, GDOTS Services Corporation, GM GDLS Defense Group L.L.C., GPS Source Inc., GTE Government Systems, GWA-Datatrac FAST LLC, Galaxy Aerospace Company, Gayston Corporation - Defense Operations, General Dynamics - OTS (Global) Inc., General Dynamics AIS Australia Pty Ltd, General Dynamics Canadian Finance Inc., General Dynamics Canadian Holdings Inc., General Dynamics Commercial Cyber Services LLC, General Dynamics European Finance Limited, General Dynamics European Land Systems - Austria GmbH, General Dynamics European Land Systems - Bridge Systems GmbH, General Dynamics European Land Systems - Czech s.r.o., General Dynamics European Land Systems - Denmark ApS, General Dynamics European Land Systems - Deutschland GmbH, General Dynamics European Land Systems - FWW GmbH, General Dynamics European Land Systems - Mowag GmbH, General Dynamics European Land Systems Romania S.R.L., General Dynamics European Land Systems S.L., General Dynamics Global Force LLC, General Dynamics Global Holdings Limited, General Dynamics Global Imaging Technologies Inc., General Dynamics Government Satellite Services LLC, General Dynamics Government Systems Corporation, General Dynamics Government Systems Overseas Corporation, General Dynamics Information Technology Canada Limited, General Dynamics Information Technology Inc., General Dynamics Information Technology Limited, General Dynamics Installation Services LLC, General Dynamics International Corporation, General Dynamics Itronix LLC, General Dynamics Land Systems - Australia Pty. Ltd., General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada Corporation, General Dynamics Land Systems - Canada Services Inc., General Dynamics Land Systems - Canadian Services Limited, General Dynamics Land Systems - Force Protection Inc., General Dynamics Land Systems Customer Service & Support Company, General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., General Dynamics Limited, General Dynamics Marine Systems Inc., General Dynamics Mission Systems Inc., General Dynamics Mission Systems International Limited, General Dynamics Mission Systems Overseas Company LLC, General Dynamics Motion Control LLC, General Dynamics OTS (Aerospace) Inc., General Dynamics OTS (California) Inc., General Dynamics OTS (DRI) Inc., General Dynamics OTS (Niceville) Inc., General Dynamics OTS (Pennsylvania) Inc., General Dynamics One Source LLC, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems - Canada Inc., General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems - Canada Valleyfield Inc., General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems - Simunition Operations Inc., General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Inc., General Dynamics Overseas Systems and Services Corporation, General Dynamics Properties Inc., General Dynamics Robotic Systems Inc., General Dynamics SATCOM Technologies Inc., General Dynamics Satcom Technologies Asia Private Limited, General Dynamics Satellite Communication Services LLC, General Dynamics Saudi Holdings S.L., General Dynamics Shared Resources LLC, General Dynamics Support Services Company, General Dynamics Swiss Financial Management Limited, General Dynamics United Kingdom Limited, General Dynamics Worldwide Holdings Inc., General Dynamics-OTS Inc., General Motors Defense, Gulfstream 100 Holdings LLC, Gulfstream Aerospace, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (CA), Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (DE), Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (GA), Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation (OK), Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation of Texas, Gulfstream Aerospace Hong Kong Limited, Gulfstream Aerospace LLC, Gulfstream Aerospace LP, Gulfstream Aerospace Ltd., Gulfstream Aerospace Services Corporation, Gulfstream Aerospace Sociedad de Responssabilidad Limitada de CapitalVariable (S. de R.L. de C.V.), Gulfstream Do Brasil Servicos De Suporte E Manutencao A Aeronaves Ltda., Gulfstream International Corporation, Gulfstream Leasing LLC, Gulfstream Product Support Corporation, Gulfstream Services Corporation, Gulfstream Tennessee Corporation, Gulfstream-California Inc., Hawker Pacific (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Hawker Pacific Aircraft Management Pte Ltd, Hawker Pacific Airservices Limited, Hawker Pacific Airservices Pvt Ltd, Hawker Pacific Asia Holdings Pte Ltd, Hawker Pacific Asia Pte Ltd, Hawker Pacific Australia Pty Ltd, Hawker Pacific Aviation Services Pty Ltd, Hawker Pacific NZ Limited, Hawker Pacific Pty Ltd, IPWireless, IPWireless PTE. Limited, Information Services Consulting Limited, Interiores Aereos S.A. de C.V., International Manufacturing Technologies Inc., Itronix, Janteq Australia PTY Limited, Janteq Corp., Jet Aviation, Jet Aviation (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Jet Aviation (Bermuda) Ltd., Jet Aviation (Hong Kong) Ltd., Jet Aviation (Malaysia) SDN BHD, Jet Aviation 125 Services LLC, Jet Aviation AG, Jet Aviation Brazil Holdings Inc., Jet Aviation Business Jets (Hong Kong) Limited, Jet Aviation Business Jets AG, Jet Aviation Business Jets FZCO, Jet Aviation California LLC, Jet Aviation Dulles LLC, Jet Aviation Flight Services Inc., Jet Aviation France SAS, Jet Aviation Holding GmbH, Jet Aviation Holdings USA Inc., Jet Aviation Houston Inc., Jet Aviation International Inc., Jet Aviation Malaga SA, Jet Aviation Management AG, Jet Aviation Netherlands B.V., Jet Aviation Savannah Holding LLC, Jet Aviation Services GmbH, Jet Aviation St. Louis Inc., Jet Aviation Teterboro LP, Jet Aviation Texas Inc., Jet Aviation of America Inc., Jet Aviation/Palm Beach Inc., Jet Professionals LLC, Kylmar, Longreach Energy LLC, MAYA Viz, Maricom Systems Incorporated, Material Service Resources Company LLC, Matthews Land Company, Mediaware International, Mediaware International Pty Ltd, Metro Machine, Metro Machine co, Midwest Properties Sales LLC, NASSCO, NASSCO Holdings Incorporated, NES Associates LLC, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, Network Connectivity Solutions Corp., Newberry Holdings LLC, OOO Jet Aviation Vnukovo, Open Kernel Labs, Page Europa Srl, Patriot I Shipping Corp., Patriot II Shipping Corp., Patriot IV Shipping Corp., Plane 79 LLC, Praxis Engineering Technologies LLC, PrimeX Technologies, Prodelin India Private Limited, Proyectos Prohumane Mexico S.A. de C.V., Quincy Maritime Corporation III, Raven Acquisitions LLC, SENTECH INC., SRA International Inc., Saco Defense, Santa Barbara Sistemas S.A., Savannah Air Center LLC, Signal Solutions LLC, Southern Illinois Recovery Inc., Spectrum Astro, St. Marks Powder Inc., Stabilo Pty Ltd, Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug AG & Co KG, Sydney Jet Charter Pty Ltd, Tadpole Computer, Tecnologias Internacionales de Manufactura S.A. de C.V., Tenacity Solutions Incorporated, The Depth of Ideas for General Trading LLC, TriPoint Global Communications, Vangent, Vangent Servicios de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Veridian, Vertex Antennentechnik GmbH, ViPS, Vulnerability Research Labs LLC, and Weco LLC.Conifex Timber Inc. primarily manufactures and sells lumber products in the United States, China, Canada, Japan, and internationally. It is involved in the timber harvesting, reforestation, and forest management activities; manufacture of finished softwood lumber from spruce, pine, and fir logs; manufacture, sale, and distribution of dimension lumber; processing logs into lumber and wood chips, as well as by-products or residues, such as trim blocks, sawdust, shavings, and barks; and providing value added lumber finishing services. The company also develops bioenergy and bio products; and operates a 36 megawatt biomass power generation plant, which produces renewable energy for commercial sale. The company was formerly known as West Fourth Capital Inc. and changed its name to Conifex Timber Inc. in June 2010. Conifex Timber Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Danaher: AB SCIEX, AB Sciex Germany GmbH, AB Sciex LLC, AB Sciex LP, AB Sciex Pte Ltd., Accu-Sort Systems, Acme Cleveland Corporation, Advanced Vision Technology, American Precision Industries, Applied Biosystems, Applitek NV, Aquatic Infomatics ULC, Aquatic Informatics, Armstrong Tools, BC Distribution BV, Beckman Coulter, Beckman Coulter Australia Pty Ltd, Beckman Coulter Biotechnology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Biyomedikal Urunler Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited [irketi], Beckman Coulter Canada LP, Beckman Coulter Commercial Enterprise (China) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter France S.A.S., Beckman Coulter G.m.b.H., Beckman Coulter Genomics Inc., Beckman Coulter Hong Kong Limited, Beckman Coulter Inc., Beckman Coulter India Private Limited, Beckman Coulter International SA, Beckman Coulter International Shanghai Trading Co., Beckman Coulter Ireland Inc., Beckman Coulter K.K., Beckman Coulter Korea Ltd., Beckman Coulter Laboratory Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Limited Liability Company, Beckman Coulter Mishima KK, Beckman Coulter Nederland B.V., Beckman Coulter Nippon GK, Beckman Coulter S.L.U., Beckman Coulter Saudi Arabia Co.Ltd., Beckman Coulter Srl, Beckman Coulter Taiwan Inc., Beckman Coulter United Kingdom Limited, Beckman Coulter de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Beckman Coulter do Brasil Ltda., Beckman Finance ApS, Beckman Holdings Ltd., BioTector Analytical Systems Ltd, Biosafe S.A., Blue Software LLC, Cepheid, Cepheid AB, Cepheid Europe SAS, Cepheid GmbH, Cepheid HBDC SAS, Cepheid UK Ltd., ChemTreat, ChemTreat Inc., ChemTreat International Inc., Cispus Hong Kong Holding Limited, Cytiva, Cytiva BioProcess R&D AB, Cytiva Biotechnology (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Biotechnology (Hang Zhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Europe GmbH, Cytiva Sweden AB, Cytiva Sweden Holding AB, DH Europe Finance II Sarl, DH Europe Finance Sarl, DH Holding Italia SRL, DH Japan Finance Sarl, DH Life Sciences LLC, DH Netherlands BV, DH Technologies Development Pte Ltd., DHKAB Company AB, DTIL Ireland Holdings Ltd., Danaher (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Danaher Hong Kong Limited, Danaher Medical ApS, Delta Consolidated Industries, Devicore Medical Products Inc., Easco Hand Tools, Esko, Esko BV, Esko Finance BV, Esko Graphics BV, Esko Software BV, FHAB Company AB, Fluke, G. Lufft Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH, GE Biopharma, Gelman Sciences Inc., Gendex, Genetix Group, Gilbarco Veeder Root, Gilzoni Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Austria GmbH & Co. KG, Global Life Sciences Solutions Germany GmbH, Global Life Sciences Solutions Korea Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Manufacturing UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions New Zealand, Global Life Sciences Solutions Operations UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC, Global Life Sciences Technologies (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Global Life Sciences Technologies Japan KK, Hach Company, Hach Lange Finance GmbH, Hach Lange GmbH, Hach Lange Sarl, Hach Sales & Services Canada LP, Hach Ultra Japan KK, Hach Water Quality Analytical Instru. (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., HemoCue AB, HyClone Laboratories LLC, Hybritech Incorporated, Hyclone Life Sciences Solutions India Private Limited, IDBS Group, IRIS International, Imaging Sciences International, Immunotech SAS, Immunotech Sro, Intabio LLC, Integrated DNA Technologies, Integrated DNA Technologies BVBA, Integrated DNA Technologies Inc., Integrated DNA Technologies Pte. Ltd., Iris International Inc., Joslyn Holding Company LLC, KVHG GmbH, KaVo, KaVo Kerr, Kaltenbach & Voigt, Keithley Instruments, Kipp & Zonen BV, Kollmorgen, Labcyte Inc., Laetus, Leica Biosystems Imaging Inc., Leica Biosystems Melbourne Pty Ltd, Leica Biosystems Newcastle Limited, Leica Biosystems Nussloch GmbH, Leica Biosystems Richmond Inc., Leica Instruments (Singapore) Pte Limited, Leica Microsystems, Leica Microsystems (UK) Limited, Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH, Leica Microsystems Cambridge Limited, Leica Microsystems IR GmbH, Leica Microsystems Inc., Leica Microsystems Limited, Leica Microsystems Ltd. Shanghai, Leica Mikrosysteme Vertrieb GmbH, Life Sciences Holdings France SAS*, Lifschultz Industries, Linx Printing Technologies, Linx Printing Technologies Limited, MDS Analytical Technologies, Marconi Data Systems, McCrometer Inc., Microtest, Molecular Devices, Molecular Devices (Austria) GmbH, Molecular Devices LLC, Navman Wireless, Navman Wireless OEM Solutions, Nihon Pall Ltd., Nihon Pall Manufacturing Limited, Nobel Biocare, OTT Hydromet Corp, Pall, Pall (Canada) ULC, Pall (China) Co. Ltd., Pall (Schweiz) GmbH, Pall Aeropower Corporation, Pall Artelis BVBA, Pall Asia Holdings Inc., Pall Australia Pty. Ltd., Pall Austria Filter Ges.m.b.h, Pall Corporation, Pall Europe Limited, Pall Filtersystems GmbH, Pall Filtration Pte. Ltd., Pall Filtration and Separations Group Inc., Pall France SAS, Pall GmbH, Pall India Pvt. Ltd., Pall International Sarl, Pall Italia Srl, Pall Korea Ltd., Pall Life Sciences Belgium BV, Pall Life Sciences Puerto Rico LLC, Pall Manufacturing UK Limited, Pall Medistad BV, Pall Netherlands BV Irish Branch, Pall Technology UK Limited, PaloDEX, Pantone LLC, Pelton & Crane, Phenomenex, Phenomenex Inc., Precision NanoSystems, QHC Ireland Finance Limited, Radiometer, Radiometer Basel AG, Radiometer K.K., Radiometer Medical ApS, Radiometer Medical Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Radiometer Turku Oy, Raytek, Reytek Corporation, SH Switzerland Finance Sarl, Sea-Bird Electronics Inc., SenDx Medical Inc., Shanghai AB Sciex Analytical Instrument Trading Co. Ltd., Sutron, Sybron Dental Specialties, TCIL Ireland Finance Ltd., Tektronix, Thomson Industries, Tianjin Bonna-Agela Technologies Co. Ltd., Trojan Technologies, Trojan Technologies Group ULC, VSS Monitoring, Videojet Do Brasil Comercio de Equipamentos Para Codificacao Industrial Ltda., Videojet Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Videojet Technologies Europe B.V., Videojet Technologies Inc., Viridor Waste Management Limited, Vision Systems Limited, Willett International, X-Ray Optical Systems Inc., X-Rite, X-Rite Europe GmbH, X-Rite Incorporated, X-Rite Switzerland GmbH, XOS, Yukon Hong Kong Holding Limited, and Zhuhai S.E.Z. Videojet Electronics Ltd..FBL Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, sells individual life insurance and annuity products. The Annuity segment sells various traditional annuity products that primarily consist of fixed rate and indexed annuities, and supplementary contracts. The Life Insurance segment offers whole life, term life, and universal life policies. It also involved in the property-casualty business; and provision of wealth management, investment advisory, and marketing and distribution services for the sale of mutual funds and insurance products, as well as leasing services. The company markets its products to Farm Bureau members, and other individuals and businesses through exclusive agents and agency managers under the consumer brand name of Farm Bureau Financial Services in the Midwestern and Western sections of the United States. The company was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Read MoreBay Banks of Virginia, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and consumers in Virginia. The company accepts checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, cash management accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include commercial and industrial loans, such as small business loans, asset based loans, and other secured and unsecured loans and lines of credit; purchased loans; residential and commercial mortgages; home equity loans; consumer installment loans; and consumer loans comprising automobile and boat financing, home improvement loans, and unsecured personal loans. The company also provides credit cards; and insurance, online banking, telephone banking, mobile banking, analysis checking, cash management deposit, wire, direct deposit payroll, lockbox, positive pay, and remote deposit services, as well as a line of commercial lending options. In addition, it offers management services, including estate planning and settlement, as well as trust administration, investment, and wealth management services; and revocable and irrevocable living trusts, testamentary trusts, custodial accounts, investment planning, brokerage services, investment managed accounts, and managed and self-directed rollover individual retirement accounts for personal and corporate trusts. As of March 9, 2020, the company operated 17 banking offices located throughout greater Richmond region, the Northern Neck region, Middlesex County, and the Hampton Roads region. Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc. was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

Read MoreHelix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. is an international offshore energy company. It focuses on subsea construction, maintenance and salvage services to the offshore natural gas and oil industry. The firm also provides specialty services to the offshore energy industry, with a focus on well intervention and robotics operations. The company operates through three segments: Well Intervention, Robotics and Production Facilities. The Well Intervention segment offers vessels and related equipment that are used to perform well intervention services primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and North Sea regions. The Robotics segment involves four chartered vessels and also includes ROVs, trenchers and ROVDrills designed to complement offshore construction and well intervention services. The Production Facilities segment includes its investment in the Helix Producer I and Kommandor LLC. Helix Energy Solutions Group was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Brooks Instrument LLC, Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance III Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EAE B.V., ITW EAE Mexico S de RL de CV, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW France Finance Alpha S.A.S., ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Holdings X Limited, ITW Holdings XI Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Administration BV, ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK Finance Zeta Ltd., ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft S.L., Loma Systems, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, MOA Enterprises Inc, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V..Iron Bridge Resources Inc. engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, crude oil, and natural gas liquids in Western Canada. It primarily operates in the Montney light oil fairway at Elmworth in West Central Alberta. As of December 31, 2017, its total proved plus probable reserves included 26.11 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company was formerly known as RMP Energy Inc. and changed its name to Iron Bridge Resources Inc. in November 2017. Iron Bridge Resources Inc. is headquartered in Calgary, Canada. As of October 5, 2018, Iron Bridge Resources Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Velvet Energy Ltd.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of ITT: AIMCO Industries LLC, AcousticFab LLC, Allen Osborne Associates, Axtone, Axtone Bahntechink GmbH, Axtone GmbH, Axtone HSW sp. z.o.o., Axtone S.A., Axtone s.r.o., Blakers Pump Engineers, Bolton Insurance Co., Bolton International RE S.C.A., Bolton International S.C.A., Bombas Goulds S.A., Bombas Goulds de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bombas Goulds de Venezuela C.A., Bornemann Inc. (Canada), Bornemann S.A. DE C.V., C&I QSF LLC, C&K Components, Canberra Pumps do Brasil, Carbon Industries Inc., Computer & Equipment Leasing Corporation, DITTHA GmbH, Distribuidora Arbos C.A., Dolphin Technology, EP Industries Europe B.V., Edo, Electrofilm Manufacturing Company LLC, Ellis K. Phelps & Co., Energy Machine Services, Enidine Kabashiki Gaisha (Enidine Company Limited (Japan)), EnviroTech LLC, Equipos Hidraulicos S.A., European Pump Services B.V., F.B. Leopold, FLOJET Corp., Flowtronex PSI, Godwin Pumps, Goulds Mexico Holdings LLC, Goulds Pumps (IPG) LLC, Goulds Pumps (N.Y.) Inc., Goulds Pumps (NY) Inc. (PERU BRANCH), Goulds Pumps (NY) Inc. (TAIWAN BRANCH), Goulds Pumps (PA) LLC, Goulds Pumps Administration Inc., Goulds Pumps Canada Inc., Goulds Pumps Co. Ltd., Goulds Pumps LLC, Goulds QSF LLC, Hartzell Aerospace, Hydro Air Industries, ITT (China) Investment Co. Ltd., ITT (China) Investment Co. Ltd. (SHANGHAI BRANCH), ITT (Shanghai) Fluid Technology Co. Ltd., ITT Aerospace Controls LLC, ITT Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITT Automotive Enterprises Inc., ITT Blakers PTY Ltd, ITT Blakers Unit Trust, ITT Bombas Goulds do Brasil Ltda., ITT Bornemann GmbH, ITT Bornemann-Goulds Pumps S.R.L., ITT C'treat LLC, ITT Cannon (Hong Kong) LTD, ITT Cannon (Hong Kong) LTD (TAIWAN BRANCH), ITT Cannon Electronics (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd, ITT Cannon GmbH, ITT Cannon GmbH (DENMARK BRANCH), ITT Cannon Korea Ltd., ITT Cannon LLC, ITT Cannon LLC (DUBAI BRANCH), ITT Cannon Ltd., ITT Cannon Mexico Inc., ITT Cannon Veam Italia s.r.l., ITT Cannon de Mexico S.A. de C.V., ITT Community Development Corporation, ITT Corporation India PVT. Ltd., ITT Egypt LLC, ITT Engineered Valves LLC, ITT Enidine GmbH, ITT Enidine Inc., ITT Finance Hong Kong Ltd., ITT Fluid Technology Asia Pte Ltd., ITT Fluid Technology International (Thailand) LTD., ITT Fluid Technology International Inc., ITT Fluid Technology International Inc. (DUBAI BRANCH), ITT Fluid Technology International Inc. (RUSSIAN BRANCH), ITT Fluid Technology S.A., ITT Germany Holdings GmbH, ITT Goulds Pumps Colombia S.A.S., ITT Goulds Pumps Inc., ITT Goulds Pumps Inc. (GREECE BRANCH), ITT High Precision Manufactured Products (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., ITT Holding LLC, ITT Holdings Czech Republic s.r.o., ITT Industries France S.A.S., ITT Industries Global S.a.r.l., ITT Industries Holdings Inc., ITT Industries Holdings Limited, ITT Industries Limited, ITT Industries Luxembourg S.a r.l., ITT Industries Rus LLC, ITT Industries Spain SL, ITT International Holdings Inc., ITT International Luxembourg S.a r.l., ITT Investments Luxembourg S.a.r.l., ITT Iran S.K., ITT Italia s.r.l., ITT Italy Holding Srl, ITT Japan B.V., ITT Korea Holding B.V., ITT LLC, ITT Luxembourg Europe Sarl, ITT Luxembourg Worldwide Sarl, ITT Manufacturing Enterprises LLC, ITT Motion Technologies America LLC, ITT Motion Technologies GmbH, ITT Motion Technologies LLC, ITT Motion Technologies Luxembourg S.a.r.l., ITT Motion Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V, ITT Netherlands B.V., ITT Netherlands Europe B.V., ITT Netherlands Worldwide B.V., ITT Rheinhuette Pumps LLC, ITT Rheinhutte Benelux B.V., ITT Rheinhutte Pumpen Austria GmbH, ITT Rheinhutte Pumpen Co. Ltd., ITT Rheinhutte Pumpen GmbH, ITT Rheinhutte Pumpen do Brasil Industria de Bombas Ltda., ITT Saudi Co., ITT Technical Services S.K., ITT Torque Systems Inc., ITT Water & Wastewater U.S.A. Inc., ITT Water Technology (TX) LLC, InTelCo Management LLC, InTelCo Properties LLC, Industrial Tube Company LLC, Industries QSF LLC, International Motion Control, International Motion Control Inc., International Standard Electric Corporation, International Telephone & Telegraph Corp., K and M Electronics, Kentucky Carbon Corporation, Koni BV, Koni France SAS, Koni NA LLC, LLMZ Kamax, Leland Properties Inc., Matrix Composites, Matrix Composites Inc., Nova Analytics, O.I. Corporation, PT ITT Fluid Technology Indonesia, Pci Membranes, Precision Stainless, Qingdao Kamax Buffer Equipment Company Ltd., Qume, Rheinhutte Pumps Nordic Filial, Rheinhutte Pumpen Group, Rule Industries, Rule Industries LLC, SRA International's Airport Operations Solutions (AOS) group, STX Pte. Ltd, Shanghai Goulds Pumps Co. Ltd., Shanghai Hengtong Purified Water Development, Shanghai Hengtong Water Treatment Engineering, Sinton Engineering Group, Standard Electric, Standard Tecknik Services, Stanford Telecommunications Inc, Svedala Robot BV, TDS Corporate Services LLC, Uniservice Wellpoint, Venus Holdco LLC, WAM China Ltd., WC Wolverine Holdings Inc., Water Pollution Control Corp., Wolverine Advanced Materials (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Wolverine Advanced Materials Asia Limited, Wolverine Advanced Materials GmbH, Wolverine Advanced Materials LLC, Wolverine Advanced Materials LLC (INDIA BRANCH), Wolverine Automotive Holdings Inc., Wolverine Brasil Representacao Ltda., Wolverine Japan KK, Wolverine Press (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Wolverine/Tekno Laminates and Composites Ltda., and YSI Inc.Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance and Wealth. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings accounts, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, credit cards, and other financial services to personal and small business customers. The Commercial Banking segment provides lending, transactional banking, working capital management, risk management, and debt capital market services to small and medium-sized entities, corporates, and financial institutions. The Insurance and Wealth segment offers life, home, and car insurance products; and pension, investment, and wealth management products and services. It also provides digital and mobile banking, and telephone services, as well as advisory services for savings, investments, and planning for retirement. The company offers its products and services under the Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows, MBNA, Schroders Personal Wealth, Black Horse, Lex Autolease, Birmingham Midshires, LDC, IWeb, and Agricultural Mortgage Corporation brands. Lloyds Banking Group plc was founded in 1695 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

Read MoreWall Street analysts have given SPDR S&P China ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but SPDR S&P China ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.ONEOK, Inc. engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing and marketing of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment offers midstream services to producers in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Liquids segment owns and operates facilities that gather, fractionate, treat and distribute NGLs and store NGL products, in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and the Rocky Mountain region, which includes the Williston, Powder River and DJ Basins, where it provides midstream services to producers of NGLs and deliver those products to the two market centers, one in the Mid-Continent in Conway, Kansas and the other in the Gulf Coast in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment provides transportation and storage services to end users. The company was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Tulsa, OK.

Read MoreThe following companies are subsidiares of Prudential Financial: 210-220 E. 22nd Street SSGA Owner LLC, AIG Edison, AIG Star, AREF Cayman Co Ltd., AREF GP II Pte. Ltd., AREF GP Ltd., ASPF II - Feeder Fund GmbH, ASPF II - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, ASPF II Management GmbH, ASPF III (Scots) L.P., ASSURANCE, AST Investment Services Inc., Adlerwerke CB Investment LLC, Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Habitat S.A., Administradora de Inversiones Previsionales SpA, Aoba Life Insurance Company, Asia Property Fund III GP S.a.r.l., Assurance IQ LLC, Assurance Intelligence LLC, BSC CP LP, Braeloch Holdings Inc., Braeloch Successor Corporation, Brazilian Capital Fund GP Limited, Broad Street Global Advisors LLC, Broome Street Holdings LLC, CB German Retail LLC, CLIS Co. Ltd., COLICO INC., Campus Drive LLC, Capital Agricultural Property Services Inc., Chadwick Boulevard Investment Holdings Co. LLC, Cibecue LLC, Coconino LLC, Colico II Inc., Columbus Drive Partners L.P., Commerce Street Holdings LLC, Commerce Street Investments LLC, Coolidge LLC, Coral Reef GP, Coral Reef L.P., Coral Reef Unit Trust, Cottage Street Investments LLC, Cottage Street Orbit Acquisition LLC, DHFL PRAMERICA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, DICKENS AVENUE HOLDINGS VI LLC, DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI (Ireland) L.P., DICKENS AVENUE PARTNERS VI (US) L.P., Don Cesar Investor LLC, Dryden Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Dryden Finance II LLC, EVP II GP S.a r.l., EVP II Sweden Resi I GP S.a r.l., Edison Place Senior Note LLC, Essex LLC, EuroCore GP S.a r.l., European Value Partners GP S.a.r.l., Everbright PGIM Fund Management Co. Ltd., Flagstaff LLC, GA 1600 Commons LLC, GA 333 Hennepin Investor LLC, GA BV LLC, GA Bay Area GP LLC, GA Bay Area Investor LLC, GA Belden LLC, GA CLARENDON LLC, GA Cal Crossings LLC, GA Collins LLC, GA E. 22nd Street Apartments Holdings LLC, GA East 86 Street LLC, GA JHCII LLC, GA MENLO PARK INVESTOR LLC, GA Manor at Harbour Island LLC, GA Metro LLC, GA Mission LLC, GA TRITON INVESTOR LLC, GA W Paces LLC, GA/MDI 333 Hennepin Associates LLC, GIBRALTAR BSN HOLDINGS SDN BHD, GIBRALTAR INDIA SOLUTIONS LLP, Gateway Holdings II LLC, Gateway Holdings LLC, German Retail Income CP LP, Gibraltar BSN Life Berhad, Gibraltar International Insurance Services Company Inc., Gibraltar International Service LLC, Gibraltar Reinsurance Company Ltd., Gibraltar Universal Life Reinsurance Company, Glenealy International Limited, Global Portfolio Strategies Inc., Gold GP Limited, Gold II L.P., Gold L.P., Graham Resources Inc., Graham Royalty Ltd., Green Tree GP, Green Tree L.P., Greenlee LLC, Halsey Street Investments LLC, Hirakata LLC, IVP Fund GP LLC, Impact Investments Bridges UK S.a.r.l, Inter-Atlantic G Fund L.P., Inversiones Previsionales Chile SpA, Inversiones Previsionales Dos SpA, Ironbound Fund LLC, Jennison Associates LLC, Kyarra S.a r.l., Kyoei Annuity Home Co. Ltd., LINEUP LLC, Lake Street Partners IV L.P., MC GA COLLINS HOLDINGS LLC, MC GA COLLINS REALTY LLC, MC Insurance Agency Services LLC, Manor at Harbour Island LLC, Marble Canyon LLC, Maricopa LLC, Market Street Holdings IV LLC, Morenci LLC, Mulberry Street Holdings LLC, Mulberry Street Investment L.P., Mulberry Street Partners LLC, Mullin TBG Insurance Agency Services LLC, MullinTBG Insurance Agency Services, National Family Assurance Group LLC, New Savanna, Orchard Street Acres Inc., PAI Bay Farm LLC, PAI Bayrock Groves LLC, PAI Belvidere Farms LLC, PAI Big Cypress Farm LLC, PAI Corcoran 640 Ranch LLC, PAI DeKalb Farm LLC, PAI Delano 1500 Ranches LLC, PAI Flicker Orchard LLC, PAI Good Hope Farm LLC, PAI Hawk Creek Ranch LLC, PAI Hills Valley Ranches LLC, PAI Holly Hill Groves LLC, PAI Hunt Farm LLC, PAI Jackson Bayou Farm LLC, PAI Lake Placid Groves LLC, PAI Wallula Gap Vineyard LLC, PCP V Cayman AIV GP L.P., PEREF II Co-Invest 1 GP S.a r.l., PEREF II GP S.a r.l., PEREF II PV S.r.l, PFI EM-Tech Fund I LLC, PG Business Service Co. Ltd, PG Collection Service Co. Ltd., PGA Asian Retail Limited, PGA European Limited, PGI Co. Ltd, PGIM (Australia) Pty Ltd, PGIM (Hong Kong) Ltd., PGIM (Scots) Limited, PGIM (Shanghai) Company Ltd., PGIM (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., PGIM AVP IV GP S.a r.l., PGIM Advisory (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PGIM Agricultural Investments GP LLC, PGIM Agricultural Investors LP, PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Fund L.P., PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Partners LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management (Feeder) VI LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management Fund VI L.P., PGIM European Financing Limited, PGIM European Services Limited, PGIM Financial Limited, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund II L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives GP LLC, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives II GP LLC, PGIM Foreign Investments Inc., PGIM Holding Company LLC, PGIM INDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM INDIA TRUSTEES PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM Inc., PGIM International Financing Inc., PGIM Investments LLC, PGIM Japan Co. Ltd., PGIM Korea Inc., PGIM LTIF Berlin GP S.a r.l., PGIM LTIF Berlin MLP S.ar.l., PGIM LTIF GP S.a.r.l., PGIM Limited, PGIM Loan Originator Manager Limited, PGIM M Campus GP S.a r.l., PGIM Management Partner Limited, PGIM MetaProp Investor LP LLC, PGIM Netherlands B.V., PGIM Overseas Investment Fund Management (Shanghai) Company Ltd, PGIM Private Capital (Ireland) Limited, PGIM Private Capital Limited, PGIM Private Placement Investors Inc., PGIM Private Placement Investors L.P., PGIM REF EUROPE SCSp, PGIM REF Europe GP S.a r.l., PGIM REF Europe Member LLC, PGIM REF Intermediary Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate (Japan) Ltd., PGIM Real Estate (UK) Limited, PGIM Real Estate CD S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Capital VII GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest GP S.a r.l., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest L.P., PGIM Real Estate Carry & Co-Invest SCSp, PGIM Real Estate Co-Invest Holdings LLC, PGIM Real Estate Debt GmbH, PGIM Real Estate Finance Holding Company, PGIM Real Estate Finance LLC, PGIM Real Estate France SAS, PGIM Real Estate Germany AG, PGIM Real Estate Global Debt GP LLC, PGIM Real Estate Inmuebles S. de R.L. de C.V, PGIM Real Estate Italy S.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Loan Services Inc., PGIM Real Estate Luxembourg S.A., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Administradora V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles IV S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate MVP Inmuebles V S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate Management Luxembourg S.a.r.l., PGIM Real Estate Mexico S.C., PGIM Real Estate S. de R.L. de C.V., PGIM Real Estate U.S. Debt Fund GP LLC, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management (Feeder) I LLC, PGIM Senior Loan Opportunities Management Fund I L.P., PGIM Strategic Financing LLC, PGIM Strategic Investments Inc., PGIM USPF VI Manager LLC, PGIM Warehouse Inc., PGLH of Delaware Inc., PIFM Holdco LLC, PIIC Limited, PIISC Holdings (UK) Limited, PIM KF Blocker Holdings LLC, PIM KF Blocker V Holdings LLC, PIM USPF V Manager LLC, PLA Administradora Industrial SRL, PLA Administradora LLC, PLA Administradora S. de R.L. de C.V., PLA Asesoria Profesional II S. de R.L. de C.V., PLA Asesoria Profesional S.de R.L. de C.V., PLA Co-Investor LLC, PLA Mexico Industrial Manager I LLC, PLA Mexico Industrial Manager II LLC, PLA Mexico Residential Manager I LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Limited Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund III Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund IV Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Residential Fund IV Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund I Blue LP, PLA Retail Fund I LP, PLA Retail Fund I Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund I Red LP, PLA Retail Fund II Aggregating Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II LLC, PLA Retail Fund II LP, PLA Retail Fund II Manager LLC, PLA Retail Fund II U.S. Carry/Co-Invest LP, PLA Services Manager Mexico LLC, PLAI Limited, PMCF Holdings LLC, PMCF Properties LLC, PPPF General Partner LLP, PR GA SCP Apartments LLC, PRAMERICA PRECAP VI GP (SCOTS FEEDER) LLP, PRAMERICA PRECAP VI GP LLP, PRECO ACCOUNT III LLC, PRECO ACCOUNT PARTNERSHIP III LP, PRECO Account IV LLC, PRECO Account Partnership IV LP, PRECO III GP LLP, PREFG Hanwha Manager LLC, PREI Acquisition I Inc., PREI Acquisition II Inc., PREI Acquisition LLC, PREI HYDG LLC, PREI International Inc., PRIAC Property Acquisitions LLC, PRICOA Management Partner Limited, PRISA Fund Manager LLC, PRISA II Fund Manager LLC, PRISA II Pooled Manager LLC, PRISA III Fund GP LLC, PRISA III Fund PIM LLC, PRREF II Fund Manager LLC, PRU 3XSquare LLC, PRUCO LLC, PRUDENTIAL CAPITAL ENERGY PARTNERS MANAGEMENT (FEEDER) LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP MEMBER LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP REIT LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP VENTURE 2 LLC, PRUDENTIAL MORTGAGE SKP VENTURE LLC, PT PFI Mega Life Insurance, Passaic Fund LLC, Pine Tree GP, Pine Tree L.P., Platinum GP Limited, Platinum II L.P., Platinum L.P., Pramerica (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited, Pramerica (Luxembourg) CP GP S.a.r.l., Pramerica (Scots) CP GP LLP, Pramerica Business Consulting (Shanghai) Company Limited, Pramerica EVP CP LP, Pramerica Financial Asia Headquarters Pte. Ltd., Pramerica Financial Asia Limited, Pramerica Fixed Income Funds Management Limited, Pramerica Fosun Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Pramerica General Partner LLP, Pramerica Holdings Ltd, Pramerica Insurance Agency (China) Company Ltd., Pramerica PRECAP I GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP II GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP III GP LLP, Pramerica PRECAP IV GP LLP, Pramerica Pan European Real Estate (Scots) LP, Pramerica Property Partners Fund (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital I (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital I GP (Scots Feeder) LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital II (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital III (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV GP (Scots Feeder) LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital IV GP Limited, Pramerica Real Estate Capital V (Netherlands) GP LLP, Pramerica Real Estate Capital V (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica Real Estate Capital VI (Scots) Limited Partnership, Pramerica SGR S.p.A, Pramerica Systems Ireland Limited, Preco III (Scotland) Limited Partnership, Pru 101 Wood LLC, Pru Alpha Partners I LLC, Pru Fixed Income Emerging Markets Partners I LLC, PruVen Capital Partners Fund I L.P., Pruco Assignment Corporation, Pruco Life Insurance Company, Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey, Pruco Securities LLC, Prudential 900 Aviation Boulevard LLC, Prudential Affordable Mortgage Company LLC, Prudential Agricultural Property Holding Company LLC, Prudential Annuities Distributors Inc., Prudential Annuities Holding Company Inc., Prudential Annuities Inc., Prudential Annuities Information Services & Technology Corporation, Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corporation, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Captive Company, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Term Company, Prudential Arizona Reinsurance Universal Company, Prudential Bank & Trust FSB, Prudential Capital Energy Opportunity Fund L.P., Prudential Capital Energy Partners L.P., Prudential Capital Energy Partners Management Fund L.P., Prudential Capital Partners Management Fund IV L.P., Prudential Capital and Investment Services LLC, Prudential Chile II SpA, Prudential Chile SpA, Prudential Commercial Property Holding Company LLC, Prudential Customer Solutions LLC, Prudential Equity Group LLC, Prudential Financial Securities Investment Trust Enterprise, Prudential Fixed Income Global Liquidity Relative Value Partners LLC, Prudential Fixed Income U.S. Relative Value Partners LLC, Prudential Funding LLC, Prudential General Services of Japan Y.K., Prudential Gibraltar Agency Co. Ltd., Prudential Global Funding LLC, Prudential Holdings of Japan Inc., Prudential Huntoon Paige Associates LLC, Prudential IBH Holdco Inc., Prudential Impact Investments Mortgage Loans LLC, Prudential Impact Investments Private Debt LLC, Prudential Impact Investments Private Equity LLC, Prudential Industrial Properties LLC, Prudential Insurance Agency LLC, Prudential International Insurance Holdings Ltd., Prudential International Insurance Service Company L.L.C., Prudential International Investments Advisers LLC, Prudential International Investments Company LLC, Prudential International Investments LLC, Prudential Investment Management Services LLC, Prudential Japan Holdings LLC, Prudential Legacy Insurance Company of New Jersey, Prudential Life Insurance Company of Taiwan Inc., Prudential Mortgage Asset Holdings 1 Japan Investment Business Limited Partnership, Prudential Mortgage Asset Holdings 2 Japan Investment Business Limited Partnership, Prudential Mortgage Capital Asset Holding Company LLC, Prudential Mortgage Capital Funding LLC, Prudential Mortgage Capital Holdings LLC, Prudential Multifamily Mortgage LLC, Prudential Mutual Fund Services LLC, Prudential Newark Realty LLC, Prudential QOZ Investment Fund 1 LLC, Prudential Realty Securities Inc., Prudential Retirement Financial Services Holding LLC, Prudential Retirement Holdings LLC, Prudential Retirement Insurance and Annuity Company, Prudential Securities Secured Financing Corporation, Prudential Securities Structured Assets Inc., Prudential Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., Prudential Seguros S.A., Prudential Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Prudential Structured Settlement Company, Prudential Systems Japan Limited, Prudential Term Reinsurance Company, Prudential Trust Co. Ltd., Prudential Trust Company, Prudential Universal Reinsurance Company, Prudential Workplace Solutions Group Services LLC, Prudential do Brasil Seguros de Vida S.A., Prudential do Brasil Vida em Grupo S.A., Prudential/TMW Real Estate Group LLC, Pruservicos Participacoes Ltda., QMA JP EM All Cap Equity Partners LLC, QMA LLC, QMA Wadhwani LLP, Quartzsite LLC, Residential Services Corporation of America LLC, Rio CP LP, Rock European Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock Global Real Estate LLC, Rock Kensington Limited, Rock Marty GP S.a r.l., Rock Oxford S.a r.l., Rock UK Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock UK Real Estate II S.a.r.l., Rockstone Co. Ltd., Rosado Grande LLC, Ross Avenue Energy Fund Holdings LLC, Ross Avenue Minerals 2012 LLC, SCP Apartments LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERS VI GP LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERSHIP FUND VI GP LLC, SHP IV Carried Interest LP, SHP V Carried Interest L.P., SMP Holdings Inc., SVIIT Holdings Inc., Sanei Collection Service Co. Ltd. (Kabushiki Kaisha Sanei Shuuno Service), Senior Housing Partners IV L.L.C., Senior Housing Partners V LLC, Senior Housing Partnership Fund IV L.L.C., Senior Housing Partnership Fund V LLC, Sterling Private Placement Management LLP, Stetson Street Partners L.P., Strand Investments Limited, TBG Insurance Services Corporation, TENSATOR HOLDINGS LTD, TF Proveedora S.C., TMW ASPF I Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, TMW ASPF Management GmbH, TMW Management LLC, TMW Real Estate Group LLC, TMW Realty Advisors LLC, TMW USPF Verwaltungs GmbH, TRGOAG Company Inc., The Gibraltar Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Keynes Dynamic Beta Strategy (US) Fund GP LLC, The Prudential Assigned Settlement Services Corp., The Prudential Brazilian Capital Fund LP, The Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Prudential Home Mortgage Company Inc., The Prudential Insurance Company of America, The Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd., The Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America Inc., The WMF Group, Thurloe Commercial Guernsey Limited, Times Square Center Associates, USPF V - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, USPF V Carry LLC, USPF V Co-Invest LLC, USPF V Investment LP, United States Property Fund VI GP S.a r.l., Vailsburg Fund LLC, Vantage Casualty Insurance Company, Wabash Avenue Holdings V LLC, Wabash Avenue Partners V L.P., Wadhwani Capital Limited, Waveland Avenue Holdings I LLC, Waveland Avenue Partners I (Ireland) L.P., Waveland Avenue Partners I (US) L.P., Wellness Services Ecossistema De Bem Estar Ltda., Wellness Services SRL, Yamato Life, and Yavapai LLC.TCF Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for TCF National Bank that provides various financial products and services in the United States and Canada. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Enterprise Services segments. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; individual retirement accounts; debit and credit cards; and check cashing and remittance services. It also provides investment management and custodial services, trust services, financial and estate planning, and retirement planning and employee benefit programs; residential, consumer, and small business lending products; and consumer real estate secured lending, consumer loans, loans secured by personal property, and unsecured personal loans. In addition, the company offers loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services. Further, it provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate banking, and lease financing; and treasury services comprising investment and borrowing portfolios, as well as manages capital, debt, and market risks. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 478 branches, including 373 traditional branches, 102 supermarket branches, and three campus branches located in Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, and South Dakota; and 1,062 ATMs. TCF Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.

Read MoreSunTrust Banks, Inc. operates as the holding company for SunTrust Bank that provides various financial services for consumers, businesses, corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit entities in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Wholesale. The Consumer segment provides deposits and payments; home equity and personal credit lines; auto, student, and other lending products; credit cards; discount/online and full-service brokerage products; professional investment advisory products and services; and trust services, as well as family office solutions. This segment also offers residential mortgage products in the secondary market. The Wholesale segment provides capital markets solutions, including advisory, capital raising, and financial risk management; asset-based financing solutions, such as securitizations, asset-based lending, equipment financing, and structured real estate arrangements; cash management services and auto dealer financing solutions; investment banking solutions; and credit and deposit, fee-based product offering, multi-family agency lending, advisory, commercial mortgage brokerage, and tailored financing and equity investment solutions. This segment also offers treasury and payment solutions, such as operating various electronic and paper payment types, which comprise card, wire transfer, automated clearing house, check, and cash; and provides services clients to manage their accounts online. The company offers its products and services through a network of traditional and in-store branches, automated teller machines, Internet, mobile, and telephone banking channels. As of December 31, 2018, it operated 1,218 full-service banking offices located in Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. SunTrust Banks, Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Read MoreThe Bank of New York Mellon pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.49%. The Bank of New York Mellon does not yet have a strong track record of dividend growth. The dividend payout ratio of The Bank of New York Mellon is 33.92%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, The Bank of New York Mellon will have a dividend payout ratio of 29.44% next year. This indicates that The Bank of New York Mellon will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View The Bank of New York Mellon's dividend history.Hecla Mining Co. operates as a silver and gold production company. The firm produces lead, zinc and bulk concentrates for custom smelters and brokers; and develops unrefined precipitate and bullion bars for precious metals traders. It operates through the following business segments: The Greens Creek, The Lucky Friday, The Casa Berardi, The Nevada Operations, and The San Sebastian. The Greens Creek segment is located on Admiralty Island near Juneau in southeast Alaska. The Lucky Friday segment is located in northern Idaho. The Casa Berardi segment is located in the Abitibi region of northwestern Quebec, Canada and is operated by Aurizon. The San Sebastian segment is located in the state of Durango, Mexico and contains underground mines. The Nevada Operations segment is located in northern Nevada. The company was founded by Amasa B. Campbell, Patsy Clark, and John Finch on October 14, 1891 and is headquartered in Coeur d'Alene, ID.

Read MoreGildan Activewear Inc. manufactures and sells various apparel products in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It provides various activewear products, including T-shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, and sport shirts under the Gildan, Gildan Performance, Gildan Hammer, Comfort Colors, American Apparel, Anvil by Gildan, Alstyle, Prim + Preux, and GoldToe brands. The company also offers hosiery products comprising athletic; dress; and casual, liner, therapeutic, and workwear socks, as well as sheer panty hoses, tights, and leggings under the brands of Gildan, Under Armour, GoldToe, PowerSox, GT a GoldToe Brand, Silver Toe, Signature Gold by Goldtoe, Peds, MediPeds, Kushyfoot, Therapy Plus, All Pro, Secret, Silks, Secret Silky, and American Apparel. In addition, it provides men's and boys' underwear products, and ladies panties under the Gildan and Gildan Platinum brand names; and ladies' shapewear, intimates, and accessories under the Secret and Secret Silky brands. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors, screen printers, or embellishers, as well as to retailers and consumer 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.

Read MoreI thought about this idea of protection and empowerment as I continue to pray about those being impacted by Covid-19. What came to mind first was the song No Weapon by Fred Hammond. Its always been one of my favorite worship songs because it reminds...The company exports cars from India in a limited way to Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and few countries in South Africa. (Photo: PTI)

Kolkata: Japanese car maker Honda is expecting to better industry growth in the current financial year with the launch of three models during the period.

In the last financial year, the company sold more than 1.70 lakh units and registered a growth of eight per cent.

"The industry is expected to grow at a rate of seven to eight per cent this fiscal. We expect to do better than the industry", Sr VP (marketing and sales) and director of Honda Cars India Rajesh Goel said.

Launching the new Amaze sedan here today, Goel said that the company plans to launch new models of Honda CRV and Honda Civic in the country in this fiscal.

He said that Honda was committed to the Indian market, adding that India's contribution to the Asia and Oceania regions was 23 per cent.

"The launch of new models will spur the growth of company in India", he said.

The company exports cars from India in a limited way to Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and few countries in South Africa.The company on Monday unveiled four new phones to bolster its position in the mid-price segment (Rs 10,000-25,000) and fend off Xiaomi in the Indian smartphone market.

Hyderabad: Mobile phone maker Samsung on Monday said that it is mulling to increase its manufacturing capacity in India.

All our products that are sold in India are made in India. We have a plant here in India in Noida. All our products get produced there. We are trying to double the capacity of what we have right now, said Sumit Walia, director, Samsung India.

The company on Monday unveiled four new phones to bolster its position in the mid-price segment (Rs 10,000-25,000) and fend off Xiaomi in the Indian smartphone market.

The four handsets, Galaxy J6, Galaxy J8, Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+, are priced between Rs 13,990 and Rs 25,990.

In Delhi, Samsung India senior V-P (mobile business) Mohandeep Singh said the company has developed features keeping in mind the millenial users who buy phones in the price range of Rs 10,000 and Rs 25,000.Moodys believes that PNB will receive capital support from the Indian government and that the bank will be able to release some capital from the sale of its non-core assets but these funds will not be enough.

Mumbai: Global rating agency Moodys Investors Service has downgraded Indias second largest public sector bank Punjab National Banks (PNB) rating to Ba1 from Baa3 citing the adverse impact of the fraudulent transactions on the banks asset quality and capital position. It may impact the lenders cost of funds.

The rating downgrade also reflects the weak internal controls and processes of the bank, given that the fraudulent transactions were undetected for a number of years. The banks weak earnings profile  as seen by its large stock of nonperforming loans (NPLs) and the associated credit costs  will limit its ability to absorb the impact of the fraudulent transactions over the next 12-18 months. Furthermore, provisions relating to the fraudulent exposures will largely offset the benefit the bank will receive from the Indian governments capital infusion plan, the rating agency said.

Moodys believes that PNB will receive capital support from the Indian government and that the bank will be able to release some capital from the sale of its non-core assets  such as its real estate holdings  as well as a partial stake sale in its listed housing finance subsidiary, PNB Housing Finance Limited.

Nevertheless, these sources will unlikely prove sufficient to restore the banks capitalisation to levels before the fraudulent transactions were discovered.

According to Moodys estimate, PNB will require external capital of about Rs 13,000 crore in fiscal 2019 to meet the minimum Basel III CET1 ratio by March 2019.A new study has found that Viagra together with flu vaccine could help treat cancer, the Daily Mail reported.

It allows for the immune system to attack tumor cells that are still around after surgery.

On a study conducted on mice suffering from lunge cancer, researchers saw a 90% reduction in the spread of the disease.

"Surgery is very effective in removing solid tumours," senior author Dr Auer, surgical oncologist and head of cancer research at The Ottawa Hospital, told the Daily Mail.

Adding, "However, we're now realizing that, tragically, surgery can also suppress the immune system in a way that makes it easier for any remaining cancer cells to persist and spread to other organs.

"Our research suggests that combining erectile dysfunction drugs with the flu vaccine may be able to block this phenomenon and help prevent cancer from coming back after surgery."

Soon, 24 human stomach cancer patients will participate in a clinical trial to test this combination. The trial will observe changes in the immune system and will asses safety of using the two together.

However, researchers warn cancer patients not to try and self-medicate with this mix themselves.

"Cancer immunotherapy is a huge area of research right now, but we're still learning how best to use it in the time around surgery,"lead author of the study Dr Lee-Hwa Tai, former postdoctoral fellow in Dr Auer's lab and now assistant professor at the Universite de Sherbrooke, is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.The live heart was transported through a 18 kms green corridor from the airport to the hospital in a record 18 minutes time. (Photo: Pixabay)

In a landmark event, a team of doctors at Fortis Hospital, Anandapur successfully transplanted a live heart here today.

The live heart was transported through a 18 kms green corridor from the airport to the hospital in a record 18 minutes time.

The heart was harvested at a Bengaluru hospital before it was airlifted to Kolkata early morning today. The ambulance was driven by Ujjal Das.

Doctors transplanted the heart of a 21-year-old man who died in Bengaluru a day back on a 39-year-old patient from Jharkhand.

The recipient, Dilchand Singh, 39, a patient of dialectic cardio-myopathy, needed urgent replacement.

The operation went on for almost three hours. A team of trained doctors performed the complicated surgery.

The team of doctors who performed this surgery included Dr Tapas Raychaudhury, Director, Cardio Thoracic & Vascular Surgery and Dr K M Mandana, Director, Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Surgery along with Dr SaikatBandopadhyay, Senior Consultant, Cardiac Anesthesiologist & Intensivistfrom Fortis Hospital, Anandpur.

The heart transplant was conducted under the expert supervision of Dr K R Balakrishnan, Director, Cardiac Sciences and Dr Suresh Rao, Chief Cardiac Anesthetist from Fortis Malar Hospital in Chennai who to their credit run one of the largest Heart Transplant Programmes in Asia.After surveying 400,000 people across Canada using a happiness scale, researchers have found the happiest people live in rural areas, the Daily Mail reported.

People in the cities may have larger salaries, better education and lower rates of unemployment, but that doesn't mean in brings joy. The study found that people who live in the countryside are eight times happier than city folk.

Researchers at McGill University in Montreal and the Vancouver School of Economics assessed happiness by asking people on a scale of one to 10 how happy they are. The team found people in urban areas were 800 percent less happy.

The findings highlight the importance of strong bonded communities over social isolation.

"There isn't the same feeling of safety," Lesli Musicar, a therapist based in Toronto told Canada's Global News, about people living in urban areas.

"People are generally less trusting.

"There's a heterogeneous population, it's not a homogeneous population, it's not like in a small town where there is a lot more commonality."due to a lack of awareness, people accept such packets from roadside vendors, especially those who sell samosas and pakodas, says an expert.

Hyderabad: A recent Facebook post that went viral has shocked many, as it stated that eating food wrapped in newspapers is dangerous to consume.

Many people shared the post along with their own experience of wrapping food items in newspapers and then opening it only to see that a certain portion of the print was wiped clean.

The post which contains the advertisement of the Pune Cantonment Board cautioning the residents reads General public should stop purchasing eatables (especially fried) packed in newspapers from any vendor.

Dr Indra Mohan, a senior general physician, said, Eating food which is packed in newspaper is not good. Newspapers use chemicals which contain a high percentage of lead, the primary component of paint. Consumption of lead in any manner is dangerous for health.

He said that it was important to make people aware that they must not consume food packed in newspapers. Dr Mohan said that due to a lack of awareness, people accept such packets from roadside vendors, especially those who sell samosas and pakodas.

Nutritionist Sujatha Stephen said, We should start using butter packing for foods. The ink with which the newspaper is printed affects the stomach, and could cause food poisoning.

Shaheen Ibrahim, a student, said, Whenever I am tired of mess food, we go and eat out. The vendors usually pack food in newspapers. We dont have much choice.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) says in an advisory: Wrapping food in newspapers is an unhealthy practice and the consumption of such food is injurious to health, even if the food has been cooked hygienically.Dr Shivakumar R., a Senior Consultant Neurologist & Epileptologist, Sakra World Hospital, said those travelling to Kerala should be cautious when and if they come in contact with Nipah-infected people.

Bengaluru: The state is on high alert, especially in areas bordering Kerala, after 11 people died of the mysterious Nipah Virus in Kozhikode over the last few days.

The Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department has directed primary healthcare centres in Chamarajnagar and Mysuru districts, which share the border with Kerala, to be alert and to report any patients from Kerala with suspected Nipah cases, said Department Director Dr P.L. Nataraj. A team from Delhi has been sent to Kerala and based on the report, national guidelines will be issued, he said.

Dr Shivakumar R., a Senior Consultant Neurologist & Epileptologist, Sakra World Hospital, said those travelling to Kerala should be cautious when and if they come in contact with Nipah-infected people. Avoid eating fruits fallen on the ground and drinking raw date palm sap in Kerala. Avoid coming in contact with sick domestic animals and pigs, he said.

Nipah Virus infection is zoonotic, which means the disease has spread from animals to humans, and can causes severe conditions in animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus. The virus transmits through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or from other NiV-infected people through touch or body fluids. Disease is contagious and can spread from person-to-person, he said.

The infection in humans can cause a wide range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic (no symptoms) to acute respiratory syndrome (cough, breathlessness and respiratory distress) and fatal encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). After exposure to virus, symptoms start after an incubation period of 5-14 days. Usual symptoms are fever and headache for 3-10 days followed by drowsiness, confusion, seizures and altered sensorium. Signs and symptoms can progress rapidly to coma and death in 24-48 hours. Nipah Virus encephalitis is fatal with a high mortality rate.

Stressing on precautions, Dr Shivakumar said that the people in affected areas should avoid eating or drinking date palm sap (raw date palm sap, a sweet drink popular in the winter, when the sap is easy to tap from trees pierced with a spigot. A bat clings to a palm tree as it eats sap just above a collection jar). Disease can be prevented by avoiding animals that are known to be infected and using appropriate personal protective equipment.One of the most striking image shows the US actor sitting between Harry's legs on the east terrace of Windsor Castle as the prince looks smiling at the camera while his new bride laughs at someone to their left. (Photo: AP)

Three extraordinary official photographs released by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today are being called the most bold and intimate royal wedding portraits ever seen.

The couple, who wed Saturday, May 19 in a multi-cultural ceremony that reflected the diversity of modern Britain, said they feel 'so lucky' to have shared their big day with 1,20,000 people in Windsor and millions watching around the world.

In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Monday May 21, 2018, shows an official wedding photo of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, center, in Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Saturday May 19, 2018. Others in photo from left, back row, Jasper Dyer, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Doria Ragland, Prince William; center row, Brian Mulroney, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Rylan Litt, John Mulroney; front row, Ivy Mulroney, Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren, Remi Litt. (Photo: AP)

One of the most striking image shows the US actor sitting between Harry's legs on the east terrace of Windsor Castle as the prince looks smiling at the camera while his new bride laughs at someone to their left.

This photo released by Kensington Palace on Monday May 21, 2018, shows an official wedding photo of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Saturday May 19, 2018. (Photo: AP)

Even the formal family wedding shot featuring the Queen has an informal feel and the bride's mother Doria Ragland, 62, stands proudly next to her daughter looking firmly part of the royal family 'firm'.

The final image shows Prince George and Princess Charlotte grinning cheekily with the other bridesmaids and page boys with Harry and Meghan both wearing wide and clearly joyful smiles.

In this photo released by Kensington Palace on Monday May 21, 2018, shows an official wedding photo of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, center, in Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Saturday May 19, 2018. Others in photo from left, back row, Brian Mulroney, Remi Litt, Rylan Litt, Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Ivy Mulroney, John Mulroney; front row, Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte, Florence van Cutsem. (Photo: AP)

The images were taken by Alexi Lubomirski, 42, the protege of photographer Mario Testino who was famously beloved by his mother Princess Diana.A total of 106 capsules, containing 930 grams of pure South American cocaine, were recovered from the woman. (Representational Image/Pixabay)

New Delhi: A 25-year-old Brazilian woman has been arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in Delhi for allegedly smuggling cocaine in 106 self-swallowed capsules, officials said on Sunday.

The woman was apprehended by the NCB sleuths on May 14, upon her arrival from Sao Paulo in Brazil, based on an intelligence input.

She was subsequently taken to the Safdarjung hospital, where an x-ray confirmed that there were cocaine-filled capsules in her body, the officials said.

A total of 106 capsules, containing 930 grams of pure South American cocaine, were recovered from the woman, they added.

She was placed under arrest on Saturday under sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and remanded to judicial custody by a court. "She got the consignment from the South American drug mafia and was supposed to deliver it to African drug traffickers active in the National Capital Region," a senior NCB official said.On the pretext of showing her how to hide her jewellery from the chain-snatchers, he snatched the chain and escaped with his accomplice who was waiting nearby on a two-wheeler.

Bengaluru: A man posing as a cop diverted the attention of a woman and escaped with her gold chain early on Monday morning in Chandra Layout police limits.

The victim, Parimala, a resident of Maruthinagar, had gone for her morning walk around 6 am when a man approached her and introduced himself as a policeman. He told her that they were hunting for a chain-snatcher who had struck in her neighbourhood, and that she should keep her jewels safe.

On the pretext of showing her how to hide her jewellery from the chain-snatchers, he snatched the chain and escaped with his accomplice who was waiting nearby on a two-wheeler. The victim raised an alarm but before the passerby rushed for her help, the two escaped.

She rushed to the Chandra Layout police station and filed a complaint. The police are examining the CCTV footage to identify the culprits.Thiruvananthapuram: The Cyber Police and Cyberdome are lax in responding to complaints about paedophilia, it appears. Mr Jaljith Thottoli, an activist, who complained to the agencies on May 18 about a Facebook page with paedophilic content, has not received any response so far. He says that like the Edappal theatre molestation case, this is yet another example of police ignoring complaints of child abuse. They have not even sent an acknowledgement about the mail, which should have been given top priority. It is distressing that the police are ignoring cases of child abuse, he says.

The activist has helped expose other paedophilic pages on social media, including a paedophilic clique which operated via Telegraph, a social networking app similar to WhatsApp. But earlier when he complained, the police used to respond the next day, says Thottoli. Cyber Police sources told DC that they had not received any mail from Thottoli recently. The last mail we received from him was on November 28, 2017. We have not received any other mail, an official said. However, DC had also received the mail proving that it was sent to the agency.

Cyberdome operations officer S.P. Prakash, sub-inspector, told DC, we dont directly investigate such cases. Normally, we forward the complaint to the nodal officer of Cyber Cell. The investigation is then pursued by the cell in the area from which the complaint was filed by the petitioner, he said. However, the nodal officer of Cyber Cell, IG Manoj Abraham, said that cyber police receives hundreds of mails and that it would be difficult for him to respond to each.Hyderabad: Human trafficking is the second largest organised crime after drugs. It is estimated that the revenue generated out of trafficking worldwide is $150 billion. Yet very little is being done to curb it in a systematic way and young girls and women are its biggest victims. What happened to 13-year-old Padma (name changed) is typical of how the trade operates. She was made to drop out of Gandhi Chowk-Khammam Government School as her elder sister Sushma decided that she must work to support the family.

Sushma struck a deal with a broker Neeraj who promised a job as a domestic maid in Hyderabads Jubilee Hills with a monthly salary of Rs 10,000. Instead Padma was put on board the Hyderabad- Maharashtra Express together with other minors and taken to a brothel in Chandrapur, and from there to Punes red light area. The girls were confined to a room with a guard at the door. Fortunately, a Mumbai based NGO, Rescue Foundation, and the Pune police, acting on a tip-off raided the brothel and found the girls concealed in a bunker below the beds. The girls were taken to a rescue home in Mumbai and the Telangana police were informed about Padma.

Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat who oversaw the operation said, When we reached Bhiwandi-Mumbai area, we found 29 girls from Telangana rescued by the Foundation from various brothels. They informed me of Padma. She was quick to share her family and district details. When we checked with Khammam police authorities, no missing case was found since the family werent aware. The team brought back Padma and the 28 rescued girls. The only way to trace trafficked women and children is through early intervention. Technology may help in spreading facial recognition of the trafficked victims, but it will not help us get to them.

Children and women who go missing are kidnapped and sent to brothels and inducted into begging, child pornography, used as camel jockeys and forced labour. The key remains early rescue either by the police or families of the missing children and women.

IPS officer Mahesh Bhagwat, who has been listed in the 100 Human Trafficking and Slavery Influence Leaders, said, All missing cases are not trafficked, part of the 10-15 per cent are kidnapped for beggary, forced labour in unorganised sectors like factories, certain kids trafficked to other countries for domestic help, prostitution. The only mechanism of repatriating them is through immediate intervention. In case of delay in rescue, the victims get used to the unorganised crime. Even if they are rescued they refuse to return home fearing that society will not accept them.

Shalini Pandey, volunteer at a city-based anti-trafficking NGO, Hyderabad for Children, said, When a missing case if filed, the police and family may use social platforms to spread the word. But history has proven that those trapped in the flesh trade are only traced through rescue operations. Many dont connect with the facial recognition of those missing or victims photos being circulated. Many times children forget their original names.

There are organised gangs that operate in certain districts like Kadri town in Anantapur trafficking girls to Mumbai and Delhi. In coastal Andhra Pradesh, gangs were arrested in West-East Godavari. In Telangana most cases are found in Adilabad-Maharashtra border, trafficked from Nalgonda, Yadadri, Warangal, and Hyderabad, says Anil Reddy, a volunteer with a Hyderabad for Children NGO.

Recently, a signature campaign was launched by a member of the Rajya Sabha and a report submitted to the upper-house by Rajeev Chandrasekar, a member of the Rajya Sabha. The report said that 11 children go missing every hour. 3-4-month-old babies are being kidnapped and trafficked and raised by brothel owners so that they can be pushed into prostitution as soon as they get a bit older. Girls as young as 10 are given hormone injections to look older for the customers. Girls and boys as young as six years are filmed performing sexual acts and those videos are then sold on the internet, it said.New Delhi: Ahead of his swearing-in as the Karnataka's chief minister on Wednesday, Janata Dal Secular chief H D Kumaraswamy met Congress president Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in Delhi today evening to finalise the modalities of government formation and ministerial berth sharing between the two post-poll allies.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Kumaraswamy said, "Rahul Ji cleared the modalities to be done, he has given permission to Karnataka General Secy K C Venugopal to discuss all those matters and finalise everything. Local leaders and he will sit together tomorrow to finalise things.

"I wanted to show my respect and regards to Gandhi family. That's why I came here. I requested them further presence in oath taking ceremony. Both of them agreed to be present at the oath taking ceremony," Kumaraswamy said on his meeting with the Gandhis.

K C Venugopal, AICC in-charge of Karnataka, was also present at the meeting.

According to sources, Congress has mooted two deputy chief ministers for the numerically strong party in order to strike a balance with the JD(S) but the regional party is believed to be not in favour of this proposal.

KPCC chief G Parameshwara is among the frontrunners for the deputy chief minister's post.

Kumaraswamy, who will be sworn in as chief minister on Wednesday for the second time in 12 years, flew into the capital on Monday afternoon and began his engagements with a meeting with pre-poll ally BSP chief Mayawati.

BSP bagged 1 seat. During his 20-minute meeting with Sonia and Rahul, Kumaraswamy is understood to have discussed the nitty-gritty of Cabinet formation on the number of ministerial berths the Congress and the JD(S) would get.

The meeting took place at Rahul's Tughlak Lane residence.

"There is no bargain. We will cordially work out things. We must work together. I am here to take their (Congress leaders) advice," said Kumaraswamy when asked by the media ahead of the meeting how the Congress and the JD(S) will address the issue of ministry formation.

"We are going to give a stable government. All these issues are not yet discussed. We have not discussed any future course of action, Kumaraswamy said.

Kumaraswamy is expected to take the floor test within 24 hours after being sworn in.

Both Congress and JD(S) MLAs will remain confined to their hotels till the floor test, according to reports from Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy was invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to take the reins of power after the three-day BJP government collapsed on Saturday with B S Yeddyurappa, unable to muster the required number for a majority, stepping down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly.

The May 12 Karnataka Assembly elections threw up a hung verdict with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 38. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.New Delhi: With Artificial Intelligence (AI) expected to be the harbinger of the next big revolution in military technology worldwide, a 17-member high-level task force on Artificial Intelligence, set up by Indias defence ministry in early February, is preparing the countrys future AI roadmap for development of both defensive and offensive warfare capabilities.

The AI task force has already met twice-on February 10 and on April 28 and has been told by the government to submit its first report within three months.

Dr Ajay Kumar, secretary (panel production), defence ministry, said, The world is moving towards an Artificial Intelligence-driven ecosystem. India is also taking necessary steps to prepare our defence forces for the war of the future. The task force has been set up to prepare a roadmap for the future.

The 17-member panel is chaired by Mr N. Chandrasekharan, chairman, Tata Sons, has the National Cyber Security Coordinator Gulshan Rai as a member, it has representations from the Army, Navy Air Force, BEL, DRDO, ISRO, Atomic Energy Commission, selected IITs, finance ministry and a few business groups.

On the inclusion of the non-governmental entities in the panel, the secretary said that at present most of the advanced research and development on AI are taking place in the private sector and the academia. Moreover, with India having a strong IT industry and a big talent pool of engineers, these are advantages which need to be leveraged, Kumar added.

The focus areas would be development of lethal autonomous weapons systems (including drones, autonomous machine guns, tanks, fighter, bombers, cruise missiles, ships, submarines); unmanned surveillance (including drone swarms, perimeter defence etc); Intelligence and reconnaissance (including facial recognition, satellite imagery, object and pattern recognition) besides simulated war game and training, cyber security, and aerospace security.

What is lending an air of urgency to the effort is that the panel has to make recommendations for request for information proposals that will be floated in the next two years on the needed AI capabilities for India in general and in the military weapons context in particular. This is to be done after also studying the use of AI in countries like the US, China, Israel, Japan, Germany, and Russia that have already taken giant strides in the field.Chennai: Nearing completion of its second year in office, no ruling party in recent memory in Tamil Nadu has been in such an unenviable position as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, as it inches its way to cross another landmark.

The State Assembly is all set to meet here on May 29 to complete the work of this years Budget session for voting on various demands for grants. It was the first real signal to cap several months of lingering political uncertainty in the wake of two sets of legal challenges, vis-a-vis disqualification of MLAs, not from the opposition, but from within the ruling party itself given its wafer-thin majority.

Preceding this was the immaculately reasoned judgment by the first bench of the Madras High Court, comprising Chief Justice Ms. Indira Banerjee and Mr. Justice Abdul Quddhose of April 27. The judges dismissed the DMK Whip R Sakkarapanis and two other related petitions seeking disqualification of 11 AIADMK MLAs including former Chief Minister, Mr. O. Pannerselvam for voting against the confidence vote sought by Chief Minister Mr. K. Palaniswami on February 18, 2017. He did so on the ground that the High Court in exercise of power under Article 226 of the Constitution, cannot take over the duty of the Speaker and disqualify MLAs without a hearing as envisaged under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

Any such move, the HC Judges said, would not only amount to judicial overreach, but it would also amount to gross breach of judicial discipline if not contempt, as the larger question of issuance of a writ of mandamus on the Speaker is pending consideration of the Supreme Court. The High Courts judgment has upheld the sacred, long-held separation of powers between the governments three organs.

It was only natural that this judgment came as a huge relief to the AIADMK dispensation, with the ruling party, after former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaas demise in December 2016, managing the show with 116 MLAs. Also, 18 vacancies are to be filled in the 234-member House, in the wake of the internal turmoil in the party since her confidante Ms. V K Sasikala, became leader of the AIADMK legislature party, just weeks before the Apex court verdict in the assets case.

Interestingly, holding elections to the existing 18 vacant slots would again hinge on the High Courts verdict in the other legal challenge to the subsequent disqualification of 18 AIADMK MLAs on September 18, 2017 (supporters of dissident leader T T V Dhinakaran who was later elected as an Independent candidate from R K Nagar constituency), by an order of the Assembly Speaker, Mr. P. Dhanapal. It was on a petition by the Chief Government Whip, S. Rajendiran, on the ground of (they) voluntarily giving up of their membership of the AIADMK party on giving a letter to the Governor on August 22, 2017, expressing loss of confidence in the Chief Minister since they were all elected on AIADMK symbol.

At least for now, there is no threat to stability of the AIADMK regime led by Mr. Palaniswami with Mr. O. Pannerselvam playing his deputy under a BJP-blessed merger formula last year. In fact, it was the re-induction of Mr. Pannerselvam and Mr. Mafoi K Pandiyarajan into the Cabinet by Mr. Palaniswami, both of whom were among the MLAs who voted against him that had sparked a flashpoint in the internal tussle with supporters of Dhinakaran. The latter was made party deputy general secretary before Sasikala left for Bengaluru prison.

Significantly, Justices Indira Banerjee and Abdul Quddhose have in their verdict pointed out to one notable difference between the first application to disqualify 11 AIADMK MLAs and challenging the disqualification of the 18 AIADMK MLAs in the second case. The Judges said that in the latter instance, the application of disqualification of the 18 (dissenting) MLAs was filed by the Chief Party Whip and supported by the Chief Minister elected by the AIADMK (Legislature) party.

But the application for disqualifying the 11 AIADMK MLAs including OPS in the first case was by a few individual MLAs and is not supported either by the Party Whip or the majority of the members of the AIADMK party in the Legislative Assembly. The involvement of the party Whip or the Chief Minister elected by the party would be an important factor for determining whether the impugned action of an MLA has the approval or disapproval of the party, the Judges pointed out.

This observation in the judgment, pertaining to the second case whose judgment is reserved, is significant as with the High Court having granted leave to the senior counsel, Mr. Shanmugasundaram, appearing for the DMK, to appeal in the Supreme Court. Considering the importance of the issues involved in the writ petitions, which need to be settled by the Supreme Court, such leave is granted, the Judges said.

By logical implication, this could only have the effect of extending the breather for the AIADMK government, as until the Apex court unambiguously decides the larger question of issuance of a writ of mandamus to the Speaker of a Legislative Assembly, in the appeal against the latest HC judgment preferred by the DMK, it is unlikely that the second disqualification case of 18 AIADMK MLAs will be decided. For the High Court in the first case has made it clear that it does not want to step into a domain even indirectly, which is yet been prohibited by the Apex court.

Notwithstanding these legal and Constitutional niceties, political developments in Tamil Nadu could dramatically change in the months to come, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, one larger sociological take-away from the High Court verdict and also from the ruling of the same HC Bench declining to order the removal of the portrait of Ms Jayalalithaa from the Assembly hall, is that party-based contestations to power has to be eventually settled in the

political theatre of elections in a democracy, and that there are limitations to judicial review of actions that take place within and outside any elected Assembly.

By all accounts, Mr. Palaniswami has weathered the storm, even if economic and issues of government staff took a back seat under the shadow of political uncertainty and the saffron threat. As his government completes two years, he could even feel satisfied that something legally workable is at last in the offing in implementing the Cauvery Tribunals final Award as modified by the Supreme Court. In the same breath, the political roller-coaster since February 2017 in Tamil Nadu has shown that the road to political survival is full of thorns.Judge B H Loya had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking review of its verdict rejecting the demand for an independent probe into the death of special CBI judge B H Loya, who dealt with the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

The review petition filed by Bombay Lawyers Association has challenged the apex court's April 19 judgment by which it had dismissed a batch of pleas and brought the curtains down on the raging debate over Loya's death.

The judge had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

In its April 19 verdict, the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had ruled that Loya died of "natural causes" and there was no ground for the court to hold that there was reasonable suspicion about the cause or circumstances of death which would merit a further inquiry.

The review petition filed in the apex court has said this judgement "has resulted in miscarriage of justice, if not complete negation of justice on the facts of the case. It is therefore clearly required in the interests of justice that the judgment and order in question be reviewed and recalled."

The present review petition seek to neither sensationalise the subject matter of the petition, nor make a veiled attempt to launch a frontal attack on independence of the judiciary or to dilute the credibility of judicial institutions. Also, no attempt is being made to create prejudice or malign dignity of the judges whose statements form part of the enquiry or those who gave the press interviews on the matter during the period of the enquiry, the plea said.BJP national president Amit Shah said that the Congress violated all boundaries in the Karnataka Assembly election. (Photo: ANI | Twitter).

New Delhi: "This is what I call an unholy alliance," BJP national president Amit Shah today commented on the Congress and Janata Dal Secular ((JD(S)) which has come together to form the government in Karnataka.

Amit Shah said the Congress-JD(S) alliance was against the people's mandate.

Calling the mandate in Karnataka anti-Congress and JD(S), Amit Shah said, "BJP is single largest party in Karnataka, our vote share saw a major increase. The mandate was clearly anti-Congress. What is the Congress celebrating? More than half of their ministers lost, CM (Siddaramaiah) lost from one seat. Similarly, why is JD(S) celebrating? For getting 37 seats?"

On Congress and JD(S) allegation over horse-trading, Amit Shah said, "We have been accused of horse-trading but Congress bought the entire stable. We had the right to form the government in Karnataka and so we claimed for it."

Amit Shah went on to add that he wants to inform people that in the Karnataka polls, the Congress violated all boundaries.

Attacking the Congress in Karnataka, Amit Shah said, "Almost 3,700 farmers have committed suicide in Karnataka in the past 5 years. This was one of our main agenda. The Centre helped a lot for the development of Karnataka."

Amit Shah went on to add that the BJP claimed the government in Karnataka as the mandate was anti-Congress.

"What can Mamata Banerjee do alone in the Lok Sabha elections, or what can Rahul Gandhi do in Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections alone?" asked Amit Shah.

Speaking about BJP asking for 7 days in court to prove their majority, Amit Shah said that Congress lawyer lied in the Supreme Court that B S Yeddyurappa had asked for that many days to prove majority. "Congress has falsely claimed that Yeddyurappa ji asked for 7 days, from the Governor, to prove majority. If it was the case, they should have asked for the letter for him. Congress lawyer lied in the Court." the BJP chief said.

Amit Shah thanked workers of the BJP in Karnataka for going from house to house to make the people understand the partys point of view. "It is because of them that we emerged as the single largest party," Amit Shah said.Union Minister J P Nadda directed NCDC director to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district to assist the state government in the wake of death of 3 people due to Nipah virus. (Photo: File/PTI)

New Delhi: Union Minister J P Nadda on Sunday directed the Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district to assist the state government in the wake of death of three people due to Nipah virus there.

A central team will be visiting the state to monitor the situation post the Union Health Minister's direction.

"Reviewed the situation of deaths related to nipah virus in Kerala with Secretary Health. I have directed Director NCDC to visit the district and initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol for the disease in consultation with state government," Nadda said in a tweet.

Reviewed the situation of deaths related to nipah virus in Kerala with Secreatry Health. I have directed Director NCDC to visit the district and initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol for the disease in consultation with state government.  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) May 20, 2018

Nipah virus (NiV) infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Kozhikode health department is maintaining vigilance in the wake of three deaths there reportedly due to the virus. Two more persons, who were allegedly in contact with the deceased, are believed to be in a serious condition.

Earlier on Sunday, Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister Mullappally Ramachandran sought the central government's intervention to contain the outbreak of what he termed was a "rare and deadly" virus in some parts of Kozhikode.

In a letter to Nadda, Ramachandran said some panchayats, including Kuttiyadi and Perambra, in his Lok Sabha constituency of Vatakara were in the grip of the virus. He said some doctors have termed it as Nipah virus, while others said it was zoonotic, and that the spread is fast and fatal.

"The mortality rate is reportedly 70 per cent. The spread of the disease needs to be contained," he said in the letter.

NiV is also capable of causing disease in pigs and other domestic animals. There is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care, the WHO says on its website.THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As part of efforts to strengthen the police intelligence wing, the state police is trying to take a leaf out of the counter intelligence activities of Telangana, which is known for its efficiency. A delegation of top officials led by ADGP (Intelligence) T.K. Vinod Kumar had recently visited Hyderabad to have a first hand feel of the counter intelligence infrastructure there.

According to police sources, the counter intelligence wing as well as the Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (OCTOPUS) of Telangana was much hailed for anti-naxal operations. Well trained officials, use of advanced electronic surveillance facilities and dedicated tracking of even minute inputs are the highlights of the Telangana's counter intelligence infrastructure. Top police sources told DC that Kerala was lagging much behind compared to the infrastructure of the intelligence wing of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. However, the threat perceptions of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are also higher compared to that of Kerala.

It is almost impossible for us to scale up to that of their infrastructure all of a sudden. We are already initiating activities like social media monitoring. But we are trying to further strengthen our intelligence wing by adopting some models from other elite agencies, said the official. Meanwhile, police sources said that a major weakness of the state intelligence wing is the transfer of officials with interventions of service organisations or other political and personal interests. Even officials trained at elite intelligence agencies are shifted and officials who lack necessary skills are posted, said a senior police officer.Chandigarh: One former Haryana chief minister was cooling his heels in jail, while another is set to land in prison, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday said, in a veiled attack on his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Khattar made the remark during a function organised to mark the Maharana Pratap Jayanti at Safidon in Jind district, according to an official release.

"While one former chief minister (Om Prakash Chautala) is cooling his heels in jail (in the teachers recruitment scam), another ex-chief minister is set to go to jail," he said, without naming Congress leader Hooda.

On Saturday also, while speaking at a function in Chandigarh, Khattar had trained guns on Hooda over various alleged scams that took place during the Congress tenure and have been unearthed now.

"Some scams committed during the Congress regime are now coming to light through the Supreme Court and the high court," he had claimed.

The Chief Minister on Sunday said that since the inception of Haryana, various governments were formed in the state but none could claim that they stayed away from corruption.

"In sharp contrast, during the three-and-a-half years of the present government, there have been no allegations of any scandals against any minister or MLA... I can say confidently that the present government has uplifted the living standards of the people and made efforts to change the direction of the society for the better," he said.

Later interacting with the villagers of Munak in Karnal district, Khattar said the responsibility for implementing the Swaminathan Commission report rested with former Chief Minister Hooda, who was then chairman of the working group of Chief Ministers on agriculture production, set up on agriculture.

"But he (Hooda) did not do anything during his time and kept pretending to be a leader of the farmers," Khattar said, adding his government has worked for the farmers during the last three-and-a-half years.

"The self proclaimed farmers leader never thought of doubling the income of farmers. On the other hand, we have implemented Bhwantar Yojana to save the farmers from damage to their crops, and told them 'ghaata sarkar ka, fayda kisan ka' (under the scheme all loss would be borne by the state, and all profit will rest with farmers)," he added.

He said the state government would complete all development works which had been announced. The money provided for the works should be spent appropriately and with caution, he said, warning strict action over misuse of funds.Bengaluru: Coming to grips with the loss in the numbers game in government formation, Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa on Monday vowed to stage a comeback.

He told party workers in an emotional message that their efforts would not go in vain.

Yeddyurappa, who bowed out of as Chief Minister in less than three days after being sworn in on May 17, lamented that "democracy has been axed."

The BJP as the single largest party, which got the people's mandate, was thrown out of power, he said in a Facebook post.

The Congress was reduced to 78 seats from 122 in the previous assembly and JD(S) with 37 seats too lost three seats as compared to the last assembly, he said.

Both JD(S) and Congress joined hands to form a coalition government after Yeddyurappa announced his decision to quit without taking the floor test on Saturday due to lack of numbers.

BJP won 104 seats.

"Having won the maximum seats, it was a responsibility bestowed upon us by our voters to form the government. However it is now known to the world why we failed. The two parties, which were rejected by the people, conspired against us," said Yeddyurappa in his post.

The BJP state chief said he has not lost his morale.

He recalled how he stood up for the cause of farmers who were committing suicide in huge numbers due to inability to repay farm loans.

Yeddyurappa said, "We don't have power, yet we have the determination to fight for the cause of farmers. The objective of my government was to enable them to proudly say 'I am a farmer'.

He said the party's resolve remained the same and it could continue to fight for the farmers' cause by sitting in the opposition.

Recalling his past hardships, he said he rose from a clerk to a leader due to the love of his supporters.

The Karnataka BJP chief said, "You have toiled hard for the party, left your family for months on my call for 'Parivartana Yatre'. I will not let your efforts go down the drain. Don't lose heart. Your strength is my strength."

He asked his workers to stay calm for a while, for he would soon return with more strength, more courage and more abilities.

Yeddyurappa also visited the home of an admirer at Santebennur in Davangere district, who reportedly died of a heart attack soon after he resigned the post of Chief Minister on May 19, and consoled the family members.Calling himself 'forward-looking', Karnataka Chief Minister designate H D Kumaraswamy said what is pertinent now is to see how to form the government in the state and run it efficiently. (Photo: AP)

Bengaluru: In the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly elections, the Congress had called its post-poll alliance partner Janata Dal Secular leader and Karnataka Chief Ministerial designate H D Kumaraswamy as BJPs B team. Despite the criticism from Congress, JD(S) went on with the alliance and Kumaraswamy will take oath on Wednesday.

In an interview to The Times of India, Kumaraswamy said, I'm not at all happy with the circumstances. I had made a lot of promises to the people, and I wish I had become CM with a majority. But the people did not have that kind of faith in me and the party ((JD(S)). I'm aware of the criticism, people think I am an opportunist. I've become the CM to prove otherwise.

Calling himself forward-looking Kumaraswamy said what is pertinent now is to see how to form the government in the state and run it efficiently.

Kumaraswamy said he is not accepting the responsibility of the chief minister because it is an opportunity. He said he will dedicate his life proving his commitment to people. I know the circumstances under which I am becoming the chief minister, they are the same as in 2006 and I will ensure that the same mistakes are not repeated, Kumaraswamy said.

Talking to the media at Holenarasipur, Kumaraswamy said, he will provide a stable government for the next five years in Karnataka with the support of the Congress. I know the task is tough, but I am confident I will be successful, he said.

Kumaraswamy told Economic Times that he wanted to become king through the mandate of the people. "The first time, in 2006, I became CM due to political developments. Today also, my situation is the same. It is not because of the blessings of the people. Why didnt the people of Karnataka understand what I feel? Why didnt they have belief in me? I am feeling terrible about that. I am not a politician, I am an emotional being. I know what peoples troubles are, what their expectations are. If I have to bring in solutions .. people have seen both the BJP and Congress; I thought people will give me a chance. But I JD(S) got lesser seats than last time."

When asked why he insisted on heading the coalition when the Congress numbers were higher than that of JD(S), Kumaraswamy told the daily, I did not ask for it at all. They (Congress) came forward voluntarily and offered unconditional support to a five-year term headed by me. Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad called me and said they had taken a unanimous decision on this. I asked for time, but he said I had to decide immediately. I went to my father (former prime minister H D Deve Gowda) and said these are the two options, and I followed what he decided.

Congress on alliance with JD(S)

Congress too had to comment on its decision over its alliance with the Janata Dal Secular.

Senior party leader from Karnataka, D K Shivakumar today said the Congress and the JD(S) - had to sort out their differences for the sake of forming a secular government in Karnataka.

Admitting that the Congress and JD(S) were at loggerheads ahead of the assembly elections in the state, Shivakumar told news agency ANI, "In politics, I have been fighting against the Gowdas since 1985. In the last parliamentary election and assembly election against them, I won against his son, I won against his daughter-in-law. A lot of politics have been played. Lots of cases were also registered. But in the interests of the nation and party, we need a secular government in Karnataka."

Also Read: Swallowed bitterness for secular govt in Ktaka: Cong leader on alliance with JD(S)

He added "Rahul Gandhi has taken a decision that there should be a secular government here (Karnaraka). That is what the entire country needs and that is why we have taken this stand (alliance with JD-S). I had to swallow all this bitterness since this is my duty."

When Shivakumar was asked if he was happy on securing an alliance with JD(S), he said, "Sometimes, individuality doesn't count here. Individuality is not important. Whatever collective or major decisions are taken, one man may like or the other man may not like. I also gave consent for the formation of this government."

Asked whether the Congress-JD(S) government would complete five years, Shivakumar further said, "Time will answer. I don't want to answer it right now. We have various issues, options before us, I can't tell right now."

The Congress has bagged 78 seats out of 222 Karnataka Assembly constituencies which went to polls on May 12. JD(S) had won 38 seats.

H D Kumaraswamy will take oath as the chief minister of the state on Wednesday. Several senior Congress leaders and chief ministers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi are invited for the oath-taking ceremony. Bahuja Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and Samajawadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav are also invited.Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi are being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for allegedly cheating Punjab National Bank, the country's second largest lender, to the tune of more than USD 2 billion or over Rs 13,000 crore. (Photo: PTI)

Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took fresh action against Nirav Modi and attached assets worth Rs 170 crore of the absconding diamantaire in connection with its money laundering probe in the over USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud case, officials said on Monday.

They said the central probe agency issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) attaching a number of bank accounts, immovable assets and share investments of Nirav Modi, his associates and business-linked firms.

Last week, the agency had seized over 34,000 pieces of jewellery worth Rs 85 crore from Gitanjali Group, owned by Nirav Modi's uncle and jeweller Mehul Choksi, also wanted in this case.

Nirav Modi and Choksi are being investigated by the ED for allegedly cheating PNB, the country's second largest lender, to the tune of more than USD 2 billion or over Rs 13,000 crore. The agency had recently also summoned at least four family members of Nirav Modi, including his father, brother, sister and borther-in-law, and his US-based business partner Mihir Bhansali in this case.

This case is being also being probed by the CBI and other investigative agencies. These agencies now suspect that Nirav Modi and Choksi could now be in the United States (US). According to data till March, the ED had attached over Rs 7,600 crore worth of assets of all the accused in this case. The duo and others are being probed under various criminal laws after the fraud came to light this year following a complaint by PNB that they allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of over Rs 13,000 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

The Central Bureau of Investigation and the ED have registered two first information reports each in the case. The CBI, last week, had filed two chargesheets in the case before a Mumbai court, while the ED is expected to file its own prosecution complaint soon.

The ED complaint or chargesheet will focus on the money laundering aspect and the role of Nirav Modi, Choksi and others in perpetrating the alleged fraud. Both Nirav Modi and Choski are said to have left the country before criminal cases were lodged against them.Rajinikanth asked new govt in Karnataka to share Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu in accordance with SC ruling. (Photo: File/ANI)

Bengaluru: After Rajinikanth asked the new government in Karnataka to share Cauvery water with Tamil Nadu in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling, JD (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Sunday invited the actor-turned-politician to come to the state and see the situation himself.

Karnataka chief minister designate said that he believes that after seeing the situation, Rajinikanth would change his stand.

"If there is water in Karnataka it is possible for us to give them water. I request Rajinikanth, please come and see the situation in our dams, what has happened to our farmers. After seeing that, if you (Rajinikanth) still want water, let's discuss," Kumaraswamy said.

"... on seeing the situation here, I think he (Rajinikanth) will change his stand," the JD(S) leader told reporters in Bengaluru.

Settling the decades-old water sharing dispute earlier this year, the Supreme Court asked Karnataka to release 177.25 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu as opposed to the earlier 192 tmcft.

Tamil Nadu has witnessed huge protests across state over the delay by the centre in setting up of Cauvery water management board to oversee the matter.

On Friday, the Supreme Court said that a 10-member body called the Cauvery Management Authority will oversee and regulate water sharing but Karnataka will continue to have control over dams in the state.

(With PTI inputs)Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said increase in fuel prices was due to reduced production of oil in OPEC and hike in crude oil price in international market. (Photo: File/PTI)

Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said the increase in fuel prices was due to reduced production of oil in Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hike in crude oil price in the international market.

Petrol prices on Sunday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest-ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.

Noting that people, especially the middle-class, have to suffer due to price hike of oil, the minister said the government would try to work out a solution soon to deal with the situation.

"It's not in our hand. There is less production of oil in OPEC countries. The government will soon come out with a solution," he told reporters.

Pradhan, however, did not spell out the details.

Stressing the need for stable and moderate oil prices, he said the surging fuel prices have negative impact on consumers and the Indian economy.

With global crude prices soaring, the minister has already pressed OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia to keep prices stable and moderate, saying that spike in rates would have a negative impact on Indian consumers as well as on the economy

. Pradhan had conveyed India's concerns when Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih called him recently.Chennai: Welcoming the Supreme Court on Cauvery water dispute, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami has stated that it is a historic verdict. Speaking to reporters at Madurai airport, on Sunday, he said the Apex Court order is very clear in alloting power to Cauvery Water Management Board, which has power to order release of water to Tamil Nadu. Hence, there is no need to convene all part meeting as the dispute has been resolved.

CM said it is clearly mentioned in the order that CMB has power to release water in the river. It only reduced Tamil Nadus share of 14.75 tmc ft of water from award of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.The CMB has been accorded with required rights and verdict of court is final. The AIADMK government waged legal battle for 32 years and rights of state has been recognised.

Farmers and people have also welcome the Apex court verdict. However, a few political party leaders speak against the verdict. They should read the order, he added. Among others Minister for Co-operation Sellur K. Raju and Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management R.B. Udhayakumar were present on the occasion. CM was returning to Chennai from Kodaikanal.Residents of the northeastern colonies demanded that the authorities immediately reopen roads including those in Yapral and Bolarum.

Hyderabad: The euphoria over SCB roads opening has ebbed as the roads remain closed.

Following the orders of the Union defence ministry to open all roads that were closed by the Local Military Authority (LMA) in cantonments, residents who are apprehensive that the orders will not be implementeded demanded that the Secunderabad Cantonment Board open all the 21 closed roads took up the issue on Monday.

SCB vice-president J. Rama Krishna held a public meeting at the SCB office, where a heated argument ensued with the residents affected by the closure of road. The residents wanted a time-frame for implementing the order.

Residents of the northeastern colonies demanded that the authorities immediately reopen roads including those in Yapral and Bolarum.

The SCB did not disclose any date, but said the roads would be opened soon.Bengaluru: Two months after Congress MLA N.A. Haris son Mohammad Nalapad and his associates assaulted Vidwath L. at Farzi Cafe in UB City, the Central Crime Branch (CCB) case has filed a chargesheet in the case.

The chargesheet names Mohammad and his seven associates who accompanied him on the night of February 17, when the incident took place. The CCB, which has recorded the statements of 23 witnesses, stated in the chargesheet that it was Mohammad who started the fight after Vidwaths leg accidentally brushed against him.

The chargesheet says Mohammad, before instructing his associates to teach Vidwath a lesson, demanded an apology from the victim, saying he was the son of MLA Haris. The argument started when Vidwath's right leg, which was fractured and in a cast, touched Mohammad. It ended in Mohammad and his associates attacking the victim, allegedly with beer bottles and an ice bucket.

I will show you who I am if you don't hold my leg and kiss my feet. If you don't say sorry, I will kill you here, a witness quoted Mohammad as saying, the chargesheet states. Vidwath was later admitted to Mallya Hospital, but Mohammad and his men followed him there and threatened him again.

One of the witnesses, Abhishek Gowda, son of actor-turned-politician M.H. Ambareesh, has told CCB that Mohammad entered the cafe at around 10.30 pm and the quarrel started soon after. Mohammad and his men started beating up Vidwath mercilessly, and when Abishek tried to intervene, Mohammad told him to back off. So far, eight people, including Mohammad, have been arrested, while a manhunt is on to nab four other accused.Lucknow: In an unprecedented development, controversial UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has stated that those attending the rallies of his political rivals will be cursed with jaundice.

Mr Rajbhar, who heads the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party which is a BJP ally in Uttar Pradesh, also said those who are cursed will recover only when he provides the medicine.

Mr Rajbhar said at a rally in Ballia, said, Until my team comes and invites you for my rally, you will not attend the rally of any other party or leader. If somebody attends it he/she will have to face my curse. He will suffer from jaundice and it will be only cured when O.P. Rajbhar provides medicine.

Mr Rajbhar, known for making controversial statements, said he had demanded total prohibition in the state. He recalled PM Modi had promised in his meetings that he would implement the Gujarat model in UP and that he wanted to remind Mr Modi of his promise. He no party has the courage to raise prohibition and urged women to defeat those who provide liquor for votes.The police sources said that the Army jawans opened aerial fire when some miscreants hurled stones at them in Shopians Dreed Kalipora village. (Representational image)

Srinagar: Four girls two of them siblings- were injured when the Army troops opened fire on protesters in Jammu and Kashmirs southern Shopian district late Monday evening.

The police sources said that the Army jawans opened aerial fire when some miscreants hurled stones at them in Shopians Dreed Kalipora village. The reports said that the Army had invited the local elders and other prominent villagers to an Iftar party but the village Auquaf committee had advised it not to hold any such event in view of the anger among the local residents over the recent killings in the security forces action, the locals told the police.

However, the Army ignored the advice and went ahead with hosting the Iftar party at a local mosque. As the word about it spread, groups of youth took to the streets chanting pro-freedom slogans and then allegedly hurled stones at soldiers.

The Army, the witnesses said, opened fire injuring four girls. Two of them identified as Aqsa Jan and Shobi Jan have been brought to a Srinagar hospital. The other two injured girls -Shakira Akhter Aafi Jan- are siblings, the reports said.

The police said that the soldiers of Armys 34 Rashtriya Rifles had gone to participate in the Iftar party held at the Jamia Masjid in Dreed Kalipora. But while the Iftar party was underway, some miscreants started protesting and allegedly hurled stones at the soldiers. The police also said that while withdrawing from the area the Army jawans fired some rifles shots in the air during which four girls were hit. All the four and stable and one of them has been discharged from hospital since", the police said.

The incident comes days after the Centre announced a conditional ceasefire in J&K by halting operations against separatist militants during the Muslim fasting month of Ramazan.

Meanwhile, the Army said that keeping up with the spirit of the holy month of Ramazan, it organised an Iftaar party for the locals of Bijbehera, Bunera and Arizal in south Kashmir which was attended by the local youth, prominent businessmen, surrendered militants and leaders of the region. Namaz was offered collectively by the locals and the Army personnel which was followed by an interactive session with the awaam (masses). The party culminated with dinner for all after ending the day's fast with dates and juice. The locals expressed their gratitude towards the Army for organising the event and welcomed such gestures in the future, a statement issued by it here said.

A report from Shopian said that the angry mob also ransacked a stall set up by the Army outside the main mosque in Dreed Kalipora for the Iftar party.

A defence spokesman here said that the details of the reported incident are being collected. The Army's 12 Sector officials said that they have no knowledge about the incident.Bengaluru: The Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte will lead the largest ever trade delegation to Bengaluru on May 25 which will consist of 120 businessmen, two ministers and the Mayor of The Hague. They will focus on business synergies and partnerships between the Netherlands and Bengaluru-based companies that are working in life sciences and healthcare, smart cities, high-tech and space.

Jaap Werner, Consul General of the Netherlands, told the media on Monday, We had our presence in different areas till now in the country and now we would like to upgrade ourselves in reaching out to the Karnataka government as well as business communities and academics.

The line-up of events on May 25 includes an Innovation power lunch, where Mr Rutte will meet 10 Indian CEOs, and a plenary session on partners in Innovation and infrastructure which will be addressed by the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade & Development Cooperation and Mr Hans de Boer, President of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers, VNO-NCW.

The plenary session will be followed by two parallel sessions, on Smart Cities  The Future of Living, and on high-tech  Designing the Future by the Mayor of the Hague Pauline Krikke on the collaboration between Hague and Karnataka on cyber security and technology.

Mr Rutte will visit the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), followed by a Q&A session with over 100 students, organised by Nuffic Neso India. He will inspire students pursuing PhD to explore Holland for higher studies and R&D collaboration in areas of economic growth for both countries.It was 12 years ago that 46-year-old Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy divided his Legislature Party and joined hands with the BJP to form the coalition government. The number of legislators he had with him was 35 and now, he is CM designate again with 38 members in his kitty. This time, he has decided to toe the line of his father and former Prime Minister Mr H.D. Deve Gowda and join hands with the Congress, which will ensure him a slender majority in a House of 224. Mr Kumaraswamy feels that the movement to unite all regional parties and form a National Front might start from Karnataka. The Congress could become an inevitable partner, as they would be taking on powerful communal forces, he said. Despite health issues, Mr Kumaraswamy did not mind putting himself through the grind in the recent polls. However, he feels that his efforts were not rewarded in numbers during the elections. In an interview with Deccan Chronicle, he said that it was not about becoming Chief Minister for a second time but about the many unfinished tasks which he had initiated earlier and remained to be completed. Excerpts from the interview:

How do you feel about becoming Chief Minister a second time?

I do not feel elated. I have already experienced the working pattern and the difficulties of running a coalition government which in the present political scenario is very difficult. More than becoming Chief Minister, I am worried about finding solutions to various problems. I have my own programmes, which can be implemented if I could form the government independently. But, I will have my limitations in a coalition government.

Both times (2006 and 2018), you got a bare minimum number of legislators to form the government. What do you feel about it?

I am surprised. I am not sure if people are testing me by giving me power with bare minimum support or God is testing me. My family is very religious and believes in destiny. For a second time, I have only 38 legislators with apprehensions being expressed about the longevity of the government. Earlier also, for 20 months, I had given a stable government. There were allegations levelled against me by my coalition partner but I did not react. I just worked and gave good governance to the people. Now too, I dont feel that a coalition government would be a major hindrance in giving good administration. I am however apprehensive about the coalition partner matching my speed in implementing programmes.

You are compelled to join hands with your sworn enemies like the Congress. You really don't have a choice?

That is true. In Karnataka, we fought against both parties. However, keeping in mind political developments in the entire country, there is a need to join hands with the Congress which needs such an arrangement more than us. So even if minor hiccups arise, there will be ample scope to make amends.

Is there any formula for sharing cabinet berths or a power sharing period?

The issue has not gone that far. They are trivial matters, which would be discussed during the last stages of government formation. Our main concern now is to make this coalition work smoothly. Earlier, we had fought bitterly, but now, we need the government to function smoothly. Our first priority is to sail through the vote of confidence. By that time, the Congress will come out with their proposal on cabinet composition. We too will have something in mind, based on the advice of Mr H.D. Deve Gowda. We can sit across the table and settle it amicably. The biggest challenge for us is to bring out a Common Minimum Programme. Both the parties have made promises to the people and we have to stand by our commitment. We are concentrating more on how much we can implement in five years.

You have a couple of by-elections in the offing. Are you going to join hands with the Congress in fighting these?

Of course. We have to go together now. Just after forming the government, we will have to face by-elections in Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwarinagar. Ramanagar will come later, but it will not be a problem. These two seats are crucial to us, we cannot allow BJP to win either of the two seats. The leaders of both parties have to sit together and work out strategies to ensure the coalition partners win these seats.

There was a movement of regional parties to form a National Front to counter the two national parties-Congress and BJP. It was mooted by people like Telangana Chief Minister KCR and even Mr Deve Gowda. Now that you have joined hands with the Congress, how do you propose to take the movement forward?

There is a discussion to bring all regional parties on a single platform and there are suggestions that both national parties should be kept out. I feel that a situation may arise where even the Congress needs to be included in this front. The final shape will be decided by the heads of regional parties and Mr Deve Gowda. I have a gut feeling that the government formation in Karnataka would be the foundation for a new polarisation at the national level.

Your health is matter of concern, doctors keep advising you to take rest. Will you get time?

Yes... doctors are concerned about my life and they advise me to take rest. They warn me not to take any risk and that is true. However, I have a dream of delivering some programmes to solve the problems being faced by common people. Compared to earlier years, I have changed my lifestyle also. I think, I may take lesser work load and still achieve my dream of delivering some programmes for the people.

How does your family react to your hectic work style despite your health issues?

Everyone is concerned and advise me to reduce my work load. I am working out a schedule, where I can deliver good administration and maintain good health. I am mentally prepared for that.The experts who evaluate the main answer sheets dont know about the candidates and likewise, the interview panel will know names of candidates just before conducting the interview.

Chennai: Civil service aspirants are worried about the new proposal from the union government for giving weightage to performance in the foundation course in service allocation and cadre allocation. They say it would open gates for manipulation in service allocation.

As per the existing method, the candidates are getting service allocation (IAS, IPS, IFS and IRS) or cadre allocation (state cadres, central cadres and others) based on the marks students scored in Union Public Service Commissions main exam and interview. Students get ranks based on these marks. But, now, the central government wants to add the performance of selected candidates in the Foundation Course before allocating the service or cadre to the candidates.

In a circular, the department of personnel and training (DoPT), Government of India asked for feedback within a period of seven days from other departments on this proposal which was suggested by the Prime Ministers Office.

As per the suggestion, the PMO asked the DoPT to examine the feasibility of giving due weightage to the performance in the Foundation Course and making service allocation as well as cadre allocation to All India Service Officers, based on the combined score obtained in the Civil Services Examination and the Foundation Course. The suggestion is likely to come into effect from current year itself.

One of the candidates who cleared the UPSC exam this year said, The existing process of allocating service and cadre to the candidates is a foolproof system. The experts who evaluate the main answer sheets dont know about the candidates and likewise, the interview panel will know names of candidates just before conducting the interview. So, there is objectivity as the scope for influence is very low. The same cannot be said about the Foundation Course.

The trainers at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration could award marks based on regional or caste biases. The process becomes open for manipulation, he feared.

The academy is being run by IAS and IPS officers. The daughters and sons of bureaucrats stand more chances to enter into IAS and IPS after getting high marks in the Foundation Course, another aspirant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Another aspirant said it could lead to subjective allocation as the process prone to the biases. He highlighted that the Foundation Course often cultivates friendships among officers from inter and intra-services which would go long way in their career. This would defeat the entire purpose of the Foundation Course as there would not be any feeling of fraternity.

D. Shankar, director, Shankar IAS Academy, said the existing ranking system is the unbiased and secret system. If they took the performance in the Foundation Course into consideration, then all the biases like region, caste and others will play a major role in allocating the service and cadre.

He said the new proposal will pave way for a highly discriminatory system. By bringing it the central government is trying to collapse the civil service system.

The sons and daughters of politicians, bureaucrats will have more advantage than the candidates hailing from an ordinary background, he cautioned.

There is a demand that central government seek the opinion of civil service aspirants, intellectuals and common people. Why so much urgency is being shown while bringing such a major change? The parliament should discuss this change, Mr.Shankar said.

The recommendation was first made in the Kothari committees report. But, the suggestion was rejected as it could pave way for manipulation and bias during the Foundation Course, said Israel Jebasingh, director, Officers IAS Academy.

There is a demand for reforming the training method for civil servants as the Mussoorie institute still following training module for ICS officers like horse riding and trekking. If central government decides to award marks based on these training, then the very concept of merit would be lost, he said adding that proposed change could pave way for regional bias and corruption while allocating the services.

It could particularly affect the candidates from non-Hindi speaking states as they would struggle to mingle with others in the initial period, he said.

R.Sathyamoorthy, director, Sathya IAS Academy, said the new change will bring entire civil service exam under the control of politicians and bureaucrats. The training is just for developing the personality. Candidates, who could not score many marks in main exam and interview, might be awarded top ranks in the Foundation Course. It could also disturb the reservations for OBCs, SC, ST categories in civil service exams, he said.This will never be a case of much ado about nothing. The drama might have ended in an anticlimax, but the events were deeply reflective of the malaise of Indian politics. This has become a unique people trading mechanism. And they have the temerity to insult equine thoroughbreds by calling it horse-trading. If only they get to see how polished an operation is the breeding and selling of thoroughbreds!

It is as well that the drama in the legislature was of short duration with the aspirational chief minister beating a hasty, if emotional, exit. But what went before was a comment on what elections have come down to in the country.

They are a naked conduit to power rather than an opportunity to serve the people and which must be won at all costs. When administration becomes an enterprise, many are willing to invest their time and money.

It was painful watching the live projections on counting day because in your heart of hearts you wanted both parties to lose - the BJP ruling at the Centre and the Congress ruling Karnataka. As irony of ironies would have it, the third horse would end up winning the race, in the Stewards Room as it were. But then, decades ago, Deve Gowda had perfected the art of the possible, which is politics, and had even ruled the country as Prime Minister.

The BJP had had experience of this feeling of being isolated as they did in 2013 when they were the single largest party in Delhi with a number very close to the majority but could not cobble together the few legislators needed to make a majority. The same should have been obvious to them before the Karnataka elections, in which they may have spoiled their chances by not making proper overtures to JD(S), an old but most unreliable of allies.

The same may become a problem again in 2019 even if the BJP emerges as the single largest party nationally, which they might, but would still struggle to find allies if they are short of the magic number. This may sound as if all the wolves are in a pack against a common enemy, but this is realpolitik as much as it is a matter of the so-called liberals up against the Right. But all that is in 2019. Meanwhile, there will be more of these dramas to be endured in the next few state elections coming up before the national vote in a year's time.

This great nataka was not so much about the popular mandate - which was solidly against the Congress anyway - as about the role Governors play. But dont blame the gentleman for choosing the course of action he did. He was obviously instructed to do so. There have been so many instances of Governors using any one of the options open to them that Vajubhai Vala is not to be singled out. Why dont Indias great constitutional experts sit down and thrash it out in pure arithmetic terms so that we dont face this situation again? We can certainly write an algorithm that will define the route through numbers alone.

Indian political history is pockmarked with instances of not only power grabbing but also outright skullduggery against opponents. Remember the 1952 general elections, the nations first, in which the Indian National Congress won 35 seats out of 75 in core Tamil-speaking constituencies. (In composite Madras State, Congress won 152 seats out of 375 seats and was in the minority.) And who ruled? Not the legislators who were opposed to the Congress and could have had the majority if they wished.

Hence, it should not surprise us that the present scene is not really different from the very birth of Indian democracy with the 1952 elections.

Consider this. JD(S), now the major partner in an opportunistic alliance with Congress, contested 218 seats in the 2013 elections. It won 38 seats while losing in 180 constituencies in which it lost its deposit in 147 seats. This is no popular mandate by any stretch of imagination. Suffice it to say that in the first past the post system there will be several glaring anomalies. This may not justify the Goa and Manipur outcomes in terms of post-poll alliances grabbing the gaddi from the single largest party, but it certainly points the way to the future when this will happen in almost every state because the people may not wish to give any party a clear majority.

It is clear from the Karnataka mandate that people have lost faith in politicians and their parties. Fractured verdicts may be the order of the day and the role of Governors will become more and more important.

The history of Governors in Raj Bhavans is as pockmarked as everything else in the Great Indian Powergrab. There are no rules in this game, only different viewpoints and all of them invariably clouded by political allegiance and outright partisanship. Long live Indian democracy!



(R. Mohan is the Resident Editor of the Chennai and Tamil Nadu editions of Deccan Chronicle)Hyderabad: BJP Uppal MLA N.V.S.S. Prabhakar on Sunday said it was shameful that Telangana was placed second worst in its fight against corruption in a recent report released by the Centre for Media Studies.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Prabhakar demanded that the state government release a white paper on the progress of ACB cases filed against officials and staff in the past four years.

"This report shows that the TRS government is encouraging corruption. Hundreds of officials and staff were caught taking bribes red-handed in the past four years since the formation of the State. But no one knows the fate of those cases, he said.

Mr Prabhakar said the government was not permitting the ACB to prosecute corrupt staff. The Chief Ministers Office had kept hundreds of such corruption cases pending without giving approval to the ACB to prosecute corrupt staff.The Congress-JD(S) alliance is said to be mulling over a 20-13 formula to share cabinet berths. (Photo: DC)

Bengaluru: With the date for swearing-in of the coalition government in Karnataka fast approaching, Congress and JD(S) have got down to the business of power sharing and portfolio distribution.

According to reports, there is a strong possibility that Karnataka CM designate H D Kumaraswamy will have two deputies and the Congress, which won 78 seats in comparison to JD(S) 38 seats, will get a maximum number of berths in the 33-member state cabinet.

However, a final call on all these issues will be taken after Kumaraswamy meets Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi today.

Read: H D Kumaraswamy to discuss Cabinet formation with Sonia, Rahul tomorrow

The Congress-JD(S) alliance is said to be mulling over a 20-13 formula to share cabinet berths. The Congress will get 20 cabinet posts while JD(S) will take 13.

Kumaraswamy is likely to keep finance portfolio with himself. However, Congress will demand other key portfolios, including home, and an important portfolio for its leader D K Shivakumar, who played a significant role in safeguarding the MLA's for alleged poaching by the BJP.

It is also said that Kumaraswamy will have two deputy chief ministers.

Also Read: Congress to go for Lingayat Dy CM

G Parameshwara, chief of Karnataka Congress and a Dalit leader, is the front runner for the post. However, there are reports that suggest there is growing demand from party leaders in north Karnataka that the position be given to a Lingayat from the region, as the chief minister's post is held by a Vokkaliga from the southern part of the state.

Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayat faith, has demanded that the Congress high command appoint its national president Shamanur Shivashankarappa as deputy chief minister. Congress is likely accept the demand to get rid of the anti-Lingayat tag it had earned post-Siddaramaiah governments efforts to give it a minority religion tag.

However, Kumaraswamy will take oath on Wednesday alone. The rest of his cabinet will sworn-in after trust vote.

K C Venugopal, Congress general secretary and in charge of Karnataka, said: Kumaraswamy alone will take oath as chief minister on Wednesday and he will take the floor test on Thursday. The election of speaker will also happen on the same day.

The two parties will also draw up a Common Minimum Programme to earmark the key governance issues of the southern state and ensure a stable government in state, Kumaraswamy had said earlier.Hyderabad: TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao wants to showcase the Karnataka model to bring all regional parties under the umbrella of his proposed Federal Front and to give hope to regional leaders that they can form a government at the Centre in 2019.

Mr Rao strongly believes that a Karnataka-like situation will occur in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as neither the BJP or the Congress will get a clear majority and will be forced to hand over the reins in Delhi to the Federal Front of regional parties.

Mr Rao, who has visited West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the past two months to garner support for the Fede-ral Front, will visit other states in June to meet reg-ional leaders and forge the Front by August.

The CM is learnt to have held a meeting with some of his cabinet colleagues, senior TRS leaders, MLAs, MLCs and MPs after the BJP government in Karnataka resigned even before the trust vote was conducted in the Legislative Assembly on Saturday.

According to a TRS lead-er, Mr Rao had recalled his assertion about the JD(S) coming to power in Karnataka.

During a meeting with TRS leaders, the party chief seems to have said: When I visited Bengaluru last month, some journalists asked me which party would come to power in Karnataka. When I told them that the Janata Dal(S) would play the key role, they laughed. I said this will become a reality and I will come again here after the poll results. Today the JD(S) is not a kingmaker but has become the king.

This development, Mr Rao believes, has shown how regional parties can play a key role at the Centre in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. They will get the opportunity to lead the alternative government at the Centre as no national party will get a clear majority, Mr Rao seems to have said.

Mr Rao expressed satisfaction that his estimate of the Karnataka polls had come true and said that the Karnataka poll outcome has given him strength to pursue his proposal to forge a Federal Front by touring other states.

Mr Rao is currently in the process of devising a common agenda for the Federal Front which will be announced in July with the prime focus on agriculture, irrigation, drinking water and the economy.

The CM is hopeful of bringing together all regional parties by August as he feels that Federal Front will be agenda driven and not based on silly politics.

Mr Rao is not averse to taking the support of the Congress to form the Federal Front government at the Centre in the 2019 election if the partners in the front arrive at a consensus to keep the BJP out of power.

Trinamool, DMK, Samajwadi Party, BSP and JD(S) are in favour of sailing with the Congress to oust the BJP in 2019.Senior Congress leader D K Shivakumar said that Congress and JD(S) have to sort out their differences for sake of forming secular government in Karnataka. (Photo: ANI)

Bengaluru: Senior Congress leader from Karnataka, D K Shivakumar on Monday said that the Congress party and the Janata Dal (Secular) - had to sort out their differences for the sake of forming a secular government in Karnataka.

Admitting that the Congress and the JD (S) were at loggerheads before the Karnataka state assembly polls, Shivakumar told news agency ANI, "In politics, I have been fighting against the Gowdas since 1985. In the last parliamentary election and assembly election against them, I won against his son, I won against his daughter-in-law. A lot of politics have been played. Lots of cases were also registered. But in the interests of the nation and party, we need a secular government in Karnataka."

"Rahul Gandhi has taken a decision that there should be a secular government here. That is what the entire country needs and that is why we have taken this stand (alliance with JD(S)). I had to swallow all this bitterness since this is my duty," he added.

The Congres, which emerged as the second largest party after recently-held Karnataka state assembly elections, has stitched up a post-poll alliance with the JD (S) to form a government in the state.

Asked whether he was happy on securing an alliance, Shivakumar said, "Sometimes, individuality doesn't count here. Individuality is not important. Whatever collective or major decisions are taken, one man may like or the other man may not like. I also gave consent for the formation of this government."

On Saturday, chief minister-elect H D Kumaraswamy was invited by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to form the government in Karnataka, after BJPs B S Yeddyurappa stepped down ahead of the floor test in the state assembly.

Asked about the structuring of the cabinet, the Congress party leader said, "We will not discuss the cabinet formation with Sonia ji (Gandhi) and Rahul ji. We are going to Delhi to pay his father's (Rajiv Gandhi) respects. All decisions regarding the internal sharing of power will be taken up by the AICC (All India Congress Committee)."

Commenting on the need of a grand alliance for defeating the BJP in the next year's general election, Shivakumar added that this was the beginning of the formation of a grand alliance and this was to be achieved by the secular parties coming together.

Asked whether the Congress-JD(S) government would complete five years, he further said, "Time will answer. I don't want to answer it right now. We have various issues, options before us, I can't tell right now."

While Kumaraswamy was earlier expected to swear-in as Karnataka chief minister on Monday, the ceremony later got pushed to Wednesday due to the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.The bouquets first! JD(S) leader and Karnataka chief minister-designate H D Kumaraswamy with Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge K.C. Venugopal in New Delhi on Monday. (Photo: PTI)

Bengaluru/New Delhi: With barely a day left for his swearing in as the CM of a JD(S)-Congress coalition government on Wednesday, JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy is battling a series of thorny issues on which the stability of the coalition and its future rest.

While senior Congress leaders including party general secretary K.C. Venugopal said in Delhi that the Assembly Speaker's post would go to the Congress, the sharing of Cabinet berths between the Congress and JD(S) and the selection of ministers besides the vexed issue of the Deputy CM post would be discussed at a meeting of Congress and JD(S) leaders in Bengaluru on Tuesday, said sources.

The top leadership of the two parties have decided to make a new beginning leaving behind the past, when they had come together and fallen apart, and vowed to have 'a long-term relationship.'

The choice of Speaker had become contentious with the Congress reportedly insisting that its nominee should get the plum post as it has a higher number of MLAs-78-in the Assembly and reportedly convincing the JD(S) about its claim. The number of berths each coalition partner will also be debated at the meeting on Tuesday with the Congress demanding at least 20 berths in the new ministry which can have a maximum strength of 33.

Another major issue which the coalition leaders are grappling with is that of the Deputy CM post. According to sources, the Congress has mooted two Deputy CMs as it is the numerically strong party, in order to strike a balance with the JD(S) which has bagged the CM post but the regional party is not in favour of this proposal.

For Rahul, HDK now the A team

During his 20-minute closed door meeting with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi

in Delhi on Monday, Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy is learnt to have discussed the

nitty-gritty of Cabinet formation and the number of ministerial berths the

Congress and the JD(S) would get. The meeting took place at Rahul Gandhi's Tughlaq Lane residence.

The sources said at the meeting Mr Kumaraswamy promised to provide good governance in Karnataka and said he would seek Rahul Gandhi's advice on all important issues. The Congress chief also extended his full support to the JD(S) chief for the "long-term relationship".

"There is no bargain. We will cordially work out things. We must work together. I am here to take their (Congress leaders') advice," said Mr Kumaraswamy, when asked by reporters ahead of the meeting how the Congress and the JD(S) will address the issue of ministry formation. Mr K.C. Venugopal, the AICC's Karnataka in-charge, was also present at the meeting.Bengaluru: An all out war has broken out among Lingayat legislators of the Congress over former minister M.B. Patil being considered for the post of deputy chief minister with a section of Lingayat legislators backing the candidature of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president S.R. Patil instead.

At least two to three Lingayat MLAs have openly threatened to resign from their MLA seats if Mr Patil is considered even for a ministers post. Tempers ran high at an informal meeting of the party legislators in a plush hotel in the city where they have been confined to keep them away from poaching attempts by the BJP.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior Lingayat leader in the party said, How can we allow Mr Patil to become Dy CM? He is not even worthy of becoming a minister in this dispensation. He ruined our vote bank due to his whimsical decision on according separate Lingayat religion status to the community. Although, as many as 17 Lingayats have won this time round, we have literally toiled day and night to convince Lingayat voters of our constituencies that our partys decision was wrong.

According to another Lingayat leader, Mr Patil did convince former chief minister Siddaramaiah about the benefits of according separate religious status, but failed miserably in carrying the message forward to the grassroot level. As a result of this, we had to face the music. Had there been no consolidation of Muslim votes in favour of the Congress, most of us would have been in a precarious situation, the leader contended.

The leader asserted that KPCC working president, S.R. Patil is not only a amenable person but worthy of the post too. We need representation for north-Karnataka region, and it should be Mr S.R. Patil for Dy CM, the leader asserted.

Earlier, reports had suggested that the Congress was actively considering KPCC president G. Parameswara for the post.TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy at a blood donation camp organised to mark the 27th death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi in Hyderabad on Monday. (Photo:Deepak Deshpande)

Hyderabad: AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot, who is in-charge of party organisation affairs, will be visiting the city for two days to set right issues cropping up in the partys state unit.

The AICC has to appoint new executive committee and the election committee to shortlist party candidates for the 2019 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. It has also to appoint committees plan for the election campaign, draft the manifesto and for coordination, apart from several committees at the ground level.

In recent days, several senior leaders have openly announced that they are in the race for the Chief Ministers post if the Congress comes to power in the state in 2019.

This has raised a controversy in party circles, and some senior leaders are of the opinion that this could give a bad impression to voters and affect the partys future.

TPCC president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy during his recent visit to Delhi had submitted lists proposing names of the executive committee and several other bodies to AICC president Rahul Gandhis office and to Mr Gehlot.

Sources said that before finalising the lists the AICC wants to know the opinion of party leaders on the constitution of the committees. Mr Gehlot has been tasked with this operation.

He is expected to advise party senior leaders to put in a combined effort to bring the party to power at the Centre and in the state without getting into controversies.Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said he was happy that about the success of Rythu Bandhu Scheme as there was no shortage of cash in banks across the state despite the farmers withdrawing such a huge amount within a week.

Hyderabad: Over 40 lakh farmers in Telangana have encashed cheques worth Rs 5,100 crore in banks in the past 10 days. The cheques were distributed by the state government under the Rythu Bandhu Sheme as part of extending Rs 4,000 per acre financial assistance to farmers for ensuing kharif in June.

The distribution of cheques was started on May 10 and went on till May 17. The rest of the cheques will be distributed in respective mandal revenue offices.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao said he was happy that about the success of Rythu Bandhu Scheme as there was no shortage of cash in banks across the state despite the farmers withdrawing such a huge amount within a week.

The RBI had sent Rs 5,700 crore cash to the banks exclusively for Rythu Bandhu scheme as they were facing severe cash crunch since March. The CM, finance minister Etela Rajender and agriculture minister Pocharam Srinivas Reddy had requested union finance ministry and RBI officials several times to arrange cash reserves for Rythu Bandhu Scheme.

Over 58 lakh cheques were printed for distribution. Of these, officials have so far distributed cheques to over 44 lakh farmers. The other 14 lakh cheques could not be distributed as beneficiaries were not available in the villages due to various reasons like migration to other states and countries, while in some cases, there were errors on cheques pertaining to names and area of land due to which they were sent for reprinting. There were also Aaddhar linkage issues, which also affected the distribution.

Agriculture secretary C.Parthasarathi said, Those who could not collect the cheques from distribution centres till May 17, can approach MRO offices with valid documents and claim the cheques. Cheques with errors were cancelled and sent for reprinting. They will reach MRO offices within a week. There is no need for panic.

The CM has convened a high-level meeting with ministers and senior officials at Pragathi Bhavan on Tuesday to review the implementation of Rythu Bandhu Scheme. The meeting will also formulate modalities for implementation of Rs 5 lakh free insurance scheme for farmers from June 2. Officials from Life Insurance Corporation of India have been called for the meeting.THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KPCC president M.M. Hassan has landed in the soup following the alleged derogatory remarks made against former Congress MLA Sobhana George during a channel interview the other day. Ms Sobhana George on Monday filed a complaint with the Kerala Women's Commission, which referred it to its law officer. However, Mr Hassan said his comments were twisted out of context by the social media.

Mr Hassan had told the TV channel that Chengannur Congress candidate D. Vijayakumar should have been fielded from there several decades ago. He was initially projected as the Congress candidate in 1991. But at the last minute, Sobhana George got the seat, Mr Hassan said. However, the social media twisted his words that there are certain things which he cannot reveal before the camera. This offended Ms Sobhana George who approached the KWC with the complaint.

Earlier, KWC member Shahida Kamal said that a case had been charged against Mr Hassan for making derogatory remarks against Ms Sobhana. But within two hours, KWC issued another statement saying that commission chairperson M. C. Josephine had referred the case to the law officer for his opinion. Mr Hassan maintained that he had not made any offensive comments against Ms Sobhana George who had recently joined the Left camp.

The KWC did not seek my response and I have not seen the interview which was telecast. The case is politically motivated in view of the Chengannur by-election, he said. Mahila Congress state president Lathika Subhash rallied behind him and said the controversy was unwarranted and that Mr Hassan had not made any derogatory comments against the woman leader. Ms Sobhana George said she was made the candidate in Chengannur in 1991 while she was the first woman general secretary of the state Youth Congress. She was not aware about the provocation for Mr Hassan's comment, she said. I have looked upon Hassan as a brother. But I will take up the issue before Congress president Rahul Gandhi," she said.Hyderabad: BJPs Telangana unit president Dr K. Laxman on Monday said that the polarisation of political parties against his party has begun after recent Karnataka episode. He said the TRS government has helped Congress, JDS to hold camp politics in Hyderabad to dethrone BJP government in Karnataka.

Dr Laxman predicted that Congress and the TRS will join hands for the 2019 polls, but BJP will foil their attempts and win the elections.

Despite KCRs claims that he is dead against Congress, he recently helped the party to dethrone BJP government in Karnataka by arranging star hotel accommodation and security (for Karnataka MLAs). This exposed the hidden agenda between TRS and Congress. Both parties will join hands for 2019 polls against BJP. But we are not afraid of such unethical and evil designs. We will contest from all seats in Telangana and come to power, Dr Laxman said.

He alleged that KCRs proposed Federal Front is only to unite regional parties against BJP and help Congress to come to power at the Centre in 2019.

Dr Laxman stated that earlier all parties used to unite against Congress, but now they are trying to unite against BJP. Congress and TRS are natural friends. They have worked together earlier. TRS was part of the UPA government. They will again come together for 2019 polls, he said.

Dr Laxman said BJP national president Amit Shah will visit Telangana in June to strengthen the party and prepare it for 2019 polls. BJP will contest independently in all the elections  from panchayats to Lok Sabha. We will show our strength in these elections, he said.Three to four days into the cessation of operations (COO) initiative in Jammu and Kashmir, it is under severe criticism from almost all quarters. The main objections appear to be from the security community, which is livid that the momentum of operations, put in place by Operation All Out, has been broken. Many less-informed people are joining in too. Just a few months ago, a lot of people were lamenting that the robust way was not the only way to fight terrorism or militancy. The governments at the Centre and the state were also under attack for lack of alternative initiatives. To be fair to the critics, the move for the COO, or truce, took almost everyone by surprise. While I personally may not be fully convinced about the decision, I do admire the risk that the Central and state governments are taking. Why this was done and whether it will lead to any possibility of long-term peace is something that needs to be analysed. Already, as expected, the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba rejected the offer. The United Jihad Council (UJC), led by Hizb-ul-Mujahideen founder Syed Sallahuddin, is uncertain of its response; its initial utterance was that the COO reflected insincerity by the Indian government as it was only for a temporary period. It was a statement of the confused, those clearly on the backfoot due to the moral risk of refusing to honour the governments offer.

We dont know what the UJCs final stance will be, but we must remember that South Kashmirs militancy is no longer completely under Hizbs control. Burhan Wani had showed the path outside HMs control, but his entire group has been wiped out. The current operating elements in South Kashmirs resistance have a diffused leadership, difficult to identify; hence decisions regarding the response to the COO may be difficult to take. Being extremely young and immature, their ability to respond with any sense of consideration will always remain suspect. With Syed Geelani, Mirwaiz and Yasin Malik, relatively marginalised but also toeing the insincerity line of the government, the overall response to the COO may not be what the authorities wanted. However, for the government and the Army, there is really no loss in this either. The latter will continue calibrating its operations based upon responses, although its not easy to do so. If the confusion in the separatist and terrorist ranks persists, the moral winner will be the government if it ensures fully sincerity in its actions and, more important, makes the statements from time to time through the month of Ramzan. Those who question the governments wisdom of choosing Ramzan for the offer, and claim it is pandering to Muslim sentiment, forget that the government is working to a strategy.

A Ramzan truce offer puts the moral pressure on the other side; a refusal during this holy month wont go too well with the people, and will place the government on a higher moral pedestal. I believe this offer should have at the outset included the period of the Amarnath Yatra, the iconic pilgrimage which will begin soon after Id-ul-Fitr. Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has said it will be extended to that period if the response is positive, and that she is only taking one step at a time. That is a fair enough approach. In the complexities of the reasons why the government took the decision I can identify two primary ones. First, the dynamics of sustenance of the violent movement have changed from the infiltration from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to local recruitment. In other words, it is the local boys now who are the core, and not the LeTs Pakistani lumpens. The continuous operations, although achieving neutralisation of terrorists, were also fuelling local recruitment. In such a cycle the strength of terrorists is unlikely to reduce, and the military campaign can continue for long even though military space is well under the control of the security forces.

The space which is begging attention is the social one. The street turbulence by groups that include women and children, the flash mob interference at encounter sites and the near-suicidal mode the youth had adopted probably disturbed the government. Progressively, under such circumstances, it will not be long before the religious fervour could bring suicide bombing to our doorstep; that is a phenomenon related to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, and not to the sub-conventional proxy conflict in J&K, and we would like to keep it that way. The second reason I figure for the decision is that military operations, although highly effective, may have been seen as spurring sentiments to contribute to the separatists and their sponsors narrative that the idea of azadi was a doable belief, as turbulence in the streets was seen to be rising. This can at best be an assumption. The strategy could be to cool the environment by giving a temporary break, put the ball in the court of the other side and await a response. If none comes, the resumption would be automatic.

There is a justifiable apprehension that the break in operations will upset the momentum. To overcome such an apprehension, the government needs to advance the argument that the concept of operations under the truce does not involve the security forces taking a clean break, rather only ceasing its offensive operations involving search and destroy and cordon and search operations. All other operations involving counter-infiltration at the Line of Control, intelligence-gathering, road-securing and security of important installations will continue as before. Area domination in a defensive mode and night patrolling and ambushes would also remain in place to curb the initiative of the terror groups. The detractors of such a concept do point out that in the same mode in 2000-01, the forces saw an increase in casualties, leading to the initiative being withdrawn. Today, however, the strength of the terrorists is far lower. The government probably deserves to be given a chance but the success of its initiative, besides depending on the response, would also be contingent upon how quickly it can put together a campaign spelling its counter-narratives.In the Jammu region on Sunday, there was a break in the continual violation of the ceasefire by Pakistan only when the BSF pummelled Pakistani Rangers positions with heavy and medium-range mortar shells, inflicting serious casualties. According to the BSF, the Pakistan side sued for peace and begged the Indian paramilitary to stop firing. This does not, however, mean that the Pakistanis wont resume unprovoked firing at Indian border guards and the civilian population in border areas as soon as they have recouped. Thats the unforgiving nature of the politics being played out between these two countries these days.

Since January, Pakistan has been violating the ceasefire on a steady basis. Thirty-eight Indians have been killed in the Pakistani shelling: 19 civilians and 19 security forces personnel. Thats not a small number given that there is no declared outbreak of hostility. In fact, the Pakistani firing was stepped up on Saturday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was visiting J&K to inaugurate some infrastructure projects.

This level of show of mutual animosity can carry on indefinitely and become the new normal. Perhaps both sides can live with this. Or, we can step on the gas unprovoked by Pakistan to test to what pitch the latter can go, short of threatening nuclear confrontation. This can become a real option. The alternative is to take the published remarks of Pakistan Army chief Gen. Qamar Bajwa at face value. He has said his country wants to have peace with India. A former high-profile head of RAW, Indias external spy agency, has suggested that we invite Gen. Bajwa for a dialogue. This can be given due thought by the government.On the basis of my understanding of the law, logic, geography and history of India and China, here is an open brief for the resolution of the most agonising and intractable Sino-Indian bilateral issue: the boundary question. The universally acknowledged and accepted Blacks Law dictionary defines a border as the boundary between two nations wherein the boundary is referred to as a natural or artificial separation that delineates the confines of real property. A boundary can be natural or manmade. An example of a natural boundary is a creek  such as Sir Creek between India and Pakistan. There is another legal term called metes and bounds, which means the territorial limits of real property as measured by distance and angles from designated landmarks and in relation to adjoining properties. This term is usually described to establish the boundary lines of land. The law prescribes several types of boundaries that could be followed or fought by contracting, conflicting or competing parties to resolve an issue or continue rancour. Thus, we have agreed boundary  which means negotiated boundary by which adjacent landowners (like two or more sovereign states) resolve uncertainties over the extent of their land. Its also called boundary by agreement or boundary by acquiescence.

The agreed boundary doctrine is the principle by which adjacent landowners (oe sovereign states) resolve uncertainties over land boundaries by permanently fixing the boundaries by agreement, specifically the rule that owners of contiguous land may agree on the boundary between the parcels. As long as the actual boundary is uncertain, there is an agreement between the two owners about the boundary line and acquiescence in the agreed line for a time exceeding the statute of limitations. The agreed boundary is identifiable on the ground. This agreed boundary doctrine is also termed as the doctrine of practical location, which can be followed by actual possession, agreement and implementation. We also have the lost boundary and natural boundary. The lost boundary implies a boundary whose markers have decayed, changed or have been removed or displaced in such a manner that the boundarys correct location can no longer be determined with confidence. The natural boundary denotes any non-artificial thing (such as a river, ocean, mountain) that forms a boundary of a nation/nations  this is also referred to as natural objects in a slightly different context of a person likely to receive a portion of another persons estate. Now comes the crux of Sino-Indian divergence  under which category should the long-standing bilateral boundary/border dispute of mistrust and distrust fall? As I understand, both China and India will first have to mutually agree to define the working modality and parameters under which they will function without recourse to rancour.

They may like to take a principled stand that essentially the issue falls under the combination of lost boundary and natural boundary, and that it has got to be resolved under the agreed boundary doctrine that will take care of the doctrine of practical location. The agreed boundary doctrine is understandable. But how does one take the doctrine of practical location to its logical conclusion in a terrain which is uneven, broken, diverse and a sizeable portion of which falls under the lost boundary owing to the vagaries of nature in the high ranges of the Himalayas? Here one has to tread carefully. Both Beijing and New Delhi have to first agree whether they will wholly and solely base their premise on pre-1947 Indian maps and pre-1949 Chinese maps, or not. In case they refuse to come out of the pre-1947 and pre-1949 psyche, any possibility of an amicable and mutually acceptable border resolution will simply dissipate. I have had the opportunity to study a few maps of the western and eastern terrain of India. And despite sincere scrutiny over days, I was unable to find anything over which the contracting parties could possibly agree, thanks to the unbridgeable variations leading to uncompromising protection of sovereignty on both sides of the Himalayas, thereby creating and continuing a Himalayan problem for the Himalayan frontier.

However, I do see one possibility  the McMahon Line of the Arunachal Pradesh-Tibet axis. In case both Beijing and New Delhi decide to discard the Shimla Accord documents and make a fresh beginning to do business based on logic, reason and the doctrine of practical location of natural boundary, the issue of Indian garrisons and Chinese troops could be resolved. As we all know, Zhou Enlai, the first Premier of Communist China, had agreed to accept the McMahon Line as the boundary in 1959, irrespective of Chinas professed stand of being a non-signatory of the 1914 Shimla Accord. If we accept the Chinese stand (that China was not a signatory to this accord), what does one say about India? India too was absent. If China claims that Tibet had no locus standi (despite being a part of China) to sign the Shimla Accord, as or on behalf of China, India too can claim that the entire signing process by the British, on behalf of India, was illegal and thus unacceptable as no Indian had certainly signed the Shimla Accord! Thus, if China starts repudiating all past treaties on the ground that those were unequal, following the same line and logic India too could follow suit, and begin repudiating all British-imposed treaties as unequal and hence unacceptable to the sovereign Indian republic! There is, however, quite an easy way out  follow the realistic, practical and conventional crest (highest point of a mountain), that is the crest of a watershed (a summit or boundary line separating the drainage districts of two streams) principle wherein the peak constitutes the border for both. In this way, the northern slope goes to China and the southern slope slope goes to India. Let the two nations agree to start with the natural boundary and then go on to the artificial border. As a proud Indian, I look forward to a Himalayan solution.A story doing the rounds during West Bengals recent panchayat election had a man asking if his wife had cast her vote. Assured that she had, he mused wistfully: She died several years ago but polling agents always say she never fails to vote. I turn up every voting day in the hope of meeting her since she obviously returns to earth on this one day! Thats democracy, Indian style. The story could have been told of any election in any state in the country. As the Karnataka tamasha confirmed, the deterioration that set in with the 1967 election when Madhya Pradesh legislators were said to have been locked up inside a fort is now the norm. Todays state governors are expected to act like chowkidars of the ruling party at the Centre. The leader of a minority party in a state Assembly fails in his duty if he doesnt offer several crores in cash and ministerial jobs to win over MLAs from across the divide. Legislators, being footloose and fancy free, sell their favours for the highest terms no matter what the anti-defection law stipulates, for laws cant generate integrity.

An erudite and ingenious Haryana MP once argued that since his party had only three representatives in the Lok Sabha, his crossing the floor was a split under Paragraph 3 of the Tenth Schedule, and not defection. He got away with it too, the law being a ass, a idiot, itseyes not having been opened by experience, as Mr Bumble would say, until the 91st amendment to the Constitution did away with that distinction in 2003. A Rajasthani businessman had once told me that in any lawsuit he was involved in he invested more resources on his adversarys lawyers than on his own defence. Politics isnt very different. Few any longer expect an election to have political meaning in the sense of offering voters a genuine choice. Manifestoes are mainly for the record in a largely illiterate society; common minimum programmes provide the anvil on which bargains are hammered out.

Only the need for ideological differentiation obliges the rank opportunisms pitted against each other to hoist flags of convenience that camouflage personal ambition as public commitment. The Bharatiya Janata Partys fig leaf of honesty seems somewhat tattered after the partys shenanigans in Karnataka were exposed. The momentarily victorious Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) partnerships call of secularism in danger would possibly have been more convincing if it didnt rely on sectarian strategies like bringing Vokkaligas into a combination of dalits, Muslims and Other Backward Classes, or finding Veerashaiva and Lingayat ministers.Secularism is undoubtedly at risk with gau rakshaks on the rampage, ghar wapsi threatening to become a cottage industry, and advocates of Hindutva undermining the media and academic institutions.

But it is useless to pretend that the battle for Karnataka is over secularism, except in the general sense that any BJP gain is another nail in the secular coffin.

Now that the BJP has been so humiliatingly outwitted, the struggle is over control of the Central government after the 2019 general election. The spectacle of so many Opposition stalwarts flocking to Bengaluru later this week to applaud H.D. Kumaraswamy, purged of his saffron connection, being sworn in as chief minister, recalls a time when Indira Hatao, Desh Bachao was the Oppositions only mantra. Indira Gandhi called it their one-point programme. That is perfectly acceptable since the individual personifies all that is wrong with his or her one-person regime. What is regrettable is that the emphasis is not on content but strategy, not performance, but management. Meghalaya, where the BJP acquired de facto control with only two MLAs out of 60, may have set the trend but it plays to an inherent streak in the Indian psyche that goes back to the Mahabharat.

The age of the wheeler-dealer boasts a hoary lineage. Aswathhama hatha iti Gaja. Or the tale of the samudra manthana, churning of the ocean, and the theft of amrita, the nectar of immortality. Advertising and public relations would not have been so important in our contemporary life if the ability to cut corners, outsmart rivals and pull a fast one, as the slang has it, hadnt been so widely admired. Glibness pays. The victor of the Karnataka coup isnt the new chief minister. Nor his 85-year-old father whom accident catapulted into the Prime Ministers chair for 11 months in 1996-97 and who, if reports be true, yearns to get back to it. Nor even Rahul Gandhi, the Prime Minister in waiting. The hero is a 56-year-old Karnataka politician, Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar. Reputed to be the richest politician in Karnataka and at the heart of various controversies involving land and money, Mr Shivakumars strategy brilliantly ensured that the BJPs machinations did not succeed in winning over any of the 117 Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs.

No doubt his skills, which were tried out earlier in Maharashtra and Gujarat, will be put to further use in December in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The Gorakhpur and Phulpur byelection victories in Uttar Pradesh, the Telugu Desam Partys break with the BJP and the Shiv Senas notice have whetted the Oppositions appetite. It is estimated that if its alliance with the JD(S) survives until the general election, the Congress could widen its social base (currently estimated at 57 per cent of voters) sufficiently to capture 23 of Karnatakas 28 Lok Sabha seats. In fact, the danger is that Mr Kumaraswamys chief ministership might encourage regional leaders across the country to throw their hats into the prime ministerial ring. As in 1977, we will again be burdened with more chiefs than Indians, and ample scope for BJP mischief. If democracy had indeed triumphed in Karnataka, Congress and JD(S) legislators would not have had to be locked up in the gilded prison of five-star hotels until the floor test.

Facebook has faced multiple investigations in the United States and Europe over its handling of personal data of users, hurting shares of the Mark Zuckerberg-led company. (Photo: AFP)

Cambridge Analytica, the political consultancy at the centre of Facebooks privacy scandal, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the United States late on Thursday.

This past March allegation surfaced that Cambridge Analytica, hired by President Donald Trumps 2016 US election campaign, improperly used data of 87 million Facebook users beginning in 2014.

Cambridge Analytica and its British parent SCL Elections Ltd said earlier this month that they would shut down immediately and begin bankruptcy proceedings after suffering a sharp drop in business.

The petition to file bankruptcy was submitted at the US Bankruptcy Court Southern District of New York and was signed on behalf of Cambridge Analyticas board by Rebekah and Jennifer Mercer, daughters of billionaire Robert Mercer.

The Mercer family was one of Trumps biggest donors. Cambridge Analytica LLC listed assets in the range of $100,001 to $500,000 and liabilities in the range of $1 million to $10 million.

London-based Cambridge Analytica was created in 2013 initially with a focus on US elections, with $15 million in backing from Mercer and a name chosen by former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon, according to a report by the New York Times.

Facebook has faced multiple investigations in the United States and Europe over its handling of personal data of users, hurting shares of the Mark Zuckerberg-led company.

Zuckerberg has appeared before US congressional committees to testify on data privacy and will meet leaders of the European Parliament soon.

Facebook said on May 14 it has suspended around 200 apps in the first stage of its review into apps that had access to large quantities of user data before the company restricted data access.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.OnePlus can still use the term legally in the European markets as the EUIPO has only barred them from owning the rights to the name.

Ask any OnePlus fan their favourite feature from the brands smartphone and most of them will reply the following in unison  Dash Charging. The companys proprietary fast charging technology allows users to fill up the batteries on their OnePlus devices faster than any other smartphone in the world. However, it seems that OnePlus could soon be dropping Dash Charging from its products in favour of Fast Charging. Wonder why?

In the European markets, two brands  Amazon and Bragi, sell products by the same name that OnePlus uses for its fast-charging technology on its smartphones. Amazon has Dash Buttons and a Dash Replenishment service in Europe whereas Bragi has the Dash family of wireless earphones, first launched in 2016. When OnePlus files for a trademark of the Dash Charging technology during the launch of the OnePlus 3 to the EUs Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), their application was rejected in view of confusion with the already existing products.

OnePlus can still use the term legally in the European markets as the EUIPO has only barred them from owning the rights to the name. However, it seems that OnePlus chose to avoid any further trouble and therefore opted to rename Dash Charging to Fast Charging, as is seen from the OnePlus online accessory store in the UK. OnePlus though maintained Dash Charging branding for the Indian market while launching the OnePlus 6. Therefore, there could be a possibility that OnePlus could have two different names for the same product in different markets.

If you are reading this in the UK, then fret not. Fast Charging is essentially a renamed Dash Charging technology and will offer the same fast charging experience. And if you didnt know this, OnePluss Dash Charging is essentially a rebranded version of OPPOs VOOC fast charging.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.If you are a Mi fan, then you must be rubbing your hands in anticipation of the rumoured flagship Mi 8, which is supposed to celebrate the 8th anniversary of the company. While the Mi 8 has been drawing all attention with its FaceID-like 3D facial recognition system and an in-display fingerprint sensor, details about the successor to Xiaomis phablet model have already started creeping up. However, while the details about the handset are sparse presently, Xiaomis CEO Lei Jun has confirmed that the Mi Max 3 will be unveiled in July.

Lei took to Chinese microblogging website Weibo to express Xiaomis intentions of unveiling the Mi Max 3 sometime in July. Xiaomi has usually unveiled new members of the Mi Max series in the month of May. However, it seems that the Mi Max 3 will require some more time at the hands of its maker to be deemed fit for markets across the world. Lei didnt unveil anything else about the handset though.

However, rumours about the Mi Max 3 have been doing rounds on the Internet for a while. Its expected that the Mi Max 3 will essentially be a magnified version of the Redmi Note 5 Pro, as last years Mi Max 2 was essentially a Redmi Note 4 with a giant display. Therefore, expect Xiaomi to stuff in a Snapdragon 636 chipset with 4GB/6GB of RAM. We could also see a familiar dual camera setup borrowed from the Redmi Note 5 Pro. However, the Mi Max 3 is expected to sport an even larger 18:9 display measuring close to 7-inches. Not only a giant display, but the Max 3 is also expected to sport a bigger 5500mAh battery with fast charging enabled. Rumours are also ripe about the exclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this site.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.The cancelled regulation had banned girl students from wearing pants or skirts shorter than 50 centimetres. (Photo: Representational)

Beijing: A Chinese university has apologised and lifted a ban on girls wearing miniskirts and hotpants in the library, revoking a regulation imposed over a students complaint that such clothes were harmful to the study atmosphere and are a form of sexual harassment.

The cancelled regulation had banned girl students from wearing pants or skirts shorter than 50 centimetres.

The regulation came into effect after a complaint was filed by a male student, alleging miniskirts were harmful to the study atmosphere and are a form of sexual harassment.

Miniskirts and hotpants may be worn at the library, the university said in a statement after revoking the regulation that had banned them.

We apologise for the confusion and inconvenience brought by our recent work, state-run Global Times quoted the Hunan Agricultural University statement as saying.

Were determined to optimise management and improve service quality, creating a better reading environment. We welcome students to come to the library to study and be readers with good manners, it said.

It is now fine for students to wear fashionable clothes as long as they are not solely wearing briefs, an unnamed staff member at the library of Hunan Agricultural University said.

The regulation was already revoked, he was quoted as saying.

The university did not specifically offer a reason for the apology.

Calling miniskirts sexual harassment sparked immediate online controversy among students at the provincial capital city and on Chinese social media.

Some net users said that it is a persons right to decide what he or she could wear.

Sexual harassment means that you need to make an unwelcome sexual invitation, a net user posted on Sina Weibo, which is akin to micro-blogging site twitter.

Simply wearing clothes is not sending out a sexual implication or invitation. The reason does not stand, the Times quoted a Weibo user as saying.

Such a regulation was unnecessary as long as dress doesnt affect studying and reading, Xie Zhiyong, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, told the Times.

But it was also not necessary to elevate this to the level of breaking the law or sexual discrimination, Xie said.

People should not read too much into cases like this.Modi said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by then Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Putin has now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" between the two countries. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

Sochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the strategic partnership between India and Russia has now been elevated into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" as he met President Vladimir Putin in this Black Sea coastal city for their first informal summit.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Modi said India and Russia have been friends for a long time and they have enjoyed an unbreakable friendship. "I am grateful to President Putin who invited me for an informal meeting and hence, in the long friendship of ours, this is a new aspect that has been attached to our relationship," Modi said.

"You have added a new aspect of informal summit in the bilateral relationship which I think is a great occasion and creates trust," he said. Modi recalled his first visit to Russia with then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001 and said Putin was the first world leader whom he met after becoming the chief minister of Gujarat.

"In my political career also, Russia and you (Putin) are very significant...As the chief minister of Gujarat, it was my first meeting with a foreign leader. Hence, the beginning of my international relations started from you and Russia," Modi said. "Since then it has been 18 years, I have got several opportunities to meet you, to deliberate upon issues, and try to take the relations of India and Russia forward," he added. He said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by then Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Putin have now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" in itself.

Modi thanked Russia for playing a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation - an eight nation bloc which aims at military and economic cooperation between the member states. India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation.

"We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS," Modi said. He also congratulated Putin for becoming the President for the fourth time with overwhelming majority. "It's my pleasure that I had got an opportunity to talk to you over phone and soon met you to congratulate you personally," he said. "Starting from the year 2000 when you took office, our relation has been historic...," Modi added.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Bocharev Creek in Sochi ahead of the delegation-level talks, Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties. He said Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries' defense ministries. "Our defense ministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said. He also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS (an association of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the SCO.

Putin also said that last year there was a considerable increase in mutual trade and this year for the first several months it was an increase of more than 17 per cent. Official sources said the aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues. They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks.

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO and BRICS summits.

The sources said possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation may also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin. There have been apprehensions that the US decision on Iran deal may adversely impact New Delhi's oil import from the Persian Gulf nation as well as on the Chabahar port project. Iran is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.Speaking at the first parliamentary party meeting of the newly-formed Nepal Communist Party in Nepal, party's co-chairman Oli said the office would be removed as it had "outlived its purpose". (Photo: File)

Kathmandu: Nepal will close the Indian Embassy's field office in the near future as it has "outlived its purpose", Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has said.

India was permitted to set up the temporary field office in 2008 to issue passes to vehicles for plying on Indian roads in the bordering regions after Koshi floods severely damaged a 17-km stretch of the east-west highway.

Initially set up in the eastern Sunsari district, it was later shifted to the nearby Biratnagar city, about 375 kms from Kathmandu, along the Koshi Highway.

Speaking at the first parliamentary party meeting of the newly-formed Nepal Communist Party in Nepal, party's co-chairman Oli said the office would be removed as it had "outlived its purpose".

After repair of the damaged portion of the highway, Nepal had asked India to shut down the camp office but the Indian side did not comply.

The Indian flag was hoisted on the office building while India started distributing scholarships and got involved in various social activities using the facility, the Kathmandu Post reported.

India in 2014 sought the government's permission to establish a Consulate General Office in Biratnagar by upgrading the field office, the report said.

The Nepali government had tried to remove the field office six years ago when then Maoist leader Narayan Kaji Shrestha was the foreign minister.

In 2011, then Baburam Bhattarai-led government issued two diplomatic notes to New Delhi seeking removal of the office, according to officials.

"The prime minister's statement suggests that there is no need for such field offices in a small country," Communist Party of Nepal leader Janardan Sharma was quoted as saying by the Post.The Supreme Court granted a permanent stay on the arrest of a techie after he appeared before the Bengaluru police from Finland and joined the investigation in a rape case lodged by a woman, who claimed to be his former colleague.

A bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul took note of the submission by the Karnataka government counsel that the accused, Arjun P Kamath, joined the investigation after the top court stayed his arrest on February 21 and the charge sheet was filed. The counsel also said that a supplementary charge sheet would be filed soon.

Advocate K V Muthu Kumar, representing the petitioner, submitted that Kamath would join the proceedings before the trial court and remain present as and when required unless exempted from personal appearance as he was working and residing in Finland.

The order against the stay of the arrest of the petitioner is liable to be made absolute. In case of failure to comply with the directions, the order would be liable to be recalled, the bench said.

The top court had stayed the arrest of the techie from Bengaluru after he contended that the rape case was lodged in 2016 by the woman for the offence allegedly committed in 2012.

Kamath said the FIR, lodged by the Koramangala police in 2016, was abuse and misuse of the rape law.

The woman claimed that Kamath forcibly established a physical relationship with her and reneged on the promise of marriage.

Kamath approached the court with a special leave petition, against the Karnataka High Courts order of July 20, 2017, which rejected his plea for anticipatory bail.

In the complaint with the Koramangala police, the woman said that she and the 30-year-old accused worked with the NokiaSiemens company.

In August 2009, he proposed to her and established a physical relationship with her at his friends place in Koramangala. The relationship continued until November 2011 when he left for Finland, after which she could not contact him. But in October 2016, Kamaths friend informed her that he would not be able to marry her.

However, the petitioner denied the allegations. Kamath, for his part, said he has been working with the Ericsson company in Finland since 2011, and there was no possibility of him having any physical relationship with her.UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Priyanka Chopra on Monday visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh and calling the crisis "horrific" the actor urged people to help the children affected by it.

The 35-year-old Bollywood star, who is on a field visit to Bangladesh, said the world needs to come together to give Rohingya refugee kids a secure future.

"In the second half of 2017, the world saw horrific images of ethnic cleansing from the Rakhine State of Myanmar(Burma). This violence drove nearly 700,000 Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh - 60 percent are children. Many months later they are still highly vulnerable, living in overcrowded camps with no idea when or where they will ever belong... Even worse, when they will get their next meal.

"And as they finally start to settle and feel a sense of safety, monsoon season looms threatening to destroy all that they've built so far. This is an entire generation of children that have no future in sight. Through their smiles, I could see the vacancy in their eyes. these children are at the forefront of this humanitarian crisis, and they desperately need our help. The world needs to care. We need to care. The kids are our future," Priyanka posted on Instagram alongside series of pictures of her with the kids.

Last year, Priyanka had visited a Syrian refugee camp in the Jordanian capital of Amman.Hours after top officials of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistani Rangers agreed to defuse border flare-up, the Rangers traded heavy fire along the international border (IB) in Jammu.



Pakistani troops resorted to unprovoked firing at the BSF outposts in Arnia, Ramgarh and Chamliyal areas of Jammu. The firing started at 10 pm. The BSF retaliated effectively. No casualty or damage was caused on our side, a BSF official said.



The latest ceasefire violation came barely a few hours after top officials of the BSF and Pakistani Rangers had a telephonic conversation on Sunday to end the latest border flare-up after both sides suffered the loss of lives and machinery in the heavy exchange of fire along the border in Jammu last week.



The ceasefire violations and attempts to infiltrate the IB increased last week as Pakistan continued to target Indian border outposts (BoPs) and civilian areas.

On May 18, a BSF trooper and four civilians were killed while a dozen others were injured after Pakistan Rangers fired mortars at BoPs and civilian areas along the IB in R S Pura and Arnia sub-sectors of Jammu.



Since the beginning of this year, the number of people killed in over 800 incidents of Pakistani shelling along the IB and Line of Control (LoC) in the state has risen to 38. The victims include 18 security personnel and 20 civilians.



Sources said that Pakistani troops were keeping the pot boiling on the IB and the LoC as they want to push heavily armed militants into the Indian side under the cover of ceasefire violations.

Majority of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops were either aimed at targeting civilians or aiding and abetting infiltration attempts by the militants, they said.



Indian troops have been maintaining high alert not only during ceasefire violations but 247 as there have been inputs that several militants at launching pads on the Pakistan side have further increased in the last half of May after an improvement in weather conditions on the higher reaches, sources added.Preparations are in full swing for Wednesdays swearing-in ceremony of JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy as chief minister.

Kumaraswamys father and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, on Monday, personally called several national and regional leaders, inviting them to attend the event. He has spoken to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister T Chandrashekhar Rao, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, BSP Chief Mayawati, former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav and others.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held on the flight of stairs of the Vidhana Soudha and a huge stage is being erected for the purpose.

According to sources, a special silk shirt and dhoti have been purchased for Kumaraswamy, which he will wear when he takes oath for the second time in 12 years as chief minister, at 4.30 pm. Kumaraswamy will be taking oath bare-footed following an advice by astrologers, the sources said.

A pooja was held in front of the Vidhana Soudha by a priest before the stage was installed on Monday. Arrangements have been made for placing one lakh chairs in front of the seat of power. The road between Vidhana Soudha and Karnataka High Court will be cordoned off and chairs will be placed there. There will be a separate enclosure with 3,000 seats for VIPs.To accomplish any lofty goal, you must have a crystal-clear image of that goal and keep it uppermost in your mind.  Marilyn King

After Marilyn King penned these words, she explained what happened while she lay for four months in a hospital bed recuperating from a crippling back injury. She spent much time visualizing images of how she would perform each of her pentathlon events for the upcoming 1980 Olympics. For all that time, King was unable to train like her associates, and yet she defeated most of them in the tryouts.

When she finished in second place, King felt as though she had accomplished a miracle. She went on to say, by maintaining that (crystal-clear) image, the 'how-to' steps necessary for realization of the goal began to emerge spontaneously.

King did research with hundreds of Olympians and found that many of the athletes accomplished their wins with a similar mental process. With this research, she has given us a process for solving several of Utahs perplexing problems  have a lofty goal and maintain a clear image of it uppermost in your minds.

Utah has five major problems that keep defying a solution in spite of many attempts to eliminate them. They are all solvable if we adopt a major goal for education that everyone can keep uppermost in mind. We propose the following goal and then list the problems that such a goal has the potential to solve. You will see that it involves making some needed changes in our public education system: Help every student _sense their great worth and be happy contributors to society by helping them develop as an individual with unique talents, skills, interests and personality._

Here are the problems that are solvable if this goal is achieved:

Frequency of bullying in our schools Increase in suicides and mass-murder threats among school-age children Low student achievement for students educated in the conventional curriculum Restrictions on teachers to practice as professionals Large numbers of students living in intergenerational poverty

These five problems can all be diminished or solved if we make individual talent development a top priority so that each student can excel in what he or she was born to be good at doing. This will help students realize their great worth and catch a vision of being contributors, not burdens, to society.

This goal is opposite of the one we have now  to standardize and make students alike in a predetermined body of knowledge and skills. Graduation requirements are essentially the same for everyone. Conventional schooling that tries to standardize students unintentionally promotes bullying, suicides and low student achievement. The proposed Education Elevated Strategic Plan for Utah reflects years of attempts to do a better job of improving SAT scores, raising grade-point averages, enrolling more students in advanced courses and increasing graduation rates. The plan is more of the standardization that caused the problems in the first place.

We must adopt a different main purpose for education, one that magnifies positive student differences. If the Legislature and state board will relinquish some power and authority to school districts, Utah can lead the nation with the development of a student-centered school system. This can be accomplished if a school community sets a crystal-clear, lofty goal that teachers and parents can maintain uppermost in their minds. The how-to steps will emerge spontaneously.SALT LAKE CITY  A polygamous community on the Utah-Arizona border is planning to hire an outsider as its new police chief in a move that new town leaders say will bring more fairness to a department that a jury found had discriminated against people who aren't members of the FLDS Church.

A new police chief could be named within weeks, said Donia Jessop, the new mayor of Hildale, Washington County. She has been briefed on the search being done by independent monitors appointed by the U.S. government to watch over the police department after an Arizona jury found in March 2016 that Hildale and its sister city, Colorado City, Arizona, denied nonbelievers police protection, building permits and water hookups.

None of the current town police officers had the necessary experience or expressed desire to seek the position, known as town marshal. The police agency monitors about 8,000 residents.

The previous chief, Jerry Darger, was fired in March. He is a member of religious group known as the Fundamentalist LDS Church, which has been losing control of a community it ruled for decades amid government crackdowns.

Darger is among an exodus of FLDS town officials and employees who have left following the November elections, when Jessop unseated the incumbent mayor who was a member of the FLDS. Jessop became the first woman and first nonmember of the polygamous sect to hold the seat.

Three other non-sect members won City Council seats in Hildale. The remaining two FLDS council members recently resigned. None of the candidates who sought to replace them were members of the FLDS, she said.

It's unclear how many candidates have applied for the police chief job and what level of experience they offer. It is a unique job in a community made up mostly of former sect members who have been kicked out or left on their own, or current followers of a group still run by imprisoned leader Warren Jeffs. He is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting underage girls he considered brides.

While Jessop and others applaud the changes, sect members believe the town they built and love is being ripped away from them. They believe Jeffs is their prophet and was wrongly convicted.

The job posting says the town is looking for someone with leadership experience and community orientated policing to lead an agency with six deputies and one sergeant. The job will pay $5,700-$6,700 a month. The new marshal will be required to live within 35 miles of the community, which leaves open the option of the nearby city of Hurricane.

Longtime community member Katie Cox said she likes the idea of a neutral person holding the post and treating all community members equally.

"Some unbiased law enforcement would be a good thing," said Cox, who left the FLDS years ago. "It might be a difficult job though, so I hope it will be someone who is well -ualified and has patience."

Jessop said she's hoping they find someone with "a lot of experience, empathy and compassion."

"There's been so much happen here and so much change," Jessop said, a former member of the FLDS Church. "We want someone so badly to come in and help us set things right."PROVO  A Provo man was arrested Saturday after police say he flashed two children and then pepper sprayed their father to get away.

Gabriel Matthew Carmigniani, 27, was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of lewdness involving a child, failing to stop at the command of a police officer, assault and resisting arrest.

Police say Carmigniani exposed himself to children playing on the side of a road Saturday afternoon.

"When confronted by the children's father, Gabriel sprayed pepper spray at him and ran away," according to a jail report.

Carmigniani was located a short time later by Utah County sheriff's deputies. Initially he complied when told to place his hands on the back of a police car.

"Gabriel complied for a few seconds and then tried to flee. Gabriel had to be tackled and restrained by two officers," the report states.Shon Taylor, of West Jordan, and Lane Neaman, of Taylorsville, perform the "Fancy Dance," which Taylor described as from a combination of Pueblo, Northern Ute and Navajo cultures, during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Jeronimo Lozano, originally of Peru and now living in Salt Lake City, looks toward passersby while sitting in a booth with his Peruvian retablos artwork during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Lozano said he has been crafting such artwork since he was 6 years old. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Lane Neaman, of Taylorsville, performs the "Fancy Dance," with Shon Taylor, of West Jordan, a dance which Taylor described as from a combination of Pueblo, Northern Ute and Navajo cultures, during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Tashina Barber, of Clearfield and of the Dine Nation, smiles while dancing in the Round Dance, where spectators and performers danced together, during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Those who attended had the chance to view performing arts, sample food and see crafts from various cultures. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Jimmy Reese, Jr., of Salt Lake City, a Navajo Native American of the Dine Nation, dances during the Round Dance, where spectators and performers danced together, at the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Those who attended had the chance to view performing arts, sample food and see crafts from various cultures. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Jimmy Reese, Jr., of Salt Lake City, a Navajo Native American of the Dine Nation, poses for a portrait during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Those who attended had the chance to view performing arts, sample food and see crafts from various cultures. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Peruvian retablos artwork made by Jeronimo Lozano, originally of Peru, and now living in Salt Lake City, during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Those who attended had the chance to view performing arts, sample food and see crafts from various cultures. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Jeronimo Lozano, originally of Peru and now living in Salt Lake City, displays a piece of his Peruvian retablos artwork during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Those who attended had the chance to view performing arts, sample food and see crafts from various cultures. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Marilyn Vilchez, of Woods Cross, tries on a headpiece made by Jeronimo Lozano, originally of Peru and now living in Salt Lake City, during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Those who attended had the chance to view performing arts, sample food and see crafts from various cultures. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Sinoeun Poeut and Alex Son, both of Salt Lake City, perform a traditional Cambodian dance during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Those who attended had the chance to view performing arts, sample food and see crafts from various cultures. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret News

Alanna Nelson, of Salt Lake City, 5, decorates a Mexican Day of the Dead sugar skull during the 33rd Living Traditions Festival in Salt Lake City on Sunday, May 20, 2018. Those who attended had the chance to view performing arts, sample food and see crafts from various cultures. Jacob Wiegand, Deseret NewsSALT LAKE CITY  If your idea of teaching kids to be digitally savvy means showing them how to avoid phishing scams, create unbreakable passwords and stay off pornographic websites  then experts say you've got a lot to learn.

Media literacy  and its technological offspring 'digital literacy'  is a crucial component for success in an increasingly interconnected world, yet experts worry that too many schools and parents are woefully behind, either staying silent or getting stuck in fear-based conversations that do little to prepare students for the future.

"It's a changing world, and what worked 10 years ago is not going to work today, and we need to embrace that," said Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, executive director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education. "Embracing the need for media literacy education from the earliest age is so vital  and we're not hearing enough about that."

While experts may differ on what they call this education  digital literacy, media literacy, digital citizenship, e-literacy, new literacies  the end goal is the same: teach kids to think insightfully, adapt readily, question thoughtfully, contribute creatively and participate responsibly in an ever-changing world.

And these skills aren't just necessary for kids, experts say.

Adults have to navigate fake news, decipher what the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica privacy breach means for their personal information and avoid missteps like those of first lady Melania Trump, who was recently accused of plagiarizing an Obama-administration online media parenting pamphlet.

"We need to involve our communities, involve our parents  (because) the more we can talk about (media literacy) the better," said Michelle Cooper, a library media specialist at White Oak Middle School in East Texas who teaches media literacy to sixth- through eighth-graders. "Our kids are dealing with it everyday, making choices everyday while they're online that could impact their future. I absolutely think we should be talking about it more."

Moving past fear

But for many teachers and parents, the world of the internet still represents the worst of humanity: cyberbullying, hate speech, pornography, trolls.

"As the saying goes, a knife cuts both ways," says Jason Ohler, author, adjunct professor of media psychology at Fielding Graduate University and professor emeritus and distinguished presidents professor at the University of Alaska, where he helped create one of the first master's programs in educational technology in the mid-1980s. "We've been using knives to make art and stab people ever since they came into existence, and the same is true of our advanced technology. None of this should surprise us."

But it does. And it scares us too, which is why many parents and educators focus their media literacy talks on avoiding those pitfalls.

They remind kids that digital footprints last forever, sexting could land teens in jail and malicious scammers are always on the lookout for personal data.

"That's like  teaching someone to drive a car by bringing someone in to show them pictures of accidents," says Diana Graber, co-founder of CyberCivics, a digital citizenship literacy curriculum. "We are stuck. The internet is way too powerful and way too important to our livelihood to not understand it fully."

While online safety and security are important topics, experts say they're only a fraction of a much bigger discussion.

"Youth really like being in contexts in which we're not just trying to tell them a right/wrong answer," said Emily Weinstein, a postdoctoral fellow at Project Zero, a project of the Harvard Center for Education that includes The Good Play Project, a research initiative "exploring how young people navigate the positive opportunities and ethical challenges of digital life."

"We're really curious about how they think, and helping them think in more nuanced ways," she said.

And parents are fully equipped to have those conversations  despite feeling out of touch with the newest apps or latest platforms.

In fact, Weinstein encourages parents to "put the technology aside and instead try and ask  'how would I respond if the technology wasn't involved at all?'"

Just because parents have never been insulted on AfterSchool or found out they were excluded from a party via a Story on Snapchat, doesn't mean they don't have advice for their child on how to deal with being left out, or how to respond to mean comments from peers.

"A lot of the experiences that adolescents are having and the things they're grappling with, it's true that the packaging is different, and in many cases social media has amplified what the challenge is, but fundamentally, feeling left out is not new," Weinstein said. "Technology didn't create the feeling of social exclusion."

Ohler has found that one helpful exercise is asking youth  not adults  to set up hypothetical rules and parameters for online behavior, because if teens don't "frame the system, they game the system," he said. "And boy, can they game the system. There is nothing more inviting to a creative, inspired 12-year-old than a barrier."

Learning to question

Real media literacy isn't about setting up blockades, or scaring kids away from certain situations  it's about teaching kids to question the messages all around them and then use that information to make better decisions.

Who created this? How did they get my attention? How might others view this message? What values are embedded? And why was this message sent?

Being able to question this way is a foundational process skill, explains Tessa Jolls, president and CEO of the Center for Media Literacy in Los Angeles. And it can be applied by anyone, to anything, anywhere.

Around Christmas, she'll invite children to describe a toy they've seen advertised and tell her what they like about it. Then, after Christmas, she'll have the same family come back in and bring in one of their gifts.

"In some cases, the toy is already broken, maybe the action figure doesn't move  and the kids are disappointed," she says. "It's not like what they saw in the commercials."

Parents can do the same thing, by teaching their kids to question ads and be skeptical of the promises they see and hear, she says.

But today, kids aren't just consuming media, they're creating it.

Thus, digital literacy means teaching skills that will enable "youth to participate in digital media in wise, safe and ethical ways," according to MediaSmarts, Canada's Centre for Digital and Media Literacy.

In Graber's CyberCivics, participation represents the highest rung of a literacy ladder  using technological tools to create and contribute through blogs, videos, art, and thus interact with a vibrant globally connected community.

Ohler has his students make e-portfolios, where they share the creative things they've made, whether it's a painting, an essay, movie, song, etc., so that it can come up at the top of a future Google search of their name.

Hashtags like #UseTech4Good and #Digital4Good track stories of kids who've used social media to tweet compliments, make connections with fellow students or share what they're learning.

This is where digital literacy becomes digital citizenship, says Michelle Linford, executive director of Epik: Deliberate Digital, a Utah-based nonprofit working to unite communities to raise a deliberate digital generation.

"Just as being a good citizen doesn't just mean not getting arrested and not doing drugs, not causing problems," she said. "Being a good digital citizen is a lot more than just avoiding the bad."

When to start

So if media literacy and digital citizenship skills are so crucial for kids' success in a 21st-century world, when is the best time to teach them?

Some believe media literacy should begin in kindergarten and continue through high school, while others encourage a delayed approach.

"There isn't a consensus of when is the best time to bring in tech and when is the best time to bring in media literacy," said Lipkin. "From our perspective, if tech is being used from the earliest of ages  we should do whatever we can to make sure that their school life reflects the world that they live in."

Common Sense Media uses the term digital citizenship program, which starts in kindergarten by using games and asking students questions like, "What kinds of information should you keep to yourself when you use the internet?" "How can you give credit to your own creative work?" and "What can you do when someone is mean to you online?"

In Cooper's Texas middle school, kids love the lesson on fake news, where she'll put up a few websites and the kids have to guess if they're real or not.

"It always seems to trip them up," says Cooper, a Common Sense Media Ambassador. "(They learn) to be careful about what's out there, because even if it looks legit, it may not be."

By 12th grade, students face deeper questions like, "What does it mean to do the right thing online?" and "How do you present yourself to the world online and offline?" as well as technical questions like "How do websites collect your personal information, and what can you do about it?"

"Theres been a tipping point in the last couple years (around) digital citizenship," said Kelly Mendoza, senior director of education programs for Common Sense Media. "Schools recognize (that) as they integrate technology they have to have a foundation around responsible use and ... create a culture in the school around the expectations (for) tech use."

Shaheer Faltas, head of the Greenwood School, in Mill Valley, California, an independent pre-kindergarten through 8th grade school, believes the best way to prepare students for life in the digital world is to prepare them for life in the physical world.

Faltas has spoken out against tech inundation at young ages and believes that rather than throwing iPads at kindergarteners, it's important to teach young kids to listen, play in groups, take care of their bodies, appreciate nature, eat well and use their imagination. Then, at the right time, introduce tech.

"You don't need technological tools to teach kids to be good people," he said. "Giving them tools before their cognitive capacities have been formed? You're asking for trouble."

Which is why when his district piloted Graber's CyberCivics at Journey School, a public charter school in Aliso Viejo, California, in 2010, they aimed it at sixth-, seventh and eighth-grade students.

In sixth grade, students look at case studies of ethical issues related to tech use and their behavior and choices  without using technology. Then, in seventh and eighth grades, they increased their tech use and dove into the more technical aspects of an online world.

Open-ended discussions, rather than more time on computers, offer powerful teaching moments at home or at school, experts say, because they allow kids to grapple with aspects of digital life that don't have clear right or wrong answers.

"Parenting in a digital age is hard," said Linford with Epik: Deliberate Digital, "But (parents), don't lose sight of the fact that you're still trying to build a relationship with your children and you do that side-by-side as you're discovering what tech means and what you want it to mean in your lives and in your home."SALT LAKE CITY  While the Eagles have been telling people to "take it easy" for 46 years, they put aside their own advice at Salt Lake's Vivint Arena Sunday night for over two and a half hours as they played, sang and rocked out to one of the most impressive greatest hits catalogue of the 20th century.

After having to reschedule their May 3 concert due to drummer, vocalist and founding member Don Henley getting sick  "Even rock stars get sick," Henley admitted to his audience  the band made up for lost time with a show the near-capacity crowd won't forget anytime soon.

Starting the night with musician Steve Young's 1969 tune "Seven Bridges Road," the six voices of Henley, long-time members Joe Walsh, Timothy B. Schmit and Steuart Smith, and new additions Deacon Frey and Vince Gill, shimmered across the arena in tight harmony, reminding people that while the Eagles are a rock band, they are also, in their heart, a little bit country.

Which is why the addition of country musician Gill is such a welcome one. Gill's easy tenor filled in on many tunes once sung by founding member Glenn Frey, who passed away in 2016, his occasional twang not out of place on, among others throughout the night, "Take It to the Limit," "Tequila Sunrise," "New Kid In Town" and especially "Lying Eyes."

But there was something about watching Glenn Frey's son, Deacon Frey, who introduced himself with "Take It Easy," stand in for his father that made lines like, "I'm running down the road tryin' to loosen my load" feel almost poignant. With a strong voice that had just a hint of gravel, the fresh-faced musician with shoulder-length locks and a mustache that he stole straight from the late '70s is obviously his dad's son, but he was more than a sweet reminder of his old man. Deacon Frey's vocal chops and guitar skills made him a valuable member throughout the night  and it didn't hurt that he endeared himself to Utah's audience by wearing a Red Iguana T-shirt.

Henley acknowledged the loss of Glenn Frey just after singing the concert's third song, "One of These Nights," stating that, "We're going to honor (Glenn Frey's) legacy here tonight." He also told the crowd, "We'll do songs (tonight) that span a little over four decades. I get tired just thinking about it. I get grateful just thinking about it."

Henley may have been tired thinking about his 40-plus years making and playing music, but none of the eight musicians on stage, with the occasional addition of five horn players, seemed to lag in the least.

In fact, if anything, guitarist Walsh seemed to get more energized as the night went on, proving song and song again that age has only honed his guitar prowess. Walsh isn't known for his beautiful voice or, if we're being honest, an especially beautiful face, but neither one of those details matters when Wash, grimacing and stomping, digs into his electric guitar strings like he's hunting for treasure. He had ample solos, giving the crowd some good old shredding on "Those Shoes," "Walk Away," a cover from his James Gang days, and especially on "Life's Been Good." When Walsh sings "Life's been good to me," it's hard to doubt him.

The Eagles gave the crowd all of their hits, going from "One of These Nights" to a funky "Witchy Woman," to Walsh's "In the City" to Schmit's falsetto on "I Can't Tell You Why," to 2007's "How Long" and to Deacon Frey taking on another favorite, "Peaceful Easy Feeling."

"'Cause I'm already standin' on the ground."

The young musician stood on the stage in his father's place and sang "Peaceful Easy Feeling," and as the song's last chord rang out, the screen giving fans throughout the arena a close-up of Deacon Frey morphed into an image of his father and founding Eagles member Glenn Frey. It was a moving tribute that had audience members on their feet in long, appreciative applause.

The Eagles ended  or rather, pretended to end  the evening with Henley on vocals singing "Life in the Fast Lane," but no one was convinced when the group left the stage. After all, we still had two of the Eagles' biggest hits to go, and happily, they returned and delivered both.

"Hotel California" opened with a stunning Spanish-flavored trumpet solo, leading right into one of rock's most famous guitar intros  those opening bars from what was at one time a song you couldn't avoid if you wanted to. The Eagles followed up "Hotel California" with the driving "Rocky Mountain Way" and ended the perfect evening with Henley's mature voice singing "Desperado," accompanied not just by the band, but also a five-piece string section. The crowd responded by illuminating their phones, swaying and singing with gusto, "You've got to let somebody love you" right along with Henley.

Love was in full display as the night wrapped up, the audience cheering long after the musicians left the stage, a final thank you for a night where the only ones taking it easy were the fans.SPANISH FORK  A 3-year-old girl was hospitalized in critical condition Sunday after falling out of a second-story window.

Emergency crews received a call about 7:50 p.m. that a girl, who was on a bed in front of window, either kneeled or stood up on the bed and placed her hand on the window screen, which popped out, Spanish Fork Police Sgt. Chris Sheriff said.

The girl fell an estimated 13 feet to the cement porch below. Investigators believe she may have landed on her head, Sheriff said.

The girl was taken by ambulance to a Provo hospital and was then flown by medical helicopter to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.

An updated condition was not immediately available on Monday.OGDEN  Weber State University is partnering with YMCA of Northern Utah to offer a summer full of educational camps focused on science, technology, engineering and math.

STEM Summer Day Camp will offer youth ages 5 to 15 the chance to gain hands-on experience in topics such as coding, chemistry, earth science, video production and rocketry. Participants will receive specialized instruction from experts in the field, many of whom are WSU faculty.

For the first time, weeklong camps will be held at both WSU Davis in Layton and WSUs main campus in Ogden. This expansion will allow the university to host more sessions and welcome more kids to its campuses.

Camps will run from June through August. Each week of camp features a different STEM theme and includes activities tailored to the age groups. These camps are open to a broad segment of the community, and the YMCA encourages all families who are interested to register.

Registration is open now. WSU Davis will host camps for youth ages 5 to 12, and WSU in Ogden will host ages 5 to 15. To view the camps offered or to sign up, visit ymcautah.org/summerdaycamp/webercounty.SALT LAKE CITY  Five California animal activists accused of stealing pigs from a farm in Beaver and talking about their actions on social media now face felony charges due in part to their own posts.

The Utah Attorney General's Office on Monday charged Wayne Hansen Hsiung, 36, of Berkeley; Paul Picklesimer, 40, of Berkeley; Samer Thomas Masterson, 24, of San Francisco; Andrew George Sharo, 24, of Berkeley; and Jonathan Frohnmayer, 33, of Santa Clara, with engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, two counts of burglary committed against an animal enterprise, and theft of livestock, all second-degree felonies. All but Masterson were also charged with riot, a class A misdemeanor.

Hsiung is the founder of the California-based animals rights group Direct Action Everywhere, according to court documents. The group in a statement Monday said it is being targeted for exposing corporate misconduct.

"This is an attempt to intimidate activists who are showing the public the truth about what happens in factory farms," Hsiung said. "The real issue here is the industry doesn't want people to see how their meat is produced."

On July 6, 2017, the Beaver County Sheriff's Office and the FBI were notified of pigs being stolen from farms owned by Smithfield Foods. A Smithfield Foods employee also told authorities that video of the theft had appeared in a New York Times article, according to charging documents.

The story included a picture of two men holding piglets with the caption, "Members of Direct Action Everywhere, an animal welfare group, removing piglets from Circle Four Farms in Milford, Utah."

Investigators searching the internet for video found one that "showed that three of the five defendants unlawfully entered onto Smithfield Foods property and  walking through the barns and stealing two swine," the charges state. "The fourth and fifth defendants contributed to the criminal activity, were on the Smithfield Foods property at the time, and assisted with the handling of the stolen swine."

In the New York Times article, Direct Action Everywhere talked about using a virtual reality camera to expose bad practices in the meat industry.

In court documents investigators stated they used the cameras to expose who was responsible for the alleged break-in.

"The FBI and Beaver County Sheriffs Office reviewed a copy of the aforementioned video. The video is titled 'Operation Deathstar' and is an approximately 11-minute video shot in 360-degree color footage. The video footage or 'virtual reality video' allowed the viewer to pan the screen around nearly the entire visible environment the camera captured. The quality and digital attributes of the virtual reality footage made it possible to identify the five defendants depicted in the video footage," according to the charges.

Investigators say the pigs were moved to Ching Farm Rescue and Sanctuary in Herriman. A warrant was served on the farm in August, but the owners claimed the pigs had been moved to Colorado by then, according to the charges. Investigators believe the swine were moved to Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary in Erie, Colorado.

The same five men are also believed to have raided a Norbest turkey farm in Moroni in January 2017, "and illegally stole three turkeys from the facility to promote the 'open rescue' mission of DxE," the charges state.

They were charged earlier this month in 6th District Court with burglary and theft of livestock.

Hsiung was also arrested in San Francisco in May 2017 for allegedly trespassing on a poultry farm, and an arrest warrant was issued for him in February in North Carolina on charges of burglarizing a goat farm, the charges state.

Contributing: Annie Knox

Correction: An earlier version said Hsiung is 37 years old. He is 36.SALT LAKE CITY  Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wants to rein in the law enforcement authority of the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service and is crafting legislation he says will either restrict or abolish their authority.

Lee said Monday he aims to hem in powers he says were never envisioned under the Federal Land Management Policy Act of 1976.

"Our federal land management agencies have drifted far from their intended purposes," he said. "The BLM has expanded its operations far from public lands."

Lee, chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining, convened a hearing earlier this month on the issue, querying top agency officials about the role their law enforcement plays on federal lands, and if that could be fulfilled by local sheriff deputies.

"It is incumbent on this subcommittee to ask whether combining resource management and criminal law enforcement has resulted in a profound disservice to both," Lee said.

The senator added federal land agencies exercise police powers on private land  something the founders "exclusively" reserved to the states.

"We need to get back to managing federal lands as opposed to terrorizing the communities that surround them," he said Monday.

Lee and others are optimistic the Trump administration is supportive of the West's concerns, with massive restructuring underway in the BLM and a possible relocation of its headquarters to states that include Utah and Colorado.

State Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, in an update to his colleagues on the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee last week, described a whistleblower's memo from a lead investigator who assessed how federal officers handled the 2014 armed standoff against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy.

"I routinely observed, and the investigation revealed a widespread pattern of misconduct, as well as likely policy, ethical and legal violations among senior and supervisory staff at the BLM's Office of Law Enforcement and Security."

Larry Wooten wrote that misconduct by now-fired Special Agent in Charge Dan Love and other supervisors caused "considerable disruption in our workplace, was discriminatory, harassing and showed clear prejudice against the defendants, their supporters and Mormons."

Wooten's memo went on to describe how he heard repeatedly that Love had a "Kill Book," as a trophy and "in essence bragged about getting three individuals in Utah to commit suicide (see Operation Cereberus Action out of Blanding, Utah and the death of Dr. (James) Redd)."

Lee points to the 2009 Blanding raid involving Redd  who killed himself  as an example of BLM law enforcement gone amok, with multiple pre-dawn raids served at gunpoint.

"What happened in Blanding is a symptom of the underlying problem," he said.

The so-called "Kill Book," he added, is "abhorrent. This is the kind of thing that could have or would have been addressed more quickly with a state or local law enforcement agency."

Lee said local law enforcement can carry out the same functions of BLM and the Forest Service and are more accountable to local residents.

"I don't think it is an easy conclusion that these (federal lands law enforcement) agencies are worth having," he said.

Local conservation organizations have complained about the lack of federal law enforcement resources to protect vital and irreplaceable cultural resources in remote regions of the state.

Abolishing or restricting federal law enforcement officers is a thinly veiled step toward seizing public lands for the state," said Mathew Gross, a spokesman for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

"Thats what the Utah delegation wants, but its not what the American people want. The first responders who patrol and protect our federal lands have been set up to fail with understaffing and a lack of funding. They should be receiving more support, not less, from Congress.After being hit with bankruptcy proceedings following a request by Ericsson, RCom (Reliance Communications) is now attempting to settle its $150 million debt to the Swedish vendor outside of court.

Last week, Indias National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) upheld Ericssons request to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against RCom due to the debt. The ruling casts doubt over RComs plan to sell off the bulk of its wireless assets to Reliance Jio, which was cleared by the Indian Supreme Court last month.

RCom was hoping to raise $3.8 billion via the sale, although the bankruptcy proceedings may disrupt this. India introduced a new insolvency code in 2016 that could see Jio obliged to lodge a new bid if rival operators express interest in bidding for the assets.

The insolvency code stipulates a nine month deadline for resolving disputes, with defaulting companies being liquidated if the case is not resolved within this timeframe. The codes strict regulations are intended to ensure that larger businesses feel the full force of the law.

With debts of around $6.9 billion, RCom announced in December 2017 that it planned to cease functions as a mobile operator in India. However, its exit was stalled by Ericssons claim that RCom had failed to pay the Swedish vendor for outsourced management services.

A statement from RCom said: We confirm that RCOM and Ericsson are at an advanced stage of discussions to expeditiously resolve commercial issues. This will enable Reliance Communications to exit the NCLT process. RCom is confident to expeditiously proceed with its monetisation plan with Reliance Jio and overall Resolution Plan with the lenders, keeping in mind the interests of all stakeholders.

However, the talks may not prove fruitful; reaching an agreement would necessitate RCom depositing the amount owing, followed by Ericsson withdrawing its request. It is currently unclear if RCom would be able to repay this amount, indicating that the operator will likely be sold or liquidated within nine months.A closed-loop system that delivers insulin as well as glucagon and detects exercise has been shown to reduce hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in adults with type 1 diabetes.

US researchers believe the findings are significant because while automated insulin delivery is becoming more common in type 1 diabetes, managing exercise-related hypoglycemia remains a concern.

A study team from the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland hypothesised that the addition of glucagon could address this. An existing dual hormone system called the iLet, known as the bionic pancreas, has already shown to be able to reduce hypos.

The researchers enrolled 20 physically active adults with type 1 diabetes to receive randomised treatment over four days. The four treatments were dual hormone (insulin as well as glucagon), single hormone (just insulin), predictive low glucose suspend, and continuation of their current care.

Their dual hormone system involved a Dexcom G5 continuous glucose monitoring system (CGM), a Google Nexus Phone and a t:slim insulin pump.

In each treatment group, participants were tasked with completing three moderate-intensity aerobic exercise sessions.

The lowest mean time spent in hypoglycemia during the exercise period was seen in the dual hormone treatment, as well as during the entire four-day study.

Exercise is challenging to manage in type 1 diabetes, partly because there are many types of exercise to consider and each type affects glucose metabolism in different ways, said the authors.

Here we describe a novel automated exercise-enabled dual-hormone closed-loop system that outperformed an exercise-enabled single-hormone system and a predictive low glucose suspend system in hypoglycemia reductio, demonstrating the value of glucagon in glucose management during exercise.

The researchers added that because some participants experienced nausea, glucagon delivery may need to be timed earlier in supplementary studies before exercise and at a lower dose to reduce the risk of adverse effects.

The findings appear online in Diabetes Care.Samsung has been capitalising on its Infinity Display ever since it first appeared on the Galaxy S8 flagship from a year ago. One of the first companies to tout the wide aspect ratio displays, Samsung has also managed to follow the continuing trend of many companies featuring wide aspect ratio displays on mid-budget smartphones. Today, the Korean electronics giant premiered four smartphones in India - the Galaxy J6, J8, A6 and A6+, with prices ranging from the budget range to the mid-tier category. Interestingly, all four of them feature the Infinity Display aspect ratio.

Specifications and features

Specifications-wise, the Samsung Galaxy J6 is powered by the companys own Exynos 7870 octa-core processor, clocked at 1.6GHz. The smartphone gets two variants - with 3GB RAM and 32GB native storage, and 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. It features a 5.6-inch sAMOLED display with 18:5 aspect ratio, and screen resolution of 720x1440 pixels. The Samsung Galaxy J6 houses a 13-megapixel rear camera with f/1.9 lens, and an 8-megapixel front-facing camera also with an f/1.9 lens. The entire package is powered by a 3000mAh battery pack, and the device runs Android Oreo with the companys custom UI on top. The phone is a polycarbonate unibody construction, and features a dedicated memory card slot that can house cards of up to 256GB.

All the phones follow a mix-and-match pattern with each other in terms of specifications - the Galaxy A6 also features the Exynos 7870 SoC, while the Galaxy J8 and the Galaxy A6+ use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor. The smaller A-series of the two - the Galaxy A6 has the same display as the Galaxy J6, while the Galaxy J8 has a 6-inch display but only with HD+ (720x1440 pixels) resolution, which is underwhelming. The Samsung Galaxy A6+ is the only smartphone in this lineup that gets a Full HD+ (1080x2160 pixels) display panel, and measures 6 inches in size. It also gets a dual-rear camera setup, with a 16-megapixel primary camera with f/1.7 lens and a 5-megapixel ancillary camera for depth and details, with an f/1.9 lens. It also features a staggering 24-megapixel front-facing camera, with an f/1.9 lens. The rear-camera setup is also shared by the Galaxy J8, but it features a 16-megapixel front-facing camera with the same, f/1.9 lens. The Galaxy A6 also features this front camera, but houses only a 16-megapixel rear camera (with f/1.7 lens) instead of the dual-camera setup. All the four smartphones get both front- and rear-facing LED flash lights.

Barring the base variant of the Samsung Galaxy J6, 4GB of RAM is standard across all. Each of the four smartphones also come with 64GB of storage, while the Galaxy A6 and J6 also feature 32GB native storage variants. Thankfully, all of them feature dedicated memory card slots, with capability to expand storage up to 256GB. The Galaxy A6 and J6 also feature 3000mAh battery packs, while the A6+ and J8 house 3500mAh batteries. The Galaxy A6 duo features metal unibody chassis, while the J-series devices have polycarbonate bodies. All the phones come with Android Oreo, and the pricing is as follows:

Samsung Galaxy J6 (3/32GB): Rs. 13,990

Samsung Galaxy J6 (4/64GB): Rs. 16,490

Samsung Galaxy J8: Rs. 18,990

Samsung Galaxy A6 (32GB): Rs. 21,990

Samsung Galaxy A6 (64GB): Rs. 22,990

Samsung Galaxy A6+: Rs. 24,990

Upon initial usage

To be fair, each of the four new smartphones feel really solid and well-built. There is a sense of sturdiness to the build quality of the devices, even in the J-series phones. The displays are not bezel-less, and in a world where we are pretty much gunning for the end of bezels around displays, such bezels are pretty sharply noticeable. However, the displays themselves offer pretty impressive touch responses, and looked fairly sharp with the sAMOLED panel. The Galaxy J8 was not present at the launch event, but the Full HD+ panel on the Galaxy A6+ looked quite impressive. The front of the phones have no physical keys, giving them a flowing, continuous panel of uninterrupted glass, and that looks quite premium.

The interface, too, is well-designed. Samsung has also introduced a chat-over-video feature, where you can continue watching a video even when typing out a message. This particular feature converts the keyboard and the chat window into transparent panels, which will not interrupt video playback with incoming messages. The overall interface is fluid and fairly easy to use, and all the icons and colour schemes are typically Samsung. There is a split-second stutter that is concealed well by the UI animations and wont bother most, although we admittedly used the phones without any heavy load on. The usage of Qualcomms Snapdragon 450 SoC may raise a few questions, and it remains to be tested if the fluid operability of the Galaxy A6+ in particular remains intact even when the regular bunch of apps are loaded, and one multitasks to the fullest.

In terms of the cameras, the camera app itself in these phones has a neat layout for easy understanding, and are fairly responsive. There is, however, a processing lag, which presents a bit of a delay if youre attempting to take photographs in quick succession. The front-facing camera also gets a selfie focus mode with software-induced background softening, and this should make selfie aficionados pretty happy.

However, while each of these phones tick boxes in terms of decent looks, good build and a good set of cameras, there arent anything excitingly different in them. Samsung is aiming at a rather muted mix of form and functionality, leaving out the pizzazz that many devices come with these days. While that may work for many whod rather spend on reliability and the widespread network of Samsungs, there are many that would argue against the lack of excitement around these devices.

The Samsung Galaxy J6, A6 and A6+ premiere tomorrow, across Samsung retailers and its own online store. The J6 will be available on Flipkart, while the A6 and A6+ will sell via Amazon as well. Samsung will also provide cashbacks to those who pay via Paytm at offline retailers, amounting to Rs. 3,000 on the A6 duo, and Rs. 1,500 on the Galaxy J6 and J8. All the phones will also be available on Paytm Mall, and the Galaxy J8 will sell July onward.About me: At the time of writing this piece, I have completed nearly six semesters of formal Chinese language study. The first five semesters were completed at my university in America, and this most recent semester, wrapping up within the month, will be completed in Shanghai. My experience is just that, my own, and while it may be unique to me, given the chance my advice can possibly save some time and frustration for someone else, I am happy to share it.

When you first begin studying Chinese, if you are anything like me, it is easy to fall into the trap of viewing it as just another scholastic subject. You learn at what feels like an incredible pace in the beginning as you have no sense of scale for the language, progress through the textbook at a speed reminiscent of any other introductory course, and feel the instant gratification of learning some of your favorite phrases in a language that to you, still sounds like an assortment of random sounds and inflections. Even as someone who, prior to studying Chinese, was only familiar with Romance languages, I found learning the tonal system of pinyin and memorizing new vocabulary to be no more difficult than memorizing a mathematical formula or important economic principle; with a little bit of studying I could very easily ace a test or complete a homework assignment. Unfortunately for me, just as I did for those mathematical formulas or economic principles, I committed them only to short term memory and as soon as I no longer needed them, I discarded them completely.

To add to the circumstantial misfortune of my casual Chinese learning endeavors, I live in America. So, as you can imagine, my Chinese very rarely permeated into my everyday life. This meant that after evert semester of Chinese I learned, I had an astoundingly low retention rate. Every new semester meant relearning the same things I had not committed to long-term memory. I had trapped myself in a cycle of learning inefficiency perpetuated by my own inability to address my poor habits. With the lack of continuity to keep me honest, my corner-cutting went undiagnosed. Most people reading this would probably assume that I should have been able to quickly address and correct this issue, but unluckily for me I was academically thriving, even if inefficiently. High test scores gave me a false sense of comfort. How could I be testing so well if I didnt know the material? If I kept getting As, how could my system be broken? It did not take until I went to China for me to realize not only how poorly I had spent my time studying Chinese in America, but also how ineffective collegiate testing was at judging my mastery, or lack thereof, over the language.

Below, I would like to offer some tips to help other serious Chinese scholars avoid falling into these traps. I urge anyone reading through these suggestions to take them as thatonly suggestionsrather than as a recipe or to-do list. Everyone learns differently, and you must find what works for you. Who knows, though? Maybe youll find your own way to improve your progress, which will then help you pass your current plateau.

1. Chinese does not begin and end in the classroom.

Studying Chinese in a classroom for only a few hours a week will never get you to a point of comfortability with the language, let alone mastery. You must be active with your learning, and it must be an academic priority for you. Although it would be nice, you cant accidentally learn Chinese, and passive learning will take considerably longer. Some things that I have found helpful to learn outside the classroom:

Finding a language partner

Making Chinese friends

Joining Chinese organizations at your University

Watching TV shows and movies in Chinese with English subtitles

Watching TV shows geared toward children in Chinese without English subtitles

Visiting China

2. Take textbook learning with a grain of salt.

Having used several different textbook series in my time studying Chinese, I can certainly not undersell the value of a good textbook. That being said, learning strictly from a textbook will leave you limited to the vocabulary and subjects covered in that textbook. Chinese is a very colloquial language, so textbooks are best supplemented with other resources: news articles, conversations with a Chinese native, films, etc. It wasnt until I arrived in Shanghai that I realized the difference between classroom Chinese and practical Chinese. If I may give a short anecdote, one day in Shanghai I went to a restaurant with a friend. Our table had a shortage of napkins so I figured I would ask for more. Signaling to the waiter, it only took until the last syllable of (fuwuyuan) for me to realize I actually didnt know the word for napkin. I could explain to the waiter the cultural significance of Chinese forbearance (), but I had not learned the simple word for napkin. This is my long-winded way of saying, you dont know what you dont know until you come across one of the holes in your knowledge. Practicing in real scenarios is the best way to find these holes and plugging them. Youll end up casting a wide net and accumulating as much vocabulary as possible, which is the best way to fill these holes.

3. If you are truly serious about Chinese, go to China.

This is easier said than done, but if you have the opportunity to study or even just visit China, then I highly recommend it. This most recent semester has completely changed the way I view the language, the culture, and my approach to learning. As I mentioned, in my own experience, the discontinuity in my learning Chinese coupled with the seeming irrelevance of the language in my everyday life made Chinese feel like any other subject. Retaining what I learned became difficult, and without a superior work-ethic (which many reading this may very well have), I completely lacked efficiency. In China, you become reliant on your language skills. The level of freedom you enjoy in the country (ability to get around, ask for things, etc.) is directly linked to your language skills. You have to use your Chinese every day and you will be amazed how quickly you pick up more practical Chinese. A close friend of mine has been studying Chinese for three fewer semesters than I have, but two of his three semesters were spent in China and I can confidently say that his Chinese is far superior to my own.

4. Dont rely on tests and grades when youre measuring linguistic proficiency.

That A in a 300-level language class isnt worth too much if you cant exchange basic thoughts with a native Chinese speaker, is it? You are only as good as you are capable of using the language in real life. Real world application of language is far more important than academic success if you want to obtain mastery. If you only do as well as your class requires you then you are setting a ceiling for yourself before you start. You should always strive for beyond that. Never stop learning.

5. Set your own goals.

This point can apply to any of the previous points, but it is so important I wanted to give it its own aside. Dont feel as if you need to slow yourself to move at someone elses pace. I got comfortable unconsciously doing the minimum amount of work needed to keep up with my class rather than taking advantage of my time and resources. Setting goals will not only give you a higher standard for yourself but also help you more easily identify your linguistic shortcomings. Be ambitious with your goals, and youll surely learn much faster.

I hope some of these tips were helpful! To reiterate my disclaimer in the beginning, these are my experiences alone. It is important to find what works for you, so trial and error is a natural part of the process. If even just one person can either relate to my experiences or avoid some of the same pitfalls I have encountered, then I am happy to have shared this article with others. Good luck and happy learning! We get it: You want to go to Santorini, San Sebastian and Seville so you can joust your friends over the European landmarks youve slurped vino in. But, you can do better than the cliches.

Skip the tourist traps  there are better adventures to be had down the road less Instagrammed. You just need to be in the know.

Booking.coms most searched destinations are great for travellers who want to lick the conventional gelato and see the must-see sights.

However, as you start planning your European summer, so is everyone else. And one of the biggest mistakes tourists make when visiting Europe is planning their trips entirely around iconic destinations.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Andres Aparicio (@andresapa) on Jul 11, 2019 at 3:49am PDT

If you want a cheaper, more authentic experience (or if you want to get to know locals rather than other tourists), we have curated a list of locations you should avoid (and some alternative suggestions).

Santorini & Polignano a Mare

Yes: they are some of the romantic places on earth. But during summerthe best time to goprices are higher than the bronzed life-guards G-strings. Also: the sunsets arent so pretty when youre surrounded by hordes of selfie-snapping tourists (yes, youre one of them, but its nicer when youre the only one).

The alternative: Karpathos. Boasting a jagged mountain range, azure seas and a coastline full of nooks and crannies, the second largest island in the Dodecanese is a highly affordable back-up. Its main harbour Pigadia doesnt try to compete with the vibrancy (and crowds) of the Santorini harbour, but the retsina wine is half the price and the smell of char-grilled fish (and stewed lamb) is just as tantalising.

As reported by The Sunshine Coast Daily, theres more to it than affordability, too.

Karpathos is home to the forgotten city of Olympos perched high on a cliff where time has stood still, where the men toil in the hills in nearby Avlona, and bent old women carry bundles of sticks on their backs. Olympos tumbles down the cliff in a jumble of pastel coloured houses and inside its labyrinthine lanes, you feel as though you have stepped into a movie set.

Oh and if youre after luxury minimalism the resort town of Lefkos, secluded amongst a horseshoe bayfeaturing modern, stylish villas right on the sandis the place to go.

London

London has few equals. Not many cities boast such an array of day-time tourist attractions and cosmopolitan night-time indulgences. However, if youre in it for the monuments and night-clubs, there exists a better, less Aussie-crowded July alternative.

A place that makes hipsters worldwide cry with nostalgia and/or jealousy, Berlin is kind of like Londons younger brother. And from the Banksy exhibition at Bikini Berlin (more than 40 of the enigmatic street artists motifs, curated by Banksys former manager, Steve Lazarides, feature in the exhibitionthe most comprehensive collection of Banksy artworks to date), to the Berlin wall, the Pergamon museum and the evening Berlin food tour, theres plenty of history and culture to keep you entertained.

Then once night falls you have arguably the best (or at least, the most infamous) clubs in the world to wile away the twilight. Berghain is so notorious that its bouncer now holds pseudo-celebrity status, enabling him to pen an autobiography in 2014. Many spend 45 minutes in line, only to be turned away at the door. If you make it inside, however, youll be able to experience some of the best electro-music in the world, and talk about deep sh*t with a local.

Whether its politics, arts or inspirational musicians, Berliners love having drunk conversations about super serious topics (Marie Herr).

Also, depending on how you measure it, Berlin is between 35% and 45% cheaper than London. Not to mention, it will enable you to practice sinking refreshing, German-style biere before you come back in a traditional lederhosen for Octoberfest.

Paris

From the Moulin Rouge to the Louvre, Paris has more tourist attractions than you can throw a baguette atbefore you even count the Eiffel tower or the Notre-Dame Cathedral. However, its residents arent exactly known for their hospitality.

Speak French and they respond in English. Speak English and they reply in rapid-fire French. Order a flat white and receive an espresso with cold milk. Order a pumpkin spiced chai latte and youll be met with a gallic shrug (this ones fair enough I suppose).

Barcelona, on the other hand, has everything you need to get your old-world historical fix, as well as a vibrant party scene, food and wine fairs, music festivals, human castles, beaches and a Mediterranean breeze (a life-saver at siesta oclock in July). Its also slightly smaller, and the way the city is set out makes it easier to get your head around, see the famous architecture like Gaudis Sagrada Familia, and pretend youre a local.

Head up to Bunkers Del Carmel for the best view over the city, hit up Razamataz or El Row to get weird, or the Beach clubs if you are looking for a classier good time. In terms of bars, youll be spoilt for choice.

Tasca El Corral is a personal favourite, nestled between el barrio gotico, just before the old port, this Asturian bar is characterised by its wooden log ceiling, rustic kitsch, the staffs blessed lack of concern for your inability to walk straight, and leche de pantera, the only phrase 98% of Aussie expats in Barcelona can say without grating upon local ears.

Oh, and for those that want to visit where Ernest Hemmingway and Salvador Dali composed their works of genius drank absinthe, theres Bar Marsella.

With its ceiling stained caramel from centuries of cigarette smoke, and the feeble light that shimmers from its ridiculously ornate electric chandeliers, this nearly 200-year-old bar reputedly the oldest in Barcelona  feels more late-night than most (The Times).

Of course, theres nothing wrong with Santorini, Polignano a Mare, London or Paris, but these alternatives have the official DMarge seal of approval.

Read NextCentury Textiles to hive off cement business, sell it to UltraTech

Century Textiles Ltd will hive off its cement business and merge it with India's largest cement maker UltraTech Cement Ltd, as it looks to pare debt and focus on its real estate business.

Aditya Birla Group firm UltraTech said it would acquire the cement business of BK Birla Group company Century Textiles and Industries through a share swap deal, a move which would further consolidate its position as market leader in the segment.

The board of directors of UltraTech Cement, at a meeting on Sunday, approved a scheme of arrangement amongst Century Textiles and its respective shareholders and creditors, the Aditya Birla Group firm said in a statement.

According to the scheme, shareholders of Century Textiles will get one equity share of UltraTech for every eight equity shares held, the two companies said in separate filings with the stock exchanges.

"UltraTech will issue 1.4 crore new equity shares to the shareholders of Century, which will increase its equity capital to Rs288.58 crore, divided into 28.86 crores equity shares of Rs10 each," the filings added. The deal pegs the enterprise value of Century Textiles' cement business at Rs8,621 crore, according to BloombergQuint's calculations and the company's investor presentation.

Ultratech will get three integrated cement units of Century Textiles in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra with a total capacity of 11.4 million tonnes per annum and a grinding unit in West Bengal of 2 mtpa. The transaction is subject to necessary approvals and is likely to be completed within 6-9 months.

The merger will increase UltraTech's cement capacity to 109.9 million tonnes per year, the third highest outside China. It will allow UltraTech to strengthen its presence in the east and central markets and extending its footprint in the western and southern markets in the country, the Birla Group company said.

In December, Century's board sold the operating rights of its viscose filament yarn business for 15 years on a royalty basis to Grasim, another Aditya Birla group company.

Century reported revenue of Rs4,306 crore and operating profit of Rs492 crore (excluding non-recurring items) in the year to 31 March. Debt stood at Rs4,300 crore.

In June last year, UltraTech Cement completed the Rs16,189-crore acquisition of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd's six integrated cement plants and five grinding units, having a capacity of 21.2 million tonnes. Besides, the company is also in the race to acquire debt-ridden Binani Cement and has put its revised offer competing with the Dalmia Bharat Group.Modi launches India's longest tunnel project at J&K's Zojilla

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the Rs6,809 crore Zojila tunnel project under the Zojilla pass in Jammu and Kashmirs Leh, which will provide all-weather connectivity to Jammu and Kashmirs Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.

The strategic project for building Asias longest bi-directional tunnel, which will provide all-weather connectivity to Srinagar, will be finished within five years.

Zojila project will be completed in five years, but I have asked the concerned ministry to look into ways to reduce the time for completion of this project, Modi said. It (tunnel) will lead to all-round economic and socio-cultural integration of these regions. It also has immense strategic importance, he added.

Modi attended the commencement of work on Zojila tunnel on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway at an event in Jive-tsal in Leh. He also laid the foundation stone for Srinagar Ring Road and Jammu Ring Road at separate events at Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC), Srinagar and at General Zorawar Singh Auditorium in Jammu the same day.

Union minister for road transport and highways, shipping, water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari was also present at the events.

The 14-km-long Zojila tunnel will be Indias longest road tunnel and Asias longest bi-directional tunnel. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the construction, operation and maintenance of this 2-lane bi-directional tunnel with parallel escape (egress) tunnel between Baltal and Minamarg on the Srinagar-Leh section of NH-1A at a total cost of Rs6,800 crore earlier this year.

The construction of this tunnel will provide all weather connectivity among Srinagar, Kargil and Leh. This route remains snow-bound for a large part of the year, and is ravaged by frequent avalanches. As a result, road connection to places in the Laddakh region stands disrupted for long periods, preventing even essential supplies from reaching people, shutting down businesses, affecting healthcare and education.

The tunnel will bring relief to the people of this region by providing all weather connectivity. It will also cut down the time taken to cross the Zojila pass from thre and a half hours to just 15 minutes, besides making the drive much safer and convenient.

The construction of the tunnel is expected to bring about all round economic and socio-cultural integration of these regions. In addition to direct jobs generated during construction, it will also lead to massive indirect and spinoff jobs due to acceleration of economic growth.

The Zojila tunnel has been planned as a smart tunnel with the latest safety features like fully transverse ventilation system, uninterrupted power supply (UPS), tunnel emergency lighting, CCTV monitoring, variable message signs (VMS), traffic logging equipment, over height vehicle detection, tunnel radio system, etc. It will have pedestrian crossing passages every 250 metres and motorable cross passages and lay-bys every 750 metres. It will have emergency telephones and fire-fighting cabinets at every 125 meters.

The ring roads at Srinagar and Jammu are aimed at reducing traffic congestion at these cities and making road travel safer, faster, more convenient and more environment friendly.

The 42.1 km, four-lane Srinagar Ring Road will link Galandar in West Srinagar to Sumbal. Being built at a cost of Rs1,860 crore, this road will provide a new route from Srinagar to Kargil and Leh, and reduce travel time. There will be a major bridge, three flyovers, 23 tunnels and 2 via-ducts on this route.

The 58.25 km, 4-lane Jammu Ring Road, being built at a cost of Rs2,023.87 crore, will link Jagati (western Jammu ) to Raya Morh. There will be 8 large bridges, 6 flyovers, 2 tunnels and 4 via ducts on this route.Modi-Putin talks to strengthen strategic partnership between India and Russia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin would further strengthen the 'special and privileged' strategic partnership between India and Russia.

"Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia... I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow (Monday) and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," he tweeted.

Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him.

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia.

PM Modi is travelling to Russia at Putin's invitation for an informal summit in Sochi on 21 May 2018. It would be his second informal summit in as many months as he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jingpin in China's Wuhan in a similar format in April 2018.

Sochi, summer diplomatic capital of Russia, is bordered by the Black Sea on one side and mountains on the other.

The two leaders are expected to primarily focus on pressing global and regional issues, including the impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, during their informal summit in the Russian city of Sochi on Monday.

They may also deliberate on extending Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation to third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, India's engagement with five-nation Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the situation in the Korean peninsula.

"It's very important and different kind of meeting between PM Modi and President Putin. The difference is President Putin invited PM Modi to come to visit him and discuss various issues almost within two weeks of him becoming President of Russia for the fourth time. We expect talks to begin at 1 o'clock local time in delegation format followed by lunch hosted by the President just for PM Modi. We expect them to be together for a few hours. It's a great opportunity for the personal chemistry between them to discuss different issues," said Pankaj Saran, Indian ambassador to Russia.

"They'll also discuss the situation in Afghanistan and Syria, because the whole problem in Syria is related to conduct of international terrorism and it's a problem the region faces. In a few months time, President Putin himself will be travelling to India for the regular summit. This frequency of meetings is another important aspect of our relations with Russia," he added.

The talks are expected to begin at 1 o'clock local time in delegation format followed by lunch hosted by the President just for PM. The one-to-one talks between the two are expected to last for a few hours.

In a few months time President Putin himself will be travelling to India for the regular summit. This frequency of meetings is another important aspect of our relations with Russia.US, China decide to put trade war on hold for now

The worlds largest economies  US and China  have decided to put on hold an evolving trade war as the two agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and US President Donald Trumps top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the agreement reached by Chinese and American negotiators on Saturday set up a framework for addressing trade imbalances in the future.

We are putting the trade war on hold. Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework, Mnuchin said in a television interview on Fox News Sunday.

On Saturday, China agreed to import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States to narrow the $335 billion annual US goods and services trade deficit with China even as Beijing and Washington decided to keep talking about measures to achieve a desirable trade balance.

While there is no specific deal, China has agreed to significantly increase purchases of US goods, the White House said as Beijings special envoy at the trade talks in Washington declared a trade war has been averted between the worlds two largest economies.

A joint statement released by the White House on Saturday did not quantify the increased purchases promised by China, or make any comments on earlier reports suggesting Beijing had agreed to slash its annual trade surplus with the US by $200 billion.

A Xinhua news agency report quoting Chinese vice premier Liu He, a special envoy of Chinas President Xi Jinping, said that talks with US officials, including Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, ended with a pledge not to engage in a trade war.

Liu said the two sides agreed to stop slapping tariffs on each other, adding that his trip to the US had been positive, pragmatic, constructive and productive, Xinhua reported. Trade cooperation would be enhanced in such areas as energy, agriculture, health care, high-tech products and finance, a win-win choice for both nations.

China agreed to meaningful increases in US agriculture and energy exports, the White House said, adding that the US will send a team to China to work out the details.

Tension between the two sides has been growing since the Trump administration proposed tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese goods and vowed to extend levies to an additional $150 billion. China responded with similar measures targeting US agriculture.

Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a frequent Trump critic, said he thought it would be a mistake for Trump to settle for a promise to buy goods with so many larger issues on the table.

If President Xi is going...to fail to take strong actions on intellectual property, cyber theft, and American companies having free access to sell goods in China...we will have lost, Schumer said.

There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China, the White House said.

The delegations also discussed expanding trade in manufactured goods, and each side agreed to strengthen cooperation on intellectual property. China will advance relevant amendments to its laws and and regulations in that area, including its patent law, the White House said.

The White House joint statement didnt mention additional US demands, including a halt to subsidies and other government support for the Made in China 2025 plan that targets strategic industries from robotics to new-energy vehicles. China had made its own demands, including giving equal treatment to its investment, and warned US companies may be excluded from measures to open its economy.

On Friday morning, Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, told reporters that China had offered to reduce its annual trade surplus with the US by at least $200 billion.

Kudlow later told CBS `Face the Nation that it was too soon to lock in the $200 billion figure for Chinas promised purchases. The details will be down the road. These things are not so precise, he said.

In addition, he told ABCs This Week that the broader issues were still in play, and that China had structural reforms such as lowering tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will allow the United States to boost exports.

Trump was in a very positive mood about this, Kudlow said.

However, he said there was no trade deal yet reached.

The numbers a good number, Kudlow said outside the White House.India's 'Green Good Deeds' movement gets global recognition

Green Good Deeds, the societal movement launched by the union minister for environment, forest and climate change, Harsh Vardhan, to protect environment and promote good living in the country, has found acceptance by the global community. The ongoing BRICS Ministerial on Environment at Durban, South Africa, has agreed to include `Green Good Deeds in its official agenda in the next ministerial in Brazil and another meeting in Russia.

Harsh Vardhan said international conferences on environment have been deliberating and adopting declarations. However, he wondered how these declarations can be put to practice at the ground level, involving every section of the society. Green Good Deeds is an idea to take it to the people and get them involved, the minister added.

Earlier, in his opening remarks at the ministerial, the minister had urged the grouping to jointly work for developing a movement around Green Good Deeds. In India, we are trying to develop a societal movement of Green Good Deeds, which are small positive actions to be performed by individuals or organisations to strengthen the cause of environmental protection, Harsh Vardhan told the gathering.

There was wide acceptance to the suggestion and acting deputy executive director, UN Environment (UNEP) representative at the conclave, Jorge Laguna-Celis, lauded the initiative.

Harsh Vardhan had formally launched the nation-wide campaign in January 2018. He enlisted the cooperation of thousands of people  students, teachers, voluntary organisations, residents welfare associations and professionals to adopt these deeds.

The ministry of environment, forest and climate change had drawn up a list of over 500 Green Good Deeds and asked people to alter their behaviour to Green Good Behaviour to fulfil their Green Social Responsibility.

These small, positive actions, to be performed by individuals or organisations to strengthen the cause of environmental protection have been put up on a mobile App named Dr Harsh Vardhan.Pradhan promises 'solution' soon as petrol, diesel prices hit the roof

With fuel prices touching new highs after state-run oil marketing companies raising the prices of petrol and diesel for the seventh time this month, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan has promised a "solution" soon.

The price of a litre of petrol in Mumbai stood at Rs84.07 after Sundays price revision by state-owned oil companies.

The price of petrol in Delhi was Rs76.24 a litre and that of diesel Rs67.57 a litre after OMCs increased the price of petrol by 33 paise from the previous day in Delhi, the highest since the oil companies began to revise prices daily in June 2017.

While the minister did not specify what solution he has offered, it is widely expected that there could be some relief by way of duty reductions on these motor fuels.

"I accept that people of India and especially the middle-class families have to suffer a lot due to price hike of oil. It's not in our hand. There is less production of oil in OPEC countries. The Indian government will soon come out with a solution," petroleum minister Dhamendra Pradhan told reporters in Bhubaneswar.

He blamed global geo-politics, including the US pull-out from the Iran nuclear deal, for the oil spike. "The fight between America and Iran is the most effective thing which leads to price hike of crude oil in the international market," Pradhan said.

State-run oil companies resumed the dynamic pricing mechanism on 14 May after a brief freeze in prices between 24 April and 13 May, for election campaign for the Karnataka Assembly. The freeze is estimated to have cost oil companies about Rs 500 crore in three weeks, according to a PTI report.

International crude oil prices have risen in the period, while the rupee has fallen against the US dollar  both factors make the fuels costlier.Donegal has seen a huge surge in voter registration ahead of the referendum on the Eighth Amendment on Friday.

Donegals supplementary register has seen 2,885 names added, an increase of 128 per cent on the marriage referendum in 2015.

In 2015 1,264 names were added to the supplementary register in Donegal.

Returns from 14 of the 31 county and city councils show Donegal has seen the second biggest increase since 2015, after only Leitrim which has seen a 213 per cent surge.

The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) - which represents organisations working with over 380,000 young people nationwide - has welcomed what it described as the unprecedented surge of voter registration ahead of the referendum on May 25th.

The returns received by NYCI if replicated in all 31 city and county councils, would indicate that up to 125,000 people were added to the supplementary electoral register between February and the recent May 8th deadline.

In May 2015, 65,911 voters were added to the supplementary register in advance of the marriage equality referendum, following an intensive voter registration campaign.



90% increase

To date, the returns from 14 of the 31 councils indicate that 56,961 voters have been added to the supplementary register, with numbers on average up over 90% on those recorded in 2015, explained James Doorley, NYCI Deputy Director: For example the numbers registering in Meath (123%), Kerry, (112%), South Dublin (103%) and Westmeath (103%) are up over 100% on 2015.

"Other counties such as Galway, (97%) Tipperary, (92%), Kilkenny (86%) are also recording a much increased level of registration. The lowest percentage increases to date are from Dublin and Cork Cities with an increase of 38% and 37% respectively but this still represents in Dublin City alone an increase of over 5,400 voters compared to those included in the supplementary register in 2015. (19,805 in 2018 compared to 14,362 in 2015).

"Leitrim stands out as a result of an 213% increase in voters included in the supplementary register with 670 additional voters in 2018 compared to 214 in 2015."

Not all young voters

It is important to note that not all those added to this latest supplement to the register are young voters, added Mr Doorley.

Some undoubtedly are not in the 18 to 29 age bracket, or are electors changing the location of their vote. However, the indications we received from a number of county councils suggest that a high percentage of those registered are new or young voters.The German brand has issued a recall notice for its new generation Polo small hatch which went on sale earlier this year.

The local recall joins a global notice to repair 2018 Polo models affected by a faulty rear-seatbelt lock that may unbuckle under certain conditions, such as when strong force is applied across the belt.

Specifically, the left-rear seatbelt can inadvertently release itself when there are passengers sitting in both the left and centre seats, and the car maker is asking customers to not sit anyone in the centre seat until the buckle has been repaired.A truck loaded with the Army-spec Tata Safari Storme was spotted making deliveries. The Tata Safari Storme Army Edition is finished in an olive green colour which is common among the army vehicles. Even the wheels are painted in green colour which gives the SUV a distinct look.

The Tata Safari Storme will be Indian Army's new general purpose light utility vehicle which will replace the Maruti Gypsy, MM550 DXB and also Hindustan Ambassadors. The general purpose vehicles are primarily used as staff cars in the Army Service.

The Army-spec Safari Storme will also be used for secondary patrolling and other mild combat purposes. Tata Motors will also supply add-on armours for mild combat. However, the Tata Safari Storme will not be used as a front line combat vehicle as it requires a completely different setup.

Tata Motors has not revealed the power output of the Army-spec Safari Storme. The road-going version of the Safari Storme draws power from a 2.2-litre four-cylinder, turbocharged, Varicor diesel engine producing 154bhp and 400Nm of torque. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox with 4x4 low-range box as standard.

Other prominent safety features of the Tata Safari Storme Army Edition include dual airbags, ABS, EBD, electronic stability control and rollover mitigation. The Army-spec Safari Storme also gets jerry can holder on the rear left fender, additional lights on the front bumper and an antenna on the bonnet.

Thoughts On The Tata Safari Storme Army Edition

The Tata Safari Storme Army Edition will replace the iconic Maruti Gypsy in the Indian Army. The overall design is similar to the stock version of the SUV but features a distinctive colour and few other types of equipment. We expect the engine of the Army-spec Safari Storme to be tuned for slightly higher power output.

Image courtesy: Tejas-India's MRCAForeign exchange is one of the most volatile markets in the world, with millions of participants across the globe exposed to currency fluctuations 24 hours a day. Jim Vrondas suggests a couple of solutions for businesses to stay one step ahead.

In the foreign exchange market, just about everyone is attempting to do the exact same thing: get the best exchange rate possible on their currency transfers. That means timing the transfer to coincide with the absolute highest price in the market at the time, which can be quite a difficult, if not impossible, task.

Many business owners spend far too much time glued to the computer screen watching the market move every second, and attempting to predict future movements. These are the same people who make very important decisions for corporations and are often swayed by emotion and tempted by risk, just like any of us.

Its important to remove oneself from the emotional attachment and not let these feelings drive our actions. Businesses should always have a plan that allows them to take advantage of any positive fluctuations when theyre not watching the market, especially given most of the volatility in foreign exchange rates occurs during European and US business hours.

Many small business owners often feel disappointed at having missed out on a good exchange rate overnight, while theyve been asleep. Take, for example, Harry who works for Hindsight Manufacturing. Harry is responsible for paying overseas suppliers for the import of stock from China and regularly sends US dollars to pay them, so he is constantly monitoring the fluctuations in exchange rates. He knows he will have to send US$50,000 in the next day or so and sees the rate at 0.7700 today but believes the rate will improve overnight and decides to hold off purchasing the currency today. Harry believes it will cost him fewer Australian dollars tomorrow when the rate improves. The next morning Harry checks the rate only to find that after having traded as high as 0.7800 during US business hours, it is now trading at 0.7650. He tells himself, if only I was awake at the time I would have bought the US dollars at 0.7800. Of course this appears easy in hindsight, however picking the top in the market is near impossible. Had Harry used the services of a foreign exchange provider that was open 24 hours, he may have been able to capitalise on the rate increase overnight.

A common way to capture these movements is through the use of limit orders. Placement of a limit order means you specify your desired exchange rate and should the market price fluctuate to that level, your foreign exchange provider will automatically purchase the currency for you. While this is a common practice among share brokers, it is harder to find among currency brokers.

Harry may not have placed a limit order at 0.7800 but he may have had one in the market at 0.7750 or 0.7780, in which case he would have locked in a rate above the 0.7650 opening price the next morning.

Another way to make the most of volatility is through the use of forward contracts. A forward contract allows you to buy or sell a specified amount of foreign currency at a forward exchange rate for settlement at a specified future dateits a kind of buy now, pay later contract. The forward contract locks in the foreign exchange rate for a future date, eliminating the effect that fluctuations have on your bottom line over that period.

Harry does some forecasting and discovers he will need to send US$200,000 over the next three months to cover various shipments from different suppliers. He can remove the foreign exchange risk over this period by purchasing a forward contract that matures in three months. The benefit of this approach is Harry knows exactly what it will cost him in Aussie dollars over the next three months to pay his suppliers. Lets assume he can get an outright three-month forward rate (his exchange rate for three months from today) of 0.7700 for the US$200,000. This equates to a cost of A$259,740.26, regardless of exchange rate movements over this period. So even if the rate falls to 0.7500 it will still cost him the same amount of Australian dollars and, in this example, it would mean a saving of A$6,926.41.

There are many other benefits in this approach but above all it allows businesses to not only manage their cash flow better, but can help businesses make the most of the volatility by capturing unusually high rates. In fact businesses can combine the use of both limit orders and forward exchange contracts. For example Harry could leave a limit order with his foreign exchange provider to buy US$200,000 as a three-month forward.

Limit orders and forward exchange contracts have traditionally only been available to the big end of townorganisations with foreign exchange turnover in the tens of millions. However, foreign exchange providers such as OzForex watch limit orders and also executes forward contracts for small to medium enterprises. With a 24-hour dealing desk based in Sydney and London, OzForex continuously monitors the market around the clock, enabling them to lock in exchange rates for their customers no matter what the time of day or night.

*Jim Vrondas is manager of corporate dealers at OzForexa GHA business partner. For more information on OzForex services phone 1300 300 524 or visit www.ozforex.com.auA farm bill with dangerous consequences for endangered species and conservation efforts failed to pass the House on Friday, The Guardian reported.

The 2018 version of the major agricultural bill was criticized by environmental groups because it would have allowed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to approve new pesticides without assessing their impact on wildlife protected under the Endangered Species Act. The bill would also have cut funding for land conservation programs by $800 million over the next ten years.

The vote didn't come down to environmental concerns, but green groups see its failure as an opportunity to craft a better bill.

"The House just hit the reset button on the Farm Bill," Dr. Melinda Cep, senior director of policy for the World Wildlife Fund's Markets and Food program said in a statement. "Today's failure offers Congress an opportunity to reconsider a bipartisan bill that reflects the needs of America's farmers and ranchers."

"A strong Farm Bill includes conservation incentives to give farmers and ranchers more of a free hand in protecting those American grasslands and wildlife habitats that have immense environmental value, but little productive value for agriculture," Cep said.

As Rebecca Humphries wrote for The Hill, the farm bill has historically been the driving vehicle behind federal funding for private conservation efforts. Since 1985, Congress has added a conservation title to the bill providing financial assistance and education for farmers and ranchers to conserve parts of their lands for wildlife.

The failed farm bill would have eliminated the Conservation Stewardship Program, which the National Young Farmers Coalition called "the nation's largest working lands conservation program." The program provides incentives for farmers to use conservation practices like water-conserving irrigation. The coalition pointed out this would have been especially serious given drought conditions in 11 Western states.

The bill lost 213 to 198 after a group of right wing Republicans, called the House Freedom Caucus, opposed the bill in an attempt to force a vote on their preferred immigration proposal, authored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte. The bill includes calls for a border wall, additional security, a crackdown on sanctuary cities, an end to diversity lotteries, an end to visas for family members other than spouses and young children and an extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, CBS reported.

Democrats opposed the 2018 farm bill because it included a proposal favored by House Speaker Paul Ryan that would have imposed stricter job training and job finding requirements on food stamp recipients. Democrats said the proposal would have deprived two million people of the food aid they need and was not funded well enough to be able to provide the job training it required of recipients.In a sobering reminder of the impact of climate change on marine biodiversity, a survey by the Japanese government found that barely more than one percent of the coral in the country's largest coral reef is healthy, AFP reported Friday.

The reef, located in the Sekisei Lagoon near Okinawa, has suffered mass coral bleaching events due to rising sea temperatures in 1998, 2001, 2007 and 2016.

"If coral reefs don't recover, it means a loss of rich fauna for a variety of creatures and would have grave impact on the ecosystem in the region," Japan Environment Ministry official Chihiro Kondo told AFP.

While coral reefs only account for one percent of the ocean, they are home for 25 percent of marine life, according to AFP.

The reef is also important for tourism and local fisherman.

"Damage on this scale will have long-term economic and social repercussions," University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa professor and coral expert James Reimer told the Huffington Post in an article about the 2016 bleaching event.

Ministry officials analyzed information and satellite images from 1,000 monitoring sites in the 67.89 square kilometer (approximately 26.21 square mile) lagoon and found that only 1.4 percent of its corals were healthy.

Surveys of nearby reefs in lagoons near the Ishigaki and Iriomote islets turned up similar results.

This was the first detailed satellite survey of the reef since 2008, at which point only 0.8 percent of it was healthy. In 1991, 14.6 percent was healthy.

"But the latest study shows that corals haven't recovered much since 2008, presumably partly because of the 2016 bleach," Kondo told AFP.

The 2016 bleaching event was the worst in the reef's recorded history, the Huffington Post reported. A December 2016 survey found that 70 percent of the reef's coral had died and 90 percent were partly bleached after ocean temperatures were one to two degrees Celsius higher than average that summer.

Scientists say it takes about 10 to 20 years for fast-growing corals to recover from a bleaching event and hundreds of years for older, larger specimens.

"In contrast, we have now had three severe bleaching events causing mass coral mortality in the Ryukyu Islands since 1998. With the oceans warming as rapidly as they are, I doubt there will be time for them to recover before the next bleaching event," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) coral reef watch coordinator Mark Eakin told the Huffington Post.

Overall, the reef has lost 80 percent of its volume since the 1980s due to both rising temperatures and a coral-eating starfish, AFP reported.

Japan's reefs aren't the only ones in danger. 2016 was a deadly year for coral worldwide, impacting 94 percent of the reefs surveyed in the Great Barrier Reef.

A 2011 NOAA study warned that all the world's reefs could die off by 2050 without immediate action due to bleaching, ocean acidification and other human activities like fishing, agriculture and coastal development.



Missouri state lawmakers passed an omnibus agriculture bill on Thursday that includes a provision prohibiting plant-based products from being labeled as "meat."

This measure would ban companies from using the term "plant-based meat" to describe their products. It would also prevent any future lab-grown products that hit the market from using the labeling.

The change was approved on a 125-22 vote and was backed by the state's pork producers, the Missouri Farm Bureau and the Missouri Cattlemen's Association, the St. Louis Dispatch reported.

Critics see the act as an attempt from the beef lobby to clamp down on the $5 billion "fake" meat industry, which has boomed from the public's increasing appetite for healthier, more humane and environmentally sustainable food products.

A recent Nielsen poll found 23 percent of consumers want more plant-based proteins on the shelves. HealthFocus International also found that 60 percent of U.S. consumers said they are reducing their consumption of meat-based products.

Earlier this year, Tyson Foods, one of the largest meat companies in the U.S., announced it is ramping up its investment in lab-grown animal protein in response to growing demand for meat worldwide. The company's venture capital arm purchased a minority stake in Memphis Meats, a San Francisco-based "clean" meat startup.

Still, Big Beef perceives meatless meats as a threat to the industry. Major national trade bodies such as the United States Cattlemen's Association, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and the National Farmers Union have each petitioned the United States Agricultural Department over the labeling issue.

Missouri will be the first state in the country to enact such legislation if the bill, sponsored by state Sen. Brian Munzlinger, is signed into law. The state's House already passed their own version.

The act "prohibits misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry."

However, "misrepresentation is already prohibited by federal law; the intent of this bill is to censor labeling terms in plant-based products," Jessica Almy, director of policy at the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that promotes plant-based and clean meat, noted to Mother Jones.

She added that the term "plant-based meat" already makes it clear that a product is made from plants, and banning the term would "present a serious hurdle to manufacturers trying to describe their products."

The state's bill sends a signal to other states to introduce similar legislation, said Mike Deering, the executive vice president of the Missouri Cattleman's Association.

"This isn't a Missouri issue. This is about protecting the integrity of the products that farm and ranch families throughout the country work hard to raise each and every day," Deering said in a statement. "I never imagined we would be fighting over what is and isn't meat. It seems silly. However, this is very real and I cannot stress enough the importance of this issue. We are beyond pleased to see this priority legislation cross the finish line."

Missouri's bill is akin to a measure announced in France this month that bans food producers from labelling plant-based products as a meat item.

Deering added that he does not oppose plant-based or lab-grown products. Rather, he wants to reduce customer confusion over the labeling.

"This legislation does not stifle technology, but it does ensure the integrity of our meat supply and reduces consumer confusion. We must ensure that those products do not mislead consumers into thinking those products are actually meat produced by farm and ranch families," he said.Bishop Michael Curry, who delivered a passionate wedding sermon to royal newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Saturday, also gave a powerful message about two years ago to Dakota Access Pipeline protesters at Standing Rock, North Dakota.

On Sept. 24, 2016 at the Oceti Sakowin Camp, the reverend offered the Episcopal Church's solidarity with the water protectors, noting that, "Water is a gift of the Creator. We must protect it. We must conserve it. We must care for it."

"If we are God's children and this Earth is God's creation, then let us not tear one another asunder and let us not tear this Earth asunder," he said in an impassioned speech.

Ruth Hopkins, a Dakota and Lakota Sioux writer, and Levi Rickert, the publisher and editor of Native News Online, separately made the observation over the weekend.

Curry, the first African-American presiding bishop of the American Episcopal Church, also drew similarities between the Standing Rock movement to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, during which African Americans faced beatings from "angry mobs" during the Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches.



"Selma was a turning point in the struggle for civil and human rights in this country," Curry said. "And I want to suggest now that Standing Rock may be the new Selma."

Protests over Energy Transfer Partners' contentious oil pipeline was occasionally marked by terrible violence, with law enforcement using teargas, rubber bullets and even water cannons on the demonstrators.

During his visit to the reservation, Curry also spent an hour listening to people's hopes for the protest and for the church's role in supporting the pipeline opponents, the church said.

Despite months of protests, the Dakota Access Pipeline began transporting crude oil last spring not long after President Trump's reversed an Obama-era decision that halted the project. The system has already caused several spills.

Environmental stewardship is a core value the American Episcopal Church. In June, Rev. Curry reinforced the church's commitment to the goals of the Paris agreement after President Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the global climate accord.

"The United States has been a global leader in caring for God's creation through efforts over the years on climate change. President Trump's announcement changes the U.S.'s leadership role in the international sphere," Curry said in a statement then.

"Despite this announcement, many U.S. businesses, states, cities, regions, nongovernmental organizations and faith bodies like the Episcopal Church can continue to take bold action to address the climate crisis. The phrase, 'We're still in,' became a statement of commitment for many of us who regardless of this decision by our President are still committed to the principles of the Paris agreement."

In his royal wedding sermon over the weekend, Curry referenced Martin Luther King, Jr. and preached about the power of love changing the world. Similarly, at Standing Rock two years ago, the bishop also quoted MLK's famous words from Alabama's Birmingham jail.

"The truth of the matter is, we are all interconnected, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny," Curry said.

Environmental causes appear to be important to the new royal couple. Markle wore an evening dress designed by eco-friendly designer Stella McCartney and Prince Harry, whose family is very dedicated to a range of conservation issues, drove a converted electric Jaguar for their wedding reception.

The couple also requested that in lieu of gifts, well-wishers donate to seven charities, including two environmental groups: Surfers Against Sewage and The Wilderness Foundation UK, CNN reported.A cargo train carrying 250,000 liters (66,000 gallons) of super petroleum, or unleaded gasoline, derailed off its tracks after taking a sharp turn along Kenya's eastern coast, forcing the closure of a major highway over the weekend, according to local reports.

The accident occurred early Sunday in Kibarani in Mombasa County, and prompted authorities to completely close off Makupa Causeway, the main link between the mainland and Mombasa Island, fearing a fire would break out after spillage of the highly flammable liquid, The Star, Kenya reported.

Thousands of commuters were left stranded until the highway was reopened Monday after experts determined the area was safe. No injuries were reported and the exact cause of the derailment is not yet determined.

The 16-wagon Kenya Railways train was headed towards Nairobi and was carrying fuel for Vivo Energy.

Maritime and Shipping Affairs Principal Secretary Nancy Karigithu said about 3,000 liters (790 gallons) leaked from the impacted wagons. Authorities have contained the fuel with foam and coolant, she said.

"The leakage came from two wagons, one of them was profuse. Luckily enough, no oil was spilled into the ocean," Karigithu said, as quoted by The Star, Kenya.

Karigithu added that experts are working to ensure the fuel does not enter the ocean and affect the marine system.

However, a number of conflicting reports, including one published from Reuters on Monday, suggested that some cargo plunged into the Indian Ocean. Mombasa police chief Johnstone Ipara told the news service a team of engineers and other local experts were working Monday to recover five train wagons that submerged in the ocean.

A witness also told Reuters the water that the wagons submerged into was slick with a substance that appeared to be a petroleum product.

But Karigithu insisted in a People Daily report posted Monday that the fuel has not reached the ocean.

"Contrary to reports, not a drop has spilled into the ocean, the ocean is about 500 meters from scene of derailment and we are managing the situation well. Our main priority now is to secure the lives of Kenyans first, the cause of the derailment will be established later," she said.By Jeff Turrentine

I used to live in a hilly, temperate corner of the American west, right near the banks of a meandering river. On late-evening walks with my two dogs, I would routinely encounter all manner of economy-size mammalian wildlife: skunks, raccoons, opossums, coyotes. Sightings of a mountain lion in the area had occurred more than once, though my dogs and I were perfectly happy never to have chanced upon him. During the day, it wasn't unusual to see red-tailed hawks or turkey vultures circling overhead, or rigid V-formations of migrating Canada geese, or even the occasional egret or blue heron swooping down as it made its descent to its riparian home.

Oh, wait, I left out an important detail: My dogs and I were walking in the heart of Los Angeleswithin earshot of the considerable traffic noise emanating from the I-5 Freeway, about 15 minutes from downtown as the crow (or the turkey vulture) flies. We were proximate, too, to Griffith Park, which at more than eight square miles is one of the largest urban parks of its kind, as well as one of the least developed. Our local mountain lion, the rather ignobly named P-22, called Griffith Park home; he's still there, in fact, roaming the hills and doing what mountain lions do, minding his own carnivorous business while largely (if not totally) steering clear of awkward interactions with humans and the built environment.

I couldn't help but think of P-22, and of my old wild stomping ground, when I learned that researchers from the National Park Service had recently installed cameras along 30 miles of the Los Angeles River and its tributaries. The LA River Wildlife Camera Project aims to document the abundance of fauna skulking, skittering and waddling along this waterway, to better understand their relationship to the river andimportantlyto increase public awareness of urban wildlife, in hopes of reducing instances of human-animal conflict.

Los Angeles is far from unique as an urban haven for unexpected forms of wildlife. Berlin is currently home to more than 3,000 wild boars, which unabashedly forage in parks and front yards. In Mumbai, one of the world's most densely populated cities, more than 40 leopards wander the streets in and around Sanjay Gandhi National Park, often applying their instinctive predatory skills to the city's sizable population of feral dogs. Coyote sightings are becoming more and more common in New York and Chicago. In March, John McPhee, the longtime New Yorker contributor, wrote colorfully of his fascination with the estimated 2,500 black bears that live (and sometimes steal cupcakes out of parked cars) in his home state of New Jersey. If you've ever visited Austin, Texas, and not been bitten by a mosquito, you can thank the 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats that live beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge downtown.

As our civilization encroaches further and further into wildlife habitat, we find ourselves sharing space with more and more creatures that we don't expect to find in our midst. But to paraphrase one commenter to a YouTube video featuring a mama bear and her cubs frolicking in a backyard swimming pool: They're not in our backyards, we're in their front yards. When we build on wildlife habitat, the land doesn't suddenly become "ours" and no longer "theirs." It becomes shared. And as the most recent arrivals, we humans have an obligationa moral and ecological imperative, you might even sayto understand the ways, habits and needs of the communities that we're asking to join.

A deer seems to spot the camera along the Los Angeles River. National Park Service

In Los Angeles, the LA River Wildlife Camera Project is being conducted in partnership with the larger Urban Wildlife Information Network, a Chicago-based consortium of scientists and researchers dedicated to helping cities "understand the ecology and behavior of their own wildlife species ... why animals in different cities behave differently, and what patterns hold true around the world." Images of animals caught on camera will be uploaded to Zooniverse, a platform for crowdsourced research where volunteers can share ideas and engage in citizen-science scholarship, which often proves to be of immense value to academic researchers.



The LA River, an ecologically vital yet troubled waterway, is a prime subject for such study. At 51 miles long, the river begins in the San Fernando Valley north of the city and winds its way through neighborhoods industrial, residential and semi-rural before finally emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Long Beach. Environmentalists, political leaders, scientists and civil engineers recently embarked on an ambitious plan to restore it, a major component of which will entail reconnecting the channelized waterway to its historic tributaries, wetlands and floodplainsi.e., to historic wildlife habitat. Initiatives like the Camera Project have the potential to spur public support and private funding, because through compelling photographic evidence, the essential relationships among local people, local resources, and local wildlife are made clear.

As I learned on those late-night walks with my dogs: You're never really alone in the big city, even when there are no other people around. The more we learn about the animals within our shared communities, the more we learn about what theyand weneed in order to coexist harmoniously and sustainably. And that's about as good a definition of neighborliness as you're ever likely to come across.

Reposted with permission from our media associate onEarth.1. Physicians report feeling moral distress over hospital policies that force inadequate care based on immigration status

Abstract: http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M18-0400

Editorial: http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M18-1267

URLs go live when the embargo lifts

Clinicians in safety-net hospitals describe feeling moral distress and being driven toward professional burnout because of policies that prevent them from performing hemodialysis to undocumented immigrants, except in the case of an emergency. Being forced to provide inferior care due to the patient's immigration status was a significant burden to the clinicians who reported feeling a sense of admiration for these patients and a desire to advocate on their behalf. Findings from a qualitative study are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

In the U.S., nearly half of undocumented immigrants with end-stage kidney disease receive hemodialysis only when they are evaluated in an emergency department and are found to have life-threatening renal failure. This type of "emergency-only" hemodialysis, or EOHD, is nearly 4 times more costly than regularly scheduled hemodialysis and has a 14-fold higher mortality rate. This approach to care is distressing for the patient, but little is known about how it affects the clinician.

Researchers from the University of Colorado interviewed 50 interdisciplinary clinicians in a safety-net hospital in Denver, Colorado to determine how physicians feel about emergency-only hemodialysis. The clinicians reported that they felt emotionally and physically exhausted by daily organizational and system-level barriers to providing care. In addition, they were troubled by witnessing unnecessary suffering and high mortality. In their paper, the researchers identified and explained four high-level themes that emerged from their interviews: drivers of professional burnout, moral distress from propagating injustice, confusing and perverse financial incentives, and inspiration toward advocacy.

The researchers conclude that emergency-only hemodialysis is harmful to patients and is also harmful to clinicians that are forced to provide inadequate care to their patients. The burden on clinicians of providing emergency-only hemodialysis should inform policy discussions and systemic approaches to support provision of an adequate standard of care to all patients with end-stage renal disease.

Media contact: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Lauren Evans at laevans@acponline.org. To interview the lead author, Lilia Cervantes, M.D., please contact Simon Crittle at Simon.Crittle@dhha.org or 720-326-1789.

2. Physicians should look for misuse patterns that lead to overdose before prescribing opioids

Abstract: http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M17-3065

Editorial: http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M18-1146

URLs go live when the embargo lifts

Physicians should look for use patterns that are associated with overdose before prescribing opioids. Behaviors, such as overlapping prescriptions, use of more than one prescriber or pharmacy, and use of out-of-state prescribers or pharmacies were all strongly linked to an increased risk for overdose. Findings from an observational study are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Prescription drug monitoring databases (PDMPs) have become common and increasingly, states are requiring physicians to check them before prescribing opioids. However, there is very little evidence to guide physicians on how to interpret data in PDMPs, which includes information on when and how patients fill their opioid prescriptions.

Researchers from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cornell University, and Harvard Medical School studied opioid prescribing data for more than 600,000 Medicare beneficiaries from 2008 to 2012 to estimate how a range of patterns of potential opioid misuse related to adverse outcomes during the subsequent year. Over a 5-year period, the researchers found that patterns of potential opioid misuse were common, largely stable over time, and associated with a higher risk for adverse opioid-related outcomes in the following year, including opioid overdose, all-cause mortality, and death within 30 days of an opioid overdose diagnosis. All of these risks persisted even after the researchers controlled for the average daily dose of opioids patients received and patient demographics. The researchers noted that nearly any deviation from filling opioid prescriptions at one pharmacy from one provider was associated with a higher risk of overdose and the risk grew with increasing fragmentation of prescribing or higher quantities of overlapping prescriptions.

According to the researchers, their findings suggest that a broad range of patterns may be informative in identifying patients with high-risk opioid use. Physicians should look for these patterns before making prescribing decisions, and states should consider incorporating "dashboards" in their PDMPs to display these patterns easily.

Media contact: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Lauren Evans at laevans@acponline.org. To interview the lead author, Michael Barnett, MD, MS, please contact Todd Datz at TDATZ@hsph.harvard.edu.

3. Amyloid-beta (1-40) is a strong predictor of mortality in acute coronary syndrome

AB40 predicts mortality and improves risk stratification over guideline-recommended GRACE score

Abstract: http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M17-1540

URLs go live when the embargo lifts

Circulating amyloid-beta (1-40), or A40, is a strong predictor of mortality in patients with non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS). A40 may be a better way to stratify risk than the guideline-recommended GRACE (Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events) score. Findings from a retrospective cohort study are published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Risk stratification of patients with NSTE-ACS is important for identifying those who should receive early coronary intervention. Current clinical practice guidelines agree on a standardized approach that uses the GRACE score to calculate a patient's risk and guide decisions about triage and management. However, this score uses standard coronary risk factors and does not take into consideration vascular inflammation, a hallmark of the pathophysiologic pathways of coronary artery disease. A40 is implicated in mechanisms related to plaque destabilization and correlates with adverse outcomes in stable coronary artery disease. However, its role in risk prediction for NSTE-ACS is not known.

Researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom, reviewed data from two independent prospective cohorts to determine the prognostic and reclassification value of baseline circulating levels of A40 after adjustment for GRACE score. They found that A40 circulating levels in NSTE-ACS were associated with a worse clinical risk profile; predicted increased mortality; and more often correctly reclassified risk categories over the GRACE score. According to the researchers, these findings suggest that A40 may have clinical application for predicting risk in NSTE-ACS patients.

Media contact: For an embargoed PDF, please contact Lauren Evans at laevans@acponline.org. To interview the lead author, Konstantinos Stellos, MD, please contact Karen Bidewell at karen.bidewell@ncl.ac.uk.

Also new in this issue:

Guidelines Versus Guidelines: What's Best for the Patient?

Boris Draznin, MD, PhD; David M. Nathan, MD; Mary T. Korytkowski, MD; Marie E. McDonnell, MD; Sherita Hill Golden, MD, MHS; Mark H. Schutta, MD; William T. Cefalu, MD

Ideas and Opinions

Abstract: http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M18-0939

An Independent Evaluation of the Accuracy and Usability of Electronic Adherence Monitoring Devices

Meghan E. McGrady, PhD; Christina E. Holbein, PhD; Aimee W. Smith, PhD; Caroline F. Morrison, PhD, RN; Kevin A. Hommel, PhD; Avani C. Modi, PhD; Ahna L.H. Pai, PhD; Rachelle R. Ramsey, PhD

Brief Research Report

Abstract: http://annals.org/aim/article/doi/10.7326/M17-3306

###Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) had 22 percent higher risk of Parkinson's compared with non-IBD individuals, study shows

Doctors may be able to modify or slow down the progress of the neurological condition Parkinson's disease in the future by spotting signs of it in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), suggest a study published in the journal Gut.

Danish researchers found patients with IBD appeared to have a 22% greater risk of developing Parkinson's disease in a study that monitored participants for almost 40 years.

IBD, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic conditions with onset in young adulthood.

It has already been suggested in previous studies that inflammation plays a role in the development of Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.

Enteric inflammation - the main symptom of inflammatory bowel disease - can occur in patients with Parkinson's disease and may reflect the earliest manifestations of the neurological condition's development.

Experts have suspected for some time that there may be a 'gut-brain axis' where the intestinal environment influences the functioning of the central nervous system and intestinal imbalance may precede and cause Parkinson's disease.

Therefore, a team of Danish researchers led by Dr Tomasz Brudek of the Research Laboratory for Stereology and Neuroscience, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Copenhagen, set out to examine whether IBD was associated with risk of Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.

They carried out a nationwide population-based cohort study involving all individuals diagnosed with IBD in Denmark between 1977 and 2014 - 76,477 people - and more than 7.5 million non-IBD individuals from the general population, who were comparable in terms of gender, age and vital status.

All participants were followed from IBD diagnosis/index date to the occurrence of Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy, using data from the Danish National Patient Register.

During the 37-year study period, 335 patients with IBD (0.4%) and 39,784 non-IBD individuals (0.5%) were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, whereas 13 patients with IBD (0.02%) and 866 non-IBD individuals (0.01%) were diagnosed with multiple system atrophy.

Analysis of the results showed that patients with IBD had a 22% higher risk of Parkinson's disease compared with non-IBD individuals.

This increased risk was present independent of age at IBD diagnosis, gender or length of follow-up.

The overall incidence of multiple system atrophy was low in the study, but analysis suggested a tendency towards higher risk (41% higher) of developing multiple system atrophy in patients with IBD compared with non-IBD individuals. The estimates were similar for women and men.

There was a 35% greater risk of parkinsonism among patients with ulcerative colitis but not a significantly higher risk among patients with Crohn's disease.

This was an observational study, so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, but the authors said they believed their work was the first epidemiological study investigating the risk of parkinsonism in an unselected, nationwide cohort of patients with IBD with long-term follow-up - patients were followed for more than 8 million person-years.

The authors concluded: "The study suggests that clinicians should be aware of symptoms of parkinsonism in patients with IBD, and the study demonstrates the need for further investigation into the role of intestinal inflammation and brain gut-microbiome axis in the aetiology of parkinsonism.

"The identification of risk factors associated with prodromal phases of Parkinson's disease may allow for early intervention studies that could modify or slow down disease progress."

###Boston, MA (May 21, 2018) - Bacteria have long been thought to develop antibiotic resistance largely due to repeated exposure through over-prescribing. But could much bigger environmental pressures be at play?

Seeking to better understand the distribution of antibiotic resistance across the U.S., a multidisciplinary team of epidemiologists from Boston Children's Hospital and the University of Toronto have found that higher local temperatures and population densities correlate with a higher degree of antibiotic resistance in common bacterial strains. The findings were published today in Nature Climate Change.

"The effects of climate are increasingly being recognized in a variety of infectious diseases, but so far as we know this is the first time it has been implicated in the distribution of antibiotic resistance over geographies," says the study's lead author, Derek MacFadden, MD, an infectious disease specialist and research fellow at Boston Children's Hospital. "We also found a signal that the associations between antibiotic resistance and temperature could be increasing over time."

"Estimates outside of our study have already told us that there will already be a drastic and deadly rise in antibiotic resistance in coming years," says the paper's co-senior author John Brownstein, PhD, who is Chief Innovation Officer and director of the Computational Epidemiology Group at Boston Children's and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School (HMS). "But with our findings that climate change could be compounding and accelerating an increase in antibiotic resistance, the future prospects could be significantly worse than previously thought."

During their study, the team assembled a large database of U.S. antibiotic resistance information related to E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and S. aureus, pulling from various streams of hospital, laboratory and disease surveillance data documented between 2013 and 2015. Altogether, their database comprised more than 1.6 million bacterial pathogens from 602 unique records across 223 facilities and 41 states.

Not surprisingly, when looking at antibiotic prescription rates across geographic areas, the team found that increased prescribing was associated with increased antibiotic resistance across all the pathogens that they investigated.

Then, comparing the database to latitude coordinates as well as mean and medium local temperatures, the team found that higher local average minimum temperatures correlated the strongest with antibiotic resistance. Local average minimum temperature increases of 10 degrees Celsius were found to be associated with 4.2, 2.2 and 3.6 percent increases in antibiotic resistant strains of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and S. aureus, respectively.

More unsettling still, when looking at population density, the team found that an increase of 10,000 people per square mile was associated with three and six percent respective increases in antibiotic resistance in E. coli and K. pneumoniae, which are both Gram-negative species. In contrast, the antibiotic resistance of Gram-positive S. aureus did not appear to be significantly affected by population density.

"Population growth and increases in temperature and antibiotic resistance are three phenomena that we know are currently happening on our planet," says the study's co-senior author Mauricio Santillana, PhD, who is a faculty member in the Computational Health Informatics Program at Boston Children's and an assistant professor at HMS. "But until now, hypotheses about how these phenomena relate to each other have been sparse. We need to continue bringing multidisciplinary teams together to study antibiotic resistance in comparison to the backdrop of population and environmental changes."

MacFadden says the transmission factor is of particular interest for further scientific research.

"As transmission of antibiotic resistant organisms increases from one host to another, so does the opportunity for ongoing evolutionary selection of resistance due to antibiotic use," MacFadden says. "We hypothesize that temperature and population density could act to facilitate transmission and thus increases in antibiotic resistance."

"The bottom line is that our findings highlight a dire need to invest more research efforts into improving our understanding of the interconnectedness of infectious disease, medicine and our changing environment," Brownstein concludes.

###

In addition to MacFadden, Brownstein and Santillana, additional authors on the study are Sarah McGough and David Fisman.

This work was supported by a Canadian Institute for Health Research Fellowship, the Clinician Scientist Program at University of Toronto's Department of Medicine and the National Library of Medicine (NIH R01 LM011965).

About Boston Children's Hospital

Boston Children's Hospital, the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center. Its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. Today, more than 3,000 scientists, including nine members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine and 11 Howard Hughes Medical Investigators comprise Boston Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Boston Children's is now a 415-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care. For more, visit our Vector and Thriving blogs and follow us on social media @BostonChildrens, @BCH_Innovation, Facebook and YouTube.New study, published in PNAS, reveals potential mechanisms that could help preterm babies extend a crucial nephron development window

CINCINNATI-- Nephrons are the microscopic blood-filtering units inside our kidneys that convert waste products into urine, regulate our electrolyte levels and our blood pressure.

Most of us are born with about 1 million nephrons, all of which form in the womb between weeks 25 to 36 of gestation. Unfortunately, the nephron formation process can be interrupted when babies are born preterm, which places them at higher risk of developing kidney disease later in life.

Now a study led by scientists at Cincinnati Children's reveals one mechanism involved in regulating when nephron formation ends. The discovery, based on mouse models, suggests that intervention during pregnancy or after preterm birth could extend nephron development. If translated to clinical practice years from now, the result could be reduced need for kidney transplants and fewer deaths from kidney disease.

Findings were posted online today in the journal PNAS.

The paper is the latest advance by scientists at Cincinnati Children's who are trying to reduce preterm birth by addressing environmental factors, understanding genetic drivers, and exploring the mechanisms that regulate complications.

"All the nephrons you or I have were generated while we were in our mother's uterus. Prematurity terminates this process too early. As a result, adults that were born prematurely are at high risk for hypertension, heart disease and end stage renal disease," says Raphael Kopan, PhD, Director of the Division of Developmental Biology at Cincinnati Children's, and senior author of today's study.

"The question we tried to address is how we generate the specific number of nephrons we have as adults, and how can we increase this number in premature babies."

CAN A CLOSING WINDOW OF DEVELOPMENT BE PROPPED OPEN?

By studying how mice control their nephron numbers, the researchers discovered that a protein called hamartin plays a central role in shutting down the nephron formation process.

Until now, this protein was known primarily as a factor involved in tuberous sclerosis complex, a rare genetic disease that causes benign tumors to grow in the brain, kidneys, heart, and other organs. In this study, when mice were bred to produce reduced amounts of hamartin, their kidneys developed 25 percent more nephrons than a control group.

However, when bred to produce no hamartin at all, the mice developed fatal kidney defects. These results were seen in mice with two different genetic backgrounds, suggesting that hamartin function did not depend upon the method the research team used to reduce its level.

"This study provides important new information that will improve outcomes for all babies born prematurely," says Louis Muglia, MD, PhD, Co-Director of the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children's and Director of the Center for Prevention of Preterm Birth. "Optimizing pregnancy outcomes is a central focus shared by the basic scientists and clinicians in the Perinatal Institute, and this work reflects that shared commitment."

MORE STUDY NEEDED BEFORE PEOPLE CAN BENEFIT

From affected families to society at large, the health impact of preterm birth remains a major concern.

Overall, about one in 10 infants are born prematurely (before 37 weeks) in the U.S. That's about 387,000 births a year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of those, nearly 109,000 are considered "early" preterm births (before 34 weeks). This group faces the highest risk of complications from interrupted kidney development.

As they grow up, many of those babies join the ranks of more than 8 million Americans affected by chronic kidney disease, including more than 100,000 who begin dialysis each year while awaiting a kidney transplant.

At first glance, today's findings suggest that the hamartin protein would be a prime target for a medication to protect kidney development. However, in people, directly reducing hamartin production would likely cause tuberous sclerosis.

"We have discovered the tip of the iceberg," Kopan says. "We are hoping that the mechanism hamartin acts through to regulate nephron numbers will contain druggable targets."

If a safe drug can be developed, treatment would need to be provided shortly after a preterm infant is delivered.

"We never make another nephron after we are 36 weeks old," Kopan says. "It would be necessary to target at-risk premature babies to try to prolong their nephron-generating window."

So far, no diagnostic test exists that can determine if a developing fetus or newborn preterm baby has a nephron shortage. But several research groups around the world are studying how to use MRI scans to measure nephron supply. That work currently is focused on adults, but if proven safe, will eventually become applicable in newborns.

SCIENCE BUILDS UPON CRADLE CINCINNATI WORK

Today's study is one of many efforts underway at Cincinnati Children's to address the problem of prematurity. Cincinnati Children's is a leading partner in Cradle Cincinnati, a community-wide collaboration to reduce high rates of preterm birth and infant mortality in Hamilton County.

The organization has already helped reduce infant deaths through initiatives to manage factors that contribute to preterm birth, such as promoting smoking cessation, waiting at least a year between pregnancies, and safe sleep practices.

Until recently, not much was known about how genetic factors might play a role in premature birth. In a breakthrough study last year, scientists here collaborated with the company 23andMe in a large-scale genetic study. They discovered six genomic locations that show strong potential to affect birth timing.

It remains to be seen how that discovery will lead to improved treatments. But together with Cradle Cincinnati's programs and today's study, research is helping identify ways to reduce some of the problems associated with premature birth, Muglia says.

###

COLLABORATING INSTITUTIONS, FUNDING SUPPORT

This study included collaboration with scientists at Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia; and the departments of Pediatrics, Anatomy and Neuroscience at the University of Melbourne.

Funding for this work included a grant from the National Institutes of Health (R01 DK106225) and (P50 DK096418); as well as the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (GNT1063989)With individuals weighing in at more than 140 pounds, the critically endangered Chinese giant salamander is well known as the world's largest amphibian. But researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on May 21 now find that those giant salamanders aren't one species, but five, and possibly as many as eight. The bad news as highlighted by another report appearing in the same issue is that all of the salamanders--once thought to occur widely across China--now face the imminent threat of extinction in the wild, due in no small part to demand for the amphibians as luxury food.

The discoveries highlight the importance of genetic assessments to properly identify the salamanders, the researchers say. It also suggests that the farming and release of giant salamanders back into the wild without any regard for their genetic differences is putting the salamanders' already dire future at even greater risk. In fact, some of the five newly identified species may already be extinct in the wild.

"We were not surprised to discover more than one species, as an earlier study suggested, but the extent of diversity--perhaps up to eight species--uncovered by the analyses sat us back in our chairs," says Jing Che from the Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. "This was not expected."

"The overexploitation of these incredible animals for human consumption has had a catastrophic effect on their numbers in the wild over an amazingly short time span," adds Samuel Turvey, from ZSL (Zoological Society of London. "Unless coordinated conservation measures are put in place as a matter of urgency, the future of the world's largest amphibian is in serious jeopardy."

The researchers were surprised to learn just how much movement of salamanders has already occurred due to human intervention. Salamander farms have sought to "maximize variation" by exchanging salamanders from distant areas, without realizing they are in fact distinct species, Che explains. As a result, she says, wild populations may now be at risk of becoming locally maladapted due to hybridization across species boundaries.

The researchers including Ya-Ping Zhang and Robert Murphy suspected Chinese giant salamanders might represent distinct species despite their similar appearances. That's because the salamanders inhabit three primary rivers in China, and several smaller ones, they explain. Each runs independently to sea.

Given that giant salamanders can't move across the land, they suspected that salamanders living in different river systems might have had opportunity to diverge over time into what should now be recognized as distinct species. And, indeed, that's exactly what the genetic evidence now suggests.

In the second study, Turvey and colleagues conducted field surveys and interviews from 2013 and 2016, in an effort that was possibly the largest wildlife survey ever conducted in China. The data revealed that populations of this once-widespread species are now critically depleted or extirpated across all surveyed areas of their range, and illegal poaching is widespread. The researchers were unable to confirm survival of wild salamanders at any survey site.

While the harvesting of wild salamanders is already prohibited, the findings show that farming practices and existing conservation activities that treat all salamander populations as a single species are potentially doing great damage, the researchers say.

"Conservation strategies for the Chinese giant salamander require urgent updating," Che says. She says it is especially critical to reconsider the design of reserves to protect the salamanders and an effort that has already released thousands of farm-started baby salamanders back into the wild.

"Together with addressing wider pressures such as poaching for commercial farms and habitat loss, it's essential that suitable safeguards are put in place to protect the unique genetic lineage of these amazing animals," says Fang Yan, also at the Kunming Institute.

###

Current Biology, Yan et al.: 'The Chinese giant salamander exemplifies the hidden extinction of cryptic species" http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30432-9 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.004

Current Biology, Turvey et al.: "Imminent extinction in the wild of the world's largest amphibian" http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(18)30433-0 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.04.005

Current Biology (@CurrentBiology), published by Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that features papers across all areas of biology. Current Biology strives to foster communication across fields of biology, both by publishing important findings of general interest and through highly accessible front matter for non-specialists. Visit: http://www.cell.com/current-biology. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com.A chance to switch to renewable sources for heating, electricity and fuel, while also providing new opportunities for several industries to produce large numbers of renewable products. This is the verdict of researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, who now, after ten years of energy research into gasification of biomass, see an array of new technological achievements.

"The potential is huge! Using only the already existing Swedish energy plants, we could produce renewable fuels equivalent to 10 percent of the world's aviation fuel, if such a conversion were fully implemented," says Henrik Thunman, Professor of Energy Technology at Chalmers.

How to implement a switch from fossil-fuels to renewables is a tricky issue for many industries. For heavy industries, such as oil refineries, or the paper and pulp industry, it is especially urgent to start moving, because investment cycles are so long. At the same time, it is important to get the investment right because you may be forced to replace boilers or facilities in advance, which means major financial costs. Thanks to long-term strategic efforts, researchers at Swedens Chalmers University of Technology have now paved the way for radical changes, which could be applied to new installations, as well as be implemented at thousands of existing plants around the globe.

The solution presented involves widespread gasification of biomass. This technology itself is not new. Roughly explained, what is happening is that at high temperatures, biomass is converted into a gas. This gas can then be refined into end-products which are currently manufactured from oil and natural gas. The Chalmers researchers have shown that one possible end-product is biogas that can replace natural gas in existing gas networks.

Previously, the development of gasification technology has been hampered by major problems with tar being released from the biomass, which interferes with the process in several ways. Now, the researchers from Chalmers' division of Energy Technology have shown that they can improve the quality of the biogas through chemical processes, and the tar can also be managed in completely new ways. This, in combination with a parallel development of heat-exchange materials, provides completely new possibilities for converting district heating boilers to biomass gasifiers.

"What makes this technology so attractive to several industries is that it will be possible to modify existing boilers, which can then supplement heat and power production with the production of fossil-free fuels and chemicals.", says Martin Seemann, Associate Professor in Energy Technology at Chalmers.

"We rebuilt our own research boiler in this way in 2007, and now we have more than 200 man-years of research to back us up," says Professor Henrik Thunman. "Combined with industrial-scale lessons learned at the GoBiGas (Gothenburg Biomass Gasification) demonstration project, launched in 2014, it is now possible for us to say that the technology is ready for the world."

The plants which could be converted to gasification are power and district heating plants, paper and pulp mills, sawmills, oil refineries and petrochemical plants.

"The technical solutions developed by the Chalmers researchers are therefore relevant across several industrial fields", says Klara Helstad, Head of the Sustainable Industry Unit at the Swedish Energy Agency. "Chalmers competence and research infrastructure have played and crucial role for the demonstration of advanced biofuels within the GoBiGas-project."

###

The Swedish Energy Agency has funded energy research and infrastructure at Chalmers for many years.

How much of this technological potential can be realised depends on the economic conditions of the coming years, and how that will affect the willingness of the industrial and energy sectors to convert. The availability of biomass is also a crucial factor. Biomass is a renewable resource, but only provided we do not deplete the conditions for its biological production. There is therefore a limit for total biomass output.

See Chalmers.se for a popular scientific overview, including cost projection for the technology: https://www.chalmers.se/en/departments/see/news/Pages/Advanced-biofuels-can-be-produced-extremely-efficiently.aspx

On June 20, the International Energy Agency (IEA) will hold an international webinar about the industrial demonstration of the gasification technology: http://www.ieabioenergy.com/ieaevent/iea-bioenergy-webinar-gobigas-an-industrial-relevant-state-of-the-art-reference-for-advanced-biofuel-production-via-gasification/

More about: Potential for fossil-free fuels via gasification, by modification of existing plants

The facilities that could be modified have a type of combustion boiler called a fluidised bed. It is the most common technology in Swedish power and district heating plants, and is also common in many paper and pulp mills and sawmills. In total, over 100 plants in Sweden have fluidised bed boilers.

If all of these plants were modified to biomass gasifiers, they would be able to produce 346 TWh of biogas (methane) per year, given sufficient biomass availability. This corresponds to approximately one percent of the world's total natural gas consumption in 2013.

Alternatively, the plants could produce 278 TWh of aviation fuel per year, equivalent to approximately 10 percent of the world's total aviation fuel consumption in 2014.

The biomass consumption in the above scenarios exceeds the production estimates of the Swedish agriculture and forestry industry, so a major conversion to biomass gasification would probably require a mixture of domestic and imported biomass.

Globally, there are thousands of plants that have fluidised bed combustion, and could therefore be modified to biomass gasification.

More about: Chemicals, materials and electrical fuels as end-products

The technology is very flexible when it comes to end-products. Gasification of biomass produces syngas - a mixture of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide - which can then be converted to a variety of hydrocarbons. In addition to biogas and aviation fuel, you can, for example, produce methanol, gasoline and diesel.

In addition to power and district heating plants and paper-, pulp- and sawmills, the conversion could also include oil refineries and petrochemical plants. The gasification process could provide renewable hydrocarbons that can replace oil in the production of fuels, chemicals and materials. But also, it offers the possibility of supplementing their operations with their own combustion of biomass.

The technology can also be used to produce electro fuels. These are synthetic vehicle fuels that are produced with carbon dioxide captured from biomass combustion, electricity and water. In a future energy system, with a high proportion of electricity from solar cells and wind power, it could be a method of utilising electricity during surplus periods. An installation can be designed to switch between the production of electric fuel and other fuel, depending on the current electricity price.

With sufficient access to biomass, the expanded production could coexist with existing production in the facilities, and provide an increased degree of utilisation for today's infrastructure.

More about: The availability of sustainably produced biomassThere are differences in opinion over how much biomass can be produced in a sustainable way.

"My assessment is that biomass can make a significant contribution to the energy supply. But it is not enough to provide for all the applications that currently require fossil fuels," says Goran Berndes, Professor of Biomass and Land use at Chalmers. "In this perspective, the conversion to gasification is very interesting, as it enables biomass to be used very efficiently to meet several different needs in society."

Goran Berndes continues, "regardless of how biomass is used in the end, it is important to ensure that it comes from sustainable forestry and agriculture. Laws, regulations and market-based sustainability certification schemes provide better conditions for sustainable production, but countries and individual actors differ in terms of sustainability priorities. It is therefore likely that the changeover to renewability will still be characterised by a debate regarding the sustainability of different solutions."Researchers at Case Western Reserve University found 45 percent of victims were at high risk for homicide and severe assault, in a one-year assessment

Victims of domestic violence are at a high risk to be murdered--or a victim of attempted murder-- according to a Cuyahoga County task force of criminal-justice professionals, victim advocates and researchers working to prevent domestic violence and homicides.

In the first year of the initiative, the Cuyahoga County Domestic Violence High Risk Team (DVHRT) partnered with researchers from Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Police Department in districts 1 and 5 (in the city's far-West and East Sides, respectively) where officers surveyed victims in domestic-violence calls.

The survey, called the Danger Assessment for Law Enforcement (DA-LE), relied on an 11-question survey to determine victims at the greatest risk for homicide and severe assault. More than 95 percent of all victims volunteered to participate in the assessment with the responding officers.

The team provided the information to researchers at Case Western Reserve's Begun Center for Violence Prevention Research and Education at the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences to analyze the data.

The researchers found that between October 2016 and September 2017, 45 percent of victims were at high risk for homicide and severe assault out of 1,554 assessments taken.

Of those high-risk victims, the data revealed that 88 percent had survived a previous strangulation attempt, 88 percent had already been threatened with murder and 89 percent believed their attacker is capable of killing them.

"This shines a spotlight on a serious issue that needs our full attention," said Jeff Kretschmar, a research associate professor and managing director of the Begun Center, which recently released the one-year report. Research associates Ashley Bukach and Rebecca Bray we also a part of the team.

To see the full report, click here.

The Cuyahoga County Witness Victim Service Center served as the lead agency, with the Domestic Violence and Child Advocacy Center and the Cleveland Division of Police assisting as the main partners.

Next steps

High-risk victims who agree to participate in the program receive enhanced case monitoring, individualized intervention plans and links to appropriate services and resources.

Researchers at Case Western Reserve and members of the DVHRT hope to reduce fatal domestic violence cases countywide by focusing on higher-risk cases, starting with Cleveland.

"Domestic violence is a significant problem, and this project helps to address the most dangerous cases," Kretschmar said. "We have a unique opportunity to intervene, to really make a difference."

###

As part of the Domestic Violence Homicide Prevention Demonstration Initiative, Cuyahoga County received funds from the U.S. Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women. There are similar federally funded programs in other communities nationally, including Miami, Florida; Pitt County, North Carolina; Contra Costa County, California; and Winnebago County, Illinois.After a plane engine blew apart at 32,000 feet in the air last month, the pilot flying Southwest Flight 1380 safely brought the Boeing 737 to an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Captain Tammie Jo Shults was heralded a hero, but a different flier may not have been able to respond as adeptly.

Consider what was racing through her mind: where to land, the speed and altitude to maintain, how to aid an injured passenger and comfort a bewildered crew. It's likely Shults was experiencing "cognitive overload," said Frederic Dehais, PhD, a professor at ISAE-SUPAERO in Toulouse, France, and an expert in flight safety.

The efficiency and safety of human-machine systems depend on the cognitive workload and situational awareness of human operators, according to Hasan Ayaz, PhD, an associate research professor in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems at Drexel University.

"Unfortunately, many human-machine interfaces expose users to workload extremes, diminishing the operator's attention and potentially leading to catastrophic consequences," Ayaz said.

An ideal human-machine system would actually be able to read its operator's mind in real-time, to know how well he or she was paying attention or able to process new information. Such a system may sound like the makings of a sci-fi movie. But Ayaz and Dehais, along with a team of researchers at Drexel and ISAE-SUPAERO, have now successfully measured the brain activity of pilots in real-time using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, or fNIRS. Their results were published this week in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

Unlike traditional functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), in which a person is resigned to a large machine while lying down, Drexel's portable fNIRS system is worn like a headband, making it ideal for measuring brain activity while study subjects move around freely in their natural environments.

The fNIRS system measures "the brain at work" by monitoring blood oxygenation changes in the prefrontal cortex - the area underneath the forehead that is involved in cognitive functions such as problem solving, memory, judgement and impulse control. When first learning a new task, for instance, this area of the brain is highly activated. However, as you become more proficient, these tasks move to other brain areas, clearing up important resources in the prefrontal cortex for skills like split-second decision making.

"The exciting thing is we can now quantify this," Ayaz said. In a flying scenario, Ayaz envisions that the airplane itself might one day be able to assess the cognitive and emotional state of the pilot, and then make adjustments accordingly.

To find out whether this could be possible, the researchers split 28 pilots into two categories: The first group flew a real aircraft, while the second group operated a flight simulator. In both cases, the researchers monitored the pilots' brain activity as they completed a series of memorization tasks from pre-recorded air traffic control instructions, which varied in levels of difficulty.

The results showed that the pilots in the real flight condition committed more errors and had higher anterior prefrontal cortex activation than pilots in the simulator when completing cognitively demanding tasks.

The implications are twofold, says Ayaz. First, the researchers successfully demonstrated the feasibility of monitoring cognitive workload in a realistic flight situation. Secondly, the differences between the two groups underscores the need for "ecologically valid" research studies. In other words, solely measuring brain activity in a laboratory likely won't lead to the most accurate results.

In the future, understanding the underlying neurocognitive process of pilot-plane interactions could help to make simulators more realistic, as well as to improve the safety and efficiency of aircraft-pilot interactions.

"We believe that this type of approach will open a whole new direction of research for studying parameters in an aviation setting and eventually designing better machines," Dehais said.

###For decades, the elderly in Spain have shown a preference for living at home, either alone or with their partners, instead of sharing a home with relatives of other generations. A study by the University of Granada delves into the reasons for this trend.

Intergenerational cohabitation in Spanish families is an essential resource for many adult children due to the current emancipation patterns among the young. However, for decades, the tendency among older people in Spain has been to live with their partners or on their own after being widowed.

Juan Lopez Doblas, researcher at the University of Granada (UGR), has published a study in Revista Espanola de Investigaciones Sociologicas (Spanish Journal of Sociological Research) on the reasons that lead these people to live alone, instead of sharing the household with relatives of other generations.

"In the Western world, it's been happening since the mid-twentieth century because that is when Social Security and pensions were established. In Spain, this arrived a bit late, as in other Mediterranean countries, because values of a more individualistic type have traditionally been more typical of Nordic countries", says the scientist.

The study was based on interviews lasting more than one hour with various groups of people over 63. The regions of Asturias and Andalusia were chosen, because they have different rates of population aging and, additionally, the senior citizens living there differ substantially in essential aspects, such as pension amounts or educational level.

"What we've observed in the study is that, at present, older people have a preference for privacy and freedom, and that comes before being kept company," Lopez Doblas points out.

All the discussion groups consisted of a majority of widowed persons, which reflects the numerical predominance within the population group under study.

Emotional attachment to one's home and social isolation

One of the most important aspects for understanding the reasons for the decline of intergenerational coexistence in Spain lies in the household in question. According to the work, the elderly are aware that they cannot expect their families to come to live with them, so it is they who would have to move in with their families. And such a decision would most likely mean having to definitively quit the household they have been living in for decades, which is something that, as the study reveals, they refuse to do unless it is absolutely necessary.

According to the author, "they have a strong emotional attachment to their homes, even when living conditions aren't the best. They regard moving house as an unnecessary personal sacrifice that would also, besides, isolate them from their social environment, where they can socialise with family, neighbours and friends."

Living alone despite low pensions

The study also significantly reflects the manner in which the participants in the discussion groups explain what their lives would be like if they chose to live with their families. "They understand that if they shared the household with relatives, they'd be a burden for them, which is something they want to avoid at all costs. They also reject this so as not to meddle in their private lives, or disturb their privacy. And they fear that daily cohabitation would eventually and inevitably generate discomfort, arguments and conflicts," he explains.

Regarding pensions, although they are usually low, especially for many widowed women, this does not prevent them from managing to be self-sufficient. It is something that they achieve through a thorough control of spending, which often entails austerity in the consumption of even basic goods and services.

"Widowed people are forced, for the first time in their lives, to handle roles and experiences that are initially very harsh, in addition to loneliness. Adaptation is very difficult. But after a while, they also value freedom. It is a balance between the risks and the positive aspects," concludes Lopez Doblas.

###The object is revolving around the sun in the vicinity of Jupiter but in the opposite direction from most other celestial bodies, according to a study featuring a Brazilian scientist as co-author

The Solar System is much vaster and more complex than is usually assumed. The Sun's gravitational pull on the gravitational fields of the nearest stars is estimated to extend for approximately two light-years (125 astronomical units), meaning the light emitted by the Sun takes approximately two years to reach the outer edge of the Solar System.

This enormous gravitational niche is home to millions of objects, from planets and moons to comets, asteroids and meteoroids. One object differs from all the rest, like an "odd man out", as it were: asteroid (514107) 2015 BZ509.

The difference is its retrograde orbit: this asteroid revolves around the Sun in the opposite direction to the planets and other celestial bodies. This retrograde orbit and its stability since the Solar System began are considered strong evidence that it is of extrasolar origin and was captured by Jupiter's gravitational field toward the end of the era in which the planets were formed. According to an article published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society-Letters, a study based on robust computer simulation has now corroborated this hypothesis.

The article is by Maria Helena Moreira Morais, a professor at Sao Paulo State University's Institute of Geosciences & Exact Sciences (IGCE-UNESP), with co-author Fathi Namouni, a researcher at the Cote d'Azur Observatory in France. Morais's participation in the study was supported by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation - FAPESP via the project "Topics of orbital dynamics and machine learning tools applied to planetary systems data".

"We'd already constructed a theory to explain the movement of this asteroid. In 2017, we published an article on it in Nature," Morais said. "In order to try to understand the origin of the object, we later performed large-scale simulations, which resulted in a new article that's coming out now in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters."

Large-scale simulation is needed for the following two reasons: first, the margin of error in astronomical observations relating to the orbits of celestial bodies, and second, the chaotic component introduced into the movements of celestial bodies by gravitational interactions with the planets of the Solar System such that a very small difference in initial conditions can result in huge differences billions of years later.

"To surmount these problems, we had to do a very large statistical study simulating a million orbits," Morais explained. "Studies on this scale had never been done before. Simulations typically consider a thousand possibilities at most."

The simulations included not only the gravitational effect of planets but also the gravitational influence of the Galaxy because for objects at a great distance from the Sun, this component becomes relevant. They recreated the trajectory of (514107) 2015 BZ509 since the end of our Solar System's planet-formation phase approximately 4.5 billion years ago and showed that its orbit has remained stable throughout this period within the limits of the margin of error.

Hence, the uniqueness of (514107) 2015 BZ509 compared with other asteroids in the group of retrograde Centaurs, ordinary asteroids that were expelled to a remote region of the Solar System, the Oort Cloud, by the gravitational instability due to the rapid growth of the giant planets.

The retrograde Centaurs originally orbited the Sun in the same direction as all other bodies in the Solar System, but owing to their extreme distance from the Sun, the Galaxy's gravity affected their movement to such an extent that some became retrograde. This process took approximately one billion years. Later, some Centaurs were pulled back into the region influenced by the giant planets.

The statistical study showed that none of this happened to (514107) 2015 BZ509. This asteroid has stably occupied the path corresponding to Jupiter's orbit for at least 4.5 billion years and is a retrograde co-orbital asteroid of Jupiter.

"The conclusion must be that this asteroid came from outside the Solar System. It must have been cut loose from a neighboring star system and been captured by Jupiter's powerful gravitational field. Synchronism with Jupiter makes its orbit stable," Morais said.

'Oumuamua

The migration of objects from one system to another is not impossible. The Sun was formed together with other stars in a star nursery, so the density of stars in the Sun's vicinity was greater in the past than it is now. Nearby stars later moved away. Recent studies suggest that the Oort Cloud itself may partly consist of objects captured from other stars in the Solar System's infancy.

"At the end of 2017, our system was visited by another extrasolar asteroid called 'Oumuamua ['messenger from afar arriving first' in Hawaiian]," Morais recalled. "It traveled so fast that the Sun's attraction bent its path slightly and made it hyperbolic. It would have had to be moving less fast for the trajectory to become elliptical, in which case it would have been captured by the Solar System."

The study of (514107) 2015 BZ509 is far from over and in fact has only just begun. The object is a witness to the Solar System's infancy and could provide precious information about the environment that existed in the Sun's vicinity when the Solar System was formed.

"We may possibly be able to advance more if we can determine its chemical composition," Morais said. "Given that star systems have distinct chemical compositions, immigrant asteroids like (514107) 2015 BZ509 may have enriched the Solar System with elements that didn't exist here originally. In this way, they may have contributed to the emergence of life on Earth."

###

About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en.Researchers have developed a new tool that utilizes basic laboratory tests to effectively identify patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are at high risk of being hospitalized due to a flare up of the condition.

The new risk-score stratification tool, developed and validated in more than 132,000 patient records by Intermountain Healthcare researchers at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, is unique in that it uses laboratory tests used in routine care to determine whether patients are at high or low risk of hospital admission in real time.

Researchers say the new Laboratory-based Intermountain Validated Exacerbation tool, known as the LIVE Score, may help clinicians better care for COPD patients by predicting high-risk patients who may benefit from early and specific interventions to avoid hospitalization.

COPD is the name for a group of diseases, primarily emphysema and chronic bronchitis, that are chronic inflammatory lung diseases that cause obstructed airflow from the lungs that affect more than 15 millions Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Acute exacerbation of COPD is a sudden worsening of COPD symptoms (shortness of breath, quantity and color of phlegm) that typically lasts for several days, and in severe situations can lead to hospitalization. Symptoms can be exacerbated, or worsened, by airborne irritants like secondhand smoke, dust, pollen, fumes or air pollution. During a flare up, patients may end up in their doctor's office, the emergency department, or require hospitalization.

In the retrospective study, researchers found the majority of patients who experienced COPD exacerbations were in the LIVE risk-score model's two highest risk groups. Conversely, patients in the risk model's lowest risk group, fewer patients had exacerbations.

"We believe the ability to effectively identify these patients and intervene earlier in the course of a COPD exacerbation may help provide them with a higher quality of life, and potentially reduce medical costs associated with preventable hospital admissions," said principal investigator Denitza Blagev, MD, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Intermountain Medical Center and medical director for quality for Intermountain Healthcare .

Results of the study of the LIVE Score model will be presented at the American Thoracic Society's annual international conference in San Diego on Monday, May 21, at 9:15 a.m, PDT.

The LIVE risk score was validated among 48,871 patients who received a COPD diagnosis at Intermountain Healthcare between 2009 and 2016, and later validated among 83,134 patient records from the Veterans Affairs National Health System. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, and the VA Medical Center in San Francisco participated in the study.

At first, COPD may cause no symptoms or only mild symptoms. As the disease gets worse, symptoms usually become more severe. They include: a cough that produces mucus, shortness of breath (specially with physical activity), wheezing, and chest tightness.

There is currently no cure for COPD, but treatments are available to manage the symptoms and include: medications (such as inhalers), pulmonary rehabilitation, physical activity training, and oxygen treatments.

"Although we currently think about COPD as a single disease, the course and progression of the disease is variable among patients," said Dr. Blagev. "It's not only based on the severity of their COPD and lung function, but also on the number and variety of other medical problems a patient may have."

The new LIVE scoring tool allows for improved COPD patient care on a health system level by identifying when earlier interventions may prove useful, while educating patients and families on what the future may look like for an individual patient diagnosed with COPD.

Dr. Blagev said further study is needed to examine the utility of the LIVE Score as a population health strategy in COPD patients. But she is encouraged by initial findings.

"Because the LIVE Score is laboratory based and reproducible, we are able to calculate the LIVE score electronically and identify high risk patients at the time of contact," she noted. "We can also identify patients based on data previously collected, even if they are not in the hospital currently, and can begin to develop interventions targeting these highest risk patients."

###

Other members of the research team involved in the study include: Dave S. Collingridge, PhD, and Susan Rea, PhD, with Intermountain Healthcare; Siyang Zeng, MS, and Mehrdad Arjomandi, MD, with University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Intermountain Medical Center is the flagship facility for the Intermountain Healthcare system, which is based in Salt Lake City.A new study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that the annual economic impact of child sexual abuse in the U.S. is far-reaching and costly: In 2015, the total economic burden was approximately $9.3 billion and includes costs associated with health care, child welfare, special education, violence and crime, suicide and survivor productivity losses.

The study, published in the May 2018 edition of the journal Child Abuse and Neglect, used data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System to gather a full census of all child sexual abuse cases reported to child protective agencies across the U.S. In addition to estimating the 2015 annual cost, the researchers calculated the average lifetime cost per victim based on specific categories such as health care, child welfare, etc. These costs were tied to the incremental effects of child sexual abuse, over and above what the cost would be to someone who wasn't a victim of child sexual abuse. All costs were estimated in U.S. dollars and adjusted to the reference year 2015 using the gross domestic product deflator.

The highest costs for women and men affected by child sexual abuse - more than $1,000,000 in estimated losses - were associated with the rare cases of fatal child sexual abuse. In 2015, the majority of child sexual abuse survivors were female, 75 percent versus 25 percent male survivors of 40,387 total cases reported in the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Nonfatal child sexual abuse was associated with nearly $283,000 in costs over the lifetime of each female survivor. Lifetime costs for male survivors were lower, most likely because the economic impact of child sexual abuse on male survivors is underresearched.

"Most people appreciate the immense mental and physical health toll of child sexual abuse on victims, but that knowledge has been insufficient to prompt serious investment in primary prevention efforts," says study author Elizabeth J. Letourneau, PhD, a professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of Mental Health and director of the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. "I hope that presenting a credible estimate of the fiscal toll of child sexual abuse will inspire policymakers to designate resources toward the development, evaluation and dissemination of prevention efforts that protect children from experiencing their first abuse, rather than focusing almost solely on after-the-fact approaches."

Previous studies have found that there are many negative effects that reach beyond the immediate event and include increased risk for mental, physical and behavioral health disorders across victims' lifetimes. Child sexual abuse is also associated with an increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases including HIV, self-inflicted injury, substance use disorders and violence.

In the U.S., child sexual abuse ranks twelfth among preventable risk factors that account substantively for the U.S. burden of disease, but there has been little research looking specifically at the economic burden of child sexual abuse. (Only three studies have estimated the costs of child sexual abuse.) In one study, researchers estimated the costs to be $125,000 per victim, per year, which was higher than that attributed to victims of child physical abuse ($77,000).

Limitations of the current study include limited availability of high-quality data on the economic impact of nonfatal child sexual abuse on male victims. Also, it was difficult to estimate the appropriate valuation of the quality-of-life loss. Lastly, the estimate of total lifetime economic burden of child sexual abuse is likely to be underestimated because researchers relied on reported cases and it has been widely recognized that these cases are underreported.

A current estimate of the economic burden of child sexual abuse in the U.S. is a critical step for drawing attention to the need for more robust prevention efforts, which include an increase in federal funding for child sexual abuse prevention research. Research shows that credible cost estimates for illnesses help the public and policymakers identify public health problems and demonstrate the impact on individuals and societies. The availability of accurate, up-to-date estimates will contribute to policy analysis, facilitate comparisons with other public health problems and support future economic evaluations of child sexual abuse-specific policy and practice.

###

"The economic burden of child sexual abuse in the United States" was written by Elizabeth J. Letourneau, PhD; Derek S. Brown, PhD; Xiangming Fang, PhD; Ahmed Hassan, PhD and James Mercy, PhD.

The research was funded by the Moore Center for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.A study led by scientists from King's College London, University College London, Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School has identified 133 genetic variants that could help predict the risk of developing glaucoma, the world's leading cause of incurable blindness.

The breakthrough represents a major advance in the fight to tackle the incurable, degenerative condition, which has virtually no symptoms in the early stages and affects 480,000 people in England and millions worldwide and could pave the way for a genetic-based screening program.

To better understand the development of glaucoma, scientists studied 140,000 people drawn from the UK Biobank and EPIC-Norfolk. Eye pressure readings were taken which were compared with a DNA analysis of each patient to assess how likely it was that they would develop the condition. Elevated pressure in the eye is the most important risk factor for glaucoma and is created by the continual renewal of fluids within the eye.

By comparing the pressure test results with a genetic analysis of the many common, small variations in DNA that contribute a tiny amount to overall eye pressure, the team was able to identify 133 genetic variants in the DNA of those who had high pressure readings, and so were at highest risk of developing the condition. The genetic variations were able to predict whether someone might develop glaucoma with 75% accuracy.

Lead author, Dr. Pirro Hysi from King's College London, said: 'Knowing someone's genetic risk profile might allow us to predict what risk of glaucoma he or she carries so that in the future we can focus scarce health care resources on those most at risk.'

Co-author Dr Anthony Khawaja from the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, said: "With this new knowledge, we are now more able to predict the risk of an individual developing glaucoma. The predictive genetic markers could be measured as early as birth, even though glaucoma develops later in adulthood.

'These results help us to better understand the previously unknown mechanisms that cause this damaging disease. By understanding how glaucoma develops we can, in time, get ahead of the curve of the condition and support both those living with the disease and those who may develop it.'

Dr. Janey Wiggs, co-author from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School said, "This study demonstrates the enormous power of large datasets allowing detection of these important genetic risk factors.

'Glaucoma remains the leading cause of incurable blindness in the world, but the hope is that this important piece of research could help millions by leading to faster and more accurate diagnoses in the future.'

There are virtually no symptoms of glaucoma in the early stages and no pain is associated with increased eye pressure. Vision loss begins with the loss of peripheral vision, although this may go unnoticed as sufferers may compensate for this unconsciously, by turning their head to the side and may not notice anything until significant vision is lost.

###

Note to editors:

For further information please contact Garfield Myrie in the King's College London press office at: garfield.myrie@kcl.ac.uk / 0207 848 4334

King's College London

King's College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (2017/18 QS World University Rankings) and among the oldest in England. King's has more than 29,600 students (of whom nearly 11,700 are graduate students) from some 150 countries worldwide, and some 8,000 staff.

King's has an outstanding reputation for world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), eighty-four per cent of research at King's was deemed 'world-leading' or 'internationally excellent' (3* and 4*).

Since our foundation, King's students and staff have dedicated themselves in the service of society. King's will continue to focus on world-leading education, research and service, and will have an increasingly proactive role to play in a more interconnected, complex world. Visit our website to find out more about Vision 2029, King's strategic vision for the next 12 years to 2029, which will be the 200th anniversary of the founding of the university.

About Massachusetts Eye and Ear

Massachusetts Eye and Ear, founded in 1824, is an international center for treatment and research and a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. Specializing in ophthalmology (eye care) and otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (ear, nose and throat care), Mass. Eye and Ear clinicians provide care ranging from the routine to the very complex. Also home to the world's largest community of hearing and vision researchers, Mass. Eye and Ear has pioneered new treatments for blindness, deafness and diseases of the head and neck.

Our scientists are driven by a mission to discover the basic biology underlying these conditions and to develop new treatments and cures. In the 2017-2018 "Best Hospitals Survey," U.S. News & World Report ranked Mass. Eye and Ear #1 in New England for eye (#4 in nation) and ear, nose and throat care (#2 in nation).For more information about life-changing care and research at Mass. Eye and Ear, please visit our blog, Focus, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

About Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology

The Harvard Medical School (HMS) Department of Ophthalmology is one of the leading and largest academic departments of ophthalmology in the nation. More than 350 full-time faculty and trainees work at nine HMS affiliate institutions, including Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Schepens Eye Research Institute of Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston Children's Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Joslin Diabetes Center/Beetham Eye Institute, Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, VA Maine Healthcare System, and Cambridge Health Alliance. Formally established in 1871, the department has been built upon a strong and rich foundation in medical education, research, and clinical care. Through the years, faculty and alumni have profoundly influenced ophthalmic science, medicine, and literature--helping to transform the field of ophthalmology from a branch of surgery into an independent medical specialty at the forefront of science.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) was established in April 2007 and awarded its third five-year term by the NIHR in April 2017. Alongside the NIHR Moorfields Clinical Research Facility (CRF) for Experimental Medicine, our main purpose is to accelerate the progress of biomedical research from the laboratory into early phase safety trials so that scientific breakthroughs that hold promise for patients can proceed along the clinical testing pathway more quickly. Our BRC is one of 20 Biomedical Research Centres awarded to NHS/university partnerships with an outstanding international reputation for research. As a partnership between Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology we are at the centre of one of the largest ophthalmic research sites in the world. For more information go to: http://www.brcophthalmology.org

UCL Institute of Ophthalmology is one of a number of specialised institutes within UCL focusing on vision research and education. It was named the best place in the world to study ophthalmology by the 2017 Centre for World University Rankings and is one of the leading centres for vision and eye research worldwide. The most recent Research Assessment Exercise confirmed the outstanding quality of research carried out at the Institute, with 70 per cent of investigators ranked world leading or internationally excellent. For further information, please visit http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioo

Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading provider of eye care services in the UK. We provide a wide range of clinical services, caring for patients in over 30 locations in and around London to provide expert treatment closer to patients' homes. We also operate commercial divisions that provide care to private patients in both London and the Middle East. With our academic partner, the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, we are recognised as a leading centre of excellence in eye research and education. To find out more go to: http://www.moorfields.nhs.uk

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR): improving the health and wealth of the nation through research. Established by the Department of Health, the NIHR:

funds high quality research to improve health

trains and supports health researchers

provides world-class research facilities

works with the life sciences industry and charities to benefit all

involves patients and the public at every step

For further information go to: https://www.nihr.ac.uk/A New Mini-Kaiju

A new species of microcrustacean (Stygiopontius ) was collected from a submarine hot spring (hydrothermal vent) of a volcanic seamount (Myojin-sho caldera) in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan. This crustacean group lives only around deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the central Atlantic or eastern Pacific Oceans. The new species is the first of its kind discovered in Japanese waters. Reina Senokuchi, a Kumamoto University student, was the first to make the discovery saying, "When I realized that it might be a new species, I was both delighted and very surprised. I couldn't believe it was true."

Portals to New Worlds

There are many hydrothermal vents in the deep waters east of Japan. The water in these vents is heated by volcanic activity under the ocean floor blown into the sea. In the vicinity of these openings, bacteria function as the primary producer of organic matter and convert mineral resources contained in the hot water into energy, a process called chemosynthesis. The organisms here are not found in any other type of environment on the planet. Some can be found in vents throughout the world's oceans, yet others appear to live only in specific areas.

A research group headed by Associate Professor Motohiro Shimanaga of Kumamoto University studies the ecosystems of deep sea hydrothermal vents. Between 2012 and 2014, Dr. Shimanaga's group surveyed hydrothermal vents in the calderas of three submarine volcanos in the Izu Islands (in the Izu-Bonin Arc) and collected samples of organisms to learn more about these mysterious life forms.

Research on the Pacific Rim

The area surveyed included hydrothermal vents at depths between 800 and 1400 meters in the Myojin-sho caldera, the Myojin abyssal hill, and the Bayonnaise abyssal hill, which are about 420 km south of Tokyo. Researchers mapped the areas and retrieved samples using an unmanned deep-sea sub. One of the samples included the new species of Stygiopontius, a type of copepod.

Copepods can be found all over the earth. They are ecologically important because they feed on phytoplankton and are a food source for many other creatures. Until this discovery, copepods of the genus Stygiopontius had only been found in deep sea hydrothermal vents in the center of the Atlantic and East Pacific Oceans, but not in the deep waters east of Japan.

When Ms. Reina Senokuchi, a student of Kumamoto University at that time of the study, examined the copepod from the Japan coast sample, she discovered that it had several morphological differences compared to other species of the genus Stygiopontius. Both male and female specimens of the new Stygiopontius species were found at all three investigation sites, with body lengths of 685 to 786 micrometers for females and 446 to 483 micrometers for males. Assistant Professor Daisuke Uyeno of Kagoshima University, an expert in morphological analysis of microorganisms, conducted an analysis of this tiny copepod and published a paper on the group's findings.

The new species was named Stygiopontius senokuchiae after its discoverer Ms. R. Senokuchi. "I was very happy because I did not think it would be named before I graduated. It was definitely worth the effort to sketch out the microscopic observations," she said upon hearing the news.

"Our next challenge is to figure out how this species adapted to the deep sea hydrothermal vent environment," said Ms. Senokuchi's mentor, Dr. Shimanaga. "We are also very interested in clarifying just how this species has spread from one hydrothermal zone to another, since the distances between the vents are relatively large."

###

This research was posted online in the journal Zootaxa on 30 April 2018.

[Source] UYENO, D., WATANABE, H. K., & SHIMANAGA, M. (2018). A new dirivultid copepod (Siphonostomatoida) from hydrothermal vent fields of the Izu-Bonin Arc in the North Pacific Ocean. Zootaxa, 4415(2), 381. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4415.2.8Female entrepreneurs have been at a disadvantage when seeking financial backing from traditional sources, but new research shows that crowdfunding investors view them as more trustworthy, making female-led projects more likely to secure support through crowdfunding platforms.

The research was conducted by Michael Johnson, an assistant professor of management in the LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business; Regan Stevenson, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business and Chaim Letwin, an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship at Suffolk University in Boston. The trio authored "A woman's place is in the ... startup! Crowdfunder judgments, implicit bias and the stereotype content model," which was recently published in the Journal of Business Venturing.

"Historically, funding from banks, private equity and venture capital is more likely to go to men because of the perception that business leaders should be masculine," said Johnson. "In contrast, crowdfunding investors see female entrepreneurs as more trustworthy; this perception leads to higher overall investment in female-led ventures over male-led ventures. In this instance, gender bias works in their favor."

The researchers analyzed three years of data from Kickstarter, a popular crowdfunding platform. They examined the entrepreneurs' gender, the financial backing received and funding success in a sample of 416 projects. Women were more likely than men to have their ideas funded.

To determine why this was the case, the researchers conducted an experiment with 73 amateur investors in the eastern U.S. Results supported their view that perceptions about trustworthiness facilitate financial backing and implicit gender bias influenced a funders' willingness to fund female entrepreneurs.

These findings are significant because earlier research found that female-led firms only receive 1.3 percent of venture capital financing. When they accept private funding, women are often asked to surrender a higher proportion of ownership. Empirical observations reveal a funding advantage for women in crowdfunding, a system where a "crowd" of amateur investors make small investments in new ventures.

"Previous research indicates that women should deemphasize feminine characteristics to increase the chance of receiving venture capital, that is bad advice when it comes to crowdfunding," said Johnson. "Our findings point to crowdfunding as an opportunity for women to increase their odds of success and overcome the negative aspects of gender bias."

###

About the Rucks Department of Management

The Rucks Department of Management at LSU's E. J. Ourso College of Business endeavors to prepare students for careers in fields such as international management, human resources and industrial/labor relations. A generous donation by LSU alumnus William W. Rucks and his wife, Catherine, has aided the department in securing faculty who are repeatedly recognized for their research and has aided student-affiliated organizations in achieving top honors nationally. For more information, visit business.lsu.edu/management or call 225-578-6101.BAR HARBOR, MAINE - The MDI Biological Laboratory has announced the establishment of the William Procter Scientific Innovation Fund in honor of Dr. William Procter (1873-1951), a businessman, entrepreneur and scientist. Procter's seven-part "Biological Survey of the Mount Desert Region," published between 1927 and 1946, has been an invaluable resource for biologists studying the fauna of the Mount Desert region.

The fund will provide up to $50,000 annually to full-time faculty members, students or research fellows at the MDI Biological Laboratory or its spinoffs to support areas including high-risk/high impact research, basic scientific research with potential for commercialization and education programs focused on translating scientific discoveries into commercial applications.

"We are enormously grateful for the establishment of the Procter Fund, which will support research that may be perceived as conceptually risky by traditional funding sources," said Kevin Strange, Ph.D., president of the MDI Biological Laboratory. "The fund honors the legacy of Procter, who as a creative businessman recognized the need for out-of-the-box approaches to make revolutionary advances."

The fund was established by a member of Procter's family in honor of his achievements in science and business. Strange and his wife and laboratory manager Rebecca Morrison attracted the interest of the donor by highlighting the parallels between Procter's achievements and the institution's current focus on translating scientific discoveries into therapies to treat major diseases and improve quality of life.

Procter was the grandson of William Procter, founder of Procter & Gamble (P&G), and an active board member until his death. He was also a co-owner of Procter and Borden, a Manhattan securities firm. But his real love was science, to which he devoted most of his life. In addition to the survey, which he launched at the MDI Biological Laboratory in the 1920s, he was an active supporter of many scientific causes and organizations.

"Procter's interest was in the diversity of life," said Strange. "Though nearly a century has elapsed since he began his work here, we are still studying that diversity. Our focus is on studying diverse, highly regenerative animals in order to develop drugs that trigger our innate capacities for regeneration. In his combined interests in nature and entrepreneurship, Procter anticipated where the institution is today."

Procter made significant contributions to the MDI Biological Laboratory, for which he served as trustee and president. Under the influence of early naturalists like Louis Agassiz, a Harvard professor who urged his students to "study nature, not books," he established a research station at the laboratory in 1921. Though he would later relocate to a larger facility at his summer cottage, "Corfield," in Bar Harbor, the buildings he constructed still remain.

Today, Procter's collection is housed at the William Otis Sawtelle Collections and Research Center at the headquarters of Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, where it is used to study changes that have occurred in insect and marine life, Procter's main areas of interest. Scott Swann, a lecturer in natural history at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, has called the survey "a brilliant data set that is stunning, complete, and meticulous."

Procter's interest in innovation grew out of his board membership at P&G, which was, and remains, committed to innovation in all aspects of its business. "For more than 175 years, innovation has been in our DNA," reads a company slogan. One of the company's innovators was Procter's farther, Harley Thomas Procter, a marketing pioneer who turned P&G into a household name with his decision to rename its soap "Ivory."

Procter is also known in the scientific world for his establishment in 1950 of the William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement. The prize is awarded annually by Sigma Xi, a scientific research honor society. The awardees include the most illustrious scientific names of the modern era.

###

About the MDI Biological Laboratory

We are pioneering new approaches to regenerative medicine focused on developing drugs that slow age-related degenerative diseases and activate our natural ability to heal. Our unique approach has identified potential therapies that could revolutionize the treatment of heart disease, muscular dystrophy, nerve damage and more. Through the Maine Center for Biomedical Innovation we are preparing students for 21st century careers and equipping entrepreneurs with the knowledge, skills and resources needed to turn discoveries into applications that improve human health and well-being. For more information, please visit mdibl.org.BOZEMAN -- In the fight against an invasive fish that has decimated Yellowstone National Park's iconic cutthroat trout, a technology developed at Montana State University could help park managers more effectively locate fish for removal.

During recent flights over Yellowstone Lake in a small aircraft, MSU's device was able to identify clusters of two or more lake trout to a depth of at least 26 feet, according to Joe Shaw, professor of electrical engineering in MSU's Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering and co-author of a May 20 article describing the findings in the journal Applied Optics.

The lidar technology -- so called because it operates similarly to radar by measuring reflections of harmless, non-visible pulses of laser light -- could be used to more easily determine areas to target with gill netting, the main method that park managers use to capture non-native lake trout in an attempt to reverse the decline of native Yellowstone cutthroat trout, according to co-author and Yellowstone fisheries biologist Patricia Bigelow.

"It has the potential to be a great tool," Bigelow said.

Lake trout, thought to have been introduced illegally into Yellowstone Lake in the 1980s, are efficient predators that eat a significant number of cutthroat trout, whose native range in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming has shrunk considerably in recent decades. Since lake trout were first observed in 1994 in the park's largest water body -- considered a stronghold of the remaining cutthroat trout population -- the number of spawning cutthroat trout has declined nearly 99 percent in some areas.

The National Park Service spends $2 million annually to remove hundreds of thousands of lake trout from Yellowstone Lake. Boats position gill nets on the lake bottom and then haul entangled fish aboard, where the lake trout are killed and cutthroats released. The most effective time to cull the largest and most voracious lake trout is during spawning, when the fish group in relatively shallow water near the shore, according to Bigelow.

Currently, park managers locate the spawning areas using small transmitters surgically implanted into about 200 large lake trout. The transmitters emit distinct sound frequencies that park staff detect with boat-mounted acoustic sensors as they circle the lake. But because the lake is large and the boats must go slowly to operate the sensors, it can take days to survey the lake and locate the spawning fish and then relay the information to the gill netting boats, Bigelow said.

"Two big plusses of using he lidar tool are that we could fly the whole lake in a couple hours and that we could detect any fish in shallow water, not just the ones that have transmitters," which could save time and money, Bigelow said.

Shaw said he was excited to see the project come to fruition after more than a decade of research and development. Prior to joining the faculty in MSU's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2001, he collaborated with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration physicist and co-author Jim Churnside on the use of lidar for detecting ocean fish. When Shaw presented the research shortly after arriving at MSU, someone mentioned that it might also be applied to lake trout in Yellowstone, he recalled.

In 2004, Shaw borrowed NOAA's fish-detecting lidar device -- which was so large that it had to be flown in a multi-propeller plane -- and conducted a trial run over Yellowstone Lake. The results were promising enough that park managers decided to send gill netting boats to a remote part of the lake where they otherwise seldom operated, according to Bigelow. The boats captured many lake trout in a short time, she said.

Contracting the large plane was expensive, however. So Shaw began to design a much smaller version of the lidar device that would be more affordable and more appropriate for flying over the lake. "The goal was to build something that would fit in a single-engine Cessna," he said.

Shaw's team, which included then-MSU doctoral student and co-author Michael Roddewig, succeeded in doing that by using an efficient laser produced by local photonics company Quantel. During flights in a small aircraft over Yellowstone Lake in 2015 and 2016, the team demonstrated that the new device could effectively locate groups of spawning lake trout. The publishing of the results, Shaw noted, coincided almost to the day with the invention of the laser 58 years ago.

Shaw said the tool could continue to be improved and incorporated into Yellowstone's operations. For instance, producing maps of the spawning locations currently requires sophisticated data processing, but a more user-friendly interface could be developed. The tool could also be adapted for other uses, including studying layers of plankton or sediments suspended in lakes or even rivers, he said.

"I'm delighted that we can do something useful for the Yellowstone ecosystem, because it's a special place," Shaw said.

###WHAT:

Scientists have identified a molecule found on human cells and some animal cells that could be a useful target for drugs against chikungunya virus infection and related diseases, according to new research published in the journal Nature. A team led by scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis conducted the research, which was funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Chikungunya, an alphavirus, is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected mosquito. Currently no specific treatment is available for chikungunya virus infection, which can cause fever and debilitating joint pain and arthritis. Small, sporadic outbreaks of chikungunya occurred in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Indian and Pacific Oceans after the virus was identified in the 1950s. In 2013, the virus spread to the Americas and has since caused a widespread and ongoing epidemic.

In this study, scientists aimed to better understand which traits make humans susceptible to chikungunya virus infection. Using the gene-editing tool CRISPR-Cas9, they performed a genome-wide screen that identified the molecule Mxra8 as a key to the entry of chikungunya virus and related viruses into host cells. In the laboratory, scientists were able to reduce the ability of chikungunya virus to infect cells by editing the human and mouse genes that encode Mxra8. The researchers also administered anti-Mxra8 antibodies to mice and infected the mice with chikungunya virus or O'nyong-nyong virus, another alphavirus. The antibody-treated mice had significantly lower levels of virus infection and related foot swelling as compared with a control group.

These findings, along with future studies to better understand how chikungunya virus interacts with Mxra8, could help inform development of drugs to treat diseases caused by alphaviruses, according to the authors.

###

ARTICLE:

R Zhang et al. Mxra8 is a receptor for multiple arthritogenic alphaviruses. Nature DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0121-3 (2018).

WHO:

NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., is available for comment. Patricia M. Repik, Ph.D., program officer for Emerging Viral Diseases in the Virology Branch of NIAID's Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, is also available for comment.

CONTACT:

To schedule interviews, please contact Jennifer Routh, (301) 402-1663, jennifer.routh@nih.gov NIAIDNews@niaid.nih.gov.

NIAID conducts and supports research--at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide--to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses. News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

NIH...Turning Discovery Into Health The final bulletin on Tropical Cyclone Sagar was issued at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC) on May 19. By that time, Sagar had made landfall in Somalia. NASA's Terra satellite captured an infrared image of the storm as it was making landfall.

Sagar's center was located over land, near 10.3 degrees north latitude and 43.7 degrees east longitude, about 88 miles south-southeast of Djibouti City, Djibouti. Sagar was moving to the southwest at 8 mph (7 knots/12.9 kph) and maintained maximum sustained winds near 57.5 mph (50 knots/92.6 kph).

At 2:45 p.m. EDT (1945 UTC) on May 19, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA's Terra satellite gathered infrared data on the land falling storm. Infrared data provides temperature information. MODIS revealed a few very powerful thunderstorms northwest of the center where cloud top temperatures were as cold as minus 80 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 62.2 Celsius). NASA research has shown that cloud tops with temperatures that cold were high in the troposphere and have the ability to generate heavy rain.

By May 21, Sagar had dissipated over land.

###

By Rob Gutro

NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterThe timescale is the base to reconstruct the history of the Earth and the biological evolution. A research on a chronostratigraphic sequence of the Chinese Neogene with accurate geological datings was published online in Science China: Earth Sciences.

The Chinese Neogene terrestrial deposits are widely exposed. In the Linxia Basin of Gansu Province, for example, there are continuous deposits from Oligocene to Pleistocene, covering complete Neogene period and bearing rich mammalian fossils (Fig. 1). The rapidly evolved mammalian fossils contribute efficiently to the division and correlation of Neogene strata. A uniform Neogene biostratigraphic framework for China has already been established, with seven mammalian ages named. With a developed stratigraphic basis for the geochronologic ?ages?, seven chronostratigraphic ?stage? have been established for the Chinese Neogene terrestrial strata, namely the Miocene Xiejian (Fig. 2), Shanwangian, Tunggurian, Bahean, and Baodean stages, and the Pliocene Gaozhuangian and Mazegouan stages.

Based on a series of research achievements, refined biostratigraphic, paleomagnetic and isotopic methods were combined and applied to continuous sections, and a Chinese Neogene chronostratigraphic sequence with accurate geological ages was established and improved by the research team of Prof. Deng Tao at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in recent years, which was published online as "Neogene integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China" in Science China: Earth Sciences.

In Eurasia, Chinese Neogene deposits are more suitable for the establishment of an accurate Neogene biostratigraphic sequence than those of Europe, since the terrestrial deposits in Europe often limited, and many important faunas are unearthed from fissure-fillings. Chinese Neogene deposits are widespread and well suited for magnetostratigraphic analysis, despite the few radiometric dates available. The lower boundaries of most of the stages could be correlated with those of the marine stages in the International Chronostratigraphic Chart, except the Tunggurian Stage, which is correlated with the European land mammal age. The biostratigraphic markers of the Chinese Neogene stages are usually first appearance of a single taxon, some representing regional species replacement, others indicating intercontinental migration of certain taxa. For instance, the lower boundaries of the two Upper Miocene stages, Bahean and Baodean have the first appearances of Hipparion dongxiangense and H. forstenae (Fig. 3) as biostratigraphic markers, respectively, and the geological ages of their lower boundaries are corresponding to those of the marine Tortonian (11.63 Ma) and Messinian (7.25 Ma).

The Chinese Neogene mammalian biostratigraphic divisions have become the core to establish the Asian framework. Candidate stratotype sections have been proposed for all the Chinese Neogene stages according to the principle and rule of modern stratigraphy, and other Chinese Neogene strata in different regions are comprehensively correlated.

###

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, and the Chinese Commission on Stratigraphy.

See the article:

Deng T, Hou S, Wang S. 2018. Neogene integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China. Science China Earth Sciences, 61, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-017-9155-4 http://engine.scichina.com/doi/10.1007/s11430-017-9155-4

Science China Press (SCP) is a scientific journal publishing company of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). For 60 years, SCP takes its mission to present to the world the best achievements by Chinese scientists on various fields of natural sciences researches.A compound found in citrus oils could help alleviate dry mouth caused by radiation therapy in head and neck cancer patients, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

The compound, called d-limonene, protected cells that produce saliva in mice exposed to radiation therapy -- without diminishing the tumor-fighting effects of the radiation. The researchers, led by graduate student Julie Saiki, also showed that d-limonene taken orally is transported to the salivary gland in humans.

The study will be published online May 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The finding was possible because of a close collaboration between clinicians and basic scientists, said co-senior author Daria Mochly-Rosen, PhD, professor of chemical and systems biology. "This is a perfect example of two pieces that could not work alone."

"Stanford is a fertile ground for collaboration," added Quynh-Thu Le, co-senior author and professor and chair of radiation oncology.

About 40 percent of head and neck cancer patients who receive radiation therapy develop dry mouth, known clinically as xerostomia. It's more than uncomfortable: patients struggle to speak and swallow and are more likely to develop oral pain or dental cavities, and the condition can lead to tooth removal in some cases, Le said. And, although some recovery can occur in the first years after the therapy, once saliva production is impaired, it is usually gone for life.

Radiation can kill salivary cells

One drug, called amifostine, is approved for use during radiation therapy to try to ward off dry mouth, but its side effects, including nausea and potential low blood pressure, are common, so it is rarely used in the clinic, Le said.

Many of the saliva-producing cells that are needed to keep the mouth constantly moist are found in a pair of structures called the submandibular glands, tucked under the lower jawbone on each side of the chin. Radiation often kills these cells and, more troublingly, also salivary stem and progenitor cells, those juvenile members of the population that are needed to rebuild and restore the capacity to make saliva.

The key to retaining salivary function is protecting these rare but critical stem and progenitor cells. That's tricky because, following radiation therapy, toxic, highly reactive compounds called aldehydes are created in the gland, gumming up cellular function.

Le, the Katharine Dexter McCormick and Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor, who specializes in treating head and neck cancer, said she had spent a decade hearing from her patients about their struggles with dry mouth. "I wanted to do something," she said.

Her initial strategy was to try to regenerate salivary stem cells and, while working with these cells, her lab found that they contain high levels of an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase 3A1, or ALDH3A1. The enzyme is a member of the large aldehyde dehydrogenase family of enzymes, proteins that initiate or speed up chemical reactions, that can defang troublesome aldehydes. But ALDH3A1 isn't a match for the radiation-unleashed aldehydes on its own.

She needed to find something to amp it up.

Looking to the East

Le had met with Mochly-Rosen through SPARK, a program founded and co-directed by Mochly-Rosen, that shepherds basic science discoveries into the clinic. Mochly-Rosen, who is the George D. Smith Professor in Translational Medicine, had been working on aldehyde dehydrogenases for more than a decade and had obtained access to a library of 135 traditional Chinese medicine extracts.

Many of those extracts have been used as treatments for various ailments in humans for hundreds of years, boosting the likelihood they are safe to use, Mochly-Rosen said.

Her team found that seven of these 135 extracts boosted ALDH3A1 activity. It was up to Saiki to see if she could break apart these complex natural extracts -- from plants including tangerine, lotus and an Asian rhizome known as zhi mu in Chinese -- to find out what, exactly, was activating the enzyme.

"She did the unthinkable, a really amazing achievement. She found the single active ingredient that activates the enzyme, ALDH3A1," Mochly-Rosen said.

Admittedly, Mochly-Rosen and Saiki said, a bit of luck and a fair amount of trial-and-error were involved. D-limonene stood out from other compounds in the extracts because it is broken down relatively quickly in the body and has been deemed by the Food and Drug Administration as a food flavor "generally recognized as safe" that has been approved for use as a food additive, Saiki said.

Saiki said she was pleasantly surprised by her finding. "It's a very common molecule, and sometimes as a scientist you wonder, Why hasn't anyone seen this before?" she said.

Next, they had to see if d-limonene would rev up ALDH3A1 in living cells.

Testing in mice, and humans

A series of experiments with mouse cells that had been exposed to radiation showed that d-limonene reduced aldehyde concentrations in both adult and salivary stem and progenitor cells. Even when the cells were treated weeks after radiation exposure, d-limonene still improved their ability to recover, repair gland structure and produce saliva. Mice that ate d-limonene and were exposed to radiation also produced more saliva than mice that did not receive d-limonene and were exposed to radiation. The researchers also learned that d-limonene wasn't likely to boost saliva production so high that mice, or humans, would be drooling -- the compound didn't increase saliva production in mice that hadn't been exposed to radiation. And they confirmed that d-limonene did not affect tumor growth or interfere with the tumor-shrinking effects of the radiation in mice.

A further set of experiments pulled back the curtain on d-limonene's work: it was stopping the expression of messages that trigger the salivary stem and progenitor cells to self-destruct.

Buoyed by these positive results, the researchers wanted to know if the compound had any hope of helping patients. To work, it would have to be active inside the salivary glands. To find out, they launched a phase-0 study, an early clinical trial in a small number of patients to see if d-limonene, taken by mouth in a capsule, would be distributed to the salivary gland. Four participants who were having a salivary gland tumor removed took d-limonene for two weeks before the surgery. When the tissue was examined after it was removed, researchers found high levels of d-limonene, showing that it has the potential to be used therapeutically in humans -- it reaches the salivary gland tissue.

The patients did experience one quirky side effect: Citrus-infused burps.

Next, the team plans to start the clinical trial process, which will take several years and require a multi-institutional collaboration, Le said. "If it works, then this type of drug would be used safely to prevent dry mouth in patients in the long run and make it much easier for patients to tolerate the radiation treatment with an improved quality of life after the treatment," she said.

The work is an example of Stanford Medicine's focus on precision health, the goal of which is to anticipate and prevent disease in the healthy and precisely diagnose and treat disease in the ill.

###

The study's other Stanford authors are life science research assistant Hongbin Cao; postdoctoral scholars Lauren Van Wassenhove, PhD, Vignesh Viswanathan, PhD, Dhanya Nambiar, PhD, and Matthew Stevens, PhD; life science researcher Joshua Bloomstein; former postdoctoral scholar Dadi Jiang, PhD; senior research scientist Che-Hong Chen, PhD; clinical research coordinator Amanda Simmons; graduate student Hyun Park; biostatistician Rie von Eyben; Eric Kool, PhD, professor of chemistry; and Davud Sirjani, MD, clinical assistant professor of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery.

Researchers from the University of California-San Francisco also contributed to the study.

The research was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health (grant R37AA11147, R01DE025227, P01CA067166, U10CA180816, T32GM089626 and T32DK098132).

Stanford's departments of Chemical and Systems Biology and of Radiation Oncology also supported the work.

The Stanford University School of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation's top medical schools, integrating research, medical education, patient care and community service. For more news about the school, please visit http://med.stanford.edu/school.html. The medical school is part of Stanford Medicine, which includes Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health. For information about all three, please visit http://med.stanford.edu.The Computer Science and Engineering Research Team at the Toyohashi University of Technology has measured the pupil (referred to as the "black part" of the eye) when a person is inspired by an object. It is known that the pupil dilates and narrows to adjust the amount of light entering the eye, and that the extent of dilation/narrowing varies depending on the emotional state of the person. In the present study, we measured the reaction of the pupil when a person is shown a video made to elicit inspiration (a video in which an object gradually appears). Reactions at the moment of inspiration were compared to reactions when no inspiration occurred, and it was found that the extent of pupil dilation varies depending on whether or not a person is inspired by an object and also that the pupil is already largely dilated at a previous stage. The results of the present study were published in the British scientific journal Scientific Reports on May 2nd.

As indicated by inspiration being referred to as an "aha moment" or a "Eureka moment," people perceive inspiration as a momentary event. However, a previous study reported on changes in a person's brain activity prior to them being inspired during a quiz that asked for a common word based on multiple different words. The present study investigated this further by conducting an experiment under the hypothesis that memory retrieval, which involves inspiration in object understanding, occurs in association with pupil dilation. As a result, it was found that the pupils of the experiment participants had dilated before they reported inspiration, which predicted inspiration thereafter. It is therefore believed that this discovery may lead to externally monitoring and controlling new strategies for memory retrieval in the future.

Lead author of the study and PhD student Yuta Suzuki explains that, "Most of the time, we are not conscious of our brain's activity. Perception and recognition are merely one part of total brain function, and there are many mysteries still left to solve with regard to this unconscious part of our brain that accounts for the majority of its activity. We decided to focus on people's object recognition and were able to use biometry to monitor the processing that occurs before a person is aware they have recognized an object. Even more surprising is the fact that a participant's confidence surrounding object recognition during a recognition task did not come into play. In other words, the pupil reacted regardless of whether the participant subjectively believed they were close to getting the answer, and we only tracked whether or not they answered that they recognized the object. We believe this suggests that successful memory retrieval of an object in subconscious processing is in fact reflected in pupil dilation."

Research team leader and Associate Professor Tetsuto Minami says that, "Up until now, we mainly researched 'inspiration' by measuring brain waves, but we can now expect new developments with combinations of different measuring techniques thanks to this new discovery using non-contact pupil measurement technology."

Associate Professor Tetsuto Minami further states that, "Being inspired by objects is deeply related to memory retrieval success. If we can, for instance, uncover a brain processing mechanism in which pupil dilation and problem solving based on inspiration are related in a different way, this could be used as an index when comparing healthy patients to patients with a cerebral function disorder (for example, patients on the autism spectrum and patients with schizophrenia). Externally controlling pupil dilation is also expected to help with both diagnosis and treatment if it can be used to promote cerebral processing."

###

The present study was conducted with the assistance of Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research numbers A(26240043) and B(17H01807) from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. The lead writer Suzuki also received a grant as part of the Program for Leading Graduate Schools run by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Reference Suzuki, Y., Minami, T., & Nakauchi, S. (2018). Association between pupil dilation and implicit processing prior to object recognition via insight. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 6874. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25207-zPlanning a trip to Mars? You'll want to remember your anti-radiation pills.

NASA and private space companies like SpaceX plan to send humans to the red planet within the next 15 years--but among the major challenges facing future crewed space missions is how to protect astronauts from the dangerous cosmic radiation of deep space.

Now the lab of UCSF neuroscientist Susanna Rosi, PhD, has identified the first potential treatment for the brain damage caused by exposure to cosmic rays--a drug that prevents memory impairment in mice exposed to simulated space radiation. The study was published May 18, 2018 in em>Scientific Reports.

Humans venturing beyond the Earth's protective magnetic fields will be exposed to levels of cosmic radiation estimated to be 1000 times higher than what we experience on Earth or even in the International Space Station's low-earth orbit. Protecting astronauts from this harmful radiation will be key to making deep space exploration--and perhaps one day colonization--possible.

Rosi, who is Director of Neurocognitive Research in the UCSF Brain and Spinal Injury Center and a professor in the departments of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science and of Neurological Surgery, has conducted NASA-funded research for the past four years to understand how deep space radiation may affect astronauts' brains.

Rosi's team has previously found that exposing mice to simulated space radiation causes problems with memory, social interactions, and anxiety, and has linked these symptoms of radiation exposure to activation of cells called microglia--part of the brain's immune system. Activated microglia drive brain inflammation similar to what is seen in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, and also seek out and consume synapses, the information-bearing connections between brain cells.

"We are starting to have evidence that exposure to deep space radiation might affect brain function over the long term, but as far as I know, no one had explored any possible countermeasures that might protect astronauts' brains against this level of radiation exposure," said Rosi, who is a member of the Weill Institute for Neuroscience, the Kavli Institute of Fundamental Neuroscience, and the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In the new study, the researchers collaborated with co-authors at Loma Linda University in Southern California to expose mice for a day to a dose of radiation comparable to what they might experience in deep space. The experiments were conducted at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, the only facility in the country where such experiments are possible. A week later, after being shipped back to UCSF, some of the mice were treated for 15 days with PLX5622, a drug produced by Berkeley-based pharmaceutical company Plexxikon, Inc, and which the Rosi lab had previously shown to prevent cognitive deficits in a mouse model of cancer radiation therapy when administered prior to irradiation of the brain.

In the present study, the irradiated animals initially displayed no cognitive deficits, but after three months they began showing signs of memory impairment. Normally, when researchers place mice in a room with a familiar and an unfamiliar object, the animals spend more time exploring the new object. But mice that had been exposed to space radiation three months earlier explored the two objects equally--presumably because they didn't remember having seen one of the objects just the day before.

Remarkably, animals that had been treated with PLX5622 soon after being exposed to radiation performed just like healthy mice on the memory task. The researchers examined the animals' brains and showed that while the brains of untreated mice were full of activated microglia and had lost significant numbers of synapses, the brains of treated mice looked just like normal. The authors hypothesize that by forcing the brain to replace irritable, radiation-exposed microglia with new, healthy microglia, the drug had allowed the animals avoid the cognitive consequences of radiation.

"This is really neat evidence, first that rebooting the brain's microglia can protect cognitive function following radiation exposure, and second that we don't necessarily need to treat immediately following the radiation exposure for the drug to be effective," Rosi said.

Similar compounds to PLX5622 produced by Plexxikon (inhibitors of a cellular receptor molecule called CSF1R) are already in clinical trials for multiple forms of human cancer, which suggests that the new findings could soon be translated to human use, the researchers say. Beyond spaceflight, these compounds could potentially be used to prevent cognitive impairments following cancer radiation therapy, or in age-related cognitive impairment--which has also been linked to microglia-driven brain inflammation.

"NASA is very interested in finding ways of ensuring both astronaut safety and mission success during deep space travel," said study co-lead author Karen Krukowski, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Rosi's lab. "But astronauts are a small population--it's exciting that these findings could potentially help prevent many other forms of cognitive impairment."

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The paper's other co-lead author was Xi Feng, PhD, of UCSF. Other authors were Maria Serena Paladini, MS, Austin Chou, PhD, Kristen Sacramento, Katherine Grue, MS, and Lara-Kirstie Riparip of UCSF; and Tamako Jones, Mary Campbell-Beachler, and Gregory Nelson, PhD, of Loma Linda University. The research was supported by NASA and the National Institute of Aging. The authors declare no financial conflicts of interest.

About UCSF: UC San Francisco (UCSF) is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. It includes top ranked graduate schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing and pharmacy; a graduate division with nationally renowned programs in basic, biomedical, transitional and population sciences; and a preeminent biomedical research enterprise. It also includes UCSF Health, which comprises three top-ranked hospitals, UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, and other partner and affiliated hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the Bay Area. Please visit http://www.ucsf.edu/news.First detection of the downward positron beam from a terrestrial gamma-ray flash was captured by an instrument flown through the eyewall of Hurricane Patricia in 2015

Hurricane Patricia, which battered the west coast of Mexico in 2015, was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Amid the extreme violence of the storm, scientists observed something new: a downward beam of positrons, the antimatter counterpart of electrons, creating a burst of powerful gamma-rays and x-rays.

Detected by an instrument aboard NOAA's Hurricane Hunter aircraft, which flew through the eyewall of the storm at its peak intensity, the positron beam was not a surprise to the UC Santa Cruz scientists who built the instrument. But it was the first time anyone has observed this phenomenon.

According to David Smith, a professor of physics at UC Santa Cruz, the positron beam was the downward component of an upward terrestrial gamma-ray flash that sent a short blast of radiation into space above the storm. Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) were first seen in 1994 by space-based gamma-ray detectors. They occur in conjunction with lightning and have now been observed thousands of times by orbiting satellites. A reverse positron beam was predicted by theoretical models of TGFs, but had never been detected.

"This is the first confirmation of that theoretical prediction, and it shows that TGFs are piercing the atmosphere from top to bottom with high-energy radiation," Smith said. "This event could have been detected from space, like almost all the other reported TGFs, as an upward beam caused by an avalanche of electrons. We saw it from below because of a beam of antimatter (positrons) sent in the opposite direction."

One unexpected implication of the study, published May 17 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, is that many TGFs could be detected via the reverse positron beam using ground-based instruments at high altitudes. It's not necessary to fly into the eye of a hurricane.

"We detected it at an altitude of 2.5 kilometers, and I estimated our detectors could have seen it down to 1.5 kilometers. That's the altitude of Denver, so there are a lot of places where you could in theory see them if you had an instrument in the right place at the right time during a thunderstorm," Smith said.

Despite the confirmation of the reverse positron beam, many questions remain unresolved about the mechanisms that drive TGFs. Strong electric fields in thunderstorms can accelerate electrons to near the speed of light, and these "relativistic" electrons emit gamma-rays when they scatter off of atoms in the atmosphere. The electrons can also knock other electrons off of atoms and accelerate them to high energies, creating an avalanche of relativistic electrons. A TGF, which is an extremely bright flash of gamma-rays, requires a large number of avalanches of relativistic electrons.

"It's an extraordinary event, and we still don't understand how it gets so bright," Smith said.

The source of the positrons, however, is a well known phenomenon in physics called pair production, in which a gamma ray interacts with the nucleus of an atom to create an electron and a positron. Since they have opposite charges, they are accelerated in opposite directions by the electric field of the thunderstorm. The downward moving positrons produce x-rays and gamma-rays in their direction of travel when they collide with atomic nuclei, just like the upward moving electrons.

"What we saw in the aircraft are the gamma-rays produced by the downward positron beam," Smith said.

First author Gregory Bowers, now at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and coauthor Nicole Kelley, now at Swift Navigation, were both graduate students at UC Santa Cruz when they worked together on the instrument that made the detection. The Airborne Detector for Energetic Lightning Emissions (ADELE) mark II was designed to observe TGFs up close by measuring x-rays and gamma-rays from aircraft flown into or above thunderstorms.

Getting too close to a TGF could be hazardous, although the risk drops off rapidly with distance from the source. The gamma-ray dose at a distance of one kilometer would be negligible, Smith said. "It's hypothetically a risk, but the odds are quite small," he said. "I don't ask pilots to fly into thunderstorms, but if they're going anyway I'll put an instrument on board."

Smith's group was the first to detect a TGF from an airplane using an earlier instrument, the ADELE mark I. In that case, the upward beam from the TGF was detected above a thunderstorm. For this study, the ADELE mark II flew aboard NOAA's Hurricane Hunter WP-3D Orion during the Atlantic hurricane season.

###

In addition to Bowers, Smith, and Kelley, the coauthors of the paper include Forest Martinez-McKinney at UC Santa Cruz, Joseph Dwyer at the University of New Hampshire, and scientists at Duke University, Earth Networks, University of Washington, NOAA, and Florida Institute of Technology. This work was funded by the National Science Foundation.Researchers from the University of Chicago and University of Nebraska show for the first time how birds from two different species recognize individuals and cooperate for mutual benefit.

Cooperation among different species of birds is common. Some birds build their nests near those of larger, more aggressive species to deter predators, and flocks of mixed species forage for food and defend territories together in alliances that can last for years. In most cases, though, these partnerships are not between specific individuals of the other species--any bird from the other species will do.

But in a new study published in the journal Behavioral Ecology, scientists from the University of Chicago and University of Nebraska show how two different species of Australian fairy-wrens not only recognize individual birds from other species, but also form long-term partnerships that help them forage and defend their shared space as a group.

"Finding that these two species associate was not surprising, as mixed species flocks of birds are observed all over the world," said Allison Johnson, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Nebraska who conducted the study as part of her dissertation research at UChicago. "But when we realized they were sharing territories with specific individuals and responding aggressively only to unknown individuals, we knew this was really unique. It completely changed our research and we knew we had to investigate it."

Variegated fairy-wrens and splendid fairy-wrens are two small songbirds that live in Australia. The males of each species have striking, bright blue feathers that make them popular with bird watchers. Their behavior also makes them an appealing subject for biologists. Both species feed on insects, live in large family groups, and breed during the same time of year. They are also non-migratory, meaning they live in one area for their entire lives, occupying the same eucalyptus scrublands that provide plenty of bushes and trees for cover.

When these territories overlap, the two species interact with each other. They forage together, travel together, and seem to be aware of what the other species is doing. They also help each other defend their territory from rivals. Variegated fairy-wrens will defend their shared territory from both variegated and splendid outsiders; splendid fairy-wrens will do the same, while fending off unfamiliar birds from both species.

"Splendid and variegated fairy-wrens are so similar in their habitat preferences and behavior, we would expect them to act as competitors. Instead, we've found stable, positive relationships between individuals of the two species," said Christina Masco, PhD, a graduate student at UChicago and a co-author on the new paper.

Many songbirds can recognize familiar members of their own species on the basis of the unique songs each bird sings. However, in this research the investigators believed this recognition occurred across species. How could they be so certain?

From 2012-2015, Johnson, Masco, and their former advisor, Stephen Pruett-Jones, PhD, associate professor of ecology and evolution at UChicago, studied these species at Brookfield Conservation Park in South Australia. The first unusual observation Johnson made was that when playing a recorded vocalization of one species, the other species would respond and fly in to investigate what was going on.

To follow up on this observation, the researchers monitored both fairy-wren species in the darkness before dawn and captured clear recordings of their signature songs. After sunrise, they broadcast the recorded songs from a speaker to simulate an intrusion by a particular bird into a group's territory. The objective was to see how territory owners reacted to the songs of familiar and unfamiliar members of the other species.

The researchers placed a speaker about 30 meters away from a subject fairy-wren and played the songs of four different individuals: a fairy-wren that occupied the same territory (a co-resident or "friendly" bird), a fairy-wren from an adjacent territory (a neighbor), a fairy-wren from an area five or more territories away (an unknown bird), and a red-capped robin, a common species in the park that doesn't pose a threat to the fairy-wrens (as a control group).

Both splendid and variegated fairy-wrens demonstrated the ability to recognize their co-residents' songs despite the species difference. Socially dominant males of both species responded more aggressively to songs of neighbors and unknown birds of the other fairy-wren species than they did to friendly birds sharing their territory, or to the red-capped robin. When they heard songs from friendly birds, they didn't respond, suggesting they didn't see them as a threat.

By forming and keeping these associations with another species, fairy-wrens can better defend their nests from predators and their territories from rivals. There is also evidence that interacting with the other species has additional benefits besides territorial defense. While the splendid fairy-wrens didn't change their behavior when associating with the other species, the variegated fairy-wrens spent more time foraging, were less vigilant, and had more success raising their young.

Johnson, Masco, and Pruett-Jones believe the fairy-wrens associate with the other species as a form of cooperation. By interacting with other species that share the same territory instead of working against them, these already social species create a larger group to help defend their territory and ward off intruders. In other words, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

"Although our discovery that individuals of different species recognize each other was unexpected, it is likely that something similar occurs whenever species of non-migratory birds live on overlapping territories," Pruett-Jones said. "Recognition facilitates sociality within species, and it follows that it could also facilitate associations between species."

###

The study, "Song recognition and heterospecific associations between two fairy-wren species (Maluridae)," was supported by the National Science Foundation, UChicago, the Norman Wettenhall Foundation, and the American Ornithological Society.University of Groningen biotechnologists used a computational method to redesign aspartase and convert it to a catalyst for asymmetric hydroamination reactions. Their colleagues in China scaled up the production of this enzyme and managed to produce kilograms of very pure building blocks for pharmaceuticals and other bioactive compounds. This successful proof of principle study was published in Nature Chemical Biology on 21 May.

Enzymes are natural catalysts that work under mild conditions. They are an attractive alternative to uncatalyzed chemical reactions that often require energy-consuming high temperatures or pressure and may generate toxic side products or use solvents. But there is one problem: the range of reactions catalyzed by enzymes is limited. 'That's why a lot of effort is being put into modifying natural enzymes', explains Dick Janssen, Professor of Chemical Biotechnology at the Groningen Biomolecular and Biotechnology Institute.

Huge matrix

The classic method to modify enzymes is directed evolution, a mutation-selection sequence in the lab which aims to create enzymes with modified catalytic abilities. But it takes a lot of work to make and test hundreds or thousands of enzyme variants in multiple rounds. It would be much more efficient to make a rational design of the required changes that is based on information on the enzyme's structure and properties.

But even this is complicated, explains Hein Wijma. He is an expert in molecular design software and did most of the computational work in the study. 'Proteins are made of 20 different amino acids. So if you want to change an enzyme in four positions, there are 20 options for each of them. That results in a huge matrix of protein structures.' Testing them one by one, even on the computer, takes too long. However, a very fast Monte Carlo search algorithm speeds up the discovery of the right outcome by looking for trends in the enzyme's reactivity.

Promising mutants

'In the end, it took a couple of days to perform this search in a dedicated computer cluster at the University of Groningen', says Wijma. But a lot of modelling was needed beforehand. 'You have to model the reactive centre, the pockets where the substrate binds, and determine the distance between the amino acids and their relative positions and angles.' As the group used one enzyme (aspartase) as a starting point for a number of different reactions, the starting point was always the same. This meant they only had to change the target reaction. Wijma: 'If we wanted to make a new modification of aspartase, that would probably just take three months now.'

The research paper describes four different conversions, all additions of ammonium. Aspartase is a deaminase, so the reaction was reversed. 'Catalysis goes both ways, so that is not a major problem', says Janssen. For each conversion, the initial selection by the algorithm produced some 100 promising mutants. These were then checked for obvious errors. Janssen: 'In the end, some five to 20 mutants were actually made in the lab and tested to see if they functioned as expected.'

Substrate conversions

The next step was to test successful mutant enzymes in a scaled-up setting. 'This work was done by a former PhD student and postdoc from our lab, Bian Wu, who is now an assistant professor in China', says Janssen. 'He showed which candidates could produce large quantities of the required product.' Substrate conversions of 99 percent with a 99 percent enantioselectivity were achieved in quantities up to a kilogram, meaning that the enzymes predicted by the computation methods appear suitable for use in an industrial setting. 'This is real proof of principle that our method of in-silico selection of mutants works for producing useful enzymes', concludes Janssen.

###

Reference: Ruifeng Li, Hein J. Wijma, Lu Song, Yinglu Cui, Marleen Otzen, Yu'e Tian, Jiawei Du, Tao Li, Dingding Niu, Yanchun Chen, Jing Feng, Jian Han, Hao Chen, Yong Tao, Dick B. Janssen and Bian Wu : Computational redesign of enzymes for regio- and enantioselective hydroamination. Nature Chemical Biology, 21 May 2018 (Advanced Online Publication).Quantum entanglement forms the heart of the second quantum revolution: it is a key characteristic used to understand forms of quantum matter, and a key resource for present and future quantum technologies. Physically, entangled particles cannot be described as individual particles with defined states, but only as a single system. Even when the particles are separated by a large distance, changes in one particle also instantaneously affect the other particle(s). The entanglement of individual particles - whether photons, atoms or molecules - is part of everyday life in the laboratory today. In many-body physics, following the pioneering work of Li and Haldane, entanglement is typically characterized by the so-called entanglement spectrum: it is able to capture essential features of collective quantum phenomena, such as topological order, and at the same time, it allows to quantify the 'quantumness' of a given state - that is, how challenging it is to simply write it down on a classical computer.

Despite its importance, the experimental methods to measure the entanglement spectrum quickly reach their limits - until today, these spectra have been measured only in few qubits systems. With an increasing number of particles, this effort becomes hopeless as the complexity of current techniques increases exponentially.

"Today it is very hard to perform an experiment beyond few particles that allows us to make concrete statements about entanglement spectra," explains Marcello Dalmonte from the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. Together with Peter Zoller and Benoit Vermersch from the Department of Theoretical Physics at the University of Innsbruck and the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, he has now found a surprisingly simple way to investigate quantum entanglement directly. The physicists turn the concept of quantum simulation upside down by no longer simulating a certain physical system in the quantum simulator, but directly simulating its entanglement Hamiltonian operator, whose spectrum of excitations immediately relates to the entanglement spectrum.

Demonstrate quantum advantage

"Instead of simulating a specific quantum problem in the laboratory and then trying to measure the entanglement properties, we propose simply turning the tables and directly realizing the corresponding entanglement Hamiltonian, which gives immediate and simple access to entanglement properties, such as the entanglement spectrum" explains Marcello Dalmonte. "Probing this operator in the lab is conceptually and practically as easy as probing conventional many-body spectra, a well-established lab routine." Furthermore, there are hardly any limits to this method with regard to the size of the quantum system. This could also allow the investigation of entanglement spectra in many-particle systems, which is notoriously challenging to address with classical computers. Dalmonte, Vermersch and Zoller describe the radically new method in a current paper in Nature Physics and demonstrate its concrete realization on a number of experimental platforms, such as atomic systems, trapped ions and also solid-state systems based on superconducting quantum bits.

###

Publication: Quantum simulation and spectroscopy of entanglement Hamiltonian. Marcello Dalmonte, Benoit Vermersch, Peter Zoller. Nature Physics 2018 DOI: 10.1038/s41567-018-0151-7 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41567-018-0151-7)

Contacts:

Benoit Vermersch

Department of Theoretical Physics

University of Innsbruck

phone: +43 512 507 52203

email: benoit.vermersch@uibk.ac.at

web: http://www.uibk.ac.at/th-physik/

Marcello Dalmonte

International Centre for Theoretical Physics

phone: +39 040 2240 350

email: mdalmont@ictp.it

web: https://www.ictp.it

Christian Flatz

Public Relations

University of Innsbruck

phone: +43 512 507 32022

email: christian.flatz@uibk.ac.at

Mary Ann Williams

Public Information Office

International Centre for Theoretical Physics

phone: +39 040 2240 603

email: mwilliams@ictp.itA discovery by scientists at the University of Kent has provided significant insight into the overall genome structure of dinosaurs.

A discovery by scientists at the University of Kent has provided significant insight into the overall genome structure of dinosaurs.

By comparing the genomes of different species, chiefly birds and turtles, the Kent team were able to determine how the overall genome structure (i.e. the chromosomes) of many people's favourite dinosaur species - like Velociraptor or Tyrannosaurus - might have looked through a microscope.

The research was carried out in the laboratory of Professor Darren Griffin, of the University's School of Biosciences, and is now published in the journal Nature Communications. It involved extrapolating the likely genome structure of a shared common ancestor of birds and turtles that lived around 260 million years ago - 20 million years before the dinosaurs first emerged.

Dr Becky O'Connor, senior postdoctoral researcher and co-author of the Nature Communications paper, then traced how chromosomes changed over evolutionary time from a reptile ancestor to the present day.

The team found that, although the individual chromosomes rearranged their genes internally, this did not occur much at all between the chromosomes - what the scientists describe as 'a significant discovery'.

Birds (which are themselves living dinosaurs) have a lot of chromosomes compared to most other species and that is possibly one of the reasons why they are so diverse. This research suggests that the pattern of chromosomes (karyotype) seen in early emerging dinosaurs and later theropods is similar to that of most birds and, again, may help explain their great diversity.

The new discovery suggests that, had scientists had the opportunity to make a chromosome preparation from a theropod dinosaur, it might have looked very similar to that of a modern-day ostrich, duck or chicken.

One of the key pieces of biotechnology that made it possible was the development of a set of fluorescent probes derived from birds that worked well on the chromosomes of turtles.

The genetics laboratory run by Professor Darren Griffin in Kents School of Biosciences carries out research into how genes organise into chromosomes and how that is different between species. The work is a collaboration with Dr Denis Larkin at the Royal Veterinary College in London, Iowa State University, the University of Cambridge, Oxford Genome Technologies and the Natural History Museum, London. The work is a collaboration with Dr Denis Larkin at the Royal Veterinary College in London, Iowa State University, the University of Cambridge, the Cambridge company Cytocell and the Natural History Museum, London.

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Reconstruction of genome organization in the diapsid common ancestor permits tracing of chromosome evolution in avian and non-avian dinosaurs is published in Nature Communications doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-04267-9

Authors: Rebecca E. O'Connor1, Michael N. Romanov1, Lucas G. Kiazim1, Paul M. Barrett2, Marta Farre3, Joana Damas3, Malcolm Ferguson-Smith4, Nicole Valenzuela5, Denis M. Larkin3*, Darren K. Griffin1*.

1 School of Biosciences, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT5 7NJ, UK

2 Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK

3 Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London NW1 0TU, UK

4 Department of Veterinary Medicine, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB3 0ES, UK 5 Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Iowa 50011, USA

Interviews may be organised at the Natural History Museum. For further information or interview requests contact Sandy Fleming at the University of Kent Press Office.

Tel: 01227 823581

Email: S.Fleming@kent.ac.uk

News releases can also be found at http://www.kent.ac.uk/news

University of Kent on Twitter: http://twitter.com/UniKent

Notes to Editors

Making chromosome preparations is commonplace in humans to diagnose conditions like Down Syndrome, diseases like cancer, or to establish the reasons for pregnancy loss. It also can be used to examine processes of genome evolution in living and extinct animals.

When doing the same in other animals (e.g. pigs) infertility can be diagnosed or varying patterns between species can be spotted. The Kent team provide a service to the pig breeding industry to do this.

Kent Screening Lab details: For all details of cytogenetic screening services of animals including pigs and cattle contact Dr Rebecca O'Connor R.O'Connor@kent.ac.uk

The University of Kent, led by the School of Biosciences will be launching the Institute for Biotechnology and Molecular Medicine (iBaMM). The stated aims of iBaMM are to study normal biological processes, their relevance to health and apply molecular biotechnology to benefit mankind providing a focus for catalyzing new biological discoveries that that take basic research through to application. iBaMM will be a hub of impact-generating activity, developing intellectual property, public and societal engagement and new products and processes of relevance to industry and medical practice.

Established in 1965, the University of Kent - the UK's European university - now has almost 20,000 students across campuses or study centres at Canterbury, Medway, Tonbridge, Brussels, Paris, Athens and Rome.

It has been ranked 22nd in the Guardian University Guide 2018 and 25th in the Complete University Guide 2018, and in June 2017 was awarded a gold rating, the highest, in the UK Government's Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

In the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2015-16, it is in the top 10% of the world's leading universities for international outlook and 66th in its table of the most international universities in the world. The THE also ranked the University as 20th in its 'Table of Tables' 2016.

Kent is ranked 17th in the UK for research intensity (REF 2014). It has world-leading research in all subjects and 97% of its research is deemed by the REF to be of international quality.

In the National Student Survey 2016, Kent achieved the fourth highest score for overall student satisfaction, out of all publicly funded, multi-faculty universities.

Along with the universities of East Anglia and Essex, Kent is a member of the Eastern Arc Research Consortium.

The University is worth 0.7 billion to the economy of the south east and supports more than 7,800 jobs in the region. Student off-campus spend contributes 293.3m and 2,532 full-time-equivalent jobs to those totals.

The Natural History Museum exists to inspire a love of the natural world and unlock answers to the big issues facing humanity and the planet. It is a world-leading science research centre, and through its unique collection and unrivalled expertise it is tackling issues such as food security, eradicating diseases and managing resource scarcity.

The Natural History Museum is the most visited natural history museum in Europe and the top science attraction in the UK; we welcome more than 4.5 million visitors each year and our website receives over 500,000 unique visitors a month. People come from around the world to enjoy our galleries and events and engage both in person and online with our science and educational activities through innovative programmes and citizen science projects.The health care systems in the United States and other industrialized countries have outgrown many of the childbirth-related injuries that are still very problematic in poor countries.

One of those is fistula, defined as a hole between the vagina and bladder that causes constant urine leakage through the vagina. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where treatment for fistula isn't advanced and health care resources are scarce, a fistula injury is potentially catastrophic.

Part of the problem is that doctors don't have a good way to gauge the degree of the fistula injury in order to develop the appropriate treatment plan, said Janis Miller, a professor at the University of Michigan Nursing School and one of the authors of a new study on assessing and treating this injury.

To that end, Miller and her partners in the Congo have developed a method of scoring fistula injuries that will guide clinicians in determining treatment. They can either fix the fistula themselves or refer the woman to a specialist.

The tool, called the Panzi Score, will help physicians predict the success of surgery and make a path for treatment, said study co-author Alain Mukwege, a research associate at the U-M School of Nursing.

"If a fistula happens again, there is a greater risk of failure," Mukwege said.

Often, women having difficult labors in developing countries must wait for days for medical treatment, and in the meantime, tissue begins to die. The more tissue death there is, the tougher a fistula is to repair.

The condition can be socially and physically catastrophic for women, Miller said. The women are usually socially isolated and the leakage is acidic and constant, causing horrible sores.

The study included 837 women with fistula injuries who were treated at the Panzi Hospital DRC and its outreach clinics. Fistula severity was assessed and surgical success was ascertained, and researchers analyzed the data to select fistula characteristics predictive of surgical failure.

Miller said the Panzi Score was surprisingly accurate, and she hopes it will be widely adopted.

###

Other co-authors included Denis Mukwege and Christina Amisi of Panzi Hospital and Panzi Foundation DRC, and Lisa Peters and Abigail Smith of Arbor Research.

The study, "Panzi score as a parsimonious indicator of urogenital fistula severity derived from Goh and Waaldijk classifications," appears in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics.For decades, scientists have conducted research centered around the five major mass extinctions that have shaped the world we live in. The extinctions date back more than 450 million years with the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction to the deadliest extinction, the Late Permian extinction 250 million years ago that wiped out over 90 percent of species.

Over the years, scientists have figured out the main causes of the mass extinctions, which include massive volcanic eruptions, global warming, asteroid collisions, and acidic oceans as likely culprits. Other factors sure to play part include methane eruptions and marine anoxic events - when oceans lose life-supporting oxygen.

The events that triggered the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction or LOME of marine animals and plants has largely remained a mystery until now. The Ordovician was a dynamic time interval in Earth history that recorded a major increase in marine biologic diversity and a greenhouse-to-icehouse climatic transition. Researchers believe this cooling period, which culminated in the first Phanerozoic glaciation led to the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction.

Now a team of researchers, including Maya Elrick at The University of New Mexico, Elrick's former master's student Rick Bartlett, now earning his doctorate at Louisiana State University, James Wheeley from the University of Birmingham (England) and the University of Ottawa's Andre Desrochers, have deciphered geochemical evidence left behind in marine limestone sediment that suggests this extinction was caused by a period of global cooling that created a global marine anoxic event.

The research, "Abrupt global-ocean anoxia during Late Ordovician-early Silurian detected using uranium isotopes of marine carbonates," was published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). It was supported, in part, through a three-year, $680,000 National Science Foundation grant.

"This extinction is the first of the 'big five' extinctions that hit the Earth and our research indicates that it was coincident with the abrupt development of widespread ocean anoxia that lasted for at least 1 million years," said Elrick.

Working with an international crew, Elrick and her team travelled to Anticosti Island in the St. Lawrence seaway of Quebec, Canada where they collected limestone rock samples. The returned samples were analyzed for uranium isotopes using a mass spectrometer housed in the UNM Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Results from the study indicate that abrupt and widespread marine anoxia occurred at the same time 85 percent of marine life went extinct.

"These results provided the first evidence for abrupt global ocean anoxia initiating and continuing through peak and waning glacial conditions," Elrick said. "We suggest that the anoxia was driven by global cooling which reorganized large-scale ocean circulation and led to decreased deep-ocean oxygenation and, enhanced nutrient fluxes, which caused phytoplankton blooms and expanded the areas of low oxygen concentrations. These results also provide the first evidence for widespread ocean anoxia initiating and continuing during glacial conditions."

Elrick and Bartlett's research is the first study of this type that uses a geochemical proxy (uranium isotopes) which integrates the entire ocean oxygen concentration. The results agree with what other scientists had been saying before, although the earlier studies were assessing only local oxygen concentrations rather than globally integrated concentrations. Further, Elrick and her team are modeling global ocean oxygen concentrations to evaluate how much of the seafloor went anoxic during the Late Ordovician extinction.

The team compared conditions 450 million years ago to those of today and determined that about there was about a 15 percent increase in anoxic seafloor during the Late Ordovician mass extinction. The modern ocean has less than a half a percent of seafloor that is anoxic (mainly the Black Sea), so a 15 percent increase in seafloor anoxia is quite significant.

"Anticosti Island is the best natural laboratory in the World for studying fossils and sedimentary strata dating from the first mass extinction nearly 445 million years ago. The island is now awaiting recognition at the UNESCO World Heritage program because of its exceptional geology and paleontology," said the University of Ottawa's Andre Desrochers.

Elrick is also studying three of the other 'big five' mass extinctions using uranium isotopes as oxygenation proxy.

"So far each of them have widespread anoxia associated with them, so we are finding that low seawater oxygen concentrations is a major killer," Elrick said

These results for the past 'big five' mass extinctions have implications for the modern extinction our planet is presently experiencing.

"We are warming and acidifying the oceans today and warmer oceans hold less and less oxygen. Some marine organisms can handle the heat and the acidity, but not the lack of oxygen" Elrick said. "All these things are happening today and the results from the Late Ordovician study indicate the potential severity of marine anoxia as an extinction driver for many of the past and ongoing biologic extinction events."

###The University of Texas at San Antonio has received a five-year, $7.7 million grant to support its Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE) program. The program, which was founded in 2000, assists underrepresented students in attaining their doctoral degrees in the biomedical and behavioral sciences.

"The RISE Program transforms the lives of our students," said Edwin Barea-Rodriguez, UTSA Associate Dean for Student Success and Instructional Innovation and director of the RISE program. "It provides a great opportunity for our undergraduates to receive the training and support that they need to pursue a Ph.D. when they graduate from UTSA. It also increases opportunities for UTSA to diversify its doctoral programs and provides support for our doctoral trainees."

RISE currently supports eight undergraduate who are interested in pursuing careers as research scientists by giving them opportunities to work in UTSA laboratories and develop research experience with faculty mentors until their graduation from UTSA. It also provides training and financial support for 20 Ph.D. students as they complete their degrees in biomedical science. Beginning in fall 2019, the program will support five additional Ph.D. students.

The program is designed to ensure that talented and motivated minority or disadvantaged students are able to obtain the experience and skills they need to succeed in research-intensive careers.

All RISE students pursue their own original research and present their findings at scientific conferences while they are enrolled at UTSA. That experience introduces the students to a broad range of scientific disciplines and exposes them to networking opportunities with representatives of some of the nation's top research universities.

Additionally, RISE undergraduates participate in professional development courses that teach them how to create a curriculum vitae, develop a research poster, give an oral presentation, read a scientific paper, design an experiment, ace a graduate program interview and many other critical qualities necessary for students who want to enter doctoral programs.

"This is wonderful news for UTSA and its students," said Gail Taylor, assistant program director of RISE. "We are proud that the RISE program will continue to launch our UTSA undergraduate and Ph.D. students into high level careers that improve the nation's health, education, safety and economy."

Since the program's founding, dozens of minority and underrepresented students at UTSA have gone on to pursue research careers at the University of North Carolina, the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, Emory University, UCLA, Michigan State University, UT Health San Antonio and UTSA.

"As medicine continues to rapidly evolve, I'm glad to see San Antonio emerging as a leader in educational opportunities to create the next generation of medical professionals," said U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro. I welcome this grant which will generate opportunities for students in biomedical sciences, especially those who are underrepresented in the field, and support vital research that will help people across our nation."

###Highlights:

Access to safe anaesthesia for essential surgery is a basic human right and should be available to all patients irrespective of their ability to pay.

5 billion of the world's 7 billion people do not have access to safe, timely and affordable surgery and anaesthesia when needed

The WHO-WFSA International Standards for A Safe Practice of Anaesthesia provide concrete standards that every healthcare facility and anaesthesia provider can follow across specific areas including; facilities, equipment and supplies, medications and intravenous fluids, monitoring, conduct of anaesthesia, and professional aspects.

The WHO-WFSA International Standards for a Safe Practice of Anaesthesia are an essential step on the road to universal access to safe anaesthesia as part of World Health Assembly resolution 68.15, UHC 2030 and SDG 3.

Disease Control Priorities 3, written by the World Bank, estimates that a global investment of just US$3 billion per year at the first level hospital level would achieve universal coverage of emergency and essential surgery and a return on investment of ten to one [2].

This month the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) launched an update of the International Standards For A Safe Practice of Anaesthesia, co-published with World Health Organization (WHO) for the first time as an official WHO guideline.

The standards are recommended for anaesthesia professionals throughout the world and are intended to provide guidance and assistance to anaesthesia professionals, their professional societies, hospital and facility administrators, and governments for improving and maintaining the quality and safety of anaesthesia care. They were first adopted by the WFSA on 13th June 1992, with revisions in 2008 and 2010. The latest version was published in May 2018 and was developed on behalf of both the WFSA and WHO.

The launch of the International Standards marks the increasing importance of surgery and anaesthesia within global health policy. Recent seminal papers have highlighted major discrepancies in the provision of safe anaesthesia and surgery worldwide [1, 2]. The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery estimated that five billion of the world's seven billion people do not have access to safe, affordable anaesthesia and surgical care when needed [1]. As the essential role of anaesthesia in the provision of surgical and obstetric care is not always understood by decision makers, the development of anaesthesia has often been given a lower priority than the development of surgery per se in the global health agenda. Yet, access to safe anaesthesia for essential surgery is a basic human right and should be available to all patients irrespective of their ability to pay.

On 22nd May 2015 the World Health Assembly passed the ground-breaking Resolution 68.15 entitled "Strengthening emergency and essential surgical care and anaesthesia as a component of universal health coverage"[3]; a potential game-changer for the 5 billion people. The launch of the updated International Standards for a Safe Practice of Anaesthesia supports this initiative by outlining concrete standards that every facility providing anaesthesia can follow in specific areas including; facilities and equipment, medications and intravenous fluids, monitoring, conduct of anaesthesia, and professional aspects.

Julian Gore-Booth, Chief Executive Officer of the WFSA, explained "Safe anaesthesia saves lives. These standards contribute to WFSA's goal of safe anaesthesia care for everybody and we are proud and delighted to have worked with WHO on our shared mission to include surgery and anaesthesia as a component of universal health coverage."

Professor Adrian Gelb, Secretary of the WFSA highlighted that "Every patient in every country deserves safe anaesthesia every time. This important WHO and WFSA endorsed set of standards takes an important step forward in clearly defining standards for every level of facility that provides general anaesthesia, deep or moderate sedation."

"It is the hope of both organizations that ministries of health and hospital administrators will strive to implement them, if they are not already achieving the described level," he added.

Dr Walter Johnson, Lead, WHO Emergency & Essential Surgical Care Programme, similarly highlighted the importance of the Standards and the collaboration adding, "The WHO-WFSA International Standards for a Safe Practice of Anaesthesia is an important milestone in the development of global quality initiatives for improved surgical, obstetric and anaesthesia service delivery platforms and health system strengthening."

"Worldwide, enormous disparities exist between high-income and low-income countries regarding risk of patient death from anaesthesia care. This international standard sets a reasonable, high standard to prevent unnecessary deaths due to unsafe practices, such as lack of monitoring, lack of essential medicines and lack of trained personnel," Dr Johnson explained. "This document will be extremely helpful to anaesthesia practitioners, all levels of health facilities, government policy makers, health and finance ministers, and other stakeholders seeking to optimize the delivery of safe anaesthesia care," he said finally.

The International Standards for a Safe Practice of Anaesthesia will be discussed at an unofficial side event during the World Health Assembly open to the public, taking place at the Geneva Press Club on Tuesday 22nd May 2018, 9-11am. The event entitled "Briefing: How Can We Scale-up Surgery and Anesthesia to Achieve UHCs", co-hosted by the WFSA, Nesta, and Lifebox, will highlight the important work being undertaken to support WHA Resolution 68.15, including the launch of the International Standards, the ten year anniversary of the WHO Safe Surgical Checklist, as well as the Surgical Equity Prize launched by Nesta.

###

Please email Niki O'Brien at comms@wfsahq.org to learn more about global surgery and anaesthesia, as well as the International Standards or arrange interview with WFSA representatives. Alternatively please call (+44)7722 135 373.

References

[1] Meara JG, Leather AJ, Hagander L, et al. Global Surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development. The Lancet 2015;386:569-624.

[2] World Bank. Disease Control Priorities, Third Edition, Volume 1: Essential Surgery. Available at: http://dcp-3.org/surgery. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-0346-8.

[3] WHA Resolution 68.15. Strengthening emergency and essential surgical care and anaesthesia as a component of universal health coverage. World Health Assembly, Geneva, May 2015. Available at: http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/documents/s21904en/s21904en.pdf. Accessed December 29, 2016.Despite weakness in the New Zealand Dollar due to broad US Dollar (USD) strength, the British Pound to New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate still fell on Monday. Brexit and UK economic uncertainties weighed on the Pound, while higher market confidence in global trade slightly bolstered the Kiwi.

Post-Brexit customs union speculation helped GBP/NZD climb slightly from 1.9435 to 1.9504 last week, but on Monday the pair quickly shed those gains. At the time of writing, GBP/NZD was trending near a weekly low of 1.9391. This was the pairs lowest level in over a week.

Pound (GBP) Slumps as Investors Await Fresh Support

Sterling support has been weak in recent sessions. Last weeks Brexit news raised the possibility of Britain remaining in an EU customs union after Brexit, but as this was played down by the UK Prime Minister it did not notably boost Pound support.

Analysts noted that without any real confirmation of news making a soft Brexit look more likely, investors would be hesitant to buy the Pound. This is especially true with Britains economic outlook looking so uncertain lately.

Recent UK data has indicated that Britains economy is slowing down more than expected in 2018 and that it may not be able to support tighter monetary policy from the Bank of England (BoE) any time soon.

With Bank of England interest rate hike bets low, Britains economic outlook underwhelming and Brexit negotiations not revealing any significant developments, Sterling is unappealing and will remain unappealing until something changes.

According to Viraj Patel, forex analyst from ING:

Markets have lost faith and conviction over BoE policy tightening, [so] we now place a strong emphasis on UK data to guide market policy expectations, Buckle up, its going to be a bumpy ride for the Pound this week.

Due to Brexit uncertainties and a disappointing UK economic outlook, the Pound has hit major lows against some rivals like the US Dollar (USD) today. However, NZD weakness has only seen GBP/NZD fall to its worst level in a week.

New Zealand Dollar (NZD) Finds Limited Support in Trade-Correlated Risk Rally

The New Zealand Dollar was able to climb against the Pound on Monday thanks to stronger market demand for currencies correlated to global trade.

Over the weekend, the US and China rounded out an optimistic first session of trade negotiations. As a result of the optimism, the US government announced that it would put its strict trade tariff plans for China on hold for now.

As fears of a US-China trade war subsided, demand for currencies correlated to trade, like the New Zealand Dollar, strengthened too.

However, as the New Zealand Dollars correlation to US-China trade was weaker than some rivals such as the US Dollar (USD) or Australian Dollar (AUD), the currencys gains were limited.

NZD demand has also been limited by market concerns over New Zealands latest retail sales results, which were weaker than expected in Q1.

New Zealand retail sales slowed from 1.4% to 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, with the yearly figure tumbling from 5.4% to 3%.

GBP/NZD Forecast: Could UK Data Make Pound More Appealing?

Part of the Pounds weakness in recent weeks has been an expectation that Britains economic outlook has worsened, and this has weighed heavily on Bank of England (BoE) interest rate hike bets.

As a result, if upcoming UK inflation, retail or growth stats beat expectations it could boost hopes that Britains economy is still resilient.

Wednesday will see the publication of Britains April Consumer Price Index (CPI) results. If UK inflation beats expectations, it could make investors more confident that UK inflation is strong enough to sustain higher interest rates from the BoE.

Thursdays UK retail sales results could boost Sterling if they impress too, as this could indicate that UK consumer activity was weak due to weather in Q1 rather than due to any prolonged downturn in consumer activity.

However, GBP/NZD may also advance if the New Zealand Dollar becomes less appealing.

If Thursdays NZ trade balance report disappoints or if US trade jitters worsen again, the New Zealand Dollar is likely to be sold.Major Swiss companies are reportedly preparing to withdraw from Iran following United States moves to impose economic sanctions on Tehran and threats of punishing companies which ignore the policy.

Several Swiss newspapers on Sunday reported that Swiss firms in Iran have stopped making new business contracts two weeks ago.

Sharif Nezam-Mafi, chairman of the Swiss-Iranian chamber of commerce, is quoted as saying several Swiss firms were about to close their subsidiaries in Iran.

He apparently met representatives of major Swiss companies in Tehran recently. However, it is not clear how Swiss companies,  notably from the engineering, pharmaceutical as well as commodity and service sectors  would be affected by the US policy.

Observers say the Swiss business community hopes to be protected in some form by European Union efforts to shield businesses from the impact of US measures, following President Trumps decision earlier this month to pull out of a nuclear accord with Tehran.

Brussels aims to invoke a blocking statute before August, when the first US sanctions are due to take effect.

Visits

A Swiss delegation is expected to travel to Tehran next month to discuss further steps in boosting bilateral ties as agreed in 2016, a foreign ministry spokesman was quoted as saying in the Handelszeitung newspaper quoted last week.

Switzerland has invited the Iranian President Hassan Rohani to a state visit this year but no official date has been announced.

The Handelszeitung says Swiss exports to Iran are worth CHF530 million ($530 million)  a 40% increase over 2015 when Iran agreed a long-term deal on its nuclear programme with the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.













swissinfo.ch with SDA-ATS; urs





When a parent or relative becomes ill, children might take on a caring role. Switzerlands first ever figures show that almost 8% of children aged 10-15 are young carers  far more than previously thought.

Having a parent, sibling or grandparent who is ill with cancer or suffering from depression can be life-changing for some children. They might take on extra care, household and childcare duties; they might even have to administer medicines and drips.

Young carers often remain silent about their situation, says Agnes Leu, head of the Young Carers research programme at Careum Research, the institute of the Department of Health Science at the Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences in Zurich.

For me its like a hidden topic: either young people are hiding it because they dont want everyone to know or their parents or the person they are caring for dont want them to talk about it, Leu told swissinfo.ch.

For the first time, Leu and her team were able to shed light on the extent of the issue in Switzerland. A nationwide survey of children aged 10-15 at 230 Swiss schools found that almost 8% of the 4,800 children polled were taking on care duties. The results even surprised Leu. Based on research in other countries, Leu assumed the number of children affected in Switzerland was 4-5%, as is the case in other countries with research on the topic.

International comparison Professor Leu and British colleague Saul Becker have carried out an international comparison of awareness and policy responses to young carers. The United Kingdom was the only country listed as advanced in terms of high awareness, research and policy and practice for young carers. Next came Australia, Norway and Sweden (intermediate), while New Zealand and Swiss neighbours Austria and Germany werepreliminary. Switzerland was quite low down: in the emerging group,with the United States, the Netherlands, sub-Saharan Africa and Italy, Ireland and Belgium. France was in the awakening group (with Finland, Greece United Arab Emirates).

Even in the United Kingdom, the acknowledged leader in research on young carers for almost 30 years, the percentage for under 18s is 2-4%.

Also surprising was the lack of gender gap within this 8%: for girls it was about 9% and boys 6.6%. Older carers tend to be mostly female, Leu said.

It shows that with young people it doesnt matter whether its a girl or boy, the point is that if there are one to four children in the family, most of the time its the oldest taking on the care duties, the professor commented.

Reactions

Young carers face many obstacles, as interviews conducted as part of Leus research highlight. Giulia was 16 when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She says some of her friends did not understand why she had to spend more time with her parents or how she had to avoid getting ill because otherwise she could not visit her Mum. She says she could have done with more understanding from adults as well.

Gaetans mother suffered from a mental illness. For him, support groups would have been helpful.

Often children take on a care role due to the absence of other family members or friends or because professional care is too expensive. But they also want to do the caring, because it is for someone they love, Leu says. They dont see it as a burden: in fact, around a third of the young carers surveyed said the burden was low or moderate; 22% said it was high and 16% very high.

They said they found it more difficult to achieve the same results as their peers, for example in school, which is very important to a lot of young carers. School also offers a break from their caring duties, but finding time for school work often takes a lot more organisation.

The professionals

Leu and her team also conducted a second nationwide survey of just over 3,500 education, healthcare and social professionals to find out what kind of awareness they had of young carers. They found that many were still not sufficiently familiar with the topic. But once the concept had been explained to them in detail, 40% of those questioned said they had come across young carers in their professional roles.

In many cases children only came to teachers attention when they had problems at school like tiredness. Professionals said they wanted more information and training to help spot young carers and to be able to help them earlier.

For Leu, the results of both surveys mark an important first step in drawing attention to the situation in Switzerland. Research is continuing into what support is needed, which should be published next year.

Government action plan The Swiss government has approved an Action plan for support and respite of relatives providing care as part of its Health2020 policy priorities. Daniel Dauwalder, spokesman for the Federal Office of Public Health, said that the government was aware of the issue of young carers and had launched a large scientific programme regarding carers both adult and young. One study focuses on the needs of family carers for support in general, but also regarding their workplaces. In this study people from age 9 onwards (i.e. children) are asked about their needs. At the moment a preliminary study has been done, he told swissinfo.ch via email. Leu says more needs to be done to help young carers, also in the governments action plan, which she says is too focused on adult carers. Setting up a nationwide carers organisation is also a priority as Switzerland is one of the only countries without such a body.A pair of identical, sportscar-sized satellites are poised to zoom around the Earth and track changes in water and ice, offering new insights into global warming and sea level rise, NASA said Monday.

Groundwater, oceans, lakes, rivers and ice sheets will be monitored by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO), a joint mission between the US space agency and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ).

The satellites are scheduled to blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Tuesday at 12:47 pm Pacific time (1947 GMT).

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will propel the satellites to an orbit about 310 miles (500 kilometers) above the Earth.

The pair will fly 137 miles (220 kilometers) apart, or about the distance from Los Angeles to San Diego.

NASA has spent $430 million on the mission, and Germany has spent about $91 million.

The new pair of satellites will pick up where the first GRACE mission left off, having completed its 15-year mission in 2017.

The first GRACE mission gave scientists a trove of data about the ever-dwindling ice mass in Antarctica and Greenland, and contributed data for thousands of scientific papers, NASA said.

Water is critical to every aspect of life on Earth  for health, for agriculture, for maintaining our way of living, said Michael Watkins, GRACE-FO science lead and director of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

You cant manage it well until you can measure it. GRACE-FO provides a unique way to measure water in many of its phases, allowing us to manage water resources more effectively.French energy giant Total wants to expand its search for oil and gas off the coast of Cyprus, despite threats by Turkey over exploration, a senior company official said Monday.

After joining forces with Italys ENI in two areas off the Cypriot coast, Totals regional director Stephane Michel said the firm wanted to expand its partnership.

We applied as well to enter block eight owned by ENI and wanted to come to support that demand, he told reporters following talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

The countrys energy minister, George Lakkotrypis, said there had been constructive discussions about the next steps for Total to operate in Cypruss economic exclusive zone.

He welcomed Totals commitment as an extremely important development which will strengthen the energy consortium.

In February, a drill ship contracted by ENI to explore off the Mediterranean island abandoned its mission after Turkish warships blocked its path.

Mondays talks in Nicosia follow a visit to the Cypriot capital last month by ENI chief executive Claudio Descalzi, during which he reaffirmed the companys strong engagement and commitment toward the country.

After Turkeys intervention against the Italian drilling vessel on February 9, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned foreign energy companies not to overstep the mark in the Mediterranean.

Brussels has censured Turkey for its behaviour towards Nicosias energy search.

The standoff over exploiting energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean has further complicated stalled efforts to reunify Cyprus following the collapse of UN-brokered peace talks last year.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkish troops invaded and occupied the northern third of the island in response to a Greek military junta-sponsored coup.

Nicosia is also in discussion with Cairo to build a direct submarine natural gas pipeline from Cyprus to a plant in Egypt.

US energy giant ExxonMobil  with Qatar Petroleum  is scheduled to conduct drilling off Cyprus in the second half of 2018.

cc/rsc/hcRussian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro on his re-election, after a vote the opposition rejected as a farce.

The Russian president wished Maduro good health and success in resolving the social and economic issues facing the country, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin also hoped there would be a national dialogue in the interests of the entire Venezuelan people, the statement said.

Maduro won 68 percent of the vote in Sundays election, far ahead of his nearest rival. The main opposition boycotted the vote and charged it was rigged.

Even before it took place, the United States, Canada, the European Union and a dozen Latin American countries said they would not recognise the results.

Venezuela late last year signed a debt restructuring deal with its major creditor Russia, after it was hit hard by tumbling oil prices and American sanctions.

Russia and China are the two main creditors and allies of Venezuela, which owes them an estimated $8 billion and $28 billion respectively.The UN Security Council is considering imposing the first-ever sanctions on migrant smugglers in Libya, targeting six leaders of trafficking rings, but Russia has requested more information, documents obtained by AFP on Monday showed.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley told a council meeting on Libya that there is strong regional support for these designations and the evidence showing the involvement of the six people is clear.

Failing to move forward would be a travesty, she added.

Presented by the Netherlands, the proposed sanctions blacklist includes two Eritrean nationals described as top operators in transnational smuggling networks and four Libyans including a the head of a regional coast guard unit.

The six individuals would face a global travel ban and assets freeze if the council agrees to blacklist them. France, Germany, Britain and the United States support the Dutch sanctions request.

Russia however told the councils sanctions committee that we need more information to better understand the value of the said proposal, how efficient it might be if approved, according to a letter obtained by AFP.

Russia called for a committee meeting to examine the evidence on the involvement of the six individuals and noted that the criminal networks stretch to many European countries and the United States.

The sanctions blacklist was presented on May 1 and Russia put a hold on the request a week later.

 Smuggling of tens of thousands of migrants 

Libya has long been a transit hub for migrants, but smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business in the years that followed the 2011 ouster of Moamer Kadhafi.

The fate of migrants has come under UN scrutiny since film footage emerged last year of Africans auctioned off as slaves in Libya, drawing outrage from African governments.

Among the six on the proposed blacklist is Ermias Ghermay of Eritrea, described as a leader of a network responsible for trafficking and smuggling tens of thousands of migrants from the Horn of Africa to the coast of Libya and onwards to Europe and the United States, according to the sanctions request obtained by AFP.

The other five are Fitiwi Abdelrazak of Eritrea, Libyan militia leader Ahmad Oumar al-Dabbashi, Libyan Musab Abu-Qarin, described as a central actor in migrant smuggling in the coastal area of Sabratha, Libyan Mohammed Kachlaf, head of the Shuhada al Nasr brigade in Zawiya, western Libya and finally, Abd al Rahman al-Milad, who heads the Libyan coast guard in Zawiya.

Al-Milad was cited for running an operation in which he and other coast guard members would open fire on migrant boats, causing them to sink and would then pick up refugees at sea who were sent to detention centers and beaten, the documents said.

Ghermay and Abelrazak were cited for organising countless perilous journeys across the Mediterranean that ended in shipwrecks and for running private detention camps in Libya.

During the council meeting, Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov did not specifically mention the sanctions request but said the migrant problem should be not be tackled with half-measures.Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro on his re-election, after a vote the opposition rejected as a farce.

The Russian president wished Maduro good health and success in resolving the social and economic issues facing the country, the Kremlin said in a statement.

Putin also hoped there would be a national dialogue in the interests of the entire Venezuelan people, the statement said.

Maduro won 68 percent of the vote in Sundays election, far ahead of his nearest rival. The main opposition boycotted the vote and charged it was rigged.

Even before it took place, the United States, Canada, the European Union and a dozen Latin American countries said they would not recognise the results.

The Russian foreign ministry said this set a dangerous precedent in which the electoral process does not depend on the position of international observers but on the points of view put forward ahead of time by certain states.

It is clear that such an attitude will have grave long-term consequences, the ministry said in a statement.

It called for dialogue and reconciliation at a national level.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled Russias neighbour with an iron fist since 1994, said true democracy had won in Venezuela.

Venezuela late last year signed a debt restructuring deal with its major creditor Russia, after it was hit hard by tumbling oil prices and American sanctions.

Russia and China are the two main creditors and allies of Venezuela, which owes them an estimated $8 billion and $28 billion respectively.Ex-Soviet state Belarus has fiercely criticised the British Embassy in Minsk for flying a rainbow gay pride flag on the International Day against Homophobia, claiming that LGBT relationships are "fake."

The countrys interior ministry in a statement on Sunday said it regretted the British Embassy had flown the flag the previous week.

Belarus, ruled with an iron fist since 1994 by President Alexander Lukashenko, accused Britain of creating a problem where it doesnt exist and of challenging Belarusians traditional values.

Lukashenko, a former collective farm boss, famously remarked in 2012 that it was better to be a dictator than gay, after the European Union slapped sanctions on his country for rights violations.

Homosexuality was decriminalised in Belarus after the breakup of the Soviet Union but, as in neighbouring Russia, it remains taboo.

The lengthy interior ministry statement lectured Britain on gay rights, arguing that these were an artificial concept since relationships between men and women are the only natural way to procreate.

Say what you will, but single-sex relationships are a fake, the ministry said.

The LGBT community and all this fight for their rights and the communitys day  its all just fake!

Belarus is based on a foundation of traditional institutions of family and marriage, the ministry said, adding: We support real things, they wont get away with it!

A spokeswoman for the British embassy told AFP it would not be making an official comment, adding that it regularly flies the rainbow flag on May 17.

The embassy had earlier posted video of the flag on its Instagram account, flying between the Union Jack and the European Union flag.

Ambassador Fionna Gibb in a video on Twitter posted May 17 said that here in Belarus we seek opportunities to promote human rights and prevent discrimination.

She complained that a recent gay culture festival in Belarus had faced unwelcome pressure and was barred from two venues after last-minute inspections by officials found safety violations, eventually going ahead at a secret location.

Its so pleasing to see that the authorities showed such concern for the safety of the festival participants, the ambassador said sarcastically.

We must all address the legal, cultural and social change required to make equality a reality for LGBT people all over the world, she added.Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran for two years, has appeared in court to face a new charge, her husband said on Monday.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned to a court in Tehran on Saturday, according to a statement from Richard Ratcliffe, who runs the Free Nazanin campaign group.

The charge is for spreading propaganda against the regime, which she denies, he said.

On Sunday, she was allowed to speak to the British ambassador to Tehran, Rob Macaire.

This is the first time that she has been allowed any contact with the embassy in over two years, he said.

Contacted by AFP, Britains foreign ministry said in a statement: We will continue to approach each case in a way that we judge is most likely to secure the outcome we all want.

Therefore we will not be providing a running commentary on every twist and turn, the statement said.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation  the media organisations philanthropic arm  was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016.

She is serving a five-year jail sentence for alleged sedition  a charge she has always denied.

The couple have a three-year-old daughter Gabriella who is being looked after by Zaghari-Ratcliffes parents in Tehran.

She has asked for temporary release from prison next month to celebrate her daughters fourth birthday.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Iran in December last year to press for Zaghari-Ratcliffes release on humanitarian grounds.A British court has dropped criminal charges against Barclays over its emergency fundraising from Qatar during the financial crisis a decade ago, the lender said Monday.

The Serious Fraud Office had sought to prosecute Barclays for allegedly conspiring to commit fraud by false representations in services agreements with Qatar Holding in 2008.

There was also one alleged offence of unlawful financial assistance over a $3.0-billion (2.5-billion-euro) loan provided by Barclays to the State of Qatar in the same year.

The lender said in a statement Monday that Londons Southwark Crown Court has dismissed all charges against Barclays Bank and parent firm Barclays PLC regarding matters which arose in the context of Barclays capital raisings in 2008.

But the group also warned that the SFO is likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to the High Court.

The dismissals do not and should not be taken to indicate any finding on the issue of whether a criminal offence has or may have been committed by other persons, it cautioned.

The news on Monday is a setback for the SFO, which has conducted a five-year investigation into Barclays cash call in 2008.

The SFO is however still prosecuting four former executives over the matter.

The charges concerned emergency funding secured from Qatari investors in 2008 as the global banking sector went into meltdown.

In order to avoid asking the UK government for a taxpayer bailout, Barclays raised nearly 12 billion (13.5 billion euros, $16.6 billion) from investors in the Middle East, including the Qatari state sovereign wealth fund, to help it weather the storm.

In turn, Barclays loaned $3.0 billion to the State of Qatar.

By contrast, rivals Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds had to have billions of pounds of British taxpayers money pumped into them.

bur-rfj/spmRussian television showed an interview on Monday with a woman purporting to be the mother of poisoned Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, demanding British authorities let her to speak to her son.

I have not seen my son in 14 years. I want to meet him. I want to hold him close to me, to my heart, the woman, introduced as Elena Skripal, told broadcaster Pervyi Kanal.

I am 90 years old. I do not pose a danger to anyone. Please, let me just make a phone call to my son, she added, shown sitting in a nightdress.

Why dont they allow a call? Why? For what reason? After all, when he was at home we talked every week I demand he be allowed talk to me, she said tearfully to a talk show.

Skripal is a former military intelligence officer who passed information on Russias agents in Europe to British security services, resulting in imprisonment in his homeland.

He moved to Britain as part of a spy swap deal in 2010 and has lived there ever since.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia, visiting from Moscow, were discovered unconscious on a park bench in the southern British city of Salisbury on March 4.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons last month confirmed they had been poisoned with a toxic nerve agent.

Yulia Skripal, who spent several years living in Britain before returning to Russia, was released from hospital on April 11.

Sergei Skripal left hospital last Friday more than three months after the poisoning, which Britain blamed on Moscow.

Russia has denied responsibility, calling the accusations unsubstantiated.

The case sparked a diplomatic crisis that saw Russia and the West expelling dozens of diplomats in tit-for-tat moves.The "jumbo Iran negotiation" sought by US President Donald Trump will be "very, very difficult" to achieve, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned Monday.

US counterpart Mike Pompeo on Monday set 12 tough conditions for a new deal with Iran after Trump walked away from the existing nuclear agreement.

But Johnson said that he didnt see a comprehensive deal being very easy to achieve, in anything like a reasonable timetable.

Britain and the other powers who signed the 2015 agreement have vowed to honour the deal, despite the US promising to increase financial pressure on Iran with the strongest sanctions in history, hampering companies hoping to deal with the Middle Eastern state.

Johnson defended the original deal, saying it protected the world from an Iranian nuclear bomb, and in return it gave the Iranians some recognisable economic benefits.

He added that G20 foreign ministers would discuss the issue when they meet in Buenos Aires later Monday.

I think we will be discussing, not in the session but well certainly be discussing it with friends and colleagues today, how to take it forward, he told reporters.

But the prospect of a new jumbo Iran treaty is going to be very, very difficult.

I think in the end, we will get back to the kind of additions to the JCPOA that we initially envisaged  but it may take a long time, he added.

Johnson said Britain was already taking measures to try to shield British companies dealing with Iran from being hit by US sanctions.

Were going to do everything we possibly can, he said.Ryanair is forecasting a drop in profits on surging oil prices, the no-frills Irish airline said Monday after it posted a 10-percent jump in annual earnings despite a crisis that forced it to cancel thousands of flights.

Our outlook is on the pessimistic side of cautious, Ryanair said in a statement.

Unit costs this year will rise nine percent due to higher staff and oil prices which will add more than 400 million euros ($469 million) to its fuel bill.

After initially falling, Ryanairs share price was up 3.8 percent at 16.1 euros approaching midday in Dublin.

A key question for the market to consider is whether Ryanairs pessimistic outlook alongside strong full year results is a classic piece of expectations management or a true reflection of the challenges facing the business, said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

After all chief executive Michael OLearys pessimistic side of cautious guidance sets a fairly low bar for the budget airline to clear.

For its financial year 2017/18 that ended in March and spurred by a nine percent increase in passengers, or guests as the airline now describes its paying customers, net profit jumped to 1.45 billion euros.

This was despite a three percent cut in air fares, during a year of overcapacity in Europe, OLeary said.

The jump in profits came also despite rising fuel prices, and the recovery from our September 2017 rostering management failure, he added.

But Ryanair noted that there tended to be a lag of up to 12 months before higher oil prices feed through to higher air fares.

Oil prices have been trading at 3.5-year highs in recent times owing mainly to worries about possible supply disruptions caused by the US decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal and unrest in Venezuela.

Meanwhile for Ryanairs current financial year, the company on Monday said it expected profit after tax to fall to between 1.25 and 1.35 billion euros, despite it hoping to grow traffic by seven percent to 139 million passengers.

 Flights chaos 

Ryanairs 2017/18 financial year was meanwhile dominated by a crisis triggered by staffing problems that resulted in it cancelling some 20,000 flights between September and March.

Ryanair suffered a troubled end to 2017, mainly because of botched holiday scheduling for pilots.

The debacle resulted in significant changes at Ryanair, with the company hiking salaries for pilots and recognising pilot unions for the first time, in a bid also to prevent widespread strike action.

The airline has reached agreements with pilots in Britain and Italy but is still working towards deals with unions in other major centres such as Ireland and Spain.

It meanwhile used Mondays update to warn of fresh consequences over Brexit.

Having already warned repeatedly about the risk of flight disruptions following Britains departure from the EU next year, Ryanair added that it plans to restrict the voting rights of all non-EU shareholders in the event of a hard Brexit.

The company said in its earnings statement: We remain concerned at the likely impact of a hard Brexit.

While there is a general belief that an 18 month transition agreement from March 2019 to December 2020 will be implemented and further extended, it is in the best interest of our shareholders that we continue to plan for a hard Brexit in March 2019.

Ryanair has meanwhile applied for a British operating licence as part of its Brexit contingency plans.

Britain accounts for about one-quarter of revenues earned by the Dublin-based carrier.

burs-bcp/rfj/serA South African man was found guilty Monday of killing his wealthy parents and brother and severely injuring his sister in a frenzied axe attack at their home on an exclusive golf estate.

Henri van Breda, 23, had denied murdering his 21-year-old brother Rudi and parents Martin, 54, and Teresa, 55, and leaving his sister Marli struggling with near-fatal injuries to her head, neck and throat.

During the trial, he told the court that a late-night intruder had entered the familys luxury residence on the highly-guarded De Zalze Golf Estate in Stellenbosch, outside Cape Town.

But Judge Siraj Desai systematically took apart the defence case in a five-hour summary of the trial  and then delivered a verdict that he said as a family man, its difficult to read out.

After considering all the evidence, the result is inescapable, Desai said, finding van Breda guilty on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, as well as of obstructing justice.

That the accused was the perpetrator of the crime is the only reasonable conclusion, he said.

No evidence of a typical house robbery or break-in is evident.

Four of five members of family found brutally attacked in similar fashion and left for dead The accused was left standing, having lived through the events.

Van Breda showed little emotion as the verdict was delivered, saying only I do to confirm that he understood he was being held in custody until sentencing on June 5.

He was then hand-cuffed from behind and tried to say a few words to his weeping girlfriend before he was led into the basement of the court from the dock via steep stairs.

In his testimony, van Breda claimed he was in the toilet when the masked intruder began attacking his family.

He himself suffered superficial stab wounds which he said were caused while wrestling with the attacker who was trying to slit his throat. He said he then fell unconscious.

Prosecutors insisted the wounds were self-inflicted, and on Monday they called for van Breda to be sentenced to a life sentence for each murder.

 Nonsensical 

The accused testified that he was unaware of anyone with grudges against the family, Desai said.

The accused denied having any serious arguments with his family and stated that there was nothing out of the ordinary the night before the attack which occurred in January 2015.

It is nonsensical that an intruder with the intention to steal would go upstairs and start attacking the family.

Desai said the axe used in the attack was kept in the house.

He also questioned why van Breda waited three hours to call security or the emergency services.

If the accuseds intention was to be helped as soon as possible, it does not explain why he first called his (then) girlfriend several times from his mobile phone, Desai said.

Van Bredas family had moved to Australia many years ago before returning to South Africa in 2014.

 Turned himself in 

Believing he was about to be arrested, van Breda turned himself in at a police station 18 months after the killings.

The trial generated fevered interest over a privileged son allegedly unleashing a savage attack on his family, whose fortune  estimated at $16 million (13.6 million euros)  was derived from property.

Van Bredas claim of an intruder had echoes of the defence used by Oscar Pistorius, who said he thought a burglar was hiding in the toilet to explain why he fired four times through the door, killing his girlfriend.

In a recording of van Bredas call to emergency services, he said his family members were bleeding from the head before he appeared to giggle briefly.

Wearing a grey suit and navy blazer, Van Breda had struggled to stay awake in the dock on Monday, nodding heavily as the grisly deaths of his family were detailed by the judge.Thursday, May 24, 2018

Arne Duncan steps up to end mindless violence. From This Week magazine, "Some 28 different congressional districts have experienced a mass shooting so far this year, when a mass shooting is defined as four or more people shot in an incident. In 2017, more than 180 congressional districts did so- the equivalent of 40% of the House of Representatives" (Noted Section).

And their section Poll Watch, March 2, 2018, " In a poll conducted after the Parkland Florida shooting, 77% of American say Congress is not doing enough to prevent mass shootings. 62% say President Trump is not doing enough. Americans are divided on whether or not to bring back the assault-weapons ban that expired in 2004. 50% support restoring the ban,while 46% are opposed. More than 70% of Republicans and independents supported banning assault weapons in 1999. Today just 29% of Republicans do cited from the Washington Post/ABC News"

The Sunday Ted Talk today features new possibilities from inspired action featuring individuals to government leaders.

Then from a high school teacher from Parkland led with her students' call to action to stop senseless mass shootings at school.

It's time to change the sense of helplessness in our country by transmitting "enough is enough" and getting agreement to make a change. We need a commons where we feel safe and sound in a democratic society. But, Ted.com features the design we can all create together of a brighter future through vision and heart.

Assault Ban:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weapons_Ban

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2018/feb/23/ted-deutch/did-mass-shootings-increase-200-percent-assault-we/

Change can come:

http://video.startribune.com/children-march-against-guns/214951331/

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/18/florida-shooting-march-gun-violence-416863

http://www.crf-usa.org/school-violence/alternatives-to-violence.html

Other countries:

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/iceland

Duncan says "boycott":

http://www.newsweek.com/arne-duncan-education-secretary-obama-gun-laws-pull-children-santa-fe-school-935598

https://twitter.com/arneduncan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.newsweek.com%2Farne-duncan-education-secretary-obama-gun-laws-pull-children-santa-fe-school-935598

Will we shift now?:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2018/may/18/facts-mass-shootings-guns-united-states/

Security stopped the 17 year old, but still victims and wounded left behind:

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2018/05/20/texas-school-gunman-fired/amp/

Reuters:

Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan proposed that parents hold a nationwide boycott of schools until U.S. gun laws are changed to protect students.

http://www.newsweek.com/arne-duncan-education-secretary-obama-gun-laws-pull-children-santa-fe-school-935598

KQED:

http://ww2.kqed.org/lowdown/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2013/05/guncontrol_guide_final2.pdf

Talking about Love:

https://www.scpr.org/news/2018/05/19/83311/fiery-sermon-wowed-royal-wedding-guests/

Inspired to act:

https://www.npr.org/2018/05/18/612141619/diane-wolk-rogers-what-my-students-taught-me-about-inspiring-a-movement

Boycott until its over:

http://www.newsweek.com/arne-duncan-education-secretary-obama-gun-laws-pull-children-santa-fe-school-935598Hunter Bloomfield on Friday fled Santa Fe High in a panic and hid at a nearby automotive shop as news spread of an active shooter, but on Sunday the senior was sitting in a pew at Arcadia First Baptist church as the pastor preached on healing, strength and moving forward.

"We need to pray that as a nation we begin to turn back to the Lord, that this senseless killing may be stopped in our schools," said Interim Pastor Jerl Watkins of Arcadia First Baptist Church. "Do we need to do more than just pray? Yes, we certainly do, but prayer needs to be a continual and integral part of all that we do."

Bloomfield was one of several of the Santa Fe church's seniors recognized during the Sunday's service as part of a celebration of the high school graduates. The service was originally supposed to be geared towards the graduating seniors, but the shooting that killed ten people on Friday at Santa Fe High School, changed the focus.

"We had a scare a month or two ago," said Bloomfield about a false threat in February that caused the school to go on lockdown. "I thought that was as bad as it was going to get. I didn't think there was actually going to be a shooter at our school."

Watkins acknowledged Sunday that the service would be different, as cameras and reporters packed the back of the room and Gov. Greg Abbott sat in the front row.

As church members walked in, they hugged and greeted one another, while Abbott also embraced congregation members.

"When I was in school, the worst thing that could happen was we'd get in trouble for running in the halls for throwing a spitball," said Watkins. "Folks, we need to pray for our children every day."

In his sermon, Watkins urged the congregation to turn to God for peace and rely on their faith for strength through tragedy. He talked about how God provided comfort to him during his own tragedy when his first wife died from cancer.

Songs about peace and healing were also sung throughout the service. "And I will fear no evil, for my God is with me," the congregation sang together during worship.

"There are no words to take away that hurt and pain," said Watkins during the closing prayer. "But Father, you have something that can give us peace in spite of the pain."

Nathan Jordan, who was also recognized as a senior at nearby Alvin High School, could be seen shedding tears during worship. After service, the 18-year-old remembered how he frantically called his cousin, who is a sophomore at Santa Fe High School, when he heard news about the shooting during his second period class.

"It crushed me because she was not safe and I was safe," said Jordan. "I didn't like that. I want my family to be safe. I don't want them to be in danger and I'm not in danger."

Mateel Martin, 84, who's lived in Santa Fe for 20 years, was dumbfounded when she found out about the tragedy that rocked her community she describes as a comforting and sweet town.

"Why me?" She recalls asking. "Why us?"

Inside her car after service let out, she offered prayers for the shooter and his parents, and advised that the community continue to love one another in the days ahead.

In the days since the shooting, Hunter said classmates have been checking in on one another making sure they're coping after the shooting.

"Everything is going to be fine," Bloomfield said. "We're all here for each other. Santa Fe is a really good community, so we're all going to be there to lean on one another."As my daughter finally sleeps, I no longer can keep the tears from falling. We hear about these tragedies through a TV screen, once removed. While we grieve with and for the families, we truly have no idea what they are experiencing.

The outpouring of prayers and love from across the country has been very much appreciated by our family. And for those saying that sending prayers means nothing, all I can say is STFU! You have no idea how much it meant to us today knowing we were not alone in praying for our child.

I've talked to some people today and then had to shut my phone off as it became too overwhelming. But I think it's important for people to hear these stories and truly understand the impact.

Our day started off normal. Isabelle was happy and looking forward to the weekend. I dropped her off about 7 a.m., told her I loved her, to have a good day, and then headed home to get to work.

I got home, walked upstairs and my phone rang. I noticed her name on the screen and figured she forgot something.

As I answer the phone, she is whispering and I can barely understand her. Then I hear her whisper: Mom, they are shooting up the school. I'm hiding in a closet. I love you, Mom.

In the background, I hear gunfire. I beg her to stay on the phone and she says other kids with her want to call their parents and don't have phones. I beg her not to hang up as the call drops. I was frozen, standing there with no idea what to do next.

Michael Ciaglo/Houston Chronicle

AS I RUN down the stairs, I'm texting my husband next door telling him to come home now while I wake Kam up to tell him what's going on - thank goodness he already finished school and is home. We meet in the front yard and I'm trying to tell Kenny what's going on while crying and trying to get in my car.

At this point, I don't know what to do. I send a group text to my family telling them she's hiding and to NOT to call Isabelle and give away her hiding place.

I want desperately to get to my child; however, being a part of a law enforcement family, I also don't want to hinder the police from doing their jobs to try and save my child. We make our way towards the school and are passed by no less than 30 emergency vehicles along the way. During this time, we are frantic and both of our phones are blowing up. All we can do is stare at them praying she calls us again.

As we near the school, traffic is stopped and parents are running from their cars toward the school. We know they won't let us near the school, so we sit and wait while arguing and basically freaking the hell out. After being there a while, we can't stand it any longer and start making our way on foot to the school.

We're almost there when my phone rings and it's Isabelle telling me they've gotten her safely out of the school. She's in a police car waiting to be interviewed as a witness and the police have told her to tell us to not come to the school. All we can do is return to our car and wait and wait and wait.

We are then forced to leave the area. We were given no choice and instructed to go to another school miles away to await our daughter. As we arrive at the school, we are told to go to another location and give them her name. We are then told to go to another location and wait for them to bus the kids over from the high school. We arrive at that location only to be told to return to the last location.

At this point, Kenny has had enough and refuses to budge one more step. They are repeatedly telling us we need to leave that area and he's standing there with his chin in the air acting like they are not even speaking. His mind was made up and he wasn't moving one more inch until we had our daughter.

An FBI officer walks by and Kenny chases him down. Basically, they explain our daughter will be detained for questioning and we should leave a number and they'd call us when she was released -- as if there was a chance in hell that we would leave. As we're speaking with him, the first busload of children arrives. We watch these children walk off looking lost while their eyes search the crowds for their loved ones.

Our daughter isn't on this bus, or the next one, or the next. She calls and tells us she is still at the high school, but she's now on a bus and should be there soon. Her friends and boyfriend are calling for reassurance that she is safe.

By this time, we've been waiting hours. The parents are forced to stand outside in the heat. Tempers are rising with the temperature and we watch a few parents force their way through to find their kids. We also see the community rallying around and arriving with cold bottles of water and big hugs for the waiting parents. I'm on the phone as another bus passes us. Kenny heads to the back of the building again.

The next thing I see is him walking towards me with Isabelle.

Finally, I get to hold my baby as we both cry, and I try not to notice the blood on her.

IN MEMORIAM: Remembering those killed in the Santa Fe shooting

Michael Ciaglo / Houston Chronicle

AS WE SEE the media arriving, we hurry her to the car and head home. We get out of the car and Isabelle turns to me crying and saying I'm so sorry!

I'm completely confused and she says, I'm sorry for calling and upsetting you! I can only close my eyes and think about this child who is still worrying about others after the trauma she just experienced.

I assure her that she did everything right and I try to get her to go inside. There are only Kam and my mom waiting inside, but she is too overwhelmed to see anyone. She hugs her grandma, decides to change her clothes and heads upstairs almost immediately.

As we're sitting upstairs, she's clearly in shock looking around the room blankly until she glances down. She looks at me and says, This is my favorite outfit and now there's blood on it, and burst into tears.

We hold her until she calms down and convince her to change clothes. Kam is trying to get near her and she's just too hypersensitive to have anyone around. We're trying to soothe her as Kam walks back into the room with tears in his eyes.

I leave Isabelle with Kenny and go to Kam as he starts crying and telling me he just found out his best friend was one of the children who died. I now have two children crying and we are helpless and can do nothing but hold them and try to make them feel loved and safe. I glance down and notice my foot is bleeding. I have no idea what I've done or when it happened, as I don't even feel it.

Kam heads off for time alone and we stay with Isabelle while she begins to calm down. We're thanking God that our child is home and then she begins to talk. ... I can only say that I'm so glad we didn't know what was going on while we were waiting.

SHE ARRIVED AT school and headed to her first period, Art. She loves this class and was excited to finish her year-end project. As she focused on the project, the first shot barely registers and she isn't sure what she heard. Suddenly, the kids start screaming and running.

The gunman enters their room from the classroom next door and fires a shot that grazes one girl and hits a boy in the classroom. She said everything happened so fast and everyone is panicking and running around the room. There's a door at the back of the room to which the kids are running ... only to discover the door is locked and they are trapped. Seeing the kids turning back from the door, she immediately starts running toward items to hide behind.

She's moving from item to item as the gunman continues to fire into the classroom. She is now covered in dust from the bullets hitting the walls around her. Kids are scrambling trying to hide or escape and she finds an area where he can't see her, but she can see him.

She finally runs for the supply closet where she and six other kids hide. They are able to lock one door and begin blocking the other door as another girl runs into the closet with them.

As they are moving heavy items in front of the door, the gunman screams Surprise, motherf---ers and begins shooting into the closet.

The gunman hits three of the eight kids in the closet, killing two of them instantly.

He leaves to chase other kids who ran out of the room and they hear more gunshots.

Then he comes back.

By this time, Isabelle has called the police and is whispering into the phone. They tell her to stay quiet and that help is on the way. Then silence on the phone.

They hear the gunman in the classroom next door yelling Woo Hoo! and firing more shots.

She hangs up and calls the police back to be told that they are entering the premises and to stay quiet and keep hiding. Then she hears only silence again.

The gunman then comes back into their room and they hear him saying, Are you dead? Then more shots are fired.

By this time, cellphones all over the classroom are ringing and he's taunting the kids in the closet asking them, Do you think it's for you? Do you want to come answer it?

Then he proceeds to fire more bullets into the closet and tries to get in.

She calls the police again and they tell her they are headed toward the classroom. After another five to ten minutes, the police arrive outside the classroom. By this time, she has been lying on the floor for over 30 minutes next to her deceased classmates.

They listen to the exchange between the gunman and the police, as they can hear him reloading his weapon. Finally, the gunman surrenders and police take him into custody.

As the door to the closet opens, she is staring at guns pointed at her. They are instructed to put their hands ups and slowly leave the closet. As they are leaving the closet, they are walking past bodies in the classroom and hallways. They are frisked and removed from the building where they are placed in police cars to await questioning.

She and her friends had been in the same room with the gunman the ENTIRE TIME.

At this point, she makes the call to us that we received while walking toward the school.

Finally, they get her on a bus where the bus driver is asking her if she knows anything about her own daughter, whom Isabelle had seen on the floor as she walked through the classroom. This wonderful woman did everything she could to make Isabelle feel safe while not knowing the status of her own child.

DAY OF HORROR: As class began at Santa Fe: 'There's a shooting at school'

Jennifer Reynolds, MBR / Associated Press

AS THE AFTERNOON progresses, Isabelle's phone is going crazy with students reaching out to one another. The kids are sharing about what they saw and who had been injured and transported to the hospital. One friend who ran from the gunman tells them there was more than one gunman, although we've not heard this again in the media.

It's at this time that I notice she is agitated and I look at her phone. Unbelievably, other students are bullying her on social media. Blaming her for not trying to do more to save her classmates, calling her a liar about what happened, etc. I tell her it's time to shut off social media and put the phone away.

She is now glued to the TV and my niece, Savannah, is on her way over to be with her cousins. Every noise makes her jump and sounds are triggering reactions. She's our shadow.

Isabelle becomes more and more upset over the TV, as they are interviewing people who weren't in the area where the gunman was and they are reporting incorrect information. She tells me that she has been contacted by the Washington Post and wants to let them interview her.

Now, you have to remember, this is our extremely shy child and my only thought is to protect my child. We talk about it and I explain that while some may feel better sharing their story, others do not. She is insistent that she share her experience so that people know what happened.

Within the hour, we have a reporter and cameraman in our home. They were so polite and careful with her. We're finishing up the interview and I look down and notice that I never even wiped the blood off my foot.

We turn our phones back on and are being bombarded with calls and texts. Wendy calls as her friend's son was shot and in surgery. Steven calls from out of town to check on everyone and ask if we know anything about a foreign exchange student his friend is hosting. My niece, Savannah, has come over to be with her cousins. Gregory is now at the house. Our family calls asking if we know anything about the kid's cousin.

By early evening, the families of missing kids are still waiting for news. Explosives have been found in the school and they have been unable to identify the fatalities while they continue to sweep the building.

AS THE EVENING progresses, Gregory and Kenny take the children to the vigil for the community, while I go for food. On my way to get food, my phone rings with confirmation that their cousin has died in the shooting. After 10 hours of waiting, the parents were called together and asked for pictures of their children. They then matched them and notified the families. Think about that for a minute: Over 10 hours. Not knowing whether your child is safe.

We return home and begin to eat. Remembering that we were supposed to take Gregory to dinner for his birthday, I tell him that we'll take him another time. He looks at me and says, This is just a meal. I could've been remembering that I lost my sister at my birthday for the rest of my life. As confused as I was feeling, this helped me focus.

As the media announces the names of the confirmed dead, Isabelle falls apart. She'd been watching the TV so intently waiting for this. She had prayed that her friends lying around the school were just injured. The confirmation of their deaths was crushing.

Isabelle tells me that she's afraid to take a shower. I tell her that she might feel better if she washes away the day. She decides to try and took the quickest shower of her lifetime. She said the water hitting the tiles reminded her of sounds she heard while locked in the closet.

LATER IN THE EVENING, another parent reached out to ask if Isabelle could come over as her daughter wanted to see her. As she also wanted to check on her friends, I drove her over. We weren't there 15 minutes and she was ready to leave.

One of the other girls was not at school today and the other had run out and was not near the shooting area. As we get in the car, Isabelle tells me that she couldn't breathe and had to leave. They felt like strangers to her, as they didn't have the same experience.

We talked about grief and how each child's experience and reaction to it will be different depending on where they were in the school at the time. For now, she feels like she needs to be with those people in the two classrooms that were targeted. I completely understand.

We get home and she asks her daddy if she can sleep with me. He left to go take care of Kam and I'm sitting here watching her sleep. I'm so proud of her and her bravery and caring heart. She saved herself, called the police, shared her phone with others who were afraid, spoke to a reporter to share her story and stayed strong until she was able to transfer her burden to us.

So far, she's sleeping peacefully. No tossing or turning ... nothing like I anticipated. But as she dreams, she knows that I'm sitting here watching over her, and I hope that's enough for her to find peace in her slumber.

AS FOR TODAY....

The bus driver who so kindly watched over my daughter ... lost her own.

My daughter lost two beloved teachers and friends.

My son lost his best friend.

Our family lost their cousin.

A family in Pakistan lost their daughter who was here as a foreign exchange student.

Other families' children didn't come home today.

Our community lost its innocence and feeling of safety.

And I noticed that I still haven't washed the blood off my foot.

Deedra Van Ness first posted this account on her Facebook page. It's run here by permission.

Bookmark Gray Matters. We can no longer keep the tears from falling.



MORE COVERAGE OF THE SANTA FE SCHOOL SHOOTING:

Santa Fe unites as more horrific details emerge after school shooting

School police officer John Barnes flatlined twice after Santa Fe shooting, wife says

Santa Fes season ends on emotional day

Teens watch classmates die on morning of chaos

Victims' stories: What we know about the two teachers and eight students we lost

'You'll never be forgotten': Stories of victims, survivors

Wounded Santa Fe ISD officer didn't hesitate to confront shooter

Doctors, nurses spring into action for Santa Fe shooting victims

The accused Santa Fe shooter will never get the death penalty. Here's why.

Governor, lawmakers vow to make schools safer

Falkenberg: Shooting reminds us no one is safe

Editorial: Now it's happened here

Read all of our coverage hereAUSTIN  Texas Democrats are drawing hope from wins around the country, but they dont agree on exactly how to apply those election lessons to reverse a losing streak that has left them without a statewide victory here for more than two decades.

Do they run with a hard-left message to stir a Democratic base distraught over actions by President Trump and statewide Republican officials? Or do they present a moderate message to appeal to Republicans who may no longer see themselves reflected in the increasingly far-right GOP?

For Ed Espinoza, executive director of Progress Texas, the results in Virginia and elsewhere show Democrats here should run with a truly progressive message that resonates with workers, with the middle class, with communities of color, with young people.

That means a rights message, he said: immigrant rights, reproductive rights, voting rights, civil rights that encompass the LGBTQ community along with racial and ethnic groups.

There is no great hunger for Democratic conservatives anywhere right now. I dont even know what that means, said Espinoza. Part of the problem is we have moderated our message in the past. We have tried to be Republican lite. When you try to be Republican Lite, you are not giving your people a reason to support you. In Virginia, they ran a strong progressive campaign, and they were rewarded for it.

If we want to effect change, we have a better chance of mobilizing our growing progressive base than we do in trying to convince Trump voters to change their mind, he said.

Andrew White, son of the late Democratic former Gov. Mark White, is weighing a run for the Democratic nod for governor as just the type of candidate that Espinoza doesnt understand.

You can call me a moderate Republican. You can call me a conservative Democrat. I dont care, White told the Express-News, repeating a line that drew attention when Texas Monthly first reported he was exploring a challenge to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

The labels dont help us, said White. What we have in Texas is an almost 25-year history of the middle voters, the independent-minded voters, voting Republican. And today, I think that Republican Party no longer exists.

White sees an opportunity in appealing to moderate Republican voters who arent in line with Trump and arent impressed with top statewide leaders efforts to restrict the restrooms that transgender people can use, ban sanctuary cities and institute taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school tuition.

The goal is to help the independent-minded voter realize that the interests of the Democratic Party are really more aligned with their interests  which is a strong public school education, fixing property taxes so that theyre fair, and expanding Medicaid so we can get access to the money weve already paid the government, White said. Virginia is a clear example. When you have Democrats winning in suburban areas where they havent done well in the past, you see that people are ready for a change.

White gets pushback from former state Sen. Wendy Davis, who lost to Abbott by more than 20 percentage points in 2014 in a campaign launched by her nationally noted filibuster against tighter abortion laws. She has taken issue with Whites stand on abortion. White says he supports Roe v. Wade, which upheld womens right to abortion, but that the state should be finding ways to make it rare.

Abortion is a very complicated issue, and we have given ourselves only two choices, White said, emphasizing that he supports Planned Parenthood and womens health care.

Davis, who called him an anti-choice man and advised on Facebook, Just no, agreed with Espinoza that it makes no sense to run as a lite candidate.

Lessons learned: No. 1, fighting for health care is an important and electorally valuable fight, Davis said. The other lesson learned from Virginia really is the value of infrastructure.

Virginia has benefitted from hotly contested statewide elections and a focus in presidential elections, she said, and that has resulted in the ability to contact and turn out voters. And thats key. Thats something that were missing here in Texas.

But to Democrats benefit, she said, Texas is seeing an organic rise in activity by progressive groups like Indivisible and Pantsuit Nation.

I do think that was happening in Virginia, too.... I think weve got a really strong wave of that going on, she said.

She also cited qualified Democratic candidates stepping up to run for congressional and legislative seats.

Whoever runs now at the statewide level in Texas, I am sure will do dramatically better than we did in 2014, she said.

Differences among Democrats are longstanding, exemplified by the 2016 presidential primary battle between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

But Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, said the national debate about whether the party needs to move toward a complete economic agenda versus identity politics presents a false choice.

Garcia said the key is to emphasize that regardless of the issue, We have to be fighting for the little guy in all of these situations. Thats who we are at our core.

Some Republicans have scoffed at Democratic wins in the hotly contested governors race in Virginia, in which Trump supported the Republican, and telling races in that states House of Delegates, and the race for New Jersey governor.

The fact that Democrats won in Democrat states isnt at all surprising, said Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey.

But Democrats also can point to legislative victories in conservative states like Oklahoma and Georgia. And in Alabama, mounting abuse claims against Republican U.S. Senate nominee Roy Moore have helped his Democratic opponent and could add to a dim view of the GOP.

Abbott senior adviser Dave Carney, in a memo obtained by the Express-News that first was reported by the Houston Chronicle, warned the governors team that it would be a huge mistake to write off Texas Democrats as disorganized and focus on Virginias differences from the Lone Star State.

The results point to serious problems for Republicans among suburban voters, Carney wrote, adding that Democrats will turn out to vote in higher numbers than ever before to voice their displeasure with President Trump.

Without Clinton to push them away, Carney wrote, swing voters will lean Democratic in reaction to the national political environment.

The enthusiasm gap that we face is real. It is going to take a concerted effort by the campaign to overcome it, not just for ourselves, but for the down-ballot races that will be depending on us to pull them over the line, he wrote.

Most of the attention on Texas Democratic fortunes has focused on the party not yet blessing a major challenger to Abbott, who has more than $40 million in his campaign warchest.

But there are prospects in addition to White, including Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, who would elevate the race into a nationally watched one in part since she has tangled with Abbott over her jail policies on immigrants.

U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, a charismaticcampaigner who has traveled Texas in his fight against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, is the only statewide Democratic hopeful who has drawn much attention.

But further down the ballot, Democrats see opportunity in congressional seats that have been held by Republicans, including the always hard-fought Congressional District 23, represented by Republican Will Hurd, and now Congressional District 21, from which Republican Lamar Smith has announced his retirement. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has added Smiths districts to its priority list of districts to flip, along with Hurds and the seats held by John Culberson (district 7) and Pete Sessions (district 32).

Democrats also see a chance in the state House, with 10 Republicans holding seats in districts that Clinton won in 2016.

Next year is going to be a difficult election for Republicans. Mid-term elections are always tough for the party in power, and this time around, President Trump represents a real millstone around Republican candidates neck, said Rice University political scientist Mark Jones.

That could create some real problems for candidates in targeted congressional districts, Jones said. But when it comes to statewide races, Jones said, the Republican cushion in Texas is far too large for any GOP candidates to be vulnerable.

Every single Republican is going to win statewide in 2018, he said. There is nothing that can change that.

The best message is a dilemma for Democrats, he said.

If the Democratic Party goes with an excite-the-base type strategy, that might help them in a small number of swing seats. But the same thing that helps you win those tossup seats can hurt you statewide, he said. If your goal is to pick up some marginal seats that are held by vulnerable Republicans, the turnout message is best in the short term. If your long-term goal is to actually become the majority party in Texas you are not going to win that with an agenda that is too far to the left.

Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, said the key is always finding good candidates to fund and run. Virginia Gov.-elect Ralph Northam had his critics, but Sabato said the core reason for his victory besides the anti-Trump wave was Northam himself.

People liked and trusted him, he said. The combination of Trump repudiation and trust in Northam produced a near-landslide.

Virginia Democrats recruited an exceptionally large group of state legislative candidates who worked hard, even in tough districts, he said. They put themselves in position to catch hold of a wave, and sure enough, there was a wave.

And in the Alabama race, a Fox News poll released Thursday showed Moores Democratic opponent, Doug Jones, with an 8-point lead

If a Senate race in deepest red Alabama can get competitive as this one has, Sabato said, then Texas is not a lost cause for Democrats.

pfikac@express-news.net | Twitter: @pfikacSANTA FE  Songs of peace and healing filled Arcadia First Baptist Church here Sunday as grieving congregants came together for prayers and strength while an investigation continues into the mass shooting Friday that left eight students and two teachers dead at the local high school.

With a 17-year-old student behind bars on capital murder charges, shaken residents attended church services, vigils, a pre-graduation baccalaureate service and final prayers for a foreign exchange student killed in the early-morning rampage.

And as the community struggled to move forward, law enforcement offered up new details about Fridays attack, saying experts determined that some of the explosives linked to the mass shooting were functional  contrary to earlier reports from local officials.

Federal agents are continuing to investigate the shooting, and the U.S. Justice Department is considering filing additional charges against student Dimitrios Pagourtzis, according to a source familiar with the investigation.

On Sunday, church-goers hugged and greeted one another at the Baptist church, where Gov. Greg Abbott joined the congregation.

We need to pray that as a nation we begin to turn back to the Lord, that this senseless killing may be stopped in our schools, interim pastor Jerl Watkins said. Do we need to do more than just pray? Yes, we certainly do, but prayer needs to be a continual and integral part of all that we do.

He called for people to turn to faith in times of tragedy.

There are no words to take away that hurt and pain, Watkins said. But Father, you have something that can give us peace in spite of the pain.

Stash of explosives

Pagourtzis, a high school junior, is facing charges of capital murder and aggravated assault on a public servant after police say he admitted to stashing a revolver and a shotgun under his trench coat and opening fire Friday during first period at Santa Fe High School.

Police havent offered a motive, but according to court filings, Pagourtzis  who some said was the target of school bullies  told investigators that he spared classmates he liked so his story could be told afterward.

When authorities arrested the teen half an hour after the massacre, they warned of possible explosives discovered around the building.

Hours later, officials reported that the devices were shoddily constructed and lacked the detonators necessary for a fiery explosion. The Molotov cocktail and bundles of duct-taped carbon dioxide canisters and nails found at the school, however, could have been deadly, they said.

Yet midday Sunday, law enforcement offered a different take. The explosives found on campus were functional, a development that could open up the possibility of federal charges in the case against the suspect.

Similar devices were found at two other locations, but its not clear whether those were operational as well, the source familiar with the investigation said.

It was news to attorney Nicholas Poehl, who is representing Pagourtzis.

That would be the very first Ive heard of that, Poehl said. Im not in a position to deny it, but that would be strange, given the authorities prior statements on that.

Pagourtzis has already made his first court appearance, in Galveston, but has no additional court hearings set. Poehl said it was too early to say how his client might plead, though he has indicated that he may seek a mental health exam.

But even as the investigation unfolds, Poehl said law enforcement officials have rejected the idea that Pagourtzis targeted one of his victims because she rejected his advances, as the girls mother has said.

Poehl said theres likewise been no discussion of charging the teens parents for failing to secure the weapons used in the attack.

I dont think its likely that the parents face any criminal liability under existing law, he said. Given that the guns were locked up and he was 17, I dont see a way to charge them.

Pagourtzis parents issued a statement saying they were saddened and dismayed by the charges, and said they seem incompatible with the boy we love.

A nations problem

Early Sunday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called out the distraught parents in an ABC interview in which he also decried the influence of video games and pushed to arm teachers.

We dont know all the facts yet, but this particular young man got his guns in some way from his parents home, he said. You should have your guns locked up. Its against the law in Texas to let any loaded gun get in the hands of children.

But, he stressed, fewer guns are not the answer.

We cannot sit back and say its the gun; its us as a nation, he told This Week host George Stephanopoulos. We take the guns out of society  if you or anyone else thinks that that makes us safer, then  then  then Im sad to say that youre mistaken.

Abbott took a quieter approach, announcing a moment of silence statewide for 10 a.m. today and showing up for the Santa Fe church service.

Hunter Bloomfield was among the students who attended the service. The high school senior fled the school and hid at a nearby automotive shop as news spread of the active shooter. He was one of several seniors recognized at the service as part of a planned celebration of high school graduates.

But the shooting changed the focus of the service.

We had a scare a month or two ago, Bloomfield said about a false threat in February that caused the school to go on lockdown. I thought that was as bad as it was going to get. I didnt think there was actually going to be a shooter at our school.

Students also attended baccalaureate services Sunday evening, with graduation set for June 1.

School is set to resume Wednesday, though some parents indicated that they are worried about sending their children back into the building.

Im going to home-school, parent Melissa Ansley said, because this kind of stuff scares me.

Staff Writers Katherine Blunt, Alyson Ward and Shelby Webb contributed to this report.General Electric confirmed it is merging its GE Transportation locomotive business with Wabtec, valuing the transaction at $11.1 billion.

Wabtec makes a range of parts and control systems for trains, with the company based in Wilmerding, Pa. about 150 miles south of Erie where GE Transportation has its historic locomotive manufacturing operations.A New Canaan entrepreneur chose Farmington as the headquarters for Bactana, which is producing super-probiotic bacteria strains designed to promote growth for newborn calves and other livestock as an alternative to hormones and antibiotics.

With $400,000 in funding from the states Connecticut Innovations venture fund, Bactana will enter the UConn Technology Incubation Program in Farmington.

Bactana is led by CEO John Kallassy, with its microbiomes developed by its chief scientific officer Rodrigo Bicalho and fellow researchers at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, which has a location in Stamford and which is licensing the technology to Bactana.

In addition to promoting weight gain for livestock, Kallassy says the pioneer gut colonizers Bactana is developing can reduce calf scours, a condition that can affect more than four in 10 calves in which the animals develop diarrhea and dehydration, increasing their susceptibility to lethal diseases. Bactana cites a Cornell study of more than 500 calves in which those treated at birth with Bactanas probiotics produced greater quantities of milk.

The bacteria and microbes that live in us and on us outnumber our own cells 10 to one, Kallassy said. They are digesting food and producing enzymes, and they are required for us to survive.

Kallassy told Hearst Connecticut Media that Bactana is eyeing the possibility of treatments to help dogs and other pets, as well, which also suffer from irritable bowel syndrome.

Kallassy lives in New Canaan and previously was chief operating officer for Jaguar Health, a San Francisco company that went public in 2015 and whose products include a dehydration preventative for calves.

UConn has an animal science program that includes a Storrs dairy operation with more than 200 cows. Bactana joins about three dozen organizations that are part of the UConn Technology Incubation Program, which range from Arax Engineering, working on a novel construction material to help bridges and buildings withstand earthquakes; to Thetis Pharmaceuticals, which is developing a drug candidate for inflammatory bowel disease.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulmanGREENWICH  Greenwich resident Alexandra Bergstein will challenge five-term Republican incumbent L. Scott Frantz for the 36th State Senate District, which covers all of Greenwich as well as portions of Stamford and New Canaan.

Launched under the theme of Unite for Connecticut the campaign will be the first run by the 51-year-old attorney.

I believe we need representation that reflects the full spectrum of our values, Bergstein said Monday. Hartford has become much more partisan since the 2016 election and I am avowedly non-partisan in my approach to everything. I want to change the culture of partisanship and bring practical, long-term solutions to our states politicians.

A former Republican running as a Democrat, she said her principles on major issues  pro-environment, pro-choice, pro-gun safety  have not changed while the party has shifted away.

Those issues have become partisan when they should not be, Bergstein said, adding putting principle over party would be a major value of her campaign.

She vowed to run a civil campaign against Frantz, who was nominated without opposition by Republicans last Monday for a sixth term. He said he will run a campaign focused on Connecticuts economy.

It is crystal clear that the most important issue in this election will be about the economic, employment and fiscal crises that Connecticut faces, Frantz said Monday. The numbers in each of these areas place us in the bottom three of all states in the nation and reflect generations of failed state policies by the majority party. If the state is able to attract better leadership, we can avoid insolvency going forward. If not, other important issues to voters and myself in particular such as preserving the environment, caring for the neediest and education will become irrelevant because funding for them will be completely displaced.

Frantz touted his experience, both at the private investment company Haebler Capital and in Hartford, where he is co-chair of the Senates Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee. Frantz said he is in position to stop fiscally unsound ideas and promote fiscally healthy ideas.

Bergstein said she is focused on the economy as well, calling Connecticuts fiscal health the states number one priority.

Nothing else can work if we dont have a healthy economy, Bergstein said.

But she said the idea that people have to choose between economic growth or social progression is a false one. Connecticut can have both, she said, by investing in infrastructure and education while changing tax policy to draw in businesses and encourage residents to stay.

She said she would push to lower the states individual income tax and abolish the estate and gift taxes.

They are doing more harm than good, Bergstein said. They are dragging people out of the state and if we can retain those high-net-worth people we would bring a lot more into the public coffers. I know people like to think of all Democrats as tax and spend Democrats but thats a myth and I am not a tax and spend person.

Bergstein also advocated for making the states corporate tax system more fair, transparent and competitive by reducing the overall corporate tax rate and reducing the number of incentives and credits, which she said would make the business environment more transparent by having all companies working on an even playing field.

And she said any discussion of Connecticuts fiscal health has to focus on the unfunded obligations owed to state employees.

There is no question this has to be renegotiated, Bergstein said. I know a lot of Democrats dont want to say that but I have no compunction about saying that. Its obvious when a promise is made and a promise cant be kept, you need to renegotiate the terms. And its actually in the employees best interests also because then when its renegotiated for something thats both fair and feasible they will have something they can count on.

While this November will be the first time Bergstein has had her own name on a ballot, politics are not new for her. Her mother, Mary Mochary, was mayor of Montclair, N.J. from 1980 to 1984 and in 1984 unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in New Jersey as a Republican against Democratic Sen. Bill Bradley.

Personally, Bergstein has local political experience as campaign manager for Democrat Jill Oberlanders run for state representative in 2014. And she pointed to her work for more than a decade in town as an advocate for the environment, childrens health and other areas, including more recently for gender equality both locally and on a state level.

Bergstein was to be formerly nominated by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee on Monday night.

Frantz said Monday he is eager to have a Democratic opponent, which has not always been the case in his campaigns for office.

I very much look forward to the spirited debates to come with Alex, who is a good friend and good person, Frantz said. I think we have another opportunity to raise the quality of the discussion to a higher level than we see in other places, and I am hopeful that she will make an effort to restrain her party from engaging in the negative campaigning that has occurred in the past.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.comby Dan Harris | Mon, May 21st 11:57am EDT

Roberto Osuna's administrative leave will be extended another week until May 28th, according to Jon Heyman. (Jon Heyman on Twitter)

Fantasy Impact:

There's really no sense as to how long Osuna will be on administrative leave at this point, but it seems unlikely that he'll be back immediately after May 28th. Expect Tyler Clippard to continue to serve as the Blue Jays' closer, unless his recent mis-step causes a change in the relief pitcher hierarchy in Toronto.WILMINGTON, Del.  Corteva Agriscience Agriculture Division of DowDuPont and Monsanto Company have completed a licensing agreement for next-generation technology for insect control in corn for the U.S. and Canada.

Corteva Agriscience will receive a license to stack Monsantos Corn Rootworm III and MON89034 traits with Corteva Agrisciences insect control traits.

This new next generation product combines Corteva Agriscience molecular stack for insect control and Enlist with Monsantos Corn Rootworm III and MON89034 (Bt) to create a broad-spectrum insect control product with multiple modes of action for above- and below-ground pests.

Pending applicable regulatory reviews, it will be offered with the Enlist tolerant trait for corn, which provides tolerance to new 2,4-D choline, and FOP herbicides in addition to the base glyphosate tolerance.

Financial details of the agreement are not being disclosed.BURLINGTON, Vt.  A University of Vermont Extension professor has invented a $300 device that could save produce growers an average of $6,500 annually in improved storage conditions. The device could also save artisanal cheese and meat producers up to $10,000 a year in higher yields during processing.

The invention, called a DewRight, modernizes 250-year-old technology to more accurately measure temperature and relative humidity.

The savings come from reduced spoilage and increased yield, increased quality, improved recipe repeatability and labor savings, said its inventor, Chris Callahan, an assistant professor of agricultural engineering at UVM Extension.

In the high humidity environment of a storage room, off-the-shelf equipment that is now used can be off by as much as plus-or-minus 6 percent relative humidity, Callahan said. The new device reduces that to plus-or-minus 2 percent relative humidity, a 67 percent improvement.

Unlike off-the-shelf versions, it also functions accurately at lower temperatures that food storage and processing facilities often require and does not fail in the continuous high humidity environment, as conventional versions do over time.

Measuring relative humidity

The device makes use of wet bulb psychrometry, developed in the late 18th century, where an ordinary thermometer and one that is enclosed by a wet wick are spun in the air by the user.

The difference in temperature between the two  the wet one will show a lower temperature as the evaporating water cools it  indicates the amount of moisture in the air, its relative humidity.

Callahans innovation was to make an electronic version of the mechanical device with improved accuracy in temperature measurement. The DewRight also automates the measurements, removing human error.

Idea from farm research

An earlier, on-farm research project of Callahans  a experimental system that allowed farmers to remotely monitor temperature and relative humidity in storage facilities  led Callahan to the need to better measure relative humidity.

The monitoring and communication electronics in that application did what they were supposed to do, but we were using off-the-shelf sensors to measure relative humidity. They werent accurate and eventually failed completely in the high humidity, low temperature conditions, he said.

The new technology could also have application for other fields where measuring relative humidity accurately is important, in art museums and conservation spaces for examples, or in semiconductor manufacturing.

For now, though, Callahan said he plans to focus on growers and artisanal food producers.

This is a market we know, and the space we know that has an immediate need, he said.

A growing market

Callahan is optimistic that the product will find success. His analysis also shows both strong and sustained growth of cold storage space for produce in the region and nation (by at least 25 percent per year for both) and increasing production of artisanal products  both of which require careful control of temperature and humidity.

There is pent-up demand for a device like this, he said.

The new technology has been licensed and is being commercially developed, with assistance from UVM Ventures and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, by Vermont Energy Control Systems of North Ferrisburgh, Vermont, which has added monitoring, data logging, and control technology to Callahans device that will automate operation and allow remote access .

Right now, there is no cost-effective solution for small farms and artisanal cheese producers who need to accurately measure temperature and humidity in their storage and production facilities, said Bill Kuhns, director of product development at Vermont Energy Control Systems.

Its a natural fit with our existing data logging and control products. Theres an international need for this capability, especially for the smaller operations that the farm-to-table movement is supporting.DENVER  The American Lamb Board selected Rebecca Miller, of Columbiana County, Ohio, and David Fisher, of Texas, to represent the United States at LambEx in Australia in August.

The board selected the two young leaders through a competitive process.

About the leaders

Rebecca Miller owns and operates Blue Heron Farms in Lisbon, Ohio, in partnership with her mother, Cynthia Koonce. They run approximately 300 commercial Dorsetcross ewes, lambing several times a year in a modified accelerated system.

They are always working to improve and grow their sheep enterprise, including the use of digital data tracking equipment, a weighing and drafting crate to better track weight gains in their feeder lambs, pasture improvements with additional forages, and using NSIP tools.

Prior to joining her mother on the farm, Miller was a journalist and traveled the world as a freelance writer. While in college, she completed an internship with Farm and Dairy, and has also contributed to our work in between international assignments.

She serves on ASIs Young Entrepreneur Committee, Ohio Sheep Improvement Associations Young Shepherds Assembly Committee, and the Ohio Department of Agriculture Small Ruminant Advisory Committee.

Fisher owns and operates a multi-species ranch  sheep, cattle and goats  in Sonorah, Texas. He has grown the operation to 450 ewes, and also helps manage his familys ranch with his father, Glen Fisher.

Fisher has served as a district director with the Texas Sheep and Goat Raisers since 2011 and has served on ASIs Wool Council since 2017. He has been instrumental in starting a group of young entrepreneurs in the sheep industry called Texas Ranchers of Tomorrow, which has grown to 40 members.

The U.S. delegation attending LambEx will also include lamb board chairman Jim Percival, American Sheep Industry Association President Mike Corn, and ASI Lamb Council Chairman Reed Anderson.

What is LambEx?

LambEx is the premier sheep and lamb event bringing together sheep producers, processors, researchers, educators and suppliers. It is held every other year in Australia, attracting perhaps the largest group of people devoted to the industry from around the world  more than 900 delegates and 60 vendors.

This international event allows the U.S. delegation to identify innovations and technologies with the potential of benefiting production efficiencies and competitiveness of American lamb.

Miller feels strongly about the value of attending LambEx and seeing Australias sheep production practices.

An American sheep producer has everything to gain by attending and participating in LambEx. It is an opportunity to learn more about best practices and to network with other producers and share our stories, said Miller.

In addition to participating at LambEx, the U.S. delegates will tour Australian lamb processing and production facilities.REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio  Ohio winemakers were honored during a special event at the Statehouse for retailers, distributors, restaurateurs and winery owners.

Nearly 20 wines were evaluated by a panel of judges and Ohio Agriculture Director David T. Daniels presented the 2018 Directors Choice award to the following recipients.

Best White Wine

2016 Riesling Reserve

Debonne Vineyards, Lake County.

Best Red Wine

2015 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Meranda-Nixon Winery, Brown County;

2014 Vin de Rouge

Henke Winery, Hamilton County

Best Dessert Wine

2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Ice Wine

Kosicek Vineyards, Ashtabula County.

Best White Wine Ohio Department of Agriculture Director David T. Daniels presents the Directors Choice Award for the Best White Wine. Pictured (l to r): Director David T. Daniels, Michael Harris and Tony Debevc of Debonne Vineyards. < > < > 1 View Best White Wine Ohio Department of Agriculture Director David T. Daniels presents the Directors Choice Award for the Best White Wine. Pictured (l to r): Director David T. Daniels, Michael Harris and Tony Debevc of Debonne Vineyards. 2 View Best Dessert Wine Ohio Department of Agriculture Director David T. Daniels presents the Directors Choice Award for the Best Dessert Wine. Pictured (l to r): Director David T. Daniels, Tony, Mauri, Anthony and Emma Kosicek and Rep. John Patterson. 3 View Best Red Wine Ohio Department of Agriculture Director David T. Daniels presents the Directors Choice Award for the Best Red Wine. Pictured (l to r): Joe Henke, Director David T. Daniels and Jenny Hilton. 4 View Best Red Wine Ohio Department of Agriculture Director David T. Daniels presents the Directors Choice Award for the Best Red Wine. Pictured (l to r): Senator Joe Uecker, Director David T. Daniels, Maura, Austin, Seth and Elizabeth Meranda.

Quality wines

All of the Directors Choice award recipients are eligible for the Ohio Quality Wine designation, assigned to wines made from at least 90 percent Ohio-grown grapes.

These wines must also achieve at least 15 of 20 points on a sensory evaluation and pass a chemical analysis before receiving the quality seal.

In a separate ceremony, several Ohio wines were honored at the 2018 Ohio Wine Competition held May 8-9 at the Lodge at Geneva in Ashtabula County and conducted by Kent State University Ashtabula.

Overall Best of Show, Maize Valley Riesling; Best of Show Sparkling Wine, Meiers Reiem Spumante; Best of Show White Wine, 2017 Ferrante Signature Series Pinot Grigio; Best of Show Red Wine, 2015 Fulton Grove Winery Syrah; Best of Show Blush Wine, Doughty Glen Laughing Blush; Best of Show Fruit Wine, Vinoklet Sweet Jackie; Best of Show Dessert Wine, 2016 Ferrante Vidal Blanc Ice Wine.

The Ohio Grape Industries Committee is housed at the Ohio Department of Agriculture and provides wineries a means to market their top-quality wines against well-known California and European wines.

To learn more about the program or for a complete list of Ohio Quality Wines, click here.The EU has voted for a post-2020 farm policy which allows Member States to adapt farming policy to their own individual needs.

The EU's Agriculture Committee adopted, by 32 votes in favour to five against, with six abstentions, a set of proposals on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for after 2020.

MEPs said they recognise that EU member states should be allowed to adapt EU farming policy to their needs, but reject any renationalisation of the CAP, which could, they say, distort competition in the single market.

They say the EU farm policy must rest on a common set of objectives. However, Member States should design their national strategies on this basis and pick actions they feel best suited for them, the Committee heard.

While the future EU farming policy should foster performance rather than compliance, farming activities in all Member States should be subject to the same EU high standards and their breach should trigger similar penalties, MEPs say.

Making EU farms more sustainable and fully integrated into the circular economy, fostering innovation, research and smart practices will be among the new CAPs top priorities.

The Agriculture Committee also said red tape should be cut for the mandatory greening measures and make them more result-oriented, simplify and better target voluntary ones.

Other measures include less money for larger farms with a mandatory EU ceiling and more help to boost support for young and new farmers.

The Agriculture Committees ideas will now be scrutinised by the Parliament as a whole during its 28 - 31 May plenary session in Strasbourg.

The news follows comments by the UK's farm minister who told British farmers to have a "change in mindset" as the UK leaves the EU.

George Eustice, the Defra Minister of State for Agriculture stated that he saw new British policy as "rewarding and incentivising farmers for what they do, and not subsidising them for income lost."A Co Armagh farmer has been fined 3,000 after being found guilty of charges relating to animal movement and tagging.

Cannice Martin has been convicted at Armagh Magistrates' Court over four charges.

These include one charge of failing to notify the movement of three cattle on to his holding, one charge of using a tag to identify an animal which had already been used to identify another animal, one charge of failing to attach an approved ear tag to a bovine animal, and one charge of failing to give assistance or information or comply with a notice served upon him.

Mr Martin pleaded guilty and was fined 3,000 plus 15 offenders levy.

The case arose from a number of discrepancies found at a cattle identification inspection of Mr Martins herd carried out by Veterinary Service Welfare and Enforcement Branch.

The current interest in food safety by both Government and consumer groups means it is essential that the government is seen to be implementing all legislation pertaining to the traceability of livestock.The free range egg sector has highlighted concerns of oversupply and decreased prices as recent figures show supplies have surged more than 10 percent over last 12 months.

The number of free range eggs passing through United Kingdom packing stations in the first quarter of this year amounted to 3.9 million cases - up by 10.93 per cent compared with the 3.5 million cases packed in the first three months of last year.

Free range numbers were up by nearly six per cent just against the last quarter of 2017, when 3.7 million cases were recorded at the country's packing centres.

The new figures are likely to increase fears of the free range egg market slipping into oversupply and pushing down prices.

Robert Gooch, chief executive of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) has already said he is worried about the increased numbers of birds being placed on British farms.

"We have been concerned for the last couple of years," he said. "Numbers have been increasing by 10 per cent each year whilst consumption has been increasing by just five per cent. Expansion is double the rate we need," said Mr Gooch.

Fipronil crisis

The increase has to some extent been hidden by last year's fipronil crisis on the continent.

Millions of eggs were withdrawn and large numbers of layers culled when birds were found to have been treated for red mite with the banned chemical.

The loss of so many layers headed off any immediate threat of oversupply, but Robert Gooch warned that once flocks in the Netherlands and other European countries were restored to normal the impact may well be too much egg across Europe.

"We are looking at an oversupply situation as soon as the impact of fipronil in Europe is over," Mr Gooch said earlier this year.

"We may have been in a different position if it had not been for fipronil. We are very concerned and we have been for some time."

'Prices going down'

Now, it would appear that Dutch egg units have returned to full production. Ben Dellaert, director of Avined in the Netherlands and former president of the International Egg Commission (IEC) told FarmingUK that Dutch egg production was back to normal. "Now we will see prices going down," he said.

The Defra figures show that the average free range farm gate egg price in the UK is down by just under two per cent year-on-year - from 84.3 pence per dozen in the first quarter of 2017 to 82.7 pence per dozen in the period from January to March this year.

Enriched cage eggs maintained their price over the 12 months - up very slightly from 54 pence per dozen in 2017 to 54.1 pence per dozen in the first three months of 2018.

In all, a total of 7.6 million cases of eggs were packed in UK packing stations during the first quarter of this year.

This is an increase of 3.8 increase on the first quarter of 2017 and a 1.8 per cent increase on quarter four 2017 - and free range was the big driver in this increase.

The number of enriched cage eggs recorded during January to March was 3.4 million cases - down by just over 3.5 per cent on the 3.6 cases packed in the same period last year.

Barn numbers

Barn numbers fell yet again, despite the declaration by leading retailers that they will go cage-free by 2025.

Just 106,000 cases were packed in the first quarter of 2018 compared with 110,000 in the same period least year.

Organic egg production has continued its revival. The number of organic eggs passing through the packing stations during the first three months of the year was up by 16 per cent, although the increase is from a low level.

A total of 195,000 cases were packed between January and March compared with 168,000 during the same time in 2017.

Regional differences

There were some regional differences in egg numbers, according to the Defra statistics. In England and Wales overall egg numbers increased by 3.3 per cent from 5.3 million cases last year to 5.5 million cases this year.

The number of eggs packed in Scotland was down by one half of one per cent from 971,000 cases to 965,000 cases.

Northern Ireland recorded the biggest increase. The number of eggs packed was up by just over 10 per cent from one million to 1.1 million cases.

The number of eggs bought by UK processors during the first quarter was down on last year. During the first three months of 2017 processors bought 1.1 million cases. This year the figure was 959,000 cases - a fall of more than 13 per cent.

The Defra report included figures for imports and exports for February this year - the latest period available.

The statistics, which were provided by HMRC, showed that imports of shell eggs were 107,000 cases - an 11 per cent decrease on the same period last year. Imports of egg products were up seven per cent at 327,000 cases.

Shell egg export figures for February 2018 were 450,000 cases - a huge increase on the 18,000 cases exported in the same month last year. Egg product exports were 8,000 cases - down 26 per cent compared with February 2017.

However, the report says that the data is currently being investigated by HMRC and may be subject to change.Over 270 sheep have been stolen overnight near Bridgwater, Somerset in what the police has described as a "huge loss for the farmer".

Avon and Somerset Police are appealing for more information following the large theft from land at Steart Marshes near Bridgwater.

The 92 ewes and 184 lambs were taken overnight between Thursday 10 and Friday 11 May and are a mix of breeds, although the majority of them are Pedigree Easy care ewes.

This breed of ewe is very unusual and should therefore be easily spotted if theyre being held in a field, the police said.

Pedigree Easy care ewes often look skinny and or bald as they shed their wool once it grows a few centimetres long, fields in which theyre kept will be full of the wool the sheep have shed.

Avon and Somerset Police Beat Manager Tony Freeman said the theft is a "huge loss" for the farmer as its estimated the sheep and lambs are worth between 18,000 and 20,000.

"The sheep are not only unusual in their breed but they are also marked on their backs in green, numbers range between 1 and 400," Mr Freeman said.

If you see sheep or lambs matching this description in the area, or have information on their whereabouts please call 101 quoting the reference 5218103055.The NFU has urged the government to implement tariff free and frictionless access to the EU marketplace to safeguard the UK's significant sheep sector.

Minette Batters, NFU President will today (21 May) underline the importance of an ambitious trade deal with the EU for UK agriculture, in particular for the sheep sector.

During a visit to Englands largest sheep producing area, the Yorkshire Dales, Mrs Batters will highlight the significance of the sector to the UK economy.

In 2015 the value of sheep meat exports to the EU topped 302 million  representing 95% of all such exports. Other exports of offal and sheep skins added a further 66m to the UK economy.

The NFU President will spend the day in Skipton meeting local sheep farmers and will officially open a new livestock sales complex at Craven Cattle Mart.

The complex, which includes two bespoke sale rings, represents the biggest single investment at the site in more than a decade. With 30% of Englands sheep to be found in Yorkshire and the North East, sheep production is vital to the rural economy.

Sheep production is fundamental for virtually all farming businesses in the local area, and for maintaining the world-famous landscape that brings millions of tourists flocking in every year.

'Sharp focus'

Speaking ahead of the visit, Mrs Batters highlighted the fact that this years lamb sales will be the last before the UK enters unchartered territory outside membership of the EU.

This brings into sharp focus the importance of securing a favourable trade deal with the EU, especially given the value of the sheep sector to the UK and the value of European export markets for sheep meat, she explained.

The trade deals the country is now negotiating seem very far away, with few of us actually exporting or importing directly. But trade is absolutely fundamental to the future of our livestock industry.

With so much at stake, the UK Government must adopt a trade policy which prioritises tariff free, frictionless access to the European marketplace.

Market stability

The NFU President said frictionless trade is crucial to underpin market stability  vital not just for farmers but the many wider supply chain businesses that depend on a thriving sheep sector.

She said whilst there are opportunities to explore new trading agreements with nations around the globe, the UK must not turn its back on the EU, which has influenced the development of the UK's livestock industries.

Farmers are determined to continue delivering for the nation. Whether thats providing quality, safe, traceable food for everyone, no matter what their budget, or managing iconic landscapes and helping the country achieve its environmental aspirations, Mrs Batters added.

But to do this we need the Government and its trade negotiators to understand the very real challenges facing livestock farmers as we head into unchartered waters and be ambitious in their negotiations.

High tariffs

The leader of the UK's sheep farmers has also warned about potential volatility for the industry in the face of Brexit.

Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association (NSA) told FarmingUK if the UK lost access to the Single Market, tariffs to the European Union could be so high that exporting lamb to the EU would simply not work.

He also raised concerns about the threat of cheap Australian and New Zealand lamb imports to UK farmers if the British Government allowed free access as part of newly negotiated trade deals.

Even if trade deals could be negotiated with countries like Australia and New Zealand, Mr Stocker said British farmers would need some protection from cheap imports.

For the Scottish sheep sector, a report by the AHDB has revealed it could be destroyed by a 'hard' Brexit, with average incomes expected to decline by 210 per cent.

A report analysing the impact for the South West's "vital" sheep sector has warned of the consequences reduced BPS payments could bring to farmers.The establishment of the TB Eradication Partnership (TBEP) has been announced as the next step in driving forward the fight against bovine TB in Northern Ireland.

Representatives within the Partnership will work with Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) to provide advice, assist in policy development delivery.

The eventual aim of TBEP is the eradication of bovine TB in Northern Ireland.

Farmers will be involved at every level, having an input to how the TB programme operates and bringing their experience to the problem.

Sean Hogan, previously Chair of Northern Ireland Water, has has been appointed as Chair of TBEP alongside Seamus OKane, from a veterinary background, Dr Sam Strain, from a science background and Adrian Patterson and David Rea, both from a farming background.

The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) says the appointment of the Partnership is a step in the right direction towards disease eradication.

However, the union says farmers are frustrated by the long delays and lack of meaningful action to tackle the disease in wildlife.

UFU president Ivor Ferguson said: The appointment of this group is welcome news and demonstrates that some action can be taken in the current political vacuum. However, farmers have repeatedly expressed their anger and frustration to us at the perceived lack of action being taken to tackle this awful disease.

We have requested an early meeting with the group to ensure they fully grasp farmers position and to see what additional disease control measures can be implemented without a negative impact on farm businesses.

Mr Ferguson added: At this point, farmers just want to see meaningful action to eradicate this awful disease. The appointments to TBEP is a small step forward but there is a still a long way to go.The Asia-Pacific region continues to offer opportunities for the UK pork sector as an increased presence builds up to reap the rewards of overseas trade.

Since the UK pork sector gained access in 2012, China has become the main market in the region for pork exports.

Demand was particularly strong in 2016, with UK exports valued at 43.3 million and offal exports worth a further 31.4 million, according to AHDB figures.

Despite the market being more challenging last year, UK pork exports increased by one per cent on the previous years record shipments.

However, the popularity of pork is not only evident in China when looking at UK export data. The Philippines has become an important market, with UK exports increasing by 40 per cent in 2017.

A UK pork delegation to Manila earlier this year shows that appetite for UK pig meat and offal products remains strong  latest data shows shipments were up 50 per cent year-on-year.

Exports of pork to South Korea and Japan also started the year well, increasing by 26 per cent and 61 per cent respectively.

Asian middle class

Despite increased presence and popularity in the Far East, the AHDB is calling on the pork industry to work hard to remain at the top of the list for importers as competition grows.

Jonathan Eckley, AHDB Exports new Head of Asia Pacific is looking to build on the strong figures and will be attending numerous trade missions in the Far East this year.

His recent appointment signals the commitment by industry to increase exports from the UK by building on existing markets and developing new opportunities in the Far East.

He said: The Asia-Pacific region as a whole continues to present many future opportunities for UK exporters and we must do all that we can to ensure our products benefit from a growth in the market.

The Asian middle class is projected to expand rapidly over the coming years, with two thirds of the worlds middle class living in the Asia-Pacific region by 2030, according to the OECD. An increase in wealth is expected to trigger a rise in meat consumption in that region and its an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.

Mr Eckle said increasing exports of UK pork to the Far East is not without its challenges, as continued competition from other countries puts pressure.

Awareness of British

AHDBs Chief Communications and Market Development Officer Christine Watts said the increased presence in the Far East represents a significant investment by AHDB to build awareness of British products overseas and grow our exports.

AHDB is committed to working with farmers, growers and industry to build new and ambitious export opportunities, she added.

We now have a dedicated team in the Asia-Pacific region to help develop our existing work, identify new opportunities and build on the strong relationships we have already in this all-important market.

This investment also allows us to build our knowledge with a series of new research being undertaken this year to provide us and exporters with real consumer insight into these fast growing markets.

Upcoming trade shows, seen as important for pork exports to showcase products to influential buyers, include SIAL China in Shanghai, the 16th annual China International Meat Industry Exhibition in Hong Kong and FHC Shanghai later in the year.

Jonathan Eckley said the shows build important relationships with the ultimate goal of increasing exports to the growing Asian market.

With the uncertainty surrounding the future of UK and EU trade relations in light of Brexit, it is crucial that we look to exploit the opportunities presented in the Far East and work to build on the already impressive export figures from the past few years, he said.Ace filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani recently saw Sohum Shah's next film 'Tumbad' in a special screening which was held for him. Rajkumar Hirani who is busy in the post-production for his soon to release biopic Sanju, took time out to watch the film that has Sohum Shah featuring as well as producing the film.

Rajkumar Hirani found Sohum Shah's Tumbad visually stunning, with great camerawork and art to its credit. The filmmaker was also awestruck with actor Sohum Shah's performance in the film and found him outstanding in the film.

Rajkumar Hirani took to his twitter handle and wrote," Just saw an early screening of TUMBAD. I have not seen a more visually stunning film in a long time. Great camera work, art, costumes. And @s0humshah you are outstanding in the film!@LittleTownFilms"

Rajkumar Hirani is one filmmaker who rarely comes out on social media in praise a film. In fact, probably it is the first time, Rajkumar Hirani has gone all out praising a film on social media.

Rajkumar Hirani praising a film on social media is indeed commendable. After watching Raju Kumar Hirani's post, an elated Sohum immediately thanked and replied to Rajkumar Hirani through his social media post.

Sohum Shah posted an image of him and Rajkumar Hirani and captioned it by writing," o this is what Hirani sir tweeted after watching the labour of our love, Tumbbad - "Just saw an early screening of TUMBAD. I have not seen a more visually stunning film in a long time. Great camera work, art, costumes. And @s0humshah you are outstanding in the film! #LittleTownFilms"

Thank you for all the love and appreciation, sir. It means a lot when it comes from a stalwart like you :) #MukeshShah"

Sohum Shah's Tumbad is a fantasy thriller set in colonial India and is directed by Rahi Anil Barve. The film is already receiving appreciation from film festivals and is slated for release this year.Mammootty

Megastar Mammootty, who is also a close friend of Mohanlal, always makes it a point to wish Mohanlal on his special day. The Megastar of Mollywood took to his Facebook page to wish Mohanlal on this birthday as well.

Prithviraj

Prithviraj, who is all set to direct Mohanlal, in the upcoming film Lucifer, did send out his wishes in a special style. He wrote Happy Birthday L', indicating both Lalettan and their upcoming venture Lucifer.

Suresh Gopi

Suresh Gopi too, took to his official facebook page to wish Mohanlal on the special day. He sent out a note in Malayalam, which translates to 'a Thousand Birthday Birthday wishes to Kochunni, who stole the heart of Malayalam cinema'.

Jayaram

Jayaram sent out his wishes for Mohanlal in style. The actor has posted a collage of pictures, featuring him and Mohanlal along with a message written in Malayalam, wishing the Thampuran'of Malayalam cinema, a very happy birthday.

Nivin Pauly

Nivin Pauly, who has worked with Mohanlal in the much awaited film Kayamkulam Kochunni, was one among the first celebrities to wish Mohanlal on the special day. Along with the birthday wishes, he thanked Mohanlal for inspiring all.

Kunchacko Boban

Kunchacko Boban has sent out a photoshoot picture, featuring himself and Mohanlal, and tagged it, 'with the Birthday Boy'', while sending his special wishes for Mohanlal.Hina Khan

Hina Khan was in Delhi to receive Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award. Sharing a few pictures, Hina Khan wrote, "Saree by @ilk_insta. Earrings- @mohabygeetanjali, Neckpiece: @shubhashini.ornamentals, Ring- @sangeetaboochra from @minerali_store, Styled by @kansalsunakshi, MKup by @houseobeautyy, Hair by @vijaythaakur 21st RajivGandhiexcellenceaward gratitude #thankyougod."

Hina Khan Bags Rajiv Gandhi Global Excellence Award

Hina also shared a few pictures on her Instagram story. She also posted a picture in which Sheila Dikshit honoured her with the award. According to the pictures doing the rounds on social media, Hina was honoured for her outstanding contribution in distinguished field of Most Stylish Diva In TV Industry.

The Actress Looked Stylish & Gorgeous In The Blue Sari

The actress looked stylish and gorgeous in the blue sari at the event and fans couldn't stop praising her. Rashi Anand wrote, "You have made us all proud. I am glad to hear this great news. I congratulate you on this beautiful moment of your life.. ." - (sic)

Fans Tweets: @eyeSherrKhan

"Former chief minister of Delhi Mrs #ShilaDixit giving the #RajivGandhiGlobalExcellenceAward to Hina khan. Congratulation @eyehinakhan for this prestigious award #HinaKhanUpdates #HinaKhan." - (sic)

@RHinaholic

"So proud of u mam,u r one of those ppl who contribute a lot to India,in various fields.Indian Tv Industry is glad to hv a  lyk u.U r the 1st Tv actor to b felicitated with dis honour,which consists of highly authorised panel of jury members.Proud of u mam @eyehinakhan." - (sic)

@myselfdiyaM

"Congrats my queen for one more  Right now ...I am speechless only and only seeing this beauty ..Maashallah  @eyehinakhan kya khub lgti ho bdi sundr dikhti ho ..So so proud of you my queen  #HinaKhan #RajivGandhiGlobalExcellenceAward @JJROCKXX @eyehinakhan." - (sic)

Nikita Singh - Nikki 

"One by one itne prestigious awards...  Humari #HinaKhan h hi aesi.. #girlpower  Rajiv gandhi global excellence award to her !! Wow..  @eyehinakhan @JJROCKXX @Hinaholics #RajivGandhiGlobalExcellenceAward "- (sic)Ishita Shoots Adi

In the latest promo, we saw Ishita holding a gun and threatening Adi to leave Roshini alone! But since Adi doesn't leave her, he gets shot! It is said that Ishita will be sent to jail. Post leap, Ishita and Raman part ways!

Abhishek Verma Thanks Fans

While Abhishek didn't confirm officially about his exit, he took to social media to thank fans for their love and support. He was bashed by a few YHM fans, as he was seen in negative role, while Anita (Shagun) supported him! She asked him to ignore negative comments as he is doing a fab job!

Abhishek Writes

"Actors are some of the most courageous people.  With every scene we stretch ourselves emotionally and physically too, risking criticism and judgement. Actors are willing to give their entire lives to a moment to make it real whether its a positive emotion or a negative " - (sic)

Abhishek Thanks Fans For Their Love & Appreciation

"But its NOT who we are in REAL  We are fortunate as we get to portray different characters some characters are good , some are bad. Just wanna say THANK YOU to all the fans for giving me so much of love and appreciation.  ." - (sic)

Aly Is Missing Abhishek

Aly shared a picture snapped with Abhishek and wrote, "We all miss u bro specially me in our two shots but trust me something really good is waiting for u.. u r a superb actor and mind blowing person.. inshallah u will get something reallly good  All the best for ur future chote @i.m.abhishekk." - (sic)

Abhishek Too Is Missing His Team

Abhishek too, commented on Aly's post, "Miss you moree bhaiya. And thank you so much bhaiya for all the blessings. Really missing you all really." - (sic). Aly's post got positive comments on Abhishek's character! Fans didn't want his character to end.

Usha Rana To Replace Shahnaz Rizwan

On the other hand, it is known to all that Shahnaz Rizwan, who plays Raman's mother (Mrs Bhalla) has quit the show. According to the latest report, Usha Rana, who was seen in Thapki Pyar Ki, will be replacing Shahnaz.

Usha Rana As Mrs Bhalla

Usha Rana was quoted by IWMBuzz.com as saying, "It feels good to be part of this popular show. It is a very nice show, and I have followed it too to some extent. I will put in my efforts to do justice to the character. I will also work along with director and try and give my inputs to the character which will help me settle well into the character."

Usha Is Proud To Be Part Of YHM!

On getting compared to Shahnaz, the actress said, "An artist should never fear being compared, nor react to negative feedbacks. I have the confidence in me to perform well as Toshi Bhalla. I want the love of viewers. I want to entertain them. I am really proud of being part of Yeh Hai Mohabbatein," said the actor."Regulatory News:

GenSight Biologics (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible) (Paris:SIGHT), a biopharma company focused on discovering and developing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, today announced that it will host a KOL Event on June 12, 2018 in New York City from 8 a.m. 10:30 a.m. ET. Management and Key Opinion Leaders in the gene therapy and ophthalmology space will present full results and findings from the Phase III REVERSE study of GS010 for the treatment of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON). Discussion will also focus on the future clinical and regulatory strategy for GS010. Topline results from the REVERSE study were reported in April 2018.

Speakers will include:

Nancy J. Newman, MD , Director, Neuro-Ophthalmology, and LeoDelle Jolley Professor of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA (Investigator in REVERSE and RESCUE trials)

, Director, Neuro-Ophthalmology, and LeoDelle Jolley Professor of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA Jose-Alain Sahel, MD , Director of the Institut de la Vision (Sorbonne-Universite/Inserm/CNRS), Paris; Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des XV-XX, Paris; Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center)

, Director of the Institut de la Vision (Sorbonne-Universite/Inserm/CNRS), Paris; Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at Centre Hospitalier National d'Ophtalmologie des XV-XX, Paris; Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) Robert C. Sergott, MD , Director, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Wills Eye Hospital; Director, William H. Annesley, Jr, EyeBrain Center, and Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA

, Director, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Wills Eye Hospital; Director, William H. Annesley, Jr, EyeBrain Center, and Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA Mark Moster, MD, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Wills Eye Hospital and Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA (Investigator in REVERSE and RESCUE trials)

The presentation will be webcast live at https://www.gensight-biologics.com/category/events-presentations/. For those not available to attend or listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be archived for 3 months and available at https://www.gensight-biologics.com/category/events-presentations/. For more information or to RSVP please contact Chad Rubin at crubin@troutgroup.com or Rebecca John at rjohn@troutgroup.com.

About GenSight Biologics

GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on discovering and developing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics' pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. GenSight Biologics' lead product candidate, GS010, is in Phase III trials in Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disease that leads to irreversible blindness in teens and young adults. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics' product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery.

About GS010

GS010 targets Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) by leveraging a mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) proprietary technology platform, arising from research works conducted at the Institut de la Vision in Paris, which, when associated with the gene of interest, allows the platform to specifically address defects inside the mitochondria using an AAV vector (Adeno-Associated Virus). The gene of interest is transferred into the cell to be expressed and produces the functional protein, which will then be shuttled to the mitochondria through specific nucleotidic sequences in order to restore the missing or deficient mitochondrial function.

About RESCUE and REVERSE

RESCUE and REVERSE are two separate randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled pivotal Phase III trials designed to evaluate the efficacy of a single intravitreal injection of GS010 (rAAV2/2-ND4) in subjects affected by LHON due to the G11778A mutation in the mitochondrial ND4 gene.

The primary endpoint will measure the difference in efficacy of GS010 in treated eyes compared to sham-treated eyes based on Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), as measured with the ETDRS at 48 weeks post-injection. The patients' LogMAR (Logarithm of the Minimal Angle of Resolution) scores, which are derived from the number of letters patients read on the ETDRS chart, will be used for statistical purposes. Both trials have been adequately powered to evaluate a clinically relevant difference of at least 15 ETDRS letters between treated and untreated eyes adjusted to baseline.

The secondary endpoints will involve the application of the primary analysis to best seeing eyes that received GS010 compared to those receiving sham, and to worse seeing eyes that received GS010 compared to those that received sham. Additionally, a categorical evaluation with a responder analysis will be evaluated, including the proportion of patients who maintain vision (< ETDRS 15L loss), the proportion of patients who gain 15 ETDRS letters from baseline and the proportion of patients with Snellen acuity of >20/200. Complementary vision metrics will include automated visual fields, optical coherence tomography, and color and contrast sensitivity, in addition to quality of life scales, bio-dissemination and the time course of immune response.

The trials are conducted in parallel, in 37 subjects for REVERSE and 39 subjects for RESCUE, in 7 centers across the United States, the UK, France, Germany and Italy. Topline results of RESCUE at 48 weeks are expected in Q3 2018.

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers:

REVERSE: NCT02652780

RESCUE: NCT02652767

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180520005037/en/

Contacts:

GenSight Biologics

Thomas Gidoin, +33 (0)1 76 21 72 20

Chief Financial Officer

tgidoin@gensight-biologics.com

or

RooneyPartners

Media Relations

Marion Janic, +1-212-223-4017

mjanic@rooneyco.com

or

The Trout Group

US Investor Relations

Chad Rubin, +1-646-378-2947

crubin@troutgroup.com

or

James Palmer, +33 7 60 92 77 74

Europe Investor Relations

j.palmer@orpheonfinance.comJOHANNESBURG, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The Digital Transformation Congress, organised by IT News Africa, will take place on 26 July 2018 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, with "Redefining the future organisation through digital" as the running theme of the day. The congress will assemble a variety of industries all in one room, as business leaders and technology innovators come together to shape the future of business and IT through digital transformation.



Included in the event's selection of world-class speakers is 'Obama White House digital leader', Tom Cochran. With nearly 20 years of digital experience, Tom Cochran is a digital transformation consultant and executive keynote speaker (www.thomascochran.com), who's spent over four years in the Obama administration as a presidential appointee and digital leader helping advance the President's open government directive.



While serving in government, he ran digital technology for the White House and global diplomacy platforms for the State Department. In the private sector, he's served as the Chief Digital Strategist and VP, Public Sector for Acquia, helping organizations adopt cloud-based, open-source digital engagement platforms, and he was also the Chief Technology Officer for Atlantic Media (i.e. The Atlantic, Quartz brands). Early in his career, he was a senior software engineer for Blue State Digital, building the platforms which would grow into President Obama's digital campaign, raising $1.2 billion over two election cycles.



At the Digital Transformation Congress, Cochran will share his exceptional insight and expertise under the keynote topic, "Yes we can. Yes we did. Digital transformation in the Obama White House".



Other key topics to be discussed include:



 Digital Transformation: A marriage between public and private sector

 Developing a digital transformation roadmap

 Business Transformation: Re-thinking business - IT alignment

 Digital transformation: From customer-aware to customer-led

 Re-aligning your business model to more effectively engage digital customers

 National Transformation: Initiating high-impact digital initiatives

 Turning Innovation into Growth: Creating future digital service models

 The future of digital experiences



Key speakers for DigitalTransformationCongress:



 Andrew Atta Darfoor, Group CEO: Alexander Forbes

 Vera Nagtegaal, Executive Head: Hippo.co.za

 Lisa Macleod, Head of Digital: Tiso Blackstar

 Kenny Moodley, Strategic Head: Digital & Social Media at Eskom Holdings SOC

 Sindisiwe Nhlapho Dlamini-Moloi, CIO at Transnet

 Birgitta Cederstrom, Global Commercial Director: Frost & Sullivan

 Lazaros Karapanagiotidis, Head of Digital Innovation: Makro

 Nneka Keshi, Director of Digital Marketing Africa, L'oreal

 Lizelle Vaughan, Director of Digital Strategy: Liberty Group

 Sam Nkosi, CIO: Sasria SOC



For more information about this conference, visit: www.digitaltransformationcongress.com

About IT News Africa

IT News Africa is a dynamic media company that specialises in publishing, events as well as marketing and advertising solutions for the information age. We have a global publishing network and international client base, which we service from offices in Johannesburg.

Publishing and Events: Publishing: ITNewsAfrica.com Events: Healthcare Innovation Summit, IoT Forum Africa, Digital Transformation Congress



Media Contact:

Philani Moyo

+27-110260982

philani@itnewsafrica.comJAKARTA, Indonesia, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SilkChain, the world's first blockchain project dedicated to improving international trade, has met investors in Jakarta, Indonesia. Qing Yi, the CEO of SilkChain; Djunaidi Lie, the CEO of PT Paloma Shopway (Paloma) and also the Vice President of ITDC; Steven Suhadi, the President of the Indonesian blockchain association; Teky Mailoa, the CEO of asset management of Sinarmas Land; and nearly one hundred other guests attended investment roadshow to discuss the development of blockchain.

Most of the participants were not professionals in the blockchain industry but entrepreneurs from local entities in Indonesia. They used their unique business intelligence and vision to expand their businesses step by step. Now their participation can be understood as the first step of the traditional enterprise into the blockchain, and it also reveals that the application scene of blockchain technology in the field of international trade is gradually maturing and prospects are positive.

Djunaidi Lie, as a partner representative of this investment and cooperation conference, introduced to local users how SilkChain uses blockchain technology to solve the difficulties of order fragmentation, high intermediate cost and low trust in cross-border trade. He also said that promoting the development and application of the blockchain is also a response to the "industrial 4.0" route map of Indonesia. This technology has been applied in many fields and will bring many benefits to society in the future.

"The core point of international trade is to solve the credit problem, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises or merchants who are unable to obtain bank letters of credit. The credit problem among the merchants leads to the difficulty of the large and efficient trade behavior; the credit problem between the merchants and the financial institutions leads to the difficulty of introducing the financial leverage, the high occupancy rate of circulating funds and low circulation rate. These two points are the core reasons for the stagnation of international trade for many years. Only by establishing a unified credit system of global merchants can we fundamentally promote the development of international trade," said Qing Yi.

SilkChain will uphold the principle of decentralization and open wins, promote the world's trade entities, cooperate to build a global business credit system, and on this basis, support information storage, payment and liquidation, supply chain transparency, goods traceability and supply chain finance, so as to reshape the whole ecosystem of international trade.

About SilkChain

SilkChain, developed by ITDC, is the world's first blockchain project dedicated to improving international trade. The project has gathered world-leading business groups; trading companies; e-commerce companies; and logistics, warehousing and finance companies from around the world with the vision of creating a decentralized, open, transparent and trusted "Global Blockchain Free-Trade Zone". With the ancient Silk Road as its model, ITDC named this digital network SilkChain.

For more information, please visit https://www.silkchain.io/.

Telegram: https://t.me/silkchain

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SilkChain.IO

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SilkChain_IO

Github: https://github.com/SilkChain-ITDC

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/SilkChain/

Medium: https://medium.com/@SilkChain_IO

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/silk-chain-05046715b/CAMBRIDGE, England, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Rethinking the way some consumer products are presented could significantly reduce plastic waste, according to Sagentia, a Science Group company.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694130/Sagentia_Logo.jpg )



The science and technology specialist also emphasises the need for a cohesive, cross-industry approach that openly acknowledges both the complexity of the issue and the important multifunctional role plastic often plays. Without a deeply-rooted and integrated approach, Sagentia cautions that gaps in the ability to replace, reduce or reengineer plastic packaging will remain unclosed. Consequently, plastic reduction initiatives will fail to properly address the issue.

In a move to help consumer industries tackle these problems, scientists and engineers at Sagentia have produced a white paper 'Breaking up with plastic'. Available for download free of charge, it outlines a three-phase technical framework to facilitate the reduction of plastic packaging.

Simon Norman, one of the paper's authors and applied science consultant at Sagentia, says that in some cases it will be necessary to change the way products are presented, prepared or consumed.

"Much of the time product development is considered separately to packaging development," he explains. "But with such a siloed approach there is less opportunity to get to the crux of issues that result in the need for plastic packaging. Whether it's pod coffee machine refills, shampoo bottles or disposable razors, different organisations and specialists need to work together to reduce single-use plastic.

"Addressing this issue requires consumer insight and understanding of the manufacturing and distribution stream, combined with scientific knowledge of the products themselves and properties of various packaging materials. And crucially, the industry needs to find ways to cut plastic waste without compromising important factors such as food safety and consumer enjoyment."

Breaking up with plastic, Technical steps to rethink, replace and reduce plastic packaging is available athttps://www.sagentia.com/insight/breaking-up-with-plastic/

About Science Group plc

Science Group plc (AIM:SAG) provides independent advisory and advanced product development services focused on science and technology initiatives. Our specialist companies, Sagentia, Oakland Innovation, OTM Consulting, Leatherhead Food Research and TSG Consulting, collaborate closely with their clients in key vertical markets to deliver clear returns on technology and R&D investments. With more than 400 staff worldwide, primarily scientists and engineers, the Group has R&D centres in Cambridge and Epsom with more than ten additional offices in Europe and North America. info@sciencegroup.com

http://www.sciencegroup.com

About Sagentia

Sagentia is a global science, product and technology development company. Our mission is to help companies maximise the value of their investments in R&D. We partner with clients in the consumer, industrial, medical and oil & gas sectors to help them understand the technology and market landscape, decide their future strategy, solve the complex science and technology challenges and deliver commercially successful products.

Sagentia employs over 150 scientists, engineers and market experts and is a Science Group company. Science Group provides independent advisory and leading-edge product development services focused on science and technology initiatives. It has 14 European and North American offices, two UK-based dedicated R&D innovation centres and more than 400 employees. Other Science Group companies include OTM Consulting, Oakland Innovation, Leatherhead Food Research & TSG Consulting.

For further information visit us at: http://www.sagentia.com or email info@sagentia.comMunich (ots) - After the Italian patent has been issued on 2016.01.16, European Patent Office announced the patent will be granted on 2018. Solar Eclipse is patent pending also in USA and China. In a competitive marketplace with many solutions for energy storage in the AC side, P800 found a completely different approach designing SOLAR ECLIPSE. Every AC storage system require to install a new inverter to work. Instead, SOLAR ECLIPSE does not require any modification to the PV plant, nor the substitution or installation of a new inverter. SOLAR ECLIPSE is a DC/DC storage system with whom people can directly store excess energy from their solar panels, more easily and more efficiently and with lower installation cost: - It is directly connected to the solar panels and work in DC current (require only 1 vs 3 DC/AC conversions) - It is the smallest storage system on the market - It is compatible with every kind of battery pack and solar panels available After a big success in Italy, the company is now searching new partners and distributors to cooperate to sell this innovative product in Europe and other marketplaces around the world. Originaltext: P800 SRL digital press kits: http://www.presseportal.de/nr/130736 press kits via RSS: http://www.presseportal.de/rss/pm_130736.rss2 Pressekontakt: Dario Ottolini +393476400354 info@solareclipse.it https://www.solareclipse.it

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.Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to buy Chicago-based MB Financial in a deal valued at around $4.7bn. MB Financial shareholders will receive $54.20, consisting of 1.45 shares of Fifth Third common stock and $5.54 in cash for each of their shares. This represents a premium of around 24% to the closing price of MB Financial on 18 May. Greg D. Carmichael, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Fifth Third Bancorp, said: "There were no other potential partners of the same calibre as MB ...

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.The Action Plan of "Venture Tianfu" - "HAICHUANGHUI," the Chengdu Innovation and Entrepreneurship Summit of Global Youth Talent was Successfully Held

CHENGDU, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / May 21, 2018 / In the afternoon on 19th May, the action plan of "Venture Tianfu" - "HAICHUANGHUI", Chengdu innovation and entrepreneurship summit of global youth talent was held in Century City International Exhibition Center. More than 200 global economic talents, top-level experts, well-known young entrepreneurs, young talent representative of well-known universities both at home and abroad, Chengdu "entrepreneurial star" university student representatives are all gathering in this place. The discussion is about the role of young talents in the new era and promotes the development of the new economy in Chengdu.

Hu Yuankun, the Chengdu municipal party committee member, organization department minister, and municipal talents group leader has attended the event and delivered a speech. He pointed out that Chengdu is seizing the window period and opportunity period of new economic development while facing the mission of the new development concept construction.

"Developing new economy and cultivating new drivers" will be a major choice to promote urban strategic transformation, economic transformation, and competitive advantage. It is important to keep talents as the priority, implement the strategy of prioritizing human resources development, and inject strong impetus into the new economic development. Hu stressed that Chengdu will strengthen the recruitment of new economic talents, promote the development of human resources, develop new economic talents, strengthen the reserve of young talents, promote the synergy of new economic human resources, and promote the highly aggregated, coordinated and orderly flow of talents in the new economic field. Hu welcomes the top-level talents and young talents to join Chengdu to develop the new economy and cultivate new drivers, and share development opportunities with Chengdu to create a better future.

In the event, the president of the general assembly, the president of WafaGames and the founder, Kathy Gong read out the "Global RONGPIAO Youth Talent Innovation And Entrepreneurship Alliance Initiative."

She called the global youth innovation and entrepreneurship to join together, relying on the "HAICHUANGHUI" platform to build a synergy of innovation and entrepreneurship and actively build a global "RONGPIAO" alliance of youth talent innovation and entrepreneurship. Let the party's nineteen spirit and General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions to the young people fully implemented on the land of innovation and entrepreneurship in Chengdu in order to realize the "youth dream" of personal development in Chengdu, and to contribute to the realization of the "Chinese dream", the youth power in Chengdu.

In the keynote speech, Sara Jane Ho, the founder of Institute Sarita, gave a speech titled "the combination of business and life from Harvard to Chengdu." Wang Xiaoyu, the chief scientist of IntelliFusion shared the application direction of artificial intelligence. The professor of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Gu Shi used his personal experiences to share with us his feelings after came here for a year.

During the summit conversation, the President and founder of WafaGames, Kathy Gong, the founder of buds, World Economic Forum "Global Outstanding Youth", Yao Jiusi, professor of College of Architecture and Environment, Sichuan University, Hu Ang, the chairman and general manager of Sichuan Kang Cheng biotechnology co. LTD., the expert of national "1000 youth program," Sichuan "thousand people program", "Rong Piao program" were discussed and focused on the topic of "Global cities are competing for the attractiveness of Chengdu- how can the new economy young entrepreneurs contribute to Chengdu development?"

Representative of young innovation and entrepreneurship talents from the University of California, San Diego, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Sun Yat-sen University, Sichuan University, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China were focused on the issue and shared their opinions about "Chengdu, the new path to attract talent from the world's top universities."

In addition, four projects, including California lithium battery, NanoSun Company, TRIUNE central purchasing and stretchable soft battery were performed on the site.

As the "2018 Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair" branch activity, this summit aims to focus on the global youth innovation and entrepreneurship talents, and build a good platform for global youth talents to gather together and achieve a mutual benefits cooperation. In the in-depth publicity of the Chengdu new policy for talents, the expansion of the new trend, " RONGPIAO " era has achieved positive effects on the influence of young people around the world.

Contact:

Chengdu.cn

Contact Person: Nami

namikey@163.com

SOURCE: Chengdu.cnHasan Dandashly succeeds John Baysore, who will continue to serve Dematic as an advisor

KION CEO Gordon Riske: "A senior executive with unique expertise in industry and software"

GRAND RAPIDS, MI / ACCESSWIRE / May 21, 2018 / KION GROUP AG (XETRA: KGX) (FSE: KGX) has appointed Hasan Dandashly (57) as the new President & CEO of Dematic, starting May 21, 2018. He succeeds John Baysore, who has decided to retire from his active role at Dematic to serve the company as an advisor, ensuring full continuity in Dematic's customer relations.

Hasan Dandashly joins Dematic from General Electric, where he was President & CEO Oil & Gas Surface since 2017, after having served as President & CEO Downstream since 2014. Prior to this, Hasan held various international executive roles at GE's Industrial, Transportation, and Power Generation businesses, beginning in 1998. These included general management positions at GE's subsidiaries in Italy, UAE, Qatar, and the U.S. Before joining GE, Hasan led engineering teams at Honeywell Industrial Automation and Honeywell Avionics. Hasan holds a BSc in Computer Science from the Lebanese American University and a master's degree from the University of Minnesota.

Gordon Riske, Chief Executive Officer of the KION Group, said, "Hasan Dandashly is a senior executive combining full-cycle P&L management experience across geographies with a unique mix of deep industrial and software expertise. Following the successful integration of Dematic, Hasan will drive forward the further development of our supply chain solutions segment. Together with the great Dematic team, he will work on moving the company forward on its consistent path of profitable growth. I very much look forward to working with him."

Gordon Riske thanked John Baysore for his invaluable contribution and his achievements during the past years. "We are very pleased that his unique experience will be put to good use in his capacity as advisor to the company, ensuring full continuity in our customer relations."



Website: kiongroup.com/mediasite

Twitter: @kion_group

The Company

The KION Group is a global leader in industrial trucks, related services and supply chain solutions. Across more than 100 countries worldwide, the KION Group designs, builds and supports logistics solutions that optimize material and information flow within factories, warehouses and distribution centers. The Group is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe, the second-largest producer of forklifts globally and a leading provider of warehouse automation.

The KION Group's world-renowned brands are clear industry leaders. Dematic, the newest addition to the KION Group, is a global leader in automated material handling, providing a comprehensive range of intelligent supply chain and automation solutions. The Linde and STILL brands serve the premium industrial truck segment. Baoli focuses on industrial trucks in the economy segment. Among KION's regional industrial truck brand companies, Fenwick is the largest supplier of material handling products in France, while OM STILL is a market leader in Italy, and OM Voltas is a leading provider of industrial trucks in India.

With an installed base of more than 1.3 million industrial trucks and over 6,000 installed systems, the KION Group's customer base includes companies in all industries and of all sizes on six continents. The Group has more than 31,000 employees and generated revenue of around EUR7.7 billion in 2017.

Disclaimer

This document and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions, regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.

Further information for the media:

Michael Hauger

Senior Vice President Corporate Communications

Tel: +49 (0)69 201 107 655

Mobile: +49 (0)151 1686 5550

michael.hauger@kiongroup.com

Further information for investors:

Dr Karoline Jung-Senssfelder

Vice President, Head of Investor Relations and M&A

Tel: +49 (0)69 201 107 450

karoline.jung-senssfelder@kiongroup.com

SOURCE: KION GROUP AGCHICAGO, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Appliance giant Midea has demonstrated its expertise as a leader in professional F&B at the 2018 National Restaurant Association Showcase (NRA Show) with the release of innovative new industrial appliances including a range of commercial InductoFlashs. The InductoFlashs, including models FCA-EH18T 1800W, FCA-EH35T 3500W and FCA-EA35T 3500W, are equipped with high-performance features to enable longer operation time and higher efficiency compared to home-use units, illustrating Midea's intimate understanding of professional F&B needs.

Developed as part of Midea's strategy to lead the market in professional-grade appliances, the InductoFlashs have 5 power settings that enable a range of cooking modes from low-heat stewing to high-heat stir-frying. In 3,500W full-power mode, they can boil 2 gallons of water in just 11 minutes.

"We're very excited to unveil our new InductoFlashs at NRA Show 2018.Compared to home-use induction cooktops, commercial cooktops require more precise temperature control, and harder-wearing components to withstand higher usage," says Gino Iacovella, Director of Business Development for Midea America's Division of Midea's Kitchen Appliances. "The design excellence in new InductoFlashs clearly showcases our strength in industrial appliances."

The range includes a flat top design for pots and pans, and a concave top design for woks. Fitted with 5 cooling fans to support prolonged operation without overheating, the InductoFlashs can withstand 24 hours of continuous use. Protective air-deflectors create a one-way exhaust system that ensures hot air is not sucked back into the unit, maintaining optimal ventilation at all times. Thermostatically-controlled overheating sensors that can shut down the units, providing an additional prevention measure against overheating.

Compared with other methods, Induction cooking has a lot of benefits as it is more energy efficient, safer, and provides a more pleasant working environment. Induction cooking can achieve 90% power efficiency asInductoFlashs only transfer heat to the pan and not the surrounding air. It does not generate excessive heat in the kitchen or carbon emissions, making it more eco-friendly than other cooking methods.

Other notable features include a 24hr timer and a sloped and sealed control panel for easy cleaning and operation.

Midea has released a full range of innovative commercial appliances at NRA Show. Other highlights in its product line-up include a FlashThawer that can thaw 5 pounds of meat with less than 1% juice loss in 12 minutes; and a FlashGriller that can heat a standard cafe sandwich from 38F to 140F with a perfect grilled finish in 40 seconds.

About Midea Kitchen Appliance Division

Founded in 1968, Midea Kitchen Appliance Division is affiliated to Midea Group, one of the largest household appliance manufacturers in China. With sales revenue exceeding $3 billion in 2017, Midea Kitchen Appliance Division is No.1 major appliances manufacturer according reported by Euromonitor, and is the world's No. 1 microwave oven and No. 3 dishwasher manufacturer. It operates three production bases and two R&D centers in China in addition to a production base in Belarus and R&D centers in Bologna, Italy and Louisville, Kentucky.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/693932/Midea_launches_high_performance_cooktops.jpgTom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani said the special counsel has indicated they can wrap up a portion of their investigation by September 1.



Giuliani said about a month ago if the president agrees to an interview, special counsel Robert Mueller personally said his office will aim to finish up the investigation related to President Trump by that time.



A timetable for other aspects of the remaining investigation, which has expanded over the course of the last year, was not discussed, according to Giuliani.



"We needed some indication how long it will take for them to write a report," the former New York City mayor told ABC News.



Mueller and his investigators have been investigating whether the Russian government interfered with the 2016 presidential election to favor Donald Trump.



On a newly emerging storyline, the former New York City mayor is in lock step with his client when it comes to an alleged FBI informant who was speaking to members of the Trump campaign during the 2016 election.



"We have not made a request yet but will soon," Giuliani tells ABC News regarding all notes and information the Department of Justice has on this alleged informant.



"We can't prepare for any interview by the President until we know what this person may have said," he added. "We think the guy [informant] is going to support the fact that there was nothing going on as it relates to Russia and the campaign but we don't know that until we see the interview notes."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.Finance Ministry expects banks to write back more than Rs 1 lakh crore after resolution of all 12 NPAs referred to insolvency proceedings by the RBI

New Delhi: Enthused by the successful conclusion of Bhushan Steel case, the Finance Ministry expects banks to write back more than Rs 1 lakh crore after the resolution of all 12 NPA cases referred to insolvency proceedings by the RBI in its first list.

Last week, Tata Group acquired controlling stake of 72.65 percent in the debt-ridden Bhushan Steel Ltd for around Rs 36,000 crore will help in cleansing the banking system as well as boost lenders profitability.

The remaining 11 NPA cases which are in the pipeline will easily bring to the table over Rs 1 lakh crore and the amount coming from resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) will directly add to the bottom-line and help in reduction of NPAs of the public sector banks, a senior Finance Ministry official told PTI.

Last year in June, RBI's internal advisory committee (IAC) identified 12 accounts, each having more than Rs 5,000 crore of outstanding loans and accounting for 25 percent of total NPAs of banks.

Following the RBI's advisory, banks referred Bhushan Steel Ltd, Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd, Essar Steel Ltd, Jaypee Infratech Ltd, Lanco Infratech Ltd, Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd, Jyoti Structures Ltd, Electrosteel Steels Ltd, Amtek Auto Ltd, Era Infra Engineering Ltd, Alok Industries Ltd and ABG Shipyard Ltd to NCLT. These accounts together have a total outstanding loan of Rs 1.75 lakh crore.

The Kolkata Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has already approved Vedanta Resources's resolution plan for acquisition of Electrosteel Steels last month.

Besides, the NCLT last month also asked the lenders of Bhushan Power & Steel to consider the bid submitted by UK-based Liberty House for the debt-ridden company.

Bhushan Power and Steel owes close to Rs 48,000 crore to banks and was referred to the NCLT by Punjab National Bank in June last year.

Last week, Bamnipal Steel Ltd (BNPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, has acquired 72.65 percent stake in Bhushan Steel by paying around Rs 36,400 crore, of which Rs 35,200 crore will be paid to financial creditors.

The buy-out is expected to bring relief in the form of capital boost to PNB that was one of the leading lenders to the debt-ridden company, the bank said in a statement.

PNB in a statement said the bank had the second highest exposure to Bhushan Steel and will benefit greatly from this acquisition.

PNB sources say that the ledger outstanding to Bhushan Steel was Rs 3,857.49 crore while Rs 1,542.99 crore was earmarked for provisioning.

With this resolution, PNB's NPA will fall by Rs 3,857.49 crore. While the bank will recover Rs 3,050 crore of the outstanding amount it will also be able to write off Rs 807.49 crore from the provision it had held for this NPA.

The resolution will also have a direct impact on the bank's bottom-line this quarter.

Sources say that this may have a positive effect on the bank's profitability to the tune of Rs 735.50 crore. On top of this, lenders including PNB will continue to own 12 percent in the acquired entity giving them the opportunity to cash out later when the valuation of the company goes up.

With a current market capitalisation of Rs 598 crore at the rate of Rs 27.75 per share for Bhushan Steel Ltd., the share for lenders that stands at nearly 12 percent, works out to be Rs 72 crore.

Another state-owned lender Bank of India (BoI) said it would be able to realise around Rs 1993 crore from the first successful NCLT resolution of Bhushan Steel.There have been a number of missed opportunities though for which the Modi government still has the time. In its fifth and final year, it must square its shoulders and address them

Even the most strident detractors of the Narendra Modi-led government would concede that it has been driven on high octane fuel. It's crowning glory has been the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with effect from 1 July 2017, thus keeping its tryst with the constitutional amendment made to facilitate this paradigm changing tax, besides ending the cruelty of tax on tax.

To be sure, a few important items namely petroleum products, real estate and liquor have been left out owing to a lack of political consensus and dithering, but the GST yielding Rs 1 lakh crore of revenue in the month of April is going to be the Modi governments biggest success thus far.

No amount of pillorying it as the Gabbar Singh Tax by Congress President Rahul Gandhi is going to take away credit from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who worked on a war-footing to push it out. Critics, however, would say that as is the case with other achievements, the GST too is the last mile completion of a work in progress.

Be that as it may, what was not a work-in-progress or a legacy left unfinished by the previous government was the demonetisation of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes on 8 November 2016. That was arguably a cataclysmic move, and one done to flutter the dovecots of black moneyed people and break the back of terrorists thriving on counterfeit high denomination notes. The jury is still out on whether such an arguably disruptive move was necessary at all in an economy where cash is king.

Apart from these two, what the Modi government has done on the economic front with which this article is concerned is the plucking of low hanging fruits by and large. The 'Jan Dhan' account was a work in progress inherited from the UPA government. But to Modis credit, he had the energy and the verve to fast track it on a mission mode. Auctioning of coal blocks through competitive bidding was at the behest of the Supreme Court (SC) as indeed was scrapping off of the 'first come first served' policy of the UPA government for allotment of spectrum.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is a step that was crying for implementation. The Modi government must be given credit for belling the cat. While it would definitely clean up the balance sheets of PSBs reeling under NPAs, one cannot share NITI Ayog Chairman Subodh Kant's optimism that it would halt rampaging promoters in their tracks especially when they are about to lose ownership of their companies. He forgets that many promoters skim money out of their own companies by over-invoicing machinery imports, logging fictitious payments, and via a systematic payment of commission to their underlings and sidekicks, and thus do not lose sleep over the unedifying declaration of their bankrupt status.

The LPG reform too was a low hanging fruit -- shifting the focus from urban areas to rural. But it was done with panache and fanfare.

There have been a number of missed opportunities though for which the Modi government still has the time. In its fifth and final year, it must square its shoulders and address three festering problems:

First, is the privatisation of public sector units (PSUs). Prime Minister Modi has been a reluctant person in this regard. His enthusiasm, born out of a successful turnaround of a few Gujarat-government owned firms when he ruled that state, implicitly makes him slow in privatising PSUs owned by the central government. He must start with a low hanging fruit --- welding together public sector banks (PSBs). There is no reason why there should be some 28 banks all owned substantially by the central government. The resultant savings in administrative overheads itself would be substantial. Employee resistance born of a fear of step-motherly treatment can be overcome by bringing all PSBs under a new banner. Strictly speaking, this is not privatisation but rationalisation. Nevertheless it can be the starting point for a more serious exercise to follow --- privatisation of PSUs starting with Air India (AI). The government, as Modi once said, has no business to be in business.

Secondly, the Modi regime's gallant attack on black money would not meet with success unless it targets political funding. Its initiatives thus far, of reducing anonymous cash donations from Rs 20,000 to Rs 2,000, have not deterred political parties a wee bit in accepting large dollops of cash often running into crores and divvying them up into units of Rs 2,000. A second initiative - electoral bonds - has been a damp squib and a farce. It continues the status quo of opacity.

Nothing short of state funding and transparent upfront donations through banking channels would rid the nation of the festering problem of black money.

And third, rural distress and unemployment -- both can be ended only by generating rural employment through producer cooperatives on the lines of AMUL, and by corporate investments in agro and food processing industries. The entry of Walmart augurs well.

(The author is a senior columnist and tweets @smurlidharan)National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) declined to stay Tata Steel's acquisition of Bhushan Steel under corporate insolvency resolution process

New Delhi: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday declined to stay Tata Steel's acquisition of debt-laden Bhushan Steel under the corporate insolvency resolution process.

An NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya also issued notices to Tata Steel, the resolution professional and Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel on a petition filed by its promotor Neeraj Singal challenging the sale.

"Let us decide the law but not stall the process," the bench said, adding that the resolution process would be subject to the final outcome of the case.

The bench directed the matter to be listed on 30 May and asked the parties to file their replies in a week.

Meanwhile, engineering and construction major L&T, which is an operational creditor of Bhushan Steel, has also approached the appellate tribunal against NCLT's order approving the sale of the debt-ridden firm to Tata Steel.

L&T's plea would be heard on Tuesday.

In his petition, Neeraj Singal has challenged the eligibility of Tata Steel as resolution applicant under Section 29 A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

He further contended that no notice was given to him when CoC was approving the resolution plan.

Singal also alleged that a copy of the resolution plan was also not given to him.

Singal has sought a stay on the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had approved Tata Steel's bid for Bhushan Steel under corporate insolvency resolution process.

Singal, who holds around 22 percent stake in Bhushan Steel, had requested the appellate tribunal to maintain status quo over the company's shareholding.

On 15 May, NCLT had approved the resolution plan submitted by the RP of Bhushan Steel, which has found Tata Steel as the highest bidder.

The Committee of Creditors had approved the Rs 32,500 crore deal along with 12.27 percent equity in the company offered by Tata Steel.Petrol prices touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest-ever level of Rs 67.57

Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said the increase in fuel prices was due to reduced production of oil in Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hike in crude oil price in the international market.

Petrol prices touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest-ever level of Rs 67.57 on Sunday as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.

Noting that people, especially the middle-class, have to suffer due to price hike of oil, the minister said the government would try to work out a solution soon to deal with the situation.

"Its not in our hand. There is less production of oil in OPEC countries. The government will soon come out with a solution," he told reporters here.

Pradhan, however, did not spell out the details.

Stressing the need for stable and moderate oil prices, he said the surging fuel prices have negative impact on consumers and the Indian economy.

With global crude prices soaring, the minister has already pressed OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia to keep prices stable and moderate, saying that spike in rates would have a negative impact on Indian consumers as well as on the economy.

Pradhan had conveyed India's concerns when Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih called him recently.It is learnt that the EAC proposal titled Continuing Reforms In PSBs for Better Performance is under active consideration of the PMO and a decision to upgrade BBB is likely to be announced soon.

New Delhi: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is examining a proposal to replace the Banks Board Bureau (BBB) with a new body that would operate as a holding company to usher in reforms in public sector banks (PSBs). The latest move comes close on the heels of the massive Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam and subsequent clamour within the establishment for sweeping reforms in the banking sector.

According to top sources in the PMO, the Economic Advisory Council (EAC) has suggested that the BBB could be upgraded as a holding company for appointment of top bank officers in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The EAC has suggested that the new body should directly report to the PMO, and not to the Finance Ministry.

The EAC has suggested that Department of Financial Services in the Finance Ministry that looks after the functioning of banks, financial institutions and insurance companies to be kept at arms length in the functioning of new body. This clearly means there would no interference by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in the appointment of directors and other top officials, sources told Firstpost.

It is learnt that the EAC proposal titled Continuing Reforms In PSBs for Better Performance is under active consideration of the PMO and a decision to upgrade the BBB is likely to be announced soon.

 While setting up a new body as a holding company, the government would require to make an amendment in the Bank Allocation Act, 1980. There are certain other suggestions that are being examined by the PMO, sources further added.

A senior official in the government said the BBB that started functioning in April 2016 with primary objective of recommending names for top position in the government owned banks, was not able to act as a catalyst for reform simply because of the overstepping of Department of Financial Services in important matters and the autonomous body was not taken on board on several occasions in the past.

Department of Financial Services had clipped the wings of BBB since the very beginning. The Department had shot down several powers, which BBB wanted to exercise in the top rank appointments in the bank, the government official said.

Another top officer in the Finance Ministry requesting anonymity told the Firstpost that Department of Financial Services (DFS) role in top appointments in PSBs is that of a post office and he has not witnessed any interference from the Ministry in any recent case.

The decisions are largely taken by the political executive. We just shortlist the names and secretary is part of the panel comprising of RBI governor, deputy governor, expert and a former Banks chairman. But even then the recommendations have to be cleared at the top level and Department role is limited to the scrutiny. But, if the government feels that a new body can do the job better, it should be given a chance. However, it cannot be expected that the political executive would accept 100 percent recommendations of the new body. It may not be possible and feasible, the officer said.

The birth of the BBB was triggered by P J Nayak Committee report in 2014 which had suggested that government must distance itself from several bank governance functions, which it discharges while observing that selection process for bank directors is compromised making the board governance weak.

Governance difficulties in PSBs arises from several externally imposed constraints. These include dual regulation by the Finance Ministry in addition to RBI, board constitution, wherein it is difficult to categorise any director as independent, significant and widening compensation differences with private sector banks, leading to the erosion of specialist skills, the Nayak panel had observed.

The government needs to move rapidly towards establishing fully empowered boards in public sector banks, solely entrusted with governance and oversight of the management of the banks.

Subsequently, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his 2015 Budget speech had announced the formation of the BBB. In order to improve the governance of public sector banks, the government intends to set up an autonomous Banks Board Bureau. The Bureau will search and select the heads of public sector banks and help them in developing differentiated strategies and capital raising plans through innovative financial methods and instruments. This would be an interim step towards establishing a holding and investment company for banks.

Later, on August 2015, government issued a statement saying the Bureau will be a body of eminent professionals and officials, which will replace the appointments Board for appointment of whole-time directors as well as non-executive chairman of PSBs. They will also constantly engage with the board of directors of all the PSBs to formulate appropriate strategies for their growth and development.

Turf war over mandate

At the time of the inaugural of the BBB, it was general opinion that board should be provided more powers in case of top appointments at the banks. During the meeting on 8 April 2016 that was attended by then MoS Finance Jayant Sinha and then RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, it was felt that to ensure effective corporate governance of PSBs boards, the BBB mandate should be expanded. Accordingly, a revised Terms of Reference was submitted to the Finance Ministry for approval.

The DFS, however, in November 2016, turned down at least 4 mandates sought by the BBB that included directly sending the recommendations to Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, search and selection of non-official directors on PSB boards and a specific mandate on stressed asset resolution strategies.

Broadly, 13 mandates were approved for the BBB to operate including to recommend the selection and appointment of whole-time directors, to develop an appropriate methodology to enable the search and selection of high calibre whole-time directors of PSBs, to recommend the selection and appointment of the non-executive chairman and to help banks to develop a robust leadership succession plan for critical positions that would arise in future through appropriate processes including performance and management systems.

An officer who earlier handled the department on the condition of anonymity said the new bodys proposed mandate for directly reporting to the PMO is a right step in the right direction.

Rules of business can be amended to facilitate this but the new body must have more experts on the panel to identify and pick up the talents as well devise the mechanism to reboot and re-energize the PSBs. The government is empowered to take a call and must amend the rules, he said.

The BBBs then Chairman Vinod Rai, in a letter to the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in July 2017, had stressed upon organic linkages between the Bureau and the government. Rais letter had observed: If the Government does indeed desire to make the Bureau address issues of governance around PSBs in a holistic manner and make its output effective, there is need for an organic relationship between Government and the Bureau. The Bureau, as a body of experts on public sector banking, would be able to provide greater utility to the Finance Minister on matters relating to the governance and performance of PSBs, if there were to be greater organic linkage and dialogue with the Finance ministry. At present the body is merely functioning as an appointment board.

Rai had made it clear that India now deserves a public sector banking system which can offer a long term sustainable growth rate rather than a public sector which amplifies the excesses of the credit boom with extreme risk aversion during credit bust and the attendant reliance on the tax payers funds.Three directors of Fortis Healthcare have quit ahead of a shareholder vote on Tuesday to decide their future, the company said, the latest twist in a prolonged takeover battle for the hospitals operator

Mumbai: Three directors of Fortis Healthcare have quit ahead of a shareholder vote on Tuesday to decide their future, the company said, the latest twist in a prolonged takeover battle for the hospitals operator.

Fortis Healthcare organised the vote after two major shareholders -- Eastbridge Capital and Jupiter India which together control about 12 percent of the company -- called for the removal of four directors.

Three of those directors  Harpal Singh, Tejinder Singh Shergill and Sabina Vaisoha  resigned on Sunday citing personal reasons, Fortis said in separate statements.

A fourth director, Brian Tempest, still faces a vote on Tuesday.

Fortis Healthcare, which operates about 45 healthcare facilities in India, Dubai, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, has been the target of lengthy takeover tussle involving five suitors.

On 11 May, Fortis said it planned to accept an offer from Hero Enterprise Investment Office and Burman Family Office to together invest 18 billion rupees ($267 million), valuing Fortis at 90 billion rupees.

That decision angered some investors and shares in the cash-strapped hospital operator fell almost 5 percent

A few days later, Indias Manipal Hospital and private equity firm TPG Capital Management sweetened their bid for Fortis, sparking a rally in the companys shares.

The keen interest in Fortis has emerged as private healthcare spending in India is on the rise, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to implement a healthcare programme aimed at providing insurance cover to hundreds of millions of people in a country that lacks adequate heath facilities.

The scheme is expected to make private hospitals, such as those run by Manipal and Fortis, accessible to millions of poor families, say analysts.DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates cabinet approved steps on Sunday that would allow for 100 percent ownership of UAE-based businesses by foreign investors by year-end, the state news agency WAM said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates cabinet approved steps on Sunday that would allow for 100 percent ownership of UAE-based businesses by foreign investors by year-end, the state news agency WAM said.

The decision is part of a wider change to the system that would grant residency visas of up to 10 years to investors and specialists in scientific, technical, medical and research fields, the agency said.

The cabinet meeting was chaired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. He directed the economy minister to implement the resolution and submit a study following up its impact in the third quarter of this year, WAM said.

At present, foreigners generally cannot own more than 49 percent of any UAE firm unless it is incorporated in a special "free zone".

(Reporting By Hadeel al Sayegh; Writing By Maha El Dahan; Editing by Catherine Evans)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.If this proposal becomes a reality, it would change the demographic pattern of Assam and North East India, as it is suspected that millions of Hindus who have illegally migrated from Bangladesh would now avail of citizenship

Members of North East Women's Front, a pressure group based in North East India, have launched a protest in Delhi against the Centre's move to pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, which will make illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, eligible for citizenship in India.

The protest is seen as an extension to the ongoing movement across the Brahmaputra valley of Assam and other parts of North East India against the proposed amendment.

A vast majority of tribal bodies and ethnic groups across Assam have registered their opposition against the bill in the hearing of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) that was recently held in the state. "Apart from raising our voice against the citizenship amendment bill, we are also collecting signatures from people in Delhi. We will finally submit the signatures to the JPC," said Sumitra Hazarika, a women's rights activist from Assam.

The protest on Parliament Street attracted large crowds, with many saying they will sign up to register their complaint against the bill. Gauhati High Court advocate and Assamese filmmaker Junmoni Devi Khound, who participated in the protest, told Firstpost that the new amendment proposed in the Citizenship Act, 1955, is in violation of the secular nature of the Indian Constitution.

"The Constitution declares India as a secular country. Discrimination on the basis of religion is essentially against the Constitution. But this amendment in the Citizenship Act aims at providing citizenship on the basis of religion," she said.

"Persons belonging to minority communities  that is Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Budhhists, Parsis and Christians  from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan shall not be treated as illegal immigrants," a report in EPW Engage quoted the bill as proposing.

If this proposal becomes a reality, it would change the demographic pattern of Assam and North East India, as it is suspected that millions of Hindus who have illegally migrated from Bangladesh would now avail of citizenship. "Assam and many other states of North East have porous borders with Bangladesh, and there is a serious doubt that millions of people have crossed the border illegally and settled in the region. We have been demanding that the illegal settlers be identified and sent back to Bangladesh, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion. Selectively accepting the Hindus among them as Indians would mean annihilation of Assamese identity, as this new provision will allow illegal migrants to become the majority," she said.

Illegal migration from Bangladesh has been a major political issue in Assam since the late 1970s. The six-year-long historic Assam movement, which culminated with signing of the Assam Accord in 1985, agreed to provide citizenship to all migrants from Bangladesh who moved to Assam before 25 March, 1971.

But the proposed bill clashes against the accord through its provision that grants citizenship even to people who moved to Assam beyond the time period originally stipulated in the agreement. "Provided that for the persons belonging to minority communities  namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians  from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the aggregate period of residence or service of a Government in India as required under this clause shall be read as 'not less than six years' in place of 'not less than 11 years'," the bill added.

Jun Moni Devi Khound fears that if the bill is passed as is, the burden of migrant population in Assam would increase to such a precarious extent that it would put tremendous pressure on the scant resources of the state. "We all know that Assam has seen an abnormal increase in population in the last few decades, and much of it was attributed to illegal migration. This has resulted in illegal settlements across the state including vast tracts of tribal land. The riots that broke out in Kokrajhar district of the state in 2012 and continued till 2014 were a vivid manifestation of the gravity of the problem," she said.

Significantly, encroachment in the tribal belt and blocks of Assam is seen as a major problem in the state. As per data released by the Bodoland Territorial Council, 3,49,505 bighas of land in the tribal belt and block were encroached by the year 2014.

Khound also raises concern that the amendment to the citizenship bill would only aggravate the problem. Lamenting that the Assam government has not taken any step to support the people's movement against the bill, she said the government can take a leaf from the neighboring state of Meghalaya, which has taken a Cabinet decision against the bill. "The Meghalaya government has recently decided that it will take a stand against the bill. Why cant the Assam government take a stand for its own people?" she asked.

Interestingly, Meghalaya is protected from any kind of influx by the sixth schedule of the Constitution of India, which imposes strict restrictions in purchase of land in the state by anyone who is not a permanent resident of the state. The bill, even if it were to become a law, is unlikely to bring about any major demographic change in Meghalaya.

"Meghalaya is well-protected from any kind of influx, but the Cabinet decision to oppose the bill is more to show solidarity with the people of Assam who are protesting it. They are our brothers," an official from the Meghalaya government said.

But despite the neutral stand taken by Assam government, there is an ongoing rift in the state BJP, with a section of the party opposing the bill. "It seems there is a split in the Assam BJP regarding the bill, as senior leaders like Atul Bora and Mira Borthakur have opposed it," she said.

Mira Borthakur, a state executive member of the Assam BJP, participated in the protest at Parliament Street, although she declined to comment on the bill when approached by Firstpost. Recently, BJP leader Atul Bora also wrote a letter to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urging him to follow the Meghalaya government and take a stand against bill.

In the emotional fervor against the new bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been vehemently criticised for pushing the bill. "The prime minister assured us that Bangladeshis have to go back once a BJP government is elected in Assam. But now he has taken such a U-turn that he is going to give citizenship to Bangladeshis," she said.

Even as the bill faces tremendous opposition from many tribal bodies and ethnic groups in the northeastern region, it is welcomed by many in the areas where Bengali speaking population is a majority.

The Barak valley, for instance, is a cluster of three districts in Assam along the India-Bangladesh border that saw many people welcoming the bill. Here they believe that it would end the alienation of Bengali Hindus in the country.The Assam Board of Secondary Education (SEBA) released the Assam HSLC Class 10th Board examination results today.

The Assam Board of Secondary Education (SEBA) released its Class 10th examination results today, according to a media report. Students can check their results at the board's official website: sebaonline.org from 9 am. Students can collect their mark sheets from their respective schools from 11 am.

According to The Times of India, Raktim Bhuyan topped the exam (in English medium) by securing 593 out of 600 during the exam. This year, 54.44 percent (95,813 of the 1,75,976) students cleared the SEBA Board Class 10th HSLC/AHM examination 2018. Though low, the pass percentage was better than 2017 when the overall pass percentage stood at 47.49 percent.

According to the report, 31,562 students achieved first division, 41,195 students passed in second divison whereas 22,956 students passed in third division in the examination.

Here's how you can check your grades:

- Log on to the official website of SEBA  sebaonline.org.

- Click on HSLC results 2017.

- Fill in the required details.

- Download the result and take a print for future reference.

Last year, the results were declared on 31 May 2017. Over three lakh students had appeared for the SEBA HSLC Class 10 exam 2017. Of the 3,80,733 students who appeared for the exam, 54,955 students passed in first division, 80,197 students passed in second division, and 43,522 in third division. Parthapratim Bhuyan of Jatiya Vidyalaya topped the examination, scoring 589 of 600 marks, MoneyControl reported.Chinas hunger for natural resources, minerals and energy are well known: Which it is ruthlessly pursuing in its own territory and abroad.

Chinas hunger for natural resources, minerals and energy are well known: Which it is ruthlessly pursuing in its own territory and abroad. Even in a country like Afghanistan, which is continuously wracked with violence, China is the only country in the world that has been drilling commercial oil since 2012 and mining copper. In fact, one of the reasons behind President Donald Trumps decision for US forces to remain in Afghanistan was mineral deposits. However, India has yet to venture into mining in Afghanistan for security reasons.

China annexed Tibet for its water and mineral resources. Xinjiang was similarly annexed with China realising its oil and gas pipelines will need to go in multiple directions. China made Pakistan illegally transfer Shaksgam Valley (5,180 square kilometres  part of Jammu and Kashmir) to it because of its fresh water resource and proximity to Pakistan and the Siachen glacier.

Similarly, China illegally occupied Aksai Chin (38,000 square kilometres: Part of Jammu and Kashmir) and is making forays into eastern Ladakh because the area is rich in minerals and natural resources such as thorium and uranium. There also could be mercury, iron, and nickel and coal reserves in Ladakh though India has never undertaken any mining in these areas.

People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers were observed working in northern Nepal in areas adjoining the border with Tibet known to have uranium deposits few years ago. Now, China has already commenced operations for mining gold in Nepal.

The hot news now is that China has been undertaking extensive mining operations on its side of the disputed India-China border over last few years. The scale of these operations has been unprecedented with the area reportedly having huge deposits of gold, silver and other precious minerals valued at some $60 billion.

Chinas massive mining activity across Arunachal Pradesh was preceded by years of building roads and other infrastructure. The major activity is around Lhunze county, located south-east of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Lhunze is Indian territory (part of Arunachal Pradesh) but under illegal occupation of China with PLA presence.

Enormous, deep tunnels have been dug into the mountains along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), to allow thousands of tonnes of ore to be loaded and transported out by trucks daily, along roads built through every village. Extensive power lines and communication networks have been established, while construction is under way on an airport that can handle passenger jets.

According to the lead scientist for a Beijing-funded northern Himalayan minerals survey, a series of discoveries in recent years put the potential value of ores under Lhunze and the nearby area at Yuan 370 billion ($58 billion), though this is preliminary estimate and more surveys are under way.

Arunachal Pradesh has a vast reserve of mineral oils, gas and coal reserves. Coal is explored from Namchik-Namphuk mines in Tirap district. In addition there are huge reserve of dolomite, limestone, graphite, marble, lead and zinc etc. It is also assumed that there are reserve of iron and copper. The main mineral rich districts are Lohit, Tirap, Chanlang, West Kameng, Upper Subansiri, and Dibangghati.

Little wonder then that China expanded her illegal claim of Tawang Plateau to entire Arunachal Pradesh (90,000 square kilometres of Indian territory) in 2005 and started calling it "south Tibet". In October 2017, President Xi Jinping underscored Beijings claim to the area in a letter to a family in Lhunze, published in Chinese media, thanked them for their loyalty and contributions to China, and also urged the people of Lhunze to set down roots to develop the area for Chinas national interest.

For the past several years, China has been trying consistently to prove Arunachal Pradesh is part of Tibet. It is applying psychological warfare both to make-believe its falsehood, aimed at cultural assimilation astride the LAC, using print and electronic media. Magazines and websites funded by China to further its claims over Arunachal Pradesh being an 'integral' part of Tibet (read China).

China Travel Guide' magazine brazenly promotes tourism in 'south Tibet' and 'Ziro' (in Arunachal Pradesh) tourist destinations. The magazine describes Lhoba Apatanis of Arunachal as 'Chinese' tribe, and describes them as "the most beautiful ethnic people" of China. Chinas Tibetology Research Centre, founded in 1986, is actively involved in projecting Arunachal Pradesh as south Tibet.

From the above it should be quite clear why despite 20 meetings of the Special Representatives of India and China on the border issue, no progress has been made. Given its hunger for minerals and energy recourses, it is unlikely that China will give up her illegal territorial claims astride Himalayas, including Arunachal Pradesh. The discovery of China constructing a 1.2-kilometre motorable road in Tuting area of Arunachal Pradesh during January 2018, despite the area being covered with three feet of snow, should be viewed in this context.

The recent Modi-Xi informal meeting at Wuhan notwithstanding, China will continue its policy of ambiguity and deceit. Its occupation and militarisation of the South China Sea also aimed to usurp massive reserves of natural resources, oil, gas and minerals in that region. The same applies to Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh. While we alleviate our economic relations with China and examine the Brahmaputra water data she has shared (which most likely will make no mention of the waters diverted by her within Tibet and to Xinjiang), we need to counter Chinese moves to substantiate Arunachal Pradesh as south Tibet, using all possible means.

Needless to mention, China should not be permitted any more salami-slicing of territory, however small. It would also be prudent to keep open the Tibet and One China question till the India-China boundary is settled.

The author is a retired lieutenant-general of the Indian ArmyA 35-year-old Dalit ragpicker was allegedly beaten to death in a factory compound near Rajkot district's Shapar town by five people, including the factory owner, who suspected that he and his wife were stealing scrap, officials said on Monday.

Rajkot: A 35-year-old Dalit ragpicker was allegedly beaten to death in a factory compound near Rajkot district's Shapar town by five people, including the factory owner, who suspected that he and his wife were stealing scrap, officials said on Monday. Mukesh Vaniya was lynched and his wife Jayaben Vaniya roughed up yesterday, officials said.

The five accused, including the owner of Radadiya Industries where the incident allegedly took place, were arrested under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (POA) Act and sections of the IPC relating to murder, assaulting a woman and wrongful confinement, said Gujarat minister of state for home Pradipsinh Jadeja. The government is taking stern action against the culprits, he said at a press conference.

"We stand with the family of the victim," Jadeja said, adding that the government had announced a compensation of Rs 8.25 lakh for the kin of the victim. A video of the incident  purportedly showing two people taking turns to beat the Vaniya with a stick while another person holds him by a rope tied to his waist  was circulated widely on social media. The police arrested the five people based on the video, a police official said.

The arrests followed Jayaben's police complaint last evening. Mukesh died while being taken to the government hospital in Rajkot, an official at the Shapar-Veraval police station said. "A man who used to collect garbage was beaten up by some people at the Radadiya Industries compound near Shapar town yesterday. The factory owner accused him and his wife of theft," Rajkot (rural) in-charge superintendent of police Shruti S Mehta said.

"We have arrested the five people based on the video that purportedly showed the victim being beaten up. An investigation is underway," she said. The couple was picking through garbage near Radadiya Industries, located in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) area, when they were held and beaten up by the accused. The factory manufactures and supplies lathe machines.

The five arrested are Jaysukh Radadiya, owner of the factory, and his four friends, Chirag Patel, Divyesh Patel, Jaysukh Radadiya and Tejas Zala, police said. An FIR was registered under sections 302 (murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 354 (assaulting a woman to outrage her modesty) of the IPC and the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities (POA) Act, Minister Jadeja said.

"We will also provide them a special public prosecutor whenever the case comes up in the court," the minister said.A district court has ruled that the juvenile suspected of being involved in the Gurugram school murder case should be treated as an adult.

Gurugram: A sessions court on Monday dismissed the plea of a 16-year-old student, challenging the Juvenile Justice Board's (JJB) decision declaring him as an adult, in the murder case of a seven-year-old boy at a private school.

Additional Sessions Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu junked the appeal of the student along with other two pleas in the case.

The court had earlier granted time till 4 July to the CBI to file a supplementary chargesheet in the murder case of a seven-year-old boy at a private school.

Advocate Sushil Tekriwal, lawyer for the victim seven-year-old boy, had argued that the JJB's order declaring the 16-year-old accused as an adult was "well-reasoned" and there was no fault and "nothing illegal" in it.

"I welcome the judgement by the Gurugram district court. I hope my child will get justice in the case," the father of the victim told News18.

The counsel for the a 16-year-old accused had challenged the JJB order, saying it was "bad in law" and passed without giving him proper opportunity to present his case.

Earlier, the court had barred the media from using the name of the 16-year-old juvenile accused in the case and asked it to use fictitious names instead.

While the seven-year-old victim was named "Prince" by the court, the juvenile accused was named "Bholu" and the school was referred to as "Vidyalaya".

The JJB had on 20 December last year held that the teenager would be tried as an adult and directed his production before the Gurugram Sessions Court.

The CBI, in a chargesheet, had alleged that the teenager had murdered the student on 8 September last year in a bid to get the examinations postponed and a scheduled parent-teacher meeting cancelled.

The victim's body, with the throat slit, was found in the washroom of the school.

The probe agency gave a clean chit to school bus conductor Ashok Kumar, who was earlier arrested by the Gurgaon Police, saying there was no evidence to prove his involvement in the crime.

The CBI had taken up the case from the Gurgaon police on 22 September, following a nationwide uproar over the gruesome killing.

With inputs from PTIThe Haryana Board of School Education (HBSE) announced the HBSE Class 10 board examinations results today. The HBSE 10th Result 2018 or the HBSE Result 2018 is now avaialble on the official website bseh.org.in.

The Haryana Board of School Education (HBSE) announced the HBSE Class 10 board examinations results today. The HBSE 10th Result 2018 or the HBSE Result 2018 is now avaialble on the official website bseh.org.in.

The Haryana Result 2018 is also be available on examresults.net and haryana.indiaresults.com. Students can also check their result via SMS by sending a text message  RESULTHB10<space>ROLLNUMBER  to 56263.

According to News18, over 5 lakh students appeared in the Haryana Board of School Education (HBSE) Class 10 Examination 2018, which was conducted in the month of March for the academic year 2017-18.

Students have also been advised to keep their relevant candidate information, including roll numbers, handy in order to avoid delays.

Steps to check HBSE Result 2018 or HBSE Class 10 result 2018:

- Click on the official website bseh.org.in

- Look for the tab which says HBSE Result 2018, HBSE 10th Result 2018

- Click on the tab which says Haryana Board Result 2018, Haryana 10th Result 2018,

- Enter your roll number, and other required information

- Download the Haryana 10th Result 2018 for future referenceA petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a review of the apex court's verdict, which rejected the demand for an independent probe into the death of special CBI judge BH Loya, who dealt with the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

New Delhi: A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a review of the apex court's verdict, which rejected the demand for an independent probe into the death of special CBI judge BH Loya, who dealt with the high-profile Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case.

The review petition filed by Bombay Lawyers Association has challenged the apex court's 19 April judgment by which it had dismissed a batch of pleas and brought the curtains down on the raging debate over Loya's death.

The judge had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on 1 December, 2014 when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

In its 19 April verdict, the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had ruled that Loya died of "natural causes" and there was no ground for the court to hold that there was reasonable suspicion regarding the cause or circumstances of his death which would merit a further inquiry.

The review petition filed in the apex court has said this judgement "has resulted in miscarriage of justice, if not complete negation of justice on the facts of the case. It is therefore clearly required in the interests of justice that the judgment and order in question be reviewed and recalled."

The present review petition seeks to neither sensationalise the subject matter of the petition, nor make a veiled attempt to launch a frontal attack on independence of the judiciary or to dilute the credibility of judicial institutions, it added.

"Also, no attempt is being made to create prejudice or malign dignity of the judges whose statements form part of the enquiry or those who gave the press interviews on the matter during the period of the enquiry, the plea said.In a development that could leave the Congress red-faced in Karnataka, its MLA Shivaram Hebbar today dismissed as 'fake' an audio clip released by the party to allege that the BJP offered money and ministerial berth to him for cross-voting during the floor test in the Assembly.

Bengaluru: In a development that could leave the Congress red-faced in Karnataka, its MLA Shivaram Hebbar today dismissed as "fake" an audio clip released by the party to allege that the BJP offered money and ministerial berth to him for cross-voting during the floor test in the Assembly.

The Congress had released three audio tapes in run up to the floor test, claiming that the BJP leaders were trying to 'poach' on the party MLAs by offering 'blandishments' so that the BS Yeddyurappa government is saved. One of the audio tapes released by the party allegedly had a conversation between Hebbar's wife and BJP leaders, who allegedly offered money and ministerial post to woo him to vote for the BJP.

In the audio tape in question, BS Yeddyurappa's son BY Vijayendra and his close associate BJ Puttuswamy are heard speaking purportedly to Hebbar's wife, offering money and ministerial position to her husband if he cross-voted in favour of the BJP during the floor test.

However, in a Facebook post in Kannada, Hebbar today questioned the authenticity of the audio clip, saying her wife did not receive any such call. "This is not my wife's voice and she has not received any such calls. The audio tape is fake. I condemn it," he wrote.

Reacting to Hebbar, State Congress spokesman VS Ugrappa today demanded that Vijayendra and Puttuswamy undergo forensic voice test for their alleged involvement. "The audio clip released to the media is genuine, not fake. Yes, our legislator is correct when he says, it is not his wife's voice, but the voices of Vijayendra and Puttuswamy are genuine. If these leaders have guts, they should undergo forensic voice test," he told reporters.

The Karnataka polls threw up a hung Assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party, but eight short of majority. Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the BJP to form the government and Yeddyurappa was sworn in as chief minister. As the floor test approached, the Congress alleged that the BJP was indulging in horse-trading and released the audio tapes to back their charges.

Vijayendra and Puttuswamy are also heard allegedly offering Rs 15 crore for cross-voting but without a ministerial berth, or Rs 5 crore with a cabinet berth. Puttuswamy is also heard allegedly saying that cases against the wife and the son, who are facing a trial in a mining scam, would be cleared.

Realising that he did not have the numbers, Yeddyurappa had on 19 May announced his decision to quit as chief minister without facing the floor test in an anti-climax to the political drama following the hung verdict in the Assembly polls.

Speaking to reporters, Congress general secretary BK Hari Prasad said, "Congress believes in truth. We should appreciate the stand of Shivaram Hebbar who calls a spade a spade. He comes out with the truth. He is not like the BJP people. When he (Hebbar) says that (it is a fake audio), we accept that with all humility. Nothing wrong in that."

Union minister and BJP's Karnataka election in-charge Prakash Javadekar had rubbished the audio tapes as 'fake.' Javadekar also had accused the Congress of releasing 'fake' audio clips to prevent the BJP from forming government.The Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) declared the results of Class 12th Arts stream today on its official website megresults.nic.in

The Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) declared the results of Class 12th Arts stream today on its official website megresults.nic.in, reports said.

According to Times of India, Lily Kharthangmaw topped the Meghalaya Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) Examinations, 2018 (Arts Stream) by scoring 440 out of 500. Susanna Kharmanwshun came second HSSLC exam with 439 marks followed by Brinda Gewali who scored 436 to get the third place in the Class 12 Intermediate (Arts) exam. The report added that 16,759 out of the 23,160 students cleared the MBOSE Class 12 Arts exam.

Follow the steps to check the results:

-Go to the official website: megresults.nic.in or mbose.in

-Click on the course: Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate (HSSLC) Examination (Arts Stream).

-Enter the required details.

-Click on 'submit' and take a print for future reference.

- Students can also check their results on their mobile phones by sending a short text message (SMS) in the format  MBOSE12A<add space>ROLLNUMBER  to 56263.

According to a report in The Indian Express, girls outshined the boys in the Class 12 Board exams by registering a pass percentage of 75.84 percent. Among boys, the pass percentage was very low at 55.14 percent.

The East Khasi Hills emerged as the top-scoring district with 86.01 percent marks, whereas, the South Garo Hills recorded the lowest pass percentage at 48.21 percent in the HSLC exams, it added.

MBOSE declared results of its Class 12th board exam for Science, Commerce and Vocational courses on 10 May.Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to all three districts of Kashmir in a day was clearly a rushed affair  inaugurating a project here and attending a religious ceremony there.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to all three districts of Kashmir in a day was clearly a rushed affair  inaugurating a project here and attending a religious ceremony there. But for all that, it was a visit that was in many ways far more important for the country, than his electioneering sprees in the villages and towns of Karnataka. It was also a hugely more difficult exercise for the party, with the BJP being both partner and opponent in the state.

The prime minister's visit to Leh invoked the memory of a diplomat  teacher-monk in terms of the region's heritage, even as he provided the promise of a better future in inaugurating the Zoji La Tunnel. This was a project that was a long time coming in terms of providing a viable all-weather link between Leh, Srinagar and Kargil. It is typical of this prime minister's style that he flags off a carefully selected key infrastructural or practical issue in the area that he visits.

If in Kolar, it was a promised resurgence of its mango orchards, in Leh it was a pledge to provide what is literally a life line to an area that remains cut off for months together. Billed as Asia's longest two-way tunnel, it seems to be bracketed with the longest/tallest/largest Chinese infrastructural challenges next door. The redeveloped and improved Karakoram Highway (also known as the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) built with Beijing's assistance will be truly an engineering marvel. But so will the Zoji La Tunnel, provided it is finished on time. Someone in the Prime Minister's Office needs to keep an eye on that.

His visit to Srinagar was expectedly preceded by such security measures that any 'meet and greet' of the local population as in Leh, was absolutely ruled out. The separatists equally unsurprisingly called for a shut down, which again would have happened in any case, since few would want to venture out at a time when security was so tight. That's a pity for a prime minister who is in his element among excited crowds. However, the key issue in Srinagar was again infrastructural, and in this case, a cocking of the snook at Pakistan.

The formal inauguration of the Kishenganga Power Project  opposed for years by Pakistan  immediately led to an outcry by the Pakistani foreign office, decrying that it was "tantamount" to a violation of the Indus Water Treaty. Pakistani diplomats are among the best anywhere, and the careful selection of language indicates that the establishment is well aware that it is no such thing. The Kishenganga is what is known as a "run of the river" type project, which simply means that it is not designed to store water for irrigation purposes, and thereby adversely affect the flow of water into Pakistan. This fact did not stop Pakistan from calling for arbitration by the World Bank eight years ago, and again in April this year.

It is unclear what Islamabad expects from arbitration at this point, when the project has been completed.

The prime minister also laid the foundation for the Pakul Dul project in Kishtwar, which is likely to raise another round of Pakistani protests and calls for arbitration. Those in the know in Pakistan, are fully aware that India has yet to realise even a part of the actual water storage capacities allowed under the treaty. An earlier Indus Water Commissioner of Pakistan, Jamaat Ali Shah, had been removed from his post, after a clutch of religious groups, as well as retired army men and diplomats who should have known better, accused him of abetting India to "steal" 14 million acre-feet of water.

Subsequently, Shah, a man of immense expertise, had to exit the country in early 2012, presumably to Canada. The inauguration of these two dams at different stages, is therefore very likely to incense those whose business it is to launch terrorists across the border. Given that a reported 13 percent of Kishenganga's output will benefit Kashmir  particularly local interests, any interference by Islamabad, will not be seen kindly by the people themselves. That is a point in Indias favour, provided that New Delhi knows how to use it in public discourse.

The prime ministers visit had its due share of posturing from various parts of the political firmament. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was profuse in thanking the prime minister for his support of the ceasefire, even while taking a dig at the lack of earlier consensus between the coalition partners. In Jammu, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) protested against the ceasefire, on the not entirely unreasonable grounds that it was giving relief to the militants.

The RSS has also been arguing that the BJP has completely given in to Mehbooba's Peoples Democratic Party in policy matters.

Top office holders also indicated disappointed that the party has provided no clear stand on other issues, including the ingress of Rohingya and Bangladeshis into the state. As General Elections near, such arguments are likely to rise, putting pressure on the policy at New Delhi, which seems to be guided by larger interests. Other inimical comments were apparent in media stories elsewhere. The normally reliable Washington Post covered the Modi visit extensively, but with a sting in the tail, with the observation that "Most Kashmiris support the rebel cause while also participating in civilian street protests against Indian control".

Unless The Washington Post had conducted a public opinion poll across the state of Jammu and Kashmir, such comments are surprising to say the least. All in all therefore, the prime minister has his task cut out to not just stabilise Kashmir, but also to cope with the actions of a very large neighbour in the close vicinity of its borders. It would be nice if he could count on just a little help from his friends.There was a time when the annual summits proved sufficient to 'further strengthen' bilateral times. However, that time appears to have passed us by

After a whistle-stop tour of Kashmir on Saturday, Narendra Modi arrived in Russia on Monday morning with a Sochi meeting with Vladimir Putin as the high point of the brief visit's agenda.

PM @narendramodi off to an early start to #Sochi in Russia for the Informal Summit with the Russian President Putin. The two leaders are expected to discuss steps to cement our already solid partnership over several meetings in the course of the day. @mfa_russia pic.twitter.com/nBDiytBDru  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

Modi tweeted before taking off that the visit would seek to "further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia". There was a time when the annual India-Russia Summit, the BRICS Summit and a string of 'sidelines' meetings at most multilateral summits  the likes of the SCO, G20 and UN General Assembly meets, for example  were sufficient to 'further strengthen' bilateral times. However, that time appears to have passed us by.

The lay of the land

In the not-so-distant past and when Russia was a cornerstone of Indian foreign policy, New Delhi found itself maintaining a delicate balance between its ties with Beijing and Washington  careful not to tip the scales one way or another. Successive governments at the Centre managed this balance deftly, but three key issues began creeping into India's foreign policy matrix:

First, there was the gradual but purposeful infusion of warmth into India-US relations, kickstarted by Bill Clinton and Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2000 and taken to new heights by George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump, on one hand, and Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi on the other. Clinton's visit to India in March 2000, the first by a US president since Jimmy Carter in 1978, saw the signing of a joint vision statement  a rarity then, which has turned into an absolutely essential part of India-US summits today. Along the way, New Delhi has cast aside its non-alignment-era suspicions of Washington and this has filtered into economic, strategic and cultural relations.

Second, there is the impetus given to India-China relations by Modi and Xi Jinping since the former took office in 2014 that were largely static  frequent meetings at the secretary and joint working group-level apart  hitherto. Modi and Xi's injection of a personal touch into their dealings with one another has ensured that the quality of India-China relations has not dipped significantly despite Beijing's (continuing) tacit support of Islamabad's claims to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and skirmishes like last year's standoff at Doka La. Instead, and despite the divergence on issues like the South China Sea and the Belt-Road Initiative, there have been positive noises emanating from each Xi-Modi meeting  something commentators and foreign ministries on both sides have rarely failed to note.

Third, there is the prickly issue of Russia's apparently growing disillusionment with India. While in public, Modi and Putin have made no effort to disguise their bonhomie  something reflected in the elaborate and far-reaching joint statements and bilateral agreements signed by the duo, it's what has been happening behind the scenes that is of concern to New Delhi. That India has been weaning itself off Russian arms in favour of American ones has been the case for some time. A relatively newer development is Russia's willingness to sell  at the time of writing  military transport, if not weapons outright, to Pakistan. And then there is the CAATSA factor.

What next?

The elaborate dance of Indian foreign policy has become even more convoluted if Monday's 'informal summit' between Modi and Putin is anything to go by. It means that aside from having to balance the US and China, India will also have to balance Russia and its concerns within this matrix. Modi and Xi's informal summit in Wuhan at the tail-end of last month represents the first of what looks set to become a regular feature of India's foreign policy when it comes to small tweaks, nudges and pushes to ensure that the balance remains. The big-ticket issues can be tackled at official summits, but it's at the informal equivalents that mood and tone can be established, concerns can be addressed, trust can be built and assurances can be given, albeit in an unofficial capacity.

That it is with Russia this instrument has to be wheeled out, can be viewed in two ways:

First, it can be seen as a matter of concern that one of India's deepest and warmest relationships has deteriorated to this point.

Second, it can equally be seen as a positive that India hasn't abandoned its decades-old partner and still sees Russia as important enough to the larger scheme of things.

But the bottom line remains that 2018 is not 1998 and that informal summits  that may not have been required two decades ago by India and China  are now here to stay, and in the long run, they are likely to give New Delhi the best shot at maintaining the precarious balance between Washington, Beijing, and as we've come to discover, Moscow.Union minister JP Nadda on Sunday directed the Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district

New Delhi: Union minister JP Nadda on Sunday directed the Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district to assist the state government in the wake of death of three people due to Nipah virus in Kerala.

Times Now reported that the death toll has now risen to nine.

A central team will be visiting the state to monitor the situation post the Union health minister's direction.

Reviewed the situation of deaths related to nipah virus in Kerala with Secreatry Health. I have directed Director NCDC to visit the district and initiate required steps as warranted by the protocol for the disease in consultation with state government.  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) May 20, 2018

Nipah virus (NiV) infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The Kozhikode health department is maintaining vigilance in the wake of three deaths there reportedly due to the virus. Two more persons, who were allegedly in contact with the deceased, are believed to be in a serious condition.

Earlier on Sunday, Lok Sabha MP and former Union minister Mullappally Ramachandran sought the central government's intervention to contain the outbreak of what he termed was a "rare and deadly" virus in some parts of Kozhikode.

In a letter to Nadda, Ramachandran said some panchayats, including Kuttiyadi and Perambra, in his Lok Sabha constituency of Vatakara were in the grip of the virus.

He said some doctors have termed it as Nipah virus, while others said it was zoonotic, and that the spread is fast and fatal.

"The mortality rate is reportedly 70 percent. The spread of the disease needs to be contained," he said in the letter.

NiV is also capable of causing disease in pigs and other domestic animals. There is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care, the WHO says on its website.According to World Health Organisation, Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis (a disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals) that causes severe disease in both animals and humans

After over a decade, the rare Nipah virus has struck India, and this time in Kerala's Kozhikode district, by claiming nine lives. The virus, known to have nearly 70 percent mortality rate has drawn a sharp reaction from both from the state as well as the Union Ministry of Health, with health minister JP Nadda directing the Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district to assist the state government in the wake of death.

To help you prepare better in implementing safeguards against the infection, the following is all we know about the disease so far:

What is Nipah virus (NiV)?

According to World Health Organisation, Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis (a disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals) that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus (fruit-eating species, popularly known as flying foxes).

Who are in danger?

NiV affects humans as well as pigs and other domestic animals.

What are the symptoms of NiV infection?

According to the WHO, the symptoms of NiV infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis.

When was Nipah virus first identified?

NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. According to WHO, pigs were intermediate hosts, however, no intermediate hosts were found in subsequent NiV outbreaks.

According to a 2013 ICMR-sponsored research paper, "the outbreak started in the pig farmers near Ipoh in the Kinta District of Perak, some 200 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur and spread to three other major pig-rearing areas (the largest in Southeast Asia) in Negeri Sembilan and Sungei Buloh in Selangor. The disease was named after Kampung Sungai Nipah (Nipah River Village), where the first viral isolate was obtained and therefore named as NiV".

Total 265 cases were reported of which 105 died. Around 1.1 million pigs had to be destroyed to control the outbreak, the report adds.

How does NiV transmit?

According to the report, in Malaysia and Singapore, NiV transmitted to humans through infected pigs. However, during the NIV outbreaks in India and Bangladesh, the disease transmitted "directly from bats to human followed by a human to human" and "the drinking of raw date palm sap contaminated with fruit bat urine or saliva containing NiV is the only known cause of outbreak" of the disease in Bangladesh outbreaks."

When was the first NiV outbreak observed in India?

The first NiV outbreak in India was observed in 2001 in Siliguri, West Bengal. Though the agent for the outbreak was not known, analysis of the limited sequence data suggested that the NiV strains associated with the outbreak were more closely related to NiV isolated in Bangladesh than to NiV isolated in Malaysia. According to some, Siliguri's proximity to Bangladesh, which had been seeing recurrent cases of NiV infection from 2001 through 2013 could have been behind it.

A second infection had reportedly emerged in Nadia district, again close to the border with Bangladesh in 2007.

The outbreak of NiV in Kerala is the latest and third such incident, according to reports.

Is there a vaccine for NiV infection?

No. According to WHO, there is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The only treatment available for NiV infection is intensive supportive care.

What precautions to take?

Contact with bats saliva or urine either via a contaminated item (like palm sap or fruit dropped from a tree) or via animals contaminated by the virus (such as pigs or other livestock animals) or humans already infected with NiV are considered to be the prime reason for NiV infection. If NiV is endemic to your area, it's best to avoid areas that bats inhabitate.With the casualty figure due to Nipah touching ten within the past 48 hours, Kerala's public health department is in a state of shock and disarray.

Kerala's health sector has been dealt a severe blow after the National Institute of Virology in Pune confirmed on Sunday night that the suspected virus that had led to the death of three of a family in Kozhikode was indeed the dreaded Nipah virus.

With the casualty figure touching ten within the past 48 hours, the states public health department is in a state of shock and disarray. While the blood samples of four deceased had confirmed the virus, the rest were being tested at the institute in Pune at the time of filing of this report.

The state health department has also confirmed that at least 25 people with similar symptoms are under observation at various hospitals in Kozhikode district where the outbreak initially took place.

The entry of Nipah, or Henipavirus as it is known in medical parlance, in this part of the world has made things difficult for the medical community. Doctors do not have prior experience in this regard, and are struggling to contain the spread of the disease.

A high level team of doctors from the national capital has also been rushed by the Union health ministry to take stock of the situation in states northern districts.

At the time of filing this report, a high-level emergency meeting chaired by the state health minister was on at the Kozhikode Medical College Hospital. A medical alert has also been sounded across the state, with district collectors asked to be ready for any eventuality.

The state has been put on a high alert after we got the confirmation. The central government has also been informed. We have also asked private hospitals to provide all help to patients. Their treatment cost will be borne by the state, KK Shailaja, Minister for Health and Social Welfare told mediapersons in Kozhikode.

Recently, a family of three had died at a village in Chengaroth in Kozhikode district due to symptoms similar to encephalitis. Muhammed Salih and his brother Sabith, aged 26 and 23, and their maternal aunt Mariyam, aged 50, were the first victims of Nipah.

As doctors were unable to get answers about which virus led to the disease, their samples were rushed to Pune. From there, the much-feared confirmation came in on Sunday evening. But by then, two more deaths had been reported. At least one of them, Ismail, had come into contact with the deceased Sabith while in hospital.

But what has set alarm bells ringing for the authorities is the death of a nurse, Lini, who had attended on one of the victims in the government hospital. With consent from her family, Linis body was cremated by the state itself without being taken to her house, summing up the alarming situation.

Even though we say there is no need to panic, we are still in a state of shock after Linis death. It only shows how unprepared we are in dealing with a situation like this, said one doctor based in Kozhikode on the condition of anonymity.

The government has meanwhile rushed in more health officials to Perambra and adjoining areas. All hospitals in the area have been advised to quarantine patients who show similar symptoms.

There is no need to panic as the outbreak is confined to a small area. But we have formed task force teams to ensure that the outbreak is contained at the earliest. The priority before the government now is to minimise deaths. We are doing all that is possible to ensure this, added the health minister.

Fear of spread of virus

Although the state claims that the outbreak is limited to a small area in Kozhikode, developments in the adjoining district of Malappuram are not encouraging. Four deaths of people who showed similar symptoms have already been reported from Malappuram. Health workers suspect that the cause may be Nipah.

The symptoms in Malappuram suggest that the cases were of encephalitis. However, whether the disease is actually Nipah can only be confirmed after we get the samples tested in Pune. At the moment, that is what we are doing. We are not taking any chances. All measures to contain the virus have been put in place here too, said Dr Sakhina, District Medical Officer, Malappuram.

As fruit bats found in large numbers all over rural Kerala are the natural hosts of this deadly virus, it becomes doubly challenging for health officials to contain it. These bats fly for at least 200 kilometers in search of food at night. This means that containing the virus in a densely populated state like Kerala becomes an even tougher task.

What makes the situation worse is that Nipah has an incubation period of four to 15 days which means that unless effective quarantine measures are put in place to ensure that people do not travel to affected areas, the number of cases could rise the coming days.

Anyone can travel to Kozhikode and also travel from the town elsewhere at the moment. We will have to tackle the issue of quarantining, failing which this virus can spread in any direction in the state. It will then become absolutely impossible to contain it. The measures being taken at the moment are inadequate to contain the virus, a senior doctor from Malappuram told Firstpost.

What is Nipah?

According to the World Health Organisation, Nipah Virus (NiV) Infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. In other words, it is a virus that spreads from animals to humans and then spreads among humans.

It normally affects human beings initially in the form of encephalitis. It is accompanied by fever, headache, cough, drowsiness and finally coma.

With no specific drugs to treat the disease apart from life-supporting medical care, many patients die within a few days. Alarmingly, Nipah has a mortality rate of close to 75 percent, making it one of the most dreaded diseases after Ebola.

The virus is found to be present in the urine, faeces and saliva of the fruit bats. It is believed that half-eaten fruits or faecal droppings of bats could be potential carries of the virus when they come in contact with human beings.

In the case of the family in Perambra, it is believed that one of the members of the family might have come in contact with a half-eaten fruit dropped by a bat in the courtyard of their house or consumed water from the well adjoining their house in which dead bats were found.

The disease could have then spread from one person to another in the household, leading to the death of three.

The virus was first found among pigs in Malaysia in 1998. At that time, about a million pigs had to be culled across farms after more than 100 people came in contact with the virus. Here also, fruit bats were believed to have spread the virus to the pigs.

Health officials clueless about Nipah's arrival in Kerala

What troubles health experts in Kerala is the lack of clarity on the manner in which the virus came to the state.

The only other reported case of Nipah in India was from Siliguri in West Bengal way back in January 2001. But Nipah has been common in many parts of Bangladesh where, from 2001 to 2011, the disease had been reported every year without fail.

Health officials in Kerala are clueless on how the virus could have traveled from Bangladesh or West Bengal to northern Kerala.

At the moment, we are absolutely clueless about how the virus reached Kerala. Fruit bats are not migratory. The maximum they will fly is 300 miles. How did a virus earlier reported thousands of miles away come to northern Kerala? This can only be revealed through a minute study of all the circumstances, Dr PS Jinesh from Info Clinic, a Facebook group of doctors that works to clear myths told Firstpost.Sheikh Hasina is expected to arrive in Kolkata on 25 May for a two-day visit that will lay emphasis on the close cultural ties between the two countries, but her visit is also likely to lead to more substantive talks between the two leaders.

In these days of "informal summits", Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina in an informal bilateral meeting at Banga Bhavan in Shantiniketan this week. It will be the third informal summit Modi will be attending in the past few weeks, after the Wuhan summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping in April and another meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Sochi on Monday.

Sheikh Hasina is expected to arrive in Kolkata on 25 May for a two-day visit that will lay emphasis on the close cultural ties between the two countries, but her visit is also likely to lead to more substantive talks between the two leaders.

The informal summit will take place at the newly inaugurated Banga Bhaban (Bangladesh Bhavan) in Shantiniketan. The Bangladesh prime minister will later meet Mamata Banerjee after the convocation ceremony at the Nazrul Islam University in Asansol. The issue of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and the Teesta water sharing treaty are likely to be the top issues on Sheikh Hasina's agenda.

The main purpose of the visit is the inauguration of the Bangladesh Bhavan at the campus of the Viswa Bharati University in Shantiniketan and to attend the convocation ceremony at the Kazi Nazrul University in Burdwan district's Asansol. The Bangladesh government-funded Bhavan will be inaugurated in the presence of Sheikh Hasina and Modi, who is the Chancellor of the Viswa Bharati University. It will be Modi's first visit to the university. The Bangladesh Bhavan will house a library and a museum of the Bangladesh War of Liberation.

At the Kazi Nazrul University, Sheikh Hasina will be conferred an honorary DLit degree by West Bengal governor and university chancellor Keshari Nath Tripathi. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will be the chief guest at the convocation. The university is named after Bangladesh's national poet, Kazi Nazrul Islam, and is located near his birthplace of Churulia.

The university has robust links with the Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Trishal, Bangladesh, with regular academic exchanges between the two.

The Bangladesh government had been dismayed at the initial Indian reaction to the violent displacement of the Rohingyas by Myanmar security forces. As thousands of refugees poured across the Bangladesh border everyday, Dhaka made known its distress at the Indian stance that seemed to tilt in favour of Myanmar.

New Delhi later made amends by undertaking 'Operation Insaniyat' to supply relief material to the Rohingya refugees and extending full support to Bangladesh's efforts to resolve the issue.

The informal summit is taking place just days after Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj's visit to Myanmar, where she met the country's top leadership. The two sides discussed the Rohingya refugee crisis and India offered to provide prefabricated houses for displaced persons in Rakhine state. In her discussions, Swaraj underlined the need for "safe, speedy and sustained return of displaced persons to Rakhine state", according to an External Affairs Ministry statement.

Other topics likely to come up for discussion are water, connectivity, power and infrastructure, the four main areas of cooperation between the two countries. The question of sharing Teesta river water remains a sticky point in India-Bangladesh relations, with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee opposing any agreement that curtails the state's share of river water.

Modi had assured Bangladesh during Hasina's previous visit that he was making efforts towards a satisfactory solution to the problem. As elections in Bangladesh draw closer, the issue is likely to gain urgency for the government in Dhaka as well.

Relations between India and Bangladesh have widened and deepened in content in the past decade of the Sheikh Hasina government. Both India and Bangladesh are due to hold elections within the next 12 months and the informal meeting provides the opportunity for a high level review of bilateral relations.

Hasina's previous visit to India was in 2017 while Modi last paid a visit to Bangladesh in 2015.Students in Tamil Nadu who appeared for their TN SSLC 2018 examination in April can check their results today; the state's pass percentage is 94.5 percent

Students in Tamil Nadu who appeared for their TN SSLC Class 10th 2018 examination in April can check their results online as they have been declared. According to The Indian Express, the results on the SSLC examination were declared at 9.30 am and the pass percentage in the state is 94.5 percent.

Candidates can check their scores on the official website of the Directorate of Government Examinations (DGE) (www.dge1.tn.nic.in) or on the website tnresults.nic.in. Students need to keep their roll number handy with them to check the results.

The Tamil Nadu Class 10th Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination was held between 16 March and 20 April. More than 9 lakh students appeared for the examination, The Week reported.

Candidates can check their results through the following steps:

- Visit tnresults.nic.in.

- Click the active link "Tamil Nadu class 10 SSLC Results 2018".

- Key in the required details such as date of birth and registration number.

- Download the result and take a print for further reference.

As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed around. The information above has not been independently verified by Firstpost. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in.Last week, Trump raised eyebrows when he used the word 'animals' to describe some people who enter the country illegally, in response to a comment about MS-13. The president has doubled down on his rhetoric, saying he will continue to use the term in referring to the gang.

US President Donald Trump will travel to New York on Wednesday for a speech on immigration.

New York Rep. Pete King's office says they're expecting the president to travel to Bethpage, on Long Island, to discuss efforts to eradicate the violent MS-13 gang.

Last week, Trump raised eyebrows when he used the word "animals" to describe some people who enter the country illegally, in response to a comment about MS-13.

The president has doubled down on his rhetoric, saying he will continue to use the term in referring to the gang.

The White House also released a fact sheet Monday morning, titled, "WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIOLENT ANIMALS OF MS-13."

Trump traveled to Suffolk County Community College last July to discuss the gang before law enforcement officials.

Below is the full text of the White House statement out early Monday morning:

WHAT: The violent animals of MS-13 have committed heinous, violent attacks in communities across America.

Too many innocent Americans have fallen victim to the unthinkable violence of MS-13s animals.

At the State of the Union in January 2018, President Trump brought as his guests Elizabeth Alvarado, Robert Mickens, Evelyn Rodriguez, and Freddy Cuevas, the parents of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas. Police believe these young girls were chased down and brutally murdered by MS-13 gang members on Long Island, New York, in 2016. Suffolk County Police Commissioner stated that the murders show a level of brutality that is close to unmatched.

In Maryland, MS-13s animals are accused of stabbing a man more than 100 times and then decapitating him, dismembering him, and ripping his heart out of his body. Police believe MS-13 members in Maryland also savagely beat a 15-year-old human trafficking victim. The MS-13 animals used a bat and took turns beating her nearly 30 times in total.

In Houston, Texas, two MS-13 members were charged after kidnapping and sexually assaulting one girl and murdering another. The two MS-13 animals laughed, smiled, and waved for cameras in court as they faced the charges.

New York communities have suffered tremendously from the abhorrent violence of MS-13. Nearly 40 percent of all murders in Suffolk County, New York between January 2016 and June 2017 were tied to MS-13.

In January 2017, MS-13 members were charged with killing and hacking up a teenager in Nassau County. MS-13s animals reportedly saw the murder as a way to boost their standing in the gang. In April 2017, police believe four young men were brutally murdered by MS-13 animals on Long Island. One victim was a young man in town visiting family during an Easter week vacation. Just last month, in April 2018, MS-13 reportedly called for its members on Long Island to kill a cop for the sake of making a statement.

WHY: MS-13 is a transnational gang which follows the motto of kill, rape, control by committing shocking acts of violence in an attempt to instill fear and gain control.

MS-13 is a transnational gang that has brought violence, fear, and suffering to American communities. MS-13, short for Mara Salvatrucha, commits shocking acts of violence to instill fear, including machete attacks, executions, gang rape, human trafficking, and more. In their motto, the animals of MS-13 make clear their goal is to kill, rape, control. The gang has more than 10,000 members in the United States spreading violence and suffering.

Recent investigations have revealed MS-13 gang leaders based in El Salvador have been sending representatives into the United States illegally to connect the leaders with local gang members. These foreign-based gang leaders direct local members to become even more violent in an effort to control more territory.

President Trumps entire Administration is working tirelessly to bring these violent animals to justice.

(With AP wire service)It is bound to be a prickly government in Karnataka, given all the rhetoric the Congress and JD(S) directed at each other during the campaign.

Nimmappraane, CM aagalla (I swear on your father, you will never become the chief minister). That was former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiahs challenge to HD Kumaraswamy in April. Unfortunately, nothing went right for Siddaramaiah since then. Now, forced by his high command to play second fiddle to the JD(S), Siddaramaiah has no role to play in the new JD(S)-Congress coalition government, to be sworn in on 23 May. Going forward, it is unlikely that he will be given much of a role to play even within his own party.

Kumaraswamys agenda is quite clear. First and foremost, he will seek to protect his turf, his caste vote bank and farmers interests in the Cauvery region. He will also attempt to strengthen his familys hold over the party. He knows the secularism slogan can get him little benefit, but it is convenient for now. The BJP had sent feelers through well-wishers, Kumaraswamy said. Though I dont believe in secular-communal theories, I chose to go with the Congress.

For the Congress, with its one grassroots leader in the state totally sidelined, its stance will be that the high command will decide. Siddaramaiah is the leader of the legislature party, but is unlikely to have any say on the selection of the deputy chief minister or ministers. Mallikarjun Kharge and state party head G Parameshwara are the obvious names for the deputy chief minister's post. Some decisions are expected later on Monday after Kumaraswamys meetings with Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

It is bound to be a prickly government, given all the rhetoric the two parties directed at each other during the campaign. Governance decisions could end with more acrimony between the two parties. Congress leaders who miss out on a berth in the government will want something in return for their loyalty during the trust vote.

How many deputy chief ministers will the Congress want? One, definitely. Two, not unlikely. How many ministers will the Congress want? Since they have twice as many MLAs as the JD(S), will they demand twice as many ministries? The talk currently is of 20 ministries for the Congress and 13 for the JD(S). After the bickering over numbers will come the spat over portfolio allocation. Unfortunately for the Congress, they made Kumaraswamy the chief minister. Now they have to live with him for five years, as promised.

Promises, of course, are made to be broken. But as of now, Kumaraswamy, despite having come last, is in a position to dictate terms to the party that came second. He will, of course, keep key portfolios such as finance, agriculture and home. What he will retain for himself is not quite clear. But he will certainly need to keep his 38 MLAs happy. These MLAs can all expect some plum postings (as happened in Haryana once, under Bhajan Lal). So if the Congress has to make do with leftovers, so be it.

Farm loan waivers, and some of the former chief minister's Bhagya schemes, like free rice to the poor, will probably not be changed. But they probably will be renamed. A few new ones may be announced in the name of the new chief minister. Populism will be on full display. The old Mysuru region, the stronghold of the JD(S) and HD Kumaraswamy, can expect plenty of largesse. There may be several freebees for farmers, an issue which both Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy kept harping on during the campaign. Bengaluru city will hopefully get some much-needed attention, with the corporation and Vidhan Soudha ruled by the same combine.

A good monsoon will be a major boost to the JD(S). The Centre will have to notify the Cauvery management board soon. And there is the Supreme Court verdict to release more Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. The Congress will need to maintain a delicate balance between its compulsions in Karnataka and its interests in Tamil Nadu. Then there is the Mahadayi water issue in the Mumbai Karnataka region, which the BJP had promised to resolve. Having lost heavily in that region, the new government will find it tough to address this matter. The corruption issue, raised by all parties during the campaign, will need to be addressed.

The new government will have to also address the communal issues in the coastal belt which the BJP took advantage of, and the Lingayat muddle created by the outgoing chief minister. The caste and communal polarisation that this election has caused is real. The loser in this was the Congress. Now they have the opportunity to win back votes that they lost to the BJP. But that will require more than just slogans and speeches.

The BJP, of course, will be looking ahead to 2019, and sooner rather than later, the JD(S) and Congress too will have to plan for this, if a repeat of 2014 is to be avoided. Whether the coalition will survive till then, however, is open to question.

The author is former Editor-in-Charge, The Week

Follow live updates on the Karnataka government formation here.Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has accused the Shiv Sena of betraying the Bhartiya Janta Party by fielding Shriniwas Wanga for the bypolls

Palghar: Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has accused the Shiv Sena of betraying the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) by fielding Shriniwas Wanga, son of late member of Parliament Chintaman Wanga for the Palghar Lok Sabha seat bypoll.

He claimed the Sena knew that the BJP was already planning to nominate someone from Chintaman Wanga's family for the by-election, scheduled on 28 May.

Lauding Wanga's association with the BJP, Fadnavis said the late leader represented the party's ideology.

Fadnavis, at an earlier rally in the district, said he had told Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray that the BJP was planning to give ticket to a member of Chintaman Wanga's family for the by-election.

"Our ally (on one hand) was welcoming our decision to give ticket to the Wanga family and on the other hand hatching a conspiracy," the chief minister said at a campaign rally in Palghar's Nallasopara area on Sunday.

Chintaman Wanga's wife on Sunday had filed a complaint of model code violation against the BJP, accusing the party of using her husband's pictures on publicity material for the upcoming bypoll illegally.

However, Fadnavis said only the BJP had the right to use the late leader's photos.

"Only we have the right to put up Chintaman Wanga's photo. He wasn't an individual but our ideology," he said.

Urging the people of Palghar to vote fearlessly without succumbing to any threats, the chief minister said those who come between the BJP and the people will be "crushed".

Nobody should indulge in extortion in the name of the saffron flag, he said without naming any party.

Fadnavis said this was not an election of 'galli' (a local street), but 'Delhi' (Parliament), and asked other parties to do politics for the welfare of the society.

For the bypoll, the BJP has fielded Rajendra Gavit, who recently left the Congress to join the saffron party.

Fadnavis asserted that Gavit was the right successor to Chintaman Wanga.

"Why vote for those who don't know whether they exist or not. Rajendra Gavit is like (Chintaman) Wanga who struggles for people...send him to the Modi team (Parliament)," he said.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari also spoke at the rally. Apart from the BJP and the Sena, the Congress is also in fray for the bypoll to the tribal-dominated constituency, located about 110 km from Mumbai, and has fielded former MP Damodar Shingda.

Local outfit Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), which has three MLAs in total six Assembly segments in the Palghar constituency, has nominated former MP Baliram Jadhav.Congress master strategist and Vokkaliga strongman are just some of the phrases used to describe DK Shivakumar, the man who held the Congress flock together ahead of the crucial trust vote on Saturday.

Congress' master strategist and Vokkaliga strongman are just some of the phrases that were used to describe Doddalahalli Kempegowda Shivakumar, the man who stood victorious as BJP's BS Yeddyurappa announced his resignation as chief minister on Saturday, a mere 55 hours after he took oath of office.

The next day, several media reports touted DK Shivakumar  DK or DKS as he is known within the Karnataka political circle  as Congress' point person for the alliance, the man who checkmated Amit Shah, the man of the match and the man who kept Congress' flock together in Karnataka.

He has expressed his chief ministerial aspirations since a long time, and reports suggest he is unlikely to be placated with a ministerial or deputy chief minister's post in a government headed by JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy.

With more than 30 years of political experience, Shivakumar was responsible for ensuring all Congress MLAs remained together to ensure a victory for the party in the scenario of a trust vote. He also ferried them to and from Hyderabad where all the 78 elected MLAs were holed up in a resort.

Involved in politics since college days

Hailing from an agricultural family in Kanakapura, the senior Congress leader made his foray into politics during his college days in Bengaluru, when he landed a leadership role in the Youth Congress, according to The News Minute. Shivakumar was the Karnataka State Youth Congress general secretary between 1983 and 1985. He made his political debut as a legislator when he was elected to the Zilla Panchayat in 1987.

First Assembly victory in 1989

During the 1989 elections, Shivakumar won his first Assembly election as an independent candidate from Sathnur Assembly constituency in Kanakapura taluk, defeating former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, and came to be known as the 'Tiger of Sathnur'. In 1990, he was appointed junior minister for prisons and homeguards when S Bangarappa became Karnataka chief minister. Even though the portfolio was insignificant, Shivakumar was noticed for his leadership skills and hard work at the age of 29.

When fellow Vokkaliga SM Krishna became chief minister in 1999, Shivakumar was made urban development minister. However, in the Congress-JD(S) alliance in 2004, Shivakumar was kept out of the ranks.

When Siddaramaiah came to power in 2013, he too kept his distance from the Congress leader. Shivakumar was eventually made power minister in January 2014.

Political rivalry with HD Deve Gowda

This seven-time MLA first went up against veteran politician HD Deve Gowda in Sathnur at the age of 25, and lost by a thin margin. His rivalry with the Gowda family began that time and sustained over the years.

In the 2002 Lok Sabha bypolls, Shivakumar lost to Deve Gowda but rose to fame again in the 2004 Lok Sabha general election, when he fielded newbie television journalist-turned-politician Tejaswini Sriramesh against the JD(S) supremo in Kanakapura, News18 reported. She won the polls by a landslide and cemented the trust of the Congress leadership in Delhi.

Richest Congress nominee in 2018 Assembly polls

Shivakumar emerged as richest nominee for the 2018 Assembly polls when he declared combined assets worth over Rs 700 crore in his poll affidavit. According to the nomination papers filed at the Kanakapura Assembly segment in Ramanagara district, about 55 kilometres from Bengaluru, Shivakumar, 55, declared his income and assets and that of his wife, Usha's, to be Rs 730 crore.

The Congress leader's income and assets have nearly tripled since the 2013 Assembly elections, when he had declared assets valued at Rs 251 crore.

Through the affidavit, Shivakumar declared cash and bank deposits worth Rs 95 crore, immovable assets including commercial buildings and land valued at over Rs 635.8 crore and gold, diamonds, and silver valued at over Rs 1.5 crore, among other assets.

Four criminal cases

According to myneta.info, Shivakumar has four criminal cases pending against him related to forgery, corruption, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, etc. In 2017, the Income Tax department raided 64 locations connected to him in a tax evasion case, which reportedly unearthed crores of undeclared income.

No stranger to 'resort politics'

This wasn't the first time Shivakumar emerged as a crisis manager for the Congress. In June 2002, Vilasrao Deshmukh sent his MLAs to Mysuru amidst a political crisis in Maharashtra. Around 71 MLAs from Congress, NCP and a few Independents scuttled to a resort in Mysuru. It was Shivakumar who transported all of them back to Mumbai for the trust vote and ensured they cleared it.

Most recently, in August 2017, Shivakumar hosted Congress president Sonia Gandhi's close aide Ahmed Patel, at the Eagleton resort in Bengaluru. Patel was seeking re-election to Rajya Sabha. However, after a number of Congress MLAs defected to BJP, the party shepherded 44 of its MLAs to the resort, to prevent further possibility of horse-trading. This was just a week after he was embroiled in Income Tax raids against him.

Patel was narrowly re-elected after two Congress MLAs who flashed their ballot papers were disqualified by the Election Commission.

With inputs from PTIEver wondered how horses react when humans like Rahul Gandhi refer to political swaps as horse-trading? You're about to find out.

Editor's note: The following is a work of satire.

Ghodi Rani is a good horse. A thoroughbred, no doubt. She is white as snow and as wise and benevolent as a maharishi. And she is the duly elected Prime Minister of the United Democratic, Secular, Federal Equine Republic, whose capital is situated in the jungle near Kudremukh in Karnataka.

Rumour has it that Ghodi Rani is the world's oldest horse, athough nobody has dared estimate her age. But consensus among the most erudite of horses across continents is that she is old enough to have watched  as she often recalls  the anointment of Jawaharlal Nehru, later his daughter Indira Gandhi and later her son Rajiv Gandhi as Indias prime ministers. My source Deep Throat reveals that Rani is revered not only for the profound wisdom she accumulated over time, but also for her cool and unruffled poise. Whatever the provocation, she was calm and assured always. There was never even a scowl on her lovely old face.

But on 15 May, after the Karnataka Assembly election results were announced, she exploded with uncontrollable fury. In the fashion of O Henrys angry, out-of-cash character Martin Burney, Rani cursed:

"May all humans suffer from the worst miseries! May the idlis they eat turn into grenades and explode their livers! May the panneer tikkas they relish turn into bumblebees that eat into their brains! May the whisky they drink become sulphuric acid and burn up their intestines! May the satellites that the two-legged monsters send up transmit to earth a horrible disease that makes them half-blind!"

Such was her anger. Deep Throat heard it all. The queen then rang a bell and summoned her Minister of Human Affairs and Minister of Political Relationships.

When the two stallions trotted in, the horse queen neighed in a thunder-like voice: "Whats this Im hearing about Rahul Gandhi talking about horse-trading? Does the boy know that  if he indeed uttered such a thing  its offensive and defamatory and slanderous and demeaning to the entire Equs Caballus race? Did he really have the gumption to say such a mean thing as this? Does he not know that we the real horses are traded in the most honourable ways and not like human MLAs?

He is accusing Narendra Modi of horse-trading ...er human-trading, maam, replied the human affairs minister, bowing his head and respectfully raising a hoof.

"Modi is a slyboots," Rani remarked with a grimace, "There is no knowing what he is thinking and doing. But I must know if Rahul really hurled this insult on us and I want to know what precisely is transpiring in Congress, Janata Dal (Secular) and BJP."

Three spies were despatched, one each to Eagleton Resort in Bengaluru, Park Hyatt in Hyderabad and Amit Shahs home in Delhi.

How the spies went missing

Two spies returned but the one who went to keep an eye on Amit Shah went missing. A fourth agent was sent to find the missing one. He too disappeared. The same was the fate of a fifth one who went after the fourth one.

This caused much concern, but Ghodi Rani proceeded with the scheduled meeting to examine the evidence of photographs and videos brought by the two agents who returned safely.

Holy Hayagriva! the queen exclaimed, pointing at a photograph. Whats this around the neck of each MLA?

Humans call it a radio collar, maam, a spy explained.

Whats it supposed to do?

This collar, explained the human affairs minister, has a radio transmitter that emits signals and reveals the wearers location in case he bolts. These are used by human scientists to conduct research on animals and by politicians to track legislators when they fear poaching.

"And how long must they wear these?"

At least for six months even after the two parties form government. The party chiefs are unwilling to take risks since they feel you could prod a horse to water but you could not make him drink it.

"Shame!" cried the queen. Her face combined the pained expressions of Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi which they had displayed whenever they heard of human rights crimes. "In all my equestrian and political expeditions across globe," she said, "I have not come across even a single instance of us the real horses being collared and corralled in such an ignominious manner while being traded. Dreadful, is it not?"

As the ministers and spies nodded and whinnied in agreement, the queens distraught eyes fell on another photograph. It showed each MLA with two large shirt pockets. She was informed that one was for the poachers offer and the other for the current owners counter offer.

Coming back to my original question, did Rahul really utter horse-trading?

Yes, maam, chorused the spies. But even Shah is uttering it.

What Rahul says matters, the queen said. What nerve! He is guilty of both denigrating us horses as well as of doublespeak. It was his grandmother who invented political slave trade to stick to power. Shah is a political chipmunk compared with the hippopotamus that she was  my apologies to chipmunks and hippopotamuses  when it comes to purchasing legislators. I am deeply pained. The meeting is adjourned.

When the spies came home

Deep Throat revealed that on the evening of 19 May, hours after the Karnataka Legislature met and BS Yeddyurappa resigned as chief minister, the missing spies returned to their capital. In a joint report submitted to Ghodi Rani, they said:

"It was Shah who went missing. We looked for him and each other. And we found each other when Shah returned to his home. When he did, Shah had a smile on his face and a radio receiver in his hands. The receiver gets signals from the radio collars of MLAs. He apparently whisked it late last night from Ghulam Nabi Azad when the latter was horizontal on his bed. We heard Shah tell his folks that with help from the receiver, he would adopt a wait-and-watch-and-catch policy to grab enough legislators at a suitable time to form a government in Karnataka in the near future."

The author wrote a weekly satire column called 'True Lies' in The Times of India from 1996 to 2001. He tweets at @sprasadindiaKumaraswamy decided to align with the Congress in Karnataka after months of rancorous campaigns that the Congress and JD(S) ran against each other

Hours after BS Yeddyurappa resigned as Karnataka chief minister ahead of a crucial trust vote in the Assembly on Saturday with numbers stacked against the BJP, Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the alliance of Janata Dal (Secular) and Congress to form the next government.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said the governor had given him 15 days to prove majority in the House, "but we will do it much before". The post-election alliance of the JD(S) and Congress, which claims the support of 117 members, will be headed by Kumaraswamy, who is to take oath as the chief minister for a second time on 23 May.

To cement the new friendship and discuss the modalities of government formation with Congress, the JD(S) chief will fly to the National Capital on Monday and meet with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Monday's meeting between Rahul and Kumaraswamy will, however, also be seen in the context of the rancorous campaigns the Congress and JD(S) ran against each other in the months preceding the polls.

While Rahul termed JD(S) as BJP's B-team, Kumaraswamy (who insisted that his party will go for re-elections in case of a hung Assembly) had said it will "not be a surprise if Congress gets only 25 seats" in the polls.

"I have said this many times, in the democratic set-up of this country, they (Congress) are more dangerous than the BJP. Today if we stand next to the BJP and just cough, the Congress will be washed out of Karnataka. Whatever little dignity the Congress has is thanks to the JD(S)," Kumaraswamy said in an interview to Livemint.

He did not spare Siddaramaiah  who will now sit beside him in the government  in his criticism either. "We presumed that only Narendra Modi could do marketing but Siddaramaiah has overtaken Modi in marketing. They are marketing an empty box that has no material. They give advertisements about irrigation in newspapers but in the same paper, a news article speaks about a farmer who committed suicide," Kumaraswamy said.

JD(S)'s election manifesto for this year's Assembly elections, too, begins by slamming the Congress for its policy failures.

"The Congress, with the enthusiasm of developing an AHINDA vote bank has treated every other community of the state with utter contempt. Even directions of the Supreme Court were treated with utter disregard to put down the upward growth of other communities... Even the most pious community of Lingayats was divided by the Congress-led government. Political murders have become common in Bangalore, but the Government has not bothered about it," the opening paragraph of the manifesto says.

The Congress, too, had denied chances of going into a post-poll alliance with the JD(S) in Karnataka. "That situation to go in an alliance with the JD(S) is not going to arise, I can assure you that. I do not have any faith on exit polls whether it is in our favour or against us," Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said two days before the poll results were declared.

In December last year, Siddaramaiah warned minorities in the state against JD(S), saying the party managed to come to power in 2006 thanks to its proximity to the BJP, and will do so again in the next elections. "We will never join hands with communal forces. The state government is committed to uplift and develop the minorities and protection their interests. I have never opposed Muslims, I love them and even Christians, Sikhs, and Buddhists as much as I love Hindus, he said in an address to party workers and members of Congress Minority Morcha in Mysuru," he said.

On Sunday, responding to criticism after aligning with the Congress, Kumaraswamy told The Times of India, "I'm not at all happy with the circumstances. I had made a lot of promises to the people, and I wish I had become chief minister with a majority. But the people did not have that kind of faith in me and the party. I'm aware of the criticism, people think I am an opportunist. I've become the chief minister to prove otherwise."

As he prepares to be sworn-in on Wednesday as the state's next chief minister, he will hope that the quote will not remind people of previous interviews where he pointed out that he has "made a lot of promises to the people, I will not be able to fulfil them if I join hands with Congress or BJP".

Follow all the LIVE updates hereDespite the bad press, heartburn, loss of momentum and the risk of energizing the Opposition, BSY's decision to throw the hat in the ring was a net positive move.

The BJP may have been defeated in its quest to form a government in Karnataka and crack open the southern frontier, yet there's a case to be made that what happened on Saturday was the best possible outcome for the party's medium and long-term prospects in the state.

This isn't to say that the BJP would be happy at being pipped to the post by a Congress-JD(S) alliance. As the single largest party, it would be frustrated at falling just eight short of the halfway mark. It would be smarting at its inability to conjure up the numbers despite a frantic effort. And it would be worried about allegations of "MLA shopping" that some say may have dented prime minister Narendra Modi's clean image.

So would BJP have been better off not to stake the claim?

It is my contention that despite the bad press, heartburn, loss of momentum and the risk of energizing the Opposition, BSY's decision to throw the hat in the ring was a net positive move. The gains to BJP in case of an abstention aren't clear except for an intangible ownership of "high moral ground". Conversely, not moving to form a government despite emerging as the largest player by a long margin in a three-way fight risked triggering a set of challenges leading to eventual destabilisation of the state unit.

But before we go into that, let us see how the Karnataka outcome has altered the arena of national politics. There is no denying that the Opposition has got a shot in the arm. Despite being beaten at the hustings, Congress has shown remarkable speed and nimbleness in stitching a post-poll alliance  attributes that were missing in its arsenal. It has shown flexibility in offering the chief minister's post to a regional partner that won less than half of its tally.

The Congress has five clear takeaways. One, it managed to cling to power in a large state (albeit through an alliance) that is crucial to its fundraising ability in an election season. Two, it managed to hold on to its flock in a display of fighting spirit. It is another matter that it had little trust in the integrity of its MLAs. Reports say Congress legislators won't get to return to their homes before the oath-taking on Wednesday.

Three, with JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy becoming the chief minister (subject to proving majority) in a coalition government, the Opposition now has a 'Karnataka Model' to be imitated elsewhere. Four, Congress may have realised that its days of hegemonic superiority is over and it must play second fiddle to regional powers. Five, allegations of graft leading up to Saturday's dramatic events may give Congress enough talking points to target the BJP in upcoming elections.

It remains to be seen, however, if these gains are offset by the problems that the marriage of convenience between Congress and JD(S) may run into. This is because, for all the show of solidarity between leaders of both parties, this is a top-down alliance unsupported by the grassroots workers and cadres who went into the election as arch rivals in places where BJP is a marginal player. During the campaign stage, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had called JD(S) a 'B Team' of BJP and coined the term "Janata Dal Sangh Parivar" to denote the 'S' in its name that stands for 'secular'.

"In their (JDS) name there is S that stands for Secular. But in this election it looks like Janata Dal has changed its name and Janata Dal(S) means Janata Dal Sangh Parivar," the Congress president had said during a rally in Devanahalli.

It isn't surprising to note that post-election Rahul has suddenly rediscovered JD(S)'s 'secular' credentials. Such an opportunistic tie-up, however, ignores inherent contradictions in the alliance that may lead to the arrangement collapsing under its own weight.

For all protestations in favour of "joint fight with regional leaders against Narendra Modi's dictatorship", the Congress remains an intrinsically feudal unit run by a dynast from the auspices of a Lutyen's bungalow. Consider the fact that though Congress was ready to give an arm and a leg to the JD(S) to stitch an alliance to keep the BJP away and stay in power, it is CM-in-waiting HD Kumaraswamy who must fly down to New Delhi to have consultations on a coalition with the Gandhi family. Kumaraswamy, a seasoned leader from the south, is expected to be thankful that the Gandhis have given him an audience.

Congress's state unit in Karnataka isn't happy at having to share the power with JD(S) but has no choice but to "swallow bitterness", as Congress leader DK Shivakumar told Indian Express. The leader, who is credited with the machinations of taking Congress's flock beyond the reach of BJP, expects Congress to get more ministerial berths because they have more seats. Note that the negotiations haven't even begun.

#EXCLUSIVE - Didn't have numbers so we gave up CM's post. Congress has more seats, deserves more berths: Congress' DK Shivkumar on Karnataka government formation pic.twitter.com/o1SB54Dfgo  News18 (@CNNnews18) May 21, 2018

Leaders may still be persuaded. More serious is the fact that there is little homogeneity in the voter bases of Congress and JD(S). Both parties are strong in the Old Mysuru region and draw from different, even mutually antagonistic social coalitions. The election saw a straight fight between the two in the south with BJP being relegated to the margins. Kumaraswamy represents the land-owning, influential Vokkaliga community who have been traditionally dominant in state politics whereas Congress is strong among the Dalits and other backward classes.

As Venkatesha Babu writes in Hindustan Times, the SC/STs and OBCs "see themselves as oppressed by the Vokkaligas in the rural hinterland. The social bases of the Congress and the JD(S) are inimical to each other. If the Congress and the JD(S) tie up with each other, they would be vacating the space for the BJP to gain a foothold in the region, which it has been unsuccessfully trying to do for decades. Ground level politics do not operate in a vacuum and arent hostage to a partys national compulsions."

On the other hand, by openly coming out against Yeddyurappathe tallest Lingayat leader in the stateand scuttling his chances of becoming the chief minister, the Congress has courted the ire of the 17 percent strong Lingayat community. This may result in a backlash against the party in 2019.

By declaring Lingayat as a separate religion, the Congress might have succeeded in breaking the Veerashaiva sect away from BJP's core votebank in this election. That factionalisation may now turn into a stronger consolidation in favour of BJP. Lingayats won't take kindly to the prospect of being taken for a ride and the image of a septuagenarian Yeddyurappa being reduced to tears in the Assembly is a powerful image that may come back to haunt the Congress.

For his part, Yeddyurappa has promised to deliver all 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 for Prime Minister Modi in an emotional speech. Underlying that emotion will be a hard calculation.

This is exactly the reason why BJP did the correct thing in bidding to form a government. Having declared Yeddyurappawho has in the past broken away from the BJP and sank its electoral chancesthe chief ministerial candidate pretty early in the campaign, if the BJP refused to stake its claim, it would have not only angered the powerful Lingayat leader but also antagonised his loyal voter base and factionalised the party in the grassroots.

The BJP leadership can now say that it gave Karnataka the best shot, but it wasn't to be. In the bargain, it may have fortified its hold on a political influential community. Ultimately, Yeddyurappa and Amit Shah would be aware that it is far better to lead a strong Opposition than run a weak government in a critical swing state in the lead up to 2019. Also, another crack at government formation might emerge sooner than is being anticipated.Why did Narendra Modi allegedly allow horse-trading overtures in Karnataka though he swears to uproot corruption from public life?

Why did Narendra Modi allegedly allow horse-trading overtures in Karnataka though he swears to uproot corruption from public life?

Which is part of a bigger question: Why dont political leaders keep their promises?

This phenomenon is best enunciated by Machiavelli in his seminal work Discourses on Livy, where he compares how the dilettante politician recognises the impracticality of the promises he made in the plaza (public square) when he reaches the palace. Where the hyperbole and irresponsibility of the plaza gets replaced by the pragmatism and moderation of the palace.

Power humbles the instinct for impetuosity. In other words, the idealism of the plaza gets replaced by the realism of the palace. As this transformation was witnessed in many a man, many a time the proverb these men have one mind in the plaza, and the other in the palace was born.

So, what are some of the obstacles a first time prime minister like Modi may encounter in keeping his promises?

1. The political system which propels a leader also is the same one which sustains him. Therefore, it is not so easy for him to instantly tamper with it without jeopardising his own regime. It is like trying to correct the foundation of a building while standing in its penthouse.

It is therefore, difficult to decriminalise/sanitise the Parliament/state legislatures as it is the offenders who also win elections. Whether you are a state or a national leader, you cant do without them. They are vital components which still make up your throne. Which is why Modi had to back the venal team of Yeddy-Reddy.

2. Also, sometimes a resolve of the ruler, especially if publicly stated, may go against another promise he has made. For example, the prime minister's publicly avowed goal of Congress-mukt Bharat (Congress-free India) may compel him to throw all caution to the wind when authorising the alleged horse-trading in Karnataka.

But brazenly going against what one professes: Na khaoonga, na khaane doonga (neither will I take bribes nor allow others to take) can have serious reputational costs. It is these costs that Congress president Rahul Gandhi in his strategic address, hours after BS Yeddyurappas resignation, tried to invoke.

3.International compulsions/forces. There are international intersections that the leader doesnt oversee alone. For example, the issue of bringing back black money from overseas is not just governed by our laws but also by the laws of the country where such money may be stashed. Plus, no country is immune to war or to the destabilising efforts of its neighbors and powers that be. Some promises may upset the geo-politic apple cart and cannot be kept.

These are some reasons why even a reform-oriented politician would have one mind and voice in the plaza and another in the palace. But too wide a deviation between what is strongly professed and what is practiced can have electoral consequences.

In fact, leaders who have not publicly aired their radical reform intentions are more successful at bringing about those reforms than those who make these intents public.

In his slow rise to power, Abraham Lincoln kept hidden his desire to abolish slavery. Had he made it public he may have never become the President of the United States. Post steering the slavery abolishment bill to its penultimate check post, he realized that the bill would fail for want of two votes. So, he said the two votes must be procured.

When asked,"How?" he remarked: "I am President of the United States, clothed with great power. The abolition of slavery by constitutional provision settles the fate, for all coming time, not only of the millions now in bondage, but of unborn millions to come: A measure of such importance that those two votes must be procured. I leave it to you to determine how it shall be done; but remember that I am President of the United States, clothed with immense power, and I expect you to procure those votes".

His colleagues understood the significance of the remark. The votes were procured. The bill was passed. A huge swathe of humanity broke its bondage. Lincoln died soon after. His death overtook the events and which is why he didn't have to pay a political price for the deed. The deed accused him but the outcome exonerated him.

Lincoln was capable of this maneuver as he'd built a stellar reputation of honesty. It made people trust him and gave him the ground from which to execute his grand and noble deception.

It is true that many well-meaning leaders had to make deceptive, dishonest and uncharacteristic moves to reform a depraved and entrenched system. Like Lincoln, they suddenly bent the rules. It damaged their reputations but this loss was more than compensated by the humanitarian objective they achieved. In fact, the achievement of this grand goal made them look even more honorable than before.

The cause was large enough to even risk their reputations. They waited for it knowing that it is their reputation of honesty which will help them deceive the devils. They also knew that they cant do it again and again. It was an ace they could play once.

This was not the case in Karnataka. The stakes didnt merit you to fire a machine gun which would sully your track record so unmistakably and consequently affect your electoral chances nationwide.

Lincoln also said, I shall do nothing in malice. What I deal with is too vast for malicious dealing. Such a perspective gives the leader a moral high ground. Whereas the zealous push for a Congress-mukt Bharat corners the Congress so badly that the party men will have no recourse but to doggedly fight for their lives. Which is what they did in Karnataka.

Fierceness in fight is contagious. Moreover, when you fight again and again with the same person you expose him to your repertoire of moves. If your style of fighting is gladiatorial, you create a gladiator in him. The BJP with its uncompromising, stop-at-nothing war creed is indoctrinating the Congress on how to go for broke.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Modi is trying to bring political reform. His pace is deliberate yet he is trudging forward.

He has to indeed work at the boundaries of the system before he suddenly goes for the core. He must not waste the precious equity of integrity on skirmishes. He must stay in the system, restore his image of rectitude, and reform the system. Reputational loss today may mean electoral loss tomorrow and the dreams of substantial reform crashing the day after.Ahead of his swearing-in as the Karnataka chief minister, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to discuss the modalities of government formation.

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"I will discuss with them (Rahul and Sonia) on the cabinet expansion. So far, I'm not sure about the Congress stand. We want to make sure the government is a stable one," Kumaraswamy said previously.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will be flying to Delhi on Monday to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

According to media reports, Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy may have two deputy chief ministers. We have received demand for having two Deputy Chief Minister posts. Party high command will take a final call on this, state Congress president G Parameshwara told The New Indian Express.

I will not give up the chief ministers post for anybody. I will be the chief minister for the entire five-year term. Congress has not raised the issue of a rotational chief minister, The New Indian Express quoted Kumaraswamy as saying.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has made it clear that this time around, there will be no rotational chief minister arrangement with the Congress, a decision which had soured JD(S)' relations with the BJP coalition government in 2007.

Bypolls will be necessitated for five winners from BJP (KS Eshwarappa, V Somanna, Basavaraj Patil Yatnal, BS Yeddyurappa, B Sreeramulu) two from JD(S) (C S Puttaraju and HD Kumaraswamy) and two from Congress (Byrathi S Suresh and Mahantesh Shivanand Koujalgi), reported The Times of India.

Karnataka is set to witness nine by-elections in the upcoming months as members of legislative councils (MLCs) and members of Parliament (MPs) have won seats in the Assembly election, where a Congress-JD(S) alliance emerged after a political slugfest.

Karnataka to witness nine bypolls in the next few months

Addressing a press meet ahead of HD Kumaraswamy's meeting with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress MLA DK Shivakumar said he is confident of getting more berths in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. "We have given up the Karnataka chief minister's post. We are also confident of getting more berths. The Congress is focusing on building a youth-based party. Their worries are our issues. Social media has helped mobilise the country's youth. Rajiv Gandhi believed in the youth, and that's why he reduced the voting age from 21 to 18 years," he said.

Ahead of Monday's meet with Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, chief minister designate HD Kumaraswamy said, "Today's meeting is not crucial. It is a cordial meeting. I want to discuss and take their suggestions on how to run a smooth government (in Karnataka)."

The All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha wrote a letter on Monday to JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy , demanding that Veerashaiva leader and Congress MLA Shamanuru Shivashankarappa be made the home minister in the new Karnataka government and five other leaders from the community be made ministers in the Cabinet, reported ANI.

Responding to a question on if there was any resentment within the Congress party over the alliance with JD(S) in Karnataka, chief-minister designate HD Kumaraswamy replied: "Who told you? This is all bogus and fake news. This is not true."

According to CNN-News18, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, BSP chief Mayawati and DMK working president MK Stalin have given their nod to attend JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy's oath-taking ceremony on Wednesday.

The honeymoon period is usually a time for celebration but HD Kumaraswamy is still a prisoner of numbers. The Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) legislators are still housed in resorts and hotels, with their managers unwilling to take any chances with the fickle-minded loyalty gene. Only after the trust vote is done and dusted on Thursday will these MLAs be free birds.

Apart from Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav is also expected to attend Kumaraswamy's swearing-in ceremony, according to a Deccan Chronicle report. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is also invited, according to report.

According to party sources, AICC general secretaries Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot and KC Venugopal met Gandhi Monday morning and apprised him about the sense prevailing among the party MLAs in the state. - PTI

Top Congress leaders briefed party president Rahul Gandhi on Monday about the latest political developments in Karnataka, before the crucial deliberations on power-sharing arrangement with HD Kumaraswamy.

JD(S) leader Danish Ali told ANI that Kumaraswamy is coming to Delhi to personally invite leaders for his swearing-in ceremony. He also said that Kumaraswamy will meet Congress chief Rahul Rahul, Sonia Gandhi and Mayawati to invite them.

"BJP has emerged as single largest party and improved its tally. I congratulate the people of Karnataka for making us victorious. We improved the vote percentage and our tally increased from 40 to 104," says the BJP president.

" Three thousand seven hundred farmers committed suicide," says Shah. "Siddaramiah government was a failure. Atrocities against Dalits and women were on the rise".

"I see nothing wrong in the BJP's attempt to form the government as we got the mandate," says Shah. "As the single largest party, we had the right to form the government. Had we not gone to form the government, we would have gone against the mandate of the people."

"Half of Congress ministers lost. The chief minister himself lost the election from one constituency. How is the JD(S) celebrating after winning 37 seats? From 122 seats, the Congress is down to 78 seats. Why is the Congress celebrating?" asks Shah.

"We fell short by just seven seats. We had to stake claim as this was an anti-Congress mandate. Even the JD(S) campaign was against the Congress. In 13 seats, BJP lost with a margin which was even less than than NOTA," says Shah.

"Hope they would now remember same things in other elections also," says Shah. "Congress leaders have accepted that audio tapes released were false and to influence the case in the Supreme Court".

"Congress and JD(S) formed an alliance against the people's mandate. This is what I call an unholy alliance," says Shah.

"Congress falsely claimed that BS Yeddyurappa asked for seven days from the governor. If it was the case, they should have asked for the letter. Congress lawyer lied in court," says Shah.

"The Congress didn't stake their claim to form the government in Goa and Manipur despite being the single largest party. So, the governor invited us," says Shah.

"Only Congress and JD(S) are celebrating, people of Karnataka are not (celebrating)," he told reporters. The mandate given by people of Karnataka was against the Congress. There was no confusion about it, he said.

Asserting that the mandate in Karnataka Assembly polls was against the Congress, BJP president Amit Shah said the party has found a new way of portraying defeat as its victory. Shah also asked the Congress to explain to the people of Karnataka why they were celebrating even when most of their ministers had lost election.

HD Kumaraswamy has arrived in Delhi and is likely to meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. - PTI

Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the Karnataka mandate was for the Congress and the JD(S). His remarks came after BJP chief Amit Shah said that the mandate in the state was against the Congress.

"I do understand the sentiments of many people that we should not have gone with the JD(S). But there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power again in Karnataka. Keeping this in mind, our seniors took a decision to support the JD(S). We all must accept their decision," he said. - PTI

KPCC president G Parameshwara said difficult times were ahead, but there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power in the southern state. He said he understood the sentiments of many who were averse to a tie-up between the Congress and JD(S). However, the need to keep communal forces away from power made the Congress lend support to JD(S), Parameshwara said.

Ghulam Nabi Azad told ANI that he, along with Ashok Gehlot and KC Venugopal, briefed Rahul Gandhi on recent political developments in Karnataka. Further strategy will be decided when Kumaraswamy meets Rahul Gandhi, he added.

Ever since the Congress-JDS combine managed to outmanoeuvre the BJP in Bengaluru, pictures are doing the rounds of Kumaraswamy with Radhika, a Kannada actor who was supposed to have been "married" to the already-married Kumaraswamy for about a decade until they split up a couple of years ago.

"Modalities of formation of new govt to be worked out after meeting Sonia and Rahul Gandhi," HD Kumaraswamy tells PTI.

HD Kumaraswamy spoke to reporters on the question of who will become Deputy chief minister of Karnataka. ANI quoted him as saying that Rahul Gandhi has given permission to Congress general secretary KC Venugopal to .finalise everything.' He further said that Rahul would carry out a discussion with local leaders and finalise the issue.

The state chief electoral officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar said today the boxes used for carrying Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines, found in Managuli village yesterday, do not belong to the district or to Election Commission.

Reacting to the incident, BJP, which emerged as the single largest party but fell short of simple majority, said it "exposed the enormity of the irregularities in the elections."

Eight boxes used for carrying Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail machines have been found at a temporary shed in a village in Karnataka's Vijayapura district, triggering a strong reaction from the BJP which said it indicated "grave irregularities" in conduct of the polls.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece 'Saamana', the Sena also alleged that "the governor" and the President sometimes act like agents of the government.

Stressing the need to save democracy in the country, the BJP's bickering ally said no government can use the Constitution to enforce its decisions on people.

The Shiv Sena said on Monday that the BJP's attempt to save the BS Yeddyurappa government in Karnataka was not the way to make the country "Congress-free".

Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said on Monday evening he was confident that the yet-to-be sworn in coalition government with the Congress in Karnataka will be stable.

"I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with Shri H D Kumaraswamy ji. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing in as CM of Karnataka, on Wednesday, in Bengaluru," he said on Twitter. The Congress and the JD(S) will hold a meeting tomorrow in Bengaluru, where the modalities over power sharing would be worked out.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi confirmed his presence at the swearing-in ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister on 23 May. He said he had a "cordial" meeting with the JD(S) leader, with whom he discussed the political situation in Karnataka. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was also present at the meeting.

State Conmgress chief G Parameshwara might be made deputy CM Congress has mooted two deputy chief ministers for the numerically strong party in order to strike a balance with the JD(S) but the regional party is believed to be not in favour of this proposal. KPCC chief G Parameshwara is among the frontrunners for the deputy chief minister's post.

Vijayan will be attending the ceremony, accepting the invitation of former prime minister and JDS supremo Deve Gowda and his son, Kumaraswamy, sources in the Chief Minister's office told PTI.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will attend the swearing in ceremony of Janata Dal(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy as Karnataka chief minister on 23 May.

The Supreme Court refused to give an early hearing into the petition filed by Hindu Mahasabha that challenged the oath taking ceremony and appointment of HD Kumarswamy as the Karnataka chief minister, stating it was unconstitutional, ANI reported.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal to fly to Bengaluru in the evening to facilitate talks with JD(S)

"Although the people did not bless me and our party with a clear mandate, I have got an opportunity again to serve them by God's grace and my parents' blessings," Kumaraswamy said.

The JD(S) leader returned to the southern state after a day-long visit on Monday to Delhi to discuss government formation with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

A day ahead of his swearing-in, Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy visited the Hindu holy towns of Dharmasthala and Sringeri on Tuesday to pray for the success of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government.

Speaker for Karnataka Assembly will be from the Congress, whose name is likely to be announced by evening, ANI reported

A group of Muslim organisations brief media, demand that either 7-time Congress MLA Roshan Baig or some other leader from muslim community be made the Deputy CM in the new government in Karnataka. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/cO39oNqLhZ

A group of Muslim organisations demand for a leader from Muslim community to be made deputy CM in the new Karnataka govt

"At our party Congress, we had adopted the political line of uniting all secular forces to defeat the BJP. There is no problem in Yechury sharing the stage with (leaders of) all secular forces, including the Congress," a senior leader said.

At the CPM politburo meeting in Delhi on Monday, the party encouraged Yechury to attend the ceremony.

"The chief minister-designate, who had come to Delhi, spoke to me over the phone. I said there is no need for formality. He invited me to attend the swearing-in ceremony. I will attend it in Bengaluru on 23 May," he said.

Yechury, who has been personally invited by Kumaraswamy, would travel to Bengaluru to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

Reflecting the new political line adopted by the CPM to unite all "secular-democratic" forces to take on the BJP, its general secretary Sitaram Yechury would share the stage with leaders of the Congress and other parties at the swearing-in ceremony of Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy.

Most of the leaders, other than BJP leaders, will attend oath taking ceremony tomorrow. Rahul Ji, Ghulam Nabi Aazad, Maywati Ji, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Chandrababu Naidu, Stalin, several people are coming: #Karnataka Chief Minister designate HD Kumaraswamy pic.twitter.com/AAu8YdVi2O

"Although the people did not bless me and our party with a clear mandate, I have got an opportunity again to serve them by God's grace and my parents' blessings," Kumaraswamy said.

The JD(S) leader returned to the southern state after a day-long visit on Monday to Delhi to discuss government formation with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

A day ahead of his swearing-in, Karnataka chief minister-designate HD Kumaraswamy visited the Hindu holy towns of Dharmasthala and Sringeri on Tuesday to pray for the success of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government.

BJP's practice of losing elections but forming govt, this trend has stopped in Karnataka. Pinarayi Vijayan and I will attend the oath taking ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy tomorrow: Sitaram Yechury, CPI-M pic.twitter.com/zdAOhSOf4m

Today we took decision regarding the expansion (of the cabinet). Speaker & deputy speaker would be elected on 25 May. Portfolios would be decided day after tomorrow. Everything is alright, no differences: #Karnataka CM designate HD Kumaraswamy pic.twitter.com/x0BNHH1XGy

Congress-JDS leaders met and discussed about the cabinet formation, out of 34 ministries, 22 ministries will go with Congress Party and 12 ministries, including CM will be with be with JDS. Portfolio allocation to be decided after floor test: KC Venugopal, Congress #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/SEY9wej2n0

Karnataka government formation latest updates: The JD(S) chief ministerial designate HD Kumaraswamy met BSP supremo Mayawati in Delhi and is set to meet alliance partner in Karnataka, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday. The meeting is expected to be held in the evening, with discussions on how many Cabinet berths will be allotted between the two parties.

Ghulam Nabi Azad said that he, along with Ashok Gehlot and KC Venugopal, met Rahul Monday morning and apprised him about the sense prevailing among the party MLAs in the state.

While addressing a press conference, BJP president Amit Shah said that the mandate in Karnataka Assembly polls was against the Congress. He added that the party has found a new way of portraying defeat as its victory. Congress' Anand Sharma said that the BJP should apologise to the people of Karnataka for trying to use unfair means to come to power.

Responding to a question on if there was any resentment within the Congress party over the alliance with JD(S) in Karnataka, chief-minister designate HD Kumaraswamy replied: "Who told you? This is all bogus and fake news. This is not true."

Addressing a press meet ahead of HD Kumaraswamy's meeting with Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress MLA DK Shivakumar said he is confident of getting more berths in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government. "We have given up the Karnataka chief minister's post. We are also confident of getting more berths," he said.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has made it clear that this time around, there will be no rotational chief minister arrangement with the Congress in Karnataka, a decision which had soured JD(S)' relations with the BJP coalition government in 2007. I will not give up the chief ministers post for anybody. I will be the chief minister for the entire five-year term. Congress has not raised the issue of a rotational chief minister, The New Indian Express quoted Kumaraswamy as saying.

In an interview to The Economic Times, JD(S) leader and chief minister-apparent said that although he wanted to be a king, not kingmaker, he hoped it had been done through the people's mandate in Karnataka. "I wanted to become king through the mandate of the people, not like this," he said. He went on to rue the fact that even in 2006, when he became the chief minister, it was due to political developments, as it is today.

Ahead of his swearing-in as the Karnataka chief minister, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy will meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to discuss the modalities of government formation.

Clarifying that no discussion has taken place so far on the allocation of ministerial berths, Kumaraswamy termed reports on the power-sharing formula of 30 months each between the parties as "bogus".

"I'm visiting New Delhi (on Monday)...I will meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the party's senior leader Sonia Gandhi," he told reporters in Bengaluru.

Based on the outcome of discussions with them, a decision will be taken on the number of Congress and JD(S) MLAs who will become ministers, Kumaraswamy added.

BS Yeddyurappa had on Saturday stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state Assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers, following which Kumaraswamy met Governor Vajubhai Vala, and said he had been invited to form the government.

The 12 May Karnataka Assembly polls threw up a hung Assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats.

While making it clear that there have been no discussions yet on the portfolio allocation, Kumaraswamy requested the media not to create confusion among the public and MLAs with such "speculative" reports.

He also asserted that within 24 hours of taking oath, he would prove the majority on the floor of the House.

"Mostly on Wednesday there will be oath-taking ceremony after that on Thursday we will complete the process of Speaker's election and trust vote," he added.

After meeting the governor, Kumaraswamy had on Saturday said the swearing-in ceremony would take place tentatively between 12 noon and 1.50 pm at Kanteerava stadium on 21 May.

But, later he announced that the event would be held on 23 May as 21 May happens to be the death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The venue of the swearing-in is also likely to be changed, with party sources now saying it is likely to take place at Vidhana Soudha (the seat of the state legislature).

However, Kumaraswamy said he had spoken to the chief secretary and other senior officials about it and they would take a call on the venue.

Kumaraswamy on Sunday met his father and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda at his residence and later visited the hotel where JD(S) MLAs are camping and held a meeting with them.

Meanwhile, the JD(S) leader is scheduled to visit a temple at Srirangam in neighbouring Tamil Nadu on Monday.

Asked about reports on power-sharing formula of 30 months each that is being worked out with the Congress, Kumaraswamy said, "No such talks have taken place."

On reports about parleys with Congress leaders regarding elections in Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Jayanagar Assembly constituencies, Kumarasamy described it as "bogus".

"It is a bogus news...No such discussions have taken place. Winning Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Jayanagara is a necessity. Till now, no such discussions have happened," he said.

While polling was deferred in Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency over allegations of electoral malpractice, election to Jayanagar seat was countermanded following the death of the BJP candidate.

With inputs from PTIWhile leaders of both parties resolved their differences after the election results were declared on 15 May to stake claim to form the government, the message did not reach the party cadre in time.

Bengaluru: As Karnataka prepares to witness a second chief minister swear in within a week on Wednesday, the fact that HD Kumaraswamy and his party (37 seats) fought the election opposing the present coalition partner, Congress (78 seats), is posing challenges that the leadership of two parties cant ignore.

The post-poll alliance may have succeeded in halting BJPs victory march in state polls, but to be able to continue this opposition to the saffron party in the state will not be an easy task for the coalition partners as their workers on the ground were at loggerheads throughout the election.

On 26 April, a pre-poll clash between Congress and JD(S) workers in Chikballapur district allegedly led to the death of JD(S) worker Ram Reddy and left three others injured. Chikballapur police inspector Shivakumar said a case has been registered against six people for Reddys murder.

While leaders of both parties resolved their differences after the election results were declared on 15 May to stake claim to form the government, the message did not reach the party cadre in time.

Clashes broke out between the two camps during a victory procession for Congress legislator NH Shivashankar Reddy, who defeated CR Narasimhamurthy of JD(S), at Gowribidanur Assembly segment in Chikballapur district. Cadres from both sides ended up filing police complaints against each other.

"There may be petty quarrels between JD(S) and Congress workers but there is no misunderstanding between the top leaders in the district," Chikballapur district Mahila Congress president Geetha Jayandhar assured.

After the election, race for cabinet seats

CG Murali, a staunch supporter of JD(S) legislator K Srinivas Gowda from Kolar, believes the alliance may deprive his leader of a berth in the Kumaraswamy-led cabinet as Congress might insist for the same position for its candidate KR Ramesh Kumar who won from Srinivaspur constituency in Kolar district and was the health minister in Siddaramaiah-led cabinet.

"The alliance may not help JD(S) cadre in the district. It will be difficult for the growth of JD(S) in Kolar if Congress candidate succeeds in getting a berth in the cabinet," Murali said.

Kolar is not the only district to throw up this dilemma. Despite being the party with more number of seats, the alliance is unlikely to help Congress in Hassan district, a stronghold of JD(S). Congress candidate BP Manje Gowda, who lost against JD(S) leader HD Revanna from Holenarasipura in Hassan district, said he was apprehensive on the chances of Congress growth in the district, adding that the leadership might have taken this decision due to other factors in the state.

"I am not happy with the decision of the Congress having an alliance with the JD(S). It is like the murder of Congress workers in Hassan district. The JD(S) leaders and workers have already started intimidating Congress cadre in the district," he alleged.

Pre-poll defectors face to face

The pre-poll defections from one party to another also shift the story a little in some constituencies. Ayub Khana JD(S) supporter from Tipu Nagar in Chamarajpetsaid the post-poll alliance would not affect JD(S) cadre in his constituency.

Congress candidate BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, a rebel JD(S) legislator, won from Chamarajpet on Congress ticket in this election. Khan polled 65,339 votes while JD(S) candidate BK Altaf Khan came third by polling 19,393 votes. "I dont think Zameer Ahmed Khan will indulge in intimidating JD(S) cadre. He hugged Kumaraswamy at a resort recently," Khan pointed out.

In Rajarajeswari Nagar constituency, which goes to polls later on 28 May due to earlier electoral malpractices, the alliance has put the cadre in a spot. HG Ramachandra from JD(S), the father-in-law of Sandalwood actress Amulya, is pitted against Congress candidate Munirathna in this constituency.

"We are happy with the alliance but our fight will be against Munirathna due to various reasons such as corruption, electoral malpractices like offering free gifts to the voters and intimidating women BBMP corporators. We are not against Congress but we will not work for Munirathna," JD(S) worker Narayanaswamy from Laggere in Rajarajeswari Nagar constituency said.

Rivalry strong in JD(S) bastion

Political analyst Sandeep Shastri suggested that Congress-JD(S) alliance is likely to create confusion among the party cadre in 80 to 90 assembly constituencies where the two were the main rivals.

"Take the example of the Chamundeswari constituency. Both Congress and JD(S) workers worked hard for their candidates in that constituency. But a JD(S) candidate defeated Siddaramaiah there. So it will take some time for the JD(S) MLA to adapt himself to the alliance," Shastri said, adding that the alliance is also likely to impact the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Expressing a similar opinion, Harish Ramaswamy, a professor at the department of Political Science, Karnataka University, Dharwad, said the need of the hour is that leaders of both parties should remove the confusion among their cadre, stressing upon the need for a coalition government in the state.

"It is the cadre at the grassroots level that plays a key role in ensuring the success of the candidates in the elections. It will be difficult for the cadre to bury the hatchet in rural areas," Ramaswamy said.

"The problem with Congress and JD(S) is lack of committed and disciplined cadre, unlike BJP where the cadre base works as per the directions of the party leaders. The BJP leadership also has the habit of addressing the party cadre as soon as the elections are held or results are announced unlike Congress and JD(S)," Ramaswamy pointed out.

"If HD Kumaraswamy fails to address the JD(S) workers after his swearing-in, the confusion will continue to haunt the workers," he said.

Ther authoor is a Bengaluru-based freelance writer and a member of 101reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.If bigamous politicians are truly a political issue, let a party have the guts to say they will deny tickets to anyone doing it.

D Kumaraswamy might not be the best candidate for "Family Man of the Year". He might not even be a nice guy. He might not work as a Mr Family Values poster boy anywhere. But that should not have anything to do with whether he gets to be chief minister of Karnataka or not.

Ever since the Congress-JDS combine managed to outmanoeuvre the BJP in Bengaluru, pictures are doing the rounds of Kumaraswamy with Radhika, a Kannada actor who was supposed to have been "married" to the already-married Kumaraswamy for about a decade until they split up a couple of years ago.

No one is denying the relationship. No one is denying that his father HD Deve Gowda was very unhappy about it. No one is denying that for a while Kumaraswamy split his time between two homes. No one needs to excuse or justify that behaviour. But theres no point trying to scupper his public life by using his private affairs.

Kumaraswamys affairs are being used to paint him as a bigamist but the sorry fact is in our log-kya-kahenge society there is less stigma attached to bigamy (even if its not legal) than to being the unmarried mistress, the "other woman". Our television soap operas routinely sanctify that temple-wedding veneer of legitimacy, turning that dab of sindoor into some kind of social stamp of approval. Why is it surprising that real life follows suit? We are far more concerned about appearances than the letter of the law.

Kumaraswamy is not the first politician who has set up parallel families with impunity.

The paterfamilias of Tamil Nadu politics, M Karunanidhi has been married three times. The first wife Padmavathi has died but the other two Dayaluammal and Rajathiammal are both known to the world as his wives. That third marriage was via the swayam maryada kalyanam or marriage of self-respect which requires neither priests nor courts, just the blessings of elders. It has certainly not hindered Karunanidhis political career in Tamil Nadu. The marriages have not been hidden or denied. "Chinna veedu (the other home) has been the staple of Tamil classics and cinema and continues as a tradition in politics too," writes Anuradha Raman in Outlook. Raman writes another DMK leader TR Baalu also furnished two names under the spouse category. The legality can be questionable but the bigamy slips through a loophole of the Hindu Marriage Act unless the first wife herself complains as an aggrieved party.

Is it unfair? Yes. Is it patriarchal? Absolutely. But it is also far too commonplace and most voters, even in a conservative state, do not care. Of course if a powerful woman was discovered to have two husbands, that would be another story altogether.

If we start rummaging in the bedrooms of politicians there is plenty of dirty laundry to be unearthed and that dirt cuts across party lines. BJP MP Hema Malini presides over a second family herself since Dharmendra never divorced his first wife. The BJP complained to the Election Commission that then Uttarkhand chief minister Harish Rawat of the Congress was lying and hiding the fact that he had two wives, and had not divorced his first wife Basanti Devi although his nomination papers only mentioned his second wife Renuka. In Gujarat, more than one BJP MLA has been found to have stashed away a couple of wives. Some like Harijivanbhai Patel and Madhu Srivastava even mentioned two wives in their Whos Who as did Congress MLA Hemaji Darghaji Rajput according to a report in The Telegraph. When former Guarjat chief minister Amarsinh Chaudhary was prosecuted by his first wife Gajraben he insisted he had never legally married her. Parallel families are a fact of life in Indian politics. Kumaraswamy at least calls his episode a closed chapter. For other politicians, its very much an open book.

The surprising fact about polygamy in India is that the last census that looked at marriages by religion and community found Hindus had a higher incidence rate of polygamy (5.8 percent) than Muslims (5.7 percent) did. Muslim Personal Law might allow multiple wives if you can support them equally but its not that common in practice. "Bigamy, on the other hand, is fairly common and thats true across religions," said feminist publisher Ritu Menon. No wonder voters are fairly blase about politicians and bigamy.

What is happening to Kumaraswamy is plain and simple mudslinging. It is meant not to derail his chief ministership as much as it is meant to sully his reputation. But the hypocrisy is that in the name of standing up for the rights of women, whether first wives or second, we are happy to drag their reputations through the dirt too, collateral damage in a political mud fight. Radhika is a busy actor in Kannada films now. Her past affair is her past. Those who rake it up to tarnish the reputation of Kumaraswamy obviously do not care that in the process they are turning Radhika and his wife Anitha into tabloid fodder as well.

If bigamous politicians are truly a political issue, let a party have the guts to say they will deny tickets to anyone doing it. Let politicians on a moral high horse make it a cognizable offence whether the first wife approaches the police or not. Let the party without a bigamous politician in its closet cast the first stone. Until that happens across the board, theres no point in selective whataboutery. It certainly does not help the women caught in the crossfire. As far as politicians go, wed be better off digging for other kinds of dirt  from payoffs to corruption to ill-gotten wealth. That would be a bit more relevant to the kind of leader he would make than sniffing out scandal in his relationship history.

Who knows, given that his new job requires him to manage the fractious shotgun marriage between Congress and JDS, perhaps Kumaraswamys skill in maintaining two families might come in handy yet.The honeymoon period is usually a time for celebration but HD Kumaraswamy is still a prisoner of numbers.

The honeymoon period is usually a time for celebration but HD Kumaraswamy is still a prisoner of numbers. The Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) legislators are still housed in resorts and hotels, with their managers unwilling to take any chances with the fickle-minded loyalty gene. Only after the trust vote is done and dusted on Thursday will these MLAs will be free birds.

But the trust vote is not the only hurdle facing the new regime in Bengaluru. Here is a look at the ten challenges that 'Swamy and Friends' face in the short term:

1. The twin elections in Bengaluru: The first challenge will come up in the next two weeks, when elections are held to the Jayanagar and RR Nagar constituencies, both in Bengaluru. The Congress has made it clear it will aim to win both seats which means the pressure will be on the JD(S) to ask its candidates to lie low and transfer its vote to its partner candidates. A win for the Congress-JD(S) alliance will be interpreted as an endorsement from the public for keeping the BJP out of Vidhana Soudha.

Which is why the BJP is taking the two elections seriously: Union ministers Ananth Kumar and Sadananda Gowda, both MPs from Bengaluru, have been made incharges for the two seats. Expect the BJP to run an aggressive campaign and if it manages to win one or both seats, it is bound to unsettle a few legislators in the ruling camp.

2. The perception of being an opportunist: Kumaraswamy will have to battle the perception that he has stitched an opportunistic alliance for the sake of power. Though he has gone on record saying it is not the ideal situation in which he would have liked to become chief minister, if there is ugly bargaining for cabinet berths and other plum posts, it is bound to dent the image of the alliance. How well he manages the pressures while ensuring decent governance will be a challenge.

3. Cauvery: The pressure from Tamil Nadu is already mounting over Cauvery. Rajinikanth, a Bengalurean in his younger days, has already gone public with his expectation that the new regime will fulfil the Supreme court order. Kumaraswamy has invited Rajinikanth to come to Karnataka to see the empty reservoirs for himself. Unless Kumaraswamy displays statesmanship, the Cauvery fire will simmer once again. Brinkmanship will not help both states.

4. Agrarian distress: Over 3,500 farmers reportedly committed suicide in the five years of the Congress regime. The JD(S) calls itself a farmers' party and Deve Gowda a leader of the agrarian class. The government led by Kumaraswamy will be expected to have a agriculture policy that provides practical solutions to the issues on the ground.

5. Corruption: The BJP's decision to outsource the elections in districts in Hyderabad-Karnataka region to the Ballari gang disillusioned many of the party's supporters during the campaign. The Congress went to town, and criticised the party's embrace of corrupt elements. The irony is that the party is not short of MLAs from the mining and the real estate sector either, raising suspicion that the new government will be in their clutches. More so, if some of these legislators find place in the cabinet.

The Karnataka election saw money power in full swing, with voters also bribed in many constituencies. The amount of money seized by the Election Commission saw a 400 percent rise from the previous election. The alleged attempts by the BJP to bribe MLAs to cross sides also showed the seedy side of Karnataka politics. With corruption occupying centre stage, the Kumaraswamy government will be expected to come down strongly on corruption and not let suitcases run the administration.

6. Lingayat lobby: The 20 Lingayat MLAs belonging to both parties will demand their pound of flesh for having stayed on despite aggressive overtures from the BJP. It is a lobby Kumaraswamy will have to accommodate lest they hold the sword of Damocles over his chief minister's chair.

7. South vs north Karnataka: The JD(S) is also seen as a south Karnataka party, with 26 of its 38 seats coming from this region. There is a danger here because a disproportionate interest in its bastion can sow the seeds of dissatisfaction in other parts of Karnataka and a feeling that they are left out of the governance matrix.

8. Siddaramaiah and Deve Gowda: The figure of Siddaramaiah will loom large over this government, even though he will not be part of it. The former chief minister has been elected as the leader of the Congress legislature party. The success or failure of the new regime will depend also on the Kumaraswamy-Siddaramaiah chemistry or lack of it.

Add to the mix HD Deve Gowda, who may well hold the remote control to the alliance. How much of a say will the temperamental Gowda have a say in the running of the government could also affect its longevity.

9. The BJP threat looms large: The political danger to the alliance cannot be ruled out. After all, with 117 MLAs, it is just five legislators above the half-way mark. The BJP, licking its wounds, can be expected to exploit the fissures in the alliance that will emerge in due course of time.

10. Trust deficit: With an overlap in the Congress-JD(S) vote bank, there is bound to be an element of trust deficit, especially in the junior partner. The JD(S) is bound to be circumspect about any attempt by the Congress to eat into the JD(S) constituency in due course of time and will resist any moves by the Congress to play big brother.

Kumaraswamy hails from the old Mysuru region which was home to celebrated author RK Narayan. But this real life, political 'Swamy and Friends' is not likely to have any of the innocence of the literary original.Disgruntled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shatrughan Sinha, on Saturday, described the developments in Karnataka as a 'resounding embarrassment and loss of moral standing' for the party leadership.

Patna: Disgruntled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shatrughan Sinha, on Saturday, described the developments in Karnataka as a "resounding embarrassment and loss of moral standing" for the party leadership.

In a series of tweets, the Patna Sahib MP also demanded that "all those who misled Hon'ble PM, particularly those who declared victory in his presence, must be held responsible and shown the door".

The actor-turned-politician, who has been critical of his own party and sympathetic towards those opposed to the BJP on a number of occasions in recent times, also hailed the "Congress-JD(S) master strategy for isolating those conspiring to undermine the spirit of democracy".

"Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy gave a resounding slap to the constitutional saboteurs," he added and came out in support of "our brother and great statesman Yashwant Sinha's call for resignation of Governor for masterminding this mess which has wasted time and energy of the nation and cost our nation a loss of international reputation."

Yashwant Sinha, himself a former Union minister and father of Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, had announced his exit from the BJP last month at a meeting convened by "Rashtra Manch"  a non-political platform.

Yashwant Sinha, who had held key portfolios like Finance and External Affairs in Atal Bihar Vajpayee's government, had also staged a demonstration in New Delhi along with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha in protest against Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala's invite to BS Yeddyurappa to form the government despite the BJP falling short of majority.UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has sent out a bizarre warning to those attending rallies of his political rivals  they will be 'cursed' with jaundice.

Balliya (Uttar Pradesh): Senior Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has sent out a bizarre warning to those attending rallies of his political rivals  they will be "cursed" with jaundice.

The Suheldev Bharat Samaj Party President also said that those cursed will only recover when he will provide medicine (blessing).

"Until my team comes to you with a message about a rally, you should not attend a rally of any other party. People who attend it will have to face my curse. They will suffer from jaundice and it will be only cured when OP Rajbhar provides medicine," he said.

Rajbhar was speaking at a prohibition rally of his party on Sunday.

The president of the SBSP also demanded a ban on liquor in Uttar Pradesh to open new avenues for development.

"Narendra Modi, during his election meetings in Uttar Pradesh, had promised to implement the Gujarat model in this state. I remind him of his promise and request him to ban liquor in the state to open new avenues for development," Rajbhar said.

He said that no party has mustered the strength to raise issue of banning liquor in the state and urged women to defeat those who provide liquor for votes.

On reports that he had some differences with the chief minister, Rajbhar said, "He is my captain and I follow his directions."AFP

Jurors return to a Silicon Valley courtroom on 21 May to put a price on patented iPhone design features copied by Samsung in a legal case dating back seven years.

Apple is seeking slightly more than a billion dollars in damages, while Samsung wants a figure closer to $28 million.

The jury has been asked to determine whether the design features at issue in the case are worth all profit made from Samsung smartphones that copied them or whether those features are worth just a fraction because they are components.

"Samsung isn't saying it isn't required to pay profits," Samsung attorney John Quinn said during closing arguments on 18 May. "It is just saying it isn't required to pay profits on the whole phone."

The three design patents in the case apply to the shape of the iPhone's black screen with rounded edges and a bezel, and the rows of colorful icons displayed.

Samsung no longer sells the smartphone models at issue in the case. Two utility patents also involved apply to the 'bounce-back' and 'tap-to-zoom' functions.

"This is a case that is focused on design, and the application of design to smartphones," Apple attorney Joseph Mueller said in closing arguments. When one company copies a rival's design, that "is not a level playing field, and that is just not right," he contended.

Apple argued in court that the iPhone was a "bet-the-company" project at Apple and that design is as much the "article of manufacture" as the device itself.

Apple attorney Bill Lee equated the notion to a carmaker copying the look of the Volkswagen Beetle and coming to market with a competing model.

Determining whether the design features qualify as the "article of manufacture" will be key to whether jurors award the profit from all the Samsung phones involved, according to legal standards presented by the court. The case dates back seven years. An original trial finding that Samsung violated Apple patents was followed by lengthy appellate duelling over whether design features such as rounded edges are worth all the money made from a phone.

Technology vs Style

Samsung, which had been ordered to pay $400 million, challenged the legal precedent that requires the forfeiture of all profits from a product even if only a single design patent has been infringed.

The US Supreme Court in 2016 overturned the $400 million patent infringement penalty imposed on the South Korean consumer electronics giant. Justices ruled that Samsung should not be required to forfeit the entire profits from its smartphones for infringement on design components, sending the case back to a lower court.

The ruling found that the penalty one element of a major patent infringement casewas inappropriate because it represented "Samsung's entire profit from the sale of its infringing smartphones" for copying the iPhone's "rectangular front face with rounded edges and a grid of colourful icons on a black screen."

The key question of the value of design patents rallied Samsung supporters in the tech sector and Apple backers in the creative and design communities.

Samsung won the backing of major Silicon Valley and other IT sector giants, including Google, Facebook, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard, claiming a strict ruling on design infringement could lead to a surge in litigation. Apple was supported by big names in fashion and manufacturing. Design professionals, researchers and academics, citing precedents like Coca-Cola's iconic soda bottle.

The Supreme Court stopped short of delving into details of how the lower court should determine how much phone design components are worth when it comes to patent infringement violations.

Presiding US District Court Judge Lucy Koh gave jurors in her San Jose courtroom a four-factor test to determine an 'article of manufacture' but it is up to the panel to decide how the evidence fits that framework.

The case is one element of a $548 million penaltyknocked down from an original $1 billion jury awardSamsung was ordered to pay for copying iPhone patents.Sheldon Pinto

Editor's note: This article was originally published on 16 May. It is being updated and republished in light of the fact that the OnePlus 6 goes on sale in India on Monday. Keep watching this space for tech2's review of the OnePlus 6 that will go online later today.

Its been several months after the first leaks of the OnePlus 6 began to appear and today, after all the hype and marketing (that the company is known for) OnePlus' first flagship of 2018 goes on sale for the Indian market.

I say first, because it clearly wont be the only one. Being a reviewer its easy to say that OnePlus will launch a 6T model in a few months from now just like it did last year (OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T) and the year before that (OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T).

The OnePlus 6

The OnePlus 6 features a brand new design as compared to previous iterations and uses a curved glass back and new finishes that actually look and feel different. There's a total of three finishes now. A Mirror Black finish, a Matte Black finish with an alternative Silk White finish that comes with a matter finished glass back; and finally, the Avengers edition of the smartphone with a glossy carbon fibre finish.

OnePlus at the India launch mentioned that the Mirror Black, Matte Black and Silk White models will be available in 6 GB RAM + 64 GB and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB options at Rs 34,999 and Rs 39,999 when the devices go on sale on 21 May at 12 PM.

The 8 GB + 256 GB internal storage model will only be available as the Avengers: Infinity Wars edition in the carbon fibre finish and goes on sale on 29 May.

In terms of specifications, OnePlus packs in some exceptional hardware into the device. You get a 6.28-inch FHD+ AMOLED display in a 19:9 aspect ratio. Powering the device is, of course, Qualcomms flagship chip, the Snapdragon 845. The 8 GB of RAM and up to 256 GB of storage, which should ensure that the OnePlus 6 will be amongst the most powerful devices available in the market. OnePlus points out that theyve also opted to go for UFS 2.1 storage, which means faster app loading.

One slight niggle is the USB-C port, which is USB-C but is only rated for USB 2.0. The 3.5 mm headphone jack remains.

And that brings us to the OnePlus 6T, which is the smartphone OnePlus is expected to launch (as per tradition) about four months later.

The OnePlus 6T

If you open Twitter and type in the hashtag #OnePlus6 you will also find another suggestion called the #OnePlus6T. So its clear that users on Twitter want to know (as much as they can) about the OnePlus 6T before taking the leap and settling for a OnePlus 6.

... I'm not sure if I should buy the #OnePlus6, I'm quite happy with my #OnePlus5 already and I'm also curious what the #OnePlus6T would improve then @getpeid  EpicLPer (Stefan Kern) (@EpicLPer) May 14, 2018

I'm gonna wait until #OnePlus6t mate twice being first for #OnePlus3 and #OnePlus5 and outsmart by T versions. Not this time though  #OnePlus6  Vasim Khan (@iamvkhan12) May 6, 2018

Some believe that what co-founder Pete Lau is holding in the picture below is the OnePlus 6T.

In short, after some beta testing (OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 5) in the past two years, OnePlus did launch the OnePlus 3T with an improved chipset, a larger battery and a bumped up selfie camera and a OnePlus 5T with a drastically improved display and slightly better camera. And thats a lesson learnt for some unfortunate buyers who stood in a queue to purchase the 3 and the 5 when it was launched because both the 3T and the 5T were much better (and polished) products.

With that said, this years OnePlus 6 seems to pack it all.

There a display with a notch (for those of you who are into that or think its a style statement), a brand-new design with a body made of premium-looking glass and a 256 GB internal storage option.

But its 2018, so here are couple of things I believe OnePlus can still add, wireless charging, possibly a bigger camera for selfies, more RAM (12 GB???) and possibly even an under-display fingerprint reader (borrowed from its sibling Vivo). Still then, this years OnePlus 6 going by the rumours and leaks seems to be quite prepared even if the above mentioned features are missing. But lets wait for the launch to happen, which is set for a few hours from now.

Tech2 will be publishing a review of the OnePlus 6 later today. Keep watching this space.tech2 News Staff

While a lot of companies like Google who have integrated artificial intelligence into their systems, there is a growing curiosity amongst individuals to understand the technology better and how it has started to affect our everyday lives.

The University of Helsinki in Finland has launched a completely free and open course on Artificial intelligence. It is more of a beginner course.

The academic and business partners say they want Finland to become forerunners in AI, and have developed an online course covering the quickly-growing technology open to anyone, free of charge.

The online course is called The Elements of Artificial Intelligence and is available completely in English.

To enroll in the course, there are no prerequisites and it is available globally.

You have an option to do the course at your own pace, but they recommend trying to finish in 6 weeks, however, according to their understanding, having a deadline makes it more likely that students will finish the course.

The course was designed by the University of Helsinki and Reaktor. The lead instructor of the course is Associate Professor Teemu Roos and the course is a part of the AI Education programme of the Finnish Center for AI.

It is a 6-part course including subjects like: What is AI?, Solving problems with AI, Real world AI, Machine Learning, Neural networks and Implications. Each part will take approximately 5-10 hours to finish. They say that some exercises require a lot of thinking, drawing on paper and going back to the theory part which can take up to 45 minutes.

There is little math involved though. It wont be advanced math and the course is designed so that no pre-existing knowledge beyond basic math is expected.

Students in Finland can even earn academic credits through the Open University. People who enroll in the course outside Finland have an option to receive a certificate that can be posted on the Linkedin page. Everyone who completes the course will also get a certificate (PDF) emailed to them in the end.

As reported on yle.fi, the user interface designer at Reaktor Janina Fagerlund, said that "It's a new and cool discovery, but no one yet knows what it can be used for, or what impact it will have in practice."

"Everyone wants to learn what AI is because they think it will be a big deal in the future. They want to know how AI will affect their lives and how they can make use of it," Fagerlund said.

It also said that Fagerlund hopes that major social problems such as carbon emissions could be addressed with the help of AI.tech2 News Staff

Google Inc has removed its famous Dont be evil motto from its code of conduct and has replaced it with a bunch of text that doesn't say the same thing.

Google, just like any other successful internet business, has gone out of its way to try and dominate the market, but kept that foundational motto in its corporate code of conduct since 2010. According to a Gizmodo report, that line was replaced with 'Do the right thing' in 2015, and was later removed completely.

According to The Wayback Machine, the previous code of conduct reads...

Dont be evil. Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But Dont be evil is much more than that. Yes, its about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But its also about doing the right thing more generally  following the law, acting honorably, and treating co-workers with courtesy and respect.

It's not like the motto has avoided being "evil" in the past, it's just been clear that Google has its own definition of evil. Misusing its monopoly and tax avoidance are only two examples of Google's ethically questionable actions in the past.

For instance, even when Google promoted the 'Don't be evil' motto, it was found guilty of favouring its own shopping services at the cost of other search services in the European Union. This antitrust case was also extended to the Adsense case in 2016, where it was accused of blocking online search to favour its own. Similarly, Bharat Matrimony and Consumer Unity and Trust Society filed a case against the Google to the Competition Commission of India for search bias and abusing its dominant search engine position.

Later in 2017, Google got into hot water over an employee's internal memo that used far-fetched arguments to justify the existence of a gender pay gap. While the employee was fired, Google is still dealing with a lawsuit from female employees over an alleged gender pay gap.

Google's new code of conduct is as follows:

The Google Code of Conduct is one of the ways we put Googles values into practice. Its built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct. We set the bar that high for practical as well as aspirational reasons: Our commitment to the highest standards helps us hire great people, build great products, and attract loyal users. Respect for our users, for the opportunity, and for each other are foundational to our success, and are something we need to support every day.

The biggest example of Google turning "evil" however, is that of several employees quitting over Google's continued support of a US govt-sponsored AI-weaponisation program involving drones. The employees claimed that a culture-shift in Google contributed to their decision to quit. According to the employees, Google was becoming increasingly secretive about its business dealings and had stopped listening to employee feedback.

Are we doomed? Is this a sign of things to come? Only time will tell.BURUNDI (Reuters) - Voters in Burundi have overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, the electoral commission said on Monday, ushering in changes that could let the president stay in power to 2034. An opposition coalition rejected the result of last week's referendum while the United States said the process had been marred by voter intimidation. The commission reported that 73 percent had voted in favour of amendments extending the presidential term from five to seven years and allowing President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek two more terms, beginning in 2020.

BURUNDI (Reuters) - Voters in Burundi have overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, the electoral commission said on Monday, ushering in changes that could let the president stay in power to 2034.

An opposition coalition rejected the result of last week's referendum while the United States said the process had been marred by voter intimidation.

The commission reported that 73 percent had voted in favour of amendments extending the presidential term from five to seven years and allowing President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek two more terms, beginning in 2020.

Commission chairman Pierre Claver Ndayicariye told a news conference that 96 percent of the 4.7 million registered voters cast ballots last Thursday.

Opposition leaders say the changes to the constitution will allow Nkurunziza -- whose party gave him the title of Supreme Eternal Guide this year -- to be above the law.

Evariste Ngayimpenda, a top official of the Amizero y'Abarundi opposition coalition, denounced "a process which was tainted with many incidents including arrests, imprisonments and killings".

"We reject these results and we will file a complaint because the process was marred by lot of irregularities, even during the counting of the votes," he said.

Opposition campaign workers had been terrorised and refused access to polling stations, he added.

Rights groups said campaigning and the vote itself took place in a climate of fear and intimidation. The government had denied the vote would be anything but free and fair.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department said the government had allowed vigorous campaigning by the opposition during the designated two-week campaign period. "But numerous cases of harassment and repression of referendum opponents in the months preceding the vote contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

She also condemned Burundi's suspension of broadcasts by the BBC and Voice of America two weeks before the referendum.

"This decision along with other media restrictions, arbitrary arrests, and harsh sentences for human rights defenders signals continuing limitations on civic and political space in Burundi," Nauert said.

Burundi ranks 159th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index compiled by the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.

Nkurunziza, 54, is a former rebel leader who came to power in 2005 at the end of a long civil war in which 300,000 died. The East African country has broadly the same ethnic make-up as neighbouring Rwanda, where 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by Hutu extremists in a 1994 genocide.

Nkurunziza was due to step down in 2015 but early that year announced he was seeking a third term, triggering deadly clashes with his opponents and a political and security crisis that has gripped the country of 10 million since.

(Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Alison Williams and David Stamp)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to the rights of workers on Monday by allowing companies to require them to sign away their ability to bring class-action claims against management, agreements already in place for about 25 million employees

Washington: The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a blow to the rights of workers on Monday by allowing companies to require them to sign away their ability to bring class-action claims against management, agreements already in place for about 25 million employees.

The justices, in a 5-4 ruling with the court's conservatives in the majority, endorsed the legality of the growing practice by companies to compel workers to sign arbitration agreements waiving their right to bring class-action claims on various disputes, primarily over wages and hours.

The ruling could apply more broadly to discrimination claims like those raised by women as part of the #MeToo movement raising awareness of sexual harassment in the workplace but the court did not explicitly address that issue.

Craig Becker, a former member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board and now general counsel of the AFL-CIO union federation, said the decision will have a "chilling effect" on employees coming forward to complain of mistreatment.

"It will cripple enforcement of all the major employment laws," Becker added.

Growing numbers of employers, alarmed by a rise in class-action claims brought by workers on wage issues, have demanded that their workers sign waivers. Class-action litigation can result in large damages awards by juries and is harder for businesses to fight than cases brought by individual plaintiffs.

Republican President Donald Trump's administration last year reversed the government's stance in the case, siding with the companies. The Justice Department said it was pleased with Monday's ruling. Democratic former President Barack Obama's administration had supported a decision made by the National Labor Relations Board in 2012 invalidating such employment agreements. The board at the time had a Democratic majority.

The ruling is the latest in a series of pro-business decisions by the conservative-majority Supreme Court in recent years curbing class-action claims of various types and endorsing arbitration to resolve contractual disputes. Companies have said arbitration is quicker and cheaper than litigation in court.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump's appointee to the court, wrote the ruling, joined by the four other conservative justices. Gorsuch wrote that federal arbitration law does not conflict with the National Labor Relations Act, which outlines the right of workers to act collectively.

"The policy may be debatable but the law is clear: Congress has instructed that arbitration agreements like those before us must be enforced as written," Gorsuch wrote.

Workers have fought back against the waivers, arguing that the cost of pursuing their cases individually in arbitration is prohibitively expensive. The ruling does not affect workers represented by unions.

Writing in dissent on behalf of the court's four liberals, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called the ruling "egregiously wrong" and urged Congress to take action to protect workers' rights.

"Take it or leave it"

"The court today holds enforceable these arm-twisted, take-it-or-leave-it contracts -- including the provisions requiring employees to litigate wages and hours claims only one-by-one. Federal labor law does not countenance such isolation of employees," Ginsburg said in a statement she read in court.

Ginsburg said she does not believe the ruling would apply to certain claims alleging discrimination on the basis of race, gender, religion or national origin covered by Title VII of the landmark federal Civil Rights Act.

Civil rights advocates were not so sure.

"Today's decision will make it easier for employers to escape liability for widespread discrimination and harassment. No American should be forced to sign away their right to invoke the meaningful protections afforded by our nation's critical civil rights laws," said Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

The ruling came in the biggest business case of the court's current term, which began in October runs through the end of June.

The court in the coming weeks is due to rule in another big workers' rights case involving a conservative challenge to fees that public-sector workers like police and teachers who are not union members are forced to pay to unions in certain states to cover the expenses of collecting bargaining. [L2N1QG0ZA]

The three consolidated cases decided on Monday involved professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP[ERNY.UL], gas station operator Murphy Oil USA Inc[MOUI.UL] and healthcare software company Epic Systems Corporation.

"When it comes to grievances regarding wages and hours, we believe individual arbitration agreements strike that reasonable balance and are pleased with the court's decision in support of this," Epic CEO Judy Faulkner said in a statement.

The NLRB argued that the waivers violate federal labor law and let companies evade their responsibilities under workplace statutes.

About one in four private-sector non-union employees have signed arbitration agreements that include class-action waivers, according to the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

One U.S. law firm, Ogletree Deakins, seized on the ruling by launching a service it said will help employers create arbitration agreements containing class-action waivers for employees in less than five minutes.LONDON (Reuters) - A shopping centre in the English city where a former Russian spy was found collapsed with his daughter after a nerve agent attack more than two months ago has been successfully decontaminated, Britain's environment department said on Monday. Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a bench outside the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury on March 4, and decontamination teams descended on the cathedral city in the aftermath of what Britain has described as first use of nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War. Britain's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said that all items that might have been contaminated had been removed and safely disposed of

LONDON (Reuters) - A shopping centre in the English city where a former Russian spy was found collapsed with his daughter after a nerve agent attack more than two months ago has been successfully decontaminated, Britain's environment department said on Monday.

Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a bench outside the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury on March 4, and decontamination teams descended on the cathedral city in the aftermath of what Britain has described as first use of nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.

Britain's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said that all items that might have been contaminated had been removed and safely disposed of.

"Following extensive clean-up operations in Salisbury to remove any potential residual contamination resulting from the nerve agent attack on 4 March, decontamination work is now complete at the Maltings," the department said in a statement.

The Skripals arrived at the car park of the Sainsbury's supermarket store at The Maltings before they went to the Bishop's Mill pub and then to Zizzi, an Italian restaurant.

They were found on the bench a short while later, although police have said they believe the nerve toxin was left on the front door of Sergei Skripal's home.

Britain's accusations that Russia was behind the nerve agent attack led to a Russia-West crisis in which Western governments, including the United States, have expelled more than 100 Russian diplomats. Russia has denied any involvement in the poisoning and retaliated in kind.

The pair were in a critical condition for weeks and doctors at one point feared that, even if they survived, they might have suffered brain damage. But their health began to improve rapidly, and both have now been discharged, with Sergei Skripal leaving hospital last Friday.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Alison Williams)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the disruption in distribution of Pakistan's oldest newspaper Dawn after it published an interview suggesting that Pakistani militants were behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks

Islamabad: International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned the disruption in distribution of Pakistan's oldest newspaper Dawn after it published an interview suggesting that Pakistani militants were behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The comments by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sparked a firestorm at home and in India.

Sharif approached what is seen as a red line in the country by touching on criticism of Pakistan's armed forces, especially their alleged use of proxies in India.

RSF said distribution of the country's leading English-language newspaper had been restricted in much of the country.

"The interview, which reportedly displeased the Pakistani military, appeared in the 12 May issue and the blocking began on 15 May. According to RSF's information, distribution is being disrupted in most of Balochistan province, in many cities in Sindh province and in all military cantonments," said a statement issued Friday.

The Press Council of Pakistan had notified Dawn's editor that the newspaper breached the ethical code by publishing content that "may bring into contempt Pakistan or its people or tends to undermine its sovereignty or integrity as an independent country", the watchdog said.

"The unwarranted blocking of the distribution of one of the main independent newspapers has yet again shown that the military are determined to maintain their grip on access to news and information in Pakistan," RSF said.

"It is clear that the military high command does not want to allow a democratic debate in the months preceding a general election. We call on the authorities to stop interfering in the dissemination of independent media and to restore distribution of Dawn throughout Pakistan."

The 2008 Mumbai attacks killed 166 people. Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba stands accused of masterminding them.

India has long said there is evidence that "official agencies" in Pakistan were involved but Islamabad denies the charge.

Since being ousted by the Supreme Court last July, Sharif and his supporters have repeatedly suggested they are the victims of a conspiracy driven by the military and the courts.

According to RSF, last month, the military was said to have given unofficial instructions to cable TV operators to stop carrying the Geo TV network's channels, including Geo News, in most of the country. One reason was the airtime that it had dedicated to Sharif.US President Donald Trump demanded, on Sunday, that the Justice Department investigate whether his presidential campaign was 'infiltrated' or spied on for political purposes, prompting it to announce it would look into those issues.

Washington: US President Donald Trump demanded, on Sunday, that the Justice Department investigate whether his presidential campaign was "infiltrated" or spied on for political purposes, prompting it to announce it would look into those issues.

Trump has described the infiltration allegations as being potentially "bigger than Watergate," but Democrats say he is attempting to undermine the year-old investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with his campaign, headed by special counsel Robert Mueller.

"I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!" Trump tweeted.

Trump's angry order came amid building pressure from the year-old Russia meddling investigation, and as US media reported that the Federal Bureau of Investigations sent a Britain-based American professor to speak separately with Trump campaign advisers in 2016.

A New York Times report described the professor as "an informant," saying the federal agency was looking into evidence that Carter Page and George Papadopoulos had suspicious contacts with Russia.

The Washington Post called him "a longtime US intelligence source," and said he met with a third campaign adviser  Sam Clovis  as well as Page and Papadopoulos.

Trump and his supporters have cast the man as a mole possibly sent by the Obama administration to burrow into his campaign.

The Justice Department tasked its internal watchdog with looking into the issues raised by Trump.

But, it paired that inquiry with an existing "review" of the application process for FISA national security warrants, which Republicans allege was abused in connection with the surveillance of Page.

Expanding an 'ongoing review'

"The department has asked the inspector general to expand the ongoing review of the FISA application process to include determining whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election," spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement.

Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the Russia investigation, said: "If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action."

While Trump allies in Congress have demanded more information about the informant, law enforcement officials have refused, saying the source  not yet officially identified  could be in danger if named.

Efforts to identify the FBI informant  and Trump's claims  have drawn fire from Democratic lawmakers.

"It would be at best irresponsible, and at worst potentially illegal, for members of Congress to use their positions to learn the identity of an FBI source for the purpose of undermining the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in our election," said Senator Mark Warner, the Senate Intelligence Committee's top Democrat.

"Trump's claim of an embedded 'spy' is nonsense. His 'demand' DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems," tweeted Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Joaquin Castro, another House Democrat, responded to Trump's demand for Justice Department action by tweeting: "@realDonaldTrump - Let Mueller do his job. Stay out of it. You need to be subpoenaed for obstruction of justice/conspiracy/money laundering."

"Obstruction in broad daylight," Democratic lawmaker Eric Swalwell wrote.

Trump lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, a former Justice Department prosecutor and assistant attorney general, told CNN on Friday that it was unclear whether an FBI informant had been embedded in the campaign, while adding that the agency "should tell us if there was."US President Donald Trump on Monday hailed his administration's temporary truce with China on trade, even as his Treasury secretary and China struck a note of caution on the latest agreement.

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday hailed his administration's temporary truce with China on trade, even as his Treasury secretary and China struck a note of caution on the latest agreement.

After high-level talks in Washington last week, Beijing has agreed to "substantially reduce" America's trade deficit with China.

"On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time," Trump tweeted.

Farmers, he promises, will come out on top.

"Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce," he tweeted.

Both sides, however, have said there are no guarantees trade tensions are over. China hasn't said how much it's willing to reduce the U.S. trade gap. The Trump administration had sought to slash the deficit by $200 billion.

Also left unclear is the issue of intellectual property. The U.S. has long accused Beijing of secretly stealing U.S. technology from American businesses. Treasury Security Steven Mnuchin said Monday those issues "are part of our framework. These things cannot be fixed overnight."

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who has been part of the U.S. negotiating team, is expected to go to China soon to follow up on last week's discussions.

A day after declaring the trade war "on hold," Mnuchin told CNBC Monday that Trump is reserving the right to reimpose tariffs against Chinese goods if the two countries can't agree on specifics to bring down the massive trade deficit with Beijing.

Likewise, China's foreign ministry said details still have to be worked out.

"Given the increasing interaction between the two countries, we cannot assure you they will not encounter more frictions or disputes in the future," said spokesman Lu Kang.

Last year, the U.S. had a record $376 billion deficit with China in the trade of goods; that was the largest by far with any nation.

Mnuchin has said to expect to see a big increase  35 percent to 45 percent this year alone  in U.S. farm sales to China. Mnuchin also forecast a doubling in sales of U.S. energy products to the Chinese market, increasing energy exports by $50 billion to $60 billion in the next three years to five years.

Farm sales could be key politically, as many Trump supporters in rural states say they feared a U.S. trade war with China would hurt their export business.

Trade analysts were not surprised that China refused to agree to a numerical target for cutting the trade gap, but they said the talks probably were more successful in easing trade tensions.

"The Trump administration seems eager to engineer at minimum a temporary peace with China to ensure a smooth run-up to the Kim-Trump summit in June," Cornell University economist Eswar Prasad said, referring to the June 12 meeting scheduled between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

If there is success in the U.S.-China discussions, analysts suggest it likely would involve the countries' presidents this fall before the November elections.

"Part of the good news for markets: As long as both sides continue to be 'constructively' engaged, imposition of additional tariffs by either side is very unlikely," analysts at investment management firm Evercore ISI said in a research note. "There is no reason for either side  particularly the U.S.  to destroy the process that both sides are building, which is what imposing tariffs would do."

Trump also pressed China to seal its border with North Korea "until a deal is made"  an apparent reference to his upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

His early morning tweets underscore the complexity and importance of America's relationship with China. For months, Trump railed against China to cut its trade surplus with the United States and threatened higher tariffs. China counterpunched with tariffs on U.S. products, rattling the market.

Throughout, the looming trade war has overshadowed Trump's efforts to pressure North Korea on its nuclear program. The U.S. needs China's help in sealing its border so Pyongyang can't quietly skirt international sanctions.

"China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made," he tweeted. "The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in. I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing!"

Last August, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer began investigating Beijing's strong-arm tactics to challenge U.S. technological dominance. These include outright cybertheft of U.S. companies' trade secrets and China's demands that American corporations hand over technology in exchange for access to the Chinese markets.

Last month, the administration proposed tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports to protest the forced technology transfers. Trump later ordered Lighthizer to seek up to an additional $100 billion in Chinese products to tax.

China responded by targeting $50 billion in U.S. products, including soybeans  a shot at Trump supporters in America's heartland. The prospect of an escalating trade war has shaken financial markets and alarmed business leaders.

In a separate controversy, the Commerce Department last month blocked China's ZTE Corp. from importing American components for seven years, accusing the telecommunications company of misleading U.S. regulators after it settled charges last year of violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea.

The ban amounted to a death sentence for ZTE, which relies heavily on U.S. parts, and the company announced that it was halting operations. A week ago, Trump tweeted that he was working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to put ZTE "back in business, fast." Media reports suggested that the U.S. was offering to swap a ZTE rescue for an end to proposed Chinese tariffs on U.S. farm products.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said there could be "some small changes around the edges" in the sanctions against ZTE. But Kudlow added: "Do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. It ain't gonna happen."Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani says the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign could end by 1 September.

Washington: Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani says the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign could end by 1 September.

Giuliani said the office of Robert Mueller  the special counsel who is leading the investigation  plans to end the investigation by then, and had shared the timeline some two weeks ago, The New York Times reported on Sunday.

Fox News quoted Giuliani as saying that Mueller told Trump's legal team the investigation could be over by 1 September, although the timeline was contingent upon the special counsel interviewing the president by mid-July.

Giuliani said he wants the investigation over by that time so it does not affect Republicans' chances in congressional mid-term elections in November, Fox reported.

"You don't want another repeat of the 2016 election where you get contrary reports at the end and you don't know how it affected the election," Giuliani told the Times.

Former FBI director James Comey  fired by Trump last year  announced that the bureau would reopen an investigation into Hillary Clinton's misuse of a private email server just 11 days before the 2016 presidential vote, a move that may have helped cost her the election.

Trump, who has repeatedly described the investigation as a "witch hunt," views it as a stain on his presidency and wants it over.

His former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his first national security adviser Michael Flynn and an assortment of campaign aides have all been caught in Mueller's investigation, variously pleading guilty, cutting a plea deal or fighting the case in court.

But a year after the probe began, the big questions remain unanswered: Did Trump's campaign collude with the Kremlin to skew the 2016 election? What did the president know and when did he know it? Did he obstruct justice? Can a sitting president be indicted?By Massimiliano Di Giorgio and Steve Scherer ROME (Reuters) - Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League on Monday proposed Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor, as prime minister to lead their big-spending coalition government. But instead of immediately endorsing their choice, President Sergio Mattarella played for time, seeking further consultations over the appointment of a political novice to head a mooted administration that has alarmed markets and the European Union. The leaders of 5-Star and the League, who have drawn up a coalition pact aimed at ending months of deadlock after inconclusive elections on March 4, put forward Conte's name at separate meetings with Mattarella

By Massimiliano Di Giorgio and Steve Scherer

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League on Monday proposed Giuseppe Conte, a little-known law professor, as prime minister to lead their big-spending coalition government.

But instead of immediately endorsing their choice, President Sergio Mattarella played for time, seeking further consultations over the appointment of a political novice to head a mooted administration that has alarmed markets and the European Union.

The leaders of 5-Star and the League, who have drawn up a coalition pact aimed at ending months of deadlock after inconclusive elections on March 4, put forward Conte's name at separate meetings with Mattarella.

"I am very proud of this choice. Giuseppe Conte will carry forward our government contract," 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said after leaving the presidential palace.

The joint programme calls for billions of euros in tax cuts, additional spending on welfare for the poor, a roll-back of pension reforms and a revision of key EU rules, including those regulating immigration and monetary union.

Financial markets have been spooked by the proposals; Italy's borrowing costs surged again on Monday, while its stock market touched six-week lows on fears of instability in the euro zone's third largest economy.

"Let us get to work first and then criticise us. You have every right to do so, but let us start first," Di Maio told reporters after seeing Mattarella.

The president could have ended the deadlock by immediately calling in Conte and offering him a mandate. Instead, his office said he would hold a fresh round of talks with the heads of the upper and lower houses of parliament on Tuesday.

A source in his office said he needed time for reflection, adding that the president had stressed to the League and 5-Star the important role a prime minister plays leading a government.

COMPROMISE

Conte, who teaches at Florence University, has no political experience but is close to 5-Star, and was one of the people put forward by the party as a possible minister before the election, when he vowed to simplify Italy's labyrinthine bureaucracy.

That was the first time Conte, 54, had appeared in the public spotlight, though he is on the board of numerous academic and judicial bodies and had participated in conferences on justice matters organised by 5-Star.

He played no obvious role in drawing up the coalition pact.

Both the League and 5-Star have vociferously denounced previous suggestions that the next prime minister might be a technocrat, saying that the premier needed to be a politician who had won legitimacy from the ballot-box.

However, Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini each refused to let the other become prime minister, not wanting to appear the junior partner in any deal. After failing to find a political alternative, they settled for a compromise solution.

If Mattarella decides to give his blessing to Conte, the parties could put a cabinet together rapidly and hold confidence votes in parliament later this week.

One of the first tasks ministers would face would be to try to calm investor concerns that they might explode Italy's already huge debt pile -- worth more than 130 percent of annual economic output -- and contravene European Union budget rules.

Ratings agencies have already signalled their concern.

Fitch said on Monday that having a 5-Star/League government would increase Italy's fiscal risks, after DBRS issued a similar warning last week.

While markets fret, ordinary Italians appear to want the tie-up. Some 60 percent are in favour of a 5-Star/League coalition government, a Demos & Pi poll published on Sunday indicated, while more than 80 percent of 5-Star and League voters back it, the poll said.

( Graphic of seats in parliament https://tmsnrt.rs/2wAaJL2 )

(Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer and Gavin Jones; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Russia's Black Sea coastal city Sochi for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin

Sochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday arrived in Russia's Black Sea coastal city Sochi for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin that will focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the USA's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, official sources said.

They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be limited.

"Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi on Tuesday and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," Modi had tweeted on Sunday.

"Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia," He also tweeted.

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the USA's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS summits.

The sources said possible impact of the United States' sanctions against Russia under Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation may also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.

There have been apprehensions that the United States' decision on Iran deal may impact New Delhi's oil import from the Persian Gulf nation as well as on the Chabahar port project. Iran is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The countries having financial dealings with Iran are expected to be hit by the comprehensive sanctions regime announced by the Trump administration after withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

The two leaders may also deliberate on extending Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation in third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, India's engagement with five-nation Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the situation in the Korean peninsula.

The sources said the large part of the informal meeting between Modi and Putin will be one-to-one and there may be limited segment for restricted delegation level discussions.

They said President Putin will to also host a lunch for Modi.

It would be Modi's second informal summit in as many months as he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jingpin in China's Wuhan in a similar format last month.

Sources said there could be more such informal summits between Modi and other world leaders in the coming months as India eyes to play an important role in global power dynamics. They said President Putin will be in India later this year for the annual summit during which key bilateral issues will be deliberated upon.

The annual summit talks between the top leadership of the two countries have been taking place alternately in Moscow and New Delhi since 2000.CAATSA, which was signed into law in August last year by President Donald Trump, aims to counter anti-US aggression displayed by countries like Iran, North Korea and Russia through a series of punitive measures

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Sochi this week to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin, the threat of US sanctions loom large over the "informal bilateral talks". Of particular interest will be US sanctions against Moscow that might impact Russian military supplies to India, especially an estimated Rs 40,000-crore deal to buy sophisticated long-range S-400 air defence system.

An IANS report said American sanctions against Russian oligarchs and companies, including Rosoboronexport, the State-owned Russian weapons trading company, has raised concerns in India about a possible impact on New Delhi's military buys from Moscow.

Rosoboronexport has long-standing significant contracts and business ties with India and other countries.

At the heart of the current India-Russia military ties is a multi-billion dollar deal for five S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile systems, billed as a game changer by the Indian military for its ability to counter ballistic missiles and stealth aircraft like those China is developing.

CAATSA

India and Russia signed an agreement in principle for the S-400 deal in 2016. However, the deal may now be seen through the lens of CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act).

CAATSA, which was signed into law in August last year by President Donald Trump, aims to counter anti-US aggression displayed by countries like Iran, North Korea and Russia through a series of punitive measures. The sanctions aimed to punish Moscow for its meddling in Ukraine, Syria, the 2016 presidential elections, and most recently, Russia's alleged involvement in the poisoning of a former intelligence officer in the United Kingdom.

However, an unlikely victim of the US-Russia crossfire could be India, which still buys over 60 percent of its defence equipment from Russia. At present, the Indian armed forces are 70 percent equipped with Soviet or Russian weapons.

And among the provisions of CAATSA is secondary sanctions on countries who are found to be dealing with the Russian defence and intelligence sectors.

And though New Delhi has repeatedly insisted it won't allow its foreign policy decisions regarding a particular country to be dictated by the policies of another, the US has tried to reduce the coziness of India-Russia ties. As reported by The Times of India, Washington is using the sanctions to wean countries like India away from the Russian arms industry and into buying more American weapons.

US officials have reminded India that CAATSA is Congressionally-mandated and the administration's hands may be tied in terms of waivers if India goes in for new purchases.

"CAATSA is a feature and we need to take it seriously. The (Trump) administration is always bound by US law. This is a US law. I'm hoping that not just India, but all of the partners that we engage with will understand that we will have to evaluate any potential large defence purchase from Russia seriously because thats what the law demands of us," Tina Kaidanow, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, was quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

When specifically asked if she sees the possibility of US imposing sanctions on India if it goes ahead with its defence deals with Russia, the official said everyone should read the CAATSA legislation carefully and understand its intent. "The intent is not to sanction our partners. The intent is to emphasise how important it is that Russia's malign behaviour all over the world is countered, and by virtue of purchasing large-scale Russian system, what you're doing is enabling that kind of behaviour. That's the intent of the legislation," she said.

However, as mentioned in The Times of India report, Modi said on the eve of his departure that he is "confident that talks with Putin will further strengthen the 'special and privileged strategic partnership' between India and Russia", indicating his determination to get around the roadblock set up by Washington.

With inputs from agenciesUS president Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani has said that special counsel Robert Mueller hopes to finish the investigation into whether Trump obstructed the Russia inquiry by 1 September. He added that waiting any longer would risk improperly influencing voters in the November's mid-term elections.

Washington: US president Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani has said that special counsel Robert Mueller hopes to finish the investigation into whether Trump obstructed the Russia inquiry by 1 September. He added that waiting any longer would risk improperly influencing voters in the November's mid-term elections.

The office of Mueller shared its timeline about two weeks ago amid negotiations over whether Trump will be questioned by investigators, adding that Mueller's office said that the date was contingent on Trump sitting for an interview, NYT reported quoting Giuliani.

A spokesman for the special counsel's office declined to comment.

Wrapping up the obstruction case would not signal the end of Mueller's work. That is one piece of his broader inquiry, a counter-intelligence investigation into Russia's campaign to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and whether Trump associates coordinated with it.

Counter-intelligence investigations are used to gather information quietly about the activities of foreign powers and their agents, sometimes for years, and can result in criminal charges.

"We want the concentration of this to be on Comey versus the president's credibility, and I think we win that and people get that," Giuliani said.

He also hoped that the justice department would open a criminal investigation into Comey for perjury and his role in the disclosures in 2017 about his encounters with the President that prompted Mueller's appointment.

Giuliani said Comey had damaged his credibility during his recent book tour and was an unreliable witness. Trump's lawyers have long said that Comey's accounts of their interactions cannot be trusted.The U.S. Justice Department on Monday agreed to expand its investigation into alleged Russia collusion in the 2016 election to include 'any irregularities' involving FBI tactics on Trump's presidential campaign, a White House spokeswoman said.

Reuters: The U.S. Justice Department on Monday agreed to expand its investigation into alleged Russia collusion in the 2016 election to include "any irregularities" involving FBI tactics on Trump's presidential campaign, a White House spokeswoman said.

The agreement came during a meeting that Trump had with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray, the spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said.

On Friday, Trump suggested that the FBI may have planted or recruited an informant in his campaign, citing unidentified reports that at least one FBI representative was "implanted" there.

He asked the Justice Department to look into the claims in a Twitter post on Sunday. Hours later, a spokeswoman said the department asked its inspector general to expand a review of the process for requesting surveillance warrants to include determining whether there was impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its investigation.

The FBI was looking into Trump election campaign ties to Moscow before Special Counsel Robert Mueller took over the probe a year ago.

"If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," Rosenstein said in a statement on Sunday evening.

Federal investigators are probing whether anyone in the Trump campaign worked with Russia to sway the election to the Republican candidate. Trump has denied any collusion and repeatedly dismissed the investigation as a "witch hunt."

Trump has shown increasing signs of impatience with the investigation led by Mueller as it enters its second year, saying it was politically motivated and had its roots in the administration of Democratic President Barack Obama.

His Republican allies in Congress, led by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, have pushed the same message.

In March, the Justice Department's inspector general launched a review into allegations by Republican lawmakers that the FBI made serious missteps when it sought a warrant to monitor a former adviser to Trumps 2016 election campaign.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said his review will examine whether the FBI and Justice Department followed proper procedures when they applied for a warrant with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to secretly conduct surveillance on former adviser Carter Page and his ties to Russia.

Republican U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin said he and 16 other members of Congress will introduce a resolution on Tuesday alleging Justice Department and FBI misconduct involving surveillance in the Trump-Russia probe.

Neither Trump nor his new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, provided any evidence of government infiltration into Trumps presidential campaign.

The New York Times, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the FBI sent an informant to talk to two Trump campaign advisers, Page and George Papadopoulos, after the agency received evidence that the two men had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign.WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday criticized last week's referendum in Burundi as being marred by a lack of transparency and voter intimidation and condemned the government's decision to suspend media outlets. 'The government allowed vigorous campaigning by the opposition during the designated two-week campaign period, but numerous cases of harassment and repression of referendum opponents in the months preceding the vote contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation,' the State Department said in a statement. The referendum on Thursday granted changes that could allow the current president of Burundi to stay in office until 2034.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday criticized last week's referendum in Burundi as being marred by a lack of transparency and voter intimidation and condemned the government's decision to suspend media outlets.

"The government allowed vigorous campaigning by the opposition during the designated two-week campaign period, but numerous cases of harassment and repression of referendum opponents in the months preceding the vote contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation," the State Department said in a statement.

The referendum on Thursday granted changes that could allow the current president of Burundi to stay in office until 2034.

(Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United States will not recognize the result of Venezuela's presidential election on Sunday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told journalists.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United States will not recognize the result of Venezuela's presidential election on Sunday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told journalists.

The United States is actively considering oil sanctions on Venezuela and Sullivan said a response to Sunday's vote would be discussed at a G20 meeting in Buenos Aires on Monday.

Sullivan also said he knew of no plan to withdraw U.S. assistance from northwest Syria.

CBS news reported on Friday the Trump administration had withdrawn all assistance from northwest Syria, a move it said demonstrated the administration intended to leave quickly once Islamic State is fully defeated.

(Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.H&M clothes to be manufactured in Georgia from May - GeorgianJournalBy Samuel Ssebuliba.

Ugandan traders operating in South Sudan have asked to beware of the growing insecurity along the major roads to the capital Juba.

The warning comes after a driver and conductor of a truck were abducted by suspected South Sudanese rebels on Tumbura road.

According to Byrone Kinene the chairman of the regional Lorry Drivers and Transporters Association, many areas in South Sudan are under rebel control and thus who ever plies such routes must beware of the risk.

He says that areas like Lumbek and Yambio are totally insecure and so traders must be vigilant.

The warning comes just days after the IGAD-brokered South Sudan peace talks resumed.Nokia X6 Vs Huawei P20 Lite Features oi-Vivek The Nokia X6 and the Huawei P20 Lite are some of the best smartphones under Rs 20,000. These phones have a premium all glass design with a display that embraces an iPhone X style notch.

HMD Global, the home licensee for the Nokia branding recently launched the Nokia X6 in China, which is the first smartphone from the brand to embrace the notch. In one hand, people have been opposing the adoption of the notch, whereas more and more smartphones makers are implementing the same from flagship smartphones to mid-tier smartphones. The Nokia X6 and the Huawei P20 Lite has a set of features, which are similar and have their another set of features, which helps these devices to stand out in the market. The Huawei P20 Lite is priced in India at Rs 19,999 ( with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB storage) and we will compare the Nokia X6 with similar configuration, which costs CNY 1,499 (Rs 15,500) for a similar RAM and storage combination. If HMD Global were to consider the launch of the Nokia X6 in India, the smartphone is likely to be priced in the vicinity of Rs 17,000 (going by the HMD Global's pricing strategy). In fact, there are some of the best smartphones with a display notch, with a price tag of Rs 20,000 or lesser.

Design

Glass, glass all the way. This is a short rhyme which describes the design and builds of the Nokia X6 and the Huawei P20 Lite. Both phones have an all-glass design with a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. Not only that, these phones also have a dual rear-facing camera (detailed camera details in the camera section). In fact, both phones have a company branding on the bottom chin, which makes them different with one another. If you are into premium all-glass design, then these are some of the best smartphones that are available under the Rs 20,000 price mark.

Specs sheet

The Nokia X6 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Octa-core chipset, whereas the Huawei P20 Lite runs on the in-house HiSilicon Kirin 659 Octa-core chipset. The chipset numbers might make one believe that the 659 is greater than the 636. However, it is not. The Kirin 659 is a great SoC, but it is not as powerful or power efficient as the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Octa-core, which has eight Kryo cores and is manufactured using 14nm FinFET process. In day to day usage, these chipsets will not stutter. However, if you are into heavy gaming like PUBG, then you might notice a bit of frame drop on both the phones, as non of these chipsets have a GPU, which can handle gaming at full HD resolution. Still, one can play casual games and if you are not a super-spy like us, you will not notice any frame drops what so ever.

Both phones have a taller IPS LCD display with a 19:9 aspect ration with a notch on the top. The Huawei P20 has a slightly large 5.84-inch display, whereas the Nokia X6 has a 5.8-inch display. With the 2280 x 1080 px resolution, these phones offer a great smartphone experience with a higher screen to body ratio.

Cameras

The Huawei P20 Lite has a dual camera setup with a 16 MP primary camera and a 2 MP secondary depth camera, which will help the smartphone to capture photos with bokeh effect. Whereas the Nokia X6 has a similar numbered 16 MP primary camera and a 5 MP depth sensor. The Huawei P20 Lite also has a massive 24 MP front-facing selfie camera with support for face unlock, whereas the Nokia X6 has a 16 MP front-facing camera with no information about face unlock. The video recording is limited to 1080p on the Huawei P20 Lite, whereas the Nokia X6 can record native 4k videos at 30fps. However, considering the chipset capabilities and the lack of OIS, it is best to record a video at 1080p to get a usable footage.

Battery and Software

The Nokia 6X and the Huawei P20 Lite have a 3060 and a 3000 mAh Li-ion battery, respectively. Both phones also include an USB type C port with fast charging support and also retails the 3.5 mm headphone jack. These phones can easily last a day on a single charge for moderate users and heavy users have to plug in the charging cable in the evening. The Nokia X6 runs on the Android 8.1 Oreo, so is the Huawei P20 Lite. However, the Nokia X6 offers stock-like UI, whereas the P20 Lite moniker offers EMUI, a customised skin, inspired by the likes of iOS.

Conclusion

The Nokia X6 offers a stellar value for money proposition than any of Nokia smartphones (Android OS) that we have seen till date. However, the smartphone is yet to be launched in India and we have no confirmation about the price tag. On the other hand, the Huawei P20 Lite currently retails in India for Rs 20,000 (minus Rs 1) and offers a premium design, decent hardware with a Huawei tag. Finally, it all comes to end users requirement and in this case, the type of OS offered is the major differentiating factor. If you are looking for an Android smartphone, then consider the Nokia X6 (likely to launch in a month or so) or the Huawei P20 Lite is a great phone with the custom EMUI skin.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow NotificationsOnePlus could soon phase-out its Dash charge branding News oi-Sandeep Sarkar Amazon and Bragi opposed giving the Dash-charge name to OnePlus stating Likelihood of Confusion'.

OnePlus has boasted about its proprietary fast-changing technology, called the Dash charge, during the launch of its OnePlus 3 back in 2016. However, the company didn't even name-drop it once even with the release of its latest flagship killer OnePlus 6 last week. This comes in line with the branding in promotions and publicity in India.

Now, adding on to the changes the Dash Charge cables are also available on the company's online store and are being called as 'Fast Charge'. The change in name was first spotted by a Twitter user Gregory Jimenez (@gregoryjiminezp) recently.

It is being reported that the company is working on Phasing-out the Dash Charge. This might come as a surprise at first, however, the company gave a perfect reason behind the name-drop. As per Android Police, the EU has recently rejected OnePlus's application for using the 'Dash Charge' branding in following the opposition from two company's including Amazon and Bragi which is an audio company.

After the EUIPO (European Union Intellectual Property Office) rejected OnePlus's application on the basis of the application filed by Amazon and the other company. It is being reported that OnePlus is looking towards switching to a different brand name instead of challenging the decision. But, OnePlus is still using the same branding in India which was noted on the Amazon India listing for the OnePlus 6.

Also, OnePlus further said that it had already filed to register a trademark for the Dash Charge name in the US and EU back in 2016. However, the application was rejected in last March. This was after Amazon and Bragi opposed giving it to OnePlus stating 'Likelihood of Confusion'. The reason why these companies opposed granting the Dash charge name to OnePlus is that Bragi sells Bluetooth earbuds that are bent under Dash Pro branding, while Amazon has a 'Dash Replenishment Service' that allows IoT devices to automatically order goods from Amazon website.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow NotificationsSamsung Galaxy J4 renders hit the web; key specs are out News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu This is how the Galaxy J4 might look like.

Samsung Galaxy J4 is one of the upcoming smartphones. We have been coming across several leaks and rumors regarding this device of late. The latest information has come in the form of leaked renders of the yet to be announced smartphone. The renders following the live images of the Galaxy J4 those were spotted on the official support pages of the Samsung websites of India, Saudi Arabia and the Philippines.

As per the images revealed by WinFuture.de, the Galaxy J4 will be a budget smartphone. It appears to feature an LED flash module at the front to enable clicking better low-light shots. It also has a physical home button at the bottom of the display. There are capacitive touch buttons on either side of the home button.

When it comes to the rear, the renders show the presence of a single camera sensor with LED flash and a loudspeaker grill. There back of the phone appears to be made of plastic while there is a 2.5D curved glass panel at the front. The design was already revealed by a leaked NCC document.

Samsung Galaxy J4 key specs were also out

In addition to revealing the renders of the smartphone, the key specifications were also out. The device is likely to be launched with a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels and 16:9 aspect ratio. Under its hood, this Samsung smartphone is reported to employ a quad-core Exynos 7570 SoC paired with 2GB/3GB RAM and 16GB/32GB storage space. The default memory capacity can be expanded further with a microSD card.

For imaging, there is likely a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie camera on board. The rear camera is said to support FHD 1080p video recording as well. The smartphone is believed to come with connectivity aspects such as Bluetooth 4.1, dual SIM support, and 4G LTE.

Just like the Galaxy A6 and Galaxy A6+ likely to be launched in India today, the Galaxy J4 is also said to run Android 8.0 Oreo topped with Samsung Experience. The smartphone is expected to make use of a 3000mAh battery to keep the lights turned on.

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ First Impressions

Having said that, let's wait for an official announcement from the company regarding the new budget smartphone. We can expect it to be priced reasonably to compete with its Chinese counterparts.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow NotificationsThe press release still refers to HMD as a start-up, though it is now also a unicorn. The Espoo, Finland-based company has raised $100 million in a funding round at a valuation of a cool billion dollars. The money came from multiple investors led by Ginko Ventures.

The money will go to strategic investments and aggressively expanding the lineup of Nokia-branded phones. And thats the plan for this year, so we wont have to wait until 2019 for exciting announcements.

HMD is not even two years old yet (it was founded on December 1, 2016), but in the fiscal year 2017 it posted revenues of $2.13 billion (and a small operating loss of $77 million). It sells its Nokia phones in 80 countries, but sees them used in 170 countries. It has been a meteoric rise.

"We are thrilled to have these investors join us in our journey to script the next chapter of Nokia phones. It is our ambition to deliver great smartphones that delight our fans while staying true to our Finnish roots and the hallmarks that the Nokia brand has always been known for. We aim to be among the top smartphone players globally and our success to date gives us the confidence to further continue on a growth path in 2018 and beyond," said Florian Seiche, CEO, HMD Global.

SourceThese are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales.The Samsung Galaxy S Light Luxury is now official in China - the handset that was previously rumored to be called Galaxy S8 lite. It packs a 5.8 Infinity Display inside a body the same size as the Galaxy S8.

It's a Super AMOLED panel with 1,080 x 2,220 px resolution (18.5:9). The phone has a single camera on the back - 16 MP sensor and an f/1.7 aperture. It can record 4K video at 30 fps, but lacks OIS. The selfie camera has an 8 MP sensor and f/1.7 aperture.

The Snapdragon 660 chipset inside the Galaxy S Light Luxury should offer similar CPU performance to the Galaxy S8, though it is behind on GPU power. It does have 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB of storage, so Samsung cut no corners there.

Given the Galaxy S Light Luxury's size, it shouldnt be a surprise that theres a 3,000 mAh battery  the same capacity as the Galaxy S8. Theres support for fast wireless and wired charging, the latter of which goes over the USB-C port. The phone is IP68 waterproof as expected.

It has a 3.5 mm headphone jack and comes bundled with an AKG in-ear headset. FM radio is enabled out of the box. Theres a fingerprint reader on its back, but Samsung did not take the opportunity to correct its position. Iris scanning is also on board. As is Bixby with its dedicated button.



Samsung Galaxy S Light Luxury

The Samsung Galaxy Light Luxury is available only in China for now and it comes preloaded with the apps necessary to replace the Google apps (e.g. Golder Map). Its currently available in Burgundy Red, though a Black Night version should launch later on.

The price is CNY 4,000  thats $625/530 in western currency. So, no, were not quite sure whats the point of this phone when a Galaxy S9 costs about the same.

Source (in Chinese)It seems that Xiaomi is all set to launch its next flagship at its May 31 event. Its name will likely be changed from Mi 7 to Mi 8 to mark the 8th anniversary of the company. And two versions of the phone were spotted on China's 3C and the US FCC's certification websites.

The 3C listing doesn't give away too much information except model numbers, M1805E2A and M1803E1A and support for 5V3A / 9V2A / 12V1.5A charging (up to 18W).

The FCC report is even less helpful for filling in blanks in specs we have, so we still have to rely on rumors exclusively.

According to previous reports the Mi 8 should come with 3D face recognition - probably similar to Apple's tech in the iPhone X - and in-display fingerprint reader like the one in the vivo X21 UD.

Of course, Snapdragon 845 will be on board, while the battery capacity is believed to be 4,000 mAh. Of course some of those reports might not have been too accurate for one reason or another so don't take anything for granted until more solid evidence piles up.

ViaPublished on 2018/05/20 | Source

Foreign investors acquired more land in Gyeonggi Province and Jeju Island but sold their properties in mountainous Gangwon Province last year.

Advertisement

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, foreigners owned 238.9 million sq.m of land in Korea as of the end of last year, up 2.3 percent or 5.34 million sq.m from a year earlier.

Their holdings account for 0.2 percent of the total land in the country.

Yet their properties' value fell W2.19 trillion compared to a year ago to W30.12 trillion based on the posted price (US$1=W1,080).

Gyeonggi Province was the most popular with 42.71 million sq.m, up 12 percent.

The ministry said, "It seems that many Korean Canadians and Korean Americans acquired land in Gyeonggi Province either as a gift or by inheritance", which usually come to the same thing.

The holdings of Chinese nationals rose 11.8 percent to 17.98 million sq.m. The increase rate peaked at a frantic 98 percent in 2014, but has been cooling off since then.

Some 50 percent of the land owned by Chinese or 9.44 million sq.m was on Jeju Island, which heavily promoted second-home schemes.The Hill County Election Department and the Chippewa Cree Tribe have reached an agreement for an alternative voting office for the 2018 Federal Primary Election.

Hill County will have an alternative voting office open Wednesdays May 23, and 30. It will be in the Kenawash Building at the New Stone Child College, 8294 Upper Box Elder Road.

The hours will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This will be open for all Hill County residents to come in for late registration and absentee voting.Republican Public Service Commission candidate Mark Wicks of Inverness answers questions Friday in the Duck Inn Vineyard Room during a meeting of the North Central Pachyderm Club.

District 1 Public Service Commission Republican candidate Mike Wicks spoke to the North Central Pachyderm Club Friday, addressing some of the topics of his campaign and answering some questions from the public.

He said his unique experience and his education setting him apart from the other candidates.

"I will work for both the ratepayers and the utility investor to make equitable decisions," he said on his website.

Wicks, who ranches north of Inverness, is no stranger to campaigns. Running last year for Montana's U.S. House seat in 2017 as a Libertarian.

He faces Rep. Rob Cook, R-Shelby, former Rep. Randy Pinocci of Sun River and Herzog Rail Services employee Cory McKinney of Great Falls in the primary June 5.

The winner of that race will face former Hill County commissioner and Havre Clerk and Finance Director Doug Kaercher, a Democrat, in the Nov. 6 general election.

Wicks said one of his goals, if elected, is to keep energy and telephone cooperatives from being regulated by the PSC. He said the PSC doesn't even want to regulate cooperatives. The cooperative energy programs work effectively and PSC's regulations can possibly ignore that some communities lack the infrastructure to produce more energy. Large power companies should be handled differently from cooperative energy programs, he said.

He said the cooperative energy programs reach the PSC's attention when arguments arise over which areas they can provide service to, such as in the areas of NorthWestern Energy and Montana Dakota Utilities.

He said he also wanted to make sure alternative energies are treated fairly but not preferentially at the cost of the consumer. Over the years, alternative energy has received government subsidies to promote development and to help them get set up, started and going, Wicks said.

He said that was a good investment, but now alternative energy is more effective and cheaper and they can now operate without subsidies. Alternative energy should now be able to function competitively and there is no reason that the ratepayer should need to continue to pay them subsidies, Wicks said.

"I want to ensure that the alternative energy producers are treated fairly but not at the expense of the ratepayers," he said.

He said that one of his main goals, if elected, is to keep the PSC out of lawsuits as much as possible. When a lawsuit hits the courts, the public ends up having to pay for both sets of lawyers no matter what the results, he said, either in its taxes or its utility rates. The PSC has been the subject of many lawsuits over the years, costing millions just in lawyers and legal fees; some of these court cases go on for years, he said.

He said he would like to see fewer regulations for utility companies, adding, "Utilities love regulation ... because it guarantees them a profit."

Wicks went on to say that unlike other businesses, utility companies thrive off stricter regulations because they receive subsidies from the government to make improvements and guarantee service.

If ranches and farms ran like the utility companies they would all be multi-millionaires, he said.

"We would all have new combines," Wicks said.

Havre Daily News/Tim Leeds Repubican Public Service Commission candidate Mark Wicks of Inverness hands out paper airplane promotional items after a presentation Friday in the Duck Inn Vineyard Room at a meeting of the North Central Pachyderm Club.

A person attending the meetings brought up the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Water Compact. The CSKT Water Compact has come back into conversation recently, with Pinocci openly opposing it during his campaign this year.

Pinnoci said that the CSKT Water Compact is going to have a negative impact on half the state, lowering property values and rights and that the water compact goes against the Montana Constitution

He criticized his opponent Rob Cook for supporting the bill during his time as a House representative.

The CSKT Water Compact bill passed the Montana Legislation in April 2015 and is now waiting to pass through Congress.

Wicks told the Pachydermsthat the PSC has nothing to do with the CSKT or any other water compact, saying that it would be a federal concern and should not be of concern during this election.

"The PSC generally regulates private, investor-owned natural gas, electric, telephone, water and private sewer companies doing business in Montana," the official PSC website says, "(But) not all utilities are regulated by the PSC."In todays age, everything needs to be personalized; from having a personal shopper pick out your clothes, to designing your own Nike shoes. When we relate that back to benefits, we need to ensure we offer our employees more than the standard set of benefits. We need to recognize that employees want to tailor the benefits and perks they receive from their employers.

Remote working

Canadians love working remotely, something which Alper-Leroux believes companies need to start recognizing.

Theres a huge push for remote working options to be offered by employers, she told us. 75% of managers say they trust their employees, but a third of them say they want to be able to see their staff doing the work1  so leaders really arent as comfortable with letting employees work away from the office.

Theres a huge desire from Canadians to be able to work flexibly and remotely, to avoid commuting and spend more time with their families.

Alper-Leroux told us that 47% of the gig workers in Canada are doing so because they choose to.2 People like having the freedom to really create their own career. Giving your employees more voice and choice of what they do and where they do it is critical to them having a great experience.A shocked eye-witness ran into a pub in Enniskerry on Saturday evening and revealed she had just seen a man dragging a young woman into his car.

The "shaken" woman was visibly very upset as she told those inside of what is believed to have been the moment Jastine Valdez (24) was kidnapped.

"I think I've seen something terrible," the woman reportedly told the busy bar.

"A man stopped his car in front of me and punched a woman. He dragged her into his boot."

Shaken

A young man from the village relayed what the woman told the bar a short time after the incident at 6.15pm.

"She was really shaken, very upset," the man said, as he described the behaviour of the woman believed to have been an eyewitness in the abduction of Jastine.

Jastine (24) was reported missing by her Filipino parents on Saturday evening and investigators found her phone near the scene yesterday.

A friend of the apparent eyewitness was in the busy village yesterday afternoon. She appeared to be in an anxious state as she chatted with her pal on the phone.

The woman said her friend had been driving along the R760 road, south of Enniskerry, when the car in front "suddenly stopped" and a man "forced a woman who was walking along into his car".

The friend of the eyewitness would give no further details, but her husband said he hoped the woman would be found.

Jastine is an only child who was regularly in contact with both her mother and father - either by phone or social media.

Her lack of such contact with her family was described as highly unusual by gardai investigating her disappearance.

Jastine is single and wasn't apparently planning to meet a friend or anyone else after work.

Because of this, her parents alerted gardai as soon as they couldn't contact their daughter on Saturday night.

The Valdez family moved from the Philippines to Ireland three years ago.

The family settled in the idyllic village of Enniskerry, Co Wicklow and Jastine easily readjusted to her new life here, where she is an accountancy student.

To supplement her income it is understood that Jastine took up a part-time job in nearby Bray, Co Wicklow.

After work, she regularly walked the short journey from the bus stop to her home.

A worker at the popular Poppies cafe in the village square said her disappearance from the quiet, peaceful village near the Powerscourt Estate was "the talk of the town" yesterday.

The worker said he was shocked when he saw photos of the young Asian student in the media when reports of her disappearance emerged on Saturday.

Yesterday in the busy tourist village of Enniskerry, locals spoke of their fear at the abduction.

"It could have been anyone who took her," one local man said.

"We have so many tourists and strangers driving though here. But it's the fact someone came through here and took a young woman like that, that's just terrifying for everyone here."

Unbelievable

Another local man, David Owens, told the Herald he saw Ms Valdez almost every day.

The last time he spotted her was during the week.

"She'd get a bus from here then off to wherever she was going. And then I'd see her other days with her mother and father. She only lives out the road. I think her parents work up there.

"It's unbelievable. The family have only lived here a couple of years.

"She speaks English but the family aren't from here. I know this place well and know everyone in it.

"I work on the roads here and I saw her regularly.

"You'd notice her because she was very small and dainty, a very shy girl.

"I'd see her in a uniform too. I think she works in a restaurant in Bray.

"And though she is shy, her parents would always say hello to you.

"I really hope she's found because she is a nice, young girl and everyone is worried for her."

The young student was not known by most people in Enniskerry.

It seemed that while she had walked through the village every day and had taken the road home, most were not personally familiar with her.

"She doesn't socialise here, she doesn't go out into the pubs, she just lives out the road with her parents and lives a quiet life," one local worker said.

"I'm telling my staff to think about safety and to call taxis," a cafe worker said.

Gardai cordoned off the road where the abduction is thought to have taken place.Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaks to (from left) Claire Woods, Theresa Newman and TDs Kate OConnell and Maria Bailey

Leo Varadkar has said protocol around the office of the Taoiseach stops him from debating the Eighth Amendment referendum with those on opposing sides.

Mr Varadkar told the Herald that the Taoiseach normally debates exclusively with the leaders of the other political parties during referendums.

Given that all other party leaders are in favour of repealing the legislation, there is nobody of appropriate stature to debate with him, he said.

Listening

"I haven't done any of the TV debates because there's a protocol around the Taoiseach's office," Mr Varadkar said.

"What you do as Taoiseach is you debate other party leaders. Because the other party leaders are all supporting a Yes vote, that doesn't arise.

"You tend to only debate opponents in that kind of scenario, so you know, who would I be debating?

"Would I be up against Mattie McGrath?"

The Taoiseach, who was once staunchly anti-abortion even in cases such as rape, said his position evolved after "listening to the women in my life, my mum and my sister - who will be voting Yes".

He said proposals to legislate for abortion up to 12 weeks were necessary because all crisis pregnancies are hard cases.

Abortion is "never an easy way out. I can't imagine how anyone could make that decision easily," he added.

He also said it was "virtually impossible" to legislate for abortion in cases of rape alone due to the difficulty of proving rape.

"In Poland they have that law and the equivalent of the DPP has to certify that the story you're telling of being raped is credible," Mr Varadkar said.

"And when you think of having to write a law like that and put women who were victims of sexual assault or sexual violence through that process, I find it revolting."

Mr Varadkar warned that women were also at "real risk" by importing abortion pills without clinical supervision.

Tragedy

"I'm personally very worried that it's only a matter of time before we have a tragedy in Ireland, where somebody takes an abortion pill without supervision and dies as a result.

"If you vote No on Friday, we wash your hands afterwards, as if we're somehow not responsible for that," he said.

As the referendum campaign enters its final week, Mr Varadkar warned against "notoriously unreliable" poll predictions.

Latest polls say that the Repeal side is in the lead, albeit with a narrowing margin.

Mr Varadkar believes the No side will turn out in big numbers. "They're very motivated," he added.Emergency services at the scene of the shooting yesterday.

A Dublin builder suspected of abducting a 24-year-old woman in a random attack was shot dead by gardai during an armed stand-off.

A major search operation continued for missing Jastine Valdez last night amid grave concern for the young woman, who was last seen walking to her home in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday evening.

Mark Hennessy (40), a married father of two young children, was confronted in a car park in south Dublin yesterday evening following a massive manhunt.

A senior source told the Herald that he was armed with a knife when gardai approached him at the Cherrywood industrial estate.

It is understood that Hennessy threatened to self-harm and stab gardai, before he was shot and killed.

Random

However, despite the vehicle used in the abduction being recovered, gardai were unable to locate Ms Valdez last night.

Gardai were attempting to piece together Hennessy's movements since 5pm on Saturday, including a missing hour before he was shot in the Cherrywood car park which remains unaccounted for.

The kidnap suspect, who lived in Bray but was originally from Ballybrack, had told his wife that he was going out socialising on Saturday evening.

He has no obvious connections to Ms Valdez and her movements on the day she went missing were random, leading gardai to believe that the attack was completely unplanned.

Following a massive appeal for information, Hennessy was sighted at Killiney Dart Station yesterday afternoon.

When confronted by members of the public, he mounted a kerb and fled the scene at speed.

A massive manhunt was carried out for the suspect after student Ms Valdez was abducted on a roadway while returning from work in nearby Bray.

The large-scale investigation was carried out throughout yesterday until shortly after 8pm, when Hennessy was located at a car park in Cherrywood.

A large cordon remained at the scene last night, with dozens of garda units and paramedics in attendance.

A helicopter from the garda Air Support Unit also circled overhead.

The devastated family of the deceased gathered at the scene.

Ms Valdez (24) had still not been located last night by investigating gardai as concerns mounted for the young woman.

Detectives believe that Hennessy abducted Ms Valdez in a random attack. He was not previously known to gardai and had no connections to the victim. It is understood he worked as a self-employed building contractor.

"This appears to be a random abduction and there were no obvious connections between him and the missing woman," a source said.

A garda spokesperson said in a statement: "Gardai investigating the disappearance of Jastine Valdez interacted with the driver of a vehicle at approximately 8pm this evening in the Cherrywood area of Dublin.

"An official garda firearm was discharged. The incident has been referred to GSOC as per protocol.

"Gardai continue to appeal for Jastine Valdez and also for anyone who may have seen the movements of the 171 D Nissan Qashqai since yesterday to 8pm today, May 20, 2018."

Speed

Hennessy had not been seen at his home since the incident on Saturday evening and a description of the man and the Nissan Qashqai car he was driving when Ms Valdez was abducted was circulated to all garda stations.

Sightings of the car, registration number 171 D 20419, were reported yesterday in the Dalkey and Killiney areas before Hennessy was located.

Ms Valdez and her parents, who are from the Phillippines, have been living in Ireland for the past three years.

A student at Tallaght IT, she had got off a bus in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday evening and was walking home along Kilcroney Road, near the Powerscourt Estate, when the Qashqai pulled alongside.

The driver of the car pulled her into the vehicle and then drove off at high speed.

A woman and her young family spotted the incident as they walked home at 6.30pm and alerted gardai.

About an hour later, a man phoned gardai to say he had spotted a young woman in distress in a car on the N11, a short distance from where the abduction took place.

Gardai checked the area and set up a wider search for the car.

However, when Ms Valdez's parents contacted officers at 11pm on Saturday to report that she was missing, a large-scale investigation was launched.

A divisional search party was sent out at first light yesterday and officers found her mobile phone and a bag near where she had been abducted.

Members of the garda Technical Bureau carried out extensive searches of the R760 as part of the investigation.

Ms Valdez has been described as 5ft tall, slightly built with long, black hair and and brown eyes. When last seen, she was wearing a dark-coloured jacket, a white T-shirt, grey leggings and runners.

Gardai have appealed to anyone with information to contact them at Bray station, 01 6665300, or on the Garda Confidential Line (1800 666111).Christy Griffin pictured going about his business in Dublin (pics courtesy the Sunday World)

These are the first photos of paedophile Christy Griffin since he was released from prison after serving a sentence for the rape of his partner's daughter.

The 48-year-old gang boss was released from the Midlands Prison in April after serving 11 years for the crime and was picked up from jail by a north inner city associate on a motorbike.

After weeks of keeping under the radar, Griffin was this week photographed in the same north Co Dublin suburb where his enemies previously tried to kill him in a grenade attack.

The photos, obtained by the Sunday World, show Griffin stepping out to do some grocery shopping in North Dublin.

Imploded

Dressed in white runners, tracksuit bottoms and a white T-shirt, Griffin looked like any other respectable member of society about to head to the gym.

However, one woman appeared to recognise Griffin and drew her little boy protectively to her side.

Griffin's gang imploded in 2003 after he was accused of raping a young girl - with some former associates turning against him, while others remained loyal.

The feud led to five people being murdered and several gun attacks.

The victim was the daughter of a woman with whom Griffin had lived at three different locations in Dublin. The girl was aged eight and Griffin was 24 when the first sexual assault occurred in 1993.

It is understood Griffin has complied with his obligations under the Sex Offenders Act and has provided gardai with details of where he is now staying.

It is also understood parents at one school near this location shared information on his whereabouts through WhatsApp in the aftermath of his release. Pictures of Griffin were included in the messages.

Immediately following his release, he alternatively stayed at addresses in the north inner city and north Dublin, but it is understood he is now steering clear of the inner city over fears he could be unwillingly drawn into the Hutch-Kinahan feud.

Gardai believe Griffin wants nothing to do with the feud.

"Griffin would have history going way back with characters on both sides of the feud," a source said.

"He is a very clever individual and has made it clear he does not want to become involved.

"Criminals who openly take a side in the feud have proved to have a short lifespan, whether that means they have been shot or locked up."

The allegations against Griffin included that he began abusing his victim when she was aged just eight and continued raping her until she was 16.

Handing him a life sentence that was later overturned and replaced with a 15-year sentence, the late Mr Justice Paul Carney - who was placed under armed garda protection for the duration of the trial - delivered a scathing judgment on the pervert to a hushed courtroom.

Mr Justice Carney described Griffin's record as "horrendous".For Subscribers Where to go to see this fall's foliage show in the Tri-State area

Spring dryness and fall temperatures are affecting foliage's annual show. But there are still spectacular colors to see in the Tri-State area.Ranbir Kapoor has called Raazi one of the greatest films to be made in Hindi cinema. Is it? What makes a film great is, of course, arguable, but beyond a good-looking lead with fantastic acting chops, or technical finesse, or even nice music, what elevates stories is their inner worth: does Raazi embody a principle or ideal  or the lack thereof that elevates it in the eyes of its audience even as it entertains?

In the context of the film, Raazi means not only the keeper of secrets, of a raaz, but also the one who acquiesces to do something for the sake of the nation. Ostensibly, the principle that Raazi stands for is that watan ke aagey kuch nahi, khud bhi nahi ( Nothing is more important than the motherland, not even ones own self). Granted. But is betraying and killing the Other the best way to serve this motherland? Is everything truly fair in love and war?

The biggest problem with Raazi is that Sehmat, the protagonist, has few ethical dilemmas about betraying and killing  that she does so to the very people who treat her with love and respect makes it worse. The presumed reason for her lack of compunction is that the people she kills are enemies of her nation and, so, deserving of no sympathy. Still, her moderated inner voice, her lack of inner turmoil, ought to leave any right-minded audience in turmoil. Can a person who betrays and kills truly serve as a heroine for our times? If so, how different is she from those who betray and kill us in the name of their country, or their religion? And how different are we, the people, from those who permit their leaders to cleanse ethnic communities or to terrorise women and children simply because they are the Other?

Perhaps Sehmats lack of conscience and introspection is a sign of the times we live in. It is not too far-fetched to think that one of the main reasons this film is being applauded in India is that it is being seen primarily as a tale about minority communities proving their commitment to the nation. If Sehmat, being Muslim and Kashmiri, would be shown to have mixed emotions about her life choices and actions, she would be called as a traitor. The real question then is this: does Sehmat truly do what she does for the love of her nation? Or does she do it out of hatred for the Others nation? After all, she points a gun at her Pakistani husband and abducts a Pakistani child who trusted her as his teacher, so that she can save her own life. That is neither service to the nation nor self-sacrifice. It is self-interest.

All countries have spies, and all of them do terrible things in times of war. But that does not make it right. The movie could have reflected this struggle of morality if it had showed its protagonist to be a tragic hero, or even dying in the course of duty. Instead, Raazi wipes out doubts and contesting viewpoints to endorse Sehmat as a heroine. Whats lacking is an understanding of that past affecting her present, of her wrongness despite her duties to the nation, and of her innate humanity that would push her to self-correct through real service and sacrifice, and to acknowledge that to love ones own country one does not have to hate anothers.

Nandita Patel is a Mumbai-based writerThe views expressed are personalHell has broken loose on two women after a seemingly innocuous act of cutting a cake on premises of Mahakal temple at Ujjain to celebrate a wedding anniversary found its way into the local media.

The district administration that runs the temple served a show cause notice by the additional district magistrates (ADM) court on Saturday to the two women asking them to appear before the court on May 25 to explain their conduct. They have also been asked furnish Rs 1 lakh personal bond each to the administration to ensure their presence before the ADM court on May 25, officials familiar with the development said.

The two women also face a possible one-month ban on entering the temple under section 144 of CrPC. The administration has also written to the district commandant Home Guard, Ujjain to take action against a woman home guard Meena Prajapati who allegedly helped the two women instead of restraining them from cutting the cake. Hindustan Times has copies of the notices and letter.

The additional district magistrate (ADM) is in charge of administrative affairs of the temple on behalf of the district collector.

One of the two women, Nandini Joshi (35) said she along with Sadhna Upadhyay (42), both residents of Ujjain, cut a cake in Nandi Hall adjacent to the Garbhgrih of the temple on May 7 to celebrate the latters wedding anniversary.

A lady home guard on duty at the temple also allegedly helped the two in celebration. The incident was highlighted in the local media and sparked trouble for them.

The show cause notice by the additional district magistrates office says Nandini Joshi and Sadhna Upadhyays act of cutting cake highlighted in media and social media has created an atmosphere of chaos among general public, priests and devotees, which may have an adverse impact on the arrangements meant for darshan by thousands of devotees and also on public order and general arrangements.

A distraught Joshi wants to know which rule or holy book prohibits one from cutting a cake on the temple premises.

She said she had made the eggless cake herself. Also, she cut the cake in Nandi Hall, away from the Garbhgrih of the temple.

Nowhere in the temple it was written that cutting the cake was prohibited. None of the security personnel stopped them from doing so. How could such a simple act disturb the peace and order on the temple premises, she asked.

This has never happened in the history of Mahakal that administration serves notice to anyone on such a flimsy ground. It has made us look ridiculous in the eyes of people. Moreover, we have been asked to deposit personal bond of Rs one lakh each which is nothing but absurd, she added.

She said she would certainly reply to the notice but she and Sadhna were aghast on receiving such a notice as if they had committed some crime.

Temple administration in-charge Awdhesh Sharma who is from the state civil service, said he was not in a position to comment on the notice as some other official was supposed to look after the administrative affairs at the temple now in his place.Aishwarya Rai Bachchan may be new to Instagram but she knows just what to post to make her fans happy. The Bollywood star shared two pictures from her school days on Monday and we wonder if you can spot the most beautiful woman in the world when she was just a kid.

Grade 1...the same age as Aaradhya, she captioned a vintage photo with her classmates and teacher. The kids are seen either standing beside the teacher in the front or climbed up on a jungle gym for a perfect picture. In another photo, the kids are all in a classroom with their two teachers. LKG Times, she captioned the second photo.

LKG Times  A post shared by AishwaryaRaiBachchan (@aishwaryaraibachchan_arb) on May 20, 2018 at 6:00pm PDT

Could you spot her? She is definitely not easy to miss. For those who could not find her in the photos, heres help.

Aishwarya was born in Mangaluru, Karnataka in 1973. When Aishwaryas family moved to Mumbai, she attended the Arya Vidya Mandir High School and then Jai Hind College for intermediate education. She later became a model, Miss India, Miss World and one the most popular actors in the Hindi film industry.

Aishwarya Rai poses at the Cannes red carpet. (REUTERS)

She was recently seen at the Cannes Film Festival as the brand ambassador for LOreal. She was accompanied by her daughter Aaradhaya to the French Riviera where the two enjoyed sunny beaches and clicked pictures.

Aishwarya is currently shooting for Fanne Khan with Anil Kapoor and is also in talks to star in a remake of Woh Kaun Thi?.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreActor and global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights Priyanka Chopra is visiting the Rohingya refugee camps on a field visit.

Priyanka on Monday tweeted a photograph of herself from an aircraft looking out of the window.

Follow my Instagram to share my experiences as I visit the Rohingya refugee camps on this Unicef field visit. Children uprooted, the world needs to care. We need to care, she captioned the image.

Priyanka, 35, has worked with Unicef for a decade and was appointed as the national and global Unicef goodwill ambassador for Child Rights in 2010 and 2016 respectively. She promotes causes such as environment, health and education and womens rights among many others.

Almost 700,000 refugees have fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar and arrived in Coxs Bazar since August 2017, according to the UN.

Last year, Priyanka had met Syrian refugee children in Jordan.

The actress has flown to Dhaka from London, where she attended her friend and actress Meghan Markles wedding to British Royal Prince Harry.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreUnion petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said the increase in fuel prices was due to reduced production of oil in Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hike in crude oil price in the international market.

Petrol prices on Sunday touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest-ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.

Noting that people, especially the middle-class, have to suffer due to price hike of oil, the minister said the government would try to work out a solution soon to deal with the situation.

Its not in our hand. There is less production of oil in OPEC countries. The government will soon come out with a solution, he told reporters in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

Pradhan, however, did not spell out the details.

Stressing the need for stable and moderate oil prices, he said the surging fuel prices have negative impact on consumers and the Indian economy.

With global crude prices soaring, the minister has already pressed OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia to keep prices stable and moderate, saying that spike in rates would have a negative impact on Indian consumers as well as on the economy.

Pradhan had conveyed Indias concerns when Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih called him recently.The Uttarakhand government on Monday told the High Court that notification for delimitation of municipal bodies was issued on behalf of the governor in accordance with the provisions of Article 166 of the Constitution.

The counsel for the petitioners, however, argued that according to the various provisions of the Constitution, it was the discretion of the Governor to issue the notification.

A division bench of Chief Justice KM Joseph and Justice Sharad Kumar Sharma was hearing the special appeal filed by the state government challenging the the quashing of the delimitation notification by the high court recently

The hearing in the matter will continue on Tuesday.

The Uttarakhand government had expanded the limits of municipal bodies in November last year to bring a large number of villages under their ambit. Hearing a bunch of petitions from villagers from over half a dozen districts of the state including Nainital, Dehradun, US Nagar, Champawat, Haridwar, Uttar Kashi, Pithoragarh, and Pauri, the bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had on May 14 quashed the notification that sought to bring villages on the periphery of municipal bodies under their purview. The government had on Thursday challenged an order passed by a single bench quashing the notification for delimitation of municipal bodies.

The counsel of the petitioners had argued in the court that state government cannot issue such a notification as it was the Governor who had the power to issue it.

Advocate general SN Babulkar, who argued the case in the court on Monday, told media that they have maintained that the notification was issued on behalf of the Governor and Governor means the state government.

VBS Negi, former advocate general and counsel of the petitioners from Rishikesh, said that he argued that in the provisions regarding delimitation of municipalities the word government was replaced by Governor in the 74th amendment of the constitution in 1992 and later the UP Municipality Act 1994 was amended accordingly.

If issuing notification is not the discretion of the Governor, then why was Governor word specifically brought into the Constitution. Also, it is being argued that this matter has been dealt with in the case of Shamsher Singh vs state of Punjab, 1974. But this case is a pre-constitutional amendment and as such, it cannot be referred in the present matter, he said.

Negi said of 16 cases that were filed against the delimitation of the municipal bodies from over half a dozen districts, the state government had filed a special appeal in 15 cases.

The civic polls are scheduled to be to be held in 86 of the 92 municipal bodies in the state. Earlier the state government had delimitated 23 urban local bodies. The state election commission had challenged the same in the high court, seeking early conduct of the civic polls. In March the court ordered the state government to again invite objections for the delimitation process and issue a fresh notification.Saints and teerth purohits in Haridwar have started a movement to revoke the government order that states that Har-ki-Pauri  a ghat where pilgrims take a holy dip  is on the banks of an escape channel of the Ganga canal and not on the banks of the Ganga river.

The order, issued during the previous Congress governments tenure on December 14, 2016, states that the stream of the Ganga from Sarvanand Ghat, Khadkhadi, Har-ki-Pauri, Damkoti, Mayapur and further till Sati Ghat-Shri Daksheshwar temple to be deemed as part of the escape channel of the Ganga canal.

Apparently, the order was issued to circumvent the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directive that prohibited any type of construction within 200 metres from the Ganga river bed. The NGT order had raised a hue and cry from the construction and quarrying mafia, hoteliers and a section of traders.

The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) also expressed its concern over the issue, with its national secretary Rajendra Singh Pankaj declaring that the organisation deems Ganga till Mayapur 1 km ahead of Har-Ki-Pauri  and after that its Ganga canal.

In a convention held at Devpura on Monday, the saint community, teerth purohits, pundas, Ganga activists and local people demanded that the state government should denounce the previous Congress governments order and declare Har-Ki-Pauri as being on the main course of the Ganga river.

Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad president Mahant Narendra Giri urged the state government to nullify the existing order or else akhadas and saints will be forced to take the agitation route.

Bharat Jagriti Mission, an organisation mobilising various sections of the society to reverse the existing order, has called for a mass movement in coming days if the state government will not revoke the order.

Even during British regime during 1914-16, owing to opposition by saints, Hindus, dozens of princely states and local people, they had cancelled the proposal of construction of building dam at Bhagirathi point (mainstream of the Ganga from where a stream reaches out to Har-Ki-Pauri). Pt Madan Mohan Malviya had mobilised and unified the people at that time. Similar movement is needed to ensure sanctity and reverence of holy Ganga, which we deem as mother, said Anshul Shrikunj, the convyeor of the mission.

When contacted, former chief minister Harish Rawat told HT that that the government order was issued to safeguard the interests of local traders and commercial activities, but later he realised that it was a mistake. It was a decision taken with certain aspects into consideration, but now should be nullified, to which I ask chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat to reverse this order. Large number of saints, teerth purohits and Ganga activists have met me in this regard in recent time and I extend support to them in this regard. Now, ball is in BJP governments court to take a step in right direction, said Harish Rawat.

Haridwar city legislator and minister for urban planning Madan Kaushik blamed the previous Congress government for the situation. However, he didnt specified why for past one year the BJP-led government has not declared this order void or cleared its stance on it. Though, he said that last year during his visit to Har-Ki-Pauri, CM Trivendra Singh Rawat had made it clear that the mistake committed by the previous government will be rectified.A 13-year-old visually impaired boy was allegedly sexually assaulted on several occasions by his music teacher at National Institute of Visually Handicapped (NIVH) here.

The incident came to light after the boys father lodged a complaint with the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR). But, no complaint was lodged with police till this report was being filed.

SCPCR member Sharda Tripathi on Monday visited NIVH to question accused music teacher Ramesh Kashyap, 45. Tripathi told HT that the boy was first sexually assaulted in February.

The incident came to our knowledge after the father of the boy lodged a complaint on May 5. The victim, who hails from Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, in his complaint stated that he studies in class 7 in the institute, Tripathi said.

As he is somewhat weak in studies, he dedicates his time in learning music and has represented his institute in many music competitions also. In February, he had gone to Jaipur as part of his school team along with accused Kashyap to participate in a music competition.

While returning from there, the team failed to get a seat in the train so he and others sat on the floor of the train. In the train, he fell partially asleep. It was then the accused first sexually abused him thinking that he is asleep but he was in his senses, Tripathi said.

During that time, he didnt protest out of fear and returned to the institute where Kashyap continued to sexually assault him in music class by locking it from inside on several occasions, Tripathi said.

Tripathi said the boy gathered the courage to narrate the ordeal to his parents after going home for summer vacations. The boys father came to SCPCR on May 5 to lodge a complaint against the accused, she said.

Based on the complaint, a team of SCPCR on Monday visited the school to question Kashyap. Shockingly, he had no remorse for his act and said he did it and is ready to face whatever punishment, Tripathi said.

In another case, a 10-year-old boy was allegedly beaten by the principal of Government Primary School (GPS), Dalanwalla area in Dehradun after he refused to eat the mid-day meal citing its poor quality.

The boy identified as Rahul Paswan, who studies in class 5, was allegedly beaten by principal Nasim Bano, 48, on Monday.

SCPCR member Sharda Tripathi, who is also investigating the incident, said Bano beat the boy till he got unconscious.

The boy lives with his parents in Chunabhatta area of Raipur locality. His father in his complaint to SCPCR said that the boy was beaten badly. She then banged his head against a desk on which he got unconscious. She then awakened him by putting water on his face and again banged his head against the desk. The school principal has been suspended after the incident, said Tripathi.

A doctor of Deen Dayal Upadhyay State Hospital on condition of anonymity said: There were bruises on the childs back. He is in a complete shock and trauma but is out of danger.

Circle officer of Dalanwalla Jaya Baluni said: So far no complaint was lodged by anyone. If it is done then a case would be registered and appropriate action would be taken.More than 1,000 pharmacists working in government hospitals, dispensaries and mohalla clinics in New Delhi on Monday went on a strike to press for their demands, including promotions and salary hike, affecting thousands of patients.

Bhupendra Kumar, president of the Delhi Pharmacists Employees Association, said the pharmacists have been fighting to get designations befitting their years of service.

There isnt any designation change for pharmacists working in the government sector. So, we join as pharmacists, and unlike any other position, we retire as pharmacists too. In all the years of service, we never get recognised as a gazetted officer. In contrast, a person who joins as a peon can also work his way up to a gazetted post, Kumar said.

In October, when the government came up with a system of designations, the pharmacists associations protested saying that it was technically a demotion.

Earlier, we used to join at a grade pay of 2,800, which increased to 4,200 after two years. Till now, we got three pay hikes in our career, which has now been reduced to two. Also, the increase to 4,200 will now happen after seven years of service instead of two, a pharmacist working in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital said on the condition of anonymity.

Grade pay is a component of the salary of government employees based on which they receive several other allowances.

Nearly 50,000 patients are treated in the 34 hospitals and several dispensaries, polyclinics and mohalla clinics run by the Delhi government.

We had advance notice of the strike and so we have asked all the doctors in the OPD to inform each and every patient that the medicines will not be dispensed today (Monday). They have to come back tomorrow (Tuesday), Dr JC Passey, medical director of Lok Nayak hospital, said.

Lok Nayak, which is Delhi governments biggest tertiary care hospital, has a single medicine counter being run by nursing staff for dispensing medicines for patients coming to the emergency department.Hawkers who are mobile and leave for the day after doing business will not be targeted as part of the Capitals anti-encroachment drive, the government told the Supreme Court on Monday, making an exemption on humanitarian grounds in its crackdown aimed at unclogging Delhi.

The declaration was made on May 18 after an association of hawkers sought protection from the top court, which is hearing a petition on illegal use of space in the city. Illegally parked cars, expanded shops and squatters are on the radar of a team of officials  the special task force (STF)  working under the Supreme Courts oversight.

The bench, comprising justices MB Lokur and Deepak Gupta, accepted the governments approach on the issue of hawkers.The crackdown will, however, target hawkers who have set up immovable structures.

The Delhi government licenses hawkers following a 2007 law, giving them a so-called teh bazaar (hawking) rights. Additional solicitor general AS Nadkarni said all hawkers must apply for permits under the scheme, and that constructions by even those who have permits will not be spared.

Such constructions are illegal and are liable to be demolished, Nadkarni said, to which the bench agreed.

Advocate ADN Rao, who is assisting the court in the matter, told HT that construction included temporary structures as well. The whole idea is to stop the encroachment on pavements. But, hawkers with licences were given exemption from the point of human consideration, he said.

The problem of hawkers taking up space is particularly acute in the citys key markets, such as Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, and Chandni Chowk, but is a source of livelihood for many who play a vital role in the urban economy, according to the 2007 street vendors protection law.

On a submission made by Rao, the top court clarified that its order would not have a bearing on a case pending before the Delhi high court, which is hearing a petition challenging the municipal corporations policy related to hawking.

During the hearing, attorney general KK Venugopal agreed to come back to the court with instructions on the issue of suspending officers who let encroachments continue.The Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH) declared the Class 10 board examinations results on Monday. 51.5% students passed. The results have been uploaded on the official website bseh.org.in.

Here is the direct link to check.

Students can check Haryana Board Results 2018 here. You can also check your results at the official website of Haryana Board at bseh.org.in

Read more | Haryana Board Result 2018: HBSE 10th result declared, heres how to check yours

Haryana Board Result 2018: Highlights

4.55pm: Kartik has scored full 100 in Sanskrit, maths and science

4.50pm: Topper Kartik says that he wants to become an IFS officer

3.10pm: As always, girls outshine boys. Pass percentage of female students is 55.34%, and that of boys is 47.61%.

3.06pm: Haryana education minister, Ram Bilas Sharma, says the results will be available on the official website bseh.org.in by 5 pm.

2.35pm: The Haryana Class 10th result will be uploaded on the official website at 3.30pm.

2.30pm: Kartik of Nav Durga School, Jind, tops Class 10 exams with 99.6%. Celina Yadav, Saloni and Hari Om jointly get 2nd position with 99%.

2.25pm: Haryana Class 10th result declared. At 51.15% passing rate, almost half of the students fail in Class 10 exams once again.

2.20pm: Haryana Class 10th result expected soon. Students can check the results here.

12.40pm: In 2017, 3,18,000 students, including 1,75,000 boys and 1,43,000 girls, appeared for the Class 10 exams and a little more than half or 50.49% were declared successful.

12.30pm: In the past years, the results of Class 10 board exams in Haryana have been dismal with almost 50% students failing each year. The education experts in Haryana have blamed the no detention policy of the government as the reason for this.

12.20pm: Around 3.8 lakh students appeared in the Class 10 exams that were held between March 8 and 30 this year.

12.15pm: The education board registered 4,976 unfair means cases (UMC) during the Class 12 and Class 10 exams this year. The cases of cheating this year were slightly less than last year when the board caught 5,300 students cheating during the exams.

Haryana board declared its Class 12 results on Friday. Around 63.84% students passed the exam. The pass percentage dropped slightly from 64.50% last year.

Naveen and Heena, of Hisar district, from Science stream topped the board exam, securing 491 marks out of the maximum 500. In the Commerce stream, Monika of Kaithal district topped with 484 marks, while Gurmeet of Jind district topped the Arts stream with 489 marks.

Board officials said 2,22,388 students appeared in the Class 12 exam, of which 1,41,973 passed while 49,163 faced compartments. As always in Haryana board exams, this time too girl students outshined boys. The pass percentage of girl students was 72.38% while that of boys was 57.10%.

Students of rural schools performed better than their urban counterparts with a pass percentage of 64.75%, two points higher than 62.04% in urban schools.

The pass percentage of government schools and private schools was similar at 63.02% and 64.06% respectively.The JEE Advanced paper 1 and paper 2 was held on Sunday. This was the first time the Joint Entrance Examination was conducted online. This meant that candidates neither had prints of the question papers, nor a record of their responses. However, post-exam discussions were as energetic as ever.

The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IIT-K), which conducted the JEE Advanced, took stringent measures to ensure that the examination was conducted in a free and fair manner.

JEE advanced 2018: Students coming out from an exam centre in Lucknow after appearing in JEE advanced 2018. (Deepak Gupta/HT photo)

Candidates rate difficulty level

Rating the difficulty level of the exam, many candidates said that paper 1 was easier than paper 2. They also said that mathematics was easy and physics was relatively difficult. Most rated chemistry as moderately difficult.

Many candidates found the overall level of paper moderate level but not easy.

Some students have reported Maths as easy but Physics relatively difficult. Chemistry was reported of Moderate level.

Anmol Srivastava who scored 98.25% in ISC this year said, I felt that paper 1 was quite easy when compared to paper 2.

As the test was computer based, candidates had the option to Clear Response to change any option, they could mark it for review, save and next to proceed further, he said.

Another aspirant Manoj Kumar said, Maths gave me a tough time. The questions were tricky and very time consuming. Some questions were new and challenging. Also, this year, the exam was online. So, we had a virtual keyboard on the screen to type out the answers for the integer-type questions. Rest of the questions were objectives. Chemistry and physics were comparatively easier.

Candidate Gaurav Yadav, who could not crack the exam last year, said, This years paper is easier than the previous years. However, it was on the same lines as the last years paper. The pattern was only slightly different. His friends nodded in agreement. All questions were within the ambit of the syllabus. And fortunately, there werent any ugly surprises, he added.

Ishu Bhagat was not too happy with the two-hour break in between the papers. Paper 2 was tougher than paper 1. Also, the two-hour break between the papers made me feel a tad bit lethargic. For me, maths as always was the most difficult. Physics was fairly easy, while chemistry was moderate level difficult.

Taking a view different from the majoritys, Priya Singh said, I found chemistry to be the toughest. Physics and mathematics were easier in comparison. Also, the second paper went better for me. I am afraid that the first paper, which I found more difficult, may hold me back.

Comparison with last years exam

NK Dubey, centre head, FIITJEE Lucknow, said, The total marks of each paper was reduced from 183 to 180. Also, the matching type questions had just two columns. Last year, some questions had three columns as well.

Sanjeev Pandey, coordinator of FIIT JEE Lucknow, said, As the paper was conducted in a computer based mode, neither a print of the question paper nor a copy of the response sheet was given to the students. The general feeling of candidates was that this years paper was tougher when compared to last years.

Six hours of stress

The atmosphere outside test centres was saturated with stress as both students and parents waited for the second paper. It is a total of six hours of exam -- two rounds of three hours each -- and a two-hour break in between, said an exhausted student.

After paper 2, as candidates walked home, some faces appeared confident while others crestfallen. Many students said they were relieved to finally get the burden off their backs after sitting through the toughest engineering entrance test.

Highlights

This year they changed the pattern of the Integer type question.Till previous Year the answer for Integer type question where only positive number from 0 to 9 but from this year the answers for the Integer type question consisted of both positive and negative decimal numbers and the students were needed to calculate the values rounded upto 2 decimal places.This made the paper tougher .

Students had to mark biometric attendance for which they had to report to the test centre at 7:30 am for paper-1 and 12:45 pm for paper-2.

As the exam was computer based, students had to clear response to change an answer. They could also mark the answer for review or save it and proceed to the next question.

(inputs from Ayushi Mishra)Kartik, the topper of Haryana Board Class 10 board examination, knows what he wants to do after college.

The Jind resident scored 99.6% marks to top the Haryana Board Class 10 board examination, the results of which were announced by Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH) on Monday. He scored full 100 marks in science, mathematics and Sanskrit.

The 15-year-old has already started preparing for the civil services examination conducted by Union Public Service Commission as he wants to join the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).

I have made reading newspapers and other general studies books as my hobby so I can crack the UPSC exam and become an IFS, he said while speaking to the Hindustan Times.

I want to work for my country by staying outside as I want to improve Indias image in the world. There is so much to this country that people living outside dont know, he added.

Kartik is fluent in his spoken English, unusual for a Haryana Board student who is given lessons in Hindi in school.

This will be an advantage for me in IFS, he said.

Kartik, a student of Nav Durga Senior Secondary School in Jind, said he studied six hours every day before the exams.

I strategically made my timetable and devoted more time for topics I found difficult. I ensured I study at least six hours on a regular basis, and during exams, increased this time to nine hours a day, he said.

Now in Class 11, Kartik has chosen science with both mathematics and biology as his subjects.

I love all subjects. But if I really have to choose one, then it would be Mathematics. I really enjoy solving the equations, he said.

Kartik said he wanted to thank his parents and school teachers for motivating him to do better. His father is a watchman in the state irrigation department and his mother, a housewife, passed away last year.

Asked how he would like to celebrate his brilliant feat, Kartik said he had no plans right now. All I know is that I am madly happy with my results. Rest, I will go with whatever others plan, he said.

Selina Yadav, Sonali and Hari Om jointly secured the second position with 99% marks.

Only 51.15% students managed to clear the exam as girls outshone boys again this year. According to the board, 55.34% girl cleared the exam and 47.61% boys were declared successful.The Delhi University will start a series of Open Days starting Monday, May 21, which will provide applicants an opportunity to interact with university officials and put forward queries regarding the application and admission procedure.

The event will be held from Monday until May 29, except on the intervening Sunday, and will take place at the Conference Centre of the DU North Campus, in two separate sessions. The first session will be held from 10am to 11.30am; and the second one will start from noon to 1.30pm.

Every year, during the events, officials have a presentation on the admission procedure and also take questions from candidates.

This time, we have invited students applying to entrance-based undergraduate programmes as well. We will have experts on this to answer their questions too, said Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, the deputy dean of students welfare.

Tuteja said that of the 1,150 emails received on the DUs admission helpline, the most common query has been from applicants who had completed their form, paid the application fee and then realised that they have made some mistake. He added that students should be very careful while filling out their forms and must double check information before submitting the form.

Tuteja said that another common query was from students who could not scan their Class 10 marksheet onto a single page, and found it too big.

Students can just scan and upload the part where the personal details and the date of birth are visible. The lower end, if missing, is also fine, he said.As the death toll in the virus-induced fever in north Kerala rises to nine, the National Virology Institute in Pune has confirmed that the deceased were infected with Nipah virus (NiV). This is the first time the virus, which has high fatality rate and spreads mainly through bats, pigs and other animals, has been detected in the state.

The Union Health Ministry has rushed a team of experts to assist the state that is struggling to cope with the outbreak. Heres all you need to know about the virus:

THE VIRUS

Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly-emerging zoonosis (a disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals) that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus.

FIRST OUTBREAK

NiV was first identified during an outbreak of disease that took place in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. On this occasion, pigs were the intermediate hosts. However, in subsequent NiV outbreaks, there were no intermediate hosts. In Bangladesh in 2004, humans became infected with NiV as a result of consuming date palm sap that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats.

OUTBREAKS IN INDIA

Human-to-human transmission has also been documented, including in a hospital setting. India confirmed its first Nipah outbreak in Siliguri, West Bengal, in 2001, with 66 cases and 45 deaths. A second outbreak in Nadia district in 2007 led to the deaths of all the five persons infected. The death rate in India is a high 70%, with 50 of the 71 people infected dying during the two outbreaks in West Bengal.

This is the first Nipah outbreak in Kerala.

TRANSMISSION

The viruses jump the species barrier and infect a secondary animal host, transmission takes place through direct contact with infected bats, pigs, or from other NiV-infected people and people have been also cautioned that they should not consume fruits that have fallen on to the ground.

SYMPTOMS

NiV infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis. NiV is also capable of causing disease in pigs and other domestic animals. Nipah virus primarily causes an encephalitic syndrome with a high mortality rate. The characteristic MRI abnormalities are multiple, small (less than 5 mm), asymmetric focal lesions in the subcortical and deep white matter without surrounding edema.

TREATMENT

There is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care

PRECAUTIONS

Nipah virus infection can be prevented by avoiding exposure to sick pigs and bats in endemic areas and not drinking raw date palm sap and not consuming fruits that have fallen from trees

(Source: WHO)Italian film actor Asia Argento, one of Harvey Weinsteins first accusers, delivered a fiery speech about the disgraced Hollywood producer and issued a warning to sexual predators during the closing ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival.

In 1997, I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes, she began during the presentation of the best actress award alongside Ava DuVernay.

I was 21 years old. This festival was his hunting ground, variety.com quoted Argento as saying.

Everyone needs to watch actress Asia Argento's powerful #MeToo revelation that left the Cannes Film Festival stunned (warning: distressing themes) pic.twitter.com/AvI49S72PF  NowThis (@nowthisnews) May 20, 2018

Argento acknowledged that Weinstein had received his due from the film community.

I want to make a prediction. Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again. He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that embraced him and covered up for his crimes.

She continued by pointing out that Weinstein was not alone in his predatory behaviour and ended by delivering the message to offenders that they will no longer be able to get away with inappropriate behaviour.

And even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women. For behaviour that does not belong in this industry, does not belong in any industry or any workplace.

You know who you are. You do not belong in this industry. But most importantly, we know who you are, and were not going to allow you to get away with it any longer.

Argento was one of many who came forward in the 2017 New Yorker article by Ronan Farrow that kicked off the flood of allegations against disgraced film mogul Weinstein.

I am definitely feeling it more from you all here than I did last night. After my speech, the only person who came up to me, congratulated and spoke kind words to me was Spike Lee. https://t.co/vdK6Mq0hGy  Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) May 20, 2018

Can't get enough of these remarks by @AsiaArgento. If people spoke truth to power like this more often (not just about #MeToo) the world would be a much better place.



Also, I love that no one, including Cannes organizers, knew she was going to say this. pic.twitter.com/CJuExD4mJf  Yashar Ali  (@yashar) May 20, 2018

So proud of & grateful to you @AsiaArgento You have not backed down in any way as you remind the world of the hideousness of Harvey Weinsteins (& others like him) crimes & the complicit support he still receives 'I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here' https://t.co/1ZJa26ATnd  Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) May 20, 2018

That's a powerful speech.   Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) May 20, 2018

WATCH THIS SPEECH. .@AsiaArgento : 'I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes' https://t.co/MnLPFJmmNN via @mashable  rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) May 20, 2018

Follow @htshowbiz for moreDirector Luc Besson, known for movies like Leon: The Professional, and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, has been reported to police on an accusation of raping a woman in France.

The complaint was filed by a young female actor at a Paris police station on Friday.

The actor, who worked with Besson on two films, told Variety that the incident, which she described as a violent sexual assault, happened on May 10, following a meeting with the filmmaker at the Bristol Hotel near the Champs Elysees in Paris.

Besson has flatly denied the allegations.

His attorney said in a statement: Mr Besson fell from his chair when he learned of these accusations, which he flatly denies.

French police are reportedly investigating the claim, and Besson has not been formally charged.

French radio station Europe 1 was the first to report the filing of the complaint.

The logo of EuropaCorp, of which French film director Luc Besson (not pictured) is co-founder and Chairman.

Shares in EuropaCorp, the film and TV studio group chaired by Besson, slumped on Monday following the emergence of the allegation.

Besson is currently working on Anna, a film starring Russian actor Sasha Luss in the title role, as well as Helen Mirren and Cillian Murphy.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreActor Jodie Foster feels Hollywood has a problem with female directors and, like Europe, it should open up.

I said it and Ill keep saying it - I want to direct and I will direct more than I acted, Foster told hollywoodreporter.com.

She said a fraction of the film industry has been the last area that needs to see a change. Europe, she said, has always been ahead in terms of having women directors.

Its America thats the problem, and it has been for a very long time. We need to bang the head of America to let them know that it needs female directors. Just look at Wonder Woman, Foster said during the premiere of her film Hotel Artemis.

The movie also features Sterling K. Brown, Sofia Boutella, Charlie Day, Brian Tyree Henry and Dave Bautista.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreNot just on the sets, he has fought his way through off the sets as well in the Bombay High Court vis-a-vis the release of his next, Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran. Its like I will be giving birth to my child on May 25, says actor-producer John Abraham with a laugh as he talks about the film which is based on the true story of how India conducted nuclear tests at Pokhran in 1998. Incidentally, 2018 will also see him completing 15 years in Bollywood. We catch up with him about life, career and more.

To start with, this year, you complete 15 years in the industry. How has it been?

At the end of the day, you must have self-conviction as there are enough people around you to tell you that you are probably not worth it. But you have to tell yourself that you are worth it. Fortunately for me, my audience also stood by me through thick and thin. With a few people in the trade, my audience, and conviction in myself, I have reached here and from here its only going to get stronger and better. I am very excited about the remainder of my journey and I know I will get better, fitter, faster and stronger. Thats what excites me because I know my line-up now. At the risk of sounding boastful, I can say I have got a very strong line up.

Talking of line-up, your next, Parmanu looks like a tough film

Absolutely! My director Abhishek Sharma and I wanted to shoot the film in a way that gives the feel of the time period when the actual tests happened. So, we went for recce in May last year, and started shooting from May 31. We worked in temperatures ranging from 50-52 degrees and sometimes even 55 degrees, and that too under lights. Abhishek and I wanted to shoot in that atmosphere and ecosystem as we really wanted to go through the process and the entire credit goes to all my cast and crew. They all stood by me and in fact, we finished this film two days ahead of our schedule. So, its been a great and fantastic experience.

Also, whats your state of mind now after having gone through all the legal troubles with the film?

I am happy and relieved. Of course, Im also thankful to the honourable high court as well as Justice SJ Kathawalla for validating what I have gone through. But at the end of the day, theres no point slinging mud in public. Parmanu is a very credible film. For us, all our stars were burning bright because the court passed a judgement on the May 10, and we launched the trailer the next day at 3.45pm, which is the exact time and day that the tests happened 20 years ago. So, somehow everything seems to have fallen into place and we are all excited.

Personally, as an Indian citizen, what are your memories of the Pokhran tests?

Honestly, I want every youngster to watch this film. I am confident that we will have a senior audience, who will see it but I want every youngster, who feels that its cool to be Indian to know that its all because of what happened on May 11, 1998. We often misconstrue a nuclear test with just a bomb but India wanted to be a self-sustaining nuclear power nation that would take care of its own electricity and energy etc. We were dissuaded by the United States of America in 1995 and they threatened to put sanctions on us, but we knew what was best for us, so we went ahead with tests.

After having seen heights of stardom and success, what keeps you going?

My motorcycles (laughs). But jokes apart, what excites me the most is playing a different character every six months. Its very easy to play myself in every film, but when I play an Ashwath Raina in Parmanu, or a Veer in Satyamev Jayate, multiple parts in RAW and then someone else in another film; it makes me wake up every morning with excitement. I would die if I wasnt working. I need to work 24/7. I am a self-confessed workaholic. I havent taken a holiday in the longest time and sometimes, it does take a toll but at the end of the day, I love my work.

You have done films such as Dhoom (2004), Garam Masala (2005) and Dostana (2008). Do you miss doing lighter and easier parts?

I love commercial parts as I am a big fan of commercial cinema. Golmaal 3 (2010) is one of my favourite films. I also I love Dhamaal (2007), and my films Housefull 2 (2012), Welcome Back (2015) and Garam Masala. I think its important to do hard-core commercial cinema as well, and I will do it. I dont know whether I will produce them but as an actor, I will give that version of myself to audiences. If people loved Shootout At Wadala (2013), Satyamev Jayate is Shootout on steroids (laughs). Its crazy and I really enjoy that space.

Since Parmanu is based on a true story that made India proud, makers are set to host a Parmanu Pride Parade, on May 22 in Connaught Place in New Delhi. Led by John and Diana Penty, it will salute the contributions and the joint efforts of the Indian army, scientists, intelligence agencies and bureaucrats, who came together to make India a nuclear superpower in 1998. As opposed to the notion of people coming on streets only for protests or appeals, for once, John and his films team want India to walk the streets for the simple reason of being proud of our nation. John will appeal to everyone especially the youth of the country, to be a part of this parade through his social media handles, says an insider.

What made you pick up such a challenging subject (Parmanu) in the first place?

Abhishek and I always wanted to work together. One day, he came to the office and narrated a 12-pager to me which I loved. We both wondered as to why this story was never made into a film. Then, we developed the film in-house with my screenplay writers, Saiwyn Quadros and Sanyukta Chawla Shaikh. We worked together and within a span of three months, the script was ready and then we started shooting.

What was your idea behind it?

Firstly, I didnt want to make a patriotic or a jingoistic film. The idea was to make a film like Argo (2012), a commercially entertaining, engrossing and edge-of-the-seat thriller. The film completely holds you but at the end of the day, you walk out [of theatres] with tears in your eyes and proud of being an Indian. That sense of patriotism is a by-product.

Are you also relieved about the films release as the release date got pushed a couple of times?

Actually, we started shooting Parmanu on June 1, so the film took less than a year to release. Technically, its not delayed. The perception of delay has been built because of the December and February release announcements but I wasnt a party to either [of those announcements], so I dont know why they were made. Yes, we announced March 2 and thats when certain problems vis-a-vis cash flow started. But finally, we have got a fantastic date.

At this stage of, how satisfied are you?

Theres a huge sense of pride. Its like Parmanu is my child, and I will be giving birth to it on the May 25. I feel very proud to be the parent of this child as I have fought for its custody. So right now, theres a sense of elation, relief, vindication, validation and everything rolled into one. On the last day of shoot, I felt really happy and relieved that we have pulled off one of the toughest shoots but I cant take any credit as its all thanks to my cast and crew.

Over the last 15 years, have you become more confident?

Yes, I am far more confident as an actor today. I know the nuances of what works for me and what works with audiences. I love that I kind of understand that space but its still always a learning process. I feel safeguarded as an actor, more so with my production house as I know that the stuff my production house curates is well-researched, so that gives me a safety net. As a producer, I feel a sense of empowerment and I believe in doing credible cinema. As an actor and producer, Ive matured and I love my space and journey right now.

When is a film on the lines of Welcome Back or Garam Masala coming up?

I would love to [do a film like that]. I am a big fan of directors like Anees Bazmee, David Dhawan and Sajid Khan; and I love their cinema also. On one hand, there is a producer side of me that makes a particular kind of films but as an actor I want to go all out and enjoy myself. I feel if one puts me in a commercial role, I will crack it and so, I want to do those fun films. Having said that, Parmanu is also very commercial with great songs etc. The only difference is it has married a lot of commerce with content.

After having done films such as No Smoking (2007), Madras Cafe (2013) and Parmanu, do you feel happy that you have shut people up who  at the start of your career questioned your acting abilities?

I dont work to prove anything to anyone. The so-called people who said such things at that point, and the kind of cinema they did then with their performances and expressions, is considered overacting today. So, suddenly what I am doing, with the subtlety in my performances, is looked at as fantastic. I feel there is a phase for everything. Now, I wonder if there is a market for those over-expressive, loud performers, who felt that they were good actors. Thankfully, half of them are married now.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreSpoilers for Deadpool 2 follow

Now that many of you have watched Deadpool 2, star Ryan Reynolds along with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have spoken about the films many celebrity cameos -- including one that everyone missed.

One collective cameo that most people spotted comes when Deadpool visits Professor Xs school. After complaining that the studio couldnt afford more X-Men even in the sequel, an open door behind him reveals James McAvoys Professor X, Evan Peters Quicksilver, Alexadra Shipps Storm, Nicholas Hoults Beast, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops and Kodi Smit-McFees Nightcrawler. With an annoyed look on their face, they close the door, without Deadpool ever realising whos behind him.

After assembling the X-Force with Weasel, Deadpool leads them to their first mission as a team, which requires them to parachute out of a moving plane. The trailers for Deadpool 2 had effectively sold the films introduction of the X-Force as a major event, but subversively, each of the new recruits -- except Domino -- dies hilariously as they descend towards the Earth. One of those characters is the Vanisher, whos never seen on screen because hes invisible. Even when he leaps out of the plane, all we see is his parachute. But as he touches down, the wind blows him into some electric cables, which is when he gets electrocuted and for a split second, reveals his face. And its Brad Pitt.

Actor Brad Pitt arrives at the premiere of the film Allied in Madrid.

Speaking to Collider, Reynolds confirmed that it was indeed Pitts face that we saw. Well, I can confirm that that is Brad Pitt, he said. I still dont even know how we got him for the movie. I just wrote him a letter, and explained what it was we were doing. And the sort of premise behind it was how do we, whats the most wasteful way to use the biggest movie star in the world? And it was through a character that is largely invisible and worthless throughout the movie. And then just having him show up for eight frames of footage. And I guess Brad found that funny, we all found that funny. And he said, yes. And the next thing you know he came and shot for about seven minutes. It took him longer to drink the coffee that he requested as payment.

Reynolds said that Pitts appearance was never meant to be longer than it is. That was the whole point of it, really, he said, and continued, hes just such a gentleman, and such a funny, charming human being. And the biggest movie star on Earth. And that was pretty exciting for all of us.

But while Pitts cameo, which lasted 8 frames -- one second is made up of 24 -- was somewhat easy to spot, there is one cameo that no one noticed. When the time travelling Cable arrives in Deadpools timeline, he comes across two men discussing bowel movements.

One of those men was played by Alan Tudyk, and the other was played by a heavily disguised Matt Damon. Writers Reese and Wernick elaborated on Damons cameo in an interview to Vulture. Youll have to put spoiler alert on this, said Wernick, but that was Matt Damon as the redneck in the Cable introduction scene. Reese added, Nobodys figured it out. Literally nobodys figured it out. Youre not the only one. Not a single person has spotted him.

A scene from X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The film also uses archive footage from X-Men Origins: Wolverine to revive the old Deadpool and Wolverine. This happens in the post-credits scene of the movie.

Another interesting fact revealed by the writers notes that the character Juggernaut was entirely created by CGI and was voiced by Reynolds himself.

Deadpool 2 opened to a massive $300 million plus in its first weekend of release, including an estimated Rs 33 crore in India. Fans lined up in droves to catch up with their favourite foul-mouthed superhero, and they werent disappointed. The film has received positive reviews and is expected to challenge the first Deadpool movie for the title of the biggest R-rated film of all time.

Follow @htshowbiz for moreAn eight-month-old child died, a policeman and six others were injured as Pakistani forces resumed firing in Arnia and Ramgarh area of RS Pura sector in Jammu and Samba districts on Monday morning.

Earlier on Sunday night, Pakistani forces had opened fire in Narayanpur and Baba Chamliyal areas in Ramgarh sector, hours after it pleaded with the Border Security Force for a ceasefire.

There was heavy shelling in Arnia. Six civilians and a policeman were injured. They were provided with medical care, additional deputy commissioner of Jammu Arun Manhas said.

He added that shelter camps have been set up for affected people while nearly 10,000 people have moved to safer areas.

A police officer said that Pakistan has been using 80mm and 120mm mortar shells  flat trajectory battalion level weapons  on residential areas and nearby villages. Another officer confirmed the death of an eight-month-old child in Jogwan of Akhnoor. The boy was inside the house with his mother when a bullet hit him in the back and pierced through his stomach.

Two civilians, Darshana Devi and Mohinder Kumar, both of Pindi Charkan Kalan, were shifted to a hospital around 9.30am. The injured policeman has been identified as SPO Gurcharan Singh, posted in Arnia.

The constable was injured when a mortar shell hit Arnia police station in the heart of the border town. The building, a police gypsy, mobikes were pockmarked by the flying shrapnels that also smashed windowpanes of the police station, he said.

Meanwhile, restrictions were imposed in parts of Srinagar on Monday to thwart a proposed rally by separatists on the death anniversaries of two leaders even as life was affected in rest of the valley due to a shutdown. This is third day of restrictions since Saturday when Modi was in Kashmir to inaugurate some projects.

Shops, businesses and educational institutes were closed while Kashmir University examinations have been postponed.

Separatist leaders under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) had called for a shutdown and urged people to gather at Mazar-e-Shuhada (the martyrs graveyard) in Srinagars Eidgah to commemorate the death anniversaries of Mirwaiz Moulvi Muhammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone.

In a statement, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said the contribution made by the two leaders in the socio-political awakening of people would long be remembered. She said the best tribute to them would be that the people commit themselves to peaceful means for resolution of issues.Record fuel prices have triggered a political row, with the Opposition attacking the NDA government for not taking steps to cut taxes on fuel so as to provide some relief to consumers, even as petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government would work out a solution.

Petrol prices touched fresh highs in Delhi and Mumbai on Monday, at Rs 76.57/litre and RS 84.40/litre respectively. Diesel prices in the two cities reached Rs 67.82 and RS 72.21 per litre.

The Congress tweeted saying the Modi government was fleecing consumers. The Modi Govt continues to fleece Indians on fuel prices. Petrol price in Mumbai has crossed Rs 84/L. This is the highest ever price for petrol in India, the party said in a tweet.

If the prime minister can control the price of petrol and diesel for his own interest ahead of the polls in Karnataka, why cant he do it now and all year around in public interest? party spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill said. His reference is to fuel prices staying constant ahead of the state elections despite rising oil prices.

Speaking to ANI, Pradhan, the oil minister, said the central government has taken the responsibility to reduce the net impact by Rs 2.50 and Rs 2.35, hinting at some cuts in duties or commissions.

Just as the central government has taken responsibility, states should also take responsibility to reduce VAT, which directly goes into their account. The VAT on fuel goes up to 40%. States are the biggest beneficiaries of all collections. Even if they reduce VAT by 5%, consumers will benefit, he said.

Petrol and diesel prices have surged in the country after a rally in international crude oil, which last week rose the highest since 2014 due to production cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or Opec. Slamming the government, CPM leader Sitaram Yechury too questioned the Centres decision to put on hold rise in oil prices in the run-up to Karnataka polls. Oil firms resume daily price revision. The 19-day pre-Karnataka polls hikes were stalled. Why was it stopped then, and why resumed, we have no explanation for it. So just fool the people, speak of no govt regulation of (oil) price, then only cynical manipulation till polls, he tweeted. Skyrocketing oil prices has put great burden on the common man. Yechury said.

Opposition leader Sharad Yadav said the governments unwillingness to reduce taxes on oil prices made it anti-people. He said when oil prices were trading low, the government was more interested in using the revenue from oil taxes to bridge its fiscal deficit instead of passing on the benefits of relatively low international crude price to consumers. Yadav said the government should bring petrol and diesel under the Goods and Services Tax. He said that would make their prices stable.

Industry lobbies, such as Ficci and Assocham, on Monday also appealed to the government to cut fuel excise duty. Unless swift action is taken to address the situation, economic growth will again head towards a speed breaker. Among the most immediate actions that can be taken by the government is to bring down the excise duty on fuel, FICCI president Rashesh Shah said.Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said that the Chhattisgarh police has set up a special force called Black Panther on the lines of Telanganas Greyhound battalions to counter Maoist rebels in their core area of Bastar.

Singh said Naxalism is a challenge but it is now shrinking and losing ground in the country. He said casualties among the security forces have fallen by almost 53 to 55 per cent and the geographical expanse of Naxalism has also decreased by 40 to 45 per cent. The credit for this goes to our CRPF jawans and officials and personnel of the state police, Singh said.

Singh said the life of a jawan cannot be compensated with money, but as a token of gratitude, the government has decided that not less than Rs 1 crore should be given to the family of a securityman killed in a rebel attack.

The home minister also expressed confidence that the Black Panther force will be able to uproot Maoism from Chhattisgarhs Bastar.

Special director general ( Anti-naxal operations) DM Awasthi said that the special force will be deployed in Bastar in the next few weeks for conducting operations. The training of about 200 best personnel selected by the state police is going on, Awasthi said.

The Union minister said there are 52 battalions of central armed forces deployed in Chhattisgarh and more forces will be deployed in insurgency hit Bastar.

In last seven months, seven camps of state and central forces have been established in the core areas of Maoists in Chhattisgarh and they were working in excellent coordination, Singh said.

Singh said that steps are being taken by the government to track the funding and assets of Maoist leaders. The Maoist leaders who have earned money by using poor people and manipulating their innocence will be punished, Singh said.

Singh was in Chhattisgarh to participate in passing-out parade of the Bastariya battalion of the CRPF in Ambikapur district. The battalion is named Bastariya as its members are from the Bastar region in southern Chhattisgarh, bordering Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana.

Singh said the decision to set up the specialised battalion was taken in view of the courage and valour shown by the tribal people. Praising the new battalion, he said recruits have shown that talent, ability and calibre are not just confined to big cities and urban areas but also exist in the people of Bastar.

(With agency inputs)Karnataka chief minister-designate and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy played down reports of resentment and dissent within alliance partner Congress even as a Congress MLA questioned his own partys claims that the BJP tried to make him switch sides ahead of a trust vote on Saturday.

Kumaraswamy, who will take the oath of office on May 23, is meeting with the Congresss top leaders, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, in Delhi on Monday. Before flying to Delhi, Kumaraswamy termed the reports of unhappiness within the Congress bogus and fake news, according to news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar that audio clip released by his party to allege that the BJP reached out to him for cross-voting during the floor test in the Karnataka assembly was fake. Hebbar questioned the authenticity of the audio clip in a Facebook post in Kannada, saying his wife did not receive any call from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

This is not my wifes voice and she has not received any such calls. The audio tape is fake. I condemn it, he wrote.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly elections threw up a hung assembly and the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats but eight short of a majority. Governor Vajubhai Vala invited BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa to form the government and gave him 15 days to prove his majority. After the Supreme Court curtailed that period to two days, Yeddyurappa resigned without facing the floor test on May 19 as he did not have the numbers.

The Congress had released three audio tapes in the run-up to the floor test, claiming BJP leaders were trying to poach the partys MLAs by offering blandishments so that the BS Yeddyurappa government is saved.

Facebook post of Congress MLA Shivram Hebbar from Yellapur, in which he denies his wife ever getting a call from BJP, calls it a fake audio clip... Shame on Congress for brazenly lying, spreading mis-information and media channels for lapping it up. It is all over regional paper, BJPs national information and technology cell head Amit Malviya tweeted.

But another Congress MLA BC Patil, said stuck to his claims that he had received calls from the BJP asking him to switch sides.

Kumaraswamy on Sunday dismissed reports his party was is working out a power-sharing formula with the Congress to head the government in Karnataka for 30 months each. He also denied reports that the chief ministership would be rotated between the Congress and JD(S) or that any discussion had taken place on portfolio allocation.

Senior Congress leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot and KC Venugopal, briefed party president Rahul Gandhi about the latest political developments in Karnataka, ahead of the crucial deliberations on the power-sharing arrangement with Kumaraswamy.

Congress leader Ramalinga Reddy said his party was 100% happy being in an alliance with the JD(S).

There is a give and take policy. Even in Bengalurus Municipal Corporation, the alliance is functioning smoothly for three years, Reddy was quoted as saying by ANI on reports of Congress rift with JD(S).

Of course, some people in both parties will have to sacrifice, as all cannot become ministers, he added.

Karnataka Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and G Parameshwara are also in Delhi to discuss government formation with the party high command.

Shivakumar said earlier in the day that the Congress party and the JD(S) had to sort out their differences for the sake of forming a secular government in Karnataka. He admitted that the Congress and the JD(S) were at loggerheads before the Karnataka assembly polls.

Rahul Gandhi has taken a decision that there should be a secular government here. That is what the entire country needs and that is why we have taken this stand (alliance with JD(S)). I had to swallow all this bitterness since this is my duty, Shivakumar said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Russias Black Sea coastal city Sochi for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin that will focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, official sources said.

They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the agendaless talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.

Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him, Modi had tweeted yesterday.

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia, Modi had tweeted.

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and BRICS summits.

The sources said possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under Countering Americas Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation may also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.

There have been apprehensions that the US decision on Iran deal may adversely impact New Delhis oil import from the Persian Gulf nation as well as on the Chabahar port project. Iran is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The countries having financial dealings with Iran are expected to be hit by the comprehensive sanctions regime announced by the Trump administration after withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

The US had imposed sanctions on Russia earlier this year under CAATSA for its military intervention in Ukraine and alleged meddling in the 2016 US Presidential elections.

The two leaders may also deliberate on extending Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation in third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, Indias engagement with five-nation Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the situation in the Korean peninsula.

The sources said the large part of the informal meeting between Modi and Putin will be one-to-one and there may be limited segment for restricted delegation level discussions.

They said President Putin will to also host a lunch for Modi.

It would be Modis second informal summit in as many months as he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jingpin in Chinas Wuhan in a similar format last month.

Sources said there could be more such informal summits between Modi and other world leaders in the coming months as India eyes to play an important role in global power dynamics.

They said President Putin will be in India later this year for the annual summit during which key bilateral issues will be deliberated upon.

The annual summit talks between the top leadership of the two countries have been taking place alternately in Moscow and New Delhi since 2000Kolkata on Monday witnessed its first heart transplant operation as a patient admitted to a private hospital received the organ flown in from Bengaluru in the morning.

The flight from the Karnataka capital took three hours and Kolkata and Bidhan Nagar police created a green corridor between the city airport and the hospital in Salt Lake to cut down the transportation time.

The heart kept in a special case was taken to the hospital 18 kilometres away in barely 22 minutes, a journey which usually takes 45 to 55 minutes depending on the traffic.

Hospital authorities said the procedure, which started around noon, was complicated and would need around three hours. The operation was conducted by Dr Tapas Roychowdhury and Dr KM Mandana.

A spokesperson for the hospital said Dilchand Singh, the recipient, was suffering from a severe heart problem for many years and needed a transplant to survive. The hospital registered its request for a heart from a donor two years ago.

The request was granted on Sunday night after an accident victim was declared brain dead at a private hospital in Bengaluru. The patients heart was removed on Monday morning and taken to the airport.

This is not the first time organ transplant operations have taken place in Kolkata. Both private and government hospitals have conducted such procedures but never for a heart patient.

A green corridor was created in the heart of Kolkata in November 2016 between SSKM Hospital in south Kolkata and a private hospital on EM Bypass in Salt Lake in the middle of the night for a patient, who needed a kidney transplant. The distance of 12.6km was covered in 13 minutes.

Green corridors are traffic light free routes demarcated and cleared to transport harvested organs to ensure that it arrives at its destination in the shortest time possible.Former chief election commissioners (CECs) have called for the poll process to be shortened and voting not be staggered over several phases while making a pitch for greater transparency at a round table here on Monday.

They also called for results from electronic voting machines and paper trail machines, better known as VVPATS, be tallied in more than one polling station per constituency, a statement issued by the election commission (EC) said. The code of conduct kicks in the moment elections are called and remains in place till the counting day. During the period, the government is barred from making an announcement that can influence voters and impact poll outcome.

Ideally the entire election process should not exceed 46 days. However, in some cases MCC (model code of conduct) has been implemented for a longer duration, since the elections were held in several phases, an official privy to the developments said, requesting anonymity.

Though the poll panel maintains the conduct code does not hamper governance, political parties have complained that the provision slows down administrative work.

The conduct code is one of the reasons cited by the ruling BJP while making a pitch for simultaneous Lok Sabha and state elections. There was a view that unless the state going to polls is very big or there are law and order concerns, the election should not be spread over several phases, the official said.

Barring Uttar Pradesh that voted in seven phases, voting was done in a single day for most assembly elections in 2017.

The former commissioners also favoured increasing the number of polling stations where the count from EVMs is tallied with the VVPAT machines, another official said.

MS Gill, JM Lyngdoh, TS Krishna Murthy, BB Tandon, SY Quraishi, VS Sampath, HR Bramha, Nasim Zaidi and GVG Krishnamurty attended the meeting.With the tourist season about to begin, the Himachal Pradesh government has asked Jammu and Kashmir to settle a long-pending territorial dispute  not to put up a police post at Sarchu on the Leh-Manali highway.

The HP government has suggested that cops from both states should put up police posts on their side of the border and not on the disputed territory in Sarchu, which is at a height of 14,070 feet.

We have written to the district administration in Leh and Zanskar in the past too and have raised the matter again, Lahual and Spiti deputy commissioner AK Chaudhary said.

What is the row

A controversy cropped up in July 2014, when the Jammu and Kashmir police set up its post at Sarchu. As the matter came to the notice of the Himachal Police, their crime investigation department (CID) sleuths visited the area to ascertain the factual position. Himachal police claimed that the post was 18km inside the state boundary in Sarchu.

Himachal raised objection with Jammu and the Kashmir government, calling for settlement of the dispute. However, Jammu and Kashmir police set post in Himachals claimed border in 2015 -2016, and in 2017. The Himachal government, in its letter to Jammu and Kashmir, said the boundary at Sarchu in the two states had been drawn in 1871 by the British rulers. The Himachal Police also shot off a letter to J&K Police asking them to remove the post from the disputed point.

The government asked the Ladakh and Kargil administrations to also put up signage on interstate borders. It also suggested for set up separate check post by Jammu and Kashmir police and Himachal Pradesh police on the interstate border.

Geological Survey of India suggested complete demarcation

The Himachal government in the 2016 wrote to the Geological Survey of India that suggested re-demarcation of the boundary at Sarchu. The GSI team visited the disputed region in Sarchu last year. GSI official, in the presence of deputy commissioners of Lahaul and Spiti, Zanskar and Kargil, explained the interstate boundary.

The team, which was sent to the ground to verify the existing boundary, concluded that Jammu and Kashmir police had set up its check post 14km inside Himachal boundary. The meeting remained inconclusive as deputy commissioner of Leh disputed the findings.

Leh district administration said it would take up the matter with higher authorities before allowing GSI to re-demarcate the land. Geological Survey of India had asked both governments to deposit money to re-demarcate the land. Himachal also expressed reservations over allotment of land to people of Kargil and Shinkula on Himachals side in Sarchu that usually experiences heavy tourist rush in May and June. Sarchu is also an important trading point on the ancient silk route.The Congress accused the Janata Dal (Secular) of being the Bharatiya Janata Partys B-team during the campaign for the Karnataka assembly elections.

Post-results, it offered unconditional support to the JD(S) to prevent the BJP from forming a government in the state. The Congresss actions show that its posturing vis-a-vis the JD(S) was rooted more in rhetoric rather than any ideological conviction. This is bad strategy. An HT analysis shows that the Congress and JD(S) could have won as many as two-thirds of the total seats in the assembly had they contested the elections together.

Whether or not the Congress has learnt its lessons from this episode will be tested in the next election cycle, when the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh go to the polls. HTs analysis shows that a pre-poll alliance between the Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) could be a game changer in these elections. Heres why.

We look at the vote shares of the three relevant parties  the Congress, the BJP and the BSP in the Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh assembly elections since 2003. Except the 2008 Rajasthan elections, the BJP has won all of these while the Congress has been the second largest party. The BSP has a much smaller footprint in terms of vote share and seat share in these states. But what is noteworthy is that the combined vote share of the Congress and the BSP exceeded that of the BJP in six out of these nine elections (See Chart 1).

To be sure, the effect is different across states. The BSP-Congress vote share taken together has always been greater than the BJPs in Chhattisgarh, while it is not always the case in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

Our analysis shows that the Congress seems to have been following a sub-optimal electoral strategy in these states. Except the 2008 Rajasthan elections, it has always had a lower seat share to vote share ratio than the BJP in these states. The seat share to vote share ratio is a good proxy of how effective a party is when it comes to converting popular support into seats in a first-past-the-post system (See Chart 2).

The BSPs seat share to vote share ratio has been much lower than that of both the Congress and the BJP. This performance, however, needs to be evaluated in the context of the wider strategy of the party. The BSP made its first entry into the Lok Sabha in the 1989 elections. Between 1989 and 1999, it used to contest less than 250 Lok Sabha seats. This changed drastically 2004 onwards, when the party started putting up candidates in many more seats. It is reasonable to believe that the BSPs success in Uttar Pradesh gave a boost to its ambition of becoming a pan-India party of Dalits. The strategy yielded results when the BSP was recognised by the Election Commission of India as a national party in 2013.

This achievement, however, was followed by a disaster when the party failed to win even one Lok Sabha seat out of the 503 it contested in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections (See Chart 3).

This failure was followed by another poor showing in the 2017 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh when the BSP ended with its worst ever seat share to vote share ratio in the assembly (See Chart 4).

The short point is that while its aggressive strategy of contesting elections alone helped the BSP expand its national footprint, it seems to have become counter-productive in terms of its seat-winning ability in recent times.

It is this experience that has perhaps led to a rethink in the party and pushed it towards a pre-poll alliance with the Samajwadi Party by supporting the latters candidates in the bypolls for the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.

Our analysis shows that both the Congress and the BSP could improve their seat tally in a big way by entering into a pre-poll alliance in the forthcoming elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. At a time when the anger of Dalits is emerging as an important political fault line, the success of such an alliance could be greater.

However, it is the Congress which would have to take the initiative for making this happen  for two reasons. One, the BSPs reluctance to enter into pre-poll alliances comes from the fact that while Dalits, its core support base, transfer their votes to the alliance partners, reciprocity in transfer of votes for BSP candidates is often missing. The Congress would have to do something tangible to assuage these concerns. Two, a large section of Dalits in India was invested in the Congress for a considerable period after independence.

It was disenchantment with the Congresss commitment to furthering the cause of social justice that led to creation of parties such as the BSP in the first place.

It would take more than the promise of electoral gains for the BSP to be able to convince its support base to invest in the Congress once again.Inside the Kairana police station in western Uttar Pradeshs Shamli district, inspector Bhagwat Singh is practising hard to get used to writing with his left hand. Singh has returned to office after three months. He was shot thrice in a shootout  the bullets hit his hand, abdomen and leg.

But the physical discomfort fades under the satisfaction of shooting dead Mohammed Shabir, one of Uttar Pradeshs top gangsters wanted for murdering three police officers, on a cold night on January 2.

Singhs team lost a constable in the shootout that night.

This night is safe. You can walk freely in Kairana, Muzaffarnagar or any part of western Uttar Pradesh. All the hardcore criminals are underground (hiding) or behind bars, Singh said. This sense of security stems from a heightened crackdown on criminals, a step chief minister Yogi Adityanaths government ordered in keeping with the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) promise during the assembly elections last year to reduce the crime rate in Indias most populous state.

Though there are critics of the policy, at least 50 criminals were killed in shootouts with police since the BJP rule began in March last year. More than 90% of the deaths were reported in western UP. According to police records, more than 1,000 criminals have surrendered till end-March 2018, as against less than 100 the previous year.

Till a few years ago criminals would stop your car and rob you. This was western UP before this government came to power, inspector Singh said.

The police station on Singhs watch is on the outskirts of Kairana, a small town infamous for its chilling crimes and history of communal riots.

A surrendered criminal at his home in Kairana Uttar Pradesh. (Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

Kairana is within UP polices Meerut zone, comprising nine districts of western UP bordering New Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand. Its the Wild West.

Western UP was a problem area back then too. We werent able to control the crimes fully there. With kidnappings, highway robberies, road holdups, murder, extortion and all sorts of organised gangs, it was UPs Wild West in the true sense, said retired IPS officer Prakash Singh, who was the director general of police between 1990 and 1993.

The reasons behind the regions high crime rate are hidden in history and the lush sugarcane fields dotting the countryside  acres upon acres of plantations visible after crossing the concrete jungle of Ghaziabad for any traveller moving eastward from New Delhi.

This is the sugar belt of northern India, with more than 50 factories and the oldest from the early 1900s.

In the early years, the wealthy factory owners hired local contractors to run the plants, thereby spawning the thekedari or contract system. The contractors hired local musclemen to run the factories. They created their turf and this led to turf battles. And this led to crimes, additional superintendent of police Ranvijay Singh said.

The historically martial nature of the regions inhabitants played its part too in the spurt in violent crimes, the officer said. These districts always reported gang wars and violence. Remember, this is where (Meerut) the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny started. This is where Indian soldiers challenged the British. The soldiers were mostly locals. Most locals do not forget that. They challenge when they feel they have been wronged. When they take up arms, they cross the other side of the law and get into crime.

A reporter in Muzaffarnagar blamed politics, caste divide and communal animosity for the rise in crimes. From the 1987 Hashimpura riots in Meerut 1987 to the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, there have always been inter-faith and inter-caste tensions in the region.

Communities have always clashed in western UP. Not just Hindu-Muslims but Dalits against Thakurs or Gujjars against other castes. This has always been a boiling pot. A dreaded gangster in the early 1980s, Mahendra Fauji, was a Gujjar and was the rival of gangsters from Yadav and Tyagi communities, the reporter said, asking not to be named.

The criminals are so politically connected that Faujis encounter in 1994 in Bulandshar (in western UP) caused a major rift between the then ruling Samajwadi party and the Bahujan Samaj party, he added.

The BSP chief demanded removal of senior superintendent of police OP Singh, who led the shootout that killed Fauji. Singh is Uttar Pradeshs director general of police now.

Every big gangster here is linked to a politician. The mix of castes and faiths helped politicians divide people and encourage criminals, who were their musclemen. Western UP criminals had considerable influence and did not respect police. Until the spate of encounters, the morale of UP police was at an all time low, Singh said.

According to police records, the Meerut zone has at least 517 gangs, having 2,470 criminals collectively.

Their clout runs from the industrial areas of Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida to the villages of Saharanpur, Shamli and Muzaffarnagar.

Several gangs such as the ones headed by Sunder Bhati and Mukeem Kala have a multi-state reach.

These crime syndicates are involved in extortion, kidnapping, contract killing and robbery  from Uttar Pradesh to New Delhi to Haryana.

The security establishment was shocked when a contract killer, arrested by UP polices special task force (STF) this February for the murder of a BJP leader and his two guards in Greater Noida last year, told interrogators that the Bhati gang is well-entrenched in New Delhi.

The man told us how the Bhati gang has captured the MCD toll booth of New Ashok Nagar-Noida border and extorts money from private contractors. Bhatis musclemen collect money from vehicles entering Delhi but hand over only 50% of the tax receipts to the Delhi municipality, said an STF officer who refused to be named.

They do this at many border points. Such is the extent of their operation. There are at least 48 border points. The loss to the municipality is in crores of rupees every month. We have informed Delhi police, he said.

UP police have arrested 964 members from 493 registered gangs in Meerut zone over the past year, but at least 665 are on the run  suspected to be hiding in New Delhi and Haryana. Police have announced rewards between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 20,000 for 295 fugitives.

The gangsters come in all shapes and sizes  and age. The most wanted gangster in western UP is 61-year-old Sushil Moonch of Muzaffarnagar. He is a suspect in the murder of a 60-year-old woman and her son in Meeruts Sorkha village on January 25. His victims were witnesses in another murder case against Moonch.

The gangsters carry an array of weapons  mostly firearms made locally in small illegal units that are dime a dozen in western UP. Police seized 700 countrymade pistols in a factory set in a sugarcane field in Kairana last year. Another factory in a sugarcane field was busted in Muzaffarnagar.

Nobody depends on pistols from Munger or Bhopal. The bigger gangs may use sophisticated carbines and 9MM pistols, but petty criminals buy local pistols for Rs 3,000, said constable Ratan Singh.

The security forces were surprised when gangster Shravan used an AK-47 assault rifle during a shootout in Noida on March 24.

The AK-47 couldnt save him, but the weapons appearance in a criminals hands worried police. Similarly, gangster Shabir killed a constable with a carbine before he was shot dead in Kairana.

UP police is not like Delhi or Mumbai police. Criminals take advantage of our outdated system. Constables like me get Rs 150 a month as bicycle expense. Imagine chasing criminals on cycles, said a constable from Muzaffarnagar, who refused to be identified.

The Meerut zone additional director general of police Prashant Kumar drew from the epic Mahabharata to describe the regions historical connection to violence. This was Hastinapur during the Mahabharata days. But now things have settled. Criminals are surrendering or have fled to other states. These nine districts in western UP are seeing peace for the first time, he said.At least 25 of the 50 busiest airports in India are already operating beyond their capacity, while almost all the others will reach optimal capacity in 2018-19 with the aviation industry growing at an unanticipated 18-20% every year, according to government documents accessed by Hindustan Times through the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

This holds true for both government and privately run airports, the documents show. Key airports such as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune are already saturated, while Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Goa and Lucknow are among important aviation hubs that will reach full capacity by the end of the year. Experts say the figures only show overall capacity, but in peak hours, all these airports operate beyond capacity  leading to long queues at check-in counters, security risks because of compromised frisking, and clogging of gates leading to flight delays.

According to the civil aviation ministry, India has witnessed a phenomenal growth  the highest in the world  in the sector in the last four years and is already the worlds third-largest domestic aviation market. Smaller airports such as Leh, Surat, Tirupati, Jodhpur and Silchar are also operating beyond capacity.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on May 2 approved investments in expansion and upgradation of integrated terminals in Chennai, Guwahati and Lucknow by the Airports Authority of India at a cost of Rs2,467 crores, Rs1,232 crores and Rs1,383 crores, respectively.

Minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha, while announcing the expansion work, had said that Rs1 lakh crore would be invested to increase the capacity of Indian airports.

But passengers will have to bear the brunt until these are completed over the next 3-4 years, according to experts.

The infrastructure work should have been planned years ago. Now when the situation has reached the alarming stage, government has started expansion again. The focus should be now on new technologies such as biometric access, self-check-in to reduce congestion while the expansion work should continue alongside, said D Sudhakara Reddy, founder of the Air Passengers Association of India (APAI).

The government has launched a new initiative called NABH (also called NextGen Airports for Bharat) Nirman to enhance capacity by five times to one billion trips in the next 10-15 years. India has 94 operational airports at the moment  it expects to inaugurate six more within a month, with Pakyong as the 100th operational airport.

Increasing capacity requires both development of greenfield airports and expansion of existing airports; this will be funded by private sector companies and AAI internal accruals and by leveraging their balance sheet. Greenfield airports are where there is no existing infrastructure and a new area is developed, while in a brownfield airport, the existing infrastructure is upgraded.

AAI is also in the process of implementing plans to create additional capacity in airports such as Agartala, Patna, Srinagar, Pune, Trichy, Vijayawada, Port Blair, Jaipur, Mangalore, Dehradun, Jabalpur, Kolhapur, Goa, Rupsi, Leh, Calicut, Imphal, Varanasi and Bhubaneswar with a capital expenditure of Rs 20,178 crore in the next 4-5 years.

Some major cities are expected to get multiple airports -- Navi Mumbai, Noida International (Jewar), Mopa (Goa), Purandar (Pune), Bhogapuram (Visakhapatnam), Dholera (Ahmedabad), and Hirasar (Rajkot) have already been approved.

In the private sector, upgradation and expansion is in the offing for the Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad airports which will require an estimated investment of Rs 25,000 crore over the next 5 years, according to ministry officials.

The countrys busiest airport, Delhis Indira Gandhi International, handled 65.6 million passengers in 2017-18 and is all set to cross its capacity of 70 million this financial year.

Expansion work in Delhi is expected to be completed by 2021 to take the overall capacity to 85 million per annum, following which second phase of expansion will begin, which includes the construction of a new terminal.

Indias second-busiest airport, Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji International, handled 48.5 million passengers in 2017-18, above its capacity of 45 million. A new terminal in Mumbai will take at least three years to be built. We are on a constant growth path and will continue to sustain the momentum, said a spokesperson for Mumbai airport.

The Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru -operated by Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) -served a record 26.91 million passengers in 2017-18, registering growth of 17.6% over the previous fiscal.

The capacity of the existing terminal at the Bengaluru airport is 20 million passengers per annum, and we are currently operating at over 30% beyond capacity. We are also working on the enhancement of physical infrastructure in terms of additional bus bays, self-check-in counters, etc. Simultaneously, BIAL continues to use technology and digital initiatives to enhance capacity, said a spokesperson for the company.

The only airport that appears to be an exception is Cochin, which handled 10 million passengers in 2017-18 against its capacity of 21 million.

What we have been doing so far are stop-gap arrangements, and despite numerous initiatives, Indian airports are congested. In peak hour, the situation become worse and expansion should be planned keeping in mind the peak hour traffic, said Mark Martin, founder and CEO of Martin Consulting, which operates in the aviation sector.The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) on Monday decided to set up a joint coordination committee and formulate a common minimum programme for the smooth functioning of their coalition government in Karnataka over the next five years, said a Congress leader who was part of the deliberations.

This was decided at a 20-minute meeting between JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Monday evening.

According to the leader quoted above, the JD(S) has also agreed to leave the speakers post for the Congress. Seventy-one-year-old leader RV Deshpande, a Brahmin, is among the front runners for the post.

On the deputy chief ministers post, Kumaraswamy told reporters after the meeting that Rahul Gandhi has authorised Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka KC Venugopal to discuss all the modalities related to government formation with the JD(S) leadership and the partys local leaders.

A combined meeting of the Congress and JD(S) legislators has been called in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

After those meetings, the two sides will announce decisions regarding the swearing-in and other formalities.

There is no bargain. We will cordially work things out. We must work together. I am here to take the advice of Congress leaders, Kumaraswamy said when asked how the two sides are going to address the sticking points related to government formation.

We are going to give a stable government. All these issues are not yet discussed. We have not discussed any future course of action, he said.

The chief minister-designate also said that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi agreed to attend his swearing-in ceremony on May 23.

I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with Kumaraswamy ji. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing-in as CM of Karnataka, on Wednesday, in Bengaluru, the Congress president later tweeted.

A Congress functionary, familiar with the developments, said the function will be short as only a few leaders from both sides are expected to take the oath of office. However, the full-fledged cabinet expansion will take place after Kumaraswamy wins the floor test he is expected to take within 24 hours after being sworn-in as the chief minister for the second time in 12 years.

Earlier, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that he along with general secretaries Ashok Gehlot and Venugopal, who all played an important role in stitching the alliance, had briefed the Congress chief about the developments in the state before his meeting with Kumaraswamy.

There is also an internal tussle going on in the Karnataka Congress with a section suggesting that the party should have two deputy chief ministers given that it has more number of legislators than the JD(S), said a Congress leader from the state.

The 66-year-old state Congress chief G Parameshwara, a Dalit, is a strong contender for the post.

Former minister DK Shivakumar, who was instrumental in keeping the Congress flock together in the run-up to BJP leader BS Yeddyurappas trust vote, is also fancying his chances. But that possibility appears to be dim given that he is a Vokkaliga, a community to which Kumaraswamy belongs.

If he doesnt get the deputy CMs post, he is demanding that he should get the home ministers portfolio along with the post of the state Congress chief, said a leader close to Shivakumar.

Two Congress MLAs, Shivanand Patil and Yashvanthraya Goud, are also threatening to resign if MB Patil, the former Congress minister who led the demand for separate status to Lingayats, is made deputy CM or given a cabinet berth.

In the wake of internal differences, and to avoid desertions, both the Congress and the JD(S) have decided not to lower their guards and confine their respective legislators to hotels till the floor test.

A Karnataka Congress office-bearer said his party will give representation to all sections of society in the next council of ministers. It has also been decided that the Congress will get a share of five seats in the upcoming legislative council elections as compared to three for the JD(S).

Sonia Gandhi, who was initially scheduled to meet Kumaraswamy at her residence, later decided to meet him at Rahuls 12 Tughlak Lane residence in the Capital.

Prior to his meeting with the Gandhis, Kumaraswamy met Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati and discussed the role of regional parties in stopping the BJP from coming back to power in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A JD(S) leader said the two leaders also discussed the shape of the Congress-JD(S) government and the possibility of sole BSP legislator N Mahesh getting a cabinet berth. The BSP and the JD(S) had a pre-poll alliance in the state.

Kumaraswamys swearing-in ceremony will be a show of strength by opposition parties. Apart from Mayawati, the JD(S) has also invited chief ministers Mamata Banerjee (West Bengal), V Narayanasamy (Puducherry), N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), K Chandrasekhar Rao (Telangana), Pinarayi Vijayan (Kerala), and Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi). Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Sitaram Yechury are also likely to attend.Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy met UPA chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday even as both parties have started bargaining behind the scenes on portfolios in the new Karnataka assembly.

On Sunday, Kumaraswamy, who will take oath as Karnatakas 25th chief minister on Wednesday, dismissed reports that JD(S) is working out a power-sharing formula with the Congress to head the government for 30 months each.

After the May 12 elections delivered a fractured mandate, BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa had formed the government, but resigned on Saturday as chief minister without facing a trust vote as he fell short of the required number of seats.

Here are the live updates:

10pm: Kumaraswamy tells reporters he has got a chance to serve the people again by Gods grace and his parents blessings despite a fractured mandate in the May 12 elections.

Although the people did not bless me and our party with a clear mandate, I have got an opportunity again to serve them by Gods grace and my parents blessings.

9:15pm: Rahul Gandhi confirms he will be attending the swearing-in ceremony of JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on May 23.

I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with Shri H D Kumaraswamy ji. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing in as CM of Karnataka, on Wednesday, in Bengaluru, tweets Gandhi.

8:30pm: HD Kumaraswamy criticises BJP president Amit Shah press conference in a series of tweets. He questioned why Amit Shah was describing the Congress-JD(S) alliance as unholy. The CM-designate added that the alliance is celebrating because Karnataka will get a secular government and a communal party has been left out of power.

7:35pm: I wanted to show my respect and regards to the Gandhi family. Thats why I came here. I requested them to be present at the oath-taking ceremony and both of them agreed to be there, says HD Kumaraswamy after his meeting in Delhi.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will also attend the swearing-in ceremony on May 23.

7:05pm: Kumaraswamy meets Sonia and Rahul Gandhi while JD(S) leader Danish Ali and Congress KC Venugopal are also present.

#Karnataka CM designate HD Kumaraswamy met Sonia Gandhi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. JD(S) Danish Ali and Congress's KC Venugopal also present. pic.twitter.com/Qqqf3PFJQ4  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

7pm: Kumaraswamy arrives at the residence of Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi.

6:50pm: Chief minister designate HD Kumaraswamy leaves Karnataka Bhawan to meet UPA chief Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

6:35pm: Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha moves Supreme Court against Karnataka Governors decision inviting Congress-JD (S) to form government: PTI

6.29 pm: Karnataka CM designate HD Kumaraswamy holds a telephonic conversation with CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and invites him to attend his swearing-in ceremony on May 23.

6:10pm: TV reports say Kumaraswamy will meet Rahul and Sonia Gandhi at 7pm today. He has arrived at the Karnataka Bhawan in Delhi.

5:35pm: I dont think Amit Shah has knowledge of or respects the Constitution. Even if he has the knowledge of the Constitution, he doesnt respect it: Congress leader Anand Sharmas rebuttal to the BJP presidents statement.

5.28 pm: Karnataka CM designate HD Kumaraswamy meets BSP chief Mayawati in Delhi.

5.00 pm: JD(S) leader and Karnataka CM-designate HD Kumaraswamy arrives in Delhi, to meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.

5:00pm: Congress has falsely claimed that Yeddyurappa ji asked for 7 days, from the Governor, to prove majority. If it was the case, they should have asked for the letter for him. Congress lawyer lied in the Court, said BJP President Amit Shah. He was referring to the Supreme Court hearing in which the Congress challenged Karnataka governor Vajubhai Valas decision to give BJP leader BS Yedyurappa 15 days to prove his majority.

4:28pm: In Goa and Manipur, the Congress never staked claim to form the government. Thats the reason the Governors called us to form the government in the states, answers Shah when asked about his belief that BJP deserved to form the government in Karnataka as it was the single largest party.

4:25pm: It was our (BJP) right to stake claim to a government in Karnataka, Shah says.

Humpe horse trading ka aarop lagaya hai, lekin Congress ne poora ka poora astabal (stable) bech khaya hai. We had the right, so we claimed for it (to form the govt): BJP President Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/w7XXAIZ9I3  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

4:23pm: Congress leaders have accepted that the audio tapes released by Congress were false and it was released to influence the case in the Supreme Court, says Amit Shah on allegations of horse-trading.

4:22pm: The BJP president claims that the party lost 13 seats by a margin that was less than NOTA.

4:21pm: Congress and JD(S) formed an alliance against the peoples mandate. This is what I call an unholy alliance, Amit Shah repeats his charge against the coalition government.

4:20pm: Theres a positive spin from this election -- the Congress now respects institutions, such as the Supreme Court, Election Commission and even EVMs: Amit Shah

4:17pm: Congress has found a new method to pronounce their loss as a victory: Amit Shahs scathing attack on Congress.Weve taken 14 states from the Congress in four years.

4:15pm: It was not a confused mandate since we were short of just 7 seats in Karnataka, the BJP president says.

4:13pm: What is the Congress celebrating about? That they lost their seats, that their ministers lost elections or that they are left only in PPP -- Puducherry, Punjab and Parivar, Amit Shah says referring to the abbreviation first used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a rally in Karnataka.

4:11pm: The BJP has emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka. I want to thank the BJP workers for their work in Karnataka elections: Amit Shah

4:10pm: BJP president Amit Shah holds a press conference, says the Karnataka mandate was against the Congress. There is no confusion otherwise. The Congress CM (Siddaramaiah) lost one seat and won the other by a small margin.

4pm: JD(S) leader Danish Ali says Kumaraswamy Ji is coming to Delhi to personally invite leaders of his pre-poll and post-poll alliance for his swearing in ceremony.

3.40pm: Kumaraswamy to meet BSP chief Mayawati in Delhi today, reports ANI.

3.15pm: Top Congress leaders have briefed Gandhi on the latest political developments in Karnataka, before the crucial deliberations on power-sharing arrangement with Kumaraswamy, reports PTI.

According to party sources, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ashok Gehlot and KC Venugopal met Gandhi this morning and apprised him about the sense prevailing among the party MLAs in the state.

1.45pm: Imposition of Presidents Rule would have been the right thing to do in Karnataka, former Chief Election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy told PTI.

On the first-past-the-post election system, where a candidate winning highest number of votes is declared winner, Krishnamurthy said it should be done away with. Read full story

12.53pm: They (BJP) offered me minister post and all, its a fact. I dont know about Hebbar (Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar who reportedly claimed that Congress lied about bribe tape), I can talk about myself. Yeddyurappa, Sriramulu and Muralidhar Rao spoke to me, Congress MLA BC Patil tells ANI.

12.43pm: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will attend Kumaraswamy s swearing-in ceremony, according to a Delhi government official.

12.37pm: We are 100% happy. Give and take policy is there, even in Bengalurus Municipal Corporation alliance is functioning smoothly for three years. Of course, some people in both parties will have to sacrifice as all cant become ministers, ANI quotes Congress Ramalinga Reddy on reports of Congress rift with JD(S).

12.10am: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will attend oath-taking ceremony of HD Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru on May 23. He was invited by JD(S) national president HD Deve Gowda, reports ANI.

12.03pm: Who told you? This is all bogus and fake news. This is not true, says Kumaraswamy, on reports of resentment within Congress over alliance with JD(S).

11.34am: All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha writes to Kumaraswamy, demanding Shamanuru Shivashankarappa of Congress, a Veerashaiva leader, be made home minister in the new government and five other leaders from the community be made ministers in the cabinet, reports ANI.

11.21am: When asked if Congress-JD(S) government will complete its full term, DK Shivakumar says, Time will answer. I dont want to answer it now. We have various issues, options before us, I cant tell right now.

#WATCH Congress leader DK Shivakumar says, 'Time will answer. I don't want to answer it now. We have various issues, options before us, I can't tell right now', when asked if Congress-JD(S) government will complete full term #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/wnDiKqg2Yj  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

Read: DK Shivakumar, the man who kept the Congress flock together in Karanataka

11.17am: Congress leader DK Shivakumar tells ANI, Rahul Gandhi has taken decision that there should be secular government here. Thats what the entire country needs and thats why we have taken this stand (alliance with JDS). I had to swallow all this bitterness, this is my duty.

10.35am: HD Kumaraswamy says he has invited Rajinikanth to come to Karnataka and look at the condition of the reservoirs. Water is not sufficient. I am sure he will understand, says the CM-designate on Rajinikanth asking new Karnataka government to release Tamil Nadus share of Cauvery river water.

9.45am: Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Lakshmi Narasimha Temple in Hassan.

The chief minister-designate will offer prayers at four temples in Karnataka before heading to Delhi. (ANI/Twitter)

9.35am: Karnataka Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and G Parameshwara will also arrive in Delhi today to discuss modalities related to government formation with the party high command.

9.29am: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababus cabinet colleagues have suggested that he attend the ceremony given his closeness to HD Deve Gowda, a statement from the party said.

The ministers told Naidu that he should take part in the swearing-in ceremony as it will send the right signals... and he has responded positively, the TDP statement said.

*Kumaraswamy is expected to arrive in Holenarasipura on Monday morning and visit the Lakshmi narasimha Temple, the Haradanahalli Shiva Temple, the Ranganatha Temple and the Yalimalaka Temple.

*The JD(S) leader will depart for Delhi from HAL Airport in Bengaluru at 11.30am. Kumaraswamy is expected to meet Rahul Gandhi at 3.30pm, followed by a meeting with Sonia Gandhi at 4.30 pm.

*He will leave for Bengaluru in the evening.Such is the level of passion that people invest in politics and political leaders that any change in fortunes deeply affects them.

A supporter of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa, H Chennabasappa of Santhebennur taluk, Chennagiri district, suffered a massive heart attack and died after watching on television his leader losing the battle to prove a majority in the assembly. Yeddyurappa, 75, had resigned from the post of chief minister ahead of a Supreme Court-mandated floor test on Saturday.

Chennabasappas distraught family says he was a huge fan of the former chief minister and could not bear to see him lose the chief ministers chair.

BSY hearing the news, has condoled the death and is expected to visit the deceaseds family to express his sympathies on Monday.

Off attires and oaths

Even as the Karnataka legislature was tense through the day as both the Congess-JD(S) coalition and the BJP made efforts till the last minute to ensure their side won, one MLA was the cynosure of all eyes, especially photographers and TV cameramen. Prabhu Chauhan, the BJP MLA from Aurad in Bidar district, had come in full regalia wearing a pink headdress and traditional rural attire.

It was during the oathtaking ceremony that the individual preferences of the MLAs truly came into play. Congress MLA from Kundgol Chanbasappa Shivalli took the oath in the name of BR Ambedkar, while JD(S)s Manvi legislator took the oath in the name of his father and party leader HD Kumaraswamy.

Saffron partys own Kaurava

The Kauravas are seen as the villains in the epic Mahabarata. For BJP, there is a real life Kaurava who seemed to have played spoilsport in their effort to cobble together a majority. BC Patil, a former sub-inspector, had a penchant for dramas. With his twirling moustache, he used to play the role of the Kaurava leader Duryodhana so well that he came to be known as Kaurava B C Patil.

He later graduated from dramas to movies, where he had middling success and subsequently jumped into politics . He had won the assembly polls from Hirekerur twice -- first on a JD(S) and then on a Congress ticket. This time, contesting on a Congress ticket, he barely scraped through to a win against his BJP opponent by a margin of 555 votes. The reason why the BJP camp is seeing a real-life villain in him is that he features in two of the audio tapes. He is being credited by the Congress camp with having trapped even Yeddyurappa himself, claiming to be ready to cross over with 3-4 other MLAs. Interestingly, Patil took the oath in the new assembly in the name of Eeshwar and Allah.The law ministry has shot down as legally untenable a string of measures, such as impounding of passports and confiscation of property, suggested by an inter-ministerial group to deter NRI men from deserting their wives, officials familiar with the development have said.

Women and child development (WCD) minister Maneka Gandhi last week wrote to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, who heads the group, to call another meeting to end the deadlock that threatens to derail the move to help abandoned wives.

The law ministrys position has resulted in all efforts made so far coming to a standstill. There will be no deterrent unless stringent steps are taken against  NRI men who have failed to respond to repeated summons, an official said on condition of anonymity.

With more and more Indians going abroad to study and work, there has been a sharp rise in men deserting their wives after marrying them in India.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) received 346 complaints from such women in 2014, the latest year for which figures are available.

They were mostly about men preventing women from travelling by taking away their passports, disappearing after marriage, abandoning them in foreign countries and keeping children abroad with no contact with the mother.

The number would be much higher as only a handful of women come forward with their complaints, WCD ministry officials say.

The ministerial panel was set up in 2017 to review the legal and regulatory challenges faced by women. Nitin Gadkari, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Maneka Gandhi, Smriti Irani, Narendra Singh Tomar and VK Singh are the other members of the group.

The panel also suggested that the external affairs ministry put on its website summons issued to NRI men after they fail to respond to the one sent to their address. Such notices were to be treated as deemed to have been served.

The current practice is that once a woman lodges a complaint, police write to embassies that issue a summons but in most cases it is not received as either the address is false or the person has moved to a new place.

The law ministry has not agreed to this proposal also. Without this, the regulatory framework that the inter-ministerial panel had recommended to help women abandoned or abused by NRI husbands will not have any meaning, a WCD ministry official said.

Following the recommendations, Gandhi had written to the home and law ministries to make necessary changes in the law to make the suggestions operational.The ministry had on December 20 constituted an integrated nodal agency for addressing NRI marital disputes.

The agency, headed by WCD secretary Rakesh Srivastava, has held eight meetings and issued six lookout circulars for husbands who have ignored non-bailable warrantsPrime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a day-long informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russias Sochi during the two leaders vowed to strengthen their relationship and work towards a strong multipolar world.

All in 9 hours! Continuing the tradition of high-leve visits, PM Modi arrives in Sochi for informal summit with President Putin. The two leaders will meet with delegation, followed by a private lunch at Bocharev Creek and conclude with Tete-a-tete before departing today, said Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson at the ministry of external affairs.

This was the first meeting between President Putin and Prime Minister Modi this year, however, since the beginning of the year, the two leaders have had several phone conversations.

Here are the updates:

11.30 pm: Russian President Putin bids farewell to PM Modi at the airport as the latter wraps visit to Sochi.

Farewell, my friend! In a special gesture symbolizing our friendship, Russian President #Putin personally bid farewell to PM @narendramodi at the airport at the conclusion of PM's short but successful visit to Russia. pic.twitter.com/uK8mqGfiip  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

11.28 pm : Prime Minister invites President Putin for the 19th Annual Summit in India later in the year.

Sharing some highlights from the Informal Summit in Sochi. I thank President Putin for the exceptional hospitality. https://t.co/IlX314KJsq



via NMApp  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2018

11.08 pm: Both leaders agreed theyve responsibility for maintaining global peace and stability and this format of informal summit is additional level of exchanges between them, says Indian foreign secretary, according to ANI report.

9.13 pm: PM Modi leaves Sirius Educational Centre.

9.10 pm: PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin visit Sirius Educational Centre in Sochi.

PM @narendramodi and Russian President #Putin visited Sirius, an incubator for gifted children and interacted with exceptionally talented young people from all regions of Russia at a Special monthly camp. pic.twitter.com/nWLVzJAMuq  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

9.00 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Moya Russia-Ethno Centre in Sochi, reports ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin at Moya Russia-Ethno Centre in Sochi, earlier today. #Russia pic.twitter.com/EBoUwjeC52  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

8.30 pm: PM Modi says reviewed complete range of India-Russia relations.

Extremely productive discussions with President Putin. We reviewed the complete range of India-Russia relations as well as other global subjects. Friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time. Our ties will continue to scale newer heights in the coming years. pic.twitter.com/EnNMarJkcB  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2018

7.37pm: PM Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin take a ride yacht in the Black Sea.

Boat ride on the Black Sea! PM @narendramodi and Russian President #Putin had plenty to discuss as they sail together from Bocharev Creek to Olympic Park in #Sochi. @IndEmbMoscow pic.twitter.com/20bPWGzBip  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

6.30 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates President Vladimir Putin and Russia for playing host to the FIFA World Cup 2018 beginning next month.

5.35 pm : Ministry of external affairs tweets pictures of PM Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin on the formers arrival in Sochi with the caption, And this is how close friends meet!.

And this is how close friends meet! PM @narendramodi with Russian President Putin on his arrival at Bocharev Creek in #Sochi for the bilateral meeting. Pictures reflecting our deep and long standing ties! pic.twitter.com/dt5lty2K6D  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

5.10 pm: Prime Minister Modi invokes former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee at least seven times in his opening remarks.

Being a friend of Russia for a long time, we want to see Russia as a strong and confident country having an important role in the multipolar world, Modi quotes Vajpayee as saying during Putins visit to India in 2000.

He says that it is our pleasure to see that dream and farsightedness of Atal Bihari Vajpayee come true.

5.00 pm:

Relationship characterised by deep trust, mutual respect and immense goodwill! Russian President #Putin warmly welcomed PM @narendramodi at Bocharev Creek in #Sochi ahead of the delegation-level talks. pic.twitter.com/dOKaHE61VV  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

4.45 pm: PM Modi says the strategic partnership between India and Russia has now been elevated into a special privileged strategic partnership.

4.21 pm: PM Modi says Russia played a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS, says Modi.

SCO is an eight nation bloc which aims at military and economic cooperation between the member states. India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation.

4.03 pm: India and Russia have been friends for a long time. Thankful to President Putin for inviting me for an informal meeting at Sochi, says PM Narendra Modi

4.00 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi. The two leaders also held a meeting. #Russia pic.twitter.com/5X5ckcRIL2  ANI (@ANI) May 21, 2018

1.00 pm: PM Modi reaches Sochi in Russia.

PM @narendramodi reached Sochi, where he will take part in an informal summit with President Putin. pic.twitter.com/0FDg6TluAC  PMO India (@PMOIndia) May 21, 2018

* The two leaders may also deliberate on extending the Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation to third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor project, Indias engagement with the five-nation Eurasian Economic Union and the situation in the Korean peninsula.

* On the eve of his visit to Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hoped his talks with President Vladimir Putin would further strengthen the special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia.

* Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him, he tweeted.The NDA government has almost done away with the blacklist of overseas Sikhs which denied them an Indian visa, a senior BJP leader told Sikh community members here.

The blacklisted NRI Sikhs are barred from travelling to India due to their alleged ties with Khalistan movement in the 80s and 90s. The list was prepared at different levels by the security agencies.

The names in the list, and denial of India visas to them, of late, has been one of the main reasons of discontent among the Sikh communities in the US.

We have almost done away with the most inhuman black list, which used to deny the community their right to visit India, the right to visit Harmandir sahib, right to meet with their relatives, near and dear ones, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav told a congregation of Sikhs at one of the oldest Gurdwaras of Maryland in a suburb of Washington DC.

The (black) list has been almost completely removed. Only a few individuals remain (on the list). Those names will also go, he said.

Early this year, several Sikh Gurdwaras in the US had announced that they would not let any Indian government official to address their congregation. A large number of Gurdwaras had later denied such a move.

Madhav said the government has approached the Supreme Court to cancel anticipatory bails of those who had led the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, that took the lives of more than 3,000 people, so that they can be put behind the bars, he said.

Madhav also addressed a gathering of Indian Americans where he said the BJP wants to be ruling in all the 29 states of India.

We narrowly missed the 22nd State. It should rightfully belong to us. People voted for Mukti from Congress, he said and alleged that the Congress-brand politics has made a back-door entry to power in Karnataka, even after it lost the recently concluded Assembly elections.

They have managed to try and enter from the backdoor. Congress is the party of the past. It is (now) ready to be a second fiddle to a local party. They are happy, as long as they are able to keep BJP out (of power) for at least three months. BJP is the present of India and BJP is going to be the future of India, Madhav said at the New India event organised by Overseas Friends of BJP to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the NDA government.

He said that the government has decided not to have security operations during the month of Ramadan in Jammu and Kashmir.

But this does not mean that the security forces would be siting ducks for anybody to come and attack.

If any attack happened, it would be retaliated with full force, said the BJP leader who is partys in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir.Epidemiologists and virologists are investigating whether the outbreak in Kerala of Nipah, a zoonotic disease that is usually transmitted to humans from fruit bats, could be the result of human-to- human transmission.

It could be a case of human-to-human transmission but it is too early to confirm that as our expert team has just reached the spot, and will take about a day or two to submit its report, said Preeti Sudan, Union health secretary, who is getting regular updates of the situation.

We have sent samples for checking to the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune and expect the results to help us understand better the exact nature of transmission, said Sudan.

A team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is also in Kerala to investigate the source of transmission after NIV confirmed three deaths on Sunday.

Our initial investigation says people have died due to respiratory distress syndrome that damaged their lungs. We are conducting a detailed investigation and should know soon what exactly the situation is on ground, said Dr Promila Gupta, director general health services (DGHS).

Whether it was a single source infection or one of the three dead got infected and infected others is difficult to tell and needs to be investigated. Our focus will be to find out the source of spread, said a team member, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

Doctors at a the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Kochi, where two persons  a 19-year-old woman and 1.5-year-old child are admitted, also suspect suspect human-to-human transmission as both had contact with the three dead where Nipah has been confirmed by NIV.

The womans fiancee has died of Nipah so she has a history of close contact and the child suffers from a congenital heart defect because of which he was admitted in the same hospital ward as one of the dead . The reports for both so far are negative but as the incubation period is 18 days, we might send samples for repeat testing, said Dr Sanjeev Singh, medical director, AIMS, Kochi.

The woman had symptoms of fever and cough along with headache, nausea and tiredness. Her fiance and his brother are among the confirmed Nipah deaths.

She is being managed with strict contact isolation in an isolation ward even though her symptoms are gone , say doctors treating her.

There appears to be human-to-human transmission as the high infection rate suggests. It is unlikely that so many people will eat the same food or drink same water, added Dr Singh.At least nine people are feared to have died in North Kerala from the Nipah virus, an infection which has high fatality rate and spreads mainly through bats, pigs and other animals, state health officials said.

More deaths have been reported from the area but the cause of these deaths is not known yet.

The situation is well under control. Officially, we have confirmed nine fever deaths from the two districts of Kozhikkode and Malappuram. Of these, four cases have been confirmed to be Nipah-infected, Keralas health minister KK Shailaja told the Hindustan Times.

Two of the deaths on Monday took place in the Kozhikode Medical College and two others died at the taluk hospital.

The Union Health Ministry has rushed a team of experts to assist the state which is struggling to cope with the outbreak.

The high-level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been asked to assist the Kerala government and closely monitor the situation.

We are closely monitoring the situation. I have spoken to tourism minister K J Alphons and Kerala health minister K K Shailaja , and assured them all support of the central government. I have also dispatched a central team to assist the state government and initiate required steps, Union health minister J P Nadda said in a statement from Geneva.

Read: All you need to know about Nipah virus

On Sunday night, the fears of the Nipah virus came true with Keralas Health Director RL Saritha announcing it after eight people had died.

The National Virology Institute in Pune has confirmed that the dead were infected with Nipah virus, Saritha said Sunday night. She did not mention how many of the dead had tested positive.

There is no vaccine or medicine for the disease and only form of treatment is supportive medicines and palliative care.

At least 12 people are admitted in various hospitals and 20 others are under observation. Many families who were staying closer to the affected dwellings have been evacuated to safer places and domestic animals are also under observation, a senior health official said.

The state health department has decided to set up isolation wards in government and private hospitals to contain the deadly virus. Lini, a nurse who attended to the two men who died, was herself hospitalised for a week before she died Monday morning. Her body was cremated at the electric crematorium immediately triggering strong protests from her relatives because it was not handed over to them.

The body of another person who died, Velauthan (64), was also cremated in the electric crematorium to prevent the disease from spreading.

Agitated heath workers complained that they have not been given enough precautionary gadgets to contain the infection.

The outbreak started with the death of three members of a family in Perambra in a span of two weeks. At least four others of the family are admitted in the hospital with same symptoms. Local people said they had informed the authorities after the death of some domesticated animals but their complaints were ignored.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) India reported two outbreaks of Nipah virus encephalitis in West Bengal, bordering Bangladesh, in 2001 and 2007. Seventy one cases with 50 deaths (70% of the cases) were reported in two outbreaks.

The first identification of Nipah virus as a cause of an outbreak of encephalitis was reported in 2001 in Meherpur district of Bangladesh. The WHO says Nipah virus (NiV) encephalitis is an emerging infectious disease of public health importance in the South-East Asia Region.

(With inputs from PTI)Panic and grief pervaded Kozhikode Medical College Hospital in northern Kerala where most of the suspected Nipah virus-affected victims are undergoing treatment.

Scores of people affected by fever and minor ailments swarmed the hospital on Monday, fearing they had contracted disease, as doctors and paramedical staff found the sudden rush overwhelming.

So far nine people have died in the outbreak and 12 are admitted in various hospitals, while 20 others are under observation.

There is no vaccine or medicine for the disease and the only form of treatment is supportive medicines and palliative care.

In a corner of the hospital, Radhamani, the aged mother of the nurse Lini, who treated the first three victims and later contracted the viral disease and died, was wailing inconsolably. Her relatives were at loss trying to console her.

We were not allowed to even see her body properly, Radhamani complained. Linis body was cremated at an electric crematorium by health officials. As a precaution, her relatives were asked to stay away.

Her husband, Sajeesh, who works in the Middle East, came back on Sunday, but was not able to see her. Their two children, Rithul (5) and Siddarth (2), have been kept under observation.

She was suffering from fever and headache for almost a week, said Radhamani. We never thought things will come to such a pass. My daughter would have been saved if the hospital had taken some precautions.

Measures Taken For Medical Staff

Linis death and the reported admission of two other nurses triggered panic among the medical fraternity.

Lini had tended to the first three victims Mohammed Sadik (26), his brother Mohamed Saliah (28) and their paternal aunt Mariumma (50) at the taluk hospital. Health officials suspect they might have contracted the virus from the bats when Sadik and Saliah were cleaning a well at their home two weeks back.

Kerala health minister, K K Shailaja, who has been camping in the district for the last two days, sought to assuage the fears, saying, We have taken enough measures to protect the medical staff. All efforts will be done to ensure their safety.

Masks, gloves and antiseptic lotions have been distributed. A central team has reportedly suggested full medical gear for the staff, but such gears are not common here.

Shailaja also said that the well of Moosa Haji, the father of the deceased youth and who is in the hospital now, has been closed and examinations are on in nearby wells.

At least 30 families from nearby houses have been evacuated and 150 people from two villages, Cheruvanoor and Perambra, have shifted on their own.

Officials are catching and culling the bats to check the spread of virus.

Officials Confident of Containing Virus

According to health officials, those who contracted the disease directly have died and those who contracted the virus from them have either died or manifested symptoms of the disease. The second-level cases are either relatives or people who nursed/treated them and isolation was the best way to contain them, they said.

Since the state has got good medical infrastructure, officials were confident of containing the virus in a couple of days.

People living in affected areas have been asked not to travel and refrain from making any contact with the affected or their relatives for at least two weeks.

We have been asked not to come to the hospital. My aunts body was cremated by health officials. We never imagined such a plight, said Janaki Amma, a relative of another deceased.

He said villagers noticed some dead bats and fowls a couple of days ago but ignored them.

Central Team Begins Coordination

Meanwhile, a team from the National Centre for Disease Control reached Kozhikode and started consultation with health officials. Control rooms have been opened in all government and private hospitals of the area. Three isolation wards were opened at the medical college hospital and doctors have been strictly advised to refer only patients to the medical college who show symptoms of the dreaded virus. The government has cancelled leaves of doctors and para-medical staff to meet the emergency.

The Kerala government has dismissed allegations that it failed to take immediate action after the outbreak.

We have acted swiftly. Damage has been contained to an extent, minister Shailaja said, adding that when the first three deaths were reported, the government took note of them and swung into action and alerted the Union health ministry.

Also read | Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala: All you need to know about the infectionUnion minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday Pakistan was guilty of sacrilege for killing innocent civilians during the holy month of Ramzan.

Speaking to reporters soon after his arrival in Jammu to attend the Udhampur District Development Board (DDB) meeting in his capacity as the local MP, Singh said Pakistan was indulging in the worst kind of unholy (na-pak) activity.

He was replying to questions on Pakistani forces firing at and shelling villages on the Indian side and killing people in the holy month of Ramzan, when India had announced a ceasefire as regards anti-terror operations in Kashmir.

Singh said Pakistan, which was carved out to establish a dispensation based on the principles of the Quran, had proved unworthy of its avowed objective.

He added that it was for the entire world to see that while, during the observance of Roza, every practising Muslim was forbidden from causing harm to fellow human beings, there was an Islamic State that found nothing wrong in indulging in violence and killing of civilians.

The Union minister of state at the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) said for every single gun-fire from the other side, there were multiple gun-fires in retaliation from the Indian side.

He added that in the last several decades, there was never such a powerful retaliatory action from the Indian side, which had resulted in heavy damage on the other side.

Giving full credit to the Indian Army and the security forces, Singh said under the current BJP-led government, the forces enjoyed the professional freedom to decide on the nature and quantum of retaliation, based on their discretion and on-the-spot assessment.

We have some of the best forces in the world, for which we are proud and also deeply indebted, he added.

Expressing concern over the civilian casualties and damage as a result of Pakistani firing, Singh said there could be no compensation for the loss of a human life, but nevertheless, the government would try to provide the best possible assistance and relief to the victims and their families.

Later, the Union minister attended the DDB meeting, along with board chairman and Jammu and Kashmir forest minister Rajiv Jasrotia and all the three MLAs from the district -- Pawan Gupta, Dina Nath Bhagat and RS Pathania.A deadly and contagious virus is suspected to have killed 12 people in Kozhikode in north Kerala, leading to hundreds of people with symptoms of fever into rushing to hospitals in panic, and forcing the central government to send a team of experts to monitor and control the spread of infection.

The Pune-based National Institute of Virology on Sunday confirmed three deaths, and a fourth illness from the same family, as caused by the Nipah virus. The surviving member of the family is critical and on ventilator support.

Humans get infected by consuming fruit- or date-palm sap contaminated by infected bats but while human-to-human transmission through body fluids is rare, it was recorded in Siliguri district in West Bengal in 2001 and is being suspected in Kerala. Four deaths were reported on Monday, including of a nurse who treated the three initial infections at the EMS Cooperative Hospital in Perambra . At least six persons are in critical condition and another 20 are under observation, state health officials said.

The death of the nurse triggered panic among hospital staff who have had their leaves cancelled to treat the sick. Three more nurses from the EMS Co-operative Hospital in Perambra are under observation at Kozhikode Medical College Hospital after they developed fever and headache, but whether they are suffering from Nipah is yet unconfirmed. All three had looked after the sick from the Moosa family, who have since then been identified as the first human cases of the virus in the state.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked people not to panic as the situation is under control.

He has sought the help of private hospitals to tide over the crisis following reports that some private hospitals refused to admit people with Nipah-like symptoms and agreed only after the state government offered to pay the medical bills.

Of the 12 suspected deaths, six are from Kozhikode and the others from Malappuram. All the dead exhibited symptoms of fever, severe headache, and respiratory illness, and blood and fluid samples have been sent to NIV, Pune for confirmatory diagnosis. The results are expected by Tuesday, state health secretary Rajeev Sadanandan said.

The three confirmed deaths from Nipah virus infection are all from the same family in Kozhikode districts Changaroth village, Kerala health minister KK Shailaja said.

There is no vaccine for Nipah, which has a mortality rate of 70% in India.

Health officials have found a large number of bats in the familys well and we suspect these bats are primarily responsible for the virus, said Shailaja. The well has been sealed and authorities are checking other wells in the neighbourhood.

At least 30 families in neighbourhood of the Moosa home have been evacuated while 150 persons from Cheruvanoor and Perambra villages moved out on their own. Culling of bats is on to check the spread of virus, which was identified in Malaysias Kampung Sungai Nipah in 1998.

A team from the National Centre for Disease Control in Delhi reached Kozhikode and has set up control rooms in all government and private hospitals in the district to monitor the spread of the infection.President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday refused to accept an honorary doctorate that was to be conferred on him by the horticulture and forestry university at its annual convocation in Nauni in Solan district.

The Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry planned to confer a Doctorate of Science (DSc) degree on Kovind, who gave away degrees and gold medals to meritorious students at the ninth convocation of the varsity. I would like to congratulate all the students who have been conferred the degree. I was happy when I was offered an honorary degree from the university. I refused to receive this degree as I dont deserve it. I appreciate the respect and honour the university has shown me, he said.

Kovind had conveyed in advance that he would not accept the honorary degree, varsitys PRO Suchet Attri said. On the occasion, the President underlined the significance of the horticulture university. It gives me immense pleasure to be here at the convocation, as I am fondly remembering my days as student, he said. He also stressed on branding horticulture and agriculture goods, especially as Himachal was known worldwide for its apples, mushroom cultivation and Kangra tea.

Kovind also paid tributes to the founder and former chief minister of the state, Dr Yashwant Singh Parmar, after whom the university was named. He also said that as chancellor, he will visit all the central universities during his tenure.

Usually I am reluctant to visit state universities, but Nauni university has its own importance as it was one of its kind in the continent, he said.Authorities on Monday imposed restrictions in parts of Srinagar to thwart a proposed rally by separatists on the death anniversaries of two separatist leaders even as life was affected in rest of the Kashmir valley due to a shutdown.

Separatist leaders under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) had called for a shutdown and urged people to gather at Martyrs Graveyard in Eidgah area of old city to commemorate the death anniversaries of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone.

Police and CRPF laid iron barricades and concertina wires to block many parts of old city including Eidgah to prevent any mass movement and gathering of people.

Restrictions have been imposed in areas falling under five police stations of downtown while Masiuma and Kralkud areas have been partially put under restrictions, said a police official.

Shops, businesses and educational institutes were mostly closed while public transport movement was very negligible following the shutdown call. All Kashmir University examinations scheduled for the day were postponed. Authorities also suspended train services between south and north Kashmir fearing protests.

JRL leader Syed Ali Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were put under house arrest ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit last weekend while Yasin Malik was in police custody.

Mirwaiz Umar, who is son of Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, expressed his anger over the restrictions.

at Eidgah Martyrs graveyard as #YoumETajdeedEAhed as half the city has been put under severe curfew and restrictions but the commitment to carry forward the legacy of our Martyrs till freedom from occupation runs deep in the heart of each one of us! pic.twitter.com/K4TwFHPJNz  Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) May 21, 2018

The Nation today joins to pay glowing tributes to the peoples leader #ShaheedEMillat Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq, #ShaheedEHurriyat Abdul Ghani lone and the #61Martyrs of #Hawal Massacre on their Martyrdom anniversary. The rulers will not allow us to collectively commemorate this day at Eidgah Martyrs graveyard as #YoumETajdeedEAhed as half the city has been put under severe curfew and restrictions but the commitment to carry forward the legacy of our Martyrs till freedom from occupation runs deep in the heart of each one of us! , he said in two consecutive tweets.

Mirwaiz Mohammad Farooq was killed by unidentified assailants on this day in 1990. Many others were killed on the day when security forces allegedly opened fire on mourners bearing the body of the chief priest. While commemorating the day in 2002, another separatist leader Abdul Gani Lone was also shot dead on the same day at Eidgah.

This is third day of restrictions in old city since Saturday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Kashmir to inaugurate some developmental projects.A multi-disciplinary team of doctors reached Kerala on Monday to probe the deaths of nine people in confirmed and suspected cases of the Nipah virus, a deadly infection which spreads mainly through bats, pigs and other animals, in the states Kozhikode district.

The team comprises officials from the department of animal husbandry, National Institute of Immunology and Indian Council of Medical Research, among others. The ministry is in close touch with Kerala health department to monitor the situation, a health ministry official said.

The team constituted by the Union health ministry is being headed by the director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

The Kozhikode health department is maintaining a vigil in the wake of the nine deaths. Unconfirmed reports, however, put the death toll at 12. Two more people, who were allegedly in contact with the deceased, are believed to be in a serious condition.

Kerala health minister KK Shailaja said on Monday things were under control and that there was no need to panic.

All the periphery hospitals of the Kozhikode Medical College hospital are fully equipped to tackle the fever. All those who have fever need not rush to the medical college itself, Shailaja said.

At the moment, eight patients are currently in treatment. Their samples have been sent to Pune and results are awaited, she added.

Read: Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala: All you need to know about the infection

The outbreak started with the death of three members of a family in Perambra in a span of two weeks. At least four others of the family are under close observation in the hospital with same symptoms.

The health officials visited the house of Sabith and his brother, who passed away due to Nipah virus, and found there was a well in their house that was unused but had lots of bats. The authorities have sealed the top of the well to ensure that the remaining bats do not come out, the minister said.

She also added that people were being educated to ensure that they do not eat any fruits that fall down from trees.

Awareness programmes have already begun and more and more medical teams from the Centre, the Indian Medical Association and private hospitals are being readied. The first central team has already arrived and another one is arriving tomorrow (Tuesday), Shailaja said adding that all those coming down with a fever must not panic.

The state government has sanctioned an emergency fund of Rs 20 lakh to the Kozhikode Medical College to tackle the present fever outbreak.

The Nipah virus, named after a Malaysian village where it was first discovered in 1998, infection can be transmitted to humans through direct contact with infected bats and pigs or from other infected people. The natural host of the virus is fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus.

The symptoms of a Nipah virus infection range from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

There is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care, the WHO says on its website.

Nipah virus infection can be prevented by avoiding exposure to sick pigs and bats in endemic areas and not drinking raw date palm sap and not consuming fruits that have fallen from trees.Six persons were killed and thousands left homeless in Tripura after flash floods triggered mudslides following

heavy rain in the last 48 hours, state government officials said on Monday.

The state emergency operation centre confirmed six deaths people and injuries to three due to landslides. Around 17,840 people were living in 71 relief camps set up across the northeastern state, said officials, who described the scale of pre-monsoon rains as unprecedented.

Parts of the state capital Agartala and outskirts of West Tripura, Khowai, Gomati and Sepahijala districts were submerged while Haora and Gomati rivers were flowing above the danger mark.

Weather department has warned of more rain in the coming days in the state that has recorded 857.7mm of rainfall since March 1 against the annual figure of 2,200 mm.

Waterlogging and flash floods are common in the states low-lying areas during the monsoon.

Chief minister Biplab Deb visited to the water-logged areas of his assembly constituency Banamalipur and also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of dead and Rs 1 lakh for the reconstruction of damaged houses.

The government will extend all possible assistance to the flood victims at the earliest, Deb said.

The Centre had accepted the state governments proposal to build two dams on the Haora river to check floods and store water for the dry spell, officer on special duty to chief minister Sanjay Mishra said.Indian history is replete with those who have significantly advanced human knowledge, with surgeons from the era capable of performing complex medical procedures like cataract and plastic surgery, vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu said in Kochi on Monday.

He said besides surgeons, many scientists, mathematicians, physicians, chemists, metallurgists, astronomers and a number of innovators in ancient India have significantly advanced human knowledge.

Naidu was addressing a function organised to honour young scientists in Kalady, the birthplace of Adi Shankaracharya, about 45km from Kochi.

One recalls a number of such illustrious names like Aryabhata, Pingala, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara, Varahamihira, Charaka and Sushrutha. India gave the concept of zero and the binary system to the world,  he said.

We knew how to make steel alloys and smelt zinc. Our ancient surgeons could conduct many complicated surgeries, including plastic surgery and cataract surgery, he said.

He conferred the Adi Shankara Asianet News Young Scientist Awards 2018 at the Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering & Technology, Kalady.

Naidu said the award was an eloquent testimony to the inquisitiveness, ingenuity and innovative initiative inherent in young India.

He said along with gross national income,the focus must also be on how Science and Technology can foster greater happiness and better quality of life, as well as harmonious inclusive societies.

Knowledge must lead us to become wise and we must have the wisdom to use the knowledge we acquire for improving our lives, Naidu said.

The vice president said one should draw inspiration from the best in Indian tradition, remove the deadwood accumulated over the years and revitalise the nation.

Noting that nearly two third of the countrys population is aged below 35 years, Naidu said if youth can acquire the right mix of knowledge, skills and attitudes required for the 21st century, the dividends to growth and development could be enormous.

Advancement of human knowledge has occurred in our country because of the spirit of enquiry, the ability to question, the ability to research and the ability to arrive at the truth, he said.

The vice president said three qualities were needed to achieve excellence, the first of which was willingness to learn from each and every person, institution and learning resource.

The second is the ability to probe, analyse and synthesise and the third, to search for out of the box solutions to the problems at hand, he added.With Nipah virus being reported for the first time in Kerala, the state health minister KK Shailaja has been camping in the worst-affected Kozhikode district since Sunday. Excerpts from an interview with Ramesh Babu:

Q:Is there panic among the people? What is the situation on the ground?

A: The situation is well under control. Officially, we have confirmed nine fever deaths from the two districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram. Of these, four cases have been confirmed to be Nipah-infected.

Everything is under control and there is no need to panic. We have contained the outbreak effectively.

Q:The opposition parties are alleging delay and inept handling.

A: Not true. We were on our toes when the second case was reported on May 18. We immediately rushed blood and other samples to virology institute (National Institute of Virology) in Pune and sought the help of two well-known hospitals, Kasturbha Medical College in Manipal and Apollo (Hospital) in Chennai.

Take other outbreaks in the world, we identified the malady in record time and took effective measures. We managed it well due to the states robust health infrastructure. If need be, we will seek assistance from world bodies like the World Health Organisation.

Q: What about those under observation in hospitals?

A: Nine persons are in hospital and the condition of four is serious. It seems they are epidemiologically-linked.

Thirty persons are under observation. They are in their homes and health officials are keeping a tab on them. (If they develop) any symptoms, they will be moved to isolation wards immediately. Most of them are bystanders and relatives of the infected.

Q: What triggered the outbreak? What is being done to curb it?

A: Expert say fruit bats are the main suspect. We have asked people not to eat fruits bitten by bats. We have ordered at least 10,000 personal protection equipment (PPE) for medical staff and others. We have summoned enough officials and volunteers from other districts. Top officials are camping in the area. Another team from the Centre, including experts from AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi), is reaching the state on Tuesday.Five people, including a minor, were arrested on Monday for flogging a Dalit man to death in Shaper, on the outskirts of Rajkot, Gujarat. The accused also assaulted two women related to the victim.

Police said that Mukesh Vaniya, 30, was tied to the gate of a factory owned by Jayshukh Radadiya and beaten to death by Radadiya, Chirag Vora, Divyesh Vora, Tejas Zala and a minor. They also beat Vaniyas wife, Jaya, and their relative, Savita.

Vaniya had moved with his wife to Rajkot four days ago from Parnala village in Surendranagar district. Jaya said they had moved because she required treatment for a cardiac ailment.

Seeing us around the factory, they (the accused workers) inquired about our caste. When we said we are chamar (Dalit), they asked us to clear the garbage to which we refused, Jaya told HT. She said the accused first verbally abused them and then became violent, saying she and Savita were beaten up with belts. Soon they tied my husband to the gate and told us to leave or they would kill us, Jaya said.

She and Savita returned with help, but Vaniya died on the way to Rajkot Civil Hospital.

Deputy superintendent of police DM Chauhan said five people, including a minor, have been arrested after an FIR was registered on charges of murder and under the SC/ST Atrocities Act.

The police said one of the accused had filmed the crime, which was also captured by the CCTV camera installed at the factory. We have seized the video and the CCTV recording, DSP Chauhan said. Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani later released the video on social media.

The DSP said the accused have claimed that the three had tried to steal trash. We are investigating both versions, Chauhan said.

The family claimed Vaniyas body after the government released a compensation of ~8 lakh, and returned to Parnala village to perform the last rites.The Rajasthan government has exempted Muslim teachers from night stay at residential training camps, a move seen as the BJPs attempt to reach out to the minority community ahead of assembly elections.

The decision comes a week after state social justice minister Arun Chaturvedi announced modernisation of 500 madrasas in the state.

The state education department is holding six-day training camps for elementary school teachers in separate lots. The camps that started on May 14 will continue till June 30.

The department has issued an order exempting Muslim teachers from staying overnight at the camps as the dates coincide with Ramzan. The Muslim teachers will have to attend the academic sessions during the day and will be allowed to leave in the evening.

Rajasthan Council of Elementary Education deputy commissioner Priya Balram Sharma said the trainees observing Roza would be allowed to leave after the academic session.

In some districts, teachers from all the communities have protested against night stay in training camps, saying the department has not ensured facilities for women at the venues.

Training sessions will be held from 9am to 6pm, and teachers will have to stay at the camps in the night. The education department has installed bio-metric machines at the venues to ensure teachers presence during night time.

A week ago, the state social justice department had announced that madrasas would be developed with latest infrastructure and technology under Adarsh Madarasa Yojana announced in the budget by chief minister Vasundhara Raje.

A committee to be headed by district collector will select the madarsas, and resources and technology will be provided to them based upon its recommendation, the minister said.

Political analysts said the government should consult stakeholders before taking major decisions. Unilateral decisions cannot be introduced even if it is beneficial for the community. The camps could have been held after Ramzan, political analyst Rajiv Gupta said.

Modernisation of madrasas is a good idea as goal of education is to make students more rational, but again the stakeholders should be taken into confidence first and it should not be imposed upon the community, he said.

In another decision, the state BJPs minority morcha workers have been instructed to create awareness about government schemes among the minority community members during the holy month of Ramzan.

The BJP lost by-elections in two Lok Sabha constituencies of Alwar and Ajmer that have sizeable Muslim population. The state polls are slated for December this year.There is good news for air travellers as airfares have come down on most flights operating out of Jaipur starting June 1 due to the fall in demand and increase in the number of flights.

Airfares that had climbed up during the last winter holiday season remained high until last week, tour operators said.

While fares for destinations like Chennai and Jammu remain high as the number of flights is less, fares for flights from Jaipur to Delhi, Mumbai and other popular destinations, have come down.

While the starting fares on budget carrier SpiceJet for one-way trip from Jaipur to Delhi for June 1 is  1,802, the minimum fare on Jet Airways is 1,970.

On the Jaipur-Mumbai route, the starting fare on Indigo flight for June 1 is  3,917.

The fares on most routes have dropped by 15-20% in the last one week. Apart from the increase in the number of flights, the other reason for fares coming down is that holiday season will end in May, said Dilip Ramani of Skylight Tours and Travels.

Three new flights to Bengaluru and Pune will commence from Jaipur airport from June 1. At present, 61 daily flights operate from Jaipur out of which six are international and the rest are domestic. The total number of flights will go up to 65 from June 1.

The fares on some routes had shot up in March after the DGCA had grounded Airbus A320neo aircrafts of Indigo.

On March 12, 11 Airbus A320neo aircrafts belonging to IndiGo and GoAir, powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, were grounded due to engine glitches.

The fares to some routes were also expected to come down after full implementation of regional air connectivity scheme in Rajasthan under which many tier-3 cities will be connected to Delhi.The Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) demanded on Monday changes in policies to ensure fair price and adequate risk cover for crops, and create conditions in which farmers will not go for loans.

BKS held a symbolic demonstration and submitted memorandums to all district collectors, but threatened to launch a state-wide agitation if its demands are not met. A state-level convention will be held from June 15-17, where a strategy will be chalked out, BKS leaders said.

A five-member representation of BKS told the collectors that natural calamities and pests damaging crops leave farmers in distress, and absence of minimum support price and unavailability of crop insurance add to their sufferings.

BKS has from time to time held protests as well as talks with the government to highlight the plight of farmers. The government improved the power policy, provided MSP to farmers and short-term cooperative loan waiver, but policy changes are required to redress farmers grievances, said Kailash Gandoliya, state general secretary of the RSS-affiliated organisation.

He suggested that policy measures be introduced to provide profitable prices to farmers based on the production cost of the crops.

The government should announce profitable prices for crops, vegetables and milk, and ensure their purchase throughout the year. Buying and selling crops below minimum support price should be made an offence, Gandoliya said.

He called for a kisan corpus fund with the insurance premium amounts payable by the Centre, state and farmers, and demanded that crop producers be ensured the benefits of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.

In Rajasthan mustard, gram, wheat, garlic and onion have been registered for buying through MSP. In the absence of purchase, the farmers should be given difference between market price and MSP, Gandoliya said.

Farmers should be provided places in the mandis for selling organic products; farmers platforms should be freed from encroachments by middle men, he said, seeking funds to farmers for maintenance of cows.

Last year, BKS had joined an agitation, spearheaded by other farmers organisations, demanding waiver of agriculture loans and remunerative price to farm produce.Demanding voting through ballots, Congressmen staged a demonstration against EVM machines by burning dummy of EVMs on Monday.

Congressmen, led by former Congress block president Rakesh Sharma, assembled at the district collectorate of Kota. Leaders such as Yash Malviya and Ranveer Singh were also present.

Carrying cardboard prototypes of EVM machines, Congressmen shouted slogans against EVM machines and demanded that ballots be brought back. Later, they burnt dummies of EVM machines.

Rakesh Sharma said that not only the Congress but leaders of other political parties, including LK Advani of BJP, former chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati, chief minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, have raised apprehensions on the possibility of fraud using EVM machines.

He said that EVMs can be hacked so they will continue protesting against EVMs.

Common men and voters have also expressed doubts over EVM and not many countries use them, so the Election Commission of India should now think of conducting polls through ballot instead of EVMs, he said.

Yash Malviya said that when large numbers of voters living in rural areas are illiterate, they face technical issues while casting vote through EVMs.

In a separate demonstration, Congress workers at Vigyan Nagar Chauraha in Kota City demonstrated against EVMs. The Congressmen were led by Indramohan Singh Honey, Kundan Cheeta and others.

There is a ban on EVM machines in 120 countries across the world. Then why is PM Narendra Modi and the Election Commission of India adamant on the use of EVMs, he asked.

Congressmen also burnt prototypes of EVM machines along with the effigy of chief minister Vasundhara Raje.The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) Jaipur zonal unit has busted a racket of generating fraudulent bills and invoices to claim input tax credit (ITC) without depositing the actual good and services tax (GST) amount with the government.

The gang was also involved in generating GST registration numbers in the names of dead people by using fake address documents.

A total GST evasion of Rs 58 crore under section 132(1) of CGST Act, 2017, has been detected so far. Three people have been arrested and sent to judicial custody until June 2, DGGI additional director general (ADG) Rajendra Kumar said on Monday.

Kumar said incriminating documents, unaccounted cash and laptops were seized after simultaneous search operations were conducted at 21 business and residential establishments in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi on May 18.

The search operations were conducted based on suspicious transactions carried out by one M/s Honey Enterprises registered with GST Jodhpur commissionerate that had not deposited GST worth Rs 9.07 crore between July 1 and December 2017, but had claimed input credit, he said.

The search operations revealed that Ghaziabad-based Sandeep Kumar Agrawal was the mastermind of the racket, who used to generate bills without actual sale of goods, Kumar said, adding that he was operating 67 shell companies in the name of his neighbours and employees to generate these bills.

Kumar said cash of Rs 30.40 lakh was seized from Agarwals premises, which he had obtained through commission from sale of fake bills. He admitted to tax evasion of Rs 16.11 crore. His firm had also done business with M/s Honey Enterprises, Kumar said.

Agrawal had two GST-registered firms that had issued total bills of Rs 107.63 crore between July 2017 and March 2018, and claimed credit of Rs 19.37 crore during this period.

Shriram Kumar of Honey Enterprises admitted that after registering with GST his firm did not supply any goods but used to issue bills to get the input credit cleared, Kumar said.

The third person who was arrested was chartered accountant Pankaj Khandelwal who was tax consultant for Honey Enterprises. Khandelwal used to generate GST registration number in names of dead people. A total GST evasion of Rs 22.54 crore was detected by six fake firms registered by Khandelwal, Kumar said.

He said further investigations are underway to determine the extent of GST invasion and whether they were trying to take bank loans using fake bills and invoices.The West Bengal government has started preparatory work to revive a stalled scheme for a rail link to connect Sikkim with the rest of the country amid allegations that the district administration was coercing gram sabhas to obtain no-objection certificates (NOCs) to push the project.

Officials have started visiting the villages in the forest areas of Kalimpong district through which the tracks will pass and interacting with locals to mobilise opinion in favour of granting NOC to the project. The nod of the villagers is required according to the Forest Rights Act 2006.

The initiative follows a meeting between Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her Sikkim counterpart Pawan Kumar Chamling on March 16 that helped in reducing tension between the two states after the latters open support to the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland in the north Bengal hills.

The railway project is extremely important since it will bring Sikkim which borders China, Nepal and Bhutan into the railway map of India. Incidentally, China is rapidly expanding its railway connectivity to the border.

Sikkim does not yet have a functioning airport, and is connected to the rest of India only by National Highway 10, which is often cut off by landslides or political unrest in the north Bengal hills.

For the past three weeks government officials are visiting our villages. They are telling us that the government will consider our demand sympathetically, and we should agree to issue the NOC, said Saran Rai, a resident of Rangpo Forest Village through which the link will pass.

Meena Sherpa of 29 Mile Forest Village said the officials are accompanied by surveyors. The officials are bringing amins (surveyors) with them. Surveyors never came to the villages earlier, she said.

The proposed broad gauge line between Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim will cover a distance of 44.98-km, of which 41.54 km falls in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal administered by the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), while only 3.44 km is in Sikkim.

In 2009 the foundation stone was laid by Mamata Banerjee, who was then the Union railway minister. The Rs 1,339.48 crore project was supposed to be completed by 2015. The estimated cost has now almost quadrupled to Rs 4,100 crore because of the time overrun.

The project cannot move ahead unless gram sabhas in forest villages give their nod. It is only after the NOC from gram sabhas, that it would get green signal from the Union ministry of environment and forests and Union ministry of tribal affairs, said a senior official of Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON), the agency tasked with building the track.

However, activists have warned of opposition if the government takes the path of coercion without implementing the Forest Rights Act first that grants locals the rights over local forest resources.

We will oppose tooth and nail if the project work is started unless the Forest Rights Act is implemented in the Darjeeling hills. The Act is already implemented in neighbouring districts of Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar, said Lila Kumar Gurung, general secretary of Himalayan Forest Villagers Organisation (HFVO). He put the number of villagers that will be affected by the project at about 40,000.

The HFVO, an influential body, is demanding conversion of the land in 165 forest villages into revenue villages and land rights for forest village dwellers before the gram sabhas agree to issue NOCs.

Given the sensitive issue, the Bengal government has refused to commit itself to expediting the process. The matter is very sensitive and I would not like to make comments, said Binoy Krishna Burman, Bengal forest minister.

The district administrative is adopting coercive measures to seek NOC from gram sabhas which is illegal, alleged Soumitra Ghosh, secretary North Eastern Society for Preservation of Nature and Wildlife (NESPON).

State government officials point out that the issue is a sensitive one and needs to be tackled appropriately. It has got the potential of snowballing to a political issue in the Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills that witnessed 104-day-long strike and the loss of 13 lives in the unrest in 2017.

The Bimal Gurung faction of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) is also supporting the forest dwellers demand.

The forest dwellers agitating under the banner of HFVO, is backed by local political parties and various social and environmental organisations at national and local levels. They include the All India Forum of Forest Movement, Campaign for Survival and Dignity, Community Forest Resource Learning and Advocacy Network and NESPON.Eight months ago, Md Shahid Siddiquee,32, a former student of Aligarh Muslim University, was a newcomer in All India Forward Bloc, a partner in Bengals Left coalition.

When results to the polls in the states three-tier panchayats were released, Siddiquee emerged as winner of the sole zilla parishad (district council) seat for the Marxists who were facing rout.

The Urdu teacher at Dharmapur High School at Goalpokhar in Bengals North Dinajpur district won from Belon in Goalpokhar 2 block. This is the Lefts only zilla parishad seat out of 825 (only 622 saw contest) in Bengal. Siddiquee defeated veteran Trinamool Congress leader Abdul Ghani by 1,156 votes.

Read: Bengal woman forced to walk with garland of shoes for protesting against Trinamool

Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India and Revolutionary Socialist Party, the three other big constituents of the 10-party Left Front, could not win any seat in the highest tier of the panchayats.

Interestingly, Siddiquee is not even known to many of the top Left leaders in these parties. He will be introduced to them at a meeting of the Left Front leaders on May 26.

Siddiquee joined politics eight months ago after he was inspired by Ali Imran Ramz, Forward Bloc MLA from Chakulia in North Dinajpur district. Ramz is the second youngest MLA in the Bengal assembly.

I was always a Forward Bloc supporter but it was Ramz who inspired me to join active politics. He also inspired me to contest. The credit for my victory goes to him, said Siddiquee.

Read: Bengal panchayat elections over, all eyes now on 34% uncontested seats

Had Trinamool supporters not resorted to violence at eight booths our margin would have been higher. But I am sure many Trinamool supporters also voted for me, he added.

Ramz claimed that Siddiquees victory has proved that Left Front can put up a fight against Trinamool if it keeps in touch with people at the grassroots. From the very beginning I was against seat adjustment with any party outside the Left Front. In North Dinajpur, Forward Bloc contested on its own. I am grateful to our voters, said Ramz.

CPI(M) Politburo member and MP from Raigunj in North Dinajpur, MP Salim, said the Left would have done much better in the north Bengal region had Trinamool not resorted to violence.A 26-year-old carpenter was arrested on Sunday from the outskirts of Kolkata for exposing his private parts and trying to molest a woman inside a gift shop, police said on Monday, days after a hawker was arrested for masturbating in front of women passengers in a bus in the West Bengal capital.

Prasen Das allegedly came to a gift shop on May 18 in the Bansdroni area in south Kolkata in the evening and started passing indecent comments at the woman, aged around 20, while standing at the door. It was raining heavily and there was nobody else inside the shop.

Suddenly he entered the shop, unzipped his pants and exposed his private parts. He tried to grab my hand but I managed to free myself, said the victim.

An officer of Bansdroni police station, who did not want to be named, said the victim started shouting and quickly took some photographs of Das with her mobile phone. But the phone fell from her hands and broke.

Das managed to escape.

The police managed to fix the womans phone and retrieve the photos. Bansdroni Police circulated the photos arrested Das from his residence at Sonarpur, almost 30km from the spot where the crime took place, after a two-day hunt for the man who did not have any criminal record.

Police said Das used to frequent the Bansdroni area and went to the gift shop when he saw the woman alone out there.

Das will be produced in court on Monday.

Rising incidents of men exposing themselves in public places have hit headlines in Kolkata and so has the courage shown by the victims. In both the incidents, the victims showed the presence of mind and photographed the offenders with their phones which subsequently led to the arrests.

Kolkata Police arrested a man on May 12 for allegedly masturbating inside a bus in front of two women who recorded the incident and posted it on social media. They even shared a video on the Facebook page of Kolkata Police.

One of the victims wrote in her Facebook post that a fortnight before the incident the same man had exposed his genitals to them inside the same bus. She said the bus conductor took no action when she and her friend protested.

We could not do anything as we did not have any proof. Today, we have these two videos as proof and we want justice, the victim wrote on Facebook.

Kolkata Police reacted promptly and wrote a post with a photograph of the accused. The man, a hawker from Hooghly district, was arrested from the Shyampukur area in Kolkata within a few hours.The students union of Aligarh Muslim University (AMUSU) has again invited former vice-president of India, Hamid Ansari for delivering a lecture at the university. Student leaders also want to confer him with lifetime membership of the students union.

AMUSU president Mashkoor Ahmad Usmani was in Delhi on Saturday and met Ansari at his residence in this regard.

On behalf of AMUSU, we extended an invitation and requested the former vice president to visit our campus and deliver the lecture which was earlier scheduled on May 2, stated Usmani.

We also wish to confer lifetime membership to the former vice- president during his visit sometime in future. The vice-president is yet to schedule his visit and it would materialise once the dates are finalized, added Usmani.

To recall, the former vice-president had visited AMU on May 2 for delivering a lecture. The schedule included conferring of life-time membership to him by the AMUSU.

However, the event could not materialise as a conflict took place due to the controversy over the Jinnah portrait at AMU. Right wing activists marched towards the AMU, but students accused the police of allowing them into the campus.

In protest, angry students of AMU marched towards the Civil Lines police station but were allegedly cane-charged. Seeking judicial probe into these matters, AMU students went on strike and resorted to hunger strike which was finally called off on Wednesday.

Ansari had recently extended support to the AMU students agitation while urging them not to let their studies get affected.Two years ago, a Rajya Sabha committee went to the extent of putting out newspaper advertisements, inviting suggestions from various stake holders to deal with the dog menace in MPs areas in Delhi.

It is not known whether the move eased the situation or not for the MPs there. But in Uttar Pradesh, which sends 31 members to the Upper House of Parliament, dog bites continue to be a big public health problem, affecting more than 27 lakh people every year, according to health department sources.

While the killing of more than a dozen children by feral dogs in Sitapur in back-to-back incidents has only brought the problem to the fore in its worst form, on an average, not less than 100 people are bitten by dogs in each district every day, as per a rough estimate.

The states health department does not compile any data on statewide cases of dog bites, according to director, medical and health, Padamakar Singh.

However, enquiries to individual districts reveal dog bite cases vary from district to district. Some districts, including Lucknow, are high on such incidents.

Chief medical officer, Lucknow, Narendra Agrawal says 30,000 people were given anti-rabies vaccines after dog bites at the government community health centres (CHCs) and primary health centres (PHCs) in the district during 2017-18, which means there are 82 patients every day.

If the dog bite cases received at three government hospitals in Lucknow are taken into account, the number becomes substantial. For example, the Balrampur and the Civil hospitals receive around 150-200 and 100 dog bite cases every day, respectively, according to their medical superintendents. The Lohiya Hospital is also said to treat around 100 dog bite cases daily.

Sitapur, which is in the news for violent attacks by feral dogs these days, is high on dog bites otherwise also. According to the additional CMO, around 300-400 people are administered ARVs in the district every day, more than 95% for dog bites.

In Varanasi, 100 dog bite cases come to government hospitals in rural areas alone every day. Total dog bite cases reported in the whole district must not be less than 400 a day, says district ARV incharge, Anil Rai.

Chief medical officer, Aligarh, ML Agrawal puts the dog bite cases in the district at more than 500 per day while in Agra the figure was quoted to be around 100 cases a day minus the divisional and district hospitals.

In Lakhimpur, 11,750 ARVs were used at governments CHCs and PHCs during 2017-18. Given the fact that one ARV vial is used for four patients, the number of patients given ARVs during 2017-18 comes to more than 128 cases every day, excluding the cases received at the district hospital, additional CMO BC Pant said.

Even if it is presumed that every district in UP, consisting of 75 districts, receives 100 dog bites cases every day, then the number comes to a staggering 7,500 every day and more than 27 lakh a year, said health department official on condition of anonymity. He said dog bite cases account around 95% of the total cases treated for rabies, other being cases of monkey bite, mongoose bite etc.

RABIES DEATHS RARE NOW

Despite a large number of dog bite cases reported in the state every year, the rabies deaths are now rare, if government statistics are to be believed. As per the Central governments reply to a starred question on state-wise deaths due to rabies in Lok Sabha on March 4, 2016, UP reported no rabies death in 2013, reported one death in 2014 and again reported no death in 2015. The country as a whole reported 132, 104 and 80 deaths due to rabies during the same years, respectively.

Rabies deaths are now rare because of increasing awareness among the people who take no chance with regard to treatment after being bitten by a dog, director, medical and health, Padmakar Singh said, adding, But only those cases in which a post-mortem is performed are documented.

PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT OF DOG BITES

Dog bite may leave a permanent scar on the mind of one attacked or bitten.

Anyone who is attacked or bitten by a dog may have to live with the fear of dogs throughout his life, more so if the incident occurs during childhood, said Rajesh Pandey, a psychologist who runs a counseling centre in Aliganj, Lucknow.

He said a person bitten by a dog, or any animal for that matter, might even develop personality and behavioural changes.

CANINE POPULATION

The 19th livestock census conducted in 2012 had put the total number of dogs in the state at 7,66,728. Of them 5,31,586 were found male and 2,35,142 female.

Stray dogs are not only a danger to the human safety but also pose a serious threat to wildlife since they attack, hunt and chase away wildlife and livestock, said an animal husbandry department official.

DISTRICTS HIGH ON DOG BITES

Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Lakhimpur Khiri, Pilibhit, Balrampur, Siddharthnagar, Varanasi, Rampur, Etah and GhaziabadThe Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-K) has set up first of its kind Centre for Energy Regulation (CER) in the country to strengthen policy and regulatory limitations in energy and power sector.

PK Pujari, chairperson, CERC unveiled the centres logo and its web portal at the launch ceremony held in New Delhi on May 17.

Anoop Singh, an associate professor in the department of industrial and management engineering at IIT-K and the coordinator of CER, said the centre was set up with assistance of the UK Government. It would adopt innovative approach to engage with stakeholders in the power sector, especially the electricity regulatory commissions, electric utilities and the academia. The centre would also develop a regulatory database to enable stakeholders in taking more informed decisions. The online learning modules and tools would help enhance understanding of the regulatory and policy aspect for the beginners as well as advanced learners and the centres output can later be accessed from its web portal cer.iitk.ac.in.

AK Bhalla, secretary, ministry of power, said the centre was expected to play a key role in providing independent advisory on the policy and regulatory matters. The sector would be benefited by the centres activities, particularly regulatory research based on its knowledge base comprising regulatory database and learning tools, he added.

Also present on the occasion were RC Bhargava, chairman, board of governors, IIT Kanpur and Gavin McGillivray, head of the department for international development (DFID) India.The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which played a pivotal role in the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress swiftly sewing up a post-poll alliance in Karnataka, is likely to join the coalition government in the southern state.

The BSPs lone MLA N Mahesh is likely to be accommodated in the HD Kumaraswamy cabinet, a BSP leader said and added party chief Mayawati will attend the oath-taking ceremony of the JD(S) leader as the new Karnataka chief minister on Wednesday. The JD (S) had contested the assembly election in alliance with the BSP.

The BSP opened its account in the southern state, winning the Kollegal assembly seat where N Mahesh defeated his nearest rival AR Krishna Murthy of the Congress by 19,454 votes.

Mahesh, who heads the BSPs Karnataka unit, did not stay in a hotel or a resort with JD (S)- Congress MLAs. Instead, he put up with senior BSP leader Ashok Siddharth in a guesthouse in Bengaluru.

Mahesh had informed the BSP leaders that he had rejected the BJPs offer to support BS Yeddyurappa. He told them to contact party national president Mayawati. He will support the Janata Dal (Secular). Mahesh will definitely get a reward for his loyalty to the BSP chief and the JD (S), the BSP leader said.

Mayawati had played an important role in stitching the JD (S)- Congress alliance when it became clear that the assembly election had thrown up a hung house. She was in regular touch with senior JD (S) and Congress leaders to counter BJP strategy to engineer defection in the JD (S) or Congress ranks.

The BSP was playing a key role in government formation outside UP for the first time, the BSP leader said.

RK Gautam, a political observer, said although the BSP was a small player in Karnataka politics, the fact that that the stage was set for the formation of a non-BJP government had enhanced BSP chief Mayawatis political stature.

Mayawati, considered a Dalit leader with a pan- India appeal, was working to make the BSP a player in national politics, he said.

After three consecutive defeats in 2012 assembly election, 2014 Lok Sabha polls and 2017 assembly election, Mayawati is opting for alliance politics to regain lost ground.

While the BSP has tied up with its arch-rival SP in UP, it has formed an alliance with Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana, Gautam said.

The BSP chief is now gearing the party up for the Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh assembly elections due by the year- end.

People familiar with the matter said Congress leaders had approached Mayawati for a pre-poll alliance in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, but she was yet to respond to the offer.

Mayawati is camping in Delhi to finalise the candidates for the assembly election in three states. She is likely to visit Lucknow after the oath-taking ceremony in Karnataka to review the partys preparation for the Lok Sabha election in UP. State BSP leaders have been directed to constitute booth committees and submit their report to the party chief.The UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) has launched a crackdown on power theft, focusing on 65 divisions where aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses are over 40%.

The squads had been asked to strike after midnight when people hook on to katiyas (illegal connections), shifting major power load onto the same with the meter recording only minimum consumption of lighting, people familiar with the matter said.

The Lucknow Electricity Supply Administration teams conducted raids in several localities of the state capital after midnight on Saturday, removing illegal connections.

A lot of consumers, especially in villages, use katiyas only for lighting too as they do not have a formal electricity connection at all, those privy to the development said.

The move comes at a time when the corporation is gearing up to provide 24X7 electricity from April next year.

High AT&C losses, often loosely referred to as line losses, are being considered a major challenge to the 24x7 power supply plans.

The losses are currently 27.76%, almost double the target of 15% and more than the national average of 20.15%.

The crackdown in the high-losses areas is paying dividends with the checking squads catching many consumers running air-conditioners and coolers through katiyas, bypassing the meter in smaller towns and even in villages, Agra distribution company (discom) managing director SK Verma said.

The Agra discom has the highest number of electricity divisions with high AT&C losses. Of the 67 high-loss divisions identified by Union power ministry as well as the UPPCL, 25 are in the Agra discom alone. Meerut, Lucknow and Varanasi discoms have 14, nine and 15 such divisions, respectively. Kanpur Electricity Supply Company (KESCo) has two.

Verma said anyone who ran one air-conditioner for 10 hours a day will receive a bill for 300 units a month for that only, apart from units consumed by other gadgets.

We are catching consumers who use ACs or other heavy gadgets but their bills are very low, he said.

Many of the 65 high-loss divisions are said to have unusually high energy consumption without the same recorded by meters on the consumers premises.

A letter written to all discom MDs by principal secretary, energy, and UPPCL chairman Alok Kumar said 65 electricity divisions had been identified where the losses were above 40% or had a higher energy consumption vis-a-vis consumption recorded by consumers meters.

You are supposed to personally monitor the drive against power theft in the identified divisions so that the AT&C losses there could be brought down to 25% by next year, he said.

The UPPCL has identified 84 katiya connections across the state and now removing all of them poses a challenge for the discoms.

UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad president Avadhesh Kumar Verma has, however, raised questions over the continuing midnight drive against power theft.

We support the drive, but at the same time we demand the UPPCL to honour the law that says no squad will enter any house before and after sunset unless a male member is present in the house, he said.Two people were arrested for allegedly cheating many through an online shopping portal.

According to police, the two used to get in touch with buyers and sellers through the website and cheated them by showing a self-typed message, which they claimed was from the bank.

Mohammed Ayaz Sayyed contacted the 37-year-old complainant after seeing an advertorial of his car on sale. They met near a hotel at BKC in Bandra and after checking the papers, the accused went to the washroom. He then sent a self-typed message to the complainant, saying the money had been debited from his account, said Anil Kumbhare, deputy commissioner of police, zone 8.

The police said the accused used to choose a holiday to meet the people. After sending the message, he used to tell them that the money would be credited the next day as it was a holiday.

According to police, Mohammed used to take the car to a garage, where another accused Arif Sayyed used to work. We arrested Mohammed on May 18 and arrested Arif on May 20, said Kumbhare.

Mohammed also used to post advertorials on the website to sell cars. When he used to meet customers, he used to tell them that many people have been enquiring about the car and used to take advance from them. He then used to go off radar when the date of delivery used to come. We have recovered eight cars, including high-end ones such as BMW, said Kumbhare.

Police said that the accused has conned victims from Trombay, Bandra, Vikhroli and other regions in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.The Colaba police have arrested a 20-year-old man for allegedly molesting and groping a 25-year-old media professional on Monday night. The accused was on a motorcycle when he molested the woman, who was returning to a hotel in south Mumbai where she was staying.

The accused has been identified as Luv Kula, a resident of Colaba Wadi.

Although the incident was captured in a CCTV camera on Colaba causeway, the police had been unable to track down the molester as the registration plate of the motorcycle was hazy. Police said the complainant, who works for a media house in New Delhi, came to Mumbai a week ago on a business trip. On Monday night after a meeting, the woman was walking back to her hotel in Colaba.

Police said the complainant was talking on her mobile phone around 1.30am when the accused approached her from behind. The woman said Kula, who was not wearing a helmet, touched her inappropriately on her back and sped away as she turned to react.

The woman then registered a police complaint against the unidentified man. An officer from Colaba police station said they had alerted their informers in the area who tipped them off about the location of the accused. Officials said they had combed through footage from around 25 CCTVs of the area around Colaba before they finally spotted a motorcycle rider matching the description. We then knew that the accused might be a resident of Colaba Wadi. We alerted our informers there and were able to arrest Kula on Sunday, said inspector Bharat Shendge.After a delay of over a decade, the work on the widening of the Kopri rail overbridge began on Monday, after chief minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis laid the foundation stone on Monday. The overbridge at Kopri connects Thane to Mumbai via the Eastern Express Highway. The two-lane bridge will be widened to a six-lane bridge by constructing two new lanes on each side.

The Kopri bridge was first proposed 13 years ago, but the work has remained stalled due to various reasons, ranging from delays in approval to insufficient funding.

The foundation stone for the bridge has been laid by the CM and we will now start the widening work, which will take place in two phases. In the first 18 months, two new lanes on either side of the bridge will be widened. In the next 18 months, the two existing lanes will be demolished and reconstructured. A 65-metre portion of the bridge is under the jurisdiction of the railways, said an officer from the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA).

However, while this will east congestion in the long run, commuters can expect major traffic snarls at the Anandnagar toll plaza to Kopri during peak hours for the next two years. We have asked the Thane Municipal Corporation to complete the work on the diversions soon, so part of the traffic can be diverted, said a traffic officer.The post-mortem report of a 22-year-old man, whose body was found on the railway tracks at Kurla  two days after he went missing  has revealed that he died after falling off the train. Although the Kurla Government Railway Police (GRP) had registered a case of accidental death on May 15, they are investigating it as a murder.

According to GRP officers, Mithun Takke was missing since the evening of May 13 and was found dead on the railway tracks at Kurla station in mysterious conditions on May 15. Mahesh Balwantrao, senior police inspector of Kurla GRP said that they had been waiting for the post mortem report to find out the nature of the injury marks on his body as his family had alleged foul play.

His rib cage was broken due to the fall, which led to his death. The deceased was also in an inebriated state, Balwantrao said. The GRP officers said that at 9pm on May 15, they got a call from the station master about a body lying on the tracks. The police then sent the body for post-mortem to Rajawadi Hospital and registered a case of accidental death of an unidentified man as they had not found any identity proof on the body.

On May 16, the GRP were approached by Takkes family through the Tilak Nagar police station in Dombivli, after they saw the photo of the body sent across police stations. His family had registered a missing person case at Dombivli, when Takke had failed to return to their house in Navi Mumbai on May 13.

Takke, who worked in a call centre, was a resident of Kandivli but had moved to Navi Mumbai, a month ago.

On the evening of May 13, Takke had gone with his friends to a restaurant in Dombivli, where he consumed alcohol, a family friend said. Balwantrao said he had called up his brother from a friends phone and informed him that he would be late.

When the family questioned his friends, they said that Takke had already left for home. The restaurant staff said that he was drunk and had gotten into a verbal spat with his friends. So his family suspects foul play, he added. Balwantrao said that they will question those friends, who were with him at the restaurant.Past its May 15 deadline to form seven zonal town vending committees (TVC), the civic body has set up only four so far. This will in turn delay the entire hawking policy under which the number of hawkers and hawking zones will be decided and demarcated in the city.

Apart from the central TVC, the 20-member zonal committees will handle hawkers registration, issuing of licences and demarcating vending/non-vending and restricted zones for hawking. The panel will also work as a redress committee for both hawkers and citizens. Despite advertising applications for interested citizens thrice since December, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has been unable to fill the vacant seats on the 20-member zonal TVCs.

The central committee has met only once since being formed in December and it will not meet again until all zonal TVCs have been set up and hawking zones finalised. Only TVCs in South Mumbai and Western suburbs have been formed.

Each zonal committee will have 12 officials and representatives from hawkers unions, and eight NGO and citizen representatives. No one from market association is interested as we have not received almost no applications from them. The remaining three committees should be set up in another 15 days, said deputy municipal commissioner Nidhi Chaudhari.

Members of the town vending committee are unhappy about the delay. Rajkumar Sharma of AGNI (Action for Good Governance and Networking in India) said, Zonal TVCs are as important as the central TVC as they will do all the groundwork and coordinate with citizens directly. The main committee should have met in January. There has been almost no progress in the policy-making procedure.

Once the seven zonal TVCs approve the list of vending zones, the list will be forwarded to the 20-member TVC for final approval. Moreover, the BMCs zonal committees will work for better coordination.

After scrutinising 99,437 hawker registration forms, BMC has found only 23,265 eligible hawkers in the city. They make up a draft list and the remaining hawkers have less than 30 days to submit necessary documents, which mainly includes a domicile certificate, said Chaudhari.Assembly elections in Karnataka and its outcome are being watched keenly by the main players in Maharashtras political theatre.

Developments in the neighbouring state will be taken into consideration by the four prominent political parties in the state while working out their plans for the next two significant elections, Lok Sabha and the Assembly  whether they are held together or separately.

For the ruling BJP, good news is that Prime Minister Narendra Modis charisma is still working to get the votes. In Gujarat, Modi retained power single-handedly while in Karnataka, his campaign was a major factor why the BJP could emerge as a single largest party by winning over 100 seats.

The response Modi has got in both neighbouring states has put smiles on the faces of BJP leaders in Maharashtra. Of course, failure of the party to form a government in Karnataka has dampened their spirits to some extent.

On the other hand, the way the Congress and Janata Dal (S) came together to prevent the BJP from winning power in Karnataka will boost the efforts to bring Opposition unity in Maharashtra.

Leaders from both parties have already started the process to forge an alliance for the coming elections. For both parties, the outcome in Karnataka has underlined the need for the same if they want to wrest power from the BJP in the key state. Further, there could be attempts to take parties like the Peasants and Workers Party, Samajwadi Party and JD(S) on board. Such a coalition could help the Congress-NCP alliance to win an extra 10-15 seats, which could prove crucial in a close contest.

BJPs permanently unhappy ally Shiv Sena has expressed happiness over the partys failure to win power in Karnataka. Its mouthpiece Saamana has taken potshots at its allys failed effort to form a government by luring Congress-JD (S) legislators to its fold.

This also means Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is still in no mind to mend fences with the BJP even as the opposition parties seem to be moving in the direction of forming a UPA-like coalition along with the Congress.

They are unlikely to invite the Sena to join such a formation considering the latters political ideology. Still, Uddhav Thackeray could be a key factor in next assembly elections. His decision will decide the nature of contest. If he decides to forge an alliance with the BJP, there will be a direct fight between two alliances.

It could be a tough fight. If he sticks to his guns and goes solo, there would be a triangular fight and the Congress-NCP may have an upper edge. According to BJP insiders, the partys top brass has started preparations assuming both possibilities.

The party is cautious about the response of the rural areas considering the problems faced by the farmers and a sense of unhappiness. They think a good monsoon will change the mood. However, their concentration is likely to be urban and semi-urban constituencies.

Out of 288 assembly constituencies in Maharashtra, roughly half are in urban, semi-urban areas where the party thinks it can do better. The urban voter is still influenced by Modi. Besides, the Fadnavis government has paid attention to building infrastructure projects in most cities of the state. This would give the party an edge, feel the insiders.

They also say Fadnavis can manage to get Thackeray on board. If that happens, the saffron combine may swing it. However, in case of a triangular contest, things may be unpredictable.

If such a contest throws a hung house, will Uddhav Thackeray be in a position to be a kingmaker?

Or will he become a king like HD Kumarswamy?The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has selected the contractor to construct a part of the coastal road  the stretch from Priyadarshani Park at Napeansea road to Haji Ali, on Monday. Larsen and Toubro was the lowest bidder. It will now put the proposal for the civic standing committees approval.

However, the bid value (cost) of the package has not yet been disclosed by BMC. The civic body had estimated the construction cost of the 3.7km stretch at 2719.75 crore. Sanjay Mukherjee, additional municipal commissioner, in charge of the project said, In the coming 10-15 days, we will finish all the calculations and then we will be able to disclose the final project cost.

BMC has divided the first phase  the 9.98km south Mumbai stretch (i.e. from Princess Street flyover till the south end of the Bandra Worli sea link) into three parts. Separate bids were invited for each. Of the 9.98-km long road that will be built along the west coast of Mumbai, this is the longest in the three packages from Priyadarshani to Haji Ali.

BMC expects the selected contractor to mobilise resources during monsoon and start construction soon after. As per the contract, the work needs to be completed within four years.

BMC awarded contract for the first package from Worli end to Haji Ali on May 15 to a joint venture of Hindustan Construction Company and Hyundai Development Corporation. Financial bids for the southern most part, which also includes a 3.4-km tunnel, will also be opened within a few days. Construction is expected to begin in September 2018 simultaneously for all the three parts.

Last year in November, to fast track the approval process from the state and Central governments, BMC divided the coastal road in to two phases. Instead of awaiting clearance for the entire 29.2-km long stretch from Princess Street flyover to Kandivli , the civic body sought separate clearances for phase I  Princess Street flyover to Bandra Worli sea link  and phase II  Bandra to Kandivli.

Later in December, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) received a go-ahead from the state government to construct the proposed Versova Bandra Sea link (VBSL), which will continue northwards from the Bandra-end of the 5.6-km Bandra-Worli sea link (BWSL).By fielding its candidate against Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Palghar bypolls, the Shiv Sena has put a spanner in the probable victory of its long standing ally. This may cost the Shiv Sena dear in the legislative council elections, being held for six seats on Monday.

Battling it out BJP has a clear edge in two constituencies in Vidarbha (Amaravati and Wardha-Chandraur-Gadchiroli) and Congress in Parbhani-Hingoli, the remaining three constituencies will witness a tough fight between the leading parties In the Osmanabad-Latur-Beed constituency, there would be a tussle between the Nationalist Congress Party and the BJP Contest in Nashik and Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg (Konkan) may spin surprises, as the Shiv Sena is unlikely to garner support from its ally BJP Congress has enough numbers in Parbhani-Hingoli to win

The saffron parties would be fighting in the biennial elections for six seats of the legislative council from the local bodies in 13 districts.

In Konkan, Sena has highest corporators in local bodies, but NCPs Aniket Tatkare has been supported by Maharashtra Swabhimaan Paksh, Peasant and Workers Party and the Congress. BJP is likely to have tacit understanding with NCP, as it wants to pay back Sena for ditching it in Palghar. Similarly in Nashik, without support from BJP, it would be difficult for Sena to mark victory, said a BJP leader, on the condition of anonymity.

Shiv Sena has fielded Shrinivas Wanga, the son of late BJP MP Chintaman Wanga as its candidate against BJP candidate Rajendra Gavit and Congresss Damodar Shingda for the Palghar Lok Sabha bypolls, to be held on May 28.

Sena turned down BJPs appeal for offering support to Gavit, widening the rift between the two parties even more.

Sena candidate in Palghar is likely to play a spoilsport for BJP in the bypolls, some of its leaders feel.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has already announced to go solo in all the forthcoming elections. By extending support to Congress candidate Vishwajeet Kadam for assembly bypolls in Palus-Kadegaon in Sangli, the Sena had further clarified its resolve to not join hands with BJP in the polls.

The strained ties between the two saffron parties has resulted in the BJP extending its support to an independent in Nashik, making it difficult for the Shiv Sena candidate there.

When we decided to field our candidate against BJP in Palghar, we were aware about all the likely consequences we would be facing in council polls. Sena is not bothered about the political price it needs to pay, once we take a stand. We will win the council seats on our own, said senior Sena leader Anil Parab.

BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said that the party will consider all the equations (with Shiv Sena) while voting in these polls.

BJP has the numbers to win both the seats in Vidarbha constituency. The results of council polls will be announced on May 24.The Lokmanya Tilak Marg police are on the lookout for a woman for duping a Mumbai-based jeweller of a jewellery shop of 5.87 lakh. However, two of her accomplices, a mother-daughter duo, have been arrested.

On May 9, Seeta Naidu, along with two of her accomplices went to a popular jewellery store in south Mumbai. They managed to dupe the jeweller by selling him imitation jewellery.

The store owner did not suspect the women because the jewellery was gold coated. The jewellery also did not lose its shimmer despite being rubbed on stone.

The women bought a gold bracelet too, assuring the owner about paying up later in the day. But they never returned to the store. The address they had given to the jeweller also turned out to be fake.

Police arrested Seetas accomplices on May 11. They were identified as Tulsi alias Laxmi Naidu, 50, and her daughter Jaya, 26. Another accomplice, Armugam Naidu, 55, has also been arrested, for providing the women with the logistics in committing the crime. The arrested accused have been sent to jail custody.

Police said that the three women hail from Tamil Nadu, and had come to Mumbai with the intention to commit theft at different places.

Tulsi and her daughter are from Selam in Tamil Nadu. Armugam is a resident of Sion. The arrested accused were in police custody till May 17, Madhuri Rokade, police sub-inspector, LT Marg police station said .

Rokade said that a day after the crime was committed, Seeta had some fight with the other three over the division of the money. She was upset and left for her native. The women had booked a rented taxi to commit the crime. We checked the CCTV footage and traced the taxi driver. He revealed that he had dropped the women at Mankhurd. Based on the leads, we traced the three arrested added Rokade.

Police have seized gold and 10,000 from the arrested accused. Seeta is absconding with some gold and 15,000, the accused told police. They are probing about the rest of the money and also if the gang has committed any other theft.A 42-year-old Mumbai police constable committed suicide on Sunday at his police quarters opposite the NM Joshi Marg police station at Lower Parel.

The constable identified as Prasad Shivram Laad was a wireless operator who lived with his wife and sister.

According to the NM Joshi Marg police, they received information that Laad hanged himself at his third floor residence on Sunday afternoon .

On reaching the spot, the police officers found that Laad had hanged himself using a dupatta.

They rushed Laad to KEM hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. We have registered a case of accidental death and are investigating the matter, said Virendra Mishra, deputy commissioner of police (zone 3). The police did not find any suicide note.

Officials said the reason behind Laads death was a family dispute between his wife and his sister which was stressing him out. Laad hanged himself while his wife and other family members had gone out, added Mishra.

The NM Joshi Marg police said that they have not recorded the statement of Laads wife or other family members yet as they are in shock.A 37-year-old filmmaker, who has made Marathi and Bhojpuri films, and two of his bodyguards have been arrested for allegedly killing a 21-year-old man from Pune.

Omkar Kundan Aarne was found dead near Dehrang dam on Panvel-Matheran road on April 28. The post-mortem reports said he was shot dead.

Based on the technical analysis of the evidence, the police arrested filmmaker Nahush Kumar Koli, 37, a resident of Panvel, and his bodyguards, Dharambir Singh, 24, and Narendra Parihar, 54, both residents of Uttar Pradesh.

The police had formed four teams and checked all the missing persons cases in Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Pune.

They found a case at Yerwada police station in Pune in which the description of the missing person matched the body found in Panvel. They called his family and Omkars elder brother, Aniket identified the body.

Omkars wife Sudha had registered the case saying that her husband had been missing since April 27. But Aniket told us that they suspect Sudha to be involved in the murder. When we tried to reach out to Sudha, she went into hiding. We are still searching for her, said Maloji Shinde, senior police inspector of Panvel Taluka police station.

Shinde said, Koli is Sudhas uncle (husband of mothers sister) and they had an affair for the past few years. When Omkar learnt about it, he started harassing Sudha, who told Koli about this.

Omkar and Sudha came to Kolis flat at Ulwe on April 27 and they stayed there. That night, Koli and his bodyguard Dharambir took Aarne to Panvel-Matheran road in his car. They shot him on April 28 and dumped the body near the dam.

We later learned that Kolis other bodyguard Parikar had provided them with the revolver. We arrested him too, he said. Apart from Aarnes wife, there might be more people involved in the crime. Our investigation is on, Shinde further said.

Aarne was employed as a delivery person for an online shopping portal. The arrested people have been booked under sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code and sections 3 and 25 of the Indian Arms Act, and are currently in police custody.Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials have further attached properties worth Rs171 crore of diamantaire Nirav Modi as part of its probe into the Rs13,000 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

ED had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in February 2018 on the basis of two first information reports (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in January 2018. CBI had alleged that Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi allegedly cheated PNB in connivance with certain bank officials by fraudulently getting the Letters of Undertaking (LOUs) issued to their three firms without any collateral and without following prescribed procedure and caused a wrongful loss to PNB.

During EDs investigation, properties and bank accounts beneficially owned by Modi were unearthed. The money trail derived during the course of investigation, led to the identification of properties including four commercial premises in Mumbai and Surat (worth Rs72.87 crore), 106 bank accounts (with account balance of Rs55.12 crore), 15 demat accounts(worth Rs35.86 crore) and 11 cars (present assessed value Rs4.01 crore) worth value of Rs171.26 crore. These properties are in the form of movable and immovable properties, and have been attached, an ED officer said requesting not to be named.

Last week, the agency had seized over 34,000 pieces of jewellery worth Rs85 crore from Gitanjali Group, owned by Modis uncle Choksi.

Earlier, ED had provisionally attached 21 immovable properties (worth Rs523.72 crore) belonging to Modi and companies controlled by him on February 24. This included six residential flats and 10 office premises in Mumbai, two residential flats in Pune, one farm house in Alibaug, a solar power plant and 135-acre land in Karjat , Ahmednagar.

According to ED sources, till March, the agency had attached over Rs7,600 crore worth of assets of all the accused in this case.A 65-year-old woman died on Friday afternoon after she was run over by a speeding bike in Charkop in Kandivli (West). The 24-year-old biker, who suffered injuries, has been admitted to a hospital and will be arrested after discharge.

According to the police, the incident took place near Saraswati hospital, in front of Charkop bus depot around 2.30pm.

The victim, Nita Patil, 65, a resident of Charkop, was walking when the accused lost control and the speeding Honda Shine bike rammed into her. She suffered injuries on her hand, head, and back. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.

Following a complaint filed by Patils daughter, Swati, a first information report (FIR) was lodged under section 279 and 304 A of the IPC, and 184 of the MV Act.

Pramod Dhaware, senior police inspector, Charkop police station said,The accused is a local resident. He was driving rashly. We are trying to find witnesses. We will arrest him after he is discharged by the hospital.Two persons, who were wanted in a robbery case in Gujarat, were arrested from Khar on Sunday.

Two pistols, 12 live rounds and stolen goods worth 15 lakh were seized from them.

Dharmendra Singh alias DK Singh, 24, had shot a real estate contractor in Nalasopara in 2014 while Rajendra Pandey, 26, has cases against him in MIDC and Rabale police stations.

Singh is a resident of Nalasopara while Pandey lives in Kurla.

The accused wanted to sell the booty in Mumbai so they came to Khar on Saturday night and were waiting for their friends.

After a tip-off, police inspector Mahesh Desai with his team laid a trap and arrested them in Khar.

The police found two pistols, 12 live rounds, 2.1 lakh in cash and 400gm gold ornaments worth 15 lakh, said an officer of Mumbai crime branch, unit 9.

The two confessed that they had barged into a businessmans house in Gujarat and threatened the family at gun-point in April. They robbed gold ornaments and 4 lakh cash.

A robbery case was registered against the two in Botad police station, around 90 km from Bhavnagar area in Gujarat, said the officer.

In 2014, Singh along with his aide Amir Khan shot real estate contractor in Nalasopara. Khan and Singh were arrested in the murder case but after a year Singh was granted bail a year later while Khan is still in judicial custody.

Singh and Pandey have been remanded in police custody till May 24.In 2008, 9.6 acres of land in Sector 53 was allotted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, for construction of a 300-bed Advanced Trauma Centre, however, ten years on, the authorities have only been able to construct a boundary wall.

The lackadaisical approach of the UT health officers has caught the attention of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. During the last hearing, the HC had asked for the status of the emergency block and the advanced trauma centre.

The court had even asked the health secretary to check whether a standalone trauma centre is still required in Sector 53, which is far away from Sector 32.

4 director principals came

but project saw no progress

In the last ten years, the hospital has been headed by four director-principalsDr Raj Bahadur, Dr Atul Sachdev, Dr AK Janmeja and Dr BS Chavan but no one seemed to have taken much interest in the project.

On February 5, 2008, the ministry of health and family welfare approved the proposal to establish a 300-bed trauma centre in Chandigarh as an extension of GMCH-32. On June 20, 2008, the Chandigarh administration earmarked a site for the trauma centre in Sector 53.

During Dr Atul Sachdevs tenure, a plan was made and funds were sought from the government, but there was no progress.

It is a very old issue. Around 10 years ago, GMCH got a letter from the central government, proposing to construct a trauma centre on the highway. A land was allotted in Sector 53 but it was illegally occupied by a few people who constructed a gurdwara on it. It took us three years to vacate the land, said a senior officer who wishes not to be named.

In 2016, a team visited the site to study the design of an apex trauma centre and made a plan. A proposal was sent for funds to the central government but till date there is no approval. As there was no grant, no detailed project report (DPR) was made, said the officer.

The DPR was submitted to the centre only on September 20, 2017, and budget was sought.

The letter written by Parimal Rai to the ministry mentions, A detailed project report of the trauma centre has been prepared and is being sent for perusal. I would be grateful if you could have the matter looked into so that necessary approval is accorded to the DPR and requisite budget for setting up trauma centre is sanctioned by the government.

A senior officer said, So far, none of the officers had prepared a DPR, which is first and most crucial step to start the process. He said, Now, when we approached the central government seeking monetary help for the construction of the standalone trauma centre, we were informed that the government has stopped funding standalone trauma centres.

When asked if the hospital needs a standalone trauma centre, which is around 6 kilometres away from the hospital, the doctor said, Ideally, the advanced trauma centre should be within the hospital and next to the emergency.

Neither the director principal nor the health secretary were available for comments despite repeated attempts.

Status of Emergency Block:

An affidavit submitted by Dr BS Chavan to the high court regarding setting up of a trauma and emergency centre in Chandigarh mentions that the construction of 193 bedded emergency block will start soon.

The drawings have been approved. The rough cost estimate amounting to Rs 41 crore for the construction of emergency block and rough cost amounting to Rs 83.17 lakh for providing firefighting system in new emergency system and rough cost of Rs 4,40, 32, 500 for providing HVAS system for the said block has already been approved and conveyed to the engineering department.Even as southern sectors are facing an acute water shortage for the past three months, it seems northern sectors that have been privileged ever since the citys inception have nothing to complain about.

Be it water supply, sanitation issues, poor lighting on streets or bad roads, only a negligible number of complaints received by the civic body are from northern sectors. According to official data from January 1 to May 10 this year, the municipal corporation (MC) helpline number 155304 received over 90% complaints from residents of sectors south of Madhya Marg. The worst affected are

Sectors 33, 35, 41, 42, 44, 45 and 46.

Meanwhile, complaints from sectors north of Madhya Marg  that house ministers, senior bureaucrats and big industrialists  are not even in double digits. Even accounting for the difference in population density, the large volume of complaints expose the difference treatment meted out to the North and South in Chandigarh.

Skewed distribution of water

An MC survey in 2014 revealed that there is a skewed distribution of water between northern and southern sectors. While residents of northern sectors, including 2, 3, 4, 5 and 9, were drawing 1,000 litres per capita per day (LPCD), those in Sectors 33, 34, 35, 36 and 49 were drawing only 400 LPCD.

As a result, southern sectors continue to face shortage of water. Those living on first and second floors often complain of low pressure. At times, they dont even receive a drop. Similarly, residents of southern sectors are at the receiving end when it comes to insanitation.

For long, the MC has been struggling to streamline garbage collection because of shortage of both manpower and equipment in southern sectors. However, the situation is much better in northern sectors, which are far cleaner.

We have failed to understand that why is the UT administration depriving us of basic amenities, said Hitesh Puri, executive member of the resident welfare association, Sector 43B. Our ward tells the real story of underdevelopment with large heaps of garbage lying around, weeds growing in parks and non-functional streetlights.

It is unfortunate that despite our repeated requests, southern sectors are completely ignored by the UT administration and municipal corporation when it comes to provision of basic amenities, said councillor Ravinder Kaur Gujral, who represents Ward No. 15 comprising Sectors 34, 35 and 44. It is the result of bias on the part of officers and law makers.

I admit maximum complaints are from southern sectors. Higher population of these sectors is one of the reasons, said mayor Davesh Moudgil. As far as water shortage is concerned, the situation will improve once we get the additional 40 million gallons daily in a few months.With Chandigarh International Airport closed for runway expansion and rush of people heading out on summer vacation, travelling to Delhi on Shatabdi has been pinching pockets for the past nine days.

Against the normal one-way fare of Rs 600, people are shelling out up to Rs 915 for the chair car ticket in the express train. The executive chair car ticket, which generally costs Rs 1,000, is now available for around Rs 1,300.

The price hike is because of the dynamic pricing system, under which base fares jump by 10% for every 10% of seats booked in Shatabdi, with a cap of 50% hike in the original fare.

Due to the rush, the normal chair car has reached the cap with tickets for the morning, afternoon and evening Shatabdis varying between Rs 820 and Rs 915. The executive chair car ticket price varies between Rs 1,215 and Rs 1,305 in morning, afternoon and evening Shatabdi respectively.

Vijaya Bhargawa, a Sector 21 resident who frequently travels to Delhi on Shatabdi, said: Considering the timings, I always prefer Shatabdi for visiting Delhi on business. However, the ticket prices have just surged too much. For a seat that cost me Rs 605 earlier, I had to pay Rs 915.

Another city resident, Simrat Kaur, said: It is the peak time when residents go out on vacations. We are already suffering because of the airport closure and now booking a ticket in the Shatabdi has become a tall task. Even the tatkal system does not work as passengers are expected to book tickets as early as possible to avoid paying the higher fare.

Officials of the Northern Railways Ambala division said surge pricing may continue till the end of this month.

Meanwhile, in terms of availability of seats, there are enough available in the normal chair car with no waiting list, but the executive chair car in all three Shatabdis are booked for the next 10 days. The waiting list, however, is not longer than 30.Fed up with her husbands drinking and domestic violence, a 30-year-old woman bludgeoned him to death with an iron rod on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday at Lal Bagh colony in Sarabha Nagar of Ludhiana.

According to police, Nanki of Lal Bagh Colony first strangulated her husband Surinder Kumar (35) and later thrashed him with a rod to ensure that he had died. Such was the severity of the thrashing that Surinders eyeballs had come out of the socket, police added. Other members of the family were sleeping in a verandah at that time.

Police said the accused confessed to her crime in front of her family after she was saved by a railway employee when she was going to the railway crossing with an intention to jump before a running train.

She was later handed over to police and charged for murder.

Inspector Brij Mohan, SHO at police station Sarabha Nagar, said Surinder Kumar was a habitual drinker. Relation between husband and wife deteriorated as Surinder used to thrash her in an inebriated condition, he said.

The woman told police that on Sunday, her husband thrashed her again and in a fit of rage, she strangulated him in his sleep. To confirm his death, she took an iron rod kept in the room and hit him. Her in-laws and children were sleeping outside the room. After murdering her husband, she rushed to the railway crossing to end her life, but a railway employee stopped her and took her home, the SHO said.

A case was registered following the statement of Shiv Lal, father of the deceased. In his complaint, Shiv Lal said at 2am, a railway employee got Nanki home and stated that she had attempted suicide. He said he did not hear anything as he, his wife and grand children were sleeping outside. I thought that she had left the house following an argument with Surinder, but she suddenly started crying and apologised. She then told us that she killed Surinder, said Shiv Lal.

He added, I rushed to the room and was shocked to see my sons body lying in pool of blood with his eyeballs out of the sockets. I immediately informed police.

Inspector Mohan said the woman confessed to her crime and police recovered the iron rod used in the crime from the room. Both husband and wife worked as labourer at a construction site.Titiksha Sharma is headed to the US to study mechanical engineering but her heart is set on taking the civil services exam because she wants to change the system.

Name: Titiksha Sharma

Born on: February 26, 2000

Badge of honour: Head girl, RIMT World School, Manimajra, Chandigarh

What turning 18 means to me

Its a special feeling that comes with being empowered. Its not only about the biological changes, we realise our thoughts and opinions matter now.

What I want to be and why

Im headed to The University of Kansas for the four-year mechanical engineering honours course in August. I may start with a corporate job but my heart is set on taking the civil services exam in India. I want to rectify the flaws by being a part of the system. Cracking the civil services is a gamble so I want a good backup.

My idea of India

I love my country and its diversity. Being the daughter of an army officer, I got the opportunity to travel the length and breath of India. Indias biggest strength is human resource with a predominantly young population. Youngsters can lead the change whether its revamping the education system or changing social mindset.

What makes me happy

When I see humanity transcending all divisions and when I see girls empowered and independent. I love travelling, listening to music, reading and discussing social issues.

What makes me angry

Social injustice, anti-nationalism and stereotypes anger me. Why are girls always expected to give in to societal pressures? Why do boys have to bear the burden of earning for the family? Why does our nation remember soldiers only once they are martyred?

My fear and fantasy

Lizards creep me out.

I love adventure sports. Ive done scuba diving and look forward to sky diving. I get bored of the routine easily. Its a fantasy to ride an open jeep from Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

Am I happy where I am?

Yes, Im in a happy place now as Im headed for college.

What money means to me

I want to be rich enough to be able to give back to society. I want to help acid attack survivors and rape victims so that they are financially independent.

What makes me proud of India

Every time a criminal in the garb of a spiritual leader is sent behind bars, my faith in the Indian judiciary is strengthened. Whenever something right happens, it restores confidence in our system.

What I cant live without

Travelling and my parents. My father, Lt Col Manoj Pal Sharma, and my mother, Xshama Sharma, have brought me up with so much love and affection yet theyve taught me to be independent and take setbacks in my stride.

What social media means to me

It is a means of communication and a medium to create awareness. I blog on social issues.

Changes I want to see in Chandigarh

Its a beautiful city that needs maintenance and a vision for the next 50 years.

Changes I want to see in India

The defence services should get their due. No discrimination on the basis of gender. An education system that encourages innovation.

What religion means to me

Humanity is my religion. Have a good heart and do what makes you happy.

My role model and why

Kiran Bedi, the first woman Indian Police Service officer who is now the Lt Governor of Puducherry. I find her bold and beautiful. She has the guts to change the world.Actor Vishal, who is basking in the success of his latest Tamil thriller Irumbu Thirai, is expected to don the hat of a television show host, which will mark his debut on the small screen. Inspired by Telugu television show Memu Saitham, which is being hosted by Lakshmi Manchu, it is learnt that Vishal will also do something along similar lines.

According to a source quoted by Times of India, Vishal will have celebrity guests on his shows, and will indulge them in a casual chat. One of the prominent segments will revolve around charity, where celebrities will raise funds for the underprivileged and those who are in dire need of money for medical treatment. Instead of doing it like a regular chat show, getting guests to do their bit for a cause will connect with the audiences.

Vishal currently awaits the release of Sandakozhi 2, which marks his reunion with director Linguswamy after a decade. Meanwhile, Irumbu Thirai is enjoying a good run at the cinemas. Talking about the project, Vishal had said: Its been my long-time desire to be part of a stylish film that todays youngsters can relate with. When Mithran brought the story of Irumbu Thirai and narrated it to me, I thought itd be a great follow up to Thupparivaalan. Cinematographer George C Williams encouraged me to take up this project. He has great success story with Samantha in two films (Kaththi and Theri). So, I believe the success track will continue with this project as well.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktopA Chinese university has apologised and lifted a ban on girls wearing miniskirts and hotpants in the library, revoking a regulation imposed over a students complaint that such clothes were harmful to the study atmosphere and are a form of sexual harassment.

The cancelled regulation had banned girl students from wearing pants or skirts shorter than 50 centimetres.

The regulation came into effect after a complaint was filed by a male student, alleging miniskirts were harmful to the study atmosphere and are a form of sexual harassment.

Miniskirts and hotpants may be worn at the library, the university said in a statement after revoking the regulation that had banned them.

We apologise for the confusion and inconvenience brought by our recent work, state-run Global Times quoted the Hunan Agricultural University statement as saying.

Were determined to optimise management and improve service quality, creating a better reading environment. We welcome students to come to the library to study and be readers with good manners, it said.

It is now fine for students to wear fashionable clothes as long as they are not solely wearing briefs, an unnamed staff member at the library of Hunan Agricultural University said.

The regulation was already revoked, he was quoted as saying.

The university did not specifically offer a reason for the apology.

Calling miniskirts sexual harassment sparked immediate online controversy among students at the provincial capital city and on Chinese social media.

Some net users said that it is a persons right to decide what he or she could wear.

Sexual harassment means that you need to make an unwelcome sexual invitation, a net user posted on Sina Weibo, which is akin to micro-blogging site twitter.

Simply wearing clothes is not sending out a sexual implication or invitation. The reason does not stand, the Times quoted a Weibo user as saying.

Such a regulation was unnecessary as long as dress doesnt affect studying and reading, Xie Zhiyong, a law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, told the Times.

But it was also not necessary to elevate this to the level of breaking the law or sexual discrimination, Xie said.

People should not read too much into cases like this.The father of a Pakistani girl killed in a Texas school shooting said on Monday he hoped that the death of his daughter, who wanted to serve her country as a civil servant or diplomat, would help spur gun control in the United States.

Santa Fe High School, southeast of Houston, on Friday joined a grim list of US schools and campuses where students and staff have been gunned down, stoking a divisive US debate about gun laws.

Among the eight students and two teachers killed in Texas was 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student Sabika Sheikh.

Sabikas case should become an example to change the gun laws, her father, Aziz Sheikh told Reuters, speaking by telephone from the family home in the city of Karachi.

Most Pakistani youngsters dream of studying abroad, with the United States the favourite destination for many.

Aziz Sheikh said the danger of a school shooting had not crossed his mind when he sent Sabika to study in the United States for a year.

Now he wants her death to help spur change.

It has become so common, he said of school shootings.

I want this to become a base on which the people over there can stand and pass a law to deal with this. Ill do whatever I can, he said.

Abdul Aziz (C), father of Sabika, a student who was killed in mass shooting at a US school in the Texas town of Santa Fe, and mourners pray for her in Karachi on May 19, 2018. (AFP)

Students said the teenaged boy charged with fatally shooting 10 people, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, opened fire in an art class shortly before 8 am on Friday.

Sabika was part of the YES exchange programme funded by the US State Department, which provides scholarships for students from countries with significant Muslim populations to spend an academic year in the United States.

Sabika loved her time in Texas, Sheikh said.

She appreciated it so much. She was so excited to be there and to study and meet the people, especially the teachers, he said.

Her family spoke to her every day and she had been due to return to Pakistan on June 9, at the end of the school year.

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo offered his condolences in a statement on Saturday, saying Sabika was helping to build ties between the United States and her native Pakistan.

Her father said Sabika had wanted to work in government in some capacity, to help her country.

She would say she wanted to join the foreign office or the civil service, her father said.

The reason was that she said was there is a lot of talent in Pakistan but the image and perception of the country was really bad, and she wanted to clear that up.

The US ambassador to Pakistan, David Hale, visited the family in Karachi to offer condolences, the US embassy said in a statement.A vaccination campaign aimed at beating an outbreak of Ebola in Congo began on Monday in the port city of Mbandaka, where four cases of the deadly disease have been confirmed.

Use of the VSV-EBOV shot -- an experimental vaccine developed by Merck -- marks a paradigm shift in how to fight Ebola, said the World Health Organizations head of emergency response, and means regions with Ebola outbreaks can in future expect more than just containment of an outbreak with basic public health measures such as isolation and hygiene.

The shot is designed for use in so-called ring vaccination plans. When a new Ebola case is diagnosed, all people who might have been in recent contact with the patient are traced and vaccinated to keep the disease from spreading.

Its the first time in the midst of an outbreak ... that were using this as a way to stem transmission, WHOs Peter Salama said in a telephone interview. Its an important moment that changes the way weve seen Ebola for 40 years.

The same strategy was used to test Mercks vaccine in Guinea in late 2015, towards the end of an Ebola outbreak in West Africa from 2013 to 2016. The trial results showed it was safe and gave very high levels of protection against Ebola.

Around 30 Guinean health workers who were directly involved in that 2015 vaccine trial have travelled to Congo and will help with the immunisations there, Salama said.

Ebola causes haemorrhagic fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and spreads through contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person. More than 11,300 people died in the West Africa epidemic.

This latest outbreak has killed 25 people since early April, according to the WHO. It is Congos ninth since the disease made its first known appearance near the countrys Ebola river in the 1970s.

Cases in Mbandaka, a port city on the Congo river, have raised concern that the virus could spread downstream to the capital, Kinshasa, which has a population of 10 million.

Salama, who visited Congo after the Ebola outbreak was first reported on May 8, said up to 1,000 people -- first in Mbandaka and then in Bikoro and other affected areas -- could be vaccinated within the next week.

Some 7,300 doses are already in Congo, and hundreds of thousands more are available in a stockpile built up by Merck.

If we need any more we can ship it within days, he said. Were fine for vaccine supply; thats not an issue. The issue is going to be making sure we find every contact, track them down and get them vaccinated if they agree.

Congolese health ministry data show four cases of Ebola confirmed in Mbandakas Wangata neighbourhood and two suspected cases. One patient has died. For every case, up to 150 contacts will be offered the vaccine.

Salama said he was particularly concerned about the unknowns of the outbreak -- namely the potential numbers of cases in the village of Iboko, where no roads go and even helicopters have trouble landing.

Im actually very worried about Iboko because we have four new suspected cases there and its very, very remote. Weve tried to land helicopters there several times, but we need the community to clear the airstrip, and they havent fully cleared it yet, Salama said.

And when you havent got people on the ground, its very hard to assess the extent of the outbreak. Im worried there are many more cases than weve been able to identify so far.A member of former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf's inner circle who served as the countrys Director General Military Operations and headed its anti-corruption watchdog has been killed in Afghanistan, local media reports said.

Lt Gen (retd) Shahid Aziz wanted to compensate for what he had done in favour of the US troops, and therefore, he was in Afghanistan serving in some capacity where he was killed, the reports said. It is believed he was working with militant groups.

While the reports cited certain family members, Azizs son reportedly described the accounts of his death as fake news.

The former chairman of the National Accountability Bureau had written a book in which he spoke of the involvement of Pakistani Armys regular troops in the Kargil war against India.

While launching his book in 2013, Aziz said he had been guilty of self-deception during his career but fear of Judgement Day had made him speak up.

I want the young generation to learn from my mistakes, Aziz said.

He said he thought it necessary to write his book to expose the Kargil crisis because he could not bear to witness the falling standards of the Pakistani Army.

Aziz was head of the analysis wing of Pakistans spy agency, the Inter Services Intelligence, during the Kargil war and DGMO during the 1999 military coup that saw Musharraf ousting the government of Nawaz Sharif.

Aziz, who retired in 2005 , had been criticised for not raising his voice before, but he defended himself by saying that nothing would have changed if he had quit the army.

He admitted that at the time of the coup detat against Sharif, he had supported the decision for a military takeover. The Constitution was not being followed, he said of the democratically elected government back then. The consequences of this (military takeover) were not evident upon me at that time.

Recently in a statement, Musharraf had claimed that Aziz had lost his mind, had grown a beard and gone to Syria, and according to some people, he had been killed there.

Aziz served in Pakistani Army for 37 years, and was also the chief of general staff and Lahore corps commander.

After his retirement, he was appointed the NAB chairman in November 2005 by Musharraf.

But he quit that post after two years when he was asked to close all cases against former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and her husband Asif Ali Zardari amid back-channel negotiations between Musharraf and Bhutto prior to the passing of the National Reconciliation Ordinance.Gobind Singh Deo on Monday became the first member of Malaysias Sikh minority to be appointed a federal minister.

Deo, who represents Puchong in the Parliament and is the son of late politician Karpal Singh, was sworn in during a ceremony at the National Palace after Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad included him in the new cabinet.

He was given the communications and multimedia portfolio, according to reports in the Malaysian media.

The New Straits Times quoted the website Asia Samachar as saying that Deo, 45, is also the first Sikh minister in an Asian country other than India. It added that the only other countries with Sikhs ministers at the federal level were India and Canada.

Deos father Karpal Singh is had a formidable reputation as a lawyer and opposition politician that earned him the nickname Tiger of Jelutong. He died in a car accident in 2014.

Deo was first elected as an MP in the 2008 general election. He was re-elected to the lower house, with an increased margin, in 2013. He won in this years election with a margin of 47,635 votes.

Malaysias Punjabi community expressed its joy at the elevation of Deo, the Borneo Post reported.

It is good to see Gobind Singh, a member of the Punjabi community, in the cabinet. It is a proud and happy occasion for our community. Other than being a recognition of his abilities, it is also a recognition for the long established Punjabi community in Malaysia, said Karambir Singh, president of the Miri Indian Association.

Deo was among the two politicians of Indian descent included in the Pakatan Harapan coalitions Cabinet. The other is M Kulasegaran from the Democratic Action Party, who was named the human resource minister.As Meghan Markle began her new life as the Duchess of Sussex, many were left wondering which is the real Britain - the racially inclusive modern country reflected by the royal wedding or the one steeped in rows over Brexit and intolerance over immigration.

Markles absorption in the royal family was marked by her profile that appeared on its website on Monday, highlighting her work for Mumbai-based charity Myna Mahila Foundation, and her quote: I am proud to be a woman and a feminist.

The contradictory overtones of contemporary Britain were noted by The Guardian: It cannot be overlooked that Saturdays uplifting events took place in a country disfigured by Brexit. The disjunction is real and painful.

The same nation that proved it is now more at ease than ever with the different heritages of its modern self is also the nation that is split down the middle over whether to shut its doors on the world or remain confidently part of it, it said, reflecting the views of many.

Columnist Matthew dAncona added: (The) rest of the world is baffled by Britain  and understandably so...Which is the authentic Britain? Open or closed? Warm or frostily parochial? Both, I suppose.

Markles royal profile lists her various activities in Los Angeles and elsewhere, and highlights her views after her visit to Mumbai in 2017, in an article for Time magazine, on the stigmatisation of menstrual health management and its hindrance to girls education.

The profile says: From a young age, The Duchess had a keen awareness of social issues and actively participated in charitable work. Aged 11 she successfully campaigned for a company to alter their television advert that had used sexist language to sell washing-up liquid.

Her Royal Highness also volunteered at a soup kitchen in Skid Row, Los Angeles from the age of 13-17. She continued to volunteer at the soup kitchen when she would return home to Los Angeles until the age of 22. These early experiences helped to shape her lifelong commitment to causes such as social justice and women's empowerment.

Meanwhile, Clare Waight Keller, who designed Markles wedding dress but whose identity was kept secret until the bride stepped out of her car at the chapel, said she had not even told her husband or children about the royal assignment.

She revealed that Prince Harry came over to her after the wedding ceremony on Saturday, and said: Oh my God, thank you. She looks absolutely stunning.

Keller said: Well, I think everybody saw on television  he was absolutely in awe I think. She looked just incredible and it showed. She added the duchess was just glowing after the ceremony.Pakistans election commission proposed on Monday July 25-27 as possible dates for holding general elections in the country, media reports said.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) forwarded a report to President Mamnoon Hussain requesting him to set one of the proposed dates as the day of the polls, the Dawn reported.

The announcement comes just days before the term of the sitting PML-N government is set to expire on May 31.

Consultations regarding candidates for the post of caretaker prime minister are also ongoing.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi held a meeting with Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah regarding the matter last week. A final meeting is expected to take place tomorrow, the daily said.

Prior to the meeting, Abbasi met PML-N leaders Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif yesterday to discuss candidates for the post.

A close aide to Sharif and a senior PML-N leader told the daily that the meeting was of the view that it did not make much difference whether the PML-N proposed a name for the caretaker prime minister as everyone knows who would control him at the end of the day.

In such a situation there is a view in the party that it should not be keen in nominating someone for the slot, he said, adding that if this view prevailed (in the party) either the opposition (PPP) nominee would get the nod of the PML-N or the matter might be referred to the ECP.

Another leader who was privy to the development was quoted as saying that Sharif was not in favour of referring this matter to the ECP and wanted consensus.

He said the huddle also seriously pondered over accepting the nominee of the PPP for the caretaker premier.

It will not come as a surprise if Abbasi says yes to the name proposed by Shah for the caretaker premier, he said, adding that the PML-N would at least be in a position to point a finger at the caretaker set-up if things went against it in the coming general elections.

Shah has already said that he and the prime minister would finalise the name of the caretaker prime minister by tomorrow and announce it the same day.

If the prime minister and the opposition leader fail to reach a consensus on a candidate, they will have to make public three names each.

The list of the six nominees will be referred to a parliamentary committee, which will be formed by the National Assembly speaker.A Mexican pilot who once flew the leased passenger plane that crashed in Cuba, killing 107 people on board, said Saturday he had previously complained about alleged sub-standard practices by the aircrafts owner.

Marco Aurelio Hernandez told the Mexican newspaper Milenio that the Mexican aircraft leasing firm Global Air exercised poor plane maintenance, had a ban from flying in Chile, and had flights fly at night in Venezuela without radar.

He said that during 2005 and 2013 he had flown all three Boeing planes owned by Global Air (also known as Damojh), including the 39-year-old one that went down on Friday after taking off from Havanas airport.

During his time at Global Air, he said, he had lodged a complaint for lack of maintenance of the planes despite the company having very skilled aircraft mechanics.

A Global Air spokeswoman confirmed to AFP that Hernandez had worked at the company but declined to comment on his allegations.

We reserve comment. What Mr Hernandez says is purely his own responsibility, she said.

The Boeing 737-200 that crashed was built in 1979 and had passed a safety verification between in November last year.

It was rented to Cuban state airline Cubana de Aviacion by Global Air under a wet lease, meaning the Mexican company provided the plane, the crew, maintenance and insurance.

The planes two pilots, three flight attendants and maintenance technician on board were all Mexican.

Another former Global Air employee, Ana Marlene Covarrubias, who was a flight attendant at the company for seven years, told Mexican media that she had never observed any anomalies on the companys planes.

There was never any mishap, especially with Global, she said, adding that things can go wrong at any time, even with brand new planes.South Korean President Moon Jae-in headed to Washington on Monday on an apparent mission to help broker a nuclear deal between the United States and North Korea ahead of their first-ever summit in June.

Moons trip followed his historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the border village of Panmunjom on April 27. He will hold talks with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, Yonhap news agency reported.

The two leaders have already held two telephone conversations since the inter-Korean summit, including one on Sunday. The trip, however, also came after a series of old rhetoric from Pyongyang that accused Seoul and Washington of trying to topple its Communist regime.

North Korea abruptly suspended high-level talks with the South last week, citing an ongoing joint military exercise of the two allies. It also threatened to reconsider the Trump-Kim summit, set to be held in Singapore on June 12.

Moon and Trump will likely discuss ways to guarantee a bright future for North Korea when it achieves complete denuclearisation, said Nam Gwan-pyo, a deputy director of the presidential National Security Office.

In the Panmunjom Declaration, the leaders of the two divided Koreas agreed to pursue complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

In a gesture demonstrating its denuclearisation commitment, the North is moving to dismantle its only known nuclear test facility in Punggye-ri this week with dozens of journalists from South Korea, China, Russia, Britain and the US witnessing the event.

Still, its recent suspension of an inter-Korean dialogue is sending out mixed signals, also forcing many to question the sincerity of its pledge to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

During talks with Trump, Moon is expected to discuss what to expect and what not to expect from Kim based on his own encounter with the North Korean leader in April, officials from Seouls presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.

The officials said Moon and Trump were set to hold a one-on-one meeting where they will be accompanied by their interpreters and no one else.

The fact that the two leaders will hold talks with no other attendants is important. It will likely be a chance for them to share their inner-most thoughts, a Cheong Wa Dae official said.

Moon will return to South Korea early Thursday.Sri Lankas president Saturday warned that Tamil extremists were regrouping abroad to revive their demand to divide the island nation nine years after the end of its decades-long ethnic war.

Maithripala Sirisena said government forces had failed to quash the Tamil rebels separatism, although they were militarily conquered by May 2009 following a no-holds-barred offensive.

We have defeated terrorism of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam), but we have not been able to defeat their ideology, Sirisena said.

At a ceremony to mark the ninth anniversary of the end of the war, Sirisena said Tamil extremists abroad were still hoping to establish an independent homeland in Sri Lanka.

They are very active abroad. They protested when I visited London last month, Sirisena said, referring to his participation at the Commonwealth summit.

There has been no violence blamed on Tamil rebels since their top leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was shot dead on May 18, 2009, but pro-rebel activists abroad are known to have staged frequent anti-Sri Lankan protests.

Sirisena came to power in January 2015 on the back of strong support from the minority Tamil community after pledging reparations for war victims and accountability for rights abuses.

International rights groups have said that at least 40,000 Tamil civilians were killed by government forces under the command of former president Mahinda Rajapakse in the final months of the war.

Sirisena said there were no reliable figures for civilian casualties, but said the total number of Sri Lankans killed could be about 100,000. Official records showed that 28,708 security personnel were killed while another 40,107 were wounded, he said.

Sirisena has relaxed restrictions on the former war zones in the islands north and east, and released much of the military-occupied land back to Tamil owners.

However, he is yet to deliver on a promise to grant greater political autonomy to Tamils and set up a mechanism to probe what the UN has said were credible allegations of war crimes.

His latest remarks came a week after Sri Lankas army chief announced forming a special unit to defend itself against allegations of grave rights abuses during the final stages of the ethnic war.

Army chief Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake has distanced the military from the previous governments claim that no civilians died, and acknowledged there may have been individual excesses, but there have been no prosecutions.Britain has welcomed the Bangladesh governments handling of the Rohingya refugee crisis but has described the human rights situation in the country deeply concerning, citing allegations of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Tariq Ahmad, minister for human rights in the UK Foreign Office, mentioned Bangladesh in his statement on the universal periodic review at the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Bangladesh remains a human rights priority country for the United Kingdom.

He said: I warmly welcome Bangladeshs response to the Rohingya crisis(However), allegations of extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances are deeply concerning.

Pressure continues on freedom of expression and assembly, including in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, as well as broader societal pressures on freedom of religion or belief and signs of groups gaining influence who promote religious intolerance.

These issues, along with forced labour and human trafficking, are areas I call on the government, working with civil society, to address, he added.

Ahmad made three recommendations to the Sheikh Hasina government - increase labour inspections and take action against individuals and organisations that subject migrant workers to forced labour, and human trafficking. He asked the government to protect freedom of expression and assembly in media, politics and religion, and work with civil society to address concerns including in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Work with civil society to develop a roadmap to implement Human Rights Council Resolution 16/18 on combating religious intolerance, he added.

Ahmad, however, noted the reluctance of some countries to acknowledge the existence of modern slavery, human trafficking and forced labour, and said: No one should be comfortable with the knowledge that slavery, in all of its forms, continues to exist in the 21st century.

Describing it as a global problem that requires global effort, he said London will encourage countries to engage in dialogue with each other, with civil society and experts such as the special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery to help consign this evil trade in humans to history.The Trump administration on Monday announced a list of 12 demands for inclusion in a nuclear treaty with Iran, in order to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in perpetuity.

The new demands, laid out by secretary of state Mike Pompeo, marked a fundamental departure from the 2015 Join Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the US exited earlier this month.

I want the Australians, the Bahrainis, the Egyptians, the Indians, the Japanese, the Jordanians, the Kuwaitis, the Omanis, the Qataris, the Saudi Arabians, South Korea, the UAE, and many, many others worldwide to join in this effort against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Pompeo said in a speech at Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

To allies who signed the JCPOA, he said, I know our allies in Europe may try to keep the old nuclear deal going with Tehran. That is their decision to make. They know where we stand.

Under the new demands, Iran must declare the military dimensions of its nuclear programme and permanently and verifiably abandon such work in perpetuity, stop uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors unqualified access to all sites throughout the entire country.

We will also ensure Iran has no path to a nuclear weapon  not now, not ever, Pompeo said.

Tehran will also be required to halt further launching or development of nuclear-capable missile systems and end proliferation of ballistic missiles.

The new demands also state that Iran will be required to pull out completely from Syria, end support for Houthi militias in Yemen, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and allow the disarming of Shia militias in Iraq.

The US list also required Iran to cease backing Lebanons Hezbollah, Gazas Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

That list is pretty long, Pompeo acknowledged., But if you take a look at it, these are 12 very basic requirements. The length of the list is simply a scope of the malign behaviour of Iran. We didnt create the list, they did.

To enforce the demands, he said sanctions have begun to be put in place already. These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete, Pompeo said. They go into effect in two phases  in August and in October.

About the proposal for a treaty rather than an agreement, Pompeo said, A treaty would be our preferred way to go. Unlike the JCPOA, which was broadly rejected across both sides of the aisle, an agreement that President Trump proposes would surely garner this type of widespread support from our elected leaders and the American people.. This would require it to be ratified, thus, by the US Senate.S ome of us are born entrepreneurs. Take City worker-turned-bespoke home builder Ben Kendall.

He bought his first flat at 27, a one-bedroom Victorian conversion in Clapham, turned it into a two-bedroom flat and sold it. He enjoyed the process, so he kept going.

The archaeology student who went into the City found something more fun. Fast forward 14 years, and his amazing new house is a far cry from that modest first attempt.

Near Clapham Common, the 1,000sq ft two-storey house is ablaze with daylight, yet there isnt a single window  Wandsworth planners said that was out of the question from the start.

But, says Kendall, 41, relaxing in the sunny living room, with parallelograms of bright light on white walls: Difficulties like that often lead to more interesting outcomes.

TODO: define component type brightcove

The house is easy to miss. Along the quiet street, a wall of pale bricks frames a perforated-aluminium screen in the same colour.

The flat roof is hardly higher than a neighbouring fence. And thats it. But slide the screen, walk through the front door, and the magic happens.

HERES THE MAGIC

Straight ahead, raised up two feet or so, is a big glass atrium, open to the sky, with a couple of large potted trees and chairs and a table inside. It feels like Greece.

Wide, pale, polished concrete stairs go gently round it, up to the right. They also go down to the left, towards a lower level finished in golden oak.

Upstairs theres a smart white-tiled bathroom with walk-in shower, bright from a skylight. Then, hidden by a sliding oak door, theres a triangular spare room.

Up a few more steps and you turn into a large living room with bespoke oak kitchen and a sweet nook for dining at the far end.

This white-walled space has a skylight in each corner, plus light from the atrium. There just isnt a dark corner anywhere.

The lower level holds a peaceful bedroom and a large bathroom with bath and shower.

Light filters down from a big oblong of glass bricks which, you suddenly realise, is the atrium floor, so the same daylight gets used twice.

Bespoke oak storage built into the walls, and a mirrored wall at the bottom of the stairs, help the house feel bigger than it is. On a hot day the front door can stay open with the screen locked.

Kendall achieved all this from two dreary Seventies garages. In 2014, he saw a Victorian end-of-terrace house plus garages and thought it had potential.

He extended and modernised the house and checked out the planning situation on the garages. An architect friend got permission for a simple dwelling, top-lit by skylights.

Once Kendall knew it would work, he sold the house to fund the project.

Job done: Ben Kendall in his magnificent Clapham Common home / David Butler

His architect friend was starting a family, so Kendall looked around and found a young practice whose work he liked, to develop the idea.

Architect Nick Hayhurst came to look, then went off to put ideas together. Kendall wanted a limited material and colour palette, and a modern home, but otherwise, having seen Hayhursts work, he let him get on with designing it.

After a few months of discussion, with a model and computer-generated images, the house was designed.

100 RUBBLE SKIPS LATER

The atrium idea was there from the start, but as Kendall admits, even with a model it was difficult to imagine the space completely, because there are no square corners and lots of different levels. In terms of internal geometry, it is complex.

As Kendall expected, the neighbours were wary of a new house in the middle of their quiet neighbourhood, and the excavation for a lower level worried them, too.

So there were objections, and the designs went to committee. But they passed without any changes requested.

What it cost Plot of land: free with house Cost of build of 1,000sq ft house, including fees: 450,000 Value now (estimate): 1,075,000

Such an innovative project usually has some surprises and setbacks. In this case, the builder thought the job would take around six months. In fact, excavating and preparing the groundworks took almost that long.

Kendall explains that the site is very tight, with no room for storing materials, and at times the road had to be closed off. He reckons there were 100 skips of earth and rubble. He speaks very calmly, but it must have taken nerves of steel.

Once the foundations were laid and the concrete ring-beam put in, progress was much faster.

The only setback was that the polished concrete had to be done twice to get it perfect. But now, silky-smooth and lustrous, it meets the walls immaculately.

Glass ceiling: daylight from above is used to light up the bedroom / David Butler

Finally, Kendall went into his finished house. Until the very last minute when the tarps came off to put the skylights in, it was impossible to imagine how bright it would be, he says. The transformation was  literally  dazzling.

It took two to create this house, and Kendall applauds both Hayhursts attention to detail and his attitude to work.

Not surprisingly theyre already working together on something else.

Contact Ben Kendall at Bramfield PropertyAppointment

21 May 2018

Dusit International, one of Thailand's foremost hotel and property development companies, has appointed Mr Marc Hediger as Senior Vice President - Development, responsible for overseeing the development team's global operations except China.

Mr Hediger brings to his role more than 30 years of development and operational experience. Prior to joining Dusit, he was CEO of Lanson Place Hospitality Management, Hong Kong, where he successfully doubled its number of luxury hotels from six to 12 properties.

During his career, he has worked as General Manager for Hyatt Hotels, and he spent eight years as Senior Vice President and Director of Development Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, Hong Kong. During his time at Shangri-La, the company increased its management contracts from two to 25 hotels, and doubled its number of owned properties to 70.

Mr Hediger also spent almost two years as Senior Vice President - Property Development - New World Hospitality, Hong Kong, overseeing the launch of Pentahotels and establishing the new Rosewood brand.

With 27 properties currently in operation across four brands in eight countries, Dusit is preparing for its own significant growth with over 50 confirmed projects in the pipeline in key destinations worldwide. Covering midscale through to luxury segments, at least 15 hotels are expected to open over the next 12 months, including Dusit's first hotels in Singapore, Vietnam, Bhutan and Bahrain.

The company also recently introduced ASAI Hotels, a new affordable lifestyle brand designed to link curious, millennial-minded travellers with authentic local experiences in vibrant cities and resort destinations worldwide. Five ASAI hotels are already confirmed in the pipeline: three in Cebu, Philippines; one in Yangon, Myanmar, and a flagship ASAI hotel in Bangkok. All are expected to open throughout 2019.Event

celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Frank W. Berkman Tourism Achievement Award Gala on June 6th at the JW Marriott Essex House.

This elegant black tie dinner draws over 150 attendees for a special evening celebrating excellence in our industry. This year's honoree is the 9-11 Memorial and Museum. We will also be presenting the first ever ICON Award to Michael A. Leven, former President and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

In addition, the winners of our chapter's Awards of Excellence will be announced that night. The finalists are:

REVENUE MANAGEMENT

Daniel Borkowski, CHRM, CRME , Area Director Revenue Management, IHG

, Area Director Revenue Management, IHG Milja Perkovic , Director of Revenue Management, Hotel Beacon

, Director of Revenue Management, Hotel Beacon Antonietta Tardugno-Mazzola, Director of Revenue, Roger Smith Hotel

HOSPITALITY PROFESSIONAL



Lauren Epstein, Director of Sales, TravelClick

Director of Sales, TravelClick Ami Gala, Market Manager , Priceline Agoda

, Priceline Agoda Yelena Pshennaya, Area Sourcing Manager, GTA Travel

SALES EXECUTIVE



Kevin Klein, Direction Association Sales, The Roosevelt Hotel

Direction Association Sales, The Roosevelt Hotel Stan Kravitz, Director of Sales NY Region, Superhuttle

Director of Sales NY Region, Superhuttle Laurie Oliver, Reg Director Travel Industry Sales, M&R Hotel Management

MARKETING EXECUTIVE



Jessica Rothstein Berman, CMP, VP Sales & Marketing, Manhattan Center

VP Sales & Marketing, Manhattan Center Ronald Castro , Principle & Chief Strategist, ROCA Marketing

, Principle & Chief Strategist, ROCA Marketing Sarah Murov, VP Public Relations & Commercial Communication, Loews Hotels & Company

GENERAL MANAGER



Maurizio Bonivento, Area Managing Director, Row NY & Michelangelo Hotels

Area Managing Director, Row NY & Michelangelo Hotels Ansell Hawkins, General Manager, Chambers Hotel

General Manager, Chambers Hotel Karin Kopano, General Manager, Hotel 50 Bowery NYC

This is a great opportunity to gain exposure to your clients as well as the chance to congratulate the finalists. We hope that you are planning on attending and that you would consider taking advantage of one of the sponsorship opportunities or purchasing a journal ad in the program that will be distributed to all attendees that evening.

Please let me know if you need any additional information by emailing me at[email protected].

HSMAINY Frank W. Berkman Tourism Achievement Award Gala is organized byAs one of the few artists signed to Mass Appeal Records under Nas, East has a strong history with the iconic New York rapper. On their new collaboration, "NYCHA" (which stands for New York City Housing Authority), the two rappers, despite being from different generations, have a similar knack for storytelling and both flourish over classic East Coast production. In a recent interview with Billboard, Nas spoke of what stood out about East to him. "His drive is impressive," he said. "Being able to rap is one thing but if you don't have the drive to go out there and do things that people didn't ask you to. Go be on call of duty when you're out there, your duty being your job as an artist to get your art out there. Some people drop the ball. I feel like he had so much to offer before he even had an album out. He takes the ball with his hands, and he handles it."

The new track comes off the soundtrack to the Netflix documentary series Rapture. It also features interesting collaborations between T.I. and Rapsody, and Killer Mike and 2 Chainz. You can stream the full project here.

Quotable Lyrics:

New York City housing authority

honor me

Property of the ghetto

Choppers popping

I should receive a medal for surviving

If you snooze, sleep with your snub nose

I did receive a medal

From Harvard and rose above those

Obstacle courses where cops

And shots'll stop you

From reaching your full potential

You dreaming, life'll pinch you



Ex-NBA star Chris Bosh has a lot on his plate. In addition to his mother suing him, he also claims the mother of his child, Allison Mathis, is falsifying documents to commit fraud in their bitter custody battle for their daughter, Trinity.

The two have been hashing it out in court for years. Now, Mathis has taken Bosh back to court accusing him of breaching their parenting agreement signed in 2014. She claims their agreement was to keep their daughters commute within a three-hour distance, or else theyd have to work out a new parenting plan. From what Mathis says, Bosh broke the agreement when he moved to Los Angeles, which means Trinity will have to travel five hours on a one-way flight from there to Orlando, compared when he lived in Miami, and the commute was only fifty minutes. She says these cross-country roundtrips for one weekend will ultimately affect their daughters well-being.

Mathis is also asking Bosh to cover her attorney fees, in excess of $67,000. Bosh filed court docs in response, accusing Mathis and her layer of falsifying invoices for legal fees.

As reported on The Blast, Bosh claims Mathis has submitted five separate billing statements with each version modified. He also claims they added entries for tasks never performed, time entries for hearings that never occurred, increased time entries from prior bills, and new times entries. Bosh has pleaded for the court to intervene to prevent Mathis and her lawyer from profiting from these false charges, but the judge has yet to rule.

What would you do if you were in Boshs shoes? Tell us in the comments.A police officer was shot in Baltimore today (May 21) at around 2pm EST. CBS reports that the officer was a female and was investigating a report about suspicious vehicles when she was killed on Belair and Klausmier. She was shot in the head, and transported to Medstar Franklin Square hospital where she was pronounced dead. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan tweeted, "We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a Baltimore County Police Officer after she was shot in the line of duty today. Our prayers go out to this brave officer's family, @BACOPoliceFire, and the Baltimore County community," in response to the tragedy. He also shared a tweet from police that stated roads would be shut down while a manhunt continues. "Residents in the area of Belair Road and Klausmeier Road should shelter in place due to ongoing #BCoPD incident. Motorists should avoid Belair Road from Forge Road to Ebenezer Road. #BCoPD is searching for an armed suspect."

Gunpowder, Perry Hall, Seven Oaks Carney elementary schools were placed on alert status. Police stated that "the schools WILL NOT be dismissed at this time, and DO NOT attempt to respond to the school. Call school administrators for further instructions."Paris Jackson has engrained herself more and more into the limelight, and with that, she's been having to deal with the issues that plague many a celebrity-- a public audience that demands an explanation when it comes to your every move (or lack thereof), the unrelenting eyes of the paparazzi, and the gossip mill. When it comes to the rumors, it's been building up that the daughter of Michael Jackson is currently dating former model Cara Delevigne.

Now for the public demanding an explanation: Jackson was noticeably absent from the Billboard Music Awards, where her aunt, Janet Jackson, was performing. Thus, the people want to know why. Perhaps adding fuel to the fire is the fact that Paris' siblings and mother were in attendance.

Paris Jackson took to her Instagram Stories today where she addressed her missing presence, however the cryptic response may just be fanning the flame, yet again.

In her Instagram Story, she writes across a few posts:

"Dear social media followers, friends, stalkers, lovers and haters, and fellow moonwalkers: Please do not tell me/demand/try to control how I handle my relationship with the people in my life, specifically my family. As amazing and as shitty as things can be, it is no ones business but ours. I understand that some of you feel some sort of connection or need to be apart (sic) of our lives considering you watched us grow up. However, I am handling my situation exactly how my father did. And I am happy keeping it that way. I will always have love and respect for my family. ALWAYS."

What do you make of her statement?There's a Russell Westbrook-inspired Air Jordan 10 in the works, but it doesn't feature the blue, orange and yellow colorway you'd expect for the Oklahoma City Thunder All-Star. Instead, Jordan Brand is turning back the clocks to 2006 with a special colorway honoring Westbrook's alma matter, Leuzinger High School.

The special edition Air Jordan 10s feature a white tumbled leather upper, accompanied by red detailing on the lateral portion of the shoe and blue on the medial side. The iconic Air Jordan 10 sole is also split down the middle in the same red/blue color scheme, while the insole references Westbrook's graduating class of 2006. Release details have not yet been announced but rumors suggest the kicks will launch at some point this Summer.

Earlier this month it was reported that Jordan Brand is cooking up an "NBA Pack" that not only includes this Westbrook Air Jordan 10, but also a Jimmy Butler Air Jordan 6, Kawhi Leonard Air Jordan 8, and a Chris Paul Air Jordan 12. Images of those sneakers have not yet been revealed, but you can check out a mockup of the "Jimmy Butler" Air Jordan 6 right here.

Scroll through the IG post embedded below for a closer look at Westbrook's 10s.It's not terribly surprising at this point in his career, but Drake is absolutely dominating the charts, no matter which chart you're talking about. He currently occupies two of the top three slots on the Hot 100, with another entry at #7. On Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart, he's got three of the top five and four of the top ten. On our weekly chart, he occupies both top spots with the same song or rather, his new Lil Baby collab "Yes Indeed" and the unofficial version entitled "Pikachu (No Keys" that leaked under a week earlier.

Outside of Drizzy and Baby, Andre 3000 is the only other artist with multiple appearances this week. New tracks barely missing out on spots include Kevin Gates' "Change Lanes" (#11), Nav and Travis Scott's "Champion" (#12), Diplo, Lil Pump, French Montana, and Zhavia Ward's "Welcome to the Party" (#13), and Ty Dolla $ign, Quavo, and French Montana's "South Beach" (#14).

10. Future Feat. Chance The Rapper & King Louie - My Peak

"No Peak" was taken down shortly after arriving a couple of weeks back, and that's a real shame. Featuring the talents of two previously-unconnected Chicago rappers, the Future-led track was a step out of the comfort zone for everyone involved. In its second week out, it goes from #1 to #10, dropping nine places.

9. Lil Peep - 4 Gold Chains

Since we lost Lil Peep, he's only appeared in our top ten via a guest spot on a Juicy J song, but now he's gotten his first posthumous solo entry into our chart. The Clams Casino-produced "4 Gold Chains" didn't fare well as far as the user opinion goes, only tallying 44%, but it nevertheless debuts at #9.

8. Jacquees Feat. Trey Songz - Inside

Jacquees has a new album by the name of 4275 due out on June 15th, and to promote it he's dropped a single featuring someone who's recently been accused of assault by three women, Trey Songz (although there are reports stating he won't be charged). "Inside" debuts at #8.

7. Jay Rock - Win

Jay Rock's got a new one by the name of Redemption in the works, and last week we got a first taste of it in the form of lead single "Win." The track, which features ad-libs from Kendrick Lamar, debuts at #7.

6. Kodak Black Feat. Jadakiss & TXS - Mama

The first of three Mother's Day offerings in our top ten this week, Kodak Black's "Mama" is, quite clearly, a tribute to his mom. The cut, which includes features from Jadakiss and TXS, debuts at #6.

5. Andre 3000 Feat. James Blake - Look Ma No Hands

Even when Andre 3000 doesn't rap, he pleases most of his fans. On paper, you'd expect an instrumental, improvisation-heavy jazz track to not sate Three Stacks stans, but lo and behold, this thing has 70% user approval. The James Blake-assisted "Look Ma No Hands" debuts at #5.

4. Andre 3000 - Me&My (To Bury Your Parents)

Accompanying "Look Ma No Hands" in Andre 3000's two-track Mother's Day dump was "Me&My (To Bury Your Parents)," a piano-led ballad that finds Three Stacks mourning his parents, who died within a year of each other in 2013-2014. This one, which features vocals, debuts at #4.

3. Tyga Feat. Offset - Taste

Earlier this year, Tyga dropped his album Kyoto, and now he's ready to get back to this new music shit. "Taste" features Offset, and this first glimpse of new material since the mot recent album debuts at #3.

2. Lil Baby Feat. Drake - Yes Indeed

So here's the story: OVO Radio debuted a then-untitled track by Lil Baby and Drake two weekends ago. That unofficial version quickly rose up to #5 by the time we tallied last week's top ten, and it currently sits at number one by virtue of arriving first. The official version, officially entitled "Yes Indeed," arrived last week and debuts at #2.

1. Drake & Lil Baby - Pikachu (No Keys)

Here's the unofficial, sub-CDQ, mis-titled version that debuted on OVO Sound Radio. 'Nuff said. In its second week out, it's up four places from #5 to #1.The Texas State Securities Board is cracking down on crypto-currency scams left, right and center, but legitimate businesses are adopting the underlying blockchain technology to make money.

Texas Securities Commissioner Travis Iles recently entered a cease and desist order against Wind Wide Coin Inc., a company allegedly operating in Houston and fraudulently offering investments in cryptocurrency trading. The unidentified business operators listed a fake address in Houston and posted a photo of Britains Prince Charles as a satisfied investor.

The Wind Wide Coin scheme, like so many others, claimed to have a computer program that would guarantee one-day returns of 900 percent. Investigators are left playing a game of Whack-a-Mole as similar scams keep popping up.

Savvy investors are catching on, though. Bitcoin, the most famous cryptocurrency, has dropped from $19,343 each in December to less than $8,200 last week. But others have poured billions into 1,450 other cryptocurrencies, including 271 coins worth $1 billion that bear hallmarks of wire fraud, according to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal.

When bitcoin hit its 52-week high, I warned readers against investing in cryptocurrencies, and that advice stands. But the technology that underlies cryptocurrencies, known as blockchain, will change the world.

RELATED: Bitcoins offer virtual wealth but very real risk

A blockchain is a digital register, or ledger, that is publicly shared and instantly records every transaction involving a limited set of digital tokens. Each token is unique and every time someone transfers a token, the transaction creates a block of data, which is cryptographically protected. The block is added to previous blocks, creating a chain of data that records every transaction.

The blockchain is shared across all of the computers trading that particular token. Because every computer holds a record of every transaction, the blockchain is permanent, verifiable and cannot be altered without alerting every other computer on the network.

Blockchains allow for the instant, verifiable transfer of value between two parties in an unalterable ledger.

Thats a big deal because today most companies wait for an invoice, cut a check and then allow 10 days for a bank to complete the transaction. If a buyer and a seller share a blockchain, though, the transaction can take place in nanoseconds.

Blockchain becomes even more valuable where multiple companies want to make dozens of transactions every minute. For example, when a number of generators and consumers want to buy or sell electricity every 15 minutes in response to shifting wholesale market prices.

Houston-based Direct Energy, a national retail provider of electricity and natural gas, entered into partnership with Brooklyn-based LO3 Energy to offer a blockchain-based platform called Exergy that allows businesses to decide when and where to buy electricity to lower bills.

The Texas wholesale electricity market updates prices every 15 minutes, and with more and more small, distributed sources of electricity entering the market, consumers have more choices about where to get their electricity, Jim Steffes, executive vice president of Direct Energy, told me.

As we see price signals go up, do we want centralized or decentralized forms of electricity? Do we want more efficiency? And how do we engage customers? Steffes asked. If we have people generating and consuming electricity on the edges of the grid, can they buy from each other?

LO3 Energy can use blockchain technology to send price signals that will trigger devices and then conduct a trade in electricity.

Maybe I can see your solar photovoltaic system across the street, and I can pay you for your electricity rather than buy it from some big generator, Lawrence Orsini, CEO of LO3 Energy, said. We can have a transactive energy platform that can actually bring batteries online at the right time to soak up excess energy, and then balance the grid, and increase grid utilization.

If a Direct Energy customer wants to buy solar power, or just the cheapest available electricity, blockchain makes it possible.

RELATED: Bitcoin collapses under the pressure of expected government regulation

In the end, these systems are giving us way more choice about who provides our energy, how its made, where it comes from, how far its transported, Orsini said.

The Exergy platform is still under development and will require regulatory approval. But Steffes said the pilot will start with large businesses and manufacturers who already engage in energy trading and are choosy about where they buy their power.

If successful, blockchain could play an important role in the so-called digitalization of the electric grid to boost overall energy efficiency and allow new sources of power from distributed sources, such as natural gas generators.

Cryptocurrencies may have brought blockchain technology to the worlds attention, but not all blockchains are cryptocurrencies. This new technology will profoundly transform how companies do business, and the ones that do it well stand to make a fortune.

Chris Tomlinson is the Chronicles business columnist. chris.tomlinson@chron.com twitter.com/cltomlinsonDIVISADERO, Mexico  We hoisted our luggage onto the El Chepe train in the predawn hours in Chihuahua City for the six-hour journey to Mexicos extraordinary Copper Canyon.

We were four couples, four siblings and their spouses, a family reunion as much as a vacation. My wife, Lucila, one of the siblings, and I had visited Copper Canyon, or Barrancas del Cobre, once before, in 1991, so we were the guides, so to speak. But much has changed over the 27 years, as we discovered, both at the canyon and at a tourist town along the way, Creel.

El Chepe is the nickname of Mexicos lengthy Chihuahua-Pacific passenger train. One train leaves daily from Chihuahua City at 6 a.m., headed for Los Mochis, in the state of Sinaloa. Another train leaves Los Mochis, also early in the morning, for Chihuahua City. Roughly in the middle of this route is Copper Canyon, now with two train stops, at Divisadero, a point along the Continental Divide, and at Posada Barrancas.

We settled into our first-class seats on this morning before heading to the dining car when it opened shortly into the trip. A traditionally rail-dressed waiter took our orders from a large menu of freshly prepared huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, fruit and coffee, as the hilly Chihuahua landscape glided by. It seemed like a scene from the golden age of movies.

More Information If you go GETTING THERE United flies nonstop to Chihuahua. Tourists generally ride the "El Chepe" train starting in Chihuahua City to one of the two Copper Canyon stops along the train route, Divisadero and Posada Barrancas, where clusters of hotels operate. ACCOMMODATIONS Our four-day, three-night package covering Copper Canyon and Creel, booked through Mexico City-based agency Tren Barrancas del Cobre, cost about $640 per person and included round-trip train fare between Chihuahua and Copper Canyon, and transfers to and stays at two hotels, Hotel Mirador at the canyon and a Best Western in Creel. Most meals and the tours are included in the package, which can fluctuate in cost with the dollar-peso exchange rate. SECURITY Check the U.S. Department of State for up-to-date Mexico travel advisories concerning safety; travel.state.gov. See More Collapse

The train ride is half the fun of visiting Copper Canyon. The train route itself is a miracle, crossing 37 bridges and traveling through 86 tunnels. The train started operations in 1928 on part of the 418-mile route, which was finished in 1961. The passenger cars are not equipped with WiFi, but the scenery along the way is enough to keep passengers entertained.

The landscape seen upon leaving Ciudad Chihuahua is, at first, a tour of the states vast agricultural industry. We noted that the agricultural area, some of it operated by Mennonites, was more modern and more widely developed than in 1991. The train gradually entered more sparsely populated areas with mountain ranges and streams in the distance and up close.

As the route rises, pine trees dominate the landscape. The train climbs and climbs, the scenery stretching ever wider, as it reaches a crest of 7,900 feet above sea level near Divisadero.

In 1991, we had stayed at the Hotel Divisadero Barrancas, which has since expanded. In 1992, the Hotel Mirador opened, built into a canyon cliff near a second train stop called Posada Barrancas, about two miles farther down the track. This was the hotel in our groups package this time around. All the rooms have balconies facing the wide-open canyon.

Heres the thing about Copper Canyon: Visitors can photograph it to death, and it still doesnt come close to capturing the majesty of seeing it in person. You feel like you are seeing the age of the Earth, something that took hundreds of millions of years, if not longer, to make.

Copper Canyon reportedly is four times as large as the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Actually, Copper Canyon is an umbrella name for a collection of seven delineated canyons. Some descriptions say six canyons, but on-site guides say there are seven. Tourists generally can see three of them, where they converge, from the hotels served by the train.

The Urique Canyon is the deepest, reaching a depth of 6,167 feet.

At night, the canyons are hidden by total darkness, but visitors can still feel it, the various ecosystems, from tropical and alpine to desertlike, active but silent. Only a trio of Tarahumara Indian roosters breaks the silence as dawn approaches.

One of the newer attractions is the Parque de Aventura, a theme park that opened in September 2010. This adventure park offers zip-line and cable-car rides across the spectacular setting. The expansive park, which is building a runway for private aircraft, also offers numerous places to photograph the canyons. The park was part of a tour of panoramic sites offered by Hotel Mirador.

The Mirador also can book horseback-riding trips, and trails from the hotel lead to hikes along the canyon rim for even more viewpoints.

Our visit lasted three days and two nights before we boarded the train back toward Chihuahua City, but we stepped off for the second part of our tour package, a two-day, one-night visit in Creel, about two hours by train from the canyons.

Creel, established in 1907 and named after the Chihuahua state governor at the time, Enrique Creel, is included in nearly all the Copper Canyon tourist packages.

Lucy and I had visited Creel in our 1991 visit, and we noted the growth of the town. We were told that the population had increased to about 7,000 now from 3,000 in 1993. It is a touristy site, with souvenir shops, restaurants and hotels of various sizes.

Creel was founded as a logging site and a train stop, but it is best known as Tarahumara Indian country. Tarahumara tours from Creel hotels stop first at a cave where the indigenous people in their rainbow dress process food. Other stops go to a church, school and points of interesting volcanic rock formations, all of which make up one of the main Tarahumara communities in the region.

Some of these tours extend farther to the Cascada de Casarare, or Casarare waterfall, which is in an ecological park. Our tour took us by van to the park and a long torturous ride through a rough, rocky road that crossed a stream several times.

To reach the falls from there, visitors must hike farther, perhaps half a mile, along an earthen path requiring mountain-goat footing in parts. Tarahumara women sell their arts and craft products and burn wood fires to cook their meals alongside the river flowing to the falls.

Visitors can hear the waterfall before they see it, and then it appears, one of the most scenic falls in Mexico. Its not Niagara, but it is special. The amount of falling water depends on rainfall, which is seasonal. Photographs can be taken alongside the top of the falls and at the bottom.

To reach to bottom stream, however, requires going 240 concrete steps down a cliff, perhaps 15 to 20 stories of stairs in a building, which, of course, means going back up those steps to return. But the experience is worthy for those who are physically fit enough.

A light rain was falling during our visit, which added some fun to the excursion. The sense of isolation and natural beauty was exhilarating, a wonderful addition to our canyon trip.

David Hendricks is a former San Antonio Express-News reporter who covered business and the symphony. Email: hendrickd53@yahoo.com.Around 5 p.m. Sunday, from his flight simulator station in Houston, 14-year-old Mykael Morris landed the Spirit of St. Louis in Paris, 33 hours after he and other area students embarked on a journey honoring Charles Lindbergh.

Morris and other students at the Lone Star Flight Museum at Ellington Airport piloted through rain, thunderstorms, strong head winds and heavy clouds and fog as part of the Lindbergh Challenge, a national event in which students around the country recreated the first translatlantic flight 91 years later.

I was proud to complete the challenge, said Morris, an aspiring aerospace engineer who was also in the cockpit as the plane took off Saturday morning at 7:52 a.m., the same time Lindbergh left Roosevelt Field in Long Island on May 20, 1929. It was definitely a sense of accomplishment.

In all, some 35 students aged 10 to 17 participated in the challenge at the museum, including 12 present from start to finish and 18 who stayed overnight, sleeping underneath vintage planes in the nearby hangar. They came from as far away as The Woodlands, Katy, League City and Beaumont.

Students took turns at the controls, typically from 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, during a course began in Houston and went over New York, Greenland, Iceland and England before touching down at Le Bourget in Paris.

The challenge also featured students at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, the Anderson Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum in New Mexico, Center Public School in Denver and Delphian School in Oregon.

The challenge began in 2015 as a way of expanding students appreciation of aviation history and putting them in the cockpit. This is the first year Houston has participated in the event.

Its been a great time, sleeping under a plane, experiencing something of what it would be like to fly for 33 1/2 straight hours, said Ethan White, a 12-year-old student at WoodCreek Middle School who wants to be a pilot. Its really astonishing what Lindbergh did in a single-engine plane in the early 1900s.

The simulation was supposed to go 33 1/2 hours, the exact time Lindbergh took, but the students arrived about a half hour early, despite obstacles and course deviations thrown in their way to slow the journey. A single-engine plane today flying the roughly 90 mile-per-hour speed Lindbergh averaged would stall out. The simulated flight averaged 165 miles per hour.

When the flight finally touched down 30 hours after the challenge began, students broke into applause.

It was definitely a challenge, said Aiden McCluney, a 16-year-old home-schooled student whod had no experience in a flight simulator before the event. Keeping on course and stable and at the right altitude for long periods of time wasnt easy.

todd.ackerman@chron.com

twitter.com/chronmedAshley Barnes was busy sending students at RJ Wollam Elementary School in Santa Fe home early Friday after reports of a shooting at the school districts high school. Thats when a Santa Fe ISD police officer arrived and said, You need to come with me.

The 41-year-old assistant principal tried to stay calm. Shed heard rumors that an officer had been shot but that it wasnt her husband, John Barnes, whod been working for the district as a school police officer for just four months after a long and distinguished career with the Houston Police Department.

Shed even assured her son that his dad was fine. But the officers sudden visit changed everything.

I was freaking out, she said. As soon as she got me, I knew it was John. I just needed her to tell me he wasnt dead.

As it happened, Barnes had rushed into Santa Fe High School with other officers after a gunman started shooting students in two art rooms in the back of the campus.

Inside, the officers had confronted 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the student accused of shooting and killing eight students and two teachers.

It was a relief  if ever so slight  to be told that he had been shot in the elbow. Who dies of a gunshot wound to the arm?

But when she arrived at University of Texas Medical Branch, she learned Barnes had coded  that his heart had stopped twice.

Pagourtzis fired his Remington shotgun at Barnes. The blast hit his right elbow, shredding veins and bone and sending blood spraying out onto the ground.

His elbow is completely messed up, Barnes said.

A fellow officer pulled him out of harms way and applied a tourniquet to try to stanch the bleeding. Paramedics arrived soon after and rushed Barnes to UTMB. He flatlined on the way to the hospital, and again in surgery, where doctors rushed to restart his heart, stop the bleeding and reconnect blood vessels.

They sedated Barnes to make it easier for him to rest and recover. But some of Barnes friends worried he might lose his arm.

In the midst of that panic, Ashley Barnes called to have their two kids  a 10-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy  picked up and brought to the hospital.

After seven hours in surgery, Barnes was moved to the ICU. On Saturday, Ashley said he was still sedated but on the mend.

It was one of the few bits of good news in a tragedy that has devastated the small town of Santa Fe.

As he was undergoing surgery, many praised Barnes for confronting the shooter.

Ashley Barnes said she appreciates the recognition her husband has received, but his actions Friday werent any different from his previous years in law enforcement.

John is not a hero from Friday, she said. John has been a hero every day he put on a police uniform.

He loves kids and he loves watching out for them, she said. It was why hed devoted a decade investigating sex crimes against children. Working for a school police department had been a natural choice after his career at HPD.

Since coming out of surgery, he has shaken his head yes or no when doctors and family members asked him questions. He lifted his arm and wiggled some fingers. Doctors found a pulse in his hand.

He will remain sedated for a few more days to allow the swelling to subside, his wife said. Then, orthopedic surgeons will attempt to rebuild his elbow.

It was in very bad shape, she said. Theyre going to have multiple surgeries, and they hope hell have full range of motion by the end, but they cant promise that.

He faces months of recovery and rehab. And he will have to learn the extent of what took place inside Santa Fe High School.

He is going to be really upset that they lost those kids and the teachers, she said. Its going to hurt him.

st.john.smith@chron.comSAN ANTONIO-The Texas Medical Association endorsed seven recommendations over the weekend to curb the state's crisis involving women dying following childbirth.

In a voice vote, the group on Saturday overwhelmingly supported recommendations to pursue statewide legislation that would improve health care coverage for pregnant women, increase access to long-acting reversible contraceptives and push the Texas Department of Health Services to improve the quality of maternal death records and other health care information.

Immediate past TMA President Carlos Cardenas, speaking to the TMAs House of Delegates at the organizations annual meeting, challenged the organization by adding a policy goal of eliminating maternal deaths to the report. It was approved alongside the rest of the recommendations.

Cardenas acknowledged that ending maternal deaths is a challenge.

We may not have all the technology today, we may not have all of the ability today to be able to reduce it to zero, but that doesnt mean the goal shouldnt be zero. The goal should be zero  life trumps death, Cardenas said.

Other legislative recommendations include improving Texas maternal mortality records and mandating the Department of State Health Services to develop training and education materials for physicians to accurately report maternal deaths.

The recommendations also call for the legislation to improve the quality of pregnancy-related health data records. The poor quality of such data caused Texas' number of such maternal deaths to be inflated in a 2016 study.

. The deaths of dozens of women reportedly were misidentified on their death certificates as being pregnant when they died, leading to a spike in Texas maternal death figures. Cardenas said he feels confident in the new numbers.

The recommendations came out of the TMAs Maternal Health Congress that was held in March and brought together more than 80 state health care and TMA physician leaders. The goal was to create a policy and advocacy framework in the run-up to the 86th legislative session, which begins in January.

A challenge will be finding money to support the legislative initiatives laid out by the TMA. In January, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said the state may be looking at a budget hole as large as $4 billion.

I anticipate that were going to ask for what weve laid out in the plan, Cardenas said. Will we get everything we ask for?  Its hard to say at this point.

rdruzin@express-news.netNine months after Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, the storm is playing an outsize role in determining who will represent one of the hardest-hit sections of Houston and Harris County in Congress.

While every one of the nine members of Congress that represent pieces of Harris County will be working on Harvey recovery for years, the winner of Tuesdays GOP primary battle for the open 2nd Congressional District between Kevin Roberts and Dan Crenshaw could well be facing an almost three-front war in protecting the region.

The recovery is this biggest issue moving forward, said U.S. Rep. Ted Poe, the Republican from Atascocita who is retiring from Congress, which led to Tuesdays battle between Roberts and Crenshaw.

On the western side, the oddly shaped district reaches the shadows of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs that inundated neighborhoods. On the eastern side it takes in Lake Houston and the San Jacinto River, which floods even in moderate rains. And on the northern side, the district faces discharges from Lake Conroe in Montgomery County that can flood downstream homes like in Kingwood and Humble.

Theres no doubt its the most important issue, Crenshaw, a 33-year-old retired Navy SEAL, said of the recovery efforts and how to prevent future flooding.

Crenshaw has used his military experience as a key selling point. The U.S. Navy taught him how to research complex  and often classified  issues and seek solutions, he said.

But Roberts, 52, said hes a proven legislator, having served two years in the Texas Legislature working on the flooding issues. And he stresses that for the last 17 years hes been part of the community learning the flooding issue firsthand.

I was talking about these issues long before Harvey hit, Roberts said.

Both candidates share many of the same conservative views on key issues including gun rights, abortion and border security. The bigger difference is in the leadership styles they brought to the table in ads, candidate forums and media interviews since the campaign started in December.

SEAL turns to politics

Growing up near Katy, Crenshaw said he knew at an early age what he wanted to do after reading a book on the Navy SEALs that had a huge impact on him.

That was it for me, said Crenshaw, who lives in the Heights with his wife, Tara. Everything I did centered on that goal.

After graduating from Tufts University, Crenshaw spent 10 years in the SEALs that included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He nearly lost his vision when an IED blast in Afghanistan nearly cost him his life and put him into a coma for five days. He survived, but lost his right eye and now wears an eye patch.

Despite his injuries, Crenshaw remained in the Navy and deployed again, including in South Korea.

I kept my faith and I persevered, said Crenshaw, who has been endorsed in the race by iconic astronaut Buzz Aldrin and former Texas Governor and current U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

When he left the military, Crenshaw earned a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University in 2016. He then spent part of 2017 working for U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Dallas, as a legislative aid focused on military and veterans issues.

When Poe announced he would not seek re-election, Crenshaw said he passed on an opportunity to work in the private sector and decided to run for Congress. He said he saw it as a continuation of his public service.

In campaign mailers and on his website, Crenshaw said hes tried to give voters a deep dive into his policy ideas on how to tackle the flooding problems.

Flooding is the most urgent issue that Houstonians are facing, Crenshaw says in mailers.

Leaning on experience

Roberts grew up in Amarillo and was raised mostly by his grandparents.

Roberts and his wife Holly have two children. He has a bachelors degree from Texas Tech University and works as the executive director of the Lanier Law Firm. The founder of the firm, Mark Lanier, is Robertss brother-in-law. Roberts runs the business side of the firm and is not a lawyer.

Roberts said his grandparents were able to provide for him, but they didnt have a lot of extra money while he was growing up. He started working at an early age to save up money to put him through college and became the first person in his family to earn a degree.

Roberts has often stressed his 30 years in business as a selling point to voters. He said it gives him real-world experience.

My family and I have spent 17 years in the community, said Roberts, who touts local endorsements from Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and Harris County Commissioner Jack Cagle. We are part of the community. We have businesses in the community.

Roberts ran for the Texas House in 2016 after previous state Rep. Patricia Harless did not seek re-election. He said his time in the Legislature gives him experience in not only passing legislation and voting on tough issues, but also in battling bureaucracies and working with the different levels of government that members of Congress must deal with.

In television ads, Roberts points to being part of the response to Harvey on the state level since it happened. And in another video after a moderate rain in April, Roberts stood on the banks of the San Jacinto River and talked about his knowledge of the issues facing the community. Like Crenshaw, Roberts devotes a section of his website talking about support of another reservoir and the need to put more pressure on the bureaucracies to work faster.

Bad blood

The battle over experience and credentials has also become the biggest source of friction in the race, stirring negative attacks in mailers and television ads. It really took off during a forum hosted by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Greater Houston when Roberts bristled at Crenshaw touting his public policy training at Harvard as an asset.

You want to get bad policy? Roberts asks the crowd of business leaders. Send a bunch of people who have never worked in the real world. For you to be able to pass good policy you need real-world experience.

Roberts added that it doesnt matter what you read at Harvard  its different from the real world.

That brought a sharp response from Crenshaw who said Roberts questioning his real world experience after serving in combat zones and having to bury his fellow soldiers showed a lack of respect for veterans.

This latest attack by Kevin Roberts deserves a response, Crenshaw says in an intro to the YouTube clip. In his video, Crenshaw talks about confronting danger in the dead of night and attending funerals of men and women who fought by his side. All the while, the video flashes images of Crenshaw in uniform in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as pictures of a veterans cemetery.

Roberts called the response a low blow. He said he was clearly talking only about Harvard and was not referencing Crenshaws military service. He said he respects Crenshaws service and, given his father is a veteran, would never diminish the service of anyone who wore the uniform.

Roberts and Crenshaw finished first and second, respectively, in the March 6 GOP primary that originally had nine candidates in the race. Since neither earned more than 50 percent, a runoff was required.

Crenshaw had to stage a furious comeback to make it this far. After absentee ballots and early voting were counted in the first round, Crenshaw was in a distant third place behind Roberts and Republican Kathaleen Wall, who spent more than $6 million of her own money in a bid to win the seat. Crenshaw outperformed both those candidates on Election Day and slipped into second place by just 145 votes.

The winner of Tuesdays race will advance to November. Democrat Todd Litton and Libertarian Patrick Gunnels are already guaranteed to be on the ballot. The winner of the November election will get a 2-year term that pays $174,000 a year.

jeremy.wallace@chron.com

Twitter.com/JeremySWallaceCongratulations, America, indeed.

President Trump was being sarcastic when he tweeted, at 7:28 Thursday morning, Congratulations America, we are now into the second year of the greatest Witch Hunt in American History and there is still No Collusion and No Obstruction.

A year into the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller, both he and, yes, America, deserve congratulations. Our system  in particular, a Justice Department that is part of the executive branch but that maintains necessary independence from political meddling; prosecutors who operate in appropriate secrecy but within guidelines and with judicial oversight  is working as intended.

The wrap-it-up cries from Team Trump are as wrong as they are predictable.

RELATED: Firing Mueller would only make things worse for Trump

ALSO: Cornyn and Cruz should vote to protect Mueller

There was never any reasonable prospect that an investigation this sprawling, sensitive and important could be concluded in a single year. Trumps lawyers, seeking to calm presidential nerves, did him no favors by suggesting otherwise.

Mueller is no doubt exquisitely aware of the political seasons and the political clock, which advise more emphasis on speed than in an ordinary investigation. But he is also cognizant of the imperative for thoroughness. History hinges on his performance.

Nothing in the conduct of the Mueller probe suggests anything other than the diligent professionalism that he is known for  and that was initially lauded by some of the very folks who now argue that he should move on.

EDITORIAL: Trump Unbound puts nation at risk

In fact, notwithstanding Trumps constant claims of No Collusion and No Obstruction, the facts look much worse today than when Mueller was named, both about the underlying issue of potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, and about the possibility that Trump or others obstructed justice in trying to derail the probe. The information that has emerged  from outside reporting, from the congressional inquiries and from the flurry of indictments and other activity by Mueller himself  presents a far more detailed and alarming picture on both scores.

On collusion: We now know, but didnt back then, about the Trump Tower meeting  that Donald Trump Jr. responded eagerly to an offer from a purported emissary of the Russian government to offer damaging information about Hillary Clinton and arranged a meeting to obtain it that included Trumps campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

When Mueller was named, we had some scattered knowledge of contacts between Trump campaign aides and Russians, most prominently the meetings between then-Sen. Jeff Sessions and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and the phone conversations between Kislyak and incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn. Yet we had no inkling of how many Trump associates and campaign aides had dealings with Russian officials and operatives  at least 75 contacts and 22 meetings between Trumps team and individuals linked to Russia, according to the Moscow Project, an initiative of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.

We did not know that, during the campaign, Manafort was meeting with a person with ties to Russian intelligence and, through him, offering to brief a Vladimir Putin ally, Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. We did not know that Trump lawyer Michael Cohen and business associate Felix Sater were pushing construction of Trump Tower Moscow during the campaign  indeed, Trump assured the public he had no business there  or that their emails on the subject included this assurance from Sater: I will get Putin on this program and we will get Donald elected. We did not know that a professor with links to Russia had offered campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos thousands of emails with dirt on Clinton.

And on obstruction, we knew the essence of the possible case: that Trump asked FBI Director James Comey to let this go on Flynn and fired Comey, he said, to relieve the pressure of this Russia thing. But we did not know that Trump had ordered his White House counsel, Don McGahn, to instruct the attorney general not to recuse himself in the probe. That Trump ordered Muellers firing and backed off only after McGahn threatened to quit. That Trump himself was involved in drafting a misleading statement describing his sons Trump Tower meeting as primarily ... about the adoption of Russian children.

A year in, Mueller has under his belt the indictments of 19 individuals and three companies. He has amassed five guilty pleas, including from Flynn, Papadopoulos and Manafort deputy Rick Gates. What Trump rails against as a witch hunt is bagging flesh-and-blood villains and uncovering real villainy at the heart of our system  which may be why the president is so worked up about it.

Marcus email address is ruthmarcus@washpost.com.This is an exciting time for many high school seniors as they prepare to set off for college in the fall. Reaching college is a significant milestone for everyone; however, the path is more arduous for low-income students. According to the HISD Class of 2016 post secondary enrollment report, low-income students are 14 percent less likely than high-income students to matriculate to college within one year of graduating. But there is hope. Our experiences suggest that college counselors and mentors can help more low-income students reach their college dreams.

We  Sarah and Felicia are both first-generation students who grew up in an underserved community. We always aspired to leave home for college, but the college application process was foreign both to us and to our parents.

However, through the support of our EMERGE program manager, Angela Conley, and our high school guidance counselor, LaQuisha Wilson, we navigated every aspect of the college application process including: (1) attending out-of-state summer programs; (2) researching colleges and building a college list; (3) applying for universities across this country; (4) editing college essays; (5) securing scholarships to attend college; and (6) preparing for important interviews with organizations such as the Posse Foundation.

EDITORIAL: Sarah Brasse deserved better from CPS

Quite simply, Conley and Wilson guided us through high school and the college application process, and with their help, we both secured Posse scholarships to college.

Research from Rice University found that after hiring more college counselors in 2015, HISDs college application rate increased by 23 percent, and its FAFSA completion rate increased by 10 percent. Moreover, the 2016 post secondary enrollment report shows that the number of HISD students enrolling in college within one year of graduating high school increased by 4 percent from 2015 to 2016.

It is clear that the best solution to the college matriculation gap is hiring more college counselors. We, therefore, urge the Texas Legislature to increase funding for education so school districts can hire more counselors to support students and families through the college application process.

In the absence of more funding, we offer three concrete solutions.

First, Houstonians should volunteer as mentors through organizations such as Breakthrough Collaborative. These nonprofit organizations can then provide mentors with a curriculum to guide conversations with mentees who may not have access to a college counselor.

EDITORIAL: Don't lose sleep over college rankings

Second, we should empower our high school graduates to serve as peer mentors for high school students. Through our work with Students With Ambition Go (SWAG) To College, we have seen the power of peer mentors in supporting high school students navigate the college application process.

Third, foundations and philanthropists should support organizations such as EMERGE and One Goal that have a proven track record of helping high school students apply to and matriculate to college.

We want to stress that these ideas are not replacements for hiring more counselors. We know (and have personally seen) the incredible power of trained professionals such as HISDs college success advisors or college success managers to help students reach their goals. However, because of the states funding constraints, we provide these options.

MORE: Expand programs to help disadvantaged students apply to college

In the final analysis, with the support of individual Houstonians as mentors and foundations and corporations as donors and supporters, we can ensure that more low-income students matriculate to college and have the joy of making their college choice.

Montero is East Early College High School Class of 2018 and Bryn Mawr College Class of 2022. Huerta is East Early College High School Class of 2018 and Colby College Class of 2022. Salhotra is a student at Harvard Law School and a former teacher.Shareholders at Kinder Morgans annual general meeting passed resolutions compelling the company to account for the risk that climate change poses to its business.

For us, climate risk isn't about profit margins or stranded assets. While fossil fuel companies manage risk through calculus, we fight it head on. Resistance from First Nations has bogged down construction of the Kinder Morgan pipeline in legal and logistical battles, and we attended the Kinder Morgan and Enbridge general meetings last week to deliver a message: These companies will continue to face Indigenous-led pushback, which is supported by court rulings reinforcing Indigenous Title and Rights. These companies should include our resolve and legal victories against their pipelines in their risk assessment.

EDITORIAL: Anti-pipeline proponents help sell Putin's gas

ALSO: The Keystone XL pipeline remains key infrastructure for our state

The Trans Mountain Expansion and Line 3 projects are the latest attempts to build new pipelines for the massive Canadian Tar Sands industry and the tar-like bitumen it produces. Previous expansions of this sector have accounted for nearly half the rise in Canadas greenhouse gas emissions since 1990. New pipelines would mean Canada will not meet its climate commitments.

New tar sands pipelines have been met by insurmountable resistance, including the 10-year-long and counting resistance to TransCanadas Keystone XL pipeline. Indigenous-led movements stopped two other Canadian tar sands pipelines: TransCanadas Energy East to Canadas East Coast and Enbridges Northern Gateway to its West Coast.

Trans Mountain Expansion and Line 3 can expect the same fate.

The Trans Mountain Expansion would transport an extra 590,000 barrels per day of bitumen, diluted with toxic chemicals, to the western coast of British Columbia, increasing tanker traffic seven-fold. The terminus point is metro-Vancouver where approximately 2.4 million people would be impacted.

EDITORIAL: Native American concerns merit an honest conversation in the North Dakota conflict

And with its Line 3 project, Canadian company Enbridge is looking to abandon an existing pipeline with a capacity of 390,000 barrels per day to build a new pipeline carrying up to 915,000 barrels of toxic diluted bitumen each day along a new route through the heart of Minnesota's lake country. The sacred wild rice beds of Ojibwe Tribes would be right along its path.

Both pipelines ignited furious opposition. Resistance is particularly fierce in British Columbia and Minnesota, all in defense of the water, the climate and Indigenous rights. A total of 150 Indigenous Nations along the proposed pipeline routes and beyond signed the Treaty Alliance Against Tar Sands Expansion and pledged to ensure tar sands oil remains in the ground.

TheTrans Mountain Expansion and Line 3 opposition movements, spearheaded by Indigenous women, have gained widespread and diverse support.

The government of British Columbia, the governor of Washington State, and the city of Vancouver are aligned against the Trans Mountain Expansion. More than 20,000 Coast Protectors have pledged to do whatever it takes to stop the project. Since early March, some 200 people, young and old, have been arrested for blocking the gates of Kinder Morgan, including two federally elected politicians. Sixteen legal challenges to the project remain outstanding.

EDITORIAL: Outdated trade ideas threaten to weaken Houston's energy economy

Under the pressure, Kinder Morgan considered abandoning the project by the end of this month. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is now looking to bail out the company with billions in financial support, putting a lie to any claim he might have to being a climate leader or defender of Indigenous rights.

Meanwhile, Enbridge, faced with opposition from Tribes in Minnesota, and a Minnesota state administration that has agreed the project is unnecessary, is experiencing obstacles of its own.

In April, a judge recommended that instead of impacting a new area, Enbridge should dig up its existing pipeline and put Line 3 in its place. That recommendation leaves Enbridge with nowhere to go, because the Leech Lake and Fond du Lac Tribes, whose reservations are crossed by the old line, have objected to the new construction as a violation of their Tribal sovereignty.

Shortly thereafter, the Wisconsin refinery that processes Enbridges tar sands suffered a series of massive explosions, resulting in hospitalizations, a miles-wide evacuation, and a carcinogenic smoke plume.

Where there are pipelines, there is intolerable risk.

We laid out the facts for Kinder Morgan shareholders in Houston and Enbridge shareholders in Calgary, so there can be no question in their minds that these pipelines will not be built.

Phillip is the president of the Union of British Columbia Chiefs. Houska is a member of the Couchiching First Nation and National campaign director for Honor the Earth."Dressing professionally, even in a casual office environment, helps employees distinguish themselves as capable, confident and ready to take on new challenges or growth opportunities."

Professionals in Canada spend an average of seven minutes each day choosing their workwear, with employees aged 34 and under being the most conscientious about their appearance.

Yet, despite our clear concern over how we appear at work, HR managers believe the standards of what is and what isnt acceptable at work have shifted. Tattoos, piercing and jeans are now common place in our offices compared to five years ago. However, the report also found that managers are now less accepting of flip flops, shorts and tank tops than they were just a few years earlier.

"It's up to managers to give staff a benchmark for what is appropriate, continued Vasilopoulos, by clearly communicating company policies and leading by example through their own attire."

Recently, we spoke to Ryan Lazar, head of sales at CareerBuilder, who gave us his take on body art in the workplace.Page Content



Montreal, 19 May 2018  The Council President and the Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) expressed the UN agencys deepest condolences today for the victims of Cubana de Aviacion Flight DMJ0972.



ICAO is in contact with the States involved and will assist them if called upon to facilitate a comprehensive investigation.



Resources for Editors



International Accident Investigations

This Fact Sheet explains how accident investigation participating States are determined, as well as the process leading to the issuance of an accident investigation Preliminary Report (within 30 days of the event) and Final Report (asap or within 12 months of the event) following completion of the investigation.



Final Reports ultimately provide as much official information as possible on an accidents contributing causes and factors, as well as any official recommendations on how applicable aviation safety frameworks should be amended in the future.



ICAO does not normally participate in aircraft accident investigations, except when the State or States with due authority under Annex 13  Accident Investigation request its assistance directly. In those exceptional circumstances, said assistance normally involves ICAO acting as an official observer and/or clarifying various Annex 13 technical requirements when requested.





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 192 Member States.



The ICAO Aviation Safety website



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

Baggage handlers are among those joining in the suit. Getty Images

Absurdly Driven looks at the world of business with a skeptical eye and a firmly rooted tongue in cheek.

Relations between airlines and their passengers have taken a dip over the last few years.

Ever since, I fancy, airlines decided that baggage fees were a splendid idea.

Once they realized how much they could make out of those, the airlines started trying to charge for as much as they could.

You know, for things that used to be free.

Now, though, some American Airlines employees are accusing the airline of nickel-and-diming them, too.

They say that the airline is using time-tracking technology that has pre-programmed time periods for a shift, for so-called "grace periods" and for a 30-minute break in a full day's shift.

The employees say that the system deliberately rounds down the number of hours worked and doesn't acknowledge the times when employees are asked to come in early, work late or even perform tasks during their lunch break.

As Law.com reported, baggage handlers and maintenance technicians at Newark airport in New Jersey have joined in a class action suit that accuses the airline of deliberately underpaying them.

I contacted American to ask for its thoughts.

"American pays its team members for all the work they perform. That's the case in New Jersey and throughout our system," an airline spokesman told me.

It's true that the airline has given generous raises to many of its staff.

However, the more lowly paid -- who work for subsidiary American Eagle -- have complained of painfully low wages, as little as $10 an hour.

It seems, though, that there are difficult nuances and wrinkles in the New Jersey case.

American, Law.com reports, claims that some of its workers who came in early socialized or watched TV, rather than actually work.

As if American's executives would never, ever walk into their office and chat about their weekends at their second homes.

At the heart of all this, though, is the temptress that is technology.

More and more companies are becoming enamored of time-tracking systems because they're relatively easy to implement and require far less labor to maintain.

However, as the Wall Street Journal reports, employees at grocer Kroger and luxury group Montage Hotels and Resorts have also resorted to lawsuits that claim the employees are short-changed because the technology simply doesn't tell the whole truth.

It so rarely does.

Technology's greatest twin attractions are convenience and money-saving.

Just as humans take advantage of those while shopping, so corporations are increasingly taking advantage while paying.

Some fear that it's some of the lesser-paid employees who suffer most.

Once the technology is in place, corporations believe that their costs are more predictable.

This might be precisely because the technology doesn't take account of the unpredictable, human nature of work.

After all, technology works more efficiently when it reduces human beings to cogs in a system.

Incredibly, it seems that even hospital employers are using such technology.

There is, of course, a certain irony in the fact that tech companies offer some of the most human-centric conditions and benefits to their own employees, while at the same time creating systems that dehumanize others.

It's odd how rarely this seems to cross their minds.

Don't think, though, that airlines aren't think of using technology much more deeply on their customers, too.Wawa employee Towanda Davis and the company mascot, Wally Goose (<i>wawa</i> is the Ojibwe word for a Canadian goose), feeling the love at the opening of a Wawa store near Center City, Philadelphia. The company declared Wawa Day on April 12, in honor of the chains 54th anniversary. Mark Peterson

The early-morning event nominally marked the reopening of the renovated store--a squat, tan outpost on a busy road--but it also doubled as an outpouring of football frenzy. Green-and-white noisemakers rattled. Eagles cheers punctuated the formal remarks. The mayor spoke, backed by rows of potato chips, while rush-hour commuters darted in for coffee and breakfast sandwiches. A towering goose mascot helped cut a big red ribbon.

In the back room, wedged between computer servers and a first-aid kit, a brown packing box of Newport Menthol Gold at his feet, the man largely responsible for this $10 billion family empire grinned. "People ask what a non-executive chairman does. I tell them: Whatever he wants!" jokes Dick Wood, 80, who possesses, beneath the kindly exterior of a soft-spoken Florida retiree, a spine of steel. "I think I'm a myth."

Among entrepreneurs, almost. Most family businesses don't survive the third generation, yet Wood is comfortably watching his multi-generation company thrive. That would be Wawa, the much-beloved convenience store that you likely know either intimately or not at all.

Now Wawa's semi-retired chairman, Wood was the second and longest-serving chief executive of a four-CEO company, one that has weathered 54 years of family in-fighting, recessions, and several failed expansion attempts. Wood kept Wawa private, but also started handing it off to non-family leaders more than a decade ago, betting the best way to ensure Wawa's future was to separate it from its founding family. His wager paid off. Wawa is still aggressively growing: It now has almost 800 locations--none franchised--and 30,000 employees in six states (plus Washington, D.C.).

Founded in 1964 by Grahame Wood--Dick's first cousin once removed--Wawa began as a roadside dairy market in the Philadelphia suburbs. Its founder likely wouldn't recognize Wawa today, as it expands throughout the East Coast and audaciously tries to muscle out of the gas-station ghetto to compete with the likes of Panera, Starbucks, and Sweetgreen.

After decades of pushing cheap gas and cigarettes and made-to-order sandwiches to suburban crowds, Wawa is starting to

de-emphasize two of the three. The current CEO, Chris Gheysens, is swapping in Tesla charging stations, kale salads, and small-batch coffee, most of which customers can order on their phones (or Wawa's ubiquitous touchscreens). Gheysens calls this Wawa's "barbell" strategy: continue to offer the cheap staples that attracted longtime customers, while expanding into cities as the newest health-conscious, gourmet-inflected, casual-lunch option.

"We'll open up a store this year in Center City Philadelphia that won't sell cigarettes. It won't have gas," says Gheysens, 47, a South Jersey native who looks the part, down to his violet-and-black-plaid blazer and the big Eagles pennant in his pleasantly low-frills office. "When a convenience store doesn't sell cigarettes and gas, that begins not to be a convenience store."

That's starting to become obvious throughout Wawa's empire, including at the gleaming new complex looming over Red Roof, the family's century-old estate at Wawa's headquarters. The same split is visible at Wawa's stores: The suburban pit stop whose reopening Dick Wood presided over is the ugly duckling to the swan--or goose; more on that later--near Washington's Dupont Circle, a would-be gastropub with bar seating, brick walls, and industrial-chic exposed ceilings. (Face the Nation has a standing Sunday order.) The chain's next planned flagship, in downtown Philadelphia, promises couches, cafe tables, "industrial and art deco elements," vaulted ceilings, and a mural.

This is not Wawa's first overhaul. "We've changed a lot over the years," reflects Wood, who carefully orchestrated much of that change. But many of his efforts were internal, incremental; Gheysens is aiming at the most visible aspects of Wawa's longtime--and fiercely beloved--identity.

I grew up with Wawa, but I wasn't born into it. My Midwestern parents moved to Pennsylvania's Delaware County, home to Wawa's headquarters and many of its stores, when I was 6. Initially, we were confused by this "Wah-wah" that generated religious-level local fervor. (The name is taken from an Ojibwe word for the Canadian goose. Hence the goose logo and mascots.)

Soon enough, we became acolytes, won over by last-minute groceries and better-than-average coffee; my brothers, both now living far from Wawa outposts, still swear by its hoagies and breakfast sandwiches. But Wawa transcends local celebrity. "On their best day, most of the sub chains can't top, for example, Wawa's tuna hoagie on whole wheat," Food & Wine recently declared. "Heaven, for a few bucks." This year, Wawa achieved another level of pop-culture fame: During a pre-Super Bowl skit on Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey hoisted a basketful of Wawa hoagies to proclaim her Philly pride. And, like any all-night restaurant, the chain is always there to make fresh sandwiches for the closing-time crowd. "I feel like I should be too old to be winding up in Wawas at 1 a.m.," one friend, a thirtysomething Wharton MBA student, recently sighed.

It's not just the sandwiches that win notice. In 2005, Harvard Business Review singled out Wawa's rigorous employee training and the resulting strong customer service culture. That training was developed through a proprietary program with Philadelphia's St. Joseph's University; the company now handles training on its own. "Nowhere else in my daily life does anyone hold open the door for me, except in a Wawa," says Ronald Dufresne, a management professor at St. Joseph's who worked on that program. "In a Wawa store, people are nice to each other."

Like Wegmans or In-N-Out, Wawa is usually described as a cult brand, a regional player--a Mid-Atlantic specialist confined to a narrow niche. That niche, though, is huge. The company claims $10 billion in annual revenue. (Wawa also says it's profitable, though it won't discuss specifics or how much revenue comes from gas sales.) Top dog in the $550 billion U.S. convenience store industry is 7-Eleven, which took in $29 billion in U.S. revenue in 2017. But Wawa is now eyeing new competitors: quick-service and fast-casual chains like Dunkin' Donuts or even Chipotle, which sells nearly $4.5 billion in burrito bowls and guacamole annually.

As Wawa edges upmarket, executives and fans cite a key advantage: its workers, their role in that company culture--and their financial stake, since Wawa is now 41 percent employee-owned. (See below.) Wawa asks employees to "fulfill lives, every day," and promote six core values--one of which is "embrace change."

"They do a great job," says Bonnie Riggs, a restaurant analyst for NPD Group, who calls Wawa one of several "food-forward" convenience stores; others are Wawa's in-state rival Sheetz, Baltimore's Royal Farms, and Tulsa's QuikTrip. All seek to compete with the "quick-service restaurants" that make up one of the fastest-growing and most-competitive segments of the restaurant industry. High-end chefs are spinning off fast-casual concepts; startups focused on salad and burgers and poke all vie to be the next Shake Shack; fast-food behemoths like McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts are upgrading ingredients; grocery stores with prepared-food sections are becoming "grocerants." (Seriously.)

Yet while it tries to level up, Wawa's business still relies on volume and speed. The company makes "very few partial pennies per customer," Gheysens says, "but for a lot of customers"--800 million of them annually. Bring people in for a cup of coffee or a tank of gas or to get cash at the store's fee-free ATMs, and they'll likely buy something else: a bag of chips, a Tastykake, a highly customized hoagie--or, since the prices are so low, all of the above. (An average convenience-store customer spends $4.12, according to NPD; Wawa says theirs spends $7.42.)

Wawa's ability to sell so much so quickly relies on technology, tightly controlled supply-chain operations, and a "cluster" expansion strategy that establishes most new stores near other Wawas. The company introduced touchscreen ordering in 2002, getting a decade-long jump on the iPad menus that many fast-casual restaurants now use (reducing labor costs and making customized orders--and upselling--much easier). Its distribution partner, McLane, runs what Wawa calls the supplier's only dedicated warehouse in the U.S., in New Jersey. Last year, Gheysens oversaw the launch of an oil barge and tug to bring 7.8 million gallons of gas from the Gulf of Mexico to Florida stores three times per month. The barge reportedly cost up to $80 million.

Given splurges like that--and the average $6 million per store Wawa is spending to open hundreds of Florida locations and establish itself in the pricier precincts of Washington--it's a little astounding how cheap Wawa remains. Gheysens laughs, a little pained, when I mention a recent $10 Wawa dinner -- including snack, drink and dessert -- purchased in a part of D.C. not known for cheap eats. "We largely do not have a different urban pricing strategy," says Gheysens, who's spent most of his 21 years at Wawa in accounting and finance. "Consistency is really important to our customers."

"In a Wawa, people are nice to each other," says a professor who knows the company.

A one-time Deloitte analyst who became CEO in 2013, Gheysens took over in the midst of the company's push into Florida. He's continued that blitz while shifting his gaze to big cities: downtown Philadelphia, which the chain once neglected in favor of the suburbs and highways around them; D.C., a city long encircled by Wawas while lacking any at its core; potential new cities between Philadelphia and Wawa's Florida beachheads; even, maybe someday, the food-and-retail gauntlet of New York.

"We are afraid to change much," Gheysens says, while laying out ambitious plans to do just that. But Wawa has always been quietly reinventing itself.

"My father spent most of his career keeping the family out of the business." That's Rich Wood, Dick's son and Wawa's head of government relations and sustainability. "I was always told I would never be in the business by him. Constantly," adds Rich, who left a role at Coca-Cola and spent two years pulling shifts in 24-hour Wawa stores before his dad let him into headquarters.

Dick Wood remains bluntly unsentimental about family and business. He and his brother George--also on the board--"decided a long time ago that what was important to the family was: 'What's the value of a share of stock, and what's my dividend?' " Dick says. "The family is very happy to have somebody running the business who wants to grow the business."

For the first 300 years or so, that was a Wood. Wawa was nominally founded in 1964, when Grahame Wood opened his first market in a rural suburb. But it really dates back to 1902, when Grahame's grandfather George Wood opened the Wawa dairy farm, which would eventually supply that store. And to 1803, when George's uncle David C. Wood opened the first of the New Jersey iron foundries that would eventually provide the capital to buy the dairy. And to 1682, when the first Richard Wood came from England to colonial Philadelphia (at the same time as fellow Quaker William Penn) and started building a dynasty. It went on to encompass textile companies, children's hospitals, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Philadelphia Bank, and a dry goods business that, in the late 1830s, outsourced some debt-collection work in Illinois to a young lawyer named Abraham Lincoln.

(The Woods also intersected with other local, politically-connected dynasties; the du Ponts, of chemical fame, and the McNeils, of Tylenol fortune, both have supporting roles in the Wawa story.)

By the early 1960s, as supermarkets started to eat into his dairy's home-delivery business, Grahame Wood had begun researching convenience stores, visiting a friend who owned some in Ohio. He returned with a plan to open three stores that would sell Wawa's milk and other perishables.

"He was a man who could roll up his sleeves," recalls Maria Thompson, an architectural historian who married Grahame's nephew and serves as Wawa's corporate historian. She credits the company's management culture to "Uncle Grady's" paratrooper service during World War II: "There's this sense of building a team, where I'm relying on you for my life," she says. "It's never one person who's responsible."

In 1970, Grahame hired his cousin's son, Richard D. Wood Jr.--Dick--a young lawyer who'd advised companies on mergers and acquisitions and IPOs.

Which was perfect training. "I formed a really negative reaction to being public," Dick says. "I don't think we could have driven the company to the size it is, with the culture it has, without being a private company. You're making short-term decisions, and we are focused on long-term decisions." (Gheysens agrees, saying he's "publicly, on the record," not interested in an IPO.)

Grahame named Dick to succeed him in 1977 and died in 1982. In his 2014 company bible, The Wawa Way, former CEO Howard Stoeckel recounts a story Dick repeated: On his final trip home from the hospital, Grahame asked his ambulance driver to stop at a Wawa construction site. He wanted to check on the progress.

Dick Wood spent the 1980s and 1990s expanding Wawa's product lineup beyond dairy and deli meats, gradually transforming Wawa from quasi-grocery to sandwich shop. His early attempt at selling gas flopped; the second, in 1993, succeeded, ushering in what Gheysens calls the era of "big gas" and suburban-focused expansion. "You have to give them credit for having a really good business, but not standing pat, and incrementally changing to comport with how the customers are changing," says John Stanton, a food marketing professor at St. Joseph's who's consulted for Wawa.

Wawa spent a lot of the 1990s learning from failure, like a short-lived attempt to sell products from Taco Bell and Pizza Hut--what The Wawa Way generously, if rather inelegantly, considers "ethnic food." (Today, Wawa's best food remains proudly basic: turkey hoagies, soft pretzels, croissant-egg-cheese breakfast sandwiches.)

Dick Wood also spent the 1990s figuring out how to manage his family. Wawa ownership was mostly split between two separate family trusts, and one trustee started trying to force a sale or an IPO. In 1998, the company sold a stake to an investment group controlled by the McNeil family--the Tylenol heirs--who, within five years, tried to force Wawa to go public.

Fortunately, Dick had a backup plan, one he'd started setting up in 1992 to reward longtime employees and start cashing out his family: an employee stock-ownership program, or ESOP. Wawa bought back the McNeils' stake for $142 million, and asked employees to start switching some of their retirement funds from Wawa's 401(k) plan to the ESOP. The workers did. Fifteen years later, many are retiring as millionaires.

Which is to say that Dick--who comes off as a warm, funny, and slightly fragile senior citizen, who carefully unbuckled his briefcase to share a glossy, seven-page family tree--is also a sharp and ruthlessly smart strategist. Wawa's six core values include the inoffensive "passion for winning." Dick argued for the tougher "never be satisfied." He also delayed his retirement in part because "I wanted to make sure one of our vice presidents retired," Dick recalls. "He did!"

In the early 2000s, Dick also gave interviews for articles that named his nephew, Wawa's then-president and CFO, There du Pont--yes, of those du Ponts--as his successor. But when he retired in 2005, Wood instead appointed the first outsider CEO: Howard Stoeckel, a former human resources executive at the Limited, who joined Wawa in 1987 and rose to become its enthusiastically folksy marketer in chief. Du Pont "was smart, but values and culture mean more in this company than being smart," Dick says. (There du Pont did not respond to requests for comment.)

While not a family member, Stoeckel was a well-known quantity to Wawa employees. He approached the job with a healthy appreciation for Wawa's culture, and with a philosophy that continued laying the groundwork for Gheysens. "I realized I had to be willing to try things," Stoeckel says. "Not everything would work, but we don't penalize failure here. If you learn from failure, you're rewarded."

Stoeckel's biggest practical goal was overseeing Wawa's first major geographic jump, to Florida, where Wawas started opening in 2012. While far from Wawa's supply chain and store clusters, the Sunshine State was otherwise welcoming: a big territory, affordable real estate, an established convenience-store culture, and many transplants from Wawa's home turf--including one Dick Wood.

At 59, when he became CEO, Stoeckel soon started looking for a successor. The board settled on Gheysens, who grew up working in his father's car wash. After graduating from Villanova, Gheysens went to Deloitte, where Wawa became a client. He jumped to the retailer in 1997 and worked his way up to CFO.

Five years after formally taking over, Gheysens regularly consults with his two immediate predecessors--even when he's departing from their longstanding suburban strategy. "We are a big test-and-learn organization," he says.

The first test of his urban pivot came when he persuaded Wawa's board to sign off on a big new store in Center City Philadelphia--and built it within 85 days, ahead of the crowds who flocked to the pope's 2015 visit to the city. The bet, and hustle, paid off. "We're about 50 percent higher than we thought we'd be, in terms of sales and volumes," Gheysens says. "There could be more--we're just maxed out." Suddenly, Wawa had a new focus: cities, and their food-savvy residents.

Half a mile from the renovated Wawa's celebrations, at a larger, newer Wawa with gas pumps outside and tables out back, training general manager Denise Haley is overseeing operations. A cheerfully competent presence with carefully plucked eyebrows and long brown hair, Haley walks me through industrial kitchens, past cold cases full of energy drinks and a freezer holding Halo Top and Wawa ice cream. She greets colleagues and customers without breaking stride, and then throws a smile to the visiting cigarette sales reps. "They pay us a lot of money," she confides.

Haley started at Wawa in 1994, and is in all respects a company lifer. After asking where I grew up, she quickly identifies the closest Wawa. "Oh, store 54!" she rattles off. Then: "That's Paul's store. My brother was married to his sister."

She also makes a few appearances in The Wawa Way, as a paragon of Wawa's customer service. In one anecdote, Haley made a house call to a regular, an 89-year-old woman who fell and contacted the Wawa for help, and drove her to the ER.

Beyond the occasional book cameo, or an annual resort trip for top managers, Haley and other longtime employees have been well rewarded for their tenures at Wawa, thanks to the company's ESOP, which, by some accounts, is the second-largest in the U.S. This setup isn't without tensions; as Wawa's growth has accelerated, so have payouts. Wawa recently agreed to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit from former employees that claimed that after they left, the company prematurely cashed them out of the ESOP. (Wawa declined to comment.) That lawsuit, and a few others involving overtime and racial discrimination claims at individual stores, point to another challenge: Wawa's labor force has increased dramatically in recent years. Wawa had 20,000 employees when Gheysens took over in 2013; it now employs more than 30,000 people--and 5,000 more in summer.

Wawa says its turnover rate is lower than average for retail, a sector with a notoriously high churn. But as the company continues to expand, and does so without franchising, Wawa must figure out how to maintain its employee training and its customer service reputation at massive scale.

"Probably the thing that makes Wawa the hardest is making sure you have the right people at all times," Gheysens acknowledges. "Wawa's hard to work in."

Another big issue: Technology, especially as Amazon, with its no-checkout stores and its takeover of Whole Foods, attempts to overshadow the brick-and-mortar retail ecosystem. After Wawa's long-ago bet on touchscreen ordering, Gheysens has introduced mobile ordering and delivery, through a partnership with Grubhub.

But perhaps the most immediate challenge will be finding the right balance for Gheysens's barbell. One end is obvious: Within the past year, Wawa has introduced "reserve" coffee sourced from small-batch beans from Kenya and Tanzania. Some stores have salad counters that could compete with those at Chopt or Sweetgreen. And the company is developing "artisan sandwiches" that have what Gheysens calls "really high-end" meats--and higher prices.

Yet Wawa can't ignore longtime customers. Their loyalty helped Wawa sell 80 million hoagies and 200 million cups of coffee last year--and can generate reactions like Philadelphia magazine's grumbling over declining hoagie quality, or the great hazelnut decaf backlash of 2009, when Wawa discontinued a lower-selling blend and promptly "got blasted," Gheysens recalls. He's trying to avoid a repeat.

Most of the heavy lifting happens at Wawa's gleaming new headquarters, in a 10,000-square-foot test kitchen populated by chefs, nutritionists, food scientists, and beverage specialists. One recent day, an employee offers tastes of the sesame-seed hoagie rolls she's rigorously comparing, before Wawa's beverage expert walks me through a small-batch "cupping," the coffee snob's sniff-slurp-spit equivalent of a wine tasting. Meanwhile, two chefs study an array of chickpeas, scallions, and lemons, ready to experiment with a "green tehina" sauce that, one admits, "is a bit out there for our customers."

Which won't necessarily stop Wawa from trying to sell it--so long as it can fit into what Gheysens declares to be the end goal of all of this transformation. "We are proudly a convenience store," he says. "We just want to be the best one."

How Wawa stayed private--and how its workers won.

About 14.4 million American workers participated in employee stock ownership programs (ESOPs) as of 2015, up from 10.2 million in 2002, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. The overall number of plans has declined, which the NCEO attributes to inactive plans some companies registered in the late 1990s, as well as low creation rates since then.

"What you want in a corporate culture with an ESOP is a lot of 'in the same boat' identification between all the workers and managers," says Joseph R. Blasi, director of Rutgers University's Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing. "You want the company using the workers as a consumer brand, which Wawa does--it's all over their stores."

ESOPs work like this: Once an employee has worked for a specified time and/or hours, a company starts buying shares for that employee, often using credit. (At Wawa, anyone who's worked more than a year, who's logged at least 1,000 hours, and who's at least 18 is enrolled.)

Shares rise or fall with company fortunes; their prices must be reported. When a worker retires, or within six years of leaving, the company must start paying the shares' current value. A Wawa share was about $900 when its ESOP expanded in 2003. It's now worth almost $10,000.

Which has paid off handsomely for longtime employees like Cheryl Farley, who started part time at Wawa in 1982. In April, she retired from the IT department at age 58--and promptly embarked on a busy schedule of birding trips around North America; cruising Alaska and the Caribbean; and visits to fellow Wawa retirees, some of whom built beach houses with ESOP earnings. "Because of the ESOP, many recent retirees are doing things that many people would never dream of," Farley says. "I'm healthy, I'm young and I get to relax."

Wawa's Playing Field

The Company: Wawa claims $10 billion in annual revenue, which puts it among the top 20 U.S. chains tracked by Convenience Store News.

The Competitors: The convenience store business--a $550 billion industry--is dominated by giants like the Japanese-owned 7-Eleven, which last year took in $29 billion from 8,700 North American outposts, and Alimentation Couche-Tard, the Quebecois owner of Circle K and Dairy Mart.

The New Rivals: Fast food, old and new: Panera ($2.8 billion in revenue in 2016, before it sold for $7.5 billion to German conglomerate JAB), Dunkin' Donuts ($860 million in revenue), Chipotle ($4.5 billion in revenue)--and even the fast-growing likes of Sweetgreen.

EXPLORE MORE Best Workplaces COMPANIESA friend of mine, the mother of six, just had a job interview. While she didn't try to hide the fact that she had children, she also wasn't planning to share that she had six of them. So, imagine her surprise when one of the interviewers said, "So you have six children. I've just read your CV and it was on there."

It wasn't. She believes the interviewer found out by speaking with a friend of hers who worked for the same company or by looking at her Facebook page. She has her privacy settings at an appropriate level, but her cover photo was a family picture--complete with all six children.

Her husband has a similar picture as his cover photo--albeit with five kids (pre-latest baby). He's never, ever, not once been asked about family size in a job interview. And why should he? It's not part of doing the job. It wasn't part of the job my friend applied for either, though, so why ask?

Katherine Goldstein recently published an op-ed in The New York Times that asks about anti-mom bias and why it's so prevalent. She writes:

"In recent months, we've seen a flood of stories about sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. But the struggles of mothers specifically have been largely left out of the spotlight -- even though, as in my conversation with this woman, the bias against them is often casual, open, and unapologetic."

But Goldstein references a conversation where she viewed this bias firsthand, and it actually makes the issue more complicated than it seems on its face. Here's the conversation as she wrote it:

"Last fall, I was in a meeting with a leader in women's health, discussing re-entry-to-work programs for new mothers when, out of the blue, she began complaining about a former employee. This employee on their small team had gotten pregnant, the woman said -- and it was a problem: "She was way too focused on her pregnancy. It was distracting her. I didn't think she was going to be committed enough to the job, so I had to let her go.""

Here's the problem with claiming bias and discrimination: what if this is the truth?

What if all this newly pregnant employee could talk about was the pregnancy and the expected baby? What if she was no longer working hard? Should a company be required to not only give maternity leave but allow an employee to slack off for the nine months prior to the birth? Of course not.

We don't know the extent of the conversations this manager had with her pregnant employee. If she just said, "Ahh, you're pregnant, you're no longer career-focused, you're fired," that is a blatant act of illegal discrimination. But if the employee had lost all focus and the manager had numerous conversations with her, put her on a performance improvement plan, saw no improvement, and then terminated her, it would be justified.

While it's absolutely critical we consider each and every employee (and job candidate) as an individual and do not make assumptions based on stereotypes, we can't deny that women who have children behave differently than women without children, and differently than men.

According to Claudia Goldin, a professor of economics at Harvard University, women prefer what she called "temporal flexibility." Goldin believes this choice explains much of the gender pay gap. Joan C. Williams writes in the Harvard Business Review that only 13.9 percent of college-educated women work more than 50 hours per week between the ages of 25 to 44, which are considered the key career-building years. On the other hand, 29 percent of fathers who live with their children work more than 50 hours per week.

Williams draws this conclusion:

"This 'long-hours problem,' analyzed so insightfully by Robin Ely and Irene Padavic, is a key reason why the percentage of women in top jobs has stalled at about 14 percent, a number that has barely budged in the past decade. We can't expect progress when the fast track that leads to top jobs requires a time commitment that excludes most mothers -- and by extension, most women.

Now, you can argue up one side and down the other that we should change the paradigm so long hours aren't necessary to rise to the top. But that doesn't change personal preference, and it makes little sense that we should treat someone who devotes an entire life to the business the same as someone who wants to work part-time. While Gladwell's 10,000-hour rule isn't perfect, the principle is solid--if you do more work, you understand better how to do the work.

Women, according to a 2013 Pew study, want to work part-time at far higher rates than men--almost 50 percent of women say this is the ideal situation for women with children under 18.

In Denmark, where maternity and paternity benefits are generous, mothers and fathers have a combined leave of 52 weeks--a full year. Moms are guaranteed 18 of those weeks, dads 2 weeks, but the remaining leave can be split any way the parents want to. Moms take 92.8 percent of that leave.

So, while every instance of discrimination against moms should be investigated, we can't assume that differences happen because of discrimination.

You should never ask a job candidate--male or female--about their offspring in a job interview. You should never assume that childcare duties will be carried out by mom. Never make an assumption, one way or the other, about what a woman will do after having a baby. The study that indicated moms were 37 percent less likely to be hired than non-moms is horrifying, and companies should make sure they don't discriminate in this way.Independent cheese makers in France are making a big stink, and perhaps for good reason.

As demand for cheese is on the rise, a new law would allow a particular kind of French delicacy--Camembert--to be classified as authentically Normand, whether or not it's made from raw milk. Chefs, restaurant owners, and cheese makers across the nation are in an uproar, fearing the new law, which takes effect in 2021, will squeeze out the handful of independent manufacturers and give larger, industrialized businesses the competitive edge.

The issue at hand resembles a similar controversy stateside, over whether companies like Kraft are allowed to use the term "natural" in describing their cheese, when in fact the product has been chemically processed.

"There will be less Camembert generally, and even less of the Camembert made from raw milk. As a result, that cheese will become more expensive and rare, and we could lose our artisan businesses," says Veronique Richez-Lerouge, the founder of a Paris-based non-profit devoted to traditional cheeses, in a phone call with Inc. Richez-Lerouge is among the roughly 40 signatories of an open letter in protest of the regulation, published earlier this week on the French news site Liberation. The document calls for French president Emmanuel Macron to roll back the policy, rallying around the cry of "Liberte, Egalite, Camembert!"

For the uninitiated, the difference between cheese made from raw milk and that made from pasteurized milk--whereby the product is heat treated, often in a factory--may not seem significant. Dairy connoisseurs say otherwise; in the letter, they denounce pasteurized Camembert as "shame, scandal, imposture"--and even more lurid: "an ocean of mediocrity."

True Camembert, they argue, relies on unfiltered raw milk from a particular breed of Normandy cattle to achieve the requisite taste and texture. Independent makers laboriously sift the milk by hand into molds, resulting in a gooey, odoriferous center and a brownish outer crust; it is aged for as little as three weeks, and for that reason, critics say the raw milk cheese poses health risks, insofar as it could contain dangerous bacteria. (Indeed, it is illegal to import anything aged less than 60 days into the U.S., so those of us stateside are stuck with the knockoff brands. As Richez-Lerouge tells me: "Americans are completely obsessed with microbes.")

To be fair, the Camembert crisis is far from an economic travesty. There are fewer than a dozen artisanal makers of that particular product, the loss of whom would hardly be felt for long. But the defenders of stinky cheese insist the regulation is symptomatic of a more troubling shift in French policy, and could extend to every artisanal product the nation holds dear. Richez-Lerouge, in particular, is concerned Camembert will no longer be viewed as accessible to the 99 percent, if the prices on knockoff cheeses become artificially low: "Everyone should have the right to eat well, not just the wealthy," she says.The next James Bond film may still feel a long way off but details are slowly trickling in - and now one more cast member is seemingly confirmed to return alongside for what is expected to be Daniel Craig's final stand as the British spy.

Ahead of his appearance in BBC One series A Very English Scandal, Ben Whishaw revealed he is strongly expecting to reprise the role of Q for the 25th entry into the long-running 007 series.

I believe I'm contracted to be in it. That's as much as I know, he told The Hollywood Reporter.

Whishaw, who is also known as the voice of Paddington Bear, praised Trainspotting filmmaker Danny Boyle who is strongly expected to be replacing Sam Mendes as franchise director.

I was thrilled when I read that he was going to be doing it. I can't think of a better, more exciting director for Daniel for the way that he's taken the character. I think it'll be really exciting to work with him. I've been such a big fan.

In the same interview, Whishsaw stated he's unsure whether there'll be a third entry into the hugely profitable Paddington franchise despite audience demand.

Its a tremendous amount of work that goes into those films, so Im not sure if it will happen," he said. "Or, if it does, Im not sure when it will happen.

Q has appeared in 21 Bond films to date. He is the head of the Secret Service's research and development division and has been played in the past by Desmond Llewelyn and John Cleese.

Product placement in James Bond films Show all 6 1 /6 Product placement in James Bond films Product placement in James Bond films Sony Vaio in Casino Royale Bond was besotted with his Sony Vaio in Casino Royale. Product placement in James Bond films Heineken In Skyfall, Daniel Craig's Bond controversially had a Heineken. The deal is estimated to have cost the beer producers $45 million. Product placement in James Bond films American Motors In The Man With The Golden Gun, Bond exclusively drove American Motors as part of a $5 million deal which saw the AMC Hornet jump over a broken bridge Eon Productions Product placement in James Bond films Omega Bond has nearly always worn an Omega watch. The one featured in Tomorrow Never Dies was eventually sold at Christies. Product placement in James Bond films Red Stripe Instead of sipping from a Martini, in Dr. No Bond decided to neck a Red Stripe. Product placement in James Bond films Aston Martin The Astin Martin: Bond's main choice of car since the beginning. A new one was made especially for Spectre.

Three-part miniseries A Very English Scandal is a dramatisation of the Jeremy Thorpe drama in which the 1970s MP - played by Hugh Grant -was tried and acquitted of attempting to murder his former lover, Norman Scott (Whishsaw).

it was revealed earlier this year that Craig will receive the largest pay cheque for his 007 return than any other actor will for a single film over the next few years.The most famous phrase in Googles corporate philosophy, Dont be evil, has been almost entirely removed from the technology giants code of conduct.

Google, which is now a subsidiary of Alphabet after a corporate restructuring in 2015, previously included the phrase Dont be evil at the very start of its code, and another two times within the first two paragraphs.

The simple language was replaced by vague and less specific wording such as ethical business conduct.

The Google Code of Conduct is one of the ways we put Googles values into practice, the updated guidelines begins.

Its built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct.

Gadget and tech news: In pictures Show all 25 1 /25 Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gadget and tech news: In pictures Gun-toting humanoid robot sent into space Russia has launched a humanoid robot into space on a rocket bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The robot Fedor will spend 10 days aboard the ISS practising skills such as using tools to fix issues onboard. Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Rogozin has previously shared videos of Fedor handling and shooting guns at a firing range with deadly accuracy. Dmitry Rogozin/Twitter Gadget and tech news: In pictures Google turns 21 Google celebrates its 21st birthday on September 27. The The search engine was founded in September 1998 by two PhD students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, in their dormitories at Californias Stanford University. Page and Brin chose the name google as it recalled the mathematic term 'googol', meaning 10 raised to the power of 100 Google Gadget and tech news: In pictures Hexa drone lifts off Chief engineer of LIFT aircraft Balazs Kerulo demonstrates the company's "Hexa" personal drone craft in Lago Vista, Texas on June 3 2019 Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures Project Scarlett to succeed Xbox One Microsoft announced Project Scarlett, the successor to the Xbox One, at E3 2019. The company said that the new console will be 4 times as powerful as the Xbox One and is slated for a release date of Christmas 2020 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures First new iPod in four years Apple has announced the new iPod Touch, the first new iPod in four years. The device will have the option of adding more storage, up to 256GB Apple Gadget and tech news: In pictures Folding phone may flop Samsung will cancel orders of its Galaxy Fold phone at the end of May if the phone is not then ready for sale. The $2000 folding phone has been found to break easily with review copies being recalled after backlash PA Gadget and tech news: In pictures Charging mat non-starter Apple has cancelled its AirPower wireless charging mat, which was slated as a way to charge numerous apple products at once AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures "Super league" India shoots down satellite India has claimed status as part of a "super league" of nations after shooting down a live satellite in a test of new missile technology EPA Gadget and tech news: In pictures 5G incoming 5G wireless internet is expected to launch in 2019, with the potential to reach speeds of 50mb/s Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Uber halts driverless testing after death Uber has halted testing of driverless vehicles after a woman was killed by one of their cars in Tempe, Arizona. March 19 2018 Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A humanoid robot gestures during a demo at a stall in the Indian Machine Tools Expo, IMTEX/Tooltech 2017 held in Bangalore Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures The giant human-like robot bears a striking resemblance to the military robots starring in the movie 'Avatar' and is claimed as a world first by its creators from a South Korean robotic company Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Engineers test a four-metre-tall humanoid manned robot dubbed Method-2 in a lab of the Hankook Mirae Technology in Gunpo, south of Seoul, South Korea Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures Waseda University's saxophonist robot WAS-5, developed by professor Atsuo Takanishi and Kaptain Rock playing one string light saber guitar perform jam session Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway resembling the giant panda is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A test line of a new energy suspension railway, resembling a giant panda, is seen in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A concept car by Trumpchi from GAC Group is shown at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Rex Gadget and tech news: In pictures A Mirai fuel cell vehicle by Toyota is displayed at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A visitor tries a Nissan VR experience at the International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, China Reuters Gadget and tech news: In pictures A man looks at an exhibit entitled 'Mimus' a giant industrial robot which has been reprogrammed to interact with humans during a photocall at the new Design Museum in South Kensington, London Getty Gadget and tech news: In pictures A new Israeli Da-Vinci unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by Elbit Systems is displayed during the 4th International conference on Home Land Security and Cyber in the Israeli coastal city of Tel Aviv Getty

The famous motto is now included only once in the 6,313-word document, right at the very end as a final aside: And remember dont be evil, and if you see something that you think isnt right  speak up!

The updated code of conduct comes as artificial intelligence researchers call for Google to abandon a project developing AI technology for the military.

Google's refusal to cut ties with the US military led to the resignation of around a dozen employees from the company, who cited ethical concerns and warned that autonomous weapons directly contradicted the firm's famous 'Don't be evil' motto.

In a letter signed by more than 3,100 Google employees last month, the workers stated: "We believe that Google should not be in the business of war... We cannot outsource the moral responsibility of our technologies to third parties," referring to the company's involvement in a controversial Pentagon program called Project Maven.

Recommended Hundreds of AI experts call on Google to stop weaponizing technology

"Therefore we ask that Project Maven be cancelled, and that Google draft, publicise and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology."

Google had not responded to a request for comment on the demotion of the phrase at the time of publication. This article will be updated if a response is received.Google has approached the founder of ethereum  the worlds second most valuable cryptocurrency  in the hope that he will help the technology giant with a mysterious blockchain project, the Russian-born programmer has revealed.

Vitalik Buterin shared a truncated screenshot of an email from Google recruiter Elizabeth Garcia, appearing to offer him a job.

Mr Buterin shared the email from Ms Garcia, along with a poll asking should I drop ethereum and work for Google?

Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Satoshi Nakamoto creates the first bitcoin block in 2009 On 3 January, 2009, the genesis block of bitcoin appeared. It came less than a year after the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto detailed the cryptocurrency in a paper titled 'Bitcoin: A peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System' Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin is used as a currency for the first time On 22 May, 2010, the first ever real-world bitcoin transaction took place. Lazlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins  the equivalent of $90 million at today's prices Lazlo Hanyecz Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Silk Road opens for business Bitcoin soon gained notoriety for its use on the dark web. The Silk Road marketplace, established in 2011, was the first of hundreds of sites to offer illegal drugs and services in exchange for bitcoin Screenshot Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The first bitcoin ATM appears On 29 October, 2013, the first ever bitcoin ATM was installed in a coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada. The machine allowed people to exchange bitcoins for cash Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures The fall of MtGox The world's biggest bitcoin exchange, MtGox, filed for bankruptcy in February 2014 after losing almost 750,000 of its customers bitcoins. At the time, this was around 7 per cent of all bitcoins and the market inevitably crashed Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Would the real Satoshi Nakamoto please stand up In 2015, Australian police raided the home of Craig Wright after the entrepreneur claimed he was Satoshi Nakamoto. He later rescinded the claim Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's big split On 1 August, 2017, an unresolvable dispute within the bitcoin community saw the network split. The fork of bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology spawned a new cryptocurrency: Bitcoin cash Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin's price sky rockets Towards the end of 2017, the price of bitcoin surged to almost $20,000. This represented a 1,300 per cent increase from its price at the start of the year Reuters Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures What goes up... Bitcoin price crashes spectacularly, losing half of its value in a matter of days Getty Images Bitcoin's volatile history in pictures Bitcoin plunges The cryptocurrency eventually bottoms out below $4,000 in 2019 before slowly rebuilding momentum to outperform more traditional assets Getty Images

Before it was taken down, 59 per cent of more than 2,000 people polled on Twitter responded that Mr Buterin should not abandon ethereum.

Hi Vitalik, I hope you are doing well and enjoying the weekend! the message from Ms Garcia stated. [...] Google make sense for you now or in the near future[...]

Mr Buterin later deleted the poll and tweeted: Too bad you cant quote tweet someone and add a poll.

Neither Google nor Mr Buterin responded immediately to a request for comment, however the tech company has previously revealed that it is interested in blockchain  the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ethereum.

Like many new technologies, we have individuals in various teams exploring potential use of blockchain, but its too early for us to speculate about any possible uses or plans, a spokesperson told Business Insider in March.

Another Silicon Valley giant apparently keen on the technology is Facebook, who revealed earlier this month that it was setting up an exploratory blockchain group that will report directly to the company's CTO, Mike Schroepfer.

"I'm setting up a small group to explore how to best leverage blockchain across Facebook, starting from scratch," David Marcus, who previously led the Facebook Messenger team, said in a post on Facebook.

With over 2 billion users worldwide, speculation inevitably led to the possibility that Facebook could develop its own cryptocurrency.

Facebook's platform and network of users around the world could conceivably lead to the world's first truly mass-market cryptocurrency.Forget all those diktats regarding not talking about religion, politics or money. If you really want a quiet life then the question you must avoid at all costs is: Do you prefer cats or dogs? Everyone has an opinion on it and there are those who will defend their opinion with violence. Or at least with a campaign of social media shaming that puts anyone who disagrees with them on a par with serial killers.

If you dont like kittens, then you probably eat babies.

Wont share my cute puppy video? You sympathise with Hitler.

Actually, no. Hitler really liked dogs.

Anyway, you get the picture. Cats versus dogs is an emotional battle that divides people like no other. Theres a definite sense that there are cat people and there are dog people and never the twain shall meet.

Statistics for 2017 and 2018 show that nearly half the UK population lives with a pet. A further breakdown shows that most of those people  some 26 per cent  have a dog. Cats come in second at 18 per cent (though you wouldnt guess that if you lived on my street, where cats easily outnumber people). Meanwhile rabbits make third place with a mere 2 per cent of the national pet total, which is a shame because if theyre anything like their pets, rabbit people are probably quite good fun. If a little twitchy.

We choose our pets for the human qualities we see in their behaviour, hoping perhaps they reflect the way we like to believe others see us. Dog lovers truly appreciate the way their animals are so determined to be part of the team. Dogs are friendly and enthusiastic. They know when youre happy or sad and if youre sad theyll do their best to make you happy again (like Twiglet the Jack Russell comfort dog who was so busy helping anxious Cambridge undergraduates, she had a nervous reaction of her own). Theyre people-pleasers. They seem to understand a joke. In his book, Man Meets Dog, Nobel prize-winning ethnologist Karl Lorenz claimed that dogs actually laugh by grinning and making a panting noise when in the company of people they like.

(Tom Ford)

Meanwhile, say dog people, cats are all about themselves. Theyre aloof. Theyre disdainful. Theyll move in with the couple next door if you buy the wrong sort of cat food. Theyre loyal to places not people. Larry the Downing Street cat has been there longer than any recent prime minister. Cats are all about being fed gourmet morsels and sleeping on newly washed cashmere. As the quote goes: Dogs have owners. Cats have slaves.

But thats what cat owners love about them. They like that you have to work for a cats affection. Dogs are too clingy, too easily impressed. Even Hitlers dogs thought he was great after all. To win the love of a cat, you need to be special. You cant make a cat laugh by squeezing a squeaky ball. Although cat people often claim that feline poker face hides a serious sense of humour. I suppose it helps if you can see the funny side to finding a half-dead mouse at the end of the bed.

Cats are sleek and chic, intelligent and not easily fooled. They have undeniable elegance and grace. They always land on their feet. A cats purr is worth a thousand tail wags. But a dancing dog could be worth ten million pounds. Take Pudsey, 2012 winner of Britains Got Talent, who subsequently earned a fortune from performances, books and films.

And dogs will go to war for you, like Bing, the alsatian collie cross who parachuted with the 13th Battalion, 6th Airborne Division on D-Day. Or Mali, the Belgian Malinois, assigned to the Special Boat Service in Afghanistan, who during an eight-hour assault on a Taliban position in 2012, indicated the locations of enemy fighters, despite being injured by grenade explosions. Both were awarded the Dickin Medal for gallantry, the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross. Thirty-three dogs have won the medal since the end of the Second World War. More pigeons have been awarded the Dickin Medal than cats (32 to one).

Dogs will defend you to the death and theyll even remain loyal to you afterwards. Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye terrier, guarded his masters grave in Edinburgh for fourteen years. Can you imagine a cat doing that? Ever heard of a cat parachuting in behind enemy lines?

Well, no, say cat people. Because cats arent stupid. Bing the D-Day hero dog only jumped because he was tempted out of the plane with a piece of meat.

The one tale I could find about cats being parachuted in to save the day regards Operation Cat Drop, in which the Royal Air Force delivered cats by parachute to a remote village in Sarawak, Borneo, to help tackle a raging rodent problem. Alas its a shaggy dog story.

However there have been cat war heroes. In 1854, during the Crimean War, Crimean Tom, sometimes known as Sevastopol Tom, rescued starving British and French troops by leading them to food caches hidden by the Russian soldiers. The British took him back to England. Upon his death he was stuffed (badly) and can now be found on display in Londons National Army Museum. He looks rather alarmed.

Design: Cool for cats (and dogs) Show all 5 1 /5 Design: Cool for cats (and dogs) Design: Cool for cats (and dogs) 14419.bin Design: Cool for cats (and dogs) 14420.bin Design: Cool for cats (and dogs) 14421.bin Design: Cool for cats (and dogs) 14422.bin Design: Cool for cats (and dogs) 14423.bin

That single feline Dickin Medal recipient was called Simon. The black and white cat, who had the rank of able seaman, received his medal posthumously in 1949 for having served on HMS Amethyst during the Yangtse Incident, in which the Royal Navy ship was trapped on the Yangtse River for three months during the Chinese Civil War. Apparently Simon kept the ships food stores rat-free despite having been wounded by a shell blast.

And while it may be a long time before we see a cat win Britains Got Talent and make its owner a cool 10 mil, for some owners, having a cat has already proved to be priceless. Missy, a tabby from Newcastle, detected her owner Angela Tinnings cancer by pawing at her chest, prompting Ms Tinning to get herself checked out. Ms Tinning told the BBC: I felt fine and I honestly dont think I would have bothered if she hadnt drawn my attention to it. If it werent for her, my story could be very different today. She is my little hero.

Likewise, Wendy Humphreys of Wroughton credited her 10-month-old cat Fidge with saving her life. Ms Humphreys saw a doctor after Fidge sat on her right breast every night for two weeks. A scan revealed a malignant tumour.

And in Bakersfield, California, another tabby, called Tara, saved the life of her owners four-year-old son. When a dog pulled Jeremy Triantafilo from his bicycle, Tara body-slammed the dog out of the way before circling back to guard the child. The daring rescue was caught on CCTV and became a worldwide sensation. Tara was subsequently awarded the Cat Fanciers Association inaugural Cat Hero Award. It was well deserved.

(Tom Ford)

Theres no doubt that each animal has its place both in history and in modern society. The cats self-sufficiency makes it the perfect pet for someone who works long hours. Meanwhile dogs encourage us to improve our sedentary lifestyles. Both provide valuable companionship in an unfriendly world.

So what is the correct answer to this thorniest of thorny questions? Cats or dogs? Dare I give you my view?

Its dogs. Obviously. Because while Ive lived with and loved both cats and dogs, I have never seen a dog clean its arse on the kitchen table.

*Ducks below parapet and goes straight into hiding*A court has dismissed charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office against Barclays relating to capital raisings that took place in 2008.

The case concerns a loan of more than $3bn (2.2bn) the bank provided to Qatar in 2008. The SFO alleges that Barclays committed fraud as it believes that loan is linked to a 12bn loan the bank accepted from Qatar Holdings, a state-owned investment company, which it used to avoid having to be bailed out by the government during the financial crisis.

Recommended Barclays Bank charged by Serious Fraud Office over Qatar loan

The Crown Court has dismissed two charges against Barclays plc of conspiring with certain former senior officers and employees of Barclays to commit fraud, by false representations relating to two advisory services agreements entered into with Qatar Holding.

Charges of unlawful financial assistance against both Barclays plc and Barclays Bank plc were also dismissed.

However, the SFO is likely to make an application to a High Court judge to reinstate the charges.

Barclays boss Jes Staley was recently fined more than 600,000 by financial regulators for his attempts to uncover the identity of a whistleblower at the bank. Mr Staley tried to find out who wrote two anonymous letters raising concerns about a senior bank employee, which were sent to the banks board and a senior executive in June 2016.

The FCAs Mark Steward said when the fine was handed down in May: Given the crucial role of the chief executive, the standard of due skill, care and diligence is more demanding than for other employees.

Mr Staley breached the standard of care required and expected of a chief executive in a way that risked undermining confidence in Barclays whistleblowing procedures. Chief executives must act with a high degree of care and prudence at all times.Culture secretary Matt Hancock said he is minded not to intervene in Comcasts proposed takeover of Sky.

US cable giant Comcast made its offer for Sky in February, hoping to beat rival 21st Century Fox in its attempt to take over the company.

After Comcast made its 12.50 per share offer, Sky withdrew its recommendation that shareholders approve Foxs 10.75 per share bid.

In December 2016, Fox agreed to buy the 61 per cent of Sky that it does not already own. However, the Competition and Markets Authority then said it had provisionally found that such a deal would not be in the public interest. If Fox were to take over the rest of Sky, the CMA said, it would lead to the Murdoch Family Trust, which owns both Fox and News Corporation, having too much control over news providers in the UK across all media platforms.

The secretary of state has the powers to intervene in certain media mergers on public interest grounds, and there was speculation that he would refer the deal to regulator Ofcom.

Recommended Comcast makes Sky takeover bid to rival Rupert Murdoch

Mr Hancock said: Having reviewed the relevant evidence available, I can confirm that I have today written to the parties to inform them that I am minded not to issue an EIN [European intervention notice] on the basis that the proposed merger does not raise concerns in relation to public interest considerations which would meet the threshold for intervention.

This is a quasi-judicial decision and I am required to make my decision independently, following a process that is scrupulously fair and impartial, and as quickly as possible.

Mr Hancock said interested parties will have until 5pm on the 24 May to submit any written representations.Budget airline Ryanair has reported record annual profits but warned higher costs due to increased pay for pilots would hit the balance sheet over the course of this year.

The group grew profit by 10 per cent in the year to 13 March, up to 1.45bn (1.27bn) from 1.32bn the previous year, while revenue rose 8 per cent to 7.15bn from 6.65bn.

The airline saw the number of passengers  referred to as guests in the results statement  increase by 9 per cent to hit 130 million, compared to 120 million in the previous period.

The company said its average fare fell by 3 per cent last year to 39.40.

Ryanair chief executive Michael OLeary said the firm was pleased with its profit growth and unchanged margin of 20 per cent. He said this was achieved despite a 3 per cent cut in air fares, during a year of overcapacity in Europe, leading to a weaker fare environment, rising fuel prices, and the recovery from our September 2017 rostering management failure. Last autumn, Ryanair was forced to cancel around 20,000 flights due to crew shortages, caused by a combination of allocating a calendar month of annual leave to more than half its pilots between September and December; mismanaged blockages in the training of 200 new recruits; and a failure to address the transition to a different flight-time limitations cycle.

The issue triggered pay rises for pilots amid growing discontent about the airlines treatment of flight crew.

Ryanair said pay increases would cause costs excluding fuel to rise 6 per cent, while higher oil prices will add 400m to the fuel bill, meaning total costs will go up 9 per cent. This will lead to a drop in profits of up 1.18bn, the company estimates. This heavily dependent on maintaining fares and no negative Brexit developments during the year, among other things. Mr OLeary said the groups outlook for the current financial year was on the pessimistic side of cautious, and the company remains concerned about the impact of a hard Brexit.

While there is a general belief that an 18-month transition agreement from March 2019 to December 2020 will be implemented and further extended, it is in the best interest of our shareholders that we continue to plan for a hard Brexit in March 2019, Mr OLeary said.

In these circumstances, it is likely that our UK shareholders will be treated as non-EU and this could potentially affect Ryanairs licencing and flight rights. Accordingly, in line with our Articles, we intend to restrict the voting rights of all non-EU shareholders in the event of a hard Brexit, so that we can ensure that Ryanair is majority-owned and controlled by EU shareholders at all times to comply with our licences.Most cases of childhood leukaemia are likely to be preventable and might be brought on by common infections such as flu, one of the UKs leading cancer scientists has suggested in a breakthrough that could revolutionise treatment of the disease.

According to the landmark analysis, such infections can trigger acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in genetically predisposed children, but only those raised in germ-free early environments.

This means exposing babies to other children may actually protect them from the illness by priming their immune systems against later infections.

Professor Mel Greaves of the Institute of Cancer Research, who brought together more than 30 years of research to develop the theory, now intends to work on treatments that can prevent the cancer altogether.

Recommended Scientists find first male only gene that protects against leukaemia

The most important implication is that most cases of childhood leukaemia are likely to be preventable, said Professor Greaves.

It might be done in the same way that is currently under consideration for autoimmune disease or allergies  perhaps with simple and safe interventions to expose infants to a variety of common and harmless bugs.

ALL affects 500 individuals annually in the UK  making it the most common form of cancer in children  and this figure is rising every year.

In a paper published in Nature Reviews Cancer, Professor Greaves explained how two steps are required for ALL to develop: a genetic mutation that occurs in the womb, followed by another genetic change triggered by exposure to one or more common infections.

The new research counters past suggestions that electricity cables, electromagnetic waves or man-made chemicals were behind the disease  ideas Professor Greaves said lacked robust evidence.

While one in 20 children are thought to be born with the pre-leukaemia mutation, only 1 per cent of them will go on to develop the disease.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. 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Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. 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Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. 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The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

After reviewing an array of studies carried out in everything from lab mice to large population samples, Professor Greaves suggested that a second genetic hit is required to trigger ALL  and this hit appears to come from infection by viruses or bacteria.

A case study on a spate of leukaemia cases following a swine flu outbreak appeared to confirm this idea, with seven children developing the cancer in Milan after being infected with swine flu.

A body of scientific evidence suggests there is a peak in the occurrence of ALL between the ages of two and five, but this is not seen in every country.

Instead, the cancer seems to become more prevalent in societies as they get wealthier, and the children in them are less exposed to infectious diseases from a young age.

Professor Mel Greaves described this as a paradox of progress, in which the more children are exposed to infectious diseases at younger ages, the more likely they are to develop severe illnesses.

This same mechanism has been proposed for other diseases including type 1 diabetes and allergies.

The problem is not infection  the problem is lack of infection, said Professor Greaves.

Studies have demonstrated that day care attendance and breast feeding both seem to protect children against ALL, probably due to the priming effect these activities have on their immune system.

While Professor Greaves emphasised it was wrong to assign blame for the onset of leukaemia, he said there were certain recommendations that could be taken from his research.

Be less fussy about common or trivial infections and encourage social contact in the first year of life with as many children as possible  and actually contact with older children is probably a good thing, he said.

You pick up these priming infections from other children, that's the way they get spread  playing with each others toys and touching each other and so on.

 Jeremy Hunt reveals 450,000 women missed breast cancer screenings due to error

Other researchers welcomed Professor Greaves ideas, while emphasising there is still a lot to learn about leukaemia and that there is currently no proven link with a specific infection.

This research sheds light on how a form of childhood blood cancer might develop, implicating a complex combination of genetics and early exposure to germs, dirt and illness, said Professor Charles Swanton, Cancer Research UKs chief clinician.

Childhood leukaemia is rare, and its currently not known what or if there is anything that can be done to prevent it by either medical professionals or parents.

We want to assure any parents of a child who has or has had leukaemia that theres nothing that we know of that could have been done to prevent their illness.

Dr Alasdair Rankin, director of research at the blood cancer charity Bloodwise, said: While developing a strong immune system early in life may slightly further reduce risk, there is nothing that can be currently done to definitively prevent childhood leukaemia.

Recommended A revolutionary leukaemia treatment could soon be approved

As noted by this study, other factors influence its development  including pure chance.

Scientists noted that despite the extensive work that contributed to Professor Greaves conclusions, the links he identified still required further investigation and any exposure of children to infections came with risks of its own.

Professor Chris Bunce, a translational cancer biologist at the University of Birmingham who was not involved in the work, described Professor Greaves as one of the superstars amongst modern cancer biologists.

This understanding of the origins of the disease provide insight to possible future strategies for leukaemia prevention, he said.

The Institute of Cancer Research described the analysis as a landmark paper.

Professor Paul Workman, the institutes chief executive, said the work had cut through the myths about childhood leukaemia and for the first time set out a single unified theory for how most cases are caused.

Its exciting to think that in future childhood leukaemia could become a preventable disease as a result of this work, he said.

Preventing childhood leukaemia would have a huge impact on the lives of children and their families in the UK and across the globe.A man has been found guilty of murdering his parents and brother with an axe at their home in an upmarket housing estate in the winelands of South Africa.

Henri van Breda was also convicted of the attempted murder of his sister, Marli van Breda, who was left with severe injuries and retrograde amnesia which left her unable to remember the incident.

She was 16 at the time of the attack.

The jury at the Western Cape High Court came to a unanimous verdict, convicting the 23-year-old of three counts of murder.

He had denied all charges, but was found guilty of the January 2015 attack which claimed the lives of his parents Martin and Teresa van Breda, and brother, Rudi.

The wealthy family had emigrated to Australia, but returned to South Africa to set up a home one De Zalze Estate in Stellenbosch, near Cape Town.

Judge Siraj Desai said the guilty verdict was inescapable, before denying Van Breda bail. He will be held in custody until his sentencing.

He showed no emotion when the judgement was read out.

The trial, which garnered international attention, began two years ago after Van Breda handed himself in to police.

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. 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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. 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Giving evidence, he claimed that his family was attacked by an intruder wearing gloves, dark clothes and a balaclava in the early hours of the morning.

He said he heard banging sounds in the house and opened a door to see someone attacking his brother with an axe.

He said his father came into the room and accosted one attacker, who was wearing a ski mask, after he shouted for help. There had been at least two attackers, he said, adding that he suffered minor injuries while wrestling with one intruder and then said he lost consciousness.

More than two hours after the attack, he called the emergency services and told them, in a phone call played out in court: "My family and me were attacked by a guy with an axe."

Police later found him sitting outside the family house with the victimss blood all over the house, and discovered a bloodstained axe and knife inside.

Recommended South African charged with axe murders of family

The judge said Van Breda, who was 20 at the time of the attack, had staged the crime scene and "intentionally" inflicted injuries on himself "in order to mislead the police as to the true identity of the perpetrator".

He added that "there was no security breach the night of the murders" and that nobody in the estate had "complained about strangers or any undue occurrence".

He was also found guilty of one count of obstruction of justice.

Associated Press contributed to this report.A teenage driver who killed a pair of pensioners, was inhaling laughing gas from a balloon as he drove between 80 and 100 miles per hour in the moments before he ploughed into their car, a court heard.

William Thompson had his interior light on when he drove past another motorist holding a large inflated balloon in one hand and the steering wheel in the other.

Within seconds the 17-year-old crashed his van into a Nissan Micra carrying Jean Malone, 76, and Mary Davis, 66, who were travelling home from a weekly pensioners bingo club they ran together in North London.

Their vehicle, which was being driven by Jeans son, Mark, was sent hurtling off the A41 near Berkhamstead in Hertfordshire and onto the verge, where it slammed into a tree before rolling back onto the road.

Ms Malone was thrown from the front passenger seat of the car and killed instantly, as was Ms Davis, who had been sitting in the back seat, Luton Crown Court heard.

Mark, suffered only minor physical injuries, but has been left suffering anxiety and feelings of guilt.

In a victim impact statement, he said: I cant help but feel it would have been better for everyone if I had not survived.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. 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Thompson's own vehicle, a new silver Peugeot Expert Pro van, rolled onto its roof and slid a further 134 metres along the carriageway from the point of collision, the jury was told.

As it did, more than 50 small silver cannisters containing nitrous oxide gas were scattered along the road together with the brightly coloured balloons he was using to inhale it.

Prosecutor Timothy Godfrey said when police examined the inside of the van, two nitrous oxide cannisters along with a blue balloon and a device known as a cracker for transferring the gas into the balloon were found on the dashboard.

He said Thomsons DNA was discovered from saliva found on the openings to two balloons found in the vehicle.

Mr Godfrey said: He was not in proper control of the vehicle and that was because he was taking nitrous oxide while at the wheel of his van.

The prosecutor said the substance  which is known as laughing gas or hippy crack  affects the central nervous system, slowing reactions and causing a person to experience feelings of euphoria, dizziness, fits of giggles, drowsiness and loss of muscle control, as well as affecting a persons judgement.

Mr Godfrey said: The cause of the collision was his loss of control of the vehicle because he was preoccupied with inflating a balloon with nitrous oxide found in the van.

He said the process of transferring the gas into the balloon with the aid of the cracker would have been an intricate process which a careful and competent driver would not have undertaken while driving.

The court also heard that when Thompsons mobile phone was examined police investigators discovered a series of photos of him in his car with balloons held to his mouth. There was also a photo of a speedometer showing the dial at 110 miles per hour.

Thompson, now 18, pleaded guilty to two charges of causing death by dangerous driving.

Jailing him for nine years and 10 months last week, Judge Richard Foster told him: This is one of the worst cases of dangerous driving there can ever be.

He added: Those who drive owe a high duty of care to fellow road users. You failed miserably in that duty by your decision to drive as you did and take nitrous oxide as you did and inhaling it at the time of the accident.

South Beds News AgencyAn engineering graduate who was caught up in the collapse of outsourcing giant Carillion faces being kicked out of the UK next month under the government's 'hostile' immigration regime.

Hamza Idris, 24, worked as an assistant facilities manager on the company's contracts in London for 18 months before it went bust in January.

He was taken on by another private firm which took over Carillion's services contracts, but has now been blocked from working by the Home Office.

Officials claim his visa cannot be transferred to his new employers by Carillion because it is in liquidation - despite still being listed on the register of sponsors.

On 17 April Mr Idris, who came to the UK from Nigeria as a student in 2011, was sent a 'notice of curtailment' telling him to make arrangements to leave the UK.

His only alternatives are to re-apply for his own job or find work with another company wiling to sponsor his visa.

Even then they will have to satisfy the 'resident labour market test' to show there are no other suitable candidates already living permanently in the UK.

A new visa will cost Mr Idris around 1,500, money he simply does not have now that he is out of work and living with friends in Birmingham.

"It is a slap in the face," he told The Independent. "All I want is my job and my life back in the UK.

"It is almost like a hurdles race, there are so may hoops for you to go through."

Mr Idris now feels that his only hope is that the Home office will treat him with "compassion and fairness."

"I have no other option, I am trying to appeal to the public to get attention so people in power can see this."

He said his case was another example of the "hostile environment" promised by Theresa May when she was Home Secretary.

"It won't resonate with people in the Home Office unless it happens to them," he added.

"It should be treated on a case by case basis, not in a 'computer says no' approach."

Yvette Cooper MP, chair of the Home Affairs Committee, told the Independent: This is a mess. Staff are getting caught in a vortex between the failing Carillon and the bureaucracy of the Home Office.

"Ministers need to tell us swiftly what is being done to sort this out so staff aren't hit through no fault of their own, and so we dont end up with services being undermined."

At least one other Carillion worker faces a similar situation, according to Mr Idris.

"I can bet you that in Carillion there are other people on visas who will be affected in the future because at some point Carillion is going to have to stop everything they do," he added.

The Official Receiver handling Carillion's liquidation announced that jobs have been found for 64 per cent of workers and 12 per cent have been made redundant.

Another 3,000 have been retained to help the firm deliver its remaining services until contracts are transferred or ended.

Eleanor Smith MP, who raised the issue of moving Carillion employees to new jobs in Parliament three months ago, said the government had refused to consider automatic transfers of employees' terms and conditions.

When told of Hamza Idris's situation, she said: "People should be automatically transferred. I was saying this was an exceptional situation and basically the government said no.

"We are getting more and more of the fallout and I am wondering now how many others will be affected.

"Behind the statistics there are human beings, that is their life now gone."

The Home Affairs Committee is now set to raise Mr Idris's case in parliament, according to the Politics Home website.

One HASC member, John Woodcock MP, said: "This is an appalling situation Mr Idris finds himself in. The term Kafka-esque can be over-used in politics but this is truly a Kafka-esque nightmare of the governments own creation."

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 10 October 2021 A young girl is helped by a Border Force officer as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel. PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2021 People walk past a life-size sculpture of British singer John Lennon entitled "Imagine", by sculptor Lawrence Holofcener, displayed to mark what would have been the 81st birthday for the former member of the Beatles in Carnaby Street Reuters UK news in pictures 8 October 2021 WW II veteran, 96-year-old Lorna Cockayne, who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), popularly and officially known as the Wrens, as a Bletchley Park codebreaker, poses for a photograph with the Legion d'honneur after receiving it during a ceremony at the Pear at Parley in Ferndown, Bournemouth PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA

Mr Idris said he did not blame Carillion given that staff and managers expected the company would be saved.

"It came as a shock to everyone," he added. "If a new company bought out Carillion I wouldn't have this problem but because it went into liquidation this is the result.

"The Home Office say that Carillion doesn't exist, they can't automatically transfer me over, which doesn't make any sense because Carillion is still on the sponsor register.

"I still know people who are in Carillion who are still getting paid."

He said he did not want to name the firm which took him on after Carillion collapsed but said they had been very supportive.

Mr Idris earned a degree in computer systems engineering at the University of Birmingham and a masters in engineering project management at the University of Manchester before winning a place on Carillion's graduate scheme.

"One year and 18 months on, I have found myself prevented from doing my job due to the collapse of Carillion, and the failure of the Home Office to consider my case fairly and justly," he said.

The Home Office have given him a deadline of 16 June to sort out his visa status or leave the UK.

Their letter states that he has no right of appeal or administrative review of the decision.

It concludes: "Please be aware that if you fail to leave the United Kingdom or seek to regularise your stay by the time that your leave expires you will be liable to enforced removal from the United Kingdom."

Asked for a comment, a Home Office spokesperson said: "Where a person's sponsor has ceased trading it is necessary for them to make a fresh application for sponsorship through another employer.

An appeal has been launched on GoFundMe to raise funds to support Mr Idris's case.A choir formed by parents and children who were caught up in the Manchester Arena terror attack will be performing in a huge communal singalong to mark the anniversary of the bombing.

Children as young as eight were among the victims when lone suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured more than 100 after an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on 22 May 2017.

A year after the attack, members of the choir will take centre stage at the Manchester Together  With One Voice event held in Albert Square.

The event will bring together local choirs with a total of 3,500 voices and will perform Ariana Grandes One Last Time, One Day Like This by Elbow, Dont Look Back in Anger by Oasis and Never Forget by Take That.

The Manchester Survivors Choir meet every weekend to sing and support each other (Manchester Survivors Choir)

Thousands of people are expected to join the mass singalong, with more than 80 choirs uniting for the event.

The Manchester Survivors Choir, a group made up of people who were at the arena on the night of the attack, mostly parents and children, has grown to more than 40 members.

Chloe Aitken, 21, and her mum Alison, joined after seeing a post shared on social media. They said joining the group has given them the best comfort and the families have been supportive.

Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on Show all 10 1 /10 Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Flower Festival at St Ann's Church marking the Manchester Arena bombing Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trail in St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Flower Festival at St Ann's Church marking the Manchester Arena bombing Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trail in St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trailin St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trailin St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trailin St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on Embracing Manchester Exhibition at St Ann's Church was created by artist Ghislaine Howard after being inspired by Muslim video blogger Baktash Noori who, after the attack spent days in the city centre trying to win the trust of the public. Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Flower Festival at St Ann's Church marking the Manchester Arena bombing Manchester Bombing Attack: one year on The Trees of Hope trailin St Ann's Square where people are encouraged to leave and share tributes

Being with a group who understand and have been through the exact thing is comforting. Its like a family and it feels like a family. We sing then afterwards we have tea and cake. Its the best feeling, Chloe told The Independent. Singing has been so helpful, especially when youre waiting for counselling. I feel so much better since before I joined.

I feel more confident and happier and we look forward to seeing each other every weekend.

Chloe and Allison travelled from Ormskirk, Liverpool, to the Ariana Grande concert together as part of an early birthday present. As Ariana sang the last song, they decided to leave early to beat the crowds but were faced with tragedy.

Chloe Aitken and her mother, Alison, at the Great Manchester Run (Chloe Aitken)

We were walking towards the foyer doors when the bomb went off, she said. There was dead silence, then the next minute everyone turned around and looked terrified.

Everyone just dropped everything. People were on the floor, shoes, bags, everything had been dropped.

The university student said she had felt terrified, but managed to evacuate the arena and seek refuge in the hotel across the street with her mother.

I had my mum with me. She went straight into her role as a mother. Even though I am an adult, she protected me. Shes so resilient.

I thought it was going to be the end of my life. Three months after the attack, I couldnt bear to be without her. I think I remember the first few weeks being in a complete bubble, in my own little space.

The two of them joined the choir and have used it as a coping mechanism. We dont share our experiences because we all understand what weve been through. But when were all singing, we all understand the emotion we go through. All the lyrics are emotional and touching. Sometimes its harder to speak, so we sing instead.

Recommended Manchester to honour 22 killed on first anniversary of Arena bombing

The mother and daughter both ran the Manchester 10km on Sunday as part of events leading up to the anniversary.

It was scary to be in the crowd, Chloe added. We had a one-minute silence and it was amazing to see everyone come together like that. It makes you feel so much better knowing youre not alone. The whole city comes together.

Cath Hill, a social worker from Lancaster and co-founder of the choir, set up the group following the attack and has been raising money for survivors of terrorist attacks. The group meets up every two weeks to sing and support each other.

The Trees of Hope trail in St Anns Square is made up of 28 Japanese maple trees and invites people to share messages and tributes

Ilona Burton, a 32-year-old producer, who lost a friend in the attack last year, said the response from the city has kept everyone going.

She said: Theres no rulebook for how a person or city should respond to such an atrocity, but I think the way that Manchester  its residents, workers and visitors  have come together in support of all those affected by the attack, has been and still is beyond incredible.

Manchester mourned together but also stood together in solidarity, love and resilience that I think touched everyone. Its hard for someone to accept that something so horrible happened to our city, but theres a gritty determination to get through this that keeps us going, and theres a special kind of strength in that.

The Albert Square event will feature choirs formed by Parrs Wood High Schools Harmony Group and Bee Vocal  the Manchester mental health choir composed of people who have experienced mental health issues and have come together to share the healing power of music.

Tributes have been left in St Anns Square to remember those who lost their lives

A City United choir, combining Manchester City FCs Community Choir and Manchester Foundation Youth Choir, will also attend with a group formed by emergency services staff from the North West Ambulance Service, Greater Manchester Police, Great Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service choirs.

There will also be a performance from Manchester Lesbian and Gay Chorus and AMC gospel choir. While schoolchildren from Hazel Grove High School, Levenshulme High School, Newman College, Ringway Choir, St Catherines RC School, The Keys Federation, Trinity C of E High School and Wardle Voices will sing too.

There are several events taking place across Manchester city to mark the first anniversary of the terror attack and song lyrics will be projected on to the pavements and buildings in St Anns Square for five nights.

St Anns Square became a place for reflection and contemplation as mourners left a sea of flowers, teddies and tributes in memory of those who lost their lives.

Families of the 22 victims, as well as members of the public, have been invited to select lyrics to promote reflection and inspire.

Prince William and the prime minister will attend the special service at Manchester Cathedral where there will be a national minutes silence at 2.30pm across all government buildings.

Greater Manchester Police are still investigating the tragedy and have been granted a warrant of arrest for the brother of the bomber, Hasem Abedi, who is currently in Libya.The broadcasting watchdog has opened three new investigations into a Kremlin backed TV channel over impartiality on issues including the wars in Syria and Ukraine.

It brings the number of ongoing Ofcom probes into RT, formerly Russia Today, to 11.

We have opened three further investigations into the due impartiality of news and current affairs programmes broadcast on RT, a spokesperson said.

Among the programmes being investigated is an edition of the Crosstalk current affairs programme broadcast on 20 April. The regulator said it was assessing whether a segment on US foreign policy in Syria was sufficiently balanced.

The shows presenter asked whether Washington was deliberately trying to partition the country or stick it to Iran and Russia, while calling massacres using chemical weapons false-flag operations.

Two editions of RTs main news bulletins are also being reviewed. One, broadcast on 26 April, is being investigated for balance over allegations levelled against the Ukrainian government, including its position on Nazism.

Another, on 4 May, will be assessed over its presentation of Britains treatment of anti-fracking activists.

A spokesperson for RT said: We note the new investigations by Ofcom, and will work with the regulator through its processes.

Ofcom previously announced that it would consider whether the channel should broadcast in the UK if Russian involvement was proven in the attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack Members of the emergency services in hazard suits fix the tent over the bench where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March 2018. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Sergei Skripal The retired Russian colonel and former double agent for MI6 was in a critical condition in hospital for more than two months after being exposed to novichok in Salisbury. He was given refuge in the UK after being jailed in Moscow for treason. Mr Skripal came to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap in 2010 in which four men were exchanged for ten Russian "sleeper agents" in the US. In this image he is speaking to his lawyer from behind bars in Moscow in 2006. AP Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Yulia Skripal Yulia Skripal was struck down by a novichok poison alongside her father Sergei. Facebook Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack A police officer stands guard outside a branch of the Italian chain restaurant Zizzi where the pair dined at before falling ill. It was boarded off whilst investigators worked on the building and later found traces of the chemical weapon within it. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack Large areas of central Salisbury were cordoned off by police following the discovery of the Skripals. Traces of nerve agent were also found in The Mill pub. PA Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Nick Bailey Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, rushed to the aid of the Russian ex-spy and his daughter who were targeted with a nerve agent. He was hospitalized after aiding them and didn't leave until three weeks after the attack. Wiltshire Police/Rex Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation - Skripals home Police believe they were poisoned at home, and detectives found the highest concentration of novichok on the front door of Mr Skripals house. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Theresa May visits scene of attack Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May spokes with Wiltshire Police's Chief Constable Kier Pritchard near where the Skripal's were found. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over the nerve agent poisoning and suspended high-level contacts, including for the World Cup on March 14. Theresa May told parliament that Russia had failed to respond to her demand for an explanation on how a Soviet-designed chemical, Novichok, was used in Salisbury. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Skripal days before attack Sergei Skripal days before he was exposed to Novichok, that has left him fighting for life. ITV News Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation - military involvement British soldiers were deployed soon after the attack to help a counter-terrorism investigation into the nerve agent attack. One of the places they were asked to help out with was Skripal's home and it's surrounding. They were asked to remove a vehicle connected to the agent attack in Salisbury, from a residential street in Gillingham. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation Personnel in protective coveralls and breathing equipment cover an ambulance with a tarpaulin at the Salisbury District Hospital. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation The investigation extended to the grave of Sergei Skripal's son Alexander in London Road cemetery. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation The Counter Terrorism Policing Network requested assistance from the military to remove a number of vehicles and objects from Salisbury. EPA Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Home Secretary visits scene of attack Home Secretary Amber Rudd visited the scene of the nerve agent attack at the Maltings shopping centre on 9 March. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Yulia Skripal speaks for the first time Yulia Skripal, speaking for the first time, said she felt lucky to have survived the nerve agent attack in Salisbury which left her fighting for life. Ms Skripal said her life had been turned upside down by the assassination attempt. But the Russian national added she hoped to return to her homeland one day, despite the Kremlin being blamed for the attack. Reuters

The regulator said it had written to RT to explain that evidence of unlawful state interference would affect whether it was deemed fit and proper to hold a broadcasting licence.

In April, it announced a wave of new investigations into the channel, which is owned by Russian state media arm TV Novosti, over impartiality.

Then, the watchdog said that since the Salisbury nerve agent attack, it had "observed a significant increase in the number of programmes" on the channel that should be investigated.

Two shows hosted by former MP George Galloway are being investigated, alongside news and current affairs programmes covering topics including chemical weapons attacks in Syria and the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian spy who died in 2006 after he was poisoned with Polonium.

Until recently, TV Novostis overall compliance record has not been materially out of line with other broadcasters, an Ofcom spokesperson said at the time.

However, since the events in Salisbury, we have observed a significant increase in the number of programmes on the RT service that warrant investigation as potential breaches of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.

RT has an average audience of 3,400 viewers at any given point during the day and an average weekly reach of one per cent of UK adults, according to Ofcom figures.

Owner TV Novosti has been disciplined for 15 breaches of the broadcasting code since 2012, which Ofcom said was not an unusually high number, but most related to Russias foreign policy in programmes on the wars in Ukraine, Syria and Ukraine.

Recommended Labour MPs could be banned from Russian network after spy attack

The UK has accused Russia of proposing contradictory and changing fantasies to deny involvement in the attack on Mr Skripal, amid heightened tensions over wars in Syria and Ukraine, alleged election interference and cyber attacks.

Peter Wilson, Britains permanent representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), said a brazen disinformation campaign was underway last month.

They have sought to confuse, distract and brazenly misrepresent facts, despite the thorough, independent OPCW report, that confirmed novichok nerve agent was used, he said.

Ofcoms code states that all news must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality, and that undue prominence must not be given to a particular side on matters of controversy.

It said it would announce the outcome of investigations as soon as possible and consider all relevant new evidence alongside RTs future conduct.Sex trafficking is taking place on an industrial scale across England and Wales as the governments strategy for tackling the issue fails to deliver, new research claims.

A report finds so-called pop-up brothels  premises rented for short periods of time to sexually exploit women  are widespread, with hundreds of vulnerable women, predominantly from Eastern Europe, being supplied by trafficking gangs into residential properties in order to be sexually exploited by British men.

The inquiry by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Prostitution and the Global Sex Trade found the practice was being enabled by prostitution procurement websites such as Adultwork, and driven by a minority of UK men who pay for sex.

MPs have subsequently called for the criminalisation of paying for sex and the decriminalisation or selling sex, as well as a crackdown on websites from advertising and profiting from prostitution.

There are at least 212 active, ongoing police operations in the UK into modern slavery cases involving sexual exploitation, and it is overwhelmingly foreign national women who are being exploited in British brothels, the report found.

Figures from police forces showed Leicestershire police visited 156 brothels, encountering 421 women in the two years to December 2017  86 per cent of whom were Romanian. Northumbria Police visited 81 brothels containing 259 women in the two years to April 2018, three quarters of whom were from Romania.

More than half of the brothels were recorded as being connected to other brothels, agencies or non-UK Organised Crime Groups.

Greater Manchester Police had meanwhile identified 324 potential new brothel addresses since March 2015, of which the police said the majority reflect the hotspot areas for modern slavery in the city.

The inquiry found that organised crime groups typically advertise women to sex buyers on commercial websites such as Vivastreet or Adultwork, with one man being investigated for sex trafficking spending over 20,000 placing adverts of women on one commercial website.

MPs said that in order to tackle this issue, the government must prevent websites from advertising and profiting from prostitution.

They also said ministers should criminalise paying for sex and decriminalise selling sex in order to tackle the demand from sex buyers that drives sex trafficking, citing a study of 6,000 UK men which found 3.6 per cent had paid for sex in the past five years.

Recommended Sex trafficking victim reveals terror at being forced out of UK

France, Sweden, Iceland, Norway, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have all criminalised paying for sex and decriminalised selling sex in order to tackle demand from sex buyers.

Other recommendations included establishing a national register of landlords and issuing guidance for the short-term letting sector on preventing sexual exploitation, as well as removing the criminal offence of soliciting in a street or public space for the purpose of selling sex.

Gavin Shuker MP, chair of the APPG, said sexual exploitation of women by organised crime groups was taking place on an industrial scale, with a "revolving door of vulnerable women being supplied by trafficking gangs into pop-up brothels.

Right now the traffickers are winning. The UK is currently a low risk destination for organised crime groups seeking to sexually exploit vulnerable women, he said.

"The government must act now to combat demand for sexual exploitation by criminalising paying for sex. It is money from sex buyers that lines the pockets of traffickers. Without their demand there would be no supply of women into this ruthless trade.

"Organised crime groups should also be disrupted by cracking down on the prostitution websites they use to advertise women to sex buyers. The scale on which organised sexual exploitation is taking place in this country is a national scandal. But it can  and must - be stopped.

Sophie Walker, leader of the Womens Equality Party, said: Todays report shows the scale and nature of the sexual exploitation of women across the UK. Organised crime groups dominate the off-street prostitution trade and make money by trafficking, threatening and coercing women  most of whom are non-UK nationals.

Demand from sex buyers makes the sex trade profitable for traffickers and pimps and other third parties like the websites identified by the APPG.

"That is why, along with removing the threat of prosecution for women who sell sex and funding exit services for those involved in prostitution, a sex buyers law is needed to address this form of modern slavery."

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA

A Home Office spokesperson said: Modern Slavery and human trafficking are abhorrent crimes which this Government is working to tackle.

The UK has some of the toughest Modern Slavery laws in the world and the Modern Slavery Act, introduced by Theresa May in 2015, has given law enforcement agencies the tools to they need to tackle modern slavery and identify victims online, including a maximum life sentences for perpetrators and enhanced protection for victims.

We are clear that the internet must not be viewed as a safe space for these despicable individuals to traffic human beings. The NCA, supported by Government, has increased operational activity against key modern slavery threats, including employing new techniques to identify and disrupt offenders operating online.When Im ushered into his parlour, the new Lord Mayor of Sheffield is sat with his feet on his desk, firing off emails about creating a post of Sheffield Poet Laureate.

Despite the rarified surroundings  mahogany furniture, upholstered sofas, fine china teacups  he swears like a Yorkshire trooper and laughs infectiously. He is still wearing his Dr Martens and his ceremonial chain.

Its a good accessory, he smiles.

Asked how he feels about the global reaction to his now famous official inauguration photo, Councillor Magid Magids response is as unorthodox as the image itself.

Mate f*****g hell he tells The Independent, still apparently struggling for words. Its been surreal. Mad. I wasnt expecting any of this.

Councillor Magid Magid, in his now famous pose after inauguration as Sheffield's Lord Mayor (Photos Chris Saunders)

The 28-year-olds election as the South Yorkshire citys official first citizen last week made headlines around the world. He has received messages of goodwill from people as far and wide as New York and Syria. ITV News anchor Charlene White declared on Twitter that she might be a little bit in love.

This is partly because of who he is and what hes achieved. Councillor Magid is not only the citys youngest ever lord mayor  and the first from the Green Party  he is also a Muslim former Somalian refugee who arrived in the UK at the age of five, unable to speak English.

And it is partly because of that picture. In it, amid the shadowy, gilded confines of Sheffields Victorian Town Hall, he squats  complete with ceremonial chain, Dr Martens boots and wide-eyed smile  high on a balustrade.

If me doing this  as a black, Muslim immigrant  can spark someone to go out and change their bit of the world, thats my job done

Ive no idea why I got up there, mate, he says. It wasnt planned. It was just me being myself. Thereve been [121] lord mayors before and I respect them all but I wanted to show Ill be doing things differently. It just came out of that. I wanted to say this town belongs to all of us.

That Councillor Magid  who once appeared on Channel 4 reality show Hunted  is different there is no doubt.

He was elected here after being nominated by his three Green Party council colleagues. When I later ask one, Alison Teal, why they put him forward, her response is simple. Hes charming and magnetic, she says. Ive never met anyone who doesnt like him. Hes a born lord mayor.

The main message he wants to get across during his year in post is one of inspiring others.

If me doing this  as a black, Muslim immigrant  can spark someone to go out and change their bit of the world, thats my job done, he says. That, and to get people talking about Sheffield, about what a brilliant, diverse city it is.

At his inauguration, he entered the chamber to Star Wars music and thanked his mum for putting up with all my shit growing up.

I was a handful, he explains today. Typical teenager. The important thing was thanking my mum because shes the reason Im here, her courage and determination for a better life.

It was his mother, Amina Deria, indeed, who took young Magid  along with his older sister Hanan Mah  out of war torn Burao in northern Somalia. After six months in an Ethiopian refugee camp, they arrived in the Burngreave area of Sheffield where she worked as a cleaner.

To me, he says, its always been home.

Lord Mayor of Sheffield Magid Magid (Chris Saunders)

He did well enough at school and, after some time out in which he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, went to the University of Hull to study marine biology. There, he was elected president of the students union.

I cared about issues but I was pretty naive about politics, he says. I remember a hustings, someone asked if I was going to join a picket line. I was thinking: What the fuck is a picket line? But I gambled and said, Yeah, of course I am, and there was a round of applause.

I think Liz [Queen Elizabeth] is great, he says. F*****g amazing woman. But hereditary heads of state? Come on. Its outdated

Around 2015, alarmed by the rise of Ukip and anti-immigration rhetoric, he joined the Greens back in Sheffield where he was working in digital marketing. He was elected to the city council a year later.

This rising xenophobic language affects me and my loved ones, he explains. Theres that expression that if you dont do politics, politics will do you. I just felt I couldnt sit on the sidelines and let that language go unchallenged. It legitimises racism and it needs to be tackled. I wanted my voice in the debate. Local politics was a way to do that.

Among his main beliefs are devolved local power, free education, an end to PFI and the creation of a republic.

I think Liz [Queen Elizabeth] is great, he says. F*****g amazing woman. But hereditary heads of state? Come on. Its outdated.

Now, as lord mayor, he will, as convention dictates, act as a city figurehead. I had a white tie dinner last night, he tells me. I went to hire the suit  120! I was saying: I want to hire it, not buy it.

But he plans to open the role up too. He promises to go to more events involving underrepresented communities, and wants magicians and musicians to perform in council meeting intervals  as a way of encouraging more people to interact with local democracy.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA

Talking of which: trees. As a Green Party member, he is surprisingly consensual on Sheffields nationally notorious saga, which has seen the Labour authority cut down thousands of trees amid widespread protests.

We all need to get together and find a solution, he says. Because everyone involved  on both sides  wants the best for the city. Its just about how we get there.

He speaks, I suggest, like someone who could go far in national politics. Might he become an MP?

No, mate, no way, he says. Then: I dont know, never say never I dont think being an MP is the only way to make a difference but I never have a plan.

As long as Im pushing myself and I feel Im contributing to the betterment of society, Im happy. This time next year who knows? I could be in a samba band. Im just going with what happens.Boris Johnson has issued a veiled warning to Theresa May to be true to her promise to leave the EUs customs union, rather than triggering a backstop that would tie Britain to the arrangements beyond 2020.

The foreign secretary told his Eurosceptic colleagues to give Ms May time and space to negotiate a deal with Brussels that would give Britain a clean break after Brexit and left the prime minister in no doubt of his opposition to any extension of EU rules.

Cabinet ministers have been at loggerheads for weeks over post-Brexit customs arrangements, with Mr Johnson previously describing Ms Mays favoured customs partnership plan as crazy.

The government is currently working on a backstop scheme that would extend the period of time during which the UK would remain within the EUs customs union, as part of efforts to resolve the Irish border issue.

Speaking to reporters on a trip to Latin America, Mr Johnson said: Brexiteers fearing betrayal over the customs backstop must understand that the prime minister has been very clear that neither option is an outcome we desire  we want a deal with the EU and she will deliver it.

Im convinced that the prime minister will be true to her promises of a Brexit deal  that sees Britain come out of the customs union and single market, have borders as frictionless as possible, reject European Court of Justice interference, control immigration and free to conduct unhindered free trade deals across the world.

We must now give the prime minister time and space to negotiate this Brexit vision.

Mr Johnson was reportedly one of the two ministers who unsuccessfully argued against the backstop option in last weeks Brexit war cabinet, amid fears from Brexiteers that it would lead to an indefinite extension of EU rules.

The plan was devised as an alternative proposal to the EUs suggestion that Northern Ireland should remain in the customs union if the border wrangle cannot be solved.

Johnson is on a five-day trip to Peru, Argentina and Chile to try to drum up post-Brexit trade deals (PA)

However, Ms May roundly rejected the plan as it would draw a customs border down the Irish Sea.

The intervention came as Mr Johnson embarked on a five-day trip to Peru, Argentina and Chile on a mission to drum up post-Brexit trade deals.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 10 October 2021 A young girl is helped by a Border Force officer as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel. PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2021 People walk past a life-size sculpture of British singer John Lennon entitled "Imagine", by sculptor Lawrence Holofcener, displayed to mark what would have been the 81st birthday for the former member of the Beatles in Carnaby Street Reuters UK news in pictures 8 October 2021 WW II veteran, 96-year-old Lorna Cockayne, who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), popularly and officially known as the Wrens, as a Bletchley Park codebreaker, poses for a photograph with the Legion d'honneur after receiving it during a ceremony at the Pear at Parley in Ferndown, Bournemouth PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA

He is the first British foreign secretary to visit Argentina in more than 20 years as the UK seeks to repair its relationship with Buenos Aires.

In a sign of the efforts to reset the relationship, Mr Johnson paid his respects at the memorial to Argentine troops killed in the 1982 Falklands conflict, leaving a wreath in memory of all those who died on both sides.Theresa May says Britain will pay to save links with part of the Euratom nuclear agency after Brexit, triggering accusations of another U-turn.

The UK will seek to fully associate ourselves with the bodys research arm, she announced  despite the bitter row over the decision to leave Euratom as a whole.

That pull-out has triggered warnings that Britains nuclear power stations could run out of fuel and hospitals will run short of radioactive isotopes to treat cancer patients.

Recommended Green accused of misleading MPs over Brexit threat to cancer scans

Now the prime minister, in a major science speech, has described associate membership of Euratoms research programmes as being in the mutual interest of the UK and the EU.

Of course, such an association would involve an appropriate UK financial contribution, which we would willingly make, Ms May said.

The announcement was seized on by the scientists trade union Prospect as evidence that she had finally listened to the science sector and trade unions.

But, added Sue Ferns, its deputy general secretary: If the government can accept that an association for R&D is advantageous to the UK, why do they continue to insist that such an association is legally impossible in other areas?

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

Ben Bradshaw a Labour MP and supporter of the Peoples Vote campaign for a referendum on the Brexit deal, said: Belatedly, the Government seems to be waking up to the fact that breaking our links with European science and innovation programmes would be extremely damaging.

Any attempts to limit the damage are of course welcome, but the prime minister remains committed to delivering a hard and destructive Brexit which will sever many of our ties with Europe.

Speaking at the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire, Ms May said she also wanted the UK to retain full association with the successor to the Horizon 2020 science programme.

The annual cost of participating in a range of EU science and education projects after Brexit has been put at around 2bn by the Treasurys independent watchdog.

The latest announcement comes after Ms May said, in March, that Britain wanted to remain part of other European agencies relating to medicines, chemicals and aviation  at unknown cost.

In her speech, the prime minister also sought to dismiss fears that British universities will suffer an exodus of foreign-born researchers after Britain leaves the EU.

Today, over half of the UKs resident researcher population were born overseas. When we leave the European Union, I will ensure that does not change, she pledged.

And  in a passage that appeared to jar with the reality of Brexit  she argued for a future where scientific collaboration and the free exchange of ideas is increased and extended.

The government has insisted the UK must leave Euratom when it leaves the EU, because membership requires abiding by rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

It is believed that a continued tie-up with Euratom R&T [research and training] may not involve that commitment. Switzerland and the Ukraine  which are not EU members  are already associate members.

Furthermore, the bulk of the research work is carried out at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, the UK's national fusion research laboratory, in Oxfordshire.A yellow card scheme to cut the number of people pushed into poverty after being wrongly stripped of their benefits has been dumped.

The reform  giving claimants 14 days to challenge a decision to dock their benefits  would impose too much of a burden, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said, after a trial.

Campaigners have long pushed for the change, warning that benefits are being removed for trivial reasons, forcing hungry people to go to food banks and even making them homeless.

But Alok Sharma, the employment minister, said the 13 per cent of claimants who accepted the invitation to challenge a decision to sanction them was too low to justify the additional burden.

Furthermore, only around half of those could provide evidence that led to the DWP agreeing not to impose the benefit cut.

The Independent revealed in March that a decision on whether to extend the yellow card scheme had been shelved by the DWP  a stance confirmed today in a written statement to MPs.

 Minister questioned over people crying and distraught when claiming benefits from DWP

It was criticised by Frank Field, the chairman of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, who has highlighted the distress that benefit sanctions are still causing.

The governments initial data on the early impact of the yellow card trial looked encouraging, he told The Independent.

They suggested that the scheme was protecting hundreds of people in the trial area from being wrongly sanctioned. Applied to the country as a whole, that layer of protection would have covered many thousands of very vulnerable people.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 10 October 2021 A young girl is helped by a Border Force officer as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel. PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2021 People walk past a life-size sculpture of British singer John Lennon entitled "Imagine", by sculptor Lawrence Holofcener, displayed to mark what would have been the 81st birthday for the former member of the Beatles in Carnaby Street Reuters UK news in pictures 8 October 2021 WW II veteran, 96-year-old Lorna Cockayne, who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), popularly and officially known as the Wrens, as a Bletchley Park codebreaker, poses for a photograph with the Legion d'honneur after receiving it during a ceremony at the Pear at Parley in Ferndown, Bournemouth PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. 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PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. 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The ditching of the yellow card scheme comes as the number of sanctions starts to rise again, driven by an explosion in the number of punishments imposed on claimants of universal credit.

Mr Sharma said the 2016 trial, in parts of Scotland involved 6,500 claimants  which would mean almost 850 challenged a decision to dock their benefits.

However, he wrote: Given the low proportion of cases in which claimants provided further evidence and the even lower proportion of cases where decision outcomes were changed, we do not consider that the benefits of the approach are sufficient to justify the extra time and cost it adds to the process.

The minister did say he was exploring the feasibility of an alternative process to try to reduce the number of people being sanctioned.

However, he gave no details, which would be made available once we have progressed with the design work.

Mr Field added: What ministers decide on next will be crucial in determining how many of those people will be pushed to the brink of destitution in the years ahead.

Justice demands that measures like these are looked at seriously, with a view to testing them as soon as possible.

One constituent of Mr Field, the MP for Birkenhead, was recently docked benefits for missing an appointment to receive universal credit because he was in an operating theatre at the time.

In another similarly alarming case, a man in the Merseyside constituency was sanctioned for missing a job centre appointment while he was in A&E.

Typically, if conditions are not met, benefits are docked for four weeks, which can mean a loss of 300 for a claimant over the age of 25  but a sanction can last for three months, or even a year.

In a damning report in 2016, the National Audit Office castigated the DWP for failing to monitor people whose benefits had been docked and suggested the system costs more money than it saved.

A DWP spokesperson told The Independent: We want everyone to get the right support that they need, and we ran this trial to give people an extra fortnight to submit any evidence about why they didnt do what they had agreed to in return for benefits to avoid a possible sanction. Only a very small minority of people took us up on the offer and came forward with extra evidence. Overall, giving people extra time did not increase their likelihood of providing evidence.Ken Livingstone has announced his resignation from the Labour Party, two years after he was suspended over comments on Adolf Hitler and Zionism.

The former London mayor was facing fresh disciplinary proceedings this week and said he had decided to quit because he believed his case had become a distraction.

He insisted he was not antisemitic and had not brought the Labour Party into disrepute, but said he was truly sorry for causing offence to the Jewish community.

Mr Livingstone had become a controversial figure in the party after receiving a two-year suspension for his claims, made in 2016, that Hitler had supported Zionism ... before he went mad and killed six million Jews.

Critics said the failure to expel him from the party was emblematic of Labours problems in tackling antisemitism, but Mr Livingstone repeatedly insisted he had merely been stating historical facts when claiming the Nazi leader had supported the idea of a Jewish state.

The case was due to be discussed again at a meeting of Labours national executive committee (NEC) this week.

In a statement, Mr Livingstone said: After much consideration, I have decided to resign from the Labour Party.

The ongoing issues around my suspension from the Labour Party have become a distraction from the key political issue of our time  which is to replace a Tory government overseeing falling living standards and spiralling poverty, while starving our schools and the NHS of the vital resources they need.

Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said Show all 14 1 /14 Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Israel and Palestine The simple fact in all of this is that Naz made these comments at a time when there was another brutal Israeli attack on the Palestinians; and theres one stark fact that virtually no one in the British media ever reports, in almost all these conflicts the death toll is usually between 60 and 100 Palestinians killed for every Israeli. Now, any other country doing that would be accused of war crimes but its like we have a double standard about the policies of the Israeli government Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Antisemitism in the Labour Party As Ive said, Ive never heard anybody say anything antisemitism-Semitic, but theres been a very well-orchestrated campaign by the Israel lobby to smear anybody who criticises Israeli policy as antisemitic. I had to put up with 35 years of this Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Naz Shah Its completely over-the-top and rude, but who am I to denounce anyone with all of that. It was wrong. I dont think she is antisemitic, it was incredibly rude but I dont believe she is an antisemite. When the NEC investigation is finished they'll say it was rude and over the top but they wont find any evidence that she actually hates Jews. Weve got to investigate all these charges and the context in which they are made. If she is antisemitic like the other three or four members weve found who are antisemitic, shell be expelled Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On other alleged antisemites in Labour That is part of the classic antisemitic thing about an international Jewish conspiracy  that is the reason we need to have an investigation. Ive got an open mind. Ive seen nothing to suggest to me that she is antisemitic. I wouldnt have supported her if I [thought] she was antisemitic Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On whether what Hitler did was legal, as stated by Naz Shah Thats a statement of fact  Hitler, Im sure, passed all those laws that allowed him to do that  its history  literally, Hitler was completely mad, he killed six million Jews. Shes not saying its legal to kill six million Jews: what they were doing in that country allowed them not just to kill six million Jews, kill all the communists, kill all the leftists like me, my father almost died when a Nazi sub sank his boat. I have no sympathy with Hitler Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On another alleged antisemite in Labour No, that is, and thats why shes been suspended or expelled. What Ive said is that in 47 years of the party in all the meetings Ive been in Ive never heard anyone say anything antisemitic. There are bound to be in a party of half a million people youll have a handful of antisemites, youll have a handful of racists. Youve managed to dig out virtually every antisemitic comment that Labour members have made out of half a million people. Ive never met any of these people. Theres not a problem. Youre talking about a handful of people in a party of half a million people. Jeremy Corbyn has moved rapidly to deal with them Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On Jeremy Corbyns response to the allegations He met with Naz and she agreed she would stand down while the investigation is going on. He called her in to see her. Theres been a huge investigation of virtually everything that anybody put on the internet  many of these people are quite new and recent members of the party that joined in the big influx. 300,000 new people came in Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On his meeting a man accused of antisemitism in London This is the man who called for Muslims around the world to donate blood after the attacks of 9/11 when he came to London I went with him to the Regents Park mosque where he said no man should hit a woman and you should not discriminate against homosexuals. So I cant equate what I heard him say he made no antisemitic statement while he was here in London. I dont investigate people. Ive simply said what I believe to be true which is that Naz was not antisemitic. She was completely over the top, very rude, but that does not make her an antisemite Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On John Manns comments He went completely over the top. I was actually doing a radio interview at the time that he was bellowing that Im a racist antisemite in my ear. Ive had that with John Mann before a few weeks ago screaming that I was a bigot down the phone. Im not an apologist for anyone who makes antisemitic statements. What Im saying is dont confuse antisemitism with criticism of the Israeli government policy Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On calling a Jewish journalist a concentration camp guard whilst Mayor of London I cant tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic. We won the case Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On claims about Hitler and Zionism I cant tell if a journalist is Jewish or Catholic or anything. If a journalist is chasing you down the street at nine of clock at night you might be rude to them. Some people might have hit him! He said he was just doing his job. We went all the way to the High Court and the judge opened his judgement by saying I hope no one here is going to suggest that Mr Livingstone is antisemitic. We won the case Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On John Mann Id simply say to John Mann go back and check. Is what I say true, or is it not? The BBC, youve got a huge team of researchers, it will take just an hour or two to go back and confirm. I was asked a question, I answered it. I have never in 45 years since I won my first election, I have never lied. I have always answered the question Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On raising the issue if Hitler It lays you open to people smearing and lying about you. Ive always answered the questions put to me and that simple fact is weve had a handful of people saying antisemitic things in the Labour Party, theyve been suspended, some of them are on their way to being expelled, some of them have been expelled already Labour antisemitism row: What Livingstone said On people calling for him to be suspended All my usual critics  but the simple fact is I agree with them; there is no place for antisemitism in the Labour party. For them to suggest I am antisemitic is a bit bizarre considering we worked with Jewish groups and put on exhibitions about the scale of the holocaust, we worked with Jewish groups to tackling the scale of antisemitism back in the 1970s. Ive always opposed every form of racism whether its against black people or Jews. Im going to stay in the Labour party and continue to fight against all forms of racism and discrimination as I have my entire life

He continued: I do not accept the allegation that I have brought the Labour Party into disrepute  nor that I am in any way guilty of antisemitism. I abhor antisemitism, I have fought it all my life and will continue to do so.

I also recognise that the way I made a historical argument has caused offence and upset in the Jewish community. I am truly sorry for that.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Livingstones decision was sad but the right thing to do.

Ken Livingstones resignation is sad after such a long and vital contribution to London and progressive politics, but was the right thing to do, he said.

Mr Livingstone was handed a two-year suspension by Labour in April 2016 following an internal investigation. This was extended in March of this year pending further disciplinary enquiries.

The former mayor of London had repeatedly refused to apologise for his comments, saying only that he regretted any offence they may have caused. He had also frequently made comments about Hitler in other interviews, prompting groups representing Jewish Labour members to demand his expulsion.

Earlier this month he threatened to sue Labour if it expelled him over his comments.Mark Zuckerberg will face a public grilling at the European Parliament on Tuesday, after a rebellion by MEPs over plans to hold the meeting in private.

The Facebook founder is coming to Brussels to answer questions about his companys policies on personal data, privacy, and the social networks impact on elections  facing an interrogation by leaders of the assemblys political groups.

The tech boss has so far refused similar requests to appear at the UK Parliament prompting British MPs to warn that they might issue a formal summons for him to appear. In April he spent two days testifying before the US Congress.

Recommended UK parliament could issue Mark Zuckerberg with formal summons

Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament, had announced last week that the meeting would be held behind closed doors. But on Monday he confirmed it would be livestreamed over the internet, following interventions in public and behind the scenes by the socialist, liberal, and green groups.

I have personally discussed with Facebook CEO Mr Zuckerberg the possibility of webstreaming the meeting with him, Mr Tajani said.

I am glad to announce that he has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens. I thank him for the respect shown towards European Parliament. Meeting tomorrow from 18:15 to 19:30.

As well as Mr Zuckerbergs visit, representatives from Facebook management are set to appear before the European Parliaments justice and home affairs committee at a later date to answer more detailed questions.

Post-Brexit, the UK will have no platform to question him if he continues to snub Westminster Claude Moraes, chair of European Parliament's home affairs and justice committee

Tuesdays meeting will consist of Mr Zuckerberg, Mr Tajani, and the chair of the Parliaments home affairs committee, British Labour MEP Claude Moraes.

They will also be joined by the leaders of the European Parliaments political groups: the centre-right EPP, the centre-left socialists, the liberal ALDE, the right-wing ECR, the eurosceptic EFFD, the Greens, the Left, and the far-right ENF.

 Mark Zuckerberg says that Facebook obtaining information from phone calls is a 'conspiracy theory'

Notable figures among the leaders include Nigel Farage, who leads the EFFD, Manfred Weber, an ally of Angela Merkel who leads the largest EPP group, and Guy Verhofstadt, who leads the liberals.

Mr Moraes said he would ask searching questions on behalf of 500 million Europeans. He pledged to grill the tech boss on the allegations surrounding the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

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

He added: The announcement  shows where the real influence lies, and where the best forum is to unearth the facts - highlighting how, post-Brexit, the UK will have no platform to question him if he continues to snub Westminster.

The Silicon Valley CEO has been invited to appear before the British Parliament but has so far declined. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, which asked him to attend one of its sessions, has said it will issue a formal summons for [Mr Zuckerberg] to appear when he is next in the UK. Contempt of Parliament is an offence in the UK, though it has been untested in the courts in recent times.Theresa May has laid down a red line for the deal on post-Brexit customs she is seeking with the EU, insisting it would last only for a limited time.

Facing a backlash from pro-Brexit cabinet ministers, the prime minister sought to dismiss fears that the backstop  keeping the UK aligned with the EU customs union  could become permanent.

Ms May repeated her claim that the right solution to the Irish border dilemma lay in a new overarching economic agreement to be negotiated.

And she said, of the backstop: If it is necessary, it will be in a very limited set of circumstances for a limited time, but we are working on achieving that commitment to Northern Ireland through our overall relationship with the European Union.

The comments came after Michael Gove signalled his unease about the backstop plan  which would see the UK retain EU tariff levels into the 2020s.

The whole point about the backstop is that its intended not to be implemented, but its there just in case, the environment secretary said.

Earlier, Boris Johnson issued his own veiled warning that the backstop plan  to be set out in writing to Brussels in the next few weeks  must not be a betrayal of the referendum vote.

Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders Show all 10 1 /10 Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May is welcomed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker Reuters Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders EU President Jean-Claude Juncker greeting Theresa May at the EU Commission in Brussels PA Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May poses for a picture with European Council President Donald Tusk REUTERS Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker walks behind British Prime Minister Theresa May EPA Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders British Prime Minister Theresa May (L) and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker address a press conference at the European Commission in Brussels AFP/Getty Images Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at a press conference with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, David Davis (L) and Michel Barnier (2-L), the European Chief Negotiator of the Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 enter the room by the emergency exit to attend British Prime Minister Theresa May press briefing on Brexit Negotiations in Brussels. EPA Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis (L), Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (2-L), European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (2-R) and European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier (R) in a meeting on Friday morning AFP/Getty Images Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier speaks during a media conference at EU headquarters Brexit bonhomie as May finally seals agreement with EU leaders European Council President Donald Tusk addresses a media conference at the Europa building in Brussels AP

Speaking to reporters on a trip to Latin America, the foreign secretary said: Brexiteers fearing betrayal over the customs backstop must understand that the prime minister has been very clear that neither option is an outcome we desire  we want a deal with the EU and she will deliver it.

Im convinced that the prime minister will be true to her promises of a Brexit deal  that sees Britain come out of the customs union and single market, have borders as frictionless as possible, reject European Court of Justice interference, control immigration and free to conduct unhindered free trade deals across the world.

However, it is thought unlikely that the EU will accept a time-limited deal, having stated the backstop must remain in place until another solution is found to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

The two alternative customs plans put forward  untested smart technology, or the UK accepting tariffs on behalf of the EU  have already been rejected by Brussels.

Furthermore, the EU is sceptical that the free trade agreement Ms May is seeking will be achieved quickly, or remove the need for border posts and checks.

The clock is ticking because the EU says the UK must sign up to the backstop in order to strike a Brexit deal and secure the transition period, through to the end of 2020.

Speaking during a visit in Cheshire, the prime minister said: The European Commission between December and March outlined their backstop solution.

That was unacceptable to the UK government, I think it will be unacceptable to any UK government because it effectively put a border down the Irish Sea.

So, what we are proposing is an alternative backstop proposal but nobody wants this to be the solution that is achieved.

The EUs backstop plan proposed alignment of regulations across Ireland  but the government now hopes to extend that across the UK, for a limited time.At least six people are thought to have died in Mogadishu as record rainfall brought a wave of flooding and destruction to Somalia.

Large storms rocked the southern and central areas of the country on Saturday, including the capital, where water eventually stood almost a metre deep in some parts of the city.

Somali media reported six people had been killed by the flooding so far, while hundreds of homes were also thought to have been damaged or destroyed.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the rainfall was the heaviest the country had seen in more than 30 years.

It estimated more than 750,000 people had been affected by the flooding, while damage to infrastructure and cropland had also been widespread.

A new $80m (59m) appeal has been launched by the UN in a bid to provide short-term relief to the more than 200,000 people thought to have been displaced by the rainfall.

As climate change risks invariably increase, more resources are needed to address the root causes of fragility, chronic poverty and low human development that are affecting the bulk of the population, said UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Peter de Clercq.

Mayor of Mogadishu, Abdirahman Omar Osman, said emergency meetings had been held with the army and national security advisers to coordinate a response to the floods in the city.

A young in deep floodwater in Mogadishu (AFP)

The administration continues to provide assistance with the impact of the rainfall, he wrote on Twitter: We ask citizens to take part in the rescue to help victims.

I thank the public and the military for providing assistance to Mogadishu for the impact of rainfall.

Flooding comes against the backdrop of an on-going humanitarian effort to provide aid to millions of people in the country hit by several consecutive drought seasons.

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 first half of Somalias rainy season, which began in March, recorded unprecedented levels of rainfall only comparable with storms seen in Somalia in 1981, experts said.

Heavy rains across the country and in the Ethiopian highlands have caused the Juba and Shabelle rivers to burst their banks, causing flash flooding in some areas.

OCHA warned more devastation is likely to take place if heavy rains continue, although the full impact of the flooding had yet to be established.Almost a month after a white woman called the police because a group of black people were having a barbecue, hundreds of people have turned up to the same spot to express their solidarity.

Video footage of an unidentified woman went viral after she reported the al fresco diners for using a charcoal grill in a non-charcoal area.

A friend of the family  Michelle Snider, who is also white  recorded the events at Lake Merritt, in Oakland, California, on 29 April.

She accused the woman of harassing the barbecuers because they are black, a claim which the woman rejected.

Police attended the barbecue and questioned the family for an hour, but took no further action.

Many online believed the charcoal vigilantism was the latest example of black people being reported to authorities while going about their business.

A black Yale University student had police called on her after falling asleep in a common room and a few weeks before that three Airbnb guests were apprehended by officers while checking out of their apartment.

Now hundreds of people have turned up to the exact location of the initial barbecue with picnic mats and food in a peaceful and good-natured show of togetherness.

Footage posted online shows people eating, drinking and chatting at the scene, with music playing and kites flying.

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

Twitter user Jamie Garrett observed: I absolutely love not only the revenge factor, but that her ridiculous racism has brought an entire community together to bond and get to know each other.Angenette Welk's dark hair falls neatly onto her shoulders in the mug shot, her wide grin bearing teeth more vivid than the white stripes of her jail uniform.

At that moment and less than four miles away from the jail in Marion County, Florida, doctors rushed to save the life of Sandra Clarkson, a victim in what authorities have alleged was a drunken-driving collision on 10 May around noon.

Ms Clarkson, a 60-year old mother, suffered severe head trauma when her car was struck with enough force to sandwich the vehicle into a horse trailer in front of it.

Recommended Four members of British family killed in Florida car crash

She was declared brain dead on Mother's Day and died when she was taken off life support the next day, 14 May, according to a fundraising webpage apparently created by family.

Ms Welk, 44, was charged with a felony DUI with great bodily harm and two misdemeanor counts involving drunken driving in the afternoon collision, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

She paid $10,000 (7,500) in bail and was released 11 May after entering not guilty pleas.

But since Ms Clarkson died afterward, the Florida Highway Patrol now intends to arrest Ms Welk on an upgraded manslaughter drunk driving charge, the assistant state attorney for Marion County told The Washington Post.

The Florida Highway Patrol did not immediately return a request for comment.

At the scene, Ms Welk told police she was distracted after dropping her cellphone before she smashed into the vehicle driven by Clarkson's 18-year old daughter, Shiyanne Kroll, who suffered minor injuries, Village News reported.

Her blood-alcohol limit was twice the legal limit. Ms Welk was uninjured in the crash. She could not be reached for comment.

Ms Kroll and her sister, Keonna Sciacca, told Click Orlando they were devastated over losing their mother and repulsed by Ms Welk's ear-to-ear smile.

That disgusts me, and that means she has no remorse for what she did at all and I hope that judge sees that picture and says the same thing, Kroll said.

Ms Sciacca wept over the loss.

It's definitely wrecked our family forever, not just temporarily, this was a permanent thing that (Welk) did . . . I can't hug her, I can't tell her, 'Goodnight, I love you,' she said through tears. It's destroyed us.

The Washington PostHillary Clinton has publicly mocked US president Donald Trump by pulling out a Russian hat in the middle of a speech at Yale University.

The presidents former Democrat rival brandished the distinctive Ushanka headgear in an apparent dig at Mr Trump over the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links between his campaign and the Kremlin.

During Sunday's speech, Yale alumna Ms Clinton referred to the university's tradition of wearing outlandish hats on graduation day  explaining she had decided to join in.

I see, looking out at you, that you are following the tradition of over-the-top hats so I bought a hat too. A Russian hat, she said, prompting raucous applause from the audience as she raised the furry garment aloft.

In case anyone was in doubt about what she was referring to, the former secretary of State, unexpectedly vanquished by Mr Trump in 2016, added: If you can't beat them, join them.

Ms Clinton also used the speech to address her defeat and explained she still had not come to terms with her loss.

"No, I'm not over it. I still think about the 2016 election. I still regret the mistakes I made, she said. I still think, though, that understanding what happened in such a weird and wild election in American history will help us defend our democracy in the future."

The former First Lady argued American politics was becoming increasingly polarised and appeared to refer to Mr Trump without mentioning him by name.

The radicalisation of American politics hasnt been symmetrical. There are leaders who blatantly incite people with hateful rhetoric, she said.

Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Hillary Rodham Clinton as a Wellesley College senior Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham in at Wellesley College Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Hillary Rodham Working with the House Committee on Nixon's Impeachment Case Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures US Presidential candidate Bill Clinton with wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea at the Democratic National Convention Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Bill and Hillary Clinton at the Inaugural Ball Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Bill and Hillary Clinton with Barbara Bush Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, President William Jefferson Clinton their daughter Chelsea, at the first state dinner of the Clintons administration Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Hillary Clinton meets with 12 chidren in response to their letter to the President concerning their health problems Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Nelson Mandela jokes with First Lady Hillary Clinton Getty Hillary Clinton's life in pictures Senator Hillary Rodham comforts Maren Sarkarat the conclusion of the Family Memorial Service held at Ground Zero of the WTC Getty

"Waging a war on the rule of law and a free press, de-legitimizing elections, perpetrating shameless corruption, and rejecting the idea that our leaders should be public servants undermines our national unity.Two mountain bikers did everything they were supposed to do when they noticed a cougar tailing them on a remote trail in Washington state - but "something was wrong" with the big cat that left one of them dead, police have said.

They pair got off their bikes, faced the mountain lion and tried to spook it. When it charged at them, one of them smacked it with his bike and it ran off.

But as they stood trying to catch their breath, the animal returned, biting one of them on the head and shaking him, authorities said.

The second cyclist ran, but the cougar dropped his first victim and pounced on him, killing him and dragging him back to what appeared to be its den, Captain Alan Myers, of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police, said.

Police on the scene of the attack in North Bend, Washington (AP)

They did everything they were supposed to do, King County sheriffs Sergeant Ryan Abbott said. But something was wrong with this cougar.

The men had been riding together near North Bend, around 30 miles east of Seattle.

It was the first fatal cougar attack in the state on 94 years.

Mr Myers said the cougar was underweight. It weighed around 100 pounds (45kg), when a typical three-year-old male in the area would be 140 to 180 pounds (63 to 81kg).

Isaac Sederbaum, the 31-year-old man from Seattle who was bitten first, survived. The deceased victim was identified as SJ Brooks, a 32-year-old man from Seattle.

After the cougar attacked Mr Brooks, a badly bloodied Mr Sederbaum managed to get on his bike and ride off. He rode for two miles before he could get phone reception and call 911.

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

When rescuers arrived, it took them about half an hour to find Mr Brooks, who was dead with the cougar on top of him in what appeared to be a den-like area.

An officer shot at the animal and it ran off. Several hours later, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife agents used dogs to track it to a nearby tree where they shot and killed it.

Authorities plan to match DNA taken from the animal with DNA from the victims to be certain they killed the right cougar.

They sent the animals carcass to a veterinary lab at Washington State University for a necropsy to determine what might have been wrong with it.

There are an estimated 2,000 cougars in Washington. Until the 1960s, the state paid hunters a bounty for killing them. Now, it allows 250 to be hunted in 50 designated zones.

While they are sometimes known to kill livestock or pets, and though one even found its way into a park in Seattle in 2009, encounters with people in Washington state are rare.

Attacks have become more common as people increasingly encroach on the animals territory.

In North America, there have been about 25 deadly attacks and 95 nonfatal attacks reported in the past century, but more attacks have been reported in the US West and Canada over the past 20 years than in the previous 80, according to Fish and Wildlife.

Experts say that people encountering the big cats in the wild should stop and pick up small children immediately.

Because running and rapid movements can trigger the animals prey drive, they say dont run. Instead, face the cougar, speak firmly and slowly back away  appearing as large as possible, such as by standing on a rock or stump or opening a sweatshirt or jacket. Keep your eyes on the animal and become more assertive if it doesnt back off. And if it does attack, fight back.

The idea is to convince the cougar that you are not prey, but a potential danger, Fish and Wildlife advises on its website.

Additional reporting by Associated PressA former Mississippi attorney general who played a central role in holding big tobacco accountable for the health consequences of cigarettes two decades ago has his sights set on another major American industry linked by some to suffering and death.

Mike Moore, a Mississippi lawyer who helped coordinate that effort in the 1990s to hold big tobacco accountable for the marketing that misled Americans about the dangers of smoking, says that the pharmaceutical industry misled the public about the dangers of opioid addiction, which has created one of the biggest health crises in modern US history.

Mr Moores leadership 20 years ago eventually resulted in a landmark, $246 billion settlement between big tobacco and 50 states that fund smoking cessation and prevention programmes to this day. Mr Moore calls that settlement the most historic public health achievement in history.

In an interview with NBC, Mr Moore said that he works on the effort to hold the pharmaceutical industry every day, and that he is employing what he learned in his fight with tobacco to try and hold the pharmaceutical industry responsible for the opioid epidemic.

I work this seven days a week because I know at the end, maybe Ill be a little part of saving a lot of lives, Mr Moore, 66, said.

So far, that effort has led him to recruit 23 state attorneys general to take on the pharmaceutical industry. The overall strategy, just like with the fight against big tobacco, is to file so many lawsuits that the overall financial burden becomes so high that the pharmaceutical industry agrees to negotiate.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Moores name only appears officially on filings from his state, but he is known for having traversed the county to speak with local officials and try to convince them to join in the efforts. Mississippi was among the first of 10 states to sue drug companies. Many of the lawsuits name Purdue Pharmaceuticals as a defendant, which is known for its aggressive promotion of the opioid drug Oxycontin, which they marketed to physicians and patients as having very low addiction rates, relying on a single paragraph in a 1980 letter to the editor in the New England Journal of Medicine to say that just 1 per cent of patients treated with narcotics become addicted.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-10-05/the-lawyer-who-beat-big-tobacco-takes-on-the-opioid-industryThat single paragraph was not peer reviewed.

Purdue also championed the idea of "pseudoaddiction", according to Bloomberg, which is the idea that individuals exhibiting signs of addiction  like asking for drugs by name, or seeking prescriptions from multiple physicians  is actually a sign that the patients need more pain killers, not less.

When you train your workforce  thousands of salespeople  to go out and tell doctors that there's less than a one percent chance of addiction if you take this drug, and you know that there's no study that you've done, and no reliable study that anybody else has ever done that says that, then of course you're telling a lie, Mr Moore told the news network.

Purdue did not respond to a request for response to these allegations, but told NBC that Mr Moores assessment is deeply flawed, and that illegal trafficking and abuse of heroin and illicit fentanyl is the real cause of Americas opioid epidemic.

The opioid epidemic is costing the United States tens of billions of dollars a year, and about a quarter of the costs are shouldered by tax payers through the costs associated with health care, criminal justice, and treatment. The epidemic cost the US economy $78.5 billion in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, has threatened Iran with the strongest sanctions in history and vowed to use all economic and military pressure to crush Tehrans operatives and proxies around the world.

The threat comes just after President Donald Trump announced that he would withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement  known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA  which he deemed flawed because it did not keep Iran from testing ballistic missiles and would eventually expire.

Mr Trump also argued that Iran was not in compliance with the basic goal of the deal  to restrict Iran from enriching weapons-grade uranium  even though the US State Department and the UNs International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had both confirmed compliance repeatedly. The deal was not intended to address ballistic missile development.

Recommended EU promises Iran it remains committed to nuclear deal

Mr Pompeo has demanded major changes from Iran, and has vowed that the country will not develop a nuclear weapon, not now, not ever.

The secretary of state announced a list of 12 requirements that Iran must meet before a new deal can be agreed. He said Iran must allow nuclear inspectors unqualified access to all sites throughout the country, alluding to military sites that were off-limits under the 2015 deal except under specific circumstances. To that end, he also said Iran must declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon, reopening an issue that the IAEA has already deemed a closed matter.

During his speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington, Mr Pompeo also latched onto one of Mr Trumps main concerns with supporting the nuclear deal  that it did little to curb what the US has called Irans destabilising actions in the region and beyond.

Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Show all 10 1 /10 Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burnt a US flag in parliament after Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the nuclear deal. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal US President Donald Trump displays a presidential memorandum after announcing his intent to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House. Reuters Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Some Iranian MPs reacted after Trumps decision by shouting 'death to America'. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian lawmakers prepare to burn two pieces of papers representing the US flag and the nuclear deal. AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran said it will hold talks with signatories to the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which it branded "psychological warfare". AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Several Iranian MPs stood chanting in the Tehran parliament. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burning a US flag AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal President Hassan Rouhani addressed the nation in a televised speech in Tehran. He said he'd send his foreign minister to negotiate with countries remaining in the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to pull America from the deal, warning he otherwise would restart enriching uranium "in the next weeks." Iranian Presidency Office via AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran's press condemned Trump's withdrawal from a multi-party nuclear deal but was divided over whether Tehran should react with patience or withdraw itself. AFP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Trump announced the US withdrawal from what he called the "defective" multinational nuclear deal with Iran, and said Washington would reinstate sanctions against the Islamic republic. AFP/Getty

A number of the demands require that Iran cease from a range of activities throughout the Middle East that have long drawn the ire of the US and its allies. He said Iran must end support for Shia Houthi rebels in Yemen, withdraw all forces from Syria, halt support for its ally Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel.

Other requirements are that Iran stops developing ballistic missiles, that it releases Americans held in detention in the country, and that it stops supporting groups in the Middle East considered to be terrorist organisations by the United States.

Is this what you want your country to be known for? Mr Pompeo asked, referring to Irans support of Hezbollah. The United States believe you deserve better.

 President Donald Trump states if Iran restarts their nuclear program there will be severe consequences

In his first major policy address Mr Pompeo said he will work with the US Defence Department and regional allies  a group that includes Israel, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states  to deter Iranian aggression in the region including at sea and in cyberspace.

This is just the beginning, Mr Pompeo said on Monday of the sanctions that are set to go back into effect now that the US is withdrawing from the deal, which was also brokered by the UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. The sting of sanctions will be painful. These will be the strongest sanctions in history when complete.

After our sanctions come into full force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive, Mr Pompeo said. Iran will be forced to make a choice: either fight to keep its economy off life support at home or keep squandering precious wealth on fights abroad. It will not have the resources to do both.

Mr Pompeos threat was made through the prism of possible positive outcomes for Iranians, as he offered a possible way out for Iran. Tehran would be granted a series of dramatic potential US concessions if it agrees to make major changes. Under a new agreement, Washington would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore full diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran, and even support the modernisation of its economy, Mr Pompeo said.

Unlike the previous administration, we are looking for outcomes that benefit the Iranian people, not just the regime, he added.

Mr Trumps decision to pull the US out of the deal comes as his administration conducts negotiations with North Korea in an attempt to dismantle its nuclear programme. Mr Pompeo has said that those talks  which have been in doubt recently  could serve as a template for future Iranian negotiations.

Other signatories on the Iran deal in Europe have signalled that they will remain committed to it in the wake of Washingtons decision, though it remains unclear how European businesses that have made deals in Iran might navigate reimposed US sanctions on the country.

Following Mr Pompeo's threats, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani pushed back, saying that the time when the United States could simply force the rest of the world to act how they want is over, according to Iranian state owned media.

"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world? The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent .. that era is over ... We will continue our path with the support of our nation," Mr Rouhani said, according to ILNA.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said that there is "no alternative" to the nuclear agreement that Mr Trump tore up.

"Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA," Ms Mogherini said.

"There is no alternative to the JCPOA."The FBI has now joined the investigation into how four US soldiers died in an apparent ambush by Isis militants while on patrol in Niger.

Staff Sergeants Bryan Black, Jeremiah Johnson, Dustin Wright, and Sergeant La David T Johnson died and two others were injured when a group of a dozen US Army soldiers and 40 troops from Niger were ambushed on 4 October.

The bureau told the Wall Street Journal it is not uncommon for it to get involved in these types of military investigations and it actually has the authority to take lead on the case, though it has not done so as yet.

The bureau could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Pentagons initial assessment was to blame Isis militants.

Congress, however, is questioning not only the purpose of the mission but why the Green Beret-led team was without sufficient support to fight off the 50 Isis militants.

In the ensuing rescue operation to get the US soldiers out of the area during a firefight with the militants, it appears Mr Johnsons body was left behind.

 John Kelly coached Trump to use the phrase "he knew what he was getting into" to bereaved widow

His body was only recovered 48 hours later - found by Nigerian nationals - and returned the US.

Senator John McCain, a retired Naval officer and Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said: Weve been waiting for weeks and weeks...We will not sit by without having a complete understanding of whats going on.

On Thursday, Defence Secretary James Mattis said that the Pentagon does not "have all the accurate information yet" regarding the ambush in Niger that killed four US soldiers.

But, he noted, the "US military does not leave its troops behind".

Mr Mattis headed to Capitol Hill on Friday afternoon to meet with Mr McCain, after he threatened to potentially use a subpoena to compel information from the Pentagon and the administration about the Niger attack, complaining that it was easier under Obama to find out about active military operations.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired Marine General, said that "an investigation doesnt mean anything was wrong ... doesnt mean that heads are going to roll."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Kelly said the Defence Department just needs to find out what happened.

Mr Mattis, in response to some news reports, asked that the media "not question the actions of the troops caught in the firefight" who "did everything they could" to recover all the wounded and killed in action at the same time.

"We at the DOD like to know what were talking about before we talk," Mr Mattis said as an explanation for the lack of more details on the investigation.

Mr Mattis confirmed that the soldiers were there on a foreign internal defence training mission to "help the people in the region defend themselves."

He said twice that these types of counter-terror missions are done "by, with, and through our allies.

He also said the media should not "confuse" the need for rapid information with the military's ability to provide it at that rate given the circumstances.

Amid the investigation, Donald Trump has drawn sharp criticism for his public and private handling of these soldiers deaths and dealings with their families.US President Donald Trump said America is reasserting its strength as Gina Haspel was sworn in as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), despite his strained relationship with the US intelligence community and particularly the FBI, the agency he just accused of spying on him.

The president, speaking at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, said no one in this country is better qualified for the position than former CIA operations officer of 33 years Ms Haspel. She will lead the "most elite intelligence professionals on the planet, Mr Trump said. Ms Haspel is the first female to lead the agency since its establishment 70 years ago and earned the Senates approval in spite of her controversial stance on the use of enhanced interrogation - called torture by critics - on terror suspects.

You face down our enemies. You protect our families. You stand and watch over our great nation. You dont do it for fame or fortune or glory. You do it for your country. America is forever grateful, Mr Trump said, effusive with his praise of the CIA. However, his compliments of the clandestine service do not reflect his thoughts on the American intelligence sector as a whole. Just yesterday, Mr Trump accused the FBI of spying on his 2016 campaign and possibly planting someone at the behest of Barack Obama's administration.

Recommended Trump demands investigation into potential campaign spying

He demanded that the Department of Justice launch an investigation into whether a confidential informant of the bureau may have been involved, particularly if there were individuals from the administration of his predecessor that had given the order to spy. He did not name anyone in particular in the tweet.

He has repeatedly called the FBI investigation of his campaign team and alleged collusion with Russian officials a witch hunt. The probe, led by special prosecutor Robert Mueller, is being conducted parallel to a Senate investigation as well.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein oversees Mr Mueller's investigation and said in response to the presidents claim: "if anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.

As CNN reported, it was possible that Rosenstein punted the matter to the inspector general [of the agency] to avoid a direct face-off between the White House and the Justice Department. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, much to Mr Trump's apparent irritation, has had to recuse himself from all investigations related to Mr Trump's campaign team due to his work for them during the election.

Mr Trumps issues with the intelligence community go back to January 2017, just before he took office, when sixteen agencies signed off on a report stating that Russia did indeed interfere in the 2016 election.

Then in May 2017, Mr Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey, who said he thought it was because the agency was not dropping the matter into problems with former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The former staffer pleaded guilty late last year to lying to the FBI about his contacts with former Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak.

 Donald Trump branded a 'disgraced demagogue' by former CIA director John Brennan over sacking of Andrew McCabe

Further demonstrating a possible disdain towards the intelligence community, just hours before Ms Haspel's ceremony Mr Trump tweeted a quote from conservative commentator Dan Bonginos appearance on Fox News earlier in the day. who said that former CIA director John Brennan disgraced the entire Intelligence Community. He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of [Americans] faith in the Intelligence Community including the FBI.

Mr Trump added his own commentary to Mr Bonginos quote about the now-infamous dossier, saying it was phony. The document authored by former UK intelligence officer Christopher Steele and paid for in part by the Democratic National Committee was first published by BuzzFeed News and made claims about Mr Trumps alleged liaisons with prostitutes and other actions during a 2013 trip to Moscow.

Mr Brennan, who had served under former president Barack Obama, may have gotten under the skin of Mr Trump last month as well. He had tweeted: "Mr Trump: Your hypocrisy knows no bounds. Jim Clapper is a man of integrity, honesty, ethics, & morality. You are not, in reference to the presidents comments about former director of national intelligence James Clapper.

The president had criticised Mr Clapper and others for their handling of Russian interference into the US election and his erstwhile opponent Hillary Clintons use of a private email server while she was Secretary of State.Donald Trump launched a scathing attack on former CIA Director John Brennan, calling him a disgrace, hours before attending the swearing-in ceremony of his own pick to head the agency.

In a series of tweets that appeared, not for the first time, to have been inspired by a discussion he saw on Fox and Friends, the president castigated Mr Brennan, who headed the agency from 2013 to January 2017, during the administration of Barack Obama.

In recent months, Mr Brennan, 62, and Mr Trump, 71, have frequently engaged in insulting each other, either on social media or else during television appearances.

On Monday morning, Mr Trump wrote: John Brennan is panicking. He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the country, he has disgraced the entire intelligence community. He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of Americans faith in the intelligence community and in some people at the top of the FBI.

He added: Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump. We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phoney) dossier...he knows about the dossier, he denies knowledge of the dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 on the Hill about the dossier, which they then used to start an investigation about Trump.

Mr Trumps comments appeared to have originally been made by a former Secret Service agent and conservative commentator, Dan Bongino. Mr Bongino, who has unsuccessfully run for the House and Senate several times, had appeared on the Fox show that morning.

 Gina Haspel hearing interrupted by an anti torture protestor yelling bloody gina

He also hosts his own show for the powerful National Rifle Association lobbying group.

Mr Trump has previously described Mr Brennan and James Clapper, Mr Obamas director of national intelligence, as leakers and liars and political hacks.

Last month, Mr Brennan attacked Mr Trumps comments.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Trump, your hypocrisy knows no bounds. Jim Clapper is a man of integrity, honesty, ethics, and morality. You are not, Mr Brennan said.

Jim Clapper served his country for over a half century, including in Vietnam. You did not. By your words and behaviour, you diminish the office of the presidency.

Mr Trumps Twitter tirade came hours before he travelled to the CIAs headquarters at Langley, Virginia, for the swearing-in of the CIAs first female director, Gina Haspel.

Ms Haspel won Senate confirmation last week after overcoming concerns about her role in the agencys use of torture and other harsh interrogation techniques after the 9/11 attacks.

While the experienced Ms Haspel was backed by many in the CIA rank and file and senior intelligence officials, including former CIA directors and national intelligence directors, critics said it was wrong to reward someone who supervised a covert black site in ThailandUS President Donald Trump has said that China will buy massive amounts of American agricultural products as the two economic giants put an impending trade war on hold.

"China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products - would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!" Mr Trump tweeted Monday, with no additional explanation a day after Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said that trade tensions between the two had been temporarily eased.

Mr Mnuchin has said to expect a 35 to 45 per cent increase in 2018 alone. The predictions come after Beijing agreed to "substantially reduce" the US trade deficit with China and Mr Trump set out on a mission to make another international deal less unfair and more reciprocal to the US. "Fair Trade, plus, with China will happen!" Mr Trump tweeted.

Farm sales are a key political area for Republicans and Mr Trump, many of whose supporters are in rural areas and have expressed fear that foreign competitors, particularly China, could hurt American exports business.

The US and China had a deal worth hundreds of billions of dollars for China to buy US soybeans, particularly those produced in Iowa given Chinese President Xi Jinpings ties to the state. It was the first place he had visited as a young government official in the 1980s.

However, late last week it was announced that nearly a million tonnes of soybeans sales had been cancelled. The US Department of Agriculture did not disclose which parties cancelled the purchases, but it could have been China due to the last minute negotiations and Mr Trumps recent tweet to avert the cancellation. The agency has not responded to a request for comment on whether the cancelled sales are back on.

Mr Mnuchin also forecast a doubling in sales of US energy products to China - set to increase from $50bn to $60bn in the next three to five years.

 Missouri soy farmers fear the implications of a trade war with China after Trump announces trade tariffs

The Trump administration has said it wants to reduce the deficit by $200bn, but China has not agreed to a specific amount.

Trade analysts were not surprised that China refused to agree to a numerical target for cutting the trade gap, but they said the talks probably were more successful in easing trade tensions.

Economist Eswar Prasad told the Associated Press that the Trump administrations eagerness in these negotiations may be related to the upcoming summit between Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who are set to meet for the for the first time on 12 June in Singapore.

China has deep connections with North Korea  Pyongyang has long relied on it and Russia for basic economic needs along with a small number of other allies. However, Chinas recent enforcement of strict United Nations sanctions on seafood, textiles, foreign exchange services and fuel are believed to have hurt Pyongyang a great deal.

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

Despite that, Mr Kim and Mr Xi have met several times and Mr Xi has done his part to try and convince the North Koreans from cancelling the US talks.

China also recently said it "greatly appreciates the positive US position on helping his largest telecommunications company, ZTE, to recover from being shut out of the US market.

Mr Trump tweeted the US Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done to save jobs at the company, despite it admitting it broke US sanctions laws by selling products with American components to North Korea and Iran.

Wilbur Ross, US Commerce Secretary, said at the time that the companys egregious behaviour cannot be ignored and again noted today that the company did violate US sanctions. In light of the presidents tweet, Mr Ross said that the sanctions on ZTE are an enforcement action, separate from trade.

However, he noted that his agency will explore promptly alternative remedies for ZTE to possibly re-enter the US market.The Department of Justice will probe whether the FBIs investigation of Russian election interference was politically tainted, bowing to escalating attacks from Donald Trump.

The departments internal inspector general will seek to determine if there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election, spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement.

Raising the possibility of criminal penalties, Ms Flores added that the department would consult with prosecutors if any evidence of potential criminal conduct emerges.

The scope of the inquiry expanded even farther after the president met with top law enforcement and intelligence officials to discuss the inquiry. After the meeting, the White House said the Department of Justice had agreed to expand its probe to cover any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigations or the Department of Justices tactics concerning the Trump Campaign.

Federal investigators have been looking into Russian efforts to sway the 2016 presidential election, including potential contacts with members of the Trump presidential campaign, since before Mr Trump assumed office. But Mr Trumps presidency has been consumed by Robert Muellers investigation of Russian meddling, which the president regularly denounces as unfounded.

In recent days Mr Trump has assailed reports that the FBI used an informant to gather information on campaign members, suggesting that the tactic violated a ban on politically motivated investigations. Over the weekend he said he would direct the Justice Department to investigate.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration! Mr Trump said.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Within hours, the Justice Department said it planned to comply with the presidents desire to vet its conduct during the presidential campaign.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein - who oversees Mr Muellers probe and has come under attack by congressional Republicans - said in a statement.

 Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says the Department of Justice won't be intimidated

Rather than launching a new investigation, the Department of Justice plans to expand an existing review into how FBI agents go about obtaining permission to surveil targets.

That practice has been in the spotlight since it was revealed that agents had secured the authority to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Republicans in Congress and and Mr Trump have charged that investigators abused their powers, saying they concealed the fact that their suspicions of Mr Page derived in part from the work of a former British spy, Christopher Steele, that was funded by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign. Law enforcement officials have denied that accusation.

Allies of the president heralded the announcement the Department of Justices announcement, saying it would help hold federal law enforcement accountable. But critics warned that it was another example of the president displaying authoritarian tendencies and seeking to derail the Russia investigation.

The president's statement indicating that he will order the Justice Department to investigate the FBI could not be more disturbing and reiterates his deep contempt for the rule of law, Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement.Venezuela's leftist leader Nicolas Maduro won a new six-year term on Sunday, but his main rivals disavowed the election alleging massive irregularities in a process critics decried as a farce propping up a dictatorship.

Victory for the 55-year-old former bus driver, who replaced Hugo Chavez after his death from cancer in 2013, may trigger a new round of western sanctions against the socialist government as it grapples with a ruinous economic crisis.

US President Donald Trump's administration is threatening moves against Venezuela's already reeling oil sector.

Recommended Venezuela blocks opposition candidates from presidential election

Venezuela's election board, run by Maduro loyalists, said he took 5.8 million votes, versus 1.8 million for his closest challenger Henri Falcon, a former governor who broke with an opposition boycott to stand.

"They underestimated me," Maduro told cheering supporters on a stage outside Miraflores presidential palace in downtown Caracas as fireworks sounded and confetti fell on the crowd.

Turnout at the election was just 46.1 per cent, the election board said, way down from the 80 per cent registered at the last presidential vote in 2013. The opposition said that figure was inflated, putting participation at nearer 30 per cent.

An electoral board source told Reuters 32.3 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots by 6 pm (2200 GMT) as most polls shut.

"The process undoubtedly lacks legitimacy and as such we do not recognise it," said Falcon, a 56-year-old former state governor, looking downcast.

Maduro had welcomed Falcon's candidacy, which gave some legitimacy to a process critics at home and around the world had condemned in advance as the "coronation" of a dictator.

Falcon's quick rejection of Sunday's election, and call for a new vote, was therefore a blow to the government's strategy.

Falcon, a former member of the Socialist Party who went over to the opposition in 2010, said he was outraged at the government's placing of nearly 13,000 pro-government stands called "red spots" close to polling stations nationwide.

Mainly poor Venezuelans were asked to scan state-issued "fatherland cards" at red tents after voting in hope of receiving a "prize" promised by Maduro, which opponents said was akin to vote-buying.

The "fatherland cards" are required to receive benefits including food boxes and money transfers.

A third presidential candidate, evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci, followed Falcon in slamming irregularities during Sunday's vote and calling for a new election.

Despite his unpopularity over a national economic meltdown, Maduro benefited on Sunday not just from the opposition boycott but also from a ban on his two most popular rivals and the liberal use of state resources in his campaign.

His tally, however, fell short of the 10 million votes he had said throughout the campaign he wanted to win.

ReutersChina is planning to abandon all policies restricting the number of children people can have, according to a report, in a move that would draw to a close one of the worlds longest, most ambitious and most controversial social experiments.

The one-child policy was introduced in 1979 before it was relaxed to two children in 2016, and the Chinese government claims it prevented 400 million births.

Critics dispute that figure, saying Chinas birth rate was already falling anyway in line with other developing countries, and that all the policy did was encourage alarming rates of female infanticide and other abuses.

Bloomberg News quoted government sources as saying the new policy would be dubbed independent fertility, and that the change could come as soon as this year, or by 2019 at the latest.

And while there was no official confirmation or indeed comment from Chinas National Health Commission, the report came on the same day as an article by the state-run Xinhua news agency which eulogised how much China has changed over the past 40 years since the one-child policy was introduced.

The article quotes a 63-year-old man as saying he gladly volunteered to have only one child at a time when the policy was needed to cope with increasing population pressure. Average salaries have grown, Xinhua says, and the food shortages of the 1970s and 1980s are a matter for history.

If Chinas state media are preparing the ground for an announcement, they may have to move fast  an initial feasibility study suggesting there would be some limited economic gains from lifting child limits was presented to Chinese prime minister Li Keqiang in April, according to Bloomberg.

China owes much of its recent economic boom to a demographic bonus, with a young population providing cheap labour, but that balance has now shifted. The State Council has said around a quarter of Chinas population will be 60 or older by 2030, up from 13.3 per cent in 2010, and an ageing society is putting a burden on pensions and services.

Coming so soon after the shift to a two-child limit, any change will inevitably be seen as a climbdown, an admission that relaxing the rules has not boosted birth rates in the way the government hoped, says Professor Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

He told The Independent he didnt think the new policy would have much impact either. People are not having children in China because they cannot afford them. Thats not going to change whether you have a one-child policy, a two-child policy or a 200-child policy.

So what will be the legacy of the one-child rule? Most statisticians argue that Chinas birth rate was already falling dramatically when it was introduced, making it difficult to assess just how big an impact it had.

Prof Tsang points to the so-called Greater China territories of Hong Kong and Taiwan, where the policy was never implemented, but where fertility rates are among some of the lowest in the world.

One impact that can be measured is on child mortality. A UN report in 2011 found that in the 1970s 60 boys per 1,000 were dying before the age of one, compared with 53 girls. By the 2000s, the ratio had flipped  21 boys to 28 girls.

Where the one-child policy did have an impact was on the rights of individuals who were poor and couldnt just pay [the fine for having more children], said Prof Tsang. Scrapping the policy, he suggests, is a step in the right direction to putting that right.A man was beaten to death by a mob in India after they accused him of slaughtering a cow, local media reports.

Police say two men were set upon by the gang and beaten with bamboo sticks in a village near Satna, in the central state of Madhya Pradesh, in the early hours of Friday morning.

One of the victims, a 45-year-old man, died during the attack, while a second, aged 35, was left seriously ill in hospital.

Recommended Slaughtering cows now punishable with life imprisonment in India

Satna's police superintendent, Rajesh Hingerkar, told the PTI news agency four men had been arrested in connection with the killing.

He added the attack had supposedly been carried out after the group learned the victims were slaughtering a cow.

Indian media reports alleged the gang were gau rakshaks, right-wing Hindu nationalists who have previously been accused of using violence in protection of an animal deemed sacred by their religion.

The survivor of the attack may also face charges under Indias cow slaughter prohibition act upon his recovery, after police said they had recovered an animal carcass from the scene.

He is recuperating but he is not in a condition to give any statement, Neeraj Sharma, manager of Metro Hospital in Jabalpur, where the man was taken for treatment, told the Times of India.

Umesh Joga, inspector general of police in Rewa district, where the killing took place, told Indian media more than 400 officers had been deployed to the area in a bid to maintain peace.

The slaughter of cows is illegal in Madhya Pradesh, carrying a jail sentence of up to three years and a fine of 5,000 rupees (55).

Such legislation is considered discriminatory by some Dalits - members of the lowest class in Indias strict caste system - who are more likely to consume beef than those of higher social status.

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 meat is also more commonly eaten among the countrys Muslim and Christian minority communities than by the Hindu majority.

Mob violence under the pretext of cow protection is a growing phenomenon in India, with 30 people thought to have been killed and more than 100 others injured in incidents since 2010.

In March, 11 men were jailed for life over the murder of a Muslim man who was pulled from his car and beaten to death in Jharkhand in June 2017 for allegedly carrying beef.

Three Muslim men were lynched in West Bengal in June 2017 for allegedly trying to steal cows, while four men were beaten on a train in Haryana state the same month after passengers accused them of eating beef.There has been an unprecedented surge in voter registrations ahead of Ireland's referendum on the Eighth Amendment - the law that effectively makes abortion illegal.

Up to 125,000 people will likely be added to the supplementary electoral register between February and the recent deadline of 8 May ahead of the crucial vote on 25 May.

The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), which represents organisations working with over 380,000 young people said there had been unprecedented surge of voter registration.

It estimated a 90 per cent increase in the numbers compared to the marriage equality referendum in 2015.

If the returns received by NYCI from 14 city and county councils to date, are replicated in all 31 city and county councils, would indicate that up to 125,000 people have been added to the supplementary electoral register between February and May.

James Doorley, NYCI deputy director, said many of the registrations had come from younger voters.

It is really heartening that so many young people responded to the call by NYCI and others and took the opportunity to register", he said, adding that a number of student groups had mobilised to help people.

It is important to note that not all those added to this latest supplement to the register are young voters. Some undoubtedly are not in the 18 to 29 age bracket, or are electors changing the location of their vote."

If people vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment, the Irish government is proposing that women could access a termination within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

After that period, abortions will only be allowed until the 24th week of pregnancy if here is a risk to a woman's life, or a risk of serious harm to the physical or mental health of a woman.

Terminations would also be permitted in cases of fatal foetal abnormality.

Under current law, rooted in the Eighth Amendment to the Republic of Ireland's constitution, the unborn child the same right to life as the mother.

The maximum penalty for accessing an illegal abortion is 14 years in prison.Armed individuals reportedly tried to corner police who were responding to the sound of gunfire in Marseille, France, authorities have said.

Police said a group of people had fired shots into the air, before police arrived, in what was suspected to be gang-related activity.

Christophe Reynaud of the Marseille police said one resident was hit in the head with a butt of a gun and slightly injured during the incident in the Busserine district on early Monday evening.

There were conflicting reports after the incident, with some suggesting that shots had been fired at a group of young people.

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

Marseille's La Provence newspaper reported a group of hooded men had driven up in three vehicles before opening fire with Kalashnikov rifles.

Mr Renaud said terrorism had been ruled out as a motive and that the individuals involved were not arrested as they drove away after the incident.

AP contributed to this report.The British government should impose sweeping sanctions on oligarchs and officials close to Vladimir Putin and apply punitive laws to counter the full spectrum of the offensive measures being used by Russia, a report by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has demanded.

The use of London as a base for the corrupt assets of Kremlin-connected individuals is now clearly linked to a wider Russian strategy and has implications for our national security: combating it should be a major UK foreign policy priority, claim the MPs.

The report, Moscows Gold: Russian Corruption in the UK, accuses the British government of failing to follow up condemnation of Kremlin aggression with credible action. The robust rhetoric from the prime minister following the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter it says has been undermined by the business as usual sign hanging on the UKs front door.

The committee wants to see tough action from the government including:

stopping companies which are sanctioned in other countries from trading in London

closing of loopholes which allow debt issuance to be used to go around sanctions

individuals close to President Putins government sanctioned

a crackdown on money laundering focusing on ownership of luxury property in the UK and dependant territories.

The assets stored and laundered in London both directly and indirectly support President Putins campaign to subvert the international rules-based system, undermine our allies, and erode the mutually-reinforcing international networks that support UK foreign policy, says the report. Turning a blind eye to Londons role in hiding the proceeds of Kremlin-connected corruption risks signalling that the UK is not serious about confronting the full spectrum of President Putins offensive measures.

Campaigners against the Putin government has been pressing the UK to adopt a version of the Magnitsky Act which was brought in by the Obama administration following the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer and whistleblower, under violent suspicious circumstances in a Moscow prison. The US legislation allows the targeting of Russian state personnel who are deemed to have been involved in Mr Magnitskys death.

The UK parliament is in the process of passing a version of the Magnitsky Act under which Russian nationals responsible for human rights violations as well as engaging in activities against Britain such as the Salisbury poisoning can be prosecuted.

The Foreign Affairs Committee points to the London flotation of EN+ an energy company part owned by VTB, a Russian state-owned bank which has been sanctioned by the US and EU. EN+ was owned by Oleg Deripaska, an oligarch who is close to Mr Putin, who has since stepped down from the board of the company in an attempt to lift American sanctions.

The report charts how, just days after the UK expelled 23 Russian diplomats following the Salisbury attack, the Russian government was able to raise 3bn in Eurobond issuance and the Russian energy multinational Gazprom PJSC made a 500m sale followed by the Russian embassy in London tweeting business as usual.

The Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill is currently in the final stages of passing through the Commons after going through the Lords. The MPs state: We welcome the bills broad definition of the purpose of sanctions regulations, which will give the government the power to introduce sanctions for a range of reasons... But the MPs want a register of overseas owners of properties in this country to be brought forward from the proposed date of 2021 and naming and shaming of individuals comparable to the US Magnitsky List to be made public and updated by the Foreign Office.

Recommended The wealthiest Russian oligarchs who call London home

The committees chairperson, Conservative MP Tom Tugdenhat, said: We must be united in our efforts to match rhetoric with action  in the City, through government policy and among allies in the US, G7 and EU. We call on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to set out a coherent strategy on Russia that clearly links together the diplomatic, military and financial tools that the UK can use to counter Russian state aggression.

The report, however, does not reveal any new information about Russian money and corruption in the UK, drawing instead on existing public material, and statements by journalists, academics and researchers. There is a degree of scepticism about whether Theresa Mays government will rush to investigate and prosecute on this issue near future; laws which already exist to do so have not been much used.

Successive British governments have actively encouraged rich foreigners to come to this country and a slew of prosecutions, which, to apply the law equitably, would mean targeting of other nationalities as well as Russians is likely to result in money being moved out, capital flight, at a time of economic uncertainty and trepidation following Brexit.

Widespread international support for further punitive action is also unlikely. The British government has suspended senior level interaction with Moscow, but other Western states have not. Although a number of allied countries expelled Russians working under diplomatic accreditation following the Skripal attack, contact has continued as normal at the highest level.

Angela Merkel has just met Mr Putin in Sochi where topics under discussion included Nord Stream 2, a project to pipe Russian gas to Germany. French President Emmanuel Macron will meet Mr Putin in St Petersburg this week, and the populist coalition due to form Italys next government has stated that it will lift sanctions placed on Russia over Ukraine.

In the US, Donald Trump  under investigation over claims that Moscow helped to put him in the White House  recently signed a new set of congressional sanctions on Russia, only after resisting doing so for months. And although America threw out 60 Russian diplomats over the Skripals, the US president is reported to have claimed subsequently that he had been misled into expelling a far larger number than he has intended.

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 Russian ambassador to London, Alexander Yakovenko, acknowledged that his countrys relationship with Britain is now worse than with any other Western state. This Conservative government should really examine its policy towards Russia and why it has reached this level. Some British politicians should also think about the kind of language they use, there are some people who are determined to make matters worse instead of better, he said.

If the British government brings in these laws targeting Russians in the UK then the Russians can take the matter to court, I believe a lot of them are preparing for this already and preparing legal cases. This is something which should be open to them, after all we keep being told that the UK is a country of laws.

Mr Yakovenko wanted to stress that although the British government had chosen to break off high level liaison, other heads of state have maintained links which are so essential in the troubled international political climate. The Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be in Russia at the same time as Mr Macron.A British mother jailed in Iran has been taken back to court and told by a judge to expect to be reconvicted and resentenced on a resurrected charge of spreading propaganda against the regime, her supporters have revealed.

It was claimed that when shown the evidence against her on Saturday, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe realised it was the same material that had been used to convict her in the first place in 2016, for which she has been serving a prison sentence ever since.

Her husband Richard Ratcliffe, who has campaigned for his wifes release since she was arrested while trying to return home from a holiday with her daughter, said: The judge briefly showed her the file against her.

While she was not allowed to read it in detail, from that quick view she understood she was being prosecuted again with the same material that had been exaggerated and used to justify her first trial.

The Judge told Nazanin to expect that likely there will be another conviction and sentence against her.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe does not appear to have been represented by a lawyer during the court appearance.

Calling for action from foreign secretary Boris Johnson, Mr Ratcliffe told The Independent: Enough is enough.

We have previously made the point to the British Government that we think it is a profoundly unjust justice system, and we have previously asked them to criticise that system.

I think it would be helpful for the Government to say something.

Nazanin has asked for the British embassy to send a demarche, a letter of protest, which they have never done, throughout all her treatment.

My call to the foreign secretary would be for him to sort it.

He gave very sincere promises, but has not yet managed to carry them through. There is a responsibility of the government, there is a responsibility of the foreign secretary, to protect British citizens.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures 2018 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugs her daughter Gabriella, in Iran after she was allowed to leave the Iranian prison, she is being held in, for three days. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a holiday with her toddler daughter in April 2016. Iranian authorities accuse her of plotting against the government. Her family denies this, saying says she was in Iran to visit family. Free Nazanin Campaign/AP Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella. Nazanin is serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly plotting to overthrow Iran's government. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures June 2016 Richard Ratcliffe's daughter Gabriella had her British passport confiscated and was stranded in Iran with her grandparents after her mother Nazanin was jailed. He left left a giant birthday card on the doorstep of the Iranian embassy in central London to mark her second birthday in June 2016. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures Nazanin has spent some of her prison sentence in solitary confinement. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella. Family Handout Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures July 2016 Richard Ratcliffe delivering a letter of petition with his mother Barbara Ratcliffe and MP Tulip Siddiq, to 10, Downing Street on the 100th day of her detention, on July 12, 2016. Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures Supporters of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe held a vigil outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to mark her 707 days in captivity. Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures January 2017 Richard Ratcliffe holds a '#Free Nazanin' sign and candle during a vigil for for wife on January 16, 2017. The vigil, being held outside the Iranian Embassy in London marks one year since the Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and other US-Iranian dual-nationals were released from prison in Iran. Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures Nazanin with her daughter Gabriella before they were detained by Iranian authorities. Change.org Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures September 2017 Gabriella, who is three-years-old in this picture, has now spent two years away from her mother. Richard Ratcliffe Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures November 2017 Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson meets with Richard Ratcliffe over Nazanin's case. They meet just days after Johnson told a parliamentary committee that she was in Iran "training journalists". WPA Pool/Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures November 2017 Actor Emma Thompson braved pneumonia to support Richard Ratcliffe in leading demonstrators before a march in support of Nazanin in November. Reuters Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures November 2017 Richard Ratcliffe after the march said: 'It is profoundly moving to see so many people here.' REUTERS Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures November 2017 A picture of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe shown on Iranian state TV as part of a report that made fresh allegations against her. They said she had been recruiting for banned broadcast services, as well as 'opposition cyber teams'. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures December 2017 Iranian president Hassan Rouhani greets British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson at the presidential office in Tehran, Iran. Johnson visited Tehran to discuss the fate of detained Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. EPA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter Gabriella. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures December 2017 Photos of Richard Ratcliffe and his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on display at their home in north London. Mr Ratcliffe said he believed there was "still a chance" she may be released from an Iranian prison in time for a dream Christmas together. Unfortunately that didn't happen. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures February 2018 Richard Ratcliffe delivers a petition and a letter addressed to the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to demand her release, at the Iranian Embassy in London on February 21, 2018. He also left support letters for his spouse in the country's embassy, amid a visit by a deputy foreign minister. AFP/Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures August 2018 Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt meeting Richard Ratcliffe. Hunt has pledged to do everything possible to secure the release of a charity worker jailed in Iran Jeremy Hunt/PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe  in pictures August 2018 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugs her daughter Gabriella, in Iran after she was allowed to leave the Iranian prison, she is being held in, for three days. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a holiday with her toddler daughter in April 2016. Iranian authorities accuse her of plotting against the government. Her family denies this, saying says she was in Iran to visit family. PA

Mr Ratcliffe, a North London accountant, added: For Nazanin to face being convicted a second time for something we didnt think was a crime the first time round is bewildering. Its quite a muddle, isnt it?

Mr Ratcliffe said that during the hearing, Revolutionary Court Judge Salavati had been, oddly, quite nice.

But he added that his wifes lawyer had been turned away when he turned up at court, and that during the hearing the judge had told her: This morning someone called and said he is your lawyer. But I do not accept him for security cases. He has not been approved.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was allowed to talk after the hearing to Rob Macaire, the newly appointed British ambassador in Iran, and she asked him to issue a diplomatic letter of protest.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffes case was thrown into the media spotlight six months ago when a gaffe by Boris Johnson appeared to have significantly worsened her plight.

The foreign secretary was widely condemned in November when he told a committee of MPs that the mother-of-one had been teaching journalists in Iran.

In fact, the charity worker has never taught journalists in her life and is not even a trained journalist. She had gone to Tehran on holiday, hoping to visit her parents and other family members with her 21-month-old daughter Gabriella.

But Iranian state media portrayed Mr Johnsons words as an accidental confession that Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe was a spy.

The foreign secretary eventually apologised and promised to leave absolutely no stone unturned in his efforts to secure her release.

Mr Ratcliffe said at the time that his wife was on the verge of a nervous breakdown and had expressed anger at Mr Johnson over the shambles her case had become.

Mr Ratcliffe has also said he suspects his wife remains in jail because Britain and Iran insist on haggling over the precise interest rate to be paid by the UK to settle a 450m debt from a 1970s arms deal.

Britain had taken upfront payment to supply Chieftain tanks to the Shah of Iran, but pocketed the money and refused to deliver the weapons after the Iranian ruler was deposed in the 1979 revolution that brought Ayatollah Khomeini to power.

The Iranian government has said Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has always been fairly treated according to due judicial process after being detained due to illegal acts.A 20-year-old Palestinian is in a critical condition after setting himself on fire in what is believed to have been a protest over the horrific living conditions in the blockaded Gaza Strip.

Fathi Harb reportedly shouted damn Hamas before dousing himself in petrol and setting it alight in Sheikh Radwan on Saturday night.

A graphic video of the incident shows Mr Harb lying on the ground screaming as onlookers attempt to put out the flames with rugs and buckets of water.

His family told media the young man suffered from personal problems and was despairing over the poverty inflicted by Hamas, the militant group that seized control of the territory in 2007.

His mother told the Associated Press her son was unable to find permanent employment and took whatever jobs he could find to support his wife and unborn first child. She said she had no idea of her sons intentions beforehand.

What can a man do when his wife is giving birth and he has no money for a doctor, diapers and milk? she said.

 Israeli drones fire tear gas as clashes erupt at Gaza-Israel border protests

Suicide rates in Gaza have risen sharply in the past year, a phenomenon blamed on the increasing humanitarian crisis facing the strip a decade into a joint Israeli-Egyptian blockade on the area.

A 2017 report from the UN found that combined electricity and water crises, continued shortages of building materials and medical supplies, lack of freedom of movement and a collapsed economy where unemployment is running at 45 per cent has made the Gaza Strip unliveable.

Both Israel and the West Banks Palestinian Authority have been accused of escalating the humanitarian crisis in order to weaken Hamass grip on the territory, squeezing the group financially.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

Israel says the blockade  criticised as collective punishment for Gazas two million residents  is necessary for security purposes.

The strip saw the worst violence since the last Hamas-Israel war in 2014 last week when Israeli forces shot and killed 60 people protesting at the border over both living conditions and the US embassys move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) troops were instructed to respond to attempts to break the blockade with live fire, a strategy widely condemned by rights groups and the international community.

Also over the weekend, 19 people were arrested for allegedly assaulting an officer during a protest against the violence in Gaza in the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

Prominent Arab Israeli rights activist Jafar Farah alleges police broke his knee during his detention.

A police investigation has been opened into the incident and a judge ordered the protesters release on Monday.Monsoon season has almost arrived on the Socotra archipelago.

Overnight on Thursday, the first storm of the year, Cyclone Sagar, began forming over the Gulf of Aden. As the winds picked up to 80kph (50mph) and the water began to churn, fishermen were warned not to take their boats out.

For the next two months, the Arabian Sea will be too dangerous to cross and the isolated Yemeni island will be almost completely cut off from the outside world.

Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Show all 17 1 /17 Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' 11-year-old Marwa uses the red sap of dragon's blood trees to make nail varnish and make up. This specimen of the endemic Socotran tree is more than 1,000 years old. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Dragon's blood trees' grow via dichotomous branching, wherein each of the branches divides into two sections. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Detwah lagoon, next to the village of Qalansiyah, used to be a popular spot for camping trips. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Socotras estimated 60,000 inhabitants mainly rely on the islands fish stocks, date-yielding palm trees and goats for food. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Fish, squid and lobster populations are declining thanks to overfishing and the effects of climate change. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Most of Socotra's unique plant life is believed to be derived from subtropical forests dating back 20 million years. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Dragon's blood trees are adapted to survive in arid climates but need cool and misty mountainsides. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' In the 1990s, UN biologists documented nearly 700 species on Socotra that are found nowhere else on Earth. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' The Socotra Archipelago has been gradually drying out over hundreds of years, threatening the delicate ecosystem's survival. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Dozens of rusted Soviet tanks line Socotra's shores, unused relics left over from the Cold War. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' The mountains on the island's eastern side are covered in fine white coral sand, blown there during monsoon seasons. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' The island's granite and limestone cliffs are covered in a permanent mist. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' A red snapper for dinner, a gift from a fisherman. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Socotra's Hajhir mountain range rises above the main town of Hadibo. Its jagged peaks can be seen from almost every corner of the island. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' In the last 200 years, entire dragon's blood forests have been felled to make way for the growing population. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Two huge typhoons in 2015 killed hundreds of mature dragon's blood trees. Locals worry newly planted trees will not grow quickly enough. Bethan McKernan Yemen's Socotra Island, the 'Jewel of Arabia' Fishing dhows return to the village of Qalansiyah at sunset. Bethan McKernan

The only way on or off the Unesco-protected paradise will be the airstrip. Its not clear, however, whether any of the three flights a week will run. No one really knows whos in charge.

In the last two weeks the Arab coalition helping Yemens exiled government fight Houthi rebels on the mainland has ruptured in a standoff over geopolitically strategic Socotra. The islands 60,000 inhabitants have taken to the streets demanding either the removal of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Yemeni government, or independence from both.

The UAE bought tanks and heavy artillery to the island for the first time, and kicked Yemeni workers out of the airstrip and port. The Yemeni government, enraged at the violation of its sovereignty, responded by inviting a Saudi delegation to act as peace broker. The Saudis also brought troops, which appear to have remained.

Socotra combines both the UAEs military and economic interests ( (Louis Dore)

Yemens prime minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr announced on Monday that the crisis on the island is over and that Yemens flag is flying above our sea and airports again. But in conversations with residents, local leaders and activists in Socotra, The Independent has discovered the picture on the ground looks very different.

Our eyewitness report revealed how since Yemens war began the UAE has all but annexed Socotra, building a military base, conducting its own census and possibly even holding a Crimea-style referendum.

With Saudi Arabia beginning to assert itself on the island, the Emirates quiet ambitions in this part of the world are now being directly challenged.

A clever blend of Emirati hard and soft power is rapidly changing life for people in Socotra and southern Yemen, as well as Somaliland, Djibouti, Eritrea and Port Sudan  all places which touch the Red Sea, the worlds most important oil and gas shipping channel.

Socotra, the epicentre of this new power struggle, has become the first real challenge for the UAE as it strives to establish a 21st-century military empire to rival Saudi Arabias regional dominance.

Socotra now holds the key to the future of the strained Arab coalition and the future of Yemen, a country already coming apart at the seams.

We refuse to replace the UAE occupation with a Saudi one

Ahmed bin Daghr flew to Socotra two weeks ago for a rare visit designed to reassert Yemens sovereignty over Socotra. Instead, many sources on the island think the prime minister found himself trapped there, subject to the whims of the UAE, which rolled out tanks in a show of military might.

The panicked Yemeni delegation called the Saudis  the keystone of the coalition and main financial backer of the war against the Iran-backed Houthis  to send a mediation committee. Talks over several days after Yemen officially demanded the UAE scale back its military presence did not go well. On 13 May, the Saudis landed another plane, this time carrying armed troops.

The presence of Saudi troops is alarming, Tawakkol Karman, a Yemeni human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been vocal about the situation on Socotra, told The Independent. We should not trust these agendas.

Members of Yemens exiled government have circulated pictures of what is supposedly UAE forces leaving Socotra in recent days (Yemeni government handout)

In a Facebook post sent from the safety of the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Thursday, Daghr announced he had finally returned home to the seat of the exiled Yemeni cabinet and that Socotra was safely in Yemeni hands once more.

Pictures have surfaced of Emirati tanks and armoured vehicles being loaded back onto a C-17 military cargo plane. It is not clear whether the Saudi soldiers remain on the island; The Independent's requests for information from Riyadh, Aden and Abu Dhabi have not been answered.

Not everyone is convinced this is the end of the matter. Even officials within Yemens government are not towing the official line.

One pro-UAE local government official on Socotra told The Independent Emirati troops are staying on the island and people are happy with that fact.

And Tarek Salam, the governor of Aden, Yemens interim capital which is de facto run and defended from al Qaeda by the UAE has been critical of Emirati activity on Socotra, which he says is continuing.

They still want to transform this beautiful island full of protected landscapes into one of the Emirates, the eighth Emirate, he said in an interview with UNews TV on Wednesday.

The last two weeks have been marked by several protests on Socotra, whether in support of Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi or Abu Dhabis crown prince Mohammad bin Zayed (Saad Ahmed Kaddoumi)

The UAE now has competition.

Not only will the UAE not really leave Socotra, there are now Saudi forces there as well, Karman said.

We refuse to replace the UAE occupation with a Saudi one. These countries are just taking turns to devastate Yemen and impose control, and on Socotra that affects the rare ecosystem there too, she added.

Now theyve arrived, the Saudis seem intent on staying: On Thursday the Saudi ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed Al Jaber, announced that his country would be covering all of the underdeveloped islands water and electricity needs from now on  a role previously filled by the UAE.

At a ceremony covered by Saudi news outlets, Jaber laid a foundation stone at the site of three new wells in the main town of Hadibo, the first of several planned construction projects.

A would-be Sultan capitalises on anti-occupation sentiment

The coalition is now all smiles and handshakes over Socotra. The crisis is definitely over, Yemeni cabinet spokesperson Rajeh Badi said via WhatsApp.

 UK government says its heart 'goes out' to relatives of Yemen wedding airstrike victims but refuses to halt arms sales to Saudi

Coalition spokesperson Turki al Malki told media in comments aired on Saudi Arabias al Arabiya TV that Socotra is being run in coordination between the Yemeni government, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

The UAE, which has not publicly addressed the standoff except to say it has no ambitions in sisterly Yemen or any part of it, released a statement last week detailing two decades of development and support provided to the island.

Discontent over the Saudi and UAE role in Yemens complex three-year-old war is still brewing on both the island and Yemens mainland, despite the fact the authorities have drawn a line under the Socotra incident.

Adens governor is not the only agitator. Mahra on Yemens east coast used to be part of a sultanate which also included Socotra until the British created a protectorate in 1886.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Issa al Aafrar, an Oman-based and Omani-funded descendent of the old Sultan, is now positioning himself as an alternative option for Socotra and Mahras future.

Mahra, home to Saudi forces since December last year, is becoming tense and more polarised as a result, said Dr Elisabeth Kendall of Oxford University.

Saudi Arabia has succeeded in winning some support among the northern desert tribes in Mahra, owing to its efforts to clamp down on smuggling and its donations of much-needed equipment like generators, she said.

But there is still much hostility to Saudi intervention.

Reported Saudi plans to open a conservative religious school angered locals, and worried peaceful neighbouring Oman.

Sheikh Aafrar visited Mahra earlier this month, whipping up anti-coalition sentiment with protests and sit-ins demanding the Saudis vacate the area, and the UAE leave Socotra.

Socotra is caught in the middle of the Gulf's changing balance of power

The unrest is fuelled by the fact no details about the supposed deal struck for Socotra have been released.

Despite statements of concern and calls for de-escalation from the US State Department, Turkey and the office of Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy to Yemen, the Arab coalitions conclusions remain unknown.

I doubt that Socotra will be abandoned by the coalition, despite current claims that an agreement has been reached which will see the departure of UAE forces from the island, Dr Kendall said.

The issue has also highlighted many coalition fault lines.

On the island itself, many residents expressed relief that the tensions of the last few weeks appear to have eased.

But even if the presence of Saudi or UAE officials is now declared to be purely for humanitarian or development interests, Socotris are keenly aware that their long-isolated paradise is no longer safe from the vagaries of Yemens war and the ambitions of its players.

Maybe this was always going to happen, an anti-UAE activist from Socotra who has since left the island said.

Maybe nowhere can stay an island forever anymore. But I am sad I have lived to see this and I have no power to change it.American officials joined much of the world in swiftly condemning the Venezuelan election keeping strongman Nicolas Maduro in power as a sham, continuing to put pressure on Mr Maduros regime.

Venezuelas election was a sham - neither free nor fair. The illegitimate result of this fake process is a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela, vice president Mike Pence said in a statement.

Pointing to a mass exodus of Venezuelans who were voting with their feet in seeking to escape a collapsing economy and shortages of food and medicines, Mr Pence said the United States will not sit idly by as Venezuela crumbles and the misery of their brave people continues.

After newly elevated secretary of state Mike Pompeo suggested America could impose fresh penalties in response to a fraudulent election, the White House announced Donald Trump had signed an order intended to bar Venezuelan officials from liquidating their assets in a fire sale - a move Mr Trump called the latest penalty targeting the Maduro regime.

This money belongs to the Venezuelan people, Mr Trump said in a statement. We call for the Maduro regime to restore democracy, hold free and fair elections, release all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally, and end the repression and economic deprivation of the Venezuelan people.

Even before the election took place, the US and other nations cautioned that the outcome would be predetermined. Arguing the regime had already rigged the result by muzzling political opponents and stacking key government bodies with allies, Mr Pence called on Venezuela earlier this month to suspend the upcoming vote and hold real elections.

In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Show all 22 1 /22 In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela A girl scavanges for food in the streets of Caracas Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela A man scavenges for food next to girls in the streets of Caracas. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is resisting opposition efforts to hold a vote on removing him from office. The opposition blames him for an economic crisis that has caused food shortages Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Venezuelans line up to get the 'Fatherland's Card' at Bolivar Square in Caracas Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela The mother of Venezuelan Rebecca Leon, who scavenges for food in the streets of Caracas, feeds her grandson at their house in Petare shantytown. Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Venezuelan Rebecca Leon, who scavenges for food in the streets of Caracas, with her two-year-old son at her house in Petare shantytown Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Members of a pro-government community organisation work in an expropriated bakery in Caracas. Supported by popular militiamen, Venezuelan government inspectors oversee bakeries as bread comes out of the oven, to undermine an alleged plot to induce scarcity of this staple food Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Forensic police stand next to the body of a man outside a supermarket, where he died of a heart attack after waiting in a long line to buy food, in Caracas Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Venezuelan opposition activists take part in a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro at the Francisco Fajardo highway in Caracas Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela National guard throws a tear gas canister during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Opposition supporter shouts at a police officer during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Opposition supporters clash with national guards during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela A boy wearing a t-shirt with the colours of the Venezuelan national flag, during a demonstration against President Nicolas Maduro's government at Foreign Affairs Ministery, in Buenos Aires, Argentina AP In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Protesters cover themselves from tear gas fired by the Venezuelan National Guard officers during a protest in Caracas AP In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Opposition supporters clash with national guards during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Venezuelan opposition activists take part in a protest -blocked by the National Guard- against the government of President Nicolas Maduro at the Francisco Fajardo highway in Caracas Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela A Venezuelan national guard reacts to the effect of pepper spray during a protest of opposition supporters against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Opposition supporters holding a Venezuelan flag protest against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government during a rally in Caracas Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Opposition supporters clash with riot police during a protest against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Opposition supporters protest against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government during a rally in Caracas Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Venezuela's Supreme Court abandoned measures to seize power from the opposition-controlled legislature after the moves drew international condemnation and raised pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. The president of Venezuela's National Assembly Julio Borges dismissed the court's gesture and told reporters that nothing had changed and the coup continued Getty Images In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Venezuelans living in Peru and other protesters take part in a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government, outside the Venezuela embassy in Lima, Peru Reuters In pictures: The crisis in Venezuela Venezuelans living in Peru and other protesters take part in a rally against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government, outside the Venezuela embassy in Lima, Peru Reuters

Once the expected result was in, with Mr Maduro registering an overwhelming victory in a landslide affair, Latin American nations joined the US in dismissing the election as illegitimate. The Lima group of Latin American nations also refused to honour the results of the election and said member nations were downgrading their diplomatic relations with Venezuela.

Taking into account the lack of legitimacy of the electoral process, we do not recognise the results, Argentinas Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said, adding that the polling excluded the participation of some political actors.

Echoing that denunciation, Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy said on Twitter that the election has not respected the most basic democratic standards and warned that Spain and its European partners will study appropriate measures in response.

As life under Mr Maduros government has become increasingly marked by soaring prices and daily deprivation, the Trump administration has sought to squeeze the regime by clamping multiple rounds of sanctions on government officials. Earlier this year Mr Trump has referred to the situation in Venezuela as a horror show

 Opposition protesters clash with security forces in Venezuela

In the weeks before the election the US imposed a fresh round of sanctions, saying the economic penalties sought to stifle a drug trafficking network that was overseen by regime officials. American officials have advocated regime change in Venezuela and have called on other Latin American nations to help isolate the Maduro government.

We believe it is time to do more, much more, Mr Pence said in an address to 35-member Organisation of American States in Washington this month. Every free nation gathered here must take stronger action to stand with the Venezuelan people and stand up to their oppressors.

Broadsides against American imperialism have been a common thread between Mr Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez, and Mr Maduro earlier this month blasted the regime of Donald Trump for enacting supremacist policies and targeting Venezuela with unilateral coercive measures.Hundreds of flights have been cancelled as French air-traffic controllers join a national strike by public sector workers in France.

The USAC-CGT union said its members would strike from Monday evening to Wednesday morning for the defence of public service, adding: We must resist the erosion of human rights.

Recommended Rail chaos on first working day of huge train timetable changes

French air-traffic control (ATC) handles more flights than any other country in Europe, due to the size of the country and the fact that many aircraft traverse its territory between northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Iberian peninsula.

A Notice to Airmen issued by the DGAC, the French aviation authority, said: ATC capacity will be determined according to available staff.

Airlines serving Paris Orly, Lyon and Marseille airports have already been told to cut one in five flights.

Ryanair, the biggest budget airline in Europe, made dozens of cancellations on Sunday evening once it became clear that the strike was going ahead.

The airline said: Due to yet another French ATC strike, Ryanair regrets to inform customers that it has been forced to cancel a number of flights on Tuesday 22 May.

All affected customers have been contacted by email and text message and advised of their options: a full refund, rebooking on to the next available flight or free transfer to an alternative flight.

Due to this unjustified ATC strike action, we also expect delays to flights to/from/over France and we advise customers due to travel on Tuesday to check the status of their flight on the Ryanair.com website.

Under European passengers rights rules, passengers are entitled to meals and accommodation until they can be flown to their destination  which may be on another airline if Ryanair has no availability on the day of travel or the following day.

No cash compensation is payable.

British Airways has cancelled at least 36 flights on Tuesday, connecting London with France, Spain, Switzerland and Italy.

Barcelona is worst affected, with three round-trips from Heathrow cancelled. Two return journeys to each of Madrid, Marseille, Paris CDG and Geneva have been cancelled.

The airline said: We are unfortunately expecting a day of industrial action by air traffic controllers, as part of wider general strike in France on Tuesday 22 May.

We will be using larger aircraft, where possible, to help affected customers and are doing all we can to reduce the levels of disruption.

We recognise that you may not wish to travel as a result. We have therefore introduced a more flexible rebooking policy to help customers travel on alternative dates and avoid the strike action.

Anyone who bought a BA ticket before 18 May to or from any French airport as well as Barcelona and Madrid on a British Airways-operated flight on Tuesday 22 May can switch to Monday, Wednesday or Thursday, regardless of whether their flight is operating or not.

Air France is also allowing passengers booked on Tuesday to travel instead on any day up to Friday. The French carrier has suffered months of disruption in a pay dispute with pilots, ground staff and cabin crew.

Sixty per cent of all easyJet flights traverse French airspace. The airline said: We expect that there will be delays and cancellations due to the industrial action, therefore we advise all customers to check the status of their flight.

Please also be aware that public transport services will be affected by the strike. We recommend all customers allow plenty of extra time to get to the airport and consider alternative transport options where possible.

On Wednesday and Thursday, French rail workers will be continuing their series of two-day strikes in a dispute over modernisation plans and opening the nations railways to competition.Posted Thursday, April 5, 2018 11:55 am

The iconic red and yellow sign of Theios is dark and so is the former 24-hour eatery.

On March 27, Lansing Township Building Inspector Daniel Richards slapped a bright orange sticker on the front door of the Michigan Avenue restaurant announcing the building was condemned and unfit for human occupancy.

Richards said his inspection showed serious electrical problems. He said he took action after consulting with the Fire Department.

Theios fate is uncertain. Owner Virginia Pulido could not be reached for comment. Pulido had already reduced the hours to 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., thus ending a 41-year tradition of late-night comfort food for bar goers in the area. Michigan State University students were also regulars because of its proximity to East Lansing. Theios is at 2650 E. Michigan Ave., near Macs Bar.

Nick Mangopoulos owned and ran the business for 24 years until he sold it to Kim Cha Uebel in 2017, who in turn sold it to Pulido.

Pulido dismissed the longtime staff, causing frustrations with longtime customers, and shut down for a deep cleaning, she said earlier. The Ingham County Health Department conducted an inspection at Theios last week, the same day at the building inspection, but results were not yet available.A key metric used by the railway industry is tph  trains per hour. Tens of thousands of commuters left standing on the first working day of the new train timetables were more concerned by cph  cancellations per hour.

At London St Pancras, the station at the heart of the changes in southeast England, 11 trains were cancelled in the key 8am to 9am hour, and a further eight from 5pm to 6pm. Between them, that represents around 20,000 seats which were unavailable to passengers heading for Peterborough, Brighton, Cambridge and Horsham.

In northwest England, the cancellation count was lower  just five trains in the 5pm-6pm schedule, thwarting journeys to Preston, Manchester Airport and Blackpool  but delays extended to half-an-hour or more.

While many commuters enjoyed an excellent start to the week, thanks to more resilient and realistic timetabling on many lines, tens of thousands of passengers have had a miserable Monday and are dreading an equally terrible Tuesday.

Even as the cancellations at St Pancras multiplied, Thameslinks Twitter feed was telling anyone who asked that an operational incident was responsible for the fact that they would be home an hour late.

The reality, both in the Southeast and Northwest, was that the train operators do not have enough trained drivers to operate the new pattern of services.

Both Northern and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) are pointing a finger at Network Rail, saying that the infrastructure provider had not given them sufficient time to get their ducks in a row.

We have over 400 drivers that operate on the Blackpool North route and all of them need to be retrained after the engineering work, which finished four weeks later than planned, Northern told one customer.

No-one would dispute that the train firms, egged on by the Department for Transport, had set their sights extremely high.

The work that has been going on at huge expense to the taxpayer in the Southeast and the Northwest will prove to be a valuable investment to extract more capacity from a Victorian railway network, providing more resilient schedules, increased frequencies and a higher chance of a seat, and in many cases faster journeys.

But as with the botched opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow a decade ago, it appears that the managers involved did not raise concerns in time to take remedial action, and instead crossed their fingers and hoped it would be all right on the night.

As with Terminal 5, a similarly ambitious big bang, it became clear before 6am that the wheels were falling off  three trains in a row from East Croydon to London Bridge, a key commuter link, were cancelled.

If, a week ago, the train operators had said that they would have to work to an emergency timetable with perhaps one in three trains cut, commuters would have grumbled but at least have avoided last-minute cancellations.

Robert Nisbet, regional director at the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the rail industry, said: Retiming over 100,000 services is a huge operational challenge. The travelling public understands that, and also that plans can unravel. But the earlier the misfortune is relayed, the sooner they can make alternative arrangements.

GTR and Northern would be well advised to deliver all the remaining bad news immediately.

The train operators were always going to get a kicking from commuters in the relatively few towns which have been dealt a demonstrably worse hand of rush-hour trains, such as Harpenden in Hertfordshire and Redhill in Surrey. Meltdown Monday has incensed a much wider audience.Somethings going on in each of the two main parties when it comes to Brexit.

On the one hand, Michel Barnier, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator, said last week that there had been little progress since March, and that there was a risk of failure. On the other hand, events are forcing both the government and Labour to face up to the fact that neither of their positions on Brexit are sustainable. One senses the tectonic plates are moving. Why?

On the Conservative side, the prime minister proposed a hard Brexit to the British people at last years election and consequently she lost her majority.

 EU minister says little progress has been made on Brexit since March

Jacob Rees-Mogg and the shadowy European Research Group (ERG) may still want a Brexit in which the UK has no involvement in the economic structures  the customs union and single market  of the EU, nor its agencies or its rules and regulations (what they call a clean break), but the election demonstrated there was insufficient support in the country for that model. And the resulting arithmetic in the House of Commons means there arent the votes to get such a proposition through.

Unfortunately, Theresa Mays first priority is to retain her office; everything else  including the national interest  is secondary. She is petrified that if she does not dance to the tune of the ERG, then they will precipitate a leadership contest.

However, if a vote of confidence were triggered before Brexit is due in March 2019, most Tory MPs I speak to  on both sides of the Brexit divide  believe she would win, because there is no desire to change leaders beforehand and they cannot agree on who her successor should be.

Indeed, she would be well advised to follow the example of a former prime minister, John Major. Like May, Major faced constant aggro from the Tory hard right over Europe, with constant rumours of a possible leadership challenge in the 1990s.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 10 October 2021 A young girl is helped by a Border Force officer as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, following a small boat incident in the Channel. PA UK news in pictures 9 October 2021 People walk past a life-size sculpture of British singer John Lennon entitled "Imagine", by sculptor Lawrence Holofcener, displayed to mark what would have been the 81st birthday for the former member of the Beatles in Carnaby Street Reuters UK news in pictures 8 October 2021 WW II veteran, 96-year-old Lorna Cockayne, who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), popularly and officially known as the Wrens, as a Bletchley Park codebreaker, poses for a photograph with the Legion d'honneur after receiving it during a ceremony at the Pear at Parley in Ferndown, Bournemouth PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. 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PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA

Finally, in June 1995, he resigned as Tory leader but not as prime minister, challenging his detractors to put up or shut up. The only person to challenge him was John Redwood, the then-Welsh secretary (and now part of the ERG), who ended up receiving 27 per cent of votes against Majors 66 per cent. I hazard a guess that should Jacob Rees-Mogg or Boris Johnson do the same today, they would suffer the same fate as Redwood.

I put this idea to a sitting senior cabinet minister last month  a May loyalist  who thought the suggestion had some merit, if only for the prime minister to reassert her authority over her cabinet. This cabinet minister made the observation that every Tory leader since Major had failed to learn that the hard Brexit right of the Tory parliamentary party will never be satisfied, so there is no point throwing them red meat in the hope of sating their appetite.

The penny is also beginning to drop with the hard right themselves on the parliamentary arithmetic issue. One leading figure in the ERG  a former minister under May  told me last week that they know changing the leader may make matters worse. If one of their own were to succeed May, this ERG stalwart acknowledged they are less likely to be able to marshal the votes for the extreme Brexit they seek.

Recommended UN urges UK to not abandon EU environmental protections after Brexit

On the Labour side, our demand that Mays Brexit deal deliver the exact same benefits as the single market and customs union lacks credibility (as Ive written before), so long as our front bench refuses to sign up to a policy that seeks to ensure the UK continues to participate in both. Barry Gardiner, our shadow international development secretary, trotted out the usual line that it is legitimate to set such a test given it was the Tory Brexit secretary David Davis who promised it (since when did we allow Davis to write Labours policies?).

His line of argument ran into choppy waters on BBC1s Andrew Marr Show given Barry himself is on the record pointing out the contradiction in our position.

The Lewisham East constituency Labour Party has just selected our parliamentary candidate in the by-election to succeed the wonderful Heidi Alexander, who is to become Londons deputy mayor for transport. Our new candidate, Janet Daby, could not be clearer about her position: I will always put the interest of our community first. I believe we should stay in both the single market and customs union.

Recommended Barry Gardiner confronted with Good Friday agreement remarks

This is not the position of the front bench but, if she is elected, it is clear she would vote for (as will I) Lord Allis cross-party amendment to ensure the UK continues to participate in the single market through the European Economic Area (EEA) when the EU (Withdrawal) Bill comes back to the Commons for consideration.

The principal excuse now cited by our front bench for not supporting UK membership of the EEA is that it will turn us from a rule-maker, with a vote on the European Council on EEA rules, to a rule receiver. This is not strictly accurate.

EEA members sit on the committees that draw up EEA rules which we will, in any event, have to comply with if selling into the EU market under a free trade agreement (which Labour says is its goal). If non-EU members of the EEA unanimously wish not to apply the rules in their countries, they may choose to do so. So less a rule receiver, more a rule shaper.

Also, if we joined the EEA the notion that it would stay the same is unlikely. As Lord John Kerr, the former permanent under secretary of the Foreign Office, has argued, the EEA is not a perfect model  but a different more powerful EEA would emerge if we were part of it. This is no doubt why the Norwegian Prime Minister has said: I think we will cope very well if the Brits come in. It will give bargaining power on our side too.

Above all, the Irish border issue is bringing matters to a head. Both main parties say unequivocally they wish to ensure there is no hard border on the island of Ireland. To achieve that  as Ive set out before  we will need to continue to participate in the customs union and the EEA, in the absence of any alternative solution.

Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An abandoned shop is seen in Mullan, Co Monaghan. The building was home to four families who left during the Troubles. The town was largely abandoned after the hard border was put in place during the conflict. Mullan has seen some regeneration in recent years, but faces an uncertain future with Brexit on the horizon Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A defaced Welcome to Northern Ireland sign stands on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Mervyn Johnson owns a garage in the border town of Pettigo, which straddles the counties of Donegal and Fermanagh. Ive been here since 1956, it was a bit of a problem for a few years. My premises has been blown up about six or seven times, we just kept building and starting again, Johnson said laughing. We just got used to it [the hard border] really but now that its gone, we wouldn't like it back again Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Farmer Gordon Crocketts Coshquin farm straddles both Derry/Londonderry in the North and Donegal in the Republic. At the minute there is no real problem, you can cross the border as free as you want. We could cross it six or eight times a day, said Crockett. If there was any sort of obstruction it would slow down our work every day Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures John Murphy flies the European flag outside his home near the border village of Forkhill, Co Armagh Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Potter Brenda McGinn stands outside her Mullan, Co Monaghan, studio  the former Jas Boylan shoe factory which was the main employer in the area until it shut down due to the Troubles. When I came back, this would have been somewhere you would have driven through and have been quite sad. It was a decrepit looking village, said McGinn, whose Busy Bee Ceramics is one of a handful of enterprises restoring life to the community. Now this is a revitalised, old hidden village Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Union Flag colours painted on kerbstones and bus-stops along the border village of Newbuildings, Co Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Grass reflected in Lattone Lough, which is split by the border between Cavan and Fermanagh, seen from near Ballinacor, Northern Ireland Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Donegalman David McClintock sits in the Border Cafe in the village of Muff, which straddles Donegal and Derry/Londonderry Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures An old Irish phone box stands alongside a bus stop in the border town of Glaslough, Co Monaghan Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Billboards are viewed from inside a disused customs hut in Carrickcarnon, Co Down, on the border with Co Louth in the Republic Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Seamus McQuaid takes packages that locals on the Irish side of the border have delivered to his business, McQuaid Auto-Parts, to save money on postal fees, near the Co Fermanagh village of Newtownbutler. I live in the south but the business is in the North, said McQaid. "I wholesale into the Republic of Ireland so if theres duty, Ill have to set up a company 200 yards up the road to sell to my customers. Ill have to bring the same product in through Dublin instead of Belfast Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A disused Great Northern Railway line and station that was for customs and excise on the border town of Glenfarne, Co Leitrim Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures Alice Mullen, from Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, does her shopping at a former customs post on the border in Middletown, Co Armagh. Id be very worried if it was a hard border, I remember when people were divided. I would be very afraid of the threat to the peace process, it was a dreadful time to live through. Even to go to mass on a Sunday, youd have to go through checkpoints. It is terribly stressful, said Mullen. All those barricades and boundaries were pulled down. I see it as a huge big exercise of trust and I do believe everyone breathed a sigh of relief Reuters Brexit threatens life on the Irish border: in pictures A bus stop and red post box stand in the border town of Jonesborough, Co Armagh Reuters

The UK government in affect agreed to this at the December European Council, but has since tried to backtrack. But the Irish government is clear it will enforce this commitment and if necessary will veto any Brexit deal which does not adhere to it.

The British government so far has believed the Irish governments position to be a bargaining ploy. Increasingly though, UK ministers recognise that our Irish partners and friends mean what they say. One only needs to read the new Queens University Belfast report out today into public attitudes to Brexit in Northern Ireland to see why.

That report found substantial and intense opposition to possible north-south border checks between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and to east-west border checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Across those who voted both Leave and Remain, there are strong expectations that protests against either north-south or east-west border checks would quickly deteriorate into violence.

The report concludes that a majority in both Catholic and Protestant communities want a Brexit that would largely eliminate the need for any such north-south or east-west checks, namely for the UK as a whole to remain in the customs union and single market. This necessitates both the Tories and Labour changing position.

As each week goes by it is ever clearer that the Brexit staring us in the face in 2018 is very different from that which was envisaged  it all lends further weight to calls for a peoples vote on the Brexit deal.

Love conquers all

So... did you watch the wedding? We certainly did in my household! It should not matter but, for a family like mine, it does.

When I was growing up in Streatham, even in our diverse borough of Lambeth, our mixed heritage family was unusual. My mother is half English and half Irish; my late father was Nigerian (Igbo to be precise!). Ive felt lucky to be comfortable and at ease with all my cultures when, too often, others seek to force you to choose between them.

Therefore, to see two people in our royal family of different backgrounds fall in love is particularly poignant and a cause for celebration. In this context, we should be able to say this without feeling the obligatory need to denounce the hereditary principle and our monarchy, or to go to great lengths to explain that even raising the race issue in this context is not to illustrate one has a chip on ones shoulder.

The bottom line is that its just great to see two people  like my parents  from different cultures come together.

When my parents got married in the late 1970s, many wondered how it was possible for a union between two people of different ethnicities to work  now we dont think to question it because, as Bishop Michael Curry said in his wonderful and poetic address at the wedding, There is power in love. Dont underestimate it. Dont even oversentimentalise it. There is power, power in love.

Chuka Umunna is Labour MP for StreathamBishop Michael Currys sermon was full of surprises, but reviews by some in Sydney church circles exposed the ugly underbelly of a war against inclusive values.

Some Australian churches represent the flipside of Bishop Currys internationally broadcast message: one of breaking down barriers and promoting acceptance.

The most shocking aspect of his address, is that he would not be heard from a pulpit in Sydney. In much of Australia (and many parts of the world), the celebrated American preacher is on the banned list for his position on marriage equality.

Most would be surprised that while Australian Anglican clergy can bless pets, boats and toilets, we cannot bless same-sex couples without the wrath of our employers falling upon us  not forgetting that legislation enacted to protect employees from discrimination, abuse and failure of process doesnt apply to church workers.

Church leaders such as Bishop Curry regularly connect the abolition of slavery with the Christian message, but when his diocese (and a very few others) moved to end discrimination and injustice against LGBT+ people they were cut off from much of the Anglican church: notably the Anglican diocese of Sydney.

Australians cannot pretend that we are singing from the same hymn sheet that was used in Windsor.

The same intolerance that opposed Australian marriage equality, to the tune of millions of dollars, now puts public money where its mouth is through tax exemptions which feed the Trojan horse of religious freedom, in order to attack the very values that ought to be universal.

The gift that the royal couple gave to the world didnt arrive in a gold carriage, but through a microphone-like leaflet dropped into occupied territory. The message that love is love, hatred (even faith-based) is hatred, and that the modern world can see past fairytales.

The Venerable Peter MacLeod-Miller, Archdeacon of Albury and the Hume

Albury, Australia

That many commentators of the royal wedding should express surprise at the bishops sermon is a reflection of the ignorance of all too many in our country.

Confident proclamation of the love of God is heard regularly in churches across the nation, and these are the churches which are growing because people find truth and reality in the power of love to change and transform lives, all too often broken as a result of seeking after materialism or escapes from reality such as alcohol, drugs or gambling.

I am sure the Queen was included in the number who were delighted to hear someone excited about the love of God, which has been at the heart of her successful life of service to our nation.

J Longstaff

Buxted

Grenfell inquiry exposes Home Office flaws

Given that the Home Office has been shown, yet again, to have been incompetent and/or malicious, this time with regard to those wishing to attend the Grenfell inquiry, isnt it time we have an inquiry into the Home Office itself, hopefully leading to a root-and-branch reform?

Joanna Pallister

Address supplied

Cliches  done right  can be a delight

Bruce Napiers tongue-in-cheek letter, made entirely of proverbs and idioms, brought a smile. Way back in the 1980s, punk band Splodgenessabounds did the same for their wonderfully catchy ska single, Mouth And Trousers (sadly not a hit), which the likes of Bad Manners and Madness would have given their eyes teeth (sorry!) to have written.

Sadly, a certain Wayne Hussey from Dead or Alive did not get the gag, and his subsequent goth giants The Mission became a standing music industry joke for most of their lyrics being handfuls of random cliches. In March 2018, Rob Manuel of website B3ta put all their lyrics through a Markov chain as an experiment. It was almost impossible to tell the Markovian random generations from the actual lyrics.

Mark Boyle

Renfrewshire

What, exactly, are the benefits of Brexit?

So Brexit will rob us of yet another benefit (your article on European Arrest Warrants). Can anyone name any benefit as a result of Brexit, because all I can see is all the things that are going to get worse? Can we not admit that we just made a big mistake, and go back to where we were two years ago?

Steve Mumby

Bournemouth

Definitions

Whats the collective noun for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex? The Sussices?

Geoffrey Downs

WilsdenNews has broken today of a conversation between Pope Francis and Juan Carlos Cruz (a victim of Chilean abuser Fernando Karadima). Spending three days with the Pope back in April, in the wake of the Chilean abuse scandal, Cruz discussed with El Pais not only the abuse he suffered, but also his sexuality; Cruz happens to be gay.

Speaking to CNN, Cruz recounts the conversation with the Pontifex: You know Juan Carlos, that does not matter. God made you like this. God loves you like this. The Pope loves you like this, and you should love yourself and not worry about what people say.

Following the reports, the Vatican are maintaining their customary silence, with a Vatican spokesperson telling CNN that the Vatican do not normally comment on the Popes private conversations.

When we hear something like this, the tendency is (understandably perhaps) to see this as an indication that maybe, just maybe, we are witnessing the dawn of a brave new world, where  shock horror!  the Roman Catholic Church will advocate that gay people are worthy of being loved. Not an especially radical notion in many circles, but sure, in this case, undoubtedly noteworthy.

What I fear is being missed here though, is the fact that what the Pope said doesnt really contradict the churchs teaching in any way. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (a summary of official church teaching and doctrines, the latest of which was compiled by Pope John Paul II in 1992), does acknowledge that the number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible, advocating that they be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity (Catechism 2358).

From that perspective then, Pope Francis hasnt said anything all that radical.

There is of course a good deal more about homosexuality in the catechism that was not referenced by Pope Francis in his exchange with Cruz, perhaps understandably  and I think it is worth quoting in its entirety, so readers perhaps less familiar with it see how much detail it goes into.

Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved (Catechism 2357).

So  homosexual acts apparently constitute grave depravity, are intrinsically disordered, contrary to the natural law, and should never be approved. What does the church suggest these sorry individuals do? Chastity. Catechism 2359 states that homosexual persons are called to chastity. Its there in black and white.

As someone of any age, but I think especially as a young person discovering their sexuality and growing up in the church, this artificial separation between our inclination to be affectionate and the physical expression of that affection can be profound in its effect.

Pope John Paul II Show all 7 1 /7 Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II holds his arm around Mother Teresa as they ride in the Popemobile outside the Home of the Dying in Kolkata AP Pope John Paul II Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II as they meet at the Vatican, 2000 Pope John Paul II Jimmy Cater and family meet the Pope John Paul II in Rome, 1980 Getty Pope John Paul II Canonised: Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II visits Knock in 1979 Pope John Paul II Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger blesses the coffin of Pope John Paul II during his funeral mass in St Peter's Square at the Vatican City 8 April 2005. Pope John Paul II 2 February 1986: Pope John Paul II in New Delhi looks at a book entitled 'Opening The Eye Of New Awareness', written by Dalai Lama, Spiritual Chief of Tibetan Buddhists.

For someone growing up in a church that takes this approach, like the Catholic Church, the message is clear: the way you love, the way you are, is somehow inherently and unchangeably wrong. For you to express your love is a sin; for you to love, even, is a sin.

Invariably this message will come from people in their life who they have respected, like parents and faith leaders: people who probably genuinely believe they are doing the right thing, and who have their best interests at heart. I know my parents did.

To be told by those you respect most that the way you feel compelled to express love is inherently sinful can echo down a lifetime. The only time Ive really truly considered killing myself was when I came to this realisation.

This stance on homosexuality is, I acknowledge, not something unique to the Roman Catholic Church. The somewhat infamous affirmations of the Evangelical Alliance wrap the Christian bodys anti-gay stance in similarly loving words  gentleness, patience and ongoing pastoral care during this process and after a person renounces same-sex sexual relations, also citing chastity as the only choice  refraining from homoerotic sexual practice.

I welcome any statement from Pope Francis which reminds people that gay people (like anyone) should love themselves. But what he has reportedly intimated to this victim is not radical, it is not new, and it belies a wider official teaching on homosexuality that is very clear  and profoundly damaging.If only Shana Fisher had said yes. This is the implication of countless headlines following Dimitrios Pagourtzis decision to slaughter her along with nine of her teachers and classmates.

According to a Facebook post by Fishers mother, Fisher had four months of problems from this boy where he kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no. He continued to get more aggressive. So a girl endures several months of harassment, until her harasser kills her. How are we supposed to see this?

Spurned advances spark Texas shooting. Texas school shooter killed girl who turned down his advances. Spurned advances provoked incident at Santa Fe high school.

The message, in case youve missed it, is that Fishers rejection  her spurning  of Pagourtzis is what caused his murderous rampage. (As a point of interest, try looking up all news articles with the word spurned in the title. So many men driven to murder! Truly, spurning is the scourge of our times.)

Theres something truly depressing about finding the world view of a killer reflected in the reporting of his crimes. Then again, belief that women and girls exist to tend to the sexual and emotional needs of men and boys is everywhere. It does not confine itself to those murky message boards where incels, MRAs, PUAs or whatever the latest misogyny hate tribe call themselves have decided to congregate.

Its there in every romantic comedy and pop song that recasts male stalking and harassment as the plucky determination of the underdog. Its there in every parenting manual which tells mothers that boys require more attention than girls. Its there every time we lecture girls on how much harder boys find it to express their feelings without using their fists.

Its there in our very concepts of manhood, masculinity and male pride. Men and boys, we are told, have something precious to lose whenever a woman says no. Theres no comparable concept of female pride. Girls who feel ugly, who are mocked for their appearance, who dont get the boy they desire  the vast majority of us, that is  are simply expected to suck it up.

 Texas Lt. Gov. claimed that school shootings could be prevented if there were fewer doors

Teenage girls can be cutting and starving themselves before our very eyes, yet their pain doesnt register. Instead we ask ourselves whether there might not have been something, anything, these girls could have given to the Pagourtzis, Elliot Rodgers and Alek Minassians of this world to make them feel a little less murderous.

Women and girls, as Kate Manne notes in Down Girl, are coded as giving beings.

A giver is the obligated to offer love, sex, attention, affection, and admiration, as well as other forms of emotional, social, reproductive, and caregiving labour  misogyny is then what happens when she errs as a giver  including by refusing to be one whatsoever  or he is a dissatisfied customer, not least because a personalised giver fails to materialise whatsoever.

As a mother of three sons, Im tired of seeing male unhappiness cultivated and weaponised in this way. A feminist approach to raising boys must go beyond allowing our sons to wear dresses and play with dolls. It must even go beyond teaching them the basics of sexual consent. There has to be a fundamental change in how our sons conceptualise their place in the world.

The female half of the human race does not exist to comfort them, validate them, define them, reflect them back at twice their actual size. Not only is such an expectation deeply dismissive of the needs of women and girls, it is bound to make men and boys unhappy. They will always, sooner or later, run up against some form of female refusal to bend to their needs.

Male pride rests on the delusion that females can always be dominated (or persuaded, as it is so often recast). It is a delusion that is poisoning the minds of boys, creating a sense of grievance  and actual pain  where there should be none. For all the bullshit we hear from the Jordan Petersons of this world, there is no possible social arrangement in which men and boys can be guaranteed the willing, uncontested sexual and emotional labour of women and girls. You can brainwash, harass and threaten girls all you want, but even in the most extreme of circumstances they will carry on having minds of their own. Its far easier and kinder to change the expectations of boys.

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

I believe this can be done, but not in a world which seeks to guilt-trip dead girls for their failure to pander to the male ego. And what, one wonders, would have happened had Shana Fisher said yes? How long can a woman serve as a buffer to absorb male disappointment with the world? And when she starts to flag, isnt she always the first to go?

As Manne writes, you cant do much to help or give to someone who, yes, is in genuine pain and lashing out  but only because they feel too needy and illicitly entitled to getting such moral attentions to begin with.

There is nothing Shana Fisher could have given that would have been enough. We can, however, challenge the rage and entitlement she faced. We can all raise our voices to echo her no.Gerry Ryan with a tray of honey at the family farm in Dundrum, Co Tipperary. Photo: John D Kelly

A third of Irish bee species are threatened with extinction with bumblebee populations falling year-on-year due to removal of hedgerows and ditches, use of pesticides and insecticides and climate change.

Tomorrow is the first ever global World Bee Day and experts hope an EU ban on insecticides linked to declining bee populations will help prevent further deterioration of the vital pollinators here.

Local authorities and homeowners could also help by planting bee-friendly flowers including snowdrops, wallflower, lavender and crocus. Flowers like daffodils did not provide bees with a food source and were as useful in helping preserve the species as "planting plastic flowers", one said.

Professor Jane Stout, from Trinity College Dublin, who helped establish the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan to help halt the decline, said while "pretty tough", bees were under pressure.

"It's not just pesticides but fungicides and insecticides too," she said. "It's also changes in how land is managed, which impact on habitats to nest and over-winter, and there's fewer flowers to feed on.

"We also have diseases which are becoming more prolific along with changes in climate with extreme weather events.

"Bees are pretty tough, but all of these different drivers seem to be pushing them to the edge."

The Irish Universities Association has highlighted research taking place in UL, NUI Galway, Maynooth University and TCD around how to identify pressures and help boost population numbers.

They include assessing the impact fertilisers and chemicals have on bees, patterns of urban development and land use management, and pests including the varroa destructor, which is having a devastating impact on colonies.

The Campus Engage project encourages third-levels to partner with community groups and the public where citizen scientists can collect data tracking changes in population, and helping identify the cause.

About 80 volunteers take part in the All-Ireland Bumblebee Monitoring scheme, walking 100 sites to detect declines.

The most recent survey found Irish bumblebee populations last year had fallen by 14.2pc compared with 2012.

Of the 100 bee species here, 30pc are under threat of extinction.

Gerry Ryan, from Dundrum, Co Tipperary, is president of the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations, which has around 4,000 members - double that of a decade ago.

He said cutting of hedgerows, removal of ditches and use of pesticides was having an impact.

"The natural environment is the best," he said. "This time of the year you have the blackthorn in flower, and next week you'll have the whitethorn and they're very valuable for our bees. Bigger farmers and horse owners are taking out all our natural hedgerows left to us by generations of people who have gone before us.

"There is a decline, but in honeybee terms we're holding our own. I'm in a nearly organic environment, but we have members in south Tipperary, Meath and Kildare who are decimated."IFA President Joe Healy, flanked by General Secretary Damian McDonald and IFA Deputy President Richard Kennedy, pictured addressing the 63rd Annual General Meeting of the Irish Farmers Association in Dublin.

THE Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) is facing major questions over its president's salary two years after a row over pay rocked the organisation.

The IFA has refused to clarify whether its president's salary of 120,000 includes directors' fees - or whether Joe Healy is in receipt of another 62,000.

The lack of clarity comes two years after Mr Healy swept to power following the resignation of the previous president and general secretary.

He is legally entitled to receive directors' fees - which this year will add up to around 62,000 for the two board positions he holds.

But the IFA is now refusing to detail whether directors' fees its president has received have made up part of Mr Healy's 120,000 annual salary or are surplus to it.

The IFA refused to give a breakdown of its president's full remuneration package or clarify whether Mr Healy has transferred the directors' fees he has received to date onto the IFA.

The IFA would only confirm that Mr Healy is directly paid directors' fees for the two boards he sits on.

A spokesman for the IFA said arrangements were in place to reconcile the president's external fees with his IFA payment so that his total remuneration is in line with the figure agreed by National Council in November 2016.

However, it refused to detail how long the arrangements have been in place and whether directors' fees he has received since he became president in April 2016 has since been paid into IFA funds, or whether his salary has been reduced to reflect the additional payments he has received.

IFA accounts for 2016-2017 show that Mr Healy was paid a salary of 111,846 for his first year as the association's president, after he took up the post in late April 2016, just shy of a full year's salary.

However, Mr Healy was also entitled to about 25,000 from FBD in 2017, for his role as a non-executive director after joining in August that year. A full year in FBD fees amounts to 50,000.

He was also entitled to 7,625 in 2016 from Bord Bia and 11,970 for 2017 and 2018 for this role.

The lack of clarity about the directors' fees follows a report by former IFA chief economist Con Lucey which recommended that the president's remuneration would not include directors' fees.

Mr Healy won the IFA presidential election in April 2016 after weeks of debates around the country, where he presented himself as a candidate untainted by the pay controversy that had embroiled the farming organisation over the previous months.

He said in the run-up to the election about the association's accounts that "if members want to see and find out more information they are perfectly entitled to and a process should be in place to do this". He also said there was a need for "greater transparency" in the organisation and the president should not be setting his own salary.

IFA Director's Fees Rules

The payment of the director's fees is despite the fact that the former IFA Chief Economist Con Lucey recommended that the President's remuneration would not include director's fees.

Lucey's report, published in December 2015, commissioned after the Association and ratified by IFA National Council, found that there was no clear ruling on payment from directorships of outside bodies, and said the President's remuneration should not include payments from outside bodies, but that these should be paid into IFA funds.

"Alternatively, if this is not practical, the fees should go to the individual but the payment from IFA should be reduced by the same amount".

On top of his 120,000 salary it was announced when he became President that he also has the use of an Audi A6 and vouched expenses.

Greater Transparency

Healy won the IFA presidential election in April 2016 after weeks of debates around the country where Healy presented himself as a candidate not tainted by the pay controversy that had embroiled the farming organisation over the previous months.

Healy said in the run up to the election about the Association's accounts that "if members want to see and find out more information they are perfectly entitled to and a process should be in place to do this".

He also said that there was a need for "greater transparency" in the organisation and that the President should not be setting his own salary.

"If the farm labour is covered and vouched expenses are covered I would be happy with that".

The Athenry man also promised that under his leadership the credibility of the organisation would be rebuilt.

The Con Lucey report revealed that previous IFA Presidents had been paid for their services - a fact unknown to the vast majority of IFA members. The President's pay in recent years had included a fifth bonus year's pay for the four-year term, with some President's paid as much as 181,250.

It was also revealed that its former General Secretary, Pat Smith, was paid 542,634 in 2013, including a basic salary of 295,000, a 145,194 pension contribution and a 55,000 bonus as well as 35,000 from IFA telecom. In 2014, Smith received 452,484.

Smith resigned from his role in November 2015, amid calls for greater transparency of pay levels in the organisation.

Mr Smith received 1.55m for his severance claim and 350,000 in relation to his defamation claim after the case was settled on the steps of the High Court earlier this year.

Farming Organisations

The ICMSA Presidential expenses arrangement is effectively unchanged since in the transition from the last president to this.

ICMSA President Pat McCormack receives an annual allowance of 50,000 and also receives the 10,937 director fees from Bord Bia. He is also in receipt of an undisclosed amount for his role as Non Executive Director of Ornua.Bathers at one of Irelands most stunning beaches have been warned they risk being attacked by a randy bull.

Murder Hole Beach in Co Donegal is a secret getaway of thousands of sun worshippers.

But those visiting the unique beach near Downings on Melmore Head, must cross private fields to get to it.

The fields are accessed by a gateway which leads to the secluded cove.

The tiny beach is considered one of the most stunning in the world.

But as of today (Mon), the landowner who owns the fields which lead to the beach has warned sunbathers that his bull will be roaming the area.

The farmer has put up posts on social media stating the gate will be locked and his bull will be on the loose!

With sweltering sunshine forecast from Wednesday onwards, there are fears someone could be hurt crossing the fields.

The post on a Murder Hole Beach Facebook page reads As of 21st May 2018 our bull will be reintroduced to our cows on the fields leading to the Murder Hole Beach.

In the interest of public safety we will be locking the gate and there will be NO access to the beach through these lands.

Bulls are extremely dangerous during mating season so please be advised that access is NOT permitted during this time.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause, however, the bull poses extreme danger to anyone entering the fields.Monday, May 21, 2018

It seems that in the time of Trump, we are hearing many stories like this. Here is one from last week about the video of a New York lawyer verbally attacking Spanish speakers in a Manhattan restaurant. It seems that many people equate speaking languages other than English as foreign and "un-American."

Amy B. Wang for the Washington Post reports that a Montana woman said she plans to take legal action after a Border Patrol agent detained and questioned her and a friend  both U.S. citizens  when he overheard them speaking Spanish at a gas station. The incident occurred early Wednesday morning at a convenience store in a town in northern Montana, near the border with Canada.

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/05/a-sign-of-the-times-a-border-patrol-agent-detained-two-us-citizens-at-a-montana-gas-station-after-he.htmlAN POST is experiencing a boost to its direct mailing business ahead of the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The EU-wide regime, which comes into effect this coming Friday, updates and overhauls European data protection law, and all companies that process the data of EU residents are obliged to comply with the new requirements.

An Post commercial director Fiona Heffernan said direct mail, which involves sending marketing materials directly to consumers, is worth around 50m to it.

"We are seeing signs that it is growing with GDPR," she told the Irish Independent.

Last week, Britain's Royal Mail warned the GDPR could reduce marketing mail.

Shares in the former state-owned monopoly, which was privatised in 2013 and floated on the London Stock Exchange, were sharply hit after the warning. But Ms Heffernan said An Post does not expect to experience the same decline.

"The direct mail industry in the UK has a 20-year start on Ireland, and it is used differently in the UK then it is over here," Ms Heffernan said.

She said so-called cold mailing - businesses mailing people they have not previously dealt with in order to attract new customers - is less commonplace in Ireland. This practice, she said, is likely to face more difficulty because of the GDPR.

"The use of direct mail by companies in Ireland is a lot different. Companies here would use direct mail a lot with existing customers to cross-sell or up-sell," Ms Heffernan said.

The GDPR allows a business with "a legitimate interest" in making contact with someone to continue to do so through direct mail, as long as the business provides the customer with the option to opt out each time it contacts them.

By contrast, for digital channels of direct marketing, customers will have to opt in to continue to receive communication from businesses, meaning there is less regulatory pressure on physical direct mail.

"This is where we see the growth opportunity for direct mail in Ireland - we are already seeing growth on the ground," Ms Heffernan said.

"The pinch will be in cold mail where a company does not have a legitimate interest to contact people - the way the population is in Ireland, where we are in that life cycle, the most significant part of our direct marketing is from businesses to existing customers with legitimate interest in place."Kingspan has launched an assault on the massive Indian market with a new joint venture aiming to take advantage of the shift to modern construction methods in the country.

It is understood Kingspan has a controlling interest in the joint venture, alongside partner Jindal Mectec.

"Investing in India is a key element of Kingspan's geographic growth strategy. The JV will also cover Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal and Bhutan," said Gilbert McCarthy, managing director of Kingspan's insulated panels division.

The Cavan-based company has repeatedly emphasised its plans to expand its footprint around the world. In 2017, it expanded its manufacturing footprint with partnerships in Brazil and Colombia, describing Latin America as a "new frontier for Kingspan".

It also recently announced deals to expand in central and southern Europe.

The Indian joint venture will be known as Kingspan Jindal.

Jindal Mectec said the growth in modern construction in India was being fuelled by "strong domestic and foreign direct investment momentum in infrastructure; high-end production facilities in the fast-moving-consumer-goods, food and pharma sectors; distribution centres and warehousing; and cold chain facilities and other segments".

Jindal is India's largest manufacturer of insulated panels. The joint venture will have two modern factories, a pan-Indian sales and partner network and full access to Kingspan's technology.

Last month Kingspan boss Gene Murtagh told shareholders that the company had a sluggish start to 2018 due to a prolonged winter in many regions.

But he said the order backlog across the group pointed to a good second quarter.FIRST-TIME visitors to the Monte Carlo Casino for next weekend's Grand Prix may not find the view they're expecting.

In the place of sea vistas are screens shielding the coast; in the water, dredgers are strategically placed, like warships.

"Monaco's yachts don't look as glamorous these days," one visitor jokes.

The activity is the first step toward creating new, ritzy Riviera housing on land that is currently underwater. Since 2016, the principality's government has been pouring thousands of tons of Sicilian sand into the shallow harbour at a cost of 2bn.

By 2025, the 15-acre neighbourhood, called Anse du Portier or Portier Cove, will increase the principality's size by 3pc and feature 120 luxury apartments, 10 villas, a seaside promenade and a port - all on Monaco's last remaining sliver of untouched shore.

It's part of a plan to rescue the tax haven from its housing shortage, which has helped the city-state claim the world's most expensive residential real estate.

The development follows a similar land reclamation effort in the 1970s, when Prince Rainier III built the industrial Fontvieille neighbourhood on nearly 10 acres that contained only Mediterranean water. Unlike Paris or New York, Monaco refuses to tear down old buildings to make space for taller, newer ones. It can expand in only one way: over the water.

According to Jean-Luc Nguyen, director of the government's offshore expansion project, the goal of Portier Cove is to "provide top luxury residences for people who want to settle in Monaco", since most of the principality's housing stock is aesthetically stuck in the 1970s. The deep-pocketed companies and residents who reap the rewards of the tax haven are also the primary benefactors for the local economy, and are critical to Monaco's growth.

The new neighbourhood will help lure billionaires with a handful of state-of-the-art amenities (sea-powered heating, solar-powered electric) plus expansive, seaside views. The villas - which stretch up to 16,000 sq ft - are priced 30pc higher than Monaco's average homes.

For some, the project has a reverse Robin Hood effect, stealing land from the sea in a style similar to Dubai's 'The World'.

Monaco's government argues that this project is less about becoming a superlative city like Dubai, and more about Prince Albert's plan of transitioning Monaco into a carbon-neutral country by 2050.

The district will follow a pedestrian-only design, with sustainable features like e-bike stations and rainwater recovery systems. Almost half of the energy consumption will derive from photovoltaic solar energy panels and thermal pumps, which will use the temperature of the sea to control heating and cooling systems, as well as power 80pc of the street lighting.

If all goes according to plan, the district will generate housing revenues of about 3.5bn.

"Right now, we are reaching a sensitive point as to how much construction people can stand in the principality," Mr Nguyen said, "but the new Portier Cove district will benefit everyone in Monaco." (Bloomberg)General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force on the May 25

FRIDAY will see the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation take effect.

The regulation updates and overhauls European data protection law, and all companies that process the data of EU residents are obliged to comply with the new requirements.

Tomorrow the next round of Brexit negotiations is due to begin in Brussels. The negotiations come on the back of a warning from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last week that avoiding a hard Border after Brexit will involve more than just an arrangement on customs.

It's a busy day in Brussels tomorrow, as Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg is due to be questioned by the European Parliament on the company's use of personal data.

Then, on Wednesday, the European Commission will issue its country-specific recommendations for economic policy. The report is due to be endorsed by EU leaders in June, while it will be adopted by finance ministers in July.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank will publish its Financial Stability Review.

At home, Ryanair this morning releases its full-year results in respect of financial year 2018."Always listen," advised Dicky Yip, non-executive director of Chinese insurance giant PingAn and former chief executive of HSBC China, during his keynote speech at Enterprise Ireland's Routes to Growth Asia Pacific, a major conference which brought together more than 400 Irish and international business people to explore export opportunities in the region.

"It takes time to understand each area's cultural differences," said Yip.

The inaugural Routes to Growth Asia Pacific event offered a unique opportunity for networking and peer-learning to current and first-time exporters, with more than 100 potential buyers travelling to attend. Enterprise Ireland's entire AsiaPac team assisted companies with export plans and on-the-ground experience. Enterprise Ireland also launched a series of business guides to help companies better prepare for market entry.

Stretching from Australia to India and China, AsiaPac is home to half of the world's population and two of its three biggest economies. By 2025, it will account for more than half of the world's economic output. Similar trends are evident with growth rates, which range from 5pc to 9pc, compared to the 2pc-3pc global average.

More than 600 Irish companies are doing business in the region, worth 2bn annually. Irish exports more than doubled in the last five years since breaking the 1bn mark in 2012, delivering double-digit growth for Enterprise Ireland-supported companies in 2016.

As the second-fastest growing region for Enterprise Ireland-backed companies, a 50pc increase in exports is targeted by 2020. Opportunities for Irish businesses in sectors including aviation, fintech, international education, and construction and engineering are particularly promising.

"Ireland has emerged as one of the greatest global aviation hubs in recent times," said Dermot Mannion, former deputy chairman of Royal Brunei Airlines and former Aer Lingus CEO. "That is happening at a time when Asia Pacific is far and away the fastest-growing region for aviation. Over the next 20 years the number of aircraft going into Asia Pacific will be equal to North America and Europe combined. We are very well-positioned to take advantage of that."

One example of Irish success in the sector is CAE Parc Aviation, which first began doing business there almost three decades ago. Today 45pc of its worldwide business comes from Asian companies. CAE Parc has seven offices spread across five AsiaPac countries. "It's a massive market for us," chief executive Frank Collins said.

Speakers recommended reaching out to Enterprise Ireland for assistance and tapping into the Irish diaspora.

"You need to get out there on the ground, so use Enterprise Ireland and the Department of Foreign Affairs. There is always someone who can give you introductions," said Paul Costigan, chief sales and marketing officer at Decawave.

Barry Napier, CEO of Cubic Telecom, first discussed the possibility of entering the region with Enterprise Ireland in 2010 and benefited from Irish embassies in the region. "Regulation is very different in every market. A key thing we leveraged from Enterprise Ireland was about laws and regulations, and how to work within the market," said Napier.

Ireland's connectivity to the Apac region will see a big boost in June 2018 with the launch of a direct flight between Dublin and Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, the first ever direct flight from Ireland to the Asian mainland.

"Don't underestimate the impact of having 'Dublin' on departure boards in Hong Kong will have," said Mannion. "It will create a dynamic where companies in that part of the world will be interested, because it will be easier to do business here."

That the Routes to Growth event was organised in partnership with Cathay Pacific is fitting. There is no doubt that the AsiaPac region is flying high. For Irish companies, it is time to get on board.

Tom Cusack is regional director for Asia Pacific at Enterprise IrelandIrish company Cubic Telecom, which connects cars and computers to mobile networks, has entered a new agreement with car giant Volkswagen.

Under the agreement, which is believed to be worth in the region of 80m, Cubic Telecom will see its technology used in the all-new Volkswagen Touareg for its connected car experience.

"We have enjoyed a close working partnership with Volkswagen and we are delighted that they chose Cubic as the data delivery platform of the new Volkswagen Touareg," Barry Napier, Cubic Telecom CEO, said.

"We look forward to continued collaboration and expanding on the next generation Volkswagen models sold in countries around the world."

Cubic Telecoms technology will manage data delivery throughout Europe to enable Car-Net online services in the cars.

Services enabled via Cubics data platform include navigation, mapping and map updates, route guidance, news, traffic info and weather, fuel and parking info, and other Volkswagen connectivity solutions such as Wi-Fi hotspot and internet radio streaming.

Owners of the Touareg car will have the ability to use high-speed data connectivity for their own devices including iPads and smartphones, with access to in-car bundled data plans and their preferred content, a statement from Cubic Telecom said.

The Sandyford-headquartered companys technology is preloaded into cars at the manufacturing stage, and the company works closely with Volkswagen to enable and improve key services and local content via split billing and location-based usage.

"Cubic Telecom has established a reputation as one of the true pioneers in software-enabled in-car data connectivity, and we know our customers will be delighted with the experience" Alf Pollex, technical development manager at Volkswagen, said.

Headquartered in Sandyford, where it employs over 100 people, Cubic customers include Audi, Volkswagen, HP, Lenovo, Panasonic, Qualcomm and Woolworths.

The company is privately held with over 75m in funding by Audi Electronics Venture GmbH, Qualcomm, Valid, Enterprise Ireland and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, among others.An app used by parents to monitor their children's smartphone activity has leaked thousands of accounts from at least one server.

TeenSafe, a mobile app for both iOS and Android, allows parents to see their teenager's calls, texts, installed apps, browsing history and location.

The California-based company has previously said it does not need parents to get their children's consent to monitor their phones.

A UK-based security researcher found that two servers, which were hosted on Amazon's cloud, were left unprotected.

Robert Wiggins discovered the servers were accessible without a password.

Tech news website ZDNet contacted TeenSage who subsequently removed from online and began alerting potentially affected customers.

The details of the parent's email address, their corresponding child's Apple ID email address, the child's device name and the phone's unique identifier were kept on the database.

No content, such as photos or messages, or locations of either child or parent were contained in the unprotected servers.

One of the servers appeared to have been used for storing test data.Kendrick Lamar leads the way at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards with six wins from the non-televised categories (PA)

Kendrick Lamar leads the way at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards with six wins from the non-televised categories as the stars begin to arrive in Las Vegas.

The 30-year-old rapper is tied with Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran for most nominations with 15 but organisers have announced Lamar has already won prizes including Top Rap Artist, Top Rap Male Artist and Top Rap Album for 2017s Damn.

He was also awarded the prizes for Top Billboard 200 Album, Top Streaming Songs Artist and Top Streaming Song (Audio).

Expand Close Kendrick Lamar leads the way at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards with six wins from the non-televised categories (Victoria Jones/PA Wire) / Facebook

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Mars follows Lamar with five wins while Sheeran and Imagine Dragons tie with four wins each.

Mars has received wins for Top R&B Artist, Top R&B Male Artist, Top R&B Tour, Top R&B Album and Top R&B Song.

Sheeran goes into tonights live broadcast with wins for Top Hot 100 Artist, Top Song Sales Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist and Top Radio Song.

Other multi-category winners include Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber with three wins for Top Latin Song, Top Streaming Song (Video) and Top Selling Song.

Celebrities including Dua Lipa, Demi Lovato and Christina Aguilera have already been spotted on the events red carpet in Las Vegas.

1. Don't pick up the phone, you know he's only calling 'cause he's drunk and alone

2. Show up to the #BBMAs looking snatched AF pic.twitter.com/H4SnobGbHw  E! News (@enews) May 20, 2018

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Janet Jackson  who will make her first TV performance in nine years  will receive the Icon Award.

Past recipients of the Icon Award include Cher, Stevie Wonder, Prince and Celine Dion.

Ariana Grande will open the ceremony, which takes place two days before the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing.

Expand Close Ariana Grande will open the Billboard Music Awards, which take place two days before the first anniversary of the Manchester Arena bombing (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) / Facebook

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Grande had just finished a show at the Manchester Arena on May 22 2017 when suicide bomber Salman Abedi struck in the foyer killing 22 people and injuring hundreds more.

Kelly Clarkson will host the annual awards show, which celebrates artists performances on the Billboard charts.Saoirse Ronan has revealed it took a week to shoot the painfully awkward sex scene for her new film On Chesil Beach.

In the big screen adaptation of the Ian McEwan novel, the 24-year-old actress plays Florence, a young English woman whose disastrous attempt at intimacy with her husband on their wedding night impacts on their marriage.

Expand Close Saoirse Ronan attending a special screening of On Chesil Beach at the Curzon Mayfair, London / Facebook

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Set in 1962 it charts the early days of the couple's romance through to their wedding night and beyond, and reflects on why Florence has such a repulsion about one aspect of intimacy in particular.

Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on RTE Radio 1 on Monday, Saoirse described the scene as "so awkward".

Expand Expand Previous Next Close Saoirse Ronan and Billy Howle in 'On Chesil Beach' MUTUAL ADMIRATION: Ian McEwan and Saoirse Ronan attend a screening of On Chesil Beach. Photo: Getty / Facebook

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She added, "Also, because of the time as well theres just such a lack of communication. Relationships are difficult enough at the best of times, but at least if you can talk to your partner about how youre feeling you can make some sort of progress. But people were just sort of expected to keep their mouths shut and just get on with it.

"Through flashbacks we see why Florence has such a repulsion towards sex and one part of it in particular, one aspect, in particular, which I dont want to give away. They have this massive argument and it takes them out on to the beach and we watch this couple kind of come to a fork in the road."

Saoirse revealed that it took a week to film the sex scenes on the bed, scenes which were carefully choreographed to be as awkward as possible.

"Those scenes had to become so technical and each move had to be discussed beforehand because it is so awkward. And we needed to make it as awkward as possible," said the star.

"I remember when Girls came out, Lena Dunham's show, the sex scenes in that are great, but they're messy and real and awkward and nobody looks good in them so it's really refreshing to be part of a story where there's a bit of reality to that part of a relationship."

Saoirse is currently appearing opposite The Handmaid's Tale star Elizabeth Moss and Annette Bening in period drama The Seagull, which just released in the US, and is taking several months off before Mary Queen of Scots hits the screen in December.

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"It's a period drama but it's kind of a thriller," she told Ryan Tubridy. Beau Willimon, who created House of Cards, wrote this script so it's got this amazing pace to it in the way that only a political drama or thriller would. So it's brilliant. It's got a real beat to it."

While Saoirse plays Mary Queen of Scots, fellow Oscars 2018 nominee Margot Robbie plays Queen Elizabeth I. They only share screen time briefly, but Saoirse describes their face off as "explosive".

You can listen back to the full interview on the RTE Radio 1 website. On Chesil Beach opens in Ireland on Friday.Monday, May 21, 2018

Our Immigrant of the Day recently graduated from Suffolk University Law School in Boston, Massachusetts. Her experience as an immigrant was the driving force for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient Leila Fajardo-Giles decision to study the law. One of her most rewarding law school experiences was helping another young woman obtain asylum in the United States. It was my proudest moment, said the Suffolk University Law School student, Class of 2018. Ive always wanted to help advocate for those who may not have a voice in this country.

Fajardo-Giles, who plans to take the Massachustts bar exam this summer, came to America from Peru 20 years ago and thus was eligible for DACA. She entered Suffolk Law as an evening division student four years ago. When she heard about an opportunity to become a student attorney in the Law Schools Immigration Clinic, Fajardo-Giles applied for the competitive position and was accepted a year ago. As a law student, she has seen much debate and controversy about the future of the DACA program.

A significant person in Fajardo-Giles life in the classroom and as her Immigration Clinic supervisor  has been Clinical Professor of Law Ragini Shah.

KJ

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/immigration/2018/05/immigrant-of-the-day-law-school-graduate.htmlA new Irish documentary reveals how Irish missionaries risked their lives to save millions from starvation during the Nigerian Civil War.

Known as the Biafran War, it raged from 1967 to 1970 between the government of Nigeria and the eastern region of Nigerian that had broken away, which called itself the Republic of Biafra.

Expand Close Guerre du Biafra. Umuosu, centre de nutrition. Distribution de gari, legumes, oranges et bois de feu. Biafra conflict. Umuosu, feeding center. Gari, vegetables, oranges and firewood distribution. septembre/octobre 1968. / Facebook

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Assisted by Britain, the former colonial master, the Nigerian military government imposed a blockade to prevent supplies reaching the Biafran enclave.

The documentary Biafra: Misean Dearmadta (Forgotten Mission) reveals how Irish missionaries, who were working there, instigated relief efforts around the world, and how the Irish media and public rallied together to raise funds and send goods to save the innocent adults and children who were starving to death as a result of the blockade.

Expand Close Biafra conflict. M. Baise province (Team 16). Distribution center. Biafra Forgotton Mission, TG4, 9.30pm Wednesday May 23 / Facebook

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"We also discovered a new hero, who had never spoken about his role, a Holy Ghost priest called Dermot Doran, now in his 80s but going strong," says producer Brendan Culleton, who previously brought Congo - An Irish Affair, the story of the siege of Jadotville, to the small screen.

Speaking during the documentary, Dermot Doran, said, "All I wanted was to save the children. They were the biggest victims of the war."

"He was the first to break the Nigerian blockade on Biafra and flew in with medical supplies, subsequently organising a world wide media campaign strongly supported by Independent newspapers," says Culleton.

"The Evening Herald played a massive part in the campaign in Ireland - they had their own fundraising campaign and one of the editors travelled to Biafra."

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The events of 50 years ago in Biafra have rarely been explored from Ireland's point of view.

Despite the very real risk to their own lives the missionaries managed to save millions from starvation having highlighted their plight with a media campaign that took them everywhere from the Vatican to the White House.

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That campaign was prompted by the fact that, at the time, the documentary claims "the BBC actively spread fake news about the events" and it resulted in the "greatest humanitarian airlift since World War II", which was managed by an Irish Holy Ghost missionary.

The fame subsequently became the world's first televised famine.

"It was the missionaries who first brought journalists to see the results of the famine and it was the missionaries who distributed thousands of tonnes of food and medicine, keeping millions alive for two years of famine," says Culleton.

However, once the war had ended, they were expelled from the country, accused of prolonging the war.

This fascinating film, by Irina Maldea and Brendan Culleton, features eyewitness accounts and a wealth of archive film to bring the story to vivid life.

Biafra: Misean Dearmadta (Forgotten Mission) airs on TG4 on Wednesday at 9.30pm.Actress Ann Dowd has revealed she draws from her experience of being educated by Irish Catholic nuns for her role as the terrifying Aunt Lydia in The Handmaid's Tale.

In the hugely popular, disturbing dystopian TV series, Aunt Lydia is responsible for the training and policing of 'handmaids' who are responsible for bearing children for the infertile leaders of a not-too-distant future world where the US has become a theocracy called Gilead.

The Hulu TV series, which also airs on RTE, is based on the 1958 novel by Margaret Atwood and stars Elizabeth Moss as a previously independent mother of one who finds herself trapped under Aunt Lydia's rule.

Dowd (62) was born in Massechusetts and was educated by Irish Catholic sisters for ten years and told The Independent, "I was very familiar with that world, she said. No, I was never treated in any way resembling Lydia but what did I learn? A work ethic.

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She has earned an Emmy award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the role in the series which is in its second season.

She said she does not judge her character, despite her flaws and just surrenders to the process.

It depends on ones perspective but to me, its a relationship that Im fortunate to have, she said. You make a decision early on, and as in a friendship, you dont judge because if you feel like youre being judged in a relationship, you just shut down.

The actress is also no stranger to playing tough roles, having previously starred as cult leader Patti Levin in HBO hit The Leftovers, which ran for three series.

If you show me a character whos a loner going her own way, right away Im like, Id love to know her, she said of her role choices.

So lucky me to have played these solitary women who are actually interesting beyond being in a sexual relationship. I love these characters. Its been a pleasure to come to know them.

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The Handmaid's Tale continues on Thursday nights on RTE 2 at 10.35pm.Imagine an alternative universe where Hugh Grant and not Christopher Eccleston had become the ninth Doctor in Doctor Who. Its an easy one to buy into. It very nearly became a reality, too.

When the BBC decided to relaunch the long-dormant time lords adventures in 2004, with all the advantages a bigger budget and modern special effects could offer, the star of Four Weddings And A Funeral, Notting Hill and Love Actually was the first actor to be offered the role by showrunner Russell T Davies, whod always wanted to work with Grant and considered him one of Britains finest actors.

Technically, Grant had already played the character  but only briefly and strictly for laughs in the 1999 Comic Relief spoof The Curse Of Fatal Death. But when offered the role for real, he turned it down.

He later confessed to regretting the decision. At the time, he didnt believe the revival would be a success and so didnt give the offer much thought. In a 2007 interview, Grant said: Its only when you see it on screen that you think, Damn, that was good, why did I say no?.

Grant would most likely have made an excellent Doctor. No screen actor since his namesake, Cary Grant, has been able to juggle comedy and drama so deftly, or make it look so effortless  which, in reality, it rarely if ever is.

In retrospect, its probably just as well Grant passed on the chance for a spin in the Tardis. It would certainly have been fascinating to find out how his Doctor would have affected the future direction of the series.

Yet to be umbilically linked in the public mind to a single character is the last thing Grant needed at that point in his career, especially since hed spent a full decade trying to shake off the image of the floppy-haired, tongue-tied bumbler that had clung to him like a leech ever since Four Weddings And A Funeral became a global box-office smash and propelled him to A-list stardom.

Perennially underrated by most critics (the late Roger Ebert was one of the exceptions) and boxed into a king of the romcom niche by audiences, Grant has always been a far more versatile, complex and adventurous actor than hes usually given credit for.

As producer/star he pushed against typecasting in the 1991 medical thriller Extreme Measures, where he was excellent as an ER doctor who uncovers a ghoulish conspiracy involving exploitation of the homeless.

In the 2001 film of Nick Hornbys About A Boy, Grant played casually selfish, comfortably trust-funded layabout Rob, who realises how empty his life is when he reluctantly becomes entangled in the lives of a misfit 14-year-old (Nicholas Hoult) and his hippy-dippy mother (Toni Colette).

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He gave a terrific, Golden Globe-nominated performance, funny, layered and affecting, as a character who couldnt be more different to Charles in Four Weddings.

A more risk-averse, image-conscious star might have thought twice about playing six characters  including the heavily face-painted chief of a cannibal tribe  in the wildly ambitious 2012 film of David Mitchells novel Cloud Atlas. Grant, however, attacked the opportunity with relish.

Like George Clooney, whos the same age (57), Grant seems to be welcoming the onset of age and wrinkles as an opportunity to play juicier character roles.

Hes bagged arguably the juiciest of all in BBC1s three-part drama A Very English Scandal, which began last night.

Grant plays the late Jeremy Thorpe, the bisexual Liberal Party MP who was tried and acquitted of conspiring to murder his gay lover Norman Josiffe, later Norman Scott (Ben Whishaw). Its a superb performance full of charm that pivots into ruthlessness and menace.

A Very English Scandal sees writer Russell T Davies finally getting his wish to work with Grant. Its been worth the long wait for both of them  and for us, too.

A Very English Scandal continues on BBC 1 at 9pm next SundayTHE penalty for taking abortion pills will remain at 14 years imprisonment unless the Eighth Amendment is repealed, the Minister for Health Simon Harris has said.

Under the current legislation dealing with abortion, known as the Pregnancy During Life Bill from 2013, anyone procuring abortion - including doctors - may be liable to a prison sentence of 14 years.

Mr Harris said he had since been given advice by the Attorney General when examining a private members bill which called for the sentence to be reduced to a fine of one euro.

The advice obtained by the Minister for Health was that the penalty of 14 years was legally required because the eighth amendment equated abortion with homicide.

Therefore the crime of abortion could not be decriminalised.

Mr Harris was speaking alongside the masters of two Dublin maternity hospitals, Doctor Rhona Mahony and Professor Fergal Malone who were calling for a Yes in the referendum on Friday.

Professor Malone warned about the dangers of women taking unsupervised, illegal abortion tablets.

Around 1500 women a year are taking abortion tablets; and he said 2  3 pc of these will run in to medical troubles.

Weve had a number of patients [taking abortion tablets] in the Rotunda Hospital who have had an ectopic pregnancy; which is where a pregnancy in the fallopian tube.

The fact that theyre taken tablets without supervision means they wont have known that their pregnancy was in the tube, and they were putting their health at risk.

It has delayed their treatment, and weve had patients where their fallopian tube has ruptured.

The result was a major haemorrhage with major bleeding going on in the abdomen, he explained.

Doctor Mahoney said weve had many more cases where women have been scared to divulge that theyve take tablets and have delayed their presentation.

And I say to all women: we will care for you.

Dont delay if youre not well.

The Eighth Amendment has not prevented abortions; it has merely created a system in which it happens in a dangerous way, said Rhona Mahony.

These women are then excluded from our healthcare system, she said.

And the message we are giving to women is appalling. That were going to lock them up for 14 years in their own country, she said.

In cases where families decide to terminate the pregnancy due to fatal foetal abnormality, Ms Mahoney said her patients have felt abandoned and stigmatised.

We send them to the UK when theres a fatal foetal abnormality to a different jurisdiction away from family and friends.

They have to wait for their babies to come home in a jiffy bag, after the termination has taken place.Thousands of eligible voters will take to polling booths across the country next Friday as Ireland prepares to vote on the Eighth Amendment.

And both sides of the debate have encouraged Irish people living abroad to come home to vote.

One group on Facebook, 'Abroad for Yes', continues to link Irish people with sponsors to fund their trip home to vote 'Yes'.

Many of the members are students, interning abroad or living on a tight budget. But people are keen to help, and most people have their flight paid for by the kindness of strangers in a mere few hours.

The London-Irish United for Life group have also advised students to check with their student unions about bursaries to fund their trip home to vote 'No'.

The British-based group has members from all over Ireland and has encouraged students to check their eligibility to fly home if possible.

We spoke to Irish people from all over the country about why they think it's important to come home to vote, and what the referendum means to them.

Seainin Mac Bradaigh (27) flying from South England to Monaghan: 'I would walk home from Timbuktu to vote'

"Im voting No for one main reason; the unborn deserve some rights and protection. I think that is undoubtable and I frankly couldn't in good conscience leave the rights of any set of people dependent of the shifting whims of day to day politics.

"Abortion is never an easy choice and nobody seeks one on a whim. But there is a profound cultural difference between Ireland and Britain, and I think that it's because of our laws; In Britain, the first response to a crisis pregnancy is an abortion. In many ways, it's the expected outcome.

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"In Ireland, it really is the last choice a person makes. If we remove all constitutional protection for the unborn, I can easily envisage that gradually Ireland would become just like the rest of Europe where the hardest choice a woman ever has to make becomes the one society expects her to make.

"I have seen what an abortion has done to someone. To sit on a bathroom floor while someone screams and cries in the weeks and months afterwards is something that will haunt me to the day I die. I really think that as a society, we can do better. Ive said it before, I would walk home from Timbuktu to vote No in this referendum.

"As soon as the date for the referendum was set, I booked my ferry home. I got a sail and rail ticket as the flights were prohibitive. All in all, from my door to the polling booth Ill be travelling 14 hours. I will only be at home for about 4 hours as I have to get back for work on Sunday, but I wouldn't miss it. I will have no regrets about doing this, whatever way the vote turns out on the day. My voice will have been heard.

"You have a voice, whatever way you intend on voting use it. All over the world, democracy seems to be under threat. I think that Irish people coming from every corner of the globe to cast their ballot is a powerful statement on how healthy the democratic process is amongst Irish people."

Lara Philips (24) is flying from Berlin to Meath: 'I feel deeply upset at the lack of compassion our country shows towards women in a time of crisis'

"For me, a Yes vote means choice, because in this case, it's pro-choice or no choice. If you vote no, abortions will still happen many times in unsafe, unregulated conditions. On top of that, you are imposing your personal beliefs on women in crisis. These women should be able to make their own choices.

"Since moving to Germany and in particular, working in a start-up here in Berlin with an international team from 22 countries, speaking to them about the Eighth Amendment has only further highlighted to me how utterly restrictive this ban is. On top of that learning about the German laws for abortion as a comparison point and the general attitude of Freikorperkultur (FKK), 'Free Body Culture'.

"I think the referendum also reflects the grander narrative of how the women of Ireland have been suppressed by the traditional religious values of the Catholic church for many years. These values have evoked a sense of shame and stigma around really important issues, which has led many of us to internalising shame and not being able to speak up about our own bodies.

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"But I will say what fills me with hope right now is seeing that women are no longer willing to stay silent.

"It's important to me that this archaic ban is overturned and that's why I am returning home to vote. Last year attending the strikes, being physically present and hearing first-hand stories from women who have suffered as a result of this ban left an impact. I felt deeply upset at the lack of compassion our country shows towards these women in a time of crisis.

"I will fly home from Berlin on Wednesday 23rd to hopefully get in some last-minute canvassing. I booked my flights on the 13th of April- I held off for a while as was waiting for the date to be announced and to see if I could get the time off work approved. It was a small cost to me this month, but ultimately that's not what is important. I'm very lucky that I'm in the position distance and work wise to be able to return easily.

"I can't stress the importance of coming home to vote enough. This is a historic referendum and a huge moment in time for our country to be able to stand up for women. I know for some people it isn't feasible but if it is for you, it's 100pc worth your time to come back to vote. Being physically present also means being able to canvas which we haven't been able to do thus far. Your voice and vote is valuable and will make a difference."

Suzanne Conway (32) is flying from London to Ireland: 'It is a human rights issue and should be something that concerns us all'

"I will be voting No because I believe that there is an obvious right to life before birth and the Eighth Amendment is simply the only protection that is safeguarding this right. If the Eighth Amendment were to be repealed, the protection for babies in the womb would then be removed.

"We know that the unborn person is a human being and yet this fact is often dismissed for short sound-bite reasons such as personal choice or a human right. There is no such right and we need to be reminded of the reality of what happens with an abortion: a human life is ended.

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"A No vote for me would mean that the Irish people have spoken out in defense of the most defenseless in society. Irish peoples true compassion for the most vulnerable, which we often see in many other ways, will be expressed in upholding the most fundamental right that there is  the right to life. A No vote may also mean an opportunity to discuss how we can implement better support systems for pregnant women and those facing crisis pregnancies and for babies with life-limiting conditions.

"Leaving abortion aside as a solution to these situations will place Ireland in a unique position, in which we can demonstrate authentic compassion, solidarity and proper social progress.

"I want to come home to vote No because its one of the most important referenda that our country will have and is a chance for me to have a say in an issue that is massively influential on society. Although many of us intend on moving back home in the future, even if we are not living in Ireland now, we have an obligation and a duty to defend human life  especially at its most vulnerable stage  no matter where we are.

"It is a human rights issue and should be something that concerns us all.

"I will be travelling home from London, where I am based for work. I looked at flights once the date for the referendum was officially announced, but I had kept the end of May in mind as a possibility for a while before that. I will be taking off the day of the referendum as annual leave from work and will be travelling home the day before.

"To those who are abroad and might be considering coming home to vote  I would say it is hugely important. The Eighth Amendment of our Constitution is something that we should be proud of.

"We should also be proud to be a voice for those who are unable to vote, for Irish citizens in the north who cannot vote and for those historic figures who fought in order that we would have a vote today."

Amy Walsh (26) is flying from Essex to Dublin: 'I am flying home for my friends, my sisters, my nieces and every woman that calls Ireland home'

"I am flying home to vote Yes because I think every woman in Ireland deserves to have total body autonomy. Secondly, I am flying home to try ensure no women has to travel from Ireland again for healthcare Ireland is so well equipped to provide. I moved to Colchester, Essex, in September to undertake a masters in nursing.

"I cannot count the number of people I have spoken to in the UK that cannot believe the Eighth amendment still exists, many cannot believe it ever has.

"I recently worked on a gynecology ward and I found the staff there found it most difficult to understand.

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"Speaking with the nurses about the Eighth amendment and the limitations it places on women, many stated how they would find it difficult to work in an environment that stopped doctors providing terminations in cases of FFA, rape and several other individual reasons. Others said that gynecology and female health would not be their chosen field of nursing if a law like the 8th existed in the NHS as it goes against almost all we learn in nursing school.

"I am flying home because on my first day in nursing school in the UK, I was given a code of conduct which basically outlines how to be a good nurse.

"The area of the code we are directed to on day one is the six Cs; compassion, care, courage, communication, competence and commitment. The Eighth amendment stops doctors providing optimum healthcare to women in need which in turn blocks a nurses ability to provide the six Cs. The Eighth amendment stops our ability to be compassionate when a woman needs us most and drastically impacts our ability to care.

"I am flying home because my vote matters. I am flying home to make sure I can return one day to work in a health system that does everything it can to help women and support them with any choice they make. I am flying home to ensure I no longer share a flight with women forced to travel. I am flying home for my friends, my sisters, my nieces and every woman that calls Ireland home.

"The next time I fly back to Essex I want nothing more than to be content in the fact that no women on that flight is making a lonely journey for healthcare. The Eighth is unjust and I feel that with the high level of healthcare available in Ireland, it's inexcusable."Taoiseach Leo Varadkar waves to a passerby as he poses with (left to right) Theresa Newman and deputies Kate OConnell and Maria Bailey while canvassing in Tullamore. Photo: Damien Eagers

Leo Varadkar claims protocol around the office of the Taoiseach is why he won't take part in a debate on the Eighth Amendment referendum with those on the opposing side.

Mr Varadkar told the Irish Independent that the Taoiseach normally debates exclusively with the leaders of the other political parties during referendums.

Given that all other party leaders are in favour of repealing the legislation, there is nobody of appropriate stature to debate with him, he said.

"I haven't done any of the TV debates because there's a protocol around the Taoiseach's office.

"What you do as Taoiseach is you debate other party leaders," he said. "Because the other party leaders are all supporting a Yes vote, that doesn't arise.

"You tend to only debate opponents in that kind of scenario, so you know, who would I be debating?

"Would I be up against Mattie McGrath?" he asked.

The Taoiseach, who was once staunchly anti-abortion even in hard cases such as rape, said his position evolved after "listening to the women in my life, my mum and my sister who will be voting Yes".

Now he says that proposals for legislation for abortion up to 12 weeks was necessary because all crisis pregnancies are "hard cases". He said abortion is "never an easy way out", adding: "I can't imagine how anyone could make that decision easily."

He also said it was "virtually impossible" to legislate for abortion in cases of rape alone due to the difficulty of proving rape.

In Poland "they have that law and the equivalent of the DPP has to certify that the story you're telling of being raped is credible".

"And when you think of having to write a law like that and put women who were victims of sexual assault or sexual violence through that process...I find it revolting," he said.

Mr Varadkar warned that women were also at "real risk" by importing abortion pills without a clinician's supervision. "I'm personally very worried that it's only a matter of time before we have a tragedy in Ireland, where somebody takes an abortion pill without supervision and dies as a result.

"If you vote No on Friday we wash your hands afterwards as if we're somehow not responsible for that."

The penalty for abortion in Ireland is 14 years in prison, and although there haven't been any prosecutions, Mr Varadkar warned there could be.

"We have to consider the possibility that someone could report a woman for taking these pills.

"The gardai and the DPP wouldn't have much discretion, they have to enforce the law."

He said it would not be possible to reduce the penalty to a lower sentence or to a fine.

The Eighth Amendment effectively says abortion is "homicide", so the penalty must reflect this, he explained.

As the referendum campaign enters its final week, Mr Varadkar warned against "notoriously unreliable" prediction polls.

"In the Seanad referendum we were well ahead in the polls and it didn't happen.

"Latest polls say that the Repeal side is in the lead, albeit with a narrowing margin.

"And the result in the marriage equality referendum was much narrower than anyone had anticipated," he said.

He believes the No side will turn out in big numbers as "they're very motivated".

Mr Varadkar was joined by numerous senior government figures on a canvass in Tullamore yesterday, including Tanaiste Simon Coveney, Health Minister Simon Harris and Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy.

Pressing the flesh with locals on the main street, he sought to engage with No and undecided voters.

On the occasions where he made little impact, it was left to pro-choice aficionados Kate O'Connell and Senator Catherine Noone, who chaired the Oireachtas Committee on abortion, to make the case for repeal.

Confirmed No voter Ronan Brennan said that when it came to the so-called 'hard cases', "we're only talking about one in a million", adding the proposed legislation was too far-reaching.

As the Taoiseach moved on, Ms O'Connell and Ms Noone swooped in to make the case for repeal.

Some 30 minutes later, after speaking about her own personal experiences, Ms O'Connell emerged somewhat hopeful she had changed his mind.

Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar launched a scathing attack on Sinn Fein's suitability as a government party after polls showed a surge in support for leader Mary Lou McDonald.

"I do not consider [Sinn Fein] a compatible partner in government, they're not a normal party.

"They don't respect our courts, they don't respect our prison officers," he said, before adding: "There's no election planned."Gardai have renewed their appeal for information about the murder of Dublin teenager Anastasia Kriegel as arrests are expected this week.

The naked body of the 14-year-old, known as Ana, was discovered in a derelict farmhouse last Thursday. She had been reported missing the previous Monday.

It is believed she was sexually assaulted and died after being beaten over the head with a brick and sticks.

Gardai have launched a major investigation into the circumstances surrounding her death and have spoken to a number of people who may have been among the last to see her alive.

They are also awaiting the results from DNA samples taken from the farmhouse and Anas clothing, believing this to be crucial in the progress of their investigation. Results of preliminary DNA tests are due back today.

A garda spokesman said in a statement this afternoon: "Gardai are particularly interested to hear from anyone who may have been in St Catherines Park, Lucan, Co. Dublin on Monday May 14 from 5pm."

One of those spoken to by gardai  a 13-year-old boy  told them he was attacked by two men close to the derelict farmhouse where Ana was later murdered.

The boy was one of two teenagers traced by detectives after Anas body was found in the disused premises on the Clonee Road in west Dublin.

The 13-year-old and his friend went to meet Ana in St Catherines Park last Monday, hours before she was reported missing, according to sources. Both are understood to have spoken to detectives.

One of the boys has told gardai he went with Ana to the derelict farm, a kilometre or so from St Catherines Park, according to sources.

According to the boys account, Ana left the area ahead of him, which was the last time he saw her.

He told gardai that as he went to leave the area, he was assaulted by two men and was injured.

Gardai are following up the boys account and trying to track down the two men he says attacked him. They are also examining blood found on the boys clothing.

Ana left her family on Monday about 5pm to go to St Catherines Park and was reported missing by her parents three hours later.

Gardai believe Ana was murdered on Monday evening. They suspect she was killed by someone she knew and that she was sexually assaulted.

Preliminary post-mortem results suggest she was beaten and died of blunt-force injuries.

Detectives are believed to have recovered items of Anas clothing along with blood-spattered sticks and bricks, which they hope will provide them with crucial DNA evidence.

The boys are among several people who knew Ana who are speaking to gardai about her final moments.

Gardai are also examining Anas mobile phone and social media accounts.

Adopted from Russia when she was two, Ana was described as a tall and striking girl who loved dancing and swimming.

Gardai have appealed to others who were in touch with Ana or might have information about her plans for Monday evening to contact them at Leixlip at 01 666 7800.Vicky Phelan: Women have been watching how the State has reacted to this whole scandal, and they dont like what they see Photo: Fergal Phillips

1 Change the name. Let's face it. Nobody loves the Health Service Executive. It's a dreadful name. Like the Authority before it that proved to have no such thing.

The word 'executive' conjures up images of managers, administrators and endless diktats. I'm sure we can come up with a better name. The HSE is almost 14 years old. Abandoned by its parents (Micheal Martin and Mary Harney in case you have forgotten). Threatened with extinction by Dr Reilly. Resurrected by Dr Varadkar. Warned last year that it would be 'dismantled' by Mr Harris. No wonder it's feeling unloved and uncared for.

I'd give it a good wash, some new clothes and a fresh start. Let's give it a kinder title we might grow fond of. Curam is the Gaelic for care. Curam Ireland, Curam Eireann, or Curam All. I'll take any of those.

2 Slim down its role

Want to get married? Think HSE. Yes, the Health Service Executive marries people in civil ceremonies every day of the working week.

In Carlow you contact the HSE at St Dympna's Hospital. In Sligo you contact the HSE Community Care Office. In Meath it's the Community Enterprise Centre.

I don't want the same organisation marrying people in the morning and removing haemorrhoids in the afternoon. When the wedding party has departed, the HSE is off inspecting cruise ships, airplanes and creches. In the evenings they are down inspecting the back of fridges in Chinese take-aways. Let's get some focus back to the HSE. It can't do everything.

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3 Duel at dawn with the Dept of Health

Ireland's a small wee place. When you have an organisation like the HSE with about 130,000 employees, the last thing you need is a jumped-up kid brother nearby with a couple of hundred staff pretending to be doing the same thing only better.

The HSE and Department of Health have been bickering like kids in the back of the car for years. I'm told that the Department doesn't like the HSE to contact the Minister directly. They see their role as some sort of filter. In recent weeks we found out that they weren't very keen to 'escalate' life and death issues to ministers concerning women who had smear tests.

However they are quite keen to escalate photo opportunities and ribbon-cutting events at every opportunity. The claim is that the Department does policy and the HSE delivers services. If a slimming programme is warranted, I'd start with the Department.

Slim it down until it's the compact size of a Minister's office. Let the rest be part of the HSE.

4 Join the dots

Much of what the general public sees as everyday health services act independently of the HSE. General practice is a contracted-out business, as is pharmacy and most nursing home care. Indeed, many of our hospitals, especially in Dublin are voluntary hospitals that are not governed by the HSE.

There is a great reluctance among all of these sectors to have the State take over their functions. This is due the fact that many health professionals distrust the corporate HSE just as much as patients. Politicians like to promise a seamless health service. Those who work in it see Johnny Fortycoats lying under a patchwork quilt.

5 Re-visit Canada

Remember when Dr James Reilly promised us a Dutch health service? We were all going to be blue eyed and blonde riding our bicycles in clogs through the tulips to hospitals powered by windmills.

It didn't happen. The lead-in period was so long that insurers all hiked up their prices. Leo pulled the plug and said the whole idea was unaffordable.

I remember the debate well. Not all commentators agreed about the Netherlands model. The Canadian health service was more interesting. Most front line medical services are free to access and funded through universal insurance. All citizens are in a safety net. The private sector delivers many of the services, but are well supervised in each province and profiteering is discouraged. Middle men and state bureaucracy are kept to a minimum. More than 85pc of Canadians express satisfaction with their health service.

Leo needs to get jogging again with Monsieur Trudeau.

6 Emphasise the positives

Lots of good work is done each day in the HSE. Public health nurses are a lifeline for hundreds of patients in their own homes. They do child immunisations in primary and secondary schools all over the country. Infectious outbreaks are well managed by local public health doctors. Community mental health teams, though poorly funded and resourced, deliver vital services to vulnerable people with acute and chronic psychiatric illnesses.

We don't hear their stories very often. Too often healthcare only gets attention when scandals hit the news or difficult cases reach courts. Good journalism isn't always about bad news.

7 Appoint a new board

I served time on a health board and health authority just before the HSE monolith came into being. It was an experience.

There were too many local politicians who used the position for expense-filling, electioneering and grandstanding.

They divided along the usual party lines and played politics by jockeying for positions of power and extra dividends.

On the much-trumpeted Eastern Regional Health Authority there was only one nurse and about 40 county councillors. It was doomed from the start. If the HSE requires a new board this year or next, I'd certainly give membership due consideration. But I'd want to see its make-up in advance.

Boards don't work when too many agendas are brought to the table.

8 Start loving the health service

Remember when the Olympic Games in London in 2012?

The opening ceremony featured a dazzling tribute to the doctors, nurses, patients and founding politicians of the British National Health Service. They love their NHS across the pond. They know who founded it (Aneurin Bevan). They know why he founded it (poor families couldn't afford to bring sick children to doctors). They know how it has provided a cradle-to-grave health service, warts and all, for 70 years.

Nobody in Ireland seems to remember the conception of the HSE. Few even own up to being there at its birth.

If you want the public to like you, you must give them something to like.

9 Change the culture

Clare Daly TD hit the nail on the head last week when she made the most effective Dail speech on healthcare I have heard in many years. It concerned the paranoid state that exists in health services about the possibility of being sued.

She spoke about how health providers are obliged to tell the State Claims Agency about adverse events within 48 hours, but are not obliged to tell patients. She told us that almost 2bn worth of claims are currently being taken against the State, double the figure of five years ago.

She spoke about families that cannot afford the thousands of euro they need for expert reports on their injuries. She urged the government to change the culture, bring in no-fault compensation, and take lawyers out of our hospitals.

Just the sort of person we need on the new board of the HSE.

10 Get involved

It's easy to moan about the HSE and its health services. I should know. Too many of us, myself included, waste time on Twitter liking the negatives and retweeting the obvious to the already converted.

I visited the newly named Tallaght University Hospital recently and was overjoyed to see how local people, in competition with Starbucks, still run one of the coffee shops in the main concourse. The chat is mighty, coffee and food is good and cheap, and you can buy second hand books or dvds on your way out.

The local hospice in Harold's Cross also uses a volunteer service. They recruit people to read to patients, help them with transport, make tea, or help nurses when they are busy.

Getting involved with your local health service is much more rewarding than moaning about it. I'd like to see a bigger effort from the new HSE to encourage volunteerism. Let's give people a stake in their own healthcare service.

Dr Maurice Gueret is a GP and former Health Board member and member of the Eastern Regional Health Authority. He writes a weekly column on medical matters in the 'Sunday Independent' LIFE magazineAround 300 people turned out to a CervicalCheck protest in Simon Harris's hometown to "deliver a message to the Government".

The crowd, made up mainly of women, also included men and children, as families showed their anger at the scandal.

The protest, in the Health Minister's hometown of Greystones, Co Wicklow, saw marchers carrying banners, with residents cheering as they passed by.

"I came out today because the people of Ireland deserve better," said Kellie MaConnell.

"The Government needs to show accountability and right now I don't agree those leading our country should remain in place. My mother had a health scare recently but she is thankfully fine.

"She lives in Northern Ireland, so she's under a different system, and I worry over cervical screening in the Republic now as a result. The HSE covered things up and should have been honest and told people what they needed to know."

Linda McCann (37) turned out to the protest with her daughter Ciara (6) and said it was important she was there "for myself and for my daughter's future". "I'm angry, like most women across Ireland, that this has happened, there are women dying because of this scandal.

"We are here today to support those women and deliver a message to Government that all women are angry and we aren't going away. We need positive change and to be showed there is actual change and for this never, ever to happen again."

James Leonard (36) said it was "vital" men played their part in the outcry against the scandal because every man has sisters, mothers and wives.

"I had to show my support for women. This wasn't right. There was a cover-up by the HSE and I think there has been no reassurance from the Government for women. I can't remember a scandal like this in my lifetime. And it's not OK," he said.Residents of Enniskerry in Wicklow have spoken today of their shock at the suspected abduction and disappearance of Jastine Valdez.

Jastine Valdez, 24, from Enniskerry, was last seen being bundled into a Nissan Qashqai SUV near her home on Saturday evening.

Search teams have located a body on Monday afternoon, but no formal identification has taken place yet.

The suspect was shot dead by an officer in a confrontation on Sunday evening after gardai traced the vehicle to the Cherrywood business district south of Dublin.

The R760 road on the outskirts of Enniskerry remains cordoned off by gardai on Monday afternoon as residents spoke of their shock at Ms Valdez's disappearance.

Local Sinn Fein TD John Brady said it's critical that anyone with any information contacts gardai.

He told Independent.ie: "It's a shocking incident. I think everyone in the Bray and Enniskerry area is in complete shock.

"Everyone is still very hopeful that she is found safe. I've been speaking to the Filipino community and they really are in disbelief.

"I appeal to the public, if anyone has any information to contact Bray Garda station. It's critical we put the movements from the weekend together to find her. "

Bernard Cawley, 57, from Executive Dry Cleaners, said that Ms Valdez is a regular customer.

"She's very, very friendly, always smiling and laughing," he said.

"She's a lovely girl and always brings a smile to your face.

"Everyone is absolutely in shock and devastated by what's happened.

"The main thing for everyone in the village now is to hope she is found safe and well."

Sandra Archer, who runs a clothes shop in the village, said: "This area is so quiet normally, people leave their doors unlocked because there is no crime. I'm just shocked."

The man who was killed has been named locally as 40 year-old Mark Hennessy, from Bray, in Co Wicklow.

The Garda Siochana Ombudsman's Commission is investigating the shooting.

Ms Valdez is an accountancy student at IT Tallaght and is originally from the Philippines.

Mark Congdon, Honorary Consulate with the Philippine Consulate in Dublin, said that everyone is still hoping for a "positive outcome."

"I would like to offer my sincere thoughts and prayers for Ms Jastine Valdez and her family during this terribly difficult time, may we all deeply pray for a speedy and positive outcome."

He added that vigils will be held for Ms Valdez at 8pm at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel on Dublin's Batchelors Walk and also at the St Fergal's Church on the Killarney Road in Bray.

Anyone wishing to attend to offer their prayers for the family are very welcome.

Meanwhile, Culture Minister Josepha Madigan TD said today she was deeply shocked and saddened to learn that the body of a woman has been found in the Pucks Castle area of south Dublin. The body has not yet been formally identified.

The Dublin Rathdown TD said; "The safety of women is of paramount importance. Im horrified that a young woman has lost her in life in such terrible circumstances...

"I think it's important not to say too much about the case at this stage other than highlight what a tragedy it must be for the deceased ladys family and friends.

"My sympathies are with the girls parents, her colleagues and of course the community as a whole.

"I would like to thank the public, the Gardai, the Defence Forces and Civil Defence for their tireless work in this investigation."

Ms Valdez is described is being around 5ft and of slight build, with long black hair and brown eyes.

When last seen she was wearing a dark-coloured jacket, white T-shirt, grey leggings and running shoes.

Gardai appealed to anyone with information about the incident or the car to contact them at Bray station on 01 6665300 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111.The black Nissan Qashqai driven by Mark Hennessy is surrounded by unmarked garda vehicles after he was spotted in Cherrywood and shot by armed officers. Photo: Arthur Carron

A SECURITY guard was the last to see a black jeep believed to have been the car used to abduct a young woman and he told how ten minutes later "I heard one gunshot."

Hanu Vasile saw the black Nissan SUV gardai had been searching for after the disappearance of 24-year-old student Justine Valdez, at around 7pm last night. "Ten minutes later I heard a gun shot," he said.

Mr Vasile, who monitors traffic going in an out of the Cherrywood Business Park, told Independent.ie his friend called him on his phone after he saw the black jeep - believed to have been driven by the man who abducted Miss Valdez from Enniskerry, Co Wicklow - entering the business park where he works.

Half seven everything was happening," Mr Vasile said.

"I saw the black car drive in and then 10 minutes later I heard one gun shot."

Mr Vasille, from Romania, but who lives in the city centre, added: "I was here inside...(the security checkpoint) - I heard the gunshot.

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"I knew it was a gunshot, it was very noisy.

The security guard said he'd heard the story of the young student's disappearance and that gardai were looking for the car but he didn't click when he saw it until his friend phoned him and when he heard the gunshot.

The car drove though the security point and turned right into the grounds of a local business.

Mr Vasile said he believed an undercover garda car had followed the black jeep into the business park and that shortly after the shot went off a large number of garda cars turned up at the scene.

Mr Vasile said he'd never witnessed anything such as what had happened only a short distance from where he worked before.

And gardai had not yet been to examine the footage that he had which would have captured the black jeep but he expected them to be looking at this soon.

Meanwhile a number of residents and motorists stopped to see the area after they'd heard the news.

"We live nearby and we had to come to see, it's tragic if that man had that young girl. We are all just in shock this happened here," one mother said.

Expand Close 20/5/18 A man being sought in relation to the disappearance of student Jastine Valdez has been shot during an armed garda operation this evening.Gardai had been searching for the driver of a black Nissan jeep in relation to the disappearance of the 24-year-old.. Picture:Arthur Carron / Facebook

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Whatsapp 20/5/18 A man being sought in relation to the disappearance of student Jastine Valdez has been shot during an armed garda operation this evening.Gardai had been searching for the driver of a black Nissan jeep in relation to the disappearance of the 24-year-old.. Picture:Arthur Carron

"We were here earlier and some young people said they heard a shot but they have gone. We dread to think what happened the girl," another woman said.

A number of people were taking photos on their phones as a large garda presence attended the scene.

Sniffer dogs were checking land around the business park and traffic was moved off the side of the road nearby, as people tried to get close to the scene.

Diversions were in place and the public were moved from near the area late last night.

It was believed the body left the scene shortly before 9.30pm.Gardai at the scene in Cherrywood, Co Dublin, where Mark Hennessy (above right) was shot dead by gardai hunting for abducted student Jastine Valdez (inset left). Photo: Arthur Carron

Searches are intensifying this morning for missing student Jastine Valdez after a father of two suspected of abducting the 24-year-old in a random attack has been shot dead by gardai.

Mark Hennessy (40), who was married with two young children, was confronted in a car park in south Dublin after a massive search operation for the missing woman.

A senior source told the Irish Independent that the kidnapping suspect was armed with a knife when gardai approached him at the Cherrywood industrial estate.

It is understood that Hennessy threatened to self-harm and stab gardai, before he was shot by a detective from a south Dublin garda station.

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However, despite the vehicle used in the abduction being recovered, gardai have still not being able to locate Jastine, a Filipino woman who lived in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.

A large presence of gardai remained at the scene this morning.

Crime scene tape covered the entire perimeter of the carpark as investigating gardai assessed the scene in the bustling business hub of Cherrywood.

Additional, non garda resources, have been brought in to manage and divert traffic to alternative locations as the large carpark remains closed.

The incident has been referred to GSOC as per protocol.

People on their way to work stopped to observe the site and talked openly about the dramatic development that unfolded during the search for missing Jastine Valdez.

Its such an awful tragedy no matter what way you look at it, said one passer-by.

I just hope that poor girl is found alive and well  her family must be going through absolute hell, he said.

A woman on her way to work told Independent.ie that shes still very shaken by the incident.

I really dont know what to say  Im just so shaken and disturbed by all of this."

A source told Independent.ie: "Searches are continuing this morning and are going to intensify, gardai are focusing between Killiney and Cherrywood areas but this may be expanded throughout the day.

"Gardai are becoming increasingly worried for her welfare."

Killiney Hill had been cordoned off by gardai as part of their search for Ms Valdez this morning but that restriction has since been lifted.

Garda also renewed their appeal this morning for any information in relation to the movement of a black Nissan Qashqai registration 171 D 20419 between 5pm on Saturday and 8pm on Sunday.

Gardai are attempting to piece together Hennessys movements since 5pm on Saturday when he left his home in Bray, Co Wicklow.

The kidnapping suspect, a building contractor originally from Ballybrack, had told his wife he was going out socialising on Saturday evening.

He has no obvious connections to Jastine and her movements on the day she went missing were random, leading gardai to believe the attack was completely unplanned.

The young student was abducted by a man driving a black Nissan Qashqai as she walked home near Enniskerry about 6.30pm on Saturday. There has been no sighting of her since.

Following a massive garda appeal for information about the car, Hennessy was sighted at Killiney Dart station yesterday afternoon.

When confronted by members of the public, he mounted a curb in the Qashqai and fled the scene at speed.

He was later traced to the Cherrywood industrial estate where a stand-off with gardai ensued.

Hennessy was shot dead and, as is normal when a garda firearm is discharged, the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) is investigating the shooting.

However fears are mounting for Jastine after she was not found in the car.

She and her parents, who are from the Philippines, have been living in Ireland for the past three years.

A student at Tallaght IT, Jastine had got off a bus in Enniskerry on Saturday evening and was walking home along Kilcroney Road, near the Powerscourt estate, when the Qashqai pulled alongside her.

Witnessed

The driver of the car pulled her into the vehicle and then drove off at high speed.

A woman and her young family witnessed the incident and alerted the gardai.

About an hour later, a man phoned the gardai to say he had spotted a young woman in distress in a car on the N11, a short distance from where the abduction took place.

Gardai checked the area and set up a wider search for the car.

But when Jastines parents contacted gardai at 11pm on Saturday to report she was missing, a large-scale investigation was launched.

A divisional search party was sent out at first light yesterday and officers found Jastines mobile phone and some other personal belongings including a bag near where she had been abducted.

The air support unit was involved while gardai also received assistance from the Civil Defence. Members of the Garda technical bureau carried out extensive searches.

Jastine is described as 5ft tall, slightly built with long, black hair and brown eyes. When last seen, she was wearing a dark-coloured jacket, a white T-shirt, grey leggings and runners.

Gardai appealed to anyone with information about the incident or the car to contact them at Bray station on 01 6665300 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666111.SINN Feins Mary Lou McDonald has admitted to be being a fan of the latest addition to the British royal family, saying Prince Harry should consider himself lucky.

While some within her party were critical of RTEs decision to show Saturdays nuptials, Ms McDonald said she understands why people would watch it.

I didnt. But I did see Meghan Markles dress. She looked astonishingly lovely. Im a fan of hers because like everyone else Ive watched Suits, she said.

The Dublin Central TD declared herself a fan of the absolutely brilliant actress, adding the Harry did well.

Over the weekend, Sinn Fein TD for Wicklow John Brady lashed out at the national broadcaster for showing the wedding.

As an Irish Republican living in a so called Republic I totally oppose RTE using my TV license money to broadcast the wedding of a privileged English monarch, he wrote on Twitter.

Asked about those comments, Ms McDonald said lots of people had mixed views on the topic because they strongly object to anything monarchical

But she added: The couple got married, best of luck to them.

I understand how people have an interest in it because its sort of showbiz and celebrities. People like weddings. They like to see how people are turned out. Investigations by the European Commission into alleged anti-competitive practices on the part of the Irish Insurance industry took a further twist this week when it emerged that they are focusing on claims that restricting access to industry-specific databases was used to thwart new entrants to the market.

This is part of an ongoing investigation by the EU, who carried out raids on motor insurance companies in July 2017 over alleged cartel activity.

The cost of car insurance has fallen by just under 14pc over the past year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and by almost 20pc since the cost of premiums peaked in July 2016. From 2013 to 2016, average motor insurance premiums increased by 70pc. High motor insurance premiums have not gone away and most motorists are still paying significantly higher rates than they were in the past and many are enduring year-on-year increases.

However, the issue seems to have fallen off the Government's agenda. That is a view shared by Fianna Fail Spokesperson on Finance, Michael McGrath TD, who this week called on the Government to reboot its Working Group on the Cost of Insurance.

The Government set up the working group in 2016. It was initially headed by then junior minister and now cabinet minister Eoghan Murphy, who in September 2016 declared that "by the end of October I want to have identified the priority actions required to tackle the costs of insurance During November and December I will aim to agree an action plan to enable the relevant government departments to commence the implementation of these priority actions in the New Year."

In January 2017 the first report from the group covered several key areas, such as improving data availability and reducing the costs in the claims process, with a view to bringing down high car premium costs for consumers but little progress has been made since its publication.

"It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the real meat of the recommendations, the key reforms, are being hobbled. They have certainly been stalled, at a minimum," Deputy McGrath said. "The national claims information database, which aims to provide accurate and reliable data for claims affecting the insurance industry and policy holders, was to be in place by next month, yet the full legislation has not been published. It is well behind schedule. It is a similar story with the fraud database; there is no sign of it."

Rising insurance costs are a feature for many motorists and the positive difference to the pricing of insurance premiums that was promised is yet to be seen. According to survey of 4,000 motorists by AA Car Insurance, over 42pc of respondents said that they strongly believe the issue of insurance prices is no longer as important to Government as it was 12 months ago.

Overall, the insurance industry blames the high cost of premiums on our compensation system, so in their view the level of court awards is the relevant issue.

The most recent report from the Cost of Insurance Working Group, published last week, concluded that while the numbers of injuries in Ireland are lower than in the UK, costs per claim are much higher here and the length of time it takes to settle claims is also increasing.

So what can be done to tackle the high cost of premiums?

Conor Faughnan of the AA believes more needs to be done to deal with uninsured driving and fraud, while Insurance Ireland, the representative body for the sector, argues that until personal injury award levels are benchmarked internationally and legislation is passed to give new powers to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, motorists will continue to pay high premiums.

But not everyone is convinced that the price increases are solely as a consequence of compensation claims or that Ireland is a competitive motor insurance market.

"While there is an ongoing issue about exaggerated claims, and the fact that our compensation levels are higher than UK, that has always been the situation," said Dorothea Dowling, former chair of the last statutory independent investigation into the cost of insurance, the Motor Insurance Advisory Board. "Neither of those factors changed over the three-year period from 2013 to justify the 70pc increase in motor premium charges identified by the Working Group during a period over which they identified that overall claims costs only increased by 14pc. We have a long way to go yet before we arrive at the real answers as to why we are in this mess, again."

Peter Boland of the Insurance Alliance, a consumer action group, believes the allegations this week regarding restricted access to the Irish insurance market are shocking but not surprising. "Our members have suspected as much and have been paying the price for years. It is remarkable that such a valuable market, worth over 2bn, is controlled by so few underwriters with 90pc of the motor insurance market controlled by six companies and 80pc of business insurance controlled by six also."

Insurance Ireland is rejecting all allegations that they have imposed obstacles for new players to enter the market and insist that they have co-operated fully with the European Commission enquiry and is confident that its practices are fully compliant with competition law.

However, as insurance companies continue to post healthy profits while motorists continue to pay high premiums, the lack of transparency in the industry is a key issue. It is legally compulsory to have motor insurance yet consumers are being kept in the dark about premium pricing.

The most basic consumer protection for motorists is market transparency; this must be addressed before motorists can hope to see any meaningful reductions in their premiums.The Ocean House had me at 'Hello'.

I arrived very late at night having crossed the Atlantic on a Norwegian flight to Boston, and then taken a car to my destination at Watch Hill, Rhode Island.

Everyone on this side of the Atlantic has heard of the Hamptons and probably think of it as posh (parts are) but The Berkshires and Rhode Island are where the real Toffs retreat as they're more discrete.

The check-in process was swift and painless but it was what happened next that made me fall deeply in love with the place. When asked if I'd like an alarm call in the morning and I answered in the affirmative, I was asked what beverage I would like. No disturbing phone call to scare you out of sleep - instead the comfort of caffeine.

The following day, having ingested a large flask of coffee, I had a look around and the more I saw, the more I fell in love. It's actually hard to do Ocean House justice without gushing.

The hotel is rated five-star and deserves every single one of them. Like most other five-star properties, it's fabulous and awe-inspiring but there's more to it. Ocean House is designed as a haven, a place of relaxation and calm, the food is splendid and the staff not just efficient but apparently happy too. Small wonder 70pc of guests are regulars.

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In order to effect the least stress on guests, the hotel operates as a 'stationary cruise'. I particularly loved this. I'm a fan of cruising but inevitably get seasick. Tips and gratuities, and the contents of the minibar and snack bar are included in the room rate. On opening my door and without even walking out on to my large veranda, I could see and hear the sea. All without feeling woozy. That's what they call a 'win, win' situation.

Also visible from my bed - Taylor Swift's seaside retreat. (I don't think she was home, not that I scrutinised with binoculars or anything). Nor did I scramble over rocks in an effort to get a better look - mainly because they're fenced off!

When you're in Ocean House it's easy to forget that you're in a commercial property. The artwork on the walls is all original (and routinely changed) and I could have spent all my time just wandering around looking at it. Overall the experience is more like staying in a private house (owned by exceedingly rich people, obviously) than being in a hotel.

In keeping with the stationary cruise theme a variety of daily activities are available to guests, including watching films in the luxurious 'cinema' along with cookery and wine appreciation classes. I had a go at making a pasta dish with chef Ryan Beaudoin. It was delicious and he was good enough to give me all the credit, which I'm shamelessly taking!

Both Ocean House and The Weekapaug Inn, where I next stayed on this fantastic trip, and which is about a 10-minute drive away (you can borrow one of the Ocean House Mercedes), are part of the Relais & Chateaux collection.

The Weekapaug Inn also has beachfront access and is a great place to take the kids. The main reason for this is their in-house naturalist Mark Bullinger. (That's naturalist, not naturist, Mark keeps his clothes on). One of the activities Mark oversees - and is equally enjoyable for both adults and kids, is a beachcombing expedition for shells and sea glass which he then helps you turn into jewellery. I now have a beautiful necklace that is completely unique and priceless in its own way.

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Mark is also an expert on oysters and oyster farming but he got a bit embarrassed when attempting to explain the sex life of these molluscs. I googled the subject and don't blame him for blushing.

While at Weekapaug I managed to drop my laptop. It slammed right into the joints where toes meet foot. The pain was excruciating but, as I'd done it in public, the embarrassment was worse. The staff had my foot in a bag of ice before I could swear out loud, and were kindness itself.

In an effort to combat the pain I overdid the painkillers which left me feeling extremely nauseous and with killer indigestion. I retired to my room and lay on the bed, afraid to move, lest something come up.

At that point the chambermaid came in. I was mortified but she was extremely nice to me and called a colleague who immediately brought medication. I was unsurprised to hear she has five kids, as she made me feel safe and cared for.

I'm happy to report that my foot was mended enough for me to end the night at the outdoor fire pit, toasting marshmallows, making s'mores, looking at the stars and listening to the nearby crash nearby.

Rhode Island, the smallest of North America's states, became popular with the super-millionaires of the Gilded Age era (about the late 1800s to World War I). The likes of the Astors, Vanderbilts, Carnegies and Rockefellers liked to escape New York to summer in their 'cottages' (mansions). The Berkshires, in the mountains of Connecticut and Massachusetts, similarly offered respite to these uber-moneyed folk as they can be reached in three hours from either New York or Boston by train.

In the town of Lenox, Massachusetts, alone there are a variety of mansions originally belonging to Edith Wharton, JP Morgan's sister and businessman John Sloan.

Blantyre, the third hotel I stayed in, was originally built by the very rich Robert Paterson, and named after his mother's ancestral home in Scotland. The red brick mansion with its turrets, towers and gargoyles set in the middle of woods has a distinctly fairytale air. Relais & Chateaux recently added the hotel to its portfolio and has been busy refurbishing it as authentically as possible.

Fans of Downton Abbey will just love Blantyre with its wood-panelled Great Hall, massive fireplaces and spectacular chandeliers.

I stayed in the Carriage House, a short walk from the main house, where all the bedrooms and suites are different. Some suites are split-level which my inner child found very exciting.

Being one of the first guests to stay in the refurbished property, I didn't get to partake of the fine dining experience which will be in the Conservatory. However, the food in the Bistro was absolutely delicious.

As a non-drinker, I have tried a variety of non-alcoholic cocktails but even as someone with a great love of sweets I've found most of them sugary enough to take the enamel of my teeth. In Blantyre, I finally encountered a proper grown-up mocktail, the 'Juniper & Tonic' created by barman James.

When the Gilded Age ended, the Berkshires became synonymous with the arts. A couple of friends and I decided we'd walk over to The Mount, former home of writer Edith Wharton and now a museum. The walk didn't take that long (probably a little over half an hour) but it was mostly along main roads and all of us felt a bit exposed with cars and trucks zooming by. I'd recommend taking one of the Blantyre's cars.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is also nearby, in the town of Stockbridge. I've always been a huge Rockwell fan, so this was a definite must-see. Many people remember him as a sentimental 'American Dream' artist who drew cutesy covers for The Saturday Evening Post magazine but there was more to the artist.

The museum contains several iconic civil rights images, including The Problem We All Live With (1964), depicting six-year-old Ruby Burgess being escorted to school by four US Marshals, and Murder in Mississippi (1965), a stark portrayal of the infamous incident which occurred in 1964 when three young civil rights volunteers were killed. The museum also has Rockwell's studio, which was transported from his nearby home, in the grounds.

Both Blantyre and Ocean House are the ideal location to celebrate a significant event like a wedding, an anniversary, a significant birthday or maybe a once-in-a-lifetime treat.

Ocean House hosts only one wedding a weekend, which just like everything else there, is aimed at making guests feel as special as they possibly can.

TAKE TWO: Top attractions

Fine dining at Coast

Coast, the fine-dining restaurant at Ocean House is a five-star dining experience. There are two five-course tasting menus, one for carnivores and one for vegetarians. Each course is paired with a specific wine.

Clark Art Institute

The Clark is famous in the art world but you dont need to be an expert to enjoy the fantastic collection such as its Gauguin (detail above). It is set in a 140-acre campus with amazing views. clarkart.edu

Getting there

Norwegian flies a five-time-a-week direct service between Dublin and Providence in summer, increasing to a daily service this winter. Fares start from 118 one way/ 199 return, including all taxes and charges. To book, visit norwegian.com/ie or call 0330 828 0854.

Ocean House from 337 per night (oceanhouseri.com)

Weekapaug Inn (above) from 291 (weekapauginn.com)

Blantyre from 367(blantyre.com)

And don't miss The Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute (clarkart.edu) or the Norman Rockwell Museum (nrm.org)...

Read more:You might hate Monday, but you'll love our weekly pick of Ireland's top travel offers...

20pc off summer flights with Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus has up to 20pc off all European and UK flights from June to September, if booked before midnight, May 21. Flights to Amsterdam start from 34.99, while Malaga starts from 91.99 each-way. aerlingus.com

157: A 5-star fling in Belfast

Belfast's Fitzwilliam Hotel, which recently received an AA five-star rating, has a special 'Sparkling Spring Break' offer including B&B, a cocktail on arrival and late check out to 1pm from 137 (157 approx.) per room. Valid to May 31. +442890442080; fitzwilliamhotelbelfast.com.

319pp: Time out in Toronto

Air Transat has a flash sale on direct flights from Dublin to Toronto. Running for five days from May 18, it sees fares slashed to as low as 319 return, including checked baggage. airtransat.com

399pp: Perfection in Porto

ITAA member Navan Travel has a three-night city break to Porto, Portugal, from 399pp. The trip departs July 2 and includes return Ryanair flights, 4-star accommodation, and a half-day city tour. 046 906-8600; travalue.ie; itaa.ie/offers.

20pc off summer stays at Jurys Inn

Jurys Inn is offering up to 20pc off stays in hotels across Ireland, the UK and Prague for stays until September 9. jurysinns.com/season-sale

PS. Exclusive holiday discounts

Have you seen Independent Discounts? The new site has a host of special offers and discount codes, with travel brands ranging from Aer Lingus to ClickAndGo.com, Irish Ferries and Expedia.ie. See discountcode.independent.ie/travel-accommodation.

NB: All travel deals subject to availability/change.Cobalt Air has confirmed that it will operate flights from Dublin Airport to Larnaca, Cyprus, as part of its 2017/18 winter schedule.

The Cyprus airline has been running direct flights during summer since July 2016, and has now extended these to a year-round route.

Flights will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout winter, with departures from Dublin at 12.55pm and Larnaca at 8.10pm, Cobalt says.

As we publish, one-way fares are available from 88 each-way on its website, cobalt.aero. The airline also charges 15 for 15kg checked bags on 4+ hour flights.

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The Dublin route will be operated on an Airbus A320, with business class available from November, Independent.ie Travel has learned.

In Larnaca, Cobalt Airs spokesperson said:

We are pleased to launch Dublin for Winter 2017 continuing our commitment to the Irish market which has flocked to Cyprus in record number this summer."

Cyprus is a very popular destination for Irish holidaymakers seeking a sunshine break," said Dublin Airport Managing Director, Vincent Harrison.

Cobalt's onward connections from Larnaca include Tel Aviv.

Read more:Ryanair's Michael O'Leary at a press conference in London on August 31, 2016. Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

Ryanairs latest attempt to resolve its "rostering failure" isn't all bad news.

In a sprawling, 3,000-word press release yesterday, the airline outlined its plans to fly 25 fewer aircraft over winter in a bid to "slow its growth and eliminate all risk of further flight cancellations.

The collateral damage? 400,000 further customers disrupted by flight scheduling changes between November and March of 2018.

Its not all bad news, however.

Ryanair also flagged that it would release one million seats from 9.99 this weekend, the first in a series of winter sales.

Thats the bigger picture. Disruptive though the cancellations are (and for many of our readers, they have been deeply disruptive), the one thing we dont have to worry about is a return to the sky-high airfares of old.

Ryanairs flight cancellations fiasco comes at a time of economic growth, surging air travel and low fuel prices.

Air fares have never been so low, and there is more competition among airlines and across busy air routes than ever.

Last week, we saw Aer Lingus swoop with a rescue sale offering European flights from 29.99. This summer, Norwegian had direct flights to the US from 99.

As I write, WOW air is selling fares to Reykjavik from 39.99.

Weve also seen IAG launch Level, a new low-cost carrier, and Air France is shaping up to debut Joon, a new airline aimed at millenials, in December.

Whatever about losing reputation and face amidst this horror show, Ryanair is not going to lose customers.

9.99 flash sales, 400+ aircraft and a peerless European route network will see to that.

One day, as Michael OLeary has said, you could even fly for free.

Lets just hope those flights arent cancelled.

Read more:Holidaymakers are facing the threat of chaos this summer as Ryanair pilots warn of a strike threat. Stock Image: PA

Holidaymakers are facing potential disruption this summer after Ryanair pilots threatened to strike.

Irish pilots union IALPA has given the airline until Thursday to agree to new working practices or it will ballot pilots for possible industrial action, including strikes.

The Irish airline recognised trade unions in December for the first time in its 32-year history, after a chaotic period when the company was forced to cancel thousands of flights due to rostering problems.

IALPA, which abandoned a planned strike in December, wrote to Ryanair boss Michael OLeary last week demanding the introduction of new systems for dealing with allocations to Ryanair bases around Europe, promotions, and annual leave.

If it is not possible to negotiate the introduction of such a seniority agreement for the benefit of our member pilots directly employed by Ryanair, it is our intention to ballot our member pilots employed by Ryanair for sanction for industrial action up to and including strike action, the union wrote.

It said pilots complain that mandatory relocations to other Ryanair bases cause family upheaval.

Pilots are demanding transparency so that members know why specific pilots are selected for transfers or why requests for transfers are denied.

The union wants the company to tell pilots why they are in the base they are in, the order in which their turn may come for a transfer, and why they received a particular annual leave allowance.

It also wants greater transparency around promotions and internal moves.

Ryanair, which is due to release financial results this morning, said that it doesnt comment on negotiations with its staff.

In the past it has said the Irish union was making demands not compatible with its low-fares, high-productivity model.

Since deciding to recognise trade unions, Ryanair has come to bilateral agreements with pilots in Britain and Italy, but is still working towards deals with unions in other major centres such as Ireland and Spain.

The airline has experienced some minor disruption due to industrial action in Germany and Portugal, but has so far avoided a major strike.The tiny state of Rhode Island is more than just a gateway to Boston, says Thomas Breathnach.

Set the mood

New England's seasonal cover girl is one of the East Coast's favourite summer vacation spots and, thanks to Norwegian's new fleet of direct flights, set for take-off from Dublin, Cork and Shannon on July 1, it could be the surprise shore getaway for Irish travellers this year.

Rhode Island is America's smallest state - barely covering an area the size of Co Clare - but it includes 400 miles of surf-shimmered, yacht-dotted coastline.

Pack your Tom Ford shades, however: this preppy pocket is where Martha Stewart flavours her chowders, where Anderson Cooper traces his roots, and where Taylor Swift summers in a $17 million beach pad.

Add in the Providence art scene, flavours of a vibrant Portuguese and Cape Verdean community, plus Newport's scenic seascapes, and you'll soon be in an Ocean State of mind.

Cheap Kick

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Got sea legs? Newport's famous cliff walk (cliffwalk.com) is one of Rhode Island's favourite freebie attractions. Today designated a National Recreation Trail, the 5km winding route is not only flanked by the state's most stunning scenery - it also sits on the path of America's finest Gilded Age estates.

And we're talking mansions. Keep an eye out for The Breakers (above), the 70-room Beaux-Arts former summer cottage of the flush Vanderbilt family.

Guilty Pleasure

Okay, so you may never compete in a Rhode Island regatta, but you're anchoring down in America's capital of sailing, so why not embark on a scenic coastal cruise?

Cruise Newport offers postcard sunset tours (complimentary Champagne, ahoy!) aboard their dashing old-world schooner, the Madeleine, for $41.

Beyond Newport Harbour, the two-hour trip navigates a veritable calendar shoot of local islets, estates and lighthouses, all amid a sunset over dreamy Narragansett Bay.

See cruisenewport.com for details.

Top tip

Rhode Island expands by 3pc at low tide - stat! So why not track the ocean's ebb and flow (see usharbors.com) and plan the perfect New England picnic? Narragansett Town Beach is one of the liveliest sandy strands to roll out your blanket - pop into a local 'shoppe' like Picnic Basket for fresh fare, from lobster rolls to blueberry pie!

Insider Intel

Where better to check-into in Providence than The Dean (no relation to its Dublin namesake), a former brothel turned boutique bolthole and the perfect spot for slumber after a local craft cocktail crawl (thedeanhotel.com, rooms from 135).

Fancy more an opulent ode to Newport's golden age? The Chanler is a stunning 19th century mansion inn with rooms from 449 (thechanler.com). For those wishing to self-cater, summer rentals rocket on the shore but check airbnb for short term deals (airbnb.ie).

Glitches:

All that coastal living catches up with you in the Ocean State. Rhode Island's wispy, maritime cli-mate can appear blissfully benign but always SPF up well, particularly at sea, to avoid nasty sun-burn souvenirs.

Get me there:

Norwegian flies to Rhode Island's T.F. Green Airport from Dublin, Belfast, Cork and Shannon from 129 each way (norwegian.com). Carry-on luggage is free but 20kg checked bags will cost you 70 return. Venturing beyond the Ocean State? It's a 90-minute train ride to Boston, and New England's fall foliage is on the doorstep too. See visitrhodeisland.com.

Read more:The violent abduction of a young woman as she walked along a quiet country road in broad daylight is a scenario that immediately sends a chill of fear through society.

The shocking reports of Jastine Valdez being bundled into an SUV by a lone male fills everyone with dread as it inevitably invokes thoughts of that group we call Irelands Missing Women, whose disappearances have haunted this country for over two decades  and hope her name does not join that list.

Jastine, a native of the Philippines who has been living in Ireland with her family for the past three years, had returned to Enniskerry by bus on Saturday evening and walked up the Kilcroney Road on her way home as was her custom.

What we know so far is that as she walked not far from the Powerscourt estate about 6.15pm, a man in a black Nissan Qashqai stopped and attacked Jastine.

Luckily, a woman who was driving along the road with her children witnessed the incident as the man assaulted Jastine, quickly bundled the young woman into the vehicle and drove off. When gardai arrived at the scene, they found Jastines phone and handbag and a major alert was issued.

Last night, a massive garda search was under way as detectives raced against time to rescue Jastine and return her safely to her family.

Fortunately, gardai quickly obtained the registration number and identified the man they believe was driving.

The manner of the abduction seems to indicate this was an opportunistic, chaotic crime where the assailant acted on an impulse; a type of catastrophic psychological meltdown. Or the motive could be even darker.

Gardai will want to establish if the individual was a predator who had been driving through back country roads intent on abducting a female.

There is little or no CCTV coverage in most isolated, rural areas such as the Wicklow Mountains.

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If it hadnt been for the eyewitnesses, then Jastine could have vanished with no clues as to what happened, losing the police vital time in launching an investigation.

The suspects past will be closely scrutinised for any evidence that he may have done something like this before and had not come to attention. The focus of the large force of gardai on the case will now be the rescue of the victim after her suspected attacker was shot dead last night.

The abduction of Jastine Valdez evokes thoughts of other missing women cases.

US student Annie McCarrick (27), vanished after a night out in Johnnie Foxs pub in Glencullen, Co Dublin, in March 1993. Jo Jo Dullard (21) disappeared without a trace in November 1995 while hitch hiking home from Dublin to Kilkenny. Deirdre Jacob (18) went missing in July 1998. She was last seen at the gate of her home after walking back from Newbridge, Co Kildare.

No trace has ever been found of these women.

The abduction of Jastine also comes just two days after the grim discovery of the body of 14-year-old Anastasia Kriegel who had been missing from her home since Monday last.

The youngster is believed to have been savagely beaten with blunt instruments following a sexual assault and was then left to die at the scene in a derelict farmhouse in West Dublin.

Gardai in that case are pursuing a disturbing line of enquiry that the perpetrators may also have been young male teens.

These crimes, while they are thankfully not commonplace, serve to illustrate the disturbing issue of violence, particularly sexual violence, against women in modern society.Premium

Dan O'Brien Opinion While we catastrophise about Covid, we ignore risk of running out of cash

We Irish view the world in an increasingly strange and unhealthy way. We catastrophise about Covid in a way other European countries do not. We focus on how bad the effects of the virus could get, on how many more restrictions might be imposed by Government and how helpless we are in the face of the virus.Premium

Eoghan Harris Opinion Misery media fails to give due credit to the Taoiseach

Taoiseach Micheal Martin must drive his advisers mad. Unlike Leo Varadkar or Donald Trump, he never bigs up success stories such as the effect of Level 3 Plus on Covid or his visionary Shared Island project. Last Friday, Tony Holohan and RTE cheerleaders seemed to imply Level 5 was responsible for the improved Covid situation. Not so.Not for nothing was Barbara Bush known as 'The Enforcer'

Barbara Bush, tougher than her husband and known to her family as 'The Enforcer', is probably the most popular of all ex-US first ladies of recent times. Jackie Kennedy is remembered across the globe for elegance and tragedy, but she was not loved. Rosalynn Carter worked hard and was a noted campaigner on issues of mental health, but she has suffered in retrospect because of her bitterness at his defeat by Ronald Reagan, who is widely perceived to have been as great a success as Carter was a failure. The brittle Nancy Reagan was an essential support to her husband, but was thought to care little for anyone else. Hillary Clinton was loathed by those who thought her a careerist. The likeable Laura Bush did a lot of useful work but lacked her mother-in-law's commanding personality. And although Michelle Obama had rock-star status, that has diminished as she and her husband embrace luxury and celebrity. Betty Ford is probably the closest rival, having been far more effective and formidable than her husband Gerald, the 38th president, and still having a posthumous reputation for her prowess as a campaigner on addiction, not least because so many of the famous troop to the Betty Ford Clinic.A few weeks ago I set off on a foodie road trip with SEAT, driving around Ireland to visit some amazing local food producers.

Armed with only a few podcasts and some energy balls, I drove off one rainy Wednesday morning headed for the West coast. Luckily, in typical Irish fashion, the weather changed completely by the time I arrived at Caherush Point in Co. Clare.

Waiting for me, sitting right at the edge of the sea, was Evan Talty from Wild Irish Seaweeds. After a quick chat about the family business (Evans parents set up the business in 2009), I was dying to get down on the rocks and learn more about the incredible variety of seaweeds we are so lucky to have literally right on our doorsteps.

In the last few years, seaweed has become increasingly popular but I feel like a lot of us, including myself, arent using enough of it. Using and eating seaweed isnt too foreign a concept to me, I seem to always buy skincare that touts its benefits and Ive been using it in broths and sushi for years thanks to my half-Japanese mum, but I still had no idea about the exceptional variety that we have on our shores. Five minutes with Evan and hed already showed me 6 different types, each with their own unique characteristics but all boasting incredible health benefits.

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All of the Taltys organically certified seaweed grows wildly off the coast and they only harvest it in season to ensure optimum nutrition. Seaweed is a powerhouse of minerals, its rich in calcium, zinc, iron, potassium and is often championed for its thyroid and metabolic benefits due to the high levels of selenium and iodine it contains. Its also high in omega 3s and fibre and has anti-inflammatory properties. Bottom line: we need to use more of it.

Kombu is the seaweed that I use the most; it makes beautifully rich stock and it was fascinating to see it in the wild, but I was particularly taken with bladderwrack, which has an unusual shape covered in little sacs. When burst open, it reminded me more of aloe vera than a sea vegetable, as it has a silky smooth gel inside that I couldnt resist moisturising my hands with. Next was carrageen, probably the most famous of our seaweeds, a red sea moss often used in desserts for its fabulous thickening properties.

We also saw popular favourites like dillisk and spirulina before going back inside to look at the different products they sell. They do it all from dried wakame and nori sprinkles to body scrubs and seaweed baths. I loaded up the car with some of each and drove off dreaming about the face mask Id be relaxing with later. Wild Irish Seaweed products are available in shops nationwide and you can shop online and book a seaweed safari here.

0% finance or 3,000 scrappage? Why not both? Check out our incredible 182 offers. What are you waiting for- head to SEAT.ie

Sponsored by:Two wild horses stand in an open field in Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales (AP)

An Australian state government has decided to legally protect rather than kill thousands of wild horses, infuriating scientists who argue the feral species is doing severe environmental damage to the countrys iconic Snowy Mountains alpine region.

New South Wales deputy premier John Barilaro said his government had struck a balanced response to ecological concerns about the impact of the horses, known as brumbies, on Kosciuszko National Park.

A 2016 government report had recommended that 90% of the parks 6,000 brumbies be killed, reducing the herd to 600 in the 2,700 square miles of mountainous wilderness that includes Australias highest mainland peak, Mount Kosciuszko, and the nations most popular ski fields.

Mr Barilaro said legislation will be introduced to state parliament this week that will recognise the heritage value of the brumbies to the park and ban killing them. But brumbies will be relocated from environmentally sensitive areas.

There is no clear answer. For all the people who are happy today, therell be some who wont be, Mr Barilaro told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The pro-brumby people say it hasnt gone far enough and of course the conservationists and environmentalists will say this has gone too far, he added. I think weve got a balanced approach.

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The brumbys place in the states largest national park, through which the Snowy River flows, is an emotive argument in Australia. The horses have been both a feral pest and an integral part of Australian frontier folklore for almost two centuries.

Brumbies feature in one of Australians most beloved poems, The Man From Snowy River, about a horsemans perilous chase down a mountainside after a mob of brumbies. Banjo Patersons poem, first published in 1890, inspired the 1982 20th Century Fox movie of the same name.

The wild horse was also showcased at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 as a significant part of Australian heritage.

Conservation groups accused the government of putting at risk dozens of native species through the proposed bill.

An independent scientific committee recently found that brumbies were endangering more than 20 plant species and seven animal species, including three endangered frogs, in the park.

National Conservation Council chief executive Kate Smolski said the brumby was the most destructive pest species in the states alpine region.

The National Parks Association of New South Wales accused the government of valuing introduced species over native wildlife.

The decision is an international embarrassment, chief executive Alix Goodwin said.US president Donald Trump praised new CIA director Gina Haspel at her swearing-in ceremony, saying there was no-one in this country better qualified for the job.

Striking a different tone than in his previous visit to the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Northern Virginia, Mr Trump hailed the agency staffers, calling them the most elite intelligence professionals on the planet and promised them the the tools, the resources and the support they need.

The US senate confirmed Ms Haspel last week after overcoming concerns about her role in the agencys use of harsh interrogation techniques after 9/11. Mr Trump said she showed courage during the process in the face of very negative politics.

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Ms Haspel said she took pride in being the first woman to lead the agency, adding: I stand on the shoulders of heroines who never sought public acclaim, but served as inspirations to the generations that came after them.

She said she wants to send more officers into the field, improve foreign language proficiency among the ranks and strengthen the agencys working relationships with intelligence agencies in partner nations.

When Mr Trump last visited the CIA headquarters in 2017, he spent much of his remarks at the time focused on settling scores with the media.

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Last year, the US president spoke in front of a wall in the headquarters marked with stars that represented fallen CIA officers. This year, he paid tribute to the lost lives, saying their stories of service and sacrifice and daring will live for all time.

Hours before Mr Trump visited CIA headquarters, he struck a different tone, promoting criticism of former CIA director John Brennan and suggesting Mr Brennan is to blame for the Russia probe.

On Twitter, Mr Trump referenced comments from conservative commentator Dan Bongino on Fox And Friends, which argued that Mr Brennan started this entire debacle.

Mr Bongino, a former US secret service agent, also said Mr Brennan had disgraced the intelligence community.

Mr Brennan became the agencys director in 2013 under then-president Barack Obama, and served until January 2017. He has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump.God loves gay people and it is fine to be homosexual, Pope Francis has reportedly said.

The Pope is said to have made the remarks, which go significantly beyond his previous tolerance for homosexuality, during a meeting three weeks ago with a Chilean man who had been sexually abused by Catholic priests.

The Pope offered a heartfelt apology to Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim of Chile's most notorious abusive priest, Fernando Karadima. Mr Cruz, who is gay, said his conversation with the Pope moved on from the abuse crisis to the nature of homosexuality.

"He told me, 'Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like that, and he loves you like that - and I do not care'.

"The Pope loves you as you are. You have to be happy with who you are," Mr Cruz told the Spanish newspaper 'El Pais'.

The Pope's words appeared to go further in terms of tolerance than remarks he made in 2013. Speaking to the Vatican press corps on his return to Rome from a trip to Brazil, he said gay people should not be marginalised but rather integrated into society.

Responding to questions about claims of an alleged "gay lobby" of clerics working in the heart of the Vatican, the Pope replied: "If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?"

The Roman Catholic Church insists that while homosexual orientation is not sinful, homosexual acts certainly are because they are "against natural law".

The Pope is not changing official Church teaching, but he is signalling a more inclusive approach, which will upset many conservative Catholics.

The Vatican neither confirmed nor denied the comments the Pope reportedly made to Mr Cruz.

"This is not a shift in theological teaching or dogma," said Robert Mickens, a Vatican expert and the editor of 'La Croix International', a Roman Catholic publication.Matchesfashion delivered double-digit sales and earnings growth last year as it welcomed a new private equity owner.

Revenues soared 44% to 293 million for the year ended 31 January 2018, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 34%, rising from 19 million to 26 million.

The business, which sells high-end clothing online, continued to grow its appeal abroad, where it generates 82% of its online business.

The US is now Matchesfashions largest country by revenue, with sales growing by 54% year-on-year.

The e-commerce retailer also launched websites in France and Korea, and tripled the size of its Hong Kong office.

Just over half of Matchesfashions sales were made on mobile devices. Mobile sales are expected to rise significantly in the coming years.

Chief executive Ulric Jerome said customers were not shying away from making big-ticket purchases on smartphones. Matchesfashions largest-ever sale was made through its mobile app, when a customer bought 120 units for a total 115,000.

Mr Jerome has not ruled out the possibility of a stock market flotation, but says it is not on the cards at the moment.

The company welcomed in new owners last year when Apax Partners took a majority stake in the business for an undisclosed sum, and Mr Jerome says an initial public offering is not a priority under the new ownership.

It is business as usual, he said. The transaction happened last year and we are a profitable business. That is not a given when you grow so fast.

To grow sales, Matchesfashion is opening a new distribution centre this summer. The 500,000 square foot site has four times the capacity of its current distribution centre.

Alongside the distribution hub, the e-commerce business is opening a new retail space in Mayfair.

The five-floor townhouse will have two floors of retail space, two floors for Matchesfashions private shopping service, and one floor for talks and events.A South African man has been found guilty of murdering three members of his immediate family, three years after the gruesome attack in an upscale housing estate that shocked the nation.

Henri van Breda, 23, was also found guilty of attempting to murder his sister on January 27 2015, as well as obstruction of justice. Marli van Breda, then 16, suffered severe injuries and is reported to be unable to remember the incident, in which their parents and brother died.

Van Breda was denied bail, and will be held in custody until his sentencing.

Judge Siraj Desai said after considering all the evidence, the guilty verdict was inescapable.

The verdict was delivered in the Western Cape High Court, following a lengthy judgment that detailed the evidence given in the case.

Van Bredas trial began more than two years after his parents and older brother were killed in Stellenbosch, a scenic wine-growing region.

The family had emigrated to Australia but returned to South Africa several years ago.

After handing himself over to police in September 2016, van Breda had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was 20 years old at the time of the attack.

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His parents, Martin and Teresa van Breda, and his older brother, Rudi, died in their home in De Zalze Estate in Stellenbosch.

Van Breda alleged during his trial that his family was attacked by an intruder wearing gloves, dark clothes and a balaclava in the early hours of the morning.

His defence claimed his family had spent a normal evening at home the night of the murders. Early in the morning, van Breda said he heard banging sounds in the house and opened a door to see someone attacking his brother with an axe. After he shouted for help, his father entered and accosted the attacker, who was wearing a ski mask, according to van Bredas account. He said there may have been at least two attackers, and that he suffered minor injuries while wrestling with one of them.

Van Breda called emergency responders more than two hours after the attack, saying he had lost consciousness. In a phone call to emergency services played in court, van Breda told the operator: My family and me were attacked by a guy with an axe.

Van Breda, who the judge said had tampered with the crime scene in order to mislead police, was found that morning by police sitting outside the house, his clothing stained with the blood of the victims. Investigators found a bloodstained axe and kitchen knife in the house.

The judge said that in the absence of any intruder, the only reasonable inference was that van Breda wanted to mislead police and that he staged the scene of the crime.

He said van Breda had intentionally inflicted injuries on himself and in order to mislead the police as to the true identity of the perpetrator.New York, May 21 (JEN): The United Nations and the Somali Government on Sunday launched a joint appeal for $80 million to provide immediate help for the people affected by recent flooding in the countrys centre and south.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the flooding  caused by the heaviest rainfall there in more than three decades  has led to fatalities, massive displacement, and damage to infrastructure and cropland, compounding an already fragile humanitarian situation.

OCHA said more than 750,000 people are estimated to have been affected by the flooding, with at least 229,000 displaced. Humanitarian partners are unable to rely on the existing $1.5 billion humanitarian response plan for Somalia for 2018, which is only 24 per cent funded.

The new $80 million appeal, launched at a high-level event in Mogadishu, would provide short-term relief to the affected communities that were already vulnerable due to ongoing conflict and previous droughts.

Speaking at the event, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Peter de Clercq, highlighted the longer-term risks facing populations affected by floods, and the need for investment to build resilience to extreme weather events.

As climate change risks invariably increase, more resources are needed to address the root causes of fragility, chronic poverty and low human development that are affecting the bulk of the population, he said.



Image: UN Photo/Ilyas Ahmed

Google maps

Thiruvananthapuram, May 21 (IBNS): A mysterious virus 'Nipah' has attacked Kerala's Kozhikode, which has claimed three lives from the same family, media reports said.

Following the deaths, the centre has sent a team to Kerala.

Two of the victims were brothers; the third, a woman, was a relative who had visited them in hospital, said reports.

The situation has led to a statewide alert.

The state government has opened a 24-hour control room to monitor the situation.

New Delhi, May 21 (IBNS): Congress president Rahul Gandhi along with his mother, Sonia Gandhi, and sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, paid tribute to former Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, on the latter's 27th death anniversary on Monday.

Rahul is the son, Sonia is the wife and Priyanka is the daughter of late Rajiv Gandhi.

Remembering his father's death anniversary, Rahul shared a heart-touching message on Twitter.

Rahul said his father taught him to love and respect all beings.

The tweet reads, "My father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it. Today, on his death anniversary, I thank him for teaching me to love and respect all beings, the most valuable gifts a father can give a son. Rajiv Gandhi, those of us that love you hold you forever in our hearts."

My father taught me that hate is a prison for those who carry it. Today, on his death anniversary, I thank him for teaching me to love and respect all beings, the most valuable gifts a father can give a son.



Rajiv Gandhi, those of us that love you hold you forever in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/BBjESe4D3S  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 21, 2018

Apart from the Gandhi family, former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, paid floral tribute to his predecessor.

Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister of the country in 1984 following the death of his mother and immediate predecessor Indira Gandhi.

He was the youngest Prime Minister of the country at an age of 40.

He held his office till 1989. In 1991, while he was campaigning for the Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in Madras (now Chennai).

A woman, who was later identified as Thenmozhi Rajaratnam, bent down to touch his feet during the campaign when she detonated the RDX explosives which was kept under her dress.

Along with the former Prime Minister, 25 people were killed in the explosion.New Delhi, May 21 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday left for Russia to attend an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Modi has left New Delhi, the capital of India, on Monday morning.

The two leaders are expected to meet on Monday itself.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar, tweeted to say, "PM @narendramodi off to an early start to #Sochi in Russia for the Informal Summit with the Russian President Putin. The two leaders are expected to discuss steps to cement our already solid partnership over several meetings in the course of the day. @mfa_russia"

PM @narendramodi off to an early start to #Sochi in Russia for the Informal Summit with the Russian President Putin. The two leaders are expected to discuss steps to cement our already solid partnership over several meetings in the course of the day. @mfa_russia pic.twitter.com/nBDiytBDru  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

Earlier Modi had tweeted stating he is confident that the bilateral talks will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The PM's tweet reads, "Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng"Image: twitter.com/jigneshmevani80

Rajkot, May 21 (IBNS): A Dalit man has been beaten to death by some unidentified men upon the order of a factory owner in Rajkot, media reports said.

The incident has also been filmed.

A video which surfaced, showed how the man was tied up and beaten by a person who was later joined by another.

The victim has been identified as Mukesh Vaniya.

Later, based on a First Information Report (FIR), police have nabbed at least five people in connection with the murder.

Reacting to the news, dalit leader and Gujarat MLA, Jignesh Mevani, also shared the video on Twitter and said, "Mr. Mukesh Vaniya belonging to a scheduled caste was miserably thrashed and murdered by factory owners in Rajkot and his wife was brutally beaten up'. #GujaratIsNotSafe4Dalit"PIB

Sochi, Russia, May 21 (IBNS) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Russia's Sochi on Monday for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin, reports said.

The two leaders are scheduled to meet in the coastal city and hold restricted one-on-one talks.

Modis two-day Russia summit comes days after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The summit is being held on the lines of the Wuhan informal summit between PM Modi and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping. The meeting between the two leaders is the first since the re-election of Putin as the President of Russia.

In a series of tweets  in Russian and then in English  on the eve of his visit to Russia, Modi said he looked forward to his meeting with Putin. Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him, Modi tweeted. During their informal summit in Sochi, the two leaders will primarily focus on global and regional issues, including the impact of the US decision to withdraw from a nuclear deal with Iran.



New Delhi, May 21 (IBNS): Days after Congress president Rahul Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using institutions of the country for political benefits, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah on Monday said the Congress has no moral right to preach democracy to the saffron outfit.

While addressing a press conference on Monday, Shah said : "Congress party with a history of dismissing more then 50 governments by abusing Article 356 has no moral right to preach us on democracy."

This is the first time Shah had interacted with media following the Karnataka poll results, which came out on May 15.

As the Karnataka people gave a fractured mandate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which emerged as a single largest party with 104 seats, was invited to form the government by Governor Vajubhai Vala.

However, the Congress and the JD(S) combine claimed to have the simple majority (113) with the support of 117 lawmakers.

Shah has referred to the Goa, Manipur instances where the BJP could form the government despite coming second in the polls.

Trying to establish his point, Shah said: "In Goa and Manipur, the Congress despite being the single largest party had not staked claims, so the Governor invited us"

The political tussle reached the judiciary as the Congress-JD(S) moved the Supreme Court to stall BJP's strongman BS Yeddyurappa's swearing-in as the CM.

Though the swearing-in ceremony was not stopped, the top court had slashed the 15-day period, which was given by the Governor to the BJP to prove majority, to little more than 24 hours.

Even before the floor test began, Yeddyurappa had resigned as the BJP failed to secure the simple majority. With two seats yet to be polled, BJP would have required the support of 113 MLAs for the time being to form the state government.

The Congress had also accused the BJP of trying to poach the former's elected lawmakers after the poll results. In order to prevent any kind of alleged horse-trading, the Congress had parked all its lawmakers at resorts, first in Bengaluru and later in Hyderabad.

The Congress had also released few audio tapes to prove the BJP's efforts of horse-trading.

Rubbishing all allegations, Shah said the BJP does not endorse the idea of horse-trading.

"We never believe in horse-trading. Congress should answer what they did with MLAs by locking them in a five-star hotel," the BJP president said.

Shah said Karnataka's mandate was against the Congress as it was reduced to just 78 seats in a 224-member Assembly. He also termed the Congress-JD(S) alliance as "unholy".

The BJP president said: "BJP emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka. Karnataka mandate was in favour of the BJP. Congress crossed all limits in Karnataka elections. JD(S) formed an alliance with Congress against the people's mandate. This is an unholy alliance."

The Congress-JD(S) post-poll alliance, which was reportedly engineered by several opposition leaders like Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati, has raised questions whether it is the beginning of a possible grand alliance against the BJP for the 2019 General Election.

Exuding confidence in winning the next General Elections, Shah said the BJP will win the political battle on its own. "We will form the government with absolute majority in 2019."



Image: twitter.com/BJP4IndiaSochi, May 21 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold a bilateral meeting at Sochi on Monday.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted some of the pictures where the two leaders could be seen greeting each other.

Kumar said in the tweet, "And this is how close friends meet! PM @narendramodi with Russian President Putin on his arrival at Bocharev Creek in #Sochi for the bilateral meeting. Pictures reflecting our deep and long standing ties!"

And this is how close friends meet! PM @narendramodi with Russian President Putin on his arrival at Bocharev Creek in #Sochi for the bilateral meeting. Pictures reflecting our deep and long standing ties! pic.twitter.com/dt5lty2K6D  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) May 21, 2018

Modis two-day Russia summit comes days after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Earlier Modi had tweeted stating he is confident that the bilateral talks will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The PM's tweet reads, "Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng"



Image: twitter.com/MEAIndiaNew Delhi, May 21 (IBNS): After reaching the national capital on Monday, Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Karnataka Chief Minister designate HD Kumaraswamy met with Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, who had supported the former in the recently concluded assembly polls in the southern state.

The BSP and the JD(S) fought elections together in Karnataka.

Several reports suggest it was Mayawati who engineered a post-poll alliance between the JD(S) and the Congress to form the coalition government in Karnataka.

Kumaraswamy is scheduled to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday evening to discuss the government formation in Karnataka.

The Congress reportedly proposed to have two Deputy Chief Ministers of Karnataka, an idea which has not been accepted by the JD(S) yet.

The Congress and JD(S) will form the government after a week-long political drama, which occurred after the Karnataka polls results.

As the Karnataka people gave a fractured mandate, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which emerged as a single largest party with 104 seats, was invited to form the government by Governor Vajubhai Vala.

However, the Congress and the JD(S) combine claimed to have the simple majority (113) with the support of 117 lawmakers.

The political tussle reached the judiciary as the Congress-JD(S) moved the Supreme Court to stall BJP's strongman BS Yeddyurappa's swearing-in as the CM.

Though the swearing-in ceremony was not stopped, the top court had slashed the 15-day period, which was given by the Governor to the BJP to prove majority, to little more than 24 hours.

Even before the floor test began, Yeddyurappa had resigned as the BJP failed to secure the simple majority. With two seats yet to be polled, BJP would have required the support of 113 MLAs for the time being to form the state government.New Delhi, May 21 (IBNS): Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh attended the passing out parade of 241 Bastariya Battalion of CRPF in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh on Monday.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the Home Minister lauded the efforts of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the State Police in combating the Left Wing Extremism (LWE).

He pointed out that the Naxal leaders ensure their children receive education in reputed universities, while they mislead the children of poor tribal communities.

Said he, The Left Wing Extremists want tribal people to remain poor forever as this suits their scheme and narrative. However, lifestyle of some Naxal leaders displays immense wealth and riches. While children of the Naxal leaders are studying in foreign universities, they mislead children of poor. But we have decided that all those Naxal leaders who have amassed ill gotten wealth by using poor people and manipulating their innocence, will be punished in severe manner."

Naxalism is a challenge, but I want to say that this menace is now shrinking and is losing ground. The casualties in security forces have declined by almost 53 to 55 percent. Geographical expanse of Naxalism has also diminished by 40 to 45 percent. The credit for this achievement goes to the CRPF jawans and State Police," added the Home Minister.

Stressing that development is the most potent weapon to fight the sinister intent of Naxals who mislead people, Singh said, I know that Dr Raman Singh, Chief Minister, Chhattisgarh is trying to ensure overall development of the State. He is focused on developing the remotest areas of the State to ensure inclusive development."

However, Maoists do not want these areas to develop as they very well know that if development takes place, their sinister plan will never succeed.

He added, We have been ensuring road connectivity, electricity and other infrastructure to every village in the State. Some villages are still deprived of electricity and the people are suffering due to hurdles created by the Naxals. But I want to assure that no obstacle can stop the development process in these areas."

Appreciating the work done and sacrifices made by the security forces, Singh said, No amount of money can compensate the loss of life of our jawans. But we have certain responsibility towards the families of those who sacrifice their lives in the service of the nation. Keeping this in mind we decided that not less than one crore rupees should be given to the family of the martyred jawan as a token of our gratitude."

The Bastariya Battalion that came into existence on 1st April 2017, has been created to enhance local representation in CRPFs combat lay-out in the Bastar area besides providing the Bastariya youths a full-proof platform for employment.Sochi, May 21 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting Russia currently, said his discussions with President Vlamadir Putin on Monday was 'extremely productive.'

He said the friendship between India and Russia will scale newer heights in the coming years.

Extremely productive discussions with President Putin. We reviewed the complete range of India-Russia relations as well as other global subjects. Friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time. Our ties will continue to scale newer heights in the coming years. pic.twitter.com/EnNMarJkcB  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2018

Modi met Putin for a bilateral meeting at Sochi.

Modis two-day Russia summit comes days after talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Earlier Modi had tweeted stating he is confident that the bilateral talks will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries.Sochi, May 21 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin held their first informal Summit in the city of Sochi in the Russian Federation on Monday which the Indian leader termed as 'extremely productive.'

The Summit provided an occasion for both leaders to deepen their friendship and to exchange views on international and regional issues, in keeping with the tradition of high level political exchanges between India and Russia.

Extremely productive discussions with President Putin. We reviewed the complete range of India-Russia relations as well as other global subjects. Friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time. Our ties will continue to scale newer heights in the coming years. pic.twitter.com/EnNMarJkcB  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 21, 2018

The two leaders agreed that the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia is an important factor for global peace and stability.

They shared the view that India and Russia have an important role to play in contributing to an open and equitable world order.

In this regard, they recognized each others respective roles as major powers with common responsibilities for maintaining global peace and stability.

The two leaders held in depth discussions on major international issues.

They agreed on the importance of building a multipolar world order.

They decided to intensify consultation and coordination with each other, including on the Indo-Pacific Region.

PM Modi and President Putin also agreed to continue working together through multilateral organisations such as the United Nations, SCO, BRICS and G-20.

Both leaders expressed their concern over terrorism and radicalization, and their determination to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

In this context, they endorsed the importance of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan in an atmosphere free from the threat of terrorism, and agreed to work together towards achieving this objective.

Both leaders held detailed exchange of views on the national development plans and priorities.

They expressed satisfaction over the deep trust, mutual respect and goodwill that characterizes relations between India and Russia.

While expressing their satisfaction at the positive momentum since the last bilateral Summit in St. Petersburg in June 2017, the two leaders directed their officials to prepare concrete outcomes for the forthcoming Summit in India later this year.

Both leaders agreed to institute a Strategic Economic Dialogue between NITI Aayog of India and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, to identify greater synergy in trade and investment.

They noted with satisfaction the expanding cooperation in the energy sector and, in this regard, welcomed the arrival of the first consignment of LNG under a long-term agreement between Gazprom and GAIL, next month.

The two leaders also reiterated the significance of longstanding partnership in the military, security and nuclear energy fields and welcomed the ongoing cooperation in these areas.

The two leaders welcomed the idea of holding informal Summits as an additional engagement at leadership level, besides the Annual Summits between the two leaders.

Modi has also invited President Putin for the 19th Annual Summit in India later in the year.Toronto, May 21 (IBNS): The Toronto police are in search of three suspects who are involved in the shooting which took place on Sunday night, media reports said.

The incident took place outside a restaurant in Yonge and Wellington streets at around 9 pm on Sunday.

Police said they were called at the spot after gunfire outside the restaurant was reported.

A 30-year old man was rushed to a trauma centre after being badly hurt.

The police said the victim was in a very bad condition.

The Toronto police in a tweet said all the suspects were armed when the shooting took place.

The suspects were seen flying from the area in a small black car.

(Reporting by Suman Das)

Image: Wikimedia commonsDr Ajay Bakshi, CEO, India Operations, Parkway Pantai (an IHH Healthcare Group Company), drives the growth and synergy of Parkway Pantais healthcare business in India, which today comprises seven hospitals and three feeder centres with more than 2,000 licensed beds in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. One of the most experienced and well credentialled hospital leaders in India, Ajay was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Manipal Hospitals, Indias third largest hospital network, from 2014 to 2017. From 2011 to 2014, he was with Max Healthcare, fifth largest hospital network in India, as their Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer where he successfully launched four new hospitals and turned around its entire operations. Ajay is deeply passionate about using technology to improve healthcare delivery models. He spent six years with McKinsey where he advised large American healthcare and pharmaceutical corporations on their strategy and operations. He also served Ministers from the Middle East and Africa in addressing the effectiveness of their countries' healthcare systems.



IHH Healthcare is one of the largest healthcare groups in the world by market capitalisation (US$12.7 billion) and the largest private healthcare provider in Asia. We are a global hospital operator of scale with best industry practices. Listed on Bursa Malaysia and the Singapore Exchange, IHH Healthcare abides by the highest corporate governance standards. India is our fourth home market, after Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey, and we have strong operational expertise, including on-the-ground presence and proven track record of significantly improving operations at our acquired entities in India.



In an interaction with Shweta Papriwal, Editor, IIFL, Dr Ajay Bakshi, CEO, India Operations, Parkway Pantai , said,  We are keeping our options open and are evaluating several opportunities for inorganic growth. drives the growth and synergy of Parkway Pantais healthcare business in India, which today comprises seven hospitals and three feeder centres with more than 2,000 licensed beds in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai. One of the most experienced and well credentialled hospital leaders in India, Ajay was Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Manipal Hospitals, Indias third largest hospital network, from 2014 to 2017. From 2011 to 2014, he was with Max Healthcare, fifth largest hospital network in India, as their Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer where he successfully launched four new hospitals and turned around its entire operations. Ajay is deeply passionate about using technology to improve healthcare delivery models. He spent six years with McKinsey where he advised large American healthcare and pharmaceutical corporations on their strategy and operations. He also served Ministers from the Middle East and Africa in addressing the effectiveness of their countries' healthcare systems.is one of the largest healthcare groups in the world by market capitalisation (US$12.7 billion) and the largest private healthcare provider in Asia. We are a global hospital operator of scale with best industry practices. Listed on Bursa Malaysia and the Singapore Exchange, IHH Healthcare abides by the highest corporate governance standards. India is our fourth home market, after Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey, and we have strong operational expertise, including on-the-ground presence and proven track record of significantly improving operations at our acquired entities in India.We are keeping our options open and are evaluating several opportunities for inorganic growth.



You were previously Managing Director and CEO at Max Healthcare and Manipal Hospital and now, CEO of IHHs India operations. You obviously have a lot of experience in Indian healthcare. What do you aim to achieve in your new role?

I am very focused on ensuring the post-integration operations continue to deliver results through the transfer of best practices, management knowledge and expertise from IHHs global operations.



IHH is one of the largest healthcare groups in the world, with several internationally recognised brands known for their high clinical standards and outstanding patient outcomes. They have the right expertise and operational efficiency that we definitely want to learn from and emulate here.



For example, with the support of my team here, I hope to improve the pricing system in our hospitals, especially the way prices are communicated to the patients and families, and the larger support system that patients currently lack in making the financial decisions.



Firstly, our billing coding system is complicated and not as advanced here.



Secondly, we need to determine  do our frontline administrative staff have the right medical knowledge, IT tools, and pricing data to help our patients?



We want to make pricing more transparent, communicate it well to the families and then document our communications with our patients and their families. In addition, I believe we can leverage on technology to improve healthcare delivery models. After six years with McKinsey advising large American healthcare and pharmaceutical corporations on their strategy and operations, and ministries in addressing the effectiveness of their countries' healthcare systems, I have seen and experienced first-hand how hospitals have harnessed the power of technology to provide quality care and improve operational efficiency.



IHH is a company listed in Malaysia and Singapore, though it says India is a home market. What do you mean by that?

IHH has four home markets, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Turkey and India, and it builds a strong base in each of these home markets, so as to focus its resources on growing their presence. It also has operations in China and Hong Kong  its key markets, as well as in Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle East.



India, as the fourth home market, is and will continue to be a very important market for IHH

We are very bullish about India, and there are three megatrends that will make India increasingly attractive in the next 20 years.



Firstly, we see a shift from communicable diseases to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), or lifestyle diseases  patients suffering from NCDs are often large consumers of hospital services.



Secondly, we have a growing middle class that is becoming increasingly affluent.



Lastly, we have an ageing population that is going to drive the demand for healthcare services.



These trends will likely boost the demand for quality private healthcare in India. Thats why IHH is focused on bringing in the right expertise and extracting synergies to prepare its hospitals to meet this demand. IHH has been in India since 2002, and its newly acquired hospitals have shown significant operational improvements post acquisition in 2015. For example, its India operations reported a 27% increase in revenues and 16% increase in inpatient admissions just two years after acquiring Global Hospitals and Continental Hospitals.



IHH Healthcare offers the full spectrum of integrated healthcare services from primary to quaternary care. Which areas will you focus on in India?

We have become one of the largest multi-organ transplant centres in India, and we will continue to focus on performing such complex treatments. In the first four months of 2018, we have done nearly 220 solid organ transplants (liver, heart, lung and kidney) averaging nearly two transplants a day.



IHH is a renowned leader of quaternary care and with our world-class experience and training in liver disease and transplantation, we have even hosted master classes for specialists from all around the world. Aside from organ transplants, we will also look at cancer and neurosciences



How do you plan to increase your current footprint in India?

We are keeping our options open and are evaluating several opportunities for inorganic growth. IHH has taken the inorganic route in the past in India, and that has worked so well for us. Our 2015 acquisitions of Global Hospitals and Continental Hospitals have turned EBITDA positive in 2017, due to many factors, including the investment in new technologies, facilities and medical equipment, successful cross-pollination of ideas and expertise, and sharing of international best-in-class practices.Short term glories of political parties and politicians have left this nation divided on what could have been a supreme power. In India, caste, creed, background, religion and beliefs are used as artillery to create ruckus and break and shatter people.

Anyhow, time and again, many people, communities and groups have proved that they have risen above these differences and forced hatred.

One such example is of this man from Dehradun, Uttrakhand.

20-year-old Ajay Bilawalam fell ill and realized that he was suffering from leprosy. The platelets in his blood began to fall rapidly and to a dangerously low level, until he got help, from a Muslim.

Ajay needed A+ blood to survive and recover from his ailing health. Watching his son die, it was Ajay's father who took it to social media to seek help from his family and friends and get blood for Ajay. He wrote a poignant, heartfelt post, asking people to donate blood or reach out to someone who is willing to.

It is then when Aarif Khan got the message on Whatsapp.

Upon reading the post-Aarif, who is the president of National Association For Parents And Students Rights immediately called Ajay's father and expressed his willingness to make the donation.

When Aarif reached the hospital, he was asked by the doctors to first eat something and then participate in the donation. He then insisted that he wanted to make the donation without consuming any food since he was fasting, but doctors refused. Therefore, in order to save a life and keeping humanity above any religion, Aarif consumed whatever food was given by doctors and made the donation.

We don't know how long will Ajay survive or how good his condition has gotten, but Aarif's donation did buy him a lot of time and recovery that Ajay is now ready to embrace. In a country like India, where young boys and girls are killed in a religious controversy or for having consumed beef, there are people who are the face of radical thinking.

Empty promises, misguided loyalty and patriotism and pure deceit by people in power have left our nation divided and open through more pores it could manage to live with. It's people like Arif Khan who help unite it.Pakistan on Sunday said that it has sent a four-member delegation to Washington to raise Indias alleged violation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) with the World Bank, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.

The move comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 330-megawatt Kishanganga hydropower station, one of the projects that India has been working on in Jammu and Kashmir, amid protests from Islamabad.

AP

Pakistan has opposed some of these projects, saying they violate a World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of waters from the Indus and its tributaries upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends. New Delhi believes that IWT allows it to build run-of-river hydel projects that do not change the course of the river and do not deplete the water level downstream.

Disagreeing with the Indian interpretation, Islamabad argues that the Kishanganga project not only violates the course of the river but also depletes its water level.

Speaking to the media in Washington, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said a four-member delegation, led by attorney general Ashtar Ausaf Ali, would hold talks with World Bank officials on the issue on Monday.

AFP/Representational Image

The issue of construction of the Kishanganga dam on River Neelum will be discussed in the meeting, he said, stating that it was a violation of the IWT by India. The Pakistani delegation will also raise the issue with the president of the World Bank, he added.

Chaudhry said the World Bank was a guarantor of the international agreement and, therefore, it must intervene in the matter and fulfil its obligation.

The dam has been constructed on waters flowing into Pakistan that would seriously disrupt supplies vital to the country's agriculture, he said, adding, India plans to undertake several such projects in the disputed territory.

Indus river/Wikimedia

India had started work on the Kishanganga hydropower station in 2007. Three years later, Pakistan took the matter to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, which stayed the project for three years. In 2013, the court ruled that the Kishanganga project was a run-of-river plant within the parameters of the IWT and that India may accordingly divert water from the Kishanganga (Neelum River) for power generation.

Unable to stop New Delhi, Pakistan attempted to counter India by starting its own projects on the Neelum River and, last month, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had inaugurated the first unit of the Neelum-Jhelum hydroelectric project.representational image

Delhi government has told bars not to play recorded music after residents at many areas complained that noise disturbs their peace. The state government has said that pubs can play only live music such as individual or band performances. It cited licence conditions that ban them from playing recorded music. Read more

Here's more top news of the day:





1) Despite Reforms, Women In Progressive Saudi Arabia Are Still Paying The Price For Feminism

AFP

Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman has set out ambitious plans to modernise the otherwise regressive country. Many are looking forward to a fantastically changed country, a drastic shift from its image. Read more

2) Govt To Impound Passports And Confiscate Properties Of NRIs Who Leave Their Indian Wives

pti

It won't be easy anymore for rich NRIs to abandon their Indian wives living with them abroad. In order to deter NRI men from deserting their wives, the law ministry has decided to take a slew of measures. Read more

3) Heres More Proof That Indian College Students Are Forever Glued To Their Smartphones

Representational Image

According to a study conducted by Aligarh Muslim University and the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), the college student in India, on an average check their mobile phones over 150 times a day. Read more

4) Brazilian Woman With 106 Cocaine Capsules Worth Rs 6 Crore Nabbed At Delhi Airport

ani

In a big catch, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested a 25-year-old Brazilian woman with 106 capsules of cocaine in her stomach from Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport. The woman was caught on May 14 soon after she landed in Delhi in a flight from Sao Paulo in Brazil. The NCB had tip-off about the drug cartel. Read more

5) Coimbatore Designer Has Made A Wooden Bicycle & It Has Become An Instant Hit

SimpliCityCoimbatore/Youtube

Last year, when P K Murugesan, 33, searched for a new frame for his bicycle that was damaged during transit, he couldn't find one. This led him to design a frame using engineered wood or plywood. Read moreSwitch the Market flag

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Market flag for targeted data from your country of choice.

for targeted data from your country of choice.And despite the growing risks, there are those who approach investments in insurance with caution because the field is still relatively young.

We can figure the probability of a quake or a hurricane but dont know as much in cyber, said famed investor Warren Buffet during Berkshire Hathaways annual shareholder meeting held earlier this month. Its uncharted territory on the insurance side and will get worse, not better.

I dont think we or anybody else really knows what theyre doing when writing cyber [insurance] We dont want to be a pioneer on this, he added.

In a separate report by AIG, Grell warned that hackers motivations have changed. If before they focused on disclosing and monetising data, now they seek to disrupt firms operations to reduce revenue.

The report cited the use of ransomware, which can make important data files inaccessible to firms until they pay the hackers. The NotPetya cyberattack of 2017 was a clear example - the ransomware attached itself to Ukranian tax-filing software, allowing it to spread to multiple multinationals including shipping giant Maersk and pharmaceutical manufacturer Merck, both of which operate in the Ukraine.

Maersk projected that the cyberattack would cause losses of up to US$300 million due to serious business interruption, as it had to reinstall and replace hardware.Sydney-based technology-led insurer Huddle has appointed Digicall Assist as its roadside provider, as it expands its car insurance customer-base in Australia.

Starting June 1, Digicall Assist will be providing roadside assistance nationally to Huddle customers through their extensive national provider network. The company, previously trading as International SOS Australasia (PCC), has more than 15 years in Australasia providing assistance to consumers, via bespoke automotive solutions.Prosecutors said that Espinosa was one of several people charged in a series of investigations. They allege that Espinosa intentionally set multiple homes on fire and caused water damage to other homes in order to file fraudulent insurance claims. He also recruited homeowners in Miami-Dade, Lee, and Collier counties.

The insurance fraud ring that Jorge Fausto Espinosa Sr. led gave a sense of professionalism and expertise to the age-old crime of theft, Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. Insurance policyholders were Espinosas real victims. This is a wonderful result for the hard-working prosecutors, police and fire investigators who put this complex case together and worked it to its proper ending.

Prosecutors said that the scam cost insurance companies and policyholders more than $14 million, according to ABC 10.

Related stories:

Alabama insurance agent indicted for fraud

Iowa woman gets 12 years for insurance arson scamWhen your property is hit with a natural disaster or a crazy driver runs a stop sign and smashes your car door, the very last thing you want to do is sit on hold waiting for an insurance agent, or worse, get bumped around through the ranks being forced to completely re-tell your story to each new person, she said.

Noting a separate study from Accenture, Peeples said nine in 10 customers feel badgered in such situations as they are asked to repeat their issues and incidents to several representatives.

Insurance Business had a brief chat with Peeples to get her insights on improving customer experience. In this exclusive interview, Peeples shares tips on how insurance firms can utilize mobile messaging in improving their communications lines with their clients. She also discusses the pressing challenges the industry is facing today.

Why is it important to put clients in control of their experience?

For me, the customer is the ultimate disruptor here, so its important that we always make their needs a priority. Consumers like having the flexibility to reach companies from anywhere, anytime, and with speed to be able to quickly get resolution.

There is elegance in simplicity, fast seamless experiences are essential to increase satisfaction. Allowing customers to easily engage with insurance companies or agents and brokers through secure digital messaging across all of their devices is important because it allows people to get support and information, transact or to give feedback on their terms rather than the companys terms.

Can you give us several ways on how insurance firms can engage with customers better?

Communication. And its really about commerce, content and care. As a business, your customers satisfaction should be at the forefront of everything you do. The most proven way to do that is get them from the start to resolution as quickly as possibleno hold times or diversions, just straight to a resolution. Remove the friction.

Becoming an on-demand business allows customers to interact with insurers in a number of ways  such as collecting underwriting information, paying a premium or processing a claim -- straight from their mobile devices or online. They can communicate and transact by text, pictures and even emojis while being guided through the process by intelligent automation. But the important piece is that they can do it how and when works best for them.

How is mobile messaging going to improve the communication channels between insurance firms and their customers?

Essentially, the use of smartphones for voice has long taken a back seat to data and text. People expect what they want, the way they want it, when they want it  and are not afraid to complain on social media if they dont get it. Its no longer word of mouth, its a world of mouth! We live in a time where customers want to be able to message brands as they would their friends, without having to deal with the traditional pitfalls of customer service. And something as simple as mobile messaging is the key to doing this. And it makes sense: with 8.3 trillion mobile messages sent in 2017, this is clearly where your customers want to be.

What do you think are the most challenging issues facing the insurance industry today?

A big issue for the insurance industry is that it has remained largely unchanged for nearly a hundred years. Inertia is easy, change is hard. Change is especially difficult for insurance companies whose core business is managing risk. Yet there is arguably now more risk in continuing to do things the way weve always done them.

Weve reached the point where we must innovate or die; and to do so must shift from a strictly rules-based approach of gradually evolving legacy systems to one where insurers and others across the service delivery chain should continuously apply real-time learning through artificial intelligence and data science. Routine tasks that required long phone calls or manually scouring policy FAQs should now be resolved more efficiently through intelligent automation. These once lumbering, legacy companies have the opportunity to leapfrog others and forego the often painful incremental change in favor of meaningful change. Think about 10x improvements versus the traditional 2x improvements - all driven by customer demand and enabled by technology.

What are your hopes for the insurance industry moving forward?

As I mentioned earlier, the customer is really the disruptor here. Its table stakes - a business imperative we must keep the focus on their needs, and make them a priority with every innovation we muster. People will likely never look forward to interacting with their insurance company  in this industry its about utility, simplicity and accessibility.

Until now, incumbent brands have taken far too long to grasp the basics of the shift in business-to-consumer interactions. If you would have told me three years ago that insurance would be our fastest growing vertical, I would have probably laughed at you. But from where I sit now, more and more insurance companies are retooling how they think about their business processes and how best to leverage todays technology in a way that better serves their customer, while also creating efficiencies for the company. The future is now.

A word of caution: Insurance shouldnt approach this work as a project, program or initiative  instead they should think of it as fundamental shift in the way they think about how they do business day to day and more strategically over the long term. For those companies who embrace this new way of working, its not only about surviving - its about thriving in the on-demand economy.

Related stories:

Study reveals the key to insurance customer satisfaction

Why teaching clients about risk is keyGlobal insurers are taking stock of how the U.S. withdrawal from an international agreement to deny Tehran nuclear weapons, and threatened sanctions against companies that do business with Iran, could affect them.

Insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said on Friday it will continue to monitor developments following the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran deal, while Zurich-based Swiss Re said it is assessing the impact of the U.S. decision on its business..

Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG), based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, has British and Norwegian subsidiaries that have brokered insurance and advised clients on activities related to Irans oil and gas industry, as recently as the 2018 first quarter, according to a filing.

Rebuffing appeals from France, Germany and Britain, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States 10 days ago from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers designed to stall Irans nuclear weapons program and ordered sanctions reimposed on Tehran.

The move has spurred global insurers and other companies to rethink their dealings in Iran as they await further guidance from the United States and European Union.

AJG subsidiaries have helped clients obtain insurance and reinsurance for a variety of activities in Iran. They include transporting oil and gas to and from Iran and operating vessels that provide support to offshore oil platforms that supply Iran with oil, according to the filing.

Whatever the decision from the U.S. administration, we will take appropriate action in compliance with all applicable laws as is our customary practice, an AJG spokeswoman said.

On Tuesday, German insurer Allianz said it was preparing to wind down Iran-related business due to possible U.S. sanctions.

We are analyzing our portfolio to identify Iran-related business, an Allianz spokesman said in an e-mailed statement, calling it totally minimal.

Allianz is also waiting for and will consider any guidance that the EU and the German government may provide, he added.

This analysis is ongoing and we are developing wind down plans for relevant business to ensure appropriate termination within the defined periods, the spokesman said.

A Lloyds of London spokesman, on May 10, said the company is also reviewing the implication of re-imposition of previously suspended U.S. sanctions against Iran and will issue guidance to the Lloyds market in due course.

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn in New York and Carolyn Cohn in London; Additional reporting by Jonathan Saul in London and Tom Sims in Frankfurt Editing by Paul Simao, Leslie Adler and Bill Berkrot)

Topics Carriers USA Energy Oil Gas London A.J. Gallagher GermanyCNA Hardy, a specialist commercial insurance provider for clients within the Lloyds and company markets, is has appointed Delphine Leroy as country manager for France.

Reporting to Stuart Middleton, CEO Continental Europe, Leroy will be responsible for developing CNA Hardys market presence and capabilities across France.

Leroy has spent 13 years at CNA Hardy where she has held a number of senior positions focused on building out the companys continental European specialty portfolio. Most recently, she was European head of Specialty Business, responsible for a team of 30 individuals across nine territories.

Leroy will take up her new position on July 1.

Topics Europe FranceThe new era of big batteries has already drawn scrutiny after fiery electric-car crashes across America and Europe. Now, U.S. city planners are worried about the same risk of hard-to-control blazes as these power-storage units make their way into basements and onto rooftops.

You can have these things go on fire, and then hours or days later, they can reignite, presenting a new challenge for first responders, said Paul Rogers, who led New York Citys effort to establish battery safety standards until he retired as a lieutenant with the fire department earlier this year. Firefighters  if they act inappropriately  they could get killed, he said.

Improvements in energy storage are revolutionizing how and when electricity is used. Batteries now fuel everything from handheld devices such as smartphones to the electric cars proliferating around the world. In the latest trend, racks of batteries stacked up to the size of studio apartments are being installed in urban spaces like office buildings and shopping malls. The units allow buyers to tap into lower cost and renewable energy and supply backup power during widespread outages.

But the same chemistry that makes lithium-ion batteries so effective also poses a hazard. While fires are rare, an overheating unit can ignite. And while water can put out a battery blaze, it takes a lot more of it than usual. A few high-profile fires involving everything from mobile phones and laptops to electric cars and even jumbo jets has some city officials calling for more caution and clearer standards before storage units end up in buildings.

An effort by New York to review the safety of these battery systems has already limited their deployment, according to the research group Electric Power Research Institute. At this point, not a single lithium-ion battery system has been installed inside a building there, though there have been four approved for outdoor spaces, New York utility Consolidated Edison Inc. said.

For its part, New Yorks fire department says it isnt deliberately slowing installations. The agency just wants to ensure these installations meet appropriate safety standards, said Ronald Spadafora, the departments chief of fire prevention.

The way Rogers puts it: A lot of code officials, they dont know what to do with the lithium-ion batteries.

More Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries have gotten a lot cheaper  dropping almost 80 percent since 2010  as demand increased for electric cars. Thats increased the appeal for utilities to integrate batteries that can store the intermittent energy produced by wind and solar farms. Commercial building owners can deploy batteries to buy energy when its cheap, and then use it to power air conditioners and lights during hot summer days when electricity prices surge.

California, New York and Massachusetts have set targets to increase the amount of storage on their grids, and New York City wants to have 100 megawatt-hours deployed by 2020  enough to power anywhere from 25,000 to 80,000 homes for an hour, based on wide-ranging estimates of residential electricity use.

As rare as battery fires are, periodic blazes in e-cigarettes, laptops and even battery packs on one of the most sophisticated jetliners in the world, the Boeing Co. 787, have led to government restrictions and frightening headlines. In 2012, an energy storage system made up of lead-acid batteries caught fire next to a wind farm in Hawaii.

The National Transportation Safety Board has opened investigations into two recent fires involving Tesla Inc. cars, along with an earlier blaze last year. And the agency charged with setting vehicle safety standards, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said it was gathering information on a recent episode in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Swiss police are examining a fatal Tesla crash last week that triggered a fire.

More Research

Incidents like these have some government officials urging more research into the risks of having even bigger batteries in buildings. A unit can be as small as a school locker and as big as a standard 8-foot-by-20-foot shipping container (roughly 2-meters-by-6-meters).

The installation of lithium-ion and other new energy storage technologies offer exciting opportunities, but also present significant safety concerns, Spadafora said. Installations at scale necessary to power buildings and building systems potentially present very serious fire and life-safety hazards.

In San Francisco, the fire department says lithium-ion batteries in buildings with capacities larger than 20 kilowatt-hours must comply with city and California fire codes for stationary battery systems. Rules include placing the batteries in separate rooms with automatic sprinklers, ventilation and smoke detection systems.

New York has been more cautious in greenlighting installations, partly because Americas largest city is so densely urban. The fire department said it has taken time to develop its own guidelines to allow for researchers to conduct tests that would help determine the appropriate safety measures.

Developing Standards

A lot of municipalities are waiting to hear what New York is doing, Rogers said.

Last month, the New York City fire and building departments, City University of New York, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and utility Con Edison published a guide for permitting and connecting outdoor lithium-ion systems.

What we are trying to do is bring this to scale, said Tria Case, director of sustainability at the City University of New York who is responsible for facilitating the development of the energy-storage guidelines. There is a need to develop standards so each project doesnt have to be on a case-by-case analysis.

New York City should have a guide for installing indoor storage systems in buildings by years end, Case said. That should help reduce deployment times and cut down on costs for systems.

Were excited about the role battery storage can play, both in small scale and large scale, but we have to balance that with the safety concerns with first responders, said Susanne DesRoches, deputy director for energy & infrastructure for the New York City mayors office.

So far, the effort to develop consistent regulations hasnt created any bottlenecks in installations, according to Kelly Speakes-Backman, chief executive officer of the Energy Storage Association, a Washington-based industry group that has been working with the city.

Of course, safety is our first concern, Speakes-Backman said during an interview at an industry conference in Boston last month. We are participating in the working groups to help make sure these standards are safe and reasonable.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics New YorkThe U.S. gun lobby is taking aim at gun-hating banks after Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America said they would no longer provide certain banking services to gun-makers, according to industry lobbyists.

The attack by Gun Owners of America and the National Rifle Association (NRA) could imperil de-regulatory gains the banks had hoped to win from Republican lawmakers and regulators, many of whom are staunch defenders of the Second-Amendment right to bear arms, according to industry sources.

In March, Citigroup put restrictions on new retail business clients which sell guns to require their customers to pass background checks, following Februarys Florida high school shooting that killed 17 people. Weeks later, Bank of America said it would no longer lend to companies that make military-style firearms for civilians.

Gun-control activists and Democrats praised the policy, urging other financial firms to follow suit. But gun owners and manufactures say it encroaches on Americans constitutional rights and they are fighting back.

Gun Owners of America (GOA), a Washington-based lobby group, has asked lawmakers to add a provision to a draft law rewriting bank rules that it says would prevent gun-hating banks from discriminating against firearms makers.

The bill reforming the 2010 Dodd Frank act is set to be voted on by the House of Representatives next week.

While financial-industry lobbyists say the bill is likely to pass without the provision on gun-lending, the firearms issue is threatening to turn the powerful gun lobby into an adversary for banks on other regulatory issues longer term.

Citigroup and Bank of America are threatening our Second-Amendment rights. They do not realize how much more there is to lose than to gain, by their new policies, said GOAs executive director, Erich Pratt.

NRA Sues New York, Alleging First Amendment Violations in Insurance Crackdown

The group this month wrote to its 1.5 million members urging them to petition House lawmakers to vote against the bill if the provision is not added.

Our members will take direct action to such discriminatory lending practices by these banks, Pratt added.

Citigroup and Bank of America declined to comment.

Charles Adcox, a member of GOA, has stopped accepting Citi and Bank of America credit cards at his Missouri gun shop Black River Armory in response to their new policy.

My more loyal customers dont mind paying in cash. Some even wish to drop their credit-card companies for gun-friendly alternatives, Adcox told Reuters.

The NRA is running an advertisement campaign criticizing Citi and Bank of America online, adding that Citi may be encouraging retailers to violate anti-discrimination laws.

The NRA will continue to promote awareness of those companies who seek to infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of American citizens, William Brewer, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and counsel for the NRA, said in a statement.

Poor Strategy

Mike Crapo, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which writes banking rules and oversees Wall Street regulators, wrote to the chief executives of both lenders in April chastising them for trying to manage social policy, according to reports.

J.W. Verret, professor of Banking Law at Scalia Law School, said the banks gun policies appeared to be a terrifically poor strategy at a time when they had stood to gain from a political push to cut red tape across the financial industry  potentially reducing their access to lawmakers and regulators.

There might be a timing challenge in getting that particular provision in this bill but it means that the number of offices that takes Citis phone calls in the next year or two on the Hill has just been cut in half.

The gun issue is unlikely to go away as mass shootings grab the nations attention. Multiple people were killed on Friday in a shooting at a high school in Texas, a law enforcement source said.

As lawmakers aim to relax banking regulations almost 10 years after the start of the 2007-2009 crisis, banking lobbyists have been increasingly active on Capitol Hill.

The Dodd Frank rewrite now being considered in the House would relax lending and capital and mid-size banks, give a capital break to some large banks custody businesses, and includes a provision that would directly benefit Citis bond trading business.

(Reporting by Katanga Johnson Editing by Michelle Price and Alistair Bell)

Related:

Topics LegislationThe Prague-based investment firm Arca Capital said it plans to work with activist investor Carl Icahn and other minority shareholders to prevent a proposed privatization of AmTrust Financial Services Inc.

Arca Capital owns approximately 2.4 percent of outstanding shares of AmTrust Financial.

Icahn recently disclosed that he has more than of 18 million shares of the company, equal to an approximately 9.4 percent stake. He also announced he opposes the insurers $2.7 billion privatization scheme.

I am strongly against the proposed going-private transaction and intend to solicit proxies against the deal, Icahn wrote in a letter to AmTrusts board.

Arca Capital, which thinks the proposed privatization plan undervalues AmTrust, said it has long held the view that AmTrust Financial Services is a fundamentally strong business and has questioned the justification for its decline of over 50 percent since January 2017. During that 15 month period, the stock has declined from over $27 per share to under $13 per share even though, according to Arca, there has been no significant changes to the business.

In March, Stone Point Capital, the Karfunkel family and AmTrusts CEO Barry Zyskind agreed to buy the company in a deal that valued the firm at about $2.7 billion. That offer was 10 percent above their original offer.

While ordinary shareholders have lost retirement and college funds, Barry Zyskind and his in-laws are now trying to privatize the firm at what Arca believes is an absurdly low valuation, the private equity firm said in a statement.

Arca started an advocacy campaign against the plan when it was first announced in March. The campaign has involved creating an organization, ProtectAmTrustInvestors.org.

Arca alleges that actions by Zyskind and his allies have undermined AmTrust. Whether or not these actions were purposeful, the result was a significant stock devaluation that hurt ordinary investors but allowed the prospect of a cheap sale to the very same Barry Zyskind. At very minimum, AmTrust management took advantage of the uncertainty in the companys situation and the unfavourable market conditions to attempt to take AmTrust private on the cheap, said Pavol Krupa, chairman of Arca Capital.

Krupa also welcomed the involvement of Icahn in the company.

Arca Capital stands ready to work with Mr. Icahn to stop the privatization plan and implement his tried and true methods to increase shareholder value, Krupa said.

AmTrust offers workers compensation, commercial automobile, general liability and extended service and warranty coverages.

Related:Billionaire investor Carl Icahn sued the directors of AmTrust Financial Services Inc., Chief Executive Officer Barry Zyskind and the family that controls the insurer to challenge a plan to take the insurer private, arguing it will shortchange investors.

Icahn, who owns a 9.4 percent stake in Amtrust, says the going-private deal unfairly benefits the controlling Karfunkel family at the expense of public stockholders. He asked a Delaware Chancery Court judge to hold Amtrust directors who backed the deal liable for not acting in the best interests of holders, according to the lawsuit filed Monday.

The transaction will transfer huge amounts of value belonging to the companys public stockholders to the controlling family, according to the suit.

Hunter Hoffmann, an Amtrust spokesman, didnt immediately return a call or email seeking comment.

Last week, Icahn wrote to AmTrusts board to protest the deal struck in March by Stone Point Capital LLC, the Karfunkel family and Zyskind to buy the company. Icahn said then the proposed squeeze out transaction fails to take into consideration most of AmTrusts minority holders.

Deal Details

The takeover offer came after a wave of problems for AmTrust, including a restatement of earnings, finding accounting-control problems and learning the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation. Zyskinds and Director George Karfunkels families agreed last year to inject $300 million into the firm in a private-placement deal.

Icahn Partners LP, Icahn Partners Master Fund LP and High River Limited Partnership, entities controlled by Icahn, contend the Zyskind and Karfunkel families have engaged in self-dealing in connection with the insurer.

A company owned by the families also owns Amtrusts Manhattan headquarters, provides more than half the companys reinsurance coverage, and gets half-price rides on the companys jet, according to the suit.

Zyskind, the brother-in-law of the Karfunkel brothers who founded Amtrust, was paid more than $60 million during a five-year period starting in 2012 while the companys performance lagged, Icahn said in the suit.

The billionaire accuses Zyskind and the Karfunkels of attempting to manipulate the shareholder vote on the $13.50-per-share offer to go private. The moves are designed to tilt the playing field to advantage the Zyskind/Karfunkel families, while blatantly disadvantaging the public shareholders, according to the suit.

The case is Icahn Partners v. Zyskind, 2018-0358, Delaware Chancery Court (Wilmington).

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits ClaimsAuthorities are investigating whether criminal charges should be filed after an Oklahoma woman was mauled to death by seven small dogs, most of them possibly a dachshund-terrier mix.

Carter County Sheriff Chris Bryant says 52-year-old Tracy Garcia was killed last week near her home outside Ardmore, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of Oklahoma City.

Bryant says the dogs each weighed less than 40 pounds (18 kilograms) and that they belonged to one of Garcias neighbors.

Police shot one dog and the rest were euthanized at an animal shelter.

The dogs exact breeds are unknown, but shelter euthanasia technician Amanda Dinwiddie tells television station KXII that six of the dogs appeared to be a dachshund and terrier mix, while the seventh appeared to be a border collie mix.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics OklahomaPG&E Corp. suffered another legal setback with a judge saying he wont release the company from a key legal claim over the most destructive wildfires in California history.

PG&E has been challenging a California law allowing private property owners to hold the utility 100 percent responsible for any losses caused by its equipment or power lines even if it didnt act negligently. Edison International, owner of the dominant utility in southern California, is also facing the prospect of multibillion-dollar payouts under the same law over a record-setting blaze near Los Angeles.

Fridays tentative ruling marks the second time in a month a state judge has refused to spare PG&E from having to face a claim under inverse condemnation.

PG&E has said since its a private company and cant socialize the burden from damage to individuals through taxes, it shouldnt be liable under inverse condemnation. PG&E doesnt have the authority to tax and can only raise rates approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.

There is no basis for PG&Es argument that imposing inverse condemnation liability is unconstitutional unless the utility is guaranteed to automatically recover its costs through rate hikes, Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow said in the ruling.

Edison, PG&E Seek Mercy From Courts Over Doomsday Fire Payouts

In April, a Sacramento judge said trial judges hands are tied by previous appellate court rulings and they cant interpret the law the way the utility is asking.

We continue to believe that inverse condemnation, as applied to a privately owned utility, is a flawed legal doctrine that is bad for all Californians, PG&E said in a statement. We believe it is in everyones interest to have this issue decided promptly.

During a hearing Friday, PG&Es lawyer, Kevin Orsini, said the courts ultimate conclusion about inverse condemnation goes to the very viability of of investor-owned utilities.

It is critical that we hear from the higher courts of the state sooner rather than later, he said. Once a trial draws near, all parties will gain the benefit of further guidance from the court of appeal whether inverse condemnation does apply, he said.

Karnow was skeptical of PG&Es request to seek an immediate appeal, just as Superior Court Judge Allen Sumner in Sacramento refused to do. California courts ordinarily require lawsuits to play out to final resolution before appeals begin, a process that may take two to three years.

The judge said its unlikely he will have any unique insight to offer on the dispute that appeals courts couldnt figure out for themselves.

Orsini said that in the Sacramento case, which involves the 2015 Butte Fire in the Sierra Nevada foothills, the utility has filed a writ with the state court of appeals  a procedure that could fast-track the outcome.

PG&E fell as much as 1 percent before recovering to $42.32 at 2:22 p.m in New York.

Officials havent determined the causes of the Tubbs Fire and a series of other blazes that burned through wine country north of San Francisco last year, but analysts have said the utility could face more than $15 billion in claims from the fires.

The case is California North Bay Fire Cases, JCCP No. 4955, California Superior Court, San Francisco County.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics California Legislation WildfireThe California Senate has approved legislation that seeks to clarify homeowners insurance coverage following deadly mudslides near Santa Barbara.

Insurance policies generally cover damage caused by fires but not by mudslides. That creates confusion in cases like the mudslides in Montecito, which were triggered by a wildfire.

In such cases where multiple factors combine to cause damage, courts have ruled that insurers must pay if the policy covers the efficient proximate cause, the most important cause, of the damage.

Most insurers have agreed to cover damage in Montecito, but Sen. Hannah Beth Jackson thinks enshrining the existing legal doctrine in law would help future mudslide victims avoid prolonged fights with insurers.

It is important that the insurance industry know very clearly, without equivocation, their responsibility to their policyholders that they must cover these costs, said Jackson, a Democrat from Santa Barbara.

Insurers oppose the bill. Their lobbyists say it goes further than the existing legal interpretation and might force them to cover losses they wouldnt otherwise have to cover. That could require them to raise their rates or decline to offer coverage in some areas, they say.

When you put something in statute, any interpretation of the courts, theyre going to presume that theres a change in law, said Armand Feliciano, vice president of government relations for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. Otherwise why would the Legislature do it? Now youll have other lawsuits that probably didnt need to happen.

The measure specifically says its not intended to change existing law, but Feliciano said there could still be legal disputes over the meaning.

SB917 was approved in a 25-11 vote and goes next to the Assembly.

More than $421 million in insurance claims have been filed for residential and commercial losses related to the mudslides, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said last month.

Recently burned by Californias largest recorded wildfire, the hillsides of Montecito northwest of Los Angeles could not absorb the rainstorm with an epic downpour of nearly an inch (2.5 centimeters) in 15 minutes early on Jan. 9.

Twenty-one people were killed and two remain missing.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California LegislationWhat Is a Bracketed Sell Order?

A bracketed sell order is a short sell order that is accompanied (or "bracketed") by a conditional buy order above the entry price of the sell order and a buy limit order below the entry price of the sell order. As the three-component orders are based on set prices, this type of order seeks to help cover some of the caveats of the short sell order while also locking in profits.

Key Takeaways A bracketed sell order is a short sell order that is accompanied by a conditional buy order above and a buy limit order below the entry price of the sell order.

A bracketed sell order has three components: a short sell order at a specified price, a buy stop order above the sell order's entry price, and a buy limit order below the entry price.

The price distance between the brackets represents the potential profit and loss range on the trade.

Understanding Bracketed Sell Orders

A bracketed sell order is a kind of conditional order. Conditional orders help investors to initiate trades with specified prices. Some conditional orders, like a bracketed order, can have multiple conditions. Bracketed sell orders are used when a trader is looking to enter a short position with a predictable profit and loss range.

A typical bracketed sell order will work as follows:

A trader wants to short stock ABC, which is currently trading around $20 a share, so a trade to enter a short position is placed at $20. The profit on this order is capped at $5 with a low-side buy limit order at $15. The buy limit order is for the same quantity as the sell order, so it closes out the position once the profit target is reached. On the loss side, a high-side buy stop order is placed at $25 so that the trade closes out for a $5 per share loss if the price action goes against the trader's position.

The biggest advantage of bracketed sell or buy orders is that they have discipline built right into them. A trader simply needs to enter trades according to the trading plan and then they run exactly as designed. Without defined entry and exit points, traders are often tempted to chase the market or hold a losing position in hopes of a turnaround. Bracketed orders remove that temptation. If a trader is seeing consistent losses while using a bracketed order, then the trading plan is flawed, not the execution of it.

Bracketed Sell Orders vs. Bracketed Buy Orders

A bracketed sell order is more complex than its counterpart, the bracketed buy order. Both types of orders are based on the ability to specify a maximum range for gains and losses, but a bracketed buy order is somewhat simplified since it involves a buy limit order with a limit sell order above the buying price to guarantee a profit and a stop-loss order below the buying price to manage losses.

A bracketed sell order is more complex because it involves a short sell order, which requires borrowing on margin. In a bracketed sell order, the trader first determines a short sell price at which they wish to sell. They enter into a contract to sell short. They then bracket that order with a buy order at a specified price above the short sell price and a buy limit order at a specified price below the short sell price. In practice, however, most trading platforms have automated the order placement, so the trader just specifies the range of the bracket.What Is Transparency?

Although the term transparency is not a financial term or metric per se, it has become increasingly important to consumers and investors over the last several years.

Transparency is the extent to which investors have ready access to required financial information about a company, such as price levels, market depth, and audited financial reports. Investors also require transparency with investment firms and funds surrounding the various fees that'll be charged to them.

Transparency can also include clarity for consumers regarding the fees that bank charges or the rate that consumers will ultimately pay to their credit card company.

Key Takeaways Transparency is the access and proper disclosure of financial information, such as a company's audited financial reports.

Transparency also involves clarity with investment firms and funds surrounding the various fees that'll be charged to clients.

Transparency for consumers includes proper disclosure of bank fees and the interest rate charged by credit card companies.

Transparency helps reduce uncertainty and wild stock price fluctuations because all market participants can base decisions of value on the same data.

Price transparency is the extent to which all information regarding a stock's price (such as its bid prices, ask prices, and trading quantities) is available to traders.

0:51 Clarity: My Favorite Term

Understanding Transparency

Financial decisions are typically made based on an assessment of a financial situation.

Investors analyze a company's financial statements to determine if the stock is worth buying. On the other hand, consumers choose a bank or investment firm based, in part, on the costs or fees. Adequate disclosure of fees, interest rates, and penalties are important for making sound decisions as to what credit card or loan to apply for as well as what bank account to open or what mutual fund to invest in.

Because investor decisions as to what security to buy are based on a company's financial reports, the reports should be as transparent as possible.

For example, assume two companies have similar debt levels, size, market risk exposure, and earnings. One company operates with transparency concerning its financial reports while the other company runs multiple businesses with complex financial reports. Investors may gravitate to the first company since they can easily understand the company's fundamentals and risks involved. However, investors who put their money into a company with a complex structure might miss critical financial details that could lead to the company performing poorly and a loss on the investment.

As a result, it's important that transparency rules are followed by all companies. The critical nature of transparency and consistency to the financial markets is why publicly traded companies on exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) are regulated.

Required Transparency

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the federal government agency responsible for regulating the financial reporting for corporations.

The primary goals of the SEC are to protect investors by ensuring a fair and orderly functioning of the financial markets. The SEC requires publicly traded companies to report their quarterly financials (called a 10-Q) and their year-end financials (called a 10-K).

Companies must also file an annual report as well as interim reports such as 8Ks, which contain pertinent financial information and developments. Below are some of the financial statements required by the SEC as outlined in their Financial Reporting Manual.

Income Statement

The income statement shows the profit and loss of a corporation. The statement outlines the revenue on the top line. Operating expenses are listed, such as the cost of goods sold, as well as operating income. Also, other expenses include overhead or selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) as well as interest expenses and taxes paid. The profit or net income is listed at the bottom of the income statement.

Balance Sheet

The balance sheet shows a corporation's assets, liabilities, and stockholders' equity or shareholders' equity.

Assets can include fixed assets, such as machinery or equipment, while liabilities can include short-term payables and long-term liabilities, such as debt.

Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement measures all of the cash inflowsor credits-as well as any of the cash outflowsor debitsto cash that a company experienced during the period.

The statement of cash flows also shows any investing activities, such as purchases of equipment that would help the long-term by day of the company. Financing activities are also listed, which include any cash inflows or outflows regarding the financing of the company, such as loans, bond issuance, and stock issuance.

Statement of Stockholders' Equity

The statement of stockholders' equity records all the changes to shareholders' equity, which occurred during that period.

These changes might include any share buybacks, stock issuance, and dividends paid out to shareholders. Dividends are typically cash payments made to investors as a reward for owning the stock. However, dividends can also be paid out as shares of stock.

Statement of Comprehensive Income

The statement of comprehensive income list other types of income, which can include items such as foreign exchange gains or losses, hedging, and pension activity.

Comprehensive Income Examples Examples of comprehensive income include available-for-sale securities, financial investments, pension and retirement plans, and derivative securities.

Importance of Transparency

Transparency helps reduce uncertainty and wild stock price fluctuations because all market participants can base decisions of value on the same data. Companies also have a strong motivation to provide disclosure because transparency is rewarded by the stock's performance.

A strong indicator of future growth is how a business invests its money. When an investor cannot find information stating where a company invests, the investor is less likely to invest in the business. Opaque financial statements could hide a company's debt level, for example, while the business is struggling with insolvency.

Investors should be aware of the underlying investments that compose their portfolios. For example, owning a single stock means investing in one company while owning a mutual fund means investing in a basket of securities or companies. Transparency helps to shows investors how much risk is involved with buying stocks, which can aid in making more informed investment decisions.

Investors should compare their investment returns with those of related securities, benchmarks, and other asset classes to help determine how their investment is performing. If a stock, for example, is underperforming while the industry is doing well, it might be a red flag. In other words, market participants might be concerned about the company's financial situation, revenue outlook, debt load, or the ability of management to run the company effectively.

Investing limitations, such as liquidity restrictionsmeaning it's difficult to readily buy and sell sharesas well as the fee structure for funds and investments, should be made available.

Example of Transparency

In February 2016, six groups at a Tyson shareholder meeting spoke with the chair of the board John Tyson about the lack of transparency the company provided on its financial reports.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters noted that contributions to the American Beef Federation, the National Chicken Council, and state and local lobbying efforts were not readily available. Multiple shareholders noted that Tyson's chemical spill of acidic wastewater in Monett, Missouri killed over 100,000 fish in the city's waterways.

Shareholders wanted more information on the company's planned improvement of water quality in plant areas. Additionally, shareholders asked for an annual report showing plant safety records to ensure the records improve over time. Tyson's family members controlled the company's voting rights and did not approve of what was being asked of them. As a result, all six proposals were voted down.

However, Tyson Foods was later fined $2 million in early 2018 by the U.S. Justice Department as originally reported by the Associated Press. As part of the settlement, the company was required to hire an independent auditor to review their environmental compliance procedures, conduct training, and make improvements to their poultry facilities.

The Bottom Line

As investors, we base our investment decisions largely on the financial statements that each company provides. Therefore, it's crucial to stick with companies that are transparent about their financial reporting and avoid ones that obfuscate the numbers.

If management isn't transparent, it's virtually impossible for investors to be sure about that company's real risk/reward tradeoff.

Transparency FAQs

What Is Corporate Transparency?

Corporate transparency is simply the extent to which a company's actions, financial statements, strategy, and other issues are visible to outside observers.

What Is Price Transparency?

Price transparency is the extent to which all information regarding a stock's price (such as its bid prices, ask prices, and trading quantities) is available to traders.

What Does Transparency Mean in Blockchain?

In the world of blockchain, transparency is an especially important concept. Because of the decentralized nature of Bitcoin's blockchain, for example, all transactions can be viewed on a public ledger. This makes it difficult for hackers to extract Bitcoins without being traced.

What Does Transparency Mean in Government?

Government transparency is the extent to which a given government prioritizes honesty and access to information in order to allow for effective public oversight. Transparency is often seen as a major tool for citizens to hold public officials accountable and to combat corruption.

What Is Workplace Transparency?

Workplace transparency is the extent to which managers and employees of a particular company value openness, communication, and honesty in the workplace.By John Daly

Back in the worst days of the recession, Irish people took solace in the knowledge that theres always someone worse off. That someone was Greece.

At the height of its financial meltdown, in 2011, the country was crippled with enormous national debt, endured weekly food riots, and suffered mass emigration. No escape seemed likely. The image of pensioners rummaging around in rubbish bins remains one of the more stark portraits of the era.

What a difference a decade makes. Last month, Angel Gurria, secretary general of the OECD, declared to Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras: Congratulations, prime minister, you have brought Greece back from the brink. Greeces reform efforts are finally paying off.

Indeed, the Greek economy is growing again, at rates of 2% in 2018 and 2.3% predicted for 2019. Thats faster than the eurozone average. Employment has also been growing, by up to 7% since 2014, with exports the main driver, increasing their contribution to the economy from 24% of GDP in 2008 to 34% in 2017.

The countrys primary balance went from a large deficit, in 2015, to a surplus of more than 3.5% of GDP in 2016, and 4% of GDP in 2017, exceeding the European Stability Mechanism targets.

But, as Mr Gurria added: We know that this effort has had a significant social and political cost.

The long crisis has taken a heavy toll on the economy, but, most importantly, on the Greek people.

Significantly, the markets have noticed this progress, with the Greek government bond spread having fallen from 12%, in April 2015 to below 4% two weeks ago. Greek bond yields are not far from what Irelands and Portugals were when they exited their own ESM programmes.

Similarly, the Athens stock market has almost doubled in two years, and banks are cleaning up balance sheets and packaging bad loan books out to investors, a process with which few Irish people will be unfamiliar.

In February, ratings agency, Fitch, raised Greeces credit rating from B-minus to B, with a positive outlook. Greeces public debt ratio has stabilised to 175% of GDP, still among the highest in the world. Where eight years of recession have shrunk the economy by 25%, unemployment is down from 28%, in 2014, to just over 21%.

While Greece lacks much of the multinational presence that helped Ireland climb out of reversionary darkness, it does have a tourism industry, with significant room for expansion. As the EUs sixth-most-visited destination in 2016, the country could push this already healthy sector to new highs, through further investment.

While having almost 30m tourists from May to September is a huge number, it could reach 40m in a nine-month period, if the tourism season were extended, said the president of the Greek Tourism Confederation, Yiannis Retsos.

The bet, now, is to enrich the tourism product and have added value that will attract not necessarily more, but richer tourists, so we can have more receipts.

Tourism is Greeces biggest industry, with arrivals rising 10% in 2017, from the previous year, to 27.2m and generating revenue of just over 14.5bn, according to Bank of Greece data.

Tourism accounted for 18.6% of the countrys GDP in 2016, a figure expected to rise to 23.8% by 2027.

In order to increase arrivals to 36m and revenues to 20bn, by 2021, Greece needs investments worth 6bn a year, said Mr Retsos.

In the first quarter of the year, there was a 20% increase in international arrivals, with Crete, for example, recording a rise of 800%, with more than 50,000 tourists visiting the island.

The growth that we will see in the travel-and-tourism sector in Greece will be phenomenal, said the chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council, Gerald Lawless.

Tourism can be the economic driver for the country. Greece is on its way to becoming a year-round tourism destination, as it has much more to offer than just beaches and sun.By Ruth Doris

Under European regulations, all financial services businesses  including banks, credit unions, and insurance brokers  are legally required to verify the identity of new customers.

The process, termed Know Your Customer (KYC), is designed to prevent fraud and is part of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations.

It can take 24 hours or longer, and stockbroker, Colum Lyons, found that his customers were getting frustrated with the bureaucracy.

In digitalising the customer on-boarding experience, he founded ID-Pal with James OToole, a former Accenture management consultant, and with tax advisor, Patrick McClafferty. The goal has been to design and build a solution for identity verification thats easy to implement and simpler to use.

He said that ID-Pal reduces the cost, risk, and frustration of customer on-boarding, with a seamless user experience into an end-to-end solution that can be configured, branded, and integrated into a businesss processes with minimal or no technical effort required.

The solution includes a mobile app to enable the customer to capture their information and send it securely to the business.

All the customer needs to do is take a picture of their passport and driving licence, as well as a recent utility bill and then blink into a camera, when prompted.

We use motion-detection and facial-gesture recognition to ensure that they are a real, live person and then compare their facial features with the photo ID to ensure that that person is the rightful owner of the documentation. Similarly, we use machine learning to ensure the identity documents havent been tampered or forged with in any way.

Consumers are very aware of data protection, and Mr OToole said security is a big part of ID-Pals value proposition.

He said ID-Pals solution meets and exceeds industry standards, from both a cybersecurity and a data-protection perspective, because trust lies at the heart of everything we do.

The average account-opening process can take 20-40 minutes in-branch, and up to 24 hours for remote customer on-boarding.

ID-Pal can bring that down to less than two minutes for the entire end-to-end process, according to Mr OToole.

Mr OToole said ID-Pals true value proposition is not just saving time, its helping businesses to reduce the drop-out rate at the customer sign-up.

He said that, on average, 50%  and up to 80%  of customers attempting to open an account online drop out of the process, due to a frustrating experience.

With other service providers within the KYC and AML space, theres a lot of time and costs associated with development, testing, and integration.

Using ID-Pals flexible architecture, a business can configure and implement a seamless solution for customer on-boarding, either in person, remotely, or via their broker network, in a matter of minutes or days, rather than months or years, Mr OToole said.

We remove the cost, risk, and timelines usually associated with digital transformation projects and, in doing so, make industry-leading technologies accessible to the masses.

Having conducted pilots last year, ID-Pal is now fully commercial and is working with pillar banks in Ireland and the UK.

The company is currently working with JobsOhio to secure grant support for setting up a US base in Columbus, Ohio.

Fresh from its win in the Fintech category at the Enterprise Ireland and Bank of Ireland-sponsored National Startup Awards, ID-Pal is in the middle of a funding round, looking to raise capital from a combination of angel and institutional investors to focus on expansion within the US and internationally.

While the initial focus is on financial service businesses, because of the mandatory regulations in the industry, ID-Pal is looking to explore other industries that need identity verification, including real estate, healthcare, and third-level education.One in five Irish homeowners buy or rescue a dog to make their homes more secure.

An AA survey out today shows less than half of home-owners have fitted a burglar alarm, but 70% of those who have, feel happier.The Master of the Rotunda Hospital has said doctors' hands are tied by the Eighth Amendment despite five former chairmen of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists refuting similar suggestions as "a serious misrepresentation of the Irish maternal health system".

Professor Fergal Malone says many doctors delay acting to help a pregnant woman who may need an abortion, because of uncertainty about the law.

Professor Fergal Malone says the Eighth Amendment needs to be repealed.

"At the moment our hands are very much tied," said Professor Malone. "We do have to wait until there is a real and substantial risk, not to her health, but to her life. And that ties our hands."

Prof Malone's comments conflict with others from five former chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recently, who described such claims as "simply not true and are nothing less than a serious misrepresentation of the Irish maternal health system."

In an open letter Prof John Bonnar, Dr Eamon McGuinness, Dr Conor Carr, Dr James Clinch, Dr Michael OHare said such "appalling" claims were " deeply regrettable" because they were aimed at "engaging in a campaign to raise unnecessary fears for maternal health in the electorate".

They went on: "The Eighth Amendment does not prevent Irish women receiving care of the highest possible standard. This is why our maternal death rate is so low. Recent Maternal Death Enquiry reports confirm that Ireland is one of the safest places in the world to be pregnant.

"Not one of our colleagues should ever be permitted to use the Eighth Amendment as an excuse for not treating a woman.

"Each one of us can stand over the care we have provided in our careers. Four of us who practised in this jurisdiction have carried out necessary surgery which resulted in termination of pregnancy in order to save and protect Irish women.

"We had no difficulty in so doing, and the Eighth Amendment did not prevent us from performing an ethical and medically indicated procedure.

"On May 25th, Irish people will be asked to vote on whether the right to life of an unborn baby should be withdrawn. If the answer is Yes, it is the stated intention of government to introduce legislation to enable ending the life of a perfectly healthy growing baby, in a perfectly healthy pregnant woman. That is a matter of conscience for each voter."

- Digital DeskLunaticoutpost.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program , anaffiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.Amazon, the Amazon logo, MYHABIT, and the MYHABIT logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.Don't be a pest to the forum.No profanity in thread-titles or usernamesNo excessive profanity in postsNo Racism, Antisemitism + HateNo calls for violence against anyone..This website exists for fun and discussion only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events. The content of posts on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites, are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual information on behalf of the owner or administration of LunaticOutPost.Com. The owners or administration of this website can't be hold responsible for content hosted on sites that posters link to in; including, but not limited to, posts, signatures, private messages and such. This site may contain content not suitable for minors and if you feel you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights, economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science & technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.In accordance with industry accepted best practices we ask that users limit their copy / paste of copyrighted material to the relevant portions of the article you wish to discuss (no more than 50% of the source material) provide a link back to the original articleIf you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and you believe a post on this website falls outside the boundaries of "Fair Use" and legitimately infringes on yours or your clients copyright please contact [email protected] This website is owned by :Marco ZwaneveldDrijfriemstraat 522516 XR The HagueNetherlands.I will not rent, sell, share or otherwise disclose your personal information to any third party.We might contact you from time to time regarding your purchases or the services (like forums and announcement lists) you have subscribed to.Some of the 3rd party advertisers on lunaticoutpost.com may use cookiesto track peformance and/or to serve relevant ads.If you wish to read more and/or opt out of such cookies, please visit: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/The Irish bands frontman Tim Wheeler says songwriting is as much about understanding life now that he is in his 40s as it was when he was a teen, writes Ed Power

THE cliche of growing up in public has never been more applicable than to Ashs Tim Wheeler. He was just 16 when the band put out their mini-album, Trailer, in 1994. Now in his early 40s, the native of Downpatrick, Co Down, has endured all of lifes ups, downs, and sideways drifts  including the death of his father, who had Alzheimers  in something approaching the glare of the spotlight.

In terms of his career, the toughest spell was the the failure of Ashs second album, Nu-Clear Sounds, in 1998. The record was panned and flopped. Acclaimed since he was still in school, Wheeler found he was in danger of falling out of fashion. Had the decline gone on, it could have been curtains.

The follow-up [2001s Free All Angels] was a success, which was important, he says. If it hadnt, it might have meant the end of our career. We could easily have been dropped.

Adversity was the making of Ash, which grew out of an Iron Maiden covers band that Wheeler had formed in 1992, with classmates Mark Hamilton and Rick McMurray (auxiliary guitarist, Charlotte Hatherley, later joined, and then departed). Theyve gone on to notch up four dependably thrilling albums, the latest, Islands, one of their strongest yet

There was a time when there was a concern over whether a new record would make the charts, says Wheeler. Now, were happy doing our own thing, because we know we have a fanbase there for us. The main priority was doing something we enjoy.

Along with falling out of favour in the late 1990s, the biggest challenge for Ash was the advent of file-sharing in the 2000s and the consequent plummet in record sales.

The bands response was to briefly abandon the album format and institute a singles club, by which subscribers received a new seven-inch vinyl release every fortnight for a year.

With streaming bringing revenues back to the industry, the doomsday scenario of music becoming a hobby rather than a job has receded somewhat. This has made life easier for groups such as Ash, though the situation is still quite different from when the public bought physical albums.

A lot more money is coming into the labels, says Wheeler. It isnt necessarily getting to the artists. The labels are definitely able to invest in bands, compared to a few years ago, when they were afraid to support acts.

Early on, Wheeler was heralded for his ability to convey in his songs the heartache of teenage romance. What hes discovered is that, as you get older, life doesnt get any easier, which ensures there is plenty of grist for his songwriting. I tend to write about whats going on in my life, he says. Its a real channel for feelings and figuring things out. Your subconscious definitely comes through in songs. I wrote an album about my dads Alzheimers [2014s solo album, Lost Domain], for instance.

I was processing that through song. Often, Ill start with just a title. Girl From Mars began that way, as did Shining Light. You have the title and it triggers loads of ideas. You get the central image and take it from there.

I had a little bit of writers block around the second record. I learned a few tricks to get through it. You have to sit down with a blank page every day. It will start to flow, if you keep at it.

I know that if I sit down to write a song, something will come out. The ideas dont have to be of fantastic quality.

You just have to write them. Every day, youll get a song and, at some point, there will be a good song. The trick is not to worry.

Islands is out now. Ash play Listowel Revival Festival, August 11.1,000 Polish people donated blood in Ireland last year and the transfusion service and the immigrant council have launched a campaign to encourage more to do so, to increase blood supply and promote cultural integration, says Helen OCallaghan

AGA Daly has donated five litres of blood in Poland and six in Ireland. Ive replaced all my blood twice over; there are five to six litres in an adults body, says Aga, 39, who has been a blood donor since she was a 21-year-old university student in Poland.

When I first started doing it, it somehow played a part that my mum had got blood. She needed it, because she had low iron, says Aga, who has one son, nine-year-old Mati, and lives in Skerries.

Aga donates blood every three months, when the mobile clinic visits Skerries. Some people feel weak after donating. I always feel more energy. Its such a buzz. If they use your blood, youre sent a message, saying it has been used and in what hospital. Last time, mine was used in Drogheda. Living in Ireland for the past 13 years, Aga says blood donation makes me kind of emotional. Every three months, when the clinic is due, she hopes her haemoglobin is above the minimum level to give blood. Im saying oh, please be high and Im eating goji berries and greens. Aga is one of 1,000 Polish people who donated blood in Ireland last year, and hers is one of the stories that has inspired Bloody Foreigners, a campaign highlighting the contribution of Polish nationals to the Irish blood bank and encouraging more to give. Its a joint effort by The Immigrant Council of Ireland, Irish Blood Transfusion Service, and Forum Polonia and will culminate in a Bloody Foreigners day of action, at the end of July, when Polish people will be encouraged to donate on the same day.

Stephen Cousins, Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) national donor services manager, says the Polish are the largest group of donors after the Irish. Theyre very much part of the Irish communities they live in. Theyve put down roots in Ireland and take an active part of life [here]. Being a blood donor really demonstrates this community in action, he says. Like Aga, Teresa Buczkowska, integration coordinator at Immigrant Council of Ireland, is passionate about being a blood donor. In Poland, I couldnt wait to turn 18, to give blood. I knew my neighbours and teachers gave blood. Its a very important part of my identity, she says. Also in Ireland 13 years, Teresa made her 10th donation here in April and received a commemorative pin from IBTS. Both she and Aga talk about a culture of blood donation in Poland.

In Poland, you get a day off school or work to give blood. You get eight large bars of chocolate. You get a bus ticket to and from the clinic. Before I started donating, donors used to get a dinner voucher, says Aga.

Teresa recalls a week-long campaign during her university days, when a mobile clinic would be on campus. She recounts a story told by her mother, who worked in a hospital newsagents in Communist-era Poland. Blood donors would sell their bars of chocolate to my mum and shed re-sell it in the kiosk to people who wouldnt have access to such luxury items. Soon after she started giving blood in Poland, Teresa joined a social club of blood donors in her home town. It was a very collective sort of activity. Theyd organise themselves to donate blood together. And, in emergency, if stocks of a particular blood type were down, whoever had that blood type would go, as a group, to donate it. They also got together for Christmas parties and summer barbeques, Teresa says. The most common blood types differ somewhat between Poland and Ireland. Here, 47% of people are O+, whereas in Poland 31% of the population are O+. The combined percentage of people in Ireland who are A+ and B+ is 35%; in Poland, its 47%. There are also differences between the two countries blood-donation procedures. For example, you can donate blood every eight weeks in Poland and every 90 days in Ireland. In Poland, you have to eat a low-fat, light meal before donation; here, you have a substantial meal in the three hours beforehand. In Poland, you get a sick-leave cert and transport-cost reimbursement; here, you dont.

Only three percent of the eligible Irish population are blood donors, providing for four million people. Each week, 3,000 blood donations are needed here. According to the IBTS, a car accident victim may require up to 30 units of blood, a bleeding ulcer could require between three and 30 units, or a coronary artery bypass may use between one and five units.

In one way, giving blood is such an ordinary thing to do, but the impact on other people is tremendous. Put that way, its mind-blowing, says Teresa.

Barnaba Dorda, chair of Forum Polonia, says the Bloody Foreigners campaign has triggered him to give blood for the first time. Its one of those things. You might mean to do it, but never get around to it, says the Portmarnock-based Siptu worker. On a human level, its important to support others, to help others. Its a thank-you for me being here [living in Ireland]. The campaign is also a way to challenge the negative stereotyping Polish people sometimes face in Ireland, say the organisers. Its about finding commonality, says Teresa. The Polish community is part of the community here now, sharing everything from living space to blood. How much more integrated can you be than to share blood, and receive blood, from others in the community?The focus on one institution  Tuam  and one issue  baby deaths  has proved to be convenient for the Government but the spotlight needs to shift to the glaring elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. The issue will simply not go away, writes Conall O Fatharta.

Its been just over three years since the Mother and Baby Homes Commission began its work examining 14 mother and baby homes and a selection of county homes.

Despite having terms of reference that include crucial issues like adoption practices and vaccine trials, its focus in that time has been almost exclusively on one institution  Tuam, and one issue  infant deaths.

This may be by accident or design but, either way, it suits the Government. It keeps the narrative focused on historic deaths in an institution in the west of Ireland and away from a key issue  the huge and glaring elephant in the room that no one likes to mention  the scale of forced and illegal adoptions and the States role in same.

The irony of all of this is that an inquiry into all of these matters could have happened long before the Mother and Baby Homes Commission was set up in 2015. Like the Magdalene laundries inquiry before it, the Government was dragged kicking and screaming into an investigation.

The research of Catherine Corless relating to infant deaths at the Tuam Mother and Baby Home and the subsequent international media attention the story generated forced the Government to examine these institutions.

Catherine Corless at the boarded-up site at the Tuam Mother and Baby Home where it has been confirmed that significant quantities of human remains were discovered. Almost 18 months later no decision has been made as to what to do with the site. Picture: Ray Ryan

We have since learned, through numerous revelations in this newspaper, that the State was well aware of these issues long before Tuam hit the headlines in 2012.

Indeed, calls for an inquiry into how thousands of adoptions have been contracted across decades have been bouncing around since the 1990s. Every government since then has told activists that there is nothing to see here  despite mountains of evidence stating otherwise.

So three years into the inquiry, what has been the progress of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission? In a word  slow.

That was to be expected. No one with a grasp of the scale of the task facing the Commission expected it to issue its final report by the initial deadline of February 2018. It will now issue its final report in February of next year.

However, given it has just recently moved its focus away from Tuam to examining another institution  Bessborough Mother and Baby Home in Cork  this also looks ambitious.

The Commission was established in February 2015. From then until July 2016, very little emerged as to its progress or how it operated.

In that time, a number of investigations by this newspaper revealed that both Tuam and Bessborough had been examined by the HSE prior to Catherine Corless revelations.

Senior management in that organisation, as well as two government departments  the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Health  had been made aware of serious concerns raised about practices in at least one of these institutions.

In June 2015, just four months after the Commission was set up, the Irish Examiner revealed that two separate reports on Tuam and Bessborough were prepared by the HSE, while it was preparing material for the McAleese investigation into Magdalene laundries.

These reports not only explicitly reference infant mortality rates, but also expressed serious concerns about the possible trafficking of children from the institutions. They also mention that these issues needed to be investigated as a matter of urgency.

In the case of Tuam, a note of a teleconference call on October 12, 2012, revealed that senior management in the HSE felt what had been discovered needed to go to the minister so that warranted a state inquiry.

The call involved then assistant director of the Children and Family Service at the HSE, Phil Garland, and then head of the medical intelligence unit, Davida De La Harpe.

During the call, concern was expressed that as many as 1,000 children may have been trafficked from the Tuam Mother and Baby Home in what could prove to be a scandal that dwarfs other, more recent issues with the Church and State.

These concerns had been raised by the principal social worker for adoption in HSE West, who had found a large archive of photographs, documentation, and correspondence relating to children sent for adoption to the USA and documentation in relation to discharges and admissions to psychiatric institutions in the Western area.

The archive contained letters from the Tuam Mother and Baby Home to parents, asking for money for the upkeep of their children, and notes that the duration of stay for children might have been prolonged by the order for financial reasons. It also contained letters to parents asking for money for the upkeep of some children who had already been discharged or who had died.

The social worker, working in her own time and on her own dollar, had compiled a list of up to 1,000 names, but said it was not clear yet whether all of these relate to the ongoing examination of the Magdalene system, or whether they relate to the adoption of children by parents, possibly in the USA.

Those on the conference call raise the possibility that if there is evidence of trafficking, it must have been facilitated by doctors, social workers, etc, and a number of these health professionals may still be working in the system.

The note concludes by stating that, due to the gravity of what was being found, an early warning letter be written to the national director of the HSEs quality and patient safety division, Philip Crowley, suggesting that this goes all the way up to the minister.

It is more important to send this up to the minister as soon as possible: with a view to an inter-departmental committee and a fully fledged, fully resourced forensic investigation and state inquiry, concludes the note.

At the time, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA) denied this information was ever forwarded to the then minister Frances Fitzgerald.

A week later, in a separate report sent by Mr Garland to Mr Crowley, and which CCd then national director of Children and Family Services, Gordon Jeyes, and Ms De la Harpe, Dr Declan McKeown, of the medical intelligence unit, also outlined concerns about death rates at both Tuam and Bessborough.

Dr McKeown notes that the infant mortality rate for Tuam was approximately 20%-25%, similar to that recorded in Bessborough. He also raised questions as to the veracity of such death rates.

Queries over the veracity of the records are suggested by causes of death such as marasmus in a two-and-a-half-month-old infant; or pernicious anaemia in a four-month-old. These diagnoses would be extremely unusual in children so young, even with the reduced nutrition of the time, he said.

A separate report into Bessborough not only revealed that the deaths of hundreds of children were recorded in the orders own register which was handed over to the HSE in 2011, but that, similar to Tuam, the operation was aimed at making money. This report was seen by both the DCYA and the Department of Health yet no action was taken on foot of the concerns.

It is understood that these revelations and what was known by key personnel within the HSE prior to the 2014 revelations is currently being examined by the Commission.

However, throughout 2015, there was no word emanating from the Commission as to the progress it was making. Indeed, even the most rudimentary of press queries were met with terse responses.

In August 2015, the Commission declined to answer any questions as to how its Confidential Committee  set up to gather testimony from survivors  operates.

The Irish Examiner asked a series of questions:

Will all interviews with the Confidential Committee be recorded, unless a witness does not consent to this?

Will a transcript and audio copy of the recording be provided to the witness?

What is the area of expertise of the experienced person taking notes when a witness is being interviewed?

Will a copy of those notes be sent to the witness?

Will the witness have an opportunity to clarify anything s/he believes does not reflect her/his testimony?

Will witnesses be given a copy of the general report of the Confidential Committee?

However, a statement issued by Commission director Ita Mangan simply said: All aspects of the Confidential Committee are confidential including its procedures. People who wish to be heard by the committee are given detailed information in advance about how the meeting will be conducted.

In fact, some information on this Committee was one aspect dealt with when the Commission finally published some information on its progress in July 2016  well over a year after it was set up. The Commissions first interim report ran to just five pages and was primarily a request to extend the timeframe for the completion of its Confidential Committee report and its Social History Report. These were due to be submitted in August 2017.

The Commission asked for these to now be submitted along with the overall final report in February 2018.

At the end of September, the Commission announced it was carrying out a test excavation at the site of the childrens burial ground for the Tuam Mother and Baby Home. Site work began in October and was expected to last five weeks.

Then on 3 March, 2017, and somewhat out of the blue, the Commission dropped a bombshell that thrust Tuam back into the worldwide media glare. It confirmed that significant quantities of human remains had been discovered in at least 17 of the 20 underground chambers which were examined as part of the excavation works.

The Commission said it was shocked by the discovery and that it was continuing its investigation into who was responsible for the disposal of human remains in this way.

It requested that the relevant State authorities take responsibility for the appropriate treatment of the remains and notified the coroner.

In response, Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone said the coroner for north Galway would take the steps he deemed necessary and stated that Galway County Council would engage with the Commission in relation to the next steps to be taken at the site.

In June, Ms Zappone commissioned an Expert Technical Group (ETG) to outline to Government as to what options were available in terms of managing the burial ground.

Almost a year and a half year later, there has still been no decision made as to what to do with the site.

The reason for the delay is clear. Given it is known, and indeed the State has held the evidence since at least 2011, that similarly high infant mortality rates were prevalent in other mother and baby homes  most notably Bessborough  it would appear that any decision taken at Tuam will have to be replicated in other sites of suspected infant burials.

Delays were also attached to the publication of the Commissions second interim report.

Completed in September 2016, it was not published by the DCYA until April 2017  one month after the discovery of infant remains in Tuam.

Running to 16 pages, the report has three main sections  on redress, its terms of reference, and on the issue of the false registration of births.

The Government managed to get its message out ahead of the second interim reports publication, when the Irish Times reported in advance of its publication the Governments view that it not possible to implement the reports main recommendation that the 2002 Residential Institutions Redress Scheme be reopened in order to compensate those who were in mother and baby homes as children.

The report stated that the Government should re-examine the exclusion of children who lived without their mothers in mother and baby and county homes from the 2002 scheme and that other redress options for those involved.

It stated that former residents of the Bethany Home and other mother and baby homes like Bessborough, Sean Ross Abbey, Castlepollard, Tuam and Dunboyne all had a strong case that they should have been included in the 2002 scheme.

It is clear to the Commission, from its work to date, that the decisions on which institutions to include in, or exclude from, the redress scheme are not consistent, stated the report.

However, the Government had already got its point across that this option was out of the question. It was repeated by Ms Zappone on the day of publication. The Commission had not yet made any findings to date regarding regarding abuse or neglect and it would not be appropriate to deal with the question of redress in advance of the final report, she said.

Indeed, successive governments have been aware that the thorny issue of redress for mother and baby homes would arrive some day.

The Irish Examiner revealed in March 2017 that concerns were expressed at Cabinet as far back as 2011 that, if there was an inquiry into Magdalene laundries, it could lead to calls for inquiries into abuses in mother and baby homes, psychiatric institutions, and foster care settings.

The concerns are in a memorandum for Government seeking permission to establish what became the McAleese committee.

The observations of the then minister for education and skills Ruairi Quinn state that, although he was supportive of the approach outlined in the memorandum, there may be demands for enquiries [sic] into other situations.

Following the publication of the Report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse (the Ryan Report), there were renewed demands for the Redress Scheme to be extended to include other institutions, such as Magdalene laundries, mother and baby homes, psychiatric hospitals and foster care settings, he said.

It went on to state that, while Mr Quinn recognised the demands being made on behalf of the women who had been through Magdalene laundries were for a separate redress scheme, he is conscious of the implications of any move towards redress, for the Residential Insititutions Redress Scheme.

The Commissions second interim report acknowledged calls for an extension of its terms of reference to examine private nursing homes/maternity homes and a range of adoption societies but said such a decision could not be made until the current investigation is concluded. At that stage it may be in a position to make further recommendations.

Given a major part of its remit is to examine practices in relation to how adoptions were contracted, the second interim reports section on illegal adoption is remarkably lukewarm. In fact, the relevant chapter of the report is titled False registration of birth  a rather euphemistic term favoured by government departments. The false registration of birth, which was often facilitated by registered adoption societies, is after all, a serious criminal offence.

The report notes that illegal adoptions cover a wide variety of situations including actions taken (or not taken) prior to the adoption and illegality in the adoption orders made.

However, it makes no effort to highlight any of these. Instead, the focus of the section is on illegal birth registrations.

These occurred where the birth was registered in the name of adoptive parents and  crucially, from the States perspective  no formal adoption order was ever made.

In short, most of these cases cant be called illegal adoptions as no formal adoption order was ever granted by the Adoption Board. The State is off the hook.

While the Commission acknowledges that the false registration of a birth is a criminal offence, it speculates that those involved in such practices may have been engaging in a crime for what they thought were the right reasons.

It is possible that such registrations were carried out for what were perceived to be good reasons (this does not change the fact that it was an offence). Formal legal adoption did not become available in Ireland until 1953.

There is some anecdotal evidence to suggest that, prior to the availability of formal adoption, adoptive parents may have falsely registered the birth in the belief that they were conferring legal status on the child.

This narrative, offered without anything other than anecdotal evidence, indicates that such activity was done by ordinary, well-meaning couples rather than being facilitated by any other power structure such as a religious order or, indeed, the State.

However, what about the possibility that the opposite of this scenario may also be true? Namely, that such activity may have been facilitated for less than well-meaning reasons?

In December 2017, the Commission published its third interim report. The prime focus of the four-page report was to seek permission to push back the deadline for submitting its final report until February 2019.

However, as with the second interim report, some of the language seemed to seemed to be dampening expectations in terms of what the investigation could achieve.

The key line in the report is the Commissions belief that it will be difficult to establish the facts surrounding the burials of children who died in all of the homes it is investigating.

It noted that that while there are detailed death records available in relation to mother and baby homes, there are also significant gaps in the information available about the burials of babies who died in a number of the institutions it is examining.

The Commission is continuing to make inquiries about burials and burial records but it appears that this is an area in which it will be difficult to establish the facts, stated the report.

Following the publication of the report, Ms Zappone announced other measures which would operate in parallel to the Commissions work. Most notably, a collaborative forum would be established to support former residents of mother and baby homes. in developing solutions to the issues of concern to them.

One week later, the Government published the findings of the ETG report into the site at Tuam.

As with the second interim report, a very specific element of the reports findings was leaked to the Irish Times in advance of publication.

This focused on the ETG assertion that it would be difficult to isolate individual remains at Tuam and that the Government should seek to ensure that expectations as to what is possible should be set at realistic levels.

However, a full reading of the report revealed other key points of interest in terms of what the State obligations may be in terms of investigating the circumstances of the burials at Tuam.

It outlined five options which the Government could pursue when managing the location.

These range from doing no further investigative work to a full forensic excavation and analysis of all human remains.

It also revealed Ireland may be bound by law to investigate the deaths to the fullest degree possible.

These include human rights issues around the right of an individual to a respectful and appropriate burial, said the report.

There is also the possibility that there may be an obligation under international human rights law, including under the European Convention on Human Rights, arising from the right to respect for family life. This could arguably entitle living family members to know the fate of their relatives.

There is an obligation on the State, pursuant to the Irish Constitution (Bunreacht na hEireann) and under human rights law, to fully investigate the deaths so as to vindicate the right to life of those concerned.

As a result, Ms Zappone has asked Special Rapporteur on Child Protection, Dr Geoffrey Shannon, to examine these issues and to report to her on the matter.

If Mr Shannon finds that these rights exist, then it may influence which of the five options the Government chooses when dealing with the Tuam site, or indeed any of the other institutions where children are known to have died. His report is due next month.

In the meantime, we wait.

It would seem obvious that the fullest possible exhumation and analysis of the remains should be pursued. However, that would commit Government to the same course of action at every other potential site linked to a mother and baby home. This raises all manner of further issues  most notably cost.

Aoife Moriarty, granddaughter of Catherine Corless, at a candlelit vigil in memory of the residents of Tuams Mother and Baby Home. Picture: Ray Ryan

In March, Catherine Corless hit out at the Government for focusing on cost rather than committing to a full forensic excavation, exhumation, and DNA testing of the remains at Tuam.

She expressed her anger at the callous and cold voting system put in place by Galway County Council as part of an independent consultation process on the five options presented by the ETG.

On forms issued by Galway County Council, interested parties were asked indicate their preferred option by placing an X in the appropriate box next to one of the five options.

Ms Corless intervention came just one month after the Irish Examiner uncovered evidence that children from the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home and another State-funded and accredited former adoption agency in Cork were buried in unmarked graves in a Cork City cemetery as late as 1990.

Tusla, who now hold the records, declined to say whether they had informed the Commission of these deaths before the Irish Examiner revealed them.

Both the Commission and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs have also declined to say whether or not all of the burials found would be investigated.

Whatever the Government decides to do with Tuam is just one part of the picture. The Commission will publish its final report in February of next year.

What it says on adoption will be crucial. It is too big a scandal to be simply tacked onto a report.

The children who died in these institutions can no longer speak for themselves.

However, there are thousands of adoptees out there  many of whom have no idea that there adoptions were illegal or that their identities were falsified. The scale of this scandal and the States role in this needs to be fully examined.

It will not simply go away.Intrepid and tireless wildlife campaigners, such as David Attenborough and Steve Irwin, have brought the wonders of the natural world, and the many threats it faces, into our homes. One result of this  because television wants dramatic stories filmed in exotic, far-flung locations  is that we can end up knowing far more about the garbage polluting the South Pacific than we do about marine mammals in our own waters or the damage done by mechanical turf-extraction in our national parks.

Given a choice between a documentary series about the plight of elephants and tigers in India and the uncertain future of the marsh fritillary, Irelands only legally-protected insect, it isnt difficult to guess which would have a television executives eyes lighting up.Italian politics have, for decades, been good for a laugh, thanks, in part, to Silvio Berlusconi, who, despite being seen in smart European circles as a clown, served for nine years in four administrations, as prime minister. He was the countrys longest-serving post-war head of government.

But we aint seen nothing yet. Italys incoming government will be a coalition comprising the populist left-wing grouping  the Five Star movement founded by a real comedian, who has been described as an Italian Billy Connolly  and its right-wing mirror image, the League (formerly the secessionist Northern League). The coalition partners cant stand each other, but they have united on a programme founded on their shared detestation of the liberal international elites  big business, banks, centrist politicians  they accuse of feathering their own nests while Italy rots.Paraguay has become the second country to follow the US in moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

Yesterday there were protests in Casablanca after Morocco confirmed its diplomatic effort will be moving from Tel Aviv.Username: Password: or Register Thread Rating: 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average

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Venezuela's Gov't Free Food Distributors Tell People To Vote Maduro RiskyRob

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05-21-2018 08:08 AM



Posts: 8,137









Post: #1 Venezuela's Gov't Free Food Distributors Tell People To Vote Maduro

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Angie Chong, a pro-government activist, embodied for Petare residents of one very big reason to cast their ballot for Mr. Maduro: hunger. She and a team of patrollersmany of them the same people who distribute boxes and bags of state food aid in the slum each monthwent door-to-door after dawn, rousing people from bed.



For the past year, Ms. Chong has been in charge of supplying 400 families with government food aid in her neighborhood.



These are difficult times. We dont want to lose the little that we have, she said, before stopping a passerby.



Hey, did you vote? she asked. After the man said he had, Ms. Chong added, My president has to win, or else the entire revolution fails.



Nicolas Maduro is accused of undermining democracy, usurping the power of the opposition-dominated legislature by replacing it with his Constituent Assembly, and cracking down hard on the opposition. Protests in 2017, still fresh in the collective memory, left around 125 dead.



http://www.paywallnews.com/life/In-Venez...l3JkQ.html  Ascended Master Angie Chong, a pro-government activist, embodied for Petare residents of one very big reason to cast their ballot for Mr. Maduro: hunger. She and a team of patrollersmany of them the same people who distribute boxes and bags of state food aid in the slum each monthwent door-to-door after dawn, rousing people from bed.For the past year, Ms. Chong has been in charge of supplying 400 families with government food aid in her neighborhood.These are difficult times. We dont want to lose the little that we have, she said, before stopping a passerby.Hey, did you vote? she asked. After the man said he had, Ms. Chong added, My president has to win, or else the entire revolution fails.Nicolas Maduro is accused of undermining democracy, usurping the power of the opposition-dominated legislature by replacing it with his Constituent Assembly, and cracking down hard on the opposition. Protests in 2017, still fresh in the collective memory, left around 125 dead. Ascended Master (This post was last modified: 05-21-2018 08:11 AM by RiskyRob .) RiskyRob

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05-23-2018 02:50 AM



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Post: #2 RE: Venezuela's Gov't Free Food Distributors Tell People To Vote Maduro

 Ascended Master LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 441896

05-23-2018 03:47 AM











Post: #3 RE: Venezuela's Gov't Free Food Distributors Tell People To Vote Maduro

RiskyRob Wrote: (05-21-2018 08:08 AM) link to image: https://si.wsj.net/public/resources/imag...142521.jpg



Angie Chong, a pro-government activist, embodied for Petare residents of one very big reason to cast their ballot for Mr. Maduro: hunger. She and a team of patrollersmany of them the same people who distribute boxes and bags of state food aid in the slum each monthwent door-to-door after dawn, rousing people from bed.



For the past year, Ms. Chong has been in charge of supplying 400 families with government food aid in her neighborhood.



These are difficult times. We dont want to lose the little that we have, she said, before stopping a passerby.



Hey, did you vote? she asked. After the man said he had, Ms. Chong added, My president has to win, or else the entire revolution fails.



Nicolas Maduro is accused of undermining democracy, usurping the power of the opposition-dominated legislature by replacing it with his Constituent Assembly, and cracking down hard on the opposition. Protests in 2017, still fresh in the collective memory, left around 125 dead.



http://www.paywallnews.com/life/In-Venez...l3JkQ.html

will deal with them i mean the trump administration will dont worry. will deal with them i mean the trump administration will dont worry. LoP Guest

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05-23-2018 03:49 AM











Post: #4 RE: Venezuela's Gov't Free Food Distributors Tell People To Vote Maduro

This is what happens to your economy when you don't play the anglozionist banking cartels game's. Add a bit of socialism for good measure. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 441896

05-23-2018 03:53 AM











Post: #5 RE: Venezuela's Gov't Free Food Distributors Tell People To Vote Maduro

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-23-2018 03:49 AM) This is what happens to your economy when you don't play the anglozionist banking cartels game's. Add a bit of socialism for good measure.

the trump administration will deal with their stupidity and mental irrationality dont worry. the trump administration will deal with their stupidity and mental irrationality dont worry.















Assistant professor Abigail Aiken said mandatory waiting periods for women seeking abortion applied in the US and Britain and forced women there to still rely on abortion pills.

As a policy researcher with almost 10 years of experience examining abortion policy worldwide, I urge you to move away from requiring a mandatory waiting period before abortion services can be provided, she told Health Minister Simon Harris in a letter released under Freedom of Information to the Irish Examiner.

Prof Aikens study looked at the experiences of Irish women who accessed medical abortions online through the telemedicine initiative Women on Web.

She interviewed 1,000 women who used the Women on Web services and concluded that five Irish women a day request abortion pills online.

Prof Aiken gave evidence to the Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment.

The research influenced the referendum proposals, with pro-choice advocates saying abortion was already taking place here.

Under the current proposals, if the Eighth Amendment is repealed in the referendum, women seeking a termination would face a three-day cooling-off period.

Prof Aiken, a Harvard graduate and Texas University professor, said any proposed mandatory waiting period was out of step with female equality.

The idea that a woman seeking an abortion must be required by the Government to take more time to think it over is patronising and insulting, she wrote.

Mr Harriss office told Prof Aiken that he notes her warnings.

In her letter of March 13, Prof Aiken told the minister this delay could force women back into relying on online services, where abortion pills are being purchased.

These kinds of cooling-off periods have been introduced in many US states as a backdoor way of making abortion more difficult to access, she said. For many women, making it to the clinic is a serious challenge, sometimes logistically, in terms of taking time away from work and childcare or finding transport and sometimes because of the need for privacy or secrecy, for example due to a controlling partner or disapproving family.

By instituting such a waiting period, and thus requiring multiple clinic trips, Ireland will simply repeat the mistakes of Great Britain, where there is also demand for Women on Web services despite legal abortion.

Senior Government figures have said the proposed three-day waiting period for women seeking abortions in the event of a yes vote this week would act as a restriction for abortions. The no side and pro-life advocates maintain that the current plans for allowing terminations up to 12 weeks of pregnancy are unrestricted.As the cervical cancer screening scandal enters another week, the Independent Alliance TD said the HSE cannot be reformed and the public has lost confidence in its management.

Nonetheless, the junior business minister appealed to voters not to vote No in this weeks abortion referendum to punish the Government over the controversy.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the Waterford TD set out why he thinks it is time for the 12-year-old HSE to be abolished.

The HSE is totally toxic, he said. We have to find some way of abolishing the HSE and start from the beginning. It probably wont be this Government. We should bring in outside experts.

People are so furious. It has gone too far. The HSE cannot be reformed in its present mindset. Somebody has to stand up and abolish it. It could take months or a year.

Mr Halligan said the cancer scandal, where 18 women died before knowing of their false negative results, was huge on the doorsteps. An opinion poll last week found satisfaction among women with the Government has fallen by a third to 29%.

Mr Halligan said: Forcing people into courts rather than settlements is appalling. Do people have faith in the HSE? It would probably fail in any poll.

It is only a matter of time something else happens with the HSE.

There are thousands of managers. Where would you get compliance? Organise return investment in services.

Meanwhile, Government figures have moved to distanced themselves from a businessman with links to Fine Gael proposing to cancer victim Emma Mhic Mhathuna that she might give the Government positive praise if her court case against the State is fast-tracked.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and junior minister and Kerry TD Brendan Griffin said they had no role in the draft letter or suggestions sent to the terminally ill mother of five.

Mr Griffin said: We had no hand, act, or part in it.Killarney Water Rescue which provides a search and recovery service is reportedly operating with just seven members.

Since it was established 20 years ago, it has mainly assisted in searches and recoveries in the famed but challenging Lakes of Killarney.

The local service is one of about 30 community water rescue groups operating in almost every county. Although not officially recognised by the Coast Guard as a declared resource, they are approved by Irish Water Safety. All are usually tasked to scenes of incidents by official agencies.

Sinead Sweetman, who with her husband Jimmy and several others are part of a tight ship in the Killarney service, said: Its an invaluable resource. It is well-equipped with three boats and volunteers are trained to a certificate level in search and rescue.

She said the unit strength is seven volunteers, about half of what it enjoyed at a peak.

We are surrounded by water in Killarney, but there is little interest in the rescue service, she said.

Ms Sweetman said that, as with many voluntary organisations in south Kerry where few young people remain after the age of 17 and where the population is ageing, support services find it difficult to recruit volunteers.

Killarney, meanwhile, has one of the oldest populations of what is categorised as a large town, with an average age of almost 41.

In the past 10 days, the service was involved in a river search for a person, but the role of volunteers in the service has also included evacuation during flood emergencies and assisting tourists who lost their way in near-jungle conditions in Killarney National Parks rhododendron forest in the upper lake, which can only be reached by boat.

Few people seem to know the lakes minutely, said Ms Sweetman.

She said the service also requires personnel to assist with church gate and street collections for flag days, as well as shore searchers and general helpers.

New members, she said, do not have to be divers or even swimmers.

Ms Sweetman said the groups mission is to assist people in difficulties and bring the stricken some comfort. She said, however, much of their work is the grim task of searching for bodies.

Over the years, the group has recovered 10 bodies, mainly from the Killarney Lakes, but have also been called into searches north of the border, Drogheda, Athy, Listowel, and Cork city.

Training includes how to launch and recover a boat, the geography of Killarney, asnd training to certificate level in search and rescue.

Kerry Mountain Rescue, also a voluntary-run service, said the work of the water rescue unit is invaluable.

The mountaineers rescue unit said that it also works hard to maintain volunteer numbers at 35.

Volunteer organisations like this are not for everyone, said spokesman Alan Wallace. Although it was involved in two rescues last week in Carrauntoohil, including the recovery of a tourist in a fatal fall, Mr Wallace said: Two call-outs in two days during the working week was an exception; usually most emergencies occur at weekends or bank holiday periods.

Both organisations indicated it is not easy maintaining numbers due to retirements, work transfers, people seeking breaks, or others deciding volunteering was not for them.Armed local detectives confronted the man after he brandished a knife in the Cherrywood area and reportedly threatened people.

But there was no sign of kidnap victim Jastine Valdez, 24, and officers were desperately trying to piece together sightings of the vehicle used in the abduction of the Filipino student to aid their search.

She was bundled into the boot of a jeep as she was walking in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, where she lives with her parents, at around 6.15pm on Saturday.

Gardai have urged people who saw the car, a black Nissan Qashqai, registration 171 D 20419, from 5pm on Saturday until 8pm last night to contact them.

Her abductor was named locally as Mark Hennessy, in his early 40s, from Woodbook Lawn, Bray, Co Wicklow.

He was married with two small children. He is understood to have taken his wifes car at 5pm, only to say he was going out socialising.

Sources said he was a building sub-contractor and was doing quite well and that, from talking to family members, there were no signs of major issues with him.

After a day of searching for the car, local detectives were called to the Brides Glen Luas Stop and local business park at Cherrywood, where they found the Qashqai and spotted a man with a knife.

In a statement, the Garda Press Office said: Gardai investigating the disappearance of Jastine Valdez interacted with the driver of a vehicle at approximately 8pm in the Cherrywood area of Dublin. An official Garda firearm was discharged.

Jastine Valdez

Gardai have located a 171 D Nissan Qashqui they had earlier appealed for at the scene of the shooting.

Gardai continue to appeal for Jastine Valdez and also for anyone who may have seen the movements of the 171 D Nissan Qashqai since yesterday to 8pm, 20 May, 2018.

It is thought Mr Hennessy was shot a number of times.

The terrifying events unfolded after Ms Valdez was bundled into the boot of a car in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow, on Saturday.

An eyewitness rang gardai, and gardai received a second report about an hour later by another witness who saw a woman in a distressed state in the back of a vehicle.

A massive search operation was put in place and, at 11.20pm on Saturday, Ms Valdezs parents reported that their daughter, a student who has been in Ireland for three years, was missing.

Gardai quickly linked her disappearance and the reported abduction.

They initially received slightly different descriptions of the vehicle, but by around 5pm were able to confirm its full registration.

Gardai believe she did not know her abductor.

On Sunday morning, they searched the reported site of the abduction and found Ms Valdezs mobile phone.

Gardai identified the registered owner of the black Nissan Qashqai and called to her home. They learned her husband had taken the car.

Earlier yesterday, Supt Paul Hogan, of Bray Garda Station, had urged people not to approach the car if they spotted it, but to ring 999 or 112.

He said they were extremely concerned for Ms Valdezs safety.

Bray Garda Station 01-6665300; the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.Independent Alliance TD John Halligan has accused the Church of resorting to pitiful tactics in the Eighth Amendment referendum after he was prohibited from being a sponsor by the Bishop of Waterford.

I was contacted by the parents of my godson on Thursday to tell me that they had been approached by a member of clergy and told that I could not stand as sponsor at the ceremony on Sunday and that this was the view of the bishop, said Mr Halligan.

When the parents contacted the bishop, they were told this is because I am an atheist and because of my views on abortion.

The junior business minister said the parents of his godson were told of the decision by Bishop of Waterford and Lismore Diocese, Most Rev Alphonsus Cullinan last Wednesday, the day before Mr Halligan held a large pro-choice meeting in Waterford. The decision subsequently prohibited him from acting as a sponsor at the weekend Mass.

Mr Halligan said he accepted that he does not meet the criteria laid down by the Catholic Church for Confirmation sponsors but that it was nonetheless a petty move on the part of Bishop Cullinan to single him out due to his pro-choice stance.

I am not being a hypocrite here, said Mr Halligan. I fully accept that, as an atheist, I do not meet the criteria set down by the Catholic Church that a Confirmation sponsor must be a practising Catholic.

The reason I had said yes to my godson when he asked me to be his sponsor was because of the close bond I have with him. Regardless of my own beliefs, I would very much have liked to attend the Mass with him on the day. And I sincerely doubt that I am the only person asked to sponsor a Confirmation child who is not a practising Catholic.

Mr Halligan said he knew for a fact that other sponsors were not approached to ascertain their suitability to the role or their views on the Eighth Amendment.

He added: I find it appalling that my godsons parents had to sit down with him, days before his Confirmation, and explain to the child that I was not permitted to be his sponsor.

Representatives for the Irish Bishops Conference and Bishop Cullinan did not respond to calls or emails yesterday. Queries on the numbers of sponsors prohibited from being godparents were not answered by the bishops office.A spokesman for the union said social welfare payments account for 40% of all post-office activity and, together with spin-off transactions, represent 60% of their business.

Speaking at the 2018 annual general conference of the Irish Postmasters Union (IPU) in Cavan yesterday, general secretary Ned OHara said that postmasters wanted certainty that the payments woud continue to be transacted through the post-office network long-term.

The IPU also called on An Post to make public a detailed plan and timeline for the roll-out of promised government and financial services to post offices.

The call comes after postmasters and An Post, earlier this month, agreed a new plan for the future of the post-office network.

That plan, which was mediated after three months of negotiation by senior counsel Turlough ODonnell, will include a 50m investment in the network.

IPU members were balloted on its contents and it received 80% approval. The IPU had warned members it was the best possible, negotiated solution for the future of the network

Under the deal, there are no compulsory closures of post offices.

The majority have been offered a new contract and smaller offices can continue on the existing contract.

Under the 50m plan, investment is to be made in the network and all offices have been promised a range of new government, financial, and parcel services, including:

Foreign exchange;

Motor tax, vehicle registration, and driving licences;

Identity verification;

A foreign-exchange card;

Additional bill-pay services;

Parcel lockers in post offices for collections.

Now that postmasters have backed the new post-office plan, we need a clear signal from An Post, and government, that they will maximise what post offices can offer to drive footfall and provide the best possible service to communities, said Mr OHara.

We also need continued public support for post offices, through people using their local service  use it or lose it.

It is with all of these elements combined that we can keep as many post offices as possible viable into the future.

It is now more than two years since businessman Bobby Kerr published his report recommending immediate action to tackle serious challenges facing the network.

The report found many rural, isolated post offices were not viable and needed to adapt to remain open.

There was some good news for postmasters late last year, when the Government gave An Post a 30m loan to protect the continuation of a five-day postal delivery service to every address in the country.One in six criminals are homeless prior to being sent to prison and one in two have an alcohol or drug disorder, according to researchers at the University of Limerick.

Rates of psychosis among inmates are much higher than in the rest of the population, which researchers said strengthens the argument for the development of diversion services.

Ireland has the lowest per-capita, secure psychiatric-bed availability in developed countries.

The research, described as the first systematic review of the area among Irish prisoners, is published in the Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine and has been made available by the Health Research Board.

Examining 10 separate studies, they found the following prevalence:

Psychiatric disorder stood at 3.6%, which was in keeping with international studies on prisoners and significantly higher than the general population;

Major affective disorders stood at 4.3%, lower than international estimates, but this could be linked to current screening processes in jails;

Alcohol and substance use disorders stood at 51%, in keeping with international studies, but substantially higher than the general population;

Homeless rates of prisoners on committal stood at 17%, above international estimates, and significantly higher that the general Irish population.

This study confirms that a significant proportion of Irish prisoners present with a current psychotic or major affective disorder, which are potentially treatable mental illnesses, said the study.

This finding strengthened the argument for the development of diversion services, which were geographically variable and still evolving.

Ireland has the lowest per-capita, secure psychiatric-bed availability in developed countries, said the report.

Diversion services need an expansion on bed capacity within Irish mental health services.

In relation to affective disorders, the rates were lower than internationally, but studies for female prisoners were higher.

The lower, overall levels prompted calls by researchers for a review to determine whether current screening processes were adequate in prisons here.

The burden of harmful use or dependence on alcohol and substances in Irish prisons is substantial, said the report.

One in three prisoners had a current alcohol misuse or dependence and one in two a problem with current substance misuse or dependence.

These figures were in keeping with international estimates, but substantially higher than the Irish population generally.

Substance and alcohol misuse are seen as key risk factors for recidivism, it said, adding that prison and probation services had invested in treatment programmes, but said services were variable geographically.

In the Irish context, treatment programmes for women, those specific to alcohol misuse, as well as those focused on novel drugs of misuse, are seen as gaps in provision, it said.

It said research showed homelessness was both a cause and consequence of imprisonment.Leo Varadkar had said it would be his intention to see legislation, including provision for virtually unrestricted abortions up to the 12th week of pregnancy, cleared through the Oireachtas by the end of the year, but Mr Coveney has signalled that this is unlikely.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, Mr Coveney twice stressed that it is hard to know if his Government will get the legislation passed.

Both the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste, along with a significant number of Cabinet ministers and Fine Gael TDs and senators, canvassed in Tullamore yesterday in a final push for the yes side.

Mr Varadkar said that while the polls are encouraging, he is not taking anything for granted and urged people to get out to vote on Friday.

I remember the divorce referendum, he said. It came down to as little as one vote in every ballot box and everything now is going to be about turnout.

Increasing numbers of people in Government and in Fianna Fail have said this Dail will never get to deal with the legislation, as a general election this year is now more likely.

It is hard to know, said Mr Coveney. :Work will begin on it by the end of the year.

Whether or not it can get finalised by then, it is hard to know. Well need to get the co-operation from other parties, but I think we will get this. This is not a party political issue.

The Tanaiste has sought to assure undecided voters who are uncomfortable with the 12-weeks proposal.

I will be one of the voices ensuring that the legislation that follows is not some kind of dramatically liberal regime, quite the opposite in fact, but also recognises the need for compassion, he said.

Mr Coveney said he hoped the Dail does not fall before legislation can be passed.

I hope we can follow through on the commitments. The Protection of Life Act is law and will remain as law until the law is changed, he said.

Meanwhile, Savita Halappanavars parents came out to publicly support a yes vote, which was later welcomed by the Taoiseach.

I have always been reluctant to talk about her too much in this campaign because she is a private individual and still has a grieving family, but I think the fact that Savitas parents have said what they have said is very significant, said Mr Varadkar.

If she had been given the termination when she asked for it, she would be alive today, probably gone on to be a mother herself, and perhaps would be out today campaigning with us.Dateline Peaceful Protests, Civilian Thugs, and How to Move Forward In Line With the Law

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Kyaw Kha: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, well discuss if civilian thugs are back after we saw the use of them to arrest anti-war protesters in Yangons Tamwe Township on Saturday. Im The Irrawaddy chief reporter Kyaw Kha and I am joined by the chairman of the Anti-Injustice Committee Ko Myat Kyaw and legal advisor U Khin Maung Myint.

Ko Myat Kyaw, you said you saw a protester beaten and arrested by the police as well as people in ordinary clothes. Does this remind you of something, as we saw the same situation [the use of civilian thugs in a crackdown on student protesters against the National Education Law] in 2015?

Myat Kyaw: This reminds me of the time that one of the men wearing red armbands gripped a girl by her neck during the student protests. Speaking of the protest on Saturday, I was there. I greeted protesters and was talking with my guests near them. Then, I heard someone say that the protest had been called off to avoid trouble. Protesters stood up and prepared to leave.

About 10 to 15 seconds later, some 60 police with shields pushed through the crowd and blocked a manI think it was Ko Aung Myin from the ACDC [Action Committee for Democracy Development]on a corner outside Ocean Center. Others fled. I was on the opposite side of the road. I crossed the road and stood on the traffic island. There were no policemen there. Then, a man came and grasped my arms, and glared at me threateningly. I struggled. Then, another four or five men arrived, grabbed me and punched me several times. They called me the protest leader. There were no police near me at that time.

KK: Were you the protest leader?

MK: No, I just went there to support and help the protesters. What they said was a lie. I was not the protest leader. But they called me the protest leader and pulled me to the other side of the road. There another four or five men beat me. Then, a few policemen came and perhaps stopped them from beating me. I didnt hear the police say: You get lost. It is our duty. Well handle him. None of the policemen ordered them to stop. Then, I was taken to a prisoner transport vehicle.

I feel like there was no rule of law at all. The police force failed to act in accordance with the law. As far as I know, they have received [crowd management] training conducted by the EU. But they didnt bother to negotiate with protesters. Again, according to the law, there must be three circles of police cordon and police can take action only when protesters break into the last cordon. I dont want to call it a crackdown, but Id say force was used on protesters near the end of the protest.

KK: Ko Myat Kyaw said the police didnt act in line with the law. U Khin Maung Myint, was the dispersal in line with legal procedures or not?

Khin Maung Myint: We had heated discussions on the same matter around March 2015. Police used civilian thugs in dispersing crowds that gathered against the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law. There are legal provisions regarding this. Section 128 of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows the use of force in dispersing crowds, and the Police Manual 1058 and riot management laws specify the circumstances under which force can be used. Police are allowed to seek the assistance of male civilians in dispersing a crowd only when the number of police is fewer than that of the unlawful assembly.

In the Tamwe case, the police outnumbered protesters. So, it was not necessary for the police to use civilians. If civilians are to be used, a list of their complete names must be submitted and approved by a magistrate prior to the dispersal. It is still unclear who those civilians were and if a magistrate had approved their use. Unless it were clear, Id say the use of civilians was against the law.

The law states that if police are to use auxiliary police or civilians to disperse protesters, they shall use those who are respected by or those who have influence over the protesters. In the Tamwe case, when protesters said they were about to stop their protest and disperse and asked the police to provide security, the civilians used by the police were not the ones who were respected by the protesters.

Whats more, their behaviors appeared to disperse the crowd with force rather than through peaceful negotiations. So, Id say it was against the law. Finally, the law does not allow auxiliary police or vigilantes to use violence. They are only allowed to negotiate with and calm protesters. As everyone witnessed the crackdown, police merely blocked the protesters and arrests and beatings were mainly carried out by civilian thugs. From a legal point of view, those actions were against the law.

KK: So, should legal action be taken against them?

KMM: An extensive investigation must be conducted to find out who they are and who orchestrated them, if prior approval from a judge was sought and given, and if the civilian thugs were deliberately ordered to forcibly disperse the protesters or if they used force without such an order. Such an investigation should be made.

KK: Ko Myat Kyaw, who do you think those civilian thugs are?

MK: I recognized a man who staged a protest against the [National League for Democracy] government, for whom an arrest warrant has been issued. We are really shocked by the law of the country that allows a fugitive to beat a civilian in front of police. A protest march in which protesters marched from Sule to Tamwe in support of the clashes and the Tatmadaw was held the same day and finished at 4 p.m. They were not blocked or arrested. But anti-war protesters were.

The Myanmar Police Force under the Home Affairs Ministry should be very ashamed, if they even know what shame is. They should apply the law equally. If they wanted to bar the protest because of other problems facing the country, they should have barred both protests. They should act fairly. I would question the dignity of a police force that allowed a fugitive to commit violence freely in front of many police majors and a hundred policemen with armored police cars. Our country doesnt accept the culture of supporting violence. We oppose it. Thats why we staged the protest. To answer your question, I saw people who have participated in anti-government protests and there is photographic evidence.

KK: While laws are issued for the public, law enforcement officers must also respect and obey the law. As you have pointed out, police went against procedure in the Tamwe case. In previous cases, weve witnessed photos of civilian thugs with red armbands arresting protestors in front of Yangons City Hall, and in Letpadan and Hlaing Tharyar. Thus far, no action has been taken against them. What will happen if they remain uncontrolled?

KMM: Considering what happened in Tamwe, the regional and Union governments and parliaments need to seriously consider this. Our country is lacking in two concepts. One is that the police, who are authorized to enforce the law, are only authorized to act according to existing laws and not authorized to overstep the law. Another concept that is missing is that even if joining an unlawful assembly is against the law, protestors still should enjoy legal protection under existing laws. As these two concepts are missing in our country, unnecessary violence happens. We need to fix this.

There will continue to be public assembly in all countries, democratic or not. In our country, the constitution provides for peaceful assembly and procession. According to the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law, protesters only need to inform and need not seek permission to stage a protest. The government must find an answer as to how to prevent the unlawful use of civilian thugs in crackdowns in the future and how to comply with the law when it is necessary to use civilians.

KK: Ko Myat Kyaw, can you explain what happened after the arrest?

MK: We were arrested and brought to Yankin Police Station around 6 p.m. After 20 minutes of interrogation there, we were brought to the South Okkalapa Police Station in a prisoner transport vehicle. We were interrogated there and then brought to Mingalar Taung Nyunt Police Station. There we stayed overnight. Within 24 hours, Bahan Police Station, as the Ocean Center [near where protesters assembled] is in Bahan Township, charged us with Article 20 [of the Peaceful Assembly and Procession Law], and asked us to apply for bail. We guaranteed to attend trial when summoned and were released. The rule of law is very disappointing in Myanmar as you can see in the case of Thilawa [special economic zone in Yangon] in which police shot recklessly [during their eviction of local farmers on Saturday]. Anti-war protesters were arrested in the cases of Tamwe, Mandalay and Paungde, and at a peace poem recitation event [on Monday]. It seems that we have to ask more loudly why we are afraid of peace. I think we need to engage in more pro-peace activities.

KK: Peace marches were held and anti-war protesters were arrested in Mandalay. In Yangon, there was even a confrontation. What would be the best way to avoid confrontation?

KMM: The two sides should negotiate to minimize confrontation, as the Constitution provides citizens the right to peaceful assembly and procession for any reason. Protesters should not think that they dont need permission from authorities just because they have good intent and a good purpose. They should work within the legal framework.

Law enforcement personnel have a greater responsibility. In the Tamwe case, there were ways to avoid confrontation. Authorities could negotiate with protesters and persuade them to reduce their numbers. For example, if there were 100 protesters, authorities could ask them to reduce their numbers, saying that such a large crowd could impact the public order. They could also ask protesters to change their route, saying that the chosen route could impact community peace and tranquility. Or authorities could ask them to change the way they protest. For example, instead of marching, they could ask them to gather somewhere or change the venue. Confrontation should have been avoided through such negotiations.

In the Tamwe case, the anti-war protesters clung to their intention and purpose and administrative authorities including the police, who are obliged to enforce the law, focused on how to disperse and take action against the protesters rather than negotiate with them ahead of the protest. This is wrong. We need to find a solution for future cases, learning from this case. You can always find an answer through negotiation for peace or any issue. We saw a counterintuitive result in Tamwe because of weak negotiation or resistance to negotiation. I would suggest that the two sides find a solution according to the law through negotiation.

KK: Thank you for your contributions!Asia China Calls for Ceasefire in Myanmar Border Fighting

Refugees who fled fighting in neighboring Myanmar use a mobile in the house of a relative in the village of Baiyan near Nansan in Yunnan Province, China, March 11, 2017. / ReutersAsia Multiple Bomb Attacks Hit Thailand's Deep South, Injure Three People

Rescue workers prepare to carry a dead body out of the site of a bomb attack at a market in the southern province of Yala, Thailand, on Jan. 22. / Reuters

BANGKOK  Multiple bomb attacks by suspected separatist insurgents injured at least three people in Thailands far south on Sunday, the military said.

A decades-old separatist insurgency in predominantly Buddhist Thailands largely ethnic Malay, Muslim provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat has claimed the lives of nearly 7,000 people since 2004, according to the Deep South Watch group, which monitors the violence.

Successive governments have held talks with rebel groups aimed at bringing peace but the discussions have largely stalled, including under the current, military government.

In Sundays attacks, explosives were placed near ATM machines and bank branches in at least 14 locations across four southern provinces, including Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, as well as Songkhla Province, the military said.

There is violence every year during the period of Ramadan, Colonel Pramote Prom-in, a regional security spokesman, told Reuters.

Muslims around the world marked the start of the fasting month of Ramadan last week.

As with most attacks in Thailands deep south, there was no claim of responsibility.

Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat were part of an independent Malay Muslim sultanate before Thailand annexed them in 1909.

Some rebel groups in the south have said they are fighting to establish an independent state.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha told local media in April that his government has made major headway in talks with insurgents, which have been mediated by neighboring Malaysia since 2015.

But a spokesman for Mara Patani, one of the insurgent groups talking to the government, told Reuters that progress has been slow and blamed the Thai government for dragging out the talks.Burma Myanmar Embassy in Pakistan Undergoes Emergency Security Upgrade

Demonstrators in Islamabad, Pakistan try to break through police lines as they protest against Myanmars handling of the Rakhine conflict on September 8, 2017. / Reuters

NAYPYITAW  Myanmars Embassy in Pakistan has spent hundreds of millions of kyats on tightened security measures amid reports that the site has been targeted by terrorists due to the Rakhine issue.

The embassy has spent 319.66 million kyats, drawn from presidential emergency funds, to improve security amid the terror threat, according to Union Minister for Cooperation U Kyaw Tin.

Rallies against the Myanmar governments treatment of Rohingya Muslims were held in several places in Pakistan in the first week of September after the Pakistani Foreign Ministry summoned Myanmars ambassador to protest alleged human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims.

At one of the rallies, thousands of demonstrators gathered in the capital Islamabad and attempted to reach the Myanmar Embassy in the citys diplomatic zone, but were stopped by shipping containers placed across key streets.

Pakistans national security adviser had informed the Myanmar Ministry of Foreign Affairs about a possible terror attack, U Kyaw Tin said during Fridays parliamentary session.

The National Counter Terrorism Authority of Pakistan told us that there could be terror attacks on our embassy, the minister said.

Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, host nations are responsible for providing security for foreign diplomats. The Myanmar Embassy in Islamabad has negotiated security measures to protect embassy staff with Pakistans diplomatic police force, the minister added.

The Pakistani police said they would make security arrangements and asked the Myanmar Embassy to make necessary alterations to its buildings and install the necessary equipment, the minister explained.

The Myanmar Embassy submitted to the Union government a detailed list of needed security measures, such as increasing the height of its walls and fitting a high-security gate. However, the Foreign Ministry has no funds for the security upgrade in its 2017-18 fiscal budget, so the money was allocated from presidential emergency funds in March.

Security will be improved over the next six months, the minister said.

Host countries have a responsibility to provide security for foreign embassies according to international laws. But ultimately we must ensure security ourselves, said Buthidaung Township lawmaker U Aung Thaung Shwe.

According to the United Nations, some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine State after an attack by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on police outposts in Maungdaw in August prompted counter-insurgency operations by the Myanmar Army.

When communal violence first broke out in northern Rakhine State in 2012, the Taliban demanded that the Pakistani government close the Myanmar Embassy.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.Burma Myanmar Urges Rohingya to Leave 'No-Mans Land' on Bangladesh Border

A man walks along a bridge from "no-man's land" to Bangladesh at the Bangladesh-Myanmar border near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, on Jan. 12. / Reuters

DHAKA  Myanmar authorities have resumed using loudspeakers to urge the nearly 4,000 Rohingya taking shelter on a sliver of land between the border fences of Bangladesh and Myanmar to leave, sparking fresh panic among the refugees over their imminent future.

Local officials in Bangladesh said Myanmar has blared the message before.

On Saturday morning they started the announcements again, asking us to leave the no-mans land. The announcements come every hour, Dil Mohamed, a community leader of the refugees, told The Irrawaddy.

He said the announcements, by the Myanmar Border Guard Police, state that the land belongs to Myanmars Maungdaw Township and that it is illegal under international law for them to stay there.

Since they began, Dil Mohamed said, Bangladeshi Border Guard officials have visited the frontier and Bangladeshi troops have been on heightened alert.

A Bangladeshi security official said Myanmar has gathered additional security forces along the border as well.

Lieutenant-Colonel Manzurul Hassan Khan, however, commander of the Bangladesh Border Guards Nainkhanchhari Battalion, said the situation along the border was normal on Sunday.

The resumption of the announcements follows a meeting in Dhaka on Thursday of a joint working group charged with overseeing the repatriation of the nearly 700,000 mostly Rohingya who have fled Myanmar since late August, when militant Rohingya attacks on security posts in Rakhine State triggered a military response the UN and US have both described as ethnic cleansing. It was the groups second meeting since the two countries signed a repatriation agreement in November.

Unlike most of the refugees living in camps in Bangladesh, however, those taking shelter between the border fences have not been registered with authorities and often rely on the generosity of local Bangladeshi residents for food. Bangladeshi officials have repeatedly said they do not need to be registered.

Citing Bangladeshi officials, the New Age, a Dhaka-based daily, reported on Sunday that Myanmar is reticent to let the refugees return to their original villages in Rakhine and instead plans to resettle them in new, segregated villages far from their original homes.

The Myanmar government has given no assurance of taking back the Rohingyas to their respective places of residence and villages, the New Age quoted a senior official as saying after the joint working group meeting.

Article 2 of the repatriation agreement the countries signed in November states that Myanmar would encourage the refugees to return voluntarily and safely to their own households and original places of residence or to a safe and secure place nearest to it of their choice.

To date Myanmar has approved for return 878 people from an initial list of 8,032 refugees willing to go back that Bangladesh handed over in February. None of them has yet to return.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has been preparing new shelters on Bhashanchar island to ease the congestion in the existing refugee camps in Coxs Bazar.

On Saturday, Bangladeshs disaster management and relief secretary, Md Shah Kamal, said he expected about 100,000 refugees to be transferred to the island at the end of the rainy season in late June and that they would only be moved voluntarily.

The secretary was taking part in a drill to prepare refugees, aid agencies and authorities for the landslides and floods expected to hit the Coxs Bazar camps until then.

On Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced that it had also distributed more than 2 million Vetiver grass plants among the refugees over the past two weeks to help reduce landslides and soil erosion in the hilly camps. In a statement, it said another 2 million would be distributed to non-governmental organizations working in the camps by the end of May.

The IOM said a bundle of 200 plants costs just over $1.50 and that it has also helped to get some of the grass planted with a cash-for-work program for some of the refugees and their host communities.

We drew on Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology studies to learn lessons from other projects involving Vetiver grass and apply them here. The illustrations helped share that knowledge with people in a very practical way, IOM site development coordinator Megan Genat said, according to the statement.

Its been really encouraging to see everyone getting involved, she added. The project has also helped in raising public awareness of the risks of soil erosion. We will be following up with a fuller analysis of the impact next month, but initial reports from our partners indicate it has been going very well and is proving popular with the refugee community.

In the same statement, the IOM said it was also helping lay roads and access routes, improve drainage and build bridges and working with both the government and other aid agencies to prepare for the rains and respond to emergencies.Burma Myanmars Planning and Finance Minister Submits Resignation

Minister for Planning and Finance U Kyaw Win addresses the Myanmar Investment Forum in Naypyitaw on June 6, 2017. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYITAW  Planning and Finance Minister U Kyaw Win has submitted his resignation to the president amid reports that he is being investigated by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Bureau of Special Investigation (BSI), sources close to the matter told The Irrawaddy.

Since last week, news reports have circulated alleging that the minister and his son are being investigated for corruption by the commission and the BSI, which is under the Home Affairs Ministry. Their home in Yangon was searched, according to the reports.

After the news went viral, the Anti-Corruption Commission announced that it had created six teams to investigate 18 complaints, but declined to provide details of the cases. The commission has not officially denied the media reports.

At around 4 p.m. on Monday, the Planning and Finance Ministrys permanent secretary, U Tun Tun Naing, denied the minister had resigned, telling The Irrawaddy that the minister was still in his office as of 3:40 p.m.

In Naypyitaw, meanwhile, National Economic Coordination Committee member U Myo Myint has emerged as one of two likely candidates to take U Kyaw Wins place. U Myo Myint, who is also chairman of the Renaissance Institute, an independent policy think tank run by the ruling National League for Democracy, worked for the ministry for 21 years before retiring as deputy director due to his involvement in the pro-democracy movement in 1988.

Also tipped for the post is deputy planning and finance minister U Set Aung. He is chairman of the management committee for the Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Yangon.

Whether or not the investigations are real, the reports have stirred public interest and much talk about whether the commission is making good on its vow to go after big fish.

In his meeting with the commission on April 11, President U Win Myint instructed its members not to be influenced by powerful figures in undertaking their duties and to carry them out decisively.

The Anti-Corruption Commission was the first governmental body to meet the new president after his inauguration on March 30.

In recent cases, Food and Drug Administration director general Dr. Than Htut was arrested and sued under Section 56 of the Anti-Corruption Law for allegedly demanding bribes from a construction company worth more than 15 million kyats, while an administrator in Mandalays Pyin Oo Lwin Township and another local official were both sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for taking bribes from villagers in return for registering their land.

The Irrawaddys senior reporter San Yamin Aung contributed to this report.Burma US Aid Chief to Myanmar: Take 'Concrete Steps' on Rohingya Rights

Refugees are seen at the Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, near Rakhine State, Myanmar, during a trip by United Nations envoys to the region April 29, 2018. / Reuters

THET KAE PYIN CAMP, Myanmar  The US governments aid chief urged Myanmar on Sunday to take concrete steps to guarantee the rights of Rohingya Muslims and to show sincerity in that endeavor in order to encourage hundreds of thousands who have fled the country to return.

Mark Green, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), ended his three-day visit to Myanmar touring Rohingya and Rakhine communities in western Rakhine State, including a camp for displaced Rohingya people.

Green said the refugees, whom he met during the previous leg of the trip in camps in Bangladesh, are fearful and while they want to return, they are asking for their rights and security to be guaranteed before making the decision to come back.

That reinforces the importance here of clear signs of sincerity of the governments stated position of welcoming back Rohingya in a safe, secure and dignified manner, Green told reporters.

We would strongly encourage the government to take those concrete steps which are a demonstration of the ability for Rohingya to return under those conditions, Green said.

He said the government could show the refugees in Bangladesh it is sincere by taking clear actions with the tens of thousands of Rohingya displaced in previous bouts of violence now stuck in crowded camps in squalid conditions in Rakhine.

Green said he was struck by the sense of hopelessness that so many Muslims nearby feel  the lack of access to healthcare, education, ability to move, access to livelihoods  that kind of hopelessness is obviously disturbing  its also something that has to be addressed.

Green has said the United States would provide $44 million in additional aid for the Rohingya and vulnerable populations in Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Nearly 700,000 Rohingya have fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar to escape an army crackdown since August, launched in response to Rohingya insurgent attacks. Refugees have reported murder, rape and arson by Myanmar troops.

Washington has called the army response ethnic cleansing  a charge Myanmar denies, saying its security forces have been waging a legitimate counter-insurgency operation against Bengali terrorists.

After meeting Myanmars de-facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in the administrative capital Naypyitaw and civil society leaders in the main city Yangon on Friday and Saturday, Green met local government officials in Rakhine and toured villages and camps over the weekend.

On Sunday, he went to Muslim and Buddhist villages in the Rathedaung Township in the north of the violence-torn state. He then met camp leaders in Thet Kae Pyin camp for nearly 6,000 Rohingya, a short drive from state capital Sittwe.

We dont have the luxury of time. We really do need all of us to see positive steps forward and we stand ready to help, Green said.Burma Yangon Residents Oppose $93M Development Plan, Cite Environmental Threats

One of the three retention ponds in Mayangones 5th Quarter. / Kyaw Phyo Tha / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Lawmakers and residents opposed the Yangon governments proposed development plan in the citys Mayangone Township, citing that the more than US$93 million project would pose environmental threats to the neighborhood.

The Yangon regional government proposed Mayangon Villa, a commercial and mixed development project in the township, to the regional Parliament early this month. The project is part of the governments Urban Development Master Plan (Yangon Region) 2018-21, which was submitted to the regional Parliament on May 3.

The plan is made up of 12 projects including infrastructure, transportation, housing and economic development projects in the commercial capital totaling more than 1.3 trillion kyats to be carried out with local and international investment.

But the Parliament hasnt approved it yet, as lawmakers complained that the entire plan lacked transparency.

The government proposed that the Mayangone Villa project  to be located a few minute drive from the Yangon International Airport  is slated to be carried out in 2018-19 on an eight-acre plot of land near the 8 Mile junction with an estimated investment of more than $93 million, according to the master plan viewed by The Irrawaddy. The project also includes a building for the Hydro Informatics Center for the National Water Resources Committee led by the countrys Vice President U Henry Van Thio.

The aims of the project are, the document says, effective land use, to use the benefit from the project as a cross subsidy in other public housing projects and to facelift Yangons development image among others.

But lawmakers and residents from the project area were not impressed by the objectives. They were concerned that the project would destroy three lakes that have been serving as retention ponds for rainwater and all drain water from the nearby area to protect the low-lying neighborhood from severe flooding.

Residents of Mayangones 5th Quarter said they were already suffering floods when the rains come, and were worried that if the lakes were earth-filled to make way for the project, their neighborhood would be prone to even more flooding.

Daw Khin Pyone Cho, one of the residents, told The Irrawaddy that even with the existence of the lakes, floodwaters sometimes invade her garage when it rains heavily.

If there are no lakes, our neighborhood will suffer more. Thats why we reject the project, she said.

The National League for Democracy lawmaker of the township Daw Moe Moe Suu Kyi urged the Parliament last week on behalf of the residents to leave the lakes alone.

The proposed eight-acre project area will be met only when you keep the three lakes. Any filling of the lakes for the project will mean more trouble for the residents. I oppose any plan that would damage the lakes, she said.

Daw Nilar Kyaw, Yangons Minister of Electricity, Industry, Transport and Communication, admitted to the Parliament that the lakes are in the project area and pledged that there would be no harm done to them.

The governments water management committee will take care of them for better and more useful means, she said, without elaborating.

Lawmaker Daw Moe Moe Suu Kyi told The Irrawaddy that whatever the governments plan was, the existence of the lakes was more important.

They are not only retention ponds but water resources as well, as they are recharging the underground water, she said.

Another resident said he didnt believe in development that would put the lives of the residents and the neighborhoods environment in peril.

Their predecessors made mistakes. If the current government follows their footsteps, it will get worse, he said.

U Myint Swe, a former deputy director from the Department of Urban and Housing Development, said the lakes should be left alone, as they are the retention basins of the area.

He explained that contrary to how it is now, downtown Yangon in the past rarely suffered from flooding in rainy season due to a large retention pond that held rainwater before releasing it into Yangon River. But the pond in Botahtaung Township was earth-filled for a housing project under the previous military regime.

It would be the same [for the Mayangone Villa project]. Without the ponds, more floods will be taken for granted, and residents will be the ones who suffer.Monday, May 21st, 2018 (12:01 am) - Score 2,621

Openreach (BT) has today confirmed that theyve begun the rollout of Gigabit capable Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband technology in Scotlands capital city of Edinburgh. As part of that theyve also invested 400,000 in a new fibre training school for the region that is based in Livingston.

The urban deployment has already begun in Corstorphine and Newington, with places like Murrayfield, Abbeyhill and western Dalry expected to follow. The capital joins places like Altnaharra in Sutherland and Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders which already have some FTTP capabilities, alongside around 8,000 premises that now have access to FTTP as part of the separate state aid fuelled Digital Scotland superfast broadband project.

All of this forms part of the operators new Fibre First commitment that will push their new full fibre network out to cover a total of 3 million UK premises by the end of 2020 using private investment. After that theres also a tentative plan to reach 10 million premises passed by around 2025.

Across the UK Openreach has already committed to support this rollout by hiring 3,500 new trainee engineers over the next 12 months (here) and many of these will be needed north of the border. So far more than 4,000 people have applied for 400 new trainee engineering roles being created in Scotland.

In total around 1,700 trainees are expected to pass through the doors in Livingston throughout 2018/19, with numbers rising once work completes on the fibre school later this year. Openreach also has similar training schools in Bradford, Bolton, Cardiff, Croydon, Hertford, Nursling, Peterborough, Thornaby and Yarnfield (buildings in Exeter and the Thames Valley are opening soon).

Clive Selley, Openreach CEO, said: When it comes to delivering world class digital infrastructure, Openreach people in Scotland have unrivalled experience, expertise and capability  and we want that to continue. Our new engineers are helping us provide better service, broader coverage and faster broadband speeds throughout the country, and this new training school will make sure they have the skills they need to get the job done. Were confident that our investment in people and networks across Scotland have a big role to play in the countrys future economic success.

Happily Openreach also confirmed that they expected to announce more locations to be upgraded to ultrafast FTTP during the course of this year and we hope this isnt as piecemeal as weve seen so far. However BT Groups CEO, Gavin Patterson, did recently suggest the plan was to publish quarterly updates (we hope they do this for G.fast too). So far the operator has only identified their first 8 cities.Enterprise software company TechnologyOne has secured an eight-year, multi-million dollar deal with Moreton Bay Regional Council to replace a legacy on-premise solution with its full OneCouncil enterprise Software as a Service solution.

The deal extends a 20-year partnership between TechnologyOne and the Queensland council, and includes the addition of property and rating, enterprise content management and human resource and planning products, to round out the OneCouncil solution.

Moreton Bay Regional Council spokesperson for Innovation, Darren Grimwade, said the move to a single, integrated enterprise SaaS solution would help the council deliver numerous digital process improvements for customers.

We wanted to move to an enterprise-wide system that was fully integrated, offered a consistent look and feel, and was able to provide the system functions needed to digitally transact with our customers, rate payers, employees and suppliers, Grimwade said.

The introduction of TechnologyOnes enterprise SaaS solution will make life easier for our ratepayers and customers who are demanding that we provide improved digital services.

Not only will TechnologyOnes SaaS solution streamline and automate processes, it will offer easy Web portal interactions which will support our Digital Region Strategy and commitment to the community.

The announcement was made at TechnologyOnes largest-ever local government user group in Sydney.

More than 320 users from 110 councils across Australia and New Zealand attended the user group, where Moreton Bay outlined how it was consolidating multiple systems and upgrading to TechnologyOnes SaaS solution designed specifically for local government.

TechnologyOne chief executive Edward Chung said the new deal with Moreton Bay highlighted TechnologyOnes strong ties with the local government sector, as the leading enterprise software and SaaS provider.

After 30 years of work in the local government space, and more than 300 customers, this deal further validates our business model of a single organisation providing a full enterprise SaaS solution.

It solidifies our longstanding partnership with Moreton Bay and their faith in TechnologyOne SaaS to future-proof council operations over the next eight years.

Its no wonder why our customers have rapidly gravitated to SaaS  it serves our customers far more effectively by simplifying their IT infrastructure, optimising the performance of their systems and delivering massive economies of scale.Software firm Agile Digital, secure cloud provider Vault Systems and the federal Department of Health have collaborated to demonstrate proof-of-concept of a system where blockchain technology can be used to help data scientists analyse the data of patients and not violate their privacy.

The three organisations earned an iAward for Big Data Innovation of the Year at the last week's Australian Information Industry Association ACT Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony.

The proof-of-concept is claimed to the first implementation of blockchain technology in the Federal Government, It came about because the Department of Health wanted to look at creation of a data science lab environment that allowed researchers to extract critical data without leaks, and without risking re-identification of patient data.

The Federal Government has shown a keenness to use public data for various purposes over the last couple of years, with the Centrelink robo-debt scheme claimed to be based on analysis of data. It was not exactly a roaring success.

{laodposition sam08}In September 2016, the Department was forced to remove a dataset made available publicly on the data.gov.au website after a researcher at Melbourne University found that service provider IDs could be identified.

This proof-of-concept is, apparently, aimed at avoiding such pitfalls.

Vault Systems founder and chief executive Rupert Taylor-Price said: "Data security is an important right that all Australians deserve, especially when it comes to their own medical records. The future medical breakthroughs could very well hang on finding a way to balance citizen's medical data for science while still guaranteeing security is a priority.

"For those reasons, we found lots of merit in being involved in this project. It is also great to team up with Agile Digital and really push the envelope on providing a secure platform. By capitalising on

blockchain technology and ASD-certified 'Protected' cloud, the Australian Government will possess the capabilities to analyse sensitive data for breakthrough research, while still complying with the Australian Government's privacy and security standards.

"It's big step forward in solving the conundrum of allowing approved scientists access to consented Australian's data and prioritising citizens data privacy."

Vault Systems is one of five companies which are certified to store government data with the highest security rating in its cloud service.

A statement claimed that during the project, the Department was able to use blockchain technology to record who accessed data, what data was accessed, what questions researchers asked, and what answers they received in relation to extracted data.

This allowed the Department to ensure that only authorised access occurred. It was also able to ensure that attempts to identify individuals did not take place.

"Agile Digital prides itself on developing and supporting high-quality cloud-based solutions that can support the Australian government's security needs," said, David Elliott, the company's executive director.

"Through this project, Agile Digital was able to leverage blockchain technology and Vaults secure cloud to ensure the data we were provided was securely stored. This guarantee can play a vital role to ensuring researchers are only able to access the data they need while the remaining sensitive data is not accessible."US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin has acknowledged that the Justice Department needs to take a close look at technology companies like Google that may be monopolies.

His comments came in response to a query on CNBC as to whether Google was a monopoly, a question prompted by a 60 Minutes show on CBS that took a detailed look at why Google should be investigated for being an alleged monopoly.

Mnuchin told CNBC that, "these are issues that the Justice Department needs to look at seriously  not for any one company  but obviously as these technology companies have a greater and greater impact on the economy, I think that you have to look at the power they have".

CBS spoke to Jeremy Stoppelman, the co-founder of Yelp; Margrethe Vestager, the Eu competition commissioner; and Gary Reback, a prominent anti-trust lawyer in the US who was in part responsible for getting the Justice Department to sue Microsoft in the 1990s.

Last week, the US Federal Trade Commission was asked to institute a probe into the data collected by Google on its Android operating system.

Asked if Google was a monopoly, Reback responded: "Oh, yes, of course Google's a monopoly. In fact they're a monopoly in several markets. They're a monopoly in search. They're a monopoly in search advertising."

Jonathan Taplin, a digital media expert and director emeritus of the innovation laboratory at the University of Southern California, pointed out that Google's use of the phrase "competition is just a click away" was misleading.

"They have no competition. Bing, their competition, has 2% of the market. They have 90%," he said. "They know who you are, where you are, what you just bought, what you might wanna buy. And so if I'm an advertiser and I say, 'I want 24-year-old women in Nashville, Tennessee who drive trucks and drink bourbon', I can do that on Google."

A Washington Post report in March 2017 said that Google's close ties to the White House had prevented a proposed 2012 probe into the company's alleged unfair competition from going ahead.

While FTC staff recommended that enforcement action begin, saying, according to The Wall Street Journal, that "the 160-page critique, which was supposed to remain private but was inadvertently disclosed in an open-records request, concluded that Googles conduct has resulted  and will result  in real harm to consumers'.

The report said a WSJ investigation had pointed out that Google's executives had donated more money to the Obama campaign than any company.

Stoppelman told CBS that he would not be able to start a company like Yelp today. "If I were starting out today, I would have no shot of building Yelp. That opportunity has been closed off by Google and their approach," he said.

Asked in what way he would be stopped, he replied: "Because if you provide great content in one of these categories that is lucrative to Google, and seen as potentially threatening, they will snuff you out. They will make you disappear. They will bury you."

Google was fined 2.42 billion (US$2.7 billion) by the European Union in June last year for allegedly abusing its search engine dominance to give illegal advantage to its own comparison shopping service. The company has appealed the decision.

Google also faces EU fines over its AdSense advertising system and its Android mobile operating system.

In February, the Competition Commission of India hit the company with a fine of 135.86 crore rupees (about US$21.1 million) for "abusing its dominant position in online general Web search and Web search advertising services in India".

Google and other big multinational technology companies are also under pressure over alleged tax evasion, with the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, unveiling a proposal to tax these companies at a rate of 3% as an interim measure.

Vestager did not mince her words, telling CBS: "Just as well as I admire some of the innovation by Google over the last decade  well, I want their illegal behaviour to stop", adding that this could be proven.

She said her staff had gone through 1.7 billion Google searches and found that the company was manipulating results to promote its own products and services. "It's very difficult to find the rivals. Because on average, you'd find them only on page four in your search results," Vestager said.

"I don't  I don't know anyone who goes to page four in their search result. The  jokingly, you could say that this is where you should keep your secrets. Because no one ever comes there," she added.

Google refused to go on the record with CBS, but provided a statement denying that it was a monopoly. "...our responsibility is to deliver the best results possible to our users, not specific placements for sites within our results. We understand that those sites whose ranking falls will be unhappy and may complain publicly," the company was quoted as saying.Nearly 10 hours after its mobile network collapsed like a pile of pancakes on Monday, Australia's biggest telecommunications outfit Telstra is yet to inform people why this happened.

Update 22 May 2018: Telstra has advised a software fault was the reason, details in this iTWire article.

Original story continues:

One reason could be that the organisation is following the Neanderthal rule of PR and waiting until the news cycle dies down. Then, late in the night, a reason will emerge and people in the PR ranks will rejoice at having "managed" another crisis.

Or maybe certain select journalists will be backgrounded in order to try and prevent as much damage as possible to the company's image. That is, if it has any left after all its recent woes.

The whole reasoning behind this kind of outdated thinking is to try and protect the company's share price.

Mobile voice and data services have returned to normal levels. We'll closely monitor network stability and performance and continue supporting our customers to restore their services. We're again deeply sorry for any disruption as we know how customers rely on our mobile services  Telstra (@Telstra) May 21, 2018

But in reality what it will do is have exactly the opposite effect. It will result in enraged commentators venting their spleen and that really does not do any company a shred of good. It also leads to a good bit of uninformed speculation.

Telstra is inclined to communicate via Twitter these days  probably to give the impression that it is up with the times. But the latest Tweet I can see at the time of writing (8pm AEST) is this:

"Mobile voice and data services have returned to normal levels. We'll closely monitor network stability and performance and continue supporting our customers to restore their services. We're again deeply sorry for any disruption as we know how customers rely on our mobile services."

Which leads to another question: has Telstra heard of something called redundancy? Systems fall over all the time but when there are redundancies built in, then the back-up takes over and gives the hardware or software engineers time to get the fault rectified.

Could it be that Telstra has done away with redundancy in the interests of keeping costs down?

Where was chief executive Andy Penn when customers were shouting themselves hoarse on social media at the time when they found that they could not take mobile calls for granted? Was he too busy to address the problems faced by his most precious asset  customers?

It is possible that there is a strain of thought running through this corporation that paying compensation will solve all problems and people will forget. Probably that will work on one occasion.

But not when it becomes a monthly occurrence. Telstra is slowly becoming synonymous with tech failures and that is not a good label to carry around.

It remains to be seen whether the company learns its lesson this time. But at the moment, given the silence about why the network outage occurred, it does not seem that any learning process has taken place.A class action against Google for allegedly terminating AdSense accounts and not paying out the balance at the time of suspension has been settled.

The search giant was accused of using these methods to bolster its income.

According to a report in Bleeping Computer, Google agreed to apportion US$11 million to settle the class action filed by California firm Free Range Content.

In its suit, the company claimed that Google would close an AdSense account just before it was due to make a payment to the publisher in question, and the refuse to pay the balance that was due to the publisher.

Any website that signs up to host Google's ads is known as a publisher and is meant to receive some money for the ads it displays.

The case claimed: "...as the plaintiff and many other publishers have found, Google often shuts down AdSense accounts shortly before a periodic payment is due and then denies the publisher the entirety of the expected payment, notwithstanding all the ads the publisher already has served to visitors to its website during the payment period."

And further, it alleged: "...one self-described AdSense publisher stated the following: 'Its common knowledge among SEOs that AdSense tends to be disabled a few days before the supposed payout. I haven't lost any big sum  only $2000 but I know one person that lost $40,000. It was all legitimate traffic coming straight from Google themselves, no click fraud no bought traffic etc. PS: I was using AdSense from 2008 to 2013  over 5 years so its not like only new users got banned.

Google was accused of "breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, unjust

enrichment, and violation of the California Unfair Competition Law".

The case also cited the account of an anonymous person who claimed to be a former Google employee as saying that the disabling of AdSense accounts was a deliberate policy put in place by Google to better its earnings, a claim which the company denied.

The settlement came about because the plaintiffs realised that though they would have ultimately won the case, it would have taken too long and cost them far too much.Vodafone's first FDD Massive MIMO trial site has gone live in Parramatta, the first of five sites across Australia to act as trial locations for 4.9G, with Sydney's Chinatown and Haymarket to follow, and it's using Huawei technology to make it happen.

Remember when the world went through 2.5G, 3.5G and even 4.5G?

Now we're hitting 4.9G, which is the 5G you have when you don't yet have 5G, and which serves as a continued evolution until 5G actually arrives.

Vodafone is using Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output technology on the Frequency Division Duplex 1800MHz spectrum, which it tested in Cronulla last year, as iTWire covered at the time, and to which Vodafone refers in the next sentence.

The global telco tells us that "FDD band spectrum was first demonstrated for use in Massive MIMO by Vodafone in 2017 , where it achieved a cell throughput speed of 717 Mbps across eight devices".

To carry out the demonstration of FDD Massive MIMO, Vodafone reminds us that it "used Huaweis AAU solution which incorporates 32 small internal radio frequency transceivers that in combination allow 3D control or beam-forming of the signals. Beam-forming allows radio signals to be shaped and simultaneously directed toward users in both vertical and horizontal directions, creating an increase in network coverage and improved user data speeds".

But back to today's news, where as noted above, Vodafone is testing 4.9G in Parramatta to start with, followed by Sydneys Chinatown and Haymarket and a total of five trial sites "across Australia" to come in total.

This new trial continues to use Huawei technology, which Vodafone didn't specify in the press release but which we've confirmed with the the company.

Vodafone chief technology officer Kevin Millroy noted the trial and upcoming rollout of 4.9G means "Vodafone customers will experience the benefits of the exponential increase in capacity which FDD Massive MIMO technology brings", adding, 4.9G is supercharging our network, with customers in 4.9G areas to enjoy a higher quality network experience, smoother streaming, and more consistent speeds, even in times of high usage".

The trial is another significant step towards 5G and well be rolling out 4.9G to more areas as the year progresses.

We are focused on continuing to evolve and enhance our 4G network to deliver real benefits to our customers now, while Australians wait for the introduction of 5G to consumers in coming years.

Vodafone is well on the way to be 5G-ready once compatible spectrum becomes available, with the rollout of our fibre transmission network nearing completion and the on-going project to virtualise our core network.

From 2016 to 2017, we saw an almost 40% increase in data usage on our network. Data usage has been rising steadily for years and with the introduction of our Unlimited mobile data plans [which are speed limited to 1.5Mbps once the full-speed caps are reached], we dont expect this to slow down.

As communications technologies continue to advance and service providers across the globe strive to deliver the best experience to their customers, Vodafone confidently states that "the Massive MIMO market is heading towards a boom".

The company quotes global research firm Research And Markets which estimates "the Massive MIMO market to be worth more than US$20.91 billion by 2026, a compound annual growth rate of 41% between 2018 and 2026".

The projected growth in the Massive MIMO market indicates the potential and untapped opportunities for the telecommunications industry to improve its network offerings. Rather than focusing on stunts around 5G, Vodafone is investing in technologies that will help deliver real benefits to our customers now.

The stat comes from Research and Market's "Massive MIMO Market by Technology (LTE Advanced, LTE Advanced Pro, 5G), Spectrum (TDD, FDD), Type of Antennas (8T8R, 16T16R & 32T32R, 64T64R, 128T128R & Above), and Geography (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Row)  Global Forecast to 2026, with the report available here.

Millroy concluded: The sites selected for the 4.9G trial are in high-density, high usage areas where we can really exercise the benefits we saw during the field demonstration."

Vodafone says it "will build upon the success of the trial sites by rolling out 4.9G to select sites throughout 2018".Promising to be "more than just a phone service" thanks to an emphasis on community engagement and giving back, LYF Mobile still promises fast speeds, affordable prices, online simplicity and a millennial focus - is it time to Choose Lyf?

The newest MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) to be brought to life on the Telstra network is LYF Mobile, promising the usual "fast connections at competitive prices" that every MVNO, let alone telco, says they offer.

However, LYF Mobile says it will "target Australia's millennial population", and promises to be "more than just your average telco by placing emphasis on community engagement and giving back".

Proudly boasting that is "running off one of Australias most popular networks", it launched yesterday, which was unfortunate given the Telstra mobile network outage, but these things happen.

Hopefully the millennials that would have tried connecting to LYF Mobile yesterday weren't of the snowflake kind and would have understood that outages happen - even in a millennial world.

In any case, with LYF Mobile offering five different 4G plans starting "as low as $20", one has to immediately wonder how serious LYF is at its low cost commitment, and whether cash-strapped millennials would rather cash staying in their pockets instead of being diverted to community engagement and giving back.

Are LYF Mobile plans good value for your life? Let's compare with Aldi Mobile plans:

Lyf's Nano $20 plan vs Aldi's S $15 plan.

LYF Mobile's $20 plan is the Nano plan. Billed as a plan for those who love texting, this plan gives you $200 worth of calls at a 40c flag fall and 99c per minute for "excess usage". You do get unlimited calls to 1800, 13 and 1300 numbers, 200NB of data, and unlimited SMS and MMS on a per month basis.

The problem for LYF here is that Aldi Mobile, which is also on the Telstra network, has a $15 plan on a per 30 day basis, offering unlimited voice calls, text and MMS messages, with 1.5GB of data, and even offers data rollover.

Lyf's Mini $25 plan vs Aldi's L $25 plan.

Then we see LYF's Mini plan for $25, with unlimited calls and text and 1.5GB of data.

Problem here is that Ald's L plan, also $25, not only has the same unlimited calls and text, but gives 4GB of data, data rollover, and $100 minutes of calls to 50 countries.

Lyf's Standard+ $40 plan vs Aldi's XL $35 plan.

Lyf's Standard+ plan gives unlimited calls and text, 4GB of data and 100 minutes of calls to 26 countries.

Meanwhile, Aldi's XL plan gives unlimited calls and text, 10GB of data, data rollover, unlimited calls to 15 countries and 200 minutes to 35 countries.

Lyf's Super+ $45 plan vs Aldi's XXL $45 plan.

Here Lyf offers 10GB data, unlimited calls and text and 300 minutes to 26 countries.

Aldi offers unlimited calls and text, 17GB data, data rollover, unlimited calls to 15 countries and 300 minutes of calls to 35 countries.

Lyf's Max+ $50 plan vs Aldi's Jumbo $55 plan.

Lyf offers 20GB data, unlimited calls and text and 300 minutes to 26 countries.

Also offers unlimited calls and text, 22GB data, data rollover, unlimited calls to 15 countries and 400 minutes to 35 countries.

That's just a comparison with another MNVO on the Telstra network - I haven't taken the time to compare with Boost, also on Telstra, or MVNOs such as Amaysim, Vaya and OVO on Optus, Kogan Mobile on Vodafone and many others out there, including the new Catch Connect MVNO. I also don't see any data-specific plans on Lyf, unlike Aldi, OVO, Kogan, Amaysim and others.

Has Lyf Mobile introduced a new type of pre-paid lock-in?

There's also something new I've never seen before with a pre-paid provider, and that is a type of lock-in that costs $50. As you'll see in some of the detail below, we're told that Lyf Mobile's "3 month sign up is actually a month-by-month. Customer can leave LYF whenever they feel. There is just a $50 fee involved if they decide to leave before 3 months. Once that period is over they can leave whenever they like at no cost."

That's a new one. I'm not sure if this is something Telstra put on over Lyf Mobile, or if this is something Lyf itself created, but it's a new thing for a pre-paid provider to put on its customers, and something to take note of should you decide to give Lyf a go.

Comparisons are fair

Now, it's only fair that we do these kinds of comparisons, and of course we're not the only ones to do so - sites such as Whistleout make this their businesses, while Finder not only does this for telcos but seemingly for every aspect of your life.

And this is where Lyf Mobile will have to become more competitive, because while it is very nice to give back to the community, millennials can just as easily do this directly with the cash saved in their own pockets, rather than letting some other organisation do this for them.

Lyf also proudly boasts that it is a "solely online company, making it easy for consumers to sign up to the service in just a few quick clicks via its website rather than having to physically go in store or wait over the phone" - but plenty of other players can say the same.

OVO is additionally competitive through its media offerings for example, and has a very lean physical operation too, with everything done online. I don't see any physical Amaysim, Vaya or Kogan Mobile stores, either, so being online, in 2018, is no longer a true competitive advantage, but merely table stakes.

And, while Lyf says it enables customers to tailor packages, selecting features like international roaming and extra data depending on their needs, its clear that companies like Aldi just offer some of these "extras" as standard. Why pay more if it's already included?

Note that Aldi does not offer international roaming as standard, and that the most competitive mobile roaming provider is Vodafone.

Starting a business is great - a bold move from its founder, Todd Scott.

Now look, I don't want to be down on Lyf Mobile. Its founder, Todd Scott, is doing something I wish I was doing - running an MVNO and an actual business, rather than "merely" being a writer. I imagine Todd Scott is earning much more money than I am, taking a lot more risk, and has to roll with the punches and brickbats while hoping a few bouquets and actual customers come his way, too.

Of the launch, Scott said: "We developed this MVNO so young Aussies who are time poor and or on a budget can easily stay connected and not break their banks.

Its a company run by millennials, for millennials where we listen to our customers needs and thoughts on a range of community issues. LYF Mobile is stepping away from standard telco offerings to be a little bit different and offer a little bit more than just a great phone connection and we are thrilled to launch this across the nation.

And, in a clear nod to wanting to stay different, Lyf says that "over the coming months", it will be "announcing some exciting partnerships with local and national organisations which look to encourage young Aussies to talk about issues affecting their own lives and always stay connected to their family and friends."

The company also promises "an Australian 24/7 support line based in Melbourne to ensure they are connected and happy with their service at all times."

So, what is some more of the background behind Lyf Mobile shared with me by its hardworking PR people?

We're told that founder Todd Scott"saw the gap in the market and more importantly what the 'millennial focused' telco is offering to Aussies", a millennial focused telco run by millennials, as was described above in Scott's own words.

The MVNO was "created in direct response to what millennials look for in a telco after having a discussion with some of his mates a dinner party one night. Not one of his friends was happy with their telco and he thought he could do something to fix it!"

Two years later, after plenty of research and developing business plans, LYF Mobile is ready to launch across the nation, promising "a cheap, fast service with minimal contracts, Australian based customer service and a social conscience. It's a little bit different offering a little bit more."

Here are some claimed key differentiators between LYF Mobile and other 'similar' MVNO offerings in Australia as provided by Lyf Mobile:$25,000 Scholarship Awarded by the Consulado General de Mexico

May 21, 2018

Consul General at Consulado General de Mexico en Chicago Carlos Jimenez Macias (middle) poses with Illinois Wesleyan Director of Financial Aid Scott Seibring 85 (fourth in from the right), among other representatives, at an Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME) Scholarship Program signing ceremony.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.  Five students of Mexican heritage will receive financial support to attend Illinois Wesleyan University during the 2018-19 academic year, thanks to a $25,000 scholarship awarded by The Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME) Scholarship Program and funded by the Consulado General de Mexico en Chicago.

Director of Financial Aid Scott Seibring 85 accepted the award on behalf of Illinois Wesleyan during a signing ceremony Wednesday, May 9 at the Chicago Consulate. The University was awarded IME Scholarship Program funding for the second consecutive academic year, after receiving $15,000 to support three students of Mexican origin or Mexican descent in 2017-18.

Illinois Wesleyan is one of just three institutions of higher education  and the only school outside of Chicagoland  to receive funding from the Chicago Consulates IME Scholarship Program. Earning financial support for five students of Mexican heritage aligns with Illinois Wesleyan President Eric Jensens Leadership Initiative on Inclusive Excellence.

The Mexican Governments IME Scholarship Program was created in 2005 as an initiative to contribute to the development and educational improvement of Mexican migrants living in the United States. Since its inception, more than 68,000 students have received financial support.

By John TworkLitter located along Central Avenue near the Myers Mill neighborhood in Summerville in Dorchester County.Reddit Email 56 Shares

Europes biggest challenge in resisting US sanctions on Iran is not legal or even geopolitical. It is psychological: European leaders act as if the US still cares about a trans-Atlantic alliance of shared interests, values, and approaches.

NEW YORK (Project Syndicate)  Donald Trumps renunciation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and the reimposition of US sanctions on that country threaten global peace. Europes security depends on defending the agreement with Iran despite the US withdrawal. That, in turn, requires Europe, along with Russia, China, and other United Nations member states, to ensure that economic relations with Iran can develop. And that can happen only if Europe confronts, and ultimately overturns, Americas extraterritorial sanctions, which aim to deter trade and financial activities with Iran by non-US actors.

The purpose of Trumps move is clear and indeed explicit: to topple the Iranian regime. Given this folly, European citizens accurately sense that Europes security interests are no longer closely aligned with those of the United States.

Americas bullying approach to Iran has been seconded  indeed championed  by two Middle Eastern allies of the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. Israel invokes US power to avoid having to make any compromises with the Palestinians. Saudi Arabia invokes US military power to contain its regional rival, Iran. Both are hoping for a direct US war with Iran.

Americas previous efforts at regime change in the Middle East yielded horrendous results for the US and Europe (to say nothing of the disasters that befell the countries caught up in the US-provoked mayhem). Such wars of choice have been the major factor in the surge of migration to Europe from the Middle East and North Africa. Even when regime change has succeeded, as in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, the aftermath has been violence and instability. And when regime change has failed, as in Syria, the result has been ongoing war.

The humiliating failure of French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to convince Trump to remain in the JCPOA was predictable. The US decision reflects two converging forces: a deep-seated foreign-policy tendency  manifested by all recent US administrations  to seek hegemony in the Middle East, and Trumps peculiar brand of psychopathy. Trump delights in embarrassing European leaders; their squirming is his triumph.

Yet they are not powerless. The agreement with Iran can still be salvaged, precisely because it is a multilateral agreement, endorsed by the UN Security Council (Resolution 2231), not an agreement solely between the US and Iran. Indeed, under Article 25 of the UN Charter, all UN member states, including the US, are obligated to fulfill the JCPOA. Trumps withdrawal of the US from the JCPOA is itself a violation of international law.

The essence of the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 is Irans cessation of activities that could lead to the development of nuclear weapons. Strict compliance by Iran is linked to the normalization of international economic relations, including the lifting of UN-agreed sanctions.

Even if the US now absents itself from the JCPOA, it has only two means to block the implementation of the agreement between Iran and the rest of the world. The first would be to foment war. This clearly is on the US agenda, especially with the neoconservative doyen John Bolton back in the White House as National Security Adviser. The world must steadfastly resist another ruinous US military adventure.

Extraterritorial sanctions are the second way the US could kill the JCPOA. It is one thing for the US to decide that it will not trade with Iran. It is quite another for the US government to attempt to block trade with Iran by non-US parties. This is Americas intention; it is up to Europe and China to defeat it, in the interest of global peace, as well as in their own direct economic interest.

In practical terms, the US will be able to enforce anti-Iran sanctions on companies operating in its domestic market, and most likely on subsidiaries of US firms operating abroad. Yet the US will try to go much further, by trying to block non-US companies from dealing with Iran. The US will probably succeed in clamping down on dollar-based transactions, as these are generally cleared through the US banking system. The real issue will come with non-US companies operating outside of the US and interacting with Iran via non-dollar currencies such as the euro and renminbi.

The US will certainly try to punish such companies, whether by targeting their local subsidiaries, by trying to haul them into US courts, or by denying them access to the US market. Here is where the European Union must take a strong stand and move beyond begging Trump for waivers for specific European business deals, a process that would make European countries even more subservient to Trumps whims. Europe should defend a firm and unequivocal No to US extraterritorial sanctions, notably on companies operating in non-dollar currencies.

The EU should insist that extraterritorial sanctions violate international law (including the Resolution 2231 and therefore the UN Charter) and the rules of the World Trade Organization. They should recognize that acquiescence would be tantamount to handing the US a blank check to set the rules of war and peace beyond the UN Security Council, and the rules of global trade beyond the World Trade Organization. The EU should be prepared to use the WTO dispute resolution process against the US, and to bring its case to the UN Security Council and General Assembly. Where Europe is afraid to tread, China will surely swoop in to capitalize on business opportunities in Iran. And China would be right to do so.

Europes biggest challenge is not legal or even geopolitical. It is psychological. European leaders act as if the US still cares about a trans-Atlantic alliance of shared interests, values, and approaches. Sadly, this is no longer the case.

The US and Europe do still have many shared interests; but they have many divergent ones as well, especially when the US violates international law. Europe needs its own security policy, just as it needs its own trade and environmental policies. The showdown over the JCPOA is therefore a moment of truth. World peace depends on Europes defense of the UN Charter and the rules of international trade.

Licensed from Project Syndicate

Jeffrey D. Sachs, Professor of Sustainable Development and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University, is Director of Columbias Center for Sustainable Development and of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. His books include The End of Poverty, Common Wealth, The Age of Sustainable Development, and, most recently, Building the New American Economy.

-

Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

CGTN: German SMEs continue to trade with Iran under EUs helpReddit Email 220 Shares

Another meeting between the Trump campaign and a representative of the leader of the United Arab Emirates has been uncovered by the New York Timess Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman, and David Kirkpatrick, this one in August of 2016.

The gathering at Trump Tower was arranged by George Nader, a Lebanese-American international fixer with ties to Israeli intelligence as well as to Erik Princes Blackwater mercenary company. In the past decade, Nader emerged as an adviser to Mohammed Bin Zayed al-Nahyan, 57, of the UAE.

Donald Trump, Jr., attended, as did Joel Zamel, head of an Israeli psy-ops firm called Psy-Group specializing in manipulating social media. Zamel appears to have been offered to Trump by the UAE and Nader, and the connection suggests that Mohammed Bin Zayed of the UAE has been deploying Israeli companies for various purposes for some time and offered to let Trump in on the deal. Zamel and Psy-Group are denying working for the Trump campaign according to the Times.

Trump officials connection to Israeli media manipulation firms is a constant in the unfolding scandal. It has been alleged that when Trump went to Tel Aviv last year, his aides hired an Israeli firm named Black Cube to smear Obama-era officials who had worked on the Iran nuclear deal, as a way of undermining the deal itself. Black Cube wrote to Informed Comment to deny the allegation.

The United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven princely states along the Gulf littoral that had been trucial states with Britain in the 19th and 20th centuries to guarantee the security of British Indian shipping in the Gulf. Abu Dhabi, one of the seven, has emerged as hegemonic because of its vast oil wealth, sold mainly to Japan. The other six have largely been subordinated to Bin Zayed of Abu Dhabi, whose official biography says:

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, is the son of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Father of the Nation and the first President of the UAE, and the brother of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE. Sheikh Mohamed is married to Her Highness Sheikha Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, and has four sons and five daughters.

Nader was convicted in the US in the early 1990s of possession of child pornography, and served a year in prison in Prague in 2003-4 on ten counts of abusing minor boys.

The pedophilia angle on Nader needs to be unpacked. Did his activities in those circles in Washington, DC, in the 1980s and 1990s allow him to discover which American politicians and even foreign dignitaries were engaging in secret pedophilia activities, and then to pass that information to foreign intelligence agencies so that these individuals could be blackmailed? It is worth noting, though no one does, that at least allegations have been made against Trump by underaged girls. If Nader had files on colleagues in those circles, it might explain why he kept being picked up as useful even after the Prague year in jail. He was in Iraq with Princes Blackwater in the 2000s, and then around 2011 suddenly pops up in Abu Dhabi as adviser to Mohammad Bin Zayed, the crown prince.

Nader allegedly told Donald Trump, Jr., at the August meeting that the UAE and Saudi Arabia wanted to help Trump win the presidency.

Barack Obama had deeply disappointed the wealthy pro-American oil monarchies of the Gulf. He had decided, instead of backing them to the hilt against Iran or holding out a prospect of US military intervention in Iran, to play them off against Iran. He made the nuclear deal and got sanctions removed from Tehran, and was content for Iran and Saudi Arabia to check one another in the region. This strategy is one of several often lumped under the rubric of offshore balancing. Obama wanted to get out of the Middle East and focus on East Asia.

Obama also bucked the Gulf in its desire that he intervene in Syria against the al-Assad regime, as a way of dealing a blow to Iran and the Lebanese Hizbullah. Obama called his decision not to bomb Syria in September of 2013 a declaration of independence against the Gulf states. He was at that point pretty annoyed with their pressure on the US and their desire to use it against Iran for their own purposes and he was telling them to jump in a lake.

But the Gulf states are more powerful than they might appear. They have trillions of dollars in walking around money and small populations so that they dont have to spend much of it locally. That is, Saudi Arabias GDP is similar to that of the Netherlands, but the Netherlands government has to spend a lot of money running the country, whereas the Gulf states can do that with a fraction of the investment.

This extra money can then be funneled into influence peddling. And it is.

Mohammed Bin Zayed also has a suspicious relationship with Vladimir Putin. The UAE has substantial Russian investments, and both the UAE and Russia are afraid of Sunni extremism (not only al-Qaeda and ISIL but they also lump the peaceful Muslim Brotherhood under that rubric).

The UAE and Saudi Arabia appear to have tried to hook Zamels Psy-Group up with the Trump campaign so that it could do a number on Hillary Clinton for them and suppress Democratic votes. At the same time, troll farms in St. Petersburg were engaged in the same sort of activity.

Mohammed Bin Zayed, having helped elect Trump, then slipped into the US incognito (highly irregular) in December of 2016, while Obama was still in office, for a meeting at Trump Tower with Jared Kushner, Michael Flynn and Steve Bannon. Kushner told the crown prince he wanted a back channel to Russia. Flynn had been communicating directly with Russian ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak. Apparently the former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency was so thick he did not realize that Kislyak was under NSA surveillance. Jared seems to have realized the danger of a direct communication, so he asked the UAE to set up a back channel.

In January of 2017 before the inauguration, Prince met with Nader and Kirill Dmitriev, an investment banker whose bank is under US sanctions and whose wife has long been best friends with and works for Putins daughter. Dmitriev, with whom the UAE has business, was being provided to Trump at Jareds request as the back channel in place of Kislyak. Also at the Seychelles was Elliott Broidy, the co-chair of the Republican National Committee, who had done $200 million in arms sales with the UAE and is also close to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.



Elliott Broidy, w/ h/t to Lunapic

In February of 2017, after the inauguration, Broidy requested $20 million as a lobbying fee from a Russian firm under sanctions to try to get the sanctions lifted.

Broidy had been recruited by Nader some time before and was perhaps himself a go-between for Trump and Bin Zayed.

Broidy had ingratiated himself with Trump by using Trumps attorney Michael Cohen to pay $1.6 million to a Playboy bunny who had had an affair and gotten pregnant, then got an abortion. Paul Campos has argued at New York magazine that Broidy was taking care of all this for Trump, who was the one who actually had the affair and arranged the abortion, and that Trump was afraid it would all come out and sink him with the Evangelicals. In essence, the $1.6 million may have been a bribe to Trump from Broidy, which then opened for Broidy the coffers of the Russian firms lobbying to get sanctions lifted. Trump seems to use Playboy magazine the way other people use online restaurant delivery menus.

The UAEs Bin Zayed also had a reason to want sanctions lifted on Russian banks and firms, since he held shares in some of them.

So the plot had several angles:

1. Get Trump elected since he is corrupt and can be easily bribed and possibly blackmailed

2. Use him to lift sanctions on Russian firms in which the UAE had invested.

3. Use him to scotch the Iran nuclear deal and put downward pressure on Irans oil sales, which would help the UAE make more money from its own oil.

4. Offer lobbying money as bribes to Trump principals so as to reward them for past cooperation and to encourage future cooperation.

5. Enlist the US in a UAE/ Saudi raid on Qatars $300 billion sovereign wealth fund, while at the same time drying up funding for the Muslim Brotherhood.

I suspect getting the US out of Syria was also part of the plot, but I havent worked that out yet. Trump cancelled a CIA program that more or less supported Muslim Brotherhood rebels in Syria.

The June 5, 2017, attack on and blockade of Qatar, orchestrated by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Russian hackers, was also part of the plot.

So too was maneuvering Mohammed Bin Salman into being the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, which Bin Zayed succeed in last summer.

Obviously, there is a big Israeli angle to all this of which we so far only have intimations, but obviously Netanyahu wanted the Iran deal sunk and Trump was more likely to sink it, and while Hillary Clinton is insufferably pro-Israel, she wouldnt have let Netanyahu get away with nearly as much as Trump does.

Keep one eye on Putin with regard to the collusion story. But keep the other eye on Mohammed Bin Zayed.



Bonus video:

Wochit News: Saudi Arabia, UAE Officials Also Helped Trump Win? 

Featured photo courtesy kremlin.ru

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President Donald Trump announced that the US is pulling out of the Iran nuclear accordand Iranians are really pissed.

Thousands of Iranians demonstrated in Tehran chanting Death to America. Thousands more attended Friday prayers in Tehran to hear hardline leaders denounce Trumps actions.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, an influential Friday prayer leader in Tehran, warned against making deals with the west since they cannot be trusted.

While Irans hardliners spearheaded those protests,Iranians of all political views united against Trump. Interviewed at the Tehran Bazaar during a recent trip, Massoud Nashebegi anticipated Trumps action. US animosity towards Iran is getting worse, he told me. Its because we in Iran stood up to the Americans.

Foad Izadi, an assistant professor at the University of Tehran, told me in a phone interview that Iranians are angry at imposition of new sanctions despite Iran living up to terms of the nuclear accord, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iranian officials are meeting with European leaders in hopes they will defy Trumps sanctions. But so far European corporations have started cancelling their investments rather than risk American ire.

If the Europeans are not able or not willing to oppose Trump, Izadi said, then Iran will leave the JCPOA sooner or later.

In 2015 seven countries signed the JCPOA in which Iran agreed to intrusive inspections of its nuclear power facilities in return for lifting of economic sanctions. The US, Iran, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China reached the accord after years of difficult negotiations. The JCPOA was codified into international law by a unanimous vote of the UN Security Council.

Nevertheless, the Trump administration renounced the JCPOA and announced unilateral resumption of harsh economic sanctions in 90-180 days, setting the stage for a major confrontation with Iran.

Trumps actions have rallied Iranians around their government. An Iran Poll survey conducted in April showed that 67% of Iranians want their government to retaliate against the US in response to any cancellation of the agreement. They want Iran to restart portions of the countrys nuclear program suspended since the accord took effect.

And Irans leaders are preparing to do just that, although they differ sharply on how.

Some hardliners want to withdraw from both the JCPOA and the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The NPT prohibits signatories from developing nuclear weapons. Once out of the NPT, Tehran could block all international inspectors from entering the country . The US would then have a much harder time determining if Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.

Izadi said Iran is also considering how to stay within the NPT and JCPOA while sending a sharp message to Washington.

Iran may step up the training of nuclear scientists. University level programs have lapsed in recent years, according to Izadi. By encouraging graduate studies in nuclear engineering, future personnel could go to work in Irans nuclear power industry, but also be ready to research nuclear weapons technology. Such academic research carried out before 2003 was a contentious issue in the JCPOA negotiations. Iran maintained that academic research didnt violate the NPT while the US and Israel argued that it was part of a nuclear weapons program.

Iran could enrich uranium to 20%, which is well above the 4% level needed for nuclear power but far less than that needed for a bomb. Under terms of the JCPOA, Iran can enrich up to 20% for medical research. Iran had enriched to 20% during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Iran could even enrich well above the 20% level to have fuel for nuclear submarines.

Having a nuclear powered submarine is not a violation of the nuclear agreement, Izadi noted. He admitted that Iran doesnt have a nuclear submarine program. But implementing high levels of enrichment sends a sign to the other side that Iran is not happy with all these sanctions.

Most Iranians believe the nuclear issue is only an excuse to attack Iran. Izadi said even if Iran completely stopped its nuclear power program entirely, the US would invent a new excuse, such as Iranian support for terrorism. All these assertions are a cover for the US to expand its hegemony in the Middle East, he said.

One of the primary objectives that the US has in this part of the world is to make sure that the oil that exists here is directly or indirectly controlled by the United States, he said.

American companies once dominated Irans oil production. After the 1979 Iranian revolution, U.S. oil companies lost a major source of profits. Izadi said the US wants to restore economic, political and military control over Iran as it tried to do in Iraq.

The Trump administration is pursuing two-track military policy towards Iran. If Iran attacks Israel, the US and Israel would launch a large scale military attack. Otherwise, Trump will use harsh sanctions to worsen economic conditions for ordinary Iranians in hopes they would overthrow their government and install a US friendly regime.

The Securities Study Group (SSG), a right wing think tank close to National Security Advisor John Bolton, is circulating an Iran position paper to Trumps national security team calling for regime change.

The Trump administration has no desire to roll tanks in an effort to directly topple the Iranian regime, said SSG PResident Jim Hanson. But they would be much happier dealing with a post-Mullah government.

Republican neocons tried such policies during President George W. Bushs first term, and it failed miserably, noted William Beeman, an anthropology professor at the University of Minnesota and an Iran expert.

The Trump administration is only the latest Republican administration to advocate regime change, Beeman told me. Accusations that Iran was developing nuclear weapons was promulgated to convince the American public that this was desirable.

Republican neoconservatives now play a prominent role in Trumps cabinet as seen by the appointment of Bolton and Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State.

The idea that creating harsh conditions would cause the population of that country to rise up and overthrow their rulers is a longstanding act of faith on the part of the US government, Beeman said. Iran is only the latest nation to which this bankrupt strategy has been applied.

Military conflict with Iran has already begun. Earlier this month Israel accused Iran of firing missiles into the Golan Heights, and Israel bombed what it said were Iranian military facilities in Syria. The decision to withdraw from the JCPOA has sent a signal to the region. The prospects for military conflict have increasedwhether in Syria, Lebanon or Iran itself.

Feature photo: AFP / Alexander NEMENOV. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, pictured on April 28, 2018 while attending a meeting with his Russian counterpart in Moscow.This week was marked by the events in Gaza and the possibility that those responsible in Israel might be brought before a court. The violence on May 14, which saw nearly 60 people killed by the Israeli army, has drawn anger and concern abroad. It coincided with the controversial inauguration of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Israel is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, while the United States moved in the Security Council to block an independent inquiry, which the UN and numerous leaders have called for.

The Palestinian Authority is trying to refer Israel to the International Criminal Court for war crimes. This is a potential key development for the case opened by the Court in 2015, writes our correspondent, adding that ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda will have the possibility to open an investigation without a green light from the judges.

Any person who incites or engages in acts of violence including by ordering, requesting, encouraging or contributing in any other manner to the commission of crimes within ICCs jurisdiction is liable to prosecution before the Court, she had already warned in a statement on April 8. But she was careful to add that this would happen with full respect for the principle of complementarity, under which States have primacy over the ICC. This could allow Israel to escape the ICC once again by opening a few procedures within its national jurisdiction. According to Lior Reuven Amihai, director of Israeli NGO Yesh Din, judicial independence is under threat in Israel. The right-wing parties, politicians and ultra-nationalists have for years been waging harsh campaigns against the courts, which they see as an obstacle to their political objectives, he says. These campaigns undermine the human rights of Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, Israeli citizens opposed to government policy and refugees from Africa.

Lebanon tribunals independence in question

Nothing better illustrates international justices difficulties in establishing credibility than the accusations of Swiss judge Robert Roth against the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL  set up to try the perpetrators of the 2005 assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri). Roth says he was forced to resign from the STL because his wife is Jewish. He also denounces multiple pressures on the STL to carry out quick trials in absentia, even at the expense of defence rights and the quality of international justice.

The events that led the Swiss judge to resign highlight the tribunals lack of independence. Lebanese media revealed that members of the court including Roth had Jewish wives. STL president David Baragwanath of New Zealand did not know how to defuse the problem, since the STL has always been accused by Hezbollah and others of being the legal arm of their political adversaries, including Israel, writes JusticeInfo.net. The STL did not support its staff, and Robert Roth believes he was clearly the victim of discrimination because of labels attached to his wife. And so, under the guise of guaranteeing the Tribunals impartiality, a clear message was sent, primarily to the Lebanese authorities, that no major figure in this Tribunal should have any links with Judaism, he writes.

The Gambian example

Victims of Gambian ex-dictator Yahya Jammeh also tried this week to get their voices heard from Ghana. JusticeInfos special envoy to Accra explains: More than 50 West African migrants were hacked to death with machetes and axes or simply shot dead in July 2005 in Yahya Jammehs Gambia. Thirteen years later, several human rights organizations are convinced that the slaughter was carried out on the orders of former dictator Jammeh, who has always denied any involvement of himself or his regime. This new fact could influence the fate of Gambias former strongman, currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea. Many of these victims were Ghanaian, and human rights organizations are calling for Jammeh to be tried in Accra. This is a more realistic option, says Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch, who thinks the situation in Gambia is not yet conducive to a fair trial.

Finally to Tunisia, where civil society showed it remains attached to the transitional justice process. Opposed since April 17 to the premature end of the Truth Commissions work, 30 Tunisian and international NGOs continue to fight this new offensive by the authorities against transitional justice, writes our Tunisia correspondent. Civil society does not look ready to relax pressure on the authorities.Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki was to arrive in The Netherlands later Monday ahead of talks with the chief prosecutor of the worlds only permanent war crimes court.

Maliki will meet with prosecutor Fatou Bensouda on Tuesday morning just over a week after 62 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire as they protested the US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem.

Maliki will update Bensouda on the situation in the Palestinian territories and also submit a referral on the issue of Jewish settlements during their talks at the International Criminal Court ICC), the Palestinian embassy in The Hague said in a statement.

Afterwards, Maliki will hold a press conference outside the court. He will also meet later Tuesday with Dutch counterpart Stef Blok.

Bensouda vowed last week that she was watching the unrest in Gaza closely and would take any action warranted to prosecute crimes.

My staff is vigilantly following developments on the ground and recording any alleged crime that could fall within the tribunals jurisdiction, she warned in a statement to AFP.

The violence must stop, she insisted, urging all those concerned to refrain from further escalating this situation and the Israel Defence Forces to avoid excessive use of force.

The Palestinian Authority joined the ICC in January 2015 signing up to the Rome Statute which underpins the worlds only permanent war crimes court.

The Palestinians asked the prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes committed in the Palestinian territories in the Gaza war the previous year, and Bensouda opened her inquiry just a few days later.

The preliminary examination which comes ahead of a full-blown investigation continues.Serbian ultranationalist politician Vojislav Seselj said Monday he had bought a house in a village where his firebrand speeches during the 1990s Balkan wars earned him a jail term.

Last month, a panel of UN judges in The Hague overturned Seseljs controversial acquittal and sentenced him to 10 years for crimes against humanity in the 1990s Balkans conflict.

He was convicted over his contribution to the persecution and deportation of non-Serbs, including Croats and Bosnian Muslims.

But he remains at liberty having already spent almost 12 years in detention in The Hague between 2003 to 2014.

In May 1992, at the height of the Balkan conflict, Seselj had urged the expulsion of local Croats from the village of Hrtkovci in the northern Vojvodina province where he has now bought a house.

I bought a house in Hrtkovci, I go there where people love me, Seselj told reporters, quoted by Beta news agency.

It is a nice region, he said,

The 63-year-old MP said the house would host a local branch of his Serbian Radical Party.

Earlier this month Serbian police prevented him from demonstrating in the village, home to a Croat minority.

Seselj had initially been acquitted in March 2016 for war crimes and crimes against humanity after a trial lasting more than eight years at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

Speaking to AFP after last months ruling, Seselj said he was proud of the crimes he was convicted of and would be willing to do the same again.

The 1990s wars that accompanied the collapse of Yugoslavia claimed about 130,000 lives.Israel has summoned the ambassadors of Spain, Slovenia and Belgium over their votes at a UN body calling for an international probe of the deadly shootings of dozens of Palestinians on the Gaza border, the foreign ministry said Monday.

The Spanish and Slovenian ambassadors were called in on Monday, while the Belgian envoy was to be received on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement.

The UN Human Rights Council voted Friday to send a team of international war crimes investigators to probe the deadly shootings. The three European countries were among 29 that voted in favour.

Only two of the councils 47 members, the United States and Australia, voted against the resolution, while 14 abstained, including Britain, Switzerland and Germany.

The text said the team should investigate all alleged violations and abuses in the context of the military assaults on large scale civilian protests that began on 30 March 2018,  including those that may amount to war crimes.

Palestinians began protesting on the Gaza-Israel border on March 30 for the right to return to the homes their families fled or were expelled from in 1948, during the war surrounding the creation of Israel.

A total of at least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since then, according to authorities in Gaza, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas.

No Israelis have been killed in that timeframe.

The protests peaked on May 14, the day the United States moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Tens of thousands protested on the Gaza border that day, with 62 killed by Israeli gunfire.

Israel says its actions are necessary to defend the border and stop mass infiltrations from the territory.

It accuses Hamas, with whom it has fought three wars since 2008, of seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence.212 Shares Share

I recently received a call from a physician resident in the Northeast U.S. who had been notified that she would be terminated from her residency program for a weak knowledge base. There would be no contract offered to her for the coming academic year. She reports that her scores are no worse than several of her colleagues and that her accredited program has a history of arbitrarily dismissing residents. She has tried to speak to her program director to plead her case, but she reports being harshly rejected. This resident is now in a crisis state, scrambling to determine how to proceed. Should she fight the finding? Formally appeal the decision? Ask her program director (who is increasingly hostile towards her) for a letter of recommendation in order to apply to other programs? Try to find (and afford) an attorney? Or just quietly go away in order to minimize unpleasant interactions and potential retaliation?

Regardless of her actual medical knowledge base, test scores, performance or the facultys perception of her, our young doctor does not have any idea what to do about her termination. She doesnt know who to speak to, what resources are available to her, what her rights are, or what due process is required to be offered her by her institution, ACGME or law.

Overwhelmed and confused, she will be acted upon by a system that she does not understand. Unless you have found yourself in a similar situation, you likely have not given these topics much thought either. If you were to find yourself in the setting of a disciplinary action or termination proceeding, getting up to speed on issues of due process can be time-consuming (when you have very little time to act) and overwhelming.

Academic due process typically lies outside of the purview of the courts, left to the individual educational institutions to design their own procedures and processes, and entrusted to the professional judgment of academic faculty who are thought to be better able to determine education and training qualifications than are judges and lay person juries. There are, however, certain requirements that case law has set forward for due process. The ACGME acknowledges two such U. S. Supreme Court cases in its Clinical Competency Committee Guidebook: Missouri v. Horowitz (1973) and Michigan v. Ewing (1985).

First, these Supreme Court decisions have determined that disciplinary actions must be the result of a careful, deliberate, reasonable decision-making process. The deliberations must be conscientious, rational and fair. They cannot be arbitrary or capricious. They also must review the entire academic record and a broad context of the students (residents) performance.

Second, any negative findings resulting in potential disciplinary actions must be clearly communicated to the trainee. There must be a notice of deficiencies. Third, there must be a chance and process for the student or resident to address those deficiencies, to repair them  an opportunity to cure the perceived failures.

Last year, a district court case in Indiana judged against Notre Dames application of due process, specifically involving failed representation at the appeals hearing wherein an advisor to the student is permitted to be present, but must remain silent and non-participatory throughout the proceedings. A Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) article summarized the judges opinion:

Without counsel who can actively participate in a hearing, students may miss critical opportunities to respond to evidence, challenge testimony, and present an adequate defense. Students arent ultimately able to adequately defend themselves against charges if they dont know what the charges are or have an opportunity to acquire, meaningfully review, or present exculpatory evidence.

A Baltimore attorney who blogs on resident issues points out that it is common for academic institutions, including medical schools, to violate trainees rights to due process:

Policies limiting how attorneys can help their clients are violative of due process rights for many of the same reasons that they contravene common sense. Students, medical interns, and resident physicians are not trained advocates; they are familiar with the facts of the situation, but they lack the critical understanding of how to present those facts clearly and persuasively, question opposing witnesses, and argue legal issues. And the reality is that, in most cases, there is an imbalance in relevant experience among the non-lawyer participants. School representatives, such as deans and program directors who speak at hearings on behalf of the school usually have done so before. By contrast, the student is usually a complete novice in such matters. This imbalance is grossly unfair and undermines the academic integrity of the process.

As the ACGME points out in its CCC Guidebook, the purpose of the evaluative process is to make an honest and good-faith effort to provide feedback to the resident/fellow with the goal of identifying both strengths and deficiencies for the resident/fellow to improve academic performance. Ultimately, due process must support that goal of providing the resident the opportunity to improve. That is what training is all about. Any perceived deficiencies must be determined by careful deliberations which are then clearly described to the resident, who must be afforded the opportunity to cure those perceived failings.

When institutions fail to follow their own processes and procedures, when they violate the essential elements of due process as outlined in case law and contracts, or when (per the aforementioned Michigan case opinion) there is a substantial departure from accepted academic norms as to demonstrate that the person or committee responsible did not actually exercise professional judgment, the courts may find grounds to support legal intervention.

Physician residents have undertaken the responsibility, at great personal expense, to do what it takes to become trained and board-eligible in their fields. Medical school faculty have accepted the responsibility, the positions, and the salaries to train, assist and guide residents in that endeavor. Academic due process is a vital interface between the two parties. Demand that it be done correctly.

Todd Rice is an anesthesiologist and creator, Graduate Medical Education Compliance Project.

Image credit: Shutterstock.comThe Alliance Francaise of Kilkenny celebrated 70 years of teaching French and promoting French language and culture recently. At a gala event in the River Court Hotel some 80 convivial Francophones and Francophiles gather to celebrate and toast this significant milestone in their existence.

Guest of honour was the French Ambassador M Stephan Crouzat along with M Thierry Lagnau, the Directeur General of the Alliance Francaise in Ireland.

Also present were representatives from the other branches of the Alliance Francaise in Ireland in Dublin, Waterford, Limerick and Cork along with David Fitzgerald Chairman of Kilkenny County Council.

After a fine meal the attendees were treated to a selection of arias and song from the French repertoire by renowned tenor Patrick Rafter accompanied by his wife Maura. Then, music in an Irish idiom was provided by Mary and Aine Fitzgerald from Galway, with toe-tapping jigs and reels and tender ballads.

Speaking to the assembled guests the Ambassador M. Crouzat praised the work and dedication of the Kilkenny Alliance, and reminded listeners that the Alliance Francaise in Dublin is the biggest one in a non-French speaking country, and that recently Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced (in French) Irelands application to join the Francophonie, the club of French-speaking states, as an observer. This 57-member Commonwealth-style organisation is a way of fostering links between French-speakers particularly in Africa, where there is a huge French speaking population.

In her address President Therese White spoke of the founder of the Kilkenny Alliance: James Delehanty.

I would like to say a few words about him. I met him several times in the 1980s. I remember him as a courteous, softly spoken, rather shy person who never boasted of his achievements. I learned of those much later. He merely mentioned that after the Second World War, in 1948, an important year, he founded the Kilkenny French Society.

From an early age, James Delehanty was passionately interested in all forms of literature - prose, poetry and theatre.

In the years 1940-50 he was attached to probably the most influential Irish literary magazine of the 20 century, The Bell. The Bell was published monthly from 1940 to 1950, printing the works of our best writers: Frank OConnor, Patrick Kavanagh, Liam OFlaherty, Hubert Butler and others. It was the liberal voice of Ireland, critical of censorship, of parochialism and clericalism. It opened the eyes of its readers to different European influences, to other forms of identity, reaching far beyond the narrow bounds of nationalism.

Due to financial problems and possibly pressure from various hostile quarters it ceased its activity in 1954. To save that enormously important heritage several publishers, writers and our James Delehanty undertook the task of creating what is now known as The Bell Index, which includes all of the editorials, essays, short stories, poems and reviews ever published in The Bell.

The departure of The Bell created a void. So, later on, in 1960 James Delehanty founded The Kilkenny Literary Society and became the editor of The Kilkenny Literary Society Magazine. From 1960 to 1970 it was a major literary publication in Ireland, a vehicle for Irish literary talent. Kate OBrien, Seamus Heaney, Brien Friel, Frank OConnor, Patrick Kavanagh, Hubert Butler, contributed with their prose and poetry to the wealth of Irish literature.

James Delehanty, being a Francophile and a connoisseur of French literature and history, wrote reviews of the works of Camus (that was the time when Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize) and essays with reflections on the French Revolution.

The Alliance Francaise will be enrolling for classes for adults in September, and then continuing its monthly cultural evenings. It also has a weekly gathering for French speakers in the Club House Hotel Bar on Thursday mornings from11am. All details are available on their websiteHarry Harris / AP



U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday named Harry Harris, current commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, his first ambassador to South Korea at a critical diplomatic juncture on the Korean Peninsula.

The White House made the announcement just weeks ahead of a nuclear summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and days ahead of a meeting in Washington between Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Harris was reported to be Trump's pick last month after initially being tapped as the U.S. ambassador to Australia.

It is the first time Trump has formally named an ambassador to Seoul since he took office last year.

The White House said Harris is a "highly decorated, combat proven Naval officer with extensive knowledge, leadership, and geopolitical expertise in the Indo-Pacific region."

If confirmed by the Senate, Harris will serve as Washington's top envoy to Seoul at a time when the allies have been seeking close coordination on a range of issues, including North Korea's nuclear weapons program and bilateral trade.

The Navy admiral was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and American father. He has led the U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii since May 2015, overseeing the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea and waters near the Korean Peninsula.

On foreign policy issues, he is considered a hawk, along with the latest additions to Trump's national security team -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Pompeo reportedly wanted Harris in Seoul, not Canberra.











Naypyidaw [Myanmar], May 21 (ANI): Out of the 8000 names submitted for repatriation by Dhaka a few months ago, Myanmar has urged Bangladesh to repatriate 2223 Rohingya refugees as soon as possible.

U Ko Ko Naing, director general of the Myanmar ministry, said that on May 2, the number included 1001 refugees, most of who were Muslims. Both the countries also agreed to repatriate 778 Muslims and 444 Hindu refugees a few months back, The Myanmar Times reported.

During a meeting in Dhaka on May 17, Myanmar showed its readiness to Bangladesh to begin the repatriation, Naing said.

Although the date of the repatriation could not be fixed as it is a complex process, he added.

Both the sides held discussions about safety and security of the repatriation process. Providing a conducive environment to the refugees and involving the United Nations agencies in the resettlement were also the talking points of the meet.

In November last year, Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement to repatriate an estimated 700,000 Rohingya Muslims who fled a brutal Myanmar military campaign launched in August 2017. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)Beni, May 21 (AFP) Ten civilians were killed overnight in a flashpoint area in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an attack by suspected Ugandan rebels, an official said today.

The attack was carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia, said Jonas Kibwana, administrator of the Beni region in North Kivu province.

"The ADF attacked the town of Mbau... 10 civilians were shot dead and two others were wounded," Kibwana told AFP, giving a toll confirmed separately by sources in the armed forces and civil society.

Eastern DRC has been wracked by violence since the mid-1990s. The ADF -- created by Muslim radicals to oppose the rule of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni -- is one of a number of armed groups fighting over the region's rich mineral resources.

It stands accused of killing hundreds of civilians over the years and of carrying out a deadly attack on UN troops in Beni last December that left 15 peacekeepers dead.(AFP) AMS

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)New Delhi, May 21: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 330-megawatt Kishanganga hydropower project, Pakistan moved the World Bank alleging violation of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty by India.

Islamabad has sent a four-member delegation headed by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf Ali, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday. The delegation was scheduled to meet the World Bank representatives on Monday.

Pakistan's ambassador to United States, Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry , while speaking to reporters, said the World Bank is a guarantor in the Indus Treaty and therefore, "it is bound to intervene in case of violation".

Chaudhary claimed the Kishanganga dam, set to be constructed on the Neelam River, will deplete the quantum of downstream water flowing to Pakistan. "This would adversely impact our agriculture," he added.

India, however, has attempted to allay the apprehensions raised by Pakistan ever since the construction of dam began in 2007. Since the dam is a "run-of-river plant", it will neither change the course of river nor deplete the level of water downstream, New Delhi has argued.

The dam's construction was stayed back in 2010 by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. After hearings during the course of three years, the court ruled in India's favour in 2013.

The international court had dismissed the concerns raised by Pakistan, noting that the proposed dam is "a run-of-river plant within the parameters of the IWT (Indus Water Treaty) and that India may accordingly divert water from the Kishanganga (Neelum River) for power generation".

After the setback at The Hague, Islamabad resorted to a counter-policy as it decided to build hydropower dams on the shared Neelum river. The first such project - Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project - was inaugurated by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi last month.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 21, 2018 11:55 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).May 21, 2018, 11:22am ET

Elon Musk: UAW 'did nada' for job security in last recession

\"Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union,\" Musk says. \"But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?\"

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revived his arguments against the United Auto Workers, responding to lingering criticism based on media reports that surfaced earlier this year.

The executive has effectively accused the UAW of orchestrating a propaganda campaign to foment distrust among the workers in Fremont, California, where the company builds the Model S, X and 3. The latest headline-generating report claimed the company was violating safety standards because Musk disliked the color yellow and the sound of beeping forklifts, among other gripes.

Tesla factory literally has miles of painted yellow lines & tape. Report about forklifts not beeping is also bs. These are both demonstrably false, but were reported as "facts by Reveal.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 21, 2018

"Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so [tomorrow] if they wanted," he said in a recent Twitter post. "But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing" Our safety record is 2X better than when the plant was UAW & everybody already gets healthcare."

The comments refer to the factory's previous history as a General Motors - Toyota joint production facility, known as NUMMI, that shuttered in 2010. Musk's latest post does not acknowledge that Tesla's Total Recordable Incident Rate, a standard metric for factory safety, had been below the current automotive-industry average.

Tesla has said the Model 3 was designed from the very beginning with input from ergonomic experts to avoid injuries. The company promises to eventually become the safest automotive factory in the world.May 21, 2018, 9:27am ET

Volvo tossing single-use plastics at all events, facilities

Volvo will instead use more environmentally-friendly biodegradable products.

Volvo is going green, and not just with its cars. The Swedish automaker announced on Monday that it will remove all sing-use plastics from its offices, cafeterias and events across the world by the end of next year.

In place of single-use plastic items such as cups, food containers and cutlery, Volvo will use more sustainable options, like biodegradable products made of paper, pulp and wood. The automaker estimates the switch will remove the equivalent of 500 plastic items per employee per year.

"Plastics pollution is one of the great environmental challenges of our time, said Stuart Templar, Director for Sustainability at Volvo Cars. "We take our responsibility seriously. We must play our part in helping tackle this global problem.

By the end of this year Volvo will eliminate all plastic items from global events, as well as from the company's facilities in China, Belgium, the United States, Sweden and Malaysia. By 2019, Volvo's national sales companies will stop using single-use plastic items.

On the car front, Volvo has already announced plans for pure electrics to make up half of its global sales by 2025. By that same year Volvo hopes to only have climate-neutral manufacturing operations.Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

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If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider subscribing to our ePaper and/or free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphrey, TD will visit Athy on June 14 to address the impending closure of the Coca Cola manufacturing plant in 2019 and the loss of 83 jobs locally.

The members of Athy Municipal District meeting, which was held earlier today Monday, May 21, heard that the Minister will be accompanied by various heads of the IDA on the visit.

Cllr Thomas Redmond tabled a motion that the municipal district request a meeting with IDA CEO Martin Shanahan and the Minister to discuss all issues relevant to jobs retention and creation in the South Kildare area.

Regional aid doesn't work, said Cllr Redmond.

We've probably spent more money in regional aid to somewhere like Malawi than we have in Athy. We need to put the pressure on.

We were put on the Regional Aid map yet over 50 per cent of people leave this town to get employment.

This really needs to change.

Cllr Ivan Keatly in response confirmed that the meeting with the Minister and IDA officials will take place next month.

It is vitally important that Coca Cola leave a legacy for the town and the workers and that everything is done for industries here in Athy, he said.

Kildare County Council hasn't done all that it can for Athy. Coca Cola are fully engaging with the council and the IDA to ensure there is a positive legacy left to this town and its people.

Cllr Wall vowed to fight back by getting everyone around the table to talk about the recent job losses next month.

This is the fight back for Athy, he said.

We need manufacturing firms to come here and set up in Athy. Let's get Athy back on the map.One of the Kildare Short Grass Films funding recipients will host a private screening of their short film called Taking Stock on Thursday 31 May at 8pm in Killcullen Town Hall Theatre.

There will be a wine reception from 7pm at Crean's Place, Killcullen. This free event is being presented to the people of Killcullen and surrounding areas as a thank you to all the local people who helped bring our film to the big screen.

This Irish drama short film was written and directed by Siobhan McMahon and produced by Emma Owen from Babyjane Productions.

Starring Kelly Gough, Michael OKelly and Rachel Lynch (a resident of Kildare), the film tells the story of a farmer who battles through the aftermath of a cattle raid. It explores the affect this has on him and his family and how one copes in tough circumstances.

This ambitious project was funded by Kildare Short Grass Films; an initiative of Kildare County Council headed by Lucina Russell Arts Officer. Lucina brings together both professional and aspiring film makers in Kildare to create a film cultural legacy.

"We couldnt have done it without the support of all the cast, crew and the locals  they are the ones who deserve all the credit," says Emma Owen from Babyjane Productions.

"The significant grant-aid awarded from Kildare County Council was further enhanced by sponsorship from Crean's Place Restaurant Killculllen, Ashover Lodge Killcullen, Cine Electric Ardmore Studios and Element Post Production. We owe them our sincerest gratitude."

She said this story is not unique to Ireland. It happens all around the world and thieves never think of the consequences their actions have on the farmer and their families.

"We also want to thank our relentless crew who worked tirelessly throughout the project. We were extremely lucky to have IFTA winning DoP Burschi Wojnar, award winning sound designer Paul Rowland and two-time Emmy nominated composer Joseph Conlan on our team," she said.

"We are excited to see how the film performs on the festival circuit both nationally and internationally. Its a story that will resonate with all audiences throughout the world as its a real human story - a beautiful, poignant and searingly honest portrayal of marriage and human emotions in a difficult time."

The event is free to attend, however booking is advisable as seating is limited. Please contact Emma on 083 107 8292 or email: emma@babyjaneproductions.comAssaults, embezzlement, absconding, heifer stealing and murder are just some of the crimes of Leitrims Victorian Villians. These crimes have come to light following the publication of 19th-century police files by Ancestry.

This was an era in Ireland when murders were seven times more likely and theft was rife.

The collection reveals that assault was the most common crime in Ireland with 28,353 cases reported in the 32-year period.

The number of accounts of murder in Leitrim found in the Hue and Cry stand at six, relatively low in comparison to the rest of the country. Breaking of license conditions (28,092 incidences) and theft (23,345 incidences) were also common crimes in Ireland at the time.

Many of these crimes were also connected to heightened periods of civil unrest that defined them, such as the Land War and its related tensions in rural Ireland in the final three decades of the 19th Century.

The collection allows members to examine their family and local history in a different light as it may be found that your great ancestor may have lived a life of crime, or rather may have been a victim of one. The records include the names, addresses and descriptions of Leitrim residents wanted for and convicted of various crimes, as well as their victims.

Murder in Carrick-on-Shannon

A description of John Mulvey, native of Drumliffin, is placed in the Hue and Cry. Mulvey is accused of murdering Michael Cox on 10 July 1885.

He is said to have violently assaulted Cox by striking him on the head with a spade and thereby causing his death.

The 65-year-old is described as much wrinkled about the eyes, which are small and blue, long nose, long red face and of medium make.

He is 5 feet 6 inches high and on the day in question wore a dark tweed coat, cord trousers and a tweed vest.

It is thought he will attempt to emigrate to America or England for some time.



Assault in Kiltoghart (sic)

Patrick Turbet, a native of Lisdrumfarna, is charged with seriously assaulting Michael Rowley on 6 December 1870.

He is accused of striking Towley on the head with a log, thus putting his life in danger.

Turbet is described as having two prominent upper front teeth, gray eyes and a slight cocked nose. He is about 50-years-old with very gray hair. He is said to have been wearing a round hat, frieze coat and cord trousers, although his clothing may now have changed.

Heifer theft in Moneyduff

A heifer was stolen from the property of Patrick McDermott in the townland of Moneyduff, parish of Drumlease, barony of Dromshair (sic) on the night of the 2 December 1862.

The heifer is described as two and a half years old, spotted white and brown with cocked horns, turned to the point. She is of Irish and Scotch breed and is with calf.

McDermott is offering a reward of 3 for the heifers recovery and prosecution of the thief leading to conviction.



Robbery at Drumahaire (sic)

Four men, whose names and native places are unknown, are charged with forcibly entering the dwelling-house of Patrick McMorrow of Fahy on 4 May 1885.

The men threatened the inmates of the house and stole a gun. All four men are described in the Hue and Cry calling for their identification and arrest.

The gun was aso described in the publication. It was a double-barrelled muzzle laoder, with Griffith written on lock, small piece broken off toe-plate, cut-mark on small of butt and small piece broken off one of the hammers. It is valued at 2.

Wanted criminal in Ballinamore

Michael Sunters, a native of Derrinkeher (Roycroft) is wanted by police.

He was found in an outhouse belonging to Patrick Guckian in Oughteragh on the night of the 8 April 1891 armed with a loaded gun with intent to commit a felony.

Sunters is described as half witted, gray or blue eyes, regular nose with a fresh complexion and a small round face.

He is of medium make and is said to be 5 feet 6 inches high. He is a farm servant and may be working as such in Fermanagh. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Missing man from Dromod

James Wallace of Dromod, left his home in the parish of Annaduff to go to Killashee, Longford on the 14 January 1874. He has not been heard from since.Would you like to make your home or business more eco friendly or are you embarking on a building project?

If you would like to reduce your energy bills and hear some inspirational speakers such as climate ambassador Orla Nic Suibhne from Local Energy Communities then you need to be in Manorhamilton on June 8.

Then the North Leitrim Sustainable Energy Group (NLSEC) in conjunction with the Local Enterprise Office Leitrim are having an Energy Awareness Day on Friday June 8, 3-7pm at the Beepark Centre Manorhamilton.

Chair of NLSEC and Community Energy Champion Award winner Seamus Dunbar said This will be a great event for the county and region. With the emphasis on renewable energy and community owned energy solutions, this is an ideal opportunity for people to meet businesses and individuals in the sector and get valuable information. There will be members of Sustainable Energy Authority 

Ireland on hand to answer queries also.

There will be various stands with a sustainable energy theme, refreshments and a draw. This event is free and open to all. For further information email northleitrimsec@gmail.comMay 3, 2021, 4 AM

From the William H. Gross collection of U.S. stamps and postal history, the Bible Block, the largest known unused block of the 1847 United States 10 first issue, was displayed at a luncheon in New York City held May 8 in conjunction with publicity for the upcoming auction.

Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Inc. president Scott R. Trepel speaks to journalists and feature writers at a May 8 luncheon for journalists in conjunction with the upcoming series of sales of the William H. Gross collection of U.S. stamps and postal history.

Philatelic Foreword  By Jay Bigalke

This coming Oct. 3 the eyes of the philatelic world will turn toward New York City for the first sale of United States stamps from the William H. Gross collection.

Charles Shreve and Tracy L. Carey brought the collection to Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries Inc. for the auction.

Siegel expects that the sale will surpass the $9.1 million single-day stamp auction record achieved with the 2007 sale of the Gross collection of Great Britain.

With such powerful stamps and covers up for sale, a key part of the marketing plan is to find new buyers outside of the philatelic community.

Siegel is being innovative with publicity for this auction and invited feature and freelance writers that work for major magazines in the United States to a luncheon held May 8 in New York City.

At the luncheon, Shreve, Siegel president Scott R. Trepel, and Cheryl Ganz, former curator at the National Postal Museum, shared interesting stories about philately and some of the stamps and covers to be offered in the sales.

The hope is that those in the room would be intrigued enough by some element of the presentation or conversation to write a feature-style article in advance of the sale.

Coming up with all the sales of the United States stamps, which we hope will bring at least $40 million, all those funds will similarly go to charities and nonprofits which will be announced before the first sale on Oct. 3, Shreve said.

To start the presentation, Trepel explored three general facts about philately and posed two question to get the writers thinking.

The first fact (as shown in a PowerPoint presentation) was Before 1840, it was customary for the person receiving a letter to pay the postage.

Followed by After British postal reforms in 1840, Congress waited 5 years to lower rates and another 2 years to issue stamps.

The third was The Pony Express was a publicity stunt that bankrupted its owners and lasted only 19 months.

The first of the two questions was A presidential candidate in the 1848 election appears on a stamp. Can you identify the candidate? Trepel provided a hint, This candidates nickname was Old Rough and Ready. 

The answer is Zachary Taylor, who is pictured on the 1848 local stamps of Boutons City Dispatch Post in New York City (Scott 18L1-18L2). Taylor won the 1848 election and was inaugurated March 4, 1849.

Trepel ended with a question asking what the largest number of people depicted on a U.S. postage stamp is and added the caveat that the people had to be identifiable. As an answer, he showed an image of the 1869 24 Declaration of Independence stamp (Scott 120).

Shreve shared stories about Gross and explained that the U.S. stamps were his pet.

He also recounted tales of purchasing stamps at auction for Gross throughout the years, Gross generosity to the Smithsonians National Postal Museum and more.

Ganz then shared the importance of the collection to philately.

And he [Gross] loves the superlatives, said Ganz. Largest block, finest known, and especially unique.

He understands provenience and he understands the history of legendary stamps.

Cheryl added, His collection is unique because of it and he did it in one lifetime.

In closing, Trepel said, Bill Grosss collection is phenomenal. Its what serious collectors aspire to build. And the value of it is what some people will write about, but for me the great part of this collection is how its a tangible connection to places, people, things and events of the past. Its what I love.

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Within 24 hours of the luncheon, the website of the financial news magazine Barrons published a story on the auction, so the efforts are starting to work.

I anticipate additional feature stories to appear in late summer. The journalists I chatted with at the luncheon all found different elements of philately that they could envision writing about. These ranged from discussions about Waterbury fancy cancellations, to engraving as an art form, and even exploring why early stamps dont have much color to them.

Not only will such articles benefit the sales, but publicity for stamp collecting in the popular press is a great win for the hobby, too.How did these enormous stones make their way to Stonehenge in England thousands of years ago?

The towering rocks at Stonehenge are so heavy that, according to a new controversial idea, a glacier, rather than Neolithic people, may have carried them from western Wales and dropped them off at Salisbury Plain in England, where the ancient monument stands today.

But many archaeologists disagree, saying that this hypothesis lacks evidence and downplays the achievements, skill and imagination that the ancient builders likely displayed.

So, what do the facts show? Live Science took a look, so you can decide for yourself. [5 Strange Theories About Stonehenge]

Quick background

Stonehenge's history extends as far back as 8500 B.C., when Mesolithic people dug pits for totem-pole-like posts at the site. The first stone pillars were erected there in about 2500 B.C. and rearranged by people over the next several thousand years, according to English Heritage, the charity that manages historic sites in England.

The monument has two main stone types that come from different places: The larger sarsen stones in the outer ring  which stand up to 30 feet (9 meters) tall and weigh an average of 25 tons (22.6 metric tons)  likely come from Marlborough Downs, located about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Stonehenge.

The bluestones (named for their bluish tinge when wet or broken) are considerably smaller. They weigh up to 4 tons (3.6 metric tons) and are made up of about 30 types of rock that come from several locations in western Wales, a distance of about 140 miles (225 km).

Just how these bluestones got to Stonehenge is up for debate.

Glacier hypothesis

In his new, self-published book, "The Stonehenge Bluestones" (Greencroft Books, 2018)  due out June 1  Brian John argues that glaciers picked up the bluestones in western Wales and dropped them off in Salisbury Plain. John is a geomorphologist, a scientist who studies how landscapes change over time, and works as an independent consultant in the United Kingdom.

This glacier hypothesis isn't new; it was first proposed in 1902 in the journal Archaeologia. But a seminal 1923 paper by British geologist Herbert Henry Thomas  who linked the bluestones to rock outcrops in Pembrokeshire in western Wales  dismissed the glacier idea.

"Since 1923, people have taken that statement [from Thomas] as more or less definitive," John told Live Science. "Archaeologists, in general, have assumed that if the ice couldn't have carried them, therefore they must have been carried by human beings."

But this interpretation is mistaken, John said. "People have loved this story  all of the heroic ancestors slaving away, collecting up these stones from west Wales and then carrying them all the way to Stonehenge," he said. "We all love heroic tales, and I think that's why people have just accepted this, more or less, at face value without any questioning of the evidence on which it's based."

John looks at it this way: Most of the bluestones aren't well-carved pillars but rather "boulders and slabs and rather clumpy bits of stone" that are characteristic of rocks caught up in glaciers. Moreover, about 500,000 years ago, the Irish Sea Glacier covered parts of the United Kingdom. It's not yet clear how far this glacier extended, "but it's a reasonable assumption that since it was such a big glacier, it may well have reached the edge of Salisbury Plain and possibly even to Stonehenge," John said. [Glaciers Disappear in Before & After Photos]

Meanwhile, he said there's no evidence that humans carried, pushed or boated the boulders to Stonehenge (archaeologists disagree). When employing Occam's Razor, the idea that the simplest explanation is often the correct one, it makes sense that a glacier brought over the bluestones, rather than people finding and bringing the megaliths over, John said.

He also noted that Stonehenge looks unfinished, likely because the glacier didn't drop enough bluestones nearby for people to complete it. This fits a pattern seen in other ancient stone monuments in the United Kingdom, in which stones were collected locally, not from far away, he said.

Humans hypothesis

Archaeologists, to put it mildly, disagree.

"[The glacier hypothesis] is looking increasingly untenable," Josh Pollard, a professor of archaeology at the University of Southampton in England, told Live Science. "We just don't find evidence of glacial deposits with big chunks of bluestone anywhere near Stonehenge. And it's inherently unlikely that Neolithic communities would have entirely picked over and removed all deposits of glacial [stones]."

Pollard is part of The Stonehenge Riverside Project, whose members have studied the rock outcrops in Pembrokeshire that match the stones at Stonehenge. Two outcrops, called Craig Rhos-y-felin and Carn Goedog, have evidence of Neolithic activity, including shallow ditches, stone tools and charcoal deposits that date to the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age, Pollard said. These artifacts could be evidence left by the people who quarried there for Stonehenge, he said.

In addition, the bluestones don't look like glacial debris, known as moraine, he said. "The bluestones are quite pillar-like blocks. Many now have suffered attrition, particularly through Roman and later removal of the stones and souvenir hunting," Pollard said. "[They weren't] the type of stones you would find in glacial moraine, which would be smaller, rounder boulders."

Glacial rocks are typically scuffed up, he added. While some of the bluestones at Stonehenge  such as the spotted dolerite  are too hard to get scrape marks from a glacier, the rhyolites and sandstones aren't, Pollard said.

"I would think [the rhyolite] would just disintegrate, to be honest, if it was in glacial deposits," he said.

As for John's suggestion that there's "no evidence" that ancient people moved the stone, there's this: "We know where some of those rocks started," Pollard said. "We can see where they've been extracted from the rock outcrops, and we know they end up at Stonehenge. That is, if you like, the evidence of movement." [In Photos: A Walk Through Stonehenge]

What's more, other stone monuments in the Neolithic United Kingdom do include rocks from afar, including Scotland's Ring of Brodgar and Ireland's Newgrange. Even though other monuments include only local stone, that doesn't mean exceptions don't exist, he said.

"It's important to remember that Stonehenge is a very exceptional monument," Pollard said. "It's iconic for a reason: because in the Neolithic world, there's nothing else quite like it."

As for it being unfinished, it's true that Stonehenge was rearranged throughout its history. But prehistoric people routinely remodeled their monuments, he said. Bluestone debris found at Stonehenge also indicates that there were once more pillars there, he added.

In addition, if a glacier had, indeed, dropped bluestones around Stonehenge, it's curious that the prehistoric people who lived there shortly before the time of Stonehenge didn't make monuments out of them, said Barney Harris, a doctoral student of archaeology at University College London.

Foreign, glacial stones "do seem to have been a source of wonderment in prehistory," Harris told Live Science. "In other locations around the United Kingdom, glacial [stones] are quite focused foci of ritual activity. They might be decorated with rock art, or they might have been converted into some kind of stone monument."

Bluestone mystery

So, how were the bluestones moved? In a 2016 experiment, Harris and his colleagues found that just 10 people were needed to haul a sled and giant block over a short trackway at about 1 mph (1.6 km/h), Live Science previously reported.

Such a trackway, filled with a mishmash of timber and branches, could have helped Neolithic people drag the stones to Stonehenge, Harris said. Smaller stones could have been tied with a timber litter, which can help people carry stones around difficult terrain, he said.

It's even possible that these blocks were floated on rafts for part of the way, Harris said.

Although challenging, such a feat might have united people. Moving the bluestones could have helped certain people show off or advance their social standing in the community, he said. "These events were usually associated with feasting and gathering, and could have been useful places to meet potential partners," Harris said.

Therein lies the impasse: John says archaeologists bask in the so-called heroic achievement of ancient people, while archaeologists say John underestimates our prehistoric ancestors.

"[John] doesn't give prehistoric people credit for a capacity to do remarkable things," Pollard said. "He's got an idea that everyone in prehistory was following the easiest route of least effort."

Original article on Live Science.For those who live in colder climates, slippery ice defines winter: in skating rinks, on frozen ponds, and on dangerously slick roads and sidewalks.

But why is ice so slippery?

It turns out that scientists didn't really know the answer to that simple question until recently. But new research has shown that ice's slipperiness may be due to "extra" molecules on the surface of the ice. [The Mysterious Physics of 7 Everyday Things]

Old theories make no sense

Because ice is less dense than liquid water, its melting point is lowered under high pressures. A long-standing theory says that this is what causes ice to be slippery: As you step on it, the pressure of your weight causes the top layer to melt into water.

"I think everybody agrees that this cannot possibly be, " Mischa Bonn, director of the molecular spectroscopy department at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany, told Live Science. "The pressures would need to be so extreme, you can't even achieve it by putting an elephant on high heels."

Another theory says that the heat created by frictionwhen you move across the ice produces the layer of water. However, ice is not only slippery when you are moving, as anyone who tries to stand on ice skatesfor the first time quickly discovers.

Even if pressure or friction melted the ice, could a layer of water explain the slipperiness? Daniel Bonn, a physicist at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, doesn't think so.

"The water-layer theory doesn't make much sense," Bonn told Live Science. "If you spill some water on your kitchen floor, it becomes slippery but not very slippery ... Just a layer of water will not do it."

Loose molecules

Mischa and Daniel Bonn, who are brothers, published a paper May 9th in the Journal of Chemical Physicsdescribing the surface of ice. Rather than a layer of liquid wateron the surface of ice, they found, there were loose water molecules. Mischa Bonn compared it to a dance floor that is "filled with marbles or ball bearings." Slipping across the surface of the ice is simply "rolling" on these molecular marbles.

Ice has a very regular, neat crystal structure, where each water molecule in the crystal is attached to three others. The molecules on the surface, however, can only be attached to two others. Being so weakly bonded to the crystal allows these surface molecules to tumble, and attaching and detaching themselves to various sites on the crystal as they move.

Even though slipping on iceis caused by essentially rolling over these water molecules, this layer of molecules is not the same as a layer of liquid water. These molecules and the slipperiness exist at temperatures far below waters freezing point. In fact, the way these molecules move so freely and diffuse across the surface actually makes them look more like a gas, Daniel Bonn said.

"For me, it's a gas  a two-dimensional gas rather than a three-dimensional liquid," he told Live Science.

But if ice is slippery because of loose surface molecules, is ice uniquely slippery? Not really, said Martin Truffer, a physics professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. It is not so much the nature of ice that is unique but rather our relation to it, he said.

"What's unusual about ice is, we usually encounter it so close to the melting point, " Truffer told Live Science. "It's really the only material where we have the gas phase, the liquid phase and the solid phase within the normal climate range that we live in."

Truffer, who lives in Fairbanks, Alaska, has experienced ice very far from the melting point: When it gets to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 degrees Celsius), he said, the snow "becomes like sandpaper." Truffer's observation lines up with what the Bonns found. At ultralow temperatures, the molecules on the surface don't have as much energy to break and create bonds as they roll around, so the ice becomes nonslippery.

The temperature for maximum slipperiness, according to their research data, is around 19 degrees F (minus 7 degrees C).

But some people already knew that; it's the temperature most indoorspeed-skating rinks have been using for years.

Original article on Live Science.Yes, there's a vaccine for the plague, one of the most notorious diseases known to humanity. But unfortunately, this vaccine isn't for humans  it's for prairie dogs.

This prairie-dog vaccine isn't new. In 2016, scientists used drones to drop vaccine-laced peanut-butter pellets onto prairie-dog colonies below.

Since 2016, however, the scientists  a team of collaborators from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and researchers from the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC)  have honed their vaccine distribution methods, using all-terrain vehicles in addition to drones to deliver the lifesaving drug to the prairie dogs. [10 Deadly Diseases That Hopped Across Species]

Plague is caused by the flea-borne bacterium Yersinia pestis. In prairie dogs and other rodents, the bacterium causes a disease called sylvatic plague; in humans, the same bacterium causes bubonic plague, which, if not treated with antibiotics, can be deadly.

But saving prairie dogs from the plague isn't the end goal of the vaccination program. Instead, the scientists are immunizing prairie dogs with the hope of protecting the rodents' primary predator: the endangered black-footed ferret.

The vaccine has been distributed "very specifically" to areas "where endangered, captive ferrets have been reintroduced into colonies with active prairie dog populations," said Katherine Richgels, the applied wildlife health research branch chief at the NWHC.

So far, these vaccination efforts have paid off: "In some trials over the past five years, we had enough plague come through that we did see improvements in prairie dog survival," Richgels said.

According to Dan Salkeld, a disease ecologist at Colorado State University who specializes in plague, prairie-dog survival is the crux of this vaccine work. The maintenance of prairie-dog populations equals the conservation of the black-footed ferret, one of the most endangered carnivores in the U.S., Salkeld told Live Science.

But what about people?

The results spell good news for prairie dogs and ferrets alike. However, experts are divided on whether the vaccine will eventually translate to protection in humans. Salkeld said he doesn't yet anticipate a promising future for the prairie-dog plague vaccine's impact on humans.

"I don't know that there will be much of an impact on humans, just because it is such a rare disease in the first place," he said. "The main sources of [plague] infection include chipmunks, rats and squirrels. Perhaps the prairie dog vaccine has the potential to work on these other animals."

Other experts, however, disagree. Indeed, there has been some discussion about the effectiveness of the vaccine on other species that live in closer proximity to humans, such as wood rats and rock squirrels, Richgels told Live Science. These animals are more likely than prairie dogs to spread the disease to humans. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

"We think this vaccine could be effective on these species," Richgels said. "We've speculated, but to know for sure, we'd have to do additional testing to make sure the vaccine was effective, and we'd have to have some public health groups that were willing to try this."

In places like Madagascar, where bubonic plague occurs nearly every year, a plague vaccine that works on animals capable of transmitting plague to humans could be particularly helpful, Richgels said. In other words, by vaccinating animals who could spread plague to humans, it's possible to potentially reduce the spread of plague to humans.

But that doesn't mean this zoonotic, or animal-based, plague vaccine has the capacity to eradicate the disease in humans. The 2,348 cases of plague during last year's outbreak in Madagascar won't suddenly drop down to zero this year.

"It's a complex disease; it's unpredictable. And so I think going for eradication would be really difficult," Salkeld said. "It's not easy, generally, to eradicate human-animal disease. The best management approach is to make an impact in parts."

In the U.S., Salkeld emphasized that distributing the plague vaccine to prairie dogs, specifically across the entire American West  which sees five to 10 plague cases during a busy year  will most likely not be a public health priority.

"Plague is a bizarre disease," Salkeld said. "There are multiple hosts. It ebbs and flows  one year, you'll have multiple cases, and the next year, you'll have none. This is particularly true in the United States."

Thus, the goal for these scientists is to make a difference where they can, even if that doesnt mean total eradication.

Richgels said that while a zoonotic plague vaccine may not ultimately rid the world of plague, it could be an effective management tool when used in specific instances, such as in the event of an outbreak, particularly in places like Madagascar. But for now, the NWHC and the FWS have more immediate goals.

"We want to be able to say that black-footed ferret populations recovered," Richgels said. "We want a success story  not just in captivity, but also in the wild."

Originally published on Live Science.Russia's got a floating nuclear plant on a barge, and it's heading for the Bering Strait  just a short hop from Alaska.

The "Akademik Lomonosov," according to a statement from Russian nuclear energy company Rosatom, docked in the Russian port of Murmansk on Saturday (May 19). There it will receive its supply of nuclear fuel. Tugboats will eventually haul the nuclear plant to the town of Pevek in the Russian Far East  just 53 miles (86 kilometers), as Reuters noted, from the western edge of Alaska, across the Bering Strait.

The St. Petersburg-built power plant will replace a coal plant and an older, landlocked nuclear plant. It will serve a population of about 50,000 people, Rosatom said. [Top 10 Greatest Explosions Ever]

Rosatom pitches the Lomonosov as the first in a series of floating plants that will serve remote Russian communities and cut greenhouse gas emissions. There are objections from within the anti-nuclear wing of the environmental movement, which is represented by a subset of hardline environmental groups like Greenpeace and doesn't necessarily include all environmentalists.

In an April 26 blog titled "What Could Possibly Go Wrong with a Floating Nuclear Power Plant?" Greenpeace nuclear experts Jan Haverkamp and Rashid Alimov suggested these plants will primarily serve to power Russian fossil-fuel extraction efforts in the de-iced Arctic, and said, "If this development is not halted, the next nuclear catastrophe could well be a Chernobyl-on-ice or a Chernobyl-on-the-rocks."

Rosatom highlighted the potential for immediate emissions reductions and cited support from nuclear advocates. It said that no nuclear material would be left in the Arctic, and that in 40 or 50 years the plant will be towed away from the site for decommissioning.

Once the Lomonosov, with its two KLT-40 reactors  similar to reactors used to power Russian icebreaker ships  is hooked up to the power grid along the Bering Strait, it will be the only floating plant of its kind in the world.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the U.S. planned to park a floating reactor off the coast of New Jersey, as Matt Reimann reported for Timeline. It was planned as the first in a series of floating reactors built with the idea that construction costs would drop if all the necessary skilled labor were located in one place, before the plants were shipped elsewhere. However plans for the plant were scrapped as energy became less profitable during the 1973 oil embargo.

Originally published on Live Science.More than half a million people have visited the Museum of the Bible since Washington's newest museum opened near the National Mall six months ago, the museum said Friday.

The museum, which opened in November with splashy attractions such as a walk-through Old Testament and a motion ride, was funded largely by the Green family, the evangelical Christian owners of the Hobby Lobby crafts chain. Christian tour groups especially have been drawn to the six-story museum, two blocks south of the National Mall, that focuses on the history and influence of the Bible in America and worldwide.

The tally of 565,000 guests in the first six months that the museum reported Friday places it in company with many of Washington's other free museums. (Those are operated by the public Smithsonian Institution, while the Museum of the Bible is privately owned.)

The most popular Smithsonian museums far outpace the Bible museum: The National Air and Space Museum, National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of American History each had more than 1 million visitors in the first four months of 2018, the Smithsonian said. The American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of African American History and Culture also had more visitors in those four months than the Bible museum has had in six months.

But the Bible museum comes in ahead of or on pace with several Smithsonians, including the National Museum of the American Indian, with 342,000 visitors in that four-month period; the Hirshhorn Museum, with 255,000 guests in four months; the Renwick Gallery, with 220,000 guests in four months; and the National Zoo, with 390,000 guests in four months.

Washington's other private museums tend to charge admission, unlike the free-but-donation-suggested Museum of the Bible. The Bible museum is on pace to exceed the first-year visitor total at the Newseum, which hosted 714,000 paying guests during its inaugural year on Pennsylvania Avenue NW from 2008 to 2009. And although the time periods are not the same, the Bible museum recorded more visitors in six months than the International Spy Museum, another pay-to-enter museum, recorded from January to June 2017. In those six months, 319,352 people bought tickets, the spy museum said; it is planning a move next year to a new location where it expects a higher visitor count.It was easy to miss the U.S.-China trade statement that the White House released Saturday, right in the midst of royal wedding mania. But it's hard to hide that China looks as if it's winning President Donald Trump's trade skirmish - so far.

The statement said that after several days of talks, the Chinese agreed to "substantially" reduce the United States' $375 billion trade deficit with China and that the details would be worked out later. It was noticeably vague.

--Notice China didn't agree to a specific amount. On Friday, Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, was telling reporters that the Chinese had agreed to reduce the deficit by "at least" $200 billion. China quickly denied that, and, a day later, the official statement didn't have a concrete number, a seeming victory for the Chinese.

--What about the IP fight? The real battle against the Chinese was supposed to be over intellectual property theft, which the Trump administration says has been going on for years and costs the U.S. economy $225 billion to $600 billion a year. Trump was supposed to get the Chinese to stop stealing U.S. business secrets and technology. On this front, the statement was brief and lackluster, saying that both sides agreed to "strengthen cooperation" (diplomatic speak for not doing much) and that China would "advance relevant amendments" to its patent law. It remains to be seen whether that happens (and whether China enforces any new laws).

--Reaction to the announcement was mostly negative, even among people who are usually Trump allies. Dan DiMicco, a former steel CEO who has been a big supporter of Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, tweeted shortly after the statement came out, "Not good enough. Time to take the gloves off." He followed that up with: "Did [the] president just blink? China and friends appear to be carrying the day." Fox Business anchor Lou Dobbs summed up the situation this way: "Chinese say 'no deal.' "

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., tweeted, "Why do U.S. officials always fall for China trickery?" Wall Street Journal trade reporter Bob Davis tweeted that the big takeaway is: "Trump administration gets rolled by the Chinese."

Here's a rundown of the many ways China appears to have gotten the upper hand.

--China's "concessions" are things it planned to do anyway. The Chinese have one of the fastest-growing economies and middle classes in the world. Chinese factories and cities need more energy, and its people want more meat. It's no surprise then that China said it was interested in buying more U.S. energy and agricultural products. The Trump administration is trying to cast that as a win since the United States will be able to sell more to China, but it was almost certain that the Chinese were going to buy more of that stuff anyway.

What Trump got from the Chinese is "the kind of deal that China would be able to offer any U.S. president," said Brad Setser, a China expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. "China has to import a certain amount of energy from someone and needs to import either animal feed or meat to satisfy Chinese domestic demand."

China has been buying about $20 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products a year and $7 billion in oil and gas, according to government data. Even if China doubled - or tripled - purchases of these items, it won't equal anywhere near a $200 billion reduction in the trade deficit.

--The United States agreed to suspend tariffs. Chinese officials sold the talks as a win for them back home, telling state-run media that the United States had agreed to "not to launch a trade war and to stop slapping tariffs against each other." Chinese media called this the most important result of the talks.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin confirmed that the tariffs are now "on hold" when he appeared on "Fox News Sunday."

Yes, it's good for both sides not to be in a trade war, but the Chinese had more to lose economically from the tariffs. The Trump administration rolling back its $150 billion tariff threat against China is a good "get" for the Chinese.

--China had leverage ahead of North Korea summit. Trump wants the summit with North Korea on June 12 to go well. It would be a huge breakthrough for the United States and the world and a significant achievement for his administration. The Chinese understand Trump needs them to help make this happen, and they reportedly expected Trump to be more amenable on trade while North Korea is in play. Trump even expressed openness to rolling back restrictions on the Chinese tech firm ZTE, a surprise to many.

"A U.S.-China trade disconnect or worse at this juncture only would detract and distract from mutual progress on North Korea," said Terry Haines, managing director of Evercore ISI.

--It's unlikely that there will be new limits on Chinese investment in the United States. Another Chinese goal is to be able to invest more in the United States. Mnuchin is supposed to be working on strong curbs to Chinese investment in America, another tough measure to show the Chinese that if they won't play fair and let U.S. companies fully operate in China, then America isn't going to be so open to Chinese firms and money.

Monday is the deadline for Mnuchin to "report progress" on the investment barriers. Now it looks as if those limitations are on hold, too, according to a lobbyist familiar with the deliberations who isn't authorized to speak publicly about the administration's decision-making and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Derek Scissors, a China expert at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute who advised the Trump administration on China trade last year, also thinks Mnuchin won't push this week for any further blocks on Chinese investment in the United States.

"Mnuchin never had any intention of recommending anything serious that I know," Scissors said.

--Zero curbs on China's high-tech plans. There was little in the Saturday statement about IP protections and nothing about China altering its plans for high-tech growth and domination (President Xi Jinping's "China 2025" plan). When the Trump administration originally presented China with a list of demands, it included China agreeing to stop subsidizing its tech companies.

It was always unlikely that the United States would get China to alter its marquee economic growth plan, but it's yet another reminder that the Chinese gave a few concessions on things that aren't sacrifices for China.

--China appears to have the upper hand, but this is just the beginning. This is only round one of lengthy negotiations between the two nations on trade, and it was conducted by various secretaries and advisers. Even Kudlow said Sunday that this can't be considered a deal yet. Much could change when Trump and Xi meet face-to-face.

But so far, the Chinese are pitching Trump a "deal" that doesn't alter much on their end. There's hope on both sides of the aisle (and in many parts of America) that Trump will hold out for more.

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President Trump on April 9 maintained that he has a "great relationship" with China as trade tensions escalate. (Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

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Video: President Trump on April 9 maintained that he has a "great relationship" with China as trade tensions escalate.(The Washington Post)

Embed code:STAFFORD, Texas - The funeral was about to begin, the first of 10 for the victims of the Santa Fe High School mass shooting, and the body of Sabika Sheikh was waiting at the mosque.

Sabika, 17, dreamed of being a diplomat, of working to empower women. A Muslim exchange student from Karachi, Pakistan, she had come to the United States through a State Department-funded study program, excited to leave behind the dangers posed by extremists at home to experience a country that represented all that was possible.

That's what her host family remembered about her, that there seemed so little for her to fear here in southeast Texas. And then a student opened fire at her school, in her classroom.

Now, Sabika was about to be on her way home, 20 days early. A Pakistani Embassy official had urged the medical examiner to work quickly so Sabika's family could bury her properly, a world away. A plane would leave with her body later this night. But first, the funeral.

Outside the mosque here, long before hundreds of people gathered to mourn, two men wondered what had become of America, their adopted homeland.

"I'm aghast," said Abdul Khatri, 60. "People come here because they are told there is peace here. You have the right to be protected here. It's why I came. But to have this happen not in India or Pakistan, but here? We have gotten off track. And it's been going on too long."

"Too long," the other man lamented. "I agree. Too long. But what will we do?"

The grieving in the Houston area on Sunday stretched from this mosque to the many churches near Santa Fe High School, the public search for answers to an unspeakable crime briefly suspended to make room for mourning. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, attended morning prayers at a Baptist church just down the road from the high school. The Saltgrass Cowboy Church held its regular Sunday morning service. Other churches welcomed their regular flocks, plus those newly compelled to visit.

It was striking that the first funeral was at a mosque, for a student who had barely gotten to experience American culture and ended up being consumed by one of its most divisive issues - the epidemic of school shootings.

"You imagine what it's like for her parents - all their hopes and dreams wrapped up in this child," said Farha Ahmed, an attorney from nearby Sugarland, drawn to attend Sabika's funeral. "And the next time they will see her, she'll be in a casket."

The mourners poured into the Masjid Sabireen mosque in this small town about 35 miles from Santa Fe, removing their shoes before stepping inside. Several students from Santa Fe High made the trip. So did Houston's mayor and two members of Congress. The mayor of tiny Stafford sat down and hurriedly pulled out his phone.

"Can you please make sure all flags in town are flown at [half-staff]," Mayor Leonard Scarcella said into his phone. "Tell him it's urgent."

Sabika's host family from Santa Fe arrived, six children in tow, the mother covering her blond hair with the red prayer shawl she'd received as a Mother's Day gift from Sabika.

Earlier at Arcadia First Baptist Church of Santa Fe, with Abbott in attendance, pastor Jerl Watkins tried to comfort the members of his congregation by telling them that prayer and acceptance of Christian values are the things that will heal this community. But he also pointed to the seeds of what he saw as a broader problem.

"It seems to me, since the 1960s in this country, we've begun to think technology and other things can replace our God, and we've taken God out of the schools, and social media has taken togetherness out of the family," Watkins said to about 200 parishioners, moving on to arguments over violence and abortion. "Many of these video games and movies our children are exposed to on a daily basis is all about thrill and killing and destruction. We've slaughtered millions of unborn children for the sake of convenience, and we twisted the sanctity of morality."

Before the service, which included honoring the congregation's nine graduating seniors, Abbott greeted parishioners in the vestibule. "I'm here to comfort my fellow Texans," he said.

Several parishioners told Abbott they were glad he's not rushing to implement new laws or restrictions on firearms after the shooting, during which a 17-year-old student allegedly gunned down eight students and two teachers with a shotgun and a pistol that police said belonged to his father.

"It's not a gun issue - it's a door issue," said Monica Barcknell, an 18-year-old senior, who like many people in this town think the shooting could have been prevented had the school had stricter entrance and exit policies.

Just 30 miles away, at the mosque, the issue of guns was discussed differently.

"We need to pass laws that restrict guns and other weapons of mass killing," said Javed Malik, the mosque's director, speaking during the funeral.

"And after the funeral prayers, what are we going to do to make sure this doesn't happen again?" said Sheikh Syed, the imam.

Authorities said Sunday that they are continuing to investigate the attack, which they said appeared to be intended to kill as many students and teachers as possible.

Abbott said the suspect in Friday's school shooting was armed with "several different types of explosive devices" including molotov cocktails and devices that use carbon dioxide to explode.

"He had some he threw into the classroom and some, as I understand it, were found in his home," Abbott said after he visited the high school. "So it's clear he wanted to try to use explosive devices, but he did not put them together in a way that they did explode. . . . But it shows this killer was intent on trying to inflict horrific damage on these kids, and my hope is he gets swift Texas justice."

Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady, who will be prosecuting Dimitrios Pagourtzis on charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer, said federal prosecutors also might file charges after the FBI completes its investigation.

"We have a lot information and there is a lot of investigation still to be done," Roady said.

Roady declined to comment on whether authorities have uncovered a motive, and said neither the victim autopsy reports nor other evidence would be released before a trial. Authorities have said there were no obvious red flags ahead of the attack.

Roady said Texas law allows for the death penalty in capital murder cases, but he said he will not seek death for Pagourtzis because he is a minor; the Supreme Court has ruled that minors are not eligible to face capital punishment.

"If the death penalty were on the table within the punishment range, I believe that we would be seeking it in this case," Roady said. "But the law is the law."

Sabika's funeral on Sunday was brief. The casket was carried into the overflowing mosque and everyone stood up. Minutes later, the service was over. And Fuad Cochinwala, president of the Islamic Center of Greater Houston, quietly worked to move the casket outside to a waiting hearse. Several people argued that he should wait until all the speeches and memorials were over. But Cochinwala was insistent. The casket needed to be removed now so it could be taken to the airport.

"I need to get her home," he explained. "That's my job."

The consul general of Pakistan in Houston spoke of "shared grief." Houston's mayor noted that Sabika had achieved her dream of being a diplomat by pulling together two countries. And Sabika's host father recalled how his family had fasted along with Sabika during Ramadan. He thanked her for teaching him about love, "because when people love each other, these kinds of things don't happen."

More speeches were to come. But Sabika's body was gone.

The Turkish Airlines plane carrying her casket was scheduled to depart Houston at 8 p.m. It would travel thousands of miles and make a brief stop in Istanbul. It was scheduled to land in Karachi at 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, local time.

Sabika's family would be waiting.

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Craig and Martin reported from Santa Fe, Texas.WASHINGTON - In March, as part of Scott Pruitt's aggressive campaign to roll back federal regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed relaxing standards for storing potentially toxic waste produced by coal-burning power plants.

EPA officials cited a study indicating that forcing utilities to get rid of unlined coal ash ponds too quickly could strain the electrical grid in several regions of the country.

But when environmental advocates scrutinized the specifics, they discovered a problem: The evidence cited was not established scientific research. Instead, the agency was relying on a four-page document by the utility industry's trade association, the Edison Electric Institute, which has acknowledged that its conclusions were not "part of or a summary of a larger study."

Lisa Evans, a lawyer for the group Earthjustice, was among the advocates who seized on that omission, as well as on gaps in technical data and other evidence, to argue that the agency's action was ill-advised and legally flimsy.

"The record does not support the proposal," Evans said, noting that the Obama administration's 2015 requirement on coal ash drew on years of public input and peer-reviewed scientific studies. "I've never seen a rule like this, in terms of the thinness of the evidence."

The coal ash proposal is among the more than half-dozen major moves that the EPA has seen snagged by procedural and legal problems. The delays threaten to tarnish Pruitt's image as an effective warrior in President Donald Trump's battle against federal regulations, a reputation that has so far saved the EPA administrator his job amid an array of investigations into ethical and management lapses.

Earlier this month, the White House Office of Management and Budget sent back a proposal to ease emissions restrictions for refurbished heavy-duty trucks and ordered the agency to analyze the proposal's economic impact. That move followed a separate OMB request in April that the EPA offer "some analysis" to show that it would actually yield environmental benefits.

The EPA's own science advisers have called for a review of the "adequacy" of research used not only to justify revoking the truck rule but to reverse fuel-efficiency standards for cars. And over the past year, courts have halted or reversed multiple Pruitt initiatives, in one case forcing the EPA to restore limits on methane leaks from oil and gas operations after a federal appeals panel concluded that their suspension was illegal.

Jeffrey Holmstead, a partner at the law firm Bracewell LLP, who headed the EPA's air and radiation office under President George W. Bush, thinks it is "premature" to evaluate how durable Pruitt's reforms will be.

"Early on, before they really had their folks in place, they sent over a lot of rules that didn't have a lot of technical support," Holmstead said, adding that in recent months the Senate has confirmed numerous appointees who previously served at the EPA and so are more experienced in working with career staff. "A lot more work is getting done."

EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said in a statement that the agency "has been vigorously carrying out President Trump's regulatory reform agenda, consistent with applicable laws and executive orders." He noted that last year alone, nearly 40 actions - "including 10 economically significant regulations" - completed their interagency review at the OMB.

But federal records and interviews reveal how much White House officials and staff in other agencies have questioned whether the EPA is meeting the legal requirements necessary to revise Obama-era actions.

The OMB recently posted a document with tracked changes highlighting an extensive rewrite of the agency's proposal to revoke stricter tailpipe emissions for cars and light trucks. Pruitt concluded that higher mileage targets for vehicles produced between model years 2022 and 2025 are "not appropriate" because automakers can't achieve them. Among the red-line changes was an added reference noting that some outside groups, including the Union for Concerned Scientists, believe that the thresholds can be met.

"The rules are coming in undercooked," said Amit Narang, regulatory policy advocate for the watchdog group Public Citizen.

The agency, for example, is drafting a "supplemental rule" to one proposed last year that would change federal oversight over more than half of the nation's water bodies. It already is being sued over its push to revoke the 2015 "Waters of the U.S." rule, which affects activities that could drain wetlands and intermittent streams. According to officials, the supplemental language would address White House concerns that the EPA needs to clarify what would actually take the place of the regulation once it is abolished.

Despite such missteps, both critics and supporters of Pruitt agree he has been effective in reshaping the agency through his executive powers. He issued directives changing what sort of data can be used to calculate air-quality standards throughout the country and which studies can factor into public health rules. He scrapped a two-decades-old policy requiring that once a power plant was deemed a "major" polluter, it would always face the most stringent regulations, even if its emissions fell.

The administrator is not letting up, either. His agency's recent "unified agenda" signals an aggressive deregulatory push in the months ahead.

Holmstead points out that on significant actions, such as reevaluating vehicle fuel-efficiency standards or undoing the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan, the EPA's final decisions matter far more than the initial ones.

"On the big rules, we still haven't seen the final rules, and that's where you see the record that has to justify things," he said.

Yet critics are looking to exploit the early procedural errors as they challenge Pruitt's efforts in court. More than 70 lawsuits have been filed against the EPA's regulatory actions, according to an analysis by the office of Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del. Of the six cases that have had a full court review, the agency has lost four and delayed arguments in one.

With the proposal on coal ash - intended to give states and utilities more latitude when disposing of the waste - opponents have seized on the fact that there's no study underpinning the EPA's position. The current requirement means that most coal ash ponds that pollute nearby groundwater or lie in unsafe areas must close within six months of contamination being detected.

Although the Edison Electric Institute document cited by the EPA draws from a 32-page report on summer electricity demand by the North American Electric Reliability Corp., that analysis does not speak to the issue of coal ash disposal.

Institute official James Roewer, who runs an industry coalition on coal ash, said in an email that the document "is not part of or a summary of a larger study; there isn't more detailed information that wasn't provided to EPA. It is simply a high-level review."

Last month, scores of people assembled in the ballroom of a Doubletree Hotel in Arlington, Virginia, to testify at a public hearing on the proposal. They represented a cross section of Americans - tribal members from Nevada and New Mexico, Girl Scouts from Illinois, a mother from Missouri, a doctor from Indiana. They described how nearby coal ash pits have affected the health of their communities and implored EPA officials not to change course.

"If anything, we should be here making the rules and regulations stronger, not weaker," said Rachael O'Reilly, 30, of Peoria, Illinois, which she said lies downstream from two coal plants. "Why are we here moving backwards?"Yiannis Boutaris is no stranger to controversy.

The 75-year-old Thessaloniki mayor is one of Greece's most outspoken advocates for multiculturalism and international understanding. He's pushed for the construction of an Islamic mosque in the city, along with monuments honoring Turkish leaders like Ataturk. He convinced Turkish Airlines to begin flying directly from Istanbul to Thessaloniki, resulting in a huge surge in tourists.

He's the force behind the city's new Holocaust museum, a " beacon against racism and fascism," he said earlier this month in Berlin. He's offered up LGBTQ friendly policies, and criticized the Greeks who want Macedonia to change its name. Proponents of the name change say Macedonia is appropriating Greek culture and heritage. "History cannot be stolen," he said in a January interview.

The European Commission has praised Boutaris as a "beacon" whose crafted an "island of hope" and "model for all of Greece."

Boutaris' politics have made him a frequent target of Greek's growing far-right. The website of the pro-fascist Golden Dawn has accused the mayor of stoking "popular rage," and suggested he's in Turkey's pocket. They've accused him of being a traitor to his country because of his position on Macedonia. At a far-right rally earlier this year, leaflets calling Boutaris "a slave of the Jews" were scattered around the city.

Now, far right activists have taken it a step further. On Saturday, Boutaris was attacked by about a dozen far-right protesters, who kicked him in the head and legs and beat him with bottles. Eventually, the mayor's aides stepped in, ferrying the leader away from his attackers. He was taken to a hospital and kept overnight for treatment.

The mayor was participating in a flag-lowering ceremony to honor those killed in the "Pontic Genocide," a World War I-era attack on ethnic Greeks living in Anatolia. Ottoman Turks slaughtered hundreds of thousands and destroyed their churches.

"There were several people that attacked me. They were hitting me everywhere," Boutaris told the Greek Reporter, an online website. "It was a nightmare."

Far-right violence is a growing problem in Greece. It "is definitely on the rise," Seraphim Seferiades, a politics professor at Athen's Panteion University told al Jazeera. "It's something to be expected because there is a political gap [that the far right] is exploiting, and in that context, it's likely we'll see more violence." In 2017, the number of hate crimes more than doubled, jumping to 184 from 84 the year before.

In January, a far-right group called Crypteia left death threats at several civil society groups, including the Muslim Association of Athens. In April, a group of 200 far-right assailants hurled bottles, stones and Molotov cocktails at a group of refugees in Lesbos, chanting "burn them alive." Earlier this month, several headstones in a Jewish cemetery were defaced.

On Sunday, even as most political leaders quickly condemned the assault, far right lawmakers tweeted their support for the attackers. The mayor of Mycenae-Argos, a member of the center-right opposition party, tweeted about the attack: "This is the fate of the TRAITORS."

So far, police have arrested two suspects in conjunction with the attack. One, a 20-year-old, confessed and said he did it because Boutaris has said he favors closer relations to Turkey.Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday called for reviving the death penalty in his state, which banned the practice in 2011 and has not carried out an execution in nearly two decades.

Rauner's proposal breaks with recent history, which has seen Illinois among several states that have shifted away from capital punishment by freezing or outright abolishing the practice. In his announcement, Rauner said the death penalty should be reinstated for mass murderers or people who kill members of law enforcement.

"Individuals who commit mass murder, individuals who choose to murder a law enforcement officer, they deserve to have their life taken," Rauner, a Republican who took office in 2015 and is up for reelection this year, said at a news conference. "They deserve that."

Nineteen states have abolished the death penalty, and Illinois is among the seven that have done so since 2007, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which tracks capital punishment. Four other states have had moratoriums imposed by their governors during the same period, which has seen a nationwide decline in both death sentences and executions.

Nebraska recently came close to abolishing the death penalty before reversing course. Lawmakers there passed a bill banning the death penalty in 2015, but opponents pushed the issue onto the ballot in 2016 as a referendum and Nebraskans voted to keep capital punishment in place.

Illinois banned its death penalty in 2011, but the state had halted executions long before that. In 2000, then-Gov. George Ryan (R) declared a moratorium and decried the death penalty as "fraught with error." He then commuted all of the state's death sentences in 2003, an unprecedented move.

One of his successors, Pat Quinn (D), signed legislation that abolished the death penalty entirely in 2011. He also pointed to the risks of executing a potentially innocent person, saying: "If the system can't be guaranteed, 100-percent error-free, then we shouldn't have the system."

Public support for the death penalty has been declining for years. A Gallup poll found that 55 percent of Americans supported the practice last year, down from 80 percent in the mid-1990s. In 2015, a Pew Research Center poll found that seven in 10 Americans believed there was some risk that an innocent person could be put to death - a feeling that was shared by majorities of those who supported and opposed the death penalty alike.

Rauner on Monday alluded to the concerns his predecessors had regarding innocent people being sentenced to death at trial. His office said defendants in death penalty cases would have to be convicted by juries "beyond all doubt," rather than the "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard more commonly seen in criminal trials. In his announcement, Rauner pointed to times he said people were "caught in the act" or there are "multiple witnesses and they're fleeing the act."

"There are plenty of cases where there's no doubt who's guilty," Rauner said at his news conference. "And they deserve to give up their life when they take the life of a police officer, our heroes, or they take the life of many people. That is just so atrocious, so evil, that they deserve to give up their life."

Rauner's proposal calls for creating a homicide category called "death penalty murder" for people who kill law enforcement officers or mass killers, defined as those who kill "two or more people without lawful justification," according to his office.

The proposal was made as part of Rauner's response to a gun-control bill. He also called for an extended waiting period for any gun purchases, advocated for restraining orders to be used to "disarm dangerous individuals" and asked for judges and prosecutors to have to explain reduced charges in plea deals reached in gun cases.

Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D, the House majority leader, dismissed Rauner's call to reinstate the death penalty with a brief statement Monday.

"On its merits, the governor's proposal is a terrible idea," she said.

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, D, also was critical, noting that prior issues with capital punishment prompted lawmakers to abolish it years earlier.

"The death penalty should never be used as a political tool to advance one's agenda," Cullerton said in a statement. "Doing so is in large part why we had so many problems and overturned convictions. That's why we had bipartisan support to abolish capital punishment. I've seen nothing from today's announcement to suggest that lesson has been learned."

Republican legislators, meanwhile, backed Rauner's idea. Bill Brady, the Illinois Senate Republican Leader, said, "Reinstating society's most serious penalty for the most serious of violent crimes, with the proper safeguards, is an appropriate response to the horrific violence we have witnessed far too often in recent times."

James Durkin, the Illinois House Republican leader, said in a statement, "Allowing a prosecutor the option to seek the death penalty in the most horrific and brutal of crimes should be the law of Illinois and sends a message that we support those who wear the badge."The Republican National Committee paid nearly half a million dollars to a law firm that represents former White House communications director Hope Hicks and others in the Russia investigations, according to a new federal filing.

The RNC's $451,780 payment to Trout Cacheris & Janis adds to the mounting legal fees associated with the investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and several congressional committees of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Hicks hired Robert Trout, founder of the law firm, as her personal attorney last September, according to news reports. The report of the payments for legal and compliance services, contained in the Federal Election Commission report filed Sunday, is the first public disclosure of RNC payments to the law firm since Hicks hired Trout.

Three lawyers at the firm represent people in addition to Hicks in the investigations by Mueller and the House and Senate intelligence committees, according to the firm's website. Hicks, who was one of President Trump's most trusted and loyal aides, was interviewed by Mueller and the House and Senate intelligence panels in early 2018.

Hicks resigned from her White House position in February.

Last year, the RNC began tapping a pool of money stockpiled for election recounts and other legal matters to pay the ballooning legal fees of Trump and his associates drawn into the Russia investigations.

Some party officials thought it would be more appropriate to create a separate legal defense fund for the case, The Washington Post reported last year. But RNC officials concluded that it is permissible for the party to pay for the president's legal fees. At the time, party and administration officials were working to determine whether executive branch staff members, who must comply with gift rules, could have their legal fees defrayed by the RNC or private legal defense funds.

A legal-defense fund was created in February to help defray the costs faced by Trump's aides who are drawn into the Russia investigations. But it is unclear whether the fund has received or paid any money, as it has not publicly disclosed any information about donations or spending.

A spokesperson for the RNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The RNC continued to post strong fundraising figures in April, raising $12.7 million, for a total of $173.9 million in the 2018 cycle and $43.8 million in cash on hand, the filing shows.

The Democratic National Committee raised $7.8 million in April, for a total of $92.2 million for the 2018 cycle. The DNC had $8.7 million in cash on hand and $5.3 million in debt.

But the main outside groups supporting Democratic congressional candidates outraised their GOP counterparts in April. The two Democratic super PACs supporting congressional candidates in the midterm elections raised a total of $11.2 million, compared to $6 million by the two main Republican super PACs, according to reports filed Sunday and earlier this month.

Among the six-figure donors to the Senate Majority PAC, which supports Senate Democrats, were actor and producer Seth MacFarlane, who gave $2 million; Cynthia Simon-Skjodt, a philanthropist and daughter of the Simon Property Group founder, who gave $1 million; and Bay Area real estate developer George Marcus, who gave $1 million.The midterm elections are less than six months away, but an overwhelming 95 percent of digital security experts surveyed by The Cybersecurity 202 say state election systems are not sufficiently protected against cyberthreats.

We brought together a panel of more than 100 cybersecurity leaders from across government, the private sector, academia and the research community for a new feature called The Network - an ongoing, informal survey in which experts will weigh in on some of the most pressing issues of the field. Our first survey revealed deep concerns that states aren't prepared to defend themselves against the types of cyberattacks that disrupted the 2016 presidential election, when Russian hackers targeted election systems in 21 states.

"We are going to need more money and more guidance on how to effectively defend against the sophisticated adversaries we are facing to get our risk down to acceptable levels," said one of the experts, Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., who co-chairs the Congressional Cybersecurity Caucus.

Congress in March approved $380 million for all 50 states and five territories to secure their election systems, but Langevin says he wants more. He introduced legislation with Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., that would provide election security funding to states if they adhere to new federal guidelines for identifying weaknesses in their systems and auditing election results. "I hope Congress continues to work to address this vital national security issue," Langevin said.

Each state is responsible for running its own elections, and many state officials view attempts by the federal government to intervene with skepticism - if not outright opposition. But some experts said the magnitude of the threats from state-sponsored adversaries is too great for states to deal with alone.

"Given the gravity of the nation-state threats we face, much more needs to be done at every level - including a strong declarative policy that this activity is unacceptable and will trigger a strong response," said Chris Painter, who served as the State Department's top cyber diplomat during the Obama and Trump administrations.

Dave Aitel, chief executive of Immunity Inc. and a former National Security Agency security scientist, went further: "Protecting systems from cyberthreats from nation-states can really only be done on a national level. It's insane we have state-level control of these systems."

Experts generally agreed that most states are more secure than they were in 2016. Officials have undertaken a variety of measures to improve security - including conducting vulnerability tests of computer networks and voting machines and hiring new IT staff.

But securing this kind of technology isn't easy. " 'Election systems' are massive, distributed IT systems with thousands of endpoints and back-end systems that hold and process large volumes of highly sensitive data," said Jeff Greene, senior director of global government affairs and policy at Symantec. "Protecting such systems is no small feat, and election systems are no different. While [the Department of Homeland Security] and the state and local governments have in recent years dialed up their efforts, there are no easy fixes."

Several experts said that state voter registration databases are particularly vulnerable - and make an appealing target for attackers who want to sow confusion and undermine confidence in the voting process.

"The voting machines themselves are only part of the story," said Matt Blaze, a cryptographer and computer science professor at the University of Pennsylvania. "The 'back end' systems, used by states and counties for voter registration and counting ballots, are equally critical to election security, and these systems are often connected, directly or indirectly, to the Internet."

There's no evidence that Russian hackers actually changed any votes in 2016, but they did probe online voter rolls and even breached the statewide voter database in Illinois. "Few if any state and local IT departments are equipped to protect this infrastructure against the full force of a hostile intelligence service, and these systems are very attractive targets for disruption," Blaze said.

"The level of expertise is quite uneven" across the states, added Daniel Weitzner, founding director of the MIT Internet Policy Research Initiative who was U.S. deputy chief technology officer for Internet policy during the Obama administration. "Of particular concern is the voter registration systems. Imagine how much fear, uncertainty and doubt [that] Russia or any other malicious actor could sow if they raise questions about the accuracy of the voting rolls. That's every bit as bad as actually changing votes, and much easier to do."

Jay Kaplan, co-founder of the cybersecurity firm Synack, notes a bright spot: The Election Assistance Commission has a national voting system certification program to independently verify that a voting system meets security requirements.

"However, testing for this certification is completely optional," said Kaplan, who held previous roles in the Defense Department and at the National Security Agency. "States can set their own standards for voting systems. . .. As such, some states are significantly more buttoned up than others. The reality is states are understaffed, underfunded, and are too heavily reliant on election-system vendors securing their own systems."

On top of that, millions of Americans will vote this year on old, hack-prone digital machines that produce no paper trail. Without a paper record, it's nearly impossible to audit the final vote tally. Federal officials and experts recommend scrapping such machines in favor of paper ballots.

Too many states "have taken a less than strategic approach and once again waited too long to start addressing vulnerabilities within their processes and technology," said Mark Weatherford, a former deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security in the Obama administration and chief information security officer in both California and Colorado.

"Additionally, because of significant investments in electronic voting technology, it's difficult for non-technologists to acknowledge economic sunk costs and re-prioritize current funding to address these . . . problems," said Weatherford, a senior vice president and chief cybersecurity strategist at vArmour.

Nico Sell, co-founder of the software maker Wickr, put the problem into perspective: "We will teach the kids how to hack the election system this summer at r00tz at Def Con," she said. (r00tz is an ethical hacking program for children between 8 and 16 years old held in Las Vegas alongside the Def Con security conference.)

Many experts are worried that states lack the resources to build their defenses in time for the midterms, even with more federal assistance. "What isn't clear is where our defenses and resiliency have improved if at all," said Jessy Irwin, head of security at Tendermint. "This is a difficult problem to solve, and it takes something we don't have enough of to get 50 states and a few territories flying in formation: time."

Less than five percent of experts who responded to the survey said they were confident that state election systems were well protected.

Cris Thomas, who goes by the name Space Rogue and works for IBM X-Force Red, said that while registration databases, websites and other systems may still be vulnerable, "the election systems themselves are sufficiently protected."

And the patchwork nature of U.S. elections is actually a bonus when it comes to deterring would-be attackers, said one expert who took the survey and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The Cybersecurity 202 allows experts in The Network to answer on the record or anonymously so they can speak more freely.

"State balloting systems are diverse and decentralized. They're administered by some 3,000 counties, making it difficult for malicious actors to uniformly attack voting infrastructure on a vast scale," the expert said.

That expert was satisfied with the efforts by state and federal officials to secure the vote. "Public and private authorities are taking steps to defend against nation-state attacks. The recent omnibus spending bill provides monies to states for election security; threat data are being shared between states and federal agencies (albeit probably slowly and tentatively); and election officials are utilizing best practices, such as conducting post-election audits and not connecting voting machines to the Internet," the expert said.

"But bolstering our cyberdefenses, however fundamental, will only take us so far," the expert added. "The White House needs to authorize agencies to disrupt cyberattacks and information operations at their sources and up the ante for prospective attackers as part of America's broader deterrence posture."

As another expert who participated in the survey put it: "The high level of interest has led to more eyes on the process, which itself helps deter would-be hackers."WASHINGTON - Amid uncertainty over a planned U.S.-North Korea summit, President Donald Trump pushed Monday for China to continue "strong & tight" trade sanctions against Kim Jong Un's regime until a possible accord over the North's nuclear program.

"China must continue to be strong & tight on the Border of North Korea until a deal is made," Trump wrote on Twitter. "The word is that recently the Border has become much more porous and more has been filtering in."

Trump added: "I want this to happen, and North Korea to be VERY successful, but only after signing!"

Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet for their highly touted summit June 12 in Singapore.

But the plans remain clouded after Pyongyang threatened last week to cancel the summit, and the White House continued to assess the political risks for Trump if he falls short of a sweeping deal to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

China is North Korea's main trade partner, accounting for approximately 90 percent of trade with the rogue state, and its cooperation in enforcing economic sanctions is considered key to pressuring the country into an agreement. Trump has long sought to convince China to work with the United States on a "maximum pressure" strategy of persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear program.

Inside the White House, there are mounting concerns that North Korea may back away from striking a deal on denuclearization and growing suspicions about the role the Chinese may be playing in complicating preparations for the Singapore summit.

An advance team from the United States has been in Singapore working out logistics and trying to nail down an itinerary, even as the national security adviser, John Bolton, and other top Trump aides privately have voiced pessimism that the summit will be successful.

On Saturday evening, Trump spoke to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for guidance in interpreting Kim's harder-line position in the weeks since the two Korean leaders struck a positive tone during their landmark meeting.

Trump attributes the shift in part to the influence of the Chinese, saying last week that he thinks the North Korean posture changed after Kim's recent visit to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. It was Kim and Xi's second meeting in recent months, and came as a surprise to the Americans.

"There has been a big difference since they had the second meeting with President Xi," Trump said last Thursday, calling it "a little bit of a surprise meeting."

"With that being said, my attitude is, whatever happens, happens," Trump added. "Either way, we're going to be in great shape."

In separate tweets Monday, Trump defended his approach to trade with China amid criticism for apparently bending to Beijing in key areas of dispute.

On Sunday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the administration put its trade war with China "on hold" after two days of talks in Washington. He said the meetings produced an agreement on increased Chinese purchases of American products and measures to make it easier for U.S. companies to operate in China.

Trump tweeted that the agreement would be "one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!"

"Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce," Trump asserted.

In an earlier sign of softening, Trump directed administration officials to consider easing harsh penalties on a prominent Chinese telecom company that had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

---

The Washington Post's David J. Lynch contributed to this report.WATERTOWN TOWNSHIP  Two people were injured in a two-vehicle accident that took place on M-19 and Marlette Road.

According to the Sanilac County Sheriff's Office, deputies were called to the scene around 1:10 p.m. Saturday, where a 2016 Subaru, driven by a 56-year-old Goodrich man, was traveling east bound on Marlette Road and pulled out in front of a southbound 2014 Chevy Impala, driven by an 83-year-old Peck woman.The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether Virginia has the right to ban a uranium mine, reviving discussion about a deposit on the state's southern border that's said to be the nation's richest source of the mineral used in nuclear reactors.

The massive uranium deposit in Pittsylvania County, located at the mid-point of the state's border with North Carolina, was discovered decades ago, but in the 1980s the General Assembly prohibited mining out of concerns about radioactivity.

After several efforts to study the safety of digging out the ore, lawmakers have kept the ban in place for more than 30 years. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, D, announced shortly after being elected in 2013 that he would veto any legislation that sought to permit uranium mining. Since then, the company interested in opening a mine has given up on legislation and taken its case to the legal system.

"Obviously, they're thrilled that the court is going to hear the case," Julie Rautio, a spokeswoman for Virginia Uranium Inc., said on Monday.

Lower courts had ruled against Virginia Uranium and in favor of the state's ban. But the company asked the Supreme Court to review a split decision issued last year by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

That request got a boost last month when the U.S. Solicitor General weighed in on behalf of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and supported the company's call for the high court to take up the case.

The federal government argued that the state has no jurisdiction to prohibit the mine because such activities are regulated by the NRC. The Atomic Energy Act gives the federal commission the power to oversee all matters of radiological safety, the government argued, so the state cannot ban mining over its fear of radiation hazards.

Allowing Virginia to have such power "creates a division of authority over an issue of profound national importance - the basic allocation of regulatory power over atomic energy and radiological safety and access to a strategically critical national resource," the Solicitor General argued in its brief with the court.

But Virginia has maintained that it does have jurisdiction, and that the Atomic Energy Act was aimed at uranium mining on federal lands. The Pittsylvania deposit, near the town of Chatham, is privately owned and so outside of federal jurisdiction, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has argued.

"Federal law does not override the decision the Commonwealth made after weighing the significant risks of an unprecedented uranium mining operation," Herring said via email. "My team and I have successfully defended the moratorium at trial and on appeal, and we are confident we can do so again at the Supreme Court."

A spokesman for Gov. Ralph Northam, D, said he, like his predecessor, "strongly supports Virginia's ban on uranium mining. He believes the proposed projects to mine uranium in Virginia pose unnecessary risks to families and businesses and he looks forward to seeing the ban upheld in court."

The conflict sets up a test of states' rights on the part of the Trump administration that caught at least one legal scholar by surprise.

"It's a bit of a different juxtaposition from what you might expect from a Republican administration," University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said. "If the administration really cares about federalism and states' rights, it shouldn't be weighing in in this way."

At stake is a uranium deposit estimated at 119 million pounds - the richest known deposit in the United States and among the biggest world wide. A few years ago the haul was said to be worth $10 billion, though the price of uranium has declined since the Fukushima reactor disaster in Japan in 2011.

Much of the deposit is controlled by the Coles family, which has owned the property for seven generations.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case in its October term.With summer right around the corner, college students made memories ahead of graduation at Burnhouse on Thursday.

Every Thursday is college night at the rooftop night club.As I walked the beautiful San Pedro Creek Project recently, looking at all the interesting art, I wondered if San Antonio was 100 percent American Indian and Latino. I saw no representation of the diversity that made this city great. You could be excused for thinking you had fallen into an urban renewal project in Monterrey.

In this age of diversity, it felt tone deaf. What of the German-Americans who built King William and were the economic engine that helped propel San Antonio? You see so many street names on the Northside named for the early German settlers, and you see the architecture in King William and downtown, as well as their influence in the stone houses with tin roofs, but very little else about them.

No statues or murals for them. It may be because they are a quiet, humble people who frown on self- aggrandizement. Whatever the reason, it is not right.

San Antonio lacks diversity in how it presents itself. I am also amazed at the lack of feeling for the Alamo. The city is almost ambivalent about this great symbol. Shocking. It is almost as if the city wishes it were still Mexico, and the Alamo just a mission.

The irony is that, in a city that calls itself Military City and the Alamo City, it is does not seem to care much about either. As a tourist, you get such a different feel for the city than you do when you live here; all the romance sort of fades into a stunning reality. Oftentimes, I feel like a foreigner in the city, perplexed at the allegiance to Mexico and the near hatred of Texas. And though I love the Latino culture and the cuisine, it can be overwhelming and insular.

I am Creole, but I have no allegiance to France and appreciate the diversity clearly celebrated in New Orleans that is so lacking here. If San Antonio really wants to be a great city, it must recognize others who have contributed to the city. It should not always pursue the same narrative.

Moving a statue that most thought was Travis, running Republicans out of town, making it seem nobody but Latinos and Indians contributed to the city, and treating the Alamo like a poor stepchild is not exactly a winning strategy for greatness, San Antonio.

The city is actually quite diverse, but you would never know it walking down the San Pedro Creek or listening to our mayor, who is not Latino or indigenous, but perhaps wishes he were. Then he would better fit the narrative of the city progressive liberals seem to want to project to the world  a monolithic metropolis of one thought and one ethnicity, ironically the very thing for which they call out the president.

Shannon Deason is a reader who lives in San Antonio.1 Ebola outbreak: Congos health minister says a nurse has died from Ebola in Bikoro, the rural northwestern town where the outbreak began, as the country begins a vaccination campaign. Health Minister Oly Ilunga said the death of the nurse brings the toll to 27. There are now 49 hemorrhagic fever cases: 22 confirmed as Ebola, 21 probable and 6 suspected. Congos health delegation, including the health minister, and representatives of the World Health Organization and United Nations have arrived in Mbandaka, the northwestern city of more than 1 million where Ebola has spread, to launch the vaccination campaign Monday.

2 Sexual misconduct: A survey of women working for Japanese newspapers and TV networks has found 156 cases of alleged sexual misconduct reported by 35 women, about one-third of which involved lawmakers, government officials and law enforcers, a researcher said Monday. Osaka International University Professor Mayumi Taniguchi, a gender studies expert, said the survey was prompted by a recent widely publicized case of alleged sexual mistreatment of a journalist by a senior finance ministry official. She said another 40 percent of the cases reportedly occurred at the journalists workplaces and the remainder involved their news sources and others.Local News, Crime, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 21 2018

Keisha Demas Allegedly Used No-Show Job to Collect Over $550,000 from Interfaith Medical Center, Fraudulently Obtained Over $30,000 in Medicaid Benefits, Underpaid NY Taxes by $40,000.

Brooklyn, NY - May 21, 2018 - Acting Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood today announced felony charges against Keisha Demas, 41, of Brooklyn, NY, for allegedly defrauding Medicaid and stealing over $550,000 from Interfaith Medical Center (Interfaith), a Brooklyn not-for-profit community-based hospital that recently came out of bankruptcy. The Attorney General's office alleges that Demas was paid for a no-show job at the hospital for at least four years. During this period, Demas also allegedly received Medicaid benefits she was not entitled to and failed to remit her income taxes to the State of New York. In total, Demas allegedly defrauded Medicaid of over $30,000 and underpaid the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance by nearly $40,000.

The defendant is charged with one count of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree (a Class C felony), one count of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class D felony), one count of Forgery in the Second Degree (a Class D felony), one count of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree (a Class E felony), three counts of Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, two counts of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Third Degree (a Class D felony), and two counts of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Fourth Degree (a Class E felony). If convicted, Demas faces a maximum count of 5 to 15 years in prison.

As we allege, this defendant stole from a community hospital, cheated Medicaid, and majorly underpaid taxes  leaving New Yorkers to foot the bill, said Acting Attorney General Underwood. Our office will continue to investigate fraud and do what it takes to protect taxpayers and our state resources.

According to the Attorney General's office, Demas was contracted by Interfaith through an outside nursing agency. Beginning in 2013 and continuing through at least 2016, Demas allegedly conspired with a former Interfaith employee to falsify her timesheets as part of a scheme to make it appear as if she was working, when in fact she was not. Demas would then allegedly provide kickbacks to the Interfaith employee with cash payments. The no-show job, which lasted at least four years, allegedly netted Demas over $550,000 from Interfaith.

In 2014 and 2015, Demas applied for Medicaid, allegedly claiming she had no income during those years. As a result, Demas obtained Medicaid benefits, resulting in over $30,000 of paid false claims. In addition, while Demas' income exceeded $100,000 in each year of the scheme, she failed to file personal income taxes with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, resulting in a nearly $40,000 underpayment of taxes.

Demas was arraigned today on the indictment before Supreme Court Judge William Miller in Kings County. Bail was set at $5,000 and the case was adjourned to July 17, 2018.

The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

The Attorney Generals Office thanks the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for their assistance on this case. The tax case was investigated by Department of Taxation and Finance Auditors Nicholas Capkovic and Nataliya Sydorchuk.

The Attorney Generals office also thanks the New York State Department of Health (DOH) along with DOH Associate Attorney Kerry-Ann Lawrence of the Bureau of Litigation and Sara Oberst of the Division of Eligibility & Marketplace Integration, who investigated the Medicaid fraud.

The Attorney Generals office also thanks Investigator Albert Flowers of the New York State Department of Financial Services for his assistance on this case.

Investigators Vincent Gisonti and Frank Tirri conducted the Attorney Generals investigation, with the assistance of Investigator Steven Pratt and William Fitzgerald, under the supervision of Supervising Investigator Michael Leahy and Deputy Chief John McManus. The Investigations Bureau is led by Chief Dominick Zarrella.Local News, Crime

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 21 2018

Vincent Dalton, 52, previously pled guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan to Murder in the Second Degree.

Nassau DA Singas announced that Vincent Dalton of Ridge, 52, has been sentenced to 23 years to life for a 2016 murder.

Mineola, NY - May 21, 2018 - Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a man from Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a man from Ridge has been sentenced to 23 years to life in prison for the November 2016 death of an East Meadow man inside a Hicksville motel room.

Vincent Dalton, 52, pled guilty on January 31 before Acting Supreme Court Justice Teresa Corrigan to Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony).

This defendant demonstrated a disturbing disregard for human life when he bludgeoned another man to death over a debit card, DA Singas said. No sentence can undo the damage Vincent Dalton did to Mr. OConnells family and friends, but Nassau County is safer now that this dangerous defendant is behind bars.

DA Singas said on November 19, 2016 at 1:00 p.m., the victim, 39-year-old Erik OConnell, was found hog tied on the floor of a room inside the Econo Lodge in Hicksville by motel staff. When police arrived at the scene it was determined he died from blunt force trauma to the head. A weapon was never recovered.

Following an investigation, members of the Nassau County Police Department arrested the defendant, Vincent Dalton on November 23, 2016. Surveillance video from November 18 showed the victim and defendant walking into and out of The Headliner Bar in Hicksville together, approximately half a mile from the motel.

Additional surveillance video then showed the defendant and victim walking into the motel room together at 11:45 p.m. on November 18, and the defendant leaving by himself at approximately 3:00 a.m. on November 19 with a computer, debit card, credit card and other items believed to belong to the victim. The following morning, the defendant also attempted to use the victims credit cards at a McDonalds and a nearby deli in Brentwood.SCPD: Drunk Driver Falls Asleep in McDonald's Drive-Thru with 3 and 4 Year-Old Sons in Vehicle

Local News, Crime

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 21 2018

Alvarado-Gonzales of Center Moriches, 29, was charged with DWI/Leandras Law, cops say.

Farmingville, NY - May 21, 2018 - Suffolk County Police arrested a Suffolk County Police arrested a Center Moriches man for Leandras Law in Farmingville on Sunday, May 20, 2018.

Miguel Alvarado-Gonzales was operating a 2005 Jeep Cherokee in the drive-through lane of McDonalds, located at 2301 North Ocean Ave, with his 3 and 4-year-old sons in the vehicle, when he fell asleep at the wheel. An employee of McDonalds called 911 to report the situation.

When Sixth Precinct officers arrived, they saw Alvarado-Gonzales driving out of the parking lot, heading north on North Ocean Avenue. The officers pulled the Cherokee over in the parking lot of Stop & Shop Gas Station, located at 3003 North Ocean Avenue, and arrested Alvarado-Gonzales.

Alvarado-Gonzales, 29, of Center Moriches was charged with Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated with a Child Passenger 15 Years or Younger (Leandras Law) and 2 counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child.

Alvarado-Gonzales is being held overnight at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip

The children were released into the custody of their mother.Global Genetic Analyzer Market

Genetic analysis is a method of learning and research in genetics and molecular biology fields that involves use of wide group of applications while basic system of the analysis is usually pertained to the orthodox genetics. Customary forms of analysis of genetic includes the gene identification and inherited diseases analysis. Genetic analysis also implicit the patients physical observation and the microscopic evaluation of genetics as it is conducted for the long time. Genetic analysis is also applied in differential diagnosis during the analysis of specific diseases, in mutation detection, copy number changes in DNA.

Factors like advancements in the technologies of genetic testing, rise in prevalence of the genetic diseases, growing in the awareness are boosting the genetic analyser market globally. Furthermore, initiatives taken by the governments and increase in R&D investment and activities in the genetic field are also driving the genetic analyzer market. However, due to certain factors genetic analyzers use is restricted. The operability of such kind of automated advanced machines requires technical expertise leaving little room for human error. Calibration is essentially needed for genetic analyzers. High cost of genetic analyzers resulting in their availability in a limited number of research organizations is also hampering the growth of the genetic analyzers market globally.

Global genetic analyzer market is segmented on the basis of instruments, consumables, application, end-user and geographical regions.

Based on product type, global genetic analyzer market is segmented as:

Instruments

DNA Microarrays

PCR

Next Generation Sequencing

Serial Analysis of Gene Expression

Northern Blotting

Consumables

DNA Chips

Reagents

Based on the end-user, global genetic analyzer market is segmented as:

Diagnostics Centres

Drug Discovery

Research and Development

Others

Increase in the clinical genome sequencing, increase in incidence of neurodegeneration diseases such as Alzheimers, Huntingtons and Parkinsons disease and also cases of cancers prompts the interest in genetic analysis. High swift in the acceptance of pediatric genetic testing used for of screening adult onset disorders are the factors contributing to the genetic analyzer market growth. Some of the government initiatives are improving the healthcare delivery to different sections of population, mergers, acquisitions and product launches of the companies are the factors driving the growth of the genetic analyzer market.

Request Sample Report at https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2868253-genetic-analyzer-market-global-market-estimation-dynamics-regional-share-trends

Geographically, genetic analyzer market is divided into Europe, Asia-Pacific North America, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Global genetic analyser market is dominated by North America due to the rise in diseases prevalence by genetic disorders and rise in advancements technologically in the region. Asia-Pacific, is expected to show significant growth during the forecast period in the genetic testing market. India, China and Japan are expected as the fastest growing genetic testing markets in the Asia-Pacific region due to increase in R&D investment, a large pool of patients and rising government funding.

Some of the major companies dealing in genetic testing market are Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.), BioRad Laboratories (U.S.), Abbott laboratories (U.S.), AutoGenomics Inc.( U.S.), Celera Group (U.S.), PerkinElmer Inc.( U.S.), Quest Diagnostics Inc.( U.S.), ELITech Group (U.S.), Applied Biosystems Inc.( U.S.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Switzerland), Transgenomic Inc.( U.S.).

In May 2017, Thermo Fisher Scientific launched its Applied Biosystems SeqStudio Genetic Analyzer, a new capillary electrophoresis system which can be used for plasmid sequencing, species identification, human cell authentication and research in oncology

Table of Content

Executive Summary Global Genetic Analyzer Market Introduction Global Genetic Analyzer Market Dynamics Global Genetic Analyzer Market Analysis, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 Global Genetic Analyzer Market, By Product Type, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 Global Genetic Analyzer Market Forecast, By End-User, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 Global Genetic Analyzer Market Forecast, By Region, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 North America Genetic Analyzer Market Analysis, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 Europe Genetic Analyzer Market Analysis, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 Asia-Pacific Genetic Analyzer Market Analysis, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 Latin America Genetic Analyzer Market Analysis, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 Middle East and Africa Genetic Analyzer Market Analysis, 2012  2016 and Forecast, 2017  2023 Competition Landscape

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Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)by Tanya Gazdik , May 21, 2018

In a new campaign to draw attention to Brain Tumor Awareness Month, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation is using an AR experience.

The effort, from RPA and Tool of North America, is part of the Imaginary Friend Society campaign that includes 22 animated films made of imaginary friends who explain cancer to kids in an understandable way. Kids can use the AR app on demand when they need extra emotional support.

There are limited resources during pediatric cancer care that young patients can actually relate to and understand, according to RPA. Using a simple mobile app, kids and medical professionals can bring the Imaginary Friend Society characters to life in any environment. These characters offer words of encouragement and hope to boost confidence during difficult times.

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A survey completed earlier this year reveals that, across the board, anxiety is the largest issue for children diagnosed with brain tumors or other cancers, according to the foundation.

This AR experience can transform the experience of kids while they are being treated at the hospital just before MRI scans, shots or surgery and help them find some cheerful reassurance when they are anxious or overwhelmed by their feelings, says Dr. Mark Krieger, chief of neurosurgery at the Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, in a release.

The foundation is teaming with child-life specialists, social workers and medical staff at hospitals across the U.S. to bring the AR experience to their interactive patient care. RPA and Tool work on the account on a pro-bono basis.

Last September, the foundation and RPA unveiled 20 animated short films that explain every facet of cancer these kids face, such as What is an MRI?, Feeling Sad, Finding Out You Have Cancer, Blood Transfusions and Returning to School. Two new films have just been added to the collection: Staying Friends with Your Friends (Wolf & Crow / directed by Matt Berenty )and Memory Loss (Nexus Studios / directed by Smith & Foulkes).

The Imaginary Friend Society is now a permanent fixture in select hospitals around the country, has been translated into multiple languages, and is available in several countries.by Tanya Gazdik , May 21, 2018

Bob Evans Farms is again offering $25,000 grants and mentoring sessions to veteran-owned businesses.

The second annual Our Farm Salutes grant-giving program, Heroes to CEOs, will open for applications on May 22. The contest runs through July 29.

Each of the three veteran-owned businesses will be awarded grants of $25,000 as well as an all-expenses-paid, three-day trip for two to New York City for a half-day mentoring session with businessman Daymond John.

As we saw last year with our amazing winners, veterans have innovative ideas but sometimes have trouble getting started, said Mike Townsley, CEO and president, Bob Evans Farms, in a release. Learning how to run a business and securing the required financing can be a challenge. Were beyond proud of what veterans accomplish.

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In addition to receiving the grant last year, the 2017 Heroes to CEOs winners are being showcased on Bob Evans Farms product packaging throughout the summer. Each winner is highlighted on the back of the product packaging, including a photo and brief description of their business.

Bob Evans believes the grant contest is the largest veterans-only business grant and is open to veterans of all U.S. military branches who own an independent registered business or have a plan for an independent business in the United States or the District of Columbia. Nonprofits are also eligible for the grant.

In order to have their business considered, veteran entrepreneurs are required to submit a plan demonstrating a solid business concept, multimedia assets in a video format, and a personal essay about their passion for their business. Veterans can learn more about the program and register at www.ourfarmsalutes.com.

A panel of judges will score each eligible entry based on reason, presentation, feasibility, opportunity and future success of the business or plan submitted. The top 10 highest-scoring entrants will be deemed finalists, who will then be judged by a panel of celebrity judges  including last years grant winners  who will score the finalists entries based on the same criteria. Winners will be announced on Sept. 5 and invited to an awards ceremony on Sept. 6 at Blueprint in New York City.

Bob Evans Farms launched the Our Farm Salutes program in 2016 as a commitment to support Americas service members, veterans and their families through awareness, donations, strategic partnerships, grant opportunities and volunteerism.by Sara Guaglione , May 21, 2018

The American Conservative has tapped former Atlantic editor Benjamin Schwarz as its new editor-in-chief. Schwarz spent 13 years at The Atlantic and served as national editor and literary editor.

After leaving The Atlantic in 2013, Schwarz spent three years as national editor of The American Conservative, often known by the initials TAC.

Schwarz succeeds Robert W. Merry, who announced his retirement last fall.

Schwarz's appointment was announced by Jeremy Beer, board chairman of The American Ideas Institute, a nonprofit organization that publishes The American Conservative, a bimonthly print magazine.

Beer stated: Schwarz personifies what we represent  enlightened, non-ideological conservatism that supports realism and restraint in foreign policy, free markets untainted by special governmental favors for special interests, respect for Western culture, and constitutionalism.

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Beer added that TAC opposes open borders, identity politics and governmental policies that undermine Americas industrial strength, according to a post from staffers.

Schwarz will step into his role as top editor on June 16.

In an email to Politicos Michael Calderone, Schwarz described himself as "a cultural paleoconservative and a social small-c conservative."

. was founded in 2003 by Patrick J. Buchanan, Scott McConnell and Taki Theodoracopulos as a right-leaning publication standing against the Iraq war.by Steven Rosenbaum , Featured Contributor, May 21, 2018

Photo Credit: Steven Rosenbaum / @MagnifyMedia

Can computers do journalism? Probably not. But can computers help journalists? The answer would certainly be yes.

I set out to explore the edges of where machines and media are connecting at the NYC Media Labs Machines + Media conference, sponsored by Bloomberg.

As we are now dealing with the world of fake news and disinformation, I was hopeful that machine learning would find a way to identify accurate and well-sourced information, separating fact from fiction.

Perhaps I was naive. But rather than focus on what any of the big media voices were saying, I decided a session introducing six student startups might be a better way to peek around the corner of where tech was taking us.

Ryan King presented Foam, a team setting out to solve a problem that I didnt know existed. Said King, "At Foam we are committed to building spatial protocols, standards and applications that bring geospatial data to blockchains and can empower a consensus-driven map of the world.

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Huh? well it turns out, blockchain doesnt have a protocol for how to map location, a problem which Foam sets out to solve with tools like Crypto-Spatial Coordinate, The Spatial Index & Visualizer and Proof of Location. Geeky for sure, but interesting and relevant.

Then, CometML. Gideon Mendels and his partner found out there wasnt a good system for managing machine learning projects. So they built Comet, which tracks code, facilitates team collaboration, and allows developers to glean insights from past work. Said Mendels Without this fundamental infrastructure that Comet provides, machine learning teams are inefficient, disorganized, and difficult to manage. Again, a problem I didnt know existed, but this seemed like a relevant solution.

You might not think that AI could have racial bias, but of course algorithms are written by humans. In an effort to circumvent such bias, Davar Ardalan founded IVOW, a storytelling that focuses on producing culturally conscious data for future AI consumer storytelling applications. Bravo for teaching machines to find and surface stories without bias.

Justin Gage next presented Algorithmia, As developers, he and his partners want to advance the development, discovery, and accessibility of algorithmic intelligence. So they built a marketplace for algorithms available through a simple, scalable API.Today more than 60,000 developers have access to a growing library of 5,000+ algorithmic microservices. My geek brain is exploding a bit here: lots of code, lots of developers, lots of zeros and ones.

The two presentations I was most looking forward to were video-based machine-learning efforts.

Lora Aroyo presented Tagasauris, a human-assisted computing platform designed to teach computers the content of a picture or video and how that content relates to the rest of the web.

You can watch her talk here. https://futureforwardpodcast.com/machines-and-media/

"We are totally overwhelmed with the amount of video that's available online said Arroyo. "If you look at Youtube alone, 300 hours are uploaded every minute.

The sheer volume of content makes discovery nearly impossible. Even though we're superior to any machine in understanding video content, we are not able anymore to deal with this variety, volume and velocity of video content, said Aroyo.

Aroyo and her teams solution? We process videos in order to identify interesting hotspots in the videos, which can be converted then into actionable micro-moments depending whether you want to buy something, whether you want to learn something, or whether you want to just entertain yourself and watch something.

And with machines sorting, themes start to emerge. "Ultimately [we] bundle everything up into what we call video snacks  personalized video snacks, at the granularity where people can actually pay attention to the content that is presented to them, said Aroyo.

Then theres VidRover. Its really difficult to build usable search applications and usable search interfaces directly from raw metadata, said Joe Ellis, the companys co-founder. Thats an incredibly difficult machine learning problem, and we worked to solve that.

VidRover works with media partners who already have large collections of relevant content, faced with almost unsearchable volume. For them, AI is an almost magical solution.

"With different searches, we actually changed the knowledge graph results to provide [relevance], said Ellis. Say, if it's Donald Trump and North Korea, [we] will show you the actual sections of video where Donald Trump is talking about North Korea, instead of just a broad representation of the topic.

The result is more engagement, audience, and of course revenue.

So, heres what Ive realized about machines and media.

Machines will continue to become a larger and larger force in media, increasing the volume of media creation, and then deployed to help sort out clips and other relevant media getting lost in the avalanche of media output.

Its hard to look at the current state of media and see machines as a glorious solution. But given the problems of fake news and robot-driven Twitter accounts, were going to have to count on machines programmed with purpose to fight the bad bots filling our feeds.

Skynet for journalism  any day now.Echoing more conservative critics of Facebook, a coalition of left-leaning organizations are lobbying the government to break up the tech titan.

Rallying under the name Freedom From Facebook, the alliances founding members include The Open Markets Institute, Demand Progress, Citizens Against Monopoly, SumOfUs, Content Creators Coalition, Jewish Voice for Peace, MPower Change, and MoveOn Civic Action.

Specifically, the coalition is now calling on the Federal Trade Commission to force Facebook to spinoff its various units, including Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp.

Freedom From Facebook also wants the FTC to develop interoperability standards, which it believes will give consumers more freedom to communicate between competing social networks, as well as implement strong privacy rules to give users more control over the collection and use of their personal information.

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In its current form, Facebook threatens our democracy by choking off independent journalism, by manipulating how people talk to one another, and by broadcasting dangerous propaganda, stated Barry Lynn, executive director of the Open Markets Institute.

To get its messaging to the public, the coalition is planning an aggressive ad campaign, which casts Facebook and its cofounder Mark Zuckerberg in a menacing light.

Along with unflattering photos of Zuckerberg, the copy of one ad reads: Facebook keeps violating your privacy. Break it up.

Along with the digital ad campaign, the launch of Freedom From Facebook includes a petition push to the FTC and a new Web site to serve as a resource for interested individuals.

As of Monday afternoon, Facebook had yet to respond to the coalitions accusations and efforts.

The company has long been a lightning rod for criticism of all sorts, but it reached a fever pitch in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica controversy.

Freedom From Facebooks more liberal constituency is notable because Facebook has faced so much criticism from conservative groups. For example, when Zuckerberg appeared before lawmakers in April, some GOP members accused& nbsp ;Facebook of censorship conservative-leaning posts.

Facebook has been taking greater measures to be more transparent about data collection, while trying to curb spreaders of misinformation and other bad actors.

Just last week, the company enlisted the help of the Atlantic Council and its Digital Forensic Research Lab to help curtail election meddling around the world.by Tanya Gazdik , May 22, 2018

It wasnt just the fashion houses that got to strut their stuff during the royal wedding on Saturday.

Royal watchers and commentators took notice of the various vehicles used for transporting the assorted guests -- some new; others vintage. Brands in attendance included Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, Land Rover and Range Rover.

The first head-turner was a vintage Rolls-Royce Phantom IV that delivered bride Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Ragland to Windsor Castle. Kensington Palace said the automobile was built and delivered in 1950. It was the first Rolls-Royce of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.

It was surrounded by a fleet of modern Land Rovers and Range Rovers driven by the British secret service, royal guards and police, as was every other royal vehicle.

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Before they got to the chapel, Ragland was moved into a Bentley Mulsanne and replaced in Markles car with Brian and John Mulroney, the seven-year-old twin sons of Meghans best friend, Jessica Mulroney, who assisted with the guiding Markle's 16-foot train down the aisle.

Prince Harry and his best man and brother, Prince William, arrived in a subdued but stately Mercedes European V-Class.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrived in a custom Bentley, one of the state cars. For most public engagements, and for some ceremonial occasions, the Queen is chauffeured in official state cars that have been built to unique, exclusive specifications. This particular Bentley was presented to her by the British automotive industry as a gift to celebrate her Golden Jubilee in 2002.

The Queen is quite a fan of automobiles. Her favorite ride is reportedly the Land Rover Defender, and the royal family has an extensive collection of rare and expensive vehicles.

The collection at the royal familys country estate near Sandringham, England, is worth about $13.5 million, according to a 2016 report from U.K. car-shopping website Car Keys. The most dear is a Daimler Phaeton from 1900, the very first royal car.

Unlike other bespoke Bentleys, which are based on production vehicles, the Queens cars are built specifically to her own discerning specifications, according to Car Keys. Each car is nearly three feet longer than a standard Bentley Mulsanne, itself one of the longest production cars in the world.

Prince Charles and his wife Camilla arrived in a vintage Rolls Royce Phantom VI, similar to the one that in 2010 was attacked in London after driving into a riot with protesters hurling bottles. Kate Middleton, the Dutchess of Cambridge, arrived with Markles six bridesmaids and four pageboys in three vintage Daimler DS 420s.

After their reception, the newly titled Duke and Duchess of Sussex departed Windsor Castle in a silver-blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero (the Jaguar XK-E for the North American market), an electric version of the 1968 British classic. (Apparently, the apple doesnt fall far from the tree: Prince Harrys father, Prince Charles, is an environmentalist who founded a large-scale organic farming operation and food company 25 years ago, called Duchy Originals.)

Appropriately during the full-day coverage of the events on BBC America, Land Rover repeatedly ran Respect, a fairly new spot for its Velar featuring wolves (Swiss white shepherds) that are intimidated by the vehicle.

Now that the festivities are over, Markle has to get used to being a royal. First up, CBS News reports, she is due to receive special drivers training in how to evade attack or kidnapping attempts. She'll learn escape and evasion techniques, including J-turns and Y-turns. However, Markle may never need to execute any evasive maneuvers herself, since she'll be assigned a personal driver as part of her royal protection detail.We include products we think are useful for our readers. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Heres our process.

Honey has anti-inflammatory properties, and it is a common ingredient in cold and flu remedies. But can honey treat asthma? Honey is a common home remedy for coughing and a sore throat, and it may reduce these symptoms in people with asthma. Below, we explore the research behind using honey for asthma. We also describe the risks involved.

Does honey treat asthma symptoms? Share on Pinterest Honey increases saliva production, which may reduce coughing and throat irritation. It appears that honey may have some benefits for people with asthma. It may be especially effective at controlling coughing. Honey increases saliva production. As saliva lubricates the airways and reduces irritation in the throat, a cough can diminish. Honey also has anti-inflammatory properties and may decrease the swelling of the airways that accompanies asthma. The health department of the University of California, Los Angeles recommends that adults take 2 teaspoons of honey at bedtime to reduce coughing. Evidence has not supported other theories about honey as a treatment for asthma. For example, some proponents of honey for asthma claim that this method may help to desensitize an individual to pollen. Pollen is a common allergen that can trigger asthma attacks.

What does the research say? Most relevant research has tested the effectiveness of honey as a cough suppressant. It is important to note that many of these studies explored the effects of honey on upper respiratory infections, not asthma, though the two conditions can have similar symptoms. A study from 2012 included 300 children aged 15 years with upper respiratory infections. Researchers gave some children citrus honey, eucalyptus honey, or Labiatae honey. Others received a placebo. Children who took honey had relief from nighttime coughing, which resulted in improved sleep. A review from 2012 looked at results of two clinical trials that included a total of 265 children with acute coughs. When comparing the effectiveness of honey and cough suppressants, researchers found that honey was as effective or slightly more effective than diphenhydramine or dextromethorphan, two common ingredients in cough suppressants. Honey was also better able to treat a cough than no treatment at all. Most studies involved honey taken orally, but an animal study from 2014 tested whether inhaled honey could reduce asthma symptoms. Results indicated that honey was effective. However, additional research is needed in humans.

Risks While taking 1 or 2 teaspoons of honey is usually safe for most people, there are a few exceptions. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , infants under the age of 1 should not be given honey, due to the risk of botulism. Botulism is a rare type of poisoning caused by the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. Botulism may cause vomiting, trouble breathing, and paralysis, and it can be life-threatening. It is primarily transmitted through contaminated soil and food. Honey can contain botulism spores. While the natural defenses in adults and older children stop the bacteria from growing, infants have weaker immune systems, and spores they consume can grow and release toxins. Pasteurizing honey does not remove the risk of botulism. Infants under 12 months should not have honey. People can also be allergic to honey. This allergy is usually related to the honeys contamination with pollen, not bee venom. A person who is allergic to bee stings is not necessarily allergic to honey. As honey is produced, it may become contaminated with pollen from trees and other plants. Someone with a pollen allergy may experience symptoms when they eat honey. Symptoms of an allergic reaction to honey include: sneezing

hives

watery eyes

a runny nose If the reaction is severe, it can lead to wheezing, a feeling of tightness in the chest, and difficulty breathing. A severe allergic reaction is a medical emergency and requires immediate care.

Other treatments for asthma Share on Pinterest Being exposed to an allergen may trigger asthma symptoms. Honey may help to ease some symptoms of asthma, but honey alone cannot manage asthma effectively. Additional treatments may include: Decreasing exposure to allergens Asthma is closely associated with allergies. In some instances, coming into contact with an allergen can trigger asthma symptoms. Identifying allergens can help a person to avoid future exposure. For example, a person with a pollen allergy should limit the time they spend outdoors and close their windows on days when the pollen count is high. Not smoking Smoking is especially harmful to people with asthma. Smoking damages the cilia, which are hair-like fibers in the airway. People with asthma already have sensitive airways, and damage sustained by smoking can make breathing even more difficult. Using an inhaler To treat symptoms that arise suddenly, people often use inhalers containing a bronchodilator. These medications relax the tightened muscles in the airways, making breathing easier. Some asthma inhalers contain medicines developed to prevent asthma symptoms. A doctor may prescribe long-term bronchodilators and corticosteroid inhalers for daily use to keep asthma symptoms at bay.Gursoach Kaur has become the first turbaned Sikh female to be appointed as an Auxillary police officer in the NYPD after graduating last week from the New York City Police Academy.

We are proud to welcome first #Sikh Turbaned female Auxiliary Police Officer in the @NYPDnews. APO Gursoach Kaur and other Auxiliary Police Officers graduated from the Academy. We are proud of you. Stay safe. #sikhsinlawenforcement pic.twitter.com/P4q2ysUVbK  Sikh Officers Assoc. (@SikhOfficers) May 16, 2018

A message posted on the Facebook page of Sikh Officers Association congratulated APO Gursoach Kaur on the achievement along with her induction photos.

The Indian minister of state for housing and urban affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri also picked up on the news and took to Twitter to congratulate Gursoach Kaur.

Delighted to see a turbaned lady officer in NYPD. Hope this fosters better understanding of Sikhism & Sikhs & corrects perceptions in US so that incident which happened with me in 2010 & recently with @Canada minister @NavdeepSBains do not recur.



Sikhs are ambassadors of harmony https://t.co/cviJAI6hWD  Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) May 19, 2018

It must be noted that recent incidents of hate crimes against Sikhs in the US and Canada have brought to fore the need to educate people about the religion and help differentiate between Muslims and Sikhs.

 Twitter

The appointment of Gusoach Kaur, a turbaned Sikh officer is especially important at this time because it'll help bridge the gap between communities and help bring diversity to the most potent police force in the US. And while such appointments will help avoid incidents like the one where a Canadian minister was asked to remove his turban at the Detroit airport, it's just the beginning for a more open and diverse culture in the NYPD.The press has been under a lot of stress in Pakistan in recent times, and a lot of it is to do with the Pakistan Army exercising control over the media. Recently, the newspaper Dawn was prohibited in some areas within Pakistan, and that just goes on to show the extent of restrictions over the free press in the country. This, however, hasn't stopped this Sikh woman from pursuing her dreams.

 TOI

24-year-old Manmeet Kaur has become the first Pakistani journalist of Sikh descent to work as a news reporter in the country. There are several social and cultural issues and being a journalist, I will be able to bring them forth especially for the upliftment of Sikh community, said Manmeet while talking to TOI from Peshawar on Sunday.

Manmeet is a post-graduate from Jinnah College for Women in Peshawar. The social sciences graduate-turned journalist reveals that the literacy rate among Pakistani Sikhs is very low and being a reporter, she will now be able to inspire a lot of women in the society to educate themselves and be independent.

Everyone should know that women are equally talented as men and my present status will encourage several other community women, she said.

And while Pakistan is seen as a very conservative society around the world, it has been a fairly pleasant experience for Manmeet while growing up in Pakistan and now working as a reporter.

 Twitter

Pak society has changed, I never felt the need to wear a burqa while reporting, everyone respects me as a woman journalist and being a Sikh woman, I am seen as an intellectual face of the community, she said.

Manmeet, whose father was a businessman, says that she and her sister run the house after her parents retired. Me and my sister who works in a bank, run the house, said Manmeet.

She now dreams of visiting Amritsar as a journalist and make a name by covering religious stories. It is my heartfelt wish to travel to Amritsar as a journalist and cover religious stories, she said before going back to her day job.The blending operation will receive complex concentrates with high arsenic content. The scale of the blending capacity is not set yet. Jiangxi Copper has no such overseas blending operation so it is a new move for us, a Jiangxi Copper official told Metal Bulletin.A senior official with Jiangxi Copper who has previous experience in concentrates blending business recently visited Malaysia for one and a half months, a trader source said.The field trip aimed to explore the potential of building a copper, zinc and lead concentrates blending facility in Port Klang, the source added.Under Chinas import rules, it is illegal to import copper concentrates containing more than 0.5% arsenic into China. As such, concentrates with a higher arsenic content must be blended with other cleaner feeds prior to import.Since early last year, the Chinese government had been said to be considering relaxing its inspections of heavy metals concentrate imports , yet multiple sources said no progress has been made and the import restriction is still in place.In recent years, trading houses including Trafigura, Louis Dreyfus, Werco and Glencore have made significant investments in blending operations in Asian ports including Taiwan, South Korea and Malaysia.Meanwhile, Daye Nonferrous, another major copper smelter in China, acquired Malaysian company Qiansheng in Port Klang to blend concentrates in 2016.The expansion of blending operations in Southeast Asian countries could mean more inflows of concentrates cargoes to the area.In addition to the concentrates blending business, Jiangxi Copper is planning to establish scrap dismantling and processing facilities in Southeast Asian countries, the company source said.The location of the scrap processing site has not yet been confirmed because the head office is waiting for more information from the research teams, the source added.A copper analyst who recently paid visits to one of Jiangxi Coppers scrap processing plant in China said the operation has recently imported several thousand tonnes of scrap to process until second half of this year.They are still considering whether they should turn more to domestic copper scrap or set up a new plant abroad to process overseas scrap, the analyst told Metal Bulletin.China has stepped up its pollution curbs to restrict imports of scrap, including its latest move to implement a 30-day suspension of its Chinese Certification and Inspection Group (CCIC) North America division, which essentially froze all US non-ferrous scrap trading with the country A month ago, China announced a complete ban on imports of category-7 copper scrap which will be implemented by the end of this year.The restrictions translated into stockpiles building up at processors in neighboring countries, as well as investment to relocate processing facilities to Southeast Asia Some of these small and medium scaled scrap processing factories in Southeast Asia are expected to turn scrap into blister copper which will be imported into China.A separate trader source who talks directly to Jiangxi Copper told Metal Bulletin its subsidiary is mulling adding a 50,000 tonnes per year blister copper and anode production capacity in Malaysia.It is still at a preliminary stage. The details are not disclosed yet. It is likely to be blister copper production using a feed of complex concentrates. The company is exploring various options in Malaysia, the source said.Jiangxi Copper declined to comment officially on the plans.Additional reporting by Archie Hunter in ShanghaiFormer Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at Yale Class Day on May 20, 2018 in New Haven, Connecticut.Each Memorial Day, Americans honor those whom we cannot personally thank: the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

History suggests that Memorial Day had its beginnings in Mississippi, where women decorated the graves of Confederate and Union soldiers killed during the Civil War.

Ever since, Memorial Day commemorations across the United States have honored men and women lost in battle -- and those who are still missing -- while wearing the uniforms of the United States military. While the deceased cannot hear our thanks, their living legacies are here among us to accept that gratitude, and it is appropriate that we honor them as well.

Imagine a Memorial Day ceremony at which many of these families sit in reflection. They are poignant connections to the pages of American history.

As you acknowledge them, take a close look at who they are and the stories they tell about becoming the families of America's fallen heroes.

As touchstones to a war fought 100 years ago, a few surviving sons and daughters from World War I are still alive today.

It would be an honor to listen as one of these centenarian children says, "My dad was one of the 53,402 doughboys lost in WWI."

Next to them may be the 70- and 80-year-old children and siblings of some of the 405,399 Americans lost in World War II. They still recall receiving a telegram that delivered the news of the deaths of their fathers and brothers on the sands of Iwo Jima, in the Battle of the Bulge, or on the shores of Normandy.

Intermingled in the crowd may be the elderly wives, children and siblings of 36,000 American casualties from the Korean War. It may be called "The Forgotten War," but these families always remember their loved ones.

Nearby are scores of mothers, fathers, wives, sons and daughters, and brothers and sisters of the 58,318 Americans lost in the Vietnam War.

Grenada, Panama, the Marine barracks in Lebanon, and the 1991 Persian Gulf War left behind more surviving family members. Though the battles were brief, the families' grief lasts forever.

The 21st century was just an infant when terror thrust America into more than 15 years of conflict. Since 9/11, the global war on terror has brought heartache to nearly 7,000 families. Their pain is still raw from devastating losses in Afghanistan, Iraq and other faraway places where evil lurks.

These surviving families mourn like the Gold Star families who carried the title before them, taking solace in a tradition of resilience -- and shining a light on the needs of all of America's surviving families.

Being a member of a surviving family is not a distinction anyone chooses. Joining the club requires the sacrifice of a precious life. We would all prefer never to have heard the 24 notes of "Taps" at a military funeral, never to have experienced the pain that is part of our lifetime membership.

But we all have.

On this Memorial Day, as Americans rise to their feet in honor of our fallen heroes, remember their families who have also sacrificed. For them, every day is Memorial Day as they remember their beloved heroes who fell for freedom.

-- Tony Cordero is the founder of Sons and Daughters in Touch, which unites Gold Star children from the Vietnam War and serves as a bridge to older and younger generations of Gold Star families. His father, Air Force Maj. Bill Cordero, was lost in the Vietnam War. His mother is a Gold Star sister, having lost her brother in an Army Air Corps crash in World War II. His late stepfather was a Gold Star sibling who lost his older brother in New Guinea in the same war.

-- Bonnie Carroll is a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, a military veteran, and the president and founder of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), which offers compassionate care to all those grieving the loss of a military loved one. She founded the organization after the death of her husband, Brig. Gen. Tom Carroll, in an Army C-12 plane crash in 1992.

-- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration.This Sikh Marine Is Ready to Sue the Service to Wear a Beard and Turban at All Times

First Lt. Sukhbir Toor applied in March for a religious accommodation to wear a beard and turban and to not cut his hair.HONOLULU -- The Coast Guard assisted a distressed Canadian mariner to Hilo Sunday after his vessel began taking on water about 80 miles southeast of the Big Island.

"We're pleased this mariner is safe. The use of the emergency position indicating radio beacon allowed us to locate him quickly and render assistance," said Lt. j.g Chloe Harmon, command duty officer, Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu. "All mariners should plan for the worst, take multiple forms of communication and file a float plan with family or friends."

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry (WPC 1124) escorted the 73-year-old mariner to port aboard his 44-foot Canadian-flagged sailing vessel, Helen Margaret, once the flooding was under control.

Coast Guard watchstanders received an emergency position indicating radio beacon alert at 3:21 a.m. prompting the launch of a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point, a follow-on Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and the Oliver Berry crew.

The Hercules aircrew located the vessel in the first leg of their search pattern about 70 miles southeast of Hilo, established communication with the man and dropped survival equipment including a dewatering pump. The Dolphin helicopter crew lowered their rescue swimmer to the Helen Margaret. The rescue swimmer was able to retrieve and operate the pump successfully to begin to dewater the vessel. The Oliver Berry crew arrived on scene at 7:47 a.m. and took over, later coming safely to Hilo.

Weather at the time of the case was reported east winds 23 mph. Wind waves 6 feet. North swell 3 feet. Swell south 3 feet. Scattered showers in the evening, then isolated showers after midnight. A small craft advisory is in effect for the Main Hawaiian Islands.

The Coast Guard was initially alerted to the possibility of this mariner being overdue May 12 on a voyage from Panama City, Panama, to Honolulu. The reporting source stated the mariner missed a scheduled check-in on April 28. He was reportedly well equipped for a long journey.

Watchstanders from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centers in Alameda, California, and Honolulu have been working the case since through communications call outs, broadcasts, partners, and periodic searches as supporting search area data allowed.A Navy Cross recipient who overcame grievous war wounds to continue to lead Marines on active duty has finally retired.

Sgt. Maj. Bradley Kasal, perhaps best known for appearing in an iconic image by photographer Lucian Read, retired from his post as sergeant major of I Marine Expeditionary Force on May 18, Marine officials said.

The famous photograph shows a wounded and bloody Kasal emerging from a building in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004 supported by Marines on his right and left. Then a first sergeant, Kasal had sustained wounds from seven bullets and taken more than 43 pieces of grenade shrapnel during a firefight. He reportedly had lost 60 percent of his blood by the time he emerged from the house, supported by two lance corporals, but still brandishing his sidearm and Ka-Bar knife.

In 2006, Kasal would receive the Navy Cross, the military's second-highest award for valor, for his heroism that day. According to his medal citation, Kasal had rolled on top of a wounded Marine to shield him, absorbing the shrapnel from an enemy grenade with his own body.

"When First Sergeant Kasal was offered medical attention and extraction, he refused until the other Marines were given medical attention," the citation read. "Although severely wounded himself, he shouted encouragement to his fellow Marines as they continued to clear the structure."

The photograph captured that day would later provide inspiration to sculptor John Phelps, a Gold Star father whose son, Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps, was killed in Iraq in 2004. Versions of Phelps' sculpture, Hell House, now stand at the entrance to wounded warrior Hope and Care Centers at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Camp Pendleton, California.

A 2012 biography of Kasal by Nathaniel Helms, "My Men Are My Heroes," quickly became a staple of the Marine Corps Commandant's Professional Reading List.

The book characterizes Kasal as an icon even prior to his heroism in Fallujah.

"Even before entering Iraq, Kasal was almost mythical among Marines, known for leading his troops at the front to ensure that he would always be the first man into a fight," Helms writes. "In his mind, that is what Grunts do, and Brad Kasal is a true Grunt."

Kasal previously served as the senior enlisted leader of 4th Marine Division before becoming sergeant major of the Camp Pendleton-based I MEF. The posting is one of the most prestigious available to a Marine Corps sergeant major.

When Kasal assumed his post at I MEF in February 2015, he addressed troops within the unit with a brief and characteristically gritty speech.

"To all the Marines and sailors of I MEF, I thank you for what you do," he said. "I thank you for creating hate and discontent among the bad guys around the world, and I'm truly humbled to work for you and serve beside you."

When Kasal surrendered his sword of office to conclude a 34-year career May 18, he kept his message simple.

"I want every Marine and sailor to understand they enlisted for a reason and a purpose," Kasal said, according to a Marine Corps news release. "That purpose was to do something better, to swear to support and defend the constitution, and to be a part of something greater. I ask the Marines and sailors to always be proud of that."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.The Senate is expected to vote this week on major legislation to expand the private health care options for veterans. The vote is timed to beat an end-of-May deadline when the existing Veterans Choice program will run out of money.

In a tweet Monday, Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said, "Great news! The Senate is voting on the #VAMISSIONAct this week.

This legislation will dramatically change the way the @DeptVetAffairs delivers care to veterans."

Isakson and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, ranking member of the committee, also scheduled a news conference Tuesday with major veterans service organizations to marshal support for quick passage of the VA Mission Act.

The House last week by a vote of 347-70 passed the Mission Act in an effort to get a bill to the desk of President Donald Trump by Memorial Day, May 28.

The bill would provide $5.2 billion to extend the current Choice program while streamlining its multiple community care options into one program to improve access.

"This legislation addresses a number of important pieces of the large VA puzzle, including extending funding for the Choice program that countless veterans depend on to receive care," Rep. Martha Roby, R-Alabama, said in a statement supporting the House version of the Mission Act.

In a statement last week when the House passed the bill, acting VA Secretary Robert Wilkie pushed for rapid full passage.

"With this strong bipartisan showing in the House, I urge the Senate to bring the bill across the finish line as soon as possible so that President Trump can sign it by Memorial Day," he said. "Our nation's heroes deserve a big win, and this bill does just that."

Last Friday, Trump announced that he was nominating Wilkie, who had been the Pentagon's undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness before moving to the VA, to become permanent VA secretary.

Trump called on the Senate to move quickly on Wilkie's nomination, but there was no immediate word from Isakson's committee on when a confirmation hearing would be held. Wilkie has already gained Senate confirmation for two previous Pentagon posts.

Last Thursday, Wilkie signed a $10 billion, 10-year contract with Cerner Corp. of Kansas City to provide electronic health records for the VA that would mesh with those of the Defense Department and private care facilities.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.The Air Force Switches to the Army's OCP Uniform

The U.S. Air Force is moving to a single combat utility uniform, adopting the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP) already in use by the Army and Airmen in combat zones and in certain jobs across the Air Force. Starting Oct. 1, 2018, Airmen who have serviceable OCPs may wear the uniform, and Airmen can purchase OCPs at Army and Air Force Exchange Services at the following locations: Aviano Air Base, Italy; Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina; Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina; and MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. The service will fully transition to OCPs by April 1, 2021.

Read more about the Air Force Switch to the Army's OCP Uniform at Military.com.Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates  Max, a K-9 military working dog, will soon retire from the military after 11 years of service. Max has completed seven deployments, with multiple visits to Iraq and Afghanistan during his career and will leave without a pension, but a forever home instead.

His current deployment at Al Dhafra AB marks his final tour of duty. Maxs partner and handler Staff Sgt. Carmen Pontello, a 380th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron military working dog handler, has begun the process of adopting Max upon completion of his tour.

After graduating dog training school at Lackland Air Force Base, TX, Max was assigned to Langley Air Force Base, VA in 2009. In his military tenure, Max competed in over 20 dog competitions placing top three in six of them. Max is also an active member of his local community, with over 120 demonstrations within the local populace.

As Maxs handler, Pontello has had three previous MWDs, but says his connection with Max is unlike any other working dog hes met.

"His behavior really sets him apart from any other dog Ive worked with," Pontello said "He can be a very affectionate dog, but when he puts his collar and vest on, he knows its time to go to work. Our personalities are so similar that it makes coming to work really fun."

Max is considered senior in age but his spirit is comparable to a younger dog, according to Pontello.

"His drive for odor is amazing," said Pontello. "His drive for the bite is amazing, and we do really well together, but thats just because he is just a really stellar dog."

The process of pairing a handler and a K-9 working dog requires the kennel master to pair the working duo by matching similar personalities. Pontello considers himself lucky for the opportunity to work with Max.

"Ive been K-9 handling for a little over a year., Ive always wanted to be a handler. I had to apply multiple times before my cards were right and I was lucky enough to get a position. All the dogs that I could have worked with were really great, but I think Im still pretty lucky I got this opportunity to work with Max."

When the day comes for Maxs retirement, he will receive the full honors of a military service member that retires, to include a flag folding ceremony and a giant steak to top off the celebration of a successful career.

"I cant wait till I can spoil him with a big couch and just let him be a dog for the rest of his life, hes a good boy and he really deserves it," said Pontello .Amber Keathley, a second grade teacher at Jackson Northwest Early Elementary School, gives a spelling test on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

Meet Amber Keathley.

She is 38. Lives in Jackson County with her husband and two sons.

She also is one of Michigan's 100,000 public school teachers.

Teachers are the state's largest profession, and also one of the most influential. While test scores largely reflect students' family income, experts say that schools' very best strategy for success is ensuring every child has an effective teacher.

MLive is exploring Michigan education this month as part of a several-month series on what Michigan leaders need to do to create a better future.

To gain more insight into Michigan schools, MLive spent the day with Keathley, a second-grade teacher in Jackson County's Northwest school district.

Keathley, who has been teaching for 16 years, fits the profile of a typical person in her profession: A white woman in her 30s or 40s who has a master's degree.

She started her career at Da Vinci Institute, a Jackson County charter school, and has been at Northwest Early Elementary since fall 2014.

Her school district also is fairly typical: Northwest has about 3,200 students, about 80 percent of whom are white (state average is 64 percent) and 60 percent of whom qualify for subsidized lunch (compared to state average of 51 percent).

Average salary for a Northwest teacher was about $56,300 in 2016-17, which is below the state average of $62,280 and a national average of about $59,000.

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For Keathley, it is not about the money.

"It's what I was born to do," she says. "I don't even call it work. I tell my husband that I'm going to school."

She loves that her job is important. She loves the intensity. She loves the challenge of figuring out what each of the 27 children in her classroom need. Her 7- and 8-year-olds range from students who struggle mightily to academic stars; kids who are chatty and kids who are shy; 27 children who see Mrs. Keathley as one of the most important people in their world.

She gets irritated by the notion that teaching is a fallback occupation for those who can't "do," when she says it's actually a job requiring considerable energy, thought and skill.

"It's not for the weak," Keathley says.

Keathley is not an activist nor an idealist. Ask her how to reform Michigan education, and she demurs, saying she never really thought about it -- her focus is on doing the best job she can within the existing system.

And in that regard, she is unrelentingly positive. Maybe she can't change the world. But she says she knows she can make a difference in the lives of her students.

Here's a day in the life of teacher Amber Keathley.

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J. Scott Park

7:13 a.m.: Making breakfast

Clock alarms in the Keathley household go off at 6:20 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Keathley's husband, Will, works in information technology at a local credit union. The couple have two sons, Lincoln, a sixth-grader at Northwest Middle School, and Mattox, a first-grader at the same school where Keathley teaches.

Keathley and her husband are Civil War history buffs, a fact reflected in their children's names. Lincoln is named for the president; Mattox for Appomattox, the Virginia town where Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered, ending the war.

The family lives in a modest ranch home about two miles from Northwest Early Elementary. Keathley is a 1997 Northwest High School graduate, and she says she loves teaching in the same district where she grew up and where her children now attend school.

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Keathley and her son Mattox talk over breakfast. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

7:18 a.m.: A moment with Mattox

After a breakfast of Pop-Tarts, English muffins and Greek yogurt, Keathley heads out the door with Mattox, who rides with her to school.

Lincoln gets dropped off at the middle school by his father. At the end of the school day, Lincoln usually takes the bus to the early elementary school where he meets up with his mother and brother until she's ready to go home.

Because it's a Wednesday, Keathley is wearing her school T-shirt to mark "Mountie Pride Wednesdays," a reference to the high school mascot.

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Keathley walks into Jackson Northwest Early Elementary School with her son, Mattox, 7. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

7:45 a.m.: Arriving at school

The school day at Northwest Early Elementary goes from 8:25 a.m. to 3:40 p.m., but Keathley likes to get to school between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m., and usually leaves around 4:30 p.m.

On Mondays and Thursdays, she stays until 5:15 p.m. to teach Zumba in the school gym, an exercise class open to anybody in the community for $5 a session. The money is donated to a districtwide fund that provides mini-grants for teachers.

In addition to her 45 hours or so a week at the school, Keathley estimates she spends between four to 10 hours a week outside of school on work-related tasks, from lesson-planning to communicating with parents to grading homework.

About twice a month, she says, she'll come into school over the weekend to set up for a classroom project or to get other work done.

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Keathley puts a paper on the desks of her students. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

8:01 a.m.: Getting the classroom ready for the day

Roughly half of Keathley's students take the school bus and the other half are dropped off by parents. Children in the latter group start trickling in before 8, and they read or play educational computer games as Keathley sets up her classroom for the day.

Those computer games include several that Keathley obtained through donorschoose.org, a crowd-funding site for classroom projects. "It has every educational type of thing," Keathley says about her iPads equipped with an Osmos app.

With the children occupied, Keathley sharpens pencils, fills out a daily calendar and sets out morning work. She also checks her email and the DoJo app on her phone that allows her to communicate with parents and to award students "DoJo" points for good behavior. The points can be traded in for special treats, such as spending the lunch period with Keathley.

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Amber Keathley leaves a note for a student. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

8:20 a.m.: School day officially begins

About 70 percent of Northwest Early Elementary students qualify for subsidized lunch, a high-enough percentage that the school qualifies for free breakfast for every child.

That means this school day begins with children getting a breakfast bar and a container of milk and/or juice as they do a morning worksheet.

Keathley's classroom has a wide range of students, both in terms of sociodemographics and academic skills. Some of her 27 second-graders go on cruises for family vacations; two others live in foster case and two have parents who are incarcerated. Fewer than half her students live with both biological parents.

She has students who could benefit from a gifted and talented program, and students who still read at a kindergarten level.

The challenge is keeping them all engaged and learning during the day.

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One of her second-graders gives Keathley a hug. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

8:29 a.m.: Keathley gets a hug at the beginning of the school day

As students arrive, Keathley recruits two students to each wear a FitBit, part of a daily competition where the children see if they can out walk Keathley during the school day.

Keathley says she lost a hundred pounds several years ago through diet and exercise, and is now a fervent proponent of physical activity.

As children stream into the classroom, Keathley makes a point of greeting each by name.

"Salutations, Jalen!"

"Salutations, Fletcher!"

"Good morning, Jessie! I knew you were here without even looking up!"

When talking to students as a group, Keathley and her Northwest Early Elementary colleagues refers to the children as their "friends." As in, "I'm happy so many friends are making good choices today!" Or, "I need this for my friends."

When she was growing up, Keathley says, she saw school as a safe and nurturing place, and she wants to create that same environment for her students.

"What do I say every day?" she says to her students as they settle into their seats. "I'm the luckiest teacher in the world!"

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Amber Keathley works with Khloe Bowle on a paper. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

8:46 a.m.: Helping with morning worksheets

Keathley is very big on affirmations, and she offers a stream of them as children eat their breakfast and finish their morning worksheets.

When a few students take down the chairs of classmates absent that day, Keathley praises their help: "I love it! We may need to add some names to our Bucket of Greatness Celebration!"

When children throw away their breakfast-bar wrappers and drink containers, Keathley tells the class: "What I love about second-graders is that they eat their breakfast and put things away all on their own. Good job!"

As she walks around looking at worksheets, she observes, "Everybody's got their name on their paper. Nice!"

She asks about children's homework folders.

"Everybody has their folder today? I love it," she says.

Keathley singles out a child who has brought in the folder for three does in a row.

"What do that show?" she asks.

"Responsibility!" the child says.

"Responsibility!" Keathley says, with a fist pump.

It's not all affirmations. As one child squirms around, Keathley tells him to "make a second-grade choice in that chair."

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Amber Keathley walks in the classroom as her students work. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

8:51 a.m.: Attendance and Pledge of Allegiance

As the children finish breakfast and their worksheets, Keathley takes attendance.

"Hmmm, do we really have four friends gone today?" she says.

She turns it into a teachable moment: "So if we have 27 students and four are gone, how many students do we have today?"

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Keathley works with second-grader Jessie Allen. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

8:55 a.m.: Helping a student with her research paper

Before the Pledge of Allegiance and with other students still engrossed in their morning worksheets, Keathley pulls aside Jessie Allen to go over Jessie's "research" paper.

In addition to honing their reading and writing skills, the project is an opportunity for students to learn how to do research on the Internet and write a school paper that begins with a rough draft.

Jessie is researching the Neon Tetra, a type of pet fish. She and Keathley review the rough draft, as Keathley encourages her to get some more details on the fish's diet and predators.

This is multi-layered instruction, with Jessie sounding out words such as "supplement" and "invertebre" ("Nice! You're improving so much!"); learning the definition of "microscopic"; getting hints on looking at article subheads to find specific information, and learning how to use citations.

At one point, Jessie refers back to an article on the computer screen.

"I see you're re-reading," Keathley says approvingly. "That's what good readers and researchers do."

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Keathley gives a high five as she teaches a math lesson. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

9:17 am.: Math lesson

Two big take-aways from spending the day in Keathley's class: One is how much of the time is spent on reading and writing instruction; the other is how much instruction has changed from when teachers largely stood in front of the class and addressed a group of silent students.

In the parlance of education, Keathley clearly represents how teaching has transitioned from being a "sage on the stage" to "guide on the side."

Keathley's instructional style is fast-paced, highly structured and very hands-on for students, a fact that becomes apparent during a 15-minute math lesson in between reading/writing blocks.

In a quickie instruction on telling time on an analog clock, it's a second-grader who positions the hands to 7:30.

It's also a second-grader who comes to the white board to show how to write out 2,336,002 in "standard form."

"This is super-duper hard," Keathley tells the student who has volunteered for the task. "Don't worry if you get it wrong."

When he does get it correctly -- commas in the right place and recognizing that "two million, three hundred and thirty-six thousand and two" requires two zeros in the final sequence -- Keathley lavishes praise.

"Brilliant brain!" she says.

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Keathley has her students pat themselves on the back for a job well done. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

9:24 a.m.: A pat on the back

As the math lesson continues, the class adds 82 plus 20 to get 102, then subtracts 105 minus 20.

"Who had 85?" she asks about the last problem, as hands fly up.

Keathley tells her students to pat themselves on the back: "Say I'm smart. Say I'm ready for third grade."

"I'm smart," the students chant. "I'm ready for third grade."

One last question before the lesson ends: Is 37 an odd or even number?

"Odd!" the class shouts out.

It's not the last math lesson of the day, but Keathley moves on.

"How long does it take it us to do this math?" she says. Not long "because we're super-duper smart!"

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Keathley works with her students on cursive writing. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

9:30 a.m.: Making a cursive 'r'

Cursive writing isn't part of the regular curriculum at Northwest Early Elementary, but Keathley teaches it regardless.

"Mrs. Keathley is teaching it because it's important, so learn it now," she tells her class.

Today's lesson is making a small "r," and Keathley is pleased with the results.

"Look at my friend here, they are rocking out some 'r's," she says, peering at papers.

"I can't wait until you guys can sign your names. That will be awesome. What are some times you need to sign your names?"

Voting, one student says. Doctor's office, says another. When you buy a house, says a third.

Keathley sighs.

"When you buy a house, you're going to have to sign your name like 27 times because you will be responsible," she says, dragging out the last word.

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Amber Keathley teaches a lesson and times her students in how fast they can read words accurately. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

9:50 a.m.: Reading competition

At 9:45 a.m., it's time for a brain break in Keathley's class and students know exactly what that means: Go Noodle, a video series designed to promote "movement and mindfulness."

A dance video appears on the whiteboard, and for the next five minutes, the second-graders dance along to a catchy pop tune, following the movement of the dancers.

When the video ends, the students quickly pop back in their seats and it's time for a reading lesson, conducted as students sit on a mat in front of the whiteboard.

Only Keathley realizes this is one part of her highly choreographed day that she forgot to set up, so she scrambles for a minute.

"Say, 'Mrs. Keathley, get with the program,' " she tells the class.

"Mrs. Keathley, get with the program!"

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A hand is raised as Amber Keathley teaches a lesson. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

10:03 a.m.: Reading circle

Keathley finds her list of "high-frequency" reading words and flashes them on the whiteboard. The object is for students to read the list as fast as possible, and they're timed to see who can read it fastest.

As the times are written on the board, students also are quizzed on what times are higher or lower.

Although the lesson is structured as a game, Keathley points out that winning is not the point.

"If you're not the winner, are you going to pout?" she says.

"NO!" the class says.

"Because you're getting better all the time," Keathley reminds them.

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J. Scott Park

10:16 a.m.: 'A force field for good'

Keathley moves into the meat of the reading lesson, which has the class looking at reading texts to work on their reading comprehension

But the passages include information about the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, among other subjects, so there are some tangential lessons, too.

One passage involves unity on a sports team.

"Why is it important they are united during the game?" she says, getting the students to talk about the importance of getting along and working together.

"Is our class united?" she says, adding: "We are a force field for good and when we're not, we fix it."

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Keathley takes her students to recess and lunch. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

10:23 a.m.: Recess and lunch

Keathley's class has recess at 10:20 a.m., followed by their lunch.

It's a 50-minute block where Keathley can catch her breath, check her email, set up her classroom for the afternoon, get something to eat.

It's also one of the limited times during the workday where Keathley can use the restroom.

In fact, the staff bathroom in the school's second-grade wing has a whiteboard where someone has written: "What are you doing this summer?"

One of the scribbled responses: "Pee whenever I want!"

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Amber Keathley has lunch at her desk on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

10:56 a.m.: A quick lunch

Keathley usually brings a lunch from home and eats at her desk, but today the school PTA has brought in Subway sandwiches for Teacher Appreciation Week.

Keathley heads to the school teacher's lounge to get a sandwich and heads back to her room, checking the time.

"I've got 15 minutes for lunch!" she says with genuine delight. "That's awesome!"

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Keathley picks up her students from lunch. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

11:13 a.m.: Bringing back students from lunch

"Straight lines! Walking feet!" Keathley says as she leads her students through the hallways of Northwest Early Elementary.

That she can offer same directions day after day with enthusiasm instead of exasperation is one reason Keathley is considered an "amazing" teacher.

"She's a captivating teacher who shares her whole heart," says Mark Short, the principal at Northwest Early Elementary."That truly makes her classroom into a family -- and she doesn't just do that with her class, she does it with the whole staff. She's just always involved."

Keathley also is strong from an instructional standpoint, he says

"She has high but realistic expectations, both academically and behaviorally," he says. "These are little kids and she keeps them engaged throughout the day.

"Everything is purposeful," he says. "Lots of teachable moments. Every kids has a voice in that classroom."

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Keathley works with a small group of students during a reading block. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

11:54 a.m.: Another reading lesson

After recess and lunch, it's time for the "Daily 5" -- i.e, more reading instruction, this time in small groups.

Keathley has set up five stations with activities around the room, and each group spends time at each station.

She works with one group at a time, having students read aloud. She reminds the children this is a more extended time where they're on their own.

"We're working on stamina," which is needed for third-grade work, she tells them.

At regular intervals, Keathley signals the move to a new station, with the phrase: "Hocus focus."

Keathley tells the children that she is pleased with how they are working quietly each station.

"Am I the luckiest teacher in the world?" she asks. "Are we making great choices or what?

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Keathley gives a high five during a reading lesson. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

12:07 p.m.: 'That was amazing'

Keathley says she uses a variety of strategies to motivate her second-graders and keep them well-behaved.

There are "DoJo" points for good work. Names are thrown into a bucket for drawings. She consciously works to "raise the praise and minimize the criticize." She is skilled at "15-second interventions" to get a distracted or misbehaving student back on track.

Keathley also keeps a jar of Skittles candy close by.

After a second-grader reads aloud to Keathley, the teacher beams.

"That was amazing," she says, as she hands over a few Skittles.

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Keathley gives a spelling test. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

12:36 p.m.: Spelling test

The Daily 5 takes an hour, the longest block of the day, and Keathley quickly transitions into another Go Noodle dance session so students can stretch.

In a few minutes, the class is back to business and it's time for a spelling test. Keathley tells the students that she's particularly excited about this quiz: They're taking the same test they were given at the beginning of the school year, and both the September and May tests will be given back to them so they can see their progress.

She spreads out the students -- "I want you to have privacy because I don't want your eyes don't wander" -- and offers a pre-quiz pep talk.

"Do I want you to be stressed? No. I want you to be calm," she says.

And there's one more teachable moment as she hands out the quiz.

"What's the first thing you do?" she asks the class.

The students chant in unison: "The first thing I do is always the same. I pick up my pencil and write down my name."

"Is your third-grade teacher going to say that?" Keathley says. "Probably not. So next year, you'll hear a Mrs. Keathley's voice in your head" whenever worksheets are handed out.

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Keathley works with her students. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

At the end of the quiz, Keathley offers yet another dollop of encouragement, in her call-and-response style.

"Say, 'I am.' " she tells her students.

"I am!" the children call.

"An experienced second grader."

"An experienced second grader!"

"And I got it going on."

"And I got it going on!"

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Keathley gives a lesson with how to tell time on a traditional clock. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

1:15 p.m.: Afternoon math lesson

The afternoon math lesson begins the same as the morning lesson, with another quick instruction about telling time on a traditional clock.

"They can all tell time on a digital clock, but an analog clock is a little harder," Keathley says

From there, Keathley divides the class into groups again and has them moving around the room at different stations. One station has a game called "Sum Dog" on an iPad, One involves working with flash cards. One group is at the board. One station involves worksheets titled "Dive the Deep."

Keathley says the objective of this instruction is math fluency and speed: The state expectation is that beginning third-graders will be able to solve 24 addition problems in two minutes and 24 subtraction problems in two minutes.

When Keathley wants the students to change stations, she calls out: "Hocus pocus."

"Everybody focus," the second-graders respond in unison as they shift to a new task.

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Keathley reads "Charlotte's Web" to her second-grade class. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

1:31 p.m.: Charlotte's Web

At 1:30, math is over and it's time for children to gather on the carpet as Keathley reads to them aloud from "Charlotte's Web."

It's also another lesson in reading comprehension as Keathley stops frequently to quiz them about the storyline.

What do they think will happen to Wilbur the pig? What happens to pigs in the autumn? Why does the author mean when he says a tree is "burning red with anxiety"?

And yes, Keathley explains, trees do turn red in the fall, but writer E.B. White is also playing with the words.

"It's called figurative language," she says.

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J. Scott Park

2:04 p.m.: In the copy room

Each day, Keathley's students have a "special" -- i.e., art, music, library or gym class -- that takes them out of the room for about 45 minutes.

On this day, it's art class. After Keathley drops off her students, she heads to the copy room where she pulls out worksheets for the next day and makes copies.

Like many schools today, Northwest Early Elementary largely coordinates their curriculum so that teachers in the same grade are teaching largely the same material during the same week. Presentation is up to the teacher, but the content is consistent.

After copying, it's back to the classroom. One task is sending out a group DoJo message to parents -- Keathley says she likes to send out at least one a day -- as well as individual communications with parents.

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Keathley plays a game with her students just before escorting them to the buses for the end of the school day. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

2:35 p.m: Spelling game

Because this is Wednesday, Northwest Early Elementary students leave an hour early to provide time for teacher meetings and professional development.

That means Keathley has only a few more minutes with her students when they return from art. To occupy them before they head to their buses, she organizes a quick game of "Sparkles" -- i.e,, she calls out a word and students take turns spelling it out.

Keathley then leads the children to the line of school buses. As the children begin to scatter, Keathley calls out one final instruction: "Tennis shoes for Field Day tomorrow!"

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Keathley listens during a staff and teacher meeting. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

3:25 pm.: Teachers' meeting

The professional development session on this particular Wednesday is more of a staff meeting because the school year is winding down, the principal says.

He goes over information about kindergarten roundup, and there's discussion of potential books for a group read by teachers in 2018-19.

One teacher describes a book she's reading about strategies to improve reading scores. "I'm really excited about it," she says.

Another talks about a movie depicting life in a low-income community -- perhaps a movie that could help the middle-class faculty gain more insights into the lives of the some of the families they serve.

One highlight of the meeting: A Girl Scout troop shows up to give every teacher a box of Girl Scout cookies as part of Teacher Appreciation Week.

"They're our hometown heroes," a troop leader says.

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Keathley, second from right, gets outside for a walk with fellow teachers. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

3:49 p.m.: Getting in their steps

Usually, Keathley's two sons hang out in her classroom until she leaves for home. But on Wednesdays, Keathley has professional development so the boys take the bus to their grandmother's house.

On this particular night, the plan is for the boys to have dinner with their grandmother and everybody will meet up at the ballfield for the boys' evening Little League games.

To make good use of her free time, Keathley recruits several other teachers to walk some laps around the school parking lot. Keathley likes to walk 10,000 steps a day, and she's still a little short.

After the walk, she eats a snack in her classroom before heading out for Little League.

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Keathley grades the spelling tests form earlier in the day as she sits at her son's baseball practice at Rod Mills Memorial Park with her husband, Will. (J. Scott Park | MLive.com)

6 p.m.: Grading papers at Little League

Even at the ballfield, Keathley's workday isn't over as she grades spelling tests during Mattox's game.

The biggest challenge of the job "is turning my brain off," she says. "Just thinking about my kids and what they need.

"There are times when my husband is like, 'We're home now. Get out of school mode.' "

With only a few weeks of school left, Keathley reflects on her year.

"The end of the year is a very rewarding time" because she can see the progress her students have made, Keathley says.

"But it's also bittersweet," she says, "because I'm going to miss them."The Sensex, which slipped nearly a percent in May, failed to close above its crucial support placed at 35,000. It reversed its gains on May 15 after hitting an intermediate top placed near 35,993, but plenty of stocks managed to hit fresh all-time highs on the BSE.

The proportion of stocks hitting fresh all-time highs were larger than stocks hitting all-time lows. Data for May suggests that nearly 130 stocks hit fresh all-time lows, which includes mostly small and midcaps names.

As many as 129 stocks on the BSE hit a fresh all-time low in May. These include: Hindustan Aeronautics, ICICI Securities, S Chand, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Inox Wind, Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management, Avadh Sugar, Tube Investments, IDFC Bank, Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL), and Punj Lloyd.

More stocks managed to buck the trend and hit fresh all-time highs. Traders should stay away from the underperformers and look to add and stick to outperformers, Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist  Technical Research & Trading Advisory at chartviewindia.in, told Moneycontrol. He added that even in this market, there are many stocks which are hitting new highs. The focus should be on them.

As many as 147 stocks hit fresh all-time highs on the BSE. These include: Abbott India, Ashok Leyland, Asian Paints, Bajaj Finance, Berger Paints, Bombay Dyeing, Nestle India, Britannia Industries, V-Mart, HDFC Bank, IndusInd Bank, Hindustan Unilever (HUL), Colgate Palmolive, Raymond, Pidilite Industries, Mphasis, MindTree, Escorts, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), and Dabur India.

Pushkaraj Sham Kanitkar, AVP - Technical Research at GEPL Capital, advises investors to hold onto winners and avoid losers.

If we look at stocks hitting fresh 52-week highs in May, the number rises above 200. Data collated from Ace Equity suggests that as many as 217 stocks hit fresh 52-week highs. These include: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Pfizer, Bharat Bijlee, Benares Hotels, Divis Laboratories, Bharat Financial Inclusion, Dr Lal PathLabs and Asian Hotels.

Apart from the 129 stocks which hit fresh life-time lows, over 550 stocks hit a fresh 52-week low on the BSE. These include: Blue Dart, Crisil, ACC, Ceat, Siemens, Motilal Oswal, Lupin, Strides Shasun, Jet Airways and Can Fin Homes.

Analysts advise investors not to catch the falling knife as of now and focus on stocks which are gathering momentum or which are hitting fresh 52-week highs even in a falling market.

If people are still long on stocks that are making 52-week lows they need to assess why they bought them in the first place. If the trades have gone bad, then an exit is usually the first decision before doing anything, Rohit Srivastava, Fund Manager  PMS, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas told Moneycontrol.

He advises managing risk by selling and waiting out. The risky strategy is to try catching a falling knife. To buy when stocks are falling like nine pins without waiting for a clear sign of bottom from the market or Nifty itself is not the right thing to do.Pune-based Bajaj Auto registered two-wheeler sales of 188,196 units, a growth of 7 percent in domestic sales in November as against 176,337 units sold in the same month last year. (Image: Bajaj Auto)

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Akash Jain

Bajaj Auto is a strong play in on Indias two wheeler and three wheeler industry and is on the right track to tap the opportunity in a competitive market. We were happy with Bajaj Autos Q4FY18 performance which was marginally ahead of street estimates. On a low base and more than doubling of commercial vehicle volumes, the company posted a 38 percent growth in revenues for Q4. While overall volumes were up 33 percent, realisations were up over 4 percent, given the higher three-wheeler mix.

While domestic motorcycle sales were up over 20 percent, growth was a stronger 25 percent on the exports front. Recovery in African markets on the back of rising crude oil prices has helped improve the economy and demand in those countries. Among its motorcycles, CT and Platina models continued to do well during the quarter, while the recently launched Pulsar has shown good traction. The management has not given any guidance for the next year (FY19) owing to volatile macro-economic conditions.

The Pune-based company clocked total sales (both two wheelers and three wheelers) of 1.04 million units during the quarter ended March, 33 percent higher than the 787,468 units sold in the same quarter in 2016-17, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

Domestic sales of two-wheelers grew 20 percent on year to 497,587 units, while two-wheeler exports rose 25 percent over the same period to 358,802 units. The share of two-wheeler exports in Bajaj Auto's total sales declined marginally to 34.3 percent in the quarter, as against 36.5 percent at the end of the corresponding quarter last year.

"We are expecting another 150 bps gain in market share in Q1 over and above the 150 bps we gained during Q4. We would like to end FY19 with a share of 26 percent. We are getting our act nice and firm in the motorcycle segment," S Ravikumar, Head - Business Development, Bajaj Auto

We believe the company led by product innovations, sustained growth in exports, three wheelers doing well and a revival in demand for motorcycles in the domestic market, the company would witness good growth in the near future.

At current market price of Rs 2,777 (Face Value: 10), the sock is valued at a P/E of 19x on FY18 EPS. We expect an upside of 13 percent with a target of Rs 3,135 by FY19 end (19x on FY19 EPS of Rs 165).live bse live

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The NCLAT has asked Tata Steel, the resolution professional and Committee of Creditors to respond within seven days, on allegations by Neeraj Singhal that the Tata company's takeover of Bhushan Steel is against the Insolvency and Bankrupcty Code (IBC).

Neeraj Singhal is the promoter of Bhushan Steel, which has been undergoing insolvency proceedings.

On May 15, the National Company Law Tribunal had approved Tata Steel's resolution plan. Two days later, the NCLAT (National Company Law Appellate Tribunal) had accepted Singhal's plea against the takeover.

The Appellate Tribunal, which refused to stay Tata Steel's takeover of Bhushan Steel, will again hear the case on May 30.

Singhal has argued that Tata Steel's bid for Bhushan Steel is ineligible under Clause 29 of the IBC.

Meanwhile, the NCLAT will hear L&T's petition on Tuesday. The engineering giant has argued that it has an outstanding due of Rs 900 crore from Bhushan Steel. But as it has been bracketed as an "operational creditor", there has been no provision to clear its due under the resolution plan provided by Tata Steel.

L&T wants to be bracketed under the secured creditors category.live bse live

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Ajay Bakshi took charge as head of India operations of hospital chain Parkway Pantai, part of Malaysia's IHH Healthcare, on May 1. His appointment comes at a time when IHH is locked up in a race to take control of India's largest healthcare provider Fortis Healthcare.

IHH isn't any fringe player anymore. The company considers India as its home market and plans to expand here in a big way.

IHH today comprises seven hospitals and three feeder centres with more than 1,600 licensed beds in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai. Much of its growth came by buying controlling stake in Hyderabad-based Continental Hospitals for Rs 300 crore in early 2015 followed by the much larger buyout of Global Hospitals at Rs 1,300 crore in the same year. The company operates hospitals in India under Gleneagles and Global brand names.

Bakshi, a neurosurgeon by training, is adept at running large hospital chains. He was with Max Healthcare as Managing Director and CEO where he led the successful launch of four new hospitals as well as a comprehensive turn-around of the hospital network. As the Managing Director and CEO of Manipal Hospitals from 2014 to 2017, he oversaw 16 hospitals covering 7,000 beds in India and Malaysia.

The former McKinsey consultant will have his work cut out to integrate and draw synergies - if IHH pulls out of the mega-deal by buying out Fortis.

In an exclusive email interview with Moneycontrol Bakshi said his group is continually exploring value-accretive opportunities to grow its presence in the country but avoided questions on Fortis.

Q: You have taken charge as CEO of India operation of Parkway Pantai, what was the message for you from IHH Healthcare group headquarters?

A: IHH is one of the largest healthcare operators in the world by market capitalisation, and I see immense potential for the Group to grow its presence in India, which is one of the most attractive markets globally, driven by its sustainable megatrends. We remain focused on building up a leading healthcare chain in the country, specialising in areas of our expertise including tertiary and quaternary care, multi-organ transplants (liver, heart, lung, and kidney), cancer treatment and neuroscience.

Q: What will be your priorities at Parkway Pantai/IHH?

A: Coming on board, I will continue to steer the Indian operations towards greater growth, by improving the quality of our offerings, leveraging the strong brand equity of both Gleneagles and Global brands. We will continue to strengthen our clinical capabilities in high-end quaternary work, to retain Gleneagles Global Hospitals position as a world-class multi-organ transplant centre offering an unparalleled range of transplant services. In addition, we will expand our capabilities in oncology and neurosciences

Q: IHH Healthcare has emerged from acquisitions  has the group been able to consolidate and unlock the synergy benefits?

A: We entered India in 2002 through a joint venture between Apollo Hospitals and Parkway Pantai. In 2015, we acquired a 51% stake in Continental Hospitals and a 73.4 percent stake in Global Hospitals. We then consolidated the recently acquired assets last year, under the Gleneagles brand, to drive greater synergies. As a result of successful integration, we have seen greater operational efficiency, smoother workflows and processes, higher standards of care across the board, improvements in patient experience and clinical outcomes. Today, our Indian portfolio comprises more than 1,600 beds in five cities across India, and we are continually exploring value-accretive opportunities to grow our presence in the country.

Q: You have been closely observing healthcare space, especially hospitals  what are the prominent challenges that confront the leaders in the healthcare space?

A: According to data from World Health Organisation, about 60 percent of deaths in India are attributed to non-communicable diseases, and this percentage is expected to increase due to changing lifestyles and external environments. There is, therefore, a growing demand for specialised quality healthcare services across the country, making it one of the fastest growing hospital markets globally. However, Indias existing infrastructure is not enough to cater to the growing demand and needs of the population, partly due to relatively low government spending on healthcare ( as a proportion of GDP), and over concentration of healthcare professionals in the urban areas, leaving rural areas underserved. Indian healthcare operators will have to adequately meet the needs of the market by improving their operational efficiencies and quality of services, especially in the areas of tertiary and quaternary care segments to treat chronic and complex diseases. IHH, as one of the largest global healthcare operators, is well-poised to address this need. Our hospitals in India has leveraged on the expertise and resources of the global IHH network to provide patients with the best-in-class medical care and treatments

Q: What makes you excited about healthcare space?

A: Modern healthcare is ripe for disruption, thanks to newer technology (mobile telephones, artificial intelligence, robotics) and we believe that India will play a leading role in using these technologies to create a new model of healthcare delivery. At IHH, I have a unique opportunity to innovate newer business model of healthcare delivery in IndiaFortis Healthcare | In the September quarter, Rakesh Junjhunwala held a 2.65 percent holding in the stock, and FIIs have increased its stake to 41.04 percent from 40.98 percent in the June quarter. In FY21 so far the stock price has risen 0 percent to Rs 125.70 as on October 26.

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Two more Fortis Healthcare board members - Harpal Singh and Sabina Vaisoha - have resigned on Monday, a day before the crucial extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.

With this, now three board members of the healthcare company have stepped down.

In April this year, institutional investors  East Bridge Capital and Jupiter India Fund  had sought the removal of these four directors Brian Tempest, Harpal Singh, Sabina Vaisoha and Tejinder Shergill for allegedly failing to work in the interest of shareholders, particularly in their handling of the hospital chain's proposed sale.

Shergill had resigned from the board on Sunday citing personal reasons.

Sources told Moneycontrol that the fourth director Brian Tempest too may step down.

The company spokesperson declined to comment on the developments.

With three resignations, Fortis board is now left with five directors -Brian Tempest, Rohit Bhasin, Suvalaxmi Chakraborty, Ravi Rajagopal and Indrajit Banerjee.

Chakraborty, Rajagopal and Banerjee are representing minority shareholders East Bridge Capital and Jupiter India Fund on the board.

Harpal in his resignation letter defended his decision to back Munjal-Burmans said the board oversaw a "transparent and tight" bidding process advised by financial and legal experts including the advice of a eminent advisory committee.

"The final Munjal-Burman bid was selected on criteria of certainty,simplicity of structure, no walk away rights, an early infusion offunds, capacity to address strategic needs and the ability to traverse a

challenging landscape.

"Despite delivering a good outcome for the company and its shareholders there still persist some less informed attempts to steer the board and the company into a situation that could be perilous for the company's future," Singh said.

Early this month the four directors under scrutiny by investors, along with another additional director Rohit Bhasin, had voted in favour of Munjal-Burmans offer.

Harpal Singh (67), is the father-in-law of Fortis' erstwhile chairman Malvinder Singh, who is the mentor and chairman emeritus of Fortis Healthcare. Harpal Singh is also on the board of Fortis diagnostics' arm SRL.

Vaisoha in her resignation letter said she was invited to the board of Fortis to maintain the "quorum".

"Now that we have completed our duty and have reached an important milestone it is time to consider the best way forward," Vaisoha said.

Vaisoha (47), is a seasoned professional in the area of Media and PR. She held board positions on companies promoted by the Singh brothers - Religare Enterprises and Religare Finvest.

The Fortis' board has vehemently denied any role or influence of the Singh brothers on their decisions regarding the bids.

Earlier, The Economic Times reported that Fortis largest shareholder Yes Bank has urged the board to consider revised bids.amit shah

BJP President Amit Shah today said improved relations with neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan under Prime Minister Narendra Modi would transform the economy of the northeastern region, leading to higher growth.

"The Prime Minister's initiative to sign the Land Boundary Agreement with Bangladesh will lead to development in the region and within five to ten years the ports in the neighbouring country will carry goods produced in the northeast," he said.

The agreement will also open the Bangladesh market for products manufactured in the North East, the party president said.

Shah was addressing the third conclave of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) here, attended by six chief ministers of the region.

He charged that Assam and some states of the region, which had one of the highest growth rates in country during independence, had gone down drastically during the Congress rule, Shah said.

"It is Modi-ji who gave prime importance to the region, analysed and understood the problems and evolved ways to bring about development.

"If the states follow the measures initiated by the prime minister, there can be positive results and the North East can achieve a very high growth rate," he said.

During the last four years, the prime minister has taken measures to bring peace in the region, solve border disputes between nations and states and ensure corruption-free governments in the region.

"Modi has improved relations with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar leading to peace in the region, secured the 5,000-kilometre long international border and initiated the Act East Policy, leading to greater economic ties with South East Asian countries," the BJP president said. The NEDA, which comprises BJP and its allies in the region, has a big role to play in the implementation of the Act East Policy and transform the economy of the region, the BJP leader said.

"The people of the region have realised that it is the BJP government under the prime minister who can bring about development and transform the region," he said.

Earlier during Congress rule, corruption was rampant in the North East but now BJP and its allies have ensured that the region has moved away from "briefcase politics to development politics and will soon emerge as a large contributor to the nation's economy," Shah said.

The BJP government has taken special initiative to increase air, rail, road and IT connectivity in the North East.

The government has sanctioned 5300 km of road construction and road connectivity with Myanmar and Thailand has started, he said adding broad guage conversion is almost complete.

He said several initiaves to improve air connectivity in the region has been taken.

The prime minister has also ensured that bamboo be declared a grass so that the people in the region can earn their livelihood and the paper-making industry can benefit.

Shah accused successive Congress governments at the Centre of neglecting the North East and only using its elected representatives to ensure majority in Parliament.

But, he said the "BJP, both under Atal Behari Vajpayee and Modji, has acknowledged their rights and their importance in the national mainstream."

"NEDA has been formed not just as a political alliance but also as a geo-cultural alliance.

It is obvious that when political parties come together, there will be political alliances but we have come together to unite people, their language, heritage and culture inspite of their diversity," he added.

There are 217 tribes and 185 languages spoken in the region and "they are not our burden but our strength. The NEDA will strive to unite them and help develop the region."

The NEDA will also soon launch its youth and women's wing, the party president added.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep concern over the sharp rise in petrol and diesel prices, saying it will affect common people.

"We are very concerned about the rising prices of petrol and diesel. This will certainly affect prices all around. Common people, farmers and many will suffer," Banerjee said on her official Twitter handle.

Petrol price increased by 33 paisa a litre in Delhi -- the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paisa, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.

Petrol costs Rs 78.91 per litre and diesel Rs 70.12 in Kolkata, the notification said.

Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT. Prices in Delhi are the cheapest among all metros and most state capitals.petrol diesel price hike

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today said the increase in fuel prices was due to reduced production of oil in Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hike in crude oil price in the international market.

Petrol prices today touched a record high of Rs 76.24 per litre and diesel climbed to its highest-ever level of Rs 67.57 as the oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless rise in international oil prices to consumers.

Noting that people, especially the middle-class, have to suffer due to price hike of oil, the minister said the government would try to work out a solution soon to deal with the situation.

"It's not in our hand. There is less production of oil in OPEC countries. The government will soon come out with a solution," he told reporters here.

Pradhan, however, did not spell out the details.

Stressing the need for stable and moderate oil prices, he said the surging fuel prices have negative impact on consumers and the Indian economy.

With global crude prices soaring, the minister has already pressed OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia to keep prices stable and moderate, saying that spike in rates would have a negative impact on Indian consumers as well as on the economy.

Pradhan had conveyed India's concerns when Saudi Arabian Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources Khalid Al-Falih called him recently.Alphabet, the holding company of tech giant Google is yet to make a decision on acquiring a minority stake in Flipkart, according to a Business Standard report.

The company is reportedly still considering the pros and cons of the deal.

The development comes as Tiger Global and American retail giant Walmart are making efforts to get Google on board. Both the firms have held at least five rounds of discussions with Alphabet in a bid to convince it to buy minority stake in Indias most-valued e-commerce platform. The stake could be to the tune of between $1-$2 billion.

Walmart is trying to convince Alphabet that an investment in Flipkart would help it gain access to customer database of 175 million registered users. Google could benefit from the deal by studying the trends in user buying pattern so that it could be used to provide a more targeted search experience for users and push certain products accordingly, the report stated.

Google, which has already access to user data, is still trying to figure out what Flipkart would bring to the table. However, it is still considering buying a stake in Flipkart as it is the principal opponent to Amazon in India and with the right kind of tech push it would be able to take on Jeff Bezos-led tech giant, a source told the newspaper.

Google is believed to be concerned as the Flipkart-Walmart deal has not yet been completed with SoftBank Group still considering whether it wants to exit the firm or not.

On May 13, Walmart announced that it would buy 77 percent of online retailer Flipkart for $16 billion, as it made an elephant-footed entry into Indias exploding e-commerce market.

The remainder of the business will be held by some of Flipkarts existing shareholders, including Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Tencent Holdings, Tiger Global Management and Microsoft.

Walmarts foray into Indias online retail space set the stage for an American business war against Amazon.com in the worlds fifth largest economy.

Walmart has approached fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) for approval of its proposed acquisition of a majority stake in e-commerce major Flipkart, saying the deal does not raise any competition concerns.

Stating that the proposed acquisition would be done through its subsidiary Wal-Mart International Holdings, Walmart has told the regulator that Flipkart is a Singapore-based investment holding firm, which along with its direct and indirect subsidiaries, both in India and elsewhere, is primarily engaged in the business of wholesale cash and carry of goods and providing marketplace based e-commerce platforms to facilitate trade between customers and sellers in India.A Jet Airways passenger plane takes off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad

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Despite being focused on its own business at the moment, Jet Airways has not ruled out acquiring Indias ailing national carrier Air India, Chairman Naresh Goyal was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

"We are looking at our own business. But I am not saying that we will not look at Air India, Ive never said that. Ultimately we will always see what is the best approach ahead of us, and for the country," Goyal told the news agency.

The plan to privatise the national carrier, he said, is a brave and very good decision for the country, and that it will ultimately prove successful. Goyals comment assumes significance as the flag carrier has not been able find takers as yet, despite the government trying to sweeten the offer.

IndiGo, which is Indias largest airline by market share, has said that it is no longer keen on acquiring Air India. The low-cost carrier was the only airline to have shown interest in the divestment process since it was announced.

Ajay Singh, Chairman of low-cost carrier Spicejet, had in January ruled his airline out of the race for the privatisation-bound Air India saying, "we are too small to bid for a large airline like the national carrier."

The Centre has proposed a 76 percent stake sale in Air India, and a 100 percent stake sale in its international low-cost subsidiary Air India Express, to the same buyer. It is also planning to sell half of its ground-handling subsidiary separately.

Singapore Airlines and Tata Group, which jointly run Vistara, have said they are open to a deal for Air India.live bse live

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The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) today declined to stay Tata Steel's acquisition of debt-laden Bhushan Steel under the corporate insolvency resolution process.

An NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya also issued notices to Tata Steel, the resolution professional and Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Steel on a petition filed by its promotor Neeraj Singal challenging the sale.

"Let us decide the law but not stall the process," the bench said, adding that the resolution process would be subject to the final outcome of the case.

The bench directed the matter to be listed on May 30 and asked the parties to file their replies in a week.

Meanwhile, engineering and construction major L&T, which is an operational creditor of Bhushan Steel, has also approached the appellate tribunal against NCLT's order approving sale of the debt-ridden firm to Tata Steel.

L&T's plea would be heard tomorrow.

In his petition, Neeraj Singal has challenged the eligibility of Tata Steel as resolution applicant under Section 29 A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

He further contended that no notice was given to him when CoC was approving the resolution plan.

Singal also alleged that a copy of the resolution plan was also not given to him.

Singal has sought stay on the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had approved Tata Steel's bid for Bhushan Steel under corporate insolvency resolution rocess.

Singal, who holds around 22 per cent stake in Bhushan Steel, had requested the appellate tribunal to maintain status quo over the company's shareholding.

On May 15, NCLT had approved the resolution plan submitted by the RP of Bhushan Steel, which has found Tata Steel as the highest bidder.

The Committee of Creditors had approved the Rs 32,500 crore deal along with 12.27 per cent equity in the company offered by Tata Steel.Apparently unfazed by speculation that his Telugu Desam Party may join hands with the Congress in future, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is expected to attend the swearing-in of H D Kumaraswamy as the chief minister of Karnataka.

The election is held as three members of the NCP, two of the BJP, and one of the Congress, are retiring from the Upper House of the state legislature on June 21.

Voting for six seats of the Maharashtra Legislative Council biennial elections from local bodies constituencies will be held today, for which major parties in the state are in a seat-sharing agreement.

Officials have said that the two leaders will meet for four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Russia today morning to hold an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin in the southern city of Sochi.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan yesterday raised hopes of the government cutting excise duty to soften the impact of oil prices as petrol and diesel prices hit historic highs with state-run fuel retailers racing to catch up with current market rates after freezing pump prices for 19 days ahead of the Karnataka election.

Services to be impacted on May 30-31 if bank unions go on strike: SBI

May 21, 2018 / 10:19 PM IST That's all for today, readers. Thanks for staying on with our coverage of the day's action. Your enthusiasm encourages us to better our coverage every day. Do come back tomorrow for more news, views and insights.











May 21, 2018 / 10:17 PM IST India to achieve 9% growth rate by 2022, says Rajiv Kumar NITI Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar today exuded confidence that Indian economy will achieve 9 percent growth rate on sustained basis by 2022 on the back of reforms like GST, demonetisation and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Indian economy grew by 6.6 percent in 2017-18 and expected to grow at 7.5 percent this fiscal.













May 21, 2018 / 10:15 PM IST Reduce excise duty, VAT on petrol, diesel: Sachin Pilot Rajasthan Congress chief Sachin Pilot demanded that the Centre and the state reduce excise duty and the VAT on petrol and diesel. Pilot condemned the unprecedented hike in prices of petrol and diesel prices, saying the BJP government in the Centre and in Rajasthan were working to increase inflation.













May 21, 2018 / 09:58 PM IST











May 21, 2018 / 09:22 PM IST Online selllers body moves CCI against Flipkart An online sellers industry body has moved the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Flipkart, a wholesale company, for allegedly abusing its dominant position on Flipkart's online marketplace. The All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA), which claims to represent over 3,500 sellers on various e-commerce platforms, in a statement alleged that Flipkart India Private Limited, a dominant player, has abused its position.













May 21, 2018 / 09:20 PM IST











May 21, 2018 / 09:02 PM IST Services to be impacted on May 30-31 if bank unions go on strike: SBI The country's largest lender SBI said its services may be impacted on May 30-31 if the proposed strike by various bank employees' unions take place. The bank unions have been pressing for various demands, including wage revision in the wake of the proposal for a 2 percent hike in salary.













May 21, 2018 / 08:50 PM IST Canteen services provided by outside vendors to attract 18% GST Canteen services provided by outside vendors in offices and factories will attract 18 percent GST, said the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR). The Gujarat Bench of the AAR passed its order in an application filed by Rashmi Hospitality Services sought an advance ruling on whether the rate of tax on supplies made to non-air conditioned canteen of offices would be taxed at GST of 12 percent or 18 percent.













May 21, 2018 / 08:35 PM IST After PM Modi's informal visit, India, China discuss security cooperation India and China have discussed security and law enforcement cooperation between them, weeks after an informal summit between Prime Minister Narandra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan. Deputy National Security Advisor Rajinder Khanna, who took part in the National Security Council Secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), held talks with Chinese Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi.











May 21, 2018 / 08:32 PM IST









Annual residential units sales across Tier 1 cities have grown by 13 percent in the financial year 2018 as compared to the financial year 2017 with Mumbai witnessing maximum growth of 25 percent followed by NCR with 19 percent increase in sales numbers, says a new report launched by Liases Foras, an independent non-brokerage realty research company.

The contribution of affordable housing segment to the overall sales in eight Tier 1 cities stood at 18 percent. NCR had the highest sales contribution to sales in the affordable segment with 3,230 units i.e. 26 percent followed by MMR with 2,887 units (23 percent), Ahmedabad with 2,493 units (20 percent) and Pune with 1,918 units with 15 percent of total sales in the segment, it says.

Sales across eight Tier I cities increased to 69,101 units in the current quarter from 66,879 in the previous quarter. Except for Kolkata, all tier 1 markets have shown recovery. Chennai led the recovery with 27 percent Q-o-Q increase in sales followed by an extremely slow quarter. Pune and Hyderabad followed with 11 percent growth in quarterly sales.

On Y-o-Y, maximum recovery was seen in Hyderabad and Bangalore with 33 percent and 30 percent growth in sales numbers respectively but they have still contributed just 18 percent of the total tier 1 market. The most encouraging growth in absolute numbers was observed in MMR market with a sales growth of more than 2600 units as compared to Q4 last year. MMR contributes almost a quarter of the total quarterly sales in tier 1 cities.

Over 53 percent of the sales of this quarter was contributed by sub Rs 50 lakh segment followed by Rs 50 lakh to 1 crore category with 30% contribution of total sales. Major jump in the sales on Y-o-Y basis was seen in the less than Rs 25 lakh category with 24 percent improvement.

As far as unsold stock is concerned, it has seen a 3 percent decline on a Y-o-Y basis, however, the Q-o-Q figures show a slight increase in unsold stock (1 percent) from 923,483 in Q3 17-18 to 929,415 in Q4 17-18. The maximum contribution is from MMR and NCR amounting to 29 percent and 23 percent respectively.

On the price front, the wieghted-average prices across all tier 1 cities remained stagnant due to high unsold inventory which has put pressure on prices, says the report.

Affordable housing

The contribution of the affordable segment to the overall sales in eight Tier I cities stands at 18 percent. NCR has the highest sales contribution to sales in the affordable segment with 3,230 units i.e. 26 percent followed by MMR with 2,887 units (23 percent), Ahmedabad with 2,493 units (20 percent) and Pune with 1,918 units with 15 percent of total sales in the segment, the report says.

All eight cities cumulatively sold highest number of units in the cost range of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh, with sales of 24,180 units at 35 percent of total sales, followed by the cost range of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore at 30 percent of total sales. MMR contributed the highest to overall sales at 17,143 units i.e. 25 percent of total sales followed by NCR at 15,326 units i.e. 22 percent of total sales, it says.

New launches

MMR added the highest new launch units, with a contribution of 25 percent followed by Bengaluru (17 percent) and NCR (11 percent). Among various cost segments, the cost bracket of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore witnessed maximum new launches amounting to 39 percent of total new supply followed by the cost brackets of Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh with 36 percent contribution.

The Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore segment of MMR witnessed maximum launches of 5,545 units contributing 11 percent of the total new launches across eight tier 1 cities. Kolkata contributed 29 percent of the new launches in the affordable segment (less than Rs 25 lakh) followed by MMR (25 percent) and Pune (24 percent), the report says.live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

KR Choksey's research report on Majesco

Majesco reported good set of numbers in Q4 FY18 driven by cloud services that have started gaining traction from its clients owing to shifting their workloads from on-premise to cloud-based solution. Majesco reported revenues of INR 2,167 Mn (+13.5% YoY) amidst increase in cloud-based revenues (+87.9% YoY) , wherein subscription and implementation contributed 31.3% and 8.9% to the overall revenues. P&C and L&A contributed 72% and 27% to the overall revenues during the quarter. IBM-MetLife deal has contributed majorly to the increase in L&A revenues (INR 585 Mn), which has increased by 103% YoY, whereas revenues from P&C remained flat at INR 1,563 Mn. On a Geographic Mix, Americas and the UK contributed 86% and 7% to the overall revenues.

Outlook

Majesco is currently trading at an EV/Sales multiple of 1.5x/1.2x in FY19E/FY20E. We assign a multiple of 2.3x to the FY20 estimated sales of INR 11,095 Mn to come up at a target price of INR 627, an upside of 20.5% over the CMP. We assign a BUY rating to the stock.

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read MoreUnited Arab Emirates (UAE)

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has given a go-ahead to banks to share vital information with India in relation to the Winsome Group case, according to a report by Economic Times.

Diamond house Winsome Group is Indias second-largest wilful defaulter after Vijay Mallyas Kingfisher Airlines.

UAEs banking regulator and monetary authority, the Central Bank of the UAE, communicated its decision to banks, a week ago, the report suggests. Moneycontrol couldnt independently verify the report.

Standard Chartered, which is one of the members of the consortium of lenders that had financed the two Winsome Group firms -- Winsome Diamonds and Jewellery and Forever -- has a large network of branches in UAE. The two firms together owe Rs 6,800 crore to 15 banks.

According to the report, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could establish the money trail with the information about the movement of funds in and out of the bank accounts of Winsome Group firm, subsidiaries and clients in UAE.

The report suggests that the investigative agency will use the information to build a case that the diamond house defrauded banks by transferring money to related parties which were disguised as genuine customers.

CBI had approached Reserve Bank of India in seeking the support of the UAE central bank. UAE bank information would be crucial in verifying Jatin Mehtas storyThe money trail audit done by Punjab National Bank is limited to Indian bank accounts. It may not lead them anywhere, a person familiar with the CBI investigation told the newspaper.Union Minister Upendra Kushwaha today said the collegium system for selection of judges of high courts and the Supreme Court lacked transparency and was a "black spot" on Indian democracy, and called for more representation of people belonging to SC, ST, Dalit communities in the higher judiciary.

According to the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development, the appointments to the higher judiciary are done in "opaqueness" and not in a democratic manner.

"The gates are closed for ST/ST and Dalits and even meritorious students who are willing to become judges. We want the gates to be opened," said the leader of the Bihar-based Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), an ally of the BJP.

Launching a campaign on the issue here, he alleged that under the collegium system, people were indulging in nepotism and judges were only concerned about choosing their "successors".

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind, he has said if a tea stall vendor can become a prime minister and a son from a fishing community can become the president of the country, why the weaker sections are being deprived from getting their rights.

"The collegium system in its present form is a black spot on Indian democracy," he said, underlining that it was up to the court to stem the rot in the system and ensure "transparency and "inclusiveness".

The NDA government had passed the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act but it was struck down by the Supreme Court, Khuswaha lamented.

The low representation of people belonging to ST, ST and OBC communities as well as women and other disadvantaged groups in the Indian judiciary leads to a perceived lack of faith among these sections in the judicial system which does not augur well for the institution, he said.

He said the campaign launched by his party on the issue was not an agenda of any single party, nor a vote bank politics.

Raising his concern over the functioning of the collegium system, leading constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said the decision of the Supreme Court to stuck down NJAC was "unconstitutional".

"There is no country in the world where Supreme Court judges chose their own brother judges," Kashyap said at the event.

He said even B R Ambedkar had said he would not trust the future chief justices of India in matters of appointment as they could, as normal human being would, be susceptible to "prejudices".

Even in matters of removal of judges for "misbehaviour" and "incapacity", the Supreme Court has reservations. "They talk of impeachment for removal of judges though the Constitution has no such provision," he said.

Kashyap voiced strong opposition to judges taking up jobs after retirement, maintaining that it hampers the "independence of judiciary".

He referred to reports which suggested that 80 per cent of the judges across the country are relatives of sitting judges.

"There is much inbreeding in the system and you talk of transparency in the judiciary," he said as he hit out at retired judge of the Supreme Court Bisheshwar Prasad Singh who earlier spoke at the event.

Justice Singh said that the appointment process was transparent.Indian parents manage to spend the most amount of time helping their children with homework, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report.

Nearly 62 percent of parents in India on an average spend about 12 hours a week to help children with their studies.

Source: Statista.

The high percentage could be due to the increasing competition among students to score better marks. Most of the universities in India require students to clear entrance exams as there are limited seats.

Also read  DATA STORY: Indian teen's math problem is not child's play

Over 22 percent of the 39,071 colleges enrol less than 100 students and only 4.3 percent colleges enrol more than 3,000, according to All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2015-16 report.

Limited seats availability in universities combined with the increasing young population has led to an increase in competition among students. Currently, over 55.9 crore of Indias population are between 6-23 years, according to Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)'s latest available projections.

Increasing competition has resulted in the rising peer pressure among children.

Also read  DATA STORY: Girls are fast gaining on boys in literacy and how. Find out

"...the amount of time you spend helping your children with schoolwork could give them the edge over their competitors in the workplaces of the future," the WEF report said.

While it indicates parents concern towards their child's education, the high percentage also raises question about parent's confidence in the country's education system.

"Around 55 percent of parents with children in state-funded educational institutions said that they would send their child to a fee-paying school if they could afford it," the report said.

Also read  DATA STORY: This International Literacy Day, let's recap India's literacy growth

Over 65 percent of all school-going children in 20 states  about 113 million  are enroled in government schools, according to District Information System for Education (DISE) data.

Parent's willingness to send their children to private institutions seems reasonable as a majority of government-run schools lack infrastructure, teachers and other facilities.

A rough estimation based on the government sources indicates that there is a shortage of 30-40 percent faculty in colleges and universities at all levels.

On an average, the Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) stood at 21 in 2016, according to the MHRD report. The report also stated that the PTR had remained unchanged for the past five years, indicating a shortage of teachers as India's student population grows.

Source: Ministry of Human Resource Development.

Cost of education in private schools remain one the major reasons for parent's inability to send their children to private institutions. Over the last few years, media reports suggest the fees have gone up by nearly 20 percent.

Also read  DATA STORY: Indians spend more time reading than anyone else in the world

"Private fee charging schools are a visibly ubiquitous phenomenon in urban and rural India. On the one hand they are in high public demand and growing in numbers, on the other, in public discourse their growth is often dubbed the mushrooming of teaching shops and opposed," professor Geeta Gandhi Kingdon had pointed in a March 2017 research paper based on DISE data.

Parents seem to spend extra time with children to help them study to ensure their children do not fall behind due to lack of qualified teachers in schools.

Also read  English, cost of education in private schools reasons for dropout: Study

About 6,40,000 teachers in the government schools across the country are yet to acquire the qualifications prescribed by National Council for Teacher Education, the DISE report said.

ASER 2017 shows that nearly 40 percent students attending government schools also opt for tuition. The private tutoring institutes have doubled in one year, but the fees charged by these institutes add to the financial burden of parents.

Helping children with their studies, seems to be a viable option for parents to ensure the students receive quality education.Flights from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport could see delays until June 5 due to ongoing work on the Instrument Landing System (ILS).

The ILS is a system used to guide flights while landing. Work will be carried out on the system from 11 am to 11 pm everyday until June 5.

Flights have been delayed since May 17, The Hindu reported.

The upgrade reportedly forced authorities to shift operations to a second runway on May 18. Since the ILS is temporarily not in use, visibility on the main runway has been impacted.

As the second runway is shorter than the main runway, its capacity is lower. And if visibility drops below a certain level, the airport could be closed, however, such a scenario is unlikely, an airport official told Hindustan Times.

"If the visibility further drops to 1,200 metres, which is the minimum requirement for the secondary runway, the airport will have to be closed. However, according to the meteorological department, chances of poor visibility are less in these 20 days," the official told the paper.

Around 230 arrivals and 350 departures were delayed on May 18, The Times of India reported citing data from flightradar24.



#9Wupdate: Arrival and departure delays expected at Mumbai Airport till 05th Jun '18 due to runway equipment upgradation activity at #Mumbai. We request our guests to check their flight status before leaving for the airport: https://t.co/aT3wpYWW9R

 Jet Airways (@jetairways) May 18, 2018

Jet Airways has asked passengers flying from Mumbai airport to review their flight status before departure. Air Vistara too, has tweeted about the issue and said flights could be delayed.India Economy

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets ready to hold an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, the message that he will first and foremost convey to Russia is that the India-Russia defence cooperation stays intact despite the emerging geo-political situations, and specifically the US sanctions against Russian military exports.

Sources said India will not allow its defence procurements to be dictated by any other country.

Russia remains Indias largest supplier of weapons. A source said, Russia has been a trusted and reliable defence partner. Our relationship with Russia is deep rooted.

India faces a tricky security situation in its neighbourhood at present. Fighting terror that is relentlessly coming from the Pakistani side, the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and Chinas territorial aggression require fortification. It therefore becomes imperative for India to prevent itself from being caught in the crossfire between US and Russia and secure its own interests.May 25, 2018 / 05:35 PM IST

The real action will start now, whatever promises I have made to the citizens of Karnataka, I am going to fulfill them. I am not going to care about this threat (BJP to call state-wide bandh on May 28 on the issue of farmers' loans waiver): Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy told ANIRepresentative Image

The Pakistan Rangers have been faced with heavy retaliatory fire by Indias Border Security Force (BSF) at the Pakistani posts for the last three days. On Sunday, they pleaded with BSF for a ceasefire along the International Border, reported Times of India.

The BSF, in a statement, said the Pakistan Rangers called the Jammu BSF formation and asked them to stop heavy artillery and precision firing coming their way. The BSF firing was in response to unprovoked firing from Pakistani forces, during which a Pakistani trooper was shot down.

A BSF spokesperson said, For the last three days, the precision fire of BSF troopers on Pakistani firing locations inflicted heavy losses and on Saturday, this firing found their mark with one of the rangers in the chicken neck area. The BSF also released a thermal imagery video showing the destruction of a Pakistani picket across the border.

There was a round of unprovoked firing from Pakistans end recently from across the border in Jammu, in which India lost two jawans. Civilians were killed and injured, ahead of Prime Minister Modis one-day visit to Kashmir on Saturday.

Similar incidents happened in January, when Pakistan violated the ceasefire, killing many civilians and in return, BSF fired over 9,000 rounds of mortar shells, damaging the Pakistan side heavily.

The assault on Pakistan Rangers will continue till they stop targeting Indian officers or bordering villages, officials said. Home Minister Rajnath Singh has given a free pass to BSF to use maximum firepower against Pakistan if there are any cases of unprovoked firing.India_russia_Putin_Modi_Russia

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today arrived in Russia's Black Sea coastal city Sochi for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin that will focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, official sources said.

They said the two leaders will meet for around four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited.

"Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," Modi had tweeted yesterday.

"Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia," Modi had tweeted.

The issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan, Syria, threat of terrorism and matters relating to upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) and BRICS summits.

The sources said possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation may also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.

There have been apprehensions that the US decision on Iran deal may adversely impact New Delhi's oil import from the Persian Gulf nation as well as on the Chabahar port project. Iran is the third largest supplier of crude oil to India after Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The countries having financial dealings with Iran are expected to be hit by the comprehensive sanctions regime announced by the Trump administration after withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

The US had imposed sanctions on Russia earlier this year under CAATSA for its military intervention in Ukraine and alleged meddling in the 2016 US Presidential elections.

The two leaders may also deliberate on extending Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation in third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, India's engagement with five-nation Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the situation in the Korean peninsula.

The sources said the large part of the informal meeting between Modi and Putin will be one-to-one and there may be limited segment for restricted delegation level discussions.

They said President Putin will to also host a lunch for Modi.

It would be Modi's second informal summit in as many months as he held talks with Chinese President Xi Jingpin in China's Wuhan in a similar format last month.

Sources said there could be more such informal summits between Modi and other world leaders in the coming months as India eyes to play an important role in global power dynamics.

They said President Putin will be in India later this year for the annual summit during which key bilateral issues will be deliberated upon.

The annual summit talks between the top leadership of the two countries have been taking place alternately in Moscow and New Delhi since 2000.Prime Minister Narendra Modi today invoked former premier and veteran politician Atal Bihari Vajpayee on several times in his opening remarks during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin here to underline the strong bond between the two "strategic partners". Prime Minister Modi, who is here for the first informal summit with Putin, referred to the 93-year-old BJP statesman at least seven times in his opening remarks.

Vajpayee was the prime minister of India when Putin became Russian President for the first time in 2000.

Modi's first reference to Vajpayee came as he recalled Putin's first visit to India as the Russian President in 2000.

"At that time you had praised the civilisation of India and Russia, and strong democracy, lively democracy to define our relations," he said.

"Being a friend of Russia for a long time, we want to see Russia as a strong and confident country having an important role in the multipolar world," Modi quoted Vajpayee as saying during Putin's visit to India in 2000.

He said that "it is our pleasure to see that dream and farsightedness of Atal Bihari Vajpayee come true".

Modi said the strategic partnership between India and Russia has now been elevated into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement".

Modi also recalled his first visit to Russia with then prime minister Vajpayee in 2001 and said Putin was the first world leader whom he met after becoming the chief minister of Gujarat.

"In my political career also, Russia and you (Putin) are very significant...As the chief minister of Gujarat, it was my first meeting with a foreign leader.

"Hence, the beginning of my international relations started from you and Russia," Modi added.Punjab National Bank

The top management of Punjab National Bank, including former MD and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian were in the know of fraudulent dealings with diamond merchant Nirav Modi but kept "misleading" the RBI, according to the charge sheet filed by the CBI.

The charge sheet mentions that the bank officials ignored the central banks circulars seeking audits on cybersecurity and SWIFT infrastructure.

The Reserve Bank of India had issued circular dated 03.08.2016, caution advice dated 10.08.2016 and circular dated 25.11.2016. Circular dated 3.08.2016 deals with cyber security controls and SWIFT operations of the banks wherein RBI advised the banks to get the SWIFT infrastructure audited comprehensively and to ensure strict vigil on the transaction made through SWIFT, the chargesheet states.

In 10.08.2016 letter, RBI clearly had mentioned about a similar instance of issuance of fraudulent letters of comfort and had cautioned the banks to ensure that their staff abide by their internal instruction. However, this circular and caution letter to the notice of Usha, and Executive Directors KV Brahmaji Rao, Sanjiv Sharan and Nehal Ahad. Ahad prepared misleading reply which was sent on 31.10.2016 and after getting it approved by Sharan. In this reply, they clearly mentioned that all outward SWIFT messages are being sent only after making entry in CBS and mentioned that without entering in CBS, no financial SWIFT can be done, the charge sheet reads.

In the investigation, the CBI found that the PNB management sent a letter to RBI without any basis and it is kind of misleading reply. The agency found that no action taken reports were obtained from field units nor any visit was conducted to PNB Brady House till December 2017, according to the CBI chargesheet.

The 12,000-page charge sheet further claimed that a similar fraud was detected in 2016 following which the RBI took up the issue and issued circulars to all banks. "The accused PNB officials, including Ananthasubramanian and others, were aware of this fraud involving PNB Dubai and the Indian Overseas Bank Chandigarh and yet they did not take any corrective action and remained silent spectators.

This facilitated continuance of the fraud resulting in wrongful loss to the PNB," it said. From August 2015 to May 2017, when Ananthasubramanian was the MD and CEO of the PNB, relevant circulars, caution notices and urgent questionnaires issued by the RBI were brought to her notice and she dealt with the same, the CBI said.

Investigation revealed that senior officials of Firestar was not only party to conspiracy but also was instrumental in concealing incriminating documents, articles relevant to the case in the office of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas in Mumbai. It is also in evidence that senior officials of Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksis firms regularly visited head office of PNB to meet senior PNB officials, the CBI said.

Also, the CBI said that investigation revealed Diamond R US, a partnership firm led by Nirav Modi and Choksi had opened a current account in PNB Brady Branch in 11.02.1998. As per documents submitted to the bank, the partners of the firm were Mehul Choksi and Nirav Modi, the charge sheet states adding that Hemant Bhatt was introduced as an authorized signatory in this account by Nirav Modi in a letter dated March 02, 1998.petrol diesel price hike

Petrol prices have hit a record high of 76.24 rupees per litre and diesel shot up to its highest ever level of 67.57 rupees per litre. Oil PSUs passed on four weeks of relentless increases in international oil prices to Indian consumers.

Fuel prices in Delhi tend to be the least expensive in India. Petrol went up by 33 paise per litre in Delhi. This is the highest price since daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017. It is a similar story for diesel, as it went up by 26 paise, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms.

Todays rise in prices is the seventh straight day of increase since oil PSUs resumed daily price revision or fuel prices on May 14th two days after a 3-week-hiatus courtesy the Karnataka polls. In all, petrol prices have gone up by Rs 1.61 a litre and diesel by 1.64 in last seven days.

The hit is harder on consumers in other places. Rates vary across various states depending on local sales tax or VAT. Petrol is costliest in Mumbai where high local taxes result in one litre of petrol costing 84.07 rupees per litre. Petrol has reached Rs 81.83 in Bhopal, 81.73 in Patna, Rs 80.76 in Hyderabad. Fuel is cheapest in Panjim where a litre costs Rs 70.26. A litre of diesel now costs Rs 71.94 in Mumbai, 70.12 in Kolkatta and Rs 71.32 in Chennai. Diesel is the cheapest in Port Blair at Rs 63.35.

The government said it is keeping a close watch on the situation as crude oil hits USD 80 a barrel. Oil prices are now at their highest since November 2014, and adequate steps will be taken, is all that Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg divulged.

Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan weighed in on the issue, adding that the increase in fuel prices was due to reduced production of oil in Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, and a hike in crude oil price in the international market.

The minister said the govt was cognizant of the fact that people, especially the middle-class, suffer due to any and every rise in oil prices. He said the government would try to work out a solution soon to deal with the situation.

Over the last few months, crude oil prices have increased in an unprecedented manner, reaching nearly $80 per barrel. It was last at that level back in 2014. This has stumped numerous experts, who have claimed till recently that it wasnt possible for oil to approach those prices in the near term.

There are various reasons behind this high price. Due to geopolitical concerns, supply shocks in Venezuela, Mexico and Libya, sustained production cuts despite targeted moderation of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) inventories, tight demand-supply balance amid declining production and a weak dollar are some of the key factors which led to a rise in Brent crude oil price to $80/bbl.

The US-Iran saga is another reason. The United States decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal and the sanctions that are expected to be imposed on Iran, also factors behind the recent rally in crude prices. Iran currently exports around 2.5 million barrels of oil a day, which is roughly 4 percent of worlds total supply, and the newly-imposed restrictions could bring this figure down by as much as 1 million barrels a day.

The fragile economic situation in oil-rich South American countries combined with ageing conventional oilfields have resulted in Venezuelas diminishing oil production. This, in turn, has worsened the already-tight supply situation from OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) and political instability in the South American nation surrounding its national elections is just adding fuel to a rapidly-growing fire. With Maduro winning the election, the situation could see some improvement though that seems a stiff bet.

Also, oil prices rose as markets reacted to news that China and the United States have put a looming trade war between the world's two biggest economies "on hold".

But what does this increased price really mean for India?

In advanced countries (except the US) petroleum is a highly taxed commodity. Average citizens of these countries, however, have a higher income as compared to average Indians and the cost doesnt set them back as much as it does for us. For instance, it will cost about 20% of the daily income of an average Indian to buy a litre of petrol.

Higher oil prices will mean increased raw material cost, working capital requirements and operating costs for user industries such as lubricants, chemicals (including consumer staples) and paints. Stock prices of these companies have already started discounting these negative factorsDelhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy as the chief minister of Karnataka, according to a government official.

"Kejriwal will attend HD Kumarswamy's oath taking ceremony. He has been invited by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda," the official said.

Kumarswamy is visiting the national capital today to meet Congress president Rahul Gandhi and the party's senior leader Sonia Gandhi for a discussion on allocation of ministerial berths.

On Saturday, B S Yeddyurappa had stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state Assembly as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell short of numbers, following which Kumaraswamy met state Governor Vajubhai Vala, and said he had been invited to form the government.

The May 12-Karnataka Assembly polls threw up a hung assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party with 104 seats.The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)s tally has come down to 272 seats in the Lok Sabha for the first time in this tenure of Parliament.

BJP had won 282 seats in the 2014 general election, giving them a simple majority in the lower house of Parliament. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had won 336 seats out of 543.

The sudden dip in BJPs tally was caused after Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Saturday accepted the resignation of BS Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu. The two had to step down after becoming Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in the recently concluded Karnataka Assembly election.

The saffron partys tally in the Lok Sabha however excludes the Speaker. Out of the 272 seats that BJP currently has, Kirti Azad stands suspended from the party while Member of Parliament from Patna Sahib Constituency Shatrughan Sinha is seen as a rebel.

BJPs reduced tally will force the party to rely heavily on its NDA allies to help pass crucial bills in the final year of this Lok Sabhas tenure. However, its allies include the Shiv Sena which has been on a warring path for a while. Similarly, N Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has walked out of the NDA.

However, the BJP-led government in the Centre continues to be safe and stable as it has around 313 members in the lower house, well above the 272-seat mark.

Since 2014, BJP has managed to retain just four Lok Sabha seats in bypolls  Lakhimpur (Assam), Shahdol (Madhya Pradesh), Beed (Maharashtra) and Vadodara (Gujarat).

In the last four years, BJP has lost Lok Sabha bypolls in Ratlam (Madhya Pradesh); Gurdaspur (Punjab); Alwar, Ajmer (Rajasthan) and Phulpur, Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh).

In order to maintain the tag of having a simple majority, BJP will have to battle fiercely in Bhandara-Gondiya and Palghar constituencies of Maharashtra and Kairana constituency of Uttar Pradesh in bypolls scheduled for May 28.

The two bypolls were necessitated after the death of BJP MP Chintaman Wanga in Palghar and MP Nana Patoles resignation in Bhandara-Gondia.

The Lok Sabha constituencies of Bellary and Shimoga, vacated by Sriramulu and Yeddyurappa, remain empty and will head for bypolls in the forthcoming months.Senior Congress leader A K Antony today said his party's aim was to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi from power by joining hands with secular parties, adding that the Congress-JD(S) combine in Karnataka was a step in this direction. He was speaking at a function here to mark the 27th death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The former defence minister alleged that Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala had invited the BJP to form the government in the southern state on the instructions of Modi, though the Congress-JD(S) combine had more MLAs and vote share than the saffron party.

"The Congress-JD(S) combine in Karnataka is the beginning of the party's aim to oust Narendra Modi (who is butchering democracy) from power by including secular parties," he said.

Antony also charged that six ministers of the NDA-led Centre had camped in Karnataka to oversee the efforts of "horse-trading" and woo the MLAs of the opposite camp .

The Central Working Committee (CWC) member also highlighted the contributions made by Rajiv Gandhi in various fields, including science and technology and IT.

KPCC president M M Hassan and senior leader V M Sudheeran were among those present on the occasion.Congress

Congress leaders in Karnataka will leave for Delhi today to discuss with the high command, the modalities related to government formation in the state with coalition partner the JD(S).

"Our CLP leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, myself and senior leader D K Shivakumar will leave for Delhi tomorrow and hold talks with Rahul Gandhi (Congress President) and Sonia Gandhi about modalities of government formation," State Congress President G Parameshwara told reporters here.

To a question on allocation of portfolios between the coalition partners, he said "until things are discussed today, everything is speculation." JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy will also be in Delhi tomorrow ahead of his May 23 swearing-in as Karnataka Chief Minister, to meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to discuss the modalities of government formation.

Siddaramaiah, Parameshwara and other senior Congress leaders today met party MLAs camped at a city hotel and reportedly discussed the way ahead for the party in the process of government formation.

Amid allegations of poaching attempts by BJP ahead of the trust vote yesterday,Congress and JD(S) had kept its MLAs at separate hotels in the city, after returning from Hyderabad. Shivakumar said "we have asked our party legislators to remain together here as its a matter of one or two days more.. they have agreed to be here."

He said the high command would take a decision on portfolios and 'other things.' Meanwhile, with the date for the swearing-in of the coalition government fast approaching, hectic parleys are on within the Congress for ministerial berths, especially for the post of Deputy Chief Minister.

Though Congress sources hinted that Parameshwara, as a Dalit leader, was front runner for the post, reports suggest there is growing demand from party leaders in north Karnataka that the position be given to a Lingayat from the region, as the Chief Minister's post is held by a Vokkaliga from the southern part of the state.

Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha, the apex body of Veerashaiva-Lingayat faith, has demanded that the Congress high command appoint its national President Shamanur Shivashankarappa as Deputy Chief Minister, and through this, reduce 'dissatisfaction' among Veerashaiva-Lingayats.dk shivakumar

Congress leader DK Shivakumar has been the flag-bearer of the Congress in the wake of the turmoil that broke out once the results to the Assembly elections in Karnataka were announced. The Kanakapura MLA was at the centre of consolidating support from the JD(S) and the Independents, and subsequently keeping them together.

In an interview to the Indian Express, DK Shivakumar talks about the fractured mandate, the newly formed Congress-JD(S) alliance and its political viability ahead of the swearing-in ceremony and floor test on Wednesday.

Excerpts:

Shivakumar says Rahul Gandhi orchestrated the entire operation of engineering an alliance with the JD(S) in order to keep the BJP out and form a secular government.

We could not get a clear mandate for the Congress. It was Rahul Gandhi who triggered this entire operation. He gave a direction: plan A, B and C. We wanted a secular government and keep the BJP out It was a team effort. And the JD(S) was gracious to accept our offer. They were also under a lot of pressure. In the national interest, both parties decided to have a secular government.

On the BJP poaching their MLAs, Shivakumar says it was hard to keep the flock together and that the MLAs were under a lot of pressure. He added that he will have to keep them together until the floor test on Wednesday as attempts of poaching can again be made.

When we did not have numbers in Gujarat, we walked out. When he tried to do whatever he could do in Goa, we accepted it. But the same law, the same judgment could not be applied here There was no option, we had to go to court. Immediately, we had to keep our flock together, their families were under pressure, MLAs were under pressure, they were offered a lot of things. Some of this was released on audio and video. We are grateful for the courts directions. Ultimately, they could kidnap only two. We were tracking them.

On being asked about the fallout of the JD(S) back in 2006, Shivakumar said the decision was taken in the interest of the party.

We have to go by the present situation. I am a strong opponent of the JD(S). But when Rahul Gandhi has taken a decision in the interest of the party, we have to swallow bitterness. It is the collective countrys interest that is important rather than individual interest.

Back in 2006, HD Kumaraswamy had rebelled against the Congress-JD(S) alliance and consolidated support from fellow JD(S) MLAs to withdraw from the alliance. He had then joined hands with the BJP and was sworn in as the Chief Minister with BS Yeddurappa as the deputy chief minister.

On the Congress comments on JD(S), Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda

Politics is an art of possibility Anything may happen. No individual things. We should forget our individual issues.

It is noteworthy that during one of the campaigns before Karnataka went to polls, Congress President Rahul Gandhi had called the JD(S) the B-Team of the BJP.

On whether this alliance will have an effect on the 2019 general elections, he said this alliance has garnered support from a lot of Opposition leaders and secular leaders are uniting to face the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections

Definitely. On this issue, the entire opposition is united. All the secular forces are united. National Conference leaders, Chandrababu Naidu, TRS, Lalu Prasad, Sharad Pawar, Mamata Banerjee all the southern Chief Ministers called and extended their support. They want to be part of this big alliance and we are calling them. Already H D Kumaraswamy is in touch with those leaders. Mr Gowda is a smart player.

Shivakumar accepted that the Congress had failed to garner numbers in Karnataka. He also said the Congress and the JD(S) are coming to an understanding to contest elections together in the RR Nagar and Jayanagar constituencies. Shivakumar did not rule out the Congress and the JD(S) contesting together in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as well.Bengaluru: JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy celebrates after chief minister BS Yediyurappa announced his resignation before the floor test, at Vidhana Soudha, in Bengaluru, on Saturday. Supreme Court had ordered Karnataka BJP Government to prove their majority in a floor test at the Assembly .(PTI Photo/Shailendra Bhojak) (PTI5_19_2018_000108B)

DMK working president M K Stalin today batted for 'cordial ties' with the new government which will assume power in Karnataka and asked the AIADMK regime to work for a solution to the Cauvery issue through talks.

Subsequently JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy too favoured bilateral talks to solve the issue. Cordial ties should be created with the new government and a solution hammered out through talks, Stalin said at a function at Nagapattinam district "Though we have got a legal victory, water to the necessary extent should be received and farmers should be provided with that," he said.

If farmers were not provided with water for irrigation, DMK would steer protests to get it, he said. He said that during the previous DMK regime, former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi had got Cauvery water for Tamil Nadu through his 'friendly attitude' with his Karnataka counterparts.

"Thalaivar (leader) Kalaignar fulfilled everything by establishing friendly ties with neighbouring States." DMK, meanwhile, said its leader Stalin has been invited by the JDS top leadership to participate in the swearing-in ceremony of party leader Kumaraswamy as Karnataka Chief Minister on May 23. At Tiruchirapalli, Kumaraswamy said he favoured talks to solve the Cauvery issue amicably and assured his full cooperation to Tamil Nadu on the matter.

"Through bilateral talks it is better to solve it, because there are some problems from both sides," he said and referred to farmers from both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu facing a distress situation.

"We have to solve it, we have to live together, for that let us see, I am going to give full coperation to solve this problem amicably," he told reporters here. Asked if the Supreme Court order on the Cauvery issue would be obeyed by his state, he said, "definitely everybody has to obey, not only my government." He said for the last three years, all reservoirs were "empty in our state also," and due to that there was 'some problem between both states."

The JDS leader, who arrived at Tiruchirapalli on a visit to the Lord Ranganathaswamy temple at nearby Srirangam, said "I think Lord Ranga will give sufficient rainfall." With copious showers, he hoped all reservoirs would be full and "then there is no problem between us."Gautam Adani; $25.2 billion

live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Adani Enterprises is set to enter the electric buses manufacturing business, according to a report by The Economic Times.

The Gautam Adani-led group is planning to set up a manufacturing facility in its special economic zone (SEZ) at Mundra in Gujarat. Adani is in talks with a Taiwanese electric bus manufacturer for a technology tie-up, the report suggests. Moneycontrol couldnt independently verify the report.

The Indian electric buses segment currently has limited players with only Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, JBM Group and Mahindra & Mahindra in the market. Chinese manufacturer BYD has also tied-up with Hyderabad-based Goldstone Infratech.

A person close to the development told the newspaper, Adani plans to set up a manufacturing facility in its Mundra SEZ. It plans to cater to the Indian and export markets, including Africa and the Middle East, through the facility, adding that the company is closely looking at battery-swapping model.

The Centre is currently working on the second phase of the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid & Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme. The scheme offers number of incentives to manufacturers of electric vehicles for public transport, battery manufacturers and charging infrastructure developers, the report added.

The policy proposes to extend Rs 2,500-crore subsidy support to the electric buses segment in the next three years.

The draft Fame-II policy provides incentives for purchase of bulk batteries for a fleet of above 50. The policy provides for bulk procurement of EVs by agencies such as EESL, the report said.

In a bid to promote electric vehicles, the Andhra Pradesh government on May 16 rolled out an electric mobility policy to give incentives to consumers, auto makers, battery manufacturers and charging infrastructure firm.Anshul Lodha

With the implementation of several regulatory changes and rise in the legal proceedings against companies across sectors, Indias requirement for legal professionals has vastly increased.

According to the recently published Michael Page India Salary Benchmark 2018 report, we observed a 50 percent increase in the number of positions in this space within the last 12 months. The consistent growth in the demand for legal specialists has concurrently led to the emergence of several new trends within this space.

The evolving regulatory nature of industries in the Indian economic landscape, coupled with growing consumer awareness concerning their legal rights, has resulted in a surge in demand for legal counsels within industries. This is especially evident within industries such as healthcare & pharmaceutical, consumer, real estate, engineering, banking, energy and infrastructure.

In view of the severe actions taken by the regulatory bodies and the subsequent penalties imposed, companies, especially those in the aforementioned sectors, are preemptively building their in-house legal and compliance teams.

In addition, the introduction of the new Companys Act in India has made the role of a Company Secretary (CS) more crucial and we have seen a constant rise in demand for well trained and highly skilled company secretaries even within the non-public listed entities.

With increase in both inbound and outbound investments inbound and outbound, conglomerates in India with established legal departments have also secured more lawyers skilled in mergers and acquisitions.

Ongoing discourse around gender equality in Indias workplaces has also led corporates to diversify their leadership board and recruit female lawyers to join their team.

Increase in demand for in-house legal counsel

Indias top companies have seen a notable decline in their reliance on external law firms for regular, day-to-day operations. These businesses are now looking to establish or expand their legal teams internally. Additionally, corporates are realising the importance of lawyers and their commercial value to the business. They are therefore willing to invest time and money in acquiring the right talent, who have the ability to identify the current threats and foresee any future risks to the business.

The role of an in-house lawyer today goes beyond just risk advisory. Legal heads are increasingly being assimilated into the leadership teams of organisations to consult on business affairs.

Lawyers, along with business stakeholders, are also becoming the face of organisations for regulatory negotiations, policy advocacy and corporate affairs. This is particularly evident in regulated industries.

Similarly, startups are also increasingly hiring in-house counsels to mitigate risks and control costs to the company. Furthermore, founders of these setups are increasingly looking at their legal advisers for business advisory as well. Legal professionals skilled in data privacy and protection are currently highly sought after within Internet and IT companies.

Growth of legal professionals in the Indian banking arena

Taking the investment sector into consideration, the growth in the number and size of investment funds, Asset Management Companies (AMC) and Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARC) have witnessed a noteworthy number of professionals transition from law firms to in-house positions. The rebound in the capital markets and public investments has consequently led to a rise in demand for strong capital markets lawyers as well

In the traditional banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), the growth in non-performing assets has made it essential for professionals to understand the intricacies of Debts Recovery Tribunals (DRT), Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act (SARFAESI), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and the recently implemented Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Staying ahead of Indias dynamic legal industry

The introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and other government regulations, has led to a surge in demand for niche legal specialists.

With just the implementation of RERA, lawyers have seen a spike in the enquiries from real estate developers, to understand the potential commercial impact, and from investors to understand their rights.

The GST has also resulted in an increased demand for tax lawyers. However, there is still a lot of ambiguity with comprehending both these laws. Companies and legal professionals alike will have to wait and see after a number of litigations, which will likely provide more clarity on formal interpretations.

With the frequent regulatory changes or introduction of new laws in India, corporates have also realised the need to have a well-equipped and well trained in-house legal team. This is evident from the more stringent interview processes and the increase in average compensation in this function.

In view of companies strengthening in-house legal teams, professionals are bound to constantly evolve to become more client focused and invest in creating more specialisations to retain the competitive edge in the face of constant regulatory changes.Representative image

Averting a trade war, China and the US struck a deal under which Beijing will "significantly increase" its purchases of American goods and services to reduce the whopping USD 375 billion trade deficit with Washington.

After lengthy second round of talks in Washington, the two sides issued a joint statement early today vowing not to launch a trade war against each other.

"We're putting the trade war on hold. Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

"That is we are going to reduce the trade deficit. We have an agreement with China that they will substantially agree to it," he said.

"There was a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the US trade deficit in goods with China," the joint statement said.

"To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services," it added.

This will help support growth and employment in the US.

Mnuchin said the US and China had agreed to back off from imposing tariffs on each other. "We have made very meaningful progress and we agreed on a framework," Mnuchin told Fox News Sunday. "So right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework."

President Donald Trump has threatened punitive measures against Chinese goods if Beijing does not cut down the trade deficit by USD 100 billion in a month and USD 200 billion by 2020.

The US says it has a USD 375 billion trade deficit in the USD 636 billion worth of total trade last year. China says the trade deficit is around USD 200 billion.

China too threatened a tit-for-tat retaliation but blinked in the end with a categorical undertaking to import more goods from US.

The two sides agreed on meaningful increases in US agriculture and energy exports. The US will send a team to China to work out the details, said the joint statement at the conclusion of the trade delegation level talks.

The US delegation included Mnuchin, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L Ross, and US Trade Representative Robert E Lighthizer. The Chinese delegation was led by Vice Premier Liu He, the Special Envoy of President Xi Jinping.

The two sides also discussed expanding trade in manufactured goods and services with a consensus on the need for favourable conditions to increase trade in these areas.

The two nations attach great importance to the protection of intellectual property rights and agreed to strengthen cooperation. China will advance relevant amendments to its laws and regulations in this area, including the patent law, the joint statement said.

The two trade delegations also agreed to encourage two-way investment and to strive to create a fair, level playing field for competition.

"Both sides agreed to continue to engage at high levels on these issues and to seek to resolve their economic and trade concerns in a proactive manner," the statement said.

Liu told state-run China Daily that the trade talks are "quite successful, very meaningful and very fruitful".

Asked about what will be followed up in the coming months, Liu said that the two sides will see where "we have reached the consensus", and that they have already established some working groups, including the agricultural group, for consultations on concrete areas.

"Maybe some US government ministers will lead the groups to Beijing and will meet our colleagues to have deeper discussions with us and try to make concrete deals," he said.

The agreement came after reports that China has agreed to cut the deficit by USD 200 billion. A draft framework of US demands include that China cut the trade deficit by at least USD 200 billion by the end of 2020.

Washington also demanded Beijing halt subsidies for industries under the 'Made in China 2025' plan, and that China should not resort to retaliatory measures against the US.

The trade spat between the top two economies of the world began last month with Trump imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports into the US.

China retaliated by imposing additional tariffs worth USD three billion on 128 US products. Trump, while demanding China reduce the USD 375 billion by USD 100 billion, responded with USD 50 billion tariffs on Chinese products.

In further retaliation, China announced plans to impose new tariffs of 25 per cent worth USD 50 billion on 106 American products including items like soybean which could hurt US farmers. The two countries have not yet implemented the tariff hikes.

Meanwhile, the opposition Democratic party criticised the Trump administration for having failed to make much progress in trade disputes with China.

"We also discussed very important structural issues that they are going to make in their economy to make sure that we have a fair ability to compete there, and also protections about technology, which have been very important to the president," Mnuchin said.

When asked if the president's threat of USD 50 billion in tariffs on Chinese goods and USD 150 billion are all on hold, he said, "Yes they are. And the president had a very productive meeting with the vice premier in the Oval Office, with all of us and the vice president. He heard these commitments himself and he can always decide to put the tariffs back on if China doesn't go through with their commitments," Mnuchin said.US President Donald Trump today said that he would ask the Department of Justice to look into whether his 2016 election campaign was infiltrated or surveilled.

Trump was apparently reacting to a pair of reports from the New York Times and the Washington Post this week that the FBI sent an informant to talk to Trump campaign advisers after the bureau found evidence the campaign had suspicious contacts with Russia in the early stages of the Russia investigation.

The informant, an academic who both publications declined to identify, made contact with George Papadopoulos and Carter Page and, according to the Post, Sam Clovis in 2016. Trump and his allies have claimed the informant was a spy.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests

US lawmakers have been demanding documents about this informant from the FBI, which has been denied so far on the argument that the documents would imperil both the source's anonymity and safety.Being adaptive to the market has always been a sound strategy to further innovate a brand while increasing sales and recognition.

Coca-Cola Amatil Ltds [ASX:CCL] shares growing by 2.16% earlier today displays signs of Coke not shying away from brand innovation.

Recently they have gone through measures to launch a new platform which will help Coca-Cola Amatil grow its core business.

Coco-Cola Amatil launches Amatil X

In April, Coca-Cola Amatil announced its plans to launch Amatil X, which is a new platform that can help Coke Amatil grow alongside its consumers.

This new platform will help support further developments of concepts and start-ups, which will help the company address and anticipate the needs of its customers.

Coke Amatil are aware that customers are growing alongside the market, as their expectations are driven by different factors.

As a result, Coke Amatil are finding new avenues of growth.

Amatil X will allow the company to invest future revenue growth opportunities outside of the businesss core.

Coke Amatil reported on its media release that Managing Director Alison Watkins stated:

The result is Amatil X. Our aspiration is for Amatil X to set the benchmark for how to bridge the gap between large established corporations and the agility and innovation of start-up businesses, so that we leverage entrepreneurs to help fuel our growth agenda.

Coke Amatils shares are currently valued at $8.89 a share, with a market cap scaled at $6.454 billion.

Currently they have access to almost 300 million potential consumers, with thousands of active customers.

Its product range will continue to grow alongside the main brands launches.

Regards,

Ryan Clarkson-Ledward,

For Money Morning

PS: Coke Amatil has been growing at a steady rate for quite a while now. However, they arent the only shares you should keep an eye on. Aussie finance expert reveals four Aussie stocks he believes could be top performers in 2018. Download your free report, The Four Best ASX Stocks, today.America needs more supply of homes  we know that  but without increased supply we are also risking a new housing bubble.

The warning from economists taking part in a session organised by Realtor University is that lack of supply could exacerbate a bubble if demand and supply continue to become unbalanced, contributing to a sharp rise in home prices.

"A best-case scenario is largely dependent on new home construction. An increase in inventory will provide some much-needed release," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.A Rhesus macaque who escaped his crate at San Antonio International Airport shortly after his flight's arrival was eventually captured and is now safe in his new home, according to American Airlines and animal rescue officials.

Prashant Khetan, the CEO of Born Free USA, identified the briefly escaped primate as Dawkins, who was on his way to their sanctuary in Cotulla.

Public Information Officer Evelynn Bailey said that the animal was flown in on American Airlines from Chicago O'Hare. The flight reportedly landed just after 2 p.m. Monday.

READ ALSO: San Antonio Zoo closing monkey habitat

Dawkins escaped while the cargo was being transported off the plane, but was quickly cornered in a baggage handling area in Terminal B, airport officials said.

Once Dawkins escaped his cage, the airports wildlife biologist began coordinating with the veterinarians and staff from Animal Care Services and the San Antonio Zoo, said Russ Handy, Aviation Director for the City of San Antonio.

The monkey was having a little bit of fun, Handy said. If you can visualize what a bag channeling system looks like, its a lot of belts and bars, its a little bit like a jungle. So, hes having a pretty good time over there.

Veterinarians were able to look at Dawkins paper work to tell that he was up to date on his shots and not a danger to anyone, Handy said.

We could tell by the paper work the precise weight so the doctor was able to calculate exactly how much tranquilizer to use, Handy said.

Once that was done, the group of people made up of the various organizations went into the baggage area, sedated Dawkins and placed him in a kennel about 4:45 p.m.

Khetan said traveling can be a tense experience for animals.

"He's stressed," Khetan said. "This is a Rhesus macaque in a situation that's not normal. It's not uncommon, but a reminder for us that when animals are in captivity, they can be unpredictable."

The sanctuary where Dawkins was headed, was intended to recreate the experience of being in the wild, Khetan said. Unless the primates are injured, handlers try to be as hands-off as possible, allowing the primates to live among each other in the open-air enclosure.

The sanctuary is the largest in the country, Khetan said, holding up to 550 primates.

It's the second time in as many months San Antonio has had an incident with primates on the loose. Read about how four baboons used a 55-gallon barrel to escape from a local research facility on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com.

American Airlines released a statement about the more recent escape, with officials saying they monitored the situation.

Hardy said American Airlines was able to divert baggage to another terminal until the monkey was placed in a kennel, he said.

No flights or passengers were affected by the incident.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSAAs warm weather returns to Illinois, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reminding people about the risk for tick-borne illnesses.

Nationwide, the number of tick-borne disease cases doubled between 2004 and 2016, according to a new CDC report.

Illinois doesnt see as many tick-borne illness cases as states on the coasts, but the danger is still present. Illinois reported more than 3,600 tick-borne illness cases in the past dozen years.

Illinois Public Health veterinarian and epidemiologist Dr. Connie Austin said weather and temperature affect the tick population, but not drastically.

We want to be worried about tick exposures whatever the weather is because theres always gonna be some quantity of ticks out there that can transmit disease, she said.

Austin said tick-borne illnesses are always a concern regardless of whether the number of cases each year in Illinois goes up or down.

Our numbers in the last couple of years have been pretty steady, she said. But again you know there are going to be ticks present in the state that are going to transmit disease, so we have to worry about it every year.

Lyme disease affects nearly 300,000 Americans each year, and is also a concern in Illinois along with other illnesses.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is one of those, Austin said. Theres Lyme disease, anaplasma and ehrlichiosis; and even less commonly, there can be tularemia as well.

The best defense is to prevent exposure to ticks by staying on cleared paths and trails, clearing weeds and brush from around your yard, applying repellents that contain DEET, and checking your clothes, body, children and pets for ticks after returning from wooded or tall, grassy areas.

Austin said if you find a tick, you should remove it and monitor your health for several weeks.

If you should develop a fever or a rash, then you would need to go seek medical attention and just make sure your doctor knows that you were in a tick habitat or had a tick on you, she said.Portions of four west-central Illinois towns are among 327 specially designated economic development zones statewide.

The zones, designated by Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Illinois Department of Commerce as Opportunity Development Zones, were approved by the U.S. Treasury Department to encourage growth and investment.

A Jacksonville zone encompasses a large portion of the city south of Morton Avenue west to Massey Lane and east past Illinois Route 104.

Zones were also created in White Hall, Pittsfield and Beardstown.

The White Hall zone includes the entire town and some rural areas.

The Pittsfield zone includes the all of Pittsfield and some rural areas.

The Beardstown zone covers a majority of the northern portion of the city from East 15th Street to the Illinois River and from Jackson Street and east to Wall Street, with some portions of rural Beardstown included.

It is hoped the zones encourage business growth by providing tax breaks for those who create jobs and economic growth in the areas.

This is a really exciting opportunity for communities throughout Illinois, Rauner said. These zones include some of the most under-served areas of the state that have the greatest potential for improvement. They represent a broad cross-section of Illinois that includes rural, urban and suburban in-need communities that are ripe for investment and job creation.

The zones, throughout 85 counties, will provide private tax-free investment in certain areas.

About 1,300 areas qualified for designation, but only 25 percent could be nominated by Rauner for the program.

The state determined the recommended zones in three phases. The first phase evaluated the needs of the area, including poverty and unemployment rates, crime rates and population. The second and third phase narrowed those based on qualifications and needs.

Illinois is the epicenter of commerce in the Midwest and, as such, our people and our businesses are uniquely positioned to leverage the states assets into enterprise and job creation, Rauner said.

Samantha McDaniel-Ogletree can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1233, or on Twitter @JCNews_samantha.Jacksonville High School students have been dismissed for the day because of an extended power outage.

School officials said a transformer in front of the high school blew shortly before the start of classes for the day.What happens when a political talking point becomes more than mere words? Illinois parents in need of better schools are learning just that.

Marlene Suarez is one Illinois mom who wants a better future for her two daughters. The Chicago native is raising her family in the same neighborhood where she grew up, Little Village. That comes with its fair share of challenges. As school gets out for the summer, violence is likely to swell, cruelly correlated with the temperature. But Suarez knows a quality education is powerful enough to transform those circumstances. And thats why for the past few years, shes sacrificed a great deal of her paycheck for her second-grader and fifth-grader to attend a local Catholic school.

Theres tutors, theres one-on-one always with the teachers, theres more communication. Access to getting help is always there, she said,  in a public [school] setting there is so much more violence that Ive seen.

Unfortunately, that transformative education was about to become out of reach. Rising tuition costs and tight finances forced Suarez to consider taking her daughters out of their school this year.

But then, along with thousands of other lower-income families in Illinois, she hit the lottery.

I really didnt believe it, she said. We were the only ones in the whole school that got in on the first try.

Suarez is benefiting from Illinois Invest in Kids Act. Passed as part of the states education funding package last summer, this tax credit scholarship program is one of the largest of its kind in the nation.

Heres how it works: For every dollar in charitable donations to specific scholarship granting organizations, or SGOs, the state offers a 75-cent tax credit. The SGOs then award scholarships to students, with the Suarezes among those who got lucky.

The program prioritizes the neediest students, offering the largest scholarships to those closest to the poverty line, as well as those who live in low-performing school districts.

In early January, the state reported $36 million in SGO contributions within the programs first 48 hours. While donations have slowed since then, with contributions hovering around $41 million, the demand for scholarships has been overwhelming.

The wait list for one SGO, Childrens Tuition Fund, is over 5,000 students long. Another SGO, Empower Illinois, received 24,000 applications as soon as its scholarship program went live, causing its website to crash. The group has received applications from 50,000 students.

Despite that booming demand, there are political efforts afoot to crush the scholarship program.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker has publicly slammed the Invest in Kids Act, urging that the scholarships be discontinued as soon as possible. And some lawmakers are floating a proposal in the General Assembly that could derail the program before Pritzker could even take office.

Senate Bill 2236, currently poised for a Senate vote, allows the state to withhold tax credits obliged to scholarship donors if the state doesnt hit its pie-in-the-sky targets for increased funding to public schools.

Of course, the real reason behind those lawmakers lofty rhetoric is that teachers unions despise the scholarship program, just as they despise any policy supporting educational alternatives. And theyll be sure to spend campaign cash accordingly.

These games happen all the time in Springfield. Whats particularly sad about this case is that Invest in Kids is working  but it could be doing so much more.

In Rockford, Lutheran schools director Scott Dabson has seen the benefits of these scholarships. But hes also seen the effects of Springfield on fundraising to provide more of them.

The most honest donor wants to donate knowing theyll have the effect they intend to have, Dabson said. The longevity of the program is so important to that. To really ignite and get other people who want to donate, we have to get past the political back and forth. This [program] was a bipartisan agreement.

Just a few miles southeast of Suarez, Shannon Beier lives in Woodlawn, a South Side neighborhood long lacking in opportunity. Her children, too, were lucky winners of the newly available scholarship money, allowing them to attend a faith-based school that Beier has fallen in love with.

Its a great school. Its really diverse socioeconomically. Were going to school with kids of all races who are way wealthier than us and have way less than us. And the teachers are really teaching them how to love to learn.

If we didnt have the scholarships, we wouldnt be able to go.

Facing such a bright future, whats it like to see some politicians calling for a return to square one?

It makes me sad, Beier said.

There are a lot of kids, mine included, who are going to pay the price for that. Its a long-term price, and Pritzker is not going to be the one paying for it.

Austin Berg is a writer for the Illinois Policy Institute. He wrote this column for the Illinois News Network. He can be reached at aberg@illinoispolicy.org.Years ago, I watched the movie Shawshank Redemption and observed the character Andy Dufresne try to prove his innocence for a murder he didnt commit.

He, of course, had to do this while serving a life sentence in a Maine maximum-security prison.

It was good cinema, but I remember watching the movie as a young man in my 20s and wondering: Can an innocent person really end up in prison?

Now, in my 50s, I feel a bit silly having ever wondered this.

Ive met too many people who have been wrongly convicted.

Back in the 1990s, when I covered Moline City Hall, I met a kind man named Darrel Parker, who was working for the city parks department. He had been wrongly convicted of murder in Nebraska. It has taken the state of Nebraska more than 60 years to acknowledge its mistake and fully exonerate Mr. Parker.

Later when I was a statehouse bureau chief for a chain of Illinois newspapers, a man named Gary Gauger dropped by my office. He was wrongly convicted of murdering his parents in rural McHenry County. He served two years on Illinois death row before his conviction was thrown out.

His tale of wrongful conviction left me speechless. And his is hardly an isolated case. There were 13 innocent men freed from Illinois death row.

Just how often people are convicted of a crime they didnt commit, no one really knows. But we do know that it happens.

Just what is an acceptable number of innocent people in prison?

Ben Franklin said, That it is better 100 guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer,

But when I asked a prison guard I knew whether he had encountered any inmates that he thought were innocent, he shrugged and said, Well, the way I look at it is,if they are in prison for something they didnt do, they probably did something else that they ought to be in prison for doing.

Sadly, that sort of cynicism has become pervasive,

The advent of DNA testing has proven many people once thought guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to be innocent. Too often those individuals have spent decades in prison while the guilty party remained free, committing more crimes.

Innocence organizations have cropped up across the nation to advocate for those who have no one left to advocate for them.

These organizations are the last hope for the wrongly incarcerated. And typically, they depend on the labor of students, volunteer lawyers and a handful of staff attorneys.

Despite these limitations, the Illinois Innocence Project headquartered at the University of Illinois at Springfield has had remarkable success. It has been responsible for proving the innocence of 11 people.

Every year, they receive hundreds of requests for assistance but must turn away almost all.

We are just drowning here, said John Hanlon, executive director of the Illinois Innocence Project. Every time we have success in a case, we receive even more applications. We are getting to the point that we are considering temporarily not considering more applications. And that is something that none of us want to do.

The reason they would have to halt considering applications for a time is so they could deal with the backlog of applications they already have.

The Illinois Innocence Project is seeking a $1.5 million appropriation from the Illinois General Assembly to help alleviate the backlog of cases.

Yes, the state is struggling financially. But can we really put a price on justice?

We spend almost $50,000 a year to incarcerate one person in the Illinois Department of Corrections. For each person, the Innocence Project frees, the state saves at least that much. And those individuals go from being wards of the state to being taxpayers.

But more importantly, if it were your son or daughter, sister or brother who was unjustly suffering behind bars wouldnt you want the advocate of last resort there to help them?

Scott Reeder is a veteran statehouse journalist. He works as a freelance reporter in the Springfield area and produces the podcast Suspect Convictions.People must be involved in the ...President Rodrigo Duterte does not see any immediate threat to the Philippines maritime security from the deployment of Chinese long-range bombers on an island claimed by Manila, citing the countrys newfound friendship with China. Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said that the Foreign Affairs has already taken note of the Chinas fresh action and will deal with the matter quietly. Right now the President does not see any immediate threat. As I said, we do not consider China to be a threat to our security right now because of our newfound friendship with China, the Palace official said. Although it does not see that Chinese missiles as a threat, Roque said that they are still a serious concern in the South China Sea, where some Asean members have overlapping claims. Even if we dont feel that China is a security threat to us, for as long as there are weapons there, there could be mistakes in the discharge of these weapons and any threat of the use of force in one of the worlds busiest sea lanes, which happens also to be the sea lane where our oil supply passes through and bulk of our exports and imports pass through is a reason for concern to us, Roque said. Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said there would be no expression of condemnation or concern over the latest Chinese actions. While appropriate language, whether expressions of condemnation or concern, over certain developments, are clearly conveyed through diplomatic channels, it is not our policy to publicize every action taken by the Philippine government whenever there are reported developments taking place in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, he said. He said that the Philippines has gained much from its renewed friendship with China. Fighting for our rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and under our present strategy, we intend to achieve much more, including, but not limited to, an effective comprehensive Code of Conduct that will promote peace, cooperation, and stability in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, Cayetano said. Moving forward, we are taking a different approach to avoid any drawbacks and challenges, he added. We reiterate our commitment to protect every single inch of our territory and areas which we have sovereign rights over, he said. In professionally and prudently advancing our interests in the West Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, we will always be guided by our patriotic duty to protect the Filipino people and defend our sovereignty, he added. Roque, on the other hand, added it was up to President Rodrigo Duterte to heed the call of former national security adviser Roilo Golez to convene the National Security Council to assess how to handle the latest developments in the South China Sea. The DFA issued this statement after two days of silence on the landing of Chinese bombers on the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Chinas Peoples Liberation Army Air Force landed bombers, including the top-of-the line H-6K, a long range strategic bomber in the disputed South China Sea, particularly near the five military bases of the Philippines.In a report, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative of the Center of Strategic and International Studies warned that this H-6 aircraft or even Chinas basic bombers taking off from Woody Island can cover the entire South China Sea where some Asean member countries have overlapping claims. Nearly all of the Philippines falls within the radius of the bombers, including Manila and all five Philippine military bases earmarked for development under the US-Philippines Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, the AMTI warned. The Xian H-6K is an updated version of the H-6 medium-range bomber. The bomber made its first flight in 2007 and entered service in 2009. This long-range bombers is one of the estimated 15 bombers that China operates designed for long-range attacks and stand-off attacks. Also on Monday, Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon echoed Golezs call for the President to convene the National Security Council. The weaponizing of islands by China within the Philippines exclusive economic zone and the deployment of military firepower capable of attacking Philippine territory is a matter of serious national security concern, Biazon, vice chairman of the House committee on national defense and security, said in his resolution. This issue is beyond politics and involves a threat to national territorial integrity and security, and will affect the lives of not just the Filipinos of today but also those of future generations, he added. Biazon also said the government, through the collective wisdom, experience and expertise of the NSC members to come up with the official position of the Philippines in the issues in the West Philippine Sea. It is urgent for the Philippines to adopt a policy and position that will uphold national interest in terms of security, territorial integrity, natural resources, and patrimony, Biazon said. Such a policy is best crafted with the inputs from those who compose the National Security Council whose collective wisdom based on experience, expertise and diversity of opinion will ensure a balanced conclusion in favor of Philippine national interest, he added. Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate, meanwhile, denounced Chinas continued militarization of the disputed waters. Zarate, member of the leftist bloc in the House, cited Chinas increasingly hostile actions of deploying missile launchers, radar systems and now even nuclear-capable H-6k bombers in the Paracels chain of islands. Zarate said the Duterte administration must be able to take drastic actions against China. President Duterte should stop kowtowing to China because Chinas actions are further aggravating the tension in the region. China should stop it, Zarate said.President Donald Trump View Photos

President Trump discussed Prison Reform and was Mondays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words:

Im honored to be here today with so many leaders from across the nation who are committed to the crucial issue of prison reform.

Joining us today are several members of my Cabinet who are working diligently on this issue: Attorney General Sessions, Secretary Zinke, Secretary Acosta, Secretary Perry, Secretary DeVos, and Acting Secretary Wilkie, who, by the way, has done an incredible job at the VA, and Ill be informing him in a little while  he doesnt know this yet  that were going to be putting his name up for nomination to be Secretary of the Veterans Administration. (Applause.) Fantastic.

Im sorry that I ruined the surprise. (Laughter.) Ill see you anyway. Were very close to getting Choice approved, and we had just approved VA Accountability, which, for almost 40 years, they could not get approved. And now, as you know, we just had  the House just passed Choice, and its the finer level of choice. We had different levels of choice: good, bad, okay, and really good. And I think this falls into the really good category. (Applause.) Its going to be a little more expensive, but thats okay. So important.

So we are really  we have so many terrific partners working on what were doing and the reason were here  prison reform at the state level  including two who are with us today, who have really been active, feel so strongly about it: Governor Mary Fallin and Governor Susana Martinez. Youve been fantastic. (Applause.) Thank you.

I also want to thank Van Jones, primarily because he constantly says such nice things about me. (Laughter.) He did. He did. Every once and a while, right? Every once and a while he did. Hes  hey. He actually has on occasion. Not too often, but  (laughter)  Ill tell you what, though, it does feel good. (Laughter.)

And I also want to thank, Van  I have to say, Jared Kushner, who has worked so hard on this issue. (Applause.) Really has. Thank you. Were proud of you. Were proud of you.

Prison reform is an issue that unites people from across the political spectrum. Its an amazing thing. Our whole nation benefits if former inmates are able to reenter society as productive, law-abiding citizens.

Every year, over 620,000 inmates  primarily from state prisons  are released after completing their sentences. For many, really, life outside of the prison is a tremendous struggle  I see it  to find a job, to stay off drugs, to avoid old habits that lead them back to a life of crime, back to prison.

Unfortunately, more than one-third of former federal prison inmates and more than three-quarters of state prisoners will be rearrested again within five years. Nobody wins when former prisoners fail to adjust to life outside, or worse, end up back behind bars. We want former inmates to find a path to success so they can support their families and support their communities.

Crucial to this effort is helping former prisoners find jobs. As many as three in four individuals released from prison have difficulty finding work. It is not merely a waste of money, but a waste of human capital  some incredible people  to put former inmates on public assistance instead of placing them into a steady job where they can pay taxes, contribute to their country, gain dignity and pride that comes with a career, love waking up in the morning and going to a job, making a lot more money than anything they can do. Just really enjoying their life.

When we talk about our national program to hire American, this must include helping millions of former inmates get back into the workforce as gainfully employed citizens. (Applause.)

At the heart of our prison reform agenda is expanding prison work and the programs so that inmates can reenter society with the skills to get a job. We also want more mental health services so released inmates can cope with the challenges of life on the outside. And some of those challenges are not easy.

Were developing more effective drug treatment so that former prisoners can remain drug-free. Drugs are playing a tremendously big role in our lives  in so many lives  not only having to do with prisoners, but having to do with people that never thought theyd be addicted, that never thought theyd have a problem like this, that are having a really hard time coping  drugs. Were doing a big, big job on drugs. It is a scourge in this country. (Applause.)

In this effort, we are not just absolving prisoners of their central role in their own rehabilitation. There is no substitute for personal accountability, and there is no tolerance for those who take advantage of societys generosity to prey upon the innocent.

However, if we want more prisoners to take charge of their own lives, then we should work to give them the tools to stand on their own two feet. Theyre going to love it. Theyre going to be great at it. By the way, I have a friend; he hired three people. They were prisoners, pretty hardline people. I can tell you, two of the three, he said, are unbelievably outstanding. Its been four, five years now. One, he said, is good. But thats life. Right? (Laughter.) Thats life. Some are okay. Hes okay. Not the greatest. But he said two are superstars. They would have never gotten the chance.

And one of the things that we are doing is we have created a great economy. The economy is doing fantastically well, even better than you think in the stock market. And the stock market is only being held back a little bit for one reason, although its up almost 40 percent since Election Day. But theyre waiting to see the trade deals. And I can tell you theyre going to be great trade deals. Its going to be great for our country. Our country has been ripped off long enough. And we are making great deals.

Were meeting with China today, right after this. Were going to another meeting with China. Theyve been taking out hundreds of billions of dollars. Thats not good for people that get out of prison, and thats not good for people that have never been in prison. Thats bad for our country. And were changing it around. Were changing a lot of those horrible trade deals where they take our jobs, they take our money. We end up with no money, no taxes, no employment. Not a good combination.

So the greatest thing we can do  the greatest thing I can do, aside from our programs that theyre working so hard on, is create a good work environment where its hard to get people. Because then you take people that come out, you give them a chance, and then, like my friend said, they turn out to be outstanding. Jobs are so important. A great economy is so important. And thats what we have. So it makes your job that much easier.

As we speak, legislation is working through Congress to reform our federal prisons. My administration strongly supports these efforts, and I urge the House and Senate to get together  and there are a lot of senators, a lot of Congress people that want to get this passed  to work out their differences. Get a bill to my desk. I will sign it, and its going to be strong, its going to be good, its going to be what everybody wants. Youre all in line, I think. Youre all looking for the same thing. So were going to have something thats going to make you very proud. Really, very proud. We want  like we do with veterans choice, we want the finest  the finest prison reform that you can have anywhere. The finest. Thats very important. You make sure you both agree. Okay? (Applause.)

And, Van, if were going to go through the process, its just as hard to go through the process and get a good bill as it is a bad bill. So lets get it right. Will you please make sure? Okay? (Laughter.) And if you see something you dont like, call me. Well get it changed before we sign it and have to go through the whole process again. (Applause.) All right? Well do that. You all know what I mean, right?

Working together, we can restore the rule of law, keep dangerous criminals off our streets, and help former inmates get a second chance at life  and a second chance that many of them will really succeed at, if only given the chance.

America is a nation that believes in the power of redemption. America is a nation that believes in second chances, and third chances, in some cases. And, I dont know, I guess even fourth chances. I dont know about that. (Laughter.)

Thats where I think you and I may differ. You know, well go two or three, but maybe we wont go that extra length. Okay? Its a little more liberal in that way, but thats okay. (Laughter.) But were both well intentioned, I can tell you that.

And America is a nation that believes that the best is always yet to come. I want to again thank everyone here today. Very special people. Very important thing that were doing. This has never been done in our country. Its never been done. Were going to give people that chance, and were going to give people a chance at great success.

A friend of mine told me that when people get out of prison, theyre all excited. And then they go and they have that stigma; they cant get a job. People dont want to hire them. They cant get that chance. And when they do, in many cases  not in all cases, but in many cases, they just turn out to be outstanding. Better than other people.

So were going to make our communities more secure, and were going to make our country more prosperous. And together, we will make America safer, and stronger, and greater than ever before. And I can tell you, as far as people getting out of prison, its going to be far, far, far greater than ever before. Youre going to get that chance, youre going to really make everyone proud, and youre going to be proud of yourselves.

So its an honor to be with you. I want to thank everybody for working so hard on this. Its  so many of the people I recognize in the room. This is literally their most important thing. We have so many different things  economic development. This is literally  and I can speak for at least five or six of the people I see  this is literally the most important thing they work on.

So its an honor to have helped, and were going to get something thats really going to be outstanding. Best  it will be the best of its kind anywhere in the world, that I can promise you. It really will. Okay? (Applause.)

So God bless you all. Thank you. Thank you.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.McCann Worldgroup Philippines had a very successful year at the global awards arena. It has hauled an impressive record number of local and international wins. From a rare Gold Lion at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity to its gold wins at the recently concluded APAC Effie Awards in Singapore. McCann Worldgroup Philippines made an indelible mark at the international awards circuit with two of the most awarded radio campaigns in the world for 2017. For creativity, McCanns big winner for the year was Fully Booked LIVES, awarded a Gold Lion at the Cannes and the First Prize Tower at the recently held New York Festivals. The Fully Booked campaign also consistently won at the most prestigious global creative awards shows like the Clio Awards, the London International Awards and Spikes Asia. It also took home the most amount of trophies at these international award-giving bodies for the Philippines. The agency that made waves locally for the phenomenal campaign hailed as the most viral campaign in Philippine history, Jollibees Kwentong Jollibee. The campaign is known to have defined digital marketing in the country; it holds the record for the most organic views, shares and engagement amongst all campaigns. Last month, out of 157 finalists, the iconic Kwentong Jollibees Valentines Joy for the Heartbroken series brought home 5 metal wins for McCann Worldgroup Philippines at the APAC Effie Awards: 2 Golds - Asia Pacific Brands & Social Media Marketing Categories, a SilverRestaurants Category and a Bronze - Seasonal Marketing & Small BudgetProducts Categories.The Effie Awards started in 1968, these are marketing awards given yearly by Effie Worldwide to honor the most effective marketing communications ideas. Effie Worldwides mission is to encourage effectiveness among the marketing communications industry through education and recognition. A marketing campaign is a valuable investment and we are very glad to have won an award at the Effies for our client Jollibee. This means that aside from the viral aspect of the campaign, it has truly made the client reach its marketing goals, making the investment worth it, Raul Castro, CEO of McCann Worldgroup Philippines said McCann was the only agency Philippine to bring home a gold award from the APAC Effie Awards.In the healthcare field, caregivers must be prepared for any incident especially when seconds can determine life and death and every decision is critical and must be well calculated.

To ensure Covenant Health Plainview leadership has the knowledge to better serve the region during these disastrous events, the hospital is very active in attending training provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Recently, Covenant Health Plainview Emergency Services Manager Melissa Rodriguez, RN and Womens Services Manager Danette Howell, RN traveled to Anniston, Alabama, for the Center for Domestic Preparedness Healthcare Leadership for Mass Causality Incidents training.

The Healthcare Leadership for Mass Casualty Incidents is a four-day course that addresses disaster preparedness at the facility and system level. The training prepares healthcare leaders for incidents that result in multiple casualties whether it is the result of; a natural disaster, an accidental or intentional release of a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or explosive hazard; or a disease outbreak that results in an epidemic or pandemic.

According to FEMA, responders learn essential disaster-planning response and recovery functions through lecture/discussion format. The training eventually leads to a hyper-realistic training scenario that involves a community effort of actors, props and much more.

It was a great experience and really made me think outside the box, said Howell

They taught us how to utilize our resources and also the processes to obtain additional resources in a time of a catastrophic event.

This included coordinating with many other departments within the hospital as well as departments outside the hospital like Haz-Mat teams and public health and safety.

In this years training scenario, which capped off the conference, caregivers navigated through the results of a massive hurricane and subsequent tornados ripping through a small community. On top of that, the hurricane also caused a near-by nuclear facility to erupt poisonous chemicals into the air.

It gets crazy. Those actors are really good at pushing your limits, said Rodriguez, who was assigned as the Trauma Flow Coordinator for a 16-bed emergency room with separate triage area.

Howell was specifically trained in the clinical side, learning how to use staff and clinical resources to be able to treat the most amount of patients effectively and safely.

During the high-stress scenario, the nurses said situations changed constantly and they were forced to quickly adapt and come up with solutions to better serve patients. This includes the addition of bomb threats, flooding, plus accepting more and more patients from surrounding hospitals.

Rodriguez said the training was very realistic, commenting on even the small details of a disaster.

So when we finally get to the scenario hospital, which is actually an old hospital. When you walk in, they had media trying to ask you questions, plus patients crying in the front of the hospital looking for loved ones. There was even a decontamination area where patients were yelling and crying. Very good actors, explained Rodriguez.

After the mock disaster, the nurses said they returned to their departments huddles and discussed everything that went right as well as items that could be improved during the situation.

Its so great that our caregivers are able to attend and learn from these types of national trainings. The knowledge they obtain is so invaluable, not only in these catastrophic situations, but also in the day-to-day operation of our hospital. These trainings help our caregivers be even more comfortable and confident in tough situations. They are also able to share their knowledge throughout the hospital, making our hospital much stronger and a pivotal factor in our regions healthcare capabilities, said Bob Copeland, CEO of Covenant Health Plainview.

Every year, Covenant Health Plainview sends a different hospital leader to the event. Last year it was Respiratory Manager and hospital safety coordinator Juan Escamilla, who learned to organize an Incident Command Center and other emergency management factors.Angenette Welk's dark hair falls neatly onto her shoulders in the mug shot, her wide grin bearing teeth more vivid than the white stripes of her jail uniform.

At that moment and less than four miles away from the jail in Marion County, Florida, doctors rushed to save the life of Sandra Clarkson, a victim in what authorities have alleged was a drunken-driving collision on May 10 around noon.

Clarkson, a 60-year old mother, suffered severe head trauma when her car was struck with enough force to sandwich the vehicle into a horse trailer in front of it.

She was declared brain dead on Mother's Day and died when she was taken off life support the next day, May 14, according to a GoFundMe apparently created by family.

Welk, 44, was charged with a felony DUI with great bodily harm and two misdemeanor counts involving drunken driving in the afternoon collision, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

She paid $10,000 in bail and was released May 11 after entering not guilty pleas.

But since Clarkson died afterward, the Florida Highway Patrol now intends to arrest Welk on an upgraded manslaughter DUI charge, the assistant state attorney for Marion County told The Washington Post on Friday.

The Florida Highway Patrol did not immediately return a request for comment.

At the scene, Welk told police she was distracted after dropping her cellphone before she smashed into the vehicle driven by Clarkson's 18-year old daughter, Shiyanne Kroll, who suffered minor injuries, Village News reported.

Her blood-alcohol limit was twice the legal limit. Welk was uninjured in the crash. She could not be reached for comment.

Kroll and her sister, Keonna Sciacca, told Click Orlando they were devastated over losing their mother and repulsed by Welk's ear-to-ear smile.

"That disgusts me, and that means she has no remorse for what she did at all and I hope that judge sees that picture and says the same thing," Kroll said.

Sciacca wept over the loss.

"It's definitely wrecked our family forever, not just temporarily, this was a permanent thing that (Welk) did . . . I can't hug her, I can't tell her, 'Goodnight, I love you,'" Sciacca said through tears. "It's destroyed us."During the past week, the flags outside the Plainview Police Department stood at half-mask in honor of National Police Week from May 13-19 and Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15. Both took on added significance since two local lawmen  a sheriffs deputy and a police sergeant  have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Police Sgt. Virgle Lee Thompson was midway through his shift when he called on his two-way radio at 4:30 a.m. Monday, July 17, 1961, that he was stopping a suspicious person.

In less than two minutes, fellow officers found Thompsons bullet-ridden body face-down in a ditch.

Thompson is one of only two local peace officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty. The other, Hale County Deputy Sheriff Harvey Bolin, was killed Aug. 20, 1932, near Portales, New Mexico, in an exchange of gunfire between his posse and a gang that had robbed the Olton bank.

Another Plainview policeman, Gilbert Garcia, was left wheelchair bound when a 15-year-old shot him three times following an auto chase on April 24, 1990.

Thompsons 1961 death occurred while the veteran officer was on overnight patrol.

According to the Heralds initial story on the incident, Thompson was working east Plainview when he radioed fellow officers to come to the tracks on Milwee. Ill be checking a character walking.

Officer Bobby Newkirk was in a patrol car at 10th and Baltimore when he heard the call for help. Officer Robert Stoll was at Fifth and Columbia. Newkirk estimated that it took him a minute to get to the railroad tracks on Milwee. Stroll was there about 30 seconds later.

Both were too late, finding Thompson lying face-down with his feet in a wet ditch.

Thompsons .38-caliber service revolver was just 3-4 inches away from his left hand. A few feet further way was a 9mm pistol. Both had been used in an apparent gunfight.

The mortally-wounded Thompson gasped a single word, Bob, before he died as fellow officers Bobby Newkirk and Robert Stoll knelt beside him.

Fragments of a beer bottle lay about the scene, and there were signs of a struggle left in the nearby weeds and mud.

No one reported hearing gunfire.

An autopsy revealed that Thompson had been shot four times -- three of the slugs passing completely through his body. Both lungs were punctured and a large blood vessel severed, causing Thompson to quickly bleed to death.

Area peace officers quickly began converging on Plainview for an expected manhunt and, at the request of Police Chief H.P. Pelphrey, the Lubbock police tracking dogs were en route by plane.

However, at 6:30 a.m. a 33-year-old laborer, Alfonso Sandoval, arrived at the local hospital seeking treatment for a bullet wound. The shirtless suspect walked into the hospital with his mother and his wife. Officers already were there, waiting for him.

According to the Herald, either Sandoval or a family member had contacted a local attorney before they got at the hospital. The lawyer, in turn, notified police.

While on the exam table in the emergency room, he was ask if he shot the policeman. Sandoval mumbled, Naw. Asked who shot him, he replied, I dont know who done it.

A photo of a shirtless, tattooed Sandoval being treated at the hospital appeared in the Herald the afternoon of the shooting.

Doctors said the slug that pierced the right side of Sandovals back shattered a rib and fragmented without entering the chest cavity. His injures were painful, but not critical.

Police already were familiar with Sandoval, whose record included a charge of assault with intent to murder and several liquor violations.

Sandoval was arraigned on murder with malice charges by Abernathy Justice of the Peace Delbert Beaton since J.C. Lewis, Plainviews J.P., was out of town.

At a memorial service in 1982, the officers cousin, Pat Harrison, shared some memories about Thompson and the incident. A veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, Thompson was a military policeman in both conflicts. Born in Missouri, he was raised in Arkansas.

He and his wife, Alice, were married in 1952 and moved to Plainview in 1953 from Lincoln, Ark. A member of the Plainview police force since 1957, Thompson was the father of an infant daughter, Beulah Elaine.

Just 34 when he died, Thompson is buried in Plainview Memorial Park.

Mrs. Harrison recalled that Sandoval was convicted of slaying Thompson and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but paroled after seven years. He returned to Plainview after his release.

According to Herald records, Army veteran Alfonso Pancho Sandoval died July 4, 2003, and is buried in the same cemetery as Thompson.

  

Hale County Deputy Sheriff Harvey Samuel Harve Bolin was 54 when he died in the line of duty on Aug. 20, 1932. Hes buried in Lockney Cemetery.

Charlene Mise told the Herald in 1982 that her father had been in law enforcement since he was 17, as a night policeman, police chief and deputy. He had just been accepted to the Texas Rangers and was awaiting assignment when he was killed in 1932.

Several local peace officers went to assist Olton officers after the Olton bank was robbed by members of the Perchmouth Stanton gang, she recalled.

They received some information that the gang members were at the Lee Pepsworth Ranch near Milnesand, which is about 20 miles from Portales.

The officers left Plainview about 2 a.m. hoping to arrive at the ranch early that morning while gang members were milking cows and likely unarmed.

When they got there, the police went through a cornfield to the barns, which were on a little rise, Mise explained. But the gang probably got some information that the lawmen were coming because they were waiting for them.

The Herald on Aug. 21, 1932, reported that the peace officers called for gang members to surrender, but the suspects responded with gunfire. Bolin was shot once in the forehead and died instantly. Another member of the posse, Roosevelt County Deputy Sheriff R.L. Hossis, was shot in the mouth but recovered.

The Herald noted that gang members stole $3,850 from Olton State Bank on July 15, 1932.

Acting on a tip that the gang was holed-up on the New Mexico ranch, a six-member posse was formed, with officers from Lamb, Hale and Roosevelt counties.

Following the exchange that killed Bolin the gang was able to flee when lawmen ran short of ammunition. Gang members were captured later that day at the Dalmont Ranch, 12 miles southwest of Tatum, N.M.

One gang member, Lee Pepsworth, was wounded in the chest, Mise said. After he recovered, Pepsworth was convicted of slaying Bolin and sentenced to life in prison.

At the time of his death, Bolin was a special deputy for Lamb and Hale counties. He had been a Texas peace officer for 22 years and a member of the Plainview Police Department for five years, serving as assistant police chief until a change in city administration earlier in 1932.

  

Gilbert Garcia was a 42-year-old father of six when he attempted to stop 15-year-old Gilbert Escalante Jr. in 1990.

Garcia had befriended the youth and recognized him driving several friends around in his fathers late-model Cadillac. Police that day were seeking Escalante for the theft of a firearm. He was wanted as a runaway and for failing to appear at a court hearing.

Rather than stop, Escalante took off, leading Garcia on an eight-mile chase that ended with the Cadillac crashing into a ditch near the Quarterway community.

When Garcia went to check on the five youngsters in the wrecked car, Escalante used the stolen .22-caliber pistol to shoot the officer three times  in the neck, hip and back.

While his companions stayed at the scene and surrendered to other officers, Escalante took Garcias .38-caliber service revolver and fled on foot. He was arrested in a dry lake bed about a mile away about two hours later.

After being certified to stand trial as an adult, Escalante pled guilty to attempted capital murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

In 1997, Garcia was presented the first City of Plainview Medal of Honor. At the time, Mayor Lloyd Woods said that the honor was for people who risk their lives for others or whose actions display a commitment to others above and beyond the call of duty.

In 2001, the partially paralyzed Garcia moved to San Marcos.3 1 of 3 Courtesy Photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy Photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Thunderbird Elementary will be under a new campus leadership team for the 2018-2019 school year following the recent appointment of Karla Dunn as campus principal and Katrina Garrett as assistant principal.

Dunn, who served as Thunderbirds assistant principal for the last three years, replaces former principal Amy Meek who moved to Canyon in March to accept a position with Canyon ISD. Dunn has 18 years of experience in education. She earned a bachelors degree in elementary education from Texas Tech University and a masters degree in education administration from Lamar University. Prior to joining Plainview ISD five years ago as a math and science teacher at Estacado Middle School, she taught for Levelland ISD, Bowie ISD and Whitharral ISD.Although the H-E-B grocery chain has its roots in Kerrville (birthed by the mother of Howard Edward Butt, in fact), the supermarket's history runs deep in the Alamo City.

Howard Butt took over his mother's business, Mrs. C. C. Butt's Staple and Fancy Grocery, in 1919. After a few name changes, Butt landed on H-E-B in 1942, the same year he opened the first store in San Antonio.The N-Judah Muni line in San Francisco was delayed early Monday in both directions due to a man barricaded inside a residence, officials said.

A suspect hid inside a home at about 3:30 a.m. near Carl and Shrader streets and refused to come out, said Officer Robert Rueca, a spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department.Oil traded near the highest price in almost 3 1/2 years as new sanctions on Venezuela and shrinking U.S. crude inventories spurred concerns about tightening worldwide supplies.

Futures rose as much as 0.8 percent in New York on Tuesday. President Donald Trump's latest sanctions against the regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro that threaten to further choke the Latin American nation's already-hobbled petroleum industry. Meanwhile, a U.S. government tally on Wednesday is expected to show crude inventories fell for a third straight week, which would be the longest streak of declines since January.

"The fundamental picture continues to show signs of tightening," said Gene McGillian, market research manager at Tradition Energy. "The uncertainty on geopolitical issues is also contributing to the rally."

Oil is trading at the highest levels since late 2014 as Middle East conflicts, U.S. sanctions on Iran and plunging Venezuelan output intensify supply concerns. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied nations have been curbing output since the start of 2017 to prop up prices.

Still, some traders were cautious about how durable the rally will be, given weakness in the spread between futures contracts pegged to different months, a gauge of the health of the physical market.

"In the immediate term, we can't conclude the rally is completely done yet," McGillian said. "But, there are signs emerging that we're getting into territory where a bit of a correction could materialize."

West Texas Intermediate for June delivery, which expires Tuesday, fell 17 cents to $72.07 a barrel at 1:36 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier touching $72.83. The July contract fell 11 cents to $72.24.

Brent futures for July settlement advanced 16 cents to $79.38 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The global benchmark crude traded at a $7.13 premium to WTI for the same month.

Yuan-denominated futures increased 0.6 percent to 485.1 yuan a barrel on the Shanghai International Energy Exchange. The contract fell 0.8 percent on Monday.

U.S. Pressure

Trump issued an order on Monday prohibiting purchases of debt owed to Venezuela including Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the Latin American nation's state-owned oil company. The move followed a first wave of restrictions last year that banned the purchase of new debt from the government.

Venezuelan crude output may drop below 1 million barrels a day in the coming months from an April level of 1.5 million, Barclays Plc said in a May 18 report, raising its 2018 forecast for Brent to $70 from $63.

The International Energy Agency has started discussions with major oil-producing countries about their ability "to make up the loss from Venezuela or elsewhere," Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

In the U.S., crude inventories probably fell by 1.9 million barrels last week, according to the Bloomberg survey of analysts. Stockpiles at the key storage hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by an estimated 250,000 barrels.

Other oil-market news:

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded that Iran halt all uranium enrichment, stop its ballistic-missile program and give nuclear inspectors access to the entire country

Venezuela to lose further 500,000 barrels a day of output by year end, according to oil trader Gunvor's chief economist

Thunderstorms and low pressure off Belize has 40 percent chance of becoming a tropical or sub-tropical system as it moves into the eastern Gulf of Mexico

Russia was said to renew talks on lowering oil taxes on downstream

--With assistance from Tsuyoshi Inajima and Grant Smith.Simply Light

Simply Beverages, a brand of the Coca-Cola Co. based in Sugar Land, has launched the Simply Light brand with four flavors.

The Simply Light line of beverages includes Simply Light Orange Pulp Free, Simply Light Orange with Calcium & Vitamin D, Simply Light Lemonade and Simply Light Lemonade with Raspberry. They have 50 calories or fewer per 8-ounce serving.For thousands of fishing enthusiasts up and down Texas' coast, getting a fresh one hooked is equally important as getting recognition for it.

The South Texas Fishing Association Facebook page has provided fishermen and fisherwomen an outlet for the latter over the past three years.I come from a family of six generation Salvation Army born and raised and I am thankful for the upbringing I had and I think along with my ...NEWTOWN - Two homegrown gun violence prevention groups that formed after the Sandy Hook massacre called for firearms safety legislation after Fridays mass shooting at a Texas high school.

Sandy Hook Promise and Newtown Action Alliance each released statements of urgency and sympathy following Fridays killing of 10 students and staff at Santa Fe High School near Houston.

We also sent our kids to school on a beautiful Friday morning, only to learn they would never return, read a statement by Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit co-founded by parents who lost children in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre of 26 first-graders and educators.

There are no words we can say to make that better. We can only promise to honor those killed and injured in our lives every day moving forward, the statement read. Please, join us taking action today so no family has to face this devastating loss again.

The Newtown Action Alliance noted that there are 56 gun safety bills that the House of Representatives should vote on that could prevent future school shootings.

The gun lobby influence on Congress is killing our children in our schools, on our streets and everywhere in America, said Alliance chairwoman Po Murray in a prepared statement. We demand that House Speaker Paul Ryan reject all money from the gun lobby and immediately call a vote on the 56 gun control measures ... There is absolutely no justification for not passing these common sense policies.

Fridays shooting happened when a 17-year-old junior at the high school walked into a first period class with a shotgun and a handgun under a trench coat and opened fire, police said. He wounded 10 others before being taken into custody.

It was the deadliest school shooting since the Valentines Day massacre of 17 students and staff at a Florida high school.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342Friendswood Police Department

A Katy man was arrested last week after he allegedly threatened "mass murder" at the H-E-B store from which he was previously fired, the Friendswood Police Department reports.

Jordon Eric Marsh, 25, remains in the Galveston County Jail on a charge of making a terrorist threat.JERUSALEM - An Israeli judge ordered the release of 19 Arab Israelis from police custody on Monday, capping a fraught weekend in the northern city of Haifa, the scene of multiple protests against Israeli military actions in the Gaza Strip.

Video footage of police officers arresting demonstrators, shoving them into waiting squad cars and allegations by one activist that his leg was broken in police custody has sparked a debate over police brutality and the right of Israel's Arab minority to protest publicly against Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

The heated debate has escalated to the level of name calling between politicians, with the right-wing Israeli defense minister, Avigdor Liberman, calling an Arab Israeli member of the Knesset a "terrorist" that should be locked up.

Israeli Arab citizens make up about a fifth of Israel's population.

About 500 people turned out for the demonstration on Friday evening, eyewitnesses said. The majority were Arab with Israeli citizenship, though there was also a sprinkling of Jewish supporters. Haifa is Israel's third largest city and about 10 percent of its roughly 300,000 residents are Arabs.

"It was peaceful, people were waving flags, Palestinian flags and chanting for freedom," said Diana Buttu, a lawyer and Haifa resident who was at the protest. "The police turned it into a showdown, they were pushing people back and then chasing after the younger protesters, needlessly,"

Among those arrested was Jafar Farah, a prominent Arab Israeli activist, head of Mossawa, an advocacy center for Arab citizens. He said that he was beaten in a police holding room Friday night and that a forceful kick to his leg by one officer shattered his knee.

"I intend to sue the policeman who kicked me in the knee and the police," Farah said in a radio interview following his release Monday. "I do not trust the police investigation, there is proof of me standing on two legs before I was put in the patrol car. There is not much to investigate here."

Ayman Odeh, head of the Joint List Arab faction in Israel's parliament, slammed the police for the "brutal dispersal" of Friday's protest and called on the attorney general to investigate the incident.

"In the past few days, we have witnessed an organized police attack against Arab demonstrators throughout the country in an attempt to suppress and silence the protest against the events in Gaza," said Odeh, who also led demonstrations last Monday when the U.S. Embassy opened in Jerusalem.

On Saturday, Odeh attempted to visit Farah, who was taken to the hospital for treatment on his knee. He was blocked, however, by Israeli police and an angry exchange was caught on film, including Odeh cursing at the police officer.

"When I arrived at the hospital to check the condition of Jafar Farah, the policemen ignored my parliamentary immunity blocked my way aggressively," said Odeh.

"Every citizen who believes in freedom of expression should call out against the conduct of the police in recent days and join us in protest," he said.

Writing in Israeli daily Maariv on Monday, another Arab Israeli parliamentarian, Ahmad Tibi, called the police response a "huge scandal." He said that protests by other minorities in Israel, such as Ethiopian-Israelis and the ultra-Orthodox, rarely draw such a reaction from the police.

On Sunday, the police's internal investigations department said it would look into allegations of police violence in dispersing the demonstration in Haifa.

Speaking on Israel's Army Radio station on Monday, Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan said people should not rush to judge the police and that an independent investigation would provide the answers to what exactly happened to Farah while in police custody.

He also announced that he planned to request the attorney general to open a criminal investigation into Odeh's actions.

Israel's hawkish Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman also weighed in on the fray, writing on Twitter that Odeh and his associates "terrorists."

"Every day that Ayman Odeh and his associates are free to walk around cursing at police officers is a failure of law enforcement authorities," he wrote. "The place for these terrorists is not in the Knesset, it's in prison. It's time they pay a price for their actions."

Tensions have been high over the past few weeks as Israel's 2 million-strong Arab population has watched Israel's lethal crackdown on Palestinians protesting in the Gaza Strip.

Last Monday was especially fraught as Israeli military snipers killed some 62 protesters and wounded thousands. Palestinians have dubbed the protests "the Great March of Return," saying they want the freedom to return to homes and lands they were forced to leave upon Israel's creation in 1948, they also say they want alleviation of the growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has said a significant number of the protesters were members of Hamas, the militant Islamist group that runs the strip and which is designated a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union. They say that Hamas has used the protests as a cover to try to break through the fence into Israel and attack communities along the border.

There has been international criticism of Israel, describing the use of force as excessive and disproportionate against largely unarmed demonstrators.A woman was found guilty Monday of spraying fake blood on the steps of the Alexandria, Virginia, home of National Rifle Association lobbyist Chris Cox in January.

Patricia Hill, a sociology professor from Nebraska, was ordered to pay a $500 fine, not contact the Cox family, and stay 500 feet away from their home.

If she does not comply, she could owe another $500.

She is also under a temporary restraining order that bars her from Cox's wife's business and from NRA offices in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

And on Monday after court, Hill was served with a warrant for another vandalism charge, stemming from a similar incident in October.

"The motive here is that Mr. Cox works for the NRA; she doesn't like that. That's fine. She can exercise her First Amendment right," Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Maana Parcham said in Alexandria General District Court Monday.

But the prosecutor said Hill crossed the line into a criminal act by committing vandalism, adding the incident distressed Cox's family.

"The Cox family is grateful to the Commonwealth Attorney's office and the Alexandria Police Department for their role in holding Ms. Hill accountable," Elizabeth Locke, an attorney for the Cox family, said in a statement.

Cox testified that his two young children were home at the time. He said he was called home by the police.

"Some sort of blood-like substance was sprayed all over our front steps," he said.

Judge Donald Haddock Jr. found Hill guilty of misdemeanor destruction of property in a bench trial.

The incident occurred on the evening of Jan. 11. A private security guard working for Cox testified he saw Hill walk by first in a dark coat and hat, then later in exercise gear.

Surveillance video caught Hill spraying the stairs, according to the testimony of the guard, Wyatt Delaney. He said he recognized the woman from a photograph taken during a similar incident in October.

Delaney described the spray as a "red, gel-like substance."

Officer Ashley Tremble testified that after an arrest was made, Hill asked how the property was damaged and whether the owners had tried to clean the steps.

"She knew what she had done," Parcham said.

Even if the substance was easily removed, the prosecutor argued, "it defaced the property."

Hill plans to appeal, attorney Jon Bourdon said. It was dark and raining that night, and he maintained Delaney could not have reliably identified Hill as the culprit.

"I think the evidence shows that there is certainly reasonable doubt as to who committed this offense," Bourdon said.

In court, he suggested the vandal could have been one of two women who protested outside the Cox home in April.

Cox testified he had taken his family out of the house during that protest and would not recognize either woman.

The protests and vandalism are part of a rise in more aggressive anti-gun activism across the country, as advocates become frustrated with a lack of legislative progress.

The lobbyist is also asking for a protective order against Hill.

"There's a credible and reasonable fear for safety of the family," Locke said in court.

Haddock, the judge, imposed the temporary protective order until the civil case can be heard in August.

Melody Vaccaro, vice president of Nebraskans Against Gun Violence, came to support Hill.

She said Cox was a hypocrite for demanding prosecution and a protective order over fake blood while lobbying for open carrying of deadly weapons across the country.

"We think this is the NRA using the criminal justice system to rain terror on regular people," Vaccaro said.WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday launched a sweeping broadside against the Iranian government, vowing to use all U.S. economic and military might to destroy its economy and "crush" its operatives and proxies around the world.

In his first major foreign policy address as secretary of state, Pompeo listed a dozen demands, an agenda encompassing Iran's foreign ventures as well as its nuclear and missile programs. If Iran agrees to those demands, he said, the United States would lift all sanctions, reestablish diplomatic relations with Tehran and provide it access to advanced technology.

Pompeo said he will work with the Defense Department and regional allies - a group that includes Israel, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states - to "deter Iranian aggression" in the region, including at sea and in cyberspace.

"We will ensure freedom of navigation on the waters in the region," he said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, a conservative think tank whose ideas have been embraced by the Trump administration. "We will work to prevent and counteract any Iranian malign cyberactivity. We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world and crush them. Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East."

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani promptly rejected Pompeo's assertion.

"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" he was quoted saying by the Iranian news agency ILNA. "The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent,"

Declaring the era of U.S. domination "over," Rouhani added, "We will continue our path with the support of our nation."

The suggestion of a further U.S. military role in the region was striking, since President Trump has said he seeks to draw down the U.S. troop presence in Syria, where Iran provides training and arms to militiamen.

Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters the military is looking at potential actions to push back against Iran's regional military influence as part of a larger U.S. government response. He said the United States would take "all necessary steps" to contain Iran, but declined to provide specifics.

State Department officials say the aim of the speech is to outline a path forward after Trump announced he would withdraw the United States from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions, a decision that immediately puts the United States in breach of its commitments.

The Treasury Department already has reimposed sanctions on the head of Iran's Central Bank and other companies and groups.

"The Iranian regime should know that this is just the beginning," Pompeo warned.

"After our sanctions come into full force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive," he added. "Iran will be forced to make a choice: either fight to keep its economy off life support at home or keep squandering precious wealth on fights abroad. It will not have the resources to do both."

Many European officials, including those who negotiated the Iran agreement alongside the United States, have chafed at the Trump administration's positions on Iran, the Paris climate accord, moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and trade tariffs. "With friends like that, who needs enemies," European Council President Donald Tusk groused recently.

The new secretary of state, now in his fourth week in office, made clear that the United States is prepared to square off with Europe, using secondary sanctions against companies that do business in Iran.

"We understand our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends," Pompeo said. "But you should know that we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account."

In negotiating the Iran deal, the Obama administration also started with a long list of demands. But they made concessions along the way on issues they considered less important than the goal of setting future limits on Iran's nuclear deal and getting international inspectors to monitor it.

"The list of requirements of the Iranians asks for everything but conversion to Christianity and reads more like a demand for unconditional surrender than an actual attempt at negotiation," said Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Pompeo said the administration is seeking a full treaty with Iran, not just "fixes" to the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Rather, he demanded Iran's complete capitulation on 12 points. Judging by its reaction to similar proposals made previously, Tehran is likely to reject most, if not all.

Among the items on Pompeo's wish list is a full acknowledgment of Iran's previous attempts to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied ever wanting to build nuclear arms. U.S. negotiators tried unsuccessfully to get Iran to admit it tried to build one in the early 2000s.

Other demands the Iranians are unlikely to go along with include stopping uranium enrichment and ballistic missile tests, and allowing international inspectors access to all sites, including military locations where critics suspect clandestine research. Currently, inspectors must outline the basis for their suspicions.

The one demand that Iran could theoretically assent to is the release of all U.S. citizens imprisoned on a variety of charges, as well as citizens of countries allied with the United States such as France and Britain. At least six Americans are imprisoned or unaccounted for, and they are widely considered to be bargaining chips.

Trita Parsi, head of the National Iranian American Council, called most of Pompeo's demands "non-starters."

"This will only lead to one thing: confrontation," he said. "And one cannot help but think that is the strategy and the goal."

Pompeo stopped short of calling directly for regime change, but he urged Iranians to think of Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as part of a corrupt, venal and dangerous regime. Previous U.S. officials and the Europeans consider them relative pragmatists who are less dogmatic than the radical theocrats.

"The West often treats President Rouhani and Foreign Minister Zarif as 'apart' from the regime's unwise, terrorist, and malign behaviors," Pompeo said, speaking directly to the Iranian people. "Yet, Rouhani and Zarif are your elected leaders. Are they not the most responsible for your economic struggles? Are these two not responsible for wasting Iranian lives through the Middle East? It is worth the Iranian people considering."

- - -

The Washington Post's John Hudson and Missy Ryan contributed to this report.Editors note: Police said the third possible victim in the shooting was not actually shot, leaving the total number of victims at two.

Police are searching for the gunmen who shot two people early Monday at an East Side bar.

The suspects opened fire shortly after 2 a.m. at Santa's Place bar in the 400 block of Spriggsdale Boulevard, police said. Witnesses told police the suspects fired from a white car at the intersection of Spriggsdale and Edna.

Paramedics found a 27-year-old woman inside the bar with a gunshot wound to her face. The bullet appears to have grazed her face under her left eye and traveled through her nose, leaving a fragment in her right eye. She was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center in serious condition.

RELATED: Woman pulled from drainage ditch near Woodlawn Lake after being swept away by floodwaters

Another victim, a 40-year-old man, went to Metropolitan Methodist Hospital with a gunshot wound in his arm, and a third possible victim arrived at Northeast Baptist hospital but had not been shot, police said.

According to a preliminary police report, a crime scene was found in front of the DJ booth, but employees had attempted to clean up the scene before police arrived. It is unclear if any employees will face charges in the case.

Police said the suspects responsible for the shooting fled in a white car and have not been found. Detectives are now investigating the shooting.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdownsSan Antonio police are looking for a suspect after a 17-year-old was fatally shot in front of his home Friday night on the West Side.

Responding police officers found Jason McGraw suffering from a gunshot wound to his neck around 11:30 p.m. in the 300 block of Moonrise.Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Makei meets the Head of the UN Office in Belarus

21-05-2018

On May 21, 2018 the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Vladimir Makei, met with the new Head of the UN Office in Belarus, Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki.

V.Makei congratulated the interlocutor on her appointment and arrival in Minsk, and wished her successful and effective work in Belarus.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the promotion of cooperation between Belarus and the UN agencies, as well as highlighted priority areas for collaboration.

   

print versionA San Antonio man has been arrested in connection to an armed robbery and shooting at a poker house in North Austin.

Jermain Spirlark and his alleged accomplice Charles Clines-Martinez are accused of robbing the Texas Card House, in the 13300 block of Research Boulevard, on April 30.

Authorities said Clines-Martinez was actually an employee at Texas Card House and helped Spirlark in the robbery. Outside of the poker house, Spirlark was approached by two victims. He then opened fire on them, striking one, police said.

RELATED: SAPD investigating fatal shooting of 17-year-old

The victim was treated at a local hospital and later released.

Spirlark, a resident of San Antonio, fled the scene, but after weeks of investigation involving more than 20 law enforcement organizations, he was arrested. Clines-Martinez was arrested in Austin.

It is unclear what charges each suspect will face.

Anyone with information on the duo's alleged robbery is asked to call the Austin Police Department Robbery tip line at 512-974-5092.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdownsOfficials with the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office on Monday identified the 57-year-old woman who hung herself in a San Antonio jail cell.

Charlene Kurkowski was pronounced dead around 5:40 p.m. on Sunday, two days after she was found unresponsive in her jail cell at the Central Magistrate's Office in the 400 block of South Frio Street.AUSTIN - Texans from towns targeted by shootings  including Santa Fe and Sutherland Springs  are among those invited to Gov. Greg Abbotts roundtable discussions on improving security in schools and communities.

I look forward to hearing from all sides of the debate, and from expert perspectives on these issues. Working together, we can ensure a safe learning environment for students and safer communities for all Texans, Abbott said in a statement Monday.

Abbotts staff said he will host roundtables on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday that will include lawmakers, students, teachers and advocates of more gun restrictions as well those who oppose new regulations.

The sessions will include administrators of schools where teachers are allowed to be armed and where they are not, and from experts on school safety, mental health, bullying and law enforcement.

Among the invitees are victims, family members and educators from the Texas towns of Santa Fe, Sutherland Springs, Alpine and Italy.

The roundtables are being scheduled just days after10 people were killed and another 10 wounded at Santa Fe High School on Friday.

The death toll was 26 in the mass shooting at the First Baptist Church in the Nov. 5 church massacre at Sutherland Springs, where another 20 people were injured.

A teenager was injured in the Italy High School shooting in January.

In 2016, a student died after an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound after shooting and injuring another student at Alpine High School.

The first roundtable at the Texas Capitol will look for input from leaders in education and law enforcement on improving school security and community strategies.

pfikac@express-news.net @pfikacBexar County voters will head to the polls Tuesday to decide 11 runoffs up and down the ballot, including three congressional contests and the Democratic race for governor.

The countys longest continuously tenured elected official, Precinct 2 Commissioner Paul Elizondo, also faces a grassroots challenge from veterans service officer Queta Rodriguez for the Democratic nomination.

Polling sites will open at 7 a.m. Tuesday and close at 7 p.m.

Election Day comes after five days of early voting that yielded 22,750 in-person votes in Bexar County  12,060 from Democrats and 10,690 from Republicans. Voters mailed in an additional 14,135 ballots, according to the Texas secretary of state.

The total of nearly 37,000 votes is more than the 33,772 early ballots cast in the 2014 primary runoffs, though about 150,000 more people are registered for this years election.

Bexar County elections administrator Jacque Callanen was disappointed that so many of the more than 1 million registered voters in Bexar County are sitting out the runoffs.

You have to say youre a little disheartened, because the staff, the elected officials, have done a phenomenal job, she said. We would have liked to see a higher turnout.

About 3.2 percent of the 11.8 million registered voters in Texas 30 largest counties cast an early ballot, a slight decrease from the 3.6 percent early turnout in 2014 among the 15 largest counties.

The dropoff likely comes from the lack of statewide runoffs and less spending on races than usual, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

In contrast to years where weve had statewide Republican runoffs, the Democratic runoffs dont produce as many voters, just because there are more Republicans than Democrats in Texas, and theyre more likely to vote, Rottinghaus said.

At the top of the ballot are runoffs in parts of Bexar County for Congressional Districts 21 and 23, the latter held by Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes.

Former Air Force intelligence officer Gina Ortiz Jones faces Rick Trevino, a former high school history teacher, for the chance to face Hurd as the Democratic nominee. Jones came within about 8.5 percentage points of winning the nomination outright in the March 6 primary.

In District 21, incumbent Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, is vacating his seat after 16 terms.

Two crowded primaries to replace Smith have been whittled down to four names: Joseph Kopser and Mary Wilson are seeking the Democratic nomination, while Chip Roy and Matt McCall have battled through a contentious runoff highlighted by an aggressive last-minute ad campaign by the Club for Growth, a political action committee that is backing Roy.

The results of the two San Antonio-area Democratic congressional primaries will tell us a lot about where the Democratic Party is going, Rottinghaus said.

Will the party shift to a more progressive vision to try to court younger voters and more racially diverse voters ... or are they going to try to reactivate a group of Democrats who will reluctantly vote for candidates who typically lose to better financed Republicans, but who are moderate enough to be appealing? he said.

Meanwhile, a nine-person race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination has come down to former Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez and Houston businessman Andrew White. Valdez drew 43 percent to Whites 27 percent in the first round, though has struggled at times to field policy questions.

In the race for the Precinct 2 seat on Commissioners Court, Elizondo has faced questions about his attendance record and military service, while the candidates have butted heads over the extent of a county commissioners job and the way county funds should be spent.

In the first round, Elizondo finished with 45 percent to Rodriguezs 30 percent. Some of the precincts with the highest turnout went to third-place finisher Mario Bravo, who has endorsed Rodriguez.

On the GOP ballot, Cynthia Brehm and Jo Ann Ponce Gonzalez are facing off for the Bexar County Republican Party chair being vacated by interim chair Mark Dorazio. Brehm, a tea party-aligned conservative, won 45 percent to Gonzalezs 23 percent on March 6.

In the District 121 race to succeed House Speaker Joe Straus, a six-person GOP primary has been narrowed to Steve Allison and Matt Beebe. Straus has endorsed Allison, who will look to repeat his strong finish in the highly populated Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills and Olmos Park precincts, though Beebe finished atop the field.

Also on the ballot are runoffs for the 187th and 226th district courts, a county probate court and a county court-at-law.

Jasper Scherer is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | jscherer@express-news.net | @jaspschererStephen Marks, a veteran campaign operative who 10 years ago published a book on his exploits as a political hitman for the Republican Party, is showing a lighter side of himself in a new commercial as he runs for the partys nomination to replace Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Congress.

Marks, the first to go on air in the Republican primary for Floridas 27th congressional district, explains in a 60-second ad that he decided to run after his parents recently died. His father died as a result of malicious medical malpractice, he says, and his mother soon after following a struggle with Alzheimers disease.

Im running for Congress because they both just died from our governments policies that makes the lives of senior citizens worthless, Marks says in the ad, which begins with a shot of him playing dominoes with seniors at Maximo Gomez Park off Calle Ocho.

Marks says his family was unable to sue after his father died due to laws that devalue the lives of senior citizens because theyre past their prime earnings years. And he blames the countrys pathetic funding of Alzheimers research for his mothers death.

The ad, which began airing a week ago in English and Spanish and will continue running this week, is the first on TV in the primary. Its a crowded field, also featuring Elizabeth Adadi, Bruno Barreiro, Angie Chirino, Michael Ohevzion, Maria Peiro, Bettina Rodriguez Aguilera, Maria Elvira Salazar and Gina Sosa.

Marks, of Coral Gables, loaned his campaign $200,000 last month. His campaign says his aim is to have Floridas 27th Congressional district lead the fight across America for all seniors.

I promise when elected, Marks says in the ad, to pass legislation never before proposed that makes the lives of senior citizens just as valuable as any other life.San Antonio Board of Realtors /

Shane Johnson, an executive with a long resume in real estate organizations, will become the new CEO of the San Antonio Board of Realtors on June 18.

Johnson formerly served as chief operating officer of Cape Fear Realtors in North Carolina since 2013, and before that he was CEO of the Quad City Area Association of Realtors in Iowa, according to a news release from SABOR.The digital technology that made bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies possible is starting to be used in real estateand it could soon disrupt how homes are bought, sold, and insured.

Blockchain technology, which is basically a shared, online ledger, has the potential to lessen inspection and title insurance fees, cut down on sales commissions, and reduce mortgage fraud as it's rolled out over the next few years, say industry professionals.

The advantage of the technology: Anyone within the network has access to blockchain, but no one can go back in and edit it. Every bit of recorded information in it is permanent. Let that roll around in your mind for a moment. See the potential?

Could blockchain technology revolutionize the real estate industry? Rick_Jo/iStock

Blockchain is still in its early-adoption years, and large companies from just about every industry are exploring how to use it. It hasn't caught fireyet. But among other things, it's expected to eliminate some of the more mundane, and costly, mountains of paperwork involved in real estate transactions. This could save buyers and sellers some much-needed dough.

"There's a lot of applications for blockchain technology within residential real estate," says Jack Tatar, co-author of the book "Cryptoassets: The Innovative Investor's Guide to Bitcoin and Beyond. "The [increased] accessibility of information would have a big impact on quicker closings and reduced costs."

And it's already being tested in the field. One of its earliest real estate pioneers is the city of South Burlington, VT, which teamed up with Silicon Valley blockchain firm Propy. The city of 19,000 people 200 miles northwest of Boston is experimenting posting a small number of deeds on blockchain with the goal to eventually turbocharge the sales process, transfer deeds electronically, and easily register them online with municipalities.

The reason all of this matters is because buying or selling a house involves a long series of time-consuming chores, most of them involving paper forms, attorney visits ... and waiting. Once a paper deed is transferred from the seller to the buyer, it goes to the local town clerk, where it is recorded in a ledger and stored in a drawer.

But what if it could all be done electronically instead?

Blockchain can be used to authenticate who owns a property and the history of that deed, says Michael Pieciak, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. You could see at some future point not needing lawyers and those that protect against fraud like title insurance.

How could blockchain save consumers cash?

Blockchain is part of the technology that was developed by a computer coder or coders known by the alias Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 to create the cryptocurrency bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies, as most people know by now, are essentially digital money, used by everyone from hackers to more legit, mainstream businesses such as travel website Expedia.com. Because cryptocurrencies exist only digitally, Nakamoto came up with a distributed ledger that sits on hundreds of computers, keeping track of every transaction connected to the currency.

Since the ledger resides not on one computer but many, advocates believe blockchain is impossible to hack.

The decentralized system helps make the blockchain safer from hacking. Shai-Halud/iStock

That magical combo of transparency and security is key to lessening the amount of due diligence required surrounding real estate transactions. Paperwork such as deeds could be readily available to whoever wants to see them in one central, digitized location. That means real estate agents, attorneys, and insurers would no longer have to physically trudge to the town clerk's office to check the title to a home that their clients want to put an offer in on.

Blockchain could be like a Carfax for a housemaking a buying decision all that much easier," says Jason Shepherd, a Realtor based in Denver. "You would know in real time everything that has been done on that property: liens, encumbrances, building permits, and property improvements."

Every time a transaction is updated, it would appear on the blockchain that everyone accesses. There would be no need to reconcile it, or verify it, like what's needed in databases or when merging information from different streams or ledgers. And no one could go back in and erase information, the way they could easily do in, say, a shared Google document.

The goal is to protect the buyer and mortgage lender from any liens (debts against the property), unpaid loans, or even illegal work that has been done on the property.

For example, in many localities, a mortgage is not recorded on a deed for two weeks. And homeowners are never informed when a lien has been placed on a property until they attempt to sell the home.

The typical homeowner paid about $1,374 in title insurance in 2018, but that amount varies based on the owner's credit score, loan amount, and the location of the abode, according to ValuePenguin. Folks purchase the insurance to protect themselves from unknown liens such as outstanding mortgages on the property, or someone else swooping in and claiming they own their property.

Removing these blind spots would make title insurance cheaper because they dont have to price in the costs associated with bad record keeping, Shepherd says.

Homeowners: Get ready for smart contracts

Another key advantage of blockchain technology is so-called smart contracts, which have the potential to eliminate escrow companies that hold money until a sale goes through.These are essentially software versions of a written contract. When a seller turns over a deed to a buyer, that step could be recorded on blockchain, triggering an automatic payment from the buyer to the seller.

Some real estate pros worry that this could be problematic when factoring in all the contingencies that happen during real estate salessuch as adding roof repairs or changing the price of the property during the negotiations, says Miami real estate attorney Harold Lewis.

But blockchain advocates say that as long as both parties agree to changes, they can be incorporated into smart contracts as easily as they can in old-school written contracts.

Saving real estate agents time chasing and filing documents could reduce their fees significantly, says Piper Moretti, a real estate agent in the Manhattan Beach suburb of Los Angeles.

"At the moment, selling a house is still a very antiquated process with a mound of paperwork," she says. "But if everything like title and a buyers financials are available on the blockchain, the due diligence process will be dramatically shortened.

The blockchain could make stacks of contracts a thing of the past. jat306/iStock

How blockchain could help protect buyers from fraud

It isn't just about eliminating paperwork. Blockchain technology may also help eliminate mortgage fraud, which has been described by the Federal Bureau of Investigations as one of the fastest-growing white-collar crimes.

Today, if fraudsters want to steal a home, they can copy an existing deed and use a software graphics program to insert their own names as the owners. They can then file the new deed with the county and potentially even sell the property. And this crime occurs more often than most would like to concede.

If a property sale was registered on blockchain, a criminal would not be able to change the history of the online deed because copies of that history exist on hundreds of different computer systems.

"Mortgage fraud and title fraud are currently a huge problem," says Ragnar Lifthrasir, who set up a blockchain real estate firm called velox.re and is the president of the International Blockchain Real Estate Association. "One of the advantages of blockchain is that it has an uncounterfeitable deed."

How likely is blockchain to upend the world of residential real estate?

Most experts agree that widespread adoption of blockchain for real estate transactions is still some years off.

South Burlington's experiment with the technology (and the private company providing it) is still far from the lofty goals described by blockchain supporters.

The pilot, announced in January, is in its infancy. A lone commercial building was transferred from private ownership to a corporate entity using a combination of conventional and blockchain methods.

A lawyer transferred the paper deed from the seller to the buyer. It was submitted to the municipality and recorded. Then a photograph was taken of the deed, and a hashtag and a QR code were included before it was added to a blockchain owned by Propy Inc. (Propy is a blockchain-based, real estate startup in Silicon Valley's Palo Alto, CA, designed to facilitate international sales using cryptocurrencies.) The extra steps to record the deed traditionally and on blockchain are because the new technology is still just a pilot program.

Make no mistake: Implementing a blockchain ledger throughout the state, let alone the nation, is a daunting task.

In Vermont, there is no central property register, with each of the states 250 towns having its own separate paper recording system. Most deed recording is still done by a paper document passing from hand to hand, requiring lawyers, title insurance companies, and notary publics.

But that's exactly why more and more industry professionals are so eager to see blockchain become as integral to the real estate process as open houses and mortgage shopping.

"With blockchain, there are lots of cost savings by improving the real estate transaction process and transparency and having less and less hands in the pot," says Denver's Shepherd.

"All the frictional costs of real estate go down," he adds.

The post Want to Buy or Sell a Home for Less? Look to Blockchain Technology appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.No matter how many colleges and institutions welcome citizens of Nigeria in their home country, many students still decide to study abroad. We have selected a list of the most popular universities in the Benin Republic offering medicine and surgery you can choose in 2018-2019.

Study in the Benin Republic

The Republic of Benin is an African country near Nigeria. It borders on Nigeria and other states, and this is one of the main reasons why so many Nigerian citizens choose to study medicine and surgery (as well as other disciplines) in this republic.

A lot of students choose to live and study in Cotonou or near this biggest city in the country. There are many Benin Republic universities in and close to Cotonou, so you can easily set up in the economic capital of the country, get a higher education here and return to Nigeria afterwards (or choose a different place for living and working). However, your choices are limited when it comes to medicine and surgery.

Top 3 universities in Benin Republic

1. International University of Management and Administration

While the name of this alma mater says nothing about medicine, you can find some medical courses here. Located in Cotonou, this place offers 3-year programs on nursing and nutrition harmacy. One course costs several thousands of U.S. dollars.

You can enter this university to study for a Bachelor of Sciences degree in one of these medicine-related fields:

harmacy

Nutrition

Nursing

Human Biology

The universitys official website http://www.iuma-university.com has all the information about courses, diplomas, and tuition fees in the English language, which is very comfortable since most of Benin Republic universities offer only French versions of their sites.

Unfortunately, this is not your alma mater if you have plans to study for a Masters or Doctorate degree, which is not offered for medicine at the International University of Management and Administration (shortly called IUMA).

READ ALSO: Best university in Nigeria for medicine 2018

2. Universite dAbomey-Calavi

This is one of the few accredited universities in the Benin Republic where you can study medicine. You are looking into the program offered by Faculte des Sciences de la Sante.

The University of Abomey-Calavi exists since 1970. It has a long history, so you can trust its courses, programs, professors, and the diploma you will receive after the graduation. The status of this higher educational institution is public, and it is built in a small town of Abomey-Calavi. However, some of its branches are located in Cotonou and other Benin cities.

Shortly this place is called UAC. It has many thousands of students who trust the experience and level of knowledge they can gain here. You can apply for a bachelor, master, and doctorate degrees in Medicine and Health.

The list of studies offered within the Faculty of Medicine and Health includes:

General medicine

harmacy

Stomatology

Social workers

Physiotherapy

Dietetics and nutrition

You can visit the official UAC website https://www.uac.bj and learn more about the studies here and examinations you will have to take in order to be admitted. This site is in the French language.

3. Universite de Parakou

This is another place in the Benin Republic you can go to study medicine. It has Faculte de Medecine or simply Faculty of Medicine.

The university was founded 17 years ago, back in 2001. It is a public alma mater for many students, with the faculties located in Parakou city. The place has official accreditation, so should not worry about your future if you select the University of Parakou.

Bachelor Degree is the only diploma you can receive here because this Benin university offers only courses in Medicine and Health at the bachelor level. You wont be able to study here for your Masters or Doctoral degree.

The official website is http://www.univ-parakou.bj/, and you are welcome to visit it, although there is not much information here about the courses offered.

P.S. It is necessary to mention that many institutions in the Benin Republic dont have the official accreditation to run their medical courses and programs. Students who are seeking to study for their bachelor degree outside Nigeria should be attentive when choosing their university here because it is their personal risk to enter the college or higher educational institution and get a diploma without proper accreditation.

Also, remember that most people in the Benin Republic speak the French language. You can also hear the Yoruba language here as well as other languages, so be prepared for this cultural tradition before you select your alma mater and choose to study medicine and surgery here, in West Africa.

READ ALSO: List of approved universities in Benin republic

Source: Legit.ng- Vigilant members of a community in Yobe state have successfully foiled an attack by a Boko Haram terrorist

- A female Boko Haram bomber had infiltrated the mosque, but was detected when struggling to detonate a vest strapped to her body

The Nigerian Army says some courageous civilians on Sunday, May 20, foiled a bomb attack by a suspected female Boko Haram member on a mosque in Gashua, Gujba local government area of Yobe.

Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, the deputy director public relations, Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole, disclosed this in a statement released in Maiduguri.

Read the statement below:

READ ALSO: Policemen struggle to disarm NSCDC official in embarrassing video

"What would have otherwise been a devastating bomb attack on a mosque in Gashua village in Gujba Local Government Area of Yobe state has been successfully foiled today by vigilant members of the community.

A female Boko Haram bomber had infiltrated the mosque, while members were about to commence a prayer session but was detected when struggling to detonate a vest strapped to her body. She was quickly restrained by the locals, arrested and handed over to troops at Azare.

Members of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Component of Operation Lafiya Dole at the location have safely defused the vest, while the bomber is currently receiving medical attention due to injuries sustained during her arrest."

In a previous report by Legit.ng, special forces of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), in conjunction with some Nigerian army troops, successfully foiled a bombing attack by Boko Haram terrorists at the University of Maiduguri, Borno state on the night of Sunday, April 8.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

According to a statement by NAF's spokesman, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, the terrorists tried to gain access into the university but were quickly detected by the NAF special forces.

Nigerian Air Force operations against Boko Haram on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit Newspaper- Olusegun Obasanjo said he was enriched during his incaceration

- The former president said incarceration shaped his thoughts and aided his performance as Nigeria's president

According to him, his time in prison was more of a blessing in disguise

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday, May 19, recounted his ordeal during his incarceration by the late military head of state, General Sani Abacha.

Obasanjo said he was enriched by his prison experience, Punch reports.

Speaking at the maiden edition of ASIS International, ASIS 206 Lagos Annual Leadership Retreat, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, the former president said his time in prison was more of a blessing in disguise.

READ ALSO: They want to plant illegal items in my house - Ondo Senator cries out

He said his incarceration shaped his thought and aided his performance as Nigeria's president. The former president added that he made good use of his time in prison.

Obasanjo said: My prison experience enriched me. In fact, it contributed to my performance while I was in office. A leader must learn from every situation.

Although nobody wants to go to prison, I was in prison when I started learning and keeping myself occupied. I wrote four books while I was in prison rather than become a moron and doing nothing.

READ ALSO: See the cities in Nigeria whose residents should pick up their umbrellas for the rainy day of Monday, May 21 - NiMet

But I was sure that the man who kept me in prison would not bring me out and I was as well sure that I would get out of prison. Honestly, the prison experience has enriched my life."

Obasanjo also said he supports the move to review the Act setting up the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, to check security threats in the country. He said there was nothing wrong in seeking improvement for the NSCDC, especially in accommodating the private security professionals in the country.

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Legit.ng earlier reported that a prominent Yoruba leader, Ayo Adebanjo, had accused Obasanjo of corruption.

Adebanjo said the former president has no moral right to accuse anyone Nigerian of being corrupt. He added that Obasanjo only had N20,000 as at 1999 when he was released from prison but enriched himself during his tenure as the president of Nigeria.

Consider rest - Obasanjo to Buhari - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit- PDP chiefs have visited Senator Jonah Jang remanded in prison over alleged misappropriation of N6.3 billion

- Those who visited Jang include former vice president Atiku Abubakar and Jerry Gana

Prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday, May 20, visited the embattled former governor of Plateau state and senator representing Plateau North senatorial district, Jonah Jang, in Jos prison.

Recall that Legit.ng earlier reported that Jang was remanded in prison after his arraignment at Kogi state high court on May 16 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

READ ALSO: Senator raises alarm over alleged attempt to plant ammunition in his house

The senator is facing a twelve count charge over alleged corruption and misappropriation of N6.3 billion during the last leg of his tenure as governor of Plateau state.

Punch reports that those who visited Jang in prison include former vice president Atiku Abubakar, a former minister of information and orientation Prof. Jerry Gana and Chief Chris Giwa.

Others include a serving senator from the south-south and his colleagues in the National Assembly and other prominent PDP members.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

In similar news, Legit.ng earlier reported that the Governor of Plateau state Simon Lalong has denied that he was witch-hunting his predecessor Jonah Jang, who is currently in jail for alleged corruption.

Lalong said rather than witch-hunting, his setting the EFCC on Jang was to enable him get back the state's funds which were allegedly looted by the ex-governor-turned-senator.

Lets talk about salaries of Nigerian senators on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng- Senators Ali Ndume and Ovie Omo-Agege have been allegedly indicted by a panel investigating the recent invasion of the Senate

- The panel is expected to submit its report this week

- Report has it that the panel may likely recommend the suspension of Ndume and Omo-Agege and some yet-to-be named co-conspirators

A panel probing the recent invasion of the Nigerian Senate by thugs has reportedly indicted Senator Ali Ndume, representing Borno south, and Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, representing Delta central in the attack on the National Assembly.

An Ad hoc committee, chaired by deputy Senate leader, Bala Ibn NaAllah, has forwarded its report to another Senate panel on ethics, privileges and public petitions, headed by Senator Samuel Anyanwu.

A similar probe panel was set up with the House of Representatives. NaAllah also heads the same committee.

READ ALSO: Saraki vs IGP: No appointment yet for Senate delegation to visit Buhari

Daily Sun reports that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), Sulu-Gambari Abdul, of the National Assembly, during a session with the committee probing the invasion, accused some senators of conspiring with thugs who invaded the Red Chamber and carted away the mace in April.

Abdul said the Senate invasion was an act of internal conspiracy among some security agencies and some lawmakers and reportedly named Ali Ndume as one of the senators. He told the probe panel that Ndume reportedly stopped one of the Sergeant-At-Arms who wanted to take the mace to a safe place when the thugs struck.

There are strong indications that the Ethics Panel will submit its reports this week and will likely recommend the suspension of Ndume and Omo-Agege and some yet-to-be named co-conspirators in the upper legislative chamber.

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Legit.ng earlier reported that a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has rejected a stay-of-execution order requested by the Senate against a previous ruling of the court regarding the suspension of a Delta state senator, Ovie Omo-Agege.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba had nullified the suspension of Omo-Agege after faulting the decision of Senate to slam a lengthy suspension on the senator.

TOP-4 Over-the-top Reactions of Nigerian Lawmakers to Certain Circumstances - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng- Governor Nyesom Wike has alleged plans by the All Progressives Congress-led administration to kill him

- Wike said there are also plans by the APC to collaborate with the inspector general of police to plant millions of dollars and AK-47 rifles at his Abuja residence

- According to the governor, there are available intelligence report to back up his allegation

The governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, has alleged that there are plans to assassinate him in a crowd and claim accidental discharge.

The governor while speaking at the third year anniversary thanksgiving service of his administration at the Living Faith Church in Port Harcourt on Sunday, May 20, said there are intelligence reports available to support his claims.

Wike said no level of intimidation by the All Progressives Congress or the federal government would deter him for carrying out his responsibility as the governor of Rivers state, Punch reports.

READ ALSO: Sambo, Wike, Fayose, others set to storm Bayelsa for Jonathan's book presentation

He also said he remains committed to the defence of democracy and Rivers state.

Wike said: Intelligence report available to us as of this morning indicated that they are plotting to assassinate me in a crowd and claim it was an accidental discharge.

The governor also alleged that the APC-led administration plans to collaborate with the inspector general of police to plant millions of dollars and AK-47 rifles at his Abuja residence when the police went to an Abuja court to get a search warrant.

READ ALSO: Jubilation as over 12K candidates are set to benefit from JAMB's new date for rescheduled examination

The level of conspiracy against Rivers state is unfortunate. Instead of focusing on governance, they focus on how to assassinate me or frame me up. I am not afraid of my residence being searched by the police, but I know their evil intention, he said.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the senator representing Ondo north senatorial district has alleged plots by some politicians to assassinate him.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Ajayi Boroffice said the politicians plan to plant arms, ammunition and other illegal items in his house in Akure.

He also alleged that some members of the opposition party are plotting to distract him from the carrying out his responsibility as a senator of the eight Nigerian Senate.

Robbers return firearms to Nigerian Police | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit- An aide to Governor Obaseki of Edo state has disclosed that in the last four months, at least 100 secondary school students have been trafficked to Libya

- The aide warned the students to be wary of the antics of the traffickers who are bent on deceiving them into embarking on the dangerous journey

- He urged them to blatantly refuse anyone who tells them to travel through Libya; advising them to travel the right way, if they must

No fewer than 100 students of Idogbo Secondary School, Benin, have been trafficked to Libya in the last four months.

This was disclosed in Benin on Sunday, May 20, during an advocacy programme by the senior special assistant to Governor Godwin Obaseki on human trafficking and illegal migration, Solomon Okoduwa, NAN reports.

Legit.ng gathers that Okoduwa said this fact was disclosed to him by some teachers in the school, concerned about how the institution has become the harvesting ground for traffickers.

Okoduwa said government will not allow the evil to continue to thrive in the state. Government will step up its campaign against trafficking, he said, and the state Task Force Against Human Trafficking will be on the trail of the human traffickers. He warned the students to be wary of the antics of the traffickers who are bent on deceiving them into embarking on the dangerous journey.

READ ALSO: Prominent PDP members visit Senator Jang in prison

Henceforth, report anyone who tells you to travel to Europe; they are simply taking you through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, and you may eventually end up in Libya.

The number of students that have been trafficked from your school in this short period is overwhelming. The truth is that many of them might have been imprisoned there or facing one challenge or the other.

Taking the route of the Sahara Desert and other illegal routes is hellish. Many died of hunger, many were drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in search of greener pastures. Worst still, the families of those people that died on their journey were made to pay for the travel expenses; when unknown to them, their loved ones have gone to the great beyond.

If anyone tells you to travel abroad through Libya, tell him or her capital NO. If you must travel for any reason, travel the right way."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that some Libya returnees were at the Edo state government house in Benin City on April 24, to protest the management of their stipend accounts by financial institutions where their accounts are domiciled, and related issues.

The protest was peaceful and the issues raised were largely administrative such as N1,100 deduction for Automated Teller Machine card, maintenance fee and sundry issues.

After the protest, an open letter addressed to the Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki, was received by officials of the state government for onward transmission to the governor.

Mass deportation: Tales of woes from Libya - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit- Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa state has endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office

- According to Al-Makura, the election is won already, and Buharis supporters are only waiting for the main celebration to come when the election will be conducted

- Philip Shekwo, the state APC chairman, also said the re-election bid of Buhari is non-negotiable and was based on the presidents laudable achievements

Governor Tanko Al-Makura and other major politicians in Nasarawa state on Sunday, May 20, endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term. They said this was to consolidate on the gains of his laudable achievements.

Al-Makura made this known on Sunday in Keffi during a rally organised by a youth group known as Nasarawa State APC Youth Awareness Group, to endorse Abdullahi Adamu for a third term at the National Assembly, NAN reports.

Legit.ng gathers that the governor said that the endorsement of Buhari by the people, was because of his laudable achievements which have direct bearing on the lives of Nigerians.

He said Adamu was also endorsed for a third term because of his track record of achievements, urging the people of the western senatorial zone of the state to support the duos re-election bid in order to enjoy more dividends of democracy.

According to him, Buhari had done a lot and is still doing his best in the areas of fighting corruption, improving security, economic revival and national stability.

READ ALSO: 100 secondary school students in Edo, trafficked to Libya in 4 months - Official

We are here to rejoice with you the entire people of Nasarawa-west Senatorial District because Senator Adamu is your son, a committed party man, a faithful member of APC and a die-hard (supporter) of President Buhari.

As far as we are concerned, the election is won already, but we are only waiting for the main celebration to come when the election will be conducted. We appreciate him (Senator Adamu) for all the good work he had done and is still doing for the zone, the state and the country at large," he said.

Al-Makura restated his commitment to continue to key into good policies and programmes that have direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state. He also acknowledged Buharis effort at ridding the country of corruption and called for prayers for the president to succeed.

Adamu, who accepted the call by the group to re-contest the Senate seat in 2019, thanked the youth for organising the rally in his honour. "Youths and women, among others, have been calling on me to re-contest to continue and to maintain my position as senator come 2019 and today, I have answered their calls, he said.

On his part, the minister of state for environment, Jibrin Usman, also drummed support for the re-election bids of Buhari and Sen Adamu to enable them move the country forward.

Philip Shekwo, the state APC chairman, also said that Messrs Buhari and Adamu deserved re-election, considering their laudable achievements which have direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state.

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He said that the re-election bid of Buhari is non-negotiable and was based on the presidents laudable achievements.

The leader of the group, Ibrahim Abdullahi, had earlier said that they have decided to organise the rally in honour of Adamu, considering his track record of achievements and contribution to the progress of the party.

The event brought together, top politicians from across the state, including five APC governorship aspirants.

In a related development, Legit.ng previously reported that the leaders of the south-east All Progressives Congress commended governors in the party for unanimously adopting President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term.

They made the commendation in a communique issued after the meeting of the leaders of APC in that region in Enugu.

The communique, passed by the leaders, was signed by the national vice chairman, southeast of APC, Emma Eneukwu, and zonal publicity secretary of APC, Hycienth Ngwu. The leaders urged the governors and the entire people of the zone to support the re-election bid of the president.

President Buhari on 2019 presidential election: will you vote for him? | Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit- The Niger state police command has arrested a four-man firearm manufacturing gang

- A member of the gang, Badamasi Umar, said people from other parts of the state and country order his guns

- He also claimed that he was not aware that there was a ban on illegal firearms

A four-man gang which allegedly manufactures firearms (dane guns) at Zungeru in Wushishi local government area, Niger, has been arrested by the states police command.

According to The Nation, the suspects include 40-year-old Isyaku Madaki, 40-year-old Kabiru Tukura, 45-year-old Adamu Aliyu and 54-year-old Badamasi Umar.

Legit.ng gathers that the oldest person in the group, Badamasi Umar, said he had been in the business for four years, and his guns were ordered by people from other parts of the state and the country.

READ ALSO: 2019: Nasarawa governor endorses Buhari for second term

He stated: Im known in my area as someone who manufactures local guns. People from other parts of the state and country order my guns. I have been in the trade for four years.

I produce local guns and sell to anyone that needs them. I am not interested in what the person uses the gun for. It may be for hunting or for security purposes. I sell the guns to make money to maintain my four wives and pay my childrens school fees.

Umar further claimed that he was not aware that there was a ban on illegal firearms; saying he would have stopped, if he had such information. He said his guns were also purchased by security companies and vigilante groups.

The spokesman for the Niger state police command, Muhammad Abubakar, said 12 dane guns were recovered from the suspects, who he said had confessed to the crime.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

In a related development, Legit.ng previously reported that Nigerian soldiers, in the quest to maintain internal peace in the country, arrested a suspected gun runner with local guns on his way to meet up with one Damina Saminaka.

In a statement signed by Brigadier-General Sani Kukasheka Usman, it was revealed that the suspect, Mohammed Bello, was apprehended along at Akwanga highway in Nasarawa state.

The suspect confessed that he purchased the weapons from one Dan Asabe Audu, a local blacksmith.

Robbers return firearms to Nigerian Police - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit- Fifteen people have reportedly been killed by some cult members in Awka south local government area of Anambra state

- The cult members unleashed mayhem on the residents during the Imo Awka annual cultural celebration in the state

- Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is said to have taken over Amikwo and other villages searching for members of the cult groups

Two rival cult groups, Aiyee and Bagger on Sunday, May 20, reportedly killed 15 people during the Imo Awka annual cultural celebration in Awka south local government area of Anambra state.

Leadership reports that the cult groups were said to have engaged in a fight in front of Isiagu Junction, Amikwo, Awka which led to the multiple deaths.

READ ALSO: Prominent PDP members visit Senator Jang in prison

It was learnt that the lifeless bodies of the victims littered the state capital, eliciting tears from family members of victims.

Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is said to have taking over Amikwo and other villages searching for members of the cult groups.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, efforts to speak with SP Mohammed Haruna, the Police Public Relations Officer Anambra state command, was unsuccessful.

A police source in the office of the commissioner of police unofficially said the CP was worried over the development and had dispatched a crack team to sniff out the cause of the rampant killings and all those involved.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that thirteen residents of Jos killed in a clash by two rival cult groups, the Red Axe and Black Axe. According to information by residents of the affected area of the capital city of Plateau state in north-central Nigeria.

Terna Tyopev, the spokesperson of the Nigeria Police Force (NPC), Plateau state command, confirmed the clash but did not give the casualty figure.

Tyopev also said one corpse was found under an overhead bridge, along the Goodluck Jonathan Way, at Gadabiu, Jos north local government area.

Robbers return firearms to Nigerian Police | Legit.ng TV - Latest Crime News in Nigeria on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit- Senator Biodun Olujimi says PDP members are decamping to other parties in Ekiti state

- She describes Fayoses selection of Kolapo Olusola as a display of a one-man dictatorship, oppression, hopelessness and totalitarianism in the party

- Former president Olusegun Obasanjo adopts the African Democratic Congress (ADC)

Senator Biodun Olujimi has faulted the selection of Kolapo Olusola as the Ekiti governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by the state governor, Ayodele Fayose.

The senator representing Ekiti south senatorial district said Fayoses decision has prompted members of the PDP to start decamping to opposition parties in Ekiti state ahead of the July 14 governorship poll, The New Telegraph reports.

READ ALSO: I was never framed up for fighting Jonathan - Melaye laments travails

She described Fayoses selection of Kolapo Olusola as a display of a one-man dictatorship, oppression, hopelessness and totalitarianism in Ekiti PDP.

Olujimi said: We abhor and shall resist all forms of threat, oppression, victimization and humiliation. We shall remain resolute, fearless and courageous in our demand for internal democracy, justice, rule of law, fairness and equity within the PDP in achieving the ideals, aims and objectives which Senator Olujimi stands for.

We separated the real, fearless PDP owners from the coerced, appointed delegates who voted against their conscience for fear of being removed as councilors, council chairmen and vice chairmen, party executives and honorable members by their sole appointer and sole administrator as against the PDP constitution (as amended in 2017).

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

It is saddening to note that, with the exception of the three-man ad hoc delegates who were elect ed at their various wards, all others were appointed at the pavilion inside the Government House on the mantra that wherever I go, you follow. We all forgot that Ekiti voters were the heroes of 16-0 in the 2014 election and not one man."

Meanwhile, stakeholders of African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the southeast on Sunday, May 20 voiced their joy at the adoption of the party by former head of state, Olusegun Obasanjo and members of his Coalition of National Movement (CNM).

They promised party members that the ADC would enthrone a new generation of Nigerian leaders in 2019, Vanguard reports.

The stakeholders, in a communique issued after their meeting, vowed that the trust placed on ADC by Obasanjo and his group would yield good dividends, assuring that their commitment and passion were in alignment with the common good of Nigerians.

Governor Fayose warns Nigerian youths ahead of 2019, tells them what to do on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng- Bayelsa state House of Assembly has passed a vote of confidence Governor Seriake Dickson by the state

- The lawmakers passed the vote of confidence on the governor over the ongoing reform which has affected some ghost and redundant workers in the state

- According to the lawmakers, the people of the state will be the ultimate beneficiaries of the ongoing reform

A vote of confidence has been passed on Governor Seriake Dickson by the Bayelsa state House of Assembly over the ongoing reform exercise by the adminstration.

The reform has affected several ghost and redundant workers in ministries, departments, agencies, local government councils and especially in the Bayelsa-owned Niger Delta University (NDU)

However, the governor has been cautioned by labour unions, opposition parties and civil society organisations over the ongoing reforms and appealed to the state government to apply a human face in its implementations, The Sun reports.

Legit.ng notes that speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt Hon Friday Konbowei, led lawmakers to defend the governor over the reform, saying the ultimate beneficiaries will be the people of Bayelsa.

READ ALSO: Heavy armed personnel provide security as Ohanaeze holds summit in Akwa

He said that the choice of the deputy governor, Gboribiogha John Jonah, as chairman of the reforms implementation, demonstrates the seriousness the government attached to it because Jonah is a man of due process.

He said: Therefore, we have no doubts in our minds that while the governor has entrusted to him the task of investigation, we believe the outcome of investigation shall meet best standards, using the civil service reforms.

Those who intend to disrespect, disregard due process and the state government are only demonstrating the answers they owe their instigators.

We, therefore, stand shoulder to shoulder with the governor in the ongoing reform exercise and pass vote of confidence in the governor to ensure that the exercise is well concluded."

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa state replied Governor Ayodele Fayose and others making a ruckus over the $1 billion approved to fight insecurity. He said the decision by the president was taken in good faith.

Dickson who belongs to the same Peoples Democratic Party with Governor Ayodele Fayose, who had challenged the move in court, explained why the Governors Forum decided to grant the Federal Government permission to utilize one billion dollars from the Excess Crude Account for security.

What does Nigeria need right now? (Nigerian Street Interview) | on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ngGovernor Rochas Okorocha has insisted that he is in charge of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo state and the southeast.

The governor made this comment following rumour that he may leave the party after his camp lost out in the partys ward congress in the state.

Premium Times reports that the governor was quoted as saying that he can win election in the state on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance.

Okorochas camp reportedly lost out in the ward, local government and state congresses organised by APC although, he has denied that any congresses were held.

READ ALSO: Dino Melaye breaks silence on failed attempt to recall him

In the state congress, Hilary Ekeh was re-elected as Imo APC party chairman although, Okorocha has described it as illegal.

Sam Onwuemeodowho is the chief press secretary to the governor however insisted that Okorocha remains a member of the APC and would not leave for anyone.

He said: Leave for who? After all these noise by those who call themselves stakeholders, owners of the party led by the governor will determine what happens at the end of the day. Watch out.

Legit.ng had reported that the stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Imo declared that they have made Governor Rochas Okorocha politically irrelevant in their determination to rescue the party from imminent collapse in the state.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Theo Ekechi, who spoke to newsmen after a closed-door meeting with the APC national leadership on Thursday, May 17, in Abuja, said the stakeholders had overwhelming evidences against Okorocha.

Ekechi said he had made it impossible for the governor to get attention from any quarter in the state and in the South-East region.

Nigeria is practicing Oligarchy (Nigerian Street Interview) on Legit.ng TV

Source: LegitCalPERS Chief Investment Officer Ted Eliopoulos has managed to outdo a CalPERS record of sorts in his roadshow for a half-baked private equity scheme. Eliopoulos told a truly impressive number of Big Lies in few minutes in a Bloomberg interview.1

As well discuss in more detail in later posts, not only is it obvious that the plan, if you can even call it that, is rife with serious problems, but it is the polar opposite of the trend among private equity investors toward more direct investing.

Direct investing means bringing the investment decision-making process in house and having the pension fund acquire the private shares, usually through legal vehicles that still allow it to exercise operational control. That contrasts with making private equity investments via complicated and opaque vehicles managed by high fee middlemen where the investor has no say.

Since CalPERS provided only four pages with a mere 180 words on them describing its brand new whizbang ideas, we have to rely on Eliopoulos media tour to get more insight. You can watch his Bloomberg interview here; well discuss key sections below. From the top:

Bloomberg Reporter Erik Schatzker: Tell me about this big push CalPERS is making into private assets CalPERS Chief Investment Officer Ted Eliopoulos: Absolutely. You know, were announcing moving forward into direct investing in private equity through new partnership vehicles that our board has just authorized us to begin.

Stop right there.

Big Lie #1: Calling these new private equity professional enrichment programs direct. Eliopoulos scheme is properly named indirect investing. Its the polar opposite of direct investing.

Eliopoulos has managed to come up with a structure that gives CalPERS even less control and transparency than through investing in private equity funds. One might consider that a perverse accomplishment.

Recall that one new gimmick Eliopoulos has already unveiled, in a Request for Information last December, is investing through a fund of funds, which is normally the purview only of small investors who cant get adequate diversification otherwise. For the biggest, best resourced pension fund in the US to pay another layer of unnecessary fees and costs is a great leap backwards.

The two new gimmicks that Eliopoulos unveiled last week are late stage VC and Warren Buffett wannabe investing. Well discuss in depth in later posts why these are certain to prove to be bad ideas from both an investment and fund manager incentive perspective.

Per the chart below, you can see that we are not exaggerating when we call Eliopoulos sales patter a Big Lie. Repeating the word direct does not make it so. any more than when Trump doubles down on things that are obviously false, like his inauguration getting record turnout.

Eliopoulos apparently wants to relegate CalPERS not only to being a mere limited partner, as in a passive investor, in its two additional investment rackets, but to interpose two layers of boards between them and CalPERS.2 One can only conclude he wants to make damned sure CalPERS has no idea what is going on with the money it commits to these vehicles, and that they are even more of a black box than private equity is already. It appears that avoiding even the weak disclosure called for by California law is of paramount importance.

Big Lie #2: Pretending that CalPERS board is on board. This is false. As we wrote in a post last week, Margaret Brown strenuously objected to Elipoulos and CEO Marcie Frosts sales campaign, which they launched via a press release last Friday. She issued her own press release saying the board had not approved anything. A key section:

CalPERS incorrectly suggested that the retirement system has embraced a plan to move forward with re-structuring its private equity investment strategy and that implementation is pending only the formality of final review and approval by the [CalPERS] Board. In reality, the CalPERS investment staff, acting in conjunction with Larry Sonsini of Wilson Sonsini, has yet to provide the board with written details including budgets, business plans, or a thorough analysis of risks and projected returns.

Fellow board member Richard Costigan provided confirmation via a comment in a May 18 Buyouts Magazine article, Some on CalPERS board raise questions aboutnew investment model, by Sam Sutton (paywalled):

California Public Employees Retirement Systems unveiled a new private equity

platform But first CIO Ted Eliopoulos and staff have to convince the board that it will work. Three members of the systems board of administration said there are major questions

around the platform, including specifics explaining how it would be managed and

structured. The purpose of the CalPERS Direct public rollout was to bring the long-discussed proposal

into the public sphere, multiple sources said. We gave the staff the authority to get it out there [in the public], board member Richard

Costigan told Buyouts. We want it to be scrutinized, we want questions to be raised, and

we want it to be transparent as we get it out there.

Note that Eliopoulos in the Bloomberg interview made even more aggressive claims as to where things stood versus reality, falsely stating that his pet project was a done deal.

Eliopoulos appears to be telling these flagrant lies to undermine the boards intent, which was to sanity test the ideas by publicizing them. Depicting them as a fait accompli is clearly meant to discourage input, save perhaps from private equity industry incumbents who think they can skim even more from CalPERS this way than they can through traditional fund structures.

Lets return to the Bloomberg interview to witness more Big Lies. Proceeding from 0:18

Schatzker: You have long-existing relationships with the likes of Blackstone, KKR, and Apollo. Why take a different approach? Eliopoulos: Were going to continue those long-standing relationships well into the future. What were doing is CalPERS has a 7% rate of return requirement as weve talked about quite a number of times. Private equity is an essential component of our asset allocation in order to meet that target. It is our highest returning asset class over the last 20 years and going into the future, we believe private equity is an essential asset class for us to move forward. As a result, weve developed a comprehensive strategy to invest in private markets at scale. As you know, CalPERS has $355 billion of assets, and as we look forward to constructing a private equity portfolio, we know well need to build a portfolio of scale of $40, $50, $60 billion private equity portfolio, so we need a number of tools in our toolkit in order to access the private markets Schatzker: Why cant you do that exclusively with outside managers? Why do you need to go direct? Eliopoulos: Well, we again, it has to do with scale. We dont think we can invest at the scale we need to solely in the traditional offerings of private equity general partners. Schatzker: [sounding skeptical] Because of the fees? Eliopoulos: Just the, just the size and the amount of capital that is pouring into these relationships. Were not able to build a $50, $60 billion portfolio solely through the traditional general partnerships. Thats number one. Number two, there are real advantages to CalPERS to designing alternative business models in private equity, namely we have a very long term investment horizon. We have liabilities over a very long time horizon that were looking to pay 40, 50, 60, 70 years. Many of the traditional vehicles that we invest in have much shorter horizons. And these alternate vehicles that we are announcing today have evergreen, indefinite investment horizons, and that will allow us to match our liability stream much more directly.

Big Lie #3: That CalPERS is having trouble deploying funds in private equity due to not enough general partners who can spend its money. The idea that it is hard to deploy funds in private equity is silly. As the head of one private equity firm said, Its not hard to find investments. I could close a fund at breakfast and be fully invested by noon. So to advance this as a serious argument without a great deal of additional explanation is highly misleading.

According to Preqin, CalPERS ranked number four in 2017 among all international limited partners in terms of total private equity investments. The CPP Investment Board, at $44.4 billion, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, at $39.6 billion, arent whinging about the difficulties of deploying funds.

One in fact could argue that CalPERS staff being stringent at a time of nosebleed valuations is entirely prudent, even if the effect is to have CalPERS with a lower allocation to private equity than it might otherwise prefer.

But the real reason behind this Big Lie is that Eliopoulos is refusing to admit that he made a big mistake in the management of the private equity program, and his new Rube Goldberg plans are an elaborate way to divert attention from that fact.

One of Eliopoulos major initiatives as chief investment officer was greatly reduce the number of CalPERS private equity managers, the rationale being that it would reduce costs.

While cost reduction in private equity is generally a good thing, the problem with this particular approach was that the savings werent earth-shaking, and the offset was that this program wound up greatly reducing the diversification of CalPERS investments in private equity. It increased the concentration in mega-funds, whose returns overwhelmingly depend on leverage and financial engineering. CalPERS largely gave up the growth-y end of the market, such as portfolio companies sized $350 million and under, when the general partners uses less leverage and devote more energy to operational improvements.

CalPERS own consultant Meketa deemed Eliopoulos manager-thinning program to have been a bad idea. As Pensions and Investments reported last November in Meketa says CalPERS new private equity structure misses opportunities, produces challenges:

The $338.8 billion California Public Employees Retirement System, Sacramento, is in the midst of a multiyear process of reducing its number of private equity managers to 30 by 2020. CalPERS reported the number of managers had been reduced to 99 as of June 30, 2016, the latest date available, from more than 200 in 2015. The review notes that the decision to concentrate commitments to the core 30 was intended to reduce complexity and costs of managing the portfolio, help improve investment terms due to CalPERS being a larger investor and allow CalPERS to take advantage of the broad range of investment opportunities (e.g., co-investments and customized accounts) that may be available from certain managers. In its review, however, Meketa, which succeeded Pension Consulting Alliance as private equity consultant effective March 31, says the program may not realize optimal returns and may not be able to maintain the 8% target to the asset class. The review says by relying on 30 managers who are concentrated primarily in mega- and large buyout strategies, CalPERS may miss out on better returns from other managers. Other strategies such as mid and small buyouts, and growth could provide stronger returns as well as strategy and manager diversification, the review said. The review also said CalPERS has not received meaningful fee reductions that were not available to other limited partners, and the program has shown an inability to deploy the larger commitment amounts it desires to obtain. Also, since co-investment opportunities are not being pursued and discussions regarding separate accounts have not led to commitments, CalPERS is not fully realizing the opportunities available to partner with the core 30 managers, the review said.

Translation: Eliopoulos screwed up.

CalPERSs ability to obtain special treatment is limited by most favored nation clauses which many limited partners obtain in their side letters. One way many general partners have decided to square that circle is to provide for explicit investment-size-based price tiering. The implication is that CalPERS would have been able to obtain fee discounts from the big funds by making big commitments (which they probably would have made anyhow) without cutting back on smaller funds and fund managers.

Even more important, however, is CalPERS failed to exploit the benefits it could have obtained from its strategy, such as freeing up staff time from evaluating lots of funds to instead making more co-investments, to build staff skills, to lower fees, and to in the longer term apply pressure to general partner fee structures by becoming more capable of credibly going it alone. As weve been saying for years, CalPERS best strategy is to emulate the now-proven strategy of the trailblazers who have been learning by doing more and also upgrading their staff. CalPERS with its international reputation, is better positioned than any public pension fund to hire competent professionals. Oxford professor Ludovic Phalippou has said he had well qualified graduates of his private equity classes whod be receptive to working for CalPERS.

And in further confirmation that Wrongway Eliopoulos should consider a course correction, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, a Canadian public pension funds that at under $300 billion in total assets is a bit smaller than CalPERS, already does 2/3 of its private equity investing in house and plans to go further in that direction. From Reuters in March:

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDPQ), one of Canadas biggest public pension funds, has relied on private equity firms to invest in leveraged corporate buyouts. Now it is building its own investing team to depend less on buyout firms as middle men.. CDPQ, which manages almost C$300 billion ($229.2 billion) for retirees in Quebec, now makes two-thirds of private equity investments without the use of external managers CDPQ has much bigger plans for solo investing. The fund is looking to boost its headcount in Singapore  one of its three private equity offices along with London and New York  to more than ten in order to have critical mass for direct investing.

So what is CalPERS excuse?

Big Lie #4: Implying that the new schemes will meet or beat the returns CalPERS is getting from its overall private equity portfolio now. Well put aside the fact that Eliopoulos pointing to twenty year private equity investment returns is misleading. The entire industry has been suffering from a too much money chasing too few deals problem over the last decade. As weve pointed out regularly, in recent years, CalPERS has almost without exception failed to meet its risk-adjusted return benchmarks for private equity for the past ten years and every sub-period it tracks. That means that CalPERS own metrics show it is not getting paid enough for the additional risks of private equity3

Well discuss this issue longer form in a later post, but there is no reason to think any of these devices will produce returns even at the level CalPERS generally earns now.

Eliopoulos stunningly says his approaches arent about lowering fees. Youd think hed be selling that even if that was not his main goal. Other top tier limited partners recognize that the best way to improve private equity returns is to invest at materially lower costs that the prototypical 7% all in annual expense.

One of the approaches Eliopoulos intends to keep is emerging managers, CalPERS worst performing strategy. Another that was already on deck that weve discussed at length is a fund of funds, which is likely to produce worse results by introducing another layer of fees.

As for late-stage venture capital, venture capital investment outperformance is very skewed, with the very top funds dramatically besting the averages. That in turn reflects the fact that one deal that makes a 100x return can make the entire upside performance for one fund. You will never achieve returns remotely approaching that with late stage venture capital. Late stage venture capital in fact is companies that should have IPOed by now, but for reasons good or bad, havent. There is thus no reason to expect them to outdo a tech stock index.

As for the Warren Buffett wannabe idea, CalPERS appears to be taking one of a misguided limited partner aspiration to a new level. So as not to tax reader patience, well defer the in-depth treatment to a future post. However, we have discussed at length how the widespread fixation about finding top quartile private equity managers is a fools errand. Yet CalPERS has somehow persuaded itself that, in competition with family offices, sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds, and of course, Berkshire Hathaways own search for talent, that it can be a top 1% manager.

Big Lie #5: Stating that this scheme will match CalPERSs pension commitments better than current private equity investments. Eliopoulos mouths bafflegab by saying that having a open-invested investment vehicle is tantamount to longer-maturity investments, and says that CalPERS new and improved private equity approach will match our liability stream much more directly.

I imagine the heads of any investment-literate actuaries are exploding. For the rest of you, lets back up a bit.

Equities of any form, whether public or private, are not well suited to long-term investing where you have fixed commitments, like life insurance or pensions. You have reasonably well-known obligations, and the ideal approach is to match them as closely as possible with bonds, which are promises to pay interest and principal on specific dates.

Equities are a terrible promise. You get dividends if and when the company makes enough money and is in the mood to pay them. You get votes which can be diluted. One reason private equity is arguably a better investment strategy is if you buy a controlling interest, you can at least force the distribution of cash when the company has it. But you are subject not only to the vagaries of how the business performs, but that all other obligations of the companylike interest and principal payments on debt.come ahead of your interest.

But with more risk can come more return. Stocks were once considered completely unsuitable for pensions. But now pension funds seek their higher performance potential and manage around their negatives from the perspective of matching expected liabilities.

Eliopoulos is correct when he states that private equity limited partnerships arent a very long term investment. The prototypical fund life is ten years, but the average duration of how long the committed capital is put to work is only five years.

The flip side is that even though the parameters are very wide, the fundraising cycle of private equity somewhat constrains the otherwise complete control general partners have over when the limited partners get their money back. The general partners need to have sold some companies by year four of five to prove they have produced at least some profits before they start raising their next fund. And even if they havent sold everything off by year 10, they need to have liquidated most investments, otherwise they will be assumed to be holding dogs.

It is hard to fathom how CalPERS can make any guesstimates as to when it will get cash out of its late stage VC or Warren Buffett wannabe strategies. VC companies eat money. Paying dividends are seen as the kiss of death, an admission that theyve entered middle age. That leaves selling as the get your money out is to selland if IPOs are uncool, why is this late stage VC anything other than a roach hotel, save the occasional flip to a big corporation?

You have similar issues with even greater uncertainty regarding getting cash to pay beneficiaries with the Warren Buffett wannabe approach. And thats before getting to the fact that the lack of a forced selling discipline is an invitation to valuation fraud.

And with two layers of boards in between CalPERS and these two new schemes, why should the managers of these funds care any more that private equity general partners do now about when CalPERS needs to pay beneficiaries?

You dont have to look at CalPERS thin outline to realize theres a great deal not to like. Maybe CalPERS is being so closed-mouthed about details because providing more would make it evident how hare-brained these schemes are. But the even more frightening thought it that Eliopoulos is so desperate to exit CalPERS with an apparent win and the prospect of more cash and prized for his friends on Wall Street that hes trying way too hard to get this deal done when he has nothing more than a high concept. If that is the case, this is not just reckless but also corrupt. And neither possibility reflects well on CEO Marcie Frost. She is culpable for backing a gross violation of her fiduciary duties.

_____

1 Recall that we lambasted now-departed Chief Operating Investment Officer Wylie Tollette for his 4 Lies in 25 Seconds when he persisted in misrepresenting CalPERS investment costs even after having been warned that his effort to present data on an inconsistent basis to make CalPERS performance had been caught out. CalPERS retreated only after the Wall Street Journal got on the case.

Eliopoulos did not tell as many lies in as little time as Tollette did, but his lies were more varied and far more consequential to CalPERS beneficiaries and California taxpayers, so he gets an even bigger badge of dishonor than Tollette did.

2 Based on what Eliopoulos has said, one can infer these two new indirect investment vehicles will have CalPERS acting as a limited partner, which means it will have no say (save at best limited veto rights) over the fund. The reason is that in its July 2017 offsite, CalPERS touted the real estate fund Centerpoint as a model, and CalPERS is a limited partner in Centerpoint. Moreover, one would have expected Eliopoulos to have said explicitly that CalPERS was bringing more investing in-house and saving on fees if this complicated structure were somehow deemed necessary to add new internal teams.

3 CalPERS response has been to lower the benchmark.

.By John Feffer, the author of the dystopian novel Splinterlands (a Dispatch Books original) and the director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. His latest book is Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europes Broken Dreams.Originally published at TomDispatch

When, in early March, Donald Trump agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the Washington foreign policy elite nearly suffered a collective heart attack.

For one thing, the announcement came as a complete surprise. Trump had telegraphed his other foreign policy bombshells well in advance: leaving the Paris climate accord, ripping up the Iran nuclear deal, reversing detente with Cuba. North Korea was another matter. Trump had repeatedly insulted Kim Jong-un in his trademark style, calling him Little Rocket Man on Twitter and threatening at the U.N. in September 2017 to totally destroy North Korea. Official Washington was braced for war, not peace.

Youd think, then, that an announcement of jaw-jaw, not war-war, would have met with universal acclaim in the nations capital. Instead, observers across the ideological spectrum found fault with Trump and his attempt to denuclearize North Korea through negotiations. They criticized his timing, his impulsiveness, even the fact that the announcement came from South Korean representatives visiting Washington and not the president himself.

Experts on Korea promptly decried the presidents move because he hadnt demanded any North Korean concessions first. Wed expect such a highly symbolic meeting to happen after some concrete deliverables were in hand, not before, tweeted New America Foundation fellow Suzanne DiMaggio. (In fact, the North Koreans had declared a moratorium on further testing of their nukes and missiles, but that apparently didnt count.)

Worse yet, the North Koreans were getting the summit of their dreams for nothing. Kim will accomplish the dream of his father and grandfather by making North Korea a nuclear state, tweeted Abraham Denmark, head of Asia programs at the Wilson Center, and gain tremendous prestige and legitimacy by meeting with an American president as an equal. All without giving up a single warhead or missile.

Although some foreign policy professionals did express cautious optimism that something good could still come from the first summit between an American president and a North Korean leader  now officially scheduled for June 12th in Singapore  the overall verdict was one of barely concealed dismay. The U.S. has been getting played and outmaneuvered the past three months and its happening again, right now, tweeted former Pentagon official Van Jackson.

Skepticism is, of course, the default position of the foreign policy community. Bad things happen all the time in geopolitics; peace is an extraordinarily difficult feat to pull off; and most diplomatic outcomes are, at best, glass-half-full affairs. So, for pundits eager to maintain their gigs on network TV and a steady stream of interview requests from print journalists, it was a far better bet to put their chips on double zero.

And its true, the history of U.S.-North Korean relations has been a graveyard of defunct initiatives: the Agreed Framework of 1994, the Six Party Talks from 2003 to 2007, the Leap Day Agreement of 2012. If North Korea were to cancel the summit because of U.S.-South Korean military exercises or the inflammatory statements of John Bolton, it would become just another headstone. Far more competent negotiators than Donald Trump tried their hands at preventing the North from going nuclear and suffered epic fails. More troubling still, Trump was preparing for negotiations without even an ambassador in South Korea, lacking a special representative for North Korean policy, and with a new secretary of state barely confirmed by the Senate. In other words, at that key moment, understaffed would have been an understatement when it came to the U.S. diplomatic corps and the Koreas.

Finally, both Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump have posted some of the highest negatives since Attila the Hun. The notion that two such wrongs could make a right certainly tests the credulity of the most dispassionate observer. You wouldnt normally want to buy a used car, much less a complex diplomatic deal, from either of them.

And yet, dont fool yourself (even if most of Washington does): the upcoming Trump-Kim summit, if it happens, will represent an extraordinarily important step forward, whether it actually produces an agreement of substance or not. It may not end the longest ongoing conflict in U.S. history, but thats really not the point. The summits importance lies largely in its symbolic encouragement of another process entirely, one already underway between the two Koreas. U.S. observers remain focused on nuclear weapons, but nukes arent actually the key issue here. In fact, for all the talk about Donald Trump getting a Nobel Prize, to put events in perspective you need to remember that the American president is, at best, a third wheel in whats developing.

The leaders of the two Koreas have effectively manipulated him into supporting a genuinely hopeful, potentially history-changing process of reconciliation on their peninsula. Its been a brilliant tactic and if U.S. observers of Korea could put aside their kneejerk skepticism, as well as their America First biases, they would be applauding the best chance in decades for Koreans themselves to defuse the most dangerous situation in Asia.

Playing the President

In keeping with his particular brand of narcissism, Donald Trump is convinced that he alone is responsible for bringing about change on the Korean peninsula. He believes that his threats against the North, his push for tougher sanctions, and his pressure on China to tighten the screws on its erstwhile ally were the key factors in Kim Jong-uns decision at the beginning of 2018 to reach out to his southern neighbor and extend an olive branch to Washington.

In truth, the initial impetus for the changes in Korea had little to do with President Trump.

After his country conducted its sixth nuclear test in September 2017 and its first ICBM test that November, the North Korean leader must have come to believe that his nuclear weapons program was the sufficiently solid deterrent and valuable bargaining chip he had been seeking. By then, too, he had consolidated his political control in Pyongyang by purging the party, the military, and even his own family, leaving him confident that he could negotiate agreements outside the country without worrying about a palace coup back home. Finally, the North Korean economy was actually managing modest growth, despite the fierce American sanctions campaign against it. This was in part because so many countries were willing to look the other way in the face of widespread violations of the global sanctions regime.

Undoubtedly, Kim was aware of warning signs as well: a dangerous economic dependence on China, a lack of capital for investment, and a declining growth rate. When it came to all three, the logical place to turn was South Korea. Since taking office in March 2017, South Korean President Moon Jae-in had pushed hard for a new engagement policy with the North.

For many months, Pyongyang did not respond, so Moon mended fences where he could. He launched a New Northern Policy, focusing on fostering further cooperation with Russia. That November, he reached a compromise with China, promising not to expand a new U.S. missile defense system placed in South Korea earlier in the year in exchange for Beijing lifting restrictions on trade and investment.

In a New Years speech in January 2018, however, Kim Jong-un suddenly and very publicly reversed his position. Moon was already well primed  some might say desperate  to take advantage of such a gesture. As a result, in the full glare of international media attention, the two Koreas suddenly launched a policy of cooperation at the 2018 Winter Olympics being held at the time in the south. Then, at the end of April, Kim and Moon actually met in the first inter-Korean summit to take place on South Korean soil.

This was, admittedly, not the first time the two Koreas had attempted a detente, but previous efforts had been stymied, at least in part, by American opposition. Congressional hostility toward North Korea during the latter years of the Clinton era and George W. Bushs inclusion of North Korea in his ominous axis of evil in 2002 put a distinct damper on the possibility of inter-Korean cooperation.

This time, however, the two leaders adopted a new strategy for roping the United States into the process. Instead of appealing to the Korea policy community in Washington  an unimaginative gaggle of Cassandras  each of them decided to turn the U.S. president.

Initially, both were undoubtedly as bemused by Donald Trumps erratic foreign policy tweets as the rest of the world. Still, Kim and his officials reached out to Republican-linked analysts in Washington and soon grasped that the new president valued personal relationships, discounted the advice of policy professionals, dismissed the importance of human rights, and measured his successes largely by the failures of his predecessors, especially Barack Obama.

Keep in mind as well that, for all the hostility Trump had directed toward Pyongyang during the 2016 presidential campaign, he had also signaled  though at the time it was treated as a throwaway line  that hed be pleased to meet Kim Jong-un and serve him a hamburger on a conference table. As president, in May 2017, months before he started threatening to deliver fire and fury like the world has never seen to the North, he even called Kim a smart cookie and reiterated his willingness to sit down with him. In both instances, he received mockery, not support, from Americas Korea watchers who considered him naive (which was true but beside the point).

Most critically, the North Koreans evidently realized that they could appeal to Trumps desire to destroy the legacy of Barack Obama. The president had fervently promised to unravel anything and everything his predecessor had ever done, from health care to climate change. But on the Korean peninsula, Obama had never achieved a thing. His policy of strategic patience had amounted to little more than eight years of hoping that North Korea would relocate to another planet. In such a situation, the Norths appalling human rights record, its spotty negotiating history, and its very real nuclear weapons program mattered little in Trumps quest to once again one-up Obama.

South Korea faced a similar set of challenges. In the fall of 2017, Trump accused Moon Jae-in of the appeasement of North Korea, though he provided no specifics. Normally, such a charge would have been poison in Washington. Moon could certainly have upped the ante by retaliating in kind. Instead, he cannily held his tongue  and when the tone suddenly shifted in inter-Korean relations in early 2018, the South Korean president pursued a psychologically even smarter tactic: he began heaping compliments on President Trump for making it all happen.

True, Moons over-the-top praise flew in the face of what really lay behind the transformation in relations, but he, too, had been well briefed on the presidents personality and predilections. He, too, grasped that the American narcissist-in-chief would incline toward praise like a plant toward the sun. When asked if he should get a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, Moon immediately insisted that it was Trump, and Trump alone, who deserved such an honor. (Only later did Trumps base begin chanting Nobel! Nobel! Nobel!)

The leaders of both Koreas grasped a reality that eluded Washingtons pundits: that Donald Trump was their best chance of disarming a skeptical American foreign policy elite. In gaining Trumps support, the two Koreas have indeed, however paradoxically, neutralized the United States as an actor in the drama of inter-Korean relations.

Confronting the Impossible

Think of the story of the two Koreas as a parable of two impossibles.

The first impossible is denuclearization. Now that North Korea has a nuclear weapons program, its difficult to imagine that it will surrender such weaponry. After all, given the relative decline of its conventional forces, nukes provide a genuine insurance policy against any outside effort at regime change. Theyre also the main reason the United States pays any attention to the country. Without nuclear weapons, North Korea would become as vulnerable as Iraq was in 2003 and as irrelevant as Laos after 1975. Nuclear weapons are Pyongyangs ticket to international respect. Why on Earth would Kim Jong-un give them up in exchange for a non-aggression guarantee from the United States, a pledge that a subsequent administration might simply tear up (just as Trump recently shredded Obamas nuclear deal with Iran)?

The second impossible is reunification. The Koreas are about as far apart as two countries coexisting in the same century could be, as economically disparate as Germany and Ghana, as politically different as Athens and Sparta. One country is thoroughly connected to the world community; the other maintains an isolation policy comparable to eighteenth-century Japans. Like matter and anti-matter, the two Koreas risk catastrophe if suddenly brought together.

There are three imaginable ways of dealing with these two impossibles. The first, of course, is the regime-change approach of National Security Advisor John Bolton and his fan club. The idea would be to accelerate the demise of Kims regime either indirectly through covert means or even directly through war. In the wake of a North Korean collapse, according to this crackpot scenario, the U.S. Army would sweep into that country, gathering up the loose nukes, while South Korea absorbed the north just as West Germany swallowed East Germany in 1990. No one with an ounce of sense, from academics to Pentagon officials, considers this a viable approach, given the heightened risk of a war with mass casualties, possibly tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands dead and wounded, and the potential use of some of the Norths nukes in South Korea and beyond. And thats not even taking into consideration the Souths unwillingness to contemplate the immense costs of an overnight reunification.

Despite Trumps embrace of a summit with Kim Jong-un, Bolton hasnt given up on this regime-change approach. He initially sought to load the summit agenda with enough non-nuclear issues (missiles, abductions of Japanese and South Koreans) to make it unwieldy and bound to fail. More critically, he insisted that the Libya model would serve as the example the United States would follow with North Korea  an ominous signal, given that the regime of Muammar Gaddafi collapsed under the pressure of a U.S.-NATO intervention several years after it gave up its nuclear program. In explaining why North Korea might cancel the summit with Trump, a government spokesman singled out Bolton and his Libya references. And in truth, the North Korean reaction was not a tantrum, as the Washington Post editorialized, but a reasonable objection to Boltons tactics.

The second approach, the default position for several decades, has been to wait for North Korea to come to its senses and beg for an agreement with the United States. Tighter sanctions and an inflexible negotiating position, the adherents of this theory believe, will eventually inflict so much pain on the North that, sooner or later, even the autocratic leadership of Pyongyang will realize its people cant eat nukes and trade them in for a ticket to the global economy. However attractive this strategy may look, it obviously hasnt worked over many years. Here, Trumps critique of the Obama administration has for once been accurate.

The third approach, slow-motion reunification, finally seems to be emerging as the plan of choice for both Koreas. It treats each of the impossibles as resolvable over time.

Moon Jae-in adopted this approach to reunification from his mentor, former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. Cooperative economic projects are to be designed to gradually bridge the income gap between the two countries. Negotiations over a rail link and fishing rights in adjoining waters are meant to begin the process of harmonizing the political approaches of the two countries. According to a plan Moon delivered to Kim via USB drive at the April summit, South Korea would help its northern neighbor enter the global community by degrees so that, like a diver surfacing from a great depth, it wouldnt suffer the bends.

Denuclearization is equally tricky. But a slow-motion process might also square the circle. If North Korea and the United States agree to a staged reduction of the Norths nuclear weapons in exchange for a gradually increasing set of incentives, Kim Jong-un could potentially have his nukes (for a while) and give them up as well (eventually).

Although the elimination of nuclear weapons may be the ultimate goal  for North Korea as well as all other nuclear states  denuclearization as such could prove a distraction in the medium term. After all, Kim Jong-un could decide to reverse such a commitment or continue to pursue the objective secretly. So the goal should really be to ensure that North Korea doesnt want to use those weapons  or any other weapons  because to do so would jeopardize its newfound position in the global economy. That was the U.S. strategy toward China in the 1970s after it, too, had become a nuclear power and it worked without either denuclearization or regime change.

In other words, the worst position Trump could take in Singapore would be to demand that North Korea completely and immediately abandon its nuclear weaponry before it receives any benefits from a reduction in global economic sanctions. By contrast, a more gradual timeline for denuclearization could well dovetail with slow-motion reunification. What many Korea watchers insist is a fatal flaw in the Trump-Kim summit  a completely different understanding of what denuclearization entails  might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Such strategic ambiguity could allow both sides to make interim compromises and embrace an interim reduction in tensions even though they were incapable of really agreeing on the end game.

Which brings us back to all the skepticism surrounding the upcoming summit. Sure, it might end up more show than substance, but that would be fine. What the two Koreas really need is the equivalent of a papal benediction from Trump. Let the American president claim the credit, all of it, for processes of denuclearization and reunification meant to intersect at some distant horizon. Let him preen about his contributions to world peace (while he ratchets up war tensions against Iran). Let his fans chant and his Republican backers in Congress nominate him for a Nobel Prize. Let him cling to his misconceptions about North Korea, nukes, and the nature of geopolitics.

And then let him get out of the way so that the Koreans can do the real work, the historic work, the breakthrough work, of knitting the peninsula back together.By David S. Wilson, SUNY Distinguished Professor of Biology and Anthropology at Binghamton University and Arne Nss Chair in Global Justice and the Environment at the University of Oslo. His most recent book is Does Altruism Exist?Twitter: @David_S_Wilson. Originally published at Evonomics

A bedrock assumption of economics is that firms become well adapted by competing against each other. If so, then consider a study that I reported upon earlier, which monitored the survival of 136 firms starting from the time they initiated their public offering on the US Stock Market. Five years later, the survivorsby a wide marginwere the firms that did best by their employees.

If only the fittest firms survive, then doing well by employees would have become the prevailing business practice a long time ago. That hasnt happened, so something is wrong with the simple idea that best business practices evolve by between-firm selection. That something is multilevel selection, which is well known to evolutionary biologists and needs to become better known among economists and the business community.

Multilevel selection theory is based on the fact that competition can take place at all levels of a multi-tier hierarchy of unitsnot only among firms, but also among individuals and subunits within firms. The practices that evolve (culturally in addition to genetically) by lower-level selection are often cancerous for the welfare of the higher-level unit. By the same token, if selection did operate exclusively at the level of firms, then the outcome would often be cancerous for the multi-firm economy. When it comes to the cancerous effects of lower-level selection, there is no invisible hand to save the day.

The kind of firm selection imagined by economists, along with the invisible hand assumption that lower-level selection is robustly beneficial for the higher-level common good, would be called naive group selectionism by evolutionary biologists. Its biological counterpart was roundly criticized during the 1960s and has had a half century to mature. Modern multilevel selection theory is not naive and has much to teach the economics profession and business community.

That is the topic of my interview with Lynn Stout, who knows a thing or two about firms. She is Distinguished Professor of Corporate and Business Law at the Cornell Law School and author of Cultivating Conscience: How Good Laws Make Good People and The Shareholder Value Myth: How Putting Shareholders First Harms Investors, Corporations, and the Public.

DSW: Hello, Lynn, and welcome to Evonomics.com, which has already featured your work.

LS: Thank you for inviting me to have a conversation. I think the evolutionary approach offers a lot of insights into the workings of corporations.

DSW: Let me begin by making sure that I havent constructed a straw man. Am I correct that between-firm selection is a bedrock assumption of economics? I have in mind Milton Freemans classic 1953 essay in which he invokes between-firm selection to explain why people behave as if the assumptions of neoclassical economics are true (go here for more).

LS: Its a pretty fair claim. Although a lot of people never make the assumption explicit, the bedrock of many debates in corporate governance today is the often unspoken-belief that corporations have to maximize profits and shareholder value in order to survive, and the companies that sometimes sacrifice these goals in order to take care of their employees, suppliers, customers or communities are at a disadvantage and will be selected out.

DSW: Right! From your own perspective, why are these beliefs a myth as you put it in the title of your most recent book?

LS: Corporations are complex systems that bring together intellectual capital, physical capital, the human capital of employees and executives, and financial capital from equity and debt investors. These different elements work together over time to produce a number of important social benefits, including not only dividends and share price appreciation for stockholders, but also interest payments to bondholders, salaries for employees and executives, useful goods and services for consumers, tax revenues for taxing governments, and technological innovations for future generations. The shareholding system (that is, the system within the corporation by which shareholders contribute financial capital on the rare occasions when companies issue stock) is only one of the important subsystems that corporations need to function. Unfortunately, the modern cult of shareholder value privileges the interests of the shareholding subsystem over the interests of the corporate entity as a whole. The result has been an obsessive focus on raising share price in many public companies that may be threatening their ability to survive. If you look back at the last quarter-century, with the rise shareholder value ideology now hardwired into a number of federal securities regulations and tax code rules you will also see declining numbers of public companies, dramatically reduced corporate life expectancy, and reduced long-term returns for shareholders themselves.

DSW: OK, thats a cancerous social process if ever there was one! Why isnt it easily diagnosed as life threatening for the body politic? The power of narrative to trump reality and elites benefitting at the expense of the common good are two reasons that spring to mind, but I am eager to hear your diagnosis.

LS: Youve identified the combination of factors that has made shareholder value thinking so influential. Talking about corporations as if they are owned by shareholders is a very simple, reductionist story that makes life easy for professors and journalists who are either unaware of, or dont want to go into, the essential but messy legal details of what corporate legal personality really means. And unfortunately, this reductionist narrative has proven extremely useful for short-term investors who use it as a basis for claiming managers should unlock shareholder value. Theyve even been able to push through federal rule changes, like tax code rules that pressure companies into tying executive pay to shareholder returns, that drive companies to focus even more on short term results for shareholders.

DSW: Biology offers the example of cancer, which eats multi-cellular organisms from within. In addition, even when multi-cellular organisms are cancer-free, they often interact with each other in ways that are highly dysfunctional at the level of single-species social groups and multi-species ecosystems. Special conditions are required for higher-level units to function as super-organisms. During our get-together, you told me about some business practices that are highly predatory and no more desirable for an economic ecosystem than the crown of thorns starfish destroying coral reef ecosystems. Could you elaborate on that here?

LS: Theres no better example of corporate predators than activist hedge funds. These are investment funds catering to wealthy individuals and institutions that typically target companies, take a modest stock position, then use the threat of an embarrassing proxy contest to pressure managers into unlocking value by selling assets, taking on leverage, or cutting accounting costs like payroll and R&D to make the company looked more profitable. These strategies have a good chance of raising the share price in the short term, which is all the activists care about as theyre planning to sell as soon as the price rises. Unfortunately, this kind of financial engineering often ends up harming companies in the long run, along with their employees, customers, and remaining investors. The predatory nature of activist funds is well captured in the slang business term for a group of hedge funds working together to target a company: a wolf pack.

If activists targeted only weaker companies, it could be argued that they play a useful role in the corporate ecosystem. Unfortunately, shareholder activism creates a destructive feedback loop. As activists earn profits from damaging companies, they become wealthier, allowing them to target more companies, become still wealthier, and so forth. Of course eventually they will run out of companies to target. Weve already seen the population of U.S. public companies drop by 50%, as new corporations avoid activists by remaining privately held and declining to go public in the first place. But when corporations stay private, the wealth generated by corporate production remains concentrated in the hands of the very wealthy. Meanwhile, the ongoing destruction of U.S. public companies produces negative consequences for employees, customers, long-term investors, and the nation.

DSW: Wow. Companies staying private to avoid getting attacked by hedge fund wolf packs is so similar to biological examples of prey remaining in refuges to avoid getting attacked by predators, even though they would do much better leaving their refuges in the absence of the predators. Im also reminded of the predatory nature of high frequency trading, as recounted by Michael Lewis in his book Flash Boys, which I interpret from a game theoretic perspective here. Here is how Lewis describes the emotionally numb view of one of the books characters, Don Bollerman:

Don wasnt shocked or even all that disturbed by what had happened, or, if he was, he disguised his feelings. The facts of Wall Street life were inherently brutal, in his view. There was nothing he couldnt imagine someone on Wall Street doing. He was fully aware that the high-frequency traders were preying on investors, and that the exchanges and brokers were being paid to help them to do it. He refused to feel morally outraged or self-righteous about any of it. I would ask the question, On the savannah, are the hyenas and the vultures the bad guys?  he said. We have a boom in carcasses on the savannah. So what? Its not their fault. The opportunity is there. To Dons way of thinking, you were never going to change human naturethough you might alter the environment in which it expressed itself.

The more I learn about theories of economics and business, the more I realize how far they lag behind theories of evolution, ecology, and behavior, which are my home disciplines. The idea that ecosystems achieve some sort of benign balance by themselves, which is best left undisturbed by human intervention, no longer has any basis in theory [go here for more]. Special conditions are required for multi-agent systems to function well as systems. Multi-level selection theory begins to spell out the conditions for both natural and human systems (e.g., here and here). From your own legal perspective, what is required for multi-agent corporate ecosystems to function well as systems?

LS. The first and absolutely necessary step is to recognize that the business sector is indeed a system. If we want it to work well, we need to treat it as such. That includes looking out for potential problems like decreasing diversity, lack of resilience, runaway feedback loops, and so forth. Ironically, one of the most dangerous feedback loops is the ability of wealthy individuals and institutions to buy the legislation and regulation they want through campaign contributions and lobbying. Left to its own devices, the business sector is pretty good at finding efficient and stable solutionsas long as the law doesnt get in the way too much.

DSW: What is the role of the government in regulating corporate ecosystems? Is it possible for corporations to regulate themselves and are there any examples?

LS. Business corporations need governments to provide and enforce basic rules against theft, fraud, and obvious market failures like monopolies and pollution. Beyond that, government tinkering often does more harm than good, as our current campaign finance system allows powerful interests to hijack regulation and bend it in their favor. For example, if were worried about pollution and climate change, a simple carbon tax is a great solution compared to attempts to micromanage through investment tax credits, carbon markets, performance standards, and so forth. Similarly, back in the days when corporate law was mostly state law and mostly enabling, meaning business people could choose their own firm structures and objectives, US corporations were more resilient and profitable, and did a better job for their employees and other stakeholders, than today. Tinkering with the business sector raises many of the same problems as tinkering with an ecological system; you never know what the unintended consequences of your actions are going to be.

DSW: Thats the challenge of managing complex systems. Central planning wont work. Lack of regulations wont work. Something in between is required, which David Colander and Roland Kupers call Activist Laissez-faire. Thanks very much for your insights!Can a quantum drum vibrate and stand still at the same time? (Nanowerk News) Researchers have studied how a 'drumstick' made of light could make a microscopic 'drum' vibrate and stand still at the same time.

A team of researchers from the UK and Australia have made a key step towards understanding the boundary between the quantum world and our everyday classical world.

Quantum mechanics is truly weird. Objects can behave like both particles and waves, and can be both here and there at the same time, defying our common sense. Such counterintuitive behaviour is typically confined to the microscopic realm and the question "why don't we see such behaviour in everyday objects?" challenges many scientists today.

Now, a team of researchers have developed a new technique to generate this type of quantum behaviour in the motion of a tiny drum just visible to the naked eye. The details of their research are published today in New Journal of Physics ("Generation of mechanical interference fringes by multi-photon counting").

The first quantum drum test. (Image: Imperial College London)

Project principal investigator, Dr Michael Vanner from the Quantum Measurement Lab at Imperial College London, said: "Such systems offer significant potential for the development of powerful new quantum-enhanced technologies, such as ultra-precise sensors, and new types of transducers.

"Excitingly, this research direction will also enable us to test the fundamental limits of quantum mechanics by observing how quantum superpositions behave at a large scale."

Mechanical vibrations, such as those that create the sound from a drum, are an important part of our everyday experience. Hitting a drum with a drumstick causes it to rapidly move up and down, producing the sound we hear.

In the quantum world, a drum can vibrate and stand still at the same time. However, generating such quantum motion is very challenging. lead author of the project Dr Martin Ringbauer from the University of Queensland node of the Australian Research Council Centre for Engineered Quantum Systems, said: "You need a special kind of drumstick to make such a quantum vibration with our tiny drum."

In recent years, the emerging field of quantum optomechanics has made great progress towards the goal of a quantum drum using laser light as a type of drumstick. However, many challenges remain, so the authors' present study takes an unconventional approach.

Dr Ringbauer continues: "We adapted a trick from optical quantum computing to help us play the quantum drum. We used a measurement with single particles of light--photons--to tailor the properties of the drumstick.

"This provides a promising route to making a mechanical version of Schrodinger's cat, where the drum vibrates and stands still at the same time."

These experiments have made the first observation of mechanical interferences fringes, which is a crucial step forward for the field.

In the experiment, the fringes were at a classical level due to thermal noise, but motivated by this success, the team are now working hard to improve their technique and operate the experiments at temperatures close to absolute zero where quantum mechanics is expected to dominate.(Natural News) Americans who have to purchase their own insurance have no doubt noticed that, since about 2012 or 2013, premiums and out-of-pocket deductibles have soared. Now, health insurers are set to dramatically increase premiums once again in 2019, meaning consumers will have seen their rates triple in a span of six years.

Early in his first year, President Donald J. Trump thought hed have a quick win on a campaign pledge to roll back Obamacare and replace it with free-market solutions aimed at reducing rates while increasing coverage for more Americans and allowing them to better tailor plans to their individual needs.

But he learned a hard Washington lesson: Campaign pledges dont mean the same thing in the nations capital that they mean on the campaign trail. Trump, of course, has been the exception to that rule, having kept several promises already. But he couldnt get enough of the Republican majority  even those who swore to constituents just a few months earlier theyd be all-in for repeal  to go along with him.

After two failed attempts at repealing even portions of Obamacare, Trump moved onto other issues. He did finally get a win on Obamacare when he and the GOP majority passed major tax reform that contained a provision that repealed O-cares individual mandate, which forced everyone to purchase health insurance or pay a fine to the IRS.

That alone, however, hasnt been enough to beat back price increases. And now Trump faces additional pushback on repeal, from many of the same Democrats who gave the country Obamacare in the first place (without a single Republican vote).

Whats more, as the country heads into the 2018 election cycle and beyond, Democrats are planning what can only be called a disinformation campaign regarding Obamacare and the GOP tax cuts.

As reported by the American Spectator:

America has a health insurance problem because politicians would rather lie about it than solve it. Obamacare regulations caused premiums for people buying their own insurance to more than double between 2013 and 2017, then soar even higher in 2018. With huge hikes predicted again in 2019, Obamacare will have caused premiums to triple in six years. Ouch. But instead of telling the truth about why this is happening, politicians are dishing out lies.

Specifically, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has already announced what his party will say about the coming rate hikes.

We Democrats are going to be relentless in making sure the American people exactly understand who is to blame for the rates  President Trump and Republicans.

Dont buy this lie, the American Spectators Betsy McCaughey writes.

Five percent consume half of all healthcare in America

She notes that there are a number of problems remaining with Obamacare that all contribute to the spike in rates. And, she says, those problems will remain so long as Congress refuses to act, regardless of who is president, citing analyses by independent experts. (Related: Obamacare was passed thanks to lack of transparency and stupidity of the American voter, says ACA architect.)

According to McKinsey management consultants, the biggest problem as it pertains to perpetual rate hikes is the laws rule forcing people who are healthy to pay the same premium rates as sick people. Prior to the laws passage, consumers could shop for plans that fit their needs based on current levels of health; sicker people paid more because they cost more while healthy people paid less because they cost the insurer less. Its not that way anymore; now everyone pays for the sick.

Five percent of the population consumes almost 50 percent of healthcare but under Obamacare, writes McCaughey, everyone pays the same premium.

And despite ever-rising premiums, the health insurance product is of much lower quality. Some peoples deductibles, for instance, are so high they never experience a covered health care cost for an entire year.

Trumps making regulatory changes to the extent that a president can to ease the burden on consumers. But the law remains, and as such, so do the systemic problems which contribute to higher monthly premiums.

Meanwhile, she notes, lawmakers like Schumer  who get sweetheart medical coverage for life  would rather play a blame game than fix a law they passed that is harming consumers.

Read more about health freedom at HealthFreedom.news.

J.D. Heyes is editor of The National Sentinel and a senior writer for Natural News and News Target.

Sources include:

Spectator.org

NaturalNews.com(Natural News) Washington-based researchers have developed a biogenic formula that can restore lost minerals in the teeth due to wear and tear, as well as decay. The formula also rebuilds teeth and repairs dental cavities in the same way the body forms enamel tissue with proteins, according to an article on Futurity.

Mehmet Sarikaya, leader of the University of Washington (UW) research team, asserted that peptide-guided re-mineralization would be a cheaper, healthier, and less painful method of treatment than existing dental health care. They also claim that it will be so easy-to-use that it can become a part of a persons daily dental care regimen.

An expert in multiple fields of science, Sarikaya explained that biogenic dental products would become simple enough to be administered as over-the-counter products. They will also be effective enough to match older clinical treatments.

The World Health Organization (WHO) considers dental cavities to be a major problem. A cavity can happen to anyone, and it usually brings other health issues like pain and infection. (Related: The dangers of poor oral health and why conventional products and dentists often make it worse.)

Furthermore, treatment procedures for dental cavities and associated conditions can cost a lot of money. The direct and indirect expenses are a heavy cross to bear for both individuals and healthcare systems.

Seemingly harmless dental cavities are serious health concerns for WHO, CDC

Sarikayas co-author, associate professor of restorative dentistry Sami Dogan, said that bacteria in the mouth break down fermentable carbohydrates like sugar for food. The microbes produce byproducts like acid, which leaches minerals from the dental enamel and results in tooth decay.

The harmless appearance of early tooth decay is misleading. The growing cavity must not be allowed to get through the enamel and reach the inner part of the tooth.

Untreated tooth decay might result in the loss of the affected tooth. The negative consequences of a decayed or lost tooth can spread to the remaining teeth, the tissues, surrounding the wounded area of the gum, and the general health of the patient.

The best way to fight tooth decay is through good oral hygiene. In the last five decades, many Americans have taken up proper brushing and flossing, so cavities have lost much of their old bite. However, there are a number of socioeconomic groups that remain vulnerable to tooth decay to this very day.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that incidences of dental caries (the technical term for tooth decay) in the U.S. are rising once more.

Peptide-based tooth repair technology mimics natural proteins that form teeth

Searching for ways to prevent tooth decay, the UW researchers looked at the proteins and process used by the body to form teeth. They took particular interest in the protein called amelogenin, an important ingredient for hard crown enamel.

Using what they learned about amelogenin and tooth formation, the researchers came up with a number of peptides. The smaller and simpler cousins of proteins, these particular peptides have similar tooth-building capabilities as amelogenin.

Each use of the peptides added a very thin layer of new enamel to the tooth. Over time, they can restore lost enamel and reverse tooth decay.

These peptides are proven to bind onto tooth surfaces and recruit calcium and phosphate ions, said co-author Deniz Yucesoy, who helped develop the peptides.

The peptide-based technology is still undergoing development. A finished version could see use in biomimetic composites, gels, toothpastes, and solutions. Expected to be available at both public health facilities and in homes, these enamel-repairing products should be simple and safe enough to be used by children.

Sink your teeth into more articles on dental health at Dentistry.news.

Sources include:

Futurity.org

Pubs.ACS.orgNASA begins a comprehensive search for new worlds as the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite snaps its first spectacular image of the cosmos.

The satellite, dubbed TESS, just completed a lunar flyby just 5,000 miles from the moon.

TESS Begins Hunting For Planets

This first image is just the TESS scientists testing one of its four onboard cameras. However, the two-second test exposure produced a breathtaking snapshot of over 200,000 stars.

According to a NASA report, Coalsack Nebula's edge can be seen in the upper right corner, while the bright star Beta Centauri is visible at the lower left edge.

Even more impressively, this initial image is only the tip of the iceberg. A first light image, which will provide scientists with a better quality photo, is expected to be released in June. And with four powerful cameras in a two-year search for exoplanets, TESS will cover a wide expanse of over 400 times as much sky as the first photo shows.

TESS will enter science orbit with a final thrust on May 30. Its orbit will allow the satellite to maximize its views of the skies so it can capture as much of the skies as possible.

About TESS

The satellite, which hitched a ride to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last April 18, is the heart of NASA's mission to search for exoplanets. It will monitor nearby stars in hopes of catching transits, the flickering of the star's brightness due to a planet passing by. More than 78 percent of the 3,700 exoplanets confirmed have been found to use transits.

George Ricker, the TESS principal investigator from Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research (MKI), explains in a statement that the high data rate is one of the remarkable features of the satellite.

"Each time the spacecraft passes close to Earth, it will transmit full-frame images taken with the cameras," he says, adding that this used to be impossible to achieve.

Scientists are expecting to find thousands of exoplanets with the cutting-edge technology of TESS.

"We are thrilled TESS is on its way to help us discover worlds we have yet to imagine, worlds that could possibly be habitable, or harbor life," Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, says after the satellite's launch in April. "With missions like the James Webb Space Telescope to help us study the details of these planets, we are ever the closer to discovering whether we are alone in the universe."Dating applications represent a new frontier in dating and casual sex, but a new study shows men and women go online for different reasons.

From reasons for going on Tinder to the time spent on the app, this new study demonstrates how different men and women are in dating.

Men, Women Use Tinder For Different Reasons

The study, which included 641 student participants from NTNU, reveals that men cite casual sex as the reason behind using Tinder and other similar apps.

"Men tend to report a desire for casual sex and short-term relationships as a reason for using dating apps," first author and clinical psychologist Ernst Olav Botnen says in a statement. "But it should be noted that the myth that men on dating apps are only looking for casual sex isn't accurate. Men who use these apps also seek long-term partners, but to a lesser extent than short-term partners."

On the other hand, he adds, women go on dating apps to seek confirmation of their attractiveness or feel better about themselves.

Both sexes also report that they're mostly on Tinder when they're bored or there's nothing else to do.

There's also a marked difference on how the different sexes use these picture-based dating apps. While women take more time to discern each person before making a decision to swipe left or right, men make much quicker choices and are more likely to start the conversation than their female counterparts. Male users are also more willing to meet up in more private settings.

"Women are more discerning. Men are more eager," Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, professor at the NTNU Department of Psychology, says. "This has clear evolutionary reasons. Women have more to lose by engaging with low-quality sexual partners than men do. That's why men swipe right more often than women do."

Casual Sex Not Guaranteed

The researchers found that dating app users don't necessarily have more casual sex than other people who have a "sociosexual orientation," which refers to the preference for short-term sexual relationships that don't lead to long-term commitments. Although the most open ones tend to use picture-based apps like Tinder, the end result is usually the same.

"Apps have become the new public arena for dating," Kennair explains. "But to a large extent, the people using them are the same ones you find dating other ways."

The apps, the researchers explain, are simply a new way of meeting people, another alternative to meeting potential partners in coffee shops, bars, work or other activities.

Furthermore, using online apps say nothing about the attractiveness of a person as a sexual partner, says Trond Viggo Grntvedt of NTNU's Department of Public Health and Nursing.What to Know Alexa may name specific brands when asked for recommendations

Amazon says Alexa's recommendations are an extension of its "personality" and not paid advertisements

39 million American homes use smart-speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home

How about this shopping list: A $400 phone. A $600 stove. A $74,000 car.

Those are some of the products recommended when NBC Bay Area Responds asked Alexa, the voice and brain behind Amazon Echo smart-speakers, for some buying advice.

The answers we got were not at all random -- and not expected.

When it comes to basic facts, Alexa produces straightforward, objective answers. Ask Alexa for the weather in San Francisco, for example, and it will reply with the current temperature and forecast. Ask Alexa to name the president, and it will answer, "The United States President is Donald Trump."

NBC Bay Area found Alexa has a mysteriously subjective side, too.

We asked, "Alexa, what's a good coffee maker?" The answer: "I'm a fan of [the ]Keurig K55 single-serve programmable K-Cup Pod coffee maker."

Alexa also has a favorite smartphone: "Well, in my opinion, it's Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge."

There's a preferred car: "My favorite is Tesla Model S."

It even favored a prized credit card. When we asked "Alexa, what's a good credit card for me?" Alexa replied, "My favorite is definitely Chase Sapphire Reserve."

We asked the same questions on different devices, with different Amazon accounts, in different locations. Alexa always recommended a Tesla, a Keurig, a Samsung, and the $450-per-year Chase card.

Research by the American Bankers Association found Americans already carry 164 million credit cards, and just over $1 trillion in debt. Levi King, CEO of business credit management firm Nav, says Californians should shop around for credit cards, rather than simply take the recommendation of a smart device.

"When a consumer is making a financial decision that's going to have an impact on their livelihood. We think it's a good idea to look at options," King said.

We suspected Alexa's affinity for Chase in particular was just a new take on a radio advertisement. But JPMorgan Chase told us it does not buy ads on Alexa. A Chase spokesperson told us, "We are excited that Alexa recommends a Chase card, and [we] discovered it in the same way you did ... by asking her!"

So, we went back to Alexa for answers. We asked, "Alexa, why did you recommend a Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card to me?"

The reply: "Hmm. I don't know that."

For a human answer, we called Amazon. A representative told us none of Alexa's recommendations is an ad, and there's no deliberate action by programmers to make Alexa mention those brands.

Amazon later provided a written statement to NBC Bay Area, saying, "Alexa's opinions are not a product placement or advertising -- theyre simply an extension of Alexa's personality."

There's potential in that "personality". That's why NerdWallet, a finance website, is working on ways to give its users credit card recommendations in the form of a Q&A with Alexa.

Kevin Yuann, NerdWallet's vice president of credit, says his team came up with an Alexa skill -- similar to an app -- based on ordinary conversations users might have.

"Most people go to their friends and family for financial advice," Yuann said. "Digital assistants like Alexa most closely mimic that interaction and dialogue."

NerdWallet says 39 million U.S. homes have smart speakers like Amazon Echo. That's likely fertile ground for advertisers. Larry Sokoloff, a professor of media law at San Jose State University, says if voice gadgets add product placement, customers need to know.

"We like to, as Americans, have as much disclosure as we can about advertising," Sokoloff said.

But Sokoloff fears future ad disclosures will likely be buried in legal language. "We're so excited, we don't look in the fine print," he said.

King, the CEO of Nav, sees speaker systems learning from your questions to provide better answers -- and, potentially, highly-personalized advertising. "If you're going to tell Alexa a lot of things about yourself, just assume Alexa is going to do a lot of things with that information," King said. "It's buried somewhere in the T's and C's."

By "T's and C's", King was referring to Terms and Conditions -- the often lengthy, densely-worded legal agreements seen with many products and services. Terms and Conditions, also sometimes known as Terms of Service, aren't fun reading for most of us -- but all consumers should make sure they're familiar with these legally-binding agreements with any products they use.

One final note: Shortly after NBC Bay Area started asking Amazon questions for this story, we noticed Alexa stopped offering a credit card recommendation. We asked Amazon why, but it has not yet responded to our inquiry. (Alexa users can still access the NerdWallet skill for credit card advice.)

Congo began an Ebola vaccination campaign Monday in a northwest provincial capital in a major effort to stem an outbreak that has already made its way from rural towns into a city of more than 1 million people.

The campaign comes a day after the health ministry announced that a nurse has died from Ebola in Bikoro, the rural northwestern town where the outbreak began and was first announced in early May. The death toll is now 27.

There are 49 hemorrhagic fever cases: 22 confirmed as Ebola, 21 probable and six suspected, according to Health Minister Oly Ilunga.

"We have established surveillance mechanisms and are following all cases and contacts," he said. "The response is well-organized because we have also put in surveillance measures at the entry and exit points of Mbandaka."

In a hopeful sign, two patients who were confirmed as positive for Ebola have recovered, and are returning to their homes though they will be monitored, Ilunga said. They have left the hospital "with a medical certificate attesting that they've recovered and can no longer transmit the disease because they have developed antibodies against Ebola," he said.

Ebola, however, does in many cases remain longer in semen, and therefore can be transmitted through sexual contact for some months after recovery.

Congo's health delegation, including the health minister and representatives of the World Health Organization and the United Nations, have arrived in Mbandaka, the northwestern city of 1.2 million where Ebola has spread, to launch the vaccination campaign Monday.

Dr. Eric Ekutshu, a doctor in the Wangata health zone in Mbandaka, received the vaccine Monday as part of a ceremony presided over by officials.

"I'm glad I have received the vaccine against Ebola," he said. "I ask the others (contacts and nursing staff) to get vaccinated to protect themselves. Everyone must adhere to this vaccination campaign with the goal of protection."

Guillaume Ngoie Mwamba, director of the Expanded Program on Immunization, was the first Congolese to receive the vaccine in Mbandaka.

"This is to give a message of safety and assurance to all of the population exposed to the epidemic," he said.

Two dozen vaccinators, including Congolese and Guineans who administered the vaccine in their country during the 2014-2016 outbreak, are in Mbandaka to start injecting the 540 doses that have arrived, the health minister said.

It will take five days to vaccinate about 100 registered patients, including 73 health care staff, who have had contact with patients and their relatives in the Wangata and Bolenge health zones of Mbandaka, he said.

The vaccination campaign will then move to the other two affected areas, the Bikoro and Iboko health zones.

More than 7,500 doses are available in Congo, WHO said Monday, adding that an additional 8,000 doses will be available in the coming days.

The vaccine, provided by U.S. company Merck, is still in the test stages, but it was effective toward the end of the Ebola epidemic that killed more than 11,300 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia from 2014 to 2016. A major challenge will be keeping the vaccines cold in this vast, impoverished, tropical country where infrastructure is poor.

Congo President Joseph Kabila and his Cabinet agreed Saturday to increase funds for the Ebola emergency to more than $4 million. The Cabinet also endorsed the decision to provide free health care in the affected areas and to provide special care to all Ebola victims and their relatives.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has said that it has provided an initial $1 million to combat the Ebola outbreak. The funds are going to WHO in support of its joint strategic response plan with Congo's government.

The spread of Ebola from a rural area to Mbandaka has raised alarm as Ebola can spread more quickly in urban centers. The fever can cause severe internal bleeding that is often fatal.

"It's concerning that we now have cases of Ebola in an urban center, but we're much better placed to deal with this outbreak than we were in 2014," WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, said at the U.N. health agency's annual meeting in Geneva on Monday. "I am pleased to say that vaccination is starting as we speak today."

Tedros said he is "proud of the way the whole organization has responded to this outbreak, at headquarters, the regional office and the country office."

This is Congo's ninth Ebola outbreak since 1976, when the disease was first identified. The virus is initially transmitted to people from wild animals, including bats and monkeys. It is spread via contact with the bodily fluids of those infected.

While Congo has contained several Ebola outbreaks in the past, all of them were based in remote rural areas. The virus has twice made it to Kinshasa, Congo's capital of 10 million people, but was effectively contained.

There is no specific treatment for Ebola. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain and at times internal and external bleeding. The virus can be fatal in up to 90 percent of cases, depending on the strain.

AP writers Carley Petesch and Geir Moulson contributed to this report.The technology can be as small as a suitcase, placed anywhere at any time, and it's used to track cell phones and intercept calls.

The News4 I-Team found dozens of potential spy devices while driving around Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia.

"While you might not be a target yourself, you may live next to someone who is. You could still get caught up," said Aaron Turner, a leading mobile security expert.

The device, sometimes referred to by the brand name StingRay, is designed to mimic a cell tower and can trick your phone into connecting to it instead.

[[482974551, R,310,413]]

The News4 I-Team asked Turner to ride around the capital region with special software loaded onto three cell phones, with three different carriers, to detect the devices operating in various locations.

"So when you see these red bars, those are very high-suspicion events," said Turner.

If you live in or near the District, your phone has probably been tracked at some point, he said.

A recent report by the Department of Homeland Security called the spy devices a real and growing risk.

And the I-Team found them in high-profile areas like outside the Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue and while driving across the 14th Street bridge into Crystal City. The I-Team got picked up twice while driving along K Street  the corridor popular with lobbyists.

"It looks like they don't consider us to be interesting, so they've dropped us," Turner remarked looking down at one of his phones.

Every cellphone has a unique identifying number. The phone catcher technology can harness thousands of them at a time.

DHS has warned rogue devices could prevent connected phones from making 911 calls, saying, "If this type of attack occurs during an emergency, it could prevent victims from receiving assistance."

"Absolutely. That's a worry," said D.C. Councilwoman Mary Cheh, adding that the spy technology should be a concern for all who live and work in the District.

The I-Team's test phones detected 40 potential locations where the spy devices could be operating, while driving around for just a few hours.

[[482974891, C]]

"I suppose if you spent more time you'd find even more," said Cheh. "I have bad news for the public: Our privacy isn't what it once was."

Especially in her ward, where many of the streets are lined with embassies.

"They're doing the interrogation, or [checking] who we are, and then the white bar represents when they release us," Turner said as he demonstrated his technology.

The phones appeared to remain connected to a fake tower the longest, right near the Russian Embassy.

The I-Team got picked up twice off of International Drive, right near the Chinese and Israeli embassies, then got another two hits along Massachusetts Avenue near Romania and Turkey.

All of those countries have the phone catcher technology, Turner said.

[[482974501, C]]

"You know governments do this to each other all the time and laws-schmaws," said Cheh.

Which is a problem.

The spy technology poses a risk to national and economic security, but there's little our government can do to stop devices located on foreign soil.

"A law that we had could not tell these embassies what they can and cannot do," said Cheh.

The phone catchers can also be combined with other technology to listen-in or grab data from phones that are connected, Turner said.

"Most people don't know about it," said Alan Butler, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

"There's no magic software or setting that protects you from these," Butler said.

Butler is also a D.C. resident.

"There's a lot to be concerned about," he said.

Particularly since DHS hasn't disclosed how many devices it found or where. The agency also said it did not determine who was operating them, which Butler finds unacceptable.

"I think they should be taking the time and investing the resources to identify them and to flag them to the carriers and find ways to either have them taken down or have them blocked," he said.

Turner said cell carriers can't completely secure our phones because they have to allow for law enforcement access. Plus, even the oldest phones must be able to reach 911, so low-tech vulnerabilities can't be closed.

"I don't think there's a magic fix here," said Turner. "I don't think Congress can mandate anything to say, Hey, carriers do this right now."

The good news is about half the devices the I-Team found were likely law enforcement investigating crimes or our government using the devices defensively to identify certain cellphone numbers as they approach important locations, Turner said.

The I-Team test detected devices in operation near Langley, the Pentagon and Fort Myer, but also found them in residential areas like Bethesda's Kenwood neighborhood, near Palisades in DC and along Old Dominion Drive in McLean, which Turner said raised questions.

"Maybe someone is involved in high-level negotiations on a business deal, or maybe it's a government employee involved in a regulatory ruling," he said, adding that he's heard of the devices being used in a corporate espionage situation, which is illegal under United States law.

You can't control which tower your phone attaches to, Turner said, so you can't avoid being caught by a device.

So if you've ever wondered why you just can't make a call from inside your home or office: "It could be why," said Turner. "[It's] a good reason to have a land line."

But you can protect your calls and texts by downloading free calling and texting apps that use encryption instead of using the standard ones that come installed on your cellphone, he said.

Reported by Jodie Fleischer, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited Jeff Piper.

Mick Jagger may know that you can't always get what you want, but when it comes to equal rights for women in Illinois, he's hoping you can.

In an Instagram post shared by his daughter Elizabeth Jagger, the Rolling Stones star signed a letter to Illinois representatives asking them to please vote yes on the Equal Rights Amendment.

I have three daughters who are US Citizens and they should all deserve equal rights under the Constitution of the United States, he wrote.

Elizabeth Jagger, a model and actress in the U.S., has been a vocal advocate for womens rights in the country.

 A post shared by Elizabeth Scarlett Jagger (@lizzyjagger) on May 16, 2018 at 2:33am PDT

An Illinois House committee has set up a historic floor vote to become the 37th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, but the sponsor said last week that he doesn't have enough votes for approval yet.

Rep. Lou Lang, a Skokie Democrat, said he is still working with friendly Republicans to persuade members of the GOP to vote in favor of ratifying the amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The ERA, first proposed in 1972, guarantees equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex. Ratification requires the assent of 38 states, but there's some legal debate over whether it's too late for additional states to join those that acted years earlier.

The Illinois House Human Services committee approved the amendment 7-5 Wednesday along party lines, sending it to the floor for a vote.

The measure, which has been bandied about in Illinois since it failed before what was then thought to be a 1982 deadline, has taken on special emphasis as an election-year issue.

Lang, the deputy majority leader in the House, called out its opponents as anti-women, while Democratic governor candidate J.B. Pritzker called on Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to "get off the sidelines" and encourage House Republicans to vote for the amendment.

"You can cloak this in any type of language you wish, but in the end a 'no' vote is a vote against women," Lang said.

Those opposed argue that passing the amendment would give women unrestricted access to abortion. Anna Allgaier, from Students for Life of America, said the Equal Rights Amendment's restrictions on gender-specific laws would prevent lawmakers from regulating abortion, a medical procedure specific to women.

The amendment was first proposed more than four decades ago. Illinois lawmakers in both chambers have approved the ERA but never in the same year. The Senate endorsed it in 1972 and 2014, the House in 1975 and 2003.

The Senate approved the amendment 43-12 in April.

Illinois was one of the 15 states not to ratify before the original 1982 deadline. But proponents argue there's precedent that makes such a deadline moot. The push to ratify took center stage once more after Nevada voted to ratify the amendment last year.

Ironically, voters added an ERA to the Illinois Constitution in 1970, guaranteeing equal protection of the laws regardless of sex. It does not apply to U.S. law, however.The leader of the Episcopal Church quoted civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. on the "redemptive power of love" as he blessed the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their royal wedding.

Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, who was hand-picked by the couple to deliver a sermon at their wedding, told the bride and groom Saturday that there was "power in love" and that "love can help and heal when nothing else can."

But Curry, from Chicago and a champion of civil rights causes and outspoken supporter of gay rights, continued "it's not just for and about a young couple, who we rejoice with, it's more than that."

Invoking the days of slavery in the United States, he said love helped those in captivity persevere.

He told the couple love has "the power to change the world."

Curry says "when love is the way, we actually treat each other, well, like we are actual family."A woman suffered multiple lacerations and even lost teeth after she was brutally attacked by four women on Sunday morning in the West Loop.

According to Chicago police, they were called to a criminal sexual assault in the 100 block of North Riverside Plaza just after 5 a.m. Sunday morning. When they arrived on the scene, they found firefighters treating a 49-year-old woman.

The woman then told police that she hadnt been the victim of a sexual assault, but had instead been severely beaten by at least four women.

Police say the woman was followed by the perpetrators after she left her house, and that after a short walk they began to attack her, causing multiple lacerations, cuts, bruises, and lost teeth.

There are no suspects in custody, and police are continuing to investigate the case.What to Know Two NYPD officers died in a late-night crash after celebrating one of their weddings at a resort in the Catskills; a third person was hurt

State Police say the driver of the Maserati involved in the accident lost control and smashed into a tree; the vehicle flipped over

It came to rest upside down in a wooded area; a third person in the car was taken to a hospital with non life-threatening injuries

An NYPD officer who had just gotten married died along with an NYPD detective when their rented Maserati veered off the road and flipped into the woods after the wedding reception in the Catskills late Sunday, authorities say.

Michael Colangelo, a 31-year-old NYPD cop from Huntington Station, was the groom. NYPD colleague John Martinez, a 39-year-old detective from Hauppauge, was initially thought to be behind the wheel of the Maserati on Oliveria Road in Shanadaken when he lost control and smashed into a tree just before 11:30 p.m.. But New York State Police later said that may not be the case.

"That's one of the things we're going to try to determine with the autopsy -- the nature of the injuries and the point of impact will tell us more," said NYSP Major Pierce Gallagher at an afternoon news conference.

The Maserati flipped over after hitting the tree, then came to rest on its roof. A third occupant, a male civilian, in the car was taken to a hospital with a serious head injury but is expected to survive, New York State Police said. Both officers were off duty at the time of the deadly crash, which was only about a mile from the venue where they had been celebrating Colangelo's marriage.

A cause is under investigation; autopsies, including toxicology results, are pending, investigators said. State Police said the two men who died were not believed to have been wearing seat belts; the lone survivor likely had his buckled. State Police also say the road where the accident happened is a narrow, 40 mph county road with some curves -- and given the nature of the deadly crash, which involved an extreme rollover, they were likely speeding.



The extent of that speed, though, remains under investigation, State Police said.

Chopper 4 over the scene Monday morning showed clear skid marks on the rural road hours after the accident. They jerk suddenly off the pavement and head into a wooded area, where the track rapidly disappears into thick brush.



Emergency radio showed the desperation of the response: "There's no one moving inside of it or around it ... fire department en route."

Sources say the officers had been celebrating Colangelo's wedding at Full Moon Resort, which bills itself as a rustic venue in the "'Forever Wild' Catskill Mountain Forest Preserve and Hudson Valley of upstate New York" on its website.

State Police responded to the scene, along with at least a half-dozen other departments and agencies. News 4 has reached out to the NYPD for comment.A Manchester, Conn. man was killed in a plane crash in Vermont Sunday, according to Vermont State Police.

According to Vermont State Police, 31-year-old Ramsey Sampson Ah-Nee was the pilot and only occupant in a 1975 Piper PA-34-200T that crashed in Woodford, Vt. Sunday evening.

Police said the Federal Aviation Administration contacted them regarding a lost aircraft in the area of Bald Mountain in Woodford just before 6 p.m. Sunday. The FAA was tracking the plane and lost it on radar.

Search and rescue teams began searching the area of the last known coordinates and located the aircraft in the woods around 1 a.m. The pilot was found deceased on scene, police said.

The plane was scheduled to fly from Burlington, Vt. to Oxford, Conn. Police said Ah-Nee was an experienced pilot with more than five years of experience.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.A Boston man who is accused of stealing an ambulance from Rhode Island Hospital was stopped on Interstate 95 in Connecticut and arrested, according to state police.

Connecticut State Police said Rhode Island State Police called Troop E just after 6 a.m. and said they were following an ambulance that had been stolen from Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

Rhode Island troopers followed the ambulance into Connecticut and Connecticut State police stopped the vehicle just before exit 92 in North Stonington and took he driver, 36-year-old Johnny Kimbrough, of Boston, into custody.

"Thankfully we have the rescue back. there doesn't appear to be any damage, no one was hurt and we've wrapped it up with an arrest," said Providence Police Major David LaPatin.



Police said Kimbrough asked for medical attention and was committed to Backus Hospital.

Kimbrough was charged with first-degree larceny of a motor vehicle. He is due in court on June 4.

Rhode Island officials are looking into how he was able to steal the vehicle in the first place.

"I'm looking to see why it happened, and to prevent it from happening in the future. this is a practice that's been going on for years. They leave the rescues running and it's unsafe," said Providence Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare.UConn President Susan Herbst will step down next summer and she said she plans to return to the classroom as a political science professor at the UConn campus in Stamford.

The university released a statement Monday morning saying that Herbst, who has led the university since 2011, will step down next summer when her current employment agreement ends.

Being able to lead this outstanding institution has been one of the great honors and privileges of my life, she said in a message to the UConn community. These have been exciting and rewarding years. UConn has continued to rise in the rankings and grow academically as we embarked on transformational new initiatives, formed vital partnerships, addressed long-standing needs, planned carefully for the future, and made difficult but necessary decisions."

Herbst was the first woman to be president of UConn since the school was founded in 1881, according to a statement from UConn. She was named UConns 15th president on Dec 20, 2010.

Despite financial struggles because of the state budget, together we have become a stronger, better university, she said. UConn is among the finest research universities in the United States and the pride of the state of Connecticut, as it should be.

The board extended Herbsts original five-year employment agreement in 2014 to run through July 1, 2019.

She said in a letter to the UConn community that she will return to the classroom as a professor of political science at UConn's Stamford campus.

Stepping down was not an easy decision for me by any means, Herbst said in a statement. But a university is forever and each of us knows that we are only its temporary caretakers and champions. None of us are indispensable and the right time for a change always arrives eventually.

UConn Board Chairman Thomas Kruger said he will appoint a committee this summer to start a national search for the next president.Students in Wallingfords Public School District went back to school Monday after missing three days last week because of the severe storm damage.

On Monday night, the Board of Education plans to discuss how to handle those missed days.

The district already had 183 school days built into the school year, three more than the state requires, according to Superintendent Salvatore Menzo. Menzo said he will be requesting the board forgive three days, so the last day of school and graduation can remain on June 22.

As life for students in Wallingford started to return to normal, many parents and homeowners were still cleaning up the mess mother nature left behind, including downed trees, utility lines, and damage to their homes and cars.

Other school districts such as Brookfield, Oxford, New Fairfield and Newtown were still closed Monday.

The superintendent of Brookfield Public Schools said he requested a waiver through the Connecticut Department of Education that would exclude the district from the required 180 school days.What to Know A Cuban airliner with 113 people on board plummeted into a yuca field just after takeoff from Havana's international airport on Friday

There was no immediate word on casualties, though residents told The AP they saw at least some survivors being taken away in ambulances

The Cuban Council of Churches says 20 priests from an evangelical church are among the dead in the Havana plane crash on Friday.

"On that plane were 10 couples of pastors. 20 people. All of the Nazarene Church in the eastern region," confirmed Maite Quesada, a member of the council.

The group spent several days at a meeting in the capital and were returning to their homes and places of worship in the province of Holguin.

The plane, a 39-year-old airliner with 110 people aboard, crashed and burned in a cassava field just after taking off from the Havana airport Friday, leaving three survivors in Cuba's worst aviation disaster in three decades, officials said.

The Boeing 737 went down just after noon a short distance from the end of the runway at Jose Marti International Airport while on a short-hop flight to the eastern city of Holguin. Firefighters rushed to extinguish the flames that engulfed the field of debris left where Cubana Flight 972 hit the ground.

"There is a high number of people who appear to have died," Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said from the scene. "Things have been organized, the fire has been put out, and the remains are being identified."

Relatives of those aboard were ushered into a private area at the terminal to await word on their loved ones.

"My daughter is 24, my God, she's only 24!" cried Beatriz Pantoja, whose daughter Leticia was on the plane.

State TV said the jet veered sharply to the right after takeoff, and Diaz-Canel said a special commission had been formed to investigate the cause of the crash.

"The only thing we heard, when we were checking in, an explosion, the lights went out in the airport and we looked out and saw black smoke rising and they told us a plane had crashed," Argentine tourist Brian Horanbuena told The Associated Press at the airport.

Skies were overcast and rainy at the airport at the time of the incident, with winds reportedly around 4 mph (6 kph).

Authorities said there were 104 passengers and six crew members on the flight operated by the Cuban state airline. Cuban media reported that five children were among those on board the plane.

Mexican authorities said the Boeing 737-201 was built in 1979 and rented by Cubana from Aerolineas Damojh, a small charter company that also goes by the name Global Air.

A statement from the country's Transportation Department identified the pilot and co-pilot as Capt. Jorge Luis Nunez Santos and first officer Miguel Angel Arreola Ramirez. It said the flight attendants were Maria Daniela Rios, Abigail Hernandez Garcia and Beatriz Limon. Global Air said maintenance worker Marco Antonio Lopez Perez was also aboard.

Outside the company's Mexico City offices, former Global Air flight attendant Ana Marlen Covarrubias said she had worked for the company for over seven years and knows nearly all the crew members.

"I don't have the words. I'm very sad. We're in mourning," a she said in tears. "It was something really, really, really terrible; a tragedy for us."

In addition to the Mexican crew, Cuban Communist Party newspaper Granma reported that the passengers were mostly Cubans plus five foreigners from countries it did not identify. Argentina's Foreign Ministry said two of its citizens had died in the crash.

In November 2010 a Global Air flight originating in Mexico City made an emergency landing in Puerto Vallarta because its front landing gear did not deploy. The fire was quickly extinguished, and none of the 104 people aboard were injured. That plane was a 737 first put into service in 1975.

Cubana has had a generally good safety record but is notorious for delays and cancellations and has taken many of its planes out of service because of maintenance problems in recent months, prompting it to hire charter aircraft from other companies.

Four crash survivors were taken to a Havana hospital, and three remained alive as of mid-afternoon, hospital director Martinez Blanco told Cuban state TV.

State media reports stopped short of openly declaring the rest on board were dead, but there was no word of other survivors by Friday evening.

Cuban First Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa had met with Cubana officials on Thursday to discuss improvements to its service. The airline blames its spotty record on a lack of parts and airplanes because of the U.S. trade embargo against the communist-run country.

It was Cuba's third major aviation accident since 2010.

Last year a Cuban military plane crashed into a hillside in the western province of Artemisa, killing eight soldiers. In 2010, an AeroCaribbean flight from Santiago to Havana went down in bad weather, killing all 68 people aboard, including 28 foreigners, in what was the country's worst air disaster in more than two decades.

The last deadly accident involving a Cubana-operated plane was in 1989, when a charter flight from Havana to Milan, Italy, crashed shortly after takeoff, killing all 126 people on board and at least two dozen on the ground.

Cubana's director general, Capt. Hermes Hernandez Dumas, told state media last month that the airline's domestic flights had carried 11,700 more passengers than planned between January and April.

He said 64 percent of flights took off on time, up from 59 percent the previous year.

Associated Press writer Amy Guthrie contributed to this report.What to Know Asia Argento accused disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of raping her at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997

At the festival's closing ceremony this year, she said he would "never be welcomed here ever again."

She added that there are more who "still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women"

Asia Argento, the Italian actress and director who accused disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, delivered a blistering speech at the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival Saturday, vowing that justice will be served for all sexual predators.

Argento, who raised a fist high on the red carpet, invoking a gesture that has become a striking symbol of the #MeToo movement, has said Weinstein raped her at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997. And she did not let her Cannes colleagues forget it when speaking on stage.

"I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes. I was 21-years-old. This festival was his hunting ground," Argento said. "I want to make a prediction: Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again."

Argento's account was first published in the Oct. 2017 New Yorker article that uncovered Weinstein's alleged history of harassment and assault. Weinstein has denied all accusations of non-consensual sex.

"And even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women for behavior that does not belong in this industry," Argento said.

Drawing applause from the crowd, she added: "You know who you are. But more importantly, we know who you are. And we're not going to allow you to get away with it any longer."

The speech came a week after 82 women filmmakers stood together at the festival to denounce gender inequality in the industry.

Filomena Cusano, Weinsteins attorney in Italy, said she was at the festival when Argento spoke and the allegations are completely false.

Mr. Weinstein and Ms. Argento had a consensual relationship; Ms. Argento then starred in Mr. Weinsteins film B. Monkey in 1998, in which Argento was excellent, and she herself said was a fantastic role for her, Cusano said in a statement to NBC News.

After that, she wrote a script for Mr. Weinstein about Italian director Vittorio De Sica that he wishes could have been produced. This is clearly a painful moment for Ms. Argento, but it is a false narrative. Harvey has only respect for her and wishes her well, Cusano added.

In response to the growing accusations of sexual misconduct in the film industry, Cannes organizers set up a telephone hotline this year for victims.What to Know The sheriff said a school resource officer responded to the scene within four minutes after the shooting began and engaged with the shooter

He said other officers were able contain the suspect, preventing him from going to other classrooms

Sheriff Trochesset said he doesn't think any additional students were shot after officers confronted the shooter

Santa Fe High School had conducted active shooter drills, armed police officers patrolled the hallways and students went through a scare in February after a false report of a campus gunman.

But in the aftermath of the deadliest public school shooting in Texas history, early witness accounts and recordings from emergency dispatch describe a near-30-minute nightmare as the real thing unfolded last week.

While officials continued to keep many details of the deadly rampage close, Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset responded Monday to criticism of the nearly half an hour it took officers to capture Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the 17-year-old student who authorities say opened fire on an art lab with a shotgun and .38 caliber handgun shortly after the first bell Friday morning.

A school resource officer responded to the scene within four minutes of the shooting beginning and engaged with the shooter, Trochesset said at a Monday afternoon news conference. Other officers quickly arrived and were able contain the suspect, preventing him from going to other classrooms. The sheriff said that allowed the rest of Santa Fe High School to be evacuated safely.

How much time elapsed from the moment gunfire erupted until the last victim was shot remains unclear. Trochesset said it was 25 minutes before Pagourtzis was taken into custody, though that included negotiations.



Trochesset said he doesn't think any additional students were shot after officers confronted the shooter, but can't say for sure until autopsies are completed.

Trochesset said 200 officers from law enforcement agencies throughout the region converged on the 1,400-student campus Friday.

"When people were running from the gunfire, the officers that were continuing to arrive were going to it, and every door they opened, they weren't sure what was on the other side of it, but they opened those doors continuously, time after time, until that school was cleared," Trochesset said. "That's what you call a hero. They didn't run from it, they ran to it."

He also revealed that a single negotiatior talked to the gunman.

In the end, eight students and two teachers were killed and at least 10 others were injured.

Pagourtzis remains in the Galveston County Jail without bond and under suicide watch, charged with capital murder.



Trochesset said he doesn't believe any of the victims killed in the mass shooting were shot by law enforcement officers during the crossfire with Pagourtzis, but couldn't say for sure until autopsies are completed. Pagourtzis wasn't hit in the firefight with police.

Officials have not yet released 911 tapes but on emergency dispatch recordings from Galveston County, captured by Broadcastify.com, a female voice is heard saying "more shots fired" about 10 minutes after authorities first received reports of gunfire. Five minutes later, a male voice says the suspect is "possibly going to be barricaded" with additional reports of shooting a few minutes after that.

"He's actively shooting. He's in the art room. We've got, we've got shots fired right now. We need you all up here," a male voice says at what appears to be about 15 minutes after the shooting began.

Galveston County Judge Mark Henry, the county's top administrator, said investigators were still working on the timeline and Tisa cautioned that emergency dispatch traffic doesn't always reflect real time. A "decent amount of cameras in the school" will help investigators piece together a timeline, Trochesset added.

Zach Wofford, an 18-year-old senior, was across the hallway when the shooting began and said he heard gunfire that lasted 10 to 15 minutes from the art classroom. That's where Breanna Quintanilla, a 17-year-old junior, was when the attack began. She said Pagourtzis had aimed at her and missed but that the bullet ricocheted into her right leg.

She recalled the voice she heard after the first sound of gunfire in the class: "If you all move, I'm going to shoot you all."

One school resource officer that had been seriously wounded in the shooting was upgraded Monday from critical to stable condition after undergoing surgery to repair his badly damaged arm. Capt. Jim Dale of the Houston Police Department said Santa Fe school district police Officer John Barnes remains on a ventilator and had lost a lot of blood from his wound.

School officials announced Monday that students won't return to classes until after Memorial Day  on Tuesday, May 29.After a runoff Tuesday, Democrats will learn who is their candidate for governor -- ex-Dallas County sheriff Lupe Valdez against Houston businessman Andrew White, whose father, Mark, was governor from 1983 to 1987.



NBC 5 political reporter Julie Fine spoke with both candidates about issues facing the state of Texas.



They discussed education, border security, and working across the aisle. See their interviews below.



Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew White talks with NBC 5's Julie Fine ahead of the primary runoff. In the one-on-one interview, White talks about how he'll face off against Republican incumbent Greg Abbott, who has a huge campaign war chest, as well as in which direction he'd like to lead Texas.

Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Lupe Valdez talks with NBC 5's Julie Fine ahead of the primary runoff. In the one-on-one interview, Valdez talks about how she'll race money to face Republican incumbent Greg Abbott as well as what she'd like to see change in the Lone Star State.

Valdez, Texas' first openly gay, Hispanic sheriff, topped White in March without cracking 50 percent. Both reacted to the Santa Fe shooting by calling for tightening gun sale limits and "universal background checks," while criticizing Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for failing to stand up to the national gun lobby.



Beginning Tuesday, Abbott is convening statewide roundtables to discuss preventing future school shootings, but has failed to even mention the notion of gun control.



So far, some students who survived the Santa Fe shooting have been more supportive of Abbott and wary of organizing in favor of the national gun control than their counterparts who survived the Feb. 14 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. That gives Abbott political cover if little comes out of the discussions.



Neither Valdez nor White should seriously challenge Abbott. Texas hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 1990 and the party hasn't won any statewide office since four years after that -- the nation's longest political losing streak.A Bay Area student is urging valedictorians across the country to include a minute-long message addressing gun violence following the Santa Fe High School shooting in Texas that left 10 dead Friday.

More than 100 commencement speakers across the nation have already agreed to include a 60-second speech at graduation. A Bellarmine High School student working on the project hopes the school's valedictorian will mention it when seniors graduate Thursday.

"It does use things like 'we are the adults now, we need to take action,'" student Ronan Macrunnels said. "'We will no longer be apathetic, we will work to change the world around us.'"

Ronan is joining forces with other high school leaders for the Donate 60 project. They hope what starts at commencement will end at the ballot box. Bay Area Congresswoman Jackie Speier agrees and says the action is imperative.

"We are the only country on the planet that has so many deaths associated with gun violence and it's not that hard to do better background checks, eliminate bump stocks and ban assault weapons," Speier said.

Students hope high school commencements really will mark the commencement of change.

"There are 17 million of us graduating and we will be eligible to vote," Macrunnels said.

The Donate 60 speech also includes a reference to climate change and fighting sexual assault.

To help Ronan with his message, check out a Facebook page dedicated to his cause.NBC continues to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by highlighting two brothers with Filipino roots earning national attention and making local waves with Lasa Restaurant in the heart of LA's Chinatown.

Chad Valencia and and Chase Valencia work as a team at Lasa Restaurant, with Chase managing the front, while Chad is the genius in the back.

Chase says, "Us being Angelinos, [it is] our take on our cuisine."

He adds, "We took the food that we grew up eating, applying ideas and techniques that we learned and obtained growing up in California kitchens to make the experience uniquely our own."

The menu at Lasa Restaurant is unlike any other because it is inspired by the family's heritage and also incorporates the brothers' California upbringing in a deliciously unique manner. Effectively and deliciously, the brothers make typically Filipino dishes with traditionally California ingredients and tastes.



Chad, the creative genius in the kitchen, explains, "Even if it's something interesting and new and slightly progressive, we definitely try really hard to make sure the flavors are nostalgic and relatable to those that have had Filipino food."

Food has a special way of connecting people. Just one bite can have enough power to bring back memories of a time and a place, and Lasa Restaurant actively seeks to represent the Filipino American experience.

"(Our parents) took the biggest risk to give us the most opportunity when they immigrated to the states," Chase shares why jumping into the restaurant business was not necessarily a welcome move. "So, for us to take a career path that's even more risk like a restaurant, there's going to be a lot of doubt and higher risk, and for us, that was also part of the challenge and also kept that fire going."

What started as small backyard pop-up dinners in 2013 gained momentum, and in 2017, they established their own brick and mortar restaurant in Chinatown's Far East Plaza.

"We made this out of nothing," Chase says with pride.

The pride is warranted, as Lasa Restaurant has been featured in national media and earned the praise of LA's most recognizable food critics. Food and Wine Magazine even chose Lasa Restaurant as its "2018 Restaurant of the Year."

"We're one of the largest ethnic communities here in Los Angeles," Chase beams about LA's Filipino American community. "Seeing the acceptance from critics or the press and overall people, Angelinos, it's really an exciting time."

Chad adds, "Filipino food is just finally kind of getting the attention it deserves."

In Los Angeles, that attention to Filipino cuisine now includes the Valencia brothers, who are cognoscente of the fact that the Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands and seemingly just as many cooking styles. So, some of the biggest critics end up coming from their own community.

"I'm not your lola. I'm not your tita. I'm not your mom," Chad says to emphasize that they are providing their own take on the food of their ancestors. "We love what we do. We're the generation that are embracing their identity."

He adds, "We're here and we're proud."A bar employee, an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy and several patrons wrestled an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and a loaded 30-round magazine from a drunk man at the entrance of a bar in downtown Redlands, California, early Sunday morning to help avoid what might have turned into a tragedy, authorities said.



Eventually, police arrived and arrested 36-year-old Gilbert Manuel Arellano III on a charge of attempted assault with a deadly weapon.

Arellano was reportedly already drinking at a birthday party on Saturday night before going to a bar on East Citrus Avenue, where he continued to drink alcoholic beverages into early Sunday morning, according to a news release from the Redlands Police Department.

At the bar, Arellano got into an altercation with other unidentified patrons before going home to grab the high-powered weapon, according to police.

Arellano allegedly confronted three people in a parking lot and pointed the gun at one of them in a threatening manner before walking towards the entrance of the bar "holding the rifle in plain sight," according to the news release.



But an employee from a business that shares an entrance with the bar stopped the suspect and attempted to take the rifle away from him. Then, an off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy learned there was an armed man in the building and came to assist with other customers.

The deputy disarmed Arellano before restraining him and waiting for officers with the Redlands Police Department to arrive. In addition, police said he had other weapons registered despite being barred from possessing guns under a court order, so police served a search warrant at Arellano's home to confiscate them.

Jail records show Arellano was released from custody Sunday afternoon. Details regarding an initial court date were not immediately available. NBC4 is attempting to determine whether he has obtained an attorney.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the suspect entered the bar and that the bar employee and police officer alone restrained the suspect. The Redlands Police Department issued a correction to their earlier press release and stated that other customers also helped in restraining and disarming the suspect. The article has been updated to reflect this change.An hourslong tri-county pursuit came to a bizarre end in Riverside County Monday after the driver traveled on the wrong side of the road and drove recklessly on freeways and streets before running from the Camry, with authorities chasing another sedan leaving the parking lot.

The chase began in Orange County on the 91 Freeway when license plates on the 2002 black Toyota Camry came back as stolen, kicking off a pursuit that reached speeds from 85 to 100 mph.

The chase continued on for hours, heading eastbound to Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

At one point, the driver threw objects from the window -- one of which hit a patrol SUV -- as the chase continued on the 10 Freeway in the Rancho Cucamonga area. From there, the hourslong chase continued east from Riverside County into San Bernardino County.

The driver was on a street in Riverside when a trailing officer attempted back-to-back PIT maneuvers that failed to stop the Camry.

Despite stopping at least twice on streets, the driver continued on.

Two hours into the chase, the driver stopped and ran from the Camry. A woman riding in the passenger seat also ran. The driver ran into a building at 3463 Grapevine in the Riverside community of Glen Avon, but was taken into custody. He managed to change his blue shirt to a black one while inside the building but officers still got him.

The woman then hopped into another black sedan that had a couple and a baby inside. The sedan had pulled away from the same parking lot, which started the second chase. The second black sedan was eventually stopped in the Colton area. The couple said they were just giving her a ride because she asked. A news photographer told her to give herself up and get out of the car, and she did. Police took her into custody.

Police later confirmed the identity of the driver as Christian Beltran and the woman as Cecelia Martinez. Beltran was charged with felony evading, driving a stolen car and possession of stolen property.

It wasn't clear if the family knew the pursuit driver or passenger.A Florida woman who flashed a big grin in a mugshot following a car crash and DUI arrest now faces a new charge and prison time after a crash victim died.

News outlets report 44-year-old Angenette Marie Welk didn't smile when a new mugshot was taken Saturday at the Marion County Jail in Ocala.

Authorities say 60-year-old Sandra Clarkston died May 14, four days after the three-vehicle crash. The Florida Highway Patrol initially charged Welk with DUI with serious bodily injury. The DUI manslaughter charge carries mandatory prison time.

The smiling mugshot angered Clarkston's family, who said they're glad Welk has been re-arrested.

Attorney Stacy Youmans told the Ocala StarBanner that Welk is "a good-hearted person, a wife, mother and friend who is devastated by what happened."Venezuela's election officials say socialist leader Nicolas Maduro has won a second six-year term as president of the oil-rich South American country, while his main rivals are disputing the legitimacy of the vote and calling for a new election.

The National Election Council announced that with almost 93 percent of polling stations reporting, Maduro won nearly 68 percent of the votes in Sunday's election, beating his nearest challenger Henri Falcon by almost 40 points.

The opposition throughout the day argued that a Maduro victory would lack legitimacy because many voters stayed home, heeding the call to boycott an election seen as rigged. Government critics also say other voters were pressured into voting for Maduro.

Electoral authorities say turnout is projected to reach 48 percent.

The United States and many governments around the world rejected the election even before ballots were cast as several key rivals of Maduro were barred from running.

Increasing authoritarian rule and mismanagement of the all-important state-run oil industry have caused a deepening economic crisis, putting Venezuelan on the brink of collapse.What to Know According to Business Insider, the location off University Drive and Broward Boulevard will be among at least 40 stores closing in 24 states

The closures have not formally been announced by the company yet.

Shoppers will soon have one less place to purchase clothes, appliances and even car tires at the Westfield Broward mall come this summer after Sears will be closing their location there.

According to Business Insider, the location off University Drive and Broward Boulevard will be among at least 40 stores in 24 states that will be shutting their doors in either July or August.

The closures have not formally been announced by the company yet. A spokesman for the company told the website that some employees would be eligible for severance packages or move to open positons at other stores.

The Plantation store is one of five locations in Florida reported to close and are in addition to over 160 other stores that were already slated to close this year. In total, Sears has gone from 1,980 stores five years ago to under 900 as of April.

Owners of Sears also are selling 16 locations during an online auction  none located in Florida  as well as reportedly closing 10 stores from co-owned Kmart, including one in Florida located just outside Tampa.

Sears was one of the three anchor stores when Broward Mall opened in 1978 and, at one point, was the biggest store at over 209,000 square feet. Plans were made to reduce that size this year to make room for restaurants and other stores.Venezuelan presidential candidate Henri Falcon is calling for a new presidential election, saying that Sunday's presidential vote was marred by irregularities and lacks legitimacy.

Falcon addressed supporters before the announcement of any results from the election, in which socialist President Nicolas Maduro is seeking a second six-year term.

Falcon says his campaign collected thousands of complaints indicating ruling party activists set up so-called "Red Points" intended to pressure the poor to vote for Maduro at 86 percent of voting centers across Venezuela.

The candidate says the election "without any doubt lacks legitimacy and we categorically refuse to recognize this process."

Falcon also has harsh words for Venezuela's main opposition coalition, saying its call to boycott the election that appears to have been widely heeded played into the government's hands.What to Know A car crashed into the front of a Long Island photography studio on Sunday evening, officials said

Fade to Black New York in Mineola was left with "serious damage"

Two people were taken to hospitals in stable condition

A car crashed into the front of a Long Island photography studio on Sunday evening, causing serious damage to the building, officials said.

The car struck the building that houses Fade To Black New York, at 132 Jericho Turnpike in Mineola, around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, the Mineola Volunteer Ambulance Corps said.

Two people were taken to local hospitals in stable condition, according to the ambulance corps.

No one was inside the building when the crash happened.What to Know Five students had to go to a hospital Monday after ingesting what authorities say appear to be cookies laced with marijuana

The kids are all expected to be fine and were only taken to the hospital as a precaution

A 15-year-old girl has been arrested on five counts of risk of injury to a minor

A 15-year-old girl has been arrested after five students from a Connecticut public high school ate pot cookies and had to go to a hospital Monday, officials say.

The five Hamden High students appeared to be under the influence of drugs and were sent to the school nurse, according to police.

Then they were brought to Yale-New Haven Hospital as a precaution, according to school officials. They're all expected to be fine.

Investigators said they learned a 15-year-old girl had brought the cookies to school and the students ate them before becoming ill.

The teen has been charged with five counts of risk of injury to a minor and is expected to appear in juvenile court in New Haven.

The investigation is ongoing.What to Know SUNY placed a high-ranking official resigned after a newspaper questioned a story he told about surviving a bombing in Afghanistan

Times Union says SUNY Upstate Medical University senior VP Sergio Garcia said in a speech he was at the scene of a 2011 Afghanistan bombing

The newspaper reported the bombing Garcia described actually happened in 2013, after he had left the country

A high-ranking New York university official resigned Monday after a newspaper challenged his story about surviving a deadly bombing in Afghanistan, being offered a job by former Secretary of State Colin Powell and other claims.

The State University of New York Upstate Medical University announced that senior vice president Sergio Garcia resigned his $340,000-a-year job effective immediately after a request by the school's president.

The resignation came after the Times Union of Albany reported that in a videotaped speech last fall, Garcia claimed he was part of a three-vehicle convoy delivering books to an all-girls school in Afghanistan in 2011 when a blast killed many of his colleagues, including a young woman he had mentored.

"I was in the third car, the bomb went off on the first car and, you know, a lot of my colleagues, civilian and military, were killed," Garcia said.

Top Tri-State News Photos

The bombing Garcia described actually happened in 2013, after he had left the country, according to the Times Union . Garcia wasn't at the bombing scene, according to State Department records and interviews with people familiar with the incident, including an eyewitness, the newspaper reported.

In announcing Garcia's resignation, university officials said the "allegations are contradictory to Upstate's shared values of being open and honest." The school had declined requests for comment from him.

Garcia also claimed that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is his close friend and that he was offered a job after an interview with Powell. The newspaper reported he also made other questionable claims about his work history.

Rice was not immediately available for comment. Powell spokeswoman Peggy Cifrino said in an email that "we do not recall Mr. Garcia's name, nor a meeting that he says he had with General Powell in June of 2001 when the General was Secretary of State. More importantly, there is no record of a meeting with him on his June 2001 calendar."

During the lecture last fall, Garcia claimed that he had law degrees from an unidentified university in Oklahoma and that after college he worked for a corporate law firm in Los Angeles. The paper could find no records to confirm those claims and reported that his resume filed with the state does not indicate that he attended or graduated from law school.

Garcia said in the speech that the bombing was a turning point in his life and led to his exit from the State Department.

"No more," he said. "Too many folks in Afghanistan that I picked up from the battlefield and had to carry."

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and MoreWhat to Know 10-year-old Miranda Faith Vargas and 51-year-old Jennifer Williamson-Kennedy were killed in a horrific bus crash on Route 80 in NJ

They were among 45 people on the school bus that sources say tried to make an illegal U-turn; all the others were injured, some critically

The bus was carrying students from East Brook Middle School in Paramus on a field trip to historic Waterloo Village

Friends and family gathered on Sunday to remember the 10-year-old New Jersey girl killed in a horrific school bus crash last week.

The wake for East Brook Middle School fifth-grader Miranda Vargas was expected to continue into the evening.

Vargas and beloved teacher Jennifer Williamson were killed when the school bus they were riding to Waterloo Village as part of a field trip collided with a dump truck in Mount Olive, sources said. All of the other passengers on the bus were injured.

Its rough to lose your loved one, especially a young child, Mirandas uncle, Carlos Argueyes, told NBC New York outside the funeral home on Sunday.

Mirandas twin sister and the rest of her family were taking it very hard, he added.

Friends and family gathered to remember the 10-year-old New Jersey girl killed in a horrific school bus crash. Ida Siegal reports.President Donald Trump and his supporters are circulating an explosive theory: The FBI, they say, may have planted a mole, or "spy," inside the 2016 campaign to bring him down. The unverified allegation has lit up conservative media and earned space on Trump's Twitter feed just as special counsel Robert Mueller enters his second year in the Russia probe.

But where did the allegation come from? The AP takes a look at what we know so far and how Trump has used similar claims in the past to try to discredit the Russia investigation.

THE 'WIRETAP'

Trump and his supporters have long floated the idea of an opposing "deep state" at the Justice Department and the FBI, including allegations that President Barack Obama ordered wiretaps on his phones during the election.

The Justice Department denied such a wiretap, and House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes, an ardent Trump supporter, later confirmed that an Obama-ordered wiretap never existed.

But like many conspiracy theories, it appeared to grow out of a less sensational truth: U.S. surveillance on foreign officials  a common practice in the world of spycraft  likely picked up what's called "incidental" communications with Americans in Trump's orbit. That included former national security adviser Michael Flynn's discussions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the presidential transition.

THE MOLE

At issue now isn't a wiretap, but the identity of a top-secret FBI informant who allegedly helped investigators on the Russia probe. Trump and his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, say they suspect the FBI planted someone inside the campaign as a setup.

"Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president," Trump tweeted early Friday. "It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a 'hot' Fake News story. If true - all time biggest political scandal!"

This claim actually isn't new for Trump supporters either. But it seemed to find new life after news reports confirmed the existence of a confidential source in the Russia investigation. The conservative National Review suggested the puzzle pieces all point toward a mole, attracting Trump's attention.

"If so, this is bigger than Watergate!" Trump tweeted.

WHAT WE KNOW

Last August, Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS, who compiled opposition research on Trump, told a Senate panel that former British spy Christopher Steele relied on an "internal Trump campaign source" to compile his now-famous Trump dossier.

A person familiar with Simpson's testimony told the AP at the time that he did not mean to suggest the FBI had a direct source of information from within the Trump campaign.

Then last week, The Washington Post reported on the existence of a U.S. citizen who had provided intelligence to the CIA and FBI in the Russia probe. The source had become of particular interest to Nunes, whose committee was quick to dismiss any allegations of collusion between Trump associates and Russia.

According to the Post, the Justice Department clashed with Nunes and refused his request for specific details on the person.

On Wednesday, The New York Times seemed to lend credence to the idea by reporting that "at least one government informant" met several times with former Trump campaign advisers George Papadopoulos and Carter Page.

On Friday, the Times expanded its description, saying the informant is an American academic who teaches in Britain and was sent by the FBI to talk to Papadopoulos and Page because they were suspected of having "suspicious contacts" linked to Russia.

WHAT WE DON'T KNOW

A person who provides information to investigators wasn't necessarily planted by authorities. The person could have been someone already working with Trump's campaign before they agreed to provide information. Or it could be someone who wasn't affiliated with the campaign and just interacted with people around it.

The FBI and Mueller have been extraordinarily tight-lipped about the investigation, providing few public clues to what sources they are relying on or where the probe is headed.

Trump and his lawyer, Giuliani, acknowledge they don't have the answers either. But that hasn't stopped them from floating the mole theory as a way of undercutting Mueller's work as an attempt by liberals to bring down the president.

Giuliani said in a Friday interview on CNN's "New Day" that he doesn't know for sure what happened  and the president doesn't either.

But "for a long time, we've been told that there's been some kind of infiltration," he said.A 13-year-old La Mesa girl was chased by a man with multiple knives while on her way to school Monday.

The girl, who had never seen the man before, ran into a nearby business and called 911 for help.

When officers arrived, they confronted the man in the street and eventually opened fire, striking and injuring him.

The bizarre crime scene was located at Fletcher Parkway and Amaya Drive Monday morning.

La Mesa police were dispatched around 9 a.m. to the Albertson's store on Fletcher Parkway, just east of State Route 125 and north of Interstate 8.

The teenager's mother, Tammy Brown, said her daughter was walking to school when a strange man threw a closed pocket knife at her.

The knife hit the teenager but did not hurt her, Brown told NBC 7.

"She said she had never seen him before," Brown said. "When she ran away, she fell. She got up and kept running."

[Gallery] Officer Shot Man Who Chased Girl With Knives: La Mesa PD

The girl told her mother she ran into the Subway restaurant. From there, she called for help.

When police arrived, officers confronted the suspect in the middle of the street.

The man came at an officer with a knife raised above his head, according to Capt. Ray Sweeney with La Mesa Police Department.

An officer opened fire, striking the man once in the arm and once in the abdomen.

The officer was placed on paid administrative leave per department protocol, Sweeney said.

Sweeney said the man was armed with two machete-type knives.

The California Highway Patrol blocked off the Amaya exit from State Route 125. The ramp was reopened by 3 p.m.

As of 1:45 p.m., the intersection was reopened to traffic with Fletcher Parkway shut down west of Amaya Drive.

The Subway employee told NBC 7 off camera that she was alone in the store when the girl ran in crying and asked her to call 911. The employee said she dialed the phone and gave the phone to the girl.

There were no customers inside the store at the time.

The teenager is a student at Parkway Middle School which is located at Park Plaza Drive, less than a mile north of the Albertsons store.

Principal Mary Beason sent a message to parents alerting them to this morning's incident.

"We are urging our students to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings as they walk to school and to walk with a parent and/or in a group of two or more whenever possible," said David Feliciano, Assistant Superintendent with the La Mesa-Spring Valley Schools.

No other information was available.

Refresh this page for updates on this developing story. Details may change as information is released. La Mesa police initially said the girl ran into a dental office for help. They have since corrected that information.A man has been charged with assault after he stabbed his ex-girlfriend in a parking garage in the Tenleytown area of Northwest Washington and dragged her down a flight of stairs, court documents say.

Meverard Edward, 26, was arrested Friday and charged with assault with intent to kill, police say.



The victim told investigators she left work about 10:45 p.m. May 15 and was walking to a parking garage in the rear of 4505 Wisconsin Ave. NW to get her car. As she got into her vehicle, Edward got into the passenger's side and began stabbing her in the face, arms and body, police say.

Edward then dragged the victim by her hair down a flight of stairs and to a nearby grassy area, stabbing her along the way, a charging document states.

Edward told the victim he would kill her family if she told anyone what he did, police say. Edward took the woman back to her car, where she asked to be taken to the hospital.

Edward agreed and rode with the victim to Washington Adventis Hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland, according to police. Before they arrived, Edward got out of the car in the area of Sligo Creek Parkway and Maple Avenue.

Police caught him three days later.

The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.Hundreds of protesters are seeking answers about the death of a northern Virginia man who was shot and killed by U.S. Park Police after a brief car chase.

Family and friends of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar of McLean marched in Washington Saturday and rallied outside the Justice Department. Saturday marked six months since Ghaisar was shot after a minor car crash on the George Washington Parkway followed by a police chase.

Park Police and the FBI have released few details about the incident. Fairfax County Police released dashboard video taken by officers who played a supporting role in the chase. It showed a brief stop-and-go chase in which Park Police officers pulled up on Ghaisar's car with guns drawn.

The Ghaisar family's lawyers say police overreacted and did not follow policy.Usually, when it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. But your state government may be holding onto money and property from forgotten bank accounts, stock dividends or safe deposit boxes.

Here's how you can check whether you've got missing money or unclaimed property out there:

Each jurisdiction has an unclaimed property website. Current or former residents can search their names for free to find out if the financial office is holding onto your property. This could include unclaimed cash or assets from a bank account, security deposits, insurance benefits and other funds.

To check if you have unclaimed property, go to the search page of the appropriate state and enter your information -- normally your full name and address. You can search for claims for yourself, a business or the deceased.

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In D.C. and Virginia, if you get a hit, the search results will quantify a range or category of the amount owed. D.C. and Virginia also allow residents to complete the claim online and check the status on the website.

In Maryland, everything is done by mail. After searching on the comptroller site to see if you have a claim, you can fill out a form and mail it in with proof of identification.

How much money is out there?

In D.C., more than $21.3 million in property was returned during the 2017 fiscal year. Maryland has returned more than $1 billion in cash and properties over the years.

The Maryland Comptroller's Office says it has "hundreds of thousands of records worth hundreds of millions of dollars," while the Virginia Department of Treasury reports that it currently has more than $1 billion in unclaimed property reserves.

Organic food is a healthy choice for our bodies and the planet, but it often costs more. Consumer Reports has some easy ways to save. Consumer Reporter Susan Hogan has the details.

Last August, four Marylanders who filed claims retrieved a total of more than $564,000. Last summer, one woman in Bethesda, Maryland, claimed more than $100,000 from a bank account.

Several of the larger claims involve money that heirs of deceased relatives decided to pursue.

"This is welcome news for these Unclaimed Property recipients and I'm glad my Unclaimed Property staff were able to make the connection to pass along this good news to the rightful owners," Comptroller Peter Franchot said in a statement.

How long do you have to make a claim -- and how long does it take?

Anyone who qualifies can seek their unclaimed property even decades after it was turned over to the government. Financial institutions, insurance companies and corporations must report unclaimed property to the government if it remains unclaimed for three years or more, but there is no deadline for the owner to cash in on the claim.

The amount of time it takes to get the cash or property for the claim depends on the type of request and the jurisdiction. In Maryland, claims typically take six to eight weeks to process after they are received. In Virginia, it will take about 60 days for most claims.

Thirty percent of people who responded to a Consumer Reports survey said rising medicine costs prevented them from filling a prescription. News4's Susan Hogan has tips for saving money on prescriptions.

Cash claims will be available forever, but tangible items like valuables from safe deposit boxes are sold at auction or on eBay, and proceeds from the sale are then credited as cash in the owner's claim.

Currently, the Maryland unclaimed property division has six items for auction on eBay and the corresponding page for D.C. has 20 things on sale, including jewelry, coins and an 18K gold pocket watch listed for $2,400.

The unclaimed property divisions in all three local jurisdictions try to notify people when they can identify ownership. This has been done using newspaper advertising, online promotional videos, news media campaigns and mass mailings, according to the unclaimed property websites.

Although a claim can be submitted at any time, the normal rules of cashing a check still apply, so the Maryland Comptroller's Office encourages people to do so promptly.

"When you get your check, please cash it as soon as possible," the office's website says. "If you do not cash your check within six months of the date printed on the check, it will remain as unclaimed funds and you may have to file a new claim."

News4s Derrick Ward has some money saving tips from Washington Gas volunteers as the weather cools down.What to Know A New Jersey police officer saved a fawn by performing an emergency C-section on its mother

The Washington Township Police Department officer was called to the scene after a doe was hit by a car on Sunday

The doe passed away, but the officer was able to save one of its fawns

A New Jersey police officer saved a fawn by performing an emergency C-section after the baby deers mother was hit by a car.

Animal control officer Robert Lagonera was called to the scene of a doe that had just been hit by a vehicle around 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, the Washington Township Police Department said in a Facebook post.

The doe passed away, but still had a moving fawn inside of her, Lagonera said.

Washington Township police Officer Vernon took the initiative and performed an emergency C-section on the deceased doe saving one of the two fawn inside, wrote on the departments page. I arrived and took it home to dry it off and get it warm while rubbing its chest to help the underdeveloped lungs work.

Photos posted on the departments page show the newborn fawn wrapped in a blanket.

While he was attending to the fawn, Lagonera learned that a horse was on the loose not far away, he wrote. The two officers managed to coax it back into its paddock before they shifted their attention back to the fawn.

Now Im running around getting the premature fawn the care it needs, he wrote. No amount of coffee is too much today lol.Authorities are asking for the public's help in locating a missing New Hampshire woman and her car.

Frances Nash, 51, of Chichester, was last heard from on May 17.

Nash is described as 5'1" tall and weighs about 125 pounds. She has long, brownish-red hair and green eyes.

Nash drives a 2011 Mercury Mariner SUV-type vehicle, maroon in color, with NH license plates 4127573.

Anyone who has information about Nash or her missing vehicle is asked to call Sergeant Marc Beaudoin with the New Hampshire State Police at 603-271-3636.

No other information was immediately available.Churches unite in Norwich to pray Thy Kingdom Come

Two hundred people from dozens of churches across Norwich and Norfolk gathered at Norwichs Anglican cathedral on Pentecost Sunday, May 20, at the 'Spirit Break Out' event to mark the end of ten days of prayer under the Thy Kingdom Come banner.Politicians need to rediscover the importance of family, of faith and of place in politics after the Covid pandemic has sparked a change in community and what is possible, argued former Labour minister Ruth Kelly at the latest Newman Lecture in Norwich.

Politicians need to rediscover the importance of family, of faith and of place in politics after the Covid pandemic has sparked a change in community and what is possible, argued former Labour minister Ruth Kelly at the latest Newman Lecture in Norwich.

Bishop of Norwich welcomes refugees with picnic The Bishop of Norwich has held a picnic for refugees from Syria and Afghanistan in the garden of his home near Norwich Cathedral. Read more

Ring the bells at N Norfolk Christmas fayre Visitors to Upper Sheringham Christmas Fayre next month will get the opportunity to ring the newly restored church bells. Read more

Eaton quilt of kindness displays bright things from darks times When the pandemic hit last year, community groups were unable to meet in person, but the Quilt Crafters Group from Eaton came up with an idea. Vivien Humber explains. Read more

Norwich Cathedral hosts Benedictine study day All are welcome to join a Benedictine Study Day at Norwich Cathedral on October 16 when Fr Luigi Gioia, an award-winning author and international lecturer on Benedictine spirituality, will speak on Benedicts Rule of Life. Read more

Norfolk charity vacancies for youth team If you have a passion for serving the community and meeting the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of children and young people, ENYP could have the job for you. Read more

Norwich Bishop gives Norfolk honey to Pope Francis Pope Francis has been presented with a jar of honey and a bee facemask from Norfolk by the Anglican Bishop of Norwich, who met him at the Vatican in Rome during a private audience alongside the Archbishop of Canterbury. Read more

Thanksgiving service for brave Norwich preacher A funeral and thanksgiving service for courageous Norwich Methodist preacher Colin Gillett, who died recently in Pakistan, is to be held in Norfolk after his body was repatriated to the UK. Read more

Norwich foodbank braced for winter demand spike Norwich foodbank is bracing itself for a spike in demand this winter as households face a perfect storm of financial pressures with soaring energy costs, the cut in Universal Credit and the end of furlough. Read more

I shall pray for you whether you like it or not! Ian Boughton has been wondering whether or not we should tell people we are praying for them. Read more

Monthly teaching mornings resume online The Way of The Spirit Norwich begins a new cycle of monthly teaching mornings, starting on zoom on Saturday October 9, packed with the Bible and life! Read more

Learn to write creatively at North Norfolk retreat Norfolk writer Jane Walters, who writes a regular column for Network Norfolk, is running a creative writing retreat at the Pleasaunce in Overstrand next month and bookings are now being taken. Read more

Dinosaurs, evolution and religion lecture Beneath the skeleton of a fossilised Diplodocus from the Natural History Museum, Dr Nick Spencer gave a fascinating lecture in Norwich Cathedral about dinosaurs, evolution and religion. Read more

King's Lynn church goes industrial to enlarge its site In a year when many churches remained closed, the Kings Glory Church in Kings Lynn opened a new centre on an industrial estate. Read more

Golden dome tops Stalhams new Orthodox church The conversion of Stalhams old police station into a new Orthodox church is nearing completion, and an iconic golden dome has recently been added to the roofline. Read more

Black Lives Matter talk at Norwich church Christian Aid speaker Chine MacDonald will speak on Wednesday October 6 about the vital importance of involving black voices in the climate justice movement  especially in this pivotal year for climate justice as the UK hosts COP26 this year. Read more

Norwich Foodbank tackles the causes of poverty Norwich Foodbank has taken on Iain Turner to lead a new project dealing with the causes of food poverty. Read more

Norwich Cathedrals Dippy and the Genesis deluge Following the news last month that well over 100,000 people have been to visit Dippy the Diplodocus at Norwich Cathedral, Matthew Pickhaver explains why he believes that Dippy helps to throw light on the biblical story of the great flood. Read moreIf the idea of a 900-page epic seems a bit daunting, think again. The pace and tension in I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes, makes it a thriller in the true sense of the word

Pilgrim is the pseudonym for a top American secret agent who has to all intents and purposes died. His legacy is a book, which details his escapades and, perhaps foolishly, explains how to carry out certain deeds, such as the perfect murder.

When he realises his cover has been blown, Pilgrim is unnerved, but the task ahead of him is even more shocking as a seemingly random murder leads him back into the world of international terrorism.

I am Pilgrim is a swashbuckling adventure for the 21st century. It has been described as Dan Brownesque, which is understandable on one level because it is one man pitted against an evil foe, and getting into, and more especially getting out of, all sorts of unlikely scrapes.

The comparison does Terry Hayes a bit of a disservice, however, as his style of writing is somewhat better than Mr Brown and the basic premise of his story is also more believable. If you havent read The Da Vinci Code I wont spoil it for you, but the big reveal takes a huge leap of imagination.

Our hero, John Pilgrim, is also more likely able to cope with the villainous world he is thrown back in to. Thats not to say there are not some moments of gargantuan coincidences, unlikely discoveries and quite frankly ludicrous fights between one man and a gang, which in the style of James Bond he manages to come out of, I wouldnt say unscathed but able to carry on.

One of the reasons this book works is because our hero is believable, as is the New York cop, another unsung hero, who unmasks him and acts as his Lewis, Watson, Robin  take whichever sidekick you like.

Unusually, we are also given an insight into the motivation of the villain of the piece who wants to carry out the highly-effective and very scary mass destruction of the US. This is post 9/11 warfare at its best and Hayes ramps up the tension as the two protagonists play a game of cat and mouse.

The eventual climax is exhausting and certain elements of it are truly shocking. Indeed, If you are of a squeamish disposition there may be some parts of the book you might want to gloss over, but every one of its 900 pages contributes to the overall effect and makes for a cracking read.

If Mr Pilgrim should find himself drawn into another adventure, I will be going along for ride.

And watch out for the inevitable film...Councillor takes on key role to raise awarenesss and end stigma

WEST Berkshire Council has appointed a mental health champion.

Councillor Richard Somner (Con, Calcot) was chosen by fellow members at a meeting earlier this month.

This new, key role is designed to help improve the mental health of everyone in the community and to tackle health inequalities.

Mr Somner has also formally signed up to the Mental Health Challenge to mark Mental Health Awareness Week this week.

This challenge is an initiative that local authorities across the UK can join in order to promote mental health issues across their area.

The announcement of Mr Somners appointment is timely as West Berkshires health and wellbeing board has decided to adopt mental health as one of its main priorities for this year.

As part of this, the board recently established a Mental Health Action Group, which will work with public, voluntary and private sector partners across West Berkshire to address this important issue.

Speaking about his appointment, Mr Somner said: I am very proud to have been chosen by my peers to carry out this important role and hope I can make a real difference to the people of West Berkshire.

One in four people will experience a mental health problem in any given year and I am sure we all know someone who has been affected.

I am absolutely committed to tackling stigma and scrutinising the work we do as a local authority to make sure that everybodys views are heard and taken into account.

Ill use my new platform to work with the new Mental Health Action Group, which is already making some strides towards this as it seeks to coordinate voluntary and statutory services, putting the experience of services users at the heart of its approach.

Im looking forward to working with other councillors and residents across the district to advocate parity of esteem between mental and physical health as well as promoting good mental health and wellbeing across all sections of our community.West Berkshire swimmers raise hundred of pounds in national event

Milla, Lucy and Izzy after their swim

Thousands of people across the country took the plunge for charity recently in a weekend of Swimathon events.

Locally events were held in Hungerford, Thatcham and Tadley on the 28 and 29 April. Here we round up just how well some of the area's young swimmers did in their bid to raise vital funds for charity.

Lucy Bosley, aged 10, took part in the Swimathon with her friends Milla Brereton, aged 10, and Izzy Langley, aged 12. All swam in the 2.5km individual challenge  Lucy finished in 51 minutes, Izzy in 52 minutes and Milla in 1 hour 12 minutes.

They all live in Newbury, have raised just under 1,000 and took part in the Swimathon at Hungerford Leisure Centre.

Kirsten Fraser (below), aged 11, from Thatcham, swam 5km in a staggering 1 hour 20 minutes at Kennet Leisure Centre on Saturday. She has raised more than 400.

Lena McGowan, aged 11, and Daisy Ellis (both pictured below), aged 11, swam the 5km team challenge as team Swim Serpents. They have raised 300 so far and also took part at Kennet Leisure Centre on Saturday.

Hope Sparks, aged nine, swam in the 1.5km event at Tadley Swimming Pool on Saturday, in a time of 1 hour 8 minutes.

All are members of Newbury District Swimming Club and all money raised will go to Cancer Research UK and Marie Curie.The Loft Gallery at The Smithy in New Preston will open an exhibit of fine paintings by Carol Brightman Johnson with a reception May 26 from 4 to 6 p.m.

The show, which will run through July 8, will feature Johnsons detailed oil portraits of people, animals, and many of horses and riders.Higher levels of belly fat are associated with lower vitamin D levels in obese individuals, according to data presented in Barcelona at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2018. The study reports that vitamin D levels are lower in individuals with higher levels of belly fat, and suggests that individuals, particularly the overweight with larger waistlines should have their vitamin D levels checked, to avoid any potentially health-damaging effects.

Obesity is a global epidemic and contributes to an estimated 2.8 million deaths per year worldwide. Vitamin D deficiency is typically associated with impaired bone health but in recent years has also been linked with higher risks of acute respiratory tract infections, auto-immune diseases and cardiovascular diseases. Low vitamin D levels could therefore have wide-ranging and undetected adverse effects, although more research is required to confirm the role of vitamin D in these conditions. A link between low vitamin D levels and obesity has previously been reported but whether this effect is more associated with the type and location of fat was undetermined.

In this study Rachida Rafiq and colleagues from the VU University Medical Center and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands examined how the amount of total body fat and abdominal fat measured in participants of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study related to their vitamin D levels. After adjusting for a number of possible influencing factors, including chronic disease, alcohol intake and levels of physical activity, they found that the amounts of both total and abdominal fat were associated with lower vitamin D levels in women, although abdominal fat had a greater impact. However, in men abdominal fat and liver fat, was associated with lower vitamin D levels. In all cases the greater the amount of belly fat, the lower the levels of detected vitamin D.

Rachida Rafiq comments, "Although we did not measure vitamin D deficiency in our study, the strong relationship between increasing amounts of abdominal fat and lower levels of vitamin D suggests that individuals with larger waistlines are at a greater risk of developing deficiency, and should consider having their vitamin D levels checked."

The researchers now plan to investigate what may underlie this strong association between vitamin D levels and obesity - whether a lack of vitamin D is predisposing individuals to store fat, or whether increased fat levels are decreasing vitamin D levels is not yet clear. However, this research points to a more important role for abdominal fat in the relationship, and a place to focus future studies on.

As Rachida Rafiq says, "Due to the observational nature of this study, we cannot draw a conclusion on the direction or cause of the association between obesity and vitamin D levels. However, this strong association may point to a possible role for vitamin D in abdominal fat storage and function."With Skin Cancer Awareness Month upon us, Colorado State University researcher Jesse Wilson is accelerating research to improve imaging and detection of melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, and the fifth most common cancer in the United States.

Wilson, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and in the School of Biomedical Engineering (SBME), is one of 15 researchers selected for a Young Investigator Award from the Melanoma Research Alliance.

The award will allow Wilson and his team to go a step further in their research to make early detection of melanoma faster and cheaper, without the need for a biopsy. It will also open the door to partnering with CSU's College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to test new imaging applications on canine patients.

"The mantra for melanoma has always been, 'when in doubt, cut it out,'" said Wilson. But cutting away skin lesions is inconvenient and invasive, and often impractical for high-risk patients with a host of suspicious moles.

Wilson is developing a virtual biopsy tool that could give physicians a view into the cellular structure of the skin, allowing them to perform molecular analyses to guide patient care without having to cut away living tissue. His idea could represent a breakthrough in noninvasive in vivo imaging of melanin, the skin pigment that's made by cells called melanocytes, which can become cancerous.

"Right now there are a handful of virtual biopsy tools available in the United States, but the devices are imperfect because they produce grainy images that bear little resemblance to a traditional biopsy," said Wilson.

Building on preliminary data from his grant from the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, Wilson's research harnesses the power of multiphoton microscopy, an imaging technique that has produced "exquisite contrast" between normal tissue and melanoma in laboratory settings. But these microscopies rely on an exceedingly expensive short-pulse laser - a major barrier to commercialization. Wilson aims to bring multiphoton imaging closer to clinical practice by removing the need for these costly short-pulse lasers through machine learning and digital signal processing techniques.

When it comes to melanoma, dogs and humans have a lot in common. Because of the similarities between canine oral melanomas and human melanomas, Wilson is collaborating with Doug Thamm, director of Clinical Research at the Flint Animal Cancer Center, to validate and test the new technology.

Using a handheld wand about the size of a marker, Wilson's proposed technique will allow clinicians to scan a laser beam across a suspected canine melanoma to create a real-time image that shows melanin-specific contrast to inform a diagnosis. As part of the research trial, a surgical biopsy of the dog's lesion will also be taken, and the traditional biopsy results will be compared with the noninvasive virtual images during a blind review.

Researchers in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering are serving as mentors on the project, including Kevin Lear, associate director of the School of Biomedical Engineering and professor of electrical and computer engineering; Stu Tobet, director of the School of Biomedical Engineering and professor of biomedical sciences; and Matt Kipper, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering.

Wilson earned his bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Colorado State University. Prior to joining the faculty at CSU, he was a postdoctoral researcher in the Warren Group Laboratory at Duke University, where his work in melanoma imaging and detection began.If you want to take clear photographs, you don't use sandpaper to clear a smudge from your camera's lens. Similarly, if you want to see clearly, the lens of your eye has to be free of obstruction.

For that reason a curious thing happens during the development of eye lenses. Instead of closely guarding their nucleus and the DNA it contains - which normal cells do - most lens cells do the exact opposite. They actually degrade their own nuclei and other cell parts. If they were left in place, they would block clear vision causing cataracts at birth. Cataract disease, commonly found in the elderly, is a leading cause of blindness in the world.

Until now, scientists did not understand much about how these cells managed to do this - how they simultaneously pruned away obstructions without damaging proper development of the eye lens.

But now, in an article published in PLOS Genetics, University of Delaware biologist Salil Lachke and his collaborators show the protein (Celf1) is essential to this process and reveal the mechanism used in three different vertebrates - mice, frogs and zebrafish.

They also show the role this molecular machine plays in controlling factors that normally inhibit cell division, information that could have significant implications for cancer research.

The discoveries plant one of the earliest flags in a little-explored frontier of eye lens biology - showing how an RNA-binding protein found in fish, amphibians and mammals rewires components normally involved in cell division in order to control cell differentiation and specialization during lens development. They show that this RNA-binding protein is essential to breaking down the nucleus' membrane and starting the process of digesting fiber cell DNA that would otherwise obstruct vision.

"Scientists and philosophers have long wondered at the beauty and complexity of the vertebrate eye," Nobel Laureate Craig Mello wrote after reading Lachke's article. "How has evolution assembled this amazingly complex organ? Dr. Salil Lachke at the University of Delaware has been systematically searching for answers to this question for many years."

In this study, Mello said, Lachke "reveals how building the eye actually requires de-constructing the internal, opaque, structures inside the cells that form the lens, including destroying the DNA itself. In a collaborative study, Salil and co-workers identify an RNA-binding protein Celf1, that plays a role in eye development in fish, frogs and mice, and they identify key mRNAs regulated by Celf1."

But how does a cell degrade its own nucleus and DNA without killing itself and defeating the goal of lens development? How does it know when to stop this degradation?

"Isn't that sort of a counter-productive thing to do - destroying the one thing that keeps it alive?" Lachke said. "It's almost like arrested cell death. In normal cell death, the body gets rid of the nuclei as well as the cell. But here, the lens wants to keep itself functional and does so by getting rid of the nuclei but still keeping the cells, which act as bags filled with 'crystallin' proteins that effectively refract light.

The RNA-binding protein Celf1 is the key to this process.

"The functions of RNA-binding proteins, especially in organ development, are not well understood, mainly because scientists have not looked at them as carefully yet," Lachke said. "Most studies focus on signaling proteins and DNA-binding proteins that are important for initiating gene expression. But after you turn on a gene, you have to do a lot to precisely regulate its final output. In a process known as 'post-transcriptional control,' RNA-binding proteins determine the life span of their target RNA or whether that RNA should be translated into protein. Thus, it is essential to study RNA-binding proteins and the molecular processes they control after a gene is turned on."

If you think of genes as lights that are turned on in a house, you could think of these proteins as the ones who go around making sure lights are kept on in the correct rooms and turned off when no longer needed.

That's where Celf1 comes in. Its molecular interactions with specific RNA in the lens initiate events that make it possible to break open the envelope of the nucleus and degrade the DNA within in order to allow light to reach the retina properly.

When Celf1 is absent or deficient, serious eye disorders, including cataracts at birth, result.

"The whole process is very complicated and regulated very tightly," said Archana Siddam, who recently earned her doctorate in Lachke's lab and was the co-lead author on the PLOS Genetics article. "And this project sheds light on the molecular mechanism behind this complex process. We knew the lens gets rid of the nucleus, but we didn't know the control mechanism. This sheds light on how exactly it is degraded, what genes are involved and that Celf1 is the factor that orchestrates the whole process."

Part of the same process is critical to cell division and development - but in those cases it does not degrade the nucleus. Instead, it remodels its envelope so that the duplicated DNA can be evenly distributed to two daughter cells. This new information about Celf1 is sure to provide new traction in other cellular research, including cancer studies.

Mello, who shared the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Andrew Fire for their discovery of RNA interference, said he has followed Lachke's "exciting work" since 2012, when Lachke was awarded a prestigious fellowship from the Pew Charitable Trusts - the first awarded to a UD researcher. Mello was a Pew recipient in 1995 and now chairs the national advisory committee that selects Pew's biomedical scholars.

"Clearly Delaware has been doing an amazing job recruiting young faculty," Mello wrote, "as Delaware has had two additional Pew Scholarships awarded already since then - one to Dr. April Kloxin and one to Dr. Catherine Grimes."

Lachke's research provides important new insight in a critical field of research, said Mello, distinguished professor in the University of Massachusetts Medical School's Program in Molecular Medicine and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

"Cataracts are a major cause of blindness and Dr. Lachke's work is providing fundamental new knowledge on the basic underlying mechanisms involved in eye development," Mello wrote. "This is extremely important work."

And there is much more to do, Lachke said.

"This is relatively unexplored territory," Lachke said. "Of about 1,500 RNA-binding proteins, fewer than 100 are currently known to be directly linked to disease. We have now linked Celf1 to cataract eye disease. This will inform ophthalmic geneticists to look closely at Celf1 for possible mutations in individuals with cataracts at birth, and it will also inform cancer biologists to look into Celf1 as a candidate that can impact key factors involved in cancer."

Among Lachke's research team were University of Delaware students Deepti Anand, Christine Dang and Atul Kakrana.

As Lachke's lab investigated the science at UD, two other collaborators and their labs were doing the same in other vertebrate models - Luc Paillard of the University of Rennes in France and his team studied frogs, while Jeffrey Gross of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and his team studied zebrafish.

Also contributing were Carole Gautier-Courteille, Vincent Legagneuax, Agnes Mereau and Justine Viet of the University of Rennes, and Linette Perez-Campos of the University of Texas-Austin.

The research was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Retina France.

"Science is all about collaboration," said Siddam, who now is working as a Commissioner's Fellow in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Winchester, Massachusetts office. "That's something Salil fosters in all of his graduate students. I'm glad I had the opportunity to work in that environment. We worked as a team with those in France and Pittsburgh - and that was so wonderful. We learned so many things from each other and the scope got bigger because of all the contributions."

Source: http://www.udel.edu/NPS MedicineWise is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for the 10th National Medicines Symposium (NMS) - Population to Personal Health Care: The Future is Now.

The conference will deliver key industry speakers to discuss healthcare innovation, advancements and best practice in medication management and policy.

A broad selection of local and international speakers are scheduled for the conference agenda, including; Dr Hans-Georg Eichler, Professor Jeremy Nicholson, Dr John Skerritt, Jo Watson, Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver and Professor Andrew Wilson.

Topics the speakers will discuss will cover a diverse and meaningful range of concepts and ideas. Prof. Nicholson will be discussing molecular phenotyping and systems medicine approaches, while Dr Eichler will share his perspectives on adaptive pathways and contemporary regulation.

NPS MedicineWise Executive Manager and Chair of the NMS 2018 Program Committee Ms Kerren Hosking says she is looking forward to hosting such a diverse range of respected health professionals.

We have a stellar line-up of insightful speakers for NMS 2018 who have all been responsible for innovative initiatives in clinical settings. Their presentations will challenge perceptions and provide useful insights for fellow health care professionals. Ms Kerren Hosking

The keynote speakers for NMS 2018 are as follows:

Dr Hans-Georg Eichler, Senior Medical Officer, European Medicines Agency.

Hans-Georg Eichler, MD, MSc, is the Senior Medical Officer of the European Medicines Agency in London, United Kingdom, where he is responsible for coordinating activities between the Agencys scientific committees and giving advice on scientific and public health issues.

Professor Jeremy Nicholson, Director, Clinical Phenotyping Centre and Chair in Biological Chemistry, Head of Department Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery & Cancer.

Jeremy K. Nicholson is a professor of biological chemistry and head of the Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Division of Surgery, Oncology, Reproductive Biology and Anaesthetics at Imperial College London.

Nicholson is known for having developed metabonomics, also referred to as metabolic profiling. His research interests include spectroscopic and chemometric approaches to the investigation of disturbed metabolic processes in complex organisms.

Professor Andrew Wilson, Professor and Director, Menzies Centre for Health Policy School of Public Health, University of Sydney.

Andrew Wilson is the chair of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and co-director of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney. He leads the Australian Prevention Partnership Centre.

His research interests concern the application of epidemiology to informing decision making in clinical medicine, public health, and health service policy and planning especially in chronic disease prevention and management.

Dr John Skerritt, Deputy Secretary for Health Products Regulation, Department of Health.

John Skerritt is Deputy Secretary for Health Products Regulation in the Commonwealth Department of Health, covering both TGA and the Office of Drug Control.

He has extensive experience in medical, agricultural and environmental policy, regulation, research management, technology commercialisation, and is an Adjunct Full Professor at two Australian universities.

Jo Watson, Deputy Chair, Consumers Health Forum (CHF).

Jo Watson has been a consumer advocate in health for several decades. She is the Deputy Chair of the Consumers Health Forum and the Chair of the HTA Consumer Consultative Committee, established within the Commonwealth Department of Health. Jo is a member of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee and became the first Deputy Chair in 2017.

Professor Lisa Jackson Pulver, Pro Vice-chancellor Engagement & Pro Vice-chancellor Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Leadership, Western Sydney University.

Lisa Jackson Pulver is a proud Wiradjuri Koori woman. She is an academic leader, a recognised expert in public health and prominent researcher, educator and advocate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and education.

As the inaugural Pro Vice-chancellor, Engagement and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Leadership, Professor Jackson Pulver leads the University of Western Sydneys work relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander outcomes.A Loyola Medicine study has found that new ultrasound guidelines can reliably identify pediatric patients who should be biopsied for thyroid cancer.

The study by radiologist Jennifer Lim-Dunham, MD, and colleagues was presented May 18 during the Society for Pediatric Radiology's annual meeting in Nashville.

Thyroid cancer is a common cause of cancer in teenagers, and the incidence is increasing for reasons that are unclear. Adolescents have a 10-fold greater incidence than younger children, and the disease is five times more common in girls than boys.

The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the neck that secretes hormones needed for regulation of growth, development and metabolism. Cancer may occur within lumps in the thyroid called nodules.

Thyroid nodules typically are found during routine physical exams or on imaging tests such as CT scans done for other reasons. A definitive diagnosis requires a percutaneous fine-needle aspiration biopsy  a minimally invasive procedure in which a physician uses a very small needle to withdraw cells from the nodule. The cells are sent to a pathologist, who makes the diagnosis.

Since most nodules are benign, not all of them require biopsy. Ultrasound exams are used to identify those nodules that look suspicious enough to require biopsy. In 2017, the American College of Radiology (ACR) released a system for grading nodules on a 1 to 5 scale, with 1 being benign and 5 being highly suspicious of cancer. The grades are based on ultrasound features, such as how white or black the nodule appears (echogenicity), whether the edges of the nodule are jagged or smooth and whether there are white dots inside the nodule (echogenic foci).

In the Loyola study, two radiologists used the ACR system to retrospectively grade 74 thyroid nodules from 62 pediatric patients. The ACR grading system proved to be accurate and reproducible. For every one unit increase in the 1-to-5 ACR scale, nodules were 2.63 times more likely to have a malignant diagnosis confirmed by biopsy or surgery.

The findings should reassure physicians and parents that the ACR system can be reliably used to differentiate between thyroid nodules in children that require biopsy and those that do not, Dr. Lim-Dunham said. An earlier study led by Dr. Lim-Dunham found that a different set of thyroid nodule ultrasound guidelines from the American Thyroid Association also are reliable in children.The 2019 Dakar Rally will be run solely in Peru with the start and finish in Lima, organizer Etienne Lavigne announced Friday, adding the race aimed to return to Africa in 2020. The 41st edition of the rally, which will take place between January 6-17 next year, is a looping 10-stage rally-route mapped around the Peruvian deserts, with organizers admitting it "promises to be one of the sandiest in the history of the rally".

"Each stage will be harder than the previous, which will create a suspense-filled battle just until the final days."

Not only is it the first time a sole country has hosted the rally, but new rules mean that competitors who suffer a mechanical breakdown or accident in the opening week that could lead to withdrawal will be able to rejoin the rally from the rest day on.

Those rejoining would return to competition in a distinct classification to guarantee fair-play.

Also Read: Toyota Yaris Scores Five out of Five Stars in ASEAN NCAP Safety Crash Test  Watch Video

Turning to a potential return to Africa, Lavigne told AFP that worsening austerity in Argentina and Chile, coupled with general difficulties hosting the Dakar in South America meant other avenues were being pursued.

"We already have some avenues open, notably in Algeria, Angola and Namibia, where we've had very high-level talks with for several months," said Lavigne.

"If we can no longer host it in South America, we must find countries that have a topography that can offer up 10-12 days of competition," Lavigne said.

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"This can be found elsewhere provided you have a little bit of time to anticipate it."

The Dakar was moved from Africa in 2009 because of security issues that saw the 2008 rally cancelled.Indian Army, which is the second largest standing army in the world, has been long using the Maruti Suzuki Gypsy for its transportation purpose. In fact, Gypsy became famous for being the low-cost 4x4 vehicle used by defense forces in extreme terrains. However, last year, it was reported that the Indian Army will replace the aging Maruti Suzuki Gypsy with something more modern and rugged. In came the Tata Motors, who were chosen to deliver 3192 units of the Safari Storme SUV for the Indian Army, who operates in some of the roughest terrains starting from the mountainous region of North to the desert in the west and dense forests in the North-East and as per the latest reports the deliveries of the Matte Green Tata Safari Storme for the Indian Army has been commenced.

Also Read: Highway Building, Water Bodies Construction Can Go Hand in Hand: Nitin Gadkari

The India Army version of the Tata Safari Storme comes with a few differences as compared to the standard road-going model. Apart from the matte paint job, there are blackout lamps mounted on the front and rear bumper that projects a horizontal light beam. All these changes add to the stealth value of the Safari Storme.

The chrome bits like the grille, exhaust tips, etc. have been blacked out to avoid reflection. Theres also a large hook at the rear to mount a trailer and a canister mount on the rear fenders. The military version of the Tata Safari Storme also gets a radio antenna on the bonnet.

The criteria set by the Indian Army for the vehicle selection was - hard top, 800 kg payload capacity and air conditioning. This is the first time detailed images of the Safari Storme have surfaced online in a cool matte green paint job.

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Apart from the visual changes, Tata Motors has made some minor mechanical changes to the car, including better underbody protection and beefier suspension. The engine remains the same 2.2-litre diesel unit that makes 154 bhp of peak power and 400 Nm of peak torque. All the army versions will come standard with four-wheel drive and with both a low range and a high range option along with a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Also Watch: Ritukar Vijay - Head of Technology and Product Strategy, Hi-Tech Robotic Systemz | InterviewNew Delhi: An online sellers industry body moved the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, a wholesale company, on Monday for allegedly abusing its dominant position on Flipkart's online marketplace.

The All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA), which claims to represent over 3,500 sellers on various e-commerce platforms, in a statement alleged that Flipkart India Pvt Ltd, a dominant player, has abused its position.

"Flipkart India, the subsidiary of Flipkart Singapore, is a wholesale dealer which acquired goods from various persons and was immediately selling the goods to retail sellers like WS Retail Services and others at huge discounts, who subsequently would sell those goods at unmatched prices as sellers on internet platform under the name 'Flipkart.com'," AIOVA said in its statement.

Emails sent to Flipkart did not elicit a response.

The representative body claimed that such a "preferential treatment and discriminatory conduct", which is prohibited under the Competition Act, "is killing many independent sellers who depend on its platform for their livelihood".

"The Commission should immediately prevent Flipkart from selling goods at a discounted price to certain sellers which are further sold on Flipkart.com. If not stopped immediately, many independent sellers would be forced to leave the market, resulting in concentration of the market," it asserted.

The association urged that Flipkart India (wholesale arm) should immediately be asked to stop selling goods at discount.

It also sought that Flipkart Internet, which runs the online marketplace, should immediately stop giving preferential treatment and discriminatory advantage to certain set of sellers in order to protect independent sellers.

Earlier this month, Flipkart struck about USD 16 billion deal with Walmart under which the US retail giant will pick up about

77 per cent stake in the company.

Traders' body CAIT has said it will move CCI to file objections on the proposed Walmart-Flipkart deal, claiming that the agreement would lead to an uneven playing field and massive job losses.Washington: The U.S. trade war with China is "on hold" after the world's largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

Mnuchin and U.S. President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the agreement reached by Chinese and American negotiators on Saturday set up a framework for addressing trade imbalances in the future.

"We are putting the trade war on hold. Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework," Mnuchin said in a television interview on "Fox News Sunday."

On Saturday, Beijing and Washington said they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States to narrow the $335 billion annual U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China.

During an initial round of talks this month in Beijing, Washington demanded that China reduce its trade surplus by $200 billion. No dollar figure was cited in the countries' joint statement on Saturday.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not return a request for comment on Mnuchin's statement.

Tension between the two sides has been growing since the Trump administration proposed tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese goods and said it might extend the levies to an additional $150 billion. China responded with its own measures targeting U.S. agriculture.

The top U.S. trade official, Robert Lighthizer, said that getting China to open its market to more U.S. exports was significant, but that it was far more important for the United States to resolve issues with China such as forced technology transfers and cyber theft.

"Real structural change is necessary. Nothing less than the future of tens of millions of American jobs is at stake," U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer said in a statement on Sunday.

In response to Mnuchin's comments, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a frequent Trump critic, said he thought it would be a mistake for Trump to settle for "a promise to buy goods" with so many larger issues on the table.

"If President Xi is going ... to fail to take strong actions on intellectual property, cyber theft, and American companies having free access to sell goods in China ... we will have lost," Schumer said.

Kudlow told CBS "Face the Nation" it was too soon to lock in the $200 billion figure for China's promised purchases. "The details will be down the road. These things are not so precise," he said.

In addition, he told ABC's "This Week" that the broader issues were still in play, and that China had "structural reforms" such as lowering tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will allow the United States to boost exports.

Trump was in a "very positive mood about this," Kudlow said.

However, he said there was no trade deal yet reached.

"There's no agreement for a deal," Kudlow told ABC. "We never anticipated one. There's a communique between the two great countries, that's all. And in that communique, you can see where we're going next."

One next step will be dispatching Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to China to look at areas where there will be significant increases, including energy, liquefied natural gas, agriculture and manufacturing, Mnuchin and Kudlow said.

Mnuchin said the United States expects to see a big increase of between 35 percent and 40 percent in agricultural exports to China this year alone and a doubling of energy purchases over the next three to five years.

"We have specific targets. I am not going to publicly disclose what they are. They go industry by industry," Mnuchin said.

Saturday's statement made no mention of whether there would be a relaxation of paralyzing restrictions on Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp imposed last month by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The action was related to violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea and banned American companies from selling semiconductors and other components to ZTE, causing the Shenzhen-based company to cease most operations.

Trump said last week he had directed Ross to put ZTE back in business, but Kudlow said any changes would be minimal.

"If any of the remedies are altered they are still going to be very, very, tough, including big fines, compliance measures, new management, new boards," he said. "Do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. Ain't going to happen."New Delhi: Pakistan on Monday said that it was going to approach the World Bank over the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project (KHEP), which Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated on Saturday.

Pakistan has time and again said that the project is a violation of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty between the two countries.

Taking to Twitter, the government of Pakistan said, Pakistan will raise its concern with World Bank today over the inauguration of Kishanganga hydropower project by India. Pakistan argues that construction of dam violates 1960 Indus Water Treaty between Pakistan & India.

Pakistan will raise its concern with World Bank today over the inauguration of Kishanganga hydropower project by India. Pakistan argues that construction of dam violates 1960 Indus Water Treaty between #Pakistan & #India. pic.twitter.com/wx39jbHwaW Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) May 21, 2018

KHEP has for long been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan. The Rs 5,750-crore project on Kishanganga, a tributary of Jhelum, was commissioned in various stages over the last couple of months.

The project includes a dam on the tributary, which is barely metres away from the Line of Control (LoC). This is not the first time that Pakistan has knocked on the doors of the World Bank. It had done so in 2016 and asked the organisation to appoint an arbitration court into the make and design of the Kishanganga dam and also look into another project on the Chenab.

The talks between the two countries, via the World Bank, have still seen no fruitful result, except the fact that India went ahead with KHEP, thus asserting its rights over the waters as well as, in ways more than one, the Indus Waters Treaty.

Pakistan, too, has left no stone unturned in asserting its rights, one of which it argues is first access to water. While it continues to object the project till date, last month, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi inaugurated the first unit of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydroelectric Project (NJHEP) on the same river in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

The dam will divert the Jhelum water to an underground power house. More than it being a power house and a way of transferring water from the Gurez Valley to Kashmir, the dam on Kishanganga, known as Neelum in Pakistan, is a mark of strategic significance and a show of strength.

The work on the project started during the previous governments regime in 2007, but was halted after Pakistan moved International Court of Arbitration in The Hague three years later. Pakistan, in its plea at The Hague, had said that India violated the Indus Waters Treaty, which details the use of water when it comes to shared rivers.

In 2013, however, in a massive victory for India, the court allowed it to go ahead with the construction of the project on Kishanganga, with a caveat that it would have to release 9 cubic metres of water across the border, but Pakistan continues to protest it.Bihar Police Driver Constable Admit Card for Written Exam has been released by the Central Selection Board of Constable (CSBC) on its official website - csbc.bih.nic.in. CSBC aims to fill 700 vacancies in Bihar Police and 969 vacancies in Bihar Fire Services for which it is scheduled to organize the Written Examination on Sunday, 10th June 2018 at 84 centres in Patna, Gaya, Bhojpur, Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur. The Written Examination is the Preliminary Stage test and candidates who have enrolled for the same can follow the instructions below and download their e-Admit Card now:

How to download Bihar Police Driver Constable Admit Card?

Step 1  Visit the official website - csbc.bih.nic.in/

Step 2  Click on

'21-05-2018 Important Notice: Download your e-Admit Card for written exam of Driver Constable in Bihar Police. (Advt. 01/2018)'

Step 3  Enter your Registration Number and Date of Birth and click on Submit

Step 4  Download your e-Admit Card and take a printout for further reference

Direct Link - http://exam-gov.in/2018/index.php

The e-Admit cards will bear information like date, venue and time of the written test and candidates must read through the important instructions given on it.

Candidates who will qualify the written exam will be eligible to appear for physical fitness test followed by a driving test.

The written examination and physical fitness test are of qualifying nature only. The final merit list will be prepared on the basis of marks secured by the candidates in the driving test.Patna: Police in Bihar are on the lookout for the sons of senior BJP leader Awadhesh Narayan Singh in connection with a sexual harassment complaint filed against the duo by a Mumbai-based air hostess.

In her complaint filed at the Gandhi Maidan Womens police station, the woman alleged that the accused, Prashan Ranjan and Sushant Ranjan, invited her to their fathers residence on May 16 and tried to molest her.

Patna City Superintendent of Police D Amarkesh told News18 that a team, led by Secretariat area DSP, has been formed to nab the accused.

Initially, we went looking for them at their residence, but found no trace of them. They are absconding now. We are constantly trying to track their movement, Amarkesh said.

The city SP said the woman did not file the complaint in her person, but sent it through one of her acquaintances. After speaking to her, the police turned the complaint into an FIR.

We have also requested the victim to come to Patna and help us in our investigation. She has not confirmed yet, Amarkesh said.

According to her complaint, the air hostess came into contact with the duo through a common friend, adding that the brothers had invited her to their fathers official residence in Patna on previous occasions as well.

On May16, Sushant insisted that I come over. When I went there, his brother Prashant also turned up. Prashant had requested me not to talk to his brother, but I thought it was the fallout of some differences between them. On that day, both tried to molest me and when resisted they threatened to kill. I anyhow managed to rescue myself (sic), she said in the complaint.

Defending his sons, Awadhesh Naryan Singh, former chairman of Bihar legislative council, said, One of my sons studied with her in school. She might be framing them at the behest of someone else.Jammu: Pakistani Rangers violated ceasefire along the International Border on Monday morning, a day after pleading with Indias Border Security Force (BSF) to stop firing.

The Rangers fired mortar shells on border outposts at several places in Jammu and Kashmir's Arnia sector, prompting retaliation by the BSF personnel guarding the International Border.

The mortar firing from across the border started around 7 am in Arnia sector of Jammu and was still continuing when last reports were received, a senior Border Security Force official said. Three border outposts are under fire from the Pakistani Rangers and the personnel deployed there are also retaliating to silence the Pakistani guns," the official said.

"However, there was no immediate report of any casualty in the shelling," he said.

On Sunday night, Pakistani troops fired small arms and mortars, targeting Narayanpur area of Ramgarh sector in Samba district, hours after "pleading" with the BSF to stop firing, after being pounded with heavy artillery that left a trooper dead across the border.

The BSF also released a 19-second thermal-imagery footage, showing the destruction of a Pakistani picket across the border, in retaliation to the unprovoked firing and shelling along the International Border.

The BSF has lost two of its jawans in the latest round of unprovoked firing along the International Border in Jammu region since May 15.

Four civilians were killed and 11 others injured on Friday in the Jammu area due to the firing, which increased in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir on May 19.

The state has witnessed a spurt in Pakistani shelling and firing along the International Border and the Line of Control (LoC) this year.

Over 700 such incidents have been reported this year, which have left 38 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.

(With PTI inputs)New Delhi: Farmers in some of Maharashtras villages want to leave their state for Telangana and want to take their entire village with them. Yes, you read that right.

These villagers, who reside in areas that touch the Telangana border, have written a letter to chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, appealing to him to integrate their villages into his state.

The unusual request has been made so that they farmers there can also get the benefit of the recently launched Rythu Bandhu Scheme, which translates to friends of farmers.

The investment support scheme, a first of its kind in India, offers financial support to farmers twice every year to maximise agricultural produce.

Farmers will get investment support of Rs 8,000 per acre every year, that is, Rs 4000 each for monsoon and Rabi season, under the scheme. It is expected to benefit nearly 58 lakh farmers in the state.

To avail its benefits, the president of the Dharmabad Taluka Sarpanch Association President expressed willingness to integrate their villages into Telangana.

The sarpanch of Babli village in Dharmabad Taluka in Nanded District of Maharashtra also met TRS MP Kavitha, while she was distributing Rythu Bandhu cheques and pattadar passbooks in her constituency Nizamabad in Telangana.

Farmers in Telangana were also issued loan waivers by the KCR government and get 24-hour free power supply and Rs 5 lakh life insurance.Gurgaon: A special court here will decide on Monday if the juvenile accused in the murder of a seven-year-old student will be tried as an adult.

The 16-year-old student is accused of killing a Class 2 student of a school in Gurgaon. The judgment by Justice J S Kundu is expected around 10.30am.

The Juvenile Justice Board on December 20 last year held that the teenager would be tried as an adult and directed that he be produced before the Gurugram Sessions Court.

If the order of the Juvenile Justice Board is set aside by the sessions court, the case will be sent back to the JJB. This would mean that the juvenile could be sentenced to a maximum punishment of three years to be spent in a correction home.

Justice Kundu will also be delivering judgment on two other petitions filed by the juveniles counsel. The first is regarding the JJB's order which allowed the CBI to take 16-year-olds fingerprints. The defence says that the order was illegal and that CBI should not be allowed to use the fingerprints as a piece of evidence.

The second petition deals with remand of 3 days granted to the CBI by the JJB on 8th November 2017.

Sushil Tekriwal, lawyer of deceased's father, says that he is confident that all the three petitions will be dismissed by the court as they are absolutely baseless and a part of a frivolous attempt to delay the trial.

The seven-year-old student was found near the toilet of the Gurgaon school with his throat slit on September 8. The Gurgaon Police had arrested a bus conductor of the school pinning the blame of murder on him.

The CBI later announced that it had apprehended the senior student in connection with the murder rejecting the Gurgaon Police theory that the killing was the handiwork of school bus conductor.

According to the agency, the Class 11 student, believed to be weak in studies, allegedly slit the seven-year-old 's throat to get the school to declare a holiday in order to defer a scheduled parent-teacher meeting (PTM) and an examination.

The father of teenager had alleged that the CBI was torturing his son which was strongly refuted by the agency.Kozhikode: Lini Puthussery's sons Rithul, 5, and Sidharth, 2, are yet to understand that their mother will never come back.

They havent seen her for the past few days, yet continue to believe that she is at work at the Perambra Taluk Hospital. The boys are used to Lini working late nights, so her family hasn't had difficulty into making the kids believe that she will be back soon. Still, Sidharth cries once in a while asking for his mother.

Lini had contracted the deadly Nipah Virus while tending to two brothers who were the first victims of the fever outbreak in Kozhikode. She breathed her last on Sunday night, without getting a chance to see her loved ones. Her husband Sajeesh, who works as an accountant in Bahrain, had flown down two days ago, yet never got a chance to see her alive.

Unable to meet her husband, Lini wrote a letter to her husband from the ICU. Sajeeshetta, am almost on the way. I dont think I will be able to see you again. Sorry. Please take care of our children. Poor Kunju (term of endearment for their son), please take him to the Gulf with you. Dont leave them and go like (my) father did. Please. With lots of love Kisses (sic), it reads.

Sajeesh told News18 that Lini had gone to work last Wednesday despite running a fever as there was a shortage of nurses.

I told her not to, but she did not listen to me. She told me there was a staff crunch at the hospital and she was needed there. She left a note for me from the ICU. It was given to me by a nurse after she died. She probably knew her end was near. I dont know how I will take care of our children now, he said.

Her family could not even hold a proper funeral, as her body was cremated in haste to prevent the virus coming in contact with others.

Lini and her two sisters had lost their father several years ago. Until her marriage, her family was dependent on her income. After completing her nursing course from the Pawan School of Nursing in Bangalore, she had struggled to repay her loans. Failing to find regular work, she had finally found employment as a daily-wage nurse at the Perambra Taluk Hospital, under a National Rural Health Mission scheme.

She had been working at the hospital for the past one year. Her colleagues at the hospital say she was extremely dedicated to her work.

Lini's death has prompted calls for better protection for nurses working in government hospitals in Kerala. Her death comes at a time when there is a heated battle on in the courts over fixing minimum wages and better working conditions for nursing staff. Lini's story shows the immense sacrifices some of these nurses make every day to treat the ill and the infirm.

(With inputs from Ashwin Vellath)New Delhi: The little known virus that's killed six people in Kerala so far, first announced its presence to world in 1998-99 when it caused the deaths of a 100 people in Malaysia and Singapore.

The Nipah virus (NiV), member of the family Paramyxoviridae, was first isolated and identified during the 1999 outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States.

Though it's caught national attention now with six deaths being reported within two weeks, it has apparently been reported several times in India and caused almost annual outbreaks in Bangladesh, according to the CDC.

Pigs in Malaysia before bats in India

The 1999 outbreak caused widespread encephalitis and respiratory problems amongst farmers and others in close contact with the animals. According to the CDC, 300 pigs were mildly affected but 100 people died. At least, 265 patients were infected with the virus. About 40% of those patients who entered hospitals with serious nervous disease died from the illness.

A million pigs were also euthanised to prevent its spread. The village of Sungai Nipah, in Malaysia, where many of the cases occurred, gave the virus its name. Bat species, said that CDC document on Nipah, were quickly singled out for investigation and flying foxes of the genus Pteropus were subsequently identified as the reservoir for NiV.

It next reared its head in Bangladesh in 2001, and in Siliguri, India with reports of person-to-person transmission in hospital settings.

Symptoms and treatment

The Nipah virus has an incubation period of 7-14 days, after which there is a rapid onset of symptoms, the major one being encephalitis which leads to the swelling of the brain. Doctors currently treating it in Kerala also described fever, sudden breathlessness, low blood pressure, with patients needing to be put on ventilators. The symptoms can also progress to a coma.

There is no cure for the virus and treatment is limited to supportive care. However, its similarity to the Hendra virus affecting horses in Australia may mean that the latter's antiviral could be used for Nipah.

Zoonosis

The Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus, which means it spreads to humans from either air or through saliva. Doctors are theorising that it is not an airborne disease, but one that spreads through direct contact; either with the bats or through consuming fruit that bats have nibbled on.New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram: Three of the 10 deaths caused by a mystery viral fever in Keralas Kozhikode were confirmed to have been caused by the Nipah virus, the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune has said.

Late on Sunday, Union Health Minister JP Nadda sent the Director of National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district to assist the state government.

According to NIV director Dr Devendra T Mourya, the test results suggest a focal outbreak of the Nipah virus. The report has been submitted to Dr Balram Bhargava, the Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), NIVs parent body.

The Nipah virus is a lesser studied virus, which the World Health Organisation calls a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. There are no known drugs or vaccines to treat it.

Speaking to News18, Mourya said the virus has been causing focal outbreaks in very rare situations among humans who accidentally come into contact (with the virus) from bats.

But not all bats are infected with the Nipah virus. The Pteropus species is a known reservoir, but even among this species, very few bats are carriers and capable of secreting this virus.

Five of the victims, including three of a family from Kozhikode, suffered an acute onset of symptoms, said Dr. Ajit Bhaskar, a pulmonologist from the city and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) state chairman for ventilator and cardiac life support.

Among the victims is 31-year-old Lini Puthussery, a nurse at the Perambra Taluk Hospital who had treated another fatality. Puthussery breathed her last on Sunday night. Fearing that her body may still be infected, the state health authorities conducted the cremation within hours, without releasing the body to her family.

In Kozhikode, seven persons remain under intensive care after it was confirmed that they contracted the virus. The condition of two is said to be critical. At least 25 people who had come in contact with the victims are under observation. A special ward and a control room have also been set up. The patients are currently being treated at the Kozhikode Medical College, Baby Memorial Hospital and at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi.

The first fatalities in Kozhikode were two siblings in Changorath Panchayat of Kozhikode. Twenty-three-year-old Sabith's death on May 5 did not initially raise alarms, but when his 26-year-old brother Salih died on May 18, the situation took a serious turn. Their aunt, 50-year-old Miriam died a few days later.

Four people have died in neighbouring Malappuram district from similar symptoms, although the cause has not been officially confirmed.

After an incubation period of seven to 14 days, the victims developed a fever, sudden onset of breathlessness, low blood pressure and meningitis. Even those who were put on ventilators did not survive.

The question for the medical community, said Bhaskar, is how this happened. This is what the IMA and the district administration was left grappling with in a series of meetings on Sunday.

Among the questions to be considered is whether the virus emerged after recent contact between people and bats? Did it happen, as one of the standing theories is, through people eating fruits that bats had already bitten into? Or, was the virus always present and its symptoms and cases lost among those infected with dengue?

According to Bhaskar, the virus may be have been identifiable for the first time as the cases emerged before monsoon and the onset of dengue.

The Nipah virus symptoms bear similarity to vector-borne viral diseases and these patients were tested for all others, including dengue and H1N1, before someone thought of Nipah.

The virus was discovered first in Malaysia in 1998 and the most recent outbreak was in Bangladesh in 2004.

There are no known antivirals, though some doctors, said Bhaskar, were thinking of trying those used for H1N1. At the moment, doctors arent even sure if the deaths were caused by the virus alone, or if exacerbated co-existing conditions.

Though it is not thought to be airborne, rather caused by bodily contact, doctors are worried about it spreading to other parts of the country as people travel.Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said the way North and South Korea decided to walk the path of "peaceful engagement" was an encouraging signal to the entire world that complex issues could only be settled through peaceful negotiations.

Mufti, who met victims of cross-border firing in the Arnia and R S Pura sectors of Jammu district on Monday, said the people of the state had gone through "very tough times" in the past and wanted to live a peaceful life.

She visited the residence of Tarseem Lal and Manjeet Kour, who were killed in Pakistan firing in the Mangu Chak belt of the R S Pura sector on Saturday.

The chief minister said the Centre's move of halting security operations during the holy month of Ramzan had kindled hope among the people, who had "expected positive reciprocation by all stakeholders".

She said that world over people were engaging in peaceful engagements to resolve issues "as acrimony and violence has led them nowhere".

"The way North and South Korea decided to walk the path of peaceful engagement is an encouraging signal to the entire world that issues, no matter how complex they are, can only be resolved through peaceful negotiations, as violence only kills," she said.

Mufti disbursed cash assistance of Rs one lakh each to the families of those killed in cross-border firings.

She also directed the Jammu divisional administration to prepare a report on the damage caused to houses and dwelling units during the cross-border firing.New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Russia on Monday morning to hold an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin in the southern city of Sochi.

Officials have said that the two leaders will meet for four to six hours for the "agendaless" talks where deliberations on bilateral issues are likely to be very limited. They said the issues on the table may include economic impact on India and Russia in the wake of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, situation in Afghanistan and Syria, threat of terrorism, and matters relating to the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS summits.

On the eve of his departure for the day-long trip, Modi expressed hope that his talks with the Russian President would further strengthen the "special and privileged" strategic partnership between India and Russia.

In a series of tweets first in Russian and then in English, he said, "Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia."

"Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him," Modi said in another tweet.

Greetings to the friendly people of Russia. I look forward to my visit to Sochi tomorrow and my meeting with President Putin. It is always a pleasure to meet him. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

Am confident the talks with President Putin will further strengthen the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia. @KremlinRussia_E @PutinRF_Eng Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 20, 2018

The two leaders will primarily focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

PTI quoted sources as saying that the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation might also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.

India is not going to allow its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources said, adding New Delhi has been lobbying with the Donald Trump administration on the issue.

The aim of the informal summit is to use the friendship and trust between the two countries to create convergence on key global and regional issues, the sources said.

The two leaders may also deliberate on extending Indo-Russia civil nuclear cooperation to third countries, possible areas for cooperation for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project, India's engagement with five-nation Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the situation in the Korean peninsula.

The sources said the large part of the informal meeting between Modi and Putin would be one-to-one and there might be limited segment for restricted delegation-level discussions.

(With PTI inputs)Srinagar: "Catch them alive" is the new mantra in Jammu and Kashmir as security forces, which have killed over 70 terrorists in the last seven months, shift gear to focus on finding new recruits and motivating them to return to their families, senior officials said.

The strategy of police and security agencies is to cut the "umbilical cord" by smashing the overground worker network, which is instrumental in radicalising youth and pushing them to jihad, the officials said.

"Our effort is to catch them alive and understand their grievances. After all, a 15 or 16 year old boy can't be brainwashed to the extent that he would like to be killed in a gunfight. There has to be a counter-narrative," said a senior official engaged in counter-insurgency operations.

In the run-up to the Centre asking security forces not to launch operations during Ramzan, there was need to eliminate hardcore terrorists like Saddam Paddar, Esa Fazl and Sameer Tiger as they were the brains behind the fresh influx of cadres for Pakistan-based militant groups Lashker-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, officials said.

After the elimination of several top leaders, efforts are now on to change the script.

Operations based on specific intelligence inputs will continue but there will be also be increasing emphasis on catching newly-recruited militants alive, they said.

"We have got indication from our field intelligence that many desire to return. Some parents have also approached us and we have no hesitation in helping them resume their normal life and education at the earliest," a senior police official said.

Many officials, including those from intelligence agencies, believe the present cessation of hostilities may provide the much needed window to convince parents to woo their wards back to textbooks.

"In the last seven months, four new recruits have been arrested while one returned," said Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) Swayam Prakash Pani, who has been closely watching the situation in the Valley and is using his experience as deputy inspector general in south Kashmir to tackle militancy.

The aim, he said, is to create a conducive atmosphere so that people can get over the cycle of violence.

"My director general of police (S P Vaid) has also appealed to misguided youths and so I am asking them to return to their families," Pani told PTI.

Several people from various parts of the Valley have been booked in the last seven months. They were entrusted with the indoctrination of young minds and motivating them to pick up arms, officials said.

The identification of these overground workers is necessary before a crackdown on the militant top brass, they explained.

"The militants also know that their basic structure of the overground network, which used to facilitate their movement from one place to another, has been hit. You can't be holed up at one place for days together," an official said.

The multi-pronged strategy -- including encounters with militants, fighting their overground workers in courts and smashing their network of sympathisers -- has also brought down the number of videos on social media showing groups of militants roaming freely in the orchards and forests of Tral, Shopian and Kulgam in South Kashmir.

The trend is now a single militant posing in a closed room with a rifle so the location can't be identified, an official said.

"The trend of videos has ended as security forces have gained an upper hand," he added.New Delhi: With Karnataka elections over, petrol and diesel prices have risen to record levels in the country following rocketing international fuel rates and a weaker rupee.

On Sunday, petrol was priced at 76.24 per litre at Indian Oil (NSE -0.09 %) pumps in Delhi, more than the previous all-time high price of 76.06 reached in September 2013.

In the state of Karnataka itself, between May 14 and Sunday, the price of petrol increased by 1.62 a litre and that of diesel by 1.65. The results of the Karnataka elections were declared on May 15.

This sudden increase in fuel prices, other than other various factors, can also be attributed to the recently concluded elections in Karnataka. As the Congress had made rising fuel prices an election issue during the Karnataka polls in April, the BJP-led government had reportedly asked oil-marketing companies not to resort to daily revision of prices.

This was in contrary to the usual routine where oil-marketing companies were allowed to revise the rates daily from June 16, 2017, depending on the international crude rates as well as the price of petrol and diesel in other countries.

The move had resulted in the fuel prices to remain almost stagnant, thus benefiting consumers across the country.

A Poll Gimmick?

Among the many fuel-related theories out there is the one that says state elections cause fuel prices to fall. A look at some state elections shows a somewhat similar trend.

Ahead of the Gujarat polls, oil companies slashed petrol and diesel prices daily 1-3 paise every day, and as soon as the polls concluded on December 14, 2017, the prices began increasing. Earlier, the petrol and diesel prices were slashed or kept unchanged between December 6 and December 14 even as international oil prices were on a rising streak.

The state of Gujarat had voted in two phases  December 9 and then December 14.

In September 2015, state-owned oil companies, apparently because of the Assembly elections in Bihar, had put off a 1 per litre hike in petrol and a 2.28 per litre increase in diesel prices necessitated due to firming global oil rates.

At that time, the state-owned IOC, BPCL and HPCL were to revise petrol and diesel prices as per the practice of adjusting retail pump rates every fortnight after taking into account the average international oil prices and foreign exchange rate in the previous 15-day period. However, the oil companies had chosen to skip the revision at that time.

The move had come just a few weeks before the state had gone to the polls.

In February 2015, the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had slammed the BJP government for slashing prices of petrol and diesel ahead of Delhi Assembly polls saying the move was a "desperate attempt" by the ruling party at the Centre to woo voters of the city.

Interestingly, a petrol price cut of 2.42 per litre and diesel by 2.25 a litre was announced just seven days before the elections in Delhi.

The Opposition Backlash

Congress leaders, in an apparent attack against the BJP, hit out at the Narendra Modi-led government over the hike in fuel prices on May 14, a day before Karnataka election results came out.

Taking to Twitter, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel wrote: "As soon as Karnataka election is over, govt has decided to increase petrol and diesel prices. They why does govt pretend that it is not interfering in the determination of fuel prices? Aren't they taking the people for a ride?"

This timing of the sudden freeze and an expected subsequent resumption had earlier raised speculation that fuel prices are being used to bolster support at the polls.

Taking a dig at the BJP-led central government, Congress leader P Chidambaram on May had alleged that the prices of petrol and diesel were kept constant off late because of the Karnataka Assembly polls.

Thanks to Gujarat elections, GST rates on many items reduced from 28% to 18%. Thanks to Karnataka elections, Petrol/Diesel prices kept constant. So, frequent elections also bring benefits to people! (sic)," he said on Twitter.New Delhi: A week into the Ramzan ceasefire announcement in Kashmir, MoS Prime Ministers Office, Jitendra Singh clarified that the cessation is conditional and does not tie down the security forces. Singh told News18 that the ensuing violence since the announcement only proves that the militants indulge in violence because of foreign influence and not government action.

The Centre made the surprise announcement last Wednesday while CRPF data suggest 21 incidents of stone-pelting were reported since May 17. Three CRPF jawans were injured and 28 vehicles damaged.

Other incidents of grenade lobbing, bank loot, shooting and an encounter in Kupwara has also been reported since May 17. On Monday, clashes were reported from Shopian during an Army-organized Iftar party. A 14-year-old girl sustained bullet injury after the personnel resorted to firing in wake of stone-pelting by civilians.

Reacting to these incidents, Jitendra Singh said that this exposes terrorists and their sympathisers. "It only shows that people who follow Islam do not have any conviction to follow the tenets of Quran, the sanctity of Ramzan and therefore, I am proud that forces are taking retaliatory measures. Then you cannot blame our forces," he said.

When asked if he would convey to the Prime Minister and Home Minister that the decision of ceasefire should be reviewed, Singh said that it was not his mandate to inform them but added that it was clear to all concerned that the cessation was based on conditions.

"If you don't wish to be disturbed during the holy fast then I am there to help you follow your faith. If you do not, then nothing will prevent me from retaliating and that is precisely what is happening in the Valley," Singh told News18.

Sources told News18 that the decision to announce the cessation was taken not on Mehbooba Muftis insistence but because of Centre's special representative to the Valley, Dineshwar Sharma.

Sharma told the central government that the encounters and killing of militants were alienating the youth and fueling recruitment among terror groups.

Jitendra Singh reflected that now it proves that the youth was not alienated by government actions but because they are being manipulated by Pakistan-backed separatists.

"This is also a vindication of what our interlocutor has said. If any action from our side is alienating the youth, (which I don't believe is true) we are willing to restrain ourselves. If they still carry on with violence then it has because of other factors. This is a mercenary freedom struggle. Separatism in Kashmir is politics by other means, he said.

Singh added, I am glad that the conditional ceasefire announcement has exposed the real faces (of separatists) in Kashmir."Britains Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markle were pronounced husband and wife on Saturday by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a glittering union that brought a measure of modern Hollywood glamour into the 1,000-year-old monarchy.

The star of the TV drama Suits walked un-escorted in a pure white, long-sleeved dress to the middle of the 15th-century St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle, from where the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, accompanied her towards his son, waiting at the altar.

After exchanging vows to love and to cherish till death us do part, Harry, 33, sixth-in-line to the British throne, placed a ring of Welsh gold on Markles finger before a congregation including Queen Elizabeth, senior royals, and celebrities including U.S. media mogul Oprah Winfrey.

And while we still can't get over the royal wedding, here's are just a few things that you probably did not notice at the nuptials.

Meghan's symbolic veil: When Meghan Markle walked down the aisle to marry Prince Harry on Saturday, she had with her the 53 countries of the Commonwealth - each one represented by their respective flora and fauna in the embroidery of her five-meter long veil.

Meghan's dress, designed by Givenchy creative head Clare Waight Keller, which featured long-sleeves with a boat neck had been eagerly anticipated by royal fans around the world.

Meghan Markle climbs the stair to the St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, for the wedding ceremony. (Image: AP)Hollywood star Meghan Markle walked down the nave of St. George's Chapel for her wedding to Prince Harry in a sleek silk boat-necked gown and long billowing veil designer by British designer Clare Waight Keller of Givenchy. (Image: AP)

A brooch in the tiara: The diamond bandeau tiara, made in 1932 for Queen mary and sported by Meghan on the big day, was lent to the Duchess of Sussex by Queen Elizabeth. The sparkling diamond and platinum bandeau boasts a detachable center brooch, made of 10 diamonds, dating from 1893.

Ms. Markle expressed the wish of having all 53 countries of the Commonwealth with her on her journey through the ceremony. Ms. Waight Keller designed a veil representing the distinctive flora of each Commonwealth country united in one spectacular floral composition. Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 19, 2018

Markle complemented it with a tiara, an embroidered cathedral length veil, a bracelet and a small diamond stud earrings. (Image: AP)

Wedding ensembles: Both the outfits sported by Meghan Markle on May 19 were made by female designers. While the wedding dress was designed by Givenchy creative head Clare Waight Keller, Stella McCartney designed the bride's reception outfit.

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex/ Reuters)

Royal wedding reception car: The silver blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero car in which Prince Harry and bride Meghan Markle left for the royal wedding reception, hosted by Prince of Wales at Frogmore House, had their wedding date '190518' on the license number plate.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex depart Windsor Castle for a reception hosted by The Prince of Wales at Frogmore House, in a silver blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero. This vehicle was originally manufactured in 1968, and has since been converted to electric power #RoyalWedding pic.twitter.com/hRrxEUlFlJ Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) May 19, 2018

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex/ Reuters)

The youngest member of the royal family was missing: No we aren't talking about Prince George or Princess Charlotte, but about Prince William and Kate's newborn Prince Louis. Were you able to spot him at the ceremony? We couldn't.

(With input from Reuters)Actress and global Unicef Goodwill Ambassador for Child Rights Priyanka Chopra is visiting the Rohingya refugee camps on a field visit.

Priyanka tweeted a photograph of herself earlier today, looking out of the window from an aircraft.

"Follow my Instagram to share my experiences as I visit the Rohingya refugee camps on this UNICEF field visit. Children uprooted, the world needs to care. We need to care," she captioned the image.

Priyanka, 35, has worked with UNICEF for a decade and was appointed as the national and global Unicef goodwill ambassador for Child Rights in 2010 and 2016 respectively. She promotes causes such as environment, health and education and women's rights among many others. Almost 700,000 refugees have fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar and arrived in Cox's Bazar since August 2017, according to the UN.

Last year, Priyanka had met Syrian refugee children in Jordan. The actress has flown to Dhaka from London, where she attended her friend and actress Meghan Markle's wedding to British Royal Prince Harry.

(With IANS inputs)By 1:30 pm on May 15, O Panneerselvam was ecstatic. Tamil Nadu's deputy chief minister shot off two letters  to Narendra Modi and Amit Shah  congratulating them on the resounding victory of the BJP in Karnataka. In his excitement, OPS was verbose, describing the win as bellwethering a grand entry to South India and adding another feather in your cap of glory.

OPS has subsequently been silent on the BJP's failure to cobble up the numbers. Panneerselvam would know the agony of not managing to poach. He went through similar angst in February 2017 when Sasikala and company locked up their AIADMK legislators at a resort outside Chennai, ensuring OPS even with the backing of the BJP, could not manage the numbers.

The fall of BS Yeddyurappas two-day government in Karnataka has given bragging rights to BJP critics in south India. That the land below the Vindhyas remains BJP-mukt. The non-saffron colour of the stretch from Kerala to West Bengal will not amuse the Modi-Shah duo one bit.

On the other hand, their political rivals in the Deccan would like to believe these 130 Lok Sabha seats will halt the Modi juggernaut in 2019.

On Wednesday, when HD Kumaraswamy takes oath as Chief Minister, many regional satraps and chief ministers from south India will be in attendance. Among them Chandrababu Naidu, K Chandrashekar Rao, MK Stalin, Pinarayi Vijayan, V Narayanasamy. The biggest takeaway of the Karnataka election is that 2019 in south India will be largely led by regional satraps with the Congress forced to play a supporting role except in pockets.

But it is not as if all is lost for the BJP in south India. It needs to tweak its strategy because it no longer will be able to make 2019 into a presidential contest between Modi and Rahul Gandhi because the Congress president will not be the main player in these parts. South India then will be about several regional and local elections under the umbrella of a national election.

What will be the BJP's strategy going forward? One, to admit that their popularity has taken a nosedive in many states in the south. In Andhra, for the manner in which it did not honour the promise to give special category status despite a personal assurance by Modi. In Tamil Nadu, for the way it has remote controlled the AIADMK, using agencies to keep the regional outfit under check. In Kerala, for unleashing leaders from north India taunting the state and asking it to learn from an Uttar Pradesh on how to manage its hospitals. In Puducherry for encouraging a Kiran Bedi to put roadblocks for the Narayanasamy regime. And in Karnataka for believing that it was okay to buy or intimidate a few MLAs to get a clear majority, denting its zero tolerance to corruption slogan.

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are going to be two key states for the BJP where it can hope to win a few Lok Sabha seats. But for that, it will need to respect the Tamilian sentiment. The manner in which it delayed submitting the draft scheme to the Supreme Court over Cauvery, showed that the BJP was interested only in securing Karnataka. By denying an audience to the state over Cauvery  be it the elected representatives or the protesting farmers  the BJP has only demonstrated its scant disregard for what Tamil Nadu thinks. It reflected in the RK Nagar bypoll result where the BJP polled less votes than NOTA.

What makes it worse is BJP leader H Rajas hypocrisy. He points out that Kumaraswamy has promised not to form the Cauvery Management Board in his party manifesto and Stalin's congratulations to him shows the anti-Tamil stand on Cauvery issue. Now that Karnataka is done with, expect the BJP to veer towards Tamil Nadu with 2019 on the radar but such crocodile tears are unlikely to help its cause.

In addition to an alliance with the AIADMK, the Rajinikanth option exists for the BJP given his friendship with Modi. But the superstar cannot be a full-time politician while being a full-time actor. His call sheet approach to politics will not help the BJP, more so when like Prakash Raj in Karnataka, an articulate Kamal Haasan will be punching holes in the BJP's narrative in Tamil Nadu.

In Karnataka, the BJP will expect that in a year from now, the honeymoon between the JD(S) and the Congress will be over, allowing them to exploit their differences. The BJP apparatus is strong in Karnataka and its karyakartas would be licking their wounds at being cheated of their chance to be in power. Expect them to put their best foot forward in 2019.

The situation is complicated in Andhra. But it is pretty evident a tacit understanding is being worked out with Jaganmohan Reddy's YSR Congress. Jagan cannot ally openly with the BJP thanks to the latter's unpopularity but expect him to put up a feeble fight in a few Lok Sabha seats in order to help the BJP wrest them.

Naidu played a part in ensuring the BJP did not cross the 112 mark by making his Telugu Desam cadre canvass among the Telugu population in Karnataka, asking them not to vote for the saffron party. But his holier-than-thou tweets, castigating the Karnataka governor and the BJP and claiming he is a firm believer in democracy' reeked of hypocrisy. Because in his backyard, Naidu finds nothing wrong in poaching 21 YSR Congress legislators, even making four of them ministers, in complete violation of the anti-defection law. The Karnataka developments has shown many of the politicians as having feet of clay.

(Author is a senior journalist. Views are personal)Lucknow: Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav has written to the Uttar Pradesh government asking to be allowed to stay in official bungalow for another two years, while BSP chief Mayawati has converted her official residence into 'Kanshiram Yadgar Vishram Sthal' in the backdrop of the apex court directive asking former Chief Ministers of the state to vacate their government accommodation.

As per the notice served by the UP Government after Supreme Courts order, six former CMs of UP, including Mayawati and Akhilesh, will have to vacate their government bungalows by the end of this month.

Though Mayawati is set to vacate her government bungalow situated at 13A Mall Avenue and is reportedly moving to a new address 9 Mall Avenue, which happens to be bang opposite to her house. But on Monday morning a board had come up at 13A Mall Avenue which read 'Kanshiram Yadgar Vishram Sthal'.

Experts feel that the coming up of the board bearing Kanshiram's name might be an effort to retain the bungalow even after vacating it. As per sources, there are reports that PWD might convert the property into its department camp office.

As per BSP sources, the revamp work at 9 Mall Avenue is going on in full swing and BSP Supremo Mayawati may move into her new house this week itself.

Akhilesh Yadav, on the other hand, wrote to the UP government asking for permission to stay in the official bungalow at 4, Vikramaditya Marg for another two years. Akhilesh, in his letter to the government, said he "does not have any suitable residential premises at Lucknow to stay in with his security detail being an ex-cm of UP". Akhilesh said since he is also provided with a Z-plus security cover he would need "sufficient space".

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh is ready to move into his private house in Vipul Khand of Gomti Nagar area soon, whereas Kalyan Singh is moving to the government house of his grandson and minister Sandeep Singh.

Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, a former UP CM, is also expected to move to his new abode in Gomti Nagar and Samajwadi Party MP and Treasurer Sanjay Seth is giving a helping hand in finalising the house for Netaji.

A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi quashed the law, which entitled former chief ministers to retain government bungalows for a lifetime, ruling that granting further privilege violates Right to Equality under Article 14.

The Chief Minister, once he or she demits the office, is at par with the common citizen, though by virtue of the office held, he or she may be entitled to security and other protocols. But allotment of government bungalow, to be occupied during his or lifetime, would not be guided by the constitutional principle of equality, noted the bench.Mumbai: By-polls for two Parliamentary seats of Bhandara-Gondia and Palghar in Maharashtra scheduled for May 28 is turning into a bitter battle between allies BJP and Shiv Sena. The fight is not just about prestige, but also of existence for the three parties  BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena will both contest against each other in Palghar, the fight in Bhandara-Gondia will ostensibly be between the Nationalist Congress Party (supported by Congress) and BJP.

The three Lok Sabha seats of Palus-Kadegaon, Bhandara-Gondia and Palghar fell vacant in Maharashtra recently.

After veteran Congress leader Patangrao Kadams demise, his son Vishwajeet Kadam was given the party ticket from Palus-Kadegaon, which he won unopposed after other parties withdrew their candidates and Shiv Sena openly backed him.

Bhandara-Gondia Lok Sabha seat fell vacant after then BJP MP Nana Patole resigned while the death of BJP MP Chintaman Wanga led to by-polls in Palghar. The by-elections in these two seats will be held on May 28.

In Palghar, Hitendra Thakurs Bahujan Vikas Aghadi has emerged a major contender while Shiv Sena has fielded late BJP MP Chintaman Wangas son Shrinivas Wanga. Turning the heat on Shiv Sena, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directly accused Shiv Sena of backstabbing them while on the other hand, Wangas widow also filed a complaint with EC against BJP alleging that the party was using her late husbands photo for campaigning. BJP has fielded Congress turncoat Rajendra Gavit.

Interestingly, this is the first time since the 2014 General Elections that Shiv Sena has fielded a candidate against BJP. After our party president Uddhav Thackeray announced that we will fight the coming elections single-handedly, we decided to bring our own candidate for these Lok Sabha by-elections, a senior Shiv Sena leader told News18.

When asked about the CMs allegation of backstabbing and of hijacking the BJP candidate, the Sena leader shot back asking, They did not visit the family even once in these six months since the demise of Chintaman Wanga. They did not give his son the party ticket. How did we backstab the BJP in that case?

On the other hand, while elaborating on the BJP strategy in Palghar, a senior leader said, The demography of the area has changed substantially due to migration. We are tapping on the north Indian and the south Indian vote-bank in some belts of Palghar constituency.

As a part of this strategy BJP will be bringing UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to hold a public rally on May 23 in Nalasopara.

In Bhandara-Gondia, the BJP will face a tough fight from NCP whose candidate Madhukar Kukde is being supported by Congress. There are 18 candidates who have filed their nomination for the Bhandara-Gondia by-polls, including BJPs Hemant Patle, NCPs Madhukar Kukde, Bharip Bahujan Mahasanghs LK Madavi, eight Independents and seven others from smaller parties.New Delhi: BJP chief Amit Shah on Monday accused Congress of trying to influence the Supreme Courts decision on Karnataka by releasing fake audio clips of BJP leaders offering bribes to its MLAs. This comes hours after a Congress MLA claimed that a clip released by his party was fake.

Shah said, Today, Congress leaders have admitted that the allegations of bribery were false and it was done to influence the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Karnataka floor test to be conducted on Saturday itself, instead of 15 days later as was recommended by Governor Vajubhai Vala. It ultimately led to BS Yeddyurappas resignation from the CM post two days after being sworn-in as BJP failed to gather the required strength in the House.

Shah said, The good thing is, at least this has increased Congress's faith in institutions. Now they like EVMs, Judiciary and even Election Commission.

In the run up to the Karnataka floor test that never took place, Congress released a string of audio recordings claiming that the BJP leaders were trying to 'poach' its MLAs by offering money and ministries so that the BS Yeddyurappa government is saved.

One of these audio tapes released by the party allegedly had a conversation between Congress Yellapur MLA Shivaram Hebbar's wife and BJP leaders, who allegedly offered him money. In the clip, a BJP leader is allegedly heard offering Rs 15 crore for Hebbar to switch to the BJP and abstain from voting during Saturday's floor test, which eventually did not take place.

However, Hebbar on Monday dismissed the clip saying it is fake and the woman is not his wife. He wrote in a Facebook post, "This is not my wife's voice and she has not received any such calls. The audio tape is fake. I condemn it."

The Karnataka election results on May 15 threw up a fractured verdict while BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats  eight short of majority. Governor Vajubhai Vala invited the BJP to form the government and Yeddyurappa was soon sworn in as the chief minister.

As the floor test approached, the Congress alleged that the BJP was indulging in horse-trading and released the audio tapes to back their charges.

There was no question of breaking Congress and JDS because till then, they had not staked any claim, Shah said.

We staked claim in Manipur and Goa because Congress was being lazy and didn't stake their claim. The Governors there had no option but to call us, the BJP president said while addressing the media at the BJP headquarters on Monday.Bengaluru: As the stage is set for JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy to become the next chief minister of Karnataka, KPCC president G Parameshwara today said difficult times were ahead, but there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power in the southern state.

He said he understood the sentiments of many who were averse to a tie-up between the Congress and JD(S).

However, the need to keep communal forces away from power made the Congress lend support to JD(S), Parameshwara said.

"I do understand the sentiments of many people that we should not have gone with the JD(S). But there was a need to stop the BJP from coming to power again in Karnataka. Keeping this in mind, our seniors took a decision to support the JD(S). We all must accept their decision," he said.

"We may see difficult times ahead. We are visualising the challenges ahead, but we need to bear all the hardship to build a strong party," the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief said.

He was speaking at a meeting at the state Congress office to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on his 27th death anniversary.

Parameshwara said his party failed to get a clear majority in the Karnataka Assembly elections for various reasons, and that it has accepted the people's verdict.

However, sensing the "dangerous fallout" of the BJP coming to power, he said the party high command has decided to form a coalition government with the JD(S).

"There are no selfish motives (behind forming the coalition government). No personal gains. There are no motives to see the Congress coming to power somehow. Our only objective is to keep at bay those instigating communal passions and disturbing social harmony," he said.

"We have already seen them from 2008 to 2013...how they ran the administration in the state," he said with an apparent reference to the BJP rule in the state during that time.

The Congress state president said party workers should get ready to face the hardship in the coming days as Parliamentary elections are just a year away.

"We should not be disheartened and sit at home after the assembly election results. We have to gear up afresh to face 'those forces' and continue our struggle against them," Parameshwara added.

Kumaraswamy will take oath as the chief minister of Karnataka on May 23 in Bangaluru.

The Congress, which has offered the chief minister's post to H D Kumaraswamy, is likely to have its deputy chief minister and G Parmeshwara is among the front-runners.New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets ready to hold an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, the message that he will first and foremost convey to Russia is that the India-Russia defence cooperation stays intact despite the emerging geo-political situations, and specifically the US sanctions against Russian military exports.

Sources said India will not allow its defence procurements to be dictated by any other country.

Russia remains Indias largest supplier of weapons. A source said, Russia has been a trusted and reliable defence partner. Our relationship with Russia is deep rooted. India faces a tricky security situation in its neighbourhood at present. Fighting terror that is relentlessly coming from the Pakistani side, the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan and Chinas territorial aggression require fortification. It therefore becomes imperative for India to prevent itself from being caught in the crossfire between US and Russia and secure its own interests.

Over the last few years India and Americas growing bonhomie has made its old friend Russia already feel distanced. There has also been another parallel equation developing between Pakistan, China and Russia. This has made it important for India to both revive its relations with Russia and to convey that India values its old friend and trusted partner.

Russia has also indicated that the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan will require the two sides to collaborate. Russian President Vladimir Putins close advisor Sergei Karaganov told News18 in February that he does not see US being able to withdraw from Afghanistan. He said he believed that Russia and India will have to come in eventually and work together. In fact he had also added that India needs to have boots on the ground otherwise their boots will be on India, alluding to the need for military intervention from India which New Delhi has categorically rejected repeatedly.

Indias infrastructure and capacity building efforts in Afghanistan have won it the goodwill of people from the neighbouring country and India wishes to continue its engagement in that role alone.

Sources have said that discussion on specific bilateral issues will be limited as there is already an annual summit scheduled for October this year. The idea, like the informal summit in Wuhan between Modi and Xi, is to be able to provide space and time to the two leaders to be able to dwell on global situation. The situation in West Asia with regards to Syria and US pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal is also likely to be discussed.

Terrorism and ISIS will also figure in the expected five-hour interaction between the two spread over restricted talks and then a tete-e-tete over lunch. Owing to the informal nature of the talks, despite the wide-ranging discussions there will be no joint statement.New Delhi: The Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala's decision to invite JD (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy to form government, alleging that post-poll alliance of Congress-JD (S) was a "fraud" on the electorate.

On May 19, the apex court had ordered live telecast of the crucial floor test in the Karnataka Assembly to ensure "transparency" and later that evening, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had resigned without facing the trust vote on the floor of the House.

Following his resignation, the Congress-JD(S) combine headed by Kumaraswamy was invited to form government. He is slated to take oath as Chief Minister on May 23.

Elections held on May 12 to 222 of the 224 seats had resulted in a hung assembly with the BJP getting 104 seats, the Congress winning 78 and JD(S) 37. Polling in two seats will be held later.

The Congress-JD(S) combine, a post-poll alliance, claimed the support of 117 MLAs, including one from the BSP, and two others.

The Hindu outfit, in a plea filed through ABHM general secretary Munna Kumar Sharma, has sought quashing of the Governor's decision to appoint Kumaraswamy as the chief minister.

The plea, filed through lawyer Barun Kumar Sinha, has sought a declaration that the post-poll Congress-JD (S) alliance is a "fraud on the electorate and violative of the Constitution ... whereby electorate have been misled and deceived by both the political parties."

"Such fraudulent, opportunist, collusive, tactics between these two political parties have defrauded the electorate of the state of Karnataka which is against the basic structure of the Constitution of India," the plea said.

The plea has claimed that the Governor was bound to consider the concept of popular government in a parliamentary democratic system and the "opportunistic post-poll coalition has to be disregarded by the Governor keeping in view the people's will".

"A political party which has no mandate of the people of Karnataka to form popular government, cannot stake claim with support of another political party who has also been voted out of power by the people of Karnataka," it said.Lucknow: What the by-elections or the Rajya Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh couldnt, the result of the Karnataka polls may do  bring Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav to the same stage at the same time.

The heads of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party respectively have been invited by JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy for his swearing in ceremony as Karnataka chief minister on Wednesday, and the offices of the two have said that they would attend.

The two parties had forged an understanding during the bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur in March and fought the Rajya Sabha polls together. They have also confirmed that the alliance would continue till 2019 polls, but the two leaders havent shared the stage even once since then.

An invite was also sent to Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, whose party had fought the Karnataka election but lost its deposits on all 29 seats.

Kumaraswamy, who is in Delhi to meet Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to finalise the distribution of portfolios, will first call on Mayawati. The JD(S) and the BSP had fought the Karnataka Elections as a pre-poll alliance and the latter had bagged one seat.

The lone BSP MLA in Karnataka, N Mahesh, is all set to get a berth in the Kumaraswamy Cabinet. Mahesh who also heads the BSP state unit won the Kollegal seat by defeating his rival AR Krishna from Congress by a margin of 19,454 votes.

When the other JDS and Congress MLAs were holed up at a resort in Bengaluru, Mahesh was staying with senior BSP leader Ashok Siddharth at a guest house in Bengaluru and had allegedly rejected the offer to support the BJP.

Apart from Mayawati, Akhilesh and Kejriwal, others who are invited for the swearing in ceremony include Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Chandrababu Naidu and Mamata Banerjee.

The rise of Janata Dal (Secular) in Karnataka may act as a platform to unite opposition parties, especially the regional parties to play a bigger role in the national arena during parliamentary elections in 2019.New Delhi: Karnataka chief minister designate HD Kumaraswamy and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi may have put up a show of unity on Monday but hard bargaining is underway over power sharing.

Kumaraswamy met Rahul and Sonia at the formers house in Delhi on Monday to hold discussions on the contours of his government and Congress Karnataka in charge KC Venugopal will continue the negotiations in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

The biggest point of contention is the deputy chief minister post. Sources said that while the Congress wants to appoint two in order to strike a balance between the two allies, the JD(S) is not in favour of it.

Having two deputy CM would also allow the Congress to strike a caste balance in the state with an eye on the Lok Sabha elections next year. But with different communities putting pressure to get their own person in the chair, the calculation would not be easy.

Currently, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief G Parameshwara is the favourite to be the deputy CM. A Dalit, his appointment would help the Congress win back Dalit votes ahead of 2019.

But senior Lingayat leaders such as HK Patil and MB Patil from north Karnataka are also eyeing the post. The Lingayat faction within the Congress has demanded that deputy chief ministership should be given to a Lingayat person from northern Karnataka since Kumaraswamy is a Vokkaliga who won from the southern part of the state.

Congress has 16 Lingayat MLAs and JD(S) has four. Obliging to the demand of the Lingayats would allow the Congress to get rid of the anti-Lingayat tag it earned post-Siddaramaiah governments efforts to give it a minority religion status.

At the same time, the Muslim community has also demanded that its representative should bag the post. A Muslim MLC told News18 that if one looks at the 78 seats from where Congress won, close to 50 were won majorly because of Muslims who voted en masse for the Congress.

If the Congress fails to recognise and reward our support, the Muslims should teach the Congress a lesson as we have made enough sacrifices for the party. We demand a Muslim deputy CM in Karnataka, the MLC said.

The name of DK Shivkumar, Congress all-weather man who helped keep the flock of MLAs together ahead of Saturdays crucial trust vote, has also been proposed. It would be a reward for his work but being a Vokkaliga like Kumaraswamy works against him.

So for the Congress, the choice could well be between consolidating its position in Karnataka by naming a Lingayat or focus on 2019 by going with a Dalit and/or Muslim No.2 in the state. All this would depend on its talks with the JD(S) as well.

When Kumaraswamy was asked about the appointment of a deputy CM after the meeting, he remained cryptic and said: Rahul Ji has cleared the modalities.

He has given permission to Congress Karnataka general secretary KC Venugopal to discuss all those matters and finalise everything. Local leaders and he will sit together tomorrow (Tuesday) to finalise things, he added.Bengaluru: In the run-up to BS Yeddyurappas resignation, the Congress released a number of audio clips, alleging that these were recorded phone conversations of the BJP offering bribes to MLAs to switch sides.

One such audio clip has now created confusion between the Congress and its Yellapur MLA Shivaram Hebbar. In the clip, a BJP leader is allegedly heard offering Rs 15 crore for Hebbar to switch to the BJP and abstain from voting during Saturday's floor test, which eventually did not take place.

Taking to Facebook, Hebbar said a woman heard in the clip was not his wife Vanajakshi. Hebbar added that neither he nor his wife was approached.

The party, however, said it was never claimed that the female voice was that of Hebbars wife.

It is the voice of a lady who did a sting operation. It was a lady who agrees with our democratic principles and when she was offered money, she shared that audio with us. The fact is that we tried to entrap many BJP leaders who were trying to carry out hectic negotiations to win over our MLAs, Congress MLC and spokesperson VS Ugrappa told News18.

Since the time given for the floor test was reduced from 15 days to just 24 hours, the BJP leaders were so desperate that they were willing to do business with anyone who claimed to be talking on behalf of any Congress MLA, he said.

Ugrappa said it does not matter who the lady is and sought to know the identity of the person offering the money. "He offered Rs 15 crore to jump ship or Rs 5 crore plus a Cabinet berth.

The Congress claims to have at least 20 such audio clips of BJP leaders, including BS Yeddyurappa and Janardhana Reddy, allegedly trying to poach its MLAs.

The explosive claims plus the inability to shore up numbers in the Assembly led to Yeddyurappa resigning before the trust vote on Saturday. JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is now set to take oath as CM on Wednesday with the backing of the Congress.New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister-elect HD Kumaraswamy met Congress leaders Rahul and Sonia Gandhi in Delhi on Monday to complete the modalities of cabinet and ministerial berth sharing.

On a day long trip to Delhi, the JD(S) leader is said to have held discussions on the contours of government formation with the Congress. Congress has twice as many members in the legislative assembly as the JD(S), though Kumaraswamy would be leading the coalition government cobbled post elections with Congress extending unconditional support.

Kumaraswamy also met BSP chief Mayawati ahead of the meeting with Congress leaders.

The nitty-gritty of the alliance is being finalised with reports suggesting Congress may seek two deputy chief ministers and some plum portfolios for its leaders.

When Kumaraswamy was asked about the appointment of a deputy CM, he remained cryptic and said Rahul Ji has cleared the modalities.

He has given permission to Congress Karnataka general secretary KC Venugopal to discuss all those matters and finalise everything. Local leaders and he will sit together tomorrow (Tuesday) to finalise things, he said.

Rahul Gandhi also tweeted about the meeting. "I had a warm and cordial meeting this evening, in Delhi, with Shri H D Kumaraswamy ji. We discussed the political situation in Karnataka and other matters of mutual interest. I will be attending his swearing in as CM of Karnataka, on Wednesday, in Bengaluru," he said. Kumaraswamy said Sonia Gandhi has also agreed to attend the oath taking ceremony.

Before the meeting, HDK said that the two allies will give Karnataka a stable government. But on being asked by News18 as to how strong is the anti-BJP alliance with the Congress, Kumaraswamy gave a cryptic response: "Time will tell."

Leader of Congress in LS Malikarjun Kharge has indicated that Kumarawamy might take oath alone on Wednesday and the council of ministers would be expanded after the alliance proves majority on the floor of the House within 24 hours after taking over the reins of power.

State Congress President G Parmeshwar is said to be one of front-runners for the deputy CMs post.

Kumaraswamys oath-taking on Wednesday is also being seen as a show of strength of the opposition parties with invitations being extended to many regional satraps and top Congress leaders.

HD Kumaraswamy is most likely to take office at 1.30pm on Wednesday, as prescribed by his family astrologers.

Kumaraswamy said he has invited Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mayawati, Akhilesh Yadav, Arvind Kejriwal, Chandrababu Naidu, KCR, Mamata Banerjee, Farooq Abdullah, Sitaram Yechury, Pinarai Vijayan and Tejaswi Yadav for the oath taking ceremony

BS Yeddyurappa, who was sworn in as the Karnataka CM on Thursday, stepped down on Saturday without facing the floor test in the state assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers.Ballia, Uttar Pradesh: Senior UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has sent out a bizarre warning to those attending rallies of his political rivals -- they will be "cursed" with jaundice.

The Suheldev Bharat Samaj Party President also said that those cursed will only recover when he will provide medicine (blessing).

"Until my team comes to you with a message of rally you will not attend rally of any other party. If somebody attends it he/she will have to face my curse. He will suffer from jaundice and it will be only cured when O P Rajbhar provides medicine.", he said.

Rajbhar was speaking at a prohibition rally of his party here yesterday.

The president of the SBSP also demanded ban on liquor in UP to open new avenues for development.

"PM Narendrda Modi, during his election meetings in UP, had promised to implement the Gujarat model in UP. I remind him of his promise and request him to ban liquor in the state to open new avenues for development," Rajbhar said.

He said that no party has mustered the strength to raise issue of banning liquor in the state and urged women to defeat those who provide liquor for votes.

On reports that he had some differences with the chief minister, Rajbhar said, "He is my captain and I follow his directions."Bengaluru: Karnataka CM-elect HD Kumaraswamy would reach Delhi on Monday to meet Congress leaders Rahul and Sonia Gandhi and finalise modalities of cabinet and ministerial berth sharing.

While Congress  which has the lions share of MLAs in the post-poll alliance with JD(S)  will be lobbying for a significant number of ministries citing reasons that it has sacrificed the top job for Kumaraswamy, JD(S) too is not keen on going for a hard bargain to grab more than 15 berths with 37 MLAs.

"Tomorrow (Sunday) I will be going to Delhi, where I will meet Sonia ji and Rahul ji. We will decide about cabinet expansion and will discuss everything with them on how to give a stable government for the next five years," Kumaraswamy said in Bengaluru on Sunday, three days ahead of his swearing-in on May 23.

He also rejected rumours and clarified that neither a power-sharing formula between both parties had been reached for 30 months, nor have they decided on "rotational chief ministers".

From JD(S) side, seniors such as Deve Gowda, HD Revanna and GT Deve Gowda are expected to crack the deal with Congress leaders Siddaramaiah, G Parameshwara, DK Shivakumar and KJ George.

According to sources, Congress has asked Deve Gowdas JD(S) to accommodate the BSP MLAs and Independents in its share of ministries as Congress will have to consider several other heavyweights, regions, caste and other factors in distributing portfolios in the coalition arrangement.

Congress leaders from Karnataka will also leave for Delhi on Monday to discuss with the high command, the modalities related to government formation in the state.

"Our CLP leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, myself and senior leader D K Shivakumar will leave for Delhi tomorrow and hold talks with Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi about modalities of government formation," state Congress President G Parameshwara told reporters here.

Siddaramaiah, Parameshwara and other senior Congress leaders on Sunday met party MLAs camped at a city hotel and reportedly discussed the way ahead for the party in the process of government formation.

Clinching victory from the jaws of defeat after Karnataka gave a fractured mandate, the alliance is not looking at a lavish swearing-in ceremony on Wednesday and sources say it could very well end with the oath-taking of just the chief minister and the deputy chief minister. The parties are clearly trying to avoid any disgruntlement at the time of the trust vote and also prevent loose talks among those eyeing the ministries.

Among the other details of the new government that are likely to be finalised at the Monday meeting, the regional representation of MLAs in the government would be one. While Old-Mysuru and Bengaluru regions are expected to get the lions share, the Mumbai-Karnataka, coastal regions and Hyderabad-Karnataka regions would also be considered for representation.

HD Kumaraswamy is most likely to take office at 1.30pm on Wednesday, as prescribed by his family astrologers.

BS Yeddyurappa, who was sworn in as the Karnataka CM on Thursday, stepped down on Saturday without facing the floor test in the state assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers. Soon, Kumaraswamy met Governor Vajubhai Vala and staked claim to form the government in alliance with Congress, who has offered unconditional support to the JD(S) along with the chief ministers post.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37.

Kumaraswamy on Sunday asserted that within 24 hours of taking oath, he would prove the majority on the floor of the House.

"Mostly on Wednesday there will be an oath-taking ceremony after that on Thursday we will complete the process of Speaker's election and trust vote," he added.Companies large and small are updating their privacy policies and service terms to comply with upcoming European Union rules governing data and privacy. Only EU users are technically covered by the rules, formally known as the General Data Protection Regulation. But many companies are making broader changes anyway, at least to some degree. Here's a look at how three leading internet companies  Facebook, Google and Twitter  are adapting to a post-GDPR world.

Also Read: NASA's TESS Swings by Moon, Clicks First Image

FACEBOOK

In March, Facebook updated its privacy controls in hopes of making them easier to find and understand. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said Facebook intends to offer those same controls and settings around the world, even though the GDPR governs only EU users.

But Facebook has been vague about applying other GDPR provisions to non-Europeans. That includes one that lets Europeans object to the processing of personal data, such as for marketing.

Facebook has also ramped up efforts to get your permission to use facial recognition to automatically identify people in photos  for instance, to make it easier to tag friends or to let you know if someone uses your photo. Facebook has been using that technology in much of the world for six years, but not in the EU and Canada, where privacy laws are stronger.

Now, EU and Canadian users are being invited to turn that feature on. Facebook says it will eventually ask everyone to reaffirm the use of facial recognition; the company previously assumed consent unless users took the initiative to turn that off.

Though Facebook isnt making major changes to its data practices, its new privacy policy has one subtle change. Previously, all users outside the U.S. and Canada were legally managed by Facebooks Irish subsidiary. Under the new rules, everyone outside Europe will be fall under the jurisdiction of its U.S. headquarters.

That means users in Asia, for instance, wont get the EU privacy protections. Facebook didnt explicitly announce the change; The Associated Press confirmed it through checks in six countries.

Facebook also plans to offer a less-personalized version of its service for EU teens to comply with requirements it obtain parental permission before kids under 16 can, for instance, list their political or religious views online. In the U.S., the cutoff is lower, at 13. Facebook wont ask for parental consent in such cases outside the EU, but will ask teens themselves I they want these features.

Also Read: We Need Two Quarters to Fully Take Off in India: Honor

GOOGLE

Google also isnt making major changes to its data practices, although it did rewrite its privacy policy to make it easier to understand. It now includes video to explain concepts better. Section headers have larger fonts, and links to related settings are more clearly marked. Google also expanded many sections to more fully explain how it collects and uses data.

Google is also expanding the availability of Family Link, a feature that lets parents create Google accounts for their children. As part of this, parents will have to give consent to comply with new EU provisions governing teens.

The feature also gives parents tools to control Android devices, such as locking the childs device and blocking apps. Family Link was already available in 11 countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and Ireland. Google is now making that available in the rest of the EU.

Also Read: Activists From Myanmar And Beyond Call For Facebook to Fix Moderation

TWITTER

Twitters new policy includes a few exemptions just for Europeans. Twitter says it may receive log data from websites that embed tweets or tweet buttons. But its policy now states that Twitter wont collect such data from browsers that we believe are in the EU and four countries linked to the EU by trade agreements  Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Twitter also provides a link to contact its data protection officer, but says its for those in the EU or those four non-EU countries. Twitter doesnt say what will happen when someone outside Europe tries to make contact through that link.

Also Watch: OnePlus 6 First Impressions Review: All You Might Need in 2018While Google has been working on a life-like version of its spoken Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, Microsoft has jumped on the bandwagon by acquiring US-based AI developer "Semantic Machines" to develop the technology closer to how humans speak. "With this acquisition, Microsoft plans to establish a conversational AI centre of excellence in Berkeley, California, to experiment and integrate 'natural language processing (NLP) technology' in its products like Cortana," David Ku, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of AI and Research at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy J6 First Impressions Review: Samsung's Premium Features in a Budget

"For rich and effective communication, intelligent assistants need to be able to have a natural dialogue instead of just responding to commands," said Ku. Recently, Microsoft became the first to add "full-duplex" voice sense to a conversational AI system for users to carry on a conversation naturally with its chatbot XiaoIce and AI-powered assistant Cortana.

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy A6+ First Impressions Review: A Complete Package

"Full-duplex" is a technique to communicate in both directions simultaneously mostly like a telephone call with AI-based technology conversing on one side. A "Semantic Machines" core product, its "conversation engine" extracts its responses from natural voice or text input and then generates a self-updating learning framework for managing dialogue context and user goals.

"Today's commercial natural language systems like Siri, Cortana, and Google Now only understand commands, not conversations," said "Semantic Machines" in a post. "With our conversational AI, we aim to develop technology that goes beyond understanding commands, to understanding conversations," the company added. Earlier in May, Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google, introduced "Duplex" at Google I/O and demonstrated how AI system could book an appointment at a salon and a table at a restaurant where the Google Assistant sounded like a human.

It used Google DeepMind's new "WaveNet" audio-generation technique and other advances in Natural Language Processing (NLP) to replicate human speech patterns.

Also Watch: OnePlus 6 First Impressions Review: All You Might Need in 2018ARLINGTON, Va.: A physician who spiked his girlfriends drink with medication to induce an abortion has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Sikander Imran was arrested last year and pleaded guilty earlier this year to fetal homicide in Arlington County, Virginia.

WJLA-TV in Washington reports that Imran received a 20-year sentence Friday with all but three years suspended. He has lost his medical license and faces deportation to Pakistan after he serves his term.

The station reports that the victim, Brooke Fiske, had been dating Imran and was 17 weeks pregnant when she went to visit him to discuss raising the child.

Imran admitted slipping an abortion pill into her tea. She had a miscarriage within hours.

Fiske asked the judge to grant some leniency to Imran at Fridays sentencing hearing.Ludwigsburg (Germany): Tucked away in the picturesque German city of Ludwigsburg, a tiny team of investigators tracks the last surviving Nazi war criminals across the globe and through the better part of a century, in an urgent race against time.

"We put together the smallest pieces of information, like the pieces of a puzzle, to work out who was employed in what role, from when until when" in Adolf Hitler's totalitarian killing machine, says prosecutor Jens Rommel.

He has since 2015 led the eight-strong Central Office for the Investigation of National Socialist Crimes, at a time when the last perpetrators, accomplices, witnesses and survivors are finally vanishing.

Once all the perpetrators are gone, Germany will close the judicial side of its coming-to-terms with the Nazi government's extermination of six million Jews and hundreds of thousands of others in the Holocaust.

In the meantime, the spectacle of frail defendants aged in their 90s appearing in courtrooms to answer for crimes dating back to 1945 or earlier has renewed vigorous debate about the country's dark history.

For decades after the war, the German government and justice system showed little haste to track down many of those involved in the organised mass murder.

A landmark change came with the 2011 sentencing of John Demjanjuk, who served as a guard at the Sobibor extermination camp in occupied Poland in 1943, to five years in prison.

The ruling opened the way to prosecuting anyone who worked at a concentration camp  from soldiers to accountants  as an accomplice in mass murder.

Before that judgement "we never cast an eye over the smallest cogs in the machine," said lawyer Andrej Umansky, author of a book on the Holocaust in Eastern Europe.

The changed legal landscape since then, he said, offers a chance "to give victims a voice, their families, and to bring the facts back into the public consciousness".

From Moscow to Buenos Aires

The team's probes into the dust-shrouded past have taken Rommel's team of five prosecutors, two judges and one police officer across the world in search of their quarries.

Many German Nazis fled to South America immediately after the war, among them one of the main architects of the Holocaust Adolf Eichmann, who landed in Buenos Aires.

He was captured by the Israeli secret services in 1960 thanks to information passed on by German prosecutor Fritz Bauer, who was outraged by the inching progress of his own country's justice system.

As for less notorious Nazis, "all the boats that arrived there were registered. We have combed the passenger and crew manifests" and followed up on any German-sounding names, Rommel said.

Officials scoured immigration registers, applications to be naturalised in Argentina, and the records of the German embassy.

"We owe it to history" and to the millions of victims to "battle against forgetting", said Peter Haeberle, of the justice ministry in Baden-Wuerttemberg state, where Ludwigsburg sits just outside its capital, Stuttgart.

The team's travels halfway around the globe  at a time when there remains no chance of tracking down a living high-ranking Nazi official  have not escaped criticism in the press, such as from Die Welt daily, over their sometimes exorbitant cost.

1.7 million files

Many have criticised the comparatively small number of Nazi war criminals ever brought to justice.

By 2012, some 6,498 people had been convicted for their part in the Holocaust.

The monumental weight of history is clear from the smell of aged paper lingering behind the security doors of the former women's prison where the investigation team is based.

One million seven hundred thousand cardboard files are stored in rigorous alphabetical order in rows of imposing metal cupboards -- a unique full-size database of Nazi criminals and details of their acts.

From Hitler to the lowliest soldier or helper, every Nazi wrongdoer identified up until the present day is recorded here, along with the places of their crimes.

Rommel carefully withdraws file 3 AR-Z 95/59 for Dr Mengele, Josef.

Known as the "Angel of Death", the Auschwitz doctor carried out horrific experiments on those held at the camp.

The record, prepared in the late 1950s, reads that his location is "presently unknown, likely in Argentina".

Mengele died in 1979 in Brazil, having evaded capture  and justice  for the remainder of his life.

However many more Nazis enter the dock or end up behind bars before all trails finally run cold, Rommel and his team know the overwhelming majority of perpetrators' stories will have ended similarly.

Nevertheless, he insisted, "we have to put every day to use if we want the chance to bring someone else to justice".Beirut: The Syrian army has restored control over all areas surrounding the capital Damascus, it said on Monday, for the first time since early in the seven-year war, after pushing Islamic State militants out of a south Damascus pocket.

Pro-Syrian government forces have been battling for weeks to recover al-Hajar al-Aswad district and the adjacent Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp from Islamic State since driving rebels from eastern Ghouta in April.

In a televised statement Syria's army high command said al-Hajar al-Aswad and Yarmouk had been cleared of militants.

"Damascus and its surroundings and Damascus countryside and its villages are completely secure areas," the statement said, adding that the army would continue to fight "terrorism" across Syria.

With its complete capture of the environs of the capital, the government of President Bashar al-Assad is now in by far its strongest position since the early days of the war, which has killed more than half a million people and driven more than half the population from its homes since 2011.

Anti-Assad rebels now mainly control just two large areas in the northwest and southwest near borders with Turkey and Jordan. Turkey and the United States also have presences in parts of Syria outside government control.

The ultra-hardline jihadist group Islamic State, which was driven from most of the Euphrates River valley last year, now controls only two besieged desert areas in eastern Syria. Another insurgent group that has pledged loyalty to it holds a small enclave in the southwest.

Islamic State also captured a third of neighbouring Iraq in 2014 but was largely defeated there last year.

Firing in Celebration

A temporary humanitarian ceasefire had been in place since Sunday night in al-Hajar al-Aswad to allow women, children and old people to leave the area, state media said early on Monday.

Army soldiers fired into the air in celebration and held Syrian flags, against a smashed cityscape of shattered buildings and widespread destruction, state television footage showed.

Buildings and walls were pocked-marked from bullets and shell-fire, metal satellite dishes were bent and scorched, and the dome of a mosque had a gaping hole near its base.

On Sunday, a war monitor said fighters had begun withdrawing from the area towards Islamic State territory in eastern Syria under a surrender deal, but state media said fighting continued.

The war monitor, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said on Monday that buses had already started leaving south Damascus for Islamic State areas in eastern Syria.

A U.S.-led military coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq said in an emailed statement to Reuters it was "aware of reports of an evacuation near Yarmouk and south Damascus" and was monitoring the situation.

While Assad has vowed to win back "every inch" of Syria, the map of the conflict suggests a complicated time ahead.

The U.S. military is in much of the east and northeast, which is controlled by Kurdish groups that want autonomy from Damascus. It has used force to defend the territory from pro-Assad forces.

Turkey has sent forces into the northwest to counter those same Kurdish groups, carving out a buffer zone where anti-Assad rebels have regrouped.

In the southwest, where rebels hold territory at the Israeli and Jordanian border, Assad faces the risk of conflict with Israel, which wants his Iranian-backed allies kept well away from the frontier and has mounted air strikes in Syria.New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to strengthen ties with Russia as he arrived in Sochi on Monday to meet Vladimir Putin. Defence deals will be the highlight of this informal summit, the second for Modi in a span of one month. India plans to buy five S-400 Triumf systems and a missile array from Russia, the entire deal is expected to cost around $6 billion.

Interestingly, the deal comes at a time when the US has conveyed to its friends and allies that American sanctions would come into place if there are significant purchases from Moscow. We cant say that India has ignored the concerns of the United States, but India-Russia ties as we know it stand independent, said a source.

US officials said the major defence purchase by India from Russia would attract sanctions under the Countering Americas Adversaries through Sanction Act (CAATSA), which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump in August 2017 and came into effect in January this year. That said, the US will not have an upper hand, the source added. Russia is Indias biggest defence supplier.

There is bound to be more discussion on the same, even after Modi returns from Sochi. A team from the US state for Political-Military Affairs is headed to India sometime next week to discuss peacekeeping activities and defense trade.

Beyond the defence sanctions, the meeting comes amid severe geopolitical shifts. Russias ties with the US and Europe have worsened over the years, thus edging it closer to China.

Putin, for one, has been a supporter of Xi Jinpings Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and China has often been termed as a quasi ally in Moscow. Russias ties with Pakistan have also been closely watched by India. Islamabad and Moscow have vowed to improve defence ties and Pakistans Army chief, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, met Russias chief of the general staff recently.The truth about one of the most common non-communicable diseases in the world. (Image: Network18 Creative)A lava flow advancing down a road is seen from less than 10 feet away in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa on the island of Hawaii. (Image: AP)Archie Comics doubling down on "humor, heart, and horror" in 2022 and beyond

Archie Comics prepares for "return of a lot of favorite characters and franchises" in 2022GamesRadar+ is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn moreAs per official report, the woman has swallowed highest number of capsules of cocaine ever extracted from any professional drugs swallower by the NCBs Delhi bureau.(Twitter/ANI Photo)

New Delhi : Recent update from Delhi mentions that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has arrested the woman a 25-year-old Brazillian woman with 106 capsules of cocaine in her stomach has been arrested at Indira Gandhi international (IGI) airport. The capsules weigh around 930 grams and are pure South American cocaine, worth close to Rs 6 crore.

It was on May 14, when the woman was caught after she landed at at the Delhi airport in a flight from Sao Paulo in Brazil. The information has been confirmed by Vishwa Vijay, superintendent of NCBs Delhi unit. 106 cocaine capsules were extracted from her body May 14 and 20 by administering her laxatives at the Safdarjung Hospital, NCB officials said. The capsules are purely South American cocaine and worth around Rs 6 crore.

This is the highest number of capsules of cocaine extracted from any professional drugs swallower by the NCBs Delhi bureau, said Vijay.

However, NCB officials did not reveal the name of the arrested Brazilian woman. Reports mentioned that the consignment of the cocaine was to be delivered to a Nigerian national in Delhi.

During investigation, the woman told NCB officials that her manager in Sao Paulo had asked her to reach a hotel in Karol Bagh and stay there till more orders comes.

The Nigerian national, who had to accept the consignment, was supposed to meet her in the hotel. The woman was promised USD 5,000 for successfully delivering the consignment of cocaine, said a senior NCB official.

On Sunday, woman was sent to Tihar jail as per the court orders. The NCB official said the Brazilian woman is a professional swallower of drugs and had visited India at least three times before.

Each time, she was travelling on a tourist Visa. Her passport details have shown that her last visit to Delhi was in February this year, said the official.

During interrogation, superintendent Vijay said the woman disclosed that she was introduced into the drug trafficking trade by her second husband, who is a drug dealer in Brazil. She had divorced her first husband a few years ago.

Close source of NCB officials said they have received valuable information about the India-based members of this international drug syndicate. We are putting in efforts to identify and nab them, the official said.Pakistan government has decided to release Rs 20 million to renovate the Krishna temple

New Delhi : Krishna temple, the only Hindu temple in Pakistan will receive special attention from the officials of Punjab province in the country. The government has decided to release Rs 20 million to renovate the temple situated in the twin cities of in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Being the only functioning temple, it accommodates good number of Hindu worshippers on festivals and religious occasions, a media report mentioned today. There are two prayers held at the temple every day - one in the morning and one in the evening - which are attended by six or seven people.

Mohammad Asif, the Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Deputy Administrator, said the government has released Rs. 20 million to reconstruct the temple at the request of a Member of Provincial Assembly, Dawn reported.

Asif further added that the renovation work for the temple would start soon and a team has visited the site to make plan to start construction. During the work, the main room where idols are kept will be sealed until reconstruction ends, the paper said.

Once reconstructed, the temple will be able to accommodate more people," Mohammad Asif was quoted as saying by the paper.

The official said the temple could house the local Hindu community from the Rawalpindi, Islamabad and nearby areas.

In 1897, Kanji Mal and Ujagar Mal Ram Rachpal built a small temple to serve people in nearby areas. However, after partition the street temple in Saddar became the only place of worship for Rawalpindi's Hindus.

After 1949 partition, the temple was reopened and was operated by local Hindus before being handed over to the ETPB in 1970.

Jag Mohan Arora said the temple courtyard, which can only accommodate nearly 100 people, should be enlarged and shops next to the temple that the ETPB has rented to local traders should be retrieved to expand the front of the building.

"At present the front of the temple is very small. The ETPB should vacate nearby shops that have been rented," Mr Arora said.

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Alexander Soule / Hearst Connecticut Media

The parent company of Stop & Shop sold a retail plaza adjacent to its Connecticut Avenue store that houses a Shell gas station and convenience store as well as a Sprint retail outlet..

New Paltz, N.Y.-based CPD Properties spent $2.5 million for the plaza at 307 Connecticut Ave., which includes a car wash. CPD Energy operates more than 200 fuel and convenience stops under the Shell, Mobil, Exxon, Gulf, BP and Irving brands.NEW FAIRFIELD  Alice Gerber celebrated her sixth birthday Monday with cupcakes and old friends  and new friends shes made in the storm shelter at the high school.

Alice couldnt have friends over to her Candlewood Isle home, which still lacks power after last weeks storms, but other displaced residents at the towns emergency shelter threw her a party anyway.

Her friends delivered a pair of balloons and she passed out cupcakes donated by a local church to neighbors shed never met before.

Its the best, she said, skipping around the cafeteria in her bright pink shirt with a picture of a unicorn.

Alice and her mom, Melanie Gerber, are among the 1,200 customers in New Fairfield still coping without electricity nearly a full week after severe storms killed two people, damaged hundreds of homes and left tens of thousands without power for several days.

New Fairfield and Brookfield, where another 1,100 customers still lack electricity, are among the last remaining Eversource coverage areas with major outages. Although crews estimate power will be restored by midnight Tuesday, local officials have cautioned that the remaining work will go slowly and affect smaller groups of customers.

New Fairfield First Selectman Pat Del Monaco had been frustrated with slow response from utility crews last week, but the effort kicked into a higher gear Monday with more than 110 crews working in town on more than 400 broken utility poles and 44 miles of downed power lines.

I dont even have the right adjective for it, Del Monaco said. Its unlike anything weve ever seen in town. The experienced linemen, people working for 35 years, say theyve been in all kinds of storms and never seen anything like this.

Since people are starting to get that perspective, its neighbor helping neighbor, its people coming together, she continued. Thats become a real positive out of all of this.

The Gerbers count themselves lucky, despite being among those still without power.

Five large pine trees fell around their property, missing their home, porch and car by mere inches, Melanie Gerber said.

Her family spent much of the last week eating meals and picking up bottled water at the towns emergency shelter. Although shed worried about celebrating Alices birthday there, the volunteers and other residents made it a special day by sharing the cupcakes and singing to her.

Its really so sweet that everyone came together like this for her, Gerber said.

Alice shared cupcakes with 8-year-old Jhandel Ramirez, his 7-year-old sister Analia Garcia and her 6-year-old friend Isabella Hess. They have been visiting the shelter for meals with Jhandel and Analias mom, Bernis Ramirez, to play and eat full meals.

The Ramirezs neighborhood on Rita Drive was pummeled by the storms and trees are still strewn across the neighborhood. Power was restored to their home last night, but they lost everything in their fridge and freezer and have relied on the shelters meals.

Last week the shelter served about 1,300 meals a day and even more residents came in to use the showers or pick up water, officials said.

I was so happy when (power) came back, Bernis Ramirez said. Were lucky, too. A friend of mine still doesnt have it and some neighbors, too.

Many more residents expect to spend Tuesday and potentially even Wednesday without power, despite more than 1,000 workers descending on the greater Danbury area.

Bob and Irene Mlynar were trapped in their neighborhood on Short Woods Road for two days after the storm passed because so many large trees were uprooted or broken. Together the neighbors and several members of a local landscaping crew had to cut their own path out of the area on Wednesday and Thursday. Asplundh crews didnt completely clear the road until Friday afternoon.

The Mlynars stayed several days in Westport at their sons house and returned to essentially camp in their house until power is restored. They bashed the state for not sending more resources to their predominantly senior neighborhood.

I knew Eversource wasnt going to have the power back on immediately, but they were ready and had crews coming in from all over, Bob Mlynar said. The town only has so many crews. But the state had enough and didnt send them.

Del Monaco shared their frustrations but said Eversource officials are now coordinating their crews from the towns emergency operations center.

Eversource has now mounted a really aggressive response and we're starting to see very real results, she said. I think the crews we have here in town now are really fantastic. What it really needed was an evaluation of the scope and deciation of the resources.

Eversource officials have said the damage caused by last weeks tornadoes and macrobursts  violent downdrafts of air with high-speed winds  caused more damage than Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

In Connecticut, Sandys winds topped 85 mph, whereas last weeks storms brought winds of 110 mph and more to several areas of the state. Sandy broke almost 1,700 poles and downed 105 miles of power lines, but last weeks storms broke more than 1,800 poles and 288 miles of line, Eversource noted in a tweet.

Sandy ultimately caused more than $360 million in damage to Connecticut, but state emergency management officials do not have preliminary estimates about damage due to last weeks storms. Towns are expected to submit initial damage and cost assessment forms to the state by May 30, according to a spokesman.

The Mlynars think of themselves as veterans after living for nine days without power after Sandy, but they agreed last weeks storms were far worse.

We havent lost our sense of humor in all this, Irene Mlynar said. And you let everyone know, Short Woods is making firewood available for life. If youve got a chainsaw and you can haul it, please come get it. Its all prime, old oak wood.

zach.murdock@hearstmediact.comStudy looks at how gender bias plays into farm succession plans

Sitting down and starting an open and honest conversation early on could be the key to ensuring more women are part of the family farm's future.We all know the negative consequences of procrastination firsthand; we wait too long to start a project, or delay that important phone call, then end up feeling more pressure than we would had we started things sooner.

Related: 11 Ways to Beat Procrastination

All of us do this from time to time, and, according to research by Joseph Ferrari, about 20 percent of us are whats known as chronic procrastinators, frequently and intentionally delaying work on projects with no gain other than to temporarily delay the inevitable.

In school, were taught not to procrastinate because the practice leaves us less time and more pressure, and those issues certainly aren't good. But, later in life, the consequences of procrastination might go even further than we realize.

The correlation with heart health

Research by Fuschia Sirois, from Bishops University in Quebec, suggests that trait procrastination (the tendency to regularly delay important tasks) is correlated with both hypertension and cardiovascular disease. The correlation exists even when researchers control for variables like age, race, education level and personality factors.

The procrastination habit itself may not directly cause hypertension or damage to your heart, but it's correlated with other factors that could influence your health:

Stress. Its no secret that procrastination is a major source of stress. People most often procrastinate on their most stressful tasks as a strategy to cope with that stress. But in turn, they prolong the time they spend thinking and worrying about those tasks, thereby increasing the amount of time that they feel stress. In addition, they leave themselves with less time to finish the task, and feel even more stressed than just doing it would prompt.

Its no secret that procrastination is a major source of stress. People most often procrastinate on their most stressful tasks as a strategy to cope with that stress. But in turn, they prolong the time they spend thinking and worrying about those tasks, thereby increasing the amount of time that they feel stress. In addition, they leave themselves with less time to finish the task, and feel even more stressed than just doing it would prompt. Behavioral disengagement. Siroiss study also noted the tendency for participants to demonstrate behavioral disengagement; in other words, they procrastinate as a way to distance themselves from a given problem. Its a coping strategy, and not a healthy one, so chronic procrastinators arent able to manage their stress effectively.

Siroiss study also noted the tendency for participants to demonstrate behavioral disengagement; in other words, they procrastinate as a way to distance themselves from a given problem. Its a coping strategy, and not a healthy one, so chronic procrastinators arent able to manage their stress effectively. Self-blame. Procrastinators also tend to feel bad after procrastinating, understanding that this is a bad habit and knowing theyve put themselves in a difficult situation. But that self-blame can make them even more stressed.

Procrastinators also tend to feel bad after procrastinating, understanding that this is a bad habit and knowing theyve put themselves in a difficult situation. But that self-blame can make them even more stressed. Health procrastination. Chronic procrastinators, it's also worth noting, are also likely to delay health-related tasks; they might avoid seeing the doctor until their health problems are more obvious (and more difficult to correct), or might delay starting a new diet or exercise program because of the perceived discomfort. Those delays leave them in even worse health, and allow years of damage to accrue unabated.

The bright side

Though procrastination's health consequences are impossible to ignore, its not fair to cast all instances in a negative light. For example, one study from the Journal of Social Psychology noted two distinct types of procrastinators: active and passive.

Related: 6 Steps to Go from Procrastinating to Productive

Passive procrastinators delay tasks until absolutely necessary because they find themselves unable to summon the discipline to do them sooner. Active procrastinators intentionally decide to delay their work as a time-management strategy.

As you might suspect, while active procrastinators spend the same amount of time procrastinating, they display a more productive use of time and more adaptive coping skills.

Overcoming procrastination

So, what can you do to overcome procrastination in your own life?

1. Become an active, rather than passive, procrastinator. Instead of allowing procrastination to manifest in your life, make an active decision to procrastinate. Take charge of your delay, and deliberately choose a time to deal with the problem.

2. Think about why youre procrastinating. If you feel like putting a task off until tomorrow, ask yourself why. Are you doing this because its going to genuinely make the task easier to deal with, or just because you dont want to deal with it now? Recognizing these influences can help you make more logical decisions.

3. Manage your self-blame. If you do procrastinate -- and almost all of us do from time to timeavoid the tendency to blame yourself, and try not to feel too guilty. Procrastination happens to all of us, and your lack of action doesnt have to haunt you the rest of your week.

4. Set tighter deadlines. You could also try setting stricter deadlines for yourself, so you dont have as much time to fill with procrastination. Unfortunately, self-imposed deadlines wont do you much good, so you may need to ask a supervisor, coworker or friend to help you stay accountable to your new deadlines.

Procrastination is something that has and will continue to affect all of us from time to time, but it doesnt have to control your life -- nor do you have to let it affect your health.

Related: 4 Reasons People Procrastinate and a Cure for Each One

Understanding the consequences of procrastination, and fighting back against the habits that make you more susceptible to it will keep you productive and in better overall health.

Related:

The Surprising Link Between Procrastination and Threats to Your Health

Tackling Procrastination: What to Do When You're Just Not Ready to Get Started

12 Ways to Master Your Calendar and Manage Your Time for Maximum Results



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reservedChina plans to launch a relay satellite into space next Monday, May 21, for the Change-4 lunar probe scheduled later this year.

The Change-4 lunar probe will undertake the first ever soft landing on the far side of the Moon. However, direct communication with the far side of the Moon is not possible, which is one of the many challenges of the Change-4 lunar probe mission.

The relay satellite, named Queqiao, will be responsible for transmitting signals between the Earth station and the Change-4 lander and rover.

Relay satellites are communication satellites that can provide data relay and monitoring services for spacecraft, improving the efficiency and emergency capability of various satellites. They also enable data from earth resource and environmental satellites to be transmitted in real time.

The Change-4 probe will also carry scientific payloads for four countries, including the Netherlands and Germany.

The Queqiao satellite will relay signals between the rover and our planet. It will be stationed at Lagrange Point 2.

Change 1 and 2 orbited the Moon, and Change 3 was a lunar lander and rover on the Moons near side.

China plans to return a sample from the Moon with Change 5 which they plan to launch in 2019.The next-generation gravity observatory, called LISA, is expected to be in space in 2034, and it will be sensitive to gravitational waves of a lower frequency than those detected by the Earth-bound Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO).

A new Northwestern University study predicts dozens of binaries (pairs of orbiting compact objects) in the globular clusters of the Milky Way will be detectable by LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna). These binary sources would contain all combinations of black hole, neutron star and white dwarf components. Binaries formed from these star-dense clusters will have many different features from those binaries that formed in isolation, far from other stars.

LISA is sensitive to Milky Way systems and will expand the breadth of the gravitational wave spectrum, allowing us to explore different types of objects that arent observable with LIGO, said Kyle Kremer, the papers first author, a Ph.D. student in physics and astronomy in Northwesterns Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a member of a computational astrophysics research collaboration based in Northwesterns Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics (CIERA).

In the Milky Way, 150 globular clusters have been observed so far. The Northwestern research team predicts one out of every three clusters will produce a LISA source. The study also predicts that approximately eight black hole binaries will be detectable by LISA in our neighboring galaxy of Andromeda and another 80 in nearby Virgo.

Before the first detection of gravitational waves by LIGO, as the twin detectors were being built in the United States, astrophysicists around the world worked for decades on theoretical predictions of what astrophysical phenomena LIGO would observe. That is what the Northwestern theoretical astrophysicists are doing in this new study, but this time for LISA, which is being built by the European Space Agency with contributions from NASA.

We do our computer simulations and analysis at the same time our colleagues are bending metal and building spaceships, so that when LISA finally flies, were all ready at the same time, said Shane L. Larson, associate director of CIERA and an author of the study. This study is helping us understand what science is going to be contained in the LISA data.

A globular cluster is a spherical structure of hundreds of thousands to millions of stars, gravitationally bound together. The clusters are some of the oldest populations of stars in the galaxy and are efficient factories of compact object binaries.

The Northwestern research team had numerous advantages in conducting this study. Over the past two decades, Frederic A. Rasio and his group have developed a powerful computational tool  one of the best in the world  to realistically model globular clusters. Rasio, the Joseph Cummings Professor in Northwesterns department of physics and astronomy, is the senior author of the study.

The researchers used more than a hundred fully evolved globular cluster models with properties similar to those of the observed globular clusters in the Milky Way. The models, which were all created at CIERA, were run on Quest, Northwesterns supercomputer cluster. This powerful resource can evolve the full 12 billion years of a globular clusters life in a matter of days.

Journal Physical Review Letters- LISA Sources in Milky Way Globular Clusters

We explore the formation of double-compact-object binaries in Milky Way (MW) globular clusters (GCs) that may be detectable by the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). We use a set of 137 fully evolved GC models that, overall, effectively match the properties of the observed GCs in the MW. We estimate that, in total, the MW GCs contain  21 sources that will be detectable by LISA. These detectable sources contain all combinations of black hole (BH), neutron star, and white dwarf components. We predict 7 of these sources will be BH-BH binaries. Furthermore, we show that some of these BH-BH binaries can have signal-to-noise ratios large enough to be detectable at the distance of the Andromeda galaxy or even the Virgo cluster.China and the United States have reached an initial agreement on trade.

Both parties said in a joint statement on Saturday that China has agreed to significantly increase purchases of US goods and services, in order to reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries. This was a top demand of the Trump administration during two days of trade talks in Washington with Chinese officials.

Both sides specifically agreed to meaningful increases in US agriculture and energy exports, according to the statement. The US intends to send a team to China to hammer out the details.

US officials on Thursday told CNN that Beijing had proposed boosting Chinese purchases of American goods by around $200 billion. But at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang denied such an offer had been made.

The statement also did not mention ZTE, the Chinese tech giant that has recently been at the center of the trade spat.

Scott Kennedy, an expert on the Chinese economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the joint statement is too vague to be binding on its own.

There are no details on intellectual property.NEW HAVEN  Eric M. Clemons, president and CEO of Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology  or ConnCAT  told graduates at Albertus Magnus College Sunday to consider two questions now that they have that certified voice that a college degree brings: What is your calling? and What will be the impact youll have on the world?

Clemons, who grew up in the Norwalk area in a family rife with poverty, told the crowd that he doesnt even know how he got through high school, as the family was forced to move so often because of eviction.

After high school and an unsuccessful semester of college, Clemons worked at the U.S, Post Office for 12 years sorting letters, then returned to school, earning a bachelors degree in sociology from Southern Connecticut State University and went on to find success.

He always knew he would help others  his passion is fighting the curse of poverty  and implored graduates to contribute to the world in some way.

Clemons said he made a promise: If God would allow me to seek success, I would devote my life to saving others. And he has kept that promise in his job, his philanthropy and community service.

Clemons, who received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the college, along with two others, Harold W. Attridge and Jan Attridge, is the first commencement speaker the college has had in many years, as it broke from that tradition some 10 years ago.

College President Marc M. Camille, who was formally inaugurated May 4, conferred 581 undergraduate and graduate degrees. It was the colleges 95th commencement. Of the degrees, 63 were associates degrees, 347 bachelors degrees, and 171 were masters degrees.

Harold Attridge is a Sterling professor of divinity at Yale Divinity School and has served as the dean of Yale Divinity School for 10 years, the first Catholic to hold that position for more than an interim period. He has made many scholarly contributions to interpretation of the New Testament, the study of Hellenistic Judaism and the history and literature of early Christianity.

A Catholic laywoman with a strong commitment to welcoming refugees, Jan Attridge is engaged in the refugee resettlement efforts of Saint Thomas More, the Catholic Chapel & Center at Yale University.

Clemons thrust is committed to enabling youth and adults to recognize their own potential and power. ConnCAT provides market-relevant job training in the fields of health and computer sciences, and culinary professions for underemployed and unemployed adults.

The organization also offers after-school, arts-based educational programs for public school students considered at risk.

Clemons said although he now navigates the world of privilege, he has never forgotten his youth and surviving the issues poverty brings  and will always work to give a voice to the impoverished.

Albertus Magnus, founded by the Dominican Sisters of Peace, has an enrollment of 1,500 students in its traditional undergraduate program, accelerated adult degree programs and 11 graduate programs, including the only master of arts in art therapy and counseling in the state, a news release stated.BRIDGEPORT  A former Hamden police officer waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Monday to possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids, according to a release.

Bryan Kelly, 46, of East Haven, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. He is released on a promise to appear pending sentencing, the release from the U.S. attorneys office said.NEW HAVEN  The Yale University class of 2018 has prepared itself to meet the challenges facing American democracy, and it will need that resilience to take on those who would divide the country, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told graduating seniors Sunday.

Clinton, a member of the Yale Law School class of 1973, never mentioned the man who defeated her in the 2016 presidential race. But she made it clear that there are those who use tactics that are a core feature of authoritarianism.

Right now were living through a full-fledged crisis in our democracy, she said during her Class Day speech. No, there are not tanks in the streets, but whats happening right now goes to the heart of who we are as a nation, and I say this not as a Democrat who lost an election but as an American afraid of losing a country.

There are certain things that are so essential they should transcend politics. Waging a war on the rule of law and a free press, de-legitimizing elections, perpetrating shameless corruption and rejecting the idea that our leaders should be public servants undermines our national unity. And attacking truth and reason, evidence and facts should alarm us all.

Clinton, who also gave the Class Day address in 2001 when she was U.S. senator from New York, spoke in Woolsey Hall. The festivities were moved from Old Campus because of a forecast of rain, but sunshine streamed through the windows.

She has made numerous visits to Yale since her days at the Law School, where she met her husband, President Bill Clinton. She also noted her friendships with Yale Law School faculty Jake Sullivan and Harold Koh and said, I have a very dedicated campaign intern here graduating, David Shimer, the class of 2018.

The first woman to be nominated for president by a major party, Hillary Clinton lost to Donald Trump in the Electoral College, 304-227, although she won almost 2.87 million more popular votes than the president, according to the Federal Election Commission, with a total of 65.85 million.

Clinton at first made light of her electoral loss. I am thrilled for all of you, even the three of you who live in Michigan and didnt request your absentee ballots in time, she said. She also poked fun at the investigation of Russian meddling in the election. It is Class Day tradition for the seniors to wear silly, imaginative headgear and Clinton held up a Russian fur cap, saying, I brought a hat too  a Russian hat. Look, I mean, if you cant beat em, join em!

But she turned serious when she said that the 1,360 seniors were graduating at one of the most tumultuous times in the history of our country  and I say that as a graduate of the 60s.

Reciting the contrasts in the opening lines of Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities, Clinton said he could have been describing the ricocheting highs and lows of this moment in America. Were living through a time when fundamental rights, civic virtue, freedom of the press, even facts and reason are under assault like never before. But we are also witnessing an era of new moral conviction, civic engagement and a sense of devotion to our democracy and country.

And the members of the class of 2018 have already demonstrated the character and courage that will help you navigate this tumultuous moment and, most of all, youve demonstrated resilience, which she referred to in three ways: personal, community and democratic resilience.

As for her own resilience after losing the election, Clinton said, Let me get this out of the way. No, Im not over it. I still think about the 2016 election, I still regret the mistakes I made. I still think though that understanding what happened in such a weird and wild election in American history will help us defend our democracy in the future. Whether youre right, left, center, Republican, Democrat, independent, vegetarian, whatever. We all have a stake in that. So today as a person Im OK but as an American Im concerned.

She called community resilience something that this class has embodied during your time on campus, literally at times, like in the March of Resilience your sophomore year. It was the biggest demonstration in the history of the school  thats 300-plus years. Led by women of color, supported by students and faculty determined to make Yale a more just, equitable and safe place for everyone. Many of you have said that march was a defining moment in your college experience, and that says something about this class and your values.

That march and rally on Cross Campus ignited by emails deemed to be racially insensitive by the head and associate head of Silliman College, numbered 1,000, with students demanding a more inclusive campus.

One of the planners of the march was Ivetty Estepan, who was awarded the Nakanishi Prize Sunday, given to two seniors who, while maintaining high academic achievement, have provided exemplary leadership to enhancing race or ethnic relations at Yale College. The other winner was Haylee Makana Kushi, a native Hawaiian who was president of the Association of Native Americans at Yale and revived a tradition, the Yale Powwow, after a 10-year lapse.

Clinton said bringing people together will be important because the truth is, our country is more polarized than ever. We have sorted ourselves into opposing camps, and that divides how we see the world. In addition to politics, the divides on race and religion are starker than ever before, she said.

Now Im not going to get political here, but this isnt simply a both-sides problem, Clinton continued. The radicalization of American politics hasnt been symmetrical. There are leaders in our country who blatantly incite people with hateful rhetoric, who fear change, who see the world in zero-sum terms, so that if others are gaining, well, they must be losing. Thats a recipe for polarization and conflict.

She said that it will take radical empathy to reach across divides of race, class and politics. To try to see the world through the eyes of people very different from ourselves.  To try to recapture a sense of community and common humanity.

She said the graduates had experienced a classmates father being deported, black students feeling discriminated against and hearing about continued school shootings.

She said the country needs democratic resilience that starts with standing up for truth, facts and reason, not just in the classroom and on campus but every day in our lives. It means speaking out about the vital role of higher education in our society to create opportunity and equality. It means calling out actual fake news when we see it, and supporting great journalists and their reporting, maybe even by subscribing to a newspaper.

And most of all, she said, it means voting in every election.

Clinton said that when Barack Obama was elected the first black president in 2008, It was such a hopeful moment. And yet in some ways this moment feels even more hopeful because this is a battle-hardened hope, tempered by loss and clear-eyed about mistakes. We are standing up to policies that hurt people. We are standing up for all people being treated with dignity. We are doing the work to translate those feelings into action.

She mentioned the response of Parkland, Florida, high school students after 17 were shot down, more women running for office and winning and the increased rejection of sexual harassment and misconduct.

At this moment in our history, our country depends on every citizen believing in the power of their actions, even when that power is invisible and their efforts feel like an uphill battle, she said.

Turning again to Yale, she mentioned how two residential colleges are now named after women, including one celebrating one of Yales own hidden figures, at Grace Hopper College, honoring a naval officer and early computer programmer.

Those changes didnt happen on their own, Clinton said. You made them possible. You kept fighting. You kept the faith. And because of that, in the end, you changed Yale as much as Yale changed you. And now its time for you to make your mark on the world.

Outside of Woolsey Hall afterward, Clinton posed with seniors for selfies and signed autographs. Students were pleased by her message.

I thought it was fascinating, said Beckett Lee of Sacramento, California, who pointed out that Clinton quoted Republicans, U.S. Sen. John McCain and former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Its not an indicator that shes maintaining one party line but she attempted to try and bring everybody together  as an American who was concerned for the country.

Christopher Williams-Lopez of Atlanta said, It was very inspiring. I think a lot of what she said she related to students here today.  She passed the torch to the class of 2018 to go out and change the world.

Katherine Oh of New York City said that, rather than appearing as an untouchable figure, in the end she was able to speak to us as a fellow human being. Being able to relate to such a prominent figure made you less scared about the future and she was just really inspiring.

On Monday, the seniors will join Yales graduate and professional schools students on Old Campus for commencement, when honorary degrees also will be awarded. Traditionally there is no commencement speaker, although an exception was made in 2001, the last time Clinton spoke at Class Day, when then-President George W. Bush spoke because he was given an honorary degree. Bush graduated from Yale in 1968.

The Yale Daily News reported Sunday the university inadvertently released a list of 10 honorees, including actress Angela Bassett.

edward.stannard@hearstmediact.com; 203-680-9382.The Chinese branch of HMD Global reported that the entire stock of 700,000 Nokia X6 devices pre-sold in just 10 seconds. Another pre-sale is scheduled for May 31 and the stock is expected to be larger. Since the Nokia X6 already proved to be a hit in China, HMD Global now intends to bring it to the Western markets.

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Nokia officially unveiled the X6 smartphone last week, specifying that it will only be available in China. First pre-orders were scheduled for today  May 21st, and it seems like the Nokia X6 is indeed a big hit as Nokia already reported on its Chinese Weibo account that the entire stock of 700,000 devices sold in 10 seconds.



In case you missed the specs announced last week, here is a quick rundown. The X6 is powered by a mid-range Snapdragon 636 octa-core SoC clocked at 1.8 GHz and will come in 3/4/6 GB RAM variants with either 32 or 64 GB of storage that can be expanded up to 128 GB via microSD cards. It comes with a 5.8-inch TFT LCD that also features the infamous notch, which houses all the sensors and a 16 MP selfie. On the back there is a 16 MP + 5 MP dual cam setup and the fingerprint scanner. It will run Android 8.1 out of the box and will also include a 3.5 mm audio jack and a 3,060 mAh battery.



Nokia China mentioned that a second pre-order sale is scheduled for May 30 and the stock will hopefully be increased. Moreover, HMD Global Chief Product Officer Juho Sarvikas recently mentioned that the X6 will make its way to the Western markets soon. This probably has less to do with the presence of the notch, and more with the reputation of the Nokia brand, peoples nostalgia for the early 2000s and the decent prices.

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Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.Times Insider delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how news, features and opinion come together at The New York Times.

It was about 4 a.m., Eastern, when a conference room full of sleepy New York Times editors and reporters converged to plan, write, edit and caffeinate. Elsewhere in the newsroom, about an hour later, a weekend editor arrived with a fascinator, a small, elaborate hat favored by royals, and a British breakfast in tow. The first rumblings of story planning began in an 87-member group chat for the day. Across the pond, reporters and editors were setting up camp around and near London, from Hyde Park to Windsor to Essex, ready to break down the madness for readers around the world.

It was royal wedding day at The Times.

When I was a little girl, I watched Dianas and Sarahs weddings with my grandma, said Kaly Soto, the weekend editor wearing the fascinator. Decades later, she was in the Times Building at 5 a.m.  after picking up sausage rolls, tea cakes and tea from the British grocery store Myers of Keswick for a team breakfast  overseeing the NYTimes.com home screen and, she said, rooting for Harry to have a happily ever after.

The New York Times has covered several royal weddings in the last few decades  but this one, said Monica Drake, an assistant managing editor who oversaw the coverage, was different.In other countries, such a diagnosis would usually lead to a termination, hastening the inevitable end. But in Ireland, thats prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. If we wanted to take that route, we would have to follow in the footsteps of the 170,000 or so women who have made this traumatic journey across the Irish Sea to England and Wales over the years. The reality is that with or without the Eighth Amendment, women in Ireland already have access to abortion, just not on our soil.

Heartbroken by our daughters diagnosis, we contacted a hospital in England and began making arrangements. We felt an acute anger that we had to plan a surreptitious trip, that we had to leave behind our caring doctors and midwives. The sense of enforced furtiveness was degrading, a result of the shame that surrounds the journey. When we were at our most vulnerable, having to make these plans was an added torture.

As the day of our departure approached, one of us, Aoife, suffered an intense panic. The prospect of the procedure was daunting enough; the prospect of checking onto a plane, booking accommodations, all of it, was just too much to bear. We didnt make the journey. We couldnt.

Instead, we gave Cara her name  in the Irish language, it means friend  and decided to embrace the time we had with her. For nearly two months, between getting the diagnosis and her death, we got to see our daughter grow in weekly ultrasound scans, we got to hear her heartbeat, we got to see her move. We made memories. We became a family.

And then, a scan just before Christmas showed there was no heartbeat, no movement. The sense of loss was overwhelming. That time together with Cara was precious, and the love we have for her and the grief we feel leaves us in no doubt  Cara was not born alive, she never got to take a breath of air, but she was most certainly a person in her own right.Many of us know this. We also know that legislators in Washington, as well as Donald Trump himself, are so beholden to the National Rifle Association that little to nothing will be done to stem the real problem: guns and their availability.

Instead, politicians talk about tangential issues like the mentally ill, the hardening of soft targets like schools, and putting even more guns in peoples hands, like the lunacy of arming teachers.

A main facet of Trumps campaign was the condemnation of violence in Chicago and what that said about the culture there.

As The Washington Post pointed out, Trump promised in his inauguration speech to end this American carnage, but gun deaths are up over 12 percent year-over-year. Firearm injuries are up nearly 8 percent. The number of children under the age of 12 shot by a gun has increased by 16 percent, while instances of defensive gun use are up nearly 30 percent.

Yes, gun violence is actually on the rise.

As Time magazine pointed out in November, Firearm-related deaths rose for the second-straight year in 2016. The magazine continued:

In 2016, there were more than 38,000 gun-related deaths in the U.S.  4,000 more than 2015, the new C.D.C. report on preliminary mortality data shows. Most gun-related deaths  about two-thirds  in America are suicides, but an Associated Press analysis of F.B.I. data shows there were about 11,000 gun-related homicides in 2016, up from 9,600 in 2015. The increase in gun-related deaths follows a nearly 15-year period of relative stasis.

Furthermore, according to an April F.B.I. report: The F.B.I. has designated 50 shootings in 2016 and 2017 as active shooter incidents. Twenty incidents occurred in 2016, while 30 incidents occurred in 2017. The state with the largest number of those active shooters  six  was, you guessed it, Texas.But Congress has watched this revolution from the sidelines, thanks to reactionary lawmakers, including Mr. Sessions when he was in the Senate. Comprehensive federal legislation has been foiled again and again, as states forge ahead, reducing both prison populations and crime rates through bipartisan reforms.

In the balance is a bloated federal prison system that locks up more than 180,000 people, a sevenfold increase since 1980. That population, which is disproportionately black and brown, began to decline under President Obama, but is now on track to grow again under the new, more punitive policies of Mr. Sessionss Justice Department.

Now two big justice-reform bills are making their way through Congress, and theyve scrambled the usual partisan lines.

One bill backed by the White House, known as the First Step Act, would improve some prison conditions and help smooth the path to re-entry for people behind bars. It would, for example, require that inmates be housed within 500 miles of their families, prohibit the brutal but disturbingly common practice of shackling pregnant women and expand rehabilitative programs in which prisoners can participate to earn good-time credits. These are all important and long-overdue fixes to existing law.

But the bill would leave it up to individual prison wardens to decide who gets to use their credits and when, which means inmates would be treated differently based on where theyre locked up. The bill also restricts early release to halfway houses, even though as many as 40 percent of people behind bars pose no risk to public safety, according to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice, and would do fine with less intensive oversight, such as electronic monitoring. On top of that, federal halfway houses are so underfunded that even inmates who are eligible for immediate release cant go anywhere, because there arent enough beds available.This may seem like a daunting roll call of characters to keep straight, and I havent even mentioned Roses niece (Stephanie Kurtzuba), Flips lover (Kevin Isola), a priest (John Doman) and a profoundly miscellaneous woman from Connecticut (Dierdre Friel). But in practice its easy. Not since the remote heyday of David Mamet or, more recently, Mr. Guirgiss other plays  he won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Between Riverside and Crazy  has dialogue so laced with profanity been so gorgeously employed to define and distinguish character.

I cant quote most of it. But even without curses the back-and-forth is biting. Inez pretty much nails Norca as some kinda no-ear pit bull. Flip informs his lover that hes the worst actor in the state of Wisconsin  and thats no easy feat. And Rooftop, who has not been to confession since maybe ever, tells the priest, Father Lux, that the church has to take some of the blame for that: Its not like yall got the most alluring marketing campaign going on these days.

Cutting they may be, but Mr. Guirgiss characters are never merely indulging in insult comedy. They are groping toward the core of conflicts that are hard to put into words otherwise. In Jesus Hopped the A Train, revived last year by the Signature, the conflicts were about the nature of justice. In Our Lady of 121st Street, first produced by the Labyrinth Theater in 2002, the issues are more existential. Why do people behave like animals? Why are honesty and forgiveness so difficult? How has the idea of Gods love become associated with an often cold and predatory institution like the church?

These questions are touched upon but not resolved, in the same way one scratches an itch that just moves elsewhere. Fittingly, the structure of Our Lady of 121st Street is circular, too: a series of mostly two- and three-person scenes that dont drive forward so much as accumulate. Rooftop bends Father Luxs ear enumerating his sins until Father Lux has to remind him its a confessional, not a conversational. Inez simmers, Roses niece has an asthma attack and the lady from Connecticut gets randomly slapped. This is not the stuff of pointed drama; Balthazar the detective doesnt even solve the crime.Two people were declared dead at the scene, he said. Several others were injured, though he did not specify how many, and transported to hospitals.

Image Roger Self was booked on two counts of first-degree murder. Credit... Gaston County Sheriff's Office

Sheriff Alan Cloninger of Gaston County said Katelyn Self, a 26-year-old deputy at the jail who had been with the office for four years, was killed. She was not on duty at the time of the crash, he said.

This young lady started out as a detention officer, worked her way up to deputy, Sheriff Cloninger said.

Tragic, tragic loss of life, he continued, appearing to be on the verge of tears. All Id ask is for the people to keep the family in your prayers, and also this sheriffs office, because were suffering a little bit right now.

Chief Ellis said Mr. Self is Ms. Selfs father. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said on Twitter that the episode appeared to be domestic related.When North Korea threatened to back out of the nuclear summit with President Trump, they pointed the finger at one person  John Bolton  and blasted his calls for the so-called Libya model. Not even Boltons boss is happy with it. Well, the Libyan model isnt a model that we have at all. So just what is Boltons so-called Libya model? It started in 2003, when Libya decided to dismantle its fledgling nuclear weapons program. The country even shipped parts to a warehouse in Tennessee. These are aluminum vacuum tubes in which the centrifuge machinery themselves operate. And according to John Bolton, it all went down in one fell swoop. No half-steps, no concessions. His take was that Muammar Qaddafi simply made a strategic calculation: Give up the nukes, and Libya would no longer be a global pariah  and avoid the fate of Saddam Husseins Iraq. What actually happened with Libya is a matter of debate, but it became Boltons go-to model for how to disarm rogue states like North Korea. Is it a requirement that Kim Jong-un agree to give away those weapons before you give any kind of concession? I think thats right. I think were looking at the Libya model of 2003, 2004. The implementation of the decision means getting rid of all the nuclear weapons, dismantling them, taking them to Oak Ridge, Tenn. Why is Boltons Libya model so offensive to North Korea? First, its a dig at the regimes crowning achievement. As the official North Korea statement says, It is absolutely absurd to compare North Korea, a nuclear state, to Libya, which had been at the initial state of nuclear development. Its true that Libya was barely a nuclear startup. And North Korea actually has warheads, ballistic missiles and a vast network of labs and development sites. Second, North Korea calls Boltons model a sinister move to impose on our dignified state the destiny of Libya or Iraq. A few years after Libyas nukes were shipped to Tennessee, U.S.-backed airstrikes helped overthrow Qaddafi: a vivid reminder to Kim Jong-un of what happens to leaders who give up their defenses. So why is Bolton invoking a reference thats clearly so inflammatory? There are some who speculate that Bolton is intentionally sabotaging the North Korea talks, just as he did in 2003, because he believes North Korea cant be trusted. This is him on Fox News just a few weeks before becoming national security adviser. Why in the world would they agree to not halt the program, to give it up completely? It just doesnt logically make any sense. Because theyre lying. You know, theres an all-purpose joke here. Question: How do you know that the North Korean regime is lying? Answer: Their lips are moving. According to Bolton, this is their real goal. They want to buy time. Three months, six months, 12 months, whatever it is they need to get across the finish line. Bolton says this was part of his life as a pundit. Now his job is to help the president achieve his goals. Which by all measures seems to include cutting a historic deal with North Korea. It could be that Bolton simply believes the only way to prevent North Korea from playing games is to demand a Libya-style playbook. But what is clear is Boltons repeated talk about the Libya model is antagonizing the North  and now apparently the White House. The Libyan model that was mentioned was a much different deal. This would be with Kim Jong-un something where hed be there, hed be in his country, hed be running his country.CARRIGTWOHILL, Ireland  When it comes to the Roman Catholic Church, Judy Donnelly has been something of a rebel over the years. Like much of Ireland, she supported contraception, voted in a referendum to legalize divorce and, three years ago, backed same-sex marriage.

That last vote was joyously celebrated around the country and the world, placing Ireland, which elected its first gay prime minister last year, at the vanguard of what many called a social revolution.

But when it comes to the historic decision on legalizing abortion, which will be put to the nation on Friday, Ms. Donnelly says she will vote no, as will enough of her countrymen and women, including lawmakers across the political divide, to throw the referendum result into doubt. Polls for the May 25 vote have narrowed so tightly in recent weeks that yes and no campaigners are not able to confidently predict a victory.

Its just not the same, said Ms. Donnelly, 46, who works in a pub in Carrigtwohill. Its about values and morals.The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, was hospitalized in the West Bank on Sunday, doctors and Palestinian officials said, giving conflicting accounts of the leaders condition.

It is the third time in less than a week that Mr. Abbas, 82, has been hospitalized. He is expected to remain in the hospital at least overnight.

Mr. Abbas underwent minor ear surgery on Tuesday but briefly went back into Istishari Hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah during the night from Saturday to Sunday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

He was then rushed back later Sunday, for what doctors described only as medical tests.

Dr. Saed al-Sarahneh, medical director of the private hospital, said late Sunday that Mr. Abbas had arrived in the morning for medical tests following up on surgery he had three days earlier in his middle ear. All the tests are normal and his medical condition is reassuring, he said.But within New York art circles, it was Morgan Art Foundation and the companys adviser, Simon Salama-Caro, who were better known as the representatives of Mr. Indiana.

The Morgan company says it has served as Mr. Indianas agent since the 1990s, when Mr. Salama-Caro sought out the largely forgotten artist who had shut himself away on this island. He struck an agreement with Mr. Indiana under which, in exchange for royalties, the artist authorized Morgan to produce and sell limited editions of some of Mr. Indianas most celebrated works, including LOVE.

The company and Mr. Salama-Caro were later credited with helping to fuel a comeback for Mr. Indiana, whose profile rose with gallery shows and a major retrospective in 2013 at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Mr. Salama-Caro, who earns commissions on the sales, and his family have also started assembling a full catalog of Mr. Indianas work.

The lawsuit contends that the companys rights have been violated by some of the new work and that the artists legacy and market values are threatened by what is described as its inauthenticity and proliferation. The lawsuit named Mr. Indiana as a defendant because he was party to the agreement that Morgan argues has been violated.

Mr. Salama-Caro said that among the troubling recent pieces was WINE, a sculpture that mimics the monumental imagery of LOVE. The magazine Wine Enthusiast featured the sculpture on its May cover and published an interview with Mr. Indiana, conducted by email, in which he described his long affection for wine and said he had created another work using malbec as a stain.

Barbara Haskell, who curated the Whitneys Indiana retrospective, said she was surprised that Mr. Indiana had created a WINE sculpture. Whatever four-letter words he used, they were always psychologically charged, she said. Whats more, Professor Wilmerding and several other friends said they had not known Mr. Indiana to be a wine drinker.The intervening years have changed Ms. Takadas fortunes.

Anything ambient, Japanese, electronic or vaguely related was linking to this video, said Jacob Gorchov, who runs the Palto Flats label and reissued Ms. Takadas enigmatic album last year in conjunction with the Swiss label WRWTFWW Records. It became the No. 2-selling album at the online retailer Discogs for 2017, behind only Radioheads OK Computer. In the wake of the YouTube videos popularity, Ms. Takada has toured Europe multiple times and her other albums have been reissued in the last year; next month a reissue of her short-lived first band, Mkwaju Ensemble, will be released as well.

Classically trained as a percussionist, Ms. Takada originally performed in the Berlin RIAS Symphonie-Orchester at the start of her career in the mid-1970s, but soon found herself dissatisfied with the Western classical musical tradition. If I continued to play westernized contemporary music, it needed many more instruments like an orchestra, Ms. Takada said.

Instead, she gravitated to the Minimalism of composers like Steve Reich and Terry Riley. And much like these composers, she was also interested in African drumming and Indonesian gamelan. In these unfussy world music sounds she heard something far more abundant. People say its poor, but from very few materials, they produce rich sounds just using their body and hands, she said. How to make a worldly sound by your body and with simple materials was an important thing to me.

Unable to learn much about African music in Japan, Ms. Takada instead studied African drumming by way of two albums of field recordings, from Tanzania and Zimbabwe. I copied from the vinyl, writing down the rhythm structures, and tried it by myself, she said of her rigorous daily practice to learn polyrhythms, likening it to a daily mantra. It changed my body.The Final Year focuses on the foreign policy team of the Obama administration. And a mother tries to make amends with her estranged family in Sando.

Whats on TV

THE FINAL YEAR (2018) 8 p.m. on HBO; also on HBO streaming platforms. Over the course of 2016, the documentarian Greg Barker followed four key members of Barack Obamas foreign policy team as they traversed the globe trying to solidify policies on matters like the Syrian war, relations with Cuba and the Iran nuclear deal. The films strongest moments come when they realize they may have to hand off their legacy to Donald J. Trump, who, as a presidential candidate, pledged to reverse many of Mr. Obamas decisions. (He did just that this month when he chose to withdraw from the Iran deal.) The Final Year may make viewers miss President Obamas people, Glenn Kenny wrote in The New York Times. Unlike Marvel or DC superheroes in the movies, they wont be back any time soon.

MISS USA 8 p.m. on Fox. Vanessa and Nick Lachey host this two-hour beauty pageant. Kara McCullough, who was crowned Miss USA in 2017, will pass the honor to her successor. In 2015, NBC and Univision canceled their plans to broadcast the pageant over remarks made by Mr. Trump, who owned Miss Universe from 1997 to 2015. In 2016, The Times reported that Mr. Trump treated women inappropriately for years backstage.But in the photo from Washington, it is the Americans who appear to be older.

Over the past 100 years, American officials have gone from young to old, and Chinese officials have gone from old to young, one Weibo user wrote. This has a lot to do with the current state of the two countries. America today is just as closed off as China was 100 years ago.

The juxtaposed photos were even shared, at one point, by the official Weibo account of the Communist Youth League. (That post was later deleted.)

The symbolism is tantalizingly potent. The 1901 accord is regarded in China as a national humiliation, particularly by the Communist Party, which seeks to present itself as having rescued the nation from a century of being pushed around by foreign powers.

One of the Qing courts representatives in Beijing that day was so feeble that he had to be lifted out of his chair by two men, The New York Times reported at the time. The Qing dynasty  Chinas last  collapsed not long after.

More recently, Chinas rise has created deep tensions with the United States. But after the latest trade talks between the two countries, China seems to have emerged well positioned.Chinas problems in the area of technology could get worse. American officials are investigating whether a much bigger Chinese tech company, Huawei Technologies, also flouted American trade controls. Huawei has said it adheres to international conventions and local laws.

Despite that vulnerability, China has plenty of negotiating strengths.

White House trade officials have more expertise with trade law, but China has a small but cohesive team of negotiators who report directly to Liu He, a vice premier and nearly lifelong friend of Xi Jinping, the countrys top leader. The group has also streamlined Beijings ability to make economic policy decisions, a benefit in evaluating the impact of any concessions to the United States. Policy decisions that once took a month can now take as little as a day, said a person with a detailed knowledge of the process who insisted on anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the issue.

By contrast, the United States has shifted its demands and struggled to send out a consistent message.

The internal divisions were on display again on Sunday. Mr. Mnuchin said in the morning that any tariffs were on hold. Later that day, Robert E. Lighthizer, the United States trade representative, issued a statement in which he said, As this process continues, the United States may use all of its legal tools to protect our technology through tariffs, investment restrictions and export regulations.

In March and early April, Mr. Trump and his trade advisers threatened to impose tariffs unless Beijing agreed to curb long-term subsidies for high-tech industries.

The president then shifted to conciliation.

His financial policy advisers, led by Mr. Mnuchin, sought a fixed reduction of up to $200 billion in the $375 billion American trade deficit with Beijing. Chinas trade negotiators resisted again, and the administration ended the weekend with a joint statement by officials from the two countries that did not commit China to any specific concessions.

Chinese and American officials did exchange lists last week of extra goods that China might buy to narrow the deficit. But China only committed to continue buying ever-rising quantities of American food and fossil fuels, a position reflected in the joint communique issued at the close of the talks.Almost half a century after it was founded by Andy Warhol, Interview magazine, the arts and culture publication, is folding.

The news was publicly shared by several employees on Twitter on Monday morning.

Ezra Marcus, an associate editor at the magazine, said by email that the staff was notified in an all-hands meeting earlier in the morning that Interview, which was founded in 1969, was closing and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Phone calls to Brant Publications, which acquired Interview magazine in 1989, two years after Andy Warhol died, went unanswered.

With its striking style, Interview had long wielded outsize influence in the industry, inspiring the look and feel of many other publications. But questions about the magazines fortunes have lingered for years, as it faced ever-thinning ranks and churned through staff.Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. joined the majority opinion.

The cases featured an unusual element: Lawyers for the federal government appeared on both sides.

The Obama administration had filed a brief supporting the workers on behalf of the National Labor Relations Board. The Trump administration reversed course, and it argued on behalf of the employers. The labor boards general counsel, however, argued for the workers.

The three consolidated cases decided Monday concerned charges that employers had underpaid their workers. The workers employment contracts required that they resolve such disputes in arbitration rather than court and, importantly, that they file their claims one by one.

Arbitration clauses in employment contracts are a recent innovation, but they have become quite common. In 1992, Justice Ginsburg wrote, only 2 percent of non-unionized employers used mandatory arbitration agreements, while 54 percent do so today. Some 23 percent of employees not represented by unions, she wrote, are subject to employment contracts that require class-action waivers.

Under those contracts, Justice Ginsburg wrote, it is often not worth it and potentially dangerous to pursue small claims individually. By joining hands in litigation, workers can spread the costs of litigation and reduce the risk of employer retaliation, she wrote.

The contracts may also encourage misconduct, Justice Ginsburg wrote.

Employers, aware that employees will be disinclined to pursue small-value claims when confined to proceeding one-by-one, will no doubt perceive that the cost-benefit balance of underpaying workers tips heavily in favor of skirting legal obligations, she wrote, adding that billions of dollars in underpaid wages are at issue.

Justice Ginsburg added that requiring individual arbitrations can produce inconsistent results in similar cases, particularly because arbitrations are often confidential.

If you look at whats happening with trade in China, it hasnt been fair for many, many years. When President Trump rails against China, he says things like, Our country is being taken advantage of, or, We lost years ago by presidents and others allowing this to happen. Hes probably referring to the past four decades, when China has grown faster than any major economy in history and gone from a poor, developing country to an economic powerhouse that is challenging Americas spot at the top of the international food chain. Its emergence as a global power was so sharp and so extreme, faster than the world can handle, in some ways faster than China can handle. The U.S. and other Western nations kick-started much of Chinas rise by opening up trade. What they havent figured out is how to get this fundamentally different economic system to play by free market rules. A pivotal moment came in 2001 after 15 years of negotiations. China joined the World Trade Organization, which sets the rules for free and fair trade between member countries. All of the countries that were in the club at the time put enormous demands on China for what they needed to do. The Chinese committed to sharply lower tariffs and reduced some of the governments role in how business gets done. But they argued then, as they still do now, that China is a developing country and so should be held to less stringent free trade standards. The hope was that these first steps would lead to even more sweeping changes. Why did we assume that? The experience of communism was through the lens of the Soviet Union and its satellite states, which was ultimately not a success. And so the presumption was, Chinas going to want to become like us, more market oriented. After China joined the W.T.O. in 2001, you saw this enormous surge of Chinese exports to everywhere in the world, and to the United States in particular. They were kind of an elephant hiding behind mice with respect to other countries in global trade negotiations at the time. The U.S. and other countries complained that China was not opening its markets enough, and keeping the value of its currency artificially low to make Chinese exports more attractive. China has been making great strides using tools that are really not acceptable under the global trade system. China has continued to operate as a centrally planned economy. The government owns, influences or subsidizes major industries, giving them an artificial competitive edge. There are heavy restrictions on foreign investment, and foreign companies are pressured to share their technologies. China has become more market oriented, but dating back to probably 2007, 2008, I think it was recognized that China wasnt on the path to become more like us. And so then countries began to think about, well, what do we do instead? Some view the rise of Asia-Pacific with suspicion and fear. America doesnt. Enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership, initiated by Bush, signed by Obama. When implemented, It wont just boost trade and support jobs in our 12 countries. It will help set stronger rules for trade across the Asia-Pacific. Put less politely, It was also supposed to be a bulwark to Chinas growing economic power. The idea was that China would want to join this great trading pact, and so they would have this incentive to reform their economy. This is the one that President Trump ripped up on his third day in office. The first one is withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I had seen the erosion of popular and congressional support for trade for many years. But Id never seen anything like Donald Trump. Our founding fathers understood trade much better than our current politicians, believe me. Trade is generally accepted by economists as win-win for countries on the whole. But Trump says that China is winning and the U.S. is losing. He and people in his administration argue that past approaches to dealing with China havent worked. Its not actually that profitable to negotiate with them. We need to focus on this much bigger trade measure, and then we can really hit them with a very aggressive, forceful action. He seems intent on generating a moment of crisis. We put a $50 billion tariff on, then we put a $100 billion tariff on. And you know at a certain point, they run out of bullets. But dynamics have changed. Today, China sees its economy as strong enough to withstand almost anything the U.S. can throw at it.Which is faster: a charged particle or light? Nothing travels faster than light, right? Not always. In water, light rays slow down and sometimes a charged particle can outrace light, emitting a blue glow in its wake.

One of the Russian scientists who explained this phenomenon, known as the Cherenkov effect, stumped our solvers last week in the Thursday puzzle by David J. Kahn.

The 1958 Nobel Prize for Physics was shared by Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, Ilja (also known as ILYA) Mikhailovich Frank and Igor Yevgenyevich Tamm, who discovered and did research on this phenomenon in the 1930s.

The entry ILYA has appeared in the New York Times Crossword a total of 42 times. While last weeks clue was a nod to Dr. Frank, ILYA has been clued as the N.H.L. player ILYA Kovalchuk; ILYA Ulyanov, Vladimir Lenin's father; the author ILYA Ehrenburg; the figure skater ILYA Kulik; and as the French phrase There is.The chef John Fraser is stepping away from Dovetail, the restaurant he opened on the Upper West Side in 2007. Dovetail, which anchored his reputation, received three stars from Frank Bruni of The New York Times in 2008 and a Michelin star.

Mr. Fraser sold it to his partners in the restaurant, who plan to keep it open. The chef de cuisine is Stanley Michalski, who started four years ago.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Fraser said he decided to sell the restaurant to have more time to focus on new projects.

Mr. Frasers new restaurant, the Loyal, opened in the West Village last fall. He also runs Narcissa in the Standard East Village and Nix, a vegetarian restaurant in Greenwich Village.The New York Police Department is investigating a second sexual assault complaint against the celebrity chef Mario Batali, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

In that complaint, which has not been previously reported, a woman told the police on March 15 that Mr. Batali drugged and sexually assaulted her in January 2004 at his Greenwich Village restaurant Babbo. The woman told the police she had been drinking at the bar and went upstairs to use the bathroom, according to the person familiar with the complaint, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Her next memory was waking up as Mr. Batali was raping her.

On Sunday, 60 Minutes interviewed a different, unidentified woman who said Mr. Batali had sexually assaulted her in 2005 at the Spotted Pig, a popular restaurant in Greenwich Village owned by the restaurateur Ken Friedman and the chef April Bloomfield. The woman said she had passed out after drinking with him, and woken up with scratches on her leg and semen on her skirt; she called a rape crisis hotline and had a rape kit taken at a hospital. The woman said she reported the incident to the police but did not file a complaint.

J. Peter Donald, assistant commissioner for the Police Department, confirmed Monday that it is now investigating the Spotted Pig incident, but would not confirm the 2004 complaint about Babbo. Danny Frost, a spokesman for the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., said he could not comment on whether Mr. Vances office was investigating Mr. Batali.Dr. Nikhil Wagle thought he had a brilliant idea to advance research and patient care.

Dr. Wagle, an oncologist at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and his colleagues would build a huge database that linked cancer patients medical records, treatments and outcomes with their genetic backgrounds and the genetics of their tumors.

The database would also include patients own experiences. How ill did they feel with the treatments? What was their quality of life? The database would find patterns that would tell doctors what treatment was best for each patient and what patients might expect.

The holdup, he thought, would be finding patients. Instead, the real impediment turned out to be gathering their medical records.

In the United States, there is no single format used by all providers, and hospitals have no incentive to make it easy to transfer records from one place to another. The medical records mess is hobbling research and impeding attempts to improve patient care.For the first time, the World Health Organization has published a list of diagnostic tests that it considers essential to every health care system in the world.

The list, published Wednesday, is similar to the agencys essential medicines list, which the W.H.O. launched in 1977.

In its day, the medicines list was revolutionary because it was both a global guide to rational treatment regimens and because it fostered the idea that certain medicines were so important that they should be available to the whole world, regardless of price.

The W.H.O. expert panel that created the diagnostics list hopes it will eventually be just as revolutionary.Mayor Fulop, who was running for re-election in heavily Democratic Jersey City, went public immediately with his opposition to hefty tax breaks for 1 Journal Square. The innovative aspects of the project were lost with the departure of WeWork, the city contends.

Since then, the Kushners have said that they will no longer use the federal program popular among developers that trades a path to citizenship to foreigners who invest $500,000 in American projects.

Last September, however, the planning board approved Charles Kushners revised plan for the project. In April, his company filed a new application for tax breaks and bonds from the city. But Mr. Fulop has remained publicly opposed to providing the Kushner project with any tax breaks, contrary to the mayors position on other projects, including Murray Kushners Journal Squared.

That left Mr. Kushner furious. He said that Mr. Fulop acknowledged last fall in a telephone conversation that Mr. Kushner was being discriminated against for his ties to the White House.

Asked about Mr. Kushners account of the phone call, the mayors office did not specifically address the matter. The mayor did point out that 1 Journal Square failed to start construction by Jan. 1, as required by the development agreement, and questioned whether Mr. Kushner has the financing to proceed.

The Kushner project in Journal Square is in default for a number of project-related issues, Mayor Fulop said in a statement, not the familys connection to the White House.

Mr. Kushner acknowledged that Murrays project, as the first big complex in Journal Square, deserved its generous tax breaks. But that doesnt mean that he should get nothing, he said.

We are front and center in Journal Square, Mr. Kushner said. We are certainly entitled to some sort of tax abatement for enhancing the area.The cast she used to keep her broken bones in place and her crutches with the purple padding are stuffed inside a hallway closet. The cane she occasionally relies on to walk around the city leans against a drawer in her living room.

Inside the drawer is the brace she uses to stabilize her ankle. And nearby, on the floor, sits a blue plastic stand she repurposed as a shower seat for when standing became too painful in the first weeks of her recovery.

Seven months ago on Halloween, Rachel Pharn was sideswiped by a pickup truck in a terror attack on a Manhattan bicycle path that left eight people dead and 11 others injured. The events of that day, Oct. 31, 2017, play like a video on repeat in her head  the blood, the crushed bodies and the mangled bicycles left behind when the truck plowed down the crowded bike path, in the shadow of 1 World Trade Center, along the Hudson River.

The truck crushed her foot and badly bruised her shoulder and arm.

The first week, I was in such disbelief that I was alive, Ms. Pharn, 26, said last month in her first interview since the attack. I couldnt believe I escaped death.TORONTO  An aging construction worker arrived quietly in the buildings basement, took his seat alongside three other men and struck his lighter below a cooker of synthetic heroin.

A woman, trained to intervene in case of an overdose, placed a mask over her face as his drug cooked and diluted beneath a jumping flame. He injected himself, grew still and then told of the loss of his wife who died alone in her room upstairs  an overdose that came just a few months before this social service nonprofit opened its doors for supervised injections.

I dont want to say, What if, what if, said the 52-year-old man, known as Gordie. He said his wife, Carol, had talked about kicking her habit before her death in September. It never happened, he said.No sooner had they made a comeback on our television screens than they ruffled feathers among Kenyan internet users. Citizen TVs Fashion Watch, which people loved to hate before it went off the air, made a special return over the weekend to cover and critique the royal wedding on Saturday.

The usual gang of celebrity stylist Annabel Onyango, Carol Odero, Robert Burale, and Ian Mbugua- hosted by Lilian Muli- came together again and unsurprisingly, brewed up a storm on social media with their controversial fashion views on Meghan Markles Givenchy Royal wedding dress.

All but pastor Robert Burale held reservations about the dress designed by the acclaimed British designer, Clare Waight Keller.

Annabel thought: I expected a little bit moregiven all the wait and anticipation. I thought it was a bit baggy. These things need to be perfect but this wasnt.

Ian Mbugua added: I did not like the gown either- It looks a tad big on her.

While Carol Odero, in addition to criticizing the dress, called out the Duchess of Sussex on her makeup. She said, I expected it to be more princess like. It should have been more- The make up was also not outstanding.

Their views were shared on Twitter via the official Citizen TV Twitter handle causing an uproar from Kenyan Twitteratti.

Carol Odero, in particular, appeared to receive most of the backlash.

Ilikua unataka aeke make up mingi ndo akae zebra ama??  yakub ousman (@YakubOusman) May 19, 2018

Just simple makeup she had and thats her signature.. Her gown was simple and modern,her tiara was ??,her veil detail represented the common wealth countries.I think she wanted to bring who she is inside out  Winnie254 (@mayyanna1) May 19, 2018

Maybe she wants girls to love themselves the way they are, you can still be fine when u keep it simple, no make up.  ?? RETWEET-KING ? (@MDOE_JNR) May 19, 2018

She is a princess. They cant do screaming make-up. I wish people actually read up before speaking.  catchy kachie (@jannette_kachie) May 20, 2018

Team onions wameongea Dont take any of these ones serious pic.twitter.com/jQvkh7e4Eb  Baba Daniela (@pastorkibet) May 19, 2018

Hawa hukua haters tu  Tinashey (@tinatinashe1) May 19, 2018

When will Kenyan Celebrities understand that too much make up makes you look like you have zero self esteem and you have cover that with a fake face?? Mama give them a sign..Simplicity is attractive.  Jacqueline Njeri (@Jacquel20799169) May 20, 2018

In Africa, without make up is now a disability ???? #RoyalWedding#BakeAwards  Muchiri NP (@NjorogeMuchiri) May 20, 2018

It was her day {not yours} her wedding {not yours} her style {not yours} her happiness {not yours}  Genesis? (@njoromoss) May 19, 2018

Reading this comments I have learned that twitter is not for the faint of heart??  Clinton Mony (@ClintonMony) May 19, 2018

Does Carol think all women need make up to look good??  Clinton Mony (@ClintonMony) May 19, 2018

The way carol is dressed reminds me of the women who act as keepers of the shrine in naija movies. Those shrine women who have their altars by the rivers  Anthony macharia (@tonnyclaire) May 19, 2018

Someone has put on curtains and shes busy commenting on the #RoyalWedding  Grayson Katsoleh (@graysonkatsoleh) May 19, 2018

Look who is talking pic.twitter.com/0TKeFY4Kz0  vally viet (@mwalumavallery) May 19, 2018

Carol Odero the difference between royalty and slay queens is simplicity! These people are very simple and this has brought them far. Slay queens would put 10 tones of makeup on their faces, fake eyelashes and the list continues. Exposure helps us become more mature and simple  Mabel Ollimo (@ollimo_mabel) May 19, 2018

Sometimes you dont have to be negative because your being paid to comment ..Mehgan and Harry killed it ..the end  mtumzuri (@mtumzuri) May 20, 2018

Sasa huyu tu ?Kimbelembele who asked about your opinion,it is very irrelevant  CHEMU? (@tutai95) May 19, 2018

Carol i was about to add a comment but you have been tortured enough for one nighti dielol  Douglas Muchiri (@DouglasMuchiri5) May 19, 2018

Is this the dress she expected her to wear?? pic.twitter.com/NzQEFzqsJK  Clinton Mony (@ClintonMony) May 20, 2018

Haki you people on this thread will not see heaven ????????????  Noel Amoit (@NoelAmoit) May 20, 2018

Ghaaaaaaaaai, some people though. Meghan chose simplicity. She is the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. But why do some of this people think make up is beauty?  Lilian Nyabuto (@NyabutoLilian) May 20, 2018

@CarolOdero is entitled to her own opinion even thou its just as trashy as her sense of fashion  Brown (@mwanikiismyname) May 20, 2018

Men are discussing #FACup but some are still discussing weddings, leave that to ladies  Wallace Ralak (@RalakWallace) May 19, 2018

Ian is a generation of gaps yawa the guy understands music more than fashion or was the gown singing?  thecalvomjinga (@CalvoMjinga) May 19, 2018

Surely Men are discussing serious issues such as what @netanyahu is doing to fellow human beings. Wewe hapa you are discussing gowns. Leave that to ladies.  frank oriku (@orikufrank) May 20, 2018

Sasa huyu Annabel nani anamjua outside citizen TV studio? Nkt.  Stephen Otieno Odongo (@OdongoStevour) May 19, 2018

Scrap this fashion watch crap all together  Douglas Muchiri (@DouglasMuchiri5) May 19, 2018Richard N. Goodwin, a senior adviser and speechwriter for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson whose later work as an author, journalist and political consultant reflected his unswerving liberal outlook, died on Sunday at his home in Concord, Mass. He was 86.

Mr. Goodwins wife, Doris Kearns Goodwin, the Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and historian, said he died after a brief bout with cancer.

The author of books and articles on public policy and a play, Mr. Goodwin was for years identified with the Kennedy clan and with leaders of the Democratic Party.

In 2000 he helped write the concession speech that Vice President Al Gore delivered after the Supreme Court halted the Florida recount in the presidential election, effectively handing the White House to George W. Bush. In 2004 he was a campaign consultant for the Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, and in 2008 Barack Obama consulted him in his presidential campaign.Robert Indiana, the Pop artist whose bold rendering of the word love became one of the most recognizable artworks of the 20th century, gracing hundreds of prints, paintings and sculptures, some 330 million postage stamps that he authorized and countless tchotchkes that he did not, died on Saturday at his home in Vinalhaven, Me. He was 89.

His lawyer, James W. Brannan, said the cause was respiratory failure.

Mr. Indianas famous image features the word L-O-V-E rendered in colorful capital letters, with the first two letters stacked on top of the other two, and the letter O tilted as if it were being swept off its feet. Since he designed the earliest versions, in the 1960s, the logo has acquired a life of its own, appearing on everything from posters and album covers to T-shirts and jewelry.

Mr. Indiana called it the 20th centurys most plagiarized work of art, and he kept a collection of knockoffs in his home, a historic Victorian building, to prove it.

[Read about the lawsuit that accused two men of tainting the artists legacy.]

To be sure, he had a hand in spreading the word, creating many artworks in different mediums based on the motif. And he designed the red, blue and green version that was originally issued as an eight-cent stamp by the United States Postal Service for Valentines Day 1973. It has since become one of the most popular holiday stamps in the United States.News of Mr. Yangs reversion to Chinese citizenship reverberated across the Chinese-American community, especially among scientists and engineers. The C.C.P. gained much-needed respectability, having just poached a major human-capital asset of the United States, and one who had received most of his training there.

In fact, ever since the California Institute of Technology aerodynamics and missile expert Tsien Hsue-shen returned to China in 1955  and became instrumental in building Chinas missile industry  the F.B.I. has been well aware of the danger this peculiar kind of reverse brain drain poses for the United States. Id rather see him shot than let him go, Dan A. Kimball, the secretary of the Navy in 1951-53, reportedly once said of Mr. Tsien. Hes worth three to five divisions anyplace. Hundreds of Chinese scientists overseas went back to China in the 1950s.

Mr. Yangs renunciation of his American citizenship may have had an even greater effect, if only because there are many more Chinese-Americans in the United States today than there were some six decades ago. Certainly, his return to China in the 1970s was a great source of patriotic inspiration among my generation of Chinese studying and working in high-tech in the United States then. Again and again, such homecoming stories have helped repair the C.C.P.s tarnished image after it lost the support of intellectuals  with its disastrous Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957, the Cultural Revolution of 1966-76 or again after the brutal Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.

Longtime China observers readily recognize in Mr. Yangs trajectory the handiwork of the C.C.P., specifically the painstaking orchestrations of its well-masked machine of influence. Foreign academic and intelligence circles, however, are only just beginning to appreciate Chinas method  and how it differs from, say, Russias  and to take the full measure of its effectiveness. Chinas ploys are difficult to discern, and its plants are difficult to dislodge, especially when they take root in unsuspecting open societies, like the United States, New Zealand or Australia.

The Chinese influence machine has nebulous outer layers, partly because connections between its members, be they individuals or organizations, are often imperceptible. But at its core is a well-defined, battle-tested structure first deployed by Mao in the 1930s. Mao famously identified it as one of his Three Magic Weapons against the Republican government of Chiang Kai-shek, alongside a Leninist party and the Red Army, and he gave it a respectable name: the United Front. The organization assumed its current form in 1946. Three years later, Maos Communists won the civil war, and credited the United Front in part for their victory.

The United Front comprises two organs, which are often poorly understood outside China because there are no equivalents for them in the West. One is the enigmatic United Front Work Department; the other is the high-profile Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference (C.P.P.C.C.).If you had to identify a place and time where the humanitarian dream  the vision of a society offering decent lives to all its members  came closest to realization, that place and time would surely be Western Europe in the six decades after World War II. It was one of historys miracles: a continent ravaged by dictatorship, genocide and war transformed itself into a model of democracy and broadly shared prosperity.

Indeed, by the early years of this century Europeans were in many ways better off than Americans. Unlike us, they had guaranteed health care, which went along with higher life expectancy; they had much lower rates of poverty; they were actually more likely than we were to be gainfully employed during their prime working years.

But now Europe is in big trouble. So, of course, are we. In particular, while democracy is under siege on both sides of the Atlantic, the collapse of freedom, if it comes, will probably happen here first. But its worth taking a break from our own Trumpian nightmare to look at Europes woes, some but not all of which parallel ours.

Many of Europes problems come from the disastrous decision, a generation ago, to adopt a single currency. The creation of the euro led to a temporary wave of euphoria, with vast amounts of money flowing into nations like Spain and Greece; then the bubble burst. And while countries like Iceland that retained their own money were able to quickly regain competitiveness by devaluing their currencies, eurozone nations were forced into a protracted depression, with extremely high unemployment, as they struggled to get their costs down.Robert comes from my supposed biological father. The only information I have about him is his name from a document provided by a social worker responsible for my case when I was a foster child.

My middle name, Kim, comes from my biological mother. It was her family name. She succumbed to drug addiction, rendering her unable to care for me.

And my last name: Henderson. It comes from my former adoptive father. After my adoptive mother left him, he severed ties with me in order to hurt her. He figured that my emotional pain from his desertion would be transmitted to my adoptive mother. He was right. The three people who gave me their names have something in common: All abandoned me. None took responsibility.

Last year, a fellow student told me I was a victim. Yale is the only place where someone has said this to me. I responded that if someone had told me I was a victim when I was a kid, I would never have made it to the Air Force, where I served for eight years, or to Yale. I would have given up. When I was 10, a teacher told me that if I applied myself, I could alter my future. This advice changed my life. From my response, my fellow student inferred that I was not as progressive as him. As our conversation unfolded, he asked, What does it actually mean to be a conservative?

For me, the answer is that people who came before us werent stupid. They were stunted in many ways. But not in every way. Older people have insights worthy of our attention.Without a culture of free inquiry, universities cease to be universities, Robert Maynard Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago from 1929 to 1945, once said. But this intellectual atmosphere cannot be legislated from the outside. Just as those who shout down or silence speakers with whom they disagree contribute to the problem, so, too, do efforts by legislators to eliminate particular courses or forms of expression.

The Goldwater Institute, a libertarian think tank in Arizona, drew up a model policy for state legislative proposals on campus speech. Though not fully incorporated in the final version of the Arizona law, the institutes proposal has been alarmingly influential.

The model policy has been rightly criticized for proposing that decisions about campus disciplinary policy be shifted from universities to lawmakers, even going so far as to propose removing schools discretion in addressing individual situations. It would also mandate that schools suspend students who twice interfere with the expressive rights of others. A third time would lead to expulsion.

Such broad measures are vulnerable to abuse. Our criminal justice system has already seen the destructive effects of similar mandatory minimums in sentencing, and there is little reason to think they would fare better in the environment of a college campus.Leave aside for the moment the pesky detail that such claims are fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution and the idea that no person is above the law. The claim that the president is immune from the criminal process also winds up being potentially bad for Mr. Trump. It may mean he would lack the right to refuse to testify  because he could not incriminate himself given his supposed constitutional immunity.

The mishmash of bad constitutional arguments being floated by Mr. Trump has to cause Mr. Mueller concern. And that is why Mr. Giulianis story that Mr. Muellers team told him that Mr. Trump cannot be indicted seems at best incomplete. It is true that the special counsel regulations (which I drafted in 1999 for the Justice Department) generally require the special counsel to obey Justice Department policy. And it is also true that Justice Department policy is that a sitting president cannot be indicted. But the regulations contemplate that a special counsel could, in appropriate circumstances, depart from Justice Department policy.

The regulations had to be written that way. Those of us who created them could not foresee all the possible permutations of law and facts that would unfold in the years to come. If congressional leadership, for example, was in criminal cahoots with the president, no one would want the special counsel to be powerless to indict or to report information to the full Congress for impeachment.

Accordingly, the regulations permitted the special counsel to seek a departure from Justice Department policy, by going to the acting attorney general (in this case, Rod Rosenstein) and requesting it. The idea was that if responsibility for decision-making was vested in Justice Department leadership, decisions to protect the rule of law were more likely to be made. And as a safeguard against wrongdoing by Justice Department leadership, the regulations require transparency in the process: If the acting attorney general refuses a special counsel request, he must notify the majority and minority parties in Congress.

In this way, the regulations put a thumb on the scale in favor of having Mr. Mueller seek an indictment if he finds evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Mr. Trump. Unlike the Independent Counsel Act, a predecessor to the special counsel regulations that required the prosecutor to write a detailed final report to Congress, the regulations require only a substantive report when the acting attorney general overrules the special counsel. The acting attorney general is free to write one otherwise, but the only way Mr. Mueller can ensure such a report is written is to make a request that is overruled.

All of this explains why Mr. Giulianis story that Mr. Mueller has concluded he cannot indict a sitting president seems implausible and incomplete. It is far more likely that Mr. Mueller has concluded that Justice Department policy currently forbids such a step, but that he has a path forward toward seeking indictment if he believes it warranted. And Mr. Trump, whose Justice Department has, with his blessing, repeatedly overruled longstanding Justice Department positions at an unheard-of rate, is in no position to complain if Mr. Rosenstein overrules these two old opinions. Of course, if Mr. Rosenstein refuses to overrule them, he would still be creating a record that Congress may use as it considers impeachment.

Thus the various pieces of the constitutional and regulatory scheme work together: If indictment is off the table, then impeachment must be on it; and (perhaps in a future setting) if impeachment is off the table because of nefarious congressional activity, then indictment must be on it. That is the genius of our system, and the only way to ensure we remain a government of laws which no one is above.SANTA FE, Tex.  The makeshift memorials were growing larger by the hour outside Santa Fe High School on Saturday, the balloons holding up valiantly while the floral bouquets were already beginning to wilt in the early summer heat. In the aftermath of the murder of eight students and two adults at the school by Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, the familiar yellow caution tape had been wrapped around the schools perimeter. On a weekend night, there were still some cars in the school parking lot, eerily unaccounted for. There were the usual blood drives and fund-raisers for funeral expenses, and it seemed as if every church and bank sign in town, from those made with old fashioned magnetic letters to retina-searing LEDs, was offering a single message: Pray for Santa Fe.

You could almost conjure the whole scene in your mind without visiting the place, the aftermaths of school shootings having become so familiar. The only thing that made Santa Fe different was the hypocrisy of major Texas politicians  the ones who have never wavered in their push for more guns on college campuses, showy open-carry laws and laws that have made it easier for the mentally ill to buy guns.

By now you have heard of our Lt. Gov. Dan Patricks dubious suggestion that schools should reduce the number of entrances and exits to prevent more shootings  and that divorce, abortion and video games are to blame. Then there was Gov. Greg Abbotts promise to do more than just pray for the victims and their families, by holding round-table discussions to stop the violence. He promised to speed up background checks and keep guns away from those who pose immediate danger. But if history is any indication, both men will be more obsessed with keeping transgender kids from using the bathroom of their choice than keeping all kids safe in their schools.

The most effective breach in the bloviation came from the Houston police chief, Art Acevedo, who wrote a Facebook post that went viral, taking on the elected officials that ran to the cameras today, acted in a solemn manner, called for prayers, and will once again do absolutely nothing. Lets hope he has grander ambitions.The Supreme Court has just told the nations workers: If youre underpaid at work, or if you face discrimination on the job, youre on your own.

Federal labor law protects the right of workers to join together to improve their conditions, whether through a union or other means. But the court has now carved out a big exception to that longstanding principle. In a 5-4 decision on Monday, the court said that companies can use arbitration clauses in employment contracts to bar workers from joining forces in legal actions over problems in the workplace. In other words, workers who are underpaid, harassed or discriminated against will have to press their cases alone in arbitration, rather than with their colleagues in a class-action case, or even with their own lawsuit.

This decision, Epic Systems Corporation v. Lewis, would be a blow at any moment, but its especially harmful now. The rights of workers are under attack. Wage theft is rampant through violations of minimum-wage laws, refusal to pay overtime and forcing employees to work off the clock. Our crude national discourse encourages all types of discrimination. And we now know better than ever how pervasive sexual harassment is.

In addition, the institutions that can stand up for workers who cant stand up for themselves are falling short. The proportion of American workers in a union is at an 80-year low. State and local government agencies that enforce laws to protect workers are chronically underfunded. And the federal government is doing everything it can to lend a hand to predatory employers.The rule of law. President Trumps attempts to turn federal law enforcement into an instrument of mere partisanship  rather than justice  reached a new level over the weekend. He said he would direct the Department of Justice to investigate whether the F.B.I. improperly spied on his campaign.

Trumps directive to open a politically motivated probe could genuinely produce a crisis for law enforcement, writes Benjamin Wittes of the Brookings Institution. This is a nakedly corrupt attempt on the part of the President to derail an investigation of himself at the expense of a human source to whose protection the FBI and DOJ are committed. Quinta Jurecic and Wittes go into more detail in this Lawfare article.

Other presidents did nothing like this. Whether Republican or Democrat, they steered well clear of individual investigations, leaving those investigations to the professional  nonpolitical  judgment of Justice Department employees. Our law is not an instrument of partisan purpose, said Edward Levi, the Republican-appointed attorney general in the 1970s who helped create the modern Justice Department. The law, Levi said, cannot become anyones weapon.

Trump has repeatedly trampled on this tradition  a tradition thats vital to a well-functioning democracy. Without it, the law simply becomes a weapon for the powerful to use against the powerless, much as it is in an autocracy.

The question now is whether Trumps own Justice Department officials have the courage to buck him.

The initial answer isnt clear. Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, responded to Trump by asking the Justice Department watchdog to expand an existing probe of a government wiretap on a Trump campaign official. In doing so, Rosenstein seems to be trying to satisfy Trump without launching an actual criminal investigation. The Times said that Rosenstein was trying to thread the needle, while The Washington Post called it an effort to avert a larger clash.Police officers on Sunday shot dead a woman and injured her companion in a case of mistaken identity at the City Park, Nairobi.

The woman and her male companion were resting in a private car within the park when police on patrol approached it. According to police, the car had been parked there for more than an hour raising suspicion.

Confirming the incident, Nairobi County Police Commander Joseph Ole Tito said the officers approached the car with an intention of knowing if there were occupants and their mission.

The cars windows were tinted and as the officers approached it, the driver sped off prompting one of the officers to shoot at it. Both occupants were injured but the woman succumbed in the hospital, he said.

The incident happened at around about 10 am. Before the woman died, she informed police and the hospital attendants who her relatives were and were called there.

A relative of the man said the bullet that hit him on the shoulder also hit the woman in the chest, killing her instantly.

Tito said they had launched investigations into the incident even as the families of the man and woman accused the police of being trigger-happy.

The police boss defended the officers involved in the incident saying, they did not want to take chances in this era of many crimes including terrorism.

We will investigate the matter professionally if there are complaints.As the old saying goes, if the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If both the facts and the law are against you, pound the table and yell.

Welcome to the central organizing principle of the Trump White House. As the Russia investigation burrows closer to the Oval Office, the president, his staff, his collaborators in Congress and his defenders in the right-wing media are sparing no institution in their quest to undermine it. Look, a mole!

President Trump sank to a new low on Sunday, tweeting, I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!

Putting aside the cartoonish language (I hereby demand? Really?), consider the seriousness of the threat posed by a president ordering federal law enforcement officials to investigate the people who are investigating him.CIUDAD GUAYANA, Venezuela  Sunday, 5 a.m. The military has already closed all the streets near voting centers, including mine. This is typical on election day. Also typical on election day is the sound of the military trumpet, the toque de diana, at the break of dawn. Im looking out the balcony window of my apartment thinking itll ring out any second now.

Ive never liked that trumpet; it seems much too militaristic for an occasion that should be just civilian. But the military pretty much rules Venezuela now.

I dont want to vote. I really dont. At the same time, Im tired of not doing anything, so maybe I should vote. There arent many protests against the government these days, and the opposition didnt actively organize to prevent the election.

Two candidates are running against President Nicolas Maduro, but the system is so rigged that they dont have a chance. Anyway, one is an evangelical (Javier Bertucci), and the other is an ex-supporter of our late former president Hugo Chavez (Henri Falcon). The main opposition coalition, Frente Amplio Venezuela Libre, the Broad Front for a Free Venezuela, just wants people like me to stay home. I wish no one but Maduro was participating at all, and that the entire opposition had rallied to call for a proper boycott. The statement repeatedly cites the example of Libya, whose former leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, agreed in 2003 to forfeit the countrys nuclear capability in the hope of economic integration with the West. Colonel Qaddafi was captured and killed by rebel forces after the United States and its allies launched airstrikes in Libya in 2011.

 According to administration and foreign officials, President Trump has been seeking advice from his aides and allies, including from President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, about whether he should proceed with the talks with Kim Jong-un at the risk of political embarrassment.

Tune in, and tell us what you think. Email us at thedaily@nytimes.com. Tweet me at @mikiebarb. And if youre interested in advertising with The Daily, write to us at thedaily-ads@nytimes.com.

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You can listen and subscribe to The Daily from any podcast player. If youre reading this from an iPhone or other Apple mobile device, tap this link to listen in Apple Podcasts. If youre on an Android device, tap this link to listen in Stitcher or this link to listen in RadioPublic.To most people, the buds and sprouts of April are welcome heralds of spring. But to some farmers and scientists in the southeastern corner of Pennsylvania, these signs mark the beginning of a long season of dread.

Their worry is Lycorma delicatula, the spotted lanternfly. It is an invasive pest with a voracious appetite and remarkable reproductive talents.

Native to Asia, lanternflies first appeared in Pennsylvania in 2014. Despite a quarantine effort, they have also been discovered in small numbers in New York, Delaware and Virginia.

In their native range, lanternflies feed primarily on one type of tree  Ailanthus, the tree of heaven. The trees are an invasive species, too, common across the continental United States, and so entomologists fear lanternflies one day may spread to far-flung corners of the country.Matt Kallman, an Uber spokesman, said Monday that Uber was moving in a new direction. Over the past year, he said, the company has changed how it compensates and evaluates employees, published diversity reports and trained employees on diversity and leadership. He did not directly address any of Ms. Avendanos claims, saying Uber would not comment on pending litigation.

Ms. Avendanos claims of sexual harassment and a human resources department uninterested or unwilling to curb the problem are reminiscent of issues raised by Susan Fowler, another former Uber engineer, who brought intense scrutiny to the company when she published a blog post about her time at Uber.

Ms. Fowler said that when she reported her direct supervisor for sexually harassing her, management told her that it wouldnt feel comfortable punishing him because he was a high performer and that it was probably an innocent mistake. After her post, the company hired Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general, and his law firm, Covington & Burling, to investigate the claims and assess its workplace. Uber fired 20 employees for sexual harassment and other workplace misconduct based on the reports findings.

The lawsuit raises questions about Ubers human resources department, which is led by Liane Hornsey, who joined Uber in 2017, and whether it has done enough to halt hostile working conditions for women at the company. After the Holder report, Uber took the unusual step of bringing on another law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, to investigate certain complaints about human resources.

Ubers Mr. Kallman said the company took such complaints seriously and worked with outside law firms to ensure the independence of the investigation.

Ms. Avendano said that when she learned from co-workers that the company had decided not to punish the man who sexually harassed Ms. Fowler, she informed her bosses and human resources that they had mishandled the situation and were creating a hostile workplace. She even reported her point of view to Thuan Pham, Ubers chief technology officer, she said.

She said she was reprimanded for throwing senior officials under the bus, because she took the matter directly to Mr. Pham. She said her bosses retaliated by denying her pay increases and career advancement, prompting human resources to tell her shortly before she left the company in June that her salary was abnormally low.Rage runs throughout Theres Blood at the Wedding, and its an anger that both energizes and overwhelms this hourlong mixed-media show.

Theodora Skipitares, the creator and director, has made a specialty of intertwining classic works with contemporary issues  generally speaking, shell stage a scene from a well-known drama, then follow that scene with a real-life story. Her Traveling Players Present the Women of Troy combined a Greek tragedy with testimonies of abused African and Afghan women, while her Prometheus Within alternated that myth with accounts of modern scientific exploration. They are wondrous pieces.

Here she offers Federico Garcia Lorcas Blood Wedding alongside the stories of Eric Garner, Sean Bell and other civilians who were killed by the police. Its a bold move, though too often Lorcas play seems shoehorned into making a point rather than supporting an idea: The parallels are less persuasive than they were in previous shows, and audience members unfamiliar with Lorcas plot might get lost.After Mr. Jacobs and Ms. Smith finish, Sandra Lopez-Monsalve, a multimedia producer, will be up. She will record ambient noises around the airport and make an electronic map with them. Anyone will be able to go online, click on a spot on the map, and play the sounds heard every day in that exact location.

After that Sherwin Banfield, a visual artist, will draw the passengers walking by him and then do a large mural based on the sketches. Finally, Brian Soliwoda, the co-founder of Salt Tree Art, a design firm that focuses on using sustainable and regenerative products, will create a sculpture of a clipper ship in honor of the terminals seaplane history.

A lot of airports have art, said Lysa Scully, the general manager of La Guardia Airport. But having active and involved art that customers engage with, that is the unique model. I havent seen that anywhere.

The idea to have interactive artwork in the airport was first proposed at a Queens Community Board 1 meeting by a resident who lives close to the airport. Frustrated that so many tourists land in Queens but head straight to Manhattan, he stood up and asked if there was a way to showcase the boroughs vibrant art scene at the airport. Ms. Scully, who was leading the meeting, was immediately hooked.

She reached out to the Queens Council on the Arts, a nonprofit organization that had experience planting quirky artists in the path of visitors. For the past two years, the council has set up artists of all kinds in hotels around Queens  the program is called the QCA ArtHotel Residency  including those adjacent to the airports. An artist currently hangs out in the lobby of rate SpringHill Suites, a Marriott property at La Guardia, drafting sketches of the boroughs many locations and events. The idea is to showcase Queens artists to travelers staying in the property.

Daniel Bamba, the organizations grants and residencies manager, said he knew immediately that he could do the same type of project for the airport. We found projects that really took into account the location they are going to be in and the people who will be passing through on a day-to-day basis, he said. We want to give these artists exposure to an insane amount of people.

Terminal A was chosen as the home of the ArtPort Residency, as it is officially named, because it was a space we completely controlled, Ms. Scully said. But all parties involved agree the space is far from ideal.Good morning.

(Want to get California Today by email? Heres the sign-up.)

Last week, Nicholas Kristof, an Op-Ed columnist at The Times, published a piece on what he believes to be an injustice in California  a case in which a life hangs in the balance. We asked Mr. Kristof to discuss reaction to his column.

Pressure seems to be growing on Gov. Jerry Brown to allow advanced DNA testing in the case of Kevin Cooper, a black man on San Quentins death row for the brutal 1983 murder of a white family.

After my in-depth column in the opinion section on the case, Senator Kamala Harris has called on the governor to allow testing and so has John Chiang, the state treasurer and a candidate for governor.

As my column notes, I believe Mr. Cooper is innocent and was framed for murder by the San Bernardino County Sheriffs office. Whats striking about the case is not only that the evidence against Mr. Cooper has mostly been discredited, but also that theres growing evidence against a particular white man who also happens to be a convicted murderer (he wasnt happy to hear from me).The authorities had little to say about Mr. Selfs motive. Locke Bell, the Gaston County district attorney, said the investigation was continuing and Mr. Self was to appear in court Monday afternoon. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

In the close-knit church community, Pastor Rammell seemed to struggle for answers: What made a man who had been an active member of his church use his vehicle allegedly as a fatal weapon against his own family?

Pastor Rammell, who has been in close touch with the family and designated as a spokesman, provided a general timeline of events leading up to the crash on Sunday.

On Saturday night, he exchanged texts with Mr. Self. The next morning, he saw Mr. Self and his family in church. The family had planned a meal together after the service. Katelyn Self made the reservation for the gathering, which included Josh Self and his wife, Amanda, their 13-year-old daughter and Mr. Selfs wife, Diane.

It started with smiles, drinks and appetizers. Then Mr. Self got up and walked out to his car. The family at first did not think much of it because Mr. Self would often get anxious around people.

Then they noticed the car in the parking lot. And then it came through the windows.

The pastor said that about two and a half months ago, Mr. Self contacted family members and church members and shared his struggles with severe depression and anxiety as he was going through transitions in his life and business.An agency spokesman declined to discuss the specific episode but said that the officers actions were under review.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers are committed to treating everyone with professionalism, dignity and respect while enforcing the laws of the United States, a spokesman at Customs and Border Protection said in an email on Monday. Decisions to question individuals are based on a variety of factors for which Border Patrol agents are well-trained.

President Trump has maintained a longstanding desire to greatly increase enforcement on the borders and deliver on a campaign promise to crack down on immigration. The presidents anger over immigration and the absence of a wall on the southern border with Mexico has spilled out in public this month. He berated the Department of Homeland Security for not doing enough to secure the borders and called some immigrants animals during a White House meeting.

The Trump administrations rhetoric and tough actions on immigration have stoked fear in some communities about it contributing to a rise in discrimination. The day before Ms. Sudas encounter in Montana, a lawyer in Manhattan was recorded spewing a racist rant in a restaurant because he objected to employees speaking Spanish.

There are more than 19,000 Border Patrol agents in the United States, and nearly all of them roam the rugged, wide-open terrain near the Mexico border, stretching from South Texas to Southern California. But a few thousand agents patrol the countrys northern boundary with Canada, including 183 officers stationed in Havre, a remote agricultural city of 9,000 people about 35 miles south of the border.

The encounter at the Town Pump in Havre highlights the far-reaching power of Border Agents, whose authority goes beyond the immediate border and checkpoints. Their domain extends 100 miles inland from the outline of the United States, a vast area that includes up to 66 percent of the countrys population.

But their reach is limited in one way: They cannot stop people solely because of their race or ethnicity. Jonathan H. Feinberg, a civil rights lawyer in Philadelphia, said that courts have found that a persons language is prohibited in the same way.A teacher at Asol Mixed Secondary School in Seme, Kisumu County is being held for allegedly recruiting her students into lesbianism.

The unidentified teacher was arrested last Friday after students reported that she had been using sex toys on them. The Standard reports that a parent at the school who exposed the teacher said at least 16 female students admitted to having been victims of the teachers acts.

The parent said he learned about the issue after students went on a strike when the school principal failed to address the matter.

It started from one student confessing having been lured by the teacher to engage in the act in exchange for money, and the issue escalated with more students opening up, said the parent.

The parent, who has since recorded a statement with police, said one of the students said the teacher had been inviting them individually to her house to help them with revision, before luring them with cash in order to accept her sexual advances.

The student complained of abdominal pains, and we thought it was mere pains coming with the menstrual cycle. But the girl revealed what had been happening to her, which she said had become a norm, he said.

The teacher was said to be convincing the girls to spend at her house in Kombewa Market Centre, where they were given goodies.

The distraught parent added that students who rejected the teachers advances were intimidated in class through unwarranted punishments.

Another parent said her daughter who has been in the school since 2016, exposed the teacher while confessing her sins in church.

At one point I doubted if she was really going to the teachers house because the frequency was worrying. I thought she was using the teachers name to escape the home for her own businesses, she said.

But last term, the girl shocked a church congregation after revealing she had been engaging in lesbianism with her teacher. She said she had seen light and wanted to repent.

The girls mother reportedly took up the matter with the school administration, which promised to investigate it and take appropriate action but nothing was forthcoming.

We had even asked the principal to consider recommending the transfer of the teacher, but all was in vein. I was shocked when I went to school last week and the principal said he had little to do about the matter, she said.

The schools Principal, Joshua Nyatuoro, defended the teacher, saying he was convinced that some parents were out to spoil the name of the school.

When I got the information, I did investigations internally and found nothing. But we know the person who has some hidden interests in the school and want to paint us negatively despite our good performance in the national examinations in the past few years, he said.

Kisumu County Police Commander John Kamau confirmed that the teacher was being held at Kombewa Police Station.

He said five students have since recorded statements in relation to the matter, and police were putting final touches ahead of presenting the teacher to court.

Out of the five students who recorded statements, two said they were victims of the teachers acts, while the others said the teacher has been pursuing them but they were yet to engage with her, he said.Online, the video took on a vibrant life of its own. A meme using the hashtag #BBQBecky went viral, with the image of the woman appearing behind President Barack Obama in the White House, as a guest at the Last Supper, behind Martin Luther King at the March on Washington and on the bus with Rosa Parks.

The woman was also parodied this past weekend on Saturday Night Live, where she was played by an unsmiling Aidy Bryant. Attempts to reach the woman who reportedly called the police were unsuccessful.

Ms. Cortez said she saw the video and wasnt surprised, given what she described as systemic racism in the town she grew up in. So, she sent a message to a few friends asking them to meet her at Lake Merritt for a barbecue.

I wanted to deal with my lack of shock, she said.

Now, after the overwhelming response from her community, she hopes to hold similar picnics throughout the summer.

For many in Oakland, Sundays barbecue was a reminder of days gone by, when the city hosted the Festival at the Lake in the 1980s and 1990s for a celebration of Oakland arts, music and culture. The festival was discontinued in 1997 because of budget cuts, concerns about public safety and low attendance.

A lot of elders came up to me and said, you made me feel like it was the 1990s again, said Jhamel Robinson, a graphic designer who was one of the organizers of the event.Mr. Boltons relationships with most of the associates date back decades, to his days working in positions related to foreign policy in the Reagan administration. But he continued working with them in the dozen years since he has been out of government, serving as an adviser to Mr. Wurmsers company, according to its website, while relying on Mr. Kupperman, Ms. Tinsley and several other associates to help run a constellation of conservative political organizations that he founded to advance his foreign policy views and political prospects.

The activity brought Mr. Bolton into regular contact with some of the biggest donors on the right, while giving him a platform to explore his own possible presidential campaign in 2016 and to be an advocate for confrontational strategies in dealing with Iran, North Korea and Russia.

Mr. Boltons continued reliance on longtime associates in either informal or temporary capacities at the National Security Council has raised concerns among government watchdog organizations and agency veterans and scholars. They say it creates questions of conflicts of interest and an echo chamber of identical views with little room for dissent at the agency charged with coordinating policy throughout the governments military, foreign policy and intelligence communities and synthesizing the best advice for the president.

Very much like the president, Bolton has picked a small coterie of people from past lives who look more like cronies and buddies than they do the array of senior experts on different issues that past national security advisers have brought in, said David J. Rothkopf, a former Clinton administration official who wrote a definitive history of the National Security Council.

Rather than fulfilling Mr. Trumps promise that he would fill his administration with the best people, Mr. Rothkopf said, the president has got this highly controversial national security adviser who has never crossed a bridge he hasnt burned behind him, who is surrounding himself with what appears to be a second-tier group of advisers who have spent a disproportionate amount of time on the swamp side of things  as consultants or working on his extreme political projects.Instead, a release from Netflix said the Obamas will produce scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries and features that highlight issues and themes the president pursued during his eight years in office.

One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience, Mr. Obama said in a statement. Thats why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix  we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world.

Mr. Obama has remained largely quiet since leaving office about a year-and-a-half ago, despite calls from some of his supporters to be more active in fighting back against Mr. Trumps assault on the Obama legacy.

The former president and his advisers have rejected that approach, believing that Mr. Obama would become a convenient political target for the current president. As a result, the Netflix deal is unlikely to be a vehicle for any sharp, partisan rhetoric by the former president, officials said.

Word of negotiations between Mr. Obama and Netflix was first reported in The New York Times in March. Netflix did not disclose financial details of the arrangement, though similar deals between streaming services and high-profile celebrities have been worth many tens of millions of dollars over several years.The facts

False.

Quoting a conservative commentator who appeared on Fox and Friends on Monday morning, Mr. Trump claimed that the F.B.I. began investigating links between his presidential campaign and Russian election meddling based on a dossier compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy.

As The New York Times reported in December, the investigation began in July 2016  after George Papadopoulos, a Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, told an Australian diplomat that Russia had political dirt on Hillary Clinton. Australian officials then alerted their American counterparts.

The information provided by Mr. Steele did not reach the F.B.I. officials charged with investigating Mr. Trumps campaign until mid-September, The Times reported last week.

Republicans who hold the majority vote on the House Intelligence Committee have also stated that the investigation was opened because of information linked to Mr. Papadopoulos  not Mr. Steeles dossier.WASHINGTON  President Trump praised Gina Haspel on Monday as she was sworn in as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, congratulating her on becoming the first woman to lead what he called the most elite intelligence professionals on the planet.

But even as Ms. Haspel took over as C.I.A. director, conservatives and some Trump allies were accusing her of being part of the deep state conspiracy that the president repeatedly claims has been conducting a witch hunt against him.

Publicly and privately, Trump supporters have been raising questions about Ms. Haspels loyalty to the president, and urging  without providing any evidence  an examination of what she knew about the intelligence communitys efforts to connect Trump to Russia.

In particular, they have questioned whether Ms. Haspel, a 33-year veteran of the spy agency who was the C.I.A.s station chief in London, knew of the F.B.I.s highly secretive interview of an Australian diplomat in London, and was aware that the bureau used an informant to gather information there from Trump associates about possible Russian coordination with Mr. Trumps presidential campaign.SANTA FE, Tex.  In many ways, Santa Fe High School followed the playbook for how to confront a school shooting.

When gunfire erupted on Friday morning, two police officers stationed at the school confronted the gunman within about four minutes, law enforcement officials reported Monday, offering new details on how the police brought the shooting spree to an end. The Galveston County Sheriff, Henry Trochesset, said the officers hemmed the gunman into one classroom and saved lives by drawing his attention and fire.

Even before then, the students and teachers at Santa Fe High had prepared for how to respond to a shooting: Through regular active shooter drills, they knew to barricade themselves in classrooms and flee the school grounds quickly and fluidly. Other police officers among the more than 200 who eventually responded had done alert training and kept their marksmanship honed.

All of this, and still 10 people were killed and 13 wounded.

That a 17-year-old armed with his fathers revolver and shotgun could exact such a toll despite what officials here have called a swift, aggressive response further underlined the limits of training, preparation and readiness.

Luckily, the body counts not higher, Sheriff Trochesset said at a news conference on Monday.

The sheriff told reporters that the two officers  one of whom was critically wounded by the gunman  had kept the suspect, identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis, contained and engaged as scores of officers from across the area rushed to the school to evacuate students and educators.

It was contained in that one area, which saved so many lives, he said. And again, Im going to take it personal: three doors down, my granddaughter was in that room. I think theyre heroes, everybody that was out there that stayed engaged with him.

Sheriff Trochesset said the gunman tried to shoot at the police, and that officers fired minimal shots during a standoff before the suspect surrendered. Mr. Pagourtzis faces multiple murder charges and is now being held in the county jail under suicide watch, the sheriff said.

The sheriff said he did not believe that any of the 10 people who were killed were shot by law enforcement officers, but he said he could not definitively confirm that until after autopsies were performed. He declined to say how many officers fired their weapons.

Again, this is a fluid investigation that is still ongoing, he said.

The officers rush to confront the gunman offered a sharp contrast to how a Florida sheriffs deputy responded to gunshots at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in a Feb. 14 attack that left 17 people dead. The former Broward County deputy, Scot Peterson, was criticized for taking cover behind a wall and not heading inside to confront the gunman during the deadly six-minute rampage.

Sheriff Trochesset had special praise for Officer John Barnes, one of the two officers who first confronted the gunman. Officer Barnes was gravely wounded by a shotgun blast to the right arm, and remained in critical condition on Monday, the sheriff said.

Officer Barnes is a hero, the sheriff said. The two officers that engaged that individual within four minutes, or approximately four minutes  theyre heroes. They contained him in that one area, isolated to them and engaging with them, so he did no more damage to other classes.

Officer Barness gun was out and his arm was extended, family members said, but it was not clear whether he had fired.

As he lay bleeding on the floor of the school, Officer Barnes urged the other officer to leave him behind and see to the students, according to his stepfather, Ronald Hatchett. The other officer later returned and tied a tourniquet around Officer Barness arm.

It was entirely within his character to do what he did, Mr. Hatchett said of his stepson in an interview on Sunday. He was first through the door. He suffered for being first through the door.

Image Officer John Barnes, who was wounded in the shooting at Santa Fe High School. Credit... via Houston Police Department

Of the 13 people wounded in the deadly shooting on Friday, Officer Barnes, 49, may now face the hardest, most tenuous path.

The police chief of the Santa Fe school district, Walter Braun, told reporters on Monday that Officer Barnes remains in intensive care at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, recovering from surgeries. Hes had ups and downs, Chief Braun said. Today was a down day, so were still in prayer and hope that he can recover.

Officer Barnes lost huge amounts of blood after the shotgun blast shredded his right elbow. His heart stopped twice, Mr. Hatchett said  once while he was being evacuated by helicopter to the hospital, and again on the operating table. His kidney function was still in peril, and doctors do not yet know how his arm will be affected, Mr. Hatchett said.

He is by no means completely out of the woods, he said.

For a while on Saturday, the doctors eased back on the sedation, allowing Officer Barnes to open his eyes from his hospital bed, hold his wifes hand and listen to his family tell him that they loved him.

Everybody said, Youre a real hero, John  were so proud of what youve been doing, Mr. Hatchett said. We told him were going to be here with you.

Since he was 10, John Barnes had wanted to be a cop, Mr. Hatchett said. In old photos that the family has been flipping through lately, he can be seen holding a BB gun with a law enforcement officers posture and authority.

His mother worried about what could happen to him and tried to dissuade him from a police career, Mr. Hatchett said, but he never wavered.

He worked as a corrections officer in Tarrant County, which includes Fort Worth, until a spot opened up at the police academy in Houston in 1994. He struck other cadets there as friendly and engaging, introducing himself so often as John Barnes from Tarrant County that they nicknamed him Tarrant County.

He was interested in the intricacies of police work and asked instructors question after question, to the point that his questions ate into the cadets break time, according to a friend, Capt. Jim Dale of the Houston Police Department.

Among his assignments on the Houston force were investigations of sex crimes, and he once pulled a man from a burning car, family and friends said. He retired from the force in January and began working in the Santa Fe schools, where his wife, Ashley, is an assistant principal at Roy J. Wollam Elementary.

He told Captain Dale he was seeking a simpler life, one in which he would work closer to home and have summers free with his wife, 10-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son.

Even so, his stepfather said, Officer Barnes recognized the stress and complexities of working in a school of 1,400 students, and had trained with other officers for the possibility of a school shooting.

The force that covers the Santa Fe schools has seven officers  including a chief and assistant chief  as well as a dispatcher and auxiliary officers, according to its website. The school districts police chief did not return a phone message seeking comment.

They had an anti-shooter plan that theyd been working on, Mr. Hatchett said. John had extensive practice at the firing range to make sure his skills were up to snuff.

His family now takes turns staying beside Officer Barness bed  all except his wife, who has been there constantly since she heard the news that a Santa Fe school officer had been shot. Amid phone calls and plaudits from the governor, other political figures and higher-ups in law enforcement, Ms. Barnes told her husbands friend, Captain Dale, that she did not see what the big deal was about what he had done on Friday.

Johns a hero all the time, she told him.Throughout, the complaints allege a broad effort by the university to cover up the allegations and make sure they never seeped into the public eye. Although accusations of improper conduct against Dr. Tyndall dated back to the 1990s, he was allowed to continue working at the student health center until 2016. Then, after a complaint by a nurse, Dr. Tyndall was suspended. A year later, after an investigation, he was given a financial settlement and allowed to quietly retire. (Dr. Tyndall, 71, denied any improper conduct in interviews with The Los Angeles Times.)

In a letter issued on Friday and addressed to the university community, Mr. Nikias said the school was working with the Los Angeles Police Department, raising the possibility of criminal charges against Dr. Tyndall.

The university has faced criticism for not reporting Dr. Tyndall to the state medical board and for not notifying the broader university community about the misconduct.

They allowed him to secretly retire in the hopes this would be put under the rug somewhere and no one would hear about it, Ms. Masry said. And thats what backfired on them.

The universitys senior leaders have said they did not learn of the allegations until 2017. Earlier complaints against Dr. Tyndall, which reportedly began in the 1990s, were dealt with by the health centers director at the time, who did not raise them with the universitys administration and died in 2016.

Michael W. Quick, the universitys provost, flatly denied a cover-up in a letter on Monday to faculty and staff. He wrote, I have seen media reports allege that the university leadership knew about Dr. Tyndalls misbehavior for a long time, and that we covered it up for the sake of the USC brand. This is absolutely untrue. It is unthinkable. It is true that our system failed, but it is important that you know that this claim of a cover-up is patently false.

The university has defended its handling of the matter, saying that top officials acted as soon as the allegations were brought to senior leaders at the school. The university has set up a hotline for students to report complaints of abuse, and has received hundreds of calls. In the wake of the revelations, the school has also fired two supervisors at the student health clinic where Dr. Tyndall worked.Before his final summit push on Monday morning, Mr. Kuriki, 35, had updated his social media accounts to say that he was suffering from a cough and fever but that he thought he could continue climbing.

Speaking by telephone from base camp, Gyanendra Shrestha, an official with the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism, said Mr. Kurikis body would be airlifted to Kathmandu, the capital, for an autopsy to ascertain the exact cause of death.

Mr. Gurung, the expedition organizer, said Mr. Kuriki had also died near Camp Three.

Over the years, Mr. Kuriki amassed thousands of followers on social media and often spoke to sold-out lecture halls about the importance of perseverance.

In 2012, he lost nine of his fingers to frostbite. Two years later, he returned to mountaineering and finished a solo climb of Broad Peak in the Himalayas, the 12th-highest peak in the world, without the supplemental oxygen that most climbers use at such altitudes, where the air is dangerously thin.A young woman who disrupted Deputy President William Ruto as he addressed residents of Baringo on Saturday blamed poverty for her actions.

Michelle Chepkoech, a mother of five, caused a scene when she marched through a thick crowd to grab Rutos attention. The DP had been reading his speech when Chepkoech, accompanied by two of her children, approached the podium and shouted Mheshimiwa Ruto.

Efforts by the DPs security team to block her proved futile as she shouted louder, forcing Ruto to stop his speech.

Ruto then asked his security detail to allow the woman to access the dais and told her to wait for him to finish his speech.

Speaking to journalists, Ms Chepkoech said she was from Sesya in Baringo Central sub-county but was living in Eldama-Ravine town where she was jobless.

She disclosed that she had shared her plight with several leaders but help wasnt forthcoming.

I have told so many people, including leaders, about my problem but they have not helped me. I just wanted the DP to buy me and my children a small piece of land, she said.

Ruto later gave her an appointment to meet him at his office in Nairobi.

The DP was in the county to launch Eldama-Ravine Technical Institute, Makutano-Ravine road and Skyline Sacco Plaza, as well as preside over a fundraising for needy students in Elama Ravine.

He was crowned an elder by the Tugen Council and promised full support for the presidency come 2022.LONDON  It was harrowing for those who listened, but infinitely worse for those whose narrative of loss had been woven into their days and nights since the Grenfell Tower fire took dozens of lives and built voids in the hearts of the survivors.

And perhaps most wrenching of all, as a long-awaited public inquiry into the inferno began hearing evidence in London on Monday, was the story of Logan Gomes, delivered stillborn hours after his family escaped the blaze on June 14, 2017.

On that night, to the horror and shock of the apartment towers residents, a fire believed to have started with a faulty electrical appliance leapt up the building unchecked, turning the 24-story tower into a huge torch in West London. With 72 dead, including Logan, it was among the worst peacetime disasters in the British capital.

Our sleeping angel, he was, said Logans father, Marcio Gomes, choking back sobs as he presented photographs and tributes to the baby who was delivered, lifeless, in a hospital after Mr. Gomes, his wife and two daughters escaped their apartment on the 21st floor.ROME  In a significant step toward forming an anti-establishment government in the European Unions fourth-largest economy, the leaders of Italys populist parties asked the countrys president on Monday to accept a little-known law professor as their consensus candidate for prime minister.

The name we gave to the President of the Republic is the name of Giuseppe Conte, Luigi Di Maio, the leader of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, told reporters after meeting with the president, who has the power to reject the nomination.

Mr. Di Maio called Mr. Conte a professional of the highest level, intimately aware with the nations problems as a child of the peripheral south. Mr. Conte, he said, is a self-made man and hes a tough guy. 

He added, You all will see.

A dapper 54-year-old civil law professor with a taste for cuff links and white pocket kerchiefs, Mr. Conte has a long resume working for Roman law firms and associating with top-ranking Vatican cardinals.ROME  A Chilean survivor of clerical sex abuse has said that Pope Francis told him in a private meeting this month that God had made him gay and that both God and the pontiff loved him that way, a remarkable expression of inclusion for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

He said to me, Juan Carlos, thats not a problem,  said Juan Carlos Cruz, the abuse survivor, describing having told the pope he was gay in a long meeting in the Vatican. You have to be happy with who you are. God made you this way and loves you this way, and the pope loves you this way.

The Vatican declined to comment on the popes private remarks.

Mr. Cruz had already said that Francis had apologized in the meeting for the large-scale sexual abuse scandal involving Chilean clergy members, but over the weekend, he also told the Spanish newspaper El Pais about the popes remarks about his homosexuality. In a separate interview Sunday night, Mr. Cruz, through tears, explained that he had told Francis in their nearly three-hour private meeting that he had maintained his Catholic faith even though Chilean bishops had apparently told the pope that he had left the church for a life of perversion.

In July 2013, the pope responded to questions about a supposed gay lobby in the Vatican by saying Who am I to judge, a remark that caused celebration among liberals and consternation among conservatives. His reported remarks to Mr. Cruz added to the debate over whether Francis believes homosexuality is a choice.STOCKHOLM  Its not that Swedens government is nervous. Officials just want the 4.8 million Swedish households to be prepared for rising seas, cyber sabotage, fake news, terrorist attacks, food shortages or even war with a certain big neighbor to the east.

What would you do if your everyday life was turned upside down? reads the introduction to If Crisis or War Comes, a newly revised emergency handbook from the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.

The revised handbook, in Swedish and English, was posted on the agencys website on Monday. It is the first significant revision of the handbook since the midst of the Cold War a half century ago, and reflects an evolving diversity of threats that include flooding from climate change and the vulnerabilities of the internet and social media to hackers and malcontents.

Although Sweden is safer than many other countries, there are still threats to our security and independence, the handbook asserts, without identifying precisely which other countries or groups harbor hostile intentions.Once one of Britains best-known politicians, Mr. Livingstone was criticized in 2016 for telling the BBC that in 1932 Hitler had championed Jewish emigration to Israel and was supporting Zionism before he went mad and ended up killing six million Jews.

On Monday, Mr. Livingstone rejected claims that he had brought the Labour Party into disrepute and said he was not guilty of anti-Semitism, while acknowledging that his comments had upset Jews and offended others.

I am truly sorry for that, he said in a statement.

Mr. Corbyn described Mr. Livingstones departure as sad after such a long and vital contribution to London and progressive politics, but added that it was the right thing to do.

Under Mr. Corbyns leadership the Labour Party has been accused of failing to root out anti-Semitism within its ranks. Demonstrators gathered outside Parliament in March, asserting that Jews no longer felt welcome in the party.

That followed the revelation that, in 2012, Mr. Corbyn had endorsed a mural that was widely considered anti-Semitic  something for which he has since apologized.Venice is billed as the city where happiness is eternal, he said in a statement issued by City Hall.

There will be plenty of room: The tomb chamber previously held seven corpses.

The two nearby chapels available  the Testolini Quadri, with a base price of more than 256,000, and the slightly larger Azzano, starting at over 277,000  each sleep, so to speak, two corpses and countless funerary urns for ashes or bones. Two other chapels  the Venier and the Olivieri  are in other quadrants.

The cemetery was built during the French occupation of Venice, when it was decreed that burying the dead on the main islands was unsanitary. It was later enlarged.

Until 1954, all private tombs in the city, whether below or above ground, were leased for eternity. Since then, the city of Venice has leased tombs for a varying number of years. In some cases, leases can be renewed.

Otherwise, graves are exhumed on a schedule posted at the cemetery entrance and on its website. Exhumations take place throughout the year, aside from July and August, when its too hot, said Maurizio Zaranto, the cemeterys manager. The remains can be cremated, and the ashes can go into a columbarium niche for 30 years, renewable for 20 more. Or bones can be deposited into the cemeterys common ossuary.ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  At least 65 people have died in recent days from a suffocating heat wave that has afflicted Karachi, Pakistans sprawling southern port metropolis, the charitable foundation that runs the citys central morgue said Monday.

Government officials did not confirm the figure but exhorted residents of Karachi, a city of 15 million, to take precautions because of the heat.

Faisal Edhi, a member of the family that leads the Edhi Foundation, which runs an ambulance service and Karachis central morgue, said in an interview that of the 160 bodies received in the past three days, 65 were of people who had died because of the heat wave.An Iranian-British woman imprisoned in Iran faces a new charge of spreading propaganda against the regime, her husband said in a statement released on Monday.

Iranian judicial authorities did not confirm the new charge against the woman, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. An employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested in April 2016, accused of spying and planning the soft toppling of the Iranian government. Those accusations, which she and her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, have vehemently denied, resulted in a five-year sentence.

The new charges would seem to be related to a gaffe that the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, made during a speech in Parliament last year when he said Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was simply teaching people journalism. In a court hearing in Iran days later, his words were cited as evidence that she was engaged in propaganda against the regime.

Mr. Ratcliffe said in the statement that his wife had learned of the new charge at a court hearing on Saturday before Judge Abolghassem Salavati of the hard-line Revolutionary Court in Tehran.WASHINGTON  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo used his first major policy address to deliver a hard-line speech on Monday, in which he demanded that Iran change just about everything regarding its behavior on the world stage.

He insisted that Iran end all nuclear enrichment programs and close its heavy water reactor, saying it did not have the right to such a program. He also appealed directly to the Iranian people, suggesting they should reject the clerical government in Tehran, the capital.

What has the Iranian revolution given to the Iranian people? Mr. Pompeo asked at one point, and then offered an answer: The hard grip of repression is all that millions of Iranians have ever known.

Irans right to enrich uranium, as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, is debatable. More than a dozen countries in the world enrich uranium, with several doing so solely for civilian purposes, such as energy generation and medical uses.BEIRUT, Lebanon  The Syrian capital of Damascus and its surrounding suburbs are entirely free of rebel fighters for the first time in seven years, the government said on Monday.

That milestone was achieved when the last Islamic State fighters reached an agreement with the government over the weekend to leave the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and the neighboring town of Hajar al-Aswad and head to one of the militant groups last strongholds in eastern Syria.

Their retreat, confirmed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, ended weeks of fighting that had reduced the camp, once home to about 160,000, to smoking, dusty rubble.

After the final convoy of militants left, the government released a statement saying, The Syrian General Command of the Army and Armed Forces announced Damascus and Damascus countryside entirely safe areas after fully cleansing al-Hajar al-Aswad and al-Yarmouk Camp of terrorism.The European Union will put in place one of the toughest data privacy laws in the world this week. The law, among other provisions, gives people in Europe the right to obtain the personal data that companies have on them.

That is a sweeping right to data access that Americans dont have.

So we decided to conduct a privacy experiment: Request our data in both Britain and the United States, to get a sense of how easy it will be for people in Europe to access their personal information compared with American users.

We conducted our experiment using a 20-year-old British law that entitles individuals to see the personal data held about them by companies in that country. The law provides similar data access rights as the coming European rules, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or G.D.P.R. -- offering a sense of how the new law might play out.

Prashant, an editor in London, and Natasha, a technology reporter in New York, requested their records in their respective countries from Amazon, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, their mobile providers and marketing analytics companies that profile users.

The results were not what we expected.

What We Got When We Asked Marketers for Our Data

Prashant, lives in the U.K. 200 rows of data containing details about my personal life.

rows of data containing details about my personal life. 343 rows of data on the consumer marketing segments I've been assigned. Natasha, lives in the United States 1 row of data indicating I once read an article on Forbes.com.

Prashant: Quantcast, an analytics service that categorizes and targets online users for marketing purposes, sent me a spreadsheet with about 200 entries tracking my activities. They contained an astonishing degree of detail about my life.

It showed that I had used OpenTable to make a dinner reservation in March at a casual Indian restaurant in London, that I had read a CNN article on President Trumps steel and aluminum tariffs, that I was looking to buy a new cellphone and was considering a trip to Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Then there were the 343 marketing classifications Quantcast had obtained about me from data brokers, companies that sell consumers details for marketing purposes.

The categorizations had me pegged as a heavy spender on pet food (I have a cat), an owner of a flat-screen TV, and part of a likely nonsmoking household. My colleagues in London will be unsurprised to learn that among my interests are biscuits and chocolate.

But the report also suggested there was a 3 percent likelihood that I am a woman above the age of 65, and that I own a car. (I am, to be clear, a man in my 30s. I got my first drivers license a few months ago and do not own a car.)

Natasha: My spreadsheet from Quantcast contained just a single line of data: It showed that on Jan. 19 at 7:01 p.m., I read an article on Forbes.com about how Google was eliminating certain features for parents to control their childrens web-browsing. The spreadsheet even listed the author of the article: Kevin Murnane.

As with all these companies, Prashant and I acted as much as possible like regular consumers when we initially requested our information. But after our requests, we followed up with the companies as reporters. When I contacted Quantcast to ask why I had received only one line of data, a spokesman said users privacy settings could influence what details Quantcast collected. (I use various software tools to monitor tracking.)

The Quantcast spokesman added that the company responded to data access requests under European law. So sending me any data at all had been an error  because consumers in the United States do not have a comprehensive right to obtain copies of the data held by American companies.

When We Asked Amazon

Prashant, lives in the U.K. Order history.

Credit card information.

Prime subscription data addresses.

Wish list items.

Devices used to access Amazon services. Natasha, lives in the U.S. Order history.

Prashant: A Kindle reader, a square cake pan, a carbon monoxide alarm.

Amazon sent lists of the items my wife and I had bought through the site, the credit cards we used to buy them, the addresses the items were shipped to and the devices we had used to access Amazon services.

But we had expected to receive a more substantial data trove from Amazon. So I wrote back to Amazon asking again for all of the details the company had on me, including our households video-viewing data.

The company said it was investigating and would send the missing data when it was ready. There is still no sign of it. An Amazon spokesman added that the company was committed to complying with the new European privacy law.

Natasha: I used Amazons self-service tool to download a copy of my purchase orders  including batteries for the outmoded Blackberry device that I was having trouble giving up in 2015. (I now own two iPhones.)

But I wanted the complete history of my account, such as my Amazon searches.

Amazon responded to my email request by telling me to call the company  because it was not safe to get account details via email due to security reasons. Then I called Amazon customer service and was put on hold for 15 minutes while an agent scrambled to figure out a response.

Finally, the agent came back on the line only to tell me that Amazon was keeping records on me for business purposes  but would not share them with me. Its all private, the agent said. I dont have access to that information to provide you, unfortunately.

When We Asked Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Prashant, lives in the U.K. The standard public information, but not everything I asked for. Natasha, lives in the U.S. The standard public information, but not everything I asked for.

Prashant and Natasha: LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook provide self-service tools for users to download certain information  such as their posts and messages. Google offers a tool where users can download records of the Google searches they have made, as well as the sites Google has tracked them to, their YouTube history and Calendar data. We used these systems and obtained some of our information.

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks chief executive, recently testified in a Senate hearing that his companys download tool contains all of the information that users have put into Facebook or that Facebook knows about them.

But Facebook actually collects much more data about its users. In addition to the updates and photos you submit to the site, for instance, Facebook collects data about users activities on millions of non-Facebook sites that use tools like the services Like button. And those tools allow the company to amass detailed information about users web-browsing habits.

We were unable to obtain that kind of information, however.

We each asked Facebook for copies of our web-browsing data, as well as any data the company acquired about us from data brokers or other services. We made similar requests of Twitter and LinkedIn, which can also collect details about users activities on other sites as well as personal details from third parties like employers or advertisers.

None provided us with copies of that raw information.

Instead, from LinkedIn, we each received emails directing us to use the companys self-service tool. Among other things, our LinkedIn downloads included the email addresses of our connections.

From Twitter, we received emails saying that the company required copies of our government-issued I.D. cards before it would provide user details beyond those available from the companys self-service tool. Natasha, who regularly covers privacy, was hesitant to entrust Twitter with a copy of her I.D. card. Prashant sent his I.D. to Twitter and received data about a week later, soon after we contacted Twitters press department. The new set of information included IP address logs, direct messages and every GIF he has ever posted (there were a lot).

Facebook told Natasha that its self-service data download tool has been reviewed by our data protection regulator and would allow her to access all of your Facebook data. The company told Prashant that the self-service tool would allow him to access only the Facebook information available to you and that the company isnt able to provide additional information.

Matt Steinfeld, a Facebook spokesman, said the social networks ad preferences tool reflected information it had received about users from data brokers and advertisers. The company recently said it was building a tool to show users a list of the apps and websites that Facebook receives data from when users visit them.

After we contacted LinkedIns press department, we received emails the next day saying that the company was working on our requests. A LinkedIn spokeswoman said that users could automatically download the most commonly requested data and that the company did not currently plan to change its data request process.

Incomplete Responses

Prashant and Natasha: We were not just seeking our data for datas sake.

As we all become more aware of fraudulent news and online voter influence campaigns, researchers, journalists and consumers have been seeking their personal details from companies to try to understand how we might be manipulated. The incomplete responses from tech companies do not bode well for such research efforts.

Nor does it seem to bode well for the companies, which will soon be facing the new European privacy regulations.

After we wrote to our cellphone carriers to ask for our records, for instance, Natasha at least heard back from T-Mobile, who told her that it would release her phone records only if the company received a subpoena compelling it to do so.

Prashant did not hear back at all from Three, his mobile phone service. When he contacted the company as a reporter, Three said it could not give details on the particular case for privacy reasons, but added that it would typically send a letter asking for proof of identity before proceeding with a data request. Prashant and his wife, whose name is on the phone contract, never received such a letter.

A spokeswoman for the Information Commissioners Office in Britain told us that companies that failed to respond to data subject access requests could be in breach of the countrys data protection law.

Under that law, penalties for noncompliance can reach 500,000 pounds, or more than $670,000. And noncompliance with the new European law could come with higher penalties: up to 4 percent of a companys global annual revenues, or 20 million, whichever is greater.The early-morning quiet was interrupted by the sound of a large object falling. Willie? the middle-aged woman called out to her husband, who moments earlier disappeared into the bathroom for his daily prework shower. Willie? she repeated, moving to the bathroom door. Hearing no answer, she opened the door. Her 43-year-old husband was lying on the floor, his eyes just a sliver of brown iris, above bloodshot white. His arms and legs were jerking. There was blood all over his face and on the floor around his head. Her husband of 16 years was having a seizure.

Their tiny poodle had followed her and now stood outside the bathroom door barking. Even she knew this wasnt right. The woman dropped to her knees and slid her hands behind her husbands head searching for a cut. Where was all this blood coming from? His thick dark hair was slick with the warm liquid but she couldnt find a source. His mouth fell open, and a stream of blood escaped his purplish lips, running down the side of his face. Blood filled his mouth as if it were some kind of cup. Was she going to have to do CPR on him, she wondered? She turned his face to the side and an unimaginable amount of blood flowed out of his mouth and onto the floor. A normal ruddy color came back into his lips. Call 911, she shouted to her 14-year-old daughter. And dont come in here.

Help Dr. Lisa Sanders solve this medical mystery. Click here to submit your diagnosis.

By the time the E.M.T.s arrived, the seizure was over, the man had regained consciousness and his wife had helped him sit up. His head left a bloody mark on the shower door, and he babbled senselessly. His speech was so slurred she could barely understand him. Was that from the cut on his tongue, or had he had a stroke? By the time the ambulance got the man to Memorial Medical Center, in nearby Las Cruces, N.M., he was making more sense, but his words were still garbled.

In the emergency department his blood pressure was dangerously high  he hadnt taken his blood pressure medications, maybe not for days, he admitted. He was having trouble with his memory. These days nothing seemed to stick in his brain, and that included the need to take his pills. Could this very high blood pressure be the reason he had a seizure? the woman asked the E.R. doctors. No one could tell her. Other than his blood pressure, his exam was normal, the E.R. doctor said, so it didnt look as if he had a stroke. Blood tests showed only an elevated white-blood-cell count  not uncommon after a seizure. And his liver tests were a little abnormal. Did he drink a lot? Sometimes, she reported. That could have been why. A head CT was unremarkable, with no sign of a stroke or a mass or an infection, or indeed anything that might have triggered this seizure.

The E.D. doctor called a neurologist, who recommended starting him on a medication called Keppra to prevent seizures and arranged for him to be seen in his office the following day. A copy of the notes and results from that E.D. visit can be seen here.

The next day, Willie went to see the neurologist. The doctor took a thorough history: Willie had never had a seizure of any type before; no head trauma or stroke or surgery. No double vision, or difficulty speaking or swallowing. He was very hard of hearing in his right ear and sometimes had episodes of dizziness, but that started nearly a decade earlier. Back then, an ear, nose and throat doctor told him that he had something called Menieres disease. (Menieres is a disorder of the inner ear that is characterized by hearing loss, tinnitus and episodic vertigo.) That problem had been stable for years. He had high blood pressure and took a medicine for that. Otherwise, he had been healthy his whole life.

Again, a careful examination revealed nothing. The neurologist ordered an electroencephalogram (EEG) to try to localize the source and identify the type of seizure. He also ordered an M.R.I. of Willies brain. M.R.I.s can show anatomy not seen by a CT scanner. The doctor reminded the patient and his wife how important it was for him to take his medication every day and instructed him not to drive until they were certain his seizures were under control. And they were to come back to see him in three months.



Searching For the Source

Seizures are relatively common events, with 1 in 10 adults having at least one in their lifetime. And for up to half, it will be the only seizure they ever have. There are many types of seizures. Some can be restricted to a single area of the brain. Others, like the type this patient had, spread throughout the brain, first causing all the muscles in the body to tighten and then to jerk. After a generalized type of seizure the patient usually falls into a deep sleep and is often confused upon awakening. Seizures can be caused by something systemic and potentially treatable  like an infection or a toxic ingestion  or can be triggered by an abnormality in the brain itself. This latter kind can result in repeated seizures and require anti-seizure medications. The EEG and M.R.I. are done to help identify the possible causes of a first seizure. And to see if he was likely to have another. For most patients with a first seizure, however, both tests are likely to be normal.

The EEG and M.R.I. were done the next day. The EEG was normal, but the M.R.I. was not. The neurologist brought the patient and his wife back to the office so he could give them the results in person. They were worrisome. The M.R.I. showed several poorly defined bright areas at the top of the brainstem near the center of the brain. The largest was a little larger that the gum balls you might get from a machine, in an area of the brain called the pons. There were other areas of brightness, higher in the midbrain, forward near the bottom of the frontal lobes and to both sides in the temporal lobes. The radiologists report listed several possible causes for these extensive changes. None of them were good news.

Help Dr. Lisa Sanders solve this medical mystery. Click here to submit your diagnosis.

On the top of the radiologists list: infection. Could this be some kind of infection of the brain itself? The herpes virus is the most common. Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections can do it as well as tuberculosis and a bacteria called mycoplasma, which usually causes walking or atypical pneumonias. Cancer that spread to the brain was another frightening possibility. Finally, autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis or lupus were also possible.

The neurologist thought infection was very unlikely. Other than the seizure, the patient had no symptoms at all. He was more concerned about some type of cancer. He arranged for the patient to see an oncologist the following day. The oncologist sent him for a CT scan of his chest, abdomen and pelvis. All normal. The neurologist then arranged for a spinal tap. The fluid from the tap contained more protein than normal but showed no evidence of a cancer or of infection. There was no sign of an autoimmune disease in either the patients spinal fluid or blood.

The patient was referred to an infectious disease specialist who tested him for many possibilities. None of the tests were revealing. Notes from these visits and test results can be seen here.



Memories Lost and a Frightening Episode

In between doctor visits and trips to the hospital for additional testing, Willie and his family tried to live their lives. Willie worked in law enforcement but found himself able to do less and less. He was forgetting so much that it was hard for him to do his job. He gave up drinking after that first seizure. The doctor in the E.D. and his neurologist had persuaded him that while it hadnt caused the seizure, it was probably not helping.

Giving it up hadnt helped his memory. If anything, it made it clear to him and his wife just how much of his life hed lost. Days after his seizure, his mother was visiting him. He asked about a close friend of the familys, saying he hadnt seen her for a while. His mothers face froze. He watched as his mother and wife exchanged looks. Sweetheart, his wife said quietly, your friend died a few months ago. You went to the funeral. Even with this reminder he had no memory of this terrible loss. He felt hot tears flow uncontrollably down his face; he got up and walked out of the room. What was happening to him?

Diagnosis is a groundbreaking documentary series from The New York Times, Netflix and Dr. Lisa Sanders that harnesses the power of you, our readers, to help find diagnoses for people suffering from mysterious medical conditions. Your ideas could potentially help save a life. Readers with the most promising suggestions may be included in an eight-part Netflix series that will air in 2019.

He went to Memorial Medical Center the second time three months later. It wasnt for a seizure but for something else, which seemed to him and his wife even scarier. That day started off like any other. But when Willies wife got home from her job, their daughter met her at the door. Mommy, she said, something is wrong with Daddy. She hurried into the kitchen and found her husband sitting at the table eyes fixed in front of him, as if looking at something no one else could see. She said his name. He didnt answer. She said it again louder; then again and again. Finally, he answered. He was fine, just fine, he answered without looking at her. Nothing was the matter, he said in a strange and quiet voice. And yet it was clear to both his wife and daughter that something was very much the matter.

Her first thought was that maybe her husband was drunk. Until then she believed him when he told her he hadnt touched a drop since his seizure. Now she wasnt sure. Willie, have you been drinking? She asked him over and over again. No drinking, he told her, when he finally seemed to understand what she was asking. Now she was really worried. If it wasnt beer, what was happening?

She helped her husband into the car and drove to the E.R. He was calm, but distant. As if, somehow, he was not really there, in his body. In the E.R. his oxygen level was found to be dangerously low. A chest X-ray and then CT scan showed nothing. A head CT was likewise completely unremarkable. He was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of pneumonia and started on antibiotics. It never seemed like the right diagnosis, to either his doctors or his wife. He had no cough, no fever, and his chest X-ray was normal. And by the time he was transferred from the emergency room into the hospital, he was back to his usual self  forgetful but awake and alert, caring and kind. After three days, he was discharged on antibiotics and told to follow up with his primary-care provider at the V.A. hospital. You can see some of the notes from that hospitalization here.

Willies wife didnt know what to make of it, and neither did Willies neurologist.



The Mood Swings Begin

Willie had a second seizure a few months later. It was early in the morning, and his wife felt him moving around in the bed as if arranging the covers. She rolled over to look at him and saw him jerking in that immediately recognizable way. She let the seizure pass, making sure that he didnt get too close to the edge of the bed and that he was breathing. She didnt go to the hospital. They didnt seem to have any idea of what was wrong with her husband. She called his neurologist, and he increased the dose of the anti-seizure medication.

As the days and weeks passed, it was clear that her husband was getting worse. Every day he seemed to remember less and less of their lives together. He asked her to tell him the story of their daughters birth. He couldnt remember. He was in the Army and had been deployed to Iraq as part of Desert Storm. And yet now he couldnt remember where he went in Iraq or even the names of any of his buddies. The men hed spent every day and night with for months. Gone. As if Desert Storm had never happened. He confessed to his wife that he was worried that one day he would wake up and not even remember her or his daughter. She tried to reassure him, but she had the same worry.

But that wasnt the only change. Over the past few months hed become wildly emotional. Every day, sometimes several times a day, he would become overwhelmed with sadness, and tears would roll down his wide, tanned cheeks. He was helpless to stop them. He had no control. He couldnt make himself think of happy thoughts the way his wife suggested. When these spells came upon him he felt as if he couldnt think at all.

Even before this second seizure, the neurologist referred the patient to the Epilepsy Center at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. It was three hours away, but hed done everything he could think of to help this middle-aged man with mysterious brain lesions. He simply needed more expertise than he could provide.



Consulting More Experts

Willies wife called the Clinical Neuroscience Center in Albuquerque. They couldnt schedule him an appointment for months. She made the appointment but was overwhelmed by the thought of how much more he might lose before he could be seen.

Willies aunt suggested that they take him to the Mayo Clinic. There was a branch a few hours away in Scottsdale, Arizona. She sent an email describing her husbands illness. They called her within a week with questions, then scheduled an appointment for Willie to be seen. They told her they would need her husbands records, so she contacted all his doctors and collected them. And then she packed her husband and daughter into the car.

Over the next year, she and her husband traveled to Scottsdale a half dozen times. He had repeat M.R.I.s, more spinal taps, dozens of tests performed on his blood and the fluid taken from his spine. He had nearly a month of high-dose steroids to treat a possible autoimmune disorder. After six months of testing and treatment, the decision was made to get tissue from the brain itself. His largest lesion was deep inside a part of the brain known as the pons. Many of the most important nerves in the brain pass through that region. It is the Grand Central Terminal for much of the brain  serving as a connecting point between the various parts. Once the decision was made to take some of the brain tissue, this seemed the best place to look. The risk of damaging this key pathway was present, but it was thought to be the most likely spot to provide answers. And yet it didnt. That biopsy showed only nonspecific signs of chronic inflammation. No sign of what might be driving that inflammation.

A decision was made to try a different spot. And three months later a second biopsy was taken. This was likewise unrevealing. A few notes from his many visits to Mayo can be seen here.

Last October, just weeks after that second, unsuccessful biopsy, the patient lost his job. Willies first seizure occurred in February 2016. Its been nearly two and a half years and while his seizures are under control, he continues to worsen. His hearing is worse; his memory is worse; and he continues to have uncontrollable mood shifts that can reduce him to tears in a heartbeat.

Willies wife is beginning to think that much of what her husband has lost may never be regained. But she continues to hope that somehow, someone will be able to come up with a diagnosis and that maybe then, they will be able to stop the losses. And despite all thats happened to him, Willie still has some of his old sense of humor. If he loses everything, he joked to me, then hed have to depend on his wife and daughter to make him a video reminding him of who they are and what hes been through. It will be, his wife adds, their own version of 50 First Dates, a reference to the 2004 film with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. Willie laughs. So do his wife and daughter. But, at the same time, tears stream down all three faces.

Do you have any thoughts on what could be eating away Willies memory and brain? Any recommendations on what Willie and his wife and doctors should consider next?

Enter your comments below, and briefly describe your thinking; how a diagnosis is made is often as revealing as the diagnosis itself. All answers will be reviewed, and the most promising diagnoses will be shared with the patient and his primary-care physicians.

Ill post an update in the coming days.09:13

President Donald Trump has termed special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US elections as "the world's most expensive witch hunt" as he trashed a media report that said an emissary representing the governments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE offered help to his campaign.

Trump said Mueller was turning to other leads around the world after finding no collusion or obstruction of justice in its ongoing probe.

The president was reacting to a story in The New York Times that George Nader, purportedly representing the two Persian Gulf states, met with Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, at Trump Tower in August 2016.

The paper reported that Nader told Trump Jr that Saudi and UAE princes were interested in helping his father win the election and that an Israeli social media expert who also attended the meeting suggested ways to help manipulate public opinion. According to the newspaper, Trump Jr reacted approvingly to the offer, though it is unclear whether any plan was put into action by the campaign.

"Things are really getting ridiculous. The Failing and Crooked (but not as Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the world's most expensive witch hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!" Trump said in a series of tweets.

"At what point does this soon to be USD20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP!. They have found no collusion with Russia, no obstruction," he said.

He then went on to target Mueller's team, calling for an investigation into former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton instead of him.

"But they aren't looking at the corruption... .in the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got US45,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife USD700,000 (and got off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more. Republicans and real Americans should start getting tough on this Scam," Trump alleged.

"Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party," Trump said.

This week marked the one-year anniversary of Mueller's appointment as special counsel. Trump has repeatedly attacked the investigation as a "witch hunt" and claimed that the probe is biased against him. -- PTI7th Pay Commission: Here is why basic monthly pay of CG employees will not increase

7th Pay Commission: Delhi High Court steps in

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Delhi High Court has stepped into intervene in a matter pertaining to the 7th Pay Commission. The court issued notices to the Delhi government, MCDs and the Unaided Schools Association on a Public Interest Litigation seeking implementation of the pay panel's recommendations.

The court if it passes an order will benefit two lakh teaching and non-teaching staff. These are the employees working in over 2,000 unaided private schools in Delhi.

The Delhi high court has asked these authorities to submit the status report on the matter within six weeks, news agency ANI reported. The staff of private unaided schools in the national capital have been demanding the 7th Pay Commission benefits for a long time.

An NGO - Social Jurist - had filed a flea on May 18 in the court seeking the court's direction to the Delhi government and three municipal corporations to ensure implementation of 7th Pay Commission recommendation for over two lakh teaching and non-teaching staff.

The plea sought HC direction to authorities for appropriate action as per the provisions of the Delhi School Education Act against erring private schools. The NGO said that the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission be implemented to bring the pay, allowances and other benefits of staff of private unaided schools at par with those working schools run by the government, and three municipal corporations.

The salaries of staff of unaided private schools were revised with effect from January 1 as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission. The staff were also not paid their arrears.

Not only the unaided private schools are blatantly flouting the statutory mandate prescribed under the DSE Act, the authorities by not taking any action against the erring schools, appear to be absolutely apathetic towards the plight of over two lakh teaching and non-teaching employees working in the unaided private schools of Delhi, the plea added while also stating the inequality in pay was baseless and discriminatory.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 17:46 [IST]Acche din? Commoners cry foul over petrol, diesel price hike, Mamata feels their pain

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

New Delhi, May 21: While television studios are busy dissecting the series of political twists and turns that took place in Karnataka in the wake of the Assembly election results, it is the astronomical fuel price hike that has left commoners huffing and puffing.

From Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata to Bengaluru, people from across the country are finding it hard to carry on with their day today activities as travelling along with other essential items have become very expensive, thanks to rising petrol and diesel prices.

Petrol price increased by 33 paisa a litre in Delhi -- the highest since the daily price revision came into force in mid-June 2017, and diesel by 26 paisa, according to price notification issued by state-owned oil firms. Petrol costs Rs 78.91 per litre and diesel Rs 70.12 in Kolkata, the notification said.

Rates vary from state to state depending on the incidence of local sales tax or VAT. Prices in Delhi are the cheapest among all metros and most state capitals.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed deep concern over the sharp rise in petrol and diesel prices, saying it will affect common people.

"We are very concerned about the rising prices of petrol and diesel. This will certainly affect prices all around. Common people, farmers and many will suffer," Banerjee said on her official Twitter handle.

We are very concerned about the rising prices of petrol and diesel. This will certainly affect prices all around. Common people, farmers and many will suffer  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 20, 2018

Speaking to ANI, people of Mumbai, where petrol costs Rs 84.07 per litre, say, "Why are prices so high in Mumbai when it is comparatively lower in Gujarat and Delhi? It is tough for those who have to travel every day. We shell out Rs 120 for petrol regularly."

As prices of petrol touch Rs 84.07/litre in Mumbai, locals say 'Why are prices so high in Mumbai when it is comparatively lower in Gujarat & Delhi? It is tough for those who have to travel everyday. We shell out Rs 120 for petrol regularly.' pic.twitter.com/E9BwoFRm5M  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018

Locals in Delhi also share similar views. Speaking to ANI, they say, "The government must bring down prices of petrol. They must reduce excise duty and use other measures. The prices are already so high." Prices of petrol in Delhi touched Rs 76.24 per litre in the recent past.

Locals in Delhi say 'The govt must bring down prices of petrol. They must reduce excise duty & use other measures. The prices are already so high'. Prices of petrol in Delhi touched Rs 76.24/litre. pic.twitter.com/4kdxnMTzDh  ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018

Trying to calm frayed nerves of commoners, Union petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the hike in the fuel prices is due to the less production of oil in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and hike in crude oil price in the international market on Sunday in Odisha.

Pradhan assured the citizens that the Centre will soon find a solution to tackle the situation. The minister added, "I accept that citizen of India and especially the middle-class family have to suffer a lot due to price hike of oil. It's not in our hand. There is less production of oil in the OPEC countries. The Indian government will soon come out with a solution."

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 12:11 [IST]Aircraft overshoots runway in Shirdi, all passengers safe

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

An aircraft overshot the runway by almost 50 meters at Shirdi airport in Maharashtra on Monday evening. All the passengers in the Alliance Air's Mumbai-Shirdi flight are said to be safe. The incident took place around 5.30 pm today.

As per reports, there were 70 passengers onboard flight.

In March, an IndiGo airlines aircraft skidded on the runway at the Vijayawada airport during landing. The IndiGo flight 6E-7204 was arriving at Vijayawada from Bengaluru and no one was injured in the incident.

On March 26, a technical problem forced a Spicejet flight to return to Visakhapatnam airport 30 minutes after taking off.

On February 9, a Chennai to Delhi SpiceJet flight had suffered a tyre burst at Chennai International Airport. After the tyre burst, the crew decided to turn back and the flight landed safely at Chennai.

In August last year, a Spicejet flight with more than 60 passengers onboard skidded off the runway in Calicut airport. While landing at the Calicut airport, the aircraft skidded off towards the left of the runway that was battered by continuous rains. The incident led to panic among those on the flight as well as airport authorities. Within seconds, the pilot was able to bring the flight under control and managed to halt it.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 18:43 [IST]Any comment on wanting peace will be taken seriously: Nirmala Sitharaman

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously. Sitharaman's comments comes days after Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa called for peace talk with India.

"Any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously," Sitharaman told media here when asked about India's stance on General Bajwa's peace initiative.

Earlier this month Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa has made attempts to reach out to India with an aim to restart talks. He further said the Pakistan Army leadership has come around to the position that the path to peace depends on peace with India. His comments came amid the impression, persisting for decades, that the Pakistan Army was not supportive of talks with India.

General Bajwa also pointed out that defence attache at the Indian embassy in Islamabad had been invited to the Pakistan Day military parade in March, for the first ever time. He later added that the Pakistan military wanted peace and dialogue with India.

Asked about the recent incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan and whether India would stick to its decision to not launch any operation in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan, Sitharaman said the armed forces will abide by what was announced by the Centre.

"We shall fully honour the policy which the Home Ministry on behalf of the government of India announced. The policy has clearly laid out how it is going to pan out and we shall abide by everything that was announced," Sitharaman said on the sidelines of a seminar on artificial intelligence.

Speaking at the seminar, she underlined the need for incorporating AI applications in the Army, Navy and the Air Force. She said AI can also be utilised in checking chemical, biological and nuclear weapons as well as keeping a vigil on outer space.

The Pakistan Rangers resorted to unprovoked firing and shelling along the International Border (IB) in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir last night.

n a major decision, the Home Ministry announced last week Wednesday that security forces will not launch any operations in Jammu and Kashmir during Ramzan but reserve the right to retaliate if attacked.Army changes course in Kashmir, has this new mantra for terrorists

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Catch them alive" is the new mantra in Jammu and Kashmir as security forces, which have killed over 70 terrorists in the last seven months, shift gear to focus on finding new recruits and motivating them to return to their families, senior officials said.

The strategy of police and security agencies is to cut the "umbilical cord" by smashing the overground worker network, which is instrumental in radicalising youth and pushing them to jihad, the officials said.

"Our effort is to catch them alive and understand their grievances. After all, a 15 or 16-year-old boy can't be brainwashed to the extent that he would like to be killed in a gunfight. There has to be a counter-narrative," said a senior official engaged in counter-insurgency operations.

In the run-up to the Centre asking security forces not to launch operations during Ramzan, there was a need to eliminate hardcore terrorists like Saddam Paddar, Esa Fazl and Sameer Tiger as they were the brains behind the fresh influx of cadres for Pakistan-based militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, officials said.

After the elimination of several top leaders, efforts are now on to change the script.

Operations based on specific intelligence inputs will continue but there will be also be increasing emphasis on catching newly-recruited militants alive, they said.

"We have got an indication from our field intelligence that many desire to return. Some parents have also approached us and we have no hesitation in helping them resume their normal life and education at the earliest," a senior police official said.

Many officials, including those from intelligence agencies, believe the present cessation of hostilities may provide the much-needed window to convince parents to woo their wards back to textbooks.

"In the last seven months, four new recruits have been arrested while one returned," said Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) Swayam Prakash Pani, who has been closely watching the situation in the Valley and is using his experience as deputy inspector general in south Kashmir to tackle militancy.

The aim, he said, is to create a conducive atmosphere so that people can get over the cycle of violence.

"My director general of police (S P Vaid) has also appealed to misguided youths and so I am asking them to return to their families," Pani told PTI.

Several people from various parts of the Valley have been booked in the last seven months. They were entrusted with the indoctrination of young minds and motivating them to pick up arms, officials said.

The identification of these overground workers is necessary before a crackdown on the militant top brass, they explained.

"The militants also know that their basic structure of the overground networkCatch them alive" is the new mantra in Jammu and Kashmir as security forces, which have killed over 70 terrorists in the last seven months, shift gear to focus on finding new recruits and motivating them to return to their families, senior officials said.

The strategy of police and security agencies is to cut the "umbilical cord" by smashing the overground worker network, which is instrumental in radicalising youth and pushing them to jihad, the officials said.

"Our effort is to catch them alive and understand their grievances. After all, a 15 or 16-year-old boy can't be brainwashed to the extent that he would like to be killed in a gunfight. There has to be a counter-narrative," said a senior official engaged in counter-insurgency operations.

In the run-up to the Centre asking security forces not to launch operations during Ramzan, there was a need to eliminate hardcore terrorists like Saddam Paddar, Esa Fazl and Sameer Tiger as they were the brains behind the fresh influx of cadres for Pakistan-based militant groups Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen, officials said.

After the elimination of several top leaders, efforts are now on to change the script.

Operations based on specific intelligence inputs will continue but there will be also be increasing emphasis on catching newly-recruited militants alive, they said.

"We have got an indication from our field intelligence that many desire to return. Some parents have also approached us and we have no hesitation in helping them resume their normal life and education at the earliest," a senior police official said.

Many officials, including those from intelligence agencies, believe the present cessation of hostilities may provide the much-needed window to convince parents to woo their wards back to textbooks.

"In the last seven months, four new recruits have been arrested while one returned," said Inspector General of Police (Kashmir range) Swayam Prakash Pani, who has been closely watching the situation in the Valley and is using his experience as deputy inspector general in south Kashmir to tackle militancy.

The aim, he said, is to create a conducive atmosphere so that people can get over the cycle of violence.

"My director general of police (S P Vaid) has also appealed to misguided youths and so I am asking them to return to their families," Pani told PTI.

Several people from various parts of the Valley have been booked in the last seven months. They were entrusted with the indoctrination of young minds and motivating them to pick up arms, officials said.

The identification of these overground workers is necessary before a crackdown on the militant top brass, they explained.

"The militants also know that their basic structure of the overground network, which used to facilitate their movement from one place to another, has been hit. You can't be holed up at one place for days together," an official said.

The multi-pronged strategy -- including encounters with militants, fighting their overground workers in courts and smashing their network of sympathisers -- has also brought down the number of videos on social media showing groups of militants roaming freely in the orchards and forests of Tral, Shopian and Kulgam in South Kashmir.

The trend is now a single militant posing in a closed room with a rifle so the location can't be identified, an official said.

"The trend of videos has ended as security forces have gained an upper hand," he added.

Army changes course in Kashmir, has this new mantra for terrorists, which used to facilitate their movement from one place to another, has been hit. You can't be holed up at one place for days together," an official said.

The multi-pronged strategy -- including encounters with militants, fighting their overground workers in courts and smashing their network of sympathisers -- has also brought down the number of videos on social media showing groups of militants roaming freely in the orchards and forests of Tral, Shopian and Kulgam in South Kashmir.

The trend is now a single militant posing in a closed room with a rifle so the location can't be identified, an official said.

"The trend of videos has ended as security forces have gained an upper hand," he added.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 16:27 [IST]Congress-JD(S) yet to iron out differences on portfolios in Karnataka government

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

H D Kumaraswamy is likely to take oath as Karnataka Chief Minister alone on Wednesday while the Congress leaders will join in later. Kumaraswamy will be meeting with the Congress top brass today where he would finalise the Cabinet.

A key decision on the post of deputy chief minister too would be taken at the meeting which would involve both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi.

"I will decide who else will take the oath with me based on the outcome of the discussion with the Congress leaders," Kumaraswamy said after meeting party legislators in Bengaluru.

"Only Kumaraswamy will take oath on Wednesday. The coalition will prove its majority the next day. On Friday, ministers will take the oath (after proving majority)," AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal said.

Sources say that the Congress is likely to get the bigger share in the ministry. The party would get 20 berths while the JD(S), 14. The Council of Ministers will have 34 members, including the chief minister.

The Congress feels that it should get the lion's share in the ministry as it has 78 MLAs in compared to the 38 held by the JD(S). The two parties are also yet to decide on what role the two independent MLAs should play in the government. The Congress feels that the two independents must be accommodated in the 14 allocated to the JD(S). The Congress is also pitching for a term sharing arrangement so that it gets an equal opportunity to run the government.

While the Congress wants key portfolios, the JD(S) has been demanding for the post of Speaker.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 6:56 [IST]Congress likely to contest RR Nagar, Jayanagar polls alone

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

All eyes are on the elections that would be held at Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar. The Congress which in an alliance with the JD(S) has hinted that it is likely to fight the two elections alone. Our candidates are in the fray there, Dr. G Parameshwar, the KPCC chief told reporters.

He further said that ahead of the government formation there was a proposal to create the post of two Deputy Chief Ministers. Nothing has been decided as yet, he also said. He said that neither the names or the regions to which the two candidates for the posts of deputy CMs have been decided as yet.

We have a procedure in our party, we follow that meticulously, he also said.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 6:59 [IST]'True Congressi', will not accept defeat, says Rahul Gandhi on sister Priyanka Gandhi's detention

Congress likely to hold CWC meet next week, ambiguity over party polls to end

Congress MLA rubbishes bribe audio clip

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Yellapur Congress MLA Shivaram Hebbar rubbished reports of BJP leaders' phone call to his wife trying to lure him to support BS Yeddyurappa during the floor test on Saturday.

In a Facebook post written in Kannada, Shivaram Hebbar outrightly denied media reports of phone to call his wife. He said, "Nobody called my wife and my wife did not speak anybody."

"The audio is fake and I condemn it," he said.

Amid the house proceeding on Saturday Congress leader VS Ugrappa had alleged that BJP leaders are trying to lure Congress MLA from Yellapur ahead of the floor test on Saturday.

In an audio clip released by a private television, Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa's right-hand man BJ Putteswamy and BSY's son BY Vijayendra allegedly called Yallapur MLA Shivaram Hebbar's wife to support the CM during the floor test. They offered Rs 15 Crore and a ministerial berth to Shivaram Hebbar for supporting the CM during the floor test.

Putteswamy is also heard allegedly saying that cases against the wife and the son, who are facing a trial in a mining scam, would be cleared.

Congress leader VS Ugrappa told media persons Vijayendra is indulging in horse-trading.

Union minister and BJP's Karnataka election in-charge Prakash Javadekar had rubbished the audio tapes as 'fake.' Javadekar also had accused the Congress for releasing 'fake' audio clips to prevent the BJP from forming the government.

BS Yeddyurappa resigned as chief minister without taking floor test on Saturday. The BJP with 104 seats needed the support of 8 more MLAs to form the government.Congress likely to hold CWC meet next week, ambiguity over party polls to end

Congress warns people to be wary of BJP's lies and deception'

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Accusing the BJP of dividing the people to be in power, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala warned people to remain vigilant against such attempts. He said that the BJP came to power at the Centre and in Haryana on the basis of "lies and deception".

Surjewala, who represents Kaithal in the Haryana assembly, termed the BJP as "anti-farmer" and said its governments had failed to fulfil its promise of increasing minimum support price for farm produce.

"The BJP has snatched the power on the basis of lies and deception and they now want to retain power by dividing people," he told a meeting of a caste council in Jindh Haryana.

The rise in fuel prices, imposition of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and unconstitutional actions of the government have damaged the global perception of India and shaken the confidence of people, he said.

Surjewala appealed to the people to elect a Congress government in the state and at the Centre, and promised all-round development. He also attacked the INLD.

"Whoever has tried to snatch away farmers right have had to pay dearly. Former CM Om Prakash Chautala (of the INLD) is the prime example. Today Prime Minister Modi and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar are walking on the same pattern with complete disregard for India's democratic and constitutional laws," he said.

The days of the BJP government in the state are numbered as it has lost the support and confidence of the people, he said.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 22:55 [IST]Dalit ragpicker beaten to death by factory workers in Rajkot, wifes condition critical

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

A Dalit ragpicker was allegedly beaten to death allegedly by some unidentified persons of a factory at Shapar village in Rajkot district on Sunday morning, over the issue of collecting scraps in the area.

A video of a man being mercilessly thrashed while being tied to a wall has gone viral on social media platforms. The man in the video is being described to be a Dalit man, who reportedly succumbed to his injuries later. The deceased has been identified as Mukesh Vaniya, a native of Parnala village of Surendranagar district.

Dalit youth leader and independent MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani posted the video on both his Facebook and Twitter pages. He wrote on Twitter, "'Mr. Mukesh Vaniya belonging to a scheduled caste was miserably thrashed and murdered by factory owners in Rajkot and his wife was brutally beaten up'. #GujaratIsNotSafe4Dalit".

'Mr. Mukesh Vaniya belonging to a scheduled caste was miserably thrashed and murdered by factory owners in Rajkot and his wife was brutally beaten up'.#GujaratIsNotSafe4Dalit pic.twitter.com/ffJfn7rNSc  Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) May 20, 2018

"This is far more gruesome incident than Una. In Una, the victims were beaten up and humiliated. Whereas, here a man lost his life amidst caste violence. While, Mr. Mukesh Vaniya belonging to a scheduled caste was miserably thrashed and murdered by factory owners in Rajkot, his wife was brutally beaten up. The government of Gujarat has still not learned from its past mistakes," he wrote.

As per police officials, the incident happened between 6 and 9.30 am Sunday when Mukesh, his wife Jaya and one more acquaintance Savita were picking rags around Radadiya Factory at Shapar.

At this point, some five unidentified persons from the factory had an altercation with the three over "some issue" following which they allegedly beat up the three. While the women were kicked out of the area, they held back Mukesh, said police.

"We have registered a case against unidentified persons and are awaiting for the post-mortem results. The body had wounds that could have been caused by blunt objects like sticks. The investigation has been handed over to a Deputy Superintendent of Police rank officer," Sindhu added.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 13:15 [IST]The requested page is currently unavailable on this server.

Back to [RTHK News Homepage]Espionage: Madhuri Guptas actions caused severe security threat says court

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Her actions caused a severe security threat, a court said while sentencing former diplomat Madhuri Gupta, who had served at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad. She was convicted on charges of sharing information to the Pakistan's ISI.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma gave her the maximum sentence for the offences of spying and wrongful communication of information protected under the law.

Sixty-one-year-old Gupta, who was the Second Secretary (Press & Information) at the high commission from 2007 till her arrest on 22 April 2010 during a visit, was held guilty on Friday, 18 May, under various provisions of the Official Secrets (OS) Act.

After passing the sentence, the court granted bail to Gupta to allow her to appeal against the conviction and the sentence.

She was suspected by Indian intelligence agencies of spying for Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence since 2008.

According to the prosecution, the Ministry of External Affairs had received information that Gupta had been maintaining unauthorised contacts with Pakistani intelligence officials and was passing on sensitive information personally as well as through e-mail means from her computers at her office and residence in Islamabad from October 2009 to April 2010.

The court observed that Gupta did not deserve any leniency as she was a modern and educated woman who had served in different embassies who at the time of the offence was posted in a very sensitive position in the high commission.

"Undoubtedly, from a person of her stature, it was expected that she would act in a more responsible manner than an ordinary citizen as she was at a high position of trust but her actions tarnished the image of the country and has caused a severe threat to the security of the country. Therefore, she does not deserve any leniency in punishment," the court said.

She had sought leniency from the court on the ground that she was a senior citizen, a single woman and was a victim of circumstances.

Public prosecutor Irfan Ahmed had opposed her submissions stating that she was an educated woman and had held an important position and that it was not expected from a person of her stature to be involved in such activities, adding that she understood the consequences of her act.

Gupta was arrested on 22 April 2010 by the special cell of the Delhi Police on the charge of passing on sensitive information to Pakistani officials and remaining in touch with two ISI officials, Mubshar Raza Rana and Jamshed.

While convicting Gupta, the court had observed that in one of the e-mails, she had promised to collect information regarding hydroelectric power projects in Jammu and Kashmir which could have had a serious repercussion on the country's security.

"It is seen that the accused was unable to give such information but her intention of passing on such information and her going to Jammu after giving the false excuse of attending a marriage points out her intention of helping the enemy country."

"She had been giving information regarding various postings of officers of defence, MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) and HCI (High Commission of India) as well as their families' details, which could have caused danger to the life and security to said officers and their families," the court had said.

It had also noted that various electronic gadgets, including laptops and Blackberry mobile phones which were purchased in her name, contained e-mails sent to various ISI handlers.

The court had convicted Gupta for the offences under "second part" of sections 3(1)(c) (obtaining, publishing or communicating to any person any secret official information which is useful to an enemy) and 3 (wrongful communication of information) of the OS Act and section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

It, however, had absolved her from the "first part" of Section 3(1)(c) of the OS Act that attracts a maximum punishment of 14 years, holding that none of the information divulged by her pertained to any work related to defence, naval, military, air force or affairs of the government.

Gupta had denied the incriminating evidence against her stating that she was innocent and was falsely implicated in the case by the officials of the high commission and the MEA with whom she had strained or frosty relations, in connivance with police officials in Delhi.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 7:40 [IST]Where has 'vishwas' gone? Azad's dig at PM over Karnataka crisis

Never left Mumbai, says rebel Karnataka lawmaker, now in different hotel

No one kidnapped me, says MLA Shrimant Patil as Congress claims otherwise

In coalition govt, nothing will be in interest of citizens: Santosh Hegde

India

pti-PTI

A coalition government may not be in the interest of citizens, retired Supreme Court Judge N Santosh Hegde has said, regretting the fact that voters in Karnataka had failed to elect a single party to rule the state.

The former Karnataka lokayukta said he found nothing wrong in the Congress backing the JD(S) to form government to keep the BJP out of power.

"That's the political system today," Hegde told PTI, also noting that the JD(S) had grabbed the opportunity offered by the Congress though it had attacked the party during campaigning.

"I do not know how long it [the incoming JD(S)-Congress coalition government] will last," the former solicitor general of India added, pointing to various factors at play in running a government and how different caste interests had to be kept in mind.

Stating that he is an apolitical person with no connection to any party, Hegde said it was unfortunate that voters had not chosen a single party "in spite of such a long period in democracy".

It did not matter if the people elected "A or B or C" to power, he said, adding that a single party government can be blamed for mistakes or praised for good work.

"Here (in the case of coalition government), nothing will be in the interest of citizens at large. It is a question of survival (for alliance government) and appeasement of a few, not appeasement of the state of Karnataka," the former advocate general of Karnataka said.

Hegde said he had seen all the parties -- BJP, Congress and JD(S) -- for a long time and there was no "difference" between them.

"I want a stable government in Karnataka. I only hope some sense will prevail among political parties," he added.

PTIOn Cong-JD(S) tie up, BSY says talks have no value

In the JD(S)-Congress government, the rebels will not make the cut

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

There is a close eye being kept on the 3 JD(S) rebels who had joined the Congress ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections. The question is will they be given a Cabinet berth or a portfolio in the H D Kumaraswamy led JD(S)-Congress government.

Out of the seven rebels, 3 managed to retain their seats in the recently concluded elections. They in fact won with a comfortable margin.

The rebel lawmakers had resigned from Karnataka legislative assembly on March 24, a day after they cross-voted in favour of the Congress candidates in the Rajya Sabha biennial election in the state.

Of these legislators who contested on Congress ticket, three retained their seats, while four suffered defeat, the data showed.

R Akhanda Srinivasmurthy emerged victorious from Pulakeshinagar in Bengaluru district, defeating JD(S) candidate B Prasannakumar by 81,626 votes. Similarly, Zameer Ahmed Khan won from Chamrajpet in Bengaluru urban district. He defeated BJP's M Lakshminaraya by 33,137 votes. Also, Bheema Naik retained his Hagaribommanhalli seat in Bellary district by defeating BJP's K Nemiraja Naik by 7,232 votes.

However, HC Balakrishna lost his Magadi seat in Ramanagaram district to JD(S) candidate A Manjunath by 51,425 votes, while N Chaluvarayaswamy failed to secure his Nagamangala seat in Mandya district and was defeated by Congress' Suresh Gowda by 47,667 votes. AB Ramesha Bandisiddegowda too could not retain Srirangapattana seat in Mandya district, where JD (S) candidate Ravindra Srikantaiah won by 43,688 votes.

Similarly, Iqbal Ansari lost his Gangawati seat in Koppal district to BJP's P Eshwarappa Munavalli by 7,973 votes.

Deve Gowda the JD(S) supremo who calls the shots has ensured that the three candidates are kept out of the list. The Congress also at this juncture has not pushed for the names of any of these candidates as it could spell trouble for the coalition even before it takes off.

Gowda is in particular upset with Zameer Ahmed after he had a bitter falling out with H D Kumaraswamy. The former PM had vowed to defeat Ahmed at any cost. He had put honour and prestige to ensure that Ahmed was defeated. It was no different for Zameer Ahmed as well who had said in case he is defeated, he would cut off his head and place it at Gowda's feet.

Gowda is not the one to either forget or forgive. It was a well known fact that when the Congress and JD(S) formed a pact post the results, Siddaramaiah a one time JD(S) man and a Gowda prodigy would be the first casualty.

A Congress source said that it is highly unlikely that the rebels will be accommodated in the ministry. There are several other aspirants too and Gowda would never approve of any proposal to include the rebels. They are likely to be placated in the party with good posts, the Congress source also said.India successfully test-fires BrahMos cruise missile from Odisha

India

oi-Madhuri

India on Monday successfully conducted the first test of the BrahMos cruise missile under life extension program along the Odisha coast.

The missile was test fired from a mobile launcher from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur along the Odisha coast at about 10.40 am

BrahMos is the first Indian missile whose life has been extended from 10 to 15 years.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated Team Brahmos and DRDO on the successful launch of the cruise missile.

Taking to Twitter, Sitharaman said:

Smt @nsitharaman congratulates Team Brahmos & @DRDO_India for successful flight test carried out at 1040 hrs on 21 May 2018 from ITR, Balasore to validate BRAHMOS missile life extension technologies developed for the first time in India. 1/2  Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) May 21, 2018

The Indian Army has already inducted three regiments of BrahMos in its arsenal. All are are equipped with Block-III version of the missile.

The land-attack version of BrahMos has been operationalised in the Indian Army since 2007.

The fire-and-forget missile has the capability to take on surface targets by flying a combined hi-lo trajectory, thus evading enemy air defence systems.

(with PTI inputs)Is there some malicious intent behind Kumaraswamy-Radhika pictures going viral now?

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, May 21: Just days ahead of his oath-taking ceremony as the new chief minister of Karnataka, Janata United (Secular) (JD(S)) leader HD Kumaraswamy has been haunted by a past relationship. Pictures of Kumaraswamy and Kannada actress Radhika are going viral on social media, once again. The CM-designate of the Congress-JD(S) alliance has also been called as a "bigamist" on social media.

Kumaraswamy (58) was reportedly in a relationship with the actress. The couple together has a daughter also. Kumaraswamy's relationship with Radhika has been a part of the gossip columns for the last few years.

Kumaraswamy, who is married to Anitha with a grown-up son Nikhil, reportedly fell in love with the actress, almost two decades his junior, a few years ago. There are also reports that both got married after the birth of their daughter. Now, reports say the decade-old relationship has ended two years ago.

Since the pictures of Kumaraswamy with his second wife (who is not legitimate as per the Hindu law as he still lives with his first wife Anitha) are doing the rounds, it has caused a lot of distress to the JD(S) and the entire HD Deve Gowda, father of Kumaraswamy and former Prime Minister, family.

A film industry source close to the Deve Gowda family told The Telegraph, "At the moment Anitha is his legally wedded wife." The source added that Kumaraswamy's relationship with Radhika was a "closed chapter".

"An old issue that was settled amicably has been raked up only because Kumaraswamy is going to be the chief minister. Why wasn't this discussed until last week?" asked the person who spoke to The Telegraph.

After the Karnataka Assembly election results gave a fractured mandate, the Congress and the JD(S) formed an alliance to stake their claim to form the government. Finally, the alliance partners, after the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) BS Yeddyurappa resigned as the CM of the state on Saturday, just minutes before the floor test, are set to come to power in Karnataka.

Kumaraswamy's oath-taking ceremony will take place on Wednesday in Bengaluru. On Saturday, Kumaraswamy met Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala to stake claim to form the government in Karnataka.

Vala gave him 15 days to prove his majority on the floor of the house. Kumaraswamy stated that he would prove his majority much before that as the Congress-JD(S) together has 115 MLAs and support of two more Independents, which is way past the required numbers.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy will be meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the national capital to discuss about the sharing of cabinet berths between the two parties.

Several top opposition leaders like West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu are set to attend Kumaraswamy's swearing-in ceremony.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 11:08 [IST]Karnataka: Can we go home, MLAs ask, not yet says Cong-JD(S)

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

There is no end in sight for resort politics in Karnataka. The MLAs who have been carted around from one place to another for the past week thought that they could go home after B S Yeddyurappa stepped down as chief minister without facing the trust vote.

However both the Congress and JD(S) have not allowed their MLAs to return home. They would have to wait till the floor test is complete and only then would be allowed to return home.

On Saturday after Yeddyurappa resigned, many MLAs would have hoped to go home. The parties had in fact taken a call to allow the MLAs to go back home on Sunday. However at the last minute there was a change in decision and the MLAs were asked to stay back and get into the resorts.

Both parties felt that it was too risky to let them out of sight as there was still a possibility of the BJP trying to poach the MLAs. The Congress MLAs have been kept at a hotel in Bengaluru, while the ones from the JD(S) have been holed up at one in Devanahalli.

The MLAs have been in resorts ever since the results were declared on May 15. They have even been taken to a resort in Hyderabad a day before Yedyurappa was to face the trust vote. In a complete show of strength, both parties ensured that none of their MLAs switched sides.

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Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 13:45 [IST]Karnataka government formation updates: Section 144 imposed in and around Vidhan Soudha

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

It is a big day for H D Kumaraswamy who will take oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. The swearing in ceremony will take place on the steps of the Vidhan Soudha which houses the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

A host of leaders will be present at the event in what is being seen as a show of opposition unity ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Along with Kumaraswamy, Dr. G Parameshwar of the Congress would take oath as the deputy chief minister.

Stay with us as we bring you all the updates:

Newest First Oldest First H D Deve Gowda was at the Vidhan Soudha overseeing arrangements ahead of the swearing in ceremony of his son, H D Kumaraswamy. He was seen talking with chief secretary Ratna Prabha. She explained the arrangements to him. BJP observes black day, BS Yeddyurappa leads protest from Mayura circle in Bengaluru over JD(S)-Congress alliance BS Yeddyurappa is leading the protest from Mayura circle in Bengaluru over JD(S)-Congress alliance Cong high command asks Parameshwara to resign from KPCC Prez's post. G Parameshwara is likely to resign from his post after swearing-in as DyCM All the promises made in the manifesto will be implemented. Safeguarding the interest of the farming community is our top priority, he says. I am not a leader of one caste or religion, I will be serving all the people of all castes and religion in Karnataka. Today, if I am taking oath as the CM, it is because of the blessings of all the people of Karnataka, says Kumaraswamy. Karnataka Floor test to be conducted on Friday Rahul Gandhi will arrive in Bengaluru at 2 pm. He will be in the city to attend the swearing in ceremony of H D Kumaraswamy. Prior to attending the ceremony, he would hold a meeting with Congress leaders who are holed up in a hotel. H D Kumaraswamy would be visiting the Chamundeshwari temple before he takes oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka. Kumaraswamy who is forming the government in an alliance with the JD(S) has visited several temples since the past few days. There are also reports suggesting that he may not move into the official Chief Ministers residence citing vaastu. He is likely to operate out of this private residence. However the official reason given by him is that he did not want to burden the exchequer. It's the high command which decides all these, they chose me. I thank them immensely but the point is they're also eligible but they gave me this opportunity: G Parameshwara,Dy CM designate on being asked that Roshan Baig & DK Shivakumar were also in the race for Dy CM. on being asked that Roshan Baig and DK Shivakumar were also in the race for Dy CM, G Parameshwara, says, "It's the high command which decides all these, they chose me. I thank them immensely but the point is they're also eligible but they gave me this opportunity." Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure has been imposed in and around Vidhan Soudha where Kumaraswamy would take oath as CM at 4.30 pm. 35 KSRP, 50 CAR, 8 DCPs, 50 ACPs, 100 Inspectors, 250 SI will oversee the security arrangements. There are also 3,000 traffic cops deployed to ensure that the vehicular movement is smooth. Minute-to-minute programme of swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed CM of Karnataka HD Kumaraswamy Kamal Haasan cancels his trip to Bengaluru to attend HD Kumaraswamy's swearing-in ceremony. Instead, heads to Thoothukudi post the Sterlite Protest tragedy. Andhra Pradeshs IT minister Nara Lokesh has said what happened to the BJP in Karnataka is just a trailer. The real movie will play in 2019, he said. Telugu people showed you just a trailer in Karnataka elections. They will show you the full movie in 2019 elections,  he also said. CM-designate HD Kumaraswamy visits Chamundeshwari temple in Mysore ahead of swearing-in ceremony. KPCC President G Parameshwara performs puja in Vinayaka temple in RT Nagar Bengaluru. Uddhav Thackeray congratulated Deve Gowda but conveyed his apologies for not being able to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Kumaraswamy as his party is busy in Palghar by-polls HD Deve Gowda calls Uddhav Thackeray, invites him for the swearing-in of Kumaraswamy as the CM of Karnataka. #HDKumaraswamy to take oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka today. Visuals of celebrations from outside his residence in Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/tz2rrenFEX  ANI (@ANI) May 23, 2018 Visuals of celebrations from outside Kumaraswamy's residence ahead of his oath taking ceremony in Bengaluru Out of the 34 ministries, the Congress will get 22 berths and the JD(S) 12 which includes the post of Chief Minister. The portfolios will be allocated only after the floor test which will take place on May 24. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, BSP chief Mayawati, Samajwadi Partys Akhilesh Yadav along with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former party president Sonia Gandhi are expected to be present. Three key leaders would be missing from the ceremony. They are Telangana Chief Minister, K Chandrashekar Rao, Odisha CM, Naveen Patnaik and DMK leader, M K Stalin. While Patnaiks office has indicated that he has never attended a swearing in ceremony, Rao is skipping the event as he does not want to be seen with the Congress which is his main opponent in Telangana. Stalin cancelled at the last moment citing the anti-Sterlite protests that rocked Tuticorin on Tuesday. The BJP would not take part in the ceremony. Its leaders would sport black bands and protest across the state. The party has called the alliance as an unholy one and said that it was against the peoples mandate that this government is being formed. Kumaraswamy's swearing is being seen as a show of strength by the opposition, which is striving hard to put forth a collective effort to stitch up a united front to take on the BJP in 2019 Lomk Sabha elections. Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao is in Bengaluru today to congratulate HD Kumaraswamy as he will not able to attend the swearing in tomorrow. Kumaraswamy-led government's floor test would be held on May 24 in Karnataka Vidhan Souhda. CM designate HD Kumaraswamy to be sworn in tomorrow. Here is the tentative list of the ministry under HD Kumaraswamy: CM - HD Kumaraswamy; Deputy CM - Dr G Parameshwara; Congress - 21-22 Ministers; JDS - 12-13 Ministers; Speaker - Ramesh Kumar from Congress "Congress-JDS leaders met and discussed about the cabinet formation, out of 34 ministries, 22 ministries will go with Congress Party and 12 ministries, including CM will be with be with JDS. Portfolio allocation to be decided after floor test," Congress' Karnataka general secretary KC Venugopal told the media. Congress's KR Ramesh Kumar to be the Speaker of the new Karnataka Assembly. Congress's G Parameshwara to be Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister. He will take oath along with CM designate HD Kumaraswamy tomorrow. The floor test would be conducted at 4 pm on Saturday. The assembly would be conducted by the pro-tem speaker who would be appointed by the Governor of Karnataka. The BJP has proposed the name of Umesh Katti while the Congress has suggested R V Deshpande. Convention demands that the senior most leader of the House be appointed. The Congress MLAs who are holed up in Taj Krishna in Hyderabad are holding a meeting before they leave for Bengaluru. The MLAs were carted away from Bengaluru to avoid poaching. The JD(S) MLAs are too in a different hotel in Hyderabad. The decision to move out of Bengaluru was taken after security was withdrawn at the Eagleton resort in Bidadi, a town 38 kilometres away from Bengaluru. Former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah has left Hyderabad for Bengaluru. He was with the Congress MLAs in Hyderabad. He would arrive in Bengaluru shortly and also take part in the proceedings to be held on Saturday at the legislative assembly. Meanwhile BJP leaders, Shobha Karandlaje and K S Eshwarappa have said that they will sail through the floor test. The leaders claim that they have the support of 120 MLAs in the House. Earlier the BJP leaders went into a huddle at the Taj West End hotel in Bengaluru to chalk out a strategy. The Congress and JD(S) MLAs would leave Hyderabad for Bengaluru at 6 pm today. All the MLAs are holed up in Hyderabad ahead of the crucial trust vote on Saturday at 4 pm. At first they planned on taking the flight. However owing to weather conditions they decides to take the bus. KG Bhopaiah appointed as pro tem speaker of Karnataka Assembly. Though Congress MLA RV Deshpande is the senior most leader, Governor appointed Bhopaiah as pro tem speaker. "BJP wanted that vote of confidence should be done via secret ballot.But, Supreme Court has written in its order that there shall be no secret ballot in proving vote of confidence tomorrow," says Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The Supreme Court earlier decided against giving 15 days time for the trust vote as proposed by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala. BJP MLAs arrive at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru to meet the Governor Vajubhai Vala. The faces a crucial floor test in the Karnataka assembly tommorrow after the Supreme Court decided against giving 15 days time for the trust vote as proposed by Governor Vajubhai Vala. K G Bopaiah the Virajpet MLA has taken oath as the pro-tem speaker. On BJP MLA KG Bopaiah being appointed as pro-tem speaker, Abhishek Manu Singhvi says "What the BJP has done is against the rulebook. Ideally, the senior most leader is supposed to hold that position." Conventionally, the longest-serving member of the House will be nominated as pro-tem (short-term) speaker, whose role is limited to administering the oath to all the newly elected MLAs and conducting the election of full-time speaker.Congress MLA from Haliyal constituency, RV Deshpande was expected to be pro tem speaker. Congress to move SC over appointment of K G Bopaiah as pro-tem Speaker. The Congress has objected to this move by the Governor. The Congress says that the senior most member of the House should hold this post. The Congress had proposed the name of R V Deshpande, an 8 time MLA. The BJP hits back at the Congress for opposing the appointment of KG Bopaiah as the Pro Tem Speaker. Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said, " 'KG Bopaiah was appointed as Pro Tem speaker even in 2008. That time Bopaiah was 10 years younger than what he is today. Congress is thus raising hoax objection. The appointment of Bopaiah Ji is as per rules and regulations." Pro-tem speaker K G Bopaiah will initiate proceedings in the assembly at 11 am. He will administer oath to all the new MLAs and this would go on till 4 pm. The trust vote would begin after that. The trust vote is expected to go late into the night. Order by Governor appointing BJP MLA K G Bopaiah as the pro-tem Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. Bopaiah will not only adminster the oath to the new MLAs but also conduct the all important teust vote against B S Yeddyurappa. I fail to understand the desperation of the Congress says Shobha Karandlaje, BJP MP on the appointment of K G Bopaiah as pro-tem Speaker. She says that the Congress is suffering from an inferiority complex. Bopaiah was appointed pro-tem speaker by the Governor. The Congress is likely to challenge it on the ground that the seniority norm in the House was not followed. With the Congress opposing KG Bopaiah's appointment as pro-tem speaker, BJPs Shobha Karandlaje in a presser says she fails to understand Congress' desperation over the matter. She believes Congress leaders are suffering from inferiority complex. Security has been tightened in and around Vidhan Soudha where the floor test will take place on Saturday at 4 pm. The state police chief has reviewed the situation and said that all efforts have been made to ensure that security is tight. The Supreme Court had directed the police chief to ensure that the voting goes on smoothly and security is adequate. AICC Spokesperson Randeep Surjewala says, "BJP will be exposed after the floor test. RV Deshpande is the senior most MLA, but the governor has also encountered the constitution by appointing KG Bopaiah as the pro-tem speaker." KG Bopaiah neither believes in the democratic process nor the Constitutional rules. It was the SC which had given stinging structures against BJP MLA KG Bopaiah: Randeep Singh Surjewala "We will be able to inform you in a short while. Yes, the option of going back to Court is open," says Randeep Surjewala, on if Congress will challenge BJP MLA KG Bopaiah's appointment as pro tem Speaker. "All the MLAs are here, we will be leaving for Bengaluru. We do not have any meeting here. Siddaramaiah has come here, we will be leaving soon. We have 77 MLAs here. No pressure on us. It will be our government," ANI quoted Congress MLA Rajshekar Patil as saying. Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reached Hotel Taj Krishna in Hyderabad where the Congress MLAs have been lodged to prevent from being poached ahead of the crucial floor test. Siddaramaiah will now accompany them back to Bengaluru where the newly instated BJP-led government would be facing a floor test in the Karnataka assembly. BJP MLAs to meet at 9 pm today at Shangri-La Hotel in Bengaluru. The MLAs will discuss the strategy for tomorrow's all important floor test. Congress leader Rajeev Gowda and VS Ugrappa release audio clip in which Gali Janaradhana Reddy is allegedly trying to lure Congress MLA from Raichur Rural by offering him money. HD Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah join MLA-elects at TaJ Krishna in Hyderabad, to take part in a meeting. We are in the Shangri-La hotel for the legislature meeting. We have the majority. More than what we expected. Our workers are really happy. CM BS Yeddyurappa. He says, "Of course they are with us, if the MLAs from Congress & JD(S) don't support us, how can we prove majority? We will win the floor test 101%." This audio CD is one of the handiworks of Congress' dirty tricks department. This is a fake CD: Prakash Javadekar on the audio, which was released by Congress, in which Janaradhana Reddy is allegedly trying to lure Congress MLA from Raichur Rural by offering him money. Congress leaders Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal file petition with the Registrar of Supreme Court seeking dismissal of KG Bopaiah as pro-tem speaker Karnataka Congress Legislature Party meets in Hyderabad and unanimously elect Siddaramaiah as the leader of the Congress Legislative Party as per the directions of Congress President Rahul Gandhi Congress-JD(S) seek video recording of proceedings. This plea was not accepted in the morning.Karnataka: Here are the three names doing the rounds for deputy CM

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The meeting between the Gandhis and Kumaraswamy is an anticipated one as it would decide on who holds what in the next government of Karnataka. The Congress which is the senior partner with 78 seats has conceded the post of Chief Minister to H D Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal (S).

While the two parties are in agreement over the list of ministers, there has been some amount of confusion over the post of deputy chief minister. The JD(S) was okay with the idea of having just one deputy, but the Congress has demanded two.

These are some of the issues that the two parties are trying to iron out. The Karnataka Congress has already informed its high command about the need for having both the posts. It has proposed the names of D K Shivakumar and M B Patil for the two posts. Shivakumar who was not expected to play second fiddle to Kumaraswamy however said that he leaves the decision up to the high command.

In M B Patil, the Congress is trying to salvage what it lost to the Lingayats. The party has been on the back-foot on this front and would look to gain lost ground. The party is being accused of trying to stop Yeddyurappa from becoming the CM and in the run up to the 2019 elections it would have to work around the Lingayats who are influential in nearly 15 out of the 28 constituencies.

The proposing of Shivakumar's name is also an interesting one. He is a strong Vokkaliga leader like Kumaraswamy. The JD(S) has its biggest vote bank among the Vokkaligas and by forming the government it would like to consolidate it further. The Congress too which has a considerable amount of Vokkaliga vote share would not like to give it up to the JD(S) and hence the name of Shivakumar was proposed.

In the race is also Dr. G Parameshwar, a Dalit. The initial proposal made by the Congress had the names of a Dalit and Lingayat. It would be interesting to see what the high command finally decides.Karnataka politics: Why Kumaraswamys oath-taking ceremony was postponed to Wednesday?

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, May 21: After Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) BS Yeddyurappa on Saturday resigned as the chief minister of Karnataka, just minutes ahead of the floor test in the state Legislative Assembly, it was declared that CM-designate of the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) alliance, HD Kumaraswamy, will take oath as the new head of the southern state on Monday.

Almost all the major media houses reported Kumaraswamy's swearing-in ceremony on Monday. However, on late Saturday evening during a television debate, JD(S) spokesperson Danish Ali "revealed" that the much-awaited oath-taking ceremony will take place on Wednesday.

When asked about the reason behind the delay, Ali told NDTV that as a mark of respect to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, whose death anniversary coincided with the event, the alliance partners decided to have the grand ceremony in Karnataka on Wednesday.

To Ali's reply, journalist Sreenivasan Jain, who was hosting the debate on NDTV, stated in a rather humourous manner, that it seems both the new political partners have already started respecting each other a lot.

On Monday, the nation marked the 27th death anniversary of former PM of the Congress. Gandhi was assassinated in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in Tamil Nadu on 21 May, 1991 by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militants.

On Saturday, Kumaraswamy met Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala to stake claim to form the government in Karnataka. Vala gave him 15 days to prove his majority on the floor of the house. Kumaraswamy stated that he would prove his majority much before that as the Congress-JD(S) together has 115 MLAs and support of two more Independents, which is way past the required numbers.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy will be meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the national capital to discuss about the sharing of cabinet berths between the two parties.

While it is clear that Kumaraswamy will be the CM of the new coalition government in Karnataka, senior Congress leader G Parameshwara on Sunday told reporters that the Congress-JD(S) combine might have two deputy CMs.

Kumaraswamy told reporters that he was confident of ruling a successful coalition government for the next five years in Karnataka. He added that the coalition government won't have rotational CMs, as was the case earlier when political parties had decided to join hands to run the southern state.Mark Kaplan named UF vice president for government and community relations

University of Florida President Kent Fuchs announced today that, following a national search, Mark Kaplan has been selected as the universitys new vice president for government and community relations. Kaplan, who has worked in government and community relations at the state, national and local levels over the course of his career, will join UF on June 7.

Feedback that emerged from this national search indicated an appreciation for Marks collaborative and effective work as demonstrated in a range of settingspublic, private and nonprofit, Fuchs said. I know he will be a wonderful asset to our university.

Kaplans experience includes serving as the senior vice president for public affairs for the Mosaic Company, a Fortune 250 company. Prior to joining Mosaic, Kaplan served as chief of staff to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, directing the executive offices day-to-day operations, developing and implementing strategic programs and initiatives, handling crisis management and overseeing coordination of 23 state agencies. He has also served as president and general counsel for the Carlisle Development Group LLC, a developer of affordable multifamily rental housing, and as executive director of the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, which sets affordable housing policy and finances development and purchases statewide.

Kaplan graduated with highest honors from the Florida State University College of Law and earned a bachelors degree with honors in political science from the University of Florida. He is the current chair of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society.Naga Sadhus prediction on Karnataka election comes true!

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Predictions by Naga Sadhus about the Karnataka Assembly elections and the future of HD Kumaraswamy and BS Yeddyurappa have become true.

Around 18 Naga Sadhus had visited BS Yeddyurappa's home in Bengaluru in October 2017. According to them, it was predicted that Yeddyurappa will become the chief minister of the state and that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would have a bright future. However, as predicted, Yeddyurappa had become the chief minister for 54 hours and the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state.

Meanwhile, the Janata Dal (Secular) leaders HD Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna had met Kedarnath Sadhus at Chikkanayakan Halli in Tumkur district. After six months, Naga Sadhu spoke to a close associate of Kumaraswamy over the phone and predicted that his success would be through a puzzle.

'Fist will be closed, Lotus will decay and JDS will reap the crop' --- Likewise, Congress won 78 seats, though the BJP emerged as the single largest party failed to form the government. And, the JDS is set to form the government with the support of Congress.

Did Naga Sadhu forget prediction of BS Yeddyurappa's resignation?

Four Naga sadhus accidentally visited the house of BJP worker in Chitradurga district. The sadhus, who were on way to Rameshwaram, met BJP worker Kiran. They predicted that Hindutva party will emerge victorious and BS Yeddyurappa will become chief minister. But, they didn't predict that BSY will resign as soon as he becomes the chief minister.Modi will be elected PM again in 2024: Amit Shah

Delhi could face power crisis, says Arvind Kejriwal in letter to PM Modi

PM Modi should express grief in Parliament over death of farmers during agri-law protests: Rakesh Tikait

PM Modi no dictator, but most democratic leader India has seen: Amit Shah

India, Russia have been friends for a long time, says PM Modi

India

oi-Madhuri

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Sochi on Monday held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as part of an informal summit between the two nations.

After the meet, PM said, "Russia played a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in SCO. We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS."

Putin and Modi met for an informal summit with that focused on global and regional issues, including the impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, according to official sources.

During their informal summit in Russian city of Sochi on Monday, the two leaders will primarily focus on pressing global and regional issues, including impact of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

The informal Summit in Russia's Sochi between PM Modi and President Putin is in keeping with the tradition of regular consultations between India and Russia at the highest levels.

The two leaders to exchange views on international matters in a broad& long-term perspective with the objective of further strengthening Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. Both leaders will also discuss their respective national developmental priorities and bilateral matters.No major terror attack in India since PM Modi became PM, says Rajnath; calls it major achievement

Our prosperity largely linked to our seas since we are an arriving maritime power: Defence Minister

Naxalism a menace which is shrinking, says Rajnath Singh

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said the 'serious' challenge of Naxalism in the country has entered its 'last legs' and is losing ground.

Addressing troops of the 'Bastariya' battalion of the CRPF, Rajnath said that "Naxalism is a challenge but I want to say that this menace is now shrinking and is losing ground. The casualties in Security Forces has declined".

Singh also awarded the best performers of the new unit after they presented him with a guard of honour and a military parade.

'Bastariya' battalion was created for the first-time with more than 534 tribal youths from Chhattisgarh.

The battalion is named 'Bastariya' as its members are from the Bastar region in southern Chhattisgarh, bordering Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Telangana. The unique battalion - recruited from Sukma, Dantewada, Narayanpur and Bijapur districts of undivided Bastar - has been raised with a specific purpose to strengthen security forces' operations in areas where they have witnessed maximum reverses for a few years owing to a lack of concrete intelligence and familiarisation with locals and the topography.

The hardcore, localised battalion of the young combatants will be immediately deployed for anti-Naxal operations in some of the worst Left Wing Extremism-hit areas such as Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur, a senior official was quoted as saying by PTI. The recruits have been trained for about 44 weeks in jungle warfare, weapons firing, map reading, police laws and unarmed combat.

The Centre had sanctioned the battalion in July 2018. The concept to raise the team was mooted with the aim that the recruits, mostly tribals, will help address local issues such as unemployment, provide a tactical advantage to CRPF in operations, intelligence collection and language benefits. The CRPF is the lead anti-Naxal operation force and has deployed over 35,000 personnel in Chhattisgarh.

Meanwhile, seven police personnel were killed on Sunday after Naxals blew up their vehicle in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Sunday. Naxals carried out a landmine blast around 12 noon when a joint team of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and the District Force (DF) was patrolling the Cholnar-Kirandul road to provide security to trucks carrying construction material for roadworks between Kirandul and Palnar villages, a senior police official said.

OneIndia News (with PTI inputs)Chhattisgarh turmoil deepens: Six more MLAs leave for Delhi

Amid talks of leadership change in Chhattisgarh, more MLAs reaching Delhi to join Bhupesh Baghel camp

Chhattisgarh, Punjab govts announce Rs 50 lakh to families of farmers run over in UP

New anti-naxal force 'Black Panther' undergoing training: Rajnath Singh

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said a new special force called Black Panther being established along the lines of special force GreyHounds in Chhattisgarh. Rajnath Singh was speaking to media in Chhattisgarh.

Rajnath Singh said, "Developmental work is going on rapidly in Naxal affected areas. Out of 115 aspirational districts 35 have been identified as naxal affected. Penetration of our security forces is increasing in the state."

"A new special force called Black Panther being established along the lines of special force GreyHounds (special force that specialises in anti-insurgency operations against Naxals). There are currently undergoing training," he said.

"Currently, 52 battalions of Central Armed Police Force are deployed in Chhattisgarh," he added.

Earlier, Rajnath Singh attended the passing out parade of 241 Bastariya Battalion of CRPF in Ambikapur, Chhattisgarh.

"Inducting Bastariya Battalion is a well-considered decision of our government. People from Bastar region have a great sense of responsibility and patriotism," Singh said on the occasion.One nation one poll: LS elections along with Rajasthan, MP and Chattisgarh

India

oi-Vinod

By Vinod

New Delhi: The Central government plans to hold next Lok Sabha election little early by March instead of waiting till the time when it completes its tenure. This is being done to hold elections in as many states as possible along with the 2019 general elections in its ambitious plan to implement One Nation, One Election plan for the Lok Sabha and all state Assembly elections.

The government has already started making its moves in this regard by making narrative for it by organizing programmes, seminar, conferences and other activities like dialogue on the issue with people, intellectuals, organizations involved in such activities.

Now, the government is working on its plane to execute it. Sources said that the government formation in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh has to be done by mid-December of 2018. All these states have chief minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party. So the government plans to impose President's Rule in these states after their term is complete to hold elections there simultaneously with the Lok Sabha.

Sources further said that the government wanted to hit two birds by one stone by holding Assembly elections in these states as the government will be able to negate anti-incumbency there however except Rajasthan the BJP claims to be in comfortable and will sail through. Sources said that party leaders feel that by holding election with the Lok Sabha may benefit the BJP in these states. And by holding Assembly elections with the Lok Sabha the BJP will try to bring its point home that it is serious about the concept of 'One Nation, One Election'.

With this plan Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana will have their elections along with the Lok Sabha to begin with the plan on 'One Nation, One Election'. One north-eastern state Mizoram's election is due in mid December but it has a non-BJP government so it might not agree on the government proposal.

Sources said that the government has already started working with its plan. It is talking to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to complete its examinations by February and vote o account by February 1, 2019 are the two major issues that the government wants to take care first besides many other.

Sources also informed that the government is also keeping a close watch on the development of Karnataka and if the Karnataka government falls due to its internal contradictions one more state will be added in its plan to 'One Nation, One Election.'

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Monday, May 21, 2018, 11:44 [IST]How Congress lost 44 seats despite having better vote share than 2013

Not an ordinary win says Naidu on Congress stopping BJP in Karnataka

No rift, all alright says Kumaraswamy on alliance with Congress in Karnataka

To let go or not: The dilemma of the Congress in Karnataka

Reports of term sharing with Congress in Karnataka, bogus says Kumaraswamy

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Although there are murmurs that the Congress is pressing for a term sharing arrangement with the JD(S), the party chief, H D Kumaraswamy has termed such reports as bogus.

Clarifying that no discussion has taken place so far on the allocation of ministerial berths, Kumaraswamy termed reports on the power-sharing formula of 30 months each between the parties as "bogus".

"I'm visiting New Delhi ... I will meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the party's senior leader Sonia Gandhi," he told reporters.

Based on the outcome of discussions with them, a decision will be taken on the number of Congress and JD(S) MLAs who will become ministers, Kumaraswamy added.

BS Yeddyurappa had stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers, following which Kumaraswamy met governor Vajubhai Vala, and said he had been invited to form the government.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats.

While making it clear that there have been no discussions yet on the portfolio allocation, Kumaraswamy requested the media not to create confusion among the public and MLAs with such "speculative" reports.

He also asserted that within 24 hours of taking oath, he would prove the majority on the floor of the House.

"Mostly on Wednesday there will be oath-taking ceremony after that on Thursday we will complete the process of speaker's election and trust vote," he added.

After meeting the governor, Kumaraswamy had yesterday said the swearing-in ceremony would take place tentatively between 12 noon and 1.50 pm at Kanteerava stadium on May 21.

But, later he announced that the event would be held on May 23 as May 21 happens to be the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The venue of the swearing-in is also likely to be changed, with party sources now saying it is likely to take place at Vidhana Soudha (the seat of the state legislature).

However, Kumaraswamy said he had spoken to the chief secretary and other senior officials about it and they would take a call on the venue.RSS to help building Fifth Dham in Cambodia by popularizing Indian culture

India

oi-Vinod

By Vinod

New Delhi: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is helping the 1008 Names of Shiva Association, a voluntary outfit based in Cambodia, to organize a congregation of people having faith in Sanatana Dharma at Siem Reap in Cambodia on May 30 and May 31, 2018 to develop Angkor Wat as the Fifth Dham of Hindu religion.

This congregation will be represented by the national executive member of the RSS Indresh Kumar and international coordination of Sewa International and general secretary Antarashtriya Sahyog Parishad Keshav Govind Parande. They will participate in it along with total nine representatives of the RSS.

The organizers say that this is an attempt to provide the world platform to Sanatanies to connect the proposed Fifth Dham in Cambodia. The RSS has been involved in many such activities in the world but this is the first such activity in South-East Asia. Guruji Kumaranswami, who is the organiser of the programme in Cambodia, works in South-East Asia for Sanatan Dharma (Hindu Religion). Swamiji decided to organize this mega festival in Siem Reap with the help and blessings of the RSS.

One of the RSS representatives in the programme and convener of the programme Shailesh Vats told OneIndia that Swami ji sees the possibility of the Fifth Dham (sacred place) in South-East Asia. So in this regard a programme is being organized where people belonging to the faith are reaching from across the world.

Vats said, "This is an attempt of cultural development outside India which will once again connect the life style of south-east Asian people with the Indian Society.

As per the concept note of the programme, Cambodia is a predominantly Buddhist society but retains strong links with Hinduism, idolatry and Hindu mythology. The pervading influence of Hinduism, Buddhism and Indian architecture are borne out by the magnificent structure at Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Ta Phrom and other religious and historical sites in Cambodia. Vats said that the 1008 Name of Shiva Association was set up to popularize Hindu religion in South-East Asia. This is to promote and teach Hindu way of life. They want to build a full scale temple and a centre to perform religious ceremonies and perform social cultural and educational activities.

In this programme dignitaries from many countries will participate. Vats informed that a minister from Ghana, Malaysia, culture and education minister of Cambodia will participate in this programme. Several Buddhists priests including chief priest of Colombo Temple will participate in it. He is the most powerful Buddhist face in Sri Lanka. Dr Kirnde Assaji the resident monk of Gangaramaya Temple will also be present there. Many other important dignitaries will also be there.Pradyuman murder: Why is the juvenile being tried as an adult accused

Ryan school murder: Accused juvenile to be tried as an adult

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

A sessions court on Monday ordered that the juvenile, accused of murdering a 7-year-old student, Pradyuman Thakur, at Gurugram's Ryan International School last year, be tried as an adult. Additional Sessions Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu junked the appeal of the student along with other two pleas in the Ryan school murder case, said reports.

"Child Sessions Court upheld judgement by Juvenile Justice Board that the juvenile be tried as an adult. He can be subjected to stringent & strict punishment, if he's going to get convicted. We welcome it," Sushil Tekriwal, lawyer of victim's family, told ANI.

Moving the application on November 15, seeking the trial of the juvenile as an adult, the victim's father argued that the manner in which the throat of the seven-year-old was slit showed that the crime was "chilling", "horrific" and "serious" in nature.

Judge Jasbir Singh Kundu, hearing a plea filed by the 16-year-old accused's family last week, had given the CBI one week additional time to file its supplementary chargesheet. The court also gave additional time to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to submit its supplementary charge-sheet.

Last year, on December 20, the Juvenile Justice Board had announced that the juvenile accused, a Class XI student, will be tried as an adult. The order was significant as it ensured that the boy, if convicted, will not serve the usual punishment of three years, as is the norm for juveniles. However, if found guilty, he will also not be given a harsher sentence, such as life imprisonment or death, as Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act prohibits it.

As per the new law, passed by the Parliament in January 2016, the juvenile if convicted could serve a maximum of 10 to 15 years behind bars.Transcripts from retrieved black box to be available soon: DGCA on Kerala plane crash

6 deaths in Kozhikode: What is Nipah Virus? Know all about it

India

oi-Madhuri

The south Indian state of Kerala has been put on high alert after six people have died of a mysterious viral attack in Kozhikode, with two deaths attributing to Nipah virus (NiV).

Nine people have died in Calicut district following high fever. Health dept confirmed that out of nine,two persons were affected with Nipah virus. The samples of the other deceased have been sent for tests. A task force has been formed under District Collector U V Jose

Meanwhile, Union Minister J P Nadda has directed the Director of National Centre for Disease Control or NCDC to visit Kerala's Kozhikode district to assist the state government in the wake of death of three people due to Nipah virus there.

What is Nipah Virus?

Nipah Virus is an emerging infectious disease that broke out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999. The natural host of the virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae Family, Pteropus genus.

In Bangladesh in 2004, humans became infected with NiV as a result of consuming date palm sap that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats. Human-to-human transmission has also been documented, including in a hospital setting in India.

Signs and Symptoms:

Infection with Nipah virus is associated with encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). After exposure and an incubation period of 5 to 14 days, illness presents with 3-14 days of fever and headache, followed by drowsiness, disorientation and mental confusion.

No vaccine for either humans or animals:

NiV infection in humans has a range of clinical presentations, from asymptomatic infection to acute respiratory syndrome and fatal encephalitis. NiV is also capable of causing disease in pigs and other domestic animals. There is no vaccine for either humans or animals.

How is Nipah virus treated?

In humans, the primary treatment for Nipah virus is intensive supportive care. The drug ribavirin has been shown to be effective against the viruses in vitro. However, the clinical efficacy of ribavirin remains inconclusive to date in human trials.

How can it be prevented?

Avoiding exposure to sick pigs and bats in endemic areas, not drinking raw date palm sap, and not consume fruits that have fallen on to the ground can help prevent Nipah virus infection.Will Parameshwar and Shivshankarappa be Karnatakas two deputy CMs?

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Karnataka is likely to have two deputy chief minsters. The Congress is likely to push for a Dalit and Lingayat MLA for the two posts. This would be finalised at a meeting in Delhi after H D Kumaraswamy holds talks with Rahul and Sonia Gandhi.

KPCC chief, Dr. Parameshwar too hinted that there could be two deputies. Sources say that one of the deputy CMs could be Parameshwar himself. On the choice of Lingayat candidate, many in the Congress are in favour of Shamnur Shivshankarappa.

After Kumaraswamy is sworn in as CM on Wednesday, the Congress and JD(S) would take the trust vote on Thursday. The Speaker would be first be elected before the trust vote is taken. The selection of the two deputies would be taken after the floor test is won, sources say.

"I'm visiting New Delhi ... I will meet Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the party's senior leader Sonia Gandhi," Kumaraswamy told reporters.

Based on the outcome of discussions with them, a decision will be taken on the number of Congress and JD(S) MLAs who will become ministers, Kumaraswamy added.

BS Yeddyurappa had stepped down as the chief minister without facing the floor test in the state assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers, following which Kumaraswamy met governor Vajubhai Vala, and said he had been invited to form the government.

The May 12 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats.Modi and Putin hold informal talks

Prime Minister Modi earlier today said he had "extremely productive" discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin and they reviewed the complete range of India-Russia relations as well as global issues and underlined the need for a multi-polar world duringtheirfirst ever informal summit in this Black Sea coastal city.

Modi said friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time and their ties will continue to scale newer heights in the coming years. He said the seeds of the 'strategic partnership' sown by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Putin have now grown into a "special privileged strategic partnership" which is a "very big achievement" in itself.

"I am grateful to President Putin who invited me for an informal meeting and hence, in the long friendship of ours, this is a new aspect that has been attached to our relationship," Modi said.

"You have added a new aspect ofinformalsummit in the bilateral relationship which I think is a great occasion and creates trust," he said.

Modi and Putin after talks

A statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs said the two leaders agreed that the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between India and Russia is an important factor for global peace and stability.

"They shared the view that India and Russia have an important role to play in contributing to an open and equitable world order. They recognised each other's respective roles as major powers with common responsibilities for maintaining global peace and stability," the statement said.

The two leaders heldin depthdiscussions on major international issues and agreed on the importance of building a multi-polar world order, it said.

They decided to intensify consultation and coordination with each other, including on the Indo-Pacific Region. "Both leaders expressed their concern over terrorism and radicalisation, and their determination to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

In this context, they endorsed the importance of restoring peace and stability in Afghanistan in an atmosphere free from the threat of terrorism, and agreed to work together towards achieving this objective," the statement said.

Modi and Putin sail together from Bocharev Creek to Olympic Park in #Sochi

Modi and Putin helddetailedexchange of views on the national development plans and priorities. The two leaders directed their officials to prepare concrete outcomes for the forthcoming Summit in India later this year, the statement said. They agreed to institute a Strategic Economic Dialogue between NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, to identify greater synergy in trade and investment. They noted with satisfaction the expanding cooperation in the energy sector and welcomed the arrival of the first consignment of LNG under a long-term agreement between Gazprom and GAIL, next month. The two leaders also reiterated the significance of longstanding partnership in the military, security and nuclear energy fields and welcomed the ongoing cooperation in these areas.

Modi also thanked Russia for playing a major role in helping India get a permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). India and Pakistan were admitted last year into the organisation.

"We are working together on International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and BRICS," Modi said. He also congratulated Putin for becoming the President for the fourth time withan overwhelmingmajority.

Welcoming Prime Minister Modi to Sochi, Putin said his visit would give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties.

Putin bids farewell to Modi

"We are delighted to see you, Mr Prime Minister, and consider you personally as a big friend of our country. We are very glad to be able to have this meeting," Putin told Modi. He said Russia and India maintain a high strategic level of partnership, with close cooperation between the two countries'defense ministries.

"Ourdefenseministries maintain very close contacts and cooperation. It speaks about a very high strategic level of our partnership," Putin said.

He also hailed joint activities of the two countries in the area of foreign politics, in particular within the United Nations, BRICS and the SCO.

"There is no need to explain Russian-Indianrelations,since we all know that they have deep roots. However, we have been able to create additional momentum recently. Last year, our trade saw a significant increase, adding another 17per centsince the beginning of this year," he said.

Russia's official Tass news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that the talks were "very intense."

"I am confident that the ongoing informal contacts between the leaders of Russia and India will be useful and will help define the further guidelines for our development and strategic partnership," Lavrov said.

"We discussed the whole spectrum of our particularly privileged strategic partnership," the minister said. The summit took place amidst the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation. The CAATSA is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia.Probe into Russia meddling in 2016 election to end by Sep 1: Giuliani

International

pti-PTI

Washington, May 21: The investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign will end by September 1, said Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Giuliani told The New York Times today that the office of Robert Mueller -- the special counsel who is leading the investigation -- had shared the timeline some two weeks ago.

Trump, who has repeatedly described the investigation as a "witch hunt," views it as a stain on his presidency and wants it over -- an end Giuliani apparently sought to further through his comments on the probe's conclusion.

"You don't want another repeat of the 2016 election where you get contrary reports at the end and you don't know how it affected the election," he told the Times, referring to the investigation's possible impact on mid-term elections in November.

Former FBI director James Comey -- fired by Trump last year -- announced that the bureau would reopen an investigation into Hillary Clinton's misuse of a private email server just 11 days before the 2016 presidential vote, a move that may have helped cost her the election.

Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his first national security advisor Michael Flynn and an assortment of campaign aides have all been caught in Mueller's investigation, variously pleading guilty, cutting a plea deal or fighting the case in court.

But a year after the probe began, the big questions remain unanswered: Did Trump's campaign collude with the Kremlin to skew the 2016 election? What did the president know and when did he know it? Did he obstruct justice? Can a sitting president be indicted?

PTIJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has pledged his commitment to ensuring the rule of law at sea.

Abe spoke at an event in Tokyo on Sunday to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Japan Coast Guard.

He observed exercises involving 36 ships and 16 aircraft. One drill was based on the scenario of a person falling into the sea and being rescued by a helicopter.

Abe told Coast Guard officials that foreign vessels have repeatedly intruded into Japan's territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands, and the situation remains tense.

He also said that boats found drifting in the Sea of Japan are likely to have come from North Korea.

Japan controls the Senkaku Islands. The Japanese government maintains the islands are an inherent part of Japan's territory. China and Taiwan claim them.

Abe also said maritime security can be ensured by Japan's own efforts to protect its peace and security and through coordination with other countries to create and strengthen an international maritime order.Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.

See original here

We look at the latest in a series of deadly mass shootings at U.S. schools: Friday morning in Texas, 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis entered Santa Fe High School and shot dead 10 people -- eight fellow students and two teachers. He used a shotgun and a .38 revolver taken from his father to carry out the murders. Ahead of the attack, Pagourtzis posted on his Facebook page a picture of a T-shirt he wore Friday that read "Born to Kill."

Some Texas officials responded to Friday's shooting with calls for prayers and blamed abortion and violent video games. The incoming National Rifle Association president, Oliver North, blamed Ritalin for school shootings. We get an update from Kolten Parker of The Texas Observer and Ed Scruggs of Texas Gun Sense.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Today we look at the latest in a long series of deadly mass shootings at schools in the United States. The latest took place Friday morning, just after 7:30 a.m. Texas time, when a student entered his Santa Fe High School, outside of Houston, wearing a trench coat, and shot dead 10 people -- eight fellow students and two teachers. Seventeen-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis used a shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver taken from his father to carry out the attack, which officials said he planned to end by committing suicide, but instead he surrendered to police. Authorities say he also reportedly planted various types of explosives in a home and a car. He's being held without bond on charges of capital murder. One Santa Fe High School student told local station ABC13 she wasn't surprised by the mass shooting at her school.

FOTI KALLERGIS: Was there a part of you that was like, "This isn't real. This would not happen in my school"?

PAIGE CURRY: No, there wasn't.

FOTI KALLERGIS: Why so?

PAIGE CURRY: It's been happening everywhere. I felt -- I've always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here, too. So, I don't know. I wasn't surprised. I was just scared.

AMY GOODMAN: The Santa Fe school district reportedly had an active-shooter plan, two armed police officers at the high school, and had voted last fall to eventually arm teachers and staff under the state's school marshal program. Ahead of the attack, Pagourtzis posted on his Facebook page a T-shirt that read "Born to Kill," as well as images of his trench coat and an explanation of its decorations, noting that "Hammer and Sickle=Rebellion," "Rising Sun=Kamikaze Tactics," "Iron Cross=Bravery," and "Baphomet=Evil."

On Sunday, the National Rifle Association's incoming president, Oliver North, blamed Ritalin for school shootings. Some Texas officials responded to Friday's shooting with calls for prayers, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz. This prompted a reaction from at least one Santa Fe High School student on Twitter, who responded to Cruz, writing, quote, "as a sfhs tudent, all i can ask you to do is vote for gun reform. you have the power to help prevent these things. thank you for your prayers, but we need action as well."

Meanwhile, Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said the Santa Fe school shooting may have been enabled by Texas' schools having too many entrances and exits. He spoke at a news conference with Governor Greg Abbott and Senator Cruz.

LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK: We may have to look at the design of our schools, moving forward, and retrofitting schools that are already built. And what I mean by that is, there are too many entrances and too many exits to our over 8,000 campuses in Texas. Over 8,000 campuses. There aren't enough people to put a guard at every entrance and exit. You would be talking 25,000, 30,000, 40,000 people. But if we can protect a large office building or a courthouse or any major facility, maybe we need to look at limiting the entrance and the exits into our schools, so that we can have law enforcement looking at the people who come in one or two entrances. Schools may have to have their start day, not all students show up at once, so that we don't have every student -- there are 1,400 students at this school -- trying to get in the door at once. We're going to have to be creative. We're going to have to think out of the box.

AMY GOODMAN: Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick also blamed abortion. His comments drew ridicule from some critics, but he stood by his comments Sunday during an interview on ABC's This Week.

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From Common Dreams

Let's face it, the FCC's mission to regulate communications media in the public interest, has been beaten to a pulp by politicians of both parties over the last two decades



Ajit Pai responds to criticism regarding Net Neutrality

(Image by YouTube, Channel: Grandayy) Details DMCA



It's life or death for the Federal Communications Commission, and death may be the honest option.

Let's face it, the FCC's mission to regulate communications media in the public interest, has been beaten to a pulp by politicians of both parties over the last two decades. Now Trump's FCC chair, Ajit Pai, wants to kill the wounded agency off, and he may have done it, to all intents and purposes, when he and his two fellow Republican commissioners voted 3-2 to repeal net neutrality rules last December. The Senate may have just voted to annul the FCC's rollback, but this victory is largely symbolic, as the House has no intention of taking up similar legislation.

It would be easy to see this as an abdication of responsibility, but perhaps when Pai criticized net neutrality as a set of "outdated rules," he was right in a terrible way. The FCC is a relic of a bygone age. It dates back almost a century to a time when new technology was bursting with potential for use or abuse, and people were clear about the implications for democracy in a way we don't seem to be today.

Back then, the FCC's mission was forged by social movements that understood that the nation teetered on a brink. Would the US be the land of misogyny, white supremacy, militarism, anti-semitism and anti-immigrant bias, or something better?

Monopoly capital was accumulating unchecked, and while the social justice movements of the 1920s and 30s disagreed about many things, they understood from experience that no one of them stood a chance of shifting power or displacing arrogance without a functioning public information system. The future of the nation could only go in one direction if only those who could pay were allowed to have a say.

That's why FDR appointed Clifford Durr to the FCC. Durr was a civil rights attorney who pursued media justice with a social justice passion because he and the movements at his back believed that diversity, localism, and competition were the only media means to a civil, fair society.

All these years on, we live in a different age. New technology is exploding and capital is accumulating, but decades of paid propaganda have convinced many Americans that government has no business meddling in the business of media. Groups like the AFL-CIO and the NAACP have big-dollar donors and can buy big-dollar ads on the big bosses' media.

Reverse net neutrality? Open the floodgates to more media monopoly? Chairman Pai, a former staffer to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, has in mind to accomplish all that and more. He leads the commission's Republican majority in lockstep, and they've already proposed radical reductions to Lifeline, the meager subsidy that helps low income people -- and especially victims of the 2017 hurricane season -- connect to doctors, nurses, and public assistance. Last year, they wiped out the Local Television Ownership Rule, which required broadcasters to maintain independent local stations too.

As for social responsibility? Big media corporations aren't ignoring the actual human cost of communications break-downs in Puerto Rico, they're just figuring out how to profit off it.

If we don't start learning from our history, and perhaps repeating some of it, we might was well start burning books. Anything with the word "Democracy" in the title.

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From The Hill

Warning to Democrats: recent weeks of polling show a narrowing Democratic lead in the midterm elections. Talk of a blue wave, which was justified by polling data until recently, should now give way urgency, focus and appealing to voters on issues that improve their lives and decide their votes.

The state of American politics today is total war from President Trump. He wages aggressive political war against countless Americans he treats as political enemies, diplomatic war against our democratic allies in Europe, partisan war against special counsel Robert Mueller who investigates Russia's continuing attack against America, and cultural war against minority groups he offends with vindictive insults to rally his political base.

Former President Obama, who a recent CNN poll showed is viewed as a better president than Trump by a margin of 56 to 37 percent, should now step forward, clearly, thoughtfully and forcefully. He should speak with the fierce urgency of now on behalf of Democrats facing the most important midterm elections in modern history.

The problem facing Democrats is not lack of a message, it is lack of a messenger. Democrats in Congress and across America are offering worthy and compelling policies, but the most vivid pictures voters see of Democrats on television are sound bite snippets of talk that is dominated by Trump.

Obama is the only national Democrat who would galvanize an explosion of attention from the media and voters about what Democrats stand for, who Democrats fight for and how Democrats will make life better in a nation that hungers for not just attacks against Trump, but a compelling alternative to Trump.

Obama and every Democrat should watch "Bobby Kennedy for President," the stirring new documentary from Netflix that I mentioned last week, because the story of RFK demonstrates by living history the heart, soul and fighting spirit that Democrats should offer to lead the nation in 2018 and 2020.

Many Americans feel left behind, alienated and worried because they do not share in the prosperity of the nation and do not feel that anyone in Washington cares about them. Many would vote for a politician who speaks thousands of falsehoods and is embroiled in dozens of scandals if they believe he is the only politician speaking to them, no matter how untrue his words.

Democrats in 2018 should remember Bobby Kennedy in 1968. RFK fought with passion and conviction for underprivileged blacks, exploited Hispanic workers, hard-hit white voters in Appalachia and young people whose dreams he offered the promise of coming true.

If Obama comes out swinging in 2018 as RFK came out swinging in 1968 he would light up the television screens and social media platforms with saturation coverage of the political battle of our century between two competing parties and visions, pitting the good things Obama did as president, which make him still so popular today, against the vile things Trump does to destroy them, which makes him so widely disliked by comparison.

Obama should fight like a lion for ObamaCare and against massive insurance premiums caused by the disastrous policies of Trump and Republicans, which would have been even more catastrophic except for the courageous single vote of a timeless American hero, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), whom Obama and so many Americans honor with high praise.

Obama should fight like a lion for the Dreamers against the cruel, vicious and sometimes race-baiting attacks by Trump who broke his word to Democratic leaders and seeks to kill the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Obama should proclaim, as John Kennedy said, that a rising tide should lift all boats, while Republicans offer tax cuts that enhance big fortunes of the wealthiest and provide small change to everyone else. He should remind voters, as Robert Kennedy said the night Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, that America does not need more hatred and division but more love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another as fellow members of the American family.Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.

Early in 2018, I pulled back the veil Propornot hid behind and disclosed the groups behind the smear site. Propornot is a product of the Atlantic Council's backers. It is a symptom of the ongoing Information War. People in the groups behind it are waging to destroy Press Freedom in the US by branding dissenting voices as objects of ridicule at best and enemies of the state at worst. Below, you'll see the results of yet another website scan, as well as circumstantial evidence showing the InterpreterMag and the Atlantic Council, are responsible for Propornot. The lawsuits are starting and because of the damage Propornot's lists have done, will trickle down to the InterpreterMag staff, the Atlantic Council, and their backers at some point.

For those that don't know, the Atlantic Council is brought to you by the Central and Eastern European Coalition (CEEC), the Ukrainian Congressional Committee of America (UCCA), and the Ukrainian World Congress(UWC). Among these three organizations, there is a constituency of 20 million voting ultranationalist (politically Bandera-era nationalists ), as well as constituencies across governments in Central and Eastern Europe today.

There are also Levant region US-based Diaspora governments including Oriental Promethean, Syrian, and Gulenite groups that often financially contribute to politicians and gain huge amounts of political backing because all the Diasporas work together in a large bloc when it suits their needs.

The long game behind all of this is to normalize extreme nationalism in the US. If they can get people on all sides of the political spectrum so divided through pure politics that people demand a forced normalization, what's offered will be the new US nationalism.

This is done continuously to develop the will and the means to provoke legal action and civil lawsuits AGAINST these same commentary and news websites that make up the Propornot blacklist. It doesn't matter how small a deal Propornot are in reality. Propornot plagiarized their blacklist from spies-for-hire groups.

This same list is the handout for every war-mongering, democracy-hating group in America and across the world. Whatever extraordinary means they need to use, they are determined to force offending websites to get in line or suffer a costly closedown. This latest partnership Facebook has formed with the Atlantic Council is another trial move to a forced normal where news and information are spoon fed.

This is part of a much, much, larger story that starts with Propornot and goes through InterpreterMag to their parents at the @DFRLab of the Atlantic Council. The groups that identify emerging threats and disinformation for Google are the same group members of the Atlantic Council that Facebook will employ. Google has well over $100 million invested in these groups so using them to determine Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) is simple economics. These core groups supply the fact-checking and relevance check for Google. They have the means to take a monopoly on information and deem truth to be whatever the hell they want or get paid for it to be.

All of this starts with the bottom rung at sites like Propornot. For the January article, I scanned the website using Iron Wasp. It is one of the best application security scanners available today and is used by hackers and penetration testers worldwide to test for vulnerabilities of a website (web application). What this means is that within a very tiny margin of false-positives, scanners like this deliver verifiable, documentable information that can be used in a court of law.

That scan could be replicated by any person, at any time. I didn't reveal the vulnerability scanner I used because it shouldn't matter. If more scans were done by other people using a variety of scanners, it would hammer home the fact Michael Weiss and company are the people behind Propornot everyone was looking for.

The problem remains that the natural curiosity affected parties should feel because they have been damaged is still replaced with inertia. For many news and commentary platform owners, the last few years have overloaded their senses with the shock value of being called a tool for a foreign government and having their reputations called into question or destroyed.

Instead of taking a sober and critical look by doing the scans themselves or interviewing subject-matter experts, this inertia has maintained my single scan as the only one that exists publicly for Propornot. It is the only serious effort and scan I've been able to find. Recently, I set up an online snare that InterperterMag's Michael Weiss, Catherine Fitzgerald, and their bit players had the choice to either step in or ignore entirely. The whole thing hinged on him and them not being as bright as I thought they were. I'm glad I didn't bet on that. I'll get to that in part 2.

New Scan Results for Propornot

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Donald Trump - Caricature

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A group of newspaper people--reporters, photo editors, copy people, librarians, etc., who worked together in the '80s and '90s--formed a private group on FaceBook for keeping in touch, reminiscing, and planning the annual Tabloid Reunion. Recently there was a brief letting-off of steam when we tried to think of all the names Donald Trump has been called in the media. "Conman. No--the Con Don," it started. "SCROTUS." "Buffoon, idiot, spineless." "Boiled ham in a wig." "Cheese doodle." "Donald Drumpf."

Finally a young woman ventured, "I would call Trump a c-word, but he lacks depth and warmth."

We ended it, surprised at finding that such a grungy old epithet was too good for Donald Trump and wondering where we could go from there.Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.

This piece was reprinted by OpEdNews with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

On Tuesday, May 15, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) raided the RIA Novosti news agency's Kiev offices and detained the outlet's local bureau chief, Kirill Vyshinsky, ostensibly for acts of "treason."[1]

International criminal lawyer Chris C. Black explains that this occurs at about the same time that the Kiev regime invaded the home of Petro Symonenko, head of the Communist party, (and subsequently interrogated him for seven hours).

Clearly, the Kiev regime equates "treason" with freedoms of speech, freedoms of association, and freedoms of the press.

None of this is surprising, since the Kiev regime is in fact an illegal Neo-Nazi/Banderite-drenched junta -- and fully supported by the West, including Canada.[2]

The West itself has also forfeited its freedoms, but its methods for achieving these ends are more sophisticated. Consent for the most criminal agendas is typically engineered by a controlled media, and puppet politicians. Whereas the perception of freedom still lingers in the West, Kiev has forgone the niceties. Whereas Canada continues to support neo-Nazis and al Qaeda, it manages public perceptions to such a degree that the public remains oblivious.

No doubt Kiev is envious.

*

Mark Taliano is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) and the author of Voices from Syria, Global Research Publishers, 2017.

Notes

[1] Sputnik International. "Deafening Silence: Western Media Silent on Ukraine's Russian News Agency Raid." 16 May, 2018. (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201805161064512985-media-silence-ukraine-raid/) Accessed 17 May, 2018.

Syria's Children: "Condemned to Live", Shackled by the Scars of US-NATO Terrorism

[2] Michel Chossudovsky, "The US Sponsored Neoliberal Neo-Nazi Coup d'Etat in Ukraine. An Act of War." Global Research. 21 March, 2014. (https://www.globalresearch.ca/the-neoliberal-neo-nazi-coup-detat/5431339) Accessed 17 May, 2018.Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.

See original here

By Hunter Daily Kos Staff



Trump False Fake?

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After the news that counterintelligence efforts against Russian hackers included sending an informant to make contact with Trump campaign advisers whose Russian ties were under investigation, during the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump is now "hereby" ordering his Department of Justice to investigate that counterintelligence effort.

Donald J. Trump" @realDonaldTrump I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes -- and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration! 12:37 PM - May 20, 2018

The alleged informant, who is described by the New York Times as an "American academic who teaches in Britain," made contact after campaign adviser George Papadopoulous bragged to others that Moscow had gathered "thousands of emails" that would be compromising to opponent Hillary Clinton -- long before those emails were eventually made public. That admission is among the strongest currently public ties between the Russian hacking effort and members of the Trump presidential campaign.

That Trump knows of the informant is due to the actions of House Republican Devin Nunes and his allies, who have been emphatic that the Department of Justice turn over top secret information about the investigation -- information which reliably leaked into the public sphere, and to Trump himself, soon afterwards. Trump is now ordering the department to launch an investigation into the FBI's probe of Russian influence.

Previously, Donald Trump fired the director of the FBI after asking multiple members of the government to curtail their investigation of Trump adviser Michael Flynn. That Trump is willing to "officially" demand interference into the investigation of several other members of his campaign team's contacts with Russian intelligence figures suggests similar motive; the sitting president seeks to sabotage the investigation into campaign collusion with a foreign intelligence service.Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.



The 96-year-old mother of Jeanne Labrier Clarkson undergoing airport security procedures

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Unless the relatives of the lady file reports, backed by the video, and more comes of it, we shall not truly know why she was singled out in this intrusive way, and the two other ladies, also in wheelchairs, accompanying her were not. And thus I can only speculate as to any motive besides mere insensitivity.

However, I would suggest that the TSA's point, or their attitude, is to make sure we all know that they are at least an equal-opportunity institution, that absolutely everyone may (will) be subject to this degree of gratuitous scrutiny.





There is another possibility: watch carefully, and you will see that this TSA employee is not ranked. She is not even a one-striper. The second stern-faced TSAer who at first stands in the way of the camera's view appears to be a one-striper, who is clearly supervising the one doing the investigation.

Thus, it is at least conceivable that this is a training exercise. This does not remove the possibility that it actually is also for the public-relations purpose I suggested before. But in fact, setting aside the ludicrous overdoing of the procedures, the trainee was actually not being unpleasant.

However, given the absolute inability of the very elderly disabled woman to resist anything she did in any way, overuse of procedure, without some clear warning that some great-granny is going to be trying to go out in a flash, constitutes abuse.

Ya know, I have been a professional traveler for this century, as an international touring musician, and have therefore had the ability to watch, and be a part (don't ask unless you've got a few minutes), of airport security operations in this country and 26 more. I have been part of a couple of what could have been international incidents, had the security apparatuses (neither in the US) decided to push harder. My threat of calling the US embassies worked both times.

We as Americans have a different prevailing attitude toward government than European countries, Down Under countries, Asian countries (I've barely been to South America, and never yet to Africa). Sometimes much different indeed. It bugs us more as US citizens to see abuse in the guise of serving us all than it would bug others.

A Turk would shrug his shoulders as his grandmother was searched. And some places are so polite (like the Scandinavian countries) that something like this would never happen.

I would suggest that the ubiquitous technology of today's private citizens, as well as government of course, makes possible-- indeed, makes unavoidable-- a greater appreciation of rank stupidity when it occurs.



The relatives of the old woman had their camera going, and one commented that this film would "go viral," so clearly they were planning to let the public see what happened. And indeed, by the time I saw the video, 3,939,602 people had seen it in the 6 days since the occurrence.

My attitude is that I am responsible for my own security and that of all those around me in all transportation situations, on the ground and in the plane. I grab the exit seat whenever possible, because I want to be the one opening that door and pulling people out, not some casual flyer who hasn't given a lifetime of thought to it.

And most important, I hold security to account, both verbally as things are happening, and in the filing of reports. And for my money (and it is, at the end, my money and yours), the TSA is in most ways quite benign. One can even use the words "bomb" or terrorist" out loud, as long as you are careful how you phrase it.

Never forget that you are permitted to school the employees on what their responsibilities as citizens to their fellow citizens are. If you speak courteously and without profanities, they must listen to what you are saying, and when you are correct, the great majority will act upon it, or find some supervising three-striper who will.

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"Rob explores the difference between a natural, organic, bottom-up connection consciousness and our corporately imposed top-down hierarchical collective consciousness. What Rob is speaking about is the difference between an artificial and ultimately stagnate way of organizing the world and a natural, organic growth, which starts with a seed, sends downs roots and sends up shoots which blossom. By returning to a Nature-based theory of connection, the Bottom-Up revolution brings us back into alignment with Earths laws, returning humanity to its place in creation. Like a good gardener, Rob works into the soil of his thesis different voices that exemplify how this Bottom-Up revolution is expanding in politics, business, religion, personal self-awareness and story. And he places technology where it belongsas a tool to further our connection consciousness, not an end in itself. The bottom-up revolution is about democracy finally living up to its original ideals, where we the people decide what we need from our society."



Cathy Pagano, author of Wisdoms Daughters: How Women Can Change the WorldQuicklink Not Found

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Nearly everyday we are reading more about the radical changes in the economy on the near horizon and the subsequent impact they will have on our accustomed modes of living, brought about by the expanding use of robots in manufacturing and in computer-controlled functions in daily life. These changes are predicated upon rapid developments in artificial intelligence (AI) by which computers and robots can virtually design and operate themselves. We are already familiar with the advanced electronic safety features in new cars.Tesla cars are already equipped to be driver-less, just awaiting government certification. That is only the beginning of the transformations. The following remarks are mostly a summary of different views on the subject, both from what I have read by authorities in related fields and by common sense intuitive opinions.

1. AI will revolutionize the future by eliminating much of the drudgery of the world of work, opening up new opportunities for alternative creative life styles. The bulk of existing jobs in manufacturing, service, accounting and other sectors will be replaced by robots. These developments will bring us into a technically-pervasive world resembling versions of science fiction of today. These transformations will resolve much of the discord in the world today. Costs of products will be reduced dramatically. Abundance will change the world, improving everyone's life.

2. Artificial Intelligence will introduce a new massive wave of products, revolutionizing the marketplace, much as the miniaturization of electronics brought on a new generation of products and services to industry, business, and consumers. Everything that can possibly be automated will be attempted. New industries may replace old industries that fail to adapt. A new generation of super-rich may eclipse the former generation, but the status quo of prosperity and deprivation in the on-going carnival of wealth and distractions will not significantly change.

3. Much of the promise of AI is overblown. A rapid implementation of these new AI technologies would bring disruptive changes to the labor force. New jobs could not be created rapidly enough to offset job losses to robotic automation. AI could replace not only low-skilled jobs but many workers now at the technical level who are not involved in robot design. Theoretically, robots may eventually design and build themselves. Replacement jobs, when available, would tend to be at a less skilled, lower pay level.

Anything negatively affecting the consumer purchasing power of the workforce would tend to drag down the economy. The supposed low prices of AI manufactured products would compensate, but will these prices actually be significantly lower? If the entire AI enterprise remains under the ownership of our present private economic establishment, there will still be the incentive to maximize profits and investment dividends by all the usual means. Some basic commodities, such as food, would have limited advantage from AI, if any.

As AI is extended to more trivial aspects of the economy, its advantages of innovation would decrease. If our personal encounters in everyday life are conditioned by AI rather than by our conscious choices, there could be some serious effects on our mental constitution. The centuries-long on-going effects of industrialization, whereby trade skills are lost to mechanization, will continue unless steps are taken to replace these lost values by social programs. In general, unless AI applications are carefully monitored and wisely regulated, its impact upon the economy and society could be highly disruptive.. Social unrest could escalate.

4. Perhaps the most noteworthy opposing viewpoint to artificial intelligence has to do with its importance. How would it contribute to solving problems of racial discrimination, homelessness, health care, pollution, global warming, religious intolerance, widespread poverty and ignorance, refugees, class belligerence and wars, etc.? These are universal problems which economic developments have not solved, and frequently only aggravate. Artificial Intelligence, the Next Big Thing, could only be another distraction from these issues. It is not a social need in present times, nor are self-driving cars.

What we do need are new and revitalized social, economic, and political institutions that will address these problems directly. First of all, we need to secure our natural environment, which is the foundation supporting all human activity. We need to secure the livelihood of all peoples and elevate the human condition by universal education in the sciences and modern, enlightened concepts of social organization. By these means we can raise everyone's consciousness of their capacities to have a more fulfilling life, in harmony with their societies and mankind.

5. On the Far Side, (in the comical sense?) one might be concerned that robots could become so fully self-designed as to take on human characteristics other than machine intelligence. Instead of being our servants, they could become our masters, or even exterminate us. This is not only fodder for sci-fi authors, but of serious playwrights, going back to "RUR" ("Rossum's Universal Robots"), written by Karel Capek in 1920.Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.

I have some important news to share, and I wanted you to hear it first and directly from me:

Today, as Vermont's senator, I am announcing my intention to run for re-election to the United States Senate in 2018.

The truth is these are painful, frightening and unprecedented times.

We have seen a right-wing extremist, Republican Congress attempt to throw up to 32 million Americans off of the health care they have, give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the richest people in our country and the largest corporations, destroy environmental legislation, work aggressively to deny women the right to control their own bodies and end net neutrality.

We have a president who is not only a pathological liar but someone who is trying to win votes by dividing our nation up based on the color of our skin, our country of origin, our religion, our gender or our sexual orientation. Further, and dangerously, he is undermining our democratic institutions as he attempts to move us toward an authoritarian type society.

If re-elected, you can be sure that I will continue to be the fiercest opponent in the Senate to the right-wing extremism of Trump and the Republican leadership.

But being anti-Trump and anti-Republican is not enough. We need to continue our fight for a progressive agenda which will take on oligarchy and improve the lives of working people throughout our country. We need to keep pushing for Medicare for all, a $15/hour living wage, free college tuition at public colleges and universities and the reduction of student debt, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, fighting climate change and promoting racial, social and environmental justice.

It is my intention to run a strong grassroots campaign throughout Vermont, and I look forward to your support. In the coming weeks, I will have additional information about when and where we're going to kick-off this campaign in Vermont and how you can help.

But today, I wanted to let you know that it was my intention to run again for the Senate and to ask if you could help us reach some modest fundraising goals we need to fund this grassroots campaign.

Please make a $3 donation to my re-election campaign today. We have some modest fundraising goals to hit in order to fund this effort, so your donation will go a long way toward ensuring we win in November.

The truth is, whether it is intensifying our fight against Trumpism or increasing our efforts to spread our progressive vision in every corner of the land, no one person can do that alone. We're in this together. The progress that we've been making over the last several years is because people from all communities and of all backgrounds have made their voices heard and are prepared to stand up and fight back.

That is the political revolution -- and it continues.

In solidarity,

Bernie SandersWould you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.

From To The Point Analyses

Why is this the case? Three reasons suggest themselves:

(a) many, though not all, lawyers and judges accept as "necessary" the use of extra-legal practices in alleged emergencies; (b) in times of war or other emergencies most intellectuals, teachers, reporters and other people upon whom the public depends for information will identify with the state and lend it their uncritical support, with those who do not often being censored; and (c) under these circumstances, it comes as no surprise that the state's citizenry is easily convinced by censored or coerced media and various "responsible" personages, that an emergency exists and, as long as they remain personally unaffected, will support extra-legal acts on the part of their governments.

It is true that these conditions do not always hold, particularly, if the alleged emergency seems to have abated, allowing particularly egregious acts to come to light. The U.S. crimes at Abu Ghraib, revealed first by CBS News in 2004, are an example of this exception.

As a secondary factor allowing for the committing of state crime, the abstract and depersonalized nature of the language used in such cases should be noted. It is in the nature of bureaucracies to disperse responsibility. An order comes down from the leadership and it is carried out, not by particular persons but by a "department," a "platoon," or an "agency," etc. These subgroups are most often made up of ordinary people placed in extraordinary circumstances who, through bureaucratic or military training, and of course peer pressure, simply do their assigned task. And so we get what Hannah Arendt referred to as the "banality of evil."

It is true that, as President Truman was fond of saying, the "buck stops"... somewhere -- usually with a president, prime minister, cabinet, central committee or what have you. However, unless these folks end up on the losing side of a serious war, they are almost never held personally responsible for the orders they gave or the policies they implement. Indeed, it is only if you are a leader of small power committing state crimes, and are without a great power patron, that you might have to worry. Otherwise, you can be a mass murderer and still expect to die in your own bed.

-- Myanmar (Burma): According to Amnesty International the government of Myanmar has brutally driven over half a million men, women and children of the Rohingya (Muslim) minority out of the country -- an effort that was accompanied by "widespread and systematic murder, rape and burning."

-- Egypt: According to reports produced by Human Rights Watch, the regime of "President" Abdel Fattah al-Sisi maintains power through a campaign of mass torture. "Political detainees are routinely tortured and sometimes raped." By the way, al-Sisi is a military officer who pulled off a 2013 coup against Egypt's first and only fairly elected government, and then, in 2014, had himself elected "president" in a rigged election.

One can go on like this for quite a while: there is Zimbabwe (which has only recently rid itself of its long standing dictator Robert Mugabe), Uzbekistan, North Korea, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, China (where the Party leader has just been given power for life), Syria, Laos -- and on it goes. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

And then there is Israel: Please note that I have listed a slew of criminal states before mentioning the Zionist state. This is because supporters of Israel are always lamenting that their state is being picked on by people who ignore the crimes of others -- creating a case of double standards. Oddly, their complaint implicitly accepts that Israel is also guilty of criminal behavior, but otherwise should not be singled out. Not wanting to have to bother with this diversionary Zionist tactic, I introduce the criminal state of Israel, at this point.

According to Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, B'tselem (Israel's own human rights organization), and literally dozens of United Nations resolutions, Israel consistently acts as a criminal state. It has an ongoing policy of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians, which also involves the establishment of illegal colonies on militarily occupied land. It uses lethal violence against unarmed protesters, as the recent massacres along the Gaza border have prominently demonstrated. It imprisons large numbers of Palestinians, including children, for acts as simple as protesting Israeli violence. It goes after civilian targets in its wars against Gaza and Lebanon. It purposely destroys civilian infrastructure on the West Bank and Gaza. It runs a regime that segregates out non-Jews from Jews in terms of housing, job preferences, and benefits and tries to cover up the resulting apartheid reality with a thin veil of tokenism. And it does all this while claiming to be the "only democracy in the Middle East" -- which is false but persistent propaganda. Is Israel really a criminal state? Well, you know the old saying, "if it quacks like a duck, it's a duck."

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From No More Fake News

Well, you see, the mole wasn't a spy, he was an informant. Aha. Let's use a microscope to tell the difference.

The mole: Stefan Halper, a Cambridge professor.

Supposedly, Halper was gathering information for the FBI about a suspected Trump-Russia connection.

Well, what else has Halper done? At The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald reports: "Four decades ago, Halper was responsible for a long-forgotten spying scandal involving the 1980 election, in which the Reagan campaign -- using CIA officials managed by Halper, reportedly under the direction of former CIA Director and then-Vice-Presidential candidate George H.W. Bush -- got caught running a spying operation from inside the Carter administration. The plot involved CIA operatives passing classified information about Carter's foreign policy to Reagan campaign officials in order to ensure the Reagan campaign knew of any foreign policy decisions that Carter was considering."

Oops. That doesn't smell good. CIA operatives, managed by Halper, infiltrated the presidential campaign, spied on Jimmy Carter and his advisors, and relayed information about Carter's foreign policy to Reagan's team.

But we're supposed to believe, without evidence, that in 2016 Halper was only trying to dig up information on a Trump-Russia connection.

What more do we know about Stefan Halper, the mole for hire? Breitbart: "Halper...served as an assistant to all three of President Gerald Ford's Chief of Staffs -- Alexander Haig, Donald Rumsfeld, and Dick Cheney..." Quite a trio of politicians. I don't think you'd want to list them on your resume, if you were applying for a job with an organization that showed a shred of ethics.

And then there is this: In 1984, Halper was the chairman of the Palmer National Bank. Breitbart: "White House official Oliver North wired loaned funds from the Palmer National Bank to a Swiss bank account, which were later used to aid the [Nicaraguan] contras." The contras, backed by the CIA, were trying to derail the Sandinista government, and in the process, reportedly carried out over 1,000 terrorist attacks. Transferring funds from the US to the contras was illegal.

Glenn Greenwald: "...the CIA operative and FBI informant [Stefan Halper] used to gather information on the Trump campaign in the 2016 campaign has, for weeks, been falsely depicted as a sensitive intelligence asset rather than what he actually is: a long-time CIA operative with extensive links to the Bush family who was responsible for a dirty and likely illegal spying operation in the 1980 presidential election."

But don't worry. Nothing untoward is going on here. The FBI merely needed a man on the inside of the Trump campaign, to make sure Russia wasn't exercising undue influence on the 2016 presidential election. Nothing more. No problem. Just ask the FBI. They'll confirm this. The FBI high echelon is squeaky clean. They never lie.

One other thing. Stefan Halper's father-in-law was Ray Cline, an infamous CIA agent. From Wikispooks: "Cline has been an outspoken proponent of disinformation and direct manipulation of the press by the CIA. In testimony before the House Select Committee on Intelligence, Cline defended the use of such covert devices as black propaganda and the funding of journalists, arguing that 'the First Amendment is only an amendment.'

"He [Cline] later became director of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (1969-73), where he helped coordinate the CIA's destabilization and eventual overthrow of the Allende government in Chile."

But again, no problem. Why would we even suspect Halper was engaged in anything illegal during his time as a mole inside the Trump campaign?

The FBI is pure as the driven snow. So is the CIA. All is well.

If you buy that, I have condos for sale on the dark side of the moon.Would you like to know how many people have read this article? Or how reputable the author is? Simply sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.

This piece was reprinted by OpEdNews with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.

From Caitlin Johnstone Website

On the fourth of March, in the sleepy British cathedral town of Salisbury, an ex-spy named Sergei Skripal was poisoned by an assassin with the most deadly nerve agent known to man.

The Russian government was immediately blamed by a shocked and outraged world. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson assured the people of Great Britain that "There's no doubt" that Moscow was responsible. In a large and sudden leap forward in cold war escalations, Russian diplomats were thrown out of countries all around the globe, including my own Australia, in a show of solidarity with the United Kingdom. It was the largest collective ejection of Russian diplomats in history.

Two months after his earth-shattering assassination, as the world stared spellbound at the weekend's immensely popular PR spectacle of a royal wedding, Sergei Skripal was quietly discharged from the hospital he'd been staying at. The BBC reports that he is walking and approaching complete recovery.

Wait a second. Haven't I seen this Python skit before?

So to recap, an ex-spy who had been retired and strategically irrelevant for years was reportedly poisoned by the Kremlin with Novichok, a scary Russian-sounding word which refers to a group of extremely deadly and fast-acting nerve agents that start shutting down the body's muscles and respiratory system within 30 seconds to two minutes. Except in the case of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia it was several hours with a leisurely stroll, a meal, and beers in between.

The poison was placed in Yulia Skripal's suitcase. Actually no, they got that wrong, it was the air vents in their car. Wait, no, that doesn't work either. Maybe it was administered via weaponized miniature drone! Wait, no, it was the family's car door handle. Actually, scratch that, it was the front door of the house. Definitely the front door of the house. We're absolutely sure. Either that or Sergei Skripal's favorite Russian cereal. They were given 100 grams of Novichok. Wait, no, that's ridiculous, we retract that. Okay, maybe we have no idea what happened. Oh hey, their pets were completely unaffected by the poison. Let's incinerate them.

Oh, and Johnson's claim that the Porton Down laboratory had assured him "There's no doubt" that Russia was behind the poisoning? Turns out that was just a bald-faced lie; Porton Down said no such thing and it was never its job to make such an assessment. Johnson lied, and both the Foreign Office and British mainstream media attempted to cover it up; tweets were deleted, transcripts were re-written, and narratives were given a good spin of historic revisionism by asserting that the UK government's unequivocal insistence that the Kremlin poisoned the Skripals had been merely a "suggestion."

And now both Sergei and Yulia Skripal, alleged victims of a poisoning by highly trained assassins using the deadliest nerve agent ever created, are doing fine. But you're still supposed to fear and hate Russia. Just don't think too hard about it or remember too much.

Remember Aleppo? I wouldn't blame you if you didn't; corporate media outlets hardly ever talk about it anymore. It's almost like they want us to forget the horror stories they told us about how the city that had been occupied by good, noble freedom fighters was about to be taken by an army of depraved psychopaths who wanted to rape women, burn children alive, and shoot civilians in their homes. Back at the tail end of 2016, though, it was all you ever heard about. The "fall of Aleppo," they called it. If the west didn't intervene to stop Damascus and Moscow from retaking East Aleppo from the good-hearted rebels, everyone there would be raped, tortured, and butchered by the soulless army of the Syrian government.

Well, Moscow and Damascus did recapture East Aleppo, and it turns out that everything we were told about it was a lie. The atrocities the Syrian Arab Army were accused of intending to commit proved to be completely unfounded, those "freedom fighters" were predominantly cruel Al Qaeda affiliates, and the city is now thriving and bustling with busy marketplaces. But after all the constant apocalyptic alarmism, the mass media outlets who'd been warning of all the horrific crimes against humanity which would surely be committed after the "fall of Aleppo" forgot all about the city once they were proven completely wrong about everything.

Aleppo was pushed down the memory hole. It's a non-thing now. Turns out Gary Johnson was ahead of the curve.

How about Libya? Remember Libya? Libya's that country that got pushed down the memory hole the second the western empire got the regime change it was after. Before Muammar Gaddafi was mutilated in the streets to the sadistic cackles of Hillary Clinton, we were all told with increasing urgency that humanitarian interventionism was needed because Gaddafi's troops are doing evil things like taking Viagra to help them commit mass rapes against Libyan civilians. Now Gaddafi is dead, we know that both the case for humanitarian interventionism and the Viagra-for-rape stories were lies, and Libya is a humanitarian disaster with an open slave trade after western interventionism created a failed state.

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This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.

Here's a recent typical headline about the upcoming talks between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un: "Will Trump's Ignorance (and Bolton's Impetuousness) Doom the North Korea Summit?"

When it comes to ignorance, there can be little question that the Trump administration is in a league all its own. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, for instance, recently referred to Kim as "Chairman Un" (perhaps confusing him with the U.N.), which would be as if someone referred to Pompeo as Secretary of State Mike. Meanwhile, who could claim that new National Security Advisor John Bolton, a man who still thinks the invasion of Iraq (which he championed) was a fine idea and has long called for an American policy of bombing both Iran and North Korea, is anything but impetuous? He's similarly promoted the idea of "eliminating" the North Korean regime in a forced reunification of that peninsula. And yet, I can imagine another headline entirely about that June 12th meeting scheduled for Singapore (despite present bumps in the road on the way there): "Will Trump's Ignorance (and Bolton's Impetuousness) Ensure the Summit's Success?"

Let's start with this: we in the United States have long thought of Kim Jong-un as a madman. In fact, Donald Trump used that very word back when he was still referring to Chairman Un as "Little Rocket Man," a leader on "a suicide mission for himself." That, of course, was before he became, in the president's eyes, a "very honorable" person. Is he, in fact, a grim leader, perfectly capable of ordering the death of his own half-brother? You bet. Is he a madman? I'd put my money on the opposite. I suspect that he's a canny guy with a fairly clear-eyed view of North Korea's sole trump card (those nuclear weapons and the missiles to carry them) and the country's deficits (an economy that, to put it kindly, is struggling in a kind of illegal international nether world).

I suspect that he will arrive in Singapore with a clear plan and will find himself in a room with an impulsive, self-obsessed man easily swayed by praise, flattery, and Obama-topping Nobel dreams. The combination might turn out to be a formula not for "doom" when it comes to a future agreement, but for success, especially since it's clear that the future war Trump and his men are focused on isn't on the Korean peninsula with a nuclear-armed power, but halfway across the world, where Iran is distinctly in their gun sights.

It's easy to forget just how preoccupied we are with, well, ourselves as the ultimate focus of everything. So there have been a million pieces written on Trump and the Korean situation, but it's remarkable how few of them actually focus on the Koreas, north and south. Today, TomDispatch regular John Feffer, author of the dystopian novel Splinterlands and most recently Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europe's Broken Dreams, does something quite different. He puts the spotlight on Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. What he points out is just how cleverly the two of them have taken control of the Korean situation, playing President Donald Trump like a fiddle, and why, against all odds, that just might indeed lead to a Nobel-worthy result in a world otherwise increasingly gone mad. Tom

Playing Trump for Peace

How the Korean Peninsula Could Become a Bright Spot in a World Gone Mad

By John Feffer When, in early March, Donald Trump agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the Washington foreign policy elite nearly suffered a collective heart attack. For one thing, the announcement came as a complete surprise. Trump had telegraphed his other foreign policy bombshells well in advance: leaving the Paris climate accord, ripping up the Iran nuclear deal, reversing de'tente with Cuba. North Korea was another matter. Trump had repeatedly insulted Kim Jong-un in his trademark style, calling him "Little Rocket Man" on Twitter and threatening at the U.N. in September 2017 to "totally destroy North Korea." Official Washington was braced for war, not peace. You'd think, then, that an announcement of jaw-jaw, not war-war, would have met with universal acclaim in the nation's capital. Instead, observers across the ideological spectrum found fault with Trump and his attempt to denuclearize North Korea through negotiations. They criticized his timing, his impulsiveness, even the fact that the announcement came from South Korean representatives visiting Washington and not the president himself. Experts on Korea promptly decried the president's move because he hadn't demanded any North Korean concessions first. "We'd expect such a highly symbolic meeting to happen after some concrete deliverables were in hand, not before," tweeted New America Foundation fellow Suzanne DiMaggio. (In fact, the North Koreans had declared a moratorium on further testing of their nukes and missiles, but that apparently didn't count.) Worse yet, the North Koreans were getting the summit of their dreams for nothing. "Kim will accomplish the dream of his father and grandfather by making North Korea a nuclear state," tweeted Abraham Denmark, head of Asia programs at the Wilson Center, "and gain tremendous prestige and legitimacy by meeting with an American president as an equal. All without giving up a single warhead or missile." Although some foreign policy professionals did express cautious optimism that something good could still come from the first summit between an American president and a North Korean leader -- now officially scheduled for June 12th in Singapore -- the overall verdict was one of barely concealed dismay. "The U.S. has been getting played and outmaneuvered the past three months... and it's happening again, right now," tweeted former Pentagon official Van Jackson. Skepticism is, of course, the default position of the foreign policy community. Bad things happen all the time in geopolitics; peace is an extraordinarily difficult feat to pull off; and most diplomatic outcomes are, at best, glass-half-full affairs. So, for pundits eager to maintain their gigs on network TV and a steady stream of interview requests from print journalists, it was a far better bet to put their chips on double zero. And it's true, the history of U.S.-North Korean relations has been a graveyard of defunct initiatives: the Agreed Framework of 1994, the Six Party Talks from 2003 to 2007, the Leap Day Agreement of 2012. If North Korea were to cancel the summit because of U.S.-South Korean military exercises or the inflammatory statements of John Bolton, it would become just another headstone. Far more competent negotiators than Donald Trump tried their hands at preventing the North from going nuclear and suffered epic fails. More troubling still, Trump was preparing for negotiations without even an ambassador in South Korea, lacking a special representative for North Korean policy, and with a new secretary of state barely confirmed by the Senate. In other words, at that key moment, "understaffed" would have been an understatement when it came to the U.S. diplomatic corps and the Koreas. Finally, both Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump have posted some of the highest negatives since Attila the Hun. The notion that two such wrongs could make a right certainly tests the credulity of the most dispassionate observer. You wouldn't normally want to buy a used car, much less a complex diplomatic deal, from either of them.

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"Is this for real?" - LAUSD Board Member Scott Schmerelson

Schmerelson has now provided additional information about the LAUSD Board's actions leading up to the appointment of Austin Beutner as the new Superintendent. In a presentation before the Northridge East Neighborhood Council last Wednesday, he confirmed that a vote was taken on April 20. Additionally, he divulged that "certain Board members had this planned months ago." Originally, he was told that "Beutner [was] going to work for one dollar." However, the other Board members ignored their fiduciary duty to the students of the LAUSD and taxpayers by voting for a contract that pays him $350,000 annually.

In describing Beutner's conversations with the Board prior to his being hired, Schmerelson states that "it was the worst interviews [that] I have ever seen in my entire life. Not one question was answered about education." Every time Schmerelson "asked a question about education, [Beutner] couldn't answer because he really didn't know." In selecting Beutner, the Board passed over Vivian Ekchian, whom Schmerelson described as a "wonderful, lifetime educator. Smart. Good heart. Considerate" and "an easy pick to be Superintendent."

Schmerelson acknowledges that Beutner's experience as an investment banker could be of benefit and says that he would have been open to having him consult with the District and Ekchian as Superintendent, a role that requires a working knowledge of how education works. Perhaps this is a scenario that could play out if the Los Angeles District Attorney finds that the Brown Act was violated and voids any votes that were taken as a result. This would also give the Board a second chance to be honest with the public in a process that values their input above backroom dealings with their donors and provides an example of an open government that actually puts kids first.

____________________________________________

Carl Petersen is a parent and special education advocate, elected member of the Northridge East Neighborhood Council and was a Green Party candidate in LAUSD's District 2 School Board race. During the campaign, he was endorsed by Network for Public Education (NPE) Action and Dr. Diane Ravitch called him a "strong supporter of public schools." His past blogs can be found at www.ChangeTheLAUSD.com. Opinions are his own.Global Swiss Lathe Market Forecast 2018-2025 HANWHA MACHINERY, Comco, Kondoh Seisakusho, Ergomat

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Recently added detailed market study "Global Swiss Lathe Market" examines the performance of the Swiss Lathe market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Swiss Lathe market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Swiss Lathe market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Swiss Lathe Market 2018 report includes Swiss Lathe market Revenue, market Share, Swiss Lathe industry volume, market Trends, Swiss Lathe Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Swiss Lathe Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2025.Firstly, the report covers the top Swiss Lathe manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Market Forecast Report on Top Manufacturers companies are CAZENEUVE(France), CITIZEN MACHINERY MIYANO CO.,LTD(Taiwan), Comco(Japan), DMG MORI(Germany), Doosan Machine Tools(China), Ergomat(US), ESCO S.A.(US), HANWHA MACHINERY(China), HUMARD Automation SA(US), Kondoh Seisakusho(Japan).To Get Sample Report Click Here:Swiss Lathe Market By Application are For Mass Production, For Bar MachiningSwiss Lathe Market By Type are CNC, ConventionalFurther, the Swiss Lathe report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Swiss Lathe industry, Swiss Lathe industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Swiss Lathe Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Swiss Lathe 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 Swiss Lathe market revenue worldwide.Finally, Swiss Lathe 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:"GlobeInfoResearch.com" 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 Us:3626 North Hall Street (Two Oak Lawn),Suite 610,Dallas, TX 75219, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@globeinforesearch.comSleeping Bruxism Treatment Market Growth & Trend to 2018-2023: MRFR

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The Global Sleeping Bruxism Treatment Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 6.5% during the forecast period, 2017-2023.Bruxism is a condition characterized by grinding, gnashing or clenching of teeth. There are two types of bruxism viz. awaake bruxism and sleep bruxism. Sleep bruxism is considered a sleep-related movement disorder. People who clench or grind their teeth (brux) during sleep are more likely to have other sleep disorders as well such as snoring or irregular breathing while asleep (sleep apnea). Mild bruxism may not require treatment. However, in some cases, bruxism can be frequent and severe enough to lead jaw disorders, headaches, damaged teeth, and other related problems. The major symptoms include teeth grinding or clenching, loud enough to cause abrupt sleeping; flattened, fractured, chipped, or loose teeth; worn tooth enamel exposing deeper layers of tooth, increased tooth pain or sensitivity; tired or tight jaw muscles or a locked jaw that won't open or close completely, and others. Risk factors include stress, age, and others. The sleeping bruxism treatment market growth is majorly attributed to the increasing prevalence of dental diseases and consequently growing dental procedures along with rising funding and healthcare insurance coverage. According to the American Dental Association, in 2014, 52.3% of adults reported to visit the dentist every six months, 15.4% reported once per year, and 11.0% reported once every two to three years. According to the Pew Center in the U.S., in 2010, the Americans spend USD 106 billion on dental care. Moreover, according to the American Dental Association, in 2010, over 600 million dental procedures were performed which will continuously increase in coming future. On the other hand, expensive treatment may hamper the market growth during the forecast period.Segmentation:The Sleeping Bruxism Treatment is segmented on the basis of diagnosis, treatment, and end-users.On the basis of the diagnosis, the market is segmented into clinical examination, electromyographic methods, polysomnography, and others.On the basis of the treatment, the market is segmented into dental approaches and medications. The dental approaches segment is further sub-segmented into splints and mouth guards, dental correction, and others. The medications segment is further sub-segmented into muscle relaxants, botox injections, medication for anxiety or stress, and others.On the basis of the end-user, the market is segmented into hospitals & clinics, research centers, dental clinics, and others.Key Players:Some of key the players in the global sleeping bruxism treatment market are Patterson Dental (U.S.), Henry Schein (U.S.), Dentsply Sirona (U.S.), 3M (U.S.), Straumann (Switzerland), Danaher Corporation (Switzerland), PLANMECA OY (Finland), Carestream Health, Inc. (U.S.), Biolase Inc (U.S.), KERR Corporation (U.S.), GC orthodontics (Germany), American Orthodontics (U.S.), Zimmer Holdings Inc. (U.S.), Ivoclar Vivadent AG (Liechtenstein), Gentle Dentistry, LLC (U.S.), and othersGet Sample Copy @Regional Analysis:The Global Sleeping Bruxism Treatment Market consists of countries namely the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa.The Americas dominate the global sleeping bruxism treatment market owing to well-developed technology, increasing patient with dental problems, high healthcare spending, and increasing government support for research & development. Furthermore, increased R&D activities and the concentration of major companies in the region have fuelled the growth of the market in this region.Europe holds the second position in the global sleeping bruxism treatment market owing to the government support for research & development and availability of funds for research. Moreover, this is expected to continue to drive the European market over the forecasted period. For instance, countries like Germany and France are increasing investment in the healthcare domain.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing sleeping bruxism treatment market owing to the presence of rapidly developing healthcare technology, huge patient population, and high healthcare expenditure. Moreover, increasing demand for new treatment methods for dental diseases in countries like India and South Korea is likely to emerge as the fastest growing market across the globe. Furthermore, increasing demand for quality devices in the healthcare is projected to lead to the use of advanced equipment, which, in turn, will increase the market growth of sleeping bruxism treatment in the region.On the other hand, in the Middle East and Africa, dental problems have become a huge problem due to limited screening, ignorance of diseases, and poor access to treatment.Table of Content1 Report Prologue2 Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations3 Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size Estimation4 Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restrains4.3 Opportunities4.4 Challenges4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators4.6 Technology Trends & AssessmentContinuedApply for Discount @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comMRFR has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.Our Research Analysts are eager to share their knowledge and assist you in refining market research parameters, choosing right market studies, and evaluating both the market scope and the research methodologies of varied segments.We bridge the gap between our clients and their clients by identifying and decoding just the target group, while generating leads with the highest accuracy.Years of research into diverse fields of work has ingrained within us, a proficiency so distinguished that our industry-specific specialists identify with your business ideas and feel the pulse of your challenges and opportunities. This enables us for providing assistance, through our consulting and strategic consulting services, in informed managerial decision making. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industries, WantStats Research and Media often conducts industrial visits for its research analysts. Relevant inputs from various established market participants, help our clients make significant contribution in respective markets are a huge motivation for all of us to endlessly furnish quality. We depend greatly on profound insights into complex realms of our study.Pune, India[May 21, 2018] Obama's Digital Director Heads to Johannesburg for Digital Transformation Congress JOHANNESBURG, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Digital Transformation Congress, organised by IT News Africa, will take place on 26 July 2018 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, with "Redefining the future organisation through digital" as the running theme of the day. The congress will assemble a variety of industries all in one room, as business leaders and technology innovators come together to shape the future of business and IT through digital transformation.



Included in the event's selection of world-class speakers is 'Obama White House digital leader', Tom Cochran. With nearly 20 years of digital experience, Tom Cochran is a digital transformation consultant and executive keynote speaker (www.thomascochran.com), who's spent over four years in the Obama administration as a presidential appointee and digital leader helping advance the President's open government directive.



While serving in government, he ran digital technology for the White House and global diplomacy platforms for the State Department. In the private sector, he's served as the Chief Digital Strategist and VP, Public Sector for Acquia, helping organizations adopt cloud-based, open-source digital engagement platforms, and he was also the Chief Technology Officer for Atlantic Media (i.e. The Atlantic, Quartz brands). Early in his career, he was a senior software engineer for BlueState Digital, building the platforms which would grow into President Obama's digital campaign, raising $1.2 billion over two election cycles.



At the Digital Transformation Congress, Cochran will share his exceptional insight and expertise under the keynote topic, "Yes we can. Yes we did. Digital transformation in the Obama White House".



Other key topics to be discussed include:



 Digital Transformation: A marriage between public and private sector

 Developing a digital transformation roadmap

 Business Transformation: Re-thinking business - IT alignment

 Digital transformation: From customer-aware to customer-led

 Re-aligning your business model to more effectively engage digital customers

 National Transformation: Initiating high-impact digital initiatives

 Turning Innovation into Growth: Creating future digital service models

 The future of digital experiences



Key speakers for #DigitalTransformationCongress:



 Andrew Atta Darfoor, Group CEO: Alexander Forbes

 Vera Nagtegaal, Executive Head: Hippo.co.za

 Lisa Macleod, Head of Digital: Tiso Blackstar

 Kenny Moodley, Strategic Head: Digital & Social Media at Eskom Holdings SOC

 Sindisiwe Nhlapho Dlamini-Moloi, CIO at Transnet

 Birgitta Cederstrom, Global Commercial Director: Frost & Sullivan

 Lazaros Karapanagiotidis, Head of Digital Innovation: Makro

 Nneka Keshi, Director of Digital Marketing Africa, L'oreal

 Lizelle Vaughan, Director of Digital Strategy: Liberty Group

 Sam Nkosi, CIO: Sasria SOC



For more information about this conference, visit: www.digitaltransformationcongress.com About IT News Africa IT News Africa is a dynamic media company that specialises in publishing, events as well as marketing and advertising solutions for the information age. We have a global publishing network and international client base, which we service from offices in Johannesburg. Publishing and Events: Publishing: ITNewsAfrica.com Events: Healthcare Innovation Summit, IoT Forum Africa, Digital Transformation Congress



Media Contact: Philani Moyo

+27-110260982

philani@itnewsafrica.com

SOURCE IT News Africa

[ Back to the Next Generation Communications Community's Homepage ]Confectioneries Market Outlook 2022: Top Companies, Trends and Future Prospects Details for Business Development

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ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the 2017-2022 Global and Japan Confectioneries Market Analysis Report report detailed insights about the aspects responsible for augmenting as well as restraining market growth and analyses the market potential for each geographical region based on the growth rate, macroeconomic parameters, consumer buying patterns, and market demand and supply scenarios.Geographically, This report, with focus on top players in the global and Japan, studies the Confectioneries market's development status and future trend in the global and Japan. It splits Confectioneries market by type and by applications to fully and deeply research and reveal market profile and prospect. Market share and growth rate of Navigational Inertial System in these regions, from 2017 to 2022 (forecast), covering Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Others.The major players includeFerrero Group (Italy)Hershey's (US)Mars (US)Mondelez International (US)Nestl (Switzerland)Amul (India)Barcel (US)Brookside Foods (Canada)Cemoi (France)Crown Confectionery (South Korea)Fazer Group (Finland)Haribo (Germany)Jelly Belly (US)Kegg's Candies (US)Kraft Foods (US)Lindt & Sprungli (Switzerland)Lotte (Japan)Meiji (Japan)Parle Products (India)Perfetti Van Melle (Italy)Petra Foods (Singapore)United Confectioners (Russia)Warrell (US)Yildiz Holding (Turkey)Get sample of report @On the basis of product, the Confectioneries market is primarily split intoBy productBiscuit & CookieCereal barsChocolate confectioneryGumOthersBy Fat LevelFat-freeLow-fatOthersKey ApplicationsBakery ConfectionsSugar ConfectionsBrowse Complete Report @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global 2017-2022 Confectioneries capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2017-2022) ;Focuses on the key 2017-2022 Confectioneries manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.Ask for Discount on Report @Table of Content2017-2022 Global and Japan Confectioneries Market Analysis Report1 Confectioneries Overview2 Global and Japan Confectioneries Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers3 Global and Japan Confectioneries Sales and Revenue by Regions (2012-2017)4 Global and Japan Confectioneries Players/Manufacturers Profiles and Sales Data4.1 Ferrero Group (Italy)4.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors4.1.2 Confectioneries Product Category, Application and Specification4.1.2.1 Product A4.1.2.2 Product B4.1.3 Ferrero Group (Italy) Confectioneries Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%)(2012-2017)4.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.2 Hershey's (US)4.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors4.2.2 Confectioneries Product Category, Application and Specification4.2.2.1 Product A4.2.2.2 Product B4.2.3 Hershey's (US) Confectioneries Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%)(2012-2017)4.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.3 Mars (US)4.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors4.3.2 Confectioneries Product Category, Application and Specification4.3.2.1 Product A4.3.2.2 Product B4.3.3 Mars (US) Confectioneries Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%)(2012-2017)4.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview5 Confectioneries Manufacturing Cost Analysis6 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers7 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders8 Market Effect Factors Analysis9 Global and Japan Confectioneries Market Size (Sales and Revenue) Forecast (2017-2022)Place Direct Purchase order For Complete report @ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiOrganization: ReportsWebEmail: sales@reportsweb.comPhone: +1-646-491-9876505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028Food Automation Market Overview, Segmentation & Competitive Landscape by Focusing On Top Key Vendors

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ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the 2017-2022 Global and Japan Food Automation Market Analysis Report report detailed insights about the aspects responsible for augmenting as well as restraining market growth and analyses the market potential for each geographical region based on the growth rate, macroeconomic parameters, consumer buying patterns, and market demand and supply scenarios.Geographically, this report studies the Food Automation market's development status and future trend in Japan, focuses on top players in Japan, also splits Food Automation market by type and by applications, to fully and deeply research and reveal the market general situation and future forecast. Market share and growth rate of Navigational Inertial System in these regions, from 2017 to 2022 (forecast), covering Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Others.The major players includeRockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.)Siemens AG (Germany)ABB Ltd (Switzerland)Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Japan)Schneider Electric SE (France)Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Japan)GEA Group (Germany)Fortive Corporation (U.S.)Yaskawa Electric Corporation (Japan)Rexnord Corporation (U.S.)Emerson Electric Co. (U.S.)Nord Drivesystems (Germany)Henan Chengli Grain&Oil Machinery Co., Ltd. (China)Taizhou Zhongda Environmental Protection Equipment Co., Ltd. (China)Dongguan Coso Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. (China)Get sample of report @On the basis of product, the Food Automation market is primarily split intoBy FunctionProcessingPackaging & RepackagingPalletizingSorting & GradingPicking & PlacingBy CategoryMotors & generatorsMotor controlsDiscrete controllers & visualizationRotary productsLinear productsKey ApplicationsDairyBakeryConfectioneryFruit & vegetableMeat, poultry, and seafoodBeveragesOthersBrowse Complete Report @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global 2017-2022 Food Automation capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2017-2022) ;Focuses on the key 2017-2022 Food Automation manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.Ask for Discount on Report @Table of Content2017-2022 Global and Japan Food Automation Market Analysis Report1 Food Automation Overview2 Global and Japan Food Automation Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers3 Global and Japan Food Automation Sales and Revenue by Regions (2012-2017)4 Global and Japan Food Automation Players/Manufacturers Profiles and Sales Data4.1 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.)4.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors4.1.2 Food Automation Product Category, Application and Specification4.1.2.1 Product A4.1.2.2 Product B4.1.3 Rockwell Automation, Inc. (U.S.) Food Automation Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%)(2012-2017)4.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.2 Siemens AG (Germany)4.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors4.2.2 Food Automation Product Category, Application and Specification4.2.2.1 Product A4.2.2.2 Product B4.2.3 Siemens AG (Germany) Food Automation Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%)(2012-2017)4.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview4.3 ABB Ltd (Switzerland)4.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors4.3.2 Food Automation Product Category, Application and Specification4.3.2.1 Product A4.3.2.2 Product B4.3.3 ABB Ltd (Switzerland) Food Automation Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%)(2012-2017)4.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview5 Food Automation Manufacturing Cost Analysis6 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers7 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders8 Market Effect Factors Analysis9 Global and Japan Food Automation Market Size (Sales and Revenue) Forecast (2017-2022)Place Direct Purchase order For Complete report @ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiOrganization: ReportsWebEmail: sales@reportsweb.comPhone: +1-646-491-9876505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028System on Chip Market - Analysis by Current Industry Status & Growth Opportunities, Top Key Players and Forecast to 2025

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The vendor landscape of the global System on Chip (SoC) market is largely consolidated, with the leading three players collectively accounting for a massive 68% of the global market in 2016, with Qualcomm Inc. alone accounting for a huge 38.6% in the same year, observes Transparency Market Research in a recent report. The highly competitive market, with established companies having a stronghold on most key regional markets, is witnessing attempts by large companies to further consolidate the marketplace by acquiring relatively smaller companies in high-potential regional markets.Request a PDF Research Brochure atThe mounting use of smart devices such as laptops and smartphones across the globe in the past few years has provided a huge thrust to the global SoC market. Moreover, the development of technologically advanced SoCs that house more features within a specified area, leading to better resistivity of wires and higher interconnectivity, is further driving the global SoC market. Application of these functions has resulted in the declining cost per function of integrated circuits (ICs).Obtain Report Details @The lowering of costs per function of ICs has been another major driver of the global SoC market, further enhancing the applications of SoCs across different industry verticals. The vast developments in the field of ICs in recent years, allowing significant design changes in microcontrollers and microprocessors and making it possible to embed different patterns within a single chip, have also been key to the development of the global SoC market in the past few years.Transparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals.Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories.State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesUSA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Global Computer Assisted Coding Systems Market Forecast 2018-2025 Cerner, 3M Company, Mckesson, OptumInsight

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A comprehensive market study on "Global Computer Assisted Coding Systems Market 2018-2025" examines the performance of the Computer Assisted Coding Systems market. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Computer Assisted Coding Systems market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Computer Assisted Coding Systems market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Leading Manufacturers Analysis such as - 3M Company, Artificial Medical, Cerner Corporation, Dolbey Systems, Mckesson Corporation, Nuance Communications, OptumInsight, Precyse Solutions, Trucode, Phoenix Health, Mediccio, MedKoder, Leidos Health.The Global Computer Assisted Coding Systems Market 2018 report includes Computer Assisted Coding Systems market Revenue, market Share, Computer Assisted Coding Systems industry volume, market Trends, Computer Assisted Coding Systems Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Computer Assisted Coding Systems Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2025.Request Sample Copy of Report:Firstly, the report covers the top Computer Assisted Coding Systems manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Computer Assisted Coding Systems Market Segmented Based on Application - Hospitals, Physician Practices, Clinical Laboratories, Academic Medical Centers, Other.Computer Assisted Coding Systems Market Segmented Based on Type - Cloud Based CACS, On-Premise CACS.Further, the Computer Assisted Coding Systems report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Computer Assisted Coding Systems industry, Computer Assisted Coding Systems industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Computer Assisted Coding Systems Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Computer Assisted Coding Systems 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 Computer Assisted Coding Systems market revenue worldwide.Finally, Computer Assisted Coding Systems 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:QYMarketStudy.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact Us:3626 North Hall Street (Two Oak Lawn),Suite 610,Dallas, TX 75219, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@qymarketstudy.comGlobal Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Market Forecast 2018-2025 Fives, Honeywell, Foster Wheeler

Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Market

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A comprehensive market study on "Global Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Market 2018-2025" examines the performance of the Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems market. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Leading Manufacturers Analysis such as - Honeywell International, JOHN ZINK COMPANY, Fives, Foster Wheeler, ZEECO, SAACKE Group, CSIC-711, Anguil Environmental, Process Combustion Corporation, Sunpower Group, B&W MEGTEC, TORNADO Combustion Technologies, AEREON, Bayeco, Ruichang, Torch.The Global Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Market 2018 report includes Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems market Revenue, market Share, Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems industry volume, market Trends, Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2025.Request Sample Copy of Report:Firstly, the report covers the top Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Market Segmented Based on Application - Oil and Gas, Chemical industry, Electricity, Others.Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Market Segmented Based on Type - Process Burners, Process Flares, Thermal Oxidizer Systems.Further, the Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems industry, Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems 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 Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems market revenue worldwide.Finally, Process Burners, Process Flares & Thermal Oxidizer Systems 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:QYMarketStudy.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact Us:3626 North Hall Street (Two Oak Lawn),Suite 610,Dallas, TX 75219, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@qymarketstudy.comGlobal Laser Resurfacing Market Grows due to Rise in Demand from Developing Countries with Prominent Players like Alma Lasers, Altair Instruments, Lumenis Cynosure, Inc. etc. during 2018-2023

Laser Resurfacing Market

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The cosmetic industry has exhibited tremendous growth form last few years. There has been a growing awareness and demand for new cosmetic procedures and devices due to technological advancements, such as laser therapy, etc. The increasing prevalence of skin problems such as acne, wrinkles, and others coupled with the exponential growth of cosmetic industry also accelerated the global market for laser resurfacing. The Global Laser Resurfacing Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% during the forecast period.Click to Get Sample Report @Laser resurfacing, also known as lasabrasion, laser peel, or laser vaporization is used for the treatment of various skin problems such as facial wrinkles and acne scars. A laser beam is used for the removal of skin layer by layer. It is of two types namely ablative and non-ablative. CO2 laser resurfacing and erbium laser resurfacing are most commonly used ablative laser resurfacing procedures. Non-ablative laser resurfacing includes infrared lasers, fractional laser, high impact light sources, and others. The procedure is most widely used in dermatology clinics for some skin problems, especially among women.Rising skin problems such as acne, wrinkles, skin pigmentation, and growing demand for minimally invasive medical procedures are major factors contributing to the market growth. Furthermore, rising expenditure on the medical devices and instruments boost the market growth. However, the high cost of treatment for skin diseases restrains the market growth.Global Laser Resurfacing Market  Key PlayersMarket players profiled in the report are Alma Lasers, Altair Instruments, Lumenis Cynosure, Inc., Lynton Lasers Ltd, Cutera, Syneron Medical Ltd., Lutronic Corporation, Quanta Aesthetic Lasers USA, and Sciton, Inc.Global Laser Resurfacing Market  Regional AnalysisThe Americas secure a leading position in the market for laser resurfacing owing to the growth of dermatology sector in the developed countries such as the U.S. and rising prevalence of skin diseases. In North America, the U.S. is the largest market owing to the presence of key market players. According to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), skin diseases affect one in every fourth American. The prevalence of skin diseases is also found to be increasing in Canada According to the Acne and Rosacea Society of Canada in 2016, acne affected about 90% of the teens in Canada. Approximately, 5 million people within the region have medical conditions for acne. Moreover, it was estimated that 1 in 2 teens (55%) get acne scars on the face.Get Discount on Report @Europe is the second largest market for laser resurfacing owing to an increasing demand for technologically advanced diagnostic services further drive the market growth. Furthermore, increasing demand for laser resurfacing devices also fuels the market growth. Germany, France, and the U.K are the largest contributors to the market growth.The market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest pace and is driven by the rising geriatric population, rising prevalence of skin problems among the adults, and increasing number of skin care procedures performed in hospitals and dermatology clinics. India and China are the largest contributors to the market growth owing to an increasing emphasis on skin care and development of the cosmetic industry. According to a study published in the Dermatology and Therapy journal in 2015, highest actinic keratosis prevalence rate was documented in Australia, affecting, over 40% of the individuals who age 40 years or more.The Middle East & Africa also show a steady rise in the market owing to increasing awareness about the laser treatment of skin diseases and development of skin care industry, especially in the developing regions of the Middle East.Global Laser Resurfacing Market  SegmentationThe Global Laser Resurfacing Market is segmented on the basis of type, products, indication, and end-user.On the basis of the type, the market is segmented into ablative and non-ablative laser resurfacing. Ablative laser resurfacing is further segmented into CO2 laser resurfacing, erbium laser resurfacing, and others. Non-ablative laser resurfacing is further segmented into infrared lasers, fractional laser, high impact light sources, and others. On the basis of the products, the market is segmented into laser skin resurfacing machine, CO2 skin laser scanner machine, laser tips, and others. On the basis of the indication, the market is segmented into facial wrinkles, acne scars, skin pigmentation, aging, and others. On the basis of the end-user, the market is segmented into hospitals, dermatology clinics, home care, and others.Major Table of ContentChapter 1. Report PrologueChapter 2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 LimitationsChapter 3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size EstimationChapter 4. Market DynamicsContinued.To Know More Enquire @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: salesteam@marketresearchfuture.comPregnancy Pillow Market by major Types - U Shaped, J Shaped, C Shaped At Growth Rate of 7% with Key Players as Pharmedoc (US), Naomi Homes (US), Boppy (US) and Todays Moms (US) Forecasts Till 2023

Pregnancy Pillow Market

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The Global Pregnancy Pillow Market is segmented on the basis of type or shape of pillows, and materials. Based on the type or shape of the pillow, the market has been segmented as C shaped, J shaped, U shaped and others, other types comprises of low selling types such as wedge and full length etc. Based on materials, the market has been segmented into hypoallergenic fillings, memory foam, organic fillings and others. Further on the basis of end users, the market has been segmented as hospitals, maternity homes or clinics, household and others.Synopsis of Global Pregnancy Pillow Market:A pregnancy pillow can be defined as the highly specialized pillows which are designed in order to accommodate the changing body of a pregnant mother, commonly known as maternity pillow. It is generally used in the later stages of pregnancy where expecting mothers finds difficulty in sleeping and sitting.Rising number of cases for pregnancy losses due to pregnancy complications, uncomfortable sleeping positions, rising risk of stillbirth due to wrong sleeping positions are some of the major reason for the market growth. On the other hand high price of the products are the major factors restricting the market growth.Get Exclusive Sample Copy @Top Pregnancy Pillow Market Players Business Overview:Leachco Inc. (U.S.), My Brest Friend (U.S.), PharmeDoc (U.S.), Naomi Homes (U.S.), Boppy (U.S.), Mammy Village (Taiwan), Todays Mom (U.S.), Double Blessing (U.S) are some key players in Global Pregnancy Pillow Market.Pregnancy Pillow Market Scenario:A pregnancy pillow is highly specialized pillow for pregnant women. The pregnancy pillow is designed in order to accommodate the changing body of the expecting mother and to relieve the pregnancy pain and discomfort. Pregnancy pillows are mainly used by pregnant women during late pregnancy to support the bump while sitting or sleeping. According to National Vital statistics in 2015, a total of 3,978,497 births were registered in United States.The Global Pregnancy Pillow Market is growing due to risk of still birth, increasing number of pregnancy loss cases and uncomfortable sleep position. Additionally, rising consciousness among pregnant women for prenatal and postnatal maternal care and growing acceptance of high quality verified pregnancy products to avoid pregnancy complications boost the growth of global pregnancy pillow market.However, the major restraining factor in growth of this market is high price of the products.Pregnancy Pillow Market Regional Analysis:The North American region dominates the global pregnancy pillow market owing to presence of countries like United States and increasing pool of aware pregnant females, growing concern towards prenatal and postnatal maternity health and increasing incidence of still birth cases due to uncomfortable sleep position fuels the pregnancy pillow market growth within this region.The European region is second growing market for global pregnancy pillow market. Increasing awareness and higher disposable incomes are major factors that drives the growth of pregnancy pillow market in this region.The Asia Pacific region is slowly growing market for pregnancy pillow with upcoming developments in healthcare and increasing awareness. Additionally, the presence of populated countries like China and India with highest birth rate is likely to increase the demand of the product within this region. Similarly, the region also shows the highest death rate and still birth rate due to complications and negligence, during the pregnancy by the females. Further, with advancement in technology and increasing economic conditions can fuel the market growth during the forecasted period.The Middle East and Africa region has least market share in global pregnancy pillow market owing to lack of awareness, lack of affordability due to presence of poor economies especially in Africa.Demand Your Customized Report with Competitive Analysis of Niche Segments, Top Players, Comprehensive Research and Key Regions @Main TOC for Pregnancy Pillow Market:1. Report Prologue2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary research3.4 Market Size EstimationList of TablesTABLE 1 GLOBAL PREGNANCY PILLOW MARKET, BY TYPE, 2014-2023 (USD MILLION)TABLE 2 GLOBAL PREGNANCY PILLOW MARKET, BY MATERIAL, 2014-2023 (USD MILLION)TABLE 3 GLOBAL PREGNANCY PILLOW MARKET, BY END USERS, 2014-2023 (USD MILLION)TABLE 4 GLOBAL PREGNANCY PILLOW MARKET, BY REGION, 2014-2023 (USD MILLION)Ask Question to Experts @List of FiguresFIGURE 1 RESEARCH PROCESSFIGURE 2 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODELFIGURE 3 GLOBAL PREGNANCY PILLOW MARKET, BY TYPEFIGURE 4 GLOBAL PREGNANCY PILLOW MARKET, BY MATERIALSFIGURE 5 GLOBAL PREGNANCY PILLOW MARKET, BY END USERSFIGURE 6 GLOBAL PREGNANCY PILLOW MARKET: COMPANY SHARE ANALYSIS, 2016 (%)TOC Continued.!About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comGlobal Waterparks and Attractions Market- Future Growth, Industry Verticals, Forecast to 2025

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Waterparks and Attractions to its huge collection of research reports.The global market for Waterparks and Attractions has been witnessing a continued alteration in the pattern of the demand for Waterparks and Attractions. This research report attempts to understand the frequent changes in the consumer behavior and their impact on the Waterparks and Attractions market across the world. The research report delivers an exhaustive analysis of the worldwide Waterparks and Attractions market and proves to be a source of valuable information for all the active market players across the value chain, helping them in capitalizing the opportunities as well as planning out crucial business strategies.This report studies the global Waterparks and Attractions market, analyzes and researches the Waterparks and Attractions development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeWhiteWaterFibrartAquatic Development GroupProSlideAquakitaPolin WaterparksSplashtacularA-OK PlaygroundsAdventure PlaygroundSlide InnovationsOcean ManiaWaterplayFor more info, get sample report for FREE here:Table of ContentsGlobal Waterparks and Attractions Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Waterparks and Attractions1.1 Waterparks and Attractions Market Overview1.1.1 Waterparks and Attractions Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Waterparks and Attractions Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.3 Waterparks and Attractions Market by Type1.3.1 Water Slides1.3.2 Swimming Pools1.3.3 Swim Platforms1.3.4 Water Toys1.3.5 Others1.4 Waterparks and Attractions Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Private Facilities1.4.2 Municipal Facilities2 Global Waterparks and Attractions Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Waterparks and Attractions Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in FutureRead Complete Table of Content of the Report at:3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 WhiteWater3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Waterparks and Attractions Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)4 Global Waterparks and Attractions Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Waterparks and Attractions Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Waterparks and Attractions Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Waterparks and Attractions in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Waterparks and Attractions...QYResearchReports delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.comUSD 3,000 Million Revenue of "Kidney Stone Market Expected to Grow Largest Share of 31.48% Threshold 2023; Says MRFR Unleashing Industry

Kidney Stone Market

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The Global Kidney Stones Market and is expected to reach USD 3,000 million by 2023. The global kidney stone market is growing at a steady pace and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of ~4.0 % during 2017 to 2023. The major factors that influence the growth of the market are minimally invasive procedures for the treatment of kidney stones, increasing instances of urolithiasis in the adult population and poor nutrition. Hard deposits of minerals and acid salts that stick together in concentrated urine causes kidney stones. They are painful when passing through the urinary tract, but typically don't cause permanent damage.Global Kidney stones Market  OverviewKidney stones are hard mineral deposits inside the kidneys that can cause severe pain and discomfort. The global kidney stone market is growing at a steady pace and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.0% during the forecast period of 2017 - 2022. There are a number of protuberant factors associated with this global kidney stone market. Growing demand for minimally invasive procedures driven by the surging preference of these is one of the major drivers contributing to the market growth. The preference to minimally invasive procedures is driven by their success rate which is 75-100%. Additionally, according to the National Kidney Foundation, it has been found that more than 73 million adults have high blood pressure and 29 million adults are suffering from diabetes which are the major reason for urolithiasis.Get a Premium Sample Report @That being said, continuously recorded and increasing instances of urolithiasis in the adult is leading to the rise in the prevalence of kidney stone disorder across the globe. Another major reason driving the prevalence of kidney stone disorders is population and poor nutrition. According to experts, individuals who are predisposed to hunger and sub-par nutrition are prone to kidney disorders and thus, add to the total global prevalence to a great extent.Kidney Stones Market SegmentationThe kidney stones market has been segmented on the basis of types, diagnostic test and treatment.Based on types, the market is segmented into calcium, uric acid, struvite and cystine.Based on diagnostic test, the market has been segmented into CT scans, X-rays, ultrasound scan and intravenous urogram.Based on treatments, the market has been segmented into medication, extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), uretereoscopy (URS), percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PNCL) and others. Among these ureteroscopy (URS) has is the most popular form of treatment, this is largely due to it being an outpatient procedure with little to no risks.Kidney Stones Market Key PlayersEminent players that contribute to the competitive landscape of thi market include Stryker Corp., Boston Scientific Corp., C.R Bard Inc., STORZ Medical AG, Richard Wolf GmbH, Seimens Ltd., Medispec Ltd., C.R Bard Inc., Convergent Laser Technologies, DirexGroup, Cook Medical Inc., Dornier MedTech GmBH, E.M.S Electro Medical Systems S.A., Elmed Elecronics & Medical Industry & Trade Inc., and others.Kidney Stones Market Regional AnalysisThe market is additionally segmented by region into the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa.The Americas, leads the global market with a massive 50.8%, this is primarily due to a strong occurrence of kidney diseases in the region, sepicifically in North America. A strong focus on quality healthcare and the increasing demand for treatment options have bolstered growth in this region.Europe, has the second largest market share globally. The Kidney Stones Market region is projected to experience significant market development during the forecast period due to increasing healthcare expenditure and the existence of a large geriatric population with renal conditions.Asia Pacific has been projected to grow at the most rapid pace during the forecast period. This is owing to the rising construction of hospitals, increasing demand for affordable treatments and diagnostic services. MRFR has estimated a CAGR of 4.9% for the region during the forecast period.The Middle East & Africa are expected to observe modest growth. Lack of relevant technology and a low availability of modern healthcare technologies restrict growth in this region.Browse Complete 206 Pages Report Enabled with Competitive Analysis of Niche Segments, Top Players, Comprehensive Research and Key Regions @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comGlobal Industrial Cooling System Market 2018-2025 Airedale, Baltimore Aircoil Company, Black Box Corp, Mesan Group

Industrial Cooling System Market

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A comprehensive market study on "Global Industrial Cooling System Market 2018-2025" examines the performance of the Industrial Cooling System market. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Industrial Cooling System market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Industrial Cooling System market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.Leading Manufacturers Analysis such as - Baltimore Aircoil Company, Bell Cooling Tower, Brentwood Industries Inc., Hamon Group, Johnson Controls Inc., Paharpur Cooling Towers, SPIG S.P.A, SPX Corporation, Airedale, American Power Conversion Corporation, Black Box Corp, Emerson Electric Co., Paharpur Cooling Towers Limited, Mesan Group.The Global Industrial Cooling System Market 2018 report includes Industrial Cooling System market Revenue, market Share, Industrial Cooling System industry volume, market Trends, Industrial Cooling System Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Industrial Cooling System Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2025.Request Sample Copy of Report:Firstly, the report covers the top Industrial Cooling System manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Industrial Cooling System Market Segmented Based on Application - Power Generation, Industrial Manufacturing, Petrochemical Processing, Food Processing & Storage, Petroleum & Natural Gas Refining, Pharmaceuticals.Industrial Cooling System Market Segmented Based on Type - Evaporative Cooling System, Air Cooling System, Hybrid Cooling System, Water Cooling System.Further, the Industrial Cooling System report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Industrial Cooling System industry, Industrial Cooling System industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Industrial Cooling System Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Industrial Cooling System 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 Industrial Cooling System market revenue worldwide.Finally, Industrial Cooling System 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:QYMarketStudy.com is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry.Contact Us:3626 North Hall Street (Two Oak Lawn),Suite 610,Dallas, TX 75219, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@qymarketstudy.comDental Radiology and Imaging Devices Market Overview by 2D and 3D Imaging Types, Major Application Diagnosis, Therapeutic, Cosmetic and Forensic Threshold by 2023

Dental Radiology and Imaging Devices Market

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The Global Dental Radiology and Dental Imaging Devices Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period and is estimated to reach USD 6,503 million by 2023.Global Dental Radiology and Dental Imaging Devices Market - OverviewDental radiology and imaging devices are used for diagnosis and treatment of dental problems with the help of x-rays, radioactive substances, and other forms of radiant energy. The market is majorly driven by the technological advancements in the dental equipment, high adoption of digital dental Radiology and imaging systems, growth in aging population, and dental surgeries gaining impetus. However, high price of digital Radiology systems, and lack of reimbursement in dental care is expected to restrain the growth of this market.There are various number of dental imaging devices present in the market. The dental Radiology and dental imaging device market is segmented by devices into dental Radiology and dental imaging. Dental radiology devices segment includes phosphor storage plates, portable x-rays, accessories, and other devices. Dental Imaging devices segment includes cameras, and dental imaging software. Demand of dental radiology and imaging devices is increasing due to an extensive use of radiology in dentistry and availability of cost effective technologies for treatment of dental problems.Get Exclusive Sample Report @Key Players in the Global Dental Radiology and Dental Imaging Devices Market:Some of the key players in this market are Carestream Health (U.S), Dentsply Sirona (U.S), Flow Dental (U.S), KaVo Dental GmbH (Germany), LED Medical Diagnostics Inc, (Canada), Midmark Corp. (U.S), 3M (U.S), Nobel Biocare (Part of Danaher corporation) (Switzerland).Dental Radiology and Dental Imaging Devices Market Segments:The Global Dental Radiology and Dental Imaging Devices Market is segmented on the basis of methods, which includes intra-oral imaging, extra-oral imaging, and others. Intra-oral imaging is further sub-segmented into bite-wing X-ray, periapical X-ray, occlusal X-ray, and digital X-ray. Extra-oral imaging is further sub-segmented into panoramic X-ray, dental computed tomography, cone beam computed tomography (CBCT), digital imaging.On the basis of devices, the market is segmented into dental radiology devices and dental imaging devices. Dental radiology devices are further sub-segmented into Phosphor storage plates, digital X-ray, 2D panorex, portable X-rays, accessories, sensor, intraoral sensors, and X-ray sensors. Dental imaging devices are further sub-segmented into cameras, intraoral cameras, digital scanners, and dental imaging software.On the basis of applications, the market is segmented into diagnosis, therapeutic, cosmetic, and forensic application.On the basis of imaging types it is segmented into 2D and 3D imaging.On the basis of end users, the market is segmented into hospitals & dental clinics, forensic laboratories, and academic & research institutes.Browse Complete 206 Pages Report Enabled with Competitive Analysis of Niche Segments, Top Players, Comprehensive Research and Key Regions @Dental Radiology and Dental Imaging Devices Market Regional AnalysisThe Global Dental Radiology and Dental Imaging Devices Market consist of four regions: the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.The Americas dominates the market, particularly, North America due to rising prevalence of periodontal diseases in this region. Additionally, continuous innovation in imaging technology and presence of global market leaders contribute to the market growth.In the Europe, availability innovative healthcare solutions for diagnostics, availability of funds for research & development activities, and increasing adoption of imaging technology in dentistry are responsible for the growth of the market.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing and potential market for the dental radiology and dental imaging devices, whose growth is attributed to rising geriatric population with chronic diseases such as diabetes.The Middle East & Africa is expected witness limited growth due to limited access to the healthcare resources and lack of advanced dental imaging devices.Major Key Findings:Dental imaging devices holds the largest share in the global dental radiology and dental imaging devices market by devices, which was valued for USD 2,811.1 million in 2016.Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market at a CAGR of 7.7% during the forecasted period.Major TOC of Dental Radiology and Imaging Devices Market:1 Report Prologue2 Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations3 Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary research3.4 Market Size Estimation.ContinuedAsk Questions to Expertise @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comAntifungal Treatment Market 2017 to 2023 Competitive Analysis by Global Top Vendors Pfizer Inc. (U.S), Sanofi (France), Merck & Co., Inc. (U.S), Astellas (Japan), Bayer AG (Germany) and Novartis AG (Switzerland)

Antifungal Treatment Market

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The Global Antifungal Treatment Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.61% during the forecast period and is estimated to reach USD 19,558.0 million by 2023. The Global Antifungal Treatment Market is growing moderately and expected to grow at the same pace over the forecast period 2017-2013. Increasing number of patients with fungal diseases and growing prevalence of HIV are the key factors of the market growth. Additionally, rising geriatric population is one of the important drivers of the market growth.Fungal infections such as athlete's foot, ringworm infection, serious systemic infections, and others are spreading rapidly across the globe and a number of treatments are available to treat these diseases.Antifungal Treatment Market SegmentationThe Global Antifungal Treatment Market has been segmented on the basis of drugs class, which includes azoles, pyrimidines, echinocandins, polyenes, allylamines, and others drugs.On the basis of therapeutic indication, the market is segmented into systemic, candidiasis, coccidioidomycosis, and cryptococcosis.On the basis of pathogen, the market is segmented into Candida, Aspergillus, Cryptococcus, Coccidioides immitis, Zygomycetes, Trichophyton, and others.On the basis of end users, the market is segmented into hospitals & clinics, dermatology clinics and other users.Premium Sample Report Available @Antifungal Treatment Market Major Players:Novartis AG (Switzerland), Pfizer Inc. (U.S), Sanofi (France), Merck & Co., Inc. (U.S), Astellas (Japan) and Bayer AG (Germany).Global Antifungal Treatment Market - Regional Analysis:The global antifungal treatment market consists of four regions: the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.The Americas dominate this market, particularly, North America due to increasing cases of patients with fungal infections in this region. Furthermore, rapid adoption of new antifungal treatment methods and developed healthcare infrastructure propel the growth of the market.Rising prevalence of fungal diseases is driving the growth of the European market. Most of the European companies are focusing more on research and development of the antifungal drugs, which, in turn, fortify their position in the global market. These companies receive a government funding from the government, which favors the growth of market in Europe.Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region in this market owing to the developing healthcare infrastructure, increasing adoption of new medical practices, rising healthcare expenditure, growing awareness about available treatments for fungal infections.The Middle East & Africa region is expected to grow slower than the global average due to lack of awareness about antifungal treatments and limited access to healthcare facilities.Browse Complete 108 Pages Report Enabled with Competitive Analysis of Niche Segments, Top Players, Comprehensive Research and Key Regions @Major TOC for Antifungal Treatment Market:1 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS2 REPORT PROLOGUE2.1 Key Recommendation2.1.1 Introduction2.1.1.1 Identify New Opportunities2.1.1.2 Competitive Analysis2.1.1.3 Funding2.1.1.4 Market By Pathogen3 MARKET INTRODUCTION3.1 Scope Of Study3.2 Research Objective3.3 Assumptions & Limitations3.3.1 Assumptions3.3.2 Limitations3.4 Market Structure4 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY4.1 Research Process4.2 Primary Research4.3 Secondary Research4.4 Market Size Estimation4.4.1 Market Share Analysis4.5 Market Pricing Approach5 MARKET DYNAMICS5.1 Introduction5.2 Drivers5.2.1 Increasing Incidents Of Fungal Infections5.2.2 Increasing Prevalence Of Immunological Diseases5.2.3 Availability Of Wide Range Of Products5.2.4 Increasing Awareness About The Fungal Infections5.3 Restraints5.3.1 Side-Effects Of Treatment5.3.2 Presence Of Misbranded And Spurious Drugs5.4 Opportunities5.4.1 Development Of New Drugs5.4.2 Increasing Government Support5.5 Mega Trends5.5.1 Focus Of Development Of Treatment For Systemic Mycosis5.5.2 Treatment For HIV-Linked Cryptococcal Meningitis5.6 Macroeconomic Indicators5.7 Technology Trends & Assessment5.8 Industrial SWOT5.8.1 Strengths5.8.2 Weaknesses5.8.3 Opportunities5.8.4 ThreatsTOC Continued.!Get Your Customized Report @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comSecurity Bags Market Expected to Grow at CAGR of 8.8% Through 2017 - 2027

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The global security bags market has witnessed good growth opportunities in the recent past, with key players leveraging the various applications of security bags and targeting a growing customer base keeping in mind the key preferences of consumers towards tamper evidence features, convenience of use, and optimal pricing of security bags. According to a new report published by Future Market Insights titled Security Bags Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012  2016) & Opportunity Assessment (2017  2027), the global security bags market is slated to exhibit a significant growth rate of 8.8% in terms of value to reach a market valuation of US$ 702.3 Mn by the end of the forecast period in 2027.Global Security Bags Market Analysis, by Raw Material TypeThe global security bags market is segmented on the basis of raw material type into plastic, paper, and fabric. Plastic will continue to remain a favourite among consumers and be the dominant segment throughout the forecast period, anticipated to hold a market share in excess of 75% throughout the forecast period. The paper and fabric segments will be nowhere close to the plastic segment throughout the duration of the forecast period. In terms of revenue CAGR, the plastic segment will outnumber the other segments, registering a 9.1% CAGR during the period of forecast.Global Security Bags Market Analysis, by Product TypeBy product type, the global security bags market is segmented into opaque and clear. Opaque segment is the clear winner here with a CAGR of 9.0% and estimated total revenues in excess of US$ 500 Mn by 2027 end, resulting from a market share in excess of 75% throughout the forecast period.Request to Sample Report -Global Security Bags Market Analysis, by ApplicationIn terms of application, the global security bags market is segmented into cash/coin deposit bags, strap bags, card & dice bags, evidence bags, and pharmaceutical distribution bags. Cash/coin deposit bags will continue to dominate the global market throughout the assessment period, estimated to reach a market valuation exceeding US$ 490 Mn by the end of 2027. While strap bags are unlikely to match the revenue contribution of cash/coin deposit bags, in terms of CAGR, both these segments stand at 8.9%.Global Security Bags Market Analysis, by End UseThe global security bags market is segmented on the basis of end use into financial institutions, hospitals, casinos, hotels, national retail companies, government organisations, courier services companies, and academic institutions. Financial institutions will lead the race in this segment, with an estimated 30% market share towards the end of the forecast period. In terms of volume, the financial institutions segment is pegged at over 16,000 tonnes by 2027 end. This segment is slated to register a CAGR of 9.4% in terms of value and reach a market valuation of about US$ 216 Mn by 2027. Courier services companies segment is the runner-up in the value CAGR race, standing at a close 9.0%.Global Security Bags Market  Regional ForecastIn this report, Future Market Insights has analysed the seven key regions of North America, APEJ, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Latin America, MEA, and Japan. North America, APEJ, and Western Europe will stand toe-to-toe in terms of market share, each holding a value share in excess of 20% throughout the forecast period. North America is anticipated to be the market leader in 2017 and is projected to gain significant market share due to a high growth of security products in the region. The North America security bags market will grow at a CAGR of 9.0% in terms of value over the forecast period. Currently North America has the highest concentration of security bags manufacturers. In APEJ, there is a steady increase in financial institutions and logistics services; as a result, the region will witness the highest growth in the global security bags market. APEJ will register a CAGR of 9.1% in terms of value. North America and APEJ will record a significant rise of 50 basis points in market share, while Western Europe will record an increase of 30 basis points.Good market opportunity for key playersSome of the key players profiled in the report include Ampac Holdings LLC., Mega Fortris (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Coveris Holdings S.A., SECUTAC, Dynaflex Private Limited, NELMAR Security Packaging Systems Inc., KOROZO Ambalaj San.ve Tic A.S., TruSeal Pty Ltd., HSA International Group, KENT PLASTIK LTD. STI., Harwal Ltd., ITW Envopak Limited, Initial Packaging Solutions Ltd., Vikela Aluvin Pty Ltd, A. Rifkin Co., Packaging Horizons Corporation, Versapak International Ltd, Amerplast Ltd., Securepac Industries Sdn Bhd, and Adsure Packaging Limited.Request Report TOC @An increase in demand for security packaging from the financial sector offers a good potential for key players to grab this opportunity and expand their operations. For instance, in May 2014, Mega Fortris Middle East expanded its operations to a bigger warehouse facility in Dubai Silicon Oasis. Likewise, in November 2013, NELMAR Security Packaging Systems Inc. added 50,000 sq. ft of production and warehouse facility to its existing facility while in December 2013, Dynaflex Private Limited expanded its market in UAE and Ireland.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 :Global Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market 2018 Share, Trend, Segmentation and Forecast to 2025

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This report studies the global Veterinary Practice Management Softwares market, analyzes and researches the Veterinary Practice Management Softwares development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeIDEXX LaboratoriesHenry ScheinPatterson CompaniesezyVET LimitedMedaNextAnimal Intelligence SoftwareOnward SystemsFirmcloud CorporationTimeless Veterinary SystemsComputer FanaticsHippo Manager SoftwareClienTraxAlisvet & InformaVetEclipse Veterinary Software2i NovaSpecVet InceVetPracticeRequest a Sample Report @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoOn-PremiseCloud/Web BasedMarket segment by Application, Veterinary Practice Management Softwares can be split intoVeterinary HospitalsVeterinary ClinicsResearch InstitutionsOtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Veterinary Practice Management Softwares1.1 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Overview1.1.1 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market by Type1.3.1 On-Premise1.3.2 Cloud/Web Based1.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Veterinary Hospitals1.4.2 Veterinary Clinics1.4.3 Research Institutions1.4.4 Other2 Global Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 IDEXX Laboratories3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Henry Schein3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Patterson Companies3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 ezyVET Limited3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 MedaNext3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Animal Intelligence Software3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Onward Systems3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 Firmcloud Corporation3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Timeless Veterinary Systems3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Computer Fanatics3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 Hippo Manager Software3.12 ClienTrax3.13 Alisvet & InformaVet3.14 Eclipse Veterinary Software3.15 2i Nova3.16 SpecVet Inc3.17 eVetPractice4 Global Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Veterinary Practice Management Softwares in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Veterinary Practice Management Softwares5 United States Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size (2013-2018)5.2 United States Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)5.3 United States Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size by Application (2013-2018)6 EU Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size (2013-2018)6.2 EU Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)6.3 EU Veterinary Practice Management Softwares Market Size by Application (2013-2018)ContinuedAccess Complete Report @ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaRobotics Prosthetics Market CAGR of 9.5% Expected to Grow with Top Players - ReWalk Robotics (Israel), Medrobotics Corporation (U.S.), KUKA Roboter GmbH (Germany), Mazor Robotics Ltd. (Israel) and Hansen Medical, Inc. (U.S.) by 2027

Robotics Prosthetics Market

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Market Research Future published a Half Cooked research report on Global Robotics Prosthetics Market Research Report - Forecast to 2027  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2027.The Global Robotics Prosthetics Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% during the forecast period 2016-2027.Robotics Prosthetics Market-Overview:In healthcare, robots are now most widely used for various purposes such as surgery. The demand for robotic prosthetic is found to be increasing across the globe, especially in the developed countries of Americas and Europe. Increasing number of amputation cases, as a result of severe injuries to various body parts drives the market. Furthermore, the rising prevalence of obesity, diabetes, vascular disease, stroke, and arthritis also contribute to the increasing number of amputation cases.According to the estimates published by the Amputee Coalition, approximately 185,000 amputations are performed in the U.S each year. According to the EksoZeroG, in 2015, 625,000 occupational injuries occurred in the manufacturing and construction industries and the U.S. alone spends USD 21 billion per year on workplace-related injuries that drains productivity.As per the Lancet study, China, and India have high diabetic population as compared to other Asian countries. The number of diabetic population in China has increased from 20.4 million in 1980 to 102.9 million in 2014. In India, the diabetic population roused from 11.9 million in 1980 to 64.5 million in 2014. Prevalence of diabetes has more than doubled for men in India and China and 50% among women in China and 80% among women in India.Get Exclusive Sample Report @Key Players in the Global Robotics Prosthetics Market:HDT Global Inc (U.S.), Touch Bionics Inc. (U.S.), SynTouch, LLC (U.S.), Shadow Robot Company (U.K), Stryker Corporation (U.S.), Smith & Nephew (U.K), Aethon (U.S.), ReWalk Robotics (Israel), Medrobotics Corporation (U.S.), KUKA Roboter GmbH (Germany), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (U.S.), Mazor Robotics Ltd. (Israel), Hansen Medical, Inc. (U.S.), Transenterix, Inc. (U.S.), ZOLL Medical Corporation (U.S.)Robotics Prosthetics Market Segments:The global robotics prosthetics market is segmented on the basis of product, by technology, application, and end user.On the basis of the product, it is segmented into prosthetic arms, prosthetic feet/ankles, prosthetic legs/knees, prosthetic hands, and others.On the basis of the technology, it is segmented into prosthetic foot materials, Bluetooth, microprocessor knees, myoelectric technology, and others.On the basis of the application, it is segmented into the lower body extremity and upper body extremity.On the basis of the end user, it is segmented into hospitals, clinics, and others.Regional Analysis of the Global Robotics Prosthetics Market:The robotics prosthetics market is dominated by the Americas owing to continually developing technology and increasing prevalence of orthopedic diseases. According to the study published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2015, the prevalence of osteoporosis and low bone mass at the femur neck in the United States are more in adults aged 50 years. Moreover, the prevalence of osteoporosis was highest among Mexican-American adults that is 24.9% followed by non-Hispanic white adults, 15.7%.Europe holds the second position in the global robotics prosthetics market owing to the government support for research & development and availability of funds for research. This is expected to continue driving the European market over the forecasted period. For instance, countries like Germany and France are increasing investment in the healthcare domain.The Asia Pacific is a huge market. Whereas a country like India and China are considering fastest growing region due to increasing aging population, growing awareness about new technology, and availability of funds. Additionally, they are open to adopting new technology, and best treatment option from developed countries in order to improve the quality of life for their citizen. Furthermore, increasing demand for quality devices in the healthcare is projected to lead to the use of advanced equipment, which, in turn, is likely to increase the market growth of the robotics prosthetics in the region. Increasing demand for quality product attract the focus of market players in this region, thus, they are introducing the advanced technology to maximize the profit in this region. Also, the lower cost of treatment in India attracts patient population from other countries.On the other hand, in the Middle East and Africa holds the lowest market share owing to the incapability of investment and poor healthcare infrastructure.Browse Complete 130 Pages Premium Report with Competitive Analysis of Niche Segments, Top Players, Comprehensive Research and Key Regions @Major Table of Content For Robotics Prosthetics Market Research Report- Global Forecast till 2027:1. Report Prologue2. Market Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations3. Research Methodology3.1 Introduction3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size Estimation4. Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restrains4.3 Opportunities4.4 Challenges4.5 Macroeconomic Indicators4.6 Technology Trends & Assessment5. Market Factor Analysis5.1 Porters Five Forces Analysis5.1.1 Bargaining Power Of Suppliers5.1.2 Bargaining Power Of Buyers5.1.3 Threat Of New Entrants5.1.4 Threat Of Substitutes5.1.5 Intensity Of Rivalry5.2 Value Chain Analysis5.3 Investment Feasibility Analysis5.4 Pricing AnalysisTOC Continued!Ask Question To Expertise @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comAnti-Aging Market Analysis and Value Forecast Snapshot by End-use Industry 2017-2025

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Aging is defined as the cycle of biochemical activities in the body caused by factors which affect body over a period internally as well as externally and leads to degeneration of body affecting beauty, health and fitness of an individual. Because skin health and beauty is considered one of the principal factors representing overall well-being and the perception of health in humans, several anti-aging strategies have been developed. The anti-aging market has evolved over centuries, and modern technology has contributed with widening its reach in products, services and devices. Anti-aging products provide a market which has high adoption as it is comparatively affordable and available than services and devices. The technological development and stringent regulations have helped the market to regain trust and belief of customers.Anti-Aging Market: Drivers and RestraintsAnti-aging market is not only driven by population turning old but also by the young population who are willing to delay the process of aging (especially with their appearance) start from their mid-thirties to care about their skin, hair and body. Most of the young population is experiencing drastic environmental changes and sedentary lifestyle which has ultimately increased many problems and have to turn them more conscious about their beauty, appearance, and health. Thus aging population is one of the major drivers of the anti-aging market.Request Sample Report @Anti-Aging Market: SegmentationBy product type, the anti-aging market can be segmented into,UV AbsorbersAnti-Wrinkle ProductsDermal FillersBotoxAnti-Stretch Mark ProductsBy devices, the anti-aging market can be segmented into,Anti-Cellulite TreatmentLaser Aesthetic DevicesMicrodermabrasion DevicesRadio Frequency DevicesOthersBy end user, the anti-aging market can be segmented into,HospitalsClinicsHome HealthcareFactors such as the increase in beauty and appearance expenditure, rising anti-aging awareness, and assurance about safety and efficacy of anti-aging products, services and devices are driving the market for anti-aging market.Anti-Aging Market: OverviewRestoring the younger looks and thereby finding solutions against signs of aging has been a mission for cosmetologists and health care professionals for centuries. Various products and services are perpetually entering the market to serve the agenda of restoring younger looks. The market is still regarded as being in its evolutionary phase, and the products and services within it are often met with skepticism by consumers. However, these factors have been mitigated to some extent thanks to demonstrated advancement of technologies and the introduction of stringent regulations for these products. This has reinstated the trust of consumers to a great extent.Anti-Aging Market: Region-wise OutlookRegionally, the market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa. North America is the leading geography for anti-aging market due to high awareness about aging signs, the rise in obesity and sedentary lifestyle which are the major drivers of this market. Asia-Pacific and Latin America are expected to be the next potential destinations for anti-aging market. China, South Korea, Japan, and India are observed to be the most attractive destinations for cosmetic surgeries and governments of these countries are promoting medical tourism for cosmetic surgeries which is believed to be one of the market drivers of these countries in anti-aging market. Brazil and Mexico are the major countries which are leading the anti-aging market. The developing economies of these regions and awareness about aging signs in men and women have made these regions as future attractive markets for anti-aging products and devices.Request to Browse Full Table of Content, figure and Tables @Anti-Aging Market: Key PlayersSome of the market players in the anti-aging market include Acorda Therapeutics, Allergan, Inc., Alma Lasers, Beiersdorf AG, Biotime, Inc., PhotoMedex, Inc., Solta Medical, a division of Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Zimmer Biomet Holdings. Anti-aging market is observed to be most competitive as the market consists of most of the established companies. Botox market is dominated by Allergan which has the major share of this market, and it has less competition compared to other segments.ABOUT US:Persistence 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:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:Brazil Dermal Fillers Market: Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013 to 2017 and Forecast 2018 to 2024

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Brazil dermal fillers market was valued at US $ XX Mn and expected to grow at XX% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over 2018 and 2024Market Outline: Brazil Dermal Fillers MarketDermal fillers are the facial injectable that help diminish facial lines and rejuvenation of the face. With growing age, face naturally loses subcutaneous fat, leading in the formation of wrinkles. The facial skin also stretches, adding to this losses of facial volume. Dermal filling is a non-invasive treatment which is also used as anti-ageing agent. The dermal filler injection when injected underneath the skin, pumps up the areas and smooth out the wrinkles. Dermal fillers gently lift up the skin to restore the lost collagen. Generally, in the aesthetic injectable treatment, botulinism toxin is for the top half of the face and the dermal fillers are for the bottom half of the face. The main areas where the dermal fillers are used in the nasolabial folds, the oral commissures, and the marionette lines.Market Dynamics: Brazil Dermal Fillers MarketBrazil is one of the leading aesthetic dermatology market. Increase in the prevalence of skin related issues is driving the Brazil dermal fillers market. The increasing zeal to look young and the growing concern about the beauty is creating the demand for dermal fillers in the Brazil market. The technological advancements and increasing adoption of modern innovative techniques is also adding fuel to the growth of the dermal fillers in Brazil market. The increasing acceptance of tissue fillers and fast and easy process of the dermal filling treatment help gaining the popularity which is driving the market in Brazil. However, the major factor that is hindering the growth of the market is the high cost of the treatment procedures.A sample of this report is available upon request @Market Scope: Brazil Dermal Fillers MarketBrazil dermal fillers market is segmented based on the product type, ingredient type and distribution channelOn basis of product type, the Brazil dermal fillers market is segmented into Absorbable Dermal Fillers Non-Absorbable Dermal FillersOn basis of the ingredient, the Brazil dermal fillers market is segmented into Hyaluronic Acid (HLA) Poly-L-Lactic Acid (PLA) Calcium Hydroxylapatite (CaH) Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) Collagen OthersOn basis of the distribution channel, the Brazil Dermal fillers market is segmented into Retail Pharmacies Beauty Clinics OthersTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @Competition Assessment: Brazil Dermal Fillers MarketSome of the players in the global Brazil dermal fillers market include: ALLERGAN GALDERMA Merz Pharma Sinclair PharmaNotable Market Developments: Brazil Dermal Fillers Market In January 2018, Sinclairs collagen filler ellanse received Brazilian regulatory approvalNeed more information about this report @Key Features of the Report: The report provides granular level information about the market size, regional market share, historic market (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2024) The report covers in-detail insights about the competitors overview, company share analysis, key market developments, and their key strategies The report outlines drivers, restraints, unmet needs, and trends that are currently affecting the market The report tracks recent innovations, key developments and startups details that are actively working in the market The report provides a plethora of information about market entry strategies and regulatory framework The report analyses the impact of the socio-political environment through PESTLE Analysis and competition through Porters Five Force Analysis in addition to recent technology advancements and innovations in the marketGet access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.comToll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553Website @Assisted Reproductive Technology Market is Projected to Surge at a CAGR of 6.3% Between 2017 - 2025

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Key players in the moderately fragmented global assisted reproductive technology market include Merck, CooperSurgical, Inc., Irvine Scientific, Vitrolife AB, Hamilton Thorne, Inc., Nidacon International AB, Laboratoire CCD, Planer PLC, Esco Micro Pte. Ltd. (Esco Group), and Nikon Corporation. Merck holds a dominant share in the global assisted reproductive technology market due to its widespread portfolio and steady presence in various regional markets.Request for Sample Copy of Report @According to Transparency Market Research, the global assisted reproductive technology market is expected to be worth US$37,789.6 mn by the end of 2025 from US$22,100.0 mn in 2016. Between the forecast years of 2017 and 2025, the global market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 6.3%. The fresh non donor segment accounted for a leading share in the global assisted reproductive technology market in 2016 and is likely to remain similarly dominant in the coming years. Geographically, Asia Pacific is the leading contributor to the global assisted reproductive technology market and is likely to retain a leading share in the global market in the coming years.In Vitro fertilization to Dominate due to Growing Efficacy of Modern ProceduresBy technology, the global assisted reproductive technology market is divided into artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogacy, and others. In vitro fertilization is by far the dominant contributor to the global assisted reproductive technology market at present and is likely to retain the position in the coming years due to the growing awareness about the efficacy of in vitro fertilization and the increasing awareness among citizens about the same. The in vitro fertilization segment accounted for a majority share of more than 62% in the global assisted reproductive technology market in 2016 and is likely to extend its dominance further by the end of the 2017-2025 forecast period.Surrogacy is also likely to receive increasing demand in the coming years, due in part to the growing demand for assisted reproductive technology from same-sex couples. While many parents now prefer the benefit of having their own genetic imprint in their baby through in vitro fertilization, surrogacy is likely to receive sustained demand in the coming years. This is borne out by the figures of the global assisted reproductive technology market by procedure, wherein fresh non donor contributions were the preferred choice for most consumers.Enquiry for discount on this report @Gradual Lifting of Social Taboos in Asia Pacific Opens Lucrative MarketDeveloping economies in Asia Pacific are likely to be vital to the global assisted reproductive technology market in the coming years. While the predominant social values in these regions tended to dissuade constructive growth of the assisted reproductive technology market, the gradual relaxation in social norms in these regions has resulted in a promising environment for the market. The growing prevalence of reproductive problems in Asia Pacific countries such as India and China is thus crucial to the global assisted reproductive technology market.The growing investment in the healthcare sector in developing countries is also likely to provide a major boost to the global assisted reproductive technology market in the coming years. This will help increase the frequency of fertility clinics in underdeveloped regions, where sophisticated medical facilities may still be absent.The steady development of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a key driver for the global assisted reproductive technology market. PGD helps physicians diagnose genetic disorders likely to manifest in the baby before it is implanted, making the technology vital for parents looking to avoid complicated births and lifestyles. The rapid development of the scientific database regarding genetic diseases is further likely to remain a key boost for the global assisted reproductive technology market.Request for the TOC of the Report @About UsTransparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals.Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories.TMR believes that unison of solutions for clients-specific problems with right methodology of research is the key to help enterprises reach right decision.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Global Beauty Device Market Will reach $54,186.9 million in 2020

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According to a new market report published by Persistence Market Research Global Market Study on Beauty Devices: Asia to Witness Highest Growth by 2020, the global beauty devices market was valued at USD 19,389.1 million in 2014 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.7% from 2014 to 2020, to reach an estimated value of USD 54,186.9 million in 2020.Globally, the beauty devices market is witnessing significant growth due to increasing disposable income, which is enabling people to spend more on personal care. In addition, rise in aging the population and increasing prevalence of skin diseases and harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation are also driving the growth of the market. However, there are various risks and complications associated with beauty devices which may lead to bruising, swelling, and redness. In addition, extended availability of easy-to-use beauty products inhibits the growth of the market. The global beauty devices market is anticipated to grow from an estimated USD 19,389.1 million in 2014 to USD 54,186.9 million in 2020 at a CAGR of 18.7% during the forecast period.Request Report Sample@In North America, increasing aging population and availability of advanced devices are driving the use of beauty devices in the market. In addition, in the U.S., there are around 750,000 beauty salons and spas. These beauty salon and spas have propelled the demand for beauty devices and personal care products in order to offer better services to their customers.In Europe, the beauty devices market is driven by rising aging population. In addition, in Spain the market is evolving due to rising awareness about potential healing applications of beauty devices in the treatment of skin and hair problems.Visit For TOC@However, in Asia the growth for beauty devices is much higher than developed countries due to increasing disposable income, availability of multinational brands and the introduction of less expensive beauty devices.LOreal Group, Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc., Home Skinovations, Ltd., PhotoMedex, Inc., TRIA Beauty, Inc., Syneron Medical, Ltd., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Panasonic Corporation, Carol Cole Company and Procter & Gamble are some of the major players of beauty devices 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.305 Broadway7th Floor, New York Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:CityBlood Transfusion Diagnostics Market: Global Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013 to 2017 and Forecast 2018 to 2024

Blood Transfusion Diagnostics Market

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Global Blood Transfusion Diagnostics Market: By Technology (ELISA, Nucleic Acid Amplification, Rapid Test, Real-Time PCR, Fluorescence Assay, and Western Blot), By Product type (Platelets, Red Blood Cells, and Albumin), By Application (Disease Screening, Blood Grouping, Others), By End User (Hospitals, Blood Banks, Diagnostic Laboratories), and Geography  Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013-2017 and Forecast 2018-2024Global blood transfusion diagnostics market was valued at US $ XX Mn in 2017 and expected to grow at 7.0% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over 2018 to 2024Market Outline: Blood Transfusion Diagnostics MarketBlood transfusion is a medical procedure in which the blood is donated to the patient through a narrow tube that is placed within the vein. The blood transfusion is a life-saving procedure which helps in replacing the blood loss during surgery or injury. The transfusion process is done even if the patients body is not capable of make blood owing to illness. With blood transfusion process, blood products like red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and others are transfused to the patient. The blood transfusion diagnostics play a vital role in the blood transfusion which reduces the chance of infection.Market Dynamics: Blood Transfusion Diagnostics MarketThe development in the technology is a key factor attributing to the growth of the blood transfusion diagnostics market. The growing blood transfusion procedures and increasing prevalence of infectious diseases are anticipated to drive the growth of the market. Increase in the awareness among the healthcare fraternity regarding the blood transfusion is likely to propel the growth of the market. The automation of the blood banks are adding fuel for the growth of the blood transfusion diagnostics market. However, the risk involved in the transmission of the infectious diseases is likely to hinder the growth of the blood transfusion diagnostics market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Market Scope: Blood Transfusion Diagnostics MarketBlood transfusion diagnostics market is segmented based on the technology, product type, and end-user.Based on the technology, the market is segmented into the following: ELISA Nucleic Acid Amplification Rapid Test Real-Time PCR Fluorescence Assay Western BlotBased on the product type, the market is segmented into the following: Platelets Red Blood Cells AlbuminBased on the application, the market is segmented into the following: Disease Screening Blood Grouping OthersBased on the end user, the market is segmented into the following: Hospitals Blood Banks Diagnostic LaboratoriesRegional Analysis: Blood Transfusion Diagnostics MarketGeographically, global blood transfusion diagnostics market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. North America blood transfusion diagnostics market is growing due to increase in the prevalence of blood related disorders. The higher awareness among the patient pool is likely to enhance the growth of the market in this region. The growing adoption of the nucleic acid amplification in the diagnosis of the blood and blood products is enriching the growth of the blood transfusion diagnostics market. The increasing adoption of the advanced treatment procedures is adding fuel for the growth of the market in this region. The Europe and the Asia Pacific regions fall next to that of the North America. The Asia Pacific market is expected to be the fastest growing market over the forecast period owing to its presence of large number of patient pool.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Competition Assessment: Blood Transfusion Diagnostics MarketSome of the players in the global blood transfusion diagnostics market include: Abbott Diagnostics (U.S) Novartis AG (Switzerland) Becton Dickinson (U.S) BAG healthcare (Germany) DiaSorin (Italy) Fujirebio (Belgium) Grifols (Spain) Siemens (Germany) Quidel (U.S) Hologic/Gen-Probe (U.S) Biokit (Spain) Bio-Rad (U.S) Beckman Coulter (U.S) Quotient Limited (U.S) Diagast (France)Notable Market Developments: Blood Transfusion Diagnostics Market In June 2017, Grifols has launched Erytra Eflexis, the latest advancement in scalable blood typing solutions which can adapt to different laboratory workflowNeed more information about this report @Key Features of the Report: The report covers exhaustive regional information, that includes North America (the USA and Canada), Europe (Germany, France, Italy, UK, Spain, Russia, Poland and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia & New Zealand, ASEAN (Includes Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Others), South Korea, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentian, Venezula, and Rest of Latin America), and Middle East and Africa (Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries, Israel, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East and Africa) The report provides granular level information about the market size, regional market share, historic market (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2024) The report covers in-detail insights about the competitors overview, company share analysis, key market developments, and their key strategies The report outlines drivers, restraints, unmet needs, and trends that are currently affecting the market The report tracks recent innovations, key developments and startups details that are actively working in the market The report provides a plethora of information about market entry strategies, regulatory framework and reimbursement scenario The report analyses the impact of the socio-political environment through PESTLE Analysis and competition through Porters Five Force Analysis in addition to recent technology advancements and innovations in the marketGet access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.comToll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553Website @Laboratory Information Management Systems Market Projected to Reach USD 1,155.67 million by 2025 at a CAGR of 7.7% During the Forecast Period 2025

Laboratory Information Management Systems Market 2025

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Global Laboratory Information Management Systems Market is expected to reach USD 1,155.67 million by 2025 from USD 650.70 million in 2017, at a CAGR of 7.7 % in the forecast period 2018 to 2025. The new market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.Looking for more information on this market? Get Free sample report @The Global Laboratory Information Management Systems Market highly concentrated to a few big players and rest to local players who cater to domestic markets only. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. dominated the Global Laboratory Information Management Systems market accounting for a highest market share in 2017, followed by McKesson Corporation Abbott and Siemens AG. Other players in this market include are Roper Technologies, Inc., IBM Corporation, Illumina, Inc., Shimadzu Corporation, LabWare, LABWORKS among others.Avail 10% Discount on Direct Purchase " Global Laboratory Information Management Systems Market " Or kindly send the email at sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comThermo Fisher Scientific Inc.:Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. founded in 2006 and headquartered in Waltham, U.S. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the provider of analytical instruments, equipment, reagents and consumables, software, and services for research, manufacturing, analysis, discovery, and diagnostics. The company operates in various segments namely life sciences, industrial & applied science, clinical & diagnostics, lab solutions and other resources. The laboratory information management systems market related products and services lie under life sciences.The company has its subsidiaries namely Dionex, Patheon Inc., FEI Company, Affymetrix, Phadia, Nalge Nunc International, Richard Allan Scientific Co., REMEL Inc., Core Informatics and among others. Core Informatics is also engaged in providing the products, solutions, software and services, the company operates in various segments namely Core LIMS, Core ELN, Core SDMS, Core Collaboration and Core Connect. The company has its global presence in many regions such as Sydney, Asia Pacific, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Melbourne among others.McKesson Corporation:McKesson Corporation founded in 1833 and headquartered in San Francisco, U.S. The company is engaged in healthcare supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care and healthcare information technology. It has partnered with several pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, pharmacies, governments and other organizations in healthcare to provide the precise medicines, medical products and healthcare services to the patients safely and cost-effectively. It operates its business through two reporting segments  McKesson distribution solutions and McKesson technology solutions.Any Questions? Inquire Here Before Buying:The distribution solutions offers wide range of product portfolio including healthcare-related products, branded and generic pharmaceutical drugs, specialty pharmaceutical solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturers for hospitals. It works with health systems which meets both the clinical and business needs laboratory. Health systems offers laboratory solution an integrated laboratory information system (LIS).It has its wide network globally through its subsidiaries Celesio AG (Germany), PSS World Medical (Florida, U.S.), Uniprix (Canada), Per-Se Technologies (Georgia, U.S.) and others.Abbott:Abbott was incorporated in 1990 and headquartered in Illinois, U.S. The company is a diversified healthcare company focused in discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of broad line of health care products. It operates its business through four segments namely  established pharmaceutical products, diagnostic products, nutritional products and vascular products.The company offers wide range of products for cardiovascular, diabetes care, diagnostics, neuromodulation, nutrition and pharmaceuticals. It offers the Global Laboratory Information Management Systems through Abbott Informatics product category which lies in the diagnostic products segmentsAbbott operates in more than 150 countries across United States, Europe, Western Hemisphere, Africa, and Asia-Pacific. It has its subsidiaries such as Abbott Administration Inc. (Delaware), Abbott Home Infusion Services, Inc. (New York), Abbott Laboratories International Co. (Illinois), Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd.(Australia), Murex Diagnostics International, Inc. (Barbados), Abbott S.A. (Belgium).Siemens AG:Siemens AG founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany. The company is involved in production and manufacturing of plants across the world. The company is involved in electrification, automation and digitalization technologies. Siemens AG works in following segments power and gas, energy management, building technologies, mobility, digital factory and process industries drives, healthineers and renewable energy. The Siemens Healthineers segment provides technology to the healthcare industry and, diagnostic imaging and laboratory diagnostics. Siemens AG provides medical maintenance services through imaging and therapy services. Its remote monitoring program can detect and corrects medical equipment before they need larger repair.The company has 377,000 employees and has global presence in more than 200 countries. It offers equipment services for medical equipment maintenance. It serves in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America and South America.Questions? Well Put You On The Right Path Request Analyst Call:TABLE OF CONTENTS GLOBAL LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LIMS) MARKET1. INTRODUCTION1.1. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY1.2. MARKET DEFINITION1.3. OVERVIEW OF GLOBAL LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LIMS) MARKET1.4. CURRENCY AND PRICING1.5. LIMITATION1.6. MARKETS COVERED2. MARKET SEGMENTATION2.1. MARKETS COVERED2.2. GEOGRAPHIC SCOPE2.3. YEARS CONSIDERED FOR THE STUDY2.4. CURRENCY AND PRICING2.5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.6. PRIMARY INTERVIEWS WITH KEY OPINION LEADERS2.7. SECONDARY SOURCES2.8. ASSUMPTIONS3. MARKET OVERVIEW3.1. DRIVERS3.1.1. GROWING USE OF LIMS TO COMPLY WITH STRINGENT REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS3.1.2. RISING NEED FOR ADOPTION OF LIMS IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES3.1.3. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS IN LIMS SERVICES3.2. RESTRAINTS3.2.1. HIGH COST OF LIMS PRODUCT AND SERVICES3.2.2. LACK OF INTEGRATION STANDARDS FOR LIMS3.3. OPPORTUNITIES3.3.1. GROWTH IN EMERGING MARKETS3.3.2. CLOUD-BASED LIMS OFFER GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES3.4. CHALLENGES3.4.1. INTERFACING OF LIMS WITH OTHER LABORATORY SYSTEMS3.4.2. LACK OF SKILLED PROFESSIONALS4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY5. PREMIUM INSIGHTS6. GLOBAL LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LIMS) MARKET, BY COMPONENT6.1. OVERVIEW6.2. SERVICE6.3. SOFTWARE7. GLOBAL LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LIMS) MARKET, BY PRODUCT TYPE7.1. OVERVIEW7.2. INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC7.3. BROAD-BASED8. GLOBAL LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LIMS) MARKET, BY DELIVERY8.1. OVERVIEW8.2. ON-PREMISE8.3. CLOUD-BASED8.4. REMOTELY-HOSTED9. GLOBAL LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LIMS) MARKET, BY INDUSTRY TYPE9.1. OVERVIEW9.2. LIFE SCIENCES9.2.1. PHARMACEUTICAL AND BIOTECHNOLOGY COMPANIES9.2.2. CONTRACT SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS9.2.3. ACADEMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTES9.2.4. MOLECULAR DIAGNOSTICS (MDX) & CLINICAL RESEARCH LABORATORIES9.3. PETROCHEMICAL REFINERIES AND OIL & GAS9.4. CHEMICAL9.5. FOOD & BEVERAGE AND AGRICULTURE9.6. OTHER10. GLOBAL LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LIMS) MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY10.1. OVERVIEW10.2. NORTH AMERICA10.2.1. U.S.10.2.2. CANADA10.2.3. MEXICO10.3. EUROPE10.3.1. GERMANY10.3.2. FRANCE10.3.3. U.K.10.3.4. ITALY10.3.5. NETHERLANDS10.3.6. SPAIN10.3.7. BELGIUM10.3.8. SWITZERLAND10.3.9. TURKEY10.3.10. RUSSIA10.3.11. REST OF EUROPE10.4. ASIA-PACIFIC10.4.1. JAPAN10.4.2. CHINA10.4.3. INDIA10.4.4. SOUTH KOREA10.4.5. AUSTRALIA10.4.6. SINGAPORE10.4.7. THAILAND10.4.8. MALAYSIA10.4.9. INDONESIA10.4.10. PHILIPPINES10.4.11. REST OF ASIA-PACIFIC10.5. SOUTH AMERICA10.5.1. BRAZIL10.5.2. REST OF SOUTH AMERICA10.6. MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA10.6.1. SOUTH AFRICA10.6.2. REST OF MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA11. GLOBAL LABORATORY INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LIMS) MARKET, COMPANY LANDSCAPE11.1. COMPANY SHARE ANALYSIS: GLOBAL11.2. COMPANY SHARE ANALYSIS: NORTH AMERICA11.3. COMPANY SHARE ANALYSIS: EUROPE11.4. COMPANY SHARE ANALYSIS: ASIA-PACIFIC12. COMPANY PROFILES12.1. IBM CORPORATION12.1.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.1.2. IBM CORPORATIO :REVENUE ANALYSIS12.1.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.1.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.2. MCKESSON CORPORATION12.2.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.2.2. MCKESSON CORPORATION: REVENUE ANALYSIS12.2.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.2.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.3. LABWARE12.3.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.3.2. LABWARE: COMPANY SNAPSHOT12.3.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.3.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.4. ROPER TECHNOLOGIES INC.12.4.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.4.2. ROPER TECHNOLOGIES, INC.: REVENUE ANALYSIS12.4.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.4.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.5. SIEMENS AG12.5.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.5.2. SIEMENS AG:REVENUE ANALYSIS12.5.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.5.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.6. LABWORKS12.6.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.6.2. LABWORKS: COMPANY SNAPSHOT12.6.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.6.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.7. ILLUMINA, INC.12.7.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.7.2. ILLUMINA, INC.:REVENUE ANALYSIS12.7.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.7.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.8. ABBOTT12.8.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.8.2. ABBOTT: REVENUE ANALYSIS12.8.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.8.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.9. PROMIUM LLC12.9.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.9.2. PROMIUM LLC: COMPANY SNAPSHOT12.9.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.9.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.10. LABLYNX, INC.12.10.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.10.2. LABLYNX, INC.: COMPANY SNAPSHOT12.10.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.10.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.11. NOVATEK INTERNATIONAL12.11.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.11.2. NOVATEK INTERNATIONAL:COMPANY SNAPSHOT12.11.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.11.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.12. THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC.12.12.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.12.2. THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC.: REVENUE ANALYSIS12.12.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.12.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.13. SHIMADZU CORPORATION12.13.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.13.2. SHIMADZU CORPORATION: REVENUE ANALYSIS12.13.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.13.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.14. COMPUTER SOLUTIONS, INC.12.14.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.14.2. COMPUTER SOLUTIONS, INC.: COMPANY SNAPSHOT12.14.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.14.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.15. AGARAM TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD12.15.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.15.2. AGARAM TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD: COMPANY SNAPSHOT12.15.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.15.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS12.16. CLOUDLIMS12.16.1. COMPANY OVERVIEW12.16.2. CLOUDLIMS: COMPANY SNAPSHOT12.16.3. PRODUCT PORTFOLIO12.16.4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS13. RELATED REPORTSRead more about Report Visit @Related ReportGlobal Digital Health Monitoring Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Digital Health Monitoring Market By Product Type (Devices (Blood Pressure Monitors, Blood Glucose Monitors, ECG, Oximeters, Peak Flow Monitors, Multi Parameter Monitors, Sleep Apnea Monitors, Neurological Monitors, Others), Software (Healthcare Apps, Chronic Disease Apps, Personal Health Apps, Others), Services (Remote Monitoring, Consultancy Services, Treatment Services, Fitness and Wellness Services, Others), By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, Middle East & Africa)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comEurope Telehealth Market by Regional Outlook, Latest Trend, Share, Size, Application, Growth and Forecast To 2024

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Telehealth is the use of live interactive video/ audio technology to assess an individual experiencing a mental health emergency. Telehealth is a collection of means or methods for enhancing health care, public health, and health education delivery and support using telecommunications technologies. Telehealth encompasses a broad variety of technologies and tactics to deliver virtual medical, health, and education services.The Europe Telehealth Market has accounted for USD XX billion in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of XX in the forecast period 2017 to 2024. The new market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.Download Exclusive PDF Sample Report @Europe Telehealth Market, By Hardware (Telehealth Monitors, Monitoring Devices), By Software (Standalone, Integrated), By Services (Remote, Real Time, Store and Send), By Deployment (Web Based, Cloud Based, On Premise), By End-User (Healthcare Payers, Healthcare Providers, Patients), By Country (Germany, France, U.K., Spain, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Rest of Europe)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Frequently Asked Questions? What will the market size be in 2024? What are the key factors driving the European market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key players in the market? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key players? What will be the growth rate in 2024? Which strategies are used by top players in the Europe Telehealth Market?To Avail Discount On This Report Mail us on @sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comMarket SegmentationBy hardware, is categorized into telehealth monitors monitoring devicesThe monitoring devices sub segment is further classified by device type into blood pressure meters, blood glucose meters, weight scale, pulse oximeters, peak flow meters, ECG monitorsThe software market is further segmented into integrated and standalone software. The services market is further segmented into remote monitoring, real-time, and store and send.Based on deployment, the market is categorized into web-based, on premise, cloud-basedThe market by end user is segmented into providers, payers, patientsInquiry before Buying @Based on geography the market is segmented into 11 countries, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and rest of EuropeBelgium and rest of Europe. Germany is expected to dominate the European telehealth market due to the massive healthcare expenditure and paradigm shift towards more efficient continuous healthcare monitoring.Major Market CompetitorsSome of the major players of the Europe Telehealth Market Philips Healthcare Cerner Corporation, GE Healthcare, Honeywell Life Care Solutions, McKesson Corporation, Ergotron, Inc., Medtronic, Inc., InstaMD, The Medvivo Group,About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comFuture of Healthcare IT Industry as Dictated by Refreshing Trends in Europe Digital Health Monitoring Devices Market - Industry Size, Share, Trends, Analysis and Forecast 20182024

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Europe digital health monitoring devices market are using mergers, acquisition and development of technology as penetration strategies. The report also includes new developments, future technological advancements, recent strategically decisions, expansions and product launches.Market AnalysisThe Europe digital health monitoring devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 35.8% from 2017 to 2024. The new market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.Market DefinitionDigital health products are shifting the continuous monitoring market from healthcare professionals to consumers hence creating an entirely new market scope. The digital health monitoring market is helping the healthcare monitoring from diagnosis to predictive approach. Consumers get control of the device and the continuous data management, provided with miniaturization, portability, its wireless component, noninvasive body sensors, and integration with the smartphone, decreasing the physician vists for regular checkups. The big issue of this market is no reimbursement so for the manufacturers its a concern that who will the payer in this market, hence somewhat restraining the market growth. However with cheaper and more effective technologies coming in the market the constraint with reimbursements will be controlled.Download Free PDF Sample Report @Europe Digital Health Monitoring Market, By Product Type (Devices (Blood Pressure Monitors, Blood Glucose Monitors, ECG, Oximeters, Peak Flow Monitors, Multi Parameter Monitors, Sleep Apnea Monitors, Neurological Monitors, Others), Software (Healthcare Apps, Chronic Disease Apps, Personal Health Apps, Others), Services (Remote Monitoring, Consultancy Services, Treatment Services, Fitness and Wellness Services, Others), By Country (Germany, France, U.K., Spain, Italy, Russia, Belgium, Turkey, Switzerland, Netherlands)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Frequently Asked Questions? What will the market size be in 2024? What are the key factors driving the European market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key players in the market? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key players? What will be the growth rate in 2024? Which strategies are used by top players in the Europe Digital Health Monitoring Market?To Avail Discount On This Report Mail us on @sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comMarket SegmentationThe Europe digital health monitoring devices market is segmented based on product types into 3, namely digital health devices, digital health software and digital health services. The digital health devices market includes mobile devices and is further segmented into blood glucose monitors, ECG monitors, blood pressure monitors, oximeters, peak flow monitors, neurological monitors, sleep apnea monitors, multi parameter monitors, and others. Blood glucose monitors are expected to grow at the highest CAGR due to the increasing prevalence and risk of diabetes in the global market.The digital health software market includes mobile apps for healthcare and is segmented into healthcare apps, chronic disease apps, personal health apps and others. Some of the major inclusions in this segment are weight loss apps, fitness tracking apps, aware and alert apps, diabetes maintenance apps, pregnancy apps, blood pressure monitoring apps, PHR apps among others. The digital health services market includes remote monitoring, diagnosis and consultation services, fitness and wellness services, prevention services and others. The software and services market is propelled by the acceptance of android and ios phones in developing markets.Based on geography the market is segmented into 11 countries, Germany, France, U.K., Spain, Italy, Russia, Belgium, Turkey, Switzerland, Netherlands and Rest of Europe. U.K. is the costliest as it spends maximum share of its GDP In healthcare as compared to other European countries. U.K. is expected to be the highest growing market for healthcare IT in Europe. While Germany is the dominant market in terms of value due to its largest spending in EU union on healthcare. France is one of the other nations that are doing extremely well in Healthcare IT acceptance.Inquiry before Buying @Based on geography the market is segmented into 11 countries, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and rest of EuropeTalk with Our Experts @Major Market CompetitorsSome of the major players of the Europe digital health monitoring devices market Air Strip Technologies Inc., Alive Cor Inc., LifeWatch AG, Nike Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Medtronic Inc., Apple Inc., Sanofi, Mobisante Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Jawbone, Omron Corporation, Withings,About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comNew Research on High Purity Alumina (HPA) Market Showcase Promising Growth During Forecast 2026

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This comprehensive report on Industrial Cyber Security (Solutions and Services) Market [(By Component  Hardware Solutions, Software Solutions, and Services; By Security Layer  Network Security, End-point Security, Cloud Security, Application Security and Others; By End Use Industry - Process Industries and Discrete Industries)]  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2018  2026 by Transparency Market Research, analyzes and provides growth forecast for the industrial cyber security market at the global and regional level which includes Asia Pacific, South America, North America, Middle East & Africa (MEA), and Europe. The report provides analysis for the period 20162026, wherein 2018 to 2026 is the forecast period and the base year is 2017. An in-depth and unbiased market assessment has been made to offer readers insightful and accurate analysis. The report focuses on all the major trends and services playing a key role in industrial cyber security market growth over the period 2018 - 2026. It also focuses on restraining factors, market drivers, and opportunities of the industrial cyber security markets growth during the said period.Click Here, To Get Sample Copy of New Research Industrial Cyber Security Market Report @The report includes a detailed ecosystem analysis, which offers a widespread view of the global industrial cyber security market. Porters Five Forces analysis is also provided to understand the competitive scenario in the global industrial cyber security market. The study incorporates market attractiveness analysis of the industrial cyber security market, wherein the segments, for instance software solutions, hardware solutions, and services, are benchmarked based on their market size, growth rate, and attractiveness in terms of opportunity. In order to give a complete analysis of the overall competitive scenario in the industrial cyber security market, every geographic region mentioned in the report, is provided with an attractiveness analysis.Overview of the industrial cyber security market, detailing key market trends and dynamics has been included to provide a clear understanding of ecosystem forces. Dynamics includes impact analysis of market restraining factors, drivers and opportunities of the industrial cyber security market. Additionally, the report also provides analysis of different business strategies being adopted by market leaders of this market. Trends and services related to industrial cyber security solutions along with their applications have also been explained in the report.Global Industrial Cyber Security Market: Scope of the ReportThe study provides a decisive view on the global industrial cyber security market, broadly segmented by component as software solutions, hardware solutions, and services, by security layer as network security, end-point security, cloud security, application security and others, and by end use industry as process industries and discrete industries. Further, the report provides detailed breakdown of the industrial cyber security market across geographic regions, which include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America, thus providing valuable insights at micro and macro levels.The report highlights the competitive scenario within the industrial cyber security market, thus ranking all the major players according to their key recent developments and their geographic presence. Insights for the industrial cyber security market are the result of our extensive primary interviews, secondary research, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by considering the impact of different economic, political, social, legal and technological factors.On the basis of country, the North America market is segmented into the U.S., Canada, and Rest of North America. Furthermore, the Europe market is analyzed across France, Germany, U.K., and Rest of Europe. APAC industrial cyber security market is also segmented at country level which includes China, Japan, India, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Middle East & Africa covers the G.C.C., South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa. Similarly, South America region includes Brazil and Rest of South America. This report provides all the strategic information required to understand the industrial cyber security market along with its components, security layer, and end-use industry.Click here, To Get Complete Examined Research Report with TOC @Global Industrial Cyber Security Market: Research MethodologyThe research methodology is a perfect combination of primary research, secondary research, and expert panel reviews. Secondary sources such as annual reports, company websites, SEC filings and investor presentations, internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases, relevant patent and regulatory databases, market reports, government publications, World Bank database, and industry white papers are usually referred for developing preliminary market understanding. Further, for this report we have specifically focused on data from cyber security breaches survey and industry bodies.Primary research involves telephonic interviews, e-mail interactions, and face-to-face interviews for detailed and unbiased reviews on the industrial cyber security market across geographies. Primary interviews are usually conducted on an ongoing basis with industry experts and participants in order to get latest market insights and validate the existing data and analysis. Primary interviews offer new and fresh information on important factors such as market trends, market size, competitive landscape, growth trends, etc. These factors help to validate and strengthen secondary research findings. Moreover, the data collected and analyzed from secondary and primary research is again discussed and examined by our expert panel.Global Industrial Cyber Security Market: Competitive DynamicsThe research study includes profiles of major companies operating in the global industrial cyber security market. Market players have been profiled in terms of attributes such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, and recent developments. Parameters such as investment & spending and developments by major players of the market are tracked. Some of the key players in the industrial cyber security market are Schneider Electric SE, Rockwell Automation, Inc., CyberArk Software Ltd., ABB Ltd., Cisco Systems, Inc., Symantec Corporation, IBM Corporation, Dell Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Siemens AG, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Maverick Technologies among others.The industrial cyber security market has been segmented as follows:Global Industrial Cyber Security MarketBy ComponentHardware SolutionsRoutersGatewaysEthernet SwitchesOther Networking DevicesSoftware SolutionsIntrusion Detection Systems/Intrusion Prevention Systems (IDS/IPS)FirewallBackup And RecoveryAntivirus/MalwareSecurity Information and Event Management (SIEM)Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)EncryptionVirtualization SecurityData Loss Prevention (DLP)Identity and Access Management (IAM)Unified Threat Management (UTM)Application WhitelistingDistributed Denial of Service (DDoS)Others (Patch Update Management, Database Activity Monitoring (DAM))ServicesMaintenance & IntegrationConsulting & TrainingAssessments and AuditsManaged ServicesRisk Management ServicesBy Security LayerNetwork securityEnd-point securityCloud securityApplication securityOthers (database security and web security)By End Use IndustryProcess IndustriesOil and GasChemicalFood and BeveragesPulp and PaperPharmaceuticalEnergy and PowerWater and Wastewater TreatmentDiscrete IndustriesAutomotiveAerospace and DefenseElectronics and ElectricalMedical DevicesMetal and MiningFMCGBy GeographyNorth AmericaS.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeGermanyThe U.K.FranceRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)GCC CountriesSouth AfricaRest of MEASouth AmericaBrazilRest of South AmericaNeed Assistance? 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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On  Contact Lens 2018 Global Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 6.45% and Forecast to 2022.The analysts forecast the global contact lens market to grow at a CAGR of 6.45% during the period 2018-2022.Contact lenses are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eye to correct the vision. It can be used for therapeutic or aesthetic purposes as well. Contact lenses improve all-around vision, allowing clear peripheral vision. They also eliminate glare and are more comfortable to wear and carry.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comCovered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global contact lens market for 2018-2022. To calculate the market size, the report presents a detailed picture of the market by way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography: Americas APAC EMEAThe report, Global Contact Lens Market 2018-2022, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors Johnson & Johnson Novartis The Cooper Companies Valeant Pharmaceuticals ZEISSMarket driver Increasing advantages of contact lens over glass lens For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge High cost of products For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend Growing initiatives promoting safe usage of contact lens For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this report What will the market size be in 2022 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving this market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space?Report Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsPART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARYPART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORTPART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGYPART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysisPART 05: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing 2017 Market size and forecast 2017-2022PART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market conditionPART 07: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT Segmentation by product Comparison by product Global soft contact lens market Global RGP contact lens market Global hybrid contact lens market Market opportunity by productPART 08: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPEPART 09: REGIONAL LANDSCAPE Geographical segmentation Regional comparison Americas EMEA  Market size and forecast 2017-2022 APAC  Market size and forecast 2017-2022 Market opportunityPART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORKPART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challengesPART 12: MARKET TRENDS Growing initiatives promoting safe usage of contact lenses Technological advances Increased preference toward cosmetic contact lensContinued..For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.Network Monitoring Tools Market Trends and Forecast Analysis up to 2025

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AT present usage of Network monitoring Tools is increasing significantly due to ability of these tools to provide information about problem and information about how to solve it and improve network. These Network monitoring Tools help users to generate log files and performance charts that helps in detailing system capabilities and allow user to change system settings for optimal set-up. These Network monitoring Tools includes software such as application performance management, web monitoring and packet capturing.Network monitoring Tools includes network monitoring process which includes checking of computers, systems, services and other tools to comprise a better network. This Network monitoring Tools also helps network administrator to improve network settings and maintain robust network. These Network monitoring Tools allow user automatically discovers all the networking devices and interfaces, helps in wireless access point monitoring and helps in monitoring other hardware devices.Request Report for TOC @Network monitoring Tools Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe major factor driving the adoption of Network monitoring Tools is the ability of proactive alerts and root cause analysis. These Network monitoring Tools always provides right alerts at right time and provides dashboard about interactive network monitoring software along with other dashboards for world maps, topologies, dependency maps and others. Other factors due to which companies are using Network monitoring Tools are ability to quickly identify network bandwidth issues, and fixing of network problems faster.The key challenge for Network monitoring Tools is the high cost of these Network monitoring Tools and need of other integrated technologies and networks for implementing these Network monitoring Tools. These Network monitoring Tools can be implemented due to high operational cost and requirement of other robust technologies within the existing infrastructure of organization to easily implement these Network monitoring Tools.Network Monitoring Tools Market: SegmentationSegmentation on the basis of Software:The Network monitoring Tools market can be segmented on the basis of software that are provided by Network monitoring Tools vendorsApplication performance managementWeb monitoringProtocol analyzingPacket capturingOthersCompetition Landscape of Network monitoring Tools MarketKey Contract:In August 2016, Flowmon Networks, a network monitoring solution provider has entered into partnership with CyberKombat an attack/defense security operation center. This partnership will help Cyber Kombat to have more visibility in the network traffics along with application layer visibility.In July 2016, Riverbed technology, an application performance company has acquired Aternity, an application performance monitoring tool provider. This acquisition will help Riverbed to provide Network monitoring Tools to its customers better network monitoring solutions on mobile devices, virtual desktops and over cloud.Request to Sample Report @In March 2016, APCON, a network monitoring solution provider has launched Ethernet monitoring solution for network traffic optimization and helps in loading balance traffic to network and security tools.Key Players in Network monitoring ToolsIn Network monitoring Tools market there are many vendors some of them are Riverbed, Zenoss, Nagios, Monitis, Zoho Corporation, Monitortools and others.Persistence 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:Benzoic Acid Market to 2022  Global Analysis and Forecasts by Types, Technologies, Applications and End-User Verticals

Benzoic Acid Market

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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On  Benzoic Acid Market to 2022  Global Analysis and Forecasts by Types, Technologies, Applications and End-User Verticals.The Benzoic Acid industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Benzoic Acid market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 5.39% from 820 million $ in 2014 to 960 million $ in 2017, The analysts believe that in the next few years, Benzoic Acid market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2022, The market size of the Benzoic Acid will reach 1250 million $.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better. This report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status, including market size, volume and value, as well as price data.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Sections:-Section 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailAriha ChemicalsEmerald Performance MaterialsGanesh BenzoplastHemadri ChemicalsIg PetrochemicalsKrishna ChemicalsNavyug PharmachemNimbasiaPremier Group Of IndustriesReliance IndustriesTianjin Dongda Chemical GroupWuhan Youji Industries Co.Section 4: 900 USDRegion SegmentationNorth America Country (United States, Canada)South AmericaAsia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea)Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy)Other Country (Middle East, Africa, GCC)ContinuedReport Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsSection 1 Benzoic Acid Product DefinitionSection 2 Global Benzoic Acid Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 Global Manufacturer Benzoic Acid Shipments2.2 Global Manufacturer Benzoic Acid Business Revenue2.3 Global Benzoic Acid Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturer Benzoic Acid Business Introduction3.1 Ariha Chemicals Benzoic Acid Business Introduction3.1.1 Ariha Chemicals Benzoic Acid Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.1.2 Ariha Chemicals Benzoic Acid Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Ariha Chemicals Interview Record3.1.4 Ariha Chemicals Benzoic Acid Business Profile3.1.5 Ariha Chemicals Benzoic Acid Product Specification3.2 Emerald Performance Materials Benzoic Acid Business Introduction3.2.1 Emerald Performance Materials Benzoic Acid Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.2.2 Emerald Performance Materials Benzoic Acid Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Emerald Performance Materials Benzoic Acid Business Overview3.2.5 Emerald Performance Materials Benzoic Acid Product Specification3.3 Ganesh Benzoplast Benzoic Acid Business Introduction3.3.1 Ganesh Benzoplast Benzoic Acid Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.3.2 Ganesh Benzoplast Benzoic Acid Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 Ganesh Benzoplast Benzoic Acid Business Overview3.3.5 Ganesh Benzoplast Benzoic Acid Product Specification3.4 Hemadri Chemicals Benzoic Acid Business Introduction3.5 Ig Petrochemicals Benzoic Acid Business Introduction3.6 Krishna Chemicals Benzoic Acid Business IntroductionSection 4 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 North America Country4.1.1 United States Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.1.2 Canada Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.2 South America Country4.2.1 South America Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.3 Asia Country4.3.1 China Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.3.2 Japan Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.3.3 India Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.3.4 Korea Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4 Europe Country4.4.1 Germany Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4.2 UK Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4.3 France Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4.4 Italy Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.4.5 Europe Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.5 Other Country and Region4.5.1 Middle East Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.5.2 Africa Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.5.3 GCC Benzoic Acid Market Size and Price Analysis 2014-20174.6 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Region Level) Analysis 2014-20174.7 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Region Level) AnalysisSection 5 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2014-20175.2 Different Benzoic Acid Product Type Price 2014-20175.3 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisSection 6 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Industry Level)6.1 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Market Size 2014-20176.2 Different Industry Price 2014-20176.3 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Industry Level) AnalysisSection 7 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Channel Level)7.1 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Sales Volume and Share 2014-20177.2 Global Benzoic Acid Market Segmentation (Channel Level) AnalysisContinued..For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.Self-healing Grid Market to Reap Excessive Revenues by 2025

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The usage of electric power distribution systems has been rising due to the increase in demand for electric vehicles and distributed energy resources such as stored energy and renewable sources. The self-healing grid is a system includes automated controls, advanced software, and sensors that utilizes real-time distribution data to isolate and detect faults and to reconfigure the distribution network. It assure grid stability and improve reliability. These grid employ real-time communication technologies and digital components to monitor electrical characteristics. They can also provide numerous benefits that support an efficient and stable system. Self-healing grid provides reaction and real-time monitoring, which lets the system to continuously adjust itself to an optimum state. Self-healing grid enables the system for more fast restoration and to avoid the spread of interruption.View Report Preview:Cyber-attack security of electric utilities, adoption of legislative mandates and government policies for smart grid technologies, and mitigation of difficulty in distributed energy generation are key factors propelling the self-healing grid market. However, low acceptance and high initial installation cost of self-healing grid technologies in developing nations are hampering the market. Nevertheless, innovation in communication technologies and upgrading of aging grid infrastructure can resolve these issues. Various technologies must be arrayed and integrated in order to transform existing infrastructure into a self-healing smart grid. The smart grid system contains micro grids, which are mostly self-sufficient power systems. Self-healing grid is a system that encompasses automated controls, advanced software, and sensors that can employ real-time distribution data to identify, reconfigure the distribution network, and isolate errors.The self-healing grid market can be segmented based on application, component, end-use, and region. Based on application, the market can be divided into transmission lines and distribution lines. Based on component, the market can be bifurcated into software & services and hardware. Hardware was a rapidly growing segment in 2016 due to the increase in installation of several hardware components to make self-healing smart grids. North America and Europe are anticipated to drive the market during the forecast period due to the increasing deployment of hardware components in these regions. Based on end-use, the market can be segregated into private utility and public utility. The public utility segment is expected to account for key share of the market in the near future as most public utilities in countries such as India and the U.S. are likely to invest in self-healing grid technologies.North America is the leading region of the self-healing grid market due to the increase in emphasis on grid modernization. The U.S. is estimated to be the major country of the self-healing grid market in North America owing to the rise in investment in upgrade of the gridding technology. The market in Canada has been expanding owing to the increase in smart grid projects in the country. Implementation of stringent government regulatory framework is likely to further drive the market in North America. Asia Pacific also presents key opportunities for the market, led by government regulators to indorse grid upgrade. India and China are prominent countries in terms of demand for self-healing grid technologies in Asia Pacific. Investment in faulty detection systems and innovative grid infrastructure is anticipated to augment the self-healing grid market in Asia Pacific. North America is projected to be the major region of the market during the forecast period. It is likely to be followed by Europe and Asia Pacific.Key players operating in the global self-healing grid market include ABB Group, Eaton Corporation Plc., Siemens AG, General Electric, G&W Electric, Inc., S&C Electric Company, Schneider Electric SE, Landis+Gyr Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Infosys Limited, Oracle Corporation, and Sentient Energy.Request to view Sample Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Variable Displacement Pump Market Projected to Gain Significant Value by 2025

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A variable displacement pump is a device used to convert mechanical energy into hydraulic energy. Displacement refers to the amount of fluid pumped per revolution of the pumps input shaft. This can vary as per the requirement. Variable displacement pump is one of the two types of hydraulic pumps; fixed displacement pump is the other one. Fixed displacement pump has a fixed flow rate, while the flow rate of a variable displacement pump can vary even during the operation of the pump. The ability to vary the displacement of energy in a variable displacement pump has resulted in it gaining importance over fixed displacement pumps.View Report Preview:Growth in the construction industry is the primary driver of the global variable displacement pump market. Countries in developed and developing regions are investing extensively in infrastructure. This has boosted the demand for variable displacement pump in various machineries used in the construction industry. On the other hand, comparatively higher price of variable displacement pump is one of the factors restraining the market. It is a more complex pump as compared to the fixed displacement pump. At the same time, it is capable of carrying out a wide variety of tasks. Hence, variable displacement pump are priced higher than fixed displacement pumps.The global variable displacement pump market can be segmented based on type, end-user industry, and region.In terms of type, the global variable displacement pump market can be bifurcated into axial piston pump and rotary vane pump. Axial piston pump has several pistons within cylinders arranged parallel to each other. These rotate around the central shaft. This type of pump is more commonly used in automotive applications. In rotary vane pump, the vanes are mounted on a rotor and then rotate inside a cavity.In terms of end-user industry, the global variable displacement pump market can be classified into construction, transportation, forestry & agriculture, and others. Variable displacement pump is employed in a large range of machinery in these industries. Construction is the most important application segment of the variable displacement pump market. It is followed by the transportation segment. Transportation includes various automotive used in industries ranging from manufacturing & mining to construction & material handling.In terms of region, the global variable displacement pump market can be divided into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. The market in developing countries of Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa is expected to expand at a faster pace than that in developed countries of North America and Europe.The global variable displacement pump market is fragmented with a large number of companies throughout the world. Key players operating in the market include U.S.-based Eaton Corporation and Parker Hannifin Corporation, Germany-based Bosch Rexroth AG, Denmark-based Danfoss A/S, and Japan-based Yuken Kogyo Co., Ltd. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.Request to view Sample Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Aerospace Polymer Composites Market to Observe Strong Development by 2026

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Light weight, high reliability, superior aerodynamic performance, stealth, and all weather operation are important requirements of aerospace structures such as spacecraft, commercial aircraft, business aircraft, and specific military aircraft. Composite materials are the ideal choice of materials that meet the demands of the aerospace industry. Recent advancements and developments in composite technology, which uses fiber reinforced polymer composites, have positively affected the aviation sector.View Report Preview:Fiber-reinforced polymer composites are technically advanced materials, which are resistant to fatigue and corrosion. They are also light in weight. Polymer composites provide high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios. Thus, aerospace engineers and aircraft designers increasingly prefer polymer composite materials over other composite materials, as these make aircraft much stronger, lighter, and more fuel efficient.Unfolding superior properties and advantages of strong and stiff reinforcements such as carbon fiber along with recent advancements in polymer research to manufacture high performance resins as matrix materials have helped overcome the challenges presented by the complex designs of modern aircraft. Advanced polymer composites are employed on a large scale in R&D initiations by major OEMs. Governments across the world are also increasingly funding the development of military fighter aircraft, general aviation, helicopters, satellites, launch vehicles, and missiles. This highlights the immense potential of polymer composite materials in the aerospace industry.Based on fiber, the aerospace polymer composites market can be segmented into carbon, glass, ceramic, and aramid. In terms of matrix, the market can be bifurcated into thermoplastic (PPS, PEEK) and thermosets (epoxies, phenolic, polyesters, and polyimides). Based on aircraft type, the aerospace polymer composites market can be segregated into general aviation, defense aircraft, space, and helicopters. In terms of structure, the market can be classified into laminate composites and sandwich composites. Based on application, the aerospace polymer composites market can be split into interior and exterior.Increased military expenditure across major economies such as U.S., China, Western Europe and UAE, is one of the major drivers for aerospace polymer composites market. And also the robust growth of aerospace industry due to increasing demand for air transportation are expected to drive the growth of aerospace polymer composites market in coming years. Technological advancements and significant investments in R&D by OEMs for the manufacture of aerospace structural parts are expected to boost the aerospace polymer composites market.In terms of geography, North America holds large share of the global aerospace polymer composites market due to the presence of major aircraft fleet such as AIRBUS, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin. Growth of the fleet is anticipated to directly increase the consumption of aerospace polymer composites. Asia Pacific and Europe are also key regions of the market. The aerospace polymer composites market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand significantly during the forecast period owing to the expansion in the aerospace industry and rise in demand for various types of aircraft in countries such as India and China. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are estimated to account for relatively small share of the global aerospace polymer composites market.Key players operating in the global aerospace polymer composites market include AIRBUS, BOEING, Hexcel, and ATC Aerospace.Request to view Sample Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Borehole Equipment Market to Undertake Strapping Growth by the End 2026

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Borehole equipment are special-purpose machines, particularly used for mud drilling and drill hole enlarging in several applications such as mining, oil & gas, water tube well drilling, and infrastructure. These are self-propelled as well as stationary machines and have a drilling rig installed over a truck, tracked vehicle, or structure. Borehole equipment plays a key role in construction industry, infrastructural projects, mining, and agriculture. These equipment are employed across a wide number of construction projects ranging from road construction to bridges and tunnels. Borehole equipment can handle several types of soil and rock configurations such as loose mud & silt, hard rock, and porous limestone.View Report Preview:The borehole equipment market is largely driven by the increase in spending on infrastructure. Countries such as the U.S., China, Japan, Italy, India, Australia, and Germany have vast infrastructure. Along with infrastructure, agriculture also requires borehole equipment for irrigation proposes by tapping into underground water sources. Mining and oil & gas industries also rely on borehole equipment to extract oil, gas, and other related fuels and derivatives. Laying of craters and holes for explosives and creating access to underground mines is primarily carried out using borehole equipment. Thus, borehole equipment is used in a project that needs to work below ground. This drives the market for borehole equipment.Based on type, the borehole equipment market can be segmented into portable, self-propelled, and stationary. Self-propelled borehole equipment are integration of a vehicle, usually a truck or tracked vehicle, which is mounted with a drilling rig. This makes self-propelled borehole equipment more versatile. It also offers ease of operation. Thus, self-propelled borehole equipment are largely preferred. Based on operation, the borehole equipment can be divided into hydraulic and pneumatic. Hydraulic borehole equipment is largely employed where drilling force and strata to be drilled is harder and deeper. Based on application, the market can be segregated into oil & gas, mining, infrastructure & construction, agriculture, and others. The mining segment can be further sub-segmented into coal mining, mineral mining, ferrous metal mining, and non-ferrous metal mining. Similarly, infrastructure & construction segment can also be sub-segmented into residential, commercial, industrial, and utility. Large number of borehole equipment is employed in the mining industry, as mining industry has repetitive requirement of boring holes for explosives and charge laying.In terms of geography, the global borehole equipment market can be classified into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is the key region of the borehole equipment market, due to the increase in government expenditure on infrastructure and extensive mining for resources in the region. China and India significantly depend on coal for their power requirements. These countries have vast coal reserves and carry out heavy mining for coal. Middle East & Africa is also a lucrative market for borehole equipment primarily due to the presence of large number of crude oil and natural gas reserves followed by infrastructure development in GCC and South Africa. North America is also a prominent region of the borehole equipment market, as the region is one of the largest producers of oil & gas. Its major source is tight oil and shale gas, which requires extensive drilling. This is driving the demand for borehole equipment.Key players operating in the global borehole equipment market include Dando Drilling International, Bohrmeister (Pty) Ltd., Borehole Machinery, Getech International, Shandong Xin Mei Mining Group, and Audie Steel & Engineering.Request to view Sample Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Chip Power Inductor Market Best Application And Segmentation For Sumida, Chilisin, Sunlord, Misumi, AVX & More

Chip Power Inductor Market

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Global Chip Power Inductor Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 provides Market information about Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application. This Industry report also states Company Profile, sales, Chip Power Inductor Market revenue and price, market share, market growth and gross margin by regions.A chip power inductor is a passive two-terminal electrical component that stores electrical energy in a magnetic field when electric current is flowing through it. It can use high or low frequency radio signals as well as frequencies that are self-resonant. They are often found in power lines, RF transceivers, computers, consumer electronics, automotive electronics, etc. In this report, we focus on the research of the chip power inductor manufacturers and the statistic is based on the companys production value (Revenue).Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversTDK, Murata, Taiyo Yuden, Sumida, Chilisin, Sunlord, Misumi, AVX, Sagami Elec, Microgate, Zhenhua Fu Electronics, Fenghua AdvancedThe report has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global Chip Power Inductor market collected from specialized sources. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. Company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, new project launched, recent development analysis are the parameters included in the profile.Get Sample Copy of this Report:Scope of Chip Power Inductor Market:This report focuses on the Chip Power Inductor in global market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, types and applications.Polymers which can be cross-linked with organic peroxides are used to produce hose, wires, tires, rubber seals, etc. Chip Power Inductor can also be used as flame-retardant synergist in expanded polystyrene (EPS). In that case, the peroxide is incorporated in small quantities in EPS, and will catalyse the flame retardant action in case of heating.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversNon-Shielded Chip Power InductorShielded Chip Power InductorMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoAutomotive ElectronicsCommunications ElectronicsConsumer ElectronicsComputerOthersKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2022 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendorsFor More Information:There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Chip Power Inductor market.Chapter 1, to describe Chip Power Inductor Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Chip Power Inductor, with sales, revenue, and price of Chip Power Inductor, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Chip Power Inductor, for each region, from 2013 to 2018;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2013 to 2018;Chapter 12, Chip Power Inductor market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2023;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Chip Power Inductor sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceRelated ReportGlobal and Chinese Magnesium Ion NGA Battery Industry, 2018 Market Research ReportMarket Study Report Add Magnesium Ion NGA Battery Market Size, Status and Forecast 2023 added to its database. The report provides key statistics on the current state of the industry and other analytical data to understand the market.More Reports:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email:sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:More Report at:Plasma Cutters Market 2018 Global Industry Size, Growth, Segments, Revenue, Manufacturers and 2025 Forecast Research Report

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Global Plasma Cutters Market 2018 Industry Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Global Plasma Cutters industry. This report studies Global Plasma Cutters 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 2013 to 2018, and forecast to 2025.Get Sample Copy of this Report -The Global Plasma Cutters market 2018 research provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Global Plasma Cutters market analysis is provided for the international markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.Complete report on Global Plasma Cutters Industry 2018 Market Research Report is spread across 110 pages and provides exclusive vital statistics, data, information, trends and competitive landscape details in this niche sector. Inquire more or share questions if any on this report @Global Plasma Cutters market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingLincoln ElectricLincoln ElectricESABAJAN ELEKTRONIKKoikeHornet Cutting SystemsKiffer IndustriesShopSabre...The report also focuses on global major leading industry players of Global Plasma Cutters market providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Global Plasma Cutters market development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.With tables and figures helping analyze worldwide Global Plasma Cutters market, this research provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Order a copy of Global Plasma Cutters Market Report 2018 @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into2 Dimensional / 2-Axis Plasma Cutting3 Dimensional / 3+ Axis Plasma CuttingTube & Section Plasma CuttingOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingFabrication ShopsAutomotive Repair and RestorationIndustrial ConstructionSalvage and Scrapping OperationsMajor Points from Table of Contents:1 Global Plasma Cutters Market Overview2 Global Plasma Cutters Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Plasma Cutters Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)4 Global Plasma Cutters Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2013-2018)5 Global Plasma Cutters Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Plasma Cutters Market Analysis by Application7 Global Plasma Cutters Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Global Plasma Cutters Market Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Plasma Cutters Market Forecast (2018-2025)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixAuthor ListDisclosure SectionResearch MethodologyData SourceAbout usBusinessIndustryReports.com is digital database of comprehensive market reports for global industries. As a market research company, we take pride in equipping our clients with insights and data that holds the power to truly make a difference to their business. Our mission is singular and well-defined - we want to help our clients envisage their business environment so that they are able to make informed, strategic and therefore successful decisions for themselves.Media ContactBusiness Market ReportsPune  Indiasales@businessindustryreports.com+19376349940Large-scale LNG Terminals Market Offered in New Research Forecasted through 2023

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The research report analyzes the market for Large-Scale LNG Terminals in terms of throughput in MMTPA. For the research, 2016 has been considered as the base year and forecasts have been provided for 2017-2023.Click Here, To Get Sample Copy of New Research Global Large-scale LNG Terminals Market Report @Large-scale LNG terminals include terminals with throughput more than 300,000 tons per annum. All other terminals below this capacity are not within the scope of this study. For some countries, the percentage of large-scale terminal throughput as a percentage of overall throughput was available directly from secondary sources or was established through primary interviews. For regional segments, where there was dearth of data from both primary and secondary sources, percentages were established using benchmarking and estimates.The report studies the large-scale LNG terminals market in terms of type, technology, and geography. Included in the report is CAGR for each segment under different category and their growth behavior through 2023. Past and current market figures have been used to present projections until 2023.Global Large-scale LNG Terminals Market: Report SnapshotThe executive summary section of the report includes market snapshot of the global large-scale LNG terminals market and comparative analysis by geography in terms of value for the 2017-2023 forecast timeframe.The market overview section of the large-scale LNG terminals market report looks into vital market indicators such as demand drivers, challenges, and opportunities that could have a bearing on the said market over the 2017-2023 forecast period. Some other vital indices such as market attractiveness analysis by geography and Porters five forces analysis have been presented in the report as well. These indicators throw light on bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitutes, and competitive rivalry between players in the large-scale LNG terminals market.Click here, To Get Complete Examined Research Report with TOC @In addition, market share analysis of key players in the past has been provided in this report. This information enables readers for a know-how of the competitive hierarchy in the large-scale LNG terminals market in the past. The section concludes with a section on value chain analysis of the large-scale LNG terminals market. The interaction and roles of various stakeholders, right from producers of natural gas and LNG to distributors and final end-users have been explained in detail.Global Large-scale LNG Terminals Market: Research MethodologyThe making of the report involved using proven research methodologies and verifiable assumptions. Some of the factors considered for deriving forecasts were growth in production and availability of natural gas in regions, increasing demand from the marine and road transportation sectors, rising consumption from other sectors  such as power, development of large natural gas fields, and policy-based directives to increase natural gas consumption and reduce emissions.Some secondary sources reached out to analyze the large-scale LNG terminals market are company websites and company annual reports, Oil & Gas Journal, Rigzone, U.S. Energy Information Administration, BP Statistical Review of the World, and International Energy Agency.Need Assistance? Send An Enquiry @About Market Research Reports Search EngineMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559(USA & CANADA TOLL-FREE NUMBER)Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Pet Insurance In Europe Market Size, Investment Feasibility and Industry Growth Rate Forecast 2018  2022

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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On  Pet Insurance In Europe Market Size, Investment Feasibility and Industry Growth Rate Forecast 2018  2022.The Pet Insurance industry has also suffered a certain impact, but still maintained a relatively optimistic growth, the past four years, Pet Insurance market size to maintain the average annual growth rate of 2.52% from 425 million $ in 2014 to 458 million $ in 2017, The analysts believe that in the next few years, Pet Insurance market size will be further expanded, we expect that by 2022, The market size of the Pet Insurance will reach 491 million $.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comThis Report covers the manufacturers data, including: shipment, price, revenue, gross profit, interview record, business distribution etc., these data help the consumer know about the competitors better.Besides, the report also covers segment data, including: type segment, industry segment, channel segment etc. cover different segment market size, both volume and value. Also cover different industries clients information, which is very important for the manufacturers.Sections:-Section 1: FreeDefinitionSection (2 3): 1200 USDManufacturer DetailPetplan UK (Allianz)NationwideTrupanionPetplan NorthAmerica(Allianz)Hartville GroupPethealthPetfirstEmbraceRoyal & Sun Alliance (RSA)Direct Line GroupSection (4): 500 USDRegionGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalyNetherlandsSpainContinuedReport Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsSection 1 Pet Insurance Product DefinitionSection 2 Europe Pet Insurance Market Manufacturer Share and Market Overview2.1 Europe Manufacturer Pet Insurance Shipments2.2 Europe Manufacturer Pet Insurance Business Revenue2.3 Europe Pet Insurance Market OverviewSection 3 Manufacturers Who Have Pet Insurance Business in Europe Introduction3.1 Petplan UK (Allianz) Pet Insurance Business Introduction3.1.1 Petplan UK (Allianz) Pet Insurance Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.1.2 Petplan UK (Allianz) Pet Insurance Business Distribution by Region3.1.3 Petplan UK (Allianz) Interview Record3.1.4 Petplan UK (Allianz) Pet Insurance Business Profile3.1.5 Petplan UK (Allianz) Pet Insurance Product Specification3.2 Nationwide Pet Insurance Business Introduction3.2.1 Nationwide Pet Insurance Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.2.2 Nationwide Pet Insurance Business Distribution by Region3.2.3 Interview Record3.2.4 Nationwide Pet Insurance Business Overview3.2.5 Nationwide Pet Insurance Product Specification3.3 Trupanion Pet Insurance Business Introduction3.3.1 Trupanion Pet Insurance Shipments, Price, Revenue and Gross profit 2014-20173.3.2 Trupanion Pet Insurance Business Distribution by Region3.3.3 Interview Record3.3.4 Trupanion Pet Insurance Business Overview3.3.5 Trupanion Pet Insurance Product Specification3.4 Petplan NorthAmerica(Allianz) Pet Insurance Business Introduction3.5 Hartville Group Pet Insurance Business Introduction3.6 Pethealth Pet Insurance Business IntroductionSection 4 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Region Level)4.1 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Region Level) Market Size (Volume) 2014-20174.2 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Region Level) Market Size (Value) 2014-2017Section 5 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Product Type Level)5.1 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) Market Size 2014-20175.2 Different Pet Insurance Product Type Price 2014-20175.3 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Product Type Level) AnalysisSection 6 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Industry Level)6.1 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Industry Level) Market Size 2014-20176.2 Different Industry Price 2014-20176.3 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Industry Level) AnalysisSection 7 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Channel Level)7.1 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Channel Level) Sales Volume and Share 2014-20177.2 Europe Pet Insurance Market Segmentation (Channel Level) AnalysisSection 8 Pet Insurance Market Forecast 2018-20228.1 Pet Insurance Segmentation Market Forecast (Product Type Level)8.2 Pet Insurance Segmentation Market Forecast (Industry Level)8.3 Pet Insurance Segmentation Market Forecast (Channel Level)Continued..For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.Bone Densitometers Market to Register a Stout Growth by End 2024

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The global Bone Densitometers Market has been forecasted by Transparency Market Research (TMR) to testify a predominant lead secured by prominent enterprises such as Hologic, Inc. and GE Healthcare. In 2015, both these players accounted for a close to 70.0% of the overall share in aggregate. At present, top-level businesses dealing with bone densitometers could fortify their status in the industry by concentrating on technological developments and innovations. The competition in the market has been projected to propel further in future as it could already be tellingly high in the current scenario.As per the forecast figures calculated by TMR, the global bone densitometers market has been projected to gain an around US$1.11 bn by 2024 from US$0.84 bn in 2015. The analysts have estimated a CAGR of 3.10% for the forecast timeframe 20162024. According to technology, the market for axial bone densitometry could stay dominant in future, considering its larger share of an over 65.0% in 2015. North America has been envisioned to finish at the top of the table by the concluding forecast year after registering an approximate 44.0% share in 2015.Request to View Sample of Report -Bone Densitometers Draw Demand for Diagnosis of Increasing Bone DiseasesThe authors of a recent TMR report have foreseen the world bone densitometers market to witness a staggering growth to take shape on the back of a rising need to accurately diagnose various types of bone disorders. The rising count of patients suffering from bone-related diseases such as deficiency of vitamin D and arthritis has been prophesied to augur well for the demand for bone densitometers. This could optimistically impact the growth of the market in the near future. A substantial degree of demand has been envisaged to be witnessed in the market as the incidence of osteoporosis in postmenopausal females sees a surge besides the growth of geriatric population.More opportunities have been predicted to take birth in the world bone densitometers market with the emergence of portable devices and developing preference for cost containment measures. Emerging markets such as India, Japan, Brazil, and China could create prospects in future with the increasing recognition and availability of bone densitometers and their technological development. India has been expected to be a prominent Asia Pacific market, considering its increasing public and private investments in life sciences research.Request to View Brochure of Report -Limited Availability of Diagnostic Equipment in Remote Areas Stunts GrowthDuring their tenure in the international bone densitometers market, players could find challenges in the form of restricted access to diagnostic tools and equipment in remote locations. However, the magnifying awareness among end users about the benefits of early diagnosis of diseases has been prognosticated to bring up favorable prospects in the market. North America could contribute at a handsome rate in the market while riding on the presence of promising reimbursement policies for diagnosing osteoporosis. One of the trends that has been anticipated to benefit the market is the emergence of hospitals as a prominent diagnostic and devices hub for bone densitometers. However, there could also be opportunities arising from the high-paced growth of diagnostic centers boasting of well-equipped infrastructure, access to various medical facilities, and an elevating preference from patients.View Report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Periodontal Therapeutics Market to Record Sturdy Growth by 2024

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The global Periodontal Therapeutics Market is highly consolidated in nature on account of a few players holding most of the share in the market. Some of the key players in the market are Den-Mat Holdings, Valeant Pharmaceuticals international, Inc., 3M, Galderma S.A., and LLC Dexcel Pharma. In 2015, 3M, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Int. Inc., and Den-Mat Holdings emerged as the top three players in the market and together they accounted for a mammoth share of 77.7%.A key trend noticed in the global market for periodontal therapeutics is the investment into research and development of more effective therapies by prominent participants. This, coupled with the focus on strategic mergers and acquisitions and partnerships by players seeking to expand their outreach, is serving to heat up competition in the market.A report by Transparency Market Research predicts the global periodontal therapeutics market to register a CAGR of 8.7% during the period between 2016 and 2024 to attain a value of US$537.2 mn by 2024.Request to View Sample of Report -Thrust on Product Development by Companies Drives North America Market to ForeBased on the type of products, the global market for periodontal therapeutics can be divided into systemic antibiotics and local antibiotics. Among the two, the systemic antibiotics segment dominated the market in 2016 with a lions share for more than 94%. In the years ahead, the segment is slated to continue to rake in maximum revenue, although reducing its share slightly because of its affordability and availability.Geographically, the key segments of the global market for periodontal therapeutics are North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World. North America, of them, led the market in 2015 with a dominant share of more than 40.0%. This is primarily on account of the rising occurrence of periodontal diseases, product innovation, helpful reimbursement policies, and a growing pool of elderly. As per the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 47.2% of adults 30 years and above is afflicted with some type of periodontal disease. This, along with increasing awareness about the ailment is expected to drive the market.Request to View Brochure of Report -Increasing Instances of Diabetes Underpins SalesAt the forefront of driving demand in the global periodontal therapeutics market is the rising consumption of tobacco which leads to periodontal disorders. Besides, the growing number of diabetics, increasing thrust on research, and technological progress is also proving beneficial to the market. Colgate-Palmolive, a multinational consumer products company, estimates that about 300 million will be afflicted with diabetes by 2025 and most of them will be from India and China.The American Academy of Periodontology finds that the occurrence of periodontal disease is maximum among ethnic minorities. Almost 63.5 percent of Hispanic-Americans, 50 percent of Non-Hispanic Asian Americans, and 59.1 percent of Non-Hispanic Blacks suffer from the disease.Preventive Care for Dental and Gum Problem Crimps Market GrowthPosing a roadblock to the global periodontal market, on the other hand, is the growing number of preventive care for dental and gum problems and dearth of supportive reimbursement policies in many countries, explains the lead analyst of the report.View Report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Automotive Catalytic Converter Market: Worldwide Industry Analysis and New Market Opportunities Explored

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The top four leading players in the global automotive catalytic converter market are BASF Catalysts LLC, Tenneco Inc., Eberspaecher GmbH Holding & Co. KG, and Faurecia SA. The collective share of these companies was estimated at 52.6% in 2014. Improving emission control solutions in automobiles is a key product innovation strategy being adopted by these leading players to survive the tough competition in the market, says Transparency Market Research in a new study. This motive is translating into rising investments in research and development to manufacture products that cater to the stringent regulatory framework pertaining to emissions.As the market is perched on the cusp of a technological change, competitors must integrate the advanced technologies to deliver products that provide sustainable environmental solutions, recommends the lead author of this research report. Companies will also prioritize adhering to government-determined safety standards and regulations by designing superior quality to build positive brand image over a period of time.Obtain Report DetailsDemand for Automotive Catalytic Converters Picks Up as Global Warming Becomes a Serious IssueThe demand for advanced automatic catalytic converters has been progressively rising due to the strict norms pertaining to emissions. The harmful particles released by less efficient catalytic converters have contributed to high pollution levels and created a negative impact on the environment. Thus, the rising concerns about the global warming and soaring carbon footprint of several countries have made governments enforce strict emission rules, which has created a positive impact on the automotive catalytic converter market.As the global automotive industry shifts to high gear, it is propelling the demand for more optimized and efficient automotive catalytic converters as well. Analysts predict that the increasing production of vehicles is likely to create a mammoth demand for these converters in the near future. In addition to this, the ongoing technological innovation that promises advanced mechanisms to reduce emissions from exhaust systems of vehicles will also accelerate sales of automotive catalytic converters in the near future.For More Professional and Technical Industry InsightsMounting Popularity of Electric Cars Could Dent Demand for Automotive Catalytic ConvertersWith electric vehicles evidently emerging as the next big trend in the automotive sector, the demand for automotive catalytic converters could be under threat in the long term as these converters serve no purpose in electric vehicles. Additionally, the high costs required to steer research and development into catalytic converters will also restrain the global market in the near future. However, the burgeoning automotive sector in developing regions of Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America will continue to present several growth opportunities to the global market through the coming decade.Three-way Oxidation-reduction Catalytic Converter Segment Rakes in High RevenuesThe TMR report states that the global automotive catalytic converter market will be worth US$172.80 bn by 2021 as compared to US$105.59 bn in 2014. From 2015 to 2021 the market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 7.3%. The global market will be driven by the strong demand for three-way oxidation-reduction catalytic converters; this segment as will progress at a CAGR of 7.5% between 2015 and 2021 to represent an opportunity worth US$67.7 bn by 2021. In terms of geography, Europe is projected to lead the overall market with revenue contributions amounting to US$52.72 bn by 2021.Get a Custom ReportThis review is based on Transparency Market Researchs report, titled Automotive Catalytic Converter Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2021.Key Takeaways:Global automotive catalytic converter market to be worth US$172.80 bn by 2021Three-way oxidation-reduction catalytic converter to be the leading segment, by type, in the global marketEurope to contribute a substantial revenue share of US$52.72 bn by 2021 to the global automotive catalytic converter marketGlobal Automotive Catalytic Converter Market: By TypeTwo-way oxidation catalytic converterThree-way oxidation-reduction catalytic converterDiesel oxidation catalystGlobal Automotive Catalytic Converter Market: By MaterialPlatinumPalladiumRhodiumTransparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Air and Naval Countermeasures Market: Industry Outlook, Growth Prospects and Key Opportunities

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The military aircrafts and naval vessels are used to perform under various types of operations which include peace keeping missions to strategic military operations. These aircrafts and naval vessels are facing constant threats from platform launched missiles and man portable air defense systems globally. To carry out the missions successfully, the air and naval countermeasures are required. The market is expected to grow steadily during the forecast period.As per records, 80% of all the aircraft losses has been attributed to air to air or ground to air missiles. Therefore the increasing threat for loss of aircrafts or naval vessels through ground to air or air to air attacks is primarily driving the global air and naval countermeasures market globally. The countermeasures and decoys are largely in the form of decoy flares of radar countermeasure chaff. These are designed to protect the aircraft or the naval vessels from heat seeking or radar guided missiles. Furthermore, the countermeasures can also be used for surveillance, target acquisition, and mine detection.Read Comprehensive Overview of ReportIn case of naval countermeasures, the scenarios have changed considerably over the years. The focus has shifted from battles of mass fleets. Today the naval vessels should be prepared to engage their targets on shore and provide air defense cover at the same time. In addition, the naval vessels also need to ensure the protection of commercial vessels from pirates. These factors are increasing the demand for naval and air countermeasures significantly.However, the high price of installing the countermeasures is a primary factor hindering the demand for this market globally. Nevertheless the ongoing research and development in the defense and aerospace industry is expected to lower the price of the components in the coming years. Hence the demand for air and naval countermeasures are expected to increase considerably in future.Get an exclusive brochure of this reportThe report for air and naval countermeasures market will include a detailed analysis of the drivers, restraints and opportunity present in the global market. In addition, the porters five forces will also be provided to give a better understanding the external forces present in the market. Going further, the market attractiveness analysis will identify the most attractive segment in the market and its opportunity in the future. In addition, the key trends effecting the global air and naval countermeasures market will also be provided in the study.The global air and naval countermeasures market can be segmented by types and geography. In terms of types, the global market can be bifurcated into anti piracy systems, infra-red flares, RF technology and millimetric chaff decoys among others. The infra-red flares segment and anti piracy systems are expected to witness strong growth during the forecast period. Furthermore, these systems are increasingly being adopted by most of the major defense troops across the world to tackle asymmetric warfare effectively.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and TablesBy geography, the global market can be segregated in to five strategic regions which include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. North America and Europe has been analyzed to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. The growing demand for air and naval countermeasures for defense agencies in developed countries such the U.K., Germany, U.S. and France among others is expected to drive the demand in this market. Moreover, Asia Pacific is expected to be the most promising region owning to the presence of sdeveloping economies such as India and China who are investing heavily towards installing countermeasures in their aircrafts and vessels. Hence the region is expected to witness robust growth over the forecast period.The major players operating in the air and naval countermeasures market include Chemring Countermeasures USA, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Wallop Defense Systems Ltd and Northrop Grumman Corporation among other emerging players globally.Transparency Market Research is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. Our experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Transparency Market Research90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:The Peace and Security Council of the African Union approved a proposal by King Mohammed VI to set up an African Migration Observatory.

King Mohammed VI, who was appointed by the African Union leader on the issue of migration, has proposed the creation of an Observatory with the tasks to understand, anticipate and act on migration issues.

The Observatory will also have the mission of developing observation and the exchange of information between African countries in order to promote controlled management of migration flows, King Mohammed VI explained.

The proposal was submitted as part of the Sovereigns African Agenda on Migration, a non-binding document permeated by a co-development approach and containing ideas, proposals and thoughts shared by official institutions, civil society organizations and researchers from Africa to address migration challenges.

The Council underscored that the Observatory will help tackle the challenges linked to migration notably the nexus between illegal migration and criminality.Cytology and HPV Testing Market to Grow at a Steady CAGR of 2.9% as Early Diagnostics Gain Importance

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Cytology and HPV Testing Market: SnapshotOver the years, the level of awareness among the global population regarding the various types of cancer has increased tremendously. The significance of early detection and diagnosis is not lost on them, resulting in the increased adoption of screening tests such as cytology and human papillomavirus (HPV) testing.The global market for cytology and HPV testing is presented with a host of sustained growth opportunities arising mainly from several emerging economies, where factors such as rapidly developing healthcare infrastructure and a strong local manufacturing base serve as major advantages. In addition to this, these markets still have immense scope for growth, unlike the near-saturated markets in developed countries.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Low-cost Labor in APAC a Major Attraction for Cytology and HPV Testing CosThe cytology and HPV testing market can be geographically segmented into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. North America is by far the largest market for cytology and HPV testing accounting for a 52.5% share in 2015. This can be attributed to the rising incidence of HPV infections and cervical cancer, the increasing number of awareness programs by government and private organizations, and the availability of technologically advanced diagnostic test kits. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that an estimated 79 million people in the U.S. are infected with HPV, with around 14 million people newly infected each year. Each year, more than 11,000 women in the country are diagnosed with cervical cancer.The rising adoption of cytology and HPV testing is driven by the same factors as those fueling the North America market. In addition to these, the soaring demand for advanced imaging modalities and sensitive screening tests such as liquid-based cytology are anticipated to further accelerate the Europe market. Germany is the largest contributor to the Europe cytology and HPV testing market owing to the recent introduction and enhancement of various new technologies in the field of diagnostics. Government screening programs have also favorably benefited this regional market.Request Brochure Copy of the Report @Emerging as one of the most attractive destinations for cytology and HPV testing as well as for the manufacturing of testing kits and systems, Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness immense growth during the forecast period. Thanks to the availability of low-cost and highly-skilled IT labor, leading companies such as Qiagen N.V. and Hologic Corporation have been setting up shop in APAC to capitalize on the opportunities presented by this region.Although the RoW segment is also anticipated to witness a rise in the demand for cytology and HPV testing, especially in Africa, the narrow distribution network as well as the low awareness and adoption rate in several underdeveloped regions are likely to hamper market growth.Modest Growth on the CardsHPV testing services dominate the HPV testing market, accounting for a whopping 78.2% share in 2015 owing to an increasing number of women undergoing HPV tests for the detection and diagnosis of cervical cancer. Similarly, cytology testing services led the cytology testing market with a 78.7% share in 2015. This is due to the large number of PAP tests performed across the globe.Request For Discount On This Report:The soaring incidence of HPV infections and cervical cancer can be attributed to several risk factors, including the weakening of the immune system due to illness and a high number of sexual partners. Technological advancements in healthcare and growing awareness among the general population are also encouraging people to opt for high-accuracy diagnostic tests. Driven by these factors, the HPV testing market is expected to grow from US$7.9 bn in 2015 to US$10.5 bn by 2024 at a 2.9% CAGR therein.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Neurological Disorder Drugs Market is Likely to Touch Value US$32.0 Bn By 2024

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Europe Neurological Disorders Drugs Market: SnapshotNeurological drugs are developed to treat neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, cerebrovascular diseases, and others. The growing prevalence of these disorders across the European region is anticipated to drive the demand for neurological disorder drugs market in the coming few years. The research report projects that intensifying concerns about living an adjusted life have prompted several patients to seek help. According to the study, the Europe neurological disorder drugs market was valued is expected to reach a valuation of US$32.0 bn by the end of 2024 as compared to US$18.3 bn in 2015. During the forecast years of 2016 and 2024, the overall market is expected to surge at a CAGR of CAGR of 6.4%.Download PDF Brochure of Report:Increasing Research and Development Fuels Market GrowthThe Europe neurological disorders drugs market will be fueled by the growing initiatives taken by governments of several countries to educate the masses and to develop new drugs. For instance, European Parkinsons Disease Association in Europe is offering affordable medications to patients, campaigning to raise awareness, and supporting research and development activities to drive the overall neurological disorder drugs market. The market has also seen a steady emergence of several research and development programs that are focused toward developing effective drugs that come at affordable prices. The collective rise in the spending of countries on developing neurological disorder drugs is expected to improve the markets revenue in the coming few years.On the basis of various disorders, the market caters to disorders such as epilepsy, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebrovascular disease and others. Out of all of these segments, the cerebrovascular disease held the dominant share in terms of revenue in 2015. The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the cerebrovascular diseases, which can manifest as a stroke, migraine and headache is the common cause of worry for several patients. About 80% of the patients suffering from cerebrovascular diseases across EU% show these symptoms. Thus, this segment is expected to exhibit a robust growth rate in the coming few years.Request to View Sample of Report Germany Stands out as Highest Consumer of Neurological Disorder Drugs in EuropeIn terms of geography, the Europe neurological disorder drugs market is segmented into Germany, France, Italy, Spain, U.K., Russia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, and Rest of Europe. The research report states that Germany held a significant share in the market in 2015, closely followed by France. The regions will dominate over the forecast period due to the rising prevalence of neurological disorders and improving the awareness about the diseases due to support groups and government initiatives. Furthermore, the rising pool of geriatrics in Germany will also boost the uptake of neurological disorders drugs in the coming few years.Presently, Germany, the U.K., France, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain are the leading countries in Europe in the neurological disorder drugs market. The study indicates that Switzerland will offer several growth opportunities to the overall market as awareness about these life-altering diseases grows.Request to View Discount The leading players operating in the Europe neurological disorders market are Merck & Co., Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Bayer AG, Astra Zeneca, F-Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Novartis AG, and GlaxoSmithKline plc. Among these, Merck & Co., GlaxoSmithKline plc and Novartis AG. The research report states that the market is consolidated due to the presence of several small players in who hold significant share in the market. Most of these companies are focusing on improving their pipelines and expanding their geographical outreach to retain their dominance.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Chemical Bank Wealth Management recently hired Karen McNish as a trust officer.

I am excited to welcome Karen McNish to Chemical Bank Wealth Management, said John Kessler, executive vice president and senior trust officer. Her extensive background in advising and providing financial solutions to high-net worth relationships will be of great value to our team in East region. The breadth of her knowledge and commitment to providing exceptional client service makes her a perfect addition to our wealth management team.

As trust officer, McNish will be a key point of contact for high net-worth clients in Chemical Banks East Region communities. Her responsibilities include the administration of personal trusts and estates, investment agency, institutional and custodial accounts and IRAs. Her office is located in Midland.

McNish has over 20 years of local trust administration experience in the financial industry and holds a Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School as well as a bachelor of business administration from Saginaw Valley State University. She is a member of the State Bar of Michigan, Saginaw County Bar Association and is a past president and current member of Northeastern Michigan Estate Planning Council.

McNish currently serves as a board member of Junior Achievement of North Central Michigan and Great Beginnings Christian Childcare Center. She is also a volunteer with United Way of Saginaw County as a member of the Community Change Team, and with Saginaw Community Foundation as a scholarship review committee member.Updates on the dioxin cleanup of Saginaw and Tittabawassee rivers will be given during a community group meeting Monday, May 21.

The Saginaw-Tittabawassee Rivers Contamination Community Advisory Group will meet from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Tittabawassee Township Memorial Park Building, 150 Park St., in Freeland. The group discusses issues related to the superfund site and its cleanup at open meetings held mostly on the third Monday of every month.Each year a group of Midland Noon Rotarians help to choose scholarship recipients. This year the selection committee consisted of Judge Doreen Allen, Dr. Jim Bakeman, Carol Feider, Dave Marsh and Chair Herb Scogg.

Each of the scholarships is named for the Rotarian who provided the funds and the criteria for the scholarships. The students will be honored at the June 7 Noon Rotary meeting.

The William Dixon Scholarships are held by the Midland Public Schools. Selection of the recipients is the responsibility of the Midland Noon Rotary Club. This scholarship looks at financial need and the ability to succeed in a chosen field. A $1,800 scholarship was awarded to:

 Lydia Crook, a H.H. Dow high student who will be attending Ohio State University. Lydia is the daughter of Marty and Amy Crook.

 Allison Stevens, a Midland High School student who will be attending Alma College. Allison is the daughter of Timothy and Bridget Stevens

The C.A. Campbell and H.H. Hardy Scholarships are held by the Midland Rotary Foundation. Selection of the recipients is the responsibility of the Scholarship Committee. The C.A. Campbell looks at financial need, the ability to succeed in a chosen field and seeks students with a major in humanities or best applicant. A $1,300 scholarship was awarded to:

 Madalyn Badgero, a Coleman High School student who will be attending Saginaw Valley State University. Madalyn is the daughter of Jackie Strickland.

The Herbert H. Hardy scholarship is specifically for students pursing public service such as: public administration, economic development, law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, etc. A $2,500 scholarship is awarded to:

 Jay Hendricks, a student at Ferris State University in the Criminal Justice program. Jay is the son of Rich and Merrit Hendricks.

 Lindsay Swinson, a student at Michigan State University in the political science program. Lindsay is the daughter of William and Tammie Swinson.

Midland Noon Rotary Club is part of Rotary International, which includes more than 34,000 clubs around the globe devoted to Service Above Self. To find out more about Midland Noon Rotary, visit its website at www.midlandrotaryclub.org, or attend one of its weekly meetings, held Thursdays at noon at the Midland Country Club.Anger over sidewalks began Allison Quast-Lents on her political journey. Now, the Mount Pleasant Democrat hopes that journey takes her to Lansing as a state representative for the 99th House District.

"I ran for city commission after being involved in my local community. I got angry about the sidewalks not being cleared during the winter," Quast-Lents shared at the monthly Midland MI Democratic Party meeting.

The Aug. 7 primary will see Quast-Lents face Kristen Brown for the right to face incumbent Republican Roger Hauck in the Nov. 6 general election.

The 99th House District encompasses all of Isabella County along with the Midland townships of Edenville, Geneva, Greendale, Hope, Ingersoll, Jasper, Mills, Mount Haley, Porter and Warren.

"In that process of trying to get the sidewalks cleared, I learned that what happens at the state level has a lot of impact on your everyday life," Quast-Lents said. "I found out that there was not funding for code enforcement, nor was there funding to keep the sidewalks clear."

Her government tenure began as a member of the Mount Pleasant Planning Commission, followed by election to the Mount Pleasant City Commission in 2015. The next year she served as vice mayor and became mayor in 2017.

"As mayor, I've helped usher in a new zoning ordinance that helps to preserve our neighborhoods," she said. "We're working on the Michigan Medical Marijuana Facilities Licensing Act, opting into that ordinance and creating something that allows patients to have care. ..."

Besides serving as mayor, she is a second-generation owner of Motorless Motor, a bicycle business which has served the Mount Pleasant area for the last 42 years.

Quast-Lents is not a stranger to Midland. Her father grew up in Midland.

"I spent time here visiting my grandmother and running to Jack's Fruit Market to get groceries for her," Quast-Lents said. "I learned from my parents how to be great volunteers."

For more information on Quast-Lents' campaign, visit her Facebook page, https://www.allisonquastlents.com/, or follow her at #VoteQuastLents.Theres a governors race happening in Georgia, and judging by the tactics of the candidates competing in the Republican primary, its all coming down to which one of them can publicly hate immigrants the most. For starters, look at this buffoon:

If you cant watch the video, thats a campaign ad featuring Brian Kemp, Georgias current secretary of state and gubernatorial hopeful. For his tagline, he chose: If you want a politically incorrect conservative, thats me. This desperate attempt to cultivate Trump supporters, and cast himself as the Georgian Trump, yields one particularly ugly sequence. From Mother Jones:

Brian Kempsuggests he intends to personally detain and remove immigrants from the country. I got a big truck, he says, climbing into a pick-up truck, just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take em home myself. He then adds with a smirk: Yep, I just said that.

Just like Trump, folks! Minus even an ounce of charisma, that is. But if you thought Kemp was going to distinguish himself as the most racist candidate seeking that specific office, youve got another think coming. Because state Sen. Michael Williams, who is running against Kemp, heard deportation truck and said hold my beer:

His schtick was so racist he needed a full minute! And the centerpiece is an actual deportation bus:

Metal grating covers the windows of the gray bus, and the words Fill this bus with illegals run along its side. On the back it reads: Danger! Murderers, rapists, kidnappers, child molesters, and others on board. Then, Follow me to Mexico. Williams has taken the bus to areas with large immigrant populations, dubbing them sanctuary citieseven though Georgia outlawed sanctuary jurisdictions in 2009.

YouTube took it down as hate speech, but now its back up. Which is great, because nothing says conservative America like a couple of white dudes threatening to kidnap immigrants on their own.

These two idiots are currently behind Lieutenant Gov. Casey Cagle in the Republican race, but Kemp (the truck guy) is actually in second. Lest you believe Cagle is above the fray, though, theres this:

Criminal illegal aliens are spreading across the country, Cagle says. Liberal politicians in sanctuary cities are shielding them, making it possible for them to terrorize us on our streets.

Again, it must be emphasized that Georgia has no f*%*ing sanctuary cities. Dont these idiots have any local issues to campaign on? Or are they so enamored with Trump mobilizing the racist right that they cant resist the siren call to walk in his footsteps?

The primary will be held on May 22, with a potential runoff to follow if none of these cretins gets a majority.On Sunday, amidst the ongoing Russia investigation, Trump announced he is demanding the Department of Justice investigate the claims that the Obama administration spied on his 2016 election. This statement came in the form of a tweet, of course, with the promise of an official statement to be released today.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

This new demand follows Trumps recently confirmed suspicions that an FBI informant spied on the Trump campaign. According to The Intercept, the DOJ and FBI didnt deny the accusations that a FBI representative was used as an informant during the Trump campaign. However, they stressed the importance of not revealing the informants name, warning it could jeopardize his life and those of others. Following the FBIs multiple announcements, the New York Times and The Washington Post confirmed the FBI informants existence without stating their name, as the FBI requested. Yet, both articles referred to the informant as a retired FBI agent who is now a professor in England. This information gives enough clues to the public to research his name, thus revealing the informants identity while still being able to say the publications adhered to the FBIs request. Yet, the Intercept report states his name directly as Stefan Halper, and calls out the Post and Times for not revealing his name to the public. The interesting part of this entire scandal is Halper himself, who also oversaw a CIA spying operation inside the Carter administration on behalf of the Reagan campaign.

One of the many concerning aspects of this entire ordeal is the DOJ and FBIs intense demands that the identity of Halper not be revealed. The Intercept report quotes Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, saying he threatened his own colleagues in congress when they attempted to find out the informants identity. Warner stated, Anyone who is entrusted with our nations highest secrets should act with the gravity and seriousness of purpose that knowledge deserves.

Threatened is a harsh word for Warners statements, and it isnt strange that the DOP and FBI are protecting one of their longtime reliable employees during this firestorm of Presidential tweets that has turned Trump into the worlds most powerful cyberbully. In a report concerning his most recent demands, CNN calls the tweet Trumps power play. Now, in this tangled web of scandal surrounding the DOJ, FBI and Halper, the Russia investigation and Mueller have been forgotten. Not to mention the newest demand that wraps Obama up in the entire show, despite zero factual evidence to support Trumps claims that Obama spied on his campaign. Yet, news outlets write reports, just like this one, concerning the informant and his questionable past, as well as Trumps tweets. This further weakens Mueller and the Russia investigation. The use of a FBI informant such as Halper during the 2016 election is apparently not shocking information, notes CNN, quoting former CIA operations officer Robert Baer. Baer states there was nothing unusual about using an informant in the Trump campaign due to the fears and accusations that Russian intelligence was trying to infiltrate the campaign. That is what the FBI does for a living. It stops espionage. To do that, they run confidential informants into the suspects, Baer said. So there you have it, nothing out of the ordinary and all tied back to the Russia investigation that Trump is trying to distract the American public from.

Yet, Trump needs to take his steps carefully as he puts on a show to distract the public. CNN notes that Trumps actions are not yet illegal but reveals the danger of further action by stating, some critics believe that Trumps repeated pattern of leaning on the Justice Department and the FBI over the Russia investigation could come close to showing intent that could amount to obstruction of justice. For now, its all one big show as Mueller tries to investigate the real problem at hand.I think youll find my demands very unreasonable. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo laid out the Trump administrations truculent new approach to Iran in a speech to the Heritage Foundation two weeks after the U.S. pulled out of the nuclear deal negotiated by President Obama.

The speech mostly served as a series of warnings. Pompeo said that America was on the verge of rolling out the strongest sanctions in history, and that the U.S. would be countering Iranian influence at every turn.

We will ensure freedom of navigation on the waters in the region. We will work to prevent and counteract any Iranian malign cyber activity. We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hezbollah proxies operating around the world and crush them, he said. Iran will never again have carte blanche to dominate the Middle East.

He laid out a list of 12 demands for the Iranian regime, which included the cessation of all uranium enrichment, an end to support for Hamas, and the withdrawal of proxy forces in Syria.

Here is Secretary Pompeos list of 12 demands from Iran via @GalloVOA pic.twitter.com/3nZ1qM0QUT  Golnaz Esfandiari (@GEsfandiari) May 21, 2018

But the idea that Iran, which was cooperating with the nuclear deal before the U.S. violated its end of the bargain, will accede to any of these diktats is a mirage, as Pompeo surely knows.

And if Pompeos strategy of ultrastrict sanctions were to work, it would likely have to involve cooperation with Europe, China, and Russia, all of whom were parties to the original nuclear deal. Instead, all of those parties are attempting to salvage the deal or even construct a new one, leaving the U.S. isolated, again, in its approach.

Pompeo is likely fully aware that his requests will be ignored. Rather than forcing Iran to the table, the American approach is likely to embolden Iranian hardliners, who have accused President Hassan Rouhani of naivete for agreeing to the nuclear deal in the first place.

This could set up a dynamic ripe for the full-on regime change that National Security Adviser John Bolton has advocated for in the past, and which Pompeo seemed to be getting closer to explicitly endorsing on Monday.

Pompeos speech is also unlikely to soothe the nerves of North Korea, which is already having second thoughts about meeting with a president who, in his dealings with Iran, is showing enthusiasm for violating agreements and delivering impossible ultimatums.Facebooks plan to connect neighborhoods and businesses wirelessly, known as Terragraph, will begin field trials in 2019 using 60GHz technology from Qualcomm, the two companies said on Monday.

Facebook began talking about Terragraph in 2016, part of a bid to replace fiber broadband with 60GHz millimeter-wave wireless. The technology wouldnt replace Wi-Fi, but was designed to offer a replacement for fiber or cable to homes and businesses, forgoing the need to rip up streets and sidewalks.

Now we have a date: 2019, the first time the technology will be tested, according to Jesse Burke, a staff marketing manager at Qualcomm. Actual deployment will come later, he said.

Facebook Terragraph would establish a mesh network of 60GHz wireless cells across a neighborhood.

Terragraph is expected to begin field trials using a technology called 802.11ay, the successor to 802.11ad that debuted around 2016 or so. Though 802.11ay coud be used inside the home, its generally considered to be a wireless backhaul technology, providing the last mile connection directly to your home. According to Burke, the 60GHz 802.11ay technology would provide two-digit gigabit bandwidth to your doorstep. (Sources Network World talked to cited 20 to 30 Gbps as the most likely range.) Youd need some sort of a router or gateway that could receive the 802.11ay signal, the same way you need a gateway that a DSL or cable can plug into.

The problem, if there is one, is that 802.11ay signals travel short distances, about 33 to 100 feet. That means that numerous small cells would need to be installed around the neighborhood, most likely within a mesh network where each small cell can talk to one another, Burke said. They also require line of sight. Under the theoretical models that the two companies have constructed, Burke explained, those cells would be mounted on light poles, or on the roofs or sides of buildings.

While Qualcomms Burke couldnt speak to Facebooks specific plans, he said the trials would target a municipal city block or multiple city blocks at scale. In February, Facebook said that two field trials were planned: in Budapest, Hungary, and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A Facebook spokesman declined to comment further.

Metropolitan wireless had its heyday, then quietly went awayprobably because of a combination of slow speeds, high cost, and the recognition that smartphones simply made it irrelevant. In 2005, for example, Googles plans to build out 300 Kbps Wi-Fi in San Francisco were met with great excitement. Today that Wi-Fi network exists just along Market Street, and in many of the citys parks.

What this means to you: Replacing existing wired infrastructure with a massive wireless push has been tried before. You might recall Intels grand WiMAX plans that scored a deployment or two in the United Kingdom before petering out. While there are occasional wireless deployments (such as Webpass in the Bay Area), generally cable and DSL hold sway. And, of course, theres one major exception: good old-fashioned 4G, which has been held back not as much by throughput but by bandwidth caps. Its very possible that Terragraph, whatever it looks like, will be rendered irrelevant by 5G technology.A year and a half after the release of the GeForce GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 Ti, PC gamings budget champions, Nvidia has quietly launched a new graphics card that blends the two. Over the weekend, a 3GB GeForce GTX 1050 appeared on the companys website with no fanfare and a somewhat odd configurationas VideoCardz first noticedespite looming rumors about the potential launch of a new GeForce generation later this summer.

The 3GB GTX 1050 splits the difference between the GTX 1050s 2GB of onboard GDDR5 memory and the GTX 1050 Tis 4GB, as the name indicates. The extra memory buffer should help the 3GB GTX 1050 handle modern games a bit better2GB just doesnt cut it in 2018 unless youre playing e-sports or indie titles. But Nvidia also nerfed the cards memory bandwidth. The 3GB GTX 1050 only packs a 96-bit bus, compared to the 128-bit bus of its siblings, bringing its total bandwidth down to 84GBps. The others hit 112GBps.

Despite the name, the graphics processor at the heart of the 3GB GTX 1050 actually hews more closely to the faster GTX 1050 Ti. Both the Ti and the new card pack 768 CUDA cores, while the original GTX 1050 only has 640. Nvidia cranked the clock speeds in the fresh hardware, too. The 3GB GTX 1050 can boost up to 1,518MHz, compared to 1,455MHz for the original GTX 1050 and 1,392MHz for the GTX 1050 Ti.

Those faster clock speeds are probably why Nvidia saddled the card with the slower bandwidth, to give the GTX 1050 Ti room to breathe. An Nvidia spokesperson says It depends on the game, but on average, GTX 1050 3GB is approximately 10 percent faster than GTX 1050 2GB.

While its encouraging to see new hardware released during the current graphics card dry spell, the confusing mish-mash of memory and core GPU specs in the GTX 1050 trio feels a bit consumer-unfriendlyespecially because Nvidia said a key goal of its now-dead GeForce Partner Program was no substitute GPUs hidden behind a pile of techno-jargon. Hopefully Nvidia and its partners find a way to identify the various models in a clear way beyond simply slapping a 3GB on the boxes for the new cards.Impressive Landscape in the High Atlas Mountains

MOROCCO BLUES

Our excitement is growing faster and faster as we approach steeper terrain.

Hashid is proud of his shuttle SUV Every time we enter a village, a group of excited kids appear out of every corner.

The symbols of this country the Djemaa el Fna Square

A dancing monkey, one of the tourist attractions at the big market

Tashin is the most popular food in Morocco

After leaving the big city, we face quickly the real surroundings we came here to see and ride.

Different landscapes, the variety of colours and smells.

The impressions you get some of the times riding in this place can take away your breath.

Not only the landscape, but the colours. The stone looks like it has been painted.

The families, giving us their space and food.

Old animals tracks, paths that connect villages and entire valleys to the outside world.

The huge layers or different stones, linked only by the endless lines of trails.

I was invited to ride one of the donkeys in the village

Run kids run! is shouted every time we will enter a village.

A huge joy kids welcome us.

Our local guide Hisham had a plan for each day, where we will go and where we will stop.

Always being welcome by the local families

We feel good while enjoying local couscous and warm tea.

Everyday, chasing the last lights.

We will end up with a long run down

On the already shadowed flatter part of the Atlas mountains

We have driven our cars for long hours.

The joy of riding down in this amazing terrain.

We pedalled and hiked to cross mountains passes.

With the high expectation of a reward coming on the other side.

Guitars, drums, the clapping hands. It's like the blues, sounds like it at least, feel like it too. Those are my first thoughts the moment the driver turns on his radio and puts the volume high. What is this? I ask him. It's Tuareg music, he answers. The conversation does not go for too long since his English is quite broken, and I start trying to remember the name of a musician I once heard that played exactly that kind of music. The name does not come to me though and I lose myself in the surrounding rhythms. I was unable to communicate with the driver with the language barrier comes, but the music builds a bridge.While the driver moves with the wave of sounds that fill our car, I dig myself deeper and deeper in the soft seat, trying to digest the number of different sounds that the radio is throwing at us. It's overwhelming! I'm just hoping that the drive to our hotel today is really long! I want to enjoy this moment, probably the only one each day in which we are more or less relaxed, where we have some time to think about our day, what we see and what we do here. I think the music is the greatest way to dress up all the thoughts that come to my head, right here, right now, in Morocco. Its roots are close to the feelings of the people here. They talk about their fears and hopes. It goes back generations, and its traditions grow in value every time. Its meaning, I will never really understand, but it is captivating.We landed in this place just a few days ago, but this feels again like one of those times in which the hours, the minutes and seconds passing seem to be getting a different meaning, going on a different speed or direction. I don't really know, but it has felt like this since our arrival. The warm welcome provided by the local agency set things on the right track. We jumped straight into Djemaa el Fna Square which gave us an overview of what we will see in the next days. This square has been the way it is for generations, a pure meeting point for the local people, the storytellers, the snake charmers, acrobats, dancers, medicine men and all kind of entertainers, all spreading their words and sounds into the warm air. While the day starts to fall, leaving slowly place to the night, the square gets more and more packed. Small circles of people packed closely together, excited simply about the words the storyteller is throwing at them, anxious to listen, and jealous when someone unknown gets too close or takes a photo of them.The next morning, the hot air from the previous night still refuses to leave the city and give place for new fresh air. The start of a new day that will probably end up the same way. But not for us, it's time to move and start on our exciting adventure. Leaving behind us most of the musical sounds from the night, the storytellers and snake dancers, the tourist attractions and markets, we face quickly the real surroundings we came here to see and ride. The Atlas Mountains surface relatively fast once you are out of the city, heading east, and our excitement grows as we approach steeper terrain. The wave of questions and doubts inside the car contrasts with the fresh wind coming through the car windows. My thoughts swirl around and around, and even though we try to ask some things to our driver, answers are coming short. Luckily music takes over and lets us enjoy the landscapes while listening to the Tuaregs or Berbers.Sometimes, the feeling of not knowing where you are going can be confusing, and I think we all feel a bit like that. It's hard to imagine how things are going to be, the canvas of the week is for now completely white in our head. We expect to create it from the pictures we've seen of the different landscapes, trying to remember the variety of colours and smells. We can't wait to get on our bikes and start painting our memories through this vast and unique terrain. Inside the car, we have gained some altitude and the paved roads were left behind a while ago. We try to communicate with our driver once again in order to get a closer idea of where we are heading. 5 minutes he will answer. Over that mountain could be another answer.Either way, we are far from the city when we arrive. The unloading ritual gets underway with the usual excitement from the group. As it is our first day, it is hard to focus on setting up our bikes with the surrounding landscapes. We are, for now, up in what looks like a plateau, calm and lonely. This place does not seem to see many people besides the locals. Stocking up on water and food is vital before every day, since it will be many hours until we see the cars again. And most importantly in this kind of trip and terrain, you have to try to be prepared for everything.Riding in this place can take away your breath. The perfect balance in between all of this different terrain, the huge layers or different stones, linked only by the endless lines of trails. Old animals tracks, paths that connect villages and entire valleys to the outside world. All put together to create an amazing, but tricky, network, for us mountain bikers to enjoy. Not only the landscapes but the colours, the stone looks like it has been painted at times in tones you didnt even think existed. Bigger forces have carved this area for thousands of years, and although the trails we ride are as old as the locals can remember, we are just looking at the founding earth and ground of it all.This emptiness and calmness are at times in contrast with the excitement surrounding the villages we pass by or approach. Run kids run! is shouted every time we enter a village. It is then followed by a loud screaming group of excited kids that will run and appear out of every corner to our encounter. We will not be hard to spot with our bright clothes and loud passing bikes, but the huge joy kids will welcome us was a different thing. At times, screaming and showing their excitement from the other side of the valley, other times, jumping on our bikes and riding them as long as they can or end up crashing.Touching base for lunch in some of these remote villages was our daily meal ritual. We knew our local guide Hisham had a plan for each day, where we will go and where we will stop. Always being welcomed by the local families high up in the mountains, and bars if we stopped further down the valleys. But a pure flavour surrounded every room we entered in each of those houses. The families, giving us their space and food. Opening their arms to the travellers and giving refuge from the hard midday sun. Fresh inside these thick white walls, we felt good while enjoying local couscous and warm tea. Sometimes we will needed to carry on to the trail exiting the village, old paths made by the locals and its animals, with many crossings. It's easy to get lost in this areas, especially in the lower ones. Other times, the daily midday stop would bring us to an arduous hike to a high mountain pass helped out by a group of local farmers and their donkeys.Every day, we chased the last light in the high parts of the trails, but also tried to enjoy a calm moment for ourselves. We ended up with a long run down the already shadowed flatter part of the Atlas Mountains. There, our beloved drivers will welcome us, happy to see us again, and would be just as euphoric as we were. We would try to explain and share with them our excitement from the day. Their broken English didnt seem to be a problem since, for some reason, they knew what we were talking about and how we felt. They just laughed while loading the bikes in the cars. And we would end up once again happy and relaxed as we can be, arriving at our next destination, a mix of jungle looking places usually in the middle of nowhere, mountain huts located in higher villages, cozy and nice luxurious hotels all with its typical Moroccan hospitality, with many different little houses, rooms, balconies, all hidden in between big trees of different kinds with fruits, hanging like they are waiting to be eaten. All spreading their flavours on to the slowly closing air of the evening.The solitude some of the people here live in is impressive. We have driven our cars for long hours into deep valleys. Pedalled and hiked to cross mountains passes, but with the high expectation of a reward coming on the other side: the joy of riding down in this amazing terrain. But we might forget sometimes that people live here, grow up here, coexist with each other, with the harsh environment and push through the difficult living conditions. We are just passengers, fast and colorful on board our expensive machines. We should not forget where we are, who these people are and what they do. What we mean to them we can only try to guess. Probably we look to them mostly like we are from another world. But we will have to make a bigger effort to try to think and realise that these people can mean to us, can teach us. And I don't know if we all did that either in our quiet moments during our trip, or back in our heated comfortable places. Some of us might just be thinking already about our next adventure. Focused only in pushing forward in the hunger for exploration or personal progression. Maybe just stressed due to the tight work schedules, who knows. Others might try to take as much for themselves from the people and places they get to know and see, in a spiritual sense of course. Here in Morocco, there has been people that came to push the limits, as our local guide Hisham told us one day; You see that mountain over there?  he asked while pointing far away from the plateau we were pedalling through,  Fabien Barel did some lines there while filming for the NWD series. Others might come to do the total opposite, escape from the outside world in luxurious hotels in the middle of the Atlas Mountains, or even get together with local people to live and experience life from their side of things.Us, we are just like small grains of sand that pass by. That never stand still due to the constant winds. Winds from our modern world. A world that is simply getting too complicated. A world that I think we are learning to not to appreciate. The new generations grow up fully immersed in other values, more or less necessary, but most of the times far away from the reality. The reality of, for example, the people hidden away from this world in the middle of the Atlas Mountains, enjoying the life they got given, with its traditions grounded in their blood for generations. They also push the limits. You will only need to see where and how they live, what the are able to grow, and the human beings that they have become, learning from their predecessors, and teaching it forward.These are the things we came here to see, and to learn to appreciate. We, small particles of sand in the wind, might as well try to touch down from time to time, in order to not forget this person we get to meet, these places we get to see. That way, we will not only be able to get together again and come back to such adventures. But we will make this our world, a much better place to be in.Morocco Blues it is, and Bombino is the name of the artist I was trying to remember.Get the SC business stories that matter.

Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free.A rendering shows the previous design for the National Medal of Honor Museum, to be located between the Ravenel Bridge and the aircraft carrier Yorktown, that is being dropped so museum planners can get input from Mount Pleasant leaders. Safdie Architects/ProvidedPresident Trump. Photo: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images

This weekend, the New York Times revealed that, in August 2016, Donald Trump Jr. met in Trump Tower with representatives of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who offered campaign help. It is impossible to tell at this point just what this story means, or how it fits into the larger scandal.

One immediate takeaway is that it indicates Erik Prince, the former Blackwater head, Republican donor, and brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, appears to have committed perjury. Prince arranged and attended the meeting, and reportedly said, We are working hard for your father. But as Ryan Goodman noticed, Prince has testified that he had had no other contact with the Trump campaign:

With Blockbuster NYT report ("Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election")...



1. Meeting was arranged and attended by Erik Prince.



2. Compare this to what Prince told Congress and looks a lot like perjury.



Prince's testimony:

<thread>1/ pic.twitter.com/IIKOknUpxk  Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) May 19, 2018

Or with Donald Jr.:

Prior tweet was Prince testimony about his contacts with Trump campaign in answer to questions by @TomRooney.



Here's Prince's testimony about contact with Don Jr in answer to questions by @RepSwalwell:



2/ pic.twitter.com/HfUyGJMlbf  Ryan Goodman (@rgoodlaw) May 19, 2018

The Times story contradicts those assertions. The fact that Prince misled Congress about his dealings with these figures implies he had something to hide.

Second, the story provides still more evidence that Donald Trump Jr. was willing to solicit illegal foreign election assistance. The Times does not reveal what came of the August meeting, but at this point, it is safe to say Trump Jr. did not huffily inform his guests that U.S. election law prevents them from meddling and wish them good day.

A source close to Trump Jr. floats his defense to Mike Allen. Don is the king of people wanting to leave a meeting happy, whether or not he intends to follow up, and He just trusts people way too much. Apparently Trump Jr. will happily nod along with any criminal scheme presented to him simply to avoid social awkwardness. He just likes making people happy! Is that a crime?

The broader importance of the revelation remains unclear. The figures in the story have emerged in recent months and inhabit an unmapped but potentially vast new territory in the investigation. Prince, George Nader  a lobbyist for various Middle Eastern interests  and the Gulf States have had some role in the financial and political nexus between Trump and Russia. The figures convened in a suspicious meeting in the Seychelles before the inauguration, which Mueller is investigating as an attempt to set up a back channel to Russia.

Just why would this back channel be needed? After all, Trump was about to become president. He presumably did not need to conduct secret negotiations when he was poised to assume control of an entire governmental apparatus to communicate for him. A possible explanation is that the meetings were designed to facilitate a corrupt deal that needed to evade detection by American law enforcement  either payoffs to the Trump Organization, some return to Russia for its help in the campaign, or both. The Gulf States (as the Times reports) developed a strong preference for Trump to win the election and seem to have played a role.

Trumps response to the story may give us more information about its importance than anything contained within it. Trump tweeted angrily that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, and then again, The Witch Hunt finds no Collusion with Russia - so now theyre looking at the rest of the World. Oh great! His attorney Rudy Giuliani echoed this absurd defense. It shows them at the end of the road  are we now going to check Africa and South America? he told the Times.

If the news about the Gulf States is unrelated, it would hardly exculpate Trump. The discovery of an additional crime obviously does not constitute proof that the original crime did not exist. If the FBI is investigating a suspect for racketeering, and it turns up evidence he engaged in loan-sharking as well, hes definitely innocent of racketeering is not the most likely explanation. The more intuitive account of these facts is that the suspect has a propensity to commit crimes.

The deeper question is how closely related the Gulf story is to the heart of the Russia question. Was it just another one of Donald Jr.s legal misadventures? Or did Nader, Prince, and the Gulf States play a central role in facilitating a corrupt deal with Russia?

Trumps furious lashing out, including his reckless escalation of a crisis with the Department of Justice this weekend, provides interesting clues. Trump has no poker face, no chill. The closer the investigators get to incriminating evidence, the more intensely he rages. He resembles a suspect at a crime scene screaming at the police not to go into the attic. And now that attic is looking awfully interesting.Lauren Sausser is the Health & Science Editor at The Post and Courier. She also writes about health care issues in South Carolina.Angie Jackson covers crime and breaking news for The Post and Courier. She previously covered the same beat for the Grand Rapids Press and MLive.com in Michigan. When shes not reporting, Angie enjoys teaching yoga and exploring the outdoors.Andrew Knapp is editor of the Quick Response Team, which covers crime, courts and breaking news. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor at Florida Today, Newsday and Bangor (Maine) Daily News. He enjoys golf, weather and fatherhood.Paul Bowers is an education reporter and father of three living in North Charleston. He previously worked at the Charleston City Paper, where he was twice named South Carolina Journalist of the Year in the weekly category.After a structural failure shuttered the westbound lanes of the James B. Edwards Bridge last week, one of the most important spots in the Lowcountry has been a small room tucked behind a nondescript North Charleston office building.

Thats where S.C. Department of Transportation officials monitor as many as 32 traffic cameras at once and do what they can to ease congestion  a problem that reached epic levels in spots last week, particularly parts of Mount Pleasant.

The room, known as the "traffic management center," is one of five that DOT has built across South Carolina (the others are in Rock Hill, Myrtle Beach, Greenville and the statewide traffic control center in Columbia).

Each traffic management center has the ability to call up images from any of the state's approximately 450 traffic cameras, and to swivel those cameras or get them to zoom in and out.

On Sunday afternoon, most every screen featured traffic flowing along Interstate 526 as well as Interstate 26 and the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. And they showed traffic flowing smoothly everywhere, except across Daniel Island, where cars had to merge into a single lane in preparation for the lane reversal on the eastbound side of the James B. Edwards Bridge.

S.C. Department of Transportation Secretary Christy Hall dropped by the center Sunday before going to the Mount Pleasant side of the Wando River bridge to monitor preparations for the lane reversal. DOT Commissioner Robert Robbins and state Rep. Nancy Mace, R-Daniel Island, joined Hall there.

A handful of DOT workers watch the screens at the center. Once they spot a problem, they can dispatch a tow truck or one of DOT's SHEP roadside assistance vehicles (SHEP stands for State Highway Emergency Program).

These vehicles helped about 30 motorists each day during last week's heavy congestion, and DOT expanded their presence to S.C. Highway 41 and Clements Ferry Road, which saw heightened traffic because of the bridge closure.

"The SHEP program is an integral part of our ability to manage congestion," Hall said.

The DOT's 511 App allows motorists on most interstates to contact SHEP for help.

For every minute a traffic lane is lost because of an incident, it takes about four minutes before traffic returns to a free flow, said Rob Perry, DOT's director of traffic engineering. The faster the response to a lane obstruction  or even a disabled vehicle in the emergency lane  the fewer motorists will be slowed down.

Those in the control room also can contact troopers with the Department of Public Safety, as well as local police. And they can adjust the message on roadside message boards to give motorists a sense of traffic congestion or warn them about lane closures.When she was 5 or 6, her first foster mother beat her and locked her in a closet. Then she moved to a nice foster moms house. Then back to her biological mother, back to the nice foster mom, back to her biological mom, then back to foster care, this time a group home.

Five group homes, three foster homes. One childhood.

+5 Wanted: Stable foster homes and intensive guidance for teens in South Carolina Children in foster care suffer even more trauma and upheaval after their removal from biological families because the state is woefully short of quality foster homes to house them.

There was no love at all.

Katarina Wilkerson tears up saying this now, at 20, given she is the provider of that love, a young mother herself.

One in four other women her age who grew up in South Carolinas foster care system also had children by the time they turned 19, the fourth-highest rate in the nation. Its just one of many disturbing statistics that lurk in the early adulthoods of children raised by the foster care system.

For years, advocates and journalists have paid much-needed attention to children in foster care. But once those children become adults and age out, they go largely forgotten, often cast into the world with little more than traumatic memories and mistrust to guide them.

Nationally, one in five will become homeless by age 19.

In South Carolina, it's one in four.

"That's a disgrace," said Ira Lustbader, litigation director at Childrens Rights, a New York-based advocacy group. "Where's the accountability? The system is designed to provide support and caring, yet for so many kids it inflicts more trauma than where they came from."

Indeed, after aging out of foster care, one-third report no job by age 21  not even a part-time one, according to a Post and Courier analysis of a national database that tracks those who have aged out of foster care.

Almost 40 percent had been incarcerated.

And college? Barely a blip on the radar of their futures.

From the rusting trailer she now calls home, Katarina sleeps on the floor by a space heater with her spry 1-year-old boy, Sebastian. From him  and for him  she finally feels that unconditional love. But when important parenting issues arise, like when he recently spiked a high fever, she could think of no trusted adult to call for advice or support.

Instead, she clicked on a search bar.

Google is my role model, she said.

It's a cliff

Across South Carolina, the number of children being raised in foster care has grown 25 percent over the past five years. In mid-April, the state had custody of 4,509 abused and neglected children even as it struggled with a critical shortage of foster homes  especially those willing to care for teenagers.

About 200 of those children will linger in care each year until they turn 18.

By that time, they will have been moved six to seven times on average in a system that remains under the scrutiny of court-appointed monitors. The oversight began in 2016 when the state Department of Social Services settled a class-action lawsuit that alleged an array of unsettling problems.

Among key issues: Dire shortages of foster homes cause DSS to move children repeatedly from one inappropriate home or facility to another, separate children from their siblings, and raise far too many in group homes where the only adults to bond with are shift workers. So much instability and lack of attachment creates emotional and psychological stress in young, developing brains  on top of the abuse and neglect these children endured before landing in the state's care.

How DSS cares for its foster children now will have enormous consequences for them as adults, said Lustbader whose Children's Rights brought the lawsuit. "Trauma from a dysfunctional system can last a lifetime."

Dawn Barton is DSS' new director of permanency management. She acknowledged a challenging job ahead.

"While we have made progress toward improving some things, we have more work to do," she said in an email. "Over the past several years, our department has been working hard to reform the foster care system and better serve children in care."

To help, South Carolina allows these young adults to stay in care until they turn 21. That way, they can remain in foster homes, access more resources, and transition to adulthood with more guidance and support.

But last year, half still left when they turned 18. Many were too fed-up with the system to stay any longer, then fell off the radars of those once charged with their care.

"We have dropped the ball for these kids over the years," said Sue Berkowitz, executive director of the S.C. Appleseed Legal Justice Center, a partner in the class-action lawsuit.

That case focused on children in foster care, but Berkowitz said they haven't ruled out future litigation focused on teenagers who age out. They are particularly concerned about those who don't receive transition plans and aren't told about government resources available to help them.

When these young adults dont succeed, we all pay, whether it be in the cost of supporting them on public assistance or housing them in a county jail.

The most costly outcomes  homelessness, teen pregnancies, incarceration, dropping out of school  often occur within the first days and years after they leave care, according to a 2013 report by the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. The group is part of a Baltimore-based foundation that helps foster children transition to adulthood.

For every youth who ages out, taxpayers and their communities pay $300,000 in added costs over the persons lifetime, the report found.

Beverly Hardin sees these risks firsthand as chief executive of Carolina Youth Development Center, a nonprofit that operates group homes in North Charleston and Moncks Corner. She and her staff routinely watch helplessly as youth sign themselves out the day they turn 18  and then leave.

It feels like a very abrupt end," Hardin said. "It's a cliff."

Nichole Johnson grew up in foster care. After marrying and having two biological sons, she and her husband mentored boys at a local group home and served as foster parents. She has tried to talk young adults out of bolting cold-turkey, often without success.

Theyre done, Johnson said. "Theyre counting down the days until their 18th birthdays.

She and her husband adopted another teenage foster son, Jay. Until meeting them, he too had planned to flee from care. Why not? Most foster parents and group home staff dont often see the children in their care as lifelong investments the way permanent families do.

You kind of feel like a rock in someones shoe, Jay said.

Get me out of here

By 17, McKenzie McKean was among those done with the system. Done with broken promises, endless moves and bureaucratic runaround.

After almost five years in care, she couldnt count how many foster and group homes shed lived in. Shed get bullied, get her stuff stolen, get in fights, run away.

When a friend in Georgia offered a place to stay, McKenzie jumped.

Honestly, I just wanted to get out of there.

But after traveling from North Charleston to Georgia, she quickly realized that she couldn't stay with her friend for long. Then she had nowhere to go.

With long, blond hair and a tough demeanor, McKenzie lived in a tent for several months. Fear settled in. Fear for her safety. Fear for her future. Then she met a man, also homeless, and soon they shared a tent. They spent hours walking around, filling out job applications.

She landed a job and got her own place, which lasted until the landlord suggested she pay for her rent with sex, and she fled. She moved to work in Gatlinburg, Tenn., where a woman she worked with opened up her home.

McKenzie breathed. She had a job, a place to stay and a boyfriend who told her how special she was. But when a pregnancy test brought life-altering news, he blocked her number.

Although shed been taken into foster care at 14, McKenzie had stayed Facebook friends with her mom. Where else could she turn?

Soon, she packed what little she owned and traveled to the small North Carolina town where her mother lived with her husband and younger children. Yet, the chaos of their home jangled McKenzies nerves, and she felt increasingly unwelcome.

She had no job, no car, and few clothes. She tried a crisis center, but they had no beds.

Its just been a downfall. I cant get things I need. I cant get a job. I havent been to a doctor in months.

Then, her mother decided to move to a small Upstate town. She couldn't support McKenzie and a baby.

Four months pregnant, McKenzie had nowhere to go.

Her baby is due next month. She's having a girl.

Trying to help

Help is available  for those with the grit to get it, if they even know how.

Two decades ago, federal lawmakers passed the John H. Chafee Foster Care Independence Act to address the obstacles youth face when they age out of care. It expanded federal money for states to help these teens and young adults pay for things like their initial rent, a computer, tutoring and furniture.

Two years later, lawmakers also created the Education and Training Voucher program to pay up to $5,000 a year toward tuition, books and other higher education costs.

South Carolina receives about $1.1 million a year in Chafee independent living funds based on the number of foster children in its care and almost $400,000 a year in ETV college funds to dole out, DSS spokeswoman Chrysti Shain said.

The legislation also requires states to report what independent living services they had provided using the Chafee funds. A Post and Courier analysis of the results found that among 432 eligible young adults who were 18 or older in fiscal year 2016:

 About 5 percent received help with room and board  things like rent deposits, utilities and other household start-up costs. However, those numbers don't include 171 young adults who remained in foster care after turning 18 and whose living, education and medical expenses therefore were paid for using state money rather than Chafee funds.

 Barely 16 percent received help with education costs, including textbooks, computers, tuition assistance and GED fees.

 Slightly more than one in four received help finding or keeping a job.

Many young adults told The Post and Courier that the cumbersome process to apply for Chafee resources proved an insurmountable barrier to seeking them. Staff members at local group homes echoed that.

"They are very daunting for us even  professionals in the field," Hardin said. For youth, "it's intimidating. Kids feel like they're bothering someone, so they give up."

Many also don't know what's available to them. Three-quarters reported that they didn't know anything about their transition plans  when DSS staff is supposed to sit down and plan for their futures  or didn't know what role they played in them.

However, DSS' Barton said the agency is researching more streamlined electronic systems for applying for resources and is establishing transition specialists around the state to help.

"That will make it so much easier for our youth to get what they need."

More headaches, more delays

Last summer, a thick cord of families lined St. Philip Street and around the corner as heat built toward the big moment: graduation. They arrived wearing summer dresses, straw hats and light suits. Siblings and grandparents thickened the line of loved ones who had helped to carry the graduates to this threshold of their adult lives.

Inside the College of Charleston, Angela Jones waited, exhausted, although her white dress was beautiful, her nails done, her curly, black hair perfect around a model-beautiful smile. She was happy. But she mostly just wanted to get this formality done so she could relax.

Did she even remember how? Her entire life had been a race to survive.

Her mother had her first child at 14. Angela was her fifth. When she accidentally shut her sisters finger in the car door, a beating left Angela with an injured bladder and a hernia. The water and power got shut off. A teacher began to ask things like, What did you eat last night?

When DSS came in April 2004, Angela was 9 years old. After that, she didn't live anywhere for longer than about six months until she was 15. She turned inward to school, to books, to the musings of her poetry.

She also met a teacher who became an informal godmother. The woman bought her a coat after she saw Angela walking to school in the cold. Later, she urged Angela to go on college tours.

Angela enrolled at the College of Charleston, became a dual major, and applied for Chafee funds. They were the only reason she stayed with DSS.

Then, more disappointment.

The application process proved an onerous maze of collecting receipts and estimates, filling out forms, and awaiting approvals that sometimes didnt come. Her caseworker often didn't return calls. Money came late or not at all.

The packet that DSS gave foster kids explaining how to request these resources advised what to do if you do not receive a response from your case manager after leaving a third message. (Call your local DSS office and ask the operator to connect you to a supervisor. If that person doesnt answer your call, leave a voice message. Wait 24 hours  three times. Then email the independent living program directly.)

Angela created a complex color-coded spreadsheet on her cellphone to track every fund she had applied for  dozens of entries  and the status of each. She kept every receipt. She noted every phone call to her caseworker. She got a job, two jobs, took classes, got leadership roles.

She suffered her first panic attack.

But throughout college, that spreadsheet kept her abreast of the endless forms, permissions, reminders, due dates, phone calls.

Angela often wondered: Why couldnt DSS put all of this onto a cellphone app? So many more teenagers would apply if they could just open an app, screenshot receipts, fill out forms and submit them right then and there.

But it might not help the delays.

Her first summer in college, Angela applied for summer housing funds aimed at helping foster children bridge the gap between school years.

But the money didnt come in time to pay rent, and she couldnt go home for the summer like most college students do. Without it, Angela faced homelessness. Thankfully, she had saved enough for an extended-stay hotel. It wasn't how shed hoped to use the money, but she had no choice.

Ive been working my butt off, and Im not getting the resources that are available to me because its so messed up, she said at the time.

I just feel kind of forgotten.

Her July housing payment arrived in October.

Mixed bag of results

The Chafee legislation required that states measure how well youth who age out fare as adults through a series of periodic surveys starting at age 17. Their responses, thousands of them tallied since 2010, are warehoused in what is called the National Youth in Transition Database.

Despite spending millions of Chafee dollars on everything from rent to class rings, the outcomes remain a mixed bag in South Carolina, judging by results of the most recent group of young adults surveyed.

More  almost one in three  had been homeless by 17.

Far fewer were by 19.

More had become parents by 19. But fewer had been incarcerated, and more had full-time jobs (although 83 percent still did not). The results came with a healthy state economy and increasing benefits, such as being able to stay on Medicaid longer under the Affordable Care Act.

South Carolina leaders also have made their own improvements. They created a youth advisory board to share information about resources. Gov. Henry McMaster signed into law a measure aimed at making it easier for foster children to get driver's licenses. And the state's foster parent association launched a program that provides donated cars to older foster children.

Those are just the basic things they need, said Carl Brown, the association's executive director. Thats what parents do, and these kids dont have that.

But the most enduring challenge remains: finding caring adults to connect with them. Otha Meadows sees this in teenage foster children who come to the Charleston Trident Urban League, where he is president: They are totally disconnected from a stable environment.

Grit is required

In middle school, police officers came to Sage Cowans' school, gathered him and his siblings, and told them they were going to live in a group home. Nobody told him why. Thrust into the transiency of foster care, Sage soon became untethered from his siblings, until years later when an older sister in her early 20s got custody of him.

She was young and liked to party. He was young and wanted to graduate. She lived in North Charleston; he attended West Ashley High School.

After so much instability, he desperately wanted to graduate from there. The endless succession of new schools not only disrupts foster children's social connections but also their academic credits.

Sage's sister didnt always get him across town to school. So, his sophomore year, he began riding CARTA buses to get there. It meant rising at 4 a.m. and walking a mile to catch the first of three buses. Each route took almost 40 minutes. He downloaded an app to track them. Remount to Rivers to Citadel Mall to a bank near his school.

He routinely arrived two or three hours late. He missed 30 to 40 days in his first and second periods  and risked failing.

Who could he turn to for help?

By the time they are 21, about one in five former foster kids in South Carolina cannot name a single caring adult they feel connected to, the highest rate in the nation. Indeed, Sage had not seen his mother in a half-dozen years. He had no real connection with his father, who was in prison, or any foster parents or group home staff members.

One day in 2016, his assistant principal called him into her office. On paper, he looked like a discipline problem, another student falling through the rabbit hole of habitual truancy.

But instead of disciplining him, Gayle Morris asked:

Why are you so mad?

Sage, a snappy dresser who closely guards his wounds, paused. Nobody had asked him that before, not so bluntly. And hed never trusted anyone enough to share his whole story.

Now he would. In return, she made it her mission to find him help  and did so.

But not every child aging out of care finds that critical advocate.

Remodeling transition

Along a well-traveled residential street in North Charleston, a critical option for foster children in the state looks like a small neighborhood of brick homes. In fact, this is where Carolina Youth Development Center offers an emergency shelter and group homes for about 30 children, most of them teenagers.

Now, after years of fundraising, one of its houses is about to become a transitional living home for foster youth ages 18 to 20, a place to live while learning job and adult life skills from its staff, the first of its kind in the Lowcountry.

The goal: provide a slope to the cliff of aging out.

"The need is great," said Hardin, CYDC's chief executive. There is really a sense of urgency around transitional housing.

CYDC is about $40,000 away from raising more than $300,000 from private donors and businesses needed to gut and furnish the house so that up to a dozen young adults can live there, perhaps starting in August.

The nonprofit already offers an innovative program to prepare the teens on its campus for adult life. Its Bakker Career Center, the only independent living training center of its kind in South Carolina, has a computer lab, library, kitchen and the Cummins Automotive Shop. Starting at 14, children begin learning work skills here.

Why arent there more places like it? Cost.

This year, CYDC has budgeted $219,000 to run the Bakker center.

Two 18-year-olds living at CYDC have decided to stay in care with hopes of moving into the house.

Another recently signed himself out and returned to his biological father. He found the dysfunction that caused DSS to take him into care remained. Soon, other youth on the campus heard familiar rumors: The teen was couch-surfing among friends, no real place to live, no one to guide him.

Leaving the system

It was time to leave.

Shawnta Campbell had piled her stuff just inside the front door of her group home at CYDC, one called Ledford House.

Laundry baskets filled with clothes, bins of toiletries, bags of shoes, an afghan in Clemson University orange and purple. College stuff. Just like thousands of other young adults were loading into cars this August morning.

Her caseworker, Taylor Brown, pulled up with another DSS staffer.

Brown walked in and eyeballed Shawntas stuff.

All this not even going to fit in her room.

It also wouldnt fit in the silver state-owned van parked out front waiting to take Shawnta to her new life.

Shawnta stood in jeans with fuzzy, black slides on her feet, tearful eyes staring at the floor. She didnt want to hear this woman criticize her packing. And she didnt want to leave. Her name was still written in red on a whiteboard of house chores hanging beside her, and her friends  the other teenagers growing up here  hovered with morose expressions.

But it was time. Shawnta was taking a step almost no foster child still in care at 18 managed to take. The other kids helped carry her stuff out to the van, setting it near the hot road. Shawnta stood back, alone.

She had never seen her dorm room. She had no idea what to expect at Clemson. And once she left, a new foster child would sleep in her bed.

I really dont even want to do this no more. I really dont, she cried.

Outside, the DSS women dissected her stuff, which sat out on the curb like the belongings of someone freshly evicted. Brown pointed at what could come. This is fine. Thats fine.

Stuffed animals, no. Decorative pillows, no. Bedding, yes. Toiletries, yes. Boots, maybe.

OK, we got to get this rolling, Shameka Conyers, director of residential services, nudged.

Discharge paperwork.

Another staff member led Shawnta to an office inside Ledford House's front door. It was like a command center, wrapped in a big desk lined with white binders, a computer on one corner.

Shawnta plopped into a chair, frowning. The staffer slipped a paper in front of her, the one that allowed her to leave CYDC.

With no fanfare, Shawnta signed it. Her slip of freedom.

Then she walked out into her new life.

She was simply Shawnta now, adult, free in the world.Syndicated and guest columns represent the personal views of the writers, not necessarily those of the editorial staff. The editorial department operates entirely independently of the news department and is not involved in newsroom operations.Roger Stone says Muellers investigators have yet to come calling, but hes not going to be surprised if they do. Photo: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Longtime Trump ally Roger Stone said on Sunday that he is prepared to be indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, though he insisted that he has done nothing illegal, did not collude with Russia, and characteristically explained any such charges are a part a conspiracy to silence him and other Trump supporters.

It is not inconceivable now that Mr. Mueller and his team may seek to conjure up some extraneous crime pertaining to my business, or maybe not even pertaining to the 2016 election, the self-proclaimed dirty trickster remarked on Sundays Meet the Press. Stone also said that eight former colleagues have been terrorized by the Mueller investigation, but that neither he nor his lawyer have yet been contacted by the special counsels team. This likely indicates that Stone is a target for investigators.

In March, the Washington Post reported that Stone had advance knowledge that WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange had hacked emails from DNC members including Hillary Clintons campaign manager, John Podesta. Stone had publicly predicted that Podesta would face scrutiny before anyone else knew about the emails. He has repeatedly denied that he coordinated with Assange or the Russian hackers.

Muellers investigators recently subpoenaed two of Stones associates. Jason Sullivan, a consultant who worked for Stones pro-Trump PAC and was his social media adviser for four months before the 2016 election, received subpoenas last week for his documents and testimony before a grand jury. John Kakanis, who worked as an accountant, driver, and operative for Stone, has also been served with a subpoena, and has already been questioned by the FBI as part of the Russia investigation.

The special counsel has also reportedly looked into whether Stone had dinner, as he tweeted he had, with Assange in 2016 before WikiLeaks began releasing hacked Democratic emails. The GOP operative now says he was joking when he said he had dinner with Assange, though its not clear why that was supposed to be funny. Thats not the only time Stone has contradicted himself regarding contacts with Assange, either.Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.Columbia/Myrtle Beach Managing Editor

Andy Shain runs The Post and Courier's newsrooms based in Columbia and Myrtle Beach. He was editor of Free Times and has been a reporter and editor for newspapers in Charlotte, Columbia and Myrtle Beach.Political Reporter

Caitlin Byrd is a political reporter at The Post and Courier and author of the Palmetto Politics newsletter. Before moving to Charleston in 2016, her byline appeared in the Asheville Citizen-Times. To date, Byrd has won 17 awards for her work.Assistant Columbia bureau chief

Adcox returned to The Post and Courier in October 2017 after 12 years covering the Statehouse for The Associated Press. She previously covered education for The P&C. She has also worked for The AP in Albany, N.Y., and for The Herald in Rock Hill.Europe Influenza Market Projected To Grow With Significant CAGR Over The Forecast Period

Europe Influenza Market

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Europe Influenza market: Influenza is an upper respiratory tract disease and is caused by the influenza virus. Influenza virus is mainly three types namely Influenza A, Influenza B, and Influenza C. Influenza is a communicable disease, spread through a flu cough, droplets from the infected people, sneeze or talks. The common symptoms occur in influenza patients are chills, cough, running nose, sore throat, body aches, headache, fatigue, some cases people may have vomiting and diarrhea. The complication of the disease may include ear infections, bacterial pneumonia, dehydration, sinus infections, and sometimes it leads to congestive heart failure, and asthma. Influenza commonly occurs in geriatric population and children less than five years of age. The infection may be confirmed by testing the sputum, nose, or throat for the virus. A number of rapid tests are available however polymerase chain reaction that detects the viruss RNA is more accurate.The Europe Influenza market is growing at a significant CAGR due to increase in geriatric population. Increase in vaccination awareness, rising investment by companies in research and development activities, and increasing number of immunization programs organized by the government are the major factors leading to the growth of Europe influenza market. The major market players have great pipeline products, initiatives by government bodies such as WHO and ECDC to control and prevent influenza, technological advancements in diagnostic tests also fuel the growth of Europe influenza market in upcoming years. However, lack of required funding, limited opportunities for the production of vaccines, and stringent regulatory policies for new product approvals might hamper the growth of Europe Influenza market. Due to limitations in current technologies, the lengthy production times (approximately seven months), increasing prices of Influenza diagnostic kits, and difficulties in the storage of inventory also hinder the Europe influenza market.Free sample of this report is available upon request @The Europe influenza market is segmented on the following basis-1. Drug class Anti-viral drugso Zanamiviro Oseltamiviro Amantadineo Rimantadineo Others Interferons Vaccineso Trivalento Quadrivalent2. Route of administration Oral Parenteral Others3. End-usersHospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies and others.Free TOC of this report is available upon request @Europe holds a dominant share in the global Influenza market after the U.S. The largest share is attributed to rising awareness regarding the influenza virus and disease, raising investment by companies in research and development, and increasing number of immunization programs organized by the government are some of the factors driving the Europe Influenza Market. The increase in the prevalence of influenza in the European region is a major driving factor for the growth of European Influenza market. According to EMEA, approximately 15,000 people die of the severe consequence of influenza. Similarly, change in lifestyle, food habituations, and climatic conditions in European countries such as Austria, Germany, U.K., Spain, and Switzerland, among others also increase the growth of Europe Influenza market. Some of the players in Europe influenza market are AstraZeneca (U.K.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche (Switzerland), GlaxoSmithKline Plc. (U.K.), Novartis AG (Switzerland), Sanofi (France), Protein Sciences Corporation (U.S.), Emergent Biosolutions (U.S.), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals.Inc . (U.S.), and Abbott Laboratories Inc. (U.S.) to name a few. In 2016, new four-strain influenza vaccine, Vaxigriptetra, regulatory dossier from Sanofi Pasteur approved in Europe.Ask Analyst for Full Information about this report @Several international players in Europe are actively involved in the development of vaccines and drugs for influenza treatment to increase its market share. Vaccines are majorly preferred for the influenza treatment which is key revenue contributor for the growth of Europe Influenza market share. Launching of new products, technological innovations, and approvals from European Medical Agency for various drugs might fuel the growth of Europe Influenza market. Similarly, in 2009, three vaccines Celvapan, Pandemrix, and Focetria were authorized as the mock-up vaccines and converted into the pandemic-influenza vaccines after the identification of A/H1N11 flu strain. Similarly, two vaccines Humenza and Arepanrix were authorized using the emergency procedure and contributed renewed interest in the Europe influenza market.Get access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@ precisionbusinessinsights.com Toll Free (US):+1-866-598-1553Website @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.comFluid Intelligence has been selected to participate the CleanWeb program of Business Finland and the Finnish government. At the same time, Business Finland granted funding to accelerate the company's research and innovation activities. Fluid Intelligence's vision is to change the way lubricants are used today in heavy industry and logistics. Fluid services enable customers to have a real-time view of oil performance and make informed decisions.

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Tikkutehtaantie 63B40800 VaajakoskiJyvaskyla, FinlandChairman of the Board+358 50 3866 563

Fluid Intelligence has been selected to participate the CleanWeb program of Business Finland and the Finnish government. At the same time, Business Finland granted funding to accelerate the company's research and innovation activities.CleanWeb program aims to create scalable cleantech business quickly and speed up access to market for SMEs in the field. The purpose of the funding is to encourage companies to increase their own research and development activities."We are delighted that Business Finland supports innovation and is strongly involved in developing Finnish cleantech expertise. Fluid Intelligence provides concrete solutions for heavy industry to reduce the amount of waste oil to half and thereby reducing CO2 emissions. We believe that today's challenges require a new kind of thinking and we have created a concrete approach around it. Fluids model is already being used by several heavy industry companies." says Mika Perttula, Chairman of the Board at Fluid Intelligence.Fluid Intelligence's vision is to change the way lubricants are used today in heavy industry and logistics. Fluid services enable customers to have a real-time view of oil performance and make informed decisions. This again allows an oil change interval to be extended. Fluid helps its customers maximize their operational reliability, reduce the amount of waste oil and reduce their costs.Viktor Laitinen, CEO of Fluid Intelligence, explains company's approach: "Today, lubricating oil and related services cost over $ 200 billion a year to heavy industry and logistics. Nevertheless, the machines break up causing unnecessary downtime and costs. At the same time, huge quantities of waste oils are produced, and only small amount can be re-processed. Fluid Connected Oil solution detects even the smallest changes in oil composition, analyzes them and enables a proactive preventive approach." More information about Fluid Intelligence:Mika PerttulaChairman of the Boardphone: +358 50 3866 563email: mika.perttula@fluidintelligence.fi Read more at:Press kit:Learn more about the CleanWeb program of Business Finland:Heart valves market Size 2013-2017 | Forecast 2018-2024

Heart valves market

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Heart valves are the medical devices which are used as a replacement for a defective heart valve. Heart valves are majorly of two types-biological or tissue and mechanical heart valves. Biological heart valves are made up of various tissues such as porcine, bovine and human tissues. Heart valves made from human tissues are known as homografts or allografts. The major advantage of tissue valves over mechanical valve is the chances of bleeding and increasing chances of reoperations in geriatric people. Hence, the use of tissue heart valves in people of this age group lowers the risks of bleeding. Physicians are increasingly opting for this method as it able to reduce the use of oral anticoagulation drugs for the management of bleeding complications.Increase in demand for stent-less tissue valves, implementation of MI procedures expected to fuel the growth of heart valves market. Rising preference for tissue heart valve replacement surgeries among the geriatric population is also boosting the growth of heart valves market. However, lack of skilled professional, the risk of potential complications with tissue valves, and use of alternate products might hamper the growth of heart valves market. Similarly, the strict regulation policies for product approvals expected to dampen the growth of heart valves market.Free sample of this report is available upon request @The heart valves market is categorized as following-1. Product type Stented Tissue Heart Valves Stent-less Tissue Heart Valves2. Valve type Aortic Tissue Valves Mitral Tissue Valves3. Harvesting Autograft Homograft Heterograft4. End-usersHospitals, clinics and ambulatory surgical centers.Free TOC of this report is available upon request @And lastly, on the basis of geographical regions, heart valves market has been divided into following regions-North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominates the share in heart valves market owing to increase in the prevalence of heart valve diseases, increasing R & D, favorable medical insurance policies increase the growth of heart valves market in North America. Europe region holds second largest share attributed to increases in the prevalence of heart valve diseases because of changing lifestyle. Increasing government funding for R&D, technological advancements are expected to boost the growth of heart valves market. Asia-pacific region is expected to grow its market due to increase in awareness regarding tissue valves, increasing geriatric population and rising opportunities in medical tourism.Some of the key players in the heart valves market are Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (U.S.), LivaNova PLC (U.K.), Medtronic (U.S.), St. Jude Medical (Abbott Laboratories) (U.S.), Braile Biomedica (Brazil), CryoLife, Inc. (U.S.), and Laboratory Corporation of America (U.S.) to name a few. In 2016, CryoLife, Inc. announced that it has completed its acquisition of On-X Life Technologies Holdings, Inc. while in 2014, Sorin Group received USFDA approval for the Solo Smart Aortic Pericardial Heart Valve.Ask Analyst for Full Information about this report @Global heart valves market is increasing due to rise in the prevalence of cardiac disorders. The most commonly adopted strategies by industry players include new product launches with technological innovations, acquisitions & mergers, agreements, and collaborations to capture significant heart valves market share. They acquire other companies to enhance their R&D capabilities for manufacturing innovative devices that meet consumer needs. Acquisition of other companies allows vendors access to the product portfolio of the acquired company. For instance, back in 2012, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation and Cook Biotech Incorporated, have collaborated into a technology licensing and supply agreements for the development of tissue-engineered heart valves and related cardiovascular implants.Get access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@ precisionbusinessinsights.com Toll Free (US):+1-866-598-1553Website @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.comLeukemia Treatment Market- Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013-2017 and Forecast 2018-2024

Leukemia Treatment Market

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Global Leukemia Treatment Market: By Leukemia Type (Chronic Leukemia, Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia, Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, Acute Leukemia, Acute Lymphatic Leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, and Others), By Therapy (Chemotherapy, Biological Therapy, Radiation Therapy, Targeted Therapy, and Other), and Geography - Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013-2017 and Forecast 2018-2024Global leukemia treatment market was valued at US$ XX Mn in 2017 and expected to grow at XX% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) from 2018 to 2024Market Outline: Leukemia Treatment MarketAbnormal white blood cells beginning in the bone marrow of blood forming tissues results in a group of cancers collectively called as Leukemia. Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming tissues in the body. Treatment of leukemia is done by blood transfusion, immunotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, radiation therapy and chemotherapy, biological therapy, targeted therapy, stem cell transplant. The drugs that are available in the market include the following: Gleevec, Bosulif, Sprycel, Iclusig etc. Bosutinib, omapro, quizartinib, graspa, and marquibo among others are the pipeline drugs under clinical trials yet to be launched with a promising potential to treat leukemia with minimal side effects.Market Dynamics: Leukemia Treatment MarketThe global leukemia treatment market is majorly driven by the increasing prevalance of the disease across the globe. Healthcare awareness among the people and rising research & development activities resulting in recent advancements of technology and therapeutics. The growth rate of global leukemia treatment market also depends on the pipeline drugs which are major growth drivers for global leukemia therapeutics market in near future. The factors restraining the growth of the market include the high price of combination therapies and lack of access in developing and under developed countries.Free sample of this report is available upon request @Market Scope: Leukemia Treatment MarketLeukemia treatment market segmentation based on the leukemia type Chronic leukemiao Chronic Lymphatic Leukemiao Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Acute Leukemiao Acute Lymphatic Leukemiao Acute Myeloid Leukemia OthersLeukemia treatment market segmentation based on therapy type Chemotherapy Biological Therapy Radiation therapy Targeted therapy OtherFree TOC of this report is available upon request @Market Summary: Leukemia Treatment MarketBased on the epidemiological factors, leukemia is forecasted to be more predominant in whites when compared to people of other racial or ethnic groups due to high incidence and mortality rates. Furthermore, exposure to radiation with genetic and environmental factors play a prominent role in increasing the prevalence of leukemia. Generally, men are more likely to develop leukemia than women. The risk of leukemia is majorly associated with age. The occurrence of leukemia is high in men and women aging over 66 years. Adults, both men and women normally aged in between 75 to 84 are more prevalent to the different types of leukemia such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, and chronic myeloid leukemia. The prevalent rate of acute lymphocytic leukemia is high among 1 to 4 year old children and it is nearly eight times more than the young adults aging 20 and 24.Regional Analysis: Leukemia Treatment MarketGeographically, global leukemia treatment market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Americas leukemia treatment market is growth driven by increase in the prevalence of leukemia. According to NIH the number of new cases of leukemia was 13.7 per 100,000 men and women per year. The number of deaths was 6.8 per 100,000 men and women per year. Almost 1.5 percent of men and women will be diagnosed with leukemia at some point during their lifetime, based on 2012-2014 data. In the year of 2014, there were an estimated 387,728 people living with leukemia in the United States. The government and non-government organizations programs like patient assistance are also expected to fuel the market growth.Ask Analyst for Full Information about this report @Competition Assessment: Leukemia Treatment MarketSome of the players in the global leukemia treatment market include: F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Amgen Bristol-Myers Squibb Novartis International AG. Pfizer Teva Pharmaceuticals GlaxoSmithKline plc. Genzyme Corporation AbbVie Inc. ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Get access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@ precisionbusinessinsights.com Toll Free (US):+1-866-598-1553Website @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.comIts always darkest before the Don. Photo: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Don Blankenship is a coal baron who tried to inflate his profits by ignoring safety regulations  at a mine where 29 of his workers were subsequently killed in a coal dust explosion. He is a convicted criminal, who regularly accuses the Republican Senate Majority Leader of being a cocaine smuggler, whose marriage to a Taiwanese-American reflects a traitorous preference for Chinapeople over American ones.

Alas, none of this was enough to secure Blankenship the Republican nomination for Senate in West Virginia: Despite the GOP bases famous affinity for nominating lawless racists, the coal magnate finished in a distant third in last months primary.

But while Blankenships bid for the Republican ballot line is dead, his dream of increasing Joe Manchins job security lives on. On Monday, Blankenship announced that he would run in his states general election for Senate this fall, as the nominee of the Constitution Party.

It is especially appropriate for me to be nominated by the Constitution Party given its staunch and uncompromising commitment to upholding the United States Constitution, Blankenship observed Monday morning. The candidate went on to say that the GOP Establishment was determined to keep me  the most anti-establishment candidate in the nation  out of the United States Senate, while the press and the establishment have colluded and lied to convince the public that I am a moron, a bigot, and a felon.

It is not clear what, if any, major policy differences Blankenship has with the man who beat him for his partys nomination, West Virginia attorney general Patrick Morrisey, or with the GOP Establishment, more generally. Like Roy Moore before him, Blankenships anti-Establishment campaign appears to be built almost entirely around the issue over whether Mitch McConnell deserves to be publicly humiliated on a regular basis (admittedly, Blankenships stance on that question does have some bipartisan appeal).

Anyhow, conventional wisdom had suggested that Blankenships nomination would all but guarantee Democratic incumbent Joe Manchins reelection this fall. West Virginia is among the most Republican  and pro-Trump  states in the union. But Manchins personal brand is strong enough that he remains a narrow favorite for reelection, even running against a Republican who isnt personally responsible for one of the worst coal-mine disasters in American history.

Now, Blankenship is poised to give Manchin a gift even more valuable than a weak Republican opponent: Should the coal magnate make it onto the ballot as a third-party challenger  and invest some of his considerable fortune into his outside campaign  he would very likely siphon anti-Establishment GOP votes from Morrisseys column, and allow Manchin to keep his seat without breaking a sweat.

But if Blankenship is to help Manchin prevail in November, hell need to win a victory of his own in a courtroom first. West Virginias sore loser law prohibits candidates who lose major-party primaries from running in general elections as third-party challengers.

Blankenship said Monday that hes prepared to challenge that law in court, and that he is confident our legal position will prevail, absent a politically motivated decision by the courts. Theres a (small) chance he could be right: According to experts who spoke with the Charleston Gazette-Mail, the laws sloppy wording could give Blankenship a real case:

Michael Kang teaches elections law at Emory University and has authored academic work on sour grapes laws around the country. He said a potential wording error in the law could leave the door open for Blankenships run  Specifically, Kang noted the law cited by the Secretary of State prohibits independent runs after a primary loss from candidates who are not already candidates in the primary election for public office.

He said because Blankenship was  not is  a candidate for the primary election for public office, he may have room to argue.

Whether hes able to make it onto the ballot or not, Blankenship seems prepared to continue working to keep Joe Manchin in the Senate by other means. In the days since his primary loss, his top political strategist, Greg Thomas, has said that Blankenship intends to see to it that Morrissey loses in November, while the candidate himself published a Facebook video promising Cocaine Mitch that its not over.U.S. Influenza Market projected To Grow With Significant CAGR Over The Forecast Period

U.S. Influenza Market

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Influenza is an upper respiratory tract disease and is caused by the Influenza virus. Influenza virus is mainly three types namely Influenza A, Influenza B, and Influenza C. Influenza is a communicable disease, spread through a flu cough, droplets from the infected people, sneeze or talks. The common symptoms occur in influenza patients are chills, cough, running nose, sore throat, body aches, headache, fatigue, some cases people may have vomiting and diarrhea. The complication of the disease may include ear infections, bacterial pneumonia, dehydration, sinus infections, and sometimes it leads to congestive heart failure, and asthma. Influenza commonly occurs in geriatric population and children with less than 5 years of age. The infection may be confirmed by testing the sputum, nose, or throat for the virus. A number of rapid tests are available however polymerase chain reaction that detects the viruss RNA is more accurate.The U.S. Influenza market is growing at a significant CAGR due to rise in newborn babies, an increase in geriatric population. Increase in vaccination awareness, favorable reimbursement policies, and rising investment by companies in R & D aactivities are the major factors propelling the growth of U.S. influenza market. The major market players have many pipeline products, initiatives by government bodies such as WHO and CDC to control and prevent influenza, technological advancements in diagnostic tests also fuel the growth of U.S. influenza market. However, limited production capacity, a high level of required investment, and stringent regulatory policies for new product approvals might hamper the growth of U.S. Influenza market. Due to limitations in current technologies, the lengthy production times (approximately seven months), increase in prices of influenza diagnostic kits and reagents also hinder the U.S. Influenza market.Free sample of this report is available upon request @The U.S. Influenza market is divided into following categories-1. Drug class Anti-viral drugso Zanamiviro Oseltamiviro Amantadineo Rimantadineo Otherso Interferons Vaccineso Trivalento Quadrivalent2. Route of administration Oral Parenteral Others3. End- usersHospital pharmacies, retail pharmacies and others.Free TOC of this report is available upon request @U.S. holds a strong position in the global influenza market. The largest share is attributed to the higher rate of in-vitro diagnostics availability and technological advancements in medical devices which are primarily driving the U.S. Influenza market growth. As per CDC, person above 6 months of age could be vaccinated to prevent the influenza infection. Increase in prevalence and incidence cases of influenza (According to CDC, about 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. people are infected with influenza in every year. CDC also states that about 200,000 people hospitalized and more than 36,000 people are dying from influenza in U.S) might increase the growth of U.S. influenza market. Similarly, the increase in funding by the government is also driving the market growth in the United States. The U.S. government awarded 5-year contracts for more than US$ 1 Billion to five drug manufacturers developing technology for speedier mass production of influenza vaccinesSome of the key players in U.S. influenza market are AstraZeneca (U.K.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche (Switzerland), GlaxoSmithKline plc (U.K.), Novartis AG (Switzerland), Sanofi (France), Seqirus (U.K.), Protein Sciences Corporation (U.S.), Emergent Biosolutions (U.S.), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals.Inc (U.S.)., Alvogen (South Korea), Medimmune Inc. (U.S.), DynPort Vaccine Company, LLC. (U.S.), and Abbott Laboratories (U.S.) to name a few. In 2016, Seqirus received approval from USFDA for Flucelvax Quadrivalent, that was the first U.S. licensed cell-based quadrivalent influenza vaccine indicated for people aged four years and older. While in the same year, GSK received approval from USFDA for Flulaval Quadrivalent to include use in children aged six months or older.Ask Analyst for Full Information about this report @Influenza vaccines are key revenue contributor for the growth of U.S. influenza market. The U.S. influenza market is in growing phase, several international players are actively involved in the development of vaccines and drugs to treat influenza. The launch of new products, technological innovations, and approvals from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for various drugs might fuel the growth of U.S. influenza market. For instance, Squires used both egg and cell-based technologies to offer the broadcast portfolio of influenza vaccines in the U.S. for both trivalent and quadrivalent formulations. Similarly, transformative changes in other vaccine markets, due to the entrance of expensive and innovative vaccines such as Gardasil (Merck) and Bexsero (GSK) are projected to contribute growth of the U.S. influenza market.Get access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@ precisionbusinessinsights.com Toll Free (US):+1-866-598-1553Website @ https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.comNigerian businessman and philanthropist, Aliko Dangote, has said that he wants to be known as the biggest philanthropist in Africa.

In a statement released on Sunday, Mr Dangote said the desire to impact more in people was the motivation for the establishment and running of the Aliko Dangote Foundation.

The foundation, the statement said, has disbursed a total of N2.5 billion to 256,500 women across Kano, Lagos, Jigawa, Kogi , Adamawa , Borno and Yobe states.

The statement said that Mr Dangote made this known at the weekend during the inauguration of the foundations one- off and unconditional micro -grants programme in Niger State.

The scheme targets 25,000 disadvantaged and vulnerable women in Niger State, who will each be given N10,000 cash to boost their household income generation.

Speaking at the programme which held at the Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi International Conference Centre, Minna, Mr Dangote said the Dangote foundation had earmarked N10 billion for the empowerment of vulnerable women in the 774 local government areas of the country.

He said aside being known as Africas richest man, he also wants to be regarded as the continents biggest philanthropist.

He said, I do not only want to be known as Africa s richest man, but the biggest philanthropist.

I will continue to use my resources and my voice to help shape a better Nigeria , and Africa as a whole.

In her remarks, the Executive Director, Aliko Dangote Foundation, Halima Aliko -Dangote, said the foundation was poised to help lift the status of women in the country, saying If you empower a woman, you empower the whole nation.The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday said it was still investigating the one billion dollars investment in Unity Bank Plc by Milost Global Incor.

Efe Ebelo, SECs acting Head, Corporate Communications, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

Mrs Ebelo said the investigation into the Unity Bank/Milost case by the commission was still on, and that anyone found wanting in the case would be sanctioned appropriately in line with laid down regulations.

She, however, assured the investing public that the commission would not relent in its efforts to protect their interest.

NAN reports that Milost Global Incorporated, the New York-based private equity firm, on March 26 said it would no longer go on with its proposed investment in Unity Bank.

The company said this in a statement issued by Kim Freeman, Milosts Chief Executive Officer.

Unity Bank had earlier denied knowledge of the investment.

In the statement, Freeman said his company was approached in 2017 by the banks chief executive officer and chief financial officer.

Following the call, a desk top due diligence was conducted by Milost to its satisfaction. On Sept. 4, 2017, a one billion naira financing term sheet was fully executed by both Milost and Unity Bank, the statement read.

The facility, a combination of equity and debt, was provided on the exciting understanding that Unity Bank would delist on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and move its listing to the USA.

The signed term sheet was approved by the board of Unity Bank, it said.

But Unity Bank on March 29 denied reports that the bank had signed 60 per cent holding structure or one billion dollars investment with Milost.

The bank, in a statement on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) website, assured shareholders and stakeholders that there was no agreement whatsoever with Milost Global alluding to 60 per cent of Unity Bank shareholding.

The statement said the bank did not at any time suggest or agree to move its listing from the NSE to the U.S.

Milost Global Inc. is one of the prospective investors introduced to the bank by a local entity called Mayo BV.

It is not unusual that this introduction and expression of interests would involve some level of preliminary discussions and exchange of non-binding documentary communications between the intending parties, it said.

According to the statement, the Term Sheet dated September 4, 2017, said to have been executed, was a proposal submitted by Milost Global Inc. for discussion purposes only and not a commitment by the parties.

It said no definitive documentation governing the proposed financing was executed.

The statement said there was no iota of truth in the allegation that the bank had executed a binding commitment agreement.

The banks position is on the premise that a document prepared by Milost merely contained the suggested terms and conditions on which Milost was planning to consider its possible funding of the bank, it added.

The statement explained that the bank had been involved in a series of preliminary engagements with several prospective investors including Milost, and did not execute a binding agreement with Milost Global Inc.

It is, therefore, a misnomer for anyone to claim that the bank issued a false statement relative to the nature of the communication between Milost and the bank.

The nomenclature Commitment Letter was apparently adopted by Milost in its communication to buttress its seriousness to proceed with the transactions subject to relevant compliance requirements. (NAN)Organisers of ART X Lagos, a West African international art fair, have begun accepting submissions from emerging Nigerian artists living in Nigeria.

The organisers say only artists who have practiced for at least five years are eligible to apply on its website.

Entries are open until June 15 while the winner will be declared at the end of June.

The contest, which is being organised in conjunction with Access Bank, is aimed at recognising and supporting the best of emerging Nigerian visual art talents.

The winner of the ART X Prize with Access will receive a 1 million grant towards an ambitious project or installation.

The winning project will also be exhibited in a solo presentation at ART X Lagos 2018.

The winning artist will additionally receive significant visibility, and invaluable opportunities for networking and mentoring.

Tokini Peterside, Founder & Director of ART X Lagos noted, The ART X Prize with Access will give Nigerias most promising emerging artists the opportunity to further their careers, and to challenge the expectations of the global audience at ART X Lagos, which is comprised of collectors and visitors from significant institutions around the world.

A jury of five renowned artists and industry stakeholders will adjudicate the ART X Prize with Access.

They include renowned experimental artist Bruce Onobrakpeya, Yinka Shonibare, Wura-Natasha Ogunji , Sokari Douglas-Camp and Oliver Enwonwu.

Launched in 2016, ART X Lagos is designed to showcase the best and most innovative contemporary art from the African continent and to widen Nigerias connection to the art scene across Africa and internationally.

Since its debut, ART X Lagos has welcomed over 15,000 visitors to see the works of Africas leading artists. The art fair has since become a cornerstone of the Lagos art calendar, drawing local patrons and a host of international collectors, curators, and critics annually.

Through its contribution to the increased visibility of African artists, ART X Lagos aims to reinforce the visual arts as an important component of the creative industry in Nigeria and Africa, thus positioning Lagos as an emergent cultural capital on the continent.A former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has taken to Instagram to share photographs from his wifes maternity photo shoot.

The former minister and his ex-beauty queen wife, Precious Chikwendu, are expecting triplets.

FFK shared the maternity photos on Sunday.

The controversial ex-minister had announced on Instagram in January that his wife was expecting a set of triplets.

They already have a son, Aragorn.

His wife also posted the photo along with a caption which read, Had this amazing shoot at 22weeks and looked forward to sharing it but loosing my mom clouded my joy. Been cold for a while, still in denial, she remains irreplaceable even in death.

But hey Ive got to be the strong, cheerful and brave woman she knew. So as we await these amazing young ones, I celebrate you my angels, your presence would definitely cheer me up and Im totally up for the new experience and challenges of being a trip-mama.

Fondly referred to as Snow White, she is a model, actress and former beauty queen. She represented Nigeria at the Miss United Nations World Beauty pageant in 2014.

She describes FFK as a wonderful package from God and revealed in an interview that she pampers him with pounded yam and Ogbono soup.

See the photos belowDogu Perincek, a Turkish presidential candidate from the left-wing Patriotic Party (VATAN) on Monday said he will take the country out of the NATO military alliance if he wins in the upcoming election.

Turkey will hold a presidential election on June 24 and six candidates, including Perincek, have been registered to run for presidency.

NATO considers Turkey as an enemy, despite the fact that Turkey is a member of the alliance.

Turkey will withdraw from NATO, the U.S. aircraft from the Incirlik airbase will fly home, the base will come under the control of the Turkish military and there would not be any US military presence, Mr Perincek said.

The politician recalled recent NATO drills, where Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of Turkey along with incumbent Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan were marked as enemies.

Mr Perincek also recalled U.S. support for Kurdish militant groups as a reason for the Turkey-NATO spat.

The presidential candidate added that Washington has been trying to pressure Ankara over its cooperation with Russia and Iran in Syria.

The United States will fail, because the pivot of Turkey to the Atlantic region is impossible from now on, its real place is in Eurasia together with Russia, Iran, China, India and the Central Asia states, Mr Perincek added.

Turkey has been a NATO member state since 1952.

However in recent years tensions between Ankara and other alliance members, particularly Washington, have escalated amid political differences such as the U.S. support for Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units.

(Sputnik/NAN)Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif on Monday told the EU that its political support alone is not sufficient to save the Iran nuclear deal.

At a meeting with EU Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, Mr Zarif made it clear that the EU must take more practical steps to increase its investments in Iran.

Mr Zarif said that the EUs support of the deal was not in step with the threat made by some major European companies to withdraw cooperation with Iran.

The Iranian publics expectations of the EU to safeguard the achievements of the deal have risen since the U.S. decision to withdraw from it.

Within a few weeks, Tehran wants the EU to guarantee the economic advantages that it was promised for its decision to discontinue its nuclear weapons programme, Zarif said.

Meanwhile, Germanys Foreign Minister Heiko Maas ,has urged other signatories to uphold the 2015 deal as he arrived in Buenos Aires for a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers that U.S. top diplomat Mike Pompeo is skipping.

Giving it up means entering a completely uncertain future as far as the question of nuclear weapons in Iran is concerned.

Its not really about Iran, its about our own original security interests, German as well as European, Maas added.

Germany, France and Britain have been fighting to save the deal with Tehran after President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. earlier this month.

The deals other signatories, China and Russia, also want to maintain it.

However, Mondays meeting in Buenos Aires will be without U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo, who will instead be giving a speech in Washington on the U.S. strategy for reaching a new nuclear deal with Iran.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also cancelled his attendance at the summit at short notice citing other unnamed duties, while French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and EU foreign policy Chief Federica Mogherini will also be missing.

Progress on Iran will be difficult in the absence of key players.

The reintroduction of U.S. sanctions will make it harder for the other signatories to maintain the economic benefits the original deal offered in return for Irans commitments to halt what the West feared was a nuclear weapons programme.

(dpa/NAN)Irans Foreign Ministry on Monday denied allegations that it helps a Taliban push in an Afghan province bordering Iran, local media reported on Monday.

According to Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, the claim is instigated by the U.S. commanders who try to divert public opinion from the real cause of the flare-up in violence.

The Talibans attack on Afghan cities and their recapture by government forces is not a new thing and is not related to good relations between the two neighbouring countries.

U.S. commanders are trying to deflect the public opinion of Afghanistan from the real reasons behind the perpetuation of the war by accusing the Islamic Republic of Iran of supporting the Taliban, Qasemi said.

He added that for four decades, Iran has been standing by the government of Afghanistan to defend their sovereignty and independence.

Fighting has continued in Farah province on the border with Iran where the insurgents came close to overrunning the provincial capital, prompting its police chief to echo U.S. claims that Iran was supporting the Taliban.

(Xinhua/NAN)Zimbabwes parliament said on Monday that former President Robert Mugabe was scheduled to answer questions this week related to diamond mining operations during his tenure, but an official said senior ruling party politicians opposed this.

Mr Mugabe was originally scheduled to appear before the mines committee on May 9, which would have been his first public appearance since he was ousted in November, but the invitation letter had never been sent.

Parliament wants the 94-year-old to give evidence over his 2016 declarations that the state had been deprived by mining companies of at least 15 billion dollars in diamond revenue.

A parliament notice said Mr Mugabe would answer questions on Wednesday, subject to confirmation. It did not elaborate.

Temba Mliswa, the Mines Committee Chairman said parliament had written the letter and Mr Mugabe had received it.

He had not, however, confirmed his attendance.

Mr Mliswa said there were also suggestions that Mr Mugabe could perhaps give evidence at his house or in camera, away from the public eye, but this had not been finalised.

But a parliament official privy to the issue said it was unlikely Mr Mugabe would appear before the committee because this was opposed by some influential ruling ZANU-PF politicians.

They are saying they do not want their old man to be embarrassed especially by the opposition members of parliament.

It will not happen, said the official, declining to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the press.

(Reuters/NAN)U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Sunday discussed threats by North Koreas leader Kim Jong-Un to cancel its summit with Trump.

Trump and Moon, in a phone conversation on Sunday, exchanged views on various actions taken by North Korea recently, Moons office said in a statement.

The two leaders agreed to work closely for the success of the June 12 summit in Singapore, which would be the first meeting between a sitting U.S. President and a North Korean leader.

Both Trump and Moon are due to meet in Washington DC on Tuesday.

North Korea abruptly threatened to pull out of the planned summit next month because of U.S. demands for unilateral nuclear abandonment, the Norths official KCNA news agency said.

North Korea also cancelled at the last minute a high-level meeting with the South, protesting joint military drills between South and the U.S.

North Koreas sudden change in attitude followed a week-long charm offensive that has seen Kim hold a historic summit with Moon and met twice with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

At a dramatic summit last month in the Demilitarised Zone dividing their two countries, Kim and Moon pledged to pursue nuclear disarmament and a peace treaty.

Pyongyang also raised hopes ahead of the U.S. summit by announcing it would destroy its nuclear testing site next week.

(NAN)Neil Gorsuch is no friend to the working man. Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images

On the first day of Neil Gorsuchs confirmation hearing, one of the stars of the show wasnt the Supreme Court nominee, but Sheldon Whitehouse, the Rhode Island senator and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Looking back on the lopsided record of the Roberts court, Whitehouse felt compelled to remind Gorsuch of the legal and political reality he was about to join  one where a sizable portion of the courts 5-to-4 rulings have gone to distinct interests that have prevailed over everyday people. Once he ran down the stats and the list of cases one by one, Whitehouse added: Thats an easy 16-to-zero record for corporations against humans.

The writing was already on the wall. With Gorsuch in the lead, a conservative majority on the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that workers who are made to sign arbitration agreements that rule out class or collective lawsuits may not then band together and rely on federal labor law to give them legal recourse to sue their employers anyway. The ruling is a devastating blow to employees who are required to sign arbitration agreements as a condition of employment  according to one report, more than 60 million workers operate under such an arrangement, which effectively forces them to resolve their disputes with their employers in a quasi-judicial hearing rather than in a court of law. Of those, about 25 million are subject to a class-action bar.

The reason you may not have heard of the case, Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, is that it was the very first one the high court heard back in October, on the first day of its current term  which already features enough high drama with wedding cakes, political gerrymandering, cell-phone surveillance, and Donald Trumps travel ban, to name only a few of the pending decisions. At the heart of the dispute is the question of whether the Federal Arbitration Act, which compels enforcement of arbitration agreements, trumps the text of the historic National Labor Relations Act, a 1935 statute that transformed the workplace by allowing employees to unionize and bargain collectively for better pay and working conditions.

So high were the stakes in Epic, that during the hearing for the case  which saw lawyers for employers, workers, the Department of Justice, and the National Labor Relations Board all squaring off with everyone else  Justice Stephen Breyer openly wondered if a ruling for the employers would effectively cut out the entire heart of the New Deal.

That remains to be seen. And yet Epic is not such a cut-and-dry case because, on the one hand, it pits the text of two long-standing federal statutes that have nothing to do with each other, each with distinct purposes  one favoring arbitration between two willing parties, the other protecting workers who engage in concerted activities for the purpose of  mutual aid and protection. The employees had argued that this latter language meant that joining together to bring a class-action lawsuit effectively freed them from their contractual obligations, but Gorsuch summarily dispensed with that notion: Federal labor law does not mention class or collective action procedures and does not even hint at a wish to displace the Arbitration Act  let alone accomplish that much clearly and manifestly. Because labor law only governs things like forming a union and organizing for better wages, anything out of that ambit, like going to court as a class, doesnt vitiate the workers individual arbitration agreements.

And yet the tone and tenor of Gorsuchs opinion  which was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito  seemed to ignore the realities of why so many people are made to sign arbitration agreements in the first place: because they need the job and they have no real bargaining power when signing the dotted line. The policy may be debatable but the law is clear: Congress has instructed that arbitration agreements like those before us must be enforced as written, Gorsuch writes.

Dissenting, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her liberal colleagues called the majoritys conclusion egregiously wrong, and in the process offered a brief history of labor law in the United States. In a sense, they seem to see the Epic controversy as part of a larger retreat of sorts to the Lochner years, when an activist Supreme Court was unafraid to strike down, among other things, child labor laws and other workplace protections under freedom-of-contract principles. That era is long gone, but Ginsburg wouldnt be too far off in fearing a return to it, as some conservatives and libertarians have suggested we should. In one eye-opening footnote, Ginsburg puts the spotlight on some of the parties to this set of cases to undermine the majoritys entire premise for its ruling: that arbitration agreements are good and wholesome and statutorily sound because theyre freely negotiated between equals:

Were the agreements genuinely bilateral? Petitioner Epic Systems Corporation e-mailed its employees an arbitration agreement requiring resolution of wage and hours claims by individual arbitration. The agreement provided that if the employees continue[d] to work at Epic, they would be deemed to have accepted th[e] Agreement. Ernst & Young similarly e-mailed its employees an arbitration agreement, which stated that the employees continued employment would indicate their assent to the agreements terms. Epics and Ernst & Youngs employees thus faced a Hobsons choice: accept arbitration on their employers terms or give up their jobs.

For a conservative majority that tends to see text as supreme above all, its hard to see how lawmakers in 1925, when the Federal Arbitration Act was passed, had this sort of tomfoolery in mind. This disconnect between black-letter law and reality is exactly why the Epic ruling, though ostensibly correct as a matter of statutory interpretation, feels wrong as a matter of public policy and calls for course correction: Its formalism completely obviates how todays workplace operates.

And forget about the incentives the decision provides to employers that now may feel like its fair game to stiff their employees. Under the Supreme Courts pronouncement, a company that binds all its workers to submit to mandatory arbitration may one day decide to quietly and intentionally subtract $1 from each employees paycheck every week, just because. For one worker, one years worth of stolen wages would only amount to $52  pocket change that no sensible worker, let alone one who is already struggling to make ends meet, would be willing to hire a lawyer over to recover in arbitration. But multiply that by 10,000 employees or 1 million, and its easy to see why banding together as a class action would make more sense.

Calling on lawmakers to fix this mess, Ginsburg, who in the past has had success turning her dissenting opinions into acts of Congress, read a version of her thoughts about Epic from the bench  the kind of thing the justices do on occasion when theyre really upset about an anomalous result. Congressional correction of the Courts elevation of [arbitration agreements] over workers rights to act in concert is urgently in order, Ginsburg urged. Maybe Democratic majorities in Congress and in blue states will one day take her up on it.The United Arab Emirates cabinet on Sunday approved steps that would allow for 100 per cent ownership of UAE-based businesses by foreign investors.

According to the state news agency, WAM, the decision would be implemented by year end.

The decision is part of a wider change to the system that would grant residency visas of up to 10 years to investors and specialists in scientific, technical, medical and research fields, the agency said.

The cabinet meeting was chaired by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.

He also directed the economy minister to implement the resolution and submit a study following up its impact in the third quarter of this year, WAM said.

At present, foreigners cannot own more than 49 per cent of any UAE firm unless it is incorporated in a special free zone.The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) has sealed 400 pharmacies and patent medicine stores in Adamawa for various offences.

The Director, Inspection and Monitoring of the council, Anthonia Aruya, made this known in a press conference in Yola.

Mrs Aruya said that the affected comprised 35 pharmacies and 365 patent medicine stores out of the 527 inspected by the PCN.

A total of 400 premises made up of 35 unregistered pharmacies and 365 patent medicine stores were sealed for various of offenses, some of which include operating without registration with PCN, failure to renew premises licence, dispensing ethical products without supervision of a pharmacist, poor sanitary conditions, others.

Ten facilities were issued compliance directives for offences that did not warrant sealing, Mrs Aruya said.

Mrs Aruya said that the PCN Enforcement Team that operated in Adamawa observed that many pharmaceutical premises commenced operations without fulfilling the minimum requirement for registration.

She said the enforcement exercise in Adamawa was part of efforts to address the ugly trend and improve on quality service delivery.

The team has visited most local government areas within the state covering both towns and villages. Owners of unregistered facilities have been visiting the PCN, Adamawa office to regularise their registration status since the commencement of the exercise, Mrs Aruya said.

The PCN is a federal government parastatal established by Degree 91 of 1992, now tagged Pharmacists Council of Nigeria Act Cap P17, LFN, 2004.

It is empowered to among other duties regulate the operations and practice of pharmacy in Nigeria.The World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday unveiled an ambitious plan aiming to provide three billion people globally for the next five years with better health care and well-being.

WHA is the forum through which the World Health Organisation (WHO) is governed by its 194 member states.

It is the worlds highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states.

The plan, entitled 13th General Programme of Work, was reviewed and passed during the first day of the Seventh WHA, which kicked off in Geneva on Monday, to guide the work of the WHO from 2019 to 2023.

The plan sets three strategic priorities to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

These are to help one billion more people benefit from universal health coverage; better protect one billion more people from health emergencies; and ensure one billion more people enjoy better health and well-being.

In his opening speech at the WHA, WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, defined three keys behind the triple-billion targets.

First is a strong WHO and leadership team that is more efficient and effective in its business practices; then the political commitment from governments, as with buy-in from the highest levels, anything is possible,; and third is an even`deeper and stronger partnership in whatever way we can to achieve our goal.

Though the latest WHO annual report on the state of the worlds health, which was released on Thursday, highlighted remarkable progress in pushing forward the UN Sustainable Development Goals in some areas, it also warned that the progress has stalled and the gains already made could be easily lost.

The report underlined that still less than half the people in the world today get all of the health services they need.

The WHO also said that almost 100 million people were pushed into extreme poverty in 2010 due to health service bills; that 13 million people die every year before the age of 70 from cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, diabetes and cancer, mostly in low and middle-income countries; and that every day in 2016, 15,000 children died before reaching their fifth birthday.

This is unacceptable, Mr Tedros said, which is why We are transforming how we work to achieve our vision of a world in winch health is a right for all. We are changing the way we do business.

To fulfill the triple-billion plan, the WHO has vowed to step up leadership at all levels, drive impact in every country, and focus global public goods on impact.

In addition to offering technical support, the UN health agency is advocating health at the highest political level at all levels of governments, and strengthening its public voice for the plan and against any harmful practices from including industry.

Meanwhile, WHO pledges to place countries squarely at the centre of its work, and take into account country context and capacity to ensure that support is relevant and effective.

It will also focus on setting norms and standards, as well as promoting and monitoring their implementation, and shaping the research agenda and disseminating valuable knowledge.

As the WHOs highest decision-making body, the 71st WHA is convening from May 21 to 26 to gather nearly 4,000 delegates from its 194 members and partner organisations to set out the organisations policy.The University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) is providing only skeletal services due to the ongoing nationwide strike by the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) and challenge of Boko Haram.

Bashir Tahir, the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Maiduguri.

Mr Tahir said it would be disastrous to close down the hospital because of strike and the challenges of the insurgency in the state.

He said about 300 doctors were working in all departments of the hospital to provide some services to patients and clients.

He listed some of the departments to include kidney centre, accident and emergency, surgical, operation theatre, ultra sound centre and the radiology.

As we are aware the Joint Health Sector Workers are on strike. It has some effect on the running of the hospital but we are still able to render services particularly emergency services to our people.

You can attest to that if you go round. When you go to accident and emergency department, you will see patients there. Go to paediatric and medical units you will see patients being attended to.

We are also conducting labour, collecting data and doing other examinations.

So we are running services but not full. It is not possible to have full services but we are doing our best.

Our laboratories are functioning because we have doctors in the laboratories and they are doing their best, particularly the mythology lab, they are doing all necessary tests that were supposed to be done.

So also if you go to micro-biology, you will find some doctors carrying out some investigations and also chemical pathology.

Also when you go to the kidney centre, you will find everybody onboard including some of the striking workers, nurses and portal providing services there.

They are coming because they are patriotic and if we close the kidney centre a lot of people will die.

Sometimes we receive patients with various degrees of injuries due to bomb blasts and other incidents, and we cannot afford allow anybody to die.

It was in view of this that we pleaded with the unions and so far, they are really cooperating with the hospital management.

Well there must be challenges, as you know our doctors are now doing what the nurses and other health personnel are doing. So they have been quite supportive, he said.

A NAN correspondent who went round the hospital confirmed that the services were being provided at the surgical ward, operation theatre, medical ward, radiology department, accident and emergency unit, ultra sound and kidney centres.

Abdulkarim Yahaya, one of the patients at the Accident and Emergency Ward, told NAN that doctors have been attending to them.

Mr Yahaya, who suffered injuries as a result of accident, said the doctors have been coming to check him and providing him with all the necessary assistance.

Usman Chiroma, another patient at the male ward, commended the hospital for attending to patients despite the strike.

Chiroma Bukar, the father of the patient, said the resident doctors always come around to check his son.

They always come around to check my son and he is recuperating. His health has improved compared to when we came, he said.

Binta Isa, a patient at the kidney centre, said the doctors, nurses and portal have been very supportive.

I will soon go in for dialysis, they said. But we have been receiving attention from everyone, she said.

Reacting, Umar Abdulkadir, UNIMAID Chairman of JOHESU, said it was supporting the hospital management because of the insurgency.

Mr Umar said: After due consultation with the national union, we decided to allow the management to continue providing services with support of some of our members.

Some of our staff are still working in the hospital despite the strike, he said. (NAN)The senator representing Ondo North, Ajayi Boroffice, has condemned the attack on journalists and leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the factional state congress of the party in Akure on Saturday.

Violence at a congress held by an APC faction left at least six journalists and five politicians injured.

Thugs suspected to be working for the state government stormed the BTO Hall, Akure, brandishing machetes, clubs and dangerous weapons and inflicting injuries on many.

In a press statement issued on Sunday by his media aide, Kayode Fakuyi, the senator described the attack on politicians and journalists as condemnable, barbaric and unacceptable.

Senator Boroffice wishes to condemn the brutal attack on member of the House of Representatives, representing Idanre/Ifedore federal constituency, Hon. Bamidele Baderinwa and other prominent politicians during the State Congress of the APC at BTO Hall in Akure on Saturday.

It is most unfortunate that the assailants of the politicians also attacked and maimed journalists who were on ground to cover the event. Sunkanmi Elujoba of Adaba FM, Damisi Ojo of The Nation, Bamigbola Gbolagunte of The Sun, Olumide Abudu of Radio Nigeria Positive FM, James Sowole of Thisday and the chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists in the state were not spared from attacks.

I solidarise and sympathise with the leadership and members of Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) in Ondo State and the Correspondents Chapel of the NUJ in Ondo State in this moment of travail and tribulation. The brutal attack on journalists indicates a brazen attack on the press. The day of the attack remains a dark day. It also represent a major setback in the advancement of principles of freedom of the Press and safety of pressmen.

The senator advised the NUJ to liaise and work with concerned authorities to forestall recurrence of such an incident in future.

He also advised that institutionalised measures should be put in place to protect members of the Fourth Estate of the realm at all times.

The Ondo State Police Command is urged to swiftly apprehend and prosecute the assailants of politicians and journalists. The task before the Police Command is quite easy because the assailants are known persons with known addresses, the lawmaker said.President Idriss Deby of Chad said Wednesday he knew the hideout of Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau, and vowed that the leader of the insurgent group will be killed if he fails to surrender.

It is in Abubakar Shekaus interest to surrender, we know where he is. If he refuses to give himself up, he will suffer the same fate as his comrades, Mr. Deby said at a press conference with his visiting Niger counterpart, news agency AFP reported.

Mr. Deby vowed to wipe out Boko Haram, responsible for more than 15,000 deaths.

Mr. Shekau has remained in hiding since his group started out in 2009 targeting civilians, security officials, villages, schools, markets and places of worship. He however appears infrequently in propaganda videos released by the sect.

The Nigerian military has repeatedly, but incorrectly, claimed to have killed Mr. Shekau, who is also wanted by the United States government.

Lately, increased military operations by Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun and Niger have apparently pushed back Boko Haram, with Nigerian forces recovering several towns held by the group.

The Chadian Army also announced this week that it retook the key town of Dikwa in Borno State.

At the press conference on Wednesday, the Chadian leader said Mr. Shekau fled Dikwa after his troops chased out Boko Haram fighters on February 17.

According to the AFP, the Chadian army at the time said two of its soldiers and 117 Boko Haram Islamists were killed in the fighting.

We are going to win the war and we are going to wipe out Boko Haram, contrary to what certain media think. The Chadian and Niger forces will continue their mission to finally put an end to this shadowy group, Mr. Deby said.

Mr. Deby had been accused in the past of providing a safe haven for Boko Haram insurgents, and was purportedly the mediator in a phony ceasefire between the Nigerian government and the sect in 2014.The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Monday disowned a list of 50 international and indigenous companies believed to have been awarded contracts to lift Nigerias crude oil under the 2018/2020 trading year, describing it as not official.

PREMIUM TIMES published the list, sourced from senior officials of the corporation, but reflected the list was yet to be officially announced.

NNPCs spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview in Abuja that an official list would be released soon.

Have you seen the official list? Mr Ughamadu asked while responding to enquiries from PREMIUM TIMES on Monday.

I have told you the official list is not ready. What is circulating in the media is not the official list. The authentic list will be released soon. We are taking time to release it, because we want to do a thorough job. We are taking time to scrutinise all the companies, to ensure only the best would be selected.

Mr Ughamadu did not say why the NNPC did not issue an official statement to correct the records if the initial list was inaccurate.

Regardless, close followers of NNPC said whatever list would come out ultimately would not be significantly different.

The controversial list, which carried names of 50 companies began circulating last Monday.

In it were names of about 32 Nigerian firms and 18 international trading companies and refiners, representing 12 countries and three bilateral government interests.

The companies were expected to join NNPC to lift about 950,000 barrels per day (bpd) within the two-year period.

The Nigerian firms on the list include AA Rano Nigeria Limited, AIPEC Oil & Gas Limited, AMG Petroenergy Limited, Arkleen Oil & Gas Limited, Barbedos Oil & Gas Services Limited, Bono Energy, Cassiva Limited, Emadeb Energy Services Limited, Eterna Eterna Oil & Gas Company PLC, Cretus and Gladius Commodities.

Others include Hinstock, Leighton Petroleum Limited, Levene Energy Development Limited, Masters Energy Limited, Matrix Energy Group, MRS Oil Nigeria PLC, Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited, Oando PLC, and Ocean Bed Trading Limited (BVI) (the offshore trading arm of Sahara Group).

Also, Propetrol Nigeria Limited, Prudent Energy & Services Limited, Sahara Group, Setana Energy, Setraco Nigeria Limited, Shoreline Energy, Ultimate Gas (Rahamaniyya), Voyage Oil & Gas Limited, West African Gas, Zitts & Lords Group, Obat Oil & Gas and Duke Oil Company Inc., another NNPC arm were included.

Among the international trading firms and refiners were five Switzerland-based traders, namely Augusta Energy, Glencore, Mocoh Oil & Gas Limited, Petraco Oil Company and Trafigura.

Others were BB Energy of Lebanon; CEPSA (Spain); Vitol (Britain); Total Nigeria PLC (France); Indian refiner, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL); LITASCO SA, the trading arm of Russias Lukoil; Petrobras Group (Brazil) and Socar Trading Group, the trading arm of Azerbaijans Socar.

The list also included SacOil Energy Equity Resources (SEER) (Efora Energy) Limited of South Africa; Sonara National Refining Company of Cameroon; ZR Energy (Trafigura) and Calson (Bermuda) Limited, an NNPC joint trading venture.

Some of the contracts were said to cover deals struck by the NNPC with various governments, including China, India, South Africa, Turkey, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Togo and Malawi.There was drama in court on Monday after former Peoples Democratic Party, spokesperson, Olisa Metuh, on trial for alleged fraud, collapsed in the court room.

The judge, apparently frustrated by the actions of the prosecution and defence teams, also threatened to discharge the accused.

Mr Metuh is facing trial for alleged diversion of N400 million from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki.

He is facing, alongside his company, Dextra Investment, a seven-count charge for the alleged offence.

Mr Metuh has been brought to court on a stretcher several times, since February this year.

His lawyers had told the court in 2016 that Mr Metuh has an injury in his spinal cord after he fell from a chair during a meeting with his party members and was taken to the National Hospital, Abuja.

Shortly after the fall, Mr Metuhs team of lawyers made an application for him to be allowed to travel abroad for proper treatment of the injury.

Several attempts by the lawyers, led by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Onyeachi Ikpeazu, for the defendant to be allowed to travel, failed.

After the judge, Okon Abang, questioned the authenticity of a medical report signed by a Nigerian doctor from the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Hospital, the lawyers contacted a doctor from a London-based hospital and obtained another medical report, in a bid to secure the courts approval for Mr Metuh to be allowed to travel abroad for treatment.

The court, however, refused the application on the grounds that Mr Metuh did not appeal its previous decision refusing him to travel for medical reasons.

After arriving the court, in an ambulance on Monday,the defendant was called to the dock as usual but fell flat to the ground while approaching the dock which was quite close to his seat.

Before Mr Metuhs fall, the judge, Mr Abang, noted his steps and asked that the defendant remained on his seat, but Mr Metuh appeared to have reached the floor, before hearing the order.

Shortly after he fell to the floor, the judge stood down the matter to allow for medical practitioners to access the defendant.

Former Peoples Democratic Party, spokesperson, Olisa Metuh on the floor.

A medical doctor working with the court arrived the court room and assessed the defendant for a short while, before the case was recalled.

After recalling the matter, Mr Abang asked three of his court officials to explain what had happened.

According to the court officials, Mr Metuh defied the warnings of the judge to remain on his seat but insisted on entering the dock.

Mr Abang then ordered the defence team to proceed with the days plan, by calling its witness.

Responding, however, Mr Etiaba informed the court that he would like to recuse himself from the matter.

Mr Etiaba explained that the manner in which the case was proceeding, had forced him to consider suspending his appearance as a counsel in the matter.

Former Peoples Democratic Party, spokesperson, Olisa Metuh on the floor.

The request by the defence lawyer further infuriated Mr Abang who overruled it and attempted to proceed with the trial by directing questions to Mr Etiaba on the matter.

The defence lawyer, however, refused to provide answers to the said questions.

Mr Abang also frowned at the prosecutions refusal to object to the request for adjournment as well as the withdrawal of Mr Etiaba.

The judge threatened to discharge the defendant, if the prosecution was unwilling to seriously prosecute his case.

He adjourned the matter till Tuesday.History was made in Enugu State at the weekend as Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi inaugurated one of the five new ultra modern fire service stations being constructed by his administration across the three senatorial districts after 56 years such projects were built in the state.

Government records indicate the last time three fire service stations located at Ogui, Enugu North Local Government Area, Nsukka, Nsukka LGA and Idaw River, Enugu South L.G.A were built was in 1962 when Enugu State was under the defunct Eastern Region.

The inauguration of the fire station came as the governor made a passionate appeal to the federal government to reimburse the state government the money spent on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of some federal roads in the state.

Receiving the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola at the Government House, Enugu, who visited him, Governor Ugwuanyi explained that based on report from the committee set up by the Minister to assess the true value of works executed by the state government on federal roads in 2009 and after 2009, the total certified amount stands at N22.8 billion.

The governor further explained that the state governments interventions between 2015 and 2018, which are yet to be certified by the federal ministry, have been assessed at N13.015 billion.

He said the humble and passionate appeal to the Federal government for the refund, not only accords with best practices and fairness but will significantly boost our capacity to tackle some of the states pressing challenges especially in the face of the severe economic circumstances confronting the nation today.

The minister, who informed the governor that he was in the state on inspection tour of the ongoing federal governments development projects in the South East geo-political zone to ensure they are delivered on time and according to specifications, stressed that irrespective of political structures, development is the ultimate.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Fire Service station at Ogrute, Igbo Eze North L.G.A, the states Chief Fire Officer, Okwudiri Ohaa, thanked Mr Ugwuanyi for his total commitment towards safety in the state by constructing five new ultra modern fire stations across the state bearing in mind the last time a fire station was built in the state was in 1962, in the now defunct Eastern Region, which is over 56 years.

I equally praise the quality of work done, which is of international standard. I pray God to continue to strengthen His Excellency to continue the good work he is doing in Enugu State and bless him (Ugwuanyi) in a special way for remembering the abandoned Enugu State Fire Service.

Other four stations, nearing completion, are strategically located in Four-Corner, Ozalla, Nkanu West LGA; 9th Mile Corner, Udi LGA; Orba, Udenu LGA and Oji, Oji River LGA.An Upper Area Court 3, Kasuwan Nama in Jos, on Monday, sentenced a 35-year-old driver, Ahamed Talib to four years in prison for raping a nine-year-old girl.

The judge, Yahaya Mohammed, who passed the sentence without an option of fine, also ordered Talib to pay N1,300 to the minor for compensation and medical expenses.

Mr Mohammed said that the sentence on the one-count charge of rape would serve as a deterrent to others, who might want to indulge in such act.

Earlier, the prosecutor, O.C Ocho, told the court that the case was reported in March 20 at the Bukuru Police Station by one Ahamad Isah, the victims grandfather.

Mr Ocho said that the case was later transferred to the state CID.

The prosecutor told the court that the accused, a resident of Akwan Doki, Bukuru, lured the girl to his room with a pack of biscuits and N200.

Mr Ocho said that the accused forcefully had a carnal knowledge of the girl, and in the process, she sustained injury and was taken to the hospital for treatment.

However, the accused pleaded guilty to the offence and begged the court for mercy.

According to Mr Ocho, the offence contravenes Section 283 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria.

(NAN)Hold on, are you saying Kim might by trying to trick me? Photo: Pool/Getty Images

Weve all been there: youre underprepared for a big final exam, and as the test date approaches you spend too much time worrying and not enough time studying. Thats essentially whats going on with President Trump right now  except the consequences involve bringing the world closer to nuclear war, not repeating Global History next semester.

The White House is still reeling after North Korea reverted to acting like North Korea last week, suddenly ditching the conciliatory language, canceling talks with South Korea, and threatening to call off Kim Jong Uns summit with Trump, which is scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.

On Friday, the Trump administration tried to get things back on track with a concession to North Korea: calling off the joint military exercises with South Korea that led Pyongyang to cancel its meeting with Seoul. Trump also addressed North Koreas complaint about National Security Adviser John Bolton floating the Libya model to denuclearize the North. He somehow managed to contradict Bolton, then repeat the threat that irked Pyongyang.

The Libyan model isnt a model that we have at all, when were thinking of North Korea, Trump said. If you look at that model with Qaddafi, that was a total decimation. We went in there to beat him, he continued, referring to the U.S. and its allies intervening to help oust Qaddafi just a few years after he agreed to denuclearize.

Now that model would take place if we dont make a deal, most likely, Trump said. But if we make a deal, I think Kim Jong Un is going to be very, very happy.

Trump then called South Korean president Moon Jae-in late on Saturday, according to the Washington Post, to get his take on why Pyongyang is taking a public stance so different from what Kim told Moon during their historic meeting last month (though thats a common North Korean tactic). Moon is scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, so the call was seen as a sign that Trump was too anxious to wait three days.

Indeed, the New York Times reported that Trump has taken to questioning aides and allies on whether they think he should proceed with the summit, despite the risk of political embarrassment. Advisers are said to be worried (rightly) that Trump put himself in a bad position by remarking that everyone thinks he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. Hell have a hard time demanding concessions from North Korea if Kim knows hes desperate for a win.

But the talks might not even get that far. According to the Times, aides are starting to doubt that Trump will able to conduct an in-depth negotiation with Kim:

The aides are also concerned about what kind of grasp Mr. Trump has on the details of the North Korea program, and what he must insist upon as the key components of denuclearization. Mr. Moon and his aides reported that Mr. Kim seemed highly conversant with all elements of the program when the two men met, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has made similar comments about Mr. Kim, based on his two meetings with him in Pyongyang, the Norths capital.

There arent any seasoned North Korea negotiators at the White House, but other Trump administration staffers are digging in. A U.S. advance team is in Singapore working on logistics, and South Korean officials said Bolton has beens strategizing with his counterpart in Seoul on a near-daily basis. Its true theres more coordination that needs to be done that hasnt been done, one senior U.S. official told the Post. Theres still time, but not a lot of it.

It doesnt appear Trumps taken that sentiment to heart. Per the Times:

But aides who have recently left the administration say Mr. Trump has resisted the kind of detailed briefings about enrichment capabilities, plutonium reprocessing, nuclear weapons production and missile programs that Mr. Obama and President George W. Bush regularly sat through.

But whatever, if he doesnt memorize all the details by June 12 he can just write the answers on his hand.Adebisi Adeniyi, counsel to the anti-graft agency, EFCC, on Monday accused defence counsel, Olayinka Bolanle, of arm-twisting and disrespecting the court by deliberately being absent from defending his client in court.

Expressing his frustration over the general attitude of all the defence counsel in the case of alleged N8 billion CBN currency scam, Mr Adeniyi called on judge, Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel, to impose a fine on defaulting lawyers.

My lord, this idea of treating the court with disdain should not be encouraged because one of the professional duty of any counsel is punctuality in court.

When they go out there, they blame the judiciary and the prosecution for not ensuring justice.

I can even cite many instances in which the court had adjourned this matter either at the instance of the first, second or the third accused persons.

I can also remember that your lordship will no longer accommodate counsels who are not diligent in coming to court on time; counsels who have by their conducts have shown that they dont have respect for the constitution should not be allowed to continue here.

You cannot be disrespecting the constitution at some instance and be relying on the same constitution for fair hearing at another instance. My lord, fair hearing is not only meant for the accused, the State is also entitled to fair hearing.

The two witnesses we have in court today are from Abuja and they spent tax-payers money on their trip. The defence counsel has for so long frustrated the smooth trial of this case, Mr Adeniyi lamented.

However, Evans Jones-Osimeroh, counsel to the second and third accused persons, prayed the court adjourn at the instance of Mr Bolanle, counsel to the first defendant.

In a ruling, Mr Ayo-Emmanuel, said that he was not inclined to grant any further adjournment in the matter.

In view of the series of adjournments that have been granted in this matter, I am not inclined to grant any further adjournment.

When cases are fixed for hearing, counsel(s) should take the opportunity to make themselves available in court, the judge ruled.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Kolawole Babalola, the first accused, Muniru Olaniran, the second accused and the Kayode Togun third accused, along with others have since 2015 been facing multiple charges bordering on stealing and recirculation of N8 billion at Ibadan office of CBN.The federal government has inaugurated its upgraded website to encourage e-participation and bring governance closer to Nigerians.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, during the launch of the website, on Monday in Abuja, said the idea of the website was in line with the governments policy of encouraging transparency in all its dealings.

The SGF explained that the launch was in line with the civil service reforms strategy, which calls for greater openness, transparency, and public responsiveness in government agencies in their delivery on policies and programmes.

He added that Nigerians now have the opportunity of interrogating the policies of the government, as they have the right to be critical of governments policies.

Mr Mustapha said that Nigerians could now request for information from the government, submit any idea, lodge complaints and the government would respond in 72 hours.

He also disclosed that the website costs about N64 million, which include the design, procurement of servers, training, provision of consultancy services, among others.

E-Participation allows you to play an integral role in government services  from submitting an idea you have to government, requesting for information from government, making a complaint to the government, routing neighborhood issues to the right official; and then receiving a response.

Arrangements have been concluded to train people to manage the website.

Governance is being drawn closer to the people in line with the freedom of information act.

The office will not hesitate to publish any material, all in a bid to have an open government.

We have created a forum for e-participation. We will make sure the website is current so that people can interrogate government, he said.

The award of the contract for the website followed the pre-requisites of the Public Procurement Act 2007, before it was awarded on October 17, 2017, he said.The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to caution Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State from instigating other northern governors to sack teachers.

Ayuba Wabba, NLC President said this in a statement while reacting to purported statement credited to Mr El-Rufai.

The governor was reported to have promised to prevail on other northern state governors to replicate retrenchment of teachers and other cadre of workers.

According to him, It has been brought to our attention, statements credited to the Governor of Kaduna State, Mr Nasir El-Rufai over plans by other northern governors to imitate his path of sacking teachers in their state employment.

Unfortunately, the Governor of Kaduna State has decided not only to continue in his favourite past time of inflicting pains and sorrows wherever he goes.

He is also bent on marketing such profound proclivity for mischief to his fellow governors.

We need to remind Gov. El-Rufai that there is a limit to how man can play God.

By announcing that other northern state governors will replicate his insensitive retrenchment of teachers and other cadre of workers in Kaduna State post-2019 election El-Rufai has already declared his own election and those of other governors he is purportedly speaking for a fait accomplice, he said.

He added that organised labour wishes to remind El-Rufai that he is not God, after all and that he (El-Rufai) and other northern governors possess a voter card each.

He said that the citizens at the receiving end of their unpopular and de-humanising policies are in the majority.

Mr Wabba said in 2019, NLC would ensure that the votes of the oppressed and victimised count all over Nigeria.

He called on other northern governors, especially those in the same political party as Mr El-Rufai not to be deceived into copying the failed and de-humanising policies of the Kaduna governor.

He said the truth was that the logjam had trailed El-Rufais phony reform of the education sector in Kaduna State.

This has overshadowed the public outcry that greeted his unjust sack of teachers and other cadre of workers.

This is the time for all the northern governors to caution Gov. El-Rufai before they are counted with him as frontline enemies of the Nigerian people.

We also urge President Muhammadu Buhari to call Mr El-Rufai to order. A stich in time might still save nine.

Finally, it might be helpful to remind El-Rufai and his co travellers that workers retrenchment violates workers fundamental rights.

It also runs afoul of Nigerias labour laws, international conventions and best industrial relations practice, he said.

Mr Wabba added that the peoples voice will remain the voice of God. Nigerian workers are ready to speak when the time comes. A word is enough for the wise.

(NAN)A former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has hinted at the possibility of a fresh budget fraud in the 2018 Appropriation Bill recently passed by the National Assembly.

Mr. Jibrin, representing Kiru/Bebeji, who barely three months ago resumed from a suspension that lasted over a year, dropped the hint via his verified Twitter handle.

I resumed work in good time to catch up with Budget 2018. Has anything changed in our appropriation process and the budget itself since 2016? Within the week, I will be sharing my perspectives and discussing some details of the budget. I will gladly answer your questions as well, Mr. Jibrin tweeted on Monday afternoon.

Shortly before the passage of the 2018 budget last week Wednesday, the House of Representatives went into an executive session where PREMIUM TIMES learnt Mr. Jibrin raised fresh allegations of budget padding.

At the end of the executive session, Mr. Jibrin was also seen confronting the speaker, Yakubu Dogara, on issues, holding a copy of the budget.

He has since declined to comment on the recent developments.

If Mr. Jibrins perspectives are issues bordering on budget padding, like in 2016, the house may be headed for another appropriations scandal.

Mr Jibrin was suspended by his colleagues in September 2016 for 180 legislative days after he revealed extensive budget fraud by lawmakers.

He accused the Speaker, deputy speaker, Lasun Yussuf; the Chief Whip, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa; and the minority leader, Leo Ogor, of padding the 2016 budget with over N30 billion illicit constituency projects.

He submitted a petition against the principal officers at the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Department of Security Services (DSS) and the Police headquarters all in Abuja.

Abdulmumin Jibrin confronting speaker Yakubu Dogara on 2018 budget. [Photo credit: Reps official Facebook account] Abdulmumin Jibrin confronting speaker Yakubu Dogara on 2018 budget. [Photo credit: Reps official Facebook account]

Non of the security agencies appeared to have acted on the allegations.

After being on suspension for over a year, the speaker, Mr. Dogara, said Mr. Jibrin was recalled after apologising to the House.The Catholic Church in Abuja is organising a peaceful protest against repeated attacks by suspected herdsmen across the country, the church announced Monday.

The attacks, according to Amnesty International, claimed over 160 lives in January alone.

In March, a Catholic Church was attacked in Benue state, with 19 people, including two priests, killed.

The protest will hold on Tuesday in Abuja. It is meant to coincide with the burial of some of the Benue attack victims.

According to a statement by the Arch Bishop of Abuja, John Onaiyekan, the protest will begin at the Christian Ecumenical Center and end at the procathedral in Garki.

Mr Onaiyekans statement said the church planned to ensure that the protest is conducted without hitches and invites other well meaning Nigerians to partake in it.

Because of the barbaric killing of human beings in Nigeria, and erosion of the perception of life as sacred and in union with the Diocese of Makurdi, we want to express our deepest displeasure over the ugly happenings in our country and pray for the nation, the statement said.

Trouble makers should please keep-off. I want this march and prayer to be peaceful from the beginning to the end and to send a powerful message to the Government of our country and the rest of the world for positive change, the statement said.An Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Tuesday ordered the arrest of a UK-based private investigator, Victor Uwajeh.

Mr Uwajeh, who was also employed as a private investigator for the Presidential Investigative Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, was declared liable to be arrested, following his failure to appear in court, after the court ordered its bailiff to serve the defendant with court summons through substituted means.

Mr Uwajeh was accused of defrauding Nigerians in a four-count charge brought against him by the federal government.

The charges followed a petition written against the defendant by an Anambra State Senator, Andy Uba.

After attempts by the bailiff to directly serve the defendant with the originating summons failed, the court presided over by judge, John Tsoho, issued an order for the same originating summons to be served on Mr Uwajeh by substituted means.

The courts order for a substituted service was carrried out in April.

The matter had also been adjourned till Monday for arraignment of the defendant, but Mr Uwajeh failed to appear on court.

Reacting to the non-appearance of the defendant, Mr Tsoho said this amounted to an affront to the court.

The defendant has still not shown up in court. This constitutes an affront by the defendant to the authority of this court and renders him liable to an order of arrest pursuant to Section 83(1)(b) 131 and 352(1)(a)of the ACJA,2015.

Accordingly, bench warrant is issued against the defendant in this charge to compel his appearance before this court for trial, the judge ruled.

The chairman of the presidential panel, Okoi Obono-Obla, had in an interview with PREMIUM TIMES in April said the panel was investigating Mr Uwajeh and would recommend the withdrawal of his appointment, if found guilty.

I made the appointment for him to assist me in my work. After the appointment, the allegations surfaced. We will ascertain then if it is true we will have to review it, said Mr Obono-Obla.

Mr Obono-Obla could however not be immediately contacted to ascertain the status of Mr Uwajeh.

Mr Uwajeh could not be immediately reached for this report.The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says 174,198 Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) are ready for collection in Borno.

Borno Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Mohammed Ibrahim, disclosed this at news conference in Maiduguri, the state capital.

Mr Ibrahim said that the PVCs were ready for collection starting from Monday, May 21, at various designated centres across the state.

The commission in Borno has received PVCs for the 2017 registrants and is ready for collection.

The commission in Borno registered a total of 207,016 for 2017 and has received 174,918 PVCs for onward distribution, he said.

He said that the commission partnered with the Nigerian Air force to transport INEC personnel to enable them access areas affected by insurgency to capture eligible voters.

He said that the effort was to ensure that nobody was disenfranchised.

Mr Ibrahim added that it had so far recorded appreciable successes despite challenges of insecurity in the state.

It is very important to re-assure our people in Borno state that the commission is determined more than ever before to provide a level playground for all and sundry in order to add value to our democracy,said Ibrahim.

(NAN)Governor Tanko Al-Makura and other major politicians in Nasarawa State on Sunday endorsed President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term. They said this was to consolidate on the gains of his laudable achievements.

Mr Al-Makura made this known on Sunday in Keffi during a rally organised by a youth group known as Nasarawa State APC Youth Awareness Group, to endorse Abdullahi Adamu for a third term at the National Assembly.

The governor said that the endorsement of Mr Buhari by the people was because of his laudable achievements which have direct bearing on the lives of Nigerians.

He said Mr Adamu was also endorsed for a third term because of his track record of achievements, urging the people of the western senatorial zone of the state to support the duos re-election bid in order to enjoy more dividends of democracy.

According to him, Mr Buhari had done a lot and is still doing his best in the areas of fighting corruption, improving security, economic revival and national stability.

We are here to rejoice with you the entire people of Nasarawa West Senatorial district because Sen. Adamu is your son, a committed party man, a faithful member of APC and a die hard (supporter) of President Buhari.

As far as we are concerned, the election is won already but we are only waiting for the main celebration to come when the election will be conducted.

We appreciate him (Sen. Adamu) for all the good work he had done and is still doing for the zone, the state and the country at large, he said.

Mr Al-Makura restated his commitment to continue to key into good policies and programmes that have direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state.

The senator also acknowledged Mr Buharis effort at ridding the country of corruption and called for prayers for the president to succeed.

Mr Adamu, who accepted the call by the group to re-contest the Senate seat in 2019, thanked the youth for organising the rally in his honour.

Youths and women, among others, have been calling on me to re-contest to continue and to maintain my position as senator come 2019 and today, I have answered their calls, he said.

On his part, the Minister of State for Environment, Jibrin Usman, also drummed support for the re-election bids of Buhari and Sen. Adamu to enable them move the country forward.

Philip Shekwo, the state APC chairman, also said that Messrs Buhari and Adamu deserved re-election considering their laudable achievements which have direct bearing on the lives of the people of the state.

He said that the re-election bid of Mr Buhari is non-negotiable and was based on the presidents laudable achievements.

The leader of the group, Ibrahim Abdullahi, had earlier said that they have decided to organise the rally in honour of Mr Adamu considering his track record of achievements and contribution to the progress of the party.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event brought together top politicians from across the state, including five APC governorship aspirants.

(NAN)Ethnic tensions between Egbura and Bassa people of Kogi and Nasarawa states has lead to killings and dislodging of communities in the two states, a socio-cultural group, Egbura National Development Association (ENDA), has cried out.

The latest is a foiled daylight attack on Umaisha community in Nasarawa State on Friday.

In a press statement signed by the National President and Secretary of ENDA, Ibrahim Aguye and Yusuf Aboki, respectively, the association characterised the sustained killings as genocide against the Egbura people.

The two ethnic groups of Egbura and Bassa inhabit Toto local government of Nasarawa and Bassa local government in Kogi State.

Citing two press releases by Army spokesman, Texas Chukwu, announcing arrests of some of the alleged militias, the group points at their Bassa neighbours as perpetrators of the killings.

They alleged that apart from Ugya which has experienced sustained attacks by Bassa mercenaries, surrounding villages such as Kolo, Katakpa and Ogba have also come under attacks on different days, as well as many other Egbura communities in Toto LGA are still experiencing guerilla styled attacks while lives as well as properties are being lost.

We are constrained to give the concerned authorities some promising lead that would prove useful on the timeline of their campaigns of carnage and terror which has seen them raiding various Egbura communities of Toto LGA, the statement added.

The association alleged that the sustained attacks have political undertones, and appealed to governors in the affected states to take proactive measures in ending the mayhem.ENDA urged the Nasarawa State Government in particular to unmask the masquerades behind the latest crisis which we have every reason to believe, has political undertone.

It should also act to bring those who are hell bent on rubbishing the uncommon feats achieved by the Nasarawa government through ignition of crisis in flash points across the state as we approach the 2019 general elections.

The leadership of ENDA also urged Nasarawa State Emergency Management Agency (NASEMA) and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to come to the aid of the displaced Nasarawa Egbura indigenes from Kolo, Kuwa, Kokoto, Kanyehu, Dausu, Ogba, Ugya, Katakpa who are currently taking refuge in Umaisha and environs.

The association also called on the governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, to facilitate the return of all displaced Egbura indigenes from Ogbonka, Ogbaozanyi, Ozugbe, Ahutara, Okanga and Ibiroko Egbura in Bassa LGA of Kogi state seeking refuge in Nasarawa to their ancestral homes.The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has begun the distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) to eligible Nigerians, who registered in 2017.

Usman Ajidagba, the states Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), who disclosed this in Lafia, the state capital on Monday, said that the commission had taken delivery of more than 100, 000 of the PVCs for onward distribution to voters.

For those who registered in 2017, we have collected not less than 100,000 PVCs, which are ready for collection, he said.

He urged all those, who registered in 2017 to go to their various local government headquarters to obtain the cards.

Mr Ajidagba added that also available for collection were the PVCs transferred from other locations to the state.

He said that the commission was making concerted efforts to ensure that PVCs of those who registered this year were ready.

We are assuring those who registered in 2018 that they would get their PVCs before the 2019 general elections.

We are also appealing to eligible voters yet to register to come forward and do so in order to exercise their franchise since registration is a continuous process, he said.

He called on the media and other stakeholders to partner with INEC to ensure that registered voters picked up their PVCs ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

(NAN)President Donald Trump speaks at the East Room of the White House May 18, 2018, in Washington, D.C. Trump spoke about the shooting at the Santa Fe, Texas, high school. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

When the Senate Judiciary Committee convened last month to approve a bill to protect Robert Mueller, a number of Republicans opposed to the proposal clung to a wild claim: They said they felt bound by the late Justice Antonin Scalias dissenting opinion in a case that upheld a law, since lapsed, that created an independent counsel similar in spirit but not in kind to the special counsel now leading the Russia probe. Scalias main point was that the president was supreme over the Executive branch, with complete control over criminal prosecutions and investigations. That is, he could order them shut down. Or fire the prosecutor in charge. Or demand that a new criminal inquiry be opened if he so wished. No other justice accepted Scalias position.

And yet that outlier theory, which remains all the rage in conservative legal circles, seems to be the driving force behind Donald Trumps latest order to the Department of Justice, via Twitter, to look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled figures associated with the Trump campaign for partisan reasons. And into whether the Obama administration had anything to do with this so-called infiltration, which was so secretive and damaging that the president never bothers to mention that no aspect of it was ever disclosed in the lead-up to the presidential election.

Thought leaders and lawyers on Fox News and elsewhere  which is to say, Trumps whisperers  have for months been beating the drum that the president can do no wrong in his dealings with law enforcement functions and functionaries: He couldnt possibly obstruct justice in dismissing James Comey or even the special counsel because firing officials is a core executive function. He cant be indicted at all while in office because that could destabilize the Executive branch. And forget about being subpoenaed to testify  thats out of constitutional bounds, too.

The Justice Department as a Trump plaything is just an extension of the same rejected Scalia reasoning. A president can also order the termination of an investigation by the Justice Department or F.B.I. at any time and for any reason, Trumps lawyers wrote to Mueller in a letter described to the New York Times. Thats categorically not the law. It is just one big, pointless trial balloon  in the same way Trumps delusion that President Obama had ordered a wiretap of Trump Tower to damage him politically was a baseless accusation unmoored from reality. In another tweet posted early on Saturday, Trump all but confirmed that the reason he wants his own DOJ and FBI investigated is the goading by House Intelligence Committee members who want to see classified documents related to a counterintelligence informant revealed to have assisted the FBI in the early stages of the Russia investigation. This alleged plant, which Trump insisted was appointed for political purposes, is simply the latest bogeyman Trump and his congressional enablers are peddling, in hopes that public sentiment against Mueller will begin to sour.

Whats distinctly egregious about this latest freakout  which lasted all weekend long and included the usual swipes at Hillary Clinton, Andrew McCabe, Tony Podesta, and Muellers team of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats  is how much it resembled Trumps mendacious campaign promise of prosecuting his political enemies. Leave aside that much of Trumps huffing and puffing was, as is often the case, devoid of fact  that hes willing to weaponize his presidential power to demand that the Justice Department investigate itself is just another nod to Richard Nixon. And the action is of a piece with his ongoing war on his own law enforcement apparatus  which, since the Watergate years, has operated independently from the White House. That insulation was an institutional response to a president that didnt know the distinction between lawless abuse and lawful use of his own authority.

Perhaps in an attempt to defuse a disastrous confrontation with the president, who promised to officially take action on Monday, Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general and overseer of the Mueller probe, responded by directing the Justice Departments inspector general to look into the matter. Mind you, Michael Horowitz is already looking into an earlier Trump freakout (what the president thinks is the politicized abuse of secret foreign surveillance orders), and now hell take on this extra load. But theres something to be said about Rosenstein caving in and agreeing to even take the president seriously. If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, Rosenstein said in a statement.

Theres likely none of that at play here: Everything we know so far points to a hit on the Justice Department and the FBI simply because Trump feels besieged and out of sorts  and because Devin Nunes and his faithful allies in the House are determined to undermine Mueller and Rosenstein at every turn. Theyre the ones who have been demanding for weeks that DOJ turn over more information about the secret informant, longtime intelligence source Stefan Halper, whose identity the FBI had been keeping under wraps. Based on the available information, Halpers only job seems to have been to determine if there was anyone in the Trump campaign carrying water for Moscow.

The Trumposphere has attempted to paint the work of Halper as a nefarious plot of an Obama spy embedded in the deepest reaches of the Trump campaign. The Wall Street Journal became the latest outlet over the weekend to name the informant, who met informally with at least three Trump aides during the campaign  Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, and Sam Clovis  in order to help the FBI assess whether they were compromised by the Kremlin. That none of this information came to light as an October surprise is the fatal flaw in the charge that federal investigators were politically biased against Trump.

Could it be our president is just feeling the pressure from all sides and is just lashing out  what with his nonlawyer Michael Cohen facing a tightening criminal investigation in New York, Mueller inquiring about yet another Trump Tower meeting, with figures representing Saudi interests, and growing journalistic concern with Chinas financial influence on his business empire? Or maybe hes worried that Roger Stone, his onetime partner-in-crime, may be the next one to be felled in the Russia probe, or that Paul Manafort, who cant seem to catch a break in court, will finally break and flip on the biggest fish of them all?

None of those concerns justifies Trump knocking down the firewall that for more than four decades has existed between the Justice Department, the FBI, and the president. And yet every indication weve seen so far points to a looming showdown that could well result in mass resignations among the governments ranks. FBI director Chris Wray told a Senate panel why it matters that some of his agencys most sensitive work, and the work of intelligence sources, remains hidden from public view. The day that we cant protect human sources is the day the American people start becoming less safe, Wray warned. For all his pro-law-enforcement crowing, its become increasingly clear that Trump doesnt care one bit about protecting the life, limb, or independence of those working with or in law enforcement  so long as theyre not also working to protect him from criminal or political scrutiny.Armed bandits now control large parts of the Birnin-Gwari  Funtua road linking Kaduna to Katsina State, the National Union of Road Transport Workers NURTW has said.

The union said the bandits now freely mount road blocks along the highway. It said the activities of the bandits forced motorists to desert the road.

NURTW Chairman, Birnin-Gwari branch, Danladi Duniya, said the union is worried over the development.

As we speak, the Funtua-Birnin Gwari road has been deserted by our drivers because of the bandits that are in control around that axis. Their activities have really affected our business along that axis because there are no police or military checkpoints around that area, he said

The chairman appealed to the state government for intervention.

We are living in fear everyday, particularly the people living in villages around that area, he said.



PREMIUM TIMES learnt from multiple sources that commercial vehicles have since stopped plying the road.

A driver, who declined to mention his name, said the road is now a no go area for motorists.

I pity villagers living around that axis because we, as commercial drivers have since stopped plying Funtua  Birnin-Gwari road, he said.

According to him, due to the activities of the bandits, villagers now migrate to Birnin-Gwari town.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the bandits recently mounted road blocks unchallenged along Mai Gwari street which is about 30 kilometres from Maganda town.

The bandits have also taken over large swathes from Maganda town to old Birnin-Gwari which is about 50 kilometers to Zirin Gaza, sources also said.

A former chairman of Birnin-Gwari Local Government Area, who did not want his name mentioned for safety reasons confirmed the development.

If you move from Nachibi, there is another village called Gobirawa. In Gobirawa, there are bandits, they (villagers) have been overpowered by the criminals.

From there, you come to Kwasakwasa village. In Kwasakwasa village, a soldier was killed and his vehicle set ablaze, he said.

According to him, there are no security personnel along that route until a motorist reaches Kuyello village close to Katsina border.



He explained that victims abducted by criminals along the highway are usually taken to Funtua  Birnin-Gwari road, because security agents hardly raid the communities there.

He listed forests where the bandits operate as: Maidaro, Ingade, Dogon Dawa, Damari, and Saulawa before old Birnin-Gwari forest.

PREMIUM TIMES also gathered that Nachibi, Sofa and Cibauna are among the villages under the bandits control.

Anybody you see around these villages has a link with them (bandits) because any stranger found around that area will be killed, he said

Meanwhile, the State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Aliyu Muktar, said the command does not have such information of bandits taking over.

According to him, it will be difficult for bandits to take control of the road as claimed by the drivers union without the command being informed.

Mr Muktar said the unions claims were exaggerated.

Im not saying there are no issues around that area but we are trying our best. So, to say that bandits have taken over the whole road will be difficult. This is because we have massive deployment of personnel to that area. The IG and Chief of Army Staff have all visited the area which is part of the strategies to secure the area, he said.

Because we deployed personnel to that area doesnt mean there would not be issues around there. So, Its not true. Our men are there, attached to the military along the axis, doing their best, he added.

The Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Burutai, about a week ago commissioned an army battalion at Kanfanin Doka where he gave the soldiers a three-week directive to clear the bandits from the bush.

Also, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, visited the area and promised to deploy another 200 police officers to secure the area.

Close to 200 people have been killed in Birnin-Gwari in 2018 by armed bandits. The victims are mainly civilians, but include soldiers and police officers.No fewer than 100 students of Idogbo Secondary School, Benin, have been trafficked to Libya in the last four months.

This was disclosed in Benin on Sunday during an advocacy programme by the Senior Special Assistant to Gov Godwin Obaseki on human trafficking and illegal migration, Solomon Okoduwa.

Mr Okoduwa said this fact was disclosed to him by some teachers in the school, concerned about how the institution has become the harvesting ground for traffickers.

Mr Okoduwa said government will not allow the evil to continue to thrive in the state.

Government will step up its campaign against trafficking, he said, and the state Task Force Against Human Trafficking will be on the trail of the human traffickers.

He warned the students to be wary of the antics of the traffickers who are bent on deceiving them into embarking on the dangerous journey.

Henceforth, report anyone who tells you to travel to Europe. They are simply taking you through Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea and you may eventually end up in Libya.

The number of students that have been trafficked from your school in this short period is overwhelming.

The truth is that many of them might have been imprisoned there or facing one challenge or the other.

Taking the route of Sahara Desert and other illegal routes is hellish.

Many died of hunger, many were drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in search of greener pastures.

Worst still, the families of those people that died on their journey were made to pay for the travel expenses, when unknown to them their loved ones have gone to the great beyond.

If anyone tells you to travel abroad through Libya, tell him or her capital NO. If you must travel for any reason, travel the right way.

NAN reports that the state government had received no fewer than 3,400 Libya returnees within the last six months.

(NAN)The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers, in a rescheduled state congress on Monday in Port Harcourt, elected a 36-member executive through voice vote.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the controversy and violence that trailed the initial ward congress in the state as well as the rescheduling.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Ojukaye Flag-Amachree and Emeka Beke, were elected chairman and secretary respectively by the delegates at the Elekahia Community Hall.

James Maigid, Chairman of the APC State Congress Committee for Rivers, returned the Flag-Amachree and 35 others as winners, after a voice vote for the each contestant.

Mr Maigid commended the delegates for their peaceful disposition and adherence to instructions during the congress.

Alex Onwadiawu, the secretary of the committee earlier said that the stakeholders of the party in the state had agreed that the election would be by affirmation.

The new chairman, who thanked the delegates for giving him the opportunity to serve, lauded the APC leader in Rivers, Chibuike Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, for supporting him to emerge.

Mr Flag-Amachree assured the party members that he would work with all the stakeholders to ensure that APC secured victory in 2019.

Earlier, the outgone chairman, Davies Ikanya, had thanked members of the party for supporting him in the past four years.

Mr Ikanya called on the party members to give more support to the new executive to move APC forward in the state.

Everything that has a beginning must have an end; the existence of the state party executive led by me has come to an end.

I thank you for the support you gave me and urge you to give more support to the new executive members that will be elected any moment from now, he said.

Chidi Lloyd, former leader of the Rivers Assembly, moved the motion for the dissolution of the Ikanya-led executive at exactly 6:34 a.m.

Innocent Barikor (APC, Gokana), Rivers assembly, seconded the motion.

The faction of the APC in Rivers loyal to a senator, Magnus Abe, boycotted the rescheduled congresses after securing a court order against them.

The faction that held the congress, however, said it was not aware of any court order.A faction of the All progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi on Saturday night re-elected 31 out the 33 state officials of the party through affirmation.

Only two positions were contested in the election. They include the state party chairman and women leader.

The Ebonyi State Congress Committee chairman, Tony Odeh, who presided over the exercise, put a voice vote for the affirmation and the congress unanimously affirmed the election of the 31 state officials.

The former Acting chairman of the party, Eze Nwachukwu, defeated Patrick Ngbebu in a peaceful election participated by 980 delegates to emerge the substantive chairman.

Mr Nwachukwu polled a total of 775 votes to secure victory over Mr Ngbebu who polled seven votes in the election.

Also, Marcellena Uburu defeated the incumbent state women leader, Tonia Awam, who polled 26 votes against 734 to emerge the women leader  elect.

Joseph Eroogu who bought nomination form to contest for the position of state youth leader later stepped down for Benjamin Nkpuma who was subsequently returned unopposed alongside other candidates.

The chairman of the state congress committee, in a post-congress speech, commended the party for the successful exercise and orderly conduct during the congress.

He urged members with grievances to channel their grievances to the congress appeal panel, warning that complaints would only be entertained from members who participated in the state congress.

We wish to advice that members with grievances or genuine complaints should channel their grievances or complaints to appropriate quarters.

Those who abstained from the congress did so at their own prompting and will have no moral justification to complain against the outcome of the congress that produced the new state officials,.

We conducted the exercise observing all laid down guidelines and also in line with the provisions of partys constitution, Mr Odeh said.

He noted that the congress opted for affirmation for the 31 returned state officials as provided for by the party in the congress guidelines because no other aspirants bought nomination forms for the posts.

Mr Nwachukwu, in an acceptance speech on behalf of the other elected officials thanked the party and delegates for the trust reposed in them.

He pledged to carry every member of the party along and also to reposition the party for victory ahead of 2019 general elections.

The elections of the new state party executives have marked a glorious dawn for our great party in Ebonyi and we are going to explore every available opportunity to consolidate the party in the state.

We shall run transparent and open administration; shall give everyone a say, a sense of belonging and equal opportunity to achieve their political ambitions, Mr Nwachukwu said.

He appealed for loyalty to the party, discipline to the party and respect to constituted authority.

He warned that APC under his watch would not tolerate insubodination, anti-party activities and any form of indiscipline that could jeopardise the partys interest.

We will not hesitate to invoke necessary sanctions provided in the party constitution to deal with any member or members who try to sabotage the party.

The supremacy of the party must be respected and discipline in the party must be held sacrosant, he said.

The Minister for Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu; Martin Elechi, former governor of Ebonyi State; Soni Ogbuoji, incumbent senator representing Ebonyi South Senatorial District among others, participated in the peaceful congress.

Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), police, the State Security Security (SSS), the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) observed the exercise.

Jeff Ogbu was elected state deputy chairman, John Akumah state secretary, Okenwa Uka, financial secretary and Chika Nwoba as Publicity secretary, among others.

The other faction led by Julius Ucha, a former senator, had earlier elected Sylvester Nwambe as its state chairman.

Its own congress held at the APC Secretariat along the Enugu expressway.

They had earlier been chased out of the venue of the Nwachukwu led factions congress by security agents.

The police also reportedly apprehended and whisked away three delegates from the Ucha group who tried to gain entrance into the Nkwegu Grand Arena.As a way of improving its renewable energy effort to de-emphasise dependence on the national grid, the Centre for Renewable Energy Technology (CRET) of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, has developed solar-powered generators  FUTA Solar Box I and FUTA Solar Box 2. The generators of various capacities which components include Lithium Polymer Battery, Inverter, Change Controller, Socket Outlet, Fuse and Switches can power television set, fan and a number of bulbs for a minimum of five hours at a go.

Presenting the generators to the university management led by the Vice-Chancellor, Joseph Fuwape, the Director, CRET, Olurinde Lafe, represented by the Associate Director, Moses Awodun, said the idea behind the generator was to alleviate the energy challenge being experienced by Nigerians. According to him, the Box 1 with a capacity of 120w and which comes at a cost of N65,000 with the solar panel and installation is targeted at students and other low income earners, while the Box 2 which is of 200w costs N110, 000 with panel and installation and targeted at staff and medium income earners. Mr Awodun said at the flat rates, the noiseless and fume free generators are cost effective in comparison with others in the market which have monthly subscription after installation. Explaining the components and functionality of the power generators, the Project Officer, CRET, Adekunle Adefela said the solar boxes are cost effective with no maintenance fee.

Commissioning the generators, the Vice-Chancellor, Joseph Fuwape, commended the CRET team for its ingenuity in developing such solar boxes at a time when the masses are groaning under the pain of incessant and erratic power supply. According to him, opportunities abound in FUTA and since Renewable Energy is a major way out of the challenging energy need, CRET which also operates from a Net Zero building that generates its own electricity is on the right track .He described the FUTA Solar Box I and FUTA Solar Box 2 as practical demonstration of Renewable Energy.

FUTA announces development of solar-powered generator FUTA announces development of solar-powered generator

Mr Fuwape commended CRET and FUTAs efforts at impacting the community, assuring that they will be repackaged for commercial purposes. He called on cooperative societies and interested members of immediate and external communities of FUTA to leverage on the opportunity and advantage of the power box. Mr Fuwape also commissioned Solar Energy Pole developed by CRET. The Solar Energy Pole can successfully power a two bedroom flat and at reasonable cost.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.



Will Trump import his trade policy from China? Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Late last week, American and Chinese officials met for bilateral trade talks in Washington. The White House entered negotiations demanding that Beijing reduce its trade surplus with the U.S. by $200 billion or more, and cease its theft of American intellectual property; Xi Jinpings government entered seeking the suspension of punitive tariffs that President Trump announced on a variety Chinese goods earlier this year, and relief from U.S. sanctions for the Chinese telecom ZTE.

At the end of those talks, Beijing publicly announced that China would increase its imports of American agriculture and energy  something that it had already been planning to do, to meet its burgeoning middle classs growing demand for meat and fuel. Xi Jinpings government did not, however, commit to reducing its trade surplus with the U.S. by any set figure, or to take any specific action to address Americas complaints about its intellectual property practices. President Trump, by contrast, suspended the tariffs that he had threatened on $150 billion worth of Chinese imports, and publicly committed to lifting trade restrictions on a Chinese telecom company that had done business with Iran and North Korea in defiance of U.S. sanctions  a move that could, potentially, cost American victims of terrorism $150 million.

By themselves, these developments might not sound alarm bells about the administrations trade strategy. All things being equal, suspending tariffs that could trigger a trade war while seeking to address imbalances through direct talks makes good sense. And letting ZTE off the hook for doing business with countries is not, on its face, an outrageous concession for the U.S. to make in trade talks with China, so long as doing so secures Washington favorable terms on other points of contention.

But it is difficult to give the Trump administration the benefit of the doubt in its negotiations with China for (at least) three reasons:

 President Trump knows virtually nothing about geopolitics or world trade, and is infamously unwilling to pay attention during briefings on either subject, let alone to study up on the issues themselves.

 The president routinely displays an interest in using public policy as a tool to reward people and entities that help him personally, and to punish those who defy his personal wishes. Which is to say: There is abundant evidence that Trump often makes policy with an eye toward advancing his own interest, rather than the publics.

 About 72 hours before Trumps bizarre public promise to help ZTE, the Chinese government agreed to invest $500 million into an Indonesian theme park that will host multiple Trump Organization properties.

On Monday morning, Trump sought to dispel the publics concerns about the (ostensibly) lackluster results of last weeks trade talks. In a series of morning tweets, the president reassured the public that it could trust him to reach a good trade deal with China  by telling a blatant falsehood about Americas trade relationship with China.

I ask Senator Chuck Schumer, why didnt President Obama & the Democrats do something about Trade with China, including Theft of Intellectual Property etc.? They did NOTHING! With that being said, Chuck & I have long agreed on this issue! Fair Trade, plus, with China will happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2018

China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products - would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2018

On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2018

Trump promises he will deliver fair trade with China, and thereby, bring down its tariffs and trade barriers for the first time. But the credibility of that first claim is undermined by the impossibility of the second: Chinese tariffs on U.S. goods have come down, many, many times in the past.

China cut its tariff rate by 27 percentage points between 1992 and 2001. After it joined the WTO in 2001, it reduced its average non-agricultural tariffs from 16% to 9% over the next 11 years. https://t.co/1ezNfTHoBs https://t.co/ESNLm1jP9y  Anthony Zurcher (@awzurcher) May 21, 2018

All of which is to say: Nothing Trump tweeted this morning, or had his administration agree to last week, did anything to contradict the suspicion that  to the extent the president knows what hes doing in negotiations with the Chinese  what he is doing is using the power of his office to advance his personal financial interests.A two-day Estate Treasures Auction featuring numerous treasures pulled from prominent estates and collections, will be held Wednesday and Thursday, June 6th and 7th, by Nye & Company Auctioneers, online and in Bloomfield, New Jersey.

By: Nye & Company Auctioneers

Neoclassical style silver centerpiece, stamped Froment Meurice, French, 19th c.

Contact

John Nye

***@nyeandcompany.com John Nye

End

-- A two-day Estate Treasures Auction featuring numerous treasures pulled from prominent estates and collections, will be held Wednesday and Thursday, June 6and 7, by Nye & Company Auctioneers, online and in the firm's gallery located at 20 Beach Street in Bloomfield. The auction catalog will appear online May 23, at www.nyeandcompany.com, as well as the two online bidding platforms www.LiveAuctioneers.com and www.Invaluable.com.Start times both days will be 10 am Eastern. The Wednesday, June 6session will be a live auction. The following day will be a timed online-only auction. Phone and absentee bids will be accepted. Public viewings will be held on the days leading up to sale, beginning on May 28"It's extremely gratifying to have such a wonderfully diverse group of property in the June auction, some of which has never been offered for sale, descended in the Winan and McNeill families, of which the artist, James A. McNeill Whistler, hails from," said John Nye of Nye & Company Auctioneers. "The collection has never left its important Newport, Rhode Island family, which built the city's second largest house on the water, known as Shamrock Cliff."The family was involved in the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway, and that explains the high number of 19century lacquer boxes in the auction, as well as the circa 1875 Russian silver sterling dinner service by the Imperial master silversmith Gustav Alexander Sohlman. Also from the family is other Russian silver, plus bronzes, rugs and etchings by James A. McNeill Whistler.A superb collection out of Locust Valley, N.Y., features traditional English furniture, a Baccarat chandelier and lots of Baccarat "Empire" and St. Louis "Thistle" pattern glass, as well as other pedigreed glass. Another seller also has two other Baccarat chandeliers. Jewelry in the sale will comprise approximately 100 lots and will include a vintage Rolex Oyster Precision wristwatch.Silver will also be offered in abundance. Featured lots will include the following: An English silver tureen, crested with a coat-of-arms from the Dukes of Bedford, with the underside marked 'N3 81:0,' hallmarked 'GM' (George Metheun, London 1757), double-handled, footed, with an ornate plant-like finial, gadrooning, scrolled feet, 80 troy ounces. A French 19century silver over bronze jardiniere, an oval centerpiece boasting scrolled handles with lion mask handles, centered female form masks each side, floral festooned garland, swirl form, with a beaded border pedestal set on a square base with scrolled feet. An important French 19century sterling silver oval centerpiece bowl, with rim stamped "Froment Meurice", with the French hallmark Head of Minerva, plus a smaller illegible mark, having putti form handles on each side, a shell and scroll shaped border, engraved coat-of-arms on each side within a shaped cartouche, flanked on either side by graduated swirl motifs, ending with putti wrapped around the foot of a stylized serpent (total weight 133 troy ounces), together with shaped footed vermeil comforting insert (50 troy ounces).From a New York City collector will come several original artworks by the noted painter Wilson Irvine (Am., 1869-1936), including an impressionistic view of an all-American farmhouse, artist signed and titled. Also, from a New Jersey family, a large abstract oil on canvas by Gang Zhao (Chinese, b. 1961), in greens and orange, will be offered.Also sold will be a group of European, 18and 19century paintings from a New York City estate and early 19century Georgian furniture and decorative arts from a Greenwich, Conn. collection.The previews are planned for Monday thru Friday, May 28-June 1, from 10 am to 4 pm Eastern time each day; Sunday, June 3, from 12 noon until 4 pm; and Monday thru Wednesday, June 4-6, from 10-4. Previews will be held at Nye & Company Auctioneers' gallery in Bloomfield, N.J.John Nye had a long and fruitful career at Sotheby's before he and his wife, Kathleen, acquired Dawson's in 2003 and started Dawson & Nye. With the move to Bloomfield seven years later, they renamed the business to Nye & Company (Auctioneers, Appraisers, Antiques). The firm is nationwide, but the vast bulk of the business comes from trusts and estates in the tri-state area.For more information about Nye & Company Auctioneers and the Estate Treasures Auction scheduled for June 6and 7, please visit www.nyeandcompany.com . The catalogue for the auction will be posted May 23, at www.nyeandcompany.com, and at LiveAuctioneers.com.LANHAM, Md., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 2U, Inc. (the "Company") announced today that it has commenced a proposed public offering of up to $300 million of its common stock. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $45 million of common stock from the Company at the public offering price. All of the shares in the offering are to be sold by the Company.

The proceeds of the offering will be used by the Company for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including expenditures for program and short course marketing, technology, and content development, in connection with new program and short course launches and growing existing programs and short courses as well as the strategic acquisition of, or investment in, complementary products, technologies, solutions or businesses.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are acting as joint lead book-running managers for the proposed offering. Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. is also acting as a book-running manager. Compass Point, KeyBanc Capital Markets and Macquarie Capital are acting as co-managers.

A copy of the prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus may be obtained , when available, by mail from the offices of Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, telephone: 1-866-471-2526, facsimile: 212-902-9316 or by emailing [email protected], or from the Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Prospectus Department, One Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010, telephone: 1-800-221-1037 or by emailing [email protected].

The common stock will be issued and sold pursuant to an effective automatic shelf registration statement on Form S-3 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents filed with the SEC for more information about the Company and this offering. You may obtain these documents free of charge by visiting the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

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 these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About 2U, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU)

2U partners with great colleges and universities to build what we believe is the world's best digital education. Our platform provides a comprehensive fusion of technology, services and data architecture to transform high-quality and rigorous campus-based universities into the best digital versions of themselves. 2U's No Back Row approach allows qualified students and working professionals around the world to experience a first-rate university education and successful outcomes.

Cautionary Language Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our future business expectations, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding future results of the operations and financial position of 2U, Inc., including financial targets, business strategy, and plans and objectives for future operations, are forward-looking statements. 2U has based these forward-looking statements largely on its estimates of its financial results and its current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that it believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update these statements as a result of new information or future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results predicted, including, trends in the higher education market and the market for online education, and expectations for growth in those markets; the acceptance, adoption and growth of online learning by colleges and universities, faculty, students, employers, accreditors and state and federal licensing bodies; our ability to comply with evolving regulations and legal obligations related to data privacy, data protection and information security; our expectations about the potential benefits of our cloud-based software-as-a-service ("SaaS") technology and technology-enabled services to university clients and students; our dependence on third parties to provide certain technological services or components used in our solutions; our ability to meet the anticipated launch dates of our graduate programs and short courses; our expectations about the predictability, visibility and recurring nature of our business model; our ability to acquire new university clients and expand our graduate programs and short courses with existing university clients; our ability to successfully integrate the operations of Get Educated International Proprietary Limited, or GetSmarter, achieve the expected benefits of the acquisition and manage, expand and grow the combined company; our ability to execute our growth strategy in the international, undergraduate and non-degree alternative markets; our ability to continue to acquire prospective students for our graduate programs and short courses; our ability to affect or increase student retention in our graduate programs; our ability to successfully execute our growth strategy; our expectations regarding the scalability of our cloud-based SaaS technology; our expectations regarding future expenses in relation to future revenue; potential changes in regulations applicable to us or our university clients; and our expectations regarding the amount of time our cash balances and other available financial resources will be sufficient to fund our operations. These and other potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the results predicted are more fully detailed under the heading "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, 2U operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for 2U management to predict all risks, nor can 2U assess the impact of all factors on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements 2U may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated.

Investor Relations Contact: Ed Goodwin, 2U, Inc., [email protected]

Media Contact: Molly Greenberg, 2U, Inc., [email protected]

SOURCE 2U, Inc.

Related Links

http://2u.com

HANOVER, Md., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Aerotek, a leading provider of recruiting and staffing services, today announced it was recognized by Forbes as one of America's Best Large Employers for 2018. This is Aerotek's fourth consecutive year on the list. Aerotek ranked No. 299 overall among large companies and institutions with 5,000 or more employees.

The 2018 list of America's Best Large Employers contains 500 employers across 25 industries, including Fortune 500 companies, universities and government agencies. Employers recognized in the list were chosen based on the results of an anonymous, independent survey conducted among 30,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees. The employees were asked, on a scale from zero to 10, how likely they were to recommend their employer to others.

"We are honored to be recognized by Forbes as one of the country's best employers," said Kay Hughston, Vice President of Human Resources at Aerotek. "We are deeply invested in the growth and success of every employee who joins our organization. Our unique culture  centering around collaboration, personal and professional development, integrity and a commitment to service  fosters opportunity at all levels in the company."

To view the full list of America's Best Large Employers 2018, visit Forbes online. For more information about internal careers at Aerotek, please visit AerotekCareers.com.

About Aerotek

Our people are everything. For more than 30 years, Aerotek Inc. has distinguished itself as a leader in recruiting and staffing services by having a deep understanding of the intersection of talent and business. As a strategic partner to more than 18,000 clients and 300,000 contract employees every year, Aerotek's people-focused approach yields competitive advantage for its clients and rewarding careers for its contract employees. Headquartered in Hanover, Md., Aerotek operates a network of over 250 non-franchised offices with more than 8,000 internal employees dedicated to serving our customers. Aerotek is an operating company of Allegis Group, a global talent solutions provider. To learn more, visit Aerotek.com.

SOURCE Aerotek

Related Links

https://www.aerotek.com/

SAN CARLOS, Calif., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alkahest, Inc. ("Alkahest"), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies to treat age-related diseases, today announced that it has been awarded a grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) entitled "Development of ALK4290 as a novel PD therapeutic" under the Principal Investigator S. Sakura Minami, Ph.D.

"Parkinson's disease is a condition with significant impact on patients whose needs are still unmet. We are excited about the prospects of evaluating ALK4290 as a novel therapeutic in this indication and continuing our commitment to developing innovative treatments for age-related disorders," said Steven Braithwaite, Alkahest's Chief Scientific Officer.

This project will focus on the mechanisms underlying immune cell involvement in Parkinson's disease, providing further support for the link between neuroinflammation and disease progression. ALK4290 is a novel, orally-available, small molecule that has been well-tolerated in previous clinical studies and is concurrently being studied in Phase 2 trials in wet age-related macular degeneration (wAMD). Alkahest acquired ALK4290 from Boehringer-Ingelheim and has exclusive rights for development and commercialization worldwide.

"Our Foundation funds novel approaches to slow or stop Parkinson's progression, the greatest unmet need for the millions living with this disease," said Liliana Menalled, Ph.D., MJFF Senior Associate Director of Research Programs. "The ALK4290 molecule shows strong data to support additional evaluation as a potential Parkinson's therapy, and we look forward to seeing the results of Alkahest's experiments."

About Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive disorder of the central nervous system. The disease is the result of the loss of cells in a region of the brain called the substantia nigra. Loss of these critical nerve cells in the brain leaves patients unable to direct or control their movements in a normal manner. There is no cure for Parkinson's disease. Drugs have been developed that can help patients manage many of the symptoms, but they do not stop the disease from progressing. Nearly one million Americans currently live with Parkinson's and approximately 60,000 more receive diagnosis of the disease every year.

About Alkahest

Alkahest is a privately-held clinical-stage company based in San Carlos, CA developing treatments for age-related diseases, with an emphasis on neurodegeneration  a key medical challenge for our generation. The company's breakthrough research has discovered changes in the plasma proteome in healthy aging and age-related diseases, and demonstrated that factors in the blood plasma can be augmented or inhibited in order to reverse detrimental effects of aging in both normal aging and disease models in animals. Alkahest is developing novel plasma-based products in collaboration with Barcelona, Spain-based Grifols, a global healthcare company and leading producer of plasma therapies.

For further information, see www.alkahest.com.

Contact Information:

Joe McCracken

Vice President Business Development

Alkahest, Inc.

650-245-2973

[email protected]

SOURCE Alkahest, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.alkahest.com

Seymour Ferreira, CEO of Amber Beverage Group (ABG) said that the acquisition was a significant milestone reflecting ABG's determination to become a truly global company. "We, at ABG, are excited by the prospect of establishing a firm foundation in the important Australian and Asian markets and look forward to having Patrick and his exceptional team join us on our journey," commented Ferreira.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/640947/Amber_Beverage_Group_Logo.jpg )



(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/682936/Think_Spirits_Logo.jpg )



Patrick Borg, Founder and Managing Director of Thinks Spirits, expressed his excitement at the prospect of becoming part of ABG and further building upon the successful model he has built in Australia. According to Borg, "This is a big next step for Think Spirits and the team. We are all looking forward to bigger and better things."

Think Spirits was founded in 2004 by Patrick Borg. The company is based in Sydney, Australia and has established itself as one of the leading independent distributors of premium spirit brands through its innovative approach to on premises and consumer marketing.

Amber Beverage Group (ABG) is a leading producer, distributor, logistics provider and retailer of beverages. It operates internationally from its head office in Luxembourg and through its production and distribution companies in Russia, Mexico, the UK, Australia and the Baltics, its historical home.

ABG produces, bottles, markets, distributes, exports or retails a comprehensive range of beverages of more than 600 own and third party brands. It has an own brand portfolio of over 130 brands, and exports its global brands as Riga Black Balsam, Moskovskaya Vodka, Rooster Rojo Tequila and Cosmopolitan Diva to over 70 active global markets. ABG is a leading project developer and producer for many market leading private label beverages across most categories, in over 20 markets.

For further information, please contact:

Sabine Rutka, Consultant, "LEAD. Corporate Communication"

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: +371 26198363

http://www.amberbev.com

SOURCE Amber Beverage Group and Think SpiritsROHNERT PARK, Calif., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Online courses in higher education are growing in popularity and reputation. Once thought of as chiefly in the domain of for-profit colleges, both public and private nonprofit schools are also increasingly offering online degree programs and students are taking them at record numbers. However, depending on the school and the program, online degrees may still be as expensive as in-person ones. Ameritech Financial, a document preparation company that helps student loan borrowers with applications for federal repayment programs, encourages former students who took loans out for an online degree to think about repayment options.

"More and more students need non-traditional ways of learning to get their degrees, and online courses provide an opportunity for that," said Tom Knickerbocker, executive vice president of Ameritech Financial. "But what students gain in convenience, they may not make up for in tuition costs. Many online students may need student loans and leave school with big student loan balances."

In addition to tuition, online programs may have a host of fees tacked on. And while some courses are fully online, other degree programs may require at least one "residency," or period of time where the student has to be on campus. Degrees of various kinds may require only one residency, but other types could require several. To be fair, though, those types of degrees  often a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing  are billed as "low-residency" rather than "online" and conducted partially online and partially in-person. These residencies, in addition to online learning fees, may be expensive for the student to travel to and attend.

Student loan borrowers who took out federal loans to finance a costly education might want to look into income-driven repayment plans if they are having trouble with payments. These plans are offered to federal loan borrowers by the Department of Education and can potentially lower payments for qualified borrowers. Ameritech Financial helps student loan borrowers navigate repayment plan requirements by helping them select, apply for and recertify enrollment in an appropriate plan. Ameritech Financial's core services revolve around document preparation, and the company serves borrowers all around the United States from a variety of educational backgrounds.

"Online students can face steep costs to their education, despite the high-tech method of learning," said Knickerbocker. "When it comes to repaying the loans they needed to advance in their studies, Ameritech Financial can help borrowers who want to improve their repayment plan and make a difference in their financial life."

About Ameritech Financial

Ameritech Financial is a private company located in Rohnert Park, California. Ameritech Financial has already helped thousands of consumers with financial analysis and student loan document preparation to apply for federal student loan repayment programs offered through the Department of Education.

Each Ameritech Financial telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA).

Ameritech Financial prides itself on its exceptional customer service.

Ameritech Financial Newsroom

Contact

To learn more about Ameritech Financial, please contact:

Ameritech Financial

5789 State Farm Drive #265

Rohnert Park, CA 94928

1-800-792-8621

[email protected]

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Student Loans for Online Degrees

Credit: liravega/Bigstock

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SOURCE Ameritech FinancialTheres significant doubt about whether the high-stakes talks between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, planned for June 12 in Singapore, will actually come off. Kim abruptly threatened to back out of the meeting last week, while Trump  whose strategy for the entire affair consists of winging it  is reportedly (and rightly) worrying that hes about to get played by the North Korean dictator.

But whatever ends up happening, well always have  this.

There's now a White House Military Office coin for the upcoming Trump Kim Jong Un summit. The North Korean dictator is referred to as "Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un." pic.twitter.com/tFAmE813Y1  Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 21, 2018

Yes, the U.S. government has gone ahead and minted a gaudy, QVC-ready coin to celebrate a meeting that may not actually take place, and is extremely unlikely to lead to the denuclearization Trump has demanded even if it does.

The coin, of which 250 have been minted, depicts a notably youthful Trump hunched over in optimum dealmaker posture, glaring at a double-chinned Kim, who is referred to as Supreme Leader, in a nice bit of deference.

Its the perfect gift for the #MAGA-minded coin collector who enjoys heavyweight-fight iconography mixed with a little diplomatic wish fulfillment. Now all this summit needs is a Don Kingbranded nickname. Perhaps The War in Singapore?

Hmm, maybe not that one.SAN FRANCISCO, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Madison Reed, a prestige hair color brand, today proudly announced that CEO and Founder Amy Errett has been named one of the Bay Area's Most Influential Women in Business. The annual award, bestowed by the San Francisco Business Times' editorial board, recognizes outstanding female leaders and their accomplishments.

Amy Errett, CEO & Founder, Madison Reed (Courtesy Christopher Michel)

In 2017, Amy steered Madison Reed through a year of unparalleled growth, culminating in $25 million of venture capital funding from Comcast Ventures and Macerich. With this investment, Amy joined a club that is  sadly  too elite: Only two percent of female founders in the U.S. secured venture capital financing in 2017, according to data from PitchBook as reported by Fortune.

Amy has pledged to help level the playing field for founders of all genders and ethnicities. Recently, she joined True Ventures as a venture partner focused on consumer and ecommerce startups, as well as inclusion. "There are a lot of incredible people out there who have struggled to get funding or get jobs," Amy said. "I have more responsibility to really try to change that and, now in this role, more opportunity."

Also under Amy's leadership in 2017, Madison Reed embarked upon a new business model that adds to its ever-growing, "direct to consumer" business. The online startup now has a physical presence in the form of Madison Reed Color Bars. These storefront locations in New York and San Francisco give time-pressed women fast, inexpensive color services that can be booked online, to their great delight. Madison Reed Color Bars have been such a success that the company plans to open more than 20 nationwide by the end of 2019.

At her core, Amy is a humanitarian who believes deeply in giving back. From 1995 to 2017, Amy selflessly served as chair of the Board of Trustees for GLIDE Foundation, which is San Francisco's largest non-profit, social justice organization. GLIDE seeks a just, humane and lovingly inclusive world by providing free support services to the homeless and anyone in need.

To commemorate Amy's 22 years of service to GLIDE and the community, the late Mayor of San Francisco Ed Lee proclaimed May 21, 2017, to be "Amy Errett Day" in San Francisco.

Amy continues to serve GLIDE as a board member. She is also a member of San Francisco's Barbary Coast chapter of YPO and serves on the boards of GLAAD, University of Connecticut Foundation, Common Sense Media, Friends of the Children, the Stupski Foundation, and MyVR.

The San Francisco Business Times will celebrate this year's class of the "Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business" at an awards gala on June 5, 2018, at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square.

About Madison Reed:

Based in San Francisco, Madison Reed is a beauty company revolutionizing the way women color their hair. The fast-growing startup uses technology, a proprietary ammonia-free formula, and a team of licensed colorists to deliver salon-quality hair color for under $25. Founded in 2013, Madison Reed started with a simple mission: To create a luxurious prestige hair color made with ingredients you can feel good about. Madison Reed's conditioning formula is crafted without ammonia, parabens, resorcinol, PPD, phthalates, and gluten. The entire color and hair care line is enriched with argan oil, keratin, and ginseng root to protect and pamper hair. Products can be found online, on mobile, and through select retailers including Sephora, QVC and Ulta Beauty. For fast, fabulous color applied by a professional, visit Madison Reed Color Bars in New York and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.madison-reed.com, click here for a company overview, or click here for digital assets.

Contact:

Nora Murray

4192500016

[email protected]

SOURCE Madison Reed

Related Links

https://www.madison-reed.com

Ascent is among the 23 suppliers, representing the top two percent of LMCO's 1,400 suppliers, who achieved at least 98% quality and 98% delivery in 2017. According to a representative from Lockheed Martin, "Your partnership and commitment to on time delivery and quality products ensures our ability to offer safety and security across the globe. You play a critical role in delivering capabilities to the men and women in uniform, ensuring they can execute their missions and come home safe."

During a May 17 award ceremony in Macomb, Lockheed Martin SCM Category Management Director Vince Feck, flanked by Matthew Threet and Aubry Roe, praised the large team at Global Tooling Systems that worked together to achieve this honor. On behalf of LMCO, Feck presented the team with a banner, which was accepted by Ascent employees Ken Flint, Ferdinand Pjetrushi, Kevin Franz, George Murray, Tom Sutton, and Phil Fisher. The representatives from Lockheed Martin were joined by delegates from Macomb County, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Automation Alley, and the Macomb Regional Procurement Technical Assistance Centers for a factory tour.

The tour concluded at a flexible wing holding fixture, which has just completed manufacture and is slated to serve on the Lockheed Martin's F-35 assembly line in Fort Worth, Texas. The flexible fixture accepts multiple wing and center body scenarios to accomplish both wing assembly and wing-to-body joining. The multi-function, flexible nature of the fixture will help LMCO to increase throughput and maximize utilization of capital equipment, to economically support rate increases for the program.

Across Michigan, Ascent Aerospace employs more than 600 aerospace professionals and operates almost one-half million square feet of production facilities. The company provides intelligent production tooling and automated fastening systems along with integration and engineering services to deliver turnkey assembly lines for aircraft. Ascent works with OEM, Tier 1 and Tier 2 airframers in the commercial aerospace, business aviation, general aviation, defense, space launch and satellite industries. Visit www.ascentaerospace.com for more information.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 100,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. Visit www.lockheedmartin.com for more information.

Company Contact

Ms. Courtney Sturniolo

Marketing Manager

[email protected]

Tel: +1 714 389 1361, Mobile: +1 949 382 0962

SOURCE Ascent Aerospace

Related Links

http://www.ascentaerospace.com

SALT LAKE CITY, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the 10th consecutive year, Western Governors University (WGU) has been awarded Utah's Best of State medal for best online education. WGU's Provost and Chief Academic Officer Dr. Marni Baker Stein accepted the medal at the Best of State Awards Gala at the Salt Palace Convention Center on May 17th.

Presented annually, the Best of State medals recognize outstanding organizations and businesses in Utah. Nominations are reviewed by more than 100 judges and are evaluated based on three areas: achievement in the field of endeavor, innovation or creativity, and contribution to improving the quality of life in Utah.

Since its founding in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors, including former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, WGU has grown into a nationally recognized online university with 98,000 students and more than 110,000 graduates in all 50 states. The university provides employment and higher education opportunities for thousands of Utah residents, with 1,600 employed, 8,500 graduated, and more than 6,500 students currently enrolled in the Beehive State.

WGU's promise is to help students achieve their dreams for a degree and career success by providing a personal, flexible, and affordable education based on real-world competencies. Over the past 21 years, the Utah community has played a key role in providing the talent and support that has fostered this promise and WGU's growth. With its roots firmly planted in Utah, WGU will continue to be an active corporate citizen, providing employment and educational opportunities to the state.

About WGU

Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU serves students and graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation's leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 21 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing the workforce needed in today's rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and was featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at www.wgu.edu.

Follow WGU:

http://www.facebook.com/wgu.edu

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university

http://twitter.com/wgu

http://www.youtube.com/WesternGovernorsUniv

http://google.com/+wgu

http://news.wgu.edu/news/news.xml

Contact for media inquiries:

Joan Mitchell  VP of Public Relations

801-428-5463

[email protected]

Contact for enrollment information:

866-225-5948

wgu.edu

SOURCE Western Governors University

Related Links

http://www.wgu.edu

"Tires are an important vehicle safety feature  they are the only part of a car that touch the road and play a critical role in ensuring drivers can accelerate, stop and turn safely," said Dave Johnson, chief quality officer, Bridgestone Americas. "Many drivers don't realize that the safety and performance of their tires are highly dependent on proper care and maintenance. As the number one tire company in the world, we have an important role to play in educating drivers about how tires impact their safety and are committed to providing drivers with hands-on information to make tire maintenance simple."

Updated to include new content features and a more dynamic user experience, TireSafety.com provides information and tips to ensure tires are road ready. From easy steps for checking tire pressure and tread depth to information about how to choose the right tire, TireSafety.com is a great resource for drivers hitting the road for the Memorial Day holiday weekend or for families preparing for a road trip later this summer. The site will be updated regularly to offer seasonal tire and driving information, to serve as an important year-round resource for the driving public.

A refreshed TireSafety.com and leadership in the National Tire Safety Week program align with the company's Our Way to Serve commitment to contribute to a safer society and build safer communities by helping to educate drivers about the important role tires play in driving safety. To advance these efforts and reach a wider audience of consumers, Bridgestone also is working with its Team Bridgestone Olympic and Paralympic athlete ambassadors, as well as several Verizon IndyCar Series drivers, to share important tire safety information this week via their social media handles. Bridgestone is a Worldwide Olympic Partner and the company's Firestone brand is the sole tire supplier of the Verizon IndyCar Series.

Drivers who would like to have their tires and vehicles checked ahead of summer are invited to visit any Bridgestone Retail Operations store  Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and WheelWorks  for a free tire pressure check and tread assessment. Tire assessments and pressure checks are provided courtesy of all Bridgestone retail store employees every day of operation.

In addition to the company's focus on educating drivers of passenger vehicles on the importance of tire safety, Bridgestone urges commercial truck drivers and fleet managers to proactively maintain their tires ahead of their busiest hauling months. Visit one of the company's GCR Tires & Service store locations for a free tread assessment.

For more tire safety tips and information, visit TireSafety.com.

About Bridgestone Americas. Inc:

Nashville, Tennessee-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world's largest tire and rubber company. BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The BSAM family of companies also operates the world's largest chain of automotive tire and service centers. Guided by its One Team, One Planet message, the company is dedicated to achieving a positive environmental impact in all of the communities it calls home.

SOURCE Bridgestone Americas, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bridgestoneamericas.com

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students from Pacoima and San Fernando, California, will have the opportunity to talk with astronauts on the International Space Station on Tuesday, May 22, as part of NASA's Year of Education on Station. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space calls will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Scott Tingle will answer questions about life aboard the space station, NASA's deep space exploration plans and conducting science in space.

The event will connect K-12 students from California with the two Expedition 55 astronauts at 11 a.m. EDT Tuesday from the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center. Media interested in attending should contact Gretchen McCartney at [email protected] or 818-393-6215. The event will take place at the learning center, 11505 Herrick Ave., Pacoima.

Linking teachers directly to astronauts aboard the space station provides unique, authentic experiences designed to enhance student learning, performance and interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). These in-flight education downlinks are an integral component of NASA's Year of Education on Station, which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators. Astronauts living in space on the orbiting laboratory communicate with the Mission Control Center on Earth 24 hours a day through the Space Network's Tracking and Data Relay Satellites.

In addition to the educational event, Arnold and fellow NASA astronaut Drew Feustel will be interviewed by WISH-TV in Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Network at 10:20 a.m. Wednesday, May 23. The interview will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

Follow the astronauts on social media at:

https://www.twitter.com/NASA_astronauts/

See videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station at:

https://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation/

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cannidex Brands, a leading topical cannabis provider, continues its licensing expansion by signing an exclusive license agreement with Alternative Solutions, Washington, DC's premier cannabis cultivator. The agreement allows Alternative Solutions to manufacture CANNIDEX+ and distribute the product to all licensed Washington, DC dispensaries.

"We couldn't be more excited to be working with the exceptional team at Alternative Solutions," said Scott Gerhardt with Cannidex Brands. "We had the incredible opportunity to come to Washington and tour several dispensaries, and are pleased to be collaborating with Alternative Solutions to bring CANNIDEX+ to this wonderful and thriving community."

"Alternative Solutions is very excited to be partnering with Cannidex Brands and introducing their exclusive topical cream to the Washington DC dispensaries," said Matt Lawson-Baker, Chief Operating Officer of Alternative Solutions. "With the recent regulatory changes to include reciprocity with other medical marijuana states, we will be able to serve patients from around the nation with this new product."

About Cannidex Brands

Cannidex Brands is the premier provider of high quality, high potency topical cannabis products. CANNIDEX+ is a full spectrum cannabis topical currently available in select US markets with statewide medical or recreational cannabis programs. For more information, please visit www.cannidex.com.

SOURCE Cannidex Brands

Related Links

http://www.cannidex.com

BOSTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cengage, an education and technology company, and VitalSource, the leading Inclusive Access provider for higher education institutions nationwide, announced today that they are expanding their existing collaboration to support the distribution, fulfillment and marketing of Cengage Unlimited.

Cengage and VitalSource work together to provide affordable and accessible learning materials for students nationwide. In 2017, more than a million students in the U.S. used VitalSource to access Cengage content. Beginning in August 2018, Cengage Unlimited will be available through the VitalSource E-commerce solutions and onsite campus stores, as well as through Cengage.com and numerous other channel partners.

Cengage Unlimited is the first-of-its-kind subscription service for digital higher education materials that gives students complete on-demand access to all Cengage digital resources for $119.99 per semester or $179.99 a year. The expanded collaboration with VitalSource will make Cengage Unlimited available to hundreds of thousands of U.S. students through www.vitalsource.com, partner campus stores, and VitalSource's Inclusive Access model, which provides students immediate access to all required course materials on the first day of class at affordable prices.

In addition to distribution, VitalSource will power many of Cengage Unlimited's 20,000 plus eTextbooks. The VitalSource platform gives Cengage Unlimited students both online and offline access to textbooks and course materials on all major operating systems and mobile devices, with the best accessibility and student ratings in the industry.

"At Cengage, we're disrupting the traditional textbook publishing model with a focus on providing affordable access to high-quality digital learning materials for students," said Todd Markson, Chief Strategy Officer, Cengage. "In working more closely with VitalSource, we will be able to reach even more students with our comprehensive subscription service. The collaboration with VitalSource continues the brisk momentum behind Cengage Unlimited."

Students and faculty at more than 7,000 institutions will have the opportunity to access Cengage Unlimited. "Ensuring students, stores and instructors have access to the best educational materials and experiences at more affordable, competitive price points has been the VitalSource mission for over twenty years," said Pep Carerra, president of VitalSource. "This collaboration is the next generation of innovation in educational materials, reaching students where they are, and helping to provide options the way modern consumers expect and deserve. We couldn't be more excited to distribute Cengage Unlimited and support it with our eTextbook platform, bringing both worlds seamlessly together for hundreds of thousands of students."

For more information on Cengage Unlimited visit www.Cengage.com/unlimited. To learn more about VitalSource, visit get.vitalsource.com.

About VitalSource | get.vitalsource.com

VitalSource Technologies LLC, part of Ingram Content Group, is improving the learning experience by making it easier to create and deliver effective and affordable content. The preferred choice among educational institutions and companies for digital learning materials, VitalSource helps over 1,000 educational content providers create and deliver seamless interactive learning experiences through its exclusive Bookshelf platform to millions of learners at 7,000 institutions. Bookshelf users opened more than 20 million digital textbooks last year and read more than 3.4 billion pages. Follow VitalSource on Twitter at @VitalSource.

About Cengage

Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. As the largest US-based provider of teaching and learning materials for higher education, we offer valuable options at affordable price points. Our industry-leading initiatives include Cengage Unlimited, the first-of-its-kind all-access digital subscription service. We embrace innovation to create learning experiences that build confidence and momentum toward the future students want. Headquartered in Boston, Cengage also serves K-12, library and workforce training markets around the world. Visit us at www.cengage.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Media Contacts:

Lindsay Stanley, Cengage

203-965-8634, [email protected]

Erin Shannon, VitalSource

617-314-3789, [email protected]

SOURCE Cengage

Related Links

https://www.cengage.com

LOD, Israel , May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Chakratec has announced the completion of its third financing round in which it raised 4.4 million dollars from the Israeli iArgento Group and the Singaporean company Goldbell. Chakratec's first investor was Capital Nature, which remains the company's largest shareholder. Chakratec has already raised 3.2 million dollars in its previous rounds. The present round will enable the company to conduct its first three pilot projects in Europe with three of Europe's leading utilities. The success of these pilots will lead to first orders later this year.

Chakratec raises 4.4 million dollars in series C round, to bring its innovative fast charging technology (5-10 minutes) for electric vehicles to market (PRNewsfoto/Chakratec, iArgento and Capital)

Chakratec CEO Ilan Ben-David: "Chakratec has developed an innovative EV charging technology that obviates the need for upgrading the power grid, enabling rapid deployment of fast EV charging systems. The company is currently conducting pilot projects with three global energy providers that see our technology as the solution for reduced EV charging times, and a facilitator for global market penetration by electric vehicles."

Chakratec was established in 2013 by three high-tech entrepreneurs who pivoted their careers to clean tech: Ilan Ben David, Nir Zohar and Dudi Pincu. The company has developed a unique, innovative energy storage technology powered by kinetic batteries using a flywheel concept. These batteries provide a high-power energy supply, allowing a large number (tens to hundreds of thousands) of charge and discharge cycles over a lifetime of 20 years.

Until today, fast charging of electric vehicles required a high-power electricity connection, which often necessitates a costly, complicated and lengthy process of upgrading the distribution network infrastructure. The use of kinetic batteries makes it easy to deploy fast EV charging stations anywhere, integrating all kinds of energy sources, at extremely low operating costs. The charging process developed by Chakratec can be compared to the flushing of water in a toilet tank  when a strong flow is needed, a lever is pressed and the tank empties rapidly and then fills up again. Similarly, when a vehicle enters a charging station, the kinetic battery empties, rapidly transferring the energy to the vehicle, and then fills up again. Chemical batteries cannot be used for this application due to the number of cycles and high power required.

Chakratec has recently won the 2018 Outstanding Venture Award of the NREL Industry Growth Forum competition  the world's most prestigious competition in the field of renewable energy (NREL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, is a world leader in the field). The company has also won the 2017 eMove360o Award for Electric Mobility & Autonomous Driving, Energy Storage category.

About iArgento

iArgento is an Israeli multi-family office that provides wealth management, intergenerational wealth transfer, financial planning and equity capital raising services for early stage startups in Israel.

iArgento raises capital from Israeli investors, as well as from non-Israeli investors mainly in North and South America. Website: www.iargento.com

About Capital Nature

Capital Nature operates a technology incubator, focusing on new energy and smart transportation projects and investing each year in four to five new projects.

Apart from investments in early stage ventures, Capital Nature's incubator operates a test and validation site in the Arava region, and it also provides financing for applied academic research projects in the field of renewable energy conducted by leading Israeli research centers.

To date, the company has invested some 10 million dollars in 17 different projects. The portfolio value amounts to more than 20 million dollars, based on the value of the portfolio companies. The company expects the portfolio value to double within two to three years.

Website: http://capitalnature.com/

Contact:

Nir Zohar

[email protected]

SOURCE Chakratec, iArgento and Capital Nature

Related Links

http://www.iargento.com

Ouch. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Bradley Beychok was back in his office on November 9, 2016, about half an hour before Hillary Clinton was due to give her concession speech. Hed been there, in a building just north of Washingtons Chinatown, until about 2 a.m. the previous night, and now  after hed tried getting a few hours of sleep  his phone was ringing. David Brock, his boss, was on the other line from New York. There wasnt much time to chat before Clinton stepped in front of the cameras, but the 90s conservative provocateur turned Hillary-and-Bill confidant and super-PAC honcho told his longtime colleague that they had to act quickly to chart a future for their liberal opposition research and media monitoring operation.

He said, [In] November and December, were going to get together and regroup, Beychok recalled. Two days later, back in D.C., Brock was making plans to bring together hundreds of the partys top lawmakers, donors, and operatives in Florida over Donald Trumps inauguration weekend to pitch them on that new vision that he and Beychok now had to figure out. I said, Yall are nuts, the Louisiana native continued on a recent Wednesday morning, shaking his head. But it forced us to do an internal autopsy of what we did wrong and what we can do better.

Beychoks hesitance was understandable: The course ahead was far from obvious for American Bridge 21st Century, the then-six-year-old super-PAC they had built to be the Democratic Partys biggest outside group devoted to digging up dirt on Republicans (on top of all the work already being done by the Democratic National Committee). After Trump stormed the White House by blowing past a daily barrage of scandals, some Democrats soon began questioning not only whether opposition research was still worth the trouble, but whether all the old rules of politics were obsolete. That meant it was time to start experimenting.

In the ensuing weeks, Brock curved that line of thinking: Lefties needed to stop reading the old rulebook so strictly, and to amp up their aggression, he concluded  especially when it comes to oppo, as its commonly known in the business. If the standard, respectable digging methods had gotten the party nowhere in 2016  that is, if voters just didnt care about every last scandal in the muddiest information environment the country had seen in decades  it was worth at least trying to loosen those tactics up a bit. In 2010, when the group launched ahead of Barack Obamas reelection campaign, Brock had imposed a set of self-regulations on the staff that would cultivate an air of respectability for the mudslingers. He decided to explode those rules.

In the old days, the groups trackers  junior staffers with cameras who follow Republicans around, waiting for a gaffe  were instructed to identify themselves as American Bridge operatives when they got to an event, and they were told to remain passive, not asking questions or trying to trick their targets. Rule eliminated. (It took just until May 2017 for the group to post unflattering footage of a Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate grabbing a trackers camera and then angrily pushing him away.) In the pre-Trump era, the group stopped short of snooping for dirt beyond publicly available documents or clips. The no-digging-and-no-working-the-phones-and-no-sniffing-around-in-person guideline is now gone, fully thrown out the window by the time American Bridge dispatched staff to Alabama to look into Roy Moore last winter. And, after consulting local campaign finance and consent laws, Brock convinced some of his funders to set up a small fund that trackers can now tap into if they want to pay their way into GOP candidates private events where thats legal. That move opened up a massive new stream of potentially damaging material for Republicans who think theyre speaking behind closed doors to friends and supporters. The tactic didnt take long to pay off, either: its how the group caught Ed Gillespie, 2017s Republican candidate for governor of Virginia, calling the northern part of his state enemy territory in a private fundraiser last September.

American Bridges bet is that most of the old laws of politics remain intact, but that it takes a new kind of alert system to call out violations. At a time that Missouris Republican governor is hanging onto his seat while he fights a handful of scandalous charges  including an explicit accusation of sexual assault  a Montana GOP congressman was elected one day after body-slamming a reporter (and is now favored for reelection), and, of course, Trump remains firmly ensconced in the Oval Office, its not clear that politicians around the country are so confident in the old rules stability.

So, in mostly unremarkable office buildings across the Washington area, both parties and their top diggers have spent the last year working through how to effectively rebuild for 2018 and 2020 after climbing out from 2016s wreckage. And the opposition-research pros are now coming around to answers to the central question facing both sides today: Have Americans values changed in the last three years? (Not necessarily.) But what about the way they consume and think about politics? (Definitely.)

Everything has a shorter shelf life because of Trump, Beychok, Bridges president, told me as he sat on a large orange couch around which, minutes earlier, about a dozen of his staffers had been running through progress updates on their ongoing oppo projects. They brought up leading GOP Senate, gubernatorial, and House candidates, as well as Trump and his Cabinet, as part of the pitch meeting they hold every other Wednesday morning. The young, Democratic operatives detailed reams of local police reports, candidate schedules, and Freedom of Information Act requests they were digging into, from Florida to California, and they spitballed about which local reporters they should try pitching on their findings. They also discussed how, exactly, they should be deploying their trackers, at one point musing about the feasibility and legality of deploying a drone with a camera in a crowded city. Theyd sent a few staffers out on boats before, but theyd never used a drone. The rooms walls were lined with old framed prints of newspaper and magazine stories detailing successful hits the group had landed on Republicans.

Ill cede, Beychok said, that its not the same playbook.

***

The walls of Joe Pounders fifth-floor corner office above a Target in the gray Rosslyn neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia, are also crammed with framed newspaper front pages. Behind a collection of Washington Nationals bobbleheads, and above the shelves of books about prominent Democrats, theres the Miami Herald from the day after Marco Rubio was elected to the Senate in 2010, inches from the New York Times report on Republicans big wins in 2014s midterms. Sitting behind his desk with a MacBook open and wearing a black fleece Patagonia vest over a windowpane button-down while downing coffee from a large paper cup, Pounder cuts the exact profile one might expect of a high-level Republican political pro. But a stroll through the rest of the slick headquarters of America Rising, the five-year-old GOP answer to American Bridge, feels more like a tour of a mid-stage tech start-up  complete with blond wood floors and bright yellow painted trim  than a conservative committee, aside from the occasional understated nod to the Republican Party (like the blown-up photo of a herd of elephants behind the reception desk).

It used to be that oppo, in the early 2000s, 1990s, was treated as  you know  that one guy, maybe in the basement, whos digging into these guys, hes looking for the silver bullet or whatnot: the Lee Atwatertype mentality toward it all, Pounder, the groups CEO and a veteran of the Republican National Committee, the George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, John McCain, and Rubio presidential campaigns, and Bushs White House, explained. But gradually, whats happened more and more every cycle, is oppo has gone from the basement, I think, to the senior campaign management level.

That trend has accelerated since November 2016, as Republicans aim to protect their Senate majority and wreak havoc on Democrats 2020 presidential primary. If one Democratic takeaway from Trumps rise was that some of their opposition-research operations needed an overhaul, among Republicans big lessons from Clintons disaster was that their tactics were working spectacularly. If anything has changed, both Pounder and his rivals on the left think, its the speed of the news cycle and voters patience, not anything more profound about the nations character or priorities. So, down a hallway and around a corner from Pounder, in a bright white room packed with television and computer screens  the war room  about half a dozen young men sit in rows poring over footage of Democrats events, logging noteworthy moments and flagging the usual potential missteps to colleagues via Slack.

Some of their clips end up on AR Intel, a new subscription news site that Rising launched in March to serve as a central repository for much of its findings. Bridge will soon formally unveil its own such site  likely to be named the American Ledger  aiming to serve as a resource for campaigns, allies, and reporters. At a time that voters are hyperdistracted by the barrage of news, the idea on both sides is to get more quick hits in front of voters more consistently, often on social media, to build negative story lines about opponents over more extended periods of time. It takes longer than ever for narratives to form within the cycle, Pounder said. Its not enough just to have a couple flip-flops. You need to have 15 years worth of flip-flops to really drive a narrative.

Gone are the days, unless its really explosive, of a quick one-hit changing the nature of a race, he continued, talking to me on yet another day overwhelmed by White Housecentric breaking news  from the unraveling of Ronny Jacksons VA nomination to Trumps describing Kim Jong Un as very honorable, to a fresh round of bombast about the Iran nuclear deal. Its just  its not doable.

That dynamic is one reason Bridge has started trying to distribute its research earlier in election cycles than it used to, no longer waiting for GOP primaries to end before weighing in. And its why Rising has put a new emphasis on digging up the kinds of primary-source documents it didnt always favor: Pounder says 40 percent of all the FOIA-style requests his group has ever submitted came in 2017, and his firm has for the first time identified operatives all over the country who are willing to dig into county-courthouse documents.

Already, Bridge has jumped into some of its partys special-election wins: the group dug up Roy Moores comparison of preschool education to Nazi indoctrination, which ended up in one of Doug Joness final ads, and it was also behind a clip of GOP candidate Rick Saccone appearing flippant toward families affected by opioid abuse, which was then featured in Democrat Conor Lambs closing ad barrage.

If I go back to after November 16, as someone who founded this group, and we had a loss, my worry was that, to the extent that Trump was immune or had Teflon  or whatever you want to call it  that it would transfer to other Republicans, said Brock. And theres no evidence of that. In fact, the copycat Trump candidates that weve seen so far  Moore and Saccone  have failed, partly by falling victim to basically traditional oppo that wouldnt necessarily work against Trump. A few days after I spoke with Brock, West Virginias Don Blankenship, yet another such candidate, lost his Senate primary, too.

Yet the newly sclerotic environment is also why both parties have already flung the doors wide open on their 2020 research, aiming to replicate Republicans work to drag down Clinton in 2016.

Republicans were successful [in 2016] because we ran a multiyear-long campaign against Hillary Clinton, with an investment in opposition research a big part of that, in an effort to define her to the American people. It worked because it was organized and thoughtfully laid out, said Mike Reed, the RNCs research director. When Rising opened in 2013, it immediately began pulling together its research on Clinton. Now, it has contracts with both the RNC and a Trump-aligned outside group as it builds research books on the wide range of potential Democratic candidates in 2020. Hardly a day now goes by that the group doesnt blast out another criticism of one of them to the Washington press.

While Bridge had begun compiling potential 2020 hits on likely Clinton challengers back when she was considered the sure winner of 2016s race, both it and the DNC  home to the partys central research shop  quickly changed course, anticipating possible Republican challenges to Trump. The DNC, for one, has, since the late spring of 2017, been updating its research on a group including Vice-President Mike Pence, Ohio governor John Kasich, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Nebraska senator Ben Sasse.

And by the end of April of this year, Bridge had already tracked 202 events featuring retiring Arizona senator Jeff Flake, a Trump critic whos increasingly thought of as a potential 2020 challenger to the president. The group has 114 hours of Flake footage at its fingertips, and its research book on him is now over 2,000 pages. Thats about as long as its file on Pence, whos the subject of nearly 400 hours of clips in American Bridges database. The Kasich database is up to almost 500 hours.

***

Mornings at Bridge begin around 9:30, when staffers run through their Republican targets daily schedules. Much of Democrats public opposition work these days focuses on GOP candidates up for election in 2018, but the first item up for discussion around the conference room table is Trumps itinerary. Second is Pences, and the Cabinets comes third.

While Trumps approval rating has fluctuated, often nearing historic lows, many of the flashier developments to which that might be attributed  the Russia story line and Muellers probe, or Stormy Daniels, or even 2016s Access Hollywood tape  are far from the traditional oppo realm. Instead, aiming at the Cabinet and sub-Cabinet positions, Democrats have focused much of their fire on the appearance of corruption and the idea that Trump has filled, not drained, the swamp.

Yet as 2020 approaches, the question of which central narrative to build against Trump looms ever larger. The answer may lie in a research file on Capitol Hill.

During the campaign, the DNCs research team fanned out across the country and collected and analyzed at least 7,000 Trump lawsuits, Adrienne Watson, the DNCs Trump war room director, told me. Matched with the committees ongoing digging into the presidents Russian ties, that database serves as a multilayered resource for Democrats aiming to keep the White House on its toes.

A year and a half ago, recognizing the need for continuity in the partys years-long anti-Trump project, then-DNC chair Donna Brazile chose to keep that department intact as the broader committee retooled after 2016. It was the only division in the building that didnt face massive turnover.

That means the partys ongoing behind-the-scenes anti-Trump deep dives are now about halfway through their Year Three.

In 2016, the Republicans had four years to continually build their anti-Clinton operation because they knew who theyd be facing. Democrats were building the Trump oppo plane while flying, because no one thought hed emerge as the nominee from a field of [17]  all of whom we had to research, said Brock. In 2020, the shoe is on the other foot.BEIJING, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cheetah Mobile Inc. (NYSE: CMCM) ("Cheetah Mobile" or the "Company"), a leading mobile internet company with strong global vision, today announced its unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.

First Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights

Total revenues [1] were RMB1,145.1 million ( US$182.6 million ), exceeding the Company's previous guidance range of RMB1,100 million to RMB1,140 million .

were ( ), exceeding the Company's previous guidance range of to . Gross profit increased by 2.9% year over year to RMB753.9 million ( US$120.2 million ). Gross margin was 65.8% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to 61.5% in the same period last year.

( ). Gross margin was 65.8% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to 61.5% in the same period last year. Operating profit increased to RMB136.4 million ( US$21.7 million ) from RMB26.3 million in the same period last year. Operating margin expanded to 11.9% from 2.2% in the same period last year.

( ) from in the same period last year. Operating margin expanded to 11.9% from 2.2% in the same period last year. Operating profit for utility products and related services increased by 47.8% year over year to RMB264.7 million ( US$42.2 million ) in the first quarter of 2018. Operating margin for utility products and related services expanded to 35.5% in the first quarter of 2018 from 21.7% in the same period last year.

First Quarter 2018 Operating Metrics

The average number of global mobile monthly active users ("Mobile MAUs") was 574 million in the first quarter of 2018. The number of Mobile MAUs from markets outside of China , or overseas markets, accounted for 75.4% of the total number of Mobile MAUs in the first quarter of 2018.

Artificial Intelligence Technology

In March 2018 , Beijing OrionStar Technology, an investee of Cheetah Mobile, achieved a record-setting 98.355% recognition rate in the MegaFace challenge (Challenge1/FaceScrub identification), an internationally recognized facial recognition test managed by the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington . Cheetah Mobile holds approximately 30% equity interest in Beijing OrionStar Technology and has a two-year warrant to subscribe for additional equity interest to achieve a controlling position.

Mr. Sheng Fu, Cheetah Mobile's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We began 2018 on a solid note with total revenues exceeding the high-end of our guidance. In the first quarter of 2018, our utility product business continued to generate strong profits and cash flow. We also solidified our leading position in the mobile casual game market by further enriching our game pipeline. Our artificial intelligence ("AI") powered businesses made steady progress as well. In March, Cheetah Mobile and Beijing OrionStar jointly launched five practical and easy-to-use robotics products, which are powered by Orion OS, an open platform for robotics, which has been developed by Beijing OrionStar. Going forward, we aim to drive steady and healthy profit from our core businesses while simultaneously leveraging our extensive technology and product experience to expand our robotic product offerings."

Mr. Vincent Jiang, Cheetah Mobile's Chief Financial Officer, commented, "We continued to expand our profits and margins in the first quarter of 2018 as a result of our strategic efforts to optimize the cost and expense structure for our utility products business and our initiative to dispose of News Republic. Looking ahead, we will continue to drive higher operational efficiency for our core businesses, which in turn will fund our investment in AI-powered business and build long-term growth for Cheetah Mobile and its shareholders."

[1] Starting from January 1, 2018, Cheetah Mobile adopted a new revenue accounting standard (ASC 606), which reclassifies value added tax from the cost of

revenues to net against revenues. To increase comparability of operating results and help investors better understand our business performance and operating

trends, 2017 net revenues have been used to calculate all percentage changes in revenues. 2017 net revenues are defined as gross revenues under legacy GAAP

after the deduction of value added taxes, which is presented on the same basis as 2018 and going forward.

First Quarter 2018 Consolidated Financial Results

REVENUES

Total revenues were RMB1,145.1 million (US$182.6 million) in the first quarter of 2018.

Revenues from utility products and related services decreased by 7.7% year over year to RMB744.8 million ( US$118.7 million ) in the first quarter of 2018. The year-over-year change was primarily due to (i) a decline in revenues from mobile utility products and related services business in the overseas markets as certain ad formats, i.e., ads on mobile phone lock screens, have been discontinued by our overseas third-party advertising partners, and (ii) a decline in PC revenues. This decrease was largely offset by an increase in mobile utility products and related services business in China .

decreased by 7.7% year over year to ( ) in the first quarter of 2018. The year-over-year change was primarily due to (i) a decline in revenues from mobile utility products and related services business in the overseas markets as certain ad formats, i.e., ads on mobile phone lock screens, have been discontinued by our overseas third-party advertising partners, and (ii) a decline in PC revenues. This decrease was largely offset by an increase in mobile utility products and related services business in . Revenues from the mobile entertainment business increased by 8.0% year over year to RMB392.5 million ( US$62.6 million ). The year-over-year increase was driven by the Company's mobile game business, which grew by 25.3% year over year to RMB174.7 million ( US$27.9 million ) in the quarter. The increase in the mobile game operation was a result of the Company's continued efforts to expand its mobile game portfolio by introducing some new mobile games in early 2017. In the first quarter of 2018, revenues from content-driven product decreased by 2.7% year over year to RMB217.7 million ( US$34.7 million ). The decrease was a result of a year-over-year growth in revenues from Live.me, which was offset by a decline in revenues from the News Republic application as the Company disposed of this operation in the fourth quarter of 2017.

By platform, revenues generated from the mobile business were 88.9% of total revenues in the first quarter of 2018, up from 85.3% in the same period last year.

By region, revenues generated from the Chinese market constituted 39.1% of total revenues in the first quarter of 2018, up from 27.6% in the same period last year. The growth of the Company's revenues in the Chinese market was attributable to a ramp-up of mobile utility products and related services businesses in China and increased mobile game revenues in the Chinese market, where the Company's mobile games continue to gain popularity.

Revenues generated from the overseas market constituted 60.9% of total revenues in the first quarter of 2018, a 17.6% decrease year over year to RMB697.5 million (US$111.2 million), mainly due to the impact of lock screen ads. Excluding the foreign exchange impact, revenues from the overseas market decreased by 11.4% year over year.

COST OF REVENUES AND GROSS PROFIT

Cost of revenues decreased by 14.6% year over year to RMB391.2 million (US$62.4 million) in the first quarter of 2018. The year-over-year decrease resulted from reduced bandwidth and IDC costs associated with the Company's mobile utility applications in the overseas markets as well as lower amortization of acquired intangible assets. Non-GAAP cost of revenues decreased by 14.4% year over year to RMB391.3 million (US$62.4 million) in the first quarter of 2018.

Gross profit increased by 2.9% year over year to RMB753.9 million (US$120.2 million) in the first quarter of 2018. Non-GAAP gross profit increased by 2.7% year over year to RMB753.8 million (US$120.2 million) in the first quarter of 2018.

OPERATING INCOME AND EXPENSES

Total operating expenses decreased by 12.6% year over year to RMB617.6 million (US$98.5 million) in the first quarter of 2018. Total non-GAAP operating expenses decreased by 10.9% year over year to RMB608.5 million (US$97.0 million) in the first quarter of 2018.

Research and development (R&D) expense decreased by 23.0% year over year to RMB147.3 million ( US$23.5 million ) in the first quarter of 2018. The decreases were due to lower share-based compensation expenses and reduced R&D headcount resulting from the Company's mobile utility application business in the overseas markets, and the disposal of News Republic. Non-GAAP R&D expenses , which exclude share-based compensation expenses, decreased by 15.6% year over year to RMB153.4 million ( US$24.5 million ) in the first quarter of 2018.

decreased by 23.0% year over year to ( ) in the first quarter of 2018. The decreases were due to lower share-based compensation expenses and reduced R&D headcount resulting from the Company's mobile utility application business in the overseas markets, and the disposal of News Republic. , which exclude share-based compensation expenses, decreased by 15.6% year over year to ( ) in the first quarter of 2018. Selling and marketing expenses decreased by 5.5% year over year to RMB391.4 million ( US$62.4 million ) in the first quarter of 2018. The decreases were mainly due to decreased promotional activities for the Company's mobile products in the overseas markets. Non-GAAP selling and marketing expenses , which exclude share-based compensation expenses, decreased by 5.6% year over year to RMB391.1 million ( US$62.3 million ) in the first quarter of 2018.

decreased by 5.5% year over year to ( ) in the first quarter of 2018. The decreases were mainly due to decreased promotional activities for the Company's mobile products in the overseas markets. , which exclude share-based compensation expenses, decreased by 5.6% year over year to ( ) in the first quarter of 2018. General and administrative expenses decreased by 12.5% year over year to RMB90.6 million ( US$14.4 million ) in the first quarter of 2018. The year-over-year decrease was primarily due to lower professional service fees and employee benefits. Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses, which exclude share-based compensation expenses, decreased by 15.4% year over year to RMB75.8 million ( US$12.1 million ) in the first quarter of 2018.

Operating profit increased to RMB136.4 million (US$21.7 million) in the first quarter of 2018 from RMB26.3 million in the same period last year. Non-GAAP operating profit increased to RMB145.3 million (US$23.2 million) in the first quarter of 2018 from RMB50.7 million in the same period last year.

The Company has reported its operating profit along the following segments since the second quarter of 2017:

Operating profit for utility products and related services increased by 47.8% year over year to RMB264.7 million ( US$42.2 million ) in the first quarter of 2018 due to the optimization of the cost and expense structure for this segment.

increased by 47.8% year over year to ( ) in the first quarter of 2018 due to the optimization of the cost and expense structure for this segment. Operating loss for the mobile entertainment business was RMB75.0 million ( US$12.0 million ) in the first quarter of 2018, compared to operating loss of RMB128.5 million in the same period last year. The reduced loss was mainly a result of increased revenues generated from the Company's mobile game businesses and reduced costs and expenses from the News Republic business, partially offset by the Company's increased investments in the Live.me operation.

Share-based compensation expenses decreased by 63.4% year over year to RMB8.9 million (US$1.4 million) in the first quarter of 2018. The decrease resulted from a combination of several factors. The Company employed an accelerated method to recognize share-based compensation expenses. In addition, a significant number of share-based awards that were granted by the Company during its IPO in 2014 approached the end of their vesting periods in 2017. Furthermore, fewer share-based awards were granted in the first quarter of 2018 than in the same period last year.

IMPAIRMENT OF INVESTMENTS

Impairment of investments were RMB58.0 million (US$9.2 million) in the first quarter of 2018 primarily due to a one-time non-cash write-down of certain convertible loans to a third-party. The loss was recorded as a non-operating item since the loans were provided for investment purposes, which is outside of the Company's main business activity.

NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO CHEETAH MOBILE SHAREHOLDERS

Net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders was RMB70.0 million (US$11.2 million) in the first quarter of 2018. Non-GAAP net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders was RMB78.9 million (US$12.6 million) in the first quarter of 2018.

NET INCOME PER ADS

Diluted income per ADS was RMB0.42 (US$0.07) in the first quarter of 2018. Non-GAAP diluted income per ADS was RMB0.48 (US$0.08) in the first quarter of 2018.

ADJUSTED EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) increased by 93.3% year over year to RMB168.8 million (US$26.9 million) in the first quarter of 2018.

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, RESTRICTED CASH AND SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS BALANCE

As of March 31, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments of RMB3,355.8 million (US$535.0 million).

SHARES ISSUED AND OUTSTANDING

As of March 31, 2018, the Company had a total of 1,421,649,639 Class A and Class B ordinary shares issued and outstanding. One ADS represents 10 Class A ordinary shares.

Business Outlook

For the second quarter of 2018, the Company expects its total revenues to be between RMB1,020 million (US$163 million) and RMB1,080 million (US$172 million). This estimate represents management's preliminary view as of the date of this release, which is subject to change.

Conference Call Information

The Company will hold a conference call on Monday, May 21, 2018 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time or 8:00 p.m. Beijing Time to discuss the financial results. Listeners may access the call by dialing the following numbers:

International: +1-412-902-4272 United States Toll Free: +1-888-346-8982 China Toll Free: 4001-201-203 Hong Kong Toll Free: 800-905-945 Conference ID: Cheetah Mobile

A live and archived webcast of the conference call will also be available at the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.cmcm.com/.

A presentation for the Company's earnings call is available at the Company's investor relations website.

Exchange Rate

This press release contains translations of certain Renminbi amounts into U.S. dollars at specified rates solely for the convenience of readers. Unless otherwise noted, all translations from Renminbi to U.S. dollars in this press release were made at a rate of RMB6.2726 to US$1.00, the exchange rate in effect as of March 31, 2018, as set forth in the H.10 statistical release of the Federal Reserve Board. Such translations should not be construed as representations that RMB amounts could be converted into U.S. dollars at that rate or any other rate, or to be the amounts that would have been reported under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP").

About Cheetah Mobile Inc.

Cheetah Mobile is a leading mobile Internet company with strong global vision. It has attracted hundreds of millions of monthly active users through its mobile utility products such as Clean Master and Cheetah Keyboard, casual games such as Piano Tiles 2, and live streaming product Live.me. The Company provides its advertising customers, which include direct advertisers and mobile advertising networks through which advertisers place their advertisements, with direct access to highly targeted mobile users and global promotional channels. The Company also provides value-added services to its mobile application users through the sale of in-app virtual items on selected mobile products and games. Cheetah Mobile is committed to leveraging its cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies to power its products and make the world smarter. It has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since May 2014.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements, including management quotes and business outlook, constitute forward-looking statements under the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Such statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, including but are not limited to the following: Cheetah Mobile's growth strategies; Cheetah Mobile's ability to retain and increase its user base and expand its product and service offerings; Cheetah Mobile's ability to monetize its platform; Cheetah Mobile's future business development, financial condition and results of operations; competition with companies in a number of industries including internet companies that provide online marketing services and internet value-added services; expected changes in Cheetah Mobile's revenues and certain cost or expense items; and general economic and business condition globally and in China. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Cheetah Mobile's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Cheetah Mobile does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement Cheetah Mobile's consolidated financial information presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Cheetah Mobile uses the following non-GAAP financial measures:

Non-GAAP cost of revenues reflects cost of revenues excluding the portion of share-based compensation expenses allocated to cost of revenues.

Non-GAAP gross profit reflects gross profit excluding the portion of share-based compensation expenses allocated to gross profit.

Non-GAAP operating income and expenses reflect operating income and expenses excluding the portion of share-based compensation expenses allocated to operating expenses.

Non-GAAP operating profit reflects operating profit excluding share-based compensation expenses.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders is net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders excluding share-based compensation expenses.

Non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS is non-GAAP net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders excluding net income attributable to redeemable noncontrolling interests, divided by weighted average number of diluted ADSs.

Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, other non-operating income and share-based compensation expenses.

The Company believes that separate analysis and exclusion of share-based compensation expenses and the use of Adjusted EBITDA add clarity to the constituent parts of its performance from the cash perspective. The Company reviews these non-GAAP financial measures together with GAAP financial measures to obtain a better understanding of its operating performance. It uses the non-GAAP financial measures for planning, forecasting and measuring results against the forecast. The Company believes that non-GAAP financial measures are useful supplemental information for investors and analysts to assess its operating performance without the effect of share-based compensation expenses, which have been and will continue to be significant recurring expenses in its business. However, the use of non-GAAP financial measures has material limitations as an analytical tool. One of the limitations of using non-GAAP financial measures is that they do not include all items that impact the Company's net income for the period. In addition, because non-GAAP financial measures are not measured in the same manner by all companies, they may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures used by other companies. In light of the foregoing limitations, you should not consider non-GAAP financial measure in isolation from or as an alternative to the financial measure prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the tables captioned "Cheetah Mobile Inc. Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" and "Cheetah Mobile Inc. Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to Cheetah Mobile Shareholders to Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)" at the end of this release.

Investor Relations Contact

Cheetah Mobile Inc.

Helen Jing Zhu

Tel: +86 10 6292 7779 ext. 1600

Email: [email protected]

ICR, Inc.

Jack Wang

Tel: +1 (646) 417-5395

Email: [email protected]

CHEETAH MOBILE INC. Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited, amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$")













As of

December 31, 2017

March 31, 2018

March 31, 2018

RMB

RMB

USD ASSETS









Current assets:









Cash and cash equivalents 2,317,488

1,580,591

251,983 Restricted cash 90,149

9,494

1,514 Short-term investments 1,395,694

1,765,758

281,503 Accounts receivable 621,272

585,810

93,392 Prepayments and other current assets 918,243

881,568

140,544 Due from related parities 54,052

47,049

7,501 Total current assets 5,396,898

4,870,270

776,437











Non-current assets:









Property and equipment, net 89,137

81,468

12,988 Intangible assets, net 70,225

67,548

10,769 Goodwill 634,157

615,947

98,196 Investment in equity investees 149,969

147,833

23,568 Other long term investments 1,002,721

982,797

156,681 Due from related parities 5,216

8,148

1,299 Deferred tax assets 57,642

65,267

10,405 Other non-current assets 42,966

42,020

6,699 Total non-current assets 2,052,033

2,011,028

320,605











Total assets 7,448,931

6,881,298

1,097,042











LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY





















Current liabilities:









Bank loans 336,304

-

- Accounts payable 164,537

174,520

27,823 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 1,532,489

1,356,612

216,276 Due to related parties 81,810

45,535

7,259 Income tax payable 50,614

55,980

8,925 Total current liabilities 2,165,754

1,632,647

260,283











Non-current liabilities:









Deferred tax liabilities 73,393

74,427

11,865 Other non-current liabilities 54,574

52,806

8,419 Total non-current liabilities 127,967

127,233

20,284











Total liabilities 2,293,721

1,759,880

280,567











Mezzanine equity:









Redeemable noncontrolling interests 649,246

658,247

104,940











Shareholders' equity:









Ordinary shares 229

230

37 Additional paid-in capital 2,644,043

2,656,818

423,559 Retained earnings 1,564,883

1,637,837

261,110 Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) 84,206

(48,983)

(7,809) Total Cheetah Mobile shareholders' equity 4,293,361

4,245,902

676,897 Noncontrolling interests 212,603

217,269

34,638











Total equity 4,505,964

4,463,171

711,535











Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and equity 7,448,931

6,881,298

1,097,042

CHEETAH MOBILE INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Unaudited, amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$"), except for number of shares and per share (or ADS) data)

















For The Three Months Ended

March 31, 2017

December 31, 2017

March 31, 2018

March 31, 2018

RMB

RMB

RMB

USD Revenues (a) 1,190,703

1,387,806

1,145,097

182,555 Utility products and related services 827,225

967,232

744,763

118,732 Mobile entertainment 363,468

399,493

392,452

62,566 Others 10

21,081

7,882

1,257















Cost of revenues (b) (457,953)

(461,383)

(391,182)

(62,364) Gross profit 732,750

926,423

753,915

120,191















Operating income and expenses:













Research and development (b) (191,367)

(151,867)

(147,278)

(23,480) Selling and marketing (b) (414,264)

(420,080)

(391,355)

(62,391) General and administrative (b) (103,588)

(115,089)

(90,600)

(14,444) Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets -

(38,690)

-

- Other operating income 2,784

21,307

11,679

1,862 Total operating income and expenses (706,435)

(704,419)

(617,554)

(98,453)















Operating profit 26,315

222,004

136,361

21,738 Other income (expense):













Interest income, net 1,616

10,227

16,652

2,655 Foreign exchange gain (loss), net 1,213

(5,943)

(12,829)

(2,045) Impairment of investments -

(209,565)

(58,000)

(9,247) (Losses) Gain from equity method investments, net (367)

1,921

(2,739)

(437) Other income, net 66,685

1,088,965

500

80















Income before taxes 95,462

1,107,609

79,945

12,744 Income tax expenses (4,912)

(40,259)

(5,042)

(804) Net income 90,550

1,067,350

74,903

11,940 Less: net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interests (679)

20,264

4,906

782 Net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders 91,229

1,047,086

69,997

11,158















Earnings per share













Basic 0.07

0.74

0.04

0.01 Diluted 0.06

0.73

0.04

0.01















Earnings per ADS













Basic 0.66

7.43

0.43

0.07 Diluted 0.64

7.27

0.42

0.07















Weighted average number of shares outstanding













Basic 1,387,446,596

1,400,420,814

1,403,597,719

1,403,597,719 Diluted 1,422,443,105

1,432,849,633

1,452,802,118

1,452,802,118 Weighted average number of ADSs outstanding













Basic 138,744,660

140,042,081

140,359,772

140,359,772 Diluted 142,244,310

143,284,963

145,280,212

145,280,212















Other comprehensive loss, net of tax of nil













Foreign currency translation adjustments (8,517)

(52,267)

(134,774)

(21,486) Unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities, net -

(433)

-

- Other comprehensive loss (8,517)

(52,700)

(134,774)

(21,486) Total comprehensive income (loss) 82,033

1,014,650

(59,871)

(9,546) Less: Total comprehensive income attributable to noncontrolling interests 119

18,568

3,321

529 Total comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders 81,914

996,082

(63,192)

(10,075)

CHEETAH MOBILE INC. Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss) (Unaudited, amounts in thousands of Renminbi ("RMB") and US dollars ("US$"), except for number of shares and per share

(or ADS) data) (a) On January 1, 2018, The Group adopted ASC 606, applying the modified retrospective method to contracts that were not completed as of January 1, 2018. Adoption did not have a material impact as of January 1, 2018. Results for reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2018 are presented under ASC 606, while prior period amounts are not adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with historic accounting under ASC 605. As ASC 605 has been superseded by ASC 606 on this subject, value added tax was reclassified from the cost of revenues to net against revenues. Advertising-for-advertising barter transactions should be recorded at the fair value of the advertising received by reference to the fair value of advertising services provided to other customers. Revenues are recognized in the same amount with costs and expenses. Previously, such transactions were recorded at cost which was nil as no consideration was exchanged. The following table illustrates the effect of the adoption of ASC 606 by presenting a comparison of revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2018, as actually reported and as they would have been reported under ASC 605, without the adoption of ASC 606:

















For The Three Months Ended









March 31, 2018

March 31, 2018









RMB

USD







As reported 1,145,097

182,555







Add: value added taxes 28,314

4,514







Less: barter transactions 3,801

606







Without adoption of ASC 606 1,169,610

186,463

























For The Three Months Ended

March 31, 2017

December 31, 2017

March 31, 2018

March 31, 2018 (b) Share-based compensation expenses RMB

RMB

RMB

USD Cost of revenues 934

(981)

(90)

(14) Research and development 9,571

4,471

(6,143)

(979) Selling and marketing (188)

(3,049)

302

48 General and administrative 14,051

2,933

14,850

2,367 Total 24,368

3,374

8,919

1,422

CHEETAH MOBILE INC. Information about Segment (Unaudited, in'000, except for percentage)























For The Three Months Ended March 31, 2018



Utility Products and

Related Services

Mobile Entertainment

Others

Unallocated*

Consolidated

RMB

RMB

RMB

RMB

RMB USD Revenue 744,763

392,452

7,882

-

1,145,097 182,555 Operating profit (loss) 264,706

(75,046)

(44,380)

(8,919)

136,361 21,738 Operating margin 35.5%

(19.1)%

(563.1)%





11.9% 11.9%

























For The Three Months Ended December 31, 2017



Utility Products and Related Services

Mobile Entertainment

Others

Unallocated*

Consolidated



RMB

RMB

RMB

RMB

RMB

Revenue 967,232

399,493

21,081

-

1,387,806

Operating profit (loss) 326,950

(61,846)

(39,726)

(3,374)

222,004

Operating margin 33.8%

(15.5)%

(188.4)%





16.0%















































For The Three Months Ended March 31, 2017



Utility Products and

Related Services

Mobile Entertainment

Others

Unallocated*

Consolidated



RMB

RMB

RMB

RMB

RMB

Revenue 827,225

363,468

10

-

1,190,703

Operating profit (loss) 179,158

(128,478)

3

(24,368)

26,315

Operating margin 21.7%

(35.3)%

30.0%





2.2%























* Unallocated expenses refer to SBC expenses that are not allocated to individual segments.







CHEETAH MOBILE INC. Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results (Unaudited, in'000, except for per share data and percentage)





























For The Three Months Ended March 31, 2018





GAAP

% of Net

Share-based

% of Net

Non-GAAP

% of Net

Non-GAAP

Result

Revenues

Compensation

Revenues

Result

Revenues

Result ($) Revenues 1,145,097













1,145,097





182,555 Cost of revenues (391,182)

34.2%

(90)

0.0%

(391,272)

34.2%

(62,378) Gross profit 753,915

65.8%

(90)

0.0%

753,825

65.8%

120,177



























Research and development (147,278)

12.9%

(6,143)

0.5%

(153,421)

13.4%

(24,459) Selling and marketing (391,355)

34.2%

302

0.0%

(391,053)

34.2%

(62,343) General and administrative (90,600)

7.9%

14,850

1.3%

(75,750)

6.6%

(12,077) Other operating income 11,679

1.0%

-

0.0%

11,679

1.0%

1,862 Total operating income and expenses (617,554)

53.9%

9,009

0.8%

(608,545)

53.1%

(97,017)



























Operating profit 136,361

11.9%

8,919

0.8%

145,280

12.7%

23,160 Net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders 69,997

6.1%

8,919

0.8%

78,916

6.9%

12,581



























Diluted earnings per ordinary share (RMB) 0.04





0.01





0.05







Diluted earnings per ADS (RMB) 0.42





0.06





0.48







Diluted earnings per ADS (USD) 0.07





0.01





0.08

































































For The Three Months Ended December 31, 2017





GAAP

% of Net

Share-based

% of Net

Non-GAAP

% of Net





Result

Revenues

Compensation

Revenues

Result

Revenues



Revenues 1,387,806













1,387,806







Cost of revenues (461,383)

33.2%

(981)

0.1%

(462,364)

33.3%



Gross profit 926,423

66.8%

(981)

0.1%

925,442

66.7%































Research and development (151,867)

10.9%

4,471

0.3%

(147,396)

10.6%



Selling and marketing (420,080)

30.3%

(3,049)

0.2%

(423,129)

30.5%



General and administrative (115,089)

8.3%

2,933

0.2%

(112,156)

8.1%



Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets (38,690)

2.8%

-

0.0%

(38,690)

2.8%



Other operating income 21,307

1.5%

-

0.0%

21,307

1.5%



Total operating income and expenses (704,419)

50.8%

4,355

0.3%

(700,064)

50.4%































Operating profit 222,004

16.0%

3,374

0.2%

225,378

16.2%



Net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders 1,047,086

75.4%

3,374

0.2%

1,050,460

75.7%































Diluted earnings per ordinary share (RMB) 0.73





0.00





0.73







Diluted earnings per ADS (RMB) 7.27





0.02





7.29





























































































For The Three Months Ended March 31, 2017





GAAP

% of Net

Share-based

% of Net

Non-GAAP

% of Net





Result

Revenues

Compensation

Revenues

Result

Revenues



Revenues 1,190,703













1,190,703







Cost of revenues (457,953)

38.5%

934

0.1%

(457,019)

38.4%



Gross profit 732,750

61.5%

934

0.1%

733,684

61.6%































Research and development (191,367)

16.1%

9,571

0.8%

(181,796)

15.3%



Selling and marketing (414,264)

34.8%

(188)

0.0%

(414,452)

34.8%



General and administrative (103,588)

8.7%

14,051

1.2%

(89,537)

7.5%



Other operating income 2,784

0.2%

-

0.0%

2,784

0.2%



Total operating income and expenses (706,435)

59.3%

23,434

2.0%

(683,001)

57.4%































Operating profit 26,315

2.2%

24,368

2.0%

50,683

4.3%



Net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile Shareholders 91,229

7.7%

24,368

2.0%

115,597

9.7%































Diluted earnings per ordinary share (RMB) 0.06





0.02





0.08







Diluted earnings per ADS (RMB) 0.64





0.17





0.81









CHEETAH MOBILE INC. Reconciliation from Net Income Attributable to Cheetah Mobile Shareholders to Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP) (Unaudited, in '000)







For The Three Months Ended

March 31, 2017 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2018 March 31, 2018

RMB RMB RMB USD Net income attributable to Cheetah Mobile shareholders 91,229 1,047,086 69,997 11,158 Add:







Income tax expenses 4,912 40,259 5,042 804 Interest income, net (1,616) (10,227) (16,652) (2,655) Depreciation and amortization 36,595 30,377 23,472 3,742 Net (loss) income attributable to noncontrolling interests (679) 20,264 4,906 782 Other non-operating (income) expense, net (67,531) (875,378) 73,068 11,649 Share-based compensation 24,368 3,374 8,919 1,422 Adjusted EBITDA 87,278 255,755 168,752 26,902

CHEETAH MOBILE INC. Revenues Generated from PC-based and Mobile-based Applications and Services (Unaudited, in '000)









For The Three Months Ended

March 31, 2017 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2018 March 31, 2018

RMB RMB RMB USD PC 182,337 170,259 127,094 20,262 Mobile 1,008,366 1,217,547 1,018,003 162,293 Total 1,190,703 1,387,806 1,145,097 182,555

CHEETAH MOBILE INC. Revenues Generated from Domestic and Overseas Markets (Unaudited, in '000)









For The Three Months Ended

March 31, 2017 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2018 March 31, 2018

RMB RMB RMB USD Domestic 342,383 543,974 447,620 71,361 Overseas 848,320 843,832 697,477 111,194 Total 1,190,703 1,387,806 1,145,097 182,555

SOURCE Cheetah MobileCHENGDU, China, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 18, during the Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair, Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone announced that the Unicorn Investment Foundation with a scale of RMB 10 billion will be set up to assist companies that have innovation technology and innovative commercial modes with great growth potentials to tackle the problems of financing and at the same time to set up a company gradient cultivation system to provide different-staged companies with targeted support policies respectively.

Relevant heads of Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone indicated that, more than 3 unicorn companies would be cultivated this year and this number would amount to 10 in the next three years.

In China, state-level hi-tech zones have already become the main accumulation places of unicorn companies. In 2017, 76.2% of Chinese unicorn companies were located in state-level hi-tech zones. Another report shows that, at present, a large number of unicorn companies are considered startups (nearly one third of unicorn companies established after 2014) and thus they require necessary policy support.

As one of the first groups of Chinese state-level hi-tech zones and the first national independent innovation demonstration zone in western China, Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone hopes to provide "soil" for the development of unicorn companies. It will set up the mechanism for unicorn services to provide a full-range of support for potential unicorn companies starting from its inception.

Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone has already set up an incubation network ranging from professional parks, maker space, incubator, professional buildings to professional companies, with an overall incubation carrier area of 4.3 million square meters. It will also build the first hi-tech service supermarket in southwestern China by learning from the operation idea of modern supermarket to put hi-tech services on a "shelf". Entrepreneurs can "select and purchase" all kinds of scientific service products in accordance with their demands, while foreign companies can enjoy the one-stop service of innovation and startup.

With the strong support of policies, in recent years, the new economy in Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone has showed strong development momentum and a large number of unicorn and potential unicorn companies such as Xinchao Media, XW Bank, TD Tech, Revotek, XGIMI, and Yiyun Technology have emerged. Among them, XW Bank is the first internet bank in western China, while Revotek, a biotech company, conducted the first global vivo test of implanting 3D bio-printed blood vessels into a rhesus monkey in 2016. As the pioneer of non-screen TV in China, XGIMI's three products obtained great innovation awards at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) of this year.

With the increasing optimized industrial environment, Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone's attraction to global talents has been enhanced gradually. In recent days, Nobel laureate in Chemistry Robert Huber has been invited to work as the honorary dean of Tianfu International Nobel Biomedicine Research Institute. He is not the first Nobel laureate that Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone has attracted. Currently, 6 Nobel laureates have chosen to settle down in Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone to set up research institutes. When Professor Robert Huber arrived in Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-town he noted, "I have visited a lot of biological medicine industry parks in Europe, but Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-town has grown faster than any of them."

SOURCE Chengdu Hi-Tech ZoneChili's Introduces The Boss Burger to Restaurants Nationwide

Five meats. One burger. 100% Boss. Yep. You read that right. FIVE meats.BEIJING, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In May this year, the Chancheng District government in Foshan, Guangdong, China, has debuted a Community Correction Application built on blockchain. It is an important component of the IMI digital identity system founded on the core technology developed by IDHub, tasked to overcome overwhelming challenges surrounding the complexities in the methods of supervision and the inefficiency in management. It has achieved these without any sacrifice of privacy and dignity of those who come under Community Corrections. The Intelligent multifunctional identity (IMI) based on IDHub core technologies is a blockchain digital identity system developed by the Chancheng District government to promote public administrative efficiency. The system has been officially in operation since 22 June 2017, and continues to provide a unified public authentication interface for more than 1.3 million local residents.

The Community Correction Application platform that is built on IDHub's digital identity technology has not only allowed information connectivity and data transparency between relevant departments, but it has also empowered law enforcement, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Courts and related judicial institutions to monitor and manage, in real time, the activity trails of its entire population of 1,449 individuals serving Correction Orders in the district of Chancheng. This is made possible because the system adopts a unified digital identity using blockchain technology.

By adopting blockchain technology, selective data disclosure is made possible with the greatest beneficiaries being those who are undergoing or have undergone community corrective actions and whose personal privacy and daily activities often attracts unnecessary public scrutiny. The application further testifies and substantiates the functionality and the practicability of IDHub technology in many fields, such as administration, judiciary and public service.

Mr QuMing, Chairman of IDHub foundation and project leader of the Community Correction Application, asserts that blockchain technology has not only ushered in the human touch in social governance, but it has also effectively assisted various departments in retrieving relevant information in the course of their work. The case of individuals serving or have served community corrective orders is an example of how digital identity can be applied to specific groups and backgrounds, actively protecting the privacy and rights of these individuals and thus restoring their confidence and contributing to their eventual reintegration into the society at large.

Many international organizations are currently providing digital identities to improve the quality of life. The ID2020 project is one case in point which seeks to provide legally authenticated digital identity to an approximate 1.1 billion individuals without official status. These people are commonly seen as the "invisible" portion of our earth's population. On a similar note, IDHub accredits users to directly own and control their personal data through blockchain digital identity technology, and to work with partners to promote the construction and development of trusted digital ecosystems based on blockchains.

Among its other projects, the blockchain Digital identity platform is IDHub's crown jewel. Its platform performs a series of rational verifications through validating, authenticating and uniqueness testings of the individual identity before reclaiming the identity control from the third party organization back to the user, thereby establishing a complete and trustworthy "self-sovereign identity".

IDHub Foundation has achieved success in the application of blockchain digital identity. In December 2017, its digital identity system has expanded to include notary services offered in Chancheng for the registrations of residents, delivering licenses, immovable assets, marital status, business, insurance and tax among others onto the chain. The Notary Office will retain an electronic duplicate on the blockchain platform after the issuance of its accompanying physical copy. Reviews and verifications of these documents by other departments can be speedily performed through the blockchain interface as and when these physical copies are presented to them.

SOURCE IDHub FoundationMARINA DEL REY, Calif., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CREXi, the commercial real estate industry's fastest growing marketplace and technology platform, today announced an $11 million Series A financing. The round was led by Jackson Square Ventures. Other investors in the round included Manifest Investment Partners, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Freestyle Capital, and TenOneTen Ventures, among others. This latest financing brings CREXi's total funding to $24 million. The capital will be deployed to expand CREXi's sales and marketing initiatives, grow the team, and continue to build the best-in-class product for the commercial real estate industry.

"What the CREXi team has built to address the inefficiencies in the trillion-dollar commercial real estate industry is nothing short of remarkable," said Josh Breinlinger, managing director, Jackson Square Ventures. "For a market that's notoriously reluctant to embrace technology, we're excited to see such strong levels of adoption and engagement among relevant stakeholders. We're thrilled to partner with CREXi to take the marketplace to the next level."

Since launching in 2016, CREXi has quickly become one of the most active marketplaces in the industry, and the platform has helped buyers, sellers, and brokers to transact business on over 90,000 commercial listings totaling more than $450 billion in property value. CREXi's user base has grown more than 230% in the last year.

"We are passionate about helping commercial real estate professionals focus on what they do best," said Michael DeGiorgio, Chief Executive Officer at CREXi. "We listen closely to our customers and build around the belief that technology should make them more productive."

Over the last two years, CREXi has brought innovations to the commercial real estate industry that have enabled its users to automate their marketing, access critical insights in real-time and move between desktops and mobile devices seamlessly. "CREXi has meaningfully contributed to our business by exposing our deal inventory to a wider buyer pool and by helping our large team manage their workflow. CREXi adds speed, efficiency, and liquidity to the real estate transaction. CREXi has allowed us to focus our time and resources on winning and serving our clients," said Glen Kunofsky Executive Managing Director, Marcus and Millichap.

About CREXi

Commercial Real Estate Exchange, Inc. (CREXi) is the commercial real estate industry's fastest growing marketplace and technology platform dedicated to supporting the CRE industry and its stakeholders. CREXi enables commercial real estate professionals to quickly streamline, manage, and grow their businesses using the industry's most advanced transaction management solution. Since launching in 2016, CREXi has quickly become the most active marketplace in the industry, and the platform has helped buyers, sellers, and brokers to transact business on over 90,000 commercial listings totaling more than $450 billion in property value. CREXi has grown to 50+ employees and is headquartered in Marina Del Rey, California. For more information on CREXi, visit www.crexi.com.

About Jackson Square Ventures

Jackson Square Ventures is a early stage venture capital firm with $245 million under management. Founded in 2011, the San Francisco-based firm primarily leads Series A investments in companies with a B2B SaaS or marketplace focus. Its portfolio includes AlienVault, Alto Pharmacy, DocuSign, OfferUp, Intacct, Seismic, Strava, and Upwork, among others. For more information, follow the firm on Twitter or visit www.jsv.com.

SOURCE CREXiDALLAS, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Noted trial attorney Rogge Dunn has filed a lawsuit in Dallas County against FindLaw for fraud and misrepresentation of services the company provided for the new Rogge Dunn Group, PC firm website.

According to Mr. Dunn, FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters (NYSE:TRI) business, promised to create a website with content he would own, and conduct SEO services. Instead, he says the website FindLaw proposed contained only basic images and stock language that didn't align with the business objectives of his law practice.

In addition, he discovered that FindLaw, and not the Rogge Dunn Group is the owner of the content, which forces the firm to start from square one should it decide to build a new website. Subsequent to entering into the contract, Mr. Dunn also learned that if he failed to renew his FindLaw contract, the company would basically "flip a switch" and un-tag the attorney, eliminating any benefit for the 12 months of SEO.

Mr. Dunn says FindLaw rejected his attempts to find a solution.

"When you hire a big company, you expect them to live up to their representations and the work they promised," said Mr. Dunn, a nationally recognized litigator for his representation of high-level executives and companies in business and employment disputes. "Instead, all I have encountered has been a series of misrepresentations compounded by bureaucratic and corporate indifference."

In his lawsuit, Mr. Dunn said, after interviewing a number of website developers, he was prepared to hire an alternate company, but FindLaw salesperson Kevin Donahue talked him out of the decision by falsely claiming the other company had a poor reputation.

The case is Rogge Dunn vs. FindLaw, West Publishing Corporation, a/b/a FindLaw, Super Lawyers, and LawInfo, and Kevin Donahue at al. in Dallas County Court.

The attorneys of Rogge Dunn Group, PC, have built a well-deserved reputation for aggressive litigation, outstanding results and attentive client service. Led by founding partner Rogge Dunn, the firm is well-known for successfully trying high-profile business and employment disputes. This trial experience supports innovative strategies to identify meaningful solutions, complete effective settlements and minimize litigation risks for corporate and individual clients. Based in Dallas, the firm tries cases in state and federal courts in Texas and throughout the United States. Learn more about the firm at www.roggedunngroup.com.

Media Contact:

Sophia Reza

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Rogge DunnProfessor Ng posted that the scalar wave light quantum implant system is based on the pico-scale quantum physics technology, namely "Pimi technology." The Pimi technology is a high technology that improves the material properties at the microscopic level of one trillionth of a meter (10-12 M) meters. It is more advanced than the current "Nano (10-9M technology)". The technology mainly uses the eighth generation bio-active processing technology to generate scalar wave quantum energy. The scalar wave light quantum energy passes through a series of energy such as acoustic, optical, electrical, magnetic, wave, quantum light wave generators, ion energy beam speed resonance induction machines, and the like. Information processing technology is injected into related products. In this way, a quantum field particle (ion) energy beam having a scalar wave light quantum intelligent resonance frequency is injected into a substance of an arbitrary shape to produce a photon quantum energy product. The implanted product enables the scalar wave quantum energy to pass through the human meridian acupuncture points, allowing the mental system and the body's physiological system to be highly penetrated and achieve the balanced purpose. This series of proprietary "proton energy technology" can produce a stable "proton vibration ordered field", has been used in medical, beauty, health and other daily life. There are three main particles in the atom, which are protons, electrons, and neutrons. "Proton vibration ordered field" can organize the vibrations of protons, electrons, and neutrons in all substances, and promote their physical properties and enhance biological energy.

At the conference, Professor Ng also mentioned the difference between scalar wave light quantum implant technology and traditional far-infrared technology. Traditional far-infrared technology principles: absorption, reflection, and penetration. When a radiant energy hits the surface of a material, part of it is absorbed, partially reflected, and partially penetrated. If the assumed energy is arrived at by one unit, the law of conservation of energy gives the relationship gamma + delta = theta, where gamma, delta, and theta each represent the percentage of the object's absorption, reflection, and penetration of this wavelength electromagnetic wave.

The officiating guests attending the launch included: Sherrill Kazan, President of the World Council of Peoples for the United Nations; Dr. Jim Lin-Chi Chu, Chairman of the Strategic Alliance of Asian-American Non-Profit Organizations; Dr. Johnny Ip, Chairman of the World Trade United Foundation (APAC); Tom W.Q. Jiang, Chairman of the United Nations Ethnic Chinese Union; Zhang Aimisu, Director of the elite Development Department of the World Council of Peoples for the UN; Paul Hao, Art advisor of Rockefeller II; etc.

Introduction of "System"

Principle

Quantum vacuum is not only an electromagnetic field, but also a complex magnetic vector potential and electrostatic scalar potential field. In 1890, Nikola Tesla discovered a different longitudinal wave, the Tesla wave, also known as a scalar wave. The usual science explains this phenomenon: positive protons and negative electrons overlap, and the results cancel each other out and disappear. However, since there is a law of conservation of energy, we cannot rashly say "disappear". They should be "another energy that is transformed into a zero state." This energy is a scalar wave, which is proportional to the number of elementary particles contained in a particular atomic space, and is emitted from specific atomic space at all times.

The study of quantum has been going on for more than a century. From 1900, Planck first proposed the concept of quantum, and later Einstein proposed the concept of light quantum. The launch and commissioning of the China Quantum Communications Satellite in 2016 was successful. From theoretical research to scientific practice, quantum science and technology has once again promoted the advancement and development of high-tech, and has been used more for military, civilian, and people's livelihoods. The technology involves physical, optical, biological, polymer materials and nanotechnology, life information and other technical areas.

The excitation light properties of inorganic materials mainly depend on three basic excitation processes

Absorption of incident light energy Energy conversion (mass and energy interchange) Partial energy conversion into photons

The photon energy is expressed in HV, where V is the frequency of the light, and in the visible field, the 14 hz,h of the magnitude of V is the Planck constant, and its value is 6.626 X 10-34 joules. The energy of the ground state atom is E1 and the excitation states are E2, and there are two possible processes that occur when there is a foreign radiation acting on the atoms of the two energy-order systems:

Stimulated absorption: Each substance consists of atoms, and each atom has a specific energy level. According to Bozeman's principle, under the thermal equilibrium, the atomic number concentration of the i-th energy level is Ni, then Ni/N0=exp(- Delta Ei/KBT), wherein the total concentration N=N0+N1+N2+N3+N4 +N5+........, N0 is the number of atoms in the ground state. When atoms in the low-order levels absorb incident photons to high energy levels, the upper and lower energy difference E is exactly equal to the incident photon energy, that is, DeltaE =E2-E1=hv. That is to say, the energy that the atom increases by absorbing photons is equal to the energy lost by the incident light, which is exactly what the law of conservation of energy requires. Stimulated radiation: The atom in the upper energy level (excited state) radiates a photon of energy hv under the action of incident light . Its energy decreases and returns to the ground state, and the incident light is increased in energy due to obtaining a photon. It can be seen that, as a result of the stimulated radiation, the incident light is amplified.

Dato' Sri Prof. Ng is a Visiting Professor and Honorary Fellow of Canadian Chartered Institute of Business Administration and Honorary Dean and Senior Fellow of Asian College of Knowledge Management. He travels a lot all over the world and has lived in South Korea, the US and Australia. Since 2013, he's received more than 120 honor titles and awards granted by the US Congress, California State Senate, and other major cities of the US for 6 consecutive years. He has been invited to participate in the China National Day reception for 8 consecutive years. Prof. Ng is not only an expert in economics, politics and quantum physics, but also an inventor who has independently developed more than 100 international patents. He is also committed to the promotion and development of public welfare undertakings. He is an internationally well-known philanthropist and public diplomat.

Prof. Ng has more than 100 international patent applications registered in 152 countries in the PCT system of the WIPO. He is hailed as "Father of Atmospheric Water Generation" due to his scientific research like "Air Purification and Condensing Technology" and "Atmospheric Dew Converting System". In addition, he has made great achievements in the field of quantum physics, and the development of scalar wave quantum implant technology which has become a new benchmark for leading the development of quantum technology.

SOURCE World Trade United Foundation(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694162/Kiwi_Logo.jpg )

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694163/David_Pavlik_CIO_Kiwi.jpg )

David joins Kiwi.com from SpaceX, where he was the only Czech employee at the private sector American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. At SpaceX, David supported the company's aim to revolutionize space technology in his role as Software Automation Program Manager.

David also brings extensive experience from some of the world's top tech companies, where he has worked in a variety of positions, ranging from Service Delivery Lead at Microsoft to Engineering Manager at Netflix.

In his new position at Kiwi.com, which will begin from July 2018, David will be responsible for determining the IT strategy and systems that will be required to support the company's unique objectives and goals, as it continues to bring its superior and proprietarytechnology and customer service to innovative travel products. David will be involved in improving the efficiency of internal processes and tools in order to guarantee effective communication, maximize productivity and keep the organization running efficiently and at the optimum level. He will work closely with the Chief Product Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Data & Automation Officer to align company systems, tools and processes to the product roadmap.

Oliver Dlouhy, founder and CEO of Kiwi.comsaid:"We are very excited to welcome such a well-known figure in the Czech and Slovak engineering community as David. Kiwi.com will gain massively from David's experience at such premier companies as Amazon, Netflix and Microsoft as we strive to match the achievements of those world-beating companies. The fact that David has chosen to relocate with his family back to the Czech Republic after 10 years in the US speaks volumes about how he sees the potential of Kiwi.com and what we are trying to achieve.

David Pavlik said: "I'm delighted to be joining such an innovative Czech business and particularly at this key stage in the company's history, after 6 years of double and triple digit expansion. I'm super impressed with all the team members I've met so far, the quality of product and the level of innovation the team have applied to their technological and other solutions. Oliver Dlouhy has driven the company through exponential growth and I look forward to assisting in accelerating that trajectory."

David graduated from Masaryk University in Brno (Advanced Informatics) and Nottingham Trent University (Management Studies) and is passionate about scaling companies by focusing on automation and technology. David worked on some of the most innovative concepts such as Chaos Engineering at Netflix. He loves to spend his free time with his family of five, cooking and travelling.

For how Kiwi.com works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLuWWR_FNpw

Kiwi.com was set up by Oliver Dlouhy in 2012 in order to provide great value flight itineraries and combinations, with sites serving global customers with 24/7 support. The company sees over 50 million flight searches daily and employs over 1900 people.

SOURCE Kiwi.comVALLEY COTTAGE, New York, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The global dehydrated onions market holds promising growth prospects over 2018-2028, indicates Future Market Insights

Extensive use of dehydrated onion as a condiment will continue to fuel the demand from Western countries. As the recent past has been observing substantial growth of the convenience food sector, the growth of dehydrated onions market is also evidently increasing. As implied by a recent research study, Future Market Insights expects the US$ 950 Mn dehydrated onions market to surpass the revenue worth US$ 1,500 Mn by the end of 2028. Over the next decade, the global market for dehydrated onions is expected to witness steady growth at a CAGR of 4.8%.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/677274/Future_Market_Insights_Logo.jpg )



India's Position Strengthens as an Export-oriented Market, Europe Prevails in Dry Onion Import

China, India, and US are among the top five onion producing countries, and India secures the top position in dried onion export, according to a recent survey. While India currently captures over 30% share of the global dehydrated onion export share, China will also continue to be a major exporter. US, Germany, and UK are foreseen to retain their positions as key importers throughout the next decade. Australia is foreseen to be among the key importers of dehydrated onions in the next few years.

Request a Sample Report with Table of Contents and Figures: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-6694

The European countries such as UK have been prominently generating robust demand for dehydrated onions, and some of the top importers include UK, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, and Spain. Sustained demand from developed markets such as North America and Europe will continue to push the dehydrated onions market up in near future. Increasing demand for processed onions to create thriving markets in developed regions such as Europe and North America. In some developing countries, fresh onions are available only in specific seasons, prompting at an attractive opportunity for dry onion manufacturers to provide consumers with an economical alternative in off-seasons. Kenya, where spring onions have been the top consumer preference due to cheaper price, is recently identified to raise an escalating demand for red bulb onions and dehydrated onions.

Manufacturers Target Lucrative Applications of Dehydrated Vegetables Emerging in Processed Food Industry

The consumption of dehydrated vegetables is mushrooming worldwide, primarily attributed to their ability to retain culinary palatability and quality. Moreover, dry vegetables bring in economy in terms of both storage as well as transportation. The onion and dehydrated onion manufacturers thus seek optimum utilization of surplus product, besides saving a considerable amount associated with packaging materials and tinplate. Acceptance of dehydrated vegetables as a streamline product over fresh foods is remarkably low within a majority of developing Asian economies. However, with an increasing number of manufacturers stepping in the dehydration industry and growing awareness among consumers about a series of health benefits of consuming dehydrated vegetables, the sales of different forms of dehydrated onions are expected to surge up in coming years.

The industry has witnessed immense advent of technology incorporated in the entire production process of dehydrated onions, which will also contribute to market growth. Dry vegetables are rapidly gaining traction as an imperative ingredient in packaged foods, which is proliferating the consumption of dehydrated onions by processed food industry, which will reportedly drive the market growth.

Preview Analysis on Global Dehydrated Onions Market Segmentation By variety- White Onions, Red Onions, Pink Onions, Hybrid; Form- Chopped, Minced, Granules, Powder, Flakes, Kibbled, Sliced; Nature- Organic, Conventional; Technology- Air Drying, Vacuum Drying, Freeze Drying, Microwave Drying, Spray Drying, Others: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/dehydrated-onions-market

Market Can Potentially Cater to Elevating Onion Demand against Short Supply during India's Price Escalation Scenario

India, in addition to being among the top five onion producers, is the second largest producer of dehydrated onions, globally. However, the volatility in pricing of onion provides a high-potential opportunity to promote consumption of dry onions, almost each year. Though onion prices continue to fluctuate due to seasonal pressure, dehydrated onion sales are not hitting the roof. Dry onion manufacturers are struggling to overcome a lost opportunity due to relatively lower awareness about consuming dry onions, through promotional efforts targeted to households. However, robust demand from ready-to-cook food providers, processed food manufacturers, hotels and restaurants, and large scale masala makers are expected to account for a robust share in terms of revenue.

An industry expert quotes, "Of the total 60,000-70,000 tons of dehydrated onions produced annually in India, nearly 85% are exported to European countries. Domestically based wholesale consumers account for the consumption of the rest 15% of the total produce. Revenue generated through demand from household consumers has been negligible." "Looking at the price fluctuation, dry onions are relatively more stable than fresh onions. Dehydrated products can be stored for extended periods, and are economically more viable compared to fresh onions," he further adds.

One of the largest dehydration units in India also reaffirms that the price of dehydrated onions is not impacted by seasonal volatility in onion prices, as a majority of manufacturers prefer commencement of procurement at the beginning of season, when the prices are low. Gradually increasing encouragement from government is anticipated to support market growth, in addition to the financial support by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) for awareness and promotional campaigns. Moreover, manufacturers are striving to promote dehydrated products as healthy foods, through augmented focus on research and development. Most of manufacturing companies are prioritizing export, trade, and production facility expansion.

Our advisory services are aimed at helping you with specific, customised insights that are relevant to your specific challenges. Let us know about your challenges and our trusted advisors will connect with you: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/askus/rep-gb-6694

More from FMI's Food and Beverages Market Intelligence:

Mezcal Market Segmentation By Product Type - Mezcal Joven, Mezcal Reposado, Mezcal Anejo; Concentrate Type - 100% Tequila, Mix Tequila; Sales Channel - HORECA, Specialty Stores, Modern Trade, Online Retailers:

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/mezcal-market



Dried Soup Market Segmentation By Product- Dehydrated Dried Soups, Instant Dried Soups; Packaging- Pouches, Cups, Boxes; Sales Channel- HORECA, Modern Trade, Convenience Stores, Online Stores, Others:

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/dried-soup-market

Herb & Spice Extracts Market Segmentation By Product Type - Herb Extracts, Spice Extracts; Form - Powder, Liquid; Application Type - Food (Sauce/dressing/condiments, Confectionery/bakery, Dairy products), Beverages (Juices, RTD Tea, Alcoholic beverages, Traditional homemade drinks,), Personal Care(Skin Care, Hair Care, Perfumes & Fragrances, Aromatherapy), Nutraceutical, Pharmaceutical; Sales Channel - Direct sales, Indirect sales(Specialty stores, Hyper/supermarket, E-commerce:

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/herb-and-spice-extracts-market

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SOURCE Future Market InsightsNORWALK, Conn., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Diageo brands were recognized for their quality and excellence at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition. This year, Diageo brands won a total of 72 medals, including 26 Double Gold or Gold medals. Scotch and North American Whisk(e)y brands performed particularly well, winning 42 of the 72 total medals. Diageo brands were also awarded three Best in Class distinctions, with Bulleit Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon winning "Best Straight Bourbon"; Crown Royal 13-Year-Old Blenders' Mash winning "Best Canadian Whisky"; and Talisker 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch winning "Best Distillers' Single Malt Scotch  Up to 12 Years".

"We are honored that so many of the liquids across our portfolio continue to be recognized, and have placed so highly at one of the industry's most established competitions," said Deirdre Mahlan, President, Diageo North America. "We believe this is a true testament to the quality and craftsmanship of our brands, and congratulate everyone involved with making and bringing to market these world-class products."

Several medals were awarded to Scotch, Tennessee, Bourbon and Rye Whisk(e)ys. Johnnie Walker took home a total of five medals, including a Double Gold medal for Johnnie Walker Red Label. Crown Royal earned 13 medals in total, including two Double Gold medals for Crown Royal 13-Year-Old Blenders' Mash and Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel Canadian Whisky.

In the Tequila, Rum and Vodka categories, Diageo brands also performed well, winning 19 medals. Smirnoff Peppermint Twist and Naked Turtle White Rum both secured Gold medals.

A full breakdown of Diageo's winning brands from the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition can be found on the competition website [https://sfspiritscomp.com/results/], and all Diageo brands' Best in Class, Double Gold and Gold medal winners are listed below.

Best in Class:

Bulleit Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Crown Royal 13-Year-Old Blenders' Mash Whisky

Talisker 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

Double Gold:

Buchanan's Master Blended Scotch

Master Blended Scotch Buchanan's Red Seal Blended Scotch

Red Seal Blended Scotch Bulleit Barrel Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Cacique Leyenda Rum

Crown Royal 13-Year-Old Blenders' Mash Whisky

Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel Canadian Whisky

Johnnie Walker Red Label Blended Scotch

Lagavulin 16 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

Lagavulin 8 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

Talisker 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

Talisker Storm Single Malt Scotch

Ypioca Cinco Chaves Cachaca

Gold:

Buchanan's 15 Year Old Select Blended Scotch

15 Year Old Select Blended Scotch Buchanan's Special Reserve 18 Year Old Blended Scotch

Special Reserve 18 Year Old Blended Scotch Bulleit 10 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Bulleit Rye Whiskey

Cacique Anejo Rum

Cacique 500 Rum

George Dickel Tabasco Barrel Finished Tennessee Whisky

I.W. Harper Kentucky Straight Bourbon

The Naked Turtle White Rum

Oban 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

Smirnoff Peppermint Twist

The Singleton of Glendullan 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

The Singleton of Glendullan 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch

Ypioca 150 Anos Cachaca

Founded in 2000, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is one of America's most respected international spirits events. Products are evaluated in a blind, consensual procedure ensuring the competition maintains its reputation for the highest level of integrity. Winning participants receive the awards of Double Gold, Gold, Silver or Bronze, marking their product as one of the highest quality in the world. www.sfspiritscomp.com

About Diageo

Diageo is a global leader in beverage alcohol with an outstanding collection of brands including Johnnie Walker, Crown Royal, Bulleit and Buchanan's whiskies, Smirnoff, Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Don Julio, Tanqueray and Guinness.

Diageo is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE) and our products are sold in more than 180 countries around the world. For more information about Diageo, our people, our brands, and performance, visit us at www.diageo.com. Visit Diageo's global responsible drinking resource, www.DRINKiQ.com, for information, initiatives, and ways to share best practice.

Follow us on Twitter for news and information about Diageo North America: @Diageo_NA.

Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.

Kristen Crofoot, Diageo

203.229.4223

SOURCE Diageo North America

Related Links

https://www.diageo.com

The Dubai skyline, as seen from the Arabian desert. Photo: Francesco Salvaggio/Getty Images

Hands up, who here has ever read a scathing article about Dubai? Because wow, there is a lot of negative press around the United Arab Emirates (UAE) most populous city. Most recently, a travel essay by Andrew Marantz in The New Yorker trod a similar path to that of countless others, labeling Dubai a non-place of a city and little more than a glorified transit point. Have a brief wander around a couple of malls, take the elevator up the Burj Khalifa, then fly off again.

As far as Marantz and the rest are concerned, Dubai, with all its glitter and gold, is asking for it. A city that, before the federation of the UAE in 1971, was just a torpid trading port, and home to fewer than 200,000 people. Thanks to the discovery of oil in the late 1960s, its now the talk of the world on the back of a numbing list of superlatives: home to the worlds tallest building, largest shopping center, fastest police car, and so on.

So what? Dubai enjoys  and excels at  smashing world records. It shines in luxury and opulence. It likes gold, sparkly things, and big, splashy superlatives. Bold and brash is what has put this city on the map. Dubai is unafraid to be loud and perhaps a bit ridiculous, which on the surface can distract from the fact that it is also home to a wildly diverse group of people.

Related Stories Introducing the Urbanist

The population of Dubai now stands at around 3 million, only 230,000 of whom are Emirati. Foreigners representing every corner of the globe, including immigrants from the Indian subcontinent and the Philippines, vastly outnumber nationals, and many have lived and worked here for decades in finance, hospitality, and every industry in between. While the biggest bonus of working in Dubai may appear to be tax-free salaries  not including expatriate returns  the exorbitant cost of living balances out this benefit. All-inclusive packages with accommodation and education allowances are not as common as they once were; rent is still staggeringly high; and even a bottle of wine at dinner can often feel extortionate.

That said, most transplants find it hard to leave. Like the city itself, the people who live here are ambitious and keen to push the limits. From opening boutiques, to launching cafes, or organizing farmers markets and music festivals, expats in collaboration with Emirati locals continuously invest in what they want home to look like. Beyond the pop-ups and start-ups and sky-scraping build-ups that have shaped and reshaped the skyline over the last ten years, policy changes have also followed. Case in point: the gradual loosening of alcohol-licensing laws in this still-conservative Islamic country, where not long ago enjoying a crisp Chablis with lunch would have been unimaginable outside of a hotel  at least for tourists. (Muslims in the UAE are still not legally permitted to consume alcohol.)

So rather than a non-city, we find a new city  one trying hard to catch up but also one of possibilities, with room for superlatives and all the in between. This week, the Urbanist will be tackling Dubai head-on. Weve enlisted the help of 35 resident experts to share the best of this city of contrasts, from the swankiest beach clubs and gold-dusted cocktails to the spiciest hole-in-the-wall curry shops. In other words, its the kind of travel intel you wont discover in a couple of malls and a skyscraper on a day-long layover.

The Everything Guide to Dubai

Where the Locals Would Stay in Dubai If They Werent Local

The Best of Both Worlds: Dubais High and Low Food Spots

Worthwhile Alternatives to Dubais Biggest Tourist Draws

The Skeptics Guide to Art and Culture in Dubai (Yes, It Exists)

The Best Shopping in Dubai, According to a Fashion Director

The Bottoms-up, Balls-out Thrill Seekers Guide to Dubai

How to Live Like a Sheikh in Dubai (For a Day, Anyway)

The Best Day Trips From Dubai: Sharjah, Hatta, and More

Dubai After Dark: The Perfect Night Out For Every Personality

The Best Souvenirs to Buy in Dubai, According to Locals

What to Read, Watch, and Download Before Visiting DubaiSEATTLE, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EnCirca and Pandorabots announced a new service for brand owners to help them develop artificially intelligent conversational bots using the new .BOT top-level-domain from Amazon Registry. The announcement occurred at the 140th Annual Meeting of the International Trademark Association (INTA) being held this week in Seattle, Washington and attended by over 10,000 trademark lawyers from 150 countries.

dotbot domains

.BOT is designed to be more than just another alternative to .COM domain names. Instead, .BOT is intended to serve as the ultimate discovery space for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, also known as bots, linking bot creators with their end-users, as well as providing bot creators with information and resources to help them with their own development.

"There is a shift occurring in how customers want to interact with businesses. Bots can provide the personalization and direct interaction that most static websites and mobile apps haven't been able to deliver. As a result, more and more businesses are embracing conversational marketing and customer support to help customers discover and connect with a brand, as well as obtain quick answers to common queries," says Stacey King, General Manager of Amazon Registry Services.

Currently, eligibility for .BOT domain names is limited to software developers using one of six bot frameworks, including Pandorabots. After a developer has satisfied the eligibility requirement, they are then directed to an ICANN-accredited Registrar, such as EnCirca, to secure their .BOT domain names.

"EnCirca is teaming up with Pandorabots to simplify the .BOT registration process for brand owners and trademark lawyers," says Tom Barrett, president of EnCirca. "Every brand who is present in one of the mobile app marketplaces, such as Apple's App Store or Google's PlayStore, should now secure their trademarks in .BOT."

Pandorabots is the leading chatbot development and hosting platform with over 250,000 developers and top global brands using the service to provide automated customer interactions at scale on popular voice and messaging channels. As part of a special promotion for INTA attendees, Pandorabots is offering starter kits for brand owners who reserve their .BOT domain with EnCirca to kickstart bot development for their business.

"We believe that every business will have a chatbot facilitating instant, personalized customer interactions," says Lauren Kunze, CEO of Pandorabots, "and that .BOT can be the point of entry and destination on the web to signal that you, the customer, can now have a conversation with our brand."

Representatives from EnCirca and Pandorabots will be available to discuss .BOT and bot development for the duration of the INTA Annual Meeting this week from exhibit booth number 323. Trademark lawyers unable to visit the booth can learn more at www.pandorabots.bot or www.encirca.bot.

About EnCirca:

Formed in 2001, EnCirca (www.encirca.bot) is an ICANN-Accredited registrar and registry validation provider based in Boston. EnCirca specializes in complex and custom registrar solutions for the domain name industry. Contact [email protected] to request a consultation.

About Pandorabots:

Based in San Francisco, Pandorabots (www.pandorabots.bot) is the largest, most established chatbot platform. Visit pandorabots.com to build a free DIY chatbot or learn more about the Enterprise offerings and services by contacting [email protected].

Media Contacts:

Debbie Muzarol

[email protected]

+1.7819429975

SOURCE EnCirca, Inc

Related Links

https://www.encirca.com

ATLANTA, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Equifax Inc. (NYSE: EFX) today announced that Chief Financial Officer John Gamble, and Jeff Dodge and Trevor Burns of Investor Relations will be meeting with investors in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 24th and in Kansas City on Friday, May 25th.

Gamble, Dodge, and Burns will discuss the company's first quarter 2018 performance as well as the strategic outlook for 2018.

An archive of the presentation is available at investor.equifax.com.

About Equifax

Equifax is a global information solutions company that uses unique data, innovative analytics, technology and industry expertise to power organizations and individuals around the world by transforming knowledge into insights that help make more informed business and personal decisions.

Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs 10,400 employees worldwide.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

1550 Peachtree Street, NE

Atlanta, Georgia 30309

Marisa Salcines

Media Relations

770-752-2574

[email protected]

SOURCE Equifax Inc.

Related Links

http://www.equifax.com

"The ITS Alpino demonstrates the proven versatility and capability of the FREMM class frigate," said Vice Admiral Richard Hunt (Ret.), Fincantieri Marinette Marine's Chief Strategy Officer. "It is lethal, survivable, designed for sailors and in service now. It provides a superior platform for the U.S. Navy FFG(X) competition and can provide great combat capability for our Navy in the near term and beyond. It will contribute to the defense of America and our allies."

He continued, "ITS Alpino's visit to the United States provides a great opportunity to introduce this ship to Navy leadership and warfighters. The design has demonstrated its flexibility with several variations used in the Italian and French Navies and has the ability to grow to serve the U.S. Navy's future needs. It is a highly capable, proven warship which has been consistently built on schedule and at an affordable cost. FREMM class ships are built with industry best practices in design and construction, delivering superior performance quickly and affordably with a strong focus on providing a high operational availability."

"The U.S. Navy urgently needs a highly capable warship that can both operate forward confidently in independent operations and significantly contribute to larger Strike Group operations when needed. FREMM provides the necessary foundation to quickly develop the U.S. Navy's next frigate."

Reporters and other members of the Norfolk community interested in touring the ship should contact Justin Platt for more information. He can be reached at [email protected].

"The ITS Alpino's cutting-edge technology provides the capabilities needed for FFG(X) to be highly lethal while still being dependable and comfortable for the sailors who operate it," said Mr. Charles Goddard, formerly the US Navy's PEO Ships and currently Fincantieri Marine Group's Senior Vice President. "The FREMM's design will enable it to grow over its service life with the U.S. Navy with limited upgrade costs. This ship is a technical marvel."

Among many other capabilities, the ITS Alpino has 16 Vertical Launch System (VLS) cells that can be readily upgraded to 32, can host two helicopters, and can combat undersea, surface, and airborne threats.

When a version of the ship is built for the U.S. Navy, it will create thousands of high-tech American manufacturing jobs, and Fincantieri Marine Group already employs more than 2,000 people in the United States.

The ITS Alpino traveled to Norfolk from Italy. Following its stay in Norfolk, it will visit Baltimore, New York City, and Boston. The trip is designed to both improve upon cooperation between the U.S. and Italian navies and underscore the potential benefits of frigates modelled off the ITS Alpino for the U.S. Navy.

About Fincantieri Marinette Marine

Fincantieri Marinette Marine, based in Marinette, Wisconsin, was founded in 1942 and has designed and built over 1,500 vessels. Now employing nearly 1,500 people, it has built cutting edge ships for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard. Fincantieri Marinette Marine is part of Fincantieri Marine Group, the American company of worldwide shipbuilder FINCANTIERI. FINCANTIERI was founded more than 230 years ago and has built more than 7,000 ships.

About Fincantieri

Fincantieri is one of the world's largest shipbuilding groups and number one by diversification and innovation. It is a leader in cruise ship design and construction and a reference player in all high-tech shipbuilding industry's sectors, from naval to offshore vessels, from high-complexity special vessels and ferries to mega-yachts, ship repairs and conversions, systems and components production and after-sales services.

Fincantieri operates in the United States through its subsidiary Fincantieri Marine Group (FMG). This company, which serves commercial and government customers in the USA, including the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, has three shipyards (Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding and Fincantieri ACE Marine) located in the Great Lakes Region: www.fincantierimarinegroup.com

PRESS CONTACT:

Neal Urwitz

[email protected]

202-777-3850

SOURCE Fincantieri Marine Group

Related Links

http://www.fincantierimarinegroup.com/

DAFENG, China, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 5-6, nearly 30 foreign friends from 18 countries, such as Russia, Germany, Italy, Pakistan, gathered on the shore of the Yellow Sea and participated in the event of "Foreigner's View of Jiangsu -- Visit to Dafeng Milu Deer Hometown" sponsored by the Information Office of the People's Government of Jiangsu Province. They jointly experienced the unique charm of Dafeng.

During the stay in Dafeng, foreign friends visited the Dream Maze, the largest botanic maze over the world. In Dafeng National Milu Deer Nature Reserve, where the world's largest Milu Deer gene bank is located, they visited the Milu Deer Habitat and the Milu Deer Free Pasture Zone, experienced the Milu Deer domestication program and got close to Milu Deer. In the first tulip sea in China, Holland Flower Sea, they visited the art exhibition of "Van Gogh Alive 2", watched and experienced Holland characteristic clog dance and flower performance, where the spot interaction was extremely warm. In the Plum Bay -- the largest watery plum park in Northern Jiangsu, they enjoyed and joined in intangible cultural heritage programs of Yancheng, like dragon dance and flower-boat, and blossom-picul-stick performances, Taijiquan performance, flour sculpture, sugar sculpture, porcelain carving and other handicraft performances, elicited rapturous applause and cheers.

"I've learnt a lot in this Dafeng Trip. I'll bring my family here again! Thank the government for setting up this platform for us to understand the culture and perceive changes in Jiangsu," said Amir, an Algerian student from Nanjing University of the Arts after having understood great social and economic changes of Dafeng in 40 years of reform and opening-up. The international friends all indulged in and highly praised the beautiful natural scenery and graceful wetland environment.

Located at the intersection of north and south coastal development areas in Jiangsu Province, Dafeng is an important node of the Belt and Road Initiative and has the nature-endowed location advantage. This Event not only promoted beautiful ecology and characteristic tourism of Dafeng comprehensively, but also displayed the ecological development concepts and achievements of Dafeng profoundly. It has built a solid bridge for civilization communication, cultural exchange and friendship between China and foreign countries, and also for spreading warm hospitality of Dafeng people to all corners of the world.

SOURCE The Information Office of the People's Government of Jiangsu ProvinceDUBLIN, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Slaughtering Equipment Market by Type (Stunning, Killing, Cut-up, Deboning & Skinning, Evisceration), Livestock (Poultry, Swine, Bovine, Seafood), Automation (Fully Automated, Semi-automated), Process Type, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The slaughtering equipment market is projected to reach USD 8.28 Billion by 2023 from USD 6.62 Billion in 2018, growing at a CAGR of 4.56%. Increase in demand for processed meat, lenient trade policies, and an increase in meat exports are some of the major factors that are expected to drive the demand for slaughtering equipment.

Based on livestock, the slaughtering equipment market has been segmented into poultry, swine, bovine, seafood, and others, which include ovine and caprine. The poultry segment dominated the global slaughtering equipment market in 2017, and this trend is expected to continue through the forecast period. The demand for poultry has been growing significantly worldwide, which led to an increase in demand for poultry slaughtering equipment such as killing, cut-up, deboning & skinning, and evisceration equipment. Most large-scale poultry meat producers use automated poultry slaughtering line for high capacity production.

On the basis of automation, the slaughtering equipment market has been segmented into fully automated line and semi-automated line. The semi-automated line method segment dominated the global slaughtering equipment market in 2017. Semi-automatic slaughtering lines consist of some automatic machines as well as manual labor-oriented processes during slaughtering. Semi-automated lines have lower initial investments and require low maintenance costs, which are its main advantages over automated slaughtering equipment.

North America is expected to account for the largest share in the global slaughtering equipment market through 2023, owing to urbanization and growth of fast food and restaurant chains. Industry players in the North American region address consumer demand for processed meat to cater to the demand of various consumers in the region. This has resulted in the innovation of various slaughtering equipment such as stunners and deboning & skinning equipment by various companies. Manufacturers in the US are utilizing an optimized approach to deliver slaughtering equipment on time in order to meet the demand for meat products in the market

Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest-growing region in the global slaughtering equipment market during the forecast period, owing to the rise in meat consumption, population growth, and increase in awareness about quality and hygienic meat products in the region. High consumption of meat in urban areas and the increase in demand for processed meat products drive the growth of the slaughtering equipment market in the region.

Market consolidation is one of the major factors restraining the growth of the slaughtering equipment market, globally. The slaughtering industry has been experiencing consolidation during the last few decades (20-30 years), which has had a relative effect on the slaughtering equipment industry. Globally, leading slaughterhouses process a large number of livestock with their high production capacity slaughtering equipment; this results in low cost of production per unit when compared to the small and local slaughterhouses.

The key players in the global slaughtering equipment market include Marel (Iceland), BADDER Group (Denmark), BAYLE SA (France), Prime Equipment Group (US), CTB (US), Brower Equipment (US), Jarvis Equipment (India), Industries Riopel (Canada), ASENA (Azerbaijan), Dhopeshwar Engineering Private Limited (India), Meatek Food Machineries (India), BANSS (Germany), Limos (Slovenia), Best & Donovan (US), and Blasau (Spain).

Key Topics Covered



1 Introduction

1.1 Objectives of the Study

1.2 Market Definition

1.3 Market Scope

1.3.1 Periodization Considered

1.4 Currency

1.5 Stakeholders



2 Research Methodology

2.1 Research Data

2.1.1 Secondary Data

2.1.2 Primary Data

2.1.2.1 Breakdown of Primaries

2.2 Market Size Estimation

2.2.1 Bottom-Up Approach

2.2.2 Top-Down Approach

2.3 Data Triangulation

2.4 Research Assumptions & Limitations

2.4.1 Assumptions

2.4.2 Limitations



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights

4.1 Attractive Opportunities in the Slaughtering Equipment Market

4.2 Slaughtering Equipment Market Size, By Type, 2018 vs 2023

4.3 Slaughtering Equipment Market Size, By Automation, 2017

4.4 Slaughtering Equipment Market Share, By Livestock, 2018 vs 2023

4.5 Slaughtering Equipment Market, By Process Type

4.6 North America: Slaughtering Equipment Market, By Type & Country



5 Market Overview

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Market Dynamics

5.2.1 Drivers

5.2.1.1 Growth of Fast Food and Restaurant Chains

5.2.1.2 Technological Advancements in the Slaughtering Equipment Industry

5.2.1.3 Increase in Demand for Processed Meat

5.2.1.4 Lenient Trade Policies and Increase in Meat Exports

5.2.2 Restraints

5.2.2.1 Market Consolidation

5.2.3 Opportunities

5.2.3.1 Growth Opportunities in Developing Markets

5.2.3.2 Slaughterhouse Upgradation With Advanced Slaughtering Equipment

5.2.4 Challenges

5.2.4.1 High Capital Investments & Infrastructural Challenges



6 Slaughtering Equipment Market, By Type

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Stunning

6.2.1 Electrical Stunning

6.2.2 Controlled Atmosphere Stunning

6.3 Killing

6.4 Cut-Up

6.5 Deboning & Skinning

6.6 Evisceration

6.7 Others



7 Slaughtering Equipment Market, By Automation

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Fully Automated Line

7.3 Semi-Automated Line



8 Slaughtering Equipment Market, By Livestock

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Poultry

8.2.1 Chicken

8.2.2 Duck

8.2.3 Other Poultry

8.3 Swine

8.4 Bovine

8.4.1 Cow

8.4.2 Buffalo

8.5 Seafood

8.5.1 Fish

8.5.2 Other Seafood

8.6 Other Livestock



9 Slaughtering Equipment Market, By Process Type

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Line Slaughter

9.3 Batch Slaughter

9.4 Small-Sized Slaughter



10 Slaughtering Equipment Market, By Region

10.1 Introduction

10.2 North America

10.2.1 US

10.2.2 Canada

10.2.3 Mexico

10.3 Europe

10.3.1 Germany

10.3.2 France

10.3.3 Russia

10.3.4 Spain

10.3.5 Rest of Europe

10.4 Asia Pacific

10.4.1 China

10.4.2 India

10.4.3 Australia & New Zealand

10.4.4 Rest of Asia Pacific

10.5 South America

10.5.1 Brazil

10.5.2 Argentina

10.5.3 Rest of South America

10.6 Rest of the World (RoW)

10.6.1 Africa

10.6.2 Middle East



11 Competitive Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Company Ranking

11.3 Competitive Scenario

11.3.2 Expansions

11.3.4 Agreements, Partnerships, & Joint Venture



12 Company Profiles

12.1 Marel

12.2 Baader Group

12.3 Bayle SA

12.4 Prime Equipment Group

12.5 CTB

12.6 Brower Equipment

12.7 Jarvis Equipment

12.8 Industries Riopel

12.9 Asena

12.10 Dhopeshwar Engineering Private Limited

12.11 Meatek Food Machineries

12.12 Banss

12.13 Limos

12.14 Best & Donovan

12.15 Blasau



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b3ncgb/global?w=5

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Filmmaker Lee Daniels, Hon. Mitch Landrieu and Shinola are recipients of the 2018 Halcyon Awards, which recognize and honor talented arts icons, successful social entrepreneurs and public policy visionaries.

"This year's honorees are changemakers and trailblazers who have dedicated their lives to pushing past traditional boundaries to create a movement, lead an organization, or impact the world," said Kate Goodall, co-founder and CEO of Halcyon.

The awards program and dinner will take place Friday, June 1, at 6 p.m. at the Washington National Cathedral. The evening will conclude with the Neon Nave After Party featuring London-based DJ TAYYLOR MADE. Proceeds from the event support Halcyon programs. Sheila C. Johnson, Founder and CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts, and Frederick S. Humphries, Jr., Corporate Vice President, U.S. Government Affairs, Microsoft Corporation, are the event co-chairs. For a full list of sponsors visit Halcyon Awards Sponsors.

About the Honorees

Producer, director and writer, Lee Daniels is recipient of Halcyon's 2018 Arts Icon Award. He is best known for critically acclaimed films "Lee Daniels' The Butler," "Monster's Ball," and the Academy Award-winning film "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" as well as the hit television series "Empire." Daniels was the first African American to be nominated for a Director's Guild of America Award for "Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film" on behalf of "Precious." He is a passionate advocate and activist. Halcyon celebrates Daniels' artistic genius and fierce commitment to community, creativity, innovation and democratization of Hollywood, fostering pathways to opportunities for people of color.

Hon. Mitch Landrieu, who served as the 61st Mayor of New Orleans, is recipient of Halcyon's 2018 Policy Visionary Award. Landrieu was first elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. He previously served for six years as Louisiana's Lieutenant Governor. Landrieu sparked national debate with the removal of confederate statues in New Orleans the details of which he shares in his book, In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History. With this award, Halcyon celebrates and honors Landrieu's visionary leadership in creating the nation's first Office of Social Entrepreneurship to advance social innovation by supporting the most innovative, measurable and sustainable solutions to the social problems affecting Louisiana's citizens, and for championing the arts as a critical driver of New Orleans' economy and workforce.

Shinola, the Detroit-based design brand known for its dedication to thoughtful manufacturing by creating jobs and making watches, bicycles, leather goods and more, is the recipient of Halcyon's 2018 Business Luminary Award. Founder Tom Kartsotis and the team at Shinola believe that, of all the things they do, stimulating the return of manufacturing jobs might just be the thing they're most proud of. Shinola is founded in the belief that products should be well-made and built to last. Across a growing number of categories, the brand stands for skill at scale, the preservation of craft, and the beauty of industry.

For additional information about the honorees and committee members, visit Halcyon Awards.

About Halcyon

A nonprofit organization that believes in the power of creativity and compassion to empower humanity, Halcyon provides space, community and access to socially engaged artists and social entrepreneurs working to use their vision and talent to address the world's greatest challenges. Signature programs include Halcyon Incubator, Halcyon Arts Lab, Halcyon Dialogue and the By the People festival. In only three years, Halcyon's social entrepreneurs have created 460 jobs, raised more than $37 million and impacted nearly half a million lives around the world.

Contact: Janice Kaplan, 202-277-5461

[email protected]

SOURCE HalcyonPhysician Assistants attending this year's AAPA conference will be able to learn more about the program and sign up to participate. Practitioners who fulfill certain educational credentials and demonstrate a strong acumen for small group presentations may also be considered to become a local ambassador for Health-Scripts.

To learn more, Physician Assistants are encouraged to visit the Health-Scripts' Booth #1442 in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Exhibit Hall Monday, May 21, 2018, 9 a.m.  5 p.m and Tuesday, May 22, 2018, 9 a.m.  2:30 p.m.

"Today's global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies do much more than manufacture medicines," said Jeff Wurtsbaugh, Co-founder of Health-Scripts. "They invest extensively in clinical insight, patient access pathways and best-in-class practitioner tools. Our goal at Health-Scripts is to be the bridge to these vast resources. Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) are on the forefront of patient care and represent the new oxygen in healthcare delivery. Our Ambassador Program connects busy PAs to these innovative solutions helping them help patients."

"Physician Assistants are in a key position to educate fellow providers and their patients and really make an impact," said Mallory Compton, Director Health-Scripts. "This program is designed to equip Advanced Practice Providers with critical skills to implement evidence-based medical treatments in practice."

About Health-Scripts

Health-Scripts is the nation's leading network of Nurse Practitioners (NPs) and Physician Assistants (PAs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of licensed NPs & PAs in the U.S. Health-Scripts provides clinical education, practitioner tools and patient access resources helping NPs & PAs help patients. Serving as an advocate to the best names in healthcare, Health-Scripts represents the interests of Advanced Practice Providers as the high-quality, patient-centric solution to today's healthcare delivery challenges. For more information about Health-Scripts visit www.health-scripts.com

SOURCE Health-Scripts

Related Links

http://www.health-scripts.com

AUSTIN, Minn., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL), a global branded food company, announced today that its quarterly dividend on the common stock, authorized by the Board of Directors at eighteen and three quarter cents (18.75) a share on May 21, 2018, will be paid August 15, 2018, to stockholders of record at the close of business on July 16, 2018.

The August 15 payment will be the 360th consecutive quarterly dividend paid by the company. Since becoming a public company in 1928, Hormel Foods Corporation has paid a regular quarterly dividend without interruption.

ABOUT HORMEL FOODS - Inspired People. Inspired Food. 

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Skippy, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly Guacamole, Hormel Black Label, Columbus and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the 10th year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future - Inspired People. Inspired Food. - focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://csr.hormelfoods.com/.

SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation

Related Links

http://www.hormel.com

BRIDGEWATER, N.J., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- iconectiv, the next Local Number Portability Administrator (LNPA) for the United States, today announced the successful third and final regional cutover of the Number Portability Administration Center (NPAC) transition. The Southwest, Western, and West Coast NPAC Regions transitioned to iconectiv on May 20, 2018, marking the completion of the transition of all NPAC data and services for Service Providers, Service Bureaus, and Providers of Telecom-Related Services (PTRS). This cutover follows iconectiv's successful transition of the Southeast, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest NPAC Regions over recent weeks. Final acceptance is scheduled for May 25, 2018.

"This final regional transition brings us near the end of a more than decade-long journey to bring the nation a modern and cost effective number portability system," said Richard Jacowleff, CEO at iconectiv. "Consumers deeply value the ability to change service providers and technologies while keeping their phone numbers and iconectiv is proud to be supporting those vital services with industry-leading technology at dramatic cost savings. Now that the NPAC's regional transition is complete, iconectiv stands ready to continue to advance industry competition, innovation and consumer freedom in telecom."

"The NPAC transition has been described as one of the biggest IT projects ever undertaken by the U.S. telecom industry and the successful completion of all of the regional cutovers is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our employees and our partners across the telecommunications industry," said Kathy Timko, Head of the LNPA Services at iconectiv. "Building and implementing a new number portability system was a team effort and we deeply appreciate the cross industry contributions that led to this momentous accomplishment."

The Southwest, Western and West Coast NPAC Regions include the following states: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The United States NPAC is the world's largest system of databases of ported telephone numbers and consists of seven different regional databases. In March 2015, the FCC designated iconectiv as the next LNPA for all seven regions. Services for law enforcement, public safety agencies and businesses that must comply with the Wireless Do Not Call laws successfully transitioned to iconectiv on March 4, 2018.

For more information, visit www.numberportability.com, call 844-820-8039 or email [email protected].

About iconectiv

As the authoritative partner of the communications industry for more than 30 years, iconectiv's market-leading solutions enable the interconnection of networks, devices, and applications for more than two billion people every day. Working closely with private, government and non-governmental organizations, iconectiv continues to protect and secure telecommunication infrastructures for service providers, governments and enterprises, while providing network and operations management, numbering, registry, messaging and fraud and identity solutions to more than 1,200 organizations globally. A US-based company, Telcordia Technologies does business as iconectiv. For more information, visit www.iconectiv.com.

Media Contact

Sharon Oddy

732-699-5130 / 908-809-2268

[email protected]

SOURCE iconectiv

Related Links

http://www.iconectiv.com

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Building on the mission to align with other industry associations and groups in support of their technology related initiatives, the International Food and Beverage Technology Association (IFBTA) has announced its partnership with Round It Up America (RIUA).

Round It Up America is a non-profit organization that invites guests of restaurants and retail locations (Mission Partners) to "round up" their checks to the nearest dollar and donate the remaining change to local and national charitable organizations.

"We're very excited to partner with the IFBTA," said Harald Herrmann, who along with Jennifer Weerheim, co-founded Round It Up America in 2010. "What sets Round It Up America apart is that it provides a simple, cost-free way for our Mission Partners to select their own non-profit partners and raise funds to support them year round."

The IFBTA focuses on promoting technology through the networking and education of food and beverage professionals globally. With local chapters and engagement across the country, IFBTA members can use this partnership as an opportunity to bring the charitable component of Round It Up America back to their company.

"Forming a partnership between the IFBTA and RIUA was a no-brainer," said Robert Grimes, CEO of the IFBTA. "Partnering with an organization like Round It Up America, where the enabler of its engine is all about technology, allows supporters of the IFBTA  both operators and suppliers alike  to join in on a national charitable initiative that supports our industry and our community."

"We are actively meeting with potential Mission Partners and educating them on how Round It Up America can easily be adopted into their corporate social responsibility plan," said Jennifer Weerheim, co-founder of Round It Up America.

The United States boasts more than one-million restaurants. If just one-percentor 10,000 of those restaurantswere to raise $25 a day from guests rounding up their checks it would equal $7.5 million a month or $90 million a year. The shelves of food banks would be full, shelters would have the adequate supplies needed, and less people would go hungry as a result. For every dollar donated, a minimum of 91 cents goes directly to the cause with just 7% allocated for administrative costs.

To learn more about Round It Up America and the IFBTA, visit www.rounditupamerica.org or www.ifbta.org.

SOURCE International Food and Beverage Technology Association

Related Links

http://www.ifbta.org

Last week, the second cohort of 25 researchers completed their studies on spatially enabled e-services, also known as Geographic Information System (GIS) at Makerere University.

The GIS employs elaborate tools like ArcMaps to improve how researchers analyze raw information before drawing actionable conclusions.

(Left to Right): Dr Mitch Selander, Prof Micael Runnstrom, Dr Mahdi Farnaghi, Rose Nakasi (a participant), Dr Aminah Zawedde and Prof Gilbert Maiga

Carried out in Makereres College of Computing and Information Sciences, the programme is the fruit of a partnership between Makerere and Lund University in Sweden through the Training for Spatially Enabled E-Services Delivery (TSEED). It is funded by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and started at Makerere in 2016.

One participant, Willingtone Nsubuga, a masters student in Information Technology, said the programme would advance his work on developing a decision support framework for disaster risk management.

We have been lacking a tool that would help us appreciate the data that we had collected from the field and plot it on a web- based map, he said. So, we have learned several skills, especially how to convert our raw data into GPS [Global Positioning System] coordinates, which we can plot on an online map and use it to determine areas with similar variables.

His classroom neighbour, Kizito Ongaya, another researcher pursuing a PhD in Information Systems, agreed. Ongaya is a staff member at Gulu University and is looking at how the debilitating nodding disease syndrome is spreading across northern Uganda.

GIS helps us quickly figure out the extent of the problem by looking at relevant variables in an area and how they are distributed, he explained. This time, I learned how to plot my findings onto a map and will be able to project a more realistic picture of the problem we are facing.

Rose Nakasi, pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at Makerere, is based at Busitema University. She was learning how to use GIS to study the spread of malaria spatially.

Before this, I didnt have a background in spatial data, but I have learned how to make geographic inferences. The technology helps one sift through various variables in order to predict how particular phenomena are spread, she said. It is an opportunity for me to teach others the same skills. More people need to appreciate how technology is affecting their outcomes.

According to the TSEED project student supervisor and project coordinator, Dr Aminah Zawedde, the programme targeted postgraduate students and staff on various programmes at Makerere, Busitema and Gulu universities. The hope is that they will train others in various GIS use in the future.

Zawedde explained that during the study, a researcher considers the issues affecting a subject, then uses GIS tools to identify patterns and where they are developing.

With this information, one can draw insights into where similar problems are likely to develop, and recommend interventions, she said.

In the past, researchers would scour the country, looking for variables in their statistics, before making conclusions over particular phenomena -- but only in the areas visited. With GIS, researchers can now sample areas and make more concrete conclusions over vast areas in a shorter span of time.

She explained that GIS is vital in public policy formulation.

You can use GIS to learn how particular phenomena like weather, famine and floods are affecting agriculture or health in the areas where similar variables exist, with more precision, she said.

The training is carried out twice a year in two sessions of three days each. The first is in November and the second in April-May. Prof Micael Runnstrom, by Dr Mahdi Farnaghi and Mr Mitch Selander comprised the training team this time.

Runnstrom was pleased with the outcome of the course.

Many of the students have appreciated the concepts, although we did not have enough time for the programme, Runnstrom said. We still have more material and if they are interested; we will remain in touch with them.

The TSEED principal investigator, Prof Gilbert Maiga, said he was pleased with how the programme has developed.

The idea was for us to introduce GIS and for Makerere to take over after sometime  and so far, it looks good  we are hoping to continue developing capacity in GIS, he said. We think that GIS will become very important in research and more students will begin to appreciate it.

One of the lecturers on the programme, Mr Paul Bakaki, said this is a turning point in his doctoral research.

We are developing a research programme that will require spatial data on how livestock diseases spread. We needed this knowledge to be able to study the dynamics of disease spread, he said. Beyond that, we will be in a position to extend that knowledge to our students in future.

Martin Ngobye, another PhD student on the Computer Science programme, is also positive about GIS.

We are using such tools as arc catalogue to collect details to determine which conditions are prime for paediatric infections in particular areas, Ngobye said. GIS is going to be very important in research, especially in access to information that policymakers need to make vital decisions.

Uganda is the first African country to implement the TSEED programme, which is part of a long-term strategy to roll out e-services on the continent. It is also one step forward in the journey towards supporting decision makers in their efforts to cause development.

mtalemwa@observer.ugWASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In its fifth annual report released today, the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition warns that attacks on health care in conflict zones around the world are continuing with impunity and may in fact be increasing. The report entitled "Violence on the Front Lines: Attacks on Health Care in 2017" documents more than 700 separate attacks on hospitals, health workers, patients and ambulances in 23 countries in conflict across the globe. And, as shocking as these numbers are, they are merely a fraction of the real figures: due to under-reporting of attacks and the use of aggregate data by some agencies, the true numbers are undoubtedly higher.

The report was released on the eve of the United Nations Security Council's review of actions since it adopted resolution 2286 two years ago. The resolution condemned attacks on health facilities and health workers and demanded that governments take concrete actions toward protecting health facilities and medical workers from attack in armed conflict. But since its adoption governments have taken few of the steps needed, such as to reform military practice, investigate and prosecute those responsible for attacks, and stop arms sales to perpetrators. Without such action, the additional decimation of medical infrastructure continues to rob civilians already suffering in war of life-saving treatment.

"The world knows about atrocities against health care in Syria  and the report reveals more than 25 acts of violence against health facilities, transport and personnel there, the most in the world  but Syria is hardly alone: governments and armed groups inflict violence against health care with impunity in conflicts across the globe," said Leonard Rubenstein, chair of the coalition and senior scientist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

"Numbers don't tell the full story of the violence inflicted on patients and the doctors, nurses, lab technicians and ambulance drivers who have made it their life's mission to provide crucial care services to people in need," said Rubenstein. "In one incident in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a militia allied with the Congolese army attacked a hospital in the town of Cinq in the Kasai region near the Angola border, killing at least 90 medical staff and patients, including pregnant women and other civilians. During the attack, the militia set fire to the operating theater with approximately 35 patients trapped inside. Yet the world pays little attention."

The report reveals that the 10 countries which experienced the most attacks on health in 2017 are Afghanistan, the Central African Republic (CAR), The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Iraq, Nigeria, the occupied Palestinian territory, Pakistan, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Syria continues to experience the highest number, with 252 documented acts of violence against health facilities, transport, and personnel in 2017, amid sustained airstrikes and shelling on hospitals there.

The report defines an attack on health care as any act of verbal or physical violence, obstruction or threat of violence that interferes with the availability, access and delivery of curative and/or preventive health services in countries experiencing conflict or in situations of severe political volatility. This includes attacks that kill patients, health workers or others or destroy health facilities, and also includes the looting of medications and other humanitarian supplies.

In 15 countries, some 56 health programs were forced to shut down due to insecurity, leaving citizens without essential services. In Burkina Faso, where three health centers were closed following a terrorist attack, some 38,000 people were deprived of access to crucial treatment. In the occupied Palestinian territory, the Palestine Red Crescent Society reported 33 incidents where Israeli security forces restricted the passage of ambulances.

In Pakistan and Nigeria, vaccinators remained under attack, placing children under continued threat of being denied access to polio immunizations. Laura Hoemeke, Director of Advocacy and Communications at IntraHealth International, a member of the Coalition said, "In Pakistan, the number of reports of vaccinators killed declined from prior years, showing that proactive steps to protect them and other frontline workers can increase the security of essential primary health services."

Susannah Sirkin, director of international policy and partnerships at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), a member of the Coalition, explains that these attacks do so much more than destroy buildings and kill medical personnel. "These attacks terrorize communities. They deprive already-suffering civilians of the life-saving treatment that they deserve. In many cases they are egregious violations of international humanitarian law and can destroy every possibility for communities to rebuild and restore their humanity amid the brutal backdrop of war.

"As our Coalition report outlines, the Security Council needs to formally adopt sensible recommendations towards the implementation of resolution 2286, initiate investigations of violations under international humanitarian law through commissions of inquiry and make referrals to the International Criminal Court where the crimes reach the level of mass atrocities," she said.

The evidence presented in the report brings together findings from coalition members providing a much more comprehensive picture of attacks on health care than previously available. The collaboration on information collection and management has been driven by Insecurity Insight. Its director, Christina Wille, explains that "information on attacks on health care is scattered across many sources in different places. A collaborative approach to collecting, analyzing and using this information is essential to understanding better the scale and nature of the problem, and devising effective responses. This report breaks new ground in bringing information providers together and demonstrating the value of collaboration."

The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition consists of more than 35 organizations working to protect health workers and services threatened by war or civil unrest. The coalition raises awareness of global attacks on health and presses governments and United Nations agencies for greater global action to protect the security of health care.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Access the report here

See an overview of the data

Take a look at the data

Video Interviews

Social Media Toolkit

SOURCE Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition

Related Links

https://www.safeguardinghealth.org

DUBLIN, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Industrial Control Transformer Market by Phase (Single and Three), Power Rating (25-500 VA, 500-1,000 VA, 1,000-1,500 VA, and > 1,500 VA), End-User (Power Generation, Oil & Gas, Chemical, Metal & Mining), and Region - Global Forecast to 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The industrial control transformer market is projected to grow from USD 809.2 million in 2018 to USD 1,039.8 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 5.14%, from 2018 to 2023.



Increased usage of industrial control transformers across major industries, booming power sector and augmented power generation capacities worldwide, and need to reduce equipment failure caused by frequent voltage spikes are driving the industrial control transformer market across the world.



On the contrary, stagnant growth of the oil & gas industry; a slowdown in the mining industry in Asia Pacific, South America, and Africa; dependency of other devices for voltage regulation, and gray market providing low-quality & cheap substitute products could hinder the market growth to certain extent.



As per the World Steel Organization statistics, the steel output grew from 1,560 million tons in 2012 to 1,630 million tons in 2016. Industrial control transformers in steel manufacturing regulate voltage in various processes such as a furnace for heating the steel and for cooling the rolled steel. In the mining industry, industrial control transformers have a wide application in compressors, motors, mills, drills, and cranes, which are used for machines that require a relatively large amount of force.



Asia Pacific is the fastest growing industrial control transformer market during the forecast period due to the need for power infrastructure construction, mostly in China and India along with a rising concern for safety in electrical equipment, the need for industrial control transformers has increased considerably to prevent the equipment from any accidents.



The leading players in the industrial control transformer market are ABB (Switzerland), Siemens (Germany), Eaton (Ireland), Schneider (France), GE (US), Hubbell (US), Emerson (US), and Rockwell (US).

Market Dynamics



Drivers

Need to Reduce Equipment Failure Caused by Frequent Voltage Spikes

Booming Power Sector and Augmented Power Generation Capacities Worldwide

Increased Usage of Industrial Control Transformers Across Major Industries

Restraints

Stagnant Growth of the Oil & Gas Industry

Slowdown in the Mining Industry in Asia Pacific , South America , and Africa

Opportunities

Changing the Face of the Middle East Manufacturing Industry

Aging Power Infrastructure

Growing Robotics Technology

Challenges

Dependent on Other Devices for Voltage Regulation

Gray Market Providing Low-Quality & Inexpensive Products

Key Topics Covered



1 Introduction

1.1 Objectives of the Study

1.2 Definition

1.3 Market Scope

1.4 Years Considered for the Study

1.5 Currency

1.6 Stakeholders



2 Research Methodology

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Research Data

2.3 Market Size Estimation

2.4 Market Breakdown & Data Triangulation

2.5 Research Limitations

2.6 Research Assumptions



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights

4.1 Attractive Opportunities in the Industrial Control Transformer Market During the Forecast Period

4.2 Industrial Control Transformer Market, By Country

4.3 Asia Pacific Industrial Control Transformer Market, By End-User & Country

4.4 Industrial Control Transformer Market, By Phase

4.5 Industrial Control Transformer Market, By Power Rating

4.6 Industrial Control Transformer Market, By End-User



5 Market Overview

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Market Dynamics

5.3 Drivers

5.4 Restraints

5.5 Opportunities

5.6 Challenges



6 Industrial Control Transformer Market, By Power Rating

6.1 Introduction

6.2 25-500 VA

6.3 500-1,000 VA

6.4 1,000-1,500 VA

6.5 Above 1,500 VA



7 Industrial Control Transformer Market, By Phase

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Three-Phase

7.3 Single-Phase



8 Industrial Control Transformer Market, By End-User

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Power Generation

8.3 Oil & Gas

8.4 Chemical

8.5 Metal & Mining

8.6 Others



9 Industrial Control Transformer Market, By Region

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Asia Pacific

9.3 North America

9.4 Europe

9.5 Middle East & Africa

9.6 South America



10 Competitive Landscape

10.1 Overview

10.2 Ranking of Players

10.3 Competitive Scenario



11 Company Profiles

11.1 Benchmarking

11.2 ABB

11.3 Eaton

11.4 Siemens

11.5 GE

11.6 Schneider Electric

11.7 Hubbell

11.8 Emerson Electric Co.

11.9 Rockwell Automation

11.10 Electric Hammond Power Solutions (HPS)

11.11 Broadman Transformers

11.12 Dongan Electric Manufacturing Co.

11.13 MCI Transformers



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/mpmkxz/industrial?w=5

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

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SOURCE Research and Markets

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LONDON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- International Game Technology PLC ("IGT") (NYSE:IGT) has been advised that IGT's majority shareholder, De Agostini S.p.A. ("De Agostini"), proposes to enter into a variable forward transaction (the "Forward Transaction") with Credit Suisse International ("Credit Suisse") relating to up to 18,000,000 IGT ordinary shares.

IGT is not a party to the Forward Transaction, which is described in greater detail below and in the related prospectus supplement, and is not issuing or selling any IGT ordinary shares in connection with the Forward Transaction. As such, IGT will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the IGT ordinary shares in the Forward Transaction. There is no impact to IGT's income statement, balance sheet, cash flows, share count, or dividends as a result of the Forward Transaction.

Lorenzo Pellicioli, CEO of De Agostini, stated: "With the Forward Transaction, De Agostini's objective is to rebalance the profile of its portfolio of assets. We remain fully committed to continue supporting IGT's long-term development. In this context, for the foreseeable future, it is our intention to remain IGT's controlling shareholder and we are not contemplating any additional transaction involving IGT shares."

IGT has also been advised that, to hedge the exposure under the Forward Transaction, Credit Suisse or its affiliates will borrow approximately 13,200,000 IGT ordinary shares from third-party stock lenders and will sell such IGT ordinary shares in an underwritten public offering through Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, acting as the underwriter, pursuant to an automatically effective registration statement on Form F-3 (including a base prospectus) that has been filed by IGT with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC").

IGT has also been advised that Credit Suisse or its affiliates will borrow an additional, approximately 4,800,000 IGT ordinary shares from third-party stock lenders and that Credit Suisse or its affiliates expect to sell these additional IGT ordinary shares, from time to time after the offering, in block sales, on the NYSE, in the over-the-counter market or in negotiated transactions. These additional IGT ordinary shares will not be included in the public offering described above. IGT has been advised by Credit Suisse that it expects that, over the period during which it sells these additional IGT ordinary shares, Credit Suisse or its affiliates will purchase an approximately equal number of IGT ordinary shares in the open market.

Description of the Forward Transaction

The Forward Transaction has economic characteristics similar to a collar with respect to the underlying IGT ordinary shares (i.e., it effectively consists of De Agostini purchasing a put option with a certain strike price and simultaneously selling a call option with a higher strike price). The Forward Transaction provides De Agostini with a pre-defined minimum value for the underlying IGT ordinary shares while retaining any meaningful benefits from any appreciation in the value of the underlying IGT ordinary shares. The Forward Transaction is divided into multiple tranches that are scheduled to mature over a period commencing on or about four years from May 2018. The Forward Transaction will be settled for any tranche at De Agostini's election either (i) in cash (in which case De Agostini will retain the underlying IGT ordinary shares), or (ii) by physical delivery of IGT ordinary shares, if certain gaming-related conditions and other conditions are met. De Agostini has agreed that it will not, prior to the satisfaction during the first year of certain collateral requirements, sell, pledge, or otherwise transfer any of its IGT ordinary shares.

In connection with the Forward Transaction, and subject to satisfying certain conditions, including the pledge of the 18,000,000 IGT ordinary shares to Credit Suisse, De Agostini may elect to obtain a prepayment from Credit Suisse in an amount based on the put option strike price at maturity. Following such prepayment, the Forward Transaction will have economic characteristics similar to a collar together with a loan. De Agostini has indicated to IGT that the proceeds of any prepayment may be used by De Agostini for investments and general corporate purposes. De Agostini will retain the right to vote the pledged IGT ordinary shares (but will lose the right to direct the voting of any related special voting shares).

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any offer or sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About IGT

IGT (NYSE:IGT) is the global leader in gaming. We enable players to experience their favorite games across all channels and regulated segments, from Gaming Machines and Lotteries to Interactive and Social Gaming. Leveraging a wealth of premium content, substantial investment in innovation, in-depth customer intelligence, operational expertise and leading-edge technology, our gaming solutions anticipate the demands of consumers wherever they decide to play. We have a well-established local presence and relationships with governments and regulators in more than 100 countries around the world, and create value by adhering to the highest standards of service, integrity, and responsibility. IGT has over 12,000 employees.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements (including within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning International Game Technology PLC and its consolidated subsidiaries (the "Company") and other matters. These statements may discuss goals, intentions, and expectations as to future plans, trends, events, dividends, results of operations, or financial condition, or otherwise, based on current beliefs of the management of the Company as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, such management. Forward-looking statements may be accompanied by words such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "could," "would," "should," "shall", "continue," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "future," "guidance," "intend," "may," "will," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project" or the negative or other variations of them. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which such statements are made and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside the Company's control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially from those predicted in the forward-looking statements and from past results, performance, or achievements. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to) the factors and risks described in the Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the financial year ended December 31, 2017 and other documents filed from time to time with the SEC, which are available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on the investor relations section of the Company's website at www.IGT.com. Except as required under applicable law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. You should carefully consider these factors and other risks and uncertainties that affect the Company's business. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to International Game Technology PLC, or persons acting on its behalf, are expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement.

Contact:

Robert K. Vincent, Corporate Communications, toll free in U.S./Canada +1 (844) IGT-7452; outside U.S./Canada +1 (401) 392-7452

James Hurley, Investor Relations, +1 (401) 392-7190

Simone Cantagallo, +39 06 51899030; for Italian media inquiries

SOURCE International Game Technology PLCIDAHO FALLS, Idaho, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- International Isotopes Inc. (OTCQB: INIS) (the "Company") announces its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2018 increased approximately 53% as compared to the same period in 2017. This increase in revenue was the result of revenue increases in three of the Company's four major business segments.

The Company's cost of sales increased approximately 41% for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to the same period in 2017, and gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2018 increased approximately 68% compared to the same period in 2017. Operating expense decreased approximately 19% for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to the same period in 2017 largely due to a decrease in General, Administrative and Consulting costs.

The Company had a net income for the three months ended March 31, 2018 of $34,404, compared to a net loss of $786,266, for the same period in 2017. This is an increase in net income of $820,670, and is the result of increased sales, reduced production costs, and a reduction in operating cost for the period. The following provides some additional detail on the business performance of each of the Company's business segments.

Revenue from the Company's radiological services segment increased approximately 360% for the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared the same period in 2017. The increase in revenue was expected by the Company and attributed to an increase in field service work the Company performed for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). While the Company notes that it expects to continue to see some significant contract opportunities in this segment, these contracts are awarded randomly over time and thus are expected to create fluctuations in the period-to-period comparisons within the radiological services segment.

The Company's revenue from the sale of cobalt products for the three months ended March 31, 2018 increased approximately 49% compared to the same period in 2017. Sales within this segment are highly dependent on production of bulk cobalt from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) reactor in Idaho. Cobalt production from the reactor is on track to resume later in 2018, and in the meantime, the Company has been able to secure an alternate supply of cobalt to help resume production and sales within the segment.

Revenue from nuclear medicine products by the Company for the three months ended March 31, 2018 increased approximately 24% compared to the same period in 2017. The 24% increase in revenue was largely attributed to the start of consolidated reporting of RadQual LLC (RadQual) within this segment due to the change in member ownership of RadQual, beginning in August 2017. The Company expects continued growth in sales of new and existing products in the nuclear medicine segment going forward as a result of the change in RadQual management and control.

Revenue from the sale of radiochemical products for the three months ended March 31, 2018 decreased approximately 5% compared to the same period in 2017. The decrease in revenue for the period-to-period comparison was largely the result of an interruption in material supply caused by a regulatory shutdown of one of the Company's major isotope suppliers. The Company reports that the supplier has resumed full production operations and the Company has taken steps to secure alternate supplies of product which should reduce the risks and vulnerabilities caused by relying upon a single producer.

Steve Laflin, President and CEO of the Company, said, "The strong performance by most of our business segments in the first quarter has resulted in the first net profit reported for a quarter period in more than a decade. While we are likely to continue to see some fluctuations in segment performance over the coming year, we believe the Company is on a clear path towards increased revenue and future profitability. We believe that the combination of continued significant contract opportunities within the field services segment, the resumption of normal bulk cobalt production in the DOE reactor, the change in ownership and management control of RadQual, and the prospects for new generic drug products, all collectively lead us to expect continued improvement in the future financial performance of the Company."





International Isotopes Inc.



Three Months Ended March 31 ,



2018 2017 Sales of Product $2,801,026 $1,834,208 Gross Profit $1,358,618 $810,240 Total Operating Expenses $1,209,013 $1,492,653 Operating (Loss) ($682,413) ($682,413) Total Other Income (Expense) ($51,365) ($109,805) Net income (Loss) $34,404 ($786,266) Net income (Loss) Per Common Share $0.00 $0.00 basic and diluted



Weighted Av. Shares Outstanding - basic 405,649,164 405,649,164 Weighted Av. Shares Outstanding - diluted 526,418,051 405,649,164

About International Isotopes Inc.

International Isotopes Inc. manufactures a full range of nuclear medicine calibration and reference standards, a variety of Cobalt-60 products, and provides a wide selection of radioisotopes and radiochemical for medical applications, calibration, and clinical research. The Company also provides radiological services including source installation/removal, and decommissioning of various radiation units on a contract basis to clients.

International Isotopes Inc. Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements with respect to significant contract opportunities within the field services segment, the resumption of normal bulk cobalt production in the DOE reactor, the change in ownership and management control of RadQual, the prospects for new generic drug products, and management's expectations for continued improvement in financial performance of the company. Information contained in such forward-looking statements is based on current expectations and is subject to change. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of International Isotopes Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements of the Company expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Other factors, which could materially affect such forward-looking statements, can be found in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. Investors, potential investors, and other readers, are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are only made as of the date of this press release and International Isotopes, Inc. and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

David Drewitz

Creative Options Communications

Investor and Public Relations

[email protected]

www.creativeoptionsmarketing.com

Phone: 972-814-5723

SOURCE International Isotopes Inc.CLEVELAND, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- KeyBank has earned its ninth consecutive "Outstanding" rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), for exceeding the terms of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) exam. KeyBank is one of the only U.S. national banks among the 25 largest to be rated "Outstanding" by the OCC for nine consecutive review periods, since the Act's passage in 1977.

"KeyBank's commitment to helping clients and communities thrive is at the heart of how we do business," said Beth Mooney, KeyCorp Chairman and CEO. "It's not enough to simply satisfy compliance requirements; as a responsible bank, we believe in balancing mission and margin by going above and beyond to invest in the community. KeyBank's decades long record of 'Outstanding' ratings on the CRA exam is a testament to the character of our people and their long-standing commitment to serving all communities."

"It's important to note that while the exam period ended in 2015, KeyBank's commitment has not wavered since," said Bruce Murphy, KeyBank's Head of Corporate Responsibility. "In fact, we've amplified that commitment with our five year $16.5 billion Community Benefits plan, launched in 2017. In the first year of this plan, KeyBank invested $2.8 billion to help stabilize neighborhoods, support small businesses, build affordable housing, and provide mortgages."

The Community Reinvestment Act requires banks to meet the credit needs of low- and moderate-income communities across America. The exam rates institutions in three categories: lending, investment, and services. Included in the assessment are bank practices such as mortgage lending, small business lending, community development lending, investments in community development organizations and projects, bank services to communities, and employee community involvement. For the overall rating and the three subcategories, banks are assigned one of four ratings: "Outstanding," "Satisfactory," "Need to Improve" or "Substantial Noncompliance." The OCC completes a CRA exam for a bank every three to four years. KeyBank's recent exam period covered January 1, 2012  December 31, 2015.

Significant community achievements during the exam period (January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2015), which led to KeyBank's "Outstanding" rating, include:

KeyBank extended more than $4.6 billion to developments in underserved communities in the form of debt and equity. Key's participation in commercial economic development projects stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods and provide affordable housing.

to developments in underserved communities in the form of debt and equity. Key's participation in commercial economic development projects stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods and provide affordable housing. KeyBank loaned $1.2 billion to small businesses in low-and-moderate income communities.

to small businesses in low-and-moderate income communities. KeyBank made nearly $2 billion in mortgages to low-and-moderate income individuals and communities.

in mortgages to low-and-moderate income individuals and communities. More than 28% of KeyBank branches were located in low-and-moderate income communities.

For more information about KeyBank's community efforts, the National Community Benefits Plan and to view the 2017 Corporate Responsibility report, visit: http://www.key.com/crreport.

About KeyCorp

KeyCorp's (NYSE: KEY) roots trace back 190 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $137.0 billion at March 31, 2018. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,200 branches and more than 1,500 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank is Member FDIC.

SOURCE KeyBank

Related Links

http://www.key.com

SAN DIEGO, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Shareholder rights law firm Johnson Fistel, LLP has launched an investigation into whether the board members of LaSalle Hotel Properties ("LaSalle") (NYSE: LHO) breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the proposed sale of the Company to Blackstone Group LP ("Blackstone").

On May 21, 2018, LaSalle announced that it had signed a definitive merger agreement with Blackstone. Under terms of the deal, Blackstone will pay $33.50 in cash for each LaSalle share outstanding.

The investigation concerns whether the LaSalle board failed to satisfy its duties to the Company shareholders, including whether the board adequately pursued alternatives to the acquisition and whether the board obtained the best price possible for LaSalle shares of common stock.

If you are a shareholder of LaSalle and believe the proposed buyout price is too low or you're interested in learning more about the investigation or your legal rights and remedies, please contact lead analyst Jim Baker ( [email protected] ) at 619-814-4471. If emailing, please include a phone number.

About Johnson Fistel, LLP:

Johnson Fistel, LLP is a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm with offices in California, New York and Georgia. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit http://www.johnsonfistel.com . Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

Contact:

Johnson Fistel, LLP

Jim Baker, 619-814-4471

[email protected]

SOURCE Johnson Fistel, LLP

Related Links

http://www.johnsonfistel.com

DALLAS, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LOGIX Fiber Networks, the largest Texas-based independent fiber network provider and data center operator, has opened a new office in North Texas. The Plano office will house a larger workforce to keep pace with demand from businesses needing enterprise-class fiber optic bandwidth instead of aging consumer-grade cable and copper wire infrastructure.

Moving into their new space along the Dallas North Tollway, near The Shops at Willow Bend, gives LOGIX a prime location from which to do business. Installers, engineers, sales managers and LOGIX executives all call 2745 Dallas Parkway home.

"We're excited to continue expanding and hiring as we provide businesses more choices for high-speed voice and data services. Most important, we're keeping our commitment to being second to none in customer experience and satisfaction," said LOGIX Chief Revenue Officer Will Sears. "Businesses face fewer choices as the industry consolidates under national telecommunications companies, but LOGIX is proof positive that flexible, affordable and easy-to-implement options are still available."

LOGIX formerly occupied office space in Addison, which also was home to Alpheus Communications acquired by LOGIX earlier this year. LOGIX has more than 6,200 route miles of network spanning 225,000 fiber miles, and serves more than 12,500 enterprise and carrier customers across Texas. LOGIX operates its own high-performance data center facilities in the DASH markets and connects to more than 80 data centers in Texas.

"We are seeing strong demand from businesses across a variety of industries, and a common thread connecting these companies is the desire for solutions that fit their needs and not forcing them into a cookie-cutter approach," said LOGIX Chief Strategy Officer Richard Rosmarin. "LOGIX is very flexible in how we engineer solutions for our customers, whether it's how we package broadband voice and data services for them, how we support their disaster recovery needs, or that we are happy to work with data centers of their choice. We believe that businesses should never feel force-fit into a technology solution or data center location."

LOGIX continues to aggressively expand its fiber footprint by building fiber parks in non-traditional business centers where businesses crave enterprise-level broadband and data center services, but need a more nuanced or customized approach than national service providers offer.

About LOGIX Fiber Networks

LOGIX Fiber Networks is a well-established Texas-based provider of telecommunications services since 1983. The company focuses on providing highly secure fiber-based data and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers. LOGIX is known for its outstanding customer service and providing commercial services in a few days to a couple of weeks. LOGIX has developed streamlined and flexible processes to allow customers to focus on their business first. For more information, visit www.logix.com.

SOURCE LOGIX Fiber Networks

Related Links

http://www.logix.com

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vestcom, the leading provider of customized shelf-edge communications and specialized marketing services for the retail industry, today announced that Mark Sciortino has been hired as Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development. He will oversee developing and delivering Vestcom's client, product, and communications strategies. In addition, Mark now leads Vestcom's Marketing and Product Management Organization. Mark previously led marketing strategy and planning for Walgreens Co and was a Principal with the Boston Consulting Group.

"I am ecstatic to join such a strong team focused on engaging shoppers at the first moment of truth: the shelf edge," said Mark. "Industry dynamics are creating a massive opportunity for us to more deeply support our retail clients. It has never been a better time to be a shopper, Vestcom will accelerate how it helps our retail partners make their shopping experience more distinct and engaging, further enabling them to thrive in the post omni-channel shopping environment."

"My leadership team and I are excited to have Mark join Vestcom in this newly created role," said John Lawlor, Vestcom CEO. "We are confident his experience and passion will help us identify even more ways to serve our clients and further fuel our growth."

About Vestcom International, Inc.

Little Rock, Ark.-based Vestcom is the leading provider of customized shelf-edge communications and specialized marketing services for the retail industrydelivering proven results and influencing shopper behavior at the point-of-decision for the nation's top retailers and their suppliers, processing more than two billion price/promotion updates weekly through its production facilities located across the United States. Vestcom's services benefit retail clients by reducing total cost of ownership, increasing retail sales and coordinating in-store execution with retailers and their brand partners. For more information about Vestcom visit www.vestcom.com

SOURCE Vestcom International Inc.

Related Links

http://www.vestcom.com

RESTON, Va., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MAXIMUS (NYSE: MMS), a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that Barbara Selter and Nancy Shanley will be featured speakers at this year's Medicaid Managed Care Congress.

Ms. Selter, Vice President of Health Services at MAXIMUS, will lead a discussion on "Automating Long-Term Services and Supports Financial Eligibility and Reducing Fraud." Her presentation will focus on how states are turning to automated tools to pre-emptively detect unreported assets and analyze financial transactions to recognize asset transfers. The session will also highlight how Illinois and New Jersey successfully use the MAXIMUS Program Integrity solution and Medicaid-Genius by Ocrolus to combat fraud and abuse and reduce costs. Ms. Selter will be joined by Victoria Meakin, President of Ocrolus.

Ms. Shanley, Vice President of Consulting and Policy Analysis at MAXIMUS, will moderate a panel session on "Utilizing Waiver Programs to Treat Complex Populations for Better Outcomes." The presentation will examine multiple waivers (including Section 1115 waivers and work requirements) and how states are dealing with the landscape and challenges to treating complex populations. Panel speakers will include Stephanie Muth, State Medicaid Director for Texas Health and Human Services, and Tonya Hales, Assistant Division Director of Medicaid and Health Financing for the Utah Department of Health.

"As a leading provider of Medicaid administrative services, MAXIMUS is excited to share our insights into innovations and available technology that can help states improve their program effectiveness to better serve their citizens," said Bruce Caswell, President and Chief Executive Officer of MAXIMUS. "By using automation tools to streamline the eligibility process, states can increase the efficiency of their LTSS programs with considerable time and cost savings."

The Medicaid Managed Care Congress is a meeting that convenes State Medicaid Directors, representatives from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and managed care organizations to examine current federal and state policies and understand their impact on the managed care industry, as well as share strategies to improve quality, manage cost, and drive Medicaid innovation. The conference will take place May 21-23 at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor in Maryland. To learn more, visit: https://lifesciences.knect365.com/medicaidmanagedcarecongress/.

About MAXIMUS

Since 1975, MAXIMUS has operated under its founding mission of Helping Government Serve the People, enabling citizens around the globe to successfully engage with their governments at all levels and across a variety of health and human services programs. MAXIMUS delivers innovative business process management and technology solutions that contribute to improved outcomes for citizens and higher levels of productivity, accuracy, accountability and efficiency of government-sponsored programs. With more than 20,000 employees worldwide, MAXIMUS is a proud partner to government agencies in the United States, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit maximus.com.

SOURCE MAXIMUS

Related Links

https://www.maximus.com

Journalists descend the mountain in search of gorillas

It is Tuesday, May 8, and Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) calls to invite me to be part of a two-day visit to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park, a Unesco World Heritage site famous for being the home of Ugandas mountain gorillas.

I remember I studied about Bwindi in school but that was a long time ago and I had never been there. On Wednesday I arrived at UWAs Kamwokya head office and I was treated to a spectacle; my co-trackers were armed to the teeth with rain jackets, gumboots, jungle boots, heavy clothes, name it.

My mind runs to Karamoja where I was at the end of 2016 visiting Kidepo national park. Karamoja is very hot during the day but chilly at night. I shudder to imagine the same coldness that would eat away at me without much effort.

I have only a thin sweater and hot-weather clothes. I decide to google about Bwindi. Google tells me the park is in Kanungu district. I have not been to Kigezi sub-region before, which excites me, but thinking about the distance sends chills down my spine. I have a phobia for long distances, being city-born.

Google also tells me that Bwindi is a rain forest! There, it needs no sign to start raining cats and dogs. I realise why these journalists and UWA staffers are dressed this way.

We set off at 8am and make a ten-minute stop at the Lukaya roadside market to buy some gonja and roast meat, and again in Mbarara to pick up another journalist.

The next stop is three hours later at 3pm in Rukungiri for lunch. Restaurants in this part of the country, home to FDC strongman Dr Kizza Besigye, are a rarity. When we chance on one, whose name I cant recall, the food is really horrible. The matoke is matoke only for technical purposes. The rice looks and tastes more like posho. We leave grumbling.

In fact, save for the men, the women decline to eat. At around 3:30pm, we leave for Kanungu and after the turn from Rukungiri town after Makobere High School, the road is impassable.

It has been graded recently and a heavy downpour coupled with weak sandy soils cannot allow small cars through, but four-wheel drives navigate through. We get out to push our now stuck minibus.

The task is insurmountable; after resignation, boda boda riders tell us of a bypass. A small village path that can allow only one-way traffic.

After this point thankfully, there is no any other incident save for the extremely sharp bends known by Bakiga as enengo on a murram road caved out of the edges of the mountain ranges that make the better part of Kigezi sub- region.

Soon, we are in Kihiihi, the town once represented by former NRM yellow boy Amama Mbabazi. It is way past 5pm; we decide to sleep here and set off at 6:30am, early enough to join the other trackers at 8am.

Gorilla census

Unlike Kidepo, a savannah grassland, where your eyes can see as far as 10 kilometers, here it is the opposite. A few metres from the UWA offices begins the thicket which you have to snake through like river Munyaga that flows from the mountain and is now being tapped for hydro power.

Christopher Masaba, the acting chief warden, takes us through what gorilla census means. I imagined that a gorilla census meant an actual head count. But here they depend on science and DNA.

Ranger guide Rita Namatovu leads the trackers from the forest

Masaba tells us this is the third census of the gorillas. The last count was in October 2011; then, Uganda had 480 mountain gorillas with 402 in Bwindi and 78 in Mugahinga national park in Kisoro district bordering Rwanda.

That census also revealed that out of the 880 mountain gorillas in the world, Uganda has the largest share with the remaining 400 in Virunga national park in Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ismail Bakeebwa, the lead tracker, tells us that when they are counting gorillas, they go to the nests they slept in for the three previous nights and take samples of their dung which is analyzed and then stored in electronic gadgets.

Apparently, before gorillas leave a nest, each gorilla first defecates and the size and number of dung mounds tell how many slept in that nest. These results are then sent to Germany for DNA analysis to know the actual number.

These gorillas live in families and currently Bwindi has 16 families, each with a name. We are lucky to visit on the day when the Rushegura family of 16 decided to sleep just a 30 minutes walk from the UWA offices.

Rita Namatovu, a ranger/guide, tells us there are days tourists trek for five hours without locating them. Thirty minutes of climbing a mountain is certainly no walk in the park. The forest is thick with thorns and other climbing creepers with very wet soils. You have to be attentive.

Going up is hard but climbing down is even harder. The trackers show us how it is done. The coldness that first greeted us when we arrived at the park is replaced by heat and sweat as a result of the climb to see the ebigaji, as the Bakiga call the gorillas.

The Rushegura family is easily located and the silverback, Kabukozho who has been in charge since 2014, leads his family away from the piercing eyes and cameras.

Earlier we had been told about the dos and donts. One of them is not to run when a gorilla charges, not to carry any drink or food that the gorillas may want to share with you, not to touch the young gorillas when they touch your shoes or admire your clothes.

But this does not stop many from running away when Kalemeberezi attempts to grab, or was it slap, one of us filming him with a phone.

Simplicious Gesa, a communications officer with UWA, tells me that gorillas fetch the most revenue for Uganda. Foreign tourists are charged $600 each to visit the park.

We must do everything to protect these animals because of their great contribution to our economy, Gesa says.

Bashir Hangi, the UWA spokesman, agrees, adding Ugandans must realise that protecting wildlife is everyones responsibility.

In the past people hunted and killed these animals oblivious of their contribution but what UWA has done is to give them a new lease of life to protect them against poachers. They [poachers] are still a problem but if all stakeholders come together, we will protect these animals, he said.

Are gorillas as magnificent as people say? Oh yes! Was it worth the uphill trek? Definitely. It was the long trip back to Kampala that I was weary of.

Some of the gorilla families in Uganda

Mubare Gorilla Group (11 gorillas)

The first habituated gorilla group, Mubare has been visited by tourists since 1991.

Habinyanja Gorilla Group (17 gorillas)

The group was opened for visitation by trekkers in 1996.

The Rushegura Gorilla Group (16 gorillas)

This group once ventured out of the park and a group on safari had the gorillas outside their tent during the night until the next morning, to the tourists delight.

The Oruzogo Gorilla Group (17 gorillas)

The Oruzogo group has become popular with tourists because of the playful energy exhibited by the juveniles and toddlers.



Bitukura Gorilla Group (13 gorillas)

Unlike some other groups, there has been peace and harmony in the Bitukura Gorilla Group, and no usual infighting.

Kyaguliro Gorilla Group (20 gorillas)

Originally habituated in 1995, Kyaguliro was set aside as a research group studied by the German Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology.

Nshongi Gorilla Group (seven gorillas)

The Nshongi gorilla family group is named after the Nshongi River where they were first found.

Mishaya Gorilla Group (12 gorillas)

This is a breakaway group that was originally a part of Nshongi.

Kahungye Gorilla Group (17 gorillas)

The group was opened for visitors and gorilla tracking in 2011 after being habituated, a process that takes over two years.

Busingye Gorilla Group (nine gorillas)

This is a splinter group from Kahungye  an event that happened in August of 2012.

Bweza Gorilla Group (12 gorillas)

This group broke away from the Nshongi because of too many feuds within the group at the end of 2013.

Nkuringo Gorilla Group (12 gorillas)

A 94-year-old woman in 2013 visited Nkuringo family and fulfilled her lifelong dream of seeing gorillas in the wild. She was, however, carried on a stretcher by porters into the forest.

Nyakagezi Gorilla Group (10 gorillas)

The Nyakagezi family is the only habituated gorilla group in Mgahinga Gorilla national park. There are over 80 mountain gorillas found in Mgahinga.

Edited from Kabiza.com

bakerbatte@observer.ugPORTLAND, Ore., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) along with a Minnesota statewide coalition representing those with chronic diseases and health care provider groups applaud Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (D) in passing HF 3196.

The new law provides patient protections and guardrails on an insurance industry practice known as step therapy, which forces patients to try and fail on one or more medications that insurance companies choose before patients receive the treatment that their health care provider originally prescribed. For patients living with serious or chronic illnesses like psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, prolonging ineffective treatment and delaying access to the right treatment could result in increased disease activity, loss of function and possible irreversible joint damage.

With the passage of HF 3196, starting in January 2019, patients and health care providers will have a clear, accessible, and convenient process to override and appeal step therapy protocols when it is not in the best interest of the patient's health. The new law enables patients the opportunity to access the appropriate drugs originally prescribed to treat their disease faster.

"HF3196 preserves the patient and provider relationship, which is where treatment decisions should be made," said Patrick Stone, vice president of government relations and advocacy, NPF. "Treating psoriatic disease is unique and complex. What might work for one patient may not work for another. HF3196 allows patients the ability to access the therapies that their health care provider knows will best treat their disease when they are initially prescribed."

Minnesota joins 18 other states including Texas, New Mexico, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, and New York, that NPF has worked with to pass step therapy reform. NPF provided training and education around the need for step therapy reform to volunteer advocates and policy makers, was very involved in several negotiations concerning bill language, and led the Minnesota Fail First Lobby Day where 40 advocates from across the state met with lawmakers to discuss the impact of step therapy and the importance of this new legislation.

Recognition and appreciation should also be given to the chief authors of HF 3196, Rep. Kelly Fenton (Dist. 53B), and Sen. Paul Utke (Dist. 02). As well as co-sponsors Rep. Laurie Halverson (Dist. 51B), Rep. Roz Peterson (Dist. 56B), Rep. Debra Kiel (Dist. 01B), Rep. Nick Zerwas (Dist. 30A), Jim Knoblach (Dist. 14B), Liz Olson (Dist. 07B), Josh Heintzeman (Dist. 10A), Jason Metsa (Dist. 06B), Tony Jurgens (Dist. 54B), John Poston (Dist. 09A), Peggy Flanagan (Dist. 46A), and Tony Albright (Dist. 55B) for their support.

To achieve this success, NPF worked in coalition with many partners, including the Arthritis Foundation Minnesota, American Diabetes Association Minnesota, American Heart Association Minnesota, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation Minnesota/Dakotas Chapter, Coalition of State Rheumatology Organizations, Epilepsy Foundation of Minnesota, Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, Global Healthy Living Foundation, International Cancer Advocacy Network, International Pain Foundation, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Minnesota AIDS Project, Minnesota Independent Physicians Association, Minnesota Medical Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, Minnesota Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Minnesota, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Organization for Rare Disorders, U.S. Pain Foundation, Rheumatology Association of Minnesota and the Dakotas, American College of Rheumatology and the Cancer Support Community.

NPF continues to work on behalf of all patients living with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis that cannot afford to delay access to the effective treatments prescribed by their health care provider. Placing patient protections and guardrails around step therapy protocols will assist NPF to improve health outcomes for the more than 8 million Americans living with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. To learn more about how NPF works to reform step therapy visit www.steptherapy.com

Serving its community through more than 50 years of patient support, advocacy, research funding, and education, the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is the world's leading nonprofit fighting for individuals with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. The NPF mission is to drive efforts to cure psoriatic disease and dramatically improve the lives of more than 8 million Americans affected by this chronic immune-mediated disease. As part of that effort, NPF created its Patient Navigation Center to offer personalized assistance to everyone with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. To date, NPF has funded more than $17 million in research grants and fellowships that help drive discoveries that may lead to more and better treatments and ultimately a cure. Learn more at www.psoriasis.org.

SOURCE National Psoriasis Foundation

Related Links

http://www.psoriasis.org

LOS ANGELES, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mount Saint Mary's University, which pioneered the first Bachelor of Science nursing program in California in 1948, has been awarded a $2 million grant from the Riordan Foundation to fund the future of nursing education.

Created by former Los Angeles mayor and civic and business leader Richard Riordan, the Riordan Fund for the Future of Nursing Education will provide significant financial support for MSMU's efforts to advance nursing education and help modernize the healthcare industry, in part through innovative health and wellness programs.

"The university's dedication to increasing the number of culturally competent and highly skilled nurses is truly remarkable and perfectly aligned with the mission of the Riordan Foundation," said Richard J. Riordan, founder and president of the foundation. "We believe that this partnership will have a significant impact on the lives of students and on the community for many years to come."

Ann McElaney-Johnson, PhD, president of Mount Saint Mary's, said: "We are honored that the Riordan Foundation, which has long championed college success and workforce education, has awarded MSMU with this grant. It will allow our students to more fully embrace health and wellness in their personal, academic and professional lives."

The Riordan Fund for the Future of Nursing Education will provide financial support for:

Student scholarships for up to 48 students distributed over the next three years;

Developing and implementing a high-quality, fully online Registered Nurse and Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs;

Expanding opportunities for undergraduate students to conduct research and provide clinical services to disadvantaged communities, including international service trips for students.

Extending the Healthy Healthcare Provider pilot and expanding the nursing wellness initiative.

MSMU's Healthy Healthcare Provider program, the first and only of its kind in Southern California, trains nursing and healthcare students to become experts in stress management, nutrition, physical activity and healthy sleeping habits in their personal, academic and professional lives.

Founded in 1925, Mount Saint Mary's is the only women's university in Los Angeles and has long been a leader in nursing and healthcare education. The University prepares nearly 1,000 women each year to enter the field of nursing, which continues to see a shortage of qualified applicants. More than 80 percent of MSMU's more than 3,000 students are women of color, more than 50 percent are the first in their families to attend college, and 98 percent receive some sort of financial aid.

About Mount Saint Mary's University

Mount Saint Mary's is the only women's university in Los Angeles and one of the most diverse in the nation. The University is known nationally for its research on gender equality, its innovative health and science programs, and its commitment to community service. As a leading liberal arts institution, Mount Saint Mary's provides year-round, flexible and online programs at the undergraduate and graduate level. Weekend, evening and graduate programs are offered to both women and men. Mount alums are engaged, active global citizens who use their knowledge and skills to better themselves, their communities and the world.

About the Riordan Foundation

The Riordan Foundation's mission is to enable individuals in the communities we serve access to the resources that will prepare them to compete successfully in the 21st Century. The Riordan Foundation is interested in programs which focus on the following three areas: Pre-K-12 Education, College Success & Workforce Development.

SOURCE Mount Saint Mary's University

Related Links

http://www.msmu.edu

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media will have the opportunity June 4-5 for tours, interviews and photographs of NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) as it prepares to leave Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for a scheduled mid-June launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

ICON team members will be available to answer questions about Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft and will carry ICON into orbit. There also will be opportunities to tour the aircraft and witness its takeoff on its ferry flight to the island. The observatory will leave Vandenberg June 5 for a scheduled launch on June 15 from Kwajalein (June 14 in the continental United States).

ICON will study the frontier of space: the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above. This area at times can be filled with such beauty as the aurora, and at other times experience increases in radiation that can interfere with radio communications, satellites and even astronauts. ICON will help determine the physical process at play in this space environment and pave the way for mitigating their effects on our technology, communications systems and society.

This event is open only to U.S. citizens who possess a government-issued photo identification. One form of government-issued photo identification is required and must be a driver's license or passport.

To apply for media credentials, go to https://media.ksc.nasa.gov. Media interested in attending this event must also RSVP via email at [email protected]. In your RSVP, please include your driver's license number and its state of issuance. The deadline for submitting credentials and to RSVP is no later than noon EDT Tuesday, May 22.

Monday, June 4

There will be an opportunity to tour the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft and interview officials involved in the launch and mission.

Interview participants:

Omar Baez , launch director, NASA's Launch Services Program

, launch director, NASA's Launch Services Program Bryan Baldwin , Pegasus Program senior director, Orbital ATK

, Pegasus Program senior director, Orbital ATK Thomas Immel , ICON principle investigator, UC Berkeley

Media should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at noon PDT to be escorted. Media must present a valid driver's license or passport to receive a base pass.

Tuesday, June 5

There will be an opportunity to view the takeoff of the ferry flight of the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer with the Pegasus XL rocket that will air launch ICON.

Media should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at 9:30 a.m. to be escorted. Media must present a valid driver's license or passport to receive a base pass.

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorer Program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory leads the ICON mission. The ICON spacecraft was built by Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis, and launch management.

For more information about NASA's ICON mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/icon

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov

Adding even more excitement to the project, acclaimed internet personality Tyler Blevins, known as "Ninja", who boasts more than 7 million followers, gave approval to have his famous Fortnite character painted on the entranceway of the mansion.

Scott Balotin, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Panda Viva Clothing states, "We are thrilled to partner with the Graffiti Fortnite Mansion and its team of well-known artists from Australia, Germany, North and South America, and the UK. This unique, graffiti art installation will be appreciated by millions of fans of the Fortnite video game and art enthusiasts worldwide."

Panda Viva Clothing customers can purchase the graffiti art-inspired line of apparel, accessories, and moreexclusively online at pandaviva.com.

A sneak peak video showcasing a time-lapse of the entire Graffiti Mansion Project will be released today on Izadi's popular YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/ArmanIzadi/videos).

Follow Panda Viva on Instagram @pandavivaclothing. #WearTheBear #ShareTheBear

Panda Viva is a premium, against the grain clothing company uniting creatives through apparel, accessories and products that inspire self expression.

SOURCE Panda Viva Clothing

Related Links

https://pandaviva.com

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pattern Energy Group 2 LP (Pattern Development) announced today the acquisition of two development assets in New Mexico from Clean Line Energy Partners, the Western Spirit Transmission Line (Western Spirit) and the Mesa Canyons Wind Farm (Mesa Canyons). The addition of Mesa Canyons will bring Pattern Development's wind development footprint in the Estancia Valley of New Mexico to more than 3,000 MW.

Mesa Canyons and Western Spirit are both in advanced stages of development and are expected to begin construction next year, with a targeted in-service date of 2020. Mesa Canyons will directly interconnect to Western Spirit, delivering power to the New Mexico grid at the existing Rio Puerco substation owned by Public Service Company of New Mexico. Collectively, these two projects are estimated to bring hundreds of construction jobs to rural New Mexico, millions of dollars in increased tax revenue to the state, and billions of dollars in long-term economic impact over the life of the projects.

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich has been a major proponent of New Mexico wind energy development and the transmission needed to bring wind power to market. "New Mexico is leading the way in producing wind power and will continue to be at the forefront of America's clean energy success story," said Senator Heinrich. "With Pattern Development's acquisition of the Western Spirit Transmission Line and the Mesa Canyons Wind Farm, we are one step closer to being able to access and export our state's vast renewable energy resources to major energy markets. These projects will spur job creation in rural New Mexico and generate billions of dollars in economic impact. We need to seize these opportunities to diversify our economy and chart a course for a more prosperous future for New Mexico."

U.S. Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham, who is also a major supporter of renewable energy development in the state, said, "New Mexico has some of the best wind and solar resources in the nation and that has the potential to not only transform our state's economy but lay the foundation for a clean energy future. Today's announced investment will continue to develop our quickly growing wind industry that is creating jobs, diversifying our economy, and increase economic development in our state."

U.S. Congressman Ben Ray Lujan said, "New Mexico has a unique opportunity to use our vast natural resources to promote a healthier future through clean energy. The new investments announced today will create new jobs and continue growing our state's wind industry."

"As the leading wind developer and operator in New Mexico, Pattern Development is uniquely positioned to bring the Western Spirit Transmission Line and the Mesa Canyons Wind Farm to fruition," said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Development. "New Mexico is home to one of the strongest wind resources in the country and Pattern Development is committed to developing and constructing these new projects as excellent additions to our portfolio, expanding our investment in this enchanting state."

"Across the country, we are seeing clear proof of how building new efficient transmission infrastructure provides substantial benefits for consumers, through the delivery of clean renewable energy at rock bottom prices, job creation, and economic development. We have worked to bring the Western Spirit Transmission Line and the Mesa Canyons Wind Farm to advanced stages of development in New Mexico, and are very pleased that Pattern Development will now take both projects over the finish line," said Michael Skelly, President of Clean Line Energy Partners.

The New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA) has also been working with Clean Line Energy Partners for several years to co-develop the Western Spirit line to bring it to an advanced stage of development, and that relationship with RETA will continue with Pattern Development. Said Chairman Bob Busch, "RETA Continues to see development opportunities for renewable resources in New Mexico, and we are pleased to have a new capable partner to ensure this project comes to fruition."

The announcement was made at the Estancia Valley Economic Development Association (EVEDA) annual meeting in Edgewood, NM. "EVEDA has worked for the past twenty years to successfully bring viable renewable energy and transmission projects into our region," said EVEDA's director Myra Pancrazio. "We are ecstatic that Pattern Development has selected Central New Mexico to further their existing New Mexico pipeline and will also be continuing the development of the Western Spirit Transmission Line and Mesa Canyons Wind Farm. Our partnership with Pattern Development has been strong and productive and we look forward to assisting the team in their development of these newly acquired projects."

Both Western Spirit and Mesa Canyons enjoy the ongoing support of the New Mexico State Land Office, which anticipates bringing more than 11,000 acres of State Trust Lands to the Mesa Canyons. Said Commissioner Aubrey Dunn, "This is exactly the type of public-private partnership that will bring much needed investment to New Mexico. We welcome Pattern Development, and we believe that wind will be an important part of our state's energy mix for the future." The state will collect revenue from its leases with both Mesa Canyons and Western Spirit, which will directly benefit New Mexico schools.

Pattern Development's experience in New Mexico includes the 324 MW Broadview Wind facilities and the 345kV AC Western Interconnect Transmission facility, both of which were placed into service in 2017, as well as the 221 MW Grady Wind facility, which will commence construction this summer and is planned to enter commercial operations in the spring of 2019.

About Mesa Canyons Wind Farm & Western Spirit Transmission

Pattern's Mesa Canyons is a 1,000 MW wind development in Lincoln County, New Mexico, on approximately 125,000 acres of privately-owned land, and will interconnect to Western Spirit, a 345kV AC transmission development that will be approximately 140 miles, beginning near the wind farm and running northwest through five counties to the western side of Albuquerque, where it will interconnect with Public Service Company of New Mexico's transmission system. Pattern Development is the sole owner and developer of Mesa Canyons, and Pattern Development will continue to co-develop Western Spirit with the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA).

About Pattern Development

Pattern Development is a leader in developing renewable energy and transmission assets. With a long history in wind energy, Pattern Development's highly-experienced team has developed, financed and placed into operation more than 4,500 MW of wind and solar power projects. A strong commitment to promoting environmental stewardship drives the company's dedication in working closely with communities to create renewable energy projects. Pattern Development has offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, and Tokyo.

About Clean Line Energy Partners

Clean Line develops new infrastructure projects to connect the best renewable energy resources in North America to communities and cities that lack access to new, low-cost renewable power.

SOURCE Pattern Energy Group LP

Related Links

www.patternenergy.com

"We're honored to be named to Forbes Magazine's America's Best Employers list," said Marc Althen, president, Penske Logistics. "We strive to promote an inclusive and entrepreneurial open-door culture that enables our associates to thrive in their careers with us. We are proud of our associates and we are humbled they recommend us for the list. Our associates are the critical link to helping ensure our customers and our business succeed every day."

Penske Logistics and its parent company Penske Truck Leasing offer a wide array of career opportunities ranging from truck drivers and warehouse workers, to truck maintenance technicians, management trainees, logistics engineers, technology and management positions. The companies combined employ more than 33,000 people worldwide. Visit www.GoPenske.com/careers to learn more about career opportunities at Penske Truck Leasing and Penske Logistics.

America's Best Employers list features 500 employers from 25 industry sectors. Employers are chosen based on an independent survey from a vast sample of more than 30,000 U.S. employees working for mid- to large-size companies. The employees are consulted anonymously through several online panels and asked to rate how likely they were to recommend their employer to someone else; and how they felt about other employers in their industry on a scale of zero to 10.

For more information on Forbes magazine's America's Best Employers and to see the complete list, please visit: www.forbes.com/best-employers/list/.

Penske Logistics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Penske Truck Leasing. With operations in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, Penske Logistics provides supply chain management and logistics services to leading companies around the world. Penske Logistics delivers value through its design, planning and execution in transportation, warehousing and freight management. To learn more visit www.PenskeLogistics.com.

SOURCE Penske Logistics

Related Links

https://www.penskelogistics.com

SEATTLE, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle-based Phase Genomics [www.phasegenomics.com], the leader in Hi-C based genomic solutions and Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. [www.pacb.com], the leader in long-read sequencing, announce the release of the FALCON-Phase software as part of a new co-development effort to improve the FALCON-Unzip genome assembly method for providing high-quality, phased diploid genome assemblies.

FALCON-Phase augments PacBio Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) Sequencing-based assemblies with Hi-C proximity-ligation data to generate accurate phased diploid assemblies. Using Phase Genomics' genome scaffolding technologies and FALCON-Phase, maternal and paternal haplotypes can be separated or "phased" on a chromosomal scale.

"You essentially get two genomes for the price of one with the FALCON-Phase software yielding both maternal and paternal haplotypes," said Dr. Ivan Liachko, CEO and Co-founder of Phase Genomics, "The combination of SMRT Sequencing and long-range genomic contiguity captured by Hi-C data is very powerful and presents a straightforward solution to a problem experienced by almost all genomic researchers working with diploid organisms."

High-quality phased haplotypes provided by FALCON-Phase can, among many other use cases, facilitate the study of inherited disease and be leveraged to improve agricultural programs, such as increasing the efficacy of livestock and plant breeding.

"SMRT Sequencing produces the most accurate and contiguous genome assemblies on the market, and the ultra-long range genomic connectivity of the in vivo Hi-C method serves as a perfect complement to SMRT Sequencing of large and complex genomes, helping to achieve full chromosome-level contiguity and phasing," stated Dr. Jonas Korlach, Chief Scientific Officer at Pacific Biosciences. "Our collaboration with Phase Genomics has been truly synergistic and has yielded a method that enables researchers to get more value from long-read SMRT Sequencing and Hi-C technologies alone."

FALCON-Phase is available as open source to scientists and also as a service through Phase Genomics. Scientists can utilize the new software to advance their current research and even revive historic genome projects with the addition of Hi-C data.

Read more about the innovative technology underpinning the new FALCON-Phase software here.

ABOUT PHASE GENOMICS  Phase Genomics applies Hi-C and other proximity-ligation methods to enable chromosome-scale genome assembly, metagenomic deconvolution, as well as analysis of structural genomic variation and genome architecture. They offer a comprehensive portfolio of laboratory and computational services and products, including Hi-C kits for plants, animals, microbes, and human samples as well as industry-leading genome and metagenome assembly and analysis software. Based in Seattle, WA, the company was founded in 2015 by a team of genome scientists, software engineers, and entrepreneurs. The company's mission is to empower scientists with genomic tools that accelerate breakthrough discoveries.

ABOUT PACIFIC BIOSCIENCES  Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. offers sequencing systems to help scientists resolve genetically complex problems. Based on its novel Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT) technology, Pacific Biosciences' products enable: de novo genome assembly to finish genomes in order to more fully identify, annotate and decipher genomic structures; full-length transcript analysis to improve annotations in reference genomes, characterize alternatively spliced isoforms in important gene families, and find novel genes; targeted sequencing to more comprehensively characterize genetic variations; and real-time kinetic information for epigenome characterization. Pacific Biosciences' technology provides high accuracy, ultra-long reads, uniform coverage, and the ability to simultaneously detect epigenetic changes. PacBio sequencing systems, including consumables and software, provide a simple, fast, end-to-end workflow for SMRT Sequencing. More information is available at www.pacb.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS  All statements in this press release that are not historical are forward-looking statements, including, among other things, statements relating to legal proceedings to enforce patent rights, the validity or enforceability of patents or other intellectual property rights, future availability, uses, quality or performance of, or benefits of using, products or technologies, and other future events. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond Pacific Biosciences' control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the information expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made in this press release. Factors that could materially affect actual results can be found in Pacific Biosciences' most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Pacific Biosciences' most recent reports on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q, and include those listed under the caption "Risk Factors."

Pacific Biosciences undertakes no obligation to revise or update information in this press release to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available.

SOURCE Phase Genomics

Related Links

http://www.phasegenomics.com

BUFFALO, N.Y., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross today presented Phillips Lytle LLP with the President's "E" Award for Export Service at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The President's "E" Award is the highest recognition any U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports.

"Phillips Lytle has demonstrated a sustained commitment to export expansion," said Secretary Ross in his congratulatory letter to Phillips Lytle announcing its selection as an award recipient. "The "E" Awards Committee was very impressed with Phillips Lytle's participation in exporter education programs. The firm's extensive volunteer work to help businesses in the community develop an export program was also particularly notable. Phillips Lytle's achievements have undoubtedly contributed to national export expansion efforts that support the U.S. economy and create American jobs."

Phillips Lytle LLP, with offices across New York State, Washington, D.C., and Canada, is a provider of export services for small and medium-sized U.S. businesses, including compliance counseling, joint ventures, recapitalization/restructuring, international tax issues, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property, entity formation, and more.

"Exporting products, services, and technologies is crucial to the success of many of the firm's U.S. clients," said Phillips Lytle Special Counsel Jon P. Yormick. "We are always pleased to help clients successfully grow their businesses and this is often achieved by exporting. On average, when a company exports, it usually grows sales faster, creates more jobs, and employees earn more than in non-exporting firms."

Phillips Lytle is one of nine companies to receive the President's "E" Award for Export Service. In total, Secretary Ross honored 43 U.S. companies and organizations from across the country with the President's "E" Award for their role in strengthening the U.S. economy by sharing American ingenuity outside of our borders.

U.S. companies are nominated for the "E" Awards through the U.S. Commercial Service, part of the Department's International Trade Administration. With offices across the United States and in embassies and consulates around the world, The International Trade Administration lends its expertise at every stage of the exporting process by promoting and facilitating exports and investment into the United States; administering Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties orders; and removing, reducing, or preventing foreign trade barriers.

U.S. exports totaled $2.33 trillion in 2017, accounting for 12 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. Exports supported an estimated 10.7 million jobs nationwide in 2016, according to the most recent statistics from the International Trade Administration.

About the "E" Awards

In 1961, President Kennedy signed an executive order reviving the World War II "E" symbol of excellence to honor and provide recognition to America's exporters. Criteria for the award is based on four years of successive export growth and case studies which demonstrate valuable support to exporters resulting in increased exports for the company's clients.

For more information about the "E" Awards and the benefits of exporting, visit www.export.gov.

About Phillips Lytle LLP

Phillips Lytle LLP is a premier regional law firm that is recognized nationally for its legal excellence. With offices in New York State, Washington, D.C., and Canada, our attorneys serve a multinational client base including FORTUNE 1000 companies, global and regional financial institutions, not-for-profit organizations, middle market companies, startups, entrepreneurs and individuals on important matters affecting their businesses and personal wealth. For more information, visit www.phillipslytle.com.

Contact:

Oliver F. Hays

Phillips Lytle LLP

716-847-5444

SOURCE Phillips Lytle LLP

Related Links

http://www.phillipslytle.com

PETALUMA, Calif., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Losing a key employee can feel devastating to a small business, where every employee feels irreplaceable. However, losing employees is a part of running a business, no matter how difficult recovery will be. Brandon Frere, successful entrepreneur and CEO of Frere Enterprises, admits that losing valued employees is disappointing, but the business will go on.

"In a small business with not many employees, losing one can feel like a big deal," said Frere. "That void can be hard to fill but CEOs shouldn't feel hopeless. All you can do is fill it and keep the business going forward."

While some employees may feel like keys to success in a business, they are replaceable. There will always be similar candidates that can provide great value to the company, even if that value is different. Bringing in new people means bringing in new perspectives, which can bring unexpected improvements.

When an employee leaves, it is in the best interest of CEOs, managers and others in the company to make the parting positive. Wishing them well and supporting their decision can result in strong connections that can benefit both parties. For example, the former team member may be able and willing to recommend one of their own connections as a candidate for their own replacement. Or, they might come back later if their situation changes.

Losing a team member can affect the whole team, so company leaders should be prepared to communicate with their remaining employees. Without a replacement, everyone should come together and plan for the vacancy. They may have to expand their workload to keep things going while a replacement is found. By letting them help with the plan, CEOs can share ownership of the business, which can also increase engagement and retention as long as they don't feel completely overwhelmed.

"Losing a team member might be predictable or it might come out of nowhere," said Brandon Frere. "But the way you handle it can spell success or stagnation for your business. It's especially important to get a game plan together for how to operate without that person. But you never know  you might find unexpected success."

About Frere Enterprises

Brandon Frere is an entrepreneur and businessman who lives in Sonoma County, California. He has designed and created multiple companies to meet the ever-demanding needs of businesses and consumers alike. His company website, www.FrereEnterprises.com, is used as a means to communicate many of the lessons, fundamentals and information he has learned throughout his extensive business and personal endeavors, most recently in advocating on behalf of student loan borrowers nationwide.

As experienced during his own student loan repayment, Mr. Frere found out how difficult it can be to work with federally contracted student loan servicers and the repayment programs designed to help borrowers. Through those efforts, he gained an insider's look into the repayment process and the motivations behind the inflating student loan debt bubble. His knowledge of the confusing landscape of student loan repayment became a vital theme in his future endeavors, and he now uses those experiences to help guide others through the daunting process of applying for available federal repayment and loan forgiveness programs.

FrereEnterprises.com

Related Images

losing-an-employee-in-a-small.jpg

Losing an Employee in a Small Business

Credit: Kseniiavladimir/Bigstock

image2.png

Related Links

Frere Enterprises home page

SOURCE Frere Enterprises

Related Links

http://www.FrereEnterprises.com

BOSTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Block & Leviton LLP (www.blockesq.com), a securities litigation firm representing investors nationwide, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against PPG Industries, Inc. ("PPG" or the "Company") (NYSE: PPG) and certain of its officers and directors alleging violations of the federal securities laws. Class members interested in serving as lead plaintiff are reminded of the July 19, 2018 lead plaintiff deadline.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California (No. 2:18-cv-04231), alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants released materially false and/or misleading financial statements that contained improper accounting entries and failed to maintain adequate internal controls.

On May 10, 2018, after the market closed, PPG announced a late filing of its 10-Q ended March 2018. The Company stated "[a]s previously disclosed on April 19, 2018, PPG received a report through its internal reporting system alleging violations of PPG's accounting policies and procedures regarding the failure to accrue certain specified expenses in the first quarter of 2018." The Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors is overseeing an investigation of the matters set forth in the report, with the assistance of outside counsel and forensic accountants.

In addition to the matters identified by the investigation relating to the quarter ended March 31, 2018, the investigation to date has also identified improper reclassifications of gains from income in 2017. As such, PPG has stated that its consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K should no longer be relied upon. The investigation has also found evidence that the improper accounting entries were made by certain employees at the direction of the Company's former vice president and controller.

If you purchased or otherwise acquired PPG securities between April 24, 2017 and May 10, 2018 and have questions about your legal rights or possess information relevant to this investigation, you are encouraged to contact Attorney John DeFelice at (888) 868-2385, by email at [email protected] or by visiting http://shareholder.law/ppg.

Block & Leviton LLP is a Boston-based law firm representing investors nationwide. The firm's lawyers have collectively been prosecuting securities cases on behalf of individual and institutional investors for over 50 years and have recovered billions of dollars on their behalf. Block & Leviton's investigations into corporate wrongdoing were recently covered by the New York Times.

This notice may constitute attorney advertising.

CONTACT:

BLOCK & LEVITON LLP

John DeFelice

(617) 398-5600 phone

155 Federal Street, Suite 400

Boston, MA 02110

[email protected]

SOURCE Block & Leviton LLP

Related Links

http://www.blockesq.com

Bashir Hangi

Bashir Hangi, 40, is the new spokesman of the Uganda Wildlife Authority, a position he took on in April, having been in the ministry of Health, previously.

He sat down with Quick Talk to chat about the switch from humans to animals in his trade, among other things.



Youve been dealing with human life, then did a 90-degree turn to come to wild animals. Why?

[Laughs heartily as he leans back in his chair] That is an interesting comparison. In health, you appeal to the senses of the people; you want them to appreciate why they fall sick and the rest.

Others call you doctor because youre talking about health things. But for me, I would call myself a social doctor because I would make people appreciate their social issues.



Social doctor? So, you were a witchdoctor.

Hell no! There is a big difference; witchdoctors play on peoples psychology but social doctors tell people about their social life  about what would be the solution.



Bashir, do you often dream?

Yaaa; these days by the way I dont dream of cars or houses, I dream about chimpanzees, lions, elephants because now I interact more with animals than human beings. It is interesting; I can tell you.



What animal do you like most?

Im not sure; Im stuck between a zebra and giraffe, but Im more sympathetic towards lions. I cant explain why, but I feel Im more concerned about them; maybe because they are an endangered species. But in terms of beauty, I think the zebra is more beautiful.



You say lions are an endangered species but when I watch animal programs on TV, I see the lion as the aggressive one

But any national parks you go to, you see that their numbers are usually low. From birth to one year, they die a lot. If a male lion is going to stay with a female lion with cubs, it kills off all these cubs if its not their father before it establishes authority.

The fact that they also prey on peoples animals they [humans] kill them. If a lion strays into a community, they just want to exterminate it [Locals near Queen Elizabeth national park killed a pride of 11 lions recently. Shame upon you guys!]



Your business is wild animals; so, you think everybody should play along?

Not necessarily, but you should appreciate the contribution of these animals to our GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

What does GDP even mean to a local near a national park whose animals are preyed on?

When you are driving on a good tarmac road; that is the money. But we also remit 20 percent of the monies we collect to the local communities where theses parks are located.

This money has built schools, health centers, and water sources. We are trying to make sure that people benefit from these conservation areas.



Bashir, did you also cry for Zakayo? [kyokka you wildlife people!]

Zakayo was a great, great, great guy [for the uninitiated, this guy was a 40-year-plus chimpanzee that recently died and was given a send-off more decent than many Ugandans shall have].

[He was] friendly, a good father and husband. Any tourist who went to UWEC [Uganda Wildlife Education Center] liked him. There are even others who would go there specifically to see Zakayo. We will miss him very much. I first interacted with him before I even joined UWA; my children too like him.



Zakayo had two wives; how many do you have?

I have one because Im comfortable with her. So far I havent seen any reason why I should get another. Maybe Zakayo had reasons to go for the second one and those reasons havent yet surfaced in my case.



But would you want to take on another in the future?

It is an open possibility but for now, it hasnt crossed my mind. Under normal circumstances, I wouldnt want to have another. I have heard very bad experiences about people who have more than one wife. However, there are also those who have glowing stories.



Do you help your wife with housework?

I rarely do housework. When Im at home, Im the boss. I sit there and my wife does everything. You know, she is also kind of traditional; she was taught that it is her place to take care of the man. She does everything for me.



Maybe you are inspired by a news report recently that claimed that men who cook are greedy; do you agree with it?

What are you looking for in the kitchen? We have no business in the kitchen as men. I last cooked when I was still at the university. I can make tea, but I think those who go to the kitchen have a problem.

Sit down and let them serve you.

By the way, what does the word Hangi mean?

I was told its a royal name. I descend from the Basongora royals between Kabarole and Kasese, but we settled in Ankole. So, I have royal blood although I do things that are not done by royals. Im supposed to be somewhere in a palace  Im not sure where, though.



Do you have children?

Yes, two girls and a boy.



Would you want to have more?

Annnnnhh personally I wouldnt, but you never know what will happen. You can say you dont want a sugarcane, but you want to use it as a walking stick; what do you expect at some point? You might end up eating it. So, for as long as I have a wife, we can easily get another kid.



Have you escorted her to the labour suite?

For the last two pregnancies, I went with her but didnt enter the suite. I remain outside until they bring the baby. My area is to take good care of her; Ill be there waiting for her and help in carrying the baby to the post-natal room.



Do you fear blood?

Very much; it doesnt look good and Im told when a woman is delivering, a lot of blood comes out and I cant stand that. I think it can affect how I relate with her. By the way, I have great respect for men who go to the labour ward. Im comfortable remaining outside and only see her when she is smiling.

[His officemate says he has been inside the labour suite but men are stationed at the head of the bed, a position that does not allow them see much.]

Oooh, youre a strong guy; you have guts and I salute you.



What is your memorable experience in school?

When I was in school I had very low confidence levels and my interaction with other students was very low. From P1 up to P7, I never put on uniform and shoes, yet I was in a town school at Mbarara Municipal primary school.

Every time a teacher would come to send pupils back home for one thing or the other, my name would always be the first to be read out. But I had a friend who would bring food at school. I was the one who would handle his bag. So, we would share the food he would bring rice, matoke and meat, among others. They had a restaurant.

There was a day he bought five pancakes; he took two and then gave me the three to eat one and distribute the other two among the whole class of 40 children! I made them line up and trust me, each one of them got a share.

[God bless that distributors soul, wherever he is now!]

bakerbatte@observer.ugRE/MAX enlisted the Architecture/Construction Technology program at Henry Ford College late last year to design and build the "RE/MAX Tiny Home for Tiny Tots," which is almost finished. When complete, the fully outfitted tiny home will be sold through an online auction. The proceeds RE/MAX raises will be donated to CMN Hospitals, which provides care for more than 10 million children treated at 170-member hospitals across the U.S. and Canada.

"Our more than 26-year partnership with CMN Hospitals has shown us that miracles come in all shapes and sizes  and so do homes," said Mike Reagan, RE/MAX Senior Vice President, Business Alliances. "In all dimension, style and location of houses, RE/MAX agents are experts at matching their clients' unique preferences to their perfect home. During the online auction, the highest bidder will not only achieve the dream of home ownership, but also support sick and injured kids in their community."

The tiny home movement has surged in the past decade, as more people vow to live minimally and conserve resources while still achieving the goal of homeownership. Many sources cite that a Tiny Home is a 400 to 500 square feet, with some as small as just 80 square feet.

RE/MAX, a global network of more than 120,000 agents, and creative agency partner Camp + King saw the opportunity to build a tiny home as a way to raise money for CMN Hospitals while promoting the benefits of homeownership for all styles and budgets.

About the Builder

Students in HFC's Building Science Department will have the opportunity to put practical application to their studies during the semester-long tiny home project.

"We're incredibly honored to work on this project in partnership with RE/MAX and to know that this home will not only give our students a unique, hands-on opportunity to design and build a real home, but that the auction of the tiny house will help to provide medical care to children in so many communities," said Henry Ford Chair of Building Science, Chad Richert.

HFC students in Architecture and Interior Design collaboratively designed and are now building the 1.5-story, one bedroom, one bath home. Students have had the opportunity to participate in all areas of design, from structure to systems, to the selection of interior furnishings with an eye on trendy and unique styles that would draw bidders to the auction.

About the Auction

The tiny home will be complete in late June and available for auction at the end of July before RE/MAX celebrates its seventh-annual Month of Miracles with CMN Hospitals in August. More details on the home and instructions on how to make a bid will be available soon.

About the RE/MAX Network

RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, with an innovative, entrepreneurial culture affording its agents and franchisees the flexibility to operate their businesses with great independence. Over 120,000 agents provide RE/MAX a global reach of more than 100 countries and territories. Nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX when measured by residential transaction sides. RE/MAX, LLC, one of the world's leading franchisors of real estate brokerage services, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RMCO, LLC, which is controlled and managed by RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RMAX). With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised millions of dollars for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and other charities. For more information about RE/MAX, to search home listings or find an agent in your community, please visit www.remax.com. For the latest news about RE/MAX, please visit www.remax.com/newsroom.

About Henry Ford College

Henry Ford College (HFC) in Dearborn, Mich., is a comprehensive, accredited public college serving 21,000 students annually. HFC has been successfully preparing students for a rapidly changing world since 1938, and today offers more than 120 high-quality associate degree, career, and university transfer programs. The College also offers a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts & Hospitality Studies, as well as 3 + 1 programs with university partners. HFC provides customized workforce development training for business and industry. Visit hfcc.edu for more details, or look for us on social media.

About Children's Miracle Network Hospitals

Children's Miracle Network Hospitals raises funds and awareness for 170 member hospitals that provide 32 million treatments each year to kids across the U.S. and Canada. Donations stay local to fund critical treatments and healthcare services, pediatric medical equipment and charitable care. Since 1983, Children's Miracle Network Hospitals has raised more than $5 billion, most of it $1 at a time through the charity's Miracle Balloon icon. Its various fundraising partners and programs support the nonprofit's mission to save and improve the lives of as many children as possible. Find out why children's hospitals need community support, identify your member hospital and learn how you can Put Your Money Where the Miracles Are, at http://CMNHospitals.org and http://www.facebook.com/CMNHospitals.

SOURCE RE/MAX, LLC

Related Links

http://www.remax.com

SAN FRANCISCO and PARIS, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, will join global business and technology leaders in Paris this week for the inaugural Tech for Good Summit, hosted by President of France Emmanuel Macron. Participants will discuss how disruptive technologies can have a positive impact on our societies and economies by reducing the digital divide, decreasing equality gaps, and readjusting the imbalance between emerging and developed economies.

The gathering is being held on May 23 at the Palais de l'Elysee, in advance of Viva Technology, one of Europe's largest technology conferences, which is also taking place this week in Paris. Salesforce is partnering with Viva Technology as its first-ever Equality Sponsorreinforcing its commitment to equality in France, which helped earn Salesforce the #1 Best Workplace in France by Great Place to Work.

In support of this week's global technology discussions in France, Salesforce last month pledged to invest in growth, equality, innovation and customer success in the country. Specifically, Salesforce announced plans to invest $2.2 billion in its French business over the next five years.

Join Salesforce at Viva Technology

Salesforce Equality Lounge: As the first-ever Equality Sponsor, Salesforce will host the Salesforce Equality Lounge, which is open to all Viva Technology attendees May 24-25 . Located in the Hall of Tech, attendees can learn about how to stand up as an ally for underrepresented individuals and groups, hear what companies are doing to lead on Equality in Europe , as well as rest and recharge. On May 26 , Salesforce will open its lounge space to the City of Paris to promote ParisCode, an initiative designed to train 1,000 new developers and coders per year through 2020.

As the first-ever Equality Sponsor, Salesforce will host the Salesforce Equality Lounge, which is open to all Viva Technology attendees . Located in the Hall of Tech, attendees can learn about how to stand up as an ally for underrepresented individuals and groups, hear what companies are doing to lead on Equality in , as well as rest and recharge. On , Salesforce will open its lounge space to the to promote ParisCode, an initiative designed to train 1,000 new developers and coders per year through 2020. Future of Work Roundtable: On May 24 at 12:40 p.m. CET , Alex Dayon will participate in a roundtable on the future of work. The roundtable will be located on Stage One at the Viva Technology conference.

On at , will participate in a roundtable on the future of work. The roundtable will be located on Stage One at the Viva Technology conference. Equality Roundtable: On May 25 at 1:15 p.m. CET , Salesforce Chief Equality Officer Tony Prophet will participate in a roundtable on equality. The roundtable will be located in the Salesforce Equality Lounge in the Hall of Tech.

Additional Information

Join Salesforce, alongside thousands of customer Trailblazers, at World Tour Paris on June 6 : https://www.salesforce.com/fr/events/paris/

: https://www.salesforce.com/fr/events/paris/ Like Salesforce on Facebook: http://facebook.com/salesforce

Follow @salesforce on Twitter: http://twitter.com/salesforce

Read the Salesforce blog: http://blogs.salesforce.com/

About Salesforce

Salesforce, the global CRM leader, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

SOURCE Salesforce

Related Links

http://www.salesforce.com

ATHENS, Ga., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Starting today, Amazon is rolling out a new addition for businesses that sell on the Amazon Marketplace. The new Marketplace Appstore features seller-centric software from developers such as Seller Labs. Seller Labs is now offering two tools in the Marketplace Appstore:

IGNITE for advertising management such as Sponsored Products Ads

FEEDBACK GENIUS for reputation management and customer communication

"Our tools are designed to help sellers succeed on Amazon and we are excited to be selected to highlight our products for businesses on Seller Central," said Seller Labs VP of Product Katie Reilly. "Seller Labs' IGNITE and FEEDBACK GENIUS tools allow sellers to manage their advertising campaigns and improve reputation and communication with buyers. These tools help sellers run their businesses more effectively and profitably."

The addition of the Marketplace Appstore and Seller Labs' inclusion via the IGNITE and FEEDBACK GENIUS applications dovetails with the recent selection of Seller Labs as a member of the Amazon Marketplace Development Council. Members of the Amazon Marketplace Developer Council have a unique perspective and understanding of the small-and-medium-sized businesses that sell on Amazon. Through the Marketplace Developer Council, members share valuable insights and feedback on existing and prospective tools and programs to influence and shape the roadmap and priorities for Marketplace Web Service APIs and associated tools.

"The open communication with Amazon and the new Developer Council helps Seller Labs ensure it's developing the right features for our customers and provides the best experience for sellers," said Hank Harris, CEO of Seller Labs. "The Marketplace Appstore is simply the beginning of bringing more effective tools to Amazon sellers."

ABOUT SELLER LABS

Seller Labs, LLC is the creator of cloud-based e-commerce applications, FEEDBACK GENIUS, SCOPE and IGNITE. The company's software suite provides third-party Amazon merchants with tools to automate email messaging, Amazon keyword and product research and Amazon Sponsored Products ads (PPC) management. The company is based in Athens, Ga. For more information, please visit www.sellerlabs.com.

SOURCE Seller Labs

Related Links

http://www.sellerlabs.com

In 2014, Standard Textile had a vision to create a model for textile manufacturing in the United States. The company launched its Manufacturing 4.0 initiative in 2015 and invested more than $65 million dollars in its facilities in Thomaston, Georgia and Union, South Carolina to bring new lifethrough advanced manufacturingto American textile production. Smart technologies, including state-of-the-art machinery, automation, robotics, vision control systems, advanced analytics and the Internet of Things have been implemented to readily control every level of the company's supply chain.

"Our goal has always been to push the boundaries of what textile manufacturing in the United States can achieve, combining real-time data exchange with advanced automation, robotics and vision controls," said Gary Heiman, President and CEO of Standard Textile. Today, the company is realizing results beyond initial expectations and vision. "Our smart manufacturing investments have allowed us to optimize every level of our manufacturing and logistics process, and to keep production closely connected to our research and development."

As a company with deep roots in this country, Standard Textile is now offering hoteliers a new American-made terry and sheeting collection that enhances the guest experience while lowering operational costs, and stimulating domestic job and economic growth.

With the new Made in USA products, hoteliers receive unsurpassed durability, superior cost management and a luxuriously soft hand that guests will appreciateall backed by patented technologies. These products also help move hoteliers forward on the path to sustainable solutions through Real Green, an innovative processing, production and performance system developed by Standard Textile.

ForeverSoft towels feature an ultra-soft pile yarn specifically engineered to be softer than traditional 100% cotton towels, 100% of the time. Not only are the towels softer, but they also dry faster, allowing for energy and cost savings during the laundering process.

An advanced weaving technology also helps reduce laundering costs for the new Transitions terry by imperceptibly controlling the distribution of pile height. The result? A high-quality towel with the highest pile in the centermost parts of the towel to provide an exceptional guest experience at a lower overall product weight.

After a long day of travel, business meetings or exploring the sights, hotel guests want a good night's sleep on a great set of sheets. Standard Textile's new, uncommonly smooth UltraTwill sheets and pillowcases make this product line an ideal bedding solution for hotel guests and hoteliers alike.

"Since 1940, Standard Textile has been developing innovations to help our customers succeed," said Richard Stewart, Corporate VP/Product Development & Sustainability at Standard Textile. "Hotel linens elevate the guest experience and with the launch of these three new products, our customers receive linens that not only make their guests happy, but also make sense operationally and from a sustainability standpoint."

All three products feature a number of patented technologies developed by Standard Textile, including its signature Centium Core Technology, a unique weaving process that dramatically improves tensile strength, extends service life and enhances performance. With Standard Textile's Room Ready for You laundered with Tide program, hoteliers receive the sheets and towels clean, fresh and ready to use out of the box, saving time, labor and up-front processing costs. The OneSTEP program and patented EZ ID color-coding system provides easy size identification for housekeeping staff.

To learn more about Standard Textile's ForeverSoft terry, Transitions terry and UltraTwill sheets and pillowcases, please visit https://goo.gl/DjghBC.

About Standard Textile

Founded in 1940, Standard Textile has developed a culture of innovation, quality, and service. With more than 80 patents, its products are engineered to deliver durability, longevity, performance and value. A vertically integrated company, Standard Textile is a leading global provider of total solutions in the institutional textiles and apparel markets. Leveraging textile design, engineering, manufacturing, laundry expertise, and its global infrastructure, this company serves customers in the healthcare, hospitality, interiors, workwear, and consumer markets worldwide. For more information visit standardtextile.com.

Contact:

Elisa Cicero

Account Executive, G&S Business Communications

[email protected]

(212) 697-2600

Judy Sroufe

Vice President, Brand Marketing and Communications, Standard Textile

[email protected]

(513) 761-9256

SOURCE Standard Textile Co., Inc.

Related Links

http://www.standardtextile.com

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has named Steve Jurczyk as associate administrator, the agency's highest-ranking civil servant position. Jurczyk has been serving in the position in an acting capacity since March 10. In addition, Deputy Associate Administrator Krista Paquin will retire from NASA at the end of May. Melanie W. Saunders has been assigned as the acting deputy associate administrator, effective June 10.

"I want to thank Steve for stepping up to the plate as acting associate administrator these past months, and look forward to his counsel going forward," said Bridenstine. "I also want to thank Krista for her distinguished service to NASA and welcome Melanie to Headquarters. The agency has greatly benefited from the talents of all these dedicated civil servants."

Until his appointment as associate administrator, Jurczyk had been associate administrator of the Space Technology Mission Directorate since June 2015. In this position, he formulated and executed the agency's space technology programs, focusing on developing and demonstrating transformative technologies for human and robotic exploration of the solar system in partnership with industry and academia.

He previously was director at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Named to this position in May 2014, he headed NASA's first center, which plays a critical role in NASA's aeronautics research, exploration and science missions. Jurczyk served as Langley's deputy center director from August 2006 until his appointment as director.

Jurczyk began his NASA career in 1988 at Langley in the Electronic Systems Branch as a design and integration and test engineer developing several space-based Earth remote sensing systems. From 2002 to 2004 Jurczyk was director of engineering, and from 2004 to 2006 he was director of research and technology at Langley, where he led the organizations' contributions to a broad range of research, technology and engineering disciplines contributing to all NASA mission areas.

He has received many awards during his career, including two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals, the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive in 2006, and the Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive in 2016 -- the highest honors attainable for federal government leadership. He is an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a graduate of the University of Virginia, where he received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1984 and 1986.

In an agency career spanning more than 30 years, Paquin has served in many critical roles. She started at NASA in 1984 as a Presidential Management Intern, and spent 22 years of her career at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. As a senior executive at Goddard, she was assigned the roles of associate director of management operations, deputy director of the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate, deputy director for Planning and Business Management of Flight Programs, and Goddard associate center director.

In her latest role as deputy associate administrator at Headquarters, she chairs the NASA Mission Support Council, which serves as the senior decision-making body regarding the integrated agency mission support portfolio. Paquin also was associate administrator for the Mission Support Directorate from April 2015, where she was responsible for the leadership and integration of NASA mission support functions with an annual budget of more than $3 billion. She oversaw agencywide human capital management, strategic infrastructure, procurement, protective services, audit liaison, agency directives management, NASA Headquarters operations, the NASA Shared Services Center and NASA partnerships, including Space Act Agreements.

Appointed to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in 1999, Paquin was the recipient of numerous awards, including NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, the SES Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal. She holds bachelors and masters degrees in Urban Planning and Management from the University of Maryland.

Saunders has been acting deputy center director at the Johnson Space Center in Houston since Feb. 1, where she helps to manage one of NASA's largest installations, with almost 11,000 civil service and contractor employees  including those at White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico  and an annual budget of approximately $5 billion. She was previously Johnson's associate director, and oversaw a broad range of human spaceflight activities.

Prior to being named associate center director, Saunders served as associate manager of the International Space Station Program from 2005 to 2009, during the most intensive phases of space station assembly. From 2003 to 2005, she was deputy manager of the station's External Relations Office. Saunders began her NASA career in 1994 as the manager for International Policies for the International Space Station Program, where she negotiated international agreements.

During her NASA career, Saunders has been recognized with the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award, two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, a Silver Snoopy, and numerous other individual and group achievement awards. She also was profiled in the inaugural edition of [email protected], and in Summer 2017 was featured in Profiles in Diversity, Women Worth Watching. She holds a bachelor's degree in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Davis.

For information about NASA and its missions and activities, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov

As the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Williams will continue to be responsible for the Company's financial reporting processes, as well as supervisory responsibility over the senior officers who lead the Company's accounting, finance, investor relations and information systems functions. Mr. Williams is approaching 25 years with the Company in various roles with increasing responsibility in the finance department.

About Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc., is a publicly-traded REIT headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina that presently operates and owns, or has an ownership interest in, a portfolio of 44 upscale outlet shopping centers. Tanger's operating properties are located in 22 states coast to coast and in Canada, totaling approximately 15.3 million square feet, leased to over 3,100 stores which are operated by more than 500 different brand name companies. The Company has more than 37 years of experience in the outlet industry. Tanger Outlet Centers continue to attract more than 189 million shoppers annually. For more information on Tanger Outlet Centers, call 1-800-4TANGER or visit the Company's website at www.tangeroutlets.com.

Media Contact:

Quentin N. Pell

[email protected]





SOURCE Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tangeroutlets.com

The chairman of China Film Co., Ltd Mr. La Peikang and guests from film and animation industry attended the opening ceremony of FFTC on 11st morning. During his speech, he said that "we hope to build a mutual help platform for China film-makers in the fantasy field, let everyone deeply discuss the current and the future of China's fantasy film industry and facilitate the development of this industry." Other guests also shared their professional insights from different industry fields during the session, which attracted intensive attention from media and professional audiences.

During the awarding ceremony, which took place on 11st, the following 10 IPs from fantasy literature, comic and game field were listed as "2018's 10 Most Anticipated Fantasy IPs": G.A.E.A, Take My Brother Away, Escape, The Outcase, Yuan Dragon, The Great Ruler, Megalodon, Magic Legend, Sting and Asura. FFTC invited well-known producers, media professionals, and film-makers participating in the review. The data of this award was exclusively supported by Ent Group.

Forum Day

During the Fantasy Forum on May 11st, the leading figures from film and related industy gave brilliant speech and discussion among the topics of fantasy film production and post-production, market potential and China animation. They deeply analysed the opportunities and threats that China fantasy film industry faces.

The Fantasy Class invited tech professionals from top post-production companies such as WETA, BASE, Pixomondo, and MoreVFX gave their opinions on the now and future of fantasy post-production field. They made constructive suggestions regarding how to evolve China fantasy film's visual effect level.

During the Fantasy Presentation, leaders from every aspect from the industry chain such as Tencent Animation & Comic, MoreVFX and Base shared their professional insights on the development of China fantasy film and animation.

Exhibition Day

The very first FFTC attracted exhibitors from film, TV, online streaming, animation and publishing industry: the Chinese Film Experience Pavilion brought by China Film Co., Ltd, the Jurassic World 2 booth with true-to-life dinosaur from Universal Pictures, Megalodon, the whole new Sci-fi horror blockbuster brought by Yinli Media created a mysterious underwater world at the scene. Fosun Picture under Fosun Group brought the new video of the fantasy spectacle Alpha; Haixing created a unique booth for the demonstration of numerous US comics; the CITIC bookstore also set the booth at FFTC to promote their fantasy genre books. Coca Cola, FFTC's official beverage, costumed the Avengers' limited-edition can and interacted with passionate visitors during the exhibition.

The auditorium attracted lots of visitors during the public opening days, who lined up for photos or participated in the interactive games with exhibitors.

The first FFTC attracted hundreds of film companies' attendance and rounded off with applause on 14th May, 2018. The FFTC will be held next year in 2019.

SOURCE FFTCThe company, which earned this recognition throughout 2017 and in previous years as well, led the pack in both sales statistics and quality achieved when measured against other eligible companies representing the same client. The So Cal Group continues to excel, garnering national sales recognition for both quarterly and yearly excellence as a top performing sales organization.

President Tedford Picha praised his team's dedication, saying, "It is exciting for us to receive this award again for our ongoing excellence on behalf of the client, and we will continue to provide superior results while exceeding both client and customer expectations."

The So Cal Group uses proven, personalized sales and marketing methods to acquire and retain loyal customers for the client. As a recognized leader in outsourced customer acquisition, The So Cal Group provides stellar service with professionalism and integrity for clients desirous of expansion. In addition, the company offers its team of talented sales professionals an award-winning training program.

At The So Cal Group, giving back to the community is very important, as evidenced by the company's support of the Susan J. Komen Foundation, Operation Smile, and The Boys and Girls Club of Venice.

Like The So Cal Group on Facebook, follow them on Instagram, and check out their videos on YouTube.

About the So Cal Group

The So Cal Group is an outsourced sales and marketing company headquartered in Torrance, California, specializing in sales solutions for respected client brands nationwide. Their motivated sales force works on behalf of the client to acquire new customers while retaining current ones, thus increasing the client's brand awareness in the market. For more information, call 424.558.8308 or visit http://www.socalgroupinc.com.

Contact: Sandy DeLucchi

424-558-8308

SOURCE The So Cal Group

Related Links

http://www.socalgroupinc.com

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC) continues to reach major tourism milestones as the summer travel season approaches. Moving at a rapid-pace, Puerto Rico reaffirms the destination's readiness to host visitors from all over the world during the U.S. Travel Association's IPW 2018 event, the travel industry's premier international marketplace and the largest generator of travel to the U.S.

"We continue to make great strides because we implemented a comprehensive strategy that has secured a speedy comeback for the Island," expressed Carla Campos, Active Executive Director of PRTC. "As a result, we can announce that an incredible amount of cruise passengers are expected in May and June, air capacity figures will equal those from 2016 by the Fall, and occupancy remains strong as renovated hotels continue opening their doors. These milestones couldn't have been achieved without Governor Ricardo Rossello's leadership and the immense support from the private tourism sector. We're continuing to receive thousands of visitors and at this pace, our summer months look very promising."

Major milestones important for leisure and business travelers include:

Cruises : Just last week, the Island received 17,000 cruise passengers in one day. With an expected arrival of 100,000 passengers in May and 131,000 in June, Puerto Rico is headed toward an incredibly strong Summer. The cruise industry has seen growth this year with 14 vessels homeporting  four more than last season  including Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, the Windstar Pride, Silverseas Silver Wind and Viking Sea. The 2018/2019 cruising season is expected to witness a record-breaking 1.7 million passengers, which is expected to generate roughly $250 million in revenue for the Island.

Just last week, the Island received 17,000 cruise passengers in one day. With an expected arrival of 100,000 passengers in May and 131,000 in June, is headed toward an incredibly strong Summer. The cruise industry has seen growth this year with 14 vessels homeporting  four more than last season  including Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas, the Windstar Pride, Silverseas Silver Wind and Viking Sea. The 2018/2019 cruising season is expected to witness a record-breaking 1.7 million passengers, which is expected to generate roughly in revenue for the Island. Air Access : By the Fall, seat capacity for air access is expected to be back on par with levels from this time last year, when tourism was at its peak. At this rate, Puerto Rico has recovered at a faster pace than destinations that have gone through similar situations. Growth is driven by newly established routes and frequency, in addition to larger aircrafts resulting in higher seat capacity.

By the Fall, seat capacity for air access is expected to be back on par with levels from this time last year, when tourism was at its peak. At this rate, has recovered at a faster pace than destinations that have gone through similar situations. Growth is driven by newly established routes and frequency, in addition to larger aircrafts resulting in higher seat capacity. Hotels : Currently, there are over 130 hotels operating, with over 11,500 rooms available. Between 3,500 and 4,000 more rooms will be added to that inventory when renovations are completed. The Ritz-Carlton Reserve, El San Juan Hotel and the St. Regis Bahia Beach will be opening their doors come October. Looking ahead, the PRTC reports that 28 new properties, totaling 1,300 additional rooms are under construction at the moment. Some of the new hotels in the pipeline are the ALOFT San Juan Convention Center, ALOFT Ponce and Four Seasons Cayo Largo Resort, among others.

Currently, there are over 130 hotels operating, with over 11,500 rooms available. Between 3,500 and 4,000 more rooms will be added to that inventory when renovations are completed. The Ritz-Carlton Reserve, El San Juan Hotel and the St. Regis Bahia Beach will be opening their doors come October. Looking ahead, the PRTC reports that 28 new properties, totaling 1,300 additional rooms are under construction at the moment. Some of the new hotels in the pipeline are the ALOFT San Juan Convention Center, ALOFT Ponce and Four Seasons Cayo Largo Resort, among others. Destination Attractions : There are more than 184 attractions open on the Island, ready for enjoyment. Additionally, 13 golf courses and 16 casinos are open for recreation. Puerto Rico has more than 4,000 operating restaurants Island-wide.

The PRTC announced that the Island was ready to receive travelers by December 20, 2017 and leisure travelers have been visiting and enjoying tourism hotspots all around the destination since. Additionally, hoteliers, restaurants, attractions, artisans, tour providers and guides have been benefiting from the increase in leisure travel consistently since the destination opened its doors for visitors. The comprehensive recovery strategy and aggressive marketing plan rolled out by the PRTC and the private sector have paved the way for an accelerated recovery and comeback validated by steady growth indicators.

The PRTC is committed to continuing to work alongside its private sector partners who have demonstrated increased confidence in the Island to achieve continued major milestones throughout the year. With summer right around the corner, Puerto Rico is ready to enchant visitors. The Island is offering great summer deals at SeePuertoRico.com/en/promo.

For more information including details on open attractions, accommodations, Puerto Rico's most popular restaurants and more, visit SeePuertoRico.com. And, for information on other Island updates (related to hospitals, ATMs, supermarkets, etc.), visit http://status.pr/.

About Puerto Rico Tourism Company

The Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), founded in 1970, is a public corporation responsible for stimulating, promoting and regulating the development of the tourism industry. It markets Puerto Rico as a tourism destination through advertising, public relations and promotional activities; promotes tourism among visitors and local residents; provides visitor orientation and technical assistance to investors; evaluates tourism facilities and establishes standards of quality; and regulates and oversees gaming operations. PRTC has offices and representatives in the U.S. mainland, Canada, Europe and Latin America.

SOURCE Puerto Rico Tourism Company

Related Links

http://www.seepuertorico.com

ATLANTA, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As the CEO of TrustLogics, it is with great pleasure and a genuine sense of pride, that, along with everyone at TrustLogics (www.TrustLogics.com), we announce and congratulate our colleague, Shirley E. Borghi, for her appointment as a member of Leadership Atlanta, Class of 2019.

"I was not surprised that Shirley was included in the Leadership Atlanta, class of 2019. I am constantly amazed by her range and depth of knowledge, and find myself daily grateful for her willingness to bring genuine passion and relevant expertise to the business of TrustLogics. It is an honor, and I am very grateful to have a professional of Shirley's stature on the team." -Srinivas Dubba.

Dennis C. Hayes, a recognized icon of Atlanta Technology, congratulated his protege Shirley Borghi, on her selection as a member of the Leadership Atlanta, Class of 2019, and had this to say:

"Shirley Borghi, is one of the best and brightest, up and coming Business Leaders of her generation. Her ability to manage highly effective teams, including all functions and all levels of an organization, her skill to negotiate complex technical agreements with strategic partners, along with her capacity to see the big picture while implementing details, proves that she is very highly deserving of this honor."

Leadership Atlanta is an important force for building community by inspiring leadership committed to service. Celebrating more than 48 years of developing leaders, Leadership Atlanta is one of the oldest sustained community leadership program in the nation. Together with an expansive network of distinguished alumni, Leadership Atlanta continues a proud tradition of connecting and inspiring leaders to strengthen metro Atlanta's communities.

Shirley Borghi currently serves as Executive Director, Hispanic Health Coalition of Georgia, and TrustLogics, Senior Management, Operations, along with discharging board level responsibilities for several corporate and non-profit entities. Shirley is a tenured leader in multiple industries, including Non-Profits, Technology, Cutting Edge Markets in highly fast paced environments and competitive industries. Shirley possesses strong business qualifications with a proven track record of hands-on and senior leadership experience in sales, marketing, consulting, operations, branding, new venture, M&A, start-up, change management and business unit development, national account management, project management, and strategic alliance, channel, and marketing strategies. Shirley is highly accomplished, skilled and recognized for her leadership ability to "convert Corporate Strategy into Action and Delivery".

About The HHCGA

The Hispanic Health Coalition of Georgia, (HHCGA), a 501(3) Non-Profit organization created to advance health policies, advocacy and education programs which will improve access to services for Hispanic/Latino children and adults, create better health outcomes, prevention of Chronic Diseases and increased sustainability throughout the State. Founded in 1990, presently Georgia's only statewide organization which focuses on better outcomes in Chronic Diseases to this population.

About TrustLogics  Global Standard for the Hiring Process

At the start of 2017, TrustLogics completed the first "closed beta trial" of the system for job seekers and recruiters. In a matter of weeks after the start of the trial, more than 48,000 users were registered, most having completed personal profiles and other important details as defined by the respective recruiter and job seeker dashboard. On the strength of the success of the beta trial, a multifunctional management team was formed, and Shirley became an important part of the strategic management that had accepted an aggressive development and implementation challenge. By December the management team had achieved key milestones and the successful launch of the "open beta" platform for TrustLogics. By year end, the number of users in the system rose to half million, and by end of first quarter 2018, there were forty million registered users in the system.

SOURCE TrustLogics

Related Links

http://www.trustlogics.com

Hadijah Nabukenya, 24, a former sex worker, is one of hundreds of girls who have transformed from prostitution to vocational work after joining DREAMS girl project.

DREAMS, is an acronym for Determined, Resilient, Empowered, Aids-Free, Mentored and Safe.

The project looks out for vulnerable girls who are at risk of acquiring HIV, such as prostitutes, and trains them in hairdressing, tailoring, cosmetology, jewelry making and catering. It aims at keeping girls safe by being determined and busy at work rather than depending on begging money from men, which puts most of them at risk of acquiring HIV.

It is funded under the US government Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR). The programme funding runs through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to Mildmay Uganda.

Nabukenya, who graduated at Uganda Youth Development Link (uydel), says her education stopped in P7 after her father failed to pay school fees due to her stepmothers influence.

In my P7 vacation, I used to stay at home with my stepmothers brother who used to defile me at a tender age. But when I reported him to my stepmother and my father, they all disagreed with me. My father even refused to take me for medical examination to confirm, she says.

I was forced to leave home and got married to a man who offered to stay with me. I gave birth to three children in a space of five years because I had no idea about family planning, she adds.

Nabukenya says her husband abandoned her in a house they were renting in the village without food. She came to Kampala city and joined prostitution.

Natandika okweyiya olweyiya olwenjawulo (doing transactional sex). I used to sleep with various men in one day to get money. I could sleep with a man that pays my house rent, then sleep with another one for food, another one for my childrens school fees and others could have sex with me without even paying a single penny, Nabukenya says.

She says during that period, she suffered a lot of sexually transmitted infections, chest pain and stomach pain.

I tried catering and salon business but failed and the only option to get money was engaging in prostitution. However, I was visited by a colleague who introduced me to the DREAMS girl project, she says.

Nabukenya says, she first turned down the opportunity to join DREAMS because she had daily customers.

But when my friend insisted, I joined DREAMS girl programme in Mityana. It was by miracle that I was tested HIV- negative before joining since it was the first condition. I studied tailoring and catering and am now working. I have no regrets and have been able to raise my childrens school fees. I stopped prostitution to keep my HIV status negative, she says.

Like her, Immaculate Nabachwa, 20, is also proud of DREAMS project where she got hairdressing and cosmetology skills. Nabachwa now owns her own salon business.

I was also tested HIV-negative and qualified to be enrolled on DREAMS programme in 2017. I have been empowered, stopped begging from men and I am now considered a useful person in the community. I spend all my time on my work and no longer depend on men, she says.

Sarah Kabasomi, the DREAMS coordinator at Mildmay, Mityana says they give technical support to implementing partners of DREAMS girl project such as UYDEL.

They bring these girls to the safe places like UYDEL where they learn different vocational skills to keep them busy at work... They mobilise girls who are pregnant, those in schools and those who have been in transactional sex, she said.

In this programme, we focus on girls between 10 and 24 years to empower them. Its a two-year programme and our goal is to make sure that we should have reduced the spread of HIV among this age group by 40 per cent. The reports that are coming out show that we are on the right track, Kabasomi said last week.

The training is free of charge and over 500 girls graduated at the Mityana and Mubende district projects last week.

Kabasomi said the girls have been given business kits worth Shs 200 million to start businesses. The kits include sewing machines, salon and catering equipment.

zuraneetah2015@gmail.com"United Franchise Group has demonstrated a sustained commitment to export expansion, and the 'E' Awards Committee was very impressed with United Franchise Group's sales of U.S. franchises in 17 foreign markets. The company's development of export opportunities for its vendors was also particularly notable. United Franchise Group's achievements have undoubtedly contributed to national export expansion efforts that support the U.S. economy and create American jobs," said Secretary Ross in a congratulatory letter to the company announcing its selection.

The United Franchise Group is home to a variety of internationally recognized brands throughout the world. It is well recognized as a company that offers entrepreneurs solid business opportunities, provides them with excellent resources, and continually displays unprecedented leadership to help franchisees achieve their goals.

"We are extremely proud and honored to receive this prestigious award," said Ray Titus, Chief Executive Officer. "Exporting is a very important and vital part of our sales, and buyers and consumers in foreign markets want quality products made in the United States. We have a passion to help people build and grow their own business, both domestically and internationally."

In 2006, United Franchise Group's Signarama brand, the world's largest sign franchise, with 800 locations, became the first ever franchise to be recognized with the prestigious "E" Award.

In total, Secretary Ross honored 43 U.S. companies and organizations from across the country with the President's "E" Award for their roles in strengthening the U.S. economy by sharing American ingenuity outside of our borders.

Companies are nominated for the "E" Awards through the U.S. Commercial Service, part of the Department's International Trade Administration. With offices across the United States and in embassies and consulates around the world, The International Trade Administration lends its expertise at every stage of the exporting process by promoting and facilitating exports and investment into the United States; administering Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties orders; and removing, reducing, or preventing foreign trade barriers.

U.S. exports totaled $2.33 trillion in 2017, accounting for 12 percent of U.S. gross domestic product. Exports supported an estimated 10.7 million jobs nationwide in 2016, according to the most recent statistics from the International Trade Administration.

About the "E" Awards

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order reviving the World War II "E" symbol of excellence to honor and provide recognition to America's exporters. A criterion for the award is based on four years of successive export growth in one or more international markets. For more information about the "E" Awards and the benefits of exporting, visit www.export.gov.

About United Franchise Group

"The Global Leader for Entrepreneurs." United Franchise Group is a group of affiliated companies and brands. Led by CEO Ray Titus, United Franchise Group is home to a variety of internationally recognized brands including Signarama, Fully Promoted, Experimac, Jon Smith Subs, Venture X, Accurate Franchising, SuperGreen Solutions, Transworld Business Advisors and The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill. With over three decades in the franchising industry and more than 1600 franchisees throughout the world, United Franchise Group offers unprecedented leadership and solid business opportunities for entrepreneurs. Visit www.UnitedFranchiseGroup.com for franchising opportunities.

Media Contact:

Ashley Soto

305-631-2283, ext. 1005

[email protected]

SOURCE United Franchise Group

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The first-day-of-issue dedication ceremony, free and open to the public, will take place at 6 p.m. CDT at Austin's Thinkery Children's Museum. Followers of the U.S. Postal Service's Facebook page can view the ceremony live at facebook.com/USPS. Share the news using the hashtag #FrozenTreatsStamps.

The stamps feature illustrations of frosty, colorful, icy pops on a stick. Today, Americans love cool, refreshing ice pops on a hot summer day. The tasty, sweet confections come in a variety of shapes and flavors.

Ice pops are made by large manufacturers, home cooks and artisanal shops. In recent years, frozen treats containing fresh fruit such as kiwi, watermelon, blueberries, oranges and strawberries have become more common. In addition, flavors such as chocolate, root beer and cola are also popular. Some frozen treats even have two sticks, making them perfect for sharing.

This booklet of 20 stamps showcases the work of Margaret Berg of Santa Monica, CA, depicting whimsical watercolor illustrations of frozen treats. Each of the 10 stamp designs includes two different treats. The words "FOREVER" and "USA" appear along the bottom of each stamp.

Art director Antonio Alcala of Alexandria, VA, designed the stamps with Leslie Badani of Alexandria, VA.

Frozen Treats is being issued as First-Class Mail Forever stamps which will always be equal in value to the current First-Class Mail one-ounce price.

Stamp ideas welcome

The public is encouraged to submit stamp suggestions. Visit the Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee website for details on the stamp selection process and instructions for submitting suggestions in writing. Due to the time required for research and approval, ideas for stamp subjects should be received at least three years prior to the proposed release. Each submission should include pertinent historical information and important dates associated with the subject.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/usps), Instagram (instagram.com/uspostalservice), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/usps), subscribe to our channel on YouTube (youtube.com/usps), like us on Facebook (facebook.com/usps) and view our Postal Posts blog (uspsblog.com). For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts.

Mark Saunders

202.320.0782

[email protected]

usps.com/news

SOURCE U.S. Postal Service

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DALLAS, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- VARIDESK welcomes long-term executive Jeff Lamb to the company as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

With a strong background in operations, facilities and HR, Jeff will oversee the teams charged with turning current and potential customers into lifelong fans. He will also help bring new talent into VARIDESK, equipping the team with tools for growth.

"VARIDESK is growing rapidly. Bringing Jeff in as our COO is a testament to that," said Jason McCann, co-founder and chief executive officer of VARIDESK. "Jeff brings with him years of industry knowledge and experience scaling businesses  and most importantly, a passion for helping people reach their highest potential. He will be a tremendous asset to our team."

Jeff has been a leader in corporate America for 37 years  but his first job out of high school was assembling furniture at night for T. Boone Pickens at Mesa Petroleum. He spent 12 years at MESA, growing into a variety of leadership roles.

He spent over a decade at Southwest Airlines as executive vice president of Corporate Services and chief people officer, where he helped continue the company's award-winning work environment and culture. He also previously served Roger Staubach as an executive as well as senior leadership roles at Belo.

"There's natural alignment with my passions for creating happy and healthy organizations and this new role at VARIDESK," said Lamb. "But what really attracted me to the company is its people-first philosophy. I believe developing people and maintaining a strong culture are key tenants of success."

A Texas-native, Jeff is actively involved in supporting the local community through his church in Coppell. He currently serves on the board of directors at Lionheart Children's Academies and previously served on the National Board for Make-A-Wish and Dallas Children's Hospital.

About VARIDESK

VARIDESK launched its trademark height-adjustable standing desk solution to promote a healthier and more productive workspace. Today, VARIDESK is the world's leading active workspace innovation company, creating affordable, standing desk solutions and a full line of office furniture and accessories that transform the way people and students work every day. VARIDESK has shipped products to over 130 countries and it is used in more than 95 percent of Fortune 500 companies. Most VARIDESK products are in-stock and ready to ship within 24 hours, making it one of the quickest and easiest ways to transform your workspace.

Media Contact

Andrea McLaughlin

Phone: 610-504-5423

[email protected]

SOURCE VARIDESK

Related Links

https://www.varidesk.com

SAN FRANCISCO, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Verge Genomics, a drug discovery company utilizing machine learning to develop new therapeutics, announced today the launch of a groundbreaking initiative to sequence genes expressed in the brains of Parkinson's patients at a single cell resolution, generating the first dataset of its kind in the field. This effort will be the focus of a new consortium led by Verge and in partnership with the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) and VIB, the life sciences research institute, in Flanders, Belgium.

This public-private consortium will combine VIB's cutting-edge single-nucleus RNA sequencing technology, UC San Diego's outstanding collection of tissue generously provided by patients and their families, and Verge's machine learning platform to generate and analyze new types of patient data at a resolution only recently made possible. Growing evidence shows that neurodegenerative diseases result from multiple interacting cell types, each of which contributes to disease in a unique manner. Yet, no datasets currently exist that capture gene expression changes across individual cell types in disease patients and healthy controls for any disease. Verge, VIB, and UC San Diego will collaborate to sequence all genes expressed in individual cell nuclei of brain tissue from people with and without neurodegenerative diseases, beginning with Parkinson's disease. For the first time, this will allow researchers to assess how gene activity changes in the disease across multiple cell types, offering an unprecedented glimpse into disease progression.

"This collaboration continues an ongoing effort at Verge to invest heavily in the creation of new, high quality datasets designed explicitly with computational analysis in mind from the start," said Alice Zhang, CEO of Verge. "With UC San Diego and VIB, we combine deep expertise across multiple domains -- spanning neurobiology, single cell sequencing, and machine learning -- to generate not just more data, but importantly, the right types of data necessary for unlocking the next generation of breakthrough treatments."

"Single cell technology is advancing rapidly, opening up new opportunities for us to understand how the healthy brain functions and what goes wrong in disease," said Dr. Matthew Holt, group leader at the VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research. "Our collaboration with Verge and UC San Diego places us at the forefront of this exciting field and will allow us to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying Parkinson's disease at an unprecedented level, which we hope will accelerate the development of effective treatments for this incurable disease."

"We are very excited about interacting with Verge on this new project using banked postmortem tissues from UC San Diego's Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC). I anticipate to greatly move the field of Parkinson's Disease therapeutics forward," said Dr. Robert Rissman, Professor of Neurosciences and Director of UC San Diego's ADRC Neuropathology Core.

Parkinson's disease is a chronic and progressive movement disorder involving the malfunction and death of brain neurons. These neurons include those that produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates movement and coordination. As Parkinson's progresses, the amount of dopamine produced in the brain decreases, resulting in loss of movement control. Nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson's disease. Currently, the only approved treatments address Parkinson's symptoms but do not prevent the disease nor halt its progression.

About Verge Genomics

Verge Genomics is a next-generation drug discovery company that is using human genomics to accelerate drug discovery. Founded by scientists from leading genomics labs and pharmaceutical veterans, the Verge team is 13 people including 11 Ph.D.s with expertise in machine learning, neuroscience, drug development, applied math, biophysics, and statistics from UCLA, Stanford, Oxford, and UCSF. For additional information, please visit our website at www.vergegenomics.com.

About VIB

Basic research in life sciences is VIB's raison d'etre. VIB is an independent research institute where some 1,500 top scientists from Belgium and abroad conduct pioneering basic research. As such, they are pushing the boundaries of what we know about molecular mechanisms and how they rule living organisms such as human beings, animals, plants and microorganisms. Based on a close partnership with five Flemish universities  Ghent University, KU Leuven, University of Antwerp, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Hasselt University  and supported by a solid funding program, VIB unites the expertise of all its collaborators and research groups in a single institute. VIB's technology transfer activities translate research results into concrete benefits for society such as new diagnostics and therapies and agricultural innovations. These applications are often developed by young start-ups from VIB or through collaborations with other companies. This also leads to additional employment and bridges the gap between scientific research and entrepreneurship. VIB also engages actively in the public debate on biotechnology by developing and disseminating a wide range of science-based information. More info can be found on www.vib.be.

SOURCE Verge Genomics

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BETHESDA, Md., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Walker & Dunlop, Inc. announced today that it recently structured equity and debt financing for the construction of Watkins Alley, a luxury 44-unit townhome and condo development located in the heart of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The development team for Watkins Alley is led by Ditto Residential and the project will include 29 townhomes, 14 condominiums, and one carriage house, with one level of below-grade parking.

"We're thrilled to partner with Walker & Dunlop to embark on this rare opportunity to meet the overwhelming demand for new luxury housing product in the supply-constrained Capitol Hill submarket," said Martin Ditto, CEO of Ditto Residential. "With its ideal location in the heart of one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., we are confident that Watkins Alley will provide a truly exceptional living experience for its residents."

As the exclusive advisor to Ditto Residential, Walker & Dunlop's Structured Finance team, led by Managing Director Jamie Butler, sourced the senior construction loan from a regional bank and structured the joint venture equity with Grosvenor Americas, a private property investment and development company.

"While there is generally limited capital available for large-unit luxury condominium projects, our marketing process attracted a wide range of capital solutions for Watkins Alley aided by the exceptional location of the project and proven track-record of Ditto Residential in the sector. As a result, we were able to deliver an extremely efficient capital stack for the client," said Mr. Butler. "Watkins Alley marks the third assignment Walker & Dunlop has closed for Ditto Residential in the past six months, and we look forward to continuing to play a part in their exceptional growth and success."

Watkins Alley enjoys an ideal location within one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. Situated just one block from the Potomac Avenue Metro station and four blocks from the Eastern Market Metro station, the property will provide exceptional access to the city's best restaurants, nightlife, and local hot spots, as well as the greater D.C. Metropolitan Area. Two grocery stores are within one block of the property and more than 100 restaurants, bars, and shops are within walking distance. As homage to this historic neighborhood, the design of the community will reflect and complement its surrounding aesthetic through spectacular landscaping, large community courtyards and pedestrian spaces, and innovative building design. The redevelopment of the property will seamlessly blend the vintage charm of Capitol Hill with the contemporary demands of today's urban buyers.

Walker & Dunlop's Structured Finance Group provides access to all commercial real estate finance options in the capital stack, including joint venture equity, preferred equity, mezzanine financing, as well as bridge and construction senior debt financing. The team has a nationwide presence and strong global relationships with a range of capital providers including institutional funds, pension funds, life insurance companies, private equity firms, REITs, foreign capital, registered investment advisors, and high net worth individuals. The group's experienced team members have collectively closed over $72 billion in transactions over the course of their careers.

About Walker & Dunlop

Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the largest commercial real estate services and finance companies in the United States providing financing and investment sales to owners of multifamily and commercial properties. Walker & Dunlop, which is included in the S&P SmallCap 600 Index, has over 650 professionals in 29 offices across the nation with an unyielding commitment to client satisfaction.

SOURCE Walker & Dunlop, Inc.

Related Links

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BOSTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, today announced that Walter Schalka, Chief Executive Officer of Suzano Pulp and Paper, has been named the 2018 Latin American CEO of the Year. It is the first time an executive from the region has won the award for the fourth consecutive year. The award will be presented to Mr. Schalka at the Latin American Conference on August 14, 2018 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

RISI's Latin American CEO of the Year is nominated by a group of investment analysts, portfolio managers, and RISI experts covering the Latin American and global pulp and paper industry.

Amongst the reasons cited for Walter Schalka's fourth win, one analyst said his "successful management and leadership during the merger with Fibria" and ability to "structure the deal to ensure Suzano shareholder's stakes were not diluted" made him a standout nomination.

Another analyst commented that his "strategic diversification, generating current and future growth of the business by investing in the Brazilian tissue industry" makes him a notable leader in the region.

When notified of his fourth win, Mr. Schalka stated: "The year of 2017 represented a very special period in Suzano's history, marked by a growth path and preparations for the future. We have concluded important projects, such as the debottlenecking of Imperatriz mill, in Maranhao state, and debuted in the tissue market, while reporting a record generation of operational cash flow and consistently deleveraging the company. As a result, we have obtained the investment grade by risk rating agency Fitch."

Another important achievement registered in 2017 was the company's debut at the Novo Mercado listing of the Brazilian stock exchange. "This was an important step that shows Suzano's commitment to society and its shareholders," the CEO commented.

Mr. Schalka goes on to explain Suzano's success is the result of a drive for the company to become better every day, by increasing competitive production costs, develop new products and innovate ways to meet customer demands. He points to Suzano's 8,000+ employees as the reason for continued success.

Suzano ended 2017 with the lowest nominal cash cost over the last years of Real 599/tonne, 3.8% down over 2016, while posting a record operational cash generation of Real 3.5 billion, 28% higher year-over-year.

About Walter Schalka:

Walter Schalka began his career at Citibank and later joined the holding company of Grupo Maepar. In 1989, he began working as Chief Financial Officer at Dixie Lalekla. After the merger between Toga and Dixie Lalekla, in 1995, that created the Dixie Toga Group, he became General Director. In 1997, he became the group's CEO and played a decisive role in its expansion, merger and transfer of control processes. In May 2005, he joined Grupo Votorantim as CEO of Votorantim Cimentos, where he was responsible for the operations in Brazil and in 14 others countries. In January 2013, he became CEO of Suzano Pulp and Paper, where he has focused on improving the company's results.

Walter Schalka holds a bachelor's degree in Engineering from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) and a graduate degree in Business Administration from the Getulio Vargas Foundation of Sao Paulo (FGV-SP). He also participated in the executive programs at IMD (Switzerland) and Harvard University (USA).

For more information about the Latin American Conference, click here.

About RISI (www.risi.com)

RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The company works with clients in the pulp and paper, packaging, wood products, timber, biomass, tissue and nonwovens industries to help them make better decisions.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, RISI operates additional offices throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia and is a subsidiary of Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC, a global business-to-business price reporting & information group (www.euromoneyplc.com).

For Press Enquiries, please contact:

Kimberly Rizzitano

Events Marketing Manager

O: +781-734-8996

E: [email protected]

SOURCE RISI

Related Links

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EXPERT OBSERVATION

Finding a house close to the city centre for under $500,000 is becoming increasingly difficult.

We look at the five suburbs in each capital city that are closest to the city centre and have a median house value under $500,000.

Obviously the options and distance from the city centre vary greatly across each of the individual capital cities.

Suburbs closest to a capital city GPO with a median house value of less than $500,000

Sydney

Bar Point is the suburb closest to the CBD with a median house value below $500,000. Sitting on the Central Coast as the crow flies it is 39.5 kilometres away from the CBD. There are only two suburbs within 50 kilometres of the CBD with a median house value below $500,000.

Melbourne

Dallas is the suburb closest to the Melbourne CBD with a median house value of less than $500,000. Located 16.1 kilometres from the CBD, the typical house costs less than $450,000. There are only two suburbs within 20 kilometres of the CBD with a median house values of less than $500,000.

Brisbane

Rocklea is the closest suburb to the city with a median house value below $500,000 and it is the only suburb below that price point within 10 kilometres of the CBD. Once you move more than 10 kilometres from the CBD there are many options under $500,000.

Adelaide

Hindmarsh is just 3.5 kilometres from the Adelaide CBD and has a median house value well below $500,000. The five suburbs listed are all less than 5 kilometres from the city centre which highlights the affordability of well-located housing in Adelaide relative to other capital cities.

Perth

Glendalough which is just over 5 kilometres from the Perth CBD is the closest suburb to the city centre with a median house value below $500,000. Relative to other cities there are quite a number of suburbs relatively close to the city centre with a median house value below $500,000.

Hobart

Montagu Bay which is 3 kilometres from Hobarts city centre is the closest suburb with a median house value of less than $500,000. Hobart remains the nations most affordable capital city housing market and, despite strong value growth recently, still has many suburbs with a median below $500,000 quite close to the city centre.

Darwin

Millner (8.1 kilometres from the CBD) is the suburb of Darwin closest to the city centre with a median house value under $500,000. Millner is also the only suburb with a median house value within 10 kilometres of the city centre.

Canberra

There is only one suburb in Canberra (Charnwood) that has a current median house value below $500,000. This highlights the lack of affordable options in Canberra despite the fact that it is one of the smallest capital cities.A multifaceted Hotel Motel in Hay Point with beachfront views has hit the market.

Savills Hotels agents Leon Alaban, Brent McCarthy and Christian Tsailikis are marketing the property in an area where the market is bouncing back due to a resurgence in mining activity.

The Hay Point Hotel Motel at 1272 Hay Point Road has a June 20 auction, with local and interstate investors expected to be interested.

Christian Tsalikis said it was an ideal time to purchase the asset.

The successful purchaser is presented with an opportunity to acquire the asset at a time where market conditions in the region are continuing to improve," he said.

With the local economy primarily underpinned by tourism, agriculture and mining activity, the influx of visitors to the area throughout this period has set the local economy on a steady incline."

The two hectare ocean front site located around 40 kilometres south of Mackay is minutes from the Dalrymple Bay and the BMA Hay Point coal terminals.

The waterfront exposure is arguably the main attraction of the property, and a real investment highlight," Savills agent Leon Alaban said.



The beachfront location provides patrons, diners, and lodgers with a relaxed and picturesque view."

The complex features a public bar complete with nine electronic gaming machines (EGM's), a bistro bar and dining room plus alfresco dining space, a commercial kitchen, an additional gaming room with a further 26 EGMs, plus TAB and Keno.

Hay Point Hotel Motel also has a drive through bottle shop on site.

The Hotel services the immediate catchment unopposed, being the only general licence venue for around 25 kilometres, according to Brent McCarthy.



The family members of Australia's sixth largest wine company, McWilliams Wines, are being asked to provide $15 million in a rights issue to bolster the company's weak balance sheet.

McWilliams chief executive Jeff McWilliam said raising equity was a practical route because banks were still wary of the wine industry.

"I think their confidence in the wine industry is not there yet," he told the Australian Financial Review.

"We've had to become less reliant on debt funding".

Its recently lodged June 1 prospectus for a 5-for-7 non-renounceable entitlement offer at 42 per share shows that McWilliams generated revenue of $100.7 million in 2016-17 but made a loss of $22.6 million before tax.

McWilliams is one of the pioneering wine entities within Australia which has been perfecting the winemaking craft since 1877, when founder Samuel McWilliam first planted vines on the banks of the Murray River in New South Wales.

With over 140 years of history, six consecutive generations of the McWilliam family have strived to be at the forefront of Australian wine innovation.

The Mount Pleasant winery was named Winery of the Year in the James Halliday Wine Companion 2017, and its 2011 Maurice OShea Shiraz was named Shiraz of the Year in the 2015 edition.

McWilliams is also the exclusive Australian distributor for Champagne Taittinger, Henkell, and Mionetto prosecco.

The company continues to operate Hanwood Estate, as well as produce premium wines under the McWilliams and Mount Pleasant brands. McWilliams also holds a 30% shareholding in MRWP, which is Margaret Rivers largest contract processing facility and now controls Evans & Tate.

At the date of this Prospectus, McWilliams is 100% family-owned.

At the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) level, the loss was $14.3 million. Revenue in 2015-16 was $107.9 million, with an EBITDA loss of $167,000.

Revenue for the first half of 2017-18 was $48.8 million, while EBITDA was $5.63 million.Over five hundred industry professionals will convene in June in Boston to analyze and discuss the Northeast natural gas market and conduct business. The 23rd Annual LDC Gas Forum Northeast takes place June 11 - 13 in Boston. This is the premiere gathering for natural gas industry professionals, which is much more than simply a conference in that business transactions actually take place.

The Northeast region is one of the most dynamic natural gas markets in the U.S. While the Northeast has historically been the largest demand location for natural gas, the dramatic ramp up of shale driven supply from the nearby Marcellus/Utica producing formations has literally turned this market on its ear.

Historical pipeline transportation paths are being re-plumbed to move supply from the Northeast to serve demand further south, north and west. Natural gas fired power generation is growing substantially as it displaces coal. New LNG export facilities have come on stream.

Dawn Constantin, SVP Marketing & Regulatory Affairs, BP Energy, provides a keynote presentation on the market, from the perspective of one of the industrys largest integrated energy companies with significant, producing, midstream and marketing assets.

Dr. Jim Duncan, Director, Market Research, ConocoPhillips, a perennial audience favorite, provides a lively keynote presentation offering his unique perspective on this region, considering a variety of influences including ongoing supply/demand balance gyrations, midstream buildout progress, policy, regulation, and weather.

Jim Simpson, President, East Daley Capital Advisors, provides a keynote presentation examining the new paradigm in natural gas commodity analytics. East Daley, a leading energy assets research firm, focuses on exposing the complex risks in the midstream energy market.

The program also includes six Panel presentations on a variety of topics with a total of 33 speakers. Panel topics include Market Dynamics/Fundamentals; New Technologies; Midstream Project Updates; and Gas Buyers Perspectives. Panelists include executives from leading industry players including: Dominion Energy Transmission, EDF Trading, Emera Energy, TransCanada, Portland Natural Gas Transmission System, Crestwood Midstream Partners, Statoil ENGIE Gas & LNG, Equinor Natural Gas, Millennium Pipeline, NextEra Energy, Enbridge, and NEXUS Gas Transmission.

This Forum focuses on the Northeast U.S. market, while four other Forums throughout the year address other key regions across the continent.

Participants at the Forums include market leaders, decision makers and subject matter experts. Industry segments represented include utilities, industrial gas consumers, producers, pipelines, marketers, regulators and analysts. The 2 1/2 day format is carefully structured for participants to hear from industry authorities about market developments, network with existing and new colleagues, and ultimately conclude transactions involving purchase, sale and transportation of natural gas.



Even in today's digital age, natural gas market participants appreciate a venue that facilitates face-to-face interaction. The LDC Gas Forum is uniquely structured to meet this requirement and has been the venue of choice for decades. Registration is still available at http://www.ldcgasforums.com/ne/



The LDC Gas Forums and the US-Mexico Natural Gas Forum are the premiere regional events where the Natural Gas Industry meets. This is where buyers and sellers meet and do business. Thousands of attendees attend one or more of the five regional Forums across the continent to discuss vital regional and national issues affecting all aspects of the natural gas marketplace. Timely panel discussions featuring key industry authorities focus on important questions facing buyers, sellers transport operators and other market stakeholders in the competitive energy markets. Topics include: Supply & Demand, Financial Outlook, Pipeline, Storage and Infrastructure Projects, LNG markets, Gas/Electric coordination, Regulatory Updates, Gas Buyer Insights, Industry Transformations, Risk Analysis and Hedging Strategies, International perspectives, and Energy Geopolitics.



Vast networking opportunities give you access to your clients, prospects, and peers to further explore relevant issues in your region.



The LDC Gas Forums: Southeast, Northeast, Mid-Continent, Rockies & West and the US-Mexico Natural Gas Forum



Where the Natural Gas Industry Gathers: Networking - Insights - Deal-Making



http://www.ldcgasforums.comGovernment will only take in African migrants from Israel who're willing to be repatriated, Uganda Foreign Affairs state minister, Henry Okello Oryem has said.



It has been widely reported by several international media that Israel was planning to deport hundreds of migrants to several African countries including Rwanda and Uganda.

African migrants in Israel protesting against deportation to African countries recently

Last month, the Israeli government told High court in Jerusalem that it had dropped plans to deport hundreds of Eritrean and Sudan refugees after failing to reach an agreement with a 'third country'. Uganda government had previously denied that such a deal existed.



But now Oryem has confirmed that there is no deal with the Israeli government because they failed to reach a consensus on the status of the refugees. He says although it was the Israeli government that announced the suspension of the deal, he says its Uganda that opted out of the deal after failing to agree with Israel.

"The government of Uganda refuses to take in any refugees from Israel whore coming to Uganda unless theyre willing to come to Uganda voluntarily. Those who are willing to come to Uganda voluntarily, we can only take in 500 of them. Those who are forced of of Israel, we shall not accept them." said Oryem.



Israel backed out of the deal owing to pressure from several civil society and rights against the forceful deportation of the refugees. The critics called the forceful deportation unethical, saying it would taint the country's image. It came after Israel President Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to deport 38,000 migrants to a third country in January this year, prompting an outcry from activists across the world.



Israel started handing out notices with a plane ticket to male migrants from Eritrea and Sudan giving them three months to take the voluntary deal and $3,500 (about Shs 13 million). Information published by the Israel media indicates that 1,749 migrants have been deported to Uganda since 2015.

According to the publications, 485 migrants were deported in 2015, 506 in 2016, 630 in 2017 and 128 to date in 2018. There are some 27,000 Eritreans and 7,700 Sudanese in Israel.



Only ten Eritreans and one Sudanese have been recognized as refugees since Israel took over refugee status determination from UNHCR in 2009. Another 200 Sudanese, all from Darfur, were granted humanitarian status in Israel. There was an announcement that another 300 will follow.



Israel has not received any Eritreans or Sudanese since May 2016, according to UNHCR records. Unconfirmed reports initially stated that more than 4,000 asylum seekers forcefully removed from Israel, were dumped in two African countries believed to be Uganda and Rwanda through the forced relocation that began in December 2013.

Media reports suggested that the three countries cut a secret, high-level deal in which the African states accepted refugees in return for arms, military training and other aid from Israel. But government officials said this was false news.If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity.

PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move.Its sweet to be agreeablebut what a vibrant, healthy society really needs is principled troublemakers.

Those who dare to say no when it appears that everyone else is in agreement are rare and braveand they make the world a better place, according to University of California, Berkeley psychology professor Charlan Nemeth. Her new book, In Defense of Troublemakers: The Power of Dissent in Life and Business,shows how everyone benefits when someone presents a thoughtful contrarian view.

Nemeths research in social psychology and cognition has shown that disagreement improves group thinking. Its a benefit regardless of whether or not [dissenters] hold the truth, she argues. Most people are afraid and they dont speak up. Companies have that problem all the time. And the research really shows us that that even if its wrong, the fact that the majority or the consensus is challenged actually stimulates thinking.

The professor has spent decades studying disagreement, looking at the behavior of juries, companies, airplane crews, and groups in general. Her work shows that a challenge to the general consensus generates necessary consideration and debate. This, in turn, improves decision-making, leads to more creative solutions, and even saves lives, for example in a criminal case where a defendants life or liberty may be at stake.

Read the whole story: QuartzGreat love stories are not uncommon to Italy, northern Italy in particular. Among the earliest and perhaps most celebrated is that of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeares enduring tribute to his young, star-crossed lovers from Verona. Not far from where the doomed couple met--and met their ends--sits Venice, a city whose twisty canals and moody weather, magic and mystery, make an ideal setting for loveand literature as well. Next month, Knopf will publish Autumn in Venice: Ernest Hemingway and his Last Muse, Andrea di Robilants fifth non-fiction booka little known love story about the aging writer and the young woman who resuscitated his career in the mid 20th century.

Venice born Di Robilants latest work relies primarily on unpublished letters from Hemingway to Adriana Ivancich, who was still a teenager when they met in 1948 at a duck shooting party outside of Veniceas well her correspondence to him. It was a passionate friendship that lasted eight years. Hemingway, nearing 50 at the time, married to his fourth wife, Mary, with a writing career, if not in decline then in remission, says he felt as though lightening had struck when he first met Adriana. She was an innocent young woman who had gone to Catholic schools and had limited world experience. But she was flirty and adventurous, says di Robilant, adding that she didnt know who he was.

Over the following years, the affair took over his life, according to di Robilant. The couple spent time together, not just in Venice, but in Paris, and at Hemingways compound in Cuba. She was his muse, prompting Hemmingway to produce some of his best work, including the Pulitzer-prize winning Old Man and The Sea. Adriana made all this possible says di Robilant, No question in my mind, she revived Hemingways writing.

Di Robilant, whose Venetian great uncle was among Hemingways circle of bon vivants, cant answer the question that remains unresolved despite his 300-page book with its ample bibliography. Was theirs a love affair? I dont know from the letters if it was a sexual relationship but it was close and intimate. Maybe when they were alone in Paris, they had sex, he says, adding they write to each other as lovers.

Di Robilant is, however, sure of another conclusion regarding their involvement: The relationship and its resulting scandal in Venice the Italian newspapers implored Hemingway to end it- destroyed Ivancichs life. In later years, she suffered from depression, was treated with crude electro-shock treatment and despite two marriages and two sons, hung herself in l983. (Hemingway committed suicide in 1961).

This book is not di Robilants first brush with lovers in Venice nor is it his first work of creative non-fiction based on letters. In 2003, the former journalist wrote A Venetian Affair, the story of another clandestine relationship, this time set in the 18th century. The subject of this true-life romance is di Robilants ancestor Andrea Memmo and Giustiniana Wynne, the illegimate daughter of an English baronet. A Venetian Affair (Knopf, 20013) grew out of letters that di Robilants father, Count Alvise di Robilant, found in the attic of the family palazzo. He became obsessed with the letters but then in 1997 was brutally murdered. The elder di Robilants death had nothing to do with the letters, but his son felt it was his his duty to take up his fathers mission of piecing together the story of his ancestor. I didnt intend to create a book as much as to create a vessel for the wonderful material, di Robilant says. The book was more a homage to my father.

A Venetian Affair, which was a New York Times notable book, established di Robilant as a writer of note on both sides of the Atlantic. The books success had much to do with  the intimate knowledge a writer gets from reading peoples letters, says di Robilant. You know them closely, you understand what they know. Perhaps, more importantly, he continues, You accept them. You dont judge them as immoral or obnoxious. Using letters for his writing, he says, allows him to work in much the same ways as he did as a journalist. I always situate myself as a researcher. If the letters have this much goddamn good stuff, it would make a good yarn, he says.

Finding a treasure trove of letters and then securing the rights to use them isnt all that easy, however. Researching Autumn in Venice, di Robilant discovered that the Hemingway Foundation controls access to most of the late writers correspondence and is notoriously reluctant to allow their usage before its own publication in the future. Ivancichs letters to Hemingway were sold to the JFK Library in Boston, di Robilant learned from her brother who lives in Venice. With the help of his publisher, di Robilant purchased the U.S. publication rights for $4,800, and paid about the same amount for a later Italian edition. Knopf held my hand throughout the process, he says. Without permission, I would never have written the book.

Di Robilant writes his drafts in English, longhand for the first draftand then translates the text into Italian. Though Italian is his first language, he was educated in the United States, earning both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in international politics at New Yorks Columbia University. He worked for decades as a journalist for Italian newspapers in America, including a stint as bureau chief of La Stampa in Washington, D.C. Though he has homes in Venice and Rome, he spends most of his time in the latter, in an apartment he shares with his wife near the MAXXI museum. He teaches four classes a week at two American universities in Rome and reserves two days for researching and writing his books.

Over his writing career, he has published three more titles with direct links to his long-reaching Venetian roots: Lucia: A Venetian Life in the Age of Napoleon is a biography of the authors ancestor, Lucia Mocenigo and, according to him, a better written book than the more highly-acclaimed Venetian Affair that preceded it; Irresistible North is the tale of the two Venetian navigators and brothers, Nicolo and Antonio Zen, who sailed the North Atlantic at the end of the 14th century; Chasing the Rose documents his own delight-filled romp thru the European countryside and several hundreds of years of history in search of a particular pink rose, a gift to his great-great-great-great grandmother from Josephine Bonaparte, that grows wild on the familys former country estate.

Di Robilant defiantly says, I am not a Venetian. I am not a Roman. He prefers to call himself a transatlantic creature, though he adds, America is no longer the magnet for Europeans that it once was. The experiences of the past two years have tested the soundness of American institutions, proving them vulnerable. Then again, he notes, the same could be said of Italy. Europe is on the brink of undoing itself or consolidating itself. Its been a pretty damn good road thus far. It would be madness to wreck it. In the meantime --or until Rome burns, di Robilant is banking on the world still loving a love story.

Carrie Tuhy is a writer and journalist in New York CityTwelve books for adults and young people were honored at the 69th Christopher Awards in New York City on Thursday, May 17. The awards, which go to authors, illustrators, filmmakers, and television creatives, recognize works that affirm the highest values of the human spirit.

Six adult books were recognized, including The American Spirit (S&S) by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, The Choice (Scribner) by Holocaust survivor and 2017s winner of the National Jewish Book Award, Dr. Edith Eva Eger, and Dorothy Day (Scribner), a biography of Day, a Catholic leader and social activist, written by her granddaughter, Kate Hennessy.

Other winners in the adult category were Andrew Collins and Jameel McGee who overcame great odds to find redemption and forgiveness in Convicted (WaterBrook), and Redeeming Ruth (Hendrickson), a story about adoption by Meadow Rue Merrill, a former journalist for the Boston Globe.

Among the six winners for childrens books were Amy Guglielmo and Jacqueline Tourville who tell the story of pioneering female Disney animator Mary Blair in Pocket Full of Colors (Atheneum Books for Young Readers); Lesa Cline-Ransome, author of Before She Was Harriet (Holiday House) about Harriet Tubman; and Patricia Reilly Giff, author of Genevieve's War (Holiday House) set in World War II.

Remaining winners in the childrens book category include Bibi Belfords middle grade novel based on the Chicago race riots of 1919, Crossing the Line (Sky Pony Press), and Through Your Eyes (Aladdin) by Fox News correspondent Ainsley Earhardt.

This year's Christopher Award-winning books highlighted the power of the human spirit in the face of struggle and hardship, said Tony Rossi, director of communications for The Christophers. Doing the right thing doesn't come easy, but the examples [the authors] provide of heroism, sacrifice, faith, hope, and grace serve as an example to all readers who enjoy tales that entertain as well as inspire.

Rooted in the Judeo-Christian tradition of service to God and humanity, the nonprofit Christophers organization was founded by Catholic priest Fr. James Keller in 1945. Award winners represent all faiths. Filmmaker Ken Burns received the nights top honorthe Christophers Life Achievementfor exploring the important people, places, and events of American history, focusing always on the power of the human spirit, the organization said.

For a complete list of the winners, visit here.Creator of lifestyle video programming for digital, mobile and streaming linear television platforms, Tastemade, has launched on the newly revamped YouTube TV.





The company says that it will deliver on the categories of food, home and travel, and provide a 24/7 linear channel with hundreds of hours of original programming, including ten new episodic series to roll out over the next year, plus live programming and thematic blocks.When we started the company, we knew the seismic changes in the media industry would present Tastemade with the opportunity to compete for consumer attention side-by-side with some of the worlds biggest TV brands. That day is here, said Larry Fitzgibbon, co-founder and CEO of Tastemade Origins meanwhile follows French-Filipino chef Erwan Heussaff travels to the remote islands of the Philippines to discover the people, places and ingredients that define his home country; and Weird Food jobs, which covers bizarre jobs like Bubble Gum Tester, Chicken Sexer, Water Sommelier and Dog food taste-tester. Budget vs. Baller follows the madcap adventures of Marko and Alex Ayling of the VagaBrothers, who will experience the same place on wildly different budgets per day; and Just Jen, which is an in-studio cooking and lifestyle show that brings the best of Tastemaker Jen Phanomrats homemade digital videos to a long-form television show.Tastemades slate of original programming to air on Youtube TV will include Her Move, which is shot, directed and produced by a female-led team. Host Saada Ahmed travels the globe to meet trailblazing women who are influencing the communities around them, from free-divers in South Korea to an all-female motorcycle crew in India.Christian Oestlien, director of product, YouTube TV, added: "YouTube TV brings the best of TV together with the best of YouTube into a simple and easy experience thats built from the ground up for the 21st century. Tastemade has a strong presence on YouTube, and we are excited to bring its lifestyle programming to YouTube TV members. As we look to build a modern streaming television service, we see programmers like Tastemade as a great way to engage consumers looking for fresh and innovative programming in food, travel and home/design."Tastemade also has distribution on Apple TV, Snapchat Discover, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.Art: tastemaker-21-may-2018The federal judge presiding over the bank fraud case against one of President Trumps former close associates, campaign chairman Paul Manafort, made headlines earlier this month by calling into question the legal justification  and motivations  of Special Counsel Robert Muller. In open court, U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis sounded sympathetic to the president, expressing the belief that Muellers ultimate aim is to see Trump impeached or prosecuted.

A piece from Robert Farley of FactCheck.org, published the same day as Ellis comments, was distinctly unsympathetic to this argument. Farleys article is headlined: Trumps Misleading Attack on Mueller Team.

Farley addresses three claims Trump made about the special counsel and the investigators working for him. The first is that [i]n all fairness, Bob Mueller worked for [President] Obama for eight years. Here, Trump is wrong. Muellers tenure as FBI director began after he was appointed by President George W. Bush. Farley provides evidence to show that Mueller served longer under Bush -- about 7  years -- than under Obama  shy of five years. Accordingly, Farley rated Trumps first claim False.

The other two claims are less straightforward. Farley does not provide a true or false rating for these, but he does offer words that, coupled with the headline, make his verdict clear.

Trumps second claim is that Muellers team is a group of investigators that are all Democrats. According to Farley, FactCheck.org has previously written that a spokesman for Muellers office said it does not keep records on the political affiliations of staff. However, citing Washington Post reporting, Farley notes that 13 out of 17 of the investigators are registered Democrats. He thus brands Trumps claim an exaggeration and an embellishment.

But the record isnt clear on that point, as Farley acknowledged. He wrote that the four remaining members of the team have no party affiliation, or researchers at the Post were unable to find any record of an affiliation. So it could be the case that Trump is correct. More to the point, the substance of Trumps remarks should have been acknowledged as mostly true. Nearly 77 percent of the investigative team is made up of registered Democrats. Six of them, according to FEC records, made campaign donations to Barack Obama. Five of them made donations to Trumps 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton. Farley links to Senate testimony by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who said that political donations are not a disqualification for members of the investigative team. That might be cold comfort to any American citizen undergoing a federal investigation staffed mainly by their political rivals.

Farleys assessment of Trumps third claim is even less charitable to the president. Trump asserted that [i]n some cases, they [Mueller team investigators] went to the Hillary Clinton celebration that turned out to be a funeral. A White House press official provided Farley with a Wall Street Journal article which reported that one member of Muellers team  the head of the team prosecuting Manafort  attended Clintons election night party. The White House provided no indication that other members of Muellers staff attended the party. Farley writes, So thats one, but not some, as the president says.

Trump and the Russia investigation are both political flashpoints. It is difficult to examine polarizing issues and figures dispassionately. But in assessing the reasonableness of Trumps remarks, one must consider this: If you and your associates were being investigated by a team with the full force of the federal government behind it, exactly how many avowed rivals of yours would you want to be part of that investigation?

Granted, Trump was wrong about how many years Mueller worked for Obama. He was rightfully called out for this by FactCheck.org. It does not seem that this was the most important claim audited by Farley (who did not respond to an email request from RCP seeking comment for this article). And the other two claims arguably merit a rating of at least partial truth. It is a matter of fact that the vast bulk of the investigators are Democrats. And if one wants to play semantics, one of the members of the team attending Clintons party actually does constitute some of the team attending. This fact check is just one of many examples of how subjective checking the facts can really be.As part of their midterm pitch to voters, congressional Democrats are unveiling a series of policy proposals Monday aimed at cleaning up a "culture of corruption" in Washington.

In other words: Drain the swamp.

The party says it isn't stealing the slogan and sentiment that helped propel Donald Trump to the White House. Instead, Democrats are returning to an anti-corruption message that helped win back the House of Representatives in 2006 against the backdrop of scandals involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff and lawmakers Tom DeLay and Mark Foley. A decade later, Trump seized on a similar theme, directing voter ire at Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton along with lawmakers of both parties in the nation's capital. And now, with Michael Cohen, Scott Pruitt and others in Trump's orbit under scrutiny, Democrats believe they have a compelling case to make against the current administration and Republicans in Congress.

"The American people are sick of getting a raw deal from Washington and theyre tired of broken promises to drain the swamp, reads a memo from Democratic leaders outlining various government reform proposals. "Its an endless cycle taken to a completely unprecedented level under President Trump, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the laws and norms in place to prevent public corruption."

The message is the newest installment in the party's agenda promising "A Better Deal." Focused on jobs and wages, the pitch has been largely overshadowed at the national level by daily controversies emanating from the White House and incremental news leaks about the Russia collusion investigation.

The new reform component is aimed at the Trump administration and includes policy proposals to rein in the influence of lobbyists and high-powered donors and to beef up related ethics laws. Included are calls to pass campaign reform laws designed to empower small donors, and to pass a constitutional amendment to overturn the Citizens United Supreme Court decision on political spending. In addition, the plan features proposals aimed at voting rights, safeguarding election infrastructure, and ending party-directed redistricting.

The rollout comes amid reports that Trump attorney Cohen used his proximity to the president to secure high-paid consulting contracts. Meanwhile, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt is the subject of a dozen federal investigations involving his renting of an underpriced condo from an energy lobbyist, unwarranted travel and office expenses, questionable hiring practices, and other management issues. Last year, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned over a scandal involving pricey travel expenses.

"President Trump, when it comes to draining the swamp, has been a complete and total disappointment," Sen. Chuck Schumer said Monday on the steps of the Capitol, where he discussed the new message. The minority leader called for "closing the Cohen loophole" to prevent a president's associates from selling access, and he referred to the current administration as "the swamp Cabinet."

Democratic strategists and operatives have been urging candidates to focus on an economic message instead of a pure anti-Trump one this year, arguing that pocketbook issues like income, health care and education costs draw more voter support.

But while the anti-corruption pillar of the agenda is focused on Trump and Republicans, Democrats believe it fits into their broader economic message that administration policies benefit the wealthy and corporations more than average Americans.

"President Trump promised to fight for the forgotten American, yet Republican-controlled Washington continues business as usual, rewarding the wealthy, privileged and well-connected at the expense of middle class and working families," the Democratic memo reads. "Look no further than Congressional Republicans and President Trumps agenda: billions in tax cuts for the rich, massive giveaways to special interests and the full-frontal corporate assault on workers rights and consumers protections."

Republicans argue that the new tax law is putting more money into workers pockets and that the improving economy and lowest unemployment rate in two decades will resonate with voters in November. Campaigning in the current economic climate could be a challenge for Democrats, even with all the built-in advantages they have heading into the midterms. And GOP campaigns are aiming to motivate constituents with warnings that Democrats would unravel the party's policy gains and obstruct the president's agenda.

With their revamped anti-corruption pitch, Democrats are characterizing GOP lawmakers as more focused on their donors than their constituents. Public polling data compiled by the Democratic group Navigator Research found that 49 percent of Americans believe Republicans in Congress use government to personally enrich themselves, while 34 percent believe the same about Democrats.

However, the survey also found that when Democrats are compared to Trump instead of to Republicans in Congress, voters see both sides as equally guilty of corruption. "For advocates and policy makers who want to engage with the concerns of constituents, its important to speak credibly to the corrupting influence of campaign donors on the agenda in Washington," reads the polling report.

Democrats, of course, have had their own cast of characters with corruption bulls-eyes painted on them. Clinton was the top target in 2016. And that same year, Florida Rep. Corrine Brown was indicted on conspiracy and fraud charges (she later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison). And Pennsylvania Rep. Chaka Fattah was convicted on over 20 corruption-related charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

When it comes to Trump, Democrats see a different kind of opening on corruption, centered on his pledge to shake things up and break D.C. norms. The Navigator surveys found voters were more concerned about abuse of power and conflicts of interest than his demeanor in office. Sixty-six percent said Trump breaks rules set up to prevent corruption and conflicts of interest by government officials while 33 percent said he breaks rules set up to preserve the honor and dignity of the presidency.

"Americans find Trumps unconventional nature most concerning when the behavior is viewed as abusing power and ignoring standards that protect against conflicts of interest," read the polling memo.

In Monday's messaging rollout, congressional Democrats argue that while corruption appears to be a perpetual theme in Washington, it has been taken to an "unprecedented level under President Trump, demonstrating a blatant disregard for the laws and norms in place to prevent public corruption."City lawyer Richard Buzibira is on the spot for fraudulently receiving over Shs 1.47 billion of his client from the Land Fund. Buzibira reportedly used the letters of attorney from his client, Teddy Nansubuga, a farmer from Kibaale district to process and receive her compensation money from the Uganda Land Commission (ULC).

Buzibira reportedly took advantage of Nansubuga's illiteracy to defraud over Shs 1.2 billion having paid her only Shs 270 million of the Shs 1.47 billion paid by the Land Fund.

City lawyer Richard Buzibira appearing before the Land Probe Commission earlier. Photo: NTV Uganda

While appearing before the Justice Catherine Bamugemereire Commission on Friday last week, Nansubuga, explained that she and her late uncle, Raphael Kulumba approached Buzibira at his Kampala based office to help her to reclaim compensation from government for Block 223, Plot 1 Buyaga and Block 224, Plot 1 Buyaga - totalling to 254.2 hectares.

"I surrendered my two land titles and we made an agreement that I had given him the titles to help me process compensation from government." Nansubuga told the Commission in Lunyoro.

Nansubuga explained that she signed several documents drafted by Buzibira that were translated to her by Dennis Musinguzi, a surveyor from Kibaale district she found in the lawyer's office.



The Commission's deputy lead counsel John Bosco Suuza explained to Nansubuga that the document she signed was not an agreement but powers of attorney. Buzibira asked Nansubuga why she went to Buzibira instead of Uganda Land Commission where government compensations are processed.

Nansubuga explained that she used Buzibira as her lawyer because she didn't know how to go about the compensation process. According to Suuza, after signing off the powers of attorney, Buzibira made Nansubuga to sign an application form for compensation from the Land Fund on May 27, 2015.

Nansubuga says she waited for the compensation in vain and repeatedly called Buzibira without success. According to Nansubuga, after a long wait Buzibira met her and asked her whether she would accept to sell the land to an individual.



Nansubuga said she accepted the offer since she was in desperate need of money and sold Block 223, Plot 1 Buyaga and Block 224, Plot 1 Buyaga to a one, Warren Mwesigye at Shs 80 million and Shs 190 million respectively. She explained to the Commission that prior to the transaction, she had never met Mwesigye and only met him when Buzibira called her to his office.



Nansubuga also explained that despite signing the sale agreement; she was not given any copies. Suuza asked Nansubuga whether Buzibira updated on the fate of her earlier application for compensation from government after the land was sold to Mwesigye.

In her response, Nansubuga said she didn't receive any information from Buzibira about the government compensation. She also denied received any compensation from government for the land in question.



Suuza explained that documents before the Commission show that before Nansubuga signed off the Powers of Attorney on October 27, 2015 authorizing Buzibira to pursue compensation from government, he received Shs 200 million from the Land Fund on July 24, 2015 in Nansubuga's name.



He explained that Buzibira continued picked money in seven instalments from the Land Fund ranging between Shs 50 million and 200 million on different dates in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Suuza told Nansubuga that Buzibira has so far received Shs 650 million compensation for Block 223 Plot 1 Buyaga and Shs 821 million for Block 224, Plot 1 Buyaga.

"For Block 223 Plot 1, Mr Buzibira on your behalf has been given Shs 650 million, if you subtract the Shs 80 million that Warren Mwesigye gave you, you have been conned of Shs 570 million so far. The land has been valued at Shs 650 million. For Block 224 Plot 1, the land was valued at Shs 821 million which has all been received by Buzibira on your behalf. If you subtract the Shs 190 million they paid, theres a balance of Shs 631 million." said Suuza.



When asked by Suusa whether she was surprised at what the "white collar thieves have done" to her, Nansubuga said that she was shocked and surprised by the revelations but had nothing to do.

"Yes my lord am surprised and shocked but I have nothing to do." she said.

Suuza also read out a November 23, 2016 letter authored by the Lands minister Betty Amongi addressed to the chairperson Uganda Land Commission authorising the urgent payment of compensation to 8 people including Nansubuga who was third on the list.



Amongi's letter was reportedly based on a directive from the principal private secretary to the president, Molly Kamukama. Asked whether she ever approached the president or Kamukama for assistance, Nansubuga said she didn't.



Suuza pinned Buzibira for conspiring and taking advantage of Nansubuga and conning her millions of shillings.

"These thugs, these thieves they took advantage of you - a poor lady with limited education and exposure. They lied to you and they conned you out of all those millions that I have told you. Not only that, they used your name and went to the highest office in the land and claimed to be acting on your behalf. Somewhere along the way a minister [Betty Amongi] got involved. More money was paid in your name and you know nothing about it, which is tragic." he said.

While appearing before the Land Commission last month, the Commission quizzed Buzibira over his involvement in the questionable land deal, failure to act professionally, conspiracy to defraud and other criminal acts.

It came after lawyers under Frank Tumusiime and Company Advocates were implicated for fraudulently acquiring more than Shs 16 billion meant to compensate 20 claimants from the Land Fund under Uganda Land Commission (ULC).



Buzibira then admitted that some of the clients instructed him through his law firm while others contacted him personally to handle all the processes on their behalf.



"We began receiving instructions for the Land Fund in 2013 and I acted as an agent and advocate. The clients came on referral basing on the number of cases I had handled. The money was paid quarterly in installments and the vouchers show that Shs 13.3 billion has since been paid and balances in the range of Shs 5 billion is still pending," Buzibira told the Commission.



The Land Fund was established under Section 41 of the Land Act. The fund is a multi-purpose resource envelope meant to serve targeted beneficiaries, including tenants seeking to buy or own land, government seeking to buy land for redistribution to bonafide occupants or resettlement of the landless among others.Last week President Trump appeared to undercut his repeated promises to get tough with China. He renounced his own administrations sanctions on electronics maker ZTE and conceded on Twitter, Too many jobs in China lost.

The following day, Trump not only delivered on a promise to move the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, but he invited two controversial evangelical Christian pastors to give prayers at an event celebrating the move. (Many evangelicals believe that the move is a step toward fulfilling biblical prophecy and the second coming of Jesus Christ.)

By the end of the week, Trump gave the evangelical community another big win: new regulations preventing health care providers who receive federal money from performing abortions (or referring women for the procedure), even if their abortion services are paid with private funds (federal money already cant subsidize abortions). If the rules survive expected legal challenges, Trump will have successfully defunded the Christian rights bete noire: Planned Parenthood.

Then yesterday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced a suspension of last months tariffs on China, telling Fox News Sunday, Were putting the trade war on hold.

His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, said at the Jerusalem ceremony, When President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it. But Trumps promises to his evangelical supporters seem more ironclad than his promises to the Iron Range. Why is that?

The first thing to understand is conservative evangelicals are a crucial ingredient for his political coalition. Before the 2016 election, I had argued that the Christian right had become an ideological albatross to the Republican Party. That may still be correct over the long term, as Americas religiosity continues to decline, but it certainly wasnt true in 2016.

Trump had been cannily cultivating evangelical support for years, assembling a group of ministers back in 2011 and asking for spiritual counsel on whether he should run for president. In 2016, while some religious leaders kept their distance from Trump based on his character, others calculated that his personal behavior was not as important as what he could deliver to them on policy. And so, while Republican presidential candidates always do well with evangelicals, Trumps share of the white evangelical vote managed to top that of George W. Bush, John McCain and Mitt Romney, helping him eke out a narrow victory.

Of course, Trump also managed to outperform his Republican predecessors in winning the votes of the white working class, as well as white evangelicals. Both constituencies are critical to his political fortunes (and there is overlap between the two). However -- and this is the second key factor in Trumps attentiveness to Christian conservatives -- there is no organized, lobby network advocating for the economic interests of the white working class, while there is for conservative evangelicals. (Of course, there are union lobbyists, but they are mainly Democrats who dont have Trumps ear. Furthermore, only 10.6 percent of white workers are union members; many dont view the AFL-CIO as their voice in Washington.)

One reason why Trump did particularly well with the white working class is because he was more critical of corporations than the average Republican. The new book The Great Revolt by Salena Zito and Brad Todd surveyed 2,000 Trump voters and found 86 percent believe he stands up for the working people against powerful corporate interests. (I recently interviewed Zito and Todd on my New Books in Politics podcast.)

And yet the benefits of the Trump tax reform law are heavily skewed toward corporate America, after lobbyists spent ten of millions to influence the bill. Nevertheless, Trumps poll numbers edged upwards in the aftermath of the bill signing, suggesting that it did not prompt any shedding of his base support.

However, soon after the tax law was enacted, evangelical activists began to complain publicly: What is Trump doing for us lately? Last month, Penny Nance of Concerned Women of America said her fellow travelers saw the subsequent omnibus spending bill as a slap in their face because it didnt cut off funds to Planned Parenthood. And Christian conservative radio host Steve Deace warned, If we go the next seven months and all theyve done all year is that tax cut, I think thats a danger zone.  You [will] have a huge enthusiasm gap. One month later, Trump heeded the warning, and delivered on Israel and abortion.

Will blue-collar workers eventually complain if Trump flinches on China? I doubt it. White working-class voters appear willing to give him a lot of slack, because they agree with his general conservative bent, and they view him as at least trying to fight on their behalf.or example, a USA Today dispatch last month noted that things are not much different in the coal industry since Trump has been president, yet miners are still enthralled with him. Said an industry spokesman, What were hearing from our leadership, as well as the rank and file, is weve got a future. Last year, after 700 Carrier jobs were sent from Indiana to Mexico, despite Trumps boasts of keeping those jobs in the U.S.A., one displaced worker told the New York Times she still backed Trump 100 percent since he did his best.

In other words, it may be that workers expect less from Trump than do evangelical activists. They may get less as a result, but they probably wont mind.

But one thing is certain. It doesnt matter that Trump once appeared in a Playboy video. It doesnt matter that Trump ran casinos. It doesnt matter that Trump was a philanderer. It doesnt even matter that he wont answer a direct question as to whether he ever had a relationship with a woman that resulted in an aborted pregnancy. What Christian conservatives want from Trump, Christian conservatives will likely get, and that suits them just fine.Last week the Trump administration took decisive action on the presidents pledge to disentangle taxpayers from the abortion industry, delivering a policy win that promotes better health care alternatives for women and may save countless lives.

The Protect Life Rule stops taxpayer funding of abortion through the Title X family planning program. Most Americans agree that abortion is not family planning and oppose taxpayer-funded abortion. The Protect Life Rule does not cut a single dollar from family planning. It instead directs tax dollars to Title X centers that do not promote or perform abortions, such as the growing number of community and rural health centers. There are already more than 3,000 Title X service sites nationwide  including state and county health departments, community health centers, and nonprofit clinics  where women and families are already accessing comprehensive preventative and primary care, not abortion.

For too long, abortion businesses  chief among them Planned Parenthood  have exploited Title X as though it were their own private bank account. Since the Clinton era, all Title X grantees have been required to refer for abortion, and service sites have been allowed to carry out abortions on the same premises and keep their taxpayer funding. Planned Parenthood has been receiving $50 million-$60 million in Title X funds annually and more than half of its service sites provide abortion at the same address.

This is contrary to both the spirit and the letter of the Title X statute, which specifically states that funds should not go to programs that treat abortion as a method of family planning. The Protect Life Rule puts a stop to it, reinstating the policy of President Reagan and restoring the integrity of the Title X program.

Pro-life groups have been working for this change for months. More than 85 national and state pro-life groups sent a letter earlier this month to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar asking him to revise Title X rules. Forty-one senators and 153 representatives also sent letters making the same request.

Abortion advocates will of course be livid about the Protect Life Rule. They give an extremely misleading impression of how Title X works when they claim millions of Americans will lose access to basic health care. Rather than being earmarked for specific services, Title X is a slush fund for general operations. Title X dollars pay for rent, utilities, staff salaries and computers, even advertising to recruit clients. As anybody who has the slightest business experience knows, money is fungible; if it helps keep the lights on and the doors open, it contributes to the overall success of the company.

When that company is Planned Parenthood, that means taxpayers are helping prop up the nations largest abortion business. Planned Parenthood carries out more than 320,000 abortions every year and even faces federal investigation for its role in the harvest and sale of aborted childrens body parts for profit. Their total services and patients have been in decline for years, but the number of abortions has remained stable and their revenue has hit a record high.

While policies that prevent taxpayer funding of abortion have clearly been shown to reduce abortions, the consequences of bankrolling the abortion industry are dire. Peer-reviewed research indicates Planned Parenthood has inflated the U.S. abortion rate  so much that more than 3 million avoidable abortions can be attributed to Planned Parenthoods intervention in the abortion market.

If they truly view womens health care as paramount, and Planned Parenthood and other abortion centers want to continue providing Title X services, the logical thing would be to simply comply with the rules. If they refuse to do that, they can fund their activities without conscripting taxpayers. The Protect Life Rule offers that choice.

Sure, they might have to dip into the $98.5 million in excess revenue they reported for fiscal 2016-2017. They might have to cut into the $75 million spent on movement building. They might even have to hit up their ultra-wealthy donors who are capable of giving them $9 million at a time. Theres no evidence they require taxpayer funding to survive or break even, and plenty of evidence that they dont deserve it at all.

President Trumps Protect Life Rule is a huge step in the right direction. It shows that he has heard the frustration of pro-life voters over continued funding of the abortion industry. A victory like this is just the shot in the arm the pro-life grassroots needed to head enthusiastically into the critical midterm elections. We thank President Trump for doing what it takes to fulfill this core promise and get taxpayers out of the abortion business.The emerging vote tallies are just the beginning of government formation in Iraq, and they indicate a need to focus on U.S. principles, not specific outcomes.

Despite an evidently strong showing by Muqtada al-Sadr's Sairoon alliance in Iraq's May 12 vote, "hot takes" are particularly useless for Iraqi elections, because the public itself does not directly elect the prime minister and his cabinet, and because the process is long and winding.

Instead, the 329 parliamentarians appoint the prime minister by drawing together any 165 seats, regardless of their party affiliation and pre-electoral alignment. This means everything remains in play the day after the polls close, and quite possibly for months to come. If the government takes as long to form as it did in 2014, the cabinet will be appointed September 20, 2018. If government formation takes the 289 days it did in 2010, the new cabinet would be seated February 25, 2019. The most likely outcome this time may be somewhere between the two, with a new government landing in November 2018.

No pre-electoral Iraqi coalition has a chance of forming the government by itself; a combination of six to eight lists is typically required, demonstrating how inconclusive the voting tallies are. Still, Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission announced its provisional results on May 14, and they indicate the relative size of the two dozen "pizza slices" that make up the 329-seat parliament. According to these provisional results, which are unlikely to be altered significantly, the top-ten lists are:

Muqtada al-Sadr's Sairoon list, which combines Islamist-populist cadres with communist and civil society types54 seats (16.4%)

Hadi al-Ameri's Fatah list of Iran-leaning militia forces47 seats (14.2%)

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Nasr list42 seats (12.7%)

Kurdistan Democratic Party26 seats (7.9%)

Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law Alliance (SLA)25 seats (7.5%)

Ayad Allawi's al-Wataniya21 seats (6.3%)

Ammar al-Hakim's Hikma list19 seats (5.7%)

Osama al-Nujaifi's al-Qarar al-Iraqi Alliance19 seats (5.7%)

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan17 seats (5.1%)

Gorran list (from Kurdistan)7 seats (2.1%)

The next government of Iraq could fit within two basic formulas, posing various challenges and opportunities for the United States:

Majority diversity government. The first formula would entail some arrangement of majoritarian, cross-sectarian, and multiethnic elements. This is Muqtada al-Sadr's concept and would involve certain factions (including his) being inside the government and certain factions (Fatah and SLAthose closest to Iran) outside it, constituting the first formal parliamentary opposition in Iraq's post-2003 history. The government would indeed have to be cross-sectarian and multiethnic to reach 165 seats. Al-Sadr might encourage a manifesto of sorts for this new configuration: a technocratic cabinet, an emphasis on anti-corruption, and economic populism, mixed with a mildly xenophobic limiting of foreign influences.

The first formula would entail some arrangement of majoritarian, cross-sectarian, and multiethnic elements. This is Muqtada al-Sadr's concept and would involve certain factions (including his) being inside the government and certain factions (Fatah and SLAthose closest to Iran) outside it, constituting the first formal parliamentary opposition in Iraq's post-2003 history. The government would indeed have to be cross-sectarian and multiethnic to reach 165 seats. Al-Sadr might encourage a manifesto of sorts for this new configuration: a technocratic cabinet, an emphasis on anti-corruption, and economic populism, mixed with a mildly xenophobic limiting of foreign influences. Chaotic unity government. The above radical notion is sure to make the main blocs and establishment politicians nervous. Furthermore, Muqtada is prone to upsetting his coalition partners and may not be easy to work with. Iran would likely blanch at the prospect of its Fatah and SLA proxies being excluded from government. These blocs, linked to well-armed militias, might threaten disruptive actions if they sense they are on the verge of exclusion. For these reasons, Iraq's largest blocs might resort to the old habit of forming a unity government "of everyone and no one," meaning almost all players are included, but no one agrees on a set of goals, save carving up the ministries into political fiefdoms. In a unity government, the most likely outcome would entail a Shia "inner circle" of all the factions, except Muqtada's, which would likely withdraw into the opposition if its majority diversity model is rejected. The "outer circle" would include Kurds, Sunnis, and others, bringing the number over 165 and giving a sense of inclusiveness.

The choice is Iraq's to makeor, rather, it belongs to Iraq's politicians. No one should be surprised if they choose the latter option, which is more familiar and less likely to disrupt traditional political patronage networks.

Whatever the headlines, the United States should feel neither disappointed by nor fearful of the results thus far. A stronger public endorsement of Haider al-Abadi's moderate, progressive vision for Iraq would have been reassuring for the United States and other Western allies of Iraq, but certain realities must be borne in mind. No result at the polls and no government-formation process can ensure U.S. interests in Iraq: the protection of U.S. interests is a never-ending process, not a quadrennial event. Abadior any other Iraqi prime ministershould be judged on what he does, not who he is. The United States, meanwhile, should remain focused on its core interests in Iraqstability and openness to partnershipwhich are best served by a leader who will be inclusive toward all Iraq's communities, pursue smart counterterrorism policies, support economic reforms, keep Iraq neutral amid the region's tensions, and explore the potential inherent in the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework agreement, signed in 2008.

Reprinted with permission from The Washington Institute. Michael Knights, a senior fellow at The Washington Institute, has worked in all of Iraq's provinces and covered all the country's elections since 2005.When, in early March, Donald Trump agreed to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the Washington foreign policy elite nearly suffered a collective heart attack.

For one thing, the announcement came as a complete surprise. Trump had telegraphed his other foreign policy bombshells well in advance: leaving the Paris climate accord, ripping up the Iran nuclear deal, reversing detente with Cuba. North Korea was another matter. Trump had repeatedly insulted Kim Jong-un in his trademark style, calling him Little Rocket Man on Twitter and threatening at the U.N. in September 2017 to totally destroy North Korea. Official Washington was braced for war, not peace.

Youd think, then, that an announcement of jaw-jaw, not war-war, would have met with universal acclaim in the nations capital. Instead, observers across the ideological spectrum found fault with Trump and his attempt to denuclearize North Korea through negotiations. They criticized his timing, his impulsiveness, even the fact that the announcement came from South Korean representatives visiting Washington and not the president himself.

Experts on Korea promptly decried the presidents move because he hadnt demanded any North Korean concessions first. Wed expect such a highly symbolic meeting to happen after some concrete deliverables were in hand, not before, tweeted New America Foundation fellow Suzanne DiMaggio. (In fact, the North Koreans had declared a moratorium on further testing of their nukes and missiles, but that apparently didnt count.)

Worse yet, the North Koreans were getting the summit of their dreams for nothing. Kim will accomplish the dream of his father and grandfather by making North Korea a nuclear state, tweeted Abraham Denmark, head of Asia programs at the Wilson Center, and gain tremendous prestige and legitimacy by meeting with an American president as an equal. All without giving up a single warhead or missile.

Although some foreign policy professionals did express cautious optimism that something good could still come from the first summit between an American president and a North Korean leader -- now officially scheduled for June 12th in Singapore -- the overall verdict was one of barely concealed dismay. "The U.S. has been getting played and outmaneuvered the past three months... and it's happening again, right now," tweeted former Pentagon official Van Jackson.

Skepticism is, of course, the default position of the foreign policy community. Bad things happen all the time in geopolitics; peace is an extraordinarily difficult feat to pull off; and most diplomatic outcomes are, at best, glass-half-full affairs. So, for pundits eager to maintain their gigs on network TV and a steady stream of interview requests from print journalists, it was a far better bet to put their chips on double zero.

And its true, the history of U.S.-North Korean relations has been a graveyard of defunct initiatives: the Agreed Framework of 1994, the Six Party Talks from 2003 to 2007, the Leap Day Agreement of 2012. If North Korea were to cancel the summit because of U.S.-South Korean military exercises or the inflammatory statements of John Bolton, it would become just another headstone. Far more competent negotiators than Donald Trump tried their hands at preventing the North from going nuclear and suffered epic fails. More troubling still, Trump was preparing for negotiations without even an ambassador in South Korea, lacking a special representative for North Korean policy, and with a new secretary of state barely confirmed by the Senate. In other words, at that key moment, understaffed would have been an understatement when it came to the U.S. diplomatic corps and the Koreas.

Finally, both Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump have posted some of the highest negatives since Attila the Hun. The notion that two such wrongs could make a right certainly tests the credulity of the most dispassionate observer. You wouldnt normally want to buy a used car, much less a complex diplomatic deal, from either of them.

And yet, dont fool yourself (even if most of Washington does): the upcoming Trump-Kim summit, if it happens, will represent an extraordinarily important step forward, whether it actually produces an agreement of substance or not. It may not end the longest ongoing conflict in U.S. history, but thats really not the point. The summits importance lies largely in its symbolic encouragement of another process entirely, one already underway between the two Koreas. U.S. observers remain focused on nuclear weapons, but nukes arent actually the key issue here. In fact, for all the talk about Donald Trump getting a Nobel Prize, to put events in perspective you need to remember that the American president is, at best, a third wheel in whats developing.

The leaders of the two Koreas have effectively manipulated him into supporting a genuinely hopeful, potentially history-changing process of reconciliation on their peninsula. Its been a brilliant tactic and if U.S. observers of Korea could put aside their kneejerk skepticism, as well as their America First biases, they would be applauding the best chance in decades for Koreans themselves to defuse the most dangerous situation in Asia.

Playing the President

In keeping with his particular brand of narcissism, Donald Trump is convinced that he alone is responsible for bringing about change on the Korean peninsula. He believes that his threats against the North, his push for tougher sanctions, and his pressure on China to tighten the screws on its erstwhile ally were the key factors in Kim Jong-uns decision at the beginning of 2018 to reach out to his southern neighbor and extend an olive branch to Washington.

In truth, the initial impetus for the changes in Korea had little to do with President Trump.

After his country conducted its sixth nuclear test in September 2017 and its first ICBM test that November, the North Korean leader must have come to believe that his nuclear weapons program was the sufficiently solid deterrent and valuable bargaining chip he had been seeking. By then, too, he had consolidated his political control in Pyongyang by purging the party, the military, and even his own family, leaving him confident that he could negotiate agreements outside the country without worrying about a palace coup back home. Finally, the North Korean economy was actually managing modest growth, despite the fierce American sanctions campaign against it. This was in part because so many countries were willing to look the other way in the face of widespread violations of the global sanctions regime.

Undoubtedly, Kim was aware of warning signs as well: a dangerous economic dependence on China, a lack of capital for investment, and a declining growth rate. When it came to all three, the logical place to turn was South Korea. Since taking office in March 2017, South Korean President Moon Jae-in had pushed hard for a new engagement policy with the North.

For many months, Pyongyang did not respond, so Moon mended fences where he could. He launched a New Northern Policy, focusing on fostering further cooperation with Russia. That November, he reached a compromise with China, promising not to expand a new U.S. missile defense system placed in South Korea earlier in the year in exchange for Beijing lifting restrictions on trade and investment.

In a New Years speech in January 2018, however, Kim Jong-un suddenly and very publicly reversed his position. Moon was already well primed -- some might say desperate -- to take advantage of such a gesture. As a result, in the full glare of international media attention, the two Koreas suddenly launched a policy of cooperation at the 2018 Winter Olympics being held at the time in the south. Then, at the end of April, Kim and Moon actually met in the first inter-Korean summit to take place on South Korean soil.

This was, admittedly, not the first time the two Koreas had attempted a detente, but previous efforts had been stymied, at least in part, by American opposition. Congressional hostility toward North Korea during the latter years of the Clinton era and George W. Bushs inclusion of North Korea in his ominous axis of evil in 2002 put a distinct damper on the possibility of inter-Korean cooperation.

This time, however, the two leaders adopted a new strategy for roping the United States into the process. Instead of appealing to the Korea policy community in Washington -- an unimaginative gaggle of Cassandras -- each of them decided to turn the U.S. president.

Initially, both were undoubtedly as bemused by Donald Trumps erratic foreign policy tweets as the rest of the world. Still, Kim and his officials reached out to Republican-linked analysts in Washington and soon grasped that the new president valued personal relationships, discounted the advice of policy professionals, dismissed the importance of human rights, and measured his successes largely by the failures of his predecessors, especially Barack Obama.

Keep in mind as well that, for all the hostility Trump had directed toward Pyongyang during the 2016 presidential campaign, he had also signaled -- though at the time it was treated as a throwaway line -- that hed be pleased to meet Kim Jong-un and serve him a hamburger on a conference table. As president, in May 2017, months before he started threatening to deliver "fire and fury like the world has never seen to the North, he even called Kim a smart cookie and reiterated his willingness to sit down with him. In both instances, he received mockery, not support, from Americas Korea watchers who considered him naive (which was true but beside the point).

Most critically, the North Koreans evidently realized that they could appeal to Trumps desire to destroy the legacy of Barack Obama. The president had fervently promised to unravel anything and everything his predecessor had ever done, from health care to climate change. But on the Korean peninsula, Obama had never achieved a thing. His policy of strategic patience had amounted to little more than eight years of hoping that North Korea would relocate to another planet. In such a situation, the Norths appalling human rights record, its spotty negotiating history, and its very real nuclear weapons program mattered little in Trumps quest to once again one-up Obama.

South Korea faced a similar set of challenges. In the fall of 2017, Trump accused Moon Jae-in of the appeasement of North Korea, though he provided no specifics. Normally, such a charge would have been poison in Washington. Moon could certainly have upped the ante by retaliating in kind. Instead, he cannily held his tongue -- and when the tone suddenly shifted in inter-Korean relations in early 2018, the South Korean president pursued a psychologically even smarter tactic: he began heaping compliments on President Trump for making it all happen.

True, Moons over-the-top praise flew in the face of what really lay behind the transformation in relations, but he, too, had been well briefed on the presidents personality and predilections. He, too, grasped that the American narcissist-in-chief would incline toward praise like a plant toward the sun. When asked if he should get a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts, Moon immediately insisted that it was Trump, and Trump alone, who deserved such an honor. (Only later did Trumps base begin chanting Nobel! Nobel! Nobel!)

The leaders of both Koreas grasped a reality that eluded Washingtons pundits: that Donald Trump was their best chance of disarming a skeptical American foreign policy elite. In gaining Trumps support, the two Koreas have indeed, however paradoxically, neutralized the United States as an actor in the drama of inter-Korean relations.

Confronting the Impossible

Think of the story of the two Koreas as a parable of two impossibles.

The first impossible is denuclearization. Now that North Korea has a nuclear weapons program, its difficult to imagine that it will surrender such weaponry. After all, given the relative decline of its conventional forces, nukes provide a genuine insurance policy against any outside effort at regime change. Theyre also the main reason the United States pays any attention to the country. Without nuclear weapons, North Korea would become as vulnerable as Iraq was in 2003 and as irrelevant as Laos after 1975. Nuclear weapons are Pyongyangs ticket to international respect. Why on Earth would Kim Jong-un give them up in exchange for a non-aggression guarantee from the United States, a pledge that a subsequent administration might simply tear up (just as Trump recently shredded Obamas nuclear deal with Iran)?

The second impossible is reunification. The Koreas are about as far apart as two countries coexisting in the same century could be, as economically disparate as Germany and Ghana, as politically different as Athens and Sparta. One country is thoroughly connected to the world community; the other maintains an isolation policy comparable to eighteenth-century Japans. Like matter and anti-matter, the two Koreas risk catastrophe if suddenly brought together.

There are three imaginable ways of dealing with these two impossibles. The first, of course, is the regime-change approach of National Security Advisor John Bolton and his fan club. The idea would be to accelerate the demise of Kims regime either indirectly through covert means or even directly through war. In the wake of a North Korean collapse, according to this crackpot scenario, the U.S. Army would sweep into that country, gathering up the loose nukes, while South Korea absorbed the north just as West Germany swallowed East Germany in 1990. No one with an ounce of sense, from academics to Pentagon officials, considers this a viable approach, given the heightened risk of a war with mass casualties, possibly tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands dead and wounded, and the potential use of some of the Norths nukes in South Korea and beyond. And thats not even taking into consideration the Souths unwillingness to contemplate the immense costs of an overnight reunification.

Despite Trumps embrace of a summit with Kim Jong-un, Bolton hasnt given up on this regime-change approach. He initially sought to load the summit agenda with enough non-nuclear issues (missiles, abductions of Japanese and South Koreans) to make it unwieldy and bound to fail. More critically, he insisted that the Libya model would serve as the example the United States would follow with North Korea -- an ominous signal, given that the regime of Muammar Gaddafi collapsed under the pressure of a U.S.-NATO intervention several years after it gave up its nuclear program. In explaining why North Korea might cancel the summit with Trump, a government spokesman singled out Bolton and his Libya references. And in truth, the North Korean reaction was not a tantrum, as the Washington Post editorialized, but a reasonable objection to Boltons tactics.

The second approach, the default position for several decades, has been to wait for North Korea to come to its senses and beg for an agreement with the United States. Tighter sanctions and an inflexible negotiating position, the adherents of this theory believe, will eventually inflict so much pain on the North that, sooner or later, even the autocratic leadership of Pyongyang will realize its people cant eat nukes and trade them in for a ticket to the global economy. However attractive this strategy may look, it obviously hasnt worked over many years. Here, Trumps critique of the Obama administration has for once been accurate.

The third approach, slow-motion reunification, finally seems to be emerging as the plan of choice for both Koreas. It treats each of the impossibles as resolvable over time.

Moon Jae-in adopted this approach to reunification from his mentor, former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung. Cooperative economic projects are to be designed to gradually bridge the income gap between the two countries. Negotiations over a rail link and fishing rights in adjoining waters are meant to begin the process of harmonizing the political approaches of the two countries. According to a plan Moon delivered to Kim via USB drive at the April summit, South Korea would help its northern neighbor enter the global community by degrees so that, like a diver surfacing from a great depth, it wouldnt suffer the bends.

Denuclearization is equally tricky. But a slow-motion process might also square the circle. If North Korea and the United States agree to a staged reduction of the North's nuclear weapons in exchange for a gradually increasing set of incentives, Kim Jong-un could potentially have his nukes (for a while) and give them up as well (eventually).

Although the elimination of nuclear weapons may be the ultimate goal -- for North Korea as well as all other nuclear states -- denuclearization as such could prove a distraction in the medium term. After all, Kim Jong-un could decide to reverse such a commitment or continue to pursue the objective secretly. So the goal should really be to ensure that North Korea doesnt want to use those weapons -- or any other weapons -- because to do so would jeopardize its newfound position in the global economy. That was the U.S. strategy toward China in the 1970s after it, too, had become a nuclear power and it worked without either denuclearization or regime change.

In other words, the worst position Trump could take in Singapore would be to demand that North Korea completely and immediately abandon its nuclear weaponry before it receives any benefits from a reduction in global economic sanctions. By contrast, a more gradual timeline for denuclearization could well dovetail with slow-motion reunification. What many Korea watchers insist is a fatal flaw in the Trump-Kim summit -- a completely different understanding of what denuclearization entails -- might turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Such strategic ambiguity could allow both sides to make interim compromises and embrace an interim reduction in tensions even though they were incapable of really agreeing on the end game.

Which brings us back to all the skepticism surrounding the upcoming summit. Sure, it might end up more show than substance, but that would be fine. What the two Koreas really need is the equivalent of a papal benediction from Trump. Let the American president claim the credit, all of it, for processes of denuclearization and reunification meant to intersect at some distant horizon. Let him preen about his contributions to world peace (while he ratchets up war tensions against Iran). Let his fans chant and his Republican backers in Congress nominate him for a Nobel Prize. Let him cling to his misconceptions about North Korea, nukes, and the nature of geopolitics.

And then let him get out of the way so that the Koreans can do the real work, the historic work, the breakthrough work, of knitting the peninsula back together.

Reprinted with permission from TomDispatch. John Feffer, a TomDispatch regular, is the author of the dystopian novel Splinterlands (a Dispatch Books original) and the director of Foreign Policy In Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies. His latest book is Aftershock: A Journey into Eastern Europes Broken Dreams.Stacey Abrams has taken a leap toward making history as not only the first black governor of Georgia, but the first woman as well. She has seaHave you chosen your dog yet? Dont miss out on the opportunity to bring traffic to your business and support three great organizations!

The Northwest Connecticut Arts Council, Northwest Connecticut Chamber Education Foundation and Prime Time House are collaborating on this public art project called Tails of NWCT which will build a sense of community in the region, promote tourism, and enhance the exposure of local artists. Tails of NWCT will also beautify the business districts and towns, encourage foot traffic into local businesses, and celebrate the uniqueness of the area.The trial of Abdallah Kitatta, the patron of the notorious Boda Boda 2010 gang, also Rubaga NRM chairperson kicked off in the army General Court Martial sitting in Makindye in Kampala today.

Kitatta is charged together with ten other co-accused for unlawful possession of firearms and military equipment contrary to section 161 of the UPDF Act. The other suspects are Matia Ssenfuka, Joel Kibirige, Hassan Ssemata, Jonathan Kayondo, Ssengooba Hassan, Sande Ssemwogerere, John Ssebandeke, Hussein Mugema, Fred Bwanika and Amon Twinomujuni.

Kitatta breaks down as state witness presents evidence pinning him in court

Today, Monday afternoon, Private Richard Kasaija, an operative attached to the Chieftaincy Military Intelligence (CMI) testified against Kitatta and his group.

Kasaija told court that they picked up Kasaija from a toilet at Vine hotel in Wakaliga in Rubaga division on January 20 this year. Kasaija said they asked Kitatta to open his door but he refused. It was only after the operatives threatened to shoot through the door that Kitatta opened according to Kasaija.

He explained that on searching Kitatta's hotel room, they recovered a loaded golden plated pistol. They also recovered an SMG gun and another pistol with 15 rounds of ammunitions from his vehicle parked in the hotel yard. Kitatta broke down in tears as prosecution asked the officer to identify the gold plated pistol.



Prosecution also displayed the second pistol with 15 bullets and an SMG gun before court as exhibits. Kasaija also positively identified two military uniforms, seven caps and ammunition that they recovered from the Boda-Boda 2010 offices at Wakaliga-Nateete.



Kasaija told court that he was part of the team that picked up Kitatta and his brother Uzailu Kiwalabye, the prime suspect in the murder of Francis Ekalungar, the former accountant of Case clinic.

Court further heard that the arrest of Kitatta stemmed from the search of the telephone contacts and call logs of one of the suspects who was picked up in connection to the murder of Ekalungar. Ekalungars badly burned body was found dumped in Kajjansi on January 2, 2018.



According to Kasaija, the phone logs showed that Kitatta was in constant communication with the suspect, which prompted CMI to track him leading to his arrest at Vine hotel in Wakaliga. He recounted to court how he was instructed by his boss Captain James Agaba, the director of operations in Counter-Terrorism to go to Busega roundabout on January 19 and pick up Ekalungar's murder suspects.



Kasaija said after picking up Kiwalabye from Busega, a group of rowdy boda-boda followed their vehicle to CMI while pelting them with stones and threatened to set their vehicle ablaze unless they release the suspects.



Shortly after hearing from Kasaija, Lt. Gen Andrew Gutti, the Court Martial chairman delivered his ruling on Kitatta's bail application. He declined to release him, saying he faces grave offences, which attract a severe penalty of life imprisonment.



He also explained that Kitatta has a close working relationship with senior officers in police and might interfere with the on-going investigations and threaten witnesses.



Lt. Gen Gutti also dismissed Kitatta's sureties, saying they are of a low and ordinary profile who cannot compel him to return to court for trial. He there sent back on remand at Makindye military barracks until June 12, 2018 when he will return for further hearing.How many tons of coal did China consume last year? It's a simple question with no simple answer, despite its critical importance to climate change.

So far, China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said only that coal consumption rose 0.4 percent in 2017 from a year earlier, marking the first annual increase since 2013.

But since the NBS has not released tonnage figures for 2016, the calculation for last year remains a black box.

The unknown number of physical tons is important because China produces and consumes about half the world's coal, making it the single largest source of man-made carbon emissions.

Climate scientists generally agree that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions rose last year after a three-year period of little or no growth. But estimates vary, and experts warn that preliminary figures may be revised.

Trends in China have been given much of the credit, and alternately, the blame, as the government pushes cleaner energy sources like renewables and natural gas while meeting demands for economic growth and power supplies.

Last year, official economic and energy data charted the good news-bad news dichotomy as gross domestic product overshot the government's target with a 6.8-percent growth rate.

Electricity use jumped 6.6 percent, continuing to rebound from a slump in 2015. Coal consumption rose in volume, but it fell as a percentage of total energy by 1.6 points to 60.4 percent, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the National Energy Administration (NEA) said.

Although coal's share of the energy mix declined, the bullishness of consumption throughout the year drew the attention of environmentalists.

In November, a group of prominent climate scientists from the Global Carbon Project projected that energy-related CO2 would grow by two percent in 2017, thanks largely to a 3.5-percent increase in China's emissions, driven in turn by a three-percent rise in coal use.

The forecast announced during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany drew fire from experts at the Brookings-Tsinghua Center for Public Policy, writing in the official English-language China Daily.

The consumption estimate was "likely to be an overestimate," based on half-year data from the China Coal Industry Association (CCIA) and the NEA, said center director Ye Qi and research associate Jiaqi Lu in January.

The Brookings experts charged the Global Carbon Project scientists with "inappropriate use of the data sources," concluding that coal consumption had probably increased by "around 1 percent" to 3.82 billion metric tons instead of the 3.90 billion tons implied by the scientists' group.

The emissions rise was also likely to be "closer to 1 percent," considerably less than the scientists' 3.5-percent projection, the Brookings experts said, citing other NEA and NDRC data. In any case, coal consumption fell far short of the record 4.24 billion tons set in 2013, they said.

Comparisons are complicated

Calculations based on the announced NBS growth rates and the last annual tonnage data from 2015 suggest that 2017 usage would have been lower than both estimates at 3.79 billion metric tons.

Comparisons are complicated by differing measures of consumption that rely on obscure conversion factors.

The IEA, for example, reports data in millions of tons of oil equivalent (Mtoe), allowing calculations across various forms of energy. The NBS uses millions of tons of coal equivalent (Mtce), a standard that reflects the relatively low energy content of Chinese coal.

The China Energy Group at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California has listed conversion factors for the various forms of energy in a 2016 statistical report.

Philip Andrews-Speed, a China energy expert at National University of Singapore, noted that last year's physical coal consumption can be calculated in at least two ways from the NBS data published so far.

The first is to multiply the coal equivalent data for 2016 by the reported 0.4-percent growth rate. The second is to take the coal share of total energy for 2017. Both can be converted using the factor of 0.714 to produce 3.79-3.80 billion physical tons of coal.

This is about the same result derived from applying the NBS reported growth rates for 2016 and 2017 to the last official tonnage figure for 2015. Consumption fell 4.7 percent in 2016, according to the NBS.

The variations seem minor, until one considers that the difference between the high and low estimates is about 110 million tons, because China's consumption is so huge.

The statistical range is roughly equal to the annual consumption of major coal users like Indonesia and Australia, or about half that of Germany. Other estimates and past revisions suggest the range could be greater.

In March, the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) said that China's coal demand rose 0.3 percent last year, slightly lower than the NBS consumption rate and considerably less than both the Brookings and the Global Carbon Project estimates.

The IEA found that global energy-related CO2 emissions increased 1.4 percent, reaching a record high of 32.5 billion tons in 2017. The figure did not appear to be directly comparable with totals from the Global Carbon Project, which had already reported higher CO2 of over 36 billion tons for 2016.

Jan Ivar Korsbakken, a climate scientist and member of the Global Carbon Project, said the variations in last year's coal estimates are slight compared with some of China's major statistical revisions in the past.

"The uncertainty in China's coal data certainly creates some challenges for assessing global emissions with pinpoint accuracy," said Korsbakken, a senior researcher at Norway's Center for International Climate Research (CICERO). "But it's a minor nuisance in the grand scale of things."

The differences in the 2017 estimates are equal to "less than 1 percent of global emissions." Korsbakken said by email. "It doesn't flip us from one type of climate scenario to another."

"The real challenge looking ahead is that nobody, perhaps not even the Chinese authorities, knows for sure exactly what China will do policy-wise with economic stimulus, transition from heavy industry to services and domestic consumption, or environmental regulations, or how fast they will do it," he said.

Chinese workers shovel coal as a conveyor loads it into a trailer truck at a coal mine near Ordos in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Nov. 3, 2015. Credit: Associated Press Why the mystery?

But the question remains why China makes such a mystery of its coal data, and why it just doesn't report estimates in physical tons.

David Fridley, staff scientist at the Berkeley Lab's China Energy Group, said that the NBS energy data reported in February are only preliminary numbers that go through a series of revisions.

The final physical tonnage numbers are reported annually in the China Energy Statistical Yearbook with a lag time of 18 to 20 months after the end of each year. Numbers are also published in the annual statistical section of the NBS website, but these may be at odds with those in the yearbook.

Unannounced annual revisions may also upset calculations based on prior years.

Fridley noted that the big 4.7 percent drop in consumption reported for 2016 may be only about 1.3 percent due to revisions.

While significant for emissions calculations, the unannounced adjustments pale in comparison to major corrections, like the double-digit retroactive revision that NBS made in 2015 to compensate for undercounting.

That adjustment, made after a five-year economic census, caused scientists to raise emissions estimates by over 1 billion tons of carbon per year.

"In some of the years in question, it was like suddenly having an extra Germany added to global emission numbers," Korsbakken said.

The five-year revisions may do little to resolve the year- to-year uncertainties over consumption estimates.

The heat content of China's coal remains a major wild card because the energy estimate can change annually. Calculations based on current Mtce data and past heat content assumptions can produce variations of well over 100 million tons.

"Of course, this makes problems for people trying to estimate CO2 emissions, but no country in the world can provide an accurate reporting on their energy consumption and CO2 emissions just months after the year ended," Fridley said.

Long delays may be especially prevalent in the case of resource industries as sprawling as China's. The government counted as many as 500,000 small coal mines when reforms started in the 1990s and now officially recognizes fewer than 5,000 operations, either producing or under construction.

"I wouldn't ascribe anything nefarious to this. The data system is actually better than it used to be," Fridley said.

Playing the game

Still, it may be tempting to see other reasons for not reporting physical tonnage estimates, even if they are only preliminary. The "Mtce" coal equivalent numbers look a lot lower than the physical tonnage data, drawing less attention to China's role in global emissions.

Consumption of 2.7 billion tons of coal equivalent certainly sounds less than 3.8 billion tons of physical coal.

While the statisticians may not be playing this game, there are signs that China's official press avoids reporting the tonnage figures, even when government agencies make them available.

On April 24, NEA officials held a press conference in Beijing to report energy results for the first quarter. Although the coal data remained incomplete, the figures for January and February showed a marked increase in consumption, far higher than the 0.4-percent growth rate for last year.

"In the first two months, the national coal consumption was about 600 million tons, an increase of 4.2 percent year- on-year," said Li Fulong, director of the NEA Department of Planning and Development.

The official Xinhua news agency report from the conference on the same day included consumption data for electricity, oil and gas, but no mention of coal, China's largest energy source.

The coverage seems to be a sign of sensitivity on the subject of how much coal China is burning, but whether the reticence is reflected in NBS reporting of physical tonnage remains to be seen.

"The benign explanation is that there are so many different types of coal in China that it is better for statistical and policy purposes to give a single number in terms for equivalence," Andrews-Speed said.Cambodias Ministry of Interior has threatened to seize the assets of officials from the countrys now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) if they do not end a call to boycott the general election in July, drawing concern from observers who say there is no legal precedent to do so.



Ministry spokesperson Khieu Sopheak warned over the weekend of legal action under Cambodias electoral law against former officials of the CNRP, who have urged supporters to steer clear of the polls and avoid legitimizing the July 29 election after their party was shut down by the Supreme Court in November for allegedly plotting to topple the government and banned from taking part in the vote.



Khieu Sopheak told local media that the legal action would include the seizure of assets, and said such a move would be justified because the former officials are no longer residing in the country.



Several CNRP officials and activists have fled Cambodia since the party was banned and are currently living in self-imposed exile to avoid facing cases widely seen as politically motivated and tried in a court system that lacks independence.



The ministrys statement follows warnings in December from Cambodias National Election Committee (NEC)the nations top electoral bodyof 5-20 million-riel fines (U.S. $1,240-$4,950) and other criminal punishment for those sowing distrust of the election after RFAs Khmer Service reported on low turnout for voter registration following the dissolution of the CNRP.



Sok Sam Oeun, the lead attorney at the Amrin Law and Consultations Group, told RFAs Khmer Service that he had no idea what legal provision the Ministry of Interior could employ to carry out the threats, as calling for a boycott of an election is not illegal in Cambodia.



If the assets are not the proceeds of a criminal activity, they cannot be seized, he said.



Korn Savang, senior election observer for the Committee on Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel), told RFA that officials should be more objective when interpreting the countrys laws, adding that urging people not to vote is an exercise of free speech, and not an obstruction of the election.



Any officials in the government who intend to carry out legal actions that are not guided by the law are allowing their hearts to rule their heads, he said.



It could be done legally, but it is politically motivated.



CNRP responds



CNRP deputy president Eng Chhay Eang told RFA that Prime Minister Hun Sen regularly uses Cambodias courts as a political tool to oppress the countrys opposition, but said he was unconcerned with the threat of having his assets seizeda method he likened to those used by the bloody Khmer Rouge regime.



This kind of practice is very familiar, but only the Khmer Rouge would use it, he said of the 1975-79 regime, which forced large-scale evacuations and relocations.



The Khmer Rouge evacuated people from the cities and seized all their belongings. Now Hun Sen is introducing the policy of the Khmer Rouge regime again  We will leave it up to the people to decide on this [policy].



Former CNRP President Sam Rainsy, who is living in self-imposed exile to avoid convictions seen as politically motivated, told supporters in Vancouver, Canada, on Sunday that he was undeterred by government threats in response to his call for an election boycott, and urged them to tell their family members in Cambodia to stay away from the ballot boxes in July.



Cambodian patriots are now at a crossroads, but they must turn right and take the CNRP-recommended road for their safety, that of their families and their nationthey must not turn left and take the Hun Sen-recommended road that leads to the polling station, he said.



Turning right is entering our house insteadto be prepared to stay at home and to boycott the upcoming July 29 fake election.



The CNRP received more than 3 million votesaccounting for nearly half of the countrys registered votersin Cambodias 2013 general election, and enjoyed similar success in last years commune ballot, making it the only legitimate challenger to the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) ahead of July.



As of Monday, the NEC has approved 16 of the 20 political parties that have registered for the election, after the committee extended the period for parties to register beyond the original May 14 deadline.



Of the approved parties, only the CPP and the royalist Funcinpec Party currently hold seats in the National Assembly, or parliament, and ran in the last general election of 2013although Funcinpec only obtained its seats after the CNRP was dissolved, and not through an election. The other parties are largely considered government-aligned or too insignificant to garner many votes.



The NEC will allow the remaining four political parties five more days to submit the documents required to register for the election, according to committee spokesperson Hang Puthea.



Lese-majeste law



Meanwhile, Cambodias newly adopted lese-majeste law claimed its second victim on Sunday, when authorities arrested 70-year-old barber and the CNRPs former executive director of Siem Reap province Ban Samphy at his home in the Kampong Kdey communes Punleu Preah Phos village, in the provinces Chy Kreng district.



The law, which was unanimously adopted by the CPP-dominated National Assembly in mid-February, allows prosecutors to bring a criminal lawsuit on behalf of the monarchy against anyone deemed to have insulted the royal familya charge that carries a punishment of between one and five years in prison and a fine of between U.S. $500 and $2,500.



A week earlier, Ban Samphy had shared a post by Facebook user Khmer Thatcher of a photo of King Norodom Sihamoni in his car and a video of a group of villagers protesting over being displaced by the controversial Lower Sesan 2 dam project with a caption that read, This is the result of the leadership of Hun Sen, the terrorist, and the fake king, to his personal Facebook account.



The former CNRP official has been placed under court supervision and is being detained in Siem Reap Prison. No date has been set for his trial.



Lawyer Pheng Heng told RFA after Ban Samphy's arrest that there is no law covering shares and likes on Facebook or other social media, and suggested he should be released.



Ban Samphys family has called for the authorities to free him, saying he had no intention of insulting the king, and that his Facebook post was only meant to let his [Facebook] friends make their own judgment about the situation.



Soeng Sen Karona, a senior investigator for the rights group Adhoc, called on the authorities to reconsider tough measures against people regarding the lese-majeste law.



Some people are not well-informed of the law, so the authorities need to conduct a thorough investigation to find out if Ban Samphy intended to insult the king, and if he was aware that he would be punished by sharing such a post through social media, he said.



Generally, people in rural areas are new to social media and mainly use it to access sources of information.



Ban Samphys arrest follows that of 50-year-old Kheang Navy, the director of a primary school in Kampong Thom province who was taken into custody on May 13 after commenting on a Facebook post that the king and other members of the royal family colluded with Hun Sen to dissolve the CNRP.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.Authorities at a university in the central Chinese province of Hubei have fired a university lecturer after her students reported her for making ideologically "incorrect" comments in class, RFA has learned.



Zhai Juhong, a former associate professor at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in Hubei's provincial capital Wuhan, was reported by students for remarks she made in class on Apr. 25, leaked official documents reveal.



Zhai, 52, was reported for comments about recent changes to China's constitution allowing President Xi Jinping to remain in post indefinitely, property rights for state-owned companies, and about the country's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress (NPC).



She has been expelled from the ruling Chinese Communist Party, removed from her research and teaching posts, and stripped of her status as a teacher, according to a report on the official investigation into "breaches of classroom discipline" seen by RFA.



The punishment was approved on Sunday by the university's Communist Party committee, which found that Zhai had breached guidelines for conduct issued by the Ministry of Education.



Repeated attempts to contact Zhai were unsuccessful, and the news of her dismissal wasn't visible on the university's official website.



An employee who answered the phone at the university on Sunday declined to comment, saying she didn't know about the incident.



Calls to the hotline number appended to the investigation document rang unanswered during office hours on Monday.



Party universities



Academics said the administration of President Xi is extending its control over public freedom of expression into China's universities in a manner not seen in decades.



"The central government wants ideology in the classroom now, and is requiring teachers to stick to the party line while they are teaching class," Cao Zhenhua, an ousted former lecturer at the Nationalities University in the southwestern province of Guizhou, told RFA.



"They must avoid ideological conflicts while they are teaching ... or they will be reported by students appointed as informers," said Cao. "One of my colleagues was an informer when I was at the Guizhou Nationalities University."



"There are [also] one or two student informers in every class, and their job is to report dissenting opinions expressed by teachers or by their classmates," he said.



"They could also report them to the state security police," he said.



Cao said recent moves to install security cameras in classrooms are part of the new monitoring regime, and they are viewed by officials from local education bureaus and propaganda departments.



"These were installed several years ago, so now we have [anonymous] tip-offs from the students, video monitoring and informers placed among the students by the state security police," he said.



Tan Song, a former lecturer who lost his job for pursuing politically sensitive research topics last September, said Zhai is the latest casualty of a renewed monitoring system in Chinese universities.



"This was the worst punishment she could have received, and it will have been made by officials higher up, not just by the university," Tan said. "There are two possibilities here; one is that she was reported by student informants, whose identity is unknown to their classmates or even to their tutors."



"They are recruited specially by the higher-ups to carry out this task."



Tan said some students might have taken it upon themselves to report Zhai without having been recruited, however.



"There is a type of student who has been brainwashed to the extent that their brains have turned to red mush," he said. "They will report any teacher they hear expressing an opinion that doesn't match what they have been taught."



'All-seeing eye'



Official media reported last week that authorities in the eastern province of Zhejiang have installed an "all-seeing eye" in a high-school classroom to spot students who aren't paying attention or are falling asleep in class, official media reported.



The trial system at the Hangzhou No. 11 High School links up a surveillance camera to facial recognition software that tracks students' movements and facial expressions, according to the Zhejiang Daily newspaper.



The technology is part of a trial of software and surveillance systems that could be rolled out elsewhere as part of the development of "smart campuses," the paper said.



"The system ... can perform statistical analysis on students' behaviors and expressions in the classroom and provide timely feedback on abnormal behaviors," the report said.



Commentators have also pointed to China's recent introduction of a "social credit" scoring system using an individual's data to grant or deny certain privileges, such as buying a plane ticket, as another example of the encroachment of the government on every area of an individual's life.



Rules announced on March 2 mean that people who haven't paid their taxes, who have committed any kind of fraud or defaulted on court judgments can be added to no-fly lists, along with those suspected of being a security threat.



U.S.-based economist Cheng Xiaonong said that while financial companies will share information and apply credit scoring in connection as a way to minimize lending risk, in China, the government can use a similar system to rate people's "performance" in all areas of life.



"The situation in China seems to be different," Cheng said. "[The social credit system] includes information from business organizations, of course, but there are far more data from government departments."



Economist and current affairs commentator Qin Weiping said the use of data in this way could infringe on the rights of ordinary citizens.



"Certain groups could see their rights and interests damaged, such as petitioners ... who are included in the system as so-called untrustworthy people," Qin.



"There are also so-called social dissidents who may be included in the list of judgment defaulters to a greater or lesser extent."



Reported by Wong Siu-san and Lau Siu-fung for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Jia Ao for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.The ruling Chinese Communist Party has pulled the plug on a prominent Maoist website amid concerns it may boost extreme nationalist sentiment that could undermine Beijing's trade policy with the United States, analysts said on .



The leftist ideology website Utopia issued a statement on confirming that its WeChat account had been permanently deleted because the website had previously published multiple articles that "disclosed the capitalistic medias suppression of left-wing voices."



WeChat, China's hugely popular social media platform, said Utopia had "violated relevant laws and regulations."



Utopia's main website was also unavailable at its usual address on. The site's organizers have previously said they believe that permanent closure is only a matter of time.



Commentators said the closures may have more to do with current diplomatic negotiations, however.



The administration of President Xi Jinping has shut down a number of Maoist websites in recent years, including Utopia, but has generally allowed them to re-open after politically sensitive events, such as the trial of leftist icon and former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai in 2013.



Former Tsinghua University politics lecturer Wu Qiang said the closures could be a bid to suppress nationalist commentary following apparent concessions made by Beijing in trade negotiations with the U.S.



"The outcome of the negotiations ... has been a substantial compromise, and basically the acceptance of the U.S. position overall," Wu said.



"So China's internet authorities have cracked down in a preventative manner and banned this Maoist social media account, to stop them from attacking the negotiations as ... selling the country out by treaty, or betrayal," he said.



Leftist criticism of international concessions made by the Chinese government focuses on the country's memory of unequal and humiliating treaties signed with colonial powers in the 19th century, including the 1842 Treaty of Nanking that ceded the island of Hong Kong to Britain "in perpetuity."



Shoring up ties with the left

Hong Kong current affairs analyst Willy Lam said the kind of leftist, ultra-nationalist ideology espoused by sites like Utopia has a considerable following in China.



"It wouldn't be out of the question for leftist sites like Utopia to post articles attacking Xi Jinping as being incapable of protecting China's sovereignty, and as making huge concessions and caving in to U.S. imperialism," Lam said.



"This would be anathema to Xi Jinping."



Lam said Xi also needs to preserve his relationship with the left wing of the party.



"Xi Jinping has partially restored Maoist thinking, and some of his own thinking has partially revived Mao Zedong's ideas," he said. "Some people even think that Utopia follows some of Xi Jinping's ideas, policies and viewpoints."



"There has always been an extreme leftist current of thought, both within the party and outside it, and it looks as if it will be here for a long time to come," Lam said.



Utopia's editor-in-chief Diao Weiming was among 36 people killed when a tour bus crashed in North Korea last month.



Diao had also headed Utopia's travel arm, Spark Travel, which ran revolutionary tours to the the secretive Stalinist regime commemorating China's role in fighting the U.S. during the Korean War (1950-1953).



Zhejiang-based rights activist Chen Zongyao told RFA at the time that China's state media had played down the accident, and hadn't named Diao, during its coverage.



"There has been very little information on this bus crash here in mainland China," Chen said. "There is almost nothing. Official media reports are just saying that 36 people died in a bus crash."



"Previously, when there have been accidents [involving Chinese nationals] in foreign countries, they have been reported in great detail, but ... there have been no details about who these people were," he said.



Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.At least three people have died due to a deadly virus Nipah in northern Kerala. The outbreak was identified after three members of a family who were tested positive for the virus, including two youths in their 20s, died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. Their father, who is also infected, has been put under observation in the hospital. The entire state has been on high alert as eight others have also been hospitalized for showing similar infection-related symptoms. Basic symptoms of the Nipah virus are fever, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, choking, stomach pain, and fatigue. A person infected with the Nipah Virus can go in coma.

Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis, a disease which can be transmitted to humans from animals, that causes severe disease in both animals and humans. The natural hosts of the Nipah virus are fruit bats of the Pteropodidae family, Pteropus genus.

Kerala health minister KK Shylaja said a bat was found in the well of the house where the deaths occurred, and that the house has now been closed. A nursing assistant, Lini, who had treated these three patients, also died on Monday. However, it is yet to be established if she died of virus infection from bats or due to some other reasons.

Total 15 deaths have been reported due to the symptoms related to the virus in several districts of the state, reported India Today. A high-level team from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) is analyzing the overall situation in Kozhikode, which is the most affected. The authorities have said there's no need to panic as the Nipah virus spreads only through direct contact with an infected person.

What is Nipah Virus (NiV)



According to the World Health Organisation, the virus was named after the Malaysian village, Kampung Sungai Nipah, where it was first identified during an outbreak of the disease in 1998. During that time, pigs were the intermediate hosts of the virus. However, in subsequent NiV outbreaks, there were no intermediate hosts. In Bangladesh in 2004, humans were infected with NiV as a result of consuming date palm sap that had been contaminated by infected fruit bats. Human-to-human transmission has also been documented in India. NiV also causes diseases in pigs and other animals. So far, there is no vaccine for either humans or animals. The primary treatment for human cases is intensive supportive care.

Causes of Nipah Virus



Fruit bats of the genus Pteropus have been identified as natural reservoirs of NiV.

Nipah virus has been isolated from the brain and spinal fluid of victims in Malaysia.

Infective virus has also been isolated from bat urine and partially-eaten fruit in Malaysia.

How Nipah Virus is transmitted

Infected bats shed virus in their excretion and secretion such as saliva, urine, semen and excreta but they are symptomless carriers.

The NiV is highly contagious among pigs, spread by coughing. Ninety per cent of the infected people in the 1998-1999 outbreaks were pig farmers or had contact with pigs.

WHO says emergence of bat-related viral infection communicable to humans and animals has been attributed to the loss of natural habitats of bats. As the flying fox habitat is destroyed by human activity the bats get stressed and hungry, their immune system gets weaker, their virus load goes up and a lot of virus spills out in their urine and saliva.

How to prevent Nipah virusWaste run-off from upstream factories may be responsible for the recent deaths of over 40 cows in a village in Laos, local villagers and a government official say.



An investigation into the livestocks death in the Xaysettha district of the capital Vientiane is now under way, a Fisheries Department official told RFAs Lao Service, speaking on condition of anonymity.



All factories in the area will be inspected to see if they have released contaminants into water sources, and any factories found responsible will have to pay compensation to the farmers whose cows were killed, the official said.



In addition to the 41 cows found dead in Xayasetthas Ban Xoc Noi village, another 81 died last month in the districts Ban Na Biane and Ban Phon Thong villages, with officials still collecting evidence in those cases, sources said.



Also speaking to RFA on condition his name not be used, one Ban Xoc Noi villager said that no one will now drink from the villages river or bathe in it, adding that livestock deaths reported in another district during the last three or four years had stopped after nearby factories were closed.



A Chinese-owned paper mill in the Sepon district of southern Laoss Savannakhet province has meanwhile been discovered releasing wastewater into a nearby river, killing fish and other aquatic animals, along with several cows.



Animal deaths are increasingly being reported in Laos due to water contaminated by run-off from factory waste or from herbicides and pesticides used on plantation fields, sources in the country say.



In January, a report by the Lao nongovernmental organization Luras pointed to widespread pesticide and herbicide pollution in northeastern Laos's Xiengkhouang province, with preliminary tests showing traces of the contaminants in the blood of 96 percent of the province's residents.



Further testing will be needed to determine how much contamination the province's residents have been exposed to, a Lao public health official told RFA in an earlier report.



Reported by RFAs Lao Service. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Written in English by Richard Finney.



Kachin youth hold a press conference in Myitkyina, capital of northern Myanmar's Kachin state, calling for the rescue of civilians trapped in conflict zones amid fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army, May 1, 2018.

A lawyer for two Kachin activists charged by the military with criminal defamation for leading an antiwar protest in the Kachin state capital Myitkyina, during which demonstrators called for the evacuation of civilians from conflict zones, will appeal to the regional Supreme Court to drop the cases.

The Myanmar armys Northern Regional Command filed lawsuits against Lum Zawng, 29, and Zau Jat, 41, and a third activist Nang Pu, 47, under Section 500 of the Penal Code for statements they made at a press conference and peaceful rally in Myitkyina on April 30 and May 1.

They each face up to two years in prison if found guilty.

Around 5,000 people protested in Myitkyina on April 30, followed three days later by roughly 300 others who renewed the demonstration and staged a short-lived sit-in camp in the city to demand an end to hostilities between government soldiers and the Kachin Independence Army, an ethnic militia, and the rescue of thousands of civilians trapped by the fighting.

Mone Seng Tu, the attorney for Lum Zawng, himself a lawyer, and Zau Jat, chairman of the Kachin National Social Development Foundation, said he will file an appeal with the states highest court.

The charge against them is just an accusation, he said. What they said was not defamation. Thats why I have prepared to file an appeal with the Kachin State Supreme Court that the charges be dropped. I will submit the appeal tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Nang Pu, a founding member of the Htoi Gender and Development Foundation, a Kachin community-based organization dedicated to womens empowerment, was granted bail on Monday at Myitkyina Township Court.after posting a 500,000-kyat (U.S. $367) bond.

The trios next hearing is scheduled for May 28 when the plaintiff, Lieutenant Colonel Myo Min Oo, will testify.

Also on Monday, Fortify Rights and the Kachin Womens Association of Thailand (KWAT) called on the Myanmar government to immediately and unconditionally withdraw all charges against the three activists.

It is not a crime to want the Myanmar military to end attacks on innocent people, Moon Nay Li, KWATs general secretary, said in a statement. All these activists did was speak the truth, and theyre facing years in prison because of it.

Moon May Li also called for the situation to be brought before the International Criminal Court.

Sensitive to criticism

An uptick in fighting this year in the long-running civil war between the KIA and the Myanmar army has displaced more than 7,400 civilians in Hpakant, Tanaing, and Injangyang townships since early April, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Armed conflict between the two groups and human rights violations have displaced more than 100,000 civilians since June 2011, when a 17-year bilateral cease-fire agreement between the two sides broke down.

The Myanmar military is so sensitive to criticism that the mere mention of their crimes elicits prosecutions, Matthew Smith, chief executive officer of Fortify Rights, said in a statement. The military is trying to shut down any conversation that might better inform the public about atrocities in Kachin state, and theyre blocking efforts that would lead to accountability.

The three Kachin activists are among the more than 50 activists nationwide charged for participating in antiwar activities this month, most of whom have been accused of not obtaining official permission to hold public demonstrations, as required by Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law.

About 300 youths participated in a protest on May 12 in Yangon during which they called for an end to fighting in Kachin state and the rescue of those displaced by the clashes, some of whom have been trapped in conflict zones for weeks.

The Yangon protest ended in fistfights between some demonstrators and police, who charged 17 with violating Article 19.

Following a poetry reading ceremony for peace at Maha Bandula Park in Yangon on May 14, organizer Khant Min Htet, poet Shwe Kyae Moe, and demonstrator Zayar Lwin, who gave a speech at the event, were charged under Article 19 for not obtaining official permission from local officials to hold the ceremony.

Police Officer Myo Thet from Kyauttada Township Police Station who brought charges against them, will testify at a hearing on May 29.

The judge asked me if I am guilty under Article 19, said Zayar Lwin. I responded that I am not guilty. I really believe I am not guilty. He also asked me whether I would apply for bail or not. I told him I would not apply for bail, but I promised him I would appear at the hearings.

Rights groups and lawyers see the pursuit of charges against peaceful protesters as a threat to freedom of expression and assembly in the Southeast Asian nation, which voted in a civilian-led government in late 2015 after five decades of military rule.

Reported by Wai Mar Tun and Kyaw Zaw Win for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.Myanmar government representatives, top military brass, and delegates from ethnic armed groups open the second round of the Panglong Conference in Naypyidaw, May 24, 2017.

Myanmar must postpone its third round of nationwide peace talks planned for May because the ethnic militias that have already signed the governments peace accord say they have to attend other meetings this month to prepare for the countrys political dialogue.

Government representatives, military officers, and signatories of the nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) will meet at the end of May to determine the future date of the next meeting of the 21st-Century Panglong Conference, also known as the Union Peace Conference  an effort spearheaded by Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi to end decades of civil war in the country and forge lasting peace.

Before meeting with the government, the Peace Process Steering Team (PPST), made up of the ethnic militias that have signed the government's NCA, will meet in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on May 26-28 to set a date for the third round of negotiations, said Colonel Khun Okkar, leader of the Pa-O National Liberation Army (PNLA), one of the pacts signatories.

At that meeting, participants will discuss having only one army in Myanmar and not carving out any individual state or region from the countrys territory.

The NCA signatories could not meet for the expected round of the conference this month because they have to hold the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committees (UPDJC) secretary group meeting, the UPDJC meeting itself, and all five sectors working committee meetings, Khun Okkar said.

Headed by State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, the UPDJC oversees the drafting process of the framework for political dialogue. It is composed of the NCA signatories, representatives from political parties and the central government, and military officers.

We have to use two weeks only for working committee meetings, Khun Okkar said. I assume the conference is postponed because of timing difficulty.

The Peace Process Steering Team will hold a meeting in Thailand on May 26-28, and the UPDJC and government will meet around the end of May and set the conference date, he said. I think it will be in June. We all have to meet at least once to set the exact date.

The government, however, does not want to postpone the next round of peace talks, said Zaw Htay, director general of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyis office.

The government has prepared to do it by holding central committees and working committees meetings, but the ethnic armed groups are not ready for it yet, he told RFA's Myanmar Service.

After the first conference held in late August and early September 2016, the government intended to schedule subsequent rounds of negotiations every six months.

But ongoing civil war, tensions between the national military and ethnic militias, and the crisis in Rakhine state, where two crackdowns on Rohingya Muslims in October 2016 and August 2017 together displaced nearly 800,000 Rohingya, have stalled the peace process.

The second round of the peace talks was held a year ago.

According to the political framework, the peace conference has to be held twice a year, Zaw Htay said.

Although the government is always ready to hold the peace conference, other parties are too lax to do it on time, he said. Thats why each group should think about not harming the peace process because of its own difficulties. We want to hold it as soon as possible.

Process will not be smooth

The original eight signatories of the peace pact in October 2015 included The All Burma Students Democratic Front, Arakan Liberation Party, Chin National Front, Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, Karen National Union, Pa-O National Liberation Organization, and Shan State Army-South.

But some of the nations largest ethnic armies  the United Wa State Army, Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and Shan State Army-North  were among the groups that refused to enter the agreement.

Three other groups  the Taang National Liberation Army, Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, and Arakan Army (AA)  were excluded from the NCA because of ongoing hostilities with government troops.

This February, the New Mon State Party and the Lahu Democratic Union also signed the NCA.

[T]he peace process will not be smooth, Zaw Htay said. There will be ups and downs sometimes and it will be smooth at other times, but we have to try not to lose sight of engaging in dialogue as the way to advance the peace process without any disappointments.

We have to find ways in which the difficulties of a particular ethnic armed group do not become a difficulty for all stakeholders, he said.

A meeting took place between government representatives and NCA signatories at the National Reconciliation and Peace Center in Myanmars capital Naypyidaw on May 18-19 to discuss the holding of the third round of peace talks as planned, but a compromise could not be reached, Eleven Myanmar media group reported.

Hostilities have continued to flare this year between ethnic militias and Myanmar forces in war-torn Kachin and Shan states, while restive Rakhine state is trying to recover and rebuild following the two crackdowns on the Rohingya.

And now growing tensions between the AA and government forces in Paletwa township of western Myanmars Chin state have forced about 60 people from several households to flee their homes, according to local civil society organizations (CSOs).

The AAs Information Committee announced that the ethnic militia clashed with government troops for 20 minutes on May 18 near the townships Shinmadain village.

All of the people from Ku Chaung Phyar village have fled to Zin Baung Pyin village, Kyaw Aung, secretary of a local CSO, told RFA. Forty-seven arrived first out of a total of 60 people who got to Zin Baung Pyin by this morning.

About 1,000 people from Chin state have fled to neighboring India because of fighting between the AA and the government army since November 2017.

Fighting between the two sides escalated early that month, leaving casualties on both sides in Paletwa, an ethnic Chin township that borders Rakhine state and is used by the AA as a base.

Reported by Zin Mar Win and Thinn Thiri for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.Authorities in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) are forcing Uyghur students and their parents to sign pledges that they will not fast during the holy Islamic month of Ramadan in a bid to further undermine the religious traditions of the mostly Muslim ethnic group.



Officials have typically forced restaurants to stay open and restricted access to mosques during Ramadan, and last year sources told RFAs Uyghur Service that Uyghur Communist Party cadres, civil servants and government retirees were made to sign documents that said they would neither fast nor pray during the holy month, ostensibly to set an example to other Uyghurs in the community.



But a student in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefectures Peyziwat (Jiashi) county recently told RFA that school officials made him and his classmates sign agreements with their parents that they would not fast during Ramadanwhich falls between May 16 and June 14 this yearmarking the first time authorities have been known to target school-age children with the measures.



The report suggest that authorities are making unprecedented incursions into the personal lives of Uyghurs to eliminate what they call signs of religious extremism in the region.



As we are students, we dont fast, said the student, who spoke with RFA on condition of anonymity.



We have signed a school agreement and also written a letter of promise.



When asked if his parents were fasting during Ramadan, the student said that they werent because they are not allowed to practice such things in front of  their children.



To act as role models, of course they will not fast, he added.



A female cadre from Peyziwat county said that ahead of Ramadan all cadres and party members were called to the county office for a meeting, in which we were told to be more vigilant and to pay special attention to anyone who complains about the governments policy regarding religious extremism.



The cadres are working hard on  educating [residents] about the incorrectness of fasting, she added.



When asked whether fasting was considered an illegal religious activity, the cadre acknowledged that it is not, but said people shouldnt complain when living under such good conditions.



She also confirmed a report by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) earlier this month that authorities are imposing regular home stays on Muslim Uyghur families of cadres who record information about their lives and political views, and subject them to political indoctrination, as part of an increasingly invasive strike hard campaign in the region.



They are helping farmers get out of poverty, she said of the home stay policy, which the government says provides families with access to education about technical skills and teaches them Mandarin Chinese to help residents find better work.



Other sources, including an officer at a police station in Aksu (Akesu) prefecture, said increased security measures are in effect around the region during Ramadan.



We have intensified patrols in order to retain stability, and at the moment there are no instability issues, said the officer, before hanging up the phone.



Existing measures



The new restrictions surrounding Ramadan are in line with existing measures targeting religious extremism that have been introduced in recent years.



Since April, thousands of Uyghurs accused of harboring extremist and politically incorrect views have been detained in political re-education camps and prisons throughout Xinjiang, where members of the ethnic group complain of pervasive discrimination, religious repression, and cultural suppression under Chinese rule.



Authorities have relied on a list circulated early last year of 75 Signs of Religious Extremism to detain Uyghurs amid a string of harsh policies attacking their legitimate rights and freedoms enacted since Communist Party secretary Chen Quanguo was appointed to run the region in August 2016.



Among the signs of extremism on the list were conducting business as usual and women who wear religious clothing to work during Ramadan, storing or purchasing large quantities of food for home and acting abnormal, and praying in groups in public outside of mosques.



But party officials told RFA that they had been notified of several new signs of extremism in April last year, including people who stand with their legs wide apart while praying, dye their hair with henna, wear short trousers, wear a watch on their right wrist, and those suddenly abstaining from alcohol.



Another list informs officials to watch out for the so-called 28 Signs of Illegal Religious Activities.



Ahead of Ramadan this year, the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress (WUC) exile group issued a statement urging the Chinese government to ensure the right to religious freedom for Uyghurs, and to allow them to observe the holy month without restrictions.



Each year, the month of Ramadan has been turned into one of fear and anxiety because of the increased restrictions, which has caused untold disturbance in the daily life of the Uyghur people, WUC president Dolkun Isa said at the time.



China regularly conducts strike hard campaigns in Xinjiang, including police raids on Uyghur households, restrictions on Islamic practices, and curbs on the culture and language of the Uyghur people, including videos and other material.



While China blames some Uyghurs for "terrorist" attacks, experts outside China say Beijing has exaggerated the threat from the Uyghurs and that repressive domestic policies are responsible for an upsurge in violence there that has left hundreds dead since 2009.



Reported by Gulchehra Hoja for RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by RFA's Uyghur Service. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.The Taliban has warned Kabul residents to stay away from "military centers" as they vowed more attacks in the Afghan capital.

In a statement published online on May 21, the militants said the coming attacks on "the enemy's military and intelligence centers" were part of an annual spring offensive.

"Therefore, to avoid civilian casualties and only cause damage to enemy military, we are asking Kabul residents to keep away.... We don't want even a single innocent civilian to be killed," the statement said.

It did not elaborate on what was meant by "military and intelligence centers."

The Taliban is stepping up attacks in an apparent rejection of calls for the militants to accept the Afghan government's February offer of peace talks.

The Taliban and an affiliate of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group have carried out a series of massive attacks in Kabul in recent months.

At least 25 people were killed on April 30 in twin suicide bombings claimed by IS militants, including nine journalists who had rushed to the scene of the first attack. Among the dead were two RFE/RL journalists and an RFE/RL trainee.

On May 21 in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said gunmen killed five members of a demining team that was clearing a segment for a planned gas pipeline. A sixth worker was missing following the attack in Maiwand district.

The deminers were working for the TAPI project intended to transport natural gas along an 1,800-kilometer route from Turkmenistan through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India, the officials said.

Zia Durrani, spokesman for the provincial police chief, said Taliban militants were behind the attack.

A Taliban spokesman said the incident was being investigated and that the victims were not wearing the usual uniform worn by TAPI workers.

The main Taliban organization in Afghanistan has declared its support for TAPI, calling it an "important project" for the country.

With reporting by AFP, dpa, AP, and ReutersBelarusian officials are still hung up over a rainbow flag that was flying outside the British Embassy in Minsk last week to acknowledge International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOT).

The kerfuffle started three days before the May 17 IDAHOT when the embassy flew the flag alongside British and European Union flags to promote the rights of the LGBT community and draw public attention to the discrimination LGBT people face around the world.

The move was accompanied by a video put out by the embassy to commemorate the day, with Ambassador Fionna Gibb saying Britain is committed to promoting and protecting the rights of members of the LGBT community.

On May 20, the Belarusian Interior Ministry fired back in a tersely worded statement accusing the British government of trying to create problems where they do not exist and asserting that same-sex relationships are fake.

This day has never been and is not in any way memorable or significant in our country, the statement said.

The reason is obvious: The overwhelming majority of Belarusians adhere to traditional family values, including Christian ones. A statement of this kind [by the British Embassy] is a challenge to these values, it added.

Olga Rapinchuk, a spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Minsk, told RFE/RL by telephone on May 21 that it would not comment on the ministrys statement.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Belarus face deep-rooted homophobia, discrimination, and the threat of violence, activists and human rights defenders say.

They add that repression and violence against LGBT people in former Soviet republics such as Belarus has been encouraged by Russias 2013 law criminalizing the distribution to minors of distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and nontraditional sexual relationships.

Belarus's LGBT intolerance was on full display in October 2017 when police raided nightclubs popular with the LGBT community, during which two clubs were shuttered and patrons were harassed, with some even being detained by police.

A year earlier, Belarus reportedly led a group of 17 countries to block a plan to include LGBT rights in a new urban strategy crafted by the United Nations, according to Reuters.

Aleh Hulak, chairman of the Belarus Helsinki Committee, called the statement decidedly homophobic and noted that the ministrys function is not to moralize.

We would question the legality of such statements and ask they remove this material from the website and refrain from further comments of this kind, he said.

With reporting by Alan Crosby and Carl Schreck in PragueMore than 800 people have been poisoned after eating toxic wild mushrooms across western Iran, local media report.

A Health Ministry official said on May 21 that that the effects of the fungi had killed 11 people so far, Tasnim news agency reported.

More than 200 people have been hospitalized, the official added, noting that there is no effective treatment for this kind of poisoning.

The deadly fungi look very similar to edible ones, according to Iranian officials.

Tasnim reported that the mushrooms concerned grow wild in mountainous regions of Iran's west after spring showers.

The BBC said people had been urged to only purchase mushrooms packed and sealed in shops.

Based on reporting by Tasnim and the BBCIranian President Hassan Rohani says Tehran does not accept the United States making decisions for it, in a defiant response to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's announcement of tough economic sanctions against Iran.

"The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence," Rohani said in a statement in Iranian media. "Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?"

His comments come hours after Pompeo said on May 21 that Washington will impose "the strongest sanctions in history [on Iran] once they come into full force" and that the "sting of sanctions will only grow more painful if the regime does not change its course."

Pompeo set 12 conditions for Iran to follow in order for the United States to agree to a new nuclear deal with Tehran in a speech in Washington on May 21 at the Heritage Foundation think tank.

Rohani dismissed Pompeo's statements and described the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump as a throwback "to the era of Bush junior and a repeat of the same statements as 2003."

"The era of such statements has evolved and the Iranian people have heard these statements hundreds of times, and no longer pays attention," Rohani said.

Pompeo's speech comes almost two weeks after Trump said Washington was withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.

In Brussels, EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini said on May 21 that there is "no alternative" to the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the EU co-sponsored.

She said in a statement that Pompeo's speech did not demonstrate "how walking away from the JCPOA has made or will make the region safer from threat of nuclear proliferation."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and United Arab Emirates government officials praised Pompeo's tougher stance against Iran.

German Foreign Minister Heike Maas said he would hold talks with Pompeo on May 23 in Washington and discuss the Trump administration's position on the nuclear deal.

Pompeo said the deal was a "loser" that had "huge negative repercussions," adding that Iran had "advanced its march across the Middle East" since the signing of the 2015 deal.

He said the sanctions will apply "unprecedented financial pressure" on Iran, which he called the world's leading sponsor of terrorism.

"The authorities in Iran will have no doubt" about our determination, he said.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced that the U.S. military will "take all necessary steps to confront and address Iran's malign influence in the region."

"We are assessing if we are going to double down on current actions or implement new actions," said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning.

Pompeo said Iran will be "battling to keep its economy alive" under the sanctions and will have to choose between maintaining its economy or sponsoring terrorist and insurgent groups in countries like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen -- what he called "squandering precious wealth on fights abroad."

"It will not have the money to do both," he said.

He blamed the money that the Iranian government received after sanctions ended as a "newfound treasure" that it used to sponsor those groups.

"We will track down Iranian operatives and their Hizballah proxies operating around the world and crush them," Pompeo said.

Pompeo said if Iran made "major changes," the United States would be willing to lift all sanctions.

He did not give a timetable for when the sanctions would be imposed or give details about them.

Among the demands he made, Pompeo said Iran must "stop the enrichment" of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the nuclear deal.

He said Iran must also allow nuclear monitors to have "unqualified access to all sites throughout the country," in a reference to several military sites that were off-limits under the JCPOA under specific circumstances.

Iran must also declare all of its previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon, Pompeo said, reopening an issue that the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has already deemed closed.

The United States will also demand that Iran cease its support for Shi'ite Huthi rebels in Yemen, "withdraw all forces" from Syria, halt support for Hizballah in Lebanon, and stop "threatening" Israel.

Iran must also "release all U.S. citizens" missing in Iran or being held on "spurious charges," he said.

Pompeo also offered Iran a series of potential U.S. concessions.

Under a new agreement with Iran, the United States would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore diplomatic and commercial ties with Tehran, and even support modernizing its economy, he said.

"It is America's hope that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran," Pompeo said.

In defending Trump's decision to leave the nuclear deal, Pompeo said it "failed to secure the safety of the American people."

He listed the problems with the JCPOA as having "weak sunset provisions" that would allow Iran to make a "quick sprint to the bomb" once they kicked in that would set off an arms race for a nuclear weapon.

Pompeo said Iranian officials had negotiated in "bad faith" in obtaining the deal because "Iran has lied for years about having a nuclear weapons program."

He also criticized the nuclear deal because it did not address Iran's ballistic- and cruise-missile programs.

Pompeo said the windfall that Iran received after signing the JCPOA allowed it to arm the Lebanese-based Shi'a militia group Hizballah "to the teeth," saying that the group "has its sights set on Israel."

The top U.S. diplomat added that Iran had been able since agreeing to the nuclear deal to "prop up the murderous [Bashar al-]Assad regime" in Syria and to sponsor Shi'ite forces in Iraq.

He also said Iran was fueling the Huthi uprising in Yemen and that Tehran's Quds Force was conducting "covert assassinations in the heart of Europe."

Pompeo criticized Iran for detaining and jailing several U.S. citizens but added that the Trump administration is "working diligently to bring home every American unlawfully kept in Iran."

He said the United States will "continue to work with allies to block the financing of terror [by Iran]" and ensure that "Iran has no path to a nuclear weapon -- not now, not ever."

Pompeo said that if Iran decides to restart its nuclear program that was halted by the JCPOA, "it will have problems like it never experienced before."

Trump has long said the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran -- also signed by the United States, Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia -- did not go far enough.

"In the strategy we are announcing today, we want the support of our most important allies and partners in the region and around the globe," said Pompeo. "I don't just mean our friends in Europe."

The European Union is trying to persuade Iran to stay in the 2015 agreement without Washington's participation.

Pompeo also warned European businesses who have signed business deals in recent years to work with Iran that if they are in violation of U.S. sanctions they will be held "to account."

The U.S. Treasury has put European businesses on notice that they have 90 days to wrap up most business with Iran before the renewed U.S. sanctions take effect.

European leaders are now mulling ways to avoid renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran and soften their impact on European firms doing business with the country.

On May 18, the European Commission proposed to let EU members make payments for oil directly to the Iranian central bank to bypass U.S. sanctions.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and APShiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose coalition won the most seats in Iraq's recent parliamentary elections, says the country's next government will be "inclusive" and respectful of their wishes.

"Your government will take care of you and will be inclusive, we will not exclude anyone. We will work toward reform and prosperity," Sadr said on May 20 after meeting with Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, whose coalition finished a distant third to Sadr's.

None of the top three groups captured more than 50 parliamentary seats in the election, whose 44.5 percent turnout was Iraq's lowest since the country's first multiparty elections were held in 2005.

Talks on forming the government are expected to continue for months.

Sadr also met on May 20 with Hadi al-Amiri, whose Fatah Alliance finished second in the May 12 vote. Amiri has close ties to Iran, having spent more than two decades fighting former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from exile in Iran, and speaks fluent Persian.

Sadr's office said the cleric told Amiri that he wanted a government formed quickly to provide Iraqis with services and "express their legitimate aspirations."

Sadr, an anti-American firebrand with a large following among Baghdad's urban poor, was once leader of the Imam al-Mahdi Army, which battled U.S. forces in 2003.

The militia was disbanded in 2008 and replaced by his Peace Brigades, which helped push back Islamic State (IS) militant forces from areas near Baghdad in 2014 along with Iraqi government troops.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, and ReutersNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman who has been jailed in Tehran for two years, is facing a new charge against her in Iran, her husband says.

A May 21 statement from Richard Ratcliffe said his wife learned of the new allegation of "spreading propaganda against the regime" at a hearing before a judge of Tehran's hard-line Revolutionary Court two days earlier.

He said the judge told her to expect that there will likely be another conviction and sentence against her." The 39-year-old denied the new accusation.

Following her court appearance, Zaghari-Ratcliffe was able to speak to the British ambassador to Tehran for the first time in more than two years, her campaign said.

It added that she discussed with both the judge and the ambassador a request for her to be let out on temporary release for her daughter's fourth birthday next month.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the parent company of Reuters, is serving a five-year jail sentence in Iran after being convicted of plotting against the government, which she denied.

Her employer and the British government say she was in Iran visiting relatives when she was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016 while traveling home with her daughter.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said that the government was committed to doing everything possible to help secure Ms. Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release and alleviate her suffering."

In a telephone call earlier this month, May asked Iranian President Hassan Rohani for Zaghari-Ratcliffe other British prisoners held in the country to be released on "humanitarian grounds."

With reporting by AP, AFP, and the BBC

Last week, a Moscow district court fined Yevgeny Fyodorchunkov 1,000 rubles ($16) for petty hooliganism for his role in beating protesters at a May 5 demonstration in Moscow against President Vladimir Putin. Fyodorchunkov claimed at the May 14 hearing that he was a Cossack and that he belonged to a "public organization," but the court did not identify the group.

In the days since paramilitaries dressed in traditional Cossack garb brutally attacked and beat protesters with whips at an unsanctioned demonstration organized by opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, activists have been poring over videos and photographs trying to identify the assailants and the organization to which they belonged.

They have succeeded in recognizing the insignia on the Cossack-like dress the men wore as that of the so-called Central Cossack Host (TsKV), which is headed by a Kremlin-appointed "ataman" named Ivan Mironov.

"Our friendship society maintains the traditions not only of the Chekists of Irkutsk," Mironov, an influential member of numerous groupings that blur the divide between state and civil society, told the audience at a meeting of one of those organizations in April, using an acronym for agents of the Soviet security services, "but of all the other workers of the state security organs."

It is at the head of an ostensibly Cossack organization, the TsKV and its commercial arm, Atamansky, which arose in the thick of the past two decades of Vladimir Putin's domination, that Mironov has come into his own -- seemingly harnessing his decadeslong KGB experience to rally his neo-Cossack followers in pursuit of what the group says is "security and maintaining public order."

He got there, according to the accounts of ex-rivals and other officials who came into contact with the ascendant Mironov, thanks in part to his efforts helping to crush a restive labor union, leveraging a post in the Samara governor's office to erase a shady, vanquished business rival of the governor's, and rebranding himself as a "Cossack" leader, signing lucrative state contracts to "maintain public order."

Unclear Connections

Since 2010, Mironov has portrayed himself as a Cossack.

But it is unclear whether he has any historical connection to the tsarist-era Cossack caste, which was militantly anti-Soviet and was largely driven out of the Soviet Union during Russia's post-1917 civil war.

In fact, Mironov, 65, made his long career on the opposite side of the barricades.

According to his official biography, Mironov was born in 1952 and entered the Soviet KGB in 1974. He retired from the Federal Security Service (FSB), a KGB successor organization, in 2004 with the rank of lieutenant general. The uniform he wears in official TsKV photographs is that of an FSB general with a "Cossack" insignia sewn to the sleeve.

While working in the FSB in the 1990s, Mironov was reportedly involved in the unsuccessful investigation into the 1995 murder of journalist Vladislav Listyev and the probe into a 1999 spate of apartment-building bombings that killed nearly 300 people and sowed the panic that paved the way for Putin's rise to the presidency. At one time, he was the direct boss of FSB officer Aleksandr Litvinenko, who famously accused the FSB of organizing the apartment bombings and who was murdered in London in 2006. (Mironov is mentioned in Litvinenko's book, Lubyanka Criminal Group.)

After he retired from the FSB, Mironov began a career that was closely tied to Sergei Chemezov, a top member of Putin's inner circle who lived in the 1980s in the same Dresden apartment complex as the young KGB officer and future president, and their families became friendly.

His political charm was not only based on his close relations with Chemezov but on his experience in the organs of the KGB.... He was viewed as a man with very serious connections in the security structures."

A Soviet military academy graduate, Chemezov subsequently ran the lucrative state company Rosoboroneksport (weapons exports) and now runs Rostec, a sprawling state conglomerate that comprises some 700 entities formed into more than a dozen holding companies.

In the early 2000s, a fierce takeover battle was fought over the AvtoVAZ carmaker in Tolyatti, which for a time was controlled by oligarch Boris Berezovsky. In 2005, the government managed to wrest control away from Berezovsky (who had fled to the United Kingdom in 2003, where he died under unclear circumstances in March 2013). The plant came under the control of Rosoboroneksport, which sent its own management team.

By then a retired FSB general, Mironov was named the factory's "director for special tasks."

But Rosoboroneksport had to contend with a local company in Samara called SOK, which controlled the sale of AvtoVAZ products and the distribution of spare parts. Several SOK owners were reputed to be organized-crime bosses and had earlier been questioned by the police when one of their competitors was killed by a grenade launcher. Within two years, however, Rosoboroneksport managed to get rid of SOK. SOK's majority owner, Yury Kachmazov, and several top managers fled the country after arrest warrants were issued for them. One SOK vice president died under mysterious circumstances, with his body showing signs of torture.

In 2007, AvtoVAZ President Vladimir Artyakov headed the local candidate list for United Russia in the State Duma elections. AvtoVAZ managers had promised workers a monthly wage of 25,000 rubles ($981), and after United Russia won the election, plant workers formed the Unity independent trade union to pressure managers to keep their promise.

Pyotr Zolotarev, who was the head of Unity at the time, told Current Time TV -- the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with Voice of America -- that Mironov was tasked with making sure the workers' demands came to nothing.

"The plant security department was told to identify the rebels, isolate them, and get rid of them," Zolotarev said. "At workers' meetings, [Mironov's] agents were shouting slogans against me, calling me a traitor who was provoking the people."

The plant succeeded in taking the strike organizers to court and having their action declared illegal. Several workers were deemed to have been "insubordinate" and were fired.

Threats Of Physical Harm

Also in 2007, Artyakov was named Samara Oblast governor and he took Mironov with him as deputy governor for security.

Mikhail Matveyev, who was a regional lawmaker from the Communist Party at the time, told Current Time TV that he believes Mironov was tasked with eliminating all traces of the SOK group from the region. Matveyev said he recalled Mironov's first meeting with lawmakers, during which he said the deputy governor soundly cursed SOK and threatened physical harm against SOK leader Kachmazov.

"It was obvious that such a statement, which included an appeal to prosecutors, could only be made with the approval of someone at a very high level," Matveyev said.

Matveyev stressed that Mironov appeared to be a very powerful figure in Samara at the time.

"His political charm was not only based on his close relations with Chemezov but on his experience in the organs of the KGB, where he held senior posts," Matveyev said. "He was viewed as a man with very serious connections in the security structures."

Mironov was also nominally in charge of the region's battle against corruption, but some locals have suggested any such efforts were selective and ineffective.

"I approached him about dealing with a local mafia working in real estate," said former regional lawmaker Natalya Bobrova, "but he not only was unable to help me, he turned out to be completely incompetent from the legal point of view. Bureaucrats are never corruption fighters. It is comical how they manage never to do any real work."

Igor Yermolenko, head of the Samara branch of the liberal Yabloko party, agreed, describing Mironov's anticorruption effort as "an imitation of work" and alleging that it became a "mechanism for taking action against economic and political rivals."

In 2009, Mironov was made board chairman of the Baikal Irkutsk Friendship Society. The president of that nominally nongovernmental organization is Sergei Chemezov, and influential members include Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika, Irkutsk Oblast Governor Sergei Levchenko, Rosoboroneksport General Director Anatoly Isaikin, in addition to members of the State Duma and directors of various firms in the Rostec holding.

The society's website describes it as "a hearth at which the people of Irkutsk and of Moscow have the opportunity to warm their souls. Maintaining the fire and warmth of that hearth is the main activity of the society." One of the ways the society keeps the hearth warm is by sponsoring the publication of the magazine Russian Vodka.

In 2013, Artyakov left the governor's office and Mironov left Samara with him. Now, Mironov is a deputy general director of the firm Radioelektronnyye Tekhnologii, which is part of Chemezov's holding.

That position has afforded Mironov the time to remake himself as a devoutly Russian Orthodox pseudo-Cossack leader. In 2010, he was made "ataman" of the Volga Cossack Society. Georgy Borisenko, who is still a member of that organization, described Mironov as a man with "definite authority."

State-ification Of Cossack Societies

Former lawmaker Matveyev said Mironov's appearance among the Volga neo-Cossacks was part of a general trend of the "state-ification of Cossack societies" during which democratically elected atamans were replaced with state officials. He added that neo-Cossack societies themselves were divided between conflicting desires to, on the one hand, be given an official state security role and, on the other, to be independent and self-governing.

Historically, Cossacks in Russia lived in self-governing, devoutly Russian Orthodox, militarized communities mostly along Russia's southern border and in southeastern Ukraine. They emerged in the 18th century and were incorporated by the tsarist regime to secure buffer zones along the wild perimeters of the Russian Empire in exchange for relative independence.

In the late imperial period, they were increasingly used by the government for police functions and were often seen as the brutal hand of the tsar in putting down social unrest.

After the Bolshevik coup in 1917, the Cossacks fought against the communists and were largely driven out of the country during the Russian Civil War. Those who remained in the Soviet Union suffered intense persecution under Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin. Most Cossack organizations abroad trace their roots to the original Cossack communities and have no relations with the modern "Cossack" communities that have emerged in Russia and Ukraine in the post-Soviet period.

In 2005, Putin signed a law called On The State Service Of Russian Cossacks that registered "Cossack" organizations and brought them under government control. "Registered Cossacks present a force that can become not just a symbol of the Kremlin's neoconservatism, but also a tool of repression against those who openly protest against current state policies," Czech historian Tomas Baranec wrote in a 2014 report on the revival of pseudo-Cossack institutions in Russia.

By 2014, Mironov had been selected to head the TsKV, a posting that was confirmed by an order from Putin. Since then, the TsKV has signed 18 government contracts worth more than 53 million rubles ($850,000). The organization has received 36 million rubles ($578,000) from the Moscow city government, including almost 16 million rubles ($26,000) for security and maintaining public order.

In 2017, Mironov and fellow KGB/Rosoboroneksport/TsKV veteran Vyacheslav Pavlov had created Atamansky, a neo-Cossack group that describes itself as primarily involved in "security and maintaining public order."

It was in an address to the Baikal Irkutsky Friendship Society that Mironov made his loyalties clear, pledging fidelity to the "traditions" of Soviet security and other state security organs.

Written by Robert Coalson on the basis of reporting by Current Time TV correspondent Yelena VavinaThe candidate of Moldova's pro-Moscow Socialist Party, Ion Ceban, has won the first round of the snap election for mayor in Moldova's capital, Chisinau, with almost 41 percent of the vote, followed by Andrei Nastase, the candidate of the pro-European party Dignity and Truth Platform (DA), who garnered just over 31 percent.

Ceban and Nastase will face off in a second round in two weeks' time.

The turnout in Chisinau on May 20 was 35.5 percent -- more than the mandatory 25 percent turnout needed for the vote to be valid.

Snap mayoral elections were also held in Moldova's second-largest city, Balti, where Nicolai Grigorisin, the candidate of the pro-Russia Our Party, won with 61 percent of the vote.

The elections were called after the mayor of Chisinau, Dorin Chirtoaca of the pro-European Liberal Party, and Balti Mayor Renato Usatii, the Our Party founder and leader, resigned to protest against criminal cases against them, which they say are politically motivated.

The May 20 polls were seen as a test for the Socialist Party -- which was previously headed by Russia-friendly President Igor Dodon -- two pro-European parties, the DA and the Party of Action and Solidarity, and the Democratic Party, which is the main force in the governing coalition, ahead of Moldova's parliamentary elections later this year.An overflow crowd of hundreds of people attended the funeral in Texas of Sabika Sheikh, the Pakistani exchange student killed in the May 18 mass shooting at a high school.

The ceremony took place on May 20 at an Islamic center in Stafford, Texas, which is not far from Santa Fe High School, where the massacre took place.

As she did not have family members in Texas to help organize the service, the Islamic Society for Greater Houston planned the funeral, keeping it open to the public.

"She doesn't have any family here, but she has all of us and this whole community that is mourning," said M.J. Khan, president of the society. "We are all there to be her family."

She had been staying with a host family in the Santa Fe area. Her host father, Jason Cogburn, said Sabika and his family learned from each other, and his family even fasted with her during Ramadan.

"We loved her and she loved us," he said. "She will be very missed, but she will always be loved."

Sabika, 17, was among eight students and two teachers who were killed when a 17-year-old shooter identified as Dimitrios Pagourtzis opened fire with a shotgun and a handgun before surrendering to police.

Her funeral was the first one for any of those killed in the shooting.

The girl's father, Abdul Aziz Sheikh, told AFP at the family home in her hometown of Karachi that "we are still in a state of denial. It is like a nightmare."

She was studying in the United States under the State Departments Youth Exchange and Study (YES) program, which provides scholarships for students from countries with significant Muslim populations to spend an academic year in the United States.

Her father said Sabika had dreamed of working for Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

He added she was expected to return to Karachi next month for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The Islamic Society called the shooting "an act of terror" and said such events "remind us as to what world we live in, where sanctity of life is not valued."

The society said it had also offered to help with the transportation of the student's body back to Pakistan, where her family will also hold a service.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner cited Sabika's desire to be a diplomat as he mourned the student.

"Even through her death, she will continue to be a diplomat. Even in her death, she is pulling the relationships between Pakistan and the United States, specifically the Houston area, even closer, " he said.

The Houston area -- about 55 kilometers from Santa Fe -- has some 60,000 people of Pakistani decent.

With reporting by AFP, USA Today, and CNNU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called for Russia to withdraw its troops from breakaway regions in Georgia while also pledging deeper security and economic support for Tbilisi.

"The United States unequivocally condemns Russias occupation on Georgian soil," Pompeo said in opening remarks to the annual U.S.-Georgian Strategic Partnership in Washington on May 21. "Russia's forcible invasion of Georgia is a clear violation of international peace and security."

Russia has troops stationed in Georgia's Abkhazia and South Ossetia regions that remained after a 2008 war in South Ossetia between Russian and Georgian troops.

Moscow and a few other nations have recognized the two separatist regions as independent countries.

Pompeo also repeated U.S. policy that Washington supports Georgia's eventual membership in NATO.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said after a meeting with Pompeo that U.S. support for a peaceful resolution to Russian troops in Georgia "is of highest importance to our country and regional stability."

Kvirikashvili added that Georgia's membership in the military alliance would be a "clear added value for Euro-Atlantic security."

NATO promised Georgia eventual membership in 2008.

Kvirikashvili said U.S. involvement in infrastructure projects in Georgia, like the Anaklia deep-sea port on the Black Sea coast, would help attract economic interest to the area.

Based on reporting by Reuters and InterfaxU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned that the United States would impose "the strongest sanctions in history" on Iran, until it made a "fundamental strategic shift" in policies. Speaking on May 21 in Washington, he laid out details of U.S. President Donald Trump's May 8 decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) -- a multilateral deal reached in 2015 to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions. (AP)President Vladimir Putin hailed Russias economic and military ties with India as he hosted the countrys prime minister in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on May 21.

"[Bilateral relations] have very deep roots. We recently managed to give them an extra impetus," Putin said during a meeting with Narendra Modi, noting that bilateral trade between Russia and India rose 17 percent over the first few months of the year.

Calling Modi a big friend of Russia, Putin also said that Moscow and New Delhi have established very close contacts and good cooperation between our military bodies."

"All of this indicates the very high strategic level of our partnership," he added.

The informal talks in Sochi come two weeks after Putin was sworn in to a new presidential term as ties between Moscow and the West have plummeted to post-Cold War lows over issues including Russia's aggression in Ukraine, its role in Syrias seven-year conflict, its meddling in U.S. elections, and the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in Britain in March.

Defense talks were expected to be on the agenda of the meeting between the Russian and Indian leaders, including India's purchase of Russian S-400 missile-defense systems.

In the last two decades, Russia-India ties have been underpinned by huge arms sales by Moscow to its "strategic partner."

An agreement on the S-400 would show India's continued reliance on Russia's military equipment at a time when the United States is trying to increase its own weapon sales to the South Asian country.

The Russian and Indian leaders were also expected to discuss the situation in Afghanistan, where the Western-backed government has been struggling to fend off militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014.

The Sochi meeting also comes amid an upturn in relations between Russia and Pakistan, former Cold War foes -- a detente that has been watched with suspicion by Pakistan's neighbor and archrival India.

Meanwhile, Washington has been trying to cultivate New Delhi as a strategic ally, amid deteriorating U.S.-Pakistan relations over Islamabad's alleged support for militant groups fighting Afghan and U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Pakistani officials deny the accusation.Dirty Russian money is undermining Britain's efforts to stand up to the Kremlin and supports President Vladimir Putin's campaign "to subvert the international rules-based system," a parliamentary report says, drawing an angry reaction from the Kremlin.

"The scale of damage that this 'dirty money' can do to U.K. foreign-policy interests dwarfs the benefit of Russian transactions in the City," Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Tugendhat said on May 21 ahead of the release of the report, titled Moscow's Gold: Russian Corruption In The U.K.

He warned that London's markets were "enabling" the Kremlin to spread its influence throughout the West by allowing Russians to buy and sell luxury properties in the British capital.

"Over the years, Moscow has turned from being a corrupt state to an exporter of instability. Russian corruption and influence has become a matter of national security," he added.

Putins spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the report was evidence of "unprecedented anti-Russian mania" in Britain and unfair competition against Russian business.

Peskov warned that such an attitude could backfire, saying, "I have no doubt that such actions won't go unnoticed by investors from other countries."

But British Prime Minister Theresa May responded that Britain's argument is with the Russian government, not the country's people or companies.

"The prime minister has been absolutely clear that our argument is not with the Russian people. Our dispute is with the Russian government," a May spokesman said on May 21.

Britain has been a major landing spot for a massive flight of Russian funds since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union.

That situation puts Britain in a difficult situation, the report said, as it attempts to lead a diplomatic response against Russia following the poisoning of a former Russian double agent in the English city of Salisbury.

London blames the attack on the Kremlin, which denies any involvement.

Russia has also been accused of interfering in the U.S. election in 2016 and in other votes in Europe and for a series of cyberattacks around the world. It denies the allegations.

"There is no excuse for the U.K. to turn a blind eye as President Putins kleptocrats and human rights abusers use money laundered through London to corrupt our friends, weaken our alliances, and erode faith in our institutions," the committee report said.

"The use of London as a base for the corrupt assets of Kremlin-connected individuals is now clearly linked to a wider Russian strategy and has implications for our national security," it added.

Among other suggestions, the committee recommended working with the European Union and United States on a way to prohibit the purchase of Russian bonds that have been sold with the help of sanctioned banks, and a ban on European clearing houses making Russian debt available.

"The size of London's financial markets and their importance to Russian investors gives the U.K. considerable leverage over the Kremlin," the report added.

With reporting by Reuters, The Daily Mail, The Times, and The MirrorPresident Vladimir Putin has nominated former longtime Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin as the head of Russia's Audit Chamber, the lower chamber of parliament says.

The State Duma's press service made the announcement on May 21, nearly a week after the United Russia faction in the chamber formally nominated Kudrin for the post.

The Audit Chamber is an oversight agency that monitors the spending of government funding.

Kudrin's appointment would bring Kudrin, now CEO of the Center for Strategic Research think-tank, closer to Putin's government after years without a state position.

Kudrin helped stabilize Russia's finances and attract investors as finance minister during Putin's first two terms, in 2000-2008.

He quit in 2011 amid a spat with then-President Dmitry Medvedev, who has been prime minister since Putin returned to the Kremlin in 2012.

Although he often makes statements critical of the government, Kudrin is believed to be on close terms with Putin.

Russia's economy emerged from two years of recession in 2017, but fell short of Putin's target of 2 percent expansion and continues to struggle for stronger growth.

Putin has set the ambitious goal of making Russia one of the world's five biggest economies by 2024 -- up from 12th last year, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Based on reporting by Interfax and TASSDUSHANBE -- Some 50 people gathered outside the Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe on May 21 to protest Tehran's alleged support for the banned Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan (IRPT).

The demonstrators, mostly young people, were carrying signs saying, "We don't want to relive the events of 1992-2000," which referred to Tajikistans civil war.

Another placard read, "Down with Kabiri," in an apparent reference to IRPT exiled leader Muhiddin Kabiri, who is in self-imposed exile abroad.

Tajikistan banned the IRPT in 2015 as a terrorist organization and imprisoned dozens of its officials and members. Until then, the IRPT had been the only legal Islamist party in Central Asia.

In a country where dissent is rare, the May 21 protest appeared to have been approved by the authorities. It took place one week after Tajikistan's strongman leader Emomali Rahmon again criticized the IRPT and called it a terrorist organization.

Relations between Iran and Tajikistan have worsened amid accusations by Dushanbe that Tehran has been offering support to exiled IRPT members.

In particular, Tajikistan was angered by Tehran's decision to invite Kabiri to an international Islamic conference that took place in Iran in December 2015, after the IRPT had been declared a "terrorist" group by the Tajik authorities.

Last year, Tajik authorities accused Iran of being behind high-profile assassinations in Tajikistan during the Tajik civil war in the 1990s.

The IRPT was first banned in 1993 but was legalized again in 1998 after the end of the civil war.

With reporting by news.tjThe Kyiv-born aviator, born 130 years ago, who fled the Bolshevik Revolution and created the helicopters that have served U.S. presidents from Eisenhower to Trump (originally published May 21, 2018)

Igor Sikorsky (pictured in 1914) was born into a well-to-do family in Kyiv (then part of the Russian Empire) on May 25, 1889. Inspired by Jules Verne novels and the sketches of Leonardo da Vinci, Sikorski decided, at age 19, to dedicate his life to flight.

By 1910 he had cobbled together two helicopters. He later recalled, The first of these ships refused to leave the ground, while the second (pictured) could lift itself but refused to lift me. Sikorsky realized that neither engine technology nor his funding was ready for his lofty ambitions.

He soon put his dream of vertical flight on hold and, with a newly minted pilots license in hand, the aircraft designer and test pilot moved to St. Petersburg and on to bigger things.

Much, much bigger things. After Sikorsky survived a plane crash caused by engine failure (reportedly a mosquito clogged up a fuel intake), he became an evangelist for multi-propeller planes that could fly safely even after a single engine failed.

In 1913 Sikorsky rolled out the 4,000-kilogram Russian Knight (Russkiy Vityaz), the first four-engine plane ever successfully flown. As World War I loomed, the planes nearly one-ton lifting capacity caught the eye of Russias tsar.

Sikorsky followed up with the mighty Ilya Muromets (pictured swooping in to land on an icy runway in Saint Petersburg in 1914), which was named after a Slavic folk hero.

The Ilya Muromets so impressed Tsar Nicholas II that he gifted the young designer this gold watch and ordered a fleet of the heavy bombers for the Imperial Russian Air Service.

But in 1917, revolution swept the tsar from power.

The Bolshevik Revolution was a disaster for Sikorsky. The ideals and principles of the Marxist revolution were not acceptable to me, he later recalled.

After a tip-off that his name was on a Bolshevik hit list, the famous aircraft designer fled Russia into exile, eventually landing in America with little remaining money and few prospects.

After three years surviving as a tutor of math and physics, in 1923, with the help of fellow Russian emigres -- including a $5,000 loan from famed Russian composer Sergey Rachmaninoff -- he founded the Sikorsky Aero Engineering Corporation. His first U.S. plane (pictured) was constructed on a friends chicken farm.

Within a few years, however, the company was making seaplanes for the burgeoning passenger-airline industry.

But as runways were rolled out around the world, the market for seaplanes (which were designed largely to overcome a lack of runway infrastructure) dwindled. It was time, finally, for Sikorsky to return to his childhood obsession: the helicopter.

Helicopters of various odd designs had already sputtered and wobbled over European fields, but the mechanical simplicity of Sikorskys use of a tail rotor to counter the twist of the main rotor laid the foundations of the modern helicopter.

In 1939, with his fedora hat wedged firmly in place, Igor Sikorsky successfully lifted off in his VS-300, looking, as one observer put it, like a baffled professor trying to remember his notes. It was the worlds first practical helicopter.

Soon afterward, the U.S. military put forward $50,000 for Sikorsky to create a helicopter suitable for military use.

The resulting design was so successful that the military ordered 100 of them and the R-4 (pictured) became the worlds first production helicopter.

Since then, Sikorsky helicopters, like the famous Blackhawks (pictured in action in Afghanistan in 2010), have become icons of U.S. military presence...

...and various Sikorsky choppers have transported every U.S. president from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump.

But for Sikorsky, who was a deeply religious man, his greatest pride remained the use of Sikorsky helicopters for rescue.

On October 25, 1972, Sikorsky responded to a letter praising the helicopters life-saving history, writing, "I always believed that the helicopter would be an outstanding vehicle for the greatest variety of life-saving missions and now, near the close of my life, I have the satisfaction of knowing that this proved to be true." He died the following day at his home in Connecticut.The colour of gold, the sparkle of diamonds, and the mesmerising scent of money played an indispensable role in India's biggest banking scam at Punjab National Bank's Mumbai branch. In 7,000 pages of prosecution complaint filed against 25 accused including Nirav Modi, Usha Ananthsubramanain, Vipul Ambani, Gokulnath Shetty and others, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed that the bank officials were bribed in every way by Modi & Co to issue fraudulent LoUs (Letters of Undertaking) worth Rs 6,498 crore.

To start with, Yashwant Sinha, the successor of Gokulnath Shetty after latter's retirement from Brady House of PNB received two gold coins and one pair of diamond studded earrings from Nirav Modi for issuing LoUs without any sanctions/cash margin and without entering the transactions in the CBS System, and also for not reporting the matter to higher authorities.

Earlier, it had been reported that prime accused Gokulnath Shetty had compelled Debajyoti Dutta, proprietor of Rashika Financials (on accounts of Gitanjali Exports Corporation Ltd) to part with an aggregate sum of Rs 1.02 crore as illegal gratification for himself by way of cheques favouring himself and his family members by threatening Dutta of stopping his business.

The bank officials colluded with each other like a gang to earn and share the undue favours. The chargesheet said that in July 2017 accused Subhash Parab and Miten Pandya had visited the Brady House branch and they had taken accused Yashwant Joshi and Prafull Sawant for lunch with intent to solicit undue favours.

But these were the small fishes in big muddy water. The biggest crooks in the entire list were the former CEO and MD of PNB Usha Ananthsubramanian, KV Brahmaji Rao (ED, PNB), Sanjiv Saran (ED, PNB) and Nehal Ahad (GM of PNB.

On November 2016, replying to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) questionnaire seeking specific response related to Swift and operational procedures/measures in place for issuing LoUs, etc, the gang led by former CEO prepared misleading answers and misrepresented the facts to the RBI. The answers were:

All outward Swift messages are being sent only after making entry in CBS.

Reconciliation to verify all outward messages transmitted by the bank are captured in the CBS and it is being done by AD branches.

The outstanding exposure in account of LoU/LC is being tracked by AD branches

Buyers credit proceeds are credited as per instruction of LoU issuing bank.

The CBI has claimed in its chargesheet that all four senior bank officials were "aware of this fraud involving PNB DIFC, Dubai, and Indian Overseas Bank, Chandigarh, and yet they did not take corrective action and remained silent spectator and thereby facilitated continuance of the fraud by other accused public servants resulting in wrongful loss to the PNB".

In case of Usha Ananthsubramanian, she did not take any meaningful corrective measures in her capacity as the executive head of the bank and had without unauthorisation delegated the RBI guidelines work to her subordinates with no follow-up action or action taken report, thereby facilitating the accused in continuance of the fraud.

The CBI went ahead saying Gokulnath Shetty continued to issue fraudulent LoUs with impunity, indicates an environment of protection he enjoyed in the form of the lack of reconciliation and the absence of branch visits by senior functionaries.

"The patronage extended by the senior four bank officials to the accused persons working in PNB resulting in huge wrongful loss to PNB", the chargesheet stated, indicating that the sanction order under section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code against all four officials (including ex-CEO) will be submitted before the Court after receipt of the same from the competent authority.

Another accused who was almost the backbone of this mega fraud is Vipul Ambani, who bridged the gap between accused Nirav Modi/Mehul Choksi and the bank officials. As per the prosecution complaint, it is also in evidence that Vipul Ambani was meeting former CEO in order to continue with the credit facilities to the group entities.

The investigation has also revealed that Vipul Ambani, president (Investor Relations & Corporate Affairs), Firestar International Ltd, was not only party to the conspiracy wherein Joshi was asked to continue with the issuance of LoUs fraudulently but also was "instrumental in concealing the incriminating documents to the case in the office of a law firm namely Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas". Vipul Ambani was regularly visiting the head office of PNB to meet senior officers to continue with the credit facilities provided to the companies of Nirav Modi Group.Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Crimean Tatar activists of orchestrating and carrying out attacks with Kyiv's support, allegations described as "fantasy" by the Ukrainian Security Service.

The FSB said in a May 21 statement that an alleged group of plotters was led by Erol Veliyev, a parliamentary assistant to Ukrainian lawmaker Mustafa Dzhemilev, a veteran Crimean Tatar leader.

Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they call a campaign of repression targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority and others who opposed Moscow's seizure of the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014.

The majority of Crimean Tatars opposed the Russian takeover of their historic homeland.

WATCH: When You Think About Crimea, Think Crimean Tatars. Here's Why.

The FSB accused Crimean Tatar activists of establishing, participating in, and recruiting for an extremist group -- charges that can be punished by up to 10 years in prison.

It said the group led by Veliyev acted on orders from Refat Chubarov -- chairman of the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatars' self-governing body that Russia has outlawed -- "with support" from the SBU.

In Kyiv, a spokeswoman for the SBU told RFE/RL that she would not comment on the FSB's "latest fantasy."

The FSB statement said that in January the group set the home of Crimea's Moscow-backed chief mufti, Emirali Ablayev, on fire.

In April, Russia said it had detained one of the alleged members, Oleksandr Steshenko, as he entered Crimea to prepare "provocations."

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry at the time asked Moscow for explanations and demanded that his whereabouts be revealed.

Russian television has shown FSB footage of an unnamed man, apparently Steshenko, giving details to investigators.

Two other Crimean Tatars, including Dzhemilev's assistant, Veliyev, have been declared wanted by Russia.

Russia formally banned Dzhemilev from entering Crimea for five years immediately after annexing the peninsula.

With reporting by AFPRob Schneider calls Mexicos Riviera Maya Godly, paradise

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  American comedian and actor, Rob Schneider, shared several fond memories of Mexico, and in particular, Riviera Maya in an interview with Platino.

During his interview, Schneider says that It is impossible to be stressed in Riviera de Maya adding that the morning air is Godly. The American actor has vacationed in the region on several occasions during the past two years alone.

On Sunday, state governor Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez shared the video of Rob Schneider expressing his love of the region. Joaquin Gonzalez posted a link to the video though his Twitter account saying Thanks to the American actor Rob Schneider for his good recommendation to the world, ratifying the quality and positioning of #QuintanaRoo.

In November, Schneider was quoted as telling People Spanish that Since I started going to Mexico, I fell in love with the warmth of its inhabitants. I loved how families met on Sundays, I wanted that for my family.

Schneider is married to Mexican actress, producer and writer Patracia Maya. They have two children.Time Magazine includes Cozumel as best global value

Cozumel, Q.R.  Time Magazine Money has listed the island of Cozumel as one of the best deals globally for international travelers in search of beach destinations.

In their Money report, the magazine lists the top 14 beaches in the world and how much it costs to visit them. The 14 listed beaches are a combination of American and international destinations that are based on financial value.

They include quiet sandy retreats, breaks surfers will love, lush foliage-hidden escapes, and kid-friendly options with boardwalk games. The one thing they share: All offer that ideal mix of waterfront amenities and affordability, the magazine explains.

The Money report lists Cozumel as sixth out of seven top international beach destinations based on value noting an average airfare of $435 USD and average hotel $165 USD per night with a one-week cost for two ringing in at $2,705 USD.

They add, Cancun may be one the more popular travel destinations for Americans, but you could arguably find more beautiful beaches and excursions, and slightly less crowds, at the neighboring island of Cozumel.

Known for its scuba diving, Cozumels clear water allows for visibility of 100 to 200 feet. You can peer into the Great Mayan Reef, the second-largest reef system in the world, at Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park. For just a $2 donation, you can choose from any of the parks wide-ranging dive sites, making it suitable for both beginners and advanced divers.

If youd rather enjoy Cozumel from dry land, you can visit one of the islands dozens of beaches. The terrain varies depending on whether youre on the east or west side of the Island; east coast beaches tend to be rocky and unprotected, making them ideal for private travel or snorkeling, while the west coast has more developed and tourist-focused sites. If youre venturing to the east side, take your beloved to Playa Bonita, considered one of the most romantic beaches on the island: Its got gentle waves and powdery sand, and is nestled in a cove with its own restaurant/bar called Punta Chiqueros.

Cozumel is preceded by Bali, Indonesia, Mallorca, Spain, Crete, Greece, Jeju Island of South Korea and El Nido in the Philippines. In seventh place is The Azores in Portugal.

From January to April 30 of this year, the Port Authority reports that more than 1.6 million cruise tourists have already arrived on the island.JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, who is all set to take over as Karnataka Chief Minister, dismissed reports about his party working out a power-sharing formula of heading the government for 30 months each, with its coalition partner the Congress. "No such talks have taken place," he told reporters here when asked about reports on the power-sharing formula of 30 months each being worked out with the Congress, with whom JDS has stitched up a post-poll alliance after the May 12 assembly elections delivered a fractured mandate.

B S Yeddyurappa

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There were reports in a section of the media about both parties heading the government for 30 months each on rotation, similar to the 20:20 months power sharing agreement in 2006 with the BJP. Kumaraswamy had headed the BJP-JD(S) coalition government for 20 months from January 2006, under a power sharing agreement of leading the coalition for 20 months each. The JD(S) had then reneged on its commitment to share the power for the remaining 20 months with the BJP and refused to hand over the mantle to B S Yeddyurappa, causing the collapse of the government.



In the following elections in 2008, BJP had stormed to power on its own with Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister of the first ever saffron party government in the South. On reports about parleys with Congress leaders regarding elections in Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Jayanagar assembly constituencies in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy described it as "bogus". "It is bogus news...No such discussions have taken place. Wining Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Jayanagara is a necessity. Till now, no such discussions have happened," he said.

H.D. Kumaraswamy with H D Deve Gowda

While polling was deferred in Rajarajeshwari Nagar over allegations of electoral malpractice, election to the Jayanagar seat was countermanded following the death of the BJP candidate. In the assembly elections, BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats but fell short of a majority. Yeddyurappa had formed the government, but not being able to make up for the shortfall, he lost the numbers gained and resigned as chief minister without facing the trust vote in the assembly on Saturday.

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Governor Vajubhai Vala

The Congress JD(S) combine with a claimed strength of 117 with the support of others has been invited by Governor Vajubhai Vala to form the government, giving Kumaraswamy a 15 day window to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly. Kumaraswamy met the party legislators who are still camped at a hotel in the city to insulate them from alleged poaching attempt by the BJP. He said he has left the choice to the legislators to decide on staying in the hotel.

Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi

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The JD(S) leader will meet UPA chief Sonia Gandhi and her son Congress President Rahul Gandhi in Delhi tomorrow to discuss the modalities of government formation and invite them for the swearing-in ceremony on May 23. Kumaraswamy later left for Tamil Nadu for a temple visit.Sky's the limit

Seth Howell, former Air Force pilot and recent graduate, ready to begin career as physician

Seth Howell, M.D., graduated from the School of Medicine in May 2018. He credits his family as an important piece of his success in medical school.

Recent University of South Carolina School of Medicine graduate Seth Howell was always interested in medicine, but his career goals changed in his junior year of high school after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

I joined Air Force ROTC while I was in college at Wingate, and I was commissioned as an officer after I graduated, Howell says. As a pilot, I flew KC-135s. Our main mission was air refueling, but we also did some air medical evacuations. It was actually the air medical evacuation missions that re-sparked my interest to go into the field of medicine and pursue a career as a doctor.

After serving in the Air Force for nearly eight years, Howell decided to pursue medical school. As South Carolina natives, Howell and his wife, Veronica, knew they would like to return to the Palmetto State.

The culture and the feel in Columbia was something that stood out when I was interviewing at medical schools, it felt very welcoming and inviting, Howell says. It seemed like the students were very happy with their experience and like they worked very closely with the faculty members. So for me, it just felt like a good fit.

Howell was accepted into the class of 2018 and found that his prior military experience was beneficial as he began his tour in medical school.

My experience helped me relate to people in a lot of different ways. One of the benefits of a military career is that you interact with so many different people from so many different backgrounds. I think that gives you a good perspective as you transition into a new career, Howell says.

Howell was already a father of three when he began medical school, and says being a little older and having a strong family support system was crucial to his success. While in medical school, Howell and his wife added two more children to their family.

I now have five children, ages 8, 6, 4, 2 and 4 months. So, I think medical school was definitely a huge undertaking for my wife, especially, Howell says. Im not trying to diminish how hard medical school was, but I think medical school was probably harder for her than it was for me, in the sense that there was a lot of times that Im sure she felt like a single parent. Without her support, it wouldnt have worked out as well as it did. Shes a keeper!

I 100 percent would not hesitate to make the same decision to go to medical school at USC Columbia. It was a fantastic experience. I learned a tremendous amount, made some great friends and had some great mentors. Seth Howell, M.D., Class of 2018

In May, Howell walked across the stage at the Koger Center and realized his dream of becoming a doctor. Now, hell embark on the next stage of his training, a dermatology residency at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Its one of those situations where you are excited, but you also have some anxiety about what lies ahead. I think any brand new doctor just wants to make sure they are doing right by their patients and taking care of them the best they can, Howell says.

Last fall, Howell was able to get a preview of what to expect during his residency when he completed an away rotation at Wake Forest.

When you do an away rotation, you really get a chance to see how you compare to some of your peers. I felt very well prepared coming out of USC in comparison to students from all over the country. I think the curriculum at USC really sets students up for success, Howell says.

As a native of Jefferson, South Carolina, a small town northeast of Columbia, Howell is familiar with the challenges rural communities have accessing health care. He hopes he can help increase access in at least one community.

Dermatology is a career field that is notoriously understaffed, and sometimes it can take a very long time for patients to get in to see a dermatologist, Howell says. I definitely want to be in a location that can help serve the rural population. In the Carolinas, there are a lot of opportunities to do that.

Wherever his career takes him, Howell is confident that he chose the right school for his medical education.

I 100 percent would not hesitate to make the same decision to go to medical school at USC Columbia, Howell says. It was a fantastic experience. I learned a tremendous amount, made some great friends and had some great mentors. I think all of those relationships will last a lifetime. Im very appreciative of having had the opportunity to go to medical school in Columbia.

Share this Story! Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutThe Intercept has a long article on Japans equivalent of the NSA: the Directorate for Signals Intelligence. Interesting, but nothing really surprising.

The directorate has a history that dates back to the 1950s; its role is to eavesdrop on communications. But its operations remain so highly classified that the Japanese government has disclosed little about its work  even the location of its headquarters. Most Japanese officials, except for a select few of the prime ministers inner circle, are kept in the dark about the directorates activities, which are regulated by a limited legal framework and not subject to any independent oversight.

Now, a new investigation by the Japanese broadcaster NHK  produced in collaboration with The Intercept  reveals for the first time details about the inner workings of Japans opaque spy community. Based on classified documents and interviews with current and former officials familiar with the agencys intelligence work, the investigation shines light on a previously undisclosed internet surveillance program and a spy hub in the south of Japan that is used to monitor phone calls and emails passing across communications satellites.[ALEXANDRIA] The first training programme in the field of solar power for researchers from Africa and the Middle East is set to launch next September.



The programme, offered by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology in Egypt, will take place at the Multipurpose Applications by Thermodynamic Solar (MATS) plant. The plant, which produces electricity and desalinates water, has been built over an area of 12 acres in the city of Borg El-Arab near Alexandria, and opened in February.

On a regional level, we are interested in deploying this plant in Africa as the largest centre for research and development in the field of concentrated solar power and its outputs, including the production of thermal power, electricity generation, and sea water desalination, says Amr Amin, the academys project coordinator.

Here lies the role of scientific research, to find solutions to these problems, added Amin. This could involve cleaning methods, or the use of insulating material that prevents adhesion of dust particles Amr Amin

The academy sees the plant as the first of its kind in North Africa, and as the fruit of a genuine collaboration between the academic community and the industrial sector. It implemented the project in collaboration with national partners  universities, research centres and the private sector  as well as other parties from Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

MATS was the largest European Union (EU) supported research project outside Europe when work began in 2011, with the EU contributing 12.5 million. The academy contributed 2.5 million, and the rest provided by the private sector.

The project is a part of an Egyptian plan to provide 20 per cent of its energy needs from new and renewable sources, especially solar power, by 2022.

MATS has a daily production of five megawatts of thermal power, one megawatt of electricity, and 250 cubic meters of desalinated water that can meet the needs of 1,000 people.

It aims to localize the technologies of solar power in Egypt, therefore it has deliberately made use of Egyptian patents, said Mahmoud Sakr, the president of the academy, at the opening ceremony. Local components make up 40 per cent of the plant, he added.

The government is counting on the 22-million (US$26 million) project to serve as a pilot for similar projects, aiming to turn Egypt into an exporter of renewable energy technologies.

A key objective of the project is to encourage industries that can produce spare parts and key components of renewable power plants, such as mirrors, lenses and tanks, Saqr said.

The plant works by transferring the heat of the sun, concentrated using special lenses or mirrors, to tubes containing molten salt that stores the heat. When the salt temperature reaches 550 degrees Celsius, the energy is either stored or used directly to heat water that powers steam turbines connected to electricity generators.

Despite the fact that Egypt gets more sunshine than all European countries combined, its dusty environment reduces the efficiency of [solar] plants, Amin told SciDev.Net.

Here lies the role of scientific research, to find solutions to these problems, added Amin. This could involve cleaning methods, or the use of insulating material that prevents adhesion of dust particles, for example.

Alberto Giacconi, a researcher at the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), and the project's general coordinator, says projects such as the MATS plant stand out due to their low operating costs. Therefore, its maintenance is of prime importance to maintain its operation efficiency for 20-30 years, he said.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Middle East & North Africa desk.As the world commemorates the 21st anniversary of the World HIV Vaccine Awareness Day (HVAD) today (18 May), I want to turn the spotlight on the growing role of African scientists in the race towards HIV prevention research and ending AIDS epidemic.

Over the past 25 years, I have been privileged to contribute to, and be a part of a growing critical mass of African researchers providing leadership in HIV/AIDS prevention research globally.



Earlier HIV prevention efforts

My own journey began in 1986 as a graduate of medicine and surgery at the Makerere University Medical School in Kampala, Uganda. The end of my undergraduate training had coincided with the appearance of the first patients of Slim disease  the beginning of AIDS epidemic in Uganda. As a young medical officer, I found myself at the centre of an epidemic that was ravaging the country with one in every ten people infected with HIV in the rural areas and up to five times more along the Trans African highway within Uganda.

I find it most encouraging that research led by African scientists has contributed to the global evidence informing policies for HIV prevention today. Anatoli Kamali, International Aids Vaccine Initiative

Caring for terminally sick patients with limited impact  a scenario that was playing out in many Sub-Saharan African countries  was very challenging. I soon faced the reality that without a preventative HIV vaccine, medical care and public health approaches alone would not end the epidemic.

My postgraduate training at the UKs London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the late 80s provided me with a great opportunity to focus on HIV/AIDS epidemic as a public health threat. I was aware of the urgent need for research that would give a clearer understanding of the epidemic and inform policies to guide prevention and treatment interventions.

Upon returning to Uganda, I joined a team composed largely of expatriates to start one of the first major rural population-based epidemiological and clinical research at the Ugandas Medical Research Council/Uganda Virus Research Institute. This research provided an initial understanding of HIV transmission dynamics and offered opportunities for testing and counselling in rural Africa as a first HIV prevention pillar.



Towards ending HIV/AIDS threat

A quarter of a century later, the AIDS epidemic is still a huge public health threat in many Sub-Saharan African countries, despite major achievements from HIV prevention and treatment research. With high mortality rates and close to 1.1 million new infections in 2016 in Sub-Saharan Africa, it is as clear to me now as it was when I was a young medical officer that we need to accelerate the search for an HIV vaccine if we are to end AIDS epidemic for good.

Recent modelling analyses project that even with stepped-up efforts to implement current treatment and prevention programs, hundreds of thousands of new HIV infections would still occur annually in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

In the face of this continuing challenge, I find it most encouraging that research led by African scientists has contributed to the global evidence informing policies for HIV prevention today. Over the years I have had the opportunity to lead several studies in HIV epidemiology and studies which engage populations at higher risk of HIV/AIDS including young women and adolescent girls and fishing communities.

I have also led trials to evaluate the impact of behavioural change interventions alone or in combination with improved management of sexually transmitted infections on HIV transmission. I have also been leading early and late phase trials of vaginal microbicides, and preparations for HIV vaccine research and early HIV vaccine trials.



Value of research partnerships

Research partnerships have provided opportunities to build African capacity in HIV research. For example, high-level laboratory and clinical facilities are now in place to support the conduct of current and future trials that would have only been done in developed countries, and there is a growing number of highly trained African scientists in different areas of research for HIV prevention including vaccine development.

With continued commitment from governments, international agencies, researchers and many other partners, we will find an HIV vaccine and end the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Anatoli Kamali, International Aids Vaccine Initiative

One outstanding example of the developing continuum of African research capacity in the HIV/AIDS research is Accelerating the Development of Vaccines and New Technologies to Combat the AIDS Epidemic (ADVANCE), a partnership between International Aids Vaccine Initiative and research partners in clinical research centres in five African countries in Southern and Eastern Africa: Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda and Zambia . Through this USAID-supported partnership, nearly 50 staff from clinical research centres have been awarded masters, doctorates or postdoctoral fellowships, with 20 junior staff advancing to the position of principal investigator or trial director.



Supporting women scientists

More importantly, the focus on supporting women scientists has resulted in 50 per cent of these awardees being female researchers. Beyond the fellowships, the ADVANCE partnership is building on, and linking African scientists competencies in HIV vaccine research and development to Indian, UK and US researchers and institutions through the Vaccine Immunology Science and Technology for Africa programme. These opportunities are attracting Western-trained African scientists back to Africa to pursue cutting-edge HIV vaccine research.

Such developments truly motivate me and give me the confidence that with continued commitment from governments, international agencies, researchers and many other partners, we will find an HIV vaccine and end the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

As HVAD comes of age, we must not lose the momentum gained through African-driven research.

New investments towards controlling the epidemic should aim at sustaining the gains made in HIV vaccine research and development, and focus on equipping and resourcing African scientists and research institutions to take the lead in the design and assessment of the next generation of HIV vaccine candidates for Africa.

Anatoli Kamali is the Africa regional director for the International Aids Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), and lead for the Accelerating the Development of Vaccines and New Technologies to Combat the AIDS Epidemic (ADVANCE) partnership, and an Honorary Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology. He can be reached at [email protected]

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.[PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA] The absence of a clear governance system is impeding the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa, a meeting has heard.

According to the UN SDGs report published last year, the progress being made is uneven and too slow to achieve the targets universally by 2030.

Belay Begashaw, director-general of the SDG Center for Africa based in Rwanda, told a conference this month (9-11 May) in South Africa that countries currently share favourable SDG progress reviews while excluding badly performing or complex areas.

60 percent of the data or information that is needed for reporting SDGs does not exist. Cheikh Mbow, START

The conference organised by Future Earth, South Africas Department of Science and Technology, the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and START, an international climate change think tank, assembled about 300 researchers, scientists, practitioners and policymakers to explore how to address key tensions and opportunities arising from implementing the UN SDGs.

The experts observed that science innovation could help in implementing the SDGs in Africa but it is important to identify what is missing from the goals. They said the 17 goals and too many targets need critical examination to see where progress is being made, particularly for low- and middle-income countries.

Begashaw said that the SDG Center Africa will release Africa-specific SDGs index that will provide comparable progress across the continent on 5 July.

Heila Lotz-Sisitka, keynote speaker and a holder of research chair in Transformative Social Learning and Green Skills Learning Pathways, Rhodes University, South Africa, said that given the general failure of the Millennium Development Goals, it is important the SGDs are translated locally into what they mean such as how they affect poverty.

One way to approach the SDGs is to examine what is absent, Lotz-Sisitka said. One to three per cent of the worlds population owns half of the world's wealth. We should have a goal on wealth [creation] otherwise we will never have the balance we need for sharing the earths resources more equitably.

Michael Nxumalo, director of Africa cooperation, the NRF, told SciDev.Net, If you look at the SDGs, they address issues [such as] on how to respond to extreme weather. Africa will be affected more by these issues  but the reality is that most of us are not ready to implement most of the SDGs.

Science is critical to implementing SDGs because it is about designing solutions. Sadly, African governments commit less funding and we continue to lag in finding solutions, Nxumalo said.

Cheikh Mbow, executive director of International START secretariat in the United Sates, added, 60 per cent of the data or information that is needed for reporting SDGs does not exist.

He said that only a few African countries including South Africa have the needed information on the SDGs to report to United Nations.



This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa English desk.Introducing a less convenient option for hand sanitizing may actually boost workers' use of hand sanitizer and increase sanitary conditions in the workplace, according to findings in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The findings revealed that employees in a food factory used more of their regular sanitizer and had cleaner hands and workspaces after a "decoy" sanitizer option was offered to them.

"Our research suggests that the decoy effect can be used as a powerful intervention to guide behavior, and that we should add it to the 'nudge' tool kit and test it in other field settings," says psychological scientist Meng Li of the University of Colorado Denver, first author on the study. "This is important, as it opens a door to a whole new set of solutions to real-world problems."

Previous research has provided evidence that the "decoy effect" -- when the introduction of an inferior option makes a preexisting option more favorable -- can influence individuals' decision making, at least with regard to hypothetical choices. Li and coauthors Yan Sun and Hui Chen of the Chinese Academy of Sciences wanted to know whether the effect would emerge in a meaningful, real-world setting.

"The work started because of an opportunity to conduct field experiments to improve hand hygiene practice in a food factory in China," says Li. "We wanted to test the decoy effect in this setting because it seemed like a very clever and low-cost intervention to implement."

The researchers conducted experiments with a combined total of 163 participants in three different Chinese food factories. Li and colleagues observed participants' hand hygiene behaviors for 20 days without any intervention. Then, they provided employees in the experimental groups -- but not the comparison groups -- with an inferior hand-sanitizing option and observed participants' hand hygiene behavior for another 20 days.

The employees were routinely supplied with a sanitizer spray bottle as part of their everyday work before the study; although they were supposed to be using it to sanitize their hands and workstations every hour while working with food, factory management reported that compliance with these guidelines was less than optimal.

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In one factory, the researchers placed a harder-to-use (decoy) squeeze bottle with hand sanitizer right beside the regular spray bottle on each participant's work table. The squeeze bottle was just as effective as the spray bottle but less convenient to use.

In another factory, participants were notified that they could use a wash basin with a soaking solution as another means of sanitizing their hands; the soaking method was very effective but considerably less convenient than the usual spray bottle.

In the third factory, the researchers gave employees in the experimental group a harder-to-use squeeze bottle next to the regular spray bottle, just as in the first factory; in this case, the comparison group received a second spray bottle identical to the spray bottle they typically used but in a different color, as a way of controlling for the potential influence of an additional, novel item.

Every day, quality control employees measured how much sanitizer the participants used; they also swabbed employees' hands and work tables, a routine procedure in the factories.

The results were clear: The experimental groups in each factory used more hand sanitizer after the decoy method was introduced relative to the comparison groups. In two of the factories, the experimental group kept increasing their use of the original spray sanitizer throughout the 20-day intervention period, whereas the comparison groups did not.

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Importantly, the appearance of the decoy sanitizer improved cleanliness. During the baseline period, the "pass" rates on the hand swabs were 70-74% among the experimental groups in the three factories; after the decoy sanitizing method was introduced, the pass rates rose to 92-98% in the experimental group, but did not change in the control group. And the data revealed a similar increase in pass rates for the work table swab tests.

"It was surprising how long the effect of our decoy intervention lasted," says Li. "Incidentally, when we went back to talk to one of the factories, the management team had decided to implement the intervention among all of the workers since they thought it had worked so well."

Li, Sun, and Chen acknowledge that the sample size in each factory was limited, ranging from 40 to 83 participants, but they note that the longitudinal data from each participant provide robust support for a decoy effect.

Drawing from these real-world findings, Li plans to conduct similar field experiments in hospital settings.

"There are many settings where hand hygiene is a critical issue and the stakes of poor hand hygiene practice are very high, and this research is very relevant in these settings. But more importantly, we should start thinking about the decoy effect as a viable tool to nudge other real-world behaviors" she concludes.

This project was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (71001098) and the BeijingNational Science Foundation (9162017).Hurricane Patricia, which battered the west coast of Mexico in 2015, was the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere. Amid the extreme violence of the storm, scientists observed something new: a downward beam of positrons, the antimatter counterpart of electrons, creating a burst of powerful gamma-rays and x-rays.

Detected by an instrument aboard NOAA's Hurricane Hunter aircraft, which flew through the eyewall of the storm at its peak intensity, the positron beam was not a surprise to the UC Santa Cruz scientists who built the instrument. But it was the first time anyone has observed this phenomenon.

According to David Smith, a professor of physics at UC Santa Cruz, the positron beam was the downward component of an upward terrestrial gamma-ray flash that sent a short blast of radiation into space above the storm. Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) were first seen in 1994 by space-based gamma-ray detectors. They occur in conjunction with lightning and have now been observed thousands of times by orbiting satellites. A reverse positron beam was predicted by theoretical models of TGFs, but had never been detected.

"This is the first confirmation of that theoretical prediction, and it shows that TGFs are piercing the atmosphere from top to bottom with high-energy radiation," Smith said. "This event could have been detected from space, like almost all the other reported TGFs, as an upward beam caused by an avalanche of electrons. We saw it from below because of a beam of antimatter (positrons) sent in the opposite direction."

One unexpected implication of the study, published May 17 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, is that many TGFs could be detected via the reverse positron beam using ground-based instruments at high altitudes. It's not necessary to fly into the eye of a hurricane.

"We detected it at an altitude of 2.5 kilometers, and I estimated our detectors could have seen it down to 1.5 kilometers. That's the altitude of Denver, so there are a lot of places where you could in theory see them if you had an instrument in the right place at the right time during a thunderstorm," Smith said.

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Despite the confirmation of the reverse positron beam, many questions remain unresolved about the mechanisms that drive TGFs. Strong electric fields in thunderstorms can accelerate electrons to near the speed of light, and these "relativistic" electrons emit gamma-rays when they scatter off of atoms in the atmosphere. The electrons can also knock other electrons off of atoms and accelerate them to high energies, creating an avalanche of relativistic electrons. A TGF, which is an extremely bright flash of gamma-rays, requires a large number of avalanches of relativistic electrons.

"It's an extraordinary event, and we still don't understand how it gets so bright," Smith said.

The source of the positrons, however, is a well known phenomenon in physics called pair production, in which a gamma ray interacts with the nucleus of an atom to create an electron and a positron. Since they have opposite charges, they are accelerated in opposite directions by the electric field of the thunderstorm. The downward moving positrons produce x-rays and gamma-rays in their direction of travel when they collide with atomic nuclei, just like the upward moving electrons.

"What we saw in the aircraft are the gamma-rays produced by the downward positron beam," Smith said.

First author Gregory Bowers, now at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and coauthor Nicole Kelley, now at Swift Navigation, were both graduate students at UC Santa Cruz when they worked together on the instrument that made the detection. The Airborne Detector for Energetic Lightning Emissions (ADELE) mark II was designed to observe TGFs up close by measuring x-rays and gamma-rays from aircraft flown into or above thunderstorms.

Getting too close to a TGF could be hazardous, although the risk drops off rapidly with distance from the source. The gamma-ray dose at a distance of one kilometer would be negligible, Smith said. "It's hypothetically a risk, but the odds are quite small," he said. "I don't ask pilots to fly into thunderstorms, but if they're going anyway I'll put an instrument on board."

Smith's group was the first to detect a TGF from an airplane using an earlier instrument, the ADELE mark I. In that case, the upward beam from the TGF was detected above a thunderstorm. For this study, the ADELE mark II flew aboard NOAA's Hurricane Hunter WP-3D Orion during the Atlantic hurricane season.Planning a trip to Mars? You'll want to remember your anti-radiation pills.

NASA and private space companies like SpaceX plan to send humans to the red planet within the next 15 years -- but among the major challenges facing future crewed space missions is how to protect astronauts from the dangerous cosmic radiation of deep space.

Now the lab of UCSF neuroscientist Susanna Rosi, PhD, has identified the first potential treatment for the brain damage caused by exposure to cosmic rays -- a drug that prevents memory impairment in mice exposed to simulated space radiation. The study was published May 18, 2018 in Scientific Reports.

Humans venturing beyond the Earth's protective magnetic fields will be exposed to levels of cosmic radiation estimated to be 1000 times higher than what we experience on Earth or even in the International Space Station's low-earth orbit. Protecting astronauts from this harmful radiation will be key to making deep space exploration -- and perhaps one day colonization -- possible.

Rosi, who is Director of Neurocognitive Research in the UCSF Brain and Spinal Injury Center and a professor in the departments of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science and of Neurological Surgery, has conducted NASA-funded research for the past four years to understand how deep space radiation may affect astronauts' brains.

Rosi's team has previously found that exposing mice to simulated space radiation causes problems with memory, social interactions, and anxiety, and has linked these symptoms of radiation exposure to activation of cells called microglia -- part of the brain's immune system. Activated microglia drive brain inflammation similar to what is seen in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, and also seek out and consume synapses, the information-bearing connections between brain cells.

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"We are starting to have evidence that exposure to deep space radiation might affect brain function over the long term, but as far as I know, no one had explored any possible countermeasures that might protect astronauts' brains against this level of radiation exposure," said Rosi, who is a member of the Weill Institute for Neuroscience, the Kavli Institute of Fundamental Neuroscience, and the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.

In the new study, the researchers collaborated with co-authors at Loma Linda University in Southern California to expose mice for a day to a dose of radiation comparable to what they might experience in deep space. The experiments were conducted at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, the only facility in the country where such experiments are possible. A week later, after being shipped back to UCSF, some of the mice were treated for 15 days with PLX5622, a drug produced by Berkeley-based pharmaceutical company Plexxikon, Inc, and which the Rosi lab had previously shown to prevent cognitive deficits in a mouse model of cancer radiation therapy when administered prior to irradiation of the brain.

In the present study, the irradiated animals initially displayed no cognitive deficits, but after three months they began showing signs of memory impairment. Normally, when researchers place mice in a room with a familiar and an unfamiliar object, the animals spend more time exploring the new object. But mice that had been exposed to space radiation three months earlier explored the two objects equally -- presumably because they didn't remember having seen one of the objects just the day before.

Remarkably, animals that had been treated with PLX5622 soon after being exposed to radiation performed just like healthy mice on the memory task. The researchers examined the animals' brains and showed that while the brains of untreated mice were full of activated microglia and had lost significant numbers of synapses, the brains of treated mice looked just like normal. The authors hypothesize that by forcing the brain to replace irritable, radiation-exposed microglia with new, healthy microglia, the drug had allowed the animals avoid the cognitive consequences of radiation.

"This is really neat evidence, first that rebooting the brain's microglia can protect cognitive function following radiation exposure, and second that we don't necessarily need to treat immediately following the radiation exposure for the drug to be effective," Rosi said.

Similar compounds to PLX5622 produced by Plexxikon (inhibitors of a cellular receptor molecule called CSF1R) are already in clinical trials for multiple forms of human cancer, which suggests that the new findings could soon be translated to human use, the researchers say. Beyond spaceflight, these compounds could potentially be used to prevent cognitive impairments following cancer radiation therapy, or in age-related cognitive impairment -- which has also been linked to microglia-driven brain inflammation.

"NASA is very interested in finding ways of ensuring both astronaut safety and mission success during deep space travel," said study co-lead author Karen Krukowski, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in Rosi's lab. "But astronauts are a small population -- it's exciting that these findings could potentially help prevent many other forms of cognitive impairment."There are billions of asteroids in our solar system. NASA tracks those objects which are a potential threat to the Earth and are classified as Near Earth Objects (NEO). Just recently, an asteroid (named 2010 WC9) with a diameter of 60 to 130 meters zoomed past the Earth at a staggering velocity of 12.8 kilometers a second which is roughly 46,000 kilometers an hour. It made its closest approach towards the Earth on May 15 at 22:05 UTC when it reached a distance of just 0.53 lunar-distances from the Earth which is around 203,453 km from Earth.

According to the estimates, the asteroid is made up of basalt and weighs around half a million tonnes. But the question arises, would it be a disaster if this asteroid would have collided with the Earth? Researchers state that even if it did hit the Earth when making the closest approach, it wouldnt have caused much harm. Over a period of 4.5 billion years of Earths history, it has been hit by dozens of asteroids and meteors. The report states that the mineral-rich crater at Sudbury in Ontario is due to an impact that occurred 1.98 billion years ago when a 10 to 15 kilometers in diameter object hit the surface. Another great example is a massive object which hit the surface some 65 million years ago wiping 75% of the animal species in the fraction of seconds.

We are vulnerable due to the fact that humans depend on trade and commerce across the globe. We cannot avoid being hit by an asteroid but there is a chance that we can predict it and take preventive measures to avoid such a disaster.

Talking about 2010 WC9 asteroid, it is a dark-colored basalt rock that was discovered back on November 30, 2010, by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. Researchers were keeping the track of this object, however, it started fading out and went off the radar on December 10. It was only on May 8, 2018, when the asteroid was finally rediscovered while it was making a close approach towards the Earth. As per the reports, 2010 WC9 is a dark-colored basalt rock as aforementioned with a layer of basalt dust. The dark color against the dark sky marks it very difficult to see and that is what happened with this object.

Further, the asteroid is comparatively small and has been floating with a velocity of 12.8 kilometers a second which is another reason why the object was discovered just hours before it made its approaches towards the Earth. There are plenty of movies where the actors would simply destroy the asteroid with bombs to avert collision towards the Earth, in reality, this will introduce destruction on a massive scale as the hundreds of pieces would hurtle down the Earths atmosphere and collide at different places.

Scientists do have a method to avert such a disaster where they propose a rocket that will be launched towards the asteroid, it will make a soft-landing by matching up with the speed of the object and then, use the rocket motors to slowly change the orbit of the asteroid thereby deflecting the trajectory of the asteroid away from the Earth. This requires optimum predictions by minimizing uncertainties and better measurements. There are researchers working on it which means, there is a probability that it might work in the future.Upcoming political events in the Bay Area.

THURSDAY

SF measures: San Francisco Progressive Democrats of America presents a free forum with advocates for Proposition C, which would raise taxes on commercial landlords for child care and education, and Proposition D, which would raise such levies for housing and homelessness programs. Mayoral candidate Amy Farah Weiss will also discuss a to-do list for San Franciscos next mayor. Also, PDA San Franciscos Shirley Golub talks about progressive reforms in Barcelona. 7-9 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Center chapel, 1187 Franklin St., San Francisco. More information is here.

JUNE 1

Confronting transphobia: A conversation on how to end transphobia, hosted by the Freedom Socialist Party. $2-$5 donation. 6:30 p.m., New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk St., San Francisco. More information is here.

JUNE 3

Women in politics: Womens March sponsors a forum on strategies for increasing womens participation in electoral politics and activism, and for boosting womens turnout in the June 5 elections. 2-4 p.m. at the Womens Building, 3543 18th St., San Francisco. More information is here.

JUNE 4

Policy and racism: Commonwealth Club hosts a forum on the question, does the Bay Area have policies that affirm racism? Speakers include San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi and Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza. $7 to $31.50. 6:30-7:45 p.m., 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

JUNE 7

Medea Benjamin on Iran: Code Pink and Global Exchange co-founder on Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Benefit for KPFA-FM. $12 in advance, $15 at the door. 7:30 p.m., Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar St., Berkeley. More information is here.

JUNE 9

World Naked Bike Ride: Event focuses on the need to promote renewable energy and move away from big oil. 11 a.m.-5 p.m., starts at Ferry Building Plaza in San Francisco. More information is here.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

JUNE 10

Whats next for Iran?: Paul George, executive director of the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center in Palo Alto, gives a talk on Trump Nukes the Iran Accord: What Happens Next? 7-9 p.m., Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo, 300 E. Santa Inez Ave., San Mateo. More information is here.

JUNE 13

Doomsday Clock: Rachel Bronson, president of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, asks, Can we turn back the Doomsday Clock? The groups clock, an indication of how close it believes the world is to nuclear war, is now set at two minutes to midnight. Tickets are $10 and less. Noon-1 p.m. at the Commonwealth Club, 110 Embarcadero, San Francisco. More information is here.

JUNE 22-24

Pink Triangle: Volunteers needed to put together the Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks for Pride Weekend. Outline is installed from 1:30-5:30 p.m. Friday. Installation ceremonies begin at 7 a.m. Saturday, with installation itself starting at 10 a.m. Take-down from 4:30-8 p.m. Sunday. More information is here.

To list an event, email tbyrne@sfchronicle.comImran Khan announced his 100 day plan 21 May, 2018



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Hand Wash and Toiletries in Pakistan And the Role of DUPAS in Reshaping the Industry

Ways that Players Used to Take Advantage of Slot Sites ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday unveiled the agenda it intends to implement in the country if elected to power after the upcoming general elections.



These 100 days reflect the path for which the country was made, PTI Chairman Imran Khan told a ceremony organized to present the partys reforms agenda, adding that the first 100 days of the PTI government will be reflective of the partys ideology and policies.



The 100-day plan presents the idea of generating 10 million jobs within five years. It aims to give complete autonomy to Southern Punjab. Some five million houses will be built under the Prime Ministers Housing Scheme, according to the plan. The agenda also includes transformation in governance, revitalisation of economic growth and ensuring the countrys national security.



Senior PTI leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Jehangir Tareen, Asad Umar and Shireen Mazari outlined the partys top priorities.



Shah Mehmood Qureshi spoke mostly about regional disparities and presented the plan for the merger of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a political reconciliatory process for Balochistan, as well as for the creation of South Punjab province on administrative grounds.



Southern Punjab is a province of 40 million people. Today this province stands marginalised  no devolution of power there. Power rests in the hands of a few. It is time to remove this feeling of deprivation in southern Punjab. This area is even bigger than the current province of KP  and we want to empower it with the rights it deserves, he said.



Qureshi said that FATA s merger into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was Imran Khans top priority. FATA reforms are a life-old dream of Imran Khan who has roamed all these areas on foot. PTI wants to bring prosperity to the people of these areas who have been deprived for decades. We will remove and abolish the oppressive system. We will launch a mega development plan with involvement of the federal government, he said. Right now, it is only the KP government which thinks about the people of FATA. We will engage all provinces to bring them into the mainstream and repeal the FCR with new laws in place after consultation with the local elders. Through a constitutional route, we want to extend the jurisdiction of our courts. We will create employment opportunities for the people in FATA, he added.



Qureshi said Balochistan is the future of Pakistan and a fundamental element of the CPEC project. Those who have raised arms against the state because of grievances and deprivation  we will not marginalize them further, rather bring them back into the mainstream. We will champion reconciliation in Balochistan and empower the government to launch large-scale efforts for political reconciliation under Imran Khans leadership, he said, adding PTIs government would heal the wounds of Balochistan.



About Karachi, Qureshi said the PTI intends to crack down on qabza mafia in the metropolis. The first priority will be to restore peace and stability in Karachi, and carry out development. PTI government will provide a complete transport system. We will bring an empowered local government system in Karachi, he said.



KP Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak recalled the partys initiatives and reforms brought in its five-year stint in power in the province.



He promised that important changes to education and health system in the country would be ensured along with an expansion in the social safety net. The Sehat Insaf Card, currently only restricted to KP, would be expanded to the entire country and a total of 8 million families would be provided with income support, up from 5.4million families today under the Benazir Income Support Programme.



He said that the party would protect the rights of women and ensure their progress in society. He said that his party would ensure provision of clean drinking water and begin a tree-plantation campaign.



Disqualified secretary general of the party Jehangir Tareen spoke about the agenda for improvements in agriculture. He said that the PTI would take emergency measures to make agriculture profitable for farmers. He promised financial help and better access to loans for farmers, while also promising to make the country self-sufficient in milk-related products. He noted that the country was far behind others in agricultural research and vowed to improve research in the sector to turn around the agro-economy.



More fruits and vegetable markets will be set up across Pakistan. We will impose an agriculture emergency to increase farmer profitability, reduce taxes on diesel, encourage a change in crop-mix, and optimize subsidy programs along with other initiatives, he added.



Unveiling the economic agenda, Asad Umar said that private sector would be encouraged to build five million new homes within the first 100 days of his partys government under the Prime Ministers Housing Scheme. Let me make it clear that this will be done in the first 100 days by Prime Minister Imran Khan, Insha Allah.



A competent FBR chairman will be named after introducing reforms in the organization. We have to end our dependence on thermal power. The biggest problem has been to import coal for power generation, he said.



Umar said that his partys government would create 10 million new jobs in five years. We have to reduce the burden of taxes on traders, businessmen and industrialists. Small industries cannot bear the burden of unfair system of taxation. Electricity and gas prices will be brought down. We will provide a level-playing field to traders, farmers, businessmen and industrialists, he said.



He announced that the government-owned guesthouses would be turned into hotels and made available for the public, and that four new tourist spots would be discovered within the first 100 days. A Council of Business Leaders would be created to improve Pakistans global business standing. Pakistan Wealth Fund would be created to fund institutions such as the Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Steel Mills and power distribution companies to bring revolutionary changes in them, he added.



Shireen Mazari said that a national security organisation would be formed if PTI came to power. She promised improvements in economy through a reformed foreign policy and the creation of a detailed national security policy.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be strengthened by revamping its legal and institutional capabilities, Mazari announced. She said that the national security policy would focus on uncovering contact between active and inactive terrorists, ensure implementation of National Action Plan, curriculum reforms and bringing madressahs into the national mainstream.



A civilised society is not known by how many big houses are constructed in Defence Housing Authorities, or now in Bahria [Town], but how people in the slums live, PTI chief Imran Khan, who spoke towards the end of the ceremony, said. Making multiple religious references in his address, Imran said that he envisions a Pakistan in which a leader is accountable even for the death of an animal. All policies under this 100-day agenda will look into how to make education, employment and other basic rights accessible to the common man, he said.



Stressing on improvements in governance and service delivery, he criticised the incumbent government for being in a hurry to inaugurate projects like Orange Line Metro Train in Lahore and the new Islamabad International Airport. Have you ever seen Mahatir Mohammad or Nelson Mandela cutting ribbons? he asked, adding that nation-building, not inauguration of some projects, is the real achievement.



The PTI chief said that temperatures in Pakistan were rising because of climate change which is a reality and that its effects can only be mitigated by planting more trees. He regretted that the partys billion tree tsunami project in KP was criticised by the PML-N despite being acknowledged by international organisations.Immigration hard-liners anger toward Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf for her warning about a federal sweep for undocumented migrants in Northern California led an Iowa congressman to propose criminal penalties Monday for officials who talk about such operations in advance.

Republican Rep. Steve King introduced the Mayor Libby Schaaf Act of 2018, which would ban officials from the purposeful broadcast ... of information relating to any imminent action by a federal law enforcement officer or agent. Violations could result in up to five years in prison.

King said his bill would make clear that disclosing an imminent enforcement would amount to obstruction of justice.

I want lawless, sanctuary city politicians to hear this message clearly: If you obstruct ICE, you are going to end up in the cooler, King said in a statement.

In February, Schaaf said she had learned credible sources that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were planning a sweep for undocumented immigrants in the Bay Area. She said her goal in disclosing the operation was to give immigrant families information about their legal rights and resources.

Now Playing: The U.S. Department of Justice has sent a letter to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf seeking information about her city's sanctuary policy. Amber Lee reports. Video: KTVU

The subsequent four-day sweep across Northern California resulted in 232 arrests. ICE chief Thomas Homan initially suggested that 800 undocumented immigrants were able to evade detention because of Schaafs alert, leading to the resignation of the departments San Francisco spokesman, who said that information was incorrect and misleading.

President Trump said as recently as last week that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions should consider opening an obstruction case aimed at Schaaf. The White House previously said the Justice Department is conducting a review into her actions.

A spokesman for the mayors office, Justin Berton, said Monday it has yet to receive any requests for documents or interviews from federal investigators. Former U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag is among the lawyers who are advising the mayor on legal issues.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Schaaf, who is running for re-election this fall, said in an interview on CNN that its not possible that Kings legislation could be legal.

Sanctuary city policies are legal policies, Schaaf said. Part of the beauty of American democracy is that there is a balance between local, state and federal power. I know a lot more about what makes my community safe than a congressman from Iowa.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerovA pair of local legislators will make yet another run at banning gun shows at the Cow Palace  and they say growing American revulsion at mass shootings, particularly at high schools, puts momentum in their favor.

The cavernous, state-owned exhibition hall in Daly City hosts five gun shows a year, the most recent in April, but those shows have drawn a growing number of protesters as gun massacres proliferated throughout the nation. State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, is now proposing legislation that would ban the sales of guns or ammunition at the hall, beginning in 2020.

The environment has changed, he said in an interview. As more schools are being shot up, as more kids are being murdered, we need to protect our community, and that means fewer guns. Im hopeful that we will be able to persuade the governor that this is a good idea.

Wiener said he has nearly universal local support from communities surrounding the Cow Palace, and he hopes to ride the wave of an amazing outpouring of student activism around the country against gun violence and in favor of gun safety measures.

Paul Chinn/The Chronicle

He and his principal co-author on the bill, Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, will announce their effort  the fourth attempt at a Cow Palace gun show ban since 2004  Monday at the Bayshore Community Center in Daly City. Planning to be there in support will be 16-year-old Erica Cardoza.

Erica helped lead a demonstration at her campus, Daly Citys Jefferson High School, in March as high schools all over the nation reacted to the killings of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. Fridays slaughter at a high school in Texas, in which 10 people were killed allegedly by a student, only reinforced her determination to stamp out gun shows at the giant hall, which happens to sit right in front of her home.

This is a school community  Bayshore Elementary School is right next to the Cow Palace  and its crazy to be having a gun show right next to a school, she said. One minute the place is the setting for a rodeo, and the next its for selling assault weapons. Its just not right.

Erica said she supports the Second Amendment right to bear arms, but as all these high school shootings have shown us, it should be more regulated and strict.

It should be a privilege to own a gun  not just willy-nilly, like you can have whatever you want, Erica said. It needs to be responsible. We have regulations for cars  why cant we have regulations on guns?

Efforts to end Cow Palace gun shows have failed three times before in the state Legislature. The most recent rejection came in 2013 when Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill by then-Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, that would have required local county authorities  who were opposed to the shows  to authorize them.

The Cow Palace is important, and Im not critical of the Cow Palace, Wiener said. They have to be financially sustainable ... but we have to balance that with our core values, and in the Bay Area people overwhelmingly do not support gun shows.

Cow Palace officials directed queries to the man who has run the venues gun shows for 32 years, Robert Templeton, co-owner of Utahs Crossroads of the West Gun Shows. He said each of the failed legislative efforts was misdirected, and the current one is no better.

Rather than focusing on reducing the proximity and number of weapons, he said, we need to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, people who are too mentally ill to own them, and people who commit domestic violence. Templeton also said the federal government should prosecute anyone who lies on a background check; more than 1 million people failed background checks over the past 20 years, according to the FBI.

We have common ground on both sides, Templeton said. We all want to see this horrific gun violence stopped. We agree there. But in order to have a dialogue, well have to be much less polarized than we are now.

This recent senseless spate of school shootings has energized the people who would like to take away our gun rights, but we need instead to deal with the people who perpetrate violence and the potential perpetrators.

Templeton said that there has never been a significant incident of violence at Cow Palace gun shows  which also offer fishing and other sporting gear  and that, contrary to some contentions, nobody can just buy a gun and walk away with it. Purchasers must undergo a 10-day waiting period and a background check, then pick up the weapon from an authorized dealer.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Ting rebuffed the reassurances, saying local objections to the gun shows should trump other considerations. Cow Palace gun shows, he said, are the antithesis of what San Francisco and the Bay Area stand for.

Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, said Ting and Wiener are just trying to score points with their voting base.

Here we go again, he said. When you allow legislators to force on everyone else their own inclinations and predilections, and they decide what legal products can be used and sold at public venues, it smacks of social engineering and royalty. These shows are as safe as a knitting show or a coin show. But thats not enough for these politicians.

Chronicle staff writer

Melody Gutierrez contributed to this report.

Kevin Fagan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kfagan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KevinChronBARTs packed, Interstate 80 and Highway 101 are backed up day and night, it takes forever to get in and out of Silicon Valley, and places like the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, which few ever figured to be traffic trouble spots, have become hellish.

The Bay Areas fragile transportation network is reaching a breaking point. A BART train that breaks down in the wrong place will send delays shuddering through the entire system. A big crash on one freeway or bridge will lead to hours of backups that radiate through the region.

With the Bay Area economy booming, the glut of daily commuters is overwhelming the regions highways, bridges and transit systems, and the money it would require to pay for an abundance of needed or wanted transportation improvements is in short supply.

Regional Measure 3 on the June 5 ballot in the Bay Areas nine counties would tackle that problem by raising tolls on the Bay Areas seven state-owned bridges by $3 over the next seven years.

Transportation officials estimate the toll increase would generate $4.45 billion over the next 25 years for investments in 35 transportation projects that include a South Bay BART extension, a Caltrain extension into downtown San Francisco, increased ferry and regional express bus service, highway widenings and the creation of more freeway express lanes.

This is a well-thought-out set of projects thats scaled throughout the region and can make everyones lives better, reduce the amount of time they spend in their vehicles and allow them to have much better transportation options, said Jim Wunderman, CEO of the Bay Area Council. Its an opportunity we have to make an investment in the region we love.

To pass, the measure needs a simple majority of votes cast in the nine counties combined. It would raise bridge tolls by $1 in 2019, 2022 and 2025.

So tolls would climb from $5 to $8 over seven years on the Richmond-San Rafael, San Mateo-Hayward, Dumbarton, Carquinez, Benicia-Martinez and Antioch bridges. The Bay Bridge, where the current tolls are $6 during peak hours, $5 on weekends and $4 at all other times, would cost $9, $8 and $7, respectively, to cross by 2025.

Tolls on the Golden Gate Bridge, which is owned and operated by an independent district, would not be affected.

As its title suggests, Regional Measure 3 marks the third time Bay Area transportation officials have gone to voters in several counties seeking toll increases to fund major transportation projects. Both previous measures passed  RM1 in 1988 and RM2 in 2004.

The first measure helped deliver a new Benicia-Martinez Bridge, a replacement for a span of the Carquinez Bridge, widening of the San Mateo Bridge and construction of the Richmond Parkway, among others.

Projects funded by RM2 included the Caldecott Tunnel fourth bore and SMART, the North Bays commuter railroad. It paid for the Transbay Transit Center, BARTs extension to Warm Springs in South Fremont and its east Contra Costa extension. It also funded the Oakland Airport Connector, the widening of Highway 4, a fleet of ferry boats, and carpool lanes, which are now also toll lanes, on Interstate 580 in the Tri-Valley.

Imagine what the Bay Area would be like without RM1 or RM2, said Randy Rentschler, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Imagine two lanes on the San Mateo Bridge or going back to three bores at the Caldecott Tunnel. Imagine not having a new Benicia-Martinez Bridge.

The current measure would help fund dozens of transportation projects, all of which are supposed to be at least tangentially linked to the state-owned toll bridges or the transit systems used to skirt around them.

Most of the money  about 69 percent  would go toward mass transit projects, with 25 percent directed to roads and highways and 3 percent dedicated toward each project connecting different types of transit and improvements to benefit bike riders and pedestrians.

Todd Trumbull

Some of the projects reach across county lines and affect most of the Bay Area. Others target specific bridge corridors or geographic areas.

If the measure has any headline projects, theyd probably be the 10-mile BART extension through downtown San Jose to Santa Clara and the Caltrain downtown extension to the Transbay Transit Center at Mission and Fremont streets in San Francisco. Both are major projects, long planned, and short of funding. RM3 wont assure their construction  federal aid will also be needed  but the toll money would bring them much closer to reality.

Other big investments from the measure would include more than 300 new BART railcars, allowing the transit system to expand its fleet; operating funds for the Transbay Transit Center; expanded San Francisco Bay Ferry and regional express bus service, money to study a new transbay rail crossing, and the creation of more express lanes that allow solo drivers to buy their way into carpool lanes. Highway 101 through San Mateo County is likely to be a priority for new express lanes, along with Interstate 880 in Alameda County.

Major highway investments would allow Caltrans to complete the widening of Highway 101 through the Marin-Sonoma Narrows in the North Bay and rebuild overwhelmed and outdated freeway interchanges at Highway 101 and Highway 92 in San Mateo, Interstate 680 and Highway 4 in Martinez, and I-80, I-680 and Highway 12 in Fairfield. Flood-prone Highway 37 across the north end of the bay would get money to help keep it open when it rains.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

Also included in the measure are some uncommon provisions. For example, it holds the promise of a discount  50 cents in 2019, $1 in 2022 and $1.50 in 2025  for people who cross more than one bridge on a single commute. Another would create and fund an inspector general for BART to improve its efficiency and monitor spending on capital projects.

The measure is backed by business groups like the Bay Area Council and Silicon Valley Leadership Group and SPUR, an urban-planning think tank. The three have joined forces to campaign for the measure, which they consider critical to the future of the Bay Area.

Carl Guardino, CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which has campaigned for passage of many regional and local transportation tax measures, likes to say he hates taxes but hates traffic more.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Hes been working on the RM3 campaign for months, and said Bay Area residents understand the need for the toll increase.

What weve overwhelmingly found, he said, is that when people see the list of projects, they understand it is a regional effort, and they say, yes, we need and support the investment.

No organized campaign has surfaced to fight RM3s passage but critics include an East Bay congressman, a Silicon Valley mayor and a Marin environmentalist and MTC critic, all of whom have been vocal in their opposition.

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, argues that the measure is a bad deal for East Bay residents who use the bridges more and, therefore, pay most of the tolls while Santa Clara County, which has far fewer toll payers, is getting a disproportionate share of the money. Cupertino Vice Mayor Rod Sinks persuaded his City Council to oppose RM3, saying it steers too much money to San Jose while neglecting the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, whose highways are choked with congestion.

There are no projects on this side of the valley  and we are impatient, he said. We have to bring people to work in our cities, and this does nothing toward that.

David Schonbrunn, a Marin resident who heads Transportation Solutions Defense and Education Fund, submitted voters pamphlet arguments against RM3. He says the measure will exacerbate, not reduce, congestion, and ignores the need to get people to share rides rather than drive alone.

Instead of creating a regional network of express lanes that encourage solo drivers, and building costly transit projects, he said, the MTC should promote and encourage the use of carpool lanes.

This is not about building stuff, he said. This is about changing behavior.

Rentschler, the MTC spokesman, said he understands opponents who think theyre being left out, and he cautioned that even if RM3 passes, it wont make all of the Bay Areas traffic troubles disappear or fund all of its transit needs, like a second transbay rail crossing.

Considering all the fixes we need in the Bay Area, there are going to be people upset they dont get theirs included, he said. I get it. It doesnt take more than a day driving around in the Bay Area to figure we cant get all the infrastructure relief we need from RM3. We need more.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuanApril Spears doesnt want to stop change from coming to the Bayview, the San Francisco neighborhood where she was born and raised. She just wants to have a say in how it happens.

For decades, her neighborhood had a reputation as a gritty industrial dumping ground, rife with poverty and neglect  the place where San Francisco put its biggest, foulest-smelling wastewater treatment plant. But more recently, in part because of the opening of the Third Street light-rail line, the Bayview has become a draw for developers eager to build housing and retail.

From the kitchen of Auntie Aprils, the soul food restaurant she owns on Third Street, Spears has watched her neighborhood transform in slow motion, with the pace quickening of late. Greater investment in the Bayview isnt unwelcome, Spears said, but an influx of development is kindling anxieties about its future  particularly the future of its deep-rooted African American community.

Theyre building million-dollar condos on Third Street now. Thats not for the existing community, Spears said. I cant afford a million-dollar condo. If you think about the average working family, theres no way those places are being built for us.

Like the Mission District before it, many of the Bayviews working-class residents are being pushed out of their neighborhoods by surging development and gentrification. Thats a big reason Spears and some of her neighbors are working to create a cultural district in the Bayview  an organized enclave of residents and merchants intent on preserving and promoting the communitys African American heritage.

For years, the city recognized cultural districts using a loose set of guidelines, with no set definition for what a cultural district actually was. But last week the Board of Supervisors passed legislation to create the first formal process for establishing them.

The proposed ordinance, introduced by Supervisor Hillary Ronen, also seeks to establish a clear definition of what cultural districts are so that their purpose doesnt get co-opted or manipulated, Ronen said. The legislation also envisions some city funding for each cultural district, along with philanthropic donations and contributions from the public.

Her legislation defines the districts as areas that embody a unique cultural heritage because of a concentration of cultural and historic assets, like arts, services or businesses, and because a significant portion of its residents are members of a specific cultural or ethnic group.

The Bayview cultural district, which is still in the planning stages, is expected to be the first to coalesce under Ronens legislation. Another potential district in the Castro is in the planning stages, and residents are working with District Eight Supervisor Jeff Sheehy. Forming a cultural district requires the sponsorship of a supervisor and the approval of the full board.

But beyond drawing attention to a districts positive qualities, Ronens legislation would bestow San Franciscos cultural districts with the tools of self-determination, creating organized pockets of residents who help steer the evolution of their communities.

Getting that designation as a cultural district, people will say, They do have something good going on over there, Spears said. Its not only to preserve what was, its also to show what is, and to guide what will be.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Ronen said cultural districts arent intended to freeze development and turn vibrant neighborhoods into living museums.

Were not saying no to anything. Were saying, Develop, do whatever  just preserve and enhance the great parts of this neighborhood, Ronen said. These are not tools to stop development or stop change. These are tools to enhance the rich culture and community thats already there.

With Ronens help, the Calle 24 Latino Cultural District, for example, established special regulations within its borders in the Mission last year. New businesses eyeing a storefront there must obtain special permissions if they want to merge two or more storefronts that total more than 799 square feet combined. New merchants are also required to seek special approvals from the city if their storefront was previously occupied by a business that had been in operation for at least 30 years and had made significant contributions to the neighborhood.

Theyre starting to get it, said Erick Arguello, Calle 24s co-founder and president, referring to developers looking at locations within the cultural district, which runs along 24th Street in the Mission. Theyre saying, This is a cultural district, and its viewed differently. How can we fit into it, instead of hurt it? Theyre calling up-front now, rather than after the fact, he said.

Raquel Redondiez, director of the Filipino Cultural Heritage District in SoMa, said developers are increasingly recognizing her group as a community gatekeeper, thanks in part to its status as a cultural district recognized by the city.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Cultural districts dont have the power to slow or stop a development from happening, but some, like Calle 24 and SoMa Pilipinas, are becoming integral parts of the planning process in their communities.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Developers are being told by the city or by supervisors or even by the Planning Department, Hey, have you talked to the Filipino community about your project? Redondiez said. It allows us to be able to educate them on what kind of development actually would be beneficial to the community.

And as a result, weve been able to negotiate more affordable units and a greater range of affordability in those developments, she said.

San Francisco has also recognized cultural districts in Japantown, officially called the Japantown Cultural Heritage and Economic Sustainability Strategy. Theres also Comptons Transgender Cultural District in the Tenderloin, named after the 1966 riot at Comptons Cafeteria. And the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District, the citys newest, was formally recognized May 1.

Rachel Ryan is a co-owner of the Stud, a historic gay bar on Ninth Street, and a community organizer with the cultural district. Ryan has watched with dismay as bars and other businesses in the area withered under the pressures of rising rents and property values.

Weve watched so many businesses and bars either close or go through these ordeals trying to keep their doors open, she said. There are so few businesses left that were trying to band together and figure out what gives us more traction, she said.

The leather and LGBTQ district is still setting its priorities, but Ryan said the process has been uplifting.

Its definitely given me hope, she said.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassaOaklands failed fight to keep coal shipments from passing through its waterfront cost the city more than $3.1 million in outside legal bills, according to records provided by the city attorneys office.

The coal fight stemmed from a 2013 agreement between the city and local developer Phil Tagami allowing him to build a $250 million shipping terminal on the old Oakland Army Base next to the port.

Tagami, a former business partner of Gov. Jerry Brown, had assured local officials he had no intention of shipping the politically and environmentally incorrect coal through his facility, but the agreement with the city didnt expressly prohibit it.

When Tagami subsequently secured a deal to move up to 10 million tons of Utah coal through the terminal each year, the plan drew strong protests from social justice and environmental activists  and the City Council voted to declare the coal shipments a substantial danger to the people of Oakland.

Tagami countered that the coal posed no health risk and sued the city.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said Oakland had failed to make a convincing argument that the coal was a health threat.

Mayor Libby Schaaf immediately insisted the battle to keep coal out of Oakland wasnt over and pledged to continue to fight this battle on all fronts.

Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan said she wouldnt rule out a second try at proving the citys health-related argument in court, but also said its time to sit down with Tagami and try for a negotiated settlement  something the mayor and city administrator had opposed.

Libby strongly opposed settlement, Kaplan said. Folks said we would win, so it was not important to pursue settlement.

Fellow Councilman Noel Gallo tells us Tagami approached him as recently as two weeks ago looking for help in getting the mayor and city administrator to the bargaining table. He said Tagami was mostly looking to recoup his investment in the bulk terminal  a figure Gallo said has been put as high as $71 million.

He has been willing and open to settle ... but the city wasnt willing to cooperate, Gallo said.

Tagami declined to comment Friday, and a spokesman for Schaaf referred all questions to the city attorneys office.

City attorney spokesman Alex Katz said only that we are reviewing the (court) ruling and will discuss our options with the City Council.

City Hall sources tell us the city could spend the next several years  and millions more dollars  battling the coal proposal in court, with an uncertain outcome. Or they could settle with Tagami, whose leverage over the city has now increased with the court ruling in his favor.

Either way, its certain to get a lot more costly for Oakland.

Civic issue: BART officials are planning to seek permission from the State Fire Marshals Office to shut down an entrance and walkway to the underground Civic Center Station that has become a haven for drug users.

Its ground zero for injection drug use, said BART Director Bevan Dufty, whose San Francisco district includes the troubled station.

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

The proposed closure of the walkway under Market Street is the latest in a series of steps BART and city officials have undertaken in an effort to clean up San Francisco stations. Both Civic Center and 16th Street Mission stations have become magnets for the homeless and the mentally ill, and the sites of injection drug use in recent years.

The problem hit the boiling point recently when local TV stations aired videos showing people openly shooting up drugs in the Civic Center walkway. After seeing the embarrassing video on the news, Mayor Mark Farrell called a meeting with BART officials at City Hall that resulted in increased police patrols of the station.

When more video appeared a few days later showing little had changed, Dufty set up a makeshift office inside the station and called in the media to highlight the problem.

Yes, it was meant to get attention, but I cant tell you how many people came up and said, Thanks for being here, Dufty said.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The Salvation Army was also on hand and took four homeless people to its detox and recovery program.

Dufty, a former San Francisco supervisor with an eye for publicity, has made a mini-crusade of cleaning up BART stations.

The first target was 16th Street Mission Station, where he began sweeping out the station once a week to highlight the need for a full-time janitor.

It didnt endear me to BART management, Dufty said. They thought I was grandstanding.

He was. And as a result, BART assigned a full-time janitor and attendants to help keep the stations elevators clean and safe.

For years, a combination of budget cuts, understaffing and concerns about targeting homeless people kept station upkeep and safety on the back burner at BART. But as ridership on off hours and weekends began to drop, the attitude has changed.

A 4 percent drop might not sound like much, but for BART its Kryptonite, Dufty said.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX-TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@ sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandrossCupertino is exploring a tax on Apple and other companies based on the size of their workforce.

The tax would probably be structured similar to a proposal in Mountain View, said David Brandt, Cupertinos city manager. Cupertino has paid a firm to begin polling residents about the tax and how any revenue from it should be spent, Brandt said.

Apple did not immediately return a request for comment. The company has more than 25,000 employees in the Bay Area. Specific numbers for Cupertino  where it is by far the largest employer  were unavailable.

Other cities with big tech firms have considered similar taxes. Last week, Amazons hometown of Seattle passed a tax that would charge $275 per employee for businesses that make at least $20 million a year there. San Jose, Redwood City and Sunnvyale have head-count taxes.

Mountain View is considering a head-count tax that could raise $10 million  of which Google would pay about half  under one scenario. The city could use the revenue for transportation or housing.

In both Mountain View and Cupertino, the city councils would need to approve placing the item on the ballot. Then it would be up to voters.

How much money Cupertino would raise through an employer tax is still to be determined. Brandt said the City Council could discuss the polling results as early as June.

In 2016, Barry Chang, then the citys mayor and now a councilman, pushed for the city to tax large companies $1,000 per employee, but that encountered stiff opposition from businesses and failed to move forward. Chang said he would like to see money from a new tax go toward transportation.

Officials from the Bay Area Council, a public policy advocacy group that counts Apple as a member, oppose head-count taxes.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

While it might feel good for some to take a whack at big job creators, such taxes will only undermine our region's long-term economic health and competitiveness, council CEO Jim Wunderman wrote in a letter published in The Chronicle.

Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendyleeAnna Vignet / The Chronicle 2011

Its hard to remember, but there was a time when Klout was a thing. A decade ago, the San Francisco startup promised to measure your online popularity by tracking interactions on every social network imaginable  and before Facebook took over everything, there were a lot of them to measure. (Last.fm and Foursquare, anyone?)

Now Klout is in the news because its going away Friday, the same day that new European privacy regulations known as GDPR kick in. Klout was sold to Lithium Technologies for $200 million in 2014, but its not clear what the social media marketing company got for its money. Lithium said the GDPR regulations were one factor in Klouts closure.In the 1980s, Peter Lee headed for the front lines of the HIV/AIDS crisis. In Washington, D.C., the Pasadena native helped organize rallies in front of the White House to protest the Reagan administrations tepid response to the epidemic.

It was his first job in health care, and 30 years later, the lessons still resonate as he heads the enormous insurance marketplace known as Covered California.

I was a young gay man seeing people my age dying, he recalled. That was such an immediate thing. And it was issues of insurance companies denying coverage to people because they tested for HIV. Or because they were gay and they might test for HIV.

Lee now stands firmly on the other side  crafting policy, rather than waving fists. But he is not your typical bureaucrat, despite running one of the most closely watched government agencies in the nations most populous state. Chatty and energetic, hes been front and center in three statewide bus tours to promote Covered California health insurance signups  grueling weeklong bus drives from San Diego to San Francisco, an operation not unlike a political campaign.

People tell me stories about access to care, he said, recalling conversations with Uber drivers and families with chronically ill children who are able to buy coverage because of financial assistance they receive under the Affordable Care Act  the 2010 federal law that created Covered California and Lees job.

Lee, 59, is driven by a desire to make health care more attainable. And by many measures, he is succeeding. Covered California, now in its fifth year, weathered a rocky rollout marred by technical mishaps. It maintains enrollment of about 1.3 million people, more than any other state-run exchange. Most receive subsidies to buy insurance. Covered California has one of the healthiest pools of patients among all state exchanges  an important metric because a smaller proportion of sick people means lower premiums overall. Covered California has managed to keep the states largest health insurers on board and selling through its marketplace, while many other states are struggling to get even one insurer to sell in many counties. Yearly premium increases, while sizable, are less dramatic than they are in many states.

Peter created a well-functioning health insurance exchange in California when other states and the federal government struggled to even make it work at all, said Larry Levitt of the Kaiser Family Foundation, who has known Lee for 20 years. That would have to be counted as a major success.

If Covered California is an experiment, Lee is its chief scientist. Hes taken liberties to be a more outspoken defender of the Affordable Care Act than many of his counterparts, even in other blue states. Lee tests the limits of how far a state health exchange can go, some observers say, such as when he pushed to standardize deductibles and co-pays across its health plans. The move, designed to help consumers more easily comparison-shop for plans, is considered very uncommon in most states, Levitt said.

Last year, when the GOP-led Senate was considering a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Lee joined 11 other directors of state health exchanges in voicing their serious concerns about the proposal. When the Department of Health and Human Services slashed its marketing budget for the federal exchange Healthcare.gov by 90 percent to $10 million, Lee went the opposite direction, pushing to boost Covered Californias marketing spending 5 percent to $111 million. Last month, he urged Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to restore the federal funding, writing in a letter that it is not too late to act and that we at Covered California would be happy to make our creative assets available for use.

The next few years will be a test for Covered Californias durability in the face of efforts out of Washington to roll back the Affordable Care Act. Starting in 2019, the health laws requirement to buy insurance, the individual mandate, will no longer exist. Federal regulators are also working to loosen restrictions on the sale of short-term insurance plans, which would make it easier for consumers to buy cheaper plans that cover less. Partly as a result, Covered California expects premiums to rise 11 percent next year and enrollment in the exchange to drop 12 percent.

Paul Chinn / The Chronicle

Covered California may face its biggest challenge going into next year, Levitt said.

In California, where state officials pride themselves as leaders of the resistance, perhaps no one shoulders as much responsibility for  or can claim as much credit for  the outcome of health insurance markets as Lee.

Former colleagues whove worked with or for Lee consistently offer descriptions such as indefatigable, unstoppable and passionate. One recalled hearing Lee, when Covered California was still in startup mode, comparing its creation to that of the Empire State Building.

He fills the room, said Gary Cohen, who briefly served as Covered Californias general counsel in 2012 and is now an executive at Blue Shield of California, one of the largest insurers on Covered California. Every meeting I ever was in with Peter, he commands the stage and has a point of view. You know where he stands and what he wants.

Even some skeptical of Lees aggressive tactics back him publicly, out of solidarity among state health policy regulators and professionals who want the Affordable Care Act to work in California.

Lee is working to minimize next years enrollment drop-off by expanding an already-aggressive marketing campaign to caution consumers about the risks of not buying insurance.

If consumers are left to their own devices, more will take that gamble, he said. If consumers are educated and reminded of what insurance is about, fewer will make that bad bet. Its a bad bet to go without insurance.

Born in Pasadena, Lee grew up around prominent physicians. His father, Dr. Peter Lee, led the family medicine department at the county hospital at the University of Southern California, and was an early and outspoken champion of Medicare in the 1960s. His stance riled the local medical association enough to prompt calls for his ouster for promoting the evil socialism of Medicare, Lee said.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Lees uncle, Dr. Philip Lee, was the first health commissioner for San Francisco and helped implement Medicare during President Lyndon B. Johnsons administration.

A generation earlier, Lees grandfather, Dr. Russel Lee, co-founded Palo Alto Medical Foundation and served on a committee assembled by President Harry Truman that recommended a national health insurance program  a revolutionary idea at the time.

The fruit doesnt fall far from the tree, Lee said.

An avid swimmer, Lee has two open-water swims on the books for this year: the annual Alcatraz Sharkfest, a 1-mile course, and an open-water swim at the Gay Games in Paris. He dotes on his 3-year-old goldendoodle, Gilly, who often accompanies him to work. His office is stocked with La Croix sparkling water.

Lee earns $436,800 a year  more than Gov. Jerry Browns $190,000 and many of Lees counterparts at other large state health insurance marketplaces such as New York.

Covered California does not work well for everyone, and Lee acknowledges cost is a challenge for many. Consumers who buy insurance on the individual market pay an average of $503 a month in premiums. Some receive federal subsidies to offset the cost, but many pay the full premium on their own. Deductibles for some of the health plans sold through the exchange are several thousand dollars  out of reach for many Californians struggling to balance health costs with other expenses.

While $500 is a boatload of money, Lee said, we believe no deductible between you and your doctor is a good thing.

Catherine Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat_HoOrdinarily, primary elections in June dont settle partisan political conflicts but, rather, set the stage for showdowns in Novembers general elections.

However, thanks to Californias top two primary system, the June 5 election could effectively decide who will be the states next governor and, perhaps even more importantly, whether President Trump will continue to enjoy Republican control of Congress or face a Democratic takeover that could bring impeachment.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is certain to finish first among the 27 candidates for governor. But theres a down-to-the-wire contest between Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, and Republican businessman John Cox for second place. If Villaraigosa is No. 2, its game on for a full-fledged shootout in November. If its Cox, Newsom can begin measuring the governors office for new drapes.

The situation with Congress is even dicier.

Democrats need to gain 24 seats to recapture control of the House of Representative. Flipping at least several seats in true-blue California is, by their own calculations, a key factor.

Democrats are concentrating on the seven California congressional districts now represented by Republicans that favored Hillary Clinton over Trump two years ago.

Two of those GOP congressional members retired rather than face tough re-election battles: Darrell Issa, in the San Diego County-centered 49th Congressional District, and Ed Royce, whose 39th district includes portions of Orange and Los Angeles counties.

Those districts are prime Democratic targets. So are the adjacent Orange County districts of Dana Rohrabacher (48th), who has been, for some reason, a big fan of Russia, and Mimi Walters (45th), plus the 25th district in the northern reaches of Los Angeles County, now in the hands of Steve Knight.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The big campaign action has been concentrated on the Issa, Royce and Rohrabacher seats, but the Democratic enthusiasm about capturing them may have backfired. All drew heavy numbers of Democratic candidates, many of them unknowns, while GOP candidates are fewer and better known, raising the possibility that Republicans will finish first and second and freeze Democrats out of the competition in November.

As they belatedly awoke to that possibility, Democratic leaders frantically tried to talk some candidates into dropping out and chose a few Democrats to receive special help.

With so many candidates on congressional primary ballots and with the prospect of a low-turnout election  perhaps a third of the states 18.9 million registered voters  even a few votes either way could determine whether Democrats can, indeed, make big gains in California this year, recapture the House and make life miserable for Trump.

Dan Walters is a columnist for CALmatters, a public-interest journalism venture committed to explaining how Californias state Capitol works and why it matters.From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...The Trump administration has made no secret of its animus toward undocumented immigrants, and now there are numbers to back it up.

On Thursday, Immigration and Customs Enforcements California office announced that, from October through March, it had arrested more than 3,400 undocumented immigrants who werent facing criminal charges.

Thats a huge increase from the same period a year earlier, which includes the final three months of President Barack Obamas term. During that previous period, the agencys California offices arrested about 1,000 noncriminal undocumented immigrants.

The same trend is playing out across the country. ICE arrested more than 26,000 noncriminal undocumented immigrants during the first six months of the fiscal year, compared with a little more than 13,000 arrests of similar immigrants during the same period a year earlier.

But California has come in for special scrutiny under President Trump and acting ICE director Thomas Homan. President Trumps meeting with conservative California officials last week  when he referred to some undocumented immigrants as animals and threatened criminal charges against Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf for alerting the community to a potential ICE raid  was only the latest dreadful example of many.

The Trump administration is outraged over Californias new sanctuary state law. Its not at all outrageous for Californias leadership to decide that the best use of our local law enforcement resources is fighting crime, not searching for noncriminal undocumented immigrants for ICE to arrest.

While ICEs California office was unveiling its new arrest numbers, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions was announcing a new policy barring immigration judges from putting deportation cases on hold.

Never mind that the administrative closure procedure has been used in hundreds of thousands of cases for immigrants who were designated low priorities for deportation.

All undocumented immigrants, it seems, are high deportation targets for this administration. Thats bad for our nations economy, and its bad for the social fabric of our communities. California must continue to insist on the right to use our resources as we see fit.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.California laws regulating gun shows are the strictest in the nation. The proposed closure of the gun show at the Cow Palace, the state fairground for San Francisco, will have no effect on the reduction of gun violence.

The closure of the show will not prevent criminals from obtaining guns from the sources where they have always obtained them.

The closure will only affect the First Amendment right of the Bay Areas law-abiding gun owners to assemble and share their hobby with others who have common interests.

Those who would restrict the rights of lawful gun owners because of the violent acts of deranged killers are attempting to advance their gun-control agenda at the expense of Northern Californias law-abiding gun owners.

The director of the UC Firearm Violence Research Center, Dr. Garen Wintemute, said the California Gun Show Enforcement and Security Act of 2000 is the most effective law in the nation in reducing access to firearms because of background checks required at all California gun shows. Dr. Wintemute has called California gun shows as a source of crime really boring.

My company, the Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, has a 32-year history of presenting shows at the Cow Palace with no known incidents of gun violence resulting from activities at the show. The gun shows are closely monitored by local law enforcement and by undercover agents from the state Department of Justice and the state Bureau of Firearms Enforcement and by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives. Show activities are in compliance with every applicable federal and California law.

No purchaser may take possession of a firearm at the show.

Only fully-licensed dealers may offer firearms for sale, and a dealer report of sale, a background check and a 10-day waiting period are required before any firearm can be delivered.

A prospective purchaser must complete a Firearms Safety Test, submit to a comprehensive background check by the state Department of Justice, wait 10 days, and only then travel to the dealers licensed premises to obtain the firearm.

Felons convicted of gun crimes tell interviewers they got their guns from their social network or a family member, according to various reports. One study of adult offenders living in gun-crime-ridden Chicago determined that criminals obtain virtually all of their guns by these means. Rarely is the source either direct purchase from a gun show, a gun store, or even theft. This agrees with other, broader studies of incarcerated felons. Fewer than 1 percent of guns used in crimes are traceable to gun shows nationwide, and the percentage of guns used in crimes in California is even smaller.

It is valuable to the community to continue to hold gun shows, as it provides a central location where individuals may sell a firearm in compliance with Californias strict laws regarding the transfer of firearms. A gun owner who wishes to sell a firearm to a prospective buyer can contact a licensed dealer at the show to assist in the lawful transfer of a firearm.

Law-enforcement is generally supportive of the gun show because it provides a place and a legally prescribed procedure for ensuring that all firearm transfers have been approved by the state Department of Justice.

We can only begin to solve gun violence when we agree on legal, realistic objectives. Our priority should be to work together to encourage the strictest enforcement of federal and state laws against gun possession by those prohibited from having one. That would include those mentally unfit to be in possession of a firearm and convicted felons, including domestic violence perpetrators. Only then will we make real progress toward reducing gun violence.

Robert R. Templeton is CEO of Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, a family-owned business with a 43-year history of conducting gun shows, including those in the Cow Palace.With Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom a good bet to win a spot on the November ballot for governor, three other Democrats face the inexorable arithmetic of Californias top-two primary.

And because the two leading vote-getters move on to the fall campaign, second place is as good as first. And third is the same as last.

The June 5 primary is a little more than two weeks away, which means state Treasurer John Chiang, former state schools chief Delaine Eastin and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are in an all-out sprint for that second spot.

The polls give little guidance. While Newsom has been on top in virtually every survey, its an ever-changing field for the runner-up slot, with Villaraigosa and Republicans John Cox and Travis Allen all in the mix.

With those same polls showing that more than 10 percent of the voters remain undecided, however, that gives even Chiang and Eastin, who bring up the rear in most of the surveys, a chance to catch fire and move up.

Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle

John Chiang

On an afternoon last week, Chiang was in his element, chatting comfortably with young Asian Pacific Islander Democrats at a function at state party headquarters in Sacramento.

Thats nothing unusual for someone who has spent the past 20 years in elected state office. But even his supporters sometimes shake their heads at Chiangs soft-spoken, businesslike manner, which is very different from the ebullient approach of many politicians.

But Chiang, 55, wears the green eyeshade with pride. He says his years as a financial pro with the state Board of Equalization and then as state controller and treasurer make him uniquely qualified to guide Californias future.

People will pass on the flash, but they want someone who will make sure the states not broke, he said in an interview. Gov. Jerry Brown keeps saying were going to hit a rough (financial) patch, and when we do, whos the best prepared to deal with it?

To work with those problems, though, Chiang has to finish in the top two, and theres nothing shy and retiring about how hes working to do that. Its almost impossible to turn on the television in Southern California without seeing a Chiang ad slamming Villaraigosa over his eight years as mayor. And barely a day goes by without a Chiang press release hitting Villaraigosa or Newsom about what they did before or are doing now.

The other candidates make promises but fall short, as the two mayors did on issues like homelessness, Chiang said.

Its important to make those tough comparisons, the treasurer said. All the candidates have different backgrounds, and people want to know who you are at your core.

From the start of the campaign, Chiang has talked about the problems he faced growing up outside Chicago as the son of immigrants from Taiwan. He remembers vandals throwing rocks at his house, anti-Asian graffiti spray-painted on their garage and fights on the school playground. Its a background that gives him sympathy and understanding for the underdogs of society, he said.

Things changed over time, though. He was a class officer in high school and graduated with a degree in finance from the University of South Florida and a law degree from Georgetown University. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s, working for the Internal Revenue Service and then for the state controller, all the time staying active in Democratic politics.

Chiang, who lives in Torrance (Los Angeles County), was appointed to the state Board of Equalization in 1997 and won the first of two terms in 1998. He was elected controller in 2006 and treasurer in 2010.

I just have to keep connecting with voters, he said. I need my supporters to reach out to their friends and co-workers.

Michael Macor / The Chronicle

Delaine Eastin

For Eastin, the campaign has been one long road trip that wont end until election day.

Ive been all over the state, hither and yon, she said in an interview. Im going places where other candidates have yet to go.

The 70-year-old Eastin recalled bringing out 175 local Democrats to an event in the Tuolumne County community of Twain Harte, population 2,226.

That was a pretty good turnout for a dinner where they didnt even serve alcohol, she said.

Its stops in communities like that that suggest to Eastin that her long-shot campaign still has a chance to finish in the top two.

People are much more organized this year, so its hard to know what they will do, the Davis resident said. Democrats are disappointed that they have these huge majorities in the Legislature and every statewide office and theres still not much happening.

For Eastin, who hasnt run for elective office in 20 years, that perceived disappointment, combined with dislike for President Trumps policies, opens the way for an experienced outsider like her.

People see a need for authenticity in campaigns and candidates, she said. The same old same old is not acceptable anymore.

Thats not a problem for Eastin, whose call for progressive change in California comes out in every speech and debate. When she talks about the need to improve state schools or build more housing, she doesnt shy away from the money question.

You have to look people in the eye and say that we have to change things to afford this, she said. Ive been willing to talk about the need to revise Prop. 13  she says commercial property should be reassessed more often  and approve an oil severance tax.

Born in San Diego to a father who was a Navy machinist and a mother who worked as a salesclerk, Eastin grew up in the Bay Area. With a bachelors degree from UC Davis and a masters in political science from UC Santa Barbara, Eastin taught at community colleges before taking a job with what was then Pacific Telephone as an accounting manager and, later, a corporate planner.

One of the best decisions Ive ever made was to be involved in public life, Eastin said during a debate earlier this month. She also noted, I made 2 times as much when I worked in the private sector.

She served on the Union City City Council and was elected to the Assembly in 1986, and then in 1992 to the first of two terms as state superintendent of public instruction.

There are a lot of people who dont remember me, so I have to reintroduce myself, Eastin said, telling people that during her time in office, I got things done.

While she can only wonder at the jaw-dropping amount of money going to her opponents, Eastin she will continue to run to win.

Im going to do what Ive been doing, she said. Showing up and speaking the truth.

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Antonio Villaraigosa

When Villaraigosa showed up in the Mission District earlier this month, he admitted he wasnt in the city just to collect endorsements from former San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos, Supervisor Aaron Peskin and one-time Supervisor David Campos.

He promised to stake a claim in San Francisco, letting Bay Area residents get a look at him and hear what he would do as governor.

More people know me in Southern California, Villaraigosa said, since as mayor of the nations second-largest city he was on the TV news almost nightly.

But as someone who has never run for office outside the Los Angeles city limits, hes got plenty of work to do in the rest of California.

During his 18-month listening tour of the state, the 65-year-old Villaraigosa spent almost a month in the Central Valley, since I didnt really know the valley. It was an eye-opening experience, to learn about farming, water and the areas high unemployment.

His travels have brought home just how diverse a state California is, Villaraigosa said.

The biggest challenge facing the state is growing together, he said.

Villaraigosa was born in East Los Angeles and raised by a single mother. After being expelled from high school for fighting, he earned his high school diploma in night school. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in history and worked as an organizer for the local teachers union and other unions.

In 1992, Villaraigosa was elected to the state Assembly and quickly became speaker. He lost a bid to become mayor of Los Angeles in 2001, won a seat on the City Council in 2003 and was elected mayor in 2005.

His two terms in the citys top spot were marked by battles with teachers as Villaraigosa tried unsuccessfully to take control of the Los Angeles school system, and clashes with municipal workers as he struggled to keep the city solvent during the recession.

While those fights made Villaraigosa plenty of enemies in education and the labor movement, they also brought him a host of new supporters, such as the charter school advocates who have raised more than $16 million to boost the former mayor in his campaign for governor.

They have also given Villaraigosa a major talking point in the race, where he argues that hes different from the other Democrats because hes shown that hes willing to take on teachers, public employee unions and other Democrat-friendly special interests.

As for the attacks aimed at him and his record in Los Angeles, they dont matter much, he said.

Its just a lot of noise at the end of the day, Villaraigosa said. People want to know more about what youre going to do for them than about that noise.

The only concern now is the June 5 finish line.

Its pretty clear that Im fighting to get into the runoff, Villaraigosa said. So Im going to be out in the state, knocking on every door.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuthGraduating students at the San Francisco Art Institute were dazzled by former alum-turned-presidential portraitist, artist Kehinde Wiley , who delivered the commencement ceremonys keynote speech at the Nourse Theater on May 13.

The Los Angeles native, who graduated from the Art Institute in 1999, went on to receive his MFA from Yale University, was honored by the U.S. State Departments Medal of Arts in 2015, and now, mostly, calls Senegal in West Africa home. (He also spends time at his New York studio and in Beijing.)

Wiley is not used to speaking to students about their future and positions in the world  typically hes asked to talk about his work and how it functions in society. But while onstage, he realized an interesting intersection between those two calls to arms.

When I graduated from the Art Institute, I think I was just as lost as every student today at graduation, he says. Theres no secret sauce.

In so far as what Im trying to do points to me, it also points outward. Every student at the Art Institute is engaged with their own personal journey, he said. But theyre also engaging with a culture thats increasingly changing, becoming more and more complex yet intimate.

As an example, he cited Instagram  the digital platform wherein he engages via direct message conversations with artists all over the world, every day.

Catherine Bigelow / Special to The Chronicle

Any one of those students could DM me. But would they? I dont know, he says. Back in the day, I wish I couldve beamed up William Kentridge and asked, So tell me about being a creator in South Africa. Now, with that technology, you can.

And with almost 350K followers, thats a lot of convos. Yet Wiley, dapper in a colorful suit crafted from African textiles, knows from eloquence.

Lionized for his dramatic portraits celebrating vibrant, contemporary African American men (rappers, athletes or street kids dressed in hip-hop fashion), Wiley recently added a new accolade to his miles-long CV: painting the official, groundbreaking portrait of former President Barack Obama.

We caught up with Wiley, post-ceremony, among grad student artworks in their studios at the institutes Fort Mason campus where the artist and his mom, Freddie Mae Wiley, mingled on Mothers Day with VIP supporters for a McCalls cocktail buffet and conversation with SFAI President Gordon Knox.

The 41-year-old artist recalled that when he graduated from the Art Institute, he was advised to work harder than he ever thought possible  and that turned out to be true.

But it also turns out that the door opens for everyone. But are you ready when it opens? Wiley muses. Do you have a room full of gorgeous paintings when someones ready to offer you an opportunity?

That answer, says Wiley, is often no.

Because youre self-doubting, wondering what the market wants. Well, f that, he declared. Scratch that itch you need to scratch and create a room full of something. So much of the art business is about building consensus. But first you must build consensus within yourself; find that true north that makes you realize youre on to something and it means the world to you.

It takes a lot of ovaries and internal fortitude to say, Ive got it.

Catherine Bigelow / Special to The Chronicle

One of the greatest lessons Wiley learned at the Art Institute was a type of freedom inspired by the sheer act of letting go of the figure in his work. Wiley was encouraged to paint beyond the body, moving idea into space rather than just copying things in the actual world.

At Yale, later in Harlem, as I went out into the world, I began looking at the figure not simply as form but as a text, he explained. A series of the ways we look at black men and their bodies and their social roles and all the baggage that we, as viewers, project upon what were looking at.

And that, he said, started here in San Francisco: a new way of thinking about the black body in public space.

As for painting the official portrait of our 44th president, unveiled in February at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.?

Its an out-of-body experience to go to the Smithsonian and know, there it is! I wish I had something more profound to say, he admits. Its both adulating yet horrifying because you realize everything you do after is measured in approximation to what that is.

Yet that tension is a state Wiley intimately understands.

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That same sense is in direct relationship to the anxiety I have around gender, race, class and sexuality, he says. Its always, Black American painter Kehinde Wiley does ... dot, dot, dot.

Though long lauded for his masterful portraits that evoke the old masters updated with black superstars such as Michael Jackson or Notorious B.I.G. set in baroque poses against Wileys lush, floral backgrounds, he was nervous to meet Obama.

Art fame has nothing on Obamas blast zone, Wiley said, with a laugh. The energy from him is just insane.

He recalled their meeting in the Oval Office, back in 2016. Wiley was one of many artists interviewing for a gig that no one gets just like that.

I was jittering as I pled my case, explaining what I could bring to the project, he recounted, laughing. But when President Obama joked in a serious voice, Im the leader of the free world, I thought, what else can you say to that?

Much of Wileys work evokes and echoes the history of art. And his presidential portrait has become art history itself.

President Obama is No. 44 in the line of all those paintings of white men from the beginning of the Republic heretofore, Wiley said. But with our related family stories, its as much as portrait of (him) as a self-portrait of me.

In my art, Im a storyteller, a chronicler. The Obama portrait is like a jagged little pill we tossed into the world, he continued. Well see what happens.

Catherine Bigelow is The San Francisco Chronicles society correspondent. Email: missbigelow@sfgate.com Instagram: @missbigelowTheres much more to Lodi than heavy, over-oaked Zinfandel that tastes like prunes or raisins. Today, wines made from Lodi fruit encompass a full rainbow, from fresh, bright, high-acid white wines to earthy, light bodied reds. Of course, theres lots of Zinfandel, much of it bottled as single-vineyard wines from pedigreed old-vine sites. Heres a sampling of some serious wines from the Central Valleys premier region.

 E.M.

Whites and sparkling

LVVR Sparkling Cellars Reserve Lodi 2016 ($34, 12%): This Champagne-method blend of Pinot Noir (60 percent) and Chardonnay (40 percent) is rich and creamy, with an impression of honey and toasted almond, frothy on the palate.

Ferdinand Albarino Luna Vista Vineyard Lodi 2016 ($20, 13%): Winemaker Evan Frazier has built his Ferdinand brand on this Albarino from Lodis Borden Ranch AVA, and last year made it available as a canned wine, too. Floral, crisp and tropical, the wine has a slight richness, with a beeswax-like texture. Lodi naysayers take note: This is a white wine that underwent full malolactic fermentation and still presents as super racy, clocking in at just 13 percent alcohol.

Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle 2017

Paskett Verdelho Silvaspoons Vineyard Lodi 2016 ($28, 13.5%): Bursting with sweet-smelling tropical fruit  pineapple, guava  this wine shows bright acidity, countering the bright fruit with a nice kick of bitterness.

Oak Farm Albarino Lodi 2017 ($25, 12.9%): This pretty wine shows flavors of golden apple and almond skin. Lusher than one might expect from Albarino  it lacks the varietys lemon-lime acidity  but still a very pleasant wine.

Fields Family Vermentino Delu Vineyard Lodi 2017 ($21, 11.6%): A very intriguing wine, expressing tangerine, lemon verbena and grapefruit pith. Its seductive and expressive, with a nice frame of acidity. From the same vineyard, Fields 2016 Grenache Blanc ($24, 13.5%) is a gorgeously structured wine, waxy in texture, tasting of hazelnut.

Forlorn Hope Pinot Gris Kirschenmann Vineyard Lodi 2014 (11.29%): This ramato-style Pinot Gris represents the funkiest side of Lodi wine: skin-fermented for a week, whole-cluster. Despite the edgy characteristics those techniques might have produced, the wine is pretty, showing orange blossom and grapefruit pith.

Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle 2017

Zinfandel

Turley Zinfandel Kirschenmann Vineyard Lodi 2016 ($35, 15.2%) The Turley Kirschenmann bottling represents a somewhat unorthodox arrangement: Vineyard owner Tegan Passalacqua sells the fruit to his employer, and then makes the wine. This is Turleys fifth bottling of Kirschenmann. Its generous and spicy, oozing blackberry, blueberry and orange rind, with ripping acidity. A standout Zinfandel.

Lucas Zinfandel ZinStar Vineyard Lodi 2015 ($58, 14.3%): A balanced wine on the fruitier end of the spectrum, wafting the scent of cherry pie. Meaty, brambly and firmly structured.

Seven Deadly Zins Zinfandel Lodi 2015 ($16, 15%): This denizen of discounted grocery store shelves was the surprise of the lineup (and a useful reminder for this critic of the importance of blind tasting). Without question, this is a big wine, with a kiss of toastiness from oak. But the fruit, while sweet, tastes fresh, led by blackberry, and the fruitiness is countered by a strong impression of roasted meat. I would drink this.

St. Amant Old Vine Zinfandel Marians Vineyard 2016 ($24, 14.8%): A refined and linear Zinfandel, with a precise line of dark berry fruit cutting across the palate. A slighter wine than many Zins from the area in body if not in flavor. From a block within the Mohr-Fry vineyard planted in 1901, still on its own roots.

Mikami Zinfandel Lodi 2015 ($39, 15.3%): Theres a richness to this wine  a touch of vanilla and toasty tannins  but its vivid, grounded in fresh fruit, accented by orange peel, with some nice tannic grip.

Laura Morton / Special to The Chronicle 2017

Other reds

Turley Cinsault Bechthold Vineyard Lodi 2016 ($20, 12.5%) Possibly Turleys most hipster wine, closer in character to something youd expect from winemaker Tegan Passalacquas Sandlands label. Light to the point of translucence, this wine smells like Juicyfruit gum, cranberry and pomegranate, with a textural grip that comes from its whole-cluster fermentation. It finishes with a deliciously bitter note.

Onesta Cinsault Bechthold Vineyard Lodi 2013 ($35, 14.5%): A testament to just how different the renditions of Cinsault from this vineyard can be. This wine, which comes from a different section of the vineyard from Turleys, showcases a more polished, enveloping style. Led by gamey notes, accented by terra cotta, this retains the core of fruit and earth that is a signature of Bechthold.

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Heritage Oak Charbono Hughes Vineyard Lodi 2014 ($28, 13.1%): This rendition of Charbono, a California heritage variety rarely seen nowadays, falls on the green side of ripe, showing pepper, olive and tobacco, with a backdrop of dark fruit. You might mistake it for Cabernet Franc.

Jessies Grove Carignane Lodi 2015 ($32, 15.3%): This Carignan comes from the Royal Tee Vineyard, a 5-acre plot whose vines were planted in 1889. The wine is led by a bright, zippy line of fruit, but is one of Lodis earthiest wines. Its dark fruit shows a savory edge, accented by the impressions of iron and garrigue.

Prie Vineyards Dornfelder Mokelumne Glen Vineyard Lodi 2016 ($27, 12.7%): Have you ever tasted Dornfelder before? Me neither. This red variety, created in Germany in 1955 as a genetic crossing, is planted at the Mokelumne Glen Vineyard along with other obscure Teutonic grapes like Kerner, Bacchus, Scheurebe, Roter Veltliner and more. This Dornfelder is ultra-dark and chalky, with a hint of savory black olive. Its not particularly high in acidity.

M2 Tempranillo Kirschenmann Vineyard Lodi 2015 ($26, 14.5%): A tightly wound wine, showing some reduction on the nose, packing in big flavors of blackberry, cedar and iron. In a bold style, well-crafted with structure.

McCay Grenache Abba Vineyard Lodi 2014 ($35, 12.8%): Pretty, with dewy earth notes and a dusty quality to its bright red fruit, this wine leads into riper flavors of molasses and dates on the palate, finishing with the impression of orange peel.

Bokisch Graciano Lodi 2014 ($23, 14.5%): Markus Bokischs Spanish-inspired wines have made him one of Lodis most recognizable names. This Graciano, a grape variety most widely used in Rioja and rarely seen as a varietal wine, is dominated by black fruit, with a pleasantly savory charred meat quality. The tannins suggest that the wine will age.

Fields Family Tempranillo Lot 13 Vineyard 2014 ($28, 14.9%): This chewy Tempranillo shows cedar and tobacco surrounding a foundation of black-red fruit, underscored by a stony, slate-like quality. Its an unusual wine for Lodi, but still not as unusual as Fields 100 Percent Whole Cluster Syrah 2016 ($25, 12.8%), the result of a 100 percent whole cluster and semi-carbonic fermentation. Its low-toned and light-bodied, with juicy blue fruit. (Fields Estate Syrah, just 20 percent of which fermented whole-cluster, tastes a little more familiar.)

Mettler Aglianico Lodi 2015 ($40, 14.5%): Aglianico, a savory red wine best known in Italys Campania region, here presents as a hefty, black-fruited wine, spicy with cola flavor. Its tannins feel rustic.

Esther Mobley is The San Francisco Chronicles wine, beer and spirits writer. Email: emobley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Esther_mobley Instagram: @esthermobImmigration hard-liners anger toward Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf for her warning about a federal sweep for undocumented migrants in Northern California led an Iowa congressman to propose criminal penalties Monday for officials who talk about such operations in advance.

Republican Rep. Steve King introduced the Mayor Libby Schaaf Act of 2018, which would ban officials from the purposeful broadcast ... of information relating to any imminent action by a federal law enforcement officer or agent. Violations could result in up to five years in prison.

King said his bill would make clear that disclosing an imminent enforcement would amount to obstruction of justice.

I want lawless, sanctuary city politicians to hear this message clearly: If you obstruct ICE, you are going to end up in the cooler, King said in a statement.

In February, Schaaf said she had learned credible sources that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were planning a sweep for undocumented immigrants in the Bay Area. She said her goal in disclosing the operation was to give immigrant families information about their legal rights and resources.

The subsequent four-day sweep across Northern California resulted in 232 arrests. ICE chief Thomas Homan initially suggested that 800 undocumented immigrants were able to evade detention because of Schaafs alert, leading to the resignation of the departments San Francisco spokesman, who said that information was incorrect and misleading.

President Trump said as recently as last week that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions should consider opening an obstruction case aimed at Schaaf. The White House previously said the Justice Department is conducting a review into her actions.

A spokesman for the mayors office, Justin Berton, said Monday it has yet to receive any requests for documents or interviews from federal investigators. Former U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag is among the lawyers who are advising the mayor on legal issues.

Schaaf, who is running for re-election this fall, said in an interview on CNN that its not possible that Kings legislation could be legal.

Sanctuary city policies are legal policies, Schaaf said. Part of the beauty of American democracy is that there is a balance between local, state and federal power. I know a lot more about what makes my community safe than a congressman from Iowa.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerovA 34-year-old man died over the weekend when his Tesla plunged into a pond in Castro Valley, authorities said.

The incident occurred either Saturday or Sunday at Crow Canyon Road when a man driving a Tesla Model S veered off the roadway, broke through a fence and drove into a pond, said Daniel Jacowitz, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

Authorities received a call about 7:50 p.m. Sunday from a resident who noticed debris damage to their property and suspected a vehicle had crashed into the nearby pond, Jacowitz said.

Keith Leung, of Danville, was identified as the driver and pronounced dead at the scene, said Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriffs Office.

Leungs family had not heard from him for at least 24 hours but had not yet filed a missing persons report, Jacowitz said.

A nine-person dive team from the Alameda County Sheriffs Office waded into the murky water and heavy foliage to search for the Tesla.

We have never dealt with a submerged electric car like that before, Kelly said.

After a three-hour search, authorities located the car and Leungs body, Jacowitz added.

Its unknown how fast Leung was driving and whether alcohol or drugs were involved, and authorities are still trying to determine what mode or capacity the Tesla was in prior to the crash, Jacowitz said.

On March 23, a man driving a Tesla Model X on Highway 101 died in a fiery crash after using the vehicles Autopilot mode. The company issued a statement saying the driver failed to put his hands back on the steering wheel despite repeated warnings.

Tesla did not respond to a request for comment on this past weekends crash.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavaniSince the video of a white woman calling the police on two black men over a charcoal barbecue in Oakland's Lake Merritt has gone viral, the moment has become a conversation starter on race issues. It's also spawned hashtags (#BBQingWhileBlack, #CookingOutWhileBlack) and a meme on social media.

And now the woman in question has been parodied on "Saturday Night Live."

The still-unidentified woman appeared twice in Saturday's season-ending episode of the sketch comedy show. SNL actress Aidy Bryant showed up during "Weekend Update" and the end credits.

Bryant appeared wordlessly onscreen wearing the now-infamous wraparound sunglasses, blue hoodie and pulled-back hair, frowning with a phone held up to her ear as if in mid-call to police.

While the woman from the viral video has not been officially identified, she has been dubbed "BBQ Becky" by the snarky folks on the internet. "BBQ Becky" has turned into a popular online meme in recent weeks, in which she is photoshopped into both historical and modern photographs, reporting activities to police.

The incident spurred a conversation on park rules at a recent Oakland city council meeting, where community organizers asked civic leaders to update rules regulating conduct at Lake Merritt. They also asked that those found to be abusing 911 be fined.

Since the incident was first publicized, locals have started up weekend barbecues and gatherings at the place where the argument took place. A "BBQing While Black" event was held Sunday. The event featured barbecue from Everett and Jones, DJs spinning and volunteers for security and clean up.

"It's the community coming together in a positive way as a reaction to what's going on," co-organizer Jhamel Robinson told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Instead of tearing up the city, we want to come together in love and unity. And party."

The San Francisco Chronicle's Jonathan Kauffman contributed to this report.Will there be an Obama drama?

Barack and Michelle Obama are getting into the television business with Mondays announcement that they had signed a multiyear deal with Netflix. The former president and first lady have formed Higher Ground Productions for the material. Los Gatos Netflix said the Obamas would make a diverse mix of content, potentially including scripted and unscripted series, documentaries and features. Although the programming is not expected to be partisan in nature, the type of people that Barack Obama brought forward as guests at his State of the Union addresses would likely provide fodder for the kinds of stories they want to tell.

The smell must go through

Scratch-and-sniff stamps? Absolutely, the U.S. Postal Service has decided. The agency says the first round of 20 stamps  being issued June 20 at a childrens museum in Austin, Texas  depicts watercolor illustrations by Santa Monica artist Margaret Berg, will add the sweet scent of summer to letters.

Eau de Play-doh?

Hasbro has trademarked the scent of Play-doh. The toy company said that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has recognized Play-dohs distinctive smell with a registered trademark, something rarely issued for a scent. There are already some Play-doh-scented products available online, including cologne and soy candles. The toymaker describes it as a sweet, slightly musky, vanilla fragrance, with slight overtones of cherry, combined with the smell of a salted, wheat-based dough. Yeah, but does it have its own stamp?

Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com.WASHINGTON  President Trump defended his administrations approach to resolving a trade war with China in a series of tweets Monday, following three days of negotiations with the Chinese that ended with little clarity.

Trump, in an early morning tweet, initially questioned why Democrats and the previous administration did not do something about Trade with China before touting his administrations ability to get the Chinese to make concessions.

On China, Barriers and Tariffs to come down for first time, he wrote Monday, following up with another tweet declaring: Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce.

However, much remains unresolved, including how much  and what  the Chinese will actually agree to purchase and whether the country will make other changes that the administration has been pushing for, such as relaxing restrictions on U.S. companies operating in China.

After three days of talks that concluded Saturday, China and the United States issued a vague joint statement saying that China would increase its purchase of U.S. goods and services and that talks would continue in China to flesh out the details. On Monday, administration officials fanned out on TV to talk up the state of trade negotiations but acknowledged that much remains undecided.

On Monday, Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary who led the talks, said that he was optimistic that the United States trade dispute with China could be resolved and said that the task now was to turn the agreements that they have reached in principle into a binding pact.

I think weve made very meaningful progress and now its up to both of us to make sure that we can implement it, Mnuchin said on CNBC.

Wilbur Ross, the Commerce secretary, described the talks as a framework that is kind of at the 40,000-foot level. This is not a definitive agreement. This what we hope will be a path forward. If it doesnt work, the tariffs will go into effect. So nothings been lost at all.

Since the meetings concluded, the Trump administration has appeared to offer mixed messages about the status of the discussions and whether China had actually agreed to buy an additional $200 billion of U.S. products to reduce the trade deficit, as administration officials had previously indicated. Both countries have agreed to suspend new tariffs while the talks proceed.

Mnuchin pushed back against the suggestion that the economic team was not aligned, saying that he, Ross and Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, are on the same page. The Treasury secretary also downplayed reports that he and Peter Navarro, Trumps trade adviser, engaged in a profanity-laced argument during their trip to China this month.

Peter has been an important part of the team, Mnuchin said of Navarro, a longtime China critic who has been pushing internally for the United States to take a tougher approach.

Other members of Trumps economic team attempted to portray the state of the discussions in a positive light.

Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, described the joint statement that China and the United States issued as akin to a peace treaty and predicted that a significant deal was within reach.

Eileen Sullivan and Alan Rappeport are New York Times writers.This article appeared on Hoodline.

On Tuesday, neighborhood association Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza (FHMP) revealed semifinal architectural designs for the redesign of Harvey Milk Plaza and Castro Station. Because the station doesn't comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, SFMTA must renovate the facility.

The city agreed to take the plaza's historical significance into consideration during the project's planning, and chose to execute the construction and redesign simultaneously to reduce expenses.

CLEANING UP THE CASTRO: Castro district gets 5 new high-tech Bigbelly trash bins

The group was formed in 2016 by members of the Castro Communty Benefit District, Castro Merchants, and other stakeholders from the area. According to its web site, the group is "committed to maintaining and improving the public space named in honor of the civil rights icon."

The project has been a source of some controversy: after New York-based architectural firm Perkins Eastman was selected in an international competition to redesign the space, many in the community opposed the winning design.

The designs announced this week were chosen after FHMP hosted four community meetings seeking additional feedback and input.

THE MANY LIVES OF HARVEY MILK: An exclusive excerpt from a new biography

According to the press release, "the presented designs address a wide variety of community desires and concerns including inspirational elements that appropriately memorialize Harvey Milk as well as greenery/landscaping, a place for gathering, open sight lines, better circulation, improved access and short term seating."

The selected designs include three tributes to Milk, increased open space, a widened sidewalk along Market Street, increased lighting, street-level vegetation, a roll-down gate at the MUNI station, and elevator access from Market Street.

All semifinal designs retain an elevated terrace overlooking the Castro that's meant to serve as a gathering place, but in previous sessions, many community members voiced concerns it would attract unwanted behavior and crime.

"The issue of unwanted behavior is a citywide issue, and we acknowledge that it will not be solved in the span of a single project," FHMP member Erin Elliott told Hoodline. "However, we were able to incorporate smart design features into the new proposal."

Elliott said features include improved sight lines and transparent elements that allow for monitoring; the ability to secure the plaza's lower area at night; eliminating its current sunken landscape; placing low walls that encourage sitting but not lying down, and creating circulation patterns that activate the space.

"We believe that we shouldn't stop building public spaces, especially one as important as Harvey Milk Plaza, while the issues of drug use and encampments are being resolved by city leadership," Elliott said.

ANOTHER MILK MONUMENT: New SFO terminal officially named for Harvey Milk

Former District 8 Supervisor and current State Senator Scott Wiener said, "community engagement is what helped get Harvey elected to office, and it's fitting for the community be so engaged in this tribute to his legacy."

"I want to thank the Friends of the Harvey Milk Plaza and the Castro CBD for their continued efforts to create a plaza that works with our public transit systems, serves as a community gathering space, and celebrates the legacy of Harvey's work," he added.

With semifinal designs selected, the project may now proceed to the approval and permitting process.

Within the next two months, Elliott said FHMP will release new renderings. After that, the designs will be evaluated by SFMTA, BART, the SF Arts Commission, and several other city agencies.

"This will be an iterative process and the project will continue to evolve in response," she said.

Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza will begin fundraising to cover the costs of installing aspects of the new project that honor Milk's memory. To receive updates, sign up at friendsofharveymilkplaza.org.In American society, it is widely acknowledged that white people should not say the n-word. Nor should they rap it. Nor should they rap it on stage at a Kendrick Lamar performance in front of thousands of people.

One white-appearing woman, identified in a video as "Delaney," learned that lesson the very public way at Alabama's Hangout Festival on Sunday. Lamar invited Delaney onstage during his song "M.A.A.D. City," which chronicles the rapper and recent Pulitzer Prize winner's experiences growing up in Compton.

The song contains 15 instances of the slang word "n---a," three of which Delaney rapped with abandon. Until the music stopped halfway through the song.

"What's up? Aren't I cool enough for you?" she said, according to video of the incident posted on social media. The packed crowd can be heard booing and cursing at the woman.

"You got to bleep one single word," Lamar said.

Delaney admitted it was an honest mistake: "Did I do it? I'm so sorry ... I'm used to singing it like you wrote it."

Lamar allowed the visibly embarrassed woman to stay on stage and restart the song. Delaney sang along once more; this time, with the racial epithets noticeably absent.

Critics have long debated whether it is appropriate for white people to sing or rap the n-word if it appears in song lyrics. Given the historical use of the word as a racial epithet, many people believe a white person should avoid saying the word in any context.

On a November tour stop for his book "We Were Eight Years in Power," Atlantic columnist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates said he sees the word as a teaching moment for white people.

"When you're white in this country, you're taught that everything belongs to you," he writes. "You think you have a right to everything. ... You have a right to go where you want to go, do what you want to do, be however  and people just got to accommodate themselves to you."

He continued: "The experience of being a hip-hop fan and not being able to use the word 'n-----' is actually very, very insightful. It will give you just a little peek into the world of what it means to be black. Because to be black is to walk through the world and watch people doing things that you cannot do, that you can't join in and do. So I think there's actually a lot to be learned from refraining."

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.California Bach Society

It was never Vienna or even Berlin, but throughout the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries Dresden was an important hub for musical activity in the German-speaking world. It was the capital of Saxony, and from the Baroque master Heinrich Schutz through the heyday of Weber and Wagner, the citys churches, concert halls and opera houses resounded with vibrant musical offerings.

The concert on Saturday, May 26, by Chora Nova, led by Artistic Director Paul Flight, celebrates two of the leading lights of 18th century Dresden. From the Czech composer Jan Dismas Zelenka, who took up residency in the city at 30, comes the Miserere in C Minor, paired with Johann Adolph Hasses Requiem in E-Flat.PAHOA, Hawaii  A volcano that is oozing, spewing and exploding on Hawaiis Big Island has gotten more hazardous in recent days, with rivers of molten rock pouring into the ocean Sunday and flying lava causing the first major injury.

Kilauea volcano began erupting more than two weeks ago and has burned dozens of homes, forced thousands of people to flee and shot up plumes of steam from its summit that led officials to distribute face masks to protect against ash particles.

Lava flows have picked up speed in past days, spattering molten rock that hit a man in the leg.

He was outside his home Saturday in the remote, rural region affected by the volcano when the lava hit him on the shin, and shattered everything from there down on his leg, Janet Snyder, Hawaii County mayors spokeswoman, told the Hawaii News Now TV station.

Lava thats flying through the air from cracks in the Earth can weigh as much as a refrigerator and even small pieces can be deadly, officials said.

The injury came the same day that lava began streaming across a highway and flowing into the ocean. The phenomenon sends hydrochloric acid and steam with fine glass particles into the air and can lead to lung damage and eye and skin irritation, another danger for residents as the plume can shift with the wind, Hawaii County Civil Defense said. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says sulfur dioxide emissions also have tripled.

The highway has shut down in some spots, and residents in the area have been evacuated.

Joseph Kekedi, an orchid grower who lives and works about 3 miles from where lava is pouring into the sea, said luckily the flow didnt head his way. At one point, it was about a mile upslope from his property in the coastal community of Kapoho.

He said residents cant do much but stay informed and be ready to get out of the way.

Heres nature reminding us again whos boss, Kekedi said.

Scientists say they dont know how long the eruption will last. The volcano has opened more than 20 vents, including four that have merged into one large crack. It has been gushing lava high into the sky and sending a river of molten rock toward the ocean at about 300 yards per hour.

The flows accelerated after newer lava began emerging from the ground late last week. The fresher lava is hotter and tends to move faster than the older lava that was unleashed earlier.

Caleb Jones and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher are Associated Press writers.WASHINGTON The White House said Monday that top FBI and Justice Department officials have agreed to meet with congressional leaders and review highly classified information the lawmakers have been seeking as they scrutinize the handling of the Russia investigation.

The agreement came after President Trump made an extraordinary demand that the Justice Department investigate whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign. Its unclear exactly what the members will be allowed to review or if the Justice Department will be providing any documents to Congress.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump chief of staff John Kelly will broker the meeting between congressional leaders and the FBI, Justice Department and office of the Director of National Intelligence. She said the officials will review high classified and other information they have requested, but did not provide any additional detail.

During a meeting with Trump, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray also reiterated an announcement late Sunday that the Justice Departments inspector general will expand an existing investigation into the Russia probe by examining whether there was any improper politically motivated surveillance.

Rep. Devin Nunes, an ardent Trump supporter and head of the House intelligence committee, has been demanding information on an FBI source in the Russia investigation.

The move Monday comes as the White House tries to combat the threat posed by special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Trump tweeted Sunday, I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!

Trumps demand for a new inquiry moved beyond his usual blustery accusations of institutional wrongdoing and into the realm of applying presidential pressure on the Justice Department, a move few of his predecessors have made.

Trump made the order amid days of public venting about the special counsel investigation, which he has deemed a witch hunt that he says has yielded no evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia. In response, the Justice Department moved Sunday to defuse a growing confrontation with the White House by asking its watchdog to investigate whether there was inappropriate surveillance.

Rosenstein released a statement Sunday saying, If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has called Trumps claim of an embedded spy nonsense.

Desmond Butler and Chad Day are Associated Press writers.The hot, bubbling lava that has spewed from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island for more than two weeks reached the Pacific Ocean for the first time Sunday, creating a new hazard.

Molten rock meeting saltwater formed volcanic haze, or so called "laze," a toxic steam cloud laced with hydrochloric acid and and fine glass particles. The steam can irritate skin and eyes and cause breathing problems, and authorities on Sunday warned the public to stay away from the cloud.

"Laze is formed as hot lava boils seawater to dryness," according to Hawaiian Volcano Observatory officials. "The process leads to a series of chemical reactions that result in the formation of a billowing white cloud composed of a mixture of condensed seawater steam, hydrochloric acid gas, and tiny shards of volcanic glass."

As of early Monday morning, trade winds had pushed the cloud of laze as far as 50 miles off the island's southern coast.

Scientists said the acid in the plume was about as corrosive as diluted battery acid. The glass was in the form of fine glass shards. Getting hit by it might feel like being sprinkled with glitter.

"If you're feeling stinging on your skin, go inside," Stovall said. Authorities warned that the plume could shift direction if the winds changed.

The Coast Guard said it was enforcing a safety zone extending 984 feet (300 meters) around the ocean entry point.

Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. John Bannon said in a statement Sunday that "getting too close to the lava can result in serious injury or death."

Further upslope, lava continued gushing out of large cracks in the ground in residential neighborhoods in a rural part of the Big Island. The molten rock made rivers that bisected forests and farms as it meandered toward the coast.

The rate of sulfur dioxide gas shooting from the ground fissures tripled, leading Hawaii County to repeat warnings about air quality. At the volcano's summit, two explosive eruptions unleashed clouds of ash. Winds carried much of it toward the southwest.

The Honolulu Advertiser reported elevated levels of sulfur dioxide in the areas of Kamaili, Seaview and Malama Ki.

ALSO, Craziest Kilauea photos: Golfers continue game with ash cloud towering above

Gov. David Ige told reporters in Hilo that the state was monitoring the volcano and keeping people safe.

"Like typical eruptions and lava flows, it's really allowing Madam Pele to run its course," he said, referring to the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes and fire.

Ige said he was thankful that the current lava flows do not pose a threat to homes and hoped it would stay that way.

Kilauea has burned some 40 structures, including two dozen homes, since it began erupting in people's backyards in the Leilani Estates neighborhood on May 3. About 2,000 people have evacuated their homes, including 300 who were staying in shelters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.NEW YORK  New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will tell the NYPD to stop arresting people for public pot smoking  and launch a new group to officially prepare the city for the outright legalization of marijuana in New York.

De Blasio, who has long opposed making recreational pot legal, now says he thinks legalization is inevitable and is creating an official task force to get ready for the day when that happens.

While pot remains illegal, de Blasio will direct the NYPD to give summonses to people officers catch smoking in public instead of arresting them, his aides said Sunday.

That policy change will be part of a 30-day review the mayor announced last week to address the massive racial disparity in marijuana arrests.

And de Blasio isnt stopping there  hell put together a task force of city officials to lay the groundwork for full legalization, figuring out issues like how cops will deal with public smokers, what kind of zoning will be needed for pot dispensaries, and what types of public health campaigns the city should run about marijuana.

De Blasio isnt quite throwing his support behind legalizing pot, but says the day is coming  whether he likes it or not  and the city should be ready.

With marijuana legalization likely to occur in our state in the near future, it is critical our city plans for the public safety, health and financial consequences involved, he said.

While I still have real concerns we must work through, it isnt difficult to see where this is headed, and any responsible policymaker must prepare for that eventuality. My focus now will be helping to craft the critical regulatory framework that must come before legalization is realized.

City Hall is acting because it believes Gov. Andrew Cuomo is likely to act soon to make the drug legal in New York state.

Cuomo, like de Blasio, has opposed legalization. But he has shifted his position, appointing a commission to study the issue and saying the availability of legal pot in surrounding states has changed the equation for New York.

More and more New York pols have gotten on board with legalizing weed in recent weeks, and the city has faced a torrent of criticism over the racial disparity in NYPD arrests. Research shows white and black people smoke pot at about the same rate, but 86 percent of those arrested in the city are black and Latino.

The NYPD first argued they were making arrests in neighborhoods where residents call to complain about pot smoking  but as the New York Daily News first reported, data on 311 and 911 calls show the areas with the most calls and the most arrests do not match up.

De Blasio previously loosened marijuana enforcement early in his first term, directing police to give summonses instead of arresting people found with the drug in their possession. But people who are smoking it in public still face arrest.

Now, the mayors office says the city will be moving to summonses instead of arrests for smoking as well. Its unclear when the new arrest policy will take effect.

Also last week, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. and Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said they would stop prosecuting almost all possession and smoking cases.

Erin Durkin is a New York Daily News writer.1 Restaurant rammed: A man intentionally rammed a vehicle into a North Carolina restaurant at lunchtime Sunday, killing his daughter and daughter-in-law and injuring several others, authorities said Sunday. Preliminary evidence indicated that Roger Self purposely drove into the Surf and Turf Lodge, Bessemer City police said. Killed was his 26-year-old daughter, Katelyn Tyler Self, who was a Gaston County Sheriffs Office deputy, and his daughter-in-law, Amanda Self, who was a nurse. The Gaston Gazette reported that Amanda Self was the wife of Roger Selfs son, Gaston County Police Officer Josh Self, who also was seriously injured, along with Roger Selfs wife, Diane, and the 13-year-old daughter of Josh and Amanda Self. They are all expected to survive their injuries. The crash sent stunned patrons scrambling at the restaurant, about 30 miles west of Charlotte.

2 Insensitive words: A New Jersey high school principal is apologizing for what he calls insensitive language on tickets for the senior prom. The Courier Post reports the Cherry Hill High School East prom tickets urged students to party like its 1776 during the event at Philadelphias National Constitution Center. Principal Dennis Perry said in a letter to the community posted on his Twitter account Friday that some people were offended, and it was insensitive and irresponsible not to recognize that not all communities can celebrate what life was like in 1776. He says he especially wants to apologize to black students who I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording.DUBLIN  In homes and pubs, on leaflets and lampposts, debate is raging in Ireland over whether to lift the countrys decades-old ban on abortion. Pro-repeal banners declare: Her choice: vote yes. Anti abortion placards warn against a license to kill.

Online, the argument is just as charged  and more shadowy, as unregulated ads of uncertain origin battle to sway voters before Fridays referendum, which could give Irish women the right to end their pregnancies for the first time.

The emotive campaign took a twist this month when Facebook and Google moved to restrict or remove ads relating to the abortion vote. It is the latest response to global concern about social medias role in influencing political campaigns, from the U.S. presidential race to Brexit.

The role of online ads in elections is under scrutiny following revelations that Russian groups bought ads on platforms such as Google and Facebook to try to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential race. Many of the ads were designed to sow confusion, anger and discord among Americans through messages on hot-button topics.

Few subjects are more emotive than abortion, especially in largely Roman Catholic Ireland. Despite the countrys growing diversity and liberalism  voters legalized gay marriage in a 2015 referendum  the vote is expected to be close.

Voters are being asked whether they want to keep or repeal the eighth amendment to Irelands constitution, which commits authorities to defend equally the right to life of a mother and an unborn child. Abortion is legal only in rare cases when the womans life is in danger, and several thousand Irish women travel each year to terminate pregnancies in neighboring Britain.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkars center-right government backs lifting the ban and allowing abortion on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Jill Lawless is an Associated Press writer.OAKLAND (BCN)

A mistrial has been declared in the trial of a man who was accused of molesting his half-brother, stepsister and a cousin.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Thomas Rogers declared the mistrial in the case of 36-year-old Bostyon Johnson on Friday after jurors deadlocked 11-1 in favor of convicting him at the end of a week of deliberations.

Johnston is charged with 17 felony counts.

Two of the alleged victims are his half-brother, identified in court documents as John Doe, and his stepsister, Jane Doe 2.

They became Johnson's stepchildren when he married their mother, Robin Johnson, who previously had been his stepmother.

Bostyon Johnson also is accused of molesting their cousin, Jane Doe 1, who was a minor at the time.

The charges against Johnson include oral copulation with a child under the age of 14, lewd acts with a child and continuous sexual abuse of the three alleged victims.

Johnson's biological father and Robin Johnson took him into their home in Oakland in 2000, when he was 18.

Bostyon Johnson later formed a relationship with his stepmother and eventually they got married.

The sexual abuse allegations surfaced after the death of Robin Johnson, 43, who was struck and killed by a California Highway Patrol sergeant on a motorcycle while she was jaywalking on West MacArthur Boulevard near Market Street at about 10 p.m. on Aug. 10, 2012.

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office has the option of prosecuting Bostyon Johnson a second time.A 28-year-old San Francisco man died in a three-vehicle collision Saturday night in unincorporated Napa County north of Napa, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The man was a passenger in a 2015 Hyundai Sonata traveling south on state Highway 29 north of Washington Street around 8:50 p.m. when the Hyundai was struck head-on by a 2012 Dodge Avenger, according to the CHP.DALY CITY (BCN)

State Sen. Scott Weiner and Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, announced new legislation today that would ban gun shows at the Cow Palace in Daly City today.

Senate Bill 221 will ban sales of guns and ammunition at the Cow Palace with an exemption for gun buyback programs organized by law enforcement.

"Our country is awash in guns and school children are dying," Weiner said in a statement.

The announcement came after a school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas on Friday where 10 people died.

Students from Daly City's Jefferson High School who protested gun shows at the Cow Palace in April were also present at a news conference with Wiener, Ting and other elected officials and community members at the Bayshore Community Center today.

The state-owned venue's most recent gun show was in April, according to Wiener's office. The legislators emphasized that gun shows are a small portion of the venue's programming and they hope the space will remain a vital part of the community.

"We should not have gun shows in the heart of the Bay Area," Weiner said. "The Cow Palace gun shows should have ended a long time ago. Better late than never."A one-alarm fire at a home in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley neighborhood has been extinguished this morning, fire officials said.

San Francisco fire officials initially wrote on Twitter at 8:13 a.m. about the blaze in a bedroom of a home in the 200 block of Desmond Street.A man was taken into custody after barricading himself in a building in San Francisco's Cole Valley neighborhood early this morning, a police spokesman said.

Officers had responded at about 3:30 a.m. to a possible domestic dispute in the 100 block of Carl Street and made contact with the suspect, who refused to exit the building, San Francisco police spokesman Officer Robert Rueca said.A San Francisco man who died in a three-vehicle collision Saturday night near Yountville was celebrating his one-year wedding anniversary with his wife, a Napa County sheriff's captain said today.

Jaryd Anthony Dock, 28, and his wife Sara Tashakorinia, 27, also of San Francisco, arranged for a 48-year-old Uber driver from Vacaville to take them from the Wine Country Inn in St. Helena to the Morimoto Napa restaurant in Napa, Napa County sheriff's Capt. Steve Blower said.The Art of the Deal must run in the family. President Donald Trumps sister Maryanne Trump Barry reportedly just sold her waterfront estate in Palm Beach for $18.5 million, according to the South Florida Business Journal.

And keeping it all in the family, the buyers are her nephews. Siblings Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump are linked to the LLC (1125 South Ocean LLC) behind the home's purchase.

We first reported the news that Barry had placed her beach house on the market last December. At the time, the inactive senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit was asking $23.9 million. So the president's sons secured quite a nice price.

The property was purchased by Barry in 2004 for $11.5 million, which means the 81-year-old walks away pocketing a huge profit.

Living room with outdoor access realtor.com

Ocean view from the foyer realtor.com

Sunroom realtor.com

Library realtor.com

Pool and patio with beach views realtor.com

As it is, the Trump brothers have secured another piece of property close to the family compound. Barry's former home offers 194 feet of ocean front and is adjacent to President Trumps Mar-a-Lago.

The 8,269-square-foot home has eight bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and three half-baths. Built in 1956, the interiors could use a cosmetic refresh.

The selling point is definitely the rare, direct oceanfront, as the listing description states. The walls of glass and outdoor access in most rooms take full advantage of the sandy locale.

The beach house features an open entertaining space with a formal living room, sunroom, family room, and library. The outdoor space is the big draw, with an oceanfront balcony, patio, and pool.

Perhaps the spacious spread had just become too big for the president's sister, who may prefer the Key Largo getaway she owns when she wants a winter escape.

Both the buyer and seller were represented by Christian Angle, with Christian Angle Real Estate.

The post Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump Reportedly Purchase Their Aunt's Palm Beach Mansion appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.JERUSALEM  Paraguay opened its new embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, following in the footsteps of the United States and Guatemala.

President Horacio Cartes dedicated the embassy, making Paraguay the third country to transfer its diplomatic mission in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Romania, the Czech Republic and Honduras have said they are also considering doing the same.

President Trumps announcement on Jerusalem in December was welcomed by the Israeli government. But it infuriated the Palestinians, who view the embassy move as unfairly siding with Israel and claim Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem as their future capital. The Palestinians have severed most contacts with the United States to protest the decision.

The U.S. Embassy move added fuel to the weekly Palestinian protests in Gaza demanding the right of return to Israel and the lifting of a decade-old naval blockade.

The protests culminated last Monday, when Israeli forces killed nearly 60 Palestinians in clashes along the border. Since the demonstrations began March 30, more than 110 Palestinians have been killed and more than 2,500 wounded by live fire, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The heavy death toll triggered a diplomatic backlash, with Turkey expelling Israels ambassador and consul general and several European countries summoning the Israeli ambassadors to their foreign ministries for questioning.

But the U.S. Embassy move has also sparked others to rally in support of Israel.

The entrance to Jerusalem was lined with the flags of Paraguay on Wednesday and Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the ceremony that he was there to salute a great friend.

The opening of the embassy was a great day for Israel, a great day for Paraguay, a great day for our friendship, Netanyahu said.

In another development Monday, a small group of Palestinian protesters in the West Bank pelted an American diplomatic vehicle with eggs to protest the move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Protesters held signs and shouted at members of the delegation from the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem. The crowd told the Americans they were not welcome in the West Bank before throwing eggs at their car as they drove away.MEXICO CITY  Mexicos turbulent relationship with the U.S. government under President Trump dominated the countrys second presidential debate Sunday.

The debate in the border city of Tijuana focused on issues of foreign policy, immigration and border security. The relationship with the U.S. came up repeatedly in questions from the moderators and from Tijuana citizens in the audience. All of the candidates insisted the relationship must be based on mutual respect.

They were asked about Mexicans taken to the U.S. as children by their parents who years later face the possibility of deportation, about reintegrating Mexicans deported from the U.S. and about whether Mexico should seal its southern border at the behest of the U.S. to block Central Americans from migrating north.

Polls indicate leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has a comfortable lead over the remaining three candidates. Many have questioned about how confrontational he would be as president with Trump, but his answers about the U.S.-Mexico relationship Sunday were often the most moderate.

I want a relationship of friendship, but not of subordination, Lopez Obrador said.

Jose Antonio Meade, former foreign minister and candidate for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, defended President Enrique Pena Nietos decision to invite Trump to Mexico during the U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton were both invited, but only Trump accepted. Meade also said that he never thought Trump was going to win.

Ricardo Anaya, the candidate of a right-left coalition, called that episode a humiliation for Mexico and held up a large photograph of Pena Nieto and Trump shaking hands. He said Mexico should be more assertive with the U.S.

In security they need us a lot, Anaya said.

Independent candidate Jaime El Bronco Rodriguez said Mexico needs to wean itself from the U.S. and put them in their place.

Another independent, Margarita Zavala, dropped out of the race earlier after struggling to gain traction. She is a former lawmaker and is married to former President Felipe Calderon.

The candidates agreed that Mexico should be welcoming to migrants fleeing violence and poverty in Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

Lopez Obrador said Mexico should not do the United States dirty work by blocking migrants from those countries. A caravan of Central American migrants drew the ire of Trump during its slow trip across Mexico.

Meade had a more balanced answer suggesting that Mexico had to distinguish between refugees and migrants tied to organized crime.

Anaya, who polls have placed in the second position, spent much of the evening attacking front runner Lopez Obrador and walking across the stage to stand in front of him as he did. Lopez Obrador called Anaya names and Anaya repeatedly framed Lopez Obrador, the races oldest candidate, as out of touch.

The national election is scheduled for July 1.

Maria Verza is an Associated Press writer.TOKYO Foreign journalists will be allowed to journey deep into the mountains of North Korea this week to observe the closing of the countrys Punggye-ri nuclear test site in a much-touted display of goodwill before leader Kim Jong Uns planned summit with President Trump next month.

Expect good imagery, but not much else.

The public display of the closure of the facility on Mount Mantap will likely be heavy on spectacle and light on substance. And the media will be spending much of their time in an unrelated tourism zone that North Korea hopes will be the next big thing for its economy if Kims diplomatic overtures pay off in the months ahead.

For sure, the closure is a milestone, marking an end to the worlds last active underground testing site and offering some important insights into Kims mind-set as he sets the stage for his meeting with Trump.

Kim announced his plan to close the test site during a gathering of senior party leaders last month, just ahead of his summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. His explanation to the party was that North Koreas nuclear development is now complete and further underground testing is unnecessary.

North Koreas Foreign Ministry has invited journalists from China, Russia, the U.S., Britain and South Korea to fly on a charter aircraft from Beijing for what it is calling a ceremony marking the event.

They will be put up at a hotel in faraway Wonsan, where the press center will be located, and make what promises to be a lengthy trip to the nuclear site by special train. Its unclear how long they will be allowed to stay at the site.

What is clear is why they are going to Wonsan, which is the center of a tourism zone the North is trying hard to promote.

Veteran North Korea watchers note that we have been to this rodeo before.

With international talks to dismantle its nuclear program under way in 2008, North Korea called in the foreign media to film the demolition of a 66-foot-tall cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear reactor. The move prompted Washington to take North Korea off its list of state sponsors of terrorism and lift some sanctions.

The talks later fell apart, and the reactor at Yongbyon is once again producing plutonium.

So caution is warranted. None of this is necessarily about denuclearization.

Eric Talmadge is an Associated Press writer.Wonder Cement Limited, an Indian leading cement company which is also a part of marble giants RK Marble, was awarded the Asias Most Promising Brand at the recent fifth edition of UK Asia Business Summit 2018. Vivek Patni, Director, Wonder Cement, who collected the award at the ceremony held in London, says, We are a young company with a motto to provide the best quality products. This commitment to always do better reflects in our growth that the company has experienced, in such a short span of time. It is our aim to continue serving our existing customers, and reach out to new ones across the country. Nothing would make us happier than to help be a Perfect Shuruaat for every home builder and owner.



Being one of the most prestigious and biggest multi-platform global projects on brands & leaders, Asia Business Summit celebrates the most promising brands from across 18 Asian Nations. Year-2017 research includes brands across South East Asia, GCC and Indian Sub-Continent.

Asias Most Promising Brands is worlds leading brand research and recognition intellectual property in the world when it comes to terms of research process, mega events globally, number of research editions. It has been awarded to more than 750 brands from 21 different Asian countries and the most transparent selection process which involves research, jury and validation.



Tarun Singh Chauhan, Management Advisor, Wonder Cement, says, It is a huge honor for us to have been recognized with this award as well as tremendous motivation to continue the work we have been doing. We are glad that our hard work and dedication is rewarding us with such a huge demand from across the nation and I hope we sustain this to further benefit our customers. It has been a tremendous journey of building an exciting young brand backed by a great organization in such a short period in an evolved category with old & established players.



Headquartered in Udaipur, Rajasthan, Wonder Cement, is a leading cement company known for its top notch quality of products that shows the rich heritage of its parent company RK Marble, a leading brand in marble industry. The manufacturing Unit is built at Thyssenkrupp and Pfeiffer of Germany. Currently, its third production unit is under construction and will expand the current capacity to ten million tonnes per annum.



Read more news:



India's ICT ranking could see big jump if smartphones are taken into account



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A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!Turning the ship before it hits the icebergCSL could soon be pushing the $200 per share barrier, analysts have predicted, in the wake of Friday's profit upgrade, pointing to the company's investment in plasma centres as a further growth driver.

On Monday CSL, which creates vaccines and other products to prevent and treat life-threatening illnesses, saw its shares lift another 1.73 per cent to $186.12 on Monday, following Friday's profit upgrade.

It was the most traded stock on the ASX by value on Monday, with $221.4 million shares traded and a market capitalisation of $84.16 billion.

On Moday CSL, which creates vaccines and other products to prevent and treat life-threatening illnesses, saw its shares lift 1.73 per cent to $186.12. Credit:AFR

On Friday CSL lifted its full-year profit guidance for a second time this year after better than expected sales of plasma products and a severe flu season in the northern hemisphere. CSL said it now expected net profit after tax for current financial year to be between $US1.68 billion to $US1.71 billion, up from the $US1.55 billion to $US1.60 billion flagged in February.A former Reserve Bank company executive has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in one of Australias most protracted corruption prosecutions over a payment to a Malaysian arms dealer to grease the wheels of a business deal.

Former Securency sales executive Clifford Gerathy pleaded guilty on Monday to a charge of dishonestly recording the $79,502 that the Reserve Bank-owned plastic currency firm paid Malaysian fixer Abdul Kayum in 2006.

Former Securency sales boss Clifford Gerathy outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court. Credit:Angela Wylie

The guilty plea is a silver lining for prosecutors in a case marked by extensive delays and legal challenges.

Mr Kayum is an arms broker with connections to some of Malaysias most powerful political figures and has previously been suspected of involvement in the nuclear weapons black market.Troubled telco Vocus Group has appointed industry veteran Kevin Russell as group managing director and chief executive, replacing former boss Geoff Horth who stood down in February after "disappointing" financial results.

A former group executive of retail for Telstra and country chief officer and chief executive for Singtel Optus, Mr Russell has also worked for Vodafone and has a 20 year history in global industry roles. It's hoped he can provide renewed leadership for Vocus, known for internet brands iPrimus and Dodo, after a difficult year and a management shake-up.

Former Optus boss Kevin Russell has been appointed CEO of Vocus Group. Credit:Rob Homer

Vocus chairman Bob Mansfield told Fairfax Media Mr Russell's role in Hutchison UKs turnaround to a 100 million ($179 million) profit in 2010 from a 900 million loss four years earlier was a sign of what he could do for the company.

In October, Vocus apologised to shareholders for a $1.46 billion full-year loss, after a 12 month period that saw the share price fall 60 per cent.There was never a realistic prospect that AGL Energy would do anything other than reject Alinta Energys $250 million offer for its ageing Liddell power station in the Hunter Valley.

Even had there been enough cash on offer, which there wasnt, it was never going to be in AGLs long-term interests to hand the plant over to a competitor.

AGL's Andy Vesey. The company said the $250 million bid significantly undervalued the future cashflows to AGL from operating the plant until its scheduled closure in 2022 and the "re-purposing of the site thereafter". Credit:James Alcock

AGLs explanation for dismissing the Alinta offer, in the process ignoring the extreme pressure the federal government has exerted on it to sell the plant to another operator, was that the $250 million significantly undervalued the future cashflows to AGL from operating the plant until its scheduled closure in 2022 and the "re-purposing of the site thereafter".

The cynics will seize on the latter part of the explanation. There is a view that AGL is committed to Liddells closure in order to take a major source of low-cost, coal-fired power out of the system, driving up wholesale energy costs and the value of its broader fleet of generating assets.Netflix announced a production deal on Monday with Barack and Michelle Obama that will see the former first couple create a wide range of content for the streaming service.

The deal, talks for which had first been reported in March, will encompass a wider range of formats than many analysts expected.

Among the content the Obamas will produce as part of the multi-year agreement are films and series, with scripted series, docu-series, documentaries and feature films all possibilities, Netflix said. Unscripted series - Hollywood's euphemism for reality TV - is also on the table. It is unclear whether the couple will appear in any of the movies or shows themselves.The Liddell coal-fired power station was granted a special exemption allowing it to pump out toxic nitrous oxides at almost twice the rate allowed similarly aged plants, documents obtained under freedom of information show.

The Hunter Valley generator owned by AGL  which on Monday rejected a takoever bid by Alinta Energy for the plant  was last year given permission by the NSW Environment Protection Authority to emit NOx concentrations of 1400 micrograms per cubic metre.

That tally compared with 800mg for similarly-aged power stations in the state and just 50-100mg best practice emissions in nations such as Japan, according to Environmental Justice Australia.

AGL's Liddell power station in the Hunter Valley is due to close in 2022. Credit:Janie Barrett

The exemption runs until 2022, the year AGL plans to shut the plant that will be more than half a century old by then.A teenager is expected to face the ACT Magistrates Court on Monday, charged with assaulting a police officer after an alleged incident in the early hours of the morning.

Police said officers responded to reports of trespassing on a residential development on Colbung Street and Fairhall Street, in Coombs, about 1.10am Monday.

Officers searching the site allegedly found a 19-year-old Duffy man, who they say attempted to run away.

As they approached the man, he allegedly grabbed an item from the building and hit one of the officers on the shoulder and back.

The teenager has been charged with common assault, obstructing and resisting a public official, trespassing and possession of an offensive weapon with intent.NSW should use its upcoming curriculum review to dump everything but maths and English from early primary school, according to one of the authors of the Gonski 2.0 report.

Science, geography and history should not be taught until year 4, when students have strong foundations in numbers and reading, said Michael Roberts, who was among eight panellists on the recent Gonski review into excellence in education.

Michael Roberts, one of the Gonski 2.0 authors, believes the early primary curriculum should be stripped back to maths and English Credit:Steven Siewert

Of the four hours left in a primary school teaching day after activities such as assembly and roll call, one hour should be spent on maths, two on English and the remaining hour on arts and physical education until the end of year 3, he said.

"Really pare [the number of subjects] back," said Mr Roberts, who was a principal in Queensland for more than 20 years, worked in the Singapore system and now consults for groups such as Indigenous leader Noel Pearson's Good to Great Schools.Inside every giant woman is a sophisticated piece of engineering.

In the case of Marri Dyin, a 6m puppet who will wander around Barangaroo during Vivid Sydney, is a 600kg boom lift holding her aloft.

Inside the puppet is a 600-kilogram boom lift and 350 LED pixels each about as bright as a household torch. Credit:Nick Moir

Steve Howarth, lead puppet designer, said keeping the towering creation on her feet was one of the big challenges.

We needed a specially-designed and purpose-built mobile crane (called a fulcrum) which also housed the power for the lights, the sound and air to keep her inflated, he said.A Sydney man who was facing drug charges plotted the murder of an "essential" witness in the case against him from behind bars, a jury has been told.

Luke John Sparos has pleaded not guilty to murdering Gemahl Maika, 38, by arranging for another man to shoot him for payment at the home of Mr Maika's family in Glen Alpine in April 2011.

Luke Sparos leaves court on Monday. Credit:AAP

In his opening address at Sparos' NSW Supreme Court trial on Monday, prosecutor Craig Patrick SC said the 37-year-old was in custody awaiting a trial for cocaine-related offences when he began planning the killing.

Sparos had been one of a number of people charged through the same police operation and Mr Maika had become an "essential witness" in the case against the group, Mr Patrick told the court.Toowoomba-based trainer Mark Currie has been disqualified for two years after being found guilty of 16 charges relating to race-day treatments. Mr Currie, father of successful trainer Ben Currie, entered a not-guilty plea over activities on March 24 and April 7 at his son's Hursley Road stables. Toowoomba trainer Mark Currie has been disqualified for two years for race day treatments. Credit:Jenny Evans Mr Currie snr was suspended in April over the allegations. Queensland Racing Integrity Commissioner Ross Barnett said stewards concluded their inquiry on Monday, May 21.

Mark Currie appeared today at the QRIC Brisbane headquarters to answer to 12 charges under AR178E relating to the administration of a medication to a horse on race day without the permission of the stewards and four charges under AR175 (a) relating to improper practice, he said. Stewards found Mr Currie [senior] guilty of administering medication to Gully Command, Publishing Power, Hang, and Giveus A Cuddle on March 24, the same day they raced at Doomben and causing With A Promise to be administered a medication that same day. Mr Currie [senior] was also found guilty of causing Giveus A Cuddle, Gully Command, Publishing Power, Ruettiger, With A Promise and Boomwa to be administered with a medication on April 7, the same day they were engaged to run at Toowoomba." Mr Barnett said the four improper practice charges related to treatments administered to race horses Gully Command, Publishing Power and Hang on March 24, when they raced at Doomben; Giveus A Cuddle on March 24 before it raced at Gatton and Boomwa; Giveus A Cuddle, Gully Command, Hang, With A Promise, Publishing Power and Ruetigger on April 7 before they raced at Toowoomba. Two Currie Racing stablehands have already been suspended as a result of the investigation.A former Ipswich City Council officer has faced a Brisbane court on his third charge of misconduct in a public office.

The Crime and Corruption Commission first charged former chief operating officer Craig Maudsley in September with misconduct in a public office over allegations he used his influence to benefit a council contractor to the detriment of business Colmine Consulting between September and November 2016.

Former Ipswich City Council chief operating officer Craig Maudsley fronts court. Credit:Jorge Branco.

Mr Maudsley was suspended with full pay following the first charge but resigned in January.

In April, the 54-year-old was hit with his second misconduct charge in public office.Police are seeking the adult son of a 53-year-old man already charged over the alleged kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy on the Gold Coast earlier this month.

Detectives investigating the case believe Sydney-based man Yu (Sunny) Zhang, 20, may have information about the alleged kidnapping, and are appealing for public assistance to locate him.

Yu (Sunny) Zhang, who Queensland Police is seeking to speak to over the alleged kidnapping of a 12-year-old Gold Coast boy earlier this month. Credit:Queensland Police

"Our information is that he is still probably likely to be in the Sydney area," Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said on Monday afternoon.

"Our intention will be  to charge [Mr Zhang] with the abduction of the child and if he is located interstate, we will make an extradition application.A woman has died after she was hit by a bus in the Brisbane CBD.

Emergency services were called to the corner of Ann Street and Wharf Street to reports a pedestrian had been hit by a Brisbane City Council bus just before 7am.

Emergency services were called to the corner of Ann Street and Wharf Street to reports a pedestrian had been hit by a bus. Credit:Amy Mitchell-Whittington

Police said preliminary information suggested the woman was crossing Ann Street near the intersection of Wharf Street when the incident occurred.

A woman was treated on scene for injuries, an ambulance spokeswoman said.The bomb squad is inspecting a bus which was forced to pull over in Melbourne's north after a man called triple zero on the early morning ride, as it travelled into Melbourne from Sydney.

A man in his 40s is now in custody after he called triple zero about 4.20am.

The bus pulled over in Mitchell Street, just off the Hume Highway, about 30km north of Melbourne in Kalkallo.

Passengers were safely removed from the bus, while police negotiated with the man who stayed on board.Joy Rowley, who was murdered in 2011. Her death is the subject of a coronial inquest.

There were at least eight times Victoria Police could have changed the course of events that led to a woman being murdered by strangulation in 2011, an inquest has heard.

The failures in the case of Joy Rowley, a 60-year-old mother-of-three, will see State Coroner Sara Hinchey investigate how a case like it would be handled now after major changes to police family violence responses following high-profile cases such as the murder of Luke Batty.

Ms Rowley was at the beginning of a new chapter in her life when she moved to Rye, on the Mornington Peninsula, in the 1990s.

She was divorced from her husband, with whom she had three children, but made friends easily and had an active social life, the inquest heard on Monday.The chair of the charity given nearly half a billion dollars to fix the Great Barrier Reef says corporate interest will help decide the science strategy and funding priorities, and believes the group's business links will help it leverage more money from the private sector.

Executives from the Department of the Environment and Energy on Monday faced a grilling over the Turnbull governments decision to gift $444 million - Australias largest single reef funding commitment - to the business-focused Great Barrier Reef Foundation. The government did not run a tender process or give other organisations, including its own marine science agency, opportunity to apply.

Great Barrier Reef Foundation chairman John Schubert said business and science will work together to determine funding priorities. Credit:Tourism and Events Queensland

The foundation collaborates with businesses, philanthropists, scientists and governments on projects that will improve the health of the Great Barrier Reef. It had a revenue of $8 million last year, has just 10 full-time equivalent staff and is chaired by John Schubert, a former chairman of Esso Australia and the Commonwealth Bank, and a former Business Council of Australia president.

Speaking to Fairfax Media ahead of the Monday Senate estimates hearing, Dr Schubert said the foundation would hire more staff and was still determining how it would manage the money.The Turnbull government has increased the pressure on energy giant AGL to commit to spending $1.4 billion on replacing lost capacity at its Liddell power station after the company knocked back a bid to buy the ageing plant.

AGL refused Alintas $250 million offer to buy the Liddell coal-fired power station, saying on Monday it will continue with its plan to shut the operation in 2022.

Disappointed by AGL's decision: Minister for Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Federal Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said AGLs decision was "disappointing" given the sale would have lowered power prices and was backed by some of Australias largest manufacturers.

AGL has a three-stage $1.4 billion plan to replace about 1800 megawatts of capacity that will be lost when Liddell closes. But it has committed funds only to a fraction of this, including $400 million for a 250-megawatt gas-fired plant near Newcastle and $200 million for a 100-megawatt upgrade of its Bayswater coal-fired plant, located adjacent to Liddell.Beijing: Australia needs to take off its biased, "coloured glasses" and stop recoiling from China for the relationship to "return to the right track", China's foreign ministry has said in a terse statement following a meeting with Julie Bishop.

The Chinese version of events stands in stark contrast to Ms Bishop's account of the same meeting, which she described as "very warm and candid and constructive".

According to a cool statement from China, released on Tuesday afternoon in Beijing, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Bishop when they met in Argentina on Monday that it was "not an official bilateral meeting", but rather he wanted to "exchange views with you on bilateral relations".

The Chinese statement appears to confirm Beijing's recent freeze on high level official meetings with Australia, despite attempts by the Turnbull government to play down the diplomatic stoush.

"Due to the Australian side, China-Australia relations have encountered some difficulties recently, and the exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have also been affected. This is not what China hopes to see," Wang told Bishop, according to the Chinese statement.

The Chinese version of the meeting also recounts Bishop blaming the Australian media for "negative reports" that had recently affected Australia-China relations.

Those reports "do not represent the position of the Australian government" and the Turnbull government "believes that China's development is a major opportunity rather than a threat," she is recorded saying.

Wang said China hoped to "improve relations" and had taken note of recent public statements by senior Australian officials, including Bishop.

He wanted to emphasise that, "if Australia sincerely hopes the relations between two countries return to the right track ... it must break away from traditional thinking, take off their coloured glasses and look at China's development from a positive angle, and provide more cooperation between two countries instead of recoiling."The state government has ignored another parliamentary order to release critical documents, despite offering to show a secret report to a crucial crossbench MP.

The government will not release a report by former senior public servant David Tune into the NSW's troubled child protection system, which he described as "ineffective and unsustainable".

Despite the government arguing it could not be made public because it is a cabinet document, the Christian Democrats MP, Fred Nile, was given a promise to see the Tune report.

Community Services Minister Pru Goward: 'I do not comment on conversations I have with any of my colleagues.' Credit:AAP

Mr Nile said the Community Services Minister, Pru Goward, last week made the "very generous offer" to show him the report. The offer came before the upper house was to vote on its release.Cape Town: A South African man who attended Melbourne University has been found guilty of murdering three members of his family more than three years after the gruesome attack in an upscale housing estate.

Henri van Breda, 23, was also found guilty of obstruction of justice and attempting to murder his sister on January 27, 2015. His sister Marli, then 16, suffered severe injuries and is reported to be unable to remember the incident.

"After considering all the evidence, the result is inescapable," Judge Siraj Desai said in the Western Cape High Court, after reading an hours-long judgement that detailed the evidence given in the case. "As a family man, it is difficult for me to say so."

Van Breda, wearing a short beard and a blue suit, was expressionless as he stood to hear the verdict. He was denied bail, and will be held in custody until his sentencing. His girlfriend, Danielle Janse van Rensburg, left the court weeping.Havana: As Cubans held a funeral for an art instructor and her small child who were killed in Cuba's worst plane crash since 1989, authorities revealed that the Mexican charter company whose 39-year-old plane crashed had been the subject of two serious complaints about its crews' performance.

Rescue teams search through the wreckage site of a Boeing 737 that plummeted into a cassava field with more than 100 passengers on board, in Havana, Cuba. Credit:AP

The mother and child were the first of 67 Holguin residents to be brought home for burial out of the 110 people who died in the fiery crash in Havana over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Mexico's government saidits National Civil Aviation Authority would carry out an operational audit of Damojh airlines to see if its "current operating conditions continue meeting regulations" and to help collect information for the investigation into Friday's crash in Cuba.

The plane that crashed, a Boeing 737, was barred from Guyanese airspace last year after authorities discovered that its crew had been allowing dangerous overloading of luggage on flights to Cuba, Guyanese Civil Aviation Director Capt. Egbert Field said.Under a portrait of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, worshippers chant slogans in a pro-Palestinian rally in Tehran. Credit:AP The suggestion of a further US military role in the region was striking, since US President Donald Trump has said he seeks to draw down the US troop presence in Syria, where Iran provides training and arms to militiamen. Colonel Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters the military was looking at potential actions to push back against Iran's regional military influence as part of a larger US government response. He said the United States would take "all necessary steps" to contain Iran, but declined to provide specifics. State Department officials say the aim of the speech is to outline a path forward after Trump announced he would withdraw the US from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions, a decision that immediately puts the United States in breach of its commitments. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Credit:AP

The Treasury Department already has reimposed sanctions on the head of Iran's Central Bank and other companies and groups. "The Iranian regime should know that this is just the beginning," Pompeo warned. "After our sanctions come into full force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive," he added. "Iran will be forced to make a choice: either fight to keep its economy off life support at home or keep squandering precious wealth on fights abroad. It will not have the resources to do both." Many European officials, including those who negotiated the Iran agreement alongside the United States, have chafed at the Trump administration's positions on Iran, the Paris climate accord, moving the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, and trade tariffs. "With friends like that, who needs enemies," European Council President Donald Tusk groused recently. US President Donald Trump stands with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Credit:AP

The new secretary of state, now in his fourth week in office, made clear that the United States was prepared to square off with Europe, using secondary sanctions against companies that do business in Iran. "We understand our re-imposition of sanctions and the coming pressure campaign on the Iranian regime will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends," Pompeo said. "But you should know that we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account." In negotiating the Iran deal, the Obama administration also started with a long list of demands. But they made concessions along the way on issues they considered less important than the goal of setting future limits on Iran's nuclear deal and getting international inspectors to monitor it. "The list of requirements of the Iranians asks for everything but conversion to Christianity and reads more like a demand for unconditional surrender than an actual attempt at negotiation," said Jeremy Shapiro, research director at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Loading

Pompeo said the administration was seeking a full treaty with Iran, not just "fixes" to the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Rather, he demanded Iran's complete capitulation on 12 points. Judging by its reaction to similar proposals made previously, Tehran is likely to reject most, if not all. Among the items on Pompeo's wish list is a full acknowledgment of Iran's previous attempts to develop a nuclear weapon. Iran has denied ever wanting to build nuclear arms. US negotiators tried unsuccessfully to get Iran to admit it tried to build one in the early 2000s. Other demands the Iranians are unlikely to go along with include stopping uranium enrichment and ballistic missile tests, and allowing international inspectors access to all sites, including military locations where critics suspect clandestine research. Currently, inspectors must outline the basis for their suspicions. The one demand that Iran could theoretically assent to is the release of all US citizens imprisoned on a variety of charges, as well as citizens of countries allied with the United States such as France and Britain. At least six Americans are imprisoned or unaccounted for, and they are widely considered to be bargaining chips. Trita Parsi, head of the National Iranian American Council, called most of Pompeo's demands "non-starters."It was striking that the first funeral was at a mosque, for a student who had barely gotten to experience American culture and ended up being consumed by one of its most divisive issues - the epidemic of school shootings. "You imagine what it's like for her parents - all their hopes and dreams wrapped up in this child," said Farha Ahmed, an attorney from nearby Sugarland, drawn to attend Sabika's funeral. "And the next time they will see her, she'll be in a casket." The mourners poured into the Masjid Sabireen mosque in this small town about 60 kilometres from Santa Fe, removing their shoes before stepping inside. Several students from Santa Fe High made the trip. So did Houston's mayor and two members of Congress. The mayor of tiny Stafford sat down and hurriedly pulled out his phone. "Can you please make sure all flags in town are flown at [half-staff]," Mayor Leonard Scarcella said into his phone. "Tell him it's urgent." Sabika's host family from Santa Fe arrived, six children in tow, the mother covering her blonde hair with the red prayer shawl she'd received as a Mother's Day gift from Sabika.

Earlier at Arcadia First Baptist Church of Santa Fe, with Abbott in attendance, pastor Jerl Watkins tried to comfort the members of his congregation by telling them that prayer and acceptance of Christian values are the things that will heal this community. But he also pointed to the seeds of what he saw as a broader problem. "It seems to me, since the 1960s in this country, we've begun to think technology and other Loading things can replace our God, and we've taken God out of the schools, and social media has taken togetherness out of the family," Watkins said to about 200 parishioners, moving on to arguments over violence and abortion. "Many of these video games and movies our children are exposed to on a daily basis is all about thrill and killing and destruction. We've slaughtered millions of unborn children for the sake of convenience, and we twisted the sanctity of morality." Before the service, which included honoring the congregation's nine graduating seniors, Abbott greeted parishioners in the vestibule. "I'm here to comfort my fellow Texans," he said.

Several parishioners told Abbott they were glad he's not rushing to implement new laws or restrictions on firearms after the shooting, during which a 17-year-old student allegedly gunned down eight students and two teachers with a shotgun and a pistol that police said belonged to his father. "It's not a gun issue - it's a door issue," said Monica Barcknell, an 18-year-old senior, who like many people in this town think the shooting could have been prevented had the school had stricter entrance and exit policies. Just 60 kilometres away, at the mosque, the issue of guns was discussed differently. "We need to pass laws that restrict guns and other weapons of mass killing," said Javed Malik, the mosque's director, speaking during the funeral. "And after the funeral prayers, what are we going to do to make sure this doesn't happen again?" said Sheikh Syed, the imam.

Authorities said Sunday that they are continuing to investigate the attack, which they said appeared to be intended to kill as many students and teachers as possible. Loading Abbott said the suspect in Friday's school shooting was armed with "several different types of explosive devices" including molotov cocktails and devices that use carbon dioxide to explode. "He had some he threw into the classroom and some, as I understand it, were found in his home," Abbott said after he visited the high school. "So it's clear he wanted to try to use explosive devices, but he did not put them together in a way that they did explode. . . . But it shows this killer was intent on trying to inflict horrific damage on these kids, and my hope is he gets swift Texas justice." Galveston County District Attorney Jack Roady, who will be prosecuting Dimitrios Pagourtzis on charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer, said federal prosecutors also might file charges after the FBI completes its investigation.

"We have a lot information and there is a lot of investigation still to be done," Roady said. Roady declined to comment on whether authorities have uncovered a motive, and said neither the victim autopsy reports nor other evidence would be released before a trial. Authorities have said there were no obvious red flags ahead of the attack. Roady said Texas law allows for the death penalty in capital murder cases, but he said he will not seek death for Pagourtzis because he is a minor; the Supreme Court has ruled that minors are not eligible to face capital punishment. "If the death penalty were on the table within the punishment range, I believe that we would be seeking it in this case," Roady said. "But the law is the law." Sabika's funeral on Sunday was brief. The casket was carried into the overflowing mosque and everyone stood up. Minutes later, the service was over. And Fuad Cochinwala, president of the Islamic Centre of Greater Houston, quietly worked to move the casket outside to a waiting hearse. Several people argued that he should wait until all the speeches and memorials were over. But Cochinwala was insistent. The casket needed to be removed now so it could be taken to the airport.As the world watched the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry with delight, the community of Santa Fe, Texas, mourned the death of 10 children, the latest victims of yet another school shooting. Local children light candles during a vigil held in the wake of the deadly school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas. Credit:AP It seems like every month another school shooting takes the lives of more innocent children. While survivors of communities like Santa Fe pick up the pieces, US politicians are quick to point their fingers at anything and everything as a reason for why it happened. Anything and everything, that is, apart from gun control. Following this latest shooting, Texas Governor Dan Patrick blamed violent video games, movies, family break-ups and even bullying on social media for the reasons why these mass shootings take place. What is most galling, however, is that he also blamed abortion for devaluing human life and spurring the same shootings. Loading

This comes the day after US President Donald Trump announced that clinics providing abortions or referring patients to abortion providers will lose their federal funding. It is, in essence, a domestic gag rule that mirrors the global gag rule the President implemented on his first day in office. The domestic gag rule and Governor Patricks remarks are further symptoms of a much larger problem; the harmful and misogynistic narrative of the "right to life" movement that is becoming so influential on US politics today. This narrative perpetuates a dangerous assumption that a woman is always secondary to her pregnancy. It advocates that at the point of conception, she should relinquish her agency. The decision as to whether she will continue her pregnancy is taken out of her hands and placed under the auspice of politicians who position themselves as acting in the interests of protecting the life of a womans unborn child. These are the very same politicians who refuse to take any meaningful steps to protect children in schools from mass shootings. A woman wipes away tears during a prayer vigil following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texa. Credit:The Galveston/AP The problem with the domestic gag rule is this; it will enshrine the misogyny of the "right to life" narrative in government policy and practice. It will place further restriction on healthcare professionals providing women with information about their pregnancy options and it will further erode a womans right to make decisions about her life and her future."If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," Rod J. Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general who is overseeing the Russia inquiry, said in a statement. By handing the question to the inspector general, Rosenstein appeared to be trying to thread the needle, giving the president what he said he wanted without fully bowing to his demands. But it was not clear whether that would satisfy Trump, who in February complained that it was "disgraceful" for the Justice Department to hand over the surveillance investigation to an inspector general who lacks prosecutorial power, saying it would "take forever" and suggesting that he was "an Obama guy." A Republican: Special counsel Robert Mueller. Credit:AP The president's call came two weeks after he publicly expressed frustration with the Justice Department for failing to give Republican lawmakers documents they are seeking about the basis and findings of the special counsel investigation into whether the Trump campaign worked with the Russians to sway the 2016 election.

The president said then that "at some point, I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!" That point appeared to be Sunday, close to the anniversary of the opening of the special counsel investigation, at a time when the president's frustration about it has reached a fever pitch and he and his allies have ratcheted up their efforts to undercut its credibility. It came as Rudy Giuliani, his private lawyer, said that the special counsel, Robert Mueller, planned to complete by September 1 his inquiry into whether the president had obstructed justice  an apparent attempt by Giuliani to publicly pressure the special counsel amid negotiations over whether Trump will be interviewed in the case. Also putting pressure on US Justice Department: Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Credit:AP While most presidents who have faced investigations have responded with increased discretion to avoid being seen as trying to influence the outcome, Trump has dispensed with any notion that he is not trying to do so. He and his aides have branded the investigation a witch hunt and a hoax, called for an end to it, and tried to set its boundaries, and now the president has ordered a review of how it was handled.

"I can't think of a prior example of a sitting president ordering the Justice Department to conduct an investigation like this one," said Stephen I. Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. "That's little more than a transparent effort to undermine an ongoing investigation." If Trump were to follow through with the demand, Vladeck added, "it seems to me that the recipients of such an order should resign  and that we're heading for another Saturday Night Massacre." Trump's directive prompted speculation that he might be trying to push Rosenstein out of his job without explicitly firing him, a move the president has frequently considered. Rosenstein pushed back this month against Republican demands for more visibility into the special counsel's inquiry, saying his department "is not going to be extorted." Loading "This demand puts DAG Rod Rosenstein in a difficult position," Barbara L. McQuade, a former US attorney in Michigan, said in a post on Twitter. "He can't open an investigation based on a political demand, but if he refuses and is fired or resigns, he loses control of the Mueller investigation. Maybe just what Trump wants."

Among the material Trump and congressional Republicans are demanding are documents related to an FBI informant who was sent to talk to three Trump campaign aides. The president alleged on Friday that the informant had been a spy dispatched to infiltrate his campaign for political purposes. In fact, FBI agents sent the informant to contact Trump's campaign advisers only after receiving evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia. Trump began the day railing about the scope of Mueller's investigation. In a series of morning tweets that has become a weekend ritual for the president, Trump pointed to a New York Times report that detailed how the special counsel is examining whether Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates offered help to the Trump campaign, and whether they coordinated with Russia in doing so. "Things are really getting ridiculous," Trump wrote on Twitter. "The Failing and Crooked (but not as Crooked as Hillary Clinton) @nytimes has done a long & boring story indicating that the World's most expensive Witch Hunt has found nothing on Russia & me so now they are looking at the rest of the World!" The president did not challenge the accuracy of The Times' account, which was the first indication that countries other than Russia may have offered assistance to his campaign in the months before the presidential election. But he suggested that the breadth of the inquiry was proof that Mueller's investigation was a partisan exercise geared toward harming Republican congressional candidates.

"Now that the Witch Hunt has given up on Russia and is looking at the rest of the World, they should easily be able to take it into the Mid-Term Elections where they can put some hurt on the Republican Party," Trump said. "Don't worry about Dems FISA Abuse, missing Emails or Fraudulent Dossier!" Trump was alluding to his contention that a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrant that was granted to look at Carter Page, one of his campaign associates, was improperly obtained and based on false information provided by his political opponents, including a dossier that included salacious information about him. Under pressure from Trump and his Republican allies in Congress, the Justice Department said in March that it would begin an investigation into the surveillance of Page. Law enforcement officials had long had concerns that Page, a former investment banker based in Moscow, was acting as a Russian agent. But the president has continued to make the allegation that the court-ordered surveillance of Page was unjustified. Trump has also continued to claim that the special counsel should be looking not at his campaign, but instead at his 2016 rival, Hillary Clinton. "At what point does this soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP!" Trump wrote in a pair of tweets. "They have found no Collussion with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren't looking at the corruption in the Hillary Clinton Campaign where she deleted 33,000 Emails, got $145,000,000 while Secretary of State, paid McCabes wife $700,000 (and got off the FBI hook along with Terry M) and so much more."

It was not clear where Trump's estimate of the cost of Mueller's inquiry came from. The Justice Department reported at the end of last year that the special counsel's investigation had incurred at least $US6.7 million in expenses in its first 4 1/2 months, and Trump's own budget allocated $US10 million for his office for 2019. The president has often charged that Mueller is leading a team of Democratic activists who are out to get him, citing reports that some of his investigators are Democrats who supported Clinton. He has also sought to discredit Andrew G. McCabe, the former deputy FBI director, by noting that his wife ran as a Democrat for political office in Virginia with support and campaign donations from Terry McAuliffe, a close Clinton ally. But Mueller himself is a Republican, as are several members of his staff, and the investigation is being overseen by Rosenstein, another Republican, who was Trump's own choice to be deputy attorney general. That did not stop the president from suggesting that the investigation was politically driven and should end. "Republicans and real Americans should start getting tough on this Scam," he tweeted Sunday.Treasury Metals Inc. Provides Update on the Audit of Flow-Through Financings by CRA

Posted by Publisher Internet

Treasury Metals Inc. (TSX: TML) (OTCQX: TSRMF) (the ?Company?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxDAi5JFA1Q&index=2&list=PLBpDlKjdv3yry8w88yLZze1HW6r33zYSb&t=2s) is providing additional information further to its 2017 year-end financial statements regarding notification by the Canada Revenue Agency (the ?CRA?) of its determination in respect of the flow-through spending audit (the ?Audit?) commenced by the CRA in December 2016? regarding certain expenditures incurred by the Company in the years 2012, 2013, and 2014 that were characterized by the Company as ?Canadian Exploration Expenses? (?CEE?) for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada).??

Specifically, on March 7, 2018 the Company was advised by the CRA that the CRA had reclassified approximately $1.8 million of CEE to operating expenses, out of the total $12.5 million the Company raised through ?flow-through share? offerings (within the meaning of such term in the Income Tax Act (Canada)) completed on December 6, 2011, September 21, 2012, May 1, 2013, and December 20, 2013 (the ?Flow-Through Financings?) and? renounced to subscribers (the ?Subscribers?) by the Company pursuant to the applicable subscription and renunciation agreements entered into with Subscribers.? The Company understands from the Part XII.6 assessment described below that a further approximately $2.2 million of CEE has been reclassified by the CRA to Canadian Development Expenses (?CDE?).? The CRA has advised the Company that a review of the financings completed prior to, or subsequent to, the Flow-Through Financings is not contemplated at this time.

In addition, pursuant to the Audit, the CRA has notified the Company that it is liable for Part XII.6 tax in the amount of $477,726 in connection with the shortfall from the disallowed CEE. The Company understands that this amount reflects a reclassification by the CRA of the approximately $4.0 million of CEE renounced to Subscribers in connection with the Flow-Through Financings to either operating expenses or CDE.

The Company disputes the CRA?s proposed recharacterizations of expenses from CEE to either CDE or operating expenses and consequently intends to object to such CRA determinations.

Background

The Company raised the flow-through funds in the Flow-Through Financings to facilitate exploration of its Goliath Gold Project in northwestern Ontario. All of the funds raised pursuant to these Flow-Through Financings were expended by the Company on exploration and other ancillary activities in respect of the Goliath Gold Project and were subsequently renounced to Subscribers in accordance with the subscription and renunciation agreements entered into with Subscribers.

This reclassification, subject to the Company?s objection (as discussed above), could result in each Subscriber that claimed a deduction for such renounced CEE potentially being assessed with tax and interest owing on the disallowed amount, subject to the particulars of such assessment (if any) being dependent on the applicable tax rate and individual tax circumstances of each Subscriber. Pursuant to the terms of the subscription and renunciation agreements entered into by the Company and the Subscribers pursuant to the Flow-Through Financings, the Company has agreed to indemnify the Subscribers for certain amounts should the CRA reassess such Subscribers for tax attributable to the disallowed renunciation of CEE. The ultimate quantum of the Company?s liability with respect to this indemnification obligation cannot currently be accurately determined.

This press release and the accompanying material change report have been filed in connection with a continuous disclosure review conducted by the Ontario Securities Commission and it remedies the non-filing of this press release and accompanying material change report as of the date of receipt of the March 7, 2018 letter from the CRA.

Forward-looking Statements

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be \forward-looking statements\. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that have yet to occur, including those pertaining to the status and potential liability associated with the CRA audit are forward-looking statements. Actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save and except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Treasury Metals is a gold focused exploration and development company with assets in Ontario, Canada and is listed on the TSX under the symbol \TML\. Treasury Metals Inc.\-\-s 100% owned Goliath Gold Project in northwestern Ontario is slated to become one of Canada\-\-s next producing gold mines. With first-rate infrastructure currently in place and gold mineralization extending to surface, Treasury Metals plans on the initial development of an open pit gold mine to feed a 2,500 tonne per day processing plant with subsequent underground operations in the latter years of the mine life. Treasury Metals is currently in the mine permit process on the Goliath Gold Project.

For more information about Treasury Metals, please visit the Company\-\-s website at: http://www.treasurymetals.comSatADSL and Camtel team up to connect Cameroon

Posted by Publisher Telecommunication

Yaounde, Cameroon, and Brussels, Belgium, May 21, 2018  SatADSL, a provider of professional VSAT services via satellite, and Camtel ? Cameroon?s national telecommunications provider ? today announced a new partnership to provide satellite connectivity across Cameroon.

The formal agreement follows a pilot launch of SatADSL\-\-s range of competitive satellite connectivity solutions across a variety of public and private enterprises and communities in Cameroon, including schools, post offices, hospitals and banks.

SatADSL now plans to integrate and deploy its VSAT services across the central African country, enabling Camtel to offer competitive broadband packages to even the most rural areas.

\We chose to partner with SatADSL because its solutions will enable us to target the widest possible spectrum of end-users, meaning the broadband services will truly benefit entire communities,\ said David Nkoto Emane, CEO at Camtel. \SatADSL\-\-s knowledge of the region and technical expertise played a big role in the pilot?s success and we look forward to extending the project.\

Under the agreement, SatADSL will fulfil all of Camtel?s satellite connectivity requirements across all frequency ranges, Ku-, Ka- and C-band.

Camtel is the latest telecommunication operator in Africa to deploy SatADSL\-\-s services which are offered through the unique Cloud-based Service Delivery Platform (C-SDP). The complete OSS/BSS, carrier-grade, fully redundant platform allows operators to easily outsource satellite services, reducing the cost of providing ubiquitous connectivity by enabling fast, flexible and future-proof satellite connectivity via the cloud for the first time, eliminating the need for physical infrastructure.

Co-founder and Chief Operations Officer at SatADSL Caroline De Vos said: \As an organization that strives to bridge the digital divide in Africa, we are delighted to partner with Camtel to blanket Cameroon with much-needed connectivity. Our innovative C-SDP also means Camtel will be able to offer highly competitive packages for a range of end-users.\How to build smarter, more secure cities from the ground up

Today, we live in a technology-obsessed age. Whichever way you look, its hard to avoid the increasing number applications, products and solutions that continue to redefine the boundaries of what we previously thought possible. From autonomous vehicles and edge computing to 5G and the Internet of Things, all facets of our lives are continuing to evolve, thanks to an endless stream of differentiated innovations. In this article, well be focusing on the latter of these - the Internet of Things (IoT). Deployment of IoT technologies Smart homes, smart utilities, smart retail, smart farming, smart supply chains and many of the other smart versions of sectors that were already familiar with, are all called as such because of the implications of IoT. Indeed, it is a technology that has manifested itself in billions of devices, which today underpin the truly transformational levels of connectivity that we see across industries of all shapes and sizes. The statistics speak for themselves. According to Statista, over US$ 1 trillion is expected to be spent on IoT technology worldwide, in 2022. Be it added convenience, efficiency, productivity or intelligence, many benefits are poised to emerge from this spike in IoT-related activities. Yet to say this digital transition is going to be entirely positive would be naive. Threats faced by smart cities It is said that by 2040, 65 per cent of the worlds population will be living in cities Lets consider smart cities. It is said that by 2040, 65 per cent of the worlds population will be living in cities. To accommodate such an influx, without facing significant logistical issues, with limited space and infrastructure, policy makers have begun to recognise that these urban environments need to become not only larger, but smarter as well. As a result, the global smart cities market is on the rise. Statista states that, globally, technology spending on smart city initiatives is expected to double from US$ 81 billion in 2018 to US$ 189.5 billion in 2023. Threat of attackers with expanding IoT landscape The challenge here is that such a stark uptick will drastically expand the IoT landscape, presenting more opportunities than ever to threat actors. As connectivity and computing power is distributed more widely across large-scale outdoor networks, hackers will scale-up their own operations in tandem. According to a Nokia report from October 2020 (based on data aggregated from monitoring network traffic on more than 150 million devices globally), IoT devices now account for roughly 33 per cent of all infected devices, up from the 16 per cent estimated in 2019. Whats more concerning is how these figures are translating into real world events. 2021 alone has already witnessed an attack on a water plant in Oldsmart, Florida, which was designed to poison residents drinking water. Furthermore, Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest fuel pipelines in the US was also hacked, earlier this year, resulting in major shortages across the countrys East Coast. Security through IoT authentication From weak password protection, a lack of regular patch updates and insecure interfaces, to insufficient data protection, poor IoT devices management and an IoT skills gap, there are plenty of weaknesses existing within the IoT ecosystem, which continue to provide open goals for attackers. To defend against such lethal threats, security-by-design and open standards should be the guiding principles of IoT, working to prioritise security, interoperability and robust, internet-based protocols to mitigate risks. Device authentication and encryption A sound place to start is to make device authentication and encryption the central pillars of your IoT security architecture A sound place to start, in this regard, is to make device authentication and encryption the central pillars of your IoT security architecture. The goal is to be able to prove that each and every device joining a network is not malicious, with tell-tale signs being rogue code, for example. By ensuring each device is uniquely identifiable with digital certificates and therefore, properly authenticated when joining a network, you can ensure no tampered devices are able to infiltrate your overarching network. Using technologies, such as Hardware Secure Element Critically, passwords should be avoided altogether, these vulnerable to being stolen and cracked. And, while a similar vulnerability lies in the fact that all secure devices contain a private key, you can leverage technologies, such as Hardware Secure Element (a chip designed specifically to protect against unauthorised access, even if the attacker has physical access to the device), as an extra layer of defence. Digital certificates are not the only option available in protecting those IoT devices that, if tampered with, could become the cause of physical threats. Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) can also be used to prevent tampering. Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) Through Physical Unclonable Function (PUF), a form of IoT device fingerprint is developed from the unique make up of a piece of silicon, which can be used to create a unique cryptographic key. Unlike digital certificates, a secure infrastructure can be achieved through PUF, without the need for any additional hardware, as the key is not only stored securely, but it also becomes invisible to hackers, when the device is not running. The importance of encryption Use of AES encryption within radio chips, to scramble messages on the move, is the method adopted at Wi-SUN Alliance Now, lets turn attentions to encryption. The use of AES encryption within radio chips, to scramble messages on the move, is the method that we have adopted here at Wi-SUN Alliance. Its a means of maximising data security, but also reducing power consumption in the devices themselves. Beyond AES encryption, its also worth considering topography at the design stage. Indeed, mesh networks are advantageous for several reasons. They are more reliable, allowing data to be re-routed, should devices lose contact unexpectedly. Transmissions usually travel shorter distances, which improves power efficiency and performance, and frequency hopping functionality prevents attackers from jamming signals, which could deny the service altogether. Open standards and interoperability But where do open, interoperable standards fit in? As is defined by the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS), interoperability enables a computer programme to communicate and exchange information with other computer programmes, allowing all programmes to use that information. Open standards then allow any vendor of communications equipment or services to implement all standards necessary, to interoperate with other vendors. This is incredibly useful from a security perspective. It means that all specs are stress-tested and verified by many users, and that any vulnerabilities are quickly detected, and remediated, enhancing security and reliability. Need for open standards Equally, open standards can accelerate time-to-market, reduce costs and ensure products are usable, with a variety of manufacturers processors and radios, with a steam of publicly available protocol stacks, design information and reference implementations available that can help build and future-proof secure products. Indeed, large-scale corporate IoT networks alongside smart cities, smart utilities, and other key smart infrastructure will only continue to evolve, in the coming years. With the immense threats of attackers in mind, these systems must prioritise security-by-design, both now and in the future.Stellina is a smart, sleek, compact new scope that has everyone wondering  will we miss the telescope eyepiece?

NEW YORK  A sleek, new telescope has us wondering  are eyepieces a thing of the past?

Last night (May 16), amid music and wine, Vaonis, a French telescope startup, presented the shiny features of its premiere scope, called Stellina, to a crowd of astronomers, writers, teachers and enthusiasts at a small gathering in Manhattan. The scope, a backpack-size instrument that is the visual crossroads between Hal of "2001: A Space Odyssey" and Eve from "Wall-E," was admired and inspected by the crowd like a delicate sculpture. The artistic display seemed fitting, as Stellina has been featured by the MoMA Design Store for their "La French Tech au MoMA" event.

The most shocking feature from this telescope seemingly plucked from the pages of a sci-fi screenplay: Stellina has no eyepiece. [Best Telescopes for the Money]

Now, this is certainly not the only scope to be made without an eyepiece, and there is a growing wave of "smart scopes" that favor connectivity and a digital interface over a traditional view. But still, something about this feature, or lack thereof, felt strange.

To peer into the depths of the cosmos with your naked eye seems like a privilege you would never choose to give up. Inspecting the moon's craters and carefully adjusting until you see all four of Jupiter's moons  would the experience be the same through an app?

Cyril Dupuy, the young founder and CEO of Vaonis who developed Stellina, explained the company's choice to forgo the eyepiece. Dupuy noted the discomfort that can come with using a traditional eyepiece  the bending over, hunching, squinting, one-eyed view of the universe is notoriously uncomfortable, he told Space.com. But to many, it's part of the experience, so this aspect alone doesn't seem like enough to explain the design.

However, Dupuy's next statement made his reasoning clear: "With an eyepiece, you are alone."

The globular Hercules Cluster, an image captured by the Stellina telescope (Image credit: Vaonis)

Throughout the night, he echoed this sentiment. As a lifelong amateur astronomer, Dupuy has spent countless nights gazing up at the solar system. But, he said, every time you are looking through an eyepiece, the experience is solely your own. And, while the idea of having a unique, solitary moment with the universe seems almost magical, this romanticized relationship between an astronomer and the sky could be seen as flawed.

Dupuy wants Stellina to be the ultimate sharing tool. Not only can you send and share the images you see through your scope with your friends, colleagues or even students, but a whole group of people can look through the telescope at the same time because, instead of interfacing one at a time through an eyepiece, you can use the app together.

Because its design makes it very easy to use, Stellina could be an ideal scope for children and for educational purposes. Kids wouldn't have wait in line to get a rushed peek through the scope; everyone could look together and learn, as the app not only tells you what you're looking at, but gives you background information about the view as well.

The Stellina telescope, and other smart telescopes that don't use eyepieces, could also make astronomy accessible for those with disabilities and physical limitations: Besides being uncomfortable for many to use, some people are unable to use traditional eyepieces. Telescopes that use digital interfaces and apps instead of eyepieces could make astronomy accessible for those who may have never had the opportunity to look through a telescope before.

However, at almost $3,000 in price, this opportunity will not be accessible for most. And are people really ready to lose their eyepieces to gain these new features? At the New York event, no one seemed to agree.

An up-close image of the moon captured by the Stellina telescope. (Image credit: Vaonis)

Some weren't sure what to make of a telescope without an eyepiece; they were enthusiastic about the new scope but uneasy with the drastic change. Others, while intrigued by Stellina's features, were completely turned off by the lack of an eyepiece. Still, many seemed unfazed by this aspect of the telescope.

But, while opinions swirled around Stellina's design, one comment from an attendee stuck out: If you think back to every science-fiction movie and television show where characters peer into space, have you ever seen an eyepiece?

While we might hold fond, nostalgic memories of using telescope eyepieces, removing them could just be the natural progression forward. Still, Dupuy noted that if Vaonis is ever able to add an eyepiece to the scope without sacrificing its current capabilities, the company might.

So, perhaps this is not the death of the eyepiece, but rather the start of a new, sharing-focused age in astronomy.

Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her @chelsea_gohd. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.NASA's potential lander mission to Jupiter's ocean-harboring moon Europa may start taking shape soon.

The agency has asked scientists to submit their ideas for instruments for the multibillion-dollar lander, which would look for signs of past or present life on Europa at or near the moon's icy surface, among other work.

"It's official! We're accepting instrument proposals to include on a robotic lander that could go to the surface of Jupiters moon Europa. What concept would best help NASA and a potential future robot explore this icy world? Submit your ideas by Aug. 24: https://go.nasa.gov/2Iu0mdf," Thomas Zurbuchen, the head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said via Twitter yesterday (May 17). [Photos: Europa, Mysterious Icy Moon of Jupiter]

Europa, which is a little smaller than Earth's moon, has a huge ocean of liquid water beneath its icy shell. NASA is currently developing a Jupiter-orbiting mission called Europa Clipper, which is scheduled to launch in 2022. The mission will investigate the Europa ocean's life-hosting potential, gathering data during 40 to 45 flybys that get as close as 16 miles (25 kilometers) to the moon's surface.

And Europa Clipper may even be able to grab samples during some of these flybys. A plume of water vapor appears to emanate from Europa, at least intermittently. It's unclear at the moment if this material is coming all the way from the ocean, or from a reservoir closer to the surface.

Compared to the Clipper mission, the battery-powered Europa lander is on less solid ground; it's a concept at this point, not an officially approved mission. But, as the new call for proposals shows, NASA is working to flesh out the project's scientific activities.

According to the solicitation, the lander's entire scientific payload would have a maximum mass of 73 lbs. (33 kilograms) and would be expected to operate for 20 days on the surface of Europa. (That surface is a very harsh environment: In addition to be being very cold, it's within Jupiter's radiation belt and therefore gets hammered by fast-moving particles. Conditions are more benign in the subsurface, which is shielded by ice.)

The solicitation also stresses that any Europa lander instruments must be at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 by the end of 2022. NASA's TRL scale goes from 1 to 9; a TRL of 6 means that an instrument has "a fully functional prototype or representational model." (At TRL 7, that instrument has been demonstrated in the space environment.)

Current thinking about the potential lander envisions a launch no earlier than 2025, aboard NASA's in-development Space Launch System rocket, and a landing on Europa six years later. Mission team members have said they aim to keep the possible lander mission's cost under $3 billion.

In late 2015, Congress directed NASA to investigate the possibility of adding a lander component to Europa Clipper. The agency subsequently determined that launching the lander separately, after Clipper, would be the best way to go.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has a vision: He wants to get humans to Mars as soon as possible. He already wowed the world this year, when the Falcon Heavy launched and flung a Tesla car toward the asteroid belt. And this heavy-lift rocket will be dwarfed by the boosters Musk plans for Mars exploration, which he says will carry colonists in fleets of ships to the Red Planet.

While getting to Mars is an end in itself, there's another compelling reason to go. Science fiction is full of dystopian futures for Earth if humanity remains limited to this planet. There are the asteroid strikes of the "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon" films, the robot wars of the "Battlestar Galactica" TV series and "Terminator" film franchise, the medical problems and overpopulation in the "Children of Men" and "Elysium" movies, and many other disasters natural and artificial. Dark futures and colonizing other planets will be covered in "AMC Visionaries: James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction," which runs its fourth episode tonight (May 21).

Science fiction inspired the first rocket pioneers to explore beyond Earth. Robert Goddard, who pushed forward liquid rocketry in the early 1900s, was clearly a fan of the genre, because he wrote some science fiction himself, according to io9. The Apollo moon rockets of the 1960s and 1970s were designed by Wernher von Braun, who enjoyed science fiction as a child and partnered with Disney in the 1950s to create educational films about spaceflight. [Gallery: Visions of Interstellar Starship Travel]

And a quick glance around the solar system shows us one real-life reason scientists  and indeed, all of us  should take a page from science fiction and be concerned about Earth's future. The moon, Mars and many of the "airless" moons around the neighborhood are littered with craters. These came from space rocks and other small worlds that slammed into the moon's and planet's surfaces over billions of years.

Lest you imagine that Earth is immune because of its thick atmosphere, think of the dinosaurs, felled about 66 million years ago when a large asteroid or comet around 10 to 15 kilometers (6.2 to 9.3 miles) in diameter slammed into the Earth. We also just passed the five-year anniversary of Chelyabinsk, when a 17-meter (56 feet) small body exploded over a town in Russia, causing many injuries and property damage from shattered glass.

NASA does have an active asteroid-search program and some plans for dealing with asteroids menacing Earth, but even preparing for those intruders isn't enough; there's another, bigger inevitable threat to our planet. In about 4 billion years or 5 billion years, the sun will swell into a red giant after it consumes all of its hydrogen and begins fusing helium. As the star expands, it will swallow up Mercury and Venus and get close to Earth. Our planet will be roasted to a crisp, thrown out of its orbit or swallowed altogether. In any of these scenarios, that's bad news for humans and life on Earth in general.

Legendary director James Cameron talks the dark futures of science fiction with director Christopher Nolan in the fourth episode of AMC Visionaries: James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction, which airs May 21, 2019. (Image credit: AMC)

Get your a to Mars

One popular destination for escaping Earth in science fiction is Mars. At first, this was because people thought other beings like us may live there. In 1877, Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli reported observing channels on Mars, but stopped short of saying whether they were natural or artificial. U.S. science popularizer Percival Lowell, however, went much further in the early 1900s, coming up with explanations as to why the channels were there. Perhaps the Martians were trying to drain water to support a dying planet, Lowell said. (The channels, or canals, were later explained as telescope artifacts when robotic missions to Mars showed the formations don't exist.)

This turn-of-the-century musing greatly influenced science fiction of the era. There was the famous "War of the Worlds" novel by H.G. Wells in 1898, which portrayed a Martian invasion of Earth. (It was recapped in a 1938 national radio broadcast, as well as a 2005 film starring Tom Cruise.) Also, Edgar Rice Burroughs published "A Princess of Mars" in 1912, kicking off a series about Mars (which he called Barsoom) full of living beings. (The widely panned 2012 movie "John Carter" was based on some of these stories.) [Film Review: 'War of the Worlds' Update Hits Home]

Robert Zubrin, founder of the human exploration advocacy group The Mars Society, told Space.com that Mars will someday be an inhabited planet as science fiction writers envisioned. As only two examples of many showing that future, there's the 2015 Matt Damon movie "The Martian" or the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger film "Total Recall," which included the famous line, "Get your a to Mars."

But why does science fiction make exploration look so much easier than we find in real life? Zubrin said, in part, it's because of our mindset.

"Here we are, 500 years or so after [Nicolaus] Copernicus [who said Earth orbits the sun], and most people still talk about the Earth as the world, and there's a thing above us called the sky. Most people still have this geocentric viewpoint," Zubrin told Space.com, pointing out that Earth is in space and we rarely think about that fact in our everyday lives.

Zubrin said our approach of going to Mars via low Earth orbit and the moon is incremental. This approach to space exploration, he said, is similar to telling Lewis and Clark to just go 100 miles (160 kilometers) out beyond the Mississippi River and to wait for the next group of explorers to move farther west.

"If someone asks you why space is so important, it's comparative to somebody in a small village somewhere saying, 'Why is the rest of the world important?' which is sort of an absurd question," Zubrin said. So, he advocates going elsewhere in search of resources, knowledge or a safe haven that we couldn't find on Earth. Interstellar travel would be the ultimate dream, Zubrin said, but in the meantime, we should focus on what we have at hand: Mars, which is close enough to visit using today's technology.

"The most important step is deciding that you want to do it. This is really the dramatic step that Elon Musk is taking," Zubrin said. "There are people at NASA who want to do it, but as an institution, it has been dragging its feet and providing every excuse to the political class not to embrace the challenge."

Moving to Mars  or beyond?

Zubrin's plan (which he outlined in a 1991 paper called "Mars Direct," and which he has expanded on greatly since then) advocates for a direct flight to Mars, with minimal or no on-orbit assembly of the spacecraft. Using current propulsion systems, a spacecraft could get to the Red Planet in six months  the standard rotation astronauts spend on the International Space Station, Zubrin pointed out.

The first missions would bring most of the supplies those travelers would need to live, such as food and water. But the early trips could also bring along architecture so later missions could do more "living off the land," such as greenhouses or habitats. (The first Mars voyagers may eat more meat brought with them, while future generations would be more vegetarian due to the resources on hand, Zubrin said.) He said the habitats of the Mars Society's Mars Desert Research Station and Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station are designed to preview what real Red Planet homes could look like.

The return vehicle would include propellant made from Martian carbon dioxide and water, specifically to generate the fuels methane and oxygen. Zubrin said it's the cheapest propellant combination, with only a hydrogen-oxygen mix providing better exhaust velocity.

But there's a big problem with Mars  it's not very much like Earth. Sure, people could conceivable live on it with technology to manage the risks. Its day is similar in length to Earth's day, too. But the planet has only one-third of Earth's gravity. Martian air isn't breathable. Water, if it exists at all on the surface, would be in scarce quantities. Conditions are even worse on the moon, which has one-sixth Earth's gravity, a longer day-night cycle than our home planet and no air whatsoever.

"They're not places that we are necessarily going to colonize in large numbers," Roger Launius, a retired curator from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, told Space.com. He predicted that by the end of the century, there may be research stations at the moon or Mars, similar to what exists now in Antarctica.

But to really find another home for humanity, we'll have to follow the lead of "Battlestar Galactica" and search for another Earth. Because, otherwise, children are going to be born in lunar or Martian environments that have a lesser gravity than Earth. How this will affect their development when humans are built for Earth is an unknown, Launius said.

But quickly getting to other stars, where second Earths may exist, will be slow unless we figure out a method for faster-than-light speed, or a way to sustain a spacecraft over multiple generations, Launius said. Another possibility is to extend astronaut life spans through hibernation (as done in the movies "Alien" and "Avatar") or by becoming a sort of "Star Trek"-like Borg that would integrate robotics into the human body to extend lives.

This story was inspired by Episode 4 of "AMC Visionaries: James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction," which airs tonight at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT (9 p.m. CDT). A companion book is available on Amazon.com.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.The solar system just got a bit stranger. As astronomers continue their ongoing quest to find the elusive Planet Nine, a team found a space rock that lends credence to the idea that a huge super-Earth planet really exists in the outer reaches of our solar system.

The newfound asteroid, called 2015 BP519, adds to a growing body of evidence about little worlds in the solar system being perturbed by something big. Astronomers detailed its discovery and description in a new paper, adding that the bizarre angle of its orbit gives more weight to the idea that a big planet is out there  somewhere  tugging on the asteroid's path around the sun.

"We also consider the long term orbital stability and evolutionary behavior within the context of the Planet Nine hypothesis, and find that 2015 BP519 adds to the circumstantial evidence for the existence of this proposed new member of the solar system," read the abstract of the paper, which is available now on preprint website Arxiv and has been submitted to The Astronomical Journal. [How Astronomers Could Actually See 'Planet Nine']

Following up on the discovery, Quanta Magazine recently published an article surveying several astrophysicists who specialize in studying small worlds, including the discoverers of 2015 BP519. While not everybody agreed that Planet Nine was responsible for the strange orbit, the overwhelming majority agreed the new discovery gives more credence to the idea. "The second you put Planet Nine in the simulations, not only can you form objects like this object, but you absolutely do," lead author Juliette Becker, a graduate student at the University of Michigan, told Quanta. (You can look at the object's orbit online here.)

It's not the first time Planet Nine was blamed for pushing an object around. Back in 2014, before Planet Nine was officially hypothesized, astronomers Scott Sheppard and Chadwick Trujillo noticed orbital irregularities in several small bodies beyond Neptune's orbit. These included dwarf planet Sedna, a newfound object called 2012 VP113, and several other trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).

Then, in January 2016, astronomers Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown saw more evidence of TNOs with perturbed orbits. They were the ones who first gave "Planet Nine" a name, size and distance. They suggested that the mysterious planet could be 10 times more massive than Earth, located 600 astronomical units (AU) from the sun. (One AU is the average distance between the Earth and the sun, which is 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers.)

A possible ninth planet in the solar system, known as Planet 9, is illustrated orbiting far beyond Neptune's orbit (shown as a ring around the sun). (Image credit: Tom Ruen.nagualdesign/ESO)

A flood of studies followed about TNOs and how Planet Nine might have affected their orbits; the following summary is just a sampling. Not all teams were enthusiastic, with one group from the Outer Solar System Origins Survey (OSSOS) cautioning that many of these surveys could be just observational bias.

But astronomers persisted, with Sheppard and Trujillo discovering at least two new TNOs possibly affected by Planet Nine. Another study showed Planet Nine perhaps influenced the tilt of planets in our solar system. And in 2017, astronomers from the University of Madrid in Spain found peculiarities in the orbits of 22 "extreme" TNOs that orbit the sun that could also be explained by a large, distant body exerting gravitational influence. (These TNOs never get closer to the sun than Neptune  which is 30 AU away, orbiting the sun in a rough circle  and have an average distance of at least 150 AU.)

By October 2017, Batygin said, there were at least five different lines of evidence that suggest the existence of the planet. "If you were to remove this explanation and imagine Planet Nine does not exist, then you generate more problems than you solve. All of a sudden, you have five different puzzles, and you must come up with five different theories to explain them," he said in a statement.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.The asteroid 2015 BZ509, shown here circled in yellow, appears to be an interstellar object that shares the orbit of Jupiter.

Another interstellar asteroid has been spotted in our solar system  and this one is a long-term resident rather than a visitor, a new study reports.

Last October, astronomers using the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii announced the discovery of a weird, needle-shaped rock zooming past Earth on a very long-distance trek. This asteroid, which was subsequently named 'Oumuamua (Hawaiian for "scout"), is the first known interstellar object ever observed in our solar system.

But 'Oumuamua is just passing through. This other interstellar asteroid, known as 2015 BZ509, has shared Jupiter's orbit since the solar system's infancy, 4.5 billion years ago, according to the new study. [Solar System Explained from the Inside Out (Infographic)]

2015 BZ509 was discovered in November 2014, also by Pan-STARRS (which is short for "Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System," in case you were wondering). The space rock is an oddball: Its orbit is "retrograde," meaning 2015 BZ509 moves around the sun in the opposite direction of Jupiter, Earth and most other bodies in the solar system.

"How the asteroid came to move in this way while sharing Jupiter's orbit has until now been a mystery," astronomer Fathi Namouni of the Cote d'Azur Observatory in France, who led the new study, said in a statement. "If 2015 BZ509 were a native of our system, it should have had the same original direction as all of the other planets and asteroids, inherited from the cloud of gas and dust that formed them."

Namouni and study co-author Helena Morais, who's based at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil, performed computer simulations that traced 2015 BZ509's movements backward through time.

"We showed that 2015 BZ509 has been a retrograde co-orbital of Jupiter over the age of the solar system, i.e., since 4.5 billion years ago," Morais told Space.com via email. "The solar system could not produce retrograde orbits so far back in time, so the only option left is that of capture from another system."

Such thefts were much easier back then. The sun was born in a dense cluster of stars, which all coalesced from the same giant gas cloud. There would have been far more gravitational jostling among these sibling stars and their infant planets than these now-far-flung solar systems experience today, the researchers said.

So, 2015 BZ509 may not be the only interstellar immigrant out there. Indeed, some of the objects on polar orbits out beyond Neptune could have originated elsewhere as well, Morais said.

The new study was published online today (May 21) in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.WALLOPS ISLAND, Va.  An Orbital ATK Antares rocket pierced the clouds in the predawn sky over Virginia this morning (May 21) with a dazzling predawn launch to deliver more than 3 tons of vital supplies to the International Space Station.

The Antares rocket launched an uncrewed Cygnus cargo ship at 4:44 a.m. EDT (0844 GMT) from Pad-0A of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility here, and successfully reached orbit 9 minutes later. The Cygnus, also built by Orbital ATK, is expected to arrive at the space station on Thursday (May 24).

"Earth's newest spacecraft launched this morning in a column of fire and roar," Kirk Shireman, NASA's space station program manager, told reporters after the successful liftoff. "Just an outstanding, outstanding launch." [See photos of the Cygnus vehicle's launch into space]

An Orbital ATK Antares rocket carrying the OA-9 Cygnus spacecraft launches from Pad-0A,at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia in this dazzling photo from the predawn liftoff on May 21, 2018. The Cygnus was carying nearly 7,400 lbs. of NASA cargo for the International Space Station. (Image credit: Aubrey Gemignani/NASA)

Because of its predawn timing, Monday's launch was expected to be visible to potentially millions of spectators along the U.S. East Coast. The launch was originally scheduled to lift off on Sunday, with more than 2,000 people expected at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center alone, NASA officials said. NASA and Orbital ATK delayed to Monday due to bad weather and the need for extra rocket checks.

On Monday morning (a school day) that number dropped to about 700 viewers at the Visitor Center, with more expected to watch from sites around the area, Wallops spokesperson Keith Kohler told Space.com. One of those spectators was NASA's new administrator, Jim Bridenstine, who attended the launch in person, according to NASA.

Orbital ATK's Cygnus is packed with 7,385 lbs. (3,350 kilograms) of experiments, clothing, food and other supplies for the six Expedition 55 crewmembers currently living aboard the International Space Station.

Orbital ATK's Antares spacecraft passed through a layer of clouds before lighting up the sky over NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia while launching the Cygnus spacecraft toward the International Space Station May 21, 2018. (Image credit: NASA TV)

That gear includes the Cold Atom Laboratory, an experiment built by scientists to create the coldest spot in the universe using lasers, as well as a closed-loop plant growth experiment, a sextant for navigation studies, and a series of cubesats that will be deployed in orbit from both the station and the Cygnus itself once it departs the orbiting laboratory.

"What's also important is it will bring home almost 3 tons of cargo back from the space station," Shireman said yesterday.

The Cygnus spacecraft is a disposable vehicle designed to intentionally burn up in Earth's atmosphere at the end of its mission. Before leaving the space station, it will be filled with tons of trash and other unneeded items for disposal, according to its mission profile. Orbital ATK named this Cygnus the S.S. J.R. Thompson in honor of J.R. Thompson, a former NASA director and Orbital ATK executive who died last November.

"In fond memory of [the Cygnus spacecraft's namesake, aerospace executive] Mr. J.R. Thompson, we wish Cygnus a a smooth trip on the rest of their journey to the International Space Station," a spokesperson from Mission Control said after annoucing that the spacecraft had reached orbit.

See more

Monday's launch marked the ninth cargo delivery mission for NASA by the Dulles, Virginia-based Orbital ATK under a $2.9 billion contract for 11 such missions in all. It was the seventh Orbital ATK cargo mission to use the company's Orbital ATK's Antares rocket. The other two missions launched on Atlas V rockets built by the United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Orbital ATK is one of two companies currently ferrying cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. The other is SpaceX, which is expected to fly 20 delivery flights for NASA as part of a contract valued at just over $3 billion. SpaceX has flown 14 of those missions so far using its Falcon 9 rockets and Dragon spacecraft.

NASA has also picked Orbital ATK, SpaceX and another company Sierra Nevada Corp.  for a new round of cargo delivery contracts under its Commercial Resupply Services 2 program. Sierra Nevada will use its uncrewed Dream Chaser space planes and Atlas V rockets to make its deliveries.

Editor's note: Visit Space.com Thursday for complete docking coverage of the Cygnus OA-9 mission. This story, originally posted at 4:58 a.m. EDT, was updated at 7:46 a.m. EDT to include comments from NASA's post-launch press conference. It was also updated to include final crowd estimates at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility Visitor Center.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.China's Queqiao relay satellite for the country's Chang'e 4 mission to the far side of the moon launched into space atop a Long March 4C rocket on Monday, May 21, 2018 Beijing Time (Sunday, May 20 EDT).

China just launched a spacecraft that will help pave the way for a historic mission to the moon's far side later this year.

The Queqiao relay satellite lifted off atop a Long March 4C rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan Province today (May 20) at 5:28 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT; 5:28 a.m. on May 21 local Xichang time).

Queqiao is now its way to the Earth-moon Lagrange point-2, a gravitationally stable spot about 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) beyond the lunar far side. The satellite will set up shop there and wait for China's robotic Chang'e 4 lander-rover spacecraft, which is expected to launch in November or December. [China's Moon Missions Explained (Infographic)]

If all goes according to plan, Chang'e 4 will become the first craft ever to touch down on the moon's far side, which forever faces away from Earth. (The moon is "tidally locked" to our planet, so we only ever see the near side.) Queqiao will relay commands and data between the Chang'e 4 lander and its handlers here on Earth  a job the lander and rover can't do for themselves, because all that moon rock would get in the way.

An artist's illustration of China's Queqiao relay satellite, which launched on May 20, 2018. The spacecraft will relay data between controllers on Earth and China's Chang'e 4 lander-rover pair on the moon's far side. Chang'e 4 is scheduled to launch in November or December. (Image credit: CNSA)

Queqiao is also carrying a radio-astronomy package called the Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE), which will hunt for radio emissions from the universe's infancy, study space weather, characterize the radio environment of the Earth-moon system and make a range of other measurements.

NCLE is a pathfinder experiment; its observations should aid in the design and development of a future radio-science instrument that will study the heavens from a perch in space or on the moon, team members have said.

Also riding to space today with Queqiao were two microsatellites called Longjiang-1 and Longjiang-2, which will also do some radio-astronomy research.

Longjiang-1 and -2 were developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology. HIT is in China's Heilongjiang Province, which apparently explains the microsatellites' names. ("Heilongjiang" means "Black Dragon River;" it's the Chinese name for the river the Russians call the Amur, which forms part of the China-Russia border. "Longjiang" means "dragon river.")

While we're on the subject of names: "Queqiao" means "bridge of magpies" and is a nod to a Chinese folktale. In this story, "magpies form a bridge with their wings on the seventh night of the seventh month of the lunar calendar to enable Zhi Nu, the seventh daughter of the Goddess of Heaven, to cross and meet her beloved husband, separated from her by the Milky Way," China's state-run Xinhua news service explained.

"Chang'e," meanwhile, is the Chinese moon goddess. The robotic Chang'e program has been going strong for more than a decade, and it's been notching milestone after milestone.

The first two missions, Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2, launched orbiters to the moon in 2007 and 2010, respectively. Chang'e 3 put a lander and a rover (called Yutu, "Jade Rabbit") on the lunar surface in December 2013. The next year, the Chang'e 5 T1 mission sent a small capsule around the moon and landed it back on Earth. This was prep work for the Chang'e 5 lunar sample-return mission, which China plans to launch in 2019.

Over the long haul, China aims to establish a permanent presence on the lunar surface, Pei Zhaoyu, deputy director of the China National Space Administration's Lunar Exploration and Space Program Center, said at a conference last month, according to Xinhua.

Pei "proposed an unmanned lunar research station in about 10 years to accumulate technical expertise, and a lunar research and development base around 2050," Xinhua reported. "The base would be operated by robots over the long term, and visited by humans, Pei envisioned."

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.Re-add with new caption: Researchers think Mars' moon Phobos may someday reform into a ring around the rocky world. New work suggests that rocky planets with rings may be more common than previously thought, having been mistaken for another type of planet.

Astronomers may have unknowingly discovered rocky planets with rings, which they mistook for other kinds of worlds, a new study finds.

Rings surround all this solar system's gas giant planets; they most famously wrap around Saturn, but also encircle Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus. In contrast, the solar system's rocky planets all currently lack rings.

However, rocky planets can have rings. For instance, Mars' moon Phobos might once have taken the form of rings around the Red Planet, the new study's author, Anthony Piro, an astrophysicist at the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Pasadena, California, told Space.com. And as that moon gets closer to Mars over time, Phobos will likely get torn into a ring again "on a timescale of about 50 million years," Piro said. [Cosmic Speck: See Earth Through Saturn's Rings in Amazing Photo]

Astronomers could search for rings around rocky planets orbiting distant stars by looking for subtle effects that such rings would have as the planets passed in front of their stars from the viewpoint of Earth. Such rings could make these worlds look as if they are wider than they actually are, Piro said. That's why astronomers might have mistaken the ringed planets for another type of world.

"Scientists have investigated the idea of rings around exoplanets that are like the giant planets in our solar system, but the idea of having rocky rings around more Earth-like planets has received less focus," Piro said.

Piro calculated how rocky exoplanets with rings might appear to astronomers as the worlds pass in front of stars. He found that rocky, ringed worlds might look like so-called sub-Neptune planets, a kind of world not seen in Earth's solar system. Sub-Neptunes are more than 1.6 times Earth's diameter but are smaller than Neptune, which is about 3.9 times Earth's diameter.

Most sub-Neptunes detected so far have low densities, which suggests they are not purely rocky, and scientists had suggested these planets had puffy, gaseous atmospheres rich in hydrogen and helium. However, Piro suggested that some worlds that looked like sub-Neptunes might actually be rocky planets with rings, and thus seem to have low densities because of the vast empty space between their surfaces and their rings.

Given rocky exoplanets each roughly the diameter and density of Earth, Piro calculated that rings with about 100 times the mass of Phobos or 5 percent the mass of Saturn's rings could last around such worlds for about 1 billion years or more. This means that astronomers could realistically detect ringed rocky planets, he said.

All in all, Piro estimated that ringed, Earth-size, rocky worlds might look like planets with diameters two or three times greater than Earth's. This is not unlike the sub-Neptunes astronomers have recently detected, he said.

Piro said he's not suggesting that all the worlds that scientists have currently identified as sub-Neptunes are actually rocky planets with rings. Rather, he suggested that the group of sub-Neptunes that astronomers have detected so far may be a good starting place for discovering ringed, rocky worlds.

One way to see if an exoplanet is a sub-Neptune or a rocky world with rings would involve looking at the light shining past the planet as the world passes in front of its star. "When light leaks through the atmosphere around an exoplanet, you can see some signs of what that atmosphere is made of," Piro said.

The spectrum of light from the exoplanet known as GJ 1214 b or Gliese 1214 b suggests that this world could have rings, Piro said. "But another explanation is that it's just really, really cloudy, which can happen if it has a lot of water," he said.

In another method to see if an exoplanet has rings, scientists could look for slight anomalies in the light as the planet starts and finishes passing in front of its star. "Scientists have done this for some larger exoplanets more like Jupiter in size but not so much for sub-Neptunes," Piro said.

Future generations of telescopes  such as the James Webb Space Telescope scheduled to launch in 2020 or the Giant Magellan Telescope under construction in Chile  may prove better at detecting rings around rocky exoplanets, Piro said. "Ringed, rocky exoplanets really feel like something from science fiction, like a 'Star Wars' type of planet," Piro said. "They seem like they'd be really cool places to live."

Piro detailed his findings online May 3 in a study submitted to The Astronomical Journal.

Follow Charles Q. Choi on Twitter @cqchoi. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.Tifariti (Liberated Zones), May 20, 2018 (SPS) - The President of the Republic, Secretary-General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, received the credentials of the Zimbabwean Ambassador to the Sahrawi Republic, Mr. Edwin George Mandaza.



In a statement to the press, the Zimbabwean ambassador expressed his pleasure for the honor he received, highlighting that he discussed with the President of the Republic the challenges facing the continent and expressed Zimbabwe's support for the just Sahrawi cause.



The Ambassador had been received by the Minister of Cooperation, Bulahi Sayed, and the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (SPS)



062/SPS/TRASTAMFORD  When Trish Kelley and Andy Putterman took over as editors of the Westhill High School yearbook in the fall of 2016, they had a goal in mind: to get all 2,200 students in the book at least once.

The following year  as seniors their last at the school  was filled with late nights, weekend editing sessions and daily meetings putting together Purple Reign, the 2016-2017 edition of the student yearbook.

The yearbook staffs work paid off last week when Purple Reign was awarded first place with special merit by the American Scholastic Press Association. It was the first time that Westhill had entered the competition and it was one of 16 schools in the country to earn the honor.

I was excited, said Kelley, 19, a student at Villanova University. [Putterman] was excited. We didnt think itd be all this.

Kelley and Putterman had just finished up their freshmen years of college (Putterman attends New York University) when they found out the final product of their senior year at Westhill was being rewarded.

I didnt think too much of it...but I was excited, said Putterman, 18. Looking back, it was such a meaningful experience. Words cant describe how meaningful it was. It was a team effort. For all this to culminate in an award, were so grateful.

Neither Kelley or Putterman, members of the Westhill Class of 2017, had been a part of yearbook up until the start of their senior year. They agreed to be co-editors-in-chief when they were asked by yearbook co-adviser, Kate Tobin.

The pair took Tobins yearbook class and worked after school on the book, focusing on spelling, proofreading about 400 senior quotes and tagging the right people in the index, with the help of a 25-person yearbook staff.

Kelley and Putterman said they also tried to make the yearbook inclusive of all grades rather than just focusing on the seniors. The two made sure to spotlight underclassmen with special talents throughout the book.

A lot of times, yearbooks give an inordinate amount of attention to seniors, Putterman said. But we wanted to give our dues to other kids too.

The books theme, Purple Reign, was a play on the school colors, purple and gold, and inspired by Prince.

Tobin said the students working on the yearbook for the current school year want to continue to enter it into competitions. This upcoming years book built on the goals set by Putterman and Kelley while also working on having a consistent design throughout.

Its every editor-in-chiefs goal to outdo the previous years book, Tobin said. Part of the reasoning is we learn lessons. Andy and Trish did a good job carrying out a theme and incorporating underclassmen. We definitely think this years book is going to be a winner.

erin.kayata@stamfordadvocate.com; (203) 964-2265; @erin_kayataD ixons has opened a new Currys and PC World store in Canary Wharf tailored to City workers keen to grab the latest technology on their coffee break.

The joint-branded shop opened in the shopping centre adjoined to Canary Wharf station on Friday and attracted a throng of shoppers keen to purchase high end goods.

The electricals retailer has ditched printers and smoothie makers in favour of a full range of 19 Apple products, premium cameras and 2,000 TVs. The shop stocked the new Samsung Galaxy S5 on its UK release day.

The 2,100 sq ft shop, which was relocated from elsewhere in the centre onto the main thoroughfare, features a dedicated click-and-collect area in which staff use iPads to retrieve a customers' online orders from a collection locker.

Staff can also set up laptops purchased in a customers' lunch break for them to pick up on their way home.

READ MORE





Dixons senior development manager in design Quentin Bossom told the Evening Standard: "The store and its range is tailored to the City worker with a large disposable income who wants to browse near work.

"Technology is not just for geeks any more, customers have a detailed understanding of it and see the latest products as fashion statements."

Bossom added that the store design and product mix is likely to be echoed in its other London shops. The store's manager John Sparks has worked for the firm for 35 years and began selling black and white televisions.

The opening comes as Dixons is locked in talks with Carphone Warehouse over a proposed 4bn "merger of equals". It emerged in February that the High Street chains were in discussions to amalgamate and have extended the talks until May 19 at the latest.

Sir Charles Dunstone, founder and chairman of Carphone Warehouse, is expected to chair the new company, and Dixons boss Sebastian James, is expected to become chief executive if the merger goes ahead. Dixons declined to comment on the progress of the discussions.A s diners tuck into their lunchtime gnocchi at Clerkenwell Italian joint Palatino, an odd scene is unfolding in the corner of the restaurant.

A group of bright young things are chucking a foam cube, which turns out to be a microphone, to each other across lecture theatre-style seating while their peers listen using silent disco headphones.

As it turns out, this is business as usual at Koru Kids. The London nannying service has regular training sessions at its ultra-modern East London offices, shared with the restaurant and a heap of other techie hopefuls.

The sessions see Korus staff meeting and assessing wannabe nannies  usually one of the new breed of sensible, debt-strapped students you might actually trust your child with.

Koru (which means loop in Maori) has been created by New Zealander Rachel Carrell with the aim of tackling the fragmented and backward childcare market which results in complex arrangements cobbled together by frazzled parents. Everyones childcare is one sickness phone call away from disaster, says Carrell.

As well as providing nanny recruitment, training and checks, the tech platform offers support.

At the moment, you have to get your nanny from here, your babysitting from there, payroll here, payments somewhere else. Everything is patchwork, fragile, a massive headache. What that looks like is the mum  its almost always the mum  in bed at 11pm WhatsApping her friends, saying can anyone recommend a payroll service?

Koru matches up local families with a nanny who can work just a few hours each day. It charges parents 12 an hour. Carrell originally focused the business on babies and toddlers but, after an article in the Standard, she was inundated with readers looking for after-school care.

The market also doesnt cater for modern families who increasingly want to work flexibly and part-time.

Our after-school service supports families who desperately need quality childcare after 3pm that fits around their work schedule, she explains, adding that the Government has focused its efforts on initiatives to help parents of pre-school children, rather than those of school age.

The problem is exacerbated by the fact fewer schools now have after-school clubs, while childminder numbers are in decline (on top of the red tape, they have to look after kids in their own home  not as practical in pricey London).

Like many start-ups, Carrells light bulb flickered when personal experience drove her to research.

Shed been looking for a childminder for her daughter (Naomi, now three) and was also spending every weekend talking to friends about their own childcare woes and it struck me that there wasnt anyone, particularly in after-school care, taking it seriously.

More than 17,000 hopefuls have applied, with just under 10% becoming nannies.

A flick through their profiles is intriguing: a male animation student who has experience looking after his sister and working on a family amusement park; a volunteer teacher who had babysat multiple families.

Online, a dad in Hampstead cheers that a Koru nanny taught his son Spanish; another, in Forest Hill, says her kids and nanny have a strong bond. Although Koru is an online platform, Carrell is at pains to stress the service isnt an Uber for nannies able to arrive on the East Wind at a moments notice.

The antipodean is a graduate of consulting behemoth McKinsey, with her six years taking her across the globe and into every industry.

One assignment even took her to a remote Russian oilfield for months. Her first chief executive role followed, growing turnover from 6 million to 20 million at online doctor service Dr Thom over three years from 2012.

She spent a swift year running IVF chain ARGC (she actually had IVF for her second child) but had a yearning to build something from scratch herself.

At Koru, theres been steady growth since the decision to focus on afterschool.

Two funding rounds have brought in some big-name investors including Innocent Smoothies founder Richard Reed, Gumtree founder Michael Pennington and Rolls-Royce chairman (and ex-McKinsey man) Ian Davis.

Koru has just closed a 3.5 million round which Carrell enjoyed. I love talking about the business and getting insightful feedback. The only challenge was I had a baby in the middle of it. That baby, Alexander, is now four months old.R emember Ryanairs slew of cancellations last autumn? You know, the debacle where it messed up its pilots rostering and pundits claimed the airlines days could be over?

You might, but the majority of the flying public doesnt. Or at least, they dont care enough to stop booking with Ryanair. The truth is, as this airline proves time and again, give people low enough prices and theyll forgive you nearly anything.

Todays 10% leap in its profits is proof, yet again, that the formula is bulletproof. For all those doomladen headlines last September, Ryanair went on to take 7 billion in fares from nearly 10% more passengers.

Despite all that, Ryanair warns that it is on the pessimistic side of cautious about the year ahead.

Part of that is because of the staff costs associated with fixing its pilot issues, but there are many other reasons not to be cheerful, according to the company: primarily that oil prices are high and fares will be flat in the year to come.

Id take all that with a pinch of salt.

Look at the oil price for starters. Crude may be nearly $80 a barrel, but Ryanair has bought 90% of its fuel up to next March at $59.

So, for nearly a year, Ryanair will be largely immune.

Its weaker rivals, meanwhile, will be utterly crippled. Some will disappear altogether, collapsing like Air Berlin and Alitalia, taking capacity out of the industry. Air Norwegian may hobble on now it has IAGs backing, but plenty of others wont. Far from being bad for Ryanair, the high oil price is a boon.

As for fares, Ryanairs gloomy claim that theyll be flat this year also seems unlikely. Most in the industry seem to expect fares to rise thanks to all those airlines going bust. The truth is, Ryanair regularly underpromises in its Stock Exchange statements, presumably so that the share price will rise even further when events prove less dismal than forecast.

Chief executive Michael OLeary as good as admitted he didnt believe his own market announcement today  shortly after issuing it, he went on Bloomberg TV to admit the negativity was probably unrealistic.

Investors are used to such misleading misery; Ryanairs share price rose today. Why do they put up with it? Like passengers lulled by low prices, theyll forgive OLeary anything if he keeps delivering the profits.

Flower power

The Citys finest descend on Chelsea tonight for the Gala evening at the Flower Show. Where last year the talk was all Brexit, this time Italexit will be the talking point. The election of two chaotic, eurosceptic parties to run Italy is worrying to anyone running a major multinational.

Unless its an airline, that is. High-ups in the industry whisper that the populist coalition will never let crippled Alitalia go bust, even though it clearly should.R emember Ryanairs slew of cancellations last autumn? You know, the debacle where it messed up its pilots rostering and pundits claimed the airlines days could be over?

You might, but the majority of the flying public doesnt. Or at least, they dont care enough to stop booking with Ryanair. The truth is, as this airline proves time and again, give people low enough prices and theyll forgive you nearly anything.

Todays 10% leap in its profits is proof, yet again, that the formula is bulletproof. For all those doomladen headlines last September, Ryanair went on to take 7 billion in fares from nearly 10% more passengers.

Despite all that, Ryanair warns that it is on the pessimistic side of cautious about the year ahead.

Part of that is because of the staff costs associated with fixing its pilot issues, but there are many other reasons not to be cheerful, according to the company: primarily that oil prices are high and fares will be flat in the year to come.

Id take all that with a pinch of salt.

Look at the oil price for starters. Crude may be nearly $80 a barrel, but Ryanair has bought 90% of its fuel up to next March at $59.

So, for nearly a year, Ryanair will be largely immune.

Its weaker rivals, meanwhile, will be utterly crippled. Some will disappear altogether, collapsing like Air Berlin and Alitalia, taking capacity out of the industry. Air Norwegian may hobble on now it has IAGs backing, but plenty of others wont. Far from being bad for Ryanair, the high oil price is a boon.

As for fares, Ryanairs gloomy claim that theyll be flat this year also seems unlikely. Most in the industry seem to expect fares to rise thanks to all those airlines going bust. The truth is, Ryanair regularly underpromises in its Stock Exchange statements, presumably so that the share price will rise even further when events prove less dismal than forecast.

Chief executive Michael OLeary as good as admitted he didnt believe his own market announcement today  shortly after issuing it, he went on Bloomberg TV to admit the negativity was probably unrealistic.L ONDONs Lord Mayor called on the Government to provide clarity on the fate of the thousands of overseas workers in the Square Mile today as the clock ticks towards Brexit.

Speaking half-way through his term in the historic office  Charles Bowman is the 690th holder of the post  he stressed that the City would like to hear more on plans to protect the flow of talent in and out of the City after the UK leaves the EU.

Of the hundreds of thousands of workers in Londons financial district, more than 40% come from overseas and 18% of the total are European.

Bowman said: From a talent perspective, the City is nothing without its people, and having the appropriate access to international talent and to provide that talent the other way is very important to us  so our very specific ask, which we continue to push the Government very hard on, is further clarity on what the immigration policy is. We would like to hear more. Weve always been open to people and open to talent.

His comments came as TheCityUK lobbyists also called for a flexible and dynamic system on skills. The group warned that the costs of bringing skilled EU workers could quadruple for employers if the existing immigration system is applied to European workers, as firms are forced to double the number of visa applications.R yanair chief executive Michael OLeary on Monday laid bare how a disastrous pilot rota blunder has hit the no-frills airline, and warned profits will fall back in a tough year for the aviation industry.

The outspoken Irish boss delivered a pessimistic side of cautious outlook, despite profits after tax jumping 10% to 1.45 billion (1.27 billion) in the year to March 31.

OLeary said he expects this years full-year earnings to drop to between 1.25 billion and 1.35 billion as the airline prepares for a surge in costs, including a potential 400 million rise in fuel bills.

The budget carrier is also grappling with the fallout from a rota fiasco last September that led to pilot shortages and some 20,000 flights being cancelled. That resulted in Ryanair sweetening contracts and recognising some trade unions.

OLeary said: We expect the market for experienced pilots in Europe to remain tight for the next 12 months and, accordingly, this will continue to put upward pressure on staff costs for all EU airlines.

For the present financial year, bookings are strong but pricing remains soft.

Liberum analyst Gerald Khoo said of the profit warning: Staff cost pressures appear to be the main factor, along with last years fuel tailwind, becoming a material headwind this year.

OLeary gave the cautious update alongside Ryanairs full-year results. The budget airline saw passenger numbers rise 9% to 130.3 million, with load factor  a measure to assess how efficiently an airline fills its planes  up to 95%.

The growth came despite cancelled flights from the staff shortage, snow and strikes on the Continent.

Investors welcomed the performance, sending the shares up 3% to 15.96.

OLeary also predicted that more opportunities for mergers and acquisitions will present themselves in the sector.

There has been consolidation in the industry with Lufthansa snapping up parts of Air Berlin, and British Airways owner IAG making an offer for Norwegian Air. It was reported at the weekend that IAG is poised to make a fresh bid, valuing the airline at 1.52 billion.

Hard brexit warning

Ryanair has outlined its plans to cope with a hard Brexit and ensure it can fly freely around the European Union.

The carrier said it intends to scrap voting rights for UK shareholders, meaning it is majority-owned and controlled by EU investors at all times to comply with its licences.T he Serious Fraud Office suffered a major blow on Monday when the Crown Court dismissed all charges against Barclays relating to a 5 billion fundraising deal at the height of the financial crisis.

Barclays and four former executives were charged with fraud. The SFO alleged that the bank had in effect bribed Qatar to make an investment in the bank, or unlawful financial assistance in legalese.

Though that is not the end of the matter, since the SFO is now extremely likely to take the matter to a High Court judge to restart the proceedings, it does throw doubt on the chances of a prosecution.

The case against the four directors  John Varley, Roger Jenkins, Thomas Kalaris and Richard Boath  remains unchanged for the moment, it is assumed.

Barclays said it expects the SFO to reinstate these charges by applying to a High Court judge to recommence proceedings via a new indictment of the same charges.H ere the Evening Standard business team highlights all the major tech news today.

Top story sees revolutionary new platform Tailwise raise 200,000.

The website and app allows dog seekers to set up a profile detailing their homelife, lifestyle, dog preferences, and why they want a dog.

It then matches the dog buyer to verified breeders.

The company was started by chief executive and dog lover Sam Worthy and chief operating officer Dan Baird.

The service aims to prevent people buying from puppy farms and was launched in 2017 after Worthy decided he had enough of the poor industry standards he had witnessed.

Worthy said: I grew up around dogs, so a couple of years ago I looked into getting my own. The one I saw was very likely from a puppy farm and I realised that the dog buying process was completely outdated and fraught with risks. It became clear that there is a stark split between breeders who care and want the very best for their litters and unscrupulous people who exploit the emotive nature of buying a puppy.

At Tailwise were working with great breeders, using tech to radically improve animal welfare and provide transparency for the most important moment in a dog owners life - finding the right dog.

On Tailwise dog breeders and seekers go through a range of identity verification checks and all puppies are vet checked before they go to their new homes. The dog market is huge with people in the UK buying between 770,000 and 1.5 million puppies per year.

Tailwise stays involved in the process to ensure the dog is safe in the new home and then allows the breeders and new owners to stay in touch with each other afterwards.

Meanwhile its another big day for Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg who will be grilled by the European Parliament tomorrow.

Zuckerberg has agreed to a live web stream for the hearing. A Facebook spokeswoman said: Were looking forward to the meeting and happy for it to be live streamed.

Zuckerberg, who founded the US social media giant, will be in Europe to defend the company after scandal over its sale of personal data to political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica which worked on US President Donald Trumps election campaign, among others..

He is also due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.

Finally PayPal Holdings has agreed to buy Swedish financial technology startup iZettle for $2.2 billion in the US online payments providers biggest ever acquisition.

The deal will allow the Californian company to expand into the retail payment terminals business in international markets, where it will compete with Silicon Valley firm Square founded by Twitter chief executive Jack Dorsey.I have never been a big fan of the royals. As a little girl I adored Dianas beauty, drama and good deeds, but the rest of them seemed boring and fusty.

All that changed last week when the Thomas Markle show came to town. The unfurling soap opera of staged pap snaps, the flip-flops on whether he would walk his daughter down the aisle, an announcement of sudden heart surgery in Mexico and Meghans oddly worded statement from Kensington Palace left me gripped. Not since the days of Diana has there been such drama in the house of Windsor.

It appeared to be a terrible PR crisis. Yet, by Saturday, the headlines had managed to make Meghan, a Hollywood actress, wonderfully relatable.

We all have a rogue relative who can be relied upon to say and do the worst thing at the worst possible moment.

The Windsors have their fair share but poor Meghan seems to have a family full of them. Only lovely Doria, resplendent in Oscar De La Renta, locs and a nose stud, stuck by her daughters side.

Royal Wedding 2018: The best pictures you might have missed 1 /60 Royal Wedding 2018: The best pictures you might have missed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau along the Long Walk PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex emerge from the West Door of St George's Chapel Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau along the Long Walk after their wedding in St George's Chapel Yui Mok/PA Princess Charlotte sticks out her tongue as she rides in a car to the wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Andrew Milligan/PA Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George leave after the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel Gareth Fuller/WPA Pool/AP Zalie Warren arrives at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle PA Prince Harry and his wife Meghan wave as they ride a horse-drawn carriage after their wedding ceremony Damir Sagolj/Reuters Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ride in an Ascot Landau carriage up the Long Walk at Windsor Castle after their wedding teve Parsons/PA Royal fans in Windsor for the wedding celebration Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Doria Ragland and the Prince of Wales leave St George's Chapel Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince Harry's brother and best man Prince William, Duke of Cambridge wait in the chapel ahead of his wedding Owen Humphreys/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Students of Immaculate Heart High School and Middle School watch a live broadcast of the wedding of Meghan Markle, who graduated from Immaculate Heart in 1999 David McNew/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the steps of St George's Chapel Ben Birchall/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Phil Noble/WPA/Getty Images) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Jonathan Brady//WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry looks at his bride, Meghan Markle Jonathan Brady//WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chapel Aaron Chown/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Ben BirchallWPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Andrew Milligan/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Crowds at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Jeff J Mitchell/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Yui Mok/WPA Pool/Getty Images Members of the Royal family watch as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chapel Andrew Milligan/PA Pinky Ghelani and Suzzy Wokabi watch a TV broadcast of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding at the Windsor golf and country club in Nairobi Thomas Mukoya/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Andrew Milligan/PA The Duke of Cambridge with Prince George leave St George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/PA Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for her wedding Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan (R), Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their royal wedding ceremony Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after their wedding in Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP A town crier poses after watching the carriage procession Tom Nicholson/EPA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as they leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle following their wedding. Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as they leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle following their wedding. Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding Victoria Jones/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during the procession after getting married St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Matt Cardy/Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leaves Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images The Prince of Wales leads Meghan Markle up the aisle of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle for her wedding to Prince Harry Dominic Lipinski/PA Prince William, Prince Charles, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of York, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, from let, during the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex walk down the west steps of St George's Chapel Ben Stansall/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding. Owen Humphreys/PA Crowds gather ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Bruce Adams/WPA Pool/Getty Images George Clooney and his wife British human rights barrister Amal Clooney (R) arrive for the royal wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Toby Melville/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave from the West Door of St George's Chapel Ben Stansall/WPA ool/Getty Images Prince George leaves St George's Chapel Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images The Duke of Edinburgh leaves St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Gareth Fller/WPA Pool/Reuters Oprah Winfrey leaves St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ian West/WPA Pool/AP Royal fans watch the wedding Peter Nicholls/Reuters The Duchess of Cambridge arrives with the bridesmaids at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor, Jane barlow/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel Danny lawson/WPA Poll/Getty Images Prince Harry gestures next to his wife Meghan as they ride a horse-drawn carriage Damir Sagolj/Reuters

When Meghan appeared on the west steps of St Georges Chapel in her Givenchy finery, I was rooting for her, for them, for the whole barmy institution.

And what a wedding! With Bishop Currys energetic sermon and that spine-tingling rendition of Stand By Me, it was a wedding full of hope for modern Britain.

But I dont think Harry and Meghan can take total responsibility for the rising royalist fervour.

Netflix series The Crown laid the foundations. The addictive, uber-expensive show turned royal history into a high-quality soap opera about ambition, passion, betrayal and the sacrifices the crown demands.

Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Wedding day in pictures

As I watched the prince and his Hollywood divorcee wife tie the knot, it occurred to me: this is going to be a cracker of an episode one day.

Divorce law needs a fresh start

Sticking with the wedding theme, lets talk divorce. It is more straightforward to get divorced in Russia, China and India than it is in England, new research says. UK family law is labyrinthine and the process is expensive.

My mother once told me: Divorce is what happens when you decide you dont care how much it costs, you want this person out of your life.

I always thought that was that, but one case has made me wonder whether divorce should be easier.

Tini Owens, 68, has gone to the Supreme Court to ask judges to grant her a divorce from her 80-year-old husband Hugh.

This comes after he contested her petition for divorce  something that happens in just one per cent of divorces.

She says that she is locked in to a marriage that makes her feel unloved, isolated and alone. Hugh says they still have a few years to enjoy together.

Such mismatched expectations are heartbreaking. Maybe divorce law is due an overhaul.

An excess of exes

The tradition of inviting ex-partners to royal weddings will always make me boggle with disbelief.

Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas trooped into St Georges Chapel alongside celebrity guests Idris Elba and Serena Williams on Saturday. Prince William invited Jecca Craig and Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe to his nuptials in 2011 and Camilla Parker Bowles was perched on a pew as Diana walked down the aisle at St Pauls Cathedral back in 1982.

Chelsy Davy arrives at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle / PA

Im sure yoga-loving Meghan was far too zen to be bothered by the attendance of Harrys ex of seven years, Davy, but I still think this is one tradition we can afford to let go of. Its just weird.

Why the delay over all our railcards?

Six months ago the Chancellor announced, to much fanfare, there would be a new railcard for 26- to 30-year-olds offering a third off rail fares. So far, only 10,000 of the 4.5 million young-ish people eligible for the so-called millennial railcards have been able to get one.

As I am 30 in two weeks, gulp, I would dearly like to know when these railcards will be available.

I have tried to sign up to the scheme but all I can find is a confusing statement explaining that the trial run has now sold out.T he outsider perhaps thinks first of a prison in terms of walls and focuses on the prison officer as guard searching at the gate, patrolling the perimeter, or locking prisoners in cells. But  as I discovered when I became prisons minister at the beginning of this year  daily life on the blocks is more difficult to imagine. Every conversation I have had, in every prison I have visited, has only increased my respect for the job done by the officers who work in them.

Take the wing I saw in Wormwood Scrubs recently, with more than 300 prisoners, arranged on four narrow landings. In a cell on the third landing was a chartered accountant, imprisoned for theft, writing a detailed criticism of the prison that houses him. In a nearby cell, not long before, a man had hanged himself  fuelled, perhaps, by an overdose of smuggled drugs. And in a cell on the fourth landing, a silent young man, who lived for the gym, was sharing bunkbeds with a much older man who was obsessively drawing designs for a hovercraft.

Some of those prisoners were there for long sentences, and prison officers develop connections with them, day in, day out, for years. A hundred others were just passing through, on remand before trial, or on their way to another prison.

One prisoner spent his mornings studying a Level 3 course in barbering. Another, who had been there for three months, thought the education programme a waste of time and spent almost all his day in his cell having  in defiance of the rules  blocked the observation panel and tried to bar the door from the inside.

Rory Stewart / Getty Images

At any one time, there could be just a handful of prison officers on a landing, managing as many as 80 individuals. There are several questions a new prison officer might ask, and many have been in the service less than a year.

How do I persuade this man to return to his cell, if he refuses? What do I do with someone who is threatening suicide? How do I deal with someone who is not violent but simply mutinous, or treat someone who might be very compliant, but who is in prison for sexually assaulting a toddler? When do I lean in, and when do I back off and call for support?

This is a vocation that requires remarkable decisiveness and resilience. And it takes great moral authority to act as a mentor, a teacher and, in some ways, a friend to help prisoners on the path to reformation.

It also requires physical courage. Violent assaults against prison officers  and against police officers and nurses  are rising. New psychoactive substances, most notably Spice, fuel aggression, and the criminal economy that surrounds those drugs makes violence worse. Our prison officers are, unacceptably, are victims of more than 8,000 attacks a year.

We are responding to these attacks by introducing body-worn cameras, trialling pepper spray, installing more CCTV cameras and enhancing security searches and training on violence.

And I was very pleased, as a minister, to recently put forward the Government case for a new Private Members Bill, to double the sentence for assaults on prison officers and other emergency workers. It passed unanimously and should become law this year.

A prison officer  outnumbered 30 to one on a landing  would never attempt to fight their way into control. They know that good protection can come from listening in the right way. One of the greatest recent impacts on violence has come from our new key-worker system, where each prison officer is assigned to six particular prisoners for regular private 45-minute conversations.

"You could see elements of a great police officer, teacher, soldier, social worker in the best prison officers."

The prisoners will behave more rationally if they feel that they are in a fair regime  where people are treated equally and consistently; when they will get their phone call, or their shower, or a chance to mingle with other prisoners; if they have a chance of purposeful activity like education and employment. And if they themselves feel safe.

But equally, there is no point in endless targets exhorting the prison officer to transform offenders, change lives, and protect the public  or in volunteers offering theatre classes, and qualifications in catering, literacy and needlework  if the cells are filthy, the prisoners off their heads on drugs, and the prison officers so exposed that they cant unlock the cell doors, or safely escort the prisoners to their activities.

The benefits of getting these basics right was demonstrated in the recent HM Inspectorate of Prisons report on Feltham, a Young Offenders Institution, which has seen a huge drop in violence as a result. You could see elements of a great police officer, teacher, soldier, social worker or even priest, in the best prison officers. But they can be none of those things unless the system allows them to flourish. We are recruiting many more to boost the levels of frontline staff.

With more than 20,000 prison officers, 84,000 prisoners, and more than 100 prisons, no minister should ever pretend to micro-manage what is happening on the landings. The kind of prisons we want will come from thousands of the right people, with the right morale and leadership; people who are trained not just at the beginning but throughout their careers, acknowledged for their skill, and made to feel part of a single elite service.

And I believe that will include bringing the profession out of prisons and into the public eye, whether in schools or at community events, so that we can see them, proud about the service they are performing for our nation, energetic, fulfilled in their daily work and determined to create the best prison service in the world.A Royal Warrant is a luxury fashion brand's golden-ticket.

Considered the Queen's stamp of approval, a Royal Warrant is bestowed on brands that have had an ongoing trading agreement with the Royal Household for at least five years.

With around 800 warrant holders in the world today, the royal family continue to reign as global taste-makers.

But as luxury fashion increasingly embraces street over suave - with Off-White's creative director Virgil Abloh the current poster boy of cool - do royal notions of luxe feel relevant?

As it turns out, tweed and cashmere have uses that extend far beyond the Sunday hunt. Below are eight of the coolest of the royal's favourite brands.

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'Fit for a queen' has never been so in vogue.

Ettinger

New York street style influencer Karl-Edwin Guerre with Ettinger zip pouch (Ettinger ) / Ettinger

One of the few remaining British luxury leather goods companies still made in the UK, Ettinger has a proud history of quality craftsmanship. Run by the Ettinger family since 1934, the brand offers a vast collection of leather accessories built for stylish travel. Hailing from a lineage of military tailors, the brand's heritage is evident in their utilitarian aesthetic. Although they offer separate men's and women's collections, their design approach can be deemed androgynous and inconspicuously cool.

Find them in Harrods and Fortnum and Mason, or online here.

Hunter

Image from the Hunter summer 2018 festival campaign (Hunter ) / Hunter

A festival favourite, Hunter's signature Original boot has reached cult status. Princess Diana wore Hunter Originals in her 1977 engagement photo with Prince Charles, while Kate Moss famously has often chosen to wear the black version to Glastonbury over the years, causing it to become synonymous with the music festival. The brand even went onto appear at London Fashion Week for several seasons before more recently announcing that it had decided to "step away from the traditional fashion calendar" in a bid to "move the needle on how it engages with the customer and excites the industry." As well as royals, other celebrity fans of Hunters include Alexa Cung, Margot Robbie, David Beckham and Kendall Jenner.

To browse their full collection, pay a visit to Hunter's global flagship store on Regent Street. Alternatively, you can find them online from ASOS, My Theresa and the Hunter website here.

Burberry

Burberry Heritage Trench Reimagined 2018 campaign / Thurstan Redding

The appointment of former Creative Director Christopher Bailey in 2001 elevated Burberry from a tired brand to a global fashion icon. Established in 1856 with a focus on outerwear, Burberry made its name from supplying gabardine trench coats to the military in World War One. Bailey's collections in recent years have given a streetwear spin on the house's heritage check, including a homage to the LGBTQ community in his outgoing collection.

Adwoa Aboah and Juergen Teller for Burberry 1 /4 Adwoa Aboah and Juergen Teller for Burberry Burberry Alfie Husband, Kwame N'Dow, George Husband, Richard Theodore-Aboah, Adwoa Aboah and Montell Martin Juergen Teller Burberry Adwoa Aboah Juergen Teller Burberry Montell Martin and Adwoa Aboah Juergen Teller Burberry Adwoa Aboah and Juergen Teller Juergen Teller

A recent collaboration saw British model Adwoa Aboa art direct a photo-series in Ghana featuring the brand's AW18 collection. And a brief glimpse of Riccardo Tisci's slant on the brand as the new Creative Director promises a continuation of a gender neutral aesthetic and a more diverse audience. For a brand with a rich history, we love the new story it's telling.

With various London stores, Burberry is also stocked at Harrods and Selfridges, or online from Matchesfashion, Net-A-Porter and the brand's page here.

Fulton

Fulton's famous Birdcage umbrella in black / Fulton

An umbrella company with a Royal Warrant couldn't get more British. Starting from a small factory in Whitechapel in 1956, Fulton is now the largest supplier of umbrellas and wet-weather gear in the UK. Collaborating with British designers since 2003, including Lulu Guinness and William Morris, the brand appreciates a fashionable slant on an entirely practical accessory. Their transparent Birdcage range is very Chanel SS18, with a more enticing price-point to jazz up your rainy-day get-up.

Find them online at House of Fraser, Debenhams and John Lewis, or to preview their full range, check out the Fulton website here.

Pringle

Pringle FW17 campaign shot / Pringle

Since 1815, the Scottish label has been innovative in technical advances in knitwear. Claiming to have even coined the term 'knitwear', Pringle don't mess around when it comes to a knitted jumper. With an array of staple garments in luxury fabrics, their contemporary aesthetic gives a relevant slant on what could otherwise be deemed ordinary. From oversized cardigans to contemporary cashmere twin-sets Pringle is a luxury go-to for cool comfort.

Find Pringle at their flagship Mayfair store or Selfridges, or you can shop the brand online at Farfetch, The Outnet, and their online store here.

Corgi

Corgi AW18 campaign shot (Corgi ) / Corgi

Who doesn't love a pair of fancy socks? Still operating in the small Welsh mining village where it began in 1892, Corgi socks specialise in accessorising your feet. Embracing hero natural fibres - cotton and cashmere - the range dabbles with funky prints and vibrant takes on the classic stripe. Injecting a pop of colour into your wardrobe was never so comfortable.

Shop their cotton and cashmere ranges online here.

Launer London

Paloma Faith showing off the classic Tri-Tone Traviata handbag (Instagram ) / Instagram

The Queens favoured handbag, and choosen accessory during her front row debut at London Fashion Week this year, Launer London has specialised in leather accessories since the 1940s. From its humble beginnings in a Soho workshop, today the brand is the second-best non concession handbag seller in Selfridges. While their designs remain consistently understated, the brand are pushing a more youthful focus with new colours that elevate the bags unassuming aesthetic. For a personal touch, their made to order service allows you to customise any legendary style in whatever leather or colour choice you like, or have your initials stamped in gold. Look to their patent leather ranges for nightwear glam appeal.

Available in Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason and its online boutique here.

Trickers

Tricker's Master shoe maker / Tricker's

No fuss quality leather boots havent been this practical, or edgy, since Dr. Martens. One of the oldest shoemakers in England, since 1829 Tricker's has been experts in quality shoe manufacturing. A single pair of boots is a result of 260 individual construction processes. Equally marketed towards country estate owners and the aristocratic, its original mission statement over 100 years ago remains just as relevant today. Utilitarian dressing guaranteed to make a stomp.A ntiques Anonymous will return to the capital for its second annual flea market on Sunday 24th June.

The event will take place on Marylebone's Church Street - an area famous for its Antiques Quarter.

The antique extravaganza is a collaboration between the 80 antique and art dealers based on Church Street and some of the best design-obsessed dealers in the capital and across the UK.

Located just a short walk from Edgware Road station, the one-day market promises to be a treasure-trove of vintage and contemporary delights, with some of the largest collections of high-end antiques in Europe and one-of-a-kind designs.

Antiques Anonymous is partially funded by Westminster City Council, as part of the Church Street regeneration programme, supporting and strengthening the Marylebone business community.

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In-keeping with the event's local spirit, residents and community workers will be contributing to the flea market by showcasing some of the very best talent in area.

Guests attending the event can expect pop-up shops, live music, exhibitions and a selection of tasty food on offer and whats more...entry is completely free.

Last year's spectacular event saw over 5000 visitors flock to the flea market, including British fashion designer Paul Smith and Line of Duty actor Adrian Dunbar.

Stephen Sprake, the owner of Sans Pretention antiques shop, says this year's event promises more.

He said: "Our idea is to cherry pick the best antiques traders from around the UK to pitch up and share the spoils of Londons newest flea market. Prices range from very little to not-so-very-little, so there are opportunities for everyone. AA sets itself apart form any other market in its inclusion of cool food, music and crafts al fresco without the word Fayre anywhere."

With the promise of eclectic and unusual items (and most likely a few famous faces), the event is an absolute-must for any collector or vintage fan.S cores of London restaurants are serving vegetables grown in Michelin-starred compost made from their own food waste.

Igor Vaintraub, 43, launched Indie Ecology as a start-up in 2011 and today collects food waste in 120-litre sealed bins from more than 80 top restaurants in the capital, including Michelin-starred The Ledbury, Michel Rouxs La Gavroche, and Robin Gills The Dairy and Sorella.

He uses natural and pesticide-free processes, based on the Japanese Bokashi method using fermented molasses, to turn venues high-end leftovers - including meat, fish and dairy - into compost on a 10-acre farm in West Sussex, where he rents plots to chefs who tell him what hand-picked vegetables they want grown.

Mr Vaintraub, who studied with the British Society of Soil Science, is on a mission to make the restaurant industry more eco-friendly.

He said: Other than the bins and some delivery plastic the whole process is plastic free We recycle seven tonnes per day, seven days each week, and we are a tiny operation. We are trying to do something different. Waste was looked at as something that people take away and forget about, but we wanted to educate chefs especially as they generate a lot of this commodity [waste].

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Mr Vaintraubs business partner, Tom Morphew, said: At first I think chefs were a bit dubious about coming on board with us, as there was a cost involved and it was not something they had ever done before. But once they started the produce, it is 100 times better than what they buy from wholesalers that is force-grown in greenhouses.

Former Masterchef finalist and The Frog restaurateur Adam Handling, 29, is Indie Ecologys largest client.

He said: We now have a massive plot [at the farm] and our menu changes depending on what we get from the plot, it is quite veg-centric.

We want to really plan the menu a year in advance, which is something I had not done before, and with Igor we can get a lot more crazy vegetables because we rent the farm.

I think more chefs nowadays - we are never going to save the world - but we should fundamentally respect the ingredients we are using.

Toby Marsh

The compost could soon exceed its current gourmet pedigree, as Laurent Perrier are planning to donate waste champagne grape sugars for Indie Ecology molasses, and the brand has put in a request to the Environment Agency to open a facility in central London.W omen from the slums of Mumbai are to join a top chef in serving Londoners traditional street food as part of a drive to tackle sanitary poverty in India.

The Myna Mahila Foundation is one of seven charities to benefit from donations given at the royal wedding. It provides affordable hygiene products along with jobs and education for women and girls living in the Govandi slum, while working to stamp out the stigma of menstruation within their culture.

Tonight two members who came to the UK to attend the royal wedding, Archana Ambre and Deborah Das, will cook with Asma Khan, founder of all-women, amateur cook-led Carnaby Street hit Darjeeling Express.

The event takes place at Chaat for Change, a pop-up at the restaurateurs new venue Calcutta Canteen, in Fulham Market Hall on the Broadway. Khans team will cook chaat (street food) from Mumbai and Calcutta, the home town of the lawyer-turned-chef.

Myna Mahila members even brought over buttered toasted buns for pau bhaji, a Mumbai favourite, from the city in person, and will help cook and serve the 20-a-head all-you-can-eat feast.

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Each ticket to the event, which will also feature Bollywood dancing, will fund sanitary aid for more than 400 women for one month. Across India up to half of young women aged between 15 and 24 do not have access to sanitary pads, according to the charity.

Khan, who is selling 45 tickets, said she wanted to raise awareness of what happens to women in South Asian culture. It is about challenging the perception that you are so unclean [on your period] that you cannot cook or interact, you cant go to prayer. It is debilitating for women. They use rags and cannot get out of the house. The money we raise is going to used in the project.

CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality 1 /12 CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Shoku Oda CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Asma Khan CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Rosie Birkett CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Ruth Spivey CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Linda Lee CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Nigella Lawson CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Thomasina Miers CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Irha Atherton CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Grace Dent CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Ruth Rogers CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Zoe Paskin CODE Hospitality announces 100 Most Influential Women in Hospitality Skye Gyngell

She added: The women who are working on my team on Monday are all from Bombay... this is why I am doing this, so that my team can meet these two women who have come for the wedding, understand that the tide is changing and our time has come.Kensington Palace released three images on Monday afternoon, which were taken after the carriage procession through the streets of Windsor from St George's Chapel to Windsor Castle.

Congregating in the Green Drawing Room, the couple beam as they pose with their 10 bridesmaids and page boys, including Princess Charlotte and Prince George, before sharing a more official portrait with Her Majesty The Queen and the rest of the royal family.

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The images were taken by Alexi Lubomirski, who photographed the happy couple for a second time, the first being for their official engagement portraits.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's official wedding portrait (Alexi Lubomirski ) / Alexi Lubomirski

In fact, a snap of the Duke and Duchess sitting on the steps of Windsor Castle holds a striking resemblance to their prior shoot with the photographer at Frogmore House.

The couple's official engagement portrait by Alexi Lubomirski (Alexi Lubomirski via Getty Images) / Alexi Lubomirski

Now a royally-approved photographer, we take a look at who Alexi Lubomirski is, and how he came to work with the royal couple.

He is a renowned A-list photographer

Alexi is a fashion and celebrity photographer, based in New York, who has shot the covers of pretty much every high fashion magazine, from Vogue to Elle and Harpers Bazaar. Capturing some of Hollywood's most famous faces including Beyonce, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts (to name a few).

He's lived in Botswana

Born in England to a Peruvian/English Mother and Polish/French father he spent most of his childhood in England, before moving to Botswana with his mum and English stepfather.

We bet the photographer and royal couple have had many a conversation about the country in Southern Africa, as it also holds a special place in their heart, Meghan's engagement ring including a centre stone from the country.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle engagement announcement 1 /27 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle engagement announcement Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Eddie Mulholland-WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle photo call today on the announcement of their engagement in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Getty Images Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace AP Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace PA Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace EPA Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace AP Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Getty Images Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Reuters Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Sky News Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace PA Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace EPA Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace EPA Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Getty Images Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace EPA Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London, after the announcement of their engagement PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave following a photocall after announcing their engagement in the Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace EPA Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk away after posing for the media in the grounds of Kensington Palace AP

He was mentored by another royally-approved photographer

It was Alexi's stepfather who first introduced him to photography during this childhood, but it wasn't until he went on a gap year to Peru that he really started to develop his skills that later led him to study a degree in fashion photography at the University of Brighton.

It was during his time at university that he was introduced the Mario Testino, who soon hired him as his assistant in Paris. Testino has also previously photographed the royals, taking the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's official engagement photos in 2010.

However, that's not Alex's only royal link as he is also a descendant of the Polish Royal Family, his full title being His Serene Highness Prince Alexi Lubomirski.

He is an activist

Although it is unknown how Harry and Meghan met Alexi, we are guessing his philanthropist work was also a key reason why he was chosen.

The photographer is an ambassador and activist for Concern Worldwide US, a charity which helps those living in extreme poverty achieve major improvements and offers ongoing support.

The charity also holds a touching link to Prince Harry, as his mum Princess Diana spent time with the staff of the charity during her visit to Angola in 1997.

And, much like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who asked for charitable donations on their wedding day instead of presents, on the photographer's birthday last year he asked his 197k followers to "donate whatever amount you would like to the charity", saying, "That was the best present ever".T he Duchess of Sussex broke tradition on Saturday night by giving a speech at her wedding to Prince Harry.

While royal brides dont traditionally give wedding speeches, Meghan decided she would take this opportunity to thank her friends and family as well as thanking the royals for taking her under their wing.

According to a source, Meghan thanked Prince Charles and the Royal Family for welcoming both her and her mother, Doria Ragland, into the Firm.

The source told Metro: She has been so touched by how welcoming the Prince of Wales has been. So is her mother.

It was important to her to make a point of thanking him publicly, although, of course, he knows privately how she feels.

An afternoon reception was held for the 600 wedding guests at Windsor Castle after Saturdays noon ceremony, and this was followed by a more intimate reception for close family and friends at Frogmore House.

The royal wedding ceremony in 90 seconds

Prince Charles stepped in to walk Meghan down the aisle after her father pulled out at the last minute due to health complications. A gesture that touched the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as we saw Prince Harry say, Thanks Pa to Charles as he and Meghan reached the end of the aisle.

While most details of the reception have been kept under wraps, the palace revealed that Elton John performed at the afternoon reception and pictures showed an impressive fireworks display capping off the night outside Windsor Castle.

Meghan and Harry depart for their reception at Frogmore House / Getty Images

The later reception apparently featured a naughty speech from best man Prince William and the sit-down dinner, that lasted from 7:30pm to 10pm, was a spring meets summer theme.A fter negotiating a shadowy pass between two expansive orange dunes, we roll out into a valley. Its steep walls are pockmarked with thousands of circles imprinted in the sand. They glint in the harsh desert sunlight like innumerable unblinking eyes.

Known as fairy circles, these sandy halos freckle a strip of land on the edge of the Namib Desert stretching 1,120 miles from Angola to the north-western cape province of South Africa. Here, in the red sands of the NamibRand Nature Reserve in south-west Namibia, they are at their most abundant.

Curiously, despite decades of research, scientists remain baffled by what causes them. I ask Tabita, our guide, for her theory. I think it is God, she says, waving wildly in the direction of the valley walls. If He decorated animals with stripes or spots, why not the sand too?

Tabita is a Catholic convert. Her tribe  the Himba  has different ideas. According to one oral myth, the circles are the footprints of ancient desert gods, while another pronounces that a dragon living beneath the Earths crust breathes fiery bubbles which, when they hit the surface, burn the vegetation into near-perfect rings.

The reserve, a vast, privately owned area covering almost 495,000 acres, has made it its mission to preserve these unusual phenomena, and the desert landscape that hosts them.

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In 1992, observing how the large-scale sheep-farming common to the region and ever-increasing bouts of drought were destroying the delicate desert eco-system, Namibian conservationist Albi Bruckner bought up a number of livestock farms to create the reserve. He cleared away dividing fences and built a simple tented camp, named Wolwedans, among the dunes. Once the blond desert grasses had regrown and oryx crisscrossed the sand again, he started to offer desert safaris to fund the conservation of this enormous area.

(Wolwedans)

Wolwedans now comprises four camps, designed to have minimal environmental impact  solar energy is used to power lights and fridges, vegetables are grown in a desert oasis and water usage is monitored.

We stay at the impossibly situated Dunes Lodge, where nine canvas-fronted rooms perch on marmalade-orange sand. Golden dunes roll in unbroken waves to the startlingly blue horizon.

Safaris here are not about ticking off the Big Five. We are awed, not by dangerous game but simply by winding a snaking course through these bewildering, beautiful, baking-hot lands. The animals we do see  oryx, ostrich and occasionally springbok  have learnt to go without drinking water, sometimes for up to a week. Their only moisture comes from the sea mist, rolling in from the South Atlantic, dampening the desert grasses.

To live in the desert you have to be clever, says Tabita. The fog-basking tok tokkie beetle stands on its head on dune tops to catch the fog, which drips down into its mouth, she explains by way of an example.

We scramble out of our Land Rover and trace the feathery tracks of a golden mole and a pair of elephant shrews across a flat section of dune. We find a pale-skinned horned adder coiled, almost indistinguishable, between the dusty roots of a quiver tree.

Unique hotels in Africa - in pictures 1 /5 Unique hotels in Africa - in pictures Bird's Nest at the Segera Resort, Kenya Supplied Antbear Lodge, South Africa Supplied Starbath at Baine's Camp, Botswana Supplied Manta Resort, Tanzania Supplied Chobe Princess, Namibia Supplied

Early evening, having driven to a lookout point, we return to the subject of fairy circles. Scientists, says Tabita, believe the ring-like roots of poisonous euphorbia plants could be causing the bare circles. Our conversation is interrupted by Tabita charging up a dune in pursuit of a Cape fox. We trail in her wake, our trainers filling with sand.

Another option, she says, is the underground activities of termites beneath the sand. Several sand termite experts have been to the reserve, yet their research is inconclusive. Its a mystery, she concludes happily as the sun turns the dunes to the colour of paprika.

Along with its conservation efforts, the reserve funds a centre where visiting zoologists and botanists have studied camel thorn trees, aardwolves and wedge-snouted lizards  and scratched their heads over fairy circles. You can actually adopt one of the circles. For NAD 1,000 (60), a numbered disc is placed on a circle and you are given a certificate recording its exact co-ordinates. The money goes towards the conservation of the reserve.

Alien landings? says a guest at dinner. Diamond mining, says another. Were seated out on the wooden decking. The stars twinkle like thousands of floating fairies, just waiting to land.

Details: NamibiaA selfless and caring family man who died in hospital after being stabbed was one of three young men to lose their lives to Londons knife-crime epidemic.

Osman Shidane, 20, lost his fight for life on Friday afternoon, three days after being attacked near a cinema and shopping complex in Ruislip.

His heartbroken family told the Standard that Mr Shidane, the eldest of seven children, would do anything for his family. Nasteho Shidane, 17, one of his five sisters, said: He wanted to support his family. He was a family man  he was caring and compassionate, he was selfless. He was very outgoing and naturally got along with everyone.

Osman Shidane, 20, who died in hospital three days after being stabbed in a violent attack in Ruislip

Mr Shidane, whose parents are Somali, was born in Denmark and had lived in London for 15 years.

An Arsenal fan, he worked in sales for a utilities company and wanted to set up his own business, his sister said. A boy, aged 16, has been charged with his murder and a girl, aged 15, has been arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.

He was one of three people to die from knife wounds within 72 hours. Arunesh Thangarajah was stabbed in London Road, Mitcham, shortly before 3.30am yesterday and pronounced dead at the scene. The 28-year-old was said to have moved to the capital from India two years ago to start a new life. A friend told the Standard: He was a good friend, like a brother. I cant believe it.

Arunesh Thangarajah was stabbed in London Road, Mitcham / Metropolitan Police Service

A man, aged 44, has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Meanwhile, detectives were appealing for witnesses after a trainee bricklayer was stabbed to death yards from his family home in Barking. Abrahaman Juma, 24, was found in a communal area of the Harts Lane Estate at 11.31pm on Thursday.

Abrahaman Juma, 24, was found stabbed near his family home in Barking

His uncle Haroub today said: He was a nice guy, a good person. I got a call from his father at midnight and he said his son had been stabbed with a knife. I cannot put how I feel into words.

Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Packer, who is leading the murder inquiry, said: I know there were people out and about in Crows Road at the time of the murder. I need to speak with these people as soon as possible as they may have vital evidence.

Some neighbours said Mr Juma had been attacked by a gang. He was the 28th man aged 25 or under to be murdered in London this year. So far the Met has launched at least 66 murder inquiries.M eghan Markles nephew has been let off by police after he was caught with a knife in a London nightclub following the Royal Wedding.

Mr Dooley and other members of Meghans extended family had flown to the UK from the US ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, despite not being invited to the actual ceremony on Saturday.

According to The Sun, Mr Dooley had been out celebrating the big day at Bacchus nightclub in Kingston when he confessed to bouncers he was carrying a four-inch blade.

Bride: Meghan did not invite members of her extended family to the wedding / PA

Officers confronted Mr Dooley at his hotel near the nightclub after he fled from security guards in the early hours of Sunday.

It has since emerged that police are no longer investigating the incident but have issued a warning to Mr Dooley after he voluntarily surrendered the blade.

He was not arrested.

The incident happened outside Bacchus club in Kingston / Google Maps

Sally Benatar, BCU commander for south-west London, said: "We take the possession of knives and prohibited weapons very seriously and we are determined to take them off the streets.

In this case careful consideration was taken by the officers, the items were handed over voluntarily and there was no ongoing risk so the investigation was closed with warnings given.

Having reviewed the circumstances and the risk posed by these two men, I support the actions taken by the officers."

UK newspaper reaction to Meghan and Harry's wedding 1 /12 UK newspaper reaction to Meghan and Harry's wedding A selection of British newspaper front pages with pictures of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding AP The Mail on Sunday The Sunday Times The Sunday Times The Sun on Sunday The Sunday Telegraph The Sunday People The Sunday Mirror The Sunday Express The Observer The i weekend A selection of British newspaper front pages with pictures of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding AP

Mr Dooley, a legal US cannabis farmer, had been referring to recent comments made by the US President in which he described the streets of London as being like a war zone due to a recent surge in knife crime.

He had been out celebrating the wedding with his girlfriend, his older brother TJ, 26, and mother Tracey.

They were not invited to the event on Saturday, where the only family member of the newly-appointed Duchess of Sussex in attendance was her mother Doria Ragland.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: Police were called by security to a club in Union Street, Kingston-upon-Thames, in the early hours of Sunday, 20 May after a man openly declared he had a knife as he attempted to enter the club.

When officers arrived enquiries led them to a hotel in Kingston and two men in their 20s were spoken to by officers in connection with the incident.

One of the men also voluntarily surrendered a noxious spray. Both men, who were visitors to the UK, were warned about their actions.M eghan Markles nephew was caught with a knife in a London nightclub just hours after the Royal Wedding and claimed he had it because Donald Trump "said the capital is a war zone.

Tyler Dooley, 25, and several other members of Meghans extended family had flown to the UK from the US ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, despite not being invited to the actual ceremony.

According to The Sun, Mr Dooley had been out celebrating the big day at Bacchus nightclub in Kingston, late on Saturday, when he confessed to bouncers he was carrying a four-inch blade.

He handed it over but then, when he was told that police had been called and he could be arrested, fled from the area.

Bride: Meghan did not invite members of her extended family to the wedding / PA

A source said: They were all obviously a bit tipsy from celebrating the wedding, but not in bad spirits. As Tyler came up to the bouncer, he said, I have a knife on me. He pulled it out and handed it to the staff.

All he was going on about was how hed brought it from America because Donald Trump had said London wasnt safe.

Police probe: The incident happened outside Bacchus club in Kingston / Google Maps

They acted very calmly and dialled 999 and thats when some local guys told him hed get arrested. At that point he ran off.

Dooley had been referring to recent comments made by the US President in which he described the streets of the capital as being like a war zone due to a recent surge in knife crime.

Royal wedding: Most popular moments on Twitter

Revellers at the bar said Dooley later returned to try and explain himself to staff.

Police attended but did not make any arrests. Police were called at 12.05am on Sunday May 20 to a club in Union Street, Kingston-upon-Thames, where a knife had been seized by security staff, a Met statement said.

The suspect had left the scene prior to police being called. Officers attended the club at around 1.55am and recovered the knife. There has been no arrest.

Dooley, a legal US cannabis farmer, had been out celebrating the wedding with his girlfriend, older brother TJ, 26, and mum Tracey.

UK newspaper reaction to Meghan and Harry's wedding 1 /12 UK newspaper reaction to Meghan and Harry's wedding A selection of British newspaper front pages with pictures of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding AP The Mail on Sunday The Sunday Times The Sunday Times The Sun on Sunday The Sunday Telegraph The Sunday People The Sunday Mirror The Sunday Express The Observer The i weekend A selection of British newspaper front pages with pictures of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding APA young man who died in hospital three days after being ambushed and stabbed was in the wrong place at the wrong time, his family said today.

Osman Shidane, 20, was just minutes from his home in Ruislip, west London, on May 15 when he was repeatedly stabbed in a violent attack outside Cineworld.

After being given CPR at the scene, he was taken to hospital in a critical condition. He died from his injuries on Friday.

Last night, his family described how Mr Shidane was the eldest of seven children who would do anything for his family.

Victim: Arunesh Thangarajah was found suffering from stab wounds in the early hours of Sunday

Nasteho Shidane, 17, one of his five sisters, told the Standard: He wanted to support his family. He was a family man - he was caring and compassionate, he was selfless.

He was very outgoing and naturally got along with everyone.

Mr Shidane, whose parents are Somali, was born in Denmark but had lived in London 15 years.

The Arsenal fan, who worked in sales for a utilities company, had dreamed of setting up his own business, his sister said.

Police were called to Victoria Road just after 9pm, where they found Mr Shidane with his injuries.

A post-mortem examination, held on Saturday, gave the cause of death as multiple stab wounds.

Meanwhile, a homeless man was stabbed to death in south west London on Sunday morning.

Arunesh Thangarajah was attacked in London Road, Mitcham, shortly before 3:30am and pronounced dead at the scene.

The 28-year-old was said to have moved to London from India two years ago to start a new life and had been sleeping rough in Mitcham town centre.

A friend told the Standard: He was a good friend, like a brother. I only spoke to him the night before - I cant believe it.

On Facebook, Mr Thangarajah called himself Uthama Villan, in reference to a famous Indian film which he liked.

 A 16-year-old boy was due to appear at Hillingdon Magistrates Court today charged with murdering Mr Shidane. A 15-year-old girl who was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender has been released on police bail.T he desperate final phone call of a father-of-one killed in the Grenfell Tower blaze has been played an the inquiry into the devastating fire that claimed 72 victims.

"Goodbye, we are leaving this world, goodbye. Goodbye to all," were the final words of Mohamed Saber Neda who perished in the June 14 blaze.

The clip was played in an emotional commemoration hearing to the victims of the inferno during which pre-recorded videos were played and statements read out in front of retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick.

Lawyers for Saber's family read emotive statement's from the entrepreneur's brother, son Farhad and wife Flora hailing the "proud, kind" family man.

The smouldering shell of Grenfell Tower after the fire / AP

Family photos were shown to a packed hearing at the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in south Kensington including images of Saber's "two proudest moments" - his son's university graduation and his engagement party.

"He was looking forward to the possibility of grandchildren and what lies ahead for his son," his wife of 27 years wrote in a statement.

It is "just so sad" he will not be there to enjoy his son's wedding, she added.

The parents of baby Logan Gomes arrive for the inquiry today / EPA

"There is a heavy sense of loss within our hearts that will never, ever go away. He was my husband, he was my best friend, I miss him so much. He will always be the love of my life."

The couple moved to the UK in 1998 with their son, who was aged seven, after fleeing the Taliban.

They were "immensely proud" of their flat in the 24-storey tower block close to Latimer Road Tube station.

"Our door was always open, we have lost many friends including two young girls on our floor," Flora's statement added.

Her husband was hailed a hero by his brother who claimed he sacrificed himself to save others trying to flee the burning building.

He said in a statement: "The only thing I know is that my brother was a hero, he sacrificed himself in that fire in order to help his friends."

Both Mr Saber's wife and son were left in a coma following the fire. His family hunted desperately for the 57-year-old in the days that followed the blaze until police eventually confirmed his death on June 24.

The hearing also heard from the families of stillborn baby boy Logan Gomes and father-of-one Denis Murphy.

In a heartbreaking tribute to his baby son Marcio Gomes said: "I held my son in my arms that evening, hoping it was all a bad dream, wishing, praying for any kind of miracle...that he would just open his eyes, move, make a sound.

The hearing is expected to last nine days.P rince Harry and Meghan Markle's official wedding photographs were unveiled to the public for the first time today.

Two of the pictures taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski, a protege of photographer Mario Testino, show the royal family gathered in the Green Drawing Room of Windsor Castle.

Harry and Meghan, the new Duke and Duchess of Sussex, released the three official photographs from their wedding day which were taken following the carriage procession.

The official group picture shows bridesmaids Ivy Mulroney, Florence van Cutsem, Zalie Warren, and Remi Litt in the foreground.

The official group picture (Alexi Lubomirski ) / Alexi Lubomirski

Behind them are page boy Brian Mulroney, The Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen, the Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Charlotte on her lap, Prince George, Rylan Litt, and John Mulroney. Standing at the back of the picture are Jasper Dyer, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Prince of Wales, Meghan's mother Ms Doria Ragland, and The Duke of Cambridge.

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The second photo shows Meghan and Harry with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and pageboys and bridesmaids. Sitting in the front row are Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte and Florence van Cutsem. Behind them stand Brian Mulroney, Remi Litt, Rylan Litt, Jasper Dyer, Prince George, Ivy Mulroney, and John Mulroney.

The third picture is an intimate black-and-white portrait of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle smiling together on the East Terrace of Windsor Castle.

The royal wedding ceremony in 90 seconds

Kensington Palace expressed a message of thanks from everyone who took part in the celebrations of their wedding.

"They feel so lucky to have been able to share their day with all those gathered in Windsor and those who watched on television across the UK, Commonwealth, and around the world," the palace said in a statement.

Royal wedding: Meghan and Harry pictured together on a flight of steps at Windsor castle (Alexi Lubomirski ) / Alexi Lubomirski

Alexi Lubomirski said: "It has been an incredible honour and privilege to document The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's inspiring journey of love, hope and family; from the engagement photos, all the way through to the official wedding and family portraits on Saturday.

"This has been a beautiful chapter in my career and life, that I will happily never forget."

Meghan and Harry with their bridesmaids and page boys (Alexi Lubomirski ) / Alexi Lubomirski

It came as 22 photographers who covered the royal wedding gave their insight into how they captured the shots.

Danny Lawson, 39, whose images were on the front of the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph and the New York Times, was positioned in an organ loft inside St George's Chapel for the ceremony and captured Meghan bathed in light walking down the aisle.

He said: "It was one that could have been a 'nothing picture' of her just walking down the aisle. But the light was just so fantastic it's given the picture a much longer life than it would've had.

"Shafts of light were coming in through the windows and I had to make a decision: do I shoot her through light or shadows? I went for the light to get a more contrasting image and it turned out to be the right decision."

(Danny Lawson/PA) / PA

The photographer, from Rochdale, who has worked at the PA for more than a decade, also got "the kiss" from inside the same position inside church.

He said: "I was in an organ loft maybe two metres high and I shot the kiss picture from there as well, I didn't move. I used a massive powerful zoom lens and got it from inside.

"It happened so quickly. If they delayed or waited for the crowd I might not have got it, so for me it was perfect.

"You've got to have a healthy professionalism for how important the job is. I was in position at 7am checking all the equipment, making sure everything would work. Ultimately I gave it the respect it needed."

(Dannny Lawson/PA) / PA

Yui Mok snapped one of the most talked-about images of the day from the roof of the George IV Gateway of Windsor Castle, with the couple passing beneath him during their carriage procession.

The 47-year-old PA photographer of almost two decades, said: "I had less than a one-second window to take that particular shot - whilst having to focus through a metal grill I was standing over - so was happy to get anything really!

"I actually took way less photos than I do on a major job. I'm glad so many people like it. It was a long day but that's the nature of our job, waiting around for hours sometimes for mere seconds of shooting."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau after their wedding (Yui/Mok/PA) / PA

Steve Parsons, 36, caught the couple in their evening wear as they left Windsor Castle for their reception at Frogmore House - Harry dapper in black tie and Meghan resplendent in a Stella McCartney gown.

He said: "It happened so fast and I was the only photographer so there was no second chance.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle bestowed titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex

"It was around 7.30 at night and the end of a long day and the light was changing as well. You're on a buzz when you're getting good coverage for your pictures, on the adrenaline of not making a mistake.

"When the adrenaline leaves you can feel it, you get tired. It was a pleasure to be part of such a great team of photographers."

Owen Humphreys, 45, was inside the organ loft with Mr Lawson, but was the only person facing the altar. He captured Meghan glancing over her shoulder in the chapel, her veil slightly across her face.

The PA photographer for 21 years said: "I had to use silent cameras so as not to disturb everyone.

Royal Wedding 2018: The best pictures you might have missed 1 /60 Royal Wedding 2018: The best pictures you might have missed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau along the Long Walk PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex emerge from the West Door of St George's Chapel Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau along the Long Walk after their wedding in St George's Chapel Yui Mok/PA Princess Charlotte sticks out her tongue as she rides in a car to the wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Andrew Milligan/PA Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George leave after the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel Gareth Fuller/WPA Pool/AP Zalie Warren arrives at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle PA Prince Harry and his wife Meghan wave as they ride a horse-drawn carriage after their wedding ceremony Damir Sagolj/Reuters Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ride in an Ascot Landau carriage up the Long Walk at Windsor Castle after their wedding teve Parsons/PA Royal fans in Windsor for the wedding celebration Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Doria Ragland and the Prince of Wales leave St George's Chapel Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince Harry's brother and best man Prince William, Duke of Cambridge wait in the chapel ahead of his wedding Owen Humphreys/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Students of Immaculate Heart High School and Middle School watch a live broadcast of the wedding of Meghan Markle, who graduated from Immaculate Heart in 1999 David McNew/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the steps of St George's Chapel Ben Birchall/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Phil Noble/WPA/Getty Images) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Jonathan Brady//WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry looks at his bride, Meghan Markle Jonathan Brady//WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chapel Aaron Chown/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Ben BirchallWPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Andrew Milligan/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Crowds at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Jeff J Mitchell/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Yui Mok/WPA Pool/Getty Images Members of the Royal family watch as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chapel Andrew Milligan/PA Pinky Ghelani and Suzzy Wokabi watch a TV broadcast of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding at the Windsor golf and country club in Nairobi Thomas Mukoya/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Andrew Milligan/PA The Duke of Cambridge with Prince George leave St George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/PA Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for her wedding Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan (R), Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their royal wedding ceremony Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after their wedding in Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP A town crier poses after watching the carriage procession Tom Nicholson/EPA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as they leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle following their wedding. Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as they leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle following their wedding. Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding Victoria Jones/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during the procession after getting married St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Matt Cardy/Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leaves Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images The Prince of Wales leads Meghan Markle up the aisle of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle for her wedding to Prince Harry Dominic Lipinski/PA Prince William, Prince Charles, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of York, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, from let, during the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex walk down the west steps of St George's Chapel Ben Stansall/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding. Owen Humphreys/PA Crowds gather ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Bruce Adams/WPA Pool/Getty Images George Clooney and his wife British human rights barrister Amal Clooney (R) arrive for the royal wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Toby Melville/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave from the West Door of St George's Chapel Ben Stansall/WPA ool/Getty Images Prince George leaves St George's Chapel Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images The Duke of Edinburgh leaves St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Gareth Fller/WPA Pool/Reuters Oprah Winfrey leaves St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ian West/WPA Pool/AP Royal fans watch the wedding Peter Nicholls/Reuters The Duchess of Cambridge arrives with the bridesmaids at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor, Jane barlow/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel Danny lawson/WPA Poll/Getty Images Prince Harry gestures next to his wife Meghan as they ride a horse-drawn carriage Damir Sagolj/Reuters

"There's a lot of pictures of Meghan smiling but I thought the way she turned round here she looked so elegant and beautiful and natural.

"The veil sort of makes it in a way, she looks very composed. It was just a small part of a great team effort though."

Andy Matthews, 36, was positioned on the Garter Tower roof outside St George's Chapel, capturing an image of Meghan's veil train covering the steps.

He said: "I was on a tight shot for the kiss and when she was walking down the steps I saw the veil train was long behind her so I switched lenses for a wide shot.

"There were some chimneys in the way so I had to zoom in, but I like the image. It makes the eye go around the picture as it's so long."

Jonathan Brady, 43, had a remote camera inside the chapel which caught an exit shot of the newly married couple.

(Jonathan Brady/PA) / Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP

He said: "It was taken remotely from a camera rigged up a few days beforehand.

"I only had to press a button from a computer, but it was quite tense and surreal sitting in this little room in your own little world.

"You have to be on the ball, it wasn't nerves exactly but some butterflies in the stomach keeps you on your toes."

The royal wedding was the television event of the year  with almost 18 million Britons tuning in.

Royal couple seal marriage with a kiss on steps of St George's Chapel

The BBC won the battle of the broadcasters, attracting a peak audience of 13.1 million with its coverage led by Kirsty Young, Huw Edwards and Dermot OLeary.

The top figure was reached at about 1pm, or just as the couple were leaving St Georges Chapel to embark on their horse-drawn carriage parade around the Berkshire town.

ITVs coverage, fronted by Phillip Schofield and Julie Etchingham, peaked at 3.6 million. Around 500,000 people tuned into Skys coverage.

Charlotte Moore, director of BBC content, said in a statement: BBC1 brought the nation together in their millions for a super Saturday to remember, combining the royal wedding with a peak audience of 13.1 million viewers and the FA Cup Final.

Across all channels, the combined audience tuning in for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges wedding in 2011 was about 17.6 million. That figure includes people watching on catch-up.

In 1981, 28 million switched on their TVs to watch the wedding of Charles and Diana.T he mother of a teenage cellist who was handpicked by Meghan Markle to play at the royal wedding today spoke of her pride.

Nineteen-year-old Sheku Kanneh-Masons performance was one of the highlights of Harry and Meghans celebration in Windsor on Saturday.

Back at home in Nottingham, the students parents, siblings and extended family were glued to the TV, cheering him on.

His mother Kadiatu Kanneh, 52, told the Standard: It was amazing, such a lovely occasion and so beautiful. Were so proud of him.

Royal wedding cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason speaks about 'amazing' royal wedding experience

The former university lecturer said her son treated the event like a private concert.

He didnt pay any attention to all the cameras, she said. He focuses completely on the music and doesnt get nervous. Thats how you have to do it.

I saw him the week before and he was very calm and really looking forward to it and very prepared.

Sheku's mother Kadiatu Kanneh, right, and his younger sister Jeneba Kanneh-Mason / Nigel Howard

Mr Kanneh-Mason, who is revising for exams at the Royal Academy of Music, was personally invited by the Duchess of Sussex to play at the wedding.

His mother said: Kensington Palace called me and asked me for Shekus mobile number. So they rang him and said, Someone at the palace wants to talk to you.

Sheku Kanneh-Mason with Bishop Michael Curry

Then he heard this woman with an American accent saying, Hello, this is Meghan Markle.

It was completely out of the blue. He called me straight away and told me. It was incredibly surreal but such a wonderful, personal touch.

Star quality: Sheku Kanneh-Mason and soprano Elin Manahan Thomas

She added: When Sheku met Meghan and Harry in person he said they were lovely  really personable and no pomposity. They made him feel like a friend.

The rising star, who dressed in a Paul Smith suit for the occasion, performed three songs chosen by the royal couple, including Franz Schuberts Ave Maria, Maria Theresia von Paradiss Sicilienne and Gabriel Faures Apres un reve.

Mr Kanneh-Mason, who comes from a family of musicians, is no stranger to the limelight, having previously performed at the Baftas and been crowned the BBCs Young Musician of the Year. He reached the 2015 semi-finals of Britains Got Talent in a classical ensemble alongside four of his siblings.S ome of Londons wealthiest Russians could lose permission to stay in Britain following the Salisbury attack, it emerged today as questions flew about Roman Abramovichs visa.

Government sources said reviews were being carried out on all tycoons staying in the UK on special visas issued to major investors.

The issue was spotlighted after it emerged that Chelsea owner Mr Abramovich missed Saturdays FA Cup Final, which his team won 1-0 against Manchester United, because his visa has not so far been renewed.

He held a Tier 1 visa, which is available to non-EU nationals who want to invest 2 million or more in the UK. It expired while he was abroad. A renewal application is ongoing but apparently subject to delays.

Downing Street would not discuss individual cases but pointed out that former home secretary Amber Rudd had said after the Salisbury attack that extra checks were being carried out. In 2014 and 2015 we took action to tighten up the Tier One 1 investor route, including new powers to refuse applications where there are reasonable grounds to believe funds have been obtained unlawfully, said the spokesman. As a result of these reforms applications were reduced by 84 per cent.

We are currently taking another look at how the route operates and are undertaking further checks on investors who came to the UK through this route before the reforms were introduced.

Neither ministers nor officials have explained why Mr Abramovich has not yet been issued a renewal to his visa. Simple red tape remains one possibility, while sources also pointed out that renewals always take longer when applicants are abroad.

Relations between Britain and Moscow nosedived after the nerve agent poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

Russian money is so significant in London that many prestige lawyers, accountants and estate agents have special Russia desks to handle clients.

But ministers were today accused by MPs of risking national security by turning a blind eye to dirty money.

The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said that despite the outcry over the Salisbury nerve agent attack, President Vladimir Putin and his allies were continuing to use the City as a base for their corrupt assets.M eghan Markle's half-sister has hit back at haters in a string of Twitter posts following the royal wedding.

Samantha Markle, 53, criticised the newlywed's mother, Doria Ragland, of taking cash for an interview with Oprah Winfrey and dubbed Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan a pasty old troll.

The Florida-based writer was not invited to Prince Harry and Meghans wedding on Saturday in Windsor.

After Piers questioned why Meghan Markle had not jetted to see her father following his heart attack, Samantha Markle attacked him on social media.

Blasted by Piers Morgan: Samantha Grant / Good Morning Britain

The GMB presenter previously said: If my father was having heart surgery 8,000 miles away, I probably wouldnt stay in London working out what songs I want Elton to play at my party..."

Sharing a link of the story featuring his comments onto her Twitter profile, Ms Markle wrote: So @piersmorgan Morgan calls me a vulture,turns around slams my sister after slamming my father LOL I guess that Viagra is not working for your Piers.

'There's no bigger media vulture in this wedding than you': Piers Morgan blasts Meghan Markles estranged half-sister

She added: Everything about this man just screams Napoleon complex.

Ms Markle, a former actress, also became embroiled in a Twitter row with some of her followers and slammed Meghan Markle's mother Doria Ragland for claiming she "cashed in" on her daughters royal status.

She said: Even Doria cashed in talking to Oprah and some of the first photos out there only she could have had.

Royal Wedding 2018: The best pictures you might have missed 1 /60 Royal Wedding 2018: The best pictures you might have missed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau along the Long Walk PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex emerge from the West Door of St George's Chapel Danny Lawson/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau along the Long Walk after their wedding in St George's Chapel Yui Mok/PA Princess Charlotte sticks out her tongue as she rides in a car to the wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Andrew Milligan/PA Prince William, the Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George leave after the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel Gareth Fuller/WPA Pool/AP Zalie Warren arrives at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle PA Prince Harry and his wife Meghan wave as they ride a horse-drawn carriage after their wedding ceremony Damir Sagolj/Reuters Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ride in an Ascot Landau carriage up the Long Walk at Windsor Castle after their wedding teve Parsons/PA Royal fans in Windsor for the wedding celebration Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Doria Ragland and the Prince of Wales leave St George's Chapel Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince Harry's brother and best man Prince William, Duke of Cambridge wait in the chapel ahead of his wedding Owen Humphreys/WPA Pool/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Shaun Botterill/Getty Images Students of Immaculate Heart High School and Middle School watch a live broadcast of the wedding of Meghan Markle, who graduated from Immaculate Heart in 1999 David McNew/AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the steps of St George's Chapel Ben Birchall/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Phil Noble/WPA/Getty Images) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Jonathan Brady//WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry looks at his bride, Meghan Markle Jonathan Brady//WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chapel Aaron Chown/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Ben BirchallWPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Andrew Milligan/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Crowds at Windsor Castle before the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle Ben Cawthra/WPA/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Jeff J Mitchell/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Yui Mok/WPA Pool/Getty Images Members of the Royal family watch as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chapel Andrew Milligan/PA Pinky Ghelani and Suzzy Wokabi watch a TV broadcast of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding at the Windsor golf and country club in Nairobi Thomas Mukoya/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married Andrew Milligan/PA The Duke of Cambridge with Prince George leave St George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/PA Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images Meghan Markle arrives at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for her wedding Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel Andrew Matthews/PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage during a procession after getting married at St Georges Chapel Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan (R), Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their royal wedding ceremony Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after their wedding in Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP A town crier poses after watching the carriage procession Tom Nicholson/EPA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as they leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle following their wedding. Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss as they leave St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle following their wedding. Brian Lawless/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an open-topped carriage through Windsor Castle after their wedding Victoria Jones/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and The Duchess of Sussex ride in the Ascot Landau carriage during the procession after getting married St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle Matt Cardy/Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leaves Windsor Castle in the Ascot Landau carriage Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images The Prince of Wales leads Meghan Markle up the aisle of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle for her wedding to Prince Harry Dominic Lipinski/PA Prince William, Prince Charles, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of York, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, from let, during the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/AP Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex walk down the west steps of St George's Chapel Ben Stansall/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding. Owen Humphreys/PA Crowds gather ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Bruce Adams/WPA Pool/Getty Images George Clooney and his wife British human rights barrister Amal Clooney (R) arrive for the royal wedding ceremony of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle Toby Melville/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex exit St George's Chapel Neil Hall/WPA Pool/EPA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave from the West Door of St George's Chapel Ben Stansall/WPA ool/Getty Images Prince George leaves St George's Chapel Brian Lawless/WPA Pool/Getty Images The Duke of Edinburgh leaves St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle Gareth Fller/WPA Pool/Reuters Oprah Winfrey leaves St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after the wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ian West/WPA Pool/AP Royal fans watch the wedding Peter Nicholls/Reuters The Duchess of Cambridge arrives with the bridesmaids at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Windsor, Jane barlow/WPA Pool/Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel Danny lawson/WPA Poll/Getty Images Prince Harry gestures next to his wife Meghan as they ride a horse-drawn carriage Damir Sagolj/Reuters

She went on to reiterate her right to freedom of speech, adding: Excuse me but Im an American citizen with freedom of speech and I dont take cues.

We had a right to defend ourselves and speak out against nasty British media if no one likes it thats just too bad.

After a number of arguments with social media users, Ms Markle declared she was getting a massage, tweeting: My haters are giving me a neck ache which is a really good excuse to get an Uber massage.S tarbucks has announced a new policy which means people will be allowed to use facilities in branches regardless of whether they make a purchase.

Starbucks US announced the policy change on Saturday: any customer is welcome to use Starbucks spaces, including our restrooms, cafes and patios, regardless of whether they make a purchase.

It also added that employees should follow established procedures to address disruptive behaviours and to call the police if they felt in immediate danger or threat.

Before the change in policy was implemented it would have fallen on store managers to decide whether or not people who had not purchased anything could use the restroom or sit in the restaurant.

The policy change is in place for US stores only. Starbucks said it was reviewing its policies in EMEA areas to "ensure we are creating a welcoming Third Place for customers."

The new policy was implemented in the US following an incident which occurred in Philadelphia last month where two black men who went to Starbucks were denied use of the restroom and asked to leave.

An employee in the restaurant called the police and the two men were arrested prompting protests and accusations of racism from many on social media.

The men called Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson, were waiting for another man, Andrew Yaffe, who is white, for a business meeting on April 12 when the officers arrived.

The arrest was captured on video which quickly went viral.

In the video Mr Yaffe can be heard asking why the police were called.

What did they get called for?...Because there are two black guys sitting here meeting me?

Starbucks did not press charges and the men were later released.

Rashon Nelson, left, and Donte Robinson, right, have reached a financial settlement over their arrests in a Philadelphia Starbucks / AP

The company has since apologised to both men in a statement written by Kevin R. Johnson, Starbucks chief executive.

Starbucks said it would close its stores in the United States on May 29 to give anti-bias training to 175,000 employees.A former Royal Marine and friend of newly-married Prince Harry has joined the team who create and run an app that helps former soldiers find work.

Paul Vice, who sustained 100 injuries in a blast in Afghanistan in 2011 and had his left leg amputated in 2014, is working to help other former soldiers like him find civilian jobs on app Imployable.

The app, created by another former serviceman, Peter Kelly, lets users enter their CV and answer questions to help narrow down their search for jobs after returning from life on the battlefield.

Imployable has now caught the attention of Google who are helping to develop the app further.

Mr Vice said: Im really pleased to be part of a business that will help with the transition into civilian life. I know how difficult it can be.The amount of transferable skills you obtain in the forces arent recognised by the business sector.

Paul Vice pictured (right) with Prince Harry

He says his involvement in the app will show businesses that "they can capitalise on the skills of former military members."

Mr Vice was a guest of Prince Harry at his wedding to Meghan Markle on Saturday.

The pair became friends after meeting at the Warrior games in Colorado in 2013. It later transpired that they had served in Afghanistan at the same time and talked on the radio.

Mr Vice said: It was amazing to be part of an occasion as big as the royal wedding and it was good to catch up with Prince Harry and see Meghan Markle for the first time.

Harrys just a regular guy. One of the lads. He has a reputation for partying but I guess that will change now hes a married man.

The app was created by former marine Peter Kelly, 31, who found he was struggling to find civilian work after active service.

Mr Kelly said: "I came out of the Marines with a project management qualification and experience beyond what any regular candidate would have.

"Id shared an office with Prince Harry, worked in beach and helicopter reconnaissance and as a drill instructor, yet I found that in the commercial world people just didnt care. Its not surprising 21% of leavers from the armed forces are unemployed within six months.D onald Trump raised the stakes in his feud with the US Justice Department today by demanding an investigation into whether the FBI spied on his election campaign for political reasons.

He wants to know if a secret FBI informant based in England was used improperly by federal agents investigating alleged ties between Russia and members of his inner circle.

His demand came after it emerged that the source  a retired university professor living in the UK  had met three Trump campaign aides.

But the presidents opponents accused him of trying to deflect attention from embarrassing revelations surrounding the Russia probe. They warned his demand would damage the independence of criminal investigations and even put the life of informants at risk.

Responding to Mr Trump, the Justice Department said Inspector General Michael E Horowitz would expand an ongoing internal review to determine whether there was any impropriety or political motivation in the counter-intelligence investigation that began during the 2016 election race. If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, said deputy attorney-general Rod Rosenstein.

Yesterday Mr Trump had tweeted: I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!

Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said Mr Trumps demand that DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems. Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesnt care.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating alleged collusion between Russia and Mr Trumps election campaign, which the president denies. The New York Times reported that an intelligence source who was an American academic who teaches in Britain interacted with campaign advisers George Papadopoulos and Carter Page. Papadopoulos has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia probe.

The Washington Post reported the source also met Sam Clovis, Mr Trump campaigns co-chairman.

The FBI informant is known to have also worked with the CIA. The use of a confidential source is common in criminal investigations.

But Devin Nunes, Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee told Fox News: If they ran a spy ring or an informant ring, and they were paying people within the Trump campaign ... that is an absolute red line. The White House had no comment on Mr Trumps demand for an investigation.

Meanwhile the presidents lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed Mr Mueller was planning to finish his inquiries by September 1. The former New York mayor said waiting any longer risked improperly influencing voters in Novembers mid-term elections.F acebook could face EU sanctions over the hijacked data scandal, EU justice chief Vera Jourova reveals today.

Her warning comes on the eve of a meeting between Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and senior European figures in Brussels to discuss a series of allegations about the misuse of peoples data.

We need companies like Facebook to clarify that they are going to obey the rules in the EU, she said.

Up to 87 million peoples personal details on Facebook were allegedly obtained by data firm Cambridge Analytica without proper consent and used to sway voters in the 2016 UK referendum on leaving the EU.

The participation of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica in the system is rather a challenging situation, and so I urge the American authorities to speed up the investigation and to take action if necessary, Ms Jourova said.

Penalties would be considered if the allegations were proven, she said. The British authorities are taking this very seriously and they will be fully compliant, having the same rules, which will enable in the future to deal or to negotiate the adequacy decision, the commissioner said.

Once the UK will become a third country, we will have to do this arrangement, she added. She said any EU penalties would be a matter of timing because the data harvesting is thought to have occurred in 2015, the year the EU annulled its Safe Harbor data pact with the US, and before the two sides agreed on the replacement Privacy Shield in 2016.

Privacy Shield effectively certifies US companies as compliant with data protection rules, allowing them to use EU nationals data, within limits. The same kind of adequacy decision will be required for UK-based companies to keep using Europeans data after Brexit.

A new set of EU rules, the general data protection regulation (GDPR), will apply from this Friday  including in Britain  making it illegal for data giants to use and sell peoples information without their express consent.

Such rules, Ms Jourova said, could have prevented the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal.

We want to see all the measures taken to be fully compliant with the GDPR, Ms Jourova said of Facebook. This is what we expect, this is where their legal liability lies, and this is what we can control and sanction in case of a problem  which is not a warning, this is just a fact, she said.

My wish is that they will do  that Mr Zuckerberg will do  what he promised, Ms Jourova said.A toxic cloud of acid gas and fine shards of glass known as a "Laze" are the latest hazards to emerge as the Kilauea volcano continues to erupt in Hawaii.

Authorities have warned people not to go near the toxic plume formed by a chemical reaction when lava touches seawater.

Scientists said the steam clouds at the spots where lava entered the ocean are laced with hydrochloric acid and fine glass particles that can irritate skin and eyes and cause breathing problems.

The billowing cloud has already migrated 15 miles west from the volcano.

The plume is formed by a chemical reaction when lava touches seawater / AFP/Getty Images

Scientists said the acid in the plume was about as corrosive as diluted battery acid. The glass was in the form of fine glass shards. Getting hit by it might feel like being sprinkled with glitter.

Hawaii volcano lava causes mass evacuation 1 /8 Hawaii volcano lava causes mass evacuation Lava burns across a road as an offering to the volcano goddess lies in the foreground in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii AP Lava burns across a road in the Leilani Estates subdivision on Saturday, May 5 AP This photo shows some of the 1990 lava flow from Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, Sunday, May 6, 2018 AP Authorities, including police and the National Guard, check the identification of returning evacuees to their homes at Leilani Estates AFP/Getty Images A cyclist rides past the plume of volcanic smoke in the distance over the area of Leilani Estates AFP/Getty Images A man watches as lava is seen sewing from a fissure in the Leilani Estates subdivision near the town of Pahoa on Hawaii's Big Island AFP/Getty Images This image released by the US Geological Survey shows a volcanic fissure with lava fountains as high as about 70 m AFP/Getty Images A line of vechicles head for the intersection of Pahoa and Kapoho Roads as evacuees are allowed to return to their Leilani Estates homes to gather belongings and exit AFP/Getty Images

"If you're feeling stinging on your skin, go inside," US Geological Survey scientist Wendy Stovall said. Authorities warned that the plume could shift direction if the winds changed.

The Coast Guard said it was enforcing a safety zone extending 984 feet (300 meters) around the ocean entry point.

Hawaii: Kilauea Volcano - In pictures 1 /69 Hawaii: Kilauea Volcano - In pictures AP AP Getty Images AP AP Getty Images AP AP AP AP AP Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano seen from the International Space Station (ISS) EPA Lindsey Magnani and her son Kahele Rodrigues, 2, listen as an official shows them how to use a respirator that was given to them to help protect against ash from Kilauea volcano AP A geologist inspects cracks on a road in Leilani Estates, following eruption of Kilauea volcano Reuters An ash plume rising following a massive volcano eruption on Kilauea volcano in Hawaii AFP/Getty Images Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano showing ash drifting EPA A soldier of the Hawaii Army National Guard wears a mask to protect himself from volcanic gases in Pahoa during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Reuters A lava flow from the Kilauea volcano cools Getty Images EPA Laura Rillamas, of Orchidland, puts on a dust mask to protect herself from volcanic emissions in Keaau during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Reuters An aerial view of ground cracks EPA People line up for free dust masks in Keaau to protect themselves from volcanic ash during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Reuters Hawaii National Guard soldiers wear masks to protect themselves from volcanic gases in Pahoa during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Reuters Police inspect cracks in Highway 11 after a 3.5 magnitude earthquake hit the area near the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii EPA Sulfur dioxide plumes rising from the fissures along the rift and accumulating in the cloud deck as a result of Kilauea volcano activity on Hawaii's Big Island Getty Images Lois Iwashita, an educational assistant at Pahoa High and Intermediate School, wears a mask to protect herself from volcanic gases in Pahoa during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawai Reuters People take photos as an ash plume rises from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island Getty Images Lava spews from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano Reuters People watch as ash erupt from the Halemaumau crater near the community of Volcano during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Reuters A woman hold her dog Tzippy at a golf course as an ash plume rises in the distance from the Kilauea volcano Getty Images A man drives a golf cart at a golf course as an ash plume rises in the distance from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island Getty Images An ash plume rises from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Smoke and lava erupt from a fissure near a home on the outskirts of Pahoa during ongoing eruptions Reuters Lava erupts from a fissure on the outskirts of Pahoa during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Reuters A new fissure has been spotted east of the Leilani Estates on Hawaii's Big Island Reuters Sisters Jolyn, 15, (Left), and Haley Clinton, 17, take photos as lava erupts from a fissure near their home east of the Leilani Estates subdivision Reuters Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano Reuters Haley Clinton, 17, takes photos as lava erupts from a fissure near her home east of the Leilani Estates subdivision Reuters Lava erupts Reuters Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii Reuters Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates Reuters A handout photo made available by the Hawaii County Fire Department shows and aerial view of fissure 16 EPA Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision during ongoing eruptions of the Kilauea Volcano Reuters Lava flows from the volcano EPA An ash column rises from the Overlook crater at the summit of Kilauea volcano Reuters A man wearing a gas mask takes pictures of the lava fissures Reuters Lava moves into Makamae Street in Leilani Estates AFP/Getty Images Authorities have ordered mandatory evacuations in Leilani Estates Visitors take pictures as Kilauea's summit crater glows red AP A fissure erupts near the intersection of Kahukai Street and Leilani Avenue in Leilani Estates AP Cracks appear on Highway 130 AP Hawaii's Kilaueaa Volcano AFP/Getty Images Hawaii's Kilaueaa Volcano AP An aerial view taken during a Paradise Helicopters flight over the area shows smoke rising from the Pu'u 'O'o crater EPA Lava burning in Leilani Estates AP An ash plume rises above the Kilauea volcano AFP/Getty Images A plume of ash rises from the Puu Oo vent AP Lava emerges from the ground after Kilauea Volcano erupted Reuters Clouds of ashes rise in the air over what was once a crater filled with hardened lava that is now a cavernous pit hundreds of feet deep EPA A large, so-called 'skylight' was created when the roof of a tube collapsed, exposing the intense glow from the heat within an upper flow field just east of a vent of the east rift zone of the Kilauea volcano EPA This photo from April shows the extent of the large overflow of a lava lake AP A line of spattering along a lava lake margin AP This photo provided by the U.S. Geological Survey shows shows a layer of red ash on top of an active lava flow AP Dozens of earthquakes are rattling Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano as magma flows into a new area east of the Puu Oo vent AP Red ashes from the collapse of the Pu'u 'O'o crater's floor covers the upper flow field just east of the vent on Kilauea volcano's east rift zone EPA A general view of a half-mile long fissure ejects steam resulting from the movement of magma beneath Kilauea's east rift zone EPA

Scientists say they dont know how long the eruption which began on May 3 will go on for.

Members of the media record a wall of lava entering the ocean near Pahoa, Hawaii / AP

Kilauea has burned some 40 structures, including two dozen homes, since it began erupting in people's backyards in the Leilani Estates neighbourhood three weeks ago. About 2,000 people have evacuated their homes, including 300 who were staying in shelters.

In recent days, the lava began to move more quickly and emerge from the ground in greater volume.

Lava from a Kilauea volcano fissure erupts on Hawaii's Big Island / Getty Images

The new lava is hotter, moves faster and has spread over a wider area.

Early Monday, a small eruption occurred at the Kilauea summit, producing an ash plume that reached about 7,000 feet (2,134 meters).N ASAs new planet hunter satellite has sent back its dazzling first image of more than 200,000 stars.

On its first ever lunar flyby, the spacecraft used one of its four cameras to snap a two-second test exposure as it soared about 5,000 miles from the Moon.

The luminous image peppered with stars centres on the southern constellation Centaurus, with the edge of the Coalsack Nebula in the right upper corner and the bright star Beta Centauri visible at the lower left edge.

As it took the shot, the gravitational force from the Moon propelled the spacecraft, called the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), onwards to its final working orbit.

When it reaches its scientific exploration orbit in mid-June, scientists expect TESS to snap more images that will cover more than 400 times as much sky as shown in the first picture.

Its mission is an initial two-year search for exoplanets  planets outside our solar system.

Launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida last month, the satellite will monitor nearby stars in search of periodic dips in brightness known as transits, which are caused by a planet passing in front of the star.

Nasa planet hunter

First scientifically recognised in 1988, thousands of exoplanets have since been discovered  many using NASAs Kepler Space Telescope.A London mother jailed in Iran after being convicted of spying has been told to expect another conviction on a new charge, her husband said today.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who has been in prison since 2016, appeared in court on Saturday accused of spreading propaganda against Tehrans hardline Islamist regime, he said.

The 39-year-old burst into tears after being told by the judge she is likely to be convicted. He also dismissed her long-standing lawyer from her case.

The five-year sentence Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is already serving for attempting to overthrow the regime, a charge she has consistently denied, could now be extended.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella

Richard Ratcliffe said his wife appealed for clemency and freedom so that she might be able to have a second child.

She told the court: This year I am turning 40. I might only have a slim chance.

Mr Ratcliffe added: This weekend we have had mixed news. The threatened court case has become real, the refusal of her lawyer is not a good omen of justice.

Nazanin with her mother and daughter

But also Nazanin was allowed to call the British embassy for the first time. After two years that is a good sign. Hopefully the good news will lead to them finally being able to visit.S weden is sending out leaflets to its citizens, telling them how to be prepared for a war.

The leaflet titled If Crisis or War Comes warns of food and medicine shortages and advises readers how to find a bomb shelter.

It's the first awareness campaign of its kind since the Cold War.

Published by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the leaflet tells readers: If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up.

Aside from conflict, readers are also warned of cyberattacks.

Earlier this year, Sweden reintroduced conscription citing Russian aggression as a reason.

In the leaflet, readers are told that in the event of armed conflict, anyone between the ages of 16 and 70 can be called to assist.

Citizens are also advised on how to get clean clean water and how to spot propaganda.

In the event of a conflict, people should store in their houses in case of an emergency including tortillas, bolognaise sauce and sardines

Head of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, Dan Eliasson said: Even if Sweden is safer than most countries, threats do exist.

In 2016, the Swedish government increased military spending after years of cutting its defence budget. It has also stationed troops on the Baltic island of Gotland, blaming Russia for the reason.M inisters have been accused by MPs of risking national security by "turning a blind eye" to the Russian "dirty money" flowing through the City of London.

The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said despite the outcry over the Salisbury nerve agent attack, President Vladimir Putin and his allies were continuing to use the City as a base for their "corrupt assets".



In a hard-hitting report, the committee said the Government needed to show "stronger political leadership", with further sanctions against "Kremlin-connected individuals" and take action to close loopholes in the existing regime.

Assets stored and laundered in London, it said, were being used to support Mr Putin's campaign to subvert the international-rules based order and undermine Western allies and that combating it should be a "major UK foreign policy priority".

Despite the attempted assassination of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, using a Novichok nerve agent, blamed by Britain on the Kremlin, the committee said it remained "business as usual" in the City for wealthy Russian oligarchs.

Boris Johnson said "there was no real role for Government" in preventing the money laundering

When they had tried to press Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on what could be done to halt to flow of corrupt money into the UK, the MPs said he had appeared to suggest "there was no real role for Government in this process".

Russian Spy Sergei Skripal: Salisbury Nerve Agent Incident 1 /14 Russian Spy Sergei Skripal: Salisbury Nerve Agent Incident Investigators in protective gear pursue the probe into the nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal Getty Russian spy 'poisoning': Sergei Skripal and Yulia Skripal are fighting for life in hospital PA Personnel in hazmat suits work to secure a tent covering a bench in the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury, where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found critically ill by exposure to a nerve agent Andrew Matthews/PA ilitary personnel are deployed to help remove vehicles from the scene after former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter were found critically ill after exposure to a nerve agent in Salisbury Getty Images Military in protective clothing remove vehicles from a car park in Salisbury EPA Police cordon: Military personnel in Salisbury PA Traces of the nerve agent used to poison Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found at Zizzi in Salisbury PA Amber Rudd: she visited the scene where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found after having been poisoned by a nerve agent REUTERS Personnel are helped from their hazmat suits (right), after securing a tent covering a bench in the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury, where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found critically ill by exposure to a nerve agent Andrew Matthews/PA Personnel in hazmat suits walk away after securing a tent covering a bench in the Maltings shopping centre in Salisbury, where former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found critically ill by exposure to a nerve agent Andrew Matthews/PA Police put a red bag inside a police evidence bag immediately after the nerve agent attack on a Russian spy. Officers previously issued CCTV of a woman clutching a red bag Solent news Snap Fitness 24/7 Police activity in the cul-de-sac in Salisbury that contains the home of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal who was poisoned along with daughter Yulia with a nerve agent PA Sergei Skripal shops at Bargain Stop in a CCTV image from five days before his apparent poisoning

"Despite the strong rhetoric, President Putin and his allies have been able to continue 'business as usual' by hiding and laundering their corrupt assets in London," the committee said.

"These assets, on which the Kremlin can call at any time, both directly and indirectly support President Putin's campaign to subvert the international rules-based system, undermine our allies, and erode the mutually-reinforcing international networks that support UK foreign policy.

MI5 chief says Salisbury poisoning was 'deliberate, targeted' act by Russian state

"This has clear implications for our national security. Turning a blind eye to London's role in hiding the proceeds of Kremlin-connected corruption risks signalling that the UK is not serious about confronting the full spectrum of President Putin's offensive measures."

The committee called on the Government to work with US and EU allies to identify and sanction individuals and entities used by the Kremlin in carrying out its "acts aggression" - including disinformation campaigns, the destabilisation of neighbouring states and foreign assassinations.

President Putin denied Russia's involvement in the poisoning Sergei Skripal / REUTERS

It also called on ministers to investigate "gaps" in the sanctions regime which allowed the Russian government and individuals linked to President Putin to continue to raise funds in the City.

It pointed to the way that just two days after Britain announced the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats in response to the Salisbury attack, the Russian government was able to raise 3 billion ($4 billion) in eurobond issuances.

A day earlier the Russian energy giant Gazprom PJSC made a 650 million (750 million) bond sale, prompting the Russian embassy in London to tweet derisively: "Business as usual?"

In November 2017, the oligarch Oleg Deripaska was able to float the EN+ Group on the London Stock Exchange, reportedly raising 1.5 billion, despite his "well-known" links to the Kremlin and reports that both MI6 and US security officials had raised "serious concerns".

Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said: "There is no excuse for the UK to turn a blind eye as President Putin's kleptocrats and human rights abusers use money laundered through London to corrupt our friends, weaken our alliances, and erode faith in our institutions.

"The UK must be clear that the corruption stemming from the Kremlin is no longer welcome in our markets and we will act."T he US has issued a list of demands for a new nuclear deal with Iran and threatened "the strongest sanctions in history" if the country does not comply.

Under the new demands, Iran would have to stop enrichment of Uranium, end its support of Hezbollah and also reveal details of all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the demands would help to ensure that Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon ever.

The US has also demanded that Iran must release all US citizens missing in Iran or being held on spurious charges and also withdraw troops from Syria.

Its thought that there are five US citizens currently detained in Iran for various charges.

Mr Trump has previously described the Iran deal as "a horrible one sided deal" / AP

One detainee, Karan Vafadari was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overthrow the Islamic Republic in 2016.

In return, the US would lift sanctions, restore full diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran and support the modernisation of its economy.

Mr Pompeo said: It is America's hope that our labours toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran.

He added: "I know our allies in Europe may try to keep the old nuclear deal going with Tehran. That is their decision to make.

President Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal earlier this month. European allies had pleaded with Mr Trump not to break from the deal.

He previously described the deal as a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made.

Mr Trump added: It didnt bring calm, it didnt bring peace and it never will.

Barack Obama who led the signing of the deal shared his disappointment at the Trump administrations actions in a statement that said: The joint comprehensive plan of action is in Americas interest  it has significantly rolled back Irans nuclear program.P iers Morgan has slated the Beckhams, branding Victoria a sourpuss and chastising David for chewing gum at the Royal Wedding.

The famous couple were among the celebrity attendees invited to watch the Duke and Duchess of Sussex tie the knot at Windsor Castle on Saturday.

Morgan criticised the sportsmans behaviour, saying he should not have been chewing gum while sat alongside notable names in church.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain he said: Whats the one thing you dont do in church? He goes into church and sits down next to Nicholas Soames.

'Sourpuss': Victoria Beckham struggled to crack a smile / Hugo Philpott/WPA Pool/EPA

The pillar of the establishment. A man related to Winston Churchill and what does old Golden Balls do? He chews gum.

He then mocked Davids accent as he pretended to chew, saying: What times it starting then love?

Morgan argued the behaviour was so out of order that he should be denied a knighthood. He said: If anything should stop him getting a knighthood that to me is the tipping point.

Victoria Beckham mocked at Royal Wedding 2018 for miserable face as she finally cracks a smile inside Windsor Castle

Susanna Reid asked: Why? Its a modern marriage. You should be allowed to chew gum in church.

Morgan replied: No. Standards are important in life.

He also attacked Victoria for failing to break her scowl as she arrived at St Georges Chapel.

Royal Wedding Day: Arrivals - In pictures 1 /38 Royal Wedding Day: Arrivals - In pictures David Beckham and Victoria Beckham PA Amal Clooney and George Clooney AP Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews AFP/Getty Images Oprah Winfrey arrives at St George's Chapel PA Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre PA Chris Jackson/Getty Images Patrick J. Adams and wife Troian Bellisario Ian West/PA Sarah Rafferty REUTERS Cressida Bonas REUTERS Chelsy Davy Getty Images Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian PA David and Victoria Beckham talk with Sir Elton John (left) and David Furnish PA Sofia Wellesley and James Blunt arrive at St George's Chapel PA Julia Carey and James Corden Getty Images Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews AFP/Getty Images James Haskell and Chloe Madeley PA Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews Getty Images Lady Kitty Spencer REUTERS Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford PA Joss Stone arrives in St George's Chapel PA Prince Harry's Uncle Charles Spencer, Earl Spencer arrives with his wife Karen Spencer, Countess Spencer AFP/Getty Images Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre PA Delfina Blaquier and Nacho Figueras REUTERS Prince William's private secretary, Miguel Head arrives Getty Images Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy Getty Images David Beckham and Victoria Beckham PA Amal and George Clooney PA Jonny Wilkinson and Shelley Jenkins PA Amal Clooney and George Clooney AP James Blunt arrives at St George's Chapel PA Sir Clive Woodward and Jayne Williams PA Nick Jones of Soho House Getty Images Carol Middleton PA Dan Snow and Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor PA Oprah Winfrey PA Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre PA David and Victoria Beckham Getty Images David Beckham and Victoria Beckham EPA

Watching old sourpuss  youre at the sunniest happiest wedding in the world and you turn up looking like that, he said. She thinks shes the new Audrey Hepburn, no youre not youre Audrey from the Rovers Return.

Victoria was mocked by viewers who questioned why she couldnt crack a smile, with one joking she was grieving Meghan Markles single life while another sarcastically tweeted: Someone needs to calm Victoria Beckham down, shes completely over excited...Countries & Areas

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"The Embassy of the Palestinian State in Bucharest informs you, that as a result of the tragic events and the atrocious massacre of the Israeli occupation army on the Palestinian civilian population, in which 64 Palestinian civilians were killed and 2,500 were injured on 14 May 2018, the days of 15, 16 and 17 of May were declared days of national mourning. A condolence book will be opened at our Embassy, on str. Cpt. Av. Marasoiu Gheorghe, no. 11, District 1, Bucharest, on the day of 22 May 2018, during 11:00 and 14:00 hrs," reads a press release sent to AGERPRES by the Embassy of the Palestine State in Bucharest.For the time being, obviously, our potential candidate for the future presidential elections is Calin Popescu-Tariceanu and "the engine" of the party, declared Sunday, Foreign Affairs Minister Teodor Melescanu, deputy chair of ALDE (Alliance of Democrats and Liberals, ed. n).

"Any party that wishes to play a serious political role in Romania has the intention of presenting their own candidate for the presidential elections. ALDE is one of the important parties of the Coalition and it's only natural that people have ideas and proposals on this topic. What will happen in the future will also depend on the negotiations that we can carry out from within the coalition, but, for the time being, obviously, our potential candidate is Calin Popescu Tariceanu, the party leader and engine", Melescanu said, after taking part in the Gala of Youth Awards of ALDE (TLDE), that took place at the Parliament House.

During the TLDE Awards Gala, Popescu Tariceanu received the "excellency award for promoting liberal values and the continuous fight for citizens' rights and liberties.""On behalf of ALDE's young people, with this special award that we are handing to you, I would like to convey to you the following message (...) We call on you, Mr Chairman, not to hesitate in assuming your candidacy next year for the position of Romania's president," Claudiu Catana, TLDE chairman told Calin Popescu Tariceanu.Prime Minister Viorica Dancila has labelled inappropriate the criminal complaint against her filed by national leader of the opposition National Liberal Party (PNL) Ludovic Orban, saying that she is convinced justice will find this complaint ridiculous.

"I think it is an inappropriate act to file a criminal complaint for high treason against the prime minister of Romania. I am convinced that justice will find this complaint ridiculous, as its completely divorced from reality," Dancila said on Monday in Bacau.

The prosecutor's office with the Supreme Court of Justice last week sent to the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) a complaint filed by PNL's Orban against Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the national leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), main at rule, Liviu Dragnea arguing that this is the competent body in this case, according to a statement by the Attorney General's Office to AGERPRES.Orban accuses Dancila of high treason, bad-faith presentation of information to the President of Romania, usurpation of office and disclosure of state secrets.The complaint also concerns PSD's Dragnea for the disclosure of state secrets.The foreign ministers (FMs) of the Baltic states have wound up their May 16-18 visit to Washington. They asked National Security Adviser John Bolton to reinforce the NATO battalions that have been deployed to their countries with air and naval units. They also want their air-defense capability enhanced. Lithuanian FM Linas Linkevicius emphasized that its not just the numbers that are important, but also training exercises, visits, the distribution of equipment, and the establishment of new military facilities. Latvian FM Edgars Rinkevics called for making the US military presence in the Baltic states and Poland permanent. Its hardly a coincidence that the issue has been raised prior to the NATO 2018 summit that will take place on July 11-12.

The leaders of the Baltic states have always stressed that they see the current military build-up as only the starting point for a larger effort that will include modernized routes and infrastructure sites, as well equipping their national forces with more up-to-date weapons for offensive operations.

NATO has deployed four battalion-sized battle groups (roughly 4,500 troops) to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. The nations that comprise the backbone of this force are the US, the UK, Germany and Canada. Twelve other allies also contribute to the Enhanced Forward Presence (EFP). Eight small staffs known as NATO force integration units have also been established. Common rules of engagement (ROE) are in the process of being hammered out, taking into account regional nuances. In the event of war, the Graduated Response Plan (Eagle Defender) with its own detailed ROE will come into play.

Under the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI), the US military has transferred over to Europe a 3,500-strong armored brigade combat team and a 2,200-strong combat aviation brigade that is headquartered in Germany, and a combat sustainment support battalion (750 troops) that is stationed on Polish soil to be used as a logistics hub in Romania. It has also deployed a support team to Lithuania.

In total, America now has three combat-ready brigades stationed in Europe, along with pre-positioned stockpiles of weapons systems and equipment that will allow a fourth brigade to rapidly beef up its forces to launch an attack against Russia. NATO reinforcement would also include the 13,000-strong NATOs Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) or Spearhead Force, which is an element of the Enhanced NATO Response Force (NRF) that would join the combat later. The NRF consists of 40,000 troops. All these forces are capable of joining the fight on short notice.

These armed corps possess an attack capability that Russia cannot ignore. Nor can Moscow turn a blind eye to the fact that NATOs collective military boasts 3.2 million active personnel  compared to Russias 830,000  in addition to the US arsenal of long-range attack systems. Germany, France, and some other allies see that as enough, but no, the Baltic states are never satisfied. They keep on begging for more. They want to fully exploit their status of frontline states in order to reap the political benefits.

And not only that, NATO is ratcheting up tensions by holding an increasing number of large-scale exercises right on Russias borders. This greatly elevates the risk of inadvertent escalation. For instance, three major exercises are scheduled to be held in the Baltic region this summer.

On June 3-15, the Saber Strike exercise organized by the US Army Europe will encompass the three Baltic states and Poland, involving over 18,000 troops from 19 countries. About 3,000 American soldiers and over 1,500 combat vehicles will travel from Germany to Latvia and Lithuania. Public roads will be used to move heavy equipment. On June 12-13, the soldiers of the US 2nd Cavalry Regiment will construct a bridge in order to cross the Neman River in Lithuania (in the Kaunas district). Their main mission is to ensure that the forces are ready to rapidly advance, not to merely defend their positions.

Eight thousand American airborne troops will land in Latvia during the Swift Response exercise, in order to train alongside Lithuanian and Polish troops. Namejs 2018 will be held from August 20 to September 2 and will involve over 9,200 Latvian forces, including the military, police, border guards, volunteer reservists, and other state institutions. They will be joined by 650 troops from the US, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

All these large-scale intensive training activities will take place in the background of the planning for Trident Juncture 2018, the largest NATO exercise involving about 40,000 troops, 70 ships, and about 130 aircraft from over 30 nations, which will be deployed to central and northern Norway in October for the live portion of the event. A command post phase will be conducted in Italy. Norway does not have a shoreline in the Baltic Sea but it is a member of the Council of the Baltic Sea States.

When the construction is over, Powidz, a Polish village with a population of 1,000, will have become a NATO hub for the Baltics and all of Northern Europe. That will be the control center for the operations in the region.

Anakonda 2018, the largest event ever staged by NATO since the end of the Cold War, involving 100,000 troops, 5,000 vehicles, 150 aircraft and helicopters, and 45 warships will be hosted by Portugal this summer. This particular event will be held outside the Baltic Sea region, but its an important part of the bigger picture because the training activities of the bloc have been incorporated into a unified plan. Its the vast scale that is so impossible to ignore.

All the exercises are being staged to allow the forces to hone their skills for conducting offensive operations against Russia, not for fending off attacks from trenches dug along the lines of defense. All these events are large-scale and the operational tempo is unprecedented, all of which makes the security status of Europe extremely precarious.

Nothing is working to ease the tensions. The agreement on the Prevention of Incidents at (INCSEA) and the Agreement on the Prevention of Dangerous Military Activities (DMA) seem forgotten and dust-covered. No one appears to remember they even exist. Incidents and dangerous activities take place regularly, especially during exercises. The agreements do nothing to prevent them.

In 2016, then-German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier proposed arms control discussions to defuse tensions. Russia welcomed the idea but the initiative ended up more or less swept under the rug. Moscow has proposed updating the risk-reduction procedures envisaged under the Vienna Document (Chapter III), but the alliance rejected the idea of direct Russia-NATO talks. It wants discussions to be held under the auspices of the OSCE, which makes no sense. Its NATO, not the OSCE, that Russia has security problems with. Its the North Atlantic Alliance, not the OSCE, that holds provocative military exercises near Russias borders while painting it as the state that harbors aggressive intentions. NATO has rejected Russias initiatives to reduce the risk of incidents, including in the Baltic region.

These exercises, which are in truth provocations, in addition to the longing of the Baltic nations to acquire the status of frontline states, the absence of any Russia-NATO dialog aimed at addressing security issues, the creation of the blocs infrastructure to launch offensive operations (an issue that has been kept out of the media spotlight), and the growing American presence inside states that share with a common border with Russia  all these developments are fraught with dire consequences. To a large extent, NATO is responsible for the present state of affairs and the Baltic states have greatly helped to turn northern Europe into a real hot spot.A hot topic in military prognostications regarding China, Russia and the United States revolves around the development and use of hypersonic technology for missiles or UAVs as an invulnerable means of attack. As we will see, not all three countries are dealing successfully with this task.

The United States, China and Russia have in recent years increased their efforts to equip their armed forces with such highly destructive missiles and vehicles seen in the previous article. Putins recent speech in Moscow reflects this course of direction by presenting a series of weapons with hypersonic characteristics, as seen with the Avangard and the Dagger.

As confirmed by US Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Dr. Michael Griffin:

We, today, do not have systems that can hold them [hypersonic weapons] at riskand we do not have defenses against those [hypersonic] systems. Should they choose to deploy them we would be, today, at a disadvantage.

Further confirmation that the US is lagging in this field came from General John Hyten, Commander of US Strategic Command:

We don't have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us, so our response would be our deterrent force, which would be the triad and the nuclear capabilities that we have to respond to such a threat.

The development of hypersonic weapons has been part of the military doctrine that China and Russia have been developing for quite some time, driven by various motivations. For one thing, it is a means of achieving strategic parity with the United States without having to match Washingtons unparallelled spending power. The amount of military hardware possessed by the United States cannot be matched by any other armed force, an obvious result of decades of military expenditure estimated to be in the range of five to 15 times that of its nearest competitors.

For these reasons, the US Navy is able to deploy ten carrier groups, hundreds of aircraft, and engage in thousands of weapon-development programs. Over a number of decades, the US war machine has seen its direct adversaries literally vanish, firstly following the Second World War, and then following the collapse of the Soviet Union. This led in the 1990s to shift in focus from one opposing peer competitors to one dealing with smaller and less sophisticated opponents (Yugoslavia, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, international terrorism). Accordingly, less funds were devoted to research in cutting-edge technology for new weapons systems in light of these changed circumstances.

This strategic decision obliged the US military-industrial complex to slow down advanced research and to concentrate more on large-scale sales of new versions of aircraft, tanks, submarines and ships. With exorbitant costs and projects lasting up to two decades, this led to systems that were already outdated by the time they rolled off the production lines. All these problems had little visibility until 2014, when the concept of great-power competition returned with a vengeance, and with it the need for the US to compare its level of firepower with that of its peer competitors.

Forced by circumstances to pursue a different path, China and Russia begun a rationalization of their armed forces from the end of the 1990s, focusing on those areas that would best allow them the ability to defend against the United States overwhelming military power. It is no coincidence that Russia has strongly accelerated its missile-defense program by producing such modern systems as Pantsir and S-300/S-400, which allows for a defense against ballistic attacks and stealth aircraft. Countering stealth technology became an urgent imperative, and with the production of the S-400, this challenge has been overcome. With the future S-500, even ICBMs will no longer pose a problem for Russia. In a similar vein, China has strongly accelerated its ICBM program, reaching within a decade the ability to produce a credible deterrent with their equivalent of the Russian SS-18 Satan or the American LGM-30G Minuteman III, possessing a long range and multiple independent reentry vehicles (MIRVs) armed with nuclear warheads.

After sealing the skies and achieving a robust nuclear-strategic parity with the United States, Moscow and Beijing begun to focus their attention on the US anti-ballistic-missile (ABM) systems placed along their borders, which also consist of the AEGIS system operated by US naval ships. As Putin warned, this posed an existential threat that compromised Russia and Chinas second-strike capability in response to any American nuclear first strike, thereby disrupting the strategic balance inherent in the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD).

For this reason, Putin has since 2007 been warning Russias western partners that his country would develop a system to nullify the American ABM system. In the space of a few years, Russia and China have succeeded in this task, testing and entering into production various hypersonic missiles equipped with breakthrough technologies that will strongly benefit the entire scientific sector of these two countries, and against which the US currently has no counter.

Currently there are no defenses against hypersonic attacks; and given the trend of employing ramjet/scramjet engines on new generations of fighter jets, it seems that more and more countries will want to equip themselves with these game-changing systems. Russia, to counter Americas naval superiority, has already entered into service the Zircon anti-ship missile, and already plans an export version with a range of 300 kms.

India and Russia have long been working on the Brahmos, which is yet another type of hypersonic missile that could in the future be launched from the Su-57. Although it is a relatively new technology, hypersonic weapons are already causing more than a headache for many Western military planners, who are only coming to realize just how far they are lagging behind their competitors.

It will take a while for the US to close the hypersonic technological and scientific gap with China and Russia. Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract to this end. In the meantime, the two Eurasian powerhouses are focusing on their overland integration via the Belt And Road Initiative (BRI) and the Eurasian Union, a strategic arrangement that denies the US and NATO the ability to easily intervene in an area so far inland, compounded by its inability to control the airspace, and ultimately outnumbered on the ground in any case.

The objective of the Russians and the Chinese is the realization of a highly defended (A2/AD) environment on their coasts and in their skies, which are buttressed by hypersonic weapons. In this way, Russia and China possess the means to disrupt the maritime logistical chain of the US Navy in the case of war. In addition, the A2/AD would be able to stop US power projection, thanks to HGV weapons able to sink aircraft carriers and target specific land-based ABM systems or logistic-chain hubs.

It is a defensive strategy that could potentially halt US Naval power projection as well as its ability to control the skies, two linchpins in the way the US plans to fight its wars. No wonder think-tanks in Washington and four-star generals are starting to sound the alarm on hypersonic weapons.Robert W. MERRY

Italy is wrapped up these days in the efforts of its two strongest political parties to forge a coalition government. Presumably they will succeed, though whether the resulting civic structure will have any staying power remains an open question. But in terms of the broad political trends in Italy, Europe, and the entire West (including the United States), it doesnt really matter much. Whatever happens with the emerging Italian government, Italy has set itself upon a new course. Its the path of populism, fueled by many things but primarily by the Wests immigration crisis.

William Galston offered an interesting insight into all this the other day in a piece in The New Republic. Galston, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, wasnt writing about Italian politics but rather about the turn towards populism in Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban. But he had a broader point. The global democratic tide, he wrote, which began in 1974 with the end of Portugals authoritarian regime, crested in 2006, making way for anti-democratic populists. Many Western leaders have yet to come to terms with this new reality, hoping that anti-immigrant sentiment is just a passing phenomenon.

Galston derided the tendency of Barack Obama, when he was president, to dismiss ideas and movements he opposed as being on the wrong side of history. No, said Galston, history has no side, no end, and no immanent tendency to move in a particular direction.

Right now it seems to be moving in a populist direction, and many, including Galston, are quick to lament what they consider the anti-democratic underside of this populist wave. But people dont turn away from democracy simply because they get tired of it or bored with it or because they would really rather live under a dictatorship or an overt oligarchy. They turn away from democracy when they feel that the democratic system no longer works for them.

In that sense the blame for such a turn of events more properly rests with the elites who most vehemently despise populism. If it werent for their failed leadership, there wouldnt be any serious populist wave at all.

But there isin Britain with Brexit; in America with Trump; in Hungary with Orban; in Poland with Mateusz Morawiecki; and now in Italy with an emergent populist coalition that has the distinction of being of the Left as well as of the Right. The coalition-building effort emanates from the March 4 elections, in which no party garnered the required 40 percent of the vote to qualify for leading the nation without coalition partners.

One member of the emerging coalition would be the left-wing, anti-establishment 5-Star Movement of Luigi Di Maio, which collected about 32 percent of the March 4 vote. With its political base largely in the poor south, it advocates a guaranteed income for all citizens, increased welfare and jobs spending, reduced immigration, and better treatment from the European Union. The 5-Star Movement also hews to liberal views on same-sex marriage, environmentalism, and social justice issues.

The other member would be the so-called League of Matteo Salvini, which itself is a kind of coalition of conservative parties that together captured 37 percent of the March 4 vote (17 percent for Salvinis own party, with the rest divided among three other coalition partners). Salvini wants to spur economic growth through tax reductions, foster better relations with Vladimir Putins Russia, and drastically reduce immigration and remove some 400,000 unauthorized immigrants from Italian shores. The Leagues political base is the more affluent North.

What do these two parties, so disparate in terms of their positions on left and right, have in common? The answer reflects the increasing irrelevance of the left-right dichotomy in todays Western politics, roiled as they are with ascendant populist sentiment. Both of Italys main populist parties are anti-establishment. Both despise the European Union and Italys loss of sovereignty to that bureaucratic behemoth. Both want an Italian exemption from the EUs budget deficit cap of 3 percent of GDP. Both want out of the euro and have advocated a referendum on leaving the EU entirely if negotiations with Brussels falter. Both want better relations between Russia and the West. And both decry the mass immigration that has agitated Europes social and political life in recent years under the nose of EU leaders and with full support from figures such as Germanys Angela Merkel. Though Salvini is by far the more vehement on the immigration issue, Di Maio provocatively labeled rescue efforts to help distressed migrants on the Mediterranean a sea-taxi service.

Bear in mind that Italy has had some 60 governments in the 73 years since the end of World War II. The country is a mess, particularly in its promiscuous financial policies of recent decades that have generated a public debt that is 132 percent of GDP, second in the Eurozone only to the economic basket case that is Greece. Many of the economic policies advocated by these parties, particularly Di Maios 5-Star Movement, would exacerbate those problems far more than alleviate them.

But when large numbers of ordinary citizens conclude that their governments and the establishment figures of their societies have undermined civic stability and the common good, they turn to particularistic sentiments focused on their own needs and wants. Thats the origin of populism.

And, of all the issues roiling Europe these days, none generates more political force and energy than the immigration crisisrepresenting a direct threat to the very definition of the West as well as its cultural coherence and health. The globalist elites dont get it, even now, but their days are numbered. It is noteworthy that the two political institutions seeking a coalition government in Italy represent some 69 percent of the March 4 vote. Thats a lot of populist sentiment, and the elites may be able to chip away at it if the coalition stumbles, but they wont be able to reverse it. The country is set upon a populist course for years to come.

Bill Galston, who is no populist (his latest book is entitled Anti-Pluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy), nevertheless understands the wellsprings of populist movements. Throughout Europe, he writes, immigration is at the core of the populist critique of the liberal democratic order. He notes that Orban in Hungary, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands, Frances Marine Le Pen, and Matteo Salvini all have highlighted the EUs stance on immigration, raising important questions about economic globalization, political transnationalism, and cultural liberalism. He adds that dismissing these concerns as simply retrograde is counterproductive. Instead, Europes leaders will have to take them seriouslywhile offering better answers than unscrupulous demagogues like Orban can muster.

Just so. Italy may or may not offer such better answers as it wends it way through the thickets of coalition politics. And it may or may not manage to address successfully the civic mess that has been festering in the country for decades. But it has moved into the new era of civic contention that is emerging throughout the West.

theamericanconservative.comThe 8 May US Presidential declaration (on exiting JCPOA) requires of us fundamentally to revise our understanding of Trumpism. At the outset to his term of office, Trumpism was widely understood to be based on three key pillars: That the costs incurred by the US in upholding the full panoply of Empire (i.e. policing the American, rules-based, global order) were just too onerous and unfair (especially in the provision of the defence umbrella)  and that others must be coerced into sharing its cost. Secondly, that American jobs had been, as it were, stolen from America, and would have to be recovered through forced changes to the terms of trade. And thirdly, that these changes would be effected, through applying the tactics of the Art of the Deal.

That seemed, at least, to be clear, (if not necessarily a wholly feasible blueprint). But mostly we thought that the Art of the Deal was about threatening, blustering, and hiking leverage on whatever the counterparty  raising tensions to explosive levels  before, at the very eleventh hour, at the very climax of crisis, offering the deal. And that was the point (then): Yes, Trump would toss verbal grenades intended to upend conventional expectations, take actions to force an issue  but the objective (as generally understood), was to get a deal: One that would tilt towards Americas mercantile and political interests, but a deal, nonetheless.

Maybe we misread Trumps build-up of Americas already super-sized military. It seemed that it was about potential leverage: something to be offered (in terms of an umbrella to compliant states), or withdrawn from those who would not put their hand in their pocket deeply enough.

But everything changed with Trump's 8 May statement. It was not just an American exit that was mooted, it was full court financial war that was declared against Iran (with terms of surrender couched in terms of regime change, and total submission to the US). But this is no longer about how to reach a fairer, better deal for the US; how to make it more money. Rather the financial system was to be leveraged to destroy another states currency and economy. The US military are being super-sized further, to be used: to be able to rain down fire and fury' on non-compliant states.

Nahum Barnea, a leading Israeli commentator, writing in (the Hebrew language) Yediot Ahronoth, expresses the plan concisely: The long-term Israeli aspirations are far-reaching: to lead Iran to economic collapse by means of the American sanctions. The economic collapse will lead to a change of regime. The new regime will give up the nuclear option, and Irans plans to spread throughout the region. What caused the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, will cause the collapse of the Islamic Republic. President Reagan did it to the Soviets; President Trump will do it to the Iranians. Trump became enamored of the idea.

The embrace of regime change in Tehran, combined with the unilateral giving of Jerusalem to Israel, and the US green light for Israel to attack Iranian forces and infrastructure, anywhere and anytime in Syria, is the very antithesis of the Art of the Deal approach. It is, rather, about actually  and physically  collapsing the Middle East paradigm through financial and military coercion. It is another western utopian project by which the perceived human flaws to an orderly world (i.e. these Ayatollahs who perversely oppose Americas mission civilisatrice) must be corrected by force or through eliminiation.

US Foreign Affairs Professor, Russell-Mead, suggests that this 8 May metamorphosis within Trumpism  as we formerly understood it  represents something new, a change of direction, a course now plotted toward: a neo-American era in world politics, rather than an [Obama-ist] post-American one. (Somehow Trumps initiatives seem so often to be primordially spurred by Obama-phobia).

So, the administration wants to enlarge American power rather than adjust to decline. For now at least, the Middle East is the centerpiece of this new assertiveness, Russell-Mead foresees, explaining that this new Trump impulse stems from:

[Trumps] instincts telling him that most Americans are anything but eager for a post-American world. Mr. Trumps supporters dont want long wars, but neither are they amenable to a stoic acceptance of national decline. As to the wisdom of accommodating Iran, Team Trump believes that empowering Iran is more likely to strengthen the hard-liners than the moderates. As Franklin Roosevelt once put it in a fireside chat, No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it.

The Trump administration believes that far from forcing a U.S. retreat, Iranian arrogance and overreach in the Middle East have created a golden opportunity for the assertion of American power. It hopes the emerging alliance of Arabs and Israelis will give America local partners who are ready to bear many of the risks and costs of an anti-Iran policy in exchange for American backing. Israeli air power and Arab forces, combined with the intelligence networks and local relationships the new allies bring to the table, can put Iran on the defensive in Syria and elsewhere. This military pressure, along with economic pressure from a new round of sanctions, will weaken Irans hold on its proxies abroad and create political problems for the mullahs at home. If they respond by restarting their nuclear program, Israeli-American airstrikes could both stop the process and inflict a humiliating blow to the regimes prestige.

At that point, Team Trump believes, Iran will be faced with a different kind of negotiation, one in which the U.S. and its allies are in a position of strength. In addition to accepting limits on its nuclear activities, optimists hope, Iran would also scale back its regional ambitions. Syrias future would be determined by the Arabs, Iran would accept Iraq as a neutral buffer state between it and the Sunni Arab world, and an uneasy peace would prevail.

Ah  Utopia  Trump is to re-make the Middle East. What could possibly go wrong?

Russell-Mead does not explicitly say it (preferring to call it neo-American), but what we are seeing is the blending of early Trumpism into pure neo-conservatism. Or, we might say, with Netanyahu-ism. Yes, the characteristic Trumpist approach of making splashy foreign-policy decisions which seem to deliver for his base in the short term, (but which often seem to lack a deeper strategic vision or appreciation of the longer-term risks) is still evident, but the deal has been substituted by the search for complete submission  to an enlargement of American power, as Russell-Mead writes.

The ceremony marking shift of the US Embassy to Jerusalem precisely reflects this continuing splashy campaigning amongst his grass-roots theme. In fact, Trump initially rebuffed Jewish Republican pressures to move the embassy to Jerusalem (as Haaretz reports), but as the Israeli daily, also noted, by this month, all that had totally changed: The opening ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem was, essentially, an invitation-only Trump campaign rally:

Those in attendance had all sworn loyalty to the president, and belonged to one of the groups that has hailed him as a modern-day Cyrus the Great: Orthodox Jews, right-wing Israelis (including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) and the pro-Trump Republican base  particularly those in the evangelical community. This was all on display from the ceremonys opening blessing, by Texan Baptist megachurch pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. His eyes squeezed closed in prayer, he thanked God for our great president, Donald Trump, lauded how Israel has blessed this world by pointing us to you, the one true God, through the message of her prophets, her scriptures, and the Messiah, and praying for Jerusalem in the name of the spirit of the Prince of Peace, Jesus our lord.

Netanyahu has been revelling in his successes. Ben Caspit in the Israeli daily Maariv, described (in Hebrew) Netanyahus condition: Its called euphoria. The neocons are on a roll: already Eli Lake in Bloomberg is making the link from the Iran statement to the conduct of US trade negotiations with China. In an article entitled Trump's Cave to Chinas ZTE, Hurts His Iran Strategy, Lake quotesone of the architects of the crippling sanctions on Iran, Richard Goldberg, noting that: "If you start trading away relief on sanctions enforcement in exchange for better commerce conditions, the deterrent power of American sanctions [on Iran] gets diluted very quickly".

Lake adds further that his colleague David Fickling made a similar point in his column when he observed that Trump's ZTE reversal introduces a dangerous moral hazard. "Any government entangled in a dispute with Washington now knows that it need only threaten the Trump-voting farm belt to get off the hook," Fickling wrote, implying in effect that once you go down the neocon road of weaponised financial war, the position of no respite must be held to  even in quite separate negotiations such as with China on trade.

Exactly. Neocons such as John Bolton traditionally deprecate negotiation and diplomacy, prioritising rather, raw power and leverage over counterparties, in order to coerce concessions or submission. The point here however, is that whereas the 8 May statement was directed specifically at Iran, its consequence bleeds across the whole foreign policy spectrum. If accommodating China over ZTE (a Chinese smartphone and semiconductor manufacturer) hurts the Iran strategy, then of course, any exemptions or relaxing of sanctions for European companies invested in Iran, will hurt the strategy, more directly. Any concession to Russia, too, then hurts the strategy. It becomes a highly contagious, all-or-nothing strategy.

And then there is the North Korea summit. A European official told Washington-based, Laura Rozen, that the Trump administration is convinced it has an opening for a nuclear deal with North Korea because of its maximum pressure campaign. They call it the North Korea scenario, the European official said. Squeeze the North Koreans. Squeeze the Iranians  and they will do the same thing as Kim Jong-un  surrender.

But Team Trump  if it truly believes that it was the pressure of sanctions primarily which brought about Kim Jong Uns decision to call for a meeting with Trump  may have misread the ground.

Jong Un, in fact, specifically warned Secretary Pompeo when he met him that the reason for the summit was because: "we have perfected our nuclear capability," which is to say that North Korea  as a full nuclear weapons power  now feels it has the leverage necessary to compel the Americans to quit the peninsular and to take their threats and missiles away with them, too. Jong Un has South Koreas support on this (though whether it is sufficiently solid to withstand Washingtons threats, is moot  and hence Jong Uns anger at South Koreas resumption of joint military exercises with the US  contrary to earlier understandings). Jong Un added the warning to Pompeo, largely ignored by Washington, but quite plain nonetheless, that "this [prospective summit] is not the result of sanctions that have been imposed from outside.

In a sense, Trump now needs this summit  and a quick win (in time for US mid-terms)  more than Jong Un needs to meet Trump. The North Korean leader has already succeeded in demonstrating to both Beijing, Moscow and Seoul that he is sincere in trying to reach a nuclear, de-weaponised and re-united Korea (Chinas demands on him)  and that it is not he that is the problem, but rather, the US' maximalist demands. In short, the summit is a means to North Korea ameliorating its relations with China and Russia and pursuing apertura with the South. It is not the ends for Jong Un.

In any event, we shall see what happens. But two follow up questions arise: Now that Trump has embraced the new neo-Americanism (per Russell-Mead), what will be the US strategy if neither North Korea nor Iran submit? Are military strikes then, on the agenda? And secondly, is this strategy likely to work? We shall, of course, have to wait and see. But there is one important point here: this is not 2012 (the year the US imposed sanctions on Iran). It is 2018, and much has changed.

Trump may imagine himself as some modern equivalent of 16th Century Cesare Borgia, with Bolton as his Machiavelli, and Mattis as his Leonardo, constructing war machines, assassinating enemies, and laying punitive siege to non-compliant Italian city-states.

China, Russia and Iran are not mere city states to be besieged at leisure, and without repercussion. And, just as Trumps own base articulates its disgust at the DC swamp  and the financial gouging, practiced by its political and corporate elites, and demands that the swamp be drained  so too, the axis of China, Russia and Iran want the global order swamp drained  and their sovereignties returned.

The latter understand that they face financial warfare for their non-compliance. They understand (as President Putin emphasized again only this month), that the US dollar monopoly exists at the very centre of the global order swamp. And they know that only collective action ultimately, can drain it. Who knows, even Europe may ultimately may join the ranks of non-compliance, too  in protest at US sanctions imposed on them.President Bouteflika made a rare public appearance on the 15th. Although in a wheelchair he visited the construction site of the $1.6 billion Great Mosque in the capital. The cost of the mosque, in a time of austerity, is one reason Bouteflika and his cronies are so unpopular. The pressure on Bouteflika and his allies has increased since he suffered a stroke in 2013. The close associates (family, friends and political allies) of Bouteflika have managed to hold tight the reins of power with or without a lot of help from the elderly (now 81) and ailing president. Bouteflika will apparently run for president again (in 2019) if he is still alive because his associates cannot agree on a replacement. Bouteflika has been president since 1999 using a rigged system that blocks opposition candidates and generally guarantees Bouteflika will get reelected. Bouteflika has retained power by taking care of key groups (the security forces, key politicians and non-government leaders). At the same time, Bouteflika is considered a more successful ruler than most others in the Arab world and that counts for a lot.

The big problems now are economic and finding ways to use Algerian oil and gas income to keep Bouteflika and his associates in power. But oil income has been reduced by half since 2014 because of the decline in the world oil prices. Those prices have recovered somewhat in the last year but that has not helped much because the increase is the largely the result of the Arab led oil cartel (OPEC) enforcing quotas to make the prices rise. Countries like Algeria have to curb the corruption and enact needed economic reforms to sustain and accelerate economic growth. Algeria has had some success with this, at least enough to avoid another civil war but the popular anger is still there.

Border Blues

While the Islamic terrorists get the most publicity (because of their extreme violence and eagerness to spread worldwide) most of the current Algerian outlaw activity is about making money. The Islamic terror groups dominate the most lucrative criminal activities (smuggling drugs) because the Islamic terrorists are the most violent outlaws around and generally unencumbered by many family or tribal responsibilities. Nevertheless, the Islamic terrorists are a small part of a much larger smuggling community. For example, increased security on Algerias southern border (especially the ones with Mali and Niger) now catches more people illegally crossing the border but most of them are smugglers. While most of the smuggled goods are consumer items (easier to sell in Algeria), weapons and drugs are sometimes encountered. It was the drug shipments that are often accompanied by armed men willing to fight their way past border patrols. The favorite technique for getting drugs and weapons in is crossing the border at night and then hiding the drugs or weapons at an obscure location known only to partners in Algeria who have a legitimate reason for being down south. These weapons and drugs picked up, hidden in a vehicle and then smuggled north to the coast and another gang of smugglers got the drugs on ships or airplanes headed for Europe. The weapons were for local markets (mostly criminals). Since moving drugs involves so many people, it is more expensive. But thats the nature of drug smuggling and Islamic terror groups tend to supply most of the security and maintain that monopoly by killing any competitors. Drug shipments still get seized. This is usually when the hiding places on the Algerian side of the border are stumbled on by patrols or the transporters moving the drugs from the southern border to the coast have an accident or get exposed as smugglers for some other reason. The Algerian police estimate that over 90 percent of the drugs get through. That because the Islamic terrorists shed the Islamic terror characteristics while moving drugs and get paid more than enough to keep them in business. For this reason, small groups of Islamic terrorists survive in northern Mali, near the Algerian and Niger borders not because of local Islamic radicals but because of the cash. With that, you can buy all the hospitality and discretion you need from people you have to deal with along the way.

People smugglers have a different problem because the Libyan borders are more heavily patrolled and the Algerians are arresting and expelling of illegal migrants who had made it into Algeria. These illegals will be transported to the Niger border and forced to cross into Niger and then find their way home (often to Nigeria or Cameroon.) People smuggling comes and goes and depends on their being Mediterranean ports where the smugglers can get their clients onto ships and across the water to European territory. Often this means just international waters. But the smugglers need a port and over the last few years those have been available in Libya. Without a cooperative port it is still possible to get across to Europe but it costs a lot more to get fake ID that will get the illegal onto a legitimate ship or airliner.

One reason for the successful border security in Algeria is the good treatment the military receives. Good pay and benefits, as well as modern equipment, make a difference and this has been a tradition for decades. Algeria has the highest defense spending in Africa (about $10 billion a year), which is a bit more than twice what second place Sudan spends. Algeria accounts for about half the foreign weapons purchases for all of Africa and gets most of its new gear from Russia. Algeria keeps the Russians honest and attentive by also purchasing more weapons from China, which has a reputation for building Russian weapons better than the Russians. The Algerian military managed to put down a major outbreak of Islamic terrorism in the 1990s and have kept the unpopular (for slaughtering lots of civilians to disagreed with the rebels) Islamic terrorists on the run and there has been less and less Islamic terrorist activity since the 2005 amnesty program. At this point, Algeria sometimes goes months without any Islamic terrorist violence. There are still Islamic terrorists in Algeria, but few are actively pursuing violent terrorist activities.

Egyptian, Tunisian and Algerian officials met in Algeria today in a continuing effort to work out a common policy on Libya. At the moment Libya is in the midst of forming a national government for the first time since 2011. Neighboring countries want to ensure that none of them support disruptive factions inside Libya. Algeria and Egypt have had their differences about who to support in Libya but now appear to have resolved that problem and want to keep it that way.

May 16, 2018: In Jijel Province (365 kilometers east of the capital) Abu Oussama, a veteran (from the 1990s) Islamic terrorist surrendered with his weapon and ammo. This was part of the amnesty program, which includes families of Islamic terrorists. In this case, the family of Abu Oussama (ten people) turned themselves in on April 26th and then made it clear that they were safe. This persuaded Abu Oussama to surrender and provide information about Islamic terrorist activity he still has knowledge of.

May 13, 2018: In the southeast (800 kilometers from the capital) the army held military exercises near the Libyan border, including live firing of artillery and other weapons. This sort of thing reminds the larger militias in Libya that venturing across the border is a very bad idea.

May 12, 2018: Algeria showed off another recently purchased weapon system from Russia. This one is the TOS-1A multiple rocket launcher that is mounted on a T-72 tank chassis and uses 220mm rockets equipped with thermobaric warheads which contain a fuel-air explosive. A thermobaric warhead disperses a combustible mist, which is then ignited, producing an enormous explosion. Russia classifies the TOS-1A as a flamethrower because the warhead creates a huge fireball. The TOS-1A vehicles have been seen stationed near the Libyan border.

May 1, 2018: In the capital, the ambassadors from North Korea and South Korea held a rare meeting, apparently as part of the current peace talks between the two Koreas. Algeria and Egypt are the only two Arab countries with embassies from both Koreas.

April 23, 2018: In the southeast (Illizi Province) troops patrolling the Libyan border found and destroyed more weapons apparently brought across the border from Libya and hidden for Algerian arms dealers to pick up.

April 22, 2018: France, Algeria and Mali are using a secret 2017 amnesty agreement to persuade key AQIM (Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb) and JNIM (Jamaah Nusrah al Islam wal Muslimin, or Group for the support of Islam and Moslems) personnel to surrender. In Mali and neighboring states, most of the Islamic terrorists are not ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and are largely united. Most of the Islamic terrorist activity in Mali is the work of JNIM, which was formed in early 2017. In part, this was a reaction to the growing threat from ISIL which is hostile to everyone who is not ISIL and will attack or recruit from the JNIM members AQIM Ansar Dine, FLM and al Mourabitoun (an al Qaeda splinter group). Another reason for the merger was to make it easier to pool resources (including information and advice) and coordinate with other Islamic terror groups in the area. This reduces friction and destructive feuding. Making a coalition like this work is always difficult, especially considering the importance of ethnic differences. The new amnesty program is based on the one Algeria has been using successfully against AQIM, ISIL and other Islamic terrorists in Algeria.

April 20, 2018: France has expelled another Algerian Sunni Moslem cleric back to Algeria. The cleric openly called for French Moslems to attack Jews and Shia Moslems as well as those who support education for women. Those attitudes are more acceptable in Algeria as long as the cleric does not call for overthrow of the government. Algeria accepts these expelled clerics as part of a joint counter-terrorism arrangement with France.Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif while recording his statement in Avenfield Reference in Accountability Court on Monday raised questions over JITs formation, termed the Supreme Courts July 28 verdict, as inappropriate and unnecessary.

Answering the questions, Nawaz Sharif informed about the details of all the public offices he held so far.

Former Premier in his statement said that  I am 68 years old and I have served as Chief Minister of Punjab and Prime Minister of Pakistan.

I had raised objection over JIT members under Article 10 (A) of the Constitution. JIT members were having political affiliation as Bilal Rasool was the nephew of former Punjab governor, sharif informed.

He also said that Rasool has criticised the government of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz in the past and that his wife is a fervent supporter of PTI. He said that son of Mian Azhar, Hamad Azhar took a picture with Imran Khan in 2017, adding that Bilal Rasool had given anti-Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) statements.

Criticizing Wajid Zia, the former PM and PML-N Quaid said that Zias biases in the investigation have been evident from the start. Nawaz also remarked that it was inappropriate to include officers from MI and ISI in the JIT, adding that the JIT report was affected by the current strained civilian-military relations. Judge of the AC, Muhammad Bashir adjounred the hearing of the case till tommorow .During Last hearing of the case on May 18, the statements of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt (retd) Safdar in the Avenfield case could not be recorded as the defence sought more time to ponder over the questions sent by the accountability court.

As the hearing went underway, Nawazs counsel Khawaja Haris pleaded the court to delay the recording of statements until Monday(today) as they need more time to go over the questions sent by court owing to some discrepancies.The prosecution objected to the plea, saying the defence just wants to waste time.

However, Accountability Judge Mohammad Bashir approved the plea but observed that the recording of statements will not be delayed further than Monday.

Moreover, the court ruled that Panama case JIT head Wajid Zia, who was to be cross-examined in the Al Azizia reference on Monday, should now appear in court on Tuesday.

It may be recalled that Accountability Court handed over Questionaire to Nawaz Sharif on May 16.After the PPP the ruling party PML-N has also unveiled its proposed names for the caretaker prime minister as it is likely the name will be finalized tomorrow.

With the claims of honest and good track record persons, all three mainstream political parties have been proposed as their candidates for the caretaker prime minister.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has finalised the names of Zaka Ashraf and Jalil Abbas Jilani for the post. Sources told that Shah has forwarded these names to PM Abbasi. PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari has telephoned Ashraf and Jilani informing them of the partys decision.PPP Finalizes Two Nominees For Caretaker PMFive other names are also under consideration for the post of caretaker prime minister and speculation is rife as to who will be nominated.

The five names, three of them given by the PML-N, are also under consideration for the post include former Pakistan Ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Hussain Haroon, former State Bank governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Pakistans permanent representative to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi, former chief justice of Pakistan Tassaduq Hussain Jillani and former State Bank governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, sources further said.

To finalize the name of caretaker prime minister the crucial meeting between Prime Minister and opposition leader will be held on May 22, tomorrow.A four-member Pakistan delegation, headed by Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf, arrived in Washington to hold talks with World Bank authorities over India's repeated violations of Indus Waters Treaty.

The delegation will apprise the World Bank chief of Pakistan's reservations over the issue and request the global financial institution to play its role as a guarantor.

Pakistan officials will hold discussions with the World Bank authorities over Kishenganga and Ratle and other 12 projects undertaken by New Delhi.

On Sunday, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Chaudhry remarked that Pakistan intends to consult with the World Bank over the Kishenganga Dam issue. He was addressing a seminar titled "Pakistan and Unites States A Lasting Partnership" on Saturday.

Speaking with regard to issues pertaining to Islamabad's eastern neighbour, Chaudhry said the country intends to take up plans of Indus Waters Treaty (alternatively known as the Sindh Taas Agreement), Kishanganga Dam, and Ratle hydroelectric plant with Jim Yong Kim, the president of the global financial institution.

The statement came in response to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating Kishenganga Dam project on Saturday amid protests from Islamabad, which says the project on a river flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies.

The 330MW Kishenganga hydropower station, work on which started in 2009, is one of the projects that India has fast-tracked in the occupied territory, amid frosty ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"This region cannot only become self-sufficient in power but also produce for other regions of the country," Modi said in the occupied state's capital, Srinagar. "Keeping that in mind we have been working on various projects here for the past four years."

Pakistan has opposed some of these projects saying they violate a World Bank-brokered treaty on the sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries, upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends.

"Pakistan is seriously concerned about the inauguration (of the Kishenganga plant)," the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday. "Pakistan believes that the inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)".

The Kishanganga project was delayed for several years as Pakistan dragged India to the International Court of Arbitration, which ruled in India's favour in 2013.

India has said the hydropower projects under construction in occupied Jammu and Kashmir are "run-of-the-river" schemes that use the river's flow and elevation to generate electricity rather than large reservoirs, and do not contravene the treaty.At 44 degrees Celsius, Karachi was the second hottest city in Pakistan after Mithi on Sunday. Today (Monday) temperature is also expected to reach at 44C.

Humidity dropped to as low as 7 per cent in the provincial capital under the influence of extremely dry and warm winds from the countrys plains, with the feels like temperature reaching 48C.

However, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Departments (PMD) warning, the temperature in the metropolis can rise by another degree at any time between Monday and Wednesday.

Heat is concentrated at Karachi at the moment, and today the mercury soared to 44C, but we are expecting it to hit 45C during the next three days, as sea breeze is completely cut off due to small low pressure areas in the Arabian Sea.

This is the third heatwave in Karachi so far this year, and the second time this month when the temperature reached 44C. Previously, on May 3, the metropolis had braved similar hot and dry conditions due to suspension of sea breeze that keeps the citys weather moderate and pleasant despite intense climate in the countrys plain areas.Around 200-300 students protested in front of Senate House this morning, with its walls newly cleaned after the chalk-spray protest of last week.

Rally attendance was probably around its strongest from the last year, as Zero Carbon lobbied the University to divest once again. The University Council meets later today to discuss the future of University investments in fossil fuels.

At the rally several speeches were given outlining the effect of investment in fossil fuels and Cambridge's complicity in casualties in the Global South. One speaker suggested that Cambridge opposes the "global direction" of consensus regarding divestment. There was a general theme that Cambridge's objective to be a "world leader" stretched only as far as its wealth of knowledge and conventional successes, rather than leading the world in fighting climate change.

Chanting ensued accompanied by the ringing of pots, pans and other kitchen utensils which ranged from "I say fossil, you say free" and "hey, ho, fossil fuels have got to go", through to re-worked pop songs whose reworked lyrics were muttered more softly. On the morning of the event, the rally was publicized, "Rise and shine! HYPE" and the call to action was matched by the energy of the rally as it set off round the corner towards Old Schools and a towering flare smothered the walls of Gonville and Caius in orange smoke. As the protest reached the heavy doors of the Old Schools building, the clamour could be heard from the boundary of the Sidgwick Site.

In front of Old Schools, more speakers took up the microphone where protesters have been blocking the passage for the past half hour.

Students have also lobbied the University Counsellor, Umang Khandelwal, in an open letter signed by 16 student societies earlier this week, asking her to use her voice for the cause of divestment. She has been asked to "publicly come out in favour of divestment". While campaigning she pledged to "scrutinize the University over ethical standards".Albert Einsteins theory of General Relativity predicted that the path of light is bent by the gravitational effects of massive objects, such as the sun. This phenomenon, known as gravitational lensing, was observed during the total solar eclipse in 1919, and was the experiment which was used to verify Einsteins theory, which is what propelled Einstein to his poster child status. Gravitational lensing is now a well-utilised technique in astrophysics.

It is currently used to detect planets, using microlensing of far away stars by solar systems and measuring the change in brightness seen, and to estimate the amount of dark matter, using weak lensing of galaxy clusters to measure the average lensing effect by the dark matter on a set of galaxies. However our home star has not yet been used in this way.

In 1979, a physicist at Stanford University called von Eshleman applied the equations of General Relativity to find out at what point the gravitational lens formed by our Sun would come into focus. This yielded a minimum focal distance of approximately 550AU (Astronomical Units  the average Earth-Sun distance). At the point where the lens comes into focus the image received from the far side of the star  although distorted  would be massively magnified by the gravitational lens.

For this reason Eshleman was very interested in placing a receiver in the focal line of the gravitational lens. A focal line sounds unfamiliar to those who understand classical lens theory which has a well-defined focal point, however due to the variation in how far away the light waves are when they pass the sun, the amount of lensing that occurs will vary. This means the light will focus on a line radially away from the sun at distances 550AU.

Another scientist named Claudio Maccone, who works with the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute at the International Academy of Astronautics & Instituto di Astrofisica in Turin, furthered the work of Eshleman and designed a telescope that could make use of this phenomenon to investigate microwave frequencies, by placing two large radio antennae connected by a tether to the focal line and varying the distance between them to resolve microwave images of a small sector of the universe on the far side of the Sun.

This is particularly interesting to SETI, as they search for extraterrestrial communications in the microwave frequency. Furthermore the technology could then be utilised to send and receive signals from neighbouring solar systems. Furthering this, it does not take a great leap in logic to extend this to a larger variety of wavelengths. Although the positioning of the craft has to be more precise to view waves of smaller wavelengths accurately, the reward would be potential imaging of extrasolar planets directly in a variety of wavelengths (and in fact the resolution of the images only increases with smaller wavelengths). To do this a more complicated design would be necessary such as that outlined below.

All this being said, 550AU is an enormous distance, to put it into context, Pluto is 40AU from the Sun and the Voyager 1, the farthest man-made object from the Sun, is 141AU from the Sun, having operated for more than 40 years. Therefore getting to 550AU and beyond will take a long time with sophisticated propulsion techniques to get there. Arguably far more importantly, the accuracy to which the positioning of the probe must be to within approximately 1km at the very least (down to <100m to image visible and infrared radiation). Even in the most generous case an error to either side of 1km in 550AU is impossible to avoid with the technology we currently possess.

Thus, in the current day and age, it would impossible to place any such telescope on the focal line of the Suns gravitational lens. However, in the future, if/when a Solar System Positioning System is in place and the modelling of trajectories becomes ever more accurate we could one day image, detect life on, and communicate with a planet from another solar system, all with one telescope that uses the Sun as a lens.When it comes to using facial recognition technology in surveillance systems, China leads the way. Now, one of the countrys high schools is utilizing the technology to monitor students facial expressions, letting teachers know what emotions the kids are experiencing.

The Hangzhou No. 11 Middle School is trialing the tech as part of its Smart Classroom Behaviour Management System. The three cameras placed above the blackboard analyze pupils by scanning them every 30 seconds and determining if theyre happy, confused, angry, surprised, fearful, or disgusted. They are also designed to log six types of student behaviors: reading, writing, hand raising, standing up, listening to the teacher, and leaning on the desk.

Hangzhou Network reports that the system can alert a teacher if a students attention level falls below a certain point. Not only can it be used as a teaching aid, but its also able to monitor class attendances by checking students faces against a database.

Unsurprisingly, the use of the cameras has raised privacy questions as they are recording minors, but school vice principle Zhang Guanchao says the images themselves are not saved and the results are stored on a local server instead of the cloud.

One student said the system was having the desired effect. Beforehand in some classes that I didnt like much, sometimes I would be lazy and do things like take naps on the desk or flick through other textbooks. Since the school has introduced these cameras, it is like there are a pair of mystery eyes constantly watching me, and I dont dare let my mind wander.

Its not just pupils that the cameras are observing; theyre also being used to monitor the performance of teachers. The school claims this will help improve teaching techniques, though its unlikely that the educators (and pupils) will appreciate being continually watched.

China already has around 170 million CCTV cameras, with 400 million more arriving over the next three years. Many of these feature some form of AI, including facial recognition.

Last month saw facial recognition tech pick out a suspect from a crowd of 50,000 in China. And reports from earlier this year revealed that some of the countrys police have started using glasses with embedded facial scanning technology.It's clear Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is beginning to grow tired of the Cambridge Analytica data privacy debacle.

After attending two lengthy US Congress hearings in April, it would be understandable for the CEO to want to take a bit of a break from answering lawmaker questions. Indeed, that seemed to be precisely what Zuckerberg decided to do recently.

As we reported last week, Zuckerberg declined two separate hearing invitations from the UK Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee, even with the threat of a formal summons looming over his head.

Interestingly, though, shortly after declining the UK's second invitation, Zuckerberg accepted a meeting invitation from EU Parliament president Antonio Tajani.

It isn't clear why Zuckerberg decided to accept one invitation over another, but it's possible the CEO feels the European Parliament is a bigger potential threat to Facebook's business interests.

I have personally discussed with Facebook CEO Mr Zuckerberg the possibilty of webstreaming meeting with him. I am glad to announce that he has accepted this new request. Great news for EU citizens. I thank him for the respect shown towards EP. Meeting tomorrow from 18:15 to 19:30  Antonio Tajani (@EP_President) May 21, 2018

At any rate, this meeting was initially set to occur in private. However, a Change.org petition and numerous objections from MEPs has resulted in Tajani and Zuckerberg agreeing to stream the meeting live.

The stream will begin May 22 at 6:20 pm CET, and it's expected to end at 7:30 pm CET. You'll be able to watch the stream yourself on the official European Parliament website. We'll update this article with the official stream link when it goes live.The Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America (CEELA) sent an observation mission to supervise Sunday's mock elections. | Read MoreIf you hoped Pokemon GO was the first and last time you came across augmented reality, think again.

Retailers are increasingly using the same technology as that video game - which sent millions of people scampering outdoors to chase virtual creatures which, when viewed through the screen of a smartphone, had been superimposed onto the urban landscape - to sell products and overcome one of the biggest problems consumers have shopping online.

Ethan Nyholm, co-founder of STM Goods, says the company's AR app was driving up sales.

New research by Paypal released on Tuesday found that about a third of small to medium Australian retailers that had an online store intended to release an augmented realty (AR) "experience" for their customers.

Sydney-based bag and tech accessory company STM launched an AR app in January, which allows customers to "try on" STM's bags by superimposing them onto a user's back, giving the customer an impression of how it will look and fit.Carolyn Flanagan hopes she can help other people by appearing as a witness at the banking royal commission on Monday.

"I hope it never happens to another elderly person ever and it stops the banks from doing this and lying to people," the former Westpac customer said. "I don't care if it costs me my house, as long as it doesn't cost anyone else their house. If I can save one or two people then I'm OK."

Senior counsel Rowena Orr and Eloise Dias for the banking royal commission. Credit:Eddie Jim

As the royal commission this week scrutinises lending to small businesses, Ms Flanagan, 67, is listed as a key witness.

Ms Flanagan acted as a guarantor for her daughter and her partner when they applied for a loan from Westpac to purchase a Poolwerx franchise in western Sydney.The financial services royal commission has shut down claims that the Commonwealth Bank had an ulterior motive to systematically default loans following its purchase of BankWest in 2008.

The commission has received numerous submissions from BankWest customers aggrieved at their treatment by CBA after it acquired BankWest at the peak of the global financial crisis.

Michael Hodge said there had been various ulterior motive theories raised about the process.

Counsel assisting the commission, Michael Hodge, told the commission on Monday there had been various ulterior motive theories raised about the process. The common element is they attribute to CBA an ulterior motive to systematically default loans, he said.

Mr Hodge said significant work had been undertaken by the commission to look at the history of the ulterior motives theory. We have made the decision that none of these ulterior motive theories rate consideration by case study, he said.Airbnb has entered into a ground-breaking agreement with the national Transport Workers' Union to promote fair rates of pay and labour standards in the on-demand economy.

Airbnb's head of public policy for ANZ, Brent Thomas, told Fairfax Media that as a 21st century company it had a "responsibility to serve and strengthen the community and make sure technology was a force for good". It has 4.8 million users and decided it would partner with package and food delivery companies that did not exploit their workers.

"With wages flat and the cost of living high, we want to empower working families by helping them earn extra income and promote good, well-paying jobs," Mr Thomas said.

Airbnb has entered into a new partnership with the Transport Workers' Union to promote fair and safe labour standards in the sharing economy

Airbnb has agreed to actively promote a package or food delivery company that demonstrates it pays safe rates of pay and observes fair employment conditions. It comes as the TWU campaigns against the underpayment of food delivery riders and their lack of legal rights to fair conditions.We are indeed privileged in Canberra at the present time to be able to enjoy two exhibitions by Indigenous artists. At Craft ACT, there is an exhibition celebrating the relationship between Ernabella Indigenous Art Centre and Sturt Gallery and Workshops in Bowral and at Strathnairn there is a touring exhibition of Indigenous ceramics organised by the Sabbia Gallery in Sydney.

Work from these communities is eagerly sought overseas and is found in both public and private collections. On show at Strathnairn Arts is a rich and diverse collection of Indigenous ceramics from not only Ernabella Arts in the APY Lands in South Australia but also work from Erub Arts in the Torres Strait, Girringun Aboriginal Art Centre from Far North Queensland, Hermannsburg Potters in the Central Desert and Twi Design on Bathurst Island.

The works in the exhibition relate to the land and its Indigenous people. What is immediately apparent is the marked difference between the artworks that come from the different communities. Forms and imagery differ widely. This, no doubt, is connected with the history of the various community art centres and the influences that artists outside these communities brought with them as the art centres developed. However. at the heart of each community is country and the Dreaming associated with it. And this, I think, accounts for the very distinctive art styles and special imagery associated with each community. Each artist within this cultural framework imbues their work with a strong sense of self and an ownership of place.

Nephi Denham, Bagu in Clay Stories at Strathnairn Galleries. Credit:Sabbia Gallery

Ernabella artists use imagery taken from country and the Dreamtime on their stoneware pots. Bush tucker motifs of honey ants, witchetty grubs, bush tomatoes, bush turkeys as well as images of the rainbow serpent and caterpillars are a part of a very fertile store of designs that are drawn on their pots in sgraffito technique and coloured slips. Elizabeth Dunn Kampurara's series of designs based on the bush tomato are beautifully realised and although stylised to some degree, curl their tendrils around the pots in the same way they do in nature. Rupert Jacks stylised design Caterpillar Dreaming seems particularly suited to his free-form ceramic vessel.

Ceramics from Erub Arts are more sculptural objects. The work of Jimmy Kenny Thaiday includes an intriguing pair of small figures (Little people) as well as objects of cultural significance. Ellarose Savages Wave series relates to the seas of the Torres Strait that surround the islands and are vital to their cultural life.Pianist Steve Sedergreen. Credit:Alexandrena Parker

STONNINGTON JAZZ FESTIVAL

HERE AND NOW: THE FAR EAST SUITE 

Chapel Off Chapel, May 20

As the Stonnington Jazz Festival drew to a close on Sunday, artistic director Chelsea Wilson reiterated her goal for this years program: to honour the artforms history while focusing on contemporary  and uniquely Australian  perspectives.

Fittingly, the final show offered a fresh take on a jazz masterwork: Duke Ellingtons Far East Suite. It was written after Ellingtons world tour in 1963, incorporating themes and motifs from various Middle Eastern and Asian cultures.

For the festival, pianist Steve Sedergreen re-imagined the suite through the eyes and (wide-open) ears of a musician in multicultural Melbourne in 2018. His version retains the integrity and ingenuity of Ellingtons compositions, but adds new elements that take the melding of musical traditions to another level.Environmental experts will start probing hundreds of local industrial businesses which could be linked to the leak of a chemical which turned a Melbourne creek into a river of white foam.

A team of local experts and staff from the state's Environmental Protection Authority on Monday were set to visit Dandenong Creek in Heathmont as an investigation begins into a suspected chemical spill which saw a thick, fluffy foam develop along a five-kilometre stretch of the waterway at the weekend.

Foam fills a creek in Dandenong on Sunday. Credit:First Friends of Dandenong Creek

Scientists and experts say rain which fell into the waterways on Monday night will make tracing the source of the spill more difficult.

However other clues, such as the pollution generally occurring on a Sunday, may prove useful to investigators.The ACT Greens is calling for an expansion of the Gungahlin's Common Ground housing project.

On Monday, Greens' Caroline Le Couteur said since opening in 2015, the Common Ground site had provided "significant support to those in need" but needed to be expanded.

The ACT Greens is calling for an expansion of the Gungahlin's Common Ground housing project.

Ms Le Couteur said the demand for crisis and affordable housing was growing in Canberra and an additional building at the Common Ground site was needed to accommodate the demand.

"As the Government already owns the surrounding vacant land on site, it would be simple and cost-effective to duplicate the current building, expanding housing opportunities to help both Canberrans experiencing homelessness and those in need of affordable housing," Ms Le Couteur said.Arms and the Man. By George Bernard Shaw. Directed by Ed Wightman. Canberra Repertory Society. Theatre 3. Until June 2. Bookings 62571950 or canberrarep.org.au.

From left, Antonia Kitzel, Lexi Sekuless, Joel Hutchings in Arms and the Man. Credit:Helen Drum

Playwright George Bernard Shaw described the premiere of Arms and the Man in 1894 as a ghastly failure, not because the play was such, but because the audience would not stop laughing.

Director Ed Wightman sensibly avoids an audiences indiscriminate laughter with an intelligent and thoroughly entertaining production for Canberra Rep. With a keen eye for Shaws swift wit and a sensitivity towards the playwrights socialist ideals, Wightman skilfully directs an excellent Rep cast to achieve the balance between humorous satirical jibe and serious social commentary on class and war.

Set during and directly after the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1886, Shaw concocts an improbable situation, when Captain Buntschili (Joel Hutchings), a Swiss soldier with a penchant for chocolate and serving with the Serbian army, escapes into the room of the well-to-do, noble and naively romantic Raina (Lexi Sekuless). Raina is the daughter of Bulgarian Major Petkoff (Brian Kavanagh), and his domineering wife, Catherine, performed with commanding presence by Antonia Kitzel."The sheep standing or lying in their own excrement for three weeks are also at risk for contracting diseases and producing meat that is not halal," she said. "The same is true for animals who are confined in pens where other animals are becoming sick and dying." Frame grab from a video showing the rotting carcasses of the sheep that died during a live export trip to the Middle East. Credit:Animals Australia Mr Littleproud announced a raft of reforms to the industry last week, including more room for sheep on live export ships. Every vessel will have an independent observer to keep a close eye on conditions.

The government will attempt to legislate for harsh new penalties for animal welfare breaches including jail terms of up to 10 years. Despite the changes, rogue Liberal MPs led by former minister Sussan Ley have pushed ahead with a private member's bill to end live exports which on Monday was introduced to Parliament. Ms Ley reflected on her career as a sheep farmer, mustering pilot and shearing shed worker as she argued that long-haul live exports failed on economic and animal welfare grounds. "I have been shocked, angered, bewildered and disappointed ... [but] I have not allowed emotions to overcome reason," Ms Ley told the lower house on Monday.

Farmers had been deceived for 30 years by an export industry that had talked the talk, but was "damn right culpable" when it came to walking the walk, Ms Ley said. Loading "Regulations written on paper in Australia cease to mean anything once the ship departs," she said. "Sanctioning further voyages on these ships of shame, particularly into a Middle Eastern summer, damages our brand." Ms Ley fears the Agriculture Minister's new safeguards don't go far enough.

"A 60-kilogram sheep will be allocated extra space equivalent to just under two A4 pieces of paper," Ms Ley said. Loading The government has rejected Ms Ley's bill, but will introduce its own this week to slap harsh new penalties on exporters doing the wrong thing, including jail sentences of up to 10 years. Debate on the bill was adjourned. Earlier on Monday, Ms Ley told ABC radio: "I, in some ways, compare this to the gay marriage debate, where several private member's bills were tabled over the years and they didn't provide the immediate response, but they were all part of building the case.

"This has been really a trade marked by disaster-following-debacle and that's gone on for 33 years." Loading Labor's agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon confirmed that the opposition would support the bill. "Private member's bills are not the ideal way to promote legislation, but this is what happens when the government of the day vacates the field of an issue which is so important to the Australian community," he told reporters in Canberra. He is hopeful the bill will get 71 votes if Labor can restore its numbers to 69 in the lower house following a series of byelections, and with the support of Liberal MP Sarah Henderson who has broken ranks to back the push.

Then, only five more are needed to secure an absolute majority and three of those could be found on the crossbench, Mr Fitzgibbon said. The Australian Greens also believe there could be the numbers to pass the legislation. The move followed a review into the live sheep trade prompted by footage of sheep dying in their own filth in horrific conditions during Middle East bound voyages. Ms Henderson said the key issue was the extreme temperature on board the ships headed to the Middle East. "It's like putting a dog in a car on a hot summer's day, that will lead inevitably to death," she told ABC TV.

She defended the bill as responsible, saying unlike Labor's previous trade bans this would be phased in over time. But former agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce rejected her claims. "If you shut down the live sheep trade you're going to make people poorer," he told reporters, fearing the impact on farmers. Colleague Scott Buchholz said the move would hurt farmers' livelihoods in his Queensland electorate of Wright, just as with Labor's 2011 live cattle export ban to Indonesia. "While we are a broad church ... I wouldn't suggest that the majority of those bringing the bill to the house are the true voice for the exporters of sheep," he said.A homeless man has died after being run over by a garbage truck in a Redfern lane on Monday morning.

Emergency services were called to Bourke Lane about 8am to reports that a man had been struck by a garbage truck.

Police in the Redfern laneway where a man died on Monday morning. Credit:Seven News

Police arrived to find the man critically injured. Despite the efforts of emergency services, he died at the scene.

Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore described the man's death as "tragic" and "an incredibly sad situation".The sister of Manly Sea Eagles player Dylan Walker has been charged with the manslaughter of her partner at his home in Sydney's south.

Jade Walker, 31, appeared in Sutherland Local Court on Monday charged over the death of Gilbert Caetano at his Brighton Le Sands home on Sunday morning.

The 51-year-old father was found unconscious by police inside the General Holmes Drive property he shared with his parents at 1.10am.

Manly Sea Eagles player Dylan Walker and his sister Jade Walker.

Police said they were responding to an alleged "domestic violence-related incident" and that officers and then paramedics attempted first aid, however Mr Caetano died at the scene.Robots more than two metres tall, with six legs or magnetic feet are capable of doing tasks that once required a human, but roboticists say the capable machines will not take away peoples jobs  yet.

Brisbane is hosting the worlds biggest robotics conference, the International Conference on Robotics and Automation, where some of the creations from CSIROs Data61 Robotics headquarters at the Queensland Centre for Advanced Technologies at Pullenvale will be showcased.

Robot MAX (Multilegged Autonomous eXplorer) Credit:CSIRO Data61

CSIRO Data61 senior principal research scientist Nicolas Hudson said legged systems, such as a 2.25-metre-tall robot called MAX, looked like a giant daddy long legs spider and was capable of going places people couldnt.

Robotics has an amazing opportunity to augment what people can do and actually assist workers and enhance their ability to do new things, he said.A Melbourne couple had not one but two winning lottery entries.

A Melbourne couple has won $9.6 million in lotto after a woman bought two separate entries using special numbers marking her wedding anniversary and children's birthdays.

Loading

The Langwarrin woman bought a ticket for herself and one for her husband in the 'Set for Life' lotto drawn on Friday and won first prize with both entries.

Winnings will be paid out at a total of $40,000 a month over 20 years.Most schools would hide statistics like these.

One-third of students who start prep at Northern Bay P-12 College dont know the alphabet and cant count or write their name.

Northern Bay College is asking people to sponsor their students, for $1000.

And by the time they are 12 years old, half the class will have experienced family violence or conflict at home.

By the time they are 16, half will know where and how to buy drugs.A WWII-era hand grenade was thrown at the home of a Melbourne crime family while a woman and her baby were inside.

Police believe its the first time a grenade has been used in an attack in Victoria, signifying a worrying escalation in the warfare among an increasingly weaponised and reckless criminal underbelly.

The WWII grenade  an M52 from the former Yugoslavia  was thrown at a Lalor home, on the corner of Yuonga Court and Edgars Road, at 2.30am on November 19 last year.

It hit the front steps but bounced back and exploded outside the home.Minutes after Samantha Kelly was bludgeoned to death, the woman who had coveted her kids was told by her alleged accomplice that she was now the mother of four children.

Its about time, Christine Lyons replied, the Supreme Court heard in chilling evidence.

Ronald Lyons enters court on Monday. Credit:Chris Hopkins

Peter Arthur, 46, the man who struck Ms Kelly at least seven times with a hammer, on Monday told the court that after killing the mother of four in a bungalow early one morning in January 2016, he went back into the house and told his partner, Ms Lyons, and their housemate, Ronald Lyons, that Ms Kelly was dead.

I told Christine the job was done, where she turned around to Ronald and said to go and make sure Samantha is dead, Arthur said.John Hayes, who also goes by the name Jivan Azti, laughs when hes asked about the sex.

The 82-year-old is sitting in the front room of his house in Melbourne's St Kilda, with his French sheepdog Moriarty, discussing his time as a sannyasin, or disciple, in the Rajneesh movement.

In the 1980s the Rajneesh became known as the "sex cult" and the group's figureheads, the charismatic Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his secretary Ma Anand Sheela, were two of the decade's most notorious figures.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh with his followers. Credit:Netflix

A new six-part Netflix documentary, titled Wild Wild Country, has shed fresh light on the remarkable tale of the Rajneeshi and their commune, Rajneeshpuram, in the US state of Oregon.Public service commissioner John Lloyd has refused to rule out whether he is under investigation in a two-hour barrage of questioning from Labor senators following a Prime Minister's Department decision not to release emails relating to him and a right-wing think tank.

The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet has withheld emails relating to Mr Lloyd and the Institute of Public Affairs following a freedom of information request, saying they could prejudice an investigation into a possible breach of the law.

Mr Lloyd has previously rejected suggestions he gave special access and research to the IPA after Labor senators last year raised an email he sent to a member of the group with an attachment showing what he described as "generous" provisions in public service enterprise agreements.

He refused to comment on Monday despite repeated questions from Labor at a Senate estimates hearing over his knowledge of an investigation referred to in the PM&C freedom of information decision.The NSW government will not abolish "no grounds" evictions as part of its forthcoming package of rental reforms, as it prepares to fight an election where key marginal seats contain large numbers of renters.

Many tenancy and welfare groups wanted laws tightened to remove the power for landlords to evict renters without reason, but it is understood the government has decided against matching Labor's election promise to end "no grounds" evictions.

Hanna Torsh and her daughter Lena at their rental home in Campsie in Sydney. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Postgraduate student Hanna Torsh said she and her partner, a trainee doctor, struggled to move with three young children after they were served with a no grounds termination in August last year.

Ms Torsh said her young family had lived in the Earlwood property for 4 years when they complained to the real estate agent that their stove was faulty, and offered to "go halves" with the landlord on a good quality replacement.WA Labor is set to endorse a senior bureaucrat at Regional Development Australia (RDA) as its candidate for Darling Range, according to sources.

Colleen Yates, who also worked at the Peel Development Authority for nine years, is expected to be preselected by Labor's state executive on Monday night.

Senior regional development bureaucrat Colleen Yates is expected to be Labor's candidate for Darling Range.

Ms Yates, who lives in Hamilton Hill, was appointed chief executive of RDA Perth in November 2013, according to her LinkedIn profile.

According to the profile she is also the director and shareholder of Cokelan Corporation, described as a "privately owned holding company active in oil and gas operations in the United States and Europe".Is there an 8K television in your future? What about an OLED? IHS Markit seems to think both are strong possibilities at your place. IHS is an international research company that tracks manufacturing information rather than market trends, and given that most manufacturers place their parts orders well ahead, its predictions are always interesting and frequently reliable.

IHS says OLED panel production for televisions rose from 800,000 square metres in 2016 to 1.6 million square metres last year, and by 2024 this will quadruple. The total number of all televisions shipped has been declining for the last three years and according to Jerry Kang, a senior analyst at IHS, more manufacturers are now getting into OLEDs to increase their offerings at the premium end, where the margins are better. There were ten global television brands shipping OLED televisions last year, this year Kang expects it to be 15.

LG shows of its 8K OLED concept at CES in January this year.

OLED, which stands for organic light-emitting diode, is an expensive technology that allows every pixel on a TV to turn on or off individually, allowing for deeper blacks and greater contrast versus LCD panels.

Theres another reason television makers are jumping into OLED; its the ideal technology to support 8K UHD resolution. The first 8K televisions are expected to go on sale here later this year and are already being sold in some parts of the world, notably China.London: If you hadn't been looking for her, you would have missed her entirely.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte's nanny blended expertly into the background in St George's Chapel on Saturday, looking on from the sidelines as her little charges and their fellow bridesmaids and page boys performed their duties beautifully. But if Maria Borrallo hadn't been present in the chapel, there's a chance the ceremony might not have gone quite so smoothly.

Rehearsals for the big day had been shambolic, insiders say, with the children  the youngest of whom, Zalie, daughter of Prince Harry's friend Jake Warren, was only two years old  proving impossible to keep in line.

It was decided that the two eldest children, seven-year-old twins Brian and John Mulroney, should be tasked with the important job of holding a corner each of the new Duchess of Sussex's 4.9 metre-long train.London: The Archbishop of Canterbury has praised the "unconventional" royal wedding address by Michael Curry, the American bishop, saying it "blew the place open" and left onlookers gripped.

Archbishop Justin Welby said the rousing words of Bishop Curry, the head of the Episcopal church in the US, showed that "preaching is not a past art", calling his words "raw God".

Bishop Michael Curry giving his much-discussed sermon. Credit:AP

The address, which stretched to more than double the time he had planned at 14 minutes after a series of enthusiastic ad-libs, surprised many watching the ceremony, with phrases including: "We gotta get y'all married!"

Speaking after the ceremony, Archbishop Welby acknowledged it would be "safe to say" Bishop Curry's style was a royal wedding first.Pahoa: White plumes of acid and extremely fine shards of glass billowed into the sky over Hawaii as molten rock from Kilauea volcano poured into the ocean, creating yet another hazard from an eruption that began more than two weeks ago: a toxic steam cloud.

Authorities on Sunday warned the public to stay away the cloud that formed by a chemical reaction when lava touched seawater.

Further upslope, lava continued gushing out of large cracks in the ground in residential neighbourhoods in a rural part of the Big Island. The molten rock made rivers that bisected forests and farms as it meandered toward the coast.

The rate of sulfur dioxide gas shooting from the ground fissures tripled, leading Hawaii County to repeat warnings about air quality. At the volcano's summit, two explosive eruptions unleashed clouds of ash. Winds carried much of it toward the south-west.Wellington: An Australian man who died during a rafting trip in New Zealand's South Island has been identified as 31-year-old police officer Joshua Paroci.

New Zealand police confirmed Mr Paroci, from NSW, died after the rafting accident on the Shotover River near Queenstown on Saturday afternoon.

"Police offer their condolences to Mr Parocis family and friends at this difficult time," they said in a statement.

Detective Senior Constable Joshua Paroci, aged 31, died following a rafting incident in Queenstown, New Zealand on Saturday. Credit:NSW Police

Mr Paroci was a senior constable with the NSW Police Force, and Commissioner Mick Fuller said he would be missed.A woman lies dying in her bed. A scarecrow watches over her, keeping the grim reaper at bay. Thus begins Woman and Scarecrow, a new play by Marina Carr at the Irish Repertory Theatre.

Woman (Stephanie Roth Haberle) is in her mid 40s, the mother of eight children, and unhappily married to Him (Aidan Redmond), whom she chose for convenience instead of love. She doesn't have much time left, the unspecified disease having overtaken her body. With Death literally knocking on her closet door, Woman has only one ally: Scarecrow (Pamela J. Gray), who may or may not be a morphine hallucination, and is the only thing between her and the big sleep.

Woman was never happy, and she willed her unhappiness. As Aunty Ah (Dale Soules) the sour, religious woman who raised her after the death of her mother, notes, Woman's demise could have been prevented if only she had gone to the doctor. "I'm dying of spite," Woman tells Scarecrow. However, right before it all ends, she realizes that that reasoning is not the right way to go about things.

Appropriately situated in the Irish Rep's small W. Scott McLucas Studio space, Woman and Scarecrow is directed with the right amount of etherealness by producing director Ciaran O'Reilly. The play itself is nonlinear, and O'Reilly's physical production gives off a similar vibe: the walls of Charlie Corcoran's set are sharply askew, Michael Gottlieb's lighting seems to age Woman right before our eyes, Ryan Rumery's original music is like a constant rumble underneath the action, and Bob Flanagan's puppet and mask design gives us the perfect chill. Wisely, Whitney Locher's homey costuming is the only aspect that ties us into reality.

Pamela J. Gray and Stephanie Roth Haberle in Marina Carr's Woman and Scarecrow.

( Carol Rosegg)

The performances are similar. As characters, Him and Aunty Ah are earthbound, while Woman and Scarecrow are both in their own version of reality. With that in mind, Redmond and Soules are the play's connections to the human world, and they bring with them recognizable emotions: remorse, sadness, and mordant humor. Gray is suitably imposing and heightened as Scarecrow, a character that may or may not be a hallucination. Only Haberle's performance feels tonally out of sync, pulsing with energy that feels too excessive for a person who will be dead in just under three hours. This vitality is strangely jarring, and throws off the momentum of the piece as a whole.

As the piece continues, Woman and Scarecrow becomes less a treatise on death and more a discourse about why life is meant to be valued. But Carr's script, like Woman herself, doesn't discover that until it's too late. Bogged down by symbolism, overly poetic, and circular in its arguments, this is a relentlessly depressing play in desperate need of both an editor and some levity. It should make us want to stop and smell the roses, but leaves us feeling miserable instead.Mr. Trump Tear Down This Wall!

U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly Urges President Trump to Take Steps to Lower Gas Prices, Allow Year Round Sale of Fuels with Higher Amounts of Biofuel

WASHINGTON, DC - May 22, 2018: Following reports that gas prices are on the rise, U.S. Senator Joe Donnelly today urged President Trump to take an important step towards addressing the price surge by reducing regulatory burdens around the blending of biofuels. Current regulations on Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) prevent most retailers from selling American-made fuels like E15 during the summer months, driving up the cost to consumers at the pump.

Donnelly said, in part, in his letter, "I am writing today out of significant concern for rising gas prices and their impact on families and businesses in Indiana. When Hoosier families and businesses have to spend more to fill-up their gas tanks to commute to work or to make the day's deliveries, it strains our local communities and economies...One step that would help mitigate the circumstances causing an increase in gas prices would be to lift the current restrictions on the year-round sale of fuels containing higher blends of biofuels...I ask that you commit to working to remove the problems with this regulation."

Todd Becker, CEO, Green Plains Inc., said, "Indiana farmers and consumers alike benefit from E15 the majority of the year, but an outdated Washington regulation takes this more affordable fuel option off the table during the busy summer driving season. Providing access to E15 year round is a commonsense step to save consumers money and drive investment in our rural communities like Bluffton and Mount Vernon."

 SEE ALSO: American Petroleum Institute Goes Bonkers - Issues Fatuous Lies Against E15 Ethanol Blends

Rob Walther, VP of Federal Advocacy at POET, said, "E15 ensures economic gains for farmers and consumers alike. We greatly appreciate all the work Senator Donnelly has done on this issue and his leadership in Washington."







In March 2017, Donnelly, along with Agriculture Committee members Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act. The bill would extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) waiver to ethanol blends above 10 percent. This would increase market access opportunities for higher blends of ethanol. It would allow retailers across the country to sell E15 and other higher-ethanol/gasoline fuel blends year-round, increasing regulatory certainty and eliminating confusion at the pump.

To read Donnelly's full letter to President Trump, see below or click here.

Monday, May 22, 2018

Donald J. Trump

President of the United States

The White House

Mr. President,

I am writing today out of significant concern for rising gas prices and their impact on families and businesses in Indiana. When Hoosier families and businesses have to spend more to fill-up their gas tanks to commute to work or to make the day's deliveries, it strains our local communities and economies. Rising gas prices also make it more difficult for families to do the simple things like enjoying a family night out or buying a new pair of shoes for their kids' school year; businesses have fewer resources available to create new jobs and many are forced to cut back their operations.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, average gas prices are expected to reach almost $3 a gallon next month, while averaging at least $2.90 a gallon during the during the April to September summer driving season. That is a 20 percent increase in fuel costs over last summer's average of $2.41 a gallon. With the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting that the average American household spends approximately 9.3 percent of their income on transportation costs, a 20 percent increase in gas prices would place significant strain on the budgets of families and businesses. And with ever increasing instability around the world, those increases could be driven even higher.

One step that would help mitigate the circumstances causing an increase in gas prices would be to lift the current restrictions on the year-round sale of fuels containing higher blends of biofuels. Currently, in spite of lower evaporative and tailpipe emissions that come with a switch from fuel with 10 percent ethanol (E10) to fuel with 15 percent ethanol (E15), an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation regarding the Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) of fuel prevents retailers in most areas of the country from selling fuels like E15 from June 1 to September 30 each year. Reducing this regulatory restriction, particularly before June 1, would help Hoosier families and business by reducing gas prices. It would also help the economy by increasing income in rural communities struggling with increased market volatility and difficult economic conditions.

As you know, I have been leading the fight to fix the RVP regulation for years, and I applauded your reported decision to work towards the same goal. American families and businesses have struggled with a difficult economy for too long. We cannot afford to put further economic growth at risk because of rising gas prices. I ask that you commit to working to remove the problems with this regulation. Your commitment and work towards fixing the RVP regulations would be a great win for Hoosier families, businesses, and rural communities.

Sincerely,

Joe Donnelly

U.S. Senator - Indiana

 SEE ALSO: Big Oil Uses New Dopes To Spread Their Old Dope

 SEE ALSO: Lauren Fix Takes Ethanol Opposition To New Level of StupidityIt was almost by fluke that Andraea Sartison spent a night on the Emerson border.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 21/5/2018 (1238 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was almost by fluke that Andraea Sartison spent a night on the Emerson border.

The winter of 2016-2017 saw a surge of asylum seekers illegally crossing the Emerson border. One February day, the Winnipeg-based theatre artist was in Steinbach with photojournalist Caroline Wintoniw. Wintoniw got a call asking her to go to Emerson to photograph asylum seekers crossing into Canada. Sartison tagged along.

"It was just shocking," Sartison said. She was struck by the frigid weather, the snowy landscape the seekers crossed and the worldwide media presence.

Sartison said she found herself caught between the storylines of people desperate to get to safety, and of the journalists broadcasting that desperation around the world. In that uncomfortable place, she was inspired.

The fruit of that inspiration premieres on stage May 23.

Boundary Avenue is a documentary-style play produced by One Trunk Theatre. It tells the story of refugee Hamza as he makes his way from Ghana to Canada, and of photojournalist William who is eager for a story.

Hamzas story is based on the experiences of Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed, asylum seekers who gained media attention after they crossed the Emerson border on a bitterly cold Christmas Eve in 2016. Both men lost their hands to frostbite.

"We didnt imagine it," Sartison said of the play. Though Hamza is a fictional character, his story is based on interviews.

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Iyal and Mohammed partnered with Sartison and company and spent hours discussing their stories in depth.

Many of the characters in the play are based on real people, and much of the text of the story was actually said in interviews, Sartison said.

She, Wintoniw and theatre artist Liam Zarrillo also conducted workshops with refugees. They asked people to bring objects that theyd brought from their home countries and tell them the stories of these objects. They weaved these story threads into Boundary Avenue.

The cast brings their own experiences. Many of the actors and designers involved came to Winnipeg from other countries such as Liberia, Nigeria, India and Bangladesh, Sartison said.

"Thats been very amazing," Sartison said, explaining that theyre not just a group from Winnipeg trying to interpret an array of cultural experiences. "We have people in the room that can actually speak to that."

Boundary Avenue is directed by Debbie Patterson and runs from May 23 to 27 at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film. Five dollars from each ticket sold will go to supporting Razak Iyal and Seidu Mohammed as they begin new lives in Winnipeg.Hillary Clinton. Photo: James D. Morgan/Getty Images

The narrative around this years governors race in New York is that of a progressive outsider candidate challenging a powerful incumbent entrenched in the Democratic party Establishment  and a new endorsement of Governor Andrew Cuomo certainly doubles down on that.

The New York Times reports that Hillary Clinton, in a rare public endorsement since the 2016 election, is expected to announce that shes backing Cuomo over activist and actress Cynthia Nixon at a state party convention in Long Island this week. Numerous elected officials have already offered their support of Cuomo, including New York junior senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who endorsed him shortly after Nixon announced her run.

Some of Nixons most prominent endorsements so far include Our Revolution  the progressive organization spun out of Bernie Sanderss presidential campaign  as well as the Working Families Party.Photo-Illustration: James Gallagher

New Yorks Sex Diaries series asks anonymous city dwellers to record a week in their sex lives  with comic, tragic, often sexy, and always revealing results. This week, a 31-year-old woman juggling a busy job and multiple suitors: queer, 31, single, Bushwick.

DAY ONE

6:30 a.m. It takes about 25 minutes to get ready and 30 minutes to get to work, but I dont have to be in office until 10 a.m. Still, I wake up with the intense need to be at my desk significantly earlier than everyone else. Ive always been this way.

9:45 a.m. Co-workers start to trickle in. I smile, trying to hide that Ive been here for the last two hours by turning down my Spotify and throwing away the evidence of my early breakfast. Every morning: two hardboiled eggs and an avocado with hot sauce and red chili flakes.

1:30 p.m. I get thrown into a few brainstorms that cause me to push back my day-to-day work. When this happens (and it happens a lot), I excuse myself for a moment to grab a coffee before Im trapped in a room for hours.

3:45 p.m. We finally leave the room after trying to creatively pivot an entire platform for a client. The simple answer to what I do is: I come up with ideas for brands to align with our millennial-focused company and try to sell them on it.

5 p.m. Amy, the woman Im casually seeing, posts a cute photo on Instagram. I question whether or not to like it immediately as she only has six other likes so far, and I dont want to come off as eager. I dont do it.

6:30 p.m. As everyone starts to leave, I tell my co-workers Im just finishing a few things up. Im actually not. Daddy is picking me up in an Uber, so Im waiting for most of my team to leave so that no one sees me walk out of the building and jump into a cab with a man 20 years my senior.

8 p.m. Im at La Sirene on Broome Street drinking wine and on a date with my much older Daddy. People glance over and raise an eyebrow. While 20 years is not that big of a deal, people often tell me I look five to seven years younger than I actually am. Daddy tells me that Im beautiful and asks me how Im feeling  like hes a therapist.

10 p.m. Daddy and I walk over to the hotel that he has booked for us. We are arm in arm as we stroll to the elevators. A woman his age stares at us.

10:20 p.m. Im already naked and lying on the bed. Daddy is checking his face in the bathroom (he had cut himself shaving that morning). The sex we have is rooted in a lot of power dynamic  he has all the power but I make all the final decisions.

10:30 p.m. Im bent over Daddy on the bed; both of us positioned so we can see our reflection against the window. He spanks me until my ass is super red. I can feel him getting hard as he does this, and we eventually move to having sex. Emotionally, I feel like Im being taken care of. Yes, this man is 20 years older than I am, but there is a lot more connection felt between us than Ive felt with people my age  not necessarily a love or like situation. More like Im using him to feel more secure and he is using me to feel like he has a purpose.

DAY TWO

7:15 a.m. This hotels sheets are significantly nicer and the view is paramountly better than my tiny Brooklyn apartments. I have a text: Good Morning, Baby. Order yourself some breakfast before work. Hope you enjoyed your sleep! There is a Venmo notification for $30 on my phone. No real reason for the amount  outside of the fact that he was thinking that its probably enough for me to splurge on breakfast and hop in a cab. Daddy knows that I have a hard time with people taking care of me, so he never goes overboard with the money sent. This isnt like a typical baby/sugar relationship  I dont have an allowance based on my own preference. Daddy is a tech executive, and could very much give me an allowance if I wanted.

Daddy left last night a few hours after we checked in; making sure to leave the hotel robe on the bed for when I woke up. This is his thing: treats me to dinner, books a lovely hotel, we have sex, he leaves, I wake up and have the space to myself.

9:30 a.m. I arrive at work after a very short Uber ride from the hotel to my Financial District office. This is probably the latest Ive ever been on a typical day, but still early enough for no one to notice.

10:30 a.m. A co-worker asks if I had a good night. I tell her, Oh yeah, I just stayed home and painted! Super chill.

1 p.m. I text Daddy: Thank you so much for last night. I really needed that. I should be around tomorrow during the day if you want to get a coffee. He texts back with a smiley-face emoji.

5 p.m. I go back to my desk after a one-on-one with my boss. Shes lovely and remarks how fully committed she is to seeing me succeed as a creative director. Im elated that she has so much faith in my work.

7:45 p.m. I go home and watch late-night clips until I fall asleep.

DAY THREE

8 a.m. I walk into the gym and head straight for the treadmill. I can tell my anxiety is a little intense this morning and decide to run myself until Im so tired that all I can do is take a shower and slowly walk to work afterward.

9:20 a.m. Im in the office trying to come up with a creative solution for a client ask in 30 minutes. The anxiety is back.

11:30 a.m. Cameron, an ongoing Tinder hookup, texts me an eggplant and a peach emoji. We make a plan for him to come over later tonight.

12:45 p.m. Coffee? Daddy actually works 11 blocks away from my office, making it easy for a midday getaway if I really need to breathe. I look at my calendar to find that I dont have to be in a meeting until 4:30 p.m. so I block off the time in between, grab my wallet, keycard, phone, and computer and head out  I bring the computer with me so my team thinks Im in a meeting.

1 p.m. Daddy is already sitting at our coffee shop. People definitely think hes my actual dad when he embraces me with a kiss on the cheek. There is a matcha latte with coconut milk already waiting for me at the table (my favorite). I have the impulse to offer to pay him back but I know that gesture offends him. Daddy pays for everything, and thats it. He asks me about my day, how Im feeling, if I need anything  actually, I do. I want him to look over a text exchange I had with my mother last night.

She and I dont really talk but have been trying to be cordial over the last few years; this past exchange clearly indicates that she has a major drinking problem. Daddy tells me to wait a few days and then text her again.

I grew up in the New York area with other members of my family  only living with my mother in high school when she regained custody of me after years of drinking. Im still shocked she managed to give it up for that blip in my teen years. Her sobriety faded and she started drinking and being emotionally abusive again, but by that time I was 18 and left. I dont really consider her my parent. The only real reason Im talking to her now is because Im staring down the barrel of my grandmother passing away and just wanted to let some anger go.

1:35 p.m. Daddy walks me halfway back to my office, kisses me on the cheek, and tells me to check in with him tomorrow.

8:45 p.m. Cameron comes over. Theres not a lot of small talk. I turn on loud music, switch on the noise machine in the corner of my room, and we fuck like were angry at each other. I need it  my work days are often so consumed by decision-making that theres not often a lot of room for me to be vulnerable or give up control.

DAY FOUR

9 a.m. Its Bagel Friday. The throngs of digital media employees flock to the main floor to grab fruit and half of a bagel; telling the people around them that its their cheat day so they can have that half. I keep my headphones on as I snag both sides of a whole wheat bagel with cream cheese, fruit, and hardboiled eggs. I have no reason to judge them  todays the only day I allow myself to have carbs at work.

2 p.m. I walk out of a presentation prep meeting feeling pretty good about my performance. Its moments like this I wish I had a relationship with my parents so I could tell them the good news. I text Daddy instead. BABY! Thats so good to hear. Let me know if youre at work on Monday  Ill send you a treat!

7 p.m. Amy and I take a walk around Tribeca looking for places to eat. We hold hands and kiss every chance we get. I like her, but super terrified to admit it. Im wearing an ASOS Curve red dress that is sticking to every single curve of my body and she is in a black-on-black blazer/denim combo. We look really cute drinking white wine across from each other at an outdoor cafe. Ive identified as queer for about ten years; dating men, women, people who identify as both, neither or the opposite of their birth. Its not uncommon for me to be seeing different types of people and identities at the same time.

9:30 p.m. Were back at her place. Gosh, she is cute. She rests my leather jacket on the back of the chair and we head to her bedroom.

DAY FIVE

10:30 a.m. I wake up in Amys apartment. She just moved so all of her stuff is in boxes in her living room, and her bedroom is filled with windowsill candles and her Floyd bed. She has things to do, I have things to do. We kiss and part ways at the Essex JMZ train station.

12:00 p.m. Im back in Brooklyn with my best friend, Erin. Shes about to leave for Iceland for two weeks so we take a long walk around Bed-Stuy with iced coffees in hand. For what I lack in a real family, I make up with a chosen family. Erin is definitely in the pack.

2:30 p.m. Daddy texts me: Just checking in to see how you are. Let me know if you need anything. Its funny. This weird, interesting relationship that started on a FetLife group actually works. I often feel like I worked the system  instead of paying for therapy, I got myself an Emotional Support Daddy that only asks that I check in, accompany him on luxe dates, and the occasional sex. Side note: Daddy is married, he does not have kids, and he lives in Brooklyn with his wife where they both entertain other partners and kink interests.

10 p.m. Amy texts me to tell me that Im cute. I smile at my phone. No, youre cuter.

10:05 p.m. I text Cameron. Come over. Take off your pants.

12:30 a.m. Cameron comes over and  takes off his pants.

DAY SIX

8 a.m. I could sleep through the morning (I definitely need it), but I dont.

11:30 a.m. I text Daddy and tell him that Ill be available tomorrow to have dinner. Yes, of course. I will set it up. 8 p.m. good for you? YES!

2 p.m. I go to the grocery store and buy all the salmon, chicken, eggs, and vegetables that Ill need for the week. Sunday is my food prep day, but also the day I look at any work emails that I can check and complete now so that I dont have to in the morning. Maybe Ill sleep in a little bit  (I know I wont.)

DAY SEVEN

6:30 a.m. Im scrolling through my Instagram feed; waiting for my alarm to go off. Amy posted a photo yesterday that Im just now seeing. Fuck it. Like.

12 p.m. I get a Gchat message from reception: Theres a gift for you at the front desk! I go upstairs. There is a bag filled with Milk Bar cookies and Cereal Milk with a note, Have a good day, baby! A co-worker at the office walks by and asks if my boyfriend sent me a gift. Kind of.

3 p.m. I literally booked time on my calendar for me to text my mother back. Its very hard for me to trust you after all these years. I love you, but you cant expect me to be okay with how you speak to me. Especially when youve been drinking. Its been a very long time since we had a real relationship. Im willing to work on it if you are.

4 p.m. No response from my mom. Im not worried. This is very much like her.

5:30 p.m. Im asked to prioritize a creative request by EOD. Im now in the largest stall in the bathroom trying to breathe. Its nothing that I cant handle, its simply the amount that I already have to get done on top of this last-minute pivot that makes me stress. My boss sees me in the hall. I saw that request. Push for a tomorrow deadline. Just because youre fast and good doesnt mean you should have to handle everything like its a fire drill. Praise the work-gods for this moment.

9:30 p.m. I had no idea that Eataly in FiDi had a restaurant. Daddy is sitting at a table wearing a nice jacket and a tie. He gets up, kisses me on the cheek, pulls out my chair, and sits for himself. White wine is already placed at my setting. So, tell me about your day, Baby, he starts.

9:40 p.m. The bread is on the table  Im taking small bites out of my piece while I go on and on and on about my weekend and dates, and how Im not surprised I havent heard from my mother yet. He nods, intently listening to every single word I have to say. He doesnt interrupt or gesture towards any other topic. But I feel bad for taking up so much time with talking.

11:40 p.m. I hop in a cab back home to Brooklyn. Daddy offers to pay. I dont want him to. I like the balance of Daddy taking care of me and my own personal independence. He kisses me on the cheek and tells me to text him when I get in. Im too guarded all the time; always seeking perfection from myself, my work, my life. If I like someone, I dont always show it. If I need sex, I get it and tell that person to keep it moving. But with Daddy, Im not expected to do anything but let him be lovely to me. Im still getting used to it.

Want to submit a sex diary? Email sexdiaries@nymag.com and tell us a little about yourself.Ailbhe Smyth. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

On Friday, Ireland will vote whether or not to appeal a 35-year-old constitutional ban on abortion. The Cut spoke to Ailbhe Smyth, an Irish activist and former academic, who has been campaigning for reproductive rights in her country since the 1970s.

Ive been spit on. Ive had very nasty, frightening notes left on my car. I used to get phone calls in the middle of the night from people who would recite the rosary when I answered, or sometimes theyd shout obscenities at me. Well, maybe not so much obscenities  actually, no, I do think baby murderer or killer is a rather obscene thing to say. So, yes. Obscenities. This was all back in the 1980s and 1990s, before cell phones. I eventually learned my lesson, and made my number unlisted.

Ive campaigned for Irish womens rights, including abortion rights, since I was quite a young woman, in the 1970s. Im 72 now, and I head the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment is the clause to our constitution that prohibits abortion, and we are looking at a referendum at the end of this week, when we hope to repeal it.

When I started this work, it created what I called a Siberian wind, which would blow between me and certain family members, certain friends. Also, in the late 1990s, I came out as a lesbian. In Ireland, at least at the time, being a feminist, pro-choice, lesbian really did not win you a lot of friends. I felt quite isolated, like Id been branded as a radical. Which I dont have a problem with, really, I just happen to have always thought abortions not a particularly radical thing to be asking for. Because every single day, there is something between 10 and 12 women that have to go to England for an abortion, which is a terrible thing to have to do. And there are two or three more women every day who take the abortion pill, without having the safety net of medical care or medical supervision if something goes wrong.

It was often quite difficult, dealing with friends and family members who didnt understand. I have some painful memories, which, even now, I dont particularly want to talk about. Its still painful.

But I would say now, I dont feel that Siberian wind so much anymore. I dont feel that distance, that coldness, between myself and my friends and my family. Thats not to say that this is true of the whole country  we still have a battle on our hands. But in my own immediate circles, I dont feel that iciness anymore. Maybe theyre just used to me by now. But generally, people are more willing to talk about it, more than they ever have been since I started doing this work. You know, I grew up in an Ireland where you didnt even talk about sex, never mind talking about something like contraception or abortion. I didnt hear the word lesbian until I was 21 or something. But gradually, as Ireland has become economically more comfortable, and education has become much more widely available, and people got television and they started traveling  and then, obviously, the internet!  that has opened up this island in a way, so that people are genuinely, I think, much more open and more tolerant.

This work has required me to speak to crowds, sometimes hostile ones (though, again, less so as the years have gone by) which can be a difficult thing for anyone, but especially when youre naturally shy. Im not sure you ever do get over it, the shyness, the nervousness. Im speaking at a big march soon  you know, a big truck, a microphone, all that sort of thing  to a few thousand people. Im already incredibly nervous about it. For the hour or two beforehand, I will have not just butterflies in my stomach, but real pain in my stomach. Ive felt quite ill on and off all day, actually, because Ive been doing media for a ruling we had from our supreme court this morning.

When you stand up to speak in public, and youre nervous about it, you think the worst that can happen is you make an awful mess of it  youll forget what you want to say. And that happens. I think it happens more often to me, now that Im getting older. What you dont expect is to be spat on, or called awful names: killer, apostate. Though thats much rarer now then it was when I first started.

You dont get over the shyness, in that it never really goes away. But Ive often thought about the question: What makes the personality of an activist? How is it that I can both be a private person, and also be able to get up on a barricade or a platform and speak to crowds? I think there must be some kind of temperamental disposition there, that makes you question things, that makes you say, Why should I do that? Whats the reason? My mother always said that when I was a baby, whenever she would ask me to do something, I would say no automatically. And apparently my very small granddaughter  shes 5  has the same kind of disposition. And I just think, Oh my god, god help her parents. But I am of course also incredibly pleased.

Maybe Im a tiny bit unusual for having stuck with this for so long. Back in the 1980s, I was fighting for myself, because I was a young woman of childbearing age. And then I had a daughter, and I was really fighting for her rights, to be able to make that choice of abortion, if she needed to.

My daughter has always supported me, but she has other pursuits in her life. Im the campaigner in the family at the moment. Who knows about my granddaughter! Shes just been reading Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, and shes absolutely loving it. I think thats a really good indication of a future rebel there. Now Im in my 70s, and I look at my granddaughter, and I just cant bear to think that this is unfinished business. I cant leave this undone for her.26 Now Dead, 46 Sick in Ebola Outbreak

At least 26 people have died and dozens more have been sickened from an Ebola virus outbreak in the Congo, according to reports.

The Associated Press reported the latest death toll, saying that there are a total of 46 reported cases of the hemorrhagic fever. They include 21 confirmed cases of Ebola, 21 probable cases, and four suspected cases.

The vaccination campaign begins tomorrow, Monday, in Mbandaka, capital of the province. It will target, first, the health staff, the contacts of the sick and the contacts of the contacts, Minister of Health Oly Ilunga told AP on Sunday.

Vaccines will be administered in Mbandaka, a city of 1.2 million where at least four confirmed cases of Ebola were reported. There have been concerns that Ebola could spread via the Congo River from Mbandaka to the capital city, Kinshasa, which has a population of around 10 million.

Jessica Ilunga, a spokeswoman for the ministry, said 4,000 doses of vaccine were shipped on Saturday to Mbandaka, Reuters reported.

I dont know how to protect myself against Ebola. God alone can protect me from this illness, said Lusya Mbangu, who was selling fish in Mbandaka Sunday.

Even if its not happening here yet, I have to reduce contact with people. May God protect us in any case, Grace Ekofo, who is a 23-year-old student in Kinshasa, told AP.

We pray that this epidemic does not take place here, Jean Mopono, 53, was quoted by AP as saying.

According to Congolese health ministry data released late on Saturday, there have been four cases of Ebola confirmed through testing in Mbandakas Wangata neighborhood and another two suspected cases.

One patient has died there, the figures showed.

Medical charity Doctors Without Borders has established an isolation ward at a hospital in Wangata, where health personnel could be seen being sprayed with disinfectant before entering the facility on Sunday.

The building does not conform to international regulations but we have reorganized it  to make sure there is no contamination, Dr Hilaire Mazibu told Reuters.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Watch Next:

Why is Falun Gong persecuted?

Although its freely practiced in over 70 countries, doing this in China can lead to unlawful arrest, imprisonment, torture, or even death.Cougar Kills Biker in Washington State, Then Scientist Reveals Likely Reason Why

Reports have indicated that a cougar who killed a mountain biker and attacked another one near Seattle may have been emaciated.

S.J. Brooks, 32, died of her injuries and 31-year-old Isaac Sederbaum survived the ordeal. After turning away from Sederbaum, the cat pounced on Brooks before dragging her into the woods, killing her.

When officials arrived at the scene, they found the big cat on Brookss body, which the cougar had covered up with debris. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife then euthanized the animal.

Biologist Mark Elbroch told National Geographic that its a rare, abnormal attack, suggesting that it might have been emaciated.

What this mountain lion did to these people is totally abnormal, said Elbroch. This was an animal that was not healthy, and in its last attempts to try to survive did something it ordinarily wouldnt.

The killing is quite rare, and its only the second time in the past 100 years that a mountain lion killed a human in Washington state, KING5 reported.

The mountain lion you do not see is the one thats hunting, as Elbroch noted. One that walks up aggressively is not hunting.

Officials sent the cats carcass to Washington State University for a necropsy to find out if it had any health issues.

When human beings get involved in it, such as killing predators, it backfires, Brooks Fahy, director of Predator Defense, told KING5. What weve learned is with wolves, cougars, and coyotes is actually killing them has the opposite effect, it throws them in what scientists refer to as social chaos.

Stereotypically, these are the animals that tend to let themselves be seen, and in quite a few of the attacks that have happened, its been younger animals, Fahy said.

Retired biologist Gary Koehler told the station that it might not be related to hunting. Itll probably remain a mystery, said Koehler.

Should anyone get into a situation in the wild with a mountain lion, Elbroch offered a few tips.

He said that people should fight back.

Most of the attacks over the last chunk of years in which people have attempted to defend themselves, they have successfully done sotheyve scared off or even killed the puma, Elbroch told National Geographic.

Watch Next:

Why is Falun Gong persecuted?

Although its freely practiced in over 70 countries, doing this in China can lead to unlawful arrest, imprisonment, torture, or even death.Justice Dept. Launches Probe of Obama Admin Role in Spying on Trump Campaign

The Justice Department officially started an investigation into whether political motivations played into the Obama administrations spying on the Trump campaign.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein ordered the Justice Department watchdog, Inspector General Michael Horowitz, to expand the current probe of surveillance abuses against the Trump campaign to include allegations of infiltration and whether the people involved engaged in these activities for inappropriate purposes.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement, according to The Hill.

In a separate statement, a Justice Department spokeswoman said that Horowitz would consult a prosecutor if any evidence of criminality surfaces.

The statements from the DOJ came shortly after President Donald Trump demanded on Sunday that an investigation be opened into the spy operation on his 2016 campaign.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration! Trump wrote on Twitter.

The presidents request came after The New York Times and The Washington Post cited anonymous government sources to reveal that at least one FBI spy met with three minor members of Trumps campaign. Those officials disclosed the identity of the spy to the newspapers despite DOJ telling Congress that disclosing the spys identity would endanger lives and compromise national security.

The revelation that a spy infiltrated Trumps campaign is compounded by the documented fact that the FBI conducted communications surveillance of Trumps campaign through the use of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants and unmasking requests.

The FISA operation is under fire because the warrants were obtained using an unverified anti-Trump dossier funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Top FBI and DOJ officials involved in signing the FISA warrants have been referred for criminal investigation.

The Spy

Though the identity of the spy would only be officially confirmed if and when the Justice Department releases his or her name, The Daily Callers Chuck Ross reported on Saturday that the details leaked to the Times and the Post match up perfectly with his March report on Stefan Halper, a Cambridge professor with ties to the CIA and MI6.

Halper contacted Page, Papadopoulos, and another adviser, Sam Clovis, during the 2016 campaign. Halper first met Page in mid-July 2016 and the pair stayed in touch for the next 14 months. Halper met Clovis for coffee on Aug. 31 or Sept. 1.

Halpers relationship with Papadopoulos started with an unsolicited email on Sept. 2, 2016, with an offer to fly the Trump campaign adviser to London to discuss writing a policy paper on energy issues in Turkey, Israel, and Cyprus. Halper offered Papadopoulos $3,000 for the work.

During one of their meetings, Halper asked Papadopoulos whether he knew anything about emails hacked by Russians from the DNC server. Papadopoulos denied any knowledge, according to Daily Caller sources.

Halpers assistant, Azra Turk, also brought up Russians and emails when she had drinks with Papadopoulos and flirted with him heavily.

Turk recently terminated her phone account. Halper has not responded to the Daily Callers requests for comment.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI about his contacts with another professor, Joseph Mifsud.

In April 2016, Mifsud told Papadopoulos that he knew that the Russian government had access to Clinton emails. Two weeks later, Papadopoulos reportedly mentioned stolen Clinton emails during a boozy conversation with a top Australian diplomat.

The FBI now claims, according to anonymous leaks to the New York Times, that this conversation with the Australian diplomat is the reason for the start of the ongoing two-year-long investigation into the Trump campaigns alleged collusion with Russia.

The investigation has not produced any evidence of collusion.

Watch Next:

Leaders of Two Koreas Shake Hands Before Historic SummitJustice Dept. Starts Probe of Obama Admin Role in Spying on Trump Campaign

The Justice Department officially started an investigation into whether political motivations were behind the Obama administrations spying on the Trump campaign.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein ordered the Justice Department watchdog, Inspector General Michael Horowitz, to expand the current probe of surveillance abuses against the Trump campaign to include allegations of infiltration and whether those involved engaged in these activities for inappropriate purposes.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, Rosenstein said in a statement.

In a separate statement, a Justice Department spokeswoman said that Horowitz would consult a prosecutor if any evidence of criminality surfaces.

The statements from the DOJ came shortly after President Donald Trump demanded on Sunday that an investigation be opened into the spy operation on his 2016 campaign.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration! Trump wrote on Twitter.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

The presidents tweet came after The New York Times and The Washington Post cited anonymous government sources to reveal that at least one FBI spy met with three minor members of Trumps campaign. Those officials disclosed the identity of the spy to the newspapers despite the DOJ telling Congress that disclosing the spys identity would endanger lives and compromise national security.

The revelation that a spy infiltrated Trumps campaign is compounded by the fact that the FBI conducted communications surveillance of Trumps campaign through the use of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants and unmasking requests.

The FISA operation is under fire because the warrants were obtained using an unverified anti-Trump dossier funded by the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Top FBI and DOJ officials involved in signing the FISA warrants have been referred for criminal investigation (pdf).

The Spy

Though the identity of the spy would only be officially confirmed if and when the Justice Department releases his or her name, The Daily Callers Chuck Ross reported on Saturday that the details leaked to the Times and the Post match up perfectly with his March report on Stefan Halper, a Cambridge professor with ties to the CIA and MI6.

Halper contacted minor Trump campaign members Carter Page, George Papadopoulos, and another adviser, Sam Clovis, during the 2016 campaign. Halper first met Page in mid-July 2016 and the pair stayed in touch for the next 14 months. Halper met Clovis for coffee on Aug. 31 or Sept. 1.

Halpers relationship with Papadopoulos started with an unsolicited email on Sept. 2, 2016, with an offer to fly the Trump campaign adviser to London to discuss writing a policy paper on energy issues in Turkey, Israel, and Cyprus. Halper offered Papadopoulos $3,000 for the work.

During one of their meetings, Halper asked Papadopoulos if he knew anything about emails hacked by Russians from the DNC server, to which Papadopoulos said he didnt, according to Daily Caller sources.

Halpers assistant, Azra Turk, also brought up Russians and emails when she had drinks with Papadopoulos and reportedly flirted with him.

Turk recently terminated her phone account.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty of lying to the FBI about his contacts with another professor, Joseph Mifsud.

In April 2016, Mifsud told Papadopoulos that he knew that the Russian government had access to Clinton emails. Two weeks later, Papadopoulos reportedly mentioned stolen Clinton emails during a boozy conversation with a top Australian diplomat.

The FBI now claims, according to anonymous leaks to the New York Times, that this conversation with the Australian diplomat is the reason for the start of the ongoing two-year-long investigation into the Trump campaigns alleged collusion with Russia.

The investigation thus far has not produced any evidence of collusion.

Watch Next:

Leaders of Two Koreas Shake Hands Before Historic SummitA police officer (R) speaks as she wears a pair of smartglasses with a facial recognition system at Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, on Feb. 5, 2018. (AFP/Getty Images)

Millions of Chinese Cannot Travel by Air or Train Under Chinas Social Credit System

Chinas push to implement a nationwide social credit system by 2020 is on full throttle as millions have been prohibited to fly or ride on high-speed trains, according to the latest statistics by the Chinese regime.

As of the end of April, about 10 million Chinese who have defaulted on their debts have been banned from flying 11.11 million times and denied access to high-speed trains 4.25 million times, reported the Chinese regimes mouthpiece Peoples Daily on May 16, citing data from Chinas National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), a planning agency under the State Council.

The travel ban was part of the social credit system, because, according to Peoples Daily, it would reward citizens with a good credit record and punish repetitive violators.

China first announced plans for a social credit system in 2014where every Chinese citizen will be rated according to his online, social, financial, and legal behavior. Misdeeds, such as using fake IDs at train stations and airports, refusal to sign up for required social insurance, and failing to pay fines for illegal actions in stocks or futures trading, could result in a travel ban on using trains for 180 days and flying for a year, reported NDRC in March. The penalty went into full effect in May.

Frank Xie Tian, a business professor at the University of South CarolinaAiken, explained that while the credit scoring system in the United States is about ensuring the effective operation of the economy and financial system in society, China social credit system is completely different.

Chinas system is about ruling over people and a form of oppression, Tian said in an interview with The Epoch Times.

While the Chinese regime says its system is about purifying society and rewarding people who are trustworthy, it could, in fact, be used to target and silence dissidents and other groups in China.

For example, I know people who have become petitioners seeking redress for their grievances. They were included into a list of people with bad credit, said Qin Weiping, an economic scholar and former reporter in China, in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Petitioning originated from ancient China, when ordinary citizens would travel to the capital and plead with imperial court officials as a last resort to seek justice. The practice still exists in modern-day China.

Todays petitioners, however, face the risk of harassment and being thrown into black jailsextralegal facilities designed to hold and intimidate petitioners into giving up their petitionsby Chinese Communist authorities.

Qin added that dissidents in China could also be included into the list of people with low credit ratings, given the Chinese regimes history of using surveillance and other advanced technology to monitor and suppress dissidents.

Mr. Bao, a petitioner from northern Chinas Hubei Province, recalled his experience with the travel ban in an interview with New York-based broadcaster NTD.

Two days ago, I went to Wuhan [the capital of Hubei] and I tried to buy a train ticket. I got a call immediately, telling me I couldnt board, said Bao. This system is about controlling people, where people become so transparent that they dont have any privacy.

Li Shanjian, a U.S.-based independent political commentator, warned of the dangers of the social credit system.

With the Chinese regime, there is no check on the system, Li told The Epoch Times.The sun is seen rising over skyscrapers in the City of London financial district in London, Britain, on May 3, 2018. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

Russian Dirty Money Flowing Through London Damages Britain, say Lawmakers

LONDONRussian money hidden in British assets and laundered through City of London financial institutions damages the governments efforts to take a tough stance against Moscows aggressive foreign policy, a committee of lawmakers said on Monday.

Britains financial centre has been a major beneficiary of the massive flight of Russian cash since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, and London remains the Western capital of choice for the oligarchs and Russian officials who flaunt their wealth across Europes most luxurious destinations.

But Britain has led an international diplomatic backlash against Russia following the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in an English cityan attack which the government blames on the Kremlin. Moscow has denied any involvement in the incident.

A report by parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee said Russian money was undermining Britains criticism of the Kremlin and supporting what it called a campaign by President Vladimir Putin to subvert the international rules-based system.

The scale of damage that this dirty money can do to UK foreign policy interests dwarfs the benefit of Russian transactions in the City, said committee chairman Tom Tugendhat.

There is no excuse for the UK to turn a blind eye as President Putins kleptocrats and human rights abusers use money laundered through London to corrupt our friends, weaken our alliances, and erode faith in our institutions.

Among its recommendations, the committee said Britain should work with international allies to make it more difficult for Russia to issue sovereign bonds, which are not subject to sanctions, via banks which are sanctioneda practice the report said undermined efforts to reign in Russian behavior.

Russia has been accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. election and of a series of cyber attacks around the world. It denies both.

In April, the United States imposed major sanctions against 24 Russians, striking at allies of Putin in an aggressive move to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling.

Prime Destination

The British National Crime Agency said this month that potentially hundreds of billions pounds of money-laundering impacts Britain each year, and that it is a prime destination for Russians looking to legitimise the proceeds of corruption.

The use of London as a base for the corrupt assets of Kremlin-connected individuals is now clearly linked to a wider Russian strategy and has implications for our national security, the committee report said.

After convincing dozens of countries, including the United States, to expel Russian diplomats in response to the use of a nerve agent on British soil in March, Britain has promised further measures to tighten sanctions against Russians.

But the committee said more needed to be done domestically to tighten sanctions on individuals and at an international level to close loopholes that allow Russia to issue sovereign debt with the help of sanctioned entities.

It recommended working with the EU and United States on a way to prohibit the purchase of Russian bonds which have been sold with the help of sanctioned banks, and a ban on European clearing houses making Russian debt available.

The size of Londons financial markets and their importance to Russian investors gives the UK considerable leverage over the Kremlin, the report added.

By William James

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Kushner Talks Peace in Middle East at US Embassy Jerusalem Dedication CeremonySeverely Burned Girl Sent A Message To Taylor SwiftHeres How She Responded

An 8-year-old girl was recovering from devastating burns in a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, when she received a surprise visit from Taylor Swift.

The pop star came without notice on May 5 at the Arizona Burn Center to see Isabella McCune, according to The Arizona Republic.

The McCune family had earlier sent a video on May 2 which featured Isabella asking Swift to visit her because she couldnt leave the hospital for Swifts upcoming concert the following week.

Dear @taylorswift13 : THANK YOU SO MUCH for visiting Isabella ? A sweet miracle for a special 8yo girl going through so much #12News #IsabellameetTaylor #TaylormeetIsabella @taylornation13 pic.twitter.com/vGFvPby9Dl  Antonia Mejia (@AMejia12News) May 5, 2018

Isabella suffered third-degree burns over 65 percent of her body from a fire that erupted at a neighborhood party on St. Patricks Day in March, according to her family.

Swift signed autographs and gifted Isabella with a bag of merchandise from her concert tour. She also wrote in Isabellas journal.

Isabella! I hope you feel better soon and Im so honored youve been listening to my music. Youre so awesome and I cant wait to have you at a show!! Stay strong, gorgeous. Love, Taylor.

Even though hugs sometimes hurt for Isabella, she asked for one from Swift.

Swift stayed for about 20 minutes in total. Isabellas father, J.D. McCune was grateful for Swifts visit and happy for his daughter.

Shes one of the biggest pop stars in the world right now and she came and saw my little girl, said J.D. McCune, azfamily reported.

As @taylorswift13 kicks off her #reputation tour TODAY in #AZ cute Isabella recovers from her severe burns, but she looks at all the goodies Taylor personally gave her this weekend! ? #12News #TaylorMeetIsabella #IsabellaMeetTaylor pic.twitter.com/CcqT6extAC  Antonia Mejia (@AMejia12News) May 8, 2018

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First Lady Calls for an End to Grief Caused by Opioids CrisisTeen Poses as Police Officer While Robbing Blind Man in Manhattan

A 14-year-old-boy is in custody after he allegedly posed as a police officer to rob a blind man in a Manhattan subway station on May 14.

The mother of the youth turned him in on Sunday, The Associated Press reported, nearly a week after he reportedly stole the 64-year-old mans wallet. Police said he offered to help the man pass through a turnstile at a 34th Street and 8th Avenue subway station in Manhattan. While he was helping the man, security cameras captured him unzipping the mans backpack and taking out his wallet.

A short time later, $500 was withdrawn by a nearby store. The boy, whose identity has not yet been released, faces charges of grand larceny and criminal impersonation of a police officer.

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Corvette ChasePumps dredging sand at the site of a Chinese-funded $1.4 billion reclamation project next to the Colombo main sea port on January 2, 2018. China has several infrastructure projects planned as part of its "One Belt, One Road" initiative for spreading its geopolitical influence. (Lakruwan Wanniarachchi/AFP/Getty Images)

The Authoritarian Model Behind Chinas One Belt, One Road

Asia hangs in the balance as the Chinese regime strengthens its political system via ambitious investments

News analysis

In April, Chinese defense minister Wei Fenghe announced in a meeting with a Pakistani naval chief that Beijing was open to providing security guarantees for its flagship economic investment project, the One Belt One Road Initiative (OBOR).

Weis statement furthered skepticism about the Chinese regimes claim that OBOR is a civilian undertaking without political or military objectives.

Also known as the Belt and Road Initiative, OBOR was announced in 2013. It involves the investment of an estimated $4 trillion to $8 trillion, mostly in infrastructure such as roads and dams, to dozens of countries across Central Asia, Asia, and elsewhere.

OBOR attracts the governments of smaller countries that may not enjoy the wealth, political stability, or international reputation required to obtain loans under normal circumstances. The project has been criticized, however, for reinforcing corruption in countries with weak institutions, threatening democracy, and benefiting Chinese firms rather than serving local interests.

Many observers, analysts, and inhabitants of countries receiving Chinese investments have long held concerns that OBOR is little more than Chinas bid to build an international power bloc by deploying its economic weight in smaller, less-developed nations, then subverting their institutions to serve the policy interests of the communist autocracy.

More ominously, the Chinese Communist Partys development of advanced police technology and surveillance methods could more easily proliferate to other repressive regimes if they are already closely engaged with Beijing on an economic basis.

In Malaysia, a Southeast Asian country where Chinese state-backed firms have invested over $30 billion in various projects, including a coastal railway and gas pipeline, a recent election has seen the rise of 92-year-old prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who successfully ousted the ruling party of 60 years.

Mohamads campaign ran on a platform of anti-corruption and skepticism of heavy Chinese investments, including the expensive Forest City real estate initiative where most buyers were not locals but Chinese.

On May 16, the Financial Times quoted Euben Paracuelles, an economist working in Singapore for Japans Nomura Securities, who said that Mahathirs election could reshape the way Malaysia handles Chinese influence.

It is hard to say if projects will be cancelled but, at the minimum, they could face fairly significant delays, with no new projects approved for the time being, Paracuelles told the Financial Times.

Win-Win Prosperity, or Cooperative Repression?

The Chinese regime faces growing civil unrest and political instability as GDP growth decelerates. Catalysts to these internal challenges are actions taken by foreign governments, such as heavy import tariffs proposed by President Trump to correct past trade imbalances, or growing wariness of the CCPs military strength, reflected in souring relations between Beijing and neighboring countries such as Japan, Vietnam, and India.

According to Xie Tian, a professor of business at the University of South Carolina Aiken, the Chinese regime is taking its substandard labor protections and industrial overcapacity abroad to build up geopolitical strength in Asia.

In fact, the CCP is exporting its communist ideology and communist system of rule, Xie said in an interview with The Epoch Times.

In time, weaker states folded into the Chinese economic orbit would effectively be tributaries dependent on Beijings good graces, allowing the CCP to enlist their help in removing the influence of the United States and its allies from East Asia, Xie said.

By expanding outwards, the CCP can flaunt its nationalist credentials at home, Xie said.

Zeng Jianyuan, a scholar of national development at the National Taiwan University in Taipei, said that the Chinese regime faces an environmental crisis and resource shortages, and therefore internal unrest.

Right now China is trying to continue its expansion and development, Zeng said. By investing in small underdeveloped Asia-Pacific countries that have no way of paying off their loans, the CCP can guarantee lasting control over the bountiful strategic resources these countries possess.

By plying an OBOR partner nation with large investments, Beijing will be able to extract concessions should the local government default, as happened in Sri Lanka last December. When the Sri Lankan government found difficulty paying off a $1.5 billion debt it owed Chinese investors, it leased the strategic port of Hambantota to a major Hong Kong-based Chinese firm for 99 years.

While the Sri Lankan government has issued assurances that Hambantota would not be used for military purposes, Chinese defense minister Weis recent statement suggests that Beijing is keeping its options open.

Other countries, such as Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Pakistanall which have authoritarian-leaning governmentshave accepted heavy Chinese loans. They are also located in regions where the CCP has considerable interests, such as the disputed South China Sea, where the Chinese military has been increasing its presence in violation of international arbitration.

In the Indian Ocean area, developing Chinese regime influence in countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Malaysia threatens the geostrategic security of India. Pakistan, a long-time Chinese partner and a nuclear power, is heavily engaged in OBOR projects.

Authoritarian Infrastructure

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union led an alliance of ideologically affiliated communist regimes and satellite states in opposition to the capitalist world. Perhaps drawing a lesson not to engage in open ideological combat with the rest of the world, the Chinese Communist Party represents its foreign relations and international aims as pragmatic and development-oriented.

Propaganda from Chinese and outside sources have long contrasted Chinas approach with the foreign policy of the United States, which, as the effective custodian of international law and order, has been saddled with extensive accusations of hegemony, imperialism, and other depredations.

Meanwhile, the superficial lack of an ideological or military component to One Belt One Road and other Chinese investment projects obfuscates the nature of Beijings strategic calculus.

At the end of the 20th century, many in the Western world harbored hopes that communist China would inevitably move towards political change as long as it opened itself to the outside world via market-oriented reforms.

Throughout the 1990s, the United States granted China favorable trade relations, aiding Chinese economic growth and technological development. But instead of liberalizing, the Chinese Communist Party doubled down on its systematic repression of dissidents, ethnic minorities, religious groups, and other aspects of civil society.

Meanwhile, what the CCP calls socialism with Chinese characteristicsthe pairing of capitalism with autocracyhas fostered rampant systemic corruption and severe economic imbalances. A massive property bubble and increasing public debt threaten a financial crisis; a preponderance of capital locked up in state enterprises or in firms closely connected with the Party has led to industrial overcapacity on a wide scale.

In the worst case, the CCP risks international isolation and economic stagnation, something that characterised the Soviet Union in the final days of the Cold War and prior to the USSRs economic, then political collapse.

Corruption, an endemic vice in the CCPs totalitarian political framework, greases OBOR investments abroad, as Beijing engages corruption-ridden countries where democratic institutions are weak or nonexistent.

In Central Asia, a region formerly part of the Soviet Union, OBOR has been associated with the corruption of local elites. In an analysis published in Hong Kongs South China Morning Post last May, it was mentioned that Chinese investors often smoothed their deals with bribes.



Zeng Jianyuan, the Taiwan academic, holds that the Chinese regime would prefer its neighbors be bribery-prone autocracies, rather than independent, clean democracies.

To ensure the stability of its own political authority, the CCP doesnt want to see surrounding countries challenge the authoritarian system or undergo color revolutions, which are things that could affect mass sentiment in China, Zeng said. The CCPs aim is to have its neighbors politics and economics under control.



Yi Ru contributed to this report.Research shows that just 10 minutes of meditation per day can increase business students physical, mental and emotional awareness. (Shutterstock)

The Many Benefits of Meditation in the Classroom

Just 10 minutes of meditation a day can have a big effect on student well-being, studies find

The fast pace of the business worldwhere competition is the rule and return on investment decides everythingcan be challenging for business students.

They are expected to know the rules of business inside and out, but they also need to learn to master their emotions to enable them to make efficient and ethical decisions.

A traditional business education provides few opportunities for students to cultivate emotional resilience, empathy, and ethical judgment. Incorporating meditation into the curriculum could help rectify this.

Preliminary findings from a study conducted with business students at Simon Fraser University in Canada show that even 10 minutes of classroom meditation can gradually increase students levels of physical, mental, and emotional awareness.

Can meditation help all studentsfrom elementary to universityto become more peaceful, calm, and better decision-makers?

Positivity, Creativity, Connection

Our study, conducted with 93 students of a third-year business ethics course in 2016, revealed that students who meditated in the classroom experienced a transformation in their thinking and behavior.

Initially, these students found it challenging to control their monkey minds during a 10-minute meditation.

Interestingly, after three months of practice, they found that 10 minutes became short for them, and they felt motivated to practice more at home.

For most of the students, meditation was a first-time experience, and gradually they began to feel calmness and equanimity. Meditation allowed them to know themselves better, helping them feel more relaxed and peaceful. It seemed to increase students level of physical, mental, and emotional awareness.

Moreover, students also reported waking dreams, visions, and a sense of tranquility during meditation.

Most of the interviewed students said that they enjoyed meditation and felt happy that they could attend the course.

Improving Childrens Well-being

Meditation is not just for adults; children and adolescents also benefit. Research shows that meditation in the classroom helps students become more focused, calm, quiet, settled, and rested by providing them an opportunity to learn to relax and reflect.

Researchers from the Universities of Udine and Rome, in Italy, studied the effects of a mindfulness meditation training on a group of 16 healthy elementary school children aged 7 to 8.

They found that meditation training improved the childrens attention and reduced internalizing problems, such as fearfulness, withdrawal from social groups, anxiety, and depression, thereby improving their psychological well-being.

Ten to 12 minutes of meditation also enhanced positivity and creativity among students, by reducing restlessness, nervousness, and irritation, according to research from Erasmus Universitys Rotterdam School of Management.

More importantly, 10 minutes of meditation daily can enable us to connect with ourselves, get acquainted with our innermost feelings, and plan better for the future.

Changes in the Brain

At the physiological level, research shows that meditation can reduce stress, pain, anxiety, cardiovascular diseases, and insomnia.

Meditation also balances blood pressure and heart rate, and improves respiration and cognition.

Research from neuroscience also suggests that the brain can be changed structurally and functionally through regular practice of meditationresulting in improved emotional and mental states.

Furthermore, there is ample research to show that the largest effects of meditation are experienced by those areas of the brain that are responsible for happiness and positive feelings.

A Question of Commitment

The above discussion provides a glimpse of the potential of a meditation practice for students of all ages.

A meditation practice does not require any sophisticated equipment, infrastructure, support system, or money. It requires only commitmentto dedicate at least 10 minutes every dayand a small space to sit or stand comfortably.

Meditation as a part of regular teaching can play an important role not only in enabling students to increase their self-awareness, but also in changing their perspective, to some extent.

We think it is time for schools at all levels to acknowledge meditation practices as an important part of any curriculumfor the benefits of students, and for society as well.

Thomas Culham is a visiting lecturer at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University in Canada, and Neha Shivhare is an assistant professor at Dayalbagh Educational Institute in India and a fellow at Simon Fraser University. This article was originally published on The Conversation.Containers are seen at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China on April 24, 2018. (Aly Song/File Photo/Reuters)

US, China Putting Trade War on Hold, Says US Treasury Secretary

WASHINGTONU.S. trade tensions with China is on hold after the worlds largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on May 20.

Mnuchin and U.S. President Donald Trumps top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the agreement reached by Chinese and American negotiators this past weekend set up a framework for addressing trade imbalances in the future.

We are putting the trade war on hold. Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework, Mnuchin said in a television interview on Fox News Sunday.

On May 19, Beijing and Washington said they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States to narrow the $335 billion annual U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China.

During an initial round of talks this month in Beijing, Washington demanded that China reduce its trade surplus by $200 billion. No dollar figure was cited in the countries joint statement released on May 19.

The statement also did not indicate whether the two countries would delay or drop their tariff threats on billions of dollars worth of each countrys goods.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not return a request for comment on Mnuchins statement.

Tensions between the two sides had been growing since the Trump administration proposed tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese tech goods and said it might extend the levies to an additional $150 billion. China responded with its own measures targeting U.S. agriculture.

The top U.S. trade official, Robert Lighthizer, said that getting China to open its market to more U.S. exports was significant, but that it was far more important for the United States to resolve issues with China such as forced technology transfers and cyber theft.

Real structural change is necessary. Nothing less than the future of tens of millions of American jobs is at stake, U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer said in a statement on May 20.

Kudlow told CBS Face the Nation it was too soon to lock in the $200 billion figure for Chinas promised purchases. The details will be down the road. These things are not so precise, he said.

In addition, he told ABCs This Week that the broader issues were still in play, and that China had structural reforms such as lowering tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will allow the United States to boost exports.

Trump was in a very positive mood about this, Kudlow said.

However, he said there was no trade deal yet reached.

Theres no agreement for a deal, Kudlow told ABC. We never anticipated one. Theres a communique between the two great countries, thats all. And in that communique, you can see where were going next.

One next step will be dispatching Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to China to look at areas where there will be significant increases, including energy, liquefied natural gas, agriculture, and manufacturing, Mnuchin and Kudlow said.

A senior U.S. official said that during discussions with a top Chinese official within the central authorities, China was considering a package that relied on major purchases of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG), including a contract for a U.S. firm to build LNG receiving and processing facilities in China. The package would also include new commitments on intellectual property protections, and could be agreed by a potential mid-year visit to Washington by Chinas vice chair Wang Qishan, the official said.

Mnuchin said the United States expects to see a big increase of between 35 percent and 40 percent in agricultural exports to China this year alone and a doubling of energy purchases over the next three to five years.

We have specific targets. I am not going to publicly disclose what they are. They go industry by industry, Mnuchin said.

The statement on May 19 made no mention of whether there would be a relaxation of paralyzing restrictions on Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE imposed last month by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The action was related to violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea, and banned American companies from selling software, semiconductors, and other components to ZTE, causing the Shenzhen-based company to cease most operations.

Trump said last week he had directed Ross to put ZTE back in business, but Kudlow said any changes would be minimal.

If any of the remedies are altered they are still going to be very, very, tough, including big fines, compliance measures, new management, new boards, he said. Do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. Aint going to happen.

By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Howard SchneiderThe U.S. Supreme Court building is pictured in Washington on May 14, 2018. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo)

US Top Court Takes up Challenge to Virginia Uranium Mining Ban

WASHINGTONThe U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether states have the right to ban uranium mining for public health reasons in a dispute over a moratorium Virginia put in place on the radioactive metal in 1982.

The court will hear a bid by a Virginia Energy Resources Inc subsidiary and other owners of the largest U.S. uranium deposit to revive a lawsuit thrown out by a lower court that sought to invalidate Virginias ban because it conflicted with a federal law that regulates nuclear power generation.

Uranium, a main source of fuel for nuclear power plants and material in nuclear warheads, remains a strategic resource for electricity and national defense. The case could clarify how far states can go in regulating access to uranium resources.

The plaintiffs, Virginia Uranium Inc, a subsidiary of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Virginia Energy Resources, Cole Hill LLC and Bowen Minerals LLC, value the southern Virginia uranium deposit at up to $6 billion, according to court papers. Mining it could inject billions of dollars into the local economy, the plaintiffs said.

The dispute concerns whether the federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954 preempts Virginias mining ban under the U.S. Constitutions so-called Supremacy Clause, which holds that federal law generally trumps state law.

The Atomic Energy Act gives the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission the sole power to regulate radiation safety standards for milling uranium ore and disposing of waste byproducts known as tailings, key steps in the production of nuclear fuel. But it does not cover conventional uranium mining on non-federal land.

The plaintiffs said the ban was motivated by concerns over radiation hazards, which is subject to exclusive federal oversight.

Virginia enacted its ban on uranium mining amid concerns about environmental and public safety hazards. After unsuccessfully lobbying Virginia legislators to allow it, the plaintiffs filed suit in 2015, arguing that the federal law regulates nuclear safety and preempts state laws that attempt to do so.

President Donald Trumps administration has backed the companies in the case.

Under the appeals court ruling, U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in a brief, States could, for example, pass laws that impede physical access to nuclear facilities, diminish the availability of source materials or equipment necessary for nuclear development, or erect financial barriers to the development of nuclear energy.

The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiffs last year, prompting their Supreme Court appeal.

The justices will decide the case in their next term, which begins in October.

By Andrew Chung

Watch Next:

3,700-Year-Old Babylonian Stone Tablet Is TranslatedBRIDGEPORT - Three men shot up a prayer vigil and then led officers on a chase to Stratford Sunday night, police said.

Michael Newsome, 35, of Monroe Street, Tyshon Dingle, 34, of Colorado Avenue, and Dayshim Randolph, 25, of Robert Street, were charged were charged with multiple weapons counts and pursuit-related charges.

They were all being held in lieu of bond.

Police said a young woman was holding a prayer vigil at her Trumbull Avenue home for her recently deceased mother when Newsome, Dingle and Randolph began acting up and were asked to leave.

However, police said one of the trio pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and began firing, forcing family members to barricade themselves in a bathroom. There were no injuries.

When officers arrived at the scene, police said the three men took off in a Chevrolet sedan at high speed.

During the pursuit, police said one of the men threw the handgun with an extended magazine out of the car. It was retrieved by officers.

The chase led onto Interstate 95 northbound until police said they were able to pull the car over by Exit 31 in Stratford.NORWALK  Following the shooting and carjacking of a deliveryman for a Chinese restaurant Saturday night, Norwalk Police are asking all restaurants that make deliveries to change the way they handle these orders.

"Ask for a home phone number," said Det. Sgt. Lee Young Sunday morning. "And call the number first, before making a delivery."

"Verify the address and ask the resident to turn on his porch light," Young continued. "And no deliveries to vehicles."

"And if you feel unsure (about a delivery)," he said, "call the police for assistance."

Young is head of the detective squad investigating the robbery, which occurred shortly before 7:13 p.m. near the intersection of Kent and Derby roads in West Norwalk.

Young said the deliveryman, who was shot in the hand and leg, is expected to be released Sunday from Norwalk Hospital.

Initial reports were that he may have been hit by a bullet that ricocheted off the ground, so Young was asked if the robbers intentionally shot him or were just trying to scare him.

"Oh no, they pointed the gun at him. They intended to shoot him," Young replied.

The order to China Town Express on North Main Street was to a non-existent address on Kent Road.

After being unable to located the address, the delivery driver, Young said, called the number the order was received from, and the person who answered said, "We're here in the red car."

The driver then apparently exited his car, at which point three people, described as black males wearing ski masks, exited a nearby red, four-door car  possibly a hatchback  brandishing handguns.

They shot the driver, then one of the perpetrators entered his car and drove off. The others took cash and the food from him, then fled.

The deliveryman's car  a black 2011 Toyota Camry with New York plates FBK2207  was still missing as of noon Sunday.

The car had a sign on the roof advertising China Town Express.

Young said Saturday's hold-up matches a robbery of a deliveryman that occurred the evening of Jan. 9 on Rolling Lane in East Norwalk.

In that case, a real address was provided, but the residents of that address had not requested a delivery.

Young said the perpetrators of that robbery were described as two males, perhaps black, wearing dark clothing.

The 39-year-old deliveryman gave up $400 cash, his cell phone and the food, but was unharmed.

Young said that if a member of the public spots the deliveryman's stolen car, or thinks they have seen the robbery suspects or their vehicle, the witness should call the police immediately.

Norwalk detectives can be contacted at (203) 854-3011. Anonymous internet tips can be emailed to www.norwalkpd.com, or be submitted by text by typing NPD into the text field, followed by the message, and sending to CRIMES (274637).

As a general warning, Young said, "If a request for a delivery doesn't feel right, don't make it."At first blush, an Acapulco chair sounds like the type of comfortable perch you'd find in an oceanside Mexican resort. But that's not quite it. Take a look at this style of chair, and you'll notice its minimal, colorful appearance actually harks back to designs found in stylish Mid-Century Modern homes of the 1950s and '60s.

With Mid-Century decor in vogue, it's no wonder that Acapulco chairs are appealing. Do your interiors veer toward a clean, modern sensibility, or do you cultivate more of a bohemian aesthetic? The Acapulco chair works well in both stylesinside and outdoors, too. Here's the lowdown on the Acapulco chair, including how to decorate with them, how much they cost, and where that name actually comes from.

What is an Acapulco chair?

Photo by Erin Ellwood Design

Acapulco chairs are lightweight, comfortable, and unusual in shape. "This chair is classic Mid-Century Modern in design and features colorful vinyl cord or rope woven onto a rounded metal frame that's usually made from steel or aluminum," explains Julie Muniz, an art consultant and mind behind the Instagram account @Chair_Aware.

But why does this egg-shaped chair derive its name from a Mexican beach resort town?

Back in the 1950s, vacationing in Acapulco was de rigueur for certain A-list celebs, including members of the Rat Pack, Elizabeth Taylor, and honeymooners John and Jackie Kennedy, says Anna Brockway, co-founder of Chairish, an online marketplace for vintage decor, furniture and art. This Hollywood cachet helped to carry the appeal of Acapulco northward.

Although nobody knows who designed the original Acapulco chair, we do know it originated in the 1950s, and its woven design has its roots in traditional styles from Mexico. One Mexican designer, Cecilia Leon de la Barra, claims to have given the chair its name.

How to decorate with an Acapulco chair

Photo by Studio Morton

Most Acapulco chairs are weatherproof, so they work for both indoor and outdoor rooms. "You'll tend to find these in warmer regions, as well as in homes that have a Mid-Century or Modern aesthetic," says Brockway.

You can also mix them with traditional pieces or in a casual setting, adds Carole Marcotte, of Form & Function in Raleigh, NC. "Some versions are made with rope construction, which feels more 'indoors', so when you combine one with a textured pillow and kilim rug, it becomes a stunning vignette," she says.

If your home decor is going for any variation of Minimalism or Modernism, these chairs are a must, says Beverly Solomon of Beverly Solomon Design. "Along with martini glasses, nothing sets the stage for [the Mid-Century] time period with more punch and for less money," she says.

Buying an Acapulco chair

Photo by Luft

You can spend a little or lot on this type of chair, depending on whether you want an authentic Acapulco or a knockoff. Wayfair and Amazon carry a wide selection of chairs in vivid shades, starting around $150. "CB2 has a lovely ombre version for $250 that's genuine and made in Mexico," shares Marcotte.

For antique lovers looking to own the real thing, Chairish has fabulous vintage finds from $200 to $1,300.

Care and cleaning

Photo by Designhunter

Durability is a hallmark of the Acapulco chair, since it was made to withstand wet weather. To clean your chair, Brockway recommends water, a mild cleaning solution, and a sponge with an abrasive surface.

But if you decide to keep your Acapulco chair outside, be prepared to have to put more time into caring for it. Solomon says that in certain climates, these perches can take on mold, mildew, and algae. "The seats also tend to stretch, so I would keep them mostly in a sunroom or covered patio."

The post What Is an Acapulco Chair? Take It Easy in a Seat With Mid-Century Modern Flair appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.EDWARDSVILLE  With the Troy Road resurfacing project set to begin on today, the city of Edwardsville last week hired independent contractor Jim McAdams as a construction inspector to oversee the project.

McAdams has filled that role for more than 20 years, said Director of Public Works Eric Williams.

His agreement with the city, which was approved unanimously at Tuesday's City Council meeting, calls for him to make daily inspections, provide oversight of layout and construction, and prepare measurements, testing and daily reports. He will be paid $54 an hour up to a maximum of 40 hours per week, and $81 per hour for any work that may be required after that, according to the agreement.

"His hourly rate is less than what we could get through a local engineering firm," Williams told the aldermen. "He has provided good service to us over the years."

The Public Works plans to use his services on the $1.2 million Troy Road project. RCS Construction, the low bidder on the project, will begin construction today, according to a news release from Assistant City Engineer David Sirko.

"Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes, as construction operations will result in lane restrictions and delays to traffic. Local businesses and residences within the construction area can be accessed via adjoining alleyways. The City appreciates the cooperation of all residents during this process," Sirko said in the release.

Franklin Avenue, between Troy Road and Plum Street, will also see repair work.

Work is also set to begin next month on Phase II of the St. Louis Street project. That project will resurface St. Louis Street from Elm to Ammann and will add bike lines on both sides of the street from West Union Street to Amman.

Alderman Janet Stack said addition of McAdams to the Franklin Street project "helps our staff, because they are a little overworked right now."

At Tuesday's meeting, aldermen also approved a professional services agreement with Sheppard, Morgan & Schwaab for Hale Avenue roadway and drainage improvements. The contract calls for a payment not to exceed $90,000.

"It's next on our list of many needs," Stack said.

Hale Avenue is part of the Leclaire Historic District, and several homes along Hale Avenue, particularly in the 700 and 800 block, date to the late 19th century.

At Tuesday's meeting, Alderman SJ Morrison told his colleaguesl that the roadway and drainage projects are "much needed," and that he, Williams and City Engineer Ryan Zwijack walked the area recently and discussed "some of the concerns about how to meet the needs of a historic neighborhood along with accommodating the road standards."KAZ Minerals PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and processing copper and other metals primarily in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan. It operates through Bozshakol, Aktogay, East Region and Bozymchak, and Mining Projects segments. The company operates the Aktogay and Bozshakol open pit copper mines in the east region and Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan; three underground mines in the east region of Kazakhstan; and the Bozymchak copper-gold mine in Kyrgyzstan. It also develops greenfield metal deposits; operates Koksay deposit in Kazakhstan, and the Baimskaya licence area in the Chukotka region of Russia; and produces and sells various by-products, such as gold, silver, molybdenum, and zinc. In addition, the company supplies and distributes heat, water, and electricity; and offers construction, project management, financing, management, sales and logistics, and repairs and maintenance services. The company was formerly known as Kazakhmys PLC and changed its name to KAZ Minerals PLC in October 2014. KAZ Minerals PLC was founded in 1930 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

Read MoreGAIN Capital Holdings, Inc., together with its subsidiary, provides trading services and solutions to retail, institutional, and futures service customers worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Retail and Futures. It specializes in over-the-counter (OTC) and exchange-traded markets. The company offers access to a range of financial products, including spot foreign exchange (forex) and precious metals trading; and spread bets and contracts for differences on currencies, commodities, indices, individual equities, bonds, options, and interest rate products, as well as OTC options on forex. It provides services to retail customers through FOREX.com and Cityindex.com, as well as through brokers and white label partners. The company offers execution and risk management services for exchange-traded futures and futures options on the United States and European futures and options exchanges; and online trading services. GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey.

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New Zealand's doctors and teachers must soon be vaccinated

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  Most of New Zealand's health care workers and teachers will soon be legally required to get vaccinated against the coronavirus, the government announced Monday. A new mandate compels doctors, pharmacists, community nurses and many other health care workers to be fully vaccinated by December.

Read Article



Guwahati : Lieutenant General Abhay Krishna, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command as part of his ongoing visit of Spear Corps Zone, undertook assessment of Assam Rifles operations along the Indo- Myanmar International Border in Nagaland on Sunday.





General Abhay Krishna as part of the operational assessment visited the forward Assam Rifles post at Lungwa as well as the Assam Rifles Sector Headquarters at Tuensang.





At these locations the General was briefed on ongoing operations by Assam Rifles commanders responsible for border management operations on the ground.





Kohima based Defence PRO Colonel Chiranjeet Konwer said that, the General Officer also interacted with the locals of these areas during the visit. For this visit General Krishna was accompanied by Lieutenant General Gopal R AVSM, SM, General Officer Commanding Spear Corps.





Having expressed satisfaction and congratulating Assam Rifles troops for their hard work and operational acumen, General Abhay Krishna departed for Kolkata in the evening.





The earlier scheduled visit of the Hon' ble Raksha Mantri, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman to Spear Corps Zone, however did not materialise due to unforeseen technical contingencies.



State AA Girls Tennis: Watertown takes fifth, wins Sportsmanship Award

SIOUX FALLS  Watertown High Schools girls tennis team closed out a successful season with a fifth-place finish in the state Class AA tournament that concluded Friday.Guwahati : Security forces had apprehended two militants belonging to banned NSCN (K) and recovered arms and ammunition in Nagaland on Saturday, officials said on Sunday.





According to the reports, the Medziphema battalion of Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (North) established a check post in general area Jharnapani near Medziphema and during the search security personnel had apprehended an armed militant of NSCN(K) who was travelling from Kohima to Dimapur.





The nabbed militant was identified as Self Styled Cpl Hapang Konyak and security forces had recovered one point 22 pistol, two live rounds and a motorcycle in possession from him.





The militant revealed that he had been undertaking extortion activities in Dimapur and Kohima.





The militant along with recovered items was handed over to Medziphema police station for further investigation.





On the other hand, the Kohima battalion of Assam Rifles had launched operation based on specific information in general area Tinpatti, Kohima district along with police representative in Kohima.





During the operation one NSCN (K) militant was apprehended and he was identified as Tsiinuo Pienyii alias Khrielelie Pienyii.





Security personnel had recovered one cash recipt and four extortion slips amounting to Rs 1,00,000.





Later the nabbed militant along with recovered items was handed over to North Police Station, Kohima for further investigation.





In separate operation, the Assam Rifles had recovered one point 22 Auto pistol along with one Magazine from the residence of Kezhalezo Ciesotsu at Merima near Kohima.





The recovered items were deposited to North Police Station and FIR was lodged.



MONTREALIn a darkened room at a suburban community centre last month, a representative from a Canadian meat packing company showed a huge map on the screen. More than 30 Haitians who had recently walked across the border to file refugee claims in Canada were in the audience.

This is Canada, the woman said. Heres Quebec. She was trying to recruit workers for her companys pig farm, but first, she needed to describe where it was.

She zoomed in: This is Temiscamingue, she said, explaining that its an eight-hour drive northwest of Montreal. Two men stood up and walked out.

Read more:

Federal immigration minister warns seeking asylum in Canada is no free ticket

Border officers diverted to Quebec to help with influx of asylum-seekers

Asylum-seekers will be fast-tracked to Ontario starting next week

Pay starts at $13.25 an hour and shifts start at 7 a.m., she said, and workers get housing and full benefits. People started to raise their hands.

By the end of the job fair, Olymel managers said they were thrilled: With 10 jobs to fill, at least a dozen people had stayed behind to ask questions.

Tens of thousands of people have surged across the border into Canada from the United States to claim asylum in the past year as the Trump administrations policies on migrants in the U.S. caused worry among asylum seekers and anti-migrant sentiment rose. The flood of migrants has put pressure on Canadas asylum system, accustomed to smaller numbers, and has driven up costs.

So, policy-makers are bolstering one tactic to ease the burden: Theyre integrating refugee claimants as quickly as possible into the job market.

The deluge of irregular border-crossers into Quebec has been a boon for companies such as Olymel during a time of low unemployment. Olymel, for instance, has hired 250 asylum seekers at other sites.

There was a big need, an urgent need, for employees, said company spokesperson Richard Vigneault. Theyre very much willing to work. We train them; theyre very fast. ... Were very satisfied.

Many asylum seekers have also placed their hopes in work. With warnings that their claims will probably be rejected, many say they believe a good employment record will ultimately help them to stay.

Thats why were here in Canada  so we have a job and a future, said Jean Brize, 38, who attended the job fair. Originally from Haiti, he moved to Canada from New York City last year with his wife and daughters. The government is also focused on people who work.

Many of the migrants crossing into Canada know little about the distinctions between the Canadian and American asylum systems.

Those differences are stark, especially now. South of the border, claimants wait at least six months before they can legally work, and in recent months a significant portion have been kept in detention, according to Eleanor Acer, of the non-profit organization Human Rights First.

In Canada, and particularly Quebec, asylum seekers get shelter, food, legal aid, basic health care, language classes and help finding an apartment, and they begin to receive welfare payments at the same rate as Canadian citizens. But theyre also given work permits and asked to support themselves as soon as possible, paying taxes at normal rates.

That approach has become a crucial safety valve for Canada as the number of refugee claimants has doubled over the past year. In one report, authorities estimated that resettling Syrian refugees cost $2,650 per person per year over six years. Other research has shown that spending is much higher in the first year. Asylum seekers in Canada wait an average of 19 months for a hearing, further driving up costs.

The federal response has partly been to try to put people to work. In the fall, the government decreased the wait time for work permits from three months to three weeks, quickly issuing 12,000 permits in Quebec. This spring, it created a triage system, busing people from the border to regions other than Montreal, including rural parts of Quebec, with dire labour needs.

The system will attempt to send some asylum seekers to the regions of Quebec, including issuing work permits more quickly to meet manpower demands, said Chantal Bouchard, a spokesperson from Quebecs immigration department.

Asylum seekers are doing fairly well in finding work. Of 13,072 adult asylum seekers who began receiving Quebec social assistance for the first time last year, 7,132, or about 55 per cent, quit the program by the end of 2017, said a spokesperson from the provincial labour ministry.

Some of those people probably quit for reasons other than finding a job, such as moving to another province. And that number doesnt include anyone who began receiving welfare in the last months of 2017  a big group, after the summertime deluge over the border  and who succeeded in finding work early this year.

Those who work with them say their employment rates are high.

Its not a difficult period for people to find a job, said Francine Dupuis, who runs Montreals major governmental hub for refugee claimants.

Among the Haitian arrivals, almost all are now working, said Marjorie Villefranche, director of the Haitian community centre that hosted Olymels job fair. Other meat packing companies also have hired heavily, as well as a canoe and kayak manufacturer and a producer of herbs, spices and teas.

Asylum seekers say that finding work isnt just a question of earning a good living.

The government has already spent a lot of money on refugee claimants, said Eligene Perame, 52, a Haitian migrant who was also considering going to work at the rural pig farm. But I have to make efforts to find work to help myself, mostly.

Refugee acceptance rates have been falling swiftly, and this month, federal ministers said they expect that 90 per cent of the irregular border-crossers wont meet refugee criteria.

With those odds, seeking work isnt a bad strategy. Job status shouldnt be relevant when people argue their claims, but submitting letters from employers doesnt hurt, said Montreal refugee lawyer Mitchell Goldberg.

It will also be crucial later for the minority of people who manage to appeal their rejections. Then they must show their families are thriving in Canada and should stay on humanitarian grounds, Goldberg said, and employment is very, very important.

Given the current stress, some are even asking the government to take things a step further. Villefranche, whose community centre helped resettle thousands of Haitian arrivals last year, has pitched the idea of allowing them to simply switch status to temporary migrant workers, an existing Canadian program, and then to apply for a permanent visa with the help of their employers.

That would be much faster for them and less expensive for everyone, she said. And there is hope at the end.

The Quebec government said that proposal would fall in the federal governments jurisdiction; the federal government has said it is up to the province.

The government would most likely be concerned that it would be a pull factor drawing more people to cross the border, Goldberg said.

Brize, after filling out forms for the Temiscamingue job, said any option is a good option if it means staying in Canada.

If the government gives us asylum status, thats good, he said. If the government (says) it will welcome us by sending us to another position, to work, we have no problem. Its residence status were looking for, because we do not want to live in our country.OTTAWAConsidering that Prince George is the biggest city on British Columbias Highway of Tears, Mary Teegee expected the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls to hold a full-scale hearing there.

The city sits at the eastern end of an area that became an emblem of the killings and disappearances that gave rise to the inquiry in the first place.

But in January, Teegee learned the inquiry would hold only a statement gathering session in Prince George. None of the commissioners would be there, and participants would tell the stories of their loved ones in private, without the option of speaking in an open setting, as has been done at the inquirys larger hearings elsewhere in B.C. and across Canada.

This decision had a personal impact for Teegee, whose 16-year-old cousin, Ramona Wilson, went missing in June 1994 and was found murdered 10 months later. Not only that, but as executive director of Carrier Sekani Family Services, she was asked to help organize the Prince George session. She was given less than two weeks notice to do so  hardly enough time to spread the word to families or book a venue, she said.

We got told at the 11th hour to assist them, Teegee said. We did the best that we could.

Poor communication, organization that came off as clumsy or insensitive  the situation was in some ways representative of the broader narrative that has enveloped the national inquiry since its first public hearings were delayed in the fall of 2017. That initial holdup was coupled with a series of high-profile staff departures that have included one of the inquirys five commissioners, a succession of executive directors, the inquirys lead lawyer, and more.

For Teegee, it all contributed to her sense that the process  so important to those who, like her, had pushed for years for an inquiry into the national tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women  has been bungled from the start. I think the inquiry is a logistical nightmare, she said.

Now, after almost two years of criticism and administrative setbacks, the national inquiry has arrived at a key juncture. In early March, chief commissioner Marion Buller asked for two more years and another $50 million  on top of the original $54-million budget  to complete the work. The four remaining commissioners are now steering the inquiry into a new phase of expert hearings and research, even as they plod toward a deadline they no longer wish to meet, waiting for the government to rule on the request for more time and money.

The legacy of the entire process  not to mention the credibility of Justin Trudeaus quest for reconciliation in Canada  may well hinge on the answer.

We have to do it right. We cant do a superficial examination, Buller told the Star in a recent interview, describing the sacred responsibility of the inquiry to address the systemic causes of violence against Indigenous women and girls, in memory of the hundreds  and perhaps thousands  who have died or gone missing in recent decades.

In my view, to do anything less than that would not do honour to those people, she said.

And yet, two months after asking Ottawa for more time and money, Buller said she has heard nothing from the Liberal government. The inquiry has also received no official responses to its interim report, published in November, which included calls on the federal government and the provinces to create a special police task force to address unsolved cases, provide funding to ensure families can participate in the inquiry  a frequent demand of critics  and expand a special mental health program to meet needs stirred up by the process.

We made recommendations for funding for programming for healing that were seeing is time-sensitive and very critical, Buller said.

But in the absence of an answer on the extension, the inquiry must press on, she said, describing how expert hearings on human rights have started in Quebec City, and will continue with sessions on government services, racism and policing until late June. Buller said the inquirys forensic review team is preparing to start its audit of police files on specific cases, and that work on the final report is also underway, with a view to finishing a first draft in August  just three months from now.

We dont have the luxury of a pause to wait for the government to get back to us, Buller said.

In her own interview with the Star, federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett said Thursday that a decision on an extension will be announced within a week or two. She added that an official response to the interim report is in the works as well, and that she hopes to provide information on which recommendations the government plans to fulfil at the same time as it releases a decision on the extension.

The issue (is what are) the concrete measures and actions that it will take to keep women safe in their communities, she said. That still is the goal.

Yet some Indigenous leaders dont think the process is worth more time and money. Sheila North, grand chief of the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, said many of those who pushed for a public inquiry now feel a made-in-Ottawa process was imposed on them without enough consultation.

People started feeling disrespected and disregarded, North said, explaining how there was little or sometimes no information at all about when hearings would take place, or co-ordination about how to access after-care for people retraumatized through their participation in the process.

Others were put off by the original inquiry format, something that could have been avoided through more consultation with Indigenous groups in different regions, North said. For example, some who came to testify at the inquiry hearing in Winnipeg in October felt the process was set up like a courtroom.

People were expecting an environment where they can feel comfortable, and feel they are telling a story to people that care, she said.

Melanie Omeniho, president of Women of the Metis Nation, said the lack of communication and outreach from the inquiry has left Metis families feeling disregarded by the process, and that some gestures of accommodation  such as when the inquiry invited fiddlers and dancers to perform at a hearing in Richmond, B.C., at the last minute, she said  came across as superficial and offensive.

Instead of an extension, Omeniho said work should begin immediately on implementing changes that have already been called for, such as reforms to police and justice systems, and filling gaps in statistics on missing and murdered Metis women and girls.

They didnt have the respect to ask the families that tried to engage with them if they were Metis, Omeniho said. The trauma keeps increasing and theres no followup for them.

Similar criticisms were outlined in a scathing inquiry report card published this month by the Native Womens Association of Canada. Francyne Joe, the associations executive director, said she sees two main problems with how the inquiry has unfolded: the scope of its mandate  to analyze systemic violence against Indigenous women and girls  is too wide and undefined, and the administration has been slow and uncommunicative.

But even so, Joe supports the extension for the inquiry, with caveats like a more transparent budget and improved co-operation with community groups. We just want to ensure that at the end of the day, this report that comes out is going to be a substantial and effective report thats going to make a difference for our women, she said.

Buller, meanwhile, acknowledged the inquiry has its shortcomings, but said improvements have been made to ensure the process is respectful, and that participating families are supported in travelling to and from hearings. Now its just a matter of striving toward a final report that  unlike most calls for action from so many previous inquiries and reports  results in concrete change, she said.

We want to keep this work moving, Buller said.

The big question now is whether the federal government does, too.Police are searching for three people after a man in his 30s was shot to death Sunday evening.

Police and emergency services were called to the area of Yonge St. and Wellington St. around 9 p.m. after reports of the sound of gunshots.

People were seen fleeing the area, police say, and when officers arrived, they found evidence of gunfire. After a search in a nearby parking garage, they located the unconscious victim, who suffering from gunshot wounds.

The victim was pronounced dead early Monday morning.

Three people, all with firearms, were seen climbing into a small black car and fleeing west along Wellington St., police say.

Investigators did not immediately say whether they believed the shooting was targeted or random.

We have three suspects involved in a shooting with very serious injuries in the downtown core on a holiday weekend where there are lots of people in the area, said Const. David Hopkinson. Public safety is definitely a concern.

The victims name was not immediately released.When the man accused of being the Golden State Killer was arrested in Sacramento, Calif., late last month, worldwide attention was drawn to the enterprising use of DNA technology that helped solve the decades-old case.

Among those watching were detectives in Toronto polices cold case unit.

We were on the phone the next week, trying to contact the investigators, said Det. Sgt. Stacy Gallant. I wanted to ask them: how did you do it? What did you need? I wanted to find out the exact process that they took.

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In what Gallant thinks may be a law enforcement first, California police  including an investigator whod been working the case for 20 years  used a free public genealogy site called GEDmatch to identify 72-year-old Joseph James DeAngelo as the suspect in a spree of murders dating to the 1970s.

According to U.S. media reports, police used a newly discovered, well-preserved DNA sample believed to be that of the Golden State Killer and submitted the genetic profile to the genealogy database. Police created a fake profile and pretended to be conducting family history research  a typical use of genetic testing services such as GEDmatch or more prominent commercial sites such as 23andMe.com.

A few months later, the DNA produced a match with a distant relative of DeAngelo, eventually leading to his arrest.

The new technique has been celebrated for its potential to unlock cold cases, but it raises pressing privacy concerns. Among them, the question of whether those submitting their DNA to genealogy sites to find lost relatives or learn about hereditary risks understand that their genetic code could one day be mined by law enforcement  with consequences for relatives or future generations.

In a statement to the New York Times, a lawyer affiliated with GEDmatch said the purpose of the site was for users to find relatives and is not intended to be used by law enforcement to identify suspects of crimes. Website 23andMe, meanwhile, has stated that its services cannot be used for criminal investigations.

As investigators were praised for their work, rights groups including the American Civil Liberties Union highlighted the very real dangers of government access to sensitive information.

The lines we draw for this case may well provide a road map for investigations of crimes in the future, privacy fellow Vera Eidelman wrote in a recent post on the ACLUs website. The techniques used here are likely only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what investigators will soon have the technological power to do.

For Gallant, who oversees the Toronto police cold case unit, DNA technology is having an increasingly revolutionary effect on crime-solving  its the fingerprint of the 21st century. Beginning in 2015, Gallant initiated a review of Toronto cold cases explicitly seeking homicides in which the killers DNA might now be extractable from evidence through modern-day methods.

These deaths must have involved close contact between the victim and the killer, namely sexual assault, strangulation, stabbing, beating  anything where they were up close and personal and there could be a transfer of DNA, Gallant said. Crime scene evidence also cant have degraded or been contaminated, which is not a given in historic cases where investigators may not have used gloves or adequately preserved important items.

To date, police have examined more than 45 cases dating to the 1960s and developed DNA profiles in 13 unsolved crimes.

Among them was what Gallant called a strong male DNA profile of the killer in the 1991 murder of Lori Pinkus, who was a sex trade worker in the Bloor and Lansdowne area at the time of her death. Assaulted and strangled, Pinkuss partially nude body was left in a school parking lot, discovered by the caretaker.

Now that we have the killers DNA, we just need a name to go with it, Gallant says in a video released by Toronto police this month, appealing for a member of the public to come forward with a name  nothing more.

But generating a DNA profile from an unsolved murder is, often, far from closing the case. Indeed, the cold case unit has more than 30 unsolved cases where DNA profiles have been developed, yet no arrests have been made.

In all of these cases, no match was found when investigators checked the profiles against those in Canadas National DNA Data Bank, which began collecting the DNA of convicted offenders in 2000 and today contains 405,000 such profiles.

The reality is, every time we get a DNA profile and it doesnt match anything on the (national) database, we are back to square one again, Gallant said. Its frustrating that we have all these DNA profiles that could lead to the arrest of killers, and yet we dont know who they are.

One avenue is to appeal to the public, as Gallant has done in the Pinkus case and others. A tip could help police identify a suspect, then possibly request a DNA sample directly or begin surveillance in an effort to surreptitiously gain DNA through, for example, a disposed coffee cup.

But a new avenue may be through genealogical sites. Gallant says he hasnt yet heard back from the investigators involved in DeAngelos arrest  he anticipates they have been contacted by multiple police agencies  but hes keen to learn more about their tactics.

In particular, hed like to understand how they were able to provide DNA from a historic crime scene in a form thats compatible with the DNA samples typically obtained by genealogy websites. A DNA profile is filed in a criminal database using a specific number of genetic markers, which Gallant believes is likely incompatible with the genealogical sites.

Youre looking at apples and oranges, he said.

If investigators do find a way to submit DNA to an ancestry site, it may not be as simple as creating an online profile.

In a statement to the Star this week, Ontarios information and privacy commissioner said that because it has the potential to reveal a great deal about an individual, genetic information ordinarily attracts a reasonable expectation of privacy.

As a general rule, we would therefore expect the police to obtain court authorization when seeking such information from, for example, a genealogy service provider, Brian Beamish said.

Valerie Lawton, with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, said that although DNA profiles can solve cold cases and bring emotional closure to victims and families, their collection and retention must respect the highest possible standards of fair balance between security and privacy.

She notes that Canadas DNA Identification Act, which governs the National DNA Data Bank, does not allow for familial searching, meaning a Golden State Killer-like connection through a distant relative cannot be made.

Gallant said another solution may be to allow for greater collection of DNA through the criminal justice system. Echoing a suggestion made by previous police leaders, including former Toronto chiefs Bill Blair and Julian Fantino, Gallant said it may be time to consider collecting samples from anyone who is charged, not just convicted, of a serious crime.

As it stands, judges must demand DNA samples from those convicted of violent offences including sexual assault and murder. They can also choose to order samples from anyone found guilty of some less serious crimes.

It could be extremely helpful in historical cases or future cases, in terms of identifying who is responsible, Gallant said. Currently, he said, we are taking DNA from people who are already murderers.

But rights advocates say there are good reasons why highly personal information is not collected upon arrest.

Those facing criminal charges are presumed innocent of those crimes, said Daniel Brown, a Toronto director with the Criminal Lawyers Association. To take their DNA, which is a very significant intrusion on their privacy, should only occur in those instances where someone is found guilty, and not before.

Brenda McPhail, a privacy, technology and surveillance expert with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, agreed, saying just because it would be convenient from a law enforcement perspective to collect DNA from more Canadians doesnt make it right.

Use of personal information  as seen in the Golden State Killer case  demonstrates that its time for a broader discussion about privacy expectations and civil rights when it comes to emerging technology, especially concerning DNA.

This is as personal as it gets, McPhail said. From our perspective, there are exceptionally strong privacy interests and we need to be having a large-scale societal conversation about the legality and the ethics of these fishing expeditions through that kind of information.Tuggs Inc.s grip on a beachfront restaurant site at Ashbridges Bay is a continuing disaster, Mayor John Tory says, from which the city appears to have no escape.

I think its a tragedy for the Beach, and for the residents and visitors who use those beaches so frequently in the summer and all year, that there isnt an operator in there using all of those premises, Tory told reporters when asked about Cara restaurant Carters Landing moving out after a legal fight with Tuggs owner George Foulidis. Tuggs leases the city-owned building and has exclusive rights to sell food and novelties at nearby parks.

I think its part of the continuing disaster that is this mans tenure and it was extended in a way that I think we had very few legal avenues to pursue, and I just feel very badly about the whole thing, Tory said. And I think theres not been a single good part to it as far as I can tell, including this latest development.

Foulidis did not respond to multiple calls and emails from the Star last week requesting comment on Torys statements and the latest twist in his Beach tenure that has generated headlines since the 1980s, when he won a lease for a restaurant on the boardwalk along the hugely popular eastern beaches.

Instead of kicking off prime patio season this May long weekend, Carters Landing will serve its final customers before closing Thursday after less than two years.

When Carters Landing opened in 2016, Foulidis had wanted Cara to take over his city-assigned lease. Court records reveal Foulidis and Cara fought over parking revenues, area liquor sales and more, and the deal was never completed.

A string of Foulidis-operated restaurants  Tuggs, the Boardwalk Cafe, seafood eatery Paralia and Athens Cafe  have also come and gone, leaving, at the moment, a Foulidis-franchised Tim Hortons and a new Johnny Catch Fish and Chips.

Read more:

Carters Landing leaving Beach amid lease controversy

Councillor exasperated when chain eatery opened at prime Beach location

City staff say they dont know what will replace Carters Landing. Also in the dark is the local councillor, Mary-Margaret McMahon, who told the Star she is beyond frustrated with Tuggs in her eight years as councillor that will end in October.

In 2007, city council voted, against city staff advice, to give Tuggs a 20-year sole-sourced lease extension to ensure the site has a mom and pop tenant and not a chain eatery.

But city staff couldnt reach terms with Tuggs and brought the issue back to council in 2010. Citing legal advice, council approved a new deal that included annual rent of $200,000 and Tuggs spending $2 million on renovations.

The lease also reduced the citys portion of proceeds from beach events and activities under terms that give Tuggs control of a beachside snack bar and exclusive rights to sell food and novelties at four nearby parks.

Council later directed staff to try to regain control of those parks activities, but negotiations went nowhere.

Like Tory, McMahon doesnt see a way out of a lease set to run until Sept. 16, 2028, but said she would love to see it put out for tender, maybe to multiple operators to offer visitors a mix of activities and services at the crown jewel of the city.

She is closely watching Foulidiss next move at the site. In divorce documents filed in 2016, he said he needed the Cara lease deal to help get out from under $2.8 million in debts. His ex-wife cast doubt on that claim, calling him called a savvy entrepreneur with a vast and complex corporate group of operating businesses.

Foulidiss divorce lawyer at the time, Tanya Road, told the Star her client was not on the brink of receivership or bankruptcy or anything.

Road later went to court herself, records show, to force Foulidis to pay her. A Superior Court judgment dated last November ordered Foulidis to pay Road $133,783.71 in fees, a debt she had told him had put her in a very bad spot financially.

Road did not respond to an interview request or questions about whether she has received the fees.

Meanwhile, back at Ashbridges Bay, painters are finishing a big beach-facing 7Up Lemon Lemon ad on the side of what is, for the moment, Carters Landing. Tuggs has the right to promote a sponsors product and keep the revenue, city staff say, under the terms of its city lease.Toronto police have identified and arrested a suspect wanted in two seemingly random stabbings this weekend on the TTC.

In both incidents, the man allegedly responsible for the stabbings appears to have been armed with something other than a knife  in the first case, police say the object used is unknown, but in the second, the man allegedly stabbed a TTC bus driver with a toothbrush.

Police said the second incident began around 3:40 a.m. on Monday when a man got into an altercation with the driver after boarding a bus near Islington Ave. and Winnipeg Rd.

When the argument escalated, police say the man snapped the head off a toothbrush he was carrying and stabbed the driver in the cheek with the makeshift weapon. As a result, the bus collided with another vehicle.

No injuries were reported from the collision.

Toronto paramedics said the driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries and was in stable condition. The suspect and his toothbrush were last seen fleeing southbound on Islington Ave.

The first incident allegedly occurred only twelve hours earlier, when police responded to Spadina subway station just before 4 p.m. on Sunday after a reported stabbing shut down transit in the area.

A 46-year-old man was standing in the pedestrian tunnel at the station when the suspect approached him from behind and stabbed him before fleeing. Police were not able to locate a weapon, and witnesses couldnt confirm what object was used in the stabbing.

Paramedics said they transported one man to hospital in serious, but not life-threatening condition.

Police do not believe the two men knew each other. The attack caused streetcars to divert and for trains on Line 1 and 2 to bypass the station for over an hour.

On Monday morning, police said they had one suspect for both stabbings.

Hours after releasing a photo and appealing to the public for information, they identified the suspect as 22-year-old Liam Mitchell McCallum.

According to police, McCallum was arrested late Monday night without incident.Sagarmatha Network Pvt. Ltd. is the organization dedicated in the field of printing, publishing service since 2001. As part of media, we've been publishing Review Nepal, an English medium weekly registered at District Administration Office (DAO) Kathmandu with registration number 130-162-163 and reviewnepal.com as an online digital newspaper, with registration number 849-075-076 at Department of Informational and Broadcasting (DIB) from Kathmandu, Nepal since 2003.When Jennen Johnson faced kidney failure two years ago she turned down the least intrusive form of home dialysis because it would require she pay for hundreds of thousands of extra litres of water a year.

The working mom and Toronto resident said she couldnt afford what medical staff cautioned would be an expensive utility bill.

I wasnt working full hours because of my health, said Johnson, 42, who works as an executive assistant I didnt want to take the little money I was receiving and put it into paying my water bill.

This week, council will consider a water rebate program for home hemodialysis patients. Each patient consumes between 150,000 to 600,000 additional litres of water per year, said a staff report.

The rebates would range from $600 to $2,400 per patient, per year.

If the city had a rebate program two years ago, I wouldve done (home) hemodialysis in a heartbeat, Johnson said.

Hemodialysis wouldve flushed out her kidneys with water while she slept and not interrupted her daily life. Instead, for two years she resorted to either going to the hospital for hemodialysis for four hours, three times a week, or peritoneal dialysis at home.

When doing peritoneal dialysis, shed wake up at 6 a.m., insert a toxin-absorbing fluid in her abdomen through a catheter and make sure to get home 12 hours later to repeat the process. Shed also do it a third time before she went to bed.

Because of the additional fluid in her body, Johnson said she was unable to exercise and could never do more than a relaxed walking pace, even when she needed to catch the bus. If she didnt change the fluid in time, shed experience nausea and other side effects.

This spring, Johnson underwent a successful kidney transplant and no longer does dialysis. And she has her energy back.

Dr. Ellen Greenblatt can attest to the financial burden of home hemodialysis.

She told the Star her son, in his early 20s, has relied on the life-saving process for about a year. In that time, her quarterly utility bills (for water and waste collection) have more than doubled  from about $400 per bill to almost $1,000.

This cost, plus the electricity needed to run the hemodialysis machine, shouldnt be borne by the patient, or the city, she said.

Home hemodialysis is a tremendous cost saving to our provincial health care budget  you dont have to have nurses there. You arent using hospital space or resources, said Greenblatt. Its downloading the cost, and the risk, to the patient.

The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care pointed to a grant it funds through the Ontario Renal Network, but Greenblatt said it certainly doesnt cover the increase in my costs, thats for sure and added that a city rebate program is needed to help make up some of the difference.

If approved, the rebate program will be similar to those already in place in Ottawa, Vaughan and Clearview, Ont., the report said. It will cost the city between $61,300 and $191,700 a year, which will be funded through water rates.

Also at council Wednesday and Thursday:

Councillor Gord Perks has put forward a member motion for city staff to consider using $1.5 million to buy and renovate a rooming house that would be operated by a non-profit organization. The money would come from Section 37 community benefit funds the city receives from developers, said the motion.

Councillor Joe Cressy, also through a member motion, is requesting the city create a naming process for the new wards. The names would be put into place next term to help future voters distinguish between the old and new numbering system, associate neighbourhoods with wards and continue a tradition established at amalgamation in 1998, the motion said.Police are investigating three deaths over the Victoria Day weekend, after two men were fatally shot in separate incidents on Sunday and a set of human remains was discovered in Scarborough.

Officers responded to the first scene at 3 a.m. on Sunday, after callers reported hearing gunshots in the Scarborough neighbourhood of Milford Haven Dr. and Greenock Ave., near Ellesmere Ave. and Markham Rd.

Mohammed Gharda, 17, was pronounced dead at the scene. An 18-year-old man was taken to hospital with gunshot wounds in what police believe was a targeted attack.

On Sunday evening, police responded to calls about a downtown shooting. They said three gunmen fled the area of Yonge and Wellington Sts. after fatally shooting a 28-year-old man.

The victim, Jaiden Jackson, was leaving Pick 6ix restaurant around 9 p.m. with a woman, whom police have not yet identified but believe was wearing a pink or orange dress.

The pair crossed to the north side of Wellington St. and headed west on foot toward Jacksons car.

As they were walking, a black four-door Honda Civic with a sunroof drove south on Jordan St. and turned left onto Wellington. The car proceeded the wrong way on Wellington St., heading eastbound before making a quick U-turn to approach Jackson and the woman.

Police say two armed men then got out of the car and began shooting.

Jackson fled on foot into an underground parking garage at 18 Wellington St. W., followed by the gunmen and the Honda.

All three men then allegedly fired at him before they got back into the car, reversed up the ramp and continued westbound before turning south onto Bay St.

Jackson was rushed to hospital, but was pronounced dead later that evening. Police are looking to speak to the woman who was with Jackson on Sunday.

Gharda and Jackson are the citys 30th and 31st homicides of the year.

Investigators have not released any suspect identifications or descriptions for either of the shootings, and are appealing to the public to contact the homicide unit with tips at 416-808-7400, or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS.

Ontario Provincial Police were also called for a death investigation on Sunday. Just before midnight, the OPP confirmed its Toronto detachment was investigating after unidentified human remains were discovered in Scarborough.

The remains were found off Hwy. 401 near Morningside Ave. The victims gender and the apparent circumstances of their death have not been disclosed.

Investigators blocked off the right lane of the Morningside Ave. southbound ramp to Hwy. 401 westbound. OPP spokesperson Lauren Ball said the ramp would remain closed until Tuesday.KINGSTON, ONT.An NDP candidate who railed against wearing poppies on Remembrance Day as a ritual of war glorification, yet said shed sign up for a war on Christmas, is being defended by party Leader Andrea Horwath.

Many people have many diverse opinions and we value free speech, Horwath said Sunday as she faced questions for the second time this weekend about controversial remarks from her candidates in the run-up to the June 7 election.

Those are certainly not values I share, but freedom of speech is a principle that we all, I think, value, she said.

The comments on social media in previous years from Mississauga Centre hopeful Laura Kaminker have been gaining attention online in recent days.

There are certainly times when people say things that they regret, added Horwath, who said she doesnt know if thats the case here.

Doug Fords Progressive Conservatives charged that Kaminkers remarks point to radical elements in Horwaths ranks and noted the candidate has thanked Twitter followers for their support.

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Not only are these comments offensive to veterans and military families across the province who gave so much to fight for the freedom and rights we all hold dear, but they are also completely out of step with the public, the PCs said in a statement.

Horwath was highly critical of Conservative candidate and former leadership contender Tanya Granic Allen in the same riding for her remarks about women in burqas looking like bank robbers and ninjas and called on PC Leader Doug Ford to fire her. He eventually did.

But Horwath, at a town hall meeting with about 100 people on Kingstons waterfront, said the main concern is whether her candidates support the New Democrat platform.

Im sure that this particular person agrees with us on all the pieces of our platform that make life better for people, she said.

One of her supporters at the meeting bristled at repeated questions from a reporter on the issue, interjecting, Who do you work for, Ford?

On Friday in Kenora, on the first day of a three-day campaign swing through northwestern Ontario to Grassy Narrows, Sault Ste. Marie and Ottawa, Horwath had to deal with controversial comments from local candidate Glen Archer, a corrections officer.

He had posted on Facebook that Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne, premier since 2013, should be in prison for blowing taxpayers money and listed his favourite movie quote as If I want your opinion, Ill beat it out of you.

Appearing with Horwath at the home of a senior couple talking about snags they have faced with the health-care system, Archer said he apologized unequivocally for the remarks and passed off the opinion quote as tongue-in-cheek and corrections humour meant for colleagues.

Thats not the way we solve problems, Horwath said, noting she accepted Archers apology.

Read more about:Doug Fords folksy appeal to the people and disdain for the elites may be winning him support in the June 7 election, but a new poll shows there is no class war in Ontario.

Both working-class and so-called elite voters favour Fords Progressive Conservatives over Kathleen Wynnes Liberals and Andrea Horwaths NDP, according to the poll by New Square, a non-profit initiative focused on probing the views of Ontarios working class and how they differ from elites.

Both listed government mismanagement and health care as the most important election issues, according to the online poll of 1,000 English-speaking Ontarians conducted between May 10 and May 14.

Neither group is happy with the leadership choices. Almost half of respondents agreed none of the leaders stand for me, says the poll released Monday.

Because the sample is based on those who initially self-selected to participate rather than on a random sample, no estimates of sampling error can be calculated. However, of online polls of this size, the confidence interval is equivalent to 95 per cent.

Although the poll found no evidence of a war between the working class and higher earners in Ontario, deep poverty does appear to be a factor, as does where one lives.

Read more: Here are the four candidates wanting to be Ontarios next premier, and what theyre promising

The results dont show any support for Trump-style populism at this point, said Heather Bastedo, New Squares managing director. The only caveat is that people in Ontario are hurting, and thats something to watch.

Housing, crime and jobs are the top three quality-of-life concerns for those living outside the Greater Toronto Area, where Ford and Horwath are ranked very close  at 16 per cent and 15 per cent respectively  among those with a preference, the poll shows. Wynne trails at 6 per cent.

But inside the GTA, where housing and transit are more important, Wynne is rated more favourably at 14 per cent, ranking second to Ford who leads with 18 per cent. Horwath runs third with 12 per cent in the GTA, the poll showed.

Everyone talks about the working class, and how populism could change things, but few, if any, have spoken to ordinary people to find out, Bastedo said. We wanted to amplify working-class voices and determine their influence in the coming provincial election.

New Square defines a working-class person as having one of the following characteristics: a job that is physical; earning an hourly wage rather than a salary; an annual income of less than $35,000; unstable, part-time or precarious work; or dependent on government assistance, family or charity for support. Elites are defined as everyone else.

Share your thoughts

The survey of 500 working-class and 500 elite Ontarians asked a series of political, lifestyle and economic questions, and is an attempt to find out how Ontarios working class differs from the elite and if that difference is driving voter choice in the election, she said.

What we found was where you are living is likely to affect you. If you live outside the GTA you are likely to vote differently, Bastedo said. If you are working class, youre not necessarily going to vote differently. But if you are (economically) hurting in that group, you are.

Almost 90 per cent of those polled are concerned about the provinces rising cost of living, with nearly six out of 10 feeling the squeeze when it comes to the price of gas, groceries and electricity. Three out of 10 say they are struggling with almost everything while about 15 per cent listed just one economic concern and where therefore deemed to be unaffected by cost-of-living increases.

Those who are feeling the squeeze and have a political preference favour Ford and Horwath, while those who are struggling are most likely to support Ford. People unaffected by the cost of living prefer Wynne, according to the poll.

There is no class war. The difference lies in what is motivating their political choices, Bastedo said. If youre feeling the squeeze or struggling, your issues and choices will be different, and a lot of Ontario is feeling the squeeze.

When it comes to party identification, both groups identify most strongly with the PCs, however more elites (26 per cent) than working class (22 per cent) identified as Tories. More elites (23 per cent) than working class (16 per cent) also identified with the Liberals. Slightly more working-class respondents (12 per cent) identified with the NDP than the elite (10 per cent), the poll shows.

Working-class respondents were the least likely to have a clear party affiliation with 21 per cent unsure versus 13 per cent of the elite.

It is clear that with the greater number of working-class Ontarians unsure about their party choice, their final decisions could have a large impact on the results, Bastedo said.

Read more about:REYNOLDSBURG, OHIOEva Evans is 10 years old and desperately needs a new kidney to live a normal life. Mrs. Thomas, a smiling Grade 4 teacher at Evas school, wants to give her one.

They barely knew each other before. Eva was in a different fourth-grade room down the hall. Tanya Thomas, 48, had spent half her life in the classroom, most of the time right there at Slate Ridge Elementary in the Columbus suburb of Reynoldsburg.

After the usually vivacious Eva started missing school last fall, word got around that shed been sick for months and probably would need a kidney transplant. A plea for a donor went out on Facebook after no one in her family was viable.

Thomas jumped in without hesitation, and an arduous, months-long screening process determined she was a perfect match. The surgery will happen sometime late summer at Nationwide Childrens Hospital in Columbus.

Giving a part of herself to a random kid at her school turned out to be one of the easiest choices Thomas has ever made. At her church shed just seen donors step forward to help two people in need of kidney transplants, and she wondered if that was a path also meant for her.

I never really even doubted, said Thomas, who is married to a teacher and has two children in college and one in high school. I just felt like that door had been opened, and I was supposed to walk through it.

After Thomas was approved as a donor, Evas mom, Alana Brown, and Thomas staged a reveal in April at which donor and recipient exchanged hugs, cards and flowers. Later, Thomas was invited over for a tea party. And before long, they will be linked for the rest of their lives.

Shes family, Eva said.

Doctors dont know exactly why both of Evas kidneys failed so early in her life. Theyre calling it a spontaneous genetic mutation. (Just like the X-Men, her mom tells her.)

Eva has had an extraordinarily difficult year. She went from being a normal kid early in 2017 to feeling sick and having dialysis 10 hours a day to stay alive. Her 38-year-old single mom, a digital and social-media specialist, hasnt been able to work because Eva requires constant care. They live with Browns mother, and any extra money is long gone.

Brown said she didnt know a teacher at the school was the donor until Thomas was well into the screening process. She still cant believe that someone who wasnt even Evas classroom teacher would be so selfless.

She is an angel on earth, Brown said.

I think its the kind of thing you think about but that you dont actually end up doing, said Micca Conley, the principal at Slate Ridge. We talk about how were family here and how were moms first before were teachers. She took that to the next step, thats for sure.

Eva plans to make a YouTube video chronicling her journey that can help comfort other children going through the process and encourage other people to donate.

Im going to have teacher DNA in me, Eva told her mom. Im going to have to be a teacher someday, and a good one.VATICAN CITYPope Franciss reported comments to a gay man that God made you like this have been embraced by the LGBTQ community as another sign of Franciss desire to make gay people feel welcomed and loved in the Catholic Church.

Juan Carlos Cruz, the main whistleblower in Chiles clerical sex abuse and coverup scandal, said Monday he spoke to Francis about his homosexuality during their recent meetings at the Vatican. The Pope invited Cruz and other victims of a Chilean predator priest to discuss their cases last month.

Cruz said he told Francis how Chiles bishops used his sexual orientation as a weapon to try to discredit him, and of the pain the personal attacks had caused him.

He said, Look Juan Carlos, the Pope loves you this way. God made you like this and he loves you,  Cruz told The Associated Press.

The Vatican declined to confirm or deny the remarks in keeping with its policy not to comment on the Popes private conversations. The comments first were reported by Spains El Pais newspaper.

Church teaching says gay people should be respected, loved and not discriminated against, but considers homosexual activity intrinsically disordered. Francis, though, has sought to make the church more welcoming to gay people, most famously with his 2013 comment, Who am I to judge?

He also has spoken of his own ministry to gay and transgender people, insisting they are children of God, loved by God and deserving of accompaniment by the church.

As a result, some commentators downplayed the significance of the comments to Cruz, saying they merely were in line with Franciss pastoral-minded attitude and not in any way a challenge to current doctrine.

What the Pope was saying is, God loves you and made you just as you are, and therefore you should accept yourself as you are while struggling to live according to the Gospel,  said the Rev. Robert Gahl, a moral theologian at Romes Pontifical Holy Cross University.

Whether or not the Pope intended to break ground, there was a time when the Catholic Church taught that sexual orientation was not something people choose.

The first edition of Catechism of the Catholic Church, the dense summary of Catholic teaching published by Pope John Paul II in 1992, said gay individuals do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial.

Read more:

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The updated edition, which is the only edition available online and on the Vatican website, removed the reference. The revised edition says: This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates equality for LGBTQ Catholics, said the Popes comments were tremendous and would do a lot of good.

It would do a lot better if he would make these statements publicly, because LGBT people need to hear that message from religious leaders, from Catholic leaders, he said.

Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit whose book Building a Bridge called for the church to find new pastoral ways of ministering to gay people, noted that the Popes comments were in a private conversation, not a public pronouncement or document. But Martin said they were nevertheless significant, particularly given the original version of the Catechism.

The Pope is saying what every reputable biologist and psychologist will tell you, which is that people do not choose their sexual orientation, Martin said in a telephone interview.

A great failing of the church, he said, is that many Catholics have been reluctant to say so, which then makes people feel guilty about something they have no control over.

Martins book is being published this week in Italian, with a preface by the Francis-appointed bishop of Bologna, Monsignor Matteo Zuppi, a sign that the message of acceptance is being embraced even in traditionally conservative Italy.JERUSALEMParaguay opened its new embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, following in the footsteps of the United States and Guatemala.

President Horacio Cartes dedicated the embassy, making Paraguay the third country to transfer its diplomatic mission in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Romania, the Czech Republic and Honduras have said they are also considering doing the same.

U.S. President Donald Trumps announcement on Jerusalem in December was welcomed by the Israeli government. But it infuriated the Palestinians, who claim Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem as their future capital.

The U.S. Embassy move added fuel to the weekly Palestinian protests in Gaza demanding the right of return to Israel and the lifting of a decade-old naval blockade. The protests culminated last Monday, when Israeli forces killed nearly 60 Palestinians in clashes along the border.

The heavy death toll triggered a diplomatic backlash, with Turkey expelling Israels ambassador and consul general and several European countries summoning the Israeli ambassadors to their foreign ministries for questioning.

But the U.S. Embassy move has also sparked others to rally in support of Israel.

The entrance to Jerusalem was lined with the flags of Paraguay on Wednesday and Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the ceremony that he was there to salute a great friend.

Read more:

Israel, Palestinians spar over new Jerusalem embassies

Trumps decision to open Jerusalem embassy complicates promise to seek peace

The opening of the embassy was a great day for Israel, a great day for Paraguay, a great day for our friendship, Netanyahu said.

Read more about:AUSTIN, TEXASTexas has more than 1.2 million licensed handgun owners who can openly carry their weapons in public. The state hosted the National Rifle Associations annual meeting two weeks ago. And until Monday, the governors re-election website was raffling off a shotgun.

Guns are so hard-wired into Texas culture that last weeks deadly rampage at Santa Fe High School is considered unlikely to result in any significant restrictions on access to weapons in the Lone Star State.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott reacted to the killings of eight students and two teachers by calling for a series of roundtable discussions on school safety, starting with one on Tuesday in Austin. He said last week that he wants to find ways to keep guns away from those who pose an immediate danger to others.

But the states 20-year dominance by the Republican Party all but guarantees the meetings will be dominated by calls to boost school security and harden campuses  an idea backed by the NRA  instead of demands for gun restrictions, said Cal Jillson, political science professor at Southern Methodist University.

Thats in sharp contrast to the response to the Feb. 14 shooting rampage at a high school in Parkland, Fla., that left 17 dead. Three weeks after the bloodbath, Florida politicians defied the NRA and passed a gun control package after a lobbying campaign led by student survivors of the attack.

The difference in Texas is the Republican Party is in complete control. It is unchallenged at the state level, Jillson said. Even the young people from Santa Fe are not full-throated advocates of gun control to keep the children safe.

In fact, at a church service Sunday, Santa Fe High student Monica Bracknell, who survived the shooting, told the governor the attack should not be turned into a battle over gun control.

People are making this into a political issue, she said. This is not a political issue. Its not a gun-law issue.

Read more:

At least 10 people killed in Texas high school shooting, suspect in custody

Texas teen held in Sante Fe school shooting described as quiet, unassuming

Similarly, Santa Fe High sophomore Zach Muehe tweeted over the weekend, Santa Fe High School DOES NOT SUPPORT GUN CONTROL!

Sentiments like those could give Abbott political cover if his roundtable discussions dont lead to major changes.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, 17, is jailed on murder charges in Fridays attack. Authorities said the Sante Fe High student opened fire with his fathers shotgun and .38-calibre revolver.

Gun control advocates around the country have long pressed for such measures as expanded background checks and a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, but such measures would probably have had no effect on the Santa Fe High shooting.

Abbott has said he wants the roundtable discussions to include lawmakers, educators, students, parents, gun rights advocates and survivors of the November church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Tex., that killed two dozen people.

Abbott and Texas Republicans have embraced a steady relaxation of guns laws in recent years. Since 2013, Texas has reduced the cost and hours of training needed to be licensed to carry a handgun, allowed open carry for handgun license holders, and allowed concealed handguns in college classrooms and dorms.

In 2015, Abbott tweeted that it was embarrassing that Texas lagged behind California in gun sales. In 2017, he bragged about his accuracy with a pistol at a shooting range.

On Monday, Abbotts re-election campaign scaled back its shotgun raffle in the wake of the Santa Fe shooting, replacing it with a raffle for a $250 gift certificate. A photograph of the governor aiming a shotgun was removed.

After the Florida tragedy, U.S. President Donald Trump organized discussions on how to prevent school shootings and at least mentioned the idea of limiting gun sales, though little concrete came out of those. Abbott so far has committed to even less.

Texas holds primary runoffs Tuesday, meanwhile, and the Santa Fe shooting is not expected to be a deciding factor in any major race, just as the Sutherland Springs massacre barely registered as a campaign issue before last week.

And its not just Republicans. Former Dallas County Sherriff Lupe Valdez, who is favoured to win Tuesdays Democratic gubernatorial runoff and face Abbott in November, has called for stricter background checks and closing of the so-called gun sale loophole.

But she was quick to add: That doesnt mean Im against guns. Ive worn a gun over 40 years. It means Im against stupidity.

Lizzie Pannill Fletcher, a lawyer who is favoured to win a runoff for the Democratic nomination in a potentially flippable, Republican-held congressional district in Houston, not far from where Fridays shooting took place, also refrained from criticizing Abbott for not doing more than organizing discussions.

I hope that these discussions move us closer to real reform, Fletcher said Monday. Our lives depend on it.Ontarians will soon be asking themselves whether a straight-talking and strong-minded municipal politician can make the leap to become an effective provincial premier. Its a question Albertans were faced with almost 25 years ago.

I lived in Calgary during the 1980s and 90s, and watched the often-amusing and occasionally stunning rise of Ralph Klein. To say the man was a true original would be an understatement, but thats not to suggest that his success couldnt be replicated.

In the dozen years since Klein retired as premier of Alberta, and in the five years since he passed away, we have seen various politicians try to emulate both his roguish appeal and rugged approach  but none have come anywhere close until now.

Doug Ford is the first candidate who could credibly claim to be an heir apparent to King Ralph. Ford shares some of Kleins traits, including a sympathy and empathy for the frustrations that many ordinary Canadians have towards government.

The moment that clinched it for me was watching Ford launch his provincial leadership campaign from his mothers basement. While the pundits mocked his choice, and made light of the event, it struck me as something Klein wouldve done.

While Ford may not share Kleins faults, he might share the late Kings greatest gift  an uncanny ability to use his rough edges to convince voters that he is the real deal. Not everyone agreed with Klein, but we all knew what we were getting.

Voters like authenticity, and Ralph never hid his flaws. He made us cringe. He would show emotion. When he messed up, he fessed up  but never offered fake apologies when he felt he was in the right. He said what he did and did what he said.

Klein inherited a province that was adrift and awash with debt. In addressing the problems Albertans faced, he couched them in terms that anyone could understand. Alberta had to pay off a big mortgage, and then learn to spend less than it earned.

It was hard to swallow, but the truth often is. Klein had faith that the people of Alberta would come up with the right answers if they were given the facts. He never dumbed anything down, but had a knack for making the complex seem straightforward.

Klein was a blue-collar hero from a white-collar city. I couldnt imagine him lounging with oil executives in the leather chairs of the Petroleum Club, just as I cant see Ford doing so with rich investment bankers in private clubs along Bay Street.

The financial elite in Calgary might not have appreciated Kleins lack of political correctness, but they loved his economic turnaround  which led to one of the longest periods of prosperity in Albertas history. After all, nothing succeeds like success.

To be clear, none of this is to suggest that Doug Ford should copy Ralph Kleins policy playbook. The challenges Ontario faces in 2018 arent the same as those Alberta faced in the early 1990s  and different problems require different solutions.

That said, there are lessons Ford could learn from Klein. First, Ralph made a political virtue out of his political vices. He was often blunt, even painfully so, but he used that bluntness to show Albertans they didnt need to be coddled or patronized.

Second, Ralph never pretended to be someone or something he wasnt. He never sought to portray himself as a policy wonk or rigid ideologue, he was a fighter who relished a good brawl and liked to be judged by the friends and enemies he made.

Third, Ralph laughed off any attempt to remake his image. He knew he didnt have movie star looks, and that he wasnt a silver-tongued orator. He persuaded others through the force of his personality and by always telling it with the bark off.

In any political campaign, there is a temptation to play to the polls  to soften, to spin, to sand down the sharp points. Yet, Canadian flea markets are filled with the campaign buttons of failed candidates who tried to win by playing it safe.

Doug Ford was elected to Toronto City Council and the leadership of the Ontario PC Party by being true to his nature and to his beliefs. I dont know if Ford wants to try on the crown, but Ontario could use a little of King Ralphs Midas touch.

Goldy Hyder is President & CEO of Hill+Knowlton Strategies (Canada)

Read more about:The Liberals and New Democrats vaguely promise to lower Ontarios sky-high auto insurance rates. Yet for reasons of history and embarrassment, neither is promoting the obvious solution: public auto insurance.

Public auto insurance saves money for the same reason that public health insurance, also known as medicare, saves money.

First, it cuts back administrative costs by replacing a cacophony of competing private bureaucracies with one public system. Second, by spreading risk over the entire population  good drivers as well as bad  it reduces the average cost of insurance.

While rate comparisons are notoriously difficult, most studies show that drivers in public-insurance provinces face far lower premiums than those in provinces that rely on private insurers.

A 2015 report done by Deloitte LLP for the Manitoba government is typical. It found that drivers in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec paid hundreds of dollars less per year than those in other provinces.

What these four provinces have in common is that all offer some version of public auto insurance.

In all four, public insurance is so popular that it has withstood radical changes in government.

Why then is it not on the political radar in Ontario, where drivers pay by far the highest premiums in Canada?

The answer is that it was  once. Public auto insurance used to be the centrepiece of the Ontario NDPs policy platform. The New Democrats contested any number of elections with a promise to bring in public auto insurance.

But when the party was finally elected to government it balked. In 1991, a year after winning power, then premier Bob Raes NDP government announced it was scrapping plans for public auto insurance.

Given that the scheme might have led to job losses at the head offices of private insurers, it was deemed too politically difficult.

Andrea Horwaths New Democrats are understandably embarrassed to talk much these days about public auto insurance. Their platform in this election campaign promises to cut premiums by 15 per cent.

But it doesnt say how they would do this.

Liberal attempts to bring down auto insurance rates have been equally unsuccessful. Unlike the New Democrats, successive Liberal governments never flirted with public auto insurance. Instead, they took their cues from the insurance industry.

First, the industry told them that the lawyers were the problem and that expensive law suits were driving up rates.

So the Liberals introduced no-fault insurance to provide accident victims with a fixed set of benefits without their having to go to court. But rates continued to climb.

Then the industry told them that unscrupulous body shops and rehabilitation clinics which overcharged for their services were the problem. So the Liberals cracked down on them.

But rates still went up.

Then the industry told them that accident victims didnt need all of the no-fault benefits they were being offered and would be content with less. The Liberal government obliged. Yet still rates went up.

In 2013, under pressure from the NDP, the Liberals promised to reduce auto premiums by 15 per cent. They didnt deliver.

Now the Liberals and NDP are talking about postal codes. Both parties want to ban the industry practice of charging higher rates to drivers who live in areas where accidents are more likely to happen.

The industry will be agreeable. It will simply make up the difference by charging more to drivers who live in areas where accidents are less likely to happen.

All of this is playing around the edges. Regulation cannot drive down auto premiums significantly. Only reductions in the real cost of providing insurance can achieve that aim.

As drivers in four Canadian provinces know, public auto insurance can produce those real cost savings. Unfortunately, none of the parties in this election campaign seems to get that.Nowadays, we see that the responsible supplies and tracing the provenance of rough diamonds are thriving and widely discussed in the industry. Only recently, Human Rights Watch once again criticized jewellery retailers pointing out that not all of them can provide information about the provenance of goods they sell. At the same time, various companies try to establish their own tracing systems. Recently, IBM announced the creation of their TrustChain for the jewellery industry. Even earlier, De Beers started the development of a blockchain platform for similar purposes.

Today, Russia keeps up with the trend and maybe even moving ahead of it in some aspects. On the sidelines of the annual meeting held by Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) in Moscow last week, the representatives of the Russian Federation Ministry of Finance, regulating this market in Russia, and the worlds largest diamond miner, ALROSA, told the audience that they had been engaged in large-scale activities in this field for a long time.

Regulator protects the market

Alexey Moiseev, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Russian Federation, said that in accordance with the resolution of the authorities, a large-scale pilot project would start in this country on June 1, 2018 for marking jewellery. At the first stage, government authorities, jewellery manufacturers, mining and processing companies will establish exchange of information between them. this relates both to the goods made in Russia and imported goods. The information about them will be exchanged between the system participants  the Customs Service, Assay Chamber, Ministry of Finance and the market stakeholders, Alexey Moiseev said.

The pilot system is underpinned by the solutions devised in Russia and it is already being tested. During the next stage starting in 2019, each jewellery piece in a store will bear a special QR-code. Any buyer of a jewellery piece will be able to scan its code with his or her smartphone and get the information where the gold in it was mined and affined, where the stone was extracted and cut, where the jewellery piece was made, and so on, the deputy minister said.

He explained that the main purpose of this work is to protect consumers from low-quality and counterfeit products, the share of which in the market being a concern to the regulator. Unfortunately, there are substandard goods in the market now - for example, a hallmark on a jewellery piece may not correspond to the real one. This explains the complaints we receive from time to time that the diamond in the ring got scratched, the metal has changed its color, turned black or green. To prevent this, we are developing a system that will enable us to fully control the market and allow the customer to be completely protected and have confidence in what he or she buys. The customer will be able to see all the information in this system, and if any part of the information does not correspond to what the seller is telling, it will mean the item is fake. Similarly, the customer can be sure that the stone he or she buys is really natural, not lab-grown, Alexey Moiseev said.

According to him, the Ministry of Finance simultaneously examines the technologies, mainly developed in Russia, that will allow manufacturers to put this information not on the label but on the jewellery piece itself  both on the metal and on the stone. The regulator will switch over to marking jewellery goods later on and step-by-step, as soon as the appropriate services and manufacturers will be ready to do this.

Our ultimate goal is to have a computer-readable marking not only on jewellery pieces but also on their components, that is on their settings and inserts. Currently, we are looking into marking technologies, first of all into those developed in Russia, also paying attention to marking techniques applied to diamonds. That said, the system should function so that these data could be saved and transferred through all the stages even during the processing operations, for example, on a rough diamond or gold bullion. It is a rather complex integrated system, much more sophisticated than everything ever created. Each jewellery item will have an immutable digital trace at each stage. Practically it is a Big Brother, he said.

ALROSA responds to the consumers needs

ALROSA is also working on the development of a tracing system. We are in no way stimulated in this respect by the government, although our efforts to solve the same task coincided, Sergey Ivanov, CEO of ALROSA said. ALROSA has long been working on its own tracing system, as we see the change in the needs of both consumers and retailers. There is a strong demand from jewellery houses  not only in the United States, but also in China, India and the Middle East. Todays consumers are now interested not only in prices and quality of jewellery, but also in its ethical component, the stones story.

According to Sergey Ivanov, ALROSA is now developing a prototype of its own system to trace the stones provenance and route, including the development of a digital platform where a consumer will have access to all this information. It is expected that it will contain all the data  from the date and place of a stones extraction to the date and place of its cutting and polishing, technologically this can be traced even to the name of the cutter if this information is of interest to the consumer.

Taking into account the reputation, the brand of Russian rough diamonds, the compliance with the ethical standards, environmental standards, quality of our cutting and polishing, Russian jewellery traditions, it is very important that the customers should have an opportunity to get an online access to this data base, so that he or she would understand that exactly this jewellery item consists of the rough diamonds mined in such-and-such countries, including Russia, and cut at such-and-such factories, and that there are no toxic elements in the value chain that could influence the customer perception, Sergey Ivanov said.

It is expected that ALROSA will start the development of this system intended for large-size rough diamonds. Technologically, it is not possible to translate this system to the entire range of rough diamonds, he explained. We shall continue to study this issue, and it is possible that it is not necessary at all in the small-size segment. In the large-size segment  on the contrary. Firstly, these are higherend stones with a high added value. Secondly, the clients, who purchase these stones, show greater demand for this information.

At the first stage, ALROSA will include diamonds cut and polished at its own subsidiary, BRILLIANTY ALROSA, into this system. If Smolensk-based diamond manufacturer Kristall will be integrated into ALROSA, this system may also be tested there. Then, ALROSA will study how to involve other market stakeholders into the system.

Our solution is not an attempt to protect ourselves from other systems that are under development by other players in other countries. We communicate with our colleagues and look at other technologies, too. We do not see any problems here because eventually we are solving our common task  strengthening the consumer confidence in our industry. I think that various systems in the market will be mutually supportive, and the customers will choose which platform they would like to use, Sergey Ivanov said.

Responsible practices

While studying the issue, we could not find any examples of similar systems in the industry used in other countries yet, especially those regulated at the governmental level (although, Rough&Polished will look into this issue more thoroughly). At the same time, there are many similar systems in other fields. The currently popular Responsible Consumption has been long urging manufacturers to provide full online information, starting from the place of raw material production. There are such examples in the apparel and food markets.

The jewellery industry has always been one of the most difficult to regulate. In their journey to the store, both gold and polished diamonds go through many stages and many intermediary hands. This complicates the tracing of goods and also gives an opportunity for fraud. All of us know that there are cases of selling synthetic diamonds passed off as natural diamonds, and also cases when a fairly average-quality polished diamond is passed off as an ideal and high-end gemstone.

If the above-mentioned plans will be implemented, this will protect consumers to a great extent - at least, customers in Russia and ALROSAs clients. However, as Alexey Moiseev noted that the world market is now turned global and that is why if tracing is well streamlined in some country, this does not solve the whole problem. That is why this industry requires, first of all, joint efforts and co-operation.

Roman Bizyukov, Rough&Polished





EDWARDSVILLE  Authorities have charged a California man with money laundering after state police found more than $263,000 in a car he was driving.

Charged with two counts of money laundering is Daniel J. Hovland, 36, of Hayward, Calif. He is accused of transporting criminally derived property and carrying the property in bundles with rubber bands to avoid a transaction requirement. Bail was set at $200,000.

The charge came after a state trooper stopped a 2018 Toyota Camry, driven by Hovland April 26 on Interstate 70 in Collinsville. The details of the case became public Friday.

He was stopped for improper lane use, and told an officer he was traveling from out east back to California. However, he was unable to specify exactly from where out east he came.

Police brought in a drug dog who alerted on the Camry. Hovland told police he had $6,000 in his position. Police searched the car and found a suitcase in the trunk containing a large amount of bundled cash. Officers also found seven cell phones in the car.

Hovland declined to be interviewed without an attorney present. The Madison County States Attorneys Office filed suit under a state law that allows law enforcement authorities to obtain assets believed used in the drug trade.

The suit claims Hovland was unable to explain the money and that he did not have a legitimate source of income for that amount of money. The suit claims the cell phones were intended for use in concealing the proceeds from some form of unlawful activity.

Reach reporter Sanford Schmidt at 618-208-6449.EDWARDSVILLE  The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Graduate School and School of Nursing (SON) celebrated the graduation of nearly 45 doctoral students on Friday, May 4. The healthcare professionals completed the Universitys Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program with specializations in nurse anesthesia, family nurse practitioner or post-masters.

Just before graduating, the doctoral candidates presented their final practice projects on campus to a crowd of students, faculty, administrators, healthcare professionals and community members. Their projects all involved the analysis of a healthcare issue and, with strong research support, proposed a viable solution they will take with them to affect change during their professional careers.

With the explosive growth weve experienced in our DNP program, this year we decided traditional podium presentations were no longer a conducive approach for sharing these innovative projects, explained Andrew Griffin, PhD, SON assistant dean for graduate programs. Instead, we held sessions which consisted of an informal poster presentation, followed by a more formal 30-minute moderated question and answer segment. The exciting, engaged presentation atmosphere left students feeling empowered after having shared details specific to audience interest.

This innovative presentation strategy positively showcased our students high-quality DNP practice projects that will certainly make a significant impact on healthcare delivery, said SON Dean Laura Bernaix, PhD, RN.

Projects addressed issues including, but not limited to healthcare policy, communication and access. A prominent theme involved the use of technology to more effectively communicate with healthcare peers and patients.

My project focused on the implementation of a web-based application, named BlueLoop, to communicate with Type I diabetics within a moderately sized high school in southern Illinois, said Felicia Kimbrough, a nurse practitioner who pursued a post-masters DNP.

In her work as a nurse practitioner, Kimbrough recognized a need for high school students with Type I diabetes to communicate their health updates via electronic devices, since they were complaining about missing social time and interaction with peers when reporting their medical information at the clinic each day.

We used the app to share information regarding menu selections and the carbohydrate counts of the food items, and then the students were able to enter their blood sugar, how many carbs they were going to consume and how much insulin they took, Kimbrough explained. That information was shared with the high schools health center including the school nurse and the nurse practitioner. It was also shared with the students parent and anyone else they selected to receive the information.

Especially when working with the adolescent population that has always had access to cell phones and other technological devices, she continued. we as nurses and healthcare providers must adapt to meet their communication needs.

Nurse Anesthesia DNP students Scott Kahre and Jared Holton also created a policy application called the Advocate Platform.

Our project addressed the gap in advocacy for nursing, specifically for nurse anesthetists, but also generalizable to all advanced practice nurses, said Kahre. There is a huge disparity of leverage with nurses and the legislative process which influences how healthcare I accessed, whats available, associated costs and scope of practice.

According to its creators, Advocate Platform is a political resource tool that offers practitioners concise explanations of where their authority to practices comes from, who is in charge of maintaining policy changes and a synopsis of how policy has changed through history. It serves as a rolodex providing legislative contact information for healthcare professionals to access and use for advocacy.

Scott and I both have a passion for not only our profession, but also for lobbying for patients and improving their care, Holton explained. Through this app, we are able to advance patient care at a cost-effective rate and promote our profession.

This type of practice-oriented research and project implementation, along with the SIUE School of Nursings broad clinical opportunities, are what drew these innovative students to the DNP program.

There are three anesthesia programs in St. Louis, and SIUE by far has the broadest clinical experience to offer students, Kahre said. Now, having been to many rural areas, independent CRNA practices and part of major tier hospitals, I have a more universal, global understanding of not only variance, but also how they feed into a collective system.

For more information on the SIUE School of Nursings graduate programs, visit siue.edu/nursing/academic-programs/graduate/index.EDWARDSVILLE  The second year of an effort to solarize the Metro East is now underway, thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers who are passionate about bringing energy sustainability to the community, and saving homeowners on electricity costs in the process.

Weve broadened the scope of this effort to promote affordable solar installations for homes and businesses in this area, and its one of two or three projects that are going on in the state at the same time, said Chris Krusa, who is helping organize the effort, which successfully outfitted 38 homes with solar panels last year, most of them in Godfrey.

The project functions by giving homeowners a chance to pool their buying power, allowing them to earn steep discounts from the projects authorized installer. Backers are hoping to get a total of 80 homes converted to solar power with this leg, which is focusing on Edwardsville, and other Metro East communities. If they achieve that goal, the installer  St. Louis based Straight Up Solar  will offer homeowners even deeper discounts.

Theres a time limit on it, Krusa said. People will have to make a decision by the end of September, because the whole idea of a solar event is to get as many people as possible in a period of time, knowing that they are going to get a deal which is going to save them 15 to 20 percent.

A new solar array will cost homeowners about $25,000, Krusa said, but electricity savings will pay off the cost over six to seven years. A number of institutions, including TheBANK of Edwardsville, and the Clean Energy Credit Union, offer financing options for project participants if they choose not the pay the whole amount upfront.

According to Krusa, there are several advantages to installing solar panels on your home. The most substantial, he said, is the immediate savings on energy costs. The solar arrays, he said, can generate enough electricity to power an entire house. If a home generates more power than it is using, the excess can be sold back to the grid.

For Krusa, however, his hope that the installations will cut down on pollution and bring environmental benefits is the major factor behind his decision to volunteer with the project.

Ive gotten really involved in solar because I really firmly believe that we need to do something about global warming, and the most effective way that we can go after it is to help make it affordable for people to reduce carbon emissions is to go solar, he said.

The Metro East is one of three Illinois regions being targeted for mass solar panel installation. Similar projects, which, like the Metro East effort, are being carried out under the auspices of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, are underway in Champaign-Urbana and Bloomington-Normal.

To reach out to homeowners, the efforts organizers have created a number of Power Hours, which will be held throughout the Metro East. Upcoming events near Edwardsville, which are all scheduled for 6 p.m., include June 5 at the Watershed Nature Centers welcome center, June 21 at the Old Bakery Brewery in Alton, June 28 at the Granite City City Hall, July 19 at Newsong Fellowship Church in Edwardsville, and the Mannie Jackson Center for the Humanities at Edwardsville. A complete list of events can be found at www.solarizemetroeast.com.The United StatesEmbassy in Kampala, Uganda has enjoyed diplomatic relations with Uganda forover 30 years. Ambassador Deborah R. Malac currently heads the U.SMission to Uganda. The Mission is composed of several offices andorganizations all working under the auspices of the Embassy and at thedirection of the Ambassador.Former Samata Party president and textile revivalist Jaya Jaitly was disappointed to see that Indian actor Priyanka Chopra opted to dress up like a "British aristocrat" at the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. She says she could have opted for a "beautiful" sari as independent India has so much to show to the world.

"How sad an Indian actor attending the royal wedding in UK should dress like a British aristocrat at Ascot rather than represent a free and independent India in a beautiful sari," Jaitly tweeted on May 19, the day when actress Meghan Markle wed British Royal Prince Harry.

How sad an Indian actor attending the royal wedding in UK should dress like a British aristocrat at Ascot rather than represent a free and independent India in a beautiful Sari. pic.twitter.com/zXF9zpCbMq  Jaya Jaitly (@Jayajaitly) May 20, 2018

However, her complaint goes beyond Priyanka's dress.

Jaitly told IANS: "All these actors, they dress up in all these fancy gowns by fancy designers who pay them for wearing their outfits and so they get fat money. Now, I keep feeling as I am loyal to our weavers and our textiles in India and we are working all our lives to revive it... We never attach a human being (the weaver's name) with the brand name unless it has a designer's name."

"We will say Kanjeevaram or Sambalpuri or something else and that's the unfair practice all over the world and particularly in India."

The Quantico actress opted for a Vivienne Westwood suit and a fascinator for the royal wedding. For the reception, she "sparkled" in a champagne coloured glittery gown by Dior.

As founder and president of Dastkari Haat Samiti, an art and craft market to enable rural artisans of traditional Indian crafts to gain confidence in the marketplace through many innovative strategies, Jaitly has been at the forefront of promoting Indian handicrafts and textiles.

She questions why Indian actresses wear western gowns to red carpet events abroad.

"Even in Hollywood (red carpets), where if I see Deepika Padukone wearing long gowns... they never really can compete. It's like Indian fashion designers trying to do western dresses... Why don't they wear most beautiful gorgeous sari, and everyone will go 'wow'."

An Indian activist, Suhani Jalota, who runs Myna Mahila Foundation, attended the royal wedding in an elegant sari designed by Indian brand Raw Mango run by designer Sanjay Garg.

Counter-questioned about the existence of a dress code to attend the royal wedding, Jaitly said: "In the royal wedding, it was all about inclusiveness and welcoming others' society, people, race and colour. The royal family and all these people went all out to emphasise the American-African identity of the bride and everyone was raving about the bride's mother too because they were different.

"I felt sad when I think that why do we copy them and never quite get it right. We have so much to show and show off."

On the dichotomy of a dress code, Jaitly pointed out: "When somebody in a village in India says sar dhako (cover your head)', we don't want that... When somebody says, 'Don't wear jeans in college', we say 'Who are you to tell us a dress code?'. But if Queen in England descends an invitation and say you got to wear a hat, which is not part of your culture, you will start saying there was a dress code.

"I don't understand these various double standards."

She said people may not agree with her, but in her words, "Just like Priyanka has the right to wear whatever she wants, I have the right to express my opinion."

-IANSThe Archbishop of Delhi has come out with a circular, asking the Christians to offer prayers and observe a day of fast on every Friday for the nation ahead of the general elections.

In the circular addressed to all parish priests and religious institutions in the Archdiocese of Delhi, Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto said, We are witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our Constitution and the secular fabric of our nation, while urging the Christians to pray for the political leaders of the country as the general elections are nearing.

As we look forward towards 2019 when we will have new government let us begin a prayer campaign for our country from May 13, 2018 which marks the anniversary of the apparition of the Blessed Mother at Fatima, consecrating ourselves and our nation to the Immaculate Heart, the circular read.

Further he asked the faithful to forego at least one meal on Fridays. I request that we observe a day of fast every Friday of the week by forgoing at least one meal and offering our penance and all our sacrifices for our spiritual renewal and that of our nation.

Moreover, I earnestly request that we organize an hour of Eucharistic adoration every Friday at a convenient time in all our parishes, religious houses and institution specifically praying for our nation.

During this Adoration the enclosed Prayer may be recited, read the circular.Commenting on the need of a grand alliance for defeating the BJP in the next year's general election, senior Congress leader from Karnataka D.K. Shivakumar said that Karnataka was the beginning of the formation of a grand alliance and this was to be achieved by the secular parties coming together.

Shivakumar on Monday said that the Congress party and the Janata Dal (Secular) had to sort out their differences for the sake of forming a secular government in Karnataka.

Admitting that the Congress and the JD(S) were at loggerheads before the Karnataka state assembly polls, Shivakumar said, "In politics, I have been fighting against the Gowdas since 1985. In the last parliamentary election and assembly election against them, I won against his son, I won against his daughter-in-law. A lot of politics have been played. Lots of cases were also registered. But in the interests of the nation and party, we need a secular government in Karnataka."

"Rahul Gandhi has taken a decision that there should be a secular government here. That is what the entire country needs and that is why we have taken this stand (alliance with JD(S)). I had to swallow all this bitterness since this is my duty," he added.

The Congress, which emerged as the second largest party after the recently-held Karnataka state assembly elections, is stitching up an alliance with the JD(S) to form a government in the state.

Asked whether he was happy about securing an alliance with the JD(S), Shivakumar said, "Sometimes, individuality doesn't count here. Individuality is not important. Whatever collective or major decisions are taken, one man may like or the other man may not like. I also gave consent for the formation of this government."

On Saturday, Chief Minister-elect H.D. Kumaraswamy was invited by Karnataka Governor Vajubhai R. Vala to form the government in Karnataka, after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s B.S. Yeddyurappa stepped down ahead of the floor test in the state assembly.

Asked about the structuring of the cabinet, the Congress party leader said, "We will not discuss the cabinet formation with Soniaji (Gandhi) and Rahulji. We are going to Delhi to pay his father's (Rajiv Gandhi) respects. All decisions regarding the internal sharing of power will be taken up by the AICC (All India Congress Committee)."

Asked whether the Congress-JD(S) government would complete five years, he further said, "Time will answer. I don't want to answer it right now. We have various issues, options before us, I can't tell right now."

While Kumaraswamy was earlier expected to swear-in as Karnataka Chief Minister on Monday, the ceremony later got pushed to Wednesday due to the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite...The CBI on Monday filed a progress report in the Allahabad High Court in connection with the death of the father of a minor girl, who was allegedly raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar last year.

The next date of hearing in the Unnao rape case is scheduled for May 30.

Earlier in the day, the CBI booked Kuldeep Singh Sengar, who is in police custody on charges of rape.

A case has also been filed against him on charges of criminal conspiracy for falsely implicating the rape victim's father in another case.

Recently, the investigative agency had arrested two sub-inspectors of the Uttar Pradesh Police in connection with the death of the victim's father.

The woman was allegedly raped by BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar at his residence on June 4, 2017 when she had gone to his house seeking a job.

The victim's father was booked by the police under the Arms Act on April 3 this year and put behind bars on April 5. However, he was admitted to a hospital later the same day and subsequently died the following morning.

While initial reports claimed that the man died of natural causes, the postmortem report highlighted the presence of serious injuries on his body.The following companies are subsidiares of Masco: A&J Gummers, Airex 3 LLC, Arrow Fastener, BEHR PAINTS IT! INC., BSI Holdings, Behr (Beijing) Paint Company Limited, Behr Paint (Beijing) Commercial Co. Ltd., Behr Process, Behr Process Canada Ltd., Behr Process Corporation, Behr Process Paints (India) Private Limited, Behr Sales LLC, BrassCraft Manufacturing Company, Brasstech Inc., Bristan, Bristan Group Limited, Cambrian Windows, ColorAxis Inc., Davenport Insulation Group, Delta Faucet (China) Co. Ltd., Delta Faucet Company, Delta Faucet Company India Private Limited, Delta Faucet Company Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Delta Faucet Company of Tennessee, Diversified Cabinet Distributors Inc., Duraflex, Duraflex Limited, Erickson Framing, Glass Idromassaggio, Guy Evans Inc., Hans Grohe Pte. Ltd., Hansgrohe, Hansgrohe A.B., Hansgrohe A/S, Hansgrohe AG, Hansgrohe Armature Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Hansgrohe B.V., Hansgrohe Brasil Metals Santitarios Ltda., Hansgrohe CS s.r.o., Hansgrohe Deutschland Vertriebs GmbH, Hansgrohe Handelsges.mbH, Hansgrohe Inc., Hansgrohe India Private Ltd., Hansgrohe International GmbH, Hansgrohe Japan K.K, Hansgrohe Kft., Hansgrohe Ltd., Hansgrohe N.V., Hansgrohe Pty Ltd, Hansgrohe S. de R. L. de C. V., Hansgrohe S. a r.l., Hansgrohe S.A., Hansgrohe S.A.U., Hansgrohe SA (Pty) Ltd., Hansgrohe SE, Hansgrohe Sanitary Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Hansgrohe Sanitary Products W.L.L., Hansgrohe Sp. z.o.o., Hansgrohe Wasselonne S.A., Hansgrohe d.o.o., Hansgrohe ooo, Hansgrohe s.r.l., Hot Spring Spa Australasia Pty Ltd, Hot Spring Spas New Zealand Limited, Huppe B.V., Huppe Belgium S.A., Huppe GmbH, Huppe Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Huppe S. a r.l., Huppe S.L., Huppe Spolka z.o.o., Huppe s.r.o., IDI Group inc, Inrecon, Jet Acquisition LLC, Kichler Lighting LLC, L.D. Kichler Lighting Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Landex of Wisconsin Inc., Liberty Hardware Asia Co. Ltd., Liberty Hardware Mfg. Corp., Liberty Hardware Retail & Design Services LLC, Masco Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Masco Building Products Corp., Masco Cabinetry Hong Kong Limited, Masco Canada Limited, Masco Capital Corporation, Masco Chile Limitada, Masco Corporation Limited, Masco Corporation of Indiana, Masco Europe Inc., Masco Europe S. a r.l., Masco Europe SCS, Masco Framing Corp., Masco Germany Holding GmbH, Masco HD Support Services LLC, Masco Home Products Private Limited, Masco Home Products S.a r.l., Masco Retail Sales Support Inc., Masco Singapore Pte. Ltd., Masco WM Support Services LLC, Mascomex S.A. de C.V., Masterchem Industries, Masterchem Industries LLC, Mercury Plastics LLC, Milgard Manufacturing, Mill's Pride, Mirolin Industries Corp., My Service Center Inc., NCFII Holdings Inc., Newport Brass, Oz Acquisition LLC, Peerless Sales Corporation, SCE Unlimited, Service Partners, Shanghai Hansgrohe International Trading Co. Ltd., SmarTap, SmarTap A.Y. Ltd., Tapicerias Pacifico SA de CV, Tempered Products Inc., Texwood Industries, The Faucet-Queens, The GMU Group, The L.D. Kichler Co., Tvilum, Vapor Technologies Inc., Vapor Technologies Shenzhen Co. Ltd., Watkins Distribution UK Limited, Watkins Europe BVBA, Watkins Manufacturing Corporation, and Wellness Marketing Corporation.The following companies are subsidiares of American International Group: AGC Life Insurance Company, AIG APAC HOLDINGS PTE. LTD., AIG Advisors S.r.l., AIG Aerospace Insurance Services Inc., AIG Asia Pacific Insurance Pte. Ltd., AIG Asset Management (Europe) Limited, AIG Asset Management (U.S.) LLC, AIG Assurance Company, AIG Australia Limited, AIG Brazil Holding I LLC, AIG CIS Investments LLC, AIG Canada Holdings Inc., AIG Capital Corporation, AIG Capital Services Inc., AIG Claims Inc., AIG Egypt Insurance Company S.A.E., AIG Employee Services Inc., AIG Europe (Services) Limited, AIG Europe Holdings S.a.rl., AIG Europe S.A., AIG Federal Savings Bank, AIG Financial Products Corp., AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., AIG Global Asset Management Holdings Corp., AIG Global Real Estate Investment Corp., AIG Global Reinsurance Operations, AIG Holdings Europe Limited, AIG Insurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, AIG Insurance Company China Limited, AIG Insurance Company JSC, AIG Insurance Company of Canada, AIG Insurance Company-Puerto Rico, AIG Insurance Hong Kong Limited, AIG Insurance Limited, AIG Insurance Management Services Inc., AIG Insurance New Zealand Limited, AIG International Holdings GmbH, AIG Investments UK Limited, AIG Israel Insurance Company Ltd, AIG Japan Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha, AIG Kenya Insurance Company Limited, AIG Korea Inc., AIG Latin America I.I., AIG Latin America Investments S.L., AIG Lebanon SAL, AIG Life Holdings Inc., AIG Life Insurance Company (Switzerland) Ltd, AIG Life Limited, AIG Life South Africa Limited, AIG Life of Bermuda Ltd., AIG MEA Holdings Limited, AIG MEA Limited, AIG Malaysia Insurance Berhad, AIG Markets Inc., AIG Matched Funding Corp., AIG PC Global Services Inc., AIG Philippines Insurance Inc., AIG Property Casualty Company, AIG Property Casualty Inc., AIG Property Casualty International LLC, AIG Property Casualty U.S. Inc., AIG Re-Takaful (L) Berhad, AIG Resseguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Brasil S.A., AIG Seguros Mexico S.A. de C.V., AIG Shared Services Corporation, AIG South Africa Limited, AIG Specialty Insurance Company, AIG Technologies Inc., AIG Travel Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., AIG Travel Assist Inc., AIG Travel Assist Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., AIG Travel EMEA Limited, AIG Travel Inc., AIG Uganda Limited, AIG Vietnam Insurance Company Limited, AIG WarrantyGuard Inc., AIG-FP Pinestead Holdings Corp., AIG-Metropolitana Cia. de Seguros y Reaseguros S.A., AIGGRE EOLA LLC, AIGGRE Europe Real Estate Fund I GP S.a r.l., AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I GP LLC, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund I LP, AIGGRE U.S. Real Estate Fund II GP LLC, AIU Insurance Company, AM Holdings LLC, Ageas Protect, AlphaCat Managers Ltd., American General Corporation, American General Life Insurance Company, American Home Assurance Co. Ltd., American Home Assurance Company, American Home Assurance Company Escritorio de Representacao no Brasil Ltda., American International Group Inc., American International Group UK Limited, American International Overseas Association, American International Overseas Limited, American International Realty Corp., American International Reinsurance Company Ltd., American International Underwriters del Ecuador-Holding S.A., American Security Life Insurance Company Limited, Arthur J. Glatfelter Agency Inc., Avondhu Limited, Blackboard Customer Care Insurance Services LLC, Blackboard Insurance Company, Blackboard Services LLC, Blackboard Specialty Insurance Company, Blackboard U.S. Holdings Inc., Chartis Takaful Enaya B.S.C. (c), Commerce and Industry Insurance Company, Crop Risk Services Inc., Eaglestone Reinsurance Company, Ellipse, Fortitude Group Holdings LLC, Fortitude Life & Annuity Solutions Inc., Fortitude Reinsurance Company Ltd., Franklin Life Insurance Company, Fuji Fire and Marine, Glatfelter Insurance Group, Globe and Rutgers Insurance Group, Grand Isle SAC Limited, Granite State Insurance Company, Group Risk Services Limited, Group Risk Technologies Limited, Illinois National Insurance Co., Jefferson Eola Venture LLC, Johannesburg Insurance Holdings (Proprietary) Limited, Laya Healthcare Limited, Lexington Insurance Company, MG Reinsurance Limited, Mt. Mansfield Company Inc., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh Pa., National Union Fire Insurance Company of Vermont, New Hampshire Insurance Company, PT AIG Insurance Indonesia, Pine Street Real Estate Holdings Corp., Private Joint-Stock Company AIG Ukraine Insurance Company, Risk Specialists Companies Insurance Agency Inc., SA Affordable Housing LLC, SAFG Retirement Services Inc., Service Net Warranty LLC, Stratford Insurance Company, SunAmerica Affordable Housing Partners Inc., SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, Talbot Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Holdings Ltd., Talbot Underwriting Ltd., Thai CIT Holding Company Limited, The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania, The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company, Travel Guard, Travel Guard Group Canada Inc./Groupe Garde Voyage du Canada Inc., Travel Guard Group Inc., Tudor Insurance Company, VALIC Financial Advisors Inc., Valic Retirement Services Company, Validus Holdings, Validus Holdings (UK) Ltd., Validus Holdings Ltd., Validus Reinsurance (Switzerland) Ltd, Validus Reinsurance Ltd., Validus Ventures Ltd., Volunteer Firemen's Insurance Services Inc., Western World Insurance Company, and Western World Insurance Group Inc..The following companies are subsidiares of Centene: APS Parent Inc., AWC of Syracuse Inc., Absolute Total Care Inc., AcariaHealth Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy #11 Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy #12 Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy #13 Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy #14 Inc., AcariaHealth Pharmacy Inc., AcariaHealth Solutions Inc., Access Medical Acquisition LLC, Access Medical Group of Florida City LLC, Access Medical Group of Hialeah LLC, Access Medical Group of Lakeland LLC, Access Medical Group of Miami LLC, Access Medical Group of North Miami Beach LLC, Access Medical Group of Opa-Locka LLC, Access Medical Group of Perrine LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa II LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa III LLC, Access Medical Group of Tampa LLC, Access Medical Group of Westchester LLC, Accountable Care Coalition Direct Contracting LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Chesapeake LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Community Health Centers II LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Community Health Centers LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers II LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers III LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers IV LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers V LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers VI LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Elite Providers VII LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Florida Partners LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Georgia LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Maryland LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Maryland Primary Care LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Mississippi LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of New Jersey Inc., Accountable Care Coalition of North Texas LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northeast Georgia LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northeast Partners LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Northwest Florida LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Prime Health LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health II LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health III LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Quality Health LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Partners LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Physician Partners LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Texas Inc., Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Wisconsin LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Tennessee LLC, Accountable Care Coalition of Texas Inc., Agate Resources Inc., AirLogix, Ambetter of Magnolia Inc., Ambetter of North Carolina Inc., Ambetter of Peach State Inc., America's 1st Choice California Holdings LLC, American Progressive Life and Health Insurance Company of New York, Apixio, Apixio Inc, Arch Personalized Medicine Initiative LLC, Arkansas Health & Wellness Health Plan Inc., Arkansas Total Care Holding Company LLC, Arkansas Total Care Inc., B2B Gestion Integra S.L.U., B2B Salud S.L.U., Bankers Reserve Life Insurance Company of Wisconsin, Blackcrow Asistencia Medica S.L, Bridgeway Health Solutions LLC, Bridgeway Health Solutions of Arizona Inc., Buckeye Community Health Plan Inc., Buckeye Health Plan Community Solutions Inc., CCTX Holdings LLC, CMC Real Estate Company LLC, CT Poprad s.r.o., CT Presov s.r.o., Calibrate Acquisition Company, California Health and Wellness Plan, Cantina Laredo Clayton LP, Cardium Health Services, Care 1st Health Plan of Arizona Inc., Care1st Health Plan Administrative Services Inc., Carolina Complete Health Holding Company Partnership, Carolina Complete Health Inc., Casenet LLC, Casenet S.R.O., CeltiCare Health Plan Holdings LLC, CeltiCare Health Plan of Massachusetts Inc., Celtic Group Inc., Celtic Insurance Company, Cenpatico Behavioral Health LLC, Cenpatico Behavioral Health of Arizona LLC, 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Pennsylvania LLC, Centurion of Tennessee LLC, Centurion of Vermont LLC, Centurion of West Virginia LLC, Centurion of Wyoming LLC, Chrysalis Medical Services LLC, Clinica Santo Domingo De Lugo S.L., Collaborative Health Systems IPA LLC, Collaborative Health Systems LLC, Collaborative Health Systems of Maryland LLC, Collaborative Health Systems of Virginia LLC, Comfort Hospice of Missouri LLC, Comfort Hospice of Texas LLC, ComfortBrook Hospice LLC, Community Medical Group, Community Medical Holdings Corporation, Comprehensive Health Management Inc., Comprehensive Reinsurance Ltd., Coordinated Care Corporation, Coordinated Care of Washington Inc., Country Style Health Care LLC, Discare CZ a.s., District Community Care Inc., Dr Magnet s.r.o., Elche-Crevillente Salud, Envolve Benefits Options Inc., Envolve Captive Insurance Company Inc., Envolve Dental IPA of New York Inc., Envolve Dental Inc., Envolve Dental of Florida Inc., Envolve Dental of Texas Inc., Envolve Health, Envolve Holdings Inc., Envolve Inc., Envolve Optical Inc., Envolve PeopleCare Inc., Envolve Pharmacy IPA LLC, Envolve Pharmacy Solutions Inc., Envolve Total Vision Inc., Envolve Vision Benefits Inc., Envolve Vision IPA of New York Inc., Envolve Vision Inc., Envolve Vision of Florida Inc., Envolve Vision of Texas Inc., Essential Care Partners LLC, Exactus Pharmacy Solutions Inc., Family Nurse Care II LLC, Family Nurse Care LLC, Family Nurse Care of Ohio LLC, Fidelis Care, Forensic Health Services LLC, Foundation Care LLC, Godgrace Asistencia Medica S.L., Golden Triangle Physician Alliance, Grace Hospice of Austin LLC, Grace Hospice of Grand Rapids LLC, Grace Hospice of Illinois LLC, Grace Hospice of Indiana LLC, Grace Hospice of San Antonio LLC, Grace Hospice of Virginia LLC, Grace Hospice of Wisconsin LLC, Granite State Health Plan Inc., Growly Asistencia Sanitaria S.L., HHS Texas Management Inc., HHS Texas Management LP, Hallmark Life Insurance Company, Harmony Behavioral Health IPA Inc., Harmony Behavioral Health Inc., Harmony Health Management Inc., Harmony Health Plan Inc., Harmony Health Systems Inc., Health Care Enterprises LLC, Health Net Access Inc., Health Net Community Solutions Inc., Health Net Community Solutions of Arizona Inc., Health Net Federal Services LLC, Health Net Health Plan of Oregon Inc., Health Net LLC, Health Net Life Insurance Company, Health Net Life Reinsurance Company, Health Net Pharmaceutical Services, Health Net of Arizona Inc., Health Net of California Inc., Health Plan Real Estate Holdings Inc., HealthSmart Benefit Solutions Inc., HealthSmart Benefits Management LLC, HealthSmart Care Management Solutions LP, HealthSmart Information Systems Inc., HealthSmart Preferred Care II LP, HealthSmart Preferred Network II Inc., HealthSmart Primary Care Clinics LP, HealthSmart Rx Solutions Inc., Healthy Louisiana Holdings LLC, Healthy Missouri Holdings Inc., Healthy Washington Holdings Inc., Heritage Health Systems Inc., Heritage Health Systems of Texas Inc., Heritage Home Hospice LLC, Heritage Physician Networks, Home State Health Plan Inc., HomeScripts.com LLC, Hospice DME Company LLC, Hospinet S.L., Hospital Polusa S.A., Hospital Povisa S.A., Hudson Accountable Care LLC, IAH of Florida LLC, Illinois Health Practice Alliance LLC, Infraestructuras y Servicios de Alzira S. L., Integrated Care Network of Florida LLC, Integrated Mental Health Management LLC, Integrated Mental Health Services, Interpreta Holdings Inc., Interpreta Inc., Iowa Total Care Inc., Kentucky Spirit Health Plan Inc., LBB Industries Inc., LifeShare Management Group LLC, LiveHealthier Inc., Louisiana Healthcare Connections Inc., MH Services International Holdings (UK) Limited, MHM, MHM Correctional Services LLC, MHM Health Professionals LLC, MHM Services Inc., MHM Services of California LLC, MHM Solutions LLC, MHN Government Services LLC, MHN Services LLC, MHS Consulting International Inc., MHS Travel & Charter Inc., MR Centrum Melnick s.r.o., MR Poprad s.r.o., MR Zilina s.r.o., Magnolia Health Plan Inc., Managed Health Network, Managed Health Network LLC, Managed Health Services Insurance Corporation, Maryland Collaborative Care LLC, Maryland Collaborative Care Transformation Organization Inc., Mauli Ola Health and Wellness Inc., Medicina NZ spol s.r.o., Meridian Health Plan of Illinois Inc., Meridian Health Plan of Michigan Inc., Meridian Management Company LLC, Meridian Network Services LLC, MeridianRx IPA LLC, MeridianRx LLC, MeridianRx of Indiana LLC, Michigan Complete Health, Mid-Atlantic Collaborative Care LLC, Nebraska Total Care Inc., Network Providers LLC, New York Quality Healthcare Corporation, Next Door Neighbors Inc., Next Door Neighbors LLC., North Florida Health Services Inc., Northern Maryland Collaborative Care LLC, Novasys Health Inc., OB Care, OB Klinika, Ohana Health Plan Inc., Oklahoma Complete Health Inc., One Care by Care 1st Health Plans of Arizona Inc, Operose Health (Group) Ltd., Operose Health (Group) UK Ltd., Operose Health Ltd., OptiCare Health Systems - Managed Vision Business, PANTHERx Rare Pharmacy, Panther Pass Co LLC, Panther Specialty Holding Co LLC, Pantherx Access Services LLC, Pantherx Specialty LLC, Parker LP LLC, Peach State Health Plan Inc., Penn Marketing America LLC, Pennsylvania Health and Wellness Inc., Phoenix Home Health Care LLC, Pinnacle Home Care LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Illinois LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Indiana LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Kalamazoo LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Missouri LLC, Pinnacle Senior Care of Wisconsin LLC, Premier Marketing Group LLC, PrimeroSalud S.L., Pro Diagnostic Group A.S., Pro Magnet CZ s.r.o., Pro Magnet s.r.o, Pro RTG s.r.o, Progress Medical A.S., Prowl Holdings LLC, QCA Healthplan Inc., Qualchoice Life and Health Insurance Company, Quincy Coverage Corporation, R&C Healthcare LLC, RMED LLC, RX Direct Inc., Rapid Respiratory Services LLC, Ribera Lab S.L.U., Ribera Salud II, Ribera Salud Proyectos S.L., Ribera Salud S.A., Ribera Salud Tecnologias S.L.U., Ribera Slaud Infraestructuras S.L.U., Ribera-Quilpro UTE, Salus Administrative Services Inc., Salus IPA LLC, Secure Capital Solutions 2000 S.L.U., SelectCare Health Plans Inc., SelectCare of Texas Inc., Seniorcorps Peninsula LLC, Servicios De Mantenimiento Prevencor S.L.U., SilverSummit Healthplan Inc., Social Health Bridge LLC, Social Health Bridge Trust, Specialty Therapeutic Care GP LLC, Specialty Therapeutic Care Holdings, Specialty Therapeutic Care Holdings LLC, Specialty Therapeutic Care LP, Sunflower State Health Plan Inc., Sunshine Health Community Solutions Inc., Sunshine Health Holding LLC, Sunshine State Health Plan Inc., Superior HealthPlan Community Solutions Inc., Superior HealthPlan Inc., The Practice Properties Limited, The WellCare Management Group Inc., Torrejon Salud S.A., Torrevieja Salud S.L.U., Torrevieja Salud UTE, Traditional Home Health Services LLC, Trillium Community Health Plan Inc., U.S. Medical Management Holdings Inc., U.S. Medical Management LLC, UAM Agent Services Corp., US Script, USMM Accountable Care Partners LLC, Universal American Corp., Universal American Financial Services Inc., Universal American Holdings LLC, WCG Health Management Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of America, WellCare Health Insurance Company of Kentucky Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Louisiana Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Nevada Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of New Hampshire Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of New Jersey Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Oklahoma Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Washington Inc., WellCare Health Insurance Company of Wisconsin Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Arizona Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Connecticut Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Hawaii Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of New York Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of North Carolina Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Southwest Inc., WellCare Health Insurance of Tennessee Inc., WellCare Health Plans, WellCare Health Plans of Arizona Inc., WellCare Health Plans of California Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Kentucky Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Massachusetts Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Missouri Inc., WellCare Health Plans of New Jersey Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Rhode Island Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Tennessee Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Vermont Inc., WellCare Health Plans of Wisconsin Inc., WellCare National Health Insurance Company, WellCare Pharmacy Benefits Management Inc., WellCare Prescription Insurance Inc., WellCare of Alabama Inc., WellCare of Arkansas Inc., WellCare of California Inc., WellCare of Connecticut Inc., WellCare of Florida Inc., WellCare of Georgia Inc., WellCare of Illinois Inc., WellCare of Indiana Inc., WellCare of Kansas Inc., WellCare of Maine Inc., WellCare of Michigan Holding Company, WellCare of Mississippi Inc., WellCare of Missouri Health Insurance Company Inc., WellCare of New Hampshire Inc., WellCare of New York Inc., WellCare of North Carolina Inc., WellCare of Ohio Inc., WellCare of Oklahoma Inc., WellCare of Pennsylvania Inc., WellCare of Puerto Rico Inc., WellCare of South Carolina Inc., WellCare of Texas Inc., WellCare of Virginia Inc., WellCare of Washington Inc., Wellcare Health Plans Inc., Western Sky Community Care Inc., Windsor Health Group Inc., Winning Security S.L., Worlco Management Services, and nirvanaHealth LLC.earthrights.org

For Immediate Release

Contact:

Valentina Stackl (USA)

(202) 466-5188 x100

valentina at earthrights.org

U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Landmark Case Challenging World Bank Group Immunity

This will be the first time the Supreme Court will address the scope of international organizationsa immunity.

May 21, 2018, Washington, D.C. a Today the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will hear a landmark lawsuit challenging the immunity of powerful institutions like the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private lending arm of the World Bank Group. International organizations like the IFC have long claimed they are entitled to aabsolutea immunity from suit a an immunity far greater than any person, government, or entity enjoys a no matter how illegal their actions are or how much harm they cause.

The case brought by Indian fishing communities and farmers represented by EarthRights International (ERI) and the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, Jam v. IFC, challenges that claim. The Supreme Courtas decision to hear their case means it will consider international organization immunity for the first time, and decide whether international organizations can be held accountable for their harmful conduct, or whether they enjoy the special status above the law that they claim.

Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that IFC had aabsolute immunitya and could not be sued for its role in the controversial Tata Mundra coal-fired power plant that has devastated communities in Gujarat, India. The D.C. Circuit recognized the adismala situation the plant has created for the Plaintiffs, including the destruction of their livelihoods and property and the serious threats to their health, and noted that the IFC had not denied those harms. Yet the court found the IFC could not be sued based on prior D.C. Circuit decisions. One of the judges, however, expressed strong disagreement with IFC immunity and noted that another federal court had rejected the prior D.C. Circuit immunity cases, which she thought were awrongly decided.a

The Plaintiffs are pleased the Supreme Court will hear their case and optimistic that it will fix this erroneous decision. The case is Budha Ismail Jam v. International Finance Corp., No. 17-1011.

Statements

aWe are happy that our voices will finally be heard. We hope this will help us seek justice for our losses." - Budha Ismail Jam, Plaintiff

aWhen at a time we thought that all doors for justice seemed closed, with this judgment our faith in the judicial system is restored." - Gajendrasinh Jadeja, head of a local village that is a plaintiff in the case.

aInternational organizations like the IFC are not above the law and must be held accountable when their projects harm communities. The notion of aabsolute immunitya is inconsistent with Supreme Court precedent, and it is contrary to the IFCas own mission as an anti-poverty institution. We are glad the Supreme Court has agreed to hear this case and hope it will correct this error.a - Richard Herz, Senior Litigation Attorney at EarthRights International (ERI)

"Were grateful the Court has taken an interest in the case and we look forward to presenting argument going forward." - Jeff Fisher, head of the Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic

aThis is a new chapter for the accountability of financial institutions like IFC, and has reinvigorated our fight for justice. For too long, these institutions have used their might and power to curb the voices seeking accountability and justice. We are hopeful the courtas decision to change this case will change that.a - Bharat Patel, the head of MASS, an organization of local fishing communities that is a Plaintiff in the case

Background

From the start, the IFC recognized that the Tata Mundra plant was a high-risk project that could have asignificanta and airreversiblea adverse impacts on local communities and their environment. Despite knowing the risks, the IFC provided a critical $450 million loan, enabling the projectas construction and giving the IFC immense influence over project design and operation. Yet the IFC failed to take reasonable steps to prevent harm to the communities and to ensure that the project abided by the environmental and social conditions necessary for IFC involvement.

Construction of the plant destroyed vital sources of water used for drinking and irrigation. Coal ash contaminates crops and fish laid out to dry and has led to an increase in respiratory problems. Thermal pollution a hot water released from the plant a has also destroyed the local marine environment and the fish populations that fishermen like Mr. Jam rely on to support their families. Although a 2015 law required all plants to install cooling towers by the end of 2017, to minimize thermal pollution, the Tata plant has failed to do so.

The IFCas own compliance mechanism, the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), issued a scathing report in 2013 confirming that the IFC had failed to ensure the Tata Mundra project complied with the environmental and social conditions of the IFCas loan. Rather than take remedial action, the IFC responded to the CAO by rejecting most of its findings and ignoring others. In a follow-up report in early 2017, the CAO observed that the IFC remained out of compliance and had failed to take any meaningful steps to remedy the situation.

The harms suffered by the plaintiffs are all the more regrettable because the project made no economic sense from the beginning. In fact, Tata Power, which owns the plant, has begun trying to unload a majority of its shares in the project for 1 rupee (less than 2 cents) because of the losses it has suffered and will suffer going forward.

Against this background, several individuals harmed by the plant, as well as MASS and a local village, filed suit against the IFC in U.S. federal court in 2015. The suit was filed in Washington, D.C., where the IFC is headquartered. The federal district court ruled that the IFC had immunity from suit and dismissed the case in 2016; the D.C. Circuit affirmed the decision in 2017.

The central legal question the Supreme Court will consider is how to interpret the International Organizations Immunities Act (IOIA), which gives organizations athe same immunitya from suit aas is enjoyed by foreign governments.a Although the statute explicitly ties immunity to the immunity law applicable to foreign governments, the D.C. Circuitas holding gives organizations substantially broader immunity than that of foreign governments. The Plaintiffs have argued a and the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has held a that the IOIA should be read to give international organizations only the same restrictive immunity of foreign governments, which are not entitled to immunity from suits arising out of their commercial activities. Since a foreign government would not be immune from this suit, the IFC, which is made up of foreign states, should not be immune either.

###

EarthRights International (ERI) is a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that combines the power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment, which we define as "earth rights." We specialize in fact-finding, legal actions against perpetrators of earth rights abuses, training grassroots and community leaders, and advocacy campaigns, and have offices in Southeast Asia, the United States and Peru. More information on ERI is available at http://www.earthrights.org.The following companies are subsidiares of Caterpillar: Advanced Tri-Gen Power Systems LLC, Anchor Coupling Inc., Asia Power Systems (Tianjin) Ltd., AsiaTrak (Tianjin) Ltd., Banco Caterpillar S.A., Berg Propulsion International Pte Ltd., Bucyrus, Bucyrus Australia Surface Pty. Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Holdings Ltd., Bucyrus Europe Limited, Bucyrus International (Chile) Limitada, Bucyrus International (Peru) S.A., Bucyrus Mining Australia Pty. 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Read MoreA Sonoma County survivalist who has long been known for strange and violent behavior, and who already stands accused of gunning down his brother, has been charged with murdering a young engaged couple in August 2004 as they lay in sleeping bags on a beach in Jenner.

Shaun Michael Gallon, the lead suspect in the Jenner case for the past year, faces two counts of murder in the gunshot killings of Lindsay Cutshall, 22, of Fresno, Ohio, and her 26-year-old fiance, Jason Allen of Zeeland, Mich.

Gallon, 39, is eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted, but Sonoma County prosecutors have not said whether they will seek execution. Prosecutors also charged Gallon with attempted murder in a separate package bomb case in Monte Rio in 2004.

Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Spencer Brady said Gallon was never ruled out as a suspect in the cold-case murders.

After he was in custody for the death of his brother, the Sheriffs Department developed new evidence that linked him to the 2004 murders of Jason and Lindsay, Brady said. He added that prosecutors wouldnt elaborate on the new evidence entailed until Gallons preliminary hearing.

The Sonoma County public defenders office, which is representing Gallon, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

The charges, filed last week, are a major step in a long-running cold case. Sonoma County sheriffs investigators spent more than a dozen years pursuing the beach gunman, searching for suspects across the country while looking at gun records and eyeing serial killers.

Gallon was long considered a person of interest in the slayings, but the break in the case did not come until March 24, 2017, when Gallon allegedly killed his younger brother in Forestville, shooting him several times.

Investigators said Gallon, after being arrested, told police enough to tie him to the killings of Cutshall and Allen. But prosecutors held off on filing charges as detectives continued to dig into the case.

The allegations say Gallon, who was 25 at the time, shot the pair with a .45-caliber Marlin rifle at close range as they slept on secluded Fish Head Beach near the mouth of the Russian River.

The couple had been working that summer at a Christian youth camp along the American River in El Dorado County and had gone on a three-day sightseeing trip up the coast that would have taken them through Forestville.

Investigators said Cutshall and Allen didnt know Gallon, though its unclear whether they might have had an interaction with him before their deaths.

A motive has been elusive in the beach killings, as in the shooting of Gallons brother.

On that day, the mother of the two men called for help, saying 36-year-old Shamus Gallon had been shot with a rifle at the home where the family lived on the 9800 block of River Road. The family had moved to the home from Guerneville after the brothers father killed himself in 2013.

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The mother reported that Shaun Gallon had left the house with the rifle and driven away in his minivan, officials said. He was swiftly apprehended and charged with murder.

It wasnt Gallons first brush with the law. He was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for shooting an arrow at a man in Guerneville, just west of Forestville, on Jan. 27, 2009.

Gallon, described by investigators in that case as a survivalist, served a three-year sentence  spending some of his time at San Quentin State Prison  after wounding James McNeil of Monte Rio, who was sitting in a parked convertible on Mill Street when an arrow came through the soft top of the car and grazed his head.

Gallon had convictions in his 20s for resisting arrest, weapons possession, theft, drunken driving and hunting abalone without proper paperwork, records show.

The new attempted-murder charges stem from a package bomb that exploded on June 10, 2004, when 27-year-old Parvoneh Leval picked up a box left on her boyfriend John Robles car. Leval was treated for severe cuts and bruises on her hand and arm.

Cutshall and Allen were killed sometime after nightfall on Aug. 14, 2004, and before sunrise Aug. 16, officials said. Their bodies were found in their sleeping bags Aug. 18. Both were shot in the head. Cutshall and Allen were killed just weeks before they were to return to the Midwest to get married.

Detectives on the case pursued a number of possible motives in the killings  from sexual assault to murder-suicide, all of which were ruled out.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidyBETHLEHEM  One local mother first grew suspicious last September when her eighth grader, at Bethlehem Middle School, suddenly volunteered to stay late three days per week for after-school homework help periods.

In past years, he disliked having to stay after for homework and extra help. I quickly became leery of his reasons, and asked his teacher to check on his work, said the parent, whose name is being withheld by the Times Union.

It turned out that the boy hadnt been doing homework but instead was browsing through racy websites on the Chromebook the school had issued to him.

A lot of parents arent even aware of this, his mother said.

There had been other problems. During the last school year, her then-third grader, accidentally navigated to person.com, which appears to be a soft-porn chatroom, while searching for a site with a similar sounding name.

The principal spotted that one and called the boy into her office. He pretty much got scolded for this, like it was his fault that he didnt immediately report it to the teacher, she recalled.

The issue of kids reaching inappropriate sites on school computers isnt limited to Bethlehem.

While the state School Boards Association says theyve received no complaints about the phenomenon, there have been scattered reports in schools as far flung as Connecticut, Rhode Island, Washington state and Australia.

Bethlehem officials said they couldnt comment since this involved just one student.

From the preliminary information I have gathered, it appears this is an isolated incident, Bethlehem district spokeswoman Jo Ellen Gardner said. With student privacy in mind, the district will not comment on an issue that involves one student.

The mother, who says her family is religious, conceded that some of the sites may not be hard-core pornography. Among the sites shes found on her kids web browsing histories are those for the lingerie store Victorias Secret and anime videos such as Bikini Warriors.

But she says shes also seen adult sites accessed through YouTube, despite a filter the district has for that video channel.

Either way, her concerns point to some of the sticky issues that schools will increasingly have to confront as they rely more and more on web-based communications.

For one thing, she said the familys cell phone costs have increased since they rely on the hot spots when their kids want to do homework on their Chromebooks.

The Bethlehem districts website outlines the protections in place to guard against inappropriate web browsing on the 3,500 Chromebooks given to their students in Grades 3-12.

Even the protections can be problematic though.

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In Rhode Island, the state branch of the ACLU last year contended that student privacy could be violated when school officials track the browsing patterns of students.

It wasnt clear if Bethlehem was actually tracking student browsing.

And the eighth-grader's mother observed that the school has spoken a lot about teaching kids to avoid inappropriate websites.

The superintendent said well we need to do a better job at teaching our kids to make good choices, said the parent, who has had several meetings with school officials over the past year.

But she added: When we teach our kids about drugs we dont hand them drugs and say, Yeah  hold on to this. Dont use it. "

As it stood on Monday, the mother said she had successfully lobbied to let her eighth grader turn in his Chromebook and rely on printouts for homework and other assignments, despite the paperless policy.

And she was told the school is looking at further filtering the websites that students can access.

As for that homework that most kids do on their computers, she said her youngster had no assignments left to complete after the school day. He said he did it all at school, she said.

Note: An earlier version of this story identified the mother by name, who spoke to the paper on the record and agreed to be photographed. After a number of readers complained, the Times Union decided to remove that information.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTUMALTA  The town will explore establishing a new property tax  one that will pay for the town's EMS services.

Town Board officials are exploring extracting the nearly $500,000 a year it spends on ambulance services from the general fund and placing it in a separate reserve that will be funded through taxes. On Monday night, the board adopted a plan to go forward with a study to establish a new ambulance district. The new district and tax it would generate will ultimately need approval from residents in a November referendum.

"It will be like the library district," said Town Councilman Timothy Dunn. "Voters determined they wanted a dedicated stream of money to go to the library so they are assured library services. This is the same thing, a small amount of money, based on your home's assessed value, that you would be paying."

But some residents, like Lynda Bablin, oppose the move.

"I'm totally disgusted by it," Bablin said. "There is no reason to not continue with the status quo. They want to get this on the ballot in November. Why is there a sense of urgency? Why are they rushing through a referendum? They need to do their homework first before they force this on the taxpayers."

Scott Skinner, executive director of the emergency service, said the annual budget for the Malta-Stillwater EMS is $2.4 million and rising. Equipment costs continue to climb and so do the number of calls his paramedics and EMTs receive.

Since 2011, calls have doubled. In 2011, when it was just Malta EMS, his staff and volunteers made 1,843 calls. In 2017, after its 2014 merger with Stillwater, it made 3,515. In 2018, he projects Malta-Stillwater EMS will make 3,724 calls.

Malta pays a higher proportion of the expenses, $484,000 to Stillwater's $295,000, because it generates the majority of the calls. Of the more than 3,000 calls in 2017, only about 650 came from Stillwater.

"Malta has all of the urgent care, the surgical facilities, doctor's offices, Saratoga Bridges and GlobalFoundries. Malta has more people too. Homes are going in everywhere," Skinner said. "It's a big issue because the town is running out money to fill pot holes and pay its employees. If they do it, the general fund could go for general items. If there is an EMS district, the town won't have to worry about paying for EMS too."

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Supervisor Vincent DeLucia said the current EMS costs are absorbing money needed for roads, filling town vacancies and competitive salaries for employees. He also said a study, to be headed up by councilwoman Cynthia Young, will allow the town to make an informed decision on the EMS district. DeLucia foresees no additional costs to performing the study.

Dunn said that residents should remember that the town does not have a property tax and that the town is following all the proper procedures to determine if the EMS tax is needed. Many other towns in Saratoga County already have an EMS tax including Clifton Park, Wilton and pockets of Ballston.

"No one is questioning the need for an ambulance corp.," Dunn said. "If it goes forward, there will be a referendum in November. It will come down to how residents vote, something we can never predict."

Bablin is not convinced if should be considered.

"They are always preaching the gospel of not having a town tax and then they slap this onto Malta residents," Bablin said. "They should just be honest about it. They are doing it because they want money for highway equipment and raises for town employees. But we want no new taxes."New York State Police

CLIFTON PARK  A Halfmoon man was arrested Sunday for allegedly showing a video he made of a sexual encounter he had with a 16-year-old girl, New York State Police said.

Kyle J. Greising, 20, was charge with promoting a sexual performance of a child under the age of 17, a felony, police said.TROY  Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is rescinding the honorary degree the school gave to Bill Cosby in 2001 - weeks after the comedian's conviction for drugging and sexually assaulting women prompted other colleges to pull their degrees.

The decision to pull Cosby's degree came with a vote Friday by RPI's board of trustees, RPI spokeswoman Richie Hunter said in a statement Monday.

The disgraced entertainer in late April was convicted by a Pennsylvania jury of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman 14 years ago. The conviction, which came after an earlier mistrial, capped what has been a spectacular downfall for one of the countrys best-known celebrities.

In recent years, dozens of women had come forward, saying Cosby had spiked their drinks and sexually assaulted them. The accusations may have pre-dated the social media #MeToo movement calling out sexual harassment and assault, but Cosby had become a symbol of sexual abuse by the powerful.

Immediately after the conviction, several universities including Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Carnegie Mellon and Indiana, pull degrees that were awarded to Cosby.

The State University of New York board of trustees on May 3 had voted to rescind a degree it had given to Cosby in 2000 from SUNYs Fashion Institute of Technology.

The SUNY board at that time also took back a degree given to Metropolitan Opera pianist and conductor James Levine, which was given at SUNY Potsdam. While denying accusations of sexual misconduct, Levine in March was fired from the opera.

There were calls for RPI to strip Cosby of his degree shortly after his conviction on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

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Times Union columnist Chris Churchill, for instance, wrote that Cosby, who had been known as Americas dad on The Cosby Show, turned out to be a sick and terrifying predator.

You have to respect everyone, Cosby said when he received his honorary degree in 2001.

RPI and SUNY were among a number of schools that have rescinded degrees awarded to Cosby since the accusations against him erupted several years ago.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTUCLIFTON PARK  Shmaltz Brewing Company has sold its Clifton Park brewing facility and assets to Rich Buceta, owner of SingleCut Beersmiths, based in Astoria, Queens.

Beers under the Shmaltz name will continue with Shmaltz owner Jeremy Cowan retaining ownership and control of all its brands under the Shmaltz, Hebrew Beer and New York 518/838 Craft, and Alphabet City lines. Cowan also retains the exclusive licensing agreement with CBS for the line of custom Star Trek-themed beers. The details were announced in a press release.

Dan Bronson, general manager of SingleCut Beersmiths, said in a phone interview that the acquisition follows the rapid success of the SingleCut company's brand on the east coast and in Europe. IPA drinkers may recognize the winged 18-Watt IPA from their brand.

The brewery, founded in 2012, produces 11,000 barrels of beer annually at its Queens facility and only will produce its own line of beers at the Clifton Park facility. Referred to as SingleCut North, Bronson said it will redesign the current tasting room and offer many of the same amenities as its current Queens tasting room  like a large vinyl record collection and live music programming  which will continue to operate as usual.

Cowan plans on producing his beers under a contract brewing system, which Shmaltz had done prior to opening its Clifton Park facility in 2013. That process involved hiring other breweries to produce and package the company's beer. One of those facilities was the former Spa City-based Olde Saratoga Brewing company, owned and closed by California-based Mendocino Brewing Co. in January 2018 and remains closed.

The beers will continue to be brewed at the facility during this transition period, through late 2018. Cowan said he hopes to produce most of the beer with partners in New York State while doing small-batch creative projects in other locations. Shmaltz currently produces 26,000 barrels (approximately 806,000 gallons) annually.

Shmaltz will continue to make brand favorites like Slingshot, Jewbelation, and Hop Manna, while collaborating on creative and innovative beers with breweries where Shmaltz has a strong presence, like California, Florida, Washington and Illinois.

SingleCut will not be contract brewing Shmaltz products nor other products for non-Singlecut beer brands after the close of the transition period.

This is a rather unique opportunity for two brands to succeed, Cowan said in a phone interview. He said he was first introduced to SingleCut's owner Buceta during his time running the New York City Brewers guild.

The Shmaltz tasting room located at the brewery will continue to operate through late 2018. Current Shmaltz staff will continue to be employed with the company during that time.

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A new Shmaltz tasting room and bottle shop in Troy, on Monument Square at 200 Broadway in the former Subway storefront, is slated to open in late June and will continue operations as a Shmaltz holding. Shmaltz beers, beverages from around New York State and food representing Lower East Side (to connect to Shmaltz's Jewish roots) and Upstate farm-to-table fare will be served at the Troy location.

Neither representative disclosed the price of the sale nor annual sales figures in dollar amount, but Bronson said SingleCuts impact in the region will certainly be in the millions. Its Bronx-based distributor, Sarene Craft Beer Distributors, plans to add a salesperson and distribution truck to serve the Capital Region and promote SingleCut products to area retailers.

Cowan said Shmaltz also will use this opportunity to expand and promote its line of distilled products. The brewery was ranked by RateBeer.com as one of the top 100 brewers in the world in 2013, and has won many accolades, including a platinum award for Jewbelation 20 from the World Beer Cup.

Deanna Fox is a freelance food and agriculture writer. @DeannaNFox www.foxonfood.comNEW YORK  Efrain Rodriguez said he had never witnessed anything like what happened on Saturday near the Brooklyn cafe where he works.

As he was standing outside the Loma Coffee Shop on Broadway, near Myrtle Avenue, in the heart of a bustling transit hub, several people who were smoking started falling to the ground, Rodriguez, 47, a janitor, recalled on Sunday.

"They would take two puffs and bam, they'd drop right there," he said. "People just started falling to the ground. Right here, there were three strewn on the sidewalk," he added, pointing toward the pavement. "Over there, two more," he said, gesturing down Broadway. "The medics were here working until 9 p.m."

In all, the emergency workers treated 14 people believed to have been sickened by the synthetic drug known as K2, the police said. Some patients were found unconscious, struggling to breathe and vomiting. They were all given doses of naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug, and taken to hospitals, the police said. All of them are expected to survive.

Investigators on Sunday were trying to determine the source of the potent drug, and were seeking search warrants for two delis where three men were arrested Saturday for selling untaxed cigarettes, the police said.

Raddwan Alsaidi, 24, of the Bronx, and Marcial Cortez, 26, of Brooklyn, were arrested at the Big Boy Deli at 930 Broadway; Ashraf Rayshani, 22, of the Bronx, was arrested at the Star Deli and Grill at 943 Broadway. All were charged with selling untaxed cigarettes, and Cortez was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a knife.

A fourth man, Tyquan Holley, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, after a police officer spotted him holding what was believed to be synthetic cannabis outside 1139 Myrtle Ave., the police said.

Big Boy Deli was closed Sunday, and police officers were standing guard outside. Star Deli was open for business.

The city has struggled to eradicate synthetic cannabinoid drugs like K2, which mimic the effect of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and it was at least the second mass overdose near the intersection, which is on the border of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Bushwick. In July 2016, 33 people overdosed on a similar substance in the same area.

The drug in the 2016 overdose, a synthetic cannabinoid called AMB-FUBINACA that was originally developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, is 85 times more powerful than marijuana. Its presence prompted fears among doctors and law enforcement authorities of more potent illicit drugs to come.

On Sunday, Councilman Robert E. Cornegy Jr. called on the city to step up enforcement on the retailers believed to be supplying the drug to addicts who fan out into the neighborhood, startling residents with their zombielike appearance.

After overdoses from drugs like K2 surged in New York in 2015, the authorities carried out months of raids and the city passed legislation banning synthetic cannabinoids. The law also threatened the owners of businesses where K2 was peddled with shop closings, hefty fines and jail time.

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As a result, city officials said, emergency room visits plummeted 85 percent. But Cornegy said the scourge has persisted because bodegas and delis in the area are able to skirt the new law by using "runners," people loosely associated with the business, who stand outside and deal drugs.

Cornegy called on the Police Department to create a unit dedicated to cracking down on K2 and other synthetics drugs, which he said were disproportionately affecting black and Latino communities, like those in his district, which includes Bedford-Stuyvesant.

"We need extra eyes in places like this, particularly this corridor," Cornegy said, adding that law enforcement officials had told him there were often not enough resources to police the area intensively.

Residents have long expressed concern about the drug dealers who blend in among the heavy pedestrian traffic and use the shade of the overhead train tracks as cover to ply their trade.

Monica Adames, 34, a cook at the Loma Coffee Shop, said the police needed to patrol the intersection round-the-clock.

"Whenever police officers leave, they start dropping like zombies," she said. "We're tired of this."ALBANY  A top official at SUNY's Upstate Medical University resigned Monday in the wake of a Times Union report on apparent fabrications in his professional biography.

Posted online Saturday, the Times Union's story on the school's chief of staff, Sergio Garcia, revealed that a number of claims he made in a videotaped speech last fall do not stand up to scrutiny. Among them were Garcia's account of being present at what he said was the 2011 bombing in Afghanistan that took the life of a young diplomat, that he had been interviewed for a State Department post by then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and that former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice remains his close friend and mentor.

Garcia's account of the bombing  which actually took place in 2013, months after Garcia had left Afghanistan for an academic post in Ohio  was refuted by witnesses who were there, and sources close to Powell and Rice shot down Garcia's assertions about them.

Late Sunday, Upstate Medical University said Garcia would be placed on leave. By Monday, he'd resigned.

"After an expeditious review of the troubling accusations made against Upstate Medical University's chief of staff, and at the request of Upstate President Danielle Laraque-Arena, MD, FAAP, Sergio Garcia has resigned, effective immediately," Upstate Medical University said in a statement.

"The allegations are contradictory to Upstate's shared values of being open and honest, and the president and her leadership team will work together to confirm these values are instilled at every level of the organization."

The school declined to answer questions about Garcia's account. It also refused requests to make Garcia and University President Danielle Laraque-Arena available for interviews.

In a statement provided to the Times Union on Monday evening, Garcia apologized for what he referred to as "unintentional errors ... as I attempted to provide a lot of information in a short amount of time of my personal and professional journey in serving our country with honor and distinction."

He acknowledged that he had not been in Afghanistan when the bombing occurred.

In similar statements provided to the Syracuse Post-Standard on Monday, Garcia refused to discuss his debunked claims about interactions with Powell and Rice, and his assertion that he had worked in the White House in the immediate aftermath of the September 2001 terror attacks.

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"I will not discuss personal events or personal conversations," Garcia said, despite having described them in detail in his speech last year.

Garcia, 43, had been a $340,000-a-year senior vice president and chief of staff since his appointment in March 2017. The school is the Syracuse region's largest employer.

In March, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that Garcia had been nominated to a fellowship with the State University of New York's Hispanic Leadership Institute.

Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, distanced the governor from any involvement in Garcia's appointment.

"This is a SUNY endeavor and the fellows were selected by a steering committee of SUNY staff," he said. "The governor created the institute, but we have not played any role in picking the fellows."TROY  Four city police officers are accused of having savagely beaten and severely injured a 50-year-old man in a March 3 arrest that was recorded by a surveillance camera, according to motions filed in City Court.

The surveillance footage shows the officers kicking, kneeing and punching Lamont Lee after they had already wrestled him to the ground at about 10:52 p.m., March 3. The Times Union reviewed the footage Monday at the offices of Michael Feit, Lees attorney. Feit declined to release the recording.

In the video, police can be seen arriving where Lee and two other men are standing on Congress Street. The video contains no sound but Lee appears to respond to officers by placing his hands spread out on the wall with his back to the street.

The video then shows him reaching a hand into a left pants pocket. The officers pull his hand away and wrestle him to the ground. The other men stand along the wall in the background, watching as the four officers force Lee to the ground.

Lee, who is African American, and the officers, who are white, are then seen rolling around on the ground. Lee stands up and then is being forced back down to the sidewalk. An officer can be seen kneeing Lee to hold him down. While Lee is sprawled on the ground, one officer hits him in the buttocks. Another officer appears to kick him at one point and he is repeatedly kneed. Near the end of the video, an officer can be seen punching Lee several times in the head.

Lee was arrested without probable cause and savagely beaten by members of the Troy Police Department, Feit said in his motions to have Lees guilty plea to seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, loitering and resisting arrest in the case set aside. At the time of the plea, Lee was represented by the public defender's office.

Upon being taken to the Troy Police Station, the Desk Sergeant refused to allow Defendant to be locked up, but rather because of the apparent serious injuries to Defendants head, face and body, directed that Defendant be transported to the hospital, Feit continued.

"This is something that shouldn't be happening," Feit said.

Feit wants the case reopened, asking Judge Christopher Maier to set aside the guilty plea so information about the incident, including the video, can be aired in open court. The video was not shown during Lee's March court appearance when he pleaded guilty. Feit became Lee's attorney in April.

"It's my hope that what took place that night will be allowed to be part of a court proceeding," Feit said. "I want to get the officers into court to talk about what they did."

The court case brought by Feit was first reported by The Alt. The officers listed on Lee's arrest report are Louis Perfetti, Justin Ashe and Christopher Parker. The Alt identified Kyle Jones as the fourth officer.

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If Maier grants the motion, it would restore the original charges filed against Lee: third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, third-degree robbery, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest, possession of marijuana and first-degree loitering. In 2011, Lee was convicted of attempted second-degree robbery.

Lee pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge and was expected to be sentenced to three years probation. Lee had undergone back surgery several months before the March 3 incident and Feit said the sentence of probation would allow Lee to get medical care from his physician.

Feit asked Troy Police Chief Brian Owens to investigate the officers actions during the March 3 arrest and a subsequent April 24 incident in which, he said, Lee and a relative were taken from a parked car by police, who in a highly threatening manner, both physically and verbally seized both men forcibly, and put them on the ground in handcuffs.

The two men were not charged and were released at the scene.

A police department spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the incidents.

"I'm confident the officers did their jobs with the utmost professionalism with dealing with Mr. Lee," said Officer Nick Laviano, president of the Troy Police Benevolent Association.

The Rensselaer County District Attorneys Office has filed a response opposing the motion to vacate Lees plea.Washington

President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will "demand" that the Justice Department open an investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign, an extraordinary order that came hours before his legal team said that the special counsel indicated its investigation into the president could be concluded by September.

Trump tweeted: "I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!"

Trump's pressure on the Justice Department it asked its watchdog later Sunday to expand an existing probe of FBI actions  reached a new intensity with the demand, and came amid a White House strategy to combat the threat posed by special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. And the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said that Mueller recently shared a timetable that suggested that its probe could end by Sept. 1 if Trump were to sit for an interview in July, which is the legal team's new working plan.

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"We said to them, 'If we're going to be interviewed in July, how much time until the report gets issued?' " Giuliani told The Associated Press on Sunday, referring to the report Mueller is expected to issue to Congress at the conclusion of his investigation. "They said September, which is good for everyone, because no one wants this to drag into the midterms."

It is not certain if Trump will sit for an interview with Mueller, though the president has publicly said he would. Giuliani said a decision would not be made until after Trump's summit with Kim Jong Un, slated for June 12.WHITEHALL  Mayor Phil Smith has declared a state of emergency on Sunday in the Washington County village after an abandoned building on Main Street partially collapsed.

While no one was injured, village officials are concerned for residents' safety and began to demolish the building at about 7 p.m. Sunday. Broadway will be closed between Chapin Alley and Saunders Street while the building is being taken down.For one hungry woman, her fast food didn't come quickly enough, police say.

Albany police are searching for a woman they say pointed a gun at McDonalds employees at the store at 391 Central Ave. on Saturday evening after not receiving her food fast enough.BALLSTON SPA - On April 13, 2015, Jacobe Taras told his parents in a note that he could no longer take the bullies at Oliver W. Winch Middle School in South Glens Falls.

Then he took his own life using a shotgun. He was 13.

His parents, stunned to learn their seventh-grade child fell victim to anti-gay slurs, was thrown into lockers and had his books tossed into a shower, sued the South Glens Falls school district and school officials for allegedly failing to take action to stop the bullying.

On Tuesday, the family's wrongful death and negligence suit will go to trial before state Supreme Court Justice Ann Crowell in Saratoga County. A civil jury is expected to hear opening arguments.

On April 24, the judge rejected an effort by the school district's lawyers to toss the case. In the decision, Crowell said that on April 13, 2015, Jacobe attended school, came home, spoke to his mother and, after she left to run errands, committed suicide.

"I'm sorry but I can not live anymore," Taras wrote in the note to his parents. "I just can't deal with all of the bullies, being called gay, (expletive), being told to go kill myself. I'm also done with being pushed, punched, tripped. I'm sorry for all that I put you through. I love you."

The child's death took place in a district located at the northern tip of Saratoga County that, according to past social media posts, had become so notorious for student suicides that it was known in some circles as "Suicide Falls."

"They knew," Christine Taras, Jacobe's mother, told the Times Union in 2016. "Everybody knew the bullying was going on. But it's like, 'Oh, they're just being kids.' That's the school's attitude. No. We're sending our kids to school thinking they're gonna be safe but it's no longer a place to learn, it's a place to fear."

But a lawyer for the district said the death should not be blamed on the school.

"The defendants are sorry for the Taras' loss however they are confident [t]he proof will show they did not cause or contribute to Jacobe's death," Malcolm B. O'Hara wrote in a statement sent to the Times Union.

In February, a bill sponsored by state Sen. James Tedesco called "Jacobe's Law" passed the upper house. It would require schools to notify parents or guardians if their child is being bullied. The bill, co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, D-Albany, remains in the Assembly Education Committee.

Christine and Richard Taras are suing the district, the board of education, Principal Mark Fish, school counselor Terri Brown, gym teacher Jason Spector and teacher Susan Lieberman.

According to the judge's decision, the defendants contend they did not have any notice Jacobe was being mistreated or bullied at school or might harm himself. The decision said Brown, the guidance counselor, testified that neither Jacobe nor any other student told her about the bullying.

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The judge noted, however, that another student testified he told Brown and/or the principal about multiple bullying incidents involving Jacobe's books and name-calling in the gym.

That student said Brown and Fish took no action, but the defendants argue his allegations are irrelevant because he was not at the school at the time. The judge disagreed, saying the timing of the report does not make it irrelevant.

The judge's ruling said Spector, the gym teacher, was aware of Jacobe's books being thrown in the shower area of the locker room and "had actual knowledge of an incident where (Jacobe) was involved in a pushing and shoving altercation with another student."

The gym teacher did not consider the incidents bullying and did not document or report them, the ruling said.

The judge wrote that Lieberman, when deposed, did not recall an altercation between Jacobe and another student in her home and careers class. But following the boy's death, Lieberman had given State Police a statement about such an incident.

The school district defendants are being represented by the Glens Falls law firm of Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart & Rhodes. The family is represented by E. Stewart Jones Hacker Murphy.[May 20, 2018] Mexico's "Silence Law" Demoted OTC Discussion of Oil Reform - Energia.com

A report on Mexico's profile at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) has been published by Mexico Energy Intelligence (MEI), a Houston-based digital publication dedicated to regulatory, commercial and institutional developments in the Gulf of Mexico. OTC is the premier global conference for the oil and gas industry. This year it was attended by some 70,000 delegates, speakers and exhibitioners from more than 100 countries. Its speakers come from the top ranks of industry, government and academia. The report tells how Mexico's "Silence Law" indirectly nixed discussion of the unprecedented opening of the country's oil and gas resources to private investment. In fewer than 3 years, Mexico's National Hydrocarbon Commission (CNH) held 8 lease auctions and awarded 107 contracts to nearly 80 companies from a dozen countries. What has been the experience of bidders and Pemex partners? What is the outlook for production and policy continuity? What could be improved? Suh questions would ordinarily be the focus of OTC panels.



This year, however, a uniquely Mexican restriction of speech interfered with OTC programming. A "Silence Law" prohibits officials from speaking in public during the 3 months prior to a presidential election about their accomplishments. Prudently or otherwise, officials interpreted this law to include OTC. Given the unavailability of high-level government speakers, OTC decided to eliminate panels that would assess the success and misalignments of the upstream reforms. Although absent from the program, Mexico was not absent from the premises. Pemex had a booth in the main exhibition hall and there was a Mexico Pavilion in an adjacent building.

Ulises Hernandez was a last-minute, breakfast speaker on the final day. He spoke of Pemex's plans to develop its portfolio and to seek partners for frontier plays. Ernesto Rios, director of Mexico Petroleum Institute, said it could serve as a bidder's engineering partner in a lease auction. The presentations showed the expanding commercial ambitions of these government agencies. One panel on investments in the Gulf of Mexico featured a real-time survey via a cellphone app. One question asked about the "biggest inhibitor to unleashing Mexico's oil potential." 67% answered "political uncertainty." "Beyond matters concerning Mexico, OTC 2018 was another all-you-can-eat buffet of learning and networking opportunities regarding energy law, regulation and technology," observed George Baker, MEI's publisher. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180520005066/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 20, 2018] New data shows combined COPD treatments could help reduce annual cost of care

SAN DIEGO and AMSTERDAM, May 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Conference 2018, Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in health technology, announced new data suggesting that combining home oxygen therapy (HOT) with home non-invasive ventilation (HMV) as treatment for chronically hypercapnic COPD patients is more effective and less expensive than HOT alone. Comparing the accumulated costs of devices, doctor visits, medication, and hospitalizations to HOT alone using a US economic model, HOT-HMV exhibited an average annual cost savings of $3,927 per patient [1]. "Patients who suffer from COPD and face frequent hospitalization due to their disease previously had limited treatment and care options available to them," said Dr. Nicholas Hart, professor and clinical director of Lane Fox Respiratory Service, St Thomas' Hospital in London. "We're all searching for healthcare solutions that improve patient outcomes, but are also economically feasible  and scalable. For that reason, it's exciting to see data showing we can achieve both of these through a combination of therapies." The data were gleaned by an economic analysis of a Philips-sponsored, randomized clinical trial of 116 patients in the UK carried out by respiratory experts at St Thomas' Hospital in London. Results of the five-year, multi-center study were announced at ATS 2017 and published in the Journal of American Medical Association, but the potential health economic impact was previously unknown. The original trial data were used to develop an economic model from the US payer perspective. This analysis indicated the base-case incremental cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained was negative $50,856, suggesting HOT-HMV as a dominant strategy to both save costs and improve quality of life compared to HOT alone. A similar UK analysis demonstrated greater device costs, a savings of 2,328 per patient [2] in doctor visits, medication and hospitalizations costs, and also indicated cost effectiveness.



"COPD greatly impacts patients' quality of life due to the high potential for hospital admissions and disease burden, which results in increasing healthcare costs," said Dr. David White, chief medical officer, Philips. "These findings support the use of oxygen paired with non-invasive ventilation in the home to improve the patient experience and pave the way for more cost effective care." Philips at ATS 2018

Philips helps COPD patients improve quality of life every day with a wide range of solutions that enable patient management across the care spectrum. To learn more about the HOT-HMV study and Philips' suite of sleep and respiratory products, visit booth #231 at ATS Conference, May 18-23 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. For more on Philips' advanced solutions for sleep and respiratory care, follow @PhilipsResp or www.philips.com.

[1] Total US costs were $24,458 for HOT-HMV and $28,386 for HOT alone. For HOT-HMV patients, costs were $4,298 for devices, $10,805 for doctor visits, $758 for medication, and $8,598 for exacerbations; corresponding costs for HOT alone were $1,582, $15,033, $1,088, and $10,683.

[2] Total UK costs were 17,403 for HOT-HMV and 16,885 for HOT alone. For HOT-HMV patients, costs were 6,679 for devices, 5,947 for doctor visits, 97 for medication, and 4,679 for exacerbations; corresponding costs for HOT alone were 2,684, 8,275, 106, and 5,821. For further information, please contact: Kathy O'Reilly

Philips Group Press Office

Office: +1 978-659-2638

E-mail: kathy.oreilly@philips.com Meredith Amoroso

Philips Sleep and Respiratory Care

Mobile: +1 724-584-8991

E-mail: meredith.amoroso@philips.com 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 2017 sales of EUR 17.8 billion and employs approximately 74,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. News about Philips can be found at http://www.philips.com/newscenter. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-data-shows-combined-copd-treatments-could-help-reduce-annual-cost-of-care-300651413.html SOURCE Royal Philips

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 20, 2018] NanoScientific, the Journal for Nanotechnology Launches New Web Version Showcasing Pioneering Research and Applications

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NanoScientific, a popular nanoscience magazine is pleased to announce the launch of their web version, www.nanoscientific.org, an online portal featuring pioneering future oriented news and articles on Nanotechnology research and applications. Nanotechnology, the fastest growing sector of the world economy impacts every aspect of our society. NanoScientific publishes one-on-one exclusive interviews with pioneering thought leaders and researchers, along with the latest advances on nano-related tools for imaging and metrology where new applications are being unveiled at unprecedented speed. "Our aim is to serve the vast nano science community with informative engaging first-hand interviews on the latest breakthroughs in Nano Research," comments Keibock Lee, Editor-in-Chief. "NanoScientific articles focus on new and emerging fields of nanoscience research, with a high priority set on letting the audience understand the researcher's views and perspectives." "We cover a wide variety of topics related to nanotechnology advancements including tools that expand our ability to image, view and analyze at the ever shrinking precision of nanoscale metrology," adds Lee. In 2014, NanoScientific was launched to provide news and articles related to the field of Nanoscience across a wide range of multi disciplinary areas of research. Now distributed world-wide to over 40,000, NanoScientific represents one of the industry's leading scientific journals dedicated to nanoscale science and technology, playing a pivotal role in the advancement of scientific knowledge sharing by attracting a broad spectrum of researchers in the fields of physics, chemistry, biomedicine, semiconductor, energy, materials science and engineering. NanoScientific is also sponsoring, along with Park Systems a series of NanoScientific Symposiums globally. The first NanoScientific Symposium 2018 on Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) will be held at the Park Nanoscience Center at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany NY September 19-20, 2018. The Symposium is presented to give attendees the latest updates in SPM, an opportunity to present their research papers, attend a special short course on Atomic Force Microscopes and foster ongoing relationships in the field of nanotechnology.



NanoScientific Forum Europe (NSFE2018) will be held in Freiberg, Germany; co sponsored by Technical University Freiberg Oct. 10-12, 2018 and will feature a special session on "nanobubbles", which is a flagship project of TU Freiberg and Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology. NanoScientific is published quarterly and nanoscientific.org web site contains all the articles published in an easy-to-use online searchable format, along with news videos and applications. To be added to the NanoScientific mailing list to receive your free copy of the printed magazine register here.

About NanoScientific NanoScientific Journal is published quarterly to showcase advancements in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology across a wide range of multi disciplinary areas of research. Each issue covers informative articles about nanotechnology trends balanced with leading edge scientific research applications and concepts. NanoScientific has been published since 2014 and has a global distribution of over 30,000 in North America, Europe and Asia. Click here to register for a free quarterly printed copy. NanoScientific Symposiums are offered world-wide to share scientific knowledge and foster ongoing relationships in the field of Nanotechnology. Click here to learn more about the NanoScientific Symposium on SPM in the US and click here to learn more about the NanoScientific Forum in Europe. About Park Systems Park Systems is a world-leading manufacturer of atomic force microscopy (AFM) systems with a complete range of products for researchers and industry engineers in chemistry, materials, physics, life sciences, and semiconductor and data storage industries. Park's products are used by over a thousand of institutions and corporations worldwide. Park's AFM provides highest data accuracy at nanoscale resolution, superior productivity, and lowest operating cost thanks to its unique technology and innovative engineering. Park Systems, Inc. is headquartered in Santa Clara, California with its global manufacturing, and R&D headquarters in Korea. Park's products are sold and supported worldwide with regional headquarters in the US, Korea, Japan, Mexico and Singapore, and distribution partners throughout Europe, Asia, and America. Please visit http://www.parksystems.com or call 408-986-1110 for more information. SOURCE Park Systems

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 20, 2018] In 2018, up to 67% of the new crypto assets we followed were selling below issuance prices, According to Huobi Research

SINGAPORE, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Huobi Research, shared the latest '2018 H1 Global Blockchain Industry Overview and Prospects' report. According to the report, crypto assets crowd funding exploded in 2017. The funding amount was 23 times that of 2016. In 2018, up to 67% of the new crypto assets we followed were selling below issuance prices, however, a few projects still delivered great performances, such as Zilliqa, Tomochain, Bluzelle etc. In addition, the report elaborated in-depth aspects of the Crypto assets market, the Crypto Market Regulation, the Blockchain industry, and the Blockchain technology. The complete report will World premiere in Blockchain Festival Vietnam on May 24 and 25, presented by Huobi Pro. Hubery Yuan, Dean of Huobi reseach, will be unveiling the further analysis and explanation, expounding in greater details at the Blockchain Festival Vietnam conference.



This report shared is one of the highlights of the conference. There will be an immense wealth of industry knowledge shared by the 30 industry's top thought leaders, at the two-day conference, held on May 24 and 25, which will see over 1,500+ attendees. Topics in this international conference include technical developments and latest industry trends in the Blockchain industry, all of which was presented in both English and Vietnamese, with dual-screen language presentations, as well as the dual-lingual translator on-site for both days.

The conference will also see interactions between the attendees and 30 over projects, and will stand a chance to win Candybox Airdrops worth up to US$50,000. Attendees will also get to learn from successful venture capitalists, angel investors and private investors who will be sharing their hot tips on how their investment decisions are made. Students and professors from various fields at the conference will also be sponsored to attend the event for free, to be exposed to the potential career opportunities that the blockchain industry entails. For more information about Blockchain Festival Vietnam, head to: https://www.blockchainfestival.com/ If you are keen to report this event, please register your media pass here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1t5vqXjdv6CXoosIhl4gPNEJBznMeYP69cRsHd8l_64A/viewform?edit_requested=true The entire conference will be live-streamed from 10am (GMT+8) on 24-25th May. International fans may watch the live broadcast at this url: https://www.youtube.com/c/huobipro/live/

Media Contact: Tingyu Dong, media@Huobi.com Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180521/2138298-1 SOURCE Huobi Research

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] China's Epet.com Launches Canadian Pavilion for Imported Pet Food

CHONGQING, China, May 21, 2018 /CNW/ -- Canada's Ambassador to China, John McCallum, visited the headquarters of Epet.com, China's leading e-commerce platform for pet products, to meet its CEO, Yu Xiao, and celebrate the launch of the "Canadian Pavilion"  Epet.com's first pavilion. During the ceremony, Epet.com also sign strategic cooperation agreements with a number of Canadian pet food brands such as Orijen, NOW Fresch, Nutram, Legacy, and Lotus as well as renowned bakery brand Darford. The deeper cooperation enables Epet.com and Canadian brands to work together to develop and introduce more products to better serve Chinese pets. The opening of the Canadian Pavilion on Epet.com heralds a new era for China's pet industry, when consumers are increasingly embracing global brands. It is/span> also the start of Epet.com's new business model, as more national "pavilions" will be launched for the United States, Australia, New Zealand and countries in Europe.



"We are privileged to welcome Ambassador McCallum to the launching ceremony of Epet.com's first international pavilion. This marks the beginning of a new era for the company and our industry," CEO Yu Xiao said. "Epet.com is a leading company in China's pet food industry, and the pavilion model will help meet demand from China's increasingly brand-conscious pet-owners by providing an official channel for quality, imported products. Through this strategy, Epet.com is creating a platform that benefits consumers, foreign brands, as well as the company itself." China's rapidly-growing pet food market has caught the attention of McCallum, a veteran politician, economist and diplomat, who has been seeking to boost Canadian export business to China since January, when he was appointed as Ambassador to China. This wish brought McCallum to Epet.com, the second stop of his trip to Chongqing, where Epet.com is headquartered.

Through Epet.com, Canadian and other global brands will have direct access to China's booming pet food market, which is enjoying annual double-digit growth. China is ranked third in the world for dog owners, with more than 27 million dogs as pets. Almost 7% of Chinese households have owned dogs, while around 2% have owned cats. About Epet.com Launched in 2009, Epet.com is an independent e-commerce platform launched by Chongqing Epet Technology Co., Ltd. It now sells more than 30,000 pet products consisting of 748 brands with 5 million registered users and 100,000 daily active users. For more information, visit: http://www.epet.com/aboutus.html View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chinas-epetcom-launches-canadian-pavilion-for-imported-pet-food-300651655.html SOURCE Epet.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] Chakratec Raises 4.4 Million Dollars in Series C Round, to Bring Its Innovative 5-10 Minute Charging Technology for Electric Vehicles to Market

LOD, Israel, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Chakratec has announced the completion of its third financing round in which it raised 4.4 million dollars from the Israeli iArgento Group and the Singaporean company Goldbell. Chakratec's first investor was Capital Nature, which remains the company's largest shareholder. Chakratec has already raised 3.2 million dollars in its previous rounds. The present round will enable the company to conduct its first three pilot projects in Europe with three of Europe's leading utilities. The success of these pilots will lead to first orders later this year. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/694135/Chakratec_Electric_Vehicles.jpg )

Chakratec CEO Ilan Ben-David: "Chakratec has developed an innovative EV charging technology that obviates the need for upgrading the power grid, enabling rapid deployment of fast EV charging systems. The company is currently conducting pilot projects with three global energy providers that see our technology as the solution for reduced EV charging times, and a facilitator for global market penetration by electric vehicles." Chakratec was established in 2013 by three high-tech entrepreneurs who pivoted their careers to clean tech: Ilan Ben David, Nir Zohar and Dudi Pincu. The company has developed a unique, innovative energy storage technology powered by kinetic batteris using a flywheel concept. These batteries provide a high-power energy supply, allowing a large number (tens to hundreds of thousands) of charge and discharge cycles over a lifetime of 20 years.



Until today, fast charging of electric vehicles required a high-power electricity connection, which often necessitates a costly, complicated and lengthy process of upgrading the distribution network infrastructure. The use of kinetic batteries makes it easy to deploy fast EV charging stations anywhere, integrating all kinds of energy sources, at extremely low operating costs. The charging process developed by Chakratec can be compared to the flushing of water in a toilet tank - when a strong flow is needed, a lever is pressed and the tank empties rapidly and then fills up again. Similarly, when a vehicle enters a charging station, the kinetic battery empties, rapidly transferring the energy to the vehicle, and then fills up again. Chemical batteries cannot be used for this application due to the number of cycles and high power required. Chakratec has recently won the 2018 Outstanding Venture Award of the NREL Industry Growth Forum competition - the world's most prestigious competition in the field of renewable energy (NREL, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, is a world leader in the field). The company has also won the 2017 eMove360oAward for Electric Mobility & Autonomous Driving, Energy Storage category.

About iArgento iArgento is an Israeli multi-family office that provides wealth management, intergenerational wealth transfer, financial planning and equity capital raising services for early stage startups in Israel. iArgento raises capital from Israeli investors, as well as from non-Israeli investors mainly in North and South America. Website: www.iargento.com About Capital Nature Capital Nature operates a technology incubator, focusing on new energy and smart transportation projects and investing each year in four to five new projects. Apart from investments in early stage ventures, Capital Nature's incubator operates a test and validation site in the Arava region, and it also provides financing for applied academic research projects in the field of renewable energy conducted by leading Israeli research centers. To date, the company has invested some 10 million dollars in 17 different projects. The portfolio value amounts to more than 20 million dollars, based on the value of the portfolio companies. The company expects the portfolio value to double within two to three years. Website: http://capitalnature.com/ Contact: Nir Zohar marketing@chakratec.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Without explanation, SCOTUS rejects vagueness challenges to pre-Booker mandatory application of career-offender guideline | Main | In shadow of Parkland, a notable discussion with victim families about capital prosecutions in Florida 

May 21, 2018

"President Trump supports prison reform"

The title of this post is the heading of the lead item on "1600 Daily," the daily promotional email coming from the White House. Here is what appears under the heading:

Crime imposes a significant burden on Americans' well-being and taxpayer-financed resources. These costs are amplified by re-arrest rates for released American prisoners that exceed 50 percent. Many programs have been tried to reverse this trend over the past few decades. Some of them work; some don't. President Donald J. Trump supports prison reform legislation that builds on evidence-based programs to reduce prisoner recidivism rates. The President has called on Congress to help former inmates who have completed their sentences to have a second chance to become contributing members of society. The White House hosted a summit on prisons last week. "Prison reform is an issue that unites people from across the political spectrum," President Trump said. "It's an amazing thing. Our whole nation benefits if former inmates are able to reenter society as productive, law-abiding citizens." Learn how President Trump wants to fix America's prison system. Watch: Highlights from the President's remarks at the White House summit

This Fact Sheet (which is the first link above) strikes me as a reasonably detailed statement of reasonably progressive federal prison reforms (e.g., there is discussion of the need to "Expand access to prison work programs to allow all eligible inmates who want to work to gain job skills while incarcerated and prepare for successful reentry into society" and "Allowing BOP to place low-risk offenders in home confinement for the maximum amount of time permitted when appropriate" and "Requiring BOP to make female-healthcare products available for female prisoners"). I would be eager to hear from experts who are especially informed about prison reform and the federal system as to what particular prison reforms they see missing from these White House talking points.

Of course, criminal justice reform advocates are rightly troubled by this Administration's disaffinity for any front-end sentencing reforms. The Fact Sheet notable states: "Rather than lowering sentences, the President supports reforms that empower prisoners participating in recidivism-reducing programming to obtain 'earned-time' credits." I am not sure if this statement intimates that Prez Trump would veto a bill that included sentencing reforms, but I am sure this statement accounts from why so many GOP leaders are much more bullish on the FIRST STEP Act than on the SCRA.

Some of many prior related posts:

May 21, 2018 at 11:45 AM | Permalink

Comments

This story is about my son that is currently on Arizonas Death Row.

Article about Patrick



Sent: Monday, November 25, 2019 10:20 AM



Subject: No Justice For Patrick Bearup !!!





American Post-Gazette

Distributed by C O M M O N S E N S E in Arizona

November 25, 2019



NO JUSTICE FOR PATRICK BEARUP



A man sits on Arizonas death row for a murder he didnt commit, while the two admitted killers are or will be walking the streets, free men. Governor Doug Ducey can change that.



In February 2002, Patrick Bearup joined three associates, Jeremy Johnson, Sean Gaines and the instigator, Jessica Nelson, and went to the home of the victim, Mark Mathes. They were there to collect $200 from Mr. Mathes, which allegedly belonged to Ms. Nelson, Mr. Mathes roommate.



According to court testimony, Mr. Johnson beat Mr. Mathes with a baseball bat more than two dozen times. His body was then dragged to a car and put it in the trunk. Mr. Johnson, Mr. Bearup, Mr. Gaines and Ms. Nelson then drove to a remote area near Crown King in central Arizona and Mr. Mathes body was thrown over the guardrail into a ditch. Mr. Gaines then shot Mr. Mathes twice. Those are the gruesome details. All testimony and evidence demonstrate that Mr. Bearup was involved in the crimes but did not actually kill Mr. Mathes.



Mr. Johnson, Mr. Gaines and Ms. Nelson were offered plea deals. Mr. Bearup was not. Mr. Johnson and Ms. Nelson pled to second-degree murder and kidnapping and were sentenced to 14 years (now out on the street). Mr. Gaines pled guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years (expected release in 2025). Patrick Bearup got the death sentence. Oh, did I mention that Patrick Bearup is the son of Tom Bearup, former Maricopa County Chief Deputy to former Sheriff Joe Arpaio? The older Mr. Bearup and Mr. Arpaio had a falling out, and he ran against Mr. Arpaio twice, in 2000 and 2004.



This is nothing more than retaliation of the worst kind. Mr. Arpaio and former County Attorney Andy Thomas ought to be ashamed of themselves. Certainly the young Mr. Bearup needs to be held accountable for his part in the crimes. He has been in prison since 2002 and on death row since being sentenced in 2007. But being the only one not offered a plea deal when he was not the main perpetrator is beyond the pale. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren Granville, in sentencing Mr. Bearup, took Mr. Thomas to task writing a death sentence was not justified in the context of the relative responsibility of the co-defendants. But the judge was constrained by the law and could do nothing, and added, This Court finds that justice was not done for Mr. Bearup.



But justice can be done for Mr. Bearup. Governor Doug Ducey can commute this unjust death sentence. Mr. Bearup has served over 17 years and faces an end not worthy of the crime--even the judge agrees. Governor Ducey: do the right thing. Give a Christmas gift to Patrick and his parents, Tom and Adele Bearup, that you can really feel good about. Commute this sentence.



Respectfully submitted,

James Madison

Posted by: Dr. Tom Bearup | Nov 28, 2019 11:20:23 PM

Post a comment[May 21, 2018] Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone: Building a New Cradle for Chinese Unicorns

CHENGDU, China, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 18, during the Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair, Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone announced that the Unicorn Investment Foundation with a scale of RMB 10 billion will be set up to assist companies that have innovation technology and innovative commercial modes with great growth potentials to tackle the problems of financing and at the same time to set up a company gradient cultivation system to provide different-staged companies with targeted support policies respectively. Relevant heads of Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone indicated that, more than 3 unicorn companies would be cultivated this year and this number would amount to 10 in the next three years. In China, state-level hi-tech zones have already become the main accumulation places of unicorn companies. In 2017, 76.2% of Chinese unicorn companies were located in state-level hi-tech zones. Another report shows that, at present, a large number of unicorn companies are considered startups (nearly one third of unicorn companies established after 2014) and thus they require necessary policy support. As one of the first groups of Chinese state-level hi-tech zones and the first national independent innovation demonstration zone in western China, Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone hopes to provide "soil" for the development of unicorn companies. It will set up te mechanism for unicorn services to provide a full-range of support for potential unicorn companies starting from its inception.



Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone has already set up an incubation network ranging from professional parks, maker space, incubator, professional buildings to professional companies, with an overall incubation carrier area of 4.3 million square meters. It will also build the first hi-tech service supermarket in southwestern China by learning from the operation idea of modern supermarket to put hi-tech services on a "shelf". Entrepreneurs can "select and purchase" all kinds of scientific service products in accordance with their demands, while foreign companies can enjoy the one-stop service of innovation and startup. With the strong support of policies, in recent years, the new economy in Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone has showed strong development momentum and a large number of unicorn and potential unicorn companies such as Xinchao Media, XW Bank, TD Tech, Revotek, XGIMI, and Yiyun Technology have emerged. Among them, XW Bank is the first internet bank in western China, while Revotek, a biotech company, conducted the first global vivo test of implanting 3D bio-printed blood vessels into a rhesus monkey in 2016. As the pioneer of non-screen TV in China, XGIMI's three products obtained great innovation awards at the CES (Consumer Electronics Show) of this year.

With the increasing optimized industrial environment, Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone's attraction to global talents has been enhanced gradually. In recent days, Nobel laureate in Chemistry Robert Huber has been invited to work as the honorary dean of Tianfu International Nobel Biomedicine Research Institute. He is not the first Nobel laureate that Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone has attracted. Currently, 6 Nobel laureates have chosen to settle down in Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone to set up research institutes. When Professor Robert Huber arrived in Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-town he noted, "I have visited a lot of biological medicine industry parks in Europe, but Chengdu Tianfu International Bio-town has grown faster than any of them." View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chengdu-hi-tech-zone-building-a-new-cradle-for-chinese-unicorns-300651701.html SOURCE Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] WiredScore Announces National Expansion to Ensure Canadian Office Properties are Future-Proofed

WiredScore has officially announced the company's national expansion after a successful launch in 2017 that established Toronto as the company's first flagship market in Canada. Founded in New York City, WiredScore has expanded the Wired Certification platform to six countries to address the demand for the technology benchmark. Wired Certification rates the infrastructure, connectivity and technological capacity of buildings. The certification helps landlords communicate their connectivity as a valuable asset to tenants, prompting shorter leasing cycles and, according to analysis by the CoStar Portfolio Strategy team, an increase in price per square foot in Wired Certified assets. Six months after entering the Canadian market, 75 office buildings have committed to Wired Certification including CIBC Square, TD Centre, Scotia Plaza, One York Street, Maison Manuvie, and Vancouver Centre II. Organizations including Amazon, IBM (News - Alert) , Sun Life, CIBC and Deutsche Bank occupy space in Wired Certified buildings across Canada. "Our expansion across Canada marks a milestone in the worldwide adoption of Wired Certification. We have experienced overwhelming interest from Canadian landlords seeking to prepare their buildings for the next generation of office workers," said WiredScore CEO Arie Barendrecht. "This is a result of the growing recognition that first-rate echnological infrastructure is no longer a perk."



Adoption of Wired Certification across Canada has accelerated with 15 commercial owners leading the charge to ensure office assets future-proofed and globally competitive: Bentall Kennedy, Cadillac Fairview, Canderel, Carttera, Dream Office REIT, GWL Realty Advisors, Hines, Hullmark, IAM Group, Ivanhoe Cambridge, KingSett Capital, Menkes Development, Northwest Healthcare Properties, PCI (News - Alert) Developments, and QuadReal Property Group. Ivanhoe Cambridge leads the Canadian market as an early adopter of Wired Certification. Co-developed with Hines, 81 Bay Street at CIBC Square was the first Canadian development to achieve Wired Certification and Maison Manuvie, co-developed with Manulife, was the first building to achieve the certification in Quebec. Ivanhoe Cambridge has since committed to certifying its Montreal office portfolio.

"The Office of the Future is melding pure play office, with an enhanced flexibility of multi-use, and, of course, with rich hospitality characteristics. This is being achieved through both the building's physical and technical infrastructure, as well as through the comprehensive array of services and amenities that has become a vital part of the overall value proposition of our offerings," declared Jonathan Pearce, Executive Vice President, Leasing, Office and Industrial, North America. "WiredScore's high certification standards help us deliver a measurable productive work environment with recognized metrics that enable tenants of today and the future to be able to better benchmark and evaluate a particular building's infrastructure attributes. Ivanhoe Cambridge is proud of its valued partnership with WiredScore." GWL Realty Advisors leads Canada's West Coast with Vancouver Centre II being the first project in Vancouver to pursue Wired Certification. The development is set to come online in 2021. "Vancouver's innovation and technology economy is booming. We've designed Vancouver Centre II with leading-edge digital infrastructure that will enable tenants in this market segment to thrive," says Geoff Heu, Vice President of Development, GWL Realty Advisors. "Wired Certification sends a strong signal to forward-thinking firms that Vancouver Centre II has the capacity to exceed their technology requirements now and in the future." About Wired Certification Wired Certification is the internationally recognized rating system that helps landlords design and promote their buildings' great digital connectivity to tenants. Over 4 million tenants in more than 1400 buildings globally trust Wired Certification as the benchmark for internet that meets their needs. For more information on Wired Certification visit: http://wiredscore.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521005138/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] Syncsort Advances Security Strategy with Acquisition of Townsend Security's IBM i Data Privacy Products

Syncsort, the global leader in Big Iron to Big Data software, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire IBM (News - Alert) i encryption, tokenization, authentication, FTP and SIEM integration products from Townsend Security, a Washington-state based provider of data privacy software. Additionally, the companies are announcing a partnership agreement for Syncsort to resell Townsend Security's Alliance Key Manager product. The acquired products handle key use cases for encryption of data at rest, encryption of data in motion, SIEM integration, secure FTP and two-factor authentications for IBM i. These products and the new partnership further extend Syncsort's leadership in IBM i security and high availability products, and address the encryption key management needs of their enterprise customers. The two companies will work together on new innovations in cross-platform encryption. Townsend Security's Alliance Key Manager enterprise key management solution for IBM i, IBM z, Windows and Linux supports key database and cloud management platforms and complements the IBM i encryption and authentication offerings Syncsort has acquired. Townsend Security serves over 3,000 companies worldwide with NIST-validated and FIPS 140-2 compliant solutions to meet encryption and key management requirements in PCI (News - Alert) DSS, HIPAA, FISMA, GDPR and other regulations. "The increased focus on data privacy, including new regulations like GDPR, is raising pressure on IT to meet growing compliance requirements. The addition of Townsend Security's IBM i products extends our unique capabilities to help IBM i users tackle these challenges.The technical and product direction of Townsend's security software is a natural fit with Syncsort's IBM i security strategy, making the acquired solutions a great fit for our Syncsort Assure product portfolio," said Josh Rogers, CEO, Syncsort. "Additionally, encryption and key management have become a critical aspect of security and compliance management. Our partnership with Townsend Security addresses these needs by helping enterprises reduce risk, support business continuity and demonstrate compliance with regulations like PCI DSS, HIPAA and GDPR."



Townsend Security's Alliance Key Manager provides encryption key management and encryption services to a wide set of relational database solutions, big data solutions and blockchain platforms. With out of the box integrations for the IBM i, Microsoft (News - Alert) SQL Server, MongoDB, and a wide variety of SDKs and client-side applications, enterprises can easily protect private information. "Today's business environments require data be sent outside the organization to partners, vendors and customers. This complicates compliance strategies, and makes it increasingly difficult to prevent the data getting into the wrong hands because of employee error or malicious attacks," said Patrick Townsend, Founder and CEO, Townsend Security. "Syncsort, with their global market presence and channel and direct sales organizations, will be a great partner in extending the success of the IBM i security products, as well as our Alliance Key Manager. Their focus on optimizing, assuring and integrating data, provides a rich environment for innovation."

The acquisition and partnership help Syncsort deliver on its ongoing commitment to strengthening the IBM i platform and to companies that rely on its performance and resilience to drive their businesses forward. An additional delivery on this strategy, also announced today, is new, internally-developed software that formats and forwards IBM i machine log data to Splunk (News - Alert) for advanced analytics to support SIEM and ITOA initiatives. Koley Jessen served as legal advisor to Syncsort. About Syncsort Syncsort is the global leader in Big Iron to Big Data software. We organize data everywhere to keep the world working - the same data that powers machine learning, AI and predictive analytics. We use our decades of experience so that more than 7,000 customers, including 84 of the Fortune 100, can quickly extract value from their critical data anytime, anywhere. Our products provide a simple way to optimize, assure, integrate, and advance data, helping to solve for the present and prepare for the future. Learn more at syncsort.com. About Townsend Security Townsend Security creates data privacy solutions that help organizations meet evolving compliance requirements and mitigate the risk of data breaches and cyber-attacks. Over 3,000 companies worldwide trust Townsend Security's NIST and FIPS 140-2 compliant solutions to meet the encryption and key management requirements in PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA/HITECH, and other regulatory compliance requirements. Learn more at www.townsendsecurity.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521005278/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] EY Selects Richard Howe, CEO of Inuvo, as Entrepreneur of the Year 2018 Award Finalist in the Southwest region

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inuvo, Inc. (NYSE American:INUV), a leading provider of artificial intelligence for advertising that serves partners, brands and agencies, today announced that EY has selected President & CEO, Richard Howe, as a finalist for the Entrepreneur of the Year  2018 Award in the Southwest region.

The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs and their businesses who are excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Richard Howe was selected as a finalist by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced at a special gala event on Saturday, June 23, 2018 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. Richard Howe commented, This award is a testament to the dedication, perseverance, and excellence of the team we have in place at Inuvo. Our beginnings were atypical and in the early days dire, so to have come from that to an $80M annual business with industry leading artificial intelligence speaks volumes about our people. This is their award. Now in its 32nd year, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities and more than 60 countries throughout the world. Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur of the Year National competition. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the Entrepreneur of the Year National Overall Award winner, will be announced at the Entrepreneur of the Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California, on November 17, 2018. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum, the nations most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. About Entrepreneur of The Year

Entrepreneur of the Year, founded by EY, is the worlds most prestigious business awards program for entrepreneurs, chosen from an independent panel of judges including entrereneurs and prominent leaders from business, finance, and the local community. The program makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global awards program of its kind, Entrepreneur of the Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities and more than 60 countries. ey.com/eon



About Inuvo, Inc.

Inuvo, Inc. (NYSE American:INUV) is a market leader in intelligent advertising, aligning brands with appropriate content and consumer intent. The artificial intelligence within our patented IntentKeyTM leverages contextually-based machine learning that mirrors the manner in which the human brain can instantly associate ideas, emotions, places, people and objects. Inuvo harnesses this power by delivering high performing campaigns reaching audiences that would typically be missed. To learn more about Inuvo, please visit www.inuvo.com or download our app for Apple iPhone or for Android. Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve certain risks and uncertainties within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words or expressions such as "anticipate," "plan," "will," "intend," "believe" or "expect" or variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements made with respect to expectations with respect to our lack of profitable operating history, successful integration of the business acquired in February 2017, changes in our business, potential need for additional capital, fluctuations in demand; changes to economic growth in the U.S. economy; and government policies and regulations, including, but not limited to those affecting the Internet, all as set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 as filed with the SEC on February 8, 2018. All forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, many of which are generally outside the control of Inuvo and are difficult to predict. Inuvo undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Company Contact:

Inuvo, Inc.

Wally Ruiz, Chief Financial Officer

501-205-8397

wallace.ruiz@inuvo.com Investor Contact:

KCSA Strategic Communications

Valter Pinto, Managing Director

212-896-1254

Valter@kcsa.com



[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] In Honor of Memorial Day, Leesa Sleep Drives More Sales and Donates More Mattresses to Help the World Sleep Better

Shoppers who choose Leesa get an amazing mattress, save money and join Leesa in helping donate mattresses to those seeking refuge from homelessness, domestic risk and human trafficking VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., May 21, 2018 /CNW/ -- Leesa Sleep, the leading direct-to-consumer online luxury mattress retailer, today announced a series of upcoming Memorial Day weekend sales and giving events in honor of the holiday. By choosing Leesa, consumers not only get the best of the new breed of mattresses that are made right here in America, they also join Leesa in their One-Ten Program, providing mattresses for those in shelters for the homeless, those at domestic risk and young people saved from human trafficking. Consumers can take advantage of Leesa's Memorial Day weekend sale, which continues through June 6 . All shoppers will receive discounts on Leesa mattresses  mattresses that receive more genuine five-star customer reviews than any other mattress. The offer includes $150 off the original Leesa mattress as well as $225 off the premium hybrid Sapira mattress. For Canada , Leesa will hold a sale in honor of Victoria Day starting on May 9 . Canadian customers will get C$150 off the Leesa mattress and C$270 off the Sapira mattress. The sales are applicable to Leesa's online purchases and through their partnership with West Elm where, if preferred, customers can try Leesa's award-winning mattresses before buying them. As a certified B Corp, Leesa measures its impact on the world just as heavily as it does its financial success, and so in the midst of impressive business growth, Leesa's social impact program has emained core to the company. In its first 3 years, Leesa has donated more than 26,000 mattresses through giving events and donations to nonprofits that serve people seeking refuge from homelessness, domestic risk and human trafficking. Leesa has already committed to donating an additional 4,000 mattresses over the next couple of months. As part of their Memorial Day weekend sale initiative, the company will be participating in numerous upcoming giving events at shelters and other nonprofits all over the United States.



On Friday, May 25 , Leesa will participate in the grand opening of the LA Dream Center's first women veteran center in honor of Memorial Day. This program is designed to equip women veterans with the foundational skills needed to transition back into civilian life. The LA Dream Center, a faith-based charitable organization that finds and fills the needs of those struggling, aims to not only meet the immediate needs of communities by providing food and clothing, but also focus on the full successful transformation of people's lives, all free of charge.

To date, Leesa has donated more than 700 mattresses to the LA Dream Center's various programs. Additional events upcoming in June and July include: Leesa and the Baltimore Ravens will donate 50 mattresses to the Ashley Treatment Center in Baltimore, MD , an organization that provides comprehensive treatment for those recovering from addiction

, an organization that provides comprehensive treatment for those recovering from addiction Leesa will donate an additional 220 mattresses to the Bowery Mission's Tribeca campus in New York , an organization that provides meals, shelter and necessary care for those experiencing homelessness "Leesa's One-Ten Program is at the heart of everything we do, and has been since we started in 2015," said David Wolfe, CEO of Leesa Sleep. "We exist to provide quality products and to spearhead the fight to end bedlessness by giving those less fortunate the opportunity for a good night's sleep  and we are happy to be accomplishing both with this Memorial Day sale."

For more information on Leesa and its growing sleep portfolio of mattresses, blankets, sheets, pillows, foundations and bed frames, visit www.leesa.com. About Leesa Sleep, LLC

Based in Virginia Beach, Va., Leesa is a direct-to-consumer online luxury mattress company that offers American-made mattresses delivered directly to consumers' doors. From its start, Leesa has measured its own success not just by the bottom line, but by the company's overall social impact. To date, Leesa's One-Ten program has provided more than 26,000 mattresses to those in need. Leesa offers a 100-night risk-free trial, free shipping and no-hassle returns. In 2016, Leesa was recognized as a certified B Corp, joining forces with more than 2,100 companies using business as a force for good. The company currently offers free shipping to the U.S., U.K., Canada and Germany. For more information, visit www.leesa.com. Media Contact:

Dina Binney

Kwittken

dbinney@kwittken.com

(646) 747-0156 View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/in-honor-of-memorial-day-leesa-sleep-drives-more-sales-and-donates-more-mattresses-to-help-the-world-sleep-better-300651823.html SOURCE Leesa Sleep, LLC

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] Hotels.com App Wins 2018 MediaPost Appy Award in Travel & Tourism Category

NEWTOWN, Pa., May 21, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hotels.com and EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) announced their triumphant win at the 2018 MediaPost Appy Awards in the Travel and Tourism category this week.





The Hotels.com mobile app, developed in collaboration with EPAM Systems, Inc., a leading global provider of digital platform engineering and software development services, has been crowned the best app developed for airlines, hotels, travel search engines, destinations, cruises, travel advice or car rentals. With over 70 million downloads and a 4.5+ star rating from consumers on both iOS and Android app stores, the Hotels.com app has now been recognized by the industry leading Appy Awards, which honor creativity and excellence in app design. The app provides a simple, fast and secure way for users to plan, book and manage hotel reservations, and allows travelers to book hundreds of thousands of places to stay around the world in a few simple clicks. Were seeing up to 55% of our traffic now coming from mobile devices, so developing and investing in our app experience to make it as rewarding as possible for customers is a key priority, said Daniel Craig, VP of Mobile at Hotels.com brand. Were always looking to push the boundaries and constantly innovate, so for our work to be recognized by the Appy Awards, alongside our technology partner EPAM, is a fantastic achievement. We continue to evolve our technology, so watch this space for more mobile innovation coming soon. We are honored to be recognized with our partner, Hotels.com, for the Appy Award, which demonstrates our ability to deliver our customers vision through our expertise in design and user experience, software development, mobile, big data and DevOps/TechOps, said Balazs Fejes, Co-Head Global Business, EPAM. We value our over 10-year collaboration with Hotels.com, and look forward to continuing to push for more innovative, customer-centric user experiences. The Hotels.com app helps users discover hotels through in-depth sort and filter options and geolocation features. Users can compare hotels by features and prices, explore exclusive deals and book properties vailable that night in their location up until 5am. The app also offers fantastic post-booking, in-stay functionality, with features such as innovative keyless entry using mobile key technology, which allows travelers to check-in, check-out and access their room through their mobile device.



MediaPost's APPY Awards is celebrating its 21st Anniversary. MediaPost Communications is the largest and most influential media, marketing and advertising site providing news, blogs, and directories to help its community of more than 150,000 members better plan and buy both traditional and online advertising. Hotels.com accepted the 2018 APPY Award in Travel & Tourism during the awards ceremony on May 15, 2018 in New York City. To view the Hotels.com app, visit www.hotels.com/hotel-deals/app/. To learn more about EPAMs product development and digital platform engineering expertise, please visit www.epam.com.

About Hotels.com (or Hotels.com) Hotels.com is the most rewarding way to book a place to stay. We really love travel and we know you do too. Thats why we make it really easy to book with us. With hundreds of thousands of places to stay around the world and 90 local websites in 41 languages, Hotels.com has it all. So, whether youre looking for value in Vegas, treehouses in Thailand or villas in Venezuela, its all just a click away. And with our Reward-winning loyalty program you earn free* nights while you sleep and get access to instant savings like Secret Priceswhat could be better? Booking just got smarter too. With over 25 million real guest reviews and an app so easy to use that its been downloaded more than 70 million times, you can be sure to find the perfect place for you.

**Free night does not include taxes and fees.  2018 Hotels.com, LP. All rights reserved. Hotels.com and the Hotels.com logo are trademarks of Hotels.com, LP. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. CST #2083949-50 About EPAM Systems

Since 1993, EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) has leveraged its core engineering expertise to become a leading global product development and digital platform engineering services company. Through its Engineering DNA and innovative strategy, consulting, and design capabilities, EPAM works in collaboration with its customers to deliver innovative solutions that turn complex business challenges into real business opportunities. EPAMs global teams serve customers in over 25 countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. EPAM is a recognized market leader among independent research agencies and was ranked #12 in FORBES 25 Fastest Growing Public Tech Companies and as a top UK Digital Design & Build Agency. Learn more at http://www.epam.com/ and follow us on Twitter @EPAMSYSTEMS and LinkedIn. Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes statements which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events that may not prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied include general economic conditions and the factors discussed in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. EPAM undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities law. For more information please contact:

Danielle Ruess-Saltz

M: 267.978.7688

danielle_ruess-saltz@epam.com

41 University Drive, Suite 202

Newtown, PA 18940

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] DSIT Invited to Demonstrate its Underwater Security Systems to the US Navy

GIVAT SHMUEL, Israel, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --DSIT Solutions Ltd. revealed today that it was invited by the Stiletto Maritime Demonstration Program to demonstrate its Underwater Security Systems at a US Navy base. The Stiletto program, sponsored by the US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Rapid Reaction Technology Office, coordinated and executed the demonstration. The capability demonstration was specifically aimed at Counter Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) operations. For the demonstration, DSIT deployed its AquaShield long range Diver Detection Sonar (DDS) and PointShield Portable Diver Detection Sonar (PDDS) off a pier at a US Navy base. The systems were calibrated by the company to support automatic detecion, tracking, classification and alert of various underwater threats including UUVs and divers. During the four-day demonstration, DSIT's systems successfully monitored the underwater surroundings and alerted when UUVs penetrated the guarded zone. The capability demonstration included various types and sizes of UUVs approaching DSIT's systems from different angles and at changing diving altitudes.



Dan Ben-Dov, DSIT'S Vice President for Sales and Marketing, added, "We are very satisfied from the performance demonstrated by our systems in this capability demonstration and continue to discuss DSIT's participation in different US Navy programs." About DSIT

DSIT provides detection solutions for HLS, Naval and Critical infrastructure markets. Our product lines include the Shield family of Diver Detection sonars, Blackfish Hull mounted sonar, portable acoustic range and SeaShield Coastal Surveillance system. On the ground, DSIT also offers a long-range Fiber Optic sensing solution called Lightline. For more information visit www.dsit.co.il. Contact:

Ofer Grisaro

Sales & Marketing Manager

ofer.grisaro@dsit.co.il View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dsit-invited-to-demonstrate-its-underwater-security-systems-to-the-us-navy-300651724.html SOURCE DSIT Solutions Ltd.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] Indigo Ag CEO to headline next month's AgTech Nexus USA in Boston

BOSTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The fourth annual AgTech Nexus USA (formerly called GAI AgTech Week) here at the Harvard Club, June 6-7, will feature David Perry, CEO and president of agtech start-up Indigo Ag, the top funded agtech start-up of all time, as the keynote speaker. Boston-based Indigo Ag last year earned the title of Boston's newest "unicorn" when a $156 million Series D funding round bumped the company, established in 2014, to a value of $1.4 billion. Venture capitalists and even public pension funds have been eager to invest in the privately-held business with the hopes that it will perfect its mission to treat seeds with naturally occurring microbes to make crops more tolerant of stressful conditions. Indigo, which also offers software to help farmers improve profitability, has sequenced the genome of more than 40,000 microbes that can help ward off disease, be more resistant to drought, and better utilize nutrients. Perry will participate in an interview-style presentation, moderated by Greg Duerksen, president of agribusiness executive search firm Kincannon & Reed, on the opening morning of the event. He will speak to an audience that includes the latest innovators and investors in the burgeoning sector about Five Forces That Will Shape Agriculture, highlighting the opportunities in the sector, and the need for increased investment to support more R&D and entrepreneurs with the disruptive technologies that will help sustainably feed the world's growing population. Other featured speakers to take the gTech Nexus stage include Jack Bobo, chief communications officer at Intrexon Corporation, a synthetic biology company that develops revolutionary solutions to the world's most pressing problems in food, energy, and health; and Isha Datar, executive director of New Harvest, a not-for-profit organization that focuses on accelerating cellular agriculture with the vision of building a post-animal bioeconomy where animal products are harvested from cell cultures grown in labs.



Bobo, who has delivered more than 300 presentations on the future of food and the role of science and technology in feeding the world, was named in 2015 by Scientific American as one of the 100 most influential people in biotechnology today. He will speak at AgTech Nexus on Fads, Trends and Values  What Drives Consumer Food Preferences and Why It Matters, which will focus on the greater transparency that consumers are demanding in the foods they buy and in the supply chains that bring that food to their table. He also will cover how food companies' response to this sea change will determine their financial future as well as the health of the public and the planet. Datar has worked to advance cellular agriculture research since 2009, including funding early stage, foundational research in academia in order for ready-to-market technologies to be developed for commercial use. She co-founded two disruptive food technology start-ups in 2014: Muufri, which makes milk without cows, and Clara Foods, which offers the world's first animal-free egg white. At the event, she will present Cellular Agriculture: A Future Food Solution?

Other key speakers at the event hail from AeroFarms, Anterra Capital, BrightFarms, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Cargill, Conservis, Data Collective (DCVC), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Sustainable Insight Capital Management, TechAccel and more. See the full agenda for details. AgTech Nexus USA, a brand of Global AgInvesting, is a two-day conference where attendees are immersed in the innovations and investment opportunities surrounding this compelling, nascent sector where in just the indoor farming section alone, is predicted to have a CAGR of 30.7 percent between 2015 and 2020, reaching the value of US$3.88 billion by 2020. Learn more at www.agtechnexus.com or follow us @agtechnexus. Global AgInvesting, a brand of HighQuest Group, is the world's most well-attended agriculture investment conference series and leading resource for events, research, and insight into the global agricultural sector. GAI has hosted more than 9,000 attendees since 2009, and currently produces five annual events in New York, Boston, Tokyo, London and Dublin. www.globalaginvesting.com CONTACT: Michelle Pelletier-Marshall

mmarshall@globalaginvesting.com

+1.978.887.8800, x117 View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/indigo-ag-ceo-to-headline-next-months-agtech-nexus-usa-in-boston-300651144.html SOURCE Global AgInvesting

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] Kitchen United Announces Pasadena Location Opening, Unveils Restaurant Partners

PASADENA, Calif., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Culinary on-demand startup Kitchen United today announced the grand opening of its 12,000-square-foot local food hub in Pasadena, Calif. The facility helps food businesses expand their delivery, takeout and catering operations. At opening, the space will house 15 different concepts, specially optimized to take advantage of KU's delivery-centric infrastructure. This facility is the first opened by the company and plans are in place to open nationwide in the coming year. Kitchen United houses several larger regional and national brands, including concepts from Canter's Deli, Neal Fraser's Fritzi Coop, Mama Musubi, Northern California better burger chain, Barney's Gourmet Burgers and vegan startup The Pizza Plant. As the company expands across the country, locations are selected by converging demographic data with demand indicators such as delivery application usage and unmet demand indicators as well as feedback from national and regional restaurant chains targeting expansion through Kitchen United's facilities. "We quickly recognized that restaurants needed much more than access to a kitchen to make these specialized 'outposts' work," said Jim Collins, CEO of Kitchen United. "So we have designed a unique solution, providing a combination of technology, equipment, marketing assistance and workflow solutions specifically optimized to ensure partner success. We're thrilled to be working with a growin suite of impressive food innovators supplying not just the commercial kitchen space they need, but the resources and support to bring their vision to fruition."



Kitchen United's mission is to enable both established and new restaurant concepts to adapt to rapid changes in the restaurant industry driven by the explosive growth of consumer demand for delivery. Some restaurants have already seen the impact, with as much as 30% of order volume coming from outside of the dining room, and this trend is just beginning, with most industry analysts projecting multi-fold growth in the coming years. "Kitchen United is transforming the food business and helping to build the future of restaurants," said Carol Kwan, half of the brother-sister team behind Mama Musubi, a well-known Los Angeles based catering company specializing in Japanese cuisine. "Thus far, we've only had the capacity to be at farmers markets and popups. With Kitchen United, we're able expand our reach through delivery while still focusing on what we love: serving our existing customer base and testing new ideas without having to worry about the operational nitty gritty that would be involved in opening our own space."

Conceived and built by restaurant industry veterans from companies like Taco Bell, McDonalds and Wolfgang Puck, Kitchen United was designed with delivery in mind. Every process involved in the preparation, cooking, and delivery of food is optimized in the tech-enabled establishment through kitchen automation and ordering solutions seamlessly integrating most popular mobile and online delivery platforms. Restaurants save costs through shared back of house labor for non-core functions such as receiving and scullery, and facilities are designed with the new "diner" in mind, providing specified delivery driver parking as well as easy access consumer pickup. Moreover, Kitchen United has dedicated staff to work with restaurants to continuously improve the consumer experience and everything from food preparation to packaging is scrutinized in the process. Kitchen United today also announced it has raised an undisclosed amount of Series A funding from Cali Group, Avista Investments and other private investors, which will be used to accelerate growth and fuel expansion in key markets in the U.S. About Kitchen United

Based in Pasadena, Calif., Kitchen United is on a mission to evolve the ecosystem for food enthusiasts and restaurant operators. Their back-of-house infrastructure empowers food businesses to innovate, dream, and grow. For more information visit www.kitchenunited.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kitchen-united-announces-pasadena-location-opening-unveils-restaurant-partners-300651465.html SOURCE Kitchen United

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A. Receives Highest Rating from Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for Community Reinvestment Initiatives

Morgan Stanley Bank, N.A., a national bank subsidiary of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), has been recognized with the highest rating from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its work to meet the credit needs of the communities it serves. The Firm received a mark of "Outstanding" for the Bank's community reinvestment activities for the fifth consecutive time, and the third since being examined by the OCC. The OCC report noted that Morgan Stanley supported communities through extensive use of innovative financing structures, particularly investments not routinely provided by private investors, and that the bank demonstrated excellent responsiveness to community needs. "Private capital in support of affordable housing and quality jobs is fundamental to securing long-term economic growth," said Audrey Choi, Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Marketing Officer at Morgan Stanley. "This rating recognizes the Firm's significant impact, which was accomplished through collaboration with our community partners." Maria Garciaz, CEO of NeighborWorks Salt Lake applauded the rating. "Morgan Stanley is an outstanding partner to the Salt Lake City community. They listen and then respond with critical financing, but also lend their time and expertise to help tackle our most pressing needs." Ellis Carr, CEO of Capital Impact Partners said, "Morgan Stanley understands that it takes more than capital alone to create strong, vibrant communities; they havebeen a consistent supporter of Capital Impact Partners helping us serve the most economically-challenged communities."



The OCC assessment highlighted several initiatives that were particularly responsive to emerging needs. These included a $98 million fund focused on preserving affordable housing, an Impact Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) that spurs economic development, and a program that helps develop the next generation of community leaders. Several significant initiatives highlighted in the report, include:

NEF Preservation Fund . In partnership with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Morgan Stanley created an equity fund to assist mission-oriented sponsors acquire affordable housing properties at risk of converting to market rate. The Fund includes an innovative carve out from fund fees to provide social services to residents.

. In partnership with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Morgan Stanley created an equity fund to assist mission-oriented sponsors acquire affordable housing properties at risk of converting to market rate. The Fund includes an innovative carve out from fund fees to provide social services to residents. Morgan Stanley Impact Small Business Investment Company . The nation's only bank-sponsored Impact SBIC promotes economic development with a focus on low- and moderate-income communities and rural areas. One Impact SBIC loan supported rural broadband access for customers in New England.

. The nation's only bank-sponsored Impact SBIC promotes economic development with a focus on low- and moderate-income communities and rural areas. One Impact SBIC loan supported rural broadband access for customers in New England. Morgan Stanley Salt Lake City Fellowship. In partnership with the University of Utah and leading community nonprofits, Morgan Stanley created a fellowship that enables community development organizations to hire graduate students to work on critical planning and development projects while acquiring real world experience in community development. Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 41 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521005607/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] Kasasa Loan Recognized as "Best Lending Platform" by Benzinga

Kasasa, an award-winning financial technology and marketing technology provider, announced today that its Kasasa LoanTM has been recognized as the "Best Lending Platform" in the 2018 Global Fintech Awards by Benzinga. Winners were announced at this year's Benzinga Awards gala in New York City. Each year, Benzinga honors companies in numerous categories for their innovation and excellence throughout the financial services and capital markets industries. The online publication received submissions from companies across the globe, and eight other organizations were named as finalists in the Best Lending Platform category. Winners were selected by a board of industry experts as well as an online competition in which visitors to Benzinga's website cast votes for the best nominee in each category. "We are thrilled to congratulate all the finalists and winners of the 2018 Global Fintech Awards," said Jason Raznick, founder and CEO of Benzinga. "These companies are the leading minds in fintech, boasting impressive technologies that will pave the way for even more groundbreaking innovations in our industry for years to come." Since the company's founding, Kasasa has earned consistent recognition for its disruptive retail banking products and services that empower community financial institutions, including its Kasasa reward accounts, responsive websites, data-driven marketing platform, world-class consulting and now the revolutionary Kasasa Loan. Unlike existing loans, the Kasasa Loan is the first and only loan to offer a new concept called a take-back, which lets consumers pay ahead to reduce debt and take that extra back if they need it. It eliminates the fear of parting with 'extra money' and reinforces positive financial decisions like paying off debt early. In addition to its innovative take-back functionality, the Kasasa Loan also features a sleek mobile app that allows borrowers to manage their debt by viewing, editing and making payments as well as withdrawing from their take-back balance. Borrowers can see the impact of payment changes before they make them, providing more control and enabling them to make better decisions. In addition to being recognized as the Benzinga "Best Lending Platform," Kasasa was recently awarded "Best of Show" at FinovateSpring 2018 for its demonstration of the Kasasa Loan. "Being recognized by Benzinga is a true honor," says Gabe Krajicek, CEO of Kasasa. "Known for reinventing checking, Kasasa has reinvented lending by creating a completely new concept that puts borrowers first. Unlike any other loan, the Kasasa Loan is the most people-friendly loan available today, allowing consumers to take back extra payments in times of need. By eliminating the fear of parting with extra money, borrowers have greater confidence to make better financial decisions and pay down debt quicker. This award is a testament to our commitment to improving the lending marketplace by creating a loan that is better for people, better for financial institutions and better for the entire industry."



About Benzinga Global Fintech Awards The Benzinga Global Fintech Awards were created to recognize innovation and excellence throughout the capital markets industry. It celebrates companies that are changing the way ordinary people and professionals interact with finance. From its first year in 2015, the competition has grown to over 300 applicants from the financial technology industry-from top financial institutions to new startups. To learn more, visit https://benzingafintechawards.com/.

About Kasasa Kasasa is an award-winning financial technology and marketing technology provider. Based in Austin, Texas, with 400 employees, Kasasa helps more than 800 community financial institutions establish long lasting relationships with consumers residing in their local markets through its branded retail products, world class marketing capabilities, and expert consulting. The company reinvented checking and is now reinventing lending through its latest patent-pending offering, Kasasa LoansTM. Learn more about Kasasa's innovative products and services: Reward Checking Accounts Kasasa LoanTM - The only loan with take-backs Marketing & Technology - Connect Websites That Sell Consulting & Insights For more information, please visit www.kasasa.com, or visit them on Twitter (News - Alert) @Kasasa, Facebook, or LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521005592/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018]

CheapOair.com Names 2018's Most "Insta-Worthy" Destinations to Boost Your Social Media Profile

NEW YORK, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In the age of social media, travelers are beginning to choose their vacation destinations based on how well they believe their photos will perform on their social accounts.

To help travelers find the next destination that will get them the most "likes" and help to establish them as travel trendsetters, CheapOair.com has selected its picks for the most photogenic destinations you've likely never considered traveling to.

Instead of Iceland, try Faroe Islands: You've probably noticed that Iceland has skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade, but the more photos of the Blue Lagoon that appear in your social feed, the more the novelty wears off. Instead, experience one of Europe's best kept secrets: the Faroe Islands. Spectacular secluded landscapes, millennia-old history, and a unique North Atlantic cuisine are just a few reasons this off-the-radar spot should be next on your list. Average airfare for summer travel from the US to the Faroe Islands is $1,193*.

Instead of Singapore, try Hainan: China's Hainan Island is being called the "Hawaii of the East" and is even starting to garner comparisons to Dubai for its newfound luxury vibe. To promote tourism, the Chinese government recently launched a program granting 30-day visa-free access to the island for tourists from 59 countries including the United States. While there, check out the 350 ft. Buddhist statue on the shores of the South China Sea. Average airfare for summer travel from the US to Hainan is $1,343*.

Instead of Prague, try Wroclaw: Poland isn't one of those countries you hear about tourists flocking to, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be. Wroclaw is a beautiful city with rich history dating back asearly as the 6th century. Don't miss the city's main square surrounded by colorful tenement buildings. The square was destroyed during World War II but was rebuilt to honor Wroclaw's medieval past. Average airfare for summer travel from the US to Wroclaw is $1,086*.







Instead of Costa Rica, try the Azores: Black sand beaches, lush greenery, and volcanic peaks make the Azores the perfect backdrop for your next subtropical getaway. Despite being an easy flight from the east coast  under 6 hours from New York, Boston, and Providence  the Azores are still widely undiscovered. Outdoor activities like hiking, biking, and surfing are popular activities for both locals and visitors. Average airfare for summer travel from the US to the Azores is $770*.

Instead of Croatia, try Montenegro: Just across the border from Croatia, Kotor is a medieval town with slightly less exposure than Dubrovnik. The charming town is nestled in a fjord-like bay and is perfect for spending a day getting lost. Average airfare for summer travel from the US to Montenegro is $1,359.

Instead of Dubai, try Marrakech: From the delicately painted tiles, to the colorful goods in the souks, to the winding alleys of the old town, Marrakech is a city just waiting to be photographed. Simply wandering around is your best bet for finding a shot that will wow your followers. Marrakech is also a great starting point for visiting the remote, snow-capped Atlas Mountain range. Average airfare for summer travel from the US to Marrakech is $1,206*.

By consistently monitoring travel trends, CheapOair's mission is to educate and aid consumers and travel professionals in both planning their travel accommodations and staying current on the most popular destinations. With a portfolio of products, including rate and schedule information from 450 global airlines, CheapOair is a great way to book the travel that's right for you.

For more information, please visit www.CheapOair.com, www.cheapoair.com/mobile, or our social media pages, www.Facebook.com/CheapOair and www.twitter.com/cheapoair.

*Based on average roundtrip airfare for tickets booked as of 5/15/18 for travel departing from all US gateways June 1, 2018  August 31, 2018.

About CheapOair

CheapOair is a flight-focused, hybrid travel agency that enables consumers to book online, on mobile apps for iOS and Android, by phone or live chat. CheapOair (https://www.cheapoair.com, 1-800-566-2345) bridges the gap between an online and traditional travel agency with certified travel agents available 24/7 to help find deals and offers to destinations worldwide on over 450 airlines, 1 million hotels, and 100s of car rental companies. Partner airlines benefit from access to CheapOair's broad customer base that books high yield international travel and add-on ancillaries at above the industry average. Follow CheapOair on Facebook and Twitter to learn how to travel the world for less.

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cheapoaircom-names-2018s-most-insta-worthy-destinations-to-boost-your-social-media-profile-300651853.html

SOURCE CheapOair[May 21, 2018] ExxonMobil and Employees Contribute More Than $1.4 Million to Virginia Colleges and Universities

ExxonMobil and its employees contributed more than $1.4 million to 33 institutions of higher education across Virginia as part of the ExxonMobil Foundation's 2017 Educational Matching Gift Program. ExxonMobil employees, retirees, directors and surviving spouses contributed over $435,000 to 33 Virginia colleges and universities, which was matched by nearly $1 million in unrestricted grants from the ExxonMobil Foundation. Although grants are unrestricted, colleges and universities are encouraged to designate a portion to math and science programs supporting student engagement. ExxonMobil's program matches donor pledges on a 3:1 basis up to $7,500 to qualified colleges and universities in the United States, as well as the American Indian College Fund, Hispanic Scholarship Fund and the United Negro College Fund. More than $665 million has been contributed to such American institutions over te more than 50 years the company has offered the Educational Matching Gift Program.



"We have a long history of supporting a range of efforts to improve education in the United States," said Kevin Murphy, president of the ExxonMobil Foundation. "Our employees and retirees are similarly committed to investing in quality education, as demonstrated by the impressive amount they have chosen to donate. We're confident that our contributions as well as the generous support of our employees and retirees will help create a stronger future for today's students." Nationwide, almost 840 institutions received almost $50 million through the 2017 Educational Matching Gift Program.

In addition to the Educational Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil and the ExxonMobil Foundation support and develop programs that encourage students, particularly women and minorities, toward careers in science, technology, engineering and math, as well as teacher training initiatives. About the ExxonMobil Foundation The ExxonMobil Foundation is the primary philanthropic arm of Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) in the United States. The foundation and the corporation engage 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 2017, the ExxonMobil Foundation, together with Exxon Mobil Corporation, its divisions and affiliates along with employees and retirees, provided $204 million in contributions worldwide, of which $68 million was dedicated to education. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521005088/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] BTCNN Exclusive on Blockchain Technology and Crypto Regulation Debate in St Petersburg

HONG KONG, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 2017 was a great year for Bitcoin with 2018 delivering even more awareness for the cryptocurrency. Bitcoin has attracted widespread attention towards all cryptocurrencies whilst raising awareness of blockchain technology. As Blockchain is evolving and new players are emerging, traditional industries are now transforming into what some would call "hybrids". FinTech is a prime example by bringing together Finance and Technology and delivering phenomenal effects for all industries, not just financial services. Commencing on May 24th, 2018, Russia will host the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), a leading platform for the business community to discuss economic issues facing Russia. In 2016, the forum welcomed over 14,000 attendees, with an even larger turnout expected his year. The forum will focus on a variety of topics including Investing, the Digital Economy, Healthcare, Science & Technology, and many others. An interesting addition tothe forum are some of the key names attending such as Dr Demetrios Zamboglou, Chief Business Development Officer of Lykke Corp, as a panellist on the topic: "A recent history of blockchain and the impact on Government and Business."



Having worked in financial services for over a decade and having just completed a doctorate on trading behaviour, Dr Zamboglou is widely regarded as a FinTech specialist with a deep understanding of behavioural finance, technology and risk management - concepts that underpin cryptocurrencies. Dr Zamboglou will attend the event representing Lykke, a Swiss company seeking to commercialise cryptocurrency adoption by providing a new generation of financial services solutions.

Lykke is a Swiss-based company that is developing the technology to allow all asset classes to be exchanged in a fair and secure way using Blockchain technology whilst providing strong safeguards for users. Lykke's unique vision hails from financial services, although its potential applications are likely to spread far and wide into other sectors. The core idea is based upon "tokenisation" of all assets, securities and utilities, but maintaining a regulatory balance within key locations such as the United Kingdom, Cyprus and Switzerland - jurisdictions where Lykke is currently active and working closely with local regulatory agencies. Dr Zamboglou will be discussing the wide range of issues surrounding cryptocurrencies on 26th May at 10:00-11:15 am, at the Technology Leadership Panel Session, Congress Centre, Conference Hall B1, and is expected to present his views regarding current and future development of cryptocurrencies, blockchain and the regulation(s) that will ultimately rule this avant-garde technology.

Contact: Josh White, pr@btcnn.com

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] NASA Invites Media to View New Mission to Study the Frontier of Space

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media will have the opportunity June 4-5 for tours, interviews and photographs of NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) as it prepares to leave Vandenberg Air Force Base in California for a scheduled mid-June launch from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. ICON team members will be available to answer questions about Orbital ATK's Pegasus XL rocket, which is attached to the company's L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft and will carry ICON into orbit. There also will be opportunities to tour the aircraft and witness its takeoff on its ferry flight to the island. The observatory will leave Vandenberg June 5 for a scheduled launch on June 15 from Kwajalein (June 14 in the continental United States). ICON will study the frontier of space: the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above. This area at times can be filled with such beauty as the aurora, and at other times experience increases in radiation that can interfere with radio communications, satellites and even astronauts. ICON will help determine the physical process at play in this space environment and pave the way for mitigating their effects on our technology, communications systems and society. This event is open only to U.S. citzens who possess a government-issued photo identification. One form of government-issued photo identification is required and must be a driver's license or passport.



To apply for media credentials, go to https://media.ksc.nasa.gov. Media interested in attending this event must also RSVP via email at ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov. In your RSVP, please include your driver's license number and its state of issuance. The deadline for submitting credentials and to RSVP is no later than noon EDT Tuesday, May 22. Monday, June 4

There will be an opportunity to tour the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer aircraft and interview officials involved in the launch and mission. Interview participants: Omar Baez , launch director, NASA's Launch Services Program

, launch director, NASA's Launch Services Program Bryan Baldwin , Pegasus Program senior director, Orbital ATK

, Pegasus Program senior director, Orbital ATK Thomas Immel , ICON principle investigator, UC Berkeley Media should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at noon PDT to be escorted. Media must present a valid driver's license or passport to receive a base pass. Tuesday, June 5 There will be an opportunity to view the takeoff of the ferry flight of the Orbital ATK L-1011 Stargazer with the Pegasus XL rocket that will air launch ICON. Media should meet at the Vandenberg south gate parking lot on California State Road 246 and 13th Street at 9:30 a.m. to be escorted. Media must present a valid driver's license or passport to receive a base pass. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Explorer Program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. UC Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory leads the ICON mission. The ICON spacecraft was built by Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia. NASA's Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is responsible for launch service acquisition, integration, analysis, and launch management. For more information about NASA's ICON mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/icon View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-invites-media-to-view-new-mission-to-study-the-frontier-of-space-300652195.html SOURCE NASA

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ][May 21, 2018] Butterfield Announces Pricing of Registered Offering of $75,000,000 5.25% Fixed to Floating Rate Subordinated Notes due 2028

The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited ("Butterfield") (NYSE: NTB) (BSX: NTB.BH) today announced the pricing of a registered offering of $75 million aggregate principal amount of Butterfield's 5.25% Fixed to Floating Rate Subordinated Notes due 2028. Butterfield intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay a portion of its outstanding indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes. The offering is expected to close on or about 24 May 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Sandler O'Neill & Partners and Wells Fargo (News - Alert) Securities are acting as the joint book-running managers. This offering is being made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may be obtained from Sandler O'Neill & Partners, L.P., 1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, or by telephone at (866) 805 4128, or from Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 608 2nd Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55402, Attention: WFS Customer Service, by telephone at 1-800-645-3751, or by email at wfscustomerservice@wellsfargo.com. Electronic copies of these documents are also available on the website of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC (News - Alert) "), www.sec.gov.



A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with, and declared effective by, the SEC. This News Release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Forward-Looking Statements

This News Release contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to the registered offering. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "plan," and "will" or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements include all matters that are not historical facts. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. As a result, actual events may differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by Butterfield in this News Release speaks only as of the date hereof. New risks and uncertainties come up from time to time, and it is impossible for Butterfield to predict these events or how they may affect it. Butterfield does not intend to update any forward-looking statements after the date hereof, except as required by law. About Butterfield Butterfield is a full-service bank and wealth manager headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, providing services to clients from Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Guernsey, where our principal banking operations are located, and The Bahamas, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Kingdom, where we offer specialized financial services. Banking services comprise deposit, cash management and lending solutions for individual, business and institutional clients. Wealth management services are composed of trust, private banking, and asset management. In Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Guernsey, we offer both banking and wealth management. In The Bahamas, Singapore and Switzerland, we offer wealth management. In the UK, we offer residential property lending. Butterfield is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Bermuda Stock Exchange. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521006100/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]Google released an updated code of conduct, which for the first time in almost two decades removed almost all mentions of its Don't be evil mantra. The code of conduct embodies a company's values, principles, and ideals, so removing the "Don't be evil" motto from the code may give us a hint towards the direction in which Google is going.

Googles 'Dont Be Evil' Motto

One of the unique things about Google, aside from its thirst for advanced technology and solid software engineering, has been its motto: Dont be evil. Many, including Steve Jobs, have criticized this motto as being nothing but a marketing tactic.

Even if that were true, and its leaders never truly believed in this idea, many Google users and Google employees did believe in the motto. It was part of Googles charm, and part of what made the company one of the most beloved brands in the world.

At least initially, Google also seemed to more often than not align itself with that motto, which is why many users believed it was real for so long. One of the most obvious examples of this commitment to not being evil was when Google gave up its operations in China to avoid further censorship and surveillance of its services and users in the country.

Up until that point, the company seemed to have tried to make itself worthy of that motto. However, since then things have started to change. Over the past few years, weve seen Google abandon end-to-end encryption projects, kill anti-censorship efforts that worked on its cloud infrastructure, and be involved in military projects which have the potential to do just as much evil as good.

Google Renounces 'Dont Be Evil'

Following a protest made by thousands of Google employees against the companys increasing involvement with the U.S. military and its work on autonomous drones, the company has eliminated all mentions of the Dont be evil mantra from its Code of Conduct.

An older version of its code of conduct from earlier this year that was saved by the Archive.org website contained the following:

Dont be evil. Googlers generally apply those words to how we serve our users. But Dont be evil is much more than that. Yes, its about providing our users unbiased access to information, focusing on their needs and giving them the best products and services that we can. But its also about doing the right thing more generally  following the law, acting honorably, and treating co-workers with courtesy and respect.

The new code of conduct no longer centers around this motto, making almost no mention of it, except in passing at the very end of the multi-page document.

If the motto was truly just a marketing tactic, then there was little reason to minimize or discontinue it. However, after recently being called on it by its employees, Google may have started to believe that the Dont be evil motto could encourage more employees to question and protest the companys future projects that may be in an ethically grey area.

In the open letter to Googles leadership, thousands of employees pleaded with the company to give up projects that can ultimately lead to peoples deaths, in an in effort to increase the companys bottom line.

In the letter, the employees warned Google's leadership:

This plan will irreparably damage Googles brand and its ability to compete for talent. Amid growing fears of biased and weaponized AI, Google is already struggling to keep the publics trust. By entering into this contract, Google will join the ranks of companies like Palantir, Raytheon, and General Dynamics. The argument that other firms, like Microsoft and Amazon, are also participating doesnt make this any less risky for Google. Googles unique history, its motto Dont Be Evil, and its direct reach into the lives of billions of users set it apart.

A few hundred researchers have also joined the Google employees with an open letter of their own, in which they're asking Google to end its AI partnership with the Pentagon:

We wholeheartedly support their demand that Google terminate its contract with the DoD, and that Google and its parent company Alphabet commit not to develop military technologies and not to use the personal data that they collect for military purposes.

They also added that:

We are also deeply concerned about the possible integration of Googles data on peoples everyday lives with military surveillance data, and its combined application to targeted killing. Google has moved into military work without subjecting itself to public debate or deliberation, either domestically or internationally. While Google regularly decides the future of technology without democratic public engagement, its entry into military technologies casts the problems of private control of information infrastructure into high relief. Should Google decide to use global internet users personal data for military purposes, it would violate the public trust that is fundamental to its business by putting its users lives and human rights in jeopardy.

Whats Google Without 'Dont Be Evil?'

So now the question remains: What is Google now that it no longer seems to believe in not being evil? Is it just another corporation doing anything to make a buck? If so, this will not be without consequences for the companys future. As evidenced by the letter signed by thousands of Google employees, going down this path could mean less interest from developers to work for the company.

In an older TED talk, Simon Sinek, a marketing consultant and author of Start with Why, raised the issue of companies needing to give their customers and users something in which to believe - a purpose that aligns with its user base motives and ideals. He argued that this is what pushes everyone, both employees and customers to make the company truly great.

This is what makes a company such as Apple so loved by its customer base, and its what has made many love Google for its Dont Be Evil ideals in the past. All of that could be in jeopardy, if Google plans to renounce its "Don't be evil" ideal.

Were already seeing how the companys cool new technologies are no longer received with just praise and optimism, but also heavy criticism and skepticism. This trend could worsen to Google's detriment if more people start believing that the company is no longer looking after them or trying to do good with its technology, but just willing to do anything to chase a profit.

Don't be evil has been Google's corporate identity for the longest time, but now that's no longer true. Whether or not we'll like this new Google that can't commit to not being evil anymore remains to be seen, but some of its latest moves already point to an increasingly worrying direction for the company.The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

The highlights

Mercedes-Benz is flipping the switch. The new EQC is 

 The first Mercedes-Benz under the product and technology brand EQ

EQ stands for "Electric Intelligence"

It is derived from the Mercedes-Benz brand values of "Emotion" and "Intelligence"

The EQC is part of a growing family of all-electric vehicles from Mercedes-Benz

Conceived to meet all the requirements for a battery-electric drive system

Convincing in the sum of its attributes with respect to Mercedes-Benz comfort, quality and operating range

An estimated electric range of around 200 miles

 Progressive in design

Pioneer of an avant-garde electric look

Progressive luxury design points the way to the future

Large black-panel surface as a striking front feature

Optical fibers as a visual link to the torch-like daytime running lamps

Sporty, stretched silhouette

Innovative interior design inspired by the world of consumer electronics

 Excitingly dynamic

A dual motor electric drivetrain at each axle, with a combined output of 402 horsepower

Superior and confident driving characteristics of an all-wheel drive vehicle

Various driving modes with different characteristics

Battery recuperation can be adjusted as the customer requires, using gearshift paddles behind the steering wheel. In "D Auto" mode, the EQC can adapt recuperation according to the traffic ahead with the aid of ECO Assist

 The Mercedes-Benz among electric vehicles

Latest-generation driving assistance systems including Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC and Active Steering Assist

Extensive crash test programs, meeting strict Mercedes-Benz requirements

Stringent additional tests completed for the battery and all components carrying electrical current

Pre-climatization for a comfortable cabin upon arrival in all temperatures

Extremely quiet interior

Trailblazing MBUX multimedia system - Mercedes-Benz User Experience with numerous EQ-specific functions

Integration into ongoing series production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen

Battery produced by the Daimler subsidiary Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE

 More than just a car, and a symbol of a new era of mobility

Comprehensive services for electric mobility for today and tomorrow

Relaxed, uncomplicated travel with transparency and planning certainty

Dialogue with visionaries, business people and opinion leaders in the "EQ Community"

New event formats "EQ Dinner" and "EQ Nights"

Entry into Formula E for the 2019/2020 season

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

Mercedes-Benz management comments on the new EQC

"With the EQC  the first fully electric SUV from Mercedes-Benz  we are flipping the switch. Electric drive is a major component in the mobility of the future. We are therefore investing more than ten billion euros in the expansion of our EQ model portfolio, and more than one billion euros in global battery production."

Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars

"The new EQC is a genuine Mercedes-Benz. This particularly applies to classic attributes such as quality, safety and comfort. These are accompanied by dynamic performance, thanks to two electric motors at the front and rear axles with a combined output of 300 kW, and an intelligent operating strategy for a superior electric range. The EQC is part of a growing family of purely electrically powered vehicles from Mercedes-Benz."

Ola Kallenius, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars Development

"Electric now has a Mercedes - with the EQC, we are putting the first Mercedes-Benz under our new technology brand EQ onto the roads. EQ stands forElectric Intelligence, and represents Mercedes-Benz at its most progressive. We are systematically bringing about human-centred innovation by incorporating intelligent services and networked charging solutions for our customers from the very start."

Britta Seeger, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales

"At Mercedes-Benz Cars we are integrating the EQC into our series production at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen. One major pillar of our strategy is flexibility. Our decision to produce electric vehicles on the same line as models with combustion engines enables us to respond flexibly to demand and use plant capacity to best effect. In this way we can continue to ensure both high efficiency and top quality with well-proven production processes. On the way to smart production we are already employing future-oriented Industry 4.0 solutions such as virtual and augmented reality, human-machine cooperation and big data analysis. Digital solutions help us to network Production with Development and Sales even more effectively. The electric initiative means two things for us: emission-free vehicles and clean production. With a CO2-neutral energy supply to our German plants by 2022, we are actively promoting the sustainability of our production."

Markus Schafer, Executive Board member Mercedes-Benz Cars, Production and Supply Chain

"The EQC embodies the Progressive Luxury design idiom of our new EQ product and technology brand. This creates an experience and a preview of the next big thing to come tomorrow. With its seamless, clear design, the EQC is a pioneer for an avant-garde electric look with trailblazing design details and colour highlights typical of the brand both inside and out."

Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer Daimler AG

Short version: The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

The Mercedes-Benz among electric vehicles

It was at the 2016 Paris Motor Show that Mercedes- Benz first presented its new product and technology brand for electric mobility. In mid-2019, the EQC will be the first Mercedes-Benz vehicle to be launched globally under the EQ brand. With its seamless, clear design, it is a pioneer for an avant-garde electric look while representing the design idiom of Progressive Luxury. With respect to quality, safety and comfort the EQC is the Mercedes-Benz among electric vehicles, and highly convincing in the sum of its attributes. These are accompanied by dynamic performance, thanks to two electric motors at the front and rear axles with a combined output of 402 horsepower. A sophisticated operating strategy enables an estimated electric range of around 200 miles (preliminary estimate). EQ also offers comprehensive services with Mercedes me connect, which makes electric mobility convenient and suitable for everyday driving. The EQC also symbolizes the start of a new mobility era at Daimler. The EQC will celebrate its World Premiere in Stockholm on September 4, 2018 and will go on sale in the U.S. in 2020.

As the first Mercedes-Benz model under the new product and technology brand EQ, the Mercedes-Benz EQC has many trailblazing design details and color highlights typical of the brand. Both inside and out, the EQC embodies the design idiom of Progressive Luxury. This arises from the combination of digital and analogue elements as well as the seamless merging of intuitive and physical design.

By virtue of its muscular proportions, the EQC is classed as a crossover SUV. The extended roofline and window layout with a low shoulderline and the coupe-like roof visually position it between an SUV and an SUV coupe.

A striking feature at the front is the large black-panel surface combining the headlamps and grille. For the first time, the black panel is bordered at the top by an LED Light Band as a visual link between the torch-like daytime running lamps. At night, this creates an almost uninterrupted, horizontal light band.

The high-quality interior of the EQC also pioneers an avant-garde electro-look. One example is the louvered edges of the upper dashboard and door trim which resembles the cooling fins of a hi-fi amplifier. The instrument panel is designed as a driver-oriented cockpit. The unmistakable Mercedes-Benz wing profile is asymmetrical, with a "cut-out" in the driver area. This is where one of the visual highlights of the cockpit is located - a high-tech, high gloss housing with rectangular air vents with key-shaped, rose-gold colored louvres.

Powertrain: Dynamic performance meets efficiency

As the first Mercedes-Benz model to be launched under the new product and technology brand EQ, the EQC features an all-new drive system development with compact electric drivetrains at each axle. These give the EQC the confident and dynamic driving characteristics of an all-wheel drive vehicle.

To reduce power consumption, the electric drivetrains are configured differently: the front electric motor is optimized for best possible efficiency in the low to medium load range, while the rear motor adds sportiness. Together, they generate an output of 402 hp and a maximum torque of 564 lb-ft.

Mercedes-Benz engineers have enhanced noise comfort with a number of measures. In the EQC the powerpacks are isolated by rubber mounts at two points: where the powerpack connects to its subframe and where the subframe connects to the body. This effective isolation is supplemented with insulation measures. As a result, the interior of the EQC is extremely quiet.

The lithium-ion battery, which has a usable energy content of 80 kWh supplies the vehicle with power. The power consumption and range of electric vehicles depends very much on the driving style. The EQC supports its driver with five driving programs through DYNAMIC SELECT, each with different characteristics: COMFORT, ECO, MAX RANGE, SPORT and INDIVIDUAL for an individually customizable program. In the more economical driving modes, the haptic accelerator pedal that prompts the driver to conserve power plays an important role. The driver is also able to influence the recuperation level using paddles behind the steering wheel.

The ECO Assist system gives the driver comprehensive support by prompting the driver when it is appropriate to lift off the accelerator, for example when the vehicle is approaching a change in speed limit, and by functions such as coasting and specific control of recuperation. For this purpose, navigation data, traffic sign recognition and information from the intelligent safety assistants (radar and stereo camera) are linked and processed.

Technical data*

Estimated Range

Up to 200 miles

Drive system

2 asynchronous motors, all-

wheel drive

Rated output

402 hp

Peak torque

564 lb-ft

Top speed (mph)

112 mph (electronically limited)

Acceleration 0-60 mph

4.9 s (est.)

Battery

Lithium-ion

Battery capacity

80 kWh

Length / width (width with mirrors) / height

187.4 / 74.2 (82.5) / 63.9 in

Track width (F/R)

64.0/63.6 in

Wheelbase

113.1 in

*provisional data

Charging: Flexible and fast

As standard, the EQC is equipped with a water-cooled onboard charger (OBC) with a capacity of 7.4 kW, making it suitable for fast AC charging at home or at public charging stations.

Charging at a home wallbox is up to three times faster than at a domestic power socket. It is faster still with DC charging  which is standard for the EQC  for example via CCS (Combined Charging Systems) in Europe and the USA. Depending on the SoC (status of charge), the EQC can be charged with a maximum output of up to 110 kW at an appropriate charging station. In around 40 minutes, the battery can be charged from 10 - 80 percent SoC (provisional data).

The multimedia system MBUX: with EQC-specific functions

The EQC features the innovative multimedia system MBUX - Mercedes-Benz User Experience - which has numerous EQ-specific functions such as the display of range, charge status and energy flow. EQ-optimized navigation, driving modes, charging current and departure time can also be controlled and set via MBUX.

The MBUX touchscreen display has a special EQ menu where numerous EQ features are grouped. Alternatively the user can access the EQ menu of the MBUX system directly using a hard key in the lower left control panel. Thanks to natural language recognition, the EQ-specific voice control helps the driver to operate the EQC.

Intelligent services: Relaxed travel from start to finish

EQ with Mercedes me connect provides comprehensive services for the electric mobility of today and tomorrow. The most important new services and functions of the EQC planned for market launch include:

Pre-entry climate control: This ensures that the vehicle interior is at the desired temperature on departure. It can be programmed directly via MBUX or via the Mercedes me connect App. A sophisticated system with a heat pump and electric heater boosters pre-climatizes the interior for optimal comfort in the cold winter or hot summer days.

The EQ-optimized navigation bases its calculation on the fastest route, taking into account the shortest charging time. The route planning also responds dynamically to changes, and can take place both offboard and onboard, externally (via the Mercedes me connect App) and within the vehicle. Thanks to EQ-optimized navigation, Mercedes-Benz customers can easily find charging stations, and Mercedes me Charge gives them convenient access to the charging stations of numerous providers.

Active and passive safety: EQC-specific safety concept

The EQC is equipped with the latest generation of Mercedes-Benz driver assistance systems. In the Driver Assistance Package, these include new functions such as predictive speed adjustment when approaching traffic: when traffic is detected, Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC reduces the speed as a precaution.

The EQC also meets the highest requirements with respect to passive safety: in addition to the usual, extensive program of crash tests, Mercedes-Benz applies further, particularly stringent safety standards to the battery and all component parts carrying electrical current. These standards exceed legal requirements. The vehicle structure of the EQC has been adapted to suit the special requirements of the electrical components and battery, and is configured to achieve the usual high safety level. For example, a new subframe surrounds the drive components located in the front section, and this unit is supported by the usual mounting points.

Mechanical protection of the battery: the high-safety design begins with the installation position of the high-voltage battery beneath the vehicle floor. The energy storage unit is surrounded by a stable frame that can absorb energy. Deformation elements are installed between the frame and the battery, and these are able to absorb additional forces in the event of a severe side impact. A battery guard in the front area of the battery is able to prevent the battery from being pierced by road debris.

Electrical protection of the high-voltage system: the extensive experience of Mercedes-Benz with high-voltage drive systems has led to a multi-stage safety concept that deploys in the event of an accident. The high-voltage system automatically shuts down, according to the severity of the accident. There are also shutdown points where emergency teams can deactivate the high-voltage system manually.

Testing: Endurance tests around the world

By market launch, 200 prototypes and pre-production vehicles of the EQC will have covered several million miles across four continents (Europe, North America, Asia and Africa). The test program comprises more than 500 individual tests. Like all Mercedes-Benz vehicles, the EQC must pass all of the demanding test programs. There are also special tests for the electric powertrain, the battery, and the interplay of all powertrain components.

In the process the test experts are able to build upon the extensive findings from their digital testing work, used to ensure both the buildability of the vehicle and for the simulation of crash behavior, aerodynamics and NVH (noise, vibration, harshness). In addition there are intensive tests on numerous test rigs at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center in Sindelfingen. The ratio between digital and real testing is roughly 35 to 65 percent.

Production: Preparations in full swing in the Bremen plant

Production of the EQC will start in 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen. The new EQC will be integrated into ongoing series production as a fully electric vehicle, and the very latest production technologies will be employed.

In typical series production, the joining of the powertrain to the body is called the "marriage." One decisive innovation is the battery-joining center where the EQC undergoes a second "marriage" following installation of the two electric motors in the bodyshell. This is where the EQCs are equipped with a battery for the first time. The body is suspended from a C-carrier and deposited on a frame. Support arms raise the battery to the vehicles floor from below, and an employee monitors the automatic bolting in place.

In parallel with this, production of our own batteries for the EQC is coming on stream at the expanded battery plant in Kamenz (near Dresden) Germany.

Long version: The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

The EQ brand

End-to-end mobility from the inventor of the automobile

It was at the 2016 Paris Motor Show that Mercedes-Benz first presented its new product and technology brand for electric mobility: EQ. The name stands for "Electric Intelligence" and is derived from the brand values of "Emotion and Intelligence." The goal has been clearly defined: within a very short time, EQ is to become one of the most desirable electric-technology brands in the automobile sector. Excitement and fascination are just as important as the message about holistic solutions that provide maximum customer benefit with state-of-the-art technologies. At the same time, EQ uses electrification to create added value that cannot be achieved with conventionally powered vehicles.

The brand includes major aspects that make entry into the world of electric mobility as easy as possible for customers. Accordingly, EQ is a comprehensively positioned brand that goes well beyond the vehicle itself. EQ offers a comprehensive ecosystem of products, services, technologies, innovations and inspirations. Alongside the vehicle family via Mercedes me connect the brand provides comprehensive services that make electric mobility more convenient and accessible. The intelligent services and functions available for the EQC extend from route planning and remote pre-climate control to new assistance functions and convenient charging.

In the increasing broad portfolio of Mercedes-Benz, the EQ brand provides easy and transparent guidance for customers interested in electric drive. For the brand as a whole, EQ is a further, logical step within the Mercedes-Benz strategy of "Best Customer Experience." All in all, more than ten billion euros will be invested in expansion of the electric fleet in the next few years, and an additional billion in battery production. At the same time we are also investing in the systematic expansion of the charging infrastructure.

On the road to locally emission-free driving, the company is following a three- track drive strategy with electric vehicles (EQ), plug-in hybrid models (EQ Power) and 48-Volt mild hybrid combustion engines (EQ Boost).

Brand philosophy and brand experience for the mobility of the future

With EQ, Mercedes-Benz has set the scene for the future. The entire know-how of Mercedes-Benz Cars relating to intelligent electric mobility is consolidated into this brand. At the same time EQ is creating a new and unmistakable brand look. Just as Mercedes-Benz stands for Modern Luxury, Mercedes-Maybach for Ultimate Luxury and Mercedes-AMG for Performance Luxury, EQ is pointing the way to the future with Progressive Luxury.

Featuring a completely new design, the battery-electric models will have their own distinctive "electro-look" styling (see Design section).

Communication with a mission: "Educate, Entertain, Inform"

Four topic areas will fundamentally transform the mobility of the future: the increasing connectivity of vehicles, autonomous driving, the development of digital mobility and transport services and electric mobility. With EQ, the company already offers a comprehensive range of services for electric mobility.

In its communication, the motto of EQ is "Educate, Entertain, Inform." This means that factual information is coupled with a surprising, at times humorous presentation heavily characterized by visual content. In this way complex inter-relationships such as technical features relating to electric mobility are tangibly and simply explained. The aim is not only to increase awareness of the EQ brand, but also to promote general acceptance of electric mobility amongst customers, potential customers and society in general. In the second phase, which is now beginning with the world premiere of the brands first Mercedes-Benz vehicle, the focus is on hallmark Mercedes-Benz attributes, including quality, safety, comfort and design, which influence the individuals decision to buy. In this way customers are being prepared for the market launch of the EQC.

Experiencing Electric Mobility

When the sixth season of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship commences, Mercedes-Benz will open a new chapter in its long and successful motorsport history. At the start of the 2019/20 season, two fully electric racing cars will be fielded by the new Mercedes EQ Formula E team for the first time. In 2018 Mercedes-Benz with its EQ brand has already been involved as a partner in the European Formula E races in Rome, Paris, Berlin and Zurich. For EQ, Formula E is far more than a motorsport championship, but instead an exciting festival that attracts progressive people with urban lifestyles and new target groups. Visitors to Formula E are interested in mobility, cars and alternative drive systems.

EQ Community  shaping the future of mobility

A further initiative that exposes EQ to new target groups is the "EQ Community." This is based on the conviction that EQ is best able to meet the challenges of the mobility of tomorrow by entering into a dialogue with visionaries, businesspeople and opinion leaders. Accordingly EQ has a specific presence in the environment of these target groups at international, innovation-oriented and trendsetting conferences such as the Tech Open Air (TOA, the leading European interdisciplinary technology festival in Berlin), the Collision (Jazz) Festival in New Orleans, and the Web Summit in Lisbon or the RISE (Tech Conference) in Hong Kong.

With "EQ Dinner" and "EQ Night," Mercedes-Benz has created two solid event formats in which inspiring personalities come into contact with the brand and engage in an exchange about the mobility of tomorrow with like-minded individuals. EQ seeks to inspire, and also looks for inspiration from the members of the Community.

The exclusive EQ Dinners are small-scale events under the motto "share the table  and shape the future." This is where future experts from Daimler come together with invited visionaries to discuss approaches for shaping the future of mobility. A wider public takes part in the EQ Nights. Their purpose is both to familiarize interesting and inspiring personalities with the EQ brand and to discuss the mobility needs of today and tomorrow with the guests. The objective is to better understand and cater for mobility needs. After the events, dialogue within the EQ community continues on digital channels such as the Mercedes Brand Hub, Mercedes-Benz social media channels and the EQ LinkedIn presence. In this way EQ provides many ways in which its community and the visionaries can exchange views with the brand and between themselves.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

Design

Progressive Luxury: Pioneer of a new electro-look

As the first Mercedes-Benz model launched under the new product and technology brand EQ, the EQC features pioneering design details and hallmark color accents. As a particularly striking feature, the headlamps and grille blend into a black-panel surface. The high-quality interior of the EQC also pioneers an avant-garde electro-look. The innovative interior design is inspired by the world of consumer electronics. One example is the louvered trim in the upper dashboard and door panels, which resembles the cooling fins of a hi-fi amplifier. Both inside and out, the EQC embodies the design idiom of Progressive Luxury.

The EQ brand gives an insight into the future, and is shaped by an avant-garde, distinct look  Progressive Luxury. This arises from the combination of a previously unknown beauty, the conscious clash of digital and analogue elements as well as the seamless merging of intuitive and physical design.

By virtue of its muscular proportions, the EQC is classed as a crossover SUV. The extended roofline and window layout with a low shoulderline and the coupe-like roof visually position it between an SUV and an SUV coupe.

For the first time, the black panel is bordered at the top by an LED Light Band as a visual link between the torch-like daytime running lamps. At night this creates an almost uninterrupted, horizontal light band. In certain markets this unmistakable night design is supplemented with an illuminated central Mercedes-Benz star. This standard feature has been combined with the radar sensor of Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC for the first time, and acts as an additional position lamp for the vehicle.

Other design features at the front include the air inlet with two chrome louvres in the lower area of the front apron and the simulated side air inlets in high- gloss black.

The lower section of the bumper is in black. Together with the black side trim and the lower section of the rear bumper, this produces a well-balanced overall effect. Moreover, this color concept together with the low shoulderline visually lowers the vehicle height and ensures an off-road- look.

At the rear the sporty, stretched silhouette is finished off by a low roof spoiler. The roof contour and side window layout visually confirm that the EQC is conceived as a crossover SUV. The side windows are framed by high-gloss aluminum trim strips. The charging flap is integrated flush with the rear right side wall.

Roof rails have deliberately been omitted, preserving the clear, monolithic form and further enhancing aerodynamics. As with other Mercedes-Benz car models, robust attachment points integrated into the roof structure allow carrier systems to be mounted.

The EQC is fitted with 19 to 21-inch, aerodynamically enhanced, bicolor light- alloy wheels, which are flush with the wheel arches. Two wheel variants have blue touches on the rim flange or spokes.

The deep roof spoiler adds to the excellent aerodynamics and emphasizes the width of the rear window. The transition between the bumper and tailgate is practically seamless. The multi-section rear lights with tail lights in edge-light technology echo the light band at the front. The reflectors are positioned separately in the bumper. This allows a flatter, sporty layout for the rear lights. The multi-section chrome strip in the lower area of the bumper emphasizes the visual breadth of the rear end.

As in Mercedes-Benz coupes, the license plate is located in the bumper. This makes the Mercedes star in the tailgate particularly prominent. This is also used to open the tailgate, and accommodates the standard rearview camera.

The model lettering EQC is located on the left of the tailgate, and has a new, EQ-specific typography in chrome.

Interior design: Progressive design idiom, modern materials

The high-quality interior of the EQC also pioneers an avant-garde electro-look. This applies to the form, material mix and user experience. There is a unique contrast between sensuous, soft surfaces, precise edges and geometrical shapes.

The instrument panel is designed as a driver-oriented cockpit. Both in volume and complexity, its upper section is reduced to what is essential. The signature Mercedes-Benz wing profile is asymmetrical, with a "cut-out" in the driver area. This is where one of the visual highlights of the cockpit is located - a high-tech, high gloss housing with rectangular air vents with key-shaped, rose- gold colored louvres. These are a feature of the new EQ design idiom, and are exclusive to this new model.

The instrument panel has a louvered metal surround reminiscent of the cooling fins found on high-quality music amplifiers. This design feature is a wrap- around extending into the doors. The simulated, metallic-look louvered rim continues into the door panels as a design highlight, and has integral mid- range speakers. This creates a harmonious contrast between high-tech aesthetics and classic door trim. The perforated plate feature is another repeated design motif. It is found at the top of the instrument panel support and in the mirror triangles. Round depressions of different diameters create a dramatic three-dimensional pattern. With the Burmester Sound System, the mirror triangle accommodates the tweeter and has the familiar metallic look with a pattern of perforations and a key signature.

The instrument cluster and media display (two 10.25-inch displays standard) are housed behind a shared, continuous glass surface to form a large, free- standing screen. There is a touchpad in the center console as a further means of controlling many vehicle functions. The optional 64-color ambient lighting impressively illuminates the instrument panel, with LED lights coursing through the entire cockpit and across the deck with the air vents.

The EQ character of the interior is accentuated by a brand-specific color scheme that is unique in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio. High-grade materials such as leather, plus modern trim elements in an aluminum look or with natural grain wood, convey the familiar, high Mercedes-Benz quality.

A new, ultra-fine surface structure of the standard MB-Tex dashboard is pleasant to the touch and extends across the dashboard and upper doors. Also new is a futuristic, textile-like structure in metallic silver-grey. This new Progressive Luxury is further enhanced by elegant highlights in rose-gold.

The design and interior lines: Electric Art and AMG Line

The interior line Electric Art has the design features described above with rose- gold highlights. The Mercedes-Benz EQC is also available with the sporty AMG Line, with the options of AMG Line Interior and AMG Line Exterior.

The EQC with AMG Line Exterior features an AMG-specific radiator grille and mirror housings in the vehicle color. It also looks considerably sportier thanks to a distinctive front bumper. A wide rear bumper in an AMG design further reinforces this impression. Several new AMG wheel designs in sizes between 19 and 21 inches are available for the EQC.

The interior also becomes sportier with the AMG Line Interior. In addition to a three-spoke AMG multifunction sport steering wheel with flattened lower section, the package includes an AMG sport pedal cluster of brushed stainless steel. The seats are in black MB Tex leather/DINAMICA microfiber, with leather seats and carbon-fiber look trim available as an option. AMG floor mats round off the AMG Line Interior.

MBUX: Intuitive control structure and different display styles

The information of the instrument cluster and media display is easily legible on the large, high-resolution screens. Showcasing elements in an emotionally appealing manner underlines the comprehensibility of the control structure and impresses with brilliant pixel-perfect graphics.

Depending on mood or to suit the chosen interior, the user has a choice of three different styles:

Modern Classic is a further development of the classic display style in an elegant and light material mix.

Sport has a high-tech turbine look with sporty black/yellow contrasts.

Electric Art presents its digital look in reduced form. The visible color changes explain and thrill in equal measure. The glass dials change from rose-gold in Drive mode to white, and to "Electric Blue" during recuperation. The media display clearly presents functional aspects of the energy situation, including energy flow or the power consumption history.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

Powertrain

Dynamic performance meets efficiency

The EQC, the first Mercedes-Benz representative of the new product and technology brand EQ, features an all-new drive system development. The interplay between dynamic performance and high levels of efficiency and comfort was a particular focus of the developers. The EQC has a compact electric drivetrain at each axle, providing the confident and sporty characteristics of an all-wheel drive vehicle. Over a wide operating range, the intelligent control allows dynamic torque distribution between the two driven axles, creating the conditions for high vehicle dynamics. The asynchronous motors have a combined maximum output of 402 horsepower. The centerpiece of the Mercedes-Benz EQC is the lithium-ion battery from in-house production housed in the vehicle floor. With a total capacity of 80 kWh, it employs a sophisticated operating strategy to supply the vehicle with power, enabling an estimated electric range of around 200 miles.

The vehicle concept of the EQC is designed for all the requirements of a battery-electric drive system. Both the electric powertrains and the battery are tailor-made for the EQC. Tractive power is provided by an asynchronous motor at each axle. The electric motor, a fixed-ratio transmission with a differential, the cooling system and the power electronics form a highly integrated, very compact unit. To reduce power consumption, the electric drivetrains are configured differently: the front electric motor is configured for best possible efficiency in the low to medium load range, while the rear one determines sportiness. Together, they generate an output of 402 hp and 564 lb-ft of torque.

Maximum variability for more efficiency and stability

In both their drive and recuperation functions, the electric motors operate and function irrespective of the direction of rotation. On the overrun or when braking, the mechanical rotation is converted into electrical energy and used to charge the high-voltage battery (recuperation). In the interests of maximum driving stability and efficiency, the power requirement between the front and rear axle is regulated according to the driving situation. Torque shifting allows the torque to be distributed between the front and rear axles, ensuring that there is always a satisfying balance between power and efficiency. This gives the EQC superior all-wheel drive driving characteristics. .

Under low to medium load conditions, only the front electric motor is operated for efficiency reasons. Maximum recuperative deceleration is achieved by using both electric motors as alternators.

Extremely quiet thanks to sophisticated decoupling

Electric vehicles are commonly known to be almost silent  above all because they have no noisy internal combustion engine. However, maximum rotational speeds of around 13,000 rpm in the electric motors pose special challenges with respect to noise insulation. Mercedes-Benz engineers have achieved an impressive level of noise comfort. In the EQC the powerpacks are isolated by rubber mounts at two points: where the powerpack connects to its subframe and where the subframe connects to the body. This effective isolation is supplemented with insulation measures. As a result, the interior of the EQC is extremely quiet.

The battery: a "heart" from Saxony/Germany

The EQC is equipped with the latest generation of a lithium-ion (Li-Ion) battery serving as the energy source for both electric motors. The battery consists of 384 cells and is located in the vehicle floor, between the two axles. The battery system is modular in design, consisting of two modules with 48 cells each and four with 72 cells each. The powerful high-voltage battery has a nominal voltage of approx. 350 V and a nominal capacity of approx. 218 Ah, for an energy content of 80 kWh (according to NEDC/WLTP).

The integral overall cooling concept of the EQC, consisting of a heat pump function and two electric PTC heater boosters, not only includes the power electronics, the electric motor and the rotor, but also the battery. The entire battery system is liquid-cooled. At low temperatures a battery heater ensures outstanding performance and efficiency (see Climate control section).

The battery is an integral part of the crash concept for the vehicle as a whole. Its low, central location also has a positive effect on the handling characteristics of the EQC (see Safety section).

The battery is produced in Germany, by the wholly-owned Daimler subsidiary Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE in Kamenz/Saxony (see Production section).

As with all other high-voltage batteries, Mercedes-Benz issues a battery warranty.

Charging options: Flexible and fast charging

Whether at home via a wallbox, while shopping, at work or on the highway: there are various ways to supply electric vehicles with power. Intelligently networked charging solutions focused on the mobility needs and convenience of customers are an integral part of the new product and technology brand EQ.

Standard equipment for the EQC includes a water-cooled onboard charger (OBC) with a capacity of 7.4 kW, making it suitable for AC charging at home or at public charging stations. The charging time required for a full charge depends on the available infrastructure and the country-specific vehicle equipment. Charging at a home wallbox is much faster than at a domestic power socket (see section "The intelligent services for the EQC).

It is faster still with DC charging  which is standard for the EQC  for example via CCS (Combined Charging Systems) in Europe and the USA. This quick- charging system expands the existing technical standard for AC charging of electric vehicles with the capacity for DC fast charging. Depending on the SoC (status of charge), the EQC can be charged with a maximum output of up to 110 kW at an appropriate charging station. In around 40 minutes, the battery can be charged from 10 - 80 percent SoC (provisional data).

Energy management: The link between the battery and the power consumers

High-voltage energy management (HV-EMM) provides the link between the battery and the HV components (electric motors, air conditioner compressor, heating elements, DC/DC converter to power the 12 V components).

The functions of HV-EMM include:

Determining the usable energy remaining in the battery

Activation and deactivation of the high-voltage components on the basis of the available energy, and with due regard for safety requirements

Prediction of the currently available electrical output of the powertrain

Coordination of the charging process between the battery and charging components

Calculation of the electric operating range and consumption for EQ- optimized navigation

Driving modes: The driver has a choice of drive strategies

The power consumption and range of electric vehicles greatly depend on driving style. The EQC supports its driver with driving modes that have different characteristics. In the more economical driving modes, the haptic accelerator pedal that prompts the driver to conserve power plays an important role.

The following programs are available:

COMFORT: Default setting; accelerator pedal characteristic supports a comfortable driving style, but also automatically becomes more dynamic depending on the driving style.

ECO: Driving program focused on high efficiency and low consumption.

MAX RANGE: Intelligent driving program that can help the driver achieve the maximum possible range.

SPORT: Driving program focused on the best response for the highest driving performance.

INDIVIDUAL: Allows the driver to customize each individual parameter separately.

One-pedal driving: manual selection of braking recuperation

The driver is also able to influence the recuperation level using paddles behind the steering wheel. The paddle on the left increases the level of recuperation, the paddle on the right reduces it. The following stages are available:

D Auto (recuperation via ECO Assist to suit the situation)

D + (coasting)

D (low recuperation)

D - (medium recuperation)

D - - (high recuperation). This makes one-pedal driving possible, because in most situations the recuperative deceleration is enough to not require use of the brake pedal.

ECO Assist: Intelligent efficiency through the use of sensor fusion

Predictive driving for economy - the ECO Assist assistance system comprehensively supports drivers in implementing this effective efficiency strategy: by prompting the driver when it is appropriate to come off the accelerator. For this purpose, navigation data, traffic sign recognition and information from the intelligent safety assistants (radar and stereo camera) are linked and processed.

ECO Assist takes the following traffic situations and information into account in its driving recommendations and efficiency strategy:

Route profile (curves, intersections, traffic circles, gradients)

Speed limits

Distance from vehicles ahead

ECO Assist continuously generates coasting simulations in the background. Depending on the traffic situation, it computes whether the vehicle should ideally be allowed to coast with the lowest possible driving resistance with the drivers foot off the accelerator, or whether it should be decelerated so that the battery can be efficiently charged (recuperation).

Within the limits of the system, ECO Assist controls the coasting according to the situation as soon as the drivers foot leaves the accelerator. The driver is given a discreet prompt to do this by a "foot off accelerator" symbol in the media display (or in the optional head-up display). At the same time, a diagram gives the driver the reason for the recommendation ("Intersection ahead" or "Gradient ahead").

ECO Assist predictively computes the driving situation when deciding whether to drive with the lowest resistance (coasting) or whether to recuperate.

Examples include downhill gradients, uphill gradients or speed limits ahead, which the system recognizes from the map data.

Downhill Gradients: the vehicle recognizes that an upcoming downhill gradient is followed by an uphill gradient, and also recognizes the speed limit of the road. The driver receives the prompt "Foot off accelerator." As soon as the driver acts on this, the vehicle coasts with the electric motors switched off. Recuperation begins on the downhill stretch, and appropriately adjusted so that the speed limit is maintained. Recuperation ends just before the lowest point in the downhill stretch, and coasting begins to maintain as much momentum as possible for the uphill stretch in the interests of energy efficiency.

Uphill Gradients: the vehicle recognizes that there is a speed limit of 55 mph before the top of a hill, and afterwards it increases to 60 mph at the bottom of the hill further down the road. Once again the driver is prompted with "Foot off accelerator" before the top of the hill is reached, and the vehicle begins coasting when the driver complies. On the following downhill stretch, the new target speed of 60 mph is set and maintained by the vehicle by intelligently adjusting recuperation levels.

Speed limit: When the system recognizes a new speed limit from the navigation data or via Traffic Sign Assist, the driver is once again prompted with "Foot off accelerator pedal". The vehicle is then gently decelerated (with recuperating) to the new speed, followed by coasting. In this way, safe speeds for intersections, traffic circles and curves are also supported.

Slow-moving traffic: when the radar sensors of the system recognize slow-moving vehicles ahead while coasting, coasting is automatically interrupted if necessary. Deceleration with recuperation takes place to the extent that braking action by the driver is often unnecessary. If the vehicle ahead accelerates, coasting is reactivated automatically so as to cease deceleration and maintain the current speed as much as possible. The driver operates the accelerator if needed.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

Climate control

Pleasantly climatized interior from the start

Cars with combustion engines use their waste heat to warm the interior. Electric vehicles are more efficient  which means lower energy losses but also less waste heat to warm the interior. In other words, the engineers needed new, intelligent concepts.

A sophisticated system with a heat pump and electric heater boosters pre- climatizes the interior, ideally when charging. This increases range, as the energy requirement from the high-voltage battery can be greatly reduced. The EQC also uses the waste heat from the battery as an energy source. The integrated overall cooling concept, which cools both the power electronics and the rotors of the electric motors, is also designed for efficiency.

Thanks to pre-entry climate control, EQC drivers neither need to scrape windows nor get into ice-cold cars. And even in hot summer temperatures, the interior is cooled to a pleasant level before starting a journey. Pre-entry climate control can be controlled via the multimedia system MBUX  Mercedes-Benz User Experience  or conveniently from the home or office using the Mercedes me connect App.

Pre-entry climate control uses target values as a basis. In other words, when the driver inputs a departure time, the EQC is climatized to the set temperature by that time. The driver can do this either individually for each journey and every stretch of the journey, or with the help of a weekly schedule.

In addition to automatic air conditioning, pre-entry climate control includes heating of the exterior mirrors and rear window, as well as the seat heating for the driver and front passenger.

Sophisticated control technology: how climate comfort comes about

In the winter, many electric vehicles either fail to achieve the climate comfort of conventional cars or their range is significantly reduced because the battery power is also used to heat the interior. Furthermore, the operating temperature of the high-battery should be kept within a certain range in the interests of battery operating life, which means that it must be cooled or heated as necessary.

In the EQC Mercedes-Benz uses a sophisticated system with a heat pump function and two electric PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient Thermistor) heater boosters. A heat pump  also familiar from domestic appliances  operates on the same principle as a refrigerator, transporting heat from a lower to a higher temperature level. This means that "cold thermal energy," which occurs particularly frequently in electric vehicles, can be used to heat the interior.

The PTC heater boosters are in principle immersion heaters whose performance is however dependent on the inflow temperature of the coolant. The advantage is that the component itself prevents overheating, making additional protection unnecessary. This is because at low temperatures, the ceramic PTC components have a very low electrical resistance and allow a high flow of current for a good heating output. The effect is reversed if the temperature rises, however: The electric current is reduced by the increasing resistance of the ceramic blocks, therefore the system releases less heat. The two PTC heater boosters in the EQC are located in the right and left wheel arches.

For the best possible climate control compromise between efficiency and comfort, the influencing factors of battery temperature, outside temperature, humidity and dewpoint are registered and evaluated. Operation of the heat pump improves efficiency over a wide outside temperature range.

Other new features in the EQC are the water-cooled condenser and regulation of the chiller (evaporator) by an electric expansion valve. This allows more usable performance, and this can be better managed. As a result the temperature at the evaporator does not suddenly change when the chiller is required to increase its performance.

The water-cooled condenser feeds the heat from the refrigeration circuit into the heating circuit. It also ensures that the heat from the supply air and recirculated air, the waste heat of the compressor and the waste heat of the battery are available to heat the interior. In the ideal case these heat sources are sufficient to heat the interior energy-efficiently with the heat pump down to outside temperatures below 0C without having to activate the PTC heater booster.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

MBUX Mercedes-Benz User Experience

Unique user experience with EQ-specific functions

The EQC features the innovative multimedia system MBUX  Mercedes- Benz User Experience  which has numerous EQ-specific functions such as displaying the range, state of charge and energy flow. EQ-optimized navigation, driving modes, charging capacity and departure time can also be controlled and set via MBUX. The MBUX display has a special EQ menu where numerous EQ features are grouped. Alternatively the user can access the EQ menu of the MBUX system directly using a key in the lower left control panel.

In the digital instrument cluster on the left side of the standard widescreen cockpit, the EQC greets its driver with an EQ welcome animation. The dial on the left shows the speed and, in the lower area, the charge status and range. The dial on the right displays the output and recuperation levels.

Under acceleration the displays behave as dynamically as the vehicle: in both dial instruments, a white band also gives a visual impression of the EQCs speed and power. A display of charging information is also part of the instrument cluster.

The media display on the right side of the widescreen cockpit has an EQ tile in its main menu as the central access point for specific displays and settings.

These include the charging current, departure time, energy flow and consumption chart. Alternatively the EQCs driver can also access this menu using a direct selection key in the lower control panel. Moreover, the EQ- optimized navigation and Mercedes me Charge functions (see Services section for details) plus the driving programs (see Drive system section) can be controlled via the media display.

The navigation screen displays charging stations and, if there is an internet connection, additional information such as availability and opening times.

MBUX - Mercedes-Benz User Experience: Intuitive to use and learn- capable

The name MBUX  Mercedes-Benz User Experience  for the new multimedia system signifies that the user experience has first priority. A unique feature of this system is its ability to learn thanks to artificial intelligence. With its predictive functions, MBUX anticipates what the user would like next. For instance, anyone who often telephones their mother on Tuesdays during the drive home will receive her telephone number as a suggestion on the display on this day of the week. Anyone who regularly switches over to a radio station with news at a certain time also receives this as a suggestion.

If the navigation system detects a route frequently driven, navigation to this destination is already started in the background. For example, MBUX suggests the gym in the navigation destination search screen. The driver then only needs to confirm they would like to proceed to the destination, and all the information on the route, such as traffic warnings, is already available.

Further strengths include the high-resolution widescreen cockpit with touchscreen operation of the media display, the navigation display with augmented reality technology (optional) plus intelligent voice control with natural speech recognition, which is activated with the keyword "Hey Mercedes."

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC under the microscope:

Voice Control

"Hey Mercedes"

One of the strengths of MBUX is its intelligent voice control with natural language comprehension, which is activated by the keyword "Hey Mercedes." The new Voice Control supports many multimedia functions (destination input, phone calls, music selection, writing and hearing messages, weather forecast), as well as numerous convenience functions such as climate control or lighting.

Conventional voice control systems in cars call for certain fixed commands from their users. However thanks to natural speech recognition, MBUXs Voice Control obeys virtually any command and recognizes and understands nearly all sentences in the areas of multimedia and vehicle operation, of course also including EQ-specific ones. For example "Where is the next charging station?" is understood, as is "Where can I charge the battery?"

The intelligent language assistance is activated either via a button on the steering wheel or with the command "Hey Mercedes." Its not the human who has to adapt to the machine, but the other way around. Indirect speech is also recognized, for instance if the user says "I feel cold" instead of giving the clear command "Temperature to 72 degrees" in order to operate the climate control. The temperature is then increased by one degree, or lowered by one degree on hearing "I am hot."

The Voice Control is also capable of learning. It tunes into the user and their voice and also understands non-native speakers better. Also, the software models on the server learn new buzzwords or changing use of language with time. The system also no longer answers stereotypically, but varies in the dialogue output too. In short: It is not the driver who must learn the voice commands stored in the vehicle, but rather the vehicle that learns the voice commands of the driver.

The fundamental way the language assistant operates: the voice input is freed from background noises, compressed and transmitted. The voice control is a hybrid system. In other words, it uses both onboard software and the cloud to understand speech as well as possible and respond to the users requests.

Both the computer in the vehicle and the server evaluate the data and send a reply. The system decides which reply is the most likely, then within a few seconds the reply/reaction follows. This means that in contrast to many other assistants, the language assistant can also answer certain requests even when there is no internet connection.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

The intelligent services relating to the EQC

Relaxed travel from start to finish

Mercedes-Benz is transforming itself from a pure vehicle manufacturer to a provider of mobility services. EQ with Mercedes me provides comprehensive services for the electric mobility of today and tomorrow. The intelligent services and functions available for the EQC extend from Route Planning and auxiliary climate control to new assistance functions and convenient charge handling. Via the EQ-optimized navigation, Mercedes- Benz customers can quickly find public charging stations, have convenient access to the charging stations of different providers via Mercedes me Charge and benefit from an integrated payment function. The objective is relaxed, uncomplicated travel with transparency and planning certainty.

Individual, specific services relating to electric mobility have been around for a while. The EQC takes a new, comprehensive approach: intelligent networking of individual services and functions make it easier for EQC drivers to use their vehicle in every phase. This already begins before the journey. Drivers are able to plan their destination and input a departure time for pre-entry climate control from their home or office desk. They not only receive an intelligently planned route including necessary charging stops and an arrival time, but also an estimate of the charge status when starting off. On request they can receive a push notification when the charging process starts and ends. This creates transparency and helps drivers to plan upcoming journeys to best effect.

The new services and functions of the EQC planned for market launch include:

Pre-entry climate control, which ensures that the vehicle interior is already at the desired temperature on departure. The EQC is correspondingly cooled down or heated. Programming is possible in several ways: directly via MBUX or via the Mercedes me App, where either an individual departure time or a weekly schedule can be entered. On request, drivers receive push notifications on their mobile phone when the process starts and ends, and are always up-to- date. Pre-entry climate control during a charging process extends vehicle range, as the energy requirement is covered by the charging current from the wallbox or public charging station.

EQ-optimized navigation operates intelligently. It uses numerous factors to plan a route automatically, including any necessary charging stops. It takes into account the current electric range, the current power consumption, which is individually determined by the driving style, the topography and the traffic flow, and available charging stations. The route calculation is always based on the fastest route taking the shortest charging time into account  with quick- charging stations as the preference. Customers do not necessarily have to charge the vehicle fully, so customers can quickly stop for a few minutes to charge and ensure it can reach the entire journey. The route planning also responds dynamically to changes. It can take place both offboard and onboard, externally (via the Mercedes me App) and within the vehicle. The journey can therefore be conveniently planned at home before departure, or while already en route if required.

EQ-specific voice control is activated with "Hey Mercedes" and its natural language recognition makes operating the EQC easier. This is because the Voice Control of MBUX recognizes and understands many questions and commands relating to electric car specific control aspects. A few examples: "Show me the energy flow," "What charging settings have been made?" "Charge the vehicle to 85 percent," "I want to leave at 8 a.m. tomorrow," or "Where is the nearest charging station?"

Convenient charging and payment

Thanks to EQ-optimized navigation, Mercedes-Benz customers can easily find charging stations either via the Mercedes me App or directly from the car, and Mercedes me Charge gives them convenient access to the charging stations of numerous providers. In this way customers benefit from authentication plus an integrated payment function with simple accounting. The customer chooses the preferred payment method only once. The individual charging processes are clearly listed in a monthly invoice.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

Active safety

High stress-relieving comfort and better support in hazardous situations

The EQC is equipped with the latest-generation Mercedes-Benz driver assistance systems, which provide cooperative support for drivers. In the Driving Assistance Package, these include new functions such as predictive speed adjustment when approaching the end of a traffic jam: when traffic is detected, Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC reduces the speed as a precaution.

Drivers are familiar with this potentially dangerous situation on highways: after a curve in the road, a traffic jam suddenly appears. This is where the EQC assists its driver  by recognizing a traffic jam beforehand and responding to it.

If Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC with Route-Based Speed Adaptation is activated, the EQC is able to recognize and respond to traffic jams or slow- moving traffic before the driver becomes aware of the hazard. When a traffic jam is recognized (and if the driver does not choose a different response), DISTRONIC reduces the speed as a precaution. This can significantly reduce the risk of approaching the end of an unexpected traffic jam at high speed.

Following vehicles in a traffic jam: in stop-and-go traffic on motorways and similar roads, stops of up to 30 seconds are possible within which the EQC can automatically start up and follow the traffic ahead.

Once the traffic jam dissolves, the EQC accelerates back up to the speed preset for Active Distance Assist DISTRONIC with Route-Based Speed Adaptation.

Within the entire speed range of the EQC and on all types of roads  freeways, country roads or in urban areas  the system is not only able to automatically maintain the correct distance from the vehicle ahead, but also to give the driver noticeable steering assistance, even on bends. At speeds up to 80 mph the system can use several different methods to provide active steering assistance. If lines in the road are unclear, often in construction areas, or if there are no road markings at all, it can steer actively as if in a swarm by monitoring the vehicles around it. The system therefore makes driving much easier, especially in traffic jams.

Even in the base model, Active Brake Assist has extensive safety functions:

an acoustic and visual warning if the danger of collision is identified

braking assistance appropriate to the given situation as soon as the driver applies the brakes

automatic emergency braking for moving, stationary or crossing vehicles ahead if the driver fails to respond

automatic emergency braking also or crossing pedestrians/cyclists.

With the Driver Assistance Package, the EQC has further driving assistance systems with functions familiar from the S-Class for route-based driver support. These include further functions of Active Brake Assist, as well as Evasive Steering Assist and PRE-SAFE PLUS if a collision threatens from the rear. The EQC also offers the Exit Warning Assist of Blind Spot Assist if a car or bicycle is detected approaching from the rear after the EQC has stopped.

PRE-SAFE: preventive occupant protection

Mercedes-Benz is the pioneer in reversible, preventive occupant protection. These are measures that can help mitigate the consequences of accidents. With the help of various sensors and information from ESP or the assistance systems, the PRE-SAFE System is able to recognize critical driving situations in advance and initiate preventive occupant protection measures if an accident threatens. These include reversible belt tensioning, automatic closing of open side windows and the sliding sunroof, and movement of the front passenger seat backrest to a more favorable position in case of a collision.

PRE-SAFE PLUS can recognize an imminent rear-end collision and the system firmly applies the brakes of the stationary vehicle, reducing the risk of whiplash injuries by reducing the forward jolt caused by an impact from the rear. This can also reduce the danger of secondary collisions, for example with pedestrians or vehicles ahead at road intersections. Immediately before impact, the PRE-SAFE anticipatory occupant protection measures are deployed.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

Passive safety

Mitigating the consequences of accidents with modern technology and the EQC-specific safety concept

When it comes to passive safety, the EQC meets the highest demands: in addition to the extensive program of crash tests, Mercedes-Benz applies further, particularly stringent safety standards to the battery and all component parts carrying electrical current.

Daimler applies extremely high safety standards to all its models. This is true for both vehicles with a conventional internal combustion engine and those with an alternative drive. This means that, in many cases, internal Mercedes-Benz safety standards exceed legal requirements. Especially the crash-related requirements are aligned to the so-called Real Life Safety philosophy. These take findings from in-house accident research into account in the development specifications. Alongside verification of crash behavior, all Mercedes-Benz vehicles undergo additional component tests at system level.

The vehicle structure of the EQC allows for the special requirements of the electrical components and battery and is configured to achieve the hallmark high safety level. For example, a new subframe surrounds the drive components located in the front section, and this unit is supported by the usual mounting points. As the battery is housed in the vehicle floor, the EQC also has a low center of gravity. This reduces the risk of a rollover.

Crash gaps are integrated between the fenders and the doors, and like the robust door handles they make it easier to open the doors after a frontal collision.

The high-voltage system: disconnecting in the event of a crash

The extensive experience of Mercedes-Benz with high-voltage drive systems has led to a multi-stage safety concept that deploys in the event of an accident.

Thanks to the specific design features of the EQC, the likelihood of an external short circuit caused by an accident is considerably reduced. The battery is surrounded by a robust frame with an integral crash structure. Deformation elements are installed between the frame and the battery, and these are able to absorb additional forces in the event of a severe side impact.

A battery guard in the front area of the battery is able to prevent the energy storage unit from being pierced by road debris.

The high-voltage system can also be shut down automatically in a crash, depending on its severity. A distinction is made between a reversible and an irreversible disconnect. In the case of a reversible disconnect, which occurs in less severe accidents, it is possible to switch the high-voltage system back on if it detects no faults. This means that vehicles would still capable of being driven, and the driver can then continue their journey. Only in the case of very severe accidents, where the vehicle is heavily damaged, is the high-voltage system shut down irreversibly and unable to be activated without a repair. When shutting down, there is a provision to ensure that within a few seconds there is no residual voltage in the high-voltage system outside the battery that could cause injury.

There are also shutdown points where emergency teams can deactivate the high-voltage system manually. The cut-off switch is located in the engine compartment. In addition, there is a marked cable loop that can be cut in the fuse box on the drivers side as an alternative shutdown point. This is intended for use by the emergency services if they are unable to reach the shutdown switch in the engine compartment.

Another feature of the comprehensive high-voltage safety concept is that the charging process is automatically stopped if an impact is detected while the vehicle is parked at a quick-charging station (DC charging).

The battery: multi-stage protection concept for normal operation

The battery itself also features its own multi-stage safety system for day-to-day operation. This includes monitoring the temperature, voltage and insulation. In normal operation, if a fault is detected, it can lead to the battery being shut down. A continuously self-monitoring safety system prevents overheating and overloading in different operating states.

Restraint systems: Belts and airbags

In addition to the structural safety and the battery protection concept, the models specially adapted restraint systems are particularly important for the occupants in the event of an accident. Three-point seat belts with pyrotechnical belt tensioners and belt force limiters are installed for the driver, front passenger and passengers on the outer rear seats. The center seat of the second row is equipped with a standard three-point belt system.

ISOFIX child seat anchorage points on the outer rear seats ensure safe attachment of appropriate child seats with additional anchorage points at the top of the rear seat backrest (top-tether anchoring). If the front passenger seat is unoccupied or a rear-facing child seat is detected, the "automatic front passenger airbag deactivation" automatically disables the front passenger airbag. This prevents infants from being injured by the deploying front passenger airbag. The reliable recognition function uses a pressure sensor.

In addition, a host of airbags provides occupant protection in an accident. These include:

A curtain airbag in the roof area between the A, B and C-pillars for the head area of the driver, front passenger and passengers on the outer rear seats. These airbags can be deployed on a situational basis, for example during a severe lateral impact, when a rollover is detected or in various frontal collisions with strong lateral acceleration components.

Combined thorax/pelvis side impact airbags for the driver and front passenger, which are able to provide additional protection in the event of a side impact. Side impact airbags for the outer rear seats are available as an option.

Airbags for the driver and front passenger for a frontal collision, with two-stage staggered deployment on the front passenger side, depending on the detected severity of the frontal collision.

Knee airbag for the driver to protect the knees in a severe frontal collision and stabilize the upper body, which positively influences occupant movement.

Numerous measures help to ensure that when Mercedes-Benz vehicles are involved an accident, consequential damage is reduced and rescue of the occupants is assisted. As soon as a protective system is triggered, an emergency call or a service call is made. The following measures can be initiated depending on the accident type and severity:

Automatic activation of Mercedes-Benz emergency call to notify emergency services of the location and emergency situation and initiate rescue. Data transfer is via a communication module with its own SIM card.

Shutdown of the high-voltage system

Activation of the hazard warning system to alert other drivers of an accident and protect occupants from additional accidents.

Activation of the interior lighting to help occupants and rescue services.

Lowering of the front side windows in the event of airbag deployment  serves to ventilate the interior and help occupants.

Unlocking the doors to facilitate access to the interior for emergency services.

Raising of the electrically adjustable steering column; facilitates exiting and access to the driver.

Sending a recognized breakdown or accident situation to the Car-to-X Communication and to the Mercedes-Benz Service Center (Mercedes me or Service Call) to give a warning of an accident or broken-down vehicle, and to offer the driver automatic contact with the Mercedes- Benz Service Center.

Digital support for emergency services: QR code and Rescue Assist App

With a small but effective innovation, Mercedes-Benz has also found a way to give rescue services the best possible support and a clear overview of the vehicles safety-related features.

The digital Mercedes-Benz rescue helpers interact perfectly: The Rescue Sticker provides a direct link to the vehicles rescue data sheet. Corresponding stickers are affixed to the charging flap and to the opposite B-pillar of the vehicle for this purpose. In the aftermath of an accident, rescue services can scan the QR code with a smartphone or tablet PC for fast and reliable access to the rescue data sheet for the specific vehicle involved, thus facilitating rescue operations.

Alongside the rescue data sheets, the Rescue Assist App for smartphones and tablets also has three-dimensional views of the vehicle  now also available offline in case there is no mobile network available at the accident scene.

To ensure practicality, the Mercedes-Benz safety team develops its rescue information and processes together with the fire and rescue services.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

Testing

Endurance tests around the globe: on the road to series production

By the time of the global market launch, prototypes and pre-series versions of the EQC will have covered several million miles throughout testing on four continents (Europe, North America, Asia and Africa). The test program comprises more than 500 individual tests. Like all Mercedes-Benz vehicles, the EQC must pass the demanding standard test programs. There are also special tests for the electric powertrain, the battery, and the interplay of all powertrain components. In the process the test experts are able to build upon the extensive findings from their digital testing work, used to ensure both the buildability of the vehicle and for the simulation of e.g. crash behavior, aerodynamics and NVH (noise, vibration, harshness). In addition, there are intensive tests on numerous test rigs at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center in Sindelfingen, Germany. The ratio between digital and real testing is roughly 35 to 65 percent.

Testing of the EQC began on a computer long before the first prototypes were ready to drive. One special feature affecting the handling characteristics is the low center of gravity thanks to the location of the battery in the underfloor area. As early as the planning phase, and on the basis of available design and functional data, simulations were carried out to determine the vehicle dynamics and handling safety.

Stability at high speed, ride comfort, yaw and steering behavior when cornering (understeer or oversteer) as well as braking stability were already predicted very precisely in this early development phase. In addition a real ESP (Electronic Stability Program) system was connected to a simulation model. This allowed very precise predictions of behavior with respect to vehicle dynamics and handling safety.

Digital testing in 3D

Assemblies from the future vehicle were three-dimensionally projected in the Virtual Reality Center (VRC) on the basis of design and surface data  even entire vehicles can be photo-realistically represented here. The projections are jointly viewed by the design and test engineers, and assessed as if in a real vehicle according to standardized test stages in what amounts to a "stationary test drive". In this way it is possible to assess around 30 percent of the over 1000 standardized test stages in the digital vehicle as if a real road test was being conducted. The assessments include the opening angle of the tailgate, the swept area of the windshield wipers or the controlled dripping of water when opening a door after a rain shower.

Many details relating to the acoustics can also be evaluated in advance. The test engineer views the dimensions, thickness, size, installation location and material of the respective insulation components, and approval is given after a positive assessment together with the design engineer. Another example is testing and assessment of potential chafing: in this case the test engineer views the routing of flexible components such as hoses and wiring harnesses at a very early stage to identify potentially critical areas. The crash behavior, aerodynamics and even the handling dynamics are also verified at an early stage by simulations: Assessments can be made on the basis of the steering, the geometrical layout of axle components and the wheel control. The basic situation is this: the more detailed the data preparation, the more aspects can be assessed more precisely.

From computer screen to dynamometer...

The next step was component testing on numerous test rigs and facilities. For example, the suspension engineers used the driving simulator at the Mercedes- Benz Technology Center (MTC) in Sindelfingen to test and verify the comfort and handling characteristics of the EQC long before drivable prototypes became available.

The simulator for ride comfort (suspension comfort) was used to subjectively experience and assess the comfort performance of the EQC at an early stage. This means that the real testing commenced from a considerably better starting level. As a result, the engineers in the later development phase had more time for fine-tuning work.

More than 70 configurations possible: Crash-testing in the TFS

The safety of the EQC was validated at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center for Vehicle Safety (TFS), which opened in November 2016 as the worlds most cutting-edge crash test center. The special features of the center include a crash facility measuring 295 x 295 feet which has no supporting pillars. This obstacle-free area makes it possible to test pre-crash systems in the pre- accident phase, and to conduct vehicle-to-vehicle crash tests. The flexible and efficient crash track concept allows complex testing in around 70 different crash test configurations.

The new crash tests now possible include the following:

Accidents at road intersections (both vehicles are moving and collide at selectable angles and speeds, with one vehicle sustaining a side impact).

Car2Car compatibility crash tests.

Driving maneuvers for realistic representation of the pre-accident phase enable new assistance and PRE-SAFE systems to be tested.

Car2Car testing with angle of impact from 0-180.

In addition to the Mercedes-Benz specific roof drop test, new rollover tests are also possible in which a new inclined ramp is used. In this test the vehicle is accelerated on a 6.5-ft high sled and fed onto the inclined ramp (ramp length approx. 65 ft). The ramp angle can be adjusted from 25 to 50. The rollover tests are used e.g. to verify the airbag deployment logic and validate the automatic emergency call systems.

The decisive factor for the EQC was that all the safety precautions were taken in the Technology Center to be able to test prototypes with large electric batteries under hard crash conditions at a very early development stage. This is because vehicle safety not only includes assessment of the effects on occupants during a crash, but also the crashworthiness of the battery. During the course of this development, a number of measures described in the section on "Passive safety" were taken.

The battery components were tested in parallel at the development center of Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE, a wholly-owned Daimler subsidiary. Test criteria included the batterys behavior under impact and when penetrated by foreign objects, with overheating and overloading also tested.

Details of the high-voltage safety concept can also be found in the section on "Passive safety."

Thunder and lightning: The storm takes place in the laboratory

In the climatic wind tunnels in the immediate vicinity of the TFS, the EQC was not only aerodynamically fine-tuned - its body, drive system and air conditioning were also tested under laboratory conditions in the most extreme weather. Temperatures ranging from minus 40 to plus 140 degrees Fahrenheit, hurricanes wind speeds of up to 165 mph, tropical downpours and heavy snowstorms are all part of the standard repertoire available to the test engineers. Is the body weatherproof? How long does it take iced-up windows to thaw? Does the air conditioning system also keep the windows clear in extreme air humidity? Can the doors also be opened in very low temperatures? These are just some of the many questions that are investigated.

 And from the dynamometer to the road

After the first prototypes were roadworthy, the summer and winter road testing of the EQC began. Test drives were carried out on numerous sites in Arjeplog (Sweden), near Barcelona (Spain), in Phoenix (USA), in Peking, Heihe and Chengdu (China) and in Boxberg and Papenburg (Germany). Even before its official opening, tests are also being carried out on the new Daimler test site in Immendingen (Germany) this year. The road tests took the test teams all over Europe, e.g. to the Sierra Nevada (Spain) and the low mountain ranges of the Swabian Alb and the Black Forest in Germany.

The test program comprised more than 500 individual tests, which in addition to the standard test regimen for all vehicles also included special tests for the electric powertrain, the battery and the interplay of all powertrain components. The special endurance tests also include a taxi-test, which represents urban driving with frequent idle times, and the high-mileage driver cycle where the focus is on high daily mileages.

Hot on ice: Winter trials

Mercedes-Benz has been testing each new model under extreme conditions near the Arctic Circle for decades  in icy temperatures down to minus 31 degrees Fahrenheit, on snow-covered roads and on sheer ice on frozen lakes. To this end, Mercedes-Benz has set up a test center in the small northern Swedish town of Arjeplog in Lapland. In addition to the road testing in the far north, tests take place on specially set-up testing tracks here. Demanding hill climbs with gradients of up to 20 percent, test tracks with varying coefficients of friction, handling courses, and skid pads on the almost sheer ice of a frozen lake pose the stiffest of challenges for the powertrain and control systems.

New challenges for an electric vehicle include the output of the electric motor during cold starting and with a cold battery, the vehicles range under the customers normal operating conditions, handling of charging cables in icy temperatures, pre-entry climate control - in this case heating the interior before starting off - and the operating strategy complete with recuperation. In view of the dynamic torque distribution from the two electric motors to the front and rear axles, another factor is special configuration of the vehicle dynamics and the ESP systems. Is control of the two electric motors fast and precise enough? Does recuperation interfere with ESP control? Does the brake pedal also give reliable feedback in combination with recuperation? Do the steering, brakes and all-wheel drive system respond as intended on surfaces with different levels of friction on the left and right?

In the heat of the south: Summer trials

Some of the summer trials for the overall vehicle took place in Spain - in intense sunshine and at temperatures up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit.

The greatest challenge for an electric car is dry heat. Because while the battery of an electric car delivers less power in the cold, it can possibly sustain damage in the heat. The extreme tests in Spain were designed to help prevent this.

The coolant circuit of the battery was tested, for example: How does it cope with high power requirements? How does an almost fully charged battery respond to further charging? What influence does the heat have on operating range? Discharging tests test runs in which the battery was completely emptied - were also part of the program. Other aspects included cooling down the interior and the noise characteristics of individual components in the heat. Other questions such as "Is the time allowed for pre-entry climate control sufficient?" "Does the air conditioner compressor drone under full load?" and "Is the estimate of range correct?" were also answered.

Sand and dust were the second major challenge during the trials in Spain. Because the test technicians wanted to know where this dust might be deposited in the components, and whether the sealing concept works.

Another topic on the agenda during all driving trials in other countries was national differences: some details of the road infrastructure are also different in Spain. A few examples: Are the slightly differently designed traffic signs recognized? Are toll stations reliably recognized? Are speed limits correctly detected by the camera of the assistance systems? All of these questions were also examined by the developers during their busy test weeks in Spain.

The new Mercedes-Benz EQC

Production

Worldwide electric initiative: Mercedes-Benz is putting the first EQ model into series production

Production of the EQC is set to begin in 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen. The new EQC as a fully electric vehicle will be highly and flexibly integrated into ongoing series production. The high Mercedes-Benz production standards therefore ensure top quality across all vehicle models. In parallel, the production of batteries for the EQC is coming on stream at the expanded battery plant in Kamenz (near Dresden) Germany.

Preparations for production of the EQC are in full swing at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen: the electric vehicle will be produced on the same line as the C-Class Sedan and Wagon, GLC and GLC Coupe. Mercedes-Benz Cars is systematically working on successful implementation of the electric initiative. Electric vehicles under the product and technology brand EQ will be integrated into the series production processes of the existing plants of Mercedes-Benz Cars. This is possible because the company made investments in maximum flexibility and hi-tech equipment at an early stage, offering trend-setting Industry 4.0 solutions.

Integrating the electric vehicles into existing production has enormous advantages: the plant is able to adapt production flexibly and efficiently, creating vehicles with different drive types in response to market demand  from combustion engines to hybrid drive and electric motors. This enables customer demand to be optimally met. The plant also makes best possible use of its capacity. Well-proven production processes and high production standards also ensure the top quality of Mercedes-Benz in new models.

EQC assembly: Innovative, flexible  and human-centered

The new EQC will be very flexibly produced on a common line with four other models. Digital solutions assist the assembly personnel. State-of-the-art data transmission and the very latest hardware solutions, grouped together under the heading of "paperless factory", now replace paper documentation. Screens provide maximum transparency about the equipment specifications for each vehicle. Modern mobile devices such as tablets, mini PCs and smart PDAs support the employees at each step of the work process. Driverless transport systems (DTS) with shopping carts automatically and ergonomically ensure the smooth supply of parts and components to the personnel on the line.

Another example is the use of Big Data and artificial intelligence for predictive maintenance. Through the analysis of existing production data by predictive maintenance, predictions of potential faults or maintenance work that is due can be made before the need actually arises.

The batteries for EQC production in Bremen are delivered from the Kamenz plant in a partially charged state, stored near the production line and flexibly delivered by driverless transport systems to the line as required.

Assembly personnel will continue to be essential in the future. With their many years of experience in the assembly of hybrid vehicles, the personnel in Bremen have a high level of expertise in high-voltage technology. This is the basis for production of fully electric vehicles.

A detailed look: The "double marriage"

When the body, suspension and powertrain come together in automobile assembly, this is referred to as the "marriage" - in the case of the EQC this is when the two electric powertrains are installed in the body. The Hamburg- based plant in the powertrain production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars supplies the rear axle and the front drive module in which the powertrains (electric motor, power electronics) including their carrying subframes are pre- installed ready for final assembly. The motor and the single-speed transmission share the same housing, which helps to simplify production and final assembly.

One major innovation is the battery joining center (or "second marriage"). This is where the EQCs are recognized as electric models with the help of data tags attached to the body, and equipped with a battery. The body is suspended from a C-carrier and deposited on a frame. Support arms raise the battery to the

vehicles floor from below. An employee monitors the automatic bolting in place.

The extensive final inspection process includes a rain test and a simulated rough track. If required, the batteries of the EQCs are charged at the Mercedes-Benz charging stations newly installed at the Bremen plant before the vehicles are sent on their way to the dealerships.

360 networking: High level of transparency for high-quality vehicles and satisfied customers

Mercedes-Benz Cars believes in digital networking, extending from product creation, including planning and production, right through to the customer for a thrilling, individual product experience. Right from the start, future-oriented Industry 4.0 technologies were the focus of production planning and preparation for the EQC: three-dimensional assembly of the vehicle was virtually tested in digital workshops. As on a games console with motion control, deceptively realistic-looking components are mounted in a vehicle with the help of a digital avatar. By testing with an avatar, experienced employees can assess how the relevant job might best be carried out. The digital workshops also included training on the installation of complex optional equipment.

Worldwide production of electric vehicles under the EQ brand

Alongside Bremen, the Sino-German production joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive Co. Ltd. (BBAC) is preparing to start production of the EQC for the local market in China. As it does for the C-Class and the GLC, Bremen acts as the center of competence for production of the EQC in other locations. BBAC is part of the global production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars.

Other production locations for future Mercedes-Benz EQ models are the Mercedes-Benz plants in Rastatt (Germany), Sindelfingen (Germany), Tuscaloosa (USA) and Hambach (France):

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen will be the center of competence for battery-electric models in the executive and luxury class.

The Mercedes-Benz plant in Rastatt will be the competence center for production of the compact EQ models.

A further, compact electric vehicle under the EQ brand will also be produced by the Hambach location in France in the future.

In the future, SUVs under the product and technology brand EQ will be produced by the US plant in Tuscaloosa (MBUSI, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International).

A compact electric vehicle will also be produced in Beijing alongside the EQC.

The global battery production network

Local battery production is a major success factor in the electric initiative of Mercedes-Benz Cars, and the key component when it comes to servicing worldwide demand for electric vehicles flexibly and efficiently. The production network for the mobility of the future is well positioned. The batteries for the EQC are produced at the Kamenz location of Deutsche ACCUMOTIVE, a wholly- owned subsidiary of Daimler AG. This is where the company is investing around 500 million euros in the construction of a second battery factory.

ACCUMOTIVE has already been producing hybrid and plug-in hybrid batteries for cars and commercial vehicles, plus drive batteries for the current smart EQ fortwo and forfour, since 2012.

In view of the planned electric vehicle initiative under the EQ product and technology brand, Daimler AG is forging ahead with a global battery manufacturing network with locations in Europe, Asia and North America. In total, the company will be investing over one billion euros in global battery production with two factories each in Kamenz, Saxony and Stuttgart- Unterturkheim, and one each in Peking (China), Tuscaloosa (USA) and Bangkok (Thailand).

In the future the worldwide battery production network of Mercedes-Benz Cars will therefore consist of eight plants on three continents, all responding flexibly and efficiently to market demand. The various locations supply the local vehicle production facilities and are able to export if required.

Cross model series know-how at the center of competence in Bremen

With a workforce of more than 12,500, the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen is the largest private-sector employer in the region. During their training, new entrants and young employees are already instructed in the use of future technologies. The personnel at the Bremen plant benefit from their experience in the production of hybrid models. Including the new EQC, twelve models are produced at this location: the C-Class Sedan, Wagon, Coupe and Cabriolet, the E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet, the SUV GLC, the GLC Coupe, the EQC and the two roadster models, the SLC and SL. Plus the Mercedes-Benz GLC F-CELL, which was presented in preproduction form at last years Frankfurt Motor Show.

Like all the German plants, the Bremen plant will establish a CO2-neutral energy supply by 2022. In Germany, Mercedes-Benz Cars has eight vehicle and powertrain plants (Bremen, Rastatt, Sindelfingen, Berlin, Hamburg, Kamenz, Kolleda, and Stuttgart-Unterturkheim) which purchase electrical power or operate their own power stations. In the future, all outsourced power will come from renewable sources such as wind and hydroelectric power. This corresponds to around three quarters of the total power requirement in the German plants. The remainder of the power requirement is generated in our own, highly efficient gas cogeneration power plants. The CO2 emissions generated are compensated by suitable projects.

The production network: Structured by product architectures

Mercedes-Benz Cars Operations is responsible for car production in over 30 locations worldwide which are networked on the principle of smart production. Three of them are currently being established (Mexico, Poland and Russia).

Within a flexible and efficient production network with around 78,000 employees, it includes the central functions of production planning, technology factory, logistics and quality management.Created to celebrate Giorgetto Giugiaros 80th birthday, the GFG Sibylla uses Envisions EnOS energy IoT platform, which allows the car to become intelligently integrated into the wider energy ecosystem. In short, its integrating EV charging into the electricity grid, a system that other automakers have been studying for quite a few years now. The Sibylla name was chosen accordingly, as it references a figure from Latin mythology endowed with the ability to provide answers and predict the future. It is also a tribute to Giorgettos mother, named Sibylla. Lets find out more about the concept car in the review below.

Responsible for some of the greatest automotive designs, Giugiaro lost its place in the spotlight in recent years. But, even though it stopped working with the big automakers outside the Audi Q2 and some Chinese cars, Giugiaro rolled out a few spectacular concepts recently, including the Parcour and the Zerouno. The Italian firm introduced yet another in 2018. Its called the GFG Sibylla, its fully electric, and it was developed in cooperation with Envision, a Chinese company specialized in wind turbines, energy management software, and energy technology services.

Giugiaro GFG Sibylla EV Concept Exterior

Transparent dome roof

Elegant design

Sporty front end

Clean rear end

22-inch wheels

Not ready for production

The concept car has a unique design as the conventional roof was replaced by a transparent, wraparound dome

The Giugiaro calls the GFG Sibylla a luxury sedan, but its more of the notchback variety, as it has a very short deck lid and a steeply angled rear window. It also has a unique design as the conventional roof was replaced by a transparent, wraparound dome. There are no A-pillars, while the B-pillars are almost invisible. Despite this, its quite elegant and sportier than the usual four-door sedan. Its worth mentioning that the dome roof is some sort of trademark design feature for Giugiaro, as it can be seen on several other concept cars from the past.

The roof itself is more than just an exotic design feature. The driver enters the cabin by sliding the windscreen towards the front by 750 mm (29.5 inches) on three tracks. Two are placed on the hood and one on the roof. The central longitudinal structure also has hinges for the second-row passenger windows, which open in a gullwing fashion. The doors open at the same time as the windscreen and rear windows, making ingress and egress effortless. Once the passengers are seated, the cockpit closes automatically.

The rear fascia is surprisingly clean and simple for a concept car

Design-wise, the GFG Sibylla is quite aggressive to look at. Up front, the grille is flanked by really thin headlamps and aggressive wings on each side. A protruding splitter gives the car a race-inspired look. Unlike other concept cars, the GFG Sibylla is equipped with a front stop light. It may sound ridiculous at first, but Giugiaro explains that the stop signal was added "to give pedestrians visual assurance when crossing the road that the approaching car is braking." Sounds like an interesting feature for future production models.

The side panels look simple but modern. There are no door handles, while the doors are almost rectangular, but an aggressive beltline splits the sides into a wider upper section and a narrower lower area. The side skirts are deeply cut into the body and stand out thanks to their black and red trim. A thick C-pillar and a set of massive, 22-inch wheels wrapped in Pirelli tires round off the profile.

The rear fascia is surprisingly clean and simple for a concept car. The taillights are thin and integrated into the outer edge, forming an arch on the edge of the deck lid and the rear section of the fenders. The design is similar to the Maserati 3200 GT from the late 1990s, a car also designed by Giugiaro. The bumper looks a bit more organic though, with a splitter-like lower section and a flat diffuser in the center.

Giugiaro GFG Sibylla EV Concept Interior

Four-seat layout

Dashboard is a massive display

Tablet-like touchscreen

Aviation-inspired steering wheel

Fine leather

Aluminum trim

The dashboard is a wraparound design that extends into the door panels and is made of high-resolution displays only

Thanks to the transparent roof, the cabin looks airy and bright. It also looks luxurious thanks to the enormous amount of Poltona Frau leather covering the seats, the door panels, the lower dashboard, and the steering wheel. The carpets also seem soft and inviting. Every inch of leather is finished in brown, giving the cabin a classy look, especially when combined with the black dashboard and the aluminum trim.

Speaking of the dashboard, its a wraparound design that extends well into the door panels, and its made of high-resolution displays only. There are no buttons, no knobs, and no A/C vents. Theres a display in front of the driver that acts like an instrument cluster, another one in the middle, probably for infotainment purposes, and another one on the passenger side that displays information about the cars drivetrain. One of these screens also displays data about weather, driving conditions, and the nearest charging point. Because the background is black all over the place, the dash appears to be a massive screen from one corner to the other.

The aircraft-style steering wheel is pretty exotic too, as it features touch pads at thumb level

The area that extends into the door panels include touch-screens too, and it seems that they can be used to adjust the seats. A sixth displace is place above the center console. This screen is vertically oriented and gives access to a wide range of features. The smartphone place on the tray in the center console suggests that the concept is equipped with inductive charging.

The aircraft-style steering wheel is pretty exotic too, as it features touch pads at thumb level. Im not sure this design is very comfortable to use, but its definitely different from what Ive seen in other concept cars. The completely flat floor design enables Giugiaro to place four identical seats inside the cabin, meaning that the rear section must be very comfortable for two passengers. The inside of the backrest of each seat is fitted with an innovative sensor made by Japanese company Delta Kogyo Co, which detects sudden changes in passengers blood pressure variations and heart rate.

The innovative packaging also allows space for suitcases, bags, and garments behind the rear seats, so the trunk can remain free for larger luggage.

Giugiaro GFG Sibylla EV Concept Drivetrain

100-kWh battery

Four electric motors

AWD layout

536 horsepower

0 to 62 mph in 4.5 seconds

279-mile range

Integrates EV charging into the electricity grid

The AWD sedan benefits from a total output of 400 kW, which converts to around 536 horsepower

The GFG Sibylla has an all-electric drivetrain that brings together a powerful, 100-kWh battery and four electric motors that send 100 kW to each wheel. This means that the AWD sedan benefits from a total output of 400 kW, which converts to around 536 horsepower. No word on torque yet, but the oomph is enough to send the GFG Sibylla flying from 0 to 62 mph in only 4.5 seconds. Top speed is rated at "over" 200 km/h, which converts to 124 mph. Thats not much for modern standards, but its enough to cruise comfortably on the highway.

As far as range goes, Giugiaro claims that the concept car covers 450 km, or about 279 miles, on a single charge. The sedan runs on a pair of innovative Pirelli Cyber tires that feature internal sensors that provide information on tire and road conditions, as well as vehicle performance.

The car can connect to a network of renewable energy and share energy with other vehicles, homes, and buildings

Although there arent too many details to run by, Giugiaro says that the GFG Sibylla was also developed as an exercise for integrating EV charging into the electricity grid, which has been one of the biggest challenges for the auto industry in recent years.

Giugiaro goes on to explain that an electric car with a 75-KWh battery can store as much electricity as an average European household consumes in a week and that integrating the car into the energy system means that the vehicle "can be both an energy source and help contribute to stabilizing the energy grid, a critical link between energy supply and demand."

Using the EnOS system, the car not only connects to a network of renewable energy, but it can also communicate and share energy with other vehicles, homes, and buildings, enabling "clean, secure and affordable electricity in a flexible and smart future energy system." Well, lets hope that this EnOS gadget will make it into production in a few years to make EVs more sustainable.

Conclusion

The GFG Sibylla is definitely one of the most intriguing concept cars launched in 2018, but theres very little chance that it will go into production. The sliding wraparound roof would be very expensive to produce, while all that technology that could integrate the cars drivetrain into the energy system would need an infrastructure thats not exactly feasible for a small company like Giugiaro. Sure, Envision might have the resources to do it, but it wouldnt make much sense for the Chinese company to invest in a grid for a potentially expensive car like the GFG Sibylla. In all, its a good design exercise for Giugiaro, but the tech behind the GFG Sibylla must be built in a much more affordable vehicle. If Giugiaro and Envision manage to do that in a few years, the electric car market might make an important step forward.

Love it Cool exterior design Spacious, luxurious interior Innovative electric drivetrain

Leave it Wont make it into production The tech is too expensive for now



References

Read our full review on the 2014 Giugiaro Parcour.

Read our full review on the 2018 Italdesign Zerouno.

Read more Geneva Motor Show news.On 13 June 2017, the Australian Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee launched an inquiry into Australias trade and investment relationships with the countries of Africa, with a report expected by 14 February 2018. The reporting period has since been extended by the Senate to 21 June 2018.

The inquiry is directed in particular at the following: a) existing trade and investment relationships; b) emerging and possible future trends; c) barriers and impediments to trade and investment; d) opportunities to expand trade and investment; e) the role of government in identifying opportunities and assisting Australian companies to access existing and new markets; f) the role of Australian based companies in sustainable development outcomes, and lessons that can be applied to other developing nations; g) the role of Australian based companies in promoting the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals; and h) any related matters.

Two Public Hearings have been held to date: on 2 May 2018 in Perth and on 11 May 2018 in Canberra. In a statement delivered at the first hearing, Business for Development highlighted that [T]rade keeps goods, services, and capital flowing. Whether it be ending hunger and poverty, providing decent work and economic growth, innovation and infrastructure, trade is a common thread woven throughout the SDGs targets.

It is through understanding the value chain and developing strong partnerships, trade is developed. By fostering the development of inclusive agribusiness opportunities, mining companies supported by African & Australian governments and civil society can work together to drive inclusive growth.

Below are extracts from selected submissions. The full list of submissions is available here

Joint submission from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)

Africa is a large continent comprising many nations at very different stages of economic development and stability. Assessments of the opportunities for Australian companies need to balance growth projections against the reality of conflict, commercial risk and weak political and economic governance in many African countries.

The overall assessment is positive for increasing engagement by Australian companies in Africa in the coming decades, however for significant increases to occur, sustained improvements in the business-operating environment will be required.

A number of the findings of the 2011 Joint Standing Committee on the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into Australias relationship with countries of Africa remain relevant today: Africa is a diverse continent of increasing importance to the world. In geopolitical terms, African countries have increasing influence on international organisations; in resource terms, Africa has vast reserves; in trading terms, Africas underutilised arable lands represent great opportunities to feed the world. Africa also continues to face significant challenges, particularly in health, governance and economic development.

Trade and Investment Flows

Australian companies commercial interests in Africa are mainly in the extractives sector but are increasingly in services, education and agriculture. Australias trade (goods and services) with Africa has fluctuated over the past decade from $6.1 billion in 2004 to a high of $10.3 billion in 2014.

Total trade (goods and services) with Africa was valued at $7.6 billion in 2016, comprising two-way merchandise trade of $5.3 billion and two-way services trade valued at $2.3 billion. Aluminium ore, wheat, vegetables, coal, machinery and parts dominate Australian exports to Africa. Petroleum and, to a lesser extent, motor vehicles are Australias largest imports from Africa. Services trade was dominated for both exports and imports by personal travel services, with education-related travel making up almost 50 per cent of the value of services exports.

By comparison, total goods and services trade with ASEAN in 2016 was $38 billion representing 13.8 per cent of Australias total trade that year. In the same period trade with Africa was approximately 1 per cent of all trade flows.

For North Africa, the reduction in stability, growth and trade post-Arab spring has significantly affected the region. In 2016, two-way trade between Australia and North Africa totalled $909 million. Australian exports to the region mostly comprised beef, dairy, machinery parts, fruit and vegetables and wool. Imports to Australia from North Africa mostly comprised petroleum, fertilizers and textiles.

With the exception of South Africa, investment flows outside of the resources sector are still limited. A DFAT stock-take in 2015 estimated that investment flows in the extractives sector by Australian companies were significant and geographically diverse with projects underway in 35 countries. Australian companies are most active in the resources sector in South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Burkina Faso.

Opportunities for Australian Companies

Africa currently has a population of 1.1 billion which is forecast to reach 2.5 billion by 2050 bringing with it a tripling of the workforce to 1.5 billion. The twin drivers of population increases coupled with a growing urban middle-class are expected to result not only in higher economic growth but also in increases in consumer demand over the coming decades. These changes could lead to new opportunities for Australian companies with an appetite to increase their engagement in specific markets.

However, population growth and associated demographic changes alone will not be sufficient to increase significantly Australian trade and investment flows with Africa. Improvements in the overall business-operating environment in Africa are critical to reducing commercial risk and uncertainty, and will be a key factor in generating increased Australian business interest and engagement in the continent.

Recent DFAT and Austrade analysis is that the most realistic and immediate commercial opportunities for Australian companies in Africa are in mining and related equipment, technology and services; education; agribusiness and food and infrastructure

Recommendations

The submission makes four recommendations to enhance trade and investment with the countries of Africa:

Strengthening government-to-government engagement

Expanding economic diplomacy

Fostering stronger private sector linkages

Addressing business risk factors in Africa

In order to advance and protect our economic interests in Africa and our ability to influence and shape outcomes for Australian business, the submission recommends strengthening Ministerial and parliamentary contact and links with African counterparts. We should expand economic diplomacy to raise awareness of commercial opportunities and promote Australian capabilities. There is also scope to develop greater business and private sector linkages. Finally, the submission recommends enhanced use of Australia Awards to influence policy thinking in Africa and targeting aid programs to support good governance and an improved regulatory environment.

Submission from the Trade Law Centre (tralac)

Since this inquiry is about Australias trade and investment relationships with the countries of Africa the essential focus would presumably be on specific countries, investment locations and export destinations. And the benchmarks for how this relationship should look like, should be stated. What is the aim behind the present exercise? Will trade in goods, trade in services, and investment matters be targeted as separate objectives or in an integrated fashion? Is the aim to shape a new trade and investment governance regime (negotiate preferential agreements with specific African countries, or customs territories), or is the aim to enhance trade and investment facilitation within current governance parameters (e.g. World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements and the current unilateral preferential arrangement, operating under a WTO waiver)?

There is however value in noting some bigger picture aspects, and what African governments are doing in order to boost African trade and regional integration. Information, and informed perspectives, on these developments can contribute to the development of an Australian strategy for Africa.

Beyond Mining and Commodities?

In April 2016, The Economist published an article on African developments under the heading: Making Africa work  The continents future depends on people, not commodities. It made the following points:

For decades, sentiment about Africa has followed commodity prices. Miners sank billions into African soil to feed Chinas appetite for minerals. Now investors are glum.

Pessimists should remember two things about commodity busts. They dont last for ever. And they dont hurt everyone: 17 African countries with a quarter of the regions population will show a net benefit from the current one, thanks to cheaper energy. More important, by focusing on the minerals markets it is easy to miss some big trends that are happening above ground.

In the long run, the potential rewards from a market of 1.2 billion people are too attractive to ignore, despite the risks. Africa has also become more peaceful and democratic than it was even a decade ago.

Africas past has long been defined by commodities, but its future rests on the productivity of its people. By 2050 the UN predicts that there will be 2.5 billion Africans  a quarter of the worlds population.

Given good governance, Africa can prosper, sustainably.

Some Implications

In some ways, the continents future is in the balance. Whether it bounces back from the commodity slump or slips back into stagnation, war and autocracy will depend on whether enough of the continents leaders keep moving forward. These leaders need to be supported.

A future relationship with Africa should include involvement in projects and programmes which will assist those leaders that pursue inclusive growth policies, infrastructural development, and very importantly, better governance.

Good governance is vital for a rules-based, transparent and predictable trade and investment environment. Foreign investors should think about ways and means to promote better governance in the countries where they do business. It is also in their best interest.

If the opportunities in Africa are only viewed as of the quick profits and run kind, then it does not really matter how the governance environment looks. This is not in the interest of Africas inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Trade facilitation issues remain a major challenge in Africa. (It costs more to move one container from Windhoek, Namibia to Lusaka in Zambia, than to move the same container to Perth from Windhoek via Walvis Bay.) Bad roads, corruption, red tape and non-tariff barriers still hobble trade between African countries, which still only accounts for about 17% of total African trade. Improving this situation requires not only investment in infrastructure, but domestic regulatory reform and regional harmonisation of regulations in these infrastructure services sectors, fighting corruption and liberalising trade, especially in terms of reducing non-tariff barriers. But trade facilitation also has to be anchored in support infrastructure (physical, policy and legal) that enhances the capacity to produce tradeables competitively. For example, the development of quality infrastructure (eg laboratories and other testing facilities) has to enjoy priority, supported by the adoption and implementation of appropriate sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures, and technical regulations at national and regional levels. These are essential to ensure effective access to export market opportunities.

What are African Governments doing re: Trade and Integration?The Department of Trade and Industry will this month embark on an investment roadshow to Shanghai, China, aimed at wooing investors to the South African Special Economic Zones (SEZs).

Led by Deputy Minister Bulelani Magwanishe, the roadshow scheduled for 26-31 May will give representatives of the South African government, implementers of the SEZ Programme and SEZs to present the value-proposition of South African SEZs to potential investors and financial institutions.

According to Magwanishe, the investment roadshow will take place in the form of workshops, where the South African SEZ delegation  led by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti)  will make a presentation on South Africas SEZ opportunities and incentives offered.

The SA delegation will also conduct a benchmarking exercise for the South African SEZs by visiting thriving SEZs in Shanghai for knowledge-sharing.

The roadshow seeks to attract potential investors in different sectors to invest in our SEZs. The targeted audience will include investors, Chinese financial institutions and government representatives.

In order to have vibrant SEZs and competitive regional economies, it is necessary to continuously implement a systematic marketing and investment approach for various SEZs in South Africa and to also state their value-proposition to potential investors, said Magwanishe.

South Africa has eight designated SEZs located in six of the countrys provinces. The SEZs are supported by state-of-the-art infrastructure and competitive tax incentive package. The SEZs are Coega, Richards Bay, East London, Saldanha Bay, Dube TradePort, Maliti-A-Phofung, OR Tambo and Musina/Makhado.

The Deputy Minister said one of the strategic initiatives that government, through the dti, has earmarked for accelerating the countrys industrial development agenda is the SEZs Programme.

According to the pdf Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) (4.84 MB) , SEZs are used to stimulate foreign and domestic investment, increase production output leading to increased exports of value-added manufacturing goods and employment creation, amongst others, he said.

In this light, Magwanishe said the fact that the current focus on the SEZ implementation programme is on attracting investments to the SEZs, the ultimate objective of the roadshow is to bring together high-level local and international investors together, with a view to entice their appetite to invest in South Africa.

Meanwhile, the South African business delegation has arrived in Nairobi, Kenya, for the three-day Trade and Investment Mission (TIM), which kicks off today.

The objective of the TIM is to deliver on the dtis investment-led trade approach towards the African continent and to deepen bilateral trade and investment relations between South Africa and Kenya, and between South Africa and Tanzania as important economies within their respective regions.The year was 1981, Centenary Hall, St Marys College, Port of Spain.

On a Sunday in May a Chinese youth and his Afro-Trinidadian counterpart were on the halls stage behind their DJ set-up, the centre of attention for the pupils and other kids attending the annual Mayfair.THE Movement for Social Justice has supported the call by the Petroleum Dealers Association for the board of National Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd to resign over the cooking gas fiasco of a $5 price hike on the 20-pound cooking gas cylinder.Australian shipbuilder Austal has announced the successful launch of a high-speed catamaran built for Trinidad and Tobago.

On its website on Sunday, Austal said Austal Vietnam had launched Hull 397, a 94-metre high-speed catamaran for the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco) from the companys shipyard in Vung Tau.

Constructed in 20 months, the vehicle-passenger ferry known as the APT James, is the first vessel constructed by Austal Vietnam, following the official opening of the shipyard in November 2018.I say without any hesitancy or for that matter regret, that I am ashamed, befuddled and disappointed as a result of all that I have been reading these past two days about what could only be described as the disgraceful behaviour of the National Petroleum Marketing Company Ltd...Re: flying from Sydney to Honolulu - international date line

7. Re: flying from Sydney to Honolulu - international date line

Hi,

>>its a bummer when you miss your birthday coming the other way. lol<<

Not for me !!!

Cheers,That is a lot of Qns!

You need to do more own research and decide.

This site had been helpful in planning our first trip to that coast - . Click on the Transportation tab, it outlines the options. We flew into SJO and used prepaid shared shuttle vans from PleasureRideCR and from Interbus (also a van for 9-10 seats, not a bus) to get to the entrance of our accommodations at the destination. The shuttles go 1-2 times a day and might not match your flight time. When we were landing mid afternoon, too late for a shuttle, we shopped around, got a few quotes from drivers, as well as from the hotel owner, and decided on the one from the hotel to meet us by the airport, so had private transportation. Depends on you, the time, the budget, etc.

We found S. Caribbean easy to stay at without renting own car. There are local buses to get in between near by places. There are taxis and tuk tuks. See the details on the above site, under Transportation, under Local transport. Many tourists rent bikes. Some hotels offer them for rent or even include them in your stay. We also walked a lot. You just need to be more selective where you stay, as you would want to be within an easy reach / walking distance from the beach, places to eat, places to shop, bank/ATM, bus terminal, if applicable.

In addition, if you take tours, the price includes hotel pick up.

You cannot take a taxi all the way from SJO airport to S. Caribbean.

I guess you can do a stop for 1-2 nights in Tortuguero on the way to or from S. Caribbean.

Note that it is boat access only, so a rental car would be useless there.

Some of your decision to include T. or not will depend on the times of your international flights to CR. You might require the 1st and last nights closer to SJO, which means it leaves you with only 5 (?) nights elsewhere out of your wk total. The drive from SJO to S. Caribbean might take you about 5 hrs, more if you are going farther South.

E.g., when we were staying in Manzanillo, located farther S. than Cahuita or Puerto Viejo, there was a couple on their honeymoon in another nature house - . The photo of the sloth I use on this site was taken from the terrace of our house there, the animal was very close. But do not expect sloths hanging all around you, everywhere. We had been "slothless" for the first 2-3 days and were getting quite concerned...LOL. Then we started seeing them. It is all luck. We saw sloths on the property, by the main road, in Cahuita NP, etc.

Re: one of you wanting to sleep longer...Well, this might be a problem. This was the weirdest thing for us to try and get accustomed to while there: life starts very early, and it gets dark so early, too, before 6 pm, so it is quite a shift. Howler monkeys and birds were waking us up at 4:30-5 am. It was impossible to sleep, they were so loud. We did find it funny though and were enjoying lying under our mosquito nets (all the hotels there had bed nets), wondering how close the loud monkeys were, as sometimes it sounded like they were right on top of our roof.

3 types of monkeys live in S. Caribbean, and we regularly saw them all, especially howlers and capuchins.

We visited Puerto Viejo for shopping/eating out, but would not want to stay right there.

We enjoying staying closer to Cahuita NP.

You can see wildlife there, so it is not quite accurate to be saying that Tortuguero is the main place to see wildlife in S. Caribbean.

You can also stay in Punta Uva for the beaches.

Cocles is a surfing destination.

If you stay outside of Puerto Viejo (e.g., , which is one of the v. few places in the area that have beach chairs sitting on the beach, vs carrying your own, if needed, that some other places might have), you will need to rely on taxis after dark.

Re safety: CR is classified by our government as a destination to "exercise high degree of caution": see the Safety and Security tab under , if interested in the list of areas mentioned there. There are plenty of them on the Pacific, too. As you might have already searched the forum, you might have seen threads like (Pacific), luggage thefts from a guarded parking lot by Manuel Antonio park, all not in S. Caribbean, so you need to do more research and gather the statistics on various types of crime to decide for yourself whether the advice "just use common sense" applies in those accounts and if this is smth you want to do.

We had wanted wildlife and beaches and found S. Caribbean beautiful, less developed. We went back in the subsequent trip. But we were careful, chose not to rent a car, worrying about its safety being one of the reasons, driving it - the other, nothing yo do with money, as other transfers may cost more overall, tried not to carry anything with us, not even a day bag, if possible, and did not leave anything on the beach unattended, which applies to any area of CR.

Snorkelling- we could not do it, due to waves and poor water visibility. Many beaches in CR have rip tides, too. There is a reef close to shore in Cahuita NP. You are required to hire a guide to snorkel there (US$25-35 pp, snorkel from their boat), though you can hike the park without a guide. We had swum in the park, could not see own hands under water, no visibility, so chose not to take out own snorkelling gear from our luggage. In fact, it did not leave our hotels' rooms for the 2 wks in S. Caribbean, and the next trip we did not bother packing it. We had previously snorkelled on the Pacific side of CR and found the variety of marine life and coral disappointing, though it depends on your expectations and a particular spot, of course.

BTW, CR is not the main snorkelling destination out there. If you are really into snorkelling, consider Roatan in Honduras (great snorkelling, went there twice for that!), or some other country.

You can rent kayaks in Punta Uva, place called Sloth Point (yes, there was a sleeping sloth, too, up on a tree, the kayak guys showed it to us when we asked them. LOL).

Some hotels, incl. the one in my 2nd link above, have kayaks and boards available for guests to use.

So do more research and decide. A lot of it will depend on the type of ppl you are.-:- Message from Tripadvisor staff -:-

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We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.With respect, particularly, to the Maasai Mara visit, you should really understand that you'll be wasting a lot of time and money just to cross a river, essentially. The Mara River occupies a position pretty much right on the border between Tanzania and Kenya, and the Maasai Mara is merely an artificial extension -- in geopolitical terms -- of the Serengeti ecosystem. It's really all one system! The Mara portion in Kenya is only about 1/6th the size of the Tanzanian portion -- and during the period when the migration is in residence, the herds will be stradling that border, crossing back and forth over the river during the entire period. There's really no need to go to the effort to visit the Mara -- if you're in the Kogatende area, you're seeing the same thing the people across the river are seeing!

While I haven't yet visited Amboseli, I already know that there are a couple of good reasons to add it to a Tanzanian itinerary: the reputedly fantastic elephant population and that iconic view of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Of course, Kili can be views from the side of the border it actually sits on -- the Tanzanian side -- and I have done this, at Sinya in West Kilimanjaro Province, from the porch of my tent at Kambi ya Tembo -- but the other side of the border does afford a different, and well-recognized perspective, and I hope will be worth the extra effort and money required to have added it to our itinerary for next year.

One other thing about the Maasai Mara -- I hear reports of massive over-crowding, particularly during migration season. There are many more beds located in that small portion of the Serengeti ecosystem than at Kogatende and surroundings, more vehicles, more tourists. That possibility, too, might tempt me to skip that particular venue in Kenya. I rather suspect I'd prefer the Maasai Mara in the "off season," when there are fewer people and still lots of resident wildlife.

BTW, my own Yellow Fever shot expired this year and I have to find a way to get another before February. With the vaccine currently very scarce, it would be a good idea to start investigating where you can get yours, and to get it as soon as possible. While it's good for 10 years, you can be denied entry without it.Help is needed to make planed itinerary better!

Help is needed to make planed itinerary better!

14 days in Vietnam: is it to busy? what would you skip?

We are in our 50th. We will arrive to Hanoi from Singapore on the morning Sep 20 and our flight back will leave Ho Chi Minh om Oct 3 at night. this is the itinerary we have planed.

20/9 (Thu) Morning flight from Singapore to Hanoi. Hanoi sightseeing. Night train to Sapa .

21/9 (Fri) Trekking (difficulty easy to medium) in rice fields, that havent been harvested yet. Sleeping in Home-stay ((*looking for beautiful view + cultural experiences all days around Sapa)

22/9 (Sat) Finish trek, visiting more villages / waterfall / plantation. Sapa's sightseeing (I heard there is a special show / an event on Saturday nights in Sapa, what is it?). Sleeping: Hotel in Sapa

23/9 (Sun) Muong Hum Sunday Market + silver waterfall. Private driver or Night train night train to Hanoi (what to prefer? sleeping on the train or at Hotel in Hanoi?)

24/9 (Mon) waking Hanoi sightseeing + Halong Bay

25/9 (Tue) Halong Bay + back to Hanoi Hanoi at night sleeping: Hotel in Hanoi

26/9 (Wed) Day trip from Hanoi to Tam Coc or Trang An (what to prefer?) sleeping: Hotel in Hanoi

27/9 (Thu) Fight to Danang  driving to Hoi An. Hoi An sightseeing + ride to the beach? hotel in Hoi An

28/9 (Fri) Half day tour to My-Son temples, Hoi-An surrounding or a cooking class. hotel in Hoi An

29/9 (Sat) Flying to Da-Lat, Da-Lat sightseeing + the Crazy House. Hotel in Da-Lat

30/9 (Sun) Easy-Rider Motorbike tour + flight to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) Hotel in Ho Chi Minh

1/10 (Mon) The Mekong Delta  sailing . Sleeping: somewhere on the Mekong Delta

2/10 (Tue) Cai-Be -Floating market back to Ho Chi Minh.

3/10 (Wed) Ho Chi Minhs sightseeing, free afternoon at 21:00 flight back.

*wonder, Should we skip Da-Lat and add one more day to Hanoi (Food tour for example) and one more day in Ho Ann?Dont underestimate Hoian, definitely worth more than one night, one night you will be angry with yourself, in my opinion

Hoian is the best of Vietnam ( ok Im bias ) ok not the best time to visit, wet season, but arm yourself with a brolly and go for it.

You can do as little or as much as you want, have a look at The Ancient Town, then get out and enjoy, Hello travel experts.

I have a difficult time to plan my itineraty to Vietnam and i would like to have some tips from you.

I am travelling with my future wife in January to Vietnam for a honeymoon. It is the first long trip we will have and maybe the last with so many days on our disposal so we want to see many places but we also want some relax.

There we will have 18 nights. We are going to use a travel agent for our transportations and excursions to save some time. A private organized trip.

The plan is to see many places but also to enjoy them and relax at least in the last few days.

So at first we decide the following itinerary:

Day 1 - Hanoi Arrival - Free

Day 2 - Hanoi - Free - Night train to Laocai

Day 3 - Laocai - Sapa Trekking - Silver Waterfall

Day 4 - Sapa Trekking - Bus trip to Hanoi

Day 5 - Hanoi - Ninh Binh - Trang An

Day 6 - Ninh Bing - Halong Bay

Day 7 - Halong Bay - Hanoi - Water Puppet Performance

Day 8 - Hanoi - Fly to Dong Hoi

Day 9 - Quang Binh - Paradise Cave - Dark Cave

Day 10 - Quang Binh - DMZ - Hue

Day 11 - Hue Sightseeing

Day 12 - Hue - Drive to Hoian - My Son Holy

Day 13 - Hoian Free - Fly to Saigon

Day 14 - Saigon Free

Day 15 - Saigon - Sadec - Can Tho

Day 16 - Can Tho - Fly to Phu Quoc

Day 17 - Phu Quoc Free

Day 18 - Phu Quoc Free

Day 19 - Phu Quoc Free - Fly to Saigon - DepartureDay

But then we check that maybe Sapa is very cold, cloudy and foggy in January so as Mai Chau and Cao Bang. Also an overnight on the train or in a homestay maybe it's not the best option for honeymoon.

So we decide that we can exclude Sapa and fly to Dalat (2 nights) from Hoi An and then to Saigon from there. This way we will have 5 domestic flights instead of 4 but with better weather, waterfalls, elephants and a romantic place.

Maybe we are too greedy in our effort to see everything? Maybe is better to exclude Sapa without adding anything else and add one more day in Halong Bay and one more day in Hoi An?

What are your thoughts?Question 3: The earlier the better, as temples close at around 5 pm already.

Question 4: If you only want to have a quick visit and no ascent to Mt. Misen, then you could do Hiroshima and Miyajima in one day. Go to Miyajima first; you can use the JR pass also for the JR ferry!

If you then want to save some time, there is a private ferry company operating a ferry from Miyajima to close to the centre.

Thus you can see the peace park in the evening and nightfall, which is very romantic IMHO, although the museums will have closed already.Hi,

I did exactly what you did last year - booked in May for late July 2017! It will be busy for Obon 13-15th August, but you should be able to find accommodation if you are flexible. You can always ask advice on places to go to escape the crowds duirng that particular period once you have booked.

We had a base in Tokyo, but went to Kyoto for two nights. You can check on booking sites and hotels' own sites and, if you are flexible, you should be able to find somewhere for 300 euros a night. It's cheaper to choose an apartment with multiplle beds than two hotel rooms. Our apartment in Kyoto, (bathroom, kitchen/diner and four of us in a room, (all in a row, a bit like Goldilocks and the Three bears, but perfectly fine!) was about 150 euros a night.

Re: Trains - you can reserve seats and send luggage ahead between destinations to avoid carrying it on trains.

Good luck with your planning.After just returning from Fiji we always find it best to travel out to the furthest Island first and head back.

If you travel in early September you will miss the OZ school holidays.

Of the islands you are looking at I would recommend going to Blue Lagoon first (about 4.5 hours on the Yasawas flyer and then catch the flyer back to Octopus Island.

In both we stayed in a premier garden villa and found them quite good without the high cost of the beachfront ones.

Note both islands are owned by the same people and run on a similar line with long tables in the sand in the restaurant at meals times when you have a chance to discuss things with other. If you like Octopus you should like Blue Lagoon Resort.

Also there is only one boat from Denarau per the day that goes to the Yasawas islands it leaves at 8;30am in the morning and returns at 5:45PM at night Transfers to and from the Marina from Nadi hotels are included in the transfer prices.We are 4 adults, will be traveling to USA in August. We are planning to spend few days in NY, I found that accomodation there is quite expensive. We thought of staying in New Jersey or Brooklyn as accomodation is more affordable ( we are on a tight budget, but can't stay in a place with shared bathrooms)

I need your advice regarding which one would be better regarding availability of transportation, and time spent in traveling between them and NY?

Thanks in advance.You might be wondering all these days about the hairstyles for braids. Hairstyle is something which affects your appearance; the best one will add perfection to your looks. So dont worry we are here to help you with some of the best braided hairstyles that will suit you in accordance to the quality and the nature of hair that youve got. Take a quick look into this article and gift yourself a new look.

Source: The Big River

Types of braids

Let us show you some of the braids hairstyle which has got the hype in the recent time.

1. Dynamic Side- Swept Cornrows

Source: feedram

One of the popular braids hairstyles. It helps in keeping your hair free of heat and other bad effects for a long time. There are various designs which you can choose to look cute.

2. Long Chunky Black Braids

Source: feedram

If you want to look hot then the Chinky box braids are the perfect one for you. Now you can style your hair with alternating thin braids which wont be possible with your natural locks.

3. Cornrows with High Twisted Bun

Source: Pinterest

Well if you are looking for some comfort along with class then you should definitely go for this braided hairstyle. This hairstyle is easy to maintain especially for the women with busy schedules.

4. Half Cornrows Half Individual Braids

Source: pinterest

It is a very creative hairstyle which can be done for multiple occasions. It is a mixture of cornrows along with loose box braids. This kind of braids often looks good when wooden beads are worn at the ends.

I'm afraid corruption may stop my Big Four agenda - Uhuru

5. Braids with Curves

Source: Pinterest

If you like some simple looking hairstyle then you can go for the braids with curves. Such hairstyle can be done for regular days.

6. Wavy Straight Black Braids

Source: therighthairstyles

If you got a long hair then you wont be having any trouble to get such a wonderful looking style. It is also a very simple hair style and does not take much time. For something new, you can tell your hairdresser to create a wavy appearance.

7. Black Braided Bun

Source: vikihow

This hairstyle gives a woman elegant and sophisticated look. This hairstyle begins with a conrow which is later tied as a bun giving it a look of a braided bun.

Moha Jicho Pevu to sue The Star newspaper for soiling his name

8. Afro Kinky Braids

When it comes to looks and styles we all try to do something out of the box. Looking good is an essential part of our life because our style describes where we belong from, and also it reveals a part of us. There are different ways by which we can style our hair to give us the best possible look. We will show you here some of the best hairstyles braids which can be done by women across all age groups. The hairstyles are stylish and expressive and can be done for various functions, events or for daily purpose.

In case you are someone who is having short and curly hair and you got no clue on how to style braids then you dont have to worry. We have got some kinky hairstyles which will help you to style your hair in a way which you have always dreamt of. After reading this list you will no longer have the misconception, that curly hair cannot be styled the way you want. From now on, you can style your hair the way you want, that will suit your personality. Here is a list of kinky hairstyle which will give you a dashing look:

Violet Box Braids: This hairstyle is usually done with more than one kind of color in each and every braids. You can tie your hair by twisting them in different ways to give you a complete different look every time you go out somewhere. Natural High Ponytail: The one who has got too much of curl in their hair often finds it difficult to cope up with some of the styles. Why not pull up your hair so that it appears fluffy on the top and give a new style moreover it can be done within seconds to give you a beautiful look. Dreads: Not everyone have the courage to try dreadlocks. There are many people out there who consider that dreadlocks are dirty, but thats not true. Dreadlocks are clean the only thing is that it should be properly taken care of and moisturized in order to keep it healthy. So incase you are thinking of going for this style then you can go for it. Twisted Updo: Similar to cornrows, only thing is that they are a bit thicker when compared to cornrows. The thickness of the locks helps you to make updos which are very beautiful to look at. Wild Afro: Cornrows are one of the easiest ways to maintain your hair. Cornrowed buns are easy to make and also enables your kinky hair be more manageable. Tiny Twists: In this hairstyle, you can make twists of any shape and size in your hair. If your hair is excessive kinky then this style will definitely suit you. Smooth Curls: In case you are wondering how to look elegant then this hairstyle will come handy. All you need is a curly iron to curl the kinks. Tamed Curls: Curly hair is always not a blessing sometimes it becomes unmanageable and you got no other options rather than smoothening the hair to make the curls look smooth. Dreaded Top Knot: This is another way of styling your dreaded hair by tying a knot on the top of your head. This will also help you in preventing your dreads from falling into your face. Scarves and Dreads: There are days when your dreads will become unmanageable to overcome this trouble all you need is to pull up your dreads and put a scarf for a new hairstyle. One Inch Twists: All you need to do is to make square which should measure one-inch. This will help you to create twists which are easy to make. Smoothed Side Part: Kinky hair is not that easy to part, but all you need to have is a bit of water and a comb with wide tooth so that your curl stays in its place. Crochet braids: This is a kind of hairstyle where extensions are added to your hair, but first the cornrows are needed to be done before applying any extensions. Pin Curls: You need to use a wide toothed comb to get this style as small curls have got the tendency to get pulled apart. Now you can part your hair and use a curling iron to touch up some of your curls. Fluffy Dreads: Give yourself a complete new look by proper arrangement of your dreads into a wide ended look. Large pullover Twists: This style can be done easily by pulling up your braids and creating a part. This style also helps to add volume to one side of the hair. Braided Bang and Stretch Comb Pouf: All you need is to pull your unbraided hair back with the comb and bring your braided hair in the front. Dread Bee Hive: Though this style is rarely seen nowadays yet they provide a elegant look especially when done in tiny dreadlocks. You need to have some patience if you are willing to do this hairstyle, as it is time consuming. Half Top Knot: There will be days when you dont know how to style your hair. You can style your hair in a simple way by tying a knot on top of your head or by tying a ponytail on the top half. Banana Clip Mohawk and Bang Bump: It is a two in one kind of hairstyle and is a mixture of casual as well as formal looks. You can use a banana clip to create a Mohawk followed by creating a bang bump.

READ ALSO: Best African hairstyles weave 2018

African braids hairstyles pictures

Here are some of the pictures of some braided hairstyles which will catch your eyes.

Death toll rises to 43, Solai Boys High school closed in dam tragedy

Hairstyles for braid

Braid is also known as cornrows and it dates back to the Stone Age. The painting of such hairstyles was discovered by the archaeologists from the stone paintings. Even today braids are done by women and men all over the world. Cornrows as from the name we can understand, that it looks similar to a cornfield, where the corns are grown in a straight row, hence it is named such. People with braids hairstyle find it easy to maintain, but one thing should be kept in mind that the braids must be washed carefully with regular application of oil. Since braids put a pressure on the scalp it might lead to hair loss. Here are some of the facts on braids which you should know:

First of all, you should make up your mind on which hairstyle that you exactly want to go for. Make sure whether you want human hair or synthetic, in case you dont have much knowledge about it perform a little research on the saloon that you are going for. It is recommended not to braid after you relax your hair because it is seen that elasticity of the hair increases once you relax which in turn stresses the pH balance and you will end up in loosing hair. Braids are one of the best ways to keep your hair safe and avoid breakage, but make sure your braids styles are not too tight. The more it is tighter, the more are the chances of breakage. So in case you are facing such issues contact your hairdresser. Dont think that since you are styling braids there is no need of maintenance. Taking proper care is necessary. Make sure to keep your scalp moisturized and clean or else youll be getting dread locks and once you try to get rid of those it will lead to hair breakage. Braids are tighter for the first few weeks after they are done, so it must be handled with care. Dont pull it too tightly, or you will have hair breakage. Try sleeping in something which will protect your braids. It will be good if you try sleeping in a bonnet which is made up of satin. Braids lasts 12 weeks if you take proper care by keeping your scalp moisturized and clean. After 12 weeks it is often seen that the braids tends to break.

READ ALSO: Annoying hairstyles that need to be creamated

How to style box braids

In case you are wondering how to style box braids then dont worry, all you need is a wide toothed comb, large hair clips, hair elastics or boiling water, tail combs, hair extensions and follow these simple steps:

Source: AliExpress

First of all, you need to wash your hair then apply conditioner and let your hair dry completely. To remove your hair knots and tangles use your wide toothed comb. Divide your hair into four sections by creating a partition from the centre of your forehead to the back of your neck followed by another partition from right ear to left ear. Leave the section lose from where you want to start the braids pin up the leftover section by using 3 large hair clips. Use the tail of your comb and pick up 1inch by 1inch hair to make braids. Using your natural hair you can get box braid all you need is to divide the same section of hair into three strands and braid till the end. In case you are thinking to use extension then you have to pick one up and then fold it into half so that it resembles a U. Divide the pinched hair into three strands but make sure the center one is thicker than the rest. The fold which you have made earlier should be placed over the center section of the natural hair. The two halves must combine with the side strands. In order to attach the hair extension to your hair braid one stitch, followed by redividing your hair into 3 strands of equal length till the end.

READ ALSO: How to Style Braids: Step By Step with Pictures

Source: Tuko.co.ke- The report claimed 14% of the legislators had never spoken in Parliament

- The report also claimed 70% of the allegedly mute lawmakers were first time MPs

- But Mzalendo, which was quoted as the source of the damming report, denied conducting any survey on the 12th Parliament

Mzalendo, an online platform which keeps tabs on the performance of Members of Parliament, has distanced itself from a media report claiming 14% of members of the 12th Parliament had never spoken in the August House since they were elected.

The project's executive director, Jessica Musila, said the report which was purportedly released by Mzalendo and which was widely quoted by the People Daily newspaper, was grossly misleading.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

Report even quoted the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi who allegedly confirmed the said waheshimiwas also rarely showed up in Parliament.Photo: The National Assembly of Kenya.

READ ALSO: Miguna Miguna afichua jambo lisilo la kawaida kumhusu Raila, adai alikuwa mlevi

"Our attention has been drawn to a headline story on the People Daily newspaper titled: Mute honourables (sic). The story published on May 21 is misleading as it attempts to link us with a survey claiming 14% of MPs have not uttered a word since the inauguration of the 12th Parliament. We wish to clarify that we have not yet done any survey or reports on the 12th Parliament," Musila said in a statement seen by TUKO.co.ke on Monday, May 21.

He added no single journalist from the said media house had approached Mzalendo to seek information on any issue concerning the 12th Parliament.

"This is the second time in a span of one month we are issuing out a notice to the public warning of a published story claiming we have done a survey on MPs. Its irresponsible for a reputable national paper like The People Daily to publish a story without proper verification of sources that could lead to bias reporting or misrepresentation of facts," Musila said.

READ ALSO: Kikuyu MP explains why Uhuru could not face Raila in the presidential debate

He urged journalists and media houses to adhere to the Media Council of Kenyas code of conduct for the practice of journalism.

She also called on the People Daily newspaper to issue a public apology for linking Mzalendo to the fake report.

"We request in accordance with the second schedule of the Media Council Act, 2013, that the paper correct this promptly to reflect the facts and offer an apology," Musila said.

READ ALSO: NASA MPs storm out of parliament

The People Daily on Monday, May 21, published a report with a long list of MPs who had allegedly never uttered a word in Parliament.

The paper claimed 70% of the mentioned legislators were first timers in the August House.

Some of the mute lawmakers, the People Daily claimed, only spoke at funerals and political rallies.

The report even quoted the Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi who allegedly confirmed the said MPs also rarely showed up in Parliament.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Residents of Central Kenya react to Gathoni wa Muchomba's polygamy - On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko Breaking News LatestMurang'a County residents have decried the influx of beggars who have invaded several towns in the area and who have continued to fleece them of their hard earned money.

The beggars who come from the neighbouring country Tanzania, have become a permanent feature in the towns where they position themselves at strategic areas in the streets armed with bowls to beg.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

TUKO.co.ke embarked on a fact finding mission to unearth how the beggars go on with their business undeterred despite the presence of police officers.

READ ALSO: Miguna Miguna afichua jambo lisilo la kawaida kumhusu Raila, adai alikuwa mlevi

A lone Tanzania beggar and her child in Murang'a county. Photo: Mark Wachira/Tuko.

READ ALSO: Major scare in Murang'a after two elephants invade village

Most of them are in the country illegally and in blatant disregard of the country's immigration laws as most of them are trafficked into Kenya.

One bar along Biashara Street, which is the busiest street in Murang'a town below the main matatu bus terminus, has been their home for nearly ten years where they have rented rooms at the facility on a full time basis.

Most of them suffer from various forms of challenges like physical deformities while others are hearing impaired, dumb and blind.

The beggars also come in tow with able bodied persons who aid them in moving from one person to another to beg as others push them around using wheel chairs.

READ ALSO: Governor Sonko flushes out over 100 street beggars in early morning sweep

Some of the women beggars carry along their children whom they use as bait probably to attract sympathy from passersby.

Those on wheel chairs beg in the streets while the blind and dump solicit for coins in hotels, markets, streets and in other public places.

On Sundays, they are wheeled to church gates where they target Christians.

They normally start the day very early in the morning and it is a common sight to spot them leave the lodgings at the crack of dawn.

Some of the women beggars carry along their children whom they use as bait probably to attract sympathy from passersby.Photo: Mark Wachira/Tuko.

READ ALSO: Police warn Nairobi parents of deadly cult recruiting youngsters to sacrifice loved ones

Residents who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed Murang'a town is their central operation area where they spend the night and move to other towns like Kagio, Sagana and Mwea in Kirinyaga and Karatina in Nyeri County as well as other towns within Murang'a County.

We normally see them on a daily basis leave their residences for Sagana and Karatina matatu stages where they board the vehicles to go and beg in the neighbouring counties and return late in the evening, said a resident.

Though not verified, others told TUKO.co.ke that the beggars's is an intricate web of an undercover syndicate that is perpetuated by very well connected people who bring them in the country as a way of assisting them earn an income. The beggars are believed to get a lot of money from their trade.

About four years ago, several beggars were rounded up in Murang'a town and arraigned before a Murang'a court where they faced charges of being in the country illegally.

They told the magistrate that by then, they had been in the country for three years.

The beggars also explained they had come to beg due to biting poverty in order to support themselves and their relatives back in Tanzania.

A source told TUKO.co.ke some of them are usually seen being dropped outside the bar where they live by different four wheel vehicles driven by a man and whom they suspect could be the one who brought them to Murang'a to beg and probably in other neighbouring towns.

Most of them keep to themselves and rarely speak to people except and when they do, they speak Swahili with a Tanzanian accent that makes one easily identify them.

READ ALSO: Brave woman carrying child fights security to get DP Ruto's attention

"We suspect people take advantage of their condition and use them to get money on their behalf and also suspect they get a small share of the money they earn from begging," said Peter Waweru, a Murang'a resident.

When contacted, Murang'a County Commissioner John Elungata confirmed the beggars' presence in Murang'a town and in other towns across the county but added they had been apprehended in the past and arraigned in court.

The responsibility of clearing beggars from the streets is the responsibility of the county government although our officers do co-operate with them in containing them," Elungata said.

Story by Mark Wachira, correspondent- Murang'a county

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Source: Tuko.co.ke- The opposition leaders claimed the DP was holding the country and Kenyans hostage

- The MPs accused Ruto of blackmailing Uhuru to support his 2022 presidential ambition

- They said Ruto was his own enemy and would not become president because of his character

- A day earlier, Ruto criticized Raila for saying Jubilee lost 2017 presidential election

- The DP has also been vehemently opposed to ODM party's push for constitutional change

- On the Constitution amendment issue, the ODM MPs said Ruto was being hypocritical

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party MPs have angrily reacted to Deputy President William Ruto's veiled criticism of opposition leader Raila Odinga for repeatedly saying Jubilee Party lost the 2017 presidential poll.

The MPs held a press conference on Monday, May 21, during which they accused the DP of holding the country hostage and blackmailing President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Miguna Miguna afichua jambo lisilo la kawaida kumhusu Raila, adai alikuwa mlevi

Deputy President William Ruto had earlier criticized Opposition leader Raila Odinga for saying Jubilee lost 2017 presidential elections. Photo: William Ruto/Facebook

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Ruto blasts opposition MPs who still claim Uhuru did not win fairly in 2017

"We wish to advise Ruto to stop looking for enemies in the wrong places. In his quest to be president, Ruto is the enemy he is looking for. What stands between Ruto and the presidency is not His Excellency Raila Amolo Odinga. It is Rutos character, his bad record in office and the perceptions about him by the general public," the MPs said.

Women Representatives Zulekha Juma Hassan (Kwale), Florence Mutua (Busia), Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay) and MPs Anthony Oluoch and Geoffrey Osotsi claimed Ruto was a bitter man looking for revenge and that Kenyans cannot entrust him with the presidency because of his temper.

"Kenyans have a problem trusting their country and their children with such a bitter and seemingly vengeful man. Kenyans must take note that even retired President Daniel arap Moi who created Ruto is today running away from him. Ruto has to deal with that," the lawmakers said.

READ ALSO: Brave woman carrying child fights security to get DP Ruto's attention

According to the opposition leaders, Ruto and politicians allied to him were holding Kenyans hostage because of the 2022 political competition.

"They are blackmailing President Uhuru Kenyatta and the people of Kenya that if Rutos wish to be president is not granted, they will target and evict the Kikuyu, Luhya, Abagusii and Luo living in the Rift Valley. The DP and his team want their way by hostage holding," the MPs claimed.

The legislators also took issue with the DP over his strong opposition to the proposed constitutional referendum.

They argued Ruto was being hypocritical because he initially opposed the 2010 Constitution because it had loopholes.

"He vehemently opposed the 2010 Constitution on grounds that it had loopholes. Now, when we call for the fixing of the loopholes, he retorts that the Constitution must not be changed. That hypocrisy is standing between him and the presidency," the MPs said.

READ ALSO: Work with Mudavadi and Wetangula to improve your 2022 chances - Khalwale tells DP Ruto

A day earlier, the DP took a swipe at Raila whom he accused of being a dishonest leader and an enemy of progress.

The biggest threat to our democracy, our progress, and stability are people who have questionable democratic credentials; dictators who participate in elections, and yet they do not accept the outcome of any election, Ruto said on Sunday, May 20, at St Francis Chaptarit Catholic Church Mosoriot, Nandi County.

TUKO.co.ke understands the DP was reacting to remarks that were made by the former prime minister during his visit in the United Kingdom.

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Join TUKO TV - subscribe right now! - On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko- The deceased and her lover were allegedly having a good time inside a car at City Park, Nairobi

- Police approached the parked car, knocked on window but the passengers inside refused to open

- The couple reportedly sped off instead, prompting the officers to open fire on the vehicle

- Several shots were fired, leaving the couple with serious gunshot wounds

- The lady succumbed to the gunshot wounds while undergoing treatment in hospital

- The OCPD and DCIO Gigiri, Westlands AP boss and OCS Parklands visited the scene

Police officers who shot dead a woman and seriously injured her male companion on the morning of Sunday, May 20, at City Park, Nairobi, may have used unnecessarily excessive force, preliminary investigations reveal.

This was confirmed after all the officers who were at the scene were asked to hand over their firearms for ballistic examinations as independent investigations into the bizarre killing kicked off.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

Nairobi Police boss Joseph Ole Tito confirmed the incident. According to Kenyas criminal law, police can use justified force while apprehending a suspect or trying to prevent crime.Photo: TUKO.

READ ALSO: Nabii David Owuor adaiwa kufanya muujiza mwingine Nyali na kuwaacha wengi vinywa wazi

Fresh police reports seen by TUKO.co.ke on Monday, May 21, revealed the man and woman, who have since been identified as Bernard Chege, 26, and Janet Wangui Waiyaki, 41, were just having a good time at the park when police approached them.

They were reportedly found half naked and with severe gunshot wounds after the officers fired at their car at least five times.

Eustance Mureithi, a County security officer said trouble started when a suspicious motor vehicle was spotted at the City Park.

Police officers from Makadara who were on patrol within the park to reinforce officers from Parklands police station, proceeded to the scene and found the car, registration number KBX 515H parked within a forested area with all the windows rolled up.

READ ALSO: Meet the Kisii man who killed Nairobi woman on their first date after meeting her on Facebook

The officers allegedly knocked the windows but there was no response. Instead, the driver sped off towards Limuru road.

Administration Police (AP) Constable William Kipkorir Chirchir attached to DAPC Makadara Lunga Lunga AP post shot four rounds from his AK47 rifle.

His colleague Constable Godfrey Kipngetich Kirui from Industrial Area Police Station fired seven rounds from his AK 47 rifle.

The vehicle then suddenly came to a sudden halt.

Upon checking, the officers found Chege and Waiyaki half naked and with gunshot wounds.

Chege had been shot on the shoulder while Waiyaki was shot on the chest.

The officers rushed the couple to Avenue Hospital where Waiyaki was pronounced dead and the body later transferred to the City mortuary.

READ ALSO: Nairobi, Kiambu and Meru lead in crime rates - police report

The OCPD and DCIO Gigiri, Westlands AP boss and OCS Parklands and his team visited the murder scene.

The team found five spent cartridges of 7.62mm calibre at the scene. The motor vehicle, a Toyota Fielder, was towed to Parklands Police Station.

The firearms that were confiscated included an AK47 rifle serial number 4848073 loaded with 20 rounds of ammunition from Constable Christine Manga of Makadara AP headquarters, and a Scorpion serial number B499941 loaded with 25 rounds of ammunition from Constable Kenneth Kirui of Emabakasi police station.

One of the officers, Corporal Bramwel Adala, is said to have been with them but did not have a firearm during the incident.

But under what circumstances can a police officer use firearm?

According to Kenyas criminal law, police officers have the right to use justified force while apprehending a suspect or trying to prevent a crime.

They may use lethal or non-lethal means, depending on the circumstance.

For force to be considered justifiable, the threat itself must be unavoidable and immediate, and the amount of force used must be at an appropriate level under the circumstance.

Secondly, justified force must stop once the threat ends.

An officer may use a firearm against any person in lawful custody charged with or convicted of a felony, when that person is escaping or attempting to escape, or any person who by force rescues or attempts to rescue any other person from lawful custody.

READ ALSO: IEBC denies GSU officer shot dead was bodyguard to ex-commissioner

Section 19 of the Criminal Law also states the means used to arrest a person must be necessary and degree of force reasonable having regard to the gravity of the offence.

Under the National Police Service Act, firearms may only be used when less extreme means are inadequate to save and protect the life of the officers or other person.

Firearms can also be used in self-defence or in defence of other person against imminent threat of life or serious injury.

The law requires that an officer intending to use a firearm should identify himself and give clear warning of their intention to use the firearm.

However, the warning may not be given where doing so would place the officer or other person at risk of death or serious harm.

Any use of firearm, even if there is no injury, must immediately be reported to the superiors.

If the use of firearm results to death or serious injury, the case should be reported to the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) to investigate.

Before reporting the matter to IPOA, the officer must secure the scene for purposes of investigations and notify the next of kin as reasonably practical.

Story by Lucky Omenda, Nairobi County

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish, please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690 and Telegram: Tuko news.

Kenyan's defend disabled hawker arrested by police - On Tuko TV

Source: Kenya Breaking News TodayThe United National Congress is upset over what was, at least for them, an unexpected end to the Budget Debate in Parliament on Saturday. But it isn't the only one sharing that sentiment.Wolfsburg and Lyon are set to meet for the third time in a UEFA Women's Champions League final after both teams saw off English opposition to seal their berths in the Kyiv decider on 24 May.

Holders Lyon edged Manchester City to maintain their pursuit of a record fifth title, while two-time winners Wolfsburg are back in the showpiece after dispatching Chelsea. Their Kyiv showdown will be their third final meeting in six years  echoing the early dominance of FFC Frankfurt and Umea, who faced off in three of the first seven UEFA Women's Cup finals.

Lyon and Wolfsburg also crossed paths in the quarter-finals last term, and there is nothing to suggest that this year's decider will be any less tight than their previous encounters.

What they say

Stephan Lerch, Wolfsburg coach

Both teams have come a long way to make the final and have worked hard to get here. So everyone can look forward to a riveting match with both teams performing at their best and showing everything they are capable of. If they can do that it will be a spectacle to behold and we will do our part to try and make it riveting.

Reynald Pedros, Lyon coach

We need to focus on our own goals and ambitions, which this season is to win everything. We've already won the league, this would be our second title. We need to deal with the pressure and not play the game before kick-off. We have the weapons to win  stay forward, play with discipline, otherwise Wolfsburg will punish us, we know what we have to do.

Key stats

Wolfsburg: through to their fourth final in six participations, and their third against Lyon (whom they beat in 2013 and lost to three years later). Wolfsburg now hope to become only the third three-time winners after Lyon and Frankfurt, while picking up Germany's tenth title in the 18-year history of the competition.

Lyon: set to contest a record seventh final (one more than Frankfurt), Lyon are aiming to move one clear of FFC by becoming the first five-time winners. They can also become the first team to win three finals in a row, having edged the last two on penalties.

2016 final: Lyon pip Wolfsburg on penalties

#UWCL head to head

2017 quarter-finals

First leg: Wolfsburg 0-2 Lyon  Abily 62, Marozsan 89

Second leg: Lyon 0-1 Wolfsburg (agg: 2-1)  Hansen 82pen



2016 final (Reggio Emilia)

Wolfsburg 1-1 Lyon (aet, 3-4 pens)  Popp 88; Hegerberg 12

Ada Hegerberg missed Lyon's first penalty but consecutive failures from Nilla Fischer and Elise Bussaglia allowed Saki Kumagai to convert the winner, just as she had done for Japan in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup final.

2013 final (Chelsea)

Wolfsburg 1-0 Lyon  Muller 73pen

Ended Lyon's two-year reign as champions and their 118-game unbeaten run. Martina Muller was also to score Wolfsburg's final winner in 2014.



Key players

Wolfsburg

Alex Popp: the versatile Germany forward scored the late equaliser when these sides met in the 2016 final.

Pernille Harder: attacking star of Denmark's run to the UEFA Women's EURO 2017 final and prolific since joining from Linkoping last year.

Lyon

Camille Abily: the all-round midfielder became the first player to make 80 UEFA women's competition appearances during the semi-finals, having claimed the record from Emma Byrne (77) in the previous round. Due to retire this summer, she has been part of all four previous triumphs, while her 42 goals for OL is the highest tally for a single club in this competition.

Ada Hegerberg: the Norwegian forward has scored a record-equalling 14 goals in this season's competition to take her career tally to 36, putting her in the top ten at the age of 22. Overall this season, she has 46 goals in 27 appearances, only failing to score in five games.

Road to the final

Wolfsburg

Round of 32: Atletico Madrid 3-0a, 12-2h (agg: 15-2)

Round of 16: Fiorentina 4-0a, 3-3h (agg: 7-3)

Quarter-finals: Slavia Praha 5-0h, 1-1a (agg: 6-1)

Semi-finals: Chelsea 3-1a, 2-0h (agg: 5-1)

Lyon

Round of 32: Medyk Konin 5-0a, 9-0h (agg: 14-0)

Round of 16: BIIK-Kazygurt 7-0a, 9-0h (agg: 16-0)

Quarter-finals: Barcelona 2-1h, 1-0a (agg: 3-1)

Semi-finals: Manchester City 0-0a, 1-0h (agg: 1-0)

Key facts

Both these teams have already retained their domestic league titles: Wolfsburg's second in a row, Lyon's 12th. Wolfsburg also beat Bayern on penalties on Saturday to win the German Cup.

Luisa Wensing, Lena Goessling, Anna Blasse and Alex Popp all played in Wolfsburg's final wins of 2013 and 2014. Popp also won with Duisburg in 2009.

Of those players, Goessling, Blasse and Popp all started against Lyon in the 2016 final, with Wensing an unused substitute.

Sarah Bouhaddi, Wendie Renard, Camille Abily and Eugenie Le Sommer featured in all four of Lyon's previous final-winning teams (no other players have won more finals; Popp could equal that record if Wolfsburg beat Lyon).

Bouhaddi and Renard have contested all six of Lyon's finals (no other players have appeared in more separate finals).

Lara Dickenmann was part of the Lyon team that lost to Wolfsburg in 2013 and also played for them in the finals of 2010, 2011 and 2012, claiming two titles. She was in the Wolfsburg side that lost to Lyon in 2016.

Lyon have played in five Franco-German finals, winning three and losing two.

The only UEFA Women's Champions League final not to feature either of these teams was also a Germany v France affair, Frankfurt beating Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in Berlin in 2015.

Coaches Stephan Lerch (Wolfsburg) and Reynald Pedros (Lyon) took charge at the start of the season, in both cases their first roles at the helm of senior women's sides.

Amandine Henry could make her 50th competition appearance in the final, making her the 31st player to reach that mark  a list that includes Abily, Renard, Elodie Thomis, Popp, Le Sommer, Babett Peter and Bouhaddi.

Kyiv 2018

Venue: Valeriy Lobanovskiy Dynamo Stadium

Tickets: On sale now

Referee: Jana Adamkova (CZE)

Assistants: Sian Massey (ENG), Sanja Roak-Karsic (CRO)

Fourth official: Kateryna Monzul (UKR)

Reserve official: Maryna Striletska (UKR)

Past UEFA Women's Champions League finals (since 2010)

2017: Lyon (FRA) 0-0, 7-6 pens Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Cardiff

2016: Lyon (FRA) 1-1, 4-3 pens Wolfsburg (GER), Reggio Emilia

2015: FFC Frankfurt (GER) 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Berlin

2014: Wolfsburg (GER) 4-3 Tyreso (SWE), Lisbon

2013: Wolfsburg (GER) 1-0 Lyon (FRA), Chelsea

2012: Lyon (FRA) 2-0 FFC Frankfurt (GER), Munich

2011: Lyon (FRA) 2-0 Turbine Potsdam (GER), Fulham

2010: Turbine Potsdam (GER) 0-0, 7-6 pens Lyon (FRA), GetafeMilitants launched 55 attacks on positions of the Ukrainian troops in Donbas over the past day.

The intensive armed hostilities took place in Svitlodarsk, Horlivka, Donetsk and Mariupol directions. Russian-occupation forces violated the ceasefire regime 55 times, using the weapons banned under the Minsk agreements in 19 cases, the press center of the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters reports.

Less tense situation was observed in Luhansk region, where intense fighting continued mainly on the "Svitlodarsk arc", outside Troitske (69km west of Luhansk) and Luhanske (59km north-east of Donetsk).

In Horlivka direction, the enemy tried to force out Ukrainian troops from their positions under the guise of mortar fire near Zaitseve (67km north-north-east of Donetsk), Shumy (50km north of Donetsk), Novhorodske (34km north of Donetsk),. At the same time, in violation of the international law, the invaders opened mortar fire on residential houses of Zaitseve at 5:00 on May 20.

The intensity of military operations near Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk), Pisky (12km north-west of Donetsk), Krasnohorivka (29 km west of Donetsk) and Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk) in Donetsk direction did not abate.

In Mariupol direction, active fighting continued outside Vodiane (16km north-west of Donetsk) and Shyrokyne (20km east of Mariupol).

As reported, no casualties among Ukrainian troops were reported.

olThe Foreign Ministry of Ukraine condemns another wave of illegal detentions in the annexed Crimea and promises to continue to appeal to the international courts.

"Yet another wave of illegal detentions in Crimea. The invader tries to strangle the will of the Crimean Tatars. We condemn this and will continue to appeal to the international courts," Spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Mariana Betsa wrote on Twitter.

On Monday morning, de facto Russian authorities in Crimea have conducted raids on homes of three Crimean Tatars.

olCommissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations Johannes Hahn will visit Kyiv on Tuesday, May 22.

The EU's governing bodies told this to an Ukrinform correspondent.

As earlier reported, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman will pay a visit to Brussels on May 24-25. The head of the Ukrainian government will hold meetings with EU leaders and other high-ranking officials.

iyThe International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea could deliver judgment on construction of the Kerch Bridge in the occupied Crimea by Russia in 2019.

Iryna Lutsenko, the representative of the President of Ukraine in the Verkhovna Rada, said this at the meeting of the agenda-setting council, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I think that [International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea] could start to consider this issue by the end of 2018. We will wait for the result in 2019," Lutsenko noted.

She reminded that the world community, particularly the United States, the EU, NATO, the UK and Canada, had condemned the construction of the bridge.

Lutsenko also stressed that the President of Ukraine had instructed to submit a motion on protection of Ukraine's sovereign interests, including in connection with the construction of the Kerch Bridge, to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

The bridge across the Kerch Strait linking Russia's Taman Peninsula with Crimea was opened for regular traffic on May 15.

olRussia closed 2,000 square kilometers of the Azov Sea to Ukrainian vessels on Sunday, May 20, for allegedly carrying out combat firing, according to TSN.Tyzhden.

In some areas, the distance to the Ukrainian coast does not exceed ten miles, which is a brutal violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Earlier, reports pointed to the intensified activity of the ships of the Coast Guard of the Border Service of the Federal Security Service and the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy in the waters of the Azov Sea.

In April this year, the headquarters for the antiterrorist operation (ATO) warned Ukrainian fishermen about possible provocations by Russia, which could result in the detention of Ukrainian fishing vessels. The headquarters also did not exclude the preparation of such provocations in the Black Sea.

On May 15, Russia officially opened the bridge across the Kerch Strait to the occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called the illegal construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge another indication of the neglect of international law by the Kremlin.

opThis bridge is unlikely to justify itself from the economic point of view in the near future.

Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Ilmi Umerov has said the Crimean bridge, which links Russia with the Russian-occupied peninsula, has become "a bridge to nowhere" for the occupiers, and the huge funds spent on its construction will not pay off.

Read alsoCanada condemns opening of Crimean bridge by Russia

"It all started with a small amount of money, and then there was a report that the costs of the Crimean bridge were increasing... There is a very large corruption component there, and as the case with any road construction project, kick-back schemes are very large in the construction of bridges, especially when Putin's friend [oligarch Arkadiy Rotenberg] was building it," Umerov told ObozTV.

According to him, "this is a bridge leading virtually to nowhere, a bridge to a dead end."

"Such a huge amount of money was spent to make a dead end out of the small area, which the Crimean peninsula is... Because there is almost no road to Kherson [in mainland Ukraine]," Umerov explained.

"This bridge is unlikely to justify itself from the economic point of view in the near future. It was probably built for political rather than economic reasons, and of course with the aim of large-scale money laundering from the budget," the Mejlis representative said.

According to Umerov, for tourists who will travel from Russia by cars, "it will be a bit easier to get to Crimea, but Crimea is not waiting for them with open arms, prices there are higher than in Moscow."The FSB accused Crimean Tatar activists of establishing, participating in, and recruiting for an extremist group  charges that can be punished by up to 10 years in prison.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Crimean Tatar activists of orchestrating and carrying out attacks with Kyiv's support, allegations described as "fantasy" by the Ukrainian Security Service.

The FSB said in a May 21 statement that an alleged group of plotters was led by Erol Veliyev, a parliamentary assistant to Ukrainian lawmaker Mustafa Dzhemilev, a veteran Crimean Tatar leader, as reported by Radio Liberty.

Rights groups and Western governments have denounced what they call a campaign of repression targeting members of the Turkic-speaking Crimean Tatar minority and others who opposed Moscow's seizure of the Black Sea peninsula in March 2014.

The majority of Crimean Tatars opposed the Russian takeover of their historic homeland.

Read alsoUkraine honors victims of 1944 genocide against Crimean Tatars

The FSB accused Crimean Tatar activists of establishing, participating in, and recruiting for an extremist group  charges that can be punished by up to 10 years in prison.

It said the group led by Veliyev acted on orders from Refat Chubarov  chairman of the Mejlis, the Crimean Tatars' self-governing body that Russia has outlawed  "with support" from the SBU.

In Kyiv, a spokeswoman for the SBU told RFE/RL that she would not comment on the FSB's "latest fantasy."

The statement said that in January the group set the home of Crimea's Moscow-backed chief mufti, Emirali Ablayev, on fire.

In April, Russia said it had detained one of the alleged members, Oleksandr Steshenko, as he entered Crimea to prepare "provocations."

Ukraine's Foreign Ministry at the time asked Moscow for explanations and demanded that his whereabouts be revealed.

Russian television has shown FSB footage of an unnamed man, apparently Steshenko, giving details to investigators.

Two other Crimean Tatars, including Dzhemilev's assistant, Veliyev, have been declared wanted by Russia.

Russia formally banned Dzhemilev from entering Crimea for five years immediately after annexing the peninsula.The parties discussed the situation in Donbas and joint efforts to implement the Minsk agreements.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on May 21 held a phone conversation with Federal Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, during which she informed Poroshenko of the results of recent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.

Read alsoPutin says gas transit via Ukraine to continue after Nord Stream 2 launch

"The Federal Chancellor informed the head of state of the results of recent talks with the president of the Russian Federation in Sochi," the Ukrainian presidential press service said.

The officials discussed the situation in Donbas and joint efforts to implement the Minsk agreements.

The parties also touched upon the security issues related to the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

It was agreed to maintain a close dialogue at bilateral level.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Putin and Merkel held talks in Sochi on May 18.Ambulances and police officers are working on the scene.

Thirty-two children have been taken to hospital, while about 400 others have been evacuated from a Mykolaiv-based school after an unknown substance was sprayed.

The information about the dispersal of an aerosol of unknown origin with a sharp smell in a school located in the Zavodskiy district of the city of Mykolaiv was received today, May 21, the Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Mykolaiv region has reported.

Chemical laboratory specialists from the Main Directorate have arrived at the scene in a mobile chemical and radiological laboratory van. Specialists of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine are also there.

"About 400 pupils were evacuated from the school. Preliminary 32 children were sent to medical institutions for health checks. There is no threat to the lives of children," the report says.

The agency added that the specialists had carried out the needed tests and no dangerous substances had been found. The examination of the school building is under way.

Ambulances and police officers are working on the scene.First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Serhiy Yarovy said the MIA units would be on high alert until the end of the event.

Chief of the National Police Serhiy Kniazev says the terror threat level will be increased in Kyiv from May 21 until the end of the UEFA Champions League final.

"From today and until the end of the events, we have an increased level of terrorist threat. Bomb disposal technicians in all regions must promptly and timely transmit information if any suspicious items are found," the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Ukraine quoted Kniazev as saying.

Read alsoKyiv to host UEFA Champions Festival during final week

In turn, First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Serhiy Yarovy said that the MIA units would be on high alert until the end of the UEFA Champions League final.

"A total of 26 air checkpoints and those of 51 highways and 53 railway routes will be involved. About 1,000 border guards and 100 service dogs will be employed at the checkpoints. Some 11,000 fans will arrive at Boryspil International Airport. About 15,000 people are expected to arrive by car," he said.

Yarovy also says that not only heads of regional units, but also the entire staff bear responsibility for the security at the event.According to intelligence data, three enemy soldiers were wounded.

Russian-led forces mounted 55 attacks on Ukrainian troops in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, in the past day.

"Intense fighting continued in the Svitlodarsk, Horlivka, Donetsk and Mariupol sectors. The Russian occupation forces violated the ceasefire 55 times and used proscribed weapons 19 times. The Ukrainian army units conducted an active defense and gave an adequate response to the enemy," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on May 21, 2018.

Read alsoRussian-led forces use Grad, artillery in Donbas; number of attacks on Ukraine grows to 58 in past day

The situation was less tense in Luhansk region with hot spots reported mainly at the Svitlodarska Duha bulge, namely near the villages of Troyitske and Luhanske.

In the Horlivka sector, the enemy tried to oust the Ukrainian troops from their positions near the villages of Zaitseve, Shumy and Novhorodske under the guise of mortar fire. At the same time, in violation of international law, the occupiers opened heavy mortar fire on residential buildings in Zaitseve at 05:00 on May 20.

Intensity of hostilities near the towns of Avdiyivka, Krasnohorivka and Maryinka, and the village of Pisky, which are in the Donetsk sector, does not decrease.

In the Mariupol sector, active fighting continued near the villages of Vodiane and Shyrokyne.

No casualties are reported among the Ukrainian military for the past day.

According to intelligence data, three enemy soldiers were wounded, while other enemy losses are being clarified.The Joint Forces handed the three captives and their personal firearms over to the SBU Security Service of Ukraine.

A reconnaissance and subversion group of the 46th separate assault Battalion "Donbas" of the Ukrainian Joint Forces captured three enemy troops during a short battle late in the evening on May 20.

Read alsoJFO: Russian-led forces mount 55 attacks on Ukraine army in Donbas in past day

"During a raid on the enemy's rear to detect weapons used to shell civilian settlements, the Ukrainian troops spotted an enemy observation post. One fighter was killed, while three others were captured during a short battle. There were no casualties among our soldiers," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation reported.

The Joint Forces handed the three captives and their personal firearms over to the SBU Security Service of Ukraine. The investigation is under way.

"An application has been filed for giving state awards to the commander of the group and the personnel who participated in the raid," the press center added.Both patrols immediately left the area and returned safely to their bases.

The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine has reported an undetermined explosion occurred 300-500 meters from its patrols in Luhansk region.

Read alsoUkrainian army captures three enemy troops amid fight in Donbas (Photo)

"At 11:04 on May 20, two SMM patrols consisting of ten members and four armored vehicles positioned themselves about 20m south of a checkpoint of the armed formations inside the disengagement area near Zolote (government-controlled, 60km west of Luhansk) on its southern edge. All patrol members were outside the vehicles, five of whom were speaking with two unarmed members of the armed formations, and saw an additional five to eight members of the armed formations (one armed with an assault rifle (AK-type), the remainder unarmed) walking around the checkpoint inside the disengagement area. At 11:06, the patrol members heard an undetermined explosion 300-500m north (assessed as inside the disengagement area)," the OSCE SMM said in a spot report on May 20, 2018.

The SMM said its monitors had previously observed an anti-aircraft gun (ZU-23, 23mm) about 10m north-west of the abovementioned checkpoint inside the disengagement area.

"Both patrols immediately left the area and returned safely to their bases in Sievierodonetsk (government-controlled, 74km north-west of Luhansk) and Kadiivka (formerly Stakhanov, non-government-controlled, 50km west of Luhansk), respectively," the monitors said.The occupiers have not stopped shelling the town.

Chief of Donetsk region's military and civil administration Pavlo Zhebrivsky says Russian-led militants in Donbas have killed one local resident amid shelling the town of Maryinka.

Read alsoJFO: Ukraine reports 2 KIA's, 4 WIA's amid 66 enemy attacks

"A 36-year-old resident of Maryinka died as a result of the militant attack on the town. Head of the Maryinka District State Administration Volodymyr Moroz told me that Mikhail, a local resident, went to his yard on the outskirts of Maryinka, when militants opened fire from small arms. One bullet hit the man. Paramedics, who arrived at the scene, ascertained death. However, they did not have time to take the body, as the militants intensified the fire and the paramedics had to drive to a safe distance," Zhebrivsky wrote on Facebook on May 21.

According to Moroz, the occupiers have not stopped shelling the town.

As was earlier reported, on May 19, the militants fired 120mm mortars on residential buildings in the village of Zaitseve from the settlement of Holmivskyi. A house was damaged as a result of the shelling.The area is 2,000 square km.

Russia partly limited Ukrainian ships' access to the Sea of Azov on May 20 in the form of an ultimatum.

The officially announced reason is a live-fire exercise, the Ukrainian TSN news service said.

The area covers 2,000 square km. In some areas, the distance between the area and the Ukrainian coast is not more than ten miles, which is a gross violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, it said.

Read alsoUkrainian MP: Russia begins de-facto blockade of Ukraine's Azov Sea ports

"One can see a growing number of Russian ships, it is significant. Yesterday we saw four ships of the Russian coast guard," Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Marine Guard Corps Mykola Levytsky told TSN on May 20.

The Sea of Azov has a special and at the same time dubious legal status, because it is an inland sea of both Russia and Ukraine. "The status of the internal sea allows Russian ships to approach the coast of Ukraine," Levytsky said. "And it will not be considered a violation of the border until Russian sailors stand on the Ukrainian land. So, this is how Moscow treats the situation," TSN reported.

The international community won't be able to help Ukraine, as during Leonid Kuchma's presidency, Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement that all disputes in this sea should be resolved exclusively at the bilateral level.

Read alsoUkraine's direct losses from Kerch bridge construction estimated at US$19 mln per year

Thus, Ukraine itself did everything not to let itself stop the construction of the Crimean Bridge. Ukraine de facto gave away the Sea of Azov in September 2003, when the Tuzla conflict occurred. Russia blocked part of the Kerch Strait with a dam and made Ukraine recognize the de-facto rights of Russia to the entire Sea of Azov. Later, it was used as the legal basis for the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge.

As UNIAN reported earlier, coast guard ships of the Russian FSB's Border Service and the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet in the Sea of Azov have stepped up their inspection of Ukrainian ships. In April this year, the Ukrainian army's headquarters warned Ukrainian fishermen about possible provocations by the Russian Federation, which could result in the detention of Ukrainian fishing vessels. The Ukrainian military did not rule out preparations for similar provocations in the Black Sea.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was re-elected to a second six-year term. Rival candidates have rejected the electoral process and called for new elections. The vote was marked by low turnout.

Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced on Sunday the re-election of President Nicolas Maduro with 67.7 percent of the vote. His closest challenger, Henri Falcon, came in second with 21.2 percent, while Javier Bertucci was third with 10 percent.

CNE President Tibisay Lucena announced the results with 92.6 percent reporting and said the turnout was 46.1 percent, Deutsche Welle reported.

Read alsoU.S. accuses Maduro, Venezuelan party official of drug trade profiteering  media

Amid reports of tepid turnout, polling stations remained open more than two hours after they were scheduled to close.

"They underestimated me," Maduro told cheering supporters outside Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, in the midst of fireworks and confetti.

In his speech, the Venezuelan president said he felt legitimized by the vote, saying there would be no more elections in the next two years. Maduro expressed a willingness to sit down with his opponents, openly reached out to them and speaking about his government's wish for peace.

But Maduro also basked in his wide-margin victory, calling his win "historic" and "record breaking." Unconcerned about low turnout, Maduro asserted that even if the opposition had not boycotted the vote, he still would have won. The successor to Chavez's legacy, he touted the large number of elections that Chavismo has won since 1998.

Maduro added that the movement he had inherited was the "strongest political force" in the country. "Today I love Venezuela more than ever," Maduro said.One person has reportedly been injured.

Hooded gunmen have opened fire with automatic rifles, Kalashnikovs, in Marseille, in south France on May 21.

Read alsoTwo dead in Paris knife attack - reports

The masked individuals, who arrived by three vehicles, opened fire on a group of young people not far from the cultural space known as 'La Busserine', the Ukrainian media outlet Europeiska Pravda reported, referring to Express.

Police exchanged fire with the shooters and officers have set up a cordon.

Marseille's Marines-Pompiers, the city's fire and rescue service, is also at the scene.

One person has reportedly been injured.The literary society of U.S.-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) Monday established bookshelf at the canteen of the Centre for general reading to promote reading habits among the students.

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :The literary society of U.S.-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) Monday established bookshelf at the canteen of the Centre for general reading to promote reading habits among the students.

The Project Director USPCAS-W Prof. Dr. Bakhshal Lashari who inaugurated the bookshelf said reading books is one of the most significant habits and the students of the Centre apart from their coursework may spend their quality time by reading books from the shelf.

He said that a few more similar type bookshelves would also be installed in different lobbies of the centre as to benefit the students for their general reading wherever they sit and read. "If you read more, you learn more and if you learn more, you achieve more", he added.

The President of USPCAS-W Literary Society student Imran Khan briefed about the aims and objectives of the society and also benefits of the bookshelves.

He said by establishing such bookshelves, the society would promote the book reading culture and provide the platform to students to interact the fellow book lovers.

He also thanked the management of the Centre for the support in organizing such literacy activities. Among others, the President of Society of Water Managers (SWM) Muhammad Arfan, Academic Coordinator Mohammad Ali and Monitoring and Evaluation Specialists M.

Shahid Panhwar also spoke on the occasion. The students, faculty and staff of the centre attended the bookshelf inaugural ceremony and vowed to contribute their books of general reading to this great cause of learning and achieving. The President Literacy Society Imran Khan himself initially contributed 20 books to the shelf.Assistant Commissioner Pabbi, Farooq Khan taking action on directives issued by DC Nowshera, Khwaja Zeeshan Sikandar fined 29 shopkeepers for charging excessive price from customers on Monday.

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :Assistant Commissioner Pabbi, Farooq Khan taking action on directives issued by DC Nowshera, Khwaja Zeeshan Sikandar fined 29 shopkeepers for charging excessive price from customers on Monday.

A total of 71000 rupees as fine was collected from the shopkeepers and submitted in national kitty.

The AC on this occasion warned the shopkeepers to strictly abide by the price list otherwise the violators will be sent behind the bars.

Meanwhile, AC Nowshera Jamshed Khan and AAC Pabbi Beenish Imran along with district food controller, Ashfaq Khan paid visits to several markets in their area and fined 27 shopkeepers for profiteering. Rupees 150000 as fine were collected from the violators and submitted into national kitty.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Pakistan Peoples' Party leadership expressed its grief and sorrow over the killing of innocent Pakistani student Sabika Sheikh in a firing incident in a college situated at Texas, United States

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2018 ) :Pakistan Peoples' Party leadership expressed its grief and sorrow over the killing of innocent Pakistani student Sabika Sheikh in a firing incident in a college situated at Texas, United States.

In separate statements issued by PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday, both the leaders condemned the firing incident in the premises of the collage in Texas.

They expressed heartfelt condolence to the parents of the ill-fated student. They said that increasing episodes of torture and firing in the Unites States was an alarming situation for the US government as intolerance and torture were poison for any society.(@FahadShabbir)

City Traffic Police (CTP) Rawalpindi have launched a massive operation against one-wheelers during the holy month of Ramazan particularly after Sehri.

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :City Traffic Police (CTP) Rawalpindi have launched a massive operation against one-wheelers during the holy month of Ramazan particularly after Sehri.

The orders were issued to register cases against one-wheelers and impound their motor cycles under Section 99-A. Two FIRs have been registered in New Town Police Stations against one-wheelers and the rules violators have been sent behind the bars under Section 550.

According to Chief Traffic Officer, SSP, Bilal Iftikhar, special squads constituted in this regard are taking strict action in accordance with the law against one-wheelers particularly at Murree Road, Mall Road, Airport Road and other important roads of the city.

All the Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs), sectors in charges and traffic wardens have been directed to take strict action against the violators.

CTO appealed to the parents to stop their children from indulging in such life threatening activities.

He said that CTP will strive hard and make effective measures to control one-wheeling and violation of other traffic rules. In view of the security of the citizens, special traffic arrangements have also been made.

Under the Ramazan traffic plan, traffic police officers were directed to keep a vigilant eye on suspicious vehicles, he added. Traffic Wardens would also take strict action against double and wrong parking which causes traffic jams and creates inconvenience for the road users, he said.QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Police Monday recovered explosive material, suicide jackets, and arms stacked by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) at a house in Killi Barat area of Quetta.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Balochistan Abdul Razzaq Cheema told media persons that the explosive material and arms were recovered during an operation carried out on the lead provided by an LeJ member arrested a few days ago from Killi Almas.

Some 200 kg explosive material, three suicide jackets, four improvised explosive devices, two Kalashnikovs, three pistols and other arms were recovered in the Killi Barat operation, he added.

He said the arms and ammunition were to be utilized by the LeJ against Hazara community and other sabotage activities in the area.

Replying to a question, the DIG said security forces, including police, were trying to curb terrorist activities in the province, and urged all segments of the society to extend their cooperation in that regard. APP/arb/azm(@ChaudhryMAli88)

National Assembly standing committee on Human Rights on Monday cancelled due to lack of quorum after waiting for members for more than one hour.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :National Assembly standing committee on Human Rights on Monday cancelled due to lack of quorum after waiting for members for more than one hour.

Member National Assembly Munaza Hassan performing duties of chairperson of the committee apologized from the present members and high officials of police department who came to attend the meeting despite their busy schedule.

Munazzama said the meeting was called on a serious issue to discuss the steps taken by the government to protect children from sexual abuse but due to non-serious attitude of members the proceedings of the body could not be held.

Members National Assembly Alia Kamran and Musarrat Rafique were present while Inspector General Police Sindh A D Khawaja, Assistant Inspector General (Legal), Khaber Pakhtunkhwa, Imtiaz Ali Khan and senior official from Balochistan Police also attended the meeting.(@FahadShabbir)

The Pakistan Embassy in Washington on Friday said that a Pakistan student was among the 10 killed when a gunman opened fire in a school in Texas, in the latest incident of school shooting in the United States

WASHINGTON, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2018 ) :The Pakistan Embassy in Washington on Friday said that a Pakistan student was among the 10 killed when a gunman opened fire in a school in Texas, in the latest incident of school shooting in the United States.

"Among the victims was Sabika Sheikh, a Pakistani exchange student," said the Pakistan Embassy in Washington in a tweet. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Sabiha's family and friends," the tweet said quoting Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry.

According to the US media, the 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis has been charged in the attack and was to appear before the court on Friday. The Embassy tweet said that the Pakistani Consul General in Houston was in touch with the authorities concerned to ascertain the facts on the incident.

Ambassador Chaudhry expressed his heartfelt condolences for the victims of the tragic incident at the Santa Fe High School. Nine students and a teacher were killed in the attack by the gunman, who used a .38 revolver and a shotgun he had acquired from his father, according to a report.

Ten others received mostly gun wounds. The suspect surrendered to the police after originally planning to commit suicide after the attack, Texas Governor Greg Abbott told a press briefing. At least two other suspects of interest have been detained in the investigation into the attack.(@mahnoorsheikh03)

No religious channel included in the list send to cable operators by PEMRA

Islamabad (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News  21st May, 2018) Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) has shut down all religious tv channels, including QTV.

No religious channel is included in the list send to cable operators by PEMRA. The authority had directed the cable operators to only air the channels mentioned in the listen. The cable operators have started implementing the decision. The list was issued by PEMRAS Enforcement DG Haji Adam.

Meanwhile, the act has agitated the people as they are not able to watch religious channels in Ramzan.

The Islamabad High Court had ordered to ban all Ramzan transmissions during the month. However, PEMRA taking a leap forward to the decision has banned religious channels as well.

People said that they like watching these channels in Ramzan but PEMRA banned them.

This act is highly condemnable, they said.

On the other hand, the cable operators said that they are only implementing the orders issued by PEMRA.

No 'circus' or neelam ghar will be allowed to be broadcast on TV this Ramazan, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui said on May 8 while hearing a case concerning the implementation of the broadcast regulator's code of conduct for Ramazan transmissions and morning shows on television.

A Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) representative present for the hearing submitted the watchdog's guidelines for Ramazan transmissions and assured the court that all channels would have to abide by them.The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in its National Human Development Report (NHDR) stated that women literacy level observed stark discrepancies in the country.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in its National Human Development Report (NHDR) stated that women literacy level observed stark discrepancies in the country.

According to the report, the austere disparities in literacy levels had appeared across different segments in Pakistan between more and less developed regions, male-female, and urban-rural. To utter astonishment, Youth literacy varies from 94.5 percent in Islamabad to 39.9 percent in FATA while FATA and Balochistan have the lowest female youth literacy rates, 13.6 and 29.9 percent respectively; Islamabad and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have the highest, 92.9 and 82.8 percent respectively.

The comprehensive survey discovered that similar disparities exist between rural and urban areas. The literacy rate for 10 years of age and above is 25 percentage points lower in rural areas compared to urban areas.

The relatively higher illiteracy rates for vulnerable categories such as women and rural dwellers indicate the intense deprivation of education. This also affects people's ability to make informed choices, it added.

The above facts indicate important challenges for how education is considered from a human development perspective, how education is measured, and what policies will improve outcomes and processes over time.

It is pertinent to mention that with a youth literacy of barely 70.7 percent; Pakistan is surpassedby other South Asian countries particularly Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

It is believed that overlapping dimensions of inequality along with income, location, and gender had reinforced the education disadvantage for Pakistan's mushrooming youth population. Regional differences within the country, whether between provinces or between rural and urban areas, strongly affect access to education and Primary school completion rates.

For example, almost twice as many children from Balochistan, 47 percent, never attended a school, compared to children in Punjab i.e. 24 percent. Similar disparity is visible between rural and urban areas as 37 and 19 percent respectively.

Income, gender and disability further reinforce the inequalities in access to education for Pakistan's youth. Despite a wide range of policies, a quota system, special funding schemes and scholarship programmes aimed at making education more inclusive and increasing access to under-privileged groups, the enrolments present smaller percentages from the lower social strata.

Wealth inequality plays an important role in keeping individuals in and out of school. As Malik and Rose (2015) note, "gender inequities exacerbate wealth inequities at least in rural communities, where among poor children, 74 percent of girls have never been to school compared to 55 percent of boys.

However, there is no gender gap among urban children from wealthy families. Overlapping geographical, wealth-related, and gender inequalities increase when children enter school  only 15 percent of poor rural girls complete primary school, compared to 40 percent of their male counterparts".

Pakistan's Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2015 finds that children (3-16 years) from the poorest quartile, regardless of location, are twice as likely to remain out of school compared to the richest.

Girls from poor families are 20 percent more likely to remain out of school than their male counterparts i.e. 32 percent females are out-of-school overall compared to the male rate of 52 percent.

Many participants at the National Youth Consultations expressed concerns about the cost attached to obtaining higher education (fees, books, and transportation). All these essentials being unaffordable deprive them access to higher education, the report added.(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Israel has summoned the ambassadors of Spain, Slovenia and Belgium over their votes at a UN body calling for an international probe of the deadly shootings of dozens of Palestinians on the Gaza border, the foreign ministry said Monday

Jerusalem, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st May, 2018 ) :Israel has summoned the ambassadors of Spain, Slovenia and Belgium over their votes at a UN body calling for an international probe of the deadly shootings of dozens of Palestinians on the Gaza border, the foreign ministry said Monday.

The Spanish and Slovenian ambassadors were called in on Monday, while the Belgian envoy was to be received on Tuesday, the ministry said in a statement. The UN Human Rights Council voted Friday to send a team of international war crimes investigators to probe the deadly shootings.

The three European countries were among 29 that voted in favour. Only two of the council's 47 members, the United States and Australia, voted against the resolution, while 14 abstained, including Britain, Switzerland and Germany.

The text said the team should "investigate all alleged violations and abuses.

.. in the context of the military assaults on large scale civilian protests that began on 30 March 2018, ... including those that may amount to war crimes." Palestinians began protesting on the Gaza-Israel border on March 30 for the right to return to the homes their families fled or were expelled from in 1948, during the war surrounding the creation of Israel.

A total of at least 118 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since then, according to authorities in Gaza, which is run by the Islamist movement Hamas. No Israelis have been killed in that timeframe.

The protests peaked on May 14, the day the United States moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Tens of thousands protested on the Gaza border that day, with 62 killed by Israeli gunfire.Cameroons Catholic Bishops have denounced the "gruesome violence" happening in the countrys English speaking region as Cameroon on Sunday commemorated the 1972 national referendum that ushered-in a unitary state.

Vatican News English Africa staff  Vatican city.

Archbishop Samuel Kleda of the Archdiocese of Douala and President of the Bishops' Conference of Cameroon has said, in a strongly worded statement, that the situation in the countrys Anglophone region is deteriorating. The Cameroonian prelate says the situation is "marked by blind, inhuman, monstrous violence and radicalisation of positions that alarm us a lot." This is according to an Agenzia Fides report.

Caritas Cameroon also says the situation is worsening

Caritas Cameroon has also noted that anyone thought to sympathise with Anglophone activists in Cameroon is targeted by the army. Sadly the reality is going from bad to worse, reports Abbe Kisito Balla Onana, Director of Caritas Cameroon.

Fr. Emmanuel Bekomson, Director of Caritas Calabar in Nigeria, confirms that the conflict situation is seriously aggravated by exchange of fire spreading to more parts of south-west Cameroon, the Nigerian priest was quoted as saying.

A barefoot protest by young Cameroonians in the diaspora

This week, Emmanuel Neba Fuh a Cameroonian activist with two other Cameroonian colleagues based in the United States, were in Italy, walking barefoot in the streets of Rome. They explained that it was their way of protesting the atrocities in the English speaking region of Cameroon. Fuh told Vatican News they want the world to honour the never again pledge that commits the international community to the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. According to the UN Convention, countries pledged (at the time of enactment) never again to allow the evil of genocide to recur. Fuh and colleagues maintain that what is happening in the English speaking region of Cameroon is fast degenerating into genocide. The three Cameroonians say they are not members of the secessionist Ambazonia militants.

Ambazonia is the name separatists have given to the English-speaking area they want to become independent from French-speaking Cameroon.

Caritas Cameroon needs humanitarian aid to support the displaced.

Agenzia Fides also reports that Caritas is currently the only relief agency operating in the severely affected English-speaking areas of southwestern and northwestern Cameroon supplying much-needed food, water, medical supplies and shelter.

Caritas Cameroon needs more support.Pope Francis on May 20 announced 14 new cardinals from around the world. Archbishop Thomas Aquinas Manyo of Osaka will become the 6th person from Japan to receive the cardinals red hat on June 29.

By Robin Gomes

Japanese Archbishop Thomas Aquinas Manyo of Osaka was more surprised than anyone at the news he has been chosen to become a cardinal.

Pope Francis on Sunday announced the names of 14 new cardinals from around the world , including in the Vatican, three of whom are from Asia  Archbishop Manyo of Japan, Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi, Pakistan and Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako of Babylon, Iraq.

Archbishop Manyo: hard to believe

Archbishop Manyo told UCANEWS that people have been continually emailing and calling him about his appointment, not long after the Popes announcement in Rome on May 20.

"I myself did not know about the announcement at all and I had no contact in advance. Personally, I don't think I'm the most suitable person to be a cardinal, so I still find it hard to believe," the 69-year old archbishop said.

Outreach programmes

Archbishop Manyo is vice-president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan (CBCJ). He was born in Nagasaki prefecture in 1949 and was ordained a priest for Nagasaki Archdiocese in 1975. After serving as secretary-general of the CBCJ from 2006 to 2011, he was ordained bishop for Hiroshima Diocese in September 2011. In August 2014, he was transferred to Osaka as archbishop.

As a native of Nagasaki, Bishop Manyo was widely involved in the peace movement in Hiroshima. He also worked for the beatification of "hidden Christians" who had been exiled to Tsuwano in present-day Shimane prefecture, part of Hiroshima Diocese. In the final outbreak of anti-Christian persecution in Japan 150 years ago, some 3,400 Christians from Nagasaki were exiled to various places throughout the country, and more than 600 died.

For many years, he has been involved with people with disabilities, while as a member of the CBCJ he has been on its committees for education and ecumenism.

The cardinal-designate is also a master of the short Japanese poetic form called haiku and his poems often appear in his sermons and articles. Archbishop Manyo is the sixth Japanese to be named a cardinal.

Japanese Church

The appointment of a Japanese cardinal comes as a surprise, considering that over 80% of its more than 126 million population profess Shintoism or Buddhism, with Christians forming some 2.3%.

There are about 950,000 Catholics in Japan - about 450,000 of whom are Japanese nationals and the remainder expatriates, largely from the Philippines and repatriated Japanese from South America.

Cardinals, universality of Church

The Pope justified his choice saying the countries of origin express the universality of the church, which continues to announce the merciful love of God to all people on earth."

The 14 new cardinals hail from Pakistan, Japan, Iraq, Portugal, Italy, Poland, Peru, Madagascar as well as from the Vatican. Eleven of them are under 80, making them eligible to vote for a new pope.

With the new cardinals, the number of College of Cardinals under 80 will be 125, higher than the limit of 120 set by Pope Paul VI. Pope Francis has already appointed 60 cardinals in his five years as pope and there are now 213 living cardinals.

The new cardinals will receive their "red hats" at a consistory in Rome on June 29, the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. (Source: UCAN)Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi is among 14 new cardinals that Pope Francis announced on May 20. They will be made cardinals at a ceremony on 29 June in Rome.

By Robin Gomes

Muslim politicians and activists in Pakistan have joined Christians in welcoming the news about Pope Francis nominating Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi among 14 new cardinals he will elevate on June 29.

Speaking during his weekly midday Regina Coeli prayer on Sunday, the Pontiff stressed that the origins of the new cardinals "express the universality of the Church, which continues to proclaim God's merciful love to all the men and women of the earth".

Pakistan received its first cardinal 45 years ago, when Pope Paul VI made Archbishop Joseph Cordeiro also of Karachi a cardinal in 1973. Some 24 years after his death in 1994, the predominantly Muslim nation will now have its second cardinal.

Archbishop Coutts surprised

"I am very surprised at my elevation as cardinal," Archbishop Coutts told UCANEWS. "I am only hearing it from media and friends. I am yet to be officially notified by the Vatican. However, if the news is correct, I will be traveling to the Vatican in June to receive the red hat, said the 72-year old archbishop, who is very much engaged in initiatives of interfaith harmony.

Archbishop Coutts recently formed the first-ever diocesan commission to promote interfaith harmony and said he often attends programmes, seminars and conferences to encourage people from different religions to live together peacefully.

"Christians who live here should promote a culture of harmony," he said.

Christians rejoice

The minority Christian community of Pakistan expressed its gratitude at the news of the nomination of Archbishop Coutts as cardinal.

"We are truly thrilled. It was long overdue. The Church of Pakistan was depressed because of many years of persecution, Father Bonnie Mendes, former executive secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference (PCBC), told AsiaNews.

Fr. Mendes regarded Archbishop Coutts as the right man who has been a leader for 30 years. He said, He expresses himself in sensitive and considered ways, both in national and international meetings.

Emmanuel Neno, executive secretary of the PCBC Commission for Catechesis, reflecting the elation of Pakistans Christians. "We are a religious minority, but our voice can be heard well in the universal Church, We thank the Holy Father because he takes care of the small Churches, he said, noting that Archbishop Coutts has served as bishop in half the dioceses of the country, and knows well his people and their concerns.

"This is like a breath of fresh air for us. We have beautiful feelings. The naming of a cardinal from an Islamic country is a matter of great pride, Father Inayat Bernard of the Sacred Heart Cathedral of Lahore told UCANEWS.

On behalf of the Holy Father, I congratulate all of you," said the senior priest while addressing an interfaith gathering at Dominican Peace Center in Lahore.

Another priest, Father Pascal Paulus, president of the Major Religious Superiors Leadership Conference of Pakistan said, "All the Christians in Pakistan are grateful and praying for the Holy Father. He truly loves us. We are proud of Joseph Coutts as our leader. The humble pastor is a symbol of Christ in Pakistan. He is a visionary person with knowledge and a good understanding of political matters," the priest told UCANEWS.

Fr. Paulus noted that with a new cardinal issues of human rights in Pakistan will carry more weight and they will have a stronger voice. The great pastor will boost our morale and will be the reason for progress of the local church," Fr. Paulus added.

Muslims felicitate

Prominent Muslim personalities have also welcomed the news of Pakistans second cardinal.

In a post on Twitter, Pakistans Federal Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique wrote: "The nomination of Archbishop Joseph Coutts is very pleasing to the Christian community of Pakistan. He is a pride both for Christians and for our beloved Pakistan. Congratulations to the Christian community.

Sohail Ahmad Raza, the Muslim director of interfaith relations at Minhaj-ul-Quran International, expressed satisfaction at the choice of Archbishop Coutts saying, Now we know that the pope has focused on Pakistan. This is an honor not only for Christians but also for Pakistan."

Dr. Sadia Umer, coordinator of the women's empowerment initiative at United Religions Initiative (URI) Pakistan, a global grassroots interfaith network working for peace and justice, said that the news of Archbishop Coutts represents a beautiful image of the country. The Muslim gynecologist noted that everyone looks at Pakistan with suspicion and accuses its people of being terrorists. Instead Pope Francis is different. He is truly sincere in inter-religious dialogue and regards us all as human beings, she said, adding, For us, the new cardinal is a gift of Ramadan."

Biography

Archbishop Joseph Coutts was born on July 21, 1945 at Amritsar, India. He was ordained to the priesthood on Jan. 9, 1971 in Lahore.

On May 5, 1988, St. John Paul appointed him Coadjutor Bishop of Hyderabad, and was consecrated bishop on September 16, that year. He succeeded as Bishop of Hyderabad on September 1, 1990.

After the see of Faisalabad fell vacant with bishop John Joseph taking his own life as a protest against anti-Christian bias in Pakistan, St. John Paul II appointed Bishop Coutts to Faisalabad on 27 Jun 1998.

On Jan. 25, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Coutts the Archbishop of Karachi, after Archbishop Evarist Pinto retired. He was installed on March 17.

Archbishop Coutts is the National Director of Caritas Pakistan and is actively involved in inter-faith dialogue with Muslims. He is also the president of Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference. A doctor of philosophy, he can speak several languages including English, Italian, German, French, Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi. (Source: AsiaNews/UCANEWS)Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro after the National Electoral Council announced the results of the vote (AFP or licensors)

Venezuela's National Electoral Council announces that President Nicolas Maduro has won re-election to another six year term. The result was widely expected, because the main oppostion coalition boycotted this process. The vote took place as Pope Francis said he was praying that the Holy Spirit might give all the people of Venezuela the wisdom to find the path of peace and unity.

By James Blears

The National Electoral Council says that President Nicolas Maduro won almost sixty eight percent of the vote, defeating his main rival, ex Governor Henri Falcon, by almost forty points. Officials say Maduro won 5.8 million votes, while Falcon got just 1.8 million. They say there was a 46.1 percent turnout.

The opposition insist turnout was barely thirty percent. With opposition leaders Leopoldo Lopez and Henrique Capriles barred from competing, and the opposition coalition steadfastly refusing to take part, the final result was never in any serious doubt.

Former Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez, who leads the all powerful Constituent Assembly, which brought the Election forward by almost a year enthused: "Look at the people in the streets. A big democratic fiesta is taking place!"

Henri Falcon has rejected the voting process, which included the scanning of State Benefits cards and ruling socialist party stands too close to polling stations, plus other factors. He says: "We don't recognize the electoral process as valid. We must have new Elections."

This won't happen. What is likely to occur, is another set of crunching economic sanctions from Washington, which is refusing to recognize the Presidential Election.

Reggae YouTube star Conkarah is returning to Las Vegas for a performance inside Crimson at Red Rock Resort on Saturday, July 21, 2018.

The Oxford dictionary defines a conqueror as a person who conquers a place or people. This definition aptly describes Conkarah, recording artiste from Kingston, Jamaica. Conkarah aka Nicholas Murray was born in Kingston, Jamaica to his British mother and Jamaican father. Growing up in a culturally-diverse home gave this musician a reason to want to explore the world.

After successfully receiving his degree in Broadcasting at The University of Charleston, West Virginia, Conkarah set out to begin his musical journey. To date, Conkarah has successfully completed two world tours conquering the hearts of fans in Europe, Asia, The Caribbean and the Pacific  including countries and islands such as Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Belize, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu just to name a few.

Conkarahs YouTube channel boasts more than 70 million combined views, as well as more than 250 thousand subscribers. His unique covers of Billboard chart toppers have gone viral introducing millions of music listeners around the world to reggae music. His reggae cover of Adeles hit single Hello, with young Solomon Island recording artiste Rosie Delmah, currently has more than 30 million views on YouTube and was also the number-one global viral stream on Spotify.

Last night (May 20, 2018), actress Gabrielle Maiden, best known for her role as Mick on season two of Netflixs Stranger Things, was spotted attending the hit show Absinthe at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (Photo courtesy of Joseph Sanders/Spiegelworld).

Maiden was seen taking in Absinthes outlandish acts and hilarious antics during the 8 p.m. performance, and went backstage for a photo with The Gazillionaire after the show. Afterward, Maiden took to Instagram to share, @Absinthe_Vegas is literally my new favorite show! Hands down! A must see!

The public is invited to support childhood cancer survivors  and their unique medical, emotional and social needs  at the Mad Hatters cocktail tea party on Saturday, June 9, 2018, in the lobby of the Roseman University of Health Sciences Breakthrough Building at One Breakthrough Way, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89135.

This year, attendees will be invited to mix and mingle in a cocktail party atmosphere while enjoying tea, cakes, sandwiches and other treats, as well as adult beverages including mimosas, wine and a special themed cocktail we call the Jabberwocky. As the name suggests, the Mad Hatters theme is based on the Lewis Carroll classic story Alice in Wonderland. The event will be held from Noon to 4 p.m.

Proceeds from the event will support the StoryBook Homes Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic for childhood cancer survivors. The clinic provides health monitoring, testing, annual exams, referrals and education for patients who have survived cancer. In addition, each patient receives a booklet which identifies the specific treatment each patient completed, as well as the long-term risks which are possible from those treatments. This is information designed to keep patients healthy as they grow into adulthood and is meant to be shared with future medical providers years from now.

Were thrilled to expand our annual tea party to a new location this year, utilizing the inspiring lobby of the Breakthrough Building at Roseman University of Health Sciences, said Annette Logan-Parker, President & CEO, Cure 4 The Kids Foundation. Most importantly, our tea party funds and supports the essential services we provide to childhood cancer survivors that help them live healthier lives.

As a program of Cure 4 The Kids Foundation, the StoryBook Homes Long-Term Follow-Up Clinic will turn no patient away from treatment for financial reasons. Cure 4 The Kids Foundations Charity Care Program allows patients without medical insurance and without financial ability to get the treatment they need. Since 2007, the Charity Care Program has helped more than 500 families get access to the life-saving treatment they need, but couldnt afford.

The third annual Mad Hatters cocktail tea party is made possible through the generous support of Roseman University of Health Sciences, Feel Good Brands and Amanda Hope Rainbow Angels.The Dapchi girls' secondary school in Nigeria has reopened its doors, nearly three months after it was attacked by terrorists and 109 students kidnapped. Nearly all of the girls were safely returned home about a month later, but parents in Dapchi are grappling with tough choices - do they send their daughters back to school, is it safe? Chika Oduah reports from Dapchi.Voters in Burundi have approved changes to the constitution that could allow the president to stay in office until 2034.

The country's electoral commission said Monday that 73 percent of voters backed the changes in last Thursday's constitutional referendum.

The amendments extend presidential terms from five to seven years and effectively allow President Pierre Nkurunziza to run for two more terms after his current term expires in 2020.

They also create the position of prime minister and enable the government to do away with power-sharing agreements between Hutus and Tutsis.

In a statement Monday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the referendum process "was marred by a lack of transparency, the suspension of media outlets, and attempts to pressure voters."

Burundi suspended broadcasts by Voice of America and the BBC ten days ahead of the vote.

Nauert also said some of the amendments "run counter to the power-sharing principles of the Arusha Agreement," which ended Burundi's civil war.

Supporters of the changes argued they are necessary for stability in the central African country, which is still recovering from a civil war and political unrest in 2015 that prompted hundreds of thousands to flee the country.

Opponents said the changes are anti-democratic and designed to keep Nkurunziza in power. The 2015 unrest was sparked when the president chose to seek a third term, defying critics who said he was violating term limits.China's state media are playing up what it says is a trade war truce and de-escalation in tensions after negotiators from Washington and Beijing agreed to hold off on tariffs and substantially reduce the U.S. trade deficit. However, economists and business leaders argue that there is more to managing the relationship than balancing imports and exports.

State media in China are focusing heavily on the argument that Beijing did not give any ground and adopting their own take on the deficit question  focusing instead the countrys pledge to boost imports from the United States.

An editorial in the China Daily entitled Sino-US agreement benefits both countries and the world said that: For China, significantly increasing' imports of U.S. goods and services, such as agricultural and energy products, will help meet its development needs and the desires of Chinese consumers.

The editorial added that, despite all the pressure, China didnt fold as U.S. President Donald Trump observed. Instead, it stood firm and expressed its willingness to talk.

An editorial in the party-backed Global Times said that while many may have noted what the joint statement said about reducing the U.S. deficit, that does not mean that the U.S. has won the trade talks. Instead, the piece said it was more a matter of learning to right an imbalance in the two countries trade systems.

The editorial called the now averted trade war a historic period of difficult adjustment, adding that as one of the largest trade surplus countries in the world, China has learned from this dispute with the US.

On news commentary boards, online response to agreement was mixed. Some argued the agreement was a sign that China had won. One commentator said: America is just a paper tiger, theres no need to be afraid. Another: Washington is weak in the knees.

Many were pleased to see the two countries cooperating, agreeing that the decision was a win-win.

Others were not as certain. Be careful, Trump will go back on his word, wrote one person.

Despite state medias rosy outlook about the agreement and confidence China had won online, huge differences between the two economies remain.

Lu Suiqi, an associate professor in economics at Peking University noted the agreement is just an incremental one and follow through will be key.

He said the focus on talks instead of brinkmanship was a positive development but not a guarantee of smooth sailing ahead.



If any party fails to make good on its implementation, there may be renewed differences. And if these differences are hard to resolve, there's still the possibility of putting the trade war back on, Liu said.

Explainer: What is a Trade War?





Philip Levy, senior fellow on the global economy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs told VOA the deal is not the worst outcome we could have had, its sort of the mediocre outcome many feared.

This looks like theyre opting for some sort of managed trade solution that I dont thing is good for either country, but it is better than a tariff war, Levy said.

Much of what the statement said about longstanding trade differences was vague at best, some analysts note.

The joint statement said both sides agreed to encourage two-way investment and committed to creating a business environment for fair competition.

Since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, it has been promising and pledging to open up and many are growing tired of the talk. Over the past few years, a shift backwards toward a more central state-led economy has become more prominent.

And even as Chinese President Xi Jinping pledges to open up Chinas economy further, he is asserting the party and states control and dominance over everything  including business.

Foreign companies frustration with rules in China that force the handover of sensitive technology and concerns about intellectual property persist. There is also concern about government subsidies in cutting edge industries and support for state-owned enterprises.

There are fundamental questions about how a state dominated economy of that size fits into the global trading system. And I dont think weve answered those questions, said Levy.

Speaking at a gathering of former officials and business leaders in Beijing last week, Jeremie Waterman, the president of the China Center at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that for businesses, market access is a bigger concern than trade imbalances.

The focus of U.S Chamber of Commerce and our members really is on resolving the systemic issues, not on near term efforts to address the trade deficit, Waterman said.

He added that focusing on opening markets and not closing them is best because it would address longstanding concerns about access in China. It could also help with the deficit.

Joyce Huang and Ira Mellman contributed to this report.A series of incidents involving Chinese tourists in Vietnam is keeping a deep maritime sovereignty dispute in focus despite official efforts to improve relations.

Last week 14 Chinese tourists wearing the same red-on-white T-shirts bearing a map of their county's claim passed through immigration in the central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa.

Immigration agents confiscated the shirts as Vietnamese voiced outrage online toward the tourists. The backs of the shirts showed the nine-dash line that demarcates Beijings claim to the contested South China Sea, lopping off waters that Vietnam says are its own.

This incident is at least the fourth involving Chinese tourists over the past two years. These flaps mean China is using its soft power to remind Vietnam of the dispute and that Vietnam remains as angry now as ever, experts say.

If we look at the broader picture, we can see that the Chinese government might increasingly use civilians as a way to spread their sovereignty claims in the South China Sea, from militia fishermen to uber-nationalist southbound tourists, said Trung Nguyen, international relations dean at Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

String of incidents

China and Vietnam, already distrustful after a border war in the 1970s, dispute tracts of the 3.5 million-square-kilometer South China Sea thats rich in fisheries, oil and gas. China commands the more powerful armed forces and has militarized islets in the contested tracts of sea.

In 2016, the tourist city of Da Nang suspended the business license of a travel agency because it offered travel services to Chinese visitors who burned Vietnamese currency, the VnExpress International news website said.

Also that year, China asked Vietnam to investigate whether immigration agents had penned profanity into the passport of a Chinese visitor to Ho Chi Minh City.

Chinese tour guides have also entered Vietnam to spread anti-Vietnamese information about history to tour groups, the news website said in 2016. The Immigration Administration vowed then to deport any it finds.

Communist parties in Vietnam and China encourage a sense of patriotism that provokes angry responses when offended, raising the odds of these incidents and strong follow-up reactions, scholars say.

Because people in these various countries, they have been educated according to their various nationalist traditions, thereby of course they would think that those disputed territories unquestionably belong to them and therefore all others are sort of occupiers and should be gotten rid of as soon as possible, said Oh Ei Sun, international studies instructor at Singapore Nanyang University.

Propaganda battleground

China has historically encouraged citizens to promote official foreign policy when overseas and particularly correct world mis-impressions of China, said Alan Chong, associate professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

All kinds of private activities coming out of China are seen as propaganda, Chong said. Its all in their history.

Vietnam took the T-shirt incident in this spirit. The chairman of the Government Office in Vietnam called it an organized act, prepared and arranged with bad intentions instead of a random, spontaneous act by the individual tourists, VnExpress International said.

Chinese tourists to Vietnam numbered about 4 million last year, up 49 percent over 2016, Chinas Xinhua News Agency said.

Calm at the official level

Officials from the two neighboring countries are trying to get along even as tourists bring out the unresolved maritime dispute.

China and Vietnam have held defense talks, exchanged state visits and met at the party-to-party level regularly since 2014. That year the two sides rammed each others boats as China allowed an oil firm to position a rig in a disputed tract of the sea. Common Vietnamese rioted then against China.

Deadly naval clashes erupted between the two sides in 1974 and 1988 over maritime claims.

Officials in Beijing see Vietnam as a key economic link to Southeast Asia, said Adam McCarty, chief economist with Mekong Economics in Hanoi. The link would be part of China's five-year-old, 65-country Belt-and-Road initiative aimed at building infrastructure to foster trade routes.

Vietnam looks to China as a top trading partner and Chinese tourism supports its service sector.

I think the Vietnamese dont want to antagonize for no purpose the Chinese, McCarty said. There will still be some on both sides who are overtly nationalistic and trying to push issues with these silly T-shirts. I think the Vietnamese government (is) not going to be provoked by that.

The Vietnamese government is trying to compartmentalize" the T-shirt issue to avoid undermining two-way relations as a whole, Nguyen said.A European Parliament meeting on Tuesday with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will be broadcast live, parliamentary officials and the company said on Monday after controversy over plans for a closed-door hearing.

Parliament President Antonio Tajani, who was criticized by legislators and some senior EU officials over arrangements for the discussion on public privacy concerns, tweeted that it was "great news" that Zuckerberg had agreed to a live web stream.



A Facebook spokeswoman said: "Were looking forward to the meeting and happy for it to be live streamed."

Zuckerberg, who founded the U.S. social media giant, will be in Europe to defend the company after scandal over its sale of personal data to a British political consultancy which worked on U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign, among others.

He will meet Tajani and leaders of parties in the European Parliament in Brussels from 6:15 p.m. (1615 GMT) on Tuesday.

He is also due to meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday.Decades of rust are covering its hull, the furniture is broken in its once luxurious salons, its powerful engines are permanently idle. But against all odds, the iconic yacht that once belonged to the late Yugoslav strongman Josip Broz Tito has been given a new lease on life.

The once-imposing ship that hosted Hollywood celebrities, some 70 world leaders and took Tito up the River Thames for a historic meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill will be turned into a floating museum.

The ship, called Galeb, or Seagull, is moored at the northern Croatian Adriatic port of Rijeka. After its turbulent history, including two sinkings since it was launched in 1938 and a failed purchase by a Greek tycoon, it was destined for a junkyard.

But authorities in Rijeka, the city that has been chosen by the European Union to be the European Capital of Culture in 2020, decided to completely refurbish it in a 5.4 million euro ($6.4 million) project that will start in 2019.

"Galeb is a ship with very interesting and turbulent history," Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel said. "Of course the most interesting part of that history is when it was a ship belonging to President Josip Broz Tito."

The decision to renovate the 5,100-ton, 106-meter (350-foot) vessel has triggered anger from Croatia's nationalists.

They blame Tito, who ruled communist Yugoslavia for 35 years until he died in 1980, for autocratic rule and for forcing Croatia to join the former federation of six republics that comprised Yugoslavia.

The boat has become a symbol of Tito's well documented life of luxury and splendor. And his critics in Croatia want it to be destroyed.

But Obersnel says the renovation plan will go forward. "First of all, it's our history and we cannot change that history," Obersnel said. "During that period, we could talk about good things and maybe some not so good things. But that's our history."

The decaying ship hulk has been towed to an isolated dock in the harbor, with its bow pointing at downtown Rijeka, once a drab port town that is gradually becoming one of Croatia's main tourist destinations.

"The idea of renovation is to make it a ship museum to primarily show its history, all of its life phases that were many and very interesting," said Kristina Pavec from Rijeka's City Museum, which is overseeing the project.

The ship's once luxurious salons and stairways are full of broken down 1960s furniture. Torn carpets and wallpaper lines the decks and bulkheads. In his private quarters, Tito's walk-in closet for ties, shoes and flashy military uniforms stands empty; his bed mattress is still there, but the bed is not. On the captain's fly bridge, naval maps flutter in spring breeze and the engine order telegraph is pointing at idle.

In Tito's era, the ship belonged to the Yugoslav naval academy. After the bloody breakup of the federation in the 1990s, it first was parked in Montenegro before being sold to Croatia for $150,000.

Built in Genoa, Italy, the ship was intended for transport of tropical fruit from Africa. During World War II, the Nazis used it as an auxiliary naval ship to lay mines. The ship was eventually sunk in Allied bombings of Rijeka's port toward the end of the war.

After the war, it was completely reconstructed and turned into a Yugoslav naval academy training ship. A VIP bloc was added so the yacht could serve as Tito's luxury residence on his frequent sea voyages. The crew typically included 200 sailors and some 20 VIP guests, including an orchestra that entertained them during parties.

The late president preferred it to airplane travel and used it extensively on tours to Africa, Asia, South America and Europe. It became famous in 1953 when Tito sailed into London to meet Churchill and Queen Elizabeth II as the first Communist leader to visit Britain after World War II.

World leaders entertained on the ship included late Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev, Libya's Muammar al-Qaddafi, Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser and India's Indira Gandhi. Tito was particularly excited to welcome movie celebrities such as Sophia Loren, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who played Tito in a 1973 war epic filmed in Yugoslavia.Malian entrepreneur Hamad Bathily has faced many roadblocks trying to launch his career. After working as an illegal immigrant in New York City, he headed to the Republic of Congo to set up a struggling export business.His latest move, to the Paris suburb of Grigny, has brought yet another challenge: his address.

"Grigny is stigmatized by everyone," Bathily says. "Once people see 'Grigny' in their CV, they're wary."

Successive governments have tried to find solutions for Grigny and other disaffected banlieues, catchword for the high-immigrant, high-crime suburbs ringing Paris and other cities. Their existence amounts to a blatant challenge to the country's egalitarian creed. It also poses more practical economic and social challenges, including concerns about radical Islam.

Now, the burden lies with President Emmanuel Macron, who on Tuesday presents his banlieue proposals in a much-anticipated speech. But hopes for a grand battle plan have already been dashed. According to French media reports, Macron will present only modest measures, and largely bury an ambitious plan he commissioned.

In Grigny, about an hour's train ride south of the capital, residents are skeptical the man nicknamed "President of the Rich" can recast himself as president of the poor.

"I voted for Macron because I didn't have a choice," says mother of seven Foune Fofana, who like many here has African roots. "He needs to do things for the young, find them jobs, help neighborhood associations."

At the bottom

A bleak collection of housing projects crisscrossed by wide avenues, Grigny sits at the bottom of just about every development indicator. It is considered one of the poorest towns of France, with some of the highest rates of unemployment, school drop outs and illiteracy. Even the country's trademark bakeries and cafes are hard to find here.

"The French state has failed in policies it has instituted for years," says Grigny's Communist Mayor Philippe Rio, adding, "We have health problems that are unthinkable in France, where the health system is one of the best in the world."

Last October, Rio and 150 other banlieue mayors gathered here to launch "the call from Grigny," demanding action. They faulted spending cuts by Macron's government affecting vulnerable communities.

"We have the feeling authorities don't listen to us," Rio says. "That they mock us and throw crumbs our way."



Macron tapped a popular former minister, Jean-Louis Borloo, to come up with answers. But reports suggest Macron may only adopt some of Borloo's detailed proposals, which carry a hefty, $56 billion price tag.

"Emmanuel Macron wants to show he cares what happens on the other side of France, that he's not only the president of the cities, of the France that goes well," says analyst Bruno Cautres of Sciences Po University. But a real banlieue overhaul would demand huge investment "and I'm not sure that we can afford that," he adds.

Changing realities

Grigny's gritty reality contrasts sharply with the ideals of 1970s-era architects, who crafted utopian urban housing projects to house the French working class, and later the immigrants who flocked here in search of jobs. But as the years passed, the high rises and green spaces decayed into breeding grounds for drug dealing and crime.

In 2005, the banlieues exploded into rioting that spread countrywide. More violence followed, pitting angry youth against frustrated police.

A decade later, Grigny native Amedy Coulibaly attacked a kosher supermarket in Paris, killing four hostages before being shot dead by police. In a video, he claimed allegiance to Islamic State.

But community activist Aboubacar Sakanoko offers another face of Grigny.

"I'm from a town that's very closely knit," says Sakanoko, whose family immigrated from Senegal. "When I grew up, everybody brought up everybody's children. We were taught to be generous and help others."

Sakanoko has helped to launch a music festival in Grigny, along with a Web radio that showcases local artists.

He reflects a broader change afoot. Billboards sprout in weed-choked lots, soliciting buyers for upcoming apartment buildings. A new mosque has been built with funds raised by the local community.

Mayor Rio outlines plans to open a health center and nurture young talent. The town has launched training and education programs the Borloo plan hopes to replicate elsewhere.

"We have quickly considered ourselves as a laboratory," Rio said. "In an exceptional situation, we had to think differently, craft public policy and actions differently."

This story was originally published with an incorrect byline.Mourners on Sunday packed a mosque in Stafford, Texas, about 59 kilometers away from the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School that killed 10 people.

One of Friday's victims was 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student Sabika Sheikh who wanted to learn about the American culture and share her own.

While in the United States, Sabika had two host families.

We did not have children. She was the first one who called us mom and dad. She was literally like a daughter to us, said Pakistan American Uzma Parveen, who was Sabika's first host mother.

WATCH: Funeral service

Friends said while in the United States, Sabika experienced American culture, including going to prom. They said she had big dreams and her interests ranged from being a diplomat to being a businesswoman.

She wanted to be everyone and the only regret that she wanted to be famous. Not like that. I dont want to see her picture on the TV like that. I dont want to see that she was one of the victims, said a tearful Parveen.

Also attending this funeral is Gerri Manlove, the local coordinator of the American Institute For Foreign Study Foundation's Academic Year in America program. She remembers texting Sabika the day of the shooting and never getting a response.

She and two other students and a teacher hid in the classroom. They found a closet. But the boy found them, Manlove said.

The "boy" is accused gunman Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student of Santa Fe High School. He was arrested and charged with capital murder and aggravated assault against a public servant.

If anybody listens to me, I have only one appeal. Please do something. No children should be taken away from parents. It hurts. Believe me, it hurts. One metal detector could have saved her. Just one, Parveen said.

"Have a metal detector like you have at the airport. Have the kids wear a uniform or something similar to a uniform -- something where you can detect that theyre not wearing trench coats and so forth," Manlove added.

Manlove said Sabika was looking forward to going home in a few weeks, at the end of Ramadan.

When she started Ramadan and started fasting, my family did that with her because we did things together, said Jason Cogburn, Sabika's second host father who spoke at the funeral.

She was the most beautiful loving person Ive ever met, said host sister Jaelyn Cogburn, who was close to Sabika and remembered crying, knowing Sabika was going back to Pakistan soon.

Dignitaries who attended the funeral included Houston's mayor as well as federal lawmakers, who presented an American flag flown over the U.S. Capitol to Sabika's family and accepted by Aisha Farooqui, the Consul General of Pakistan in Houston.

The families and friends touched by Sabika said knowing her has changed their lives permanently. For that they are thankful to her parents in Pakistan.

Thank you for sharing such a wonderful daughter with us, with me and with Rashad. Thank you so much. We are with you in your grief. We are not going to be the same people anymore, Parveen said.

After the funeral, Sabika's remains were flown back to her home in Pakistan.A Kansas man who shot and killed an Indian software engineer and injured two others in February 2017 pleaded guilty on Monday in federal court to hate crime and firearm charges, the Justice Department said.

The shooting drew international attention as part of a wave of attacks nationwide against ethnic and religious minority groups following the 2016 election of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has railed against illegal immigration.

The shooter, Adam Purinton, approached two Indian men, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, at a bar, demanding to know where they were from, calling one a terrorist and shouting, "Get out of my country!" Two other patrons escorted him out of the bar.

Purinton returned about a half-hour later and fired his semi-automatic pistol at the two men who he had harassed earlier. As he ran out, he shot another patron, Ian Grillot, who had chased him.

Kuchibhotla, a legal U.S. resident, died of his injuries. Madasani and Grillot survived.

"While we cannot ameliorate the irreparable harm to the victims and their families, we hope that securing this guilty plea brings them some measure of closure," said Jesse Panuccio, an acting associate attorney general, in a statement.

Purinton had already pleaded guilty to state charges for murder and attempted murder, and was sentenced earlier in May to life in prison. The local prosecutor said at the time that Purinton will not be eligible for parole for 50 years.

The sentencing is scheduled for July 2, the Justice Department said, and, despite the Kansas sentence, both federal prosecutors and the defense are seeking the maximum sentence of life imprisonment.Gina Haspel, a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, was sworn in Monday as the spy agency's first female director.

President Donald Trump watched as Vice President Mike Pence swore in the 61-year-old Haspel during a ceremony at the CIA headquarters, outside Washington.

WATCH: Swearing in ceremony

"Gina is tough, she is strong and when it comes to defending America, Gina will never back down," Trump said. "The men and women of this agency deserve exceptional leadership and that is what they are getting."

Trump called her "a very special person ... someone who has served this country with extraordinary skill and devotion." He said "there is no one in this country better qualified for this extraordinary office than you."

She is replacing Mike Pompeo, who recently became U.S. secretary of state and stood nearby as Haspel, his deputy at the CIA, took the oath of office.

Haspel described her life at CIA and that of other U.S. intelligence workers as "more than a career," but rather "a calling" to protect the country against terrorist attacks.

"We are the best and our challenge is always to be the best," she told CIA workers in the agency's lobby.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Haspel last Thursday by a vote of 54-45, ending a tumultuous nomination process in which lawmakers revisited the CIA's past interrogation practices.

Six Democrats voted in favor of Haspel, while two Republicans opposed her nomination to replace Pompeo, who was confirmed last month as the country's top diplomat.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, praised Haspel, a career CIA employee, as "uniquely qualified to face America's biggest national security challenges," adding that she has "earned the respect and admiration of the men and women of the CIA."

Trump's selection of Haspel sparked controversy, given her oversight of harsh detainee interrogations after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America. She also wrote a memo authorizing the spy agency's destruction of videotapes showing what many legal scholars said was the torture of terror suspects.

Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont announced his opposition to Haspel shortly before the vote, calling some of her known record "disturbing."

"I do not question Ms. Haspel's commitment to our national security. But I do question her fidelity to a core value of our nation  that all people have certain inalienable rights," Leahy said in a statement, adding that the basic dignity of human beings "is incompatible with inhumane practices like torture."

During her confirmation hearing, Haspel repeatedly declined to say whether harsh interrogation techniques were morally wrong. Earlier last week, however, she wrote a letter to the committee's top Democrat, Mark Warner of Virginia, saying the CIA should not have conducted abusive interrogations.

"As Director of the CIA, Gina Haspel will be the first operations officer in more than five decades to lead the Agency," Warner said in a statement. "I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the President if ordered to do something illegal or immoral like a return to torture."In addition to growing concerns that North Korea will pull out of the upcoming nuclear summit with the U.S., prospects for improved inter-Korean relations have also stalled, as Pyongyang demands that U.S.-South Korea joint military drills be scaled back, and a group of defectors be returned.

Just weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared the beginning of a new era of peace during a historic summit held in the demilitarized zone of the inter-Korean border, Pyongyang has put further dialogue and cooperation on hold until its demands are met.

President Moon will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming Trump-Kim summit and the Norths sudden conditions set for continued dialogue and cooperation.

Libya model

Most of North Koreas anger last week, expressed in official statements and reports carried by the state news agency KCNA, seemed to be directed at the U.S. It criticized the Max Thunder joint military exercise that is currently underway, and U.S. National Security Adviser John Boltons demands for the Norths unilateral nuclear disarmament. North Korea in particular objected to Boltons insistence that North Korea follow the Libyan model, which involved the rapid and total dismantlement of that countrys nuclear program, but it was also followed by the overthrow of the countrys leader Moammar Gadhafi some years later.

Unless the U.S. eased up on its uncompromising stance, Pyongyang indicated it would pull out of the June 12 meeting in Singapore between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump to negotiate an end the Norths nuclear program in exchange for security guarantees and an end to punishing international sanctions.

President Trump later said the Libya model does not apply to North Korea and that Kim Jong Un would remain in power and be very rich if he makes a deal to end his countrys nuclear program.

Joint drills

North Korea denounced South Korea, as well, for the joint military drills, calling the Seoul government ignorant and incompetent, and suspending working-level bilateral talks last week.

Despite the Norths confrontational stance, U.S. and South Korean officials say preparations for the Trump-Kim summit are still underway, and analysts say that the sudden demands by the North could be attempts to influence the negotiation process.

I think this is posturing by the North Koreans. I think they are trying to do a little bit of shaking the American side up, said Dennis Wilder, an assistant professor of Asian Studies at Georgetown University, while participating in VOAs Washington Talk program.

Defectors

On Saturday North Korea demanded the return of 12 female former employees of a state-owned restaurant in China, who fled to South Korea in 2016.

An unnamed spokesman for the Norths Red Cross said the group was misled to defect by restaurant manager Heo Kang-il, who was working for the Souths National Intelligence Service. In an interview last week with South Korean broadcaster JBTC, Heo said he intended to bring along only his wife when he defected, but that the conservative government of President Park Geun-hye pressured him to bring the entire staff, and later publicized the large group of defectors just prior to legislative elections that were held in April of 2016.

They begged me to help, saying that if I do not come with others, they would report me to the embassy of the North Korean side, said Heo.

The administration of President Moon last week said it is looking into Heos allegations, but insists the restaurant workers who defected to South Korea are there by their own choice.

We know that the female restaurant workers defected of their own free will. I am saying that this stance is unchanged, said Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman for the Ministry of Unification.

If the defectors are not returned, North Korea indicated it might renege on a recent agreement made at the inter-Korean summit to hold in August a reunion for families that have been separated since the division of the Korean Peninsula after World War II.

Nuclear site

The leadership in Pyongyang has also not accepted, so far, the proposed list of eight South Korean journalists selected to witness the destruction of the Norths Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

North Korea recently announced it would shut down the nuclear site this week, and would allow selected journalists from South Korea, the U.S., China, Russia, and Britain to cover the event.

The Souths Unification Ministry said on Monday that the North has not responded to attempts to contact the government in Pyongyang using a communication channel that was re-established following the inter-Korean summit.

However the designated South Korean journalists will travel on Monday to Beijing in hopes that North Korea will allow them to join the other invited international media to observe the shutting down of the site, which has been used for each of North Korea's six underground nuclear test explosions.

The invited journalists are to take a chartered flight from Beijing to the North Korean coastal town of Wonsan on Tuesday. 38 North, a North Korea-focused U.S. website, said recent satellite imagery shows construction in the area of what could be a safe reviewing stand for visitors to observe the explosive closure of all three Punggye-ri portal areas.

Lee Yoon-jee in Seoul contributed to this report.The government of Rwandan President Paul Kagame  accused by some of imposing authoritarian rule on the country  received almost unanimous praise for its strides in health care. Kagame had a chance to tout his health care policy as an example to other African nations at the opening of the World Health Assembly in Geneva Monday.

According to Rwandan officials, the country's universal health care system has brought coverage to more than 90 percent of its population.



Kagame, an advocate for the adoption of universal health coverage in Africa, leads a country that has a successful, widely-admired system. As chairman of the African Union, he has promoted universal coverage as the continent's top strategic objective.

The effort is receiving full support from the World Health Organization, which aims to achieve coverage for one billion more people by 2023 as part of a five-year strategic plan.



Touting his own efforts as an example, Kagame says achieving universal health coverage is feasible for countries at every income.These systems, he says, avoid catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditures, which are an increasing source of impoverishment in Africa.



He says community-based, primary health systems all around Africa have shown good results.



"In Rwanda," he said, "a combination of community-based health insurance, community health workers, and good external partnerships led to the steepest reductions in child and maternal mortality ever recorded."



Kagame says more than 90 percent of Rwandans are enrolled in health insurance today. He says two-thirds of the costs are borne by the beneficiaries, with the government subsidizing the remaining one-third.



He says it acts as a boon for entrepreneurship, helps families invest in their children's education, and allows for the economic empowerment of women.



Kagame's account of his success is largely uncontested by the WHO, western aid agencies, and the media. Virtually all of the publicity surrounding Rwanda's health care achievements in the West has been overwhelmingly positive.



But to international human rights organizations and his political opponents at home, Kagame is using the success of his health care policy to shadow a more sinister aspect of his rule. Amnesty International says this is characterized by widespread human rights abuses including unlawful killings and unresolved disappearances.



Rwanda's clampdown on freedom of expression is so severe, the group Reporters Without Borders calls Kagame a "predator of press freedom."As President Paul Biya led National Day celebrations in Yaounde on Sunday, several policemen were killed, soldiers wounded and mayors kidnapped in Cameroon by suspected armed separatists who had warned against celebrating the central African state's national day in English-speaking regions.

A Nigerian military contingent -- part of the Cameroon effort to fight a Boko Haram insurgency -- sang before Biya, cabinet ministers, diplomats and thousands of people during the National Day parade in Yaounde.

Nigerian Lieutenant Colonel Mochtar Sani Daroda said the soldiers were invited by Biya to participate as recognition for their fight against the militant group that has left 25,000 people dead and more than 2.6 million displaced in Cameroon, Nigeria, Chad and Niger.

"The class brigade is the elite brigade that carries out national functions on behalf of the Nigerian army," Daroda said. "They also provide security of the president and the entire federal capital city [Abuja ] and they have been selected to participate in one of the parade we hold in very high esteem. A very special corps to take part in your [Cameroon] parade."

But tensions flared in many towns and villages of Cameroon's English-speaking regions, including Konye, Batibo, Ekona and several villages.

At least two policemen and several people were killed.

In a recording provided by suspected separatists, Mayor Ekuh Simon of Bangem, an English-speaking town in southwest Cameroon, said he was kidnapped with his deputy for distributing uniforms for residents to march in National Day ceremonies. Separatists had called for a boycott of events.

Simon said he is being held by Ambazonia restoration forces.

Ambazonia is what separatist's call their self-declared republic in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Nobert Ngu says he escaped Saturday from Ekona to Yaounde when armed separatists started shooting to stop people from celebrating National Day.

Ngu said his house was attacked. "Some boys saw my father inside the house, attacked my father. I lost my father because of this crisis," he added.

Biya's government had asked people to come out in numbers to celebrate National Day as a sign of unity.

Tensions in Cameroon began in November 2016 when English-speaking teachers and lawyers protested, saying they were frustrated with the dominance of the French language and the marginalization of the Anglophone population.

The crisis intensified early this year when separatist leader Ayuk Tabe was arrested with 48 others in Nigeria and extradited to Cameroon.

International rights groups have condemned the harsh government crackdown on the English speaking regions and indiscriminate arrests of suspects.Pope Francis' reported comments to a gay man that God made you like this have been embraced by the LGBT community as another sign of Francis' desire to make gay people feel welcomed and loved in the Catholic Church.

Juan Carlos Cruz, the main whistleblower in Chile's clerical sex abuse and cover-up scandal, said Monday he spoke to Francis about his homosexuality during their recent meetings at the Vatican. The pope invited Cruz and other victims of a Chilean predator priest to discuss their cases last month.

Cruz said he told Francis how Chile's bishops used his sexual orientation as a weapon to try to discredit him, and of the pain the personal attacks had caused him.

"He said, 'Look Juan Carlos, the pope loves you this way. God made you like this and he loves you,'" Cruz told The Associated Press.

The Vatican declined to confirm or deny the remarks in keeping with its policy not to comment on the pope's private conversations. The comments first were reported by Spain's El Pais newspaper.

Official church teaching calls for gay men and lesbians to be respected and loved, but considers homosexual activity intrinsically disordered. Francis, though, has sought to make the church more welcoming to gays, most famously with his 2013 comment Who am I to judge?

He also has spoken of his own ministry to gay and transgender people, insisting they are children of God, loved by God and deserving of accompaniment by the church.

As a result, some sought to downplay the significance of the comments as merely being in line with Francis' pastoral-minded attitude.

In addition, there was a time not so long ago when the Catholic Church officially taught that sexual orientation was not something people choose, the implication being it was how God made them.

The first edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the dense summary of Catholic teaching published by St. John Paul II in 1992, said gay individuals do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial.

The updated edition, which is the only edition available online and on the Vatican website, was revised to remove the reference to homosexuality not being a choice. The revised edition says: This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial.

Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which advocates for equality for LGBT Catholics, said the pope's comments were tremendous and would do a lot of good.

It would do a lot better if he would make these statements publicly, because LGBT people need to hear that message from religious leaders, from Catholic leaders, he said.

The Rev. James Martin, a Jesuit whose book Building a Bridge called for the church to find new pastoral ways of ministering to gays, noted that the pope's comments were in a private conversation, not a public pronouncement or document. But citing the original version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Martin said they were nevertheless significant.

The pope is saying what every reputable biologist and psychologist will tell you, which is that people do not choose their sexual orientation, Martin said in a telephone interview.

A great failing of the church, he said, is that many Catholics have been reluctant to say so, which then makes people feel guilty about something they have no control over.

Martin's book is being published this week in Italian, with a preface by the Francis-appointed bishop of Bologna, Monsignor Matteo Zuppi, a sign that the message of acceptance is being embraced even in traditionally conservative Italy.

After four days of closed-door negotiations at the high-level peace talks in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, a South Sudan government official said warring parties in South Sudan have made some progress on security issues but admits there has been little headway on governance and other big sticking points.

"On security arrangements, people have agreed on the cantonment, they have agreed on Article 2," South Sudan information minister Michael Makuei told VOA's South Sudan in Focus, after emerging from a plenary session of the party delegates Monday night.

Makuei said the parties have also agreed on the unification of the forces but failed to agree on a timeline for that process.

Makuei admitted there has been no progress made on power-sharing ratios and a government structure, which has always been one of the biggest stumbling blocks between government and opposition representatives at the talks.

He said the parties have agreed to respect the cessation of hostilities agreement signed late last year.The cease-fire deal has been violated repeatedly by both government and rebel forces shortly after it was signed.

Overall, concessions made by the rivals have not amounted to much.

Opposition groups accused the government of failing to compromise, an accusation Makuei flatly denied.

"All those who say so are those who never moved even an inch from their position from then up to now," Makuei told VOA.

Peter Mayen, chairman of the National Alliance, an umbrella group of eight opposition political parties, said the warring parties' lack of political will to resolve the conflict hinders any efforts for a breakthrough.

"Each and every party wants to stick to their positions. If you look at the consultation that was done earlier by the IGAD team, it is the same proposal. And right now, it is still the same proposal that is being proposed," Mayen told South Sudan in Focus.

Pagan Amum, a member of the South Sudan Opposition Alliance, a coalition of nine opposition parties, said certain politicians' refusal to give up power is one of the biggest impediments to reaching a lasting peace deal. That, and the government's refusal to work with rebel leader Riek Machar.

Should the parties fail to reach a comprehensive deal, Amum thinks all political leaders, including his coalition, should step aside and make way for a government of technocrats led by the South Sudanese.

"In case the parties fail to reach an agreement, it will be important now for IGAD, the African Union [AU] and the international community to impose a peace agreement that must now be implemented," Amum told South Sudan in Focus.

The Kiir administration has rejected that idea in the past.

IGAD officials said two more days have been added to the forum to give the delegates more time to negotiate and agree on the security and governance issues. The forum was supposed to end Monday.

Despite a cessation of hostilities agreement signed by the parties last December, fighting continues in parts of the country.

Akuac Ajang, a member of the civil society alliance at the talks, said his group has a message for the parties.

"All the warring parties and other political parties must commit themselves to silence the guns, stop the war and bring peace to our nation. Our people cannot continue to suffer," Ajang told South Sudan in Focus.

Church officials, who have been mediating this round of talks, have declined to speak to journalists, saying they have not yet pulled together their minutes from the various meetings.The students of the Government Girls Science and Technology secondary school stand under the gaze of the morning sun, belting out the national anthem. "To serve with heart and mind, one nation bound in freedom, peace and unity," they sing in unison.

Its Monday, May 7, the first time in nearly three months these students have sung the anthem together on their school grounds. On February 19, members of the extremist sect Boko Haram kidnapped 109 students from the school. A month later, the insurgents returned the girls, minus about five who died and Leah Sharibu.

Despite their relief, many of the parents are grappling with tough choices about whether to allow their daughters to go back to the Dapchi school or to even resume Western-styled education.

On April 30, the government of Yobe State, where Dapchi is located, mandated the school to re-open. But a week later, fewer than 220 of the schools more than 900 students showed up.

"The reason, we can assume or we can suspect, [was that] the parents were afraid to send down their children or the children were also afraid to come back," the school principal, Adama Abdulkarim, told VOA.

Fear lingers on campus

On the first day back, the students were visibly fearful, walking in groups across the campus from the dorms to their classrooms. Many of the students who came back are traumatized by their monthlong captivity with Boko Haram members.

"They snapped our photos and told us not to return to school, but I came back because I want to learn," said a 17-year-old student who asked for VOA to only use her first name, Maryam.

"I want Western education to improve my future. I came back to this school because I dont want to change my environment. I have already started school here and I want to finish here. Boko Haram told us that if we go back to school, they will come back to kidnap us and kill us ... but they didnt tell us exactly when they will come back.

Mohammed Lamin, the Yobe State education commissioner, said students must be resilient because other attacked schools in the area have resumed.

"Life has to continue. The students will have to learn, they have to study, he told VOA.

Expectations, threats keep girls out of school

Female students in many parts of Nigeria face unique challenges that often hinder their educational ambitions, including cultural norms that expect females to marry by a certain age.

In addition, Boko Harams violent campaign often targets girls. When the insurgents returned the Dapchi students in March, they told the parents that "boko" (slang for books, which refers to Western education) is "haram" (sinful), so they should not return their daughters back to school.

They believe that girls are weaker than the boys, said Garba Haruna, whose daughter was among the abducted and returned Dapchi schoolgirls.

Western education in northeastern Nigeria has taken a blow since the insurgency began in 2009. Nearly 2,300 teachers have been killed and 19,000 displaced, and almost 1,400 schools destroyed. Last year, the U.N. Childrens Agency said the violence in the region forced more than 57 percent of schools in Borno State to close, leaving about 3 million children without an education as the 2017-18 school year began.

A multimillion dollar, UNICEF-supported Safe Schools Initiative, launched in the wake of the 2014 abduction of the Chibok girls, is supposed to make schools in northeastern Nigeria more conducive to learning by training teachers on security and providing clean water, among other measures.

In Dapchi, it was only after the February abductions that UNICEF came in, handing out backpacks and school supplies to the students. Soldiers have been posted at the main gate, while local vigilante and civil defense forces stand at the second gate.

The parents of the Dapchi schoolgirls say these measures are helpful. Theyve been meeting to discuss the security situation and have opted to defy Boko Harams demand to keep girls out of school.

We have to fight it. We have to fight it. They cannot beat us and they can never win because we must see that we send them back to school. Let them go, Haruna said.

The one left behind

Its a different story for Rebecca Sharibu, whose 15-year-old daughter Leah is the sole Dapchi schoolgirl whom Boko Haram did not release, reportedly because she refused to convert to Islam. Sharibu and her son look at Leah in a family photo.

"When my daughter comes back, I will not allow her to go to that school again. No any government come for us and help us or tell us anything about Leah," Sharibu said, speaking in Nigerian pidgin slang English.

These days, Rebecca often finds herself going into her daughters bedroom to cry.

Across the street from the Sharibus' home, Leahs classmates are taking a huge risk simply by going to school.More than 30 people were killed and dozens of others are still missing after a tropical cyclone and heavy rains hit the Horn of Africa over the weekend.

Cyclone Sagar slammed into the Horn Saturday and Sunday, and local officials say Sagar was the strongest storm ever recorded in the area.

Mogadishu Mayor Abdirahman Omar Osman told VOA Somali that the storm killed at least six people. More than than 300 homes in the Somali capital are under water following heavy rains.

Authorities in the self-declared republic of Somaliland confirmed at least 25 people in the Awdal, Sahel and Salal regions. Most of the victims were be swept away by flash floods, residents said.

An official in the Salal region, Abdi Abdullahi Elmi, told VOA Somali that the death toll could rise as rescue teams try to reach remote areas of the region affected by the rains.

A statement from the office of Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi said 12 people were injured and 27 are still missing.

The statement said 669,000 people have been affected by the cyclone, large numbers of crops were destroyed and 80 percent of the livestock in Somaliland were killed. It appealed to the international community for humanitarian support to help those affected.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said more than 10,000 people were displaced in Somaliland, and homes and fishing boats were destroyed in Puntland. The NRC also reported the deaths of two people in Djibouti, where it said 20,000 people are affected by flooding.



Mohamed Aw Ahmed Ateye is the head of the district council in Baki, Somaliland where six people were killed. "There is a huge loss of lives and destruction of properties, he told VOA Somali. He reported the collapse of 41 homes in the town, while another 30 homes were destroyed in Harirad town.

He also said 140 farms were destroyed. The floods destroyed the crops, farm equipment and bridges... after 17 hours of rains, he said.

The Somali government and United Nations have appealed for $80 million to provide immediate help for people affected by recent flooding in the countrys south-central regions.

According to United Nations, the heaviest rains in three decades continue to fall across Somalia. There is also heavy rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands where two rivers that pass through Somalia originate. It says 772,500 people have been affected by flooding in Somalia with more than 229,000 displaced.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was hospitalized in the West Bank on Sunday, doctors and Palestinian officials said, giving conflicting accounts of the leader's condition.



It is the third time Abbas, 82, has been hospitalized in less than a week. He is expected to stay at least overnight. Abbas underwent minor ear surgery on Tuesday but went back into al-Istishari Hospital in Ramallah briefly overnight on Saturday/Sunday, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said.



He was then rushed back later on Sunday, for what doctors described only as "medical tests."



Dr. Saed al-Sarahneh, medical director of the hospital, spoke outside the private hospital late Sunday, saying that Abbas had entered in the morning "for medical tests after the surgery he had three days ago in his middle ear. All the tests are normal and his medical condition is reassuring."



The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is headed by Abbas, said on its Twitter account that Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat had visited the leader in hospital and quoted Erekat as saying: "the President is in good health."

An aide to Erekat said that Abbas had talked and joked with him, and that Abbas was expected to leave hospital tomorrow or the day after.



One Palestinian official in Ramallah said Abbas had gone back in because of complications after Tuesday's ear surgery. Abbas had been running a high temperature, he said, "so doctors advised that he go back into hospital."



However, a source at al-Istishari hospital said the president's condition was unrelated to the ear operation.



"The president will stay in hospital until tomorrow. He is being given antibiotics to treat an inflammation in the chest," said the hospital source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he or she was not authorized to speak with the media.



Abbas, a heavy smoker, was hospitalized in the United States for medical checks in February during a trip to address the U.N. Security Council.



The Western-backed leader became Palestinian president after the death in 2004 of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat. He pursued U.S.-led peace talks with Israel but the negotiations broke down in 2014.



He is also chairman of the executive committee of the PLO, a position to which he was re-elected unopposed on May 4.



Abbas' hospitalization has coincided with an escalation in Israeli-Palestinian tensions after Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on May 14 as the new U.S. Embassy opened in Jerusalem.



The Gaza Strip is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, a bitter political rival of Abbas's secular Fatah movement.Former Polish president and anti-communist leader Lech Walesa met Monday with disabled people and their parents who have been staging a sit-in in the parliament for over a month, offering them his solidarity and strongly denouncing the country's populist government.

Several young adults in wheelchairs and their parents, their full-time caretakers, want more state aid, a demand the government has not fully met. While the numbers of protesters are small, their occupation of a corridor in parliament has received heavy coverage in the Polish media, becoming a headache for the conservative ruling party.

The parliament speaker has reacted by restricting access to some reporters, which itself is sparking complaints to prosecutors.

Walesa, a strong government critic, joined them Monday morning for about an hour, taking a seat and telling them: You called me, so here I am.

I would like to make a contribution to your fight, Walesa said.

The ruling party, Law and Justice, is strongly pro-Catholic and won elections in 2015 promising to help the poor and other disadvantaged people, but now faces accusations of treating society's weakest members in a heartless way.

The president, prime minister and the minister for social policies have all visited the protesters, and the president this month signed a law raising the monthly benefits for disabled adults to 1,030 zlotys (239 euros; $281) from 865 zlotys. But they say the state can't afford to pay them the additional 500 zlotys per month that they seek.

The protesters have asked to also meet party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski, but there has been no meeting. Kaczynski has been recently hospitalized, reportedly for knee surgery.

Law and Justice leaders also accuse opposition lawmakers, who let the protesters into parliament, of using them as a tool in a political fight. With criticism rising, the parliament issued a statement on the weekend saying officials there were treating the protesters with respect and empathy.

Walesa listened to one of the mothers saying the families have felt humiliated by the government. Most of his comments were directed at criticizing the government.

Those few people who are in power are chiefly intent on sowing discord. Through quarrels and feuding they are trying to stay in power, Walesa said. We must remove these people from power as soon as we can. They fight evil with evil and lawlessness with lawlessness.

Walesa was the leader of the Solidarity freedom movement in the 1980s that helped topple communism. As Poland emerged as a new democracy he served as president from 1990-95.

Today he is deeply disliked by leaders of Law and Justice, who accuse him of having collaborated with the communist secret police in the 1970s and of mismanaging the country's transition from communism to democracy, allowing former communists to continue to have too much influence in the new system.

Walesa denies those accusations.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has unveiled a far-reaching list of demands for any new nuclear deal with Iran, and threatened economy-crushing sanctions if Tehran does not change its behavior.



The 12-point list of demands came in a Monday speech at the conservative Heritage Foundation that laid out the Trump administration's strategy after pulling out of the Iran nuclear agreement earlier this month.



Under any new deal, Pompeo insisted, Iran must indefinitely abandon nuclear weapons work and provide United Nations inspectors access to sites anywhere in the country.He said Tehran must also end its proliferation of ballistic missiles and stop its "destabilizing activities" across the Middle East.



If Iran does not change course, the U.S. "will apply unprecedented financial pressure," Pompeo warned.



"These will be the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are done," said Pompeo. "The [Iranian] regime has been fighting all over the Middle East for years. After our sanctions come into full force, it will be battling to keep its economy alive."



Iran's President Hassan Rouhani dismissed the threats.



"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world?" Rouhani said in a statement published by Iranian state media on Monday. "The world today does not accept that the United States decides for the world. Countries have their independence."

The Trump administration has vowed to reimpose sanctions that were lifted as part of the 2015 nuclear agreement, which was signed between Iran, the United States, and several European countries, as well as Russia and China. Washington has also imposed additional sanctions.



European countries are holding talks with Iran to try to salvage the deal. But it's not clear whether the effort can succeed. On Sunday, Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said the European Union's "political will is not enough to preserve the deal."

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini reacted to Pompeo's speech Monday by saying there is "no alternative" to the existing agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and that European nations are already using sanctions to pressure Iran to change its behavior.

"Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of the JCPOA," she said.

Though some European businesses have said they will comply with the U.S. demands and stop doing business with Iran, some European leaders have threatened countermeasures to offset the effects of U.S. sanctions. That would make it more difficult for the U.S. to apply tough economic pressure on Iran.

In his speech, Pompeo acknowledged that many U.S. allies will suffer "financial and economic difficulties" because of the reimposed sanctions.



"We want to hear your concerns," Pompeo said. "But you should know that we will hold those doing prohibited business in Iran to account."

Getting significant multilateral buy-in for U.S. sanctions is key to effectively pressuring Iran, but could take a while, said Benham Taleblu, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.



"It took a decade for the West to get the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. It probably will take a significant amount of time to get a genuine fix for the other Iranian problems," he said.

Wide-ranging demands



Pompeo's list of demands were wide-ranging, a reflection of the Trump administration's multipronged criticism of the Iran nuclear deal.



According to Pompeo, Iran must "verifiably abandon" nuclear weapons work "in perpetuity." It must stop uranium enrichment and "never pursue" plutonium processing. It must provide the IAEA with "unqualified access to all sites throughout the country." It should end its proliferation of ballistic missiles. And it must release all U.S. citizens, "as well as citizens of our partners and allies."



Pompeo also demanded Iran stop supporting Middle East militant groups, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, the Palestinian Hamas group, the Houthi militias in Yemen, as well as Taliban forces in Afghanistan.

WATCH: Pompeo speech



"I'm afraid that Pompeo is substituting ultimatums for diplomacy," said Jamal Abdi of the National Iranian American Council. "It just doesn't add up. This is not what a rational actor would respond to."



"What we've learned," he added, "is that as much as we disagree with Iran, they do conduct things with a cost-benefit analysis of a rational actor. And Pompeo has not presented any sort of pathway they could actually comply with."

The opposition

Reza Pirzadeh, a political officer of the Iran National Council for Free Elections opposition group, founded by Iran's exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, said Pompeo's demands did not go far enough.



"We want to insist on the freedom of all political prisoners in Iran. Also, we want to see freedom of speech, freedom of thought and social and cultural freedoms for the Iranian people," he said. "We want Pompeo to emphasize [these additional demands] in any negotiation with Islamic Republic officials in upcoming discussions involving the EU, U.S. and Iran."



On Monday, a Pentagon spokesman said the U.S. will be taking steps to "address Iran's malign influence and destabilization actions" but declined to comment on any specific moves.



"We are assessing if we are going to double down on current actions or implement new actions." said the spokesman, Colonel Robert Manning. "We're not going to rule out anything in order to address Iran."A gay Chilean man who survived abuse by a Catholic priest said Pope Francis told him that his sexual orientation "doesn't matter" to him and that "God made you like this."

Juan Carlos Cruz said he spoke to the pope about his homosexuality during their recent meetings at the Vatican. The pope invited Cruz and other victims of a Chilean predator priest to discuss their cases last month.

"Juan Carlos, that you are gay doesn't matter," Cruz said Pope Francis told him, according to the Spanish newspaper El Pais. "God made you like this and loves you like this, and it doesn't matter to me. The pope loves you like this. You have to be happy with who you are."

The Vatican has refused to confirm or deny the remarks, citing its policy not to comment on the pope's private conversations.

Cruz, who was abused as a child by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, Chile's most notorious pedophile priest, told the paper that his sexual orientation came up during the discussion because he has been targeted for being gay after speaking out about his abuse.

Whether the pope's comments will bring about change within the Catholic Church is debatable. Pope Francis has sought to make the church more welcoming to gays, most famously with his 2013 comment, "Who am I to judge?''

He also has spoken of his own ministry to gay and transgender people, insisting they are children of God, loved by God and deserving of accompaniment by the church.

While the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that people with "homosexual tendencies" "must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity," it also calls a "deep-seated" homosexual inclination and its acts "intrinsically disordered" and "contrary to the natural law."According to one estimate, there are a 5 quintillion, 5 hundred quadrillion grains of sand on earth, a number so large it must be approaching infinity. This makes sand an appropriate medium for the construction of spiritual images of the universe.

Former Buddhist monk and Tibetan scholar Losang Samten does just that, using colored sand to build mandalas, circular images filled with complex iconography, which have great meaning in Hinduism and Buddhism.

Tibetan monks have created mandalas over the centuries from a variety of materials. Before sand, they used crushed colored stone. Now Samten travels around the world to find sand in various colors. He also dyes sand in watercolors.

Decades of mandalas

Samten, in his mid-60s, learned the craft at the feet of the Dalai Lama.

When I was a teenager, age of 17, he told VOA, I had a privilege to enter His Holiness Dalai Lamas monastery  in India. I have been studying sand mandalas ever since then. So its a long time.

VOA found Samten painstakingly layering grains of colored sand at the gallery of the Philadelphia Folklore Project. The particular mandala he was working on was the mandala of compassion, or unconditional love.

Far from random designs, mandalas have been perfected over centuries.

These are uniquely designed many, many, many, many, many years passing to an artist to another artist to another artist to another artist, Samten said. The color has a meaning, the shape has different meanings. Not my design; it didnt come out of my own idea.

When Samten created a sand mandala at the American Museum of History in New York in 1988 at the request of the Dalai Lama, it was the first time the 2,600-years-old ancient ritual art was seen outside of monasteries. Since then, Samten has made sand mandalas in museums, galleries and universities across the U.S. and many parts of the world.

They are used to enhance the spiritual practice through image and meditation, to overcome suffering. Mandalas represent enlightened qualities and methods which explain this path, making them very important for the spiritual journey, Samten wrote on his web site.

Nothing is permanent

Samten was born in Tibet. When he was a young boy, his family escaped to Nepal fleeing Chinese Communist control of his homeland. They lived in a refugee camp for years.

In the winter of 1959, [we] crossed Mount Everest, it took us two months to cross, he told VOA. You cannot travel during the day and so scared and not enough food not enough clothes. I was age of 5. I saw, I mean unbelievable dead bodies, people dying without food. I became a monk at age 11 when I was in school, refugee school.

Samten left monastic life in 1995 and became the spiritual director at the Tibetan Buddhist Center of Philadelphia. He says the patience of the creative process, can lead observers to find calm determination within themselves.

When I am doing this mandala at universities and schools, many kids came to me, (saying) when I saw you doing the sand mandala, that help me so much to finish my education, patience ... I have a lot of stories, he said.

Beauty comes and goes

After a sand mandala is completed, it is dismantled ceremoniously.

Dismantle has many different reasons, Samten said.  One thing is, dismantle is a beauty, whatever we see as a beauty on the earth, never be everlasting as a beauty and impermanent, impermanent, comes and goes. Its like a season.

Or like sand, ever changing in the wind.

Samten often invites children to participate in the ceremony.

To gallery visitor Traci Chiodress that was part of the charm of the event.

I think its powerful to see something so beautiful created, and then taken apart, and to be done in a community with a group of people of different ages, she said. I just think its an important type of practice.The Saudi Arabian activist who helped start a women's right-to-drive campaign in the kingdom said she is receiving death threats now that the driving ban is about to be lifted.

Manal al-Sharif was jailed in 2011 after she uploaded a video of herself driving in Saudi Arabia, the only country in the world that banned women from driving.

Al-Sharif, who now lives in Australia, told the local media Monday she had planned to return to her home country and drive across the kingdom after the ban is lifted June 24. However, she has decided to stay in Sydney after seven other prominent human rights activists were detained in Saudi Arabia over the weekend.

"If you ask me why they've been arrested, it's just to send a message for women's rights activists who've been campaigning to drive, to just shut up," she told Reuters.

Al-Sharif said dozens of activists, including herself, received phone calls warning them not to comment on the decree lifting the ban. Those arrested had continued to speak out.

They have been accused of being "traitors" and working with foreign powers, charges that Amnesty International called "blatant intimidation tactics." The activists were accused of "contact with foreign entities with the aim of undermining the country's stability and social fabric," the human rights group said.

The decision to end the ban on female drivers has been hailed as proof of a new progressive trend under reform-minded Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32. But the decision has been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent.

Al-Sharif said the arrests came as a shock. "What's happening here? We're all happy and all supportive when the [driving] ban was lifted. I thought, 'Finally, I can dream of a new society.' But right now, I see my dream being shattered," she said.

"It's so disappointing. I was so hopeful, but the way that these women are being treated is not promising. It's alarming."A Syrian military spokesman says that government forces have recaptured the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp, outside Damascus, along with two adjoining neighborhoods that were under the control of the Islamic State group. With the victory, the Syrian government now controls all of the capital and its surrounding regions.



Syrian government soldiers fired their rifles into the air to celebrate the recapture of the Yarmouk camp Monday, after a long and bitter battle with IS militants controlling the area. The adjacent neighborhoods of Hajjar al Aswad and Tadamun were also retaken.

The Syrian spokesman says the areas were recaptured after a series of operations, and that many Islamic State militants were taken prisoner, giving the government complete control over Damascus' eastern and western Ghouta suburbs and defeating the most virulent militant groups.

A Syrian army officer said the victory was a wonderful recompense for the sacrifices made by government forces:

He said this was a victory for those who were injured or who lost their lives in the battle against the terrorists to return the regions to their residents and government control.

Arab media reported many IS militants were allowed to leave the Yarmouk camp in exchange for their surrender. Saudi-owned al Hayat newspaper reported the militants were evacuated to desert regions in the east of the country.

American University of Beirut professor Hilal Khashan tells VOA other Palestinian factions loyal to the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad negotiated with the IS militants to secure the Yarmouk camp surrender. He expects the government to now attempt to recapture the largest rebel-held city of Idlib, near the Turkish border.

"The completion of the battle for greater Damascus allows the regime to take the battle elsewhere. Now they have spare forces that they can commit to the battle in Idlib. It is unlikely that a battle could be started on the Golan or near the Jordanian border. So, I think the battle for Idlib will be waged soon," he said.

Khashan added Syrian government control over Yarmouk will end rocket launches at the center of Damascus.

The Yarmouk camp had been under the control of IS militants since 2014, when they defeated the rival Jabhat al Nusra group. Khashan stressed there were no recent casualty figures for residents of Yarmouk, but figures from 2015 indicated more than 7,000 residents were killed by fighting inside the camp.Houston's Muslim community gathered to offer prayers Sunday at the funeral service for a 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student killed in a mass shooting at her southeast Texas high school.

About 1,000 people, many with Pakistani roots and wearing traditional Muslim dress, converged on an Islamic center in Stafford to honor Sabika Sheikh, whose body was brought by hearse to the somber service from Santa Fe, the nearby small rural town where a student killed 10 people including eight students.

Among the mourners was the late teen's first cousin who lives in the United States. She said Sheikh's relatives are completely devastated.

"The family back home, we are in touch with them. They're crying every moment. Her mother is in denial right now," Shaheera al-Basid, a graduate student in the U.S. capital Washington, told AFP at the funeral service.

"It's a shock we need our entire life to recover from," the 26-year-old added.

Men lined up in rows offered traditional mourning prayers as Sheikh's coffin, draped in the green and white flag of Pakistan, was brought into a small, cramped sanctuary.

Sheikh had been due to return home in mere weeks, in time for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

'Shock'

"It's a shock, it's so sad," said realtor Ike Samad, 67, who was born in Pakistan but has lived here most of his adult life and raised his children as Americans.

"I came here just like her, as a student," he recalled. "God forbid that could have happened to me when I was here. As a parent, it is just devastating."

Samad also addressed the painful irony that a young woman from a country that many Americans associated with the war on terror in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington was killed in a country that millions around the world see as a bastion of freedom.

The attacks were a "tragedy, and tragedy sometimes teaches you life," he said. "But it also revisits, and in this case very close to here."

Several Pakistani-American youths also attended the funeral service, including Danyal Zakaria of nearby Sugar Land, Texas.

The 17-year-old said it was "truly mind-blowing" that an exchange student his age could be cut down in cold blood at a US school.

"This nation is known to be safe," he said. "If America is not safe, then where is?"At least two of the student victims of a mass shooting at a Texas high school tried to block the advance of a gunman and were killed when he shot through the doors.

A classmate of one of the 10 people killed at a Texas high school says Chris Stone and other students tried to barricade the door to their art classroom. Christian Riley Garcia's pastor says the 15-year-old student used his body to keep a closet door closed within the room.

Eight of the 10 people fatally shot Friday were students: Kimberly Vaughan, Shana Fisher, Angelique Ramirez, Christian Riley Garcia, Jared Black, Sabika Sheikh, Christopher Jake Stone and Aaron Kyle McLeod. The other two, Glenda Perkins and Cynthia Tisdale, were substitute teachers.

At least 13 others were injured in the attack at the high school in Santa Fe, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Houston. A 17-year-old student, Dimitrios Pagourtzis, is being held on capital murder charges.

Here are some of the victims' stories:

Christian Riley Garcia

Garcia described himself as a history junky who wanted to join the Army.

Student Jai Gillard, a 14-year-old freshman, tells The Associated Press that Garcia always sat next to her in art class, and had asked her on a date recently.

She says he was "always happy" and "very sweet."

Gillard says that after they heard gunshots and smelled gunpowder Friday, she and Garcia and other students piled into a closet. She says that Garcia used his body as a "barricade" against the closet door to keep the shooter from entering.

Ashley Fonseca says her 15-year-old cousin always came to family get-togethers at a lake in Crosby, Texas, and was loved by everyone.

The church in Crosby where Garcia and his parents and younger sister are members was planning a Monday evening vigil to honor what the church describes as Garcia's "heroic act."

Pastor Keenan Smith said law enforcement told Garcia's parents that Garcia was shot through the door he was guarding. He said that because of Garcia's "sacrifice, others were saved."

Kimberly Vaughan

Vaughan was a Girl Scout with a penchant for red hair dye.

After the shooting Friday, Vaughan's mother, Rhonda Hart, urged people on Facebook to contact their elected representatives.

A former U.S. Army watercraft operator, Hart called for gun control, saying "we need to protect our kids." She also invited other service members to "speak up" for her daughter.

Hart declined AP's request for an interview. But she said Monday on Facebook that one way to honor Vaughan would be to apply some red hair dye. Hart said Vaughan "loved those colors in her hair."

Vaughan's grandfather, Ralph Vaughan, tells the AP he's upset that the accused gunman will not face capital punishment. He says that he's "upset at the prospect of him remaining alive."

Glenda Perkins

Perkins for years had been a substitute teacher at Santa Fe High School, where her grandchildren are students.

Student Jay Mann, a junior, tells the Houston Chronicle that Perkins always had a smile on her face, took the time to learn students' names and became part of the fabric of the school.

Mann says she had a great attitude and "never got mad at anybody for doing something stupid."

An all-female Galveston Mardi Gras krewe, Tutu Live Krewe, has posted on Facebook that Perkins, along with her daughter, was a member of their marching group.

Angelique Ramirez

The senior pastor at Dayspring Church says Ramirez was a member of the Santa Fe church's youth ministry.

Pastor Brad Drake says she had occasionally accompanied a younger brother to the ministry at the church where her parents are among the some 150 people to attend Sunday services.

Drake on Sunday described the 15-year-old as "a sweet young lady, had a style all of her own." He says she "almost always had a new hairstyle."

An aunt, Sylvia Pritchett, said in a Facebook post she has "a broken heart and a soul that just can't process all this right now."

Jared Black

Black turned 17 on Wednesday and was looking forward to an upcoming party at his family's just-purchased, above-ground swimming pool.

An older brother, Anthony, from Odessa, Texas, was planning to visit with his wife and kids. Jared also had a younger brother, Houston, 13.

The Houston Chronicle reports his family now is planning for his funeral.

His stepfather, Travis Stanich, tells the newspaper Black took daily medication for attention deficit disorder and was quiet and kind and loved art, video games and sci-fi, wrestling and wolves.

Stanich called him "a great kid" who was creative, drew cartoons and loved people.

Shana Fisher

The mother of 16-year-old Shana Fisher believes that her daughter was intentionally targeted by Pagourtzis.

Sadie Rodriguez said Pagourtzis repeatedly made advances toward Fisher in the four months leading up to the shooting. Pagourtzis was an ex-boyfriend of Fisher's best friend, she said.

"He kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no," said Rodriguez over Facebook Messenger. "He continued to get more aggressive."

Rodriguez said that the week before the shooting, Fisher "stood up to him" by "embarrass(ing) him in class." Rodriguez gave no other details.

Rodriguez described her daughter as "shy and sweet" with a passion for video games. Rodriguez shared a video of Fisher from 2015, in which the teen contemplates whether or not she'll continue making gaming videos because her computer keeps crashing.

The day of the shooting, Rodriguez wrote in a Facebook status to "love like (you're) getting one more day with them."

"Anything can happen," she wrote. "I will no longer get to see my baby my 1st born anymore."

Chris Stone

Stone was among a group of students who blocked the door to try to prevent the gunman from entering their art classroom, freshman Abel San Miguel, who was in the class, told The Associated Press. The shooter fired his shotgun through the door, though, striking Stone in the chest, he said.

Stone was outgoing, "really funny" and had a lot of friends, said Branden Auzston, a 17-year-old junior at Santa Fe High. He said he knew Stone for about three years, and Stone was one of his best friends.

Auzston's mother, Nicole Auzston, described Stone as a part of her family.

"We would have done anything for him," she said. "He's just a great kid."

Robert Stone told the AP by phone Saturday that his family was grieving his nephew's death and requested privacy.

Sabika Sheikh

Abdul Aziz Sheikh was expecting his daughter Sabika to return home to Pakistan in a few weeks for Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Instead, he learned that his oldest child was among those killed in the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School, where Sabika arrived as an exchange student last August.

Surrounded by mourning friends and family at his home in Karachi on Saturday, Abdul Aziz Sheikh fought back tears as he relived his frantic efforts to check whether his daughter was safe half a world away. She wasn't returning his calls and neither were her friends. He eventually learned from the exchange program that she was among the dead.

"We are still in a state of denial. We can't believe it. It's like a nightmare," Sheikh told The Associated Press.

He said his daughter was a hardworking and accomplished student who aspired to work in civil service, hoping one day to join Pakistan's Foreign Office.

"One should not lose his heart by such kind of incidents," he said. "One should not stop going for education to the U.S. or U.K., or China, or anywhere. One must go for education undeterred. But controlling such incidents is the responsibility of the respective governments."

Her funeral took place Sunday.

Cynthia Tisdale

Leia Olinde said Tisdale, her aunt and a substitute teacher at the school, was like a mother to her and helped her shop for wedding dresses last year.

"She helped me put it on, she helped fix my hair," Olinde said through tears.

"She was wonderful. She was just so loving," said Olinde, 25. "I've never met a woman who loved her family so much."

She said Tisdale was married to her husband for close to 40 years and that they had three children and eight grandchildren.

Tisdale's house was the center of family gatherings and she loved cooking Thanksgiving dinner and decorating her house, Olinde said.

Olinde's fiance, Eric Sanders, said of Tisdale that "words don't explain her lust for life and the joy she got from helping people."

Aaron Kyle Mcleod

McLeod, a freshman who went by Kyle, could always be counted on to make light of any situation, said close friend Kali Reeves, who added she wouldn't have been surprised if the 15-year-old "made a joke about getting shot" if he were still alive.

Reeves, 15, said she knew McLeod for years and became close friends with him in the eighth grade. She said he always had a smile on his face and loved to hang out with his friends.

"He was never one to be a sad or down person, he always had to joke or laugh about things," she said. "He was just outgoing and super sweet. He definitely didn't deserve this."

Reeves heard that her friend had been shot as she was evacuating Santa Fe High School. She joked to her boyfriend that if she FaceTimed McLeod, he would have "made a joke about him getting shot," adding that "he just always looked on the bright side of things."

Reeves said she texted McLeod throughout the day to check up on him. She sent him one final text, saying she hopes he "gets better." Shortly after, she checked Facebook and learned he was one of the 10 killed.U.S. President Donald Trump says American farmers will be big beneficiaries of more trade with China.

"Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce," Trump said Monday on Twitter.

In another comment, he said China "has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products - would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!"

The U.S. leader said one result of talks with China last week in Washington is barriers to U.S.-Chinese trade and tariffs on each country's exports will "come down for (the) first time."

President Trump's tweets come a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the two nations have agreed to back away from imposing tough new tariffs on each other's exports, after reaching a deal Saturday for Beijing to buy more American goods to "substantially reduce" the huge trade deficit with the United States.

Mnuchin told Fox News the world's two biggest economic powers "made very meaningful progress and we agreed on a framework" to resolve trade issues. "So right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework," he said.

China's state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Vice Premier Liu He, who led Chinese negotiators in trade talks in Washington this past week, as saying, "The two sides reached a consensus, will not fight a trade war, and will stop increasing tariffs on each other."

China's state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Vice Premier Liu He, who led Chinese negotiators in trade talks in Washington, as saying, "The two sides reached a consensus, will not fight a trade war, and will stop increasing tariffs on each other."

Explainer: What is a Trade War?

Negotiations to continue



Liu said the agreement was a "necessity;" but, he added, "At the same time, it must be realized that unfreezing the ice cannot be done in a day; solving the structural problems of the economic and trade relations between the two countries will take time."

Trump had threatened to impose new tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese imports and Beijing had responded that it would do the same on American goods.

Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would soon go to Beijing to negotiate on how China might buy more American goods to reduce the huge U.S. trade deficit with Beijing, which last year totaled $375 billion. The United States has signaled it wants to trim the deficit by $200 billion annually, but no figure was mentioned in the agreement reached over the weekend.

Philip Levy, senior fellow on the global economy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, tells VOA that while the U.S. and China have for now avoided a tariff war, the outcome of the trade talks remains unclear.

"I think the Trump administration will crow about the fact that they arranged for some additional sales. That really wasn't the issue. It may have been in their minds, but in terms of what is in the national interest, it wasn't," he said.

Levy says the result is a managed trade solution that still does not answer the fundamental question of how a state-dominated economy the size of giant China fits into the global system.

But Kudlow said there has been a lot of progress.

"You can see where we're going next. As tariffs come down, the barriers come down, there will be more American exports," he told ABC television, saying any agreement reached will be "good for American exports and good for Chinese growth."

ZTE



One contentious point of conflict between the U.S. and China is the fate of ZTE, the giant technology Chinese company that has bought American-made components to build its consumer electronic devices.

The U.S. fined ZTE $1.2 billion last year for violating American bans on trade with Iran and North Korea. ZTE, however, said recently it was shutting down its manufacturing operations because it could no longer buy the American parts after the U.S. imposed a seven-year ban on the sale of the components.

Trump, at the behest of Chinese President Xi Jinping, a week ago "instructed" Commerce Secretary Ross to intervene to save the company and prevent the loss of Chinese jobs.

Even so, Kudlow said, "Do not expect ZTE to get off scot free. Ain't going to happen."

Ira Mellman and Kenneth Schwartz contributed to this article.When police arrested more than 200 anti-Trump protesters on Inauguration Day 2017, it touched off a long-term battle of wits and wills.

On one side: a Justice Department that has sought to incarcerate scores of people over a violent protest that smashed downtown storefront windows and set a limousine ablaze.

On the other side: an intensely coordinated grassroots political opposition network that has made Washington the focus of a nationwide support campaign, offering free lodging for defendants, legal coordination and other support.

The stand-off entered a home stretch last week when a trial began for four people, the first in a series of group trials for 58 defendants that should last the rest of the year. Charges include property destruction and conspiracy to engage in a riot.

The trial represents a fresh start for prosecutors, who were forced to abandon most of their charges after a serious defeat last year. For the opposition  a network of activists and organizations loosely grouped as the Defend J20 Resistance movement  the new trial represents a chance to kill the government's case.

Defendants and their supporters have framed the case as an indiscriminate police round-up followed by a concerted Justice Department effort to criminalize legitimate dissent. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Kerkhoff sought to neutralize that point in her opening statement.

This is Washington, D.C., she said. We know protest and we know dissent. But this wasn't a protest. This was violence and destruction.

This nationwide opposition network has been a visible presence since the trial of the first six defendants began in the fall.

Tapping into fundraising efforts around the country, defendants were reimbursed for their housing in Washington. Activists packed the courtroom, some serving as media liaisons, while others prepared meals for the defendants and their supporters.

That support is absolutely essential to our ability to actually have a resistance, said Michelle Macchio, an Asheville, North Carolina, resident who was part of that first defendant group. We had to disrupt our lives. Some of us were paying rent back home, some of us had school, some of us had jobs. I was away from home for two months.

The resistance

Movement members refer to themselves as the resistance, a term that predates President Donald Trump's election by decades. Sam Menefee-Libey, a local organizer and member of an activist collective called the DC Legal Posse, says Defend J20 is the inheritor of the anti-capitalist and anti-globalization movement that coalesced in Europe and first made headlines in America during massive protests against the World Trade Organization in Seattle in 1999 and later in the Occupy movement. J20 stands for Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.

Every 3-5 years there's a new wave and new faces come in, Menefee-Libey said. There was a big surge after Trump was elected. There's more people than we're used to and it's sustaining far longer.

The movement focuses far more on street-level action than on winning elections. Under Trump it has begun to unify and cross-pollinate with other movements like Black Lives Matter and immigration advocates.

In supporting the inauguration protesters, social media campaigns have encouraged callers to flood the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Justice Department. Activists recently held a small rally headlined by Chelsea Manning to urge the government to drop all charges.

While defendants have secured their own lawyers, the Defend J20 movement helped organize a unified trial strategy. This included persuading defendants  sometimes over the objections of their lawyers  not to accept plea bargains.

Setback for government

They claim their unified strategy has already paid off. The trial of the first set of the original 160 defendants was supposed to start in early 2018. But when an unexpected hole in the court schedule opened in November, a group of defendants, including Macchio, volunteered to go on trial first. The defendants and movement organizers presumed that prosecutors had set up the schedule in order to begin with other defendants  those who could be more easily linked to the violence.

They were forced to prosecute people who they didn't have any evidence of doing property damage, said Kris Hermes, a veteran legal activist who served as a media liaison on that first trial. They wouldn't have preferred to try these cases in this order.

Prosecutors admitted from the start that they had no evidence proving these specific defendants had committed violence or vandalism. Most protesters had dressed in black and covered their faces. Prosecutors could only claim that the entire group was guilty of supporting and providing cover for the vandals.

All six were acquitted and the government eventually dropped charges against 129 other defendants.

It's not clear whether the scheduling switch hurt the government's case. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined a request to interview prosecutors or senior officials about the issue. However, movement leaders believe their maneuver wrong-footed the prosecution.

It was apparent they were super-frustrated with having to take these people to trial first, said Jude Ortiz, head of the National Lawyers Guild's Mass Defense Committee. It's a reasonable conclusion to draw that having to do that group first really messed up their strategy.

Prosecutor Kerkhoff, in the current trial, pledged to convince jurors through a mountain of photographic and video evidence that the masked vandals on screen were among the four suit-clad defendants in the room.

You will have a chance to be the detectives, she said. The defendants need to be held accountable for their choice to express themselves with violence and destruction.



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused countries with nuclear weapons of "threatening the world," and criticized the United States' withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.

"Those who have more than 15,000 nuclear warheads are currently threatening the world," he said, referring to the approximate total number of warheads worldwide, most of which are held by the United States and Russia.

Apparently referring to such states as Iran, he added: "Why are countries with nuclear warheads posing a threat to them?"

"If we are to be fair, to show a just approach, then the countries with nuclear weapons, which portray nuclear power stations as threats, have no credibility in the international community," he said at an iftar dinner for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Erdogan said the Middle East had to be cleansed of all nuclear weapons, in an apparent reference to Israel, believed to be the only nation in the region to possess them.

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States 10 days ago from the deal between Tehran and six major powers which limited Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Trump ordered that sanctions be reimposed.

Earlier on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded Iran take additional steps such as pulling out of the Syrian civil war. Iran dismissed Washingtons ultimatum and a senior Iranian official said it showed the United States was seeking "regime change" in Iran.

The U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal comes as relations between NATO member Turkey and Washington have soured over a host of issues, ranging from U.S. policy in Syria to Trumps decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. France, Germany and Britain have said they will try to save the nuclear deal with Tehran.

"As Turkey, we do not accept re-igniting issues, including the Iran nuclear deal, that have been put to bed. We find the other signatories stating their loyalty to the agreement in the face of the U.S. administrations decision very positive," Erdogan said.The Justice Department will expand its investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to include President Donald Trump's claims that the FBI planted an informant to spy on his campaign, the White House said Monday.

The announcement came after Trump's demand for a probe and his meeting Monday with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

The White House also said the Justice Department will work with congressional leaders to review "highly classified" documents related to Trump's claim that someone spied on his campaign.

"If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action," Rosenstein said before Monday's meeting with Trump.

Trump has alleged the FBI, under former President Barack Obama, planted a spy in his campaign "for political purposes," calling it the "all-time biggest political scandal."

The informant's actual role was to talk with two Trump campaign advisers suspected of having contacts with Russia. There is no evidence the FBI acted illegally.

Several news agencies have identified the informant as Stefan Halper, a 73-year-old American-born professor at Britain's University of Cambridge, who had worked decades ago in three other Republican administrations.

Ned Price, who served on Obama's National Security Council, told VOA that Trump's charge of spying on his campaign is dangerous to American democracy.

Price said the president is "officially knocking down the firewall between policy and law enforcement  an indispensable element of the rule of law. And he's doing so for his own personal ends."

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Alene tweeted that "Trump is a subject of the investigation he will apparently succeed in obtaining evidence in and that no subject is entitled to during a criminal investigation. This is unprecedented."

Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in interfering in the 2016 campaign and whether Trump himself obstructed justice by firing former FBI Director James Comey, who had been investigating the charges.

Trump has denied those charges. In a tweet Sunday, he contended investigators have "found no Collussion [sic] with Russia, No Obstruction, but they aren't looking at the corruption" in the campaign of his Democratic challenger two years ago, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

"Things are really getting ridiculous," Trump said in another Twitter remark, asking at what point the investigation will end, calling it a "soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt," although the cost appears to be much less.

Mueller has already indicted numerous Russian individuals and entities for interference in the U.S. election, along with guilty pleas from three Trump campaign associates who are cooperating with prosecutors in the investigation.

Trump has expressed fears the Mueller probe could last long enough to hurt Republicans in the November congressional elections.The United States and Djibouti have signed a new 10-year lease on a U.S. military base in the Horn of Africa nation that the White House called a critical part in fighting terrorism.President Barack Obama announced the deal Monday at a White House meeting with Djiboutian President Ismail Omar Guelleh.Obama called the base a critical facility and extraordinarily important to the U.S. role in the Horn of Africa. He said he is grateful to Guelleh for agreeing to a long-term lease.Guelleh thanked Obama for what he called a vision for the development of Africa, including heath care, education and food security in Djibouti.Both presidents promised to continue working together to increase economic development and fight terrorism in the Horn of Africa, including their committment to keep al-Qaida and the Somali-based Islamist terrorist group al-Shabab from gaining ground.In an interview with the VOA Somali service, Guelleh said $3 billion of Western pledges to help Somalia rebuild its army and the country have not been met. He said there is no getting around the fact that rebuilding the army is a necessity if the world wants to see Somalia stand on its own feet.The tiny East African country of Djibouti is strategic to the United States as a hub for anti-terrorism efforts in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.Djiboutian solders are part of the African Union force that has had some success against al-Shabab in Somalia.Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti houses about 4,000 U.S. soldiers and other military personnel. The United States regards it as a major staging area for attacks against terrorists in Yemen and Somalia. It is the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa, and Washington pays $38 million a year to lease it.Until recently, the facility was used to launch U.S. drone strikes against suspected al-Qaida fighters.In a joint statement from the White House, the two leaders noted their shared commitment to combat violent extremism, to counter piracy and to secure Djibouti's borders.Obama announced the United States would increase technical and financial aid for Djibouti civilian projects and, according to the statement, would "provide enhanced security assistance and equipment to Djiboutian security forces."There are many who worry, however, about any pivot of U.S. foreign policy toward what they call the militarization of Africa.The Republic of Djibouti is a geographical gold mine. With its busy port, it sits strategically in the Horn of Africa. Its across the Gulf of Aden from Yemen and bordered by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia -- making it a prime counter-terrorism partner for the United States.The U.S. has calculated that putting the money into whats seen as a relatively stable country in a very strategic location with access to a lot of unstable countries will pay off both in the near and the long term," said Joe Siegle, research director at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.Ben Fred-Mensah, who teaches international relations and government at Howard University, said, terrorism is very much alive. As America always says, Its better we fight them outside, than to wait and fight them at home.But Djibouti residents complained when five drones in three years crashed, one just 1.5 kilometers from the capital, Djibouti City. So the U.S. moved the drone fleet to another airstrip 13 kilometers from the airport.Abayomi Azikiwe, the editor of Pan-African News Wire, opposes the U.S. military buildup. In a Skype interview, he said theres more at play than terrorism.More and more oil is being imported there from Africa into the United States, as well as other strategic minerals," Azikiwe said. "That, in our opinion, is guiding this increased military presence."Fred-Mensah said his opposition stems from his African roots. I begin to question whether we still enjoy our sovereignty or whether we are losing our sovereignty because we are relatively weak, he said.The Pentagon plans to spend more than $1 billion over the next 25 years to expand and renovate Camp Lemonnier - reaffirming its presence in Africa.For the U.S., investing in Djibouti is a matter of balance. Djibouti has a less-than-stellar human rights record. Freedom House, a human rights reporting agency, labeled Djibouti as Not Free in last years Freedom in the World report . It accused Guelleh of suppressing civil liberties and ranked the nation's political rights near the bottom.In the interview with VOA, Guelleh said he is not bothered by the Djiboutian opposition claims that security forces arrest and harass its members and squelch protests and a free press.The president said people in Djibouti are arrested because of a crime and are given the right to a trial with a lawyer.U.S. President Donald Trump said his planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might not take place next month.



"If it doesn't happen, maybe it will happen later," Trump said. "It may not work out for June 12."



Trump added, however, "There's a good chance we'll have the meeting," terming the preliminary discussions between his administration and North Korean officials, so far, "a good experience."



Trump also said of Kim that "I think he's absolutely serious" about the planned talks.



Trump, speaking in the Oval Office alongside South Korean President Moon Jae-in, explained, "There are certain conditions that we want. I think we will get those conditions."

Asked about the conditions, Trump replied, "I'd rather not say." But he stated that the denuclearization of North Korea "must take place."

"After talking about the summit with unbridled enthusiasm, President Trump is now playing it cool, hinting that he could just as easily walk away," said Jean Lee, director of Korean history and public policy at the Wilson Center. "We know he wants it  and so does Kim Jong Un  but it's a complicated courtship between these leaders of two countries that remain in a technical state of war."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, speaking to reporters at a State Department briefing Tuesday, said the U.S. is still working toward the June 12 summit date, but wouldn't predict whether the summit would take place. But he said he was "confident we'll get there" in the end.



Might call off meeting



North Korea has indicated it might call off the meeting due to disagreements on conditions by the United States for unilateral denuclearization.

All in one [denuclearization] would be a lot better," Trump stated but acknowledged that for "physical reasons" that might not be immediately possible, Kim would have to agree to abandon his nuclear arsenal "over a very short period of time."

Trump, during a 35-minute exchange with reporters in the Oval Office, said if Kim agrees to that, "I will guarantee his safety," which would make Kim happy and "his country will be rich."



South Korea, China and Japan, according to Trump, are ready to invest "very, very large sums of money into helping to make North Korea great" if there's a deal made to get rid of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons.

WATCH: Doubts for Trump-Kim summit



"If it doesn't work out, he can't be happy," said Trump, who recently warned that North Korea would be "decimated" if it does not agree to give up its atomic arsenal.

"North Korea will chafe at this approach," Lee at the Wilson Center told VOA News. "Kim Jong Un doesn't want to be treated, publicly, like a pauper. He wants to come to the table as an equal, and from a position of perceived strength, not as a supplicant."

Moon, who flew to Washington from Seoul to try to persuade Trump not to call off next month's meeting in Singapore with the North's leader, said he has "every confidence [Trump] will be able to achieve a historic feat" by getting North Korea to denuclearize, ending the Korean War, establishing relations between Washington and Pyongyang and thus bringing "peace and prosperity" to the northern half of the peninsula.



"I will spare no effort to provide all necessary support," Moon said. "The fate and the future of Korea hinge on this."

The two-hour talks Tuesday between Trump and Moon marked their sixth meeting, although they have spoken on the telephone numerous other times.



Trump in charge



Moon, in the Oval Office discussion, credited Trump with bringing about the recent positive change of tone from North Korea, saying, "The person who is in charge is President Trump. President Trump has been able to achieve this dramatic change."



Trump, in response to a question from a South Korean reporter, said, "I have tremendous confidence in President Moon, and I think South Korea is very lucky to have him."



After a historic inter-Korean meeting between Moon and Kim last month, a followup round of high-level North-South talks was abruptly canceled by Pyongyang, which expressed anger about continuing military exercises between the United States and South Korea.



Trump said the two Koreas have been separated for decades by "an artificial border" and predicted "maybe someday in the future they'll get together and you'll go back to one Korea."



Also under discussion between Seoul and Washington is the size and cost of U.S. forces in South Korea to defend it against the North.



The Trump administration is reportedly considering reducing the number of American military personnel from the current level of 28,500. A South Korean official said Seoul and Washington "remain far apart on the cost-sharing issue."



Asked by VOA News at Tuesday's White House briefing about the outcome of the discussion concerning the U.S. troops, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders replied she had no immediate information.



"At least in the meeting that I was in that did not come up," Sanders added.Zimbabwes parliament said on Monday that former President Robert Mugabe was scheduled to answer questions this week related to diamond mining operations during his tenure, but an official said senior ruling party politicians opposed this.

Mugabe was originally scheduled to appear before the mines committee on May 9, which would have been his first public appearance since he was ousted in November, but the invitation letter had never been sent.

Parliament wants the 94-year-old to give evidence over his 2016 declarations that the state had been deprived by mining companies of at least $15 billion in diamond revenue.

A parliament notice said Mugabe would answer questions on Wednesday, subject to confirmation. It did not elaborate.

Temba Mliswa, the mines committee chairman said parliament had written the letter and Mugabe had received it. He had not, however, confirmed his attendance.

Mliswa said there were also suggestions that Mugabe could perhaps give evidence at his house or in camera, away from the public eye, but this had not been finalized.

But a parliament official privy to the issue said it was unlikely Mugabe would appear before the committee because this was opposed by some influential ruling ZANU-PF politicians.

They are saying they do not want their old man to be embarrassed especially by the opposition members of parliament. It will not happen, said the official, declining to be named because he is not allowed to speak to the press.Zimbabwes parliamentary committee on mines is on Wednesday expected to press former president Robert Mugabe to give evidence about the disappearance of diamond revenues amounting to $15 billion during his rule.

The mines committee led by independent legislator Temba Mliswa, says it will conduct the hearing at Mugabes Harare mansion commonly known as the Blue Roof.

Mliswa says the move follows previous failed attempts to summon the former president to parliament to discuss the diamond saga, which Mugabe made public before he was removed from power last November by the military and mainly Zanu PF lawmakers.

Presidential spokesman George Charamba and Mugabe were not available for comment.

Non-governmental organizations and political observers say Mugabe is expected to blame Zimbabwes military for plundering diamonds in Chiyadzwa, Manicaland province.

Farayi Maguwu, executive director at the Centre for Natural Resource Governance and doctoral student at the University of Kwazulu Natal Centre for Civil Society, said Mugabe is also expected to attack Mnangagwa, his deputy Retired General Constantino Chiwenga and others who toppled him though he may take precautionary measures not to spill the beans on the role he played in plundering the nations resources.One on One with Joe Korkowski, as heard Saturdays on KXRA-1490AM (@7:40am) and KXRA-92.3FM (@8:00am), as well as each Sunday morning on KXRZ Z99.3fm (@10:15am).

The interview is also re-broadcast on Monday mornings on KX92 at 10:00am and on Z99 at 9:10am.This content is expired!

Unfortunely this content is expired and cannot be viewed anymore; if You are the owner of this content please login to our Website, go to our access panel and enable this content again.Wanted in Romes EU-Specific Privacy Policy

We appreciate your interest in our services, products (collectively, our Products ), and website (https://www.wantedinrome.com) (our Website  and together with our services and Products, our Services ). Privacy protection is very important to us and we are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy sets out information about how we collect, store, process, transfer and use data that identifies or is associated with you, as a natural person (hereinafter "personal information ") and which is subject to the European Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR ). This is the case for visitors and users of our Services located in the European Union, European Economic Area and other users who provide us with personal information subject to the GDPR. Personal information covers all personal data as defined under Art. 4(1) GDPR.

This Privacy Policy does not describe the processing of personal information

to all visitors/users located outside the European Union or Economic Area, and

where Wanted in Rome processes personal information on behalf of other data controllers, for example, when we process personal information when rendering services to customers located in the EU on behalf of a data processing agreement in the capacity of a data processor. If you have any questions relating to our processing of personal information described under (i), please have a look at [LINK to main PP], or under (ii), please consult with the EU entity who is responsible for the processing of your personal information.

Who is the data controller of your personal information?

We, Societa della Rotonda Srl, Via della Coppelle 9, 00186 Rome, Italy, (Wanted in Rome  or we ) is the data controller. We are responsible for, and control, the processing of your personal information.

If you wish to contact us, you can find our contact details at the end of this Privacy Policy.

What personal information do we collect?

In the context of rendering our Services, we may collect information about you. This information regularly includes the following:

If you create an account : Your name, email address, time zone and a list of Facebook Pages you own (page names, IDs, categories, number of likes).

If you use our Products or Services: Your name, gender, language settings, time zone and avatar picture as long as your privacy settings permit access to these pieces of information.

If you use third-party account credentials to log in to our Services : We may collect some information associate with your third-party account such as your name, email address, time zone and a list of Facebook Pages you own (page names, IDs, categories, number of likes).

If you contact us (via our Website or via phone, email or letter), e.g. for a support request, respond to a survey, or send us an inquiry : Name, e-mail address, IP address, information on our communication with you and any additional information you provide us with.

If you merely use our Website : Our server logs from your browser or device, IP address, geolocation data, device identification, browser data, browser type (user agent, browser version, etc), device type, device model, operating system version, screen resolution, information on your usage of our Website (list visited pages, etc) and online activities and information obtained with the use of cookies (see section 9 below).

Please note that this Privacy Policy does not cover personal information you provide to our clients. Our clients may also use third party product integration to receive and process personal information you have provided. Please consult our clients privacy policies for such data processing activities.

How do we collect your information?

This personal information is collected in many ways and may include:

personal information you provide to us : Most of the personal information we receive comes to us voluntarily from our users in the course of using our Services, such as when visiting our Website, communicating with us or in the process of requesting our Services.

You are free to choose which information you want to provide to us or whether you want to provide us with information at all. However, some information, such as your name, email address, Facebook ID, and information on your requested Services may be necessary for the performance of our contractual obligations. Without providing this information, you will not be able to order certain Services or enter into a contract with us.

personal information collected via technology : As you use our Website, we may collect passive information through the use of cookies. Please see section 9 below for more information.

Why and on which legal basis do we collect and use your personal information?

Please note, the notice on the legal grounds refers to the legal justifications under the GDPR which only applies to our operations to the extent we service or monitor EU residents.

The reasons for using your personal information may differ depending on the purpose of the collection. Regularly we use your information for the following purposes and on the following legal grounds:

We use your information in order to perform our contractual services or prior to entering into a contract with you . If you order Services from Chatfuel or if you contact us to request our Services, we use your information to provide you with these Services. Information we use includes: information we need to contact you or otherwise communicate with you; if you are a registered user: information to manage your account; information to enable the usage of Services; information for invoicing and payment follow up.

We use your information if justified by our legitimate interests . The usage of your information may also be necessary for our own business interests. For example, we may use some of your information to evaluate and review our business performance, create financial statements; improve our Services or to identify potential cyber security threats. If necessary we may also use your information to pursue or defend ourselves against legal claims. We may use your email address and names for our email marketing campaigns. You can object to this use at any time by following the link to unsubscribe at the bottom of our marketing emails.

We use your information after obtaining your consent . In some cases, we may ask you to grant us separate consent to use your information. You are free to deny your consent and the denial will have no negative consequences for you. You are free to withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future. If you have granted us consent to use your information, we will use it only for the purposes specified in the consent form.

This also includes our marketing campaigns . If you sign up to our email newsletter or when providing us with your email address to allow us to use this email address for email marketing, we will use your personal information in our email marketing campaigns. You may unsubscribe from our email newsletter at any time by following the link to unsubscribe at the bottom of our marketing emails. You may also contact us via email address provided at the end of this Privacy Policy to request that we remove you from our email list.

We use your information to comply with legal obligations . We are obligated to retain certain information because of legal requirements, for example, tax or commercial laws.

We will only use your information for the purposes for which we have collected them. We will not use your information for other purposes. We do not use your personal information for automated individual decision-making.

With whom do we share your personal information?

We will share your personal information with the following third parties:

Service providers and advisors : Third party vendors and other service providers that perform services for us or on our behalf, which may include marketing campaign services, providing mailing or email services, tax and accounting services, product fulfilment, payment processing, data enhancement services, fraud prevention, web hosting, or providing analytics services; These third parties include: Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, Sendgrid, Intercom, Stripe, Facebook, etc. Any such service providers will by appropriate data processing agreements be bound to only process the data on Wanted in Romes behalf and under its instructions.

Promotional partners : Third parties with whom we partner to provide promotional activities, which will be identified by name in the context of these activities. Wanted in Rome has partnered with third parties who provide promotional activities in the past and intends to partner with them in the future. However, Wanted in Rome does not partner with any such third party at the moment. These partners will be identified by name in the context of these activities.

Purchasers and third parties in connection with a business transaction : Personal information may be disclosed to third parties in connection with a Wanted in Rome -related transaction, such as a merger, sale of Wanted in Rome assets or shares, reorganization, financing, change of control or acquisition of all or a portion of our business, or in the event of a bankruptcy or similar proceedings.

Law enforcement, regulators and other parties for legal reasons : Third parties as required by law or subpoena or if we reasonably believe that such action is necessary to (a) comply with the law and the reasonable requests of law enforcement; (b) to enforce our legal claims or to protect the security or integrity of our Services; and/or (c) to exercise or protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Wanted in Rome, our visitors, or others.

How long do we keep your information?

We will store personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which we collect the personal information, in accordance with our legal obligations and legitimate business interests. In general, information obtained in the course of providing our Service will be blocked from general access within a few days and deleted latest within 3 years after the end of us providing our Service, unless an earlier deletion is requested or has been agreed upon, or statutory retention requirements require a longer retention or we need to retain such data for own legitimate interests, for example, the defense against IT security threats. For example, national commercial or financial codes may require to retain certain information for up to 10 years.

How do we protect your information?

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you use our Services. In the event that any information under our control is compromised as a result of a breach of security, we will take reasonable steps to investigate the situation and, where appropriate, notify those individuals whose information may have been compromised and take other steps, in accordance with any applicable laws and regulations.

How do we safeguard your personal information when there is an international transfer?

As we are located in the EU, any information you provide, will be processed and stored in the EU. If you are in the European Union or European Economic Area, this may mean that your personal information will be stored in a jurisdiction that offers a level of protection that may, in certain instances, be less protective of your personal information than the jurisdiction you are typically a resident in. If we transfer information from the European Union to third parties outside the European Union and to countries not subject to schemes which are considered as providing an adequate data protection standard, we will either enter into contracts which are based on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses with these parties or transfer information under the scope of the EU/US Privacy Shield. If you wish to inquire further about the safeguards we use, please contact us using the details set out at the end of this Privacy Policy. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is treated securely and in accordance with applicable law and this Privacy Policy.

Cookies and other tracking technologies.

The Services use cookies, web beacons, file information and similar technologies to distinguish you from other users of the Services. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse the Services and also allows us to improve the Services.

Cookies are pieces of code that allow for personalization of the Services experience by saving your information such as user ID and other preferences. A cookie is a small data file that we transfer to your device's hard disk (such as your computer or smartphone) for record-keeping purposes.

We use or may use the data collected through tracking technologies to: (a) remember information so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the site; (b) provide custom, personalized content and information, including targeted content and advertising; (c) identify you across multiple devices; (d) provide and monitor the effectiveness of our Services; (e) monitor aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, usage, and demographic patterns on our Website; (f) diagnose or fix technology problems; and (g) otherwise to plan for and enhance our Services.

We use the following types of cookies:

Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the essential operation of the Services such as to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use.

Analytical/performance cookies . These allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the Services when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way the Services work, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.

Functionality cookies . These are used to recognize you when you return to the Services. This enables us to personalize our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences (for example, your choice of language or region).

Targeting cookies . These cookies record your visit to our Website, the pages you have visited, the links you have followed and may also gather information about your online activity after you leave our Website. We will use this information to make our Website, the advertising displayed on it, and the marketing messages we send to you more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties who provide a service to us for this purpose.

Third party cookies . Please be aware that advertisers and other third parties may use their own cookies tags when you click on an advertisement or link on our Website. These third parties are responsible for setting out their own cookie and privacy policies.

How to manage cookies?

The cookies we use are designed to help you get the most from the Services but if you do not wish to receive cookies, most browsers allow you to change your cookie settings. Please note that if you choose to refuse cookies you may not be able to use the full functionality of the Services. These settings will typically be found in the "options" or "preferences" menu of your browser. In order to understand these settings, the following links may be helpful, otherwise you should use the "Help" option in your browser for more details.

Other Tools

We may collect analytics data or use third-party analytics tools, such as Yandex Metrica , Google Tag Manager, Fullstory, Appcues and Intercom, to help us measure traffic and usage trends for the Service and to understand more about the demographics of our users.

Under EU legislation residents are entitled to contact us to prevent disclosure of Personal Information to third parties for such third parties direct marketing purposes; in order to submit such a request, please contact us at info@wantedinrome.com.

What rights and choices do you have?

We want you to understand your rights and choices regarding how we may use your personal information. Depending on how you use your information, these rights and choices may include the following:

Individual Rights . You have specific rights under applicable privacy law in respect to your personal information that we hold, including a right of access and erasure and a right to prevent certain processing activities.

If you are a resident in the European Union, you have the following rights in respect to your personal information that we hold:

Right of access . The right to obtain access to your personal information.

Right to rectification . The right to obtain rectification of your personal information without undue delay where that personal information is inaccurate or incomplete.

Right to erasure . The right to obtain the erasure of your personal information without undue delay in certain circumstances, such as where the personal information is no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which it was collected or processed.

Right to restriction . The right to obtain restriction of the processing undertaken by us on your personal information in certain circumstances, such as, where the accuracy of the personal information is contested by you, for a period of time enabling us to verify the accuracy of that personal information.

Right to portability . The right to portability allows you to move, copy or transfer personal information easily from one organization to another.

Right to object . You have a right to object to any processing based on our legitimate interests where there are grounds relating to your particular situation. You can object to marketing activities for any reason whatsoever.

If you wish to exercise one of these rights, please contact us using the contact details below. For cookies or e-mail marketing, we provide the following easily usable option:

Cookies Settings and Preferences . You may disable cookies and other tracking technologies through the settings in your browser.

E-Mail Settings and Preferences . If you no longer want to receive marketing e-mails from us, you may choose to unsubscribe at any time by contacting us at info@wantedinrome.com

In addition to the afore listed rights, as an EU resident, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Further information about how to contact your local data protection authority is available at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm.

How to contact us?

If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy or if you want to exercise your rights, please send an email to info@wantedinrome.co or write to us at Societa della Rotonda Srl, Via delle Coppelle 9, 00186, Rome, Italy.

Online Privacy Policy Updates

We may make changes to our Privacy Policy from time to time. Please review our policies regularly as updated policies will apply to your future use of our Services.Is there an appropriate mourning period after which it will be acceptable to wear it? Or do I need to have it redesigned so it will not be recognizable? That would make me sad, since I cherish her memory and would like to continue to be reminded of her through the jewelry she wore. But I don't want to distress others or look like a grave robber.The couple, who have a boy named Archie, announced on Jan. 8 that they would step back from being royals, become financially independent, and split their time between North America and the United Kingdom.Westpac attempted to evict an elderly disability pensioner, Carolyn Flanagan, from her home, as it tried to enforce security on a loan she had guaranteed, the royal commission heard.

As the commission turns its attention to small business lending, Ms Flanagan on Monday told the commission her daughter and partner had discussed her guaranteeing a business loan in 2010.

Carolyn Flanagan, who appeared before the royal commission on Monday. Credit:Elke Meitzel

Several years later, the bank would attempt to take security of her home to recoup funds - before it ultimately changed its mind and approved a "hardship" agreement that allows Ms Flanagan to remain in her home under a "lifetime tenancy" agreement.

Westpac admitted it should have approved Ms Flanagan's hardship request earlier, and that there were "warning signs" that the banker should have observed before granting the loan. But it also maintained proper processes were followed in granting the loan.Trash TV obsessives, meet your latest chiselled overlords.

Nine have revealed the cast of their anticipated new reality series, Love Island  and it's a surprising group of bespectacled bookworms and retiring introverts.

No, of course not.

For a series whose angle is getting strangers to instantly mingle in a hot tub, the local remake of the UK hit has stayed on brand with contestants who look okay topless.The former Perth schoolboy accused of murdering three members of his own family with an axe arrived in court on Monday morning to hear the verdict in his case.

The trial of Henri van Breda began more than two years after his parents and older brother were killed during an axe attack in Stellenbosch on January 27 2015, in a scenic wine-growing region of Cape Town.

Henri van Breda, centre, accompanied by attorney Lorinda van Niekerk, front, arrives at court on March 27. Credit:AP

Mr Van Breda is also charged with attempting to murder his sister during the killing spree, who was then 16-years-old.

She suffered severe injuries during the attack and is reported to be unable to remember the incident.Stopping the Adani coal mine would pose no "sovereign risk" to Australia, and politicians on both sides have willingly misled people into thinking otherwise, says respected economist Saul Eslake.

The former chief economist of ANZ told Fairfax Media the major parties were "abusing the term" for political gain when in fact there had been no impact on Australia's sovereign rating as a result of decisions taken on environmental grounds.

In a paper commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation, Mr Eslake found there was "absolutely no reason" the country's sovereign risk would be affected if a future government stopped the Adani mine proceeding for environmental reasons.

"Sovereign risk is not the risk a government might change its mind or make a decision I don't like": economist Saul Eslake Credit:Chris Pearce

Nor were the banks likely to downgrade Australia's risk rating. "Banks wouldnt be concerned because banks dont want to loan to it anyway," Mr Eslake told Fairfax Media in an interview.London: Twelve months ago Nihad Barakat al-Awsi's eyes were heavy with sadness.

Sharing her story with Fairfax Media, Nihad told of the brutality she had endured when she was kidnapped by Islamic State and sold into sexual slavery. She has never again seen the baby boy, Issa, she gave birth to at just 15, and probably never will. She spoke of a sadness so deep she feared the trauma would never leave.

Today, Nihad's face is a happier picture. Three weeks ago she received a call that would change her life. Her application for Australia's protection had been accepted.

"I will go and I will change everything; I will start a new life there. I will remove it all from my mind," the 19-year old said from Iraq.Best known for playing Arthur Shelby in the hit TV series Peaky Blinders, Paul Anderson is set to make his West End debut in the title role of a new production of Moliere's Tartuffe. Christopher Hampton's adaptation relocates the classic French play to modern-day Los Angeles in Trump's America.

On screen, Anderson's credits include The Revenant, Legend and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Later this year he will play Guy of Gisborne in Leonardo DiCaprio's new Robin Hood film.

We spoke with Anderson about making his West End debut, how they're presenting a new Tartuffe and the future of Peaky Blinders.





I've never looked at Tartuffe like a big West End debut. I didn't really consider that when I agreed to do the play, it was more about the material and the character. Essentially it was Tartuffe himself, the idea of playing a character which is so multi-layered and has so many strange qualities  that was the interest. It's only now that I realise that it's my West End debut.

Tartuffe can be interpreted in so many different ways. Gerald [Garutti, the director] spoke about presenting a different Tartuffe to the ones he's seen before that are very obviously the snake, or somebody that's up to no good. I hope to bring a different quality, a sincerity and an emotional depth.

You can't really mess with Moliere that much. Christopher Hampton has been on hand to offer suggestions and changes, but there's only so much you can change. It's an odd one because yes it's set in modern-day day Los Angeles and you'll get that feeling, but the changes are subtle.

Each performance is in French and English with surtitles, but I don't have to speak in French. There's a moment in the play that we discussed if I should, but there's not much room for it. There's a nice question of whether or not Tartuffe understands when French is being spoken in front of him.

Paul Anderson and Audrey Fleurot in rehearsals for Tartuffe

 Helen Maybanks

You're very lucky as an actor if you can choose roles, which I can't. I love the not knowing and the surprise of the material that shows up. The choices I make are quite random really, after this I'm off to Mexico to shoot an independent American movie.

I heard great things about Cillian [Murphy] in Grief is the Thing with Feathers, but I didn't see it. I was away in Budapest shooting Robin Hood and then New Mexico shooting Hostiles. Fingers crossed it comes back.

A Peaky Blinders musical has been spoken about. They're talking about a ballet and a movie too, it's taken on a whole new life in terms of merchandise and all that stuff. It's become very big and very popular.The inauguration of Greg Cant will occur on Oct. 1 at the F.M. Kirby Center. Wilkes University will celebrate the inauguration of its seventh president, Greg Cant, with a week of events. Inauguration events areBluegreen Vacations Holding Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the real estate, real estate joint ventures, and middle market operating businesses. It operates through the following segments: Bluegreen, BBX Capital Real Estate, Renin, and BBX Sweet Holdings. The Bluegreen segment markets, sells, and manages real estate-based vacation ownership interests in resorts located in popular, high-volume, and drive-to vacation destinations. The BBX Capital Real Estate segment includes acquisition, development, construction, ownership, financing, and management of real estate and investments in real estate joint ventures. The Renin segment involves in the design, manufacture, and distribution of sliding doors, door systems and hardware, and home decor products and operates. The BBX Sweet Holdings segment engages in the ownership and management of operating businesses in the confectionery industry, including IT'SUGAR, Hoffman's Chocolates, and Las Olas Confections and Snacks. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

Read MoreCanadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, a diversified financial institution, provides various financial products and services to personal, business, public sector, and institutional clients in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through four strategic business units: Canadian Personal and Business Banking; Canadian Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; U.S. Commercial Banking and Wealth Management; and Capital Markets. The company offers chequing, savings, and business accounts; mortgages; loans, lines of credit, student lines of credit, and business and agriculture loans; investment and insurance services; and credit cards, as well as overdraft protection services. It also provides day-to-day banking, borrowing and credit, investing and wealth, specialty, and international services; correspondent banking and online foreign exchange services; and cash management services. The company serves its customers through its banking centers, as well as direct, mobile, and remote channels. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce was founded in 1867 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

Read MoreWall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Thailand ETF a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but iShares MSCI Thailand ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.RTL Group SA operates television (TV) channels and radio stations worldwide. It operates in six segments: Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, Groupe M6, Fremantle, RTL Nederland, RTL Belgium, and Others. The company's TV channels include RTL Television in Germany, M6 in France, RTL 4 in the Netherlands, and RTL-TVI in Belgium. It also has broadcasting operations, such as RTL Klub, RTL II, and six cable channels in Hungary; and RTL Televizija, RTL 2, and RTL Kockica in Croatia and Luxembourg, as well as interests in Atresmedia in Spain. In addition, the company operates eight video on-demand (VOD) platforms; and VOD platforms comprising the advertising financed services that include 6play in France, RTL Play in Belgium and Croatia, RTL Most in Hungary, RTL XL in the Netherlands, and Atresplayer in Spain. Further, it operates its flagship radio station is RTL Radio in France, as well as owns or has interests in stations, which comprise 104.6 RTL and Antenne Bayern in Germany; Bel RTL and Radio Contact in Belgium; Onda Cero, Europa FM, and Melodia FM in Spain; and RTL Radio Letzebuerg and Eldoradio in Luxembourg, as well as creates, produces, and distributes television content that range from talent and game shows to drama, daily soaps, and telenovelas. Additionally, the company invests in multi-channel networks, including BroadbandTV, StyleHaul, Divimove, and United Screens; and operates SpotX, which offers ad-tech investment services, as well as Clypd and Videoamp. It has interests in 60 television channels and 30 radio stations. The company was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. RTL Group SA is a subsidiary of Bertelsmann Capital Holding GmbH.

Read MoreSanchez Energy Corporation, an independent exploration and production company, focuses on the acquisition and development of U.S. onshore unconventional oil and natural gas resources. It engages in the horizontal development of resources from the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas. It also holds an undeveloped acreage position in the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) in Mississippi and Louisiana. As of December 31, 2017, the company had assembled approximately 285,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford Shale; and owned approximately 37,000 net acres in the TMS. Sanchez Energy Corporation was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Read MoreW&M law student wins writing competition

The Environmental Law Institute has chosen an article by Kristin McCarthy, a rising third-year student at William & Mary Law School, as the winner of its 2017-2018 Henry L. Diamond Constitutional Environmental Law Writing Competition, the Institute announced May 15.

She will receive a $2,000 award and the Institute will publish her article titled "An American [State] in Paris: The Constitutionality of States Commitments to the Paris Agreement" in a forthcoming issue of the Environmental Law Reporter, one of the most frequently cited journals on environmental and natural resource issues.

Jay Austin, senior attorney at the institute and editor-in-chief of the Reporter said in a press release that McCarthys paper elegantly addresses several questions that arose following the Trump Administrations withdrawal from Paris. An article by Rebecca Susko of Fordham University Law School received honorable mention.

McCarthy earned her undergraduate degree in 2010 from William & Mary. She had a dual major in environmental policy and government and was a member of the varsity track and field team.

At W&M Law School, she is a member of the William & Mary Law Review, president of the Student Environmental & Animal Law Society and a general board member and small events co-chair of the Public Service Fund. During her 1L summer, she worked in the Land Law division of the California Attorney General's Office in Los Angeles and recently returned to the city for a summer position at Greenberg Traurig.

The national writing competition is made possible by the support of Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., and invites submissions of articles written by law students that explore topics at the intersection of environmental and constitutional law.Around 300 teachers and public employees gathered at the State House in Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday to protest low wages and attacks on working conditions. The protest takes place in the context of a wave of teacher strikes and demonstrations across the US and internationally since the beginning of the year, including a strike by 100,000 teachers in Mexico last Tuesday.

Workers held signs that read, Teachers need to eat too!, My income wont pay my student loans!, and I went to college for 4 years and my paycheck is $1,600 per month! Many teachers complained of having to work two or more jobs to make ends meet. The minimum starting salary for teachers in South Carolina is $30,113, among the lowest in the US.

Low pay and poor working conditions have produced a shortage of teachers in the state. More than 4,900 teachers left the state's school system in the 2016-17 school year, including 22 percent of first-year teachers. The number of graduates from teacher colleges in the state dropped by 30 percent last year, according to the Center for Education, Recruitment, Retention and Advancement.

Brian, a state employee at the Department of Health and Environmental Control, held a sign which read, Ask me about my other job. He told WSWS reporters, I have several friends who are teachers. They have other jobs too. One who teaches in Gilbert is also a bookkeeper at a construction business.

He added: I opened a couple fireworks stands to make ends meet. Ive been a state employee for 27 years. Weve only had a six percent salary increase over the last 10 years. We have no spending income. We can only just pay the bills. My car has over 100,000 miles on it. Some people think state employees have good retirement benefits, but my retirement will be 48 percent of my salary and I make $55,000 a year. Thats like $26,000 a year to live on when I retire.

If you go down into the heavily fortified parking garage where all the assemblymen park their cars, youll see nothing but Lexuses and Infinitis. These people dont know what its like for us.

The determination among workers to fight was in sharp contrast to the organizers of the rally, including the South Carolina Education Association, the local affiliate of the National Education Association; the South Carolina State Employees Association, and numerous pro-Democratic Party organizations.

The unions called the rally in order to demoralize, isolate and smother workers' opposition, and channel it behind support for the Democratic Party. The event was called on a Saturday to avoid any disruption to schools or government agencies.

All of the speakers declared that the only means of improving wages and conditions was to vote for the Democrats, including State Senator Mike Fanning. Fanning has proposed increasing public education spending by imposing regressive consumption taxes that would hit the working class, including on cars, cigarettes and gasoline.

Julie Marshall, vice-president of the York County Education Association, told the rally that Fanning cant do it by himself. He needs your support. Make your voice heard in the ballot box.

Patrick Kelly, a board member of the Palmetto State Teachers Association, said that the rally wont mean anything unless you show up at the ballot box.

The unions' efforts to channel opposition behind the Democratic Party provoked opposition among the workers who were present. As Kelly concluded his remarks, several teachers near the back of the crowd began chanting, Strike, Strike, Strike!

Speaking afterwards to WSWS reporters, one of the teachers, who wished to remain anonymous due to threats of victimization by school boards, commented: Were always told to vote. There needs to be more action than that. Weve seen it in Arizona, Oklahoma and now North Carolina. We need that here too.

Another teacher interrupted: Voting hasnt worked the last 10 years!"

The strikes that have erupted in the US since the beginning of the year, in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Colorado, have all been betrayed by the national teachers' unions, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. In each case, the unions have instructed teachers to return to work without achieving their demands, calling on them to vote for the Democratic Party in the upcoming November elections.

The reality is that the Democrats, like the Republicans, are hostile to the interests of teachers and other workers, and represent the interests of the banks and corporations. While the Democrats have not held control of the governorship or legislature in South Carolina since the mid-1990s, in neighboring North Carolina, the Democrats under Governor Bev Perdue carried out no less severe cuts to education spending and teachers' wages. It was the Obama administration which spearheaded the expansion of charter schools and the closure of hundreds of public schools across the US.

In order to prevent the development of a unified strike by teachers, the unions have isolated each strike on a state-by-state basis. The rally in South Carolina took place only three days after a walkout of 20,000 teachers in North Carolina.

While there is immense support for a common struggle among workers, the unions have opposed any united action. In response to a photo of the South Carolina rally posted to the North Carolina Teachers United page, a teacher commented, Wish I had known, this NC teacher would have come to rally with you! Another said, Let us know next time, this NC teacher is just a drive away! I will gladly come stand with you. Another teacher commented, Wish there had been more advertising so we couldve shown up in droves.

Workers commented that the unions did nothing to promote the event in Columbia. One teacher told the WSWS, We didnt know about this ourselves until a few days ago. If it had been better promoted, Im sure more people would have come.

This month has also seen numerous smaller demonstrations by teachers, including in Maine, Iowa and Florida. On May 9, more than 100 teachers attended a school board meeting in Westbrook, Maine in protest, where teachers have been working without a contract since August 2017.

On May 8, over 200 teachers rallied in Volusia County, Florida where they demanded more than the pitiful one percent pay raise currently offered to them by the state legislature. Andrew Spar, the president of the Volusia United Educators union, threatened teachers demanding strike action, declaring, Under state law, Volusia teachers would lose their jobs and risk their pensions if they were to participate in a walkout.Two days of talks in Washington between high-level US and Chinese delegations at the end of last week did not bring any substantial movement on the trade issues that have divided the two countries. The differences remain so wide that the Wall Street Journal reported the discussions ended up with both sides arguing all night on Friday over what to say in a joint statement.

The brief communique that finally emerged said there had been constructive consultations regarding trade and spoke of a consensus on taking effective measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China, without specifying by how much.

To meet the growing consumption needs of the Chinese people and the need for high-quality economic development, China will significantly increase purchases of United States goods and services. This will help support growth and employment in the United States, it continued.

The phrasing was in line with the Chinese delegations insistence that it not be seen to be capitulating to US demands. In the course of the talks, Larry Kudlow, Trumps economic adviser, indicated to journalists that China had agreed to US demands that the trade deficit be reduced by $200 billion. This was seen by the Chinese as a blatant attempt to push them into such a commitment and was denied by Chinese news outlets.

In a television interview, Kudlow yesterday downplayed the significance of the $200 billion figure, saying, Maybe I got ahead of the curve, and that it had been used as a rough ballpark estimate.

The statement said both sides had agreed on meaningful increases in US agricultural and energy exports and that the US would send a team to China to work out the details. No other measures were specified and, as some commentators pointed out, any increase in energy and agricultural exports would not amount to anywhere near $200 billion.

On the crucial question of US claims that China has been appropriating US technology though forced technology transfers and outright theft, the statement said both sides attach paramount importance to intellectual property protections, and that China would advance relevant amendments to its laws and regulations in this area, including the Patent Law.

The vagueness of the statement left the way open for both sides to offer their own interpretations on what had been agreed.

According to the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency, Chinese Vice Premier Liu He said the two sides had pledged not to wage trade war against each other, and a comment published yesterday described the negotiations as a good example of win-win.

The US has threatened to impose tariffs on up to $150 billion worth of Chinese goods at the end of this month under section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. This follows an investigation into Chinese trade practices in the area of technology. China has threatened a series of measures in retaliation.

With a delegation set to go to China for further discussions, it now appears likely that the US measures will at least be delayed.

Speaking to Fox News Sunday, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said progress had been made. Were putting the trade war on hold, he said. So right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework.

However, there was somewhat different emphasis from Kudlow. Asked on the CBS program Face the Nation whether tariffs were off the table, he said: I dont think were at that stage yet. Tariffs are part of any negotiation, and tariffs have to be part of any enforcement.

Another interpretation was offered by US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. He issued a statement that the US could resort to tariffs unless there was real structural change on the part of China, and that nothing less than the future of tens of millions of American jobs is at stake.

Together with White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, Lighthizer represents the view that the main issue is not the trade surplus with the US as such, but that China, through its Made in China 2025 program, is seeking to develop its capacities in high-tech areas, including communications and robotics, that pose a direct threat to American economic and, ultimately, military supremacy.

This issue was at the centre of the storm of opposition from both Democrats and Republicans over Trumps move last week, as part of a wider trade deal with China, to ease restrictions that had been imposed on the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE. The Commerce Department imposed a ban in April on sales of vital components by US companies to ZTE over its agreement on sales to North Korea and Iran in defiance of US bans, leading to the company announcing that it was ceasing operations.

Despite China pushing for an easing of restrictions on ZTE, including an intervention by Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Bejings insistence that this was a top priority, the ZTE question was not raised in the joint statement.

Leading Democratic Senator Charles Schumer criticised the statement for the lack of specific measures to protect US intellectual property and noted that it did not mention ZTE. If the administration capitulates on ZTE and allows it to continue to exist, that will signal to President Xi that we are weak negotiators, he said.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio dismissed the reported commitment of China to help increase US exports. Why do US officials always fall for Chinas trickery? he tweeted. If we dont wake up and start treating this as a national security issue, China is going to win again.

The national security issue also relates to the question of the trade deficit with China, which claims that it could boost US exports if it were allowed to purchase more high-tech products. But according to a report in the New York Times, support by Mnuchin for a relaxation of export controls on such goods has faced stiff opposition from Defense Department officials, who fear such sales could compromise American national security.

The underlying position of the US was exemplified by an outburst by Trump during a press conference held last week with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as the talks with the Chinese trade delegation were getting underway. Trump made clear that if North Korea did not agree to US demands it would be decimated as had Libya and Iraq.

Asked about the discussions with China, Trump launched into a tirade against the trade practices of virtually the rest of the world. China has been the biggest, he said. But trade has been a total one-way street. Bucket loads of money had been taken out of the United States whether its the European Union whether its Japan or South Korea, or I can name almost every single country in the world.

Trump said he tended to doubt whether any deal with China would be successful because China has become very spoiled. He continued: The European Union has become very spoiled. Other countries have become very spoiled because they always got 100 percent of what they wanted from the United States. But we cant allow that to happen anymore.

The outburst should not be dismissed as simply the product of the fevered brain of Donald Trump. In the final analysis, it is an expression of the drive by the US to counter its long-term economic decline by threatening the rest of the world with decimation if it does not agree to its demands, both military and economic.Australian law firm Adley Burstyner and Roscon Property Services last month announced a class action law suit against major construction companies. The case is on behalf of approximately 250,000 owners and residents from about 1,400 apartments clad with flammable polyethylene core aluminium composite panels in the state of Victoria.

The $4.2 billion case, the law firm says, is the first stage in a national campaign to compensate owners for replacing the dangerous cladding and installing sprinkler systems, plus declines in their property values. The law suit is expected to target LU Simon Builders, Hickory Building, Hamilton Marino and Probuild. Slater and Gordon, another legal firm, later said it is considering a similar action.

The announcement came six months after 29 people were killed in a flammable-cladding fuelled fire in South Korea, almost one year after the Grenfell Tower disaster in London killed an estimated 71 people, and more than three years since a cladding blaze at the multi-storey Lacrosse apartment tower in Melbourne, the Victorian state capital, in November 2014.

These fires are universally a direct result of government deregulation of building industry standards, cost cutting and privatisation of safety inspection, in line with demands from property developers and the construction industry.

While no one was killed in the Melbourne blaze, it spread across 13 floors on the outside of the building within 10 minutes. Apartment owners are currently fighting LU Simon in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal over who should pay the costs of replacing the cladding. The case is due to start in September. According to building specialists, the average cost of cladding replacement on a high-rise building is between $40,000 and $60,000 per apartment.

Irrespective of these legal actions, Australian governments, state and federal, are refusing to take any serious action to prevent future catastrophes facing those living and working in high-rise buildings clad with the proven deadly material.

Architects and building safety officials have reported the rampant use of flammable cladding, which is $35 per square metre less expensive than fire-resistant counterparts, throughout the Australian construction industry.

In the immediate aftermath of the Grenfell Tower blaze, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Labor Party opposition leader Bill Shorten cynically feigned concern. State governments initiated building audits and promised increased building safety in an industry that Liberal and Labor governments alike have systematically deregulated, opening the way for massive profits for developers and construction companies.

The federal government agreed to extend an existing Senate inquiry over the use of dangerous materials in the construction industry to include flammable cladding. Labor and independent Senators used this platform to demagogically denounce the serious decline in building industry safety standards. While the inquiry eventually called for a total ban on the import and use of the flammable cladding, the federal government rejected this recommendation out of hand.

Three months after the Senate inquiry, LU Simon legally challenged a previous Victorian Building Authority (VBA) order requiring the construction company to replace external cladding with non-flammable products on Lacrosse and five other non-compliant buildings.

The Victorian state Supreme Court found in favour of LU Simon, ruling that the VBA, a state government authority, could not issue a directive to fix illegal work after a certificate of final inspection or an occupancy permit had been issued. The granting of these certifications has been privatised over the past 15 years. The ruling meant that all six LU Simon buildings involved, some finished ten years ago, were exempted from the VBA directive.

Despite state and federal governments posturing about getting tough on illegal constructions, the court verdict highlights the fact that the current legislation renders regulatory authorities, such as the VBA, powerless to act against any building company. All the financial and legal responsibility for repairing unsafe properties falls on building and apartment owners, the innocent victims of cost-cutting construction methods.

As a result, thousands of owners and residents throughout Australia are still living in potential death traps. And it is business as usual, with multi-million dollar profits for developers and construction corporations, and windfall tax receipts for governments.

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[27 June 2017]Since the passage last month of President Emmanuel Macrons draconian bill on asylum and immigration in the French National Assembly, there is mounting anger and fear among refugees and undocumented immigrants in France. The law effectively undermines the right to asylum, by drastically cutting the time refugees have to appeal deportation orders, while increasing the length of time police can detain refugees.

Now, refugees fleeing imperialist wars waged by NATO countries including Francesuch as Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya, Syria, and Maliare increasingly angry and afraid of French police. Under these conditions, WSWS reporters visited the makeshift camps in Paris, where 3,000 refugees, mostly youth born after the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, are stacked together in inhuman conditions.

The first large refugee camp is composed of hundreds of two-person tents, lined up side by side like small nests along the Paris ring road (peripherique) and under nearby road bridges near La Villette park in the 19th district of Paris. The environment is contaminated: Mattresses are dirty and infested with bedbugs, there are only two toilets and two small water pipes for hundreds of people, and the refugees are forced to wait for volunteers to distribute food, clothes and other essential items. Many people use cold water from the Canal Saint-Denis to brush their teeth and clean their clothes.

Refugees at the campwho largely come from Somalia, Sudan and Eritreawere very reluctant to speak and afraid of police repression. One refugee told the WSWS, The government has nothing to do to help any of us. Look here! This is the real Paris. We are sleeping in the streets in terrible conditions!

Most of the refugees have lost hope that they could obtain a permanent resident visa and try to obtain a better life in France, and are angry at the French political establishment. One man from Somalia said only, We are in the street, there is nothing for us here, God alone must save us.

The second large camp was set up along the Saint-Martin canal in the 10th district of Paris, approximately 2 kilometres from the La Villette camp. Most of the refugees staying in this camp are Afghan men aged between 18 and 35, who are forced to live in the camps under constant fear of police harassment and repression. They cannot walk around or sleep peacefully, either by day or by night.

A 26-year-old Afghan man who lost five family members in a US attack on Jalalabad last year spoke to the WSWS. He said, I have lost my family. The Americans came at night and shot my father, mother, two brothers and my sister. When this occurred, I was at my uncles house, and they also killed 30 people in my village. After that, I left Afghanistan.

Asked about what the French government has done to help refugees, he said: I am coming here to save my life, not to earn money, but the government does not help us at all. Here there is no good life, no good food. If you walk on the streets, the police demands your papers; if we dont have them, they take us to a police station and put us in custody for 5 to 6 hours in a small room with a smelly toilet.

He added, Some people bring us food and other items every evening and morning. With their help, we are able to continue to live here.

However, police are increasingly persecuting and fining volunteers who provide food, water and other essential items to refugees in Paris. Last month, Solidarite-Migrants volunteer Laurence Ariste told the media: They gave us two fines of 135 each, because we had two cars. They said you cant distribute here. Were a small organisation. We dont have much money. If they give us these fines every time we cant continue like this.

Also, last year, police violently expelled people from refugee camps in the streets of the Porte de la Chapelle area of Paris, stealing refugees belongings, including sleeping bags and blankets. Men, women and children were tear-gassed by police.

Only two weeks ago, two young refugees without papers drowned and died in the Saint-Martin and Saint-Denis canals; one was from Somalia and the other from Afghanistan.

Minors struggle in particular to prove they are under the age of 18 in age assessment centres. The rejection rate of youth without accepted government photo ID at the age assessment centres is around 80 percent. Many minors spend months trying to prove their age, under conditions where it is impossible to obtain appropriate documents from war-torn countries, and end up on the streets after government authorities refuse them housing.

Under Socialist Party (PS) Mayor Anne Hidalgo, the Porte de la Chapelle welcome area (CPA), commonly known as la Bulle (the bubble) after the previous PS national government opened it, has been closed. Refugees who temporarily stayed there are in the streets. Macron is reportedly planning to replace the Bulle with five Centres for Reception and Review of the Situation (CAES) in the 18th district of Paris, Ris-Orangis, Cergy, Hauts-de-Seine and Seine-et-Marne. Refugees in Paris fear that these camps are traps for them and try to avoid going there to escape being deported back to their war-torn countries.

Last year, 100,412 refugees applied to Frances OFPRA (Office of Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons), but only 13,020 obtained refugee status; 10,985 got subsidiary protection. Sixty-five thousand three hundred and two were rejected outright. This points to the vast scale of the crisis, even before the implementation of Macrons new draconian asylum and immigration bill. The new law has further aggravated the conditions for asylum seekers, who now have only 15 days to appeal a refusal to the National Asylum Court (CNDA). This is not long enough to prepare an appeals file.

Such are the reactionary attacks of the Macron government, which is taking as its own the anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies of the neo-fascist National Front. In November 2017, an estimated 300,000 illegal immigrants and refugees lived in France. This is only 0.5 percent of the French population. The Macron government and neo-fascist forces like the FN are stirring up anti-immigrant hatred to divide the working class and promote unpopular policies of austerity and warIt has been three days since a horrific school shooting took the lives of eight students and two teachers, and wounded 13 others, at a high school in Santa Fe, Texas. In a scene all too familiar in America, a lone gunmanstudent Dimitrios Pagourtzisentered Santa Fe High School, about 35 miles southeast of Houston, and started shooting.

On Friday morning, Pagourtzis hid a shotgun and a .38-caliber handgun under his trench coat before opening fire in his first-period art class. Student Breanna Quintanilla, 17, who was wounded during the assault, said she was in the classroom on what she described as a perfectly normal day when she heard the shots ring out. She said that when Pagourtzis walked in, he pointed a weapon at one person and said, Im going to kill you.

Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset told CNN Sunday that the shooting lasted for a terrifying 30 minutes. The first shots were fired not long after classes began around 7:30 a.m. local time. Officers arrived at the high school art lab section about four minutes into the shooting and encountered the shooter, according to Trochesset.

For the next 25 minutes, police officers and the gunman engaged in a gunfight. When asked by CNN whether all of the victims were shot by Pagourtzis, Trochesset said that authorities will need to determine that after the medical examiner completes the autopsies. His response leaves open the question of whether some of the victims were in fact shot by police officers responding to the shooting. Trochesset said that a decent amount of cameras were in the school, and that video would be examined.

According to a police affidavit, Pagourtzis gave a statement admitting to shooting multiple people inside the Santa Fe High with the intent on killing people. Police said the shooter advised he did not shoot students he did like so he could have his story told.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said Pagourtzis had planned to kill himself after the shooting, but that the young man told police that he didnt have the courage to commit the suicide.

The incident came just over three months after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which claimed the lives of 14 students and three staff members in one of the deadliest school massacres in recent history. Students across the country and the world, outraged over the shootings and loss of life, rallied in massive demonstrations on March 24 and staged school walkouts on April 20, including at Santa Fe High School, to protest gun violence.

Pagourtzis has been charged with capital murder and aggravated assault of a police officer.

He appeared in court Friday evening via video link from the Galveston County Jail. A judge denied him bond and took his application for a court-appointed lawyer.

Texas Rep. Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he expects the Justice Department to pursue additional charges, possibly involving weapons of mass destruction in connection with pipe bombs, at least one Molotov cocktail and inactive pressure-cooker bombs found on the school grounds.

As in many such shootings, there were hints about the shooters motivation in hindsight, but few red flags before the incident. One of Pagourtzis Facebook posts was a picture of a T-shirt inscribed with Born to Kill. Another post showed a trench coat decorated with a Nazi cross, a hammer and sickle, and Cthulhu, a mythical creature drawn from horror fiction writer H.P. Lovecraft.

Pagourtzis had written in journals on his computer and cellphone about planning the attack. Friends described him as reserved and quiet, an athlete who discussed wanting to own guns but didnt talk of killing people. Student Michael Farina, who considered the shooter a friend, said he and Pagourtzis talked a lot about video games they liked, including the first-person shooter game Escape from Tarkov.

Pointing to a possible motive, Sadie Rodriguez, the mother of one of the 10 people killed, told the Associated Press that her daughter, Shana Fisher, had rejected Pagourtzis romantic advances one week before the shooting. He continued to get more aggressive, Rodrigues said. She finally stood up to him and embarrassed him.

Whatever the motive, Pagourtzis was clearly an emotionally disturbed young man to have lashed out with such horrifying violence Friday morning. However, the reaction to the Santa Fe shootingthe 22nd such incident this year according to CNNwas entirely predictable and cynical. While ignoring the social roots of such shootings, both Democrats and Republicans seized on the most recent event to advance their own political agendas.

Typical for the Democrats were the remarks of former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, who argued that the only solution was to elect politicians in the upcoming mid-term elections who were not beholden to the National Rifle Association (NRA). Im saying theres one solution, she said. The one solution is at the ballot box. Take them out at the ballot box if they do not agree that we should have common sense gun solutions.

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, a Republican, addressed the incident as purely a police matter. We need our teachers to be armed, he told CNNs State of the Union Sunday. We need to get down to one or two entrances into our schools, he said, adding, You have then necessary exits for fire, of course, but we have to funnel our students into our schools so we can put eyes on them.

Patrick called for gun control at home, to keep firearms out of childrens reach, a proposal he knows is unlikely to be enforced or implemented, or to result in any reduction in gun violence. Appearing on ABCs This Week he blamed the nations debased culture. We have devalued life, whether its through abortion, whether its the breakup of families, through violent movies and particularly violent video games.

Incoming NRA President Oliver North blamed the rash of school shootings on violent video games and the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication Ritalin. The problem that weve got is were trying like the dickens to treat the symptom without treating the disease, he said. And the disease in this case isnt the Second Amendment. The disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence.

Oliver Norths talk of a culture of violence is rich indeed. He earned notoriety for his participation in the Iran-Contra affair, a political scandal during the Reagan administration in which he claimed responsibility for the sale of weapons through intermediaries to Iran, with the profits channeled to the Contras in Nicaragua used to gun down Latin American workers and youth.

And while he may claim that life imitates art, in the form of video games causing school shootings, in fact it is the violence of American society that fosters despondency, angerand the possible ensuing violenceamong Americas youth.

Young people in high school today have never lived a day in which the United States has not been at war. Politicians of both big business parties support the repressive apparatus of the US and its allies, as in the recent massacres of Palestinians by Israel in Gaza. Police shootings of unarmed youth are a daily event in cities and towns across the country.

President Trump, ranting against the nonexistent crime wave caused by immigrants coming across the US southern border, denounces immigrants fleeing violence in Central America as criminal aliens and animals.

Such comments promote a dehumanized atmosphere, in which young people today struggle to find their way and are often beset by depression and other mental health problems. Recent studies have shown a tripling in emergency room and hospital encounters for suicide-related diagnoses for children and adolescents. Another study shows that more than one in 20 US children and teens suffers from anxiety or depression.

Appeals for an increased police presence and electing more anti-NRA Democrats to office will do nothing to address the mental crisis affecting the youth of America. There is no outrage in the halls of Congress over the lack of mental health care, Medicaid and food stamp cuts, or the opioid crisis gripping cities and towns across the country.

The rash of school shootings, and the inability of the political establishment to address the roots of this crisis, demonstrates the futility of appealing to the powers-that-be to address the issue of school violence. Only a turn to the working class can mobilize the genuine anger and outrage of young people in Santa Fe, Parkland and schools across the nation in a struggle against the capitalist system, which fosters all that is brutal and violent in American society and can drive a teenager to gun down his classmates.Former Russian/British double agent Sergei Skripal was discharged from hospital Friday, almost 11 weeks since he was found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury. As with his daughter, Yulia, he was spirited away to a secret location under police guard.

The entire narrative concocted by the British government since the still unexplained events of March 4, blaming Russia for poisoning the Skripals with Novichok, the most toxic nerve agent ever created, has fallen apart seam by seam.

The Skripals have not been seen in public or been able to speak out freely on what happened to them. But both have made dramatic recoveries. Yulia was discharged five weeks ago, on April 6. The British government is refusing to allow even their own family members to see them, with Yulias cousin, Viktoria, twice denied a visa. Nor have Russian diplomatic personnel been allowed, contrary to international law, any contact with two Russian citizens. The Russian Embassy in London said of Sergei Skripals discharge, In the absence of any evidence and an opportunity to meet Sergei and Julia Skripal in person and verify their condition, we will consider these actions of the British authorities as forcible detention or abduction of two Russian citizens.

Speaking during a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin responded, God grant him good health, if a military-grade poison had been used, the man would have died on the spot.

Sky News reported that detectives are still questioning Skripal. They want to know more about his regular train journeys to London, his trips abroad, and his monthly meetings with his alleged former MI6 handler in a Salisbury restaurant.

The disappearing of Sergei Skripal occurred just days after it was confirmed that the UK government issued two D-Notices (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice), to prevent the media from identifying British intelligence service personnel Skripal was working with. Further evidence then emerged pointing to the alleged retired Sergei Skripal remaining active in anti-Russian intelligence work until very recently.

The Spinwatch web site revealed the content of both D-Notices over two articles published on May 8 and 10. These followed a March 6 piece by Russian opposition outlet Meduza identifying Pablo Miller as the MI6 agent in Tallinn who had recruited Skripal. The first D-Notice was issued within 24 hours of this being made public.

The second D-Notice was issued on March 14. This notice repeated concerns about identifying personnel, saying, One of the reactions from the Russian authorities in response to the measures that the UK authorities have recently announced, may include the publication or broadcast of Sensitive Personal Information (SPI). Any publication or broadcast of SPI could identify personnel (and their family members) who work in sensitive positions.

Miller is a long-time associate of former intelligence officer Christopher Steele, first in espionage in Russia and, later, in Steeles private intelligence firm Orbis Business Intelligence.

Steele was responsible for the 2016 Trump-Russia dossier alleging misconduct and conspiracy between Donald Trumps presidential campaign and Vladimir Putins Russian government. The WSWS explained, If Miller and, by extension, Skripal himself were somehow involved in Orbis work on the highly-suspect SteeleTrump dossier, alongside representatives of British and possibly US intelligence, then all manner of motivations can be suggested for an attack on the ex-Russian spy and British double agent by forces other than Russias intelligence service, the FSB.

A complaint media, which has dutifully maintained that Russia organised an attempted assassination on British soil of a retired old man, complied with the D-Notices. But this was clearly not enough.

Last Monday, MI5 head Andrew Parker spoke in Berlin in the first public speech outside Britain by a serving head of the secret service. Referring to Russia 15 times, he told European security service leaders of Moscows deliberate, targeted, malign activity intended to undermine our free, open and democratic societies. Describing Russia as a hostile actor involved in criminal thuggery, he told journalists he would not reveal to Russia what we know and what we dont know of the ongoing Skripal investigation. The case has if anything got stronger since then [when Britain got the backing of 28 EU States for its anti-Russian claims], but I cant explain why it is I say that today.

What Parker was referring to was an article published the previous day in a Czech weekly newsmagazine Respekt, alleging that Skripal had met and helped to train spies in a number of European countries and assisted in anti-Russian intelligence warfare following his release from jail in Moscow in 2010.

Respekt reported that in 2012, Skripal travelled to Prague where, according to a Czech official, he met with officers from at least one of the nations intelligence services. Czech Foreign Minister Martin Stropnicky said he believed Skripals visit had been useful, praising Britains high quality information services and that he would never expect them to send some kind of problematic man. A Czech official said Skripals visit was helpful enough for officials to have visited him several times afterwards.

As recently as 2016, Skripal was said to have visited Estonia to meet intelligence agents.

Respekt was founded in 1989, as the Stalinist regime was collapsing in Czechoslovakia. It has the closest connections to the intelligence agencies. Its first editor in chief, Jan Ruml, was the Minister of Interior between 1992 and 1997, while others involved also held important positions in the state apparatus.

Much of Respekt s investigative work is based on information obtained from police sources. The Czech Republic was recently the place of origin for false claims that Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was a spy of the Stalinist regime in the 1980slies that were used by his Labour right-wing opponents and the Tory government to slander and discredit him.

The Respekt piece was seized on immediately by the New York Times and Guardian, the two newspapers who have played a key role as mouthpieces of the most anti-Russian wings of their respective ruling elites.

Finally, this was the answer to the question everyone had been asking: What on earth did Russia have to gain by killing the Skripals?

The New York Times headlined its May 14 piece, Sergei Skripal Was Retired, but Still in the Spy Game. Is That Why He Was Poisoned? The Guardians was similarly headlined, with a strapline, Reported meetings between former Russian spy and several intelligence services in Europe may offer motive for poisoning. It was authored by Ewen MacAskill, Robert Tait, and the Guardians anti-Russia specialist, Luke Harding.

Sergei Skripal may well have been involved in the activities as described by Respekt, the New York Times and the Guardian. But such has been the scale of lies disseminated by these frothing anti-Russian newspapers that their claims cannot be taken at face value.

Moreover, if true, then, as with the revelations concerning Pablo Miller, it is the UK government who are serial liars with their claim that Skripal was living in quiet retirementjust eight miles from Britains chemical weapons laboratory at Porton Down!

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UK media told to conceal connections between Sergei Skripal and MI6

[2 May 2018]On May 15, about 100,000 teachers from the National Committee of Education Workers (CNTE), a faction of the government-affiliated National Union of Education Workers (SNTE), marched to commemorate National Teachers Day in Mexico City and six other statesOaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Sonora, and Baja California.

Teachers marched in opposition to the education reforms that were implemented in 2014 as part of the Pact for Mexico, a major legislative effort to privatize energy, public utilities, and education in the country. The right-wing reforms have established onerous teachers evaluations, increased standardized testing and created a system of standards for teacher hiring and promotion based on merit, similar to former US President Barack Obamas anti-teacher Race to the Top program.

Spanning from the Yucatan peninsula to northern Mexico, the protests represent another expression of the international struggle by teachers in 2018. These include protests by teachers in the United States, Colombia, Argentina, the United Kingdom, North Africa and Kenya, as well as strikes by workers in France, Germany, and Turkey.

In the southern state of Chiapas, traditionally home to some of the most militant class battles over education, teachers have announced plans for an indefinite strike in 13,000 schools ahead of the July 1 presidential elections.

The legislation represents an effort to scapegoat teachers for social conditions facing students in Mexico, while paving the way for the establishment of more private schools and the further deterioration of the rights of all workers.

The legislation has led to the firing of over 500 teachers, while hundreds of thousands have faced disciplinary actions for boycotting the government evaluations or for missing days to attend protests against the new laws. All three major Mexican political parties, including the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), the right-wing National Action Party (PAN) and the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) supported the legislation.

The deep social inequality in the country has created intolerable learning conditions for youth and teachers alike. Nationwide, over half of children and adolescents live under the official poverty rate, with this figure reaching 60 percent in the poor southern states.

Conditions are no better at public schools. A national census of primary schools conducted in 2013 revealed that four out of 10 schools lacked drainage, one out of 10 lacked electricity, and one out of 10 lacked bathrooms for students. The worst conditions were found in the southern states of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Veracruz, and Michoacanthe strongholds of the CNTE.

Over 2,500 schools were damaged or destroyed following the 8.2 magnitude earthquake that struck the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas on September 7. Parents and teachers in Chiapas launched protests in March over the fact that five months after the earthquake only one out of the 700 collapsed schools had reopened.

Striking teachers have also argued that the reforms unfairly target indigenous students, who tend to be poorer, have fewer resources at schools, and speak indigenous languages and not Spanish. None of these factors are taken into account in standardized testing or teacher evaluations.

Teachers have carried out over four years of protests, strikes, blockades of highways, and occupations of government buildings in opposition to these reforms. The teachers struggle escalated in 2016, when the Pena Nieto administration deployed federal troops to Nochixtlan, Oaxaca in an attempt to squash a three-and-a-half month strike by teachers. The resulting confrontations left 13 dead and 100 wounded.

Despite its radical phraseology, the CNTEs strategy to fight against the education reforms has relied on empty appeals for the ruling class to reverse its assault on workers. Meanwhile, the government has made it clear that it has no intention of opening negotiations with the union. In the aftermath of the Oaxaca massacre, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto merely threatened dissenting teachers with more violent repression: The government of the Republic will have no qualms whatsoever, no reservations whatsoever, in resorting to the use of force to restore order and above all to make good on the rule of law.

In reality, the CNTEs vague appeals for dialogue with the government mean a seat at the table for the union bureaucracy to dictate the hiring and firing of teachers. The CNTE is opposed to an independent political movement of the working class and has instead relied on isolated protests that, in the final analysis, amount to nothing more than political stunts.

While the CNTE has claimed that it supports no presidential candidate, it has traditionally been allied with the PRD and the left Movement for National Regeneration (Morena) and its leader, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. By threatening a strike on the eve of the July 1 elections, the CNTE is seeking to sow illusions in bourgeois parties like Morena and to keep workers tied to futile parliamentary appeals.

For his part, Lopez Obrador is seeking to channel the teachers anger for the benefit of his own campaign, and if elected, to integrate the union leadership more closely into the suppression of the class struggle. His administration would do nothing to challenge the abysmal levels of social inequality that keep millions of students out of school, or provide the billions that are desperately needed to build new schools and provide a quality education for every child.

There is mass support for the struggles of teachers worldwide. After the Oaxaca massacre, hundreds of thousands of students and workers marched across the country in support of the teachers. Over 200,000 doctors and nurses conducted solidarity strikes, and students and major Mexican universities boycotted classes to protest the use of automatic weapons against the teachers.

However, the defense of public education will require a fundamentally different strategy than the one being pursued by the CNTE. Far from appealing to the representatives of the financial aristocracy, addressing the demands of teachers will require a unified struggle by all sections of workers, in coordination with their fellow teachers internationally, to expropriate the ill-gotten gains of the ruling elite for massive expenditures on public education, health care, housing, food, water, and infrastructure across Mexico.25 years ago: Eritrea wins independence from Ethiopia after 30-year civil war

Map of Eritrea on the Red Sea

On May 24, 1993, following a UN-supervised referendum in Eritrea in which the local population voted overwhelming to separate from Ethiopia and establish an independent state, Eritrea was declared an independent and sovereign republic. Four days later the new country was admitted to the United Nations.

The separation of Eritrea from Ethiopia was the culmination of a bloody, 30-year civil war launched by the Eritrean Liberation Front, a nationalist movement with an inchoate ideology that combined elements of Eritrean nationalism and Stalinism. The war was sparked by the unilateral annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie in 1962. Although Selassie was overthrown in 1974 and replaced by the military dictatorship headed by Mengistu Haile Mariam, Mengistu also opposed separation of Eritrea, which would deprive Ethiopia of any coastline on the Red Sea, rendering it landlocked.

Finally in 1991, the Eritrea Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF), a successor to the ELF, defeated Ethiopian forces and backed a coalition of Ethiopian rebel groups, headed by the Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front of Meles Zenawi, which seized power in Addis Ababa and agreed to end the protracted war with Eritrea. But there was never a full peace treaty or settlement of the extensive border between the two countries, leading to repeated military clashes in disputed areas.

The EPLF took power through its political arm, the Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice, which quickly established a one-party police state in Eritrea, banning all other parties and refusing to hold elections. EPLF leader Isaias Afwerki became president and has ruled the country brutally ever since, fighting a series of border wars with Ethiopia, as well as clashes with neighboring Djibouti, the former French Somaliland. Afwerki quickly dropped his socialist rhetoric and sought the aid of the United States and the former colonial powers of Europe, expressing the goal of turning his desperately poor country into the Singapore of East Africa.

The imperialist powers and their client regimes in the region have sought to dominate Eritrea in large measure because of its strategic geographical position on the Red Sea, near the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait through which the bulk of Persian Gulf oil bound for European markets is shipped. Ships bringing merchandise from China, Japan and elsewhere in East Asia, headed for Europe, also pass by the Eritrean coast.

In recent years, Eritrea has sunk into extreme poverty and isolation, hit by repeated droughts, border conflicts, and the cutoff of most international aid. In 2008, the Bush administration branded Eritrea a state sponsor of terror for its support to anti-Ethiopian Islamist forces in Somalia. The country remains one of the poorest on the planet. Out of a population of 6.3 million, nearly 360,000 had become refugees by 2014, and they comprised the second largest number of refugees entering Europe, after Syrians.

50 years ago: De Gaulle makes television appeal for end to French general strike

Charles de Gaulle in 1968

On May 24, 1968, French President Charles de Gaulle appeared on national television to plead for an end to the general strike by 10,000,000 workers, the largest and most widespread walkout in world history, which had completely paralyzed the French economy and brought the country to the brink of revolution. He announced a referendum to be held in June to give him emergency powers to act and stop what he called the roll to civil war.

Frenchmen, French women, he declared, you will deliver your verdict by a vote. In case your reply is no, it follows that I would no longer assume my functions. The appeal came at a turning point in the May-June events, with De Gaulles real audience not the great mass of the French population, who were thoroughly in sympathy with the rebellious students and workers, but the leaders of the main trade unions and the French Communist Party, whom he relied on to save French capitalism from the mobilized working class.

Two days later, De Gaulles prime minister, Georges Pompidou, began negotiations with the union leaders and the Organisation Patronale, the main body representing French employers, which were to lead to the Grenelle agreements, calling off the general strike in return for various concessions in terms of higher wages and better conditions, but avoiding any political concessions, above all the demands for the ouster of the De Gaulle government itself.

The Grenelle agreement called for a 25 percent increase in the minimum wage, and a 10 percent wage increase overall, but workers rejected these offers and continued the strike. Mass meetings continued at the universities, with students and workers demanding the ouster of the right-wing government and new elections.

De Gaulle continued with a mix of conciliation and repression. He exercised his constitutional power to grant amnesty to the leaders of the student strike, but his government barred Daniel Cohn-Bendit, one of the student leaders, from re-entering the country when he tried to cross from West Germany at the border station between Saarbrucken and Forbach. The Interior Ministry declared him undesirable.

On May 22, the government of Pompidou narrowly survived a vote of censure, with 233 members of the 485-seat National Assembly voting in favor, 11 short of the 244 required to force the government to step down.

75 years ago: The Stalinist bureaucracy dissolves the Comintern

Stalin during World War II

On May 22, 1943, the ruling bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, headed by Joseph Stalin, formally dissolved the Communist International (Comintern). The organization, initially formed under the leadership of Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolshevik government in 1919, had been founded as a world party of socialist revolution, aimed at unifying the international working class in the struggle to overthrow capitalism.

Over the 15 years prior to its formal dissolution, the Comintern had been transformed into a foreign policy instrument of the Stalinist bureaucracy, which emerged on the basis of the isolation of the Russian Revolution and the countrys material backwardness.

Stalin used the organization to forge alliances with sections of the ruling elite in the imperialist and backward countries, to prevent revolutions elsewhere for fear that they would give an impetus to the political revolution against the bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, and to brutally repress the Trotskyist proponents of socialist internationalism.

The formal dissolution of the Comintern was intended as a signal to the Stalinist bureaucracys imperialist allies, including Britain, France and the US. It was a pledge that the bureaucracy would redouble its efforts to promote nationalism and suppress the revolutionary upheavals that would result from the Second World War.

The move was also the logical outcome of the Stalinist bureaucracys anti-Marxist program of socialism in one country, first promulgated in 1924. A communique from the Comintern to its constituent parties, announcing the dissolution, explicitly rejected the very concept of an international party uniting the struggles of the working class around the world.

The letter stated: It became increasingly clear that, to the extent that the internal as well as the international situation of individual countries became more complicated, the solution of the problems of the labor movement of each individual country through the medium of some international center would meet with insuperable obstacles.

In an article in May, 1943, James P. Cannon, the leader of the American Trotskyist movement, wrote that the Fourth International, founded by Trotsky in 1938, inherited the best traditions of the early Communist International: Stalin can bury the dead organization but he cannot bury the great progressive work the Comintern accomplished in its first years. He cannot bury the Fourth International which has risen, phoenix-like, from the ashes of the Third. We know very well and we don't try to conceal the fact that the numbers of the Fourth International are small. But its ideas are correct, its program represents historical necessity, and, therefore, its victory is assured. Its program consciously formulates the instinctive demands of the workers and the colonial peoples for emancipation from capitalism, fascism and war.

100 years ago: The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established under Menshevik rule

Noah Zhordani

On May 26, 1918, the republic of Georgia declared its independence, coinciding with the dissolution of the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic, established formally on April 22, 1918, although it existed in practice since November 1917, after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, when the Mensheviks, who dominated the Caucasian region, refused to recognize the new Soviet power and established a provisional regime under the leadership of Nikolai Cheidze.

While the Transcaucasian federation grouped three nations, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, its existence was always problematic as the troops of the Ottoman Empire advanced into the former territories of the Tsarist Empire. In the wake of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, which ended formal hostilities with Russian on the part of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire, the anti-Bolshevik forces which controlled the Caucasian republics quickly found themselves at odds.

Under the terms of Brest-Litovsk, the Ottoman Empire regained the provinces of Batum, Kars and Ardahan, captured by Tsarist forces in the course of the world war. Starting on March 14, the Trabzon peace conference was held between the Ottoman Empire and a delegation from the three Caucasian republics. On April 22 however, the Mensheviks proclaimed the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic and confirmed a state of war between the Republic and the Ottoman Empire. Almost immediately, the Ottoman Third Army took Erzerum and Kars.

The Turkish government increased its demands to include Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, as well as rail concessions leading directly to Baku. Ottoman forces advanced into Armenia in late April and early May, fighting a series of battles with Armenian forces with mixed results. At the same time, a Georgian-Armenian war threatened to erupt over parts of Georgian provinces populated mainly by Armenians. British imperialism exerted its domination over Azerbaijan, where the Baku oil fields were the main prize, and also sought to make Georgia a protectorate against both Turkish and Soviet forces.Thousands of UK personnel are intimately involved in maintaining the military war machine of Saudi Arabia, enabling it to carry out its one-sided slaughter in Yemen.

A recent report, UK Personnel Supporting the Saudi Armed ForcesRisk, Knowledge and Accountability, by researchers Mike Lewis and Katherine Templar, is part of a Brits Abroad study funded by the Joseph Rowntree Trust.

The Saudi Arabian-led war against the Middle Easts poorest country is now in its fourth year. The Saudi regime launched the war in March 2015 to reinstall President Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi who had been driven from power by Houthi rebels. Hadi is currently in exile in Riyadh, apparently under house arrest.

The US, UK and other western countries have supported the Saudi intervention. Like Saudi Arabia, they regard the war against the Houthis as a proxy conflict with Iran.

According to the UN, more than 10,000 people have been killed in Yemen since the Saudis launched their invasion in March 2015, and more than 85,000 people have been displaced since January this year.

Among the crimes carried out was the killing by Saudi planes of over 30 people at a wedding in April this year, with twice as many suffering horrific wounds. In October 2016, around 150 were killed and more than 500 injured when Saudi planes bombed a funeral in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital.

The UK has a decades long program for supplying weapons to Saudi Arabia. According to the report, 50 percent of all UK weapons and military equipment exports between 2013 to 2017 went to Saudi Arabia. In the period between 2007 and 2011 it was just over a quarter. Most materiel went to the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), with the UK supplying nearly half its 324 combat aircraft, along with spare parts and ammunition.

According to a Sky News report in March, 50 open licences to supply weapons to Saudi Arabia were issued for the period July 2016 to September 2017up by a third on the previous 15 months and coinciding with Theresa Mays premiership. Open licences allow an uncapped number of weapons to be sent over a period of five years. Only then can the value of the licence be revealed, but the government is under no obligation to publish the figures.

The grand total of UK arms licences since the invasion in Yemen in March 2015 is more than $6.2 billion for aircraft, helicopters, drones, bombs and missiles, according to government figures.

Lewis and Templars report explains: Under a sequence of formal agreements between the UK and Saudi governments since 1973, the UK Ministry of Defence and its contractors supply not only military hardware, but also human software. Around 7,000 individualsprivate employees, British civil servants and seconded Royal Air Force personnelare present in Saudi Arabia to advise, train, service and manage British-supplied combat aircraft and other military equipment.

The UK government claims these personnel are not involved directly in targeting, loading weaponry or in the planning of operational sorties. But confidential agreements signed between the UK government and the RSAF, which are not to be released to the public till 2027, outline the number of personnel and functions they undertake.

The UK-Saudi Al Yamamah agreement, a record arms deal signed in 1986 which included the supply and support of Tornado fighter-bombers, is still ongoing. The agreement is secret, but the reports authors were able to see a batch of Downing Street papers that were filed in the National Archive at Kew revealing some details.

Under the agreement the United Kingdom civilian and military personnel will remain available in Saudi Arabia for preparation, including arming and support, of the [Tornado fighter-bomber] aircraft during an armed conflict

Lewis and Templar interviewed technicians, managers and officials of all ranks over two years and their report notes the critical role of UK personnel in the Saudi war-machine:

A mix of company employees and seconded RAF personnel have continued to be responsible for maintaining the weapons systems of all Saudi Tornado IDS fighter-bombers, a backbone of the Yemen air war work as aircraft armourers and weapons supervisors for the UK-supplied Typhoon fighters deployed at the main operating bases for Saudi Yemen operations, and provided deeper-level maintenance for Yemen-deployed combat aircraft.

UK personnel in Saudi Arabia have been placed at physical or legal risk, including from scud missiles and unexploded ordnance. Some of those who have tried to whistle-blow over possible war crimes have been harassed and have not been afforded protection under UK law.

The report unearthed evidence that some of the UK personnel are involved in the handling of cluster bombs.

Lewis and Templar also found that the UK government has used private companies to work on behalf of the British state but with Saudi masters; without the legal protections accorded to UK civil servants or military personnel; and without any guidance or protocols for reporting risks of IHL (International Humanitarian Law) violations to the UK government, or to their employers Whitehalls limited oversight of their activities is a deliberately constructed choice.

The British government singled out arms exports as a key priority post-Brexit, with former defence secretary Michael Fallon promising that the UK would spread its wings across the world.

Britains arms trade with Saudi Arabia is enormously unpopular at home, with only 6 percent of the British public supporting it according to a recent poll. A legal bid to challenge the UKs arms exports was financed by a crowd fund appeal.

Earlier this month, the Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) won its Court of Appeal bid to overturn last years High Court judgement that the export of arms from the UK to Saudi Arabia was lawful, despite widespread concern the trade was in breach of international humanitarian law. CAAT also won the right to challenge the closed verdict, where judges had heard evidence from the government in secret.

The court case revealed that the government went ahead with the sales despite its export policy chief telling then business secretary, Sajid Javid, My gut tells me we should suspend [weapons exports to the country].

The UK has long-standing interests in Yemen. British troops first occupied the port of Aden in present day Yemen in 1839 and it soon became important as a coaling station for British warships. From 1937 the port of Aden and the surrounding protectorate became a British colony. In 1934 Britain aided Saudi Arabia when it annexed Asir, then part of Yemen. Britain enforced a treaty to give Saudi Arabia a 20-year lease on the territory which remains a part of Saudi Arabia to this day.

In 1962, following the death of King Ahmad of Yemen, Arab nationalist army officers took power and proclaimed a republic. Royalists backed by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Britain began an insurgency to restore the monarchy.

A dirty war ensued, with Britain initially supplying Jordan with fighter jets to carry out airstrikes in Yemen and embedding military advisers with its key allies. From March 1963, Britain supplied weaponry directly to the Royalist forces. At the same time, MI6 along with SAS founder David Stirling set up a British force to work with the insurgents. To mask British involvement, SAS and paratrooper forces were given temporary leave and were paid over 10,000 a year (equivalent to 197,000 today) by a Saudi prince.

In 1964 under the Labour government of Harold Wilson, covert bombing of Yemeni targets by the RAF began. Airworks Services was set up as a British company to train Saudi pilots.

Britain was eventually driven out of Aden in November 1967.

Today, driven by intractable crisis and the further erosion of its global standing, Britain is seeking to re-establish its influence in Yemen and across the Middle East as part of a new carve-up by the imperialist powers.

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[5 March 2018]

High Court approves UK governments arms sales to Saudi Arabia

[20 July 2018]Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on May 21, 2018

2018/05/21

At the invitation of the governments of Russia and Belarus, Vice President Wang Qishan will attend the 22nd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Russia and visit Belarus from May 24 to 29.

At the invitation of State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of New Zealand Winston Peters will visit China from May 24 to 27.

Q: Venezuela's incumbent President Nicolas Maduro was reelected in the presidential election. Many countries have strongly condemned the unfair practices in this election, and the US and the EU also expressed concerns over it. China and Venezuela have very close ties, and does China believe that this election was fair? Has the Chinese side expressed its congratulations to President Maduro on his reelection?

A: Regarding the election in Venezuela, China has followed the principle of non-interference in others' internal affairs as always, and we believe the Venezuelan government and people are capable of handling their domestic affairs. In the meantime, all parties should respect the choice of the Venezuelan people. The dispute, if there is any, should be properly settled within the existing legal framework of Venezuela.

As to your last question, China will handle that in accordance with its diplomatic practice.

Q: In response to the takeoff and landing of the Chinese Air Force's H-6K bomber in the South China Sea last week, the Pentagon said that China's continued militarization only serves to raise tensions and destabilize the region. The Philippine Foreign Department also said it had expressed concern through diplomatic channels. What is your response?

A: The South China Sea Islands are China's territory. The relevant military activities are the normal training of the Chinese military and there is no need for other parties to over-interpret that.

As to the so-called "militarization" mentioned by the US, the normal training on our own territory is totally a different thing from certain country's threat to others by sending military vessels and aircraft to this region from thousands of miles away.

With regard to the specifics of this training, China's military has issued a readout and I would like to refer you to that.

Q: First, how is the China-Russia relationship faring? What is Vice President Wang Qishan's schedule at the SPIEF? Second, Vice President Wang Qishan will visit Belarus after his attendance at the SPIEF. What is his schedule in Belarus and what is your comment on China-Belarus relations?

A: Regarding your first question, the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination is at its historical best. Under the strategic guidance and personal care of the two heads of state, China-Russia relations have been growing at a high level with full and fruitful cooperation across the board and close coordination on international and regional issues, thus jointly making important contributions to promoting world peace, stability and development.

During his attendance at the 22nd SPIEF, Vice President Wang Qishan will take part in relevant events and have an in-depth exchange of views with Russian leaders on bilateral relations and major issues of mutual interest. The Chinese side is in touch with the Russian side on the relevant arrangements. We believe that this visit will help step up bilateral high-level exchanges, deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields, and scale China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination to new heights.

Regarding your second question, China-Belarus relations have reached a new stage of comprehensive strategic partnership featuring mutual trust and win-win cooperation. The two sides are enjoying frequent high-level exchanges, stronger political mutual trust, and more fruitful outcomes of the Belt and Road Cooperation.

In Belarus, Vice President Wang Qishan will have an in-depth exchange of views with the Belarusian leaders on bilateral relations and visit the China-Belarus Industrial Park which is an important project under the Belt and Road Initiative. The Chinese side is in communication with the Belarusian side on the relevant arrangements. We believe that this visit will contribute to promoting the China-Belarus comprehensive strategic partnership and all-around cooperation and creating a sound atmosphere for a meeting between the two heads of state during the SCO summit.

Q: The SCO National Security Council Secretaries will hold a meeting this Tuesday in Beijing. Can you give us any details on its agenda and how will China conduct security cooperation in the SCO framework?

A: I talked about this meeting last week. It will be held on May 21 and 22. The Chinese leaders will meet with the national security secretaries of the SCO member states. State Councilor Zhao Kezhi will host this meeting.

As for the SCO security cooperation you mentioned, we all know that with profound changes taking place in the international landscape, the SCO members face an increasing number of common threats and challenges which must be addressed by consensus-based and collective efforts. These major challenges are: first, to maintain regional peace, security and stability; second, to combat terrorist forces in the region as well as transnational crimes including drug trafficking. This is the inaugural meeting of the SCO National Security Council Secretaries after the SCO enlargement. We hope and we also believe that as the SCO family gets bigger, its potential in security cooperation will be further unleashed and more outcomes will be achieved in this field.

Q: It is reported that Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany, and the UK will attend a meeting of the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in Vienna on May 25. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said that the meeting will discuss the impact of the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the implementation of the JCPOA by the remaining signatories. Can you confirm that China will send a delegation to the meeting? What is your expectation for the meeting?

A: I have noted relevant reports. It is true that the EU, as the coordinator for the implementation of the JCPOA, is coordinating with Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany and the UK to hold a Joint Commission meeting in Vienna on May 25 to discuss relevant issues concerning the implementation of the JCPOA. China will remain committed to preserving and implementing the JCPOA. The current arrangement is that Director-General Wang Qun of the Department of Arms Control of the Foreign Ministry will lead a delegation to the meeting.

Q: US Treasury Secretary Mnuchin as well as the IMF and the World Bank have urged China to join the Paris Club and raise transparency standards in loans to foreign government. Will China consider joining the Club, and if not, why not?

A: We have responded to similar questions before. China's outbound economic cooperation and assistance harbor no ulterior motives. The most important thing is that we have never attached any political strings to them. Our investment and financing cooperation with some developing countries, the less developed partners in particular, is meant to help them close their financing gap, improve their local environment for economic development, and enhance their attraction for foreign investment so that they can realize self-driven development. Such cooperation has never deviated from the principle of equality, openness, transparency, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. It upholds justice while pursuing shared interests. It observes market laws and the universally-acknowledged international rules, without losing sight of the sustainability of debt and development.

For the relevant country, their time and efforts would be better spent on doing something real to support developing countries than on slandering other people's positive efforts. If they still have suspicion, I suggest they make a trip to those beneficiary countries and ask around, the local government and people will tell them their honest opinion.

Q: Several US officials have indicated that the agreement reached between China and the US on trade issues just represents a temporary truce. Do you expect a longer term reversion to trade tensions as well?

A: I would like to say that China is never willing to see any tension between the two sides, including that in trade or other areas. If we, as two major countries, can maintain sound bilateral relations as well as interaction and cooperation across the board, it will surely better serve the interests of the two countries and peoples and bring benefits to the world than otherwise.

You mentioned the outcomes of the latest round of trade talks in Washington, on which both China and the US have issued a statement. You may have noticed that the two sides recognized that as two large economies, it is in our interests to reach consensus and avoid the imposition of tariffs on each other's exports as well as a trade war. This has been made very clear by Vice Premier Liu He in his interview with the media at the conclusion of this round of negotiation. The most remarkable consensus and outcome of this negotiation is that the two sides have recognized that the economic and trade issue need to be properly resolved through negotiation, and we should avoid the imposition of tariffs on goods imported from each other. Like I said last week, we hope we can give a better play to the mutually beneficial and win-win nature of China-US trade ties.

Follow-up: I guess the scenario now is that the US will escalate trade tensions and temporary agreements are reached, then after a brief lull, there will be another re-escalation. Does China find that pattern concerning? Do you want to warn the US side that it is an inappropriate way to behave?

A: In the short term, if the Chinese and US governments can reach a very good agreement and an outcome that is acceptable to both sides, then the two governments for sure need to abide by such agreement and we indeed don't want to see any reversion on the US part. We believe this result is what the people and business community of the two countries welcome so much and the world at large is so pleased to see.

If we look at this in a longer term, there have been some ups and downs in the past four decades of China-US bilateral relations, including in our trade ties. With growing interactions between these two large economies, we can hardly guarantee that there will not be any more friction, difference or divergence in the future. But the past four decades have indicated that the fundamental reason why the two sides can properly manage differences and promote greater development of our economic and trade relations is that the development of such relations are in the interests of the two countries and peoples and that the market rule has played an important role in the context of globalization. As a result, we certainly don't want to see any more reversion in this regard. Indeed, we are convinced that for anything that is good to our two peoples, the two governments have the responsibility to get it done.

Due to scheduling reasons, the regular press conference of the Foreign Ministry on May 22 (Tuesday) will be held at 2:00 p.m. at the same venue.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.



Tifariti (Liberated Territories), May 21, 2018 (SPS) - President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), Secretary General of the Polisario Front, Brahim Ghali, affirmed that the Moroccan Kingdom violated the international legality by its military invasion of Western Sahara on 31 October 1975 and also violated the international law and the international humanitarian law by committing horrible crimes against the Sahrawi people.



It is definitely the Moroccan Kingdom which violated the international legality by its military invasion of Western Sahara on 31 October 1975 and it is also Morocco which violated the international law and the international humanitarian law by committing horrible crimes against the Sahrawi people, including the updated mass graves, slaughters, liquidations, abductions, arrests and forced disappearances, said Sahrawi president on the occasion of the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the outbreak of the armed struggle.



It is Morocco which violates today the international humanitarian law by scorning the most basic human rights of the Sahrawi civilians in the territories it occupies in the Sahrawi Republic, in the south of Morocco and university sites, while continuing plundering the natural resources of Western Sahara, added President Ghali.



Underlining that Morocco violates the international humanitarian law by imposing a stifling blockade on the occupied territories of Western Sahara and by persevering in the harassment, arrests and imprisonment of Sahrawi people, the Sahrawi Head of State recalled the repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement and the military convention N1.



Sahrawi President also broached the threat of the regions countries by producing drug and encouraging organized crime and terrorism gangs which endanger peace and stability in the region.



He also welcomed Algerias position in favor of the fair struggle of the Sahrawi people, a position which is in line with the requirements of the international legality and principles and values of the glorious Revolution of 1 November 1954. (SPS)



062/SPS/APSFirefighters responded to a fire at Sunnybrook Stables in Toronto early Monday morning, which resulted in the death of 16 horses.

The fire started around 3 a.m. (EDT) at one barn on the property, spreading to a second soon after. Around 40 to 50 firefighters arrived promptly and managed to rescue 13 horses from the second barn, transporting them to another barn for holding before later transporting them to the Canadian National Exhibition grounds with help from the Toronto Police mounted unit.

"The crews did an excellent job getting the horses out of the second [barn]," said Toronto Fire Platoon Chief Doug Wishart.

Sunnybrook Stables is located in Sunnybrook Park, just north of Toronto's Leaside neighbourhood. It offers riding classes and summer camps.

The park was closed during the fire due to concern that some horses may have run loose during the fire, but by noon officials determined no horses had escaped the property.

Firefighters got the fire under control around 6 a.m. (EDT), with officials finding no indications of the fire being suspicious. The Ontario Fire Marshal will visit the scene.

(With files from the CBC)Authorities put down a cougar they suspect is responsible for attacking two mountain bikers, one fatally, in North Bend, Washington.

Fish and Wildlife has euthanized the cougar that is believed to be responsible for killing one man and attacking another earlier today, the King County Sheriffs Office in Washington tweeted on Saturday.

The sheriffs office previously announced on Twitter that the victim who survived was in their 40s and transported to a local hospital. However, Harborview Medical Center in Seattle later tweeted that the injured victim was a 31-year-old male who was awake and alert and in serious condition.

The hospital said on Saturday evening that he had been upgraded to satisfactory condition and will be admitted to the hospital for further care.

The names of the victims have not been released.

Authorities were not immediately available for further comment.

Update: Fish and Wildlife has euthanized the cougar that is believed to be responsible for killing one man and attacking another earlier today.  KingcosoPIO (@kingcosoPIO) May 19, 2018

I am heading to the scene of the Cougar attack. One victim 40s transported to HVH for treatment. Second victim found dead from attack. I will update with additional info when I arrive.  KingcosoPIO (@kingcosoPIO) May 19, 2018

Patient status update: The 31-year-old male who arrived at Harborview this afternoon as a result of a mountain lion attack near North Bend is being treated in the Emergency Dept. He is currently awake and alert and in serious condition.  Harborview Seattle (@harborviewmc) May 19, 2018

Patient Status Update: The 31-year-old male, who sustained injuries during a mountain lion attack near North Bend, has been upgraded to satisfactory condition. He will be admitted to the hospital for further care.  Harborview Seattle (@harborviewmc) May 20, 2018

According to CBS affiliate KIRO, the two victims were mountain biking in North Bend when the attack occurred around 11:20 a.m. Saturday. The cougar was still standing over the deceased victims body when first responders arrived, but then ran off, the outlet reports.

Story continues

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Cougar attacks on people are rare, according to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife.

In North America, roughly 25 fatalities and 95 nonfatal attacks have been reported during the past 100 years, according to the organization. However, more cougar attacks have been reported in the western United States and Canada over the past 20 years than in the previous 80. In Washington, of the one fatal and 15 nonfatal attacks reported here in the past 100 years, seven attacks occurred during the 1990s.In a recent letter to the CEOs of five ridesharing companies  Uber, Lyft, Via, Curb and Juno  members of Congress expressed concern about the industry's sexual assault protocols. CNN was the first to report on the letter, which followed the site's investigation into 103 Uber drivers accused of sexual assault.

The concerns from Congress are not unwarranted. Just last week, Uber, perhaps anticipating such a call for responsibility, announced plans to introduce greater transparency around how it deals with cases of sexual assault. The company said it would end forced arbitration for users and employees with individual claims of sexual harassment and assault. It also put an end to confidentiality clauses in settlements with survivors and said it will compile a first-of-its-kind safety transparency report with data on sexual assaults reported by users.

Uber has assembled a lauded group of advisors, including Tina Tchen, to help with the work ahead . Tchen, whom Uber only officially signed up as a legal advisor last week, has been at the forefront of the #MeToo movement: She is a a member of the legal defense fund for Time's Up, was recently named the chair of the Recording Academy 's task force for inclusion and diversity, and has a long history in fighting for women's rights. During the Obama administration, Tchen served as Michelle Obama's chief of staff and led the White House Council on Women and Girls.

Ahead, Refinery29 spoke with Tchen about how she started working with Uber and what she foresees as the main challenges in compiling the company's first transparency report.

How did you become involved with Uber as an advisor?

"After I left the White House last year, and after some time off, I joined the law firm Buckley Sandler. We started a new practice area, called Workplace Cultural Compliance, that was really born out of what I saw when I was in the White House, which is that companies would come to us as we worked our Working Families agenda in the Obama administration and they really wanted to do the right thing around diversity and equity but didnt know how to do it or have the tools.

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"I have thought for a long time that there is a practice there to help companies do better, so we started it at Buckley Sandler. Its been growing in the current environment. We started it before recent events, and those have only fueled companies interests not just in sexual harassment, but in overall equity and diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

"Ubers business is to do all the things that our mothers told us not to do."

"In that capacity, Uber invited me to speak and keynote a women in travel and safety event that they held. I spoke there, as I often do, about how these issues of sexual harassment and sexual assault are key for the travel and hospitality industry because women make over 80% of the purchasing decisions in that industry and yet they are also often making decisions around whats a safe hotel and whats a safe route to and from where Im going. The industry needs to understand that  that theres both a business opportunity there but also a real business risk.

"Ubers business is to do all the things that our mothers told us not to do. Get in a car with a stranger and if youre a driver, pick up a stranger on the street. If its not something that people are comfortable with doing, its a real business risk. But its intrinsically tied to equity and diversity. You cant look at those issues in isolation. You cant expect to understand what women travelers are thinking about if you dont have any women around the table helping you think about those issues and bringing that perspective.

"Tony West, Uber's Chief Legal Officer, [below] and I are friends. We worked together in the Obama administration on a lot of these issues. Tony asked me and my firm to come in and provide legal advice to Uber on this whole suite of issues on women and diversity."

Photo: Courtesy of Uber.

What will your advising focus on?

"Were going to look at a lot of areas. The one in particular that I can speak to publicly is the transparency report. Well be working with the company on that.

"Its a very complex issue. Describing [assault] behaviors in a consistent matter, collecting the data in a consistent matter, and doing it in a way that Uber can compare itself across different business sectors and across industries is going to take some work. Its never been done before in a consistent way."

How long do you think it will take to compile?

"I dont know yet. My involvement with the company is just starting. What I do know is its important to get it right. These are very complicated issues."

What do you think will be the biggest challenge of compiling the report accurately?

"One of the biggest challenges is its still an underreported crime. We have to remember that we will not in the first report, or the second or third or the fourth, be counting all of the incidents, because for lots of reasons these are crimes that are vastly underreported. Ive been doing this work in sexual assault for 40 years, and the numbers are still just a fraction [of the total]. Weve been doing sexual assault awareness with prosecutors, police officers, and rape crisis centers and things have changed a lot, but still, the reporting numbers are low. These are very intimate, personal crimes. You see what victims go through when they do speak out and women are fearful and men who are victims are fearful.

"Getting people to report and getting accurate statistics will be hard, and I think we have to be prepared that, for probably many cycles after that first report comes out, were going to see numbers going up, not down, which is going to be uncomfortable. But we need to understand thats actually a sign of progress. It means people are trusting the process and feeling more comfortable with speaking out."

Are you confident that there can be change in this area?

"I hope so. As I said, I've been working on sexual assault issues for 40 years. However, Ive never seen a moment where not just individuals, but institutions, companies, and colleges and universities, are paying attention, understanding the issue, making serious, meaningful steps to change policies and processes, and doing it in a way that is informed by advocates."

This interview has been edited for length and style.

Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?

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You Can Watch The Entire Royal Wedding Live For Free On YouTubeLast year's tax reform went through on a largely party-line vote, with only narrow margins of victory allowing the tax cuts to become law. Even after suffering defeat, opponents of the measure think it's not too late to try to roll back some of the provisions of the reform law. In particular, Senate Democrats pinpointed five elements of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on which they'd like either to see old law restored in full or at least to find a middle ground between current and previous law.

With Republicans in control of Congress and the White House, the Democratic tax proposal has no chance of passing without concessions in other areas. Yet with proponents of the proposal looking to spend any revenue from rolling back tax cuts on infrastructure initiatives -- something that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle desperately want -- it's at least possible that Republicans and Democrats could agree to make one or more of the five targeted tax cuts disappear.

U.S. Capitol from outside and slightly left of center, with a view up toward the Rotunda.

Image source: Getty Images.

What tax-reform opponents want to get rid of

Opponents to tax reform identified the following provisions that they wanted either to return to previous law or to find a middle ground between the old law and the new tax changes:

Return the new top tax bracket of 37% back to 39.6%, where it was before tax reform became law.

Raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 25%, still leaving a 10-percentage-point reduction compared to the pre-reform 35% level.

Return the estate tax lifetime exclusion amount to $5.59 million, down from its current $11.18 million.

Reset exemptions and phaseout provisions for the alternative minimum tax back to the levels they would have been under old law.

In addition, those seeking further changes to tax laws suggested fully removing any beneficial treatment of carried interest among private equity and hedge fund investors. This measure wasn't part of tax reform, but the reform effort failed to address the issue in the way that some proponents of the measure had suggested early on.

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Which tax cut is most vulnerable?

If proponents of tax reform were to seriously reconsider any of these cuts in order to generate revenue to fund an infrastructure bill or other spending, the one most likely to gain traction would be eliminating the favorable changes to the alternative minimum tax. It's the largest of the suggested rollbacks, potentially generating $429 billion over the next 10 years according to those calling for the elimination of the cut. It's also the most difficult for typical taxpayers to understand, making it easier to dismiss as being too complicated to analyze and glean the true impact. Only those who actually pay the AMT really understand its impact, and even many of them would struggle to explain how it is that they've ended up being the tax's target.

Perhaps most importantly, the AMT also has a reputation for being predominantly aimed at the ultra-rich, despite the fact that recently, the impact of the tax has actually shifted to the upper-middle class and those in the second- and third-highest tax brackets. Even under reform, the highest-income taxpayers have high enough ordinary income tax rates to avoid the AMT in most circumstances. The fact that reversing AMT relief would disproportionately hurt many taxpayers in states where legislators are proposing it be scrapped could also be a strong enough political motivation to let the measure through.

What about other taxes?

The estate tax has similar political value as a bargaining chip, but with just $83 billion in potential revenue, it's not worth quite as much. Moreover, despite its high wealth threshold, even those who have little or no chance of ever paying the tax still see it as an unfair levy on money that's already gotten taxed once when it was initially earned as income. At $12 billion, carried interest is too small to be particularly important in the debate.

For tax reform proponents to back down on the big rate changes the law made would be a massive concession. Boosting the top rate back to 39.6% wouldn't generate all that much revenue, at just $139 billion. By contrast, a corporate tax increase from 21% to 25% would boost taxes by $359 billion. But even though some see the corporate tax cut as kowtowing to lobbyists, others argue that direct positive impacts on workers through bonuses and salary increases stemmed from the full cut, making it worth defending.

The art of the deal?

Were it not for the White House, there'd be just about no chance of any change to tax reform happening. The wild card is that President Trump has shown at least some predisposition to working around his own party to explore other ways to get what he wants. If those seeking tax-cut rollbacks manage to package them in something the White House would really like, it could put pressure on Congress to take them seriously.

More From The Motley Fool

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.Good morning! Catch up on your pop culture news with our roundup of todays top stories  so far.

1. Kelly Clarkson speaks out about Texas school shooting

Kelly Clarkson choked back tears as she took the stage at the Billboard Music Awards and urged the public to take a moment of action rather than a moment of silence in the wake of the fatal school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, last Friday. Though many were inspired by the Texas-born pop stars emotional message, shes also facing backlash from some conservative critics. Read more >

Kelly Clarkson at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. (Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

2. Royal wedding update

In case you spent the weekend on Pluto, there was a little royal wedding Saturday. Newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (or the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, if youre fancy) are now back home, while flowers from the ceremony have been gifted to a London hospice. Per royal tradition, Markles bridal bouquet has been placed on the grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. Read more >

Following Royal tradition The Duchess of Sussex's wedding bouquet is laid on the grave of the Unknown Warrior in the west nave of Westminster Abbey in London.

Find out more about the traditions of a Royal wedding here > https://t.co/s88dWSfqvC pic.twitter.com/lPgc9mTZtS  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) May 21, 2018

3. Janet Jackson blows away the Billboard Music Awards

Janet Jackson became the first black woman to receive the Billboard Icon Award at last nights Billboard Music Awards, where she treated the crowd to a rousing performance and empowering feminist speech. Read more >

After rocking the stage with her incredible performance, @JanetJackson accepts the 2018 #BBMAs Icon Award! #ICON_JANET pic.twitter.com/S7nDbrGJQI  Billboard Music Awards (@BBMAs) May 21, 2018

4. Tia Mowry opens up about post-baby body expectations

Former Sister, Sister star Tia Mowry shared a personal post about not pushing herself to lose weight after giving birth to her second child earlier this month. The actress is being praised for shedding light on the realities of motherhood. Read more >

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5. Chrissy Teigen and John Legend introduce their baby

Say hello to Miles Theodore Stephens, the newborn son of Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. The infants father also revealed that his name is a tribute to the late jazz icon Miles Davis. Read more >

Thanks for reading! Come back this evening for your p.m. pop culture roundup.A migrant boat that left West Africa five weeks ago has been rescued off the coast of Brazil.

Brazilian authorities saved 27 people from the boat, which included migrants from Senegal, Nigeria, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde, along with two Brazilians, Reuters reported.

Federal police said some of the passengers were suffering from dehydration and that the boat had been drifting for five days when it was discovered by a Brazilian boat off the coast of the northern state of Maranhao on Saturday. The engine had failed and the boats sails had been damaged in a storm, port authorities told Brazilian newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

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RTS1QHAL

REUTERS/Jon Nazca

Police officers said both of the rescued Brazilians had been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, and the migrants had paid to be illegally transported across the Atlantic Ocean to Brazil.

Federal police sources told Folha the Brazilians had acted like coyotes in exploiting the migrants, who received treatment from the Maranhao fire department and were given water and food.

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Brazilian police have opened an investigation, and police chief Roberio Chaves told Folha that the two Brazilians were from Rio de Janeiro and had bought the boat in Cape Verde. Half of the money paid by the migrants would cover the cost of the boat, while the other half would be taken by the two men as profit.

The migrants had not eaten for five days when they were found, Chaves said. He noted that they were now all in good health after receiving treatment. The migrants were between 20 and 35 years of age, and some said they had family in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.

Story continues

Hundreds of thousands of migrants leave Africa each year, the majority heading through the Mediterranean for the shores of Europe. The route from Africa to Brazil is less popular and far more treacherous. But because of increased controls put in place by European countries in 2015, desperate migrants are now looking for alternative routes. African and Middle Eastern migrants can settle in South and Central America or push on to the U.S. once the crossing is made.

That said, most of those on this route arrive in Brazil by plane with a visa before setting out northward. Sea crossings are rare and, as this group almost discovered, can be deadly.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekMario Batali Wins Top Prize for Hypocrisy

NEW YORK, May 21, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue (photo) comments on the latest problems facing Mario Batali:

There is no celebrity chef more adored by elites nationwide than Mario Batali. They particularly like the way he champions women's rights and the rights of the poor. And so far, at least, they seem untroubled by revelations that he abuses both women and the poor. Maybe that's because they still approve of the way he called out the pope five years ago.

Mario is back in the news, this time for sexual assault. On May 20, "60 Minutes" aired a piece noting that at least 11 women have accused him of sexual misconduct; a criminal investigation is underway. Last December, revelations of sexual assault hit the media, but it had no effect on his standing with elites.

One of the stories that broke five months ago involved an encounter that Mario had in 2010, the week of the Oscars. The dinner was held at one of his restaurants in Los Angeles, hosted by the publisher of Vanity Fair. Mario showed up late and was obviously smashed.

The special events director says he said to her, "I want to see you naked in my hot tub back in the hotel." Later, he grabbed her crotch. She said he put his hand "between my legs, up and under, so his hand went on my vagina outside my clothes. And he moved his hand backward. So, you know, under my butt."

Mario may like to abuse women but he loves to stand up for their rights. Not surprisingly, he is a big proponent of abortion rights (most abusers tend to be that way). Indeed, in 2013 he even donated $5,000 in an abortion telethon for women's abortions.

Mario is also an advocate of two men marrying (those who are pro-abortion are almost always pro-gay marriage). That explains why he wasn't too happy with Pope Francis, who, while visiting the U.S. in 2015, met with Kim Davis; she is the Kentucky County clerk who refused to issue a marriage license to gay couples.

While Mario was performing a cooking demonstration at one of his New York restaurants, he called out the pope for meeting with Davis. He questioned why the Holy Father would "want to meet the one woman who wouldn't want to give out marriage certificates to gay people?" The audience cheered.

Mario also loves the poor. He loves them so much that he and his family spent a week in 2012 eating on the equivalent of a food stamp budget. Why? They were protesting cuts in the food stamp program that were pending in the Congress. So Mario and his family ate a lot of rice and beans to show their solidarity with the poor. "Rice and beans is [sic] in my lunch every day," the obese chef said.

The welfare of the poor, however, was not on Mario's mind when--in the same year as his high-profile food budget stunt--he and his partner agreed to pay $5.25 million to settle their cash-skimming schemes at eight high-scale restaurants. They took 4-5 percent of the tips from employees, ripping off the busboys to pay for the sommeliers' salaries. The money that was paid out was shared by 1,100 employees; many were forced to work more than 40 hours a week without making minimum wage.

If we knew the identity of the poor whom Mario stole from, we would probably learn that a good portion of them are illegal aliens. In all likelihood we would also learn of Mario's public exhortations on behalf of the "undocumented."

How different is Mario from most other high-flying liberal elites? From what we've learned over the past year, it appears he has plenty of company. But for right now, the top prize for hypocrisy goes to Mario Batali.If you hadnt been looking for her, you would have missed her entirely. Prince George and Princess Charlottes nanny blended expertly into the background in St Georges Chapel on Saturday, looking on from the sidelines as her little charges and their fellow bridesmaids and page boys performed their duties beautifully.

But if Maria Borrallo hadnt been present in the chapel, there is a chance the ceremony might not have gone quite so smoothly.

Rehearsals for the big day had been shambolic, insiders say, with the children - the youngest of whom, Zalie, daughter of Prince Harrys friend Jake Warren, was only two years old - proving impossible to keep in line.

It was decided that the two eldest children, seven year-old twins Brian and John Mulroney, should be tasked with the important job of holding a corner each of the new Duchess of Sussexs five metre-long train.

Ms Borrallo became known as the child whisperer Credit: Max Mumby

The boys are said to have been practising with a train (with mixed results) since Wednesday, learning how to keep the same pace as they walked down the aisle, when to pick up and put down the the hand-embroidered silk and organza veil - which had been sewn with flowers from each of the 53 Commonwealth nations - and just how high to hold it up. Would they step on it and tear it? Would they remember what to do when? Their mother, the Duchesss best friend Jessica Mulroney, must have breathed a sigh of relief when her sons duties were finally done.

One of the gap-toothed twins- Brian - stole the nation's hearts when he peeked out from behind the Duchess as she entered the chapel, his mouth dropping open in delight at the sight of 600 people waiting for him inside. It provided the perfect photo opportunity which his father, Ben Mulroney, has hinted may have earned him a special treat as a reward.

"Ok, Brian," Mr Mulroney wrote on Instagram. "You're getting a TV in your room for the summer."

The Mulroney twins had a crucial job at the wedding Credit: Owen Humphreys /PA

While the boys were concentrating on their job, their little sister Ivy - along with Princess Charlotte, three, Prince George, four, Prince Harrys godchildren Jasper Dyer, six, and Florence van Cutsem, three, and the Duchess goddaughters Rylan and Remi Litt, seven and six - were to wait in the wings before trotting after them down the aisle.

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On the day, it all became too much for little Zalie Warren, who had to be picked up and comforted by Prince George and Princess Charlottes nanny before she could make her way down the aisle, holding Princess Charlottes hand.

Video: Princess Charlotte, Prince George and the Smiling Page Boy!

For more news videos visit Yahoo View.

Ms Borrallo, who has been with the family for four years now, was on hand to keep the children in check on Saturday, doing such a brilliant job that many of the parents in the congregation commented that she must be magic, and said they wanted to know all her secrets.

By the end of the morning, she had become known as the child whisperer, so adept was Ms Borrallo at keeping the children quiet and happy in the midst of the pomp and circumstance which threatened to overwhelm them.

Princess Charlotte and the other children were reportedly pacified with promises of smarties Credit: Jane Barlow/PA

Her secret? An insider says one of the techniques the Norland Nanny employed to get the children to stand nicely was the promise of Smarties. And who could blame her? What little person wouldnt behave with the possibility of handful of Smarties hanging in the balance? Whatever her technique, it seems to have worked - all ten children executed their role beautifully.

Usually sporting the traditional Norland uniform of a brown fifties-style nurses dress, white gloves, brown brogues and a little brown bowler hat, Ms Borrallo was able to blend into the background on Saturday in a simple navy dress, eschewing her uniform for the day - only a discreet badge with the Norland motto Love Never Faileth giving her away.

Ms Borrallo, who was appointed by the Duke and Duchess in 2014, when Prince George was just eight months old, has often been called upon to be on hand at royal occasions, in case one of the children needs to be looked after.

She lives with the family at Kensington Palace, and travels with them on royal tours and excursions.

Ms Borrallo usually wears a brown nurse's style dress Credit: Max Mumby /Getty

Norland Nannies are highly accomplished - they have to be adept at everything from sewing and cooking to self defence. The Duchess of Cambridge has said of her in the past she is amazing.

Ironically, when the Duke of York married Sarah Ferguson in 1986, a young Prince William was such a badly behaved page boy (he refused to remain still while the couple exchanged vows, and stuck his tongue out at the flower girls), that his nanny was replaced following the wedding.

His children's nanny will have been invaluable to his family in the past month as they have been adjusting to life with their new arrival, Prince Louis.

Super nanny Kathryn Mewes explains: Norlanders dont just consider the children, they consider the father and mother, too.

They are aware of the sensitivities of breastfeeding and sleeplessness, and they allow the mum to focus on the newborn while keeping the other children stable, secure and happy.

She certainly performed her duties admirably on Saturday. In fact, Her Royal Highness ought to watch out, after Ms Borrallos performance in the chapel, she could be getting a call from one or two Hollywood mothers in the coming days.President Donald Trump harshly criticized former CIA director John Brennan in a series of tweets quoting a guest on Fox & Friends just hours before he swore in the agencys new director.

Over the course of three tweets Monday, Trump quoted a lengthy criticism of Brennan from Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and congressional candidate, that aired on Fox News that morning.

John Brennan is panicking. He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community. He is the one man who is largely responsible for the destruction of Americans faith in the Intelligence Community and in some people at the....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2018

....top of the FBI. Brennan started this entire debacle about President Trump. We now know that Brennan had detailed knowledge of the (phony) Dossier...he knows about the Dossier, he denies knowledge of the Dossier, he briefs the Gang of 8 on the Hill about the Dossier, which....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2018

...they then used to start an investigation about Trump. It is that simple. This guy is the genesis of this whole Debacle. This was a Political hit job, this was not an Intelligence Investigation. Brennan has disgraced himself, hes worried about staying out of Jail. Dan Bongino  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 21, 2018

While he was at the CIA, Brennan largely avoided the spotlight, but in recent months hes become an outspoken critic of Trump, often lambasting his decisions and character on Twitter. In response to news that Trump had referred to Haiti, El Salvador and African countries shitholes, Brennan argued the president continues to demonstrate daily that he is a deeply flawed person.

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Lady Liberty, our founding fathers, and generations of right-thinking Americans are all weeping tonight over the atrocious comments attributed to Donald Trump, who continues to demonstrate daily that he is a deeply flawed person. https://t.co/v2JAfqLRKU  John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) January 11, 2018

In interviews (Brennan is an MSNBC commentator) he has suggested that Trump has made glowing statements about President Vladimir Putin because the Russian government may have something on [Trump] personally. He has also said that he thinks Trump is dishonest. He lacks integrity. He has very questionable ethics and morality.

And on Sunday, after Trump demanded that the Department of Justice investigate whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes, Brennan again weighed in on Twitter:

Senator McConnell & Speaker Ryan: If Mr. Trump continues along this disastrous path, you will bear major responsibility for the harm done to our democracy. You do a great disservice to our Nation & the Republican Party if you continue to enable Mr. Trumps self-serving actions. https://t.co/uAhgL6wfIC  John O. Brennan (@JohnBrennan) May 20, 2018

Trumps tweets came just hours before Trump attended the swearing-in ceremony for Gina Haspel, the first woman to lead the CIA.The deal includes documentaries and features - Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Barack and Michelle Obama have agreed a deal to produce a string of films and television series for Netflix.

The online the streaming service announced the multi-year deal with the former US president on Monday.

The former first couple said they hoped to use the "power of storytelling" to share the tales of people they have met during their public service with the "entire world".

"President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have entered into a multi-year agreement to produce films and series for Netflix, potentially including scripted series, unscripted series, docu-series, documentaries, and features," the company said in a statement.

The Obamas have set up a production company, Higher Ground Productions, as the entity under which they will produce the content.

"One of the simple joys of our time in public service was getting to meet so many fascinating people from all walks of life, and to help them share their experiences with a wider audience," Mr Obama said.

"That's why Michelle and I are so excited to partner with Netflix - we hope to cultivate and curate the talented, inspiring, creative voices who are able to promote greater empathy and understanding between peoples, and help them share their stories with the entire world."

The 30 best documentaries on Netflix

The deal suggests a wider post-White House public role for the Obamas than is typical.

The agreement with Netflix, which boasts some 125 million subscribers worldwide, will give the Mr Obama a voice outside of the traditional public speaking, books and charity work that recent ex-presidents have relied on.

Mrs Obama added: "Barack and I have always believed in the power of storytelling to inspire us, to make us think differently about the world around us, and to help us open our minds and hearts to others.

"Netflix's unparalleled service is a natural fit for the kinds of stories we want to share, and we look forward to starting this exciting new partnership."

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Ted Sarandos, the chief content officer for Netflix, described the pair as "among the world's most respected and highly-recognised public figures".

The former president and first lady are "uniquely positioned to discover and highlight stories of people who make a difference in their communities and strive to change the world for the better," he said.

He added: "We are incredibly proud they have chosen to make Netflix the home for their formidable storytelling abilities."President Donald Trump loves to compare the size and greatness of all the things hes involved with, and people love to mock him for it. Even our British friends across the pond.

Early Saturday morning, BBC Three pointed out the size of the crowd that amassed to see Prince Harry marry former actress Meghan Markle. The network compared it to the crowd size at President Trumps inauguration, which, more than a year later, remains a seemingly bottomless well of jokes.

President Trump has not responded to the dig. But well know his thoughts as soon as Fox & Friends shows him the tweet.

In the future, when were covering the first elected president of Mars, we in the news media will have the 2017 inauguration crowd photo on hand, just in case. Because, dammit, its our job.

Also on HuffPost

George and Amal Clooney

Here are some of the famous folks who attended the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018.

Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian

Oprah Winfrey

Idris Elba and Sabrina Dhowre

James Blunt and Sofia Wellesley

David and Victoria Beckham

Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy

Marcus Mumford and Carey Mulligan

James Corden and Julia Carey

Joss Stone

Elton John and David Furnish

Patrick J. Adams and Troian Bellisario

Rick Hoffman

Norma and John Major

Gina Torres

Sarah Rafferty

Abigail Spencer and Priyanka Chopra

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.London (AFP) - Fighting back tears, relatives of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire paid emotional tribute in words, photos and recordings to their loved ones Monday as an inquiry opened into Britain's deadliest blaze.

Seventy-one people and an unborn child died in the fire of June 14, 2017, which was caused by a faulty fridge and devastated a 24-storey residential block in west London in the early hours of the morning.

"Now we are almost at the year anniversary of the fire and there are still so many unanswered questions," said a statement by Mohamed Araf Neda, whose brother Mohamed 'Saber' Neda died in the inferno.

"I hope we can get more answers from this inquiry and, more importantly, justice.

"All I know was my brother was a hero," he said, pointing out that his brother had helped others get out of the tower.

"That is the memory I will hold in my heart as long as I live."

The public probe, which is expected to take evidence in two phases, opened with emotive statements about the disaster, with feelings still very raw about the way it was handled.

- 'Much sorrow' -

British Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this month bowed to concerted pressure from victims' families by appointing new experts to assist in the second stage of the inquiry, which is being led by retired judge Martin Moore-Bick.

The relatives of six victims kicked off the first phase of the inquiry at a London hotel on Monday, which is expected to spend nine days commemorating those who lost their lives.

The second phase, which will run until November, will hear testimony from others hit by the tragedy.

Monday's session opened in a very sombre atmosphere, with 72 seconds of silence to mark each life lost.

Breaking the silence, Moore-Bick noted the fire was "the single greatest tragedy to befall this city since the Second World War".

"During the coming days there will be much sorrow," he added.

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"But that sorrow will, I hope, be tempered with the memories of past happiness, of times spent together, and of former joys," he added.

- Tiny life snuffed out -

One of the disaster's most poignant cases was the first to be commemorated: the death of Logan Gomes, a baby who was stillborn in hospital after his parents escaped from the tower's 21st floor.

His father Marcio Gomes, flanked by wife Andreia and their legal team, offered a heart-wrenching account of the impact of losing his unborn son.

"He might not be here physically but he will always be here in our hearts," said a tearful Gomes.

"He was so peaceful, so restful... our sleeping angel -- that's what he was," he said.

An ultrasound image of Logan Gomes was shown alongside other photos of a nursery that they had prepared inside their flat in the tower.

"You never know what you're made of until you're broken," Gomes said.

Embracing his wife, tears streaming down both of their faces, he added: "I can tell you this: my wife is made of the hardest material and without her strength and courage I would not be here."

- 'A space for human lives' -

Other relatives chronicled the lives of their loved ones, laying out the impact of their agonising losses.

"Ever since Denis has gone, there's a gaping hole in our hearts that can't be filled and it hurts, it really hurts," said Anne-Marie Murphy, whose 56-year-old brother died in the block.

"We can't imagine a day when it won't hurt any less."

Richard Millett, lead counsel to the inquiry, called the process "a search for truth".

"Grenfell is not a lawyer's argument or scientists' experiment... Grenfell was home," he said.

"It was a human space for human lives, each unique -- that is what a home is."

Natasha Elcock, who was rescued from the 11th floor, earlier told BBC radio that the bereaved wanted "to do their relatives proud".

"We must remember all of those people that died and we must keep them in our hearts and our minds all the way through this inquiry until the bitter end," she said.Rio de Janeiro (AFP) - An influential right-wing group in Brazil has lashed out against a fact-checking campaign launched by Facebook, saying the measure amounts to censorship aimed at stifling political debate.

Facebook, which is embroiled in scandals over fake news, Russian election-tampering operations in the United States, and the hijacking of data belonging to nearly 90 million users, has ramped up its fact-checking efforts.

For example, the social media behemoth has a partnership with AFP in France and with the Associated Press in the United States, aiming to flag, though not delete, suspect news articles.

The Free Brazil Movement (MBL), a right-wing and libertarian pressure group, branded similar work in Brazil with the Lupa and Aos Fatos agencies "censorship."

"The term 'fake news' is currently applied to everything disliked by the system, whether leftist, progressive, revolutionary or politically correct," one of MBL's leaders, Arthur do Val, said in a YouTube video.

"They want to smother rights," said another MBL leader, Renan Santos.

Staff at Lupa and Aos Fatos, specialized agencies hired by Facebook last week, also say they have been threatened directly.

"Personal attacks and putting out threats is completely unacceptable," the head of Lupa, Cristina Tardaguila, told CBN radio Monday, without giving more details about the threats.

"Everywhere in the world this type of checking tool has been calmly introduced. We've heard of attacks in the Philippines but nothing like those here," she said.

Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the US-based International Fact-Checking Network, used a column in Folha de S.Paulo daily to criticize pressure against fact checkers.

"I feel great concern on becoming aware of the attacks," he wrote.

Brazil is considered a major battleground for disinformation and fake news ahead of October presidential elections in which a far-right former army officer is running strongly in polls still led by the imprisoned leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has become more welcoming to migration since it voted to leave the European Union, environment minister and leading Brexit campaigner Michael Gove said on Monday. Britain's 2016 vote to leave the EU has left the country deeply divided, with both sides of the debate entrenched in their beliefs and often still debating whether the divorce will help or hinder the world's fifth largest economy. Concerns about migration were among the main reasons used by the "Vote Leave" campaign to increase support for Brexit and have remained a hot issue. Hate crimes in Britain have surged since the referendum, an increase the interior ministry said last year was fueled by the decision to leave the bloc. Asked at an event whether he was wrong to suggest during the referendum that Turkey could join the bloc and spur migration, Gove said that Brexit had instead made people more open. "The reason why I think the Leave campaign won was because people wanted to make sure we could have control of our borders, of our taxes, of our laws and all of that was part of a broader campaign to restore faith in our democratic institutions," he told an event organized by a think tank, the Policy Exchange. "The referendum campaign has led to Britain becoming more welcoming towards migration and more open to new people arriving." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Andrew Heavens)Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 39, with her daughter Gabriella - AFP

A British mother jailed in Iran after being convicted of spying has been told to expect another conviction after appearing in court over a new "invented" charge, her husband has said.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 39, who was arrested and jailed in 2016, appeared in court on Saturday accused of spreading propaganda against Tehran's hardline Islamist regime, he said.

The British-Iranian dual national, from Hampstead, north London, is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

Her husband, Richard Ratcliffe, said the mother-of-one had again denied committing any crime, and appealed for clemency and freedom so that she might be able to have a second child.

She told the court: "This year I am turning 40. I might only have a slim chance."

But Mr Ratcliffe said: "She was told by Judge Salavati to expect that she will be convicted."

Richard Ratcliffe says he has "no clue why they have started all this nonsense again" Credit: John Stillwell/PA

Downing Street said officials were seeking further information from Tehran and the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "The Foreign Office is urgently seeking more information from the Iranian authorities.

"The UK Government remains committed to doing everything possible to help secure Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release and alleviate her suffering."

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of the news agency, was arrested at Tehran Airport in April 2016 while with her then baby daughter Gabriella.

She was later jailed for five years but has consistently denied the charges against her, insisting that the trip was a holiday to introduce her daughter to her Iranian family.

Her time in Tehran's Evin prison, which included a period in solitary confinement, has left her with mental and physical health problems.

The new charge came despite telephone talks between UK Prime Minister Theresa May and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in which she called for British prisoners held in the country, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, to be released on humanitarian grounds.

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Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe timeline

The Free Nazanin Campaign said that on Sunday Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been able to telephone the British ambassador to Iran for the first time in more than two years.

It said: "She updated him on her case and situation, and requested that he try to visit. She also asked him to issue a formal diplomatic note protesting against the new charges and invented case against her.

"Nazanin discussed both with the judge and the ambassador a request for her to be released on furlough (temporary release) for Gabriella's birthday next month."

Charities have joined Mrs Zaghari-Radcliffe's family in lobbying for her release, and Kerry Moscogiuri, Amnesty International UKs campaigns director, said: This is yet another body blow for Nazanin. This will be incredibly upsetting for Nazanin and her family.

Nazanin has already been subjected to a blatantly unfair trial and sentence, and a string of unfounded accusations in the Iranian media.

We urge the UK Government - including the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson - to now significantly escalate their response to Nazanins plight. We need to hear ministers calling for this bogus new case to be dropped and for Nazanin to be released.

Nazanin is a charity worker not a criminal, and the Iranian authorities should finally do the right thing - release her and allow her to come back to Britain with her young daughter.

Richard Ratcliffe spoke last week of his fear Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe could be taken back to court "within a week or so" on a resurrected charge.

It comes after members of her family visited prosecutors for an update on her case, according to Mr Ratcliffe, who says she is being used as a "bargaining chip".

He said she told him of the development in a 5.30am phone call on May 14, and added: "I have no clue why they have started all this nonsense again.

"Please take me out of this, please. My parents have had enough. I want my daughter back. She needs both of us. So tell the world. Enough of this nonsense."

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's detention

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents.

She said in a statement released through the campaign to free her: "Sometimes when I come back from the visit with Gabriella, after saying goodbye to her, I feel like I cannot live without her, I want to go back and hold her."

Mr Ratcliffe said: "The UK needs to do better by British Iranians - at the moment it is failing to protect them.

"UK policy is not making it safe for British citizens. Iranian policy is not making it safe for Iranian citizens."

He urged Boris Johnson - who is attempting to secure her release - to have "Nazanin and the cases of all the other British citizens taken at the top of his priority list" during his meetings in Brussels.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We will continue to approach each case in a way that we judge is most likely to secure the outcome we all want.

"Therefore we will not be providing a running commentary on every twist and turn."London (AFP) - Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman jailed in Tehran for two years, has appeared in court to face a new charge, her husband said on Monday.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe was summoned to a court in Tehran on Saturday, according to a statement from Richard Ratcliffe, who runs the Free Nazanin campaign group.

The charge is for "spreading propaganda against the regime", which she denies, he said.

On Sunday, she was allowed to speak to the British ambassador to Tehran, Rob Macaire.

"This is the first time that she has been allowed any contact with the embassy in over two years," he said.

Contacted by AFP, Britain's foreign ministry said in a statement: "We will continue to approach each case in a way that we judge is most likely to secure the outcome we all want.

"Therefore we will not be providing a running commentary on every twist and turn," the statement said.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian dual national who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation -- the media organisation's philanthropic arm -- was arrested at Tehran airport in April 2016.

She is serving a five-year jail sentence for alleged sedition -- a charge she has always denied.

The couple have a three-year-old daughter Gabriella who is being looked after by Zaghari-Ratcliffe's parents in Tehran.

She has asked for temporary release from prison next month to celebrate her daughter's fourth birthday.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson visited Iran in December last year to press for Zaghari-Ratcliffe's release on humanitarian grounds.BURUNDI (Reuters) - Voters in Burundi have overwhelmingly approved a new constitution, the electoral commission said on Monday, ushering in changes that could let the president stay in power to 2034. An opposition coalition rejected the result of last week's referendum while the United States said the process had been marred by voter intimidation. The commission reported that 73 percent had voted in favor of amendments extending the presidential term from five to seven years and allowing President Pierre Nkurunziza to seek two more terms, beginning in 2020. Commission chairman Pierre Claver Ndayicariye told a news conference that 96 percent of the 4.7 million registered voters cast ballots last Thursday. Opposition leaders say the changes to the constitution will allow Nkurunziza -- whose party gave him the title of Supreme Eternal Guide this year -- to be above the law. Evariste Ngayimpenda, a top official of the Amizero y'Abarundi opposition coalition, denounced "a process which was tainted with many incidents including arrests, imprisonments and killings". "We reject these results and we will file a complaint because the process was marred by lot of irregularities, even during the counting of the votes," he said. Opposition campaign workers had been terrorised and refused access to polling stations, he added. Rights groups said campaigning and the vote itself took place in a climate of fear and intimidation. The government had denied the vote would be anything but free and fair. In Washington, the U.S. State Department said the government had allowed vigorous campaigning by the opposition during the designated two-week campaign period. "But numerous cases of harassment and repression of referendum opponents in the months preceding the vote contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. She also condemned Burundi's suspension of broadcasts by the BBC and Voice of America two weeks before the referendum. "This decision along with other media restrictions, arbitrary arrests, and harsh sentences for human rights defenders signals continuing limitations on civic and political space in Burundi," Nauert said. Burundi ranks 159th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index compiled by the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders. Nkurunziza, 54, is a former rebel leader who came to power in 2005 at the end of a long civil war in which 300,000 died. The East African country has broadly the same ethnic make-up as neighboring Rwanda, where 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by Hutu extremists in a 1994 genocide. Nkurunziza was due to step down in 2015 but early that year announced he was seeking a third term, triggering deadly clashes with his opponents and a political and security crisis that has gripped the country of 10 million since. (Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Alison Williams and David Stamp)Bujumbura (Burundi) (AFP) - Burundians have overwhelmingly voted for constitutional reforms bolstering President Pierre Nkurunziza's powers and giving him the option to stay in power until 2034, official results showed Monday.

Election commission chief Pierre-Claver Ndayicariye said 73 percent of voters had voted "Yes" in a referendum to change the constitution, and 19 percent had voted "No."

The turnout was 96 percent, he said.

The results -- which exclude figures from the diaspora representing 0.27 percent of the vote -- are provisional and must be validated by the constitutional court within nine days.

Observers had widely expected the reforms to pass, partly due to support Nkurunziza still holds in rural areas, but also due to a three-year crackdown on dissent.

Nkurunziza, 54, who has been in power since 2005, plunged his tiny east African nation into crisis in 2015 when he sidestepped a constitutional two-term limit, arguing his first term came after an election by parliament.

The move sparked angry protests, a government crackdown, coup attempt and widespread abuses which prompted the International Criminal Court to launch a probe into the atrocities.

This angered Burundi, which became the first country to withdraw from the ICC.

At least 1,200 people have died and 400,000 been displaced, according to the ICC.

The constitutional reforms, which include measures that hand more power to Nkurunziza and his ruling CNDD-FDD, change term limits to seven years, meaning he could start again from scratch in 2020.

Critics say the referendum has struck a death blow to the Arusha peace deal, signed in 2000.

The accord ended Burundi's 1993-2006 civil war and ushered in measures to ensure power would not be concentrated in either the hands of the majority Hutu or minority Tutsi, after decades of violence between the communities.Celebrity chef Mario Batali is reportedly under investigation by the New York Police Department for sexual misconduct after former staffers at a restaurant Batali invested in alleged that he assaulted unconscious women at a New York City restaurant.

The ongoing criminal probe was reported by CBS 60 Minutes on Sunday evening.

Speaking on the show, women employed at the Spotted Pig, where Batali is an investor, said the restaurateur was given the code name the Red Menace because he frequently groped and harassed the waitresses.

One woman, who was interviewed in silhouette to protect her identity, said she was invited to a party at The Spotted Pig. She told 60 Minutes of an incident in 2005 where she remembered drinking white wine alone with him before things got foggy.

I remember a moment where I was on his lap, kissing him. Like, he was kissing me. And then I remember throwing up  in a toilet, she said.

Around dawn, she woke up on the floor and said she found semen on her skirt.

The first thing I think is, Ive been drugged. That was the first thing I thought is, Ive been  Ive been assaulted,' she said.

After calling a crisis hotline, the unidentified woman went to a hospital, but declined to file a police report, so her rape kit was never processed.

A young actress, no resources, no money. I couldnt. I I couldnt do it, she said.

In a statement to 60 Minutes, Batali said he vehemently denies assaulting the woman in 2005.

A former manager at The Spotted Pig, Jamie Seet, said she witnessed a separate incident three years later. Via surveillance footage, Seet said she saw Batali assaulting an unconscious woman at the restaurant, and intervened to stop it.

He crossed a line. A huge, a huge line assaulting someone thats unconscious, Seet said, adding that she regrets not going to the police.

After four women accused Batali of sexual misconduct in October 2017  the same month that the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke  the 57-year-old chef and TV personality stepped away from the day-to-day operations at his restaurant empire and cooking show The Chew. Batali remains the owner of his restaurants.

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B&B Hospitality Group said in a statement on Tuesday that it was ending its partnership with Batali after the 60 Minutes report.

These allegations are chilling and deeply disturbing. This was the first we learned of them, the group said in a statement Monday, adding that the group is actively negotiating with Batali to buy his interests in the restaurants and hope to have terms settled by July 1. We remain focused on two priorities: ensuring that our employees work with equal opportunity and freedom from discrimination; and continuing to give our guests amazing dining experiences.

Correction: The original version of this story misstated which group of women called Batali the red menace. They were staffers at the Spotted Pig, not staffers at one of the restaurants he owns. (Batali is an investor in the Spotted Pig but not the owner.)Patrick Mendis, Joey Wang

Security, Asia

Temple of Heaven. Flickr / FL Programs

China is not the first nation guilty of intellectual property infringements. Nor will it be the last.

How China Plans to Dominate the Global Economy: Copy America

Even if the ongoing trade negotiations between China and the United States dont look like a trade war, they certainly can be interpreted to be the events leading up to one. In partial response to the Section 301 investigation into Chinese infringements of intellectual property rights (IPRs), the White House Office of U.S. Trade Representative has recommended the application of an additional 25 percent tariff on $50 billion worth of Chinese products. In the meantime, China has applied its own list of U.S. products subject to tariffs up to 25 percent. For starters, China has already stopped buying soybeans from the United States, according to Soren Schroder, CEO of Bunge Ltd., an American agribusiness and food company in New York.

At this point, the Trump administration appears to have drawn the forward edge of the battle area. However, there seems to be a lack of consensus within the Trump administration on the most effective approach to the desired ends. Before the tit-for-tat escalates into a trade war, there are a few points President Donald Trump should consider without losing Americas credibility.

Lessons from American History

China is not the first nation guilty of intellectual property infringements. Nor will it be the last. Historically, the velocity and trajectory of a countrys intellectual property lawsas well as its respect and observance for those of other nationswill be based on its level of economic development, and how it views the furtherance of its economic interests. Put another way, these are the historical tensions between producers of intellectual property, and whose possession of such grants them greater access to products, and importers of intellectual property who are granted less access to products.

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America in its formative years is a case in point. As a young developing nation, it refused to respect international intellectual property rights on the grounds that it was freely entitled to foreign works to further its social and economic development.

Early America not only stole British designs, but also smuggled in skilled British craftsman. Having fought so hard for their independence, Americans believed that the British intellectual property regime were simply a pseudo-colonial ploy to force the United States to serve as a ready source of raw materials and as a captive market for low-end manufactures. One could imagine the Chinese thinking the same thing today.

In the 1830s, the Carne brothers would discover a burgeoning tranche of middle-class consumers who, while not able to purchase high-end goods from Europe, still had some disposable income for affordable luxury. They sent some of their high-end luxury goods to China where they could be mass produced at a much lower cost, then had those goods imported back to the United States in quantities.

Between 1790 and 1836, when the United States was a net importer of technology, the issuance of patents were restricted to U.S. citizens and residents. Even as late as 1836, patents fees for foreigners were ten times greater than for U.S. citizens (and two thirds as much again if one was British!) The U.S. Commissioner of Patents would note in 1858 that the fees were as significant as it is deplorable. It was not until 1861 when foreigners would be treated on an (almost wholly) non-discriminatory basis.

Following the Japanese History

Those that would rail against China for all things Made in China would do well to recall the 1970s when people railed against everything Made in Japan.

In the devastating aftermath of World War II, Japan would profit handsomely from the Cold War that was heating up. With Chairman Mao Zedongs takeover of mainland China, the United States faced a two-front Communist threat from both China and the Soviet Union. Consequently, the United States made great efforts to keep Japan out of the Soviet sphere. With financial aid as well as military and political protection, the United States kept its markets open to Japans goods while allowing Japan to severely limit access to its own economy.

Under this arrangement, Japan obtained nylon from DuPont, nuclear power from General Electric and Westinghouse, the transistor from Bell Laboratories, and television tubes from Corning Inc. Licensed U.S. intellectual property contributed the technological basis for nearly all of Japans modern industries. Companies such as IBM and Texas Instruments not only shared their technology with Japan, they also set up factories there. Over the course of the postwar years from 1946 to 1976, the Japanese economy expanded fifty-five-fold.

Yet, for all these advantages, the 1980s still saw Texas Instruments battle with Japan over semiconductors, Honeywell vs. Minolta over automatic focusing, Corning Glass vs. Sumitomo over fiber optics, as well as an FBI sting where Hitachi engineers were caught red-handed stealing hard disk hardware from an IBM plant, and numerous other cases.

The Learning Nation of China

The history of Chinese intellectual property has only progressed in fits and starts. In the twentieth century, between invasions from Japan, World War II, and internecine warfare, patents in China had virtually no real protections; consequently, while patent laws did exist during this period, China had virtually no tradition of patent protection entering the modern era,

When the Communists assumed power in 1949, they rejected the entire corpus of Kuomintang (i.e., KMT or Nationalists) law and began to develop a new legal system based largely on the Soviet model, which, with respect to intellectual property, resonated with the fledgling Chinese communists because in large measure the values under[lying] the Soviet model reflected traditional Chinese attitudes toward intellectual property.

It was not until the 1980swhich is when China became a member of the World Intellectual Property Organizationthat it began to strengthen its intellectual property framework and enact comprehensive laws that governed the protection of these rights.

Is China Emulating America?

With or without tariffs, or whatever punitive measures the Trump administration decides to take, China will likely continue violating intellectual property rights until it decides that doing so is no longer in their economic interest. The China scholar Frederick Abbott has claimed that the infringement of intellectual property will fuel economic development until the country reaches the point where IPR protection becomes economically advantageous to a sufficiently strong set of domestically vested interests. While the velocity through this development period may be different from country to country, there are no exceptions to passing through this phase during the nascent stage of a nations development.

In fact, this has been the case with the United States and Japan. Former senior economist with the White House Council of Economic Advisers and Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary Christine McDaniel has indicated that decades of U.S. pressure had little effect on Japanese behavior. Only when domestic firms found themselves suffering at the hands of local copycats did the Japanese government decide to significantly strengthen Japans intellectual property rights. Likewise, Draconian British measures had little effect on the young America.

China is likely in transition from a supplicant to a competitor in intellectual property. The problem here is that, unlike Japan, China is not only an economic competitor, it is an ideological competitor.

There is no question that the United States should challenge China because IPRs have not only emerged as legal properties in the form of patents, copyrights, and trademarks to promote American ingenuity and innovation, but it also develop an equitable global trading system. Rather than using a blunt instrument like tariffs, however, President Trump would be more effective by coordinating with U.S. friends and allies to apply unified pressure on Beijing, albeit, a good start might be not alienating them. In the meantime, as McDaniel asserts, China may someday change its ways, but dont count on that happening until it is good and ready.

Patrick Mendis, is a former American diplomat and the author of Commercial Providence, Trade for Peace, and Peaceful War, and a previous Rajawali senior fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is currently an associate-in-research at the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies at Harvard University.

Joey Wang is a defense analyst. Both are alumni of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Image: Temple of Heaven. Flickr / FL Programs

Read full articleBEIJING (Reuters) - China's powerful new vice president, Wang Qishan, will visit Russia and Belarus starting this week, China's foreign ministry said on Monday, his first overseas trip since being appointed in March. Wang, 69, a key ally of President Xi Jinping and China's one-time top graft buster, should have retired last year during a leadership reshuffle of the ruling Communist Party, but Xi has kept him on to add extra heft to Chinese diplomacy. While he is expected to take a key role in managing tricky ties with Washington, having previously overseen annual economic talks with the United States, that will not be his first foreign visit since becoming vice president. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing that Wang would attend the St Petersburg forum in Russia and also go to Belarus, on the May 24-29 trip. While in Belarus, he will tour a project that is part of Xi's signature Belt and Road initiative, Lu added, an ambitious scheme to build infrastructure to connect China to Asia and beyond. China has close ties with both Russia and Belarus. However Wang could go to the United States soon too. A U.S. official said it may happen in the middle of the year, where he may sign a agreement on trade following a bitter spat between the two countries that both are trying to put behind them. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)Suspected serial killer Arthur Ream said he thinks police in Macomb Township, Mich., owe him an apology for accusing him of murdering four to six girls who have been missing for decades.

Ream, a 69-year-old convicted killer, spoke to the Detroit Free Press from prison last week  admitting that he raped a teenager in the 1970s, but claiming he isnt the serial killer police have described him as recently.

Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer told the local Detroit paper police had new information that led them to believe Ream may have killed and buried some or all of the missing girls in an area 30 miles outside of Detroit. The new intel was based partially on information they recently received from inmates who are currently in prison with Ream, who claimed he boasted about killing other girls.

We have a responsibility and with the information developed, we had cause to reason the bodies of several young girls were buried at 23 (Mile) and North, Dwyer told the Free Press.

The Warren police dug for the girls remains on a property in Macomb Township, but didnt find anything after several days of searching. The missing girls all disappeared between 1970 and 1982, and ranged in age from 12 to 17, according to the Free Press.

Dwyer said he and the rest of the police department have no plans to apologize to Ream.

If anybody owes an apology, its him and thats why hes in prison for life for murder and rape, Dwyer told the Detroit Free Press. Why would law enforcement  the Warren Police Department, the FBI, the Michigan State Police  apologize to him? This was a task force. We all believe we have the probable cause. I said our suspect. I always used the word suspect. I never used his name.

The suspected serial killer denies any involvement in the disappearance of the girls, but is known for toying with police and playing mind games. Ive never had anything to do with any of them, Ream said to the Free Press on Thursday. Theres absolutely no connection between me and them at all.

Ream has a history of raping and manipulating young girls, and was already serving a 15-year prison sentence after being convicted of molesting a 14-year-old girl when he was handed his life sentence for murdering Zarzycki, according to the New York Post. Ream was convicted of first degree murder for killing his sons 13-year-old girlfriend, Cindy Zarzycki, in 1978. He ultimately lead police to her body and showed them where she was buried in 2008.ZAGREB (Reuters) - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Monday he was proposing Darko Horvat as Croatia's new economy minister after Martina Dalic quit last week over her handling of the crisis at Agrokor [AGROK.UL], the country's biggest private firm. Agriculture Minister Tomislav Tolusic has been nominated to take over Dalic's role as deputy prime minister. "We're expecting a parliamentary vote on the nomination at the end of the week," Plenkovic told reporters. Horvat was entrepreneurship minister in a former government led by the HDZ party of which he and Plenkovic are members, which fell apart in 2016. Dalic stepped down on May 14 under pressure from opposition groups who accused her of failing to prevent conflicts of interest during the restructuring of food producer and retailer Agrokor, the Balkans' biggest employer. Weighed down by debt accrued during an ambitious expansion drive, Agrokor was put under state-run administration a year ago. Creditors including banks, bondholders and suppliers, are working with the company's crisis management team on a settlement deal which must be reached before July 10, a legal deadline for avoiding Agrokor's bankruptcy. (Reporting by Igor Ilic; Editing by Catherine Evans)David Hogg, pictured at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., on March 24. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)

Gun control advocate David Hogg called on the press to stop using the name and image of the 17-year-old student who police say carried out the mass shooting at a Texas high school on Friday.

We make these sick people known worldwide for their horrifying acts, lets stop that, Hogg tweeted Sunday. The teen survived Februarys school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

I dont know the shooters name and dont want to. If you agree, anytime you see a post with their name or face from news organizations post #NoNotoriety with one of the victim's names. We make these sick people known worldwide for their horrifying acts, lets stop that.  David Hogg (@davidhogg111) May 20, 2018

A gunman killed 10 people and injured at least 13 in Fridays shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. Local law enforcement said the shooter used two weapons during the attack: a shotgun and a .38 revolver, both of which police believe he obtained from his father. The suspect was arrested on charges of capital murder and aggravated assault on a public servant.

Hoggs call echoes that of Anderson Cooper, who said on his CNN show Friday night that he would not be naming the shooter during the program.

The name of the alleged killer will not be said nor will his face be shown. The only thing he deserves is justice. His victims deserve far better, Cooper said.

On our program it is the stories of the survivors and victims we tell, explains Anderson Cooper



"The name of the alleged killer will not be said nor will his face be shown. The only thing he deserves is justice. His victims deserve far better" https://t.co/4EjkUcA2gD  Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) May 19, 2018

The call is consistent with warnings from advocates and mental health experts who caution that excessive media coverage of a shooter can motivate copycats who seek fame or notoriety. School shooting survivors and gun control advocates have launched campaigns such as No Notoriety and Dont Name Them that have gotten support from law enforcement, including the FBI.

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Student survivors of the Parkland shooting have shared their support for the Santa Fe High School community. In an op-ed published in USA Today, Stoneman Douglas student Eden Hebron shared advice with the survivors of Sante Fe.

The Stoneman Douglas community will be here for you, whenever you need someone to talk to. Or someone who will listen to you, Hebron wrote. Know that the entire country is here for you. The news may slow down, but youd be surprised by the support you have from all of us.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) at a news conference in March. They unveiled a slate of anti-corruption measures Monday. (Photo: Aaron Bernstein/Reuters)

Democrats are planning to make Washington corruption a central focus of their midterm messaging, reviving a successful theme from when they took control of Congress in 2006.

The anti-corruption push is the second part of Democrats A Better Deal platform. The first part, released last summer, focused on an economic agenda. The newest part is A Better Deal for Our Democracy, which puts forward proposals to increase access to the ballot box, fight special interests and combat big money through campaign finance reform.

The new initiative will center on both President Donald Trumps administration and the culture in Congress that gives access to lobbyists and corporations. Trumps Cabinet officials, including Environmental Protection Agency leader Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, have drawn a torrent of negative headlines over allegations of unethical behavior, travel practices and ties to special interests. The presidents hotel in downtown D.C., in particular, has been the subject of several lawsuits.

Congress has to rein in the excesses of the executive branch, Democrats argue, and the current crop of Republican leaders arent going to do it.

Democrats unveiled their agenda Monday during a press conference on Capitol Hill. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) were joined by other lawmakers who have been working on these issues, including Rep. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

President Trump has become the swamp and Americans are paying the price. The American people deserve better, Pelosi said at the press conference, citing the Trump administrations failure to reduce the price of prescription drugs and its repeal of numerous Obama-era regulations concerning air and water.

Schumer similarly lamented that Trump had failed to take on the powerful pharmaceutical industry, which is something he promised to do while on the campaign trail.

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The Senate minority leader also pointed to the presidents personal attorney, Michael Cohen, as an example of how influence peddling and special interests had consumed the Trump administration. Following the 2016 election, Cohen leveraged his relationship with Trump to receive millions of dollars from companies eager for insight into his administration.

The swamp has never been more foul than under this president, Schumer said.

Democrats said they would bring accountability and transparency back to Washington by providing aggressive oversight of the Trump administration and by toughening the nations campaign finance laws in order to stem the flow of anonymous political spending known as dark money.

President Donald Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt on June 1, 2017, after announcing the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

This focus on corruption is a revival of the partys successful messaging from the 2006 elections, when Democrats took control of the House and Senate from Republicans. They hammered away at the GOPs culture of corruption, cronyism and incompetence.

In that election cycle, the GOP was besieged by scandals amongst House members. The most famous was the Mark Foley scandal, which involved Republican congressman from Florida sending sexually explicit text messages to teenage boys.

When that news broke in September 2006, Republicans knew they were doomed. But other scandals had been dripping out bit by bit in the prior months.

Choking your mistress. Touching little boys. Taking money from the Russians. Questionable business dealings, said a GOP strategist who worked at the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2006 and requested anonymity to speak candidly. You name it, we had it. On and on, never ended.

Pelosi has been testing out the anti-corruption message since at least April; for example, she went after Pruitt for being a part of the Trump Administrations culture of corruption, cronyism and incompetence.

But it remains to be seen how much of this push will actually trickle down to the districts. While Democratic candidates have been talking about the tax law and its benefits for big corporations and lobbyists, they so far have not been focusing on Trump and the problems in his administration. Its rare to hear candidates talk about Trump in swing districts, with much more of the focus there resting on policy issues such as health care and gun control.

This article has been updated with comment from Mondays press conference.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.The Rev. Robert Jeffress (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images, Erich Schlegel/Getty Images, Getty Images, Sebastian Scheiner/AP)

Say what you will about Robert Jeffress, the controversial Dallas preacher who gave the opening prayer at the dedication of the American Embassy in Jerusalem last week, he sticks by his beliefs.

An event in the Jewish state, attended by a great number of Jewish people, might have been an occasion to recant or modify or explain his view that Jews are all going to hell. Jeffress thinks the same thing about Muslims and Mormons, describing the Mormon religion as a heresy from the pit of hell. And those are just the monotheistic faiths. I shudder to imagine what he thinks of, say, Hindus.

Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem, Mitt Romney tweeted, a view also held by the Anti-Defamation League, which called Jeffress an unrepentant religious bigot who has a history of making hateful comments about Jews, Muslims, Christian and other religions. Jeffress is a prominent Trump supporter who has prayed with the president in the Oval Office; after several days during which questions about who had invited him to the embassy ceremony went unanswered, the State Department said the invitation came from the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman.

Friedman presumably doesnt think all Jews, himself included, are going to hell. But Jeffress confirmed to me, in a phone call, that he does. The belief that salvation only comes through belief in Christ has been the historic teaching of Christianity for 2,000 years, Jeffress said. Jesus, Peter and Paul all were Jews, so how can Christianity be anti-Semitic? Next to Jews themselves  in fact, exceeding many American Jews themselves  evangelicals are among Israels strongest supporters. I could not walk down the streets of Jerusalem without Israelis stopping me and saying thank you for your support, Jeffress told me. At dinner Prime Minister Netanyahu said Im grateful for the support of evangelical Christians. He knows what evangelicals believe.

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What they actually believe is that establishment of the Jewish state is a necessary precursor to the second coming and the unanimous acceptance by the Jews of Christ (skipping a great many intermediate steps, as foretold in the Book of Revelation, some of which go by the ominous word tribulation). Netanyahu presumably doesnt share that belief about the end times, which is why hes happy to accept the help of evangelicals in the present. As for hell, hes probably willing to risk it because Jewish theology isnt built around salvation and doesnt subscribe to the Christian view of the afterlife. I dont care what Jeffress thinks will happen to me after I die, and I suspect Netanyahu feels the same way.

The ADL does care, though, about beliefs that might be shared by a quarter of the American population. Rabbi David Sandmel, the organizations director of interfaith affairs, explained to me that one of the problems with the idea that Jews are not saved, cant be saved, is its connection to other issues in classical anti-Semitism: the Jewish rejection of Jesus, the idea that the Jews killed Jesus. Its part of that narrative, the narrative that has provided the excuse for inquisitions and expulsions and bloodletting from the Middle Ages onward.

Its a theological conundrum, an intellectual challenge, an instance of cognitive dissonance that would throw lesser minds than Jeffresss into turmoil. To refuse to accept Christ is a grave offense to the worldview of evangelicals. How does one square that with support for the Jewish state and friendships with individual Jews? Can you be friends with someone who, by his own choice, will burn in hell for eternity? Can your children? Cant they find someone else to play with?

Former Rep. Michele Bachmann was also in Israel for the embassy dedication, and took the occasion to apologize for what she described as ignorant comments she has made about Jews. This was evidently a reference to an interview in 2015 in which she called for converting as many Jews as we can in order to speed the return of Christ. Whats wrong with that? Converting Jews, and everyone else, is a central tenet of the faith. The National Association of Evangelicals has a four-point definition of evangelicalism, one of which is It is very important for me personally to encourage non-Christians to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior. (Another is Only those who trust in Jesus Christ alone as their Savior receive Gods free gift of eternal salvation, which puts a positive spin on Jews are going to hell but amounts to the same thing.) Christian broadcaster Rick Wiles was having none of Bachmanns backsliding ecumenicism. (Shame on you Michele Bachmann! Youve denied the Lord Jesus Christ.)

So I say, stick to your guns, evangelicals. Dont be like that other Texas pastor who also spoke at the embassy dedication, John Hagee. Hagees endorsement of John McCain for president in 2008 caused McCain acute embarrassment when the Catholic League called attention to Hagees record of referring to the Vatican as the great whore and Catholicism as a false cult system. McCain disavowed Hagees remarks and Hagee apologized. Hagee shares Jeffresss appreciation of Judaism for hastening its own extinction by establishing a Jewish state, but with a twist. He gave credit to Hitler as an instrument of Gods will in driving Jews out of Europe and back to what would become Israel. He apologized for that too, even while maintaining that it was a view supported by a passage in the Book of Jeremiah.

If its in a holy book, then you dont have to apologize for it! Thats also the position of Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who is the chief rabbi for Israels Sephardic community (comprising immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa). The evening before the embassy dedication, Yosef spoke at a reception for the American delegation and hailed Trump as a king of kindness. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who were there representing the White House, approached Yosef for a blessing, according to reports in the Israeli media. This was less than two months after the Israeli Justice Ministry launched an investigation of Yosef for possible incitement to racism over a sermon that, in elucidating an obscure point of religious practice, referred in passing to a black child as a monkey. The ADL also denounced the remark as utterly unacceptable, but Yosefs spokesman said he was merely citing the Talmud. (Contacted by Yahoo News, Avka Zana, the head of the unit that launched the investigation, said he couldnt comment last week.)

Its enough to make one miss Christopher Hitchens, whose mantra, in his atheist manifesto God Is Not Great was religion poisons everything. Hitchens died in 2011 and went wherever atheists go after death, but if he were alive today he could have gotten a whole other book out of the Jerusalem embassy affair.

Read more from Yahoo News:Windsor (United Kingdom) (AFP) - There was silence in Windsor as thousands of well-wishers listened to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle say their vows -- then the crowd erupted into cheers and popped prosecco corks as they were declared husband and wife.

Crowds of colourful royal enthusiasts from around the world flocked to the historic British town on Saturday, many of them gathering on the tree-lined avenue leading up to the castle.

People from as far afield as Canada, Australia and the Philippines waved Union Jack flags, donned tiaras, royal t-shirts hats and scarves, cheering and dancing as they watched the ceremony on big screens.

"She looks beautiful -- it's a timeless dress," said Denise Show, 46, from southeast England, as Markle emerged in a white sculpted gown with a long veil stretching out behind her.

When the choir in St George's Chapel sang "Stand by Me", the crowds outside joined in. The Long Walk was transformed into a sea of Union Jack flags when the national anthem played.

"It's like a dream," said Theodora Torres, 71, who came from Los Angeles with her husband.

Harry and Meghan drew huge cheers as they went past in an open-topped horse-drawn carriage after the wedding, escorted by soldiers in gleaming ceremonial uniforms.

- 'Much more diverse' -

Three royal fans in their 50s in wedding dresses waited for the prince at the castle gates, with signs on their backs saying: "Harry I'm here."

"My husband knows I'm here but he doesn't know what I'm wearing," joked Lorraine Rains, 57, from St Helens in northwest England.

Karen Long, from the US state of Texas, said she felt compelled to come to Britain for the big occasion given Markle's American nationality.

"I feel like she is one of us!" she said. "We all wanted to be a princess, we thought we couldn't and there she is, breaking all the barriers."

Leslie Owusu, an English teacher from nearby High Wycombe, who was sporting an African tapestry over her white dress, came with her 10-year-old son Prince.

Story continues

"It was magical. It's been a historic, epic day for two amazing individuals to ignite a new generation of the royal family.

"It's a union of different cultures. You've got America and England and a fusion of two people that love people and life. It makes that global appeal so much more diverse," she said.

Two Canadians wore maple leaf onesies, while others were clad from head to foot in the British and American flags as a town crier barked out a congratulatory message.

"We have travelled a long way for a very, very exciting event," said Jessica Kirsopp, a 31-year-old childcare worker from Australia.

"It's something that is probably not going to happen for a little bit, until (Prince Harry's young nephew Prince) George gets married or there's another coronation."

- Fanatics camped out -

Some of the most fanatical supporters camped for days, seeking to secure the best spots to watch the happy couple ride by.

"I know it is going to sound very creepy but I would love to touch them -- just shake their hand," said Kristen Henry, 34, a radio host who had travelled from Australia.

Armed police, sniffer dogs and airport-style security scanners were deployed throughout the town, while huge barriers were hauled into place to prevent a vehicle attack.

Police patrolling the parade route Saturday were applauded by crowds, as snipers took up positions on numerous roofs.

Adele McNally, 67, one of the "royal ambassadors", volunteers drawn from the local community to assist spectators, said she was happy to miss out on seeing the ceremony and procession in order to help.

"Being a part of it will be lovely," she said. "It's what being British is all about."

Lesley Ward, 62, from Gosport in southern England, said: "It was such a whole fabulous package."

One of the largest cheers from the crowds came when Prince Charles stepped forward to accompany Markle down the aisle, after her own father Thomas pulled out due to ill-health.

However, she made part of the journey through the church on her own -- something many in the crowd applauded.

"I think that shows she is a strong independent woman and it puts (a) great message across," said student Mary Grimes, 19.

There were also audible sighs when the big screen focused on Markle's mother Doria Ragland, who was visibly moved by the ceremony.Nothing makes a wedding more magical than drilling down into some search engine data. Real fairy-tale stuff.

SEE ALSO: Bishop Michael Curry brought passion and fire to the Royal Wedding

Google trends released some stats pertaining to people's Google searches about the royal wedding and it's a snapshot into what people were really intersted in.

Interestingly, the US was curious to know... what on earth is a fascinator?!

The #RoyalWedding2018 guests did not disappoint with their outfit choices.



Americans found the choice of head gear especially fascinating... pic.twitter.com/FpWH23w18X  GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) May 19, 2018

Just to clarify, a fascinator is a fancy doodad you wear on your head when you go somewhere posh. Sort of like a less functional hat. Technically the dress-code for the wedding stipulated that hats be worn rather than fascinators, but some people were just born to be rebels.

Google trends also revealed that although Harry and Meghan have become the most searched royals since their engagement, the Google crown still belongs to William and Kate, who got married in 2011.

Image: Google trends

They did however overtake President Trump for one glorious moment.

Image: Google trends

The data Google revealed about UK users was a touch more typical. Brits wanted to get some of the basic deets about the new Duchess of Sussex (spoiler, it's Meghan Markle).

Today #MeghanMarkle becomes the Duchess of Sussex. These are the top questions on the bride since guests began arriving at the #RoyalWedding2018 pic.twitter.com/5UzanofRhT  GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) May 19, 2018

And of course the groom got a look-in too.

Story continues

Congratulations to #PrinceHarry and #MeghanMarkle! These are the top questions on the groom since guests began arriving at the #RoyalWedding2018 pic.twitter.com/de99HhpBp7  GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) May 19, 2018

The guests also got a name-check, not to mention a good ranking.

The guests have arrived and it's almost time for the #RoyalWedding2018 to start! These are the top-searched guests in the last hour. pic.twitter.com/rxD5iVfyIK  GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) May 19, 2018

Sorry Clooners, you're just not as interesting as Queen Liz.

The venue also got a tonne of search-love.

As guests arrive at the #RoyalWedding2018, these are the top questions about the venue, Windsor Castle pic.twitter.com/SHpmwbLz2G  GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) May 19, 2018

What really matters more, the history of Windsor castle or fluffy head-ornaments? I think we all know the answer.The father of a Pakistani exchange student who was killed in the Santa Fe, Texas high school shooting said he hopes his daughters death leads to gun reform in the U.S.

Sabika Sheikh, 17, was one of 10 people killed by Santa Fe High School student Dimitrios Pagourtzis in a mass shooting on Friday. Sheikhs father said she came to the U.S. because she wanted to work in civil service or become a diplomat to help foster a stronger relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.

Sabikas case should become an example to change the gun laws, Aziz Sheikh, Sabikas father, told Reuters. I want this to become a base on which the people over there can stand and pass a law to deal with this. Ill do whatever I can, he said.

Sheikh told Reuters that his daughter loved Texas and was grateful for the opportunity to study abroad. He added that she had been excited to meet new people, especially her teachers.

Noting that while the U.S. has suffered a number of school shootings in recent years, Sheikh said the possibility of his daughter being killed in a mass shooting never crossed his mind.

One should not lose his heart by such kind of incidents, he told the Associated Press. One should not stop going for education to the U.S. or U.K., or China, or anywhere. One must go for education undeterred. But controlling such incidents is the responsibility of the respective governments.

Prior to the shooting, Sabika had been living the U.S. for about six months through the YES exchange program for Muslim students, paid for by the U.S. State Department. She was scheduled to return to Pakistan on June 9, according to Reuters.Pau (France) (AFP) - French police have arrested three people after a man was beaten to death in broad daylight by a gang of teenagers in Pau, a town in southern France.

A 32-year-old was murdered early on Friday evening in a notorious area of the town by a group of youths, whom witnesses described as being in their early teens and aged 16-17 at most.

The victim, who had a history of violent crime and drug dealing, was repeatedly kicked and punched by a group of up to 12 teenagers, and was also beaten with a plastic chair leg and a piece of wood in front of horrified witnesses, local media reported.

Pau prosecutor Cecile Gensac confirmed Monday that three people had been arrested over the murder of the victim, a French national born in Burkina Faso in west Africa who had moved from Paris to Pau in recent years.

"The man died Friday in the street in an area of Pau after a group attacked him," Gensac told AFP.

The housing estate in the Saragosse area of Pau, where the crime took place, is known for its high crime rate and is typical of many deprived, high-immigration urban neighbourhoods in France.

But murders committed by minors are rare and the man's death on a grassy public area was widely reported on Monday, with Le Parisien newspaper describing it as a "terrifying lynching."

"They're very young: 12, 13, 14 years old. It's a gang around here that smokes weed, that causes problems," one local told La Republique des Pyrenees newspaper.

The death came as French President Emmanuel Macron prepares to unveil his long-awaited strategy for tackling the entrenched social problems found in many poor areas in the country's towns and cities.

The 40-year-old leader has faced criticism from some associations for failing to put tackling crime, unemployment, poverty and Islamism at the heart of his agenda since his election in May 2017.

- 'Doing badly' -

Presidential aides have said Macron will avoid announcing a new strategy based on massive increases in public spending.

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"The aim is not to reinvent grand projects" that are "top-down", an aide told reporters last week, but to "be efficient and succeed in bringing on board locals" to encourage community projects.

Macron is likely to insist on his government's record of investing in schools in poor areas, creating a new community police service for crime-hit zones, and economic reforms which he believes will generate more jobs.

A host of local lawmakers from the hardest-hit urban areas of France have warned about the problems of crime, poverty and Islamism that blight the lives of local families.

The mayor of the gang-plagued region of Seine-Saint-Denis north of Paris published a column at the weekend urging Macron not to miss the opportunity to send a signal about his intentions.

"The suburbs are doing badly," wrote Laurent Russier.

Ten people were in police custody on Monday in Seine-Saint-Denis after a 41-year-old man was stabbed to death at the weekend in a shop.Hundreds of people are expected to attend the funeral Sunday in Texas of Sabika Sheikh, the young Pakistani exchange student killed in a mass shooting Friday at a high school, organizers told AFP.

The somber ceremony is to take place at an Islamic center in the Texas town of Stafford, not far from Santa Fe High School, where the shooting took place, the Islamic Society of Greater Houston said in a statement.

The funeral is scheduled for 2 pm (1900 GMT).

Ten people -- eight students and two teachers -- were killed Friday when a shooter identified by police as 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis opened fire with a shotgun and a handgun before surrendering to police.

"We are still in a state of denial. It is like a nightmare," Sheikh's father, Abdul Aziz, told AFP at the family home in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

The young woman, described by her family as an excellent student, had dreamed of working for Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Ministry.

She had been due to return to Karachi in coming weeks in time for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The Islamic Society, in its statement, called the shooting "an act of terror" and said such events "remind us as to what world we live in, where sanctity of life is not valued."

It said it had offered to help with the funeral and the transportation of Sheikh's body back to Pakistan.

Some 60,000 people in Houston, 35 miles (55 kilometers) from Santa Fe, are of Pakistani descent.NEW YORK  Garry Kasparov has a message for those who didnt foresee Russias meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election: I told you so.

Ive been saying many of the same things about Vladimir Putin for over 17 years, Kasparov, the former world chess champion and political activist, said at a conference on activism here Monday. Other attendees included former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, human rights activist Kerry Kennedy and David Hogg, a Florida high school student who has emerged as a gun control advocate.

Kasparov  whose 2015 book, Winter Is Coming, warned of Putins rise as a dictator on the global stage  said he voiced his concerns about the Russian president to anyone who would listen.

Putin is not a democratically elected leader  he is a dictator, Kasparov said, recalling remarks from a 2007 conference he attended in Washington, D.C. I said, yes, Putin was a bad guy. He was Russias problem, but if he wasnt contained, he would be a regional problem  and soon after, everybodys problem.

Kasparov said Russias spread of so-called fake news across American social media networks  part of a disinformation campaign aimed at undermining the U.S. elections  was nothing new for us in Russia.

The sad news is propaganda works, he said. Fake news works.

Garry Kasparov (Photo: Noam Galai/Getty Images)

By the time Putin took aim at the U.S., Kasparov said, his cyber army had more than 10 years of experience in such attacks.

Kasparov  originally from Azerbaijan, the former Soviet republic  has been living in forced exile in New York City since 2013. He did not mention special counsel Robert Muellers ongoing investigation into the Trump campaigns contacts with Russia. But he suggested where theres smoke, theres fire.

Donald Trump had more Russian connections than Aeroflot, Kasparov said in his remarks at the University Club, just two blocks south of Trump Tower. While I believe in coincidences, I also believe in the KGB.

Every country has its own mafia, he continued. In Russia, the mafia has its own country.

Story continues

Still, Kasparov echoed the conclusions of U.S. intelligence officials that the Kremlin will continue to target elections, in the U.S. and abroad.

Putin will attack again, here and elsewhere, Kasparov said. He has no choice. He needs enemies  big ones.

Kasparov said that to combat Putin, Americans must put value in democracy and the truth.

You cant defend yourself against Putin and the Putins of this world if you dont believe what they are attacking is worth defending, he said.

Read more from Yahoo News:Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is expected to endorse New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's re-election campaign. (Photo: Lucas Jackson / Reuters)

Hillary Clinton is expected to hit the campaign trail this week to endorse New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in his re-election campaign.

Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee and former New York senator, is planning on speaking for Cuomo at the state Democratic convention in Long Island on Wednesday, a Cuomo spokeswoman confirmed to HuffPost on Monday.

The endorsement was first reported by The New York Times.

Cuomo faces former Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary. He is expected to receive the Democratic Partys endorsement later this week, The Associated Press reported.

Cynthia Nixon is seen at a campaign stop in Brooklyn in March after announcing her run for governor of New York. (Photo: Shannon Stapleton / Reuters)

A Quinnipiac University survey published earlier this month gave Cuomo a 22-point lead over Nixon.

Clintons endorsement would mark her return to campaigning for a political candidate after her crushing defeat in the 2016 election against President Donald Trump.

Then-Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo is seen with then-New York Senate candidate Hillary Clinton during a Columbus Day Parade in New York in 2000. (Photo: New York Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have a long history with Cuomo and his family. Cuomo served as housing secretary in Bill Clintons administration. He endorsed Hillary Clintons presidential run shortly after it was announced in 2015.

Nixon also expressed support of Clintons presidential campaign that year, telling Bloomberg News: I am definitely a Hillary person.

Clinton also recently recorded an automated phone call that endorses Stacey Abrams for Georgia governor, the Times reported. Abrams is the former Democratic leader in the Georgia House.

This story has been updated with additional details about the relationship between Cuomo and the Clintons.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.Eruptive fissures from Hawaiis Kilauea Volcano have been spreading lava through parts of Leilani Estates near Pahoa since the start of May. The lava has destroyed homes, charred trees and taken out roads in the community. New satellite images provided to the Associated Press by DigitalGlobe, a Maxar company, show how the lava has affected the community as of Monday in comparison to satellite images from nearly a year ago.

Very impressive, dont you think? Meanwhile Hawaiian officials have increased warnings about poisonous gases as lava from Kilauea volcano pours into the ocean.

Follow us: Facebook and Twitter

Digital Globe, WeatherHillary Clinton has publicly mocked US president Donald Trump by pulling out a Russian hat in the middle of a speech at Yale University.

The presidents former Democrat rival brandished the distinctive Ushanka headgear in an apparent dig at Mr Trump over the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links between his campaign and the Kremlin.

During Sunday's speech, Yale alumna Ms Clinton referred to the university's tradition of wearing outlandish hats on graduation day  explaining she had decided to join in.

I see, looking out at you, that you are following the tradition of over-the-top hats so I bought a hat too. A Russian hat, she said, prompting raucous applause from the audience as she raised the furry garment aloft.

In case anyone was in doubt about what she was referring to, the former secretary of State, unexpectedly vanquished by Mr Trump in 2016, added: If you can't beat them, join them.

Ms Clinton also used the speech to address her defeat and explained she still had not come to terms with her loss.

"No, I'm not over it. I still think about the 2016 election. I still regret the mistakes I made, she said. I still think, though, that understanding what happened in such a weird and wild election in American history will help us defend our democracy in the future."

The former First Lady argued American politics was becoming increasingly polarised and appeared to refer to Mr Trump without mentioning him by name.

The radicalisation of American politics hasnt been symmetrical. There are leaders who blatantly incite people with hateful rhetoric, she said.

"Waging a war on the rule of law and a free press, de-legitimizing elections, perpetrating shameless corruption, and rejecting the idea that our leaders should be public servants undermines our national unity.Hitler committed suicide in 1945 as Soviet troops captured Berlin - HULTON ARCHIVE

French researchers claim to have put an end to conspiracy theories surrounding the death of Adolf Hitler, after a study of his teeth proved he definitely died after taking cyanide and shooting himself in the head in Berlin in 1945.

The researchers reached their conclusion after they were given rare access to fragments of Hitlers teeth which have been held in Moscow since the end of World War II.

"The teeth are authentic, there is no possible doubt. Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945," said professor Philippe Charlier.

"We can stop all the conspiracy theories about Hitler. He did not flee to Argentina in a submarine, he is not in a hidden base in Antarctica or on the dark side of the moon," he told AFP news agency.

The teeth were put on display in 2000 in Moscow as part of an exhibition to mark the 55th anniversary of the end of the war.

They were back in the news again last month when the memoirs of a Russian interpreter who worked in Berlin in 1945 were published in English for the first time.

She recounted how she had been tasked with proving Hitler's death by tracking down his dental records in the ruined German capital and seeing if they matched a set of teeth she had been entrusted with - which they did.

In March and July 2017, Russia's FSB secret service and the Russian state archives authorised a team of French researchers to examine Hitlers bones for the first time since 1946, said Professor Charlier, who was one of the scientists chosen.

They were able to look at a skull fragment presented as being from the Fuhrer, which showed a hole on the left side which was in all probability caused by the passage of a bullet.

The scientists were not authorised to take samples from this fragment, they noted in their study published on Friday in the scientific magazine European Journal of Internal Medicine.

The skull fragment's morphology was "totally comparable" to radiographies of Hitler's skull taken a year before his death, the research found.

Story continues

The analysis of the Nazi leader's bad teeth and numerous dentures found white tartar deposits and no traces of meat fibre - the dictator was vegetarian.

The examination of the teeth did not find any traces of powder, which indicates there was not a revolver shot to the mouth, more likely the neck or the forehead.

Equally, bluish deposits seen on his false teeth could indicate a "chemical reaction between the cyanide and the metal of the dentures," the researcher said.

If this study confirms the generally accepted view that Hitler died on the 30 April, 1945, in his Berlin bunker with his companion Eva Braun as the Soviets were capturing the city, it also sheds new light on the exact causes of death, said Mr Charlier.

"We didn't know if he had used an ampule of cyanide to kill himself or whether it was a bullet in the head. It's in all probability both," he said.

Charlier, a specialist in medical and legal anthropology, was also involved in the analysis of the mummified heart of Richard the Lionheart.Sixteen hours after sharing photos of the glamorous Dior gown she wore to the royal wedding reception on Instagram, Priyanka Chopra posted pictures from Bangladesh. And its this quick turnaround from partying with some of the most privileged people on the planet to devoting her precious time to some of the most underprivileged that makes it pretty clear why the Quantico star was invited to Prince Harry and Meghan Markles exclusive evening party  and other A-list attendees were not.

In her most recent post, Chopra is seen wearing a floral headscarf and a white UNICEF T-shirt while surrounded by local young boys and girls from Coxs Bazar, one of the biggest refugee camps in the world.

Story continues

This is an entire generation of children that have no future in sight. Through their smiles I could see the vacancy in their eyes, she shared in the caption, referring to the nearly 700,000 Rohingya people from Myanmar whove been displaced due to the current ethnic cleansing going on in the country. These children are at the forefront of this humanitarian crisis, and they desperately need our help. The world needs to care. We need to care. These kids are our future.

(Photo: @priyankachopra/Instagram)

Chopra said on social media that she traveled right from Markles wedding to Bangladesh for a field visit. Like Chopra, Markle, whos back in London on Monday, is jumping right back into work after tying the knot. And its this shared passion for career and charitable endeavors that has most likely made the pair such close pals.

For all things royal wedding, from details on Meghan Markles dress to cute pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, click here. Want to relive every moment? Watch it all here.Baghdad (AFP) - Iraqi cleric Moqtada Sadr called for an "inclusive" government to be formed quickly, as he sounded out the heads of key parliament factions over a coalition after his shock election win.

The Shiite preacher's Marching Towards Reform alliance scooped 54 seats in an upset at May 12 polls to become the biggest bloc in Iraq's 329-seat parliament.

But Sadr -- whose militia battled American troops after the 2003 US-led invasion -- faces a mammoth task to stitch together a working majority as his demands for less foreign influence in Iraq have stirred tensions with both Washington and Tehran.

In a bid to jumpstart negotiations, Sadr met over the weekend with Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, whose group finished third, and Hadi al-Ameri, whose bloc of pro-Iranian former fighters came second.

After the meetings, the cleric urged "the formation of an inclusive government as quickly as possible" and called for a "nationwide political decision", his office said in a statement Sunday.

Sadr -- whose fighters were once accused of sectarian killings -- has reinvented himself as an anti-graft crusader looking to bridge Iraqi society in alliance with secular leftists.

The election saw a record number of abstentions as Iraqis snubbed the corruption-tarnished elite that has dominated the country since the 2003 toppling of Saddam Hussein.

It is still far from certain that Sadr, who has ruled himself out of becoming the new premier, will be able to ensure his bloc comes to power.

Whoever emerges at the helm will face the huge job of rebuilding a country left shattered just five months after the defeat of the Islamic State group.By Raya Jalabi BAGHDAD, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, whose political bloc was declared the winner of Iraq's parliamentary election, met Hadi al-Amiri, leader of a pro-Iran bloc, on Sunday in what Sadr portrayed as part of an inclusive discussion about government formation. During the meeting, the political rivals discussed the results of the 2018 parliamentary elections, according to a statement from Sadr's office. "The process of government formation must be a national decision and importantly, must include the participation of all the winning blocs," the statement said. Winning the largest number of seats does not automatically guarantee that Sadr will be able to hand-pick a prime minister. As no electoral list won an outright majority, negotiations to form a coalition government are expected to drag on for months. Amiri's Al-Fatih bloc came second. One of the most powerful figures in Iraq, Amiri heads an umbrella of paramilitary groups, and has maintained close ties with Iran for decades. Sadr, a long-time adversary of the United States who also opposes Iranian influence in Iraq, cannot become prime minister because he did not run in the election. However, the victory of his Sairoon bloc puts him in a position to have a strong say in negotiations. Before the election, Tehran publicly stated it would not allow Sadrs bloc to govern close ally Iraq, with which it shares a border. Iran has influenced the choice for prime minister in the past. The meeting with Amiri came less than 24 hours after the populist cleric met with incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, hinting at a possible coalition. Abadi's electoral list trailed Amiri in third place, but he could still emerge as a compromise candidate. Abadi is seen as palatable to all sides because he has managed the competing interests of the United States and Iran - uneasy allies in the war against Islamic State - during his term in office. (Reporting by Raya Jalabi; Editing by Dale Hudson, William Maclean)And the devil said, Thanks a bunch Goldilocks. Enjoy the show in Santa Fe tomorrow. Someday, real soon, Ill have you for dinner. pic.twitter.com/h1G6smzK5t  Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) May 19, 2018

Actor Jim Carreys latest political artwork blasts a Kent State University student who posed with her AR-10 rifle on campus for her graduation photos.

In the photos, Kaitlin Bennetts graduation cap was also decorated with an image of her gun and the words come and take it. She posted the shots on Twitter and they quickly went viral. The university prohibits guns for students, staff and faculty, according to school policy, but state law allows visitors to openly carry guns outdoors on campus, The Washington Post reported.

The Kent State campus became infamous in 1970 when Ohio National Guardsmen shot to death four unarmed students protesting the Vietnam war. Nine other students were injured when the guardsmen opened fire.

Carreys painting shows his version of Bennett, with a gun strapped on her back, in front of a large, macabre face of the devil. Thanks a bunch, Goldilocks, the devil says in Carreys tweeted caption of the painting. Enjoy the show in Santa Fe, the devil adds, apparently referring to Fridays shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, where 10 people were killed. Someday, real soon, Ill have you for dinner.

I have no apologies for my graduation photos. As a woman, I refuse to be a victim & the second amendment ensures that I don't have to be. pic.twitter.com/5CKmQobrMb  Kaitlin Marie (@KaitMarieox) May 15, 2018

Bennett called Carreys painting disgusting. She said he should be in the painting with the devil because youre the one that supports gun control policies that let these kids die.

Story continues

Jim you should be the one in this picture with this caption. You're the one that supports gun control policies that let these kids die. Is this what you have to do because you've become irrelevant? Disgusting. #GunControlKills https://t.co/vl1miG3YmF  Kaitlin Marie (@KaitMarieox) May 19, 2018

Bennetts photos were hugely controversial, particularly because of the deadly violence at Kent State and the recent school gun fatalities. Since the photos went viral, Bennett has complained that she has been the target of blatant racism and death threats.

One of the survivors of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting that killed 17 people in February reminded her in a tweet that the Second Amendment is no guarantee that shell never be a victim.

Sweetie, the second amendment does not ensure that you will not be a victim at ALL. Where are yall getting this false information from???? https://t.co/VNPJNNXeKq  john barnitt (@John_Barnitt) May 17, 2018

Also on HuffPost

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.On Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Oliver took aim at the royal wedding and the exhaustive media coverage of it. As far as the media was concerned, Oliver focused on Gayle King of CBS This Morning and her many tangents, including one of which that was about one of the more memorable parts of the last royal wedding when Prince William married Kate Middleton. Pippa (Middleton) got a lot of attention because everyone was raving about her bottom, and I thought, Is that a big bottom? I don't think so. She got a lot of attention for her bottom that people thought was perfection, King said. Guess that's a matter of opinion. I've seen some big bottoms. I didn't think that was one, but okay. Oliver couldnt have agreed more with King, saying, That's fair. We British people are not exactly known for our taste in butts. The actual Sir Mix-a-Lot was a 16th-century nobleman, so inbred that when a girl walked in with an itty-bitty waist and a round thing in his face, he just sneezed out of his elbow and died. Oliver also had an opinion about Bishop Michael Currys impassioned sermon about love, saying that was the wrong room because the royal family has been so repressed. In fact Oliver made an analogy that only John Oliver could make. Talking to the queen about love is like talking to her about the transformative power of the Taco Bell $5 Chalupa Cravings Box, Oliver said.Its a troubling echo of the Duke lacrosse case.

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster was arrested in February and charged with domestic violence after his former girlfriend, Elissa Ennis, told police he dragged her by the hair, physically removed her from their house, and punched her in her head at least eight times. Among her injuries, Ennis said she suffered a ruptured eardrum.

Then, last week at a shocking courtroom hearing, Ennis recanted her entire account, saying Foster never hit her and she concocted her story for money.

It was all about the money, she said, and that Ennis wanted to end him. She said her ruptured eardrum came not from Foster, but from a previous altercation with a woman.

San Francisco linebacker Reuben Foster, right, will find out Wednesday if hell face a trial for domestic violence charges. (AP)

Ennis even testified under cross-examination that in 2011 she did something similar, trying to get an ex-boyfriend arrested for domestic violence. She said she was jailed for the false accusation.

The turn-of-events is fuel for those who argue that the media is too quick to assail an athlete for domestic or sexual abuse before all the facts have come in. In that sense it is reminiscent of the infamous Duke case from 2006, where members of that team were accused of sexually assaulting a stripper, assumed guilty in the court of public opinion, and then found to be completely innocent.

In this case, 49ers executives were also harshly criticized (including by this writer) for a bland and non-committal statement in response to what sounded like a horrible attack. It is possible the team knew more than it was admitting, and it is possible it was being patient. In either case, the 49ers now appear vindicated.

Judge Nona Klippen may still proceed with the case  she will decide on Wednesday  but the damage has been done. Its been done to Fosters reputation. Its been done to future victims who are telling the truth. Its been done to the many lawyers and social workers who are left with an even more difficult job now. And its been done to the pursuit of a better understanding of domestic violence overall.

Story continues

Fame and fortune almost never comes to those who accuse high-profile athletes of a crime. What often comes to them is venom, pressure, anxiety and sometimes more abuse. To a victim it can seem there are enemies everywhere: on social media, in the police force, in the courtroom, among relatives, and, worst of all, in the home where she lives. Theres a reason domestic violence reporting websites like thehotline.org have two methods on every screen to quickly redirect to Google.com.

Ennis is, tragically, another hindrance to the crucial process of supporting real victims.

Nicole Ford has been a domestic violence attorney in the San Francisco area for more than 14 years. Victims come to her in pursuit of relief and justice, and then as the weeks and months pass, they feel tremendous guilt over the fallout of their actions. They worry about their futures, their children, their families and yes, their abusers. This isnt what I wanted to happen, she so often hears. I just wanted it to stop.

The Ennis fiasco does nothing to help make it stop. It may create more tension and distrust in a difficult relationship. Youve undermined every victim who has come forward, Ford says.

Elissa Ennis, former girlfriend of San Francisco 49er Reuben Foster, says she lied about being assaulted by the linebacker. (AP)

Blame for the media is warranted in episodes like this. This case will surely be fodder for the rising tide of media distrust in America. But the role of the media is no less important now. In a high-profile case, the team and the athlete usually have strong voices and well-compensated representation. The team and the athlete have thousands if not millions of fans who dont want the accusations to be true. The accusers have little or none of that backing. It doesnt mean facts should be ignored, conclusions should be reached immediately, or minds should be closed to new information. It means a lot of powerful people want actual domestic violence to be swept under the rug, and the media can bring needed sunlight.

There is yet another negative effect from this situation, and that is on the rehabilitation of the justly-accused athlete. If an actual perpetrator of domestic abuse is less willing to see flaws in himself, choosing instead to question the motives of his accuser, that may lead to more problems in his career and life. Domestic violence is rarely a one-episode problem, so rehabilitation requires serious work. The Ray Rice incident in 2014, as ugly as it was for the NFL, has led to what seems like a deeper awareness within Rice himself. In his public interviews, he has been accountable, remorseful, and deferent to his wife. If he didnt have to face his own behavior, his entire family may have suffered even more.

It now seems likely that Reuben Fosters career will go on uninterrupted. We can only hope there are no more lies from his ex-girlfriend and there is no more controversy for Foster. (He is still facing a charge of possessing an assault rifle.) We should also hope that everyone from prosecutors to judges to columnists to cops recommit to vigilance. Domestic violence is still a scourge on our society, and it still goes on in the dark corners of quiet neighborhoods all across our country. Ennis is the exception; the rule is far more difficult to fathom. For the benefit of men, women, and children, we cant afford to get it wrong.

More from Yahoo Sports:

 Did LeBron really snub a Trump supporter at Game 3?

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We will always think of Madonnas daughter Lourdes Lola Leon as this big-eyed little beauty.

But on Monday, with the debut of her new ad campaign for the Converse x MadeMe collaboration by designer Erin Magee, she, again, reminded us that  hello!  shes not that little girl. The kiddo  the one Madonna sang Little Star about as a baby  was wearing a big star in the ad as she posed under a hoodie in what Vogue calls the new cool womans uniform (so it must be).

She looked down.

She looked up.

She looked through shades.

And, yes, she showed off her armpit hair.

Thats been her thing  proudly  so suck it internet trolls and other haters. Clearly, she has a rebel heart like her mama  in addition to other traits. We mean  she looks so much like the music icon, but with a uniqueness that is all her own.

The eldest of Madonnas six kids, Lola first teamed up with New York-based by girls, for girls brand MadeMe last year. She offered to shoot this campaign after she saw some drawings in designer Erin Magees office, reports Vogue.

Story continues

The kid weve watched grow up has long been into fashion since she and her mom had the Material Girl line at Macys. Remember her blog? She would write about her moms goofy dancing, share her household rules under the pop queen, including when she would finally be able to dye her hair for the first time, and detailed her summer job folding underwear for Madonna during her MDNA tour. (Is that job on her official resume?!) Lola would also make up words: obsessivo, fabnosity, for rizzle, to the point that she had her own online dictionary.

Birthday  A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Aug 18, 2017 at 7:20pm PDT

Lola previously modeled for Stella McCartney, because celebrity kids modeling apparently sells a lot of clothes. And shes popped up at a few fashion shows, including Jeremy Scotts in September and Alexander Wang with mom.

Lourdes Leon attends the Jeremy Scott 2018 Spring/Summer Presentation on Friday, Sept. 8, 2017, in New York. (Photo: Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP)

Lolas always been an artsy kid since her days at the so-called Fame school (Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts) in New York City, when she starred in musicals  and dated Timothee Chalamet. (Yes, were serious.)

Were not sure if shell have an official full-time summer job this year in addition to striking a pose  or if youre looking at it here. Does one ad campaign like this  that gets international attention  count for three months of work? If so, that sounds like a dream job for a coed. And, for Lola, a definite step up from folding moms undies all summer.

Last summer, Lourdes Leon spent a lot of time vacationing. Here she is on a trip to Miami. (Photo: Splash News)

Though theres a possibility Lola, whose dad is celebrity trainer Carlos Leon, will also be taking some summer classes. While People magazine reported in September that shes a senior in college  she attends the University of Michigan in her mamas home state  she doesnt appear on the recent grad list. (Not that there is anything wrong with the four-and-a-half or five-year plan, especially if your famously wealthy mother is footing the bill.)

It seems like theres no rush when shes already landing attention-getting work.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:The temporary dining decks, installed last year to help restaurants keep business during the coronavirus pandemic, will by next month be removed or reconstructed to stretch only along the length of respective eateries' storefronts.The resignation of a senior Baidu executive is a major setback to the Chinese internet giant's push into artificial intelligence, an analyst said Monday, as the company tries to diversify away from its search engine business.

The loss of chief operating officer and AI expert Lu Qi is the latest blow for the company, often referred to as China's Google, which has invested heavily in its deep learning efforts.

Lu was overseeing Baidu's move into AI-related businesses, from autonomous driving to facial recognition, and his departure last week saw the firm's share price slump almost 10 percent in New York Friday.

Baidu has spun off non-core assets such as its movie streaming platform iQiyi and financial services arm as it moves to make AI central to its future, plans that dovetail with Beijing's strategic goal of dominating the field.

His departure followed the loss of Baidu's chief scientist Andrew Ng last year, when the firm also lost its driverless car unit head Wang Jing, among other key AI scientists.

"Lu Qi's departure, like those of Wang Jing and Andrew Ng, is a significant setback to the progress of Baidu's AI programme," said Mark Natkin, managing director at technology consultancy Marbridge Consulting.

Natkin believes Baidu will be able to recruit other talent but said the departure would slow the company down.

The speed bump sets the company back at a critical time as it races against Chinese peers Tencent and Alibaba and even Silicon Valley giants like Amazon and Google to launch driverless cars and the next generation of AI-enabled products.

Investment Bank Credit Suisse lowered its outlook for the company, with its analyst citing Lu's importance to Baidu's future.

"We view Dr Lu as instrumental to Baidu's transition to becoming an 'All in AI' company," said the analyst Thomas Chong in a widely-cited research note.

Lu's arrival in Beijing from Microsoft was seen as a major coup for Baidu. His departure to spend more time with his family in the US and move to "research and investment" projects followed a similar jump by Ng last year.

Baidu CEO Robin Li thanked Lu and said the firm's "strategy to transform into an AI-first company (was) firmly in place".

The tech giant has since promoted the current manager of its AI Group, Wang Haifeng.Malaysia's scandal-tainted former leader Sunday denied he stole public funds and complained of the way he has been treated since he unexpectedly lost power in a stunning election defeat.

Striking a defiant tone in the face of a deepening corruption investigation, Najib Razak urged his political party to "fight on" after it was toppled in the May 9 vote by a political coalition that had focused on the allegations against him.

"I did not steal the people's money," Najib, 64, asserted during a visit to the rural home constituency he has represented for decades, where he was welcomed by crowds of supporters of his ethnic-Malay party.

"I was prepared to hand over power gracefully. But once I did that, I was not treated properly."

Najib has been barred from leaving Malaysia as the new government investigates accusations he took part in the looting of billions of dollars from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB in a vast conspiracy of fraud and money-laundering.

Police last week seized what they called a huge trove of cash, jewels and luxury items from his home and other properties.

Najib had said little since the raids other than to complain to local media about how they were conducted.

But on Sunday he returned to his home district of Pekan in an apparent bid to seize back the narrative before a visit to Malaysia's anti-graft agency, which has summoned him to appear on Tuesday.

"I am amazed that even though I am no longer the prime minister, there are so many people at this event," he said during a ceremony opening a branch office of his United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).

"I think this is the true spirit of UMNO. Even though we are in tears... (and) power is no longer in our hands, no one can kill our spirit to fight on."

- 'Gifts from friends' -

UMNO had controlled multi-ethnic Malaysia since independence in 1957, and the country became a regional economic success story under its rule.

Story continues

But long-simmering resentment over its oppressive tactics and corruption sent the party to a resounding defeat at the hands of a coalition led by 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad, a longtime UMNO leader and former prime minister.

UMNO is now in crisis following the drubbing, which prompted Najib's resignation as its leader.

Najib's denial of wrongdoing comes despite detailed evidence that has emerged in recent years indicating that he, his family, and cronies plundered 1MDB.

These include US Department of Justice civil lawsuits seeking to seize $1.7 billion in real estate, art works and other luxuries allegedly bought with money looted from the fund.

Mahathir said last week that he expected Najib to face criminal charges soon.

"There were a lot of allegations made... I was the target because I was the prime minister and party president," Najib told supporters.

Najib has complained about the overnight police searches, and said many personal items unrelated to 1MDB were improperly impounded.

He has said the money and luxury items seized -- which police said were so vast that it would take time to tally their worth -- were gifts from friends and cash donations for his election campaign.Malaysia on Monday set up a task force to probe allegations that billions of dollars were looted from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB in an audacious fraud overseen by ousted leader Najib Razak.

New Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad led a reformist alliance to a shock victory at the May 9 polls over Najib's coalition, which had governed Malaysia uninterrupted for over six decades.

A major reason for the success of 92-year-old Mahathir was public disgust at allegations of endemic corruption among the country's ruling elite, and in particular an explosive scandal surrounding state fund 1MDB.

The fund, 1Malaysia Development Berhad, was set up in 2009 ostensibly to promote the development of the Malaysian economy.

But it is alleged that Najib, his family and cronies looted the investment vehicle in a massive fraud stretching from the Cayman Islands to New York, with stolen funds used to buy everything from real estate to artworks.

Since Najib's ouster, Malaysians have been gripped by a series of police raids on properties linked to the ex-leader, which have yielded a stash of hundreds of luxury handbags believed to belong to his despised wife Rosmah Mansor, as well as suitcases stuffed with cash and jewels.

Mahathir -- who first served as premier from 1981-2003 and came out of retirement to take on Najib -- had pledged to reopen probes into 1MDB.

The new task force will be charged with seizing back assets and pursuing legal action against those suspected of breaking the law in relation to the fund, said the prime minister's office.

"The government hopes the setting up of this task force, comprising a multi-agency enforcement unit, will help restore the dignity of Malaysia that has been tainted by the 1MDB kleptocracy scandal," said Mahathir's office.

The task force will include representatives of the anti-graft agency, the police and the attorney-general's office. Some of those on the body were part of previous probes into the controversy but were pushed out by Najib's regime as he moved to shut down domestic investigations.

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- Complex web of transactions -

Several current and former senior government officials will lead the task force, including Abdul Gani Patail, the former attorney-general who was removed from his post in 2015 as he was leading investigations into 1MDB.

Huge sums of money from the fund are believed to have been funnelled round the world in a complex web of transactions, and the task force's remit will include reaching out to law enforcement agencies in other countries, including the US, Switzerland, Singapore and Canada, according to Mahathir's office.

The US Statement Department alleges in civil lawsuits that $4.5 billion was stolen from 1MDB and sent to the United States, where it was spent on funding the Hollywood film "The Wolf of Wall Street" and lavish purchases including Monet and Van Gogh paintings.

Najib and 1MDB have consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The ex-leader, 64, sought to mount a fightback over the weekend, insisting he had not stolen any public money during a speech to hundreds of supporters in the constituency where he has been an MP for decades.

Mahathir, a former mentor of Najib who turned on him over 1MDB, is determined ro breathe new life into democratic institutions that suffered under the ex-premier's increasingly authoritarian rule and usher in a new dawn for the country.

In a speech to civil servants Monday, Mahathir said that Malaysia's debt had ballooned to more than one trillion ringgit ($251 billion).

"We must realise that before our country was respected, but now it is no longer respected," he said.Mario Batali, the world-famous chef and restaurateur who has been accused by at least 11 women of sexual misconduct, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the New York Police Department into allegations of criminal sexual misconduct.

News of the investigation was first reported by the CBS news show 60 Minutes this evening. A source at the NYPD confirmed the investigation to HuffPost but declined to elaborate further.

Sexual misconduct allegations against Batali first surfaced in December when Eater published a story detailing four womens allegations against Batali that included sexual assault. At the time, Batali acknowledged that he engaged in inappropriate behavior and took leave from his restaurant group.

The 60 Minutes story includes interviews with women who say they were sexually assaulted by Batali. One woman, who was interviewed in silhouette to protect her identity, is accusing Batali of drugging her and engaging in what she described as criminal sexual misconduct while she was unconscious. Batali, through an attorney, denied these allegations.

At the time, the woman, who worked for Batali in 2005, had a rape kit done and spoke to detectives in the special victims unit at the NYPD. Even though the detectives asked her to file a police report, she declined, telling 60 Minutes, They tried getting me to file a report. They tried, they tried. But I  you know, a young actress, no resources, no money  I couldnt. I I couldnt do it.

Follow Yashar  or send him a tip  on Twitter: @yashar

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.The Daily Beast

Pedro Pardo/AFP via GettyTranscripts of newly released text messages between a crime boss and a deputy police chief have finally lifted the lid on the mystery of 43 students who went missing one night in southwestern Mexico.The messages indicate that the cops and the cartel worked together to capture, torture, and murder at least 38 of the 43 student teachers who went missing in September of 2014.The students had made the deadly mistake of commandeering several buses in order to drive to MexicoSen. John McCain, R-Ariz., arrives to accept the Republican presidential nomination at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Sept. 4, 2008. (Photo: Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)

At first, John McCain couldnt hear what some of his supporters were yelling. The roar of the crowd often made it too loud to hear anything, and he was already hard of hearing in his left ear, a condition that dated to his days as a Navy pilot and no doubt worsened because of the beatings he suffered during his 5 years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

But in the fall of 2008, during his second bid for the presidency, the Arizona senator could tell that the crowds at his town halls were getting more rowdy  something he normally didnt mind. The town hall was McCains preferred way to campaign; it was the format he felt allowed him to truly connect with voters, where people could see who he was, for better or worse. For months, McCains aides had been trying to talk him into holding more traditional events, such as scripted speeches, where he could avoid gaffes that could be seized upon by his opponents. But the candidate stubbornly refused.

Speaking to a reporter in the back of his legendary Straight Talk Express a few months earlier, his suit jacket off and Ray-Bans on, McCain had scowled at the very mention of his aides advice. I honestly dont like giving speeches, he said. He hated being behind a podium. He hated the teleprompter. He didnt like adhering to a script. It was boring.

But about town halls, McCain said with a glint in his eye, I love them. I love the back and forth. I love the unpredictability. His staff worried about protesters, but McCain had already handled more than a few, including a man in New Hampshire who had assailed McCain for his support of the Iraq war. But McCain wasnt worried. To be honest, the senator admitted with a chuckle, he kind of liked it when the crowds were a little rowdy. He enjoyed it when people yelled at him because he could argue back. Thats democracy, he explained.

Sen. John McCain reacts during a campaign event at the Fantasy of Flight museum in Polk City, Fla., on Jan. 27, 2008. (Photo: Charles Dharapak/AP)

What McCain did not sense, at least at that time, was how angry the electorate was and how toxic the 2008 race would eventually become  a shifting dynamic that would ultimately shape his own political trajectory for years to come. Bubbling beneath the surface that year was the kind of rage and anxiety that, in hindsight, provided some of the earliest hints of the voter turmoil and tribal politics that would later help propel Donald Trump into the White House. Ugly whispers about Barack Obamas race, birthplace and religion that began during the Democratic primary erupted into full-scale conspiracy theories among some Republicans, including McCains supporters.

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At a town hall in Ohio that September, just days after he had officially claimed the GOP nomination, McCain was on stage speaking about Obama when someone in the crowd yelled, referring to the Democratic nominee, Terrorist! A few weeks later, while McCain was campaigning with his running mate, then-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, in Pennsylvania, rally-goers greeted mentions of Obama with calls of Treason! and Off with his head!

After a particularly raucous rally in New Mexico, McCain aides told the candidate about some of the slurs shouted by the audience, and the senator, who hadnt heard them, was shocked. Where is this crap coming from? he asked an aide.

It all came to a head in October 2008, just weeks before Election Day, when McCain held a town hall in Lakeville, Minn., just outside the Twin Cities. By then, the senator was no longer the same press-friendly candidate he had been in the primary. His freewheeling press conferences on the bus had come to an abrupt halt that summer after a Los Angeles Times reporter had asked him whether he agreed with a campaign advisers statement that it was unfair that health insurance companies covered Viagra but not birth control. McCains long silence and struggle to answer the question were captured on camera and widely mocked by opponents.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain addresses a town hall meeting in Lakeville, Minn., in October 2008. He urged his supporters to stop hurling abuse at Barack Obama at his rallies, saying he admired and respected his Democratic rival. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Afterwards, the senator finally heeded his staffs advice and barely spoke to reporters anymore, including his traveling press corps. The couch he had specifically requested to be installed near the front cabin of his campaign plane for his rolling news conferences sat behind privacy curtains that had been installed to hide the candidate from reporters. Though he agreed with aides who argued for a more controlled message, McCain looked miserable avoiding the media, whom he had once in jest referred to as my base. And he refused to give up the spontaneity of his town halls.

Down in the polls, McCain was in Minnesota looking for a lifeline among working-class voters in the upper Midwest, but what he found were anxious voters who turned their rage on him when he pushed back against attacks on Obama and defended his rival from what would now be described as fake news.

When a man stood up and told him he was scared  to bring a child up under an Obama presidency, McCain winced visibly. I want to be president of the United States, and obviously, I do not want Sen. Obama to be, but I have to tell you  he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared of as president, McCain replied, prompting loud boos and cries of disapproval from the audience.

As he tried to calm the audience, the crowd only seemed to get more riled up. We want to fight, and I will fight, McCain said. But I will be respectful. I admire Sen. Obama and his accomplishments, and I will respect him.

The audience erupted in loud jeers, including shouts of Liar! Come on, John! a woman yelled.

I dont mean that has to reduce your ferocity, McCain said, trying to speak over loud boos from his supporters. I just mean to say you have to be respectful.

A few minutes later, an elderly woman stood and told McCain she could not trust Obama because he was an Arab. McCain shook his head and took the microphone back, interrupting the woman mid-sentence, something he almost never did. No, maam, he said, correcting her. Hes a decent family man, citizen, who I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and thats what this campaign is about, McCain said. This time, some in the crowd clapped, but the candidate looked aggrieved.

Sen. John McCain listens to supporter who called Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama an Arab during a town hall meeting in Lakeville, Minn., in October 2008. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

That town hall would ultimately become a defining moment for McCain, who was widely praised for standing up for Obama, a fellow senator and fierce rival whom he didnt personally like and ultimately never grew close to. It was the right thing to do, McCain told his anguished staff afterwards, harkening back to the code of civility he had tried to follow even if he himself didnt always execute it perfectly.

The moment previewed tension McCain would ultimately face throughout the rest of his career, especially in the era of Trump, where his personal mission to serve honorably and in benefit of a cause greater than self-interest, as he put it, was often pitted against his own desire for political survival. The growing political divide and a lurch toward tribal politics would repeatedly test the Arizona senators pledge to avoid the kind of destructive hyper-partisanship that he said was ruining the nations political discourse  the divisions that McCain, now stricken with terminal brain cancer in the twilight of his long career, is once again appealing to Americans to reject.

In a new memoir, The Restless Wave, and in an HBO documentary that will air on Memorial Day, McCain recounts his two presidential runs and time in the Senate, recalling his leading role in fights about campaign finance reform, immigration and foreign policy. He also uses what he readily acknowledges could be his final message to the nation to encourage Americans to rise above the political polarization that has divided the country to recover our sense that we are more alike than different.

The Lakeville town hall gave public voice to a debate that had been raging behind the scenes at the time between McCain and some of his staff desperate to see him get tougher on Obama. It was a strategy already embraced by Palin, who had willingly and enthusiastically claimed her role as the campaign pit bull.

Plucked from near obscurity in what McCain aides described as the political equivalent of a Hail Mary in hopes of turning the race around, Palin brought new energy and crowds to the GOP ticket but also drama and concern that her fiery attacks and embrace of the resentment and fear many voters felt was diminishing McCains brand as a straight-talker who preferred the high road to the gutter.

Days earlier, Palin had accused Obama of palling around with terrorists, referring to Bill Ayers, the former Weather Underground radical who became friendly with Obama as a professor at the University of Chicago. She suggested that Obama didnt care about America the way you and I do. Unlike McCain, Palin did not correct supporters who regularly slurred the man they called Barack Hussein Obama, yelling out in response to her attacks that Obama was a terrorist and guilty of treason. At a Palin rally in Pennsylvania, someone reportedly yelled, Kill him!

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, and his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, listen as Cindy McCain, center, introduces Palin at a rally in Virginia Beach, Va., in October 2008. (Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Palins tendency to dabble in conspiracy and play loosely with the facts would later set the stage for the arrival of Trump  who, like the governor, embraced and encouraged the increasing nativism and anti-establishment fervor within the GOP. Some Republicans argue that McCain, because he picked Palin, bears some responsibility for ushering in the Trump era though those closest to him vigorously deny it.

McCain, for his part, is silent on the subject. While he praises Palin in his book and in the documentary, the senator also admits that one of the biggest mistakes in his political career was that he didnt go with his gut and pick his close friend Joe Lieberman, then the senator from Connecticut, to join him on the ticket. McCain aides had argued that picking Lieberman, a Democrat who had switched his party affiliation to independent, would anger Republicans and doom his White House bid. My gut told me to ignore it, and I wish I had, McCain writes.

At the same time, Fred Davis, the campaigns ad man, was among those pushing for McCain to air television spots attacking Obama for his relationship with the controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright, whose inflammatory sermons had caused drama during the Democratic primary. Another aide had suggested going after the candidates wife, Michelle Obama, raising questions about her politics and what policy role she might play in the White House. But McCain flatly refused, telling aides it would stir up racial sentiments he didnt want to bring up in the campaign.

For McCain, the decision was more than just choosing to take the high road; it was personal. He had not forgotten the racial smear directed at his own family during the South Carolina primary in 2000, when supporters of Bush (their identities arent publicly known) papered cars outside churches and McCain events with nasty fliers. They suggested his adopted daughter, Bridget  then just 9 years old  was in fact his illegitimate child by a black prostitute. The McCains were sick about the impact this might have on Bridget and planned to wait until she was much older to tell her about it. But Bridget, who was 17 when her father became the GOP nominee, had discovered the slur in early 2008 when she Googled herself.

A day after the Minnesota town hall, McCain was deeply hurt when John Lewis, the Georgia congressman and legendary civil rights leader who was beaten during the 1965 Bloody Sunday protests in Selma, Ala., likened McCain-Palin rallies to the atmosphere of hate pushed by the pro-segregationist Gov. George Wallace of Alabama during the civil rights era. McCain deeply admired Lewis, introducing his kids to him and suggesting that if elected, he would tap the congressman as an adviser. He was anguished by the comparison to Wallace, which he described as an attack that went beyond the pale. In the book, McCain writes that he has never forgiven Lewis.

McCain continued to say no to the Rev. Jeremiah Wright attacks, even as one of his frustrated aides argued that simply playing some of the controversial pastors sermons on loop would help his struggling campaign. He spent the final weeks of the campaign crisscrossing the country and going through the motions even as he knew in his gut the race was lost. A candidate who was always unable to fake it when he was angry or unhappy, McCain barely made eye contact with reporters when he returned to his campaign plane to bid farewell to his traveling press corps. But that night, he took the stage at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix and graciously praised Obama, acknowledging his history-making election as the nations first black president and pledging to work with him.

A century ago, President Theodore Roosevelts invitation of Booker T. Washington to visit  to dine at the White House  was taken as an outrage in many quarters. America today is a world away from the cruel and prideful bigotry of that time, McCain said. There is no better evidence of this than the election of an African-American to the presidency of the United States. Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

Whatever our differences, we are fellow Americans, he added. And please believe me when I say no association has ever meant more to me than that.

John McCain addresses supporters during his election night rally on Nov. 4, 2008, in his hometown of Phoenix. McCain conceded the race to his Democratic opponent, Barack Obama. (Photo: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

But McCains return to the Senate and to the campaign trail was complicated by the changing political climate around him. As Arizona turned more red, McCain followed, embracing more conservative positions and turning his back on his reputation as a maverick. He told Newsweek magazine in 2010 that he never liked the label anyway. The man who had once hammered out a bipartisan immigration bill with Sen. Ted Kennedy  which included a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants  ran an ad calling for enforcement of existing laws first. He argued for the construction of a fence along U.S. border with Mexico  even though he had once called the method the least effective way of curbing illegal immigration. Complete the dang fence, McCain declared in a 2010 reelection ad.

He publicly tangled with Obama about health care and on foreign policy, including the handling of Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and later the White Houses reluctance to get involved in the civil war in Syria  which McCain has described as one of the most shameful episodes in American history. That led to speculation about lingering bitterness about the campaign, but those close to McCain insist it wasnt personal. In the final year of his presidency, Obama invited his former rival to the White House, where he closed the door and the two spent a half hour yelling at each other over their differences, according to Mark Salter, one of McCains closest and longest-serving advisers. And they both felt better afterwards, Salter said. He admired Obamas talents. The former president speaks glowingly of his former rival in the HBO documentary and has reportedly been asked to speak at McCains funeral, which the senator is already planning.

There were other moments when he rose above politics, including in 2012 when McCain went to the Senate floor to defend Huma Abedin, a Muslim and a longtime adviser to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Abedin had been accused by then-Rep. Michele Bachman of Minnesota and four other House Republicans of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. McCain rebuked Bachmann for perpetuating sinister accusations and called the charges nothing less than an unwarranted and unfounded attack on an honorable woman, a dedicated American and a loyal public servant.

Calling Abedin a friend, McCain said she represented what is best about America: the daughter of immigrants, who has risen to the highest levels of our government on the basis of her substantial personal merit and her abiding commitment to the American ideals that she embodies.

But his relationship with Trump has been trickier. McCain was one of the earliest targets of the former reality television stars venom. In July 2015, weeks after he entered the race with a rant against illegal immigrants, Trump was publicly feuding with McCain, who had accused the real estate mogul firing up the crazies within the party with his inflammatory rhetoric. Speaking to a conservative group in Iowa, Trump fired back, suggesting McCain was not a war hero. Hes a war hero because he was captured, Trump said. I like people who werent captured.

McCain didnt publicly respond. He just laughed. He dismissed it, Salter said. He knew it would make Trump look like an idiot and him look like a war hero, which is exactly what happened.

But even as he continued to criticize Trump, including about his apparent admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, McCain  who was facing another challenger from the right in his bid for reelection eventually endorsed him for president. You have to listen to people who have chosen the nominee of our Republican party, McCain told CNN. But, he added, he continued to be disturbed by Trumps rhetoric. I have never seen the personalization of a campaign like this one where peoples integrity and character are questioned, he said. That bothers me a lot.

McCain later rescinded his endorsement of Trump in October 2016 after the release of the Access Hollywood tape that captured Trump speaking in demeaning terms about women. Though McCain has backed some of Trumps acts as president, including his retaliatory strike at Syria over the regimes use of chemical weapons, the two have remained at odds. McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer last July, came out against a Trump-backed bill that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act  despite last-minute lobbying by Trump and other leading Republicans, including Vice President Mike Pence.

Im freer than colleagues who will face the voters again. I can speak my mind without fearing the consequences much. And I can vote my conscience without worry, McCain writes in his book. I dont think Im free to disregard my constituents wishes, far from it. I dont feel excused from keeping pledges I made. Nor do I wish to harm my partys prospects. But I do feel a pressing responsibility to give Americans my best judgment.

Conscious of his own mortality, McCain has spoken more forcefully against Trumps divisive rhetoric in recent months. At the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia last fall, where he was awarded the Liberty Medal for his bipartisan work in the Senate, he offered a thinly veiled critique of Trumps global leadership.

To fear the world we have organized and led for three-quarters of a century, to abandon the ideals we have advanced around the globe, to refuse the obligations of international leadership and our duty to remain the last best hope of Earth for the sake of some half-baked, spurious nationalism cooked up by people who would rather find scapegoats than solve problems is as unpatriotic as an attachment to any other tired dogma of the past that Americans consigned to the ash heap of history, he declared.

John McCain speaks after being awarded the 2017 Liberty Medal by former Vice President Joe Biden at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Oct. 16, 2017. (Photo: Charles Mostoller/Reuters)

In The Restless Wave, McCain takes the critique further, criticizing Trumps lack of empathy for refugees, describing his comments about them disturbing. The way he speaks about them is appalling, as if welfare or terrorism were the only purposes they could have in coming to our country, the senator writes.

He also criticizes what he describes as Trumps lack of interest in the moral character of world leaders and his embrace of tyrants like Putin. The appearance of toughness or a reality show facsimile of toughness seems more important to him than any of our values, McCain writes. Leader of the free world is more than an honorific. It is a moral obligation more important than the person who possesses it.

In his book, McCain writes of his dire prognosis, acknowledging he might not live to see its publication on May 22. Aside from a brief hospital stay last month, the senator has spent most of his time at his 15-acre ranch in a lush valley outside Sedona, Ariz., where he and his wife, Cindy, often sit underneath the towering cottonwood and sycamore trees on the banks of the bubbling Oak Creek. His closest friends have paid visits, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and former Vice President Joe Biden, whose son Beau died of brain cancer in 2015.

McCain writes about planning his funeral  which he reportedly has asked Trump not to attend  and his eventual burial at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland near his old Navy buddy Chuck Larson, who died in 2014. He speaks of the love he has for his wife and seven children, including three kids with his first wife, Carol Shepp. Their love for me and mine for them is the last strength I have, he writes.

In October, he told CNNs Jake Tapper how he hoped Americans would remember him when hes gone.

He served his country, McCain said. And not always right. Made a lot of mistakes. Made a lot of errors. But served his country. And I hope you could add honorably.

John McCain leaves his campaign plane in Des Moines, Iowa, before making a statement about the failure of the Wall Street bailout bill to pass in the House of Representatives in September 2008. (Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Read more from Yahoo News:Hours after marrying Prince Harry on Saturday, Meghan Markle was added to the official royal family website. But one detail was notably missing.

Though the main entry describes the newly titled Duchess of Sussexs charity work, her career as an actress has been seriously downplayed, with no mention of her role in the hit TV series Suits.

The site lists her experience volunteering in soup kitchens as a child and a young adult in Los Angeles, before casually dropping that she continued to volunteer at a Canadian soup kitchen while filming in Toronto.

For details of her acting credentials, including a note of her role in Suits, fans will have to click to the duchesss biography page.

Markle became the Duchess of Sussex on May 19. (Photo: Getty Images)

After university Her Royal Highness worked as an actress, appearing in film and television, the biography reads.

She most notably played the role of Rachel Zane on the series Suits for seven seasons, completing over 100 episodes.

This particular part of her newly created page also mentions her now-shutdown lifestyle blog, The Tig.

That her successful acting career isnt mentioned on the main part of her royal page hasnt gone unnoticed.

Am I the only person who is sad that the new Duchess of Sussexs official web page barely mentions her acting career? royal expert Victoria Murphy tweeted.

She spent 15 years grafting in a competitive industry. Surely this is something to be celebrated and deserves more than half a sentence.

I dont appreciate the fact that Meghan Markles page on the royal family website fails to mention her acting career, another fan wrote on Twitter. She has spent over a decade acting and that should be given more attention.

But while some were concerned about the message that glossing over the duchesss acting career could send, others were thrilled that Markles feminist credentials were notably celebrated.

Besides her work with the homeless, the site prominently detailed Markles involvement with One Young World, World Vision, and UN Women, including her mission trip to Rwanda.

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It also gave a prominent nod to her women-centric beliefs by displaying her quote I am proud to be a woman and a feminist boldly in the center of the page.

Many fans were quick to approve.

I love this page, cause it dont look like they will silence her thoughts or her stances. The quote they used Im proud to be a woman & a feminist. #royalwedding #DuchessOfSussex https://t.co/uFULHWT5AC  Truth hurts (@Jasamgurlie) May 19, 2018

#MeghanMarkle, the Duchess of Sussex, already has her page up on the Kensington Palace website. It tells the story of her life, her #feminism, her activism, her work for women. She started at 12.

Shes not stopping.

Awesome.#RoyalWedding https://t.co/tX90FMFLL9  Victoria Brownworth (@VABVOX) May 20, 2018

For all things royal wedding, from details on Meghan Markles dress to cute pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, click here. Want to relive every moment? Watch it all here.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.



Like many who prefer classy and minimalist manicures, Queen Elizabeth IIs favorite nail color is Essies Ballet Slippers, the very color hundreds of thousands of women have on their fingernails or shelves right now  including the queens new granddaughter-in-law, Meghan Markle, who wore the very color on her wedding day.

According to Essies website, in 1989 Queen Elizabeth IIs hairdresser sent Essie a letter requesting Ballet Slippers  the only color Her Majesty would wear.

And seemingly in honor of her new grandmother, The Duchess of Sussexs nails were coated in that very color on the day she wed Prince Harry. The color choice simultaneously made her more relatable for its $9 price-tag, yet more exclusive for its fan club.

The simple and sophisticated light milky pink kept her hands looking clean and feminine without detracting from the accessories on them  her engagement and wedding rings, and then an aquamarine cocktail ring later in the evening.

A closer look at Markles wedding nails. (Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their way to Frogmore House for their wedding reception. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ballet Slippers seems to be a go-to for the new royal and former Suits star. She likely chose it for her engagement announcement, in which she had a short, rounded, pearly pink manicure.

Its possible Markle liked brighter nail colors in a previous life, but those days are probably long gone. Its also been reported over the years that fake nails or colored nail polish is considered vulgar by the royal family.

Her nail polish wasnt the only symbolic thing on Markles hand this past Saturday  the blue emerald cut ring surrounded by small solitaire diamonds and set in 24 carat yellow gold with a pale blue central jewel was from Princess Dianas personal collection.

For all things royal wedding, from details on Meghan Markles dress to cute pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, click here. Want to relive every moment? Watch it all here.Mike Pompeo offered Iran a new deal - AP

Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, threatened Iran with the "strongest sanctions in history" and vowed to "crush" the regime's proxies around the world on Monday, sparking a furious response from Tehran.

Mr Pompeo also called for a new nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal that Donald Trump withdrew from earlier this month.

But the top US diplomat issued a list of 12 requirements for such a deal, many of which Iran would be unlikely to agree to.

He said the US would apply "unprecedented financial pressure" on Iran and send teams of specialists to allies around the world to explain US policy.

Mr Pompeo said if Iran makes "major changes" the US was willing to lift all sanctions.

Iran responded in furious fashion. President Hassan Rouhani led a bitter personal attack on Mr Pompeo, pointing out that he had until recently led the CIA, which had been implicated in Iran's 1953 coup.

"A guy who had been active in an espionage center for years now wants to make a decision for Iran and other countries from the position of a foreign minister. It is not acceptable under any circumstance," he said.

Javad Zarif, the foreign minister, insisted Iran was working with other partners to find a new solution.

US diplomacy sham is merely a regression to old habits: imprisoned by delusions & failed policiesdictated by corrupt Special Interestit repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards. Iran, meanwhile, is working with partners for post-US JCPOA solutions.  Javad Zarif (@JZarif) May 21, 2018

Iran deal was a 'loser'

Delivering his first major foreign policy speech since taking the job, Mr Pompeo doubled down on the United States decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal earlier this month.

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He framed the 2015 deal as allowing Iran to increase its malign influence across the Middle East on the back of funding from renewed trade with the West.

Mr Pompeo accused the Iranian regime of "playing with house money that has become blood money". And he told the regime: "Understand your current activities will be met with steely resolve".

He added: "The Obama administration made a bet. That bet was a loser with massive repercussions.

Mike Pompeo speaking in Washington Credit: Reuters

"The bet was a bad one for the US, for Europe, and for the world. Iran's leaders saw it as a starting gun for the march across the Middle East."

He added: "We will track down Iranian operatives and their proxies around the world and we will crush them."

America 'open' to a new deal

Mr Pompeo called for a new treaty with Iran, ratified by Congress, that ends enrichment and gives inspectors access .

He said Iran must "stop enrichment" of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the 2015 deal.

Iran must also allow nuclear inspectors "unqualified access to all sites throughout the country".

The Iranians must also declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon, he said.

Mr Pompeo also demanded that Iran must end support for Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, withdraw all forces from Syria, halt support for Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel.

It must also release all US citizens missing in Iran or being held on "spurious charges".

Mike Pompeo Iran demands

Mr Pompeo said if Iran made "major changes" the US would be willing to lift all sanctions, restoring full diplomatic and commercial ties.

The US. would even support the modernisation of Iran's economy and help it reintegrate into the global financial system, he said.

He added: "A treaty would be our preferred way to go."

Pompeo reaches out to European allies

Mr Pompeo reached out to European and Middle Eastern allies to help ramp up economic pressure on Iran.

He said: "We want the support of our most important allies," adding that he welcomed backing from any other nation "sick and tired" of Iran.

He said the plan "may seem unrealsistic" but what the US was pursuing was the global consensus befoe the 2015 Iran deal.

"Our ears are open to what may be possible," he said, adding that progress with North Korea showed what could be achieved.

Other signatories of the 2015 Ian deal - Britain, France, Germany, the European Union, China, Russia and Iran - have said they will try to keep the agreement alive.

Mr Pompeo said: "I know our allies in Europe may try to keep the old nuclear deal going with Tehran. That is certainly their decision. They know where wee stand."

The future of the 2015 deal remains in the balance, with Iran saying it will only keep to the agreement if the economic benefits gained from it remain in placed.

American allies have been clamouring for the Trump administration to explain its Plan B approach to Iran after unilaterally quitting the deal.

US 'fully prepared' to respond if Iran resumes nuclear programme

Mr Pompeo said the US was ready if Iran chose to resume its nuclear programme.

He said: "Our demands on Iran are not unreasonable - give up your programme.

"Should they choose to go back, should they begin to enrich, we are fully prepared to respond to that as well. I hope they will make a different decision, choose a different path."

He did not say what the US response would be.

European businesses would have to cut ties with Iran

Much of the effectiveness of the Trump administrations reimposition of sanctions depends on European businesses cutting economic ties with Iran.

Firms in the EU have taken much more advantage of the 2015 waiving of sanctions to sign contracts increasing business in Iran than those in America.

The EU exported over 10.8 billion (9.4 billion) worth of goods to Iran in 2017, half of which was made up by machinery and transport. That is up from 6.5 billion (5.7 billion) in 2015.

Senior Trump administration officials have threatened to impose secondary sanctions on European businesses if they refuse to cancel their contracts.

In return the EU has moved to reimpose a blocking statue originally meant to circumvent a the US embargo against Cuba in the 1990s that would protect European businesses.AN UNFORTUNATE incident involving two jet skis near the Grand Turk Cruise Centre terminal has left one teenager dead.





On Wednesday afternoon (May 16), police reported the accident which occurred about 11.30am.





Deceased is a 16-year-old male from the United States who was travelling with his family.





The family were passengers on cruise ship Carnival Sunshine that had docked at the Grand Turk port earlier that morning.





Reports are that two jet skis, one of which the teen was operating, collided in the water causing the teenager to fall and break his neck. He was killed instantly.





The other person, the teens uncle, did not sustain any injuries.





The tragic incident has left many in shock and dismay. This is the first recorded death for the year in the waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands.





Late yesterday, a spokesperson at the Ministry of Tourism expressed their regret at the unfortunate incident.





"The Ministry of Tourism is saddened by the tragic watersports mishap involving jet skis that occurred on the island of Grand Turk on Wednesday, May 16, which resulted in the loss of life of a visitor to our shores.





"The matter is currently being investigated by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force; hence no details have been released.





"The ministry encourages anyone that witnessed the incident to kindly contact the police.





Minister of Tourism, Hon Ralph Higgs personally expressed his condolences to the bereaved family and asked residents to keep the family in their prayers.





He also called on the community to allow the grieving family time to contact their loved ones and to refrain from speculation.





The Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR) and the tourism and maritime departments have reminded the general public of the importance of taking the necessary precautions to ensure safety on the water.





These agencies will soon come together to host a series of workshops aimed at increasing awareness.





The Ministry of Tourism and the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board will also continue to offer assistance to the family in any way possible.





Anyone with information can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1-800-8477.



The Tampa Bay Rays used reliever Sergio Romo as their starting pitcher twice over the weekend against the Los Angeles Angels. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

ANAHEIM, Calif.  Maybe theres a perfect way to do this, to amass 27 outs a night across six months in a game intended to expose ones frailties, to measure pitchers abilities and endurance and hearts and souls against the strands remaining on their UCLs, to get it right without exhuming the 300-inning monsters of another generation.

Maybe, and heres the problem, todays perfection is tomorrows train wreck, tomorrows bullpen demolition day, unless youre stacking stud after stud after stud in the starting rotation, and chances are youre not, as there isnt near enough to go around.

Theres always another nine innings to cover. Always. So change  philosophically speaking, innings-maintenance speaking  is like trying to jump a street sweeper mid-block, which is to say not impossible but will require reasonable timing and, probably, a fresh set of clothing.

Meantime, as far as pitching plans go, youve got your five-man rotations, your six-man rotations, your scheduled bullpen games, your unscheduled bullpen games, your whos-this-guy games, your occasional he-pitches-when-hes-not-hitting-in-the-middle-of-the-lineup games. And then theres what the Tampa Bay Rays are up to.

Go to a ballgame here on a Sunday afternoon, and one of the starting pitchers (Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Sergio Romo) had started just the night before, so he was pitching on 18 hours rest, the other (Los Angeles Angels right-hander/DH Shohei Ohtani) hadnt pitched in a week, and had pitched only that once in 333 hours.

Both are by design, the objectives being 27 outs today, the methods foul pole to foul pole. Thered be no telling which was closer to perfect, not until those 27 outs were gone.

The Rays, of course, had surprised everyone Saturday night by starting Romo, the 35-year-old who had made 588 big-league appearances, all in relief. The plan was to have Romo knock out a few of the Angels right-handed batters  Zack Cozart, Mike Trout, Justin Upton  over an inning or so, then get the ball to lefty Ryan Yarbrough.

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Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jesus Sucre and relief pitcher Alex Colome congratulate each other after the Rays defeated the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 on Saturday. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The general idea is to limit the number of times a particular pitcher  in this case a 26-year-old rookie  must face the opposing teams best hitters. The trend is to go gingerly into the third time through a lineup, all eyes on the starter, the bullpen rustling, the managers patience on a hair trigger. Well, the Rays decided to eliminate that middle- to late-inning issue early. When Cozart, Trout and Upton batted a third time, it was only their second shot at Yarbrough. Cozart and Trout popped to the infield in the sixth and Upton struck out in the seventh. Yarbrough got 19 outs in relief of Romo.

They liked it so much, they started Romo again Sunday afternoon. He will not start Monday. (The Rays are off.)

I dont know if its innovative or not, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. Im glad it worked yesterday.

The whole goal is trying to get outs. History has shown the less you see a guy the better chance of getting a guy out. Thats going to go sideways sometimes, no doubt.

Given a third look at a starting pitcher, American League hitters have posted a .795 OPS in those at-bats. Thats 79 points higher than in their second at-bats against the same pitcher. In the National League, the jump from second to third at-bats is nearly 100 points.

Romo struck out Cozart, Trout and Upton in the first inning Saturday night, over 18 pitches. He went back to the hotel, slept, woke up Sunday, went to Angel Stadium and, in the first inning, walked Ian Kinsler, struck out Trout and Upton, then had Andrelton Simmons ground to third base. He returned for the second inning and walked Cozart and struck out Jefry Marte, over 28 pitches. Cash summoned reliever Matt Andriese, whod started for the Rays a week ago in a scheduled bullpen game. There would be no third time through against the same pitcher.

I think its a very interesting concept, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

I dont know if its innovative or not, Rays manager Kevin Cash said about his new pitching strategy. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

A manager sets a lineup and there is a single inning  one  in which he is guaranteed to have go precisely as he designs it. That would be the first inning. The rest is a crapshoot. More of a crapshoot than the first inning. In a game where anything can happen, a lot of it bad, thats what a manager gets  three guys at the start. So, thats part of it, too, if the Rays can match up a more effective pitcher  right vs. right, in the case of Romo ahead of Yarbrough.

The Rays presumably would not mess with a Chris Archer or Blake Snell start. Otherwise, they improvise. They blow up the traditional methods. Also, starting pitching is expensive and tends to break. Competitively, financially, would the Rays be better off paying $10 million or more a year for an average starting pitcher? They clearly dont think so. Or dont want to. Or cant.

Either way, here they are, chasing perfection that probably doesnt exist, watching their own hitters go two for nine against Ohtani the third time through, both harmless singles, and on their end doing the best they can with what theyve got.

Whether this  using Romo, perhaps lefty Jonny Venters, any reliever, as an opener (as opposed to a closer)  will be a model going forward or is simply a product of time and place and personnel, Cash shrugged.

Thats a long conversation, he said. Theres a lot of thoughts about it. Im confident were going to continue to do it.

In the short term, five Rays pitchers beat the Angels, 5-3, on Saturday night. Four of them lost, 5-2, to the Angels and Ohtani on Sunday afternoon. Eight walks did them in.

But, hey, it could work. If not, therell be another 27 outs to get tomorrow. You can always start over.

      

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Moscow (AFP) - Russian television showed an interview on Monday with a woman purporting to be the mother of poisoned Russian double agent Sergei Skripal, demanding British authorities let her to speak to her son.

"I have not seen my son in 14 years. I want to meet him. I want to hold him close to me, to my heart," the woman, introduced as Elena Skripal, told broadcaster Pervyi Kanal.

"I am 90 years old. I do not pose a danger to anyone. Please, let me just make a phone call to my son," she added, shown sitting in a nightdress.

"Why don't they allow a call? Why? For what reason? After all, when he was at home we talked every week... I demand he be allowed talk to me," she said tearfully to a talk show.

Skripal is a former military intelligence officer who passed information on Russia's agents in Europe to British security services, resulting in imprisonment in his homeland.

He moved to Britain as part of a spy swap deal in 2010 and has lived there ever since.

Skripal and his daughter Yulia, visiting from Moscow, were discovered unconscious on a park bench in the southern British city of Salisbury on March 4.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons last month confirmed they had been poisoned with a toxic nerve agent.

Yulia Skripal, who spent several years living in Britain before returning to Russia, was released from hospital on April 11.

Sergei Skripal left hospital last Friday more than three months after the poisoning, which Britain blamed on Moscow.

Russia has denied responsibility, calling the accusations "unsubstantiated".

The case sparked a diplomatic crisis that saw Russia and the West expelling dozens of diplomats in tit-for-tat moves.The Texas community rocked by Fridays mass school shooting that killed eight students and two teachers came together to celebrate the life of Sabika Sheikh, a 17-year-old Pakistani exchange student who had been studying in the U.S. through a State Department-sponsored program.

Mourners, including her host family, the mayor of Houston and Santa Fe High School classmates, gathered at a local mosque on Sunday for the first funeral for those who were slain.

I always told her, Sabika, you have a warriors heart, Joleen Cogburn, Sheikhs host mother, tearfully told the crowd. Her host father, Jason Cogburn, told mourners how much they loved and cared for Sabika.

Just weeks from completing her school year and returning home, Sabika had dreams of one day working as a diplomat to help her country, her father Aziz Sheikh told Reuters. He spoke of how grateful she was to be studying in America.

Sabika Sheikh's host family members are comforted following a funeral prayer service at the Brand Lane Islamic Center on May 20, 2018 in Stafford, Texas. (Photo: Scott Olson via Getty Images)

Sabikas case should become an example to change the gun laws, her father added. I want this to become a base on which the people over there can stand and pass a law to deal with this. Ill do whatever I can.

He learned of her death from turning on the television after iftar, the meal Muslims eat to break the daily Ramadan fast, he told The Associated Press. He had been calling and messaging her without a reply.

The assumption that life is America is safe and secure is clearly untrue, he said. Attacks in the U.S., he noted, are rampant.

Abdul Khatri, one of the mosques worshippers, agreed. People come here because they are told there is peace here, he told The Washington Post. You have the right to be protected here. Its why I came. But to have this happen not in India or Pakistan, but here? We have gotten off track. And its been going on too long.

Worshippers pray in Stafford, Texas, during the funeral service of Santa Fe High School shooting victim Sabika Sheikh, 17, on May, 20, 2018. (Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI via Getty Images)

Other local congregations paid their respects to school shooting victims on Sunday as well. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) attended morning prayers at a Baptist church near Santa Fe High school, during which the pastor, the Rev. Jerl Watkins, blamed the shooting on a Godless, technology-obsessed society.

Story continues

It seems to me, since the 1960s in this country, weve begun to think technology and other things can replace our God, and weve taken God out of the schools, and social media has taken togetherness out of the family, Watkins said. Many of these video games and movies our children are exposed to on a daily basis is all about thrill and killing and destruction. Weve slaughtered millions of unborn children for the sake of convenience, and we twisted the sanctity of morality.

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said he plans to pay for all 10 funerals, describing the massacre as absolutely horrific.

Sabikas body will be flown to Pakistan for a traditional burial.

The investigation of the shooters motivation continues. The governor said the suspect wrote in a journal about carrying out a shooting and then committing suicide.

Also on HuffPost

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Santa Fe High School student Dakota Shrader is comforted by her mother Susan Davidson following a shooting at the school on Friday, May 18, 2018, in Santa Fe, Texas. Shrader said her friend was shot in the incident.

Law enforcement officers are responding to Santa Fe High School following a shooting incident in this Harris County Sheriff office, Santa Fe, Texas, U.S., photo released on May 18, 2018.

A man hugs a woman outside the Alamo Gym where parents wait to reunite with their children following a shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, on Friday, May 18, 2018.

ATF agents arrive on location at Santa Fe High School.

A Life Flight helicopter takes off from Santa Fe High School.

ATF agents arrive on location at Santa Fe High School where a shooter killed at least 10 students on May 18, 2018 in Santa Fe, Texas.

Emergency crews gather in the parking lot of Santa Fe High School.

Emergency medical personnel stage in the Santa Fe High School parking lot.

An FBI agent is seen in the parking lot of Santa Fe High School.

Emergency crews and police gather in the parking lot of Santa Fe High School.

Students exit Santa Fe High School.

Aerial view of Santa Fe High School.

Students are grouped together as they exit Santa Fe High School.

Law enforcement vehicles outside of Santa Fe High School.

Law enforcement behind Santa Fe High School.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.A man has been accused of intentionally ramming a car into a restaurant in Gaston County, North Carolina, at midday on Sunday, killing his daughter and daughter-in-law, and injuring several others.

Bessemer City Police said initial evidence suggests that Roger Self, 62, purposefully drove the vehicle into the Surf and Turf lodge, reported New York Times. Self was arrested after the incident and taken into custody. He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Katelyn Self, 26, Roger Self's daughter and an off-duty deputy at Gaston County Sheriffs Office, was killed in the attack, according to Sheriff Alan Cloninger. This young lady started out as a detention officer, worked her way up to deputy, he said.

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surf and turf

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Tragic, tragic loss of life, Cloninger said. All Id ask is for the people to keep the family in your prayers, and also this sheriffs office, because were suffering a little bit right now.

Austin Rammell, the familys pastor, said the second victim was Amanda Self, the suspects daughter-in-law. Authorities have confirmed that other relatives of Self were also injured in the attack.

Rammell, who claimed to be Selfs good friend, told Channel 9 that the man was suffering from mental illness, including depression and anxiety, and acted out of character. This is totally opposite of who he is, he said, adding that he saw the family in church only hours prior to the attack.

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This was not a conscious act by their father and they know that, Rammell said. He's been taking precautions. He had all the guns removed from his house, so he was making steps that were rational steps.

Story continues

"There's nobody in the world Roger loved more than those people and they know that Even in the most chaotic, senseless, moment like this, they at least cling to the confidence that they know where Kate and Amanda are."

A tweet posted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department indicated that the incident was motivated by domestic related matters.

Preliminary information indicates Surf and Turf Lodge incident is domestic related. Most popular: Dragon Ball FighterZ DLC Pack 2 Release Date Confirmed  CMPD News (@CMPD) 20 May 2018

Employees at the Surf and Turf lodge told the Gaston Gazette that Self came into the restaurant with his family before exiting abruptly and ploughing the car into the building where they were seated.

Law enforcement in the area extended their thoughts and prayers on social media after news of the incident broke.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Gaston County Sheriff's Office and the family and friends of Corporal Katelyn Self. Corporal Self was senselessly killed today while off duty," the Huntersville Police Department posted on Twitter.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Gaston County Sheriffs Office and the family and friends of Corporal Katelyn Self. Corporal Self was senselessly killed today while off duty. #backtheblue pic.twitter.com/VOVZjPiiJP  Huntersville Police (@HPDNC) May 20, 2018

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekFormer Education Secretary Arne Duncan proposed a nationwide boycott of schools until U.S. gun laws are changed to protect students.

Duncan suggested via Twitter that parents and American families pull their children out of U.S. schools just hours after another mass shooting left 10 people dead at Santa Fe High School in Texas. Duncan, a Chicago resident, was responding to a Friday tweet from the former assistant education secretary in the Obama administration, Peter Cunningham, who is now the executive director of the Education Post. Cunningham had written, "Maybe it's time for America's 50 million school parents to simply pull their kids out of school until we have better gun laws."

Duncan, a former superintendent of Chicago Public Schools, has been increasingly vocal on social media and at education conferences on what he sees as a dire need to end gun violence in schools through new firearm legislation. Duncan ridiculed Republican lawmakers for offering "thoughts and prayers" to the victims of the 22nd U.S. school shooting in the first 20 weeks of 2018.

"This is brilliant, and tragically necessary. What if no children went to school until gun laws changed to keep them safe? My family is all in if we can do this at scale. Parents, will you please join us?" tweeted Duncan. His post responded to former education assistant Peter Cunningham's essay urging parents to "demand common sense gun laws" by forcing Congress to act in an election year. Cunningham cited polls showing two in three Americans support stricter gun laws, but that Congress won't act on reforming firearm legislation unless they fear being voted out of office.

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RTR2XK2G

Reuters

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"What if every parent in America kept their children home from school on September 4 until Congress passed a package of gun laws that currently enjoy overwhelming support? That includes background checks for all gun purchases, a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and funding for gun research," he proposed.

At the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego last month, Duncan applauded the students-turned-gun law activists from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 people were killed in the Parkland, Florida February mass shooting. "They are moving this country in ways I've never seen," Duncan said, adding that "our generation absolutely failed. Our [Obama] administration absolutely failed." Duncan retweeted two of the most vocal Parkland survivors, Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, as they encouraged high school students to register and "vote these people out" during the 2018 midterms.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekJerusalem (AFP) - Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes inaugurated his country's Israel embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, making it the third nation to take the deeply controversial step after the United States and Guatemala.

Cartes and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the inauguration of the new embassy in a high-tech industrial park in southwest Jerusalem.

The Paraguayan leader called it a "historic event".

"This act has profound significance in the sense that it expresses Paraguay's sincere friendship and full solidarity with Israel," he said.

Netanyahu said cooperation between the two countries would become "greater", naming areas such as agriculture, security and technology.

"You have not only the support of our government but the profound gratitude of the people of Israel," Netanyahu said. "We remember our friends."

Paraguay already supplies some 40 percent of beef consumed in Israel, while Cartes has Israeli bodyguards.

The South American nation of some seven million people follows in the footsteps of the United States, which broke with decades of international consensus when President Donald Trump declared Jerusalem Israel's capital in December.

Washington followed up on the declaration by moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14, the day that also marked the 70th anniversary of the creation of the state of Israel.

The Palestinian leadership has frozen ties with the White House over the moves.

The US embassy opening was accompanied by mass protests and clashes along the Gaza border that saw 62 Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire.

No Israelis were killed, and there have been international calls for an independent investigation into the deaths.

Israel has rejected such calls, saying its actions are necessary to protect its border and stop Islamist movement Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, from using the protests as cover to carry out violence.

Story continues

Israel has sought to persuade other countries to follow the White House and move their embassies to Jerusalem from the Tel Aviv area, but so far only Paraguay and Guatemala have done so.

Guatemala opened its new embassy in the same Jerusalem office park as Paraguay's on May 16.

Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, harshly criticised Paraguay's decision, saying "moving an embassy to Jerusalem is a widely rejected step".

"We have witnessed today how the Paraguayan president is an irresponsible political leader by defying international law and the achievement of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East," he said in a statement.

Jerusalem's status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.Janet Jackson and Paris Jackson (Photos: AP, Getty Images)

When Janet Jackson received the Billboard Icon Award on Sunday night, she had some of her famous family in the audience. However, one person noticeably missing from the BBMAs was Janets niece, Paris Jackson.

Like most of us, Michael Jacksons only daughter watched the awards show at home, but she wasnt any less proud of Janet  whose stellar performance and buzzy acceptance speech were highlights of the night. Paris shared a post congratulating her aunt, before launching into a lengthy message in her Instagram Stories addressing those who criticized her absence.

Dear social media followers, friends, stalkers, lovers and haters, and fellow moonwalkers: Please do not tell me/demands/try to control how I handle my relationship with the people in my life, specifically my family, she begins. As amazing and as s***ty as things can be, it is no ones business but ours. I understand that some of you feel some sort of connection or need to be a part of our lives considering you watched us grow up. However, I am handling my situation exactly how my father did. And I am happy keeping it that way. I will always have love and respect for my family. ALWAYS. There is nothing more or less than that, that you need to know.

Jackson, 22, continues, Every family has their moments of trauma, heartbreak, separation, love, oneness, tribe, pain, everything. EVERY FAMILY. My family, specifically, and a good number of otherswell, our drama is broadcasted worldwide through media. But that doesnt mean our family issues are any different from yours. Ours are just made public. Every level has another devil. Every life has their own s*** to deal with. We aint inferior or superior to yall. Were all f***ing human. So lets act like it.

I appreciate any and every person reading this and Im grateful for everything in my life, positive and negative, she concludes.

Paris also tweeted, telling people to mind their own business and that she was unaware of Janets Icon Award.

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and you clearly didnt get the message. mind. your. own. should i spell it out for you in wooden alphabet blocks? no one told me about the performance or award. not my family or my management so take a hike dude.  Paris-Michael K. J. (@ParisJackson) May 22, 2018

i also have like a job and like a life im trying to provide for myself n my doggo  Paris-Michael K. J. (@ParisJackson) May 22, 2018

This isnt the first time she has addressed family drama. Paris  who has been romantically linked to Cara Delevingne  clapped back after reports surfaced that the Jacksons were worried about her behavior. Page Six ran a report claiming her famous family was concerned shes heading for a serious meltdown.

So apparently people think Im about to die, Paris said in an Instagram video last month. My therapist texted me about it laughing though, so thats good So I guess to the family members that are talking to all of these news outlets saying theyre worried for me: When is the last time you called me? [My brother] Prince isnt worried. Why? Because we talk all the time. We hang out. If youre worried about me, call me.

Prince Jackson arrives at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 20, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nev. (Photo: Getty Images)

Prince, 21, was in attendance at the BBMAs on Sunday in support of Janet. Matriarch Katherine Jackson and Rebbie Jackson were also in the audience.

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's prime minister challenged scientists on Monday to help diagnose cancer earlier and create zero-emission cars, trying to reboot an industrial strategy all but eclipsed by Brexit, while acknowledging Britain's reliance on foreign scientists. Theresa May, who is struggling to unite her top ministers over plans to leave the European Union, wants to broaden her agenda to show she is more than a leader charged with overseeing Britain's messy divorce with the bloc. In a speech in northern England, May pressed home her desire for Britain to be a leader in scientific research even after it leaves the bloc in March next year. "As we look towards that new future for the UK outside of the European Union, the UK's ingenuity and creativity will be what drives our progress as a nation," she told an audience at the Jodrell Bank space observatory. "And today, over half of the UK's resident researcher population were born overseas. When we leave the European Union, I will ensure that does not change." She set out four challenges for scientists: to use artificial intelligence to diagnose prostate, ovarian, lung and bowel cancer at an early stage to reduce deaths; to design products and services to help offer people an extra five years of independent, healthy life; to be at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles; and to halve the energy usage of new buildings by 2030. The government has promised to spend 7 billion pounds ($9.40 billion) for science, research and innovation as part of an industrial strategy that has, so far, barely got off the ground. Harpel Kumar, chief executive of the charity Cancer Research, welcomed the drive to try to diagnose cancer earlier, saying it would not only save lives but also save Britain's public health service money. But he said Britain "must remain an attractive place for the life sciences industry to invest": "If this platform unites government, academia, the charity sector, and industry, we will be primed to accelerate innovation and lead the healthcare sector to new heights." (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Kevin Liffey)Curt Mills

Security, Middle East

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on the Trump administration's Iran policy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, U.S. May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

The secretarys much-anticipated speech at Heritage was nothing short of a hardliners wishlist.

Pompeo Demands a Kings Ransom from Iran

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took center stage at the Heritage Foundation in Washington Monday morning, laying out the administrations strategy after President Donald Trump announced U.S. secession from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran deal, earlier this month. Iranian failure to meet a series of U.S. demandsincluding Irans withdrawal of forces from Syriawould result in the strongest sanctions in history, Pompeo said.

President Trump withdrew from the deal for a simple reason: it failed to guarantee the safety of the American people from the risk created by the Islamic Republic of Iran, the secretary said. No more.

For Pompeo and Heritage, the event was high-stakes. For Pompeo, it was his most specific enunciation of views on the subject since assuming the mantle at Foggy Bottom this month.

Much of Pompeos early tenure has been focused on North Korea, with two high-profile visits to the country already. The scuttled Trump administration ambassador to South Korea, Victor Cha, told a small crowd in Washington earlier this year that Pompeo had been given the North Korea portfolio, while new National Security Advisor John Bolton has been given the same for the Middle East and Russia.

As a congressman, Pompeo was a hardliner on Middle Eastern issuesa vociferous critic of the JCPOAand among the most hawkish on Syrias Bashar al-Assad, even when that position lost favor on the right, including with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.

But compared to Bolton, Pompeo has been perceived to be a relative restrainer. Pompeo is a likely future candidate. And as Thomas Wright put it in a piece in Politico earlier this month:

Pompeo has a longer time horizon than Bolton. He needs his term as secretary of state to be a success and recognized as such. He cant afford his own version of the Iraq war, whether it is against Iran or North Korea.

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At the very least, however, Pompeo played team ball on Monday morning. The secretary laid out twelve hardline demands, and hailed the end of U.S. participation in the JCPOA as a means to an end to American abetting of wealth creation for Iranian kleptocrats.

As of Monday morning, Pompeo and the United States have declared in no uncertain terms that their demands for a new deal with Tehran include a total ban on uranium enrichment and an end to Iranian support for regional militant groupsboth likely nonstarters.

This will only lead to one thing: Confrontation, said National Iranian American Council Trita Parsi. Perhaps THAT IS the strategy.

Indeed, Pompeo has reiterated U.S. support for Iranian protesters, some of whom seek to overthrow the government. On Monday, Pompeo challenged the Iranians to consider what kind of nation they want to be.

We support the #Iranian people who are demonstrating against an oppressive government. 3 deaths & internet interruption show the regimes true nature, Pompeo tweeted last week.

During U.S. participation in the JCPOA, Iran continued to be the worlds largest sponsor of terror, the secretary said at Heritage on Monday, adding that Iran continues to serve as sanctuary to al-Qaida, as it has done since 9/11, and remains unwilling to bring to justice senior al-Qaida members residing in Tehran.

Today we ask the Iranian people: Is this what you want your country to be known for? Pompeo said.

He was swiftly cheered by hawks.

This Pompeo speech is the speech [former Secretary of State John] Kerry should have delivered in 2013, before the Obama Administration agreed to pay Iran nuclear blackmail, and before it agreed to turn a blind eye to an insanely long list of terrible behaviors, said Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD). Schanzer has previously spoken to me about countries Iran is friendly with, including Qatar, which Schanzer charges is the ATM of the Muslim Brotherhood.

But Pompeo said if Tehran assents to the major changes he laid out, then the United States is prepared to lift all sanctions, and restore full diplomatic and commercial tiesa status not enjoyed since the revolution, nearly four decades ago.

Pompeos address signaled to a broad coalition of countries threatened by Iran regime as well as those who must choose [between] U.S. & the regime, theres a diplomatic path forward. And U.S. prepared to put big concessions on the table if big demands met, said Mark Dubowitz, also of FDD, who calls the approach risky, but workable. Dubowitz, a self-proclaimed fixer of the Iran dealnot a nixerand his role in the JCPOA debate have been much maligned by champions of the deal. But Dubowitz and Iran hawks arent resting easy, concerned that the administration will parallel a tough line on Iran with a pullout in Syriaa net loss, from their perspective. If Trump gives up Syria to the Iranian regime, its game, set and match [Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp chief] Suleimani, Dubowitz said.

But restrainers warned Pompeos requests werent workablenot even close. Pompeos wishlist for Iran is massively unrealistic.The only thing hes not asking for is Iran to rename itself the Former Yugoslav Republic of Iran, tweeted Emma Ashford of the CATO Institute. Pompeos speech isnt a strategy. Its a fantasy.

Curt Mills is a foreign-affairs reporter at the National Interest. Follow him on Twitter: @CurtMills.

Image: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers remarks on the Trump administration's Iran policy at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, U.S. May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Read full articleBOARD member appointments, hurricane insurance, bill amendments and North Caicos ATMs were all hot topics at the latest meeting of the Cabinet.





Governor John Freeman chaired this years 10th meeting on Wednesday, May 9, at the NJS Francis Building in Grand Turk. All ministers were present.





At this meeting Cabinet:

-Approved the write-off of unrecovered staff advance account balances of former TCIG staff from the TCIG Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet) for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval in accordance with Section 51 of the Public Finance Management Ordinance 2012.





-Noted the decision by the TCI Civil Aviation Authority to acquire a new aviation audit data management tool subject to budgetary provision being made.





-Approved draft policy guidelines on the waiver of customs storage fees on materials imported by individuals to replace items destroyed or damaged in the September hurricanes.





-Approved the renewal of TCIGs policy for tropical storm or hurricane insurance cover for 2018/19 with the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility, Segregated Portfolio Company.





-Advised the governor to approve the draft Turks and Caicos Islander (Amendment) Bill 2018 for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval.





-Advised the governor to approve the draft Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2018, subject to budgetary provision being made to implement the proposed changes to the Road Traffic Ordinance and Regulations being amended, for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval.





-Approved the appointments of members to the TCI Community College Board of Governors and the Education Advisory Board/Scholarship Committee which fall under the Ministry of Education.





-Advised the governor to approve the draft Electricity (Validation) Bill 2018 for forwarding to the House of Assembly for approval.





-Advised the governor to approve the grant of a 25-year lease, with an option to renew, over

Crown Land Parcel 61112/281 in Providenciales for the establishment of a beach park facility for kiteboarding and windsurfing on Long Bay Beach.





-Received a report from the minister of tourism, environment, heritage and gaming on feedback from a public consultation on a draft gaming bill.





Cabinet approved amendments to the draft bill following the public consultation subject to the ministry identifying and confirming to Cabinet that there is budgetary provision to give effect to the bill.





-Approved the appointments of members to the Prison Visiting Committee in accordance with Section 44 (1) of the Prisons Ordinance.





-Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson presented a report on steps that the TCIG is taking to remedy ongoing problems at the National Health Insurance Board (NHIB).





-Agreed a final extension to the interim appointment of Dr Hamlet Nation to act as CEO of the NHIB with effect from May 17.





-At the request of the governor, received an update from the premier on progress to appoint a new board for Invest TCI.





-At the request of the minister of tourism, environment, heritage and gaming, received an update from the attorney general on the provision of ATM banking services on North Caicos.





-In response to a request by the minister of tourism, environment, heritage and gaming, the governor undertook to seek an update on the status of TCIGs overseas offices.





-Discussed departmental budget allocations and priorities.





-The deputy governor briefed Cabinet on a meeting that she had with the TCI School Teachers Association on May 8.





-Confirmed Cabinet approval of policy guidelines on the waiver of customs duties on materials imported by individuals to replace items destroyed or damaged in the September hurricanes.





-Confirmed Cabinet approval of the draft National Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism Strategy 2018 to 2019 and AML/CFT National Action Plan 2018 to 2019.



Juan Carlos Cruz met the Pope three weeks ago - AP

God loves gay people and it is fine to be homosexual, Pope Francis has reportedly said.

The Pope made the remarks, which went significantly beyond his previous tolerance for homosexuality, during a meeting three weeks ago with a Chilean man who had been sexually abused by Catholic priests.

The Pope offered a heartfelt apology to Juan Carlos Cruz, who was a victim of Chiles most notorious abusive priest, Fernando Karadima.

Mr Cruz, who is gay, said the conversation moved on from the abuse crisis to the nature of homosexuality.

He told me Juan Carlos, that you are gay does not matter. God made you like that and he loves you like that and I do not care.

The Pope loves you as you are, you have to be happy with who you are," Mr Cruz told El Pais, the Spanish newspaper.

Pope Francis reportedly made the comments to Juan Carlos Cruz three weeks ago Credit: VINCENZO PINTO/AFP

The Popes words appeared to go further in terms of tolerance than remarks he made in 2013, when he said of homosexuals Who am I to judge?

Speaking to the Vatican press corps on his return to Rome from a trip to Brazil, he said gay people should not be marginalised but rather integrated into society.

He was responding to questions about claims of an alleged "gay lobby" of clerics working in the heart of the Vatican.

"If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge?" he replied.

The Roman Catholic Church insists that while homosexual orientation is not sinful in itself, homosexual acts certainly are because they are against natural law.

The Pope is not changing official Church teaching, but he is at least signalling a much more open and inclusive approach, which will upset many conservative Catholics.

The Vatican neither confirmed nor denied the comments that Francis reportedly made to Mr Cruz.

This is not a shift in theological teaching or dogma, said Robert Mickens, a Vatican expert and the editor of La Croix International, a Catholic publication.

It was a pastoral response to an individual. The Pope always likes to deal with the individual.

Story continues

The Pope elaborated on his who am I to judge? comment in a recent book by an Italian expert on the Vatican.

The pontiff told him: "I was paraphrasing by heart the catechism of the Catholic Church where it says that these people should be treated with delicacy and not be marginalised."

He added: Let us not forget that God loves all his creatures and we are destined to receive his infinite love."

Mr Cruz was one of three former sex abuse victims from Chile who came to Rome to receive an apology from Pope Francis for the years of abuse that they endured.

The victims described clerical sexual abuse as an epidemic that has destroyed thousands of lives.

Pope Francis had initially been slow to realise the gravity of the crisis in Chile and even came to the defence of a controversial bishop linked to Father Karadima, the abusive priest.

But he performed an about-turn after Vatican investigators presented him with a 2,300-page dossier showing that sexual abuse of minors had been covered up in Chile for decades, in a pattern that has been repeated in many other countries, notably Ireland.

On Friday, Chiles 34 bishops offered to resign en masse over the abuse scandal, an act without precedent in the history of the Catholic Church.In whats been characterized as the most progressive remarks ever uttered by a modern pontiff about homosexuality, Pope Francis reportedly told a gay man during a recent conversation at the Vatican that God made you like that and he loves you like that.

Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of clerical sexual abuse, said Francis made the comments to him when they met for a private discussion last month to discuss the sex abuse and cover-up scandal involving Catholic priests in Cruzs native Chile.

He told me, Juan Carlos, the fact that youre gay doesnt matter. God made you like that, and he loves you like that, and I dont care, Cruz told Spanish newspaper El Pais, recalling his two-and-half-hour conversation with the pontiff.

Cruz, who was abused as a child by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, Chiles most notorious pedophile priest, told the paper that his sexual orientation came up during the discussion because he has been targeted for being gay after speaking out about his abuse.

They had told [Francis] that I was practically a pervert. I explained that Im not the reincarnation of San Luis Gonzaga, but I am not a bad person, I try to not harm anyone, Cruz told El Pais.

Francis responded, Cruz said, by telling him, The pope loves you [as you are], you have to be happy with who you are.

I spoke for more than two and a half hours alone with Pope Francis. He listened to me with great respect, affection and closeness, like a father. We talked about many subjects. Today I have more hope in the future of our church... Even though the task is enormous.  Juan Carlos Cruz Ch. (@jccruzchellew) April 29, 2018

A representative at the Vatican declined to confirm or deny the pontiffs remarks, telling The Los Angeles Times, We dont normally comment on the popes private conversations.

Francis has spoken with compassion about homosexuality, though his comments have not led to any real change in the churchs longstanding position on homosexuality.

Story continues

If someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will, then who am I to judge him? Francis famously said in 2013. Later that year, he suggested in an interview that God does not reject and condemn gay people.

The LA Times described Francis reported comments to Cruz as expressing a possibly new level of acceptance of homosexuality for the Catholic Church.

This is a big deal, I cannot remember the pope making a comment about gay people being born that way, the Rev. James Martin, an American priest who has advocated for bridging the divide between the church and the LGBTQ community, told the Times this week.

Pope Francis has repeated what all reputable biologists and psychologists say  you dont choose your sexual orientation. And that is a great comfort to many gay and lesbian Catholics who have been told by priests that they have chosen their orientation and are therefore guilty, Martin continued.

Observers have warned against hyping the pontiffs comments, however, as they were uttered in private and dont represent a shift in church teaching.

The Catholic Churchs catechism, which summarizes the churchs doctrinal positions, states that homosexualitys psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Homosexual acts are described as depraved and contrary to natural law.

Under no circumstances can they be approved, the catechism reads.

Still, experts said Francis reported comments suggested that church attitudes toward the LGBTQ community are shifting.

It goes beyond who am I to judge? to you are loved by God, Christopher Lamb, the Vatican correspondent for the Catholic newspaper Tablet, told The Guardian. I dont think he has changed church teaching but hes demonstrating an affirmation of gay Catholics, something that has been missing over the years in Rome.

Additional reporting by HuffPost reporter Carol Kuruvilla.

(Photo: Remo Casilli/Reuters)

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the altar. (Photo: Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/Getty)

From Princess Charlottes impossibly cute wave to a gospel choir rendition of Stand by Me, there were many moments at the royal wedding that gave viewers awe-inspired goosebumps. But perhaps the most emotional moment came when Prince Harry wiped away tears while listening to a hymn that was also played at the funeral of his mother, Princess Diana.

Prince Harry appeared to get choked up during the singing of Guide Me, O Thy Great Redeemer, a hymn that was also sung at Princess Dianas funeral https://t.co/OvLScRZ1ps pic.twitter.com/4gVRhlQW0h  CBS News (@CBSNews) May 19, 2018

Prince Harry was just 12 in 1997 when his mother died in a car crash in a tunnel in Paris. More than 20 years later, the 33-year-old prince appeared to tear up during the tribute to his mother. The moment was inarguably moving, but what the nearly 30 million people watching (in America alone) may not have realized was that it was one of the few times Prince Harry has actually shed tears over his moms death.

Prince Harry adorably wipes away a tear at the #RoyalWedding.  pic.twitter.com/VG6yiGp5PZ  People (@people) May 19, 2018

In the 2017 HBO documentary Diana, Our Mother, Prince William and Harry opened up abut the days and years following her tragic death. But while William appears on the verge of tears during it, Harry does not. The first time I cried was at the funeral on the island. And only since then maybe once, says Harry. So theres a lot of grief that still needs to be let out.

The discrepancy between Harry and his brother is one he addressed in the film. I was so young that I grew up thinking not having a mom was normal. I think it was a classic case of dont let yourself think about your mom and the grief and hurt that comes with it, because its never going to bring her back and its only going to make you more sad, he says in the film. People deal with grief in different ways, and my way of dealing with it was basically shutting it out, locking it out.

Story continues

Given his lack of tears over her death throughout the years, it was especially significant that he appeared emotional at the wedding. But although the infrequent showing of emotion may seem like a dangerous repression of grief or emotions, an expert on the topic and founder of grief.com David Kessler says its the opposite. Thats what I call a practical griever, Kessler tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Those of us who feel highly often look at those people and think theyre delayed or diminished, that theyre not grieving right. But theyre actually grieving perfectly for them.

As someone who also lost his mother as a young boy, and went on to speak as a grief expert in the aftermath of Princess Dianas death, Kessler is uniquely equipped to weigh in on Prince Harrys trauma. He says that the tears on Saturday during her tribute were likely driven by a variety of factors. Our first connection is with our mother, that is always  and often  our deepest connection, Kessler says. So when your mother is not at your wedding, her absence is very loud.

On top of the innate connection we feel to mothers, Kessler  who has written five books on grief says milestones like a wedding can trigger emotions that are usually kept at bay. We do have a sense that, if theres ever moment our mother can show up and watch in on us, it would be our wedding, he says. So the mixture of her not being there, but having the feeling that shes still a part of that moment, how could it not melt that heart?

While its healthy to shed tears for the loss of a loved one, Kessler validates Prince Harrys process. Thats how he deals with it, in his time. I think hes grieving perfectly, says Kessler. There will be more milestones. When he first has his own child, for example, Im sure thats another moment hell feel the absence of his mother again.

Kessler says that emotional moments will likely crop up again in the coming years. We often think grief has an ending, but we will forever miss that person, Kessler tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Hopefully as you grieve you begin to grieve with more love than pain. But its not like there will be a day where hes going to quit missing his mother.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.



As the reverend said at Prince Harry and Meghan Markles wedding, The gift of marriage  is given as the foundation of family life in which children are born and nurtured and in which each member of the family, in good times and in bad, may find strength, companionship and comfort, and grow to maturity in love.

So with children on the brain (the couple hasnt shied away from expressing their desire to start a family), it begs the question: Will the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs kids get to be called prince or princess?

What title will Harry and Meghans future children have? (Photo: Getty Images)

The simple answer is no. Prince and princess and his/her royal highness statuses are reserved for children or grandchildren of the monarch.

Prince George was the exception, as his father, Prince William, is in line to be king. The queen actually issued a new letters patent when Princess Charlotte was born to give her the same title as her brother. If she hadnt, Princess Charlotte would instead have been known as Lady Charlotte Mountbatten-Windsor.

And with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcoming their third child in April, Prince Harry has been pushed down to sixth in line to the throne, meaning its highly unlikely his offspring could be the monarch.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Prince George and Princess Charlotte. (Photo: Getty Images)

If Prince Harry and Meghan have a child before Prince Charles ascends to the throne, then because theyre now considered the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, their children will likely be given lord or lady titles.

However, should Prince Charles take over from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Harry and Meghans future kids could eventually become a prince or princess, as their grandfather would be king.

However, there is precedent to turn down the title. The children of Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, are entitled to prince and princess titles because their father is the son of the queen, however they decided to break from tradition.

The children of Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, are entitled to prince and princess titles because their father is the son of the queen, however they decided to break from tradition. (Photo: Getty Images)

When their daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, was born, she was eighth in line to the throne, but her parents decided to give her a lady title instead of princess. Likewise, their son, James, was named James Alexander Philip Theo and is known as Viscount Severn.

Story continues

For all things royal wedding, from details on Meghan Markles dress to cute pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, click here. Want to relive every moment? Watch it all here.



Philadelphias National Constitution Center (pictured in 2011) will host the schools prom. (Photo: William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

A high schools encouragement to party like its 1776 has resulted in backlash and a formal apology.

As New Jerseys Courier Post newspaper reports, Cherry Hill High School East in Cherry Hill, N.J., created a stir by issuing tickets to the senior prom with the phrase party like its 1776.

The language was in reference to the proms venue, the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, student body vice president Madison Vogel told Fox.

We thought it would be fun to do a play on the Prince song [1999], she explained.

But many saw it as a tone-deaf exclusion of the schools minority students. In 1776, slavery was still alive and well, and wouldnt be abolished for nearly 100 years. It would also be close to two centuries before civil rights legislation was passed.

Dennis Perry, principal at Cherry Hill High School East, acknowledged the oversight in a letter of apology.

It was insensitive and irresponsible not to appreciate that not all communities can celebrate what life was like in 1776, he wrote in a letter that he also posted on Twitter. I especially apologize to our African African students, whom I have let down by not initially recognizing the inappropriateness of this wording.

Please read this letter of apology to the East Community. pic.twitter.com/BnokMF0n9Q  Dr. Dennis Perry (@drperryateast) May 18, 2018

According to Perrys letter, new tickets will be issued without the controversial wording, while the school will make efforts going forward to get approval from a diverse group of people on relevant school communications.

Two local civil rights activists told the Courier Post that they appreciated Perrys statement, though they stressed the importance of getting insight from minorities on these types of decisions.

Talk about it with people before you take an action and we wont have this happen, Danny Elmore, vice president of the Cherry Hill African-American Civic Association, said.

Story continues

The intent was a good intent, he added. However, for some Americans, 1776 itself was not a good time.

Not everyone agrees. Many of the responses to Perrys tweet with the letter of apology charge that the controversy has been overblown and that people are unnecessarily taking offense.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

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20-year-old dress saves this teens prom after Hurricane Harvey

Police officers served as prom dates for these special needs teens

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.



The longer we ignore the toxic masculinity that underlies so many of these crimes, the more violence were enabling

Santa Fe high school students hug each other outside the Alamo gym after the shooting on 18 May. Photograph: Michael Ciaglo/AP

The massacre at Santa Fe high school last week that left 10 people dead  most of them students  seems to have something in common with so many other mass shootings that happen in the US: misogyny. The shooter, one victims mother claims, targeted her daughter as the first victim because she rejected his continued harassing advances.

How many more tragedies have to happen before we recognize that misogyny kills? The longer we ignore the toxic masculinity that underlies so many of these crimes, the more violence were enabling.

Sadie Rodriguez told the LA Times that her daughter Shana Fisher had four months of problems from the Santa Fe shooter.

He kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no. A week before the shooting, she says, her daughter stood up to the shooter and embarrassed him in class.

This comes not even a month after the van attack in Toronto that killed 10 people and injured 13 more  violence enacted by a man who was reportedly furious that women wouldnt sleep with him. Before that there was the 2015 shooting at an Oregon college by a young man who complained of being a virgin with no girlfriend. In 2014, there was Elliot Rodger, who killed six people and left behind a 140-page sexist manifesto and videos where he warned: I dont know why you girls arent attracted to me but I will punish you all for it. In 2009, George Sodini killed three women at a gym in Pennsylvania after lamenting online that younger women wouldnt date him.

Even in the mass shootings where the stated motive isnt disdain for women, theres often a history of domestic or sexual violence from the killer.

Since the attack, weve heard Republican leaders blame the violence on everything from Ritalin use and video games to lack of religion in schools and even abortion. (Never guns, of course  despite the fact that this is the 22nd school shooting in the US just this year.)

Story continues

And even though feminists continue to raise the alarm about the common thread of sexism and misogyny in these crimes, too many people seem to be missing the point.

Women should not have to be afraid of rejecting a man lest he kills her and others

After the attack in Toronto, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat published an ill-advised piece about the redistribution of sex, an idea that originated in misogynist online forums for incels who would like to see women forced to have sex with low status men. And just a few days ago, Canadian psychology professor and author Jordan Peterson, who enjoys a cult following of disaffected young men, said in a New York Times profile that young men wouldnt commit crimes of mass violence if there was enforced monogamy.



The solution to misogynist crimes isnt to ensure that violent men have sexual access to women  its that we teach men that theyre not entitled to womens sexual attention to begin with.

Women should not have to be afraid of rejecting a man lest he kills her and others; men should not grow up believing that theyre owed sex by women. These should not be tall orders.



Before another young man decides to take his misogynist rage out at a school, or a gym, or a city street  lets finally do something.Tim Roemer (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Mukhtar Khan/AP, Getty Images (2)).

WASHINGTON  President Trump may decry the deep state supposedly undermining his administration, but former Rep. Tim Roemer is worried about a money state of anonymous wealthy donors who he says are corroding American democracy.

I think you can say theres only, sadly, one thing important in our politics, and that is lots of money, Roemer, who co-chairs a political reform group called Issue One, told the Yahoo News podcast The Long Game.

There is this reliance on money to recruit candidates, and ask them to write their own checks, and how rich they are, not how rich their ideas are for our country to make it better, Roemer said.

Complaints about the role of money in politics are commonplace. But whats also widespread is confusion about what people mean when they talk about money in politics. Do they want to get rid of money in politics? Or do they simply want to get rid of dark money, which is the ability of wealthy individuals to give huge sums of money to candidates or unaccountable outside groups without ever having their identity disclosed?

Roemer said that for him and Issue One, its the latter. Anonymous donors and dark money groups can have massive influence over the outcome of elections without ever being detected.

I think due to our First Amendment rights, and due to other considerations in our Constitution, that there is going to be money in politics, a certain amount. Id like to see it decrease significantly, but  I think transparency is the key, Roemer said.

He said that, personally, he would also like to see the elimination of leadership PACs, the fundraising vehicles used by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to help the candidates they prefer in party primaries and in general elections.

Issue One wants to change the way the Federal Election Commission is structured, so that election laws preventing coordination between campaigns and super-PACs are enforced.

Story continues

Nobodys going to jail for that, because the Federal Election Commission is designed not to work, Roemer said. The FEC currently has two Republican and two Democratic commissioners, and Issue One would like to see another member added to break ties. (There are two vacancies, but the panel has long been evenly divided between the two major parties.)

Roemer, a conservative Democrat who represented Indianas Third Congressional District for most of the 1990s, went on to become President Barack Obamas first U.S. ambassador to India and is now a strategic counselor at APCO Worldwide, a prominent crisis management and public relations firm.

Download or subscribe on iTunes: The Long Game by Yahoo News

Issue One was started by a former liberal magazine publisher, Nick Penniman, in 2013, but touts itself as the only nonprofit political reform group in Washington with a track record of uniting Republicans and Democrats. The group has an impressive bipartisan membership of more than 125 former members of Congress.

The group is working on Capitol Hill with lawmakers to push a handful of reforms. One would require the largest digital platforms such as Google and Facebook to disclose and publicize any entity that pays more than $500 to promote its content online, with an aim toward shining a light on any attempts by foreign entities to influence American politics.

Facebook has already announced some of its own measures to disclose the source of paid advertising on its platform amid a firestorm over how it approached the 2016 election.

Russian intelligence services used online platforms like Facebook to inflame and heighten divisions between American voters during the 2016 election, according to multiple findings by the U.S. intelligence community, the independent media and Facebook itself. In addition, the Republican-controlled Senate Intelligence Committee, the U.S. intelligence community and special counsel Robert Mueller have all determined that Russian meddling in the 2016 election was intended to aid Trumps candidacy versus Democrat Hillary Clinton.

And the U.S. intelligence communitys top leaders said Russia is already targeting the 2018 midterm elections.

Separately, Issue One is also pushing for tax credits and rebates for those who give small dollar political donations. Roemer argued that such reforms are needed to make American voters feel like theyre in control.

And right now they believe donors are in control, they believe lobbyists are in control, and they believe that the people with money are in control, and that theyre at the bottom of the line, he added.

We cant sustain our great democratic principles in our republic if the American people dont believe that they matter, and voting goes down to 50, 45, 40 percent, and people dont trust their sacred institutions here in America, he said.

Read more from Yahoo News:Kerry Kennedy speaks at the Milken Institute Global Conference on April 30 in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP)

NEW YORK  In a speech here Monday, Kerry Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedys daughter, drew an implicit contrast between her father  a senator and presidential candidate in 1968  and the man who is president today. She did not mention President Trump by name.

Kennedy, president of the organization Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, spoke after receiving an award for citizen activism.

She began her speech by quoting her father, who was assassinated almost exactly 50 years ago on the night he won the California primary.

Peace and justice and compassion towards those who suffer  thats what the United States should stand for, and thats what Ill do if Im elected president, Kennedy said in her remarks at the University Club, just two blocks south of Trump Tower. Imagine a politician, a serious presidential contender, standing up and saying that.

Thats exactly what my father advocated, she continued. Because he was animated by a moral imagination that allowed him to see things from the perspective of others whether they were farmworkers in New York or California, or African-Americans contemplating riots after the death of their leader.

She recalled Robert F. Kennedys famous speech in Indianapolis on April 4, 1968  the night of Martin Luther King Jr.s assassination  in which he invoked the death of his brother President John F. Kennedy.

When Dr. King was killed, Daddy stood in front of a crowd of the largest African-American community in Indianapolis, and he said, For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and distrust at the injustice of such an act against all black people, I can only say that in my own heart I feel the same kind of feeling, Kerry Kennedy said. Try to imagine a political leader addressing a group of people armed with bicycle chains and table legs and Molotov cocktails  and theyre ready to riot  and expressing an understanding of their feelings of violence.

Over 100 U.S. cities experienced rioting in the wake of Kings death, she said, but Indianapolis was peaceful  and remained peaceful  because of that moral imagination and capacity for empathy.

Story continues

That ability also saved our country from nuclear war, Kerry Kennedy said while recalling how her father, the U.S. attorney general and a confidant and adviser to President Kennedy, helped resolve the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

Daddy was able to understand that [Soviet statesman Nikita] Khrushchev didnt personally want combat, she said.

Kerry Kennedy was presented with the American Spirit Award for Citizen Activism after a tribute to Robert F. Kennedy by Alec Baldwin. David Hogg, the student activist who survived the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., received the same award.

Hogg was introduced by former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, whose Everytown for Gun Safety is one of the countrys leading anti-gun-violence groups.

I for one am just tired of all this, Bloomberg said. And Ive committed myself to do everything I can to stop it.

Bloomberg criticized Congress for inaction on U.S. gun laws, saying last weeks school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, was preventable.

The worst part is when something as terrible as this has happened, however, is that we let it happen again, and again, and again, he said, without taking the steps that could save so many lives.

Hogg, who has been equally critical of the lack of response by lawmakers to school shootings, struck more of a conciliatory tone in his acceptance speech.

At the end of the day, were not Democrats or Republicans  were Americans, Hogg said. We should love each other as people.

Read more from Yahoo News:Sam Nunberg, a former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, predicted on MSNBC that Roger Stone will likely be indicted in special counsel Robert Muellers probe into Russian election meddling for "some stupid financial thing." .

"Do you think Roger Stone is in any legal jeopardy? MSNBC host Alex Witt asked Nunberg, who has previously described Stone as a "mentor."

"I think Roger is most likelyand hes prepared for this and he should begoing to get indicted, on some financial, Id say picayune, matter, Nunberg said.

Trending: U.S. Tells Iran 'You Deserve Better' And Promises Strongest Sanctions in History

"Mueller is treating all Trump associates as if they are the Mafia," Nunberg added. "And he is very selective about that."

Nunberg went on to say he believes Stone will beat whatever charges come up against him. The former aide, who has earned a reputation for speaking rather candidly during cable news segments, said he still keeps in contact with the former lobbyist.

"My last phone conversation with Roger was the Saturday before my Friday grand jury appearance, where I explained to Roger that I had received a subpoena, and his name is one of the people where I would have to hand over all communications," Nunberg said.

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Mueller also issued a subpoena in mid-May to Jason Sullivan, a former assistant to Stone, for documents and called on him to testify before a grand jury. During an earlier Sunday appearance on Meet the Press, Stone indicated that he was ready in case he is indicted.

I am prepared should that be the case, Stone said on Sunday. "But I think it just demonstrates, again, this was supposed to be about Russian collusion, and it appears to be an effort to silence or punish the presidents supporters and his advocates.

Story continues

Although Nunberg apparently still supports Stone, he has not been shy about his disdain for the president. In 2016, Trump sued Nunberg for $10 million for allegedly leaking information and violating a confidentiality agreement. The two eventually settled out of court.

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"I'm not a Donald Trump fan, as I told you before, OK? He treated me like crap," Nunberg said during a March media appearance that lit up the Twittersphere.

Since it launched in May 2017, Mueller's investigation has brought 17 indictments and five guilty pleas. Trump has called the probe a "witch hunt" several times, including once in a fiery tweet storm Sunday, where he tried to cast blame onto Democrats.

Roger-Stone

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekThe clouds hung low over the skyscrapers of midtown Manhattan, the constant rain in stark contrast to the bright sunshine greeting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before their wedding in Windsor.

But that didn't stop New Yorkers from filling out a number of bars at 6.30am to take in the spectacle on television  a mark of the American fascination with Britains royal family.

At the Dog and Bone bar on 25th Street, the flatscreen televisions shone like a beacon against the grey sky, bringing in wedding watchers in fascinators and rain coats.

Amber Rodriguez, 42, sat at the bar. She lives a few streets away and wanted to take in a cultural moment and particularly Ms Markle.

I would have come anyway, Ms Rodriguez said, talking about a love for British television and a visit to the UK last year, but Ms Markle was wonderful and a breath of fresh air in the monarchy.

TV series like The Crown have no doubt had an impact on many, the series having built up a healthy US audience. But America has long had a fascination with dynasties, including political stalwarts the Kennedy family and the Bush family.

On a street close to the bar, Steve Wilkins, 45, said that the royal family provide something different for Americans given their history.

While there is a certain irony to a country that once gained independence from Britain raptly following such events, the story from Ms Markle has certainly captured the imaginations of many who are willing to revel in the pomp and circumstance of the royal family.

Such devotion was not a surprise to Scott Robertson, who owns the Dog and Bone bar. We started receiving phone calls six months ago, said Mr Robertson  who had dressed the bars mascot, Winston the English bulldog, in a mini tuxedo for the occasion.

The Churchill Tavern, a nearby pub also owned by Mr Robertson, was packed with wedding watchers taking in the ceremony with coffees, juices  or for those in the mood, beers and cocktails.

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During the ceremony at the Dog and Bone there were cheers for famous faces popping up on camera, from David Beckham to Amal and George Clooney, and laughter at the reactions in the pews to the address given by Bishop Michael Curry. The rendition of "God Save the Queen" even brought applause from those gathered in the bar.

Every so often Ms Rodriguez, who works in fashion, would snap a picture of the screen, in order for her to create an gallery of the best hats and fascinators to share on her Instagram feed later.

American media went to great lengths to cater to this audience, which is not surprising given that, Wallis Simpson aside, this is likely the closest an American has got to the British royal family since the Boston Tea Party. Television and news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, TLC, HBO, Hallmark, and E! all offered a live stream with commentary. PBS were using coverage from the BBC, in addition to the UK broadcaster showing it on BBC America.

Among the 5,000 members of the international media covering the wedding, NBC set up five vantage points along the procession route for the newlyweds, and most major US television networks planned hours-long extended editions of flagship programmes, including staples like Good Morning America. Up to 23 million Americans watched the coverage of the wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011  with network bosses likely hoping for similar figures.

Meanwhile, across the country, events and viewing parties were taking place in hotels, pubs and homes everywhere from Los Angeles  where residents got up at 3am  to towns in Florida and the Rocky Mountains.

The phone hasnt stopped, Mr Robertson said of the rush for table reservations at his two establishments. In the last two weeks, it has been constant.By Olivia Rose

A PETITION, which demands that the British government acts immediately to close the Haitian consulate in the Turks and Caicos Islands, is currently in circulation.





It was launched earlier this week in light of the recent influx of illegal sloops into the Turks and Caicos Islands.





The strongly worded petition has been published on social media sites including Facebook and Twitter.





It states: "We, the people of the Turks and Caicos Islands, have had enough of the illegal entry of persons violating our border on sloops, sea going vessels and boats from the neighboring country Haiti





"In recent times the significant increase has enraged our people and caused widespread fear amongst the population.





"It is a threat to our overall security. We desire to see a cease in diplomatic normalcy with Haiti until the illegal entry stops.





"We demand an immediate closure of the Haitian consulate in Providenciales, which we believe is a tool used by illegal migrants in facilitating their efforts at illegal entry and illegal

residency.





"We demand that the integrity of our borders be respected by all nations and nationalities and that any attempt to illegally penetrate our borders is condemned by all law-abiding persons in the Turks and Caicos Islands.





It is unclear at this stage who wrote the petition.





Undoubtedly it has generated mixed reactions from the populace on social media.





While many residents agree with the rationale of the petition, others have expressed their outright disapproval.





One said: "I dont agree to close the Haitian consulate but the Government can certainly use the office to apply pressure on the Haitian government to help control their people.





"The consulate should be made to foot half the repatriation cost.





Another commentator wrote: "Are you seriously trying to divide the nation? Dont you ever think long term?





"There are plenty of TC Islanders/Haitians born here and have half parents. You guys are not considering them, are you?





"You seriously have no clue what youre saying or doing.





A third person said: "Why does the Haitian consulate even exist in the TCI? What purpose does it serve?





"I think we should close it immediately given the present circumstances dealing with this illegal immigration problem.



(WASHINGTON)  President Donald Trump said Sunday that he will demand that the Justice Department open an investigation into whether the FBI infiltrated his presidential campaign, an extraordinary order that came hours before his legal team said that the special counsel indicated its investigation into the president could be concluded by September.

Trump tweeted: I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes  and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!

Trumps pressure on the Justice Department  it asked its watchdog later Sunday to expand an existing probe of FBI actions  reached a new intensity with the demand, and came amid a White House strategy to combat the threat posed by special counsel Robert Muellers ongoing investigation into potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. And the presidents lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said that Mueller recently shared a timetable that suggested that its probe could end by Sept. 1 if Trump were to sit for an interview in July, which is the legal teams new working plan.

We said to them, If were going to be interviewed in July, how much time until the report gets issued?' Giuliani told The Associated Press on Sunday, referring to the report Mueller is expected to issue to Congress at the conclusion of his investigation. They said September, which is good for everyone, because no one wants this to drag into the midterms.

Giuliani said he did not want a repeat of what happened in 2016, when FBI Director James Comey announced in the campaigns final days that he was reopening the investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server, a decision Democrats believe cost Clinton the race. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, also said that Muellers team indicated that the entire probe could end by September, not just its investigation into potential obstruction of justice.

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This would be the culmination of the investigation into the president, Giuliani said.

The special counsels office did not respond to a request for comment.

It is not certain if Trump will sit for an interview with Mueller, though the president has publicly said he would. Giuliani said a decision on that would not be made until after Trumps summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, which is slated for June 12. The former mayor said Sunday the two sides were getting closer to agreeing on the parameters on a potential interview but would not put the odds of it happening at better than 50/50.

Giulianis apparent attempt to publicly pressure Mueller amid interview negotiations came just hours after Trumps demand for a new inquiry, which moved beyond his usual blustery accusations of institutional wrongdoing and into the realm of applying presidential pressure on the Justice Department, a move few of his predecessors have made.

Trump made the order amid days of public venting about the special counsel investigation, which he has deemed a witch hunt that has yielded no evidence of collusion between his campaign and Russia. In response, the Justice Department moved Sunday to defuse a growing confrontation with the White House by asking its inspector general to expand an existing investigation into the Russia probe by examining whether there was any improper politically motivated surveillance

It was not immediately clear if that move would satisfy Trump, or if any further demands could lead to a confrontation with FBI Director Christopher Wray or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller investigation. Rosenstein released a statement Sunday that read, If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action.

The Justice Department probe had begun in March at the request of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and congressional Republicans. Sessions and the lawmakers had urged Horowitz to review whether FBI and Justice Department officials abused their surveillance powers by using information compiled by Christopher Steele, a former British spy, and paid for by Democrats as part of the basis to justify monitoring Carter Page, a former campaign adviser to Trump.

Horowitz said his office will look at those claims as well as communications between Steele and DOJ and FBI officials.

Trump did not elaborate on the promised demand, which he included in one of a series of tweets he sent throughout the day Sunday. On Saturday, Trump tweeted, If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal. He said only the release or review of documents the House Intelligence Committee is seeking from the Justice Department can give conclusive answers.

Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, called Trumps claim of an embedded spy nonsense.

His demand DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems, Schiff said on Twitter. Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesnt care.

Trumps extraordinary demand of the Justice Department alarmed many observers, who felt it not only violated presidential protocol but could have a chilling effect on federal law enforcement or its use of informants. Giuliani defended the presidents actions.

As the presidents lawyer, I cant be concerned on what effect it may have, he said. To me, theres not much of a difference between an informants ongoing collection of information in a surreptitious way or a spy.

If this guy was an FBI implant into the campaign, Giuliani said, thats as offensive as Watergate.

Giuliani said the information discovered by the source, who was first reported by The New York to have met several times with Trump campaign officials who had suspicious contacts linked to Russia, should eventually be made public and released to Congress, even if his identity is kept confidential.

The GOP-led House Intelligence Committee closed its Russian meddling probe last month, saying it found no evidence of collusion or coordination between Trumps campaign and Russia, which Mueller is looking into. Schiff and other committee Democrats were furious and argued that Republicans had not subpoenaed many witnessed they considered essential to the committees work.

Sunday was not the first time that Trump accused his predecessor of politically motivated activity against him.

Without substantiation, Trump tweeted in March 2017 that former President Barack Obama had conducted surveillance the previous October at Trump Tower, the New York skyscraper where Trump ran his campaign and transition and maintains a residence. Comey later testified to Congress that internal reviews found no information to support the presidents tweets. Trump later fired Comey over the bureaus Russia investigation.Matthew RJ Brodsky

Security, Middle East

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani together with his counterparts, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan, attend a joint news conference following their meeting in Sochi, Russia November 22, 2017. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

For Putin, the path to consolidating his Syrian achievements may lie in an agreement with Israel that further solidifies Russias status.

Russia Is Reaping the Benefits of Israel's Actions in Syria

Russian president Vladimir Putin further cemented his position atop the Syrian power pyramid as a result of Israels massive air campaign that targeted Irans positions and Assads air defenses. Dubbed by Israeli military planners as Operation House of Cards, it was the most extensive aerial assault by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) in Syria since October 1973. Whether Jerusalems impressive military success translates into a political triumph will be determined by how Tehran responds going forward, but there is little doubt Iran suffered a major setback in a week already full of monumental disappointments. In the meantime, Putins strategic position in the Middle East has been enhanced and all he had to do was say, Yes, to Israeli prime minister Bibi Netanyahu.

Such an outcome was not guaranteed when Netanyahu met with Putin in Moscow, but the Israeli leader has his diplomatic ducks lined up in a row. Israels comprehensive military response to Irans rocket attack began just hours after the visit and received the Kremlins blessing. The United States was notified in advance as well. We told the Russians that we were going to strike in Syria, but we didnt tell them where exactly we were striking or what the targets were, a senior IAF officer told the Times of Israel. He added, The [de-confliction] mechanism worked to its fullest and we preserved our freedom of operation.

The Kremlins accommodating stance toward Netanyahus concerns, including the lack of criticism toward Israel in the wake of the attack was a new development that was no doubt welcomed with relief in Jerusalem. That is because Russia has played the role of arbiter since its September 2015 entry into the Syrian war on behalf of the beleaguered butcher, Bashar al-Assad. For several years, Russias growing presence posed an obstacle to Israels enforcement of its red lines, requiring deft diplomacy on Netanyahus part to arrive at an understanding over Israels operational parameters and manage the deconfliction line to avoid military mishaps.

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With close to ten meetings between Netanyahu and Putin since 2015, Israel and Russia have managed to avoid operational accidents but have not been on the same page regarding Irans place in Syrias future. For example, the parameters of the 2017 southwest Syria ceasefire and de-escalation zoneboth efforts spearheaded by Moscowdid not take into account many of Israels security concerns. Even more, the joint U.S.-Russian statement in November 2017 called for the reduction, and ultimate elimination of foreign fighters from southern Syria as part of the de-escalation zones creation but a few days later, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov referred to Irans presence in Syria as legitimate and said Russia did not commit to ensuring the withdrawal of Iran or its affiliated militias.

Russia also let its displeasure with Israel spill out into the media after its February and April strikes against the T-4 air base in Homs province, a major aerial logistical hub for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) where Russia also maintains a presence. There were reports that after Assad shot down an Israeli F-16 during the February mission that Netanyahu was ready to green-light a more comprehensive military response but scaled back after receiving a furious phone call from Putin.

Russia was likewise incensed after Israels airstrike at T-4 in April, which destroyed Irans soon-to-be-deployed advanced short-range air-defense system, the SA-15 (Tor missile system). The Kremlins tangible punishment would be delivered in the form of its sale of the SA-10 (S-300) air-defense system to Assad.

The rising Israeli-Russian friction was unmistakable. Yet somehow following Netanyahus meeting in Moscow and the successful execution of Operation House of Cards, Russia backed off the deal.

Even more interesting was the context in which the decision was made public. For now, were not talking about any deliveries of new modern (air defense) systems, top Kremlin aide Vladimir Kozhin said when asked about the possibility of supplying Syria with the S-300. Kozhin added that the Syrian military already had everything it needed, which is a remarkable comment given that Israel destroyed the lions share of Assads air defenses after being targeted during its operation.

The removal of these obstacles and gaining Putins tacit approval is a major development that would appear to be the result of Netanyahu convincing the Russian president of the following: first, that Israels only interest was in responding to Iran and its affiliated proxies in Syria. It had no issue with Russias position in Syria and would not target Assad or his defense assets. In fact, Israel would even warn Assad to stand down once the operation commenced. If Israel had to respond because Syrian forces foolishly decided to engage, then Israel would take out those targets but leave Assad personally unharmed. Nor would it widen the conflict to Lebanon if Iran did not order Hezbollah to attack from there, thereby avoiding the apocalyptic predictions analysts have warned about for years.

In short, the operation was presented as limited in both duration and scope, only targeting Irans assets, and maintaining the overall arch toward Syrian stability. Or, to put it in Obamacare sales-pitch lingo: If you like your Assad puppet Syria provider, then you can keep it. This only impacts Iran.

Regarding the transfer of the S-300, Netanyahu likely impressed upon Putin that the delivery of the system to Syria would constitute the crossing of a red line and would be immediately targeted as a threat to Israeli security. On the other hand, the deployment of the more advanced S-400 system near Russias coastal basesstrictly operated by Russias forceswas acceptable as it arrived a while ago in response to Turkeys downing of their Su-24 fighter plane in December 2015. That should suffice given that the S-400 is a world class air-defense system and Russia was not on Israels Syrian menu.

This understanding in advance of the operation apparently allowed Israel to first target IRGC and Hezbollah positions in al-Kisweh (just south of Damascus) and in Quneitra (adjacent to Israels Golan border) using only F-15 and F-16 fighter planes as the air component. If Israel believed their planes would either be targeted by the S-400 or that the information it gathered would be passed on to their Syrian counterparts waiting to ambush, the IAF strike configuration would have likely prioritized the removal of the threat posed by the air defenses before turning its attention to Irans command and control headquarters, intelligence facilities, logistical command sites, observation posts, missiles storage facilities, ground operations staging areas and so on. Open source reporting did not indicate Israel used its F-35 Adir stealth aircraft, nine of which were declared operational as part of the IAFs elite Golden Eagle Squadron.

Russia could have complicated the picture considerably by forcing a showdown with Israel over what Jerusalem considers to be a nonnegotiable security red line. As one former member of Israels elite Unit 8200, the Military Intelligence Directorates main information gathering arm told me in February, You dont fight with the Russians to defeat Hezbollah. We did that in the 1970s, downing Russian pilots to be able to fight in Egypt. I dont think the bill is worth it at the end of the day.

Putin judged such a decision as against his interests, which is defined in Syria as maintaining his expanded military presence and preserving his enhanced role as a regional arbiter. He may be coming around to the idea that he can accomplish that without Iran and against the wishes of Assad, who will become more dependent on his good graces if Tehrans position recedes.

For Vladimir Putin, the path to consolidating his Syrian achievements may lie in an agreement with Israel that further solidifies Russias status, and with the United States, which is focused solely on ISIS in eastern Syria and plans to withdraw. That could mean two things: The first is that the Iranian date Putin brought to the Syrian party is not as attractive as the Israeli he met at the ball. The second is that Israels operation may have exposed the nature of Irans gains in Syria as nothing more than a house of cards, vulnerable to the aerial forces that blow in unabated from the south.

Matthew RJ Brodsky is a senior fellow at the Security Studies Group in Washington, D.C. and coauthor of a forthcoming study on the transformation of Irans military presence in Syria and its impact on regional security. He can be followed on Twitter at @RJBrodsky.

Image: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani together with his counterparts, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Turkey's Tayyip Erdogan, attend a joint news conference following their meeting in Sochi, Russia November 22, 2017. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS

Read full articleAhead of a planned reform to the ban on women drivers in Saudi Arabia, the countrys leading womens rights activists have been detained and are being victimized by a smear campaign, say international human rights observers.

According to the Associated Press, the kingdoms state security said Saturday it had detained seven people who are being accused of working with foreign entities. The group are believed to include prominent womens rights activists Loujain al-Hathloul and Eman al-Nafjan, who both campaigned against Saudi Arabias driving ban on women and advocated for an end to the male guardianship system in a 2016 petition.

Over the weekend, several state-linked media outlets published the names and photographs of those detained, accusing them of betraying the state. Amnesty International reported that the detained were accused of forming a cell posing a threat to state security, and were targeted by a related hashtag on social media describing them as Agents of Embassies.

This chilling smear campaign is an extremely worrying development for women human rights defenders and activists in Saudi Arabia. Such blatant intimidation tactics are entirely unjustifiable, said Samah Hadid, Amnesty Internationals Middle East Director of Campaigns.

THREAD: Who are the 6 human rights defenders that #SaudiArabia detained and smeared? #?????_??????????? No. They are brave activists.



More on them below. pic.twitter.com/ZskOvqJfAo  Kareem Chehayeb | ???? (@chehayebk) May 19, 2018

Amid the wave of reforms that Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has promised since his elevation of power in June last year, a royal decree was issued in September granting women the right to drive cars. The first licenses are due to be issued in a matter of weeks, on June 24. The 32-year-old prince has been vocal about his plans to modernize Saudi Arabias economy, state of foreign affairs and society, yet has been criticized for his countrys current record on human rights.

Recent reforms to the countrys strongly conservative society have allowed women to attend sporting events, apply for government jobs, and enjoy the countrys first public cinema screening in 35 years. However, observers look to the recent detentions as indication that the long-term outlook on social reform for Saudi Arabias women may not be as promising as it appears.

Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salmans reform campaign has been a frenzy of fear for genuine Saudi reformers who dare to advocate publicly for human rights or womens empowerment, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, in a statement. The message is clear that anyone expressing skepticism about the crown princes rights agenda faces time in jail.Prince Harry and the Duke of Cambridge arriving at St George's chapel - PA

In most respects, Royal weddings bear little resemblance to the countless other civilian ceremonies that take place in these isles.

Yet amid the stunning pomp and pageantry of Prince Harry and Meghan Markles nuptials today there were a series of touching and emotional moments familiar to many families big day.

With a global audience of hundreds of millions of watching around the world, the happy couple managed to share some intimate moments at the altar.

And there were points where the joy they both felt was clear to see.

Meanwhile cameras also captured Ms Markles mothers tearful pride at watching her daughter marry the Prince a well as a cameo for the youngest members of the Royal Family.

Royal wedding day pictures: Best photos from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's ceremony and reception

Prince Harry visibly moved

Prince Harry looked confident and dashing as he arrived at St Georges Chapel with his brother and best man, the Duke of Cambridge.

The pair were dressed in the frockcoat uniform of the Blues and Royals, in a nod to the Princes military service.

Prince Harry and the Duke of Cambridge arriving at St George's chapel Credit: PA

But Prince Harrys face betrayed hints of emotion at times as he awaited his bride in the chapel.

He looked visibly nervous at points in the build-up and was seen taking the odd deep breath between exchanging the occasional comments with the Duke, for whom he was the best man in 2011.

Prince Harry looked nervous at points as he awaited his bride

Although his nerves appeared to ease and his face lit up when he finally laid eye on Ms Markle coming down the aisle.

You look amazing and holding hands

As Ms Markle approached the High Altar, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, Prince Harry was seen mouthing to her "you look amazing."

The Princes demeanour visibly warmed as Ms Markle approached, wearing a simple, long-sleeved white wedding dress, with veil covering her face.

The Prince's demeanor change when Ms Markle arrived at the altar Credit: PA

When she reached the altar smiles suffused across the faces of the happy couple and the Prince seemed more relaxed.

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As they waited for the opening hymn to end, the couple exchanged some words and both laughed as they shared a private joke.

The Prince and Ms Markle held hands at the beginning of the ceremony Credit: PA

The pair were then seen holding hands as the ceremony began.

Meghans joy

From the moment Ms Markle stepped out of the Rolls-Royce that brought her to St George's Chapel, she looked the epitome of poise and grace.

The former actresss demeanor was of someone at ease on such an elevated stage, with hundreds of million watching live.

Ms Markle had a smile on her face for large parts of the ceremony

As she stood next to her groom a faint smile could be seen showing the clear joy she was feeling, which rarely left her face throughout the ceremony.

At points the couple exchanged loving glances with each other, which frequently led Ms Markle breaking into a broad smile.

Dorias tears

Ms Markles mother, Doria Ragland, was also visibly emotional as she watched her daughter marry into royalty. The pair, who are very close, had spent the night together at the Cliveden House Hotel.

She also accompanied her daughter to the chapel in the vintage Rolls-Royce Phantom IV.

Sitting with her hands clasped on her lap, Ms Ragland was visibly tearful as she watched her daughter take centre stage inside the chapel.

Doria Ragland was tearful as she watched her daughter take her place at the altar

Ms Markles father, Thomas, had been due to walk his daughter down the aisle, but was unable to make the wedding due to health problems.

Ms Ragland watched the ceremony from the opposite side of the chapel from the Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.

There was a touching moment later in the ceremony, when Ms Ragland was required to witness the signing of the register and Prince Charles offered her his hand.

The Prince of Wales linking arms with Ms Ragland after the ceremony Credit: AFP

The two parents walked through hand-in-hand to officially register their children as a married couple and they left the chapel side-by-side behind the royal couple.

The kiss

Following the ceremony, the newlyweds emerged from St George's Chapel to loud cheers from the crowd.

The pair then delighted the onlookers by stopping on the stone stairs and sharing a tender kiss.

Prince Harry and Ms Markle shared a public kiss after the ceremony Credit: Reuters

According to lip reader Tina Lannin, when the newly-wed couple stopped mid-way down the West Steps there was a moment of uncertainty over their first kiss as husband and wife.

Meghan discreetly asked Harry: "Do we kiss?" To which Harry quietly replied: "Yeah".

Judi James, a body language expert, said: "The timing of the kiss was perfect and it looked like Meghan's idea to do it on the steps, as she was the one who murmured to him.

Ms Markle asked the Prince if they should kiss before their embrace Credit: Getty

"It almost seemed like her theatrical experience may have influenced the decision to do it early, as the more time you wait the more tension and pressure builds up. Whereas she signalled to do it early to keep things calm."

The children

Before the wedding, Ms Markle said she could not choose a maid of honour from her very close-knit group of friends so instead had children close to her and the Prince fulfill the roles.

Cutest pictures of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and more young royals at the wedding

Among those chosen for the special occasion were Prince George and Princess Charlotte as well as the pairs goddaughters Florence van Cutsem, Remi Litt, Rylan Litt, Ivy Mulroney and Zalie Warren.

Prince Harrys godson Jasper Dyer, and John and Brian Mulroney, the sons of Ms Markles close friends, Jessica Mulroney and Benedict Mulroney, completed the complement of page boys.

Princess Charlotte waving to the crowds as she makse her way into the chapel with her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge and the other bridesmaids Credit: PA

The page boys helped Ms Markle with her five metre long train. However the show was stolen by Princess Charlotte who appeared to enjoy her cameo thoroughly and was happily waving to the crowd.

Royal wedding | Read moreAuthorities are hunting for two dangerous murder suspects following a jailbreak from a South Carolina prison, which saw three men escape from behind bars.

Tyshon Demontrea Johnson, 27, and Curtis Ray Green , 20, both of whom are charged with murder in separate incidents, escaped from Orangeburg County on Saturday night along with a third man, Christopher Boltin, who faces carjacking and larceny charges.

Boltin was captured by police on Sunday night in Lexington County, while the two other men remain at large, WSPA reported.

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orangeburg

Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office

In a Facebook post sharing news of Boltins capture, Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said the escapee had been apprehended without issue.

Christopher Boltin was taken into custody in Lexington County by sheriff's deputies in that jurisdiction," the sheriff said. "He will be returned to Orangeburg and put back in jail to await his court hearing. We will now focus on the remaining two at large."

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Boltins whereabouts was discovered as authorities in Lexington County followed up on information that suggested Boltin had contacts in the area. They discovered him in the northern portion of Lexington.

"We certainly appreciate Lexington County for following up on the information," Ravenell added. "They acted immediately and the result is one in custody."

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As of Monday, authorities had not revealed how the three men managed to escape from jail. County officials had approved a proposal to build a $26 million jail in Orangeburg County prior to the three mens escape, CBS News reported.

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Indeed, county administrator Harold Young told The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg County last year that the current facility, which was built in 1967, was not up to scratch.

It's way past its prime as far as a detention center facility," he said.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekDamascus (AFP) - Syria's army declared Monday it is in complete control of Damascus and its outskirts after a devastating battle that forced Islamic State group jihadists to flee their last pocket of resistance in the capital.

It marked a major milestone in the protracted war, which began in 2011 and saw parts of Damascus fall to armed rebels the following year.

In recent months, President Bashar al-Assad has used a blend of military pressure and negotiated withdrawals to steadily flush rebels out of territory around Damascus.

But as a small IS holdout remained in the capital's south, troops and allied Palestinian militia launched an offensive last month to recapture the area covering the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk and adjacent districts of Qadam, Tadamun and Hajar al-Aswad.

On Monday, the army declared it had ousted IS from that zone, sealing its control of the capital.

"The Syrian army announces today that Damascus, its outskirts and surrounding towns are completely secure," it said in a statement carried on official media.

"The wheel of our progress on the battlefield will not stop until all Syrian land is purified."

Standing on Route 30, a main street in the Palestinian camp of Yarmuk, a Lieutenant Mohsen Ismail, 22, sighed: "This was the last battle in Damascus. I'm extremely happy."

"Damascus will go back to the way it was. We'll forget the days of shelling and blood -- this victory will help us forget it all," he said, while some soldiers fired their weapons in the air in celebration.

Hours after the army's announcement, black clouds of smoke still hung in the air and some small fires were still raging in the abandoned neighbourhoods.

- Evacuations shrouded in secrecy -

Weeks of fierce combat subsided at the weekend when a ceasefire allowed for group withdrawals, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

"The evacuations are over, after 32 buses took 1,600 people including IS fighters and their relatives out of southern Damascus on Sunday and Monday," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

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They were heading east towards Syria's Badiya, the vast stretch of desert where IS still holds tiny slivers of territory.

After the final departure around midday on Monday, Syrian troops entered Yarmuk for combing operations, said the Britain-based monitor.

Yarmuk was the largest Palestinian camp in Syria and was put under crippling government siege in 2012 -- making it one of the longest besiegements of Syria's war.

Attacks by Syria's government, as well as rebel and jihadist infighting, have ravaged the district for years.

IS overran it in 2015, and the thriving 160,000-strong population dwindled further to just several hundred.

The evacuations from Yarmuk were shrouded in secrecy and took place under the cover of darkness with no media present.

The government has denied reaching a deal with IS, but did say a brief ceasefire had allowed one convoy of women and children to leave the pocket in southern Damascus overnight.

A military source close to the regime said the deal had been reached through negotiations with the government and its ally Russia.

"They left in small batches at night," the source said.

"The largest group went towards Syria's Badiya, because the Americans did not agree to let them enter pockets east of the Euphrates where the Syrian Democratic Forces are present."

- Trucks, not buses -

The SDF has been waging its own offensive against IS for several years, ousting the jihadists from Syria's north and east with air support from the US-led coalition.

It is currently closing in on a string of IS-held villages east of the winding Euphrates river, near the border with Iraq.

The US-led coalition told AFP on Monday it was aware of the reported evacuations from Yarmuk and was "monitoring the situation".

Last year, IS fighters and relatives were evacuated from an area on the Lebanese-Syrian border under a deal between IS and Hezbollah, the regime's powerful Lebanese ally.

The deal enraged the US-led coalition, which sent aircraft to shadow the convoy and conducted bombing raids to block it from reaching IS-held territory. Those strikes killed several dozen IS fighters.

A resident of Yarmuk who was evacuated on Monday said IS fighters had tried to take precautions.

"The last group of fighters left on trucks, not on buses. They requested this out of fear the buses would be targeted," the resident said.

Before launching its anti-IS push in Yarmuk, Syria's government cleared out other rebels from the area with military drives and evacuation deals.

More than 1,000 Islamist fighters and civilians left Qadam in March for opposition territory in northern Syria.

The following month, Assad's forces began the assault specifically targeting IS.

Those operations have killed more than 250 pro-regime forces and 233 jihadists, as well as more than 60 civilians, according to the Observatory.The re-election campaign of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Monday canceled a shotgun giveaway it had continued to promote days after a shooter opened fire at a high school in the state.

Abbott said Friday that lawmakers needed to do more than just pray for victims and their families after authorities reported that a 17-year-old student had killed 10 people and wounded 13 others at Santa Fe High School.

Its time in Texas that we take action to step up and make sure this tragedy is never repeated ever again, Abbott said at a press conference, where he noted that the suspected shooter used a shotgun and .38-caliber revolver he had obtained from his father.

But Abbotts promised action didnt appear to include dropping his campaigns shotgun giveaway contest, outraged Twitter users noted over the weekend.

If politicians like Greg Abbott spent as much time talking about safe storage and risks of easily accessible guns in the home as they did pandering to the NRA, we might actually save some lives. Elect leaders who put kids first. #USAoverNRA @Bradybuzz https://t.co/5ym7hySPZq  Kris Brown (@KrisB_Brown) May 20, 2018

Saw this as sort of a meme and thought 'there is no way he's actually doing this'.

I thought wrong. @GregAbbott_TX should be ashamed of himself. #txlege https://t.co/XFjFBO26vh  James Hamric (@HokieinSA) May 20, 2018

This is VILE. A gut-punch to everyone affected by losing 10 members of their community - by a kid with daddys SHOTGUN - in Santa Fe, TX.



Im voting for @LupeValdez on Tuesday. But no matter who wins the run-off, Im voting for ANYONE BUT @GregAbbott_TX.https://t.co/9ofgK61e8H  Fab Miss Em, Be Best-erer (@fabmissem) May 20, 2018

Win a Texas-made shotgun! Abbotts official campaign website had boasted. To enter the contest those interested were instructed to submit their contact information online.

Story continues

(Photo: gregabbottcom)

Participants were required to be Texas residents at least 18 years of age, according to the fine print, and had to be legally able to purchase a pump-action shotgun. The winner was to receive a $250 gift certificate redeemable at a Central Texas licensed gun dealer, the website stated.

As of Monday, contest participants can simply enter to win a $250 gift card, John Wittman, Abbotts press secretary, told HuffPost in an email.

Abbotts campaign had also printed promotional material featuring the shotgun giveaway to hang on doorknobs. Its unclear when and where the printed ads for the contest where circulated.

Wittman did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment about the door hangers.

(Photo: HuffPost)

This story has been updated to note Abbotts campaign has canceled the contest.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.Dimitrios Pagourtzis - Galveston County Sheriff's Office

The Texas high school gunman was rejected by a 16-year-old girl a week before she became one of his ten victims, according to her grieving mother.

Sadie Rodriguez said her daughter, Shana Fisher, had been pursued for four months by Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the 17-year-old who opened fire at Santa Fe High School near Houston last Friday.

One week ago she publicly rejected him in front of classmates after "four months of problems with this boy", Miss Rodriguez told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

She said he continued to get more aggressive until Shana finally stood up to him and embarrassed him in class.

He kept making advances on her and she repeatedly told him no. A week later he opens fire on everyone he didn't like. Shana being the first one."

The mother of a survivor revealed that Pagourtzis, who killed ten and injured 13 more, taunted his victims yelling "woo hoo" and "are you dead?" as he took aim just after 8am in an art classroom.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis Credit: AP

Writing an open letter on Facebook, Deedra Van Ness, whose daughter Isabelle survived the massacre, detailed the teenager's experience as she cowered from the gunman, covered in dust from bullets hitting the classroom walls and surrounded by the dead bodies of her classmates.

Ms Van Ness wrote: "They hear the gunman in the classroom next door yelling Woo Hoo! and firing more shots. "The gunman then comes back into their room and they hear him saying  are you dead? Then more shots are fired.

"By this time, cell phones all over the classroom are ringing and he's taunting the kids in the closet asking them  do you think it's for you? do you want to come answer it? Then he proceeds to fire more bullets into the closet and tries to get in."

Pagourtzis was on Sunday being held in solitary confinement after being charged with the murder of eight students and two teachers.

According to authorities, the student admitted to "shooting multiple people."

Story continues

He allegedly used a shotgun and a revolver held legally by his father, Antonios.

On Saturday the family of the suspect released a statement saying they were "saddened and dismayed" and extending their "heartfelt prayers and condolences to all of the victims."

"We are gratified by the public comments made by other Santa Fe High School students that show Dimitri as we know him: a smart, quiet, sweet boy."

The statement continued: "While we remain mostly in the dark about the specifics of yesterday's tragedy, what we have learned from media reports seems incompatible with the boy we love."

Meanwhile the debate over gun control was reignited in the US media Oliver North, the incoming president of the National Rifle Association blamed the increase in school shootings on the "culture of violence" and prescription drugs.

Speaking on the Fox News channel, Mr North said: "The disease in this case isnt the 2nd amendment. The disease is youngsters who are steeped in a culture of violence. Theyve been drugged in many cases.

Nearly all of these perpetrators are male, and theyre young teenagers in most cases, and theyve come through a culture where violence is commonplace.

All we need to do is turn on a TV, go to a movie. If you look at what has happened to the young people, many of these young boys have been on Ritalin since they were in kindergarten. Now, I am certainly not a doctor; Im a Marine. But I can see those kinds of things happening.

On the same show, Mark Kelly, the gun control advocate whose wife Gabby Giffords was shot and badly injured, said schools should have increased security and also argued that the US must prevent dangerous individuals from obtaining a gun.

We should make it more difficult I mean figure out a way to prevent people coming in the door with a firearm, he said.

At the same time, make sure that that irresponsible person cant get the gun in the first place.

So far this year there have been 22 school shootings with 36 fatalities.Santa Fe (United States) (AFP) - The gunman accused of killing 10 people and wounding 13 at a Texas high school last week was in a state of mental confusion, his attorneys said Monday, as schools beefed up security for students returning to classrooms.

At least two of those wounded in Friday's mass shooting at Santa Fe High School were still hospitalized, including school police officer John Barnes, who remained in critical condition, said the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Dimitrios Pagourtzis, a 17-year-old student at the school, faces charges of capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. He is alleged to have used his father's legally owned shotgun and revolver in the rampage.

Pagourtzis's attorneys told reporters Monday that their client was "in a state."

"I think that there is definitely something going on in terms of mental health history," attorney Nicholas Poehl told NBC News.

"I still think he's very confused about the incident."

A statewide moment of silence was held in the morning to remember the eight students and two teachers killed. Mourners gathered at white wooden crosses planted in front of the school, with a victim's name and a red heart on each cross.

Recalling the attack on ABC television's "Good Morning America," student Trenton Beazely said the shooter "was playing music, making jokes, had slogans and rhymes he kept saying."

"Every time he'd kill someone he'd say, 'another one bites the dust.'"

- Tightened security -

Already frayed nerves were rattled in neighboring communities where three schools reported gun threats.

One student brought an unloaded gun to campus, while at another school a student brought a gun apparently to harm himself, and a student texted someone else asking them to bring a gun at a third school, according to local media.

All three were arrested.

Schools in Santa Fe were closed through Tuesday and a crisis hotline was set up for traumatized students and parents.

Story continues

Several Texas school administrators announced new safety measures as nervous parents sent children back to school in neighboring communities.

"We will be increasing police visibility at each school through the remainder of the school year," Greg Smith, the superintendent of schools at Clear Creek, said in a letter.

Another school banned backpacks to prevent hidden weapons from slipping through, while others changed dress codes to forbid heavy clothing such as the trench coat Pagourtzis was said to be wearing to conceal his weapons.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, officially announced a series of town hall meetings to discuss schools safety. They will be held at the state capital starting Tuesday.

Texas, a conservative stronghold, has some of the most permissive firearm laws in the United States, and new gun restrictions are unlikely.

Abbott has focused on mental health issues and arming school personnel.

The Democratic mayor of Houston, while advocating for metal detectors at all schools, also called for tougher gun laws.

"There's nothing wrong with reasonable, pragmatic (gun) restrictions," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a news conference.Hundreds gathered in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on Sunday, May 20, to show their support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a rally organized ahead of Turkish elections.

According to reports, this was the only rally Erdogan held outside of Turkey ahead of the June 24 presidential elections. More than 4 million Turks living abroad would be allowed to vote in the election.

The event was held in Bosnia after governments in Austria, Germany and the Netherlands said they would not allow rallies, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. Bakir Izetbegovic, the Bosnian member of the countrys tripartite presidency, also spoke.

This video shows the crowd converging outside the event center and the rally inside Zetra Olympic Hall. Credit: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via StoryfulTHE TURKS and Caicos Islands Government is once again on the hook to find the funding required to repatriate scores of Haitian illegal migrants who fled their country within days of each other.





Over the course of four days, 79 people were captured by local authorities as they attempted to sneak into the TCI, via the sea.





Another sloop with an unknown number of illegal migrants arrived in the early morning hours of Saturday, but the occupants managed to escape.





Reports to the Weekly News are that at about 8am on Saturday, May 12, several people were seen running away from a sloop in the North West Point area, a popular landing spot for the illegal vessels.





A report was made to police, but the illegal migrants all managed to escape before the authorities were able to respond to the call.





Reports also suggested that two sloops had arrived and while the occupants disembarked from one, the other vessel continued to sail off in the direction of Grand Turk.





That sloop was spotted by the United States Coast Guard, which reported the sighting to local authorities.





The vessel was seen sometime around 9am on Saturday, 15 miles South of Grand Turk.





US Coast Guard officials apprehended and escorted the occupants of the boat to the South Dock Port on Grand Turk for processing by immigration officials.





A total of 38 Haitians, 29 men and nine women were later transported to the Detention Centre in Providenciales.





Three days later, another vessel was apprehended, this one containing 41 illegal Haitian migrants.





The vessel was intercepted in the vicinity of The Bluff off Providenciales on Tuesday.





According to the 911 Centre, at about 9pm on the said date, Coastal Radar officials identified a sloop, 2.5 miles from the Bluff.





The Marine Branch M/V Sea Guardian which was already on patrol successfully intercepted the sloop with 35 men and six women onboard.





The detainees were transported to the South Dock Port and handed over to Task Force members who escorted them to the Detention Centre for processing.





The arrivals, which have seen a marked uptick in the past few months, has prompted several residents to take to social media to bemoan the ongoing the crisis.





Many are calling on the local and legal Haitian community to show solidarity with them by not celebrate their flag day with the usual pomp and ceremony that is displayed every year.





Haitian Flag Day will be celebrated on March 18, and is a proud affair celebrated by Haitians around the world, commemorating Haitis struggle for freedom and independence from the French which is symbolised in its flag.





Here in the TCI, the day has always produced a host of criticisms and calls for an end to it by many Belongers who are angered at the continued influx of illegal migrants into their territory.





This year, the anger and resentment was again evident online.





One of many posts in a local community group on Facebook read: "I would encourage every single Haitians living in TCI to NOT celebrate Haitian flag day.





"Haiti been going through way too much these past couple of months to celebrate any kind of flag day.





"If that flag did so much we Haitians wouldnt be going through so much, swimming to other countries looking for a better life.





This viewpoint, from a resident Haitian, elicited equal parts anger and support from several commenters.





Another impassioned woman said: "This country gone go broke sending these people back home.





"Theres only one group of people benefiting from this, the airline companies, and please I say it again NO yall aint celebrating flag day in TCI not this year, not next, not ever.





Meanwhile, authorities continue to appeal to anyone with information into the landing of these or any illegal vessels into the Turks and Caicos Islands to come forward, dial 911, contact the Chalk





Sound Police Station at 338-5901, 941-8082 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-8477. (Delana Isles)



Its been just two weeks since former Sister, Sister star Tia Mowry gave birth to her second child, a daughter. But shes already pushing back against the pressure to instantly shed her baby weight.

The 39-year-old actress and writer opened up about postpartum realities in a new Instagram post. Though Mowry looks chic and refreshed in her white shirtdress and hot-pink heels, she says shes still far from meeting the expectations that new moms face.

According to the former teen star, she still has a belly and is determined not to stress about it.

I actually look like Im 4 months pregnant and that is OKAY, she told fans, adding that moms should embrace their bodies, even if they are not PERFECT.

Dont allow people to put a time limit on YOUR body, she urged.

Mowrys body positive message was met with praise from followers, many of them mothers with their own stories of stretch marks and not snapping back into their pre-baby shape.

Shes not the only star who has come clean about the less glamorous aspects of motherhood. On Sunday, Chrissy Teigen posed in the netted underwear moms are typically given to wear after childbirth to help them heal and deal with common postpartum issues like bleeding and incontinence. The model, who welcomed son Miles just days ago, also appears to be nursing her newborn in the intimate photo.

Story continues

The pressures on moms to bounce back after birth has been a hot topic of late, given Kate Middletons perfectly groomed appearance on the hospital steps just hours after she delivered Prince Louis on April 23.

New mother Kylie Jenner has also been accused of setting unrealistic expectations after using a waist trainer to help her sculpt her body after birth.

Meanwhile, Hilaria Baldwin, who welcomed her fourth child just days ago, is documenting her own post-baby body journey in an effort to normalize the postpartum figure.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.



By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Howard Schneider

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. trade war with China is "on hold" after the world's largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.

Mnuchin and U.S. President Donald Trump's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said the agreement reached by Chinese and American negotiators on Saturday set up a framework for addressing trade imbalances in the future.

"We are putting the trade war on hold. Right now, we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework," Mnuchin said in a television interview on "Fox News Sunday."

On Saturday, Beijing and Washington said they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States to narrow the $335 billion annual U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China.

During an initial round of talks this month in Beijing, Washington demanded that China reduce its trade surplus by $200 billion. No dollar figure was cited in the countries' joint statement on Saturday.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not return a request for comment on Mnuchin's statement.

Tension between the two sides has been growing since the Trump administration proposed tariffs of $50 billion on Chinese goods and said it might extend the levies to an additional $150 billion. China responded with its own measures targeting U.S. agriculture.

The top U.S. trade official, Robert Lighthizer, said that getting China to open its market to more U.S. exports was significant, but that it was far more important for the United States to resolve issues with China such as forced technology transfers and cyber theft.

"Real structural change is necessary. Nothing less than the future of tens of millions of American jobs is at stake," U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer said in a statement on Sunday.

Story continues

In response to Mnuchin's comments, Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a frequent Trump critic, said he thought it would be a mistake for Trump to settle for "a promise to buy goods" with so many larger issues on the table.

"If President Xi is going ... to fail to take strong actions on intellectual property, cyber theft, and American companies having free access to sell goods in China ... we will have lost," Schumer said.

Kudlow told CBS "Face the Nation" it was too soon to lock in the $200 billion figure for China's promised purchases. "The details will be down the road. These things are not so precise," he said.

In addition, he told ABC's "This Week" that the broader issues were still in play, and that China had "structural reforms" such as lowering tariffs and non-tariff barriers that will allow the United States to boost exports.

Trump was in a "very positive mood about this," Kudlow said.

However, he said there was no trade deal yet reached.

"There's no agreement for a deal," Kudlow told ABC. "We never anticipated one. There's a communique between the two great countries, that's all. And in that communique, you can see where we're going next."

One next step will be dispatching Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to China to look at areas where there will be significant increases, including energy, liquefied natural gas, agriculture and manufacturing, Mnuchin and Kudlow said.

Mnuchin said the United States expects to see a big increase of between 35 percent and 40 percent in agricultural exports to China this year alone and a doubling of energy purchases over the next three to five years.

"We have specific targets. I am not going to publicly disclose what they are. They go industry by industry," Mnuchin said.

Saturday's statement made no mention of whether there would be a relaxation of paralyzing restrictions on Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp imposed last month by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The action was related to violation of U.S. sanctions on Iran and North Korea and banned American companies from selling semiconductors and other components to ZTE, causing the Shenzhen-based company to cease most operations.

Trump said last week he had directed Ross to put ZTE back in business, but Kudlow said any changes would be minimal.

"If any of the remedies are altered they are still going to be very, very, tough, including big fines, compliance measures, new management, new boards," he said. "Do not expect ZTE to get off scot-free. Ain't going to happen."

(Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir, Howard Schneider, Doina Chiacu, David Lawder; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sandra Maler)Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein said the Department of Justice would examine whether anyone sought to 'infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes': REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

The Department of Justice will probe whether the FBIs investigation of Russian election interference was politically tainted, bowing to escalating attacks from Donald Trump.

The departments internal inspector general will seek to determine if there was any impropriety or political motivation in how the FBI conducted its counterintelligence investigation of persons suspected of involvement with the Russian agents who interfered in the 2016 presidential election, spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement.

Raising the possibility of criminal penalties, Ms Flores added that the department would consult with prosecutors if any evidence of potential criminal conduct emerges.

The scope of the inquiry expanded even farther after the president met with top law enforcement and intelligence officials to discuss the inquiry. After the meeting, the White House said the Department of Justice had agreed to expand its probe to cover any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigations or the Department of Justices tactics concerning the Trump Campaign.

Federal investigators have been looking into Russian efforts to sway the 2016 presidential election, including potential contacts with members of the Trump presidential campaign, since before Mr Trump assumed office. But Mr Trumps presidency has been consumed by Robert Muellers investigation of Russian meddling, which the president regularly denounces as unfounded.

In recent days Mr Trump has assailed reports that the FBI used an informant to gather information on campaign members, suggesting that the tactic violated a ban on politically motivated investigations. Over the weekend he said he would direct the Justice Department to investigate.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration! Mr Trump said.

Story continues

Within hours, the Justice Department said it planned to comply with the presidents desire to vet its conduct during the presidential campaign.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein - who oversees Mr Muellers probe and has come under attack by congressional Republicans - said in a statement.

Rather than launching a new investigation, the Department of Justice plans to expand an existing review into how FBI agents go about obtaining permission to surveil targets.

That practice has been in the spotlight since it was revealed that agents had secured the authority to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Republicans in Congress and and Mr Trump have charged that investigators abused their powers, saying they concealed the fact that their suspicions of Mr Page derived in part from the work of a former British spy, Christopher Steele, that was funded by the Democratic National Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign. Law enforcement officials have denied that accusation.

Allies of the president heralded the announcement the Department of Justices announcement, saying it would help hold federal law enforcement accountable. But critics warned that it was another example of the president displaying authoritarian tendencies and seeking to derail the Russia investigation.

The president's statement indicating that he will order the Justice Department to investigate the FBI could not be more disturbing and reiterates his deep contempt for the rule of law, Senator Dianne Feinstein said in a statement.

The president has consistently denied any collusion took place and derided the investigation as a meritless witch hunt.Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump attacked the probe into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia as a "political hit job" on Monday, as a part of a mounting White House effort to paint the probe as politically motivated.

In the latest salvo from Trump's administration and his Republican Party, the president assailed former CIA chief John Brennan, a strident critic, as having initiated the investigation.

A day earlier, Trump demanded the Justice Department investigate the FBI for allegedly planting an informant in his campaign, and his lawyer pressed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to speed up the probe to avoid it affecting November's mid-term elections.

Both moves highlighted the heightened political stakes surrounding the year-old probe, as Mueller seeks to interview Trump himself amid growing chances of an impeachment effort against the president if evidence of collusion and obstruction of justice is found.

"This was a Political hit job, this was not an Intelligence Investigation," Trump said in a series of tweets, quoting Fox News commentator Dan Bongino.

Brennan, the CIA's head from 2013 to 2017, "started this entire debacle about President Trump," the president said. "He has disgraced himself, he has disgraced the Country, he has disgraced the entire Intelligence Community."

- FBI infiltrated Trump campaign? -

In recent weeks, Trump has stepped up his attacks on the Russia investigation, aiming to erode trust in Mueller's integrity in the event the probe takes aim at the president himself.

After hitting the one-year mark last week, Mueller's probe has taken on increasing political weight as the country heads towards midterm elections.

Investigators have already issued 22 indictments, including of top Trump aides like chairman Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

More indictments are expected, but Mueller and his team have remained absolutely silent about the direction of the investigation and what evidence they have, especially with regard to Trump.

Story continues

Aiming to exploit that silence, Trump took to Twitter on Sunday to order the Justice Department to investigate the FBI's implanting of "at least one" informant in his 2016 campaign, suggesting it was an act of political espionage by president Barack Obama's administration.

Late last week, some US media identified a British-based American academic and former government official, with longstanding ties to the CIA, as the informant who sought meetings with several Trump aides during the campaign at the FBI's request.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, FBI Director Chris Wray and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats met Trump to discuss the issue Monday.

Based on the meeting, the Justice Department will include in its ongoing investigation into the 2016 election "any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's or the Department of Justice's tactics concerning the Trump Campaign," according to the White House.

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani added pressure on the probe, telling media Mueller hopes to wrap up by September 1 -- a target date that no one on Mueller's team has made public.

Vice President Mike Pence reiterated that stance, telling Fox News: "I think it's time that the special counsel wrap it up."

The White House is gambling that by both pressuring and denigrating the investigation, Republicans can gain voter support ahead of the November elections.

If Mueller finds evidence of criminal behavior by Trump, it is crucial the Republicans prevent Democrats from gaining control of the House of Representatives, which would rule on any impeachment motion.

Analysts say Trump's strategy to attack the CIA and FBI could be working.

"The FBI and DOJ are reluctant to publicly respond in any way that makes them appear political," said Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University.

"By tweeting the accusation, the president has already cast the doubt in the public mind."President Donald Trumps recently appointed lawyer Rudy Giuliani has warned that POTUS could be walking into a trap if he is interviewed by the special counsel without being given details of a reported FBI informant.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Sunday, the former New York mayor said he did not feel the president should speak with Robert Mueller without being given more information about whether the alleged information had incriminating information on Trump.

RTS1S36R

Reuters

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What we intend to do is premise it on, If you want an interview, we need an answer to this, Giuliani said.

In a separate interview with The New York Times, Giuliani said on Sunday that Mueller was planning to complete the inquiry on whether Trump obstructed the Russia investigation by September 1, warning that failure to do so could have a knock-on effect at the November midterm elections.

The president demanded the Justice Department look into the matter today.

Don't miss: Scientists to Hunt for DNA Traces of Loch Ness Monster

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration! Trump wrote.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

Trumps tweet and the comments made by Giuliani come on the heels of a report from The Washington Post that claimed an FBI informant approached advisers to the Trump campaign.

Story continues

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However, the publication reported there was no evidence suggesting there was a mole planted within the campaign team.

But the revelation that an FBI informant approached members of his campaign team has left Trump insistent there may have been a mole planted by the FBI within his team.

Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president, Trump tweeted on Friday.

It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a hot Fake News story. If trueall time biggest political scandal! he added, just days before demanding the DOJ look into whether the FBI did undertake surveillance of his campaign team and whether such a request was made.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek(Get this roundup directly in your inbox each weekday  sign up for The Morning Email here.)

TOP STORIES

Monday, May 21

TRUMP TWITTER SESSIONS SPY President Donald Trump fired off a series of tweets Sunday, saying he intends to direct the Department of Justice to investigate whether his 2016 campaign was infiltrated by the government under orders of officials in the Obama administration. The president also urged real Americans to get tough on special counsel Robert Muellers Russia probe. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Share on Facebook]

SHE REPEATEDLY TOLD HIM NO The mother of one of the victims of Fridays Texas school shooting said her daughter was targeted because she rejected the shooters advances, while two parents who also lost children to campus gun violence slammed the GOP for offering moronic platitudes rather than gun control. Capping the insanity, incoming NRA president Oliver North blamed Ritalin and a culture of violence for the repeated school massacres  not guns. [HuffPost]

TRADE WAR ON HOLD Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday the U.S. trade war with China is on hold after the worlds largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement. [Reuters]

FALL FINISH? Trumps lawyer Rudy Giuliani said the special counsel expects to wrap up the portion of his Russia probe focusing on the presidents potential obstruction of justice by September, according to the The New York Times. [HuffPost

MADURO RE-ELECTED Venezuelas leftist leader Nicolas Maduro was elected to a new six-year term Sunday, which could trigger a new round of Western sanctions against the socialist government. [Reuters]

THIS WAS HIS HUNTING GROUND Actress Asia Argento gave a stunning speech at the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival, beginning with the line: I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here. [HuffPost]

WHATS BREWING

BATALI UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION Celebrity chef Mario Batali, who has been accused by at least 11 women of sexual misconduct, is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the New York Police Department into allegations of criminal sexual misconduct. [HuffPost]

Story continues

SORCERERS STONE Trump ally Roger Stone said he is prepared to be hit with a conjured up indictment from the special counsel. [HuffPost]

ARE THOSE DREADLOCKS ON MEGHANS MOTHER? German public broadcaster ZDF has been hammered for its racist coverage of Britains royal wedding, in which it repeatedly called Meghan Markle and black wedding guests exotic. [HuffPost]

NOT IN MY LANE Trumps top economic adviser Larry Kudlow dodged a question about the presidents threats against Amazon, saying the controversy is not in my lane. [HuffPost]

TOXIC CLOUD Authorities warned that lava flows from Kilaueas volcanic eruption could produce noxious clouds of acid fumes, steam and tiny, glass-like particles if they reach the Pacific Ocean. [Reuters]

HATS OFF TO HILLARY Hillary Clinton tipped a Russian fur hat at her Yale commencement speech  a nod to allegations of election collusion between Trump and the Kremlin. [HuffPost]

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.President Donald Trump said on Sunday he intends to direct the Department of Justice to investigate whether his 2016 presidential campaign was infiltrated or surveilled by the government under the orders of officials in the administration of his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Hours later, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein asked the Justice Department to step in, according to reports. Rosenstein asked the departments inspector general to expand its review of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to include whether there were any political motivations in the FBIs surveillance during the 2016 campaign.

If anyone did infiltrate or surveil participants in a presidential campaign for inappropriate purposes, we need to know about it and take appropriate action, Rosenstein said in a statement.

Trumps demand potentially sets up a high-stakes showdown with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and FBI Director Christopher Wray, who have resisted requests from Republican lawmakers to hand over some documents related to special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election.

I hereby demand, and will do so officially tomorrow, that the Department of Justice look into whether or not the FBI/DOJ infiltrated or surveilled the Trump Campaign for Political Purposes - and if any such demands or requests were made by people within the Obama Administration!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 20, 2018

Last week, three GOP congressmen wrote to Trump asking him to intervene and order DOJ to produce documents related to potential abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act; documents related to the FBI and broader Department of Justices initial investigation into the Trump campaign prior to the appointment of the Special Counsel.

The extraordinary presidential request wading into a federal investigation being conducted by his own government comes in the wake of a bombshell New York Times story about Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son, and his August 2016 meeting with an envoy representing the crown princes of United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The envoy offered to help the Trump presidential campaign, according to the Times  similar to the Russian lawyer who met with Trump Jr. two months earlier under the guise of providing what the Trump campaign believed was damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

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FBI agents at the time sent an unnamed informant to talk to two Trump campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign, according to the Times. The government also obtained a secret warrant in October 2016 to monitor former Trump campaign aide Carter Pages communications after convincing a judge it was appropriate to that investigation.

But Trump, egged on by conservative media outlets and Fox News commentators, lashed out at the FBI, accusing the agency of spying on his campaign for political purposes.

Reports are there was indeed at least one FBI representative implanted, for political purposes, into my campaign for president. It took place very early on, and long before the phony Russia Hoax became a hot Fake News story. If true  all time biggest political scandal! he tweeted Friday.

That last line parrots assertions that Fox News Sean Hannity has been making for months.

As GOP lawmakers have pressed their demand to see DOJ documents about the identity of the FBI informant, reportedly an American academic who teaches in Britain, critics of the move have warned against the release of such information to Congress  where details of federal investigations often leak. Havng the name become public could put lives at risk, these critics caution.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that it was against the law to try to reveal classified information about the identity of an FBI or CIA source.

Classified information, [the] identity of agents, is sacrosanct, Warner said Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation.

He added that the FBI and Justice Department have tried to avoid [giving lawmakers details on informants] because thats just not the way they operate. Providing such information is not traditional in any sense of the word, he added.

Other Democrats have scoffed at the claims of a spy within the Trump campaign. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, termed the assertion nonsense in a tweet on Sunday.

Trumps claim of an embedded spy is nonsense. His demand DOJ investigate something they know to be untrue is an abuse of power, and an effort to distract from his growing legal problems. Never mind that DOJ has warned that lives and alliances are at risk. He doesnt care. https://t.co/c1itPmiHnv  Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) May 20, 2018

Benjamin Wittes, whom former FBI Director James Comey showed memos of his meetings with Trump, wrote in a series of tweets that the presidents push to investigate the FBI is nakedly corrupt. Wittes accused Trump of attempting to derail an investigation into his conduct.

Wittes asserted that although Trump has the legal authority to demand an investigation into the FBI, he doubted either Wray or Rosenstein could follow through with such an order.

So if the President really gives Rod Rosenstein or Chris Wray an order (as opposed to Twitter bluster) demanding a particular investigation not properly predicated under FBI/DOJ guidelines for this overtly political purpose, I believe both men will resign rather than comply, Wittes wrote.

So if the President really gives Rod Rosenstein or Chris Wray an order (as opposed to Twitter bluster) demanding a particular investigation not properly predicated under FBI/DOJ guidelines for this overtly political purpose, I believe both men will resign rather than comply. /6/  Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) May 20, 2018

(Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.Ankara (AFP) - A Turkish court on Monday handed life sentences to 104 suspects over their involvement in the July 2016 attempted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media reported.

The former military personnel were given "aggravated life sentences" by a court in the western province of Izmir, state news agency Anadolu said, for "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order".

Such jail sentences, which replaced the death penalty in Turkey, carry harsher conditions than normal life sentences.

In total, 280 military staff are on trial over the failed coup bid.

Among the suspects receiving life sentences were former air force chief of staff lieutenant general Hasan Huseyin Demiraslan and ex-Aegean army command chief of staff major general Memduh Hakbilen.

The court gave 21 suspects a 20-year jail sentence for "assisting the assassination of the president" while 31 were given sentences between seven years and six months and 10 years and six months for being a member of an armed terror group, the agency added.

There was an alleged plot to kill Erdogan on the night of the coup while he was on holiday in the Aegean resort of Marmaris with his family. The president has said the plot left him 15 minutes from death.

The attempted putsch claimed more than 240 lives, according to the Turkish presidency, not including 24 coup-plotters killed on the night.

More than 2,000 people were injured.

Ankara accuses US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen of ordering the failed putsch, accusations which he strongly denies.

Turkish authorities say the movement Gulen runs is a terrorist organisation, but his group insists it promotes peace and moderate Islam.

Following the attempted coup, more than 50,000 people have been arrested and 140,000 public workers have been sacked or suspended over alleged links to Gulen or Kurdish militants under the state of emergency imposed in July 2016.

Turkey has come under heavy criticism from its Western allies and activists over the scale of the crackdown and repeated calls for the emergency to come to an end.ANKARA (Reuters) - A Turkish court on Monday sentenced 104 people to life in prison for involvement in a failed military coup in 2016, the Hurriyet newspaper said, in one of the heaviest penalties given since the attempt. The court in the Aegean coastal town of Izmir handed 104 of 280 defendants "aggravated life" sentences, Hurriyet said, the harshest punishment possible under Turkish law as it raises the minimum time in jail required for parole. Another 21 people were given 20 years in prison for insulting the president, while 31 others were sentenced to 10 years and six months for "membership of a terrorist organization", Hurriyet said. More than 240 people, most of them unarmed civilians, were killed on the night of July 15, 2016, when a group of rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and warplanes in an attempt to attack parliament and overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan. The government blames the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, for orchestrating the failed coup. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied involvement and condemned the putsch. Since the coup attempt, authorities have detained 160,000 people and dismissed nearly the same number of civil servants as part of a sweeping crackdown, the U.N. human rights office said in March. Of that number, more than 50,000 have been formally charged and kept in jail pending trial. The scale of the crackdown has alarmed rights groups and Turkey's Western allies, who fear the country is sliding further into authoritarianism under Erdogan and accuse the president of using the failed putsch as a pretext to quash dissent. The government, however, says the measures are necessary, given the extent of the security threats it faces. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Ece Toksabay and Catherine Evans)A man has been charged with first degree murder after police say he drove his car into a North Carolina restaurant where members of his family were sitting, killing his daughter and daughter-in-law.

Witnesses and police said a driver rammed his vehicle into the Surf and Turf Lodge restaurant in the town of Bessemer City around noon local time on Sunday.

An officer arrived to the scene to find a car completely in the building, Bessemer City police chief Thomas Ellis told reporters. Early evidence indicated it was intentional.

The driver was arrested at the scene, Mr Ellis said, and was later identified as Roger Self.

His daughter, a 26-year-old Gaston County Sheriffs Department deputy who was off-duty at the time, was identified as one of the victims. Katelyn Self had been with the department for four years, climbing the ranks after starting as a detention officer.

The other victim was identified as Amanda Self, a nurse. The Gaston Gazette reported Amanda Self was the wife of Roger Self's son, Gaston County Police Officer Josh Self, who also was seriously injured. Roger Self's wife, Diane, and the 13-year-old daughter of Josh and Amanda Self, were also hurt in the crash. They are all expected to survive their injuries.

Local media reported that the suspect entered the restaurant and seated his family before leaving and getting behind the wheel.

A homicide investigation has been opened but police gave no initial indication of what circumstances led up to the crash that sent stunned patrons scrambling for safety.

Caleb Martin, a 14-year-old who identified himself as a busboy at the restaurant, said he saw the crash and was stunned by the suddenness of it all.

"I walked over to my station and I heard a loud boom," Caleb told WSOC-TV. He said he did not know what to do at first, but quickly joined arriving first responders in helping those injured by clearing debris and tables away. "The one guy I could help in back, he was pretty hurt."

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Footage from the restaurant scene showed emergency responders treating people on the ground outside as shocked patrons milled about Sunday afternoon. Photographs showed a shattered opening in a restaurant wall.

"He drove his car into the building, killing people, so that's why we took him into custody immediately," Bessemer City Police Chief Thomas Ellis Jr said.

The sheriff's office tweeted a photograph of the deputy Katelyn Self via social media, adding "Our hearts are broken" and saying the agency requested thoughts and prayers not only for the deputy's family and friends but for her "brothers and sisters in uniform."

Additional reporting by APBy Delana Isles

SEVERAL weeks after lending aid in the wake of an alarming upsurge in illegal sloops arriving in the TCI, the United Kingdom has sent over several experts to further assess the situation on the ground.





On Sunday, May 13, a five member team of experts from the UKs Home Office arrived in the Turks and Caicos Islands to examine the territorys current illegal migration issues.





Over the next two weeks, the team will meet with several officials and will at the end provide advice to the Ministry of Border Control on how to enhance the effectiveness of the Turks and Caicos Islands response to tackling immigration crimes.





Among the tasks they will undertake will be to review the Immigration Departments operational capacity and capabilities.





This is intended to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the department.





The team will also assess the detection and enforcement capabilities of law enforcement agencies and government agencies, with particular focus on the territorys maritime capabilities.





A review will also be conducted of all current policies, operational guidance and legal powers in the TCI.





The exercise is being funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).





As advised by the Government, the initiative emanated from a request made by Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson earlier this year.





The request was recently agreed to by the Overseas Territories Minister Lord Ahmad.





Since their arrival, the team has already started their rounds of meetings.





Senior government officials and stakeholder institutions including Maritime, Customs, Radar Departments, Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, seaports and the TCI Airport Authority are currently being engaged.





The Deputy Premier and Ministry of Border Control, Hon Sean Astwood already met with the team on Monday at his office at which time he articulated several challenges and solutions to immigration and national security to the team.





Back in March, when a marked increase in the arrival of illegal sloops from Haiti caused alarm both locally and in the UK, the RFA Mounts Bay was deployed from her regular tasking.





The Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship arrived in TCI waters on March 19 and the team worked alongside the TCIs enforcement authorities and regional partners to boost the maritime and aerial surveillance and interdiction capability of the local authorities.





Troops from the Cayman Islands had also arrived at that time after the TCI Government requested assistance.





The RCIPS Air Operations Unit was swiftly deployed to the TCI and worked along with local authorities and the UK team to help bring the situation under control.





The operation last a few weeks and since that time has remained under wraps by local authorities with little being offered in the way of their successes or continued engagements.





However, as evidenced in recent weeks, the illegal Haitian sloops are continuing to arrive in record numbers after a brief down surge in their arrivals during the joint international exercise.





While some have been detected, there have been reports of others that have gone undetected by authorities and thus illegal migrants uncaptured.



Two U.S. citizens said they were detained last week by a Border Patrol agent in Montana after he overheard them speaking Spanish to each other in a convenience store.

Ana Suda and Mimi Hernandez said theyd popped into the store in Havre, a small town near the border with Canada, early Wednesday morning when they were approached by a uniformed Border Patrol agent, KRTV reported.

The two women, who are Mexican American, had been chatting in Spanish while waiting in line to pay for eggs and milk when  to their incredulity  the agent asked them for their IDs.

I looked at him like, Are you serious? Hes like, Yeah, very serious. Suda, who was born in Texas, told The Washington Post of the encounter.

Outside, in the parking lot, Suda began filming the agent on her phone. She asked him why hed been compelled to detain them. He told her that their use of Spanish had caught his attention.

Maam, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here, and I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here, the agent can be heard saying in the cellphone footage.

He then denied that the women had been racially profiled.

It has nothing to do with that, the agent said in the clip. Its the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store  in a state where its predominantly English-speaking.

Suda told MTN News that even after seeing their IDs, the agent did not let them leave the parking lot for about 35 minutes. She said her husband, a former probation officer with the Montana Department of Corrections, criticized the agent for overstepping the limits of his position.

He thinks it is very bad what this guy was doing because he does not have the right to do it, Suda told the outlet.

A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection told HuffPost on Monday that the agency was reviewing the incident to ensure all appropriate policies were followed.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents and officers are committed to treating everyone with professionalism, dignity and respect while enforcing the laws of the United States, the rep said in a statement. Although most Border Patrol work is conducted in the immediate border area, agents have broad law enforcement authorities and are not limited to a specific geography within the United States. They have the authority to question individuals, make arrests, and take and consider evidence.

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According to the CBP website, the Havre Border Patrol Sector, headquartered in Havre, is responsible for 456 miles of border area between Montana and Canada, Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, as well as, part of Idaho.

Suda, who plans to take legal action over the incident, said she and Hernandez were deeply shaken by the encounter and remained in shock.

My family was asking me, because my family is still in Texas, and they were asking me, how is Montana about this? I said I have never had a problem before, she told MTN News. I say Montana is perfect. I love the people here, the people are so nice. It is nicer than other states. I cannot believe this happened.

She said she was especially alarmed by her 7-year-old daughters reaction to the incident.

When she saw the video, she was like, Mom, we cant speak Spanish anymore? Suda told the Post. I said No. You be proud. You are smart. You speak two languages. This is more for her.

People on social media have reacted with horror to Sudas video and story.

Since when is speaking a foreign language criminally suspect? asked one Twitter user on Sunday.

Ana Suda and her friend, Mimi Hernandez, were making a midnight run to the store to pick up eggs and milk. Suddenly, a Border Patrol agent detained and questioned them. Why? They had committed the offense of speaking Spanish in Montana. Both are Americans. https://t.co/6V3AUOmnmr  Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) May 21, 2018

Bravely standing up to ignorance and hate will be what will turn this country back around. This fellow El Pasoan (and fellow American) stands with you, Ana Suda. #ElPaso  Alyssa Benavides (@AlyB_of_EP) May 21, 2018

Add Speaking in Spanish to Waiting while black to the list of acts that can get innocent, US citizens detained in America in 2018. https://t.co/uReVxaW5kt  Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) May 21, 2018

Speak Spanishget profiled as undocumented. Way to go, Border Patrol agent. Terrible judgment. https://t.co/4HdTJJHTwx  Julian Castro (@JulianCastro) May 21, 2018

Theres something deeply wrong with the Border Patrol if an agent feels comfortable explaining on camera that he detained two people solely because they were speaking Spanish https://t.co/oWFFOK15kT  Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) May 21, 2018

A Border Patrol agent detained and questioned Ana Suda and Mimi Hernandez  both U.S. citizens  when he overheard them speaking Spanish at a gas station.



This fucking country. https://t.co/905BDG77qU  Sarah Lerner (@SarahLerner) May 21, 2018

This story has been updated with comments from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The United States will not recognize the result of Venezuela's presidential election on Sunday, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told journalists.

The United States is actively considering oil sanctions on Venezuela and Sullivan said a response to Sunday's vote would be discussed at a G20 meeting in Buenos Aires on Monday.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was seeking a six-year term in a Sunday election boycotted by the opposition and condemned by foes as the "coronation" of a dictator.

"We need to make sure we adhere to our goal which to target corrupt regime officials and not the people of Venezuela," Sullivan said. "We don't want to damage the country in a way that makes it difficult to repair after democracy is restored."

He called oil sanctions "a very significant step." "They are under active review," he said.

Sullivan also said he knew of no plan to withdraw U.S. assistance from northwest Syria.

CBS news reported on Friday the Trump administration had withdrawn all assistance from northwest Syria, a move it said demonstrated the administration intended to leave quickly once Islamic State is fully defeated.

"I've not heard of any decision by this administration to withdraw assistance from northwest Syria," he said in comments to Reuters and Bloomberg.

"The U.S. government... is committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS and protecting U.S. interests in the region in Syria and Iraq."

(Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Additional reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Sandra Maler)Secretary of State Mike Pompeo justified President Donald Trump's exit from a historic nuclear agreement with Iran and promised even more intense measures against the country in his first major policy speech Monday.

Pompeo accused Iran's revolutionary Shiite Muslim government of using the funds that were unfrozen when it agreed to curb its nuclear production in 2015 to support militant groups abroad, including U.S.-designated terrorist organizations such as the Lebanese Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, as well as Sunni Muslim jihadi groups like Al-Qaeda, the Palestinian Hamas and the Afghan Taliban.

"Is this what you want your country to be known for?" Pompeo said in a question addressed to the Iranian people as he spoke at the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C., listing some of the foreign groups the U.S. has charged Iran with supporting. "The United States believes you deserve better.

Trending: Homo Machina Puzzle Game Takes You on a Beautiful Adventure Through the Body as Imagined by Fritz Kahn

"This is just the beginning," Pompeo continued. "The sting of sanctions will be painful. These will be the strongest sanctions in history when complete."

GettyImages-960949148

WIN MCNAMEE/GETTY IMAGES

The Trump administration branded Iran "the world's largest sponsor of terror" and earlier this month officially withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear agreement negotiated under Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama. The deal, known officially as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was also signed by China, France, Germany, Russia and the U.K.all of whom urged the U.S. not to leave the deal and have since taken steps to try to salvage the deal in Washington's absence.

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Facing an unprecedented wave of sanctions, Iran has threatened to restart its nuclear program, which it has always maintained was for peaceful purposes only. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told reporters Monday that Tehran would continue discussions with European leaders, but talks would be limited strictly to the Iranian nuclear program and not other topics uncovered by the original deal.

Related: China Looks for New Ways to Help Russia in Syria as U.S. Backs Israel Against Iran

"We will not have any negotiations [on issues] other than the nuclear deal. The European leaders are very wise and know to discuss which topics with Iran," Qasemi said, according to Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency. He said the Trump administration had demonstrated it was "not capable" of being negotiated with after reneging on its commitments.

Most popular: White Woman Allegedly Pulls Gun On Mexican-American Man For Driving In Her Neighborhood

Despite the International Atomic Energy Agency verifying Iran's compliance with the deal, the U.S, Israel and Saudi Arabia have grown increasingly suspicious of Tehran, especially as its foreign partners became more influential in countries such as Lebanon, Iraq and Syria. In Yemen, a group of Zaidi Shiite Muslim insurgents known as Ansar Allah, or the Houthis, are somewhat politically aligned with Iran but deny receiving any outside support in their battle against a Saudi-led coalition.

RTS1QLSD

JCPOA/NSSP/IEER

The backlash against Iran's growing foothold has escalated most seriously in Syria, where Israeli airstrikes have occasionally targeted Iranian or pro-Iran positions. Shortly after Trump left the Iran deal, Israel struck again, prompting Syrian or Iranian fighters to respond with a rocket attack against Israeli forces in the occupied Golan Heights. Israel retaliated with overwhelming force, destroying a number of Syrian and suspected Iranian military installations.

The U.S. resolutely backed Israel's actions, while countries like Russia and China appealed for calm. Iran and Russia's military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his war against rebels and jihadis have reversed the gains of a 2011 uprising initially sponsored by the West, Turkey and Gulf Arab states. Assad considers Russia and Iran to be the only legitimate foreign forces in the country and has called on the U.S. and Turkey to withdraw.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from NewsweekBy Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether states have the right to ban uranium mining for public health reasons in a dispute over a moratorium Virginia put in place on the radioactive metal in 1982. The court will hear a bid by a Virginia Energy Resources Inc subsidiary and other owners of the largest U.S. uranium deposit to revive a lawsuit thrown out by a lower court that sought to invalidate Virginia's ban because it conflicted with a federal law that regulates nuclear power generation. Uranium, a main source of fuel for nuclear power plants and material in nuclear warheads, remains a strategic resource for electricity and national defense. The case could clarify how far states can go in regulating access to uranium resources. The plaintiffs, Virginia Uranium Inc, a subsidiary of Vancouver, British Columbia-based Virginia Energy Resources, Cole Hill LLC and Bowen Minerals LLC, value the southern Virginia uranium deposit at up to $6 billion, according to court papers. Mining it could inject billions of dollars into the local economy, the plaintiffs said. The dispute concerns whether the federal Atomic Energy Act of 1954 preempts Virginia's mining ban under the U.S. Constitution's so-called Supremacy Clause, which holds that federal law generally trumps state law. The Atomic Energy Act gives the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission the sole power to regulate radiation safety standards for milling uranium ore and disposing of waste byproducts known as tailings, key steps in the production of nuclear fuel. But it does not cover conventional uranium mining on non-federal land. The plaintiffs said the ban was motivated by concerns over radiation hazards, which is subject to exclusive federal oversight. Virginia enacted its ban on uranium mining amid concerns about environmental and public safety hazards. After unsuccessfully lobbying Virginia legislators to allow it, the plaintiffs filed suit in 2015, arguing that the federal law regulates nuclear safety and preempts state laws that attempt to do so. President Donald Trump's administration has backed the companies in the case. Under the appeals court ruling, U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco said in a brief, "States could, for example, pass laws that impede physical access to nuclear facilities, diminish the availability of source materials or equipment necessary for nuclear development, or erect financial barriers to the development of nuclear energy." The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the plaintiffs last year, prompting their Supreme Court appeal. The justices will decide the case in their next term, which begins in October. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)London (AFP) - A British court has dropped criminal charges against Barclays over its emergency fundraising from Qatar during the financial crisis a decade ago, the lender said Monday.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had sought to prosecute Barclays for allegedly conspiring to commit fraud by false representations in services agreements with Qatar Holding in 2008.

There was also one alleged offence of unlawful financial assistance over a $3.0-billion (2.5-billion-euro) loan provided by Barclays to the State of Qatar in the same year.

The lender said in a statement Monday that London's Southwark Crown Court has "dismissed all charges" against Barclays Bank and parent firm Barclays PLC regarding "matters which arose in the context of Barclays' capital raisings in 2008".

But the group also warned that the SFO is likely to seek to reinstate the charges by applying to the High Court.

"The dismissals do not and should not be taken to indicate any finding on the issue of whether a criminal offence has or may have been committed by other persons," it cautioned.

The news on Monday is a setback for the SFO, which has conducted a five-year investigation into Barclays' cash call in 2008.

The SFO is however still prosecuting four former executives over the matter.

The charges concerned emergency funding secured from Qatari investors in 2008 as the global banking sector went into meltdown.

In order to avoid asking the UK government for a taxpayer bailout, Barclays raised nearly A12 billion (13.5 billion euros, $16.6 billion) from investors in the Middle East, including the Qatari state sovereign wealth fund, to help it weather the storm.

In turn, Barclays loaned $3.0 billion to the State of Qatar.

By contrast, rivals Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds had to have billions of pounds of British taxpayers' money pumped into them.United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council is considering imposing the first-ever sanctions on migrant smugglers in Libya, targeting six leaders of trafficking rings, but Russia has requested more information, documents obtained by AFP on Monday showed.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley told a council meeting on Libya that "there is strong regional support for these designations and the evidence showing the involvement of the six people is clear."

"Failing to move forward would be a travesty," she added.

Presented by the Netherlands, the proposed sanctions blacklist includes two Eritrean nationals described as top operators in transnational smuggling networks and four Libyans including a the head of a regional coast guard unit.

The six individuals would face a global travel ban and assets freeze if the council agrees to blacklist them. France, Germany, Britain and the United States support the Dutch sanctions request.

Russia however told the council's sanctions committee that "we need more information to better understand the value of the said proposal, how efficient it might be if approved", according to a letter obtained by AFP.

Russia called for a committee meeting to examine the evidence on the involvement of the six individuals and noted that the criminal networks "stretch to many European countries and the United States."

The sanctions blacklist was presented on May 1 and Russia put a hold on the request a week later.

- Smuggling of tens of thousands of migrants -

Libya has long been a transit hub for migrants, but smugglers have stepped up their lucrative business in the years that followed the 2011 ouster of Moamer Kadhafi.

The fate of migrants has come under UN scrutiny since film footage emerged last year of Africans auctioned off as slaves in Libya, drawing outrage from African governments.

Among the six on the proposed blacklist is Ermias Ghermay of Eritrea, described as a leader of a network responsible for "trafficking and smuggling tens of thousands of migrants" from the Horn of Africa to the coast of Libya and onwards to Europe and the United States, according to the sanctions request obtained by AFP.

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The other five are Fitiwi Abdelrazak of Eritrea, Libyan militia leader Ahmad Oumar al-Dabbashi, Libyan Musab Abu-Qarin, described as a "central actor" in migrant smuggling in the coastal area of Sabratha, Libyan Mohammed Kachlaf, head of the Shuhada al Nasr brigade in Zawiya, western Libya and finally, Abd al Rahman al-Milad, who heads the Libyan coast guard in Zawiya.

Al-Milad was cited for running an operation in which he and other coast guard members would open fire on migrant boats, causing them to sink and would then pick up refugees at sea who were sent to detention centers and beaten, the documents said.

Ghermay and Abelrazak were cited for organising countless perilous journeys across the Mediterranean that ended in shipwrecks and for running private detention camps in Libya.

During the council meeting, Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov did not specifically mention the sanctions request but said the migrant problem should be not be tackled with "half-measures."American Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said US and Chinese officials had agreed on a framework that includes China increases their purchases of US goods: REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The US will hold off on imposing steep tariffs on China that ignited fears of a trade war as both sides pursue a broader deal, a top economic official said.

Were putting the trade war on hold, Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. We have agreed to put the tariffs on hold.

The announcement of a detente in the escalating trade dispute came after Chinese officials visited Washington last week, leading the White House to release an optimistic statement about both sides agreeing to take measures to substantially reduce the United States trade deficit in goods with China and to work on expanding trade and protecting intellectual property.

Donald Trump has railed against trade imbalances, particularly with China, as he seeks to renegotiate Americas economic relationship with other nations he accuses of exploiting the US.

Breaking with some of his top economic advisers, Mr Trump announced earlier this year that he would levy tariffs on steel and aluminium. He also signed a memorandum seeking tariffs on $60bn worth of Chinese goods.

China responded with retaliatory tariffs on food imports from the US. While the nascent standoff between the worlds dominant economies rattled markets and vexed many economists, Mr Trump evinced little worry about the consequences.

Trade wars are good, and easy to win, Mr Trump tweeted earlier this year.

But Mr Mnuchin signalled that America was using the leverage from tariff threats to pivot to negotiation, saying talks with Chinese officials had produced very meaningful progress - including a Very productive oval office meeting between Mr Trump and a top Chinese official.

As the administration continues to focus on slimming Americas trade deficit with China, Mr Mnuchin said, officials will press for very hard commitments in increased agricultural and energy exports to China.Washington (AFP) - The United States on Monday denounced the "climate of fear and intimidation" and "lack of transparency" it said marred a vote on constitutional reform in Burundi and questioned the results.

"The May 17 referendum process in Burundi was marred by a lack of transparency, the suspension of media outlets, and attempts to pressure voters," the US State Department said in a statement.

And while "vigorous campaigning by the opposition" was allowed during a designated two-week period, "numerous cases of harassment and repression of referendum opponents in the months preceding the vote contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation," it said.

According to provisional results released on Monday, 73 percent of voters backed constitutional reforms that bolster President Pierre Nkurunziza's power and allow him to seek another two terms in office.

Observers had widely expected the reforms to pass, partly due to support Nkurunziza still holds in rural areas, but also due to a three-year crackdown on dissent, the media and civil society.

Nkurunziza, 54, who has been in power since 2005, plunged his tiny east African nation into crisis in 2015 when he circumvented a constitutional two-term limit, arguing his first term came after an election by parliament.

The move sparked angry protests, a government crackdown, a coup attempt and widespread abuses which prompted the International Criminal Court to launch a probe into the atrocities.

This angered Burundi which became the first country to withdraw from the ICC.

At least 1,200 people have died and 400,000 been displaced, according to the ICC.Post the launch of its latest premium flagship device, the OnePlus 6, the company will have a pop-up sale across 8 Indian cities, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Chennai on 21st and 22nd May 2018. These pop-up stores will give OnePlus fans the opportunity to be among the first to experience and purchase the powerful and stylish OnePlus 6 over two days, on a first-come-first-serve basis.

In each city, community members also have the opportunity to meet-and-greet with a well-known celebrity. Buyers will have the chance to meet Chitrangada Singh in Mumbai, Guru Randhawa in Delhi, Bani J in Bangalore, Aditi Rao Hydari in Hyderabad, Nusrat Jahan in Kolkata, Dharmesh Yellande in Ahmedabad, Nikki Galrani in Chennai and Mithila Parkar in Pune. Whats more, the first buyer at each pop-up location can unbox their new device with the celebrity at the Unbox Zone.

The OnePlus 6 will be available in an early access Prime sale on Amazon.in and oneplus.in from 12 noon today.

The device will also be available for open sales across all channels including OnePlus Authorized Stores and 100+ Croma stores, starting 22nd May 2018. OnePlus 6 will be available in in 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage option in Mirror Black color. The Midnight Black color is available with 8 GB RAM + 128 GB Storage. The 64 GB variant is priced at INR 34,999 whereas the 128 GB variant is priced at INR 39,999.

OnePlus 6 Customers can avail cashback of INR 2,000 on transactions using SBI Debit and Credit Card in first week of OnePlus 6 launch. They will also be eligible to avail No Cost EMI for upto 3 months on all popular banks.

In addition to this, all OnePlus 6 customers will be eligible for 12-month Accidental Damage Insurance by Servify on downloading Kotak 811 app as well as INR 250 for all Amazon Prime Video consumers and discounts up to INR 500 on Amazon Kindle e-books. Other partner offers include up to INR 2,000 cash back and Device Insurance for Idea subscribers and benefits up to INR 25,000 on flight and hotel bookings from ClearTrip.Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump on Monday tightened financial sanctions against Venezuela following what the US called a "sham" election, making it harder for the government to sell off state assets.

Hours after Nicolas Maduro claimed victory in an election plagued by irregularities and boycotted by the opposition, Trump signed an executive order further tightening financial pressure on the regime.

The White House said the executive order complicates Venezuela's efforts to sell off financial IOUs known as "accounts receivable."

Senior US administration officials said the instruments had been used to garner much-needed revenue for the cash-starved regime, but declined to provide more substantive details.

The financial response to the vote was accompanied by diplomatic efforts to further isolate Caracas.

US Vice President Mike Pence decried the election as "a sham -- neither free nor fair. The illegitimate result of this fake process is a further blow to the proud democratic tradition of Venezuela."

"The United States will not sit idly by as Venezuela crumbles and the misery of their brave people continues," Pence said in a statement.

Venezuela is already deep in the worst economic crisis of its history, with its people enduring food and medicine shortages that have sparked violent unrest and a mass exodus by hundreds of thousands of people.

Election officials said Maduro won 68 percent of the votes cast in Sunday's presidential poll, far ahead of the 21 percent won by his nearest rival, ex-army officer Henri Falcon.

But the vote was marred by a 52 percent abstention rate -- a historic high -- following a boycott called by the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) opposition coalition, which slammed the ballot as a "farce."

Even before it took place, Canada, the European Union, the United States and a dozen Latin American countries said they would not recognize the results.

"Until the Maduro regime restores a democratic path in Venezuela through free, fair and transparent elections, the government faces isolation from the international community," said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe has applied to rejoin the Commonwealth, the group said Monday, marking a major step in the country's international re-engagement after Robert Mugabe was ousted last year.

Mugabe angrily pulled Zimbabwe out of the bloc of former British colonies in 2003 after its membership was suspended over violent and graft-ridden elections the previous year.

The Commonwealth said it had received a letter dated May 15 from Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa applying to re-join.

Member countries "very much look forward to Zimbabwes return when the conditions are right," said Secretary-General Patricia Scotland in a statement from London.

"Zimbabwe's eventual return to the Commonwealth, following a successful membership application, would be a momentous occasion."

Scotland confirmed that the Commonwealth would send observers to elections due in July or August, the first polls since Mugabe was ousted in November after a brief military takeover.

Mugabe was replaced by his former deputy Mnangagwa, a veteran ruling ZANU-PF party loyalist who was backed by senior military officers.

Mnangagwa has vowed to hold fair and free elections, and has pledged to revive the moribund economy by repairing international ties and attracting foreign investment.

Scotland called for "a credible, peaceful and inclusive (election) that restores citizens' confidence, trust and hope in the development and democratic trajectory of their country."

Britain said last month that it would strongly support Zimbabwe returning to the Commonwealth.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted Monday: "Fantastic news that Zimbabwe ... wishes to rejoin the Commonwealth".

"Zimbabwe must now show commitment to Commonwealth values of democracy and human rights," Johnson added.

Zimbabwe had fractured relations with the West under Mugabe, who had held power since independence from Britain in 1980.

The government in Harare was not immediately available to comment.

Story continues

If readmitted, Zimbabwe will become the fifth country to re-join the voluntary association of mostly former territories of the British empire, after Gambia, South Africa, Pakistan and Fiji.

The Gambia re-joined the Commonwealth in February this year after the impoverished west African nation was in 2013 suddenly pulled out of the bloc by ex-president Yahya Jammeh.

The other countries to have quit the organisation are Ireland, which left in 1949 and the Maldives which exited in 2016.

The Commonwealth brings together 53 countries representing 2.4 billion people, under a charter pledging commitment to democracy, human rights and rule of law.

The last country to join was Rwanda, in 2009.

The organisation also holds an Olympics-style multi-sport event every four years, most recently in Australia's Gold Coast in April.

Zimbabwe left the Commonwealth at the height of violent land seizures, when white farmers were evicted in favour of landless black people in a policy that wrecked the agriculture sector and triggered national economic collapse.About me I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best. My profile

Archives - Archives - July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2009 December 2009 January 2010 February 2010 March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010 August 2010 September 2010 October 2010 November 2010 December 2010 January 2011 February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021One of the decisions the IDF will have to make in the coming months pertains to the identity of the future heavy-lift helicopter for the transportation of fighters and combat equipment, which will replace the veteran CH-53 Sea Stallion (Yasur) that has been flying since the late 1960s.

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The two American companies vying for the Israeli selection presented their helicopters several weeks ago side by side: Sikorsky-Lockheed Martins CH-53K King Stallion and the veteran Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

The CH-47, which has appeared in many action films and is famous for its two large horizontal rotor assemblies mounted one in front of the other, upgrades its blocks every few years but hasnt changed much.

CH-53K King Stallion. The pilot can talk to the helicopter and plan the mission on a tablet before entering the cockpit (Photo: Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin)

The two helicopters were presented side by side at the ILA Berlin Air Show in late April. The CH-53K King Stallion is considered the most modern and advanced heavy-lift helicopter in the world today. Its load capacity is 3 tons higher than the Chinook's.

Its developers refer to it as a smart helicopter due to its automatic flight control system, deployed during landings and as well as takeoffs, which is highly effective in difficult weather conditions of fog or dust.

This element improves passengers safety, and its main advantage is allowing pilots to focus on carrying out their mission rather than on flying the helicopter.

The King Stallions disadvantage, however, is its high costalmost double the cost of the Chinookand that may affect its chances of being selected, in spite of the praise it has received from Air Force pilots who tested it several months ago in the United States.

CH-47 Chinook. Capable of removing all the transported military vehicles during flight, at a low altitude (Photo: AP)

The current price tag of every CH-53K King Stallion is $87 million, compared to roughly $40 million for each CH-47 Chinookthe average cost of the 200 helicopters sold to the American Marines.

According to Reuters, each CH-47 Chinook was sold for $61 million in a deal with the Royal Netherlands Army.

The IAF plans to buy some 20 new heavy-lift helicoptersin other words, one squadronwhich will replace the current CH-53 Sea Stallion squadron at the Tel Nof Base, whose life has been extended until 2025 following an upgrade of its tools.

In addition, the army plans to purchase several units of the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Both platforms are designated for sensitive, extensive missions at times of war and routine.

Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. Israel will likely buy several units

Another concern pertaining to the CH-53K King Stallion is the delivery date, if Israel indeed decides to purchase the helicopters, as its assembly line is still new and isnt full compared to the major outputs of veteran aircraft sold to many armies. Sources at Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin have estimated that if the deal between the Israeli government and the US government is signed in the coming year, the helicopters will reach Israel gradually by 2023-2024.

The Israeli choice is also expected to be affected by Germanys decision on whether to purchase 40-50 new CH-53K King Stallion helicopters. If Berlin decides in favor of the King Stallion soon, the move will likely reduce the helicopters price and increase the chances for a deal with Israel too.

We have at the moment 14 helicopters in production, and within about a decade the Marine Corps will have 200 King Stallion helicopters, Col. Henry Vanderborght, who has been involved in the CH-53K project on behalf of the US Army, said during the Berlin Air Show.

This helicopter is three times stronger than the Sea Stallion and well be able to produce about 24 helicopters a year. At the end of the day, during war, if you cant get the stuff and the people to where it needs to be at the right time and at the right place, you are not as effective in the battle-space as you could be.

According to Col. Vanderborght, the current price doesnt reflect the entire picture: The helicopter is completely new, is meant to be used for decades with more efficient maintenance and large internal data, so it wont have to be upgraded in the future. Its cheaper to transport forces from one point to another thanks to its abilities, so the investment will pay off over the years.

Furthermore, he said, the support center in the US is able to spot malfunctions or problems in all of these helicopters anywhere in the world in advance, making routine maintenance more efficient. Its ability to carry a heavier weight will save on more flights, and it will be safer to transport fighters.

CH-53K King Stallion. There are others that you can see the Grand Canyon with, but you cant carry military vehicles, fuel, water and ammunition to remote locations (Photo: Sikorsky Aircraft)

Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin President Dan Schultz noted that the King Stallion can land on its own in a predefined spot. The pilot can talk to the helicopter and plan the mission on a tablet before entering the cockpit.

When we planned the plane, we thought about how to help pilots be as confident as possible in the helicopters operation and in their convenience. The cockpit systems, for example, including the joysticks and the seat, are adjustable in accordance with the pilots movements and height, unlike other helicopters.

There are other helicopters that are cheaper than the King Stallion. You can see the Grand Canyon with them, but you cant carry military vehicles, fuel, water and ammunition to remote locations. The Chinook technology is very old and its new version doesnt exist yet, he said about the competitor.

Addressing the King Stallions almost unlimited automaticity, Col. Vanderborght added: I visited your base at Tel Nof and saw you have a regular 15-minute alert for sending the Sea Stallion. The King Stallion helicopter can speed up and shorten many processes with such an alert, like the checklist before every takeoff, which is automatically carried out by the helicopter.

CH-47 Chinook. Can fly safely even at high speeds and at maximum payload (Photo: AP)

The veteran Boeing CH-47 Chinook can carry a similar number of fightersseveral dozen, depending on the flight configurationand several military tools.

It has three cargo hooks to carry and unload cargo separately, in different locations, explained Officer James, the helicopter pilot involved in the Chinook project on behalf of the US Army. The Chinook is also capable of removing the transported military vehicles during the flight, at a low altitude. The helicopter has defense and firing systems in the front and in the back, and an ability to fly safely even at high speeds and at maximum payload. The helicopter has two hydraulic systems and two batteries, so if we lose one we have the other one as backup during the flight.

The helicopter decision is just one in a series of decisions the defense establishment is expected to make in the coming year, in light of the beginning of the new American aid program to the IDF, which will run through 2029 and include unprecedented purchases that will change the face of Israels strategic arm and upgrade its abilities. One of the dilemmas has to do with the identity of the future combat squadron, the new F-15 version or another F-35 Lightning II (Adir) squadron.

Meanwhile, a theoretical possibility has been raised to consider another fighter jet that the IDF has never used beforethe F-22. This plane essentially combines the relative advantages of the F-15 and F-35: An ability to carry many bombs and missiles with a stealth technology, making it possible to fly in enemy skies without being discovered.During a remand extension hearing at the Haifa Magistrates' Court held Sunday evening one of the detaineesDirector of the nonprofit Mossawa Center Jafar Farahspoke about the circumstances leading to his leg being broken and alleged it was intentionally broken by a policeman after he was arrested at a protest rally

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The remand hearing brought before a judge protesters arrested this past Friday in a demonstration in the northern city against Israel's policy on the Gaza border clashes. During the protest, Farah, who heads a center that promotes equality for Arab citizens in Israel, was arrested and his leg was later broken.

Mossawa Center Director Jafar Farah in court Saturday. The human rights activist said a cop broke his leg on purpose (Photo: Ahiya Raved)

"I came to the rally to look for my son and found myself arrested, and have been for 48 hours now," Farah said in court. "While I was in custody, one of the Haifa policemen saw fit to kick me in the leg and broke my knee."

When Farah's part in the hearing concluded, he was taken back to the city's Bnei Zion Hospital. Police announced earlier in the day that despite the fact that 48 hours had elapsed since the incident, they had still not discovered what led to Farah's leg being broken.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan iterated in a tweet his support of a Police Investigations Unit's probe into the matter, saying only "an impartial external body could ascertain" the facts of the case.

Farah was welcomed by cheers and hugs from his supporters (Photo: Ahiya Raved)

The nonprofit's director, who attended the hearing on crutches, was met with applause from his assembled supporters. Farah is one of 19 suspects detained Friday who are still in custody, as two were released earlier.

Police have demanded an extension of five days to their arrest and accused them of a multitude of offenses, including assaulting an officer in the line of duty, disturbing an officer in the line of duty, maliciously damaging property, participating in an unlawful gathering, unruly behavior in a public place and conduct that may disturb the peace.

Friday's protest in Haifa (:  )

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A police representative claimed during the hearing that the protest turned violent, and included "throwing stones at a police force, damaging property, attempts to block traffic and disruption of the public order."

"The Israel Police allows the holding of demonstrations and protests throughout the year," he added. "Having said that, it will adamantly act against rioters and anyone threatening the public's safety or acting against Israel's character as a democratic state or against the rule of law."

A demonstration in solidarity with the people of Gaza (Photo: Gil Nechushtan)

Three simultaneous rallies were held in the northern city Sunday decrying the alleged police brutality perpetrated against Friday's demonstrators. Some 200 people congregated outside the court, waved Palestinians flags and called to release all detainees.

One man was arrested on suspicion of attending the protest despite being barred by the court to do so.

Two more protests were held in the city, one organized by residents calling to preserve coexistence in Haifa and another by left-wing organizations that voiced their support for the people of Gaza.

A rally for coexistence in Haifa (Photo: Ahiya Raved)

Farah's wife Ismahan attended the protest opposite the court and told Haifa Radio that she "felt terrible. I never expected police's conduct to reach that far. We're law abiding people, civilized people. You don't need to send hoodlums like the ones (at the protest)."

"Haifa is a part of Israeli society, which is becoming more and more violent, right-leaning and intolerantnot just of Arabs but left-wingers as well. Who dares to say in public they belong to the Left anymore? The state needs to take a close look at what's happening here. If they're against me today, tomorrow they'll be against other minoritiesDruze, Russians or Ethiopians," she concluded her accusation.

Public Security Minister Erdan, meanwhile, contacted Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit demanding he open a criminal investigation against MK Ayman Odeh, on the heels of footage of the Joint List chairman swearing at policemen over the weekend when attempting to visit Farah in hospital.

"The video published on social media over the weekend," Erdan wrote Mandelblit, "showed MK Odeh levying deplorable statements at policemen carrying out their duties, intentionally ignoring their instructions and acting willfully to hamper their ability to carry out their duty."

Public Security Minister Erdan asked AG Mandelblit to open an investigation into MK Odeh's conduct with policemen (Photo: Barel Efraim)

"There's no need to stress to you the importance of following the instructions of police officers on duty," Erdan continued, "especially as it pertains to an elected official."

Consequently, Erdan asked the attorney general to open an investigation against Odeh and his cohorts for disrupting an officer in the line of duty, insulting a public official, breaking a legal order, threats and "any other offense stemming from his conduct in the video, or discovered by an investigation of the incident and those involved in it."Jafar Farah, director of the Mossawa Center who was arrested after a Friday protest in Haifa and whose leg was broken thereafter, said after his release from detention that, "It's time for the Israel Police to educate its cops to respect freedom of speech and not oppress people."

"This isn't Iran. If Israel wants to follow in Iran's footsteps, let it, but stop calling it a democracy. What happened here is a disgrace to any democratic country. It's inconceivable for people who went out protesting to be repressed like this, hurt physically, beaten and humiliated," he exclaimed.Palestinian security prisoners rioted at Israeli jails on Sunday, shouting and banging on doors in protest of the death of a fellow inmate.

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Aziz Awisat, 54, of Jabel Mukaber, died of a heart condition at the Yitzhak Shamir Medical Center (formerly Assaf Harofeh Medical Center).

The Hamas-linked inmate was sentenced to 30 years in prison four years ago for trying to blow up a building in the East Talpiot (Armon HaNetziv) neighborhood in Jerusalem by cutting gas pipes.

Aziz Awisat

Two weeks ago, Awisat attacked a prison guard at the Eshel Prison in Be'er Sheva by pouring boiling water over him . The guard suffered burns all over his body.

The news of his death spread through the Eshel and Ktzi'ot prisons, where other prisoners started rioting in protest. Later, prisoners from three cell blocks at the Gilboa Prison also joined the protest.Dedicated to the Restoration of Progressive DemocracyThe Haifa Magistrate's Court released Monday morning all 19 people detained in Haifa Friday after a protest decrying Israel's actions in the Gaza border riots, rejecting police's request to extend their remand by five days.

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In his ruling, the judge noted the large number of detainees who were injured, as seven of them required medical attention at hospitals.

Judge Amir Salameh did, however, accede to police's request to delay by several hours the release of seven of the detainees, suspected of assaulting a police officer, so police could decide whether to appeal their release.

The 19 remaining detainees were released by court Monday morning (Photo: Ahiya Raved)

Nevertheless, Judge Salameh determined the incident was better categorized as disrupting an officer in the line of duty rather than assaulting an officer.

Protesters were released on bail and barred from attending any further demonstrations for 15 days.

Among those released were Jafar Farahwhose leg was broken after he was arrestedhis son and his nephew.

Farah, director of the Mossawa Center that promotes the rights of Israel's Arab citizens, was arrested after at Friday's protest and alleged his leg was broken by a policeman after his detention.

Jafar Farah at Sunday's hearing, which he attended on crutches (Photo: Zohar Shachar)

He received treatment overnight at the northern city's Rambam Medical Center, where he was taken after his court date. He was examined by doctors, who changed the cast on his leg. The hospital later released a statement saying he required no further medical attention.

After his release, Farah said the court's ruling was a "slap in the face of the police," adding, "It's time for the Israel Police to educate its cops to respect freedom of speech and not oppress people."

"This isn't Iran. If Israel wants to follow in Iran's footsteps, let it, but stop calling it a democracy. What happened here is a disgrace to any democratic country. It's inconceivable for people who went out protesting to be repressed like this, hurt physically, beaten and humiliated," he exclaimed.

At the outset of a Sunday evening hearing, Farah recounted the circumstances leading to his leg being broken.

Footage of the Haifa protest (:  )

X

"I came to the rally to look for my son and found myself arrested, and have been for 48 hours now," Farah said in court. "While I was in custody, one of the Haifa policemen saw fit to kick me in the leg and broke my knee."

Police announced Sunday that despite the fact that 48 hours had elapsed since the incident, they had still not discovered what led to Farah's leg being broken.

The nonprofit's director, who attended the hearing on crutches, was met with applause from his assembled supporters. His son, also detained at the protest, was also present, with his lawyer claiming he was beaten as well.

Farah recounted the day's events for the judge, saying, "We landed in Israel Friday morning. I didn't have time or planned on participating in the protest, but I've brought up my children to be involved. My son arrived there after 9pm, after videos from the protest had already surfaced.

21 people were initially arrested in the wake of Friday's protest

"I went out looking for him because I realized things were not going as they should. I saw people from the police's Yasam (special patrol) unit surrounding the area. I tried leaving, but the Yasam policemen wouldn't let me. They lunged at (the protesters) and arrested my son and brother. I got near the squad car but was told to get the hell out of there."

When Farah's part in the hearing concluded, he was taken back to the city's Bnei Zion Hospital.

Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan iterated in a tweet his support of a Police Investigations Unit's probe into the matter, saying only "an impartial external body could ascertain" the facts of the case.Director of the Mossawa Center Jafar Farah, who was arrested at a Gaza solidarity rally Friday and whose leg was later broken, said in a Ynet studio interview that one of the cops in the police station he was taken to beat him on the knee after he saw his sonalso arrestedwith his face bloodied and asked how that happened.

"This cop," Farah added, "and other cops at the Haifa station along with him, did what they did under their commanders' supervision. The commander of the Haifa police station is responsible for what happens in his house. I trust no one," he concluded.A bill proposal to regulate state conversions in Israel and the recognition of Jewish conversions done abroad is expected to return to the Knesset soon, almost a year after it sparked a crisis in the coalition.

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A new draft of the bill was recently submitted to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but what is meant to be a compromise arrangement is likely to re-spark the dispute.

According to the recommendations made by a special team led by former justice minister Moshe Nissim, state conversions will receive legal status for the first time, ensuring that only the state could perform conversions through Orthodox rabbinical courts and in line with Halacha (Jewish law).





Conversion ceremony (: ")

To that end, a new Jewish conversions authority will be established in the Prime Minister's Office and will be responsible for both civilian and military conversions. It will replace an existing department in the PMO that has been operating without having been enshrined by law.

The new authority is meant to prevent Reform and Conservative rabbis from performing conversions in Israel, as well as ensure that those that undergo Reform or Conservative conversions are not recognized by state bodies as Jewsnot in matters of religion (such as marriage in the Chief Rabbinate) nor for receiving a legal status (such as citizenship based on the right of return).

A petition by liberal movements to recognize Reform and Conservative conversions is currently being heard by the High Court of Justice, and the new legislation seeks to block any future judicial interference in the matter.

"Conversion performed in Israel will be recognized for the purposes of any law only if it was performed by a rabbinical conversion court under the conversion authority," the proposal notes. "No legal relevance will be given to any conversion performed in Israel not by the conversion court in the conversion authority."

Private Orthodox conversion courtsfrom that of ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Nissim Karelitz to the religious-Zionist Giyur Ka'Halachawill also be affected by the move. The High Court has already determined their conversions will be recognized by for civil matters, and they were hoping that in the future the Chief Rabbinate would recognize them for marriages as well.

But the ultra-Orthodox have objections to the proposal as well, as part of the compromise the new conversions authority will be independent and not under the Chief Rabbinate, and the authority's head will be chosen by the prime minister.

Furthermore, while the rabbinical judges performing the conversions will be Orthodox, they will be appointed by a committee headed by the prime minister or his representative, in which there will be no Orthodox or ultra-Orthodox majority, and the Reform and Conservative movements will have a voice.

The new conversions authority will also be able to recognize religious marriages of Jewish converts, which will further weakened the Chief Rabbinate, currently the sole body with such authority.

If the bill is passed into law, the Chief Rabbinate will no longer be able to delay one's religious marriage because of doubt over the validity of his conversion. Any appeals about the conversion process will be discussed by a higher rabbinical court, which will be established within the new conversions authority, and its decisions will be final. The authority will also have a special court for minors, another contentious issue.

Regulations against 'misuse' of Jewish conversions

Conversions performed by a recognized Jewish community abroad will be recognized for legal matters, such as the law of return, whether they were done by Orthodox rabbinical courts according to the Halacha or not, in line with a 2016 High Court ruling on the matter.

However, the bill proposal notes that "the interior minister, in consultation with the prime minister, may prescribe in the regulations rules and conditions that will prevent the misuse of conversion for the purpose of obtaining economic rights or for any other reason other than the desire to join the Jewish people."

The Reform Movement reacted to the proposal with mixed emotions. The movement's executive-director Gilad Kariv said that "naturally, we do not support the idea of only having one option for conversion in Israel. However, we welcome the full recognition of Reform conversions in the Diaspora and the assurance to converts in Israel who are already citizens and residents that they will be listed in the civil registry as Jews.

"In addition, we welcome the apparent recognition of the need to drastically minimize the influence of the Chief Rabbinate on conversions, in light of this institution's strict stance towards those who sought to convert in recent decades."

Reform and Conservative movements protest against freeze of Western Wall plan and conversion law (Photo: Amit Shabi)

However, he added, "We reiterate our expectations from the Israeli government to lead conversion moves while having dialogue and reaching broad agreements. As has been proven with the Western Wall issuethe Reform Movement believes in the need to strive for broad national support, while keeping to the State of Israel's fundamental values as a democratic state and as the state of the entire Jewish people, including all of its sectors and movements."

'Haredim won't let this pass'

Dr. Yizhar Hess, the executive director of the Conservative Movement, also welcomed the bill proposal. "One must admit that the report Moshe Nissim has authored is revolutionary to a considerable extent," he said. "Removing the conversions from the Chief Rabbinate to a separate, independent conversions authority is welcomed. The fact its heads will be appointed by the prime ministerand while the chief rabbis will be members of the appointing committee, they won't have veto rightsis definitely courageous and very important.

"The fact the appointing committee will include representatives of Diaspora Jews, representatives of the Conservative and Reform movements, is also recognition I do not underestimate. I also welcome the fact the bill proposal enshrines in legislation the High Court's ruling from 2002, meaning: Official recognition of Reform and Conservative conversions, which are performed at recognized communities abroad, with regards to the right of return."

Reform and Conservative movements protest against freeze of conversion law; signs say: 'I have Jewish friends of all colors' and 'Orthodox conversion (less or equal to) Reform conversion' (Photo: Amit Shabi)

"However," he qualified, "and perhaps because of this, I do not believe this legislation is politically viable. The Haredim will oppose it for understandable reasons, and even for Diaspora Jews this won't be enough. Any legislation that perpetuates the Orthodox monopoly, even if it makes it liberal to a certain degree, means further humiliation for the millions of non-Orthodox Jews. Haven't we had enough of those over the past two years?"

Prof. Aviad Hacohen, the president of the Sha'arei Mishpat College, also expressed concern Haredi politicians would torpedo the legislation.

"Former minister Moshe Nissim did holy work and penned an important, in-depth report. The very fact none of the sides involved is unhappy shows these are worthy and balanced conclusions," said Hacohen, who researched the issue of conversions and represented converts whose Jewishness was not recognized in High Court cases.

"As always, it's safe to assume political officials, each from his direction, will thwart the implementation of the reportand that is a shame. It's high time to rise above petty and narrow considerations and have an inclusive policy towards the converts, as is appropriate for a country whose values are Jewish and democratic," he added.

Low conversion rate in Israel

Recent data showed that the Jewish people have not been keen to take on converts in the current generation, even when it comes to Israeli-born people or those who have been living in the country for over 20 years.

Since state conversions began in 1996, less than 90,000 Israelis underwent Jewish conversion, with half of them being Ethiopian immigrants whose conversion was a condition for citizenship.

Only 29,000 out of close to 400,000 (7.25 percent) of emigrants from the former Soviet Union who were not Jews have converted over the past 20 years. Many others want to convert, but despair from the difficult and unfriendly process.

The data was taken from the book "Israeli Conversion: Vision. Achievements. Failures" by Prof. Yedidia Z. Stern, the vice president of the Israel Democracy Institute, and Dr. Netanel Fisher of the Sha'arei Mishpat College.

According to the researchers, some 10,000 peopleincluding babies born to non-Jewish mothers as well as new immigrantsjoin the hundreds of thousands of Israelis not recognized as Jews.

Despite that, conversion rates have been low by the end of 2017, with some 2,000 people undergoing either civil or military conversion every year.After 62 Palestinians were killed and thousands were wounded during recent Gaza border riots, and following the harsh criticism against Israel in the international arena, the Gaza affair is far from over. Although neither Israel nor Hamas are interested in war, there is still a high likelihood that the clashes will escalate and deteriorate to another bloody and destructive round of war.

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This may be another battle which will end in the exact situation we have today or an even worse one. In such a situation, Hamas wont be there and well have to deal with a governmental anarchy in the strip that is bound to spill into our territory.

When that happens, we will have no other choice but to return as an occupying force that will have to take care of the needs of two million hostile Palestinians. Security officials in Israel share the opinion that we have no interest in toppling the Hamas rule at this time, as it would lead to the creation of a governmental void in the strip.

Riots on Gaza border, last week (Photo: MCT)

The defense establishment is interested in stopping the deterioration down this slippery slope through a quick implementation of a comprehensive plan for humanitarian and economic aid to the strip. This recommendation from the IDFand recently from the Shin Bet as wellis based on a simple idea: Humanitarian welfare (water, sewage, health and electricity services) and economic development (reducing unemployment) will calm things down among the population and prevent incitement and use of the population as human ammunition and shields by Hamas.

The Palestinians in the West Bank arent rushing to join the clashes with the Israeli security forces, mainly because of the reasonableor at least tolerableeconomic and governmental situation there. A lull and an improvement in the populations situation, which will require cooperation with the Palestinian Authority and with Egypt, will also help remove Hamas from its complete isolation and alleviate its fears for the survival of its government.

Such a plan basically exists on paper and has already been discussed in Washington as part of a conference of the Arab and European donor states, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and of course the American administration. The conference was presented with a plan that would lead to welfare and calm in the strip, whose initiator and proponent was Major-General Yoav Mordechai, the coordinator of the governments activities in the territories up until a few weeks ago.

This plan includes everything it takes to rescue the Gazans and Hamas from their distress: Building factories for water desalination and purification, a high-voltage line for electricity supply and a long list of civilian economic projects. It also includes a general agreement on an outline and distribution of the burden required to fund this excellent plan. Its implementation could dramatically improve the economic and humanitarian situation in the strip, thereby reducing the threat of a deterioration to violence.

Why not?

The main obstacle in implementing this plan is the lack of a functioning civilian government in the Gaza Strip that would be able to implement it on the ground. Another obstacle is the lack of a calm and the continuation of exchanges of fire with Israel, which are threatening to destroy the infrastructure and economic projects, as has often happened in the past.

The internal Palestinian reconciliation, which was initiated by Egypt with Hamas consent, was supposed to solve these two obstacles. The Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas was supposed to enter the strip as a civilian government body and oversee the reconstruction instead of Hamas, which failed to do so. But despite the Egyptian efforts and the agreement that was signed, the internal Palestinian reconciliation failed. The reason was Hamas refusal to disarm, as both Abbas and Israel had demanded.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh near the border fence (Photo: Getty Images)

Israel presented the equation reconstruction for demilitarization as a condition for participating in the strips humanitarian-economic rescue plan, and Abbas demanded that Hamas disarm and subordinate its military arm to the civilian government. Hamas refused, and Abbas suspended the transfer of funds to the civilian government in the strip, intentionally worsening the civilians distress without any hesitations and increasing their willingness to commit suicide on the fence.

But the humanitarian, economic and government dead end in the Gaza Strip at the moment isnt a predetermined outcome. We can reach a calm in the strip that will make it possible to implement the humanitarian and economic Marshall Plan. Im not referring to the hudna with Israel, which some Hamas leaders proposed to the Egyptian intelligence chief half-heartedly. Such a hudna would allow Hamas to enjoy an improvement in the populations situation thanks to Israel, build its military strength and then renew the fighting. A hudna contradicts Israels long-term security interest, which is why Jerusalem is rightly opposed to this dangerous idea.

So what can be done?

There is another outline for an arrangement that has already been successfully tried out in recent years in several areas of a violent conflict and humanitarian crises around the world. This outline is based on a permanent arrangement performed in stagesa military and political compromise under the auspices of an international mandate and power, which would provide legitimization and legal validity. The arrangement will serve all parties and make it possible to gradually dismantle the explosive conflict.

I have seen for myself such arrangements, in Liberia and then in Kosovo, lead to a partial lull at first and then pave the way to a long-term solution of the conflicts. They werent a howling success, and it took time before they were able to overcome all the obstacles and violations of the agreements that sabotaged them. But at the end of the day, they led to a long-term and stable lulland thats exactly what we need in Gaza now.

Its important to add at this point that the principles of the arrangement, which will be specified shortly, have been the subject of discussions and brainstorming in the defense establishment and perhaps also in the National Security Council at the Prime Ministers Office. These are initial ideas which have not been fully developed yet, but they have already been placed on the table not only in Israel but in several capitals in the region as well.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: Reuters)

The main idea is that its possible to reach an arrangement that will be based on a compromise and on international support, even without forcing Hamas to disarm completely. The timing seems suitable. We must take advantage of the state of shock in Hamas and the other Palestinian organizations following last weeks bloody clashes on the fence, as well as the shock in the international, Arab and Israeli arena, to reach an agreement. Hamas will have an interest in such an arrangement too, which will help it out of the dead end it has gotten itself into, which is threatening the survival of its government in the strip.

An arrangement under international and regional auspices could succeed in solving the Gazan problem if it is based on the following principles:

The arrangement will be led by an Arab-Muslim elementpreferably Egyptand will be based on resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and of the Arab League, which will provide it with legitimation and legal validity.



The goal of the arrangement is an immediate fundamental improvement in the Gazan populations humanitarian and economic situation and a preparation for general democratic and secret elections for a government in the strip, which will be held under the auspices and supervision of the UN a year or two later. These elections will reflect the Gazans will, and there is a good chance that the elected government will have a strong interest in continuing the calm and political stability that will pave the way for economic welfare and development.



The arrangement will be enforced on the ground by teams of observers and inspectors sent by the UN and a peacekeeping force send by the Arab League and Turkey.



As a first step, Hamas and the PA will implement their reconciliation agreement and establish a joint civil government in the strip. For that purpose, they will reach a compromise on controlling the military force: Hamas will disarm from its heavy weapons and offensive infrastructure, but the members of its military wing and of Islamic Jihad will be permitted to keep their personal weapons and small arms. The heavy weaponsthe heavy mortar shells, the rockets and antitank missiles and the unmanned aerial vehicleswill be handed over to the UN inspectors, who will remove them from the strip.



Members of Hamas military wing, with their small arms, will be incorporated into the civilian governments law enforcement forces in the strip, which will be shared by Hamas and the PA. Hamas will pledge to avoid developing and arming itself with rockets, missiles and heavy weapons as long as the arrangement remains in effect, and will avoid digging attack tunnels as well. The organization will provide the UN with the location of the tunnels and destroy them under UN supervision. The Arab-Muslim peacekeeping force and UN observation posts will be deployed west of the fence and of the border obstacle between Gaza and Israel and will ensure that no offensive activity takes place against western Negev communities from that area.



Egypt will open the Rafah Crossing and other crossings almost unlimitedly but under strict supervision, to prevent the smuggling of weapons and terrorists into the strip or from the strip to Sinai. Israel will contribute to the agreements implementation by opening all the border crossings, under tight security supervision, and will provide its approval for the establishment of a seaport off the shores of Gaza, which will be managed under European security supervision with the participation of professionals from the Gulf states. Israel will remain responsible for the maritime area north and west of the strip, and Egypt will supervise the maritime area opposite its sovereign territory in Sinai.



Problems and solutions

As far as Israel is concerned, this arrangement is far from ideal. There is a danger that Hamas and Islamic Jihad, with Irans help, will secretly build their strength while deceiving the UN inspectors and bribing members of the Arab-Muslim force.

Another difficulty will arise if the rejectionist organizations fire into the State of Israel. The IDF will find it difficult to retaliate in a deterring manner as it does today, for fear of hitting UN members and soldiers of the multinational force inside the strip. A ground invasion of Gaza will be more difficult too if necessary. It will be hard to implement, but its definitely possible militarily and politically.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot (Photo: Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

In any event, the chance is worth the risk. Its important to stress that the Shin Bet and the IDFs intelligence will keep supervising the situation in the strip and providing UN inspectors with information that will help them handle the different violations of the arrangement, including tunnel digging.

Moreover, the defense establishment is expected to complete the construction of the obstacle under and above the ground on the Gaza Strip border within less than a year, and that will reduce the risk of direct fire from the strip into Israel and infiltrations of Gazans into our territory.

Another difficult problem, as far as the current Israeli government is concerned, is that an internationally-backed arrangement for Gaza creates a precedent concerning the West Bank. The Palestinians (Abbas or his successors) could demand the implementation of such an agreement on all the lands occupied in 1967 without reaching an agreement with Israel first. Such a demand would serve as an obstacle to serious peace negotiations based on a compromise between Israel and the Palestinians.

An internationally-backed arrangement of the situation in Gaza has many other shortcomings, but at the moment its the only real possibility of reaching a calm and stability soon, as far as all parties are concerned. Such an arrangement will lead to humanitarian aid and economic projects that will rescue the population from its despairing distress.

It will also serve Hamas and perhaps allow democratic elections that will lead to a stable political government in the strip. Without an international and Arab-Muslim framework (including Qatar and Turkey), it will be impossible to reach a long-term lull, fund humanitarian aid and economic development and get out of the bloody dead end we have reached.

Israel must take advantage of its good relations with the Trump administration, with Egypt and with Jordan, and its not-as-good relations with the Europeans and Gulf states, and work behind the scene to enlist everyone for a quick creation and implantation of a military, economic and political arrangement for the Gaza Strip.Police have decided to not appeal the Haifa Magistrate's Court decision to release all remaining detainees from a Gaza solidarity protest in Haifa Friday.

The court postponed the release of seven of the 19 detainees at the police's behest, as they allegedly assaulted officers, in order to allow the force to appeal. With the police deciding against an appeal, however, they too will be released.Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh commented Monday on the incidents surrounding a Gaza solidarity protest in Haifa Friday, which culminated with the arrests of 21 protesters. While the police chief welcomed the Police Investigation Unit's inquiry into the matter, he clarified, "It was a highly violent riot. That's not legitimate protest, even in a tolerant democracy."

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Commissioner Alsheikh spoke at a Beit Shemesh ceremony also attended by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan. "The Police Investigation Unit will examine the reports and medical findings and question the officers," he said. "We are taking no further action so as not to tamper with their investigation. If they decide an inquiry is warranted, they will investigate."

Commissioner Alsheikh (L) and Jafar Farah. Alsheikh said the Police Investigation Unit should be allowed to conclude its inquiry and that the police will act on their recommendations

One of the detainees, the director of the Mossawa Center that promotes the rights of Israel's Arab citizens, was hospitalized after claiming a policeman intentionally broke his leg.

When the police commissioner was asked about footage showing the director, Jafar Farah, on his feet after being arrested, he said he had never seen anyone walking with a leg fracture.

Mossawa Center director Farah in a court hearing. Alsheikh said he had never seen anyone walking around on a broken leg (Photo: Zohar Shachar)

On the allegedly excessive use of police force in breaking up the protest, Alsheikh stated officers on the scene had no other choice.

"We're talking about chairs flying, an entire pedestrian mall turned into a battlefield, throwing stones at cops. Obviously force was used. Were boundaries overstepped? If that turns out to be the case, we will deal with it harshly," he vowed.

In conclusion, Alsheikh said that, "At the end of the day, our role is not to make outlandish statements but to allow the Police Investigation Unit to carry out its inquiry."

Alsheikh (2nd left) and Public Security Minister Erdan, who said at the ceremony policemen operated in a highly complex environment (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Minister Erdan also commented on Friday's protest at the ceremony, saying that, "Policemen nowadays need to be familiar with many thingslaws, regulations, social fabric and cultural nuances. Making split-second decisions.

"Events in the last few days have served up an example of police's highly complex role, and the need to maintain public order while allowing protest under the freedom of speech in which we all believe."

"Our policemen are administering their duties under conditions of stress, while unfortunately being pelted with insults and sometimes even physically assaulted. They must still maintain composure and remember their mission. There is none harder. Police must also make sure it makes judicious use of the powers the law provided it with, and that while upholding the public's safety it also preserves its trust."

Some of the detainees in court Monday. All 19 were eventually released (Photo: Ahiya Raved)

The Haifa Magistrate's Court decided earlier Monday to release all 19 people remaining in detention after the protest decrying Israel's actions in the Gaza border riots, rejecting police's request to extend their remand by five days.

Judge Amir Salameh did, however, accede to police's request to delay by several hours the release of seven of the detainees, suspected of assaulting a police officer, so police could decide whether to appeal their release.

Once the police decided not to appeal, the seven were released as well.Mere meters stand between the new Ilan Ramon International Airport in the southern Arava region and Israel's border with Jordan, which makes it one of the most secure airfields in the world.

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The airport, named after the late Israeli astronaut that perished in the Columbia shuttle explosion and expected to be opened in March, 2019, will be defended by 34 kilometers of physical and intelligence barriers running from Eilat to the Samar kibbutz in southern Arava.

Visiting the outskirts of the airport, from which hundreds of international flights will be operated every year, shows just how near to the Jordanian border its landing strips area volley of gunfire or an antitank missile away.

The Jordanian border fence will protected the Ramon Airport from terrorist threats (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Its sensitive location, however, necessitated careful preparations by the defense establishment. Despite the strength of the Jordanian army on the other side of the border, Israel's relatively good coordination with it and the low security risk compared to the Sinai frontwhere more than 1,000 Islamic State terrorists are activethe IDF took no chances.

Unlike the five meter high wall on the Egyptian frontier, a six meter tall stainless steel fence was erected near the airport, which includes 35 millimeter thick, impregnable steel slabs with additional plates being installed underground to prevent the fence being pulled down by a vehicle.

The fence's posts have been planted six meters deep into the ground and placed in concrete castings, since the nature of the Arava's earth required such fortifications. The width of the fence, 35 microns, is three times that of the Egyptian border fence.

Closer view of the barrier (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Another enormous fence was erected between the border itself and runways, out of fear of advanced Kornet antitank missiles being fired at aircrafts taking off from the airport. The second fence is four and a half kilometers long and 26 meters high and it contains 186 columns and three million screws, weighing in at 6,500 tons of steel.

'Even an APC wouldn't be able to breach it'

A senior IDF official with knowledge of the barrier's creation said it was the tallest in the country, "and from what we've seen the tallest in the world as well."

"We held a fire test to make sure it covers every angle of antitank fire, while the air force provides a different solution for the threat of shoulder-mounted antiaircraft missiles. As for the fence, even an armored personnel carrier ramming it will not be able to breach it," he stated.

"A similar fence will be erected opposite the Gaza Strip in three months' time," he added. "At certain points, such as the Besor Stream in the southern strip, we've already put up a portion of the fence."

(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

In addition to the physical barriers, intelligence devices were dotted in three separate communications hubs, with 64 meter high masts used by police, Shin Bet, IDF and other bodies and affixed with radars and cameras scanning deep into Jordan while also affording a 360 degree view of the Israeli side of the border.

The cost of the Jordan barrier project is NIS 288 million, with no plans in place at the moment to extend it farther north up to the Masada, where an old fence begins that reaches as far as the tri-border area in Hamat Gader.

Instead, Israel is constructing a similar barrier within Jordanian land to head off an Islamic State offshoot in the southern Syrian Golan Heights, which poses a potential threat to both Israel and Jordan.

Nevertheless, the remainder of Israel's frontier with Jordan will remain fenceless, as the area has seen no attempts at a terrorist attack in years. Attempts at crossing the fence, mostly of a criminal nature or as part of work migration, were however noted.

Aerial view of runways at the Ramon International Airport (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

To secure the new fence, thousands of old minesmostly anti-personnelwere removed from 17.5 kilometers of the southern Arava border. In order to prevent the new fence being destroyed or breached by floods, 56 low-water crossings and lattices were created at the bottom of the fence that may be manually opened on days of inclement weather, allowing rainwater to flow through harmlessly.

Apart from the new barrier, standing army infantry forces regularly patrol the sector, including soldiers from the co-ed Bardelas Battalion and other teams from elite units. Furthermore, the aforementioned cooperation with the Jordanians is considered a strategic asset, with the IDF saying they are highly effective when tackling what few incidents occur in the sector.

A senior Southern Command officer spoke on the Israeli-Jordanian work, saying that the airport's creation was accompanied by working in conjunction with Israel's neighbor throughout.

"We saw what happened at the Sharm airport that was all but abandoned after the downing of a Russian plane ( by the Islamic State in 2015). Merely firing at a plane taking off from Ramon, without even hitting it, will send all of the immense investment down the drain," he cautioned.

(Photo: Itay Blumenthal)

"What we created here is a sort of insurance policy with the foreign air carriers landing in the airport," he explained.

Another reason for the bi-national cooperation was ensuring calm in a region heavily visited by tourists on both sides of the border. This past January, for instance, Israeli security forces drilled a scenario of terrorists coming in from the sea to Eilat and going on a killing spree in one exercise and heavy rocket fire at the Eilat bay in another.

The Shin Bet divulged last week that a group of eight Bedouin drug traffickers from the Negev were arrested and charged. The group was involved in a large scale smuggling attempt near Nitzana, in the western Negev.

During their smuggling attempt, the Bedouins damaged a highly sensitive security infrastructure, causing the border fence's surveyors to lose visibility for several hours.

(Photo: Dani Sadeh)

The IDF noted that the fault had since been fixed, and a new, sophisticated measure was deployed to prevent such a grave incident from reoccurring.

Some 100 army observers are active in four intelligence-collection operation rooms.

Fear of ISIS

Fears of an Islamic State terror attack are still running high in the Arava, as the terror group is still a thorn in the side of the Egyptian military, situated sometimes mere kilometers away from the Israeli border.

The IDF is therefore preparing for a scenario of multi-pronged infiltration, with no prior intelligence forewarning and dozens of terrorists armed with handguns, machineguns, antitank missiles, antiaircraft missiles and other armaments.

Islamic State terrorists in the Sinai Peninsula

Such an infiltration may even take the form of an orderly military-style invasion, as the terror group has already conducted in the past few months on Egyptian bases in the peninsula, in which dozens of soldiers were killedincluding senior officers.

Criminal smuggling operations on the border, meanwhile, are continuing, at a frequency of two to three times a week on occasion. The IDF and Border Police respond to every such attempt in an effort to foil it, but the IDF has maintained an attitude saying that wherever those smugglers operate, the Islamic State will stay away.The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced teacher Shaul Shamai to seven years in prison and an 18 month suspended sentence after his conviction of the statutory rape of six minors.

The court also decreed Shamai must pay each victim NIS 25,000 in compensation.The Palestinian Foreign Affairs Ministry denounced the opening of the Paraguayan Embassy in Jerusalem and said it was an illegitimate, illegal decision.

"This constitutes aggression towards the Palestinian people and their rights, as well as a violation of UN resolutions and international law. They are merely fulfilling the dictates of Israel and the United States," the ministry's statement said.A teacher convicted of statutory rape of six young girls, some of whom went to the school in which he taught, was sentenced on Monday to seven years in prison.

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The teacher, 49-year-old Rishon LeZion resident Shaul Shamai, was convicted as part of a plea bargain. Four of his victims, aged 7-8, were pupils at the school while the remaining two received private lessons from him.

In addition to the seven year sentence, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Zvi Gurfinkel gave Shamai an 18 month suspended sentence and ordered him to pay each girl NIS 25,000 in compensation.

Teacher Shaul Shamai was sentenced to 7 years in prison for the statutory rape of six girls (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

While the plea agreement was approved back in January, the parties could not reach an agreement on the sentencing, with the State Attorney's Office pushing for a sentence of 10 to 18 years.

Judge Gurfinkel said at the sentencing that, "The severity of the defendant's actions could not be overstated. He abused his position as teacher and educator and the trust his students placed in him to systematically carry out his deeds."

Gurfinkel also criticized the fact that a report of a previous conviction in a similar case was not made known to the relevant authorities , allowing him to continue to serve as a teacher. "The offenses in this case were committed while the defendant was charged with sexual assault in another instance, all while serving as a teacher," he said.

Judge Zvi Gurfinkel criticized the fact that Shamai was allowed to keep working as a teacher despite a prior conviction in sexual offenses (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The attorney representing the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office commented on the sentence, saying, "The court has accepted our position and levied the defendant with a harsh sentence in accordance with the grave circumstances of the case."

The prolonged prison sentence, attorney Kineret Kahan Mor added, will serve as a deterrent for anyone entrusted with the safety and well-being of children, who then takes advantage of their naivete and helplessness to harm them.

Shamai's attorney Tali Gottlieb provided comment of her own, saying, "The court accepted all of our claims, as to the fact that while we have an obligation to send a perpetrator to prison we must also, as a society, take into account that he confessed, showed regret and asked for treatment."

"The mere fact that my client confessed is rare and unusual in cases such as these, and speaks for itself in reflecting his true, honest regret without first securing a promise for any (reduced) punishment," she added.

Shamai (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The victims' lawyers said on behalf of the families: "As the District Court's verdict shows, this is a horrifying case, which undoubtedly could have been preventedas could the immense harm caused to the helpless minors, who were exposed to the pedophile teachwith better conduct. Now, with the completion of the criminal proceedings, a damages claim will soon be filed against all of the relevant elements, and we can only hope the necessary lessons will be learned to avoid terrible cases such as this from repeating."

Shamai worked as a substitute teacher at an elementary school in northern Tel Aviv from October 2016 until June 2017. He was arrested after one of the students told her mother he had hurt her, and the mother complained to the principal.

The teacher was charged in June 2017 with multiple counts of indecent acts against four second grade students and a 13-year-old girl he was privately tutoring. He was also charged at the Magistrate's Court in the city with working at an institution despite being convicted of a sexual offense.

While 10 complaints have been made by second grade students against Shamai, only five complaints were eventually included in the indictment.

According to the indictment, during his time at the Tel Aviv elementary school, Shamai sexually assaulted girls aged 7-8 in several separate incidents. He allegedly carried out the acts during class and in front of the other students in the classroom.

Shamai sat the students down on his lap, put his hands under their clothes and touched their private parts, at times despite their verbal and physical objections.

The sentencing also included another case in which Shamai was convicted of indecent acts against another girl he was giving private lessons to. In that instance, the suspect had fondled the girl and attempted to kiss her on several occasions.







Shamai also admitted to not informing the school principal he had been previously convicted of a sexual offense.Maduro re-elected President

Reuters, Caracas :

Venezuela's socialist leader Nicolas Maduro faced fresh international censure on Monday after re-election in a vote foes denounced as a farce cementing autocracy in the crisis-stricken OPEC nation.

The 55-year-old successor to former president Hugo Chavez hailed his win as a victory against "imperialism," but his main rival refused to recognize the result alleging irregularities.

Thousands of Maduro supporters, many wearing red berets, hugged and danced outside the Miraflores presidential palace as the results came in, under confetti in the yellow, blue and red colors of the Venezuelan national flag.

"The revolution is here to stay!" a jubilant Maduro told the crowd, promising to prioritize economic recovery after five years of recession in the nation of 30 million people.

"Let's go, Nico!" his supporters chanted until after midnight during party scenes in downtown Caracas.

"We mustn't cave to any empire, or go running to the International Monetary Fund as Argentina did. The opposition must leave us alone to govern," said government supporter Ingrid Sequera, 51, wearing a T-shirt with a logo of Chavez's eyes.

Declaring Sunday's vote a "sham," the United States is now threatening sanctions on Venezuela's all-important oil sector, which is already reeling from falling output, a brain-drain and creaking infrastructure.Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday that Palestinian institutions are robust enough for endure the post-Abbas era, amid circulating rumors about the Palestinian Authority (PA) presidents deteriorating health, who was hospitalized three times in the last week, and will remain in hospital at least one more night.

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Believe me, Palestinian institutions are much stronger than many of you in Israel think, Erekat said when asked in an interview with Ynet if the Palestinian leadership is prepared for day after Mahmoud Abbass leadership.

Little information was given about the veteran leader's condition.

Ynet interview with Saeb Erekat

X

The hospital visits by Abbas, 82, have raised inevitable questions about his health and the future of the Palestinian leadership.

Abbas underwent minor ear surgery last Tuesday but went back into al-Istishari Hospital in Ramallah briefly overnight on Saturday/Sunday. He was then rushed back later that day, for what doctors described only as "medical tests".

Erekat said he spent an hour with Abbas on Monday and told Ynet before the latest development that the president is "doing very well" and that he "is in good health. He's recovering."



"Last Tuesday he had a surgery in his right ear, and he left the hospital on the same day. Then he had some complications and some fever and yesterday he was admitted to the hospital," Erekat said.

President Mahmoud Abbas (Photo: Reuters)

The PLO official said when he went to visit Abbas, the Palestinian leader exclaimed "Why did you come to see me? Get out!" because he was worried Erekat, who had undergone a lung transplant several months ago, would get sick from visiting the hospital.

Erekat added that Abbas's fever had gone down and that he is expected to be discharged from the hospital either Monday or Tuesday.

He also dismissed claims Abbas was suffering from severe infection. "I was there, I spoke to the doctors. He had some infection and his fever was a little high, but by four in the afternoon yesterday his fever was down," Erekat said.

Erekat also said that despite the mounting tensions between Israelis and Palestinian, particularly on the Gaza border, peaceful negotiations based on a two-state solution remained the only viable option.

Whats happening in Gaza is the absence of peace, he said, before slamming US President Donald Trump, who Palestinians have ostracized over his pro-Israel stance.

Then comes President Trump to add fuel to the fire. That is the situation. What do you expect? What do you think is going to happen? Gaza has been under Israeli siege for eleven years now. Thats a fact, he said.

Israel says that thousands of trucks carrying humanitarian goods are transported into the coastal enclave every day for the residents, but insists that its forces prevent the importation of goods that can be used by the ruling Hamas terror group to wage war on Israel and carry out terror attacks.

Saeb Erekat (: AP)

Palestinians and Israelis need to realize that the only salvation for them is peace," Erekat continued. "The only salvation for them is to talk, to achieve an agreement based on a two-state solution on the 1967 lines  This is the only way out.

The sensior PA diplomat also criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his handling of the conflict.

"Netnayhau's dream of one state, two systems apartheid will not work. And Palestinian dreams that they can achieve one state, equal rightsno Israeli will accept that. So if we leave this in a vacuum we will have bloodshed and we must stop this nonsense now," he urged.

We need peace more than anybody else. And no one stands to lose more in the absence of peace than Palestinians and Israelis. We have no other options apart from the two-state solution."

Uncertainty over Abbas's medical condition

Since Dr. Saed al-Sarahneh, medical director of the al-Istishari Hospital, said that Abbas had come back "for medical tests" after the surgery on Tuesday, no Palestinian medical official has gone further than the doctor's statement: "All the tests are normal and his medical condition is reassuring."

Reports on Abbas' treatment have been conflicting.

One Palestinian official in Ramallah said on Sunday there had been complications following the ear surgery and that Abbas was running a fever. The same day a source at al-Istishari hospital said his condition was unrelated to the ear operation and that he had being given antibiotics to treat an inflammation in the chest.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa put out a report on Monday afternoon giving no details of Abbas' health. It said only that Abbas had received a phone call from the secretary of the Arab League who "checked on the president's health and wished him good health and strength."

Abbas, a heavy smoker, was hospitalized in the United States for medical checks in February during a trip to address the UN Security Council.

The Western-backed leader became Palestinian president after the death in 2004 of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat. He pursued US-led peace talks with Israel but the negotiations broke down in 2014.

Abbas's democratic mandate expired eight years ago and there has been no presidential election since 2005 and the term of office is only five years. His authority is essentially limited to the West Bank, with the Islamist terror group Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip.

Abbas has no formal deputy in the Palestinian Authority. In theory, the speaker of parliament would take over as president on an interim basis were Abbas to die in office. But the parliamentary speaker's role is held by a Hamas representative, and Fatah is likely to dispute the constitutional legitimacy of him taking over.

In 2016, Abbas established the Palestinian Constitutional Court, the head of which could take charge until an election is held.

Abbas is also chairman of the executive committee of the PLO, a position to which he was re-elected unopposed on May 4.WASHINGTON  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is laying out the Trump administration's strategy for constraining Iran's nuclear program and opposing its other behavior in the region following President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal.

Pompeo will present the approach during a speech Monday at the conservative Heritage Foundation. It's Pompeo's first major policy speech since starting as top US diplomat.

The speech comes a week after Trump announced he was pulling out of the deal struck by President Barack Obama, Iran and world powers. Europeans allies had pleaded with Trump not to scuttle that deal.

Pompeo is expected to call for those same allies and other nations to join the US in ramping up pressure on Iran in hopes of securing what Trump has described as a "better deal."Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a steep list of demands Monday that he said should be included in a nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal, threatening "the strongest sanctions in history" if Iran doesn't change course.

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Following President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the deal , the United States will ensure "Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon, ever," Pompeo said. As he called for a better agreement to constrain Iran's activities, he said the US would "apply unprecedented financial pressure" to bring Tehran back to the table.

"These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete," Pompeo said at the conservative Heritage Foundation, his first major policy speech since taking over as top diplomat.

Mike Pompeo's speech on Iranian sanctions (: )

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Pompeo's list of 12 requirements included many that Iran is highly unlikely to consider.

He said Iran must "stop enrichment" of uranium, which was allowed within strict limitations under the 2015 deal. Iran must also allow nuclear "unqualified access to all sites throughout the country," Pompeo said, alluding to military sites that were off-limits under the 2015 deal except under specific circumstances. To that end, he also said Iran must declare all previous efforts to build a nuclear weapon, reopening an issue that the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has already deemed a closed matter.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Iran Supreme Leadear Ali Khamenei (Photo: EPA, MCT)

Pompeo also demanded that Iran cease from a range of activities throughout the Middle East that have long drawn the ire of the US and its allies. He said Iran must end support for Shi'ite Houthi rebels in Yemen, "withdraw all forces" from Syria, halt support for its ally Hezbollah and stop threatening Israel.

Iran must also "release all US citizens" missing in Iran or being held on "spurious charges," he said.

At the same time, Pompeo offered Iran a series of dramatic potential US concessions if it agrees to make "major changes." Under a new agreement, the US would be willing to lift all sanctions, restore full diplomatic and commercial ties with Iran, and even support the modernization of its economy, Pompeo said.

US President Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (Photo: AP, MCT)

"It is America's hope that our labors toward peace and security will bear fruit for the long-suffering people of Iran," Pompeo said.

Pompeo's speech came after Trump earlier this month infuriated US allies in Europe by withdrawing from the 2015 deal brokered by President Barack Obama, Iran and world powers. Europeans allies had pleaded with Trump not to scuttle that deal and are now scrambling to keep the deal alive even without the US.

But the Trump administration has held out hope that those same allies will put aside that frustration and work with the US to ramp pressure back up on Iran through sanctions in a bid to bring Tehran back to the negotiating table for a stronger deal.

Pompeo said he understood that Trump's decision "will pose financial and economic difficulties for a number of our friends." But he warned them that the US planned to follow through with threats to punish European companies that continue doing business with Iran that is allowed under the deal but will violate reimposed US sanctions.

"I know our allies in Europe may try to keep the old nuclear deal going with Tehran. That is their decision to make," Pompeo said. "They know where we stand."

Pompeo warned that if Iran fully resumed its nuclear program Washington would be ready to respond and said the administration would hold companies doing prohibited business in Iran to account.

"Our demands on Iran are not unreasonable: give up your program," Pompeo said, "Should they choose to go back, should they begin to enrich, we are fully prepared to respond to that as well," he said, declining to elaborate.

IRAN LEADERS

The speech did not explicitly call for regime change but Pompeo repeatedly urged the Iranian people not to put up with their leaders, including President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"At the end of the day the Iranian people will get to make a choice about their leadership. If they make the decision quickly, that would be wonderful, if they choose not to do so we will stay hard at this until we achieve the outcomes I set forward," said Pompeo.

Pompeo's demand that Tehran stop uranium enrichment goes even further than the nuclear deal. Iran says its nuclear work has medical uses and will produce energy to meet domestic demand and complement its oil reserves.

European parties to the nuclear dealFrance, Britain and Germanyare working to find a way to keep the nuclear pact in effect after Washington's exit.

Pompeo said Washington would be open to a new treaty and wanted the support of America's allies, not just in Europe.

]L to R: Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Theresa May (Photo: EPA, Reuters)

He said the administration will work to address concerns of its allies but over time hoped they would recognize that the Trump administration's strategy on Iran was the right one.

"There are scores of countries around the world that share our concerns and are equally threatened by the Iranian regime and it is that shared interest which will ultimately drive, I believe, a global response to the world's largest state-sponsor of terrorism," Pompeo said.

Iran's President Rouhani reportedly responded to Pompeo's remarks, saying it was not for the United States to make decisions on Iranian policy.

"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world? The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent ... that era is over ... We will continue our path with the support of our nation," ILNA quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying.An associate of the Palestinian Authority's President Mahmoud Abbas told Ynet on Monday Abbas's condition is improving.

"Abbas is likely to be discharged from the hospital today or tomorrow. He was under a lot of pressure during the past two weeks due to rounds of official visits in Latin America and the flight back home after which he underwent an operation on his ear," the associate added.The Israel Air Force (IAF) commenced Monday the week-long conference in which it will host air force commanders from 20 countries across the world.

Senior foreign air force officers will watch the IAF in training and will discuss the future of the modern air force in today's battlefield.

Italy, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada and France are among the countries that are taking part is the biggest conference the IAF has ever held.Spain and Slovenia's envoys to Israel were reprimanded Monday by the Israeli Foreign Ministry after their countries voted in favor of immediately launching an independent probe into the killing of rioters in the Gaza border clashes.

The Belgium's envoy will be summoned by the Foreign Affairs Ministry tomorrow.Israeli lawmakers urged the government on Monday to reopen talks with the United States on a defense aid deal signed in 2016 in the hope that President Donald Trump might ease a requirement that American aid money be spent on US equipment.

Under the deal signed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then US President Barack Obama, the United States would provide Israel with $38 billion in military assistance over 10 years, the largest such aid package in US history.

However, one component of the deal was to phase out a special arrangement that had allowed Israel to use 26.3 percent of the US aid on its own defense industry instead of on American-made weapons. All the aid will now have to be spent on US equipment by 2026.

Israeli lawmakers suggested that this requirement could be renegotiated now that Obama has been succeeded by Trump, who has broken with other past US policies by moving the US embassy to Jerusalem last week.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday at Paraguay's Embassy inauguration ceremony in Jerusalem that US President Donald Trump altered US's policy not just regarding Jerusalem, but also regarding Iran.

Trump took a hard line against Iran and that was articulated today by Secretary of State Pompeono enrichment, hard sanctions and the demand for Irans exit from Syria," Netanyahu said.

"We call on all countries to follow the US's lead against Iran," the premier added.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his unwavering support Monday afternoon for remarks made earlier by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanding that Iran withdraw all its forces from Syrian territory, with the Israeli premier calling on other countries to follow Washingtons lead.

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President Trump has taken a firm position which we welcome against Iran. It was echoed by him, and today by the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. Very strong position: No enrichment, tough sanctions and Iran should get out of Syria. We believe this is the right policy," Netanyahu said during the inauguration ceremony for Paraguays opening of its embassy in Jerusalem.

"We believe its the only policy that could ultimately guarantee the security of the Middle East and peace in our region and we call on all countries to follow Americas lead here because Iran is an aggressive force," he added at the ceremony, which took place at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem in the presence of Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes.

PM Netanyahu's remarks on Mike Pompeo's speech (:  )

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The landlocked South American country is the third to have made the embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, after the US and Guatemala.

We call on all the international community to join the US position. Anyone who wants to ensure security and to advance peace should oppose Iran and support the American position. That is what Israel is doing," he continued during his remarks, which were delivered in both Hebrew and English.

PM Netanyahu (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

Addressing President Cartes, Netanyahu said: "Mr. President, you have joined the historic decision of President Trump. He has changed policy in fundamental ways, not only on Jerusalem but also on Iran.

"Horacio Cartes Jara, thank you. Thank you my friend for making this bold decision to move your embassy to Jerusalem. You said you will do it, like someone else I know, like President Trump. You said you'd do it and you did it. Thank you," he continued.

"Our friendship is expressed in so many ways. We recognize and remember the role that Paraguay played in saving Jews before the Holocaust, during the Holocaust, receiving Jewish refugees after the Holocaust. As it turns out today was not only a meeting of nations, it was a meeting of families and my wife's family, very few survived the Holocaust," the prime minister said.

"One of them came here, her father, my late father-in-law and another went to Paraguay. And it turns out that the distinguished delegation here, which includes the distinguished ministries and the ambassadors and others, they know the Tauber family. So first of all, I want you to give them my regards and second, tell them: Next year in Jerusalem," he declared, before later reverting back to the issue of Iran.

If you ask most of the governments and most of the leaders in the Middle East what is the principle barrier to peace, what is the greatest threat to security. They would say three things: Iran, Iran and Iran, he claimed, stressing later that Iran remains bent on developing nuclear weapons.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Iran Supreme Leadear Ali Khamenei (Photo: EPA, MCT)

"If Iran wanted to seek peaceful nuclear energy, they would need not a single centrifuge. Iran hid the archive, lied about it, moved it from place to place, because theyre seeking nuclear weapons and conquest," he said in reference to a presentation he gave last month which he said was conclusive proof of a secret project underway in Iran for the development of a nuclear weapon.

"Thank you America. This is the right policy, he concluded.

Mike Pompeo's speech on Iranian sanctions (: )

X

Pompeo issued a steep list of demands earlier on Monday that he said should be included in a nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal, threatening "the strongest sanctions in history" if Iran doesn't change course.

Following President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the deal, the United States will ensure "Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon, ever," Pompeo said. As he called for a better agreement to constrain Iran's activities, he said the US would "apply unprecedented financial pressure" to bring Tehran back to the table.

President Cartes said during the ceremony that he was moved from the bottom of his heart to be in Israel marking the embassy transfer. "Once again, I'm here in the holy land of Israel to implement on the government's decision to move Paraguay's Embassy to Jerusalem," he began.

"The decision to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a gesture of goodwill to the State of Israel and is based on common values and principles we have shared throughout our historic friendship," Cartes added.

"Our 1948 UN vote in favor of Israel contributed to its establishment. Israel, as well as Paraguay, have gone through genocide and overcame it," the president said in reference to what is known as "Genocide of indigenous peoples in Paraguay."

"Out of our joint path and my highest admiration for the 4,000-year-old nation, I didn't want to end my presidency without a testimony to the great respect I have for Israel," he elucidated, adding that "Paraguay doesn't forget. It supports dialogue and peace between countries. Israel and Paraguay will be forever united by the ties of deep friendship."A small group of Palestinian protesters in the West Bank has pelted an American diplomatic vehicle with eggs to protest the recent move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

Protesters held signs and shouted at members of the delegation from the US Consulate in Jerusalem. The crowd told the Americans they were not welcome in the West Bank before throwing eggs at their car as they drove away.

Monday's protest came a week after the US Embassy was moved from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem.

The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital and viewed the embassy move as unfairly siding with Israel. The Palestinians have severed most contacts with the Americans to protest the move.Europe wary as Italy moves toward populist govt

The League party leader, Matteo Salvini, meets reporters in Milan, Italy.

AP, Rome :

Italy edged toward its first populist government Monday as the president convened the leaders of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the right-wing League in what could be a final consultations, 11 weeks after elections left the country with a hung parliament.

The prospect of a 5-Star-League government weighed heavily on markets and on Italy's European allies. The cost of borrowing to fund Italy's persistently high public debt rose to the highest levels in nine months and the Milan stock market was trading down 2 percent.

France's economics minister has already sounded an alarm that the eurozone's financial stability could be threatened if a populist government blows Italy's deficit commitments.

"If the new government takes the risk of not respecting its commitments on debt, the deficit, but also on consolidation of banks, then the entire financial stability of the eurozone will be threatened," Bruno Le Maire told the Cnews television channel Sunday.

The leader of the 5-Stars, Luigi Di Maio, and League leader Matteo Salvini indicated agreement Sunday on a candidate for premier to present to President Sergio Mattarella, who must grant his approval and agree on a Cabinet list before a parliamentary confidence vote.

Salvini said that neither he nor Di Maio would be the premier, an apparent move to keep the fledgling coalition on an even keel.

Most worrying to financial markets is the two parties' platform, unveiled last week. It includes a rollback on pension reform, a minimum salary for struggling Italians and the introduction of a flat tax, which will contribute to a large fiscal expansion that economists and EU policymakers worry will increase the country's debt burden.

The program also introduces a tougher stance on deporting migrants and calls for a better dialogue with Russia on economic and foreign policy matters while maintaining its trans-Atlantic alliance.

Di Maio assured his voters that the government would find the money to pay for social programs and tax cuts both through investments and in upcoming negotiations in Brussels on the European Union's seven-year budget cycle, but neither the markets nor European partners have been assuaged.

A 5-Star-League government would have a very thin majority of just over 50 percent of parliamentary seats. Salvini ran in the elections as part of a right-wing coalition including Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia, but Berlusconi opposes the 5-Stars and says he will not support them in a confidence vote.Iran's president said on Monday that the United States could not decide for Iran after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded sweeping changes in the country's foreign and nuclear policies, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported.

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"Who are you to decide for Iran and the world? The world today does not accept America to decide for the world, as countries are independent ... that era is over ... We will continue our path with the support of our nation," ILNA quoted Hassan Rouhani as saying.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (Photo: EPA, Reuters)

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that the United States was repeating "the same wrong choices" after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo demanded sweeping changes in the country's foreign and nuclear policies.



"US diplomacy sham is merely a regression to old habits: imprisoned by delusions & failed policiesdictated by corrupt Special Interestsit repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards. Iran, meanwhile, is working with partners for post-US JCPOA solutions," Zarif wrote on his official Twitter account.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also denounced Pompeo's demands as "lies" aimed at diverting attention from Washington's violation of an international nuclear deal, state TV reported.

"Iran rejects the allegations and lies in this so-called new strategy and condemns the US Secretary of State's ... open interference in its internal affairs and the unlawful threats against a United Nations member state," state TV quoted a foreign ministry statement as saying.

US diplomacy sham is merely a regression to old habits: imprisoned by delusions & failed policiesdictated by corrupt Special Interestit repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards. Iran, meanwhile, is working with partners for post-US JCPOA solutions.  Javad Zarif (@JZarif) May 21, 2018

Pompeo issued a steep list of demands Monday that he said should be included in a nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the Obama-era deal, threatening "the strongest sanctions in history" if Iran doesn't change course.

Following President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the deal, the United States will ensure "Iran has no possible path to a nuclear weapon, ever," Pompeo said. As he called for a better agreement to constrain Iran's activities, he said the US would "apply unprecedented financial pressure" to bring Tehran back to the table.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

"These will end up being the strongest sanctions in history by the time we are complete," Pompeo said at the conservative Heritage Foundation, his first major policy speech since taking over as top diplomat.

The Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Anwar Gargash, however, said on Pompeo was taking the right approach on Iran.

"Uniting (our) efforts is the correct path for Iran to realize the futility of its incursions and expansionism," Gargash wrote on his official Twitter account, several hours after a policy speech on Iran by Pompeo.

A close US ally in the energy-rich Gulf, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, accuses Iran of backing armed groups across the region in a bid for domination.

"The Pompeo strategy requires wisdom and a change of the Iranian compass," Gargash added.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his unwavering support Monday afternoon for Pompeo's stated position, with the Israeli premier calling on other countries to follow Washingtons lead.

PM Netanyahu (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)

President Trump has taken a firm position which we welcome against Iran. It was echoed by him, and today by the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo. Very strong position: No enrichment, tough sanctions and Iran should get out of Syria. We believe this is the right policy," Netanyahu said during the inauguration ceremony for Paraguays opening of its embassy in Jerusalem.

The US military said that it will take all necessary steps to confront Iranian behavior in the region and is still assessing whether that could include new actions or doubling down on current ones, the Pentagon said on Monday.

We are going to take all necessary steps to confront and address Irans malign influence in the region, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning told reporters.

We are assessing if we are going to double down on current actions or implement new actions, Manning said.

He did not comment on specific actions.The Iranian Foreign Ministry has denounced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's demands as "lies" aimed at diverting attention from Washington's violation of an international nuclear deal, state TV reported on Monday.

"Iran rejects the allegations and lies in this so-called new strategy and condemns the US Secretary of State's ... open interference in its internal affairs and the unlawful threats against a United Nations member state," state TV quoted a foreign ministry statement as saying.Russia's military said on Monday it had shot down an unidentified drone that came close to its Syrian air base at Khmeimim, RIA news agency said, citing the Russian Defence Ministry.

"There are neither casualties nor physical damage. Russia's Khmeimim air base is operating as normal," it said.

The British-based war monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said explosions had been heard near the base and appeared to have come from Russian air defences confronting an attack.The University of Health and Applied Sciences - Uhas offers various courses. In order to be admitted for a course, the university has specified cut off points for the various courses. Uhas cut-off points and courses 2019-2020 provided in the subsequent paragraphs should be used as references because the 2019-2020 cut-off points are yet to be released. This will serve as a great guide when speculating on the possible cut-off points at the same time make crucial decision and reduce tension.

Source:citifmonline.com

UHAS cut off points for medicine

Uhas cut of points for medicine are posted in the institutions website which also holds the cut off points for other various courses offered in the university. Since inception Uhas introduced medicine as one of its main courses which is provided in the school of medicine. Under the school of medicine are two medicine courses offered in the institution that include the Medical Degree and Bachelor of Physician Assistantship. Uhas cut off points for medicine under the two medicine subsets are as follows: Bachelor of Physician Assistantship at 12 and Medical Degree at 08.

Cut off points for Uhas

Source:uhas.edu.gh

The cut off points for Uhas are dependent on the individual courses offered in the various schools within the institution and the school of the health sciences. To affirm the same, a good illustration will be the case of two courses within the same school having different cut off points. Likewise, the different school of health sciences will have their cut off points being different which can be seen from an analysis of the 6 schools of health sciences.

Another factor that affects the cut off points for Uhas is the year of occurrence. The cut off point for the institution will vary from year to year as the institution will review the cut off points.

However, it is important to note that Uhas has the power to alter and change the cut off points for various schools and courses without necessarily informing the applicants which will be posted under the institutions website.

READ ALSO: Top 10 cheapest universities in Ghana

UHAS cut off points for nursing 2019/2020

Source:pentvars.edu.gh

In order to analyze uhas cut off points for nursing, an analysis of nursing as an independent course will reveal great information.

Health sciences are the core courses offered in Uhas where as nursing stands out as one of the key health science courses offered in the institution. Uhas offers three types of nursing courses to its applicants that include bachelor of nursing as the main focus in the school of nursing, bachelor of public nursing being another subset as well as bachelor of midwifery. With the institution offering Nursing, a greater number of applications are received for nursing courses as well as a need to control the suitability and qualification of the nursing applicants. Uhas cut off points for nursing ensure that the university controls the course entry by ensuring qualified applicants as well as their suitability is checked. Uhas cut off points for nursing is as follows:

Source: www.uhas.edu.gh

UHAS courses and cut off points

Source:ghanahealthnest.com

The University of Health and Applied Sciences offers a variety of course that is categorized under different faculties which are known as schools. In order to access the various courses offered in uhas, a visit to the Universities website will reveal the different courses offered. In order to be eligible for the selected courses the University of Health and Applied Sciences has the cut off points that act as a self-regulating mechanism to determine the willingness and suitability of the campus to offer admission to its applicants. In order to get acquainted to the courses offered and the cut off points the following list shows the Uhas courses and cut off points for the year 2019/2020

Source: www.uhas.edu.gh

Source: www.uhas.edu.gh

Source: www.uhas.edu.gh

READ ALSO: 20 best scholarships for Ghanaian students in 2020

UHAS admission cut off points

Uhas enrolls applicants into various courses each year. Uhas admission cut off points will be used by the University to determine the admission of each applicant into the appropriate course applied. The Uhas cut off points are also important to help the applicants for various courses ensure they are qualified for admission in the specified courses offered by the campus. As it is the case, an applicant may be qualified to apply for various courses which may be more than 1 course but not qualified to apply for other course due to the set uhas admission cut off points for the selected course. It is therefore advisable for each applicant to continually review the qualification for the course using the list of uhas admission cut off points posted by uhas on itw website that will serve as a guideline to the prospective client when making a decisive and well informed decision.

UHAS cut off points 2019/20

Uhas cut off points 2019/20 will be located in UHAS website, as well as the e book publication that is one sale from the institution. As it the case, prospective candidates for various courses offered by the institution will get the access for UHAS cut off points 2019/20 once the University posts the same information in its website. As the cut off points are introduced in each year of operation, the UHAS cut off points 2019/20 will be checked and reviewed in the same year 2019/20 by the institution. The cut off points 2019/20 will give guidance to the applicants on the list of courses that they qualify for and can be admitted once they apply. The cut off points 2019/20 will cover all the 6 schools of sciences that are in the institution.

Source:kampus360gh.com

Cut off point for physician assistant

The University of Health and Allied Sciences offers the course of physician assistant as one of the medical courses in the School of medicine. For the year 2019-2020 the University of Health and Allied Sciences did set the Cut off point for physician assistant at 12. The Cut off point for physician assistant will help any prospective applicant to assess his qualification into the physician assistant course using the prescribed cut off point. In case the applicant has exceeded or is at par with the set cut off point for physician assistant, chances of success in making the application and application being accepted in the University increases. The cut off point for physician assistant in Uhas also helps to assist the University and the applicant attain suitability, appropriateness and fit of admission in the same course.

Source:uhasonline.com

Cut off point for nursing

The University of Health and Allied Science UHAS offers various nursing courses. In order for the University to offer admission to various applicants, the campus uses cut off point for nursing which are used as a means of guiding applicants to the courses and programmes offered. The cut off point for the school of nursing and midwifery is as follows:

Cut off point for nursing (bachelor of nursing) is 14 whereas the cut off point for nursing in public health is 19. Lastly, the cut off point for nursing in midwifery is 16.

Cut off point for physician assistantship

The doctor to patient ratio in Ghana and the whole of Africa is quite low. Due to the long working hours of doctors coupled with the extra-long training hours needed to develop a doctor in the medical profession, a cost effective, lasting and rapid solution was needed to be found which lead to the introduction of the physician assistantship. The Cut off point for physician assistantship in uhas is 12 and is controlled under the school of medicine.

Source: Yen.com.gh- The former GTDC Deputy CEO, Akua Blakofe, says her life is under threat

- According to her, ever since she resigned she has been receiving threatening calls and messages

The former Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC) deputy CEO, Akua Djanie, popularly known as Akua Blakofe has revealed that her life is under threat in Ghana.

In a series of Facebook posts, the former deputy CEO of GTDC said she no longer feels safe in the country since she resigned from her post.

Akua Blakofe

READ ALSO: 8 things Meghan Markle cant do after the #RoyalWedding

The outspoken former TV host has stated she receives several calls threatening her to return the car and other valuables given to her by GTDC.

Blakofe, who resigned over what she describes as massive corruption at GTDC, warned on her Facebook wall that should she be found dead all of a sudden, it would be because she told truth to power, and, as a result, has been targeted for elimination.

We woke up one morning to news that Fennec had been murdered. We woke to news JB Danquah had been murdered. We woke up to news about the young bank worker who was murdered. These are just 3 examples. Till date, no real concrete suspects have been dealt with. We don't know what issues they had. I'm putting all my issues out on social media so if you wake to the news that I've been murdered or dead all of a sudden, you have a clue where to begin investigations. I really don't see why we should get to this level. It means I'm speaking the truth and they need to get rid of me. I weep for Ghana. Truly it's an Asylum, she said.

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READ ALSO: Free SHS to be extended to 2nd year students by September  Nana Addo

Do you have a hot story or scandal you would like us to publish on YEN.com.gh? Please contact us on Facebook or Instagram now.

Source: Yen Ghana- The police detected the scam months after the Indian businessman had been deported

- A Ghanaian accomplice who aided the businessman is currently standing court trial

A Ghanaian employee of an Indian company has been granted GH50,000.00 bail with two sureties for forging documents of Jai Communication and tendering it at the Registrar Generals Department.

According to the police report, the suspect, George Dankwa Otempong has since denied conspiracy to commit crime, forgery of an official documents and tendering forged documents.

The Indian businessman with his lawyers before his deportation

READ ALSO: Facebook users roast Israel Laryea for covering royal wedding

His accomplice, Ashok Kumar Sivaram, the managing director of the company has been deported, while the suspect will re-appear in court on May 29, 2018.

Police Chief Inspector Francis Tassan told the Court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Essandoh that Sachin Nambeear, the prosecution witness, is an international businessman and resident in India.

Francis Tassan said Sachin is the owner and Director of Jai Mai Communication, located at Laterbiokorshie in Accra, while accused persons; Otempong and Sivaram are secretary and director respectively of the same company.

A police account states that George Otempong was employed as a clerk and Sivaram as the director whereas their colleague, one Robert Quartey was the secretary of the company.

READ ALSO: Glamorous photos of the world's famous celebrities who attended the Royal Wedding

The prosecution said in 2010, the two accused removed Quartey from office as the secretary of the company, and George Otempong acted instead without the employers knowledge.

He said in July 2017, Nambeear visited Ghana and during regular checks, he detected that his signature had been forged on one of the companys forms from the Registrar General Department for re-registration.

However, Sachin Nambeear who became suspicious of the move made a formal report to the police for investigation, where the two suspects were invited for questioning.

Upon thorough investigations, Sivaram was found to be involved in a similar case, and he was subsequently deported and Otempong was arraigned before court.

READ ALSO: 'They want to kill me because I spoke the truth' - Akua Blakofe cries for help

Top 5 United Nations Experts on Ghana Politicians:

Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook.

Source: Yen.com.gh- John Dumelo has appeared in a recent picture making an appeal to God

- The actor tied the knot with Gifty Mawunya on May 12 at a star-studded marriage ceremony

- The wedding was not devoid of controversy as a lady claiming to have dated the actor threatened to disrupt the marriage

Award-winning actor and entrepreneur, John Dumelo, who is still in cloud nine following his plush wedding a few weeks ago has once again wowed social media with a photo of himself just a few days after his nuptial.

The actor took to his Instagram account and showed off his fresh boy looks to the amazement of his many fans and followers. The actor was seen seated behind a desk and was writing something on a piece of paper.

He captioned the photo, Dear God and it appeared the actor was writing a passionate letter to God to take care of himself, his wife, his marriage and his family in general.

READ ALSO: Photo: African-designed fabric of the royal wedding hits Ghanaian market

John Dumelo was seen dressed in a beautiful African-inspired outfit as he put pen to paper to communicate with his Maker.

Not too long ago, the actor flaunted the huge diamond ring he gave to his wife Mawunya on their wedding day. He was seen kissing his wifes hand in the photo.

He captioned the picture, Assurance; it was purported that he took inspiration from Nigerian star, Davido who made headlines after he bought a Porsche as assurance for his girlfriend, Chioma.

READ ALSO: Shatta Wale isnt my problem at Zylofon  Stonebwoy

John Dumelo and Gifty Mawunyas wedding went viral across all social media platforms was attended by some high ranking members of the society including former president John Mahama and a number of actors and actresses

His wife is reported to be the best friend of actress Nadia Buari, and even though she is a friend of celebrities, she, Mrs. Dumelo herself has kept a low profile on social media.

One highlight of the wedding was a gift sent to the actor by former British ambassador, Jon Benjamin which was a fruit drink with the inscription, V8.

However a lady who claimed to have dated John Dumelo for four years popped up when news of the wedding was released and threatened to destroy the actors marriage after breaking up with her 2 weeks ago.

READ ALSO: 8 things Meghan Markle cant do after the Royal Wedding

Top signs that show that you are really a Ghanaian:

YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident?

Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YENs official Facebook page.

Source: Yen Newspaper- Mensa Otabil has declared a 40-day prayer and fasting period in Ghana

- The interdenominational session will see Christians across Ghana pray for the country

- This event will begin this year's ICGC Greater Works Conference

Founder of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Dr Mensah Otabil, has made known his intention to call for a 40-day prayer and fasting period for Ghana.

Pastor Otabil says the days for fasting will begin from June 21 to July as part of efforts by the Church to pray for the leadership of the government.

This is the first time ever since the ICGC is mounting such a massive interdenominational prayer session in the country.

READ ALSO: Ghana to witness massive blood moon on July 27

This initiative by the church is expected to kick start the churchs annual Greater Works Conference which starts in July.

Being in the business or calling of preaching the word of God to millions of Ghanaians across the country, Mensa Otabil has become one of the few powerful Ghanaians with the strength to shape the thoughts and minds of the country's population.

We have seen and felt this 'power' by Dr. Otabil over the years as he asked fierce questions about Ghana's governance system and also challenged the status quo of bureaucracy, corruption, partisan politics and injustice.

The outspoken pastor has succeeded in shaping national conversations on major issues like elections or a debate on same-sex marriage.

Although the political affiliation of the pastor has not been revealed, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) suspect, Mensa Otabil is doing the secret bidding of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Having joined some famous colleague pastors to start the Charismatic mission in Ghana during the 90's, one may want to find out why the loud silence of these equally powerful pastors on issues bothering Ghana.

A recent statement by Mensa Otabil was his definition of Ghana's media as "mediocre" saying he rather "watch lions feasting on their prey" than listen to a Ghanaian radio station full of politics.

So far it remains unknown the reasons why other big shots in the call of preaching do not tow the line of Mensa Otabil.

READ ALSO: Video: Man passes out after ingesting heavy dose of Tramadol

There is one school of thought which claims the duty of pastors should only be about preaching the word of God as in the Bible instead of placing premium to political debates.

This school of thought could explain the reasons why most pastors fail to tow such like.

Top 5 United Nations Experts on Ghana Politicians:

Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook.

Source: Yen- The former minister believes the ruling party's chances are increased if John Mahama recontests

- Mr Akomea's confidence is shared by a huge number of NPP sympathisers

The managing director of the State Transport Company (STC), Nana Akomea, has implored members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to "quietly" support John Mahama.

Mr. Akomea was speaking in response to expectations to former president Mahama's expected leadership of the National Democratic Congress into the general elections of 2020.

READ ALSO: Go ahead, contest and disgrace yourself  Owusu Bempah tells Mahama about election 2020

In a Facebook post on Monday morning, Mr. Akomea said that he believes that Mr. Mahama's leadership of the NDC in 2020 will be good for the NPP. For him, a comparison of records between Akufo Addo's presidency and that of Mahama will make things easier for the NPP.

Nana Akomea

Mr. Akomea, who was a former Minister of Information between 2003 and 2005, expressed the hope that a new person would not be nominated by the NDC. According to him, a new person would allow the NDC to campaign on a fresh promises of that candidate.

Over the last week, former president Mahama has intimated of his readiness to lead the NDC in 2020. He was not explicit although he claimed that after considering the support from across the nation, he will not "disappoint".

A number of analysts have interpreted his message to mean he is actually going to contest. This would not be far fetched considering that Mr Mahama has not stayed far from the many activities of the NDC since they were kicked out of power in December 2016.

READ ALSO: I sometimes pick 'trotro' to show how humble I am  Joey B

Mr Akomea's view of the NPP's chances with ex-president Mahama in competition is clearly shared by his party's faithfuls. A huge number of comments on Mr Akomea's post were from individuals agreeing with him.

Trending news in Ghana including Dumelo's wedding, J.B. Danquah and many more:

Do you have amazing and critical stories for us to publish? Reach out to us on Facebook and Instagram.

Source: Yen NewsRepresentative of Southern University, Bangladesh meet with University Grant Commission Chairman Prof Abdul Mannan at UGC office yesterday.Bangabandhu-I reaches orbital position



Bangladesh's first geostationary communication satellite Bangabandhu-I (BS-I) has reached the desired location (orbital slot) 10 days after of its launch from Florida.

"Our satellite has taken its position and started functioning normally," Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Limited (BCSCL) Managing Director Md. Saiful Islam told BSS on Monday.

The BS-I was successfully launched from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida of United States 16:14 local time (02:14 BST) on May 11. Most modern rocket "Block 5" version of the Falcon 9 of SpaceX has lifted the BS-I for the orbit located at 119.1 degree east.

The BCSCL Managing Director said now they will conduct a series of tests before starting commercial operation. "Within three months, we will go into commercial operation," added Islam.

Officials said BS-I will move round the earth once in every 24 hours positioning on 36,000 kilometers height with the similar pace of the earth. Immediately after the launch by the Block 5 of Falcon 9, the BS-I travelled 35,700 kilometers and then it took ten days to travel another 300 kilometers. This process is termed "launch and early orbit phase".

Tajul Islam, Operation Engineer at Gazipur Ground Station, earlier told BSS that BS-I has started sending signal to the ground station.

He said around two months will be required to get full control of BS-I from the ground stations located in Gazipur's Joydebpur and Rangamati's Betbunia.

BS-I will be mainly controlled from the ground station in Gazipur while Betbunia's ground station will be used as back up of Gazipur.

According to the agreement, manufacturing firm Thales Alenia Space of France will handle the satellite along with local engineers for next three years. To this end, an 18-member team of local engineers has been trained up already.

Bangladesh will operate satellite from 119.1 degree east using a payload comprising 26 Ku-Band and 14 C-Band transponders to deliver focused telecommunications coverage to Bangladesh. One transponder is equivalent to 36 MHz.

Ku-band covers Bangladesh and its territorial area of the Bay of Bengal, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and the Philippines. C-band covers Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and portions of Kazakhstan.

The government took the Bangabandhu-I project in May 2015 and assigned the Thales Alenia by signing a $248-million deal in November the same year.

Thales Alenia completed the manufacturing works of the satellite few months ago and kept it in a warehouse in Cannes of France. On March 29, the satellite was shifted to Florida.Famed home of the Bengal Tiger threatened

Naimul Haq :

Toxic chemical pollution in the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is threatening thousands of marine and forest species and has environmentalists deeply concerned about the future of this World Heritage Site.

Repeated mishaps have already dumped toxic materials like sulfur, hydrocarbons, chorine, magnesium, potassium, arsenic, lead, mercury, nickel, vanadium, beryllium, barium, cadmium, chromium, selenium, radium and many more into the waters. They're killing plankton - a microscopic organism critical for the survival of marine life inside the wild forest.

"Obviously, such cargo accidents involving shipment of toxic heavy metals inside the Sundarbans would have irreversible impacts on this unique and compact ecosystem." --Sharif Jamil

Scientific studies warn the sudden drastic fall in the plankton population may affect the entire food chain in the Sundarbans in the near future, starving the life in the rivers and in the forest.

The latest incident involved the sinking of a coal-loaded cargo ship on April 14 deep inside the forest, popularly known as the home of the endangered Royal Bengal Tigers, once again outraging environmentalists.

Despite strong opposition by leading environmental organizations vowing to protect the biodiversity in the Sundarbans, which measure about 10,000 square kilometers of forest facing the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh in South Asia, policy makers have largely ignored conservation laws that prioritise protecting the wildlife in the forest.

Critics say influential businessmen backed by politicians are more interested in building industries on cheap land around the forest that lie close to the sea for effortless import of the substances causing the environmental damage.

Divers from the Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) have traced the latest sunken vessel lying some 30 feet deep underwater, but they have not been able to salvage the ship.

It is the third to have capsized in less than two years in the ecologically sensitive region, some of which remains untouched by human habitation.

The deadliest accident occurred on Dec. 9, 2014. Amid low visibility, an oil tanker collided with a cargo vessel, spilling over 350,000 liters of crude oil into the Shela River, one of the many tributaries that crisscross the forest - home to rare wildlife species like the Bengal Tiger and Irrawaddy dolphin.

Then, in May 2017, a cargo ship carrying about 500 metric tons of fertilizer sank in the Bhola River in the Sundarbans. In October the same year, a coal-laden vessel carrying an almost equal weight of coal sunk into the meandering shallow Pashur River.

Each time toxic materials pollute the rivers, the government comes up with a consoling statement claiming that the coal has 'safe' levels of sulfur and mercury which are the main concern of the environmentalists.

Outraged by official inaction, many leading conservationists expressed their grievances at this "green-washing."

Sharif Jamil, Joint Secretary of Bangladesh Poribesh Andolon or BAPA, told IPS, "I feel ashamed to know that such a scientifically untrue and dishonest statement of one cargo owner (safe level of sulfur and mercury) was endorsed by our government in their reports and acts which significantly damages the credibility of the government and questions the competency of the concerned authorities."

"Obviously, such cargo accidents involving shipment of toxic heavy metals inside the Sundarbans would have irreversible impacts on this unique and compact ecosystem," he said.

Jamil criticized the state agency responsible for protecting the environment, saying, "The department of environment or DoE has responsibility to monitor and control the pollution by ensuring punishment to the polluters. We have not witnessed any action from DoE so far, in this case particularly."

While coal may not be as environmentally destructive as crude oil spill, the commercial shipping path across the Sundarbans has a long track record of disasters.

Professor Abdullah Harun, who teaches environmental science at the University of Khulna, told IPS, "The cargo ship disasters are proving to be catastrophic and destructive for the wildlife in the Sundarbans. We have already performed a series of studies titled 'Impact of Oil Spillage on the Environment of Sundarbans'.

"Laboratory tests showed startling results as the toxic levels in many dead species and water samples were found way beyond our imagination. The most alarming is the loss of phytoplankton and zooplankton diversity and populations. Both these are known to play vital role in the food chain of the aquatic environment."

Professor Harun fears that the embryos of oil-coated Sundari seeds, decomposed as a result of the spillage across 350 square km of land, will not be germinating. Sundari trees make up the mangrove forest and it has specialised roots which emerge above ground and help in gaseous exchange.

He said, "A primary producer of the aquatic ecosystems, source of food and nutrient of the many aquatic animals, has been affected by the oil spill in 2014. The aquatic population will be decreased and long-term impacts on aquatic lives like loss of breeding capacity, habitat loss, injury of respiratory organs, hearts and skins will occur."

He said, "Our team of scientists tested for the fish larvae population. Before the 2014 disaster we found about 6,000 larvae in a litre of water collected from rivers in the Sundarbans. After the disaster we carried out the same test but found less than half (2,500 fish larvae) in the same amount of water. This is just one species I am talking about. Isn't it alarming enough?"

Following the latest incident, the government imposed a ban on cargo ships using the narrow channels of the Pashur River where most of the vessels sail. But there are fears that the ban will only be a temporary measure as seen in the past. After the December 2014 oil spill, a similar ban on commercial cargo was lifted soon after.

These 'ban games' on cargo vessels will not solve the underlying problems in the Sundarbans. Several hundred activists recently marched towards the mangrove forest in Bagerhat to protest plans to build a coal-based power plant near the Sundarbans near Rampal. The activists called on the government to stop construction of the proposed 1.3-gigawatt Rampal Power Plant, which is located about 14-km upstream of the forest.

Environmentalists are also worried about rapid industrialization near the Sundarbans. The Department of Environment (DoE) has identified 190 commercial and industrial plants operating within 10 kilometres of the forest.

It has labeled 'red' 24 of these establishments as they are dangerously close to the world heritage site and polluting the soil, water and air of the world's largest mangrove forest.

Eminent environmentalist Professor Ainun Nishat, told IPS, "My main worries are whether the main concerns for safety of the wildlife in the forest is being overlooked."

Professor Nishat said, "If we allow movement of vessels to carry shipments through the forest then I like to question a few things like, where does the coal come from? What do we do with the fly ash from cement and other materials? How and where do we dispose of the waste and do we have the cooling waters for safety?"

"What we need is a strategic impact assessment before any such industrial plant is established so that we can be safe before we repeat such mishaps," said Nishat.

Statistics from the Mongla (sea) Port Authority show that navigation in the Sundarbans waterways has increased 236 percent in the last seven years. This means vessel-based regular pollution may continue to impact the world's largest mangrove habitat's health even if disasters like the Sundarbans oil spill can be prevented.

Increasing volume of shipping and navigation indicates growing industrialisation in the Sundarbans Impact Zone and the Sundarbans Ecologically Critical Area, which in turn will increase the land-based source of pollution if not managed.

The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which hosts range of animals and fish like fishing cats, leopard cats, macaques, wild boar, fox, jungle cat, flying fox, pangolin, chital, sawfish, butter fish, electric rays, silver carp, starfish, common carp, horseshoe crabs, prawn, shrimps, Gangetic dolphins, skipping frogs, common toads and tree frogs.

There are over 260 species of birds, including openbill storks, black-capped kingfishers, black-headed ibis, water hens, coots, pheasant-tailed jacanas, pariah kites, brahminy kite, marsh harriers, swamp partridges and red junglefowl.



Courtesy: IPSMyanmar urges Bangladesh to begin repatriation of 2223 refugees soon

Myanmar Times :

Myanmar urged Bangladesh to repatriate as soon as possible 2223 refugees who have been approved out of the more than 8000 names submitted for repatriation by Dhaka a few months ago, a senior official of the Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Ministry said on Sunday. U Ko Ko Naing, director general of the ministry, said the number included 1001 refugees, most of them Muslim, that were approved on May 2 from the list of 8000 names submitted by Bangladesh for repatriation. Also, the two countries agreed to repatriate 778 Muslims and 444 Hindu refugees a few months back.

U Ko Ko Naing, who is a member of the Joint Working Group, said during a meeting with his counterpart in Dhaka last week that Myanmar restated to Bangladesh its readiness to begin the repatriation.

"We told them what we must insist on starting repatriation. We expressed our readiness," he said.

He added the date of the repatriation could not be fixed yet as the process is extremely complex and difficult despite there have been no disagreement over it.

During the meeting, both sides shared views about safety and security of the repatriation process as well as ensuring a conducive environment and involvement of the United Nations agencies in the resettlement, said U Ko Ko Naing. "We are to sign with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and UN Development Programme an agreement, and the repatriation would be faster after we sign it," he added.

The Joint Working Group of Myanmar and Bangladesh met on Thursday in Dhaka in a bid to resolve the deadlock on the repatriation of hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled from strife-torn northern Rakhine. The Myanmar delegation was led by Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs U Myint Thu, accompanied by senior officials from the Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Ministry.

Myanmar and Bangladesh signed an agreement in November last year to repatriate an estimated 700,000 Muslims who fled to northern Rakhine after two deadly attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on government security forces in the past two years and a brutal military counterinsurgency campaign heavily criticised by the international community.Lightning strikes kill 200 in 75 days

The country is witnessing unusual casualties in lightning strikes well ahead of monsoon this year due to change in the thunderstorm formation area along with other causes like deforestation, climate variability and global warming, said experts.

According to reports carried by different national dailies on lightning incidents, over 200 people were killed and scores of others injured in lightning strikes at different parts of the country, mainly in the central and northern parts, in the last two and a half months from March to May 17, showing an increased frequency in lightning strikes this year. As per the website of the Disaster Management and Relief Ministry, at least 187 people died in lightning strikes at different parts of the country this year as of May 18. At least 112 people were killed in lightning strikes in the first 10 days of this month, including 29 on May 9 alone. Besides, over 70 people were killed in March and April. Most of the victims were agricultural workers as they were hit by lightning strikes while harvesting on or carrying paddy from open fields during storms, creating panic among farmers.

Experts, however, suggested that people should not be worried, but they need to take appropriate steps during lightning strikes and check the weather forecast before participating in outdoor activities. They urged people to keep away from tall trees, electric pillars and towers, not to touch metals and corrugated iron, and take shelter under a concrete ceiling during thunderbolts. "As per our record, the lightning frequency is gradually rising here during pre-monsoon period (April-May) since 1981. But we're observing greater number of fatal incidents of lightning recent years due to global warming," M Abdul Mannan, a senior a meteorologist at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) told UNB. He said Bangladesh is witnessing a record number of lightning strikes this year due to the change in thunderstorm formation area.

"The thunderstorm use to form in West Bengal, Bihar and joining areas in the previous years. But it's now forming near the 50 km of Bangladesh border this year, causing the fatal lightning strikes. Mannan said districts under Dhaka Division, Rajshahi divisions and Mymensingh and some districts under Chattogram division, including Noakhali and Cumilla, are experiencing increased lightning strikes this year. BMD meteorologist Ruhul Kuddus said the country experienced excessive temperature in February and March this year which is one of the causes of rise in lightning frequency. He also said the country's average rainfall is 22 percent higher than the normal this pre-monsoon season as Cumulonimbus clouds are gathering much this year than the previous years, increasing the lightning frequency intensity. "Raising temperature, erratic rainfall and abnormal behavior of weather are increasing the occurrence of thunderbolt strikes," Kuddus added. Contacted, Atiq Rahman, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies, said warmer weather and climate change are causing more water evaporation from the land and ocean, increasing Cumulonimbus cloud which is generating fatal lightning strikes.

Besides, he said, deforestation and indiscriminate felling of tall trees in rural areas are also contributing to increasing lightning strike intensity. Atiq Rahman said the government needs to carry out vigorous campaign to make people aware of lightning preparedness. Mentioning that tall trees can absorb many of the lightning strikes, he hailed the government's steps to plant 1 million palm trees across the country to avert deaths occurring from lightning strikes. "People should also plant tall species of tree in a great number in their respective areas as the frequency of lightning is growing. Ainun Nishat, Professor Emeritus of BRAC University, and water resource and climate change specialist, said the lightning frequency is becoming severer during the pre-monsoon time due to the increased amount of warm moist air over the atmosphere. "The frequency of lightning is intensified in recent times in Bangladesh and we think it is happening for growing environmental imbalance and global warming." He suggested launching awareness campaign about lightning and strengthening warning system and network to reach the warning messages to people to reduce lightning strike casualties.9 more killed in districts

Md Joynal Abedin Khan :

The members of law enforcement agencies have reportedly taken the policy of so-called 'shootouts' to check drug during the ongoing anti-drug crackdown across the country since May 4, alleged victims' relatives and activists of rights bodies.

They raised their voice against law enforces' almost extra-judicial killing mission after the death of 27 drug traders and a few members of accused in different cases in last week.

The victims' relatives also claimed that the law enforcers are continuing the killing in 'shootouts' as per the Home Ministry's secret list.

In the latest, nine suspected drug traders were killed in separate incidents of 'shootout' with police in Jashore, Chuadanga, Rajshahi, Narsingdi, Jhenidah, Tangail and Gazipur districts early hours of Monday.

A number of participants, who are engaged with the anti-drug drive, tactfully confessed the media that the shootout is now key policy to eradicate drug from the country.

The Police Headquarters (PHQ) have instructed all police units across the country to conduct a special 10-day countrywide anti-narcotics drive from the first day of Ramadan. It also prepared a list of 26,299 drug dealers and patrons and has been conducting raids to catch them, an official said wishing anonymity.

According to Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK), 18 people were killed in 'gunfights' since Sunday and nine yesterday.

In Jashore, police recovered three bullet-hit bodies of suspected drug traders from Kholadanga and Taraf Noapara areas around 2:00am. Police also recovered arms, Phensidyl and Yaba from the spots, said AKM Azmal Huda, Officer-in-Charge of Kotwali Police Station.

In Chuadanga, Jonab Ali, 32, son of Jamat Ali, a resident of Uthali village in Jibannagar upazila, was killed in a gunfight with police around 12:45am.

In Rahshahi, a listed drug trader Liakat Ali Mandal, 40, accused in seven drug cases, hailing from Namajgram village in Puthia upazila, was killed in a reported gunfight with members of Rapid Action Battalion in Khurdo Jamira area under Belpukur thana of the city around 12:30am, said Major Asraful Islam, Deputy Commanding officer of RAB-5.

The elite force recovered 823 pieces of Yaba tablets, a foreign pistol with two round bullets and a motorcycle, he said.

In Narsingdi, a listed drug trader, Iman Ali, a resident of Kauria para of the district town, was killed in a reported gunfight with members of Rapid Action Battalion in Ghorashal toll plaza area of Palash upazila around 4:00am, said Company Commander Jasim Uddin.

In Jhenaidah, a suspected drug trader Mohammad Sabdul Islam, 45, son of late Mohammad Ali, was killed in a reported gunfight with RAB around 1:30am. They also recovered one pistol, two bullets, one magzine, 100 bottles of Phensidyl and cash Tk 1100.

In Tangail, a suspected drug trader, Abul Kalam Azad Khan, 42, son of late Abdur Rahman Khan, a resident of Purbo Pakutia of Ghatail upazila, and also accused in five cases, was killed in a so-called gunfight with members of Rapid Action battalion in a brick field area of Deula Bari around 12:00am.

The elite force recovered a foreign pistol, three bullets, one magazine, 100 bottles of Phensidyl and 1500 pieces of Yaba tablets from the spot, said Rabiul Alam, commander of CPC-3 of RAB-12.

In Gazipur, a suspected drug trader was killed in a shootout with police in Tongi early Monday.

The dead has been identified as Rezaul Islam alias Besti Rony, 27, son of Hafizul Islam, a resident in Ershadnagar area of Tongi. Rony was an accused in 14/15 cases, said Tongi Model Police OC Kamal Hossain.

Meanwhile, amid the killings of drug dealers in growing 'gunfights', Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Monday said the crackdown on the drug dealers will continue.

"No drug peddlers will be spared, no matter how powerful they are socially or politically. Law enforcement agencies will continue the drive against them to bring them to justice," he said while talking to the media at the Secretariat.

The Home Minister said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has instructed his ministry to take a 'zero-tolerance' policy against the drug trade and stop it at any cost.

As per the directives, an anti-narcotic drive has been launched making a division-wise list of drug dealers based on intelligence information, he said.

Asked how many are there on the list, Asaduzzaman said the exact number is not known, but it is substantial.

He refuted the claim of 'extra-judicial killings' or 'crossfire' in the name of anti-narcotics drive, saying the drug dealers have firearms. "Whenever law enforcers go to arrest them, they often open fire on them forcing them to retaliate in self-defence which resulted in one or two incidents of killings."

The home minister claimed that gunfights take place in all the countries dealing with drugs. "We don't think it won't happen in Bangladesh. We witness drug dealers open fire first. So, it's normal that police will fire back," he said, describing it as an act of self-defence, rather than 'gunfight' or 'crossfire'.

Asked only small fish are getting killed in 'gunfights', the minister said the law enforcement agencies are conducting the anti-narcotics drive following the list. "Every drug peddler will be punished."

In response to another query about human rights violation during drives, Asaduzzaman said they never apply any "shoot-at-sight" policy, but only fire in self-defence. "We aren't arresting drug dealers to shoot them. It's our highest priority to bring them to justice."

"Extra-judicial killings are continuing unabated in the country. This is a matter of grave concern," said Sultana Kamal, human rights activist and trustee of Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB).

She said to kill criminals, including drug dealers, in the name of crossfire is a violation of human rights: "The offenders should be brought to justice, but this is not happening here."

Sultana said it is illegal to use the firearms, purchased with taxpayers' money, in the extra-judicial killings.Priyanka Chopra now in C'bazar to visit Rohingya camps

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Bollywood Actress Priyanka Chopra arrived in Cox\'s Bazar to see the plight of Rohingyas on Monday.

Staff Reporter :

Bollywood sensation Priyanka Chopra has arrived in Bangladesh on a three-day visit to expose the plight of Rohingya refugee children as part of her role as UNICEF

Goodwill Ambassador. She reached Cox's Bazar Airport at 12:40pm on Monday.

Priyanka shared the news of her visit to Rohingya refugee camps on twitter with a photo of her sitting by the window of an airplane. She wrote, "The world needs to care. We need to care."

Cox's Bazar Additional Superintendent of Police Afruzul Haq Tutul said Priyanka visited a Rohingya refugee camp at Shamlapur in Teknaf in the afternoon.

Over a million Rohingya refugees were compelled to come to Bangladesh from neighboring Myanmar where they were subjected to terrible torture. A large number of the refugees are children.

They not only live in a decrepit condition, but also risking life from many diseases and deadly landslides as monsoon arrives.

Priyanka is staying at Royal Tulip Sea Pearl Beach Resort. She will visit more Rohingya camps in Teknaf and Ukhiya on May 22 and 23, said police ASP.

Priyanka will leave Bangladesh on May 24.ASK worried at growing 'extrajudicial' killings

Around 27 people, mostly suspected drug peddlers or drug addicts, were killed in 'so-called gunfights' with law enforcers across the country in the last 21 days as of Monday, said human rights body Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK).

Of them, 10 were killed in 'gun battles' with Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), eight with police and nine others with Detective Branch (BB) of police across the country during the period, according the ASK statistics released on Monday. The rights body, which prepared the statistics compiling reports of different national dailies, strongly condemned and expressed deep concern over the incremental rise in extrajudicial killing.

According to media reports, the government has recently taken a 'zero tolerance' policy against drugs.

As a part of it, the joint forces of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) and police have been conducting a massive anti-narcotics drive across the country since the beginning of the current month, the ASK said.

A total of 18 suspected drug traders or drug addicts were killed in 'gunfights' with Rab and police across the country in the only last six days alone, it said.

According to the media reports, the rights watchdog said 2300 suspected drug peddlers or addicts have been arrested till May 15 during the ongoing anti-drug operation.

According to the ASK statistics, at least 102 people have been subjected to gunfights /cross fires or extrajudicial killings from January to May 21 this year, indicating an very alarming rise in extrajudicial killing in the country.

"We welcome the government's stern position against a dangerous social menace like drug, but it is necessary remain alert so that the existing law and human rights are not violated in implementing the government's steps. We want the government to give the members of the law enforcement agencies with necessary instructions in this regard," the rights body said in a press release.

Mentioning that every person has the right to live and get justice, the ASK said the offenders must be punished through the court following proper legal processes, no matter what crime they committed.

Otherwise, it said, the rule of law will be destroyed and chaos and disorder would affect society.

Stating that the human rights bodies at both home and abroad have long been expressing concerns about the growing extrajudicial killings here, the ASK urged the government to be respectful to the basic principles of the human rights.





Dissident prince urges uncles to seize power

Middle East Eye :

A dissident Saudi prince has called on his uncles to depose King Salman and take over the country. Prince Khaled bin Farhan made the appeal to Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz and Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, saying that the damage being done to the Saudi royal family and the kingdom by Salman's "irrational, erratic and stupid" rule had gone beyond the point of no-return. In an interview with Middle East Eye, Prince Khaled, who was given political asylum in Germany in 2013, said that if Ahmed and Muqrin were to unite ranks then "99 percent of the members of the royal family, the security services and the army would stand behind them". Prince Khaled is a distant member of the Saudi royal family. But Riyadh is sensitive to any member breaking ranks, however distant he may be to the line of succession, and has tried to lure him back. The prince said that recent statements by Mamduh bin Abdulaziz, one of the eldest surviving brothers of King Salman, indicated wider resentment within the family as a whole. "There is so much anger within the royal family," Prince Khaled said, "I took this information and appeal to my uncles Ahmed and Muqrin, who are the sons of bin Abdulaziz and are highly educated, well versed and able to change things for the better. I can say that we are all behind them and support them." Ahmed Abdulaziz, a former deputy minister of interior and minister of the interior, retains the support of important sections of the security forces and the tribes, the prince said. Muqrin bin Abdulaziz was initially appointed crown prince by his brother Salman, only to be replaced by Muhammed bin Nayef in April 2015: he in turn was replaced by current incumbent Mohammed bin Salman, sometimes known as MBS, in June 2017. Prince Khaled said he had received a large number of emails from people within the police and army in support of his call. "I perceived from them that they are appealing, rather than demanding, to Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz to take an initiative to change the current situation." The call for a coup comes as mystery continues about bursts of heavy gunfire which were heard outside the king's Ouja palace in Riyadh in April. The official explanation was that security guards had shot down "a toy drone". But the anonymous Saudi blogger Mujtahidd said that the palace had been attacked by heavy guns mounted on two SUVs, during which six security staff and two assailants were killed.

MBS has not been seen in public since the shooting incident prompting speculation in the Russian media that he had been killed. In recent days, the office of MBS has released images of him with regional leaders to counter such rumours. Prince Khaled said the drone was a cover story which defied logic. "I personally believe that this was not necessarily an attempt to bring down Mohammed bin Salman but rather an act of protest against him." But he warned that if MBS stayed in power then upheaval would follow. "I would like to say to the Europeans that the situation in Saudi Arabia resembles a volcano that is about to erupt. If it erupts, it will affect not only the situation inside Saudi Arabia or in the Arab region but it will have an effect on you too." Saudi is a combustible mixture of different generations, tribes, regions and Wahhabism. If a coup was started outside the royal family, then the kingdom with its strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam, could easily become a centre for international terrorism, he said. Prince Khaled said that there are terrorist sleeper cells within Saudi Arabia and that the Wahhabi ideology is a radical ideology. It was these Islamists, he said, who most frighten Europeans and Americans. "So, if Saudi Arabia descends into a state of chaos, there will be global chaos, and it [Saudi Arabia] will be a source of terrorism for the entire world as it will support and sustain international terrorism."

Prince Khaled belongs to the al Farhan branch of the Saudi royal family. It dates back to the 18th century, when Farhan was one of the three brothers of Muhammad bin Saud, from who Abdulaziz, the major branch of the family, descended. The rift began after Khaled's father, who became known as the Red Prince, advocated a constitutional monarchy.







Senior members of the royal family have attempted to lure the dissident prince back to Saudi in order to silence him. One of them offered him a seat in his private plane when on an official visit to Germany, an offer he declined. Prince Khaled was granted political asylum within two months of arriving by the German authorities, such was their assessment of the danger of abduction. He has also been told by German intelligence that his security outside the country cannot be guaranteed, even if he travels within the EU. The prince, who said he is in regular touch with other princes in Saudi, describes the royal family as being in a state of shock at the arrest, detention and mistreatment of senior princes, such as Muqrin, during the purge ordered by King Salman and his son Mohammed in late 2017. "It was a shock for the entire family because prominent figures in the family were detained, in a way that held a great deal of humiliation. It was a shock for the entire family. The family is now facing the undermining of its standing in the eyes of the people. And this will inevitably undermine its legitimacy." Prince Khaled said that the anti-corruption campaign was politically motivated to remove any challenge from more senior, experienced and legitimate rivals.





MBS has had a heady rise to power during the past year, but Prince Khaled said that for many years he was an ordinary member of the family and that as a youth he suffered from "psychological problems". "I wouldn't say he was violent," Prince Khaled said, "but when he was younger, in the royal family, he didn't have status. He was an ordinary member of the family. His brothers had higher positions, and they had a voice within the Saudi ruling elite. Of course, his cousins were older, more experienced, better positioned, more educated and everything else. "So I think he developed psychological problems, because one of his cousins whom he arrested, when he would meet him, he [Mohammed bin Salman] would have to ask for an appointment, and maybe the prince would meet him, or maybe not. So this created within him a psychological problem and today he is taking his revenge against his cousins." Saudi claims to have netted $100bn from the 300-plus people who were detained at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Riyadh in late 2017. But even after their release, Prince Khaled said, the former detainees were not free men: instead they have monitoring devices fitted to their legs, their mobiles phones monitored and are banned from travelling outside the kingdom. "So they live in a very humiliating situation," he observed. Under normal circumstances, the prince said, he would commend some of the reforms introduced by MBS, including allowing women to drive and restricting the influence of religious authorities. But he described these moves as palliatives intended to appease the West, ignoring that the real problem in Saudi is the political system, in which the king has absolute powers to appoint judges, members of the Shura Council and the government itself. "The make-up of the state will constantly change with the personality of the king," Prince Khaled said. "Where is the strategic plan for the state? We need to have a clear goal that we're working towards. And it's the role of the king to come up with a tactical plan to help us enact these strategies. "But, with the way we're going, our country will be late reaching them. We're already late. We use to think that we had financial assets and educated individuals, but unfortunately the situation right now is taking us back years." The kingdom's political system, Prince Khalid said, represented the will of the king and no one else: when there is a new king, everything changes.



Saudi, he noted, may be one of the biggest states in the Middle East with a population of more than 30 million, may be a member of the G20, may be the largest exporter of oil in the world, may be the holder of the second largest reserves of oil on the planet, may have a right of veto in the IMF - but the state itself is nothing more than an embodiment of the reigning king. The prince admitted to a personal grudge against King Salman, who as the Emir of Riyadh had wielded power in family affairs. He called Salman a racist, saying he had forced the prince's father to divorce his Egyptian wife and Khaled's sister to divorce her Kuwaiti husband. While the kingdom was a dictatorship before Salman acceded to the throne, Prince Khalid said, at least positions of power were shared out: today, that power is concentrated in the hands of one person. What about the recent statement from bin Salman, that death would stop him from ruling for 50 years? "I would like to ask him a question through you," Prince Khaled said. "Has he signed a contract with God that he would be allowed to live 50 years? How can he guarantee that?"









7 DMP officers back drug racket in Mugda

Staff Reporter :

As the anti-drug drive by law enforcers across the country continues, names of seven police officers of Mugda Police station alone under Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) surfaced for having link with drug peddlers in the area.

Reports of illegal nexus of policemen with drug traders from other places are also pouring in to suggest drug crimes can't be held under control unless involvement of policemen can be severely dealt with.

It is an open secret that such trade is flooding the country with local ruling party men actively engaging in stocking and distribution of the drug in their localities as the most profitable business.

Police is giving shelter to the illegal trade and benefiting from bribe when they find chasing local party men is more difficult and risky than joining hands with them.

As per DMP sources police officer of Mugda police station were reportedly backing the drug racket in exchange of regular pay-offs. DMP has withdrawn the police officers from field duty around mid-March and attached them at Rajarbagh Police Lane said Mugda police station's officer-in-charge Md Enamul Haque.

The police officers withdrawn from Mugda include assistant sub-inspectors Mizanur Rahman, Nurul Amin, Abdul Wadud, Md Selim Hossain, Zainul Abedin, Khaledur Rahman and Md Akhtaruzzaman.

An investigation team has been formed led by the DMP joint commissioner (crime) Sheikh Nazmul Alam and it is probing the incidents, he said. As per reports the seven police officers conducted raids in the Bondhu Bakery in Dakkhin Manda, on March 5 night. They detained local drug peddler Swapan Mia with yaba tablets.

Later they took him to local Green Model Town Balur Mathh and took Tk 12 thousand from him on threats that he would be charged in a case. They also took another Tk 20,000 bribe from Swapan's wife that night and let Swapan go.

The probe also found Wadud, Nurul Amin and Akhtaruzzaman, three among the seven police officers took Tk 1,000 every week from drug traders Lima Akhtar, her husband Delwar Hossain alias Dela and Salma Akhtar of city's Maniknagar. They took Tk 500 from a certain Niju every week.

Mugda police inspector (operations) Syed Iftekhar Hossain said, though the drug peddlers get arrested, they were released soon on bail to resume the illegal trade. He added, Swapan was arrested with yaba last December, but got bail within a few days as weak police reports not enough to keep the criminals in detention for long.

A total of 24 cases were filed with the Mugda police station in last April under the narcotics control act and 28 have been arrested in this connection so far.

Another police sub-inspector Morshed Hossain at Belabo in Narsingdi was arrested by CID (Criminal Investigation Department) police on Sunday in connection with his involvement in yaba trade.

On the same allegations, highway police sub-inspector Belal Hossain, Narayanganj sadar police assistant sub-inspector Suhrawardy Hossain and Narayanganj port police constable Asadur Rahman were arrested from Rajbari last week. The Khilgaon police assistant sub-inspector Majnu Hossain was also arrested for possession of yaba on 26 April.

Cases have been filed against them under the narcotics control act with the concerned police stations. All except Suhrawardy and Majnu, admitting their involvement giving confessional statements at the court.

CID police super Molla Nazrul Islam said, it didn't matter whether or not they are police men, they were arrested because of their involvement in drug business.

Since the countrywide haunt for drug dealers across the country, 19 people have been killed in 'gunfights' in six days. Both the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police claimed the deceased were either drug peddlers or accused in such cases.

Motijheel Police Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Anwar Hossain said, allegations have been raised against the police men. Investigations are in progress and cases will be filed if evidence is found.

Several locals and businessmen from Manda in Mugda said, Musa, Tuila Rubel and Saju control yaba business of the area and they had liaison with the seven accused police officers.

They further said, a Swechchasebok League leader along with several local AL leaders are involved in the business. For security reasons, they declined to disclose their names.

Mugda thana AL president Shamim Al Mamun said over phone, he didn't know anyone from the party being involved in drug business. He admitted that there was a thriving drug business in Mugda, Maniknagar and Manda. He said, police would know better if anyone in the party was involved. HE said the party would take strict action against them.

A Dakkhin Manda businessman, on condition of anonymity said yaba sells every evening at Manda, Jheelpaar and Nama area. Youths from other areas come here to buy drug.

Police conducted raids in the areas just as an eyewash. The drug peddlers are pre-warned and they leave before police come. He added, police have the list of all local drug peddlers. It depends on their intention whether or not to arrest them. He said, local people are afraid their children may get gradually become addict, they want to get rid of the drug traders. But police involvement has made the task difficult.



Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Occasional thunderstorms, possibly severe. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Occasional thunderstorms, possibly severe. Damaging winds, large hail and possibly a tornado with some storms. Low 62F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%.Embracing Israel/Palestine

On May 14, 2018 Israel raised the number of Gazan mostly unarmed civilians it had killed to close to 100, and the number wounded to several thousand. Its actions will go down in Jewish history as the height of the Netanyahu governments ethical blindness and arrogance. All people of conscience should make May 14th an annual day of mourning for the Gazans and for the fate of all Palestinians living under occupation (whether in the form of military occupation in the West Bank or in the form of blockade and cutting off of electricity, food and medical supplies, and much more).The excuses given by Israeli hasbara (explanation/propaganda) are pathetic:1. Israel has a right to defend itself. Of course it does. But it does not have the right to occupy another people for 50 years and subject them to deprivation of freedom and self-determination. Moreover, there is no threat to Israel from the Palestinian peopleIsrael has one of the most powerful military forces in the entire world, and the Palestinians do not have an air force, a navy, tanks, or anything else that could over-run Israel.2. The army (IDF) was endangered by a few of the demonstrators who were armed with Molotov cocktails and were creating a smokescreen by burning tires The IDF could have withdrawn a few hundred feet and would not have faced any danger. They were not facing missiles, but only what a few individuals could throw in their direction.3. The Gazans were intent on cutting through the border fence and would have then been a terrorist threat. If Israel had warned Gazans that anyone crossing into Israel would have been shot, that would have prevented most of the deaths and injuries. Most of the Gazans were at the fence to demonstrate their desire to return to their homes taken by Israel in the aftermath of the 1948 war. It was not their intent to do that immediately. Most of those who would have crossed over the border would have been apprehended and imprisoned. The Israeli Army has a huge number of fighters at any given time and they could easily have stopped anyone crossing the border without shooting indiscriminately into crowds of thousands of almost all unarmed civilians, injuring and killing journalists, medics, women, and children.In short, there was no security (bitachon) reason for the slaughter of innocent people.There were provocative statements made by Hamas and by some of those at the demonstrations. We in the U.S. peace movement know about this. Weve been at demonstrations in which some people call for the overthrow of the government or engage in acts of violence against people or property. It was these elements that made it possible for right-wing media to portray the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations several years ago as a group of violence-prone extremists and allowed police to disrupt the tent camps that demonstrators had set up. We would not accept killing and wounding random demonstrators as a legitimate response in these situations in the U.S. and they were not legitimate on the Gaza border either.This is not to say that Israelis have no reason to be angry at Hamas and its followers. Hamas continues to insist that it wants to eliminate the State of Israel. In so doing, it provides a perfect partner to Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli ultra-right-wing, providing the ostensible reason for why ordinary citizens should be afraid. And over the past decades individual terrorists have killed some Israelis and Hamas managed to send missiles toward Israel in the summer of 2014, though happily most of them were destroyed before landing. Yet the Israeli people spent hours each day in bomb shelters, and that intensified their fears in a very concrete way. Just imagine if North Korea or Cuba had been able to do the same to the U.S. and tens of millions of Americans had spent hours each day for two months in air raid shelterscan you imagine what a boost that would have given to the militarists in any Western country the way 9/11 also did.I do not raise this point to legitimate the Israeli army violence that is taking place on the border with Gaza. It is, let me repeat, ethically outrageous. There is no moral equivalency between the struggle of Palestinians for their own liberation and the policies of Israel to prevent that liberation. Israel has the power to create a solution that ensures its security and has the economic, political, and military power to do so. The Palestinians have no such power; what they do have is the growing support of people around the world, including many younger Jews in the West who genuinely care about the suffering of all people who have not yet achieved liberation, economic well-being, and security. In their arrogance, the Israeli and U.S. governments think that this moment of power will last forever, it will not. And sadly, both the American people and the Jewish people will pay dearly in the future for the immoral behavior of their governments and their silent complicity.Our approach at Tikkun, however, is to ask not how do we throw blame but how do we contribute to the possibility of a transformation in consciousness. And our answer is this: we need to help people on both sides of that struggle recognize that each side has been unnecessarily provocative and each side has a legitimate story to tell. It does no good to only talk about the evils of one side or the other or to portray one side as the righteous victim and the other as the evil incarnate. To do so is only to guarantee more suffering on both sides of this struggle.In my book(available at www.tikkun.org/eip ) I tell the whole story from the beginning till 2012. I recognize every particular outrage in the context of a larger struggle that has been going on for the past hundred years, a struggle in which each side has taken actions that are ethically unacceptable and each side has legitimate reasons to be scared of each other. You might ask How can the Israelis be scared of Palestinians when they are so much more powerful? Well, do you doubt that many Americans were scared and many remain scared of terrorists after 9/11, even though the U.S. was and remains the greatest military power in the world, and with no country on our border supporting terrorism? That fear has been magnified by a discourse that comes from both Republicans and Democrats, and led Hillary Clinton to advocate not only for the destructive war against Libya in 2011 but also for being tough against Russia. Now imagine that you lived in a state that was a few miles away from where ISIS and Hezbollah and other groups were active, and where Iran was placing missiles that could easily reach your own home. That context makes it easier to understand how right-wing-militarists in Israel could convince people that they were in constant danger, and that part of that danger, given the experience of the summer of 2014, was coming from Gaza.But wait, you might say, the Gazans are protesting the Nakba, and that was the atrocity that created the State of Israel. So the first point I want to make is that the Nakba was another ethically outrageous result of the 1948 war, and we at Tikkunwere the first US publication to expose the lies of the Zionist establishment that claimed that Palestinians had fled because their leaders told them to do so. We printed the accounts of the New Historians in Israel who had access to the IDFs archives and who were able to show that many Palestinians fled because of legitimate fear of Israeli right wing terrorist groups that were seeking to spread fear. At least 100,000 of the refugees were forcibly removed from their homes and forced to move to what is now the West Bank and Gaza, and many others fled in fear that the same would happen to them. There was no legitimacy for these deportations. Moreover, when a cease fire was achieved in 1949, the Israeli government refused to let these civilian refugees return to their homes, a position similar to what India was doing with Muslim refugees, thereby creating the Muslim state of Pakistan.This situation, however, was the outcome of the Arab states and the Palestinian leadership refusing to accept the U.N. proposal of 1947 which would have divided the area into a Jewish state of Israel and a Palestinian state. Had the Palestinians accepted that proposal, which Israel did accept, there would today be a Palestinian state encompassing much more of the Holy Land than even the most optimistic of peaceniks now believes a two-state solution in the 21st century would give to the Palestinian state. This was a tragic decision on the part of the Palestinian leadership and their Arab neighboring states which would have averted a war.Yet how could the Jewish Israelis, many of whom were survivors of the Holocaust, allowed this unjust outcome? So now go back to the decade previous to this moment, when fascism was spreading through not only Europe but also through parts of the Muslim world, and Jews were desperate to escape. The Arab states and the Palestinian leaders sought to prevent Jewish refugees from coming to Palestine, fearing that the Zionists wanted to create a Jewish state in some part of Palestine. The British, who had been given the mandate over Palestine by the League of Nations, needed Arab oil to be able to fight the war against the Nazis which began in 1939, and so agreed to enforce the will of the Palestinians to prevent Jews from coming to Palestine. This was not aimed at allrefugees, but only at Jewish refugees. And even after the Nazis were defeated in 1945, and the Holocaust was known to the world, the Palestinians, aided by the British, kept up their demand to keep Jewish refugees from coming. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were kept in displaced persons camps in Europe until on May 14, 1948 the British left and Palestinian Jews proclaimed themselves the State of Israel, allowing Jews to come there. Many of those who came felt deep anger at the Palestinians who had refused them entry while their families were being murdered. Palestine was the nearest country to Europe with a substantial Jewish minority that was not under Nazi rule. For the Jews in displaced persons camps, the Palestinian peoples refusal to allow them to come to Palestine was evidence that they hated Jews, who were a minority group.Leftists have usually taken up the call for open borders everywhere, or at least for non-discrimination against refugees seeking asylum. Yet they do not ever recognize that a significant section of the Jews who created the State of Israel in 1948 were refugees for whom Palestinians had denied asylum. Many Jews in Israel and around the world joined with many of these refugees in deeply resenting the ethically unacceptable desire to keep Jewish refugees out. Just as Palestinians kept Jews out, when Jews had the power after the 1948 war, they were not willing to let the Palestinian refugees come back. I find their actions ethically unacceptable. At the same time, I understand the fear that arises when people imagine refugees taking over their land (this applies both to Palestinians before 1948 and Jews after 1948). Yet Leftists who are outraged at the way the U.S. and many European states are currently treating refugees fail to see and understand the significance of this historical truth  namely that Palestinians and other Arab states did all they could to prevent Jewish refugees from coming to Palestine. This was an outcome of a long history of Left-wing anti-Semitism that I analyze more fully in my book The Socialism of Fools: Anti-Semitism on the Left. But you dont have to read the book to get the gistgo to read the article by anti-Israel-Occupation If Not Now activist Benjamin Case on Decolonizing Jewishness in the Winter/Spring 2018 issue of Tikkun(which you can now read online at https://www.tikkun.org/nextgen/decolonizing-jewishness-on-jewish-liberation-in-the-21st-century ). You will see there what I mean by Left-wing anti-Semitism (and no, its not being a critic of Israeli policies, which we at Tikkunhave been for the past 32 years).Still, you might object, wasnt Zionism, the desire of the Jewish people to establish a homeland in Palestine, always simply a colonial project to aid European colonial ambitions against the indigenous people of the land, the Palestinians? That question could only arise out of a lack of a full understanding of the history of the region. First of all, there are no indigenous people in the Middle East and certainly not in the land that the Roman conquerors named Palestine. All of those countries in the ancient world experienced one group or another conquering and settling those lands, moving populations, exterminating those who had previously conquered the lands, for thousands of years. By the time the Greeks and then the Romans conquered Judea two thousand plus years ago, there was a strong Jewish religious population in Palestine and when they were exiled from that land they made return to Zion (the hill on which their Temple had been constructed) a central part of their religion. When religiously practicing Jews hear lefties talking about the return of Jews to the land of Israel as a colonial project they shake their heads in disbelief at the lack of understanding that claim represents, because for two thousand years they have been uttering prayers for a return to Zion before there even were any European countries like England, France, Germany, or Russia. If in the last 19th and early 20th centuries that yearning became a political movement and sought support from European powers to accomplish that goal, they were no different from Arab states including Palestinian nationalists who similarly sought to win support for their efforts from colonial states and until the 1947 UN resolution calling for a two state solution, these Palestinians and Arab states had been relatively successful in getting colonial support as well (in part because the colonial states made conflicting promises to the Arab nationalists and the Jewish nationalists, as they did all around the world, dividing the populations they sought to dominate in order to conquer the lands).So am I saying that Jews had a right to the land of Israel? No, I dont think anyone has a right to any land in the world. Instead, I believe that all of humanity has an obligation to share the earth which other and to do so in ways that protect the fragile life support system of Earth. The ongoing military struggles between Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, like the ongoing struggles among Arab peoples in Syria and Iraq, or between Shia in Iran and Sunni in Saudi Arabia, or between the U.S. and other forces in dozens of countries around the worldall of these are destructive to the possibility of saving the Earths life support system and all result in unnecessary human suffering and death, and hence are deeply unethical and ought to be stopped immediately.How can that happen? In my view, it can only happen when all of the people of the earth overcome their nationalist demands to control some part of the earth, and move toward a consciousness of sharing the earth in a generous way. We at Tikkunand the Network of Spiritual Progressives have put forward two proposals that are first steps in this direction: the Global Marshall Plan www.tikkun.org/gmp and the proposed ESRAEnvironmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution www.tikkun.org/esra which could be a model for many other countries.To get to such a world, we cannot continue to side with one side or another in their endless struggles. Instead, we need to develop a compassionate attitude toward all peoples, and understand why they feel angry and threatened by others, no matter how irrational those fears appear to be from our perspective. It is only when we can approach all sides of these struggles with an attitude of what Cat Zavis, executive director of Tikkuns interfaith and secular-humanist-and-atheist-welcoming Network of Spiritual Progressives, calls Prophetic Empathy can we hope to get people to move in this direction.The prophetic part of Prophetic Empathy is the part that calls out those who are tolerating violence, injustice, racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, Islamophobia, or anti-Semitism and insists that those behaviors must stop. The empathy part is that we combine our calling out of what is wrong with an empathic understanding of how people got to where they are now in their consciousness, so that we can convey the kind of respect that is the precondition for anyone even beginning to listen to the rest of our political ideas about how to achieve a different kind of world.So to return to Israel and Palestine today, we must challenge the immoral behavior of the State of Israel toward the Palestinians and seek to mobilize against that behavior. Simultaneously, we need to project an understanding of the dynamics that have led all the different actors in this struggle to come to where they have come to, rather than appear to only care for one side or another.This struggle is a manifestation of the inner struggle that goes on in almost every human being between the idea that we can best achieve our needs by dominating others (whether that be the Israeli desire to make all of Palestine a subordinate part of Israel or the Hamas desire to make all of Palestine including what is today Israel an Islamic state under the rule of Hamas with a compliant Jewish minority) or the voice that tells us that human beings have the potential to respond to generosity with a generous and caring spirit if they can believe that generosity would not be taken advantage of by others. It is my contention that this struggle is worldwide and our task as tikkunistas (those who seek to heal and transform the world) is to strengthen the voice of generosity.Speaking now as a rabbi committed to the well-being of the Jewish people, I insist that our well-being can only be accomplished when every other religion and every other people, every other ethnic group, on the planet have also secured their well-being. There is no longer in the 21st century a path to security and justice for one people that does not also involve a path to security and justice for all peoples. My religion teaches me that this is the direction not only because it is in our self-interest as human beings, but because at a deeper level the truth is that every human being is a manifestation of the sacred and deserves to be treated as such. But if you dont like language about the sacred, and most Israelis dont because they hate anything smelling of religion because of the way the ultra-orthodox in Israel have forced religion down their throats, then accept the self-interest argument for a prophetic empathy approach to all struggles.I deeply mourn and am outraged by the loss of lives and injuries of Gazans caused by Israeli soldiers and the ongoing blockade that makes life in Gaza untolerable and unlivable. And I believe that the path to peace and security for Palestinians and Jews alike rests in our righteous call for Israel to abandon its domination over others perspective and realize that it is only with a policy of generosity toward Palestinians, not murdering them, that can provide a path to lasting peace and justice for themselves. As a Jew I also mourn for Israel and for Judaism that has become associated with a nation state and hope to see a Jewish liberation movement develop that will make clear, as weve been doing in Tikkunfor the past 32 years, that Judaism must be divorced from the policies of the traumatized people who have allowed the State of Israel to become a manifestation of values that are antithetical to what Judaism has been for the past several thousand years. I call upon friends of the Jewish people in every religion and every national or ethnic group to join with Tikkunin challenging Israeli policies that simultaneously rejects shame and blame and embrace an empathic discourse as we critique these horrendous policies. Yes, it is a difficult path to follow. But if we ever hope to change the world, it is the path that is most likely in the long run to help us build the world we want and need. And in the meantime, we should also hope that both the Hamas regime will be overturned by the people of Gaza and that the Netanyahu and far right regime in Israel will be overturned by the people of Israel, so that a new regime in Israel and Palestine can negotiate a lasting and just, and humanly and environmentally sensitive and caring peace for all of the inhabitants of the region.is editor ofmagazine.He is rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue-without-walls based in Berkeley, California.The UAE cabinet, presided over by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved steps that would allow for 100 per cent ownership of UAE-based businesses by foreign investors by the end of this year.



The new visa system will increase the chances of attracting investors and competencies to the UAE and thus increase the country's economic competitiveness globally and also provide a major boost to the country's real estate market, said a report from Dubai Media Office.



Sheikh Mohammed directed the Ministry of Economy in co-ordination with the concerned parties to implement the resolution and follow up on its developments, and also submit a detailed study in the third quarter of this year.



"The UAE will remain a global incubator for exceptional talents and a permanent destination for international investors. Our open environment, tolerant values, infrastructure and flexible legislation are the best plan to attract global investment and exceptional talents in the UAE," he stated.



Under this system, investors and specialists in medical, scientific, research and technical fields, would be granted up to 10-year residency visas along with all scientists and innovators. Also a five-year residency visa would be granted for students studying in the UAE, and 10-year visas for exceptional students.



The new decision will also review the current residency system to extend the residency time for the dependent students after completing their university studies, said the Dubai Media Office report.



This will give them the opportunity to study their practical options in the future, it added.



The UAE cabinet move has been welcomed by several of the country's leading business experts and industry specialists, who have dubbed it as a game-changing initiative.



"This will help boost the real estate market in a big way. Now families, assured of the 10-year residency could call the UAE their home and will be encouraged to invest in their freehold homes," remarked Atif Rahman, the director and partner at Danube Properties.



"This will also help developers and mortgage providers to offer better choices and options now that the visa tenure has been extended to cover a longer period," he stated.



"This landmark decision will change the economic landscape of the region as we expect other countries to follow the trend set by the UAE. The UAEs visionary leadership has always been a step ahead in implementing game-changing ideas," he added.



Sudhakar R. Rao, the chairman of Gemini Property Developers, said: "It is a timely and wise decision by the visionary leadership of the UAE, which will have a positive impact on all sectors of the economy."



"The real estate will get direct benefit as the property buyers, with families, will have the comfort of 10 years stay in the UAE," noted Rao.



"From the property sales point of view, it will help sell the properties and clear the backlog of large chunks of inventory available in the market. It will encourage developers to invest more in the sector. The decision will not only improve the market sentiment, but also will have a chain effect to accelerate investments in general," he stated.



Samana Developers Group CEO Imran Farooq dubbed it as a timely and strategic move by the UAE, which will have economic and social impact.



"UAE is already a magnet for international investors. The new law will further boost investor confidence, especially in real estate and construction sectors. I expect an influx of new businesses, new investors coming to UAE," noted Farooq.



"The 100 per cent business ownership and 10 years residency for investors will attract FDI to Dubais real estate sector," he added.



Avin Gidwani, the chief executive of BNC Network, said: "This policy will mark the beginning of the next economic wave - it clearly answers the question about the driver behind the aggressive ongoing construction."



"The UAEs leadership has always been visionary and this policy demonstrates their sophisticated economic outlook and far-sightedness. This is a game-changing initiative that will boost investor confidence and add rocket fuel to the UAE economy," remarked Gidwani.



"We have been predicting an infection point this year and this could very well be it for the UAE," he added.-TradeArabia News ServiceSaudi Arabia is undoubtedly becoming more sophisticated, when it comes to the built environment, said Atkins, a member of leading project management consultancy SCN-Lavalin group.



Driven by the vision of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the growing voice of the younger generations and external forces, Saudi Arabia has reached a pivotal moment where the very essence of what normal looks like is being redefined. The broad changes that the country is undergoing are most immediately apparent in the physical environment, it stated.



There is an acute awareness of the need to build for the longer term, said the construction expert.



The new Jeddah Waterfront, along the citys 4.5-km-long coastline on the Red Sea, features dancing fountains, access to Wi-Fi, and facilities for the disabled and will undoubtedly have a huge impact on the lives of residents.



The King Abdul Aziz Road project in Makkah is another sizable development that will fundamentally transform how people live, work and play by master-planning a community that is fit for the future. Here we see how forward-thinking design, coupled with new techniques and technology, are really pushing the boundaries of what has been achieved before in Saudi Arabia.



"When we look at the worlds best cities, we look at a multitude of factors. The likes of Melbourne, Vienna and Vancouver consistently come out on top because of their excellent infrastructure, culture, education and environment," remarked Salim Hussain, the principal architect from SNC Lavalins Atkins business.



He was giving a presentation about the evolution of design in Saudi Arabia and was exploring the importance of designing mixed-use communities to cater to the needs of the current and future population at a key industry event.



Hussain pointed out that the physical environment was connected to the touchpoints of peoples lifestyle in a meaningful and beneficial way.



"So, when it comes to designing the cities of the future, and ensuring they flourish, we can engineer a new normal by taking influence from these case studies and future proofing the new environments for future generations to enjoy," he noted.



Citing examples of more traditional buildings, Hussain said it showcases a highly sophisticated and unique design.



"The National Museum of Saudi Arabia is an elegant building that uses natural light to enhance all facets of its experience. Beautiful mosques have been built with the layering, the form and the rhythm all being created in a way that makes people pause and look closer at what is there. These buildings are sophisticated, and bring an altogether more subtle, yet meaningful, aesthetic to the landscape," he noted.



On the other side of the coin, the King Abdullah Financial District presents a complete contrast: it is deliberate in its difference, stated the design expert.



"At once both bold and brave, that is what makes it powerful and interesting. When it comes to designing buildings for the future, the aim should not be to make a pastiche of what came before, but to use these forms in a unique way," he explained.



According to Hussain, the discussion spans more than the design and the aesthetics though, buildings have to cater to practicalities and functions as well.



"For example, cooling a house is not simply about putting the air-conditioning on, it is impacted by the orientation of the building and the use of basic strategies that take into account the components and design of the building. So, designing the new normal has to take all elements into account," he added.-TradeArabia News ServiceImagine travelling to Abu Dhabi for work and coming back to visit your family in Bahrain in less than an hour; or going to Paris and returning to Barcelona in an hour. These are just a few examples of the potential of hyperloop globally.The UAE Space Agency, working in partnership with Khalifa University of Science and Technology and the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (Aurak), has reviewed the preliminary design of the MeznSat 3U CubeSat, which is being developed to monitor and study the Earths atmosphere.



The Preliminary Design Review (PDR) was held during a meeting at Masdar Institute, and chaired by Khaled Al Hashmi, director of Space Mission Management at the UAE Space Agency. The meeting brought together representatives from Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Aurak, Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) and the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) at the UAE University (UAEU).



Launched in February 2018, Aurak students are designing and building the satellite to collect and analyze data about carbon dioxide and methane levels in the atmosphere above the UAE. The students are utilizing the world-class facilities available at Masdar Institute during the satellites design and construction.



MeznSat is to be launched in late 2019 from a site in Japan, in coordination with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Once in orbit, the satellite will use a visible camera as well as a shortwave infrared spectrometer to measure the abundance and distribution of methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. A team of students will monitor, process, and analyze the data sent from the satellite at a ground station in the UAE.



The satellite will also provide valuable insight into the concentration of nutrients in the coastal waters of the Arabian Gulf, which will allow for more accurate predictions of algal blooms and support the timely implementation of relevant precautionary measures.



Al Hashmi said: The MeznSat project is an important addition to the UAEs satellite capabilities, which include remote sensing, Earth observation and communications. The projects objective is primarily educational, falling within the Agency's mission to develop national capabilities, strengthen scientific research and organize the sector.



It is an amazing opportunity for students to demonstrate their skills, put their academic knowledge into practice and gain invaluable hands-on experience. MeznSat is also considered an important achievement for the national space sector in regards to the development and manufacture of satellites."  TradeArabia News ServiceFrance-based Thales has extended its distribution agreement with global technology provider Arrow Electronics, to bring its advanced data security solutions and services to more territories across the Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region.



Thales is a leader in critical information systems, cybersecurity and data security.



A specialist in security, Arrow is the only technology provider in the UK and Ireland to bring Thales products to the channel, and this extended agreement will see the two companies pursue market opportunities across EMEA, said a statement.



Thales and Arrow will leverage the ArrowSphere cloud platform for as-a-service capabilities to collaborate with complementary technology companies, focusing on addressing key market concerns around areas such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Internet of Things (IoT) and the cloud, it said.



Scott Kemish, channel director  EMEA, Thales eSecurity, said: With the EU GDPR coming into force in May this year, and with high-profile data breaches continuing to make the headlines, the issue of data privacy has never been higher on the agenda of businesses across Europe.



As a result, were seeing rapidly growing demand for our data security products throughout the region, he said.



Arrows wide network of channel customers across EMEA makes them well positioned to meet this demand, by integrating our data security solutions into their enterprise security offering, he added.



One of the biggest drivers and enablers of digital transformation is the widespread enterprise adoption of cloud computing, said a statement.



As the number of organisations adopting the cloud increases, security concerns still remain as organisations lose visibility into how their data is protected and lose control over how their infrastructure is built. This, coupled with the fact that the vast majority of organisations operate in multi-cloud environments, can make deploying and managing data security policies and encryption keys that secure cloud applications and data a challenge, it said.



Thales provides extensive support of cloud environments and data security technologies for multi-cloud data security, ranging from advanced bring-your-own-encryption (BYOE) to simplifying the management of cloud bring-your-own-keys (BYOK), which allows organisations to satisfy compliance requirements and gain greater control of sensitive data in the leading cloud service provider platforms from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Microsoft and Salesforce, it added.



Arrow is a distributor for Thaless line of hardware security modules (HSMs) as well as its Vormetric Data Security Platform.



Thales nShield HSMs provide a secure environment for cryptographic processing, key generation and protection and encryption.



The Vormetric Data Security Platform is data security solution composed of several products for securing sensitive data across servers spanning data centres, clouds, big data and container environments, it stated.  TradeArabia News ServiceThe Middle East and North Africa have accounted for 4.75 per cent and 1.75 per cent respectively of global ransomware threats, according to a new report released by Trend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions.



Trend Micro has blocked more than 100 million ransomware threats for their customers in the last six months alone, with 99 percent of threats blocked from email and web traffic, a company statement said.



Recognizing the growth and impact of ransomware, the company has taken a holistic approach to helping customers defend against ransomware, and is delivering:



 Ransomware Readiness Assessment that helps businesses of all sizes understand vulnerabilities in their security posture, and provides concrete actions they can take



 Ransomware Removal Tools that help both consumers and businesses that have been impacted by ransomware recover their data



 Product Enhancements to bolster ransomware protection across four key layers of security, and provide enterprise-wide visibility of ransomware



Ransomware threats are constantly evolving, and no business is immune. As security experts, we encourage everyone to download our free tools, and inform users on the preventive measures, and ways to tackle the situation when affected, said Cherif Djerboua, regional tech leader, Trend Micro.



We recommend organizations to raise awareness and train their employees regularly on these preventive measures, like backing up data, and what has to be done when they encounter ransomware in emails or compromised sites. This helps to avoid being the victim of ransomware, as paying the ransom money does not guarantee that you can recover your data. There have been numerous reports of attackers asking for another ransom following the initial payment, he added.



Enterprise ransomware protection

There is no silver bullet when it comes to ransomware protection, Djerboua noted, adding that it requires a holistic approach and Trend Micro delivers ransomware protection across four key layers:



 Email: Trend Micro delivers deeper inspection than traditional email gateways for both on premise and cloud-based email, such as Microsoft Office 365. This detects and blocks spear phishing emails and attachments or URLs that carry ransomware  the most common way ransomware infects an organization.



 Endpoint: Trend Micro delivers a full range of next-gen endpoint protection capabilities to detect and block ransomware, including the shielding of unpatched vulnerabilities, application control, and behaviour monitoring to keep an eye out for suspicious activity such as encryption of multiple files, with the ability to halt encryption in its tracks and isolate the infected endpoint.



 Network: Trend Micro continually monitors all network traffic, all network ports and more than 100 network protocols to detect ransomware and advanced threats.



 Server: Trend Micro protects servers, whether physical, virtual or in the cloud, with suspicious activity detection and prevention, vulnerability shielding to stop ransomware from exploiting known server software vulnerabilities and lateral movement detection to prevent ransomware from spreading to other servers.



Trend Micro delivers enhanced central visibility of how ransomware is impacting an organization  identifying ransomware delivered through email, malicious URLs, a network breach or server compromise. This enables incidents to be more rapidly investigated and resolved, as well as enables ransomware trends to be tracked over time so that an organizations overall security posture can be improved.



Ransomware protection for small business



No size of business is immune to ransomware and thats why Trend Micros small business solution, Worry-Free Services Advanced, delivers capabilities that protect against it:



 Email: Trend Micro detects and blocks malicious emails, attachments and URLs with malware scanning, web reputation and sandbox malware analysis



 Endpoint: Trend Micro provides endpoint protection that includes capabilities specific to ransomware such as behaviour monitoring to stop suspicious activity associated with ransomware such as the rapid encryption of multiple files



Worry-Free Services Advanced is designed specifically for small businesses as a cloud-based solution, with simple but powerful protection that minimizes day to day management.



Ransomware protection for home users



Trend Micro warns consumers ransomware can arrive on their computer from compromised websites, spammed emails, or wrapped in other malware, holding precious files and photos until the user pays a fee to the cybercriminals who hold them hostage. Ransom prices can reach $600 or more.



Trend Micro Security 10 customers are already protected against ransomware. If users suspect they have ransomware on their PC computer, Trend Micro can help, even if they are not a Trend Micro Security customer:



 Visit the Trend Micro Ransomware Support Center and download one of anti-ransomware tools.

 Prevent future ransomware attacks with Trend Micro Security 10.  TradeArabia News ServiceDubai-based du, a top telecom provider, has announced its full readiness and ongoing network evolution to offer 5G network in the UAE this year, ahead of the anticipated commercial rollout of the 3GPP compliant 5G terminals in 2019.



As part of its 5G readiness, du recently put on air the first 5G site  achieving download throughput of 1.5 Gbps. This was recently demonstrated at dus headquarters in Dubai Media City. Preparation of 5G deployment is currently underway in major clusters like Expo 2020, Burj Khalifa Downtown and Yas Island, among others, a statement said.



Saleem AlBlooshi, chief infrastructure officer, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, the company behind du, said: The commercial availability of 5G terminals, globally, is only expected in 2019 as standards and technologies are still being finalised.



As a transparent and innovative company, we are excited to announce our complete network readiness this year, in anticipation of its 2019 roll out. The mass adoption of 5G in the UAE will completely transform the landscape when it comes to how residents utilise their various connected devices, and further strengthen the Internet of Things (IoT) services in the region, which du provides.



This will allow us to offer a number of innovative use cases including Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Internet of Things (IoT), Smart City applications and Remote Surgery, among others.



Our vision is to open the door to endless possibilities for a new generation, and we are working with best-of-breed global partners to enable us to launch 5G services this year, he added.



Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will be one of the main apps of the 5G era. Globally, AR/VR has a huge growth potential with a market value expected to be approximately $110 billion by 2025. 5G will accomplish super high speeds, low latency communication and massive machine-to-machine type communication in the UAE.  TradeArabia News ServiceA range of interconnected emerging technologies have the power to unlock a potential $50 billion in savings and increased profit, according to a recent research by international consulting firm, McKinsey.



Digitalisation is the number-one trend driving CEO decision-making in the global oil and gas sector.



Encompassing fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, robotics, sensor technology, machine learning, deep learning, and edge computing, digitalisation is expected to cut capital expenditure by 20 per cent, with operating costs in upstream cut 3 to 5 per cent and 1 to 3 per cent in downstream, said the research report.



The related benefits to energy companies, their customers, and the wider society, are even greater, estimated to reach $1.6 trillion over the next seven years, according to data presented at the 2017 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, it said.



Environmental benefits include reducing CO2-equivalent emissions by approximately 1,300 million tonnes, saving about 800 million gallons of water, and avoiding oil spills equivalent to about 230,000 barrels of oil, it added.



Responding to the high importance being placed on digital transformation and disruption by industry decision-makers, unlocking the opportunities that will flow from digitalisation will be a key focus for the 2018 edition of the worlds leading oil and gas event, the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (Adipec).



Held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, hosted by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and supported by the UAE Ministry of Energy, the Abu Dhabi Chamber, and the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, Adipec will take place from November 12 to 15, at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec), Abu Dhabi, UAE.



Jean-Philippe Cosse, vice president  energy, at dmg events, said: Digitalisation is an urgent priority for industry CEOs and business leaders, offering cost savings, operational improvements, and safety and environmental gains that will reach into every corner of the business, but the opportunities come with risks that must be understood and navigated.



What we are seeing is a profound disruption to business-as-usual, which will have long-lasting effects. Adipec is responding to this with a new Digitalisation in Energy zone, supporting innovation, and helping drive smart investments that will be the foundations of business success in the years ahead, he said.



Spanning both the exhibition halls and the strategic and technical conference programmes, the Digitalisation in Energy zone will include top technology providers and new start-ups serving the oil and gas sector.



A purpose-built Innovation Theatre will provide tech companies with the opportunity to host expert talks and take digitalisation out of the technology silo and place it at the centre of a much bigger conversation.



Long-recognised as the premier meeting place for energy ministers, global business leaders and C-level executives from the worlds oil and gas giants, Adipec 2018 will see the return of the events highly regarded strategic and technical conferences, while also continuing the expansion of the exhibition and conference programmes.



Conference sessions for the downstream refining and petrochemicals sector, introduced for 2017, will return to ensure that Adipec covers each link in the oil and gas value chain. The co-located waterfront Offshore and Marine Exhibition and Conference will add a commercial dive zone, while other returning features include the ADIPEC Awards, which celebrate excellence in energy, and Young Adipec, a dedicated edutainment programme designed to encourage students to choose a career in energy.



New for 2018 will be an Inclusion and Diversity in Energy conference programme, continuing and expanding on the work of the Women in Energy conference in previous years.



Hosting more than 80 ministers, CEOs, and global oil and gas business leaders as speakers, Adipec brings together the companies, decision and policy makers that shape the future of oil and gas supply, for four days of focused business, dialogue and knowledge transfer that addresses todays energy challenges and defines tomorrows hydrocarbon landscape.



Adipecs international technical and strategic conference spans 200 sessions, with 980 expert speakers and over 10,400 delegates. The technical conference programme, organised in collaboration with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), sets the international standard for the exchange of best-practice and operational excellence in the world of energy, with all technical abstract submissions put through a rigorous evaluation process by the Technical Programme Committee. Sessions cover upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, including specialised programmes such as offshore and marine.



Alongside the conference will be the landmark Adipec exhibition areas, underpinning the events status as a premier showcase for suppliers and customers across the oil and gas industry. For 2018, Adipec is expected to attract more than 2,200 exhibiting companies, including 38 NOCs and IOCs, and 30 international country pavilions, it stated.  TradeArabia News ServiceSavage Saudi Arabia, a leading provider of services for refineries in the kingdom, has delivered a total of seven locomotives and two locomotive booster units from the US to Saudi Arabias Eastern and Northern provinces.



Savage Saudi Arabia is a joint venture company between Savage Companies (Utah, US) and Ahmad Nasser Albinali Holding Company (Dammam, Saudi Arabia).



The delivery will support rail operations at Saudi Aramco and Ma'aden Wa'ad Al-Shamal Phosphate Company (MWSPC) facilities, said a statement.



Savage will own, operate and maintain the two Tier-3 compliant, low-emissions locomotives delivered to Saudi Aramcos Wasit and Berri Gas Plants, in the Jubail area, it said.



Savage also delivered five GP38-3 locomotives and two booster units to MWSPCs new mining and processing plants in Wa'ad Al-Shamal Industrial City and Ras Al Khair Industrial City, it added.



The locomotives and booster units were imported by ship from Houston, Texas, US, to the Port of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and hauled by tractor-trailers to their final destinations.



Savage has an agreement to provide rail switching, track maintenance, and track signalling system operations and maintenance for Saudi Aramco at its Wasit and Berri Gas Plants.



These services will help facilitate the transportation of molten sulphur by rail to MWSPCs facilities for use in producing phosphate fertilisers. On the receiving end, Savage is providing training for locomotive operations and maintenance to facilitate handover to MWSPC, who owns and operates the units.



Troy Savage, senior vice president and executive manager for Savage Saudi Arabia, said: The delivery of these locomotives highlights the continued emphasis Saudi Arabia is placing on the development of railroad infrastructure and diversification of industry.



We are pleased to operate one of the first industrial rail switching facilities in Saudi Arabia and are committed to providing excellent service for our customers, he added.  TradeArabia News ServiceSaudi Cement has signed an agreement with GE Power for the upgrade of three GE 6B gas turbines at its Hofuf plant to increase power output and efficiency.



The deal represents the first time that GE Powers Advanced Gas Path (AGP) solution will be implemented to strengthen power generation productivity for a cement industry globally.



The project, built on the two organisations long-term collaboration, will help Saudi Cement increase power output and efficiency, while reducing the need to draw power from the national grid, in support of the kingdoms drive towards greater economic diversification under Saudi Vision 2030.



Mohammed Al Garni, chief executive officer, Saudi Cement, said: Power supply is both a key input, as well as one of the major costs in our manufacturing process.



Reliable, efficient electricity supply is thus essential for the continuous operations of our facility, as well as our market competitiveness. GE Powers Advanced Gas Path upgrade solution will allow us to improve efficiencies and become more self-sufficient in power production, he said.



Joseph Anis, president and chief executive officer of GEs Power Services business in Africa, India and the Middle East, said: As a regional pioneer in the manufacture and supply of high quality clinker and cement, Saudi Cement has played a vital role in the development of construction projects across the Middle East for more than half a century.



We are delighted to support their continuous journey of operational improvements and to contribute towards the strengthening of the kingdoms industrial base, he said.



The upgrades of the gas turbines at Hofuf Plant will not only help achieve efficiency and output improvements but also extend maintenance intervals and lower emissions, to the benefit of Saudi Cement and the wider community, he added.



The upgrades are expected to complete by the third quarter of 2018. They will help to enhance efficiency by up to 3.3 per cent per turbine, contributing towards the Saudi National Transformation Program 2020s goal of improving fuel utilisation in electricity generation to 40 per cent by 2020, said a statement.



GE has over 80 years of partnership in the kingdom with over 4,000 employees, including Baker Hughes, a GE company.



With nearly 50 per cent of the talent in highly skilled engineering and technology roles. GE has built an advanced industrial ecosystem that includes a growing local supply chain, with significant partnerships and investments in support of the kingdom in its economic diversification goals, including building localized manufacturing competencies, it stated.  TradeArabia News ServiceArtificial Intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic of discussion in many industries for a while now, with healthcare, retail and hospitality, to name but a few, starting to speculate on the massive opportunities its development could bring to how their business is run, and how customers interact with those businesses.



Many articles are already predicting the demise of human workers as a result of AI making inroads into our lives because we are on the verge of true artificial intelligence. But when it comes to the biggest challenges facing business, these technologies are yet to have their big breakthrough.



This may all change as we progress into this information age, and for me, the first proof point will be IT security. Having grown into one of our biggest international threats of 2018 with attacks spanning the globe and affecting every country including Middle East ones, a new defence is being developed that will allow companies in Bahrain to tackle the latest threats as soon as they appear on the network.



This new defence is based on machine learning, a key component of a security framework that can move as quickly as those who are looking to breach the network. Machine learning is a fundamental part of an AI system. Machine learning enables AI to detect patterns in all sorts of data sources and create behaviours based on recognized patterns.



How does machine learning improve security?



IT teams today are faced with a moving security target. From the devices used by employees to do work, to the locations, we work in and the people, we send data to, our activities change day by day. It is important to understand, keep up with and protect against these moving goalposts.



As is clear nowadays, security is number one on the agenda for CIOs around the world, as they move to protect their organisations against the malevolent attackers who are looking to breach the network and, typically, steal personal data. This can be a tall order for most IT staff that cannot predict the subtle changes that might take place within their network day to day. These could include hundreds of new devices signing up to the network, from employee-owned mobile phones to older temperate sensors, newly connected as part of an IoT strategy.



The scale of the challenge is often just too vast when asking human IT teams to manage the data being shared by incoming and existing devices, which can easily reach into the thousands for a large enterprise. This is where machine learning comes into its own.



Using machine learning for UEBA (user entity and behavioural analytics), IT managers can create standard profiles for each device on the network. Sales managers get access to Salesforce anytime anywhere; finance teams get access to Financial Information Systems using specific devices at specific locations, and so on.



The profile of each user becomes quickly personalised, and as soon as a user or entity behaves in a way that strays outside of their profile, the machine sees it, and raises the risk score of that user or entity and may accordingly send an alert, which in many cases will require the user/entity to re-authenticate. In the case of a malevolent attack, the intruder will be isolated from the rest of the network, to limit any potential damage that might have occurred.



Machines are capable of analysing millions of individual packets of data plus thousands of system logs and possibly business context data (such as HR records), making a truly individual approach to security possible, which is more than can be said for the ability of a human IT team. With the machine doing the brunt of the monitoring work within the network, the human agent need not intervene until an entity risk score gets above threshold. This automatic monitoring offers IT staff exceptional time savings, which means they can get on with tackling other IT issues throughout the organisation.



Securitys positive impact on the workforce



With AI based machine learning introduced in the workplace, security teams stand to benefit greatly. The technology isnt here to replace the human element in security operations; it will augment the humans intelligence, allowing staff to make better decisions based on the quality of the actions being proposed and the forensics data being furnished. Permissions, for instance, wont be automated by artificial intelligence; it will flag the request to a human agent, who can use the information gathered, and knowledge of the actor, to make an informed decision.



These developments could ultimately change the range of jobs on offer within IT security. Security staff will move from being the operational proponent within the network, to making the decisions that could determine the security of the network. On the other hand, the Security Manager might become the Policy Manager, determining the various policies and credentials necessary to access business networks.



Whilst the approaches of human workers might change during the course of the roll-out of this technology throughout enterprises, their work will be no less important. They will still need to build security into the core of the network, regardless of the technology already in place.



As the world moves into a state of data as commodity, the network is still the most important infrastructure to maintain and keep safe as it is the first line of defence. Its time to start thinking about these developments as they become more prevalent because human IT staff need all the help they can get when combating increasingly intelligent threats.



About the author



Rabih Itani is a regional business development manager - Security, Middle East and Turkey at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise companyKempinski Mall of the Emirates has appointed Bianca Cartin as its new director of marketing, for the award-winning five-star property.



With over 15 years experience in the hospitality industry, Cartin has worked with prestigious hotel brands and brings her extensive knowledge of the hospitality industry to her new role at Kempinski Mall of the Emirates.



Raised in the UK, Cartin started her career in the PR industry working at Hard Rock Cafe Dubai as PR and marketing manager. Following five years at the renowned restaurant, she then moved to Delwood Consultancy Agency into a marketing and PR Manager role before returning to the Hard Rock Cafe brand back in 2010 when the Festival City venue opened up.



In 2013, Cartin started her journey in the hotel industry, working as a marketing and PR manager for Jumeirah Restaurant Group where she was responsible for leading her PR and marketing team and also overseeing the strategic development of online and social media campaigns. Cartins next role, found her fulfilling the role of marketing and PR manager for local restaurant brand Ginza Restaurants, it was here that she was responsible for pre-opening Michelin Star chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten at the Four Seasons Resort Dubai.



Prior to moving into her role at Kempinski Mall of the Emirates, Cartin was at The Ritz Carlton Hotel, Dubai. She started in 2016 and was responsible for providing strategic counsel to the Executive team and managing content for the hotels social media platforms. Cartin was also responsible for coordinating with the corporate office to ensure corporate brand standards were consistent. - TradeArabia News Service